TENNIS / JULIE CART : Crass or Full of Sass, She’s Got Personality

The good news is that, at last, womens’ tennis has an outlaw to pep up its dull image. The bad news is, she’s being hounded by the stick-in-the-muds who run the game.

To some, Natasha Zvereva, from Belarus, is an intelligent, delightful breath of fresh air. To others, she’s a crass exhibitionist. Neither side will argue with the statement that she’s got personality.

Zvereva, 23, is one half of the most successful current doubles team. With Gigi Fernandez, Zvereva has twice won three of four Grand Slam doubles events. The team won 11 of the 16 tournaments they entered in 1994 and from the 1992 French Open to Wimbledon in 1993, Zvereva and Fernandez won six consecutive Grand Slam titles.

Zvereva also has been rising as a singles player and is ranked No. 8.

Her style in singles often takes on the frenetic, flamboyant and fun approach that fans enjoy so much in doubles. Zvereva acknowledges the fans and that already sets her apart from most players on the tour. Without losing concentration on her game, she finds a way to respond to the crowd.

Zvereva recently changed her name from Natalia, saying she has changed her hair, why not her name? Living in a Newport Beach apartment that she shares with American player Lindsay Davenport and another friend, Zvereva has fully embraced her new life in the West. She’s even slightly reminiscent of Martina Navratilova in her willingness and ability to discuss issues other than tennis.

But her recent behavior has gotten her in trouble with some tennis officials. Her match at the Australian Open against Mary Pierce, the eventual winner, was an example. During her return of serve, Zvereva waggled her rear and walked to the baseline in an exaggerated parody of what some have suggested is Pierce’s flirtatious behavior on the court.

After the match, Zvereva strode to the side, where bikini-clad fans who had been cheering her, pulling up her shirt to reveal an athletic bra. For an instant.

A courtside official reported the incident to the Women’s Tennis Assn. and the Player Committee will rule in March whether Zvereva should be fined for “unprofessional behavior.”

At the end of the tournament, after center court had flooded after the mens’ semifinal, Zvereva cha-chaed in the water with the stuffed kangaroo she had received not long before as runner-up in the womens’ doubles. Once news cameras clustered around her, she really began to vamp.

Some officials groaned but where’s the harm? Zvereva and the other players who splashed around the court were having fun, something tennis players have been accused of not doing on court.

Zvereva is exactly what tennis needs. She’s a young player who a new generation of young fans can relate to. She gives the impression that she’s enjoying a sport that has as its practitioners grim-faced workers.

Zvereva should not be fined, tennis officials should.

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No sooner had Andre Agassi won the Australian Open last week than his coach was cooking up Agassi’s next conquest.

As Agassi sat courtside and waited to be awarded the silver trophy, he gazed into the stands and found Brad Gilbert. Agassi smiled fondly at his coach, who gestured to Agassi with two fingers held up.

Agassi took it to mean: First you win the Australian, then you win the French Open.

Runner-up in 1990 and 1991, Agassi has never won the French, although he was favored in both the finals he appeared in. Asked about the possibility of winning the season’s second Grand Slam event, Agassi brightened.

“Ironically, the one I haven’t won is the one I felt I should have won first,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting ready and training for the French.”

If his current form holds, Agassi has every reason to feel confident about his chances on the slow red clay. According to the world’s No. 1 player, Pete Sampras, whom Agassi outplayed in Australia, Agassi has brought his game to a new level.

“If he can stay fit, I think he can win every major tournament of the year,” Sampras said.

What Agassi didn’t see was Gilbert gesturing another time. Three fingers.

Apprised of this, Agassi laughed and put sank his head into his hands.

“I’m afraid to even think about what that means,” Agassi said.

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Sampras’ moving performance at the Australian Open did not go unnoted by his fellow pros. In fact, his graceful handling of his coach, Tim Gullikson’s, sudden illness was praised by peers who seldom praise.

Said Agassi, “It’s an extraordinary thing to see what Pete has managed to do. He’s an incredible, gifted person. He’s a deep person as well who obviously feels a lot of things and is going through a lot of things at the moment with Tim. I can certainly understand and identify with that. Just to have him still be in the tournament is an asset. It’s inspiring, you know.”

The usually restrained Michael Chang even gushed.

“Pete has handled this past couple of weeks extremely well,” he said. “He’s been very good as far as being able to focus on his tennis and still be a very compassionate person at the same time. I think that we’ve seen a few different sides of Pete Sampras that we definitely have not seen in the past.”

Sampras didn’t successfully defend his title in Australia, but he became a champion in a way he had been unable to when he won his previous Grand Slam event titles.

Tennis Notes

The Davis Cup World Group first-round match between the United States and France at the 6,000-seat Bayfront Center Arena in St. Petersburg, Fla., has drawn sparse crowds and the ticket prices are partly to blame. The cheapest single-day seats cost $50 and the cheapest three-day passes are $90.