Has he never heard of Amelie Mauresmo?

Writing to Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim, Eric of Menlo Park bemoans the "fact" that there are no role models on the WTA tour. With Justine Henin's questionable ethics, Maria Sharapova's delay tactics, and the Williams sisters' propensity to never acknowledge they were actually beaten by their opponents, Eric is all doom and gloom about the tour. Sadly, Wertheim agrees with him that--since the exit of Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters--there is a lack of "sportsmanship" on the women's tour (note to Jon: There always will be--they are women, not men).

The first two words I thought of when I read this piece were Amelie Mauresmo. A top tour player for several years now, Mauresmo is the very model of tact, good humor, graciousness, and sportswomanship. Why don't Eric and Wertheim see that? And yes, the Williams sisters don't like to give much credit to their opponents, but in every other way, they are a model of sportswomanship.

Wertheim says the ATP outclasses the WTA in this area. I guess, if you leave out Marat Safin's chronic racquet-breaking, Nicolas Keifer's out-and-out cheating at the Australian Open, Guillermo Coria's attempt to beat up an opponent, and almost everything Lleyton Hewitt has ever done, the ATP is pretty sportsmanlike.