July 2, 1997
WIMBLEDON, England -- As a journalist, I am
not usually assigned to the romance beat, but I
have been asked by many Detroiters about Sergei
Fedorov and his suspected girlfriend, rising tennis
star Anna Kournikova, who in England is called "a
stunner" and in America is called "jailbait."
The nicknames come from Kournikova's age,
which is 16, and her sex appeal, which is about 25
on a scale of 10. You may recall her as the young
blond waiting by Fedorov's locker after the
Stanley Cup championship, or the one wearing the
tight leopard-skin miniskirt as she rode in his car
during the parade.
Here in the London tabloids, there have been
several articles about "The Hockey Player and the
Tennis Lolita" and there were even photos of
Sergei bopping around town with Kournikova. In
one picture he was carrying her rackets, which, if
the Red Wings equipment guy is reading this, take
note, in case you ever need help with the bags.
On Tuesday, I spotted Sergei on the balcony of
the players' lounge. So I went up to say hello. He
was standing with Kournikova, and when he saw
me, he smiled nervously.
"Mitch, what are you doing here?"
I told him I've been covering this event since
1984.
"Wow. Is that so? That's very good."
He kept moving nervously in place. I waited.
Where I come from, when we see people we
know, we introduce them to whomever we're
with. Like, "Have you met my wife?" or "I want
you to meet a friend of mine." You know,
common courtesy?
There was none of that here. Instead, Kournikova
-- whose face suggests junior high, but whose
demeanor suggests a spoiled princess -- eyed me
briefly, spat something out in Russian and went
back to looking over the balcony.
Sergei did not bother with an introduction.
Privacy, Wimbledon don't mix
We chatted for a few minutes, about Detroit,
about Vladimir Konstantinov and Sergei
Mnatsakanov -- Fedorov said he was watching
their progress in the newspapers. We talked about
tennis and how hard he thought it was.
Every now and then, Kournikova turned and
snapped something in Russian that suggested the
phrase -- and I'm guessing here -- "Will you lose
this guy, please?" and Sergei gave me that nervous
smile and drifted back to her side. I almost
laughed. Here was a 27-year-old multimillionaire,
one of the biggest stars in hockey, a guy who just
won a Stanley Cup -- and he's wiggling like a
sixth-grader spotted by his pals while talking to a
girl.
Of course, this, too, may have to do with
Kournikova's age. She only turned 16 last month,
and in America that's still two years shy of the age
of consent. If you were Sergei, you might be
nervous, too.
Then again, maybe these two just want privacy.
They have been spending full days together here,
and reportedly have known each other for at least
a year. And obviously, as native Russian sports
heroes, they have a lot in common.
But if you want privacy, why rendezvous at
Centre Court? Didn't we learn anything from
Andre Agassi and Barbra Streisand? At least
Agassi acknowledged Babs' existence. When I
spoke to Sergei, he acted as if he weren't even
with Kournikova. Come on. I'm not that ignorant
about romance. You don't fly across an ocean
because you like somebody's forehand volley.
And I don't think Sergei's here as an adviser. If he
wanted to coach juniors, he could have gone to
Windsor.
Kournikova is just as bad. When a British
reporter asked whether "her boyfriend" were here,
she said, "I'm single" (which wasn't the question,
but shows you what we're dealing with). And
when an American TV announcer asked her point
blank about Sergei Fedorov, she stopped
answering any of his questions.
Ah, love.
Teen angel with devilish reputation
Of course, there's love and there are manners. I
did not detect any of the latter on the balcony, and
those who have dealt with Kournikova haven't
seen a whole lot either. They have seen tantrums.
They have seen vanity. She wears expensive
jewelry, high heels, and was recently spotted in a
black see-through dress. She has posed
seductively for a poster, wearing a two-piece,
bare-midriff outfit that would make most fathers
throw a towel over her. Pam Shriver recently
cracked that Kournikova is threatening to "wear
out" the mirror in the women's locker room, she
stares at herself so much.
"I can't help it if other players don't want to look
good," Kournikova retorted.
Boy, what an angel.
I'll tell you this much: The kid can play. I watched
her knock out Helena Sukova on Tuesday with a
quick serve and some wicked two-fisted
backhands. This is her first Wimbledon, and she
has reached the quarterfinals.
Sergei was in the box, watching that match, and
when Kournikova won, she looked at him and
gave the "raise the roof" hand push that the Red
Wings did on the victory stand. I thought that was
cute. Later, I asked her where she got that move
from.
"I made it up," she said icily.
Uh-huh.
Now, it is really none of my business -- or yours
-- what Sergei and Anna do with their love lives,
although a 27-year-old courting a high school
sophomore would raise eyebrows in my
neighborhood. We can only hope Sergei knows
the difference between a babe and a baby.
But before I retire from the romance beat, I do
want to offer the young cuddlies a piece of advice.
Pretending you don't have a relationship isn't going
to work in this setting. This is Wimbledon. This is
like a giant microscope.
Or to paraphrase the old poem,
"Never kiss by the garden gate,
cause love is blind, but the neighbors ain't."
Especially the ones with cameras.
Mitch Albom