[Jon Woodgate]

Two nice stories in today's Style section.



Success in Singles for a Doubles Team

Although mothers are no rarity in women’s sports — especially basketball and golf — in tennis, without a team-sport support system or golf’s longer career span, motherhood is forbidding. Since the 1970s, only 10 women have returned to the women’s pro tour after giving birth, and they typically were older, established stars.

So Ms. Bammer, an Austrian who had never pushed her world ranking higher than No. 238, retired when she became pregnant, packing away her rackets to have the baby with her boyfriend, Christophe Gschwendtner.

“I knew that Christophe was the right man for me so I said, of course, I want to have the child,” Ms. Bammer said. Their daughter, Tina, was born July 21, 2001. Ms. Bammer happily stayed home with her in Ottensheim, an Austrian village of about 4,500 people, for the following year. She thought her career was over.

Until Mr. Gschwendtner reminded her that she was only 21; if she wanted to try tennis one more time, he would quit his job to be the primary caretaker while she returned to the grind of the tour.

At 29, when most players have burned out and retired, Ms. Bammer is entering the United States Open, which begins Monday, ranked No. 29 in the world, a tribute to her perseverance and the commitment her boyfriend made.

“So many people made jokes” back home about Mr. Gschwendtner’s role as Mr. Mom, Ms. Bammer recalled last week, curled up on one of the twin beds of the family’s cramped hotel room in New Haven, where she played in the Pilot Pen tournament. Tina, now 8, lay horizontal across her lap.
(...)
Contrary to the standard tale of tennis’s rich and famous, Ms. Bammer is more an example of the routine life complexities of a young working mother. Her and Mr. Gschwendtner’s story is about sacrifice and support, resulting in a climb from the impoverished depths of Ms. Bammer’s sport to earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/fa...=1&ref=fashion

[Jon Woodgate]

A NIGHT OUT WITH | JELENA JANKOVIC AND TIM ZAGAT
Holding Court

AS one of the top-seeded tennis players in the world, Jelena Jankovic is well practiced in the art of the volley. At DBGB Kitchen and Bar on the Lower East Side last week, she and Tim Zagat — half of the couple behind the famous restaurant guides — were enjoying a little back and forth of their own.

Mr. Zagat was regaling Ms. Jankovic, a 24-year-old Serb, and her parents, who were in town for the United States Open, with his New York stories: Which married actress had he just seen “canoodling” with a famous actor at the Minetta Tavern (sorry, we won’t tell), and which restaurant that no longer appears in his guides had once sued him because of an unfavorable review.

“Lucky Cheng’s is a transvestite restaurant, here on the Lower East Side,” he said, referring to the famous Chinese eatery where bawdy drag queens entertain birthday boys and tourists.

“Who goes there?” Ms. Jankovic interrupted, a bit shocked.

Mr. Zagat said: “People who want to see transvestites. Or transvestites.”

“So you go there?”

Charmed, Mr. Zagat stabbed a piece of veal tongue with his knife and slid it into his mouth.

“I spent three hours on the court today,” Ms. Jankovic said, “and you’re the one who’s starving?”

The two had met for the first time that night, but quickly bonded over a mutual love of food, tennis and wisecracks. Ms. Jankovic had contributed some comments to a special edition of Mr. Zagat’s guide that was made especially for the women’s tennis tour. (Sample observation: “Nobu is a real cool and trendy place.”) Mr. Zagat was showing his appreciation with a visit to one of New York’s newest restaurant destinations, the latest in the Daniel Boulud empire.

Ms. Jankovic is in town on a mission. She made it to the finals of last year’s Open, but lost to Serena Williams. She suffered a prolonged slump through the first half of this year — something she blamed on an extra 15 pounds of muscle she had acquired during training. But after taking the Cincinnati Open this month, Ms. Jankovic says she is poised for a comeback. She is seeded fifth in the tournament, which starts Aug. 31.

At dinner, she was taking no chances, eating conservatively from the endless tiny plates of artisanal sausages and hamburgers that crammed the table.

“If I were standing across from you, I wouldn’t be able to see the ball,” Mr. Zagat said.

Ms. Jankovic said, “I’m not that hard a hitter.”

He replied, “No, you’re that good a looker.”

Soon, the ice cream sundaes were devoured, and a smiling Mr. Boulud appeared.

“She is as good a tennis player as you are a chef,” Mr. Zagat told Mr. Boulud.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/fa...ml?ref=fashion