Carillo’s Credo: It Takes a Clay Village ...

For ESPN tennis commentator Mary Carillo, life apparently imitates clay-court tennis. She offered a moving essay last week during the French Open about her own two teenagers.

Here, in part, is how it read:

“I want them to live their lives as though they were playing them out on clay -- to know that not everyone who thinks, thinks alike; to know that the ground will shift under their feet, that it pays to be flexible and patient; that lateral thinking is often rewarded, so try to look around the corners of your problems; that small things are hard to do ... but everything, everything counts.

“There is something beautiful about trying your best, even if you fail. It’s a badge of courage. If you get knocked off your moorings, try hard to find them again. ... Life demands great discipline and deep daring, and a fatigued mind makes bad decisions.

“The reward is the journey. More than anything I want my kids to know that there is nothing common about the common man. This is as good a classroom as any, for tennis or life.

“I want my kids to be clay courters.”

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Trivia time: In 1977, Carillo won the French Open mixed doubles title. Who was her partner?

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A tennis certainty: Elliott Harris of the Chicago Sun-Times, on Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova bowing out early at the French Open: “There go the top seed and the top television attraction. But TV viewers needn’t fret. Sharapova’s commercials are a lock to reach the finals.”

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New advice columnist: Anna Kournikova, beginning with the June issue of Elle magazine, will be writing a column in which she gives tips on fitness and body maintenance. But maybe what readers would really like to know from Kournikova is how one becomes such a big name in tennis without ever winning anything.

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Honest answer: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a guest of Chris Myers and Bryan Cox on Fox Sports radio, talked about the temptation facing high school athletes to take steroids.

“Look, I was a mediocre football player, a mediocre wrestler in high school,” McCain said, “and I guarantee you if somebody said, ‘Look, you take a shot of this and you can probably make it in the NFL,’ I would have said, ‘Where do I get it?’ I’d like to tell you otherwise. I’d like to tell you I was mature enough that I would have said, ‘No, never mind.’ But I see the temptation.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1990, 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist after rallying to beat Manuela Maleeva, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Capriati lost in the semifinals to 16-year-old Monica Seles, 6-2, 6-2.

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Trivia answer: John McEnroe.

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And finally: Dan Daly of the Washington Times, on the cross-promotional possibilities between George Lucas and Major League Baseball: “Think about it, folks. Before the seventh inning stretch this summer, we could have the bottom of the sith.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at [email protected].