INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- What we're learning now, this week, is that tennis does have a heart, after all. The headlines in this game are about F-bomb laced threats at a line judge, political infighting, fake injuries. Too often, the players come off as self-absorbed, country club-types with their strongest sense being entitlement.
And now, we get this: Roger Federer and Pete Sampras will face Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi Friday night in a Hit for Haiti exhibition at Indian Wells to raise $1 million for earthquake victims. Also, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf will face Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin. All 16,100 seats are already sold out.
"When they asked me," Henin told me Wednesday, "I said, 'Of course,' the first second."
What a great moment this is going to be for tennis, and I'm not just talking about these great matches lined up.
Keep in mind that Henin, Federer and Nadal will already have started the tournament, one of the most important events of the year. Henin has been known to be over the top in controlling every tiny detail of her life during tournaments.
