Is Fernando Verdasco going down the same road as Anna Kournikova?

Anna Kournikova might have started out as a tennis player, but she certainly did not end her career as one. She excelled in her modeling career, and never really reached her potential as a tennis player. She just wasn’t a very good tennis player. Now before all you die-hard Kournikova fans start arguing with me, yes, it’s true that she had two Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles (even though Martina Hingis did all the work), and she was in the WTA’s top 20 at one time.

But check this out- Google “Anna Kournikova” and click images. There is not one single picture of her playing tennis on the first page, they’re all modeling pictures!

Has tennis had enough of these “back-seat” players that aren’t famous for playing tennis, but rather just the stardom? Enter Fernando Verdasco, who recently lost to Nicolas Almagro in the 4th round of the French Open. The second ranked Spaniard player, preceded only by Rafael Nadal, has arguably one of the hottest bods in tennis. We all know it, and he knows it too.

It’s not hard to find Verdasco’s modeling pictures, as he recently modeled in underwear for Spain’s Calvin Klein. His career has been compared to that of Kournikova’s. Now go back to that Google page with the Kournikova search and try “Fernando Verdasco.” This time you actually get some tennis pictures, but there are also some modeling pictures beginning to plague the page. Don’t get me wrong, Verdasco is not a bad tennis player, his rank is pretty high and he got to the 4th round of Roland Garros.

Fernando could go a lot further if he didn’t choke on important points so much. It just seems like he’s got his priorities a little mixed up. If he wants to be known as a tennis powerhouse, he needs to focus on tennis and not become another Kournikova! I can admit it, he’s got a great body. And why not flaunt what you’ve got right? But at least win some more matches and get more respect in the tennis world, come on!