Head Hunting

Tomas Berdych took offense to this Nicolas Almagro forehand knockdown. In the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, Nicolas Almagro knocked Thomas Berdych to the ground with a close-range forehand. After winning the match in four contentious sets, Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand and left the court to a chorus of boos. But was Almagro's play legitmiate? Chuck McKinley: Wimbledon champ and known Head Hunter. Not according to Berdych: "Whoever plays tennis knows that the court is pretty big and you always have some space to put the ball in." Commentator Darren Cahill saw it differently, calling Almagro’s forehand a "Perfect choice of shot." Almagro himself had no regrets: "I played the point the way I had to do it in order to win," he insisted. "I could leave the court with my head high." So how cool and appropriate is it really to headhunt in tennis? According to Dr. Allen Fox, who played on the tour through the 1960s, headhunting is not new. In Fox’s day, Wimbledon champion Chuck McKinley was "a known headhunter." One year at Newport R.I., Fox recalls, McKinley hit Cliff Drysdale right between the eyes. Drysdale had a one-set lead at the time...