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Stark fights way through slump By Don Hunt With 22 tournament titles, more than $3 million in career earnings and a No. 1 ranking in doubles for most of one season, Jonathan Stark has had a reasonably successful professional tennis career. It may not be quite what he hoped for after establishing himself as the top-ranked 18-year-old junior player in the country in 1989 and helping Stanford University to the NCAA championship one year later. But for 10 years he has made a good living pursuing his greatest passion, and there certainly have been highlights along the way, notably the French Open doubles championship in 1994 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1995 while paired with Martina Navritilova. Lately, however, the Medford native has fallen on hard times. Not only has Stark failed to win a tournament in 2000, he has bowed out of several events in the first round. His rankings on the ATP Tour, which reached a zenith of 36th in singles and No. 1 in doubles in 1994, have plummeted to 401st and 96th, respectively. "Obviously, this is not the place I want to be," says Stark, who has earned about $42,000 this year. "It�s no fun going out and losing in the first round." Stark, who says there is nothing wrong with him physically, thinks his recent struggles are likely the result of him focusing too much on singles play and not enough on doubles, where 20 of his 22 titles have come. The emphasis on singles took Stark away from the regular ATP events into what�s known as challenger tournaments. Stark was able to win a few singles matches, but was unable to keep a regular doubles partner. He has had no less than nine partners this season, and during one three-week stretch, he had a different teammate each tournament. The continuity he was able to develop with someone like Byron Black � his partner in 1994 when he won the French Open and finished second at the Australian Open � no longer existed. "When I went to the French Open this year, some of the guys were surprised I was even there," Stark says. "Keeping doubles partners isn�t easy to begin with, and it�s definitely been tougher for me this year." Stark, a 1989 graduate of South Medford High, admits that sacrificing doubles play was probably a mistake. Doubles, after all, has been his meal ticket for most of his pro career. And it�s beginning to kick in once again. Stark advanced to the finals of back-to-back tournaments in England in June, including the Queens tournament with Eric Taino as his partner. The duo took Australia�s Todd and Mark Woodbridge, the world�s No. 1-ranked doubles team, to three sets before losing 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-7 (1). Stark and Taino also played well at Wimbledon, where they lost to Paul Haarhuis and Sandon Stolle, seeded third, in four sets, and last week at the Canadian open, where they lost to eventual winners Sabastien Lareau and Dan Nestor. "Things are looking up," says Stark, who left Friday for the RCA Championships in Indianapolis. "I look at what�s happened to me this year as a challenge, not as the beginning of the end of my career. "At 29, I still feel like I have some good tennis left in me." Stark is high on Taino, a 24-year-old left-hander from New Jersey who, like Stark, has struggled to win consistently in singles. "He�s quick and covers a lot of ground," says Stark, a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder who remains one of the hardest servers on tour. "I�m more of a power player, so we complement each other well. And with him serving from the left side and me from the right, it makes it hard for our opponents to get into a rhythm." Stark lives in Seattle with his wife, Dana, and 1-year-old son, Charlie, who often accompany him on road trips. They would love to be on hand for his comeback journey. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA