Success is still elusive on the tennis court

In a column less than two months ago, I took it for granted that you had to be really good to be entitled to host a top-level world sports event. I was referring to China's reported bid to host soccer's World Cup in 2026.

Now it looks like I was wrong. Not because China withdrew its bid, but because of a successful and star-studded China Open tennis tournament.

I saw its the ability to call up enough people to organize and serve at a big event, and that it is not your abilities in certain sports that matter most. Of course, we won the most gold medals while hosting the "exceptional" Olympic Games in 2008. That's what we call double happiness.