Stars
Jelena Jankovic and Rafael Nadal have been named Player of the Year 2008 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Nadal becomes the first Spanish man to be named Men’s World Champion.
Nadal had a dream season in 2008 winning his 4th successive Roland Garros and a first win at Wimbledon in an epic final versus Roger Federer.
Jankovic becomes the first Serbian woman to win the Singles World Champion after she managed to keep top spot in a magnificent year. Jankovic reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open and won more matches than any other player. She managed to capture 4 titles in respectively Rome, Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow.
Sponsorships
Volvo Car India has announced that they will be partnering up with the Chennai Open 2009. Volvo will showcase a luxurious Volvo S80 Sedan in a unique fashion. The car will be on the courts of the Chennai Open 2009.
A New Successor
Albert Costa has been named Davis Cup captain for Spain last Thursday. Spain recently won the Davis Cup last month beating Argentina in the finals.
Costa, 33, is the successor for Emilio Sanchez , who stepped down after he led Spain succesfully to its’ third Davis Cup title beating Argentina 3-1.
Albert Costa was part of the team that won the Davis Cup with Spain as a player back in 2000. He has won 12 ATP singles titles including the French Open. Costa agreed to stay on for one year.
“I accomplished a lot of my dreams as a player, winning at Roland Garros and now I’ve managed another one, becoming captain of our Davis Cup team,” said Costa.
Lindsay Davenport is expecting her second child
She intended to play the Australian Open of 2009 but fate decided otherwise. Lindsay Davenport is pregnant with her second child. Davenport gave birth to baby boy Jagger back in 2007 and is said that she and her husband Jon Leach are elated with the news of the second child.
“I am thrilled that Jon, Jagger and I will be welcoming a new addition to our family this coming year,” said Davenport. “Of course this unexpected but exciting surprise now means I will be putting tennis on hold for the foreseeable future.”
Meningitis strikes Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova has been forced to pull out of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Brenda Perry, tournament director for the ASB Classic, said that it was a shame that Petrova was unable to compete.
“I know she was looking forward to playing the ASB Classic, but in this situation she is obviously in need of medical care and our thoughts go out to her.”
The roof is on fire…again
Wimbledon will hold a small tennis event in May to test the new retractable roof over Centre Court.
“We need to get a capacity crowd of 15,000 people in there to recreate the conditions we encounter during the championships,” Johnny Perkins, a spokesman for the London club.
Former British No.1 Tim Henman is currently helping the club with preparations. An actual lineup of players for the event will be announced later.
The retractable roof took three years to build.
Sites to surf:
ATP Tour: http://www.atptennis.com/
WTA Tour: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/
Women’s Tennis Blog: http://www.womenstennisblog.com/
On the Baseline: http://www.onthebaseline.com/
Mondays with Bob Greene: Philippoussis close to retirement
A Triumphant Return
The Atlanta tennis event, the Infinite Energy Atlanta Slam pro tennis exhibition is back again at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Saturday night. This year’s action will take place on Saturday evening.
Bob and Mike Bryan headline the event as they will take on Atlanta residents Luke and Murphy Jensen. The event not only has doubles scheduled but also singles matches. James Blake and Sam Querrey are scheduled to play as well.
With the 2009 season still a month away the exhibition comes in the middle of the off season the Bryan brothers.
“We like to play these kind of matches in the offseason,” said Mike Bryan. “A lot of guys put the racket down and head for the gym, and they may get a little rusty. This helps keep us sharp, but it’s less pressure and a lot more fun (than a normal tour event). Of course, you never want to lose in front of 7 or 8,000 people. We want bragging rights (with the Jensen brothers).”
Breaking away
Andy Murray and Fred Perry. You thought of Andy Murray, you thought of Fred Perry. Andy Murray has decided however to move on to K-Swiss which offers him a much more lucrative deal.
The deal with K-Swiss is believed to be worth 3 million US Dollars and will be announced early next month at the Abu Dhabi exhibition event.
British Tennis to be coached by Brits
The British Tennis Association, the LTA, has given off signals that they no longer wish to rely on foreign coaches. In recent years, the LTA has hired a lot of foreign coaches Brad Gilbert and Paul Annacone among others. With Stuart Smith stepping down as the president of the LTA after serving 3 years term it was also announced that the British Tennis Coaches Association (BTCA) has disaffiliated from the LTA.
The roof is on fire
The Arthur Ashe Stadium might get a retractable roof. Managing director of the USTA Danny Zausner has thrown out scenarios as his group prepares to issue a proposal in January to give the 22,547-seat venue a retractable roof.
The roof could cost $100 million would protect the stadium against rain delays and washouts that have plagued the US Open tournament in recent years. The USTA hasn’t quite figured out yet how to finance the new roof but maybe there is a NBA opportunity, Zausner said.
Zausner also said that it makes sense to consider turning the stadium into a multipurpose facility.
Philippoussis retirement draws near
Even though his mind is still willing, his beaten up body tells him to stop. Philippoussis has told Australian media that he is close to giving up trying to ressurect his career.
Philippoussis has lingered from one injury to the other in recent years.
‘It’s in my heart to give it one more go, and at the end of the day it comes down to my body,’ Philippoussis told the Age newspaper. ‘If my body doesn’t allow it, it doesn’t matter how much my heart wants it or my mind wants it.
‘I honestly believe, 100 per cent, but I know what it’s going to take for me to get to that level. It’s going to take a hell of a lot of hard work and discipline.’
Charity
Mardy Fish’s foundation gave a very generous donation to 110 students of the Pelican Island Elementary school. With the money the kids can now take guitar, dance and drama lessons for free.
The Mardy Fish Foundation’s program provides a place for children to participate in sports, art and music as after school activities. It is free of charge but parents will have to pay a small fee for transportation and a small insurance fee for each child. All the equipment such as musical instruments, excercise equipment, staff salaries and snacks are provided by the foundation.
The club are currently talking about expanding to tennis lessons which should start in January.
ATP Tour has trouble attracting sponsors
Six tennis tournaments on the ATP Tour have trouble finding sponsors for their events. The six events make up for 10% of the total of tournaments on the tour.
The current global financial crisis has effected sports leagues and tournaments including the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and soccer and golf are all affected. Earlier this year the Dutch Open sold its’ license to the family of Australian Open 2008 winner Novak Djokovic after failing to attract a sponsor. The Paris Masters event also indicated that they lost one of their sponsors.
The ATP are however cautiously optimistic about their situation.
“We continue to have very encouraging discussions with a number of partners from different sectors,” Kris Dent, an ATP Tour spokesman, said when asked how close the tour was to finding a new title sponsor. “We are in a fortunate position that as a business we can afford to take the time required to get the right kind of deal for the ATP.
“While clearly the current financial climate is an added challenge, we are very confident of finding the right kind of partner for the ATP at the right price for the ATP,” Dent said.
Having events spread out all over the world “means regional economic difficulties do not affect us in the way they might national associations or leagues.”
The ATP Tour will continue to keep a careful eye on the global financial situation.
The prize money for the 2009 season will not be affected. The total prize money for next year is set to a record of $80 million.
Working on http://www.tennisgr…
Working on http://www.tennisgrandstand.com
Courier and Enqvist To Square Off In Stanford Championships Final
DALLAS, October 25 – Jim Courier and Thomas Enqvist both completed perfect 3-0 round-robin records Saturday to advance into the championship match at the $150,000 Stanford Championships at the Turpin Tennis Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University. In a re-match of the 2007 final of the Stanford Championships, Courier defeated defending champion Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 6-3, while Enqvist edged Todd Martin 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker). The Stanford Championships is the sixth of eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.
Courier, a two-time French and Australian Open champion, used his trademark inside-out forehand to take early control of points and dictate play in winning his fourth straight match against Ferreira. Nonetheless, Ferreira stayed right with Courier until he served to stay in the opening set at 4-5. That’s when Courier struck for the decisive – and only – break of the first set to finish it off 6-4. The second set wasn’t much different, although it was even more in Courier’s favor. Courier gained an early break in the second set and never looked back. He ran into a bit of trouble while serving for the match at 5-3, but he saved two break points to seal the victory with a 6-3 decision.
“I had that lead in second set, but it never really felt safe,” said Courier. “Even though I’m serving well, I know Wayne is capable of doing just what he did in the second set, which is ripping some big shots and chasing some balls down.”
With a perfect 3-0 record heading into Sunday’s championship match, Courier said he is feeling great about his current form. “I’m playing really well,” he said. “My game is predicated on the forehand and the serve. The serve and the forehand is a one-two setup punch. I return pretty well to get into points, and from there I try to dominate with my forehand. It’s no mystery to any of these guys. We all know each other well at this point. It’s just about executing on the day. Right now, I’m on a good service rhythm, particularly on these courts, with how the ball is really flying here.”
“He served really well,” said Ferreira of Courier. “The ball was so fast today. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s during the day. The balls, they don’t really fluff up, they get really light. When he’s serves well and the ball is getting through like that, it’s tough. And when I got the ball in, it was hard to get rid of him and get the point going. So, a little bit tough. He just served better than me.”
Enqvist advanced into his first career Outback Champions Series final by outlasting Martin. Both men played at an extremely high level throughout the evening, but it was Martin who seized control early. The American moved Enqvist all over the court early on in the match and took the first set 6-4, with one service break. Enqvist, a former world No. 4 and the singles runner-up at the 1999 Australian Open, battled back in the second set, getting more aggressive and breaking early set to force a Champions tiebreaker, played in lieu of the third set. By winning at least a set, Enqvist was assured of reaching the final, but he pushed through none-the-less and won the Champions Tie-breaker 11-9.
“Todd was serving unbelievably well for a set and a half,” said Enqvist. “He forced me to make a lot of mistakes and then I started to get a few second serves to look at, I broke him and after that I played well enough to finish the second set off. But it all came down to the match tie-breaker. After I was down 5-Love, I started to serve really well and I was able to win a few important points. Sometimes luck goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. It was a tough match, and I think I was a bit lucky tonight to win.”
While Ferreira will not defend his 2007 title in Dallas, he will play in Sunday’s third-place match against Aaron Krickstein, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Jimmy Arias on Saturday. Against Arias, Krickstein broke serve in the second game of the match to open up a 2-0 lead and used that momentum to build a quick 5-0 advantage. Arias ran off three straight games at that point, but Krickstein served out the set at 5-3. Krickstein and Arias used similar tactics throughout the day, being consistent from the back of the court while waiting for an attackable forehand. Little separated the two players in the second set as the two progressed to 3-3. Krickstein, however, was quicker and had more power, and that primary difference finally started to show. He broke for a 4-3 lead and Arias could not recover, dropping serve again to succumb 6-3 in the second set.
“I played much better today,” said Krickstein. “I served much better. I got off to a good start, as opposed to yesterday. I moved better. But a lot of it is who you play. Thomas (Enqvist, his Friday opponent) hits a big ball. He certainly hits the biggest ball out here than anybody I’ve played. He serves really big. You need to hang in there on the first serve, like I did with Todd (Martin) in the first day, but I didn’t do that yesterday and it snowballed on me.”
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Courier and many others. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. Each event also has the right to choose a “wild card” entrant.
The Outback Champions Series features eight events on its 2008 schedule, with each event featuring an eight-man round-robin match format. The winner of each four-player division meets in the title match while second place finishers in each division play in the third-place match. Each event features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated winner taking home $54,000 as well as Champions Series ranking points that will determine the year-end Stanford Champions Rankings No. 1. Beginning in 2008, the year-end champion will receive a $100,000 bonus courtesy of Stanford Financial Group, the official rankings sponsor of the Outback Champions Series.
The 2008 Outback Champions Series kicked off March 12-16 in Naples, Fla., at The Oliver Group Champions Cup where Martin defeated McEnroe in the final. Courier won the second event of the season at The Residences at The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championships April 16-20, defeating Ferreira in the final, while McEnroe won his first career Outback Champions Series even in Boston April 30- May 4, defeating Krickstein in the final. Pat Cash won his first Outback Champions Series title in Newport, R.I., in August, defeating Courier in the final, while Courier won his second event of the season in September in Charlotte, defeating Martin in the final. The next three events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series calendar are Dallas, Surprise, Ariz., and Dubai, U.A.E. More information can be obtained by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including one-night “Legendary Night” exhibitions as well as charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com
The remaining schedule for The Stanford Championships is as follows;
Sunday, October 26
1:30 pm
Wayne Ferreira vs. Aaron Krickstein – 3rd place match
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. Thomas Enqvist – Championship match
Round-Robin Results from Wednesday, October 22
Aaron Krickstein, United States, def. Todd Martin, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-4
Jim Courier, United States, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-1
Round-Robin Results from Thursday, October 23
Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 6-3, 6-2
Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, def. Justin Gimelstob, United States, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Round-Robin Results From Friday, October 24
Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-2
Todd Martin, United States, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 6-4, 6-2
Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, def. Aaron Krickstein, United States, 6-1, 6-1
Jim Courier, United States, def. Justin Gimelstob, United States, 6-2, 4-6, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker)
Round-Robin Results From Saturday, October 25
Jim Courier, United States, def. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, 6-4, 6-3
Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, def. Todd Martin, United States, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker)
Aaron Krickstein, United States, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 6-3, 6-4
Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, def. Justin Gimelstob, United States, walkover (Luis Herrera of Mexico def. Novacek 6-3 in exhibition match)
Round-Robin Group Standings
Group A
Jim Courier 3-0
Wayne Ferreira 2-1
Karel Novacek 1-2
Justin Gimelstob 0-3
Group B
Thomas Enqvist 3-0
Aaron Krickstein 2-1
Todd Martin 1-2
Jimmy Arias 0-3
Photopost: The All Access Hour In Stuttgart
Rollin’ Ralf Reinecke, our funky photographer in steamin’ Stuttgart, has provided us with photos of the All Access Hour of the Porsche Grand Prix Tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.
The photos include Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva , Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva. That’s three Olympic medal winners you got there.
Enjoy the photos!
Weekly Links – The things that I've loved, the things that I've lost
Jerry Magee will retire this week. Jerry Magee is one of the greatest sportswriters in the USA and long-time football and tennis writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, just my opinion if that counts for anything. Wish you well Jerry! http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/sep/26/chargers-1s27canepa222339/?chargers
The ATP brings sexy back by bringing life to an old idea: They are going to bring the Hunk of the Month 2009 calendar. http://www.tennisnews.com/exclusive.php?pID=26107
The ever evolving game of tennis has a new doubles team and new innovated equipment. http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/092508/spo_336631641.shtml
Rafael Nadal is weary of the Davis Cup encounter versus Argentina. And he should be, he is playing one of the finest teams in the world. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/sports/tennis/24tennis.html?_r=2&ref=tennis&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Another beautiful testimonial on David Foster Wallace. http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=6618913
Was it the funny dance the Austrians performed after they won their Davis Cup match versus Britain or has Britain tennis really reached an all time low? http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article4799837.ece
It is officially over for Maria Sharapova: No more tennis for the remainder of the 2008 season. See you next year and hopefully injury free! http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/09/27/maria-sharapova-shuts-down-2008-tennis-season/
Who doesn’t remember tennis glam girl Anna Kournikova. Jon Wertheim has a great interview with her. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/sep/28/tennis.annakournikova
Laura Robson might just be the salvation for England tennis but she still has a long way to go. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article4838114.ece
Bonus: Photos of Tsonga kickboxing. I guess we know now where he got inspiration from when he beat Novak Djokovic in Bangkok!
Weekly Links – Just my imagination running away with me
Maria Sharapova sponsors 12 prospective students from Belarus, specifically the areas that were affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Sponsorship by Maria Sharapova..hm makes me want to relive my prodigal days in University…http://www.womenstennisblog.com/2008/09/18/sharapova-sponsors-twelve-students-with-210000/
The WTA Tour has launched a new site that lets you can challenge your favorite player. I saw some videos and they are pretty friggan’ hilarious. http://www.challengeyourhero.com/
Meanwhile the Hopman Cup in Perth, a preparatory tournament for the Australian Open, has been given a major blow with Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga going for the newly setup Brisbane International tournament. http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/big-guns-give-hopman-cup-a-miss-20080918-4iwq.html
The Bali tournament, won by Swiss Miss Patty Schnyder last Sunday, has been canceled and replaced by a year-end-tournament that’s going to try and rival with the Year End Championships in Doha, Qatar. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12110_4148970,00.html
Touching 1000 lives. That’s what the theme of the visit to Nigeria is going to be for the Williams’ Sisters. Serena and Venus are going to visit Nigeria in November of 2008. They intend to promote the game in Nigeria by holding a tennis clinic which has youths assembled from all over the country. Serena is also set to play a little exhibition match. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/19/content_10077378.htm
Out of sight doesn’t automatically mean out of mind. Justine Henin, who retired as the number one on the WTA Tour, will open a new tennis academy in Florida on September 27. http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/09/17/justine-henin-to-open-sixth-sense-tennis-academy-in-florida/
Sad news: David Wallace has passed away. Jon Wertheim writes a beautiful testimonial about the “guy who had an obscene amounts of writing talent. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/09/16/tennis.mailbag/index.html?eref=T1
It’s Davis Cup weekend and the heat is on Andy Murray according to Jurgen Melzer, the Austrian number 1. England plays Austria this weekend and Jurgen Melzer isn’t so sure if Andy can cope with the pressure his country puts on his shoulders. Andy however dismisses the Austrian taunting by saying nothing has changed for him. http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=tennis/08/09/17/TENNIS_Davis_Cup_Nightlead.html
The LTA are continueing their gracious efforts to improve British tennis. They have closed a £ 25 million deal with AEGON. Let’s hope England will have more top talents in the coming decade.
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNJAA6KeSb7hQC2WeA0RKZ5kC5tg
Writing a biography at the age of 26…isn’t that a little young? Well not for Serena Williams who is set write up her memoirs about her life on and off the courts. The book is expected to be released in 2009 and is published by Grand Central Publishing. Still…a biography at the age of 26? “Only in America..” as we Europeans say. http://livesteez.com/news/news_detail/1151
The Jimmy Connors Tennis Academy is currently being build in India. It’s about time somebody did something about did that. India holds many talented players that are being laid to waste (in my humble opinion anyway) because there are little to no decent facilities to facilitate the youngsters. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Backpage/The_Jimmy_Connors_Tennis_Academy_is_being_set_up_near_Pune/articleshow/3481000.cms
I had some extra bonus photos laying around of Anna Kournikova at the Stuttgart Mercedes Cup Charity Gala a few months ago. Enjoy!! Photocredit: ATPtennis.com
Nostalgic Streams of Consciousness
Mark Keil, tennis teaching pro out of Massachusetts enlightens tennis people about some tournaments around the globe. The Canadian Open, which alternates each year between Toronto and Montreal , is a cool glass of ice tea on the road to the US Open. The men’s event this year in Toronto is played outside of the city a bit, on a college campus. I played one year with Gary Muller of South Africa and we played against Kelly Jones and Chris Woodruff of the United States. “The Mull” was a long-haired guy by way of Beverly Hills, where he used to live with the actress Ann Turkel and the late Richard Harris. He was the symbol of Hollywood on the tour, organizing great parties at most of the Slams. He would have a great one in Australia and the tour authorities finally had to put a crack down on them. He showed up with Juliette Binoche at Wimbledon. “Bones” Jones (due to his great tennis bedside manner) was a former All American out of Pepperdine and two-time NCAA doubles champion with two different partners. He eventually became No. 1 in the world, and married another former player Tami Whitlinger. Chris “Country” Woodruff is a good ol boy out of Knoxville and NCAA singles champion for the University of Tennessee. He was a firerce competitor, and would try and fool you with his naivete. We lost 6-7, 6-7. In ’93 in Montreal, I played with Stefan Kruger of South African. He played on a NCAA runner-up team under the tutelage of Dennis Ralston at SMU. He either played unbelievable or horrendous. We lost to England’s Jeremy Bates and Chris Wilkinson very handily. I do not remember that match ever happening. I do remember Martin Laurendeau always throwing a bi-annual function at one of the fine strip establishments in the city. All the players would go.
The tour stop in San Marino is a hot and humid adventure on the east coast of Italy. I lost first round with the South African by way of Dallas Bryon Talbot. The current player Dusan Vemic and Tomas Cibulec beat us in three sets. In ’94, I played with Libor Pimek, the angular Czech who would do the splits in the eye formation parallel to the net and knock off the return. If things were getting tight, he would tell his partner before serving, “I just try to get it in the box.” He was a former top 25 singles player, and played every week. We defeated the muscular Karim Alami of Morocco and Diego Nargiso (ITA) in the first round. Narg was a dead ringer for a Nicolas Cage look a like. We went down to the Olympic silver singles medalist for Spain Jordi Arrese and Renzo Furlan, who was born in Conegliano Venetia (Italia.)
The event in Posnan is a short train ride away from Warsaw .I was seeded No. 1 one year with Cibulec, a quiet lad. We lost to the wild card team of Dabrowski and Gawlowski, not related. I did a lot of two on one training to get ready for the US Open due to our early exit.
Have a great week and hit the courts!
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Weekly Links: Things That Make You Go Hmm…
Here we are with another weekly dose of weekly links. Back from not being far away from my desk for the past few hours.
First of all an announcement:
I have been receiving mails lately from people asking me if I want exchange links with them. I am always open to suggestions but I do have a set of criteria.
First of all, your site has to be up for at least one year. Your site has to be regularly updated. I don’t want to link to dead sites. And last but nevertheless very important: Quality writing.
If your site meets the criteria then feel free to contact me by either using the comment system (no registration required) or leave me a note using our “Contact Us” form.
End of announcement
So with the message out of the way we can move on with the links. This week we have a few special photos from the Rogers Cup.
Mary Pierce has withdrawn from the Olympics with a knee injury. No offense but she shouldn’t have been selected in the first place. It’s been too long that she played and playing at the Olympics should really be someone who is fit, has match practice and actually played well in the past two years! (New York Post)
Another two bite the dust. Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak have been suspended for gambling on matches. (World News Australia)
Boris Becker speaks. And when he speaks we all listen to Boom Boom Becker. He is of the opinion that Rafael Nadal is the real No. 1 and not Federer. I am not sure if I agree. Sure Nadal won that epic Wimbledon final and the French Open in a month but let’s see if Nadal can win Wimby in the next few years. Just don’t write off Fed because he has an off season. (Toronto Star)
At least Iestyn Stevens from Sportingo agrees with me (Sportingo)
Roger Federer is in Toronto and motivated again. Funny how he didn’t read anything about the most epic final of the Open Era. (National Post)
Chris Evert publicly admits that her love affair with Greg Norman was behind the demise of their marriages. That’s just freaky! (News.com.Au)
Sorry boys and girls but Jelena Jankovic has a boyfriend. (Women’s Tennis Blog)
Aaress from On the Baseline has put up her favorite memories of the Olympics. What are yours? Comment below (On the Baseline)
Safin and Safina will make a great team at the Hopman Cup 2009 (The Age)
Monica Seles got interviewed by Indietennis (IndieTennis)
Of course the biggest news this week was the Ashley Harkleroad Playboy issue. Don’t worry, this link IS suitable for work (TennisGrandstand)
Photos by Bob McIntyre.
Weekly Links: Roger Federer Is Enjoying Himself
Hello heroes,
I hope you are all well enjoying Wimbledon 2008 which for me held a lot of surprises this week. Most notably the loss of Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic. I had high expectations from both hoping at least one of them would reach the final of the green green grass of home. But none of them played any of the warm up tournaments so perhaps that had something to do with it.
The resurrection of Marat Safin is a complete surprise. He is a player who belongs in the top 10 of the ATP tour. Better yet : He belongs in the top five. He sure has the game for it.
The most controversial news this week is Justin Gimelstob’s comments about women’s tennis.
Anyway this column is still called Weeklylinks and not “Manfred’s Weekly Opinion” so let’s get a move on and start with the links.
None other than our very own tennisfashionista Erwin Ong was interviewed by the Canada Globe and Mail. TennisGrandstand got mentioned in it too. (Globe and Mail)
On The Baseline had a chat with Ana Ivanovic. Our former Justine Henin blogger Crystal Lam had her question answered (On The Baseline)
The Lawn Tennis Association has targets five players in the top 10 of the ATP Tour by 2010. Is that possible? (BBC)
Falling in love is so hard on the knees: Greg Norman and Chris Evert got married (Sydney Morning Herald)
A catchy headline which soon probably will become reality: Federer, Nadal Mow de Villiers on Wimbledon Grass (Bloomberg)
Tennis legend Margaret Court creeps like a nun (The Town Talk)
Roger Federer goes to the zoo. And not just with anyone but with Gwen Stefani, who’s one of Roger’s fans. (Yahoo! Sports)
Not only a good commentator and a lover of good art but also involved with charities. John McEnroe sells his Andy Warhol painting. The proceeds will go to the Habitat for Humanity. (Yahoo! UK & Ireland)
Brad Gilbert quit the LTA and manages to get a lot of money from them. (Telegraph)
FHM covers Ana Ivanovic or is it Ana Ivanovic covers FHM? (Women’s Tennis Blog)
Marina Hyde also fights sexism on the tour. (The Guardian)
Excelsior,
M.W.
Extra Bonus pics:
Now these may be old but they are still great to look at. ATP Tour photos from Dubai. Enjoy!!
Photocredit: ATP/Mauricio Ramos Velásquez-Mellado