Tennis Gossip !!

Glaken · Sep 9, 2005

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Could you get anything more morbidly curious Thursday at the Open than the senior match on Court 6 between the Jensen brothers and Brad Gilbert/Jeff Tarango?...James Blake made an appearance on the David Letterman show Thursday night...According to the Las Vegas Sun, the Vegas area is in the running for the relocation of the former ATP Scottsdale Tennis Channel Open: "Las Vegas' newest tennis complex could host a large professional men's tennis tournament in February 2006, which would be televised on the Tennis Channel cable network. The Mayor and City Council on Wednesday voted 6-0 to give city staff the authority to continue working on an offer for an ATP men's tennis tournament. Councilman Larry Brown said landing the tournament would be like the city getting another major professional golf tournament, or the NBA All-Star Game, which the city will host in 2007."...Roger Federer on staying up to watch the Andre Agassi-James Blake match: "Watching this, I was -- my pulse was just like (pounding his chest). I couldn't believe it, how the match turned out, because it was looking so one-sided. It's definitely nice to play them, but I almost prefer to watch them, to be honest...It's not that late for me (to watch). I always go to bed around 2 or 3 in the morning. So for me, that was perfect timing, you know...In my eyes, James gave it away, so...James should have locked it up many times. But happens, you know. It's for him also first time he's in this position, and obviously against Andre it doesn't make it easier. But Andre did incredibly well to come back, that's for sure. And staying cool, you know, all the way through, that was incredible. But I thought James had him and let it go."...Maria Sharapova will return to the No. 1 ranking, overtaking Lindsay Davenport on Monday...Daniela Hantuchova has won the mixed doubles career grand slam...From the LA Times: "Because of a dispute between CBS and the USA Network, which is owned by NBC Universal, DirecTV subscribers on the West Coast were deprived of seeing most of the final set of Wednesday's dramatic U.S. Open match between Andre Agassi and James Blake. According to Brian Walker, NBC Universal-USA spokesman, CBS denied a request from USA for permission to continue televising the Agassi-Blake match past 12:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. PDT). CBS has exclusive rights to US Open highlights beginning at that time."

GreenDoberman · Sep 10, 2005

What tennis complex in Vegas. The only one I know of is at UNLV and that certainly is not a major complex. I'd love to see an event here, but this is the first I have heard of it.

Glaken · Sep 10, 2005

GreenDoberman said:
What tennis complex in Vegas. The only one I know of is at UNLV and that certainly is not a major complex. I'd love to see an event here, but this is the first I have heard of it.

I will try and find out....I was wondering too

Glaken · Sep 10, 2005

Saturday 9-10-05

Saturday 9-10-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Is it true that CBS wanted Andre Agassi on as the second semifinal match today, but "The Boss" (as some of the old ATP employees coined the term for him) said no, since it could be difficult for him if he played second and the first match ran late? Now that's power...Mary Pierce will return to the Top 10 on Monday for the first time since 2001...From PTI: "Sania Mirza refused to be drawn into a controversy over her professional dress code and denied she faced any racial discrimination on the circuit. A religious scholar reportedly issued a "fatwa" about her dress code saying that Islam does not permit a woman to wear skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops. "Veil can be dropped on certain occasions but not the way the girl is going about and playing in all those countries," the scholar told a private news channel yesterday. The comments of the scholar were extensively aired by the private television channel that also sought the views of women's organisations on the subject, stirring a major controversy. Maintaining stoic silence on the issue, Sania, who comes from a devout Muslim family, passed the query off saying that she has nothing to say about it."...Mary Pierce is 6-0 in grand slam semifinals...26-year-old Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga has announced her retirement...The Bryan brothers said Andy Roddick partied for a few days in New York after his US Open loss then took the party (and a planeload of friends) to Las Vegas.

Glaken · Sep 11, 2005

Sunday 9-11-05

Sunday 9-11-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
How good was Kim Clijsters, taking the mike to praise Mary Pierce and then her support team? That needs to happen more often, give the players the mike. And how good was the CBS send-off collage of players Saturday night? Nice stuff...Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled from the WTA Luxembourg event, and says it is doubtful with her hamstring injury if she will play during the remainder of 2005...How creepy was CBS's Dick Enberg to Kim Clijsters with that 'hi-larious' "Can I hold you?" comment? Ewww...No man has ever won four consecutive five-set matches at a Grand Slam tournament, though Goran Ivanisevic won four in a row at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics en route to the semifinals...Lleyton Hewitt has not entered any of the remaining tournaments of 2005 with the impending birth of his child, but could compete in a few tournaments before the year-ending Masters Cup...Andre Agassi in his post-match conference on the cortisone injections for his back: "The doctor is comfortable with four injections a year. Because we're not injecting tendon or joints, you know, this is a nerve that's through bone so there's not a lot of deterioration or downside that happens as a result of it. It's not a way to live as a way of life, but if I didn't thrash myself around on the tennis court with 22-year-olds...(laughter)...I wouldn't need it, period. I mean, I would be fine. I'm not sort of disabled in my everyday life, but it's when I demand what I demand out of my body that I fall shy of the standard that's needed to be at your best. So I can do about four a year, but not as a way of life, for a few years."

Glaken · Sep 16, 2005

Friday, 9-16-2005

Friday, 9-16-2005

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Deferring to pressure from Muslim clerics, India's Sania Mirza has decided not to join Anastasia Myskina in strutting the ramp in a fashion show next week at the WTA stop in Kolkata...The official player hotel for the WTA stop in Kolkata is rolling out the red carpet for Sania Mirza, according to the teenage diary-like reporting of ExpressIndia: "And greeting Sania at the hotel will be a huge chocolate carving of a girl playing tennis. This will be placed in front of the Eden pavilion which is hosting a tennis food festival from Sunday. Winners of the daily lucky draw will get to watch Sania play, said the hotel spokesperson. There's more pampering in store for the teen champ whose skirts and danglers are as stylish as her forehands. While Sania will practise her game at a special tennis court in the hotel, her room will be stocked with "theme chocolates" in the shape of tennis racquets and balls. Also, there will be "special effects" to help her sleep after a hard day's game. "The spa has designed a welcome slumber which comprises hot chocolate, zero light, earplugs and eye shades which are sleep-inducing. We want Sania to play the ball hard and to rest well," said a senior staff of the hotel. Sania and the other players will be treated to the best of Dum Pukht cuisine, with chef Akshraj Joda dishing out the most succulent kakori kebabs and her favourite biryani. All the seven restaurants of the hotels are gearing up to welcome the bevy of tennis beauties, who, they hope, will give their diets a break and give in to the proverbial Kolkata hospitality for once." As Homer says, "Mmmmm...theme chocolates."...Lleyton Hewitt has taken a wildcard to join Roger Federer and Marat Safin in Bangkok later this month...From Reuters: "Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza will receive extra security after an Islamic group opposed to her on-court dress threatened to stop her from playing in next week's WTA event, police said on Friday. Muslim clergymen have denounced the 18-year-old player for wearing skimpy skirts and colourful sleeveless tops on court, which they say are un-Islamic...The group, Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, has warned that its members would try to prevent Mirza from playing if she did not wear "proper clothes." "What she wears offends Islam. She will be stopped from playing if she doesn't adhere to it," Siddiqullah Chowdhry, the group's chief, told Reuters."...Tennis fan and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin is recovering from hip surgery after taking a fall while watching the US Open. Yeltsin and wife Naina were staying up late to watch the Maria Sharapova-Nadia Petrova match, then afterwards slipped and fell in the dark en route to bed. Hospital officials say Yeltsin must stay for two weeks after the surgery, but per his inquiry, say the 74-year-old could be back to playing tennis in six months...Jarkko Nieminen says the courts aren't exactly swelling with junior players in Finland with his success, but things are improving: "I hope I am not an exception for my country, but I couldn't find any other coming behind me. Kids just start to touch the sport and it certainly needs some years to see them rise on the tour."...Boris Becker is replacing Phil Tufnell as team captain on the BBC's TV sports quiz 'They Think It's All Over.'...From SMH: "Mobile phone retailer John Ilhan of Crazy John's still heads Australia's wealthiest young entrepreneurs, entertainers and sports people, with a fortune of $300 million. The youngest entrant on this year's list, in 35th place, is tennis star Lleyton Hewitt, who, at 24, has amassed $30 million." Bump Hewitt up a couple spots after he received some under-the-table cash to appear in Bangkok later this month. C'mon!...WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott says creating another executive layer and hiring Stacey Allaster as WTA president will give him some Mark Miles-like leeway to float around and make people unsure of what he actually does at the tour: "It gives me the chance to pick my spots in terms of future strategy and growth of the business while being confident I have seasoned executives to run day-to-day operations." Time for that three-hour lunch! Allaster says the move will help Scott with his mission of changing the WTA into the ATP: "As part of what he calls Roadmap 2010, he wants to have the right format to create premier events like he did with the ATP."...Kim Clijsters has parted company with her coach, Marc de Hous, by mutual consent: "Kim and myself began working together during the US Open in 2002 and it has ended with her winning that title," De Hous said on Clijsters' website. "You couldn't dream of anything better."...Paradorn Srichaphan pulled from the doubles in Beijing with a heel injury...The ATP event in Milan is reportedly on the move for 2006...31-year-old Vince Spadea, who is now working with a shrink, tells Tennis Week he will now break the Top 10 -- guaranteed: "Comebacks are never easy, but they are a part of sports, and I'm quite ready and excited about this new challenge. I will return to my highest ranking ever. I guarantee it! Rather than get discouraged or depressed, it's a gift that I'm as high as (ranked No.) 50 compared to where I was when I began the previous comeback. My rise will again be accomplished with help from my sport performance psychologist, John F. Murray, who formerly helped me back from my longest losing streak. Joe Namath guaranteed a Super Bowl victory when no-one believed in him; the 1980 USA Hockey Team truly believed; nobody thought David would slay Goliath. Even my performance psychologist stuck his neck on the line and lost 64 pounds after he made a public guarantee."

Glaken · Sep 26, 2005

Monday 9-26-05

Monday 9-26-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Jonas Bjorkman on the doubles players suing the ATP for mismanagement of the tour: "In this case, the ATP Players' Council voted 9-0 against the proposed changes at the meeting during Wimbledon. How can the ATP overrule such a mandate and announce the changes?...We are doing this to put pressure on the ATP...there needs to be a change in leadership. The vested interests of different tournament directors is also a factor...Most of them see the doubles event as an additional cost, they don't want to find ways to turn it into a profitable venture. I would definitely like to see all players take part in both singles and doubles regularly, as the ATP wants. The doubles specialists, at least, can play more singles. Too many guys are satisfied with what they are earning from doubles."...The Czech Republic loses its status as the only country to have been in the elite 16-nation Davis Cup World Group since its inception in 1981...From ESPN.com: "It wasn't a match the Americans were supposed to win. It was, after all, a Davis Cup match on clay. But Whit Sheppard writes that Andy Roddick and the U.S. Davis Cup team showed perseverance when they needed it most." Huh? Umm, pretty much everyone expected the U.S. to beat Belgium fellas, when they eventually got to see the matches on tape...Brit Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates says he hopes to come up with someone to replace Greg Rusedski so he can sit that person on the bench during ties: "We badly need somebody to step into Greg's shoes during the next couple of years. You have to hope one or two of the youngsters are inspired by Andy [Murray], and certainly they can relate to him because he is their age."...Charlie Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Andy Roddick's mojo run-in with the Belgians during the Davis Cup weekend: "The mojo issue began in the days before the US Open, when American Express, which has a contract with Roddick, plastered billboards all over New York -- on the street, in subways and on the boardwalk from the subway to the U.S. Tennis Center entrance. "Have You Seen Andy's Mojo?" the ads wanted to know. When Roddick was dunked in the first round of the Open by virtual unknown Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, there were several days of wisecracking answers to questions about the whereabouts of Roddick's mojo. Now it was [Belgian Davis Cup captain] Martens' turn to take a shot. "I guess you've been hearing about your mojo about 25,000 times," Martens was quoted by a member of the USTA staff as commenting at the podium during the dinner. "Yeah," Roddick replied icily from his table. "But not at this forum." Then, after a big point in the second set of the Rochus match Friday, Roddick turned toward Martens and screamed, "Keep talking." He was so upset by Martens' comments at the dinner, said a Davis Cup team spokesman, that when the team got back to the hotel in Brussels, Roddick went for a 20-minute cooling-down walk before going up to bed."...The pair of earrings worn by Serena Williams during her US Open matches raised $21,100 for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Glaken · Sep 27, 2005

Tuesday 9-27-05

Tuesday 9-27-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
So Czech stalwart Jiri Novak wasn't fit enough to post for the Czech Republic's Davis Cup qualifier against Germany (which they lost 3-2), but he posts for the Vietnam Open this week? Ouch...Sweden is back in the Davis Cup World Group after winning the rain-delayed tie over India, with doubles legends Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes defeating Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman to put India on the board at 1-2, but then Thomas Johansson ended the affair with a straight-set win over Prakash Amritraj. Swedish captain Mats Wilander was not amused by the poor-quality grasscourt laid by the Indians, nor the intense heat: "In terms of propaganda for tennis, this tie was a bad one. Back home (in Sweden) people would perhaps be wondering why are they playing on such bad courts...[Rohan] Bopanna didn't even run, just took one step [and twisted his ankle]. It could happen to two people and their career could be affected. The ITF has to look into it. We probably need to have the heat rule as well. We have it in the Australian Open, why not in the Davis Cup? Prakash (Amritraj) could not cope (in the reverse singles) and would have been hospitalised," said Wilander referring to the medical time-out Amritraj needed during the second set. "There needs to be guidelines for the safety of the players. Just can't risk somebody's health like that. To me it was not sport."...Canada's Globe and Mail on Canada's young Davis Cup studs failing against Belarus: "Belarus's No. 2 player, Vladimir Voltchkov, defeated the Canadian No. 2, Frederic Niemeyer of Deauville, Que., 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive fifth match after Max Mirnyi, the Belarussian No. 1, had evened the best-of-five match tie at 2-2 by beating a gimpy Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Dancevic hurt his left hip during the third set of the fourth match and played on gamely, surprising Mirnyi with a service break early in the fourth set to extend the match. "I dove for one of his volleys late in the third set and felt something pop in my hip," Dancevic said. "It started getting pretty painful toward the middle of the fourth set but I just pushed through. There's no way you can stop playing in a Davis Cup match like this." Mirnyi was aware of Dancevic's laboured movement, but also leery. "He was limping but at the same time he hit an incredible winner to break my serve in the fourth set," Mirnyi said. "The minute he did that, I just said, 'let's just take it from here.'" The outcome of the match came down to the fifth set with both players serving well -- Dancevic finished with 21 aces to 19 for his opponent -- and Mirnyi was able to break Dancevic's serve in the final game."...India's Sania Mirza is now fronting for Hyundai...Serena Williams, who will likely not qualify for the WTA year-end championships, has again dropped out of the Top 10.

Glaken · Sep 28, 2005

Wednesday 09-28-05

Wednesday 09-28-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Goran Ivanisevic on fellow Croatian Ivan Ljubicic's Davis Cup heroics this year: "This should be called the Ljubicic Cup not the Davis Cup. It's unbelievable to win nine matches in a row, not easy matches either. He's a real hero. For us to be in the final is great for the sport, the country, it's unbelievable."...Britain will get a first-round bye in 2006 in the lowly Davis Cup Euro/Africa Zone, and will then take on either Morocco, Israel, Luxembourg, Serbia and Montenegro, Portugal or Ukraine in the next round of matches in April, with a win then giving them a shot at the September 2006 World Group Playoffs...Kim Clijsters on currently being without a coach: "I don't have a coach but I have a sparring partner here from Germany. For me it is very important to find guys that hit the ball very well and serve hard. On the court you have to do it by yourself anyway. There are a lot of girls on tour that travel with their families or with their parents and not with a coach. You need to have people around you that you feel comfortable with."...From the AP: "U.S. tennis player Alex Bogomolov Jr. was suspended Tuesday for 1-1/2 months after testing positive for an asthma drug at the Australian Open. Bogomolov, ranked 190th, said he took the substance to treat his respiratory condition but did not have permission to use it, the International Tennis Federation said. The ITF's independent tribunal ruled there was no intent to enhance performance and waived the usual two-year ban."...The Slovak Republic wants to host the Davis cup final at their National Tennis Centre, which only seats around 4,000, compared to 27,000 spectators for last year's final at Spain. "An International Tennis Federation team will come to assess the situation next week," said Zuzana Wisterova, a spokeswoman for the Slovak Tennis Federation, speaking with Reuters. "Nothing has been decided yet, but obviously, the team wants to stay in the National Tennis Centre."...Thailand has their own version of the American Bryan brothers on the rise, but Bangkok's The Nation reports that the ATP might cut short their careers before they begin: "As Thailand's Ratiwatana twins pursue their dream of breaking into the Top 100, dark clouds are hovering over their future as the ATP has applied new rules which may lead to a dark era of doubles tennis. The new rules applied on an experimental basis have changed the way doubles is played, shortening matches to enforce a tiebreak at 5-5, which is deemed as the revolutionary step by the ATP. In a further bid to speed things up, no advantage scoring will be implemented, which means the next point after a deuce wins...Despite the rules being set up on a goodwill basis, voices of dissatisfaction from disgruntled doubles players have been echoing from almost every corner, and Thai twins Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana are no exception. "Anyone who has played doubles would certainly oppose the new rules," said Sanchai, who has played alongside his twin brother since childhood. "The ATP have created these rules to favor the singles players. They think the new rules will speed up play, as well as luring those crowd favourites to take part in doubles matches in order to make it more popular. It is unfortunate that what they have done has affected and probably damaged doubles tennis. If these new rules are implemented in the future, doubles tennis will not have the same passion as it previously had and the play might be totally different from what we have been seeing."...From Bangkok's The Nation: "Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan will leave his sport cars parked at home and forget about going out on dates at the end of the year when he becomes a Buddhist monk, a local tradition of gratitude to his parents. A tight competition schedule has kept "Super Ball" away from the temple for several years, but in November his time will come. "It's been my intention to be ordained. My schedule is fine this year so I plan to do it for one week at the Thung Setthi Temple, which is near my place," Paradorn said. Most Thai men, before the age of 25, become monks for a brief period, which is seen as lucky for their families. But one big question remains -- during the traditional parade around the chapel, one of the ordination rituals, which lucky girl will be selected to carry a pillow for the tennis star? According to tradition, the woman given the duty is considered the future wife of the ordained man."...The Australian Open will get a $6 million face lift for 2006 -- new seats, new media room, champion's walk-up, etc...According to an Argentine newspaper, former No. 1 Marcelo Rios is training for a 2006 comeback with coach Horacio de la Pena...Reuters rumors out of Spain are that Davis Cup captains Jordi Arrese and Juan Avendano could be canned in favor of Emilio Sanchez.

Glaken · Oct 1, 2005

Saturday 10-1-05

Saturday 10-1-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
L'Equipe reports that a male player tested positive for doping during the French Open this year, with the ATP declined to name the player until he had been before a three-man panel...Andre Agassi's year may be over as the former No. 1 has pulled from Stockholm in October with his ongoing back issue...Which Argentine you reckon tested positive for doping at the French Open?...TennisWorld's Peter Bodo on the Kim Clijsters coach dumping: "Does anybody else share my feeling that here, as in most cases when people say, This isn't about the money, it's about...the money? One possibility here is that De Hous forced Kim's hand, and she wasn't about to roll over for him, bad press or not. I'm not sure how much De Hous has done for Clijsters, but I do know that there are a lot of coaches out there -- and note, they're all men -- who seem to have found work that involves a lot more coasting than counseling and strategizing."...Roscoe Tanner has come out with an autobiography, Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back: "I felt it was important to write, so that perhaps other people may not make the same mistakes I made," Tanner said in a recent interview. "I also wanted to tell people that when you back up, take the time and put your trust in Jesus, things can be great...I had either spent, lost or signed over all my money. I had ripped off friends, innocent acquaintances and creditors on two continents. I had cheated on two wives and failed miserably as a father to six daughters. When I looked at the sum of my life, it added up to a big, fat zero. I was swimming through life at rock bottom."...Delray Beach wants to host the 2006 Davis Cup U.S. tie versus Romania: "Our goal is to be kind of a home stadium for either Davis Cup or Fed Cup every year," Delray Beach mayor Jeff Perlman told the Palm Beach Post. "April is what works best for us. ...It's great for the city. There are a lot of tennis fans in South Florida. The players can stay in a hotel on the beach and walk downtown without ever having to get in a car, so they like that."

Glaken · Oct 5, 2005

Wednesday 10-5-05

Wednesday 10-5-05

In a shocker, the mystery player who tested positive for doping at this year's French Open was -- hold your breath --an Argentine! The French sports daily l'Equipe reported today that Mariano Puerta, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final, tested positive for the stimulant Etilefrine and could now face a lifetime ban since he was previously banned in 2003 for anabolic steroid use. The paper says Puerta will not be identified by the ATP until he appears before a doping panel. Puerta says l'Equipe is wrong: "I'm really angry, I've started investigations with my lawyers. This is a very delicate subject, there's no truth in it," Puerta told Reuters. "It's news to me. In my opinion, it's strange because nobody from the ATP or ITF has called me. It's crazy. The newspapers can say anything without proof. I haven't taken anything I shouldn't. When I tested positive two years ago, they called me and told me. Nobody has called me, so I don't know anything and I can't say anything. I'm just in Tokyo playing and trying to do my best. I have no idea where this comes from. There was a rumor going round that it was one of the 14 Argentines at the French Open. If there's an Argentine who was positive let them find him."...In another shocker, the promoters of the Masters Series-Madrid have announced they will use the doubles players suing the ATP as an excuse to cancel the doubles at their event later this month. Tournament organizers said Wednesday that if the player lawsuit is not resolved by the Oct. 17 start of the event, "the organization of the Masters Series Madrid will cancel the doubles competition and will donate 50 percent of the doubles prize money (about $202,726) to the ATP Player's Retirement Plan." Unfortunately their good-guy donation tactic comes up short, with estimates that putting on doubles in Madrid costs roughly $750K, which means a clean $550K in their pockets (after the "donation") from the cancellation. "We believe that the ATP new rules will help the doubles grow and take this great competition out of the dark hole is in at the moment," Gerard Tsobanian, General Manager at the Masters Series Madrid said in a statement. "We consider that the lawsuit filed by these 45 doubles players makes no sense and therefore it is not coherent for us to organize the doubles draw this year in Madrid with these same players while they are in the middle of a lawsuit against the ATP, of which we are members." ATP officials, perhaps again the last to know, and who would be brutalized by players and media alike were it known they OKed the move after all their talk of "enhancing doubles," have yet to comment on the action by the Madrid event which seems to go contrary to the ATP rulebook that says a tournament has to put on a double event. "This has reached a level of preposterous that I have never seen," said the ATP's Tennis Channel Open Tournament Director and doubles supporter Steve Bellamy. "There couldn't be anything more mutually exclusive than the doubles players suing at large, and this one tournament killing the doubles competition," Bellamy said. "This coming from a Masters Series Event? They must really want tennis to be something special."...Kim Clijsters can re-take the No. 1 ranking this week at Filderstadt by reaching the final if the right combination of bonus-point opponents fall in place...While Kim Clijsters' participation in Fed Cup is up in the air for next year, Justine Henin-Hardenne says her priority for 2006 will be re-taking the No. 1 ranking, not representing Belgium in the maligned international competition: "Whether Kim plays or not is irrelevant. People don't always understand the life that we lead. You have to be very strong mentally and physically. Our careers are becoming shorter and shorter. I can understand why Kim has chosen to only play for two more years, but that is not in my character. I will try to carry on for as long as possible."...From the Sydney Morning Herald: "It can also be stated categorically that (Australia's) favorite sport is tennis. Back in January, 4 million people in the mainland capitals watched Lleyton Hewitt lose to Marat Safin in the men's final of the Australian Open. And that ratings figure was no freak occurrence. 2.5 million watched the Australian Open on day 12, 2.3 million watched on day eight and 2 million watched on day 10. By comparison, the most watched cricket moments this year have been the final 10 minutes of the first Ashes test, which brought 2 million viewers to SBS (the network's biggest audience ever) and the Asia v Rest of the World tsunami fund-raiser, which brought 2 million viewers to Channel Nine in January."...From Wilson: "Wilson's new line of women's tennis racquets serve up a high-tech mix of form and function to give Canadian women a serious advantage on the courts. This is the first time a line of tennis racquets has been designed specifically for female tennis players. The W line combines Wilson Racquet Sports' industry-leading nCode technology with a new female-specific racquet construction and distinct cosmetics in a series of nine racquets that will hit Canadian retailers in October 2005." So is the racquet pink or what?...Anastasia Myskina has made good on her promise to bail on Fed Cup for Russia if Maria Sharapova is let on the team, yesterday announcing she will no longer represent Russia in the international competition after team announcements that Sharapova would play in 2006. "If she (Sharapova) joins our team next season you won't see me there for sure," Myskina told Reuters in November 2004. "I don't want to be on the same team with people who don't show respect to me as a person. End of story." With the new spin Myskina says: "We have so many good girls who can play and who want to play so I just wish them good luck. I want to step aside now and let others have the chance."...From the ATP website: "Advanced Media Department -- Winter Internships (Unpaid), Location: ATP International Headquarters, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (USA). The ATP is seeking enthusiastic Web Editors, Graphic Designers to work with our Web and Communications staff from October through December/January 2005." You'd better be enthusiastic and enjoy it -- because you won't be getting paid! How weak is that, the old "Just count your lucky stars you're working for the ATP -- if you're super-lucky, after your internship we'll take you on at slave wages."...Andy Murray's mom Judy speaking to The Sun: "I am hoping Andy will invest some of the money he earned in Bangkok on a haircut and a sideburn shave...His coach Mark Petchey and I will try to persuade Andy to take a holiday. I know that will be difficult to do as he will be reluctant to lose all the momentum he has built up. But I think he needs time to relax with his friends and chill out away from tennis."...Elena Dementieva says don't count on Maria Sharapova to post for Russia in Fed Cup play in 2006: "I think if she is going to play it will make our team even stronger. But I don't think she has such a desire because she didn't participate for two years. She has been telling the captain that she's going to play but she (hasn't), so I don't think she wants to play."

Glaken · Oct 6, 2005

Thursday 10-6-05

Thursday 10-6-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
In an example of a spoiled child behaving badly (and a PR disaster), Masters Series-Madrid officials are saying the ATP can't tell them what to do -- they're not going to hold a doubles event: "We received the communication (from the ATP) and we still maintain our position of not having it (doubles)," Madrid Director of Communications Cecilia Casla told Tennis Week Wednesday afternoon. "We hope there is maybe some reaction or response from the players (to settle the suit). As I said: we are still in the same position as we were yesterday (when the tournament announced it was suspending doubles). Nothing has changed...It has nothing to do with money. It is not a money issue at all. We are taking the position we have to take in support of the sport."...With the Masters Series-Madrid playing by its own rules in trying to kill its doubles event without the ATP's permission, looks like an opening for an Asian Masters Series event in 2006 might appear sooner than thought...The ATP release from earlier on Wednesday rebuking the Masters Series-Madrid for announcing they weren't going to hold a doubles draw at their event later this month: "The ATP was unaware of the Masters Series Madrid's decision to announce that they planned to suspend their doubles competition in support of the ATP, which has been sued by a number of doubles players. Irrespective of the tournament's motivation, they have been advised that they are not in a position to unilaterally make such changes. Therefore, we have informed Madrid tournament management that they must hold a doubles event."...Ignoring the fact that Elena Dementieva hates Svetlana Kuznetsova and everyone hates Maria Sharapova, Russia's tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev says everything is dandy with the Russian Fed Cup team: "I don't think there is a problem between any of our players," Tarpishchev told Reuters. "Anything that was said about it, has been greatly exaggerated by the press."...Russia's tennis chief/godhead Shamil Tarpishchev has declared that former No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov is too fat to get a proper retirement send-off: "He must lose weight first. He must get on the court and play to have a proper farewell and to do that he needs to trim down."...Andy Murray has been passed over for a Masters Series-Madrid wildcard, with spots going to Al Costa and Fernando Verdasco, while the third will be selected by the readers of the sports daily Marca, who must decide between Al Martin, Nicolas Massu and James Blake...Likely after a talking-to from Russian Fed Cup godhead Shamil Tarpishchev, Anastasia Myskina has restated her stance on bailing on Fed Cup: "There was a misunderstanding with the translation because I didn't say that I'm not going to play at all. I won twice and I think the young players are playing pretty good right now, like Dinara [Safina], she's ready to play singles. I just want to take a step back a little bit and give a place, but if I'm going to be invited that would be great." Translation: 'I don't want to play unless you force me Shamil, and I sure as hell don't want to play on the same team as Maria.'...Ivan Ljubicic, who lost to Mariano Puerta in the first round this year at the French Open, says he feels cheated and may sue the ITF for lost prize money if Puerta is found guilty of doping...Lindsay Davenport, who earlier this year said drug testing in women's tennis was lacking, says there is no drug problem in tennis (for the women): "I don't recall anyone right now who has tested positive on the women's tour. I can name probably five or six men that have recently, so I'd have to say from those stats that I don't think it's a problem in the women's game. It's unbelievable. It seems that a lot of the players from Argentina are testing positive. I don't know exactly what that means, but I think it's terrible."

Glaken · Oct 7, 2005

Friday 10-7-05

Friday 10-7-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From Wired News on pro golf addressing technology issues: "The situation has reached the point that the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which preside over the game's rules, sent a letter to ball manufacturers earlier this year, asking them to produce prototype balls that fly 15 and 25 yards shorter than the balls on the market today. The request is widely seen as a first step at creating a "competition ball" for the world's top players, while leaving equipment for weekend duffers unchanged. Golfers including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have spoken in favor of a ball rollback, but manufacturers are fighting the idea, perhaps envisioning a situation where they can no longer market their product to amateurs as the same ball the pros play." That's the difference with golf, where PGA officials still dictate how the game will be played, and tennis where officials are lucky to find their ass with both hands, much less wrestle control away from racquet manufacturers...American Taylor Dent says Mariano Puerta hasn't gotten a fair shake since being accused of doping by a French newspaper and that the ATP is hanging him out to dry: "I'm a little disappointed with the system. The agency doing these tests is leaking the results. Mariano Puerta deserves a fair trial...Lance Armstrong was wrongly accused and maybe it's the same for Mariano Puerta. It's unfair it came out in a newspaper. The ATP should take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."...From the Times Online, framing the ATP as the underdog in its battle to force Madrid to hold a doubles event: "Quite what sanction the ATP can bring against a tournament of Madrid?s influence -- Ion Tiriac is the tournament chairman and Manuel Santana, the 1966 Wimbledon champion, its director -- remains to be seen. Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, one of the present doubles champions in Madrid and a leading campaigner to save its place in the sport, said: "Even if they decide to play the event, we are hardly going to go there thinking we are wanted. It is such a shame."...TennisWorld's Peter Bodo on the Madrid doubles controversy: "But that's just what Madrid did the other day, unilaterally declaring that it will not host a doubles event this year (excellent analysis here (link); this story is Tennis Geek's -- oops, Tennis Week's -- all the way) if the current lawsuit brought by disgruntled doubles players against the ATP isn't settled within the next week or so (rest assured, that isn't about to happen). Gut reaction: I just hope someone has already found a bullhorn and convinced doubles tennis dad Wayne Bryan to lay down the AK-47 and climb down from the bell tower."...From Reuters: "Argentina's Mariano Puerta, the subject of doping allegations, said on Thursday he took anti-inflammatory tablets for a sore leg after his French Open semifinal win over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko."...Where is the ATP statement as one of its players gets raked over the coals?...And from The Australian: "Argentine tennis has been rocked by another doping scandal, with doubles specialist Mariano Hood accused of failing a French Open drugs test. The revelation, made on the website of the La Nacion newspaper, comes just a day after Roland Garros singles runner-up Mariano Puerta, the world No. 10, was said to have also tested positive after the June 5 final. La Nacion said that Hood's test revealed the presence of finasteride, a substance used in treatment for baldness. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has informed Hood of his failed test. Hood, 32, ranked at 26 in the world for doubles, becomes the sixth Argentine player to be embroiled in a doping scandal in the last five years." Dammit Argentina, just say no to the baldness dope!

Glaken · Oct 8, 2005

Saturday 10-8-05

Saturday 10-8-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Not surprisingly, the Madrid Tennis Masters tournament has agreed to hold a doubles event after all. Madrid organizers backed down from the stance of ?No Doubles? after the ATP threatened the tournament with the dreaded Rule Book. Madrid?s cave means tournament directors around the world will now need to think up a real way of bagging doubles. The tourney said in a statement: ?We fully support the ATP on the reforms that have been approved to better showcase the doubles game. We have received confirmation from the ATP that discussions to solve the conflict away from the tribunals will take place shortly. In view of this information we have decided to restore the doubles competition this year in Madrid.? What will be real interesting is seeing just how many doubles guys that do show go the extra mile when the tournament asks them to go to the cocktail parties and sponsor functions, etc?Rafael Nadal?s suspect withdrawal from Vienna next week has irked TD Peter Feigl. "This is the biggest affront in the history of this tournament," Feigl told Reuters. Apparently, the only bigger ?affront? is Feigl being a tournament director, period. Get with it Feigl, be happy you have an event and Radek Stepanek intends to post. Next time, sign up Tommy Muster. Guillermo Coria also pulled?With a photogenic foursome of Sania Mirza, Maria Kirilenko, Tatiana Golovin and Nicole Vaidisova, Tokyo marks the first event on the WTA since the 2001 's-Hertogenbosch that features four teenagers in the semifinals. Can you name those four from ?s-Hertogenbosch? Didn?t think so, here they are: Kim Clijsters, Iroda Tulyaganova, Jelena Dokic and Justine Henin?.In Metz, Nikolay Davydenko will appear in his seventh ATP semifinal of the year. That?s scary?Speaking of scary, the next time we think that an ATP event will be televised in the U.S. (apart from the Tennis Channel which no one gets) is likely the Tennis Masters Cup in November. That?s nearly two months in the U.S. with no men?s tennis coverage (from Sept D Cup to TMC). Yay tennis. Yay U.S. By the way, ESPN likely will not be going to Shanghai, instead opting to ?call? the matches from their comfy couches in Bristol, Connecticut much like the recent D-Cup tie. It?s only tennis, right?...Roger Federer and Andre Agassi have already confirmed their intentions in playing the Kooyang exo in January just prior to Aussie Open. Agassi fans will take note as it sounds like the 35-year-old does plan on playing next year. Federer fans should be delighted as well as their Swiss star will not be retiring at year end, much to the dismay ofAndy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. Also scheduled at the event are Roddick, David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria and Tommy Haas. Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet and Taylor Dent are on the bubble?Serena Williams has withdrawn from the rest of the 2005 season. Due to a continued bad left ankle/knee, Serena will forego all remaining events and go right to Thanksgiving dinner. ?My doctors and trainers have advised me that my leg needs to fully recover in order for me to play at the level that I'm accustomed to playing,'' Williams said in a statement. ?This has been such a disappointing year for me because I'm such a competitive person and I like to win for myself and for my fans. I tried my best to fight through my injuries during the season, but I now realize that I need to take some time off to rest my body and get back to being 100 percent healthy. I'm going to be busy these next several weeks rehabbing, training and getting healthy so that I can play my very best for myself, the fans, tournaments and sponsors in 2006.??Venus Williams isn?t faring much better. The Wimbledon champ pulled from Moscow with a bad knee. Mary Pierce will take her spot in the big money field?Don?t look now, but the ATP?s new scoring system is gaining momentum. Just listen to what Paul-Henri Mathieu had to say in Metz this week: "I tried it in Bucharest two weeks ago. It's a little weird because it is new but I like it and I think it's more fun and attractive to the public. I definitely think more singles players will be willing to play more doubles."? ?Nuff said. We are sold! Mathieu for his part hasn?t won a pro doubles match since the 2002 French Open (no wonder why it?s ?weird?). We kid you not? Suffering from a bad wrist, Richard Gasquet says, "The pain hasn't disappeared. I will try and not play too much in the weeks to come.??Bangkok finalist Andy Murray withdrew with a left hamstring injury after dropping the first set to Xavier Malisse in the quarterfinals at the Mons Challenger in Belgium.

Glaken · Oct 10, 2005

Monday 10-10-05

Monday 10-10-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Serena Williams has pulled from the remainder of her tournaments in 2005 citing ankle and knee injuries and will not qualify for the year-ending WTA Championships...The WTA Tokyo semifinals featuring Tatiana Golovin, Sania Mirza, Nicole Vaidisova and Maria Kirilenko was the first time four teenagers had reached the semifinals of the same tour event since 2001 's-Hertogenbosch when Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, Jelena Dokic and Iroda Tulyaganova reached the final four...Richard Gasquet says he is worried about his injured wrist which is not healing properly...Vienna tournament officials are not happy with Rafael Nadal pulling from the event, with the Spaniard announcing he injured his knee practicing: "This is the biggest affront in the history of this tournament," said angry tournament director Peter Feigl...American Graydon Oliver on the doubles scoring experiment the ATP is conducting, via Wayne Bryan, father of American doubles combo Bob and Mike: "I spoke with fans, ATP officials and tournament officials and directors in both Bangkok and Tokyo. The general opinion of all these parties was that these new scorings systems are a joke! They expressed their opinions: The matches are too short. The fans feel cheated. The fans do not understand the scoring system. Strange scores!"...The Masters Series-Madrid has ended their proposed lockout of ATP doubles players, bowing to the ATP after previously announcing they would not hold a doubles event...Brit-Scot Andy Murray looks to be out less than two weeks with a hamstring injury...Former Aussie player Scott Draper about making it on the pro golf tour, speaking with the Courier-Mail: "Sure, some people are going to see me as a novelty but I actually don't care about that stuff. That's the mediocrity of society. We judge and label 'not good enough' too quickly. Didn't the boss of the AFL label the Sydney Swans as not playing the type of footy that would win them a grand final? Well, look what happened. I'm the sort of person who thinks it's silly to put a limit on anything. You attack life and I'm passionate about golf."...From The Statesman: "A controversial new book, jointly written by former Swedish tennis star Magnus Norman and Swedish journalists Mr. Jonas Arnesen and Mr. Patrick Cederlund entitled Tennis off the Record claims that Andre Agassi could have perhaps figured among seven players, who tested positive in tests conducted between August 2002 and May 2003. However, the Association of Tennis Professionals pulled a curtain of silence over the tests in order to avoid a scandal of epic proportions and to protect a great tennis personage, the book claims...The authors will appear before an international sports conference in Copenhagen next month to put forth their controversial claims."...From the ATP: "The first week of a three-week trial at Challenger level begins this week in Barcelona and Quito. The format will be two sets to six games with a tiebreak at 6-6 and no-ad scoring. If required, a match tiebreak will be played in place of a third set. Testing will continue at the Kolding, Southampton and Seoul Challengers in the following two weeks."...The WTA Filderstadt tournament will move to Stuttgart for 2006.

Glaken · Oct 11, 2005

Tuesday 10-11-05

Tuesday 10-11-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Will Argentina's Mariano Hood be suspended for testing positive for the hair-loss substance he has been taking for the last nine years, and was only added last year to the banned substance list? What's next, a player being suspended for testing positive for a Starbucks Latte?...Canny Maria Sharapova says she wants to play Fed Cup for Russia but won't commit to 2006: "I refused to play this year because I was not in proper physical shape for that. I do not know about next year, but I want to and I will play in the future."...Guillermo Canas's physical trainer Fernando Cao was quoted by L'Equipe as saying: "We are Latins. So we have a different personality from Europeans or Americans. We tend to take rules lightly. So we take less care than others. But that's not an excuse, quite the contrary. We have to be more responsible and not leave things to chance. In Guillermo's case, we, his entourage, have clearly made a mistake." Time for a country-wide personality transplant. Argentine coach and former player Horacio de la Pena (who is apparently working with Marcelo Rios for a senior tour comeback) also calls for a new level of responsibility: "It's ridiculous to say that people are pointing their fingers at us; they're doing so because real things are happening and it's our fault."...Patty Schnyder in Moscow: "I am happy to win the opening match here. I came here to win one or two matches and get some points. But I just don't see the way I can win this event." It's good to have goals...Mats Wilander speaking to Tennis Week on Rafael Nadal challenging Roger Federer: "Nadal is a very talented player, but I am not sure I think Nadal will have a good chance (to challenge Federer for No. 1) because the more he plays Roger, the more Federer's gonna learn how to play him and I guess that is Federer's strength: he adjusts so well to opponents and figures out how he has to play each opponent. I think where Federer differs is he is so talented physically, he can always work on his game and always improve stuff within his game. Federer can definitely improve his volley and he can definitely improve his serve. When you watch him, his serve and backhand are not always on all the time and I personally think he can improve his serve and backhand. Imagine if he even starts hitting his serve 10 mph harder how he will be even tougher to break than he already is now. Federer is one of those phenomenons and the question is how long can keep his mind into it to continue at this level? Will he get distracted or bored? I do hope guys will focus on beating him because it will be good for him and good for tennis. I personally don't like that he plays these smaller tournaments. Yes, it's great for those smaller cities that the world No. 1 comes to play, but I hope he doesn't burn out playing these smaller places."...Serena Williams on calling it quits for 2005, hopefully preparing a leaner and meaner version for 2006: "I'm going to be busy these next several weeks rehabbing, training and getting healthy so that I can play my very best for myself, the fans, tournaments and sponsors in 2006. I tried my best to fight through my injuries during the season, but I now realize that I need to take some time off to rest my body and get back to being 100 percent healthy. I look forward to regaining my form and playing at the same highly competitive level that I have in the past. This has been such a disappointing year for me because I'm such a competitive person and I like to win for myself and for my fans."

Glaken · Oct 12, 2005

Wednesday 10-12-05

Wednesday 10-12-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
While she displays one of the worst serves in women's tennis, Russian Elena Dementieva says she will eventually rise to No. 1: "I believe nothing can stop me from becoming the world's No. 1 player. Certainly, I have to improve some elements of my game, but I gain confidence every year defeating great players."...From the ITF: "Following a successful site visit by the ITF Event Operations Department, the venue for the final of the 2005 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas between Slovak Republic and Croatia on 2-4 December has been approved as the Sibamac Arena National Tennis Centre in Bratislava. The Slovak Tennis Association has agreed to appropriate modifications of the Centre to accommodate the final. The final will be played on hardcourt (Premier) and Dunlop Fort Duck balls will be used."...From Reuters: "Marat Safin will launch the defence of his Australian Open title at the Hopman Cup [exhibition]. Safin will team up with former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in a Russian team seeded number one for the annual mixed team event. Argentina, represented by 2004 French Open winner Gaston Gaudio and Gisela Dulko, were seeded second ahead of the host-nation Australia (Wayne Arthurs and Alicia Molik) and the United States (Taylor Dent and Lisa Raymond). Germany, Belarus and Serbia and Montenegro were also guaranteed places in the eight-team draw while the Netherlands and China will playoff for the last spot. "It's a fascinating mix this year," tournament director Paul McNamee said in a statement."...The ATP stop in Madrid next week should be a hoot, with the tournament again featuring models-as-ball-girls, and a host of disgruntled doubles players.

Glaken · Oct 13, 2005

Thursday 10-13-05

Thursday 10-13-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the Moscow Times: "Maria Sharapova was the guest of honor Monday night at a reception hosted by some of her sponsors, where she danced to the music of Umaturman and took the microphone to join the pop group for its trademark song. Dressed in a white skirt, black-print top and black heels, Sharapova danced alone up near the band, with the assembled guests crowded in behind her. Her father, standing to her side, smiled and swayed to the music. When Vladimir Kristovsky, who sings lead vocals, told Sharapova that they had sung the five songs they had been hired to sing and asked what they should do next, she stepped forward and took a microphone. As the band played "Uma Thurman," she sang along and gamely belted out the refrain: "I have waited for you so long, Vova." The well-dressed guests held up cell phones and digital cameras to record the moment. Sharapova, perhaps the closest thing Russia has to a superstar, soon left the reception, escorted out by a phalanx of bodyguards. The guests were left to raise a glass of French champagne or French vodka while nibbling on raw oysters, blini with black caviar, sturgeon and a colorful assortment of desserts, which for some reason included lollipops." Because little girls like candy...Roger Federer injured a ligament in his ankle during practice this week and will likely miss the remaining events of the season, hoping to return in time for the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai: "After bad luck last year with my thigh and now this, I'm extremely disappointed, above all, that I can't play at home for the second straight year in Basel," Federer said on his website. "I'm hoping to go to Shanghai again perfectly fit."...Gaston Gaudio on his Argentine countrymen's doping problems: "I can't say too much. It's pretty weird and I feel like it surprises me every time it happens like this to someone from Argentina. The only one I can talk about is [Guillermo] Canas because it was confirmed by the ATP. But I can't say about [Mariano] Puerta because no one knows. I feel sad about it because they are my friends and I trust them and I don't think they want to take advantage of something like that. I never take anything, not even if I have a headache. I had nothing for the last five years, and I drink nothing either. I sometimes feel scared about it, but that's the only way to do it."...Mario Ancic on working with new coach Frederik Rosengren: "We started in the U.S. this summer and the first stage was of course very tough because we didn't have much time. And then we had a good 10 days after the US Open where we practiced really hard. I now know more what he wants from me and what I want from him. We talk a lot and we have the same idea of where I should play and what direction I want to go in. We're working hard and there are a couple of things we really believe in."...TennisWorld's Pete Bodo on the WTA press release announcing Serena Williams is done for the year: "...the WTA sent a press release about Serena, the first paragraph of which provided a hilarious example of turning a sow's ear into a silk purse (a trick better known today as "spinning"). Proclaimed the WTA: 'ST. PETERSBURG, FL USA -- Eager to return to the top of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in 2006, tennis star Serena Williams has withdrawn from her remaining two tournaments in 2005 in an effort to get healthy and return to her optimal performance level starting next season, the Tour announced today.' We take it from this effusive start, that we all -- including Williams' hungry fans in Zurich, Switzerland and Philadelphia -- are meant to leap up now and cry, 'Great! You go, girlfriend!' Now get a load of this, well, garbage: 'Williams, whose last Tour event was the China Open in mid-September, has been bothered by left ankle and knee problems the past several months, which have affected her ability to perform at the level that has made her one of the most internationally-recognized sports stars in the world. Given the extraordinary competitiveness of women's professional tennis, medical experts have advised her to take four to five weeks off since her last tournament to strengthen her left leg and then resume her training routine in preparation for the start of the 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season. Her final two tournaments were the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich on Oct. 17 and the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia on Oct. 31.' OK, I breathed a great sigh of relief when I saw the word "bothered" (by injury), happy that Serena was not on her deathbed. I scratched my head in puzzlement at the bit about how Serena was one of the most "internationally-recognized" of sports stars, wondering what that had to do with anything. Then, when I read about the "extraordinary competitiveness" of women's tennis, I smacked my forehead with my palm and cried out, "Of course! How could I have been so insensitive as to think she just threw her career down the toilet because she was undisciplined, arrogant, and out-of-shape. It's the competitiveness, stupid!""...Ivan Ljubicic on Goran Ivanisevic possibly playing in the upcoming Croatia vs. Slovak Republic Davis Cup final: "I don't think he is going to play a live rubber, but maybe in a dead rubber there's a chance," Ljubicic told Reuters. "My feeling is if he wants to be there he should be rewarded for everything he did for Croatian tennis and we should award him with a place there. I hope we're going to win it and give him the chance to become Davis Cup champion because that's what he's been dreaming about after winning the Wimbledon title. Because he gave us so much I think we should give him back something, and if this is what he wants I think we should give him a chance." And on the Slovaks setting their tiny D-Cup (no pun intended) final stage: "Unfortunately it looks like we're going to play in a very small hall in Bratislava so the Croatians are not going to have the chance to go there and watch," Ljubicic told Reuters. "The Croatian Tennis Federation got 2,000 requests for tickets and I think we're going to get only 300. Unfortunately that's not going to help us. I definitely think it's a shame. Obviously you cannot give the chance to everyone who wants to watch, but at least if it is a little bit bigger it would be much better."...Greg Rusedski is poised to take over the No. 1 British ranking from Tim Henman either this week or next: "I've been working really hard this last month. I worked hard the week of the Davis Cup, even though I played doubles, and last week in London I worked pretty hard again. So I think the hard work I'm putting in is just paying off. And also it's the indoor season, which is the time of year when I usually play my best tennis."

Glaken · Oct 14, 2005

Friday 10-14-05

Friday 10-14-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the Malayala Manorama: "Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza's glorious run was on Thursday cut short when she retired hurt in the second round of $200,000 WTA Thailand Open tennis tournament here." -- Her "glorious" one-win run, sweet reporting. Mirza says she is done for the year after injuring her back: "It's not the way I wanted to end my year, but I can't control that. I've never retired from a match in my life. It was hard. I'm going to take a break from tennis now. It has been a long year and a very eventful one. I'm going to take some time to relax and then start preparing for next year."...World No. 1 Roger Federer is raising money for his Roger Federer Foundation with sales of his 2006 calendar. Profits from the sale of calendar will benefit Federer's foundation which supports disadvantaged children and promotes sports for youth. Ordering information can be found at www.rogerfederer.com. Also available through Federer's website is the DVD "Roger Federer -- Replay." A camera team followed Federer through his final two tournaments of 2004 at Basel and the Tennis Masters Cup-Houston and captured behind the scenes moments for the documentary. The film covers his career, from his days as a ballboy in Basel to his ascension to No. 1, and includes interviews with his family and friends as well as John McEnroe and Boris Becker. In addition to the documentary, the DVD also includes 30 minutes of bonus material...Winners at the Eindhoven ATP senior tour event Thursday were Richard Krajicek (d. Muster in three), Paul Haarhuis (d. Ivanisevic), Jim Courier (d. Forget), and John McEnroe (d. Siemerink)...Russian Nadia Petrova on playing in Bangkok this week instead of Moscow: "I have never have good results there. I left the country at 12 and when I go back many people want to see how well I play and that bothers me. I always leave the tournament with negative feelings, with people talking about the wrong and bad things, and that makes me uncomfortable about going to the next tournament."...Spain's Al Costa says he might hang it up after the Masters Series-Madrid next week: "It is getting harder and harder to travel all the time and I want to spend more time with my family. I don't have the same motivation as before and I haven't had much luck with injuries either. This could be my last tournament."...Former Aussie player and Lleyton Hewitt coach Jason Stoltenberg has been named as Tennis Australia's high performance academy head coach...Also coupling to the long, long injury train are Justine Henin-Hardenne, pulling out of Zurich next week with her ongoing hamstring injury, and France's Richard Gasquet out for the rest of the year with an arm injury.

Glaken · Oct 16, 2005

Sunday 10-16-05

Sunday 10-16-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Zina Garrison announced she is launching a Hurricane Katrina relief effort with Venus Williams, "Tie Together For Action" involving the sale of shoelaces to raise money...From the Herald Sun: "Lleyton Hewitt has taken aim at former best friend Andrew McLeod over the Adelaide football star's move to block the tennis ace releasing a DVD. Hewitt yesterday called the legal action "mystifying," saying McLeod had long known about the DVD and had not raised any concerns previously. But Hewitt added that he still considered the Crows midfielder a friend and hoped they could overcome the dispute. McLeod lodged a Federal Court injunction on Friday to stop Hewitt distributing the DVD Lleyton Hewitt: The Other Side and is seeking damages. The row centers on Hewitt using footage from the pair's tour of the Northern Territory in October 2004. In his claim, McLeod states he and Hewitt visited sacred sites, witnessed Aboriginal events including bushwalking in restricted areas, dancing and fishing. Hewitt did not ask for permission from traditional landowners or the land council to use restricted segments in filming, he alleges. But a spokesman for Hewitt hit back yesterday, saying the footage involving McLeod was just one part of the DVD."...Maria Sharapova, sitting out Zurich next week, will likely lose the No. 1 ranking to either Lindsay Davenport or Kim Clijsters...From The New Statesman: "At home, in India, [Sania] Mirza is a role model and an icon, her fame locating her somewhere between Bollywood and the mass adulation that surrounds the Indian cricket team. She is celebrated as much for her attitude and fashion sense (she wears a nose-ring and "librarian" glasses) as she is for her talent. She evidently enjoys the attention and delights in confounding expectations of exactly how a young Muslim woman from the subcontinent should behave. At Wimbledon, she wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan: "Well-behaved women rarely make history"; at the US Open in September, where she lost in the quarterfinal to the Russian sensation Maria Sharapova, her T-shirt read: "You can either agree with me, or be wrong.""...Rafael Nadal on entering the Masters Series-Madrid with a 1-2 record: "I want to cap the season with a good performance here in Madrid and improve on my results in previous years. I want to get even with this tournament. I've never found my form here and that's why I've prepared more carefully this time. I'd love to win the event. The center court is beautiful and the atmosphere is always great. Of the tournaments I've got left to play this year I think this is the one where I've got the best chance of winning. But I don't consider myself the favorite because of the missing players. There are still 40 of the best players on the circuit playing in the tournament."...Brit-Scot Andy Murray on Roger Federer, speaking to The Scottsman: "I don't know if it is just because Federer is so nice or because I played doubles against him before, but he wasn't intimidating. He sets such high standards, and he plays well when he needs to. People as good as him can do that. He's got the best forehand but he doesn't have a massive serve, although he places it well. He moves great, he can do everything -- he can serve and volley, he can play hard from the back, he can chip and charge. The hardest part was not knowing what he was going to do next. But there was nothing that I thought 'Jesus, I could never match that'."

Glaken · Oct 18, 2005

Tuesday 10-18-05

Tuesday 10-18-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Former French Open champ Al Costa after losing at the Masters Series-Madrid: ""It's possible that that was my last game, but I'm not completely sure. I'm going to leave the door open at the moment and will take a month off and then see if I recover the strength and motivation to carry on. If not it won't be worth it. It is very difficult to be playing at the top level for so long. I'm 30 and I've been a professional for 12 years."...Lleyton Hewitt will qualify for the year-end Masters Cup this week if both Gaston Gaudio and Mariano Puerta lose prior to the Madrid semifinals...The Tennis Channel Open is set to officially announce its move to Las Vegas for 2006 -- but can they wrestle Andre away from the Dubai event that same week? Magic 8-Ball says: no. Vegas has cash, but not Dubai-style cash...TennisWorld's Peter Bodo's ode to Lleyton Hewitt: "Hewitt is insensitive, clumsy, and unsophisticated; if he's got a saving grace, it's that he has no idea of what a jerk he is. The best you can say about him is that he's an innocent savage...The only thing worse than being an obnoxious boor is trying to convince the world that you're not that at all -- that underneath that deceptive exterior lurks what the Aussies call a SNAG -- a sensitive, New-Age guy." Ouch!...The ATP announced that the two-time year-end world No. 1 team of Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, and 2005 Wimbledon champions Stephen Huss and Wesley Moodie have clinched berths at the Masters Cup Doubles, joining Bob and Mike Bryan, Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, and Zimbabweans Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, with three spots remaining...Tennis Australia has announced it will not use the Hawk-Eye line-calling replay system at the 2006 Australian Open -- As US Open fans would say "Booo! You suck!"...Will Rafael Nadal pull from Madrid with a knee injury? Much like Maria Sharapova risking her pectoral injury last week at Moscow, from what Nadal has been saying it sounds like he will play out of homecountry pressure, even though he is feeling a lot of pain...Al Costa on getting dissed for the Spanish Davis Cup captaincy: "It was great that (the Spanish players) gave me their support. If I had been given the captaincy I would have given up as a professional straight away. It was just a shame that the president didn't take the players' advice. Still, I'd love to do the job at some time in the future."...Scoville Jenkins has been signed by Reebok...According to the AP, Roscoe Tanner was arrested Monday in Tennessee on a fugitive warrant out of Florida for failing to meet probation requirements, just a month after he began work as a professional at a local tennis school.

Glaken · Oct 19, 2005

Wednesday 10-19-05

Wednesday 10-19-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Justin Gimelstob blogging for SI.com on the latest doping controversy: "I had a good laugh when I read some of Guillermo Coria's quotes a couple weeks ago. Apparently, in addition to being the world's No. 6-ranked player, Coria is also Argentina's communications ambassador. He took offense to the assertion that Argentine tennis has a tainted image, even though four of his country's top players ([Mariano] Puerta, Juan Ignacio Chela, [Guillermo] Canas and Mr. Coria himself) have all tested positive for banned substances in the past four years. Coria was adamant that the stereotype was exaggerated and that they were being unduly criticized. It's pretty amusing that Coria somehow twisted it around to make it sound like he's the victim. The real victims in these situations are the fans, the sport and the players on tour. We already know Canas was only allowed to compete at the French Open while appealing his positive test a few months prior. And if Puerta did indeed test positive, who knows who rightly deserved to be competing against Rafael Nadal for the title last June?"...From the AP: "Former tennis star Roscoe Tanner was in jail Tuesday after his arrest for violating probation. Tanner, a Chattanooga native who won the 1977 Australian Open, was arrested Monday on a fugitive warrant from Florida and will remain in the Knox County jail without bail pending an extradition hearing Oct. 24, officials said. Florida authorities list Tanner as an absconder/fugitive. He was sentenced to 10 years' probation in November 2003 in Florida for bouncing a $35,595 check he used to buy a boat in 2000. The Pinellas County state attorney's office has accused Tanner of failing to make restitution payments."...Pat Cash tells the Herald Sun that the problem in Australian tennis is in the coaching: "I'm very keen on coach education. It is a very big issue. When I was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, I criticized the coaching standards here. I said the standards were terrible and the people there almost started booing and (master of ceremonies) Fred Stolle had to stop it. But what I said has rung completely true. I had letters of complaint written to me over my supposedly unfair comments. Sometimes you've got to hear the ugly truth and you can't candy-coat it. We've always had great talent coming through in tennis, but if you have bad coaches, you end up having players with bad habits. I would like to help with coach education because it is so important we get that right. If you don't get the basics right, you end up with nothing. We need to be more like what the French are doing. It would be good to work with a bunch of kids who are 14 or 15. I've had my hand up to help since I moved back to Australia four years ago and I've still got my hand up."...From the AP: "Maria Sharapova is heading out on a tennis and fashion tour of Japan. The 2004 Wimbledon champion will play exhibition matches against Japan's Ai Sugiyama in Osaka on Dec. 21, Nagoya on Dec. 22, and Tokyo on Dec. 23. The events will include fashion shows with jewelry and bags designed by Sharapova and available in Japan, her management company IMG announced Monday. The three days, being marketed as "Maria Sharapova Japan Tour 2005," is the start of what is planned as a series of international tours that could include future stops in Russia and India."...Part-time Roger Federer coach Tony Roche has confirmed he will also be working with India's Sania Mirza. Says Roach: "I think at this stage the people who are looking after her just felt that she needs a bit of work on a few areas of her game, so I'm just going to have a look at her and just see what she needs to do. She's had a pretty good year, made some big inroads, so it will be interesting to see. I'm not going to be travelling -- I'm just going to help her with a bit of what she needs to work on for a couple of weeks."...The WTA Tour has been nominated by the Horizon Awards for its Professional Organization of the Year Award for 2005, alongside the NFL, the Arena Football League and Professional Bass Fishing. The winners will be announced at an awards gala at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 2...From Tennis.com's Steve Tignor: "From the 70s-camp "Players" to the 80s-teenploitation "Spring Fever" to last year's Dunst-cap "Wimbledon," tennis and movies have never mixed. (Not that I've seen any of those flicks -- just taking an educated guess. Let me know if I'm wrong.)" -- Now that's good commentary...From the Times Online on the Top 10 Sporting Odd Couples: "2. Andre Agassi and Barbra Streisand -- Each to his own. Agassi saw Babs in the 1991 film The Prince of Tides, in which she starred as a frankly mumsy psychiatrist. He suggested bed-tennis (she said "we talked for hours") and by the time she paid a royal visit to the 1992 US Open, they were an item. "He plays like a Zen master out there," she purred, underlining her limited understanding of a) tennis, and b) Zen masters."...Check out a pic for the venue of The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas: http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/2005/lasvegas.asp...Mats Wilander has signed on for another two years as Swedish Davis Cup captain.

Glaken · Oct 20, 2005

Thursday 10-20-05

Thursday 10-20-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer has the top three longest win streaks on the year with 31, 26, and 25 -- Rafael Nadal is next with a 24...Mary Pierce pulled from Zurich Wednesday with a right quadriceps strain: "I had an MRI in Paris yesterday (Tuesday) and it revealed that I have a problem with my right quad, similar to the problem I had during the summer but in a different spot. I had a great tournament in Moscow last week but physically I was pushed to the limit, and now I am paying a price for that."...Former Top 5 player Maggie Maleeva on retiring this week in Zurich: "I am most proud of my win in Moscow in 2002 beating Venus [Williams], [Amelie] Mauresmo and [Lindsay] Davenport. And I'm very proud of making the decision to come back after my shoulder surgery. I could easily have called it quits, but I worked very hard, and winning that first tournament in Pattaya after coming back meant a lot to me too. The wins later in my career were much more satisfying than early on."...The Daily Telegraph on the Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andrew McLeod DVD row: "Hewitt's lawyer Ross Macaw, QC, told the court his client wanted the matter dealt with urgently as the distributors wanted the DVD released in time for Christmas sales." C'mon judge, we have to get this thing in stores! C'MON!...Former Wimbledon finalist Jim Courier likes seeing Rafael Nadal commit to playing on grass at Queen's in 2006, speaking with Reuters: "His game may not be obviously adaptable to grass, but his attitude is. He is firmly committed to it, and as the grasscourts have firmed up it has given the groundstrokers an ability to compete."...From the BBC on the Madrid ballgirls: "However, undeterred tournament organizers insist on their wesbite that the "leggy lovelies," or if you prefer "lithe Latins," will be better prepared than last year. And, after an apparently extensive training schedule, the models are ready to go. As the website states: "The teenaged-and-up talents grabbed and shunted balls as well as any young child had ever done, and all while wearing a sponsor's slit skirt and tight top.""...Wow, can Yevgeny Kafelnikov get fatter? http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b56/snlb/yevgeny1.jpg...Andy Roddick after losing to Ivo Karlovic in Madrid: "This is probably the best I have played against him. He definitely played much better particularly with his volleying. You can normally count on him missing a couple of volleys and making some silly errors. But he was really solid. That's probably the best I have hit my returns against him in the matches we have played. My strategy was to make him play a lot of volleys which he did very well. I think a lot of credit goes to him rather than to the altitude."

Glaken · Oct 21, 2005

Friday 10-21-05

Friday 10-21-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Lleyton Hewitt has joined world No. 1 Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick in qualifying for the Masters Cup, with three open spots remaining in the eight-man field...Luke Jensen on tournament directors leveraging the ATP to kill doubles so they can save money: "It makes me sick. If not for doubles opportunities, [me and Murphy] would not be the Jensen brothers. We beat players like Stefan Edberg and Petr Korda because we were the better doubles team. They want to take guys like Travis Parrott and the Bryan brothers and say, 'You don't play singles, so you don't play the game.' That doesn't make sense. It should be the best doubles players out there playing, period. Tournament directors want to squeeze the doubles specialists out so they don't have to pay for one more hotel room or meal or gallon of gas. It comes down to numbers, and it's sad. They're not going to quit until we're dead and gone."...James Blake is on Oprah today...From the ATP: "For the first time ever, the husband and wife team of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf will team up on court when they participate in Tamarack Resorts Rock-n-Racquets at Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University on Dec. 3. Rock-n-Racquets is an annual fundraising tennis exhibition to benefit The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. Joining Agassi and Graf for the event will be James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan...Blake and Agassi will take on the Bryans in a doubles match, while Agassi and Graf will team up to play in a mixed doubles match against an opponent to be named. Finally, Agassi and Blake will square off for the first time since their sensational five-set US Open quarterfinal match. For additional information and tickets, visit www.rocknracquets.com."...More from Tennis Channel CEO Steve Bellamy on landing his Tennis Channel Open ATP event in Las Vegas: "We did a large recon effort -- some 90 odd trips and investigations before we settled on the brand new Darling Memorial Tennis Center in Las Vegas. And we really appreciate all the time and effort that some of the other cities and sights put into this process. That being said, we are planning to build one of the greatest sport and entertainment events in the world and there is not a better place to do it than Las Vegas. The vision here is to build something more than a tennis tournament. We want to build a Woodstock, a Lollapalooza. Call it a Tennispalooza. An event where one infrastructure runs a myriad of extremely cool tennis events and social events and allows a consumer to do everything tennis and a few other things they might not get to do normally all on one ticket at one time. For this year's event, there will be an ATP men's event. There will be a women's event. There will be a spectacular junior event. Consumers will get to see their favorite stars playing table tennis for prize money, air hockey, fast serve contests. There will be some of the best speakers in the game talking about pertinent topics in tennis."...From Neil Harman in the Times Online: "The scratch pairing of Andy Roddick and James Blake played doubles yesterday in front of an almost full house, in stark contrast to the relative indifference that greeted the regular combinations. It was proof of the argument from tournament directors that until you get the superstars playing the event, it fails to have meaning. The Madrid Masters wanted to cancel its doubles championship in the wake of a lawsuit brought by 45 players against the ATP because of rule changes and what they perceive as attacks on future earnings and opportunities. Part of the reason for experimenting with shorter sets -- though that has been dropped here -- was to entice more of the leading singles players to try their hand...Could Roger Federer's ligament injury be worse than first feared? The Swiss world No. 1 would miss the rest of the year if an operation is required on the damage sustained in a routine practice session two weeks ago. Federer withdrew from the Masters in Madrid and he will not play his home-town tournament in Basle next week. But a whisper gathering strength yesterday is that he has damaged three ligaments, one significantly worse than the other two, and that an operation cannot be ruled out."...From The Age: "Pat Rafter is set to return to the game he departed four years ago, joining the growing list of contemporary players drafted by the architects of the coaching and administrative overhaul designed to rehabilitate Australian tennis. Although the specifics of Rafter's involvement are to be finalized, the dual US Open champion has met several times with new Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood and director of player development Craig Tiley since the pair took office in July."...If you're the Croat Davis Cup captain, suddenly you have to think hard about throwing the hot-handed "Dr." Ivo Karlovic in for the ice-cold, big-match-choking Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic against the Slovaks in the final. At this point the Croats could probably win by sitting Ivan Ljubicic and Baby Goran and fronting Dr. Evil and Goran Ivanisevic...Alicia Molik's manager says some of the damage from her long-term inner-ear infection may have caused permanent career-ending damage...Tennisreporters.net's Matt Cronin says Ivo Karlovic's serve is too big -- so make indoor courts slower: "That Ivo Karlovic can see off Greg Rusedski, Andy Roddick and Dominick Hrbaty at Masters Series Madrid says one very important thing about indoor tennis: The courts needs to be slowed down. The 6-foot-10 inch Croat has only one major weapon, his serve, which is why this year he has only had good results on grasscourts and reasonably fast surfaces. His groundstrokes are mediocre at his best, he doesn't volley very well and his returns in negligible. At his height, with his trajectory, he can bomb aces with the best of them, but how entertaining is that? Not at all for more than one set." Would the cry be the same if it was Roddick's serve in the quarterfinals?...Tommy Robredo speaking to Tennis Week on his most painful moment: "When I was 15-16 and I have my second consecutive back injury. And I have to stop for a half year again. Because I stopped when I was 14-15 half year with a plastic thing here (points to lower back), for the back, to protect. Half year. Then I start playing next year, at the same moment I had the same pain. I went to a doctor and he say to me I have to wear it again. Half year. And it was really hard for me."...The Telegraph on Andy Roddick and a "reality show" camera crew following him at the Masters Series-Madrid: "It was a little annoying, but the guy was looking for his shot. I mean, he was looking for me to get upset. He was looking to piss me off. There was no other reason than to try to antagonize me. I guess that is what makes for good television. Reality television is big these days, right? I guess that is what he was going for," said Roddick who had started the evening in good humor. Roddick said that it was obvious that he had not been in the mood for small talk. "I was curious as to why someone kept asking for an interview. I said, 'No, thank you' probably three or four times. They kept following and talking about this, that and the other. So I said calmly, 'Please stop'. It didn't happen. I thought that 'No' was a pretty universal word."...Mary Pierce has pulled from Linz (Austria) next week with a groin injury.

Glaken · Nov 3, 2005

Thursday 11-3-05

Thursday 11-3-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Adding themselves on the low end to the quality line of Australian doubles teams over the years, Aussies Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley clinched the final spot Wednesday in the eight-team field for the Masters Cup doubles, joining returning teams from last year the Bryan brothers Bob and Mike, Zimbabweans Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, former year-end No. 1s Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, and new teams Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjic, Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, and Wimbledon winners Stephen Huss and Wesley Moodie. The Bahamian/Canadian team of Knowles/Nestor finished the year No. 1 in 2004 and 2002, while Bryan brothers finished in the top spot in 2003. This year's No. 1 race will be strictly between the Bryans (1052 points entering the week) and Bjorkman/Beast (1044 points)...Maria Sharapova from her website: "I am extremely disappointed to have to withdraw from the Advanta championships because of a right thumb sprain. I was hoping that it would be better by now but unfortunately I am not yet able to play."...Guillermo Coria clinched a Masters Cup berth after Marat Safin officially announced he would not play in Shanghai due to his knee injury: "Marat has today officially withdrawn from playing at the Shanghai Masters Cup. But he will go there to do promotional work for the Masters Cup and Shanghai, so people in Shanghai will still see him," reported Safin's website...Andy Roddick reiterates that the tennis season needs to be cut: "We're in the 11th month of the season. This might be taken the wrong way, a lot of people saying we're spoiled, but it's too long. I know a lot of people work really hard all year round but we're in a business where we beat up our bodies on a daily basis. Everybody here is acting surprised that the guys who play the most amount of matches are injured. It's not rocket science to figure out why. It's an obvious problem. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution."...Justine Henin-Hardenne on bailing on Belgium to move to Monaco for the tax relief, from her website: "When people say I disavow my country, it's hurts me because this not at all what I feel! I will one day be happy to return, and live in Belgium. This is a country which has brought me so much, but at the present time, I need my serenity, I need to be somewhere else. I have this feeling that whenever I enter a tennis court, I represent my country. They don't announce Justine Henin of Monaco, but Justine Henin of Belgium. It's the Belgian Justine Henin that people never forget. It's the country deep in my heart. I'm attached to Belgium, and holding it with me!" Don't know what drama you're trying out for, but you get the part...Martina Hingis talking to ESPN: "I just watched [Michael] Jordan on '60 Minutes' and I think like him, I'm always going to need some kind of challenge in my life. For me, even having my own house, being self-sufficient, is a challenge because I never had to do that before." We don't see Jordan struggling to maintain a house...From Neil Harman of the Times Online: "Rafael Nadal had offered to make a day trip to the BNP Paribas Masters yesterday to apologize in person for not being fit enough to play. The tournament organizers declined the Spaniard's suggestion, believing that it would draw further attention to the fact that their event has been downgraded by a level of absenteeism they would prefer to overlook. Rather than a dismal attempt at damage limitation, the French could have used Nadal's upbeat personality to polish tennis' image -- turning him away exacerbates the fact that the last 16 of the final Masters Series event this year involves only three grand-slam champions and a supporting cast of extremely decent rather than exceptional players. Nadal meeting and greeting the public would, surely, have enhanced the day -- more important for the sport than rubbing against a few over-sensitive egos."

Glaken · Nov 4, 2005

Friday 11-4-05

Friday 11-4-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Guillermo Coria, who lost a pivotal match to Tomas Berdych this week at the MS-Paris, on qualifying through the back door for the Masters Cup after the withdrawal of Marat Safin due to an ongoing knee injury: "I am really happy to be playing in my third consecutive Tennis Masters Cup. I heard a lot of good things about Shanghai and the stadium which I have seen pictures of. It is really impressive. Although I will not be playing on my favorite surface, I expect to have a good tournament and share this great moment with the medical staff that supported me during my injury, my technical staff and especially my wife Carla." Coria went 0-3 last year at the Masters Cup. Two open spots remain in Shanghai among potentials Ivan Ljubicic, Gaston Gaudio, David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo...Emma venting on the X-Discussion board: "god i feel like shaking the ATP sometimes. how long are the lunch breaks at ATP headquarters? does anyone there actually watch the tennis? they winge about the problems of marketing and promotion -- then at this time of the year, when they should be providing up to the minute coverage of the race to Shanghai, really milking it for all its nail biting potential..once again they drop the ball. spot the difference....Eurosport website: 'Coria and Davydenko qualify for Masters Cup' ATP website: 'Davydenko Eyes Shanghai -- No. 3 seed Nikolay Davydenko moved one step closer to claiming one of the spots'......and on and on in its infinite blandness (no mention of Coria). Come on, its simple for christ's sake -- it pisses me off -- their coverage could be exciting, intriguing, enticing -- instead its just bollocks. a chimp with a calculator, sat in front of the Eurosport website, could really make some radical improvements to the ATP's race to Shanghai coverage -- maybe that's what they should be recruiting, instead of unpaid interns." Ouch...From Tennis Week's Scoop Malinowski: "...I spoke with tennis photographer Bev Schaefer, who was shooting the action courtside. She told me a humorous Marcelo Rios story. It was at Roland Garros in about 1994, when adidas was doing a publicity event on the grounds of the French Open. adidas had a stage set with three of the company's highest-ranked players -- Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Rios, who was about 19 at the time. The moderator asked each player in front of a crowd of fans and media this question: "Is there a shot from one of the other players here that you admire and wish you had yourself?" Both Graf and Edberg graciously praised a shot from each other. Then when it was Rios's turn, according to Schaefer, the churlish Chilean commented "No, there's nothing I would like from their game." "The moderator almost fell off his chair. Graf and Edberg were stunned. It sucked all the life out of the event," Schaefer recalled. "It was so rude. Rios was there representing adidas. He didn't play the game." I asked her if she ever saw Rios happy or smile on the court. She answered, "Yes, once. It was when he became No. 1 in Miami. Right after they announced he would be number one next week, and Rios got up to get the trophy, he smiled for about one second. Then it was gone," Schaefer said."...Injuries have also hit France hard this week in Paris with young guns Gael "Force" Monfils and Richard Gasquet sidelined with injuries, but still in attendance at the Masters Series stop...Check out some of the very un-sexy photos of Maria Sharapova from Italian Vogue on the WTA website -- did Maria surgically have her spine removed? What's with the posture problem, young lady? Sit up straight!...Nikolay Davydenko on qualifying for the Masters Cup: "I did not want to think too much about it because I was very close but still needed to win matches and points. Since the US Open, everybody around me was saying I had a big chance but I wasn't in yet. It feels great, it's such a big achievement as there are 1,000 players in the rankings and I will be among the Top 8. I know the Masters Cup is a very special tournament and now I will experience it."...Will the former ATP Milan event go to Minsk or Zagreb for 2006?...Lindsay Davenport speaking to Reuters on Monica Seles, who is still holding out hope for a return from foot problems: "I think she's done. I think she's loved her last year and won't go out there and play unless she's the good Monica that's everyone's used to. I'd put a comeback at five percent."...Venus Williams was given "The Comeback" award at the 16th Annual Glamour [magazine] Women of the Year awards at Lincoln Center...From The Australian: "Former tennis player Scott Draper was forced to withdraw from the Queensland Open golf tournament yesterday with a rib injury but the pain was lessened somewhat after he received sponsors' invitations to play in the two biggest tournaments on the local calendar -- the Australian Open and Masters."...Serb Novak Djokovic is having nose surgery to clear up a breathing problem...ESPN2 will be showing the semifinals and final of the Masters Cup on tape in the U.S.

Glaken · Nov 5, 2005

Saturday 11-5-05

Saturday 11-5-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
First-round losers this week at the Challenger in Boston were Jan-Mike Gambill, Scoville Jenkins and Amer Delic...Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis pulled from the Aachen Challenger this week with a leg injury...From the ever-stoic Justine Henin-Hardenne website: "Justine announced on Monday that she qualified to the WTA Championships, but due to injury had to forfeit her berth. She will nonetheless be visiting Los Angeles to do goodwill, and promotional duties for the event next weekend. Justine won't be on court playing tennis, unfortunately for fans, but will be in Los Angeles next Friday November 11 till Sunday November 13 for the WTA. She was quoted earlier on Monday in her press conference that there was a likely chance that she would travel to Los Angeles, if the WTA required her presence."...From The Daily Telegraph on Australian fun couple Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright: "Bec Cartwright struck a deal worth a reported $1 million with Woman's Day for exclusive rights to all things Lleyton Hewitt and herself but so far she hasn't given them much for their money. The former Home and Away star -- due to give birth in less than five weeks -- has written her first of a series of columns for the ACP publication. But don't hold your breath for anything juicy about her marriage to tennis superstar Hewitt -- Cartwright's tales of her morning sickness are about as good as it gets. "My pregnancy's been mostly smooth sailing -- after a bit of an uneasy start," she writes. "In the beginning so many things would make me sick, especially coffee. But I'm lucky I haven't had to make too many lifestyle changes -- I hardly ever drink and I don't smoke, so I haven't had to give anything up." Riveting, mate...From Tennis Week: "Cliff Drysdale will be logging frequent flier miles next week. The voice of ESPN's tennis telecasts will cover both the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles and the ATP's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. When the WTA Tour Championships conclude on November 14th, Drysdale will hop on a plane and head to Shanghai to join analysts Patrick McEnroe and Brad Gilbert for ESPN2's coverage of the Tennis Masters Cup." That's contrary to word on the street that Cliffy, Patrick and Brad will actually be holed up in a trailer in Bristol covering the event via the video feed -- and showing the semifinals and final of the Masters Cup on tape -- boo!...The Financial Times Simon Kuper trying to cover tennis: "Six years later [Lindsay] Davenport is back at number one. Next week she can seal the spot for 2005 at the season's finale, the Masters Cup for the world's best eight players, in Los Angeles." Doh! Either the Masters Cup has been moved, or Lindsay will truly compete with the big boys this year...Cara Black speaking with Daily Tennis on doubles on the WTA Tour: "We have meetings with the WTA where we ask them not to do what the men are doing. I think it's going to fall that way...Everybody plays doubles. Everybody relates to doubles. If it would just be promoted."

Glaken · Nov 7, 2005

Monday 11-7-05

Monday 11-7-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer arrived in Shanghai Sunday to test his injured ankle and prepared for his campaign in attempting to win a third consecutive Masters Cup title, a feat not accomplished since Ivan Lendl in 1985-87. Ilie Nastase also accomplished the feat from 1971-73. In doubles the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, will attempt to become the first team to win three year-end titles in a row since Peter Fleming and John McEnroe won it seven times in a row from 1978-84...Tomas Berdych coach Jaroslav Navratil on his pupil: "He's quiet. He's not a party animal. He's entirely focused on his tennis and Lucie [Safarova, who plays on the WTA Tour] helps him do that. He's never nervous at crucial moments and that's very important. I see him entering the Top 10 very soon."...USTA President Franklin Johnson on the world vs. the ATP's effort to change the doubles scoring and entry rankings into tournaments, via Wayne Bryan: "Good luck on your doubles fight. The Grand Slam Committee will be discussing doubles in Shanghai. Hope the ATP backs down. I will be surprised if they do not."...From the Roger Federer website: "The awards for the 'Men of the Year 2005' were given in several categories at a major gala in Munich yesterday evening. Roger was amongst the nominees as an athlete. It was another successful evening for Roger -- as he received the award in the category 'international,' even competing with Pope Benedikt XVI. "That is almost absurd," Roger said. "Roger Federer and the Pope -- I'd say you cannot quite compare the two, he's a lot more important than me," he straightened out. Receiving the award from the hands of Boris Becker who called him "the most congenial person I know" certainly was special for Roger. It had been the seventh time that the readers of 'GQ' magazine chose their 'Men of the Year' together with a prominent jury."...The Times Online on the proposed final doubles fix by the ATP: "Determined to "improve doubles, make it more attractive to our fans as well as a more successful product," [Etienne] De Villiers has offered a four-pronged plan to secure its place as a vibrant element of tennis, the most visible of which is the introduction of a "match tie-break" should a third set be required to complete a match -- the first to ten points with a difference of two. [Andy] Roddick, exactly the kind of star-quality player that tournament directors want to see play more doubles, was enthused when told of the plans in Paris last week. Hence overtime. Rather than short sets that had produced such ghastly scorelines as 5-3, 5-2, the ATP insists on a return to two tie-break sets with no advantage scoring, the match tie-break and a rigidly enforced 25-second break between points. "This gives tournaments a more predictable match length, which should allow more show-court scheduling," De Villiers said. "Also, singles players may be persuaded to play this format due to it being less demanding. We are also doing something more acceptable for traditionalists." Explicitly, the ATP will drop the "2008 singles only" entry condition -- calling it a "major concession." The reason? "We want more marquee singles players to play doubles and the player field to be more democratic and egalitarian," the chairman said. "We will not be bound by quotas, but we would like a 50-50 (singles and doubles players) field by the end of 2006 and the proportion of singles players (playing doubles) to continue to grow during 2007. We reserve the right to tinker or change at the end of '07, but this will be based on feedback from tournaments, players, fan reaction, media, research and statistics." De Villiers wants to see the appointment of a "doubles tsar" at the ATP and the creation of a doubles promotion fund financed by doubles players sacrificing 5 per cent of their prize-money over the next two years. The rationale is that the three parties (the ATP, tournaments and the players) "must be committed to promotion and marketing of doubles." As a final gesture, any player who has invested in the players' pension fund for four years by the end of 2007 and is prevented playing doubles as a result of the proposed changes will be eligible for full pension benefits." -- We like the money quote here: "We reserve the right to tinker or change at the end of '07, but this will be based on feedback from tournaments, players, fan reaction, media, research and statistics." Like the original ATP "feedback" that the ATP based the initial doubles changes on? The poll feedback they won't show anyone? Tour insiders may recall what a joke it turned into when the ATP previously appointed a "doubles tsar"...Mary Pierce on making a run for No. 1: "It is a legitimate goal," Pierce told Reuters. "Is it realistic that I'm ranked No. 5 now? I would love to get to No. 1 and win another grand slam title like Wimbledon or the US Open. But at least at I've been to the final of the US Open, which I haven't done at Wimbledon. On grass, I'm playing better and better. If I could win Wimbledon and get to No. 1, then I could retire and say I've achieved everything I wanted to."

Glaken · Nov 8, 2005

Tuesday 11-8-05

Tuesday 11-8-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Lleyton Hewitt has pulled from the Masters Cup and will be replaced in the field by Gaston Gaudio: "I am extremely disappointed as I have always enjoyed playing Tennis Masters Cup and had a great time in Shanghai in 2002, winning the event and maintaining my year-end World No. 1 status," Hewitt said in a statement. "With my baby due in the next two weeks, it is not possible for me to come. I wish the event well and am sure it will be a great success and I hope to qualify for next year's Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai."...Congrats to the crack WTA web staff who as of Monday morning still had a question mark on their website over the face of the eighth qualifier for the WTA Championships -- which was determined late last week. The WTA Champs website also failed to feature the grouping schedule, done the day before, and as of Monday evening still had no update. The Race to the Championships on the front of the WTA Championships page also shows Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Top 8 as if she was going to play. No wonder casual sports fans can't follow tennis. Better to maybe just take that website down?...Here's a fun quandary: the field for the 2006 ATP World Team Cup is now set for Dusseldorf, and per usual Germany is outside the Top 7 and will likely get the wildcard spot. Problem is, the No. 8 team that would get bumped is the Roger Federer-led Switzerland. WTC officials are not happy with the prospect of an event without the world No. 1. Unless Federer pulls, look for one of the other Top 7 teams to suddenly drop for the competition...Now that the ATP has handed its doping program over to the International Tennis Federation, the ITF has gone Big Brother, announcing a "whereabouts program" requiring high-ranked players to notify the organization as to their daily whereabouts during the off-season to ensure their availability for out-of-competition testing. Players must inform the ITF of their whereabouts for at least one hour each day, and failure to do so could result in a ban of 3-12 months. 'Hey ITF? Yeah, this is Roger, I'm going up to the corner store for a 6-pack, be back in...um, about seven minutes? Okay.' Check out the creepy player form here: http://www.itftennis.com/shared/medialibrary/pdf/original/IO_17327_original.PDF ...About the Super Hero Women thing -- don't ask -- or ask our publisher/CEO...Martina Navratilova is teaming up with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and offering a one-hour tennis lesson and a vegan lunch to the highest bidder on PETA's on-line auction, with proceeds to be earmarked for PETA's Investigations Rescue Fund (IRF). Bidding has started at $20,000, and the winner will be able schedule the lesson and lunch at a mutually agreed upon time and place within six months of the closing date of the auction. We're bidding to win the lunch -- to hold it at a steakhouse...Richmond, La Jolla, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, and the two courts outside Tennis-X headquarters are in the running to hold the Feb. 10-12th U.S. Davis Cup first-round tie against Romania...From the AP: "Generali Open organizers said Monday that the event's future was in doubt because the ATP tournament's licence was cancelled. "It is true...and this is severely threatening our event," Kitzbuehel Tennis Club president Gerhard Priglinger told The Associated Press. Ion Tiriac, whose company Siccative holds the licence, dissolved the contract, which was originally valid until 2008. Tiriac claimed the Kitzbuehel organizers had not paid the players' wages in time. "We have paid all open wages and I am highly optimistic for next year. We are already in the 2006 ATP event calendar and I am sure we will hold another event," Priglinger said."...From CBS Sportsline: "Andy Roddick said Monday his status is "so-so" for the season-ending Masters Cup next week in China because of back and shoulder injuries. Roddick played in four exhibition sets Monday night at the Advanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits, an annual charity event benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and said he was hurting afterward. "I'm very sore right now," Roddick said after playing two of his matches. "I feel my status is about so-so right now." The third-ranked Roddick was first hurt Saturday, when he was upset by Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Paris Masters. "My concern is not to play if I'm hurt," Roddick said. "I'm not going to go try to limp through the year on something that's not feeling great. It's really tough to beat the world's best when you're not feeling you're best." Roddick flew from Paris to his home in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, where the injury was re-evaluted. He is tentatively scheduled to leave for Shanghai on Wednesday. "I was a lot more optimistic four days ago," he said."

Glaken · Nov 9, 2005

Wednesday 11-9-05

Wednesday 11-9-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Andy Roddick, who confounded critics by playing an exhibition Monday after injuring his back last week in Paris, has now pulled from the Masters Cup: "Though I have continued to practice, train and play, the lower back spasms continue. After being evaluated by medical staff upon my return to the United States, it is now clear that I am not able to resume tennis activities for 10-14 days. I apologize to the loyal fans and sponsors that have expected my participation in the Tennis Masters Cup. It is an honor for me to have qualified for this event for the third straight year. I realize the tremendous amount of time and effort the ATP and the Chinese government have spent on the event, and know it will be a huge success. I look forward to getting healthy, starting my off-season workouts for the 2006 season, and working towards qualifying for Shanghai next year." With the cash-poor ATP unable to put together a bonus pool that in past years rewarded players for completing the season at the Masters Cup, Roddick joins the growing list of pull-outs that so far includes Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, with the verbally-committed Andre Agassi still making organizers anxious. David Nalbandian takes Roddick's place in the eight-man field...Maria Sharapova on jamming her thumb and pulling out of Philly last week: "Great story," she laughed. "I was just so tired. It was totally my own fault. I hit myself right in the leg and I jammed my thumb. It was all blue and black. It was not pretty. I couldn't hold the racket the next day. There's always something that's happening, just one after the other."...T.J. Simers covering the WTA Championships for the LA Times: "Three of the four Grand Slam winners -- Serena and Venus Williams and the Watch Girl, also known as Justin Henin-Hardenne -- won't be competing in this week's WTA Championships in Staples Center. I asked Mary Pierce about that at Monday's media gathering, got some politically correct answer like "life is good," and then the journalist sitting next to her told her, "what a wonderful answer." I tried again, and a female journalist from tenniswire.org, explaining later she was trying to protect the 30-year-old Pierce, answered for her. I asked Pierce another question, and this time a male journalist, Don Sand, spoke for her. I asked Sand what news organization he represented, and he said, "I work for God." I work for Dwyre, so I know what's that like. I never did get a straight answer out of Pierce and feel badly about that because this is the last year for this tennis championship sham in L.A., and I hate to end our run together on such an empty note." Simers goes head-to-head with the blogging Sandman, we'll have to call that one a draw...The LA Times' Lisa Dillman on the WTA implementing a line-calling system in 2006: "Interestingly, [WTA CEO Larry] Scott said the tour would be using the "clay-court system" in handling challenges. "What is tried and true and tested in tennis, a player would be free to challenge on any call," he said. "Any call they thought was questionable. Then it's up to the chair umpire. There's no limit to how many times a player can ask a chair umpire to check out a mark. But it doesn't mean the chair umpire is obliged to get out of the chair." Scott didn't seem worried the system could be abused by players. "We want to keep vesting in the chair umpire the master control for the match," he said."...Jim Courier has announced he will sponsor a four-event U.S. senior tour in 2006, apparently not sanctioned by the ATP's senior tour...Last year's WTA Championships final between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams filled less than 60 percent of the Staples Center in L.A.: "It will be a great success in Madrid (in 2006), I'm sure, because there's so many European players," said WTA CEO Larry Scott. "I think tennis is probably bigger in Europe right now." Ya think? That's why you get those CEO-dollars. Wait until you see the numbers from L.A. this week, not going to be pretty...Maria Sharapova lapsing into some sweet third-person verbage: "It's been a pretty injured Maria this year. It's been really frustrating. But I've been telling myself that no one is going to be injury free for their whole career. I've been working hard and I took all the negative things out of myself and I believe in myself."...The La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in California will host the U.S. vs. Romania Davis Cup tie on Feb. 10-12, 2006...From The Telegraph: "Roger Federer, the winner of the past two Masters Cups, is said to have been experiencing "a strange feeling" in practice as he returns from an ankle injury, and Spain's Rafael Nadal is concerned about his tender left knee..." No injury worries here ATP or WTA! Just keep driving your product into the ground...From Tennis.com's blogging Stephen Tignor: "The clown prince of Paris, whether he meant to be or not, was the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek, who reached the semis. Stepanek is an unreconstructed geek, Ivan Lendl look-alike, and a proverbial breath of fresh air on the men's side. He plays with a tucked-in shirt and high-riding shorts, walks on his toes, uses a near-Continental grip on his forehand, and serves and volleys. He also shows up every single week and rounds out his game by playing doubles. It's his variety that makes any Stepanek match interesting. He can blunt a slugger's power with his volleying skills and change pace by switching from a two-handed backhand drive to a one-handed slice in mid-point. His serve is strong and useful, but he won't bore a crowd with aces. Best are his celebrations. He begins with a quick shriek and a half-embarrassed, Tim Henman-esque fist-pump..."...From ESPN: "Jim Courier might be out of the spotlight these days, but the former No. 1 tennis player in the world might have an idea that could change the tennis sponsorship industry. This week, Courier will be playing in Houston -- along with the likes of Aaron Krickstein, John McEnroe and Todd Martin -- at the Stanford Financial Champions Cup. With the rules of the senior tour much more relaxed than the rules of the ATP and the WTA, Courier will be stenciling the logo of the sponsor, Stanford Financial, on his racket strings. "I don't think anyone has ever done it before," Courier said. "About 10 years ago, I approached the ATP and told them that I wanted to brand my racket with a tech or express shipping company and they rejected my request to do so."...Marat Safin speaking to L'Equipe on his bum knee: "It is fairly common with basketball players called "jumper's knee." It is not very serious but, unfortunately, I stopped playing too late. I started to have problems in Indian Wells and Miami. I continued to play on clay as I was hoping that the problem was related to hard surfaces. But that did nothing else but worsen the injury. At Roland Garros, I had to take pain killers and to undergo injections around the knee. After Wimbledon, I decided to go for consultation at a private clinic. One advised me to stop for two or three months, but I did not take the advice. I really wanted to play at the US Open. It is over there that I caused the problem to worsen. The American doctors had already given me indications of what should happen, but I wanted to have treatment at home. One again repeated the advice to stop playing for two to three months. I could have had an operation. But the price to be paid was too high: one year of staying away. For the moment, all is going well."...During her win over Kim Clijsters Monday, Mary Pierce leaned on the net and it collapsed: "It almost took me out," a smiling Pierce said. "I scraped my knees a little bit. I didn't expect it to go over that easily. I was pretty surprised."

Glaken · Nov 10, 2005

Thursday 11-10-05

Thursday 11-10-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The ATP says Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin will be fined for missing the year-ending Masters Cup...From SI.com's Jon Wertheim: "The real question, I suppose, is this: Why would Roddick schedule an exhibition in Hershey the week between a Masters Series event and the Masters Cup? Yes, Elton John is a buddy. And yes, the event benefits both World TeamTennis and AIDS research. But for a guy who's been complaining vocally about the length and rigor of the tennis season, playing a November exo in the middle of Pennsylvania isn't exactly the best way to conserve your battery. One of Brad Gilbert's complaints with Roddick was that he over-scheduled. Wonder what he would say about this?"...Peter Bodo blogging for TennisWorld: "Does anybody else think it's truly weird for so many people, including some of the top players, to be so blase about the lackluster [WTA Championships] field? I spoke briefly the other day with a long-time friend from L.A., who told me there's been absolutely no advertising, nor buzz, about this tournament. She said people who live around the block from the venue probably don't even know it's going on, and that WTA CEO Larry Scott ought to be fired for letting things slip to this level."...From the LA Times' Lisa Dillman: "One of [Mary] Pierce's peers, [Lindsay] Davenport, could well appreciate Pierce's longevity and the 500th match victory. "She definitely had a very up and down career for many, many reasons," Davenport said. "And injuries being one of them. I think it is so great she has come back and been so consistent and such a dangerous player. Not many people think 30 years old would necessarily be the case." Pierce and Davenport go all the way back to a 12-and-under tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. Davenport thought she was 10 and Pierce was 11 when they first played. "Her dad was around then and I remember definitely being nervous about that," Davenport said. "He had a temper back then. But she was great. She killed me in the tournament. It was on a claycourt. But she always hit the ball so well. And my sister who took me to that tournament still loves to talk about that to this day." Even in those days, the 11-year-old Pierce had her own, well, special style. "You know, she had her same quirks back then. She took a lot of time or played with her hair," Davenport said."...Roger Federer on the Masters Cup and his ankle injury: "To be honest, I don't know my chances of winning here because of my foot," he told the Shanghai Daily. "I'm here to defend my title but health comes before success. I just hope I can play the first game without any pain."...From PRnewswire: "Former Nike, Inc. marketing executive Ian Hamilton has joined the Nonbox(R) brand to head the company's new sports marketing discipline. In this role, Hamilton will spearhead strategic sports marketing and planning, athlete endorsements, sports event creation and production, and sports media consulting. Founded in 1999 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Nonbox is a strategic communications company capable of executing back-end advertising and trust-building solutions in mass media, sports marketing, publishing, teaching and training." Ouch, Nike to Nonbox...Chris Considine has been named president of Wilson Sporting Goods...Justin Gimelstob posting a blog entry at SI.com to note that most coaches suck: "Here's a novel idea, guys: Open up a book and learn about sports science, physical therapy or sports physiology. If coaches spent more time learning and building the product their services supposedly render, they wouldn't have to worry about being beholden to players' every whim and mood swing. I have always been amazed that coaches don't spend more time at tournament sites watching matches and studying opposing players' tendencies...I really believe it comes down to laziness, arrogance, and indifference. Most tennis coaches believe they know everything they need to about the game. It's common for coaches in other sports to study other programs and other successful coaches -- basketball coaches learning from Bobby Knight or football coaches studying up on Bob Stoops. In tennis, the problem is that coaches' egos are too big. They can't admit that someone who actually cares about real coaching might be better than they are, or that, God forbid, they might not know everything there is to know about the craft."...Neil Harman writing for the Times Online: "And then there were...not quite the eight stars the organizers were longing for. Andy Roddick's decision not to risk his bad back through a week of intense Masters Cup tennis poured further salt into open Chinese wounds yesterday. The world No. 3 chose to pull out of next week's end-of-year extravaganza in Shanghai, and though he offered heartfelt regrets, it was odd that he should have chosen to play in a "Smash Hits" exhibition event in Pennsylvania on Monday night, when he knew that he was suffering from spasms in his back. It could be argued his priorities were a trifle blurred...The first reserve now is Mariano Puerta, the Argentinian (sic) named by a French newspaper as having failed a doping test. The formal result is due and it would put the tin lid on an event that seems cursed with ill-luck if confirmation were to emerge during the week."...John McEnroe speaking to the Houston Chronicle on the Masters Cup move to Shanghai this year from Houston: "I grew up going to the [Madison Square] Garden to watch the Masters. I thought moving it to Frankfort (Germany) was a huge mistake, and it's unbelievable (the ATP) has let it slip away again. As an American, it's hard to accept and somewhat sad. You embrace promoters like Lamar Hunt (who founded the modern tour's precursor, World Championship Tennis, in the early 1970s), and the McIngvales. You don't push them away."

Glaken · Nov 11, 2005

Friday 11-11-05

Friday 11-11-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the ATP: "The formal opening of Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai will be marked by a convey of Mercedes-Benz cars that will bring the players to Qi Zhong Stadium for Saturday afternoon's Welcome Ceremony. Each singles player and doubles team will arrive at the stadium in a Mercedes-Benz, and will be dropped off just outside the stadium where fans lining the red carpet entrance will have the opportunity to get autographs from their favorite tennis stars. The competitors at the $4.45 million championship event will then head into the stadium to take their place on stage with local dignitaries and government officials to declare the official start of Tennis Masters Cup. Matches will get underway at 1 p.m. Sunday in Shanghai."...Zimbabwe's Wayne Black says he will join brother Byron in retirement after participating in next week's Masters Cup doubles...Roger Federer in Shanghai: "I am not a huge fan of the surface, to be honest. It makes me feel strange and it just doesn't take my spin the way I would like it to be...anyway, hopefully I can get used to it after quite a few practice sessions over the week."...From VamosRafael.com: "Rafa [Rafael Nadal] is in Shanghai preparing for the Masters Cup, which begins on Sunday. The news of the draw, and of his new haircut, are now overshadowed by even bigger news on our Messageboard: Rafa has a girlfriend. Speaking to the Chinese press, Rafa's coach, Uncle Toni, explained, "He always said he's single, to the media, also kept me in the dark. However, there's nothing I wouldn't know about this kid. He always thought this is a well-kept secret, actually his girlfriend's waiting for him back in Mallorca." Toni stressed Rafa has not changed since winning Roland Garros. "He's still dating the same girl. His girlfriend's a fellow Mallorcan, I guess they met long ago," said Toni, and added, "But I guess a lot of girls will be terribly upset after knowing the truth." And a lot of guys...Peter Bodo writing for the TennisWorld blog: "This morning, I bumped into a former ATP employee who was no less shocked by how unprofessional the top women pros have been. "If I'm a Sony-Ericsson executive, I'm throwing chairs around the office and marching into the WTA offices and demanding to re-negotiate the deal. Because if the tournament isn't that important to the players or the WTA, I've been sold a bill of goods. Why should it be so important to me, if it's not so important to them?""

Glaken · Nov 12, 2005

Saturday 11-12-05

Saturday 11-12-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Rafael Nadal has joined Roger Federer in saying the courts at the Masters Cup in Shanghai are too fast. Nadal on being grouped with Andre Agassi in the round robin at next week's Masters Cup: "Yes, that could be a highly interesting game -- I usually focus on my game and don't care too much about who I am playing, but Agassi is really special."...Shanghai officials say they are expecting sell-outs over all eight days of the Masters Cup competition, compared to the WTA Championships in L.A. where the Staples Center has seen two-thirds empty seats on some days...Mariano Puerta and Dave Ferrer are standing by as alternates in Shanghai as multiple players could pull from the draw with injuries. False are the rumors that eight alternates were being lined up for the Masters Cup as all eight could pull with injuries, with alternates for the alternates...From Tennis Week: "Andy Roddick will realize his dream weekend next month ? with Andre Agassi, Lionel Richie, Miss America Deirdre Downs, Rachel Hunter and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes all playing a part. The Andy Roddick Foundation will present Lionel Richie in a private charity concert as the opening event for the Fifth Annual Andy Roddick Charity Dream Weekend on Friday, December 9th at 9 p.m. Lionel Richie's charity concert will take place at the brand new Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Richie is joining 2003 US Open champion Roddick in order to raise money that will benefit many children's charities in South Florida. Other Andy Roddick Charity Dream Weekend events include a Dinner Gala on Saturday, December 10th, and a Tennis Extravaganza on Sunday, December 11th at the Polo Club Boca Raton."...Sportsbook.com is listing Roger Federer as an 11-2 favorite to be named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine...From FOX Sports: "Jelena Dokic will re-apply for Australian citizenship when she visits Melbourne next month to prepare for the Australian Open. The tennis star's high-profile father Damir Dokic has confirmed his estranged daughter will go back on her decision to play under the Serbian flag and return to the Australian fold. She is expected to apply for Australian citizenship in time for the Australian Open in January -- an event she has not played since 2001. "Jelena phoned her mother and told her she plans to travel to Melbourne in December to prepare for the Australian Open," Damir Dokic told Kurir, a Serbian newspaper. "She wants to take Australian citizenship when she is there and to play at the Australian Open as an Australian citizen." Dokic has been a tennis recluse for the past two years, with her world ranking dropping into the 300s after being estranged from her controversial father, who caused infamous incidents at Wimbledon and the US Open."...Mark Philippoussis is back with former coach Archie Adams.

Glaken · Nov 13, 2005

Sunday 11-13-2005

Sunday 11-13-2005

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Way for ESPN to phone it in from Bristol for their Masters Cup coverage, with Cliffy, B.G. and the crew commentating off the video feed...Rather than giving her lingering pectoral muscle injury (going on three months now) a chance to heal for 2006, Maria Sharapova will take to the court again next month in Asia, banking over $1 million for an exhibition tour...If you're the L.A. promoter for the WTA Champs, or ESPN for that matter, and your potential Maria Sharapova marketing machine vs. California homegirl Lindsay Davenport final suddenly morphs to Mauresmo vs. Pierce -- ouch...Andre Agassi enters Shanghai on an injured ankle, turned four weeks ago playing racquetball: "It's not the most ideal preparation but you always want to believe that you've still got it. Not playing is not always easy and it's not always a great decision in the short-term but my intention was to get fit for Shanghai and to do this for another year. I want another chance, that's the way it is."...Nice orange Spider-Man outfit Guillermo Coria debuted in Shanghai Sunday...Roger Federer on the injury-waiting-to-happen tacky surface in Shanghai: "We are going to have to watch it, and you must pick up your feet when you run."...Lindsay Davenport on finishing the year at No. 1: "I'm proud of myself. I'm a relieved, happy girl."

Glaken · Nov 15, 2005

Tuesday 11-15-05

Tuesday 11-15-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Emma from the X-Discussion Board on Guillermo Coria's "Spider-Man" outfit at the Masters Cup: "...however, if he is going for a new eye-catching, muscle flaunting image, somebody should at least tell him not to wear the orange and black t-shirt with the navy shorts -- its a half arsed attempt -- he's gonna need an image consultant and a whole truck load of steroids if adidas want their very own Nadal-esque poster boy. Anyone see his white sport socks during the Masters opening ceremony -- every player dressed perfectly in jet black, Coria sits down for the group shot...ice white socks! not a good look."...Roger Federer after being awarded in a ceremony in Shanghai for again finishing as the year-end No. 1 on the ATP Rankings: "Thank you for being here and it's a great satisfaction to finish as the No. 1 player in the world for the second straight year. I will try to keep it again and hopefully keep it for another 365 days." The Swiss joined the line of No. 1s to finish at the top in back-to-back years in Lleyton Hewitt (2001-02), Pete Sampras (1993-97), Stefan Edberg (1990-91), Ivan Lendl (1985-87), John McEnroe (1981-84), Bjorn Borg (1979-80), and Jimmy Connors (1974-78)...You can't beat this for entertainment, from Australia's Herald Sun: "A scorned tennis player tossed out of a tennis club for calling foot faults on his doubles partner -- the president's daughter -- served up his revenge by padlocking eight players in a court. Frank Bosik pulled on a balaclava, drove to the club and used combination padlocks to imprison the Bunyip club president, his daughter and six other players inside the wire-mesh fenced courts. He then poked a scrap of paper through the fence with a series of potential lock combinations to keep them busy. The combinations all proved to be false. But Bosik's backhander was by no means a masterstroke. Though his face was hidden behind a beanie, in which he had cut a large hole for his eyes, he drove to the tennis courts in his distinctive black Suzuki Vitara. He was immediately recognised by the Gippsland club's president Peter Doogan, who called out, "that's Frank" as Bosik, 40, was approaching with the padlocks. The grumpy tennis ace, who still lives with his parents in Garfield, yesterday pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates' Court to eight charges of unlawful assault and one of unlawfully possessing a disguise. More serious charges of false imprisonment were earlier dropped...The club president's daughter, Joanne Doogan, 20, Bosik's former doubles partner, said she thought the trouble began when he was ranked lower than her in a doubles quartet. "I believe he took offence to being named the third player," she said. "During that season he would do a strange thing, like calling foot faults. Usually your partner doesn't call foot faults. He would criticise my tennis shots. This would make me feel very low."...Ms Doogan also said Bosik intimidated her by using her full name instead of her nickname. "Frank was really scaring me," she said. "He would call me Joanne and I'm only known as Jo to everyone."" The bastard!...From the AP: "Former tennis star Roscoe Tanner has been extradited from Tennessee to the Pinellas County jail and booked on two arrest warrants for violation of probation. Tanner, 54, was arrested last month in Tennessee on a fugitive warrant out of Florida. He was brought to Florida on Sunday."...Peter Bodo writing in TennisWorld on players playing too many tournaments: "Or, put it this way. If I were bombarded with freelance writing assignments that I chose to take because the pay was good, would it be right for me to bail out on commitments to some magazines at the end of the year and then blame my having left them hanging on the fact that I'm "tired" and have writer's cramp? Would it seem fair or smart of me to announce: The problem with my profession is that there are too many magazines willing to shower me with money for writing. We have to eliminate a lot of magazines! I hate being a writer! Oh, I know what some of you are going to say. Tennis is different...these guys are taking a whale of a beating...technology has changed the game...the stress...blah, blah, blah. I say, baloney. The problem is pure and simple. The players -- even the best players -- can't resist chasing the money."...Jim Courier won the senior tour event he organized in Houston, beating Todd Martin in the final: "Not good PR," Martin joked. "A man shouldn't win his own tournament."...Neil Harman writing for the Times Online: "It is impossible to get nearer to any of the players here than the fifth row of the interview room -- the chairs are taken up 15 minutes before their scheduled arrival -- and though the Chinese reporters, mostly women ask Hello! magazine-type questions, they do so with gushing enthusiasm. There were definite traces of crimson in Rafael Nadal's tanned cheeks when he fielded a question that began "you are beautiful..." Apart from a tendency to get up and walk around in the middle of points -- Roger Federer actually cleared his throat at one stage during his match yesterday -- and get so excited that they cheer shots before rallies have been completed, the behaviour of the Chinese fans is impeccable. There were few empty seats yesterday, as opposed to the vast open spaces at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, where the women's championship reached its finale last night."...Wang Liqun, deputy director of the organizing committee for the Shanghai Masters Cup: "We feel like we bought a Mercedes-Benz only to find 60 percent of the auto parts are no longer the original ones we paid for." Zing!

Glaken · Nov 16, 2005

Wednesday 11-16-05

Wednesday 11-16-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the New Indian Press: "Tennis sensation Sania Mirza, who turned 19 on Tuesday, spent a quiet birthday at her home with family members. She cut the cake and received birthday wishes and blessings from her parents Imran Mirza and Naseema, her younger sister Anam and a few other close family members. The celebrations were literally a closed-door affair and no television cameraman or photojournalist was allowed in to take snaps of the event or even the birthday girl in her posh Jubliee Hills house...Some television cameramen, who went to the house, were told by the family that the party was also a strict closed-door affair and they would not entertain journalists. "We offered prayers for her success on the occasion. It has been a very successful year and we pray to God that she continues the same performance in the coming months," said Imran, who hopes that she would break into Top 10 by the end of next year, if she stays fit and luck favours her."...From Chris Clarey in IHT: "...the too-numerous powers are going to have to find a way to make concessions to each other if they are serious about creating an off-season that lasts two months instead of less than one and serious about minimizing the surface shifts and time-zone shifts that are playing nasty tricks on their main attractions' (and meal tickets') health. Encouragingly, the key figure in this process appears to be Etienne de Villiers, a bright, personable fellow who is too new to the game to grasp how truly difficult it is to change it. "We need to design a structure that meets both needs, and I believe it may be possible," de Villiers said, without yet offering up anything concrete. Plenty of bright, personable men, including [former ATP CEO Mark] Miles, have failed at this juncture before, but not even Miles had a cautionary tale quite like Shanghai to use for leverage."...Sania Mirza will spend 14 days with Australian coach Tony Roche preparing for 2006 and the Australian Open, working primarily on her weak serve...Guillermo Coria, 0-2 thus far at the Masters Cup, getting testy when he's asked if he's too small and weak to compete in Shanghai: "I feel physically very well. I have no problems. I feel strong. Maybe that question should be asked to those who are not playing here, to the people that are not playing. I feel very well physically. Maybe I'll have to ask you what to do. [Lleyton] Hewitt is not also a very big guy or very strong guy, and he was No. 1 and No. 2 in the world when he came here. He won this tournament three years ago."...Greg Rusedski failed in his minor-league bid to overtake Tim Henman for the year-end British No 1 ranking, falling to Russia's Igor Kunitsyn in the first round at a challenger in the Ukraine. Capital way to end the year Grinning Greg...Andy Roddick has signed a deal to represent Lacoste sunglasses...The ATP's Brad Drewett on the Masters Cup debacle: "I don't think it's as simple as saying if the season was shorter, if the guys played less, that these injuries wouldn't occur. I think it's a natural fact of playing professional tennis. The nature of the sport, one-on-one battle, it's very physical, there are going to be injuries. That's not to say I don't think it's an issue we, the tennis family, have to have a vigorous debate about. I think we need to continually, or very quickly at least in the medium term, look at addressing some of the issues in terms of schedule...There's absolutely no way that the players have pulled out because of anything to do with the [Shanghai] surface."

Glaken · Nov 17, 2005

Thursday 11-17-05

Thursday 11-17-05

The Bryan brothers, who made history this year as only the second team in the Open Era (beside Mahesh Bhupathi-Leander Paes in 1999) to reach the final of all four slams in the same year, clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the second time in the last three years. They are still in the running this week for their third consecutive Masters Cup title, a feat accomplished only be the legendary team of Peter Fleming-John McEnroe who won seven in row from 1978-84 when the year-end championship was single elimination. ATP chairman Etienne de Villiers, who is currently being sued by the brothers and other doubles specialists over the ATP's attempts to streamline doubles, said "This could not happen to a more deserving pair. They represent all we seek in great sportsmen -- they are talented, dedicated and passionate; and they know how to win. And in addition they are approachable, charismatic and highly promotable athletes and role models. We hope they will continue to play an integral and highly valued role in professional tennis."...Wimbledon doubles champ Stephen Huss on the ATP shortening the doubles scoring: "I must say, I mean, I think the majority of players are quite adamant that that is not a solution. I don't think it's going to make any difference. You can ask the top singles guys if they're going play one set, one tiebreak, best-of-five sets, it won't matter; they're going to play doubles when they want to play doubles, and that's the only time. We feel that that's not the right answer."...And some worthless pap, or an idea of PR, from the WTA: "Justine Henin-Hardenne has been named the inaugural winner of the Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year...Justine was presented the Award, which honors the player who has demonstrated the most 6th sense intuition, by Larry Scott, Chairman & CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour during the Tour's season-ending event at Spago Restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Justine was one of the three world's top players short-listed for the Award via an online competition
organized by Whirlpool, Premier Sponsor of the Tour. The competition ran from May '05 to October '05 on www.eurosport.com, www.wtatour.com and www.whirlpool.eu.com. Over 40,000 people voted for the three players they felt reflected 6th sense intuition -- heightened intelligence, unbeatable performance and pinpoint precision. The three finalists chosen were Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova." Perhaps your should start a "Porsche 6th Sense Rankings" for 2006...Fabrice Santoro on getting more singles players to play doubles: "Maybe one -- I don't have 'the' solution, but one solution -- and I told that to one ATP guy like last year -- for example, in the Masters Series, you play the first round in singles Monday and Tuesday, then you play the second round on Wednesday. You start the doubles on Thursday maybe, and you play the doubles as a single player if you lost in singles. Because Wednesday night -- the Masters Series is 64 draw. Wednesday night there is only 16 players to go, to still alive, and 48 lost. So maybe it's a good point to start the draw on Thursday. But nobody listened to me."...From webindia123.com: "India's tennis sensation Sania Mirza is keen to use her celebrity status to continue campaigning against female infanticide. "I have been working against female infanticide for long and would like to influence people through my game to come forward against it," said Sania, a former brand ambassador of the government's Girl Child campaign, at the Hindustan Times Leadership summit here Wednesday."...Under a new law in New York City, fans caught throwing objects on the court at the US Open could face a fine up to $25K...Roger Federer was among People magazine's "International Men of Sexiness." Federer promptly donned his Austin Powers glasses and said, "Yeah baby! Am I making your horny?"...The WTA San Diego event is threatening to move after 2007 if they don't get a new stadium built at the venue.

Glaken · Nov 22, 2005

Tuesday 11-22-05

Tuesday 11-22-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Peter Bodo writing for TennisWorld: "As much as I admire the Mighty Fed, I can't justify having spent most of the week before last trashing the WTA Championships and Amelie Mauresmo, and then turn around and pretend that the Federer-Nalbandian throwdown was some kind of epochal struggle that ended the men's tournament year on a high note. If anything, it ended it on a jarring, dissonant note. Sure, the match was very close. So was Mauresmo-Pierce in the WTA final. The match was highly entertaining, less for the level of play than the drama. So was Mauresmo-Pierce."...Ivan Ljubicic speaking to Tennis Week on his favorite TV commentators: "Patrick McEnroe and Cliff Drysdale -- they're pretty cool. You can see they know a lot about tennis. And it's really a relaxed feeling. They don't only talk about techniques and tactics. I have to say I don't like Pam Shriver. She's always so technique that it's, I mean, really boring. But these two guys, they know how to laugh, they know how to entertain people I think."...Richard Krajicek has the answer on how to fix tennis: "I have no solutions at all if you ask me. The tour has got longer and tougher, and players are bearing the brunt of it. The non-stop travel and playing on different demanding surfaces, all that makes it so much more difficult."...Andrei Chesnokov had rubber bullets removed from his body after a bar argument in the Ukraine and is expected to a make a full recovery... From the senior tour front: "John McEnroe will have to find a way past two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera and former Roland Garros finalist Mikael Pernfors if he is to advance beyond the group stages of The Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London (29th November -- 4th December). In a draw conducted by the Masters (and former Wimbledon) referee Alan Mills, McEnroe was drawn into the same group as Bruguera and Pernfors, with defending champion Jim Courier set to face 1985 Wimbledon semi-finalist Anders Jarryd, and Sweden's Mats Wilander. Perhaps the most intriguing of the four groups sees 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash taking on 1997 Wimbledon finalist Cedric Pioline and popular French wildcard Henri Leconte, while the fourth group pits Thomas Muster against another wildcard, Jeremy Bates, and Paul Haarhuis. Wilander, a former World No.1, was a late entry into the 12-man field as a replacement for Richard Krajicek. Krajicek was forced to pull out of the event after undergoing foot surgery. Group matches at the Royal Albert Hall will take place on Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th and Thursday 1st, with the top two players in all four of the three-man groups advancing to Friday's quarterfinals."...Alexa Glatch is recovering from a broken left elbow she suffered during a motorbike accident.

Glaken · Nov 24, 2005

Thursday 11-24-05

Thursday 11-24-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Mahesh Bhupathi on the ATP doubles changes: "We have to get together and make a collective decision and we have to make it soon. We got the players representatives (that voted for the original doubles changes) voted off the board and we have also been able to stop the changes that the ATP had planned to implement from 2008."...In the news section on the ATP website there is a headline "Roger Federer Sexy Photo Gallery" -- nice news, check it before they pull it...From the WTA Tour's Year in Review: "The other majors were also taken by players who made remarkable returns from injury and illness -- Serena Williams winning her second Australian Open, Justine Henin-Hardenne sweeping the Roland Garros title for a second time, and Venus Williams taking her third Wimbledon crown." And embarrassingly enough, none of who played in the year-end championship, as they were continuously injured throughout the season -- but what a great year! No problems here! As evident from the WTA website news section, "Tour Celebrates Successful 2005." Or how about "Race Winner Kim's New Porsche" about Kim Clijsters winning the "Porsche Race Rankings" while Lindsay Davenport was the player who finished the year No. 1 on the WTA Rankings -- confuse fans more! Create more rankings and awards! It's like kindergarten -- everyone gets an award, everyone's a winner!...From Peter Bodo writing for TennisWorld: "It was just fabulous to see that a "clean" Argentine player [David Nalbandian winning the Masters Cup] distinguished himself; it certainly helps wipe out the bad taste left by the carnival of doping Argies on the tour."...Goran Ivanisevic has been named to the Croatian team against the Slovak Republic for the Davis Cup final next week, and may see some court time in the doubles if Ivan Ljubicic or Mario Ancic have long opening singles matches on Friday or suffering some niggling injury.

Glaken · Nov 30, 2005

Wednesday 11-30-05

Wednesday 11-30-05

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright had a baby girl on Tuesday: "Lleyton and Bec are absolutely thrilled," manager Rob Aivatoglou said in a statement released by Tennis Australia. "Most importantly, everything went smoothly and mother and daughter are well. Bec and Lleyton very much look forward to taking their daughter home in the coming days." The offspring was the result of a whirlwind romance after Hewitt was scheduled to marry Kim Clijsters in February...25-year-old former No. 1 Martina Hingis says she will make a tour comeback in 2006: "I was never happy that my injuries cut my career short and ultimately forced my decision to step away from tennis. I have enjoyed my time away from the court...However, I miss the game and the challenge of competing at the highest level of tennis, and I want to gauge whether I can stay healthy and compete against today's top players." Her manager Mario Widmer told Reuters: "Martina has been thinking about a return throughout this year and made the decision gradually after seeing how much stronger her tennis was becoming. We haven't yet decided how many tournaments she will play, and she is certainly not setting any targets in terms of titles or world ranking places because she first has to see how her feet react."...Brit-Scot Andy Murray on 19-year-old brother Jamie: "My brother is very talented. He was the No. 2 junior in the world when he was 13, then he went down to an LTA school in Cambridge and they ruined him. It was their fault. I want him to come back and do well because he is a good guy who works very hard. I think he's shown he has the talent."...A Florida production company has sued Maria Sharapova over the right to market the documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," produced by Byzantium Productions, Inc., of West Palm Beach. The documentary has been sold in DVD format since May, but Sharapova's camp has sent a cease and desist letter...30-year-old Spaniard Al Costa says he will play on another year: "I still feel like a tennis player and want to carry on playing as long as I keep getting invitations to play in tournaments," Costa told the sports daily Marca on Friday. "I've decided to carry on for at least another year. I want to say goodbye gradually and not all of a sudden."...Thai Paradorn Srichaphan is in the fifth day of his seven-day period of training as a Buddhist monk. "I will spend the next seven days as a monk, especially meditating, which is something I can make use of when I return to tennis," Paradorn told The Nation newspaper. Paradorn has adopted the Buddhist name "Mahaviro," which means "great and brave," serving in a temple outside the Thai capital Bangkok...Jelena Dokic, still estranged form her wacky dad, leaves this week for Australia to train for the 2006 season: "I am an Australian, I feel like an Australian and I want to play for Australia again," Dokic told The Times. "What happened before, I had no control over, the decisions weren't made by me. I wanted to go back before, but I was a little afraid of what reception I'd receive."...From AAP on Lleyton Hewitt's new addition: "Hewitt's coach, Tony Roche, is believed to be among the first to see the baby. Roche was at the hospital by coincidence, visiting his daughter who was also giving birth yesterday." Coach or advisor? How many people is Rochey coaching nowadays?...Alicia Molik speaking to the Herald Sun on Jelena Dokic's return Down Under: "I think it's in Jelena's best interests to move back to Australia. She's spoken about it a lot. I actually bumped into Jelena a number of months ago. We were crossing paths. We had a very good chat at Dubai Airport. I think she played some of her best tennis when she played for Australia and I think Australia is a country where it's very easy to make friends. Australians are very good at embracing and especially successful people."...From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Jury selection got under way Monday for a lawsuit against tennis-playing sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Sixty-one potential jurors remained as of Monday afternoon. The sisters, along with their father, Richard, are defendants in a suit brought by Women's Sports Zone Inc., which accuses the family of reneging on an agreement that Venus and Serena would perform in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on Dec. 1, 2001."...The Hawk-Eye technology went on the fritz during the opening day at the senior Masters in London and was not used...The Hopman Cup exhibition will debut the Hawk-Eye line-call-challenging technology in January: "I'm a big proponent of Hawk-Eye," said Jim Courier, who predicts the US Open will use it in 2006. "I think it's a wonderful addition, not only for the players, but more importantly for the fans. I think it will be such a value-add. I think that's what we need to do to catch tennis up to the rest of the world of sport. This is a step in the right direction."...Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino earned the Philippine team the gold medal in tennis at the Southeast Asian Games...India's Leander Paes on the ATP's doubles scoring changes for 2006: "I must say the ATP has done a good job to find a happy ground to popularize the game of doubles and not only finance more prize-money for the doubles but also increase its popularity of the game as well," Paes said in an interview with China Central Television's Sports Scene. "In the last five to seven years, we have seen doubles taking the back seat compared to the singles. It is really unfortunate, especially for a person like me who has transitioned from the singles to the doubles game. By capsuling the quantity of the match, they can predict a bit more how long it will take and put it on prime time spot which will gain more publicity for the game of doubles. It is a bit of give and take for the players and the tournaments. If they can put more of doubles on prime time TV, it will be wonderful for the game of tennis."...Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "The men's game also has reason to look ahead. His name is Etienne de Villiers. A South African of Dutch extraction, de Villiers is the newly named chairman of the ATP, succeeding Mark Miles, who was both chairman and CEO. In time, de Villiers, 55, will choose a CEO. Meantime, he has gone to work, involving himself in the ATP's activities on a daily basis in order to learn the business. "I like this guy a lot," said Graeme Agars, an Australian who serves as the ATP's vice president of media relations, which is enough for me. A very knowledgeable chap, Agars. He noted that de Villiers, a London resident, has been Disney's top guy in Europe, owns an investment company and has served on at least one of the BBC's boards. "He takes in everything," said Agars. "He is a great listener, but also very decisive."