Daily Tennis News: September 30th

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Daily Tennis News: September 29th

by mltennis 29. September 2008 08:56

Monday, September 29, 2008

BUSINESS NEWS

Davydenko Considering Suing the ATP

The current complex legal situation for the ATP may become a tad more convoluted if Nikolay Davydenko puts into action a plan to sue the sanctioning body in the wake of his recent lukewarm clearance in just-ended match-fix probe. The Russian's lawyer told Bloomberg that the world No. 6 would appreciate the courtesy of an apology from the ATP, which hung him out to dry for more than a year before quietly ending the controversial probe earlier in the month. The attorney said Davydenko was considering his options in going to court to recover his legal fees from the ATP. When the probe failed to gain traction, an ATP statement said merely that it was being wound down due to lack of evidence - hardly a convincing exoneration of Davydenko. In addition, Davydenko is said to be concerned after potentially losing new sponsorship contracts during the period when he was under suspicion for a match he lost in Sopot, Poland, in August, 2007. The ATP is currently seeking a new boss with Etienne de Villiers set to step down after less than three years in control at the end of the year.
***
Rusedski Might Return for Davis Cup Tie

Britain's Davis Cup team could get the offer of a surprise addition for next spring's Davis Cup match-up with the Ukraine. Greg Rusedski, once ranked the world's fourth best player but now 35 years of age and 17 months into retirement, is considering picking up his competitive racket again for the tie. Rusedski, who has Ukrainian antecedence and was the star of the show when Britain scored a win in Odessa two years ago, was upset as the apparent disharmony in the squad at the recent defeat by Austria on Wimbledon's No.1 Court and once again frustrated as second singles player Alex Bogdanovic lacked the mental strength to back up Andy Murray's sterling performance. The left-handed Montreal-born player, who currently amongst other duties with the Lawn Tennis Association is Britain's Junior Davis Cup captain, has been practicing hard in preparation of an expected appearance at the BlackRock Masters senior event at London's Royal Albert Hall in December.
Rusedski's former Davis Cup captain and long-time confidante David Lloyd (elder brother of Britain's current captain John) admitted: "I talk to Greg all the time, I know how passionate he remains about the Davis Cup and what is happening to the British team and that he would do whatever he could to help." Currently standing ninth on the list of all time British players with 43 rubbers played over a span of 13 years in 20 ties with a win/loss record of 30/13, Rusedski would have a strong case for inclusion as the younger Lloyd now admits he was wrong to chose two specialist doubles players in Jamie Murray and Ross Hutchins. With Jamie Baker struggling to return to full fitness after a life threatening blood disorder and Bogdanovic smarting from the apparent inability to win a live rubber in seven attempts, Britain's only other singles options appear to be the untried Josh Goodall (ranking 201) or Chris Eaton (#315) who lost a qualifying match for this week's ATP event in Metz 6-7(6) 7-6(2) 7-6(8) to Ukrainian no.1 Sergiy Stakhovskiy. David Lloyd continued: "I haven't run this idea past my brother yet but who is to say that Greg being in the squad wouldn't be a great lift for everyone? He has kept himself in great shape, I'd give him a crack against any of those being considered for places. Let's be honest, what happened against Austria was very disappointing. We can't afford to lose this tie, otherwise we'll be going back to where we were in the competition when I took over as captain in '95.That would be a disaster." Meanwhile Britain is considering Edinburgh as a venue for the tie to be played next March. An indoor venue is clearly obvious, AEGON (the LTA's new backers is based in the Scottish city) and it is the closest major venue to the Murray's hometown of Dunblane. "It all points to Edinburgh being a good idea but we remember a tie at Glasgow a couple of years ago that was not exactly a financial success," said an LTA insider.
***
Henin and Coach Rodriguez are in the Academy Business to Stay
By Charles Bricker

Yes, said Carlos Rodriguez, there have been phone calls from top women players or their agents, asking if he would be interested in coaching on tour again after his 12-year association with Justine Henin ended in April with Henin’s astonishing retirement at age 25. But, he smiled, he’s not interested.
“It was very difficult to make them understand that another career has started now,” said the Argentine coach. “It would be very difficult to find another such a champion, as well as a human being like Justine. That’s why it’s right for me to start an adventure here – for me and my family.” The adventure is Sixth Sense Tennis Academy, a joint venture between him and Henin at the Mission Inn Resort in little Howey-in-the-Hills, Fl., about 30 miles northwest of Orlando. They have eight students, two hardcourts, six Har-Tru courts and a deal to expand.
Henin picked Florida because she’s grown to love the state after her training sessions at Saddlebrook, near Tampa, and because she won the Orange Bowl juniors in Miami. She was a dominant figure on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour until she abruptly retired, leaving the women’s game in a quandary. There was no longer one player you could depend on to reach deep into the second week of every major. Ana Ivanovic. . .Jelena Jankovic. . .Serena Williams. . .Dinara Safina. . .they’ve all tried to seize No. 1 by the throat but have been unable to take control in the way Henin did for years. “I think it’s one of the weakest points of women’s tennis today,” Rodriguez said of the top-10. “It’s not the determination. It’s the regularity of the performance. “Ivanovic. She is the girl. I don’t know that she was able to assume the No. 1 role so soon after winning the French Open. Her entourage is good and maybe she can do something in two or three years. But at the moment, she’s still a little bit weak. “I’ve been gone from the tour only four or five months, but I don’t feel the extra dimension there,” he said. “When I saw Venus Williams at 14, you knew she would be something special. Serena, same thing. You know it when you see it. Today, I don’t see the weapons inside and outside the court to do something big, and by ‘inside the court’ I mean the emotion and heart. That makes a champion.” When he was introduced to 14-year-old Henin, she was a wisp of a junior. “Too small. Too skinny. Not so well educated about tennis. But I had that same feeling from when I saw Venus and Serena. Something special. Something you can develop.” And now the two of them will try to impart what they’ve developed to young players at their academy. “I think American tennis has given us a lot of good things. Now, it’s time to give back. Our philosophy is a big difference from the big academies. It will be more personal, more one-to-one.” Rodriguez and Henin have a Sixth Sense academy in Belgium, so they’ll be back and forth. But Rodriguez says it’s important for him to spend 10 or 11 weeks “at a minimum” in Florida. “I have to demonstrate we’re not just putting our names on this. I will come back in November and December.”
Rodriguez has built a solid association with reporters with his candor, praising Henin at the right times and not afraid to be critical, either, and he showed his hasn’t lost his frankness. Argentina or Spain in the Davis Cup final? He was asked. He smiled. “My heart says Argentina, but reality says Spain.”
***
Roddick Shares Beijing Prize Money With Earthquake Victims

Andy Roddick chose to donate $25,000 of his prize money from winning a 26th title of his career at the Chinese Open in Beijing to those still suffering from May's earthquake in the Sichuan Province that caused 41 deaths, 589 injuries, the destruction of collapse of more than 10,000 homes, and damage to 190,000 more.
"I would really like to contribute a part of my money to those families affected, to those who lost everything they had, suffered painful injuries or lost loved ones in the earthquake," said Roddick, who defeated Dudi Sela of Israel, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. "It is my great honor to be in Beijing to work with Chinese Tennis Association to assist those kids who are in need. It is an athlete's privilege and responsibility to give back." Roddick, who decided not to contest the Olympic Games in the Chinese capital, made sacrifices to play the Beijing event. Despite the disappointment of losing the Davis Cup semi-final to Spain the previous weekend, he made the long flight to Asia and immediately told the tournament organizers there was no need for the four bodyguards he had been assigned. He also missed out on one of the American tennis year's major social occasions. Roddick's former room-mate and current Davis Cup team-mate Mardy Fish got married over the weekend but apologies had to be sent.
***
Fish Got Married Saturday
Mardy Fish was married Saturday with best friend Andy Roddick plodding away with tennis duties in Asia. But Fish, who was rushed onto last week's Davis Cup team and helped the US earn the doubles point, can't begrudge that "slight."
His friendship with Roddick goes much deeper, back at least as far living as a teenaged boarder with the Roddick family in Florida during his early days of trying to break into the game. "Andy's not the best man," Fish said, knowing that his old mate has other concerns during these weeks. "I've got a few friends over the years who have been best friends at times, "James Blake is my best friend on the Tour. We used to live together in Tampa, Andy and I are more like brothers than anything else. We'll fight over pretty much everything. "James and I are almost the opposite. We get along extremely well." Fish married a television game-show model who trained as a lawyer with the couple set to base themselves in LA for her showbusiness career. "Happiness off the court translates to clear mindedness. We did the seating chart for the wedding, just something that I'm not used to doing. We just enjoy each other's company a ton and she's a huge help, as well."
***
Roddick Thinks US Tennis Has Good Future

As one of a pair of players hanging on in the Top 10 - the same as Spain and Switzerland - Andy Roddick still feels life is good for US tennis. The former No. 1 has begun well in Beijing during a two-week autumn run in Asia as he makes his first appearance at a regular season ATP event since losing the Bangkok final in 2004 to Roger Federer. And the transplanted Texan is tired of hearing his nation's tennis ragged repeatedly. "The biggest thing as far as negative connotations surrounding US tennis is the players we have had before. "If you compare us with other countries we're very, very strong," he said of a nation with three players in the Top 25 (Mardy Fish) in addition to himself and Blake, currently on a sabbatical in hopes of refreshing his motivation. The top American is still fighting for a place in the season-ending, eight-man Masters Cup, with this week in China and next in Tokyo crucial in the effort to try and hold off Swiss Stan Wawrinka on ninth.
Roddick is particularly keen on Davis Cup debutant Sam Querrey to pick up the future for the US. And he's predicting a resurgence. "I think it's going in as good a direction as it has for the past four or five years."
***
British Teen-Ager Gaining Attention—Even From Some Players

Laura Robson may be revving up the optimism in British women's tennis but the interest in the 14 year-old Wimbledon junior champion is proving rather baffling to some of her more experienced opponents. Robson reached the semi-finals of the $75,000 event in Shrewsbury last weekend and on the way beat Tzipi Obziler, 21 years the British girl's senior at the age of 35. And the Israeli, who figured on the WTA Tour rankings five years before her opponent was even born, was baffled by the attention. "What is all this interest in her?" asked Obziler after her 6-3,6-3 quarter final defeat. "She is still young, I didn't realize she is only 14 years old, but she can certainly improve. She's solid and knows what to do on the court but I don't think her serve is that big and she needs to work on a few things. But the most dangerous thing is all the attention she is getting."
***
Djokovic Loses in Finals But Stays on to Relax

Novak Djokovic is bucking the usual trend of tournament winners and finalists rushing the airport to get out of town the moment play is completed at the end of the week. The Serb instead will actually take some down time with a brief holiday on a Thai resort island. The world No. 3 player's 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the Thailand Open didn't help Djokovic much in his goal to try and overtake Roger Federer on second on the ATP list. But after helping Serbia to a Davis Cup victory a week ago in Slovakia then getting down to Asia and overcoming jet-lag to reach the title match in Bangkok, Djokovic is not worried. The 21-year-old knows he deserves a break. "I'm going to have a small rest on a beautiful island (Koh Samui). There is no need to rush off. I want to be rested and refreshed for the European indoor season." Djokovic won Vienna last year, reached the Madrid semi-finals and then did not win a match until the end. Any improvement this autumn will help his standing as he tries to lift his No. 3 ranking.
***
The Bryan Brothers Hold All-Star Tennis Smash

They came to watch and celebrate Mike and Bob Bryan, but Andre Agassi stole the show Saturday as the Bryan twins honored their hero at the first Bryan Brothers’ All-Star Tennis Smash event held at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Agassi made his first tennis playing appearance of the year, mixing it up as Mike Bryan’s partner against Robby Ginepri and James Blake in an eight-game pro set won by Bryan and Agassi. “It looks like Mike’s found a new doubles partner to finish the year out with,” said the 30-year-old twins’ father, Wayne, who sat in the umpire’s chair and provided running commentary during the on-court activities.
Bob Bryan could only watch from the sidelines as he is currently rehabbing from tendinitis and a slight tear in his left shoulder. He’s expected to return to practice in three weeks. Following the first doubles match, Justin Gimelstob and Paul Goldstein joined in to face Mike and Agassi. But at 2-2, Gimelstob injured his back so the fans were treated to some singles action from Agassi and Goldstein, a former Stanford teammate of the Bryans. The Bryans, the No. 1 doubles team in the world and recent U.S. Open champions, commented on several occasions during the day that Agassi was their inspiration for wanting to establish a foundation like his. The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation has raised more than $100 million dollars for the Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas and other charities. Lindsay Davenport, Mike Bryan, actors Jon Lovitz and Kaley Cuoco then joined in for the final set of doubles to conclude the play for the day. Later in the evening, a gala dinner was held where more money was raised for the Bryans’ charity of choice, City Impact, which promotes the educational, physical and emotional well-being of at-risk families in the Ventura County area.
“I wanted to thank Gimel(stob) for making me feel so young out here,” said Agassi after his match with Goldstein. “I just miss all the people who are involved in this great game so much. It’s just great to be here.” After the matches, Wayne Bryan asked Agassi if he’d be interested in some day running for an elected position, maybe governor of Nevada? “No, I don’t think so. I enjoy solving problems, not being part of the problem,” he said. Earlier in the day, Davenport wouldn’t say one way or the other if she had decided to return to the women’s tour full-time in 2009, “I haven’t made up my mind. I’m just enjoying spending time at home. I’m fortunate because I don’t have a boss or anyone to answer to. I don’t feel any pressure to make a decision any time soon but we’ll see.” The day before their big day at Sherwood, the twins were honored by the City of Oxnard, which declared Sept. 26 Bryan Brothers' Day. ““I don't know if anybody is going to know about it besides the people here today,” Mike told the Ventura County Star. “It's not Sept. 26th skip school and worship the Bryans day. But it's still nice to be honored.”
Said Bob: “It's always good when you can have a day named after you. We have gotten a couple of keys to some cities that don't work. But this is better because it is for a cause that is dear to our heart.”
***
USTA Launched Tennis on Campus Web Site

The USTA announced the launch of a new web site designed to serve as a resource for the more than 450 college and universities and nearly 30,000 players who participate in a Tennis On Campus program at their school. The official web site of the Tennis On Campus program, www.tennisoncampus.com will provide an array of resources, materials and information to help support the rapidly expanding non-varsity side of college tennis. The Tennis On Campus program, launched in 2000, features co-ed teams participating in intramural and intercollegiate (club) play using the World TeamTennis format on campuses nationwide. Tennis On Campus also provides college students with opportunities for leadership development, social networking and rivaled competition. Perfect for athletes who have not made the jump from high school to college varsity, Tennis On Campus offers match play, regional and national championship competition while helping students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years.
***
Trade Show Company Retains Andy Roddick for Advertising Purposes

Champion Exposition Services (“Champion”), a leading provider of comprehensive event solutions and exposition services, revealed a new branding and advertising campaign titled, ‘It’s more than a show, it’s a performance.’ Champion’s rebranding effort will include a new national advertising campaign, which will initially feature international tennis superstar, Andy Roddick. The opening ad will be the first in a series, which highlights individual performers who are recognized as “champions” in their fields, reinforcing the philosophy that Champion is more than just a name, it’s a purpose – to be the very best and to accept nothing less.
***
The Murray Father Says Both Boys Could Have Been Great Golfers

Andy Murray's father says that the world No. 4 may have had the game to play pro golf before turning his attention to tennis. Willie Murray, divorced for years from Murray mum Judy, made the revelation to Scottish press, saying young Andy and elder brother Jamie both showed promise on the links.
The proud father called Andy "a natural" who finished runner-up in a junior event at home in Scotland. "I'm very proud of what the boys have achieved in tennis," added the elder Murray. "If Jamie wasn't a tennis player, he would probably be a golfer. I taught him everything I knew. I took him out on the golf course in Dunblane as often as possible, and he was a natural. He loved all sorts of sports, though." And as for Andy: "He used to come golfing too, and he was also very good, but he got bored with it quite easily. There wasn't enough action in it for him. He preferred football, and tennis." Golf runs in the Murray family, with their uncle for years a pro at a public course near Dallas. Even with his concentration totally on tennis, Andy's handicap on the course is rated at 17.

***

We Hear—
--that change is afoot at Tennis Australia with several changes forecast for its board of management. Several retirements were predicted when nominations closed Friday. One departee is Perth delegate Andrea Mitchell, who was recently elected into the West Australian state parliament. Veteran Geoff Pollard was expected to continue for a final two-year term. In total, up to four vacancies could have been created by retirements and career changes.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Bangalore
Metz
Tokyo
WOMEN
Stuttgart
Tashkent
Tokyo
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Moscow
Vienna
WOMEN
Moscow
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
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Results
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Bob Larson's Tennis Celebs: September 25th Issue

by mltennis 26. September 2008 04:05

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Bob Larson's
TENNIS CELEBS

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE...

News
Tennis Shorts
WTA Scheduled To Play
Covers
Sightings
Appearing Soon
Money Mountain
He Said... She Said
Happy Birthday

NEWS

Tsonga aka Young Ali Tries Thai Boxing

There are what are termed “Player Activities” at pretty much every tournament, things that the players get involved in off-court - whether it be Roger Federer playing tennis on a barge in Hamburg harbor or Maria Sharapova facing Lindsay Davenport on a ski-slope in Dubai. In Bangkok this week some of the activities have a distinctly Thai flavor. When Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the final of the Australian Open in January much was made of his visual likeness to a young Mohammad Ali. So it was natural that, on his first visit to Bangkok to play in the Thailand Open, the second-seeded Frenchman should climb into the boxing ring with Thai 1996 Olympic gold medal winner Somrak Kamsing. Tsonga looked the part, especially when the ladies looking on demanded that he remove his shirt, and the pair together with a sparring partner traded a few “rallies” following a few moments of coaching for each “tactic.”

***

Canas Robbed When Leaving His Parents’ Home

The Davis Cup celebrations were marred for Argentine Guillermo Canas as the doubles player in last weekend's World Group defeat of Russia was robbed outside his parent's home in the capital. Reports say that the No. 56 was accosted in the early hours by a pair of armed attackers who apparently did not realize they had run into one of the country's tennis heroes. The men could have taken a clue by the tennis racket he was carrying - which they stole - as well as documents, credit cards, cash and a chain. To add insult to loss, they fled in the player's own car. Canas played doubles at the weekend in the tie which thrust Argentina into the final against Spain to be held later this year.
***

Lucy Garvin to Become Next President of the USTA

The USTA Nominating Committee has announced the nomination of Lucy S. Garvin as USTA Chairman of the Board and President to serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2009. Garvin, who has served on the USTA Board of Directors for eight years and is currently completing a two-year term as First Vice President, is a staunch volunteer who has dedicated more than 30 years to growing the sport of tennis at every level around the country. She will become the third female Chairman of the Board and President in USTA history. In addition to her USTA Board responsibilities, Garvin, will continue to serve as a member of the Compensation and International Committees, and represent the USTA on the Grand Slam Committee and the ITF Junior Competitions Committee. She will also remain on the Board of USTA Serves – Foundation for Academics, Character, Excellence, as well as the National Public Parks Tennis Association. Garvin was recently elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame Board of Directors. A former President of the USTA Southern Section, Garvin was inducted into the USTA Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in January 2005. In 1996, the South Carolina Tennis Association established the Lucy Garvin Volunteer of the Year Award in her honor, and she was inducted into the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998. After attaining her degree in Nursing, she made a major career change in 1975, when she began working within the tennis industry at a facility in Greenville, S.C., and then established a consulting business for the management and marketing of tennis facilities throughout the South. A Certified Referee for the past 31 years, Garvin also serves as the referee for the Southern Junior Designated Tournament as well as the Girls’ 12 National Open. She played sanctioned tournaments from 1976 to 1990 and won a number of doubles titles at the local, state and sectional levels.
Lucy and her husband, Bob, also an avid tennis player, have two children, both of whom were ranked junior and collegiate players. The Garvins reside in Greenville, South Carolina, where they are all members of the USTA Southern Section.

***

Here’s Marko Djokovic

He’s 17 and ranked 1734 in the world, but he has a famous brother so Marko Djokovic received a wild card into the Thailand Open to compete in his first singles match on the ATP Tour. It didn’t last long, as he was bounced 6-2 6-0 in just 42 minutes by Jarkko Nieminen. "It was a very very very big experience for me," said Marko. "The first match, playing like this was very tough, to play against Jarkko Nieminen. He played very good. It was a very tough match. All the crowd coming, the ball boys, the referee (umpire), everything. I haven’t had so much experience of that. Being here as a 17-year old, being at this tournament playing the ATP in front of that crowd, it’s a big experience and I’m very happy to play. "Before the match Novak was coaching me and he told me just to relax. I was a little bit nervous of course, it’s normal, but I tried to be more focused on the tennis and not think about anything else." It isn’t easy for him, because if Novak is good they expect the same from him. Not many siblings can match the achievements of their elders. Katerina and Magdalena Maleeva managed it, and Serena Williams. But it’s not easy living with the expectations. "It’s not a negative, but there’s a lot of pressure because everybody’s expecting you to be like him. They come to watch you. They don’t know how big player you are but they watch because you are Novak’s brother. "I played some matches that were really bad in junior tennis, one match good, one match bad, because I’m trying to think like Novak because I watch him all my life. We had the same coach, Niki Pilic, and I think sometimes to play like him. Anyway, I’m trying to be my (own) player. They call me Marko, Novak’s brother, all the time, so I’d like to be Marko."
There is a positive. Only the top players are conveyed to the stadium in a car. Most take the mini-van. Marko? "We get the car because we’re brothers. But I don’t care if it’s the car or the bus."

***

What Will Federer do for a Coach Now?

With the news that Jose Higueras is the USTA's new Director of Coaching for Elite Player Development, the lucrative post of cajoling Roger Federer into his finest form is again vacant. And once more the overriding favorite for the job is Darren Cahill, the Australian who guided Lleyton Hewitt to the top and then breathed new life into the later years of Andre Agassi's career. Higueras, employed as a clay court guru up to the French Open, was recalled to Federer's camp for the US Open and clearly did an excellent job with the former world no.1 winning his first major in 2008 in impressive fashion. However Las Vegas based Cahill, currently a television analyst with ESPN, has been a long-term coaching target of Federer ever since he split with Peter Lundgren at the end of 2003. The Adelaide-born Aussie was a close friend of the late Peter Carter, Federer's coach during his formative years who was tragically killed in a South African road accident.

***

Britain’s Young Robson Continues to Win and Attract Attention

Not quite three months have passed since Laura Robson stoked the British tennis public's optimism by winning the Wimbledon junior title and now the 14 year-old is making her first inroads towards establishing a reputation on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The Australian-born 14 year-old made her first professional appearance at a $US 10,000 event in Limoges last week and brought her talents back home to England's Midlands and the $US 75,000 event at Shrewsbury's Welti Tennis Centre where she scored a 7-6 2-6 6-3 victory over an opponent more than twice her age, Britain's eighth ranked player Sarah Borwell. Robson, who is being fiercely protected by her management company Octagon and is not being allowed to do any interviews, is already guaranteed a check worth $1,000 (£531.84). However her omnipresent agent Abigail Tordoff did allow her to comment: "I was fortunate enough to receive a wild card into my first senior event in the UK. I had a tough match against Sarah and probably didn't play as well as I would have hoped in some parts of the match. But I'm pleased that I won and I look forward to the rest of the week."
Things will get a far more testing today when Robson faces the 128^th ranked 17 year-old Urszula Radwanska who has already won a main-tour doubles title with her elder sister Agnieszka and was Robson's predecessor at Junior Wimbledon champion in 2007.
Borwell, currently ranked 325^th in the world, said: "I had watched Laura's matches at Wimbledon, and she is amazingly talented, and I thought I was going to be able to hit her off the court a bit. But I couldn't do that. That quite shocked me. She reminded me of Ivanovic. "She was seeing the ball so early, and taking the ball so early, and being so aggressive. She plays like Ivanovic, and also looks a bit like her too. I was more impressed with Laura here than I was after watching her win Wimbledon," Borwell said. "After Wimbledon, I thought she would struggle against more powerful players, but her awareness on court was like that of a top player. I usually get a lot of free points on my serve, but that wasn't the case against Laura, as she returned so well."
***

Santoro Eyeing Retirement

As Frenchman Fabrice Santoro winds down his game, the reigning court magician looks also set to up stakes from Switzerland back to Paris. After six years in the low-tax neighboring nation - with a French tennis colony flourishing mainly in Geneva and the Francophile west of the confederation - it will be tough to leave. But family ties are calling the 35-year-old, with his family now back in Paris. His daughter attends school in the French capital and that is enough to draw him back. "It's better to be close to her," said the winner of the Newport grass title last July. Santoro will cut his ATP schedule severely in 2009 as he prepares for the inevitable goodbye after nearly two decades on court as a professional. "I will play some events, but it's getting tougher and tougher to play.
"Playing the matches is not tough, it's the training, the travelling, I want to spend time with my daughter. And when I finally do leave tennis, I will have to choose an activity that keeps me at home, hopefully in tennis."
***

Bob and Mike Bryan to Host First Charity Event

Bob and Mike Bryan are hosting the first ever event for their new charity, The Bryan Brothers Foundation, on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, Calif. The all-day event will feature tennis stars and celebrities, including Andre Agassi, Gavin Rossdale, Lindsay Davenport, James Blake, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Thomas Blake, Justin Gimelstob, Corina Morariu, Jon Lovitz, Amaury Nolasco, Brandi Carlile and Mardy Fish. The event is Agassi’s first scheduled public playing tennis appearance this year. Included in the event is a celebrity pro-am in the afternoon and a gala dinner in the evening. Not surprisingly, both events are sold out; the only available seats left are spectator seats for the afternoon pro exhibition. The All-Star Tennis Smash will benefit local and national charities including City Impact, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping kids in Ventura County.
***

San Diego Hosts Another Huge Success

As it had been for the past 18 years, the MatchPoint Ball, the annual fundraiser for Youth Tennis San Diego, this year’s “Raise the Roof,” held this past Saturday evening, was a resounding success. The dinner and auction took place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego to the delight of more than 200 people attendees including Ruth Jorgensen, the wife of the late USTA President Gordon; the dynamic husband-wife team of Steve and Lee Booth; and former Davis Cup Captain Tom Gullikson were on hand. Kerry Blum, Rick Evans, Linn Walker and Kathy Willette also played a big part in making the affair a spectacular. Gullikson, because of his 29-year friendship with Angel Lopez, a member of the MatchPoint Ball Committee and a Youth Tennis San Diego Foundation Board member, was the featured speaker. “I¹m honored and very humbled to be here tonight to raise money for a very good cause,” he said. “I want to thank Angel for inviting me to attend. Tim (his twin brother) and I grew up in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. We played at the public parks and had After School Programs, which is such a big part of what Youth Tennis San Diego is about, been around at the time, we would have loved being a part of such a program.” Gullikson fondly reminisced about his brother who coached Pete Sampras, before being diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and dying in 1996. “In 1976, Tim defeated a top 50 player named Karl Meiler. (You have to remember this was before Boris Becker and he was good.) A couple weeks later, I played him. Now, I¹m left handed and Tim was right handed. So after the match, (which I won), Meiler said, “Who is this Gullikson guy? I lose to him right handed and then I lose to him left handed. Next time, I guess he will beat me two-handed.” As one would expect those on hand were captivated by the classy and personable Gullikson. Scott Rogers, who is on the MatchPoint Ball Committee, recalled, ³When Youth Tennis San Diego started, we had a budget of $100, 000 and worked with 400 youngsters annually. Now, we deal with over 10,000 youngsters a year, and have a budget of $1.7 million.”

**********

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TENNIS SHORTS

Sharapova to be the Face of Cole Haan Sporting for 2009

Cole Haan, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc., announced Maria Sharapova as the face of Cole Haan Sporting, a new collection for Spring 2009. The Collection introduces new technologies like Flywire which build on the successful Nike Air franchise by recasting them into fashion-forward designs. It includes men's and women's footwear and accessories, and features Sharapova. This lifestyle fashion collection will encompass day to evening silhouettes in both the footwear and accessories categories. For Spring 2009, the Cole Haan Sporting line is inspired by nautical, court, track, and golf. Signature men's styles include the brand's iconic boat shoe and lace-ups in bold color palettes paired with classic neutrals. The accessory collection encompasses a range of silhouettes from a tennis racquet bag to a versatile duffle. Weaving style with innovation, the accessories will be created from recycled plastic bottles and will be trimmed in vegetable chrome-free leather. Cole Haan Sporting will be sold at Cole Haan boutiques worldwide, luxury department stores and on colehaan.com. Price points range from $115 to $550.

***

Serena Williams to Publish her Memoirs

Multi-tasking US Open champion Serena Williams expects to stretch her off-court talents even wider afield with the expected publication of her memoirs in 2009. The American has been the subject of a bidding war in recent weeks. Her price no doubt raised by another title at Flushing Meadows this month. Terms of the deal were not revealed, with sources telling American media that negotiations were in the $1.3 million range.
The book - sure to be ghost-written - is to be published by little-known Grand Central Publishing. "Serena Williams is one of the world's most remarkable athletes," said a statement from the delighted company. "We've watched her rise to No.1 despite physical and emotional setbacks, and her hard work and determination have inspired legions of fans young and old. Serena will give her memoir a strong motivational slant."
Williams, 26, lifted her ninth Grand Slam title with her New York win over Jelena Jankovic, coming in the wake of her Beijing Olympic doubles gold alongside elder sister Venus. The Williams pair have never limited their interests to tennis, dabbling in design, fashion and television acting appearances as well.
***

ATP Offering a 2009 Hunk of the Month Calendar

Many years ago the WTA used to produce a calendar showcasing the glamorous side of some of their players. Eventually it was dropped, perhaps because of economics, political correctness, or because there are now plenty of pictures even in non-tennis publications showing players dressed to kill. Now the ATP has picked up the idea. Naturally, ruggedness rather than glamour is the theme. Each page has a Hunk of the Month, if you like. Featured players for 2009 include Tommy Robredo, Tommy Haas, Fernando Gonzalez and Marcos Baghdatis. And Tomas Berdych and Paradorn Srichaphan, who were on hand on Tuesday to sign copies for fans attending the Thailand Open.
The calendar is available for purchase on the ATP website.

**********

WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY

Upcoming schedules as of September 22, 2008
1. Serena Williams - Stuttgart, Moscow
2. Jelena Jankovic - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich
3. Dinara Safina - Stuttgart, Moscow
4. Ana Ivanovic - Zurich, Linz
5. Elena Dementieva - Stuttgart, Moscow, Luxembourg
6. Maria Sharapova - Zurich, Linz
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Stuttgart, Moscow
8. Venus Williams - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich
9. Vera Zvonareva - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz, Quebec City
10. Agnieszka Radwanska - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz
11. Patty Schnyder - Stuttgart, Zurich, Linz
12. Anna Chakvetadze - Moscow, Zurich, Linz
13. Daniela Hantuchova - Stuttgart, Moscow, Luxembourg
14. Marion Bartoli - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz
15. Flavia Pennetta - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz
16. Victoria Azarenka - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz, Quebec City
17. Caroline Wozniacki - Tokyo [JO], Moscow, Zurich, Luxembourg
18. Nadia Petrova - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz
19. Alize Cornet - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz
19. Agnes Szavay - Beijing, Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich
20. Dominika Cibulkova - Stuttgart, Moscow, Zurich, Linz, Quebec City

*********

COVERS

**********

A Reminder to Our Readers

We wish to remind our readers that our all-day tennis newswire is available to all tennis fans. Just go to www.tennisnews.com anytime throughout the day for the latest tennis news. We surf the internet all day and post links to stories in newspapers and electronic media around the world. “We surf the net so you don’t have to."

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SIGHTINGS

Send your player sightings to: cort@tennisnews.com

**********

APPEARING SOON

Sept. 27, 2008 Bob and Mike Bryan host the Bryan Brothers' All Star Tennis Smash at Sherwood Country Club in Westlake Village, CA. Also appearing are; Andre Agassi, Sam Querrey, James, Blake, John Isner, Mardy Fish and Lindsay Davenport. More information at www.bryanbrosfoundation.org.

**********

MONEY MOUNTAIN

2008 Prize Money Earnings

MEN (September 22)

1 Nadal, Rafael

$6,583,074

2 Federer, Roger

4,561,341

3 Djokovic, Novak

3,831,382

4 Murray, Andy

2,334,965

5 Davydenko, Nikolay

1,521,606

6 Ferrer, David

1,095,268

7 Roddick, Andy

1,047,237

8 Wawrinka, Stanislas

918,781

9 Del Potro, Juan Martin

889,333

10 Blake, James
850,081

WOMEN (September 22)

Williams, Serena

3,641,548

Ivanovic, Ana

2,580,045

Jankovic, Jelena

2,364,245

Safina, Dinara

2,342,820

Williams, Venus

2,272,130

Sharapova, Maria

1,937,879

Dementieva, Elena

1,513,479

Kuznetsova, Svetlana

1,266,484

Radwanska, Agnieszka

960,839

Zvonareva, Vera

850,855

**********

HE SAID... SHE SAID...

"It was a very very very big experience for me. The first match, playing like this was very tough, to play against Jarkko Nieminen. He played very good. It was a very tough match. All the crowd coming, the ball boys, the referee (umpire), everything. I haven’t had so much experience of that. Being here as a 17-year old, being at this tournament playing the ATP in front of that crowd, it’s a big experience and I’m very happy to play" - Marko Djokovic, the 17-year brother of Novak Djokovic on playing in the Thailand Open.

**********

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

September

Serena Williams
26
1981

Kimiko Date
28
1970

Martina Hingis
30
1980

October

Darren Cahill
2
1965

Thomas Muster
2
1967

Jana Novotna
2
1968

Marion Bartoli
2
1984

Neale Fraser
3
1933

Torben Ulrich
4
1928

Owen Davidson
4
1943

**********

Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
Bob Larson's Tennis Celebs is published weekly.
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Junior subscription rate $27
Bob Larson Tennis
P.O. Box 24256
Edina, MN 55424 USA
001 952 920 8947 (voice) or 001 952 920 8940 (fax)
E-mail address bob@tennisnews.com
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Bob Larson's Daily Tennis News: September 25th

by mltennis 25. September 2008 10:46

Thursday, September 25, 2008

BUSINESS NEWS

Britain’s Young Robson Continues to Win and Attract Attention

Not quite three months have passed since Laura Robson stoked the British tennis public's optimism by winning the Wimbledon junior title and now the 14 year-old is making her first inroads towards establishing a reputation on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The Australian-born 14 year-old made her first professional appearance at a $US 10,000 event in Limoges last week and brought her talents back home to England's Midlands and the $US 75,000 event at Shrewsbury's Welti Tennis Centre where she scored a 7-6 2-6 6-3 victory over an opponent more than twice her age, Britain's eighth ranked player Sarah Borwell. Robson, who is being fiercely protected by her management company Octagon and is not being allowed to do any interviews, is already guaranteed a check worth $1,000 (£531.84). However her omnipresent agent Abigail Tordoff did allow her to comment: "I was fortunate enough to receive a wild card into my first senior event in the UK. I had a tough match against Sarah and probably didn't play as well as I would have hoped in some parts of the match. But I'm pleased that I won and I look forward to the rest of the week." Things will get a far more testing today when Robson faces the 128^th ranked 17 year-old Urszula Radwanska who has already won a main-tour doubles title with her elder sister Agnieszka and was Robson's predecessor at Junior Wimbledon champion in 2007. Borwell, currently ranked 325^th in the world, said: "I had watched Laura's matches at Wimbledon, and she is amazingly talented, and I thought I was going to be able to hit her off the court a bit. But I couldn't do that. That quite shocked me. She reminded me of Ivanovic. "She was seeing the ball so early, and taking the ball so early, and being so aggressive. She plays like Ivanovic, and also looks a bit like her too. I was more impressed with Laura here than I was after watching her win Wimbledon," Borwell said. "After Wimbledon, I thought she would struggle against more powerful players, but her awareness on court was like that of a top player. I usually get a lot of free points on my serve, but that wasn't the case against Laura, as she returned so well."
***
Tsonga aka Young Ali Tries Thai Boxing

***
ATP Offering a 2009 Hunk of the Month Calendar

Many years ago the WTA used to produce a calendar showcasing the glamorous side of some of their players. Eventually it was dropped, perhaps because of economics, political correctness, or because there are now plenty of pictures even in non-tennis publications showing players dressed to kill. Now the ATP has picked up the idea. Naturally, ruggedness rather than glamour is the theme. Each page has a Hunk of the Month, if you like. Featured players for 2009 include Tommy Robredo, Tommy Haas, Fernando Gonzalez and Marcos Baghdatis. And Tomas Berdych and Paradorn Srichaphan, who were on hand on Tuesday to sign copies for fans attending the Thailand Open. The calendar is available for purchase on the ATP website.

***
Santoro Eyeing Retirement

As Frenchman Fabrice Santoro winds down his game, the reigning court magician looks also set to up stakes from Switzerland back to Paris. After six years in the low-tax neighboring nation - with a French tennis colony flourishing mainly in Geneva and the Francophile west of the confederation - it will be tough to leave.
But family ties are calling the 35-year-old, with his family now back in Paris. His daughter attends school in the French capital and that is enough to draw him back. "It's better to be close to her," said the winner of the Newport grass title last July.
Santoro will cut his ATP schedule severely in 2009 as he prepares for the inevitable goodbye after nearly two decades on court as a professional. "I will play some events, but it's getting tougher and tougher to play. "Playing the matches is not tough, it's the training, the traveling, I want to spend time with my daughter. And when I finally do leave tennis, I will have to choose an activity that keeps me at home, hopefully in tennis."
***
Becker to Make Senior Debut in Dallas

Boris Becker will make his debut on the Outback Champions Series tennis circuit October 22-26 on the campus of SMU in Dallas, Texas. This will be Becker’s first tournament in the United States since he played in the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Fla., in 1999. Becker will play Jim Courier, Wayne Ferreira and Mikael Pernfors in group A of the round robin portion of the event. Mark Philippoussis, Todd Martin, Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Arias will play in group B.

***
Italian Tennis Writer Becomes Staff Writer for Daily Tennis News

Daily Tennis News Publisher Bob Larson welcomes a new staff writer, all around writer, Ubaldo Scanagatta, who has always been involved with tennis. His father was the president of the 112 year-old club Circolo Tennis Firenze (Florence, Tuscany). Former Italian College Champion, with a tennis scholarship in the US (Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Oklahoma), for many years Florence ATP Tournament Director and European Tennis Press Chairman. He is one of the founders of ITWA, the International Tennis Writers Association. TV and radio broadcaster, he is also the special tennis correspondent for La Nazione of Florence, Il Giorno of Milan, Il Resto del Carlino of Bologna. TV and radio broadcaster for more than 1,000 live broadcasts, he has covered for these publications, among other events, 110 Grand Slam Tournaments, 4 Olympic Games, 3 America's Cups and a number of world swimming events. Editor of several tennis books and magazines on his well-known website www.ubitennis.com , the only multilingual tennis blog in the world with three homepages, Italian, French and English, Scanagatta has also a blog www.ubaldoscanagatta.com and claims he stays daily in touch with a few thousand fans.
***
Philippoussis is a Last Minute Pull-Out from Charlotte

There's been more injury bad news for Mark Philippoussis, with the former two-time Grand Slam champion a step closer to official retirement after pulling from a senior event this weekend in North Carolina. The soon-to-be 32-year-old was a late scratch from Jim Courier's event, citing slow recovery from his fifth knee operation in January. The hard-luck Aussie was joined as an absentee by former French Open finalist Mikail Pernfors, limping with an Achilles problem. Philippoussis, who survived a serious surfing accident over the summer, hopes to somehow get back on court in seniors next month in Dallas - no sure thing as far as his fitness goes. "I'm disappointed that I am not quite ready to compete in Charlotte," he said.
"My doctor tells me I will be ready to go next month and I can't wait to step on the court there." He last played - and hurt his knee - during an ill-fated attempt at an Australian Open wild card last December in Melbourne.
***
San Diego Hosts Another Huge Success

As it had been for the past 18 years, The Match Point Ball, the annual fundraiser for Youth Tennis San Diego, this year’s “Raise the Roof,” held this past Saturday evening, was a resounding success.The dinner and auction took place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego to the delight of more than 200 people attendees including Ruth Jorgensen, the wife of the late USTA President Gordon; the dynamic husband-wife team of Steve and Lee Booth; and former Davis Cup Captain Tom Gullikson were on hand. Kerry Blum, Rick Evans, Linn Walker and Kathy Willette also played a big part in making the affair a spectacular. Gullikson, because of his 29-year friendship with Angel Lopez, a member of The Match Point Ball Committee and a Youth Tennis San Diego Foundation Board member, was the featured speaker. “I'm honored and very humbled to be here tonight to raise money for a very good cause,” he said. “I want to thank Angel for inviting me to attend. Tim (his twin brother) and I grew up in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. We played at the public parks and had After School Programs, which is such a big part of what Youth Tennis San Diego is about, been around at the time, we would have loved being a part of such a program.” Gullikson fondly reminisced about his brother who coached Pete Sampras, before being diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and dying in 1996. “In 1976, Tim defeated a top 50 player named Karl Meiler. (You have to remember this was before Boris Becker and he was good.) A couple weeks later, I played him. Now, I'm left handed and Tim was right handed. So after the match, (which I won), Meiler said, “Who is this Gullikson guy? I lose to him right handed and then I lose to him left handed. Next time, I guess he will beat me two-handed.” As one would expect those on hand were captivated by the classy and personable Gullikson. Scott Rogers, who is on The Match Point Ball Committee, recalled, ³When Youth Tennis San Diego started, we had a budget of $100, 000 and worked with 400 youngsters annually. Now, we deal with over 10,000 youngsters a year, and have a budget of $1.7 million.”

***

We Hear—
--that Jack Kramer had surgery Tuesday afternoon (90 minutes worth) to remove the remnants of a hematoma. He should be out of the hospital (Cedars-Sinai) by the end of the week.
--that Todd Martin and wife Amy are expecting a third child. They have two -- Jack and Cash.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Bangkok
Beijing
WOMEN
Beijing
Seoul
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Bangalore
Metz
Tokyo
WOMEN
Stuttgart
Tashkent
Tokyo
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
Wednesday’s Stock Prices

Stock

Last

Change

28.35

+.23

6.70

0.00

2.10

0.00

17.40

-1.38

59.27

-1.46

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $118.82
* The index is based on the total value of one share of each stock we report daily.
***
Results
For complete ATP and WTA results, please see our web site at www.tennisnews.com

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Bob Larson's Daily Tennis News: September 24th

by mltennis 24. September 2008 08:30

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

BUSINESS NEWS

USA vs. Switzerland in Davis Cup Play—That’s Good and That’s Bad
By Charles Bricker

It’s not the first-round Davis Cup opponent the players would have picked, but it could hardly be better for fans or the USTA, which got busy Tuesday seeking venue bids for a tie against Switzerland, and probably Roger Federer, when the two countries meet March 6-8. The U.S. has 60 days from the draw, which was made Tuesday, to select the location and name the surface for a tie that is expected to be a blockbuster. If the site is in Florida, it could be outdoors. It would almost have to be indoors anywhere else and it’s assumed the USTA will be looking for a stadium or arena with larger than usual capacity for a first-round Cup match because of the prospect of Federer playing. Federer has already verbally committed to playing the opening round for his country, if he’s physically able to go. Moving the first round forward by a month will make it easier for all top players to accommodate Davis Cup. The first round has for years been held shortly after the Australian Open, when some players are physically or emotionally drained.
It’s expected the Swiss will send Federer, currently No. 2, and No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka against No. 8 Andy Roddick and No. 10 James Blake. It would be something of a nostalgia tie for the U.S. The two countries haven’t played each other since 2001, when 18-year-old Roddick made his Cup debut with a dead-rubber win in a 3-2 loss in Basel. It was also the first tie for Patrick McEnroe as captain of the squad. He couldn’t get Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi and went with Todd Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill in singles and Gambill and Justin Gimelstob in doubles. Federer, who had come into that tie with only a 3-4 record in Cup singles, won three points by defeating Martin and Gambill in singles and teaming with Lorenzo Manta to win the doubles. He’s won 13 majors singles titles since.
Federer is 25-6 overall in Cup singles play and 10-1 on hard courts. He holds a career 15-2 edge over Roddick and 8-1 advantage over Blake, but both Americans defeated Federer in their most recent matches, this year. Federer has won his last 11 Cup singles matches, last losing in 2003 to Lleyton Hewitt of Australia. Wawrinka is 2-0 vs. Blake with a win over Blake at Rome this year. He is 1-0 against Roddick, though that was the match in which Roddick retired after three games at Rome this year with a shoulder injury.
***
Change in Davis Cup Dates Attracts Murray

Britain has benefited from the common sense shown by the International Tennis Federation in allowing the dates for next year's Davis Cup Euro African Zone Group One fixtures to be changed and can now confidently expect Andy Murray to be part of the team. When Britain's name came out of the hat with a home tie against the Ukraine, it was originally scheduled to be played in May which would put it right in the midst of the European clay court season right between the between the Masters Series tournaments in Rome and Madrid. World no.4 Murray has long made it clear that the thing most likely to affect his participation in the Davis Cup is swift changes in surface and there is more chance of Britain's conceding home advantage for this tie that decide to play it on outdoor clay. However sense prevailed and the tie is now scheduled for March 6 thru 8, which in the 2009 calendar has been designated as a Davis Cup week primarily for World Group first round fixtures to be played. So now the prospect of playing on a fast hard court (albeit indoor) is much more conducive to Murray who will have just played in Dubai and would next be heading across the Atlantic to contest the year's initial Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami. Last night Gavin Fletcher, the LTA's events and tournament director, was telephoning a list of potential venues to check on availability for the March date.
***
Italy Defeated Latvia in Davis Cup Amid Political Infighting
By Ubaldo Scanagatta

Italy played Davis Cup last weekend and won vs. Latvia 3-2, with Ernests Gulbis winning both his two singles (vs. Fognini 76 61 61 and vs. Andreas Seppi coming back from two sets down and then 1-3 in the fifth to win 6-3). It was a play-off match in order to survive in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 for the year 2009.
There was not much time to celebrate; the next day the president of the Italian Tennis Federation, Angelo Binaghi, announced that Simone Bolelli, ATP no.45, and Italian no.2 behind Andreas Seppi, will not be asked to play again in Davis Cup for the national team, at least while he is federation president. Which means, since he was reelected with 94% of the votes (nobody tried to compete with him two weekends ago in the national federal elections) that Bolelli is out of the Davis Cup team for the next four years. In addition to that Bolelli will not be allowed, despite his two-year contract, to play in The National Tennis League for the next five years. Plus he will not receive any more any sort of wildcards by the Italian tournaments run by the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT). This action was taken because he declined to be part of the Davis Cup team, preferring to play tournaments in Bangkok and Tokyo, in order to improve his ATP ranking: "My goal is to be in the top 32 before the end of the year in order to be seeded at the next Australian Open" he told this reporter. “They didn't really need me to beat Latvia."
Bolelli and his coach Claudio Pistolesi (former coach of Davide Sanguinetti and the Japanese Takao Suzuki among others) had asked Italian Captain Corrado Barazzutti, just before the US Open, while in New Haven, to not be named in the Italian Davis Cup team that was to play Latvia. "We want to send the message to all our players, the Davis Cup and the Italian Tennis Federation is not a bus where you get in, then you get off, then you 'd like to get back in whenever you like...added President Binaghi. If I am the driver of the bus, and I am a volunteer driver, I have the right to open or to close the bus when I think it is the moment. We are ready to play Davis Cup with our under 12s if it will be necessary. We have our principles and we are going to stick to them, at least while I am in charge".
***
Argentina’s Davis Cup Dilemma; What Surface to Play Spain?

Argentina’s Davis Cup Captain Alberto Mancini is left with one of the biggest dilemmas of his career in deciding the surface on which to stage the upcoming final against Spain. Normally Argentina stages every home tie on clay and can boast a ten-year winning run at home in Buenos Aires but the prospect of facing world no.1 Rafael Nadal, now bidding to add Davis Cup glory to his wins in the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, puts a different complexion on the surface issue. Hard courts, on which Argentina's new singles second string Juan Martin del Potro won titles in Los Angeles and Washington this summer, will be an option. So too is carpet and Mancini will be heartened by the memory of David Nalbandian's two emphatic indoor victories over Nadal at the tail end of last year, winning 6-1,6-2 in the quarter final of the Madrid Masters Series event and then 6-4,6-0 in the final of the Paris Masters Series. Nalbandian has also lost to Spain's David Ferrer every time they have played on clay but registered wins against the world no.5 on both indoor and outdoor hard court.
***
British TV Interest in Golf and Tennis About Even

Relative media coverage last weekend between's Ryder Cup and the Davis Cup might have been a one sided affair in the United States but the chasm between golf and tennis is not so vast on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In Britain Sky Sport is the nation's largest cable and satellite channel and much to the derision of the BBC, owns the rights to exclusively screen both the Ryder Cup and tennis' US Open. On Sunday night the coverage of the Ryder Cup singles matches and the US's eventual victory was watched by an average of 821,000 people between 4.30pm and midnight British Summer Time with the figures peaking at 1.18 million around 9.15pm when it looked as though the Europeans might be staging something of a fight back. However this figure could not match the 1.36 million who stayed up far later in the evening to watch Andy Murray lose the US Open final at Flushing Meadows to Roger Federer two weeks earlier.
***
ATP Holding Promotion in Bangkok This Week

Tennis fans attending the Thailand Open in Bangkok this week have an opportunity to win a trip to the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Fans can take a photo on court and upload it to the ATP web site. The photos will not be judged by an anonymous panel at the ATP, but by fellow fans who can vote for their favorite on-line. The prize, for two people, includes airfare and accommodation, and tickets for the tennis on Monday November 10th and Tuesday November 11th. The competition is part of the ATP Feel It campaign, designed to showcase the raw excitement and power the game generates. With that in mind, the competition photos will need to capture the power, passion and intensity of competition - not an easy task when sitting in the stands.
***
Canas Robbed When Leaving His Parents’ Home

The Davis Cup celebrations were marred for Argentine Guillermo Canas as the doubles player in last weekend's World Group defeat of Russia was robbed outside his parent's home in the capital. Reports say that the No. 56 was accosted in the early hours by a pair of armed attackers who apparently did not realize they had run into one of the country's tennis heroes. The men could have taken a clue by the tennis racket he was carrying - which they stole - as well as documents, credit cards, cash and a chain. To add insult to loss, they fled in the player's own car.
Canas played doubles at the weekend in the tie which thrust Argentina into the final against Spain to be held later this year.
***
An Oddity on the ATP Tour: A Pakistani Player

A Pakistani tennis player is as rare as a rain-free Wimbledon - or US Open! But there he is on the ATP Tour - Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Playing only his fourth top level event of the season after qualifying for the Thailand Open, he lost in straight sets on Tuesday to sixth seed Robin Soderling. In Pakistan, practically every kid picks up a cricket bat rather than a tennis racquet. But although admitting that he enjoys playing cricket and he was also a swimmer before taking up tennis, Qureshi is trying to raise the profile of the sport in his country. "Obviously I’m doing my level best to promote this sport in Pakistan and make it popular, and for the past three or four years everybody recognizes me there, that there’s a tennis player from Pakistan on the tour. I’m trying to play as many Grand Slam and ATP events as I can so the people can have some recognition of this sport in Pakistan." But it isn’t easy, with attention and money channeled elsewhere. "It’s still very difficult because we don’t have any infrastructure or good facilities for practice, or coaches. But everybody was telling me I was talented and have tennis in my blood and I was able to pick it up really fast. The step that really changed my life was to get into the ITF team when I was 17 years old. That took care of all my expenses for two years, I got to world number seven in juniors and Asian number one.
"Then I had to decide whether to go to the States to college or to become a professional tennis player. My parents supported me and told me I was different and had some talent so try to use the opportunity and be different, and I think it turned out to be a good decision." Qureshi also plays a valuable role in breaking down political and religious barriers. A Muslim, at one time he played with Israeli Amir Hadad. And for many years he has partnered India’s Rohan Bopanna. He’s known Bopanna since they were juniors, and he says it’s good to have someone to mix with on the tour from his part of the world. "Luckily there are a few Indians on the tour now and we share a lot of things in common - the culture, also the language as well, so it makes it a little bit easier. I get so much recognition in India, more there than at home. Rohan is a very good friend of mine, and it’s good to have someone from the same continent that you can go out with in the evening."
***
Bangkok Attracts Many Davis Cuppers

Davis Cup travel is affecting the schedule for this week’s Thailand Open, with a fifth of the field flying in from overseas to resume the ATP campaign. Heading that list is top seed Novak Djokovic, who had an extra day of travel with a Sunday day-off in Serbia's 4-1 sweep of Slovakia in European World Group playoffs. Also arriving in the Thai capital was teammate Viktor Troicki, the 65th-ranked finalist at Washington last August who helped Serbia claim the weekend doubles point. Austrian Jurgen Melzer, the eighth seed who begins his Bangkok campaign against American Donald Young, led his nation past the Britain of Andy Murray 3-2.
Australian Robert Smeets, who only received the passport of his adopted nation a week ago, backed up the Aussie side which went down to Chile in the playoffs in South America. Due to the Davis Cup demands, both of this week's Asian events in Bangkok and Beijing have limited the singles field to 28 players, with Andy Roddick and David Ferrer heading the field in China after facing off in Davis Cup at the weekend in Madrid.
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Jankovic Striving for Top Spot on WTA Tour

US Open finalist Jelena Jankovic says she has nothing to prove as she chips away in Asia at the top spot held by Serena Williams on the WTA. The Serb's quest has taken her to China this week, with rival and compatriot Ana Ivanovic also in the hunt in the capital. "I don't have to prove to anybody or any media about my ability, except to myself, " said Jankovic, whose run in Tokyo a week ago was ended in the quarterfinals. "I'm only 23 years old, still young. "And I've been in a Grand Slam final. I'll try my best to finish my job, to play tennis," said Jankovic, the 2007 Beijing finalist. Jankovic, Ivanovic and on-fire Russian Dinara Safina are all in the mix to strip the top ranking from Williams, whose autumn schedule is traditionally sparse. The American has not played since the US Open and is not due to return until Stuttgart next week. Since Justine Henin made he surprise exit from the game in the spring, the top spot has rotated between (injured) Maria Sharapova, Ivanovic, Jankovic and Williams.
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Here’s Marko Djokovic

He’s 17 and ranked 1734 in the world, but he has a famous brother so Marko Djokovic received a wild card into the Thailand Open to compete in his first singles match on the ATP Tour. It didn’t last long, as he was bounced 6-2 6-0 in just 42 minutes by Jarkko Nieminen. "It was a very very very big experience for me," said Marko. "The first match, playing like this was very tough, to play against Jarkko Nieminen. He played very good. It was a very tough match. All the crowd coming, the ball boys, the referee (umpire), everything. I haven’t had so much experience of that. Being here as a 17-year old, being at this tournament playing the ATP in front of that crowd, it’s a big experience and I’m very happy to play. "Before the match Novak was coaching me and he told me just to relax. I was a little bit nervous of course, it’s normal, but I tried to be more focused on the tennis and not think about anything else." It isn’t easy for him, because if Novak is good they expect the same from him. Not many siblings can match the achievements of their elders. Katerina and Magdalena Maleeva managed it, and Serena Williams. But it’s not easy living with the expectations. "It’s not a negative, but there’s a lot of pressure because everybody’s expecting you to be like him. They come to watch you. They don’t know how big player you are but they watch because you are Novak’s brother. "I played some matches that were really bad in junior tennis, one match good, one match bad, because I’m trying to think like Novak because I watch him all my life. We had the same coach, Niki Pilic, and I think sometimes to play like him. Anyway, I’m trying to be my (own) player. They call me Marko, Novak’s brother, all the time, so I’d like to be Marko." There is a positive. Only the top players are conveyed to the stadium in a car. Most take the mini-van. Marko? "We get the car because we’re brothers. But I don’t care if it’s the car or the bus."

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We Hear—
--that the long-anticipated Serena Williams' memoir probably won’t be ready until US Open in 2009.
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THIS WEEK
MEN
Bangkok
Beijing
WOMEN
Beijing
Seoul
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Bangalore
Metz
Tokyo
WOMEN
Stuttgart
Tashkent
Tokyo
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
Tuesday’s Stock Prices

Stock

Last

Change

28.12

-.08

6.70

-.72

2.10

0.00

18.78

+.16