Thursday, October 30, 2008
Bob Larson's
TENNIS CELEBS
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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
Hall of Fame to Honor USTA President Jane Brown Grimes
The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum will pay tribute to United States Tennis Association (USTA) President Jane Brown Grimes on Thursday, December 11, 2008 at Doubles (located at 783 5th Avenue) in New York.
Network-TV tennis announcer Mary Carillo will serve as the event’s Mistress of Ceremonies. President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Tony Trabert is the Honorary Chairman of this special tribute. Joining Carillo and Trabert will be U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe as a featured speaker. Proceeds from the event will benefit the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Annual Fund.
"The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to host this recognition dinner and tribute in honor of Jane Brown Grimes as she completes her outstanding term as Chair of the USTA,” said Chris Clouser, Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
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A Frustrated Safin Considers Retiring From Tennis
It was probably more in frustration than fact, but Marat Safin has floated the possibility of retirement after his first-round loss in Paris to Juan Monaco
The 28-year-old Russian, a two-time Grand Slam champion, may actually just be pleased to have ended a another poor season, and could easily turn his remarks on their head after a few days or weeks of reflection.
"I need time to sit down and relax and just enjoy my life without any tennis in a couple of months and then I will see," said the Paris Bercy champion in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
"I will make a decision and see what I want to do. If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over."
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Leukemia Claims Federico Luzzi at 28
Federico Luzzi, the former Italian Davis Cup player whose career peaked when he reached no.92 in the world six years ago but was still playing competitively just a matter of days ago, died on Saturday of a rare form of leukemia.
The 28 year-old Luzzi passed away at a hospital in his hometown of Arezzo but the previous weekend he contested an Italian league match in Sardinia. He complained of feeling dizzy and was forced to leave the court. Still feeling unwell two days later he checked himself into hospital and soon lapsed into a coma.
A minute's silence in memory of the player who appeared four times for his country was held before the finals in Basel, St. Petersburg and Lyon as well as the opening round matches at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Soon to retire ATP executive chairman Etienne de Villiers had good reason to remember the name of Luzzi, the right hander who could boast victories over such names as 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, former world no.4 and Masters champion Alex Corretja, Mario Ancic, Fernando Lopez, Dmitry Tursunov, Juan Monaco and Jurgen Melzer, was one of a number of Italian players suspended for gambling on tennis earlier this year.
Luzzi was banned for 200 days and fined $50,000 by the ATP but de Villiers still said: "Losing a young man so tragically in the prime of his life, a son to a loving family and a great sportsman is a terrible blow.
"Federico was hugely respected by his fellow professionals and was one of the most popular players on the tour. Federico will be much missed by all who knew him and the thoughts and the prayers of everyone at the ATP are with his family on this very sad day for tennis."
Luzzi merited a place in the history books of Italian tennis. In 2001, he beat Ville Liukko of Finland 14-12 in the fifth set after 4 hours, 35 minutes -- the longest Davis Cup match ever played by an Italian.
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Hewitt Creates a Fundraising Auction for Australian Charity
Lleyton Hewitt has found a project to occupy some of his time as he recovers from hip surgery with an expected return to tennis in January prior to the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old and his wife Bec, pregnant with the couple's second child, have set up a month-long fundraising auction with proceeds going to the Cure Our Kids charity, which supports children in the state of New South Wales.
Among items going under the hammer are donations from former No. 1 Hewitt and his television ex-soap star wife. In addition, tennis pals Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer plus Ana Ivanovic and Andre Agassi have also kicked in memorabilia.
Hewitt, who last played at the Beijing Olympics before bowing to the inevitable and undergoing an operation on his hip, said that Nadal was particularly generous.
"He donated the racquet he used to win the 2008 Wimbledon final,"
said Hewitt. "Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi both donated tennis racquets, while Roger Federer gave us the shirt off his own back."
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Bollettieri Celebrating 30 Years of Coaching
By Charles Bricker
He’s not retiring, Nick Bollettieri is celebrating 30 of coaching on November 7-8 beginning with a dinner at the Bollettieri IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
There will be golf and tennis clinics on Saturday morning and afternoon with the heavy duty celebrating Saturday night with a dinner at the Ritz Carlton hotel in nearby Sarasota.
"Don't ask me who's going to be there," Bollettieri said. "I don't know anything."
And he really doesn't. His daughter, Danielle, has put this party together, and his job is to ask no questions and just show up, beginning Friday night.
One by one, Nick Bollettieri ran down the list of his most famous pupils, and it's expected that scores of them will be at the party
At one time or another, he's trained or consulted with many of the best players in the game -- Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Boris Becker, current women's No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and former top 10 Brian Gottfried, who was his first student.
Jim Courier? "When he finished all his hard work, he would work some more."
Maria Sharapova? "You couldn't see inside her. Outwardly, she'd smile at you. But inside, on the court, she was meaner than a snake."
Marcelo Rios? "The most talented student I ever worked with and possibly the biggest disappointment."
Mary Pierce: "People really didn't understand how hard she worked."
Boris Becker: "He once said to me, 'Mr. B, when I speak to you I'd better know what I'm talking about.' "
Seles: "Of all the players I've had there were only two that I knew would be great the moment I saw them in their first practice -- Andre and Monica."
There have been some down moments. Several divorces couldn't have been fun. In fact, Bollettieri once cracked that he probably never would retire because he's got a lot of alimony to pay.
There was also the letter he wrote to Agassi in 1993, criticizing Andre's lack of commitment to greatness and announcing he would no longer coach him. "I made one of my gravest misjudgments," Bollettieri later said.
The two men long ago patched up their differences. "I talked to him just last week on the phone," said Bollettieri. "We had a great talk."
If you wanted to, you could have spend hours asking Bollettieri to summarize the men and women he helped to tennis success.
"After 30 years, it's been a hell of a ride," said Bollettieri.
He began his coaching career 30 years ago at The Colony on Longboat Key, Fl., and four years later founded the Bollettieri Academy on 40 acres of largely undeveloped land in the middle of Bradenton, a city on the gulf coast of Florida about 60 miles south of Tampa.
"All I remember about that first day here was planting all the bushes and shrubs and palm trees," said Bollettieri.
"Did I ever think I'd get to this point, 30 years after I started coaching?" Bollettieri asked, rhetorically. "To be truthful, the last six months, since this party was planned, I do go back in my mind and think of the times we've had."
There will undoubtedly be a lot more reminiscing with the Bollettieri Clan and the people he's touched when they celebrate his coaching career in a couple weeks.
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Wozniak Honored by Canadian National Assembly
Québec tennis player Aleksandra Wozniak was honored by the members of the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon. To recognize the recent performances of the 20-year-old athlete, the MNAs presented her with the Medal of the National Assembly, which is for the exclusive use of parliamentarians and is awarded to persons of their choice who merit special recognition.
“This is a great honor,” said Wozniak after the ceremony. “To me, this medal recognizes the work that my father, who is also my coach, and I have accomplished since I first started playing tennis. I am extremely proud.”
In July, Wozniak won the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. She defeated Marion Bartoli (15th) of France in the final and Serena Williams (5th) of the United States in the semi. Her victories made her the first Québec player and only the fifth Canadian to win a WTA title. Wozniak has also won seven ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournaments since the beginning of her career.
Wozniak, who began the 2008 season ranked 136th in the world is today ranked 37th on the WTA Tour – the highest ranking every reached by a player from Québec. Only two Canadians have held higher rankings than Wozniak: Carling Basset-Seguso (8th) in 1985, and Helen Kelesi (13th) in 1989.
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Rafter Honored by Brisbane Tennis Center
Aussie tennis hero Patrick Rafter has joined legend Rod Laver and Margaret Court in having a tennis stadium named in their honor. The Queenslander will now be honored at the new $55 million facility in Brisbane which will debut a men's and women's event in the first week of January.
The center court for the Brisbane International will seat 5,500 in what is now called the Rafter Arena. "It's a huge honor," said the 2002 Australian of the year, twice a US Open champion.
"In Melbourne Park, we have the Rod Laver Arena and now to have an arena named after myself is huge."
The facility's first tournament is replacing a handful on the Australian summer circuit, including Adelaide on the ATP and the Gold Coast WTA.
Serbs Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic are already confirmed to head the field as the Queensland capital gets it first major tennis in 14 years.
Rafter said he was particularly pleased that clay courts have been included at the facility, "Tennis Australia have gone ahead and we've got some great European clay courts here."
Local officials are also hoping to land a Davis Cup tie now that they boast the most modern stadium on the island-continent.
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Being Speedy on the Court is One Thing, But on the Highway?
Speedy Swiss Stan Wawrinka has had to apply the brakes on the motorways at home after temporarily having his drivers license suspended.
The Swiss No. 2 who is now out of the chase for the Masters Cup after first-round losses in two of his last three indoor tournaments confessed to the infraction on his blog.
Stan told his public: "I'm not proud to admit it, but recently I lost my license for a month for driving a little too fast."
"But I've learned my lesson. We took it easy on the trip" (from Lausanne to Basel, where he went out in his first match to German qualifier Benjamin Becker.
And the No. 12 cautioned impressionable readers: "There are lots of speed cameras so you will almost certainly be caught if you drive too fast." His penance paid, Wawrinka is now driving with more prudence after getting his license back.
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Nadal is Reaching the End of His Endurance
Even prime physical specimen Rafael Nadal is reaching the limit of his endurance as a long season grinds on, with the world No. 1's uncle and coach Toni Nadal wondering if his charge will see through to the end.
"We are in a very bad state," Toni told Germany's DPA. "We are going to do the best we can, and to see whether we can get through it as well as possible, knowing that there are two tournaments left which, of course, do not come at a good time for Rafael."
Nadal, top seed at this week's Paris Masters, last event of the regular ATP season, faces a flight to China next Tuesday to prepare for the season-ending Masters Cup. He then goes to Argentina for the final leg of his marathon, the Davis Cup final November 21-23.
Even on off weeks, Nadal is never "off duty." Last week when he did not play an event he had to travel within Spain to receive an award, which threw his practice schedule off for a few days.
"We have trained badly for a week, because we missed three days," said Toni. "We get here (to Paris). The normal thing would be for us not to play very well."
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Del Potro is So Busy He Can’t Take Care of Himself
Juan Del Potro is playing in pain, but with no time to step off of the tennis treadmill and cure a split toenail which has bothered him for months.
The Argentine is fighting for a place in the season-ending Masters Cup as well as focusing on his country's Davis Cup final against Spain in Mar del Plata, Argentina from November 21.
The 20-year-old says he cannot stop to cure his problem until the season of his life is over. "I have no time, and it's still bothering me."
Del Potro, the hottest player this season with four straight titles over the summer and 35 victories from 39 matches dating to July, says doctors tell him he needs his toenail removed and 15 days of rest.
That can only happen after Davis Cup according to the eager 20-year-old ranked ninth in the world. "I have not time to do anything," he said. "I have too many matches to play."
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Murray is Playing Great Tennis and Getting Ready to Improve
The rest of men's tennis currently views Andy Murray with trepidation and Sam Querrey, his first round opponent at this week's BNP Paribas Masters, spoke for the rest of the rank-and-file players on the ATP tour when he said the Scot is right now arguably the best player in the world.
Murray arrived in Paris with back to back titles at the Madrid Masters and last week's St. Petersburg Open. He has won 30 of his past 34 matches, 12 straight since losing the US Open final to Roger Federer, and is also on the verge of taking his prize money earning through the $3million mark for the year and $5million for his career.
But the 21 year-old from Dunblane is far from satisfied and intends to begin the 2009 season in even more formidable shape. He has already worked overtime on his physical conditioning with his support team of coach Miles Maclagan, conditioning trainers Matt Little and Jez Green and physio Andy Ireland.
Once the last ball is hit in the upcoming Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Murray will take the briefest of rests before heading to his training base of Miami and begin his preparation work for another year.
"To get ready for Australia [the next grand-slam tournament, in January], I want to gain another three kilos of strength and muscle," he said. "If I can stay fit and work hard, I hope to have an even better year next year."
Both Murray's Davis Cup captain John Lloyd and his predecessor as British no.1 Tim Henman believe great things are ahead in the next 12 months. ""He is millimeters away from winning a grand slam," insisted Lloyd.”It would not surprise me if he wins one next year. I still think he's two years away from playing his best tennis - which is a scary thought.
"I think he's very much a learner. He's very astute in that he picks up things all the time and he knows what he needs to get that extra step. He's been gradually chipping away at the top three guys - and in a lot of cases beating the top three guys - but he's taking it all on board.
"Winning back to back titles is what the Nadals and the Federers do. You can look at it and think 'Jeez, what a long year' and may be they're not 100% and maybe they're not mentally as fresh as they would like, but they still grind out some titles. I wouldn't say Andy ground out St Petersburg because he won it comfortably, but the point was that he didn't take his foot off after winning Madrid and just went on again to show that there's plenty more left in there.
"He has had a quite remarkable year when you look at it. He's won the titles and made the final of the US Open, quarters at Wimbledon - it's remarkable and it's really exciting to watch it and be around it when he does this stuff."
Henman was equally enthusiastic. "Andy is easily going to win more titles than I did," said the player amassed 11 trophies from a 12 year career, a figure that Murray is already just four behind. "When I was 21, I had just broken into the 100, and look at what Andy is doing now at the same age."
It's great that he has been winning all these titles, but the next step up for Andy is to win a grand slam, and the way that he has been playing recently, I think he is going to give himself plenty of opportunities in the future. I think it's possible that Andy could win more than one grand slam title.
"Andy is physically stronger now, and he's mentally stronger too – there is a calm about him on the court that wasn't there before. There aren't the same emotional ups and downs that we used to see before. That's great to see, and I think that some credit for that should go to the team around him."
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The Bryan Bros Going Back to Las Vegas
The Bryan Brothers will return to headline Las Vegas’ premier tennis experience, Camp Bryan II, an exclusive 2-day event to benefit USTA-NV Junior Tennis Programs on December 13 and 14 at The Stirling Club @ Turnberry Place Country Club.
Camp Bryan II kicks off with Las Vegas tennis stars. Local tennis professionals will treat recreational players to extreme tennis clinics, limited to 32 participants to maximize individual play. The day progresses with lunch, USTA-NV raffle drawings, round-robin play, and a cocktail reception. The Las Vegas portion of Camp Bryan II takes place Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Las Vegas Hilton.
The Bryan Brothers highlight Day 2 of Camp Bryan II. The day begins with AM clinics for adults and juniors followed by lunch with the Pro-Am tournament soon after. Bob, Mike and other ATP professionals will play with amateur players in a round-robin format. The Camp Bryan II amateur winner’s prize will be tickets to the 2009 French Open.
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TENNIS SHORTS
On the Tour Players Take Time to See the Sights
Tournaments often try to introduce players to a little of the local culture, and the Generali Ladies Linz is no exception. The Austrian city is to be the European Capital of Culture in 2009, and several players, including Jill Craybas, Tamarine Tanasugarn and Nuria Llagostera Vives, were taken on a tour of the city, seeing an art museum and taking a tourist train ride through the Old Town.
At the players party several players, Ana Ivanovic, Nadia Petrova and Tamira Paszek were among those who dressed up in local costume.
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Bryan Brothers Used in Grocery Supermarket Promotions
The National Pork Board, an industry association, used the Bryan brothers in some marketing promotions this summer with some chains in the South and East Coasts leading up to the US Open.
The programs were very successful motivating the supermarkets to promote pork with the brothers, generating incremental pork sales and a lot of interest from consumers.
Negotiations are currently underway with the brothers and the association to possibly utilize their services this year for holiday promotions.
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WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY
Upcoming schedules as of October 27, 2008
1. Jelena Jankovic - Doha [SEC]
2. Dinara Safina - Doha [SEC]
3. Serena Williams - Doha [SEC]
4. Ana Ivanovic - Doha [SEC]
5. Elena Dementieva - Doha [SEC]
6. Maria Sharapova -
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Doha [SEC]
8. Venus Williams - Doha [SEC]
9. Vera Zvonareva - Doha [SEC]
10. Agnieszka Radwanska -
11. Nadia Petrova -
12. Anna Chakvetadze -
13. Caroline Wozniacki -
14. Flavia Pennetta -
15. Patty Schnyder -
16. Marion Bartoli -
17. Victoria Azarenka -
18. Alize Cornet -
19. Daniela Hantuchova -
20. Dominika Cibulkova -
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COVERS
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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
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APPEARING SOON
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MONEY MOUNTAIN
2008 Prize Money Earnings
MEN (October 27)
1 Nadal, Rafael
$6,707,124
2 Federer, Roger
4,878,154
3 Djokovic, Novak
3,916,215
4 Murray, Andy
2,996,923
5 Davydenko, Nikolay
1,587,284
6 Roddick, Andy
1,229,164
7 Ferrer, David
1,146,676
8 Del Potro, Juan Martin
1,091,594
9 Simon, Gilles
1,090,387
10 Soderling, Robin
1,038,877
WOMEN (October 27)
1
Williams, Serena
$3,652,173
2
Jankovic, Jelena
2,764,465
3
Ivanovic, Ana
2,738,390
4
Safina, Dinara
2,415,020
5
Williams, Venus
2,407,565
6
Sharapova, Maria
1,937,879
7
Dementieva, Elena
1,620,679
8
Kuznetsova, Svetlana
1,352,369
9
Zvonareva, Vera
1,058,175
10
Radwanska, Agnieszka
1,014,072
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HE SAID... SHE SAID...
Jim Courier? "When he finished all his hard work, he would work some more."
Maria Sharapova? "You couldn't see inside her. Outwardly, she'd smile at you. But inside, on the court, she was meaner than a snake."
Marcelo Rios? "The most talented student I ever worked with and possibly the biggest disappointment."
Mary Pierce: "People really didn't understand how hard she worked."
Boris Becker: "He once said to me, 'Mr. B, when I speak to you I'd better know what I'm talking about.' "
Seles: "Of all the players I've had there were only two that I knew would be great the moment I saw them in their first practice -- Andre and Monica."
- Nick Bollettieri commenting on some of his famous past students
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
November
Ken Rosewall
2
1934
Roy Emerson
3
1936
Ana Ivanovic
6
1987
Marc Rosset
7
1970
Mark Philippoussis
7
1976
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Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
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