Tuesday, November 4, 2008
BUSINESS NEWS - Special Tour Championships Edition
Editor's Note: We have begun our Monday, Thursday publication schedule for November and December. This week and next, we will be publishing some Special Tour Championships Editions that will cover the players and events surrounding the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha and the ATP Masters Cup in Shanghai. Our Classifieds and College News will continue to stay on the Monday Thursday schedule.
***
WTA Women Play Exhibition Match on Desert Sand
They’ve played on water at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, when Serena Williams took on Rafael Nadal. They’ve played on snow at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, when Maria Sharapova faced off against Lindsay Davenport. Now they’ve played on desert sand, with French Open winner Ana Ivanovic hitting with Olympic champion Elena Dementieva on the eve of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
The special court was set up on Palm Island in Doha Bay in the Arabian Gulf. With no spectators, and definitely no umpire, it was an unusual experience for the glamorous pair.
"It was amazing and so unusual to be playing tennis on a deserted island with no-one there but Elena, myself and the ballboys," said Ivanovic, who will face fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the first of her round-robin matches. "I’m really looking forward to the tournament here in Doha and a great finish to the 2008 season."
***
Nadal Withdraws from Shanghai’s Masters Cup
Injured and fatigued Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Masters Cup to heal and save strength for the Davis Cup final in Argentina. The No.1 made the announcement on his website after dropping the hint following his Paris quarterfinal withdrawal that he might not make the trip to China.
Spain face Argentina on a fast indoor court with the Spaniard determined to lead his nation to victory. "This is one of the hardest decisions in my life," read a statement on Nadal's site.
"I want to recover and be ready for the important Davis Cup final that my country is playing in Mar del Plata."
Nadal blamed a long ATP season for some of his injury drama. His place in the eight-man Shanghai field - where play begins on Sunday - was taken by Frenchman Gilles Simon.
"I have mentioned on various occasions that the tennis calendar has been extremely hard with practically all weeks playing and where it forces players to compete week in week out, making it impossible for a top level player to be 100 per cent at each event," said Nadal .
"Competing at so many events might have harmed - especially at the end of the season - my physical condition, taking away the freshness needed to play at the top level of the game at these last events."
***
Prince Named Official Apparel and Footwear for the WTA Tour Championships
Prince has signed a contract to be the official apparel and footwear sponsor for the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships held in Doha, Qatar beginning today.
All tournament officials, line judges, chair umpires and ball persons will be wearing Prince apparel.
***
Zvonareva Thinks Russian Tennis Has Come a Long Way
All three medal winners in the women’s tennis event at the Beijing Olympics were from Russia, and half of the players at the Sony Ericsson Championships are from there - Vera Zvonareva, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Zvonareva says such success in the game would have been unimaginable when she was a kid.
"I think it's great, especially after our success in the Olympic games," she said. "Before it was only maybe Anna Kournikova, then the tennis became so popular thanks to the help of the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, who got involved and loved the game, and he introduced the Russian kids to the game. Then everyone started coming and playing tennis.
"And it's just great to see all of us to be here right now. I remember being a little girl, 7, 8 years old running around watching big tennis events on the TV. We couldn't even dream about it, that we'd ever be able to, you know, to be part of it. (Because of Yeltsin) we got so much support from Russia, and the people love tennis. Of course, it makes me happy to see the girls that I know since I'm 6 years old (doing well)."
Who were her idols when she was growing up?
"I think Andre Agassi, he was my favorite one," she said. "But, of course I also really liked (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov. He was very big, he was Russian, so I really enjoyed his game."
Women? "I don't know. I think Steffi Graff, and maybe Martina Hingis. I really liked the way they were playing. But I think the real idols were Kafelnikov and Andre."
***
Ivanovic Assesses the Players in Doha Draw
It isn’t often that a player will sit down and make a public assessment of both herself and her rivals at a tournament. But that’s what Ana Ivanovic did at the Sony Ericsson Championships.
"Okay," she said, "can I start with other players? I think Jelena, she's really good on the court and she's a great fighter and a great competitor. She's very consistent. With Dinara, she never gives up. She's a very, very tough opponent, and so many times in this year she came with match points down, so that proves that.
"With Serena, she has an unbelievable powerful game. With Venus it's the same case. They are so powerful and they have a different game style than the other girls on tour. With Kuznetsova, she can be very dangerous, because she's very aggressive. She likes to dominate as well.
"With Vera, she's also consistent. She likes to run, and she likes to take the speed of other opponents. Elena, she is very, very aggressive. She likes to dominate. She likes when the balls are coming, her hitting it. She's very good and very consistent.
"And about myself - what can I say about myself? Maybe you can ask them. No, I think I'm a great fighter. I never give up. I just try until the last moment."
***
Kuznetsova to Train in Russia
Svetlana Kuznetsova knows she has taken a gamble, but she is enthusiastic about moving her training base back to Russia after spending many years at the Casal-Sanchez Academy in Spain.
"It was a hard decision, definitely it's a risky one," said Kuznetsova, who is now being coached by former French Open and Wimbledon finalist Olga Morozova. "I was stable in Spain, I had everything there. I have my cars, home, everything. But it's never felt actually like home, home. For me, it's very important to feel well inside, and this is why I made the decision.
"In Spain I was kind of bored. I was a little bit tired. I missed Russia a lot. I started coming back to Moscow or St. Petersburg two years ago. Every time I would come there I would not feel like leaving, you know, and it was very hard for me. Even when I was in Spain training I was thinking about Russia. And I think I'm a very patriotic person, so for me it's always been a pleasure to come back to Russia and especially to play for my country. It's been a big move for me to move from Spain to Russia, but I feel very positive about it."
***
Safina Has Surprised Herself With Her Performance
Dinara Safina has made astonishing progress during the second half of the season, lifting herself to second in the world and establishing herself as a strong contender for the trophy wherever she plays. With four titles, she was also a runner-up at the French Open and the Beijing Olympics. So who has been her biggest challenge?
"I guess my biggest challenge is with myself," she said before facing Venus Williams in the first of her round-robin matches at the Sony Ericsson Championships. "It’s okay when I play on the court and I just focus with only myself, and just I see only the ball when I play. But sometimes some enemies go in my mind. Then I'm complaining not only with the opponent, but also with the enemies in my brain. So I guess for me, the biggest challenge is myself."
Now Dinara is outshining her brother, Marat Safin, and she loves the attention she is getting.
"Well, that's what I'm playing for," she said. "I think that was my goal. I had to get known as myself, not the sister of Marat. That's what I was playing for."
***
Serena Williams Says She Will Support Underprivileged African Children
When her work in Doha at the WTA Championships is done, Serena Williams plans to take a trip back to her roots in Africa. The American will fly to South Africa followed by Kenya, presenting computers to schools teaching underprivileged children.
Williams is also planning to go to Senegal, hopefully the first step to establishing a school of her own, much as Roger Federer has done for years in his mother's native South Africa.
"I kept asking, 'Should I do something for Africa or should it be for women?' Williams queried before deciding on Africa. "In 2006 I went to Africa and saw things that just weren't fair.
"Kids couldn't afford to go to school because their parents couldn't afford to pay the equivalent of a dollar a week and that left me mortified. I kept thinking where I would have been without my own education.
"I realized I had finally found my calling and my love because Africa is my roots, it's where I come from." Williams says she is forming a foundation to build the school in Senegal which will provide free education."
***
John McEnroe Hails Andy Murray’s Progress this Year
John McEnroe has hailed Andy Murray's progress this year as the pair both prepare to finish 2008 in style. Murray will fly to Shanghai this week to prepare for the season-ending Masters Cup and McEnroe, who is himself preparing ahead of next month’s BlackRock Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London, believes the Briton could be a serious contender in the eight-man spectacular.
“When Andy Murray first came on the scene three or four years ago you heard people say that he could win 'majors', and he’s putting all that together now,” said McEnroe.
“What I love the most is how incredibly well he’s moving. It’s unbelievable. Most people can’t move on the court like that and find the position and the angles that Andy’s able to come up with. The way he’s able to keep an opponent on his heels is really hard to do. He believes in the way he plays and he doesn’t change his game plan - he mixes up his shots so well. He’s got the hands and he can play up at the net as well and he’s got a great brain and head for tennis.”
Murray, who has enjoyed by far his most successful year on the ATP Tour in 2008, will go into the Masters Cup in Shanghai as one of the favorites to win the event starting on November 9th. Since his breakthrough at Wimbledon where he overturned at two set deficit to beat Richard Gasquet in five sets and reach his first major quarter final, the Scot has won back to back Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and Madrid, reached the final of the US Open and notched up wins over the world’s top three - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He is currently ranked at a career high No.4. McEnroe puts his progress down to a vast improvement in the Murray's fitness and attitude.
***
We Hear—
--that Andy Roddick and fiance Brooklyn Decker have set an April wedding date, right after the Sony Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne, Fla., but only Roddick and his inner circle know the exact date and place.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
No events scheduled
WOMEN
Doha – Tour Championships
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Shanghai – Tour Championships
WOMEN
No events scheduled
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
Monday’s Stock Prices
Stock
Last
Change
Adidas
18.05
+.60
Amer Sports
4.10
+.63
Head
2.10
0.00
K-Swiss
14.52
-.61
Nike
55.84
-1.79
Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $94.61
* 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
Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
Bob Larson's Daily Tennis is published
Monday through Friday except Holidays
Monday and Thursday in November and December.
Delivery via e-mail to all countries
Subscription rates are; $97USD a year,
$57USD for Six months, $37USD for Three months.
Bob Larson Tennis
P.O. Box 24256
Edina, MN 55424 USA
952-920-8947 (voice) or 952-920-8940 (fax)
E-mail address bob@tennisnews.com
Visit our website at: www.tennisnews.com
(c) Copyright 2008. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis
Subscribe