Wednesday, March 18, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

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Ille Honored to be Elected Romanian Federation President

Former player Ruxandra Dragomir Ille has spoken of the honor she feels after being elected as president of the Romanian Tennis Federation. She succeeds Dumitru Haradau, who was vice-regent president for the last year after the resignation of Ilie Nastase.
"I receive this appointment in the function of president of the Federation as a great honor, and I hope to be the person whom everybody expects," Dragomir said. "I hope to be a successful president. I am very glad that I managed this thing. This is one of the happiest days of my life, after those when my two children were born."
Nastase quit after controversy arose early last year surrounding the amount of money he was spending. Romanian newspaper Daily Evenimentul Zilei criticized him for spending too much on a Davis Cup match against France, which Romania lost 5-0. As he left the position, Nastase admitted he had failed to accomplish his major goals for Romania's tennis program, including the building of a new academy. Haradau took over until the recent election.
After the outstanding success of Nastase on court, if not in the boardroom, and 38-year old Dragomir’s own successful career which netted her four singles and five doubles titles and took her to 15 in the rankings, she is determined to find a new generation of champions.
"It will be necessary from now on to prove that the young generation also can do good things for the sport," she said.
***
Murray Hires Corretja for Clay Court Season

Specific coaching on the way to master the vagaries of clay court tennis – a subject that has baffled the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, and John Newcombe amongst many others – is the reason Alex Corretja will take over from Miles Maclagan for two months as Andy Murray’s on-the-road main coach.
The Spaniard, whose career peaked as he reached the no.2 slot in the world ten years ago and twice had to accept the runner up prize at the French Open, will accompany Murray to events in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid before the clay court season comes to its’ annual climax at Roland Garros. Maclagan, rested and rejuvenated, will then reassume control for the grass court challenge at Queens and Wimbledon.
Murray admits to enjoying the time he spent working with 34 year-old Corretja as part of his team last year although his clay court results were disappointing with the Scot never registering more than two wins in succession. He reached the third round at the French Open, losing to Nicolas Almagro, went as far in Monte Carlo and Hamburg but lost early in Rome and Barcelona.
The world no.4 is more circumspect in his scheduling this year and said: “ I love the work that’s going on with Miles, but some weeks it is good to be apart and I’ll spend seven or eight weeks a year, whether it’s four practice weeks and four weeks at tournaments, with Alex.
“It’s just a little bit different. If you’re going to be on the tour for 12 years or whatever, you don’t want things to get stale. Sometimes it’s nice to do something different and Alex will have different ideas, different drills and it’s good to keep your mind fresh.”
Corretja’s playing career had many highlights away from the clay. He played a major role in Spain’s first ever Davis Cup triumph in 2000, two years earlier won the ATP Tour World Championships on an indoor hard court in Hannover and even rallied from two sets down to beat Pete Sampras on grass 4–6, 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, 6–4 in Houston when US captain Patrick McEnroe banked on Wimbledon’s record winning champion reveling on his favored surface.
Murray maintains he is not only looking for clay court guidance. “It worked in the clay-court season last year and I think it’ll help on other courts as well,” said the world no.4. “It’s a little bit disrespectful for anyone to think that Alex Corretja can only help me on a clay court. The guy was a great player on most surfaces.
“I’m not going to spend loads of time with him, but it’s going to be quality time when I do.”
Commentary commitments with Spanish television take up the majority of Corretja’s working year and he will have to juggle his duties, particularly in Madrid, when the Masters 1000 series moves to the exciting new Caja Magica and Roland Garros. But he said: “It meant a lot for me to feel that someone like Andy who has so much talent wanted to work with me. I had some other offers but this was the first time I really felt like I wanted to try to help a player.”
***
Former Coach Says Clijsters Could Make a Successful Return

Carl Maes, the coach who guided Kim Clijsters from the junior ranks to the top of the game, believes the former world no.1 is more than capable of making a successful comeback on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Clijsters is currently scheduled to line-up alongside Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman at the special Roof Opening day of celebration at Wimbledon on May 17 and then play Advanta World Team Tennis for the St Louis Aces in July.
However rumors abound that the 25 year-old who quit the women’s tour two years ago and subsequently has both married professional basketball player Brian Lynch and had a daughter Jada Ellie, is currently training with a view to a more concerted comeback.
“When she stopped I never said it would be the last time we would see her on the tour," said Maes, nowadays the Head of Women’s Tennis with the British Lawn Tennis Association. "I think it's too early to tell but somewhere in the back of her mind, it must be something that's she's considering. If she's fit and wants to play then I think it's a possibility."
Maes is mindful that both Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport were able to make their mark again on the women’s tour after initially announcing their retirements. “"If Kim is fully fit then I am sure that her best level would be good enough to be competitive," said the Belgian.
***
Fed Cup Captain Hopes History Will Repeat Itself at Return to Successful Venue

Italian captain Corrado Barazzutti is hoping history repeats itself after announcing the Fed Cup semi-final against Russia will be staged on the clay of Castellaneta Marina in Puglia.
Victories at the venue in 2007, against China and France, are still clear in Italian memories. However the team of Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci are mindful that Italy has never beaten Russia in four previous meetings and the defending champions  looking to become the first nation since Spain 14 years ago to win three successive Fed Cup titles.
The other semifinal between Czech Republic and USA will be staged at the Starobrno Rondo Arena in Brno.
Venues have also been confirmed for the two remaining World Group Play-off ties. Germany will take on China on clay at Frankfurt Palmengarten, while Argentina versus Ukraine will also be held on clay at the Club Nautico Mar del Plata.
***
Roddick Believes Tennis Will Survive Economic Downturn

Andy Roddick is convinced that tennis will emerge well from the current world economic downturn, saying the sport has not made the errors which appear to have brought business and commerce to its knee in other arenas.
The American says it's far from gloom and doom for the sport. "If you look at numbers - whether it's TV ratings or racquet sales or USTA memberships - tennis is doing pretty well.
"We're not taking $175 million loans, this, that, and the other.  I think they're (officials) are doing an OK job."
For Roddick, the litmus test is the state of the US Open, which boasts the largest attendance of any of the four Grand Slams, around 700,000 over the fortnight.
"You draw fans because it's an event. They have kick-off concerts and there's stuff going on around the grounds.  There's constantly music being played. It's free entertainment for kids, there's places you can play.  There's merchandise. There's a whole punch of stuff going on that makes it fun."
***
Nadal Likes the Relaxed Atmosphere of his Mallorca Home

Rafael Nadal is perfectly content to continue living his tranquil family compound on the island of Mallorca despite the lure of tax-haven Monte Carlo, or a cosmopolitan European capital.
The No. 1 still has his room in a building owned by the clan in the village of Manacor with no plans to up stakes as far as he can tell.
Nadal even recommends his laid-back home island for those who think he might be happier basing himself in a more lively environment. "Maybe they have to decide to come to Mallorca, because it's really good place. I'm there with my family, we live not together (same flat) but in the same building, so that's very important."
When he does have time away from the tennis, Nadal loves his golf and fishing, both found in abundance in his homeland. "I have my friends from the school there, I live in on a very nice island.
It's perfect for me. I'm never going to move from there.  Well, you can't say never, no, but believe me, not."
***

We Hear---
--that several tennis books will be published in the run up to Wimbledon.
***
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***
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Bob Larson's Daily Tennis is published 
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Monday and Thursday in November and December.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

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“I’ll be Back to Dubai” says Ram

Andy Ram insists he will return to Dubai next year despite the episode of international diplomatic wrangling that preceded his controversial doubles appearance in the United Arab Emirate last month.
The Israeli will be closing in on his 30^th birthday when the time comes for next year’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships but he insists he will be there with regular partner Jonathan Erlich who has been sidelined so far this year as he recuperates from elbow surgery.
“Next year it will be easier," said the veteran who became the first ever athlete from his country to compete in Dubai, a week after Shahar Peer was denied entry to contest the women’s event.
“I don't know if I'm happy that I'm the first one in this situation, but I was the first Israeli to play in there. It's going to open the door for many other athletes, not only Israelis in Dubai but a player from China who wants to play in Taipei or a guy from Serbia who wants to go to Croatia.
"Maybe Andy Ram is a small athlete, but what I did was something very big."
The Australian Open doubles champion in 2008 and twice a Mixed Doubles champion at Wimbledon, believes worldwide pressure from politicians, ATP executives, sponsors and fans as well as numerous Jewish groups convinced the UAE government that it would be too perilous to prevent him from competing . The ATP, under new Chief Executive Adam Helfant, was widely believed to be prepared to announce a boycott of the event.
Ram revealed he had to wait anxiously at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport while a special invitation letter was rushed through after he was informed traveling to Dubai on an Israeli passport was an impossibility. "I was sure I was not going to go," he said.
On his arrival he was met by 15 bodyguards and six rooms surrounding his hotel accommodation were blocked off. Two bodyguards stood watch in front of his door, and another kept sentry in the garden outside. He was not allowed to leave his hotel except to go to the tournament site, and he was shuttled in different vehicles. Then fans watching him on court had to pass through a metal detector.
His stay proved short – he and Kevin Ullyett were beaten in the opening round by Marat Safin and David Ferrer – but there were still problems. He was initially unable to contact his mother and his pregnant wife and said: “"They were crying the first night because they didn't know what was going on."
***
Davis Cup Website was Busy During Davis Cup Action

The likes of top ten players such as Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko as well as last December’s final hero Fernando Verdasco may have been missing from the opening of Davis Cup competition in 2009 but the International Tennis Federation’s website received its highest-ever number of visits for a weekend.
The site received 927,000 visitors accessing the site over the five day period from Thursday until Monday. The total number of page views recorded was over four million, a record for a first round weekend.
There were visitors from 204 different countries with the highest numbers coming from USA, Argentina, Great Britain, France, Spain and Sweden.
The average user spent nearly five minutes exploring the site and there was a 40 per cent increase in live scoreboard launches in comparison to this stage in 2008, with the most popular tie viewed being Spain versus Serbia.
As well as computers, the site was viewed on iPods, Playstation 3 and Wii games consoles, as well as iPhones and numerous other types of mobile phones.
The increased numbers were helped by visitors to the Spanish version of the Davis Cup website, www.daviscup.com/es, which was launched at the 2008 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final between Argentina and Spain in Mar del Plata.
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Sharapova to be Involved in TV Series

We understand: Maria Sharapova may have been off the tennis tour for more than half a year but the former world no.1 has never been somebody to squander her time and reports are now circulating that MTV is about to start production of a drama series loosely based around her life on the tennis tour.
Neither MTV or Max Eisenbud, Sharapova’s agent with IMG, would comment on the reports but it is understood the proposed series of hour long shows would concentrate on the off-court life of the world’s most photographed sporting star with negligible tennis action. Sharapova herself would act as executive producer.
Two years ago Sharapova had an agreement to work on a similar project with the CW network but the deal never came to fruition because of the Hollywood screenplay writers’ strike.

***
Jankovic May Have Made an Error in Career Planning

There’s a saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Maybe Jelena Jankovic hasn’t heard it.
She ended last year as the world No. 1, soon after winning three tournaments in three weeks. Everything was perfect. Except to her. She wanted to get better than No. 1, so she spent much of the off-season ‘bulking up’, building muscle. Perhaps she was ill-advised, or maybe she just didn’t ask around and seek advice, because it appears to have backfired.
The Serb was beaten 6-4 6-4 by little-known Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her opening match at Indian Wells, and then she declared that her entire game now needs an overhaul. Sounds ominous.
"I don't feel some of my shots that were my weapons before," she said. "Overall I think the whole game needs some adjustments and some kind of finding the rhythm and finding the way to construct the points and just finding the timing back."
She blames the strengthening work she did, not fully realizing the effect it would have on her.
"In the beginning, I felt really different with my body because I got a little bit of muscles and I felt heavier on the court. I was always a certain weight and always my best weapon was my legs. I always moved and I had the anticipation and I was always on the ball. Now. I just cannot do that. I'm one step too slow or one step too much into the shot. And then all the strokes break down and I don't have the timing and my accuracy is not there. Overall, everything is wrong. I need a lot of work. I wish I had a magic wand and could just fix my game and just play awesome tennis again."
***
Azarenka Feels at Home in the Desert

Victoria Azarenka is playing only her fourth tournament of the season, and she already has two titles, earned in Brisbane and Memphis. The 19-year old from Belarus has also been doing well at Indian Wells and she looks set for a spot in the top 10 when it’s over. It’s little wonder she has been doing well in the desert, because she feels quite at home there. It’s not that Belarus can match the scenery - it’s that Azarenka lives now in a similar environment to Indian Wells, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"I’ve been living there for the last three years with the family of professional hockey player Nikolai Khabibulin," she reveals. "Nikolai is an NHL goaltender who used to play for the Phoenix Coyotes, but now he plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. His wife is a friend of my mother and they invited me to come live with them here in the United States. While most players have to take a flight to get to Indian Wells, I am fortunate to live close enough to drive. The trip here through the desert took about three-and-a-half hours from Scottsdale. One thing is for sure, you sure get to see a lot of cactus on the drive on Interstate 10 between Arizona and California. The playing conditions in Indian Wells and Scottsdale are pretty similar considering they are both located in the desert. When I’m hitting on court here, the ball seems to be just a bit slower, probably since we’re pretty much at sea level."
***
How Long Will Safina be Just Safin’s Sister?

Charismatic Marat Safin can't help but steal the spotlight from his younger sister Dinara Safina even if the WTA player is poised on a possible run to No. 1 in the world. Safina, 22, is resigned to the situation and just shrugs it all off. "There has never been a press conference where they would not ask about my brother."
But even the fans don't seem to appreciate what the younger sibling, losing finalist over the past months at the French Open and Melbourne, has accomplished
"Today one person came up to me asking me if I'm the sister for Marat," she said at the Indian Wells Masters. "I'm like, 'yeah'.
"(They said) 'are you playing tennis?' And I look at them like, well, OK, yes, I'm also a tennis player. I'm still I think I'm known more as his sister."
Safina has been within a sniff of the top ranking - currently held by the absent Serena Williams - before. But the honor has been hard to grasp for a handful of contenders since the retirement of Justine Henin last May.
"If I deserve to be there, I'll get there," said Safina. "It doesn't matter (if it's) this tournament or next tournament or during the year."
***
Murray Looking Forward to Wimbledon’s Covered Court

Andy Murray is looking forward to a psychological boost the first time he plays under the new moveable roof on Wimbledon's iconic Centre Court.
It's a good bet that the No. 4 will get his chance due to the traditional summer weather in Britain. And when he is called to the weather-protected court which will debut from the June 22 start of the upcoming edition, Murray is sure he will thrive.
"Every time I've played a big match indoors - like in Davis Cup - the noise gets trapped in there and it becomes even better, even with 3,000 or 4,000 seats," said the Scot.
"With Centre Court it's normally so quiet in there in during the points. I think with the roof closed you're not going to be able to hear cars driving past or planes or anything."
And Murray says that any chance in ambience in the famed arena will be compensated by the fact that play can now take place in poor weather. "Every time you do have a cover on the court, you play indoors, there's no wind that's obviously a change.
"The sun is not going to be in your eyes, so that's obviously different. But in terms of the way the court plays and the speed of the court, I'm guessing it should be the same."

***

We Hear---
--that France’s Lagardare is about to announce its acquisition of sports representation firm SFX.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
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Indian Wells
***
NEXT WEEK
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Miami
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7.37

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-.76

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $70.58
* 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 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Monday, March 16, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

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Nick Bollettieri Receives Person of the Year Award During BNP Paribas Open

Nick Bollettieri, the legendary tennis coach, received the 2008 Tennis News Person of the Year Award, known as the Bellamy, Sunday on Stadium Court of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The Bellamy was presented to him by Steve Bellamy, the first winner of the Award in 2005 and later named after him, recognizing him for creating The Tennis Channel.
Bellamy credited Bollettieri for creating an industry, the boarding tennis academy. There are likely hundreds, possibly thousands of academies around the world, thanks to Bollettieri’s successful creation. Not only did he create the industry, but he did it so well that all academies are judged as they are compared to the IMG Nick Bollettieri Academy, generally referred to as “Nick’s.” None has come close, said Bellamy.
“There are thousands of tennis players around the world who achieved tennis success, be it club-playing success, a college scholarship or earning thousands and even millions of dollars on the pro tour thanks to what they learned from Nick Bollettieri in Bradenton, (Florida),” declared Bellamy.
Bollettieri accepted the Bellamy, modestly saying that the success of his students is what drove him from his beginning at The Colony on Longboat Key in 1977.
***
Federer Sees No Conflict With Seeking #14 and Becoming a Father

Roger Federer insists that the thought of becoming a father, possibly while he is striving to win his 14th Grand Slam at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, will not affect his focus. That 14th title would equal the record haul of Pete Sampras.
"I think it's not going to really disturb my mindset on tennis a whole lot," said Federer. "I've always made sure that my schedule is to get away from tennis a little bit and then come back when I'm ready to play again. That's why I didn't play for the last five to six weeks. I think this is going to be pretty much the same. I don't really have to adjust a whole lot. If it does something to me, I think it's going to motivate me to play for a long time.
"I'm completely excited. I've been thinking about something like this happening for the last two or three years, so for me this is not a massive shock. But when it does happen and your girlfriend or wife is pregnant, it definitely changes your mindset. All of a sudden you're hoping everything goes well, whereas before you're just joking about it. From this respect, I'm excited that the baby comes out healthy and everything goes well."
***
Cahill Joins adidas in a Las Vegas Coaching Post

Several eyebrows were raised last week when respected Australian coach Darren Cahill turned down the chance to become Roger Federer’s full-time coach because he wanted to stay closer to his Las Vegas based family. Now he has been presented with a more low key but considerably more amenable to him alternative as part of the adidas Player Development Program.
The old Andre Agassi back-up team of Cahill and fitness trainer Gil Reyes have been reunited in the adidas set up alongside Dutchman Sven Groeneveld in an experience laden trio that will offer coaching support, fitness advice and many other facets of back up to a group of top flight adidas performers that includes Australian Open semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco, Sania Mirza, Caroline Wozniacki and a gaggle of highly promising juniors including last year’s Wimbledon champions Grigor Dimitrov and Laura Robson.
Cahill and Reyes spent many hours honing Verdasco for Melbourne and worked with Mirza before the current BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The signing of 43 year-old Cahill to adidas comes almost 12 months after Reyes committed to the program.
Recently the pair has also been back at work with Agassi as he bids to lose a few pounds and regain his playing touch for the upcoming Wimbledon roof opening day at the All England Club in mid May. "I have followed the evolution of the adidas Player Development Program over the past three years and believe strongly in its objectives of providing world class players with an extra support team to aid their long term career planning,” said Cahill
"I am eager to get fully involved in the adidas Player Development Program team and excited to renew my working relationship with Gil Reyes at home in Las Vegas."
The adidas Player Development Program was created in 2006 at the insistence of Jim Latham, Head of adidas Global Sports Marketing Tennis.  He said: "It is my pleasure to welcome Darren in to the adidas Tennis family.
We are delighted to bring on board another world class coach to help shape and mentor our players. In modern day sport, it is unlikely that any one coach or mentor can provide all the expertise and insights that are required to become world class, added Latham. 
***
Lloyd is Wary of His Vote of Confidence

In English professional soccer a vote of confidence for an under pressure coach is regularly seen as the prelude to his dismissal so committed Wolverhampton Wanderers fan John Lloyd may be a little apprehensive after receiving much the same message from the Lawn Tennis Association.
California-based Lloyd maintains he has no intention of quitting his post as Britain’s Davis Cup captain after the disheartening defeat by the Ukraine in Glasgow nine days ago.
But he might have been a little surprised to see Bruce Philipps, the No2 to Roger Draper, the chief executive, at the LTA, arrive at the BNP Paribas Open in the company of representatives of AEGON, the association's lead sponsor. Philipps, whose travel budget is legendary after flying 23 hours to Australia only to learn Andy Murray had been beaten and then catching a return flight immediately after a solitary meeting was supposedly in Indian Wells to show AEGON how to maximize tournament opportunities now the company has replaced Artois as the host at the traditional pre-Wimbledon grass court tournament at Queen's Club this summer.
But Philipps took the opportunity to give beleaguered Lloyd a verbal pat on the back. “John has our full support,” Philipps said. “We got back into the world group for the first time in years and though clearly the situation is a lot tougher now, we all knew it would take time to bring through the future generations. John will continue to play a central role in developing the players of the future.”
***
Hall of Fame to Induct Wheelchair Athletes and Administrators

The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum announced that it will honor wheelchair tennis athletes and administrators with induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. This major expansion of eligible individuals is in addition to the traditional Hall of Fame induction categories of Recent Players, Master Players and Contributors.
International Tennis Hall of Fame Chairman Christopher E. Clouser said, “Wheelchair Tennis has made great strides in its development around the world, and there are many players and administrators who deserve recognition for their accomplishments. This is an important initiative of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and our Board of Directors, to honor these individuals beginning with the next class of International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees in 2010.”
Wheelchair Tennis was founded in 1976 and is still one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world. Wheelchair tennis integrates very easily with the able-bodied game of tennis since it can be played on any regular tennis court, with no modifications to racquets and balls. Wheelchair tennis also follows the same rules as able-bodied tennis, endorsed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The only exception to this is that the wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.  To be eligible to compete, a player must have a medically diagnosed permanent mobility-related physical disability, which must result in a substantial loss of function in one or both lower extremities.
Wheelchair tennis also has an international tour. The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour originated in 1992 with 11 international tournaments, but has grown in size and popularity with currently over 150 events taking place in 37 countries. In addition, the world’s leading wheelchair tennis players now compete for maximum world ranking points and prize money at all four major events.
***
Clijsters Planning to Play More Tennis

We recently reported that Kim Clijsters was practicing far harder than seemed necessary for her series of exhibition matches to be staged on Wimbledon’s Centre Court on May 17. Known as ‘A Centre Court Celebration’, the matches will test the new roof with a lucky 15,000 in attendance as Clijsters competes with Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman.
Her hours of practice each day has led to speculation that she might be thinking of making a comeback, little more than a year after the birth of her daughter. Well, she is coming back. Kind of.
She will play two World TeamTennis matches for the St. Louis Aces, on July 21 in St. Louis and then in Philadelphia the next day as part of the 34^th season of the WTT Pro League which runs July 2-26,
She captured the 2005 US Open Championship with a victory over Mary Pierce and was singles runner-up at the French Open in 2001 and 2003, and at the Australian Open in 2004.  She also won the WTA Tour Championships in 2002 and 2003.  Clijsters won major doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2003.   Clijsters and her husband Brian Lynch have one daughter, Jada Ellie, born in February 2008.
One can’t help but wonder, is this another step on her way to a full comeback?
***
Murray is Displaying Caution in His Immediate Future

Andy Murray, who has scored wins over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic this year, is playing down his chances at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He suffered health problems in Australia that forced him to delay his return to Britain, and last month he defaulted his quarter-final match against Richard Gasquet at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.
Although extensive tests have ruled out mononucleosis, the exact cause of his problems appear to still be unexplained. "There's no point in me saying I'm feeling perfect and I've had the best preparation possible," Murray said before his opening match against Albert Montanes.
"I am not putting too much pressure on myself to play well this week because I took 10 full days off. Obviously, because of that I lost a little bit of fitness and I’m not hitting the ball as well as I was before I was sick, but hopefully if I can get through a couple of matches I can start to work myself into the tournament."

***
Nadal Wants a US Open Title to Make a Matched Set

With his French Open chances on fairly stable ground, four-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal is concentrating on adding the US Open to his collection of major  titles. The winner in Paris, Wimbledon and Melbourne in January when he beat Roger Federer in the final is bearing down on a possible title run at Flushing Meadows in the late summer.
"The US Open is a big goal right now," Nadal said before opening at the Indian Wells Masters where he is top seed ahead of Federer. "I'd love to have that, the fourth (Grand Slam title venue, making a matched set).
"But I know how tough everything is and I'm happy with my results. I'm going to continue working, but to win every tournament, it's very tough. And if you are talking about the Grand Slam, even more."
The Spanish world No. 1 has put any dream of completing a Grand Slam out of mind. He remains in the running for the all-but-mythical honor after winning the Australian two months ago.
Rod Laver was the last man to lift the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open together, back in 1969. "My chances are really small," said Nadal.
***
British Tennis Gets Another Financial Boost

Barely a day goes by without British tennis benefiting from some form of financial boost and now a “Grow The Game" strategy by the European Registry of Tennis Professionals is looking to invest £500,000 to create 1,500 new coaches and attract 500,000 new players across the United Kingdom.
RPT, whose training in Spain help spur the development of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, says the tennis playing population in Britain has dropped from six to three million over the past ten years, with over 60 per cent of under-16s dropping out. It cites "limited facilities and coaching opportunities" as the main reasons for the decline, allowing what talents there are in Britain to slip through the net before it has chance to develop.
They simply ask why Britain can’t get tennis development right; how does it arrest the decline in the sport and make it more attractive to offer the opportunities for talents like Murray to emerge?" Adrian Rattenbury, UK director of RPT/Europe said:  "Britain’s recent performances in the Davis Cup have confirmed that we need more depth. Murray trained in Barcelona as a teenager within the RPT framework, the same system that taught three world No 1s in Nadal, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
"The ‘RPT way’ is proven and it’s time we tried it in the UK. Recent comments about the disproportionate amount of money spent at the LTA on administration and communication has made us even more focused on the need. We have a simple system, we can offer heavily subsidized or free coaching in the case of the Nike Community Coach Award, and that is what the UK needs. The more coaches we have, the more access players will have to play and learn the game and we will be able to develop those with potential using RPT coaching techniques.
"We believe our timing couldn’t be better. Not only does GB tennis need an injection but times are hard and offering free courses for people who have a love of sport, who could retrain and become coaches will hopefully attract people of all ages, skills and experience and create a new generation of coaches eager to find another Murray and maybe even a Nadal of our very own."
***
Sharapova Was a TV Addict Watching Australian Open

Maria Sharapova temporarily turned into a willing early riser as she followed television coverage of the Australian Open from her bases in LA and Florida in January. The Russian former No. 1, whose shoulder surgery rehab is progressing smoothly, said that in contrast to the US Open last autumn - which she avoided - she was keen to follow the Aussie event.
"I had my control room with DirecTV or the Tennis Channel. I even woke up at 3 a.m. to watch the Federer-Nadal final - and I never do that," said the winner of the 2008 edition in Melbourne.
The Russian with three major titles said that sitting out of tennis since last August has had some unexpected positive side effects. "It's actually been really fun, there are so many things I missed about it from the preparation to stepping on court and hearing your name and playing.
"But I've been able to take trips and do holidays with family, I've gotten to appreciate life a little more. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be here again walking around.
"You don't know how fortunate you are just to be able to step on court and play. The thing I've been going through is getting to 100 percent. I can't complain because I'm a lot better than I was on October 15, which was under the knife."
"The frustrating is when you feel you are taking two steps forward and then fell you have to step it down a little. When I can take 10 steps forward, then I'll be a happy girl again."

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We Hear---
--that Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has given birth to a daughter.
***
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***
Results
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Bob Larson - Publisher
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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, 
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(c)  Copyright 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Friday, March 13, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

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Nick Bollettieri to Receive Award During BNP Paribas Open

Nick Bollettieri, the legendary tennis coach, will receive the Tennis News Person of the Year Award, known as the Bellamy, Sunday, on the stadium court of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells, California.
Bollettieri is being honored for creating an industry; the tennis boarding academy and being successful in developing tennis players. Over the years thousands of students have gone to Bradenton, Florida to acquire the knowledge and some of the passion of Nick Bollettieri, founder of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They include youngsters who went on to acquire college scholarships up to number one players in the world, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcello Rios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.
Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy, the first winner of the Person of the Year and for whom the award is named, will make the presentation.
***
Hall of Fame to Honor Harmon and Cookson

The International Tennis Hall of Fame will honor Rodney Harmon and Betty Cookson on Saturday, March 14 at the Desert Springs JW Marriott in Palm Desert, Calif., during the United States Tennis Association’s Annual Meeting.
The Tennis Educational Merit Award is given annually to individual(s) who are U.S. citizens that have made notable contributions in the tennis education field at the national level. Award winners have repeatedly demonstrated leadership and creative skills in tennis instruction, writing, organization and promotion of the game of tennis.
Rodney Harmon has distinguished himself both on and off the court and is fully committed to growing the game of tennis. He has been an outstanding role model for developing junior players and is most recognized throughout the country for his coaching and teaching abilities. As the former Director of Men’s Tennis for USTA High-Performance (2002-2008), Harmon directed all aspects of the USTA program from the junior competitive players to the touring professionals.  Prior to this position, he served as USTA Director of Multicultural Development and was responsible for developing strategies and implementing initiatives to increase the diversity of national tennis programs in communities across the country, working closely with members of the USTA National Coaching Staff and the 17 USTA sections.
Working with individual coaches, players and parents, Harmon teaches the importance of physical fitness, off-court training, strategies and mental toughness, in addition to the technical aspects of the game.  For the past 20 years, he has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences, symposiums, seminars and workshops nationally and internationally for groups including the USTA, USPTA, PTR and ITA. In addition, he has written various articles for regional and national publications and was featured in a television program about the USTA’s training program at Boca Raton, Fla. He was the USA men’s coach at the recent Olympic Games in China.
A former pro player, Harmon reached the quarterfinals at the US Open (1982) was also a three-time NCAA All-American (1980, 1982-83) and NCAA Doubles Champion (1980) at the University of Tennessee, becoming a rare player who was named All-America at two colleges; SMU and Tennessee.
The Samuel Hardy Award is presented annually by the International Tennis Hall of Fame to a volunteer of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in recognition of long and outstanding service to the sport of tennis.
Betty Cookson is a long-time volunteer in the tennis community and has been involved with the Northern California (NorCal) section of the USTA for over 30 years.  She has served as a member of the Board of Directors (1983-86, 2000-2004), and as Secretary in 1985-86.  She has been involved with various committees at various levels since 1978.   At the national level, Cookson has served on numerous USTA committees including Junior Competition and Junior Tournament Regulations (Chairman 1980-2000), Women’s Ranking Committee, Sanction & Schedule Committee, Wightman Cup & Fed Cup, and the Awards Committee. At the international level, she was tournament director for the Von Cramm Cup and assistant Tournament Director of the Bonnebell MCB Cup.
As a player, Cookson continues to be a force on the tennis court, having won numerous USTA Championships over the years.  She and her partner Dodo Cheney netted the 2008 USTA 85s Doubles titles – sweeping the USTA National Clay Court Championship, the National Indoor Championship, the National Grass Court Championship and the National Hardcourt Championship.
Cookson has also received numerous awards for her volunteer work in tennis, and by receiving the 2008 Samuel Hardy Award, Cookson follows her late husband Robert, who received the award in 1994.
***
ITF Considering Moving the Davis Cup Pakistan Site for Security Reasons

The ITF is considering moving July’s Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and the Philippines from Lahore because of security concerns. This follows the recent terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and the decision to cancel a junior event in the country.
"They (the Philippine Tennis Association) have written to us expressing their concerns and we're monitoring the situation along with our security consultants," said a spokesman for the ITF.
The tie could be held in the Philippines instead, or a neutral venue, although the Pakistan tennis authorities believe they can stage the competition safely. But then so did the cricket bosses.
"We have heard they have written to the ITF but we have got nothing officially from the ITF," said Pakistan Tennis Federation secretary, Major Rasheed Ahmed. "We were already preparing to send a comprehensive security plan for the tie to the ITF and can only try to convince them of the best security arrangements for the tie. We can't do anything more beyond that."
Already, Pakistan's Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group Two tie against Oman last weekend was moved from Lahore to Muscat because of security concerns.
***
Debate Continues Where British LTA Should Spend its Money

Critics of the state of British tennis have had their say, the Lawn Tennis Association responded and now the nation’s government has joined in the debate about the balance between tennis spending on elite players and coaches and the grass roots of the game.
Member of Parliament Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has called on Britain's leading sports to give more television cash to grass-roots projects.
Roger Draper of the LTA, along with leading figures of the governing bodies of many others the UK's richest sports recently promised to invest at least 5% of their TV income in mass-participation sport.  However Burnham believes this should be an "absolute minimum".
Burnham claimed: "We've heard commitments to 5%, well let's see that it's being met, and let's see sports go further. What could be a bigger priority for any sport than investing in its supporter and player base? This is not a distraction, this is the very future of their sport.
"We don't want to see money going out of sports with inflated wages or excess of any kind when it could be going back into the foundations.
"I want to send a very clear message that professional sport has responsibilities to its grass roots: public facilities, coaches for the young people and so on. I want to put pressure on them to do the right thing. I am challenging sports to go a lot further than 5%."
Burnham was at pains to stress his comments were directed at all eight sports that are signatories to the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) voluntary code that included a pledge to keep top events on free-to-air television as well as the mass-participation commitment. However focus inevitably fell on tennis following last weekend’s embarrassing Davis Cup defeat against the Ukraine in Glasgow and because the £25million surplus of Wimbledon profits that this year went to the LTA along with sizeable government funding.
***
Wimbledon Exhibition With New Roof Was a Quick Sellout

The lure of seeing Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi pick up rackets again on Wimbledon’s hallowed turf seems to be just as powerful as ever. All tickets for the All England Club’s ‘Center Court Celebration’ on Sunday, May 15 sold out within five minutes of going on general sale.
So a 15,000 full house is guaranteed as tennis’ most title-laden married couple take on Kim Clijsters and Tim Henman in the specially arranged day that is designed to act as a dress rehearsal for Wimbledon’s new retractable roof that will be used over the Center Court for the first time at this summer’s Championships, beginning June 22.
While the paying public will be just as interested in the tennis on show as the technology that will be moving back and forth over their heads, technical experts who have been working on the roof since its’ inception nearly a decade ago, will be more focused on the air-management system, humidity levels and the smooth operation of the roof.
Nevertheless Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said:  “The demand for tickets was truly exceptional and we are delighted to have a capacity Centre Court crowd for a great day on the 17 May.”
Agassi, who claimed the first of his eight major titles by winning the Wimbledon title in 1994 said: “I am honored to be invited by the All England Club to take part in this landmark occasion.  I have great memories of playing at Wimbledon and to be amongst the first to play under the new Center Court roof is really exciting.”
His wife, who won the Wimbledon ladies singles title seven times between 1988 and 1996 and added a doubles title with Gabriela Sabatini along the way, added: “"There is no tennis venue more special to me than Centre Court at Wimbledon. It just doesn't get any better.
“I couldn't be more honored to play there again with my husband Andre, and tennis greats Kim and Tim. It will mean so much to return to Wimbledon and see so many familiar places, relive so many wonderful memories."
The club began work on the multi-million pound roof in 2006 in order to prevent rain interrupting showpiece matches at future championships.  The structure is translucent in order to allow natural light to reach the grass and takes ten minutes to shut. As part of the redevelopment, the capacity of Centre Court was expanded from 13,800.
The timetable of events on May 15 will be a men’s singles match followed by a ladies’ singles and finally a mixed doubles.  All will be played to the pro set format – the first to 8 games, with a tie-break at 8-8.
***
Sharapova Plays at Indian Wells

It’s been a long seven months, but now she’s back. Or is she?
Maria Sharapova, who had not played since beating Marta Domachowska but then defaulting her third round match against Ai Sugiyama in Montreal in early August, returned to court at Indian Wells. It was only doubles, with Elena Vesnina, and they lost. The result wasn’t important. What was important was getting back into a match situation, said Sharapova.
"It feels very good to be back. I started training a couple of months ago and just wanted to test it out in a match situation and get a little different scenery than the practice court and play in front of the crowd, so that was exciting. The main goal for here was just to get out there and be in that atmosphere again."
But, having been sidelined by a torn rotator cuff which resulted in surgery and numerous decisions to delay her comeback, one of which involved her failure to defend her 2008 Australian Open title, Sharapova is still unable to confirm when she will return to singles action.
"The hump I've got to get through right now is to put together two weeks of coming out to the court and playing two or three sets every day, and doing that for seven or eight days in a row," she said. "Right now I'm able to do maybe three days or four days and then I have to take it easy on the fifth. I'm done with setting a timetable for myself. Those days are over."
***
Dokic to Take a Much Needed Break

Jelena Dokic wants nothing more than the chance to recharge her physical and mental batteries after mis-handling her schedule following January's surprise Australian Open quarterfinal
The Australian lost in her first match at the Indian Wells Masters and admitted that she is yearning for some precious down time.
The No. 80 was playing only her second WTA match since the Open and said she may have gotten her scheduling badly wrong. "I haven't been home (to Monte Carlo) since September," said the 25-year-old. "I'm exhausted and don't know what to do on the court right now.
"I've had no rest for six months and I'm tired mentally."
Dokic made a fairytale return in Melbourne after qualifying into the Open by winning a playoff in December. She was then picked for the winning Australian Fed Cup team the week afterwards and then had to make her way to Memphis to play qualifying.
"I've played only one event for my ranking since Melbourne," she complained. "I got the scheduling really wrong, and now I'm paying for it."
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Moya Missing Indian Wells for First Time to Determine Seriousness of Hip Injury

Former French Open champion Carlos Moya is missing the Indian Wells Masters for the first time in his career as the 32-year-old Spaniard grapples with a potentially serious hip injury.
Moya has been a regular participant in the desert event since starting his career. he lost the final in 1999 to Mark Philippoussis.
But times have changed for the veteran, who lost to qualifiers in his first two matches of 2009 and has a 25 percent winning percentage so far this season from four matches.
The former No. 1 is awaiting the result of tests for a hip bone problem. "I've had pains over the last few months but we were hoping that it wasn't serious and that I could resume tennis little by little," said the No.45.
His time off is still unknown: "This is a real blow, I wasn't expecting it and all, my plans are now halted. It's still too early to know when I'll be able to play again."
Moya, from the Mediterranean island home of Rafael Nadal, said he won't return until he is 100 percent fit.
***
Federer to Become a Father

Roger Federer is to become a father for the first time. He posted on his website that his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec is expecting their first child this summer.
“Mirka is pregnant and we are so happy to be starting a family together. This is a dream come true for us. We love children and we are looking forward to being parents for the first time. Mirka is feeling great and everything is going well.”

***

We Hear---
--that Inter Parfums, a New York based perfume marketing company, will be launching a Lanvin L’Homme Sport line with Rafael Nadel as its model and spokesperson.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
WOMEN
Indian Wells
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
WOMEN
Indian Wells
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
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Amer Sports

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Head

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7.23

+.20

Nike

44.59

+1.16

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $73.44
* 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 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Thursday, March 12, 2008

Bob Larson's
TENNIS CELEBS

© Copyright 2009.  No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

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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

Ivanovic Endorses Rolex

Ana Ivanovic is the latest tennis star to sign up to an advertising campaign with Rolex, joining long-time Rolex-wearer Roger Federer. The photo shoot for the campaign took place in Frankfurt last September, and Ivanovic is also shown along with Federer in a video presentation. With Ana having such a busy schedule, finding time for the shoot wasn’t easy.
"It was fun," she said. "The photographer was very professional and I think we created some interesting pictures. I took a flight to Tokyo for a tournament straight after the shoot, so I am grateful to Rolex for being flexible and traveling to Frankfurt to meet me."
The print ads include dramatic images of Ivanovic, the tagline 'Rolex. A Crown For Every Achievement.' and the text 'Turned pro at 15. World class at 16. Ranked No.4 at 19. At 20, No.1. Beautiful. And on the court, undeniable.' The ads were also used in The Age newspaper in Australia and in the Fed Cup tie between Serbia and Japan in February. Other ads from the Swiss watchmaker that include the Serb, such as TV commercials, have also been airing this year.
Ivanovic is now feeling the benefit of linking up with Coach Craig Kardon last month, and is optimistic she can improve on her modest start to the season which has included nothing better than two quarter-finals, in Brisbane and Dubai.
"I am really enjoying working with Craig," Ivanovic told Reuters at Indian Wells, where she is defending champion. "We both have the same view about my game, just being more aggressive and more consistent. Just having a couple of weeks with him gave me so much more confidence, being more clear about my game and also having the security. For the past six to eight months, I was deciding myself about practices, what I should do and exercises. Finally I have a coach I trust who can do that so I don't have to think about it and I can really focus on my game. It's been a great step forward for me."
***

Is Clijsters Planning a Comeback?

Observers are speculating whether former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters is preparing for a comeback, as she readies herself for the Raising the Roof event to be held at the All England Club in May. The eagerly anticipated series of exhibition matches are being staged to test Wimbledon’s new Centre Court roof, and Clijsters will play with Tim Henman, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
It would be expected that Clijsters, who married American basketball player Brian Lynch in 2007 and then gave birth to daughter Jada a little over a year ago, would practice a little to prepare for the occasion. But she has been doing much more than that, raising speculation about whether a return to the Tour could be on the cards. C
Apparently she has been practicing for six hours a day, four times a week, with a coach and trainer in attendance. Sounds like a serious commitment.

***

WTA Tour Moves Ahead With its Campaign to Promote Tennis and Players

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has wrapped production of the second stage print advertising campaign to promote tennis and to increase awareness of many players playing on the women’s tour.
The campaign portrays the Tour’s players as modern-day superheroes both on and off the court and is designed to promote the Tour’s current and next generation of stars in their year-long race to the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.  This year’s print shoot took place prior to the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and featured top players such as Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic; future stars such as Caroline Wozniacki, Alize Cornet, Anna Chakvetadze, Sania Mirza, Aleksandra Wozniak, Sorana Cirstea, Anne Keothavong, Peng Shuai, Sam Stosur, and Sabine Lisicki; and top doubles teams Rennae Stubbs/Sam Stosur, Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual and Yan Zi/Zheng Jie. 
As the campaign enters its second year, we are excited that we’ve hit upon a creative concept that goes to the core of what makes our sport and athletes both unique and attractive to consumers and sponsors alike.”
The marketing campaign consists of television, print, and digital advertisements, along with user-generated, community and viral elements.  In its first phase, the campaign has run extensively across all forms of media, including broadcast media outlets, print publications and various tennis and general sports publications; and online at select sports, tennis and lifestyle sites.   
For the period 2008-2010, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour expects a total investment of $15 million in the campaign in the single largest commitment to promote women’s tennis and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players.  The campaign’s third phase will be unveiled in the summer of 2009 and will be featured in more than 75 countries through the end of the season. The campaign is called “Looking for a Hero?”  
***

Jankovic Awarded for Her Athleticism and Her Smile

Jelena Jankovic is known for her happy disposition, and she is the most open of players when talking to the media. She is also often ready to smile even if a point goes against her in the heat of battle.
Now she has been rewarded, with Orbit gum appointing her as its ‘Smile’ ambassador for Serbia. The world No. 3 will star in a television commercial that will air on TV stations in Serbia, and she will also be aiding Orbit in its campaign aimed at gathering the biggest number of smile photos ever collected in the world. The company plans to help Serbia enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest smile collage. The record is currently held by Birmingham, England, with a collage of 112,893 total photos. The competition is open from March 1 till May 31, and once the record is broken Serbia's smile collage will be presented on a public exhibition in Belgrade.
In addition, Jankovic was honored with the Best European 2008 Award for the field of sports, awarded by the non-governmental organization The First European House, based in Belgrade.
She was in fine company at the ceremony, held at Belgrade City Hall, as it also saw an award presented to Serbian Minister for Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic for the field of politics, among others. Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic attended the ceremony, along with other distinguished representatives of the diplomatic corps and church dignitaries and more.
***

How Much More Time Will Agassi Spend on the Competitive Court?

Andre Agassi’s profile has hardly dimmed despite being retired for more than two and a half years but now seems to have put himself back in the tennis marketplace and is top of the list of priorities for the ATP Tour of Champions.
Agassi, who turns 39 next month, is set to play alongside his wife Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Tim Henman on Wimbledon’s Center Court on the day the new retractable roof is unveiled on Sunday, May 19. And he is also committed to playing a first event on Jim Courier’s Outback Champions Series event at Surprise, Arizona in October.
World Team Tennis announced last month he would play in two matches for the Philadelphia Freedoms in July.
But after tempting Pete Sampras to make a London playing comeback at the Royal Albert Hall at last December’s BlackRock Masters, the organizers see Agassi’s participation as crucial in their bid to lure a new title sponsor.
Representatives from IMG who run the Royal Albert Hall event have already made initial overtures to Agassi and a more concerted charm offensive is certain to be staged when he arrives in London for the special day at Wimbledon.  “He is very much top of our wish list and it would be wonderful to see him in the middle of a star studded field of former great champions,” said a spokesman for the London event.
Courier has clearly worked overtime to lure his contemporary at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy back to the competitive court. Agassi is the first announced member of what will be an eight-player field competing for US$150,000 in prize money at the Oct. 8-11 tournament at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.
To be eligible for the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least one final at a Grand Slam tournament, been ranked in the top five or played singles on a Davis Cup title-winning team.
Agassi meets all three criteria, including having logged 101 weeks with the ATP's No. 1 ranking and having helped the United States claim three Davis Cup championships.
***
Gilbert to Make Appearances at Bollettieri Academy as “Celebrity Coach”

Two of tennis’ most high profile coaches who both played their part in making Andre Agassi not only the most recognizable but also respected player of his generation are uniting under the same banner as Brad Gilbert is set to joins Nick Bollettieri’s staff at IMG’s world famous tennis academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Gilbert has been out of coaching since ending his deal with Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association last fall since then has concentrated on his work as a television tennis analyst with ESPN. But the circle is now about to turn full circle for the man who has worked with the likes of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray who was once a student at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy himself and more recently enrolled his son Zach at the racket school of learning.
“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to go down to the Academy and start spending time with Nick and his staff,” said Gilbert. “Nick has been an innovator in the industry for the last 30 years and has many more great years ahead of him. It is truly an honor to get a chance to work with him.”
Gilbert will make his first fortnight-long appearance in April and despite previously working with some of the sport’s very top professionals, the plan is for him to work with all students at the academy. “Brad brings a lifetime of tennis knowledge and will make an incredible impart on all of our tennis students,” insisted Bollettieri. “His ability to coach is second to none and when you combine that with his incredible energy, you have the complete package.
“We want to give more to every student, no matter what their level of play. What Brad brings is a formula of how to fight, how to dig in and make the maximum of what you’ve got. He’s going to bring ‘how to win’ and ‘how to get into people’s minds.’ He’ll show the students how to play with what they have got.
“I assure you Brad has always been a favorite of mine because of how he knew how to fight and win.”
***

Good Looking Maria Likes Fashion and Modeling

Check around the press rooms of the world, and the name of a Russian blonde often comes up when people are asked to name the best looking woman on the WTA Tour. No, not that Maria, but another. One of Sharapova’s best friends, Kirilenko.
Like the former world No. 1 she has a great interest in fashion, always looks stylish off the court, and she has caught the eye on-court too with her trend-setting Adidas clothing line designed by Stella McCartney, daughter of ex-Beatle Paul. Kirilenko was thrilled when she was chosen by McCartney and Adidas to wear the outfits.
"It was wonderful because I love fashion," Kirilenko told Britain’s Sunday Times. "Stella’s designs changed everything in women’s tennis wear. Other manufacturers had to take note and styles started to be more elegant. I met Stella and she asked for my input on colors and styles."
That attention might have led to her then being chosen to model for Sports Illustrated’s famous swimsuit addition, in which she appears with Daniela Hantuchova and Tatiana Golovin. She enjoyed the shoot - eventually.
"For a day or so I felt a little bit uncomfortable. I’ve done lots of clothes modeling before but not while just wearing a little bikini. It was a beautiful setting in the Dominican Republic and the photographer and his staff were so professional. I enjoy doing photo shoots and think I’m good at it. I’m very happy with the way the pictures turned out. I think they look very nice."
***

Former Player Now Leading Romanian Tennis

Former player Ruxandra Dragomir Ille has been elected as the new president of the Romanian Tennis Federation. The 38-year old rose to a career-high 15 in singles and 21 in doubles in 1997, and won four singles and five doubles titles.
But she suffered a severe ankle injury in mid-2001 that kept her off the tour for nearly two years and all but ended her career. That injury came just months after she married Florent Ilie. Her last events were the German Open in Berlin in May 2005 when, by now ranked 485, she was beaten in the first qualifying round of the singles, and Roland Garros, where she lost in the first round in doubles.
A little-known fact about Dragomir is that she nearly died while competing at the Pattaya tournament in 1993. She lost a three-set match to Australian Michelle Jaggard-Lai and then collapsed with heat exhaustion when she came off court. She was treated on-site by WTA staffer Kathy Martin who immersed her in ice, but her survival was in the balance for about 10 minutes. Her condition was brought about by the fact that she had arrived in the tropics from a chilly Europe, and had not eaten properly before her match.
Interestingly, the match was played at night rather than the heat of the day, but the higher humidity at night is what contributed to the problem. While most players might be expected to avoid in the future an event holding such traumatic memories, Dragomir instead returned three years later and won the title over Tamarine Tanasugarn.
***

K-Swiss Organizes Event for Indian Wells’ Area Charity

K-Swiss, the international apparel company, sponsored the 5^th Annual Desert Smash at the La Quinta Resort to benefit the Variety Club-Children’s Charity of the Coachella Valley and the Bryan Brothers Foundation.
Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas, Vera Zvonareva and Alona Bondarenko, all endorsers of K-Swiss apparel played exhibition matches to the delight of 2,500 local tennis fans.
Added attractions included a doubles match between Cara Black and Leizel Huber, two of the greatest doubles players of all time vs. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko.
Bob and Mike Bryan vs. Marat Safin and Novak Djokovic played a semi serious, fully entertaining doubles match with the players miked and entertaining the crowd. Who won? Who cared? It was for charity and it was fun.

In the evening, a fancy cocktail/dinner party was held at the La Quinta Resort followed by a concert by recording artist Gavin Rossdale, who happens to be a pretty good tennis player and big fan.

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TENNIS SHORTS

After Official Dinner, US Davis Cuppers Have Home-Style Food

The London Times reported that the victorious U.S. Davis Cup squad of Andy Roddick, James Blake, the Bryan twins and captain Patrick McEnroe made a surprise stop at a Waffle House while cruising through Birmingham, Alabama after their win over Switzerland.
Heading back to their hotel after attending an official dinner Roddick spotted a Waffle House and decided he was still hungry, so they dropped in. And found more than they expected - a singing waitress!
"She had no idea who we were," McEnroe said of the waitress, who according to her name tag was called The Old Goat. "She kept asking - what are you guys doing here, where you from?" Then she broke into a rap number, which was videotaped by the team. "The boys are thinking of throwing it on You Tube," McEnroe said. "It was so entertaining. She's going to be a star."
For non-Americans, Waffle House is a nation-wide chain of diner-style restaurants which, as well as being liked by Roddick, was a favorite of Pete Sampras. A Waffle House is located a block from Saddlebrook Resort where James Blake and others have homes where they train.
***

IMG to Suspend Publishing Tennis Week Magazine

IMG announced that it will cease publishing Tennis Week Magazine through the balance of this year. The company plans to leverage its strong brand heritage through specialty print products at events and at retail, and is currently examining such opportunities.
Emphasis will be placed on its website.

***

PTR Makes Major Personnel Changes

At its recent board meeting, the PTR named Jean Mills, the first executive director of the organization, to be president of the board of directors. It also named Scott Tharp to be president of the PTR Foundation
Dennis Van der Meer, founder and now past-president of the PTR, assures everyone that he has no plans to retire from either PTR or Van Der Meer Tennis. “I love my job!
However, I have been cutting back over the past few years; taking a bit more time off from my usual seven day work week. I will continue to serve as Chairman and President Emeritus on the board of directors, and will remain on the board of the Foundation. I am confident that we will continue to grow and influence the tennis world.”

***

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WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY

Upcoming schedules as of March 9, 2009
1. Serena Williams - Miami, Marbella, Charleston
2. Dinara Safina - Miami
3. Jelena Jankovic - Miami, Marbella
4. Elena Dementieva - Miami
5. Venus Williams - Miami, Charleston
6. Vera Zvonareva - Miami, Charleston
7. Ana Ivanovic - Miami
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Miami
9. Nadia Petrova - Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
10. Agnieszka Radwanska - Miami
11. Victoria Azarenka - Miami, Charleston
12. Marion Bartoli - Miami, Charleston
13. Caroline Wozniacki - Miami, Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
14. Alize Cornet - Miami, Barcelona
15. Flavia Pennetta - Miami
16. Dominika Cibulkova - Miami, Charleston
17. Zheng Jie - Miami
18. Patty Schnyder - Miami, Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
19. Anabel Medina Garrigues - Miami, Marbella, Barcelona
20. Amelie Mauresmo - Miami, Marbella

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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

2009 Prize Money Earnings

MEN (March 2)

1 Nadal, Rafael

$1,570,335

2 Federer, Roger

724,800

3 Roddick, Andy

668,473

4 Murray, Andy

646,937

5 Djokovic, Novak

565,654

6 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried

390,704

7 Almagro, Nicolas

382,457

8 Stepanek, Radek

352,433

9 Robredo, Tommy

330,405

10 Monfils, Gael

318,887

WOMEN (March 9)

1

Williams, Serena

$1,666,697

2

Safina, Dinara

749,578

3

Williams, Venus

562,822

4

Dementieva, Elena

483,008

5

Zvonareva, Vera

338,413

6

Razzano, Virginie

233,504

7

Bartoli, Marion

205,642

8

Kuznetsova, Svetlana

155,284

9

Hantuchova, Daniela

153,432

10

Mauresmo, Amelie

152,227

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HE SAID... SHE SAID...

“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to go down to the Academy and start spending time with Nick and his staff. Nick has been an innovator in the industry for the last 30 years and has many more great years ahead of him. It is truly an honor to get a chance to work with him.” - Brad Gilbert on the announcement that he will join the Nick Bollettieri at the IMG Academy as a Celebrity Coach.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY

March

Thomas Enqvist
13
1974

Eliot Teltscher
15
1959

Ivan Ljubicic
19
1979

Paul Annacone
20
1963

Ilana Kloss
22
1956

Jonas Bjorkman
23
1972

Mario Ancic
30
1984

Samantha Stosur
30
1984

**********

Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
Bob Larson's Tennis Celebs is published weekly. 
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Bob Larson Tennis
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E-mail address bob@tennisnews.com
Visit our website at: www.tennisnews.com

Thursday, March 12, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

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IMG to Suspend Publishing Tennis Week Magazine

IMG announced that it will cease publishing Tennis Week Magazine through the balance of this year. The company plans to leverage its strong brand heritage through specialty print products at events and at retail, and is currently examining such opportunities.
Emphasis will be placed on its website.

***
WTA Tour Moves Ahead With its Campaign to Promote Tennis and Players

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has wrapped production of the second stage print advertising campaign to promote tennis and to increase awareness of many players playing on the women’s tour.
The campaign portrays the Tour’s players as modern-day superheroes both on and off the court and is designed to promote the Tour’s current and next generation of stars in their year-long race to the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.  This year’s print shoot took place prior to the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and featured top players such as Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic; future stars such as Caroline Wozniacki, Alize Cornet, Anna Chakvetadze, Sania Mirza, Aleksandra Wozniak, Sorana Cirstea, Anne Keothavong, Peng Shuai, Sam Stosur, and Sabine Lisicki; and top doubles teams Rennae Stubbs/Sam Stosur, Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual and Yan Zi/Zheng Jie. 
As the campaign enters its second year, we are excited that we’ve hit upon a creative concept that goes to the core of what makes our sport and athletes both unique and attractive to consumers and sponsors alike.”
The marketing campaign consists of television, print, and digital advertisements, along with user-generated, community and viral elements.  In its first phase, the campaign has run extensively across all forms of media, including broadcast media outlets, print publications and various tennis and general sports publications; and online at select sports, tennis and lifestyle sites.   
For the period 2008-2010, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour expects a total investment of $15 million in the campaign in the single largest commitment to promote women’s tennis and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players.  The campaign’s third phase will be unveiled in the summer of 2009 and will be featured in more than 75 countries through the end of the season. The campaign is called “Looking for a Hero?”  
***
Federer-Cahill Combo Will Not Happen

The much speculated player-coach liaison between Roger Federer and Darren Cahill is not going to happen….or at least not for the time being.
Many have long held the opinion that Australian Cahill was the natural fit if Federer was looking for a full-time coach to guide him in his bid to recapture the world no.1 spot from Rafael Nadal after being unseated after 237 consecutive weeks at the top and losing three of the last four Grand Slam finals to the Spaniard.
But Australian Cahill, a boyhood Adelaide friend of Federer’s late mentor Peter Carter and former coach to both Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, decided against a 20 weeks a year deal, citing family considerations, after a trial practice period in Dubai.
Cahill recently stood down from his job as Australia’s part-time Davis Cup coach, signaling as many thought his availability to Federer. Since Agassi’s retirement at the 2006 US Open he has continued to live in Las Vegas with his wife Victoria and two children while work commitments have largely focused on analytical television commentary with ESPN.
The decision was very much Cahill’s and he said: “With Roger being European and all those away weeks and the kids entrenched in school here in Las Vegas, the reality really hit in Dubai. It was 100 percent that. We couldn’t get past that practical hurdle.”
Federer, who split somewhat acrimoniously with another respected Australian coach Tony Roche in 2007, revealed: “He [Cahill] called me up after the Australian Open and asked me if I was still interested in working with him because we had contact in the last five years. After I decided not to play Davis Cup and Dubai [because of my bad back] he came to Dubai and worked a bit but we decided not to do it.
“It was test. He went back [home] and he told me it would be tough to do the travel with his kids and the weeks I required he couldn’t really do, so I never had to think and go too far and make a decision on my own. He took the decision for me.”
Federer, who employed Jose Higueras for ten weeks last year before the Californian based Spaniard decided to join the United States Tennis Association as Director of Coaching for Elite Player Development is grateful for Cahill giving up his time but doesn’t regard the decision as a blow.
He will now continue to travel with Switzlerand’s Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi and maintained: “I don’t have any technical flaws or problems working hard, maybe it’s about the little things, talking about the other players, some exercises in practice, it's having someone else around.
“But I’m very happy with the coach I have here, Severin.  He did all of last year, 35 weeks, so for me nothing really changes, I'll continue with the great team I have. We had a good time with Darren.”
Such rejections are nothing new for Federer. At the end of the 2007 season he offered a job to Tim Henman’s former physical trainer Joey de Beer but the South African turned the offer down, preferring instead to take a position involving less travelling with Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association.
***
Ivanovic Endorses Rolex

Ana Ivanovic is the latest tennis star to sign up to an advertising campaign with Rolex, joining long-time Rolex-wearer Roger Federer. The photo shoot for the campaign took place in Frankfurt last September, and Ivanovic is also shown along with Federer in a video presentation. With Ana having such a busy schedule, finding time for the shoot wasn’t easy.
"It was fun," she said. "The photographer was very professional and I think we created some interesting pictures. I took a flight to Tokyo for a tournament straight after the shoot, so I am grateful to Rolex for being flexible and traveling to Frankfurt to meet me."
The print ads include dramatic images of Ivanovic, the tagline 'Rolex. A Crown For Every Achievement.' and the text 'Turned pro at 15. World class at 16. Ranked No.4 at 19. At 20, No.1. Beautiful. And on the court, undeniable.' The ads were also used in The Age newspaper in Australia and in the Fed Cup tie between Serbia and Japan in February. Other ads from the Swiss watchmaker that include the Serb, such as TV commercials, have also been airing this year.
Ivanovic is now feeling the benefit of linking up with Coach Craig Kardon last month, and is optimistic she can improve on her modest start to the season which has included nothing better than two quarter-finals, in Brisbane and Dubai.
"I am really enjoying working with Craig," Ivanovic told Reuters at Indian Wells, where she is defending champion. "We both have the same view about my game, just being more aggressive and more consistent. Just having a couple of weeks with him gave me so much more confidence, being more clear about my game and also having the security. For the past six to eight months, I was deciding myself about practices, what I should do and exercises. Finally I have a coach I trust who can do that so I don't have to think about it and I can really focus on my game. It's been a great step forward for me."
***
LTA’s Draper Insists LTA is On-Track to Regain Position of Respect

Following the latest of numerous critical attacks on the current set up at Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association, chief executive Roger Draper has hit back insisting that his team is on-track to eventually restore the nation to a position worthy of respect.
Mark Petchey, the LTA’s former men's national team manager who left his post four years ago to work as full-time coach with Andy Murray, wants to see the current set-up, under Draper, replaced by a new funding committee led by former British no.1 Tim Henman and ex Davis Cup stalwart David Lloyd who is now a multi-millionaire successful businessman.
Stung by criticism that maintained the LTA currently focuses too much on elitism, paying big salaries to foreign coaches such as Paul Annacone, Carl Maes and Steve Martens and not enough on clubs and the grass roots of the game.
Draper acknowledged that Britain’s Davis Cup defeat against the Ukraine at the weekend again highlighted the fact there is no depth to the British men’s game below world no.4 Murray but responded by saying: We are sometimes criticized for focusing too much on performance players. This is an opportunity to clear that up as the LTA covers a huge span of responsibility. We invest about £10million a year in facilities, making us, after football, the second-greatest sport investor in facilities in the UK.
We provide a coach license scheme, we administer the rules and regulations (I know it is dull, but it is necessary), we run more than 1,000 tournaments and have increased the numbers of juniors competing from 8,000 to 23,000 over the past few years. We have a network of 35 talent scouts (previously there was no network), who work with coaches to identify and nurture talented young athletes from the age of 6 nationwide.
We also work with 20 High Performance Centers across the country (when previously we had three academies) and we run a series of major events leading up to the Championships at Wimbledon. This is not some simple operation and this work is undertaken 365 days of the year by a dedicated team of people.”
Draper is currently approaching his third anniversary at the helm of British tennis and he continued: “In terms of where our investments go, one of the first things I stopped was wasting money on pointless and ineffective marketing campaigns. We do invest more now in communications, and why not? If we don't communicate with all the millions of people out there, how can we get them involved in our sport? Our membership scheme now has 220,000 people, which is one of the largest in sport.
“In terms of coaches, we invest much more heavily, but just because it does not have a specific line in the annual report does not mean that it isn't happening. Coaching is included in all areas of performance and community spend. We have also increased the overall income for British tennis through our commercial program and Sport England funding. This money will give even greater support to our core programs and help the sport. Why would anyone want to dismantle that?
“There is no question that we have a huge amount to do, but simply to criticize with little interest in understanding the new approach seems to me unhelpful in trying to build a successful sport. We are determined to do just that
***
Outback Champions Series Set To Debut In Brazil Thursday

InsideOut Sports + Entertainment, a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions announced it will be initiating a tennis exhibition tournament, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The event called the Rio Champions Cup will be held at the HSBC Arena starting March 12 offering a purse of $150,000 for the eight players who are expected to compete; John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Pat Cash, Mikael Pernfors, Mark Philippoussis, Jimmy Arias, Fernando Meligeni and Jaime Oncins.
To be eligible to compete in the tournament players must be at least 30, have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team.
The Rio Champions Cup will be the second of eight events known as the 2009 Outback Champions Series, a global tennis circuit.
Following the Rio Champions Cup, Outback Champions Series events will be played in Los Cabos, Mexico (March 18-22), Grand Cayman (April 23-26), Newport, R.I. (August 20-23), Charlotte (Sept. 24-27), Surprise, Ariz. (Oct. 8-11) and Dubai, U.A.E. (Nov. 18-21).

***

We Hear---
--that Andy Roddick thinks that Croatia, USA’s opponent in July Davis Cup quarterfinals might select hard court, not clay, for the surface. Croatia leads USA 2-0 on hardcourts, played most recently in 2005.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
WOMEN
Indian Wells
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
WOMEN
Indian Wells
***
Bob Larson’s Stock Report
Wednesday Stock Prices

Stock

Last

Change

Adidas

15.83

+.08

Amer Sports

3.20

0.00

Head

2.10

0.00

K-Swiss

7.03

-.07

Nike

43.43

+1.82

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $71.59
* 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
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952-920-8947 (voice)  or 952-920-8940 (fax)
E-mail address bob@tennisnews.com
Visit our website at: www.tennisnews.com

(c)  Copyright 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 BUSINESS NEWS     Now Revealed that WTA’s Scott Was Very Active Involving Dubai and Peer Situation Sony Ericsson WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott has admitted the decision not to allow Shahar Peer to contest the recent Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship caused him to seriously consider ordering the 80 women’s players that were involved to stage a mass boycott.   But the pleas of Peer herself contributed greatly into Scott taking the decision to instead mount a campaign of international condemnation for the decision made by the United Arab Emirates which eventually succeeded.   Scott was well versed with the situation at tournaments in the Middle East after being involved in the initial formation of tournaments in both Dubai and Qatar during his time with the ATP and also negotiating a long term agreement to stage the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Doha. However he took most heed of a telephone conversation with Peer.  "Her words to me were: 'I'm the one with an Israeli passport,” said Scott.  “I'm the one who's suffering because of what's happening politically. I don't want my fellow players to suffer as well.' "Shahar suffered from this, but she also made it possible for us to use the platform we did. And we used it to make a statement and affect a change." Scott, who subsequently levied a $US300,000 fine,  the biggest in WTA Tour history, against the Dubai tournament. He also went through extended long distance phone calls to Player Council member Venus Williams, stressing competitors should express their dismay during interviews in Dubai. Eventual champion Williams also spoke critically of Peer's exclusion while accepting the winner's trophy on the court. However Scott revealed receiving several critical messages from Jewish bodies in the United States for not taking a harder line. But he continued: "Based on my years doing work in that part of the world, there's a fine line between mounting pressure and boxing people into a corner to the point you can't get the result you want. "One of my concerns was, if you pull the plug on the tournament, it would have been such a bloody nose for them and a loss of face that it might have made it impossible to leave them any wiggle room to change their policy." He contacted the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, meeting in Jerusalem, to outline his strategy. "I wanted them to have some insight into what was going on, because there was a perception we had been complacent," said Scott who also had dialogue with the Israeli foreign ministry and the UAE ambassador to Washington. "I wanted advice. They understood our position that an eye for an eye wouldn't have accomplished much. "I think a lot of people saw the potential negative impact of what was happening, being possibly hugely damaging to the UAE and having ramifications beyond sports.” *** Former Player Now Leading Romanian Tennis Former player Ruxandra Dragomir Ille has been elected as the new president of the Romanian Tennis Federation. The 38-year old rose to a career-high 15 in singles and 21 in doubles in 1997, and won four singles and five doubles titles. But she suffered a severe ankle injury in mid-2001 that kept her off the tour for nearly two years and all but ended her career. That injury came just months after she married Florent Ilie. Her last events were the German Open in Berlin in May 2005 when, by now ranked 485, she was beaten in the first qualifying round of the singles, and Roland Garros, where she lost in the first round in doubles. A little-known fact about Dragomir is that she nearly died while competing at the Pattaya tournament in 1993. She lost a three-set match to Australian Michelle Jaggard-Lai and then collapsed with heat exhaustion when she came off court. She was treated on-site by WTA staffer Kathy Martin who immersed her in ice, but her survival was in the balance for about 10 minutes. Her condition was brought about by the fact that she had arrived in the tropics from a chilly Europe, and had not eaten properly before her match. Interestingly, the match was played at night rather than the heat of the day, but the higher humidity at night is what contributed to the problem. While most players might be expected to avoid in the future an event holding such traumatic memories, Dragomir instead returned three years later and won the title over Tamarine Tanasugarn. *** Finger Pointing Continues in Great Britain Tennis emotions are high in Britain after last weekend’s Davis Cup home defeat by the Ukraine brutally exposed the lack of depth despite years of multi-million pound outlay and investment. While the Lawn Tennis Association resolutely insists it is only a temporary setback and better times are just around the corner, well respected and experienced critics believe a complete overhaul is necessary.   Mark Petchey, not too long ago the coach of Andy Murray and now one of the nation’s leading television commentators, leads the cry for drastic measures and maintains the LTA, which currently receives in excess of GBP25 million ($35million) a year from Wimbledon’s profits, recently signed a GBP30 million ($42 million) partnership deal with financial backer AEGON and benefits from many more millions in government funding, should be disbanded.   “Another depressing loss has simply confirmed that the time has come for a complete rethink of how the sport in this country is run,” said Petchey, the LTA’s former men's national team manager who left his post four years ago and currently lives with his family in South Africa between television commitments with the BBC and Sky Sports. “Too much of this money is spent in areas where it isn't helping build tennis courts, subsidize coaching, putting rackets in the hands of kids and growing the sport from the bottom up. So what could be done?”   Petchey wants to see the current LTA set-up, under chief executive Roger Draper, replaced by a new funding committee led by former British no.1 Tim Henman and ex Davis Cup stalwart David Lloyd who is now a multi-millionaire successful businessman.   You can't disband the entire set-up but you can streamline it to a point where you have 10s of millions [of pounds] available to put into a club structure that we currently don't have," he said.   "The new set-up should include a group of about eight people who decide how best the money should be spent.  Tim Henman needs to be on that; David Lloyd, as a great businessman, needs to be there; and Judy Murray, who has done an unbelievable job with Tennis Scotland, also needs to be there."   Petchey is not alone in believing there is an anomaly between the salaries and bonuses being paid to executives such as Draper and communications chief Bruce Philipps as well as foreign-based coaching employees such as Paul Annacone and Steve Martens and the money actually being spent of developing clubs.   I think the priorities now are completely out of whack for what needs to happen,” continued Petchey. “The bottom line is, if you speak to the players and the clubs, everybody is struggling financially. The head of women's tennis has had bonuses that totals more than my club needs to resurface their courts. The chief executive's salary is reported to be more than the whole of Tennis Scotland gets. How can it be that one person gets more than one nation?" ***   Jankovic Awarded for Her Athleticism and Her Smile Jelena Jankovic is known for her happy disposition, and she is the most open of players when talking to the media. She is also often ready to smile even if a point goes against her in the heat of battle. Now she has been rewarded, with Orbit gum appointing her as its ‘Smile’ ambassador for Serbia. The world No. 3 will star in a television commercial that will air on TV stations in Serbia, and she will also be aiding Orbit in its campaign aimed at gathering the biggest number of smile photos ever collected in the world. The company plans to help Serbia enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest smile collage. The record is currently held by Birmingham, England, with a collage of 112,893 total photos. The competition is open from March 1 till May 31, and once the record is broken Serbia's smile collage will be presented on a public exhibition in Belgrade. In addition, Jankovic was honored with the Best European 2008 Award for the field of sports, awarded by the non-governmental organization The First European House, based in Belgrade. She was in fine company at the ceremony, held at Belgrade City Hall, as it also saw an award presented to Serbian Minister for Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic for the field of politics, among others. Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic attended the ceremony, along with other distinguished representatives of the diplomatic corps and church dignitaries and more. *** Indian Wells Officially Begins Today With a total purse of $9 million, 50% higher than last year, Indian Wells’ main draw  begins today sporting a new name and sponsor. BNP Paribas has stepped in to become the title sponsor of an event that is becoming known as the Grand Slam of the West. BNP Paribas is no stranger to tennis, being the main sponsor of Roland Garros and a major backer of the ITF’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup productions. It also was the title sponsor of the recent women’s exhibition at New York’s Madison Square Garden.     *** K-Swiss Organizes Event for Indian Wells’ Area Charity K-Swiss, the international apparel company, sponsored the 5th Annual Desert Smash at the La Quinta Resort to benefit the Variety Club-Children’s Charity of the Coachella Valley and the Bryan Brothers Foundation. Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas, Vera Zvonareva and Alona Bondarenko, all endorsers of K-Swiss apparel played exhibition matches to the delight of 2,500 local tennis fans. Added attractions included a doubles match between Cara Black and Leizel Huber, two of the greatest doubles players of all time vs. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko. Bob and Mike Bryan vs. Marat Safin and Novak Djokovic played a semi serious, fully entertaining doubles match with the players miked and entertaining the crowd. Who won? Who cared? It was for charity and it was fun.   In the evening, a fancy cocktail/dinner party was held at the La Quinta Resort followed by a concert by recording artist Gavin Rossdale, who happens to be a pretty good tennis player and big fan.         *** We Hear--- --that the organizers of the upcoming Madrid Masters, ever mindful of an innovative gimmick following the decision several years ago to use top Spanish models as ball girls, have looked into the possibilities of having blue-dyed clay laid on the courts of the newly erected Caja Magica. However the process proved too problematic. *** THIS WEEK MEN Indian Wells WOMEN Indian Wells *** NEXT WEEK MEN Indian Wells WOMEN Indian Wells *** Bob Larson’s Stock Report Tuesday Stock Prices Stock Last Change Adidas 15.75 +1.08 Amer Sports 3.20 0.00 Head 2.10 0.00 K-Swiss 7.10 +.58 Nike 41.61 +3.08 Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $69.76 * 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 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

---

PTR Makes Major Personnel Changes

At its recent board meeting, the PTR named Jean Mills, the first executive director of the organization, to be president of the board of directors. It also named Scott Tharp to be president of the PTR Foundation
Dennis Van der Meer, founder and now past-president of the PTR, assures everyone that he has no plans to retire from either PTR or Van Der Meer Tennis. “I love my job!
However, I have been cutting back over the past few years; taking a bit more time off from my usual seven day work week. I will continue to serve as Chairman and President Emeritus on the board of directors, and will remain on the board of the Foundation. I am confident that we will continue to grow and influence the tennis world.”

***
How Much More Time Will Agassi Spend on the Competitive Court?

Andre Agassi’s profile has hardly dimmed despite being retired for more than two and a half years but now seems to have put himself back in the tennis marketplace and is top of the list of priorities for the ATP Tour of Champions.
Agassi, who turns 39 next month, is set to play alongside his wife Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Tim Henman on Wimbledon’s Center Court on the day the new retractable roof is unveiled on Sunday, May 19. And he is also committed to playing a first event on Jim Courier’s Outback Champions Series event at Surprise, Arizona in October.
World Team Tennis announced last month he would play in two matches for the Philadelphia Freedoms in July.
But after tempting Pete Sampras to make a London playing comeback at the Royal Albert Hall at last December’s BlackRock Masters, the organizers see Agassi’s participation as crucial in their bid to lure a new title sponsor.
Representatives from IMG who run the Royal Albert Hall event have already made initial overtures to Agassi and a more concerted charm offensive is certain to be staged when he arrives in London for the special day at Wimbledon.  “He is very much top of our wish list and it would be wonderful to see him in the middle of a star studded field of former great champions,” said a spokesman for the London event.
Courier has clearly worked overtime to lure his contemporary at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy back to the competitive court. Agassi is the first announced member of what will be an eight-player field competing for US$150,000 in prize money at the Oct. 8-11 tournament at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.
To be eligible for the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least one final at a Grand Slam tournament, been ranked in the top five or played singles on a Davis Cup title-winning team.
Agassi meets all three criteria, including having logged 101 weeks with the ATP's No. 1 ranking and having helped the United States claim three Davis Cup championships.
***
Gilbert to Make Appearances at Bollettieri Academy as “Celebrity Coach”

Two of tennis’ most high profile coaches who both played their part in making Andre Agassi not only the most recognizable but also respected player of his generation are uniting under the same banner as Brad Gilbert is set to joins Nick Bollettieri’s staff at IMG’s world famous tennis academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Gilbert has been out of coaching since ending his deal with Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association last fall since then has concentrated on his work as a television tennis analyst with ESPN. But the circle is now about to turn full circle for the man who has worked with the likes of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray who was once a student at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy himself and more recently enrolled his son Zach at the racket school of learning.
“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to go down to the Academy and start spending time with Nick and his staff,” said Gilbert. “Nick has been an innovator in the industry for the last 30 years and has many more great years ahead of him. It is truly an honor to get a chance to work with him.”
Gilbert will make his first fortnight-long appearance in April and despite previously working with some of the sport’s very top professionals, the plan is for him to work with all students at the academy. “Brad brings a lifetime of tennis knowledge and will make an incredible impart on all of our tennis students,” insisted Bollettieri. “His ability to coach is second to none and when you combine that with his incredible energy, you have the complete package.
“We want to give more to every student, no matter what their level of play. What Brad brings is a formula of how to fight, how to dig in and make the maximum of what you’ve got. He’s going to bring ‘how to win’ and ‘how to get into people’s minds.’ He’ll show the students how to play with what they have got.
“I assure you Brad has always been a favorite of mine because of how he knew how to fight and win.”
***
Is Clijsters Planning a Comeack?

Observers are speculating whether former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters is preparing for a comeback, as she readies herself for the Raising the Roof event to be held at the All England Club in May. The eagerly anticipated series of exhibition matches are being staged to test Wimbledon’s new Centre Court roof, and Clijsters will play with Tim Henman, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
It would be expected that Clijsters, who married American basketball player Brian Lynch in 2007 and then gave birth to daughter Jada a little over a year ago, would practice a little to prepare for the occasion. But she has been doing much more than that, raising speculation about whether a return to the Tour could be on the cards. C
Apparently she has been practicing for six hours a day, four times a week, with a coach and trainer in attendance. Sounds like a serious commitment.

***
Unfriendly Atmosphere Inspired Israel Davis Cup Team

The controversy over playing Israel’s Davis Cup tie against Sweden behind closed doors only served to inspire the Israelis to their 3-2 victory, according to newspaper reports there.
The win made the front pages of Israeli newspapers the day after Harel Levy defeated Andreas Vinciguerra 8-6 in a nail-biting final rubber to set up a home quarterfinal against Russia in July.
One headline screamed ‘They Defeated the Hatred’ and Levy’s coach, Oded Yaakov, said the unfriendly atmosphere only encouraged them.
"The feeling that you are isolated, that everyone outside is protesting against you, definitely gave the team more motivation," Yaakov said. "In that situation it makes you want to play harder for your country, for your flag."
Andy Ram, who was allowed to play doubles at Dubai only after worldwide protests when fellow-Israeli Shahar Peer had been refused entry to the United Arab Emirates a week before, also said that the situation they found themselves in only increased their will to win.
"The protests and the expressions of hate only increased our motivation," he told Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot.
***
After Official Dinner, US Davis Cuppers Have Home-Style Food

The London Times reported that the victorious U.S. Davis Cup squad of Andy Roddick, James Blake, the Bryan twins and captain Patrick McEnroe made a surprise stop at a Waffle House while cruising through Birmingham, Alabama after their win over Switzerland.
Heading back to their hotel after attending an official dinner Roddick spotted a Waffle House and decided he was still hungry, so they dropped in. And found more than they expected - a singing waitress!
"She had no idea who we were," McEnroe said of the waitress, who according to her name tag was called The Old Goat. "She kept asking - what are you guys doing here, where you from?" Then she broke into a rap number, which was videotaped by the team. "The boys are thinking of throwing it on You Tube," McEnroe said. "It was so entertaining. She's going to be a star."
For non-Americans, Waffle House is a nation-wide chain of diner-style restaurants which, as well as being liked by Roddick, was a favorite of Pete Sampras. A Waffle House is located a block from Saddlebrook Resort where James Blake and others have homes where they train.
***
Dellacqua has Shoulder Surgery

Australia’s Casey Dellacqua, who disappointed many with her luke-warm performances in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne in January, has undergone shoulder surgery which will sideline her until the middle of the year.
Her problems began after Wimbledon last year, and she even tried to change her serve to put less strain on the shoulder. That was largely blamed for her poor Australian performances, when she managed just one win in three singles matches at the Hopman Cup, and then failed to win a match in Sydney and Melbourne.
A 6-1 6-1 thrashing by Francesca Schiavone in Dubai then forced her to take the action she had tried to avoid.
"I wanted to try everything I could before I underwent surgery," Dellacqua said. "I have had significant pain in my shoulder since midway through last year and I have lost a lot of the power in my arm as a result. I am obviously disappointed that the different treatment options I have tried in an effort to avoid surgery over the last six months have not worked but the most important thing now is to rectify the problem and to be pain free.

***

We Hear---
--that Tennis Week will announce this week that it is ceasing publishing the magazine but will continue the website.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
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***
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***
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Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $65.06
* 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
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Visit our website at: www.tennisnews.com

(c)  Copyright 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Monday, March 9, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

---

Indian Wells Announces Wild Cards

Jelena Dokic headlines the wildcard entries granted by the BNP Paribas Open, to be held March 9-22 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Others to receive wildcards include three American women, Vania King, Alexa Glatch and Melanie Oudin. In addition to the three Americans, a quartet of international stars also accepted wildcards; Sania Mirza, Michaella Krajicek, Urszula Radwanska, and rising junior star Alja Tomljanovic.
Taylor Dent leads a group of American men that received wildcards into the main draw that includes John Isner, Wayne Odesnik and Ryan Sweeting. In addition to the Americans, Kevin Anderson of South Africa was also granted a wildcard.
Wildcards for the men’s qualifying draw were awarded to Alex Domijan, Roman Borvanov and Lester Cook. Wild cards for the women’s qualifying draw were awarded to Petra Martic, Coco Vandeweghe, Julia Boserup, Asia Muhammad, Gail Brodsky and Angela Haynes.
***
Britain’s LTA Distributing Development Money According to a Plan

Money has never been a problem for Britain’s cash rich Lawn Tennis Association, the perennial headache has been nurturing sufficiently good players to give the nation a place of eminence on the world stage that befits a country that stages Wimbledon.
Stung into reaction by another disappointing Davis Cup defeat that once again highlighted the fact Britain has only one male player of any note – Andy Murray – the LTA has revealed it is using its wealth to make life a little easier for the other players.
Last autumn the LTA bolstered their bank balance still further by signing a GBP30 million deal with the pensions and life assurance company AEGON. Now 36 of Britain’s leading players, with the notable exception of Murray, have been formed into Team AEGON and will receive substantial financial backing each year to help their career.
When asked to say how Britain moved forward after the Ukraine defeat, the LTA’s chief executive Roger Draper decided to turn defense into attack and said: “I was reflecting on the journey we’ve been through, but also on the one we are about to undertake, and although we lost this tie, I’m more positive than ever about making tennis successful.
Turning around a sport is a five-generational thing and you have to concentrate on the fourth and fifth generations. The bottom line with the current generation is that you can only take them so far.”
Anne Keothavong, the British No 1 woman, will receive GBP60,000 annually and she can designate how the money is spent. However she will be accountable and must adhere to a number of contract targets to be reached by the end of the year in terms of ranking, fitness and attitude.  She will receive the highest funding with other players in the squad, sliding down to 16 year-old former Orange Bowl champion George Morgan who is receiving GBP12,000 a year.
But the LTA was quick to hit back against suggestions its players were once again being made too comfortable. “We are not offering social security,” maintained Steve Martens, former Belgian Davis Cup captain and currently the LTA player director. “Players in the UK are fortunate because we are a governing body which can do this, but there has to be accountability. It is a matter of culture, a professional culture, and I can tell you that we are expecting everyone to be very professional about what they do.”
***
Good Looking Maria Likes Fashion and Modeling

Check around the press rooms of the world, and the name of a Russian blonde often comes up when people are asked to name the best looking woman on the WTA Tour. No, not that Maria, but another. One of Sharapova’s best friends, Kirilenko.
Like the former world No. 1 she has a great interest in fashion, always looks stylish off the court, and she has caught the eye on-court too with her trend-setting Adidas clothing line designed by Stella McCartney, daughter of ex-Beatle Paul. Kirilenko was thrilled when she was chosen by McCartney and Adidas to wear the outfits.
"It was wonderful because I love fashion," Kirilenko told Britain’s Sunday Times. "Stella’s designs changed everything in women’s tennis wear. Other manufacturers had to take note and styles started to be more elegant. I met Stella and she asked for my input on colors and styles."
That attention might have led to her then being chosen to model for Sports Illustrated’s famous swimsuit addition, in which she appears with Daniela Hantuchova and Tatiana Golovin. She enjoyed the shoot - eventually.
"For a day or so I felt a little bit uncomfortable. I’ve done lots of clothes modeling before but not while just wearing a little bikini. It was a beautiful setting in the Dominican Republic and the photographer and his staff were so professional. I enjoy doing photo shoots and think I’m good at it. I’m very happy with the way the pictures turned out. I think they look very nice."
***
Murray Gets Okay From Doctors to Resume Play

Andy Murray headed to the gym at the weekend after receiving an all-clear from doctors who ruled out a case of glandular fever for the Briton.
Murray's absence was felt at the Davis Cup tie in his native Scotland against the Ukraine, but the good news is that the world No. 4 will be flying to California today for the start of the Masters 1000 at Indian Wells this week.
His mother Judy told the BBC that her son had been cleared by medical tests of the more serious glandular fever, which knocked Roger Federer out as a serious contender for the first six months of 2008.
Murray withdrew before his Dubai quarter-final and flew to London for tests after say he had felt poorly since the Australian Open in January. He also had to pull from the Davis Cup.

***
Britain’s Davis Cup Captain Feels Secure With His Job

Three successive Davis Cup defeats, two of them without the services of leading player Andy Murray, and the possibility of Britain dropping to a 15 year low in the competition if that run stretches to four, is not sufficient to cause John Lloyd to rethink his position as captain.
The weekend’s 4-1 home defeat to a Ukraine side devoid of a single top 100 player means Britain now has to go into a September relegation tussle against Poland to stay in the Euro/African Zone Group One. But Lloyd, a player when Britain last reached the Davis Cup final 31 years ago, was insistent resignation was not on his mind.
“I enjoy the job,” said Lloyd who has lived in the United States for much of his life and has no intention of returning home to keep closer tabs on the lower ranked players he had to rely upon against the Ukrainians. “I don't enjoy the losses, that's for sure, but if someone thinks they can do better with someone else then that's up to them. As far as I know I'm still going to be here in September - unless they (the Lawn Tennis Association) kick me out.”
Lloyd signed an extension of his contract for another three years just a few months ago and sees no reason to renege on the deal. “That's up to my bosses and you can ask them,” he said. “I've got a contract for a little while now and if they're not happy with me then that's up to them.”
The crucial factor for Lloyd is the commitment to the cause of world no.4 Murray who has been reassured he is not suffering from mononucleosis (glandular fever) and is now clear to travel to California to contest this week’s calendar opening Tennis Masters 1000 series event, the Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
A still undetermined viral infection forced Murray to pull out of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships 11 days ago and prevented him from spearheading the British team in his native Scotland has reportedly caused the player to lose 13 lbs in weight. Because of his recent Davis Cup record – he was reluctant to play last September’s Wimbledon-staged home tie against Austria because he wasn’t happy playing on grass soon after the US Open and before commencing the European indoor season – have caused question marks to arise.
Lloyd is convinced Murray will face the Poles in September, although the captain maintained he would consult the Scot closely before deciding on venue and playing surface. “I think he will play," said Lloyd. "A lot of people have said with the stage where we are and as a big-time player, he won't want to play in those circumstances.
"But to me it's playing for your country, I don't see the difference of playing in the World Group or Group One. Yes, it's bigger occasions, but if you want to play for your country, you want to play for your country.
"He says he does and he's always committed to it, unfortunately a couple of times he's been injured and this time he's got a virus, but I expect him to play in September.
"I'll be speaking to him very soon. He's been watching it on TV and he knows where we are now, he knows we've got a match in September to stay up and I'm going to be asking him if he's ready to commit to it."
***
Hewitt’s Hip Problem Returns and Clouds His Future

Lleyton Hewitt’s future has again been placed in doubt after his hip troubled him during a five-set defeat by 155th-ranked Danai Udomchoke, as Australia claimed a narrow 3-2 win over Thailand in its Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone group tie at the weekend.
After Hewitt’s defeat leveled the tie at 2-2, Chris Guccione prevented a major upset by winning the deciding rubber in straight sets to set Australia up for a meeting with India.
"To his credit he played well and he played better as the match went on," Hewitt said. "My hip was playing up a little bit today from the third set which didn't make things easy, but I am still going to try and play Indian Wells next week. For me it is just a matter of strengthening the hip up as well. After the surgery it will take six-to-12 months to get back to full strength."
Hewitt did not play any more events in 2008 after he was crushed 6-1 6-2 by Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Beijing Olympics in August, before returning at the Hyundai Hopman Cup in the first week of January. All the talk then and since was that the hip surgery he underwent in August had been highly successful, but it appears that such talk might have been premature.
***
Sometimes an Autobiography Can be Published Too Early

Andy Murray admits his decision to publish an autobiography just a few months after exiting his teenaged years was a public relations and personal disaster.
After "Hitting Back" was released in 2008 to lukewarm response, the world No. 4 admits: "Sometimes when you're young, you make some bad decisions - that wasn't one of my better ones.
"I wish I hadn't done it," said the 21-year-old.
Murray said that he is learning that some things mean more than money. But with his financial future set for life, he has the luxury of a few bad choices.
"As you get older, you learn that money is not the most important thing. I like to make decisions based on what's best for my tennis, best for my career, best for me and the people that are around me."
He said that no more books will be in the offering during the remainder of his career.
***
Sharapova to Play Indian Wells—at Doubles

After more than half a season out of the sport being injured, Maria Sharapova will dip her toe back into tennis with a doubles appearance at the Indian Wells Masters this week. And if that experiment goes well, the Russian could be back in the singles mix at Miami.
The 21-year-old, her ranking down to 23rd after last playing in the summer, has been bothered by the problem for two years.
Her delayed comeback has been twice put back this year after the shoulder which underwent surgery failed to hold up to intense practice.
Sharapova will play her first doubles event in four years when she teams with compatriot Elena Vesnina. "The healing process takes time and requires things to move more slowly than I would like, but I am taking things one step at a time," Sharapova told her website.
"I'm excited to be playing competitive tennis again."
***
After 34 Years, a Song Gets Updated

The Sweden-Israel Davis Cup tie, which produced the controversial decision to play the matches behind closed doors, has also prompted a Swedish singer-songwriter to produce a song condemning the playing of the tie.
The artist, Mikael Wiehe, has named the song ‘Stop the Game’. The lyrics have been updated for the occasion, as the song was originally written for when Sweden were drawn to play Chile at home in 1975, and the singer and others made their feelings clear about the Pinochet dictatorship.
Until now, that meeting between Sweden and Chile was the only occasion in the 100-year-plus history of the Davis Cup that a tie had been played in an empty stadium.

***
Athletes and the Sporting Goods Industry Ask Congress to Support Health

A delegation of physical activity proponents including Stan Smith, Herschel Walker, Mia Hamm and Joan Benoit-Samuelson among others met on March 4^th with members of Congress in Washington, D.C. to talk about what can be done to ‘Get America Moving’ as part of the 10th Annual National Health Through Fitness Day.
Organized by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), the consortium asked Congress to approve the Physical Education Program Bill in Fiscal Year 2010 for $100 million.
There were a number of representatives from SGMA member organizations which participated in the lobbying process including Head, Nike, Prince Sports, Reebok and Wilson Sporting Goods among others.
Tennis Industry Association, National Sporting Goods Association, and the United States Tennis Association among others were Supporting Sponsors of this advocacy effort. 
Nike, Prince Sports and Reebok among others supported the project by donating the services of celebrity athletes to help in this lobbying effort.

***

We Hear---
--that the highlight of the 5^th Annual K-Swiss Tennis and Golf charity celebrity golf and tennis event at the La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, California Tuesday and Wednesday may be the concert presented by recording artist Gavin Rossdale on Tuesday night following and auction and dinner.
***
THIS WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
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***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
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Bob Larson’s Stock Report
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14.50

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Head

2.10

0.00

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6.99

-.10

Nike

39.94

0.00

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $66.73
* 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 2009. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis

Friday, March 6, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

---

ITF Announces Davis Cup Draws

The ITF has announced the draws so far for the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group First Round and 26 zonal ties to be played on 6-8 March.
WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

ARGENTINA v NETHERLANDS
Venue: Estadio Parque Roca, Buenos Aires (clay – outdoors)

Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) v Jesse Huta Galung (NED)
Juan Monaco (ARG) v Thiemo de Bakker (NED)
Lucas Arnold-Ker/Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) v Jesse Huta Galung/Rogier Wassen (NED)
Juan Monaco (ARG) v Jesse Huta Galung (NED)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) v Thiemo de Bakker (NED)
CZECH REPUBLIC v FRANCE
Venue: CEZ Arena, Ostrava (carpet - indoors)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Gilles Simon (FRA)
Radek Stepanek (CZE) v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Lukas Dlouhy/Jan Hernych (CZE) v Richard Gasquet/Michael Llodra (FRA)
Radek Stepanek (CZE) v Gilles Simon (FRA)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)

USA v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena, Birmingham, AL (hard – indoors)
To follow
CROATIA v CHILE
Venue: Visenamjenska Sportska Dvorana “Zatika”, Porec (hard – indoors)
Mario Ancic (CRO) v Nicolas Massu (CHI)
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Paul Capdeville (CHI)
Mario Ancic/Marin Cilic (CRO) v Paul Capdeville/Nicolas Massu (CHI)
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Nicolas Massu (CHI)
Mario Ancic (CRO) v Paul Capdeville (CHI)
SWEDEN v ISRAEL
Venue: The Baltic Hall, Malmo (carpet – indoors)
Thomas Johansson (SWE) v Harel Levy (ISR)
Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) v Dudi Sela (ISR)
Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v. Amir Hadad/Andy Ram (ISR)
Thomas Johansson (SWE) v Dudi Sela (ISR)
Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) v Harel Levy (ISR)
ROMANIA v RUSSIA
Venue: Sala Transilvania, Sibiu (carpet – indoors)
Victor Crivoi (ROU) v Marat Safin (RUS)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Marius Copil/Horia Tecau (ROU) v Teimuraz Gabashvili/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) v Marat Safin (RUS)
Victor Crivoi (ROU) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
GERMANY v AUSTRIA
Venue: Olympia Eissport Zentrum, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (hard – indoors)
Rainer Schuettler (GER) v Stefan Koubek (AUT)
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Christophe Kas/Nicolas Kiefer (GER) v Julian Knowle/Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Rainer Schuettler (GER) v Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Stefan Koubek (AUT)
SPAIN v SERBIA
Venue: Parque Tematico Tierra Mitica, Benidorm (clay – outdoors)
David Ferrer (ESP) v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Novak Djokovic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
David Ferrer (ESP) v Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND

ITALY v SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Venue: Tennis Club Cagliari, Cagliari (clay – outdoors)
Potito Starace (ITA) v Dominik Hrbaty (SVK)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Lukas Lacko (SVK)
Flavio Cipolla/Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Michal Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Dominik Hrbaty (SVK)
Potito Starace (ITA) v Lukas Lacko (SVK)
GREAT BRITAIN v UKRAINE
Venue: Braehead Arena, Braehead (hard – indoors)
Josh Goodall (GBR) v Illya Marchenko (UKR)
Chris Eaton (GBR) v Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Colin Fleming/Ross Hutchins (GBR) v Sergei Bubka/Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Josh Goodall (GBR) v Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Chris Eaton (GBR) v Illya Marchenko (UKR)

BELGIUM v POLAND
Venue: Country Hall du Sart-Tilman, Angleur (Liege) – (clay – indoors)
Kristof Vliegen (BEL) v Michal Przysiezny (POL)
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) v Marcin Matkowski/Grzegorz Panfil (POL)
Kristof Vliegen (BEL) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v Michal Przysiezny (POL)

***
Bad Weather Delays Spain-Serbia Davis Cup Action

Spain’s eagerly-awaited Davis Cup tie with Serbia was put on hold Friday when winds of up to 60 mph damaged the temporary stands put up at the Terra Mitica amusement park in Benidorm.
"Winds have blown off some of the rows of the stands and that has played an effect on the whole stability," said ITF referee Soren Frienel. "Matches have been canceled because of the security of the stands."
Winds were expected to drop slightly and discussions were to take place to decide whether to play the tie Saturday through Monday, after an inspection and repairs to the 16,000 seat stadium.
"We're talking about a security issue so there's not much we can say about that, what the teams prefer," Frienel said. "Both teams have to accept the decision and they have."
The ITF had inspected the stadium on Thursday after strong winds along the Mediterranean coast caused doubts on whether the temporary structure was safe enough to host the event.
***
Federer and Cahill Appear to be Getting Close to an Agreement

Speculation has centered around a possible professional liaison between former world no.1 Roger Federer and the highly respected Australian Darren Cahill for several years but the most predicated player/coach link up now appears to be close to fruition.
Reports confirm that Federer,  currently competitively sidelined by a mysterious back complaint that has ruled him out of last week’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and this weekend’s Davis Cup World Group clash between the United States and Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, remains in his Emirate training base where is working to see how things gel with Cahill.
The 43 year-old Australian who guided Lleyton Hewitt to the top of the game and then breathed spectacular new life into the last four and a half years of Andre Agassi’s career, recently resigned from his job as Australia’s part-time Davis Cup coach. He is known to have flown to Dubai late last week to link up with Federer. It is apparently a trial arrangement with no form of signed arrangement as yet.
But a source close to Cahill said: “It’s a natural fit between the two. There are distinct connections and reasons why it would work. Everyone in tennis has seen Darren as the most obvious candidate to become Roger’s coach and now it seems the time is right for both of them.”
Adelaide-born Cahill, like countrymen Hewitt, Pat Cash and Peter McNamara the son of an Australian Rules football player, was a contemporary and extremely close friend of the late Peter Carter who served as Federer’s coach and mentor during the Swiss’ junior years. He was tragically killed in vehicle accident in South Africa seven years ago.
Federer has played without a full-time coach since the parting of the ways with Swede Peter Lundgren of Sweden as coach in late 2003. There was a part-time arrangement with 63 year-old Aussie Tony Roche that came to an end in May, 2007 when Federer alluded to a communication breakdown due to age difference.
For the most part Federer has gone for long periods during his most successful years without a coach. More than half his 13 Grand Slam titles were won when he was effectively not playing with any guidance although for the last two years, the Swiss Davis Cup captain, Severin Luthi, has repeatedly travelled and sat in the Federer corner. However he has never been officially listed as his coach.
Since Agassi’s retirement at the 2006 US Open, Cahill has spent much of his working time as a television analyst with ESPN. He has several; business tie ups with Agassi and the Cahill family currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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USA is Looking to Roddick for Davis Cup Leadership

US Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe is counting on a big weekend from his go-to guy, Andy Roddick, in the tie against Switzerland.
McEnroe says that a change of coaches for Roddick is paying off nicely after the one-time US Open winner hooked up with mentor Larry Stefanki.
"I thought that was a pretty gutsy move on his part to do that," McEnroe said. Roddick has lost his last two Davis matches - against Spain last September - and is hoping to resume his winning run against the Swiss in Alabama.
"It has been interesting over the years to see Andy Roddick, whom I mentioned had his first tie as a teenager," McEnroe said. "He has really grown up and become a man.
"I've been lucky enough to see him in every Davis Cup match he has played. I've seen him go out there when really everything was stacked against him. He goes out and gives it 110 percent."
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Blake Hoping for Improvement in his Performance

James Blake will seek Davis Cup rehabilitation as he opens the tie against Switzerland for the 32-time champion US in Birmingham, Alabama.
The No. 13 is still displeased after ruling himself out of last September's losing semi-final against Spain in Madrid, saying he felt burned out.
But all is forgotten as the 29-year-old makes a new start. "It's a great feeling being back," said Blake as he rejoined the squad. "2008 really caught up with me. I was just so tired by the time we were to play Spain. But I learned my lesson about skedding too much.
"I would not have been the best man for the job in that ties and probably would not have been able to change the (losing) scoreline."
Roger Federer is missing the weekend, training in Dubai with Australian Darren Cahill and expected to return at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in a week in California.
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Hewitt’s Experience Helps Australia

Lleyton Hewitt, the only player at this weekend’s Davis Cup tie between Thailand and Australia with significant international experience, is full of confidence after his successful return from hip surgery during the Australian circuit was followed by a run to the Memphis semi-finals last month.
"I'm pretty happy with the way I'm playing," said Hewitt in Bangkok with the first day’s results at 1-1. "To have five months off it's tough to get back, but the way I played in Memphis was as well as I've played in a long time and I'll continue playing with that kind of confidence."

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Spain is Cautiously Optimistic

Holders Spain might be thought of as favorites as they go into their Davis Cup tie against Serbia in Benidorm this weekend, but a fit-again Rafael Nadal is taking nothing for granted.
"We are going to play against the world number three and the world number two in doubles," said the Australian Open champion, who missed the recent Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships with a knee injury. "It is never a walk in the park against anyone, much less against Serbia. We need to play at our top level to be able to beat them, and I feel great and with a great will to keep going on. I'm very excited about representing my country."
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France Likes its Chances in Davis Cup Play

France, which takes on Czech Republic in the Davis Cup, has one of the strongest teams in it’s history, according to captain Guy Forget. He likens the squad to the legendary ‘Musketeers’ of 75 years ago, when Henri Cochet, Rene Lacoste, Jean Borota and Jacques Brugnon won every Davis Cup between 1927 and 1932.
"Apart from perhaps the Musketeers, we've never had such a strong French team on paper in our history," Forget said on the eve of the tie.
He has a point. Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet are all either current or former top-10 players, while Michael Llodra is ranked among the best doubles players in the world. Simon and Tsonga have both won tournaments this year, and that means that Gasquet, who ‘only’ reached three semi-finals this year, was relegated to playing doubles. But that’s okay with him.
"I'm aware that I've got much less of a chance of playing in the singles than last year, but whatever my role is, I'll give it my all," Gasquet said before it was announced that he would partner Llodra.
***
Roddick is Approaching a Davis Cup Milestone

Andy Roddick will tie Andre Agassi for second place in US Davis Cup victories with 30 wins if he beats Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli in Birmingham, Alabama Friday. If he also wins against Stanislas Wawrinka in the reverse singles Sunday he takes the spot for himself. But he is still some way behind John McEnroe’s record of 41. Roddick has missed only one match since making his debut back in 2001 - against Switzerland.
"It's an honor. Not only (being able to play) for the country but being able to play with these guys and play for my teammates. For the last coming up on 10 years it has been a privilege," said Roddick. "It's probably something that I'll have the best memories from when I look back on my career."
Roddick remembers attending the Davis Cup final in Texas back in 1992 when he was just 10 years old, watching as Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Jim Courier beat - Switzerland. He was inspired.
"It did affect me," Roddick said. "Seeing Andre and Courier and Johnny Mac and Pete was great, but the atmosphere and the way the fans were allowed to go nuts, and seeing everyone buy into it, it definitely made an impression."
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Israel’s Ram Disputes Sweden’s Actions Involving Security

Andy Ram has again sounded off about the decision to play Israel’s Davis Cup tie against Sweden in Malmo behind closed doors, the result of security measures imposed because of the fear of demonstrations following the recent clash between Israel and Palestine.
"They say it's bad but they don't do anything. They have to act," said Ram, who recently played in Dubai under heavy security. Countrywoman Shahar Peer was refused entry to the United Arab Emirates the previous week, supposedly because of security worries, resulting in worldwide condemnation and a $300,000 fine imposed on the tournament.
Ram says that the ITF should have put pressure on Swedish officials to stage the tie under normal conditions or have it moved to a neutral country.
"Now it's too late," Ram said. "Politics won over sports. That's sad. You don't see that very often in tennis."

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La Quinta Resort to Host 5^th Annual K-Swiss Tennis and Golf Event

A two-day charity celebrity golf and tennis event will be hosted at the beautiful La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, California Tuesday and Wednesday as the Indian Wells tennis tournament gets underway.
The 2009 K-Swiss Desert Smash will benefit Variety Club of the Desert - The Children’s Charity, which is an enthusiastic group of business leaders who donate their time, resources and energy to positively impact the lives of the neediest children that live in the Coachella Valley. Also benefiting from the event is the Bryan Brothers’ Foundation.
Pro-am tennis tournament begins at noon on Tuesday, followed by an exhibition of tour players at 3:00 on the resort’s stadium court featuring Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish, Vera Zvonareva, the Bondarenko sisters, Liezel Huber, Cara Black, Novak Djokovic and Marat Safin. The event is free to spectators.
Those celebrities scheduled to play (to-date) in the pro-am this year include: Daniel Baldwin, Michael Vartan, Amaury Nolasco, Donal Logue, and Kirk Fox.  More are expected to come watch the exhibition, concert and play golf the next morning.
Those wishing to play in the K-Swiss Desert Smash are invited to call 760-773-9800 for  information.

***

We Hear---
--that K-Swiss will be doing its athlete photo shoot on La Quinta's tennis stadium court on Monday, March 9th.
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THIS WEEK
MEN
Davis Cup
WOMEN
Monterrey
***
NEXT WEEK
MEN
Indian Wells
WOMEN
Indian Wells
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***
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