Friday, September 18, 2009
BUSINESS NEWS
Hewitt is not on Speaking Terms with Junior Star Tomic
US Open junior champion Bernard Tomic just doesn’t seem to be able to avoid controversy. Earlier this year he was suspended by the ITF after, at the order of his father John, he walked off the court during a Futures tournament in Perth, and now Melbourne’s The Age has reported that he incurred the anger of Lleyton Hewitt after refusing to practice with him at Wimbledon.
Hewitt had sent word out that he would like to practice with Tomic before his fourth round match against Radek Stepanek and heard nothing back, but Tomic was at the courts when Hewitt arrived to practice and Hewitt assumed he had received the call and was at the club to practice with him. Not so, according to Hewitt’s manager David Drysdale.
“We turned up and saw the Tomics around and we thought 'Oh, maybe they got our message, and they were there to hit with Lleyton'. But then the agent came in and said, 'No, he's not hitting with Lleyton, Lleyton's not good enough'. They were his words: 'Lleyton's not good enough', and we just about dropped on the spot. We were pretty dumbfounded. Lleyton just could not believe it, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got about it.”
Instead Tomic, who in January became the youngest ever male tennis player to win a senior match at the Australian Open, wanted to practice with Juan Carlos Ferrero, but the Spaniard turned him down.
“When we told Juan Carlos what had happened, his coach said that if a leading player in Spain asked a junior to practice and the junior said 'no', then he would never get to hit with a senior player again, and they would make sure he had all his funding and support from the national federation cut.”
In response to the controversy, the teenager’s father stated through Tomic’s agent that his son was suffering from Swine flu at the time and didn’t want to play “when so unwell, against someone of Hewitt's stature.”
Drysdale blamed Bernard’s father for the incident, and told The Age that the snub could have long-term consequences for Australia’s most promising player.
“It was Bernard's chance to get to know Lleyton a bit better, and Lleyton's the sort of guy that when he hits with these guys and he gets the opportunity for a wildcard into the doubles somewhere he'd probably ask Bernard to play, but what John Tomic has done is just alienated Bernard from Lleyton. John Tomic needs to be careful how he handles people around Bernard, because it could come back to haunt him one day.”
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The Czech Davis Cup Team is Concerned About the Condition of the Tie’s Clay Court
Holes in the clay court, that was a major problem for the Czechs before Davis Cup semifinal in Croatia.
“This court is made for Croat Ivo Karlovic; that is the reason for so many holes,” accuses Czech Tomas Berdych.
Goran Prpic, Croatian captain, used to similar objections during other ties, denies any wrong doing. “The court is good, even better then against Americans in quarterfinal. It is normal for a new court to have holes, but it will be OK by the beginning of the tie.”
Americans didn’t like it at all, and Chileans were so angry by quality of the clay that they left the official dinner in protest in the first round.
The Croats think the Czechs are overwhelmed by Karlovic serve, that they worry too much about how to stop his cannon, how many balls they will be able to return.
Czechs spirit was refreshed with Lukas Dlouhy win of US Open doubles, but even he was surprised by the welcome party.
“It was very cold reception. As a reward, they pushed me into hotel swimming pool,” laughs Dlouhy.
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Clijsters Will Play in Australia’s Road to the Open
Kim Clijsters, still fondly referred to ‘Down Under’ as “Aussie Kim” after her one-time engagement to Lleyton Hewitt, has announced that she will begin her bid for a second straight major title by competing in the Brisbane International.
The tournament begins on January 3rd, and it is highly likely that the recently crowned US Open champion will then travel to Sydney, where she defeated Jelena Jankovic for the title in her last appearance there in 2007.
“Australia is a home away from home for me and I am thrilled to be coming back in January for the Brisbane International," said Clijsters. "I have heard what a great event Brisbane was last time and I am looking forward to seeing all the new facilities and stadium.”
Andy Roddick will also be making his debut at the pre-Australian Open event.
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US Open Fines Were Few in Number and Amounts
A remarkably low total of just $31,500 in fines was levied against the players for on-court indiscretions during the 15 days of the US Open.
Exactly one third of that involved Serena Williams, who was fined $10,000 for abusing an official and another $500 for racquet abuse. Roger Federer was slapped with a $1,500 fine for swearing at the umpire during his US Open final loss to Juan Martin Del Potro, Vera Zvonareva was fined the same amount for swearing during her meltdown against Flavia Pennetta and Daniel Nestor was docked $5000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after arguing with spectators who cheered his double faults.
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We Hear---
--that Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from Spain’s Davis Cup team that is facing Israel in a Davis Cup World Group semifinal this weekend because of injury, has confirmed that he will play in the Thailand Open. He is set to arrive in the country on September 23rd and will vacation in Krabi before moving on to Bangkok.
--that following in the footsteps of big sister Kim, Elke Clijsters is due to give birth within the next few weeks.
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THIS WEEK
MEN
Davis Cup Semifinals
WOMEN
Guangzhou
Quebec City
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NEXT WEEK
MEN
Bucharest
Metz
WOMEN
Seoul
Tashkent
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