Monday, October 5, 2009
WORLD NEWS
Serena Williams Wants Tour #1 Ranking
Serena Williams did, after a cooling down period, accept that she acted badly in abusing a linesperson during her US Open semifinal, which resulted in a point penalty and her exit from the competition. Now she appears to be ready to accept her fate, as the ITF decides whether to extend her punishment beyond the record $10,000 already imposed.
“I know there's talk of investigation, (so) I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment while the case is still going on. It is what it is,” she said after winning her opening match at the China Open. Then she appeared to suggest that her action was only caused by her competitive spirit and that should count in her favor. “I am really excited to be a tennis player. I obviously have such an amazing passion - it's enabled me to have 20-something grand slam titles. I love fighting for every point, for everything.” she added.
And, having talked about deserving the No.1 ranking more than Dinara Safina, now she is in a position to regain the top spot she is laid-back about that as well.
“You know it's definitely on my radar, but honestly I have to make sure I am doing the best that I can, whatever that is. I would love to be number one, but I also want to pay the price to be number one. It will come eventually, if not, I'll just keep trying.”
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Nadal Disappointed About Olympics 2016
Rafael Nadal was naturally disappointed that Madrid finished second in the contest to stage the 2016 Olympics, narrowly losing out to Rio de Janeiro as they had to London in their bid to stage the Games in 2012.
“Yeah, it was tough for us, being in the finals,” he said in the 2008 Olympic city of Beijing. “We pushed hard for 2012 and then 2016. I think Madrid did a very good job. It’s tough for Spain, for Madrid, for lot of people that worked very hard for a long time. But I think that London and Madrid are too close, that’s my feeling. They had to change the continent, that’s what I think.
“I don’t know if 2020 we are going to be candidates, but my feeling is we are close. If we continue to push hard, I don’t want to say, but my feeling is that Madrid is going to finish organizing the games, that’s my feeling. I hope so.”
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Djokovic Wants to Continue Working with Martin
Novak Djokovic is to continue working with Todd Martin, believing their three-week partnership through the period of the US Open was a success.
"It was a great two weeks, three weeks, we had with Todd Martin," the Serb said in Beijing, where he won a bronze medal last year. "He's actually the person that we need in our team in order to improve some elements in my game. In this level it's only about the details, I think, in the game and the mental state as well. He has experience and used to be a top five player, used to play the best players in the world and beat the best players in the world. To have him on the team would be great thing for me, a good step forward.
“But I'm not going to stop working with Marian Vajda. I'm going to work with Marian part time and Todd part time. Marian is a person that helped me a lot in my career and in my life. We have a special relationship and it's not just a coach-player thing."
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London to Have An Australian Influence
This year’s AEGON Masters, the newly sponsored end to the ATP Tour of Champions at London’s Royal Albert Hall, has a very Australian look with three of the eight singles contestants being Patrick Rafter, Pat Cash and Mark Philippoussis.
As his 32nd birthday will only just have been celebrated, Philippoussis’s inclusion promotes another question mark over what exactly constitutes senior tennis but the former Wimbledon and US Open finalist has not competed on the main ATP World Tour since 2006.
Philippoussis also needs to earn money after Pepper Home Loans are reported to be seeking repayment on more than $1 million. “Tennis is one of those sports where if you don't play, you don't get paid," said Philippoussis recently. "Paying bills and no money coming in has been tough for a number of years, but everyone has to go through that."
However Philippoussis is not letting his money worries taint his excitement at contesting the event that runs December 1 thru 6. He played a charity exhibition match against Britain’s Tim Henman at the event three years ago and said: “I really can’t wait to play at the Royal Albert Hall again. It is one of the prettiest tennis venues I have ever seen, it really is gorgeous. It’s perfect in terms of how close the crowd is to you when you’re playing and the atmosphere that creates.”
“I get goosebumps every time I go to the UK because of the British crowds that are incredible. They have such a great appreciation for tennis. I’ve always enjoyed a lot of support from them and I hope they are looking forward to seeing me again. I certainly can’t wait.”
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Ivanovic Wants to Forget 2009 and Prepare for 2010
On the tennis court 2009 has been a year Ana Ivanovic wants to forget in a hurry and the former world no.1 has announced an early close to her competitive year. The Serb cited an upper respiratory tract infection for pulling out of this week’s China Open in Beijing and decided it was best to now take a break, get well, overhaul her game and get ready for the start of next year.
She admits: “It is very tough to switch off and have a proper break over the past year or so, partly because of these physical problems. Actually, I don't think I can remember the last time I had a proper holiday: I was always doing some kind of fitness or recovery work during my holidays, and that meant that I wasn't able to switch off from tennis. I guess I just want it so badly.”
Currently placed 11th on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings and likely to drop lower before the end of the year, hasn’t reached the business end of a tournament since losing to Vera Zvonareva in the Indian Wells final in March. She had a four month coaching partnership with Craig Kardon, split with her long term fitness advisor Scott Byrnes and was forced to remodel her service action to avoid shoulder problems similar to those which forced Maria Sharapova out of the game for nearly nine months.
In a statement issued by her agent Gavin Versi and released on her website, Ivanovic said: “I guess having to withdraw from Beijing is an appropriate ending to a very disappointing season. This trip to Asia has been a big disappointment and I have struggled with my health pretty much since I arrived. I am sorry to my supporters who were hoping to see me play here in Beijing. It's very disappointing for me as well, to come here, see the amazing facility they have and not have the energy to be able to step onto court. I can only look forward to coming back here next year.
“It's especially disappointing because I was hoping to be able to see some improvements before the season ended. I have gone through a lot of training and physical changes over the past few months, which have mostly remained private until now... My body is quite fragile at the moment, because I over-trained during the first part of the year. This was, I think, what caused me to have many small injuries this season.
“Instead of being patient and accepting that my best form was almost impossible due to physical limitations, I was always over-thinking things, and I never dealt with it very well. The season was a continuation of going from one disappointment to another. If I had dealt better with these setbacks, I would have had a lot more success.”
Sven Groeneveld has been a constant mentor to Ivanovic throughout her career and recently she has worked with the adidas player program, in particular utilizing the coaching expertise of Darren Cahill and fitness techniques of Gil Reyes. She hopes to announce a new full time fitness coach in the near future.
“I've learnt so much this year,” she continued. “It's a bit little bit like a few years ago, when I was ranked around No.14 for almost an entire year, and many people were asking me, "When are you going to reach the top 10?" Within a year I was there, and within two years I was No.1. Sometimes you have to go through these experiences in order to become a better player.
"Despite my disappointments, there is not a single doubt in my mind that I will reach the top again and win Grand Slams. One other positive to come out of all this is that I realized what a great team I have around me: they never doubted me, they supported me so well and did everything they could to assist me. I am very grateful to them all: my family, coaches and management.”
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Ancic is Returning to His Number 1 Career
Mario Ancic put his lawyer career on hold. Wimbledon semifinalist 2004, who finished University last year and spent last couple of months assisting in law firm, finally took racket in his hands again.
“I hope that, if everything is OK, I will return to the Tour in January”, announced Ancic yesterday that his problem with mononucleosis are over. “I am still waiting for last analysis, but I expect positive results and permission of doctors to start practicing. I will not hurry, I will miss Australian Open and return on court in some January challengers in Europe.”
The Croatian returned from US last week. He went over there not only to be examined by specialist for glandular fever, but to give lesson in Harvard, too.
“Topic was doping and betting in tennis and it was open not only for sport law students, but for everyone who was interested in it. I had 45 minutes opening and answered questions after. As examples for doping I used Richard Gasquet and Mariano Puerta cases. For betting I used Di Mauro and Montcourt cases. They have been suspended for several months for few Euros bets. On the other side is Davydenko, who was under suspicion for much more serious accusations, but nothing was proven,” explained Ancic, aware that he will change courts for the time being.
“I will freeze my working in office and start preparations for next season. There is tennis advantage again but I will return to law later”. He is only 25, but mononucleosis stole three years from him. He became ill in 2007, and he is fighting the same illness since then. Every now and again mononucleosis returns. Ancic was #7 in 2006, his ranking now is #73. He played first three months of this year regularly but illness returned later.
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Dementieva Loves Returning to Beijing
For most players, winning a major is the highlight of their career. For others it might be becoming number one. But for Elena Dementieva her ultimate goal was winning the Olympics. She came desperately close in Sydney in 2000, losing to Venus Williams in the final. Athens in 2004 was a disaster as she lost in the first round to Alicia Molik. But then came Beijing in 2008, and the Russian made it all the way to the gold medal with victory over Dinara Safina in the final. Now Dementieva is back in Beijing for the first time since that emotional medal ceremony, and she loves it.
"Every time I come to the locker room I feel like goose bumps on my skin," she said before her opening match at the China Open. "It's very emotional to come back here. I remember everything about one year ago. It was like yesterday, so fresh all memories from the Olympics. I just feel very excited being here one more time."
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Sugiyama is Leaving the Tour, but Not Tennis
Ai Sugiyama has played her last match, suitably a doubles final on home ground in Tokyo. Now she is going to take a short break but she isn’t leaving tennis, as she announced on a blog for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
"One hundred percent I’m staying in tennis, she wrote. "I will take a break first and then think about coaching. I already have my tennis academy, which I opened in Chigasaki 11 years ago, so I'll be spending time there helping the juniors. I want to keep challenging myself, in any way. Not only in tennis. I want to do the things that I have never been able to do. And of course I want to have a family. And I want to buy a dog! I want a French bull. If it's a boy I am going to call it Tiger, if it's a girl it will be Rebecca, or Becky."
After a remarkable career that spanned nearly 20 years, she was asked which was her most memorable match. Better make that a memorable day!
"The most memorable day in my career was in Scottsdale in 2003, when I had to play four matches in one day because of rain. Singles semifinal and final and doubles semifinal and final. I won all four matches and spent six hours and 40 minutes on court. I beat Kim in the final of the singles and then we teamed up and won the doubles together."
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Some Parts of Britain are Making a Fuss Over LTA’s Food Budget
Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association is viewed with a mixture of envy and derision around the world. Many other federation’s are jealous of the Brit’s cash wealth from a GBP25 million a year cash injection from Wimbledon’s profits but comfort themselves in the knowledge it does not directly translate into successful players. However the latest revelation from the LTA’s National Training Centre in Roehampton is astonishing; in the last year £500,000 was spent in the last year subsidizing cheap or free meals for players, staff and visitors.
The figure was revealed at a routine meeting between the LTA’s council and country representatives at the GBP40 million NTC, situated only a couple of miles away from Wimbledon. To give it some perspective, it is five times the annual budget of the Lithuanian Tennis Union, which will host Great Britain's recently relegated Davis Cup team in next year’s Euro/African Zone Group Two.
When the NTC was opened two years ago, one of the prime aims was to encourage healthy eating among young players who were using the training facilities at Roehampton. The canteen serves fresh and healthy produce for free to players, coaches and those who attend training camps from the regions.
Approximately 300 meals a day are currently being served and much of Britain’s tennis fraternity who are not actually working or training at Roehampton are known to drop in for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a cup of numerous exotic teas and coffees that are available.
An LTA spokesman admitted that the canteen was running at an annual GBP500,000 net loss. "We are serving three meals a day, seven days a week because the place is busy and we have full-time staff working in the canteen rather than contractors, which is more cost-effective," he said.
“A decision was made to subsidize it when we moved here because we are in a relatively isolated location where it is not easy to reach places for eating. If we were located in central London there would not be such a need.”
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Nadal Getting Philosophical About His Future
Rafael Nadal has not enjoyed the best of seasons, with knee and abdominal muscle injuries keeping him off the court, losing him titles and the No.1 ranking. For years there have been those who have questioned his entertaining but punishing method of play, believing it was only a matter of time before his body rebelled and maybe even broke down completely. But Rafa dismisses their comments and says he has no plans to change anything.
"A lot of people have a lot of opinions," he said in Beijing, where he is to play his first match since losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinals of the US Open.
"There's a lot of talk, but you know what, I started being professional tennis player at 16 years old. So that's probably not the best time to start when your body is not completely done. I have had seven years under my belt already- I think that's a very long career already, no? Lots of players start at 21 and finish at 29. I've played the last five years without going out of number one or number two, except one week this year, so if you're not fit and your body is not in good conditions its impossible to be five years in the top two.
"Everybody said that in 2005, and we are in 2009 and I'm still at the same number. I always work hard to be okay, and that's what I'm going to do all my career, and yeah, I have aggressive style of game, but I think no one can choose what style to play. I do all in my hands to play my best tennis, sure I would love to serve like Karlovic and volley like Federer, but my game is another. I'm happy with my game.
“With my game I have a very good career right now. If I play 3 more years 3 more years. . . 1 more year, 1 more year. . . 10 more years, 10 more years. . . but it’s impossible to say right now that I’m going to change the style of the game."
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Ricky's Notes
By Ricky Dimon
Danish veteran Kristian Pless retired from tennis last week. The 28-year-old Pless was once ranked No. 1 in juniors in 1999 and reached a career-high of No. 65 in the world in 2002. . . Fernando Verdasco has decided to put off necessary foot surgery until the offseason. "My focus is to qualify for the World Finals and help Spain win the Davis Cup," said Verdasco, who is expected to be sidelined for three weeks following the procedure. . . Verdasco and Rafael Nadal were among those disappointed by Madrid's loss to Rio De Janeiro in the 2016 Summer Olympics vote last week. "I'm sad about the decision," Verdasco said. "I'm from Madrid and I wish I could have the chance to play my last Olympic Games at home." . . . Gustavo Kuerten was in Copenhagen for the ceremony to announce the 2016 host city. "Winning in the race for the 2016 Olympics means a lot," said the Brazilian. "Much more than any tournament I've won, any Grand Slam. Nothing matches this."
Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and Dmitry Tursunov were the directly-entered players who withdrew from this week's China Open. Their absence allowed Ivan Ljubicic, Jose Acasuso, and Marcos Daniel to get into the main draw. . . Tommy Haas, Andreas Seppi, and Jarkko Nieminen joined Roger Federer and Andy Murray on the withdrawal list at the Japan Open. The final pullout gave Thomaz Bellucci, previously seeded No. 1 in qualifying, direct entry into the main draw. Bellucci's departure allowed Ernests Gulbis to take an alternate spot in qualifying, and he capitalized on it with two victories. . . Nursing a shoulder injury, Haas is currently in Florida spending time with his father. He hopes to return at the Masters Series event in Shanghai. . . In an October 1 blog entry, Nieminen said he had been sick for 10 straight days and the problem could be swine flu. "After pulling out from Metz my goal was to get back in good form for Bangkok, then after pulling out from there, to get fit for Tokyo," Nieminen explained. "Now I just want to be healthy. Nothing else matters.". . . Tournament director Richard Krajicek announced last Wednesday that Nadal and Novak Djokovic confirmed their participation in next year's World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. The ATP 500 event, in which Nadal finished runner-up this season, will be held February 8-14.
Joachim Johansson will make a decision on his playing future at the conclusion of this month's Stockholm Open. "It will put me in the position where I can choose if I want to continue playing or not," said the oft-injured Swede, who returned last week in Kuala Lumpur. Johansson was once No. 9 in the world back in 2005 before physical problems derailed his career. . . Austrian postal services said last week that they will issue a stamp honoring Federer starting in February. The 65-centime stamp will feature Federer winning this year's French Open. . . Romania, led by Victor Hanescu and Sorana Cirstea, on Thursday became the fourth country to confirm its participation in next season's Hopman Cup. Germany (Philipp Kohlschreiber and Sabine Lisicki) followed suit on Sunday. The January 2-9 team competition now boasts Romania, Australia, Russia, and the United States. . . Australia defeated Great Britain 2-1 in the Junior Davis Cup final on Sunday in Mexico. . . James Blake announced last Thursday that he will host a charity event with Andy Roddick in New York on December 1. Proceeds from the tennis exhibition will benefit the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund, named after Blake's late father and aimed at the early detection and screening of cancer.
It was announced last week that U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin is the first player officially entered into next year's Family Circle Cup. The WTA event will be held April 10-18 in Charleston, South Carolina. . . Martina Hingis' two-year ban for alleged cocaine use was lifted last Wednesday. Hingis again denied having ever used cocaine and insisted that she is not considering a comeback. . . Gisela Dulko (left adductor strain) and Virginie Razzano (left calf strain) joined Ana Ivanovic on the withdrawal list from this week's China Open in Beijing. Serena Williams, who pulled out of Tokyo last week, is playing in Beijing but said she is "definitely not 100 percent.". . .. Svetlana Kuznetsova has qualified for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships. She is the fifth player to earn a spot in the eight-woman field, joining Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, and Caroline Wozniacki. . . Serena Williams faces a possible two-major suspension for her outburst in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. The ITF is expected to make a ruling in two weeks.
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We Hear---
--that Sam Warburg announced his retirement from the ATP Tour. "Some people are cut out for the tour, and some aren't," said the 26-year-old American. "It involves a lot of time alone, a lot of traveling, and the ability to channel everything else out. It's not conducive to a happy lifestyle."
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