Thursday, September 17, 2009

BUSINESS NEWS

The Rain in Spain is Delaying Davis Cup Preparations

The rain that so badly affected the final days of the US Open has now followed some of the players to Murcia, where Spain is preparing to take on Israel in a Davis Cup World Group semifinal this weekend. Or trying to prepare.
Both teams have so far been restricted to just one training session as torrential rain swept the region, even resulting in the flooding of the press center at the Polaris World la Torre Golf Resort, Torre Pacheco.

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Murray is Impressed with Del Potro’s Performance

Andy Murray, until just a few days ago the player widely assumed to be the next Grand Slam champion in waiting and the major threat to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance, insists he is impressed but not inspired by the effort of Juan Martin Del Potro in winning the US Open.
Murray, in Liverpool preparing for Britain’s Davis Cup Euro/African Zone Group One play-off against Poland, has undeniably been moved aside from the spotlight of the world game because of the Argentine’s force and drive in New York. But his belief that he is destined from the top remains undiminished.
"Other players winning slams doesn't necessarily inspire me,” said the 22 year-old Scot whose US Open came to a disappointing end in the fourth round against Marin Cilic. “I think I'm pretty driven with my own goals so I don't let that sort of stuff change the way I feel about my own game.”
Murray quickly linked up with captain John Lloyd and the rest of the British team on his return from New York but has already starting to conduct a Flushing Meadows inquest on what went wrong with his coaching team led by Miles Maclagan. Self assessment will continue once the Davis Cup weekend is over but Murray now knows he is competing in arguably the most competitive and demanding era of men’s tennis.
“It's really, really tough to win the slams now so Del Potro's effort was pretty good," he said. "There's no question that Roger (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal) are two of the best ever. Roger's people say he's the best of all time; that's not really up for debate. And Rafa, providing he stays healthy, I'd expect to get to double figures on slam wins.
"That's better than any two rivals have managed together and then behind them the standard is very high. There are guys like (Andy) Roddick who's only managed to win one slam right at the start of that career and he's a great player."
Murray is still troubled by the tendonitis in the left wrist that caused a distinct problem at the US Open but maintains he is more than ready to play two singles rubbers and the doubles this weekend if required.
Addressing the wrist he said: “I've had it for a few weeks but I don't think it is anything major that will require surgery," said Murray, who again refused to make public the details of the injury.
“I'll try to get through the match, hopefully win my singles matches and see how everything holds up and take a bit of a break after I finish. I think we're capable of winning this match without me playing all three days but if I need to, I'll play three.”
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Spain Believes They Are the Davis Cup Favorites vs. Israel

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world no.1 called up by Spain to substitute for Rafael Nadal in this week’s Davis Cup semi-final against Israel admits there are mysteries to him about the opposition he will be facing.
Ferrero and Tommy Robredo will be the second string singles players in Captain Albert Costa’s line-up as the Spaniards step up their bid to retain the cup they won in Argentina last year.
"Truthfully, I don't know too much about the Israeli team," said Ferrero who initially didn’t figure in Costa’s line-up despite playing the role of hero in Spain’s quarter final win over Germany in July. "I know Harel Levy and Noam Okun, and I know that they are playing in the Challenger Tournaments, which is not on our level. So we haven't had the chance to play against them, but the Davis Cup is different and there isn’t always much meaning in the difference in levels.”
With his 30th birthday now less than five months away, Ferrero is going through a renaissance in form and is back up to 21st place on the ATP World Tour rankings this week after standing outside the top 100 in late May. And he is confident going into the World Group tie in Murcia saying: “"We are the favorites in this matchup and we're playing at home, in Spain so it's clear we should beat Israel. Everyone expects us to win and advance to the finals. We cannot disappoint them."
But there is an air of anxiety in the Spanish team who have been fortunate with home draws. “For every home competition, they send us to a different city, so every match takes place in a new stadium for us," Ferrero said. "We don't really have a home court, and each time we have to acclimate ourselves anew. So I don't see any significance from a home court standpoint, since we are not used to it. That is why we got here very early last Sunday."
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Ivanovic is Preparing to Finish the Season in a Strong Fashion

Between homes on beautiful Spanish island Mallorca and peaceful Swiss city of Basel, Ana Ivanovic chose home town Belgrade to prepare for the  season finish.
After the US Open, a culmination of poor results, former #1, now #11, disappointed with elimination in first round, decided it is no time for fashionable Palma, where she bought a home last year in rich Son Vida outskirts, but for hard work with her coach of junior days and current captain of Serbian Fed Cup team.
There was only one condition, to stay out of reach of the press. “She wants to be in her family circle, she doesn’t need publicity, because peace is an imperative for her,” explained Dejan Vranes, who worked with Ivanovic for her WTA Tour debut. “Ana believes that hard work out of public lights is the only way to the top. She is very emotional and she knows that her every move is followed by many.”
Ivanovic will stay few more days in Belgrade. “There are a couple of tournaments in this season, where she wants to prove that she can be the same again. She is very motivated and steely to succeed. Simply, Ana gives 100 percent on practice and I am convinced that it will be visible on court soon.”
The former French Open champion is scheduled to play Tokyo and Beijing at the end of this month and beginning of next.

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We Hear---
--that newly-crowned US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro will headline the BA Tennis Trophy in Vienna next month, joining Gael Monfils, John Isner, Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych and Michael Kohlschreiber.
--that Larisa Preobrazhenskaya, who coached Anna Kournikova at Spartak Moscow before she moved to the United States, has died at the age of 79. Her death follows that of Yuri Yudkin, who coached a young Maria Sharapova and who died a few days ago at the age of 73.
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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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