Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bob Larson's
TENNIS CELEBS
© Copyright 2008. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis
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
Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1
Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to finish this season as the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings, ending Roger Federer's four-year reign. After Federer’s semifinal loss to Andy Murray in Madrid semifinals on Saturday, Nadal is guaranteed to claim the No. 1 year-end position.
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Pat Rafter's Australian Open Return
Pat Rafter will return to the Australian Open in 2009 to head up a star-studded line-up of tennis legends competing in a revamped competition. The two-time US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist will partner former Optus Australian Davis Cup coach and World No.15 Wally Masur in what promises to be one of the entertainment highlights of week two at the Australian Open. Another highlight of the legends event will be a special ‘magic moment’ encore performance of the Pat Cash/Mats Wilander 1988 final, the first to take place at Melbourne Park. Other big names of the game joining Cash and Wilander include Joachim Nystrom, Guy Forget, Wayne Ferriera and Mansour Bahrami. Also playing are Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee, John Fitzgerald and Wayne Arthurs.
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Federer is a Conservative Investor
Roger Federer admits he's an interested observer of the world market turmoil and joins the experts in predicting that the economic troubles will take some time to settle. The world No. 1 says he's keeping his eye on more than just the ball these days. "It's not been whole lot of fun for anyone," said the all-time leader in prize money, who achieved $43.29 million this week with his move into the third round at the Madrid Masters.Federer has knocked Pete Sampras from the top of the sport's money tree. "I've followed closely to know what's going on. It seems like the markets may come back a bit now, but I think it will take a while for things to calm down." He adds that he's conservative when it comes to finance, due in part to a Swiss upbringing. "I'm not a big risk-taker off the court. "I've worked so hard and travel so much that I don't want to lose money over problems that I cannot control." He termed the current drama "a challenging time for everyone, adding light-heartedly: "Anyway, I have a big mattress."
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McDonalds is Out of Bounds for the “New” Monfils
Australian Roger Rasheed, former coach to Lleyton Hewitt, has been imposing some discipline on the tennis of flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils. While the new regime did not help the 22-year-old past Andy Murray at the Madrid Masters, the payoff is already starting to become apparent. Last weekend, the No. 15 reached the final in Vienna, where he lost to German Philipp Petzschner. Things truly changing around the Monfils camp also with the addition of a French physiotherapist who doubles as a nutritionist: As a result, McDonald's meals are banned. In addition, acupuncture is also in play as the team work to put the youngster into the best possible match form. Monfils, ranked 18th, showed the results of his new lifestyle as he put out Andy Roddick in Madrid. Monfils says life has changed for the better on court as a result of his new approach to his career. "For the last two months, I've been very serious. It's all changing for me." "Roger's making me more focused on my game and more disciplined. It' is really helping and the results are starting to come. I'm learning how to stay focused and play tough."
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After Miraculous Recovery, Mirza is Ready to Return to the Tour
Just two months after Sania Mirza's tennis career seemed to be threatened by a wrist injury that meant she was not even able to use a fork, let alone a tennis racket, the Indian 21 year-old is pain free and ready to return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. After two bouts of surgery, Mirza was reluctant to undergo a third but she has been aided 26-year-old physiotherapist in Delhi who practices the South Korean science of spiral therapy which is based on cell regeneration. She was recommended to try Jatin Chaudhry's treatment by Indian international cricketer Yuvraj Singh and has been amazed by the results. "For an athlete, surgery is one of the worst things, said Mirza who has only managed to register two tour wins since Wimbledon and has not played since being forced to retire at August's Olympic Games in Beijing against Iveta Benesova. "From being completely active, you go to being dependent on someone else for everything and that's really difficult to live with. Yuvi told me that there was this doctor who could cure me in seven to ten days and that telephone call came at a time when I was staring surgery in the face for a second time in six months and thinking 'That's another year of my tennis gone.'" Now Mirza, whose ranking has slipped from a career high of 27 little more than a year ago to her current position precariously just inside the top 100, is certain she will be fit to return to the WTA Tour at the beginning of 2009 if not sooner. She added: "I had seen the best doctors in the world, had surgery and nothing was working. "Sometimes, I couldn't even feel my little finger, the pain was numbing. Yuvi told me that Jatin fixed his shoulder in ten minutes, and that it could work for me too. "When I went to Jatin, he put some 30 to 35 needles on my index finger, and every time he hit the spot I felt an electric current go through me. He left the needles on for 30 minutes and he did this about three or four times a day. " It was very painful, because the more times he did it the more sore the finger felt. After two days he asked me to bend my wrist and I had regained 90% of the movement. Just before I started the treatment I had done an ultra sound and there were cysts in the area. After ten days of treatment, there was no significant scarring tissue, my bones were fine and the two cysts were gone."
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Modest Murray Says He’s Not Yet on a Level with Henman and Rusedski
Andy Murray may have risen to the career-best fourth ranking also enjoyed by predecessors Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. But the newest British hope says he's not yet arrived at the level of the previous generation of tennis heroes. "Tim was definitely much, much better than me. Over eight or nine years he was in the top 10, always playing well in Wimbledon, making the semi-finals in all the Grand Slams (save the Australian Open). "I've only passed the semis once, I still have a long way to achieve what he did." But Murray does not totally play down his own hot prospects. "But I've done something that neither of them were able to do," said the first form Britain to win four ATP events in the same season. "I've beaten Federer and Djokovic in the last two tournaments that I've won (Cincinnati and Madrid). I’m having to beat really good players to do it consistently." But, he added with delight, "It’s great to make a little bit of history."
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Federer Predicts Plenty of Pressure on Nadal in 2009
Roger Federer is calmly plotting strategy in the final weeks of the season, relishing the spectacle of new No. 1 Rafael Nadal trying to defend a mass of points and prestige in 2009.
Nadal claimed the year-end No. 1 ranking on the ATP last weekend when Federer went down to Andy Murray in the Madrid semifinals. But with the pressure now shifted, Federer will be more than ready to make his move towards regaining "his" honor. The pressure-cooker is not over for Nadal - even this season - with the Masters Cup in Shanghai from November 9 followed by a tough road trip across the Pacific to Mar del Plata for a Davis Cup final against Argentina. And then there are titles defenses for eight trophies including the French Open, Wimbledon and three Masters wins. "It all starts at zero next year," said Federer. "Rafa is going to have way more to defend next year than I have. "He's played more than I have and he's got Davis Cup after Shanghai, so we’ll see how he feels next year with all the pressure.
But, he’s done very well and I predict he’s going to be playing very well again. Can he play the whole year through being No. 1 in the world?"
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Ivanovic Claims She is Unhappy about WTA Player Commitment Rules
Recently, Dinara Safina raised her voice in protest at new player commitment rules being introduced next year on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Now French Open champion Ana Ivanovic has announced that she is also unhappy about being told where she has to play.
All top 10 players must play 10 of the 20 Premier events, and all must play the $4.5 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing alongside the men. "The changes were made in the middle of the season and when you’re playing Grand Slams you don’t really want to think about next years schedule," said Ivanovic in Linz. "Many players probably didn’t look deep into it and kind of let it go, and all of a sudden you’re there with the change so it’s a little bit hard. We do have our voice and we have to come together. "We don’t have much opportunity to choose, and at the end of the day it might be that we play more matches than we did in previous years." Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska is incensed that she will be limited to playing just two of the smaller International Series tournaments next year. "After the new rules with the WTA I don’t want to be top 10 because the rules are so bad and everything is for the WTA," she protested. "I hate these rules. I can play just two small tournaments a year."
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Davydenko is Struggling to Get His Tennis Back Together
As he plays in only his third event since the US Open, Nikolay Davydenko is struggling to get his tennis back together after being "cleared" last month over a suspicious match from 2007.
The Russian No. 6 who is still not qualified for the Masters Cup, has told London's Times that he wants his life back after a 14-month probe by the ATP and anti-corruption officials failed to find any evidence that he lost a match on purpose in August, 2007 in Poland. But the suspicions over the course of the investigation did little to ease his mind, affecting his tennis and possibly killing off some sponsorship deals. "I was reading so much of what was written about me and over 50 per cent of the time I did not recognize myself," he said. "My game has not been so good this year. "Mentally I am already on holiday and ready to prepare for next year, where I will be starting from zero. But I know I can become a very good player again." Suspicions were aroused after up the $7 million was bet online on a match between Davydenko and Argentine Martin Vassallo-Arguello in Sopot, Poland. Davydenko failed to finish due to a foot injury after winning the first set. Davydenko also denied past reports on Russian television that he planned to sue the ATP over the protracted probe.
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Mauresmo Compares Transition from Juniors to Pro Tour
Introspection about where her own tennis career is going has filled up most of Amelie Mauresmo's thinking time in recent months so the former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion views it as a pleasant diversion to discuss what might become of 14 year debutante Laura Robson. At more than twice Wimbledon junior champion Robson's age, Mauresmo has to delve back into her memory bank to recall what the transition from junior to tennis on the WTA Tour was like and the demands involved. The pair both contest this week's Fortis Championships in Luxembourg and the former world no.1 from France said: "My advice to her is that what drove me throughout the hard times was the passion. "In tough moments, that's what drives you on and makes you a better player and athlete. Then you have to work hard. I never wanted to quit. I just kept going thinking that great things are going to happen." Mauresmo, who has just split from coach Loic Courteau, became the world's top ranked junior at the end of 1996, after winning the girls titles at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon along with the World Super Junior Championships in Japan. "I had this naïve idea that it would be the same in the seniors as it was in the juniors, that it would be easy," she said. "In the juniors, I was doing well without making too much effort. But I found out in that first year in the seniors that there are a lot of players who are strong physically and mentally. It took me a year, maybe even a year and a half, to really adjust. You have some tough losses against players who aren't that special, who just hang in there. It's not that easy." Robson became the youngest British player ever to perform on the WTA Tour today when she faced the Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova and Mauresmo was an interested spectator. She said: "You don't want to lose to a young teenager, the forthcoming star or whatever. I wasn't prepared for that at the beginning. I wasn't ready to fight like a tiger.
"There's no nastiness with players on the senior tour, but we're professional and we're all here to win, and it's not as easy-going as playing in the junior tournaments."
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Dokic is Clawing Her Way Back to the Big Time
Jelena Dokic was ranked as high as four in the world, but a split from her family - specifically her over-bearing father Damir - led to her career slipping into free fall. She has since made half-hearted attempts and short-lived attempts to come back, but they’ve always come to nothing. Until now. Very quietly, with minimum fuss or publicity, the 25-year old has been going about her business this year. It’s meant starting again right at the bottom, with no ranking and playing $25,000 events instead of the Centre Court at Wimbledon, but her effort and perseverance have paid off. She has won 35 matches and three small tournaments, and now that she has a ranking of 187 that is enough to get her into the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open. She’s also eyeing Auckland or Brisbane, and Hobart. "It’s been good," she said of her 2008 season. "I’ve won a lot of matches this year and gone a couple of steps forward, which is the main thing. I just need to continue working hard and playing as many matches as I can get and just continue to be there when things don’t go well. "Agassi had to do it, and I think Jennifer (Capriati) also had to do it. I feel like I am starting from zero. You lose everything that you had before. The only thing you have to go on is experience. You lose the confidence and the match play and everything, so you really are starting from zero. It’s not easy but I think I’m getting there slowly. It’s been a lot better this year, and I think next year will hopefully be even better. I’m slowly getting into that rhythm again and I think next year should be big for me." How far can she progress? The tour is tough and she still has a lot of catching up to do. But she is optimistic. After failing to qualify at the Generali Linz Ladies she has lapped up every bit of tennis she can, sitting courtside for hours watching the opposition. "I’ve practiced with a couple of girls from the top 10, top 20. There’s work to do but it’s encouraging, and I feel I have the type of game that’s very aggressive and that can be in the top 20 again. I think that’s a realistic goal. It will not be easy for sure, but I don’t think it’s something I cannot achieve."
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Agassi and Rogers Split Over Idaho Investment
By Charles Bricker
The stunning split of Andre Agassi and his longtime friend and business agent Perry Rogers, which was first revealed here a week ago, is tied directly to the collapse of a multi-million dollar hotel and resort investment deal at Tamarack Village, Idaho, that collapsed earlier this year. Although public statements issued by both Agassi and Rogers on Thursday didn't mention the Idaho fiasco, a source intimately familiar with the deal revealed that the investment Agassi and wife Steffi Graf made in the failed project was a major reason why Agassi and Rogers are no longer professionally associated. It was not known how much money Agassi and Graf invested in the project or how much money they lost, if any, when they pulled out of the project three months ago. In July, Agassi and Graf terminated their involvement in the $600 million dollar recreation/hotel project after construction was halted in the face a federal court suit brought by investment bank Credit Suisse, which claimed Tamarack property owners Jean-Pierre Boespflug and Alfredo Miguel Afif had failed to cover debts on a defaulted $260 million loan. Boespflug and Afif had sought bankruptcy protection, but earlier this week a judge ruled that they were not entitled to relief offered by Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy laws. Tamarack opened in December of 2004, advertising itself as America's "first all-season resort in decades," and began selling property. There were promises of a billion-dollar ski lift, a Robert Trent Jones and a marina. Agassi and Graf envisioned a 300-room high-end hotel when he and Graf announced in 2006 they were getting involved financially. Agassi and Rogers have been the closest of friends since elementary school. "He's been my best friend and it's like we raised each other," Agassi once told a Las Vegas reporter. "We thought about things that we'll always value and fight for. The standard of my life is only a reflection of things we dreamed about as children." Rogers, who also is agent to several very high profile athletes in other sports, was president of Agassi Enterprises and his marquee position in tennis won him election a year and a half ago to the ATP board of directors. A year later, at the 2008 Wimbledon, Rogers was removed from the board by the ATP Players Council, which found him uncommunicative with even the top players in men's tennis. It was about the time of the problems being encountered by the Tamarack project. Rogers said of the split with Agassi: "We've been talking about it for a long time. We made the decision in August, but we didn't want to announce it until after the fundraiser because we didn't want to cause any distractions." The fundraiser was Agassi's Grand Slam for Children, a benefit held Saturday in Las Vegas. "It was getting to where every call I was getting was about business, and Andre and I agreed that it has to be more than this," Rogers said. "Andre and I both feel the same that at the end of the day it's about our friendship first. It's not about the number of zeroes in the bank account but the quality of the friendship." Agassi said in a statement: "It's rare to find someone who shares your hopes and dreams. Working together, Perry and I made our dreams reality. There are few people who can say that, and we both feel incredibly fortunate. Our 27-year-long friendship has endured the stresses and strains of intense business."
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Rogers Disagrees With Reason for Agassi Breakup
By Charles Bricker
Former Andre Agassi agent Perry Rogers, angered over a report that he and Agassi have ended their business relationship over a failed Idaho real estate enterprise, insisted Wednesday that their split was completely amicable. “The facts couldn’t be more wrong. The reason Andre and I split up was because our friendship was being strained (over business issues),” said Rogers. A very reliable source had said that while the two men remained friends, Agassi had decided to end their business relationship because a proposed recreation and luxury hotel complex in Tamarac, Idaho, in which Agassi had heavily invested, had gone under. Agassi was scheduled to be a major partner in the deal but withdrew his financial and personal backing earlier this year when the owners of the property filed for Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act. “Overall, we have done really well in real estate. We’ve never had a single negative conversation on Tamarac,” said Rogers. “I’m proud of the fact that two great friends who have done better than we’ve ever thought we could in life made a decision about friendship and not about money or a business deal.”
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Kuznetsova Gets a New Coach--Morozova
Women's world no.7 Svetlana Kuznetsova has appointed the British-based Russian Olga Morozova as her new coach, thus ending almost a career-long relationship with Spaniard Stefan Ortega. Kuznetsova, now aged 23 but a top ten player since her teens, has appeared to hit a plateau in her career. She looked destined for great things by winning the US Open in 2004 and moved as high as second in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world rankings two years ago but throughout 2008 has failed to even win a tournament. Conversations about the possibility of working with Morozova, former coach to Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva and herself a runner-up at both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1974, began at the Stuttgart tournament earlier this month after Kuznetsova was beaten in the first round by Patty Schnyder. Morozova was a former staff coach with Britain's Lawn Tennis Association and is still based in Berkshire with her husband Viktor Rubanov who coaches Britain's top male junior Marcus Willis at the Win Academy at Bisham Abbey. Nevertheless she spends much of her time either in Moscow or on the women's circuit commentating for Russian television. "It's a bizarre situation and feeling for me to be working with another coach," said Kuznetsova who left her family home in St. Petersburg at the age of 15 to train at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain. "I have really only been with the academy since I went pro however I feel and hope that this will be a successful decision for me moving forward."
Within two years of moving to Barcelona she was the world's no.1 ranked junior and she has always allied the Spanish determination and style to a Russian work ethic. Now she feels the time is right to revert to solely Russian influences with 59 year-old Morozova. Morozova's husband Rubanov confirmed the partnership and said: "It is a surprising job for Olga at this time of her life but a great challenge. Maybe she should still be here at home planting flowers in the garden but she still loves tennis and is happy to be back involved with a very top player." Kuznetsova, whose mother, Galina Tsareva was a six-time world cycling champion and holder of 20 world records, and father, Alexandr Kuznetsov, who coached five Olympic and world cycling champions, has lost in five finals this year while her best performance at a major was the semi-final finish at the French Open where she eventually lost to fellow Russian Dinara Safina. She continued: "I feel that I have got to a stage in my life now that I would like for personal reasons to return to my family in my home land and continue developing my tennis career." The pair are this week working together in Moscow after Kuznetsova's inclusion at the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships in Doha next month was guaranteed even though she is not playing this week in Zurich. Agnieszka Radwanska's second round defeat against Katarina Srebotnik clinched Kuznetsova the sixth qualification spot. "I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank the Sanchez-Casal Academy for all their help and guidance that they have given to me over the years," Kuznetsova said. "They have been inspirational to me during my time there and I owe a lot to them. They also have been very exceptionally supportive over the years on and off the court. I would especially like to thank Emilio Sanchez for his belief in me and making me into the player I am today and also my long time coach Stefan Ortega."
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Pennetta is Finding Hard Work Pays Off
Flavia Pennetta is having the best season of her career, with her victory over Jelena Jankovic in Zurich her first over a reigning number one. But last year was going so badly, with just one win in seven tournaments leading up to a first round exit at the French Open, that she was ready to quit. Instead, she went to work and after a great deal of patience this year she has been reaping the rewards. "I worked a lot in my preparation before this year with my coach, with my physical trainer, and we made like seven weeks of very hard work. And I think when you do good things in a good way the good results are coming. You don’t know when, but they have to come. "Last year was not good for me at all, and after Roland Garros (2007) I was thinking to stop playing because I was feeling so bad on the court and wasn’t enjoying it anymore. Then I started to work again and went with a sports psychologist and he helped me a lot. I started to believe and play, play, play and everything changed.
Pennetta is based now in Verbier, Switzerland, and that will also help her in her preparation for next season. "I was with a guy tennis player for a long time, three years, and he was (based) in Geneva, so we thought to take a place in the mountains. We took an apartment in Verbier just to enjoy things a little more after we went there one time and it was very relaxing. I went there after Wimbledon also, and Roland Garros. I always go there when I can because it’s very relaxing and nobody is there in that period. "But I hope in the future I can go and ski there a little bit. Actually there are a lot of Italians there, lots, because it’s quite near Torino. It’s very famous in Italy. I spend most of the time there, between there and Barcelona. It is good to go there for preparation (training) because of the altitude and to do some physical work there. So I’m going to be stronger next year."
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Baghdatis Planning to Begin 2009 Fresh and Healthy
Marcos Baghdatis will try to turn his luck with a return to Australia in January, opting to start the New Year in a new way at a fresh-from-the-box event in Brisbane. Two years - and another tennis lifetime - ago, the Cypriot was the talk of the sport after reaching the Australian Open final against Roger Federer. While the outgoing newcomer naturally didn't win the title, he did make thousands of new friends along the way. But the highs of an unexpected major final were followed by the lows of reality on the ATP, with poor form, a general letdown and later, injury, all taking a toll. Currently ranked 42nd, Baghdatis will be hoping for a change in fortunes during 2009 after being carried off court in October at mid-match in Metz, France, with an agonizing back injury. Baghdatis will be among top draw-cards in Brisbane, a new ATP-WTA event replacing a handful of other Aussie tournaments during the first week of the tennis year. Baghdatis joins a men's field headed by world No. 3 Novak Djokovic, with 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga playing, along with fellow Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils. The women's field boasts former No. 1 and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic as Serbs hope to scoop the honors.
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TENNIS SHORTS
John Austin Finds Tennis Is A Family
As memorable as winning the NCAA doubles title with Bruce Nichols in 1978, and the Wimbledon mixed doubles with his sister, Tracy in 1980, nothing will top the week before Christmas in 2006 for John Austin. That’s when the personable former UCLA star was told he had MS. “It was my Christmas present,” he said good-naturedly. Admitting that his life “has been a quest” ever since the diagnosis, Austin was at UCLA on Saturday October 10th to participate in an MS fund-raiser that was organized by Chris Ojakian, whose company Ojakian Tennis has the motto--No matter what your tennis goals are, we will get you there.” Since Ojakian’s father, brother and sister, have MS, it’s easy to understand why he organized the activity that included a Friday night red-carpet dinner at the Toluca Lake Tennis Club and the children and adult tennis clinics, as well as the pro-am the next day, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. “When I talked with Chris, he said there were going to be a lot of pros involved,” Austin, who lives in Arizona, said. “ Truth be known, Ojakian understated what actually happened. Besides John Austin, Tracy Austin Phil and Taylor Dent, Chuck Adams, Derrick Rostagno, Bill Scanlon, Eliot Teltscher, Debbie Graham Shaffer, Katrina Adams, Wayne Bryan and Pam Shriver made the pro-am an all-star affair. Austin concluded, “I was a little bit surprised. I contacted people and they said, ‘If you need help, I’m there.’ That was really cool. I was a little nervous, but it went so well. Chris made a hard thing look easy, (and he is looking forward to doing the fund-raiser again next year). It proves that tennis is a family.”
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Tennis Stars Delay Their Tennis Briefly for Football
Roger Federer and David Nalbandian were able to momentarily cast aside tennis concerns at the Swiss Indoors in Basel to attend a key European football match at the midway point of the tournament week. With Champions League soccer the sporting passion of million outside of the US, it's no surprise the European and the South American both made the trip just across the street from the St Jakobshalle tennis venue for places in the VIP tribune of the football. Also along to watch, Argentine third seed Juan Del Potro Both top seed Federer and No. 2 Nalbandian each had a vested interest in the outcome, with FC Basel facing Spain's mighty Barcelona featuring Argentine international Lionel Messi and Barca winning easily 5-0.
"I know Messi personally, so I'm sure he can get me a ticket if I asked," Nalbandian said, as if he would not get the same from tennis organizers eager to please their drawcards.
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WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY
Upcoming schedules as of October 20, 2008
1. Jelena Jankovic - Doha [Sony Ericsson Championships]
2. Dinara Safina - Doha [SEC]
3. Serena Williams - Doha [SEC]
4. Ana Ivanovic - Doha [SEC]
5. Elena Dementieva - Doha [SEC]
6. Maria Sharapova -
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova -
8. Venus Williams -
9. Vera Zvonareva - Quebec City
10. Agnieszka Radwanska -
11. Patty Schnyder -
12. Anna Chakvetadze -
13. Nadia Petrova -
14. Flavia Pennetta -
15. Daniela Hantuchova -
16. Caroline Wozniacki -
17. Marion Bartoli -
18. Victoria Azarenka -
19. Alize Cornet -
20. Dominika Cibulkova -
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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
Rafa Nadal talks during a press conference on October 23, 2008 in Oviedo. Nadal has been awarded the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport.
Billie Jean King accepts a Minerva Award at the 2008 Women's Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 22, 2008 in Long Beach, California.
Rafael Nadal playing golf with Sergio Garcia during the pro - am of the Castello Masters Costa Azahar at the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo on October 22, 2008 in Castello, Spain.
Mats Wilander, John McEnroe, Mayor David Dinkins, Thomas Blake attends the Mats Wilander Tennis Golf Classic for the DebRA Foundation at the Westchester Country Club on October 20, 2008 in Rye, New York.
Andy Murray of Great Britain sits amid model ballgirls after his final Madrid Masters tennis tournament match against Gilles Simon of France at the Madrid Arena on October 19, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario former tennis player and Ricky Rubio Spanish National Basketball player watch the game during the 2008 NBA Europe Live Tour on October 17, 2008 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain.
Send your player sightings to: cort@tennisnews.com
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APPEARING SOON
Oct. 25 - 26, 2008 - Vic Braden, generally considered to be one of the top tennis teachers of all time will be conducting a two-day clinic in New York City’s Roosevelt Island Racquet Club Saturday and Sunday October 25 and 26. Braden will be on court and in the classroom from 9:00 to 3:00 both days.
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MONEY MOUNTAIN
2008 Prize Money Earnings
MEN (October 20)
1 Nadal, Rafael
$6,705,831
2 Federer, Roger
4,682,103
3 Djokovic, Novak
3,915,853
4 Murray, Andy
2,820,008
5 Davydenko, Nikolay
1,570,333
6 Roddick, Andy
1,201,709
7 Ferrer, David
1,146,390
8 Simon, Gilles
1,041,376
9 Del Potro, Juan Martin
1,032,417
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried
985,977
WOMEN (October 20)
1 Williams, Serena
$3,652,173
2 Jankovic, Jelena
2,764,465
3 Ivanovic, Ana
2,642,890
4 Safina, Dinara
2,415,020
5 Williams, Venus
2,407,565
6 Sharapova, Maria
1,937,879
7 Dementieva, Elena
1,585,679
8 Kuznetsova, Svetlana
1,352,369
9 Zvonareva, Vera
1,007,175
10 Radwanska, Agnieszka
986,772
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HE SAID... SHE SAID...
"I've followed closely to know what's going on. It seems like the markets may come back a bit now, but I think it will take a while for things to calm down. I'm not a big risk-taker off the court. I've worked so hard and travel so much that I don't want to lose money over problems that I cannot control." - Roger Federer commenting on the current turmoil in the world market
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
October
Murphy Jensen
30
1968
November
Ken Rosewall
2
1934
Roy Emerson
3
1936
Ana Ivanovic
6
1987
Marc Rosset
7
1970
Mark Philippoussis
7
1976
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Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
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