Thursday, November 13, 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
Federer Feels Insulted When Introduced as World Number 2
Roger Federer confesses that he's irked by court announcers who insist on presenting him as world No. 2. And the longtime top-ranked player who lost his title in August to Rafael Nadal is prepared to take steps to change that.
"I don't like the ring of it," said the 13-time Grand Slam champion, who topped the table for four and a half years. "When I'm being introduced on center court, it just sounds wrong to me, a bit awkward. ”I've been up there for so long that it sounds unfamiliar."
Federer, who opened play in the Red "group of death" losing to Frenchman Gilles Simon, said he had his own preferences: "It just sounds wrong. I'm number one or a Grand Slam champion - but not number two. "
"It's a challenge to get back to where I was. Next year will be a good chance. I'll do all I can and starting here."
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Ivanovic Honored by WTA
World No. 4 Ana Ivanovic from Serbia has claimed the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour ACES Award for the first time in her career by virtue of an impressive final run of off court promotional activities at the end of the season-long ACES Race. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour ACES Award is given to the player who consistently goes above and beyond to promote the sport of women’s tennis to fans, media, in the community and beyond.
"I'm very happy to win this fun competition,” said Ivanovic. “Being a professional tennis player is about a lot more than just hitting tennis balls and winning matches. The off-court side of things is also very important, and it's essential that we as athletes do what we can to promote the sport. There have been a lot of enjoyable ACES activities this year. I always enjoy meeting fans, sponsors and other guests when I'm at tournaments.
The ACES award was first introduced in 1995, in memory of former Tour CEO Jerry Diamond. Since then eight players have won the award including Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini, Amanda Coetzer, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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Seles Ready to Officially Retire
By Charles Bricker
For years Monica Seles resisted submitting to the sort of public farewell that was put on for Pete Sampras at the 2003 U.S. Open, but she now sounds as if she's ready for it.
"For a long time I just wanted to make sure I was really retiring. So maybe now . . .maybe I'm ready for it. But that's up to the USTA," she said Saturday night in an interview before appearing as one of the honored guests at a dinner party in Sarasota, Fla. celebrating Nick Bollettieri's 30 years in coaching.
For years, those close to her have urged her to make herself available for a public farewell, but she has declined.
It was on a warm night in New York that Sampras, appearing with his wife and holding his son in his arms, was honored before the start of the night session on the Arthur Ashe stadium court. Few had seen Sampras as choked up as he was that evening.
Like Seles, it was not Sampras' nature to seek an official "farewell ceremony." He had to be coaxed away from home in Los Angeles and he was glad he attended. Now, it could be Seles' turn, if the USTA chooses to put on a similar night for the nine-time major winner who, though she was not born in the United States, became a citizen and goes down as one of the greatest of American tennis champions.
"Now that I know I'm definitely retired, it would be a lot easier to do something like that," said Seles, 35. "Before, I had those doubts."
Seles had won back to back U.S. Open titles in 1991-92 before being stabbed by a deranged fan in Hamburg, Germany, in the spring of 1993. She came back to tennis two years later, but won only one more major (1996 Australian Open). Her final match was a first round loss at the 2003 French Open.
Once very reclusive, she has broken out of her shell by appearing on Dancing With the Stars TV show, doing radio and TV shows, and writing for Self magazine.
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What do the Stars Who Play in the Evening do During the Day?
When you’re a top player you often find yourself playing late in the evening, because that’s when the crowds are in. But that leaves a long day to fill, trying to keep fresh and alert for the match. So how does Jelena Jankovic deal with it?
"I sleep a lot. I sleep a lot. All I do is sleep. I eat, I sleep, and I play a little bit of tennis just to feel the ball. It's so hard to train and in a proper way (in Doha), because the wind is all over the place, especially playing in the outside courts. The balls are going all over the place. It's very hard to get your rhythm, to work on certain shots, because you just cannot get your timing and you cannot form this kind of automatism. Or how do you call it? To hit many balls like a machine. What can I do? I try my best."
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Bollettieri Celebrates 30 Years as Academy Operator
By Charles Bricker
The setting couldn't have been classier Saturday night -- the grand ballroom at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in upscale Sarasota, Fl., and the speakers did a fine job of not only roasting Nick Bollettieri, but also properly celebrating his 30 years of teaching tennis.
Well known basketball analyst Dick Vitale, one of the keynote speakers at the 30th anniversary celebration of Nick Bollettieri's 30 years in coaching, got off the best line of the evening at a Saturday night banquet at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Sarasota, Fl.
"When I arrived here Nick asked me, 'Dick, do you believe in the Constitution of the United States?' I said of course I do. Then he asked me, 'Dick, do you believe in free speech?' And I said absolutely. And then Nick told me, 'That's good, Dick, because you're going to give a free speech tonight. You're not going to be paid.' "
The only thing missing was more of the big names that have matriculated from the Bollettieri Academy in nearby Bradenton, Fl.
Andre Agassi was home in Las Vegas, but sent a four-minute videotape, praising Bollettieri for not only coaching him in tennis but in life as well.
Jim Courier wasn't there because he was with his Outback Tour senior series in Arizona. Jelena Jankovic was at the WTA Championships in Doha and Maria Sharapova was in Arizona, continuing therapy on her injured shoulder so that she might be able to play as early as January.
But Monica Seles, one of several former Bollettieri students who rose to No. 1 in the rankings, was there and so was David Wheaton, who was part of that great collection of juniors Bollettieri had in the 1980s, which included Agassi, Courier and Martin Blackman, who also attended.
So was former top 10 Brian Gottfried, who was Bollettieri's first student at the Bradenton academy.
Mary Pierce was in attendance. No more target dates for a comeback, says Pierce, the two-time major winner who hasn't played a match in just over two years.
"This time I'm just going to wait until my knee is recovered," said Pierce, who turns 34 years old on Jan. 15. She's had a long period of recovery from knee surgery and, though she insists she is working toward a return to competitive tennis, there are those who believe her career is over.
As for Bollettieri, it was one of his rare public appearances in a suit and tie, and no sunglasses. He was in a reflective mood as he talked about his 30 years -- how he moved from a smaller camp on Longboat Key, the wealthy island community between Sarasota and Bradenton, and built his academy from scratch, using what he has often referred to as "tough love" to instill discipline into his students.
"When I think of Nick I think of his passion for the game," said Agassi. "He has a true commitment to every person he took under his wing. I just want to thank you, Nick. You've taught me things on and off the court that continue to serve me every day."
But Bollettieri didn't escape a barb from Agassi, who pointed out that "Nick is so committed to marriage he's tried it eight times, twice to the same woman." Bollettieri roared.
Courier also sent a videotape, recounting not only how Bollettieri pushed him to his limits, but how the security guards at the academy got a little too aggressive when Courier played his drums too loudly in his dorm room.
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Navratilova to Participate in Reality TV Jungle Series
Martina Navratilova, 52 years old and most famously described by Billie Jean King as 'the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived' is about to take on a startling new challenge. She is one of ten contestants heading for the most dense and most remote Australian jungle to take part in the prime-time top-ranked British reality television show 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!'
Navratilova, who currently lives near Sarasota, Florida and finally retired from competitive tennis just two years ago after winning the US Open mixed doubles titles just a few weeks short of her 50th birthday, will join a former Metropolitan Police commander, a Startrek actor, an outspoken talk show host, a topless model and the girl friend of an England football international in the jungle.
The contestants live in jungle conditions near Murwillumbah, New South Wales with few creature comforts. Critics have called the show trashy TV, consisting of has-been or never-were celebrities trying to revive their careers. They earn luxuries such as food by completing Bushtucker Trials which often involve excruciating ordeals such as putting their head in a tank full of maggots, locusts or spiders and sleeping in rat infested camps.
Normally a string of B list contestants agree to appear on the show in a bid to jump-charge their flagging earning power and recent contestants include Jimmy Osmond, David Gest (the ex-husband of Liza Minnelli), model Janice Dickinson and ex Sex Pistol John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
The celebrities themselves are also paid a fee (reported to be £25,000 for UK competitors) to compensate them for possible loss of earnings while they are in the jungle. However Martina would not appear to need the money after amassing a career prize fund in excess of $21 million.
Transmissions begin Sunday and more than 50% of the total British viewing public is expected to tune in.
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Stepanek Had Difficulty Getting His Gear into Shanghai
Substitute Radek Stepanek has fallen victim to Chinese customs authorities this week after a shipment of rackets held in quarantine forced him to play a Masters Cup match using borrowed gear.
Even a pair of contact lenses have yet to make it through, with the Czech who lost a Red group match to Roger Federer forced to go shopping for a spare pair in Shanghai.
Stepanek also lost to Federer wearing socks borrowed from Andy Murray and using the rackets of Novak Djokovic.
He got the call to court after Andy Roddick pulled out after rolling an ankle. "I came here straight from Thailand where I was on my vacation," said Stepanek. "I didn't take any tennis stuff on my vacation, they sent it to me from home."
But Stepanek said that even with all the inconvenience, he was happy to have been summoned to China along with the second alternate, Nicolas Kiefer.
"For me it was always a dream to play in the Masters Cup because you're in the Elite 8 best players in the world. This tournament is just special in all ways, starting with the way they are treating us here," he said, well-aware to the base-rate $50,000 fee he will earn, with another $25,000 to come after he plays his second and final match on Friday.
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Tsonga Has Trouble Getting His Towel When he Wants It
Shanghai debutant Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is ready to throw in the towel after his first match, complaining that ballboys and girls have not got a clue about how to work on court.
The Frenchman who claimed the last place in the season-wrap-up field said that he was robbed of energy in a Gold group defeat against Nikolay Davydenko by occasionally having to chase up his own towel after points.
"You are here and you want your towel," said Tsonga. "You say one time, two times, three times, and then you ask the other guy. The other guy looks around, so you have to say one time, two times, three times, and the towel comes.
"When I ask my towel, my towel didn't come - when I ask for a ball, the ball didn't come. Sometimes you are tired and you play a long point and you say you want your towel and the guy look, I don't know, somewhere around."
Tsonga said the extra effort probably made his walk an extra kilometer (half-mile) during the match.
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Israeli Obziler Getting Active in Real Politics
Politics is all about ups and downs and such has been the case for Israeli tennis player turned politician Tzipi Obziler in the last few weeks.
Just a few weeks ago in Shrewsbury, England 35 year-old Obziler suffered the ignominy of losing to an opponent 21 years her junior – the much heralded British 14 year-old and Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson.
But Obziler clearly had other things on her mind. A committed member of the Green Givatayim party, she decided to stand as a candidate in the local elections that took place earlier this week. And she was duly elected to the Givatayim municipal council after her party won two mandates.
One of women's tennis unquestioned veterans - she made her competitive debut on the satellite circuit nearly 20 years ago – 176th ranked Obziler insists she is not contemplating retirement although her position may force her to cut back on a playing schedule that this year alone has seen her contest 25 events including all four Grand Slams and the Olympic Games as well as representing Israel in Fed Cup.
Obziler was not the only sportsperson to figure in the Israeli elections. Arkadi Gaydamak, who owns British Premier League soccer club Portsmouth, failed in his attempt to be elected Mayor of Jerusalem. However Judoka Yoel Rozvozov, a European Championship medalist at judo, was elected to the Netanya city council.
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Federer Guides Young Men in Their “First Shave”
Roger Federer has again set a manly example on behalf of his multinational razor sponsor, guiding a group of Chinese 18-year-olds through their (ceremonial) "first shave" during a promotion for the Masters Cup.
Federer held a microphone in one hand and a Gillette razor in the other as the Swiss paused during training for the eight-man season-ending event which begins round-robin play at the weekend.
Federer is seeking to complete a hat-trick of Shanghai title success as the tournament is held for the last time in China's commercial capital before morphing into a regular-season Masters 1000 tournament in October, 2009.
A year after showing off his shaving skills before a group of 1,000 Chinese teenagers, Federer's 2008 audience was a hand-picked group of 18-year-olds, all celebrating their maturity with the world No. 2.
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Serena Williams to Make Good Will Trip
Once her week on Doha is over, Serena Williams is heading to Africa to hand out free computers to schools in South Africa and Kenya.
"Yeah, I'm going to Africa Monday morning. I'm going to a couple different schools. One in South Africa, it's a good-will trip again. Like I’ve said, I love getting involved in philanthropy, and I'm going with one of my sponsors, HP and we're going to donate computers to the school in Africa, in South Africa. And then we're going to go to Kenya and donate some computers to a school there.
"It will be good for these kids to have an opportunity to learn to use a computer, especially one like an HP computer, and get in touch kind of with the rest of the world. Kind of see how everything else is going in the world. So regardless to what happens here, I'm excited about going to Africa. I just can't wait for that trip, and to get a chance to help children over there."
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TENNIS SHORTS
Mission Hills Country Club to Honor Mark Woodforde
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California, will pay tribute to tennis legend Mark Woodforde on Friday, November 14, 2008, during the dedication of three grass tennis courts for Davis Cup ties. The dedication is being held as part of Mission Hills Country Club’s “Welcome Back” weekend of events.
An Opening Party Dinner for approximately 300 Members and Guests will be held at 7:30 p.m. to honor Mark Woodforde and welcome Mission Hills Members back for the season. At this Dinner, Mission Hills’ Tennis Staff and several Tennis Legends will speak and reflect on Mark Woodforde’s career and a plaque will be presented to Woodforde.
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Billie Jean King Named Global Mentor for Gender Equality
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced today the naming of Billie Jean King as “Global Mentor for Gender Equality”, along with the funding of the Women’s Sports Foundation newly created Billie Jean King Leadership Internship program.
As Global Mentor for Gender Equality, Billie Jean King joins Venus Williams, the partnership’s global Promoter for Gender Equality, and Tatiana Golovin of France and Zheng Jie of China, regional Promoters of Gender Equality, as core supporters and the player face of the UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Partnership.
The Billie Jean King Leadership Internship program to be funded by the UNESCO/Sony Ericsson WTA Tour partnership is the sixth such program to be launched, joining projects in Cameroon, Liberia, Jordan, China and Dominican Republic announced in November 2007.
The new program will be run by the Women’s Sports Foundation, and will annually provide an opportunity for one young woman to gain experience in the sports industry through an internship at the Women’s Sports Foundation.
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Life is Grand When You’re Number One
Jelena Jankovic is on top of the tennis world, and life couldn’t be any better.
"I love being on this position," she said after qualifying for the semi-finals in Doha. "This is something that I worked for since I was a young girl. It was a dream of mine. Being on the No. 1, having that No. 1 ranking is something that nobody can take away from you, and you can just enjoy it. You have nothing to lose.
When you retire you can always say you've been No. 1., and it's something that not many girls in the history of tennis have done. I'm healthy. I have the No. 1 ranking. I'm enjoying my tennis. I've made a lot of money. What else can I ask in this world?"
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Top Four Women to Appear in New York’s Madison Square Garden
Impresario Jerry Solomon is bringing back a tennis blockbuster to New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 2, 2009 when he has arranged for Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams and Venus Williams to play a night of competitive tennis.
Billed as Tennis Night in America, the four will play for the Billie Jean King Cup. After two one-set semifinal matches the winners will play a best of three-set final.
J. Wayne Richmond is Event Director of the BNP Paribas Showdown.
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WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY
Upcoming schedules as of November 13, 2008
No events held
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COVERS
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A Reminder to Our Readers
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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
2008 Prize Money Earnings
MEN (November 3)
1 Nadal, Rafael
$6,773,773
2 Federer, Roger
4,936,879
3 Djokovic, Novak
3,949,077
4 Murray, Andy
3,055,648
5 Davydenko, Nikolay
1,702,082
6 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried
1,495,138
7 Roddick, Andy
1,287,888
8 Ferrer, David
1,170,008
9 Simon, Gilles
1,125,489
10 Del Potro, Juan Martin
1,122,497
WOMEN (November 10)
1
Williams, Serena
$3,852,173
2
Williams, Venus
3,747,565
3
Jankovic, Jelena
3,064,465
4
Ivanovic, Ana
2,838,390
5
Safina, Dinara
2,515,020
6
Sharapova, Maria
1,937,879
7
Dementieva, Elena
1,920,679
8
Zvonareva, Vera
1,773,175
9
Kuznetsova, Svetlana
1,452,369
10
Radwanska, Agnieszka
1,164,072
11
Black, Cara
919,940
12
Srebotnik, Katarina
895,145
13
Petrova, Nadia
893,295
14
Huber, Liezel
892,737
15
Medina Garrigues, Anabel
803,525
16
Zheng, Jie
771,469
17
Azarenka, Victoria
752,189
18
Pennetta, Flavia
723,059
19
Sugiyama, Ai
722,201
20
Schnyder, Patty
720,474
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HE SAID... SHE SAID...
"I don't like the ring of it. When I'm being introduced on center court, it just sounds wrong to me, a bit awkward. I've been up there for so long that it sounds unfamiliar." - Roger Federer commenting on being introduced as world No. 2 in Shanghai.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
November
Fernando Verdasco
15
1983
Sania Mirza
15
1986
Zina Garrison-Jackson
16
1963
Jeff Tarango
20
2968
Billie Jean King
22
1943
Boris Becker
22
1967
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Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
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