Today's News
Last updated at Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:13:06 GMT
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"If the referee doesn't see it I just think it is the systems and the referee who are at fault.
..."Is the criticism strong? That is because we are here in Britain. It doesn't sound like that in France I think."
..."He did apologise. People say it was only after the match, but even five seconds after the event is too late," he added.
..."Today with the technology they have they should maybe do something. It seems football needs it more than tennis.
"If you see a replay it is a clear handball and then you move on. Now it becomes a debate and it is political to a degree. It is not what it is supposed to be."
Unfortunately, despite her daughter’s relatively uncomplicated victory, Samantha Stevenson managed to insert herself into the match in an unnecessary manner.
...Almost everyone watching, as had been the custom all week, sat inside the Court 3 singles sideline. But Samantha positioned her chair prominently just outside the doubles sideline near the baseline, in the space between the two courts about 20 feet from the junction of the Court 2 baseline and sideline.
...During the early going, when a McHale fan at the other end of the court shouted out, “C’mon Christina,” Samantha said out loud to herself, “what an asshole.”
In the fifth game, when her daughter’s shot down the near sideline at her end of the court was ruled good, McHale protested to the umpire that the ball had been wide. When she then moved away toward the back of the court, Samantha said, “it was on the line, you’ve got bad eyes.” McHale responded, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Though reasonably controlled for the rest of the match, Samantha often said “good shot” or something similar whenever Alexandra hit a winner while at the far end, meaning that probably only McHale could hear the comment... After the match, Samantha walked off with her daughter and could be heard saying about somebody, “what an (expletive)''.
There can be no argument there. At 94 matches and counting, he has played far more than any other leading player. Nobody else in the top 10 has even broken the 80-match barrier, which is intriguing, considering that Djokovic has not exactly been an iron man in the past, retiring from several high-profile matches, most recently an Australian Open quarterfinal in the heat against Andy Roddick in January.
...
“It’s an exciting thing,” said the 39-year-old Martin. “I had really launched into designing a charity program at full speed, and I had certainly deemed professional tennis to be at least in good part in my rearview mirror. And to do the amount of traveling that I am and will be doing, it needed to be an attractive opportunity. And to be able to work with somebody who’s got Novak’s potential certainly qualified as attractive. We’re still at the initial stages, and you don’t have to look past the last couple weeks to realize what the potential is.”
He now has a chance to become the only man other than Ivan Lendl to finish the year at No. 1 after having let the ranking slip away. “It means a lot to him,” said Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick. “Not enough for him to go chase the points in Asia when he was hurt and risk further injury. Guys don’t seem to take a lesson from Roger in terms of giving their body a break. But Roger wants this. There’s an all-time record out there for weeks at No. 1, and I know he’d love to have it.”
That record — 286 weeks — belongs to Pete Sampras. Federer will be at 258 weeks come Monday. Finish at No. 1 this year, and Federer’s chances of breaking Sampras’s record next year are excellent, considering that he won’t have a critical mass of points to defend until next June.
“I spent some time with each of the three guys, just hearing from them what their issues were and getting to know them a bit,” Helfant said. “I knew Roger from my Nike days. I didn’t really know Rafa. I had met him once before but certainly couldn’t claim to have had a relationship, and I didn’t know Novak at all. So it was instructive. Those issues didn’t go away. Those are issues that we have discussed since then and continue to discuss, because one of the things that impressed me in those conversations and made me feel particularly good about the decision I was making was how engaged the top guys were in the issues that are important to the tour and how deep their understanding is of those issues.”
...“Where is it in the job description that you have to keep a high profile?” said Tony Godsick, Federer’s agent. “This is a sport where the players are stars. Adam’s personality is, I think, perfect. I’ve heard people say, ‘He needs to be out there more.’ To do what? He’s out there enough. He’s here to do things behind the scenes.”
“The fact our top players are showing up consistently on our biggest stages and performing well, by that measure alone I think our system is working,” said Helfant, who is, nonetheless, well aware of the complaints about the length of the season. “If there had been an easy fix, someone would have made it by now.” Why should that be the CEO's concern? Leave it to players and ex-employees; they'll take care of it.
All right, so what's being done behind the scenes? “If there had been an easy fix, someone would have made it by now.”
There you have it. Being the CEO is a hard job. Expecting leadership, vision, direction -- that's an unrealistic standard. He's a good listener. Shouldn't that be enough?
...Helfant said that he got a call from the eight-time Grand Slam winner, with the executive expressing his distaste over the long-ago matter. "We had a very frank discussion," Helfant said. "I obviously expressed disappointment.
"We have learned a lot in 12 years. All of our players want a clean sport, we have their total support." Still, he's a good listener. Agassi's collaborator, Pulitzer Prize-winning author J.R. Moehringer, revealed the stunning news to Vegas Confidential on Wednesday night during dinner at Botero Restaurant at Encore. "For him to be No. 1 in a season with books by Mitch Albom, Sarah Palin, John Grisham, Ted Kennedy, Stephen King -- big books, big authors, all vying for people's book dollars -- he didn't hit No. 1 in a slow season," said Moehringer, who was on the telephone with Agassi when the eight-time Grand Slam winner got the news Wednesday afternoon from publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
"My reaction is that I'm so happy for Andre," Moehringer said. "He got knocked around pretty good right before the book came out. How dare he write an honest memoir? This is vindication, the ultimate sign that things have turned around."
The 15-time major winner and father of new twin girls would become just the second player after Ivan Lendl in 1989 to reclaim the top slot since computer rankings began in 1973. Federer finished No. 1 from 2004-07 before Nadal broke his stranglehold in 2008. Federer also could tie American Jimmy Connors with five year-end No. 1s, which would leave him one behind all-time leader Pete Sampras.
UPDATE: Reply -- "Davis Cup will have no bearing on who finishes No. 1, according to ATP."
[Incidentally, winning both singles matches in the Davis Cup final is worth less than winning one round-robin match at the Masters Cup/ATP finals.]
...This is not to say that the best athletes are always the best looking, either. The correlations uncovered by Park and New Scientist explain only a small amount of the differences in athletic performance.
That caveat was clear in our informal study of pro tennis players. Stars like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer garnered average attractiveness ratings only marginally higher than journeymen such as Fabio Fognini, currently ranked 56, and there were plenty of outliers. For instance, our lowest-ranked player, Robert Kendrick, actually got the best attractive score of the 30 we tested. There's plenty of reason to support Oudin. But right now she is what she is: a feisty and fierce player, with a strong will to compete, better-than-average strokes, a below-average serve and a pleasant off-court disposition. Games aren't stagnant and she could well get to the next level. But the expectation that she would replicate her U.S. Open success, especially at the end of a long season, just isn't realistic. Why he'll win: Because he had a mediocre year at the Slams and wants to show his countrymen while playing at home that he won't fail in taking the final step to greatness like the once-touted Tim Henman did.
Why he won't: Because he's lost a bit of confidence due to his wrist injury and some questionable tight losses over the summer. The Scot knows he has to hit out more, but he often gets enmeshed in a defensive posture when things get tight. ...The guy with the best draw might be the guy who wasn’t supposed to be here, Robin Soderling. The Sod, ranked No. 9 but upgraded when Andy Roddick pulled out, can beat Nadal, as we know; he took a 6-1 set from Djokovic in Paris; and he has developed a bizarre hex on Davydenko over the last three years, winning five of their last six matches. He also likes to play indoors. Is this destined to be the Week of the Sod?
"Tomorrow morning," Djokovic said in Paris, "my fitness coach was planning to have a two-hour practice. I'm joking, of course."
..."Frankly, right now, he still has his wits about him, which is difficult to do at this time of year," said Martin, who will spend Thanksgiving away from his family -- instead, he will be encouraging Djokovic in London. "I've heard questions about his heart, but from what I've seen he has a huge heart and fights like a dog. He's won with grit and determination.
"Yes, he's played a lot more matches than anyone -- I don't necessarily think that's a good idea. But he's extremely fit. That's his greatest weapon right now." ...However, Federer believes he copes with opponents like Murray better than he did in his early days against men like Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian. "I had a lot of trouble against those baseliners early on just because they were too consistent. They could always get one more ball back. Maybe they didn't have the best serve, but I wasn't the best return player, so I couldn't take advantage. My serve wasn't solid enough yet, so I would always get tangled up in those horrible baseline rallies.
"Murray can still do that to some degree, but when I play too well or too offensively I can take time away from him now. And I'm too physical, whereas in the beginning I couldn't do that. I couldn't get around backhands like I can now. Now I can mix up my game too well for him to get under my skin.
"It's like when [Pete] Sampras and [Andre] Agassi played. Agassi was more aggressive [than most counter-attackers], but still Sampras held the key because he was serving, pushing the limits, taking the risks. Which Murray doesn't do so much – though that doesn't take anything away from Murray. That's just his game style.
"Everybody has his own game and you can't change the way you play. It's just something you're born with. He comes to the net more, for instance, than other players. I think if you look closely, every player needs to have something aggressive in his game to play well. If you want to be a top player you need to have offensive skills." Another revelation in Agassi's book surprised Querrey even more. Agassi once sported a mullet haircut. Except it wasn't real. It was a hairpiece, used to hide a rapidly receding hairline. "A fake mullet," Querrey said. "Wow."
Joining her are No. 229 Alexandra Stevenson of the United States, 28, who was No. 18 in 2002 and a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1999, as well as No. 261 Mirjana Lucic of Croatia, 27, also a 1999 Wimbledon semi-finalist and a former No. 32 in 1998.
The declines of Kapros, Stevenson and Lucic can serve as cautionary tales for the emerging generation of young players.
Nadal looks terribly young amid that quiet admission. "I am OK now," the 23-year-old says of his parents' divorce, "but you need time to accept. And it's more difficult to accept when you are outside home and don't know what's happening. At least the injury gave me time to be with my friends and family."
Severe tendinitis and the collapse of his parent's marriage undermined Nadal's composure at Roland Garros. "I played with less calm. One of the reasons was the pain in the knees. And I was down because of the divorce. Soderling played really well and he beat me. But I wasn't ready, mentally or physically["]
2 DINARA SAFINA: Given what a precipitous fall the Russian had from August on, it’s amazing that she finished the year No. 2. Game wise, she’s more than capable of winning a major, but despite being a thoughtful person, she has a lot of maturing to do if she's going to avoid falling out of the top 20 in 2010.
4. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: The Dane looked way too soft at the majors prior to NY (remember her punch-out at the hands of Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon?), but then she really began to dig deep and buried her non-chalant smile. She showed what a fighter she is in cramping her way to a victory in Doha, and if she can add a few more octaves to her offense, she should be able to win her first Slam in 2010.
...His drive to secure that sixth-consecutive year-end number 1 ranking (a first-order record that is now safe even from Federer,which makes it hard to imagine anyone every toppling it) almost wrecked him; the day he won his record, 14th singles title, he was ready to quit. Sampras had as deep and abiding a love for the game as any player who ever laced them up, but he grew tired of having to wear the hair shirt. Federer's shirt, by contrast, is made from silk. And you can't help but notice how much, well, easier, it all seems for him.
"For some guys, I think that's a real tough pill to swallow," the third-seeded Dent said, "but for me I'm so driven, I'm so motivated that I see this as a necessary step. I see this as part of my progression, so I'm more than happy to come here and I'm even happier to come here and win.
"It's a big deal for me and I get excited. I have no problem with these tournaments."
...Bozoljac was thrust into the spotlight a couple of years ago when he was dating Ramona Amiri, who was Miss Canada in 2005. They dated for about a year. "I had one or two relationships," Bozoljac said. "It's very hard for me because I'm travelling a lot to have a normal relationship. She (Amiri) was a good girlfriend. I like her a lot."
...Jean-Francois Caujolle, tournament director of the BNP Paribas Masters, singled out Andy Murray for special praise at his end-of-event review and disclosed that next year there could be a dramatic change to the format in Paris. There is a powerful case, Caujolle believes, for the tournament to become a 32 rather than 48 man draw - "for it is quite normal that the draws become progressively smaller in order to arrive towards the Masters where there are only eight players."
...He also declared that an ATP 250 tournament would be scheduled in the same week as Paris next year - "so we are not only guaranteeing the existing jobs of the players but creating new ones," he said. "I trust it will be possible."
Murray made a point of mentioning in the press conference after his defeat to Stepanek that he had heard there would be 200 journalists attending the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena. That is a pretty formidable level of media interest but the Net Post hears that not one of those writers is coming from the United States; whether Andy Roddick comes or not. It is quite some dark moment in tennis-writing history that not a single member from America will make the trip, and this from the richest nation in the tennis world. Truly terrible news. Everything changed in the fifth game of the second set. From 30-0 up on his own serve Djokovic, suddenly looking tired and vulnerable, made four successive errors to let Monfils back into the match. The Frenchman broke again in the 11th game and served out to level the contest.
The momentum appeared to be with Monfils, but both players dropped serve twice early in the decider and the match went to a tie-break. The crowd had been magnificent in support of their fellow Parisian, but on the first match point a spectator shouted out as Monfils hit his second serve. It sailed long and an exhausted Djokovic sank to his knees in relief. He said afterwards that he would rest until flying to London on Wednesday, when he plans to watch his fellow countrymen take on South Korea in a friendly football international at Craven Cottage. The third ranked Djokovic will head to London with 7,910 points, well ahead of Andy Murray, who has 6 830 and will likely have to win the title to regain the No. 3 spot. ...As invariably happens in a celebrity memoir, Agassi's pre-emptive candor glosses over a few notable events. The description of how Gilbert decided to end their relationship defies credibility. Much of his half decade with Shields is described more as witness than participant. There's also no mention of the acrimony and litigation that led to Rogers and Agassi parting ways in 2008. ...Another person did manage to get more than six seconds with the much-loved author, a bald-headed guy with a red beard who was dressed in a Montreal Canadiens jersey. “He said, ‘I like your sweater and your beard, how long has it been growing?’” the Habs fan related about their brief talk. “I told him I just got it cut. Too bad I didn’t get more time for him to sign other stuff.”
Then looking at me and pointing to a signature on the CH crest on his jersey, he said, “I got Ron MacLean to sign here. “I’ve been meeting a lot of celebrities, and I met you, too.” For a fleeting second I panicked, wondering if being the Globe and Mail tennis writer could actually qualify as celebrity. I frantically racked my brain, “where did I meet this guy?” But, quickly, it all became all too clear – it was not “you too” but “U2.”
...Vavara Lepchenko, an American ranked No. 114, won the $50,000 Challenger event in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Sasha Jones of New Zealand. In the semi-finals, Lepchenko beat Rosanna de los Rios of Paraguay 6-0, 6-0. In the quarter-finals, after losing the second set to Coco Vandeweghe of the U.S., Lepchenko won the third set 6-0.
More significantly, the victory, in his 15th consecutive appearance at the event, made Nestor the only player, in singles or doubles, to have won all nine Masters Series titles
It almost makes you wonder if today's Agassi isn't just another act, the way he acted as if he loved tennis when he truly detested it, the way his thick head of hair turned out to be an act, the way he pretended to love first wife Brooke Shields.
...Meanwhile, Shvetha Jaishankar-Bhupati, former Femina Miss India International 98 and a runner-up at the Miss International pageant in Tokyo, had issued a statement in October saying, “Mahesh and I have shared a life together and as we part ways, I wish him all best for his future.”
The athletes are already appealing their one-year bans before the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
...
...“You played another epic final at Wimbledon this year. Given what had happened a year before, how tough would it have been to have lost against Roddick?”
...“Really tough. I don’t know if I was thinking about the Nadal match during that Roddick match, because I didn’t really have time, but with five- setters there’s definitely a bit of luck involved. But I’m a great believer that you can push luck on your side. I also believe things happen for a reason, and maybe that sixth [successive] Wimbledon in 2008 was not meant to be. Rafa was playing great early on and I just kind of didn’t believe . . . I lost the first two sets, and then the rain delay came and woke me up.”
...“Yes. I feel more proud when Mirka says ‘husband’. I like it better when I can say, ‘[this is] my wife’. I always thought ‘girlfriend’ was cute, and I loved it, but ‘wife’ to me just sounds so much more serious and better. It goes way beyond what I thought as a teenager that marriage would be. And the babies . . . phew [exhales], that just gives a different dimension to life. To see the fire in the eyes of my wife, waking up 15 times a night if she has to . . . to see that and knowing what she would do for me, knowing what she would do for them, is very emotional.”
...“I’m midway. It feels like the second part of my career right now, although I am trying to avoid saying that because the second part sounds like ‘neehhhhrrrrr’ [motions straight down]. You can definitely play your greatest tennis until 32 or 33, it’s just a matter of how you look at it. I’ve always been a big believer in looking at the big picture. It’s not about, ‘What will we do tomorrow?’, it’s about, ‘How will my life and tennis look in the next five years?’ And I still have the same vision, so that’s going to help me.”
...“Many people were asking me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ And I said, ‘Well, I'm definitely going to play until the 2012 Olympics’, but that was to shut them up, really. It depends how fit you are, but I would like to play beyond that, and Mirka has said that she would like our two daughters to see me play. So they need to grow a little bit and I need to play a little bit, but we’ll see where it takes us.”
..."I'm not very good at analysing tennis and marriage and how that works together, but I do know that if you're happy you're probably going to be playing better tennis. She understands that I have to work really hard on my tennis, as there's a certain shelf life for my playing career.
"She likes to write a few comments about me on Twitter. It's a way of her poking fun at me, but that's OK." With Decker, Roddick does "not have to put on a super-brave front".
The most frustrating aspect of it all, I guess, must have been the role reversal that he and Federer underwent: for long periods of that match he outplayed, shot for shot, the greatest player ever to pick up a racket.
"It was odd," he agrees, "in that I felt like Roger was relying more on his serve, while I was doing better from the back of the court maybe, which is a little different to how it has gone in the past." He pauses. "But I still lost."
In July, a couple of weeks before his twins were born, I talked to Federer about how that match had felt from his side of the net, in particular the weirdness of that fifth set, in which neither player had seemed remotely likely to crack. "I had a feeling at changeovers that we would be there all summer long," Federer suggested, "that they would close the roof, people would sleep all night and wake up and me and Andy would still be there, beards growing, holding serve. Honestly, that went through my mind. I knew he was not going to make a mistake, and I didn't feel that I was…"
"Wimbledon has the greatest history of any tennis tournament, so there will always be more pressure there and it will always be a bigger deal. But all the players want to play in the end-of-year championships."
- November and December 2008, I was training in Switzerland.
- In January 2009, I was in Australia to prepare myself for the Australian Open.
- Because of this, all of the letters that were sent to my house that had to be signed for, I
was unable to receive and were returned to sender.
- On February 18, 2009 I went online and Googled the general email address of the
doping agency, and sent them and email to ask for information as I had heard several
players talk about the new anti doping program.
- On February 19, 2009, I received an email back, which included a login and did not
include any information about the one failed update I had already missed, without
knowing that this system even exists, even though all the letters that I had to sign for
upon receipt and were sent back to the Flemish Anti-Doping Agency, meaning that they
did know that I never received them.
- After this email, I left for the United States for 7 weeks and have tried numerous times
to sign on to the system with the login details that they provided to me, which failed time
after time.
- In early April, I then sent an email myself again to notify them that I could not get into
the system.
- After the weekend, their reply to me was simply that there was a problem with my login
and that they have reset this so I can log in with a new login into the system. There was
no indication in this email that I now had already had two failures to update behind my
name, even though I had not even logged into the system once.
- Following their reply to me and using the new login information, I mistakenly
completed the online whereabouts details wrong, as I did not know that you could not
select the option ‘competition’ and instead had to select the option “permanent
residence”, which I had no idea about.
- In June, I then called Mr. De Bruyn myself to ask him information as to how top
complete the wherabouts correctly. I got the information that day for the first. This
conversation took place after my 3rd missed update had already happened, even though I
had not received any word about this.
- From that day on, my WADA has always been updated correctly and I have been tested
out of competition at home.
- At the end of June it was that the Belgian Tennis Federation was notified about the
situation. They notified my father about this by email.
..."It's a huge administrative task for us," Steel said. "It's not just a matter of setting up the programme. You've almost got to be one-on-one with the athletes because the consequences of them getting it wrong are so big."
But Steel said it was critical the drug testing agencies knew the whereabouts of the athletes, citing the case of marathoner Liza Hunter-Galvan, banned for two years for taking EPO. "We probably would not have caught her on that day, at that time, without the Whereabouts information. So it's helpful for athletes like that who are not part of a team.
17 FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Didn’t have countrywoman Pennetta’s year, but it’s truly enjoyable to watch the Italian play when she’s motivated because she brings true variety and passion to the game.
18 KIM CLIJSTERS: While it wasn’t surprising that she came back technically a better player, it was a little stunning to see how much more mentally composed the new mom is. Just watch the Belgian finish 2010 in the top 3.
On Friday at the Bercy Masters, Nadal played his most impressive match of the fall in knocking out local and defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 7-5 by winning 12 out of the last 13 points of the second set. Prior to that, Djokovic survived Soderling’s inside the baseline blitz with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory. Combined with Fernando Gonzalez’s retirement to Juan Martin Del Potro on Thursday night, Verdasco now joins the eight-player field that includes Roger Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, del Potro, Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko.
However, Roddick, who has been troubled by a knee injury and just began light jogging a few days ago and can’t be considered definitive for the competition, which means that Soderling, who is in ninth place in the points race, and Tsonga, who finished 10th, still have a chance to compete as they will head to London as alternates.
But, au contraire, there have given some gutsy efforts last week in Basel and Valencia, and this week at the BNP Paribas Masters event in Paris.
...Not surprisingly, because his co-author J.R. Moehringer is a Pulitzer Prize winner, Open is well written. At times, it is clear that it is Moehringer’s prose and turns of phrase that come through, even if Agassi has an undeniable ability to be eloquent on his own. About the crowd for his first-round match at the 1999 French Open, the book reads, “There were sixteen thousand people in the stands, screaming like peasants overrunning Versailles.”
...There are a couple of odd references to ‘Canadians’ in the book. Talking about the time he was defaulted in Indianapolis in 1996 for using obscenities against Daniel Nestor, the Torontonian is described as “Daniel Nestor, a Serb from Canada.” A few pages later, about a loss in San Jose in 1997, he writes, “I falter in the semis against Greg Rusedski from Canada.” That was two years after the former Montrealer left for Britain.
What Murray did not need yesterday was a late finish the night before. The Scot completed his three-set victory over James Blake at 1.45am, got to bed at 4am and was back on court by 5.45pm to face Stepanek. "I said last night that it would be difficult to come back and feel 100 per cent today," Murray said. "It was obviously a limited recovery after a long match."
Specific incidents include one punter who tried to put £30,000 on a player who was drawing 3-3 in the deciding set and went on to win and customers betting against a player who was a set and a break up but went on to lose. None of the game's blue-riband players are being investigated and all of the reported matches were first-round ties and therefore more likely to go under the radar. In the 10 matches, one player appears three times while another two appear twice.
"I was touched by Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, who not only reached out but were very public about how they felt at a time when it wasn't going to be a very popular side to take."
Thank goodness the British No 1 could call upon his serve — four of his 22 aces came in one second-set spurt — and the indomitability that is at the heart of his rise to prominence. His 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 victory had a dislike of defeat writ through it, the backhand cross-court shot that took him to match point the pick of the crop.
...And not for the first time recently, Nadal had to handle a question about his weight — the general perception being that he is not as bulky as he once was — which he did with his usual charm. “Unless all the [] in the world are wrong, I am still 86 kilos, the same as I was four years ago,” he said. “I think it is the clothes that make me look lighter but I am not, for sure.” When Benneteau served an ace to win the match, he curled up into a ball and started crying, but there was a short interruption to his celebrations as Federer challenged the 'in' call on the Hawk-Eye video-replay system.
The reply, though, showed that Benneteau's serve had touched the line, so the call stood, and the crying could resume. ...27 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez: The lefty serve and volleyer took a huge step up in singles this season and if she can improve her movement and consistency off the ground, she’ll be Spain’s greatest threat next year.
...29 Alisa Kleybanova: It’s hard to get a read on this tall and strong Russian. She can club the ball, but she needs to improve her conditioning and court awareness. After hearing other players discuss new doping rules, Wickmayer said she googled the email address for the Flemish Anti-doping agency and sent them an email on February 18, 2009 requesting information. Authorities replied the next day, however Wickmayer said the reply did not inform her she already missed one update. Wickmayer suggested authorities, who would have received the returned certified letters she never signed for, failed to communicate her status.
"On February 19, 2009, I received an email back, which included a login and did not include any information about the one failed update I had already missed, without
knowing that this system even exists, even though all the letters that I had to sign for upon receipt and were sent back to the Flemish Anti-Doping Agency, meaning that they did know that I never received them," Wickmayer said. ...He will continue to chair the tournament in Buenos Aires and the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, Conn. He plans to become even more involved with First Serve, a charitable arm of the USTA that empowers underprivileged youth through tennis. "I've actually been thinking about writing him a letter," ' said Australian tennis great John Newcombe. "Just a little show of support because there are a lot of people criticising him ... and I'm not sure they have got the facts right." A good story, and a tennis tournament, needs interesting characters, a bit of drama and a hero to cheer for. Bali had them all. There was Kimiko Date-Krumm, the 39-year-old Japanese player, making a return to the Tour after a 12-year "hiatus"; up-and-coming Lisicki of Germany; and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a fearless serve-and-volleyer whose game is a throwback to another era.
There was drama, although it had nothing to do with the appearance of Israeli Shahar Peer who, despite Indonesia's lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, was allowed to play with next to no fuss. Instead, 3rd seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium was forced to withdraw after failing to comply with her country's doping regulations.
...Why the photo on the cover that Reilly compared to Mel Gibson’s mug shot: When you go through this process and you start to understand your life, you have to communicate it with your cover. What is this book about? For me, I can tell you what that is: the face of somebody who has been through a lot but still has a lot to go through.
Where does one find a mullet toupee: The Hair Club for Men is like a Vegas buffet. It is unfortunate that Wickmayer's and Malisse's careers have been interrupted at this point in this way -- especially for Wickmayer, who built the foundation of her game in Florida after losing her mother as a child and vaulted out of obscurity in September to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. Belgium's sports minister has said he will support the players' appeals.
Every athlete who competes in a sport covered by the WADA code signs up to play under the same legal framework. Abiding by those rules should become as routine as punching a time card. Otherwise -- well, there are a lot of other things to do for a living, and a lot of people who would gladly trade their circumstances for the physical gifts and job descriptions of elite athletes.
It had been wiped off within a couple of minutes, but, clearly, the man who said that his career was transformed in this city has left another mark on it that will not be so hastily expunged. "I wish I could have won a lot more tournaments, but I got injured every time I played well," Safin said. "I was making comebacks every single year. That makes it difficult mentally. It causes a lot of stress."
Andy Murray, who lost to Safin in their only meeting four years ago, is among those who will regret his departure. "He was always great for tennis," said Murray, who will play his first match here tomorrow against James Blake. "People enjoyed watching him. He's a different personality to a lot of the players nowadays, I am sure he'll be missed." ["]And, again, I don't think (recreational drug use) should be against the rules. But it is. And when he got caught, I thought he should have owned up to it, just done his three months (suspension) and be done with it, and we would not be talking about it anymore."
"In my opinion, is not the right way. I would love to have a few changes. I think that's too much to say every day of your life where you are."
..."I'm gonna be always with the player, I will have to defend the player," said the vice-president of the ATP Player Council headed by Roger Federer. "I have confidence on my colleagues and other players - I always believe they are clean." Agassi: The way she faces and confronts her fears, how she lives the way she wants to live -- I did not know this was possible. She was the one to show me, with her life, how to care about something every day. This, too, was new to me. Or, in sports, she told me: "Stop thinking; it's about feeling."
SPIEGEL: What did she mean?
Agassi: You have to be so conditioned, so practiced, that your thinking is removed, and you're just reacting intuitively, without constantly questioning everything. I'm a thinker by nature, much too complicated. My father tried to forbid thinking, and I tried to analyze my thinking away. Nobody ever said anything about feeling. Stefanie taught me that you have to be patient with yourself, you have to just let go. She taught me not to stand in my own way. I became famous so fast; but, in some ways, I grew up so slow.
SPIEGEL: Both of you were drilled by fathers who wanted to control everything.
Agassi: What is right is that both of us were in our fathers' hands. I told a lot of people that I hated tennis -- seriously and strongly hated it -- and they all tried to talk me out of it: "Ah, that is not right, Andre; in fact you love tennis, don't you?" Do you want to know what Stefanie said: "Don't we all?"
SPIEGEL: Did you tell each other the stories of your sufferings?
Agassi: I was the better talker; she was the better listener. But we did not have to explain everything.
SPIEGEL: You knew?
Agassi: We both knew a lot, yes. But there is a very significant difference between us: Stefanie wanted to play tennis, it was her decision; and I did not, but I had to. For me it was the wrong life; it was not mine.
SPIEGEL: In Germany, Peter Graf has been seen as a diabolical father who stole his daughter's childhood.
Agassi: But it wasn't like that. It was her choice. Stefanie did not have to give up her family or her childhood, whereas I was sent to a training academy in Florida. And, from that moment on, I had no friends and no mom anymore. No, this story and this image are wrong. Of course, sometimes she was sick of it; but, in general, she loved the sport she happened to be great at.
"The question is: why has he done that? What's done is done. He wants to sell more books? That's completely stupid.
"I'm not defending the ATP, but what he said puts them in a bad position. The ATP allowed him to win lots of tournaments and lots of money and kept his secret, so why be bad to them? Sometimes you need to know when to shut up." "But he lied!" they exclaim.
That's hardly honourable, but it's something most of his critics would try to do, if they were similarly cornered[.]
...Bollettieri said the sport is "probably" tarnished and that people will naturally choose sides... Bollettieri, who called Agassi a "second son to me," said he was "never, never, never" aware of Agassi using drugs at his academy or when the traveled the pro circuit, though Agassi writes about smoking marijuana and drinking as a youth. "No place in the world is free of drugs," Bollettieri said. "We tried to make the academy as drug-free as any live-in school, and I think we did a good job. Were we drug-free? Absolutely not."
..."He was not cheating the game, he was cheating himself," Cahill said. "He was at a time in life when he was really down. He made a mistake, and he spent last 12-13 years atoning for it. What he's done outside the lines has been incredible."
...Two other central figures — Agassi's fearful and raging father, Mike, who is described as "violent by nature" — and his longtime trainer and surrogate father figure, Gil Reyes, have so far been silent. Mike Agassi could not be reached for comment. Reyes issued a statement through Agassi's foundation. "I'm deeply proud of Andre's candid and beautiful autobiography, appropriately titled Open," Reyes said in prepared remarks. "It's the honest story of how he came to be the extraordinary father, brother, husband, friend and son he is today. Anyone who reads it will come away loving Andre, as I do, as I always have, and as I always will." It's a great question. It felt at an early age as the core of my life, and I felt like that reason changed throughout my life. As a youngster it was fear of my father; then it was a desire to escape the (Nick Bollettieri) academy and school. Then it became just straight fear — what else would I do with my life? Then all of a sudden it was identified to me, and then I didn't know.
But the hate for tennis started to change when I took ownership and chose tennis, which didn't happen till 1997, which didn't happen till I fell to 141 in the world, which didn't happen till that moment when I either had to walk away or choose it, and I didn't walk away, and I chose it. Once I chose my life, once I took ownership of my life, the scale started to get balanced with what it was giving me. Tennis gave me the school; tennis then gave me my wife; tennis then gave me the time to raise my children and to live with them, and then it wasn't lost on me. … It no longer only came with a price.
...Again, as I read the book, we hear a lot about who you dislike — (Jeff) Tarango, Becker, Connors, (Thomas) Muster, (Michael) Chang — not so much who you like, besides (Pat) Rafter. Who do you like? Or is it just tough to really have that kind of bond in high-stakes tennis?
I'd like to address the first part of what you said. I want to really make sure that we put this in a proper light. This book is written in present tense, and what I'm going through at those moments with those players are through an 18-year-old, through a confused, scared, angry 25-year-old. I do like Boris. I didn't get to talk about when we went out to Oktoberfest and drank beers together and laughed about some of this stuff. There's nothing hidden between any of us. When I walk in a room with Connors, just because his book is written doesn't change what has existed between me and Connors. So, you know, it feels long ago and juvenile in many ways.
What you're saying is that your relationship with these people has evolved, and because you don't like them in the book doesn't mean you're not friends with them now.
Yeah, and it doesn't mean that I am either. ...he deepest – ie most venomous – rivalry turns out to be with Boris Becker. Irked by Becker's bitching in the press about Agassi after the Wimbledon semi in 1995 (a match Becker actually won), Andre and Brad plot revenge on a "motherfucker" who, in Gilbert's view, "tries to come off as an intellectual, when he's just an overgrown farmboy"... Two sets down in the revenge match, the "Kill or be Killed" US Open semi, "this fucking German" starts blowing kisses to Brooke in Agassi's box. Agassi gets so angry that he loses the next set. But he has a trump up his sleeve – he's worked out Becker's serve: "Just before he tosses the ball, Becker sticks out his tongue and it points like a tiny red arrow to where he's aiming." Now, that is genius of a Joycean and Tolstoyan kind!
...For Agassi, time expands to such an extent that, in the penultimate victory of his career, against James Blake in 2006, it takes half a paragraph to itemise decision-making processes that last for the microsecond that the ball is in flight. And here is the not entirely unexpected irony of Open. For all the lurid revelations, despite the overarching story of personal growth and the struggle for self-awareness, the most enthralling parts of the book are all about… tennis. ...Even if it's hard to see how advice on not marrying Brooke Shields or coping with international tennis stardom is going to help that many readers, he seems sincere about it. Sceptics may say that he is simply copying John McEnroe who resurrected his career (on TV at least) with a similarly frank memoir. But "Superbrat" hardly had a reputation to lose while Agassi was one of the most popular players of his era. Even my mother liked him, and he wore an earring. Now we know that he was a quivering wreck of neuroses, aggression and vanity who wasn't quite as candid as we all thought.
"I've had a lot of problems but money hasn't been one for many years," he says. "I don't need to sell the book and I have a lot more to lose than gain from what I have revealed," he says. And it's difficult to argue against that. There are plenty of fascinating passages, aside from the excerpts sold to magazines and newspapers as part of the publicity push to help sell books. Agassi used the word ''sensationalized'' repeatedly during the 20-minute interview to describe those excerpts. They were of the children, in caps and gowns, during the first ever high school graduation ceremony of the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.
Toward the end of the interview, Agassi reveals that on one of his first dates with Graf, he informed her that he hated tennis and he told her that because “I was falling in love with her [and] you can’t do that under false pretenses.”
...ON HOW MANY TIMES HE DID CRYSTAL METH: “It was a foggy time in my life for a lot of reasons. The simple answer is I don’t know, I did it way too many … I wouldn’t be able to put a number on it. What I can tell you is I did it for the good part of 1997, the better part of the year, starting in the early in the year and ending deeper into the year. It was way more than it should have been.”
Federer supports Henry in handball storm
- AFP
It (the handball) happened in a split second. You can't blame him for playing on.
Not-so-proud parenting moments
- Tom Tebbutt, Globe and Mail blog
On Thursday, now ranked No. 229, [Alexandra Stevenson] reached the quarter-finals of the $50,000 Tevlin Challenger on Tennis Canada’s indoor courts in Toronto, defeating her American compatriot Christina McHale 6-4, 6-2. The No. 240-ranked McHale, 17, is the current U.S. Junior (under-18) champion.
Djokovic on the Rise as a Long Year Ends
- Christopher Clarey, New York Times
“Unfortunately for me,” he added, “I’ve been through a period of seven, eight, nine months where I’ve had to learn a lot. There was a lot of mental instability but still you learn from your mistakes, and I’ve taken it now to this period where I actually feel good and feel happy to play tennis and happy to give my 100 percent on the court. That’s the most important thing, because I have been playing many matches this year.”
Review: Andre Agassi’s Hate of the Game
- New York Times
The more arresting news is that “Open” is one of the most passionately anti-sports books ever written by a superstar athlete — bracingly devoid of triumphalist homily and star-spangled gratitude. Agassi’s announced theme is that the game he mastered was a prison he spent some 30 years trying to escape.
Showcase Finale Moves to London
- Christopher Clarey, New York Times
Big-time tennis will indeed grind you down, which makes the 28-year-old Federer’s staying power all the more remarkable. He has had recurring back problems the last two seasons and had mononucleosis in early 2008, but he has not missed a Grand Slam tournament in the last decade and has played in the tour championships every year in which he has qualified, beginning in 2002.
The A.T.P.'s Low-Profile, Hands-On Chief
- Christopher Clarey, New York Times
“It was three places in I think three days, and it ended with dinner Christmas Eve,” said Helfant, the former Nike executive who soon agreed to become executive chairman and president of the men’s tennis tour.
>> Right, because nothing's happened over the past few weeks that's caused the the ATP to look inept and weak -- maybe even corrupt -- because it wouldn't open its mouth and try to defend itself.
Agassi drug confession ancient history for ATP
- DPA
"I have appointed an outside law firm to go through the records of 1997 to make sure I know all the facts," said the former shoe chief who took over the tennis body in January.
>> Guess looking into the matter himself isn't his job either.
Agassi's memoir a No. 1 best-seller
- Las Vega Review Journal
Nine days after the debut of his explosive memoir "Open," the book has claimed the top spot on the prestigious New York Times' nonfiction best-sellers list, for the week beginning Sunday, Nov. 29.
Sexiest Man Living No. 5 -- Rafael Nadal: Tennis's best asset
- Salon
But what really got us behind Tennis's Great Behind was his charming response to a jarring moment: A fan at the U.S. Open jumped onto the court and rushed him after he won his quarterfinal match.
Federer enters season finale with firm grip on No. 1
- Douglas Robson, USA Today
Suffice it to say, Nadal must win the title with a perfect 5-0 record, and Federer must go 0-3 in round-robin play or fail to advance past the semifinals after notching a 2-1 record in preliminary action. If Federer, 28, succeeds in finishing the season No. 1, he will add two more notables to his already overstuffed résumé.
Not sure if this is factored in or if it matters, but Nadal should also pick up some points at Davis Cup (75 per singles match won for the finals).
Better-looking sportsmen more likely to win
- New Scientist
However new research, along with a study conducted by New Scientist, points to another trait of the most accomplished jocks: a handsome face... Neither Park nor New Scientist argue that good looks promote good play. Rather, the same genetic variations could influence both traits.
U.S. Open star Oudin still needs work to reach next level; more mail
- Jon Wertheim, SI.com
udin had a terrific U.S. Open. That's beyond debate. She competed fiercely. She beat a host of top players. And she handled an unexpected onslaught of pressure and scrutiny with aplomb and grace. The machine, however, went into overdrive. Suddenly, she was being hailed as the savioress of American tennis, the second coming of Justine Henin. One of you suggested she be granted a wild card at the WTA year-end championship.
Breaking down the ATP finals field
- Matt Cronin, Foxsports
Andy Murray
Resurgent Insurgencies
- Peter Bodo, TennisWorld
Djokovic isn't just playing good tennis- he's on fire, having beaten pretty much everyone in the course of his recent Basel-Paris double; Murray is well-rested after a long layoff to heal his wrist, and when he returned a few weeks ago he immediately won Valencia and got a few more matches under his belt before he lost a close one in Paris to Radek Stepanek (6-4 in the third, third-round). Valencia was Murray's 6th title of the year, the most by any ATP player.
WTF is Happening
- Steve Tignor, Tennis.com
Speaking of which, how will Andy Murray hold up in front of his own countrymen? He has never seemed overly awed by the atmosphere at Wimbledon, though I did feel he was more agitated and tentative than normal by the time the semis came around this year. Of course, the WTF is not Wimbledon. Maybe the not-quite-insane level of pressure that Murray will feel next week will help him without making him tight. He’s beaten Federer and del Potro this year, and while he lost to Verdasco in Australia, I wouldn’t expect a repeat performance of that.
Pole Position
- Peter Bodo, TennisWorld
Prepare for the unpredictable in London
- Greg Garber, ESPN
Djokovic was the last man standing, but that means he'll have less gas in his tank than any of the other competitors. He has played (94) and won (76) more matches than anyone on the men's side.
The Entourage
- Bonnie D. Ford, ESPN (slideshow)
Doubles Game: Federer - My life with the twins
- Paul Newman, The Independent
It could not be finishing in more appropriate fashion. "This is an amazing trip for me," Federer says. "It only really came to my mind when I was playing in Basel. I thought to myself: 'I'm playing here at home in Basel, where I grew up, then I'm going to Paris, where I won the French Open for the first time, then I'm going to London, where I won Wimbledon.' It's really inspirational to come back to places where you have so many memories – and these three tournaments definitely have that. These are good times."
Turns out, all Andre Agassi needed was . . . love
- Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times
Andre Agassi: Telling the truth about love, tennis, drugs
- Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times blog
Before a Beverly Hills meeting with Agassi there had been a Hollywood lunch with 22-year-old Sam Querrey, who displayed the scar on his right arm, the result of a very wrong choice -- to sit on a glass table in a locker room in Bangkok while putting on his shoes. The table shattered and Querrey's arm got sliced. Badly. Querrey showed cellphone photos of the gaping wound. He also wondered what pushed Agassi to reveal his crystal meth use. "Not sure I'd do that," Querrey said.
Abanda joins the big girls
- Tom Tebbutt, The Globe and Mail
Among the former at this week’s event is No. 212-ranked Aniko Kapros of Hungary, 26, the 2000 Australian Open junior champion who was as high as No. 44 in the world in 2004.
Ace material
- The Globe and Mail
Rafael Nadal: 'For everybody there are tough moments. This year, mine came'
- The Guardian
Nadal's gaze remains steady as he recounts the source of that turmoil. "My parents' divorce made an important change in my life. It affected me. After that, when I can't play Wimbledon, it was tough. For one month I was outside the world."
Andy Roddick to miss ATP World tour finals
- Neil Harman, The Times
Andy Roddick, who departed from London in July on a wave of appreciation for the way he handled defeat in one of the most memorable Wimbledon finals in the event's history, has lost his battle to be fit to perform in the first staging of the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in the capital.
The Women, No. 1-10: Serena, the Russian, the Kids
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net
1 SERENA WILLIAMS: What an up and down year for America’s best female player since Chrissie Evert. A great Aussie Open, another odd Roland Garros loss, a spectacular Wimbledon, and a spooky USO. Serena had an off year outside of the Slams until the year-end Championships at Doha, when she all but dominated the field in her title run. Her image needs lot of polishing after her US Open implosion, but her game is about as shiny as it’s ever going to get.
The Silk Shirt
- Peter Bodo, TennisWorld
If you want to understand Federer, you really need to start with the fact that despite his resemblance to a regular if very nicely-dressed guy, he really is different; you have to throw out everything you known about other guys who have walked in similar shoes.For example, look at the contrast between the way Federer and his pal Pete Sampras drove on to greatness.
Deep Breaths
- Steve Tignor, Tennis.com
After a 43-shot rally to end the second game, both players staggered through a final set that was largely decided by breaks of serve, double faults, missed returns, and exhaustion. If they weren’t at their best physically, though, Monfils and Djokovic made up it for it emotionally. After winning a crucial point, the Frenchman would spin, grimace, beat his heart with his racquet, and demand that the Parisian fans get to their feet Driven Dent back in form
- Knoxville News Sentinel
After years of playing on the world's biggest stages, Dent now finds himself trying to work himself back to that level on the USTA circuit.
Bozoljac a Bozo only in name
- Knoxville News Sentinel
Two of his friends - girls in Germany - update his Web site daily with results from matches, injury reports, and preview stories. "They're friends of mine," he said. "They're just doing it for me. They're just amazing."
Novak Djokovic stays strong to defeat Gaël Monfils and boost his form for London
- Neil Harman, The Times
What a finish to the year the 22-year-old has engineered for himself, coming here having beaten Roger Federer in the final in Basle eight days ago, to defeat, in sequence from the quarter-finals, Robin Söderling, the Swede who may yet play a significant part in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Rafael Nadal for the loss of five games and the courageous Monfils, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6. “I was fighting against him, fighting the big pressure of the crowd, and fighting myself,” Djokovic said. “I don’t want to waste any tournament, finals are unpredictable and this was a big win for me.”
The Net Post: French could teach the LTA how to develop talent
- Neil Harman, Times Online
The All England Club and the LTA were quick off the mark in raising their objections to the recommendations of David Davies' review into events that should be protected for live broadcast on free-to-air television. Their response to the recommendation that the whole Wimbledon championships should be protected would - "severely compromise the Club’s ability to negotiate its TV rights in an open competitive market place".
Novak Djokovic unworried by Andy Murray's home advantage at London ATP Tour Final
- Mark Hodgkinson, The Telegraph
It seems as though Djokovic can poop any party at the moment. Given his form, who would be that surprised if Djokovic finishes the year by beating another local player for another indoor title?
Rafael Nadal in full battle dress was a hell of a sight and tennis fears losing its heartbeat
- The Telegraph
Djokovic digs deep to extend hot streak
- Paul Newman, The Independent
For a set and a half Djokovic was all but unstoppable and dropped just four points in his first six service games. Monfils, forced into an almost permanent rearguard action, was doing little wrong, but soon found himself a set and 3-0 down.
Djokovic Looks Like London Favorite After Gutsy Title Win Over Monfils
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net
Monfils was playing his first Masters final and acquitted himself nicely, but still needs to be a bit more creative and focused when the big points come. "I managed to fight my way back into it and I nearly made it," he said. "It's a pity, really.”
Review: 'Open: An Autobiography,' by Andre Agassi
- Joel Drucker, San Francisco Chronicle
Anyone who loathes his job will find succor in the way Agassi views his occupation. Having just told a reporter how good he feels about becoming No. 1 in the world, Agassi writes, "It's a lie. This isn't at all what I feel. It's what I want to feel. It's what I expected to feel, what I tell myself to feel. But in fact I feel nothing."
Agassi speeds through signing
- Tom Tebbutt, Globe and Mail blog
After all the hype surrounding Andre Agassi’s new book ‘Open,’ it was too tempting for me not to go have a look at his book signing at the Indigo store in Toronto last Friday evening. There was a large, overflowing turnout, with a queue of excited fans snaking around the aisles of books awaiting his arrival, most clutching copies of 'Open'. When Agassi finally made his entrance, his name was announced over the P.A. system with the same kind of hoopla as a Maple Leaf scoring a goal at the Air Canada Centre – “make some noise for A-a-a-n-n-n-dre AGASSI.”
Nestor durpasses $1 million mark with doubles win
- Tom Tebbutt, The Globe and Mail
With his share, Nestor, 37, became the first Canadian player to surpass the $1-million mark in official prize money in a single year.
Agassi hates tennis - and himself
- Montreal Gazette
But it's such a tiny part of the big picture of the man's life, it doesn't even make the top 10 of what stays with you once the final page is turned. It's a dark, sometimes cruel, biting, angry, desperate book - so at odds with the congenial, philanthropic image Agassi has so carefully crafted in retirement.
Lara-Mahesh rumours refuse to die down
- Times of India
For a few months now, rumours have been flying fast and furiously that tennis ace Mahesh Bhupati is reportedly ‘good friends’ with Bollywood beauty and ex-Miss Universe Lara Dutta. But when she was promoting her film Blue, Lara categorically said that she was single.
Wickmayer and Malisse launch legal attack on WADA
- AP
Victory at the European Commission in Brussels and the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights could force WADA to change its rules on when and where athletes can be tested out of competition. "The indispensable fight against doping is not the issue here. The problem is the lack of proportionality of certain measures," their lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Roger Federer: confessions of a tennis dad
- The Sunday Times
He begins with a story about a script he received for a commercial for Nike with Tiger Woods in 2007. “We had these different lines,” he explains,” and I was reading through it and said I’d like to take the text where it says, ‘I love winning’. And they said, ‘Well, that works perfectly because Tiger says he hates losing’. So that’s a part of it, I suppose. I feel I’m the ‘love winning’ rather than the ‘hate losing’ type”... to hate losing, to me, is a bit negative... It’s so difficult to keep winning and to keep your love for the game because of all the travelling and the sacrifices, but I just said, ‘I’m not going to let that happen to me. I’m going to take a positive approach that travelling is great and that I’m going to see different cultures and places I would never see if I wasn’t a tennis player’.["]
We're all too cross to play by the rules
- The Sunday Times
Only tennis seems to have escaped the slow, inexorable slide into shadiness, greed and deceit. But even here we find players drifting around the court on crystal meth, in wigs.
Wimbledon hero Andy Roddick relaxed in a new comfort zone
- Mark Hodgkinson, The Telegraph
Though Roddick's autumn has been complicated by a knee problem, and he missed this week's Paris Masters because of the injury, he is still hoping to return to London for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which starts in a week's time at the O2 Arena.
Greatest competitor: Andy Roddick
- The Observer
When I ask the same question – what happened out there, Andy? – nearly five months later, his answer remains the same. "I lost. That's the fact of it for me," he says, on the phone from his home in Austin, Texas. "I mean, I can look back on the process of the tournament as a whole with some satisfaction, the semi, beating Andy Murray, but the final itself is tough for me to think about."
Murray finally fit and ready for capital effort
- Paul Newman, The Independent
How does he think competing at the O2 will compare with the All England Club? "To be honest I don't think it will be the same as Wimbledon," Murray said. "It's the first time the tournament's been held in London and I guess it's tough to educate the public as to how big a deal it is.
Yanina Wickmayer Tennis Doping Press Conference
- Tennis-X
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who is present here today. It is extremely
important for me to be able to tell my story.
Kiwi anti-doping boss criticises monitoring system
- New Zealand Herald
"My sense is that most organisations are finding that there is a significant degree of athlete resistance or discontent," Steel said. "At the moment it may be applied too broadly and putting stress on athletes who have shown no sign of doping and aren't in high-risk groups."
The Women, No.’s 11-20, Bartoli, Sharapova, Clijsters & More
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net
16 YANINA WICKMAYER: Without question, the Belgian teen is the biggest surprise entrant into the top 20, but now her career has been derailed with her doping suspension. We may never see how good she can be.
Tsonga, Soderling Fall; Rafa v. Djokovic
- tennisreporters.net
Fernando Verdasco couldn’t have asked for two more competent players than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to secure him the final spot in the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nov. 22-29.
The Bercy Blow Up
- Steve Tignor, Tennis.com
There are players, like Tsonga and Monfils and Soderling, who at some point in a match will become mentally unsettled and miss a series of critical shots. Then there are players, like Murray and Verdasco and Simon and Robredo, who don’t grab a match and make it theirs. Neither group wins a lot of big tournaments. Then there’s a guy like del Potro, who’s tenacious enough to stop a bad run of errors before it hurts him, and explosive enough to grab the reins in the middle of any rally.
Requiem for a Ramblin' Man
- Peter Bodo, TennisWorld
Safin was much-loved partly because, like many other handsome, healthy, smart young men, he resisted the temptation to even try to make more of himself than he naturally desired. Has Safin ever shown even a smidgen of commitment to anything but his own desire to be true to himself - a trap into which many a potentially "good man" or woman has fallen? Safin was more bad boy than good man; being a tennis player he was able to get away with it.
ATP stars deliver maximum effort
- Tom Tebbutt, Globe and Mail blog
With all that money and each of them worn down at the end of another withering season, it would be easy for the big boys of tennis to be mailing it in during the final two weeks of the regular season before the ATP World Tour Finals begin in London in two weeks.
Agassi's book: Opening 'Open'
- Tom Tebbutt, Globe and Mail blog
It is especially good on his early life in tennis, his ill-fated relationship and marriage to Shields and his persistent and ultimately successful courtship of Graf. There are some seemingly mean-spirited asides in the book, such as the way he describes how the relatively obscure German player Bernd Karbacher is bow-legged and “his ass is chapped,” and how “I leave him standing there like a Jehovah’s Witness on my doorstep” about Boris Becker waiting at the net for a post-match handshake.
My Sportsman: Andy Roddick
- SI.com
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 1. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer.
Now this was The Greatest Match Ever: All England Club, Gentlemen's final, King Federer vs. The Everyman with the 145 mph serve.
An underachiever, but Safin will be missed
- Ravi Ubha, ESPN
Who knows what might have happened if thinker Darren Cahill guided Safin, as was the plan, instead of Agassi, early this decade. Would Cahill have changed Safin, beefed up his weakness, the forehand?
Expect these future autobiographies
- ESPN.com
Roger Federer
Need I Say More?
Page 879: ...But of the new looks, Mirka found the one that excited me most -- the tailored double-breasted suit. I had been waiting for years for the slimmer cut to become vogue. Her gift was a magnificent wide-lapelled, charcoal Canali pinstripe. Except when I tried it on, it was obvious I didn't have broad enough shoulders to create the V-shape to pull it off. I felt round and bloated like Alec Baldwin. Mirka tried to convince me I was being ridiculous and it would look great when I wore it out the following night after winning the title. I managed to keep the suit far from my thoughts for most of the match, but when I was up two sets to one against Del Potro, it crept into my head. I was just horrified at the prospect of wearing it out in public. Forehands became irrelevant to me and before I knew it, Del Potro was holding the winner's trophy.
Andy Murray happy with progress despite defeat by wily Stepanek
- Neil Harman, The Times
Wimbledon 2009 generated £29.2m profit to be invested in grass-roots tennis
- Mark Hodgkinson, The Telegraph
The figure is up £3.5 million on the year before. The Centre Court roof and increased capacity, coupled with two weeks of superb weather and Andy Murray’s run to the semi-finals, contributed to record attendances.
Andy Murray gets his priorities right with the O2 his major target
- Steve Bierley, The Guardian
"I will relax for a few days and then train hard. The centre court is not getting laid at the arena until I think Thursday or Friday, but they're putting down courts at Queen's, so I'll practise there when I'm ready. I'll spend some time in the gym and get myself in good shape and give it my best shot for one last push. That's really the goal."
Murray fails to recover but can see silver lining
- Paul Newman, The Independent
"I would have signed up for playing seven matches and winning six of them before these two tournaments," Murray said. "It was just what I needed before London. Now I'll get ten days' rest to get rid of all the niggles and stiffness. I'll be feeling good going in there. This was exactly what I needed at this stage of the season after having a break."
Ten more suspect matches - Tennis in the dock again as betting worries resurface
- Daily Mail
At least 10 matches on the men's ATP tour are being investigated by the tennis anti-corruption unit, Sportsmail can today reveal... The 10 matches under investigation, details of which Sportsmail has seen but cannot publish for legal reasons, include large amounts of money being put on weaker players or players who are in losing positions and odds on matches changing dramatically during play with no correlation to the score.
Wimbledon 2009 generated £29.2m profit to be invested in grass-roots tennis
- Mark Hodgkinson, The Telegraph
The figure is up £3.5 million on the year before. The Centre Court roof and increased capacity, coupled with two weeks of superb weather and Andy Murray’s run to the semi-finals, contributed to record attendances.
No Regrets, Agassi Wrote Tell - All For His Kids
- Reuters
Agassi, 39, said that while negative comments had gotten a lot of publicity, he had been moved by many messages of support. "I got a lot of support, and I mean immediately," he said. "I had a lot of reactions -- phone calls and e-mails and texts...saying I support you.
Battling Andy Murray refuses to follow Roger Federer’s exit route from Paris
- Neil Harman, The Times
Murray successfully negotiated his way past Blake at just gone 1.45am local time, but it was only ever going to be torture because that was the way of the morning, noon and night of a mesmeric day of combat.
Roger Federer knocked out of Paris Masters in second round by Julien Benneteau
- Mark Hodgkinson, The Telegraph
Federer has a fairly average record at this indoor tournament, as he has never gone beyond the quarter-finals, and once more he failed to get to the business end of the week, with Benneteau winning 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Roger Federer suffers shock exit in Paris but Andy Murray is through
- Stephen Bierley, The Guardian
A little earlier Rafael Nadal, the world No2, who has not won a title since the Rome Masters in May, saved five match points against fellow Spaniard Nicolás Almagro who had lost their four previous meetings without winning a set. In a match lasting more than three hours Almagro cramped in the third set, though still served for the match at 5-3 before Nadal, who admitted he was fortunate, won 6-3, 6-7, 7-5.
Fond farewell to Marat Safin steals the day in Paris
- Stephen Bierley, Guardian.co.uk
Marat Safin, the former US and Australian Open champion, brought down the curtain on his career at the relatively tender age of 29 and waved goodbye to the tennis circus with a gently emotional farewell. "Today I will put all my memories, all my wins and losses in a small box," Safin said after receiving a special trophy. "Today a door is closed, hopefully another one will open."
Murray wins late-night battle at Paris Masters
- Paul Newman, The Independent
Having started his opening match in the Paris Masters shortly before midnight here yesterday, Andy Murray appeared determined not to hang around at the Palais des Omnisports. The 22-year-old Scot, however, found himself drawn into a desperately tight three-set contest with James Blake before winning 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 to earn a place against Radek Stepanek in today’s third round. The match finished at 1.45am after two hours and 13 minutes.
Doubles pairings lead HOF ballots; more thoughts on Agassi
- Jon Wertheim, SI.com
I am, though, surprised at how many players -- Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Sergi Bruguera, Marcelo Rios -- are taking swipes. (When Safin is defending the ATP Tour, you know something's up.)
The Women, No.’s 21-30 and Other Notables
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net
23 Sabine Lisicki: If she can stay healthy, the German is a top 10 player to be. She needs to refine her game a bit, but her power is ultra impressive.
Wickmayer Will Fight Suspension
- Richard Pagliaro, Tennis Week
Wickmayer said she spent November and December of 2008 training in Switzerland, traveled to Australia in January and consequently was not at home in Belgium when certified letters containing the whereabouts information were sent to her house.
Agassi-Safin: Contradictions Part of their Appeal
- douglas Robson, SportsDish
Appreciation: Safin's career volatile, mercurial, never dull
- Douglas Robson, USA Today
Wednesday, Safin added: "I'm not writing a book, no chance. All my memories, all my secrets will stay with me."
Butch Buchholz stepping down as Sony Ericsson tourney chair
- Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald
``It's time,'' Buchholz said at his Coral Gables office on Monday. ``I don't want to be just a figurehead handing out trophies. I'm going to be 70 years old soon, and I stayed five years longer than I had planned. This just feels like the right time to move on. I feel at peace because I'm leaving the tournament in very capable hands, with [tournament director] Adam Barrett and the same staff we've had in place a long time.''
Newk serves up some love for Agassi
- Sydney Morning Herald
mong the piles of hate mail Andre Agassi might receive for revealing he took drugs and threw a match during his tennis career, at least one envelope bearing an Australian postage stamp will contain a note bearing a kinder tone.
Dellacqua considering Esperance comeback
- WA Today
Casey Dellacqua's planned comeback from injury in her home state this month is in doubt, with her participation in the ProTour event in Esperance stifled by an ankle injury.
It's loser Agassi
- Melbourne Age
Suggesting that tanking was ''almost harder than winning'', he managed on this day to do just that, losing 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. Not that us dills in the press were smart enough to pick up on what was happening, of course. Well, in Agassi's opinion, we weren't. Said the former champ of tennis writers: ''They never get it right. When I tank, they say I'm not good enough; when I'm not good enough, they say I tank.''
Bali event serves up good entertainment
- Jakarta Post
The venue of the Bali International Convention Center turned out to be an excellent one. Did fans miss sitting in an outside arena under a baking sun? Doubt it. In fact, the relatively small 1,800-capacity of the center provided an unusual intimacy between players and fans who were clearly delighted to have the opportunity to watch a world-class tournament up close (unfortunately, National Tennis Association chairman Martina Wijaya was not among the spectators).
Andre Agassi launches book release for “Open” at Wynn Las Vegas
- Las Vegas Examiner
Last night, November 9, 2009, Andre Agassi launched the release of his book Open: An Autobiography (Alfred A. Knopf; $28.95) at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. He kicked off the book release in Las Vegas vs. New York, the normal book-release launch pad, because Vegas is his hometown. “I want to introduce my book here in front of the people I love,” said Agassi. Sportswriter Rick Reilly led the tennis star through a relaxed, humorous conversation about his painful, victorious life.
Pilot Pen, Tournament To Part Ways After 2010 Event
- Hartford Courant
Wickmayer, Malisse paying stiff penalty
- Bonnie D. Ford, ESPN
There's been a fair amount of talk about how far the sport has come since the loosey-goosey '90s, when decision-makers accepted Agassi's word without so much as looking into his big brown eyes. One of the questions left hanging by his admission was how he could have used crystal meth for months on end -- he has declined to specify precisely when or how often -- but was caught only once. Agassi didn't play much that season, but he probably also benefited from the more lax testing standards of the time. Do we really want to edge back toward that era of easy excuses by administrators and athletes alike?
Andre Agassi: Andy Murray can make winning a habit
- Neil Harman, The Times
The word drogué was scrawled under Andre Agassi’s name in the walk of champions into the players’ lounge at the Palais Omnisports yesterday.
Kim Clijsters slams drug bans imposed on Xavier Malisse and Yanina Wickmay
- Telegraph.co.uk
"To receive a one-year ban because of this seems extremely harsh and is potentially career-ending for both of them," US Open champion Clijsters said on her Twitter message system. "While they may not have followed correct administration, they did not register a positive doping offence either.["]
Murray ready to test form in Paris
- Simon cambers, The Guardian
"I felt like a 50-year-old man after the match with Verdasco – I was just limping around, it's not good," he joked.
Final bow for Safin, the hot-head who smashed 700 rackets
- Paul Newman, The Independent
The fact that last night's victory was only Safin's fourth here since his 2004 victory tells you much about his career. Bedevilled by injuries, the Russian has not won a tournament since he claimed his second Grand Slam title at the 2005 Australian Open, having first announced his arrival as a player of outstanding ability with an extraordinary straight-sets victory over Pete Sampras in 98 minutes in the final of the US Open five years earlier.
Navratilova Clarifies Comments On Agassi
- Tennis Week
"I am a compassionate person," Navratilova told Maggie Rodriguez on CBS' The Early Show this morning. "I was comparing Andre to Roger Clemens only because they both lied about having taken the drugs. I was never suggesting that Andre was taking performance-enhancing drugs, and that he was trying to cheat the game that way. I was upset that he lied about the fact that he took the drugs. Whether he takes crystal meth or not, could I care less about that.
Nadal repeats plea for relief from 'whereabouts' rule
- DPA
"I am the first who wants a very clean sport, more than anyone, believe me," said the four-time French Open champion who has repeatedly said that a regulation requiring players to report their location for at least an hour per day every day of the year is well out of line.
Tennis star Gasquet appears at CAS in doping case
- AFP
The shy-looking 23-year-old declined to comment as he entered the Court of Arbitration of Sport's (CAS) headquarters in Lausanne accompanied by his agent and legal team.
'I Really Hated Tennis'
- Speigel International
SPIEGEL: Could you learn something from her [Steffi Graf]?
Agassi should return titles, prize money – Safin
- AFP
"OK, so he feels guilty? Then he should give back his titles, his money and his Grand Slams!" Safin told French sport daily L'Equipe. "If he's about fair play, he should go all the way. You know, the ATP have a bank account, he can pay them back if he wants to.
Why the animosity toward Agassi?
- Montreal Gazette
He had a positive test, and he was able to wriggle out of a suspension.
'The game held him ransom,' Cahill says of Agassi
- Douglas Robson, USA Today
"I felt that he hated it for a second when he lost a match," said the California-born Gilbert, who served as Agassi's coach, traveling companion and confidante from 1994-2002, his most tumultuous years. "A lot of players are tortured about something," Gilbert said. "Artists are like that."
Agassi learned to appreciate what tennis provided
- Douglas Robson, USA Today
If you secretly hated tennis, why did you continue to play?
Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi
- The Observer
Norman Mailer reckoned that, as big fights loomed, great boxers "begin to have inner lives like Hemingway or Dostoevsky, Tolstoy or Faulkner, Joyce or Melville". If Andre Agassi's Open is anything to go by, great tennis players begin to have minds like JR Moehringer. Um, who? He's Agassi's collaborator, the guy who turned hundreds of hours of taped conversations into plausible prose. I agree, this does come as a disappointment, even if we accept that it's as unreasonable to expect Agassi to sit down and actually write a book as it is to expect Martin Amis (to whom we shall return) suddenly to make the Wimbledon finals.
Andre Agassi: I could not hide the truth about drug taking any longer
- The Telegraph
But how did one of the greatest players in the history of women's tennis react when he told her about the crystal meth shortly after he fell in love with her in 1999? "Tears, just tears…She has great empathy for what a person has to be going through to end up making those kind of decisions."
Agassi's Book Reveals Lies He 'Can't Live With'
- AP
Asked whether he ever took performance-enhancing substances as a professional, Agassi -- who retired in 2006 -- replied, with a light chuckle, ''No. No. The answer is 'No.'''
Agassi opens up on CBS
- Tom Tebbutt, Globe and Mail blog
After all the talk flying around about Andre Agassi since the revelation last week that he took the recreational drug crystal meth for much of 1997, and then lied about it to officials when he tested positive, the essence of his highly-publicized appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday came down to the last few images of the item he did with interviewer Katie Couric.
Andre Agassi on ‘60 Minutes’
- Bill Simons, Inside Tennis
us, Steffi Graf, his wife of nine years, giggled as she revealed that Agassi said – on their first date no less – that he wanted to have children.
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