Friday, December 7
Last updated at 12:05 am EDT
AUSTRALIAN PRESS
Rising stars must bide their time with ageing Scud still on the scene - The Australian
Klein turns 19 next month and Philippoussis turned 31 last month. Klein is just embarking on his career, while the other has possibly only a couple of years left in him.So here's a question for you. Is it better for the future of Australian tennis for Klein (or another up-and-coming Australian) to gain the wild-card, or Philippoussis?
Hopefully they will both play in their home Grand Slam alongside Hewitt, Peter Luczak and Chris Guccione, who all have direct entry being ranked in the top 100. There are five Australians in the top 20 of the world Junior Boys rankings - Klein (9), John-Patrick Smith (11), Stephen Donald (15), Greg Jones (16) and Bernard Tomic (20).
AMERICAN PRESS
"I swear, I felt like he knew more about me than I knew about him," Isner said by phone this week. Add Sir Elton John to the growing number of fans who have been keeping an eye on Isner since the Greensboro native burst onto the pro tennis scene this year....Because of his triple-digit world ranking, this is where Isner has had to toil these past few months, even though his Q rating no longer matches his humble surroundings. "I was used to playing in front of big stadium crowds," he said. "Then you go and play these tournaments, where, if you're lucky, you'll get 500 to 600 people out to watch. It was definitely a change of scenery."
...Regardless of whether he makes the singles draw, Isner is certain he'll be playing doubles Down Under. His combined ranking with his partner, No. 22 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, is low enough to assure them a spot in the main draw.
That means tennis fans in Melbourne will be treated to the sight of Isner and Karlovic, at 6-foot-10 the only player on the tour taller than Isner, towering over the net together.
BRITISH PRESS
"The thing that worries me is that mafia types, like the Russian mafia, could be involved. That's potentially pretty dark and scary," the New Yorker told The Daily Telegraph."I think that's the side that people aren't really looking at with these match-fixing stories. Someone may have threatened the players, and they are put in a situation. I'm guessing that could happen. That would make more sense to me than top players throwing a match for money.
...The gambling world frightens McEnroe. "I think gambling is a big problem and not just for the tennis players. It's a problem for society in general. I just picture these people somewhere in Las Vegas, or wherever they are, shouting to their kids that they will be right back, 'I'm just going to win my week's salary back', and then losing everything. There are people losing everything. It's an addiction, and there are other people encouraging it," McEnroe said.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
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Marin Cilic, Croatia
He moved up 102 spots in the rankings (from 173rd to 71st) in 2007. Is he going to win a Slam in 2008? Not likely; then again, the 6-foot-5 Croatian won't turn 20 until after next year's U.S. Open. He has all the tools to crack the top 30 next year and could be winning Slams by 2010. -- Greg GarberTamira Paszek, Austria
Paszek, who turned 17 in December, reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open courtesy of some mature shot-making, including a lethal, precise backhand seldom seen from teenagers. The youngest player ranked in the top 50 is bright and assertive, a modern tennis citizen with family roots on four continents. -- Bonnie D. Ford
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