Monday, November 26
Last updated at 10:20 pm EDT
AMERICAN PRESS
Talk of Efforts to Fix Matches Rattles Pro Tennis Circuit - New York Times
Four years ago, at the urging of Antonio Martínez, his coach, Mr. Ferrero bought a 19th-century house and 120,000 square feet of land. They renovated for three years, spending seven million euros, about $11,720,000. The hotel - with a periwinkle exterior and a light-drenched, modern interior - has 12 suites, a swimming pool, a spa, two restaurants and, of course, tennis courts
On paper it looks promising -- Blake is a combined 11-1 against the Russian contingent of Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev. (He's never faced Dmitry Tursunov and has won his past two against Marat Safin, who just might figure.) But Blake, who reached last year's Masters Cup final to finish 2006 ranked fourth, clearly struggles in pressure situations.He's 1-4 in his past five meaningful Davis Cup singles tilts, and the U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam where he's reached the quarterfinals.
AUSTRALIAN PRESS
De Villiers now says that "honesty and integrity are critical in our sport". If only this was high on the agenda three years ago.Numerous ATP players have fixed or "sold" matches over the past few years - I and many others I know have no doubt about that. The evidence lies in observations of highly suspicious betting patterns, both before and during matches.
The first warning sign to the ATP that this was a not an issue that should be ignored was about four years ago when many bookmakers suddenly started changing their betting rules so that a match must be completed for bets to stand.
Tennis veteran John Alexander clashed with White City club members in an increasingly bitter row over access to the historic grass court complex at Paddington.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
In the match, because it was an exhibition, there were plenty of smiles between the two. Sampras kidded around. He scratched his behind like Nadal, asked a spectator to take his place-it was relaxed, fun-but, at the same time, serious.
"I will have wonderful memories of Kuala Lumpur as on my first visit here I produced my best form of the year," said the sixth-seeded Schuettler."It was also a little hot here (in Kuala Lumpur) but I cannot complain as I'm German. But I managed to adapt to the humidity and thanks to the organisers also for putting up stand fans in the stadium.["]
Fresh from his Malaysian Open win at the Challenger Series event in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Rainer Schuettler of Germany will start as the favourite regardless of the seedings at the ONGC $50,000 ATP Challenger tennis here.Wires
"I'm not going to be her official coach any more," he told reporters at Mission Hills, where he will open a tennis academy next year."She needs someone to travel with her and I just don't have the time to be able to do that. We'd always keep our door open and if she ever needs anything...
"Peng Shuai and I would butt heads a little bit on the time she put in to training," he added. "I think she thought that at times I was too strict and (she) ended up putting in more time than she was used to."
Pete Sampras proved his serve and volley tactics were still razor sharp when he stunned world number one Roger Federer 7-6 6-4 in an exhibition match in Macau on Saturday...."Let's not get carried away," the 36-year-old said as he dismissed talk of a comeback.
..."It's been tough beating my idol the last two times," said Federer, who is two grand slam titles from equalling Samrpas's record. "I'm happy that he got me at least once. I hope we can do it again in the future. I'd like to get him back."
AUSTRALIA'S top-ranked women's tennis player Sam Stosur says she's almost fully recovered from a nasty virus that ruined the second half of her 2007 world tour campaign.
BRITISH PRESS
The Defending Champions, Russia, against The Winningest Nation, America: as fine a dish as you could set before a political analyst, with added spice coming from a suspicion of skulduggery. Did the Russians really poison plucky (West) German Tommy Haas so they might triumph in their semi-final? And, if so, might they try to pull a similar stunt in Portland?Plenty there for the colour boys and conspiracy theorists. And all present and correct on Friday, but, although the back-story is as above, history has changed. The most highly charged and politically fraught contest in sport has been neutered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. The days of the Bobby Fischer v Boris Spassky, Olympic confrontations and Rocky Balboa v Captain Ivan Drago are long gone. That's the problem with making friends with people, it's not so much fun beating them at sport.
The failure of the event to ring out around the world - did you even know it was happening? - is partly due to the individualistic nature of tennis. 'Boris Becker is not associated with Germany, but is known just as Boris Becker,' says Simon Anholt, creator of the Nation Brands Index and authority on how countries are perceived and how they can alter that perception. 'Roger Federer is not associated with Switzerland, but is known just as Roger Federer. No country is associated with tennis apart, perhaps, from Croatia, which is the only thing anyone knows about them, other than vague associations with ethnic cleansing.'
We were talking before Wednesday night's Euro 2008 qualifying game at Wembley. 'Tennis is not one of those national war substitutes like soccer.'
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