Tuesday, November 27
Last updated at 12:55 am EDT
AMERICAN PRESS
Patrick McEnroe quietly becomes renaissance man - Douglas Robson, USA Today
But Davis Cup is hardly McEnroe's only toehold in the sport. If top-ranked Swiss Roger Federer is Mr. Versatility on the court, McEnroe is an all-around virtuoso off it. Few wear as many hats as the native New Yorker, whose roles beyond Davis Cup include ESPN tennis commentator, occasional radio and TV talk show host, husband, father and, ultimately, tennis renaissance man. "Patrick McEnroe has had success in more corners of the tennis world than almost anyone," says Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of professional tennis for the U.S. Tennis Association. "He can work the boardroom as well as the locker room."...Stanford coach Dick Gould remembers him as a good student of the game "who developed his own style and didn't try to mimic John," who was a creative, net-charging southpaw. "The team really looked to him," says Gould, who retired in 2004 with 17 NCAA titles. "Guys respected what he said. He's one of those kids that comes along once in a while who you want to take home to your daughter."
"I guess he didn't know me very well," McEnroe says when told what Gould said. That is representative of the innate, self-deprecating, quick wit McEnroe uses in front of the camera and behind the scenes. McEnroe showed it in 1991 when he surprisingly reached the Australian Open semifinals with Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl and told a room packed with reporters, "It's just like you all expected — Becker, Edberg, Lendl and McEnroe."
...His surname brought moments of discomfort, too, when he joined the tour and received wild cards and hordes of media attention at small-time events. McEnroe used the fame as a building block instead of a crutch. "It helped me professionally as far as my TV career and with Davis Cup," says McEnroe, whose work includes stints on programs such as ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and First Take. "I was on the radar because of my name. I think because of my work and work ethic I showed that I was deserving of those opportunities and made the best of them."
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
It is worth noting that the men's game has, in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, probably the most respected and personable world Nos. 1 and 2 combination in history.On an American tennis website last week, Patrick McEnroe had kind words for Federer the man. "I was going down to interview him (for ESPN) after he won Cincinnati this summer, which was his 50th career title. And he said, 'you know I ball-boyed for you once.' Roger Federer says this to me! That sort of tells you about what kind of guy he is."
Before he did an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais two weeks ago during the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Nadal was kicking around a soccer ball with Federer after Federer had won his semi-final. The interviewer wrote, " 'You're better than Maradona,' Federer said to Nadal. Then the world No. 2 said hello to his Chinese driver, calling him by his name, and gave us an interview."
Ranked No 1 in 1999, he reached three junior Grand Slam finals and captured the Australian Open crown. But once he graduated to the men’s tour the storyline changed. Injuries were a major reason for the way things unfolded and even today, as the third seed at the Challenger event in the Capital, Pless withdrew midway from his first round match against German Dieter Kindlmann after aggravating his ankle injury.“It is very tough going from the junior to the senior tour. It’s a completely different world and extremely competitive. I worked really hard to become the top player in my country and in the world. I spent most of my time practising at the Saddlebrook Academy in Tampa and in Dubai. But injuries came in my way. I know even India has a lot of good junior players, and I can just tell them to keep trying, and it is very important to stay healthy,” he said.
But success has as much to do with mental strength as physical well-being, he added. “I didn’t really have the heart for some time, when things were not going my way. That is a significant factor,” he admitted with a wry smile.
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The brothers campaigned openly to convince McEnroe that their worth as a doubles team outweighed the risk of not having a third pure singles player as a sub in case of injury. He finally rolled the dice and sent them out against Slovakia after the twins reached No. 1 in the world."They're all pumped up, they do their warm-up, and they come over and they're getting their towels and I said, 'OK guys, let's go, good luck, blah blah blah, let's do it,' whatever," McEnroe said. "And they turned and looked at me and said, 'We've been waiting 25 years for this moment.'"
...This captain knows a little bit about what it's like to follow a hard act to follow, and he may have been the perfect person to help fuse a bunch of players who have had to toil for respect. McEnroe found a way to reconcile the burden and the privilege of his name and maximized his talent. Roddick has remained motivated to improve in the Age of Federer, when chances at major titles have shrunk considerably for everyone. The Bryans have fought to keep their specialty commercially viable.
...But Roddick insists that he gets all the satisfaction he needs from the stands and the bench. "I could care less if one story gets written if we win this Davis Cup," he said fiercely. "I don't care. I'm out there because we've had a common goal. It's been there since I was 9 years old. I've been obsessed with this thing, and I want to win it for these guys, I want to share that moment with these guys."
If for any reason either Roddick or Blake is unable to play singles, there is really no back-up because the Bryans are doubles specialists and not up to snuff in singles.
GET TO BLAKE: Blake is shaky right now. Since his loss to Haas at the US Open, his game has been in a tailspin. Blake's confidence has taken a beating and his backhand has reverted back to pre-2006 levels. Add to that his Davis Cup record (factor out the dead rubbers, and Blake has won less than half his singles matches), you've got a soft spot that Russia could exploit.RUSSIAN B TEAM STEPS UP: Both Tursunov and Youzhny have had some good results this fall. Tursunov has also had decent success against Roddick. No matter when and where these Russian B-teamers are played by Tarpischev, a Russian victory will likely mean these two have to come up big.
RODDICK'S BAD BACK: This injury is out of the control of the Russian team, but a potential problem for the Americans nonetheless. Roddick exited the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai with some back stiffness. The No. 5 dismissed it as nothing, but back injuries have a way of hanging around. A tough, long match could exacerbate the stiffness. That could mean trouble if the matches have meaning on Sunday.
Some fans (including this writer) who took videos at the U.S. Open and then uploaded them on sites such as Youtube find out the hard way that they’ve violated the terms of their agreement with the USTA. One day, an unexpected surprise awaits them in their inbox. They receive an email from Youtube informing them that their video has been deleted due to copyright infringement. They may be liable. And if they wanted to fight the removal of their video, they might want to seek the counsel of an attorney...."We are in the process now of reviewing what our relationship with Youtube should be moving forward," Widmaier explained. "How to best service the fans who are excited and full of enthusiasm and want to share what they have seen with others around the world, and balancing that with the current rights as they are prescribed in our contracts with our major broadcasters."
Here’s a look at our picks for the top comebacks of the season:6. Radek Stepanek - The most festive worm who doesn’t reside at the bottom of a bottle of Cuervo, he survived a career-threatening back injury that sidelined him for the final four months of the 2006 season as well as a failed engagement to Hingis, and restored his own brand of celebratory funk-factor to the tour with the distinctive worm dance he unveiled after defeating James Blake to win the L.A. title. The dance, remarked one fellow pro, looked like Steve Martin’s wild and crazy guy SNL character performing the limbo while suffering from full-body cramps. Stepanek engaged Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set duel that was arguably the best match of the 2007 U.S. Open then, playing his first Davis Cup match in three years, scored a straight-sets win over Stanislas Wawrinka to clinch the Czech Republic’s 3-2 World Group Playoff victoryover a Swiss-squad led by Federer.
7. Fabrice Santoro - Perhaps the most entertaining player not ranked in the top 20, the spin doctor’s slick racquet work, tantalizing two-handed strokes, mesmerizing mastery of angles and trick shot artistry bamboozled opponents, bewildered traditionalists and bedazzled many fans. Conceding he was contemplating retirement at one point earlier this season, Santoro revived his singles career in beating Nicolas Mahut to win his first title in five years at Newport.
8. Pete Sampras- The 14-time Grand Slam king made his senior circuit debut a success in going undefeated on the Outback Tour Of champions and showed there’s still sting in his serve-and-volley game when he surprised Federer in the final exhibition match of their three-match Asian series. The pair plan to play another exo in New Yokr’s Madison Square Garden on March 10. Powered by WordPress
A new way to measure sports success: Get your name on a building.
Roger Federer, the Association of Tennis Professionals world number-one tennis player and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, took a break from his whirlwind schedule of tournaments, grand slams and public appearances to record a video message raising awareness about HIV and AIDS.Wires
AUSTRALIAN PRESS
AS THE annual Australian Open wildcard play-off is open only to Australians, and considering that the preliminary entry list for this year's event contains the name Andrew Thomas, it appears that the defection to Cyprus of the young Sydney-based star is unlikely to eventuate... Having been offered, and declined, an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship worth about $125,000 annually, Thomas reportedly had asked instead for cash to run his own program. That is no longer the way things are done at Tennis Australia and so the teenager's intention to defect was revealed.Yet, although he represented Cyprus in the junior event at Flushing Meadows, Thomas has continued to be listed as an Australian on the International Tennis Federation junior website.
Thomas this week is to contest a Challenger event in Brisbane, is expected to accept an AIS Pro Tour scholarship next year and is among the first 14 entries listed for the wildcard play-off scheduled for December 15-21 at Melbourne Park. "He is Australian, he's still playing with 'Australia' behind his name and he hasn't given us any indication that he's not going to compete for Australia," said Tennis Australia's director of player development, Craig Tiley. "He did entertain some other options at the US Open. I don't know if he's had a change or heart or not … but I have spoken to him, and I have spoken
BRITISH PRESS
Tennis champ Serena Williams obviously didn't plan on being caught by the snapper's lens, or she probably wouldn't have chosen to be photographed while wearing a ropey old laddered pair of tights... The 26-year-old reigning Australian Open champ was seen returning from a night out with rumoured new beau, rapper Common, to her swanky St. Martin's Lane hotel, in London's West End.
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