Friday, December 28
Last updated at 2:10 am EDT
AUSTRALIAN PRESS
Luczak ignores curse of Hopman Cup - Melbourne Age
MANY bad ideas are the fault of beer. A few good ones, too. Three touring professionals were involved in the rapid downsizing of a six-pack in Paul McNamee's Melbourne apartment in 1984 when one decided to bounce a suggestion off his pals for life after tennis. Charlie Fancutt, who had his 15 minutes of fame when he eliminated Ivan Lendl from Wimbledon in the first round in 1981, noted there was no mixed teams tournament in the world and felt an opportunity existed to organise and promote one. "I'll give it a go when I retire," said McNamee. "I'll play in it," said the younger Pat Cash...."I put in some of my own money to get things going but it was only when we said we were going to get Steffi Graf that people started to get interested," recalled McNamee. "We sold the TV rights on condition Steffi played and Swan Brewery came in as sponsor on condition we got Steffi and TV.
"Pat Cash was the first player to commit and we then went to Steffi and basically asked her: 'What's it going to take to get you to the Hopman Cup?' Remember, this was the year she won the grand slam so she wasn't cheap
...But getting her and Cash got us rolling, and we were able to sell the tournament to players as excellent preparation for the Australian Open."
...A drawback was its exhibition status. McNamee realised it could disappear without a trace at the whim of a sponsor unless it got official sanction, and began the process of incorporating it into the International Tennis Federation. This was achieved in 2003. "I flew to Barcelona to make a 15-minute pitch to the ITF and then flew straight home," recalled McNamee. "The vote was close, but we got the result we wanted." The ITF took over with McNamee retained as tournament director, responsible for inviting players.
But did Philippoussis really want it? Did he really, really want tennis glory? In an interview several years ago, when quizzed on his grand slam ambitions, he answered: "A grand slam title will make my life a little better but I'm happy".And why wouldn't he be? Fancy parties are more fun than hanging out at tennis courts for hours, aren't they? Mixing with models, pop stars and party girls is far more fun than hanging out with your dad. As he said a few years ago: "If anyone had the opportunities that I had, they would have done exactly the same thing - the cars, the partying."
LLEYTON HEWITT feels there is not a lot of difference between the new Plexicushion surface in place for the Australian summer of tennis and its controversial predecessor, Rebound Ace. But the world No21 has said the change in surface will reduce the problems caused by courts at different venues offering varying speed and bounce and could provide a shot in the arm for Australian tennis in the future.Speaking at the launch of the surface at Memorial Drive, where the Adelaide International event will be held next week for the final time, Hewitt described the bright blue court as a "neutral surface" that was unlikely to favour any particular player. "I think the biggest thing is all the courts are going to be a lot more consistent, especially compared with Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne," Hewitt said.
"In the past, you (went) from one court to another on Rebound and it was playing totally different, and a lot changed in different conditions.
"Right at the moment, in terms of what I've practised on, I've practised on Rod Laver Arena a couple of times, I practised one day with the roof open and the next day with the roof closed, and it played exactly the same. I think that's a good sign."
"Evonne is a great person - we played doubles together and she's stayed in my home - so whatever comes her way, she thoroughly deserves," Court said in Perth yesterday....Goolagong-Cawley is now recognised as the second women's world No1 in history behind Evert and is the only Australian among the 16 women who have held the official top spot since November, 1975.
...But in a dozen meetings, Goolagong-Cawley only beat Court twice - both at Wimbledon in the 1971 final and 1975 semi-finals. "I was three months' pregnant with (first child) Daniel," recalled Court yesterday of the 1971 All England Club 6-4 6-1 result. "I wondered why I felt off with my game because I had never lost to Evonne up until then.
"If I am given a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw it would be great," Dokic said of the handful of discretionary wildcards left. "If I am given a wildcard into Australian Open qualifying it would be great, too."I need the matches. That is the important thing and I know I have a long way to go."
...Johnson, who has also worked with Roger Federer's partner Mirka Vavrinec, has no doubt Dokic can rebound. "I am a little bit surprised at Jelena's on-court intensity," Johnson said. "The way she is hitting the ball off the ground, forehand and backhand, she has still got the power."
"There is no doubt she can get back in the top 100."
BRITISH PRESS
Agassi, who had announced that he would retire after the tournament, was given an eight-minute standing ovation at the end of the match. When I mention this moment, he laughs. How could anything that followed measure up to those eight minutes, I ask. “The motivation was never to ... win,” he says. “The motivation was this process that I really connected to, and that’s why that eight minutes that you’re talking about meant so much to me, because it was a by-product of everything I’ve cared about from my career, which were these connections. If I could go back in time and ... win that tournament, I wouldn’t do it, because that would interfere with what I care for most, which was that eight minutes.”He takes a long swig of water. Retirement from tennis must have left a gap in his life, I say. “No,” he insists. “I tell you the area where I have struggled the most: not being able to look at my year and understand it in full context of how this year is going to play out. I used to know where I was going to be 10 years in advance. Now I don’t know where I’m going to be in two weeks. And I’m used to that mindset. So that I miss.”
I pour myself tea. People from the next room are milling in the doorway to hear Agassi speak. “Don’t misunderstand what tennis came with,” he continues. “Tennis came with a lot of drama. It came with a lot of things you don’t necessarily regard as positive.” Such as? “Physical pain ... You know what’s worse than always having to train to be ready for something? It’s having to rest to be ready for something. Having to sit there while your kids want to go play. I thought I was a moody person until I retired and then I realised that tennis had made me like that.”
...If not for the injuries, would Agassi still have a shot at it today? He doesn’t hesitate. “No.” Roger Federer is better, he says. “I think he’s the best we’ve ever seen.”
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Anna scarcely feels fingers of the left hand, Sovetsky Sport reported with reference to Shamil Tarpischev, captain of Russia’s tennis squad. Tarpischev said he drove Chakvetadze to the Chinese doctor for acupuncture. Although Anna hasn’t recovered from injury, she is training already. She will be OK soon, the coach hoped.
Titles at Chennai and Delray Beach were followed by a six-month lay-off due to a wrist injury, a period that saw his ranking plummet (he’s ranked 112).“I was out for six months, but I’m in good rhythm now.
“The time I spent at the Nick Bollettieri academy helped me a lot. I think I have a good chance to defend my title,” said the Belgian.
What made him want to return? “The food and the people,” he said, adding that being the defending champion didn’t put him under extra pressure.
A few days ago, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapur and tennis player Sania Mirza were seen together at Bangalore’s Windsor Sheraton. Reportedly, the hotel bellboy leaked out news of the two spending time with each other in Shahid’s room.Looks like Shahid Kapur and tennis player Sania Mirza are getting closer. The two of them are spending more quality time with each other. On Monday evening, Shahid and Sania were spotted having dinner at a suburban five-star hotel. They spent nearly two hours with each other.
Wires
"I thought it was going to be faster but it seems to be a lot slower," Jelena Jankovic, who is representing Serbia with Djokovic in the eight-nation mixed-team event, said. "It seems quite (a lot) slower than the Rebound Ace that I played on last year in Sydney and Melbourne. The balls get really fluffy. Here it's indoors, so maybe it's a bit of a different story. I don't know how it will play outside." ...American Mardy Fish was even more forthright."I am not a huge fan of it to be honest," he said. "It's a little bit slow for me. The balls get really fluffy and it plays extremely slow. I am not a big fan."
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