RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A LURKER

Roger Federer wins 5th Dubai title

2012-03-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Roger Federer edged Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4 Saturday to win his fifth Dubai Championships title.

The second-seeded Federer didn't drop a set all week and kept Murray off balance much of the match. The win was Federer's fifth title in seven tournaments and his 72nd overall.

"This is perfect. This is great. Any title is a good one, I'll tell you that," Federer said. "I have a losing record against Murray."

The 16-time Grand Slam champion improved to 7-8 against Murray, outplaying the 24-year-old from Scotland with a mix of powerful groundstrokes, drop shots and the occasional serve-and-volley.

Murray, who was coming off a semifinal win against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, struggled with his backhand and serve. He won 85 percent of his first service points against Djokovic, but only 48 percent against Federer.

"For sure I made a few too many mistakes in the second, and he was playing a lot more aggressive than in the first set," Murray said. "Sets can come down to just a couple points. You get a lucky shot here or one great shot and you can break the set wide open."

Federer saved two break points when down 3-2 in the first set at the Aviation Club. He saved the first when Murray hit a forehand long and won the second with a backhand volley.

Federer broke Murray to go up 6-5 and took the first set when Murray hit a forehand wide.

The two players traded breaks early in the second set before Federer broke decisively to make it 5-4. Murray saved one match point before the Swiss star hit a forehand winner into the corner.

"The match was close, I think in both sets, I just gave myself more opportunities than Andy did overall," said Federer, who used the fast surface to his advantage.

Murray insisted his win over Djokovic was not on his mind when he took the court against Federer.

"It was a good win yesterday, good win the day before, tough match today," Murray said. "So I'm just happy with the week, because at this stage last year I was in a very different position, different frame of mind."

Despite losing, Murray said his performance this week will help him at upcoming tournaments in the United States.

"I was happy I managed to adjust to the court," Murray said. "The conditions over in Indian Wells (and) Miami are going to be very, very different to here. Much slower court, which hopefully will suit my game a little bit better."

The 30-year-old Federer heads to New York, where he will play an exhibition match Monday at Madison Square Garden against Andy Roddick.

"There is no substitute to confidence," Federer said. "I've played great."

ESPNgo.com

72 titles and counting!. All that hard work is paying off this year it seems.

Martina Hingis to take part in Family Circle Cup event

2012-03-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

Legends to join Family Circle Cup event “40LOVE” – Tennis News

Some of the biggest names of women’s tennis, which include Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King will take part in the event “40LOVE” being held on the occasion of 40^th Birthday of the Family Circle Cup.

Tracy Austin and Martina Hingis will join Evert and Navratilova for an exhibition match at the Family Circle stadium on 7^th April.

King and Virginia Wade will take up the role of honorary coaches. From the men’s side, Jimmy Connors and Aaron Krickstein will feature at the event.

Family Circle Cup was first held in 1973. It is one of the oldest tournaments in women’s tennis. Rosemary Casals, who won the inaugural event, will be joining the evening.

The event that is being called "40LOVE: A Night of Empowerment Celebrating 40 Years of the Family Circle Cup” will give tribute to the nine players who laid the foundation of the women’s professional tennis.

Those nine players, who are known as The Original 9, include Billie Jean King, Judy Dalton, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Rosie Casals and Julie Heldman.

Family Circle Cup’s tournament director Bob Moran said, "This commemoration is designed to celebrate our 40th year in professional tennis and honor the incredible women who made it all possible with their courage and steadfast determination for equality.”

He added, "The Original 9 served as a catalyst for change in not only women's tennis, but helped shift our country's attitude toward equality as a whole. I truly believe that this is an evening that should be experienced by every generation from daughter to grandmother."

Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina, will also attend the event.

Family Circle Cup, which is one of the 12 Premier-level tournaments on the WTA Tour, will be held from 31^st March to 8^th April at the Daniel Island in Charleston, USA.

Some of the top current players including Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Samantha Stosur have already confirmed their participation in this year’s tournament.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Russian Elena Vesnina in the final to capture the title at the last edition of the event in 2011.

blogs.bettor.com

DWTS 14 new cast revealed

2012-02-28T19:52:00.002-05:00

Donald Driver and Martina Navratilova will represent athletes who dare to dance publicly on this season’s edition of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Navratilova, the winner of 18 Grand Slam tennis singles titles and an athletic marvel still at 55, is listed as a 20-1 shot to win the competition by Bovada.LV, the offshore sportsbook.

Driver, the Green Bay Packers’ affable wide receiver, joins a long line of football-playing dancer-wannabes, like Hines Ward, Chad Ochocinco, Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Kurt Warner, Jason Taylor and Emmitt Smith. Driver is listed as a 13-2 shot to win, but his quarterback thinks he’s a lock to make the finals.

The rest of the cast? It consists of soap star Jack Wagner, actress Melissa Gilbert, telenovela star William Levy (”the Brad Pitt of Mexico”), “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd, opera star Katherine Jenkins, pop singer Gavin DeGraw, hip-hop producer Roshon Fegan, “Extra” co-host and New England Patriots fan Maria Menounos, actor Jaleel White, and singer Gladys Knight.

washingtonpost.com

Gavin Degraw: Platinum-selling recording artist. Pro partner is Karina Smirnoff.

Donald Driver: Super Bowl champion and Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver. Pro partner is Petra Nemcova.

Roshon Fegan: Disney star of Shake It Up. Pro partner is Chelsie Hightower.

Melissa Gilbert: Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Pro partner is Maxim Chmerkovskiy.

Katherine Jenkins: Opera superstar who has sold 4 million records. Pro partner is Mark Ballas.

Gladys Knight: Empress of soul and 8-time Emmy winner. Pro partner is Tristan MacManus.

William Levy: Telenova superstar and dancer from Jennifer Lopez video. Pro partner is Cheryl Burke.

Maria Menounos: Teen beauty queen and TV host. Pro partner is Derek Hough.

Martina Navratilova: Tennis superstar and winner of 50 Grand Slam championships. Pro partner is Tony Dovolani.

Sherri Shepherd: Newlywed and host of The View. Pro artner is Val Chmerkovskiy.

Jack Wagner: Top 40 singer and actor from General Hospital and Melrose Place. Pro partner is Anna Trebunskaya.

Jaleel White: Best known as Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Pro partner is Kim Johnson

Most interesting Martina Navratilova (who wants to bet the only reason she got Tony as a partner is because he's taller then the rest).

Sherri Shepherd I was wondering it they (ABC) would ever talk her into it, given how much she always talks about DWTS on The View.

Jaleel White (there's a blast from the past), it'll be interesting to see if Urkel can dance.

Song of the Moment: Ingrid Michaelson-The Chain

2012-02-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

Caroline Wozniacki lashes out at Hingis & Navratilova

2012-02-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

Caroline Wozniacki may have lost her no. 1 ranking but the Dane has not lost her sharp tongue as she lashed out at former world no.1s Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis for saying she did not deserve to be ranked no. 1 since she had not won a Slam.

"I would never say Martina was No. 1 when there was no-one playing, or that she was the best when no-one was playing. That would be disrespectful," Wozniacki said in Dubai where she is playing this week's Premier WTA event.

"I think I have to be honest, lost a little bit of respect. Because I respect what they have achieved. "She (Navratilova) won so many Grand Slams, her touch was unbelievable. Martina Hingis was unbelievable as well—for me my favorite player. But I think they should respect players that are playing now as well. Because they know how hard it is. You don't just wake up and say okay I want to win this tournament, and it just happens like this...They always have to make comments, and that's what they get paid for—to be comments, because they are not playing any more. And they need to stir everything up."

tennisworldusa.org

Oh, Snap!. Although I can't recall Martina Hingis actually making any comments about Caroline not deserving her ranking, only Navratilova was making that perfectly clear.

Roger Federer Rotterdam title winner

2012-02-18T15:16:00.000-05:00

Photo: Henk Koster

Top seed Roger Federer lifted his first trophy of the season in Rotterdam Sunday, defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-4 in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournamentfinal. "In the first set, I was rock solid. I played great from start to finish," said Federer. "In the second set, it got tighter. I'm happy I was able to sneak it out."

Federer raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first set, converting both of his break point opportunities against the Argentine. After del Potro held to get on the scoreboard, Federer served out the 34-minute set.

Del Potro settled into the match in the second set, but was broken in the fifth game by the World No. 3. Federer was pressed on his serve by the 10th-ranked del Potro, but saved all seven break points he faced throughout the match to beat the former US Open champion for the ninth time in 11 FedEx ATP Head 2 Head meetings, claiming victory in one hour and 26 minutes. "He couldn't pull the trigger the way he wanted to," assessed Federer. "Just like yesterday, I had a good mindset. I really believed I was going to make it difficult for him, especially on the break points. I know the second set could have been a whole lot different."

With the win, the Swiss extended his streak of winning at least one ATP World Tour title each season to 12 years in a row. He has triumphed at the last five indoor-hard court events he has entered, dating back to the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, winning 24 consecutive matches in those tournaments. His last loss on the surface came at the hands ofGael Monfils in the BNP Paribas Masters semi-finals two years ago. "It's nice to pick up the momentum after the indoor season I had last year," Federer said.

"And then coming back here after seven years and going through this whole buzz in Rotterdam has been amazing, having a standing ovation every time I walked on and off the court. I think it was a great tournament all-around. I really enjoyed myself here and saved my best for last. That match with Davydenko was gigantic looking back now. I knew I had a chance if I got through that one. It all came together perfectly. I'll enjoy this tonight with my friends and family who are here."

The 23-year-old del Potro was bidding to win the ATP World Tour 500 event on his event debut. Federer improves to a 71-30 final record, while del Potro drops to 9-5 in title matches. "He played much better than me today," said del Potro. "I didn't take the break points when I had them. It's really difficult to beat Federer if you have the chances and don't take them. He was more confident and concentrated than me in the important moments and I think that was the key."

Following the trophy ceremony, Federer completed a press conference and six TV interviews in three different languages.

atpworldtour.com

The mind of tennis fan

2012-02-17T00:29:00.000-05:00

There’s always a point of no return.

For Brad, it was seeing Steffi Graf’s ponytail fly up and hit her in the face when she hit her forehand in a 1990 match against Jennifer Capriati. For Chris, it was watching a teenage Andy Murray at the 2005 Wimbledon stand up to then 14t^h seed Radek Stepanek by mocking his lucky net-cord kiss. For Kelly Padgett, it was stumbling upon one of Andrea Petkovic’s infamous videos on youtube, and laughing as Petkovic pretended to pay Novak Djokovic for an interview.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the psyche of tennis fans lately. What is about this sport and the people that play it that makes us rearrange our schedules, worry for days on end, and get up at all hours of the night to watch a fuzzy yellow ball be hit back and forth from one side of the court to the other? Why do we care so much? Why does it matter?

To try and make sense of it all, I asked for volunteers to answer some questions for me about their experience being a tennis fan. Overall, I received thirty-one completed “fandom surveys” from fans of twenty-one different players. I laughed and cried as I scoured through them for days, re-reading the candid stories and over-analyzing the similarities and differences between them. I was overwhelmed by the honesty and poignancy. At the end of the day, I’m not sure if I solved any great mysteries, but I did come away with a deeper understanding of the power of our sport.

THE LOYAL

Melissa has been a Xavier Malisse fan since 1998- fourteen long years of ups and downs. “I just started following him, and never stopped,” she said. “Once I start following a player, I support him through good and bad times, even if that is sometimes hard. I don’t abandon a player because of negative results.”

Ruby, a Marcel Granollers fan, feels the same way. “Pathetically enough,” she told me, “I almost see it as my ‘job’ to stick by him.”

Melissa and Ruby are far from the only loyal tennis fans out there. Thirty of the fans I surveyed said that there was nothing they could imagine (besides a flippant mention of manslaughter) that would make them stop being a fan of their favorite player. Y. Jones, a Kei Nishikori fan, was the lone exception. She told me that she’d have to re-think her commitment to Nishikori if he ever got his ear pierced. “I just cannot stand a male figure wearing (an earring) in general,” she confessed.

Of course, a loyal tennis fan usually endures more lows than highs. Linda started following Flavia Pennetta in 2006, and became a die-hard fan when she saw an injured Pennetta enthusiastically cheering on her teammates in the Fed Cup Final that year. She couldn’t have picked a worst time to start being a fan. Between “the wrist injury, the struggle to come back, the breakup with Carlos Moya, and the struggle to recover from that,” Linda describes the events of 2006-2007 as “twelve months of horror” for Pennetta. But Linda stuck by the fiery Italian, and her loyalty paid off. She got to experience the joys of Pennetta’s two wins over Venus Williams, and her incredible run in the summer of 2009 when Pennetta won Palmero and L.A. back to back and became the first Italian woman to enter the Top-10. Linda describes the entire summer as “magical”.

As an Andy Murray fan, Hannah has been on a roller-coaster ride, but it’s how Murray has reacted during the low points that has secured her as a fan for life. She started following him during the 2010 Hopman Cup, but after his 2010 Australian Open Final loss to Roger Federer, there was no looking back. It wasn’t necessarily his play on-the-court that she admired, but rather his heartfelt display on the podium afterwards that made an impression. “Oh that speech.”

Similarly, Hannah was deeply impacted by how Murray acted after withdrawing from the World Tour Finals in London last November. “I was waiting for him (after his press conference announcing his withdrawal), just wanting to wish him luck for the next season and a fast recovery from that groin injury. As he walked out the venue, he was clearly very disappointed with not being able to play. However, he was still kind enough to give fans his autographs and thank everyone there for waiting and cheering him on.”

“His decentness as a guy is just admirable,” she concludes.
Curtis, an Ana Ivanovic fan, can relate. He recalls being “on cloud nine for an entire month” after (Ivanovic’s) 2008 French Open win, and has stuck by her through all the tough times since. “I have always considered myself a bigger fan of Ana Ivanovic the person, than Ana Ivanovic the tennis player,” he said. “While her results on court have changed over the years, she hasn’t changed as a person, which I really admire. She never let her fame or her struggles change the person who she was. That’s not easy to do. That’s why I keep coming back.”

In order to “keep coming back”, even in the rough times, most tennis fans maintain a delicate balance between their hopes and expectations. Charlotte, an Andy Roddick fan since 2003, realistically expects him to just win a few more minor tournaments, but deep down lets herself hope that he will “win many slams and beat Roger Federer as many times as he damn well likes.” Linda says that she’s learned the hard way to “never really have high expectations for (her) favorite players. The lower your expectations, the smaller you chance is of being disappointed!”

THE SPOILED

There are rare occasions when hopes and expectations merge together. For fans of players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, this happens more often then not.
Freelance sportswriter Matt Zemek became a Federer fan in 2004. “(Federer) played a brand of tennis that was more eye-pleasing and stylish than anything I had seen before.” He vividly recalled the first breakthrough moment he witnessed as a fan, Federer’s 2004 U.S. Open Quarterfinal against Andre Agassi.

“When Agassi forced a fifth set in very windy conditions on that Thursday afternoon – the second day of the match – the American had the advantage. Federer somehow found a way to turn the tide in the fifth set and play particularly focused tennis. When he won, he let out a particularly primal roar and tore at his shirt. (He’s not Djokovic, so he didn’t succeed in tearing the shirt!) Federer seemed to know right then that he had conquered New York and all of its distractions. Sure enough, he didn’t lose another U.S. Open match until 2009.”

After such an immediate and long-term payoff, it’s no surprise that Zemek calls becoming a fan of Federer, “the most rewarding fan investment of (his) life.”

Zemek’s experience is unique. Most of the time becoming a fan, even of the greatest players, isn’t instantly rewarding. Aleksa became a fan of Novak Djokovic in 2005. “I first saw him play Marat Safin that year in the first round of the Australian Open,” she remembered. “He was crushed, of course. He was just a baby with porcupine hair. Six years and six months later he won Wimbledon.”
Anna became a Novak Djokovic fan a little later- in 2010 to be exact. She hoped that he would win another Grand Slam or two, but she never saw the 2011 season coming.

“I felt constant surprise, joy, and elation. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he’d pull off all of that,” she said. While Anna admits that she does “hope that (Djokovic) wins all the Grand Slams from now on”, she realizes that is unrealistic. She is going to have to start managing her expectations again, keeping her hopes in check. Angela, a Rafael Nadal fan, is having a hard time doing just that. “Though (Nadal) has accomplished so much already, I would like him to have even greater successes,” she admitted. Angela does, however, realize that he may never reach the same heights he did in 2010, and says she will “deal with it as it comes.”

That’s the thing about reaching the top of the tennis world, whether as a player or as a fan- eventually, there will be a decline.

Siva, a Federer fan since 2001, is trying to come to terms with this. “Decline is the one constant in the game. I am fairly certain that Federer is declining. I am not sure I am prepared to deal with it.” Zemek disagrees. “Watching Federer handle tennis mortality is something to relish, not cringe at (for now),” he says.

Lawrence, another Federer fan, sides more with Zemek. “If (Federer) doesn’t become number 1 in his professional career again the Earth will still twirl around the Sun. Yes. It doesn’t matter.”

THE INSPIRED

Aisha has been an Ana Ivanovic fan since 2005 when she was a ball-girl during her match against Nicole Vaidasova in Miami. Throughout the match Aisha recalls that Ivanovic “was an absolute sweetheart.” Aisha has stuck by the Serbian through the thick and the thin past seven years, but sometimes the losses are hard to take. When Ivanovic lost to Petra Cetkovska at Wimbledon last year, Aisha momentarily lost control and smashed her iPhone to bits. (Luckily she works at Best Buy and was able to get a replacement one quickly.)

Romi Castagnino promised herself that if her favorite player, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, ever won a Major that she would go sky-diving. Mattek-Sands won the Australian Open Mixed Doubles Championship with Horacia Tecau last month. Castagnino is rapidly trying to overcome her fear of heights.

Though the above examples are extreme, it was clear after reading through the surveys just how strong of an affect tennis players have on their fans. I was expecting to read about the loss of sleep, the occasional (or not-so-occasional) skipped class, and the general emotional highs and lows of fandom, but it became apparent that the influence runs deeper than that.

Many fans have drawn messages of hope and fortitude through their relationships with their favorite players. Maureen has learned about toughness by watching Maria Sharapova battle through matches and injuries. “I’ve learned not to give up easily,” she reflected. Christy has taken similar lessons from David Ferrer. “He has shown me that perseverance can overcome almost anything,” she told me. “Just because you’re ‘too short’ or whatever, doesn’t mean you can’t reach (your goals).” Karen Williams added, “Becoming a fan of Venus (Williams) has made me realize personally that through times of adversity you can accomplish much.” Suman has tried to adopt Roddick’s “never-say-no attitude”.

For Hannah, being a Murray fan has made her a much more independent person. She has traveled, often alone, all around the United Kingdom (and beyond) to see him play. For Lawrence, the impact Fed has had on his life is simple. “Be yourself. Stay cool.”

For some, the connection runs even deeper than that. Besides being pushed to face her fear of heights, Castagino has been inspired by Bethanie Mattek-Sands comeback from injury. “This was extra inspirational for me because around the same time she had her injury I broke my psoas muscles and it was pretty serious thing. I am still in rehab but seeing Bethanie come through her injury gives me extra motivation to push harder and keep my mind positive.” Similarly, a Rafael Nadal fan (who chose to remain anonymous), also found inspiration in Nadal’s transition from knee problems in 2009 to three-time Grand Slam Champion in 2010 . While struggling with personal matters during the time of his Wimbledon and U.S. Open triumphs she reflects that, “it was Rafa who got me through the bad days, the ones where I felt there was no hope.”

Most of the time in sports, you become a fan by default. You root for a team because you were born in a certain state, or went to a certain school, or were brought up a certain way. Being a tennis fan is different. It’s a relationship. It’s personal. It’s intimate. We don’t become fans of groups of people, states, or organizations- we become fans of human beings.

Sometimes we choose the players we are going to be fans of. Other times, the players choose us. Whether there’s something about them that we relate to, or something about them that we aspire to become, once the connection is made it’s virtually unbreakable. It’s why we get worked up when our favorite player is insulted. It’s why we get anxious for the matches, sad for the defeats, and exuberant over the victories. It’s why we do care. It’s why it does matter.

If I’ve learned nothing else from reading the stories of thirty-one passionate tennis fans, it’s that our favorite players aren’t just an extension of us, they’re an integral part of us. Most of the time, that’s a good thing.

tennisgrandstand

Martina Hingis back with WTT NY Sportimes

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

The New York Sportimes today retained two legendary former world No. 1 players in the 2012 World TeamTennis Marquee Player Draft, by protecting its rights to John McEnroe and Martina Hingis in rounds one and three, respectively.

McEnroe will return to the Sportimes for his 11th year as the team’s captain and Hingis will be back for her fourth and second consecutive year with the Sportimes. For the second straight year, the NY Sportimes will play five matches at Sportime Randall’s Island, the 20-court club that is home to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and two matches at SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.

The 2012 schedule for the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO (July 9-29) will be announced in March, and the remainder of the roster will be revealed following the WTT Roster Player Draft on March 13.

The top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conference advance to the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO, Sept. 14-16, at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.

openpr.com

Kim Clijsters out of Indian Wells with yet another ankle injury

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.(AP)–Kim Clijsters announced Tuesday that she has withdrawn from next month's BNP Paribas Open because of an injury to her left ankle.

Clijsters said in a statement that she is disappointed she won't be playing in the tournament, saying she has great memories of Indian Wells.

The Belgian plans to retire at the end of the season. Clijsters has already retired once — in 2007 — but was tempted back in 2009 and has since won three Grand Slam titles.

She won the Australian Open a year ago but the remainder of the season was marred by shoulder, wrist and abdominal injuries.

A twisted ankle almost curtailed the defense of her Australian Open title last month. Clijsters lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.

usatoday.com

Seriously again?!. Or is this the same ankle she injured at the Australian Open this year?. Hope she gives it plenty of time to heal properly.

Otherwise it will cause her problems down the road. It would be really nice if she was actually able to participate at the French Open this year (most likely her last).

Whitney Houston performing at opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium

2012-02-14T18:28:00.000-05:00

You can never have too many Whitney Houston tributes.

In 1997, the late singer performed her hit "One Moment In Time" at the grand opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her rousing vocal capped off an hour-long ceremony that paid tribute to the American tennis hero and celebrated the opening of the $254 million stadium.

Yahoo Sports

I have completely forgotten about this performance. So powerful and lovely. Hope you're at peace Whitney :(.

Hingis/Federer mixed Olympic pairing dream definitely over

2012-02-13T00:06:00.000-05:00

Roger Federer has ruled out a dream Olympic match-up with Martina Hingis at London 2012.
The six-time Wimbledon champion admits it is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to play in the Olympics at the All England Club, where he will look to add Olympic gold to his already-impressive CV.

Federer boasts a record 16 grand slams and is one of only seven men to have won all four majors, but an Olympic singles title has thus far eluded him. He fell to Tomas Berdych in the second round at Athens in 2004, and the quarter-finals to James Blake in Beijing, although he did go on to win doubles gold with Stanislas Wawrinka.

In what could be his final attempt to seal the career Golden Slam (Federer will turn 31 during this summer's Games), Federer admits it is made all the more special by the location.

"It's an amazing once in a lifetime experience and may never come again in our lifetimes," Federer told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's a big, big milestone for tennis at the Olympics for all players of my generation. It will be a very, very big and special atmosphere there, I'm really looking forward to it and I hope I can make a big result there."

Hingis, who won her first grand slam at the age of 15 at Wimbledon with Helena Sukova, won five majors and spent 209 weeks as world No. 1. Though only a year older than Federer, Hingis had won all five of her singles titles before Federer won his first in 2003, and has not played since 2007. However, she has played exhibition doubles at Wimbledon for the past two years, with Anna Kournikova in 2010 and Lindsay Davenport last year.

But despite rumours that the pair, who won the Hopman Cup for Switzerland in 2001, could be set for an Olympic reunion for the mixed doubles this summer, Federer revealed it was Hingis who turned down his invitation.

"The only partner I could imagine myself playing with was Martina because she's been such an amazing player from such a young age," Federer said. "She's only one year older than me and in some ways I learnt so much from her about how to play at the highest level for so long. She drove me and inspired me as well.

"I spoke with Martina on the phone and she said, 'I don't think we should do it, I would love to do it but you should concentrate on the singles and doubles. It would be crazy, I wouldn't do it'. So I said, 'OK, we don't do it, we're both very happy, you're happy in retirement and I'm happy on court'. It was a good conversation, in a way I'm disappointed but it was the smart decision to make."

ESPN.co.uk

It's really too bad, but I think Martina is completely right (he should concentrate on singles especially). Would have been awesome to see them play together though.

It's nice to know Martina inspired him (I'm guessing they both have a mutual admiration for one another). Always nice when a player of Federer's statue reminds people of just how great Martina was.

RIP Whitney Houston

2012-02-11T21:29:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES - Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Houston's longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."

She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."

"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.

"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.
"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.
Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

CBSNews.com

It is extremely sad to lose another iconic legend so young. Feels like yesterday that we lost Michael Jackson at 50. It's another sad day for the music industry.

Upon hearing the news just like with Michael I thought it was another sick joke at first, my heart dropped when I read the confirmation on CNN (I still don't quite believe it).

I grew up listening to Whitney throughout my childhood, "The Bodyguard" is still one of my all time favourite soundtracks.

Whatever may have been the reason for the death (which at the time I write this is unknown) there's no denying that her talent and her voice was one of a kind and it will never be matched or forgotten.

RIP Whitney the world will always remember and thank you for all the joy you brought to our lives with your extraordinary voice. :(.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends especially her young daughter.

"Bittersweet memories, that is all I'm taking with me, so goodbye please don't cry"~I Will Always Love You"- The Bodyguard

I will never be able to sing this lyric without tearing up.

Let the bark be with you

2012-02-06T18:44:00.002-05:00

I've never been much of a "Star Wars" fan but this is just freaking awesome!.

Martina Hingis Eurosport Interview

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/yahooeurosport-10104300/ukeurosportnew-10104448/we-like-australian-open-27988498.html

Once again sorry no embed link I hate when websites don't include that.

More Martina Hingis on coaching

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

MELBOURNE — Show Court 3 was not far from empty on Friday as Yulia Putintseva and Eugenie Bouchard played in the full heat of a Melbourne summer in the semifinals of the Australian Open girls tournament.

In the third row of the stands, under a broad-brimmed straw hat and without the benefit of a racket, Martina Hingis put both clenched fists together and imitated the backhand stroke that she wished she had just seen from Putintseva.

Hingis, now 31, did not see many empty seats during her playing career. The ultimate tennis prodigy, she turned pro at 14 after dominating her elders as a junior and won her first major title at age 16 at the Australian Open, becoming the youngest Grand Slam singles champion in the 20th century.

Two months later, she was the youngest No. 1 in tennis history and went on to reach the final of the French Open and win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open — all before she turned 17.

Times, physical demands and training methods have changed. Putintseva — a stocky, deeply tanned Russian who likes to smash rackets as well as forehands — turned 17 earlier this month and is still working and storming her way through the juniors. She lost in the final here to the American Taylor Townsend (and did not go quietly).

“I enjoy watching the girls, the younger ones,” Hingis said. “It’s not always the easiest; I know how I was at 17 or 18. Sometimes I watch the old videos and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God,’ you know? I wasn’t always the best listener with my mom.”

Hingis, long coached by her mother, Melanie Molitor, is now the one trying to make her case to teenagers. She is working as a coaching consultant with Putintseva and four other young women in France.

All have their personal coaches and all are based at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy west of Paris in the suburb of Thiverval-Grignon. The group includes two Russians, including the former U.S. Open junior champion Daria Gavrilova, an American, a Briton and a French player.

“It’s good because I was multicultural, too, so that helps,” said Hingis, who is Swiss but was born in Kosice in what is now Slovakia.

Hingis, who married Thibault Hutin of France in December 2010, was the one who initiated the coaching job: approaching the academy’s founder, Patrick Mouratoglou, at the U.S. Open last year.

“I think now I’m ready to do it,” Hingis said. “Before I was more thinking about maybe playing or doing this and that, and now I’m ready more to give, and I love working with the kids, too. I say kids, but I should say young women. They are making their own stand on the tour, playing the juniors and getting into the seniors. I think it’s a very interesting age.”

Mouratoglou, a Frenchman, has made a habit of hiring star coaches, including Peter Lundgren and Tony Roche, both of whom once worked with Roger Federer and both of whom are no longer affiliated with the academy. But Mouratoglou said he was not seeking to bolster public relations by bringing Hingis on board but rather connecting with a kindred tennis spirit.

“I understand the question, and why you pose it,” Mouratoglou said. “Martina is the one who came and asked me, so it wasn’t me thinking, ‘Hey, I’ll get someone famous to come coach.’ I always have a goal in my head when I do things. It’s better that way, and when I brought in Tony Roche and Peter Lundgren — who aren’t there anymore, by the way — I had in mind to attract certain players, and I needed the coaches who would correspond to them. Since then, my thinking has evolved, and I don’t want to take that approach anymore.”

“Martina has a conception of tennis that is very close to my own. I have always worked with players to get them inside the court and take the ball early. I think it’s the game of the future. Not necessarily coming to net, if they come to net all the better, but the game of the future is to be able to take time away from the opponent, to cut the trajectories off.

“It’s what Roger Federer does very well and what Novak Djokovic does very, very well, but 90 percent of the other players are not doing it. But Martina always did this. It’s the way she was taught, the way she learned to play the game.”

Both Putintseva and Gavrilova said in interviews that they had been encouraged by Hingis to expand their range since she began training with them late last year. “The trainings with her are really intense,” Gavrilova said. “And we always do something different and are working on many things, and she’s really playing inside the court, so that’s what she wants me to improve.”

Hingis, in her first major tournament in this role, is one of two former world No. 1’s to join the coaching ranks this season. But unlike Ivan Lendl, now 51 and working with Andy Murray, Hingis is still of an age to be competing at this level.

One of her primary rivals, Serena Williams, remains a main contender at age 30, and Venus Williams, 31, plans to return to competition this week for the Fed Cup. Kim Clijsters, who will turn 29 this year, just reached the semifinals here.

“They have a different game; they have serves; they have big first shots,” Hingis said. “I was a different player.”

She said she was not surprised that Serena Williams, in particular, has endured. “The willpower of Serena, nobody can beat that,” she said. “There has not been another player who has the same hunger.”

Hingis last played on tour more than four years ago after retiring (for the second time) in November 2007 after testing positive for cocaine metabolite at Wimbledon that year.

It was a trace amount. Hingis declared that she had not ingested cocaine wittingly, declined to engage in an expensive, extended appeal process and chose to retire instead — something she said she was already considering. She was later given a two-year ban that restricted her formal access to tournament sites.

“It wasn’t the greatest way to stop, that’s for sure,” she said.

In a later case, the French player Richard Gasquet, who tested positive for a trace amount of cocaine, had his suspension cut from two years to two and a half months after the International Tennis Federation ruled on appeal that he had inadvertently ingested the substance.

“They made an example, I guess,” said Hingis, referring to her case. “I just look into the future. You can’t look back. Two years, they passed away, and now the last two years have been great, being back in business and in tennis. This has always been my home.”

nytimes.com

Martina Hingis at 2012 Australian Open Women's Trophy Presentation

2012-01-30T01:40:00.000-05:00

Figures, the time I decide to skip watching it Martina is a part of it :D. Looks like it wasn't much of a contest though, a bagel ouch!.

I think Martina did the same thing to Venus back in '97. Though I thought Maria's speech was lovely. Very humble.

I wonder what Victoria and Martina are discussing as they look at the names on the trophy.

Maybe she was asking Martina about hers (given that she won the thing 3 times).

I like Martina had my money on Kvitova. Good thing I didn't make a wager I would have lost big time! :D.

Roger Federer says not to feel sorry for yet another loss to Nadal

2012-01-28T00:20:00.002-05:00

Despite losing to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday, Roger Federer says, "Don't feel too sorry for me. You look at that I haven't lost in five months or something - it's not that bad.

"Obviously I would have loved to have come through and gotten a crack, a chance, at winning the title here again. It's been one of the most successful tournaments in my life here. It's the ninth [straight] time I am in the semi-finals.

"Clearly I'm disappointed. But then again, [what's] important is the reaction from now... 'Where do I go from here?' I need to have a good reaction like I showed after the US Open."

The fact that Nadal is now 18-9 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and 2-8 in Grand Slam championship matches, is not lost on Federer. But it doesn't concern him. Titles matter.

"I respect it," admitted the 16-time major champion. "I think he's doing great against me. It is what it is. At the end I care about my titles, if I'm happy or not as a person. Head to heads for me are not the most important. If I beat Andre [Agassi] 10 times in a row or Lleyton [Hewitt] many times in a row, at the end of the day I don't care.

Asked whether Nadal saved his best tennis for Federer, the Swiss said, "I don't know if it's true, [but] it's my assumption.

"I feel he plays really good against me... I always think he plays a bit better against me than against other players, but that's good for him.

"I was slightly disappointed, obviously, leaving centre court, because I felt like my game was good and I could have done something in the final potentially. But I don't have to worry about that now anymore. It's fine. I feel okay now. It's in the past already."

The former World No. 1 is next scheduled to compete at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, an ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court event in Rotterdam, from 13 February.

Federer drops to a 63-9 record at the Australian Open, where he is a four-time former champion. He was bidding to win his 500th tour-level hard-court match. In the Open Era (since 1968), only Andre Agassi has more wins on hard courts (596 wins).

atpworldtour

I could do the usual, and bitch and moan about yet another loss. Another missed opportunity, and how many chances he had, but I think I like Roger's approach better.

I have no doubt that as long as he stays healthy the way he is playing he will be in another Grand Slam final this year (probably more then one). And of course there's also the summer Olympics.

For those interested the score was 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

I would be lying if I didn't admit to being a little bitter about the result but at the same time not as upset as I have been in previous years because as I've said above the year is just beginning.

As for Nadal, well he'll have to get past Novak Djokovic first :P. So good on ya Roger thanks for another awesome tournament :).

Kim Clijsters 'Aussie Kim' exits Australian Open for the last time

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Kim Clijsters' defence of her Australian Open title ended at the hands of Victoria Azarenka, with the Belarusian overcoming a second-set wobble to book a place in her maiden grand slam final.

Clijsters arrived in Melbourne in no sort of form following a torrid time with injuries. She ground her way into the semi-finals, having saved match points against Li Na, but Azarenka proved too tough to crack despite the No. 3 seed showing signs of nerves for a chunk of the match.

It was a fitful display from Azarenka, who started well only to falter in the face of a barrage of quality from Clijsters. But just when the Melbourne crowd sensed the woman they have taken to their hearts would come through, Azarenka found her stride to dash their hopes and claim a 6-4 1-6 6-3 victory.

If there were any nerves inside Azarenka, she quickly dispelled them by hitting crisply from the back of the court. She seized on anything short from Clijsters and a powerful forehand return clinched a break.

Azarenka mixed power with guile in the opening set. She saved four break points in the fourth game - notably with a stunning drop shot that even the fleet of foot Clijsters did not attempt to track down.

Clijsters forced Azarenka to serve for the opening set and she faced up to the challenge in style, opening the game with her first ace of the match and getting the set in the bag at the third time of asking.

There were signs of an upturn in Clijsters' game towards the end of the first set and she carried the momentum forward and forced an error from Azarenka to break.

As Clijsters' game improved, Azarenka's went badly awry. Her first serve percentage in the second set dipped to a woeful 35% and she threw in 16 unforced errors. Azarenka's second set malaise was summed up in the third game as she sent a smash six feet over the baseline with the court at her mercy and it enabled Clijsters to level the match.

Azarenka steeled herself to hold an epic first game of the final set and it seemed to fill her with belief as winners flew off both wings in the following game to earn her a break to love.

There was tremendous tension in the Rod Laver Arena with breaks of serve traded at alarming regularity. Clijsters got the match back on serve at 3-4, but Azarenka broke again and with the match in her grasp she seized the moment to clinch victory on her own serve.

Azarenka threw in an awful double fault at match point, but an error from Clijsters handed her the victory. It was a disappointing way for Clijsters to bow out of her final Australian Open, but it moves Azarenka to within one game of a first slam and the world No. 1 ranking.

espn uk

I don't know if I would go as far as saying that the way Kim lost was disappointing. Maybe a little (she did have that break point at 4/3 in the 3rd), had she won that it probably would have been a different match.

But I thought that despite all that she put up a great fight and made it a very competitive 2nd & 3rd set.

She actually did a whole lot better then I thought she would I didn't hold out much hope of her winning it I knew she had a shot but I also knew it would be extremely tough.

I'm more disappointed and sad about the fact that this is probably Kimmy's last Australian Open.

Judging by crowd reaction people are really going to miss her down under. I'm just hoping she stays healthy so she can compete in the rest of the Grand Slams maybe finally win one of the ones she's missing like the French or Wimbledon.

That would be a wonderful way to end a career (although a big part of me wishes she changes her mind about not continuing at the end of the year, though I know it's probably highly doubtful).

She may not have won, but she certainly put up a hell of fight. Her fight against Li Na in the quarters was unforgettable and an absolute classic.

In this tournament she had shown more then once that she has the heart of a champion. I will so miss seeing her play in Australia. Thank you for the memories Aussie Kim!.

Martina Hingis Australian Open Q & A

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

Q. What's it like to be back? You had so much success here.

MARTINA HINGIS: Oh, it's great to be back. I mean, the city where you had success, it's always nice to be back. You know, it's been five years, so it's nice to have played on these courts where I used to.

It's nice to watch tennis, the last couple night sessions as well, and to watch great tennis. Djokovic and Nadal yesterday was pretty fun.

Q. Looking back, it still amazes me that you were No. 1 in the world a little 16. Does it amaze you?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, actually, yes. Yesterday I got to like 15 years ago a lady who was like my fan, and she gave me an envelope of all the clippings from the whole year '97, so you see the victory here like Sydney and the whole '97 year. It was like amazing.

You look at the photos. How young today at 16, you see the juniors playing, and it's just everything has been pushed back for like about two, three years.

Yeah, baby face when I look at the photos. I'm like, Oh. I was able to make great things, making these victories, it was amazing, yeah.

Q. How did you do it? You didn't have great power. The Williams sisters were just coming on then. How did you do it?

MARTINA HINGIS: I think they didn't control their power yet at that time, because we had great matches. At that time I still had the strategy and everything was just, it was different.

Now it's the power and the control and the racquets speed, the balls, the court. Everything has made progress. It's normal. The sport evolves, and so did tennis, women's tennis.

At that time I still was able to sneak in few dropshots and angles. It's still nice to see when girls do it today, but you just have less time. Then it was still probably the right point and the right time to do it.

Q. What would your advice be to Caroline who plays a similar not power strategic game?

MARTINA HINGIS: Similar. I didn't step back. I tried not to let them push me. Eventually you play one Williams, you play the second, you play Davenport, you play Capriati, who were all pushing forward. They were stronger than me. It's hard to play three, four players like that in a row. It's three setter after three setter after three setter.

I couldn't come out on top all the time. In the beginning I did most of the time. Today you just can't let yourself get pushed back. That's what she has to do. She has to try to move in, step forward, otherwise there is always going to be somebody coming on top of her at a Grand Slam.

She's a great player. I wish I would see her come in a little bit more. Not at the net. Yeah, eventually if you come in you end up with a volley. But you just can't let yourself push back today, not against Sharapova, Clijsters, Serena, not somebody like that.

Q. Not every player had great hands and touch like you did where they could go inside the court and play mid‑court.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but every time she tried to do it, I mean, I watched match against Kim yesterday, so I mean, every time she tried to do it, just you have to have the mentality to try to keep doing it in practice so it becomes automatic. You can't just do to two, three points in a match.

Maybe even if you lose a match or two sometimes, even against other players, you just have to try to keep doing it against lower‑ranked players to be able to eventually do it against the top players.

Q. Do you think it would still be possible to win Grand Slam tournaments with your style of play today?

MARTINA HINGIS: Of course. Of course you're going to believe that. There are players even now that I'm playing at the academy, junior girls, and you see Putintseva, Gavrilova who was No. 1 in juniors in 2010. I'm hitting with these girls when I'm around, and you got to believe that. I mean, I can't go and practice with someone I don't believe in. (Smiling.)

Q. You were able to make a major impact at a very young age as a very young teenager.

Pretty much you, Serena, to a degree, are pretty much the last two that's been able to do that. Now like Kvitova had...

MARTINA HINGIS: Venus was my age.

Q. Kvitova was 20, 21. It's a little unusual now, don't you think, to see the really young teenagers come up and be really big players?

MARTINA HINGIS: I think basically it's also because the rules changed. It's been pushed back for like two, three years. As I said, at 16 we were open and free to play. Now it's only 18.

I think the junior girls, they lose a year or two of playing each other and not having the possibility to play you know, 15 or 20 events a year at least.

I think it's a shame, but I always said that. I think, okay, we all started very young, at 14, 15 years of age, but that's the time when you learn most. Capriati was young, Steffi was young, Arantxa, we all were 14, 15 when we got on tour, Seles.

We all became No. 1 in the world, so it's not a matter of where your point is. Okay it's gotten more physical, so probably it'll be pushed back for two years.

I think from 16, 17 on, definitely you should be open to play whatever you want.

It's always been my belief. I think 18, it's later. You still have the opportunity, the possibility do it.
But to learn at that age for a girl, it's a little harder than whether or not your 16.

Q. The other day Martina Navratilova was talking about possibly changing the women's ranking to be more weighted to reflect who you've actually beaten. What do you feel about that?

MARTINA HINGIS: This is not my job to decide. (Smiling.)

Q. There is some controversy about Wozniacki being No. 1 and not having won a Grand Slam.

MARTINA HINGIS: She's the most consistent. She can't change that the other girls are injured and she's there and plays and fights. That's her right to do.

Q. Where do you stand on the grunting issue? The WTA issued a statement.

MARTINA HINGIS: I don't know. It wasn't really my issue, so when I played the players like Sharapova or Seles, I don't know, if you keep winning you don't think about it. The moment you're losing it's probably more distracting. I don't know.

Q. Did it ever put you off?

MARTINA HINGIS: No, not really. No. It's just sometimes when they were stretching a little bit more, you're like, What are you doing? The more they had to stretch the louder it got.

Or sometimes it's like a heavy grunt and it's on the service line and the ball doesn't have any weight on it. You're like, Okay.

But, no, I mean, basically you just got to focus on what you're doing and focus on yourself and try to do your job.

But I think it's more of the spectators. I think it's like they're watching, and I think it's more of an issue with the spectators.

Q. So of the juniors who you're working with, who is the really good one that you think can get to, like you were saying before, maybe top 5, No. 1?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, there is five girls that right now I work with when I'm around or when they're around. But it's more of a beginning. It's a global consulting thing, so we'll see how it's going to evolve in the future.

But there is definitely the junior girl who is playing here also, Yulia Putintseva. Hopefully she can go all the way.

Then there is Daria Gavrilova, Naomi Broady, English girl. Sasha Vickery who played here as well. Unfortunately, not very successful. Naomi Broady. I said Naomi. Alize Lim will be a French girl.

Q. Do they listen as well as you listened to your mother?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, it's only the beginning, so you got to trust each other. Yeah, definitely. But in the beginning you got to find your way. It's new to me; it's new to them.

But I love the work. I love it. I don't know. I wasn't always best listener. I had have to a hard hand. I needed that. So my mom was perfect for me.

Q. There was a lot of talk in the first few rounds about the matches in the women's draw not being very close. Do you think there is a problem of depth in women's tennis at the moment?

MARTINA HINGIS: Are you serious? Are you kidding? I mean, now with the great matches we see, Lisicki played already against Kuznetsova. That was a great match. Now she plays Sharapova and it was a great match. I don't know.

First rounds, come on. How about Djokovic killing everyone in the first three rounds or Federer not losing a set, more than three games in a set.

I mean, it's just sometimes that's the way it is. If champions are champions, they're well‑prepared and they're going to play well from the beginning.

Q. So putting you on the spot here, assuming Kvitova and Sharapova win today and you have Clijsters and Azarenka on the other side. Obviously very close. Who do you see coming through, or at least the two players to the finals maybe?

MARTINA HINGIS: If I had to put money on the beginning when I was asked, I put my money on Kvitova because I really love game they plays, the fluency she has on her strokes and the serve, and also now more confidence when I saw the finals at Wimbledon.

But I was very impressed by Sharapova's match against Lisicki the other night.

And Kim, defending champion, it's hard to choose. I wonder how Kvitova is going to play, you know, someone like ‑‑ well, I don't know now they're playing, so probably you don't want to put like somebody up front.

But I would like to see how she's going to play someone like Sharapova or Clijsters in a Grand Slam.

Q. So you've met Kvitova. You know her. Mentally is she where you think she should be? She won Wimbledon. Do you think she has to mature a little bit? Sometimes in the matches she's up and down, as good as she is.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but the one in Wimbledon against Sharapova is just like, you can't play any better. I mean, you felt like she could step it up when she needed to; she served great; she showed no nerves.

I already saw one of her matches against Kim, in Coubertin, that final. She's a true champion. Sooner or later I think we'll see her at the top spot probably. If it's not going to happen here, I think it's a question of time.

australianopen.com

Roger Federer too tough for Del Potro moves to semis at Aussie Open

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

We seem to have been here before. As the line-up for the semifinals takes shape, Roger Federer is the first man into position, comfortably getting his feet under the table with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Juan Martin Del Potro in just a minute under two hours. It seemed like old times, indeed.

It was Federer’s 31^st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal (he has won all but three of them), his 30^thsemifinal place in all and – feel free to gasp here – his 1,000^th match at tour level (clearly he must have been a child bride; either that Methuselah’s God-son is wearing well). And he made it look so easy.

“It's a big milestone, I agree,” he said cheerfully. “It's a lot of matches and a lot tennis. Either I have been around for a long time or I'm extremely fit. You decide which way you want to describe it. I don't know. But I'm happy.”

Del Potro is still on his way back from his annus horribilis of 2010 when a wrist injury kept him out of action for most of the season. Last year was spent forcing his way back up the rankings from No.257 to No.11 and now, as he hopes and everyone else expects, the next few months will be spent trying to force his way back into the world’s top five. He is fit, he is ready and he is dangerous. And Federer sploshed him.

Then again, Federer has been looking awfully good for a few months now. At the end of Grand Slam season last year, the once-mighty Fed had come away with nothing: not a major trophy to call his own for the first time since 2003. He had also turned 30 in August so as the pundits prepared their obits and Fed’s followers chewed their fingernails down to the knuckles, the man himself took a few weeks off and had a think. Well, he had a rest and a think. What he obviously decided was that there was quite a bit of gas left in the tank – he was ready for the fray once more.

When he returned to the circuit at his hometown event in October, he was renewed, refreshed and revived. He won there and went on to mop up the Bercy title and the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Fed was back and he meant business. But as he is the first to point out, that was a while ago where the conditions were different and the stakes were lower. Not even he knew if he could carry that form into the new season and through the Australian Open.

“I guess you're always a little worried that when you come back you're like not going to play as good and conditions are going to be different,” Federer said. “That was all indoors at the end of the season. This is clearly slow outdoor hard courts, so you're never quite sure if you're going to adjust and are you going to be moving as well or is it going to be completely different movement just because it is slower‑paced courts.”

He need not have worried. He has not dropped a set so far and has been looking sharper the longer the tournament has gone on. Del Potro posed the greatest challenge in the first set, was tricky to put away in the second and then was defenceless in the third. As Federer moved to set point in the second set, bringing a nine-minute game to a conclusion, he let out a roar, a sound we have not heard for a while. It is not Federer getting excited, it is not Federer getting frustrated – it is simply Fed assuming complete control.

“I knew the danger of playing Juan Martin, so potentially it was my big test,” Federer explained. “But I kind of looked at the Tomic match as a big test for me, seeing where my rhythm was, how I was playing, because the first three rounds I didn't get much rhythm. For me it was maybe that match. Today I was much more relaxed about playing Juan Martin for some reason, even though he's got the much bigger record as a player.”

What also must have relaxed him was his overall performance. Everything was working almost perfectly and Del Potro could not find a way to hurt him – and many a poor bloke has found himself in that situation when Fed is in his pomp.

“I'm moving well, I'm serving well, I'm hitting the ball clean,” Federer said in his own, inimitable style. “Today I thought on a very hot day with fast conditions, I was able to control the ball. I didn't really struggle too much on his serve today for some reason. I was able to return great, and I think that was a big key. Then I think I was serving the right way, even though I didn't have the highest first serve percentage.”

So, the Fed has given himself 10-out-of-10. That’s nice. But he did pause to assess Del Potro’s performances over the past couple of weeks – and he knows that the big man will be back to haunt him in the not-too-distant future.

“I still believe he's right there in the group behind the top four,” Fed explained. “If that means five or 11, I don't think it matters much. He's right there. He's going to make another move and another push this year, I think. I will definitely see him in the top 8 at the end of the year. He'll get many more chances this year. It's a long year and it's only the beginning. So for me, I'm happy I'm playing well, but I also see that he's actually in good shape, too.”

And with that, Fed was off to prepare for match No.1001 of his extraordinary career.

australianopen.com

Could that match have gone any better?.

I think not. Dominant and in control.

Playing like the master that he is. Simply awesome. For the first time since 2009 (I think) It's Nadal vs Federer bring it on!.

Also 1000th match?. I get exhausted just thinking about it!. On to 1001!

Clijsters strong moves through to the semis at Aussie Open!

2012-01-24T02:44:00.002-05:00

MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) Monday to reach the Australian Open semifinals.

The four-time major winner next plays third-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a player from Belarus who posted a 6-7 (0-7), 6-0, 6-2 victory over No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland to move into the semis of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time.

Azarenka is one of three players who can become No. 1 in the world. The 21-year-old Wozniacki, who has yet to win a major singles title, needed to reach the semifinals to retain the top ranking.

No. 2 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and No. 4 Maria Sharapova of Russia also have chances to rise to No. 1.

Clijsters, seeded 11th, has had a roller-coaster ride into the Australian Open semis for the seventh time. She twisted her ankle and had to save four match points in a fourth-round victory over Li Na of China in a rematch of last year's final.

It was as hot as 95 degrees during the Clijsters-Wozniacki match.

"I had to work really hard for it," Clijsters said. "Caroline is a great fighter. I was happy to get through, and not in a three-setter because it's so hot."

Clijsters and Wozniacki each started nervously, with three service breaks to start the match. But the 28-year-old Belgian dictated play from her first hold in the fourth game until she was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second.

Clijsters let her guard down and allowed Wozniacki back into the match. With the ninth game of the second set tied at 30, Wozniacki won the next two points to break Clijsters and then held serve to get it back on level terms.

Clijsters had not lost any of her eight previous tiebreakers at Melbourne Park, and she hit a backhand down the line to take a 5-4 lead in the tiebreaker against Wozniacki.

Clijsters set up double match point with a cross-court forehand winner and sealed it with a volley.

Clijsters had 39 winners and 40 unforced errors, compared with 13 winners and 26 unforced errors for Wozniacki.

Well, the ankle seems to be holding up very well!.

This was a wonderfully solid performance from Kim with the exception of that small hiccup in the second set that allowed Wozniacki to take it to a tie-break, but Clijsters held her ground (good to see). A hard fought match.

The semis are going to be really tough I think but given Kim's experience I think she's got a real shot of making it through (perhaps even benefiting from some nerves on the part of her opponent which are sure to be there).

But I guess the same can be said for Kim, I think it'll be a case of who can hold their nerve better. It should be an excellent match either way.

Congrats Kim, for your last Aussie Open you're certainly making it memorable! :). Thanks for making this one slightly less dramatic! :D.

seattletimes.com

Martina Hingis Novafm interview

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.novafm.com.au/nova100/video_martina-hingis-chats-about-angry-baghdatis_114630

Roger Federer moves into the quarters

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

Ah, to play an icon, a hero, someone you idolize.

That’s the fate that became Bernard Tomic when the draw dangled 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in front of him in a fourth-round match, played under the lights, at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

There’s no denying that that kind of occasion presents a challenge, but taking advantage of the opportunity doesn’t come complete with a guaranteed high percentage of success. And as much as Tomic -- and a stadium full of fans -- hoped that he could possibly create the upset, it was not to be.

Federer easily displayed why he’s Federer, the guy many believe to be the greatest player to ever play the game. The third seed, Federer remains in the hunt for a fifth Australian Open title after a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win, while Tomic took a step to the exit of Melbourne Park.

“For me, it’s a great pleasure and honor to play him,” said Tomic, whose best career Grand Slam outing was making it to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last season. “You can just only get better if you lose against him.”

The 19-year-old Tomic -- currently ranked a very respectable No. 38 -- has no reason to hang his head. He put up a stunning week of tennis to seize a fourth-round berth against Federer. It was his second loss to Federer -- the Swiss Master took him in four sets during the 2011 Davis Cup World Group Playoff -- and you can be assured that every time Tomic faces Federer he’s receiving a pertinent lesson.

“The harder I hit it, the ball comes back in a different corner and ends up always being a winner,” said Tomic, smiling at the memory of being outclassed. “It’s very strange. Never did experience my balls that I hit that hard to come back and to be a winner.

At one time the 30-year-old Federer seemed invincible, dominating the tour closing out five seasons as No. 1 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009). Nowadays, Fed is not quite as impenetrable, but he still one of the top three guys in the game, albeit No. 3, and he remains a player to be feared.

On many occasions during the one hour, 44 minute match, Tomic pounded fast and ferocious groundstrokes at Federer, clear winners against practically anyone. But not against Federer.

“It’s good to watch. Even for me, playing, I enjoy watching it,” Tomic said.

And watch he did as Federer broke his serve six times in the match while he could only return the favor, so to speak, by breaking Federer’s serve on a third break point in the sixth game of the second set.

Federer served up 13 aces to none for Tomic. Federer’s serve has always given him great leeway in matches and Tomic saw that when the Swiss won 37 of 44 of the first serve points he got into play. How did Tomic do in the same regard? Not well. He only won 40 of 71 first serve points he put into play.

To his credit, Tomic didn’t deflect a question that suggested it was like man playing boy out there on the court.

“I played pretty decent at times, he just played better and there was nothing I could do,” Tomic said. “He broke my confidence down.”

A gracious Federer credited Tomic with playing top grade tennis during the match, emphasizing that the score didn’t necessarily reflect the contest.

“I thought we had a lot of long games, tough points, and I thought he did actually really well,” Federer said.

As a selected talent for the future in his teens, Federer remembered back to when he was 19 and waiting to make it. His message was clear -- don’t rush Tomic, he’ll get there on his own time.

“It’s funny, when you’re 19 you have nothing to lose, you feel like,” Federer said. “But then you feel an immense pressure, just the constant pounding of knocking on the door from everybody saying, ‘When are you going to make the breakthrough?”

Federer’s next job will be to try and break the confidence of Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. Amazingly, that upcoming match will be his 1000th career match. Del Potro comes as a more potent test than Tomic -- the Argentine won the 2009 U.S. Open in a five-set final win over Federer. The No. 11 ranked Del Potro is quickly reinstating himself as a major force in the game after losing most of 2010 to wrist surgery.

“I think it’s going to be a good match,” Federer said. “Look, I think he’s coming back awfully strong again. I thought he had a chance in 2010 to sort of make a run for world No. 1. Injury came and things obviously changed, and now he’s had to have a great year to get back in the top 15, I think, and now he’s making his move to the top 10.”

australianopen.com

Del Potro next, nail biting, hair pulling time!. I'm still reliving the Clijsters match thank god there's a day's break in between, my poor fan heart can't take anymore more drama after that!.

Comeback Kim Clijsters powers into the quarters at Aussie Open

2012-01-22T02:44:00.004-05:00

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kim Clijsters was courage personified as the defending champion shook off a painful ankle injury and saved four match points to overhaul China's Li Na 4-6 7-6 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The big-hearted Belgian rolled her left ankle at 3-3 in the first set on a scorching day at Rod Laver Arena but rejoined the battle after a lengthy medical time-out with her foot thickly taped.

In a re-match of last year's finalists, champion Clijsters stared at the abyss when 6-2 down in the second set tiebreak but reeled off six points in a row to take the set and spark a rapturous ovation from the stands.

The hard-hitting Li slumped to 4-0 down in the decider then recovered gallantly to trail 5-4 but Clijsters held to close out the match and keep her hopes alive of a fifth grand slam title in her farewell year on tour.

"It has to be (one of my best comebacks)," Clijsters saidred-faced in a courtside interview after raising her arms intriumph to acknowledge the roaring crowd. "I can't believe Iwon.

"I knew before the match that it was going to be a toughmatch, physically, mentally.
"It was amazing to get through and to fight and probably notwith my best tennis."

French Open champion Li took the first set of last year'sfinal against the Belgian but was once again left crestfallenafter missing a golden chance to put her Melbourne Park nemesisaway.

After saving three match points, Clijsters appeared tosuffer a mental lapse on the fourth when she attempted aspeculative drop-shot that bounced up and begged to be put away.

Fifth-seeded Li charged in but her attempted winner wasequally inept and allowed Clijsters to poke a lob over her headto save the point.

The Chinese subsequently crumbled under the pressure,spraying two backhand shots to lose the set before her servecollapsed as Clijsters charged 5-1 ahead in the decider.

Li dug deep to break back and took Clijsters to deuce whenshe was serving for the match, but surrendered the match afternetting a backhand.

Clijsters will play the winner of top seed CarolineWozniacki and former world number one Jelena Jankovic who playin the evening session at Rod Laver Arena.

uk reuters

Oh, the drama of this match, seriously! I honestly thought Kim was done after she rolled on her ankle. And I felt sadness but also a lot of admiration for her continuing on despite it all.

When we got to the tiebreak and Kim went down four match points, I held my breath, and was on the edge of my seat. This was such a topsy-turvy match, but so damn entertaining nonetheless worth staying up till 2am.

Sure a lot of people will say that the match was Li Na's to lose, which is partly true, she went away mentally in the 3rd set (and in the tiebreak) and looked down and out before fighting back.

But the majority of the credit has to go to Kim for just hanging in there in a tense situation not once but twice!. That's the difference between players and champions I guess they just find a way.

Haven't seen that much fighting spirit from Kim in a while. Assuming her ankle is ok I hope this match spurs her on into the semis. Thanks Aussie Kim for making this one memorable! :).

Kim Clijsters moves into 4th round with convincing win

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

It seems like Kim Clijsters has never left. In yet another authoritative performance in Melbourne, the defending champion ran over Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-2 to move into the fourth round.

Clijsters, who has only played seven tournaments since lifting the 2011 title due to injury, owned a 9-1 record against the slender Slovakian entering the contest, with Hantuchova’s only victory coming in Brisbane two weeks ago when Clijsters retired with a hip ailment.

It was certainly not the greatest performance of Clijsters’ life, but it was good enough as she ripped 27 winners (almost an equal amount off her forehand and backhand sides) and committed 18 unforced errors. Hantuchova, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2008, before losing to Ana Ivanovic, could only manage 12 winners and committed 23 unforced errors.

“ Day off yesterday, night match tonight. So I felt like I kind of just had to find my aggressive footwork and positioning on the court,” the Belgian said. "But I was able to at the important points win those points and make the right decisions. Obviously at the end of the day, when you're not playing your best, that's what it comes down to is just trying to play the important points as well as possible. I was able to do that today. So [the] second set was much better. I'm pleased that I finished a lot better than how I started.”

One of the game’s most feared all-around players, the 28-year-old Clijsters has gotten to the point in her career where she does not need a lot of matches. In fact, in her comeback to the tour in August 2009 after she took off two years to start a family, she won the US Open in just her third tournament back. She is not seen by some to be a player who relies on her wits, but she has a great understanding of her capabilities and where her opponents’ frailties lie. That's why she was able to enter the 2012 Aussie summer season without having played since the first week of August 2011, and yet has immediately become a title threat once again.

The pre-first retirement Clijsters, who was considered to be a bit of a play-aholic, has matured.

“I think when you're a little bit older you're capable to set your mind to what it is like to play a match again,” she said. “You have your routines. I come back to routines, but they're so important. You have your game that you know that you're going to stick to. I think when I was younger I needed to play those matches to kind of get a feel for how I had to play and what my coach wanted of me and those kind of things. Now I know out there. Even after two years off, when I stepped out there, I knew what my game was, and I didn't need a lot of the matches to find that again. Okay, you need to get used to the emotions and the pressure and the stress a little bit, but when it comes down to finding your own confidence, that's there. You've done that so many times and been in big situations so many times.”

Clijsters might have to face the same woman she bested in a classic Australian Open final last year, Li Na, in the fourth round. She has no plans of playing beyond the US Open, so this will likely be her last season. But she is not sitting on her laurels and does believe that she can get better on a daily basis. She’s been around long enough to know that if she doesn’t continue to tinker with her game and attempt to bring at few new things to the table each week, that the youngsters will catch her and possibly pass her.

“I would like to improve every day,” she said. “That's one of the main reasons why I decided to put [coach Carl Maes] on board again. I want to learn from him and improve. I have the feeling that I have been improving on a lot of different areas as well as emotionally, tacticwise, physically, and confidence. It's great for me to be in a situation with Carl where I still feel like I can improve on all those things and I'm not stuck to where I feel like I'm at my top level. Look at Nadal, Federer. You can always become better. You can always work out harder in the gym and work out differently. You just learn yourself better and better.”

australianopen.com

It's a re-match of last year's final with Li Na. That will be a real tough test for Clijsters. Can't wait!.

Martina Hingis Australian Open 2012 interview

2012-01-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Roger Federer through to 4th round at Aussie Open

2012-01-20T16:05:00.003-05:00

ONE of the world's most exciting young players looms as the stumbling block to Roger Federer's quest to end a grand slam drought dating back to the 2010 Australian Open.

The 16-time grand slam champion showed no signs of rustiness in his convincing 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 6-3 dismissal of Ivo Karlovic despite having entered the match with a four-day break following a second-round walkover against Andreas Beck.

Federer faces the winner of last night's clash between Australian rising star Bernard Tomic and unorthodox Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov for a possible quarter-final confrontation with 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.

"Either player is going to be a challenge for me," he said.

"But overall I feel good, you know. It has been a good match for me and a good last week or so."

Federer and Nadal, who share the same side of a grand slam draw for the first time since 2004, generated most interest yesterday.

Both entered this Open under injury clouds - Federer withdrew from an event in Doha with back spasms, while the Spaniard considered pulling out of this event as recently as Sunday because of knee pain - yet they have been convincing to date.

Federer's clash with Karlovic, who almost a decade ago ended Lleyton Hewitt's defence of his Wimbledon title in the opening round, was of most interest because of the danger Karlovic occasionally poses with his brilliant serve.

Karlovic is a gambler on court. Blessed with an amoury that allows him to hold serve at almost every turn but bereft for the most part of skills to put pressure on a rival's serve, his lot is to either blast away at a forehand or chip and charge the net in hope when receiving.

In 26 prior sets against Federer, Karlovic has managed to break just once. He is a long shot to win a set against Federer in anything other than a tiebreaker.

At five-all in the first set tiebreaker, he actually constructed a point of class, stretching and testing the best in the business until Federer overhit a forehand.

It brought him a set point on serve, usually a guarantee.

Instead followed the most bizarre of points, with Federer chipping a slice at the Croatian's feet and ripping a pass that, somehow, Karlovic got racquet on.

Even more fortuitously, it dropped over the net for what seemed almost a perfect drop volley. But Federer, somehow, got racquet below ball and . . . lobbed. Lobbed the tallest man on tour standing half a metre from him.

Talk about surprise and despair. It was, as Karlovic noted later, the least predictable shot the 16-time grand slam winner could throw at him at that moment, yet it proved the critical difference.

"It is like one in, I don't know, hundred that I'm going to lose that point," he said.

"It was really unlucky. I didn't really expect him to do that, but I was there.

"I just, how do you say, miscalculated how much on the jump.

"If I would have won that, everything would have been different. But that is life. Tennis, that's how it is."

A ripped backhand pass on the next point and an ace to close the tiebreaker and the match, for all intents, was Federer's.

theaustralian.com

So it's the Australian Tomic vs. the Fed man next.

Should be interesting to see which one the crowd roots for more and how well the young Aussie handles the pressure.

Assuming he doesn't collapse from exhaustion half way through.

Martina Hingis to play Legends tournament at Aussie Open

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

TENNIS great Martina Hingis has swept into Melbourne to play in the Australian Open legends tournament.

In a coup for organisers the Swiss former world No.1 will play at Melbourne Park for the first time since her last main draw appearance in 2007.

Hingis, 31, is sure to be a crowd favourite, having claimed three titles here and made six consecutive finals from 1997-2002.

"Getting her back is great and she is a champion here," legends tournament director Todd Woodbridge said.

"She's still playing a great brand of tennis and it's great for the sport. I give great kudos to her good friend in Iva Majoli for helping persuade Martina she needed a nice holiday in the Australian summer.

"They're looking to having some fun on and off the court."

Woodbridge said a top class field had been assembled for the start of play this weekend."We've been working on strengthening the legends men for the past few years and now we have a great line-up," he said.

"We've got (Goran) Ivanivesic, (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov and (Pat) Rafter. It's just created a buzz.
"They're still pretty young, fit and big names. This year I really wanted to work on getting some of the women back.

"That's the beauty of the legends now is that they take it seriously but it's not life or death on the court. They can get out and see the city and enjoy themselves."

heraldsun

Kim Clijsters thrashes opponent to reach Aussie Open 3rd round

2012-01-18T00:28:00.000-05:00

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Champion Kim Clijsters and the player she beat in last year's final Li Na rarely got out of first gear while Roger Federer did not even have to get out of bed to advance to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

American eighth seed Mardy Fish, however, became the first men's top-10 player to depart the tournament when he crashed out in straight sets to Colombia's Alejandro Falla 7-6 6-3 7-6.

Temperatures were much more comfortable on Wednesday after the first two days when they reached 30 degrees Celsius before midday, and Clijsters barely built up a sweat on Rod Laver Arena as she thrashed France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon in 47 minutes.

Clijsters, who has recorded four previous 6-0 6-0 'double bagel' victories at Melbourne Park, flirted with a fifth as she rattled off the opening seven games in little under 30 minutes before the 30-year-old Frenchwoman finally held serve.

The stay of execution, however, was brief and the Belgian calmly went through her processes again, building pressure and forcing errors before she moved into the third round with a 6-0 6-1 win when Fortez Gacon's return of serve floated long.

"I felt like in my first match I didn't really have that rhythm that I would have liked to have," Clijsters told reporters. "So that's usually something that I try to look for in the beginning of the match.

"(I) was hitting the ball well (and) felt that I could keep her under pressure. I didn't really let her play her game. From the beginning till the end, I did what I had to do well."

World number three Federer, who had been due to play later on Wednesday received a walkover into the third round when his German opponent Andreas Beck withdrew from the tournament with a back injury.

reuterscanada

This was pretty much a one woman show. Much more routine and Clijsters-like.

This pretty much confirms that I was right in my last post when I said that the further she goes, and longer she plays the better she'll get (as she has often done in the past).

With this performance I am much more convinced that she actually has a shot at defending the title.

As the Aussie's would say, good on ya Kim!. Hantuchova is up next that may prove to be a bit more of challenge.

But enough about that once again the best thing about this match was the post-match interview.

Or, more precisely Kim asking the entire Aussie crowd to sing her sister a Happy Birthday :). I'll post the video when it becomes available.

Priceless! :D. I'm really gonna miss stuff like this when Kim goes away for good after this year.

Roger Federer eases into second round at Aussie Open

2012-01-17T00:48:00.000-05:00

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Roger Federer showed no sign of back trouble, testing it at every opportunity, as he cruised into the second round of the Australian Open Monday with a 7-5 6-2 6-2 victory over qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev.

The 30-year-old Swiss - who withdrew during the leadup Qatar Open after suffering back pain - was at his clinical best, blasting winners from all angles as he wrapped up the match in 98 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

"I've been feeling fine for three, four days now," Federer said. "I've been able to practice full out. I really tried to put in an effort to play every point as hard as I could first to see how the back felt, try to get into it, hopefully win, and then see how I feel tomorrow.

"I'll get a lot more information tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

The 2010 champion, bidding to extend his men's record to a 17th grand slam, traded baselines punches with his 172nd-ranked opponent early before landing a sublime backhand winner down the line to seal the first set and seize the initiative.

Kudryavtsev drew a rare scowl from Federer, however, when he won a furious baseline skirmish to break the Swiss's serve and claw back to 3-2 in the third set.

But the 26-year-old rued clipping a net cord in the next game that set up an easy backhand winner that allowed Federer to break back and cruise to victory.

"It was just tough against a guy who hits big and flat from both sides and takes a lot of chances," Federer said.

"I was anxious to find out how I was going to play, how my opponent was going to play me.

"I was really excited and a little nervous actually going into it, which was a good feeling to have.
"I'm looking forward to the other matches."

yahoo news

But the best part of the match?. The post match interview!.

I love Mirka's reaction! :D.

So glad his back is well, roll on Roger roll on!.

Kim Clijsters through in shaky fashion at Aussie Open

2012-01-16T15:34:00.001-05:00

KIM Clijsters is adamant her troublesome hip is fine despite making a rusty start to her Australian Open title defence yesterday.

The crowd favourite was unconvincing early, struggling to hold serve in the first set before steadying in a 7-5 6-1 win over Maria Joao Koehler.

Clijsters was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International semi-final last week because of a strained hip, continuing a torrid run of injuries from last year.

The latest complaint put another question mark over her fitness at the start of what is most likely to be her last year on the world tour.

But the 11th seed's opponent, Koehler, offered little resistance in the crucial stages of the first set and wilted entirely in the second.

Clijsters, 28, insisted her hip was fully recovered and said she was happy she fought her way through a testing period early.

"I don't think anyone plays a grand slam and plays all perfect matches," Clijsters said.

"You have to find a way through it sometimes and find that little extra on the most important points.

"Today I felt like I served well, there was a couple of double faults, but that is probably going to be there all the time."

Clijsters said she was forced to warm up several times as Bernard Tomic fought out a five-set thriller with Fernando Verdasco.

Should she progress, Clijsters faces a fourth-round meeting against the woman she beat in last year's Aussie Open decider, Li Na.

heraldsun

Well it certainly wasn't the imposing start we're used to from Clijsters, but understandably so not having played much with the hip injury.

It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. Lots of room for improvement.

But with first rounds all that matters is that you get through it, Clijsters does tend to work on her game as she goes through the tournament a lot the of time so hopefully things will get better.

Personally I hope she decreases the number of double faults because that could get her into a lot of unnecessary trouble with bigger and better opponents.

WTA & ATP Australian Open thoughts

2012-01-15T17:17:00.002-05:00

"Federer" brand on the rise

2012-01-14T16:17:00.001-05:00

Never mind Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber. The Queen of England, the Pope and Barack Obama also trail Roger Federer in a list of the world’s most respected figures (only Nelson Mandela is higher). The Swiss is also earning more money than ever before, with an estimated annual income of 30 million pounds. The Tennis Space examines why Federer, two years after his last grand slam victory, has never been as influential as he is now.

These are Roger Federer’s boom years. Not between the tramlines – it is now a couple of seasons since he won his last slam title at the 2010 Australian Open, and he starts this year as the world number three – yet, off the court, he has never been more powerful, more influential, or earned so much. Federer has biffed aside Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber, with the American business magazine Forbes putting the Swiss at the top of their rankings for press coverage, while a survey by the Reputation Institute made him the second most respected figure in the world, behind only Nelson Mandela. The Queen of England, the Pope and Barack Obama trail a tennis player from Switzerland.

Federer in decline? He is approaching 10 million Facebook fans, more than any other tennis player, while in recent Swiss elections, more than 100 people voted for him, even though he had not put himself forward as a candidate, by writing in his name on their ballot papers.

You will be wanting to know about the money, what this all means for his wealth. Two years after that last major, Federer is making more money than ever before, with Forbes estimating that the Swiss banks almost 30 million pounds a year, which is 10 million pounds more than the second highest tennis player on the money list, Rafael Nadal. Some will wonder why Novak Djokovic, with an annual income of 11 million pounds, even bothers to slide out of bed in his Monaco apartment, while Andy Murray is on the top-four minimum wage on 8.5 million pounds. Maria Sharapova, the highest-earning female tennis player on an estimated 16 million pounds, has spoken of having the money to feed her great-grandchildren, but her commercial success is limited compared to Federer’s. And, for Roger Inc, for Brand Federer, it hardly matters if he ever wins another slam – this is the reward for all those years of sustained success, of gathering a record 16 majors, and of having never come close to scandal (look back at his career, and the greatest crime anyone has ever accused him of, after he marked his fifteenth slam by wearing a tracksuit top with ’15′ embroidered in gold on the back, was of looking as though he had hired Liberace’s stylist). There are no cocktail waitresses, party girls and fire-hydrants in this story.

“If a sportsman or woman develops a brand image over a long enough period, it is possible to extend and even increase their earning power,” Nigel Currie, of the sports marketing firm Brand Rapport, told The Tennis Space. “Tennis is one of the few truly global sports and if you become the number one player for a period of, say, five years, the potential riches are enormous. As his powers on the court fade, he will have more time to devote to developing his image and fulfilling sponsors’ needs. Certainly Federer has developed a very good clean-cut image which, combined with his enormous global profile, makes him highly marketable.”

Federer’s contract with Nike is considered to be the most lucrative sponsorship deal in tennis – he signed a 10-year extension in 2008, with each year worth in excess of six million pounds. His other long-term commercial relationships are with Credit Suisse, Jura, Lindt, National Suisse, Net Jets, Rolex and Wilson. Federer’s name and face had been used to sell Mercedes-Benz cars in China; that deal has now gone global. And while Gillette ditched Tiger Woods and Thierry Henry, they have retained Federer.

“His income has never been higher,” said Kurt Badenhausen, a senior editor at Forbes. “Federer has incredibly broad appeal on multiple continents in a sport with extremely strong demographics. Many of his biggest endorsements are 10-year deals and he has continued to add to his sponsorship portfolio even as he has fallen from the top of the world rankings. I think Federer has a certain elder statesman appeal now after being in the game for so long.”

Rene Stauffer, the tennis correspondent of Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger, argued that Federer’s break with IMG, around the time he won his first slam at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, has helped him in the long term. “When Federer’s career took off in 2003, he was just ending his contract with IMG. From 2004 to the fall of 2005 he had no big agency to represent him, before he chose to work again with IMG. In this time he had an in-house management team, built around his family. This was a blessing in hindsight: in those years, when he started to dominate the tour, he almost did not sign any contract – since he and his parents always had the policy to have only few, but very good partners. And then, when Tony Godsick and IMG took over again, his market value and reputation was already that high, that they could basically choose their partners and get huge contracts,” said Stauffer.

“And Federer only works with brands that are well chosen and mean something to him. He has long-term-contracts with almost all his brands. And Federer’s market value has grown with each successful partnership. He has been linked with Nike and Wilson since the earliest days. Gillette took his name into another sphere, as it was the first big, international, non-tennis-related contract. Big Swiss companies also soon discovered Roger’s value for them, and they build the biggest part of his partners – with Rolex, Jura, National Suisse, Lindt and Credit Suisse. The big Swiss bank also gives one million Swiss francs for the Roger Federer Foundation, which has become much bigger through this endorsement.”

And, as Stauffer noted, Federer “has never been hit by scandals – his image has been as steady as his career”.

thetennisspace.com

Roger Federer credits wife for successful career

2012-01-13T16:18:00.001-05:00

His back, a chronic but manageable concern for years, has been troubling him again, but Roger Federer is in Melbourne with every intent of returning to the court and playing in his 49th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

The record, held by the former South African player Wayne Ferreira, stands at 56. But Federer is a serial record breaker and, now third on this all-time list, just might break another one.

In an era when major injuries have caused most of his rivals to crack at some stage, he has kept the damage to a minimum, thanks to his silken footwork, sound stroke mechanics, sage scheduling and ability to respond quickly to the warning signs. Latest example: deciding to retire from a minor event last week in Doha after the quarterfinals rather than imperil his ability to play in the main event next week, the Australian Open.

He also long ago conquered a fear of flying. “I was scared when I was younger, and I used to get very sick on the plane,” he said in a preseason interview. “Today that’s all gone.”
But according to Federer, who will turn 31 this year and who ended 2011 on a reaffirming winning streak, the biggest reason for his durability and enduring appetite for top-flight tennis is his support team, above all his wife, Mirka.

In that sense, Mirka has long been the most important woman in the men’s game. Born Miroslava Vavrinec in 1978 in what is now Slovakia, she emigrated to Switzerland as a toddler with her parents. The Swiss press reported that she received early encouragement from Martina Navratilova, and then became a professional tennis player, peaking at No.76 before a foot problem forced her to retire in 2002.

She and Federer have been together since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, when he was just a teenager with great potential but not yet a great résumé. Mirka later helped formally manage his career, travel and media commitments, typing by his side on her smart phone as he gave interviews. She has ceded that role in recent years as Federer has expanded his staff and portfolio, but that does not mean she is outside the loop on scheduling, sponsorship, Federer’s clothing and product lines, and even some pure tennis issues, although she now rarely watches matches not involving her husband.

“She still plays a huge role and has great input and impact,” said Paul Annacone, Federer’s co-coach. “She understands the big picture extremely well and does a great job in terms of letting us work but also shares invaluable information. This is a tricky balance. She’s been there since day one, so she knows very well what it takes and how to get there.”

Since the birth of the Federers’ twin daughters in 2009, Mirka has taken the family (and the nanny) on the road, rarely missing a trip or tournament. Without that support, Federer said, he doubts he would still be interested in chasing down trophies worldwide from January to November.

“I know how fortunate I am,” he said. “And maybe that’s one of the reasons that makes me very happy when I’m playing and makes me very motivated, because I know this is not a normal situation I’m in, being able to play with a healthy, happy family next to me, because the easiest thing would be to say, ‘Let’s just stay home and take care of the kids.”’

“But the kids are healthy, they are happy, and Mirka doesn’t want to be away from me, and I don’t want to be away from her,” he added, “and like this we make it all work that we are actually together all year long, and maybe miss the girls and Mirka maybe one or two weeks during the year, which is just incredible that she’s willing to make all of that effort. I’m happy that it’s this way, because anything else would make it more difficult to compete and to play at the highest levels. It would basically be impossible.”

Federer is hardly the first tennis star to travel with family in tow. Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Ivan Ljubicic all juggled fatherhood and the nomadic life on tour. Kim Clijsters has won three Grand Slam singles titles as a mother. But at the moment, the only other father among the top 20 is Gilles Simon, No.12 this week.

What separates Federer from the crowd is that he already has secured his fortune and legacy — a record 16 Grand Slam singles titles — yet has shown no hint of losing his appetite for the game or the road, which is certainly more palatable with a private plane and other highest-end comforts.

But there is still a toll, and it is seldom the megastar who pays the highest price. “How important is the support from your wife? Hard to say, but to win Grand Slams, nothing can be more important than you winning,” said Mats Wilander, the former world No.1. “I think Roger will win again, whether he has the support or not from his wife and family, but yes, if your family travels with you, it’s harder on them than you. As a player, you’re as selfish as anything and as a supporting cast you have to be the opposite.”

The difference here perhaps is that Federer is an involved enough parent to tolerate middle-of-the-night wake-up calls from the twins during tournaments. The bigger difference perhaps is that Mirka was once a player herself.

“I think it’s a great help that she actually played,” Federer said. “I never started dating a tennis player because of that, actually, sort of 10 years ahead. But in my situation, I think it really does help, because she knows in some ways what it takes, and she did it on a level that was still very good but not at my level. And she already put in a massive amount of hours herself. So when I tell her, ‘Look, I need to go to practice,’ she’s the first to say, ‘I know, I know you need it, and you need only maybe 20 percent of what I needed.”’

Mirka, who rarely speaks publicly, declined to be interviewed for this article. But Federer said that her career-ending injury had shaped his own approach to protecting himself with the help of his longtime fitness trainer, Pierre Paganini.

“She was a big believer in me not wasting any sort of talent, because she knew herself that she was limited to a degree,” Federer said.

“She was extremely hardworking, but she knew with my talents I could achieve so many more things, and she was also one that was very influential, as was Pierre Paganini, for instance, early on, when I became world No.1 and we decided, ‘Less is more; we have to take care of the body,’ because Mirka’s body went first because she maybe over-practiced.”

“So I think she could also give me some advice, sort of know-how,” Federer added. “Her body is still fragile today when she goes and does sports, and mine isn’t, and it’s incredible. I’ve done so much more sport than she has, so it’s I guess a bit of luck, too, just smartness because of the people that have surrounded me.”

Last season was sour and ultimately sweet for Federer. He played some tremendous, flowing tennis, stopping Novak Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak in the French Open semifinals, and yet slipped to No.3 and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002. He also blew a two-set lead in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and blew another two-set lead, against Djokovic, in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

Federer said Mirka had told him during his six-week break later in the autumn that she thought he should search more deeply for explanations.

“She was very much a believer that it can’t be that I lose all these matches so closely, that there must be something more,” Federer said. “She was the one that says: ‘It’s O.K. to lose one or two matches very closely, but you can’t start losing more and more and more. Then maybe something’s wrong in your corner. So you just have to question yourself and check with the entire team, see what everybody thinks.’ She had her opinions, and some were, I thought, wrong, some were right.”

Federer did not elaborate, but when he returned to the circuit, he won three straight indoor titles: Basel, Paris and the A.T.P. World Tour Finals. That was sweet indeed, but not as sweet as it would be to return to the Grand Slam honor roll in Melbourne.

Triumph or disaster, Mirka will be there, which is a big reason why the triumphs are still possible.

“She’s been a rock in my corner,” he said.

nytimes.com

Kim Clijsters ready for the Aussie Open

2012-01-12T16:08:00.000-05:00

Defending champion Kim Clijsters has dismissed concerns over a hip injury and declared herself "ready to go" for the Australian Open.

The Belgian was forced to withdraw midway through her semi-final against Daniela Hantuchova at the Brisbane International last week, causing fears she may also be unable to compete at Melbourne Park.

But Clijsters has allayed those worries after being paired with an as yet unknown qualifier in round one.

"I didn't play many matches in the second half of last year and missed most of the American summer but I have trained hard in the off-season," said the 11th seed.

"I am feeling good and ready to go."

If she is to take the trophy again she will have to do it the hard way after being drawn in the same quarter as world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has her own injury problems, while a repeat of last year's final against Li Na is scheduled for the fourth round.

Should she come through that then Wozniacki and third seed Victoria Azarenka are scheduled to lie in wait.

An earlier foe could be Britain's Elena Baltacha, who could get a crack at Clijsters providing she beats Stephanie Foretz Gacon in round one.

The Scot said: "We'll see how both of us go in the first round but obviously it would be great to play Kim.

"I've got a good record of winning matches in grand slams over the last couple of years and I'd like to keep that up, so all I'm thinking about at the moment is that first round match."

Wozniacki, whose place at the top of the rankings was guaranteed for a little longer after Petra Kvitova's defeat to Li in the semi-finals in Sydney, opens against Anastasia Rodionova.

The Dane injured her wrist during her quarter-final loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in Sydney but expects to be fit for Melbourne.

skysports.com

Martina Hingis/Navratilova to take part in Rogers Cup Legends event

2012-01-11T15:49:00.002-05:00

Tennis fans are going to be spoiled during the 2012 edition of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank as four of the biggest names in tennis history will take to Centre Court to open the tournament at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal on the evening of Monday August 6.

Four former World No. 1’s including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis will put on an exhibition, wearing a microphone for the occasion to share their emotions with the crowd and give the spectators a whole new experience.

"Our mission is to grow our sport and make it a popular sport to play," said Rogers Cup tournament director Eugène Lapierre. "W e believe that not only willl we please the fans who experienced this golden age of tennis, but we also hope that this event will create life long memories for our younger fans."

Together, Agassi, Courier, Navratilova and Hingis won 524 tournaments, including 85 Grand Slam titles. They left their mark in tennis and also defined their era. Whether it was Agassi’s famous jean shorts, Navratilova’s domination of the women’s game, Courier’s consistency or Hingis’ versatility, all four legends have been immortalized within the sport.

For the first time, main draw play at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank will begin on Tuesday August 7 and the final will be played on Monday evening, August 13 at 7 p.m.

oyetimes.com

Martina Hingis vs Steffi Graf exhibition in May

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Former grand slam tournament winners Martina Hingis and Goran Ivanisevic will join tennis legends Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf for exhibition matches in Taipei next May.

Graf's appearance had previously been announced by promoter Integration Sports not long after it held a successful exhibition between Agassi and Marat Safin in early January.

In filling out the lineup for the exhibition next May, Integration Sports CEO Jeff Hsu was happy to get the mercurial Ivanisevic, known for an extremely powerful serve and occasional temper tantrums, and Hingis, one of the women's game's best strategists.

"I think it was important to bring new faces to Taiwan. Graf and Hingis both have a lot of fans here, and I'm sure they'll have a lot of appeal," Hsu said Monday.

The exhibition matches, slated for Taipei Arena on May 26, will consist of two singles matches -- Agassi vs. Ivanisevic and Graf vs. Hingis -- and a mixed doubles.

The two singles matches will bring back memories of Agassi's first Grand Slam title, when he beat Ivanisevic in five sets in the 1992 Wimbledon final, and Graf's last major title, a three-set win over Hingis at the 1999 French Open after the Swiss Miss imploded over a line call and blew a 6-4, 2-0 lead.

The four tennis legends won a total of 36 Grand Slam singles titles between them during their careers. Graf had 22, Agassi eight, Hingis five and Ivanisevic one, when he improbably won Wimbledon as a wild card in 2001.

Ticket prices for the event will range between NT$800 and NT$10,000 (for seats in the first two rows around the court), similar to last year's exhibition between Agassi and Safin.

focustaiwan.tw

Martina Hingis bobsledding fun with hubby

2012-01-09T16:55:00.000-05:00

At the end of December Martina and hubby Thibault Hutin had some fun bobsledding in St. Moritz Switzerland.

She's certainly never boring, always the thrill-seeker!.

http://www.tio.ch/TioTV/663193/VIDEO-Ecco-Martina-Hingis-sfrecciare-a-St-Moritz--Match-Point-per-il-Bob

Sadly no embed link available.

Kim Clijsters Aussie Open recovery looking good

2012-01-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

Melbourne: Kim Clijsters has been cleared of major damage to her hip and expressed guarded optimism on Saturday about recovering in time for the defence of her Australian Open title.

Belgian Clijsters, who beat China's Li Na to win at Melbourne Park last year, retired hurt during her semi-final against Daniela Hantuchova at the Brisbane International on Friday, complaining of tightness in her hip.

An MRI scan had diagnosed a muscle spasm on Clijsters's tensor fascia lata, a muscle on the outside of the hip, a report on the Australian Open website said on Saturday.

"With this one I kind of have an okay feeling," the report quoted the four-times Grand Slam champion as saying. "If everything comes out okay it should take a little (less than) a week to get completely healed."

"I felt my left hip was getting tighter and tighter to the point I couldn't move forward with my upper body. The smartest choice was not to let it get any worse and try to be right for Melbourne."

Clijsters will have intensive treatment over the next few days and will have a second check-up on Wednesday, the report said.

ibnlivesports

Kim Clijsters & Roger Federer withdraw with injuries

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

The 2012 tennis season is only just underway, but it’s already taking a toll on the sport’s big names as players tune up for the Australian Open.

Only two days after Serena Williams pulled out of the Brisbane International tournament with a sprained ankle, Kim Clijsters retired from her semifinal match due to a hip injury. Meantime, men’s world No. 3 Roger Federer did not take the court for his semifinal at the Qatar Open on Friday, citing a back injury.

“I don’t feel a whole lot of improvement for today, and I just don’t think it’s the right time to risk anything more right now,” Federer said in a pre-match press conference. “I still have pain, and that’s why it was the only right decision, a difficult one for me.”

Federer, who said he still plans to play in this month’s Australian Open, knows he needs to be on top of his game following a season in which he finished outside the top two spots in the ATP year-end rankings for the first time since 2002.

The 30-year-old has been a fixture of good health during his near-decade-long run at the top of the men’s game, but has experienced back problems in the past.

“For Australia, I’m optimistic, just because it’s not very good but it isn’t crazy bad,” he said.

For Clijsters, the latest hip ailment is yet another troubling sign that her body may not make it through the season.

Clijsters won the 2011 Australian Open title to regain the No. 1 ranking for the first time in nearly five years, but shoulder and ankle injuries derailed her clay court season and forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. At the Rogers Cup, she retired from her first match due to an abdominal injury that prevented her from defending her US Open title.

On Friday, the four-time grand slam winner took the opening set from Daniela Hantuchova in Brisbane but needed treatment early in the seceond set and retired after falling behind 3-1.

“I felt my left hip was getting tighter and tighter to the point I couldn’t move forward with my upper body,” she said. “So it was the smartest choice to try and not let it get any worse, to be ready for Melbourne.”

Despite the injuries, Federer and Clijsters made no mention of a brewing distaste for the sport they play.

washingtonpost

Damn, poor Kim Clijsters just cannot catch a break, can she?. Hope she can actually participate & finish off this season (since this is her last one after all).

I really hope they can both actually play in the Australian Open next week. It would be a real shame if they couldn't.

Roger Federer withdraws from Doha with back spasms

2012-01-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

Awww, get well Roger!. Hope all is well at the Aussie Open next week.

Kim Clijsters Brisbane International run goes on

2012-01-05T23:56:00.002-05:00

Former champion Kim Clijsters has moved into the semi-finals of the Brisbane International, eclipsing hard-hitting Czech Iveta Benesova 6-3 6-2 On Pat Rafter Arena.

The fifth seed and defending Australian Open champion didn't have it all her own way against Benesova, who dumped local favourite and US Open champ Samantha Stosur out of the event earlier in the week.

The left-hander was down 5-0 in the opening set before giving Clijsters a fright, showing great power from the baseline to threaten to make a match of it before the veteran smarts of Clijsters had the final say.

Benesova had her chances – including seven break point opportunities in the first set – but could only capitalise on one occasion.

It was easier going in the second set for the Belgian, who had to earn her points but never really looked like becoming another victim in what has been a tournament of upsets.

Clijsters will now meet Daniela Hantuchova in a semi-final tomorrow night, with the Slovak advancing when Serena Williams withdrew from their quarter-final with an ankle injury.

The world number 13 has never lost in Brisbane (8-0) and looks to be over the abdominal injury that kept her out of last year's US Open, won by Stosur. This is Clijsters' first tournament on the comeback trail.

Serena Williams "doesn't love tennis" big news or confirmation?

2012-01-04T15:39:00.000-05:00

After winning her opening match of the 2012 tennis season, Serena Williams told reporters she doesn't love the sport in which she excels.

"I don't love tennis today but I'm here," she said after beating Chanelle Scheepers, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the Brisbane International.

"I can't live without it -- there's a difference between not loving something and not being able to live without it. I have never liked sports and could never understand how I became an athlete."

Serena went on to say that she doesn't like working out or training and that her 2012 schedule will be scaled back in order to provide her rest for big tournaments. The lighter slate also is intended to keep her motivated.

And therein these quotes lies the paradox that is Serena. From one view, her candor could be seen as refreshing. Here's a top athlete discussing the delicate balance of passion and obligation and fear of the unknown. She's revealing herself to the press, something she rarely has in the past.

Then you step back and realize Serena has the least self-awareness of any great athlete of the past decade. Two years later, she can't bring herself to acknowledge that she was wrong to threaten a lineswoman at the U.S. Open. She'll likely never admit her actions in last year's U.S. Open final crossed the line. Unless she gained some insight in the past four months, these quotes are selfish nonsense.

She's playing a lighter schedule in 2012? Since when has she ever played a full schedule? Even when she was a teenager, Serena never made it a secret that she focused on the big tournaments. There's nothing wrong with that. Let's not act as if this is some big sacrifice, though.

Nobody is surprised Serena doesn't like tennis. Like Andre Agassi before her, she seems to only love the winning and is willing to put up with what it takes to get there. The grind doesn't interest her much.

These aren't new insights into her soul. The underlying tone isn't that Serena is a reluctant sports hero, it's that she's able to be so much better than the rest of the tour without caring about the game like they do.

Her "I don't love tennis" quote isn't a revelation, it's a self-congratulatory declaration.

It's as if she's saying,"Just imagine what I could do if I cared."

yahoo sports

Finally, someone has the courage to say what I have been saying for years when it comes to this player (only more eloquently).

The reason's above are exactly why I just cannot admire her skills as an athlete, or even appreciate anything she brings to the game.

The atrocious attitude just cancels everything out for me every time. I actually do enjoy Venus quite a bit, who may not have as many trophies but is certainly the more humble and mature one of the two.

Reading this Serena pretty much confirmed what I've known for years she's always been in it for the accolades and the money nothing more. Brings a bad reputation to the WTA really.

Articles like these just remind me why I love Roger Federer more and more. The man is the epitome of tennis class, something Serena knows nothing about.

Kim Clijsters continues winning in Brisbane

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-05:00

HARD-hitting Belgian Kim Clijsters dealt Ana Ivanovic another psychological blow with a come from behind victory at the Brisbane International.

Clijsters fought back from 0-3 down in the final set to defeat Ivanovic 6-1 1-6 6-3 in the second round clash.

She has now won all five matches against Ivanovic and it's the second straight encounter in which Ivanovic has blown a third-set lead to last year's Australian Open champion.

Ivanovic held an early service break in the last set before capitulating. It was in complete contrast to the previous 30 minutes the No. 22-ranked Serb fought back from losing the first set in 21 minutes to rattle off nine of the next 10 games.

Yet the match was turned on its head when Clijsters finally found touch and left Ivanovic flat-footed and the crowd stunned.

Clijsters' hot and cold form was there to see in the statistics with 30 unforced errors and 23 winners.

She delivered just two aces.

But after a half-year break because of an abdominal injury, Clijsters felt she was progressing well in her bid to defend her Australian Open title.

"I haven't played for over six months so it's going to take time and I'm glad I was able to turn it around in this match and that is a positive," Clijsters said.

"I will take it away from this match. Six months of rehab and then practice, practice, practice is too long for me.

"I'm just excited to play a match."

Clijsters will now meet either US Open champion Sam Stosur or Czech Iveta Benesova in a quarter-final.

A confrontation with Stosur would be the perfect build-up for both of the grand slam title winners ahead of the Australian Open.

heraldsun.au

So far so good. Looking forward to the quarter final!.

Roger & Rafa candlelit rivaly in Doha

2012-01-02T17:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, that's f-ing awesome! (leave it to Qatar). Just hope they don't burn themselves :D.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:07:00.001-05:00

New Year 2012 Pictures Comments - Photobucket

It's the start of another year, may this one bring you all more health, wealth, happiness and love.

It's also the start of the 7th year of me writing on this blog (wow never thought I would stick with it this long!).

But as always thank you for visiting and commenting. It's all very much appreciated :).

We'll see where this year takes us.

Kim Clijsters off to a good start in the new year at Brisbane

2012-01-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

BRISBANE, Australia — Kim Clijsters began preparation for the defense of her Australian Open singles title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Romania’s Simona Halep in the first round of the Brisbane International on Sunday.

“I felt that I was playing aggressively and moving well, so I was pretty satisfied,” Clijsters said.

She also said the abdominal problem that forced her to retire from a number of tournaments, including the U.S. Open, in 2011 had left no lingering problems with her serving action.

“I felt confident with my serve. I think that’s something that, in the past, wasn’t always the case,” she said.

Clijsters beat China’s Li Na in the final at last year’s opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park. This year’s Australian Open begins Jan. 16.

washingtonpost.com

Song of the Moment: Robert Downey Jr.- River

2011-12-25T01:06:00.000-05:00

It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
And then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me, you know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty, made me weak in the knees
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Well, I'm so hard to handle, I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby that I ever had
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Oh, I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh, I wish I had a river that I could skate away on
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Probably my all time favourite cover (despite such sad lyrics).

Reminds me why I used to have a crush on this lovely man way back when (in the Ally McBeal days).

Damn good singer!. Merry Christmas :).

Season's Greetings from the WTA!

2011-12-24T18:47:00.000-05:00

Martina Hingis prefers Kvitova over Wozniacki

2011-12-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

FORMER champion Martina Hingis has added early spice to the Australian Open, questioning the credentials of world No. 1 and Melbourne Park top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Hingis, a triple Open champion, said Wozniacki was a fine athlete, but was too defensive.

And, with familiar bluntness, Hingis sheeted the blame for the Dane's shortcomings to her father and coach Piotr.

"(Wozniacki) may (be) moving better than the others, and she tries to go inside the court, but not often enough," Hingis told L'Equipe."

The fact that she does not win grand slams is not only her problem, but also that of her coach."

Wozniacki, 21, has spent 56 weeks at No. 1, but has so far failed to win a major despite owning 18 Women's Tennis Association Tour crowns.

She is a US Open finalist, Australian Open semi-finalist and French Open quarter-finalist, but doubts persist over whether she is good enough to win at the highest level.

Hingis, who coincidentally returns to grand slam competition for an invitational event at Melbourne Park from January 16-29, admires current world No. 2 Petra Kvitova.

She described the Wimbledon champion as "very solid, left-handed ... and is the only one I really like to watch. With others, it is monotonous."

Kvitova has been acclaimed as the Czech Republic's athlete of the year.It is the 21-year-old's latest accolade, following her surge in 2011 from No. 34 in the rankings.

The left-hander was recognised as the International Tennis Federation's world champion despite finishing behind Wozniacki in the rankings.

Kvitova was also hailed for being part of the Czech team of the year for her pivotal role in guiding its Fed Cup team to the title.

heraldsun.com.au

Martina Hingis tennis star turned coaching consultant

2011-12-22T15:48:00.005-05:00

Former Grand Slam champ, Martina Hingis, will lend her talents to the

Mouratoglou academy and help train promising young girls looking
to play professional tennis.

"I would like to give the girls some tactical and technical direction,"
she said of the move.

"I'll try to teach them to attack and move to the net quickly,
and not wait for the ball."

Hingis went on to say that the only player on today's circuit
whose style she admires is Petra Kvitova,
who won Wimbledon in 2011.

tennisworldusa.org

Kim Clijsters exhibition fun

2011-12-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

Imitation the sincerest form of flattery, or just plain hilarious?.

LMFAO!!

I wonder if some of the screaming players (we all know who they are) have seen this particular vid *snort*.

Alyson Hannigan expecting 2nd child

2011-12-16T17:13:00.001-05:00

Alyson Hannigan is expecting her second child, her rep confirms to JustJared.com.

The 37-year-old How I Met Your Motherstar “is thrilled to be pregnant.

She’s been wearing baggy clothes to cover the baby bump,” a source told Us Weekly, which first reported the news

Alyson - who already has a 2-year-old daughter, Satyana, with husband Alexis Denisof - was recently spotted showing off her growing belly in thin red crocheted sweater over a white shirt.

FYI: Alyson’s HIMYM character, Lily, is also currently pregnant!

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/12/16/alyson-hannigan-pregnant-with-second-child/

Congrats to the happy couple on their expending family! :)

Kim Clijsters exhibition fun turns dangerous

2011-12-15T15:46:00.001-05:00

Kim Clijsters and her sister Elke were playing a recent doubles exhibition against Caroline Wozniacki and Yanina Wickmayer when Clijsters made an unusual offer to soem fans in attendance.

"To all the men here," Clijsters said into the chair umpire's microphone, "the one who kisses Yanina first, wins that white car over there."

The four-time Grand Slam champion then pointed to a promotional vehicle parked on the side of the court and watched as two men lept out of the crowd and aggressively made their way to the 22-year-old Wickmayer.

Security took the men away, Wickmayer laughed off the incident and the doubles match resumed, with the Clijsters sisters winning an easy victory in their native Belgium. No word on whether either of the kissers got the car.

Nice job security *rolls eyes*.

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/Video-Clijsters-offers-car-to-first-fan-who-kis?urn=ten-wp3976

Martina Hingis & Jennifer Capriati play and mentor at Cayman

2011-12-14T15:40:00.000-05:00

When international tennis stars rolled into Cayman last month, they brought much more than their racquets and best shots; they took time to mould Cayman’s future tennis players.

A plethora of international stars from the last two decades headlined the 2011 edition of the KPMG Legends Tennis tournament at the Residences of the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman.

Swiss sensation Martina Hingis and her American counterpart Jennifer Capriati headlined the three day tournament which raised thousands for junior tennis and the Cayman Crisis Centre. Jimmy Arias, the perennial favourite, came again, Chanda Rubin for the first time and it was nice to see Nick Bollettieri inspiring the kids as he always does. Credit should go to Ritz-Carlton developer Michael Ryan for meshing it all together again.

Local juniors like Simon Butler, James Priaulx, Callum Theaker and Daniel Reid also got a chance to play in a big tournament atmosphere. It was also nice to see Panav Jha, the stand-out teenager hoping to pursue a career as a pro, playing in the singles here.

Hingis teamed up with Australian heavy hitter Mark Philippoussis and claimed the mixed doubles title, a new feature to the tournament, while veteran Wayne Ferreira was the singles winner. The extremely skilful Hingis was a perfect compliment to the power of Philippoussis, who at times during the competition unleashed his trademark serve.

When the pros weren’t on court they took time out to work with several students and for the first time in the tournament’s ten year history more than 1,350 students got the chance to the watch tournament action for free; a master stroke by the tournament organisers to include more of the Cayman community in the sport.

Dan Kneipp, the tournament director, said: “The interest in this year’s competition was evident in each evening session with thousands of locals soaking in the top level tennis and the theatrics of Murphy Jensen and Arias who were guest umpires when not playing.

“Not lost in the lively atmosphere was the need for the competition to have a charitable element - and again the Cayman Crisis Centre benefitted from the proceeds of a silent auction.

“So while the big name tennis stars drew the crowds and changed the lives of the juniors the KPMG Legends Tennis tournament left another indelible mark with its community service.”

businessinsider

Hingis Fed Cup rumors untrue, no hope for Swiss Olympic pairing

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Martina Hingis' representatives have denied reports that the former world No. 1 intends to play a Fed Cup tie for Switzerland in February.

Hingis, who has never officially retired, has been linked with a mouthwatering doubles reunion with Roger Federer for the London 2012 Olympics.

With a Fed Cup appearance part of the qualifying requirements for Olympic selection, Hingis was reported to be preparing for Switzerland's Fed Cup clash against Australia in February.

Rene Stammbach, the president of the Swiss Tennis Federation, told the Swiss press that he hopes "to get Hingis' commitment within the next few days."

But Hingis' camp has dismissed the latest rumours as a gimmick to sell tickets for the World Group II tie in Fribourg.

"They have a big arena to fill and no active players to fill it," a spokesman told Tennis.com. "We want to avoid their creating hype, rumours, gimmicks to sell tickets."

With the recent retirement of Patty Schnyder, Switzerland's top two players are No. 138 Stefanie Voegele and No. 243 Timea Bacsinszky who has not played since March after under going surgery on a foot injury.

Hingis, 31, had been involved in tentative talks with Federer's camp over the possibility of an Olympic match-up. However, the five-time major champion is yet to meet a series of requirements, including a Fed Cup appearance and a comeback on the WTA Tour.

espn.co.uk

Martina Hingis & hubby Thibault Hutin at Gucci Masters

2011-12-12T17:10:00.000-05:00

Martina Hingis and Thibault Hutin, both horse riders, competing in the Gucci Masters. International Gucci Masters is a a jumping competition held at the Palais des Expositions in Villepinte.

More pics here and here

Clijsters staying cautious in 2012

2011-12-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

With injuries throughout 2011, Belgian Kim Clijsters opted out of some important tournaments this year including Wimbledon and the US Open where she was the double defending champion.

“The start of 2011 was really good. But after that I made some decisions I no longer would make now.

After a physically and psychologically very strenuous Australian Open, the indoor tournament in Paris was the one event too much. Now, I'll be listening to my body much better,” commented Clijsters on her injuries in 2011.

The Belgian starts of her 2012 campaign at the Brisbane International before moving to defend her title at the Australian Open.

When asked about her targets for 2012 Clijsters added, “I will take things one tournament at a time, but above all I would like to improve my game. I have been working really hard at my service, because that often did not go well in the past year.”

Clijsters also showed a certain level of uncertainty when asked about her Fed Cup and Olympic aspirations.

“I have spoken to team captain Ann Devries, but I have not decided anything yet. The year will be very busy already with the sequence of Wimbledon and the Olympics. I'll see how things are after the Australian Open. Should I do as well as last year it might all be a bit much, but should things go not too well Down Under the Fed Cup might be an appropriate challenge.”

It seems like we will see a new and improved Clijsters in 2012 and lets hope she bedazzles us with her scintillating tennis that we are used to!.

tennisearth.com

Funny Church signs

2011-12-10T17:36:00.001-05:00

Kim Clijsters successful in 1st exhibition after long break

2011-12-09T16:40:00.001-05:00

(CNN) -- Four-time grand slam champion Kim Clijsters made a successful return from injury by defeating world number one Caroline Wozniacki in an exhibition match in Antwerp, Belgium.

Clijsters, U.S. Open champion in 2005, 2009 and 2010, has been out for almost four months after sustaining a stomach muscle injury in August.

"So far, and today, everything felt really great," the 28-year-old said told the 10,000-strong crowd after winning 6-2 7-6 (7-5) at the Antwerp Sports Palace on Thursday.

The Belgian will now focus on preparing to defend her Australian Open crown in Melbourne in January after securing victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

Clijsters climbed to the top of the world rankings in February before sustaining shoulder and ankle injuries in April. She injured her stomach while attempting to recover in time to challenge for a fourth U.S. Open title and is only now regaining full fitness.

"I am happy to have played a match and break the rhythm of daily training," the 41-time WTA Tour winner said.

Clijsters initially retired from tennis in 2007 to concentrate on raising her daughter, but in 2009 she performed a u-turn and announced she would return to sport.

It was a spectacular comeback as Clijsters gained wild-card entry to the U.S. Open before going on to win the title at Flushing Meadows two years in a row.

CNN International Edition

Song of the Moment: Ingrid Michealson & Sara Bareilles-Winter Song

2011-12-06T17:27:00.001-05:00

With the snow falling on the ground the last few days the song seems very appropriate. I love the very subtle melody and lyrics perfect for sitting and relaxing around this time of year.

I fell in love with Ingrid Michaelson after hearing a bunch of her songs on Grey's Anatomy. And I must say I'm really starting to enjoy Sara Bareilles as well.

Roger Federer 6 time ATP World Tour Champion!

2011-11-27T16:28:00.001-05:00

Pics from menstennisforums.com

Roger Federer has become the first player to win six titles at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The fourth-seeded Swiss won his 70th tour-level trophy in his 100th final on Sunday after he defeated sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, in two hours and 19 minutes, to become the oldest titlist at the year-end championship.

The 30-year-old Federer, who won all five matches he played this week, at The O2 in London, picked up a cheque for $1,630,000 and 1,500 South African Airways ATP Rankings points. He was also year-end champion in 2003-04, 2006-07 and 2010. The victory also tied Federer with Ivan Lendl's wins record at the tournament. Lendl compiled a 39-10 mark, with five titles, while Federer is now 39-7.

It was Federer's third straight indoor trophy, after title runs at the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. Nishikori) and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (d. Tsonga) two weeks ago. He also beat Tsonga last Sunday in Group B round-robin play and finishes the year unbeaten indoors with a 16-0 mark.

Federer, who had won the first set in his six previous year-end finals, turned up the heat on Tsonga at 4-3, when he hit three straight backhand winners to give his French opponent a headache at 0/40. Federer, who had looked second-best for much of the first set, broke serve and ultimately clinched the set in 35 minutes, despite the best efforts of Tsonga to break.

On Federer's first set point at advantage, Tsonga drew Federer to the net before ripping a backhand winner down the line. Federer then hit a forehand approach winner and on his second set point chance, Tsonga made a backhand error under pressure. Federer hit nine winners to Tsonga's 12, but took his chance in the eighth game. Tsonga, lost just five points on serve and his 12 winners, but came out second best.

Tsonga almost buckled under the pressure at 1-1 in the second set, after he hit two double faults, but he managed to salvage the game from 15/40. Two games later, however, Federer set up one more break point opportunity. Taking advantage of a second serve at 30/40, Federer ran around his backhand to lash a forehand winner downthe line for a 3-2 lead.

Federer served for the title at 5-4, but a lapse in concentration saw him face three break points at 0/40. He saved two when Tsonga hit a backhand return long and a forehand into the net, but he could not win the third as Tsonga attacked the net off a forehand to strike a smash winner. In the next game, Tsonga saved one break with with a powerful forehand approach, which Federer could not scramble back. The set was decided on a tie-break.

Federer took a 4-2 lead in the tie-break courtesy of a forehand volley, after both players made edgey starts.

He then hit a drive volley winner for a three-point cushion. But Tsonga came back by winning three straight points, until Federer's sixth ace of the match took him to his first match point chance at 6-5.

Tsonga kept his nerve and fired a mid-court forehand for a winner, then hit an unreturned serve for his first set point opportunity at 7-6. Tsgona jumped all over Federer's second serve, hammering a forehand return to the Swiss' feet.

Tsonga hit 18 winners in the set and won 10 of his 15 net points.

The quality of tennis in the deciding set improved with every game. Tsonga came through hold for 3-3, with his never-say-die brand of tennis, when he hit three forehand winners, while Federer continued to clinch routine service holds.

The presure, of serving second in the set, looked to weight heavily on Tsonga's shoulders at 3-4. He fought back from 0/30 with three straight points, but then committed two forehand errors to gift Federer a break point opportunity.

Tsonga saved it by following a forehand to the net and hitting a volley winner. Two points later, facing break point again, he came to the net and executed a perfect back cross-court angle that left Federer motionless. Federer made it third time lucky for a 5-3 lead, when Tsonga over-balanced while running for a forehand that he hit wide.

Federer closed out his 64th match win of the season (64-12 overall) with a hold to love, finishing with a forehand volley winner, and leapt in the air in celebration. He has a 6-1 record in year-end finals, losing only to David Nalbandian in the 2005 title match.

atpworldtour.com

Roger Federer through to ATP World Tour Finals

2011-11-26T16:04:00.001-05:00

If there is an identity crisis in tennis, someone forgot to tell Roger Federer - although he probably did not need a toe-curling paeon of courtside praise on TV after beating David Ferrer yesterday to remind him of his place in the world's affections (tucked in there behind Nelson Mandela, apparently).

Of the leading eight players in the game who gathered in London over the past week for the final tournament of a debilitating season, only the pristine Swiss has resembled his old self, and yesterday he reminded Ferrer that some things in life do not change by force of will alone.

Federer beat the determined Spaniard 7-5, 6-3 – his 12th win over him in 12 matches – to reach today's final of the Barclay's ATP World Tour Finals. Only Ivan Lendl with nine appearances, and Boris Becker (eight) have reached more title deciders in this tournament.

It is also the 100th final of Federer's career and might be his 70th victory. If he does win (only a fool would bet against him) he will secure a record sixth Tour Finals title and, tomorrow, reclaim the No 3 world ranking that Andy Murray took from him briefly during his hat-trick tour of Asia. Victory would also place him equal sixth alongside Stefan Edberg on 806 career match wins. This is the cv of no ordinary athlete. Alarmingly for his peers, joyously for his fans, he thinks he is getting better.

"For me, it's only logical to improve," he said, "but you have to have the work ethic, to sleep, drink, live healthy as a tennis player, because no one else is running but ourselves. That makes it extremely difficult mentally. I have also been amazed myself how long I've been able to keep it up."

It was not a perfect Federer performance; few since his last major, the 2010 Australian Open, have been, although there have been sightings of the old boy, memorably in Paris and New York. But, after an uncertain start - 19 unforced errors in the first set gave Ferrer cruel, passing hope - he was too good over an hour and 25 minutes for the world No 5.

Federer has emerged from a bruised pack, the oldest swinger in town at 30. Others have been less resilient. Talk of burnout might be boring, but it is an issue crystallised almost daily in Greenwich.

Janko Tipsarevic beat his friend Novak Djokovic for the first time on Friday, but reminded us this was not the same player who had won three slams in what he reckoned was the greatest single year in the sport's history; the real Rafael Nadal is somewhere in Mallorca, having sent his doppelganger to collapse in London; and Murray is hibernating with a variety of ailments to body and spirt, hoping to emerge renewed in Australia in the new year.

Ferrer's task was considerable, despite his surge in the round robin matches. The momentum was with him for a snapshot moment or two. He took it to the great man from the first game; at 2-2, he saved break point to hold. Then reality kicked in.

Having lost his last round-robin match in three sets the previous evening to Tomas Berdych, Ferrer - who had to play near his best to overcome a one-legged Murray in the first round - was one of the tournament's exhausted walking targets, but he showed eye-blazing vigour that made his game a neat fit with the languid skills of his opponent.

Federer's revamped backhand deserted him under pressure in the fifth game, going wide and long then into the net as mistakes mounted, but he held. He hit nervelessly through five deuce points to hold serve at 5-5.

Federer played a masterful rally, finished with a backhand volley, to hold two break points. Ferrer, looking ragged as Federer pulled him at will back and forth across the baseline, struck wildly and a forehand inched outside the white line. The set was gone from his limp grasp.

He went 2-0 down after a few minutes in the second set and, when he was dragged to deuce to hold in the fifth game, his resistance ebbed. Federer rifled a forehand down the line in the ninth game, and Ferrer could do no more than get the edge of the frame on to the whirring ball. He left for Spain's Davis Cup final with Argentina a shredded version of himself, a parting pat on the back from his conqueror scant consolation.

guardian.co.uk

Roger Federer receives ATP World Tour Award

2011-11-25T21:41:00.001-05:00

Federer keeps rolling on at ATP World Tour Finals

2011-11-24T22:49:00.001-05:00

Roger Federer stands alone, again – naturally. In the space of a few days by the banks of the Thames the Swiss has reminded his weary peers as well as sniping doubters that 30 is a number no more significant than 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, the ones he put on struggling Mardy Fish on Thursday by way of limbering up for the semi-finals of the Barclay's ATP World Tour Finals, the game's last proving ground of the season.

After a third round-robin match, of no significance, he subtly deconstructed what he regards as the myth of burnout, an issue that has consumed others to the point of rebellion but has left him singularly unimpressed. As most of the seven others who started this tournament ruminate on their past bruises and more to come, il gran signore shrugs.

"My body, even if it's injured," he said earlier in the week, "can still play really well, whereas maybe other players, if they are injured, it doesn't work any more." It was the most unsubtle dig at Andy Murray, who had left the tournament on Tuesday with a groin strain.

At the moment Federer is floating above a sea of tennis turmoil. He has 20 gears and needed perhaps half of them to beat Fish, the 29-year-old American with nothing to lose and nothing to win, as he had already failed twice in the round-robin series.

Homesick Mardy had his parents, Sally and Tom, in the stands but the American was a long way from home on Thanksgiving Day and a similar distance behind Federer at the end.

Fish won 93% of his first serves; the previous night David Ferrer's numbers against Novak Djokovic were similarly impressive: 92. Clearly, to compete with the best, players need to have their serve cranked to near-perfection.

But Federer remains the master of court manipulation, whatever the strength of his opponent's serve. When Fish served at 2-5 to stay in the match he was nowhere near as cool under pressure as Federer had been in a similar situation in the second set half an hour earlier, but he hung on.

In the end he looked happy to be in the presence of a player whose gifts are so great their diminution is, for the moment, barely discernible.

After his calm demolition of Fish in an hour and 47 minutes Federer expanded on his thesis that the game is panicking for no reason.

"Next year's season is going to be shortened by two weeks," he said when asked if the season was too long. "That's as much as we can squeeze it, otherwise a lot of tournaments would have to go – or we would have four tournaments the same week, which I don't think is a very smart idea.

"The whole boycott thing [as mentioned by Murray, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick at the US Open], it's nonsense. The season's always been long, tough and gruelling. Maybe it's more physical. But I've played 10 years straight, 60-plus matches [a year], if not 90 at times. It's about how you manage your schedule."

So, no sympathy for Djokovic, the world No1, whose tired legs betrayed his ennui in a straight-sets defeat by Ferrer in an hour and 15 minutes the night before.

From ennui to Henry, then. Federer spent the evening away from the torture chamber in Greenwich watching Arsenal with his old friend, Thierry, and revealed the French player had begged him to come to the Emirates. "I said: 'Just let me try to beat Rafa first. If I'm through in the group, there's a good chance I'll come.'"

He went. "I'd ask him a question, why would they play this way, why did they do that, what does that player do well? He can explain all these things. He's like a manager. I was able to go down on the pitch, go in the locker room, meet the players. They were extremely happy." As they should be.

It was only the second match he has seen live in England, after England v Argentina at Wembley 11 years ago. May he soon have more time for Mirka [Federer's wife] and the twins, or are there goals left? "I guess I do play a bit for the legacy and the history, the record books. But it's really the press that remind me of most things. I just go along with it. I have no intentions to quit."

If Federer reaches Sunday's final, he will take back the No3 spot he surrendered to Murray on the Scot's exhilarating run in Asia. If he does not, it will be a surprise given the quality of his tennis this week.

If he wins his sixth title? Well, his vast army of fans will be encouraged to believe in the second coming of Roger. Is he excited about getting back to No3? As you might expect from someone who was No1 for so many years, no. "It doesn't mean the world to me," he said. But Federer still means a lot to the world of tennis.

guardian.co.uk

Federer demolishes Nadal secures place in ATP World Tour Final semis

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

Five-time champion Roger Federerearned a spot in the semifinals at tennis’ ATP World TourFinals by beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

The defending champion from Switzerland defeated thesecond-ranked Spaniard 6-3, 6-0 at London’s O2 arena. AlthoughNadal leads Federer 17-9 in their career rivalry, he’s neverbeaten the Swiss player indoors.

The fourth-ranked Federer is on a 14-match winning streaksince the semifinals of the U.S. Open, winning back-to-backtitles in his hometown of Basel and in Paris. He is seeking arecord-breaking sixth ATP Finals title. Federer defeated Nadalin last year’s final to tie Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl as theonly men with five trophies.

The ATP Finals feature a round-robin format, with the topeight players in the ATP rankings divided into two groups. Eachplays the three others in the group, with the top two in eachsection moving into the knockout semifinals. Federer is thefirst player to qualify for the semifinals, having also won hisopening match against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

That ladies and gentlemen is what we call a thrashing!.

I can't remember the last time I've seen Fed play so well (that forehand was on fire!), and get a bagel from Nadal no less.

Hope this is a sign of good things to come in 2012 (I think there certainly will if he continues to play like this!).

Masterclass indeed.

bloomberg.com

DWTS 13: The Finals Part 2

2011-11-22T23:23:00.001-05:00

Ricki & Derek kicked things off for the last time with their most memorable dance (and choreography) the "Psycho" inspired Tango.

The call back to this dance was unsurprisingly loved by all. Bruno called it an unforgettable grand cinematic extravaganza.

Carrie Ann thought it was perfect the first time and beyond perfect the 2nd.

Gotta say this one does stand out in the way that season 5 Helio Castroneves "Mask" inspired one still sticks in my mind all these years later.

Dance choreography and performance at it's best.

30 points were added to their overall score from last night for a grand total of 84. Sadly despite earning the highest score Ricki fell short of the final coming in 3rd place.

Which to me was the wrong choice because really out of the remaining 3 Ricki and J.R. were the better dancers in comparison to Rob.

But oh well, an awesomely valiant effort nonetheless. An absolute delight to watch week in week out. Thanks Ricki! :)

Rob & Cheryl were up next with their reprise of the Foxtrot. Bruno reiterated that he's improved beyond everyone's expectations. Calling him smooth and suave.

Carrie Ann loved how things look so easy for him at this stage. Len said he possessed the best foot work of any guy in the history of the show. Really Len?, really?.

I recall him saying the same thing in regards to Hines Ward (who I believe was dancing with Kim Johnson) last year. 26 was their score a grand total of 83 points.

J.R. & Karina reprised their Jive (which they performed all the way back in week 2).

Taking out the lift and Lindy Hop which Carrie Ann and Len complained about.

Carrie Ann loved the way J.R. has been the catalyst for joy. Len added that he lights up the room each time.

Bruno called it energetic fast paced fun, fun, fun. Agreed. His exuberant joy on the dance floor is infectious. 28 was the score added to their overall total of 82.

As always the show also featured the return of all the celebs from this season, but I won't bother recapping any of that.

Other then to say I loved seeing Lacey & Chaz shake their groove with Lacey's dad to boot!.

Definite highlight.

Rob & Cheryl and J.R. Karina battled it out for the trophy with an Instant Samba to Ricki Martin's "Shake Your Bon Bon". That they did.

As with all the final scores both couples got a perfect 30. No big surprise there.

In the end Rob & Cheryl had a final score of 113 and J.R. and Karina were just one point behind with 112.

In the end it was Mr. charismatic himself J.R. Martinez who became to new champ of Dancing with the Stars season 13.

Congrats to them both!. So nice to see a different pro lift that Mirrorball trophy. Been a while. A well earned win.

And that's all folks DWTS will be back March 19th 2012 with a brand new cast.

DWTS 13: The Finals part 1

2011-11-21T21:21:00.001-05:00

And then there were 3.

Ricki & Derek were up first with a sexy Cha Cha. Len found it action packed with good timing and rhythm.

And although he wanted more hip action it was a dance worthy of the finals. Bruno said she's never been hotter. Carrie Ann said she was living the dance.

I thought it was quite good, but I have seen better. Maybe it's because the show has been on for so long there's only so much originality one can put into a routine and Derek has won the thing 3 times.

I just wasn't jumping out of my seat with excitement as I have in the past. Still an excellent performance. I guess it was a bit under par for the judges as well because they give a 27/30.

They received identical scores for their free style. Which Len found fun and entertaining, despite a not so perfect Quickstep. Bruno enjoyed Ricki's explosive entrance onto the dance floor.

Carrie loved the effortless lifts. I tend to agree with a little bit of everything from the judges it was a really great number and the lifts were wonderfully done, but as I mentioned in their first dance something was missing (I think the choreography was a bit lackluster this time).

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed.

Sorry Derek that's what you get when you're damn near perfect 3 years in a row. Their overall total was 54/60.

Rob &Cheryl danced the Waltz. Which Bruno thought was full of expression, and he loved the continuity of lines. Carrie Ann thought he looked like the male Cinderella.

Len thought he lost posture a few times but the simplicity of it was beautiful. 27/30 (popular score tonight). I thought it was pretty decent myself, he's certainly proven he's 10 times the dancer his sister never was.

Their free style was up next. Bruno loved the brilliant content and execution. Carrie Ann was simply blown away.

Again I thought it was alright but nothing spectacular. They performed the exact same lifts as Ricki and Derek, so I didn't see anything outstanding content wise.

Not really sure they deserved a perfect score but whatever. 30/30 it was making their grand total 57/60 putting them in first place. WTF. Again I say whatever.

J.R. & Karina did a Cha Cha that received mixed reviews from the judges. Carrie Ann thought he was off musically and warned him to watch his arms.

Len and Bruno on the other hand both agreed his enthusiasm got the better of him making him attack it a little too hard making the whole thing fall apart in the process.

I agree that it wasn't perfect but I don't think it was as bad as they deemed it to be I would have given them a bit higher then 24/30.

But no worries because they redeemed themselves with the free style.

Which was pretty damn good. Carrie Ann was so impressed with the lifts she used the word 'sick'. I don't think I've ever heard her use that term in all the years I've been watching.

Len thought the dance revealed 2 things Karina's body and J.R.'s talent. Bruno was equally enthralled calling it a brilliant comeback.

I must say Karina certainly took some risks with pretty crazy lifts. It payed off I think, made it look different then the rest of the routines. I loved it.

Definitely deserving of a perfect score tying them with Ricki and Derek 54/60.

I'm split on who I want to win the Mirror Ball this season. Although I love Ricki & Derek, I'm kind of leaning toward J.R. & Karina (not just because of his inspiring story) but because I think he really deserves it.

His personality and spirit (as Carrie Ann) said has shown in every single dance. Plus given that both Derek and Cheryl have won the thing already it would be nice for a first timer to get it.

And it's about time for Karina. As long as Rob doesn't win I won't complain about the end result.