Roddick makes no friends in Vegas

Andy Roddick withdrew from the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, and has apparently caused a big ol' hissy fit in the process. Starting here:

Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake make a big racquet as pro tennis returns to Southern Nevada. Oops, Roddick has a hangnail and won’t be playing here.

Then an article turns up (by the same guy), which has a little more info.

...Roddick, the world's fourth-ranked player and the TCO's top seed and biggest attraction, announced Friday, fewer than 72 hours before the start of the tournament, that he was withdrawing because of fatigue.

This is what the tournament organizers call "Andy's-a-looza.''

And:

Good thing Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman isn't worried about selling tickets. Or refunding them. Just as predictable, hizzoner wasn't bashful about saying what was on his mind, and he didn't whisper it off the record behind closed doors in the player's lounge.

Grabbing the microphone at the official tournament draw Saturday, Mayor Goodman basically called Roddick a phony who reneged on his word. Then he said the real reason Roddick bailed on the TCO was because Lleyton Hewitt was going to kick his rear end. (He actually said "rear end'' too, although it took all his restraint not to use the real word in front of the genteel country club types.)

I definitely see where they are coming from, but the lame comments about Hewitt don't really flip my flop. Anyone can see now that both Roddick and Hewitt are not playing their best tennis, and I would guess that each man is far more concerned about himself than maintaining some kind of half-ass rivalry at a brand new tournament.

The part that sucks for the organizers and fans of the Tennis Channel Open is that this kind of backlash is just not going to matter very much for getting Roddick to play here. Injured/tired/lazy or not, I stand by the idea that players are going to just start taking more time off to get their shit together.

Inside Tennis in China

Tennis players from China have been in the news, so here is some insight into what is going on:

Peng, whose 2005 world ranking of 31 was the highest ever for a Chinese player, wants final say over her training regime and tournament schedule, as well as the splitting of prize money, a report said Tuesday. "We will decide on the season schedule on our own, hire our own coach and pay for our own expenses," Peng's mother and spokeswoman, Zhang Bing, was quoted as saying in the state-run newspaper Shanghai Daily.

Like virtually all Chinese athletes, 20-year-old Peng grew up in a state sports system that grooms players from childhood at no cost, but regards them as government servants with little say over their careers.

Tennis officials originally labelled Peng's demands as selfish, but now appear to be backing down.

The newspaper Chengdu Commercial Times cited unnamed tennis officials as saying that "only a few details" remained to be worked out in a deal that would keep Peng on the national team, while letting her arrange her own training and competition schedule.

Peng would pay her expenses, while splitting some prize money with the association, the report said.

I wonder if all the players will want or be able to get a deal like this...

A bad photo of Maria Sharapova has been found!

Okay, this really isn't news at all, but Maria Sharapova can take comfort in the fact that she is so attractive that people like me piddle away their free time hunting down and writing about a single unattractive photo of her.

The offending photo was located in this article. Clearly the angle and lighting are poor (green?) and even the photoshopper couldn't save it. When I first opened the page, I was wondering how a chunky Britney Spears got into tennis.

Read about crazy tennis dads

There are crazy parents in any sport, but this is an interesting (and lengthy) article about yet another entry for tennis specifically.

Never far away, the 49-year-old Nigerian-born Clement Iyeyemi immersed himself in his children's training to the exclusion of everything else. But in the haven for ambitious tennis parents that is South Florida, that didn't seem strange.

"Not any more than a Capriati or a Pierce or a Williams," said tennis coach Rick Macci, who has coached the famously skilled daughters of all three famously driven men.

More than anyone realized, Iyeyemi fit in with that group: Jennifer Capriati's father, blamed for his daughter's burnout; Mary Pierce's father, accused of hitting his daughter; and the father of Serena and Venus Williams, who is said to have planned their careers before they were conceived.

As the Iyeyemi children were winning tennis tournaments across Florida, their cancer-stricken mother reported to French authorities that their father had tricked her into letting him take them out of France after years of terrorizing the family. French prosecutors said they found evidence that Iyeyemi had beaten them all with his fists and tennis racket, leaving broken bones and scars.

Federal authorities arrested Iyeyemi Jan. 24 in Boca Raton on assault, domestic violence and parental abduction charges. He remains in Palm Beach County Jail, awaiting extradition to France, where his children have returned with their mother.

Read the whole thing for the full story.

Roddick pulls out of Tennis Channel Open

Andy Roddick has decided to not play in the Tennis Channel Open, set in Las Vegas, USA. His reason is that he is tired and needs a break, or as Reuters puts it "due to weariness". What a great word to dig out of either A) a non-American journalist or B) a computer thesaurus.

I think we'll see a silent protest of sorts this year - players taking rest breaks from events because they feel the schedule is too demanding or too long. Roddick has a lot of other worries on his plate, but I think both the top WTA and ATP players are starting to show they won't play just any tournament anymore.

Want to learn more about Andy Murray?

A well-written article was posted about him that beats pretty much anything you'll read here. In the event that the evil "you must subscribe to this site" gods prevent you from following the link, I have extracted some of the Andy Murray info below:

Murray's lifestyle is very different from those of Henman and Rusedski. For much of the last three years he has been living at a tennis academy in Barcelona, where he has based his training, or at home with his mother and his brother in Dunblane, Scotland, or staying at Petchey's family home.

Or, much more frequently, in hotel rooms, occasionally sharing a room with Petchey to save money.

Like most teenagers, Murray wears hooded tops and brightly-coloured clothes and is often seen between matches listening to his Ipod. He would also like a little more independence and has ambitions of passing his driving test - if he can find the time for lessons.

"I don't want a flash car, just something that would allow me to stop using the Tube. And it would be good not to have to rely on my mum all the time, particularly when I have to listen to her singing in her car," he has said.

Murray has been far from extravagant with the money he has earned so far, and is "not interested in big houses". He is more concerned with spending his leisure time following boxing and going go-karting.

"I've been lucky to have earned a few quid over the last few months but this is the first time I've had any money to spend. Yet I have bought nothing - apart from CDs, DVDs, and a Playstation.

"I guess I'm not used to having any cash. My only possessions are an Ipod, a laptop, my Playstation, a pair of boxing gloves and a few clothes - and my rackets.

"I think I'm pretty much a normal teenager but I don't do trendy nightclubs. You're more likely to find me in Pizza Express."

He won me over with that Pizza Express part. I LOVE Pizza Express.

Some player named Henman might retire

Tim Henman, the currently out-of-favor British tennis player has set his personal goals for this year - and if he doesn't achieve them, he will retire.

"It's not a decision I have to make now, but I've set myself targets and if I don't reach them then, come the end of the year, I'll be saying: 'Thanks very much, I'm getting out of here'. I've got to be enjoying my tennis again and, for that to happen, my back's got to hold up and I've got to get back into the top 20. I need that as a minimum.

"Call it unfinished business, if you like, but I need to know, once and for all whether my body and mind will let me play on. If they do, I've got two or three years left. If they don't, then I'll be calling it a day."

I'm not saying that top 20 is too much for him to achieve, but I do think he has a tough road ahead of him, especially if he is not healthy. Relying on a few tournaments here and there just won't be enough to hold up to some of the field, but others have pulled it off. Now that the spotlight is on Andy Murray, he may be able to relax and take some of the pressure off of himself.

I kinda laughed when I saw Andy Murray and Henman complaining about this pressure from their home country and the press - then I started reading the articles, and I really do have to say that there is more pressure over there than in countries who care less about tennis. When Murray won the SAP Open and lost in the Memphis tournament, the headlines went from "Murray will be #1" to "Murray squanders his big chance for consecutive titles" and "Murray triggers the apocalypse in latest loss". Okay, I made that last one up.

Massu wins first title since Olympics

Nicolas Massu, who is probably most memorable for his comeback to win in the Olympics, has added his first title since the Games in Athens to his collection. He said:

'I did get nervous at the end of the match but thanks to God I managed to close it and win this very important title.'

I'll admit it, this guy kinda bugs me, but he is still fun to watch. I thought for sure he would be called out for doping after the Olympics, because it seemed superhuman to be able to pull off those wins - but he wasn't, so he really has to be credited for digging deep there.

(random worthless tangent) ...which makes me wonder how interesting a doping league in tennis could be...no drug testing, just let people fight it out...then, maybe at the end of the year, the #1 doper could play Feder...oops, the number one ATP (or WTA) player. I'd pay to see it. Even a doping Olympics would be fun. (end random worthless tangent)

Stepanek gets Rotterdam victory, first title

Radek Stepanek claimed the first title of his career with success in the Rotterdam Open final.
The Czech player swept past the challenge of Belgium's Christophe Rochus 6-0 6-3 in just 45 minutes.

I liked this quote from Stepanek - it shows how much he took into this match:

"I woke up in the morning with a feeling that in no way would I leave Rotterdam without this trophy."

Haas continues to win

Tommy Haas has really been having a good year.

Tommy Haas has established himself as one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour after winning his second title in a month.

Seeded sixth, the 27-year-old German recorded a 6-3 6-2 victory over unseeded Robin Soderling of Sweden in the final of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup.

That is quite a mouthful - "Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup"?

Maria doesn't get her wish

Th press is still hot on the grunting trail, quizzing Hingis about it after her loss to Sharapova in Dubai:

When Hingis was asked if Sharapova's grunting affected her own performance, Hingis giggled and then said: "Actually it was quite funny."

Maybe she'll elaborate another time.

Justine Henin-Hardenne photo

whhhhhhooosh....
Originally uploaded by goldmanoz.

Check out this great photo of Justine Henin-Hardenne - it has some of everything that sports photography should be. I could only hope that I get a shot like this someday. :)

Clijsters isn't nice, she's pitiful

The headline says it all - "...Mauresmo should be world No. 1, says Clijsters". Is Kim so attention-starved that she has to say something dumb like this every week so that she can continue to be called "the nice girl" of tennis? Next she will be handing over trophies to other players. Perhaps she has had a bit too much champagne? I was really pulling for Kim last year, but I'll admit I prefer competition over hugs.

US Davis Cup team roster change?

So, first the news/speculation:

"Certainly Roddick and the Bryans, unless anything major happens in the next month, are essentially locks for the team," McEnroe said. "James certainly made a major statement in La Jolla. I wouldn't say that that's a lock, but ... I've spoken to Andre Agassi a couple of times and under the right circumstances I think he would be interested in coming back."

Am I the only one who thinks this choice is a bit insane? Let's see - we have a young guy who has done well for us in the Davis Cup, who has improved his ranking, and who has been healthy. And then we have an older guy who has been injured since late 2005 and has not played much...who should play?

I normally like McEnroe's coaching of the Davis Cup Team. You see him out watching the players, and making smart choices. Except for now - he should not even be considering this unless the grass surface is a major disadvantage for Blake.

Catfight, anyone?

From the world of the Sunday Times (London), we have an entry for the time-well-spent category of articles: "The top 10 sporting catfights". Making the list:

3 Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis In 2000 the long-suffering folk of Santiago, Chile, finally had something to cheer their troubled souls when those tennis ambassadresses, Kournikova and Hingis, agreed to take part in an exhibition match (albeit for half the nation’s gross domestic product, but that’s a side issue). The friendly facade lasted until Hingis disputed a line call and Kournikova refused to yield. As they crossed over, Hingis sneered: “You think you are the tennis queen, but I am!” Kournikova simply reminded her who was the more marketable, and that’s where sporting instinct stopped. Later in the dressing room there was screaming and hair-pulling, which resulted in Kournikova being sacked from their doubles partnership for several years.

Hey, maybe I shouldn't have been so sarcastic before. This is getting good. More:

4 Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova A late replacement in the 2004 Federation Cup, Anastasia Myskina played a blinder to defeat France. Then Shamil Tarpischev, Russia’s tennis overlord, had the bright idea of inviting Maria Sharapova — and therefore her scary father, Yuri — into the 2005 fold. The team rebelled and Myskina threatened to walk out before coach Larisa Neiland intervened. “Maria’s main problem is her father. I just don’t see how he would co-exist with other girls’ parents and team officials. He basically tells everyone to get lost.” said Neiland. Needless to say, such nonsense wouldn’t have happened in Stalin’s day.

Boooring. Where's the hair-pulling? We all know Yuri sucks, and he doesn't have any hair to pull. Myskina seems to much prefer hanging onto horse hair while she rides nude. Next!

8 Venus Williams and Irina Spirlea In 1997, on her way to becoming the US Open’s first unseeded finalist, Venus Williams met unfancied Romanian Irina Spirlea in the semis. Spirlea bumped into Williams during a changeover. The Williams camp claimed that she said something racist. Venus looked suitably misty-eyed before going on to win. Later, her in-no-way-overprotective father Richard merely retorted that Spirlea was “a big, ugly, tall, white turkey”. Which was nice.

Ah, Richard. The Yuri of the 90's.

I was tempted to post links to the myskina horse pics, but when I searched Google Images for them (search term: Myskina), I found frightening photos of her topless along with the horse pics. You are capable of searching- seek the pain yourself if you must. But you have been warned.

What has Serena Williams been doing?

Serena Williams had pulled out of this week's Dubai tournament due to injury, and I found this interesting article on what she has been up to.

...Williams was hoping to find inspiration at New York Fashion Week.

At shows by Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta, she reveled in the sophisticated, sleek styles of the designers. Their use of color for fall, she says, will help inspire a fall palette for her new Exotic Jewels lips collection.

And this gem:

...Williams raves about a pair of black Diane von Furstenberg pants she bought during fashion week. "I got them three days ago, and I've already worn them four times. They are classic."

I'm not sure if anything has been decided on when she will be ready to return to tennis - but this year is shaping up to be just like last year, in which she played very few tournaments. She did still manage too pull off that Australian Open win, though - maybe she is saving everything she has for the slams.

Dubai Final: Sharapova loses to Henin-Hardenne

Maria Sharapova
Originally uploaded by steviebreech.

Heh, you have to love the SI photos of Maria in a swimsuit. I read that she refused to pose topless. But am I wrong in thinking they should have photoshopped her belly button and tan a bit more? Sorry to all those outties and outtie-lovers out there...

Anyway, back to tennis. Maria Sharapova lost the final of the Dubai Duty Free (a horrible name, btw) tournament to Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 7-5, 6-2.

Tennis, the Olympics and Doping

I'll admit it, I've been falling asleep and reading books to a lot of Olympics these past two weeks. Sure, there's no tennis in these games, but the Winter Olympics and pro tennis do have at least one thing in common: doping.

The standard in tennis is that drug tests take several months to release - and by several months, I mean that generally positive tests are not confirmed until more than 6 months after the test.

But check this out!

The IOC targeted the Austrians for unannounced tests last Saturday - at the same time that police raided the team's lodgings in Pragelato and San Sicario and seized what they described as blood equipment, syringes and other materials.

The test results had been delayed for several days as the urine samples underwent detailed analysis at the official IOC doping control laboratory. Ljungqvist said the testing took longer than usual because some of the samples had been diluted as a result of athletes consuming large quantities of water.

At this point, I am guess that tennis drug testing must involve transportation by donkeys, analysis by high school children in biology class, and a peer review by the writers of L'Equipe.

I'm running out of positive things to say about Andy Roddick...

Seriously.

French qualifier Julien Benneteau continued his exceptional run at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, upsetting top seed and former Memphis champion Andy Roddick to set up a semifinal showdown with another former champion, Tommy Haas.

I'm just waiting for this guy to turn things around, but it seems like every year is yet another "rock bottom" point for him. It is getting tiring to list all the reasons he couldn't play well, when the truth seems to be that he just isn't playing well and shows no signs of turning things around.

Sharapova defeats Hingis, Davenport

The Dubai tournament has the second finalist lined up: Maria Sharapova. She "got revenge" on Hingis and then beat Davenport to reach the final against Justine Henin-Hardenne.

The third-seeded Sharapova upended second-seeded and defending champion Lindsay Davenport 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the final. Earlier in the day, Sharapova handled former world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-4 in a quarterfinal that was postponed because of rain here on Thursday. Hingis beat Sharapova in a semifinal in Tokyo just three weeks ago.

Henin-Hardenne has the advantage over Sharapova in past meetings.

Just when we thought we may get a reprieve...

Henin-Hardenne is back into a final, beating Kuznetsova 6-2, 7-5.

Justine Henin-Hardenne handled the weather and double duty better than Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open on Friday.

The fourth seed from Belgium, Henin-Hardenne advanced to the final of the $1 million Tier II event with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Kuznetsova in a match interrupted by rain.

Just who I want to see again.

Kuznetsova defeats Mauresmo at Dubai

Notice to all overly enthusiastic sports column writers: now is your first hint to shut it about Mauresmo winning all the Slams in one year. She was ousted from the Dubai tournament by has-been Kuznetsova, 7-6 (13-11), 6-4. Let's see Mauresmo win another Slam before we get all excited. Sheesh.

Clijsters withdraws from Indian Wells

That ball's name is Hewitt!
Originally uploaded by Tin Green.

Kim Clijsters of Belgium will not be playing in the Pacific Life Open - she is taking an extended vacation to recover from her collection of injuries. So she says.

""I really need this rest to completely recover from all my minor troubles so that I can quickly continue without any injuries," she told AFP."

She might as well retire now - I seriously doubt she has the physical or mental stamina to keep this up. But, she'll be back for Miami's Nasdaq 100, so I guess we'll see how that pans out.

Roddick's serve continues to make him a target

In Memphis, Andy Roddick had a tough match. Again. In the first round, Mardy Fish was on the brink of set wins, and Australian Wayne Arthurs pushed him back to the same point.
This is never an encouraging comment to hear from an athlete (although true):

"I didn't think anyone could serve better than Mardy, but he did," Roddick said of Arthurs. "I never felt I had a chance on his serve. I was lucky to get through."

What happened to the "more aggressive" Andy? At some point, luck is just going to run out.

Anastasia Myskina out of Dubai; Hingis Advances

Anastasia Myskina-Kremlin Cup 2004
Originally uploaded by noddingdogbob.

Myskina has lost to Martina Hingis in the Dubai tournament, and Hingis now advances to play Maria Sharapova.

So, not much of a surprise here - Myskina has just really tanked this past year for a variety of reasons (injury and personal issues among them) - I'm not expecting her to win another slam unless something significant changes.

SAP Open title won by Andy Murray

I guess this win makes up for his hideous performance at the Aus Open.

Murray vaulted 13 spots to No. 47 after securing his first title, fanning British hopes a long-term replacement for Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski has been found.

Hewitt, the loser in this match (and in general), is still complaining about his ankle.

Roddick loses to Murray

Roddick is still searching for success on the court:

"It just seemed like I couldn't get the ball to go through the court like I would have liked," Roddick said. "It was difficult. I wasn't getting much bite on my service action. It was frustrating."

Murray also plainly took a lesson from players such as Roger Federer and Marcos Baghdatis who simply blocked Roddick's serve back in past wins over the American.

"He returned well," Roddick said. "I hit a bomb at my spot and he'd block it back and I'd be back to neutral again."

Murray's nerves were on display when he doubled faulted on his first match point at 6-5 and fought off a break point before closing out the match with 25 total winners to Roddick's 14.

"I was a little nervous, but I have a little more experience against the best players now," Murray said. "I know when they start to come back on me that the worst way to play is defensively. Today I played more aggressively and it paid off."

I figure that we'll be seeing Roddick in a final soon.

Sharapova in SI

Maria Sharapova is featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition this year, prompting a slew of heavily photoshopped photos to be posted to the web. I can't think of any other tennis player that routinely gets the photoshop fix-up...

US advances to Davis Cup quarterfinals

No barfing for Roddick today - his win has allowed the US to advance to the Davis Cup qurterfinals. Hopefully he's all better to start playing the tournament schedule again.

Also advancing:

• Australia
• Russia
• Croatia
• Argentina
• Belarus
• France
• Chile

And probably some I forgot. Hey, I'm on vacation, cut me some slack.

Roddick chucks cookies on court

So, Roddick's loss today in the Davis Cup match vs Romania does appear legit - no pulling a Justine for him.

After the match it was unclear as to what exactly was Roddick’s illness, although it was revealed he was undergoing an intravenous drip and would be delayed coming to the interview room.

As we await the interview info...

Roddick was barely a factor in the fourth set, calling for a medical time-out after losing his serve in the opening game. The American vomited after the opening game of the fourth set and the opening game of the fifth set, but willed himself to come close to being a factor in the final set.

Roddick loses first Davis Cup match

Ugh.

Serving for the match at 7-6 in the third-set tiebreak, Roddick was drawn to the net by a gutsy drop shot by Pavel. The American hit a crosscourt forehand, but Pavel executed a perfect lob.

Roddick then double-faulted, though he hit a crosscourt winner to make it 8-8. But he hit a forehand into the net on the next point and conceded the set when he hit an approach shot long.

Pavel broke Roddick in the opening game of the fourth set, and Roddick had his right hand worked on during the ensuing changeover. Roddick, who threw up after the third game, was broken again in the fifth as Pavel took the set, 6-2.

After the players traded breaks to begin the fifth set, Pavel broke Roddick in the third game and again at love in the fifth en route to a 5-1 lead. Roddick held, broke in the eighth game and held again to pull within 5-4, but Pavel closed it out on serve in the 10th game on his third match point.

More on this visibly ill stuff later...I'm visibly ill myself after reading this. Go Blake!

Sebastien Grosjean beats Kiefer at the Davis Cup

Sebastien Grosjean
Originally uploaded by travelqueen_.

Kiefer (the racquet tosser) ended up losing to Sebastien Grosjean in a singles Davis Cup match, 7-5 7-6 6-0.

"Kiefer, who fell to Swiss world number one Roger Federer in the semi-finals in Australia, appeared to lose concentration after a couple of controversial line calls went against him at the end of the second set.

Amid booing and whistling from the 10,000-strong crowd in the Gerry Weber stadium in Halle, western Germany,Kiefer and German coach Patrick Kuehnen berated the umpire and match referee, but the decisions stood."

Awwww, poor guy. His antics are still amusing though.

Women's Tennis Results

the cure:close to me
Originally uploaded by visualpanic.

$600,000 Open Gaz de France at Paris, France

Second Round
Amelie Mauresmo (1) def. Vera Dushevina, 6-2, 6-2
Nadia Petrova (3) def. Anna Smashnova, 6-4, 6-1
Patty Schnyder (4) def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2, 6-4
Elena Dementieva (5) def. Nathalie Dechy, 7-6 (3), 6-4
Tatiana Golovin def. Sania Mirza, 6-4, 6-2


$170,000 Pattaya Women's Open presented by Yaris at Pattaya City, Thailand

Second Round
Emma Laine def. Mara Santangelo (8), 6-1, 7-5
Jelena Kostanic def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
Sybille Bammer def. Paola Suarez, 1-6, 0-1, ret. (right calf strain)
Melinda Czink def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7)

Lleyton Hewitt is still a jerk

I really don't have much to say about this story - Hewitt said he'd be at an event, wasn't, media debacle ensues, and no one cares. Maybe I'm wrong about that last part, who knows?

"It's disappointing that every time you come back it's like a knife going in your back."

A Special Olympics official accused Hewitt on Tuesday of snubbing a Sydney Harbour cruise that raised money to help athletes compete at the Special Olympics World Games in China next year.

Hewitt said Special Olympics Australia chief executive Catriona Barry had told him she couldn't be more disappointed and embarrassed by the reports.
Ms Barry apologised on Wednesday for a misunderstanding within Special Olympics Australia around Hewitt's participation.

"It's clear now that Lleyton's manager had advised it was highly unlikely he would be able to attend, and in fact never at any stage confirmed Lleyton would attend," the statement said.

"We sincerely regret our mistake and apologise unreservedly to Lleyton and his manager."

Whatever. No one cares. If I were a Special Olympian, I wouldn't want some whiny tennis player raising money for my event. What kind of role model is Hewitt? "Waaaaah! My ankle is a bit sore! I'll blame Rebound Ace for all my troubles!" Nothing like having a guy that routinely fails to rise above the difficulties in life raising money for those that far exceed him in both athleticism and character - sigh.

Quiet week so far...

There isn't much going on this week, so I'll write more about the Roddick coach thing, and, as much as I don't want to, that bozo from Australia.

Mariano Hood suspended for a year

Argentina's Hood has been suspended one year for doping.

Hood, 32, tested positive for a masking agent, finasteride, after a doubles match at last year's French Open.

An independent tribunal accepted that Hood had taken a treatment to prevent hair loss for several years.

He had failed to notice that finasteride had been added to the list of prohibited substances in 2005.

So, here it is, February 2006, and this dude just got his ban now. Do I have to go over again how it is completely ridiculous that these people get months and months of time to play, while these tests are being processed, appealed, etc?

I won't even get into the "failed to notice" part.

Roddick hires brother as coach, Goldfine remains consultant

Serve Up
Originally uploaded by toughlove.

Andy Roddick has hired his brother, John, to replace coach Dean Goldfine - you may have seen his brother hanging out with Goldfine at the Australian Open this year. It is being reported that Goldfine will stay on as a consultant.



I think Andy does need a new coach, but not necessarily because Goldfine sucked - I think Andy's game just isn't flexible enough, and he needs to really mean it when he says he will be aggressive. A tough year would be justified if he were going out on a limb and trying new things, but so far it has been a lot of talk. I'm hoping this proves to be a turnaround point for Andy.

Vera Zvonareva loses in first round of Pattaya Open

Vera Zvonareva
Originally uploaded by arcobaleno.

In an already pretty dull tournament, Zvonareva is out, destroying any chances of seeing future match meltdowns (assuming you are one of the lucky folks who gets to see non-Slam tennis). Sigh. I think it is over for Zvonareva - sure, she does okay, but never well enough. There isn't any indication that this will change.

Asagoe losing was also big news, as long as you define "big" as "there is not much going on in women's tennis this week".

Top Spin 2 To release in Q2 2006

Top Spin 2, the tennis video game, will release in the second quarter of 2006. It features Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova on the cover. Players include those two, Lleyton "Pain in the Ass" Hewitt, Venus Williams, Roger Federer and more. Info on the Xbox360 version is available here.

Want to wake up with Maria Sharapova?

DSCF0035
Originally uploaded by meme2004.

"Want to wake up with Maria Sharapova? OK, not so fast. What we meant is, want to wake up to Maria Sharapova's voice?

The tennis beauty is one of eight Nike endorsers who will wake you up with a recorded telephone message if you sign up through the company's promotion to push a new shoe. Sports Business Daily reports the available waker-uppers also include Alex Rodriguez, Amare Stoudamire, surfer Monyca Byrne-Wickey and Olympians Justin Gatlin, Kaitlin Sandeno, Liu Xiang and Joan Benoit Samuelson." - Seattle PI

Rumors: Andy Roddick getting a new coach?

Andy Roddick
Originally uploaded by happymooses.

Not like this is a new rumor, but there's been more and more talk of Andy ditching current coach Dean Goldfine. I'd expect it to happen fairly soon so he can get settled in with the new coach well before Wimbledon, but we will see.

I saw a brief mention here.

Mirza ranks above S. Williams

Sania Mirza of India just had a flurry of news stories published about her after the release of rankings this week. Sadly, the story is that she now ranks above Serena Williams. Is this even a story at all?

If Serena were healthy and playing, sure, this would be a story. But she is warming a bench - and there is no pride or achievement in saying that one player ranks above her. Must be a slow day in India tennis news.

What is going on this week?

For the men, it is Davis Cup - and it has already been mentioned that a lot of the higher-ranked and/or big name players won't be playing this round (Federer, Hewitt, Nadal, Safin, Agassi...)

World Group 2006 - 1st Round
Austria vs Croatia, Austria, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Argentina vs Sweden, Argentina, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Belarus vs Spain, Belarus, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Switzerland vs Australia, Switzerland, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Germany vs France, Germany, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Netherlands vs Russia, Netherlands, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

USA vs Romania, USA, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

Chile vs Slovak Republic, Chile, 10 - 12 Feb 2006

For the women, there are a few tournaments going on, but they are all pretty low key. Most of the top ranked women are taking this week off.

Open Gaz de France- Paris, France, Dinara Safina defending
Pattaya Open- Pattaya City, Thailand

Rafael Nadal wins exhibition match

Rafael Nadal 01
Originally uploaded by HAMACHI!.

(Check out this amazing pic from last year!)

Rafael Nadal played Fabrice Santoro at an exhibition match on Sunday, and won. His uncle was also quoted as saying he will be playing in Marseille, which is also the event that Marat Safin may be playing.

One of the things that I haven't been able to find much info on is this "rumor" that Nadal was not in the Australian Open because it was expected he would test positive for a banned substance. Now, I have nothing at all to substantiate this, but I am curious as to why this rumor started. My understanding is that a player may be drug tested at any point, even out of season or when injured - so why skip the AO when you can be tested anyway? I'm assuming this is just a bunch of BS.

I certainly hope it isn't true, but it just brings more attention to the fact that the information around drug testing in tennis is poor. If it is true, I don't expect to find out until months from now. And then, it'll be in L'Equipe.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing Nadal again - until Federer has some real competition, I'm stuck making fun of Lleyton "Who is a bigger baby - my kid or me?" Hewitt.

Sharapova-bashing by Hingis

Martina Hingis
Originally uploaded by Globi.

I've been searching around to find the exact quote from last month, but had some trouble (ie laziness). I finally stumbled onto it on tennis-x.com (warning: annoying pop-up windows!) Martina Hingis:

"It's always been, 'I wonder what she's got, Sharapova?' Because I don't see that she's got something that special. Her serve is great, her groundstrokes, but I can't tell until I play her what makes her so exceptional."

A not-so-subtle insult, which is cool in my book - of course, I am not much of a Sharapova fan anyway. I also think it is good for the game - nothing is more dull than the top players sitting around and complimenting each other. I like to see some fight in these matches, and if trash talk gets people fired up, great! Those who think it shouldn't be part of the game must have some kind of illusion of everyone sitting around serving tea and chatting merrily away.

Stay tuned for on-the-scene Indian Wells coverage!

I finally got my tickets for a few days at Indian Wells for the Pacific Life Open in March (Palm Springs, CA). I'll be toting along my camera and posting pictures whenever I get the chance.

This will be the first tournament I have been to in a few years - the last was the 2004 Nasdaq Open in Miami, Florida.

Baghdatis gets military exemption in Cyprus

Marcos Baghdatis, the unexpected runner-up at the Australian Open in Melbourne, did get an exemption from the required military service in Cyprus.

"I believe I should do the army and serve my country," Baghdatis said. "I just need some peace of mind for a few years until my career is finished."

Ljubicic easily disposes of Koubek at Zagreb

Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic defeated Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to win his second title of the year at the Zagreb Indoors.

The No. 5-ranked Ljubicic improved to 14-1 this season, winning his fifth career title. He reached the quarterfinals in the Australian Open and won last month in Chennai, India.

Another male player who is off to a great start this year.

Hass outlasts Malisse to win Delray International

With the help of some broken racket strings, Tommy Haas beat defending champion Xavier Malisse 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Sunday to win the International Tennis Championships.


Malisse's racket strings popped on a return at 6-5 in the third-set tiebreaker, sending the ball long and giving the fourth-seeded Haas his first title since 2004.

Haas just seems to be looking better and better this year.

Haas and Malisse in the Delray Beach final

Malisse will be defending his Delray title when he faces Tommy Haas.

Tommy Haas moved into his first final since 2004 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Vince Spadea on Saturday night at the International Tennis Championships.

Haas, seeded fourth, will face defending champion Xavier Malisse in the title match. The third-seeded Malisse beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Source.

Dementieva easily wins Toray PPO title

Elena Dementieva easily won over Martina Hingis at the Toray PPO final, 6-2, 6-0. Both of these women are known for poor serving, so I am a bit surprised that this score wasn't closer. Hingis:

"I played really a great tournament, great tennis all week," the Swiss former world No.1 said. "She was just too good today. I'm not looking for any excuses. She was just a better player.

"Hopefully in the near future I will have another chance to play her and come up with something better. Today she was just too good, she was mentally very focused, she played a very good match.

"I had a very good start to my comeback and I can go back home with my head up and keep working to physically get stronger."

Hingis plans to play Dubai next.

"I feel extremely happy," Dementieva said. "I didn't expect to beat Martina. She's always been my favourite player and after this even more. This is my fifth time in Tokyo and I was trying so hard and I'm very, very happy to finally win this tournament.

"I never had a 6-0 in the final, only against me, so this is the first time actually I had such a score, but it was a very good game and the score doesn't tell the whole story.

"I was trying to play aggressively, trying to play my game. I had a feeling like I had nothing to lose.

"I didn't feel any pressure before the match. I just played aggressively and solidly."

Dementieva beats Myskina in Japan

Elena Dementieva advanced to the Toray PPO final with a 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory over fourth seed Anastasia Myskina. Sharapova shouldn't be so defensive about being a one-hit wonder so far - Kuznetsova and Myskina are in far greater danger of being a one-hit wonder than Sharapova is. She will meet Martina HIngis in the final:

"Martina is a good player and it's exciting to see her back," Dementieva said. "But that doesn't mean I won't be playing and I'll do everthing possible to beat her."

Slow News Day: Sharapova not for HDTV

Article

The 19-year-old tennis star is very cute, but she's 19, an age at which the Almighty wants us to suffer a little. (It's the price you have to pay for being 19.) In high-def, Ms. Sharapova's face is covered with small, red pimples. (Of course, you never see them in fashion and advertising photos, such as the one above. The Great Almighty's work is erased by the Great Airbrush.) Hopefully, she will conquer the teenage affliction just as she conquers her opponents on the court.

Agassi exits Delray

Andre Agassi was knocked out of Delray in the quarterfinals, by 22-year-old Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (6-4 6-2). Agassi said:

"It's been a long time and I haven't gotten my game together yet. I ran into a guy that hits the ball as clean as he does and that exaggerates how uncomfortable I'm feeling."

I'm sure Agassi has to get back into form, but the question of his health is going to be just as big of a story as last year (along with the possibility of retirement).
Malisse, Haas, and Spadea are also still in at Delray.

Hingis upsets Sharapova to reach Tokyo final

I like this story.

Martina Hingis stunned top seed Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-1 at the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday to reach her first final since coming out of retirement.

The funny part is that only now are the "delay tactics" of Sharapova getting noticed in the written press. Seems to coincide with the media's general dislike of her...

Sharapova even resorted to delaying tactics, turning her back several times as Hingis prepared to serve to slow her down -- but to no avail.

Sharapova's comments don't give much insight into why this was such a one-sided match- perhaps it was just mental for her, since she had never played Hingis and this match was very publicized.

"She still has a lot of experience and feel for the game," said a dejected Sharapova. "In the second set I didn't really have that fighting spirit I usually have.

"You know, 'Could've, would've, should've' but didn't."

Here's proof of some of the odd hype surrounding this match:

Tennis fans in all over the world had been waiting the dream match. It will be realized in the Semi final of Toray PPO tennis tournament on Feb.4th(Sat).
When M.Hingis proclaimed to come back everybody in the world dreamed the match M.Hingis VS M.Sharapova.
"Fairy on the court" and "Genius girl" will play the match for the first time in the world. The match is in the spotlight and will be held here in Japan. We truly hope you to come and see it or enjoy it on TV.

Toshio Noji
Tournament Director

Clijsters may resume play in February

Kim Clijsters may be playing again as early as February 13, despite her earlier reports that she would require 2 months to heal the ankle injury sustained at the Australian Open.

"I've been to the doctor and the ultrasounds have been good, so I'm ahead of schedule," Clijsters said on her website.

"I'll do anything to get fit again and secretly hope to still be able to play in Antwerp."

The 22-year-old Belgian was forced to retire from her semi-final against France's Amelie Mauresmo at the Australian Open last month when she fell and hurt her right ankle.

Initial tests suggested an eight-week break from competition but she now hopes to return to training in the next few days. "I'm seeing my physio three times a day and I should be able to cycle from next week onwards," Clijsters said.

She will make a final decision on her return on Feb. 7 when she has a further examination.

My favorite part is that she secretly hopes to play again. Some secret. A few other articles have suggested she'll be retiring even earlier than expected (career-wise), but the article provides little solid information. Slow news day, I guess.

Roddick/Delray Beach controversy continues

Now there seems to be some backpedaling and even more interesting comments added to the story about how Roddick could not get a wildcard to the ATP Delray Beach tournament:

When Roddick lost early in Australia, he called ITC Tournament Director Mark Baron for a wildcard. Baron told Roddick that unfortunately he couldn't help out since he'd already awarded his wildcards to Agassi, Sargis Sargsian and Mardy Fish.

Roddick then indicated he might show up to play the qualifying. When Baron saw that Roddick had flown in from Austin, Tex, on Friday, he wrongly "assumed" that Roddick was going to play the qualifying and released the information to the media. Following a practice session at the Delray Beach Tennis Center on Friday afternoon, Roddick told Baron he decided not to try to qualify for the tournament.

Baron said there were no hard feelings and he understood Roddick's decision. He also said that he felt it would be wrong to approach either Fish, who he checked in with to make sure he was healthy, or Sargsian, who was awarded the wildcard on his good friend Agassi's coattails, to give back the wildcard invitation he already extended.

Roddick was mum but Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel spoke with Roddick's coach, Dean Goldfine, who offered this explanation as to why he decided to skip the qualifying. "The only issue of contention that Goldfine would specifically address had to do with Roddick's agreement with the tournament not to publicize his participation in qualifying until he actually was playing."

And the direct quote from Goldfine in the Sun-Sentinel read - "Why would Andy fly in from Texas at his own expense to play? Sure, it would've been easier to get a wildcard, but it didn't have anything to do about playing qualifiers. Andy couldn't justify being out there playing their tournament when he felt deceived by [tournament director] Mark Baron."

From Tennis Reporters.

Ginepri is 'pissed' about Davis Cup team selection

Robby Ginepri, who had a great run last summer and fall, was angry that he was not selected for the US Davis Cup team. The selected players were instead Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers.

"I was pissed I didn't get chosen," said Ginepri, who's only Davis Cup appearance provided him with a 2-0 winning record in a first-round encounter against Austria in 2004. "They should give me a chance to play."

Coach Patrick McEnroe is defending his decision:

"Robby was 1-2 down in Australia. Not to say that he couldn't come in and win a match against Romania or two matches, but when they're that close, I really have to take into account who is playing better at that particular moment."

Seems like American male players have nothing to do but get cranky lately. I understand all the frustration, and both Ginepri and Roddick are usually beyond pleasant in the press conferences and public appearances. It sure seems like something is nagging on them both lately.

Gaudio: early exit at Movistar Open

gaudio
Originally uploaded by supernico05.

Gaston Gaudio will not hold his title at the Movistar Open (Vina Del Mar, Chile), as he was eliminated in the second round by unseeded Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-4.


I'm thinking this is probably some early-season rustiness.

Toray PPO: Russian women dominate semifinals

The Toray PPO semifinals are mostly dominated by Russian women, with Martina Hingis also making it in.

The matches will be as follows:
Maria Sharapova vs. Martina Hingis
Anastasia Myskina vs. Elena Dementieva

Yes, a little bit of doubt is creeping into my mind - maybe Hingis CAN make the top ten...

"I was always saying when I came back that I wanted to play her [Sharapova] and that day has arrived," said Hingis, 25, who won the last of her four career Toray titles in 2002.

"It will be really exciting," said the 18-year-old Sharapova, who has become a fashion icon as well as a world-class player. "Obviously I've never played her before so I don't really know [her]. I just have to go out on the court and see how it goes."

Vaidisova was knocked out by Dementieva in three sets- everyone is still waiting for her breakout year - but she is still young and not playing the full tournament quite yet.

Kim Clijsters buys her fans (champagne)

Injured Kim Clijsters will offer every fan at her Diamond Games home tournament this month a bottle of champagne to celebrate her No. 1 ranking.

Uhhh, okay. I'm guessing the champagne company is her latest sponsor? Or she is really trying to save her image (which she needn't worry about than to JH-H)?

Full story here.

Andy Roddick Plays Pong

A new (?) American Express commercial is available. In it, Andy Roddick plays Pong. I liked it, but I have liked all of his AmEx commercials.

Covered here.

Video here.

People are still going to wonder why Roddick is making AmEx commercials when his success on the court has been limited. To say the least.

Clijsters and the heroin dealer

This story is still making news - so here it is - apparently Kim Clijsters invited a former heroin dealer/smuggler and his family to sit in her box during the AO.

It doesn't seem she knew, but if she did, she didn't make it seem like she cared.

Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal to return to Dubai

Both Marat Safin and Rafael Nadal are expected to play at the Dubai Tennis Championships, starting in the second half of February.

There's still talk that Safin and Nadal may play earlier, at the Marseille Open in mid-February.

Humor: Roger Federer admits tennis is his 4th favorite sport

The Onion has published an article full of satirical info on Roger Federer's recent win at the Australian Open:

"I couldn't even tell you who the No. 1 ranked tennis player in the world is right now," Federer said. "It's probably me, still. It is, isn't it? That's so weird when you think about how I don't really care one way or another."

Federer, known for his reserved, unemotional style of play on the court, said his famous "stoicism" is usually just his mind wandering off to thoughts about that night's NBA schedule, or whether it would be worth it to purchase the MLB Extra Innings cable package.

And were you wondering why Feds was crying at the AO?

After a teary-eyed Federer accepted the Australian Open trophy from tennis icon Rod Laver, the last man to sweep all four Grand Slam events in the same year, he attributed his uncharacteristic show of emotion to his sudden on-court realization that he will probably never become a major-league baseball player.

Roger Federer will not play Davis Cup

Federer will not be playing in the upcoming (mid-February) Davis Cup match against Australia set in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the same match that Lleyton "Rebound Ace" Hewitt will not be playing in. The odd thing is that several news stories are citing Federer's ankle injury as the reason:

Federer has been struggling since October to overcome a right ankle injury and has been excused playing next week by Swiss captain Severin Luthi.

Now, I don't much care whether or not he plays - but someone could at least provide a legitimate reason. He sure didn't seem to be "struggling" with an ankle injury in the AO. Poor baby.

Hingis talks about comeback

Martina Hingis, playing in the Toray PPO talks about her comeback:

“The game has just got more relentless,” Hingis told Reuters in an interview after a making a winning start at the Pan Pacific Open.

From the first point you really just have to be focused and on full-time. If you let down a little bit, the players come back at you and bite you.

“But I’m confident. The potential is there and I’m improving every week.”

Maria Sharapova thinks Hingis will make it back to the top ten.

“Martina is not in there yet but I’m sure she will quickly get into the top 10.”

I'm not convinced. Although I don't think every top ten player is really great, I just can't picture Hingis there - I still feel like she is going to have a lot of work ahead of her, and that she could bail if things get too tough. Tracy Austin disagrees.

Holy shit! Tim Henman may still have a career!

Okay, just kidding. This guy is doomed. But, he isn't doing too poorly at the Zagreb Indoors (Zagreb, Croatia):

It was the first time unseeded Henman advanced to the quarterfinals of a tournament in eight months, and the second time he defeated Gasquet in less than a month.

More Zagreb results and news.

Toray PPO Tennis Results

2nd Round Singles winners:

• Elena Dementieva
• Nicole Vaidisova

1st Round Singles winners:

• Nicole Vaidisova
• Katarina Srebotnik
• Daniela Hantuchova
• Maria Kirilenko
• Ana Ivanovic
• Marion Bartoli
• Saora Obata
• Samantha Stosur
• Lisa Raymond
• Elena Likhovtseva
• Klara Koukalova
• Martina Hingis

1st Round Doubles winners:

• Rennae Stubbs/Cara Black
• Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur
• Angelique Widjaja/Jie Zheng
• Nicole Pratt/Mara Santangelo
• Carly Gullickson/Bethanie Mattek
• Ana Ivanovic/Maria Kirilenko
• Daniela Hantuchova/Ai Sugiyama
• Iveta Benesova/Meilen Tu

Agassi Continues On...

Agassi has made it through the second round at Delray Beach. Ginepri was also upset in the first round - looks like he's going to have to keep working hard to get back to where he was during the summer of last year.

Other results include:

Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Singles - Second Round(1)(WC)A Agassi (USA) vs R Delgado (PAR)O Marach (AUT) vs (6)F Mayer (GER)(3)X Malisse (BEL) vs J Gimelstob (USA)G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs (Q)T Widom (USA)
Doubles - First Round(1)Knowles/Nestor vs Kim/LeeGarcia-Lopez/Spadea vs (2)Kerr/ParrottFisher/Phillips vs (3)Haggard/MoodieMarach/Suk vs Kohlmann/MullerUdomchoke/Wang vs (WC)Bogomolov Jr./Widom

Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Singles - First RoundH Lee (KOR) d (2)R Ginepri (USA) 57 62 64 (3)X Malisse (BEL) d (WC)S Sargsian (ARM) 62 62 (4)T Haas (GER) d I Kunitsyn (RUS) 76(4) 62 (7)G Muller (LUX) d (Q)B Rehnquist (SWE) 76(4) 64 R Delgado (PAR) d B Reynolds (USA) 46 61 64 (Q)J Salzenstein (USA) d R Sabau (ROM) 75 76(5) A Pavel (ROM) d O Patience (FRA) 63 76(4) (Q)R Kendrick (USA) d K Kim (USA) 64 75
Doubles - First Round(4)Coetzee/Wassen d Gimelstob/Thomas 75 75

Photo: Mort & Alese Pechter