Happy Anniversary to Andre and Steffi!

October 22 marks the eight-year anniversary of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, the most celebrated couple in the history of tennis. Their anniversary, and other events in the history of tennis, are chronicled in the October 22 chapter excerpt for the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com) featured below…

http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/archives/5332

Racquet Club Undergoes Transformation

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/...e.aspx?id=45626

Q. & A. With Stacey Allaster: Reform in Women’s Game
By Christopher Clarey

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...in-womens-game/

Stacey Allaster, руководитель Тура сказала в эту интервю:



Это другой пример как администрация Тура врет. И так как руководители никогда не врут , то обьяснение будет что ее дали неверные данны. И конечно когда верные данны станут известны, окажеться что неверные данны были случайная и невинная ошибка.

Стейси утверждает:
- "the number of first-round retirements in 2009 is 17". В действительности не 17, а 25.
- "total retirements and walkovers are at 58 in 2009, compared to 71 in 2008". В действительности не 58 в 2009 году, а 80. То есть еще сезон 2009 не закончен, а цифра больше чем в сезоне 2008. Следовательно сезон 2009 хуже по снятия и отказов чем сезон 2008. А Стейси утверждает наоборот.

Все данны в деталях можно увидеть на нашем форуме здесь:
http://www.wtatour.ru/index.php?showtopic=...t&p=1038466

вот тут интересно пишут о будущем сестер( похоже они ещё лет на 10 останутся)

http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=6641880

From court farce to smash hit – how the women's game recaptured its wow factor

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/...or-1809970.html

Time running out for slumping Venus

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?...amp;name=tennis

Russian charge leaves other nations playing catch-up

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/arti...mp;parent_id=29

Chelsea hope Bruno Demichelis's 'Mind Room' will produce results

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...ce-results.html

очень советую прочитать эту статью несмотря что она футбольная, а не тенниссная.
Однако спортивно-научные принципы использованны в футболе те же самые и в теннисе. Щта статья помогает понять до какой степени наука используется в спорте и как маленькие детали в подготовке спортсмена ведут до значительных результатах...

КОНЕЦ БЕЗЖАЛОСТНОЙ ГОНКИ

Евгений ФЕДЯКОВ из Дохи

http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2009-10-30/9_1/

Это интервью с Сафиной состоялось уже по окончании ее первой и последней пресс-конференции на Sony Ericsson Championships-2009. Когда пришло время вопросов на родном для теннисистки языке, сотрудник Федерации тенниса Катара - араб в длинном белом национальном одеянии - протянул мне микрофон.

- Не надо микрофона, - сказала Динара, к легкому удивлению стоявшей рядом руководительницы службы Sony Ericsson WTA Tour по связям с прессой. - Подходите прямо сюда, к столу - тут и поговорим.

Сафина отвечала на вопросы спокойно и обстоятельно. Разумеется, она выглядела огорченной. Но когда все та же сотрудница женского теннисного тура попросила меня сворачивать беседу, Динара сама выразила готовность еще немного продолжить ее. "Как-никак, в последний раз в этом году", - заметила она, грустно улыбнувшись.

В ее голосе не ощущалось даже намека на какое-то волнение, а на лице не было слез. Они остались на корте Дохи, который Сафина в последний раз в этом году покидала в ранге первой ракетки мира.

http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2009-10-30/1_1/

Сегодняшнее интервью со Стейси и Альдо Лигуори

Разговор интересный, так что советую прочесть.

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to this 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour end‑of‑year press conference. With us today we have Aldo Liguori of Sony Ericsson, corporate vice president and global head of communications and public relations; and Stacey Allaster, chairman and CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Each are going to make some opening remarks and then we'll do a Q&A.
Aldo.
ALDO LIGUORI: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you very much for joining today. Thank you very much for supporting the Sony Ericsson Championships this week.
From my point of view, I'd like to make two or three brief comments. One is that we're very pleased to have used the Doha event to launch a new consumer offering, a new consumer proposition. You may have seen it in relation to the Sony Ericsson name. It's make.believe. This is our new marketing tagline for consumers. It's something that we announced in September. We are activating it at this tournament for the first time.
It's something that tries to reflect the vision of our company, which looks at communication, looks at entertainment, very interesting and exciting content. It's something that we are doing together with the Sony group globally. We're very pleased with what we've seen in terms of activating make.believe here at the Sony Ericsson Championships.
I think the other comment that I would like to make is that from a local relevance point of view, we are pleased this year to have invited distributors of Sony Ericsson products. This region for us is not an operator‑led region, it's actually a distributor‑led region for our products. We have all of our key distributors in the Middle East region here with us this weekend. We also have a retailer.
If you've had a moment to visit our booth in the central part of the grounds, you may have seen that we also launched our new communication entertainment phone for the Middle East region at this event. It's called Satio. Allow me to do a 10‑second publicity. If you've not had a moment to experience the product, I hope that you'll be able to. We have some fantastic promotors there.
We're very excited to have the Championships here one more year. I think next week will probably begin with Stacey and her team to start looking at how we can position and how can we prepare for next year.
Maybe the last comment from me is that, compared to a year ago here in Doha, what I have experienced is a greater level of vibrancy, a number of additional events have been taking place this week. I think you've perhaps taken part in some or attended some. This encourages me in terms of Doha, the interest around Doha. And certainly when I've seen some of the press clippings which are even posted out there, it's very encouraging that there seems to be greater interest this year, and that the Qatar Tennis Federation seems to have put even more effort in making this year more successful than last.
Lastly from me, a big thank you to all of you. You are very important to us as a company and all of you have been very respectful in naming the Championships in its official name. It's made my life a little bit easier. Thank you very much for being with us.
To summarize it all, what I'd like to show you is this video. This is a little bit of a glimpse in terms of what we would like to do next year. Hopefully it will give you a certain feeling of how we are discussing with Stacey and her team about our planning for 2010.

STACEY ALLASTER: Thank you, Aldo.
Well, it does keep getting better. We've had five years of a great partnership with Sony Ericsson. Certainly when I see that video, it is energizing. That's what Sony Ericsson has done I think to women's tennis. You've really energized us, provided great innovation and optimism. And thank you for believing in women's tennis.
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships I think have been a great success. I'd like to build upon Aldo's comment where there has been a significant increase in the quality of the operations. And it's normal when you are in year two of an event. First year, the Qatar Tennis Federation was so focused on building a new venue. That is a big undertaking, building a new venue, bringing a championships of this magnitude, staging them for the first time. We, too, appreciate everything they have done, Karim's team.
I think for me two other takeaways from this year's Championships. Just unbelievable matches. Long, hard‑fought matches where our athletes were really grinding it out and giving it their best. A great way to finish this year with that level of play, intensity and competition.
If what we saw this week here at the Sony Ericsson Championships is any indication of what 2010 is going to be, women's tennis is going to be really exciting in 2010.
We've had a record number of international broadcasters take the Sony Ericsson Championships, which is great. We're increasing our coverage with almost 500 hours of live broadcast going out to the world from here in Doha.
We're having record results on our digital and our website platform. You can see our future is definitely about going digital and using mobile handsets to be able to share content with fans.
I am officially done with my first hundred days as chair and CEO. I think it's always nice to get through that. What I take away from the first hundred days, the 2009 year on the Tour, is an immense gratitude to the players for stepping up, delivering to the fans and sponsors, in a year that's critically important. That really comes from their partnership, together with the tournaments, with all of the changes we made to the circuit. The new Roadmap circuit brought a much more premium product to the market, player commitment. We went up significantly from where we were, players meeting their commitments at 80%. Withdrawals are down 34%. Really we're trying to say to the athletes, When you commit, it's a commitment to play, it's not an option to play. They really have stepped up. I think we rightsized the circuit and put our best events in the right dates. It has paid off. We've had good attendance. We've actually had an 11% increase in attendance for our premiere events, which we think is fantastic, particularly when you look at other events and leagues have done in 2009. We know how tough it's been.
Prize money increased 34%. We had over $750 million of new stadiums open and showcase the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. All of that in a challenging economy. We had 51 events. We only lost one title sponsor out of 51, again showing the strength of the product for investors.
2010, as we look forward, we added three new events, added over 120 new jobs, new event in Kuala Lumpur, new event in Copenhagen. One change, our L.A. event sold, we immediately replaced it, and we'll be back in San Diego for 2010. Again, I think good signals for the strength of women's tennis for investment purpose.
Really focused on two strategic priorities alongside of the circuit structure reform, and that's China and digital. I'll first speak to China. David Shoemaker is here, our president. He has been leading our China business plan. We opened the office in May of 2008. David has been there on the ground building the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour brand.
We celebrated our first China Open this year, a new mandatory event with equal prize money. It was an overwhelming success. I had the pleasure of being there for a week. I can just tell you that there's great enthusiasm from the people, from the Chinese Tennis Association and the government of Beijing that tennis is a priority sport. That's great news for us because all of that energy and commitment will really grow women's tennis.
It's a fantastic opportunity for our sport as a whole to have a strong presence in China, particularly when you look at what some of the other leagues like the NBA have been able to do to achieve an increased brand presence in that market.
In addition, on the digital, an initiative that we're very excited about and proud of is TennisTV.com, which is our live streaming platform in partnership with the ATP where we stream together over 700 matches of live coverage as a complementary strategy to broadcast, trying to make our sport accessible and relevant to how fans want to consume sport, whether it be through traditional broadcast or through online.
We launched a new website, much more video‑based, and also developing our social media channels, which is, again, a key priority for 2010. We launched a Chinese website. In 2010, we'll launch a Spanish and a Russian‑language website.
All of that is about increasing our fan base, growing our fan base around the world, around the global, and really being relevant as a global tour to fans in their native language.
I think we had a great year of marketing. We had some very fun and cool Sony Ericsson stunts in Canada, Madrid.
ALDO LIGUORI: Miami.
STACEY ALLASTER: Miami. That was great fun.
The organization is in a good financial position, which again has been a priority for us.
Last but not least, something that is paramount to the pillars of what Billie Jean King founded 36 years ago now, is gender equality. Our partnership with UNESCO is very important, continues to grow. We added Vera Zvonareva as a new ambassador to the UNESCO program.
I think our team came up with something which I think is a great success, and that is taking our heroes, our superstars on and off the court, but also reaching out to the fans and asking them to vote for their everyday hero. We celebrated our everyday hero last night at the party, which I think was very special.
So as we look to 2010, I must say I'm incredibly excited. There's no doubt this economy, we're not immune to it, but we have done well. With this product that we see this week, with Kim coming back, Justine coming back, Maria, together with our rising stars, you've seen Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Radwanska, how exciting they are, our Serbian stars with Jelena and Ana, all together with Venus and Serena, the dominance still of our Russian players with Svetlana, Dinara, Elena, we just have a terrific opportunity. It will be a really exciting 2010.
Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Aldo or Stacy.

Q. What can you tell us about the renewal of the partnership?
ALDO LIGUORI: Shall I answer this?
STACEY ALLASTER: You take this one.
ALDO LIGUORI: All right. I think it's the most commonly asked question posed to me these past 24 hours. Thank you for raising it here.
Perhaps some of you know that the deadline to respond to the renewal is the end of this year. We still have a little bit of time left. I can certainly confirm we are looking at it very carefully. If you have been following Sony Ericsson these past several months, we've gone through some very important changes, including a new president having come onboard only a few weeks ago. So we are looking at our sponsorship seriously.
We haven't made any decision yet, and all options are open. We will announce the decision alongside our partner at the appropriate time.
That's all that I can say today because as of today we've not made any decision.

Q. Stacey, the Roadmap has been an unequivocal success. How concerned are you at the end of another year, a streamlined year, four of your top 10 players have pulled up injured and were unable to complete matches? Are you still working them too hard or are you happy with what you've achieved in the last 12 months or so?
STACEY ALLASTER: Well, there's no doubt I'll agree with you, the Roadmap has been a fantastic success. If you remember, we're asking the athletes to play 13 commitments, and they're down to 10. All of the data, sports, science and medicine data, supported that's what sort of the top 10 players had been playing, 10 tour events, four slams, and possibly Fed Cup. So certainly we'll continue to monitor the data to make sure we do have the right level of play because the health of the athletes is paramount. If we don't have healthy athletes, you know, we can't have a level of product that we want.
I think what I'd say about this week and those athletes, in a new circuit structure, it's a new schedule, Caroline Wozniacki played over 90 matches this year. That's a lot of play. She played six internationals. She'll now move into the top 10. She I'm sure will be relooking at her schedule and the level of play that she can have.
If we look at Serena and Venus, over this long career that they've had, they've been careful how much they have played. I think that is important, and they need to take breaks. That's why it was important in the Roadmap that we scheduled breaks. That is why there is a long break after Wimbledon, so they can take a rest after that grind on the clay and then the grass before they move into the hard courts. There is a longer off‑season. We have two more weeks for them. Two weeks can make a significance for them. They have two good months that they can have a good break.
Q. You talked before about Fed Cup would be one of the tournaments they should play, the players.
STACEY ALLASTER: They might play.

Q. Now we have Bali and Fed Cup the same week. One of the players, Flavia Pennetta, could not attend Bali. Next year will you change something?
STACEY ALLASTER: We're working on that, yes. When we finished the calendar for 2009, we knew putting the Fed Cup final opposite the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali was going to be an issue. The Bali event is mandatory for those players who have qualified, but for a player who might want to represent her country, she could choose, so we wouldn't apply that rule. We knew it was a compromise.
I guess we have learned. We have learned quite a bit from the Roadmap, that we should avoid that conflict for next year. Right now we're working through that issue. We're committed to not having a conflict next year.

Q. Where do you stand, Stacey, on the principle of having more mixed tournaments? I'm thinking of the fortnightly events that the women precede the men or vice versa. Any thoughts on combining them for a fortnight like the Grand Slams?
STACEY ALLASTER: The year‑end championships?

Q. Maybe events like Rome and Dubai, for instance.
STACEY ALLASTER: Great question.
There's no doubt we can all see the success of tennis when it's combined. Just look at the success of our Grand Slams, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. I think today on this 2009 calendar, 40% of our events are combined or back‑to‑back. In 2011, we'll have more combined events. Rome will be combined. Cincinnati will be combined. Canada will be combined virtually. They'll keep their separate events, one in Toronto, one in Montréal, but the date will change. They'll be played in the same week, and they'll be virtually combined for broadcast.
We do know that combined events are a great strategy. Six of our top events in 2011 will be combined.

Q. I have a particular vested interest in Dubai. Any possibility of it happening there? STACEY ALLASTER: We have not had discussions with Dubai, whether or not they would like to be combined. Obviously, when you have combined discussions, it's a calendar also with the ATP World Tour that we have to take into consideration. If they were interested, we'd certainly have a look at it.

Q. For a lot of years there was talk the Australian Open needed to be moved into February or March. Now that you're finishing your year earlier, is that sort of put to bed for all time, the date change at the Australian Open possibility?
STACEY ALLASTER: Well, obviously the date change for the Australian Open is definitely something for Craig Tiley and Steve Wood at Tennis Australia. At the moment, the date change, they're playing where they're playing, and we'll adapt it to our calendar as such.

Q. Stacey, considering obviously Doha has been chosen to stage such an important tournament as this, are you happy there's enough being done in this part of the world for girls to take up tennis?
STACEY ALLASTER: I think the Qatar Tennis Federation is quite committed to women's tennis. Again, if we look at this, the first city in the Middle East to have a women's professional event. Having bid for the Championships and been successful, they definitely are using women's tennis as a platform to show that they are an open culture. Last year we celebrated having Billie Jean King here. She gave a clinic to young Qatari girls.
Without question, we would like to see more young women here in the region having an opportunity to play this great sport. Nothing like a great event like this to inspire youth, both boys and girls, to take tennis.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.
STACEY ALLASTER: Thanks, everyone.
ALDO LIGUORI: Thank you.

мне кажется, что перевод к такой интересной публикации был бы совсем нелишним

Serena triumph clouded by fears over WTA health, wealth

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...aMpt20XgGzYlwNw

Serena looks motivated after Sony Ericsson title

http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/1030...-Ericsson-title

Я так понимаю здесь не переводят, но все же хочу попросить, пожалуйста

Opinion: Sisters Supplant Stagger With Swagger
http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=6642307
тут рассказывают о топ-10, о том, что кроме сестер и Кузнецовой, вся остальная десятка в этом году была не атакующая, а принимающая, т.е. не забивали, а ждали ошибок. автор рад, что возвращаются Энен, Шарапова и Ким, и говорит, что снова начнется реальная борьба в следующем году.

Знаменитая советская теннисистка Анна Дмитриева, ныне директор спортивного вещания "НТВ-Плюс", в интервью "Чемпионат.ру" назвала победу Серены Уильямс на закончившемся чемпионате в Дохе закономерным фактом. Она обратила внимание на то, что россиянкам не удалось справиться с нервным напряжением, а рядом не оказалось человека, который помог бы перенастроить игру.

http://www.championat.ru/tennis/article-42647.html

прошу прощения, если это сообщение здесь неуместно, но поленилась читать на английсском и решила пообщаться с автопереводчиком
получила массу позитива :

Анна Дмитриева: «Кузнецова в этом году сделала большой шаг вперед»

«Думаю, победа Серены Уильямс в Дохе закономерна. Во-первых, она не проиграла ни одного матча, во-вторых, из всех, кто выступал на соревновании, американка играла наиболее ярко, активно, стабильно и имела наибольший технический арсенал. В общем, и первое место в рейтинге, и победа Серены на заключительном чемпионате вполне закономерны.

Что касается итогов года для россиянок, то у нас нет основания на что-то жаловаться. На втором месте Динара Сафина. Светлана Кузнецова, ставшая третьей, по своим потенциальным игровым возможностям могла бы претендовать на лидерство в туре. Она единственная из россиянок в этом сезоне, кто выиграл турнир серии Большого Шлема. Но Свете надо работать над умением владеть собой. Она моложе Серены на четыре года, у нее есть время. И мне кажется, что Кузнецова в этом году уже сделала большой шаг вперед. Не думаю, что она осталась недовольна прошедшим сезоном.

Что касается всей истории с травмой Динары Сафиной, то не думаю, что она три месяца играла с острой болью. Вспомните ее матчи на US Open, когда она провела подряд три поединка, в течение трех часов каждый. Тогда она билась за каждый мяч. Если бы у нее была резкая боль, это было бы невозможно. Думаю, что из-за того, что Динара не сделала перерыв, травма, которая изначально была не очень серьезной, стала усугубляться.

Открытием сезона я бы однозначно назвала Каролин Возняцки. Она не пропагандирует атакующий теннис, но у нее есть опасные удары, универсализм, она умеет играть по всему корту, идеально чувствует мяч и отлично ориентируется в игровых ситуациях. Ее цепкость, умение бороться и сохранять холодную голову в решающие моменты — это то, чего не хватает очень многим. Другое дело, что в этом сезоне она ничего не теряла. Посмотрим, как она сумеет справиться со своими достижениями.

Этот сезон называют сезоном возвращений: в теннис вернулись Кляйстерс и Энен. Я не могу сказать, что испытываю эйфорию от этой ситуации. Конечно, присутствие бельгиек усилит тур, увеличит конкуренцию, матчи станут более непредсказуемыми. Но отсутствие внятных объяснений от Энен и Кляйстерс по поводу их ухода и последовавшего возвращения, вызывает сомнения».

http://www.radiozenit.ru/news/sport/16478

Ради "Кубка Кремля" итоговый турнир года будет сдвинут на один день

На прошлой неделе в Катар на итоговый турнир Sony Ericsson WTA Tour приезжал директор женского "Кубка Кремля", вице-президент Федерации тенниса России Алексей Селиваненко, который провел переговоры с руководством Женской теннисной ассоциации по поводу сроков московского турнира. Об итогах этих переговоров он рассказал корреспонденту "СЭ".

http://tennis.sport-express.ru/reviews/2283/

Заслуженный тренер России Виктор Янчук в интервью "Чемпионат.ру" заявил, что в Советском Союзе одна россиянка не смогла бы обыграть другую, чтобы при этом в полуфинал вышла американка.

http://www.championat.ru/tennis/article-42679.html

Александру Метревели – 65!
http://www.championat.ru/tennis/article-42601.html

2 ноября у замечательного советского теннисиста, финалиста Уимблдона 1973 года Александра Метревели, юбилей. Последние годы он комментирует теннис на телеканале «НТВ–Плюс». Рассказать о юбиляре корреспондент «Советского спорта» попросил его коллег.
http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/354663

Serena right where she belongs

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?...name=bodo_peter

Сложно себе представить, что в 21-ом веке кто-то может так думать. Тем более уважаемый в российском теннисе человек.

— Что касается наших девушек, то, к сожалению, в этой ситуации наши теннисистки не сумели повести себя как команда. Одной победа в этом междусобойчике ничего не давала, другую выводила в полуфинал. Если бы возобладала правильная стратегия "командной борьбы" или "интересов команды", то наш теннис только бы укрепил свои позиции. Ясно, что если бы в полуфинал вышла Дементьева, наш российский теннис от этого бы только выиграл. Лена вполне могла бы обыграть Янкович в полуфинале, бороться за самые высокие позиции. Не только сёстры, но и представители любой другой страны в такой ситуации бы договорились. А у нас это не принято. В результате проиграли все.

— А как же принципы "фэйр плэй"?
— Принципы честной спортивной борьбы никто не отменял, и наши девушки в Дохе их продемонстрировали, но я думаю, что ситуацию можно было решить как-то иначе. На таком престижном турнире можно было сработать как одна команда.

Однако.....вроде это не КФ. Да и вообще, чего ради Света должна подарить победу Лене и сыграть в "поддавки"? Если Лене нужен полуфинал, то надо выигрывать, а не ждать подарков, да я думаю Лене это и не надо. Света одержала победу и закончила сезон на позитивной ноте, чего ради она должна уходить с тремя поражениями подряд? Кстати, а чье это высказывание?

Тоже хорошая идея

http://www.blick.ch/sport/tennis/serena-ic...-koerper-132351
статья называется "Я люблю свое тело".
Серена

что-то кажется мне, что это опять разговоры в никуда...Может вообще на следующий год не стоит рыпаться, а заниматься уже к году в Стамбуле...

Один лишний день, из-за которого надо будет разговаривать о переносе трансляций, это ИМХО, бред полный.

Здесь не просто об 1 дне говорится. А о финале КК в субботу и начале итогового в среду. Если участницы итогового были в финале КК, то начинают с четверга играть.
Забавно, что это всё ради 1-2 дополнительных топовых участниц. Которые возможно всё равно не приедут.
А ведь финал в субботу - это сильно всё нужно передвинуть. Полуфиналы в пятницу, четвертьфиналы в четверг. 1-2 круг в понедельник-среду.

Дмитрий,

да все равно, даже если это 4-5 дней...Кто в своем уме и разуме будет выкладываться на КК, чтобы потом в краткие сроки восстановиться и играть в совершенно других условиях...Та же Динара приехала в Доху больше чем за неделю до турнира. Они же прекрасно понимают, что дл них главнее...

Будет интересно посмотреть, если они все-таки перекроят сетку КК,и все равно к ним никто не доедет...

Имхо, надо менять подход к делу, а не разбрасываться словами, да мы все равно всех круче...Не круче мы, но что мешает стремиться к этому. Просто у нас любят поговорить, а там любят заняться делом...

И вообще странно, что Алексей начал решать этот вопрос только в Дохе.

WTA Tennis - Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Others

http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Tenni...s-200911050020/

Players give back to charity
Musthofid , The Jakarta Post , Nusa Dua, Bali | Mon, 11/09/2009 3:23 PM


http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11...ck-charity.html

Agassi's Admission Highlights Flawed Policy

The more I think about Andre Agassi's disclosure about his struggle with crystal meth the angrier I get.

No, I'm not upset with Agassi and his admirable attempt to tell it like it was.

In life, people make decisions. Some of them will be beneficial to one's maturation process. Some of them will be self-destructive. There's no sin in making mistakes or falling down. There is sin only in refusing to get back up.

My beef isn't with Andre. It's with our hypocritical authorities, both in life and on the tennis circuit. The drug-testing inquisition was specifically designed to purify and protect pro tennis from any allegation of human weakness among our very human players. It didn't take long before some curious anomalies started cropping up.

Have we learned nothing from the Guillermo Cañas case?

Let's review. Cañas was hit with the two-year suspension from professional tennis, fined $276,070 in prize money and forced to forfeit 525 singles and 95 doubles ranking points after testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide at the Acapulco event in February 2005. Despite his frank testimony, the inquisition declared his ignorance of the law was no excuse. He was summarily suspended and sentenced to a bitter two-year exile from the sport he loved.

Cañas estimates he spent nearly $700,000 in attorney's fees fighting the decision. Cañas' suspension was reduced to 15 months on appeal as he argued his positive test was due to prescribed medicine to treat flu symptoms by Acapulco tournament doctors.

"The ATP have made a mistake in my case," Cañas said. "It was a lapse by the whole system at the Acapulco tournament. It was people from the tournament who went to buy me the medicines with the guarantees of the ATP."

His claims were shown to be correct yet no one listened until after he served that 15-month suspension.

Over the years, many players have come up dirty in their urine tests. Their sentences have been varied to the extent it could be argued there's no rhyme or reason behind them. Agassi's revelation is a perfect example of this, which brings us to two recent incidents of importance.

Martina Hingis was enjoying a successful comeback when she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. She strongly protested the accusation. Martina said she didn't take recreational drugs of any kind. In fact, she said she's afraid of them. Roger Federer personally vouched for her, saying he believed she was innocent. The trace of cocaine found in her system was so small you could contract that amount from mailing an envelope which had a few grains of the drug on it. Despite these facts, Martina was harshly slapped down with a two-year suspension — effectively a career killer.

This magnificent champion was unceremoniously flung into permanent exile. While I was never a fan of her pouting antics on court, she was one of the greatest match managers this game has ever produced. No one could use the whole court better than Hingis. When all the details of this sad situation are considered, this was another example of incredibly cruel and unusual punishment. Even if the allegations of cocaine in her system were true, she simply didn't deserve the barbaric treatment she received. The brutalization of this wonderful athlete was a monstrous disgrace.

On a different front, Serena Williams was raked over the media indignation coals when she unleashed a profanity-laced threat at line judge after a foot fault was called during her US Open semifinal with Kim Clijsters. It was clear Serena lost control in the heat of the moment. Upon reflection, she apologized and was permitted to play the US Open doubles final. While the authorities are weighing several options, including a possible suspension and/or a fine, the incident has not yet been resolved. Why is this? Could it be because Serena, like Andre, is a cash cow for the pro tour and the No. 1 female player in the world? There should be an investigation — but not of her. There should be a full review of the tennis administration and its sometimes convoluted and secretive decision-making process.

Agassi's disclosure of drug use has enflamed the tennis community. It ripped the scabs off many festering sores about incoherent policy, unfair decisions and other problems. Vestiges of racism and sexism still plague our hallowed sport, in my opinion.

Agassi's admission his dirty urine test was overlooked in apparent deference to his value to the pro tour indicates improper discretion is used when deciding who gets punished and who doesn't. The credibility of the entire pro tour is now under the microscope. The tour authorities have met this massive shot across their bow with either non-answers or near silence.

Why is this?

The appropriate reaction to this series of events is for the authorities to establish a committee of the most respected names in our sport to launch an investigation of the many issues raised here. The ATP made a big deal about vowing to crack down on gambling in the aftermath of suspiciously high betting on Nikolay Davydenko's match against Martin Vassallo Argüello in Sopot, Poland in July, 2007. Yet what's happened since then? They have punished a few lower-ranked players — including Italians Potito Starace and then 258th-ranked Daniele Bracciali — for placing minor bets (none of those players were accused of betting on their own matches) leading to further speculation that in tennis your ranking can serve as either a protective shield from punishment or make you an inviting target.

If anything is to be learned from Agassi's admission it is that we should view this as an opportunity to right the wrongs. Players shouldn't be subjected to an inquisition. Players shouldn't be forced to report weekly, like common criminals. Players shouldn't be punished for engaging in acts which only hurt themselves. And they should receive help and rehabilitation, not career ending suspensions. It's long past time we brought tennis into the 21st century.

Agassi said he spent most of his life hating tennis. Yet, tennis is beyond question a sport for a lifetime. If this is the case, shouldn't we be in the business of creating reasons for people to love it? There may never be a better time than the present to change the tennis environment for the better. The challenge is before us.

Will we banish the ugly inquisition and replace it with a benevolent board of concerned administrators who actually care about the people playing and watching the sport rather than the image and illusion they can project. It's time for tennis to stop doing the wrong things and start doing the right ones.

http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=6642856

14/11/2009
Бельгийское фронтальное наступление на правило whereabout
6 адвокатов, 7 процессов и 4 агенства: защита в деле Викмайер-Малисс потребует огромных средств.

Player Of The Decade: Serena Williams By Dennis Fitzgerald
http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=6643006
про игроков этого десятилетия) Маша, Света и Лена там есть)))

MATCHES OF THE YEAR - WOMEN

By Andy Schooler

http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_...ual_171819.html

Крылатые ракетки
Теннисных "орлов" получили Сафины, Кузнецовы, ученые и депутаты

http://www.rg.ru/2009/11/17/tennis-site.html

Tennis Power Rankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/po...09&month=11

Former Olympics chief Juan Antonio Samaranch linked to KGB, book claims

Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former head of the International Olympic Committee, worked in close association with the KGB, a new Russian book has claimed.
..........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ook-claims.html

как пошло скоро и для меня будут писать что работал за КГБ...

The 10 biggest upsets of the decade

10. Tatiana Garbin d. Justine Henin-Hardenne (1), 7-5, 6-4, second round, French Open, 2004

Henin-Hardenne was the defending champ, while Garbin, a clay court specialist, was ranked No. 86 in the world headed into the French.

9. Agnieszka Radwanska (30) d. Maria Sharapova (2), 6-4, 1-6, 7-2, third round, U.S. Open, 2007

Sharapova's title defense lasted just three rounds before she was bounced by the Polish Radwanska.

8. Alberto Martin d. Lleyton Hewitt (1), 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4), first round, Australian Open, 2002

This was the first major Hewitt played as the No. 1 player in the world and he ended up falling flat in front of his native Australians.

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Rafael Nadal (2), 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, semifinals, Australian Open, 2008

Everyone was looking forward to a Nadal-Federer final. Neither made it that far. Federer was dispatched in the semis by eventual winner Novak Djokovic, while Nadal ran into the buzzsaw that was unseeded upstart Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Now Tsonga is a top 10 player, but at the time he was figured to be no match for Nadal. But the Frenchman won with ease, wowing tennis fans with his crisp movement and relentless backhand.

6. Virginia Ruano Pascual d. Martina Hingis (1), 6-4, 6-2, first round, Wimbledon, 2001

In retrospect, it was the beginning of the end for Martina Hingis. She had made it to at least the semifinals of 14 of the last Grand Slams, but after taking off the month in between the French and Wimbledon, the No. 1 seed had nothing in her match against doubles specialist Virginia Ruano Pascual. It wasn't the first first round Wimbledon shock for Hignis. She had a similar early exit in 1999.

5. Jill Crybas d. Serena Williams (3), 6-3, 7-6 (4), third round, Wimbledon, 2005

Serena had played Crybas twice before, dropping just seven games along the way. In a listless Wimbledon showing in '05, though, the former Florida star came out on top of the decorated champ

4. Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt (1), 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4, first round, Wimbleon, 2003

The 6-foot-ten Karlovic (who would later became a Busted Racquet famous for his "smack that ace" dance) was 203rd ranked qualifier when he bested the defending champion in 2003, which was just the second time in 126 years that the previous year's Wimbledon winner would be ousted in his first match.

3. George Bastl d. Pete Sampras (6), 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, second round, Wimbledon, 2002

By the time Bastl took down the legendary Sampras, the seven-time champ was far along with down-slope of his career. That didn't make the loss any less shocking though. Bastl was a lucky loser (he failed to qualify for Wimbledon and only got in when another player withdrew because of injury) and ranked No. 145 at the time of the win.

2. Roger Federer (15) d. Pete Sampras (1), 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, fourth round, Wimbledon, 2001

Federer wasn't Federer when he snapped Pistol Pete's remarkable 31-match Wimbledon win-streak. Heck, he was only 19. But in his Centre Court debut, Federer out-paced the four-time defending champ, whose decline was no longer in question. But it's not like Federer came out of nowhere, mind you. He was considered to be the "next big thing" ever since he won the Wimbledon juniors in 1998.

1. Robin Soderling (23) d. Rafael Nadal (1), 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, semifinal, French Open, 2009

It seems less stunning now than it was at the time. Since May Nadal has played sparingly because of his knee injuries and tennis fans are now forced to discuss whether he'll ever come back to form. But we didn't know any of that in May. Nadal was coming off wins in three of the last four majors, plus the Olympics. He had seemingly dethroned Roger Federer four months earlier in Melbourne. He was riding a 25-match win streak on clay. He hadn't dropped a set in the tournament since 2007. The question wasn't whether he'd lose, it was "who the heck is Robin Soderling?" This was easily the biggest upset of the past 10 years and, perhaps, ever.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/blog/busted_ra...?urn=ten,204729

Все знают Кимико Дате и много говорили о 39-летной теннисистку в этом сезоне. Но не только она вернулась и играет в таком возрасте. Еще одна теннисистка, которой будет праздновать 39 лет на 30-го ноября, тоже вернулась и играла в этом сезоне. Ее зовут Yayuk Basuki и играла в парных соревнованиях. Она была номер 19 в одиночке и номер 9 в пары в конце прошлого века. В 1999 году у Басуки родилась дочь. После роды она вернулась на корте, но прекратила свою карьеры в 2004 году. Но в марте 2008 года Басуки решила вернутся снова на корте, играя в основном пары. И уже имеет 6 титулов в турнирах ИТТ.
Кто будет следующий игрок, которой вернеться в Туре после много лет вне корта?
Кажется это уже не тенденция, а мода ...


Basuki Is Back Too

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/news/ba...2256076_1885741

Herr still attracts the best of the youngest

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091...of-the-youngest

The 10 greatest matches of the decade

10. Andre Agassi d. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5, second round, U.S. Open, 2006

It's the match so grippingly detailed in the opening pages of Agassi's autobiography "Open". With Agassi serving at 4-4 in the final set, the pair played an eight deuce game in which the eighth-seeded Baghdatis had four break points. Agassi held, and went on to win. Later, as they laid on the training room waiting for medical attention, Agassi and Baghdatis watched the replay on SportsCenter with their hands clasped together. It was the last match the eight-time Grand Slam champ would ever win.

9. Venus Williams d. Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-4, final, U.S. Open, 2001

The match itself was forgettable. The moment was not. In the eight years since Venus and Serena played in their first Grand Slam final together, it's become easy to take for granted how amazing it is that two sisters meet so frequently to decide major tournaments. In 2001, nobody did. The first all-Williams Grand Slam final was a major event that happened to coincide with the first time the women's final was played in prime-time. It generated huge ratings and was a seismic event for the game, even though the tennis was mediocre, at best.

8. Fabrice Santoro d. Arnaud Clement, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14, first round, French Open, 2004

At 6 hours, 33 minutes, it's the longest match in tennis history. Play was suspended for darkness on the first day after four-and-a-half hours. Clement had two match points (one on each day), but Santoro held at 13-14 in the fifth and went on to win three straight games. For his part, Clement didn't care too much about setting a longevity record, saying, "what do I get, a medal?"

7. Goran Ivanisevic d. Patrick Rafter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7, final, Wimbledon, 2001

In a rare Monday final, the 125th-ranked Ivanisevic bombed it out with No. 3 seed Patrick Rafter. There were big double faults, untimely unforced errors, foot faults and racquet-throwing, but the combination of the different crowd and tense action made it an unforgettable match. John McEnroe called it the greatest Wimbledon final he's ever been a part of, but I'm starting to realize he says that a lot.

6. Jennifer Capriati d. Martina Hingis, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, final, Australian Open, 2002

In her third, and final, Grand Slam victory, Capriati continued her storied comeback by besting Hingis in an epic final in Melbourne. After dropping the first set, Capriati went down 0-4 in the second and faced match points at 4-5 and in the tiebreak (four in all). Hingis never recovered from the meltdown (literally -- it was 107 degrees on the court) and lost the third set without much of a fight. Capriati became the first woman since 1962 to win a Grand Slam after facing match point in the final.

5. Roger Federer d. Andy Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14, final, Wimbledon, 2009

Lengthy? Yes. Great? Well, yes ... But not that great. In our rush to celebrate every great sporting event as the "best ever", this match took on epic proportions solely because of its epicosity. (Not a word? It should be.) Though it was close, one never got the sense that Roddick could ever actually win the thing. Federer's serve was so crisp as the match progressed that it would have felt like a miracle if he got broken. Throw in the fact that the two biggest points of the match were won because of horrid Roddick unforced errors and there's your No. 5 ranking.

4. Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 9-7, final, Wimbledon, 2005

Bud Collins described the match thusly:
"More female bang for the bucks had never been seen in this arena. Two ladies in white were red-hot blasters. Witnesses would treasure what they'd watched during a chill, glum afternoon. Their go-for-broke shot-making illuminated the gray sky."
What he said.

3. Justin Henin-Hardenne d. Jennifer Capriati, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), semifinal, U.S. Open, 2003

Truth be told, we could have added one more Capriati match to this list too (her 2001 French Open win over Kim Clijsters), but this late-night affair earned the vote for best women's match of the decade, even though it was only a semifinal. Capriati, at the tail end of her career, battled it out with the diminutive Belgian for a record three hours and three minutes. She served for the match at 5-4 in both of the final two sets and was two points from victory a whopping 11 times. All night she yelled at umpires, demonstratively celebrated points and exchanged classic rallies with Henin-Hardenne. When it finally ended, at 12:27 a.m., the women could barely make it to the net to shake hands.

2. Pete Sampras d. Andre Agassi, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), quarterfinal, U.S. Open, 2001

Before the fourth set tiebreak, the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium gave the two American stars a standing ovation, an appreciation of both the match (nobody broke serve through 52 games) and the greatness of the champions on the court:

1. Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7, final, Wimbledon, 2008

It was, quite simply, the greatest match of all-time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/blog/busted_ra...?urn=ten,204390

Видеоинтервью:
Тарпищев: жду побед на турнирах "Большого шлема" в 2010 году

http://www.championat.ru/tennis/news-360593.html

Очень интересно, кого же Тарпищев не учитывает, говоря о 4 претендентках на победу в ТБШ, и о Наде Петровой как о пятой претендентке....

Как минимум 5 претенденток:Дементьева, Сафина, Шарапова, Кузнецова, Звонарёва, и шестая вроде как Петрова со своими травмами...но Тарпищев говорит о 4-х, уж не Машу ли он со счётов сбросил (судя по всему он именно её не рассматривает как претендентку на победу в ТБШ 2010), если учесть, что в интервью он говорит о первой десятке, а в первой десятке Лена, Вера, СВета и Динара.....

Очень странно, лично я считаю, что ТБШ в 2010 способны из вышеперечисленных выиграть Светлана, Мария и Динара, т.к. Мария заметно прибавила в конце года, да и явно возвращает себе свою былую форму, Светина игра очень мощна и безусловно она способна победить ещё на ТБШ, Динаре наконец нужно доказать себе и всему теннисному миру, почему она занимала строчку №1.... А вот , что касается Лены, Веры и НАди-очень сомневаюсь....Но видимо Шамиль Тарпищев считает по другому, очень жду 2010, чтобы всё же моё мнение подтвердилось...

Досмотрите интервью до конца. Он называет Марию претенденткой на №1 на быстрых покрытиях, если не будет рецидива с плечом. Точно не Маша!

http://www.championat.tv/video/4025.html

все подробно объяснил, не хуже денни