Tennis Week Community: Active Threads

Do people appreciate Stepanek?

redhead — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:20 GMT

I know I do. He's one of the few guys I'll watch anytime he's playing. To beat Murray in Paris and Cilic is Basel (and oh so almost Djoko), and the guy is 30 and was a Challenger player until he was like 23 or 24. Amazing. I just love watching him play. He plays at a brisk pace, serves and volleys almost all the time indoors, and if you never saw Johnny Mac play, this guy's volleying and movement at the net are as close to Mac's as anyone I've ever seen. I know he can be annoying to his opponent with his fist pumps and shout out's to his coach, but this guy plays hard. I saw him play the Italian guy with the tattoos--forget his name now--at the Open first round this year on like Court 4, last match of the guy, and he plays the same way all the time. He's got a problem closing out some matches, but he has maximized his game like no one else.

Rejuvenated Djokovic ready to be king in 2010

Scoop — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:35:01 GMT

Now that the messy mistakes made at the 2008 US Open have been forgiven and atoned for, Djokovic is a new stronger mightier player. He is coming into his own now. These last weeks he has shown tremendous performances. To go into Roger's home in Basel and take that title was a very big statement. To even sign up to play that tournament in the first place was like saying, Roger, I'm coming to your house and I'm going to take you OUT. Then to do it, in the manner he did was mighty impressive. Now the roll is continuing in Paris.

Us appreciators of the Djokovic game and court style knew he was capable of this long ago. It is very good to see him fulfilling his potential and he will make a superb special champion of tennis, he will be the king of tennis next year.

Women's Tennis Fashion Apparel

uestennisfan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:31:02 GMT

Hi there:

If you have a couple of minutes, please check out the following survey, which is about women's tennis fashions including fashions of the top WTA players.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2AJ4ZKnzIT6GphZ5RpBufA_3d_3d

Thank you so much.

xiowa's mini contest 11-16-2009

xiowa — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:28:50 GMT

1	NicoFan	M. Russell	USA	S	259	C	101	158
2	David_D	T. DeBakker	NED	S	250	C	97	153
3	Mason D	G. Zemlja	SLO	S	267	C	145	122
4	Vinco	J. Isner	USA	S	145	C	34	111
5	garybru	D. Hrbaty	SVK	S	257	C	163	94
6	4kids	P. Cuevas	URU	S	132	C	50	82
7	Smoing Ace	S. Devvarman	IND	S	204	C	122	82
8	Peggye1	A. Beck	GER	S	110	C	39	71
9	tennis.nut	K. Beck	SVK	S	160	C	90	70
10	RP	X. Malisse	BEL	S	162	C	95	67
11	Mason D	J. Ignacio Chela	ARG	S	143	C	77	66
112	garybru	O. Rochus	BEL	S	120	C	57	63
13	Ten_isse_fan	E. Korolev	RUS	S	113	C	52	61
14	Xiowa	S. Koubek	AUT	S	201	C	142	59
15	misskimi	A. Ungar	ROU	S	238	C	184	54
16	Dobey	R. Sweeting	USA	S	214	C	166	48
17	a. hack	L. Recouderc	FRA	S	177	C	141	36
18	Gma3	S. Decoud	ARG	S	180	C	147	33
19	Hitman*	L Mayer (ARG)	ARG	S	102	C	73	29
20	NicoFan	N. Lindahl	AUS	S	282	C	259	23
21	a. hack	P. Polansky	CAN	S	215	C	192	23
22	tennis.nut	J. Souza	BRA	S	206	C	186	20
23	gotroom	J. Levine	USA	S	129	C	117	12
24	RP	F. Dancevic	CAN	S	139	C	132	7
25	Hairload	S. Bubka	UKR	S	271	C	271	0
26	UESNYNY	D. Istomin	UZB	S	103	C	104	#######
27	Tommyboy	R. DeHeart	USA	S	237	C	251	-14
28	EricssonBallBoy	T. Alves (BRA)	BRA	S	114	C	151	-37
29	EricssonBallBoy	F. Cipolla (ITA)	ITA	S	126	C	164	-38
30	David_D	A. Mannario	FRA	S	131	C	180	-49
31	Xiowa	M. Fischer	AUT	S	218	C	269	-51
32	Redhead	K. Anderson	RSA	S	106	C	158	-52
33	Redhead	D. Young	USA	S	140	C	201	-61
34	Vinco	P. Andujar	ESP	S	103	C	165	-63
35	UESNYNY	F. Volandri	ITA	S	104	C	217	-113
35	Smoking Ace	J. Goodall	GBR	S	197	C	326	-129
37	4kids	A. Peya	AUT	S	148	C	277	-129
38	Ten_isse_fan	J. Huta Galung	NED	S	176	C	310	-134
39	misskimi	G. Moraru	ROU	S	286	C	438	-152
40	Gma3	O. Patience	FRA	S	144	C	353	-209
2
14
35

Why doesn't Serena get respect?

redhead — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:43:42 GMT

I've just been assigned a feature story to write on Serena Williams and it strikes me that she doesn't receive a whole lot of respect. The whole US Open tirade against the lineswoman only added to this disrespect. Why do you think Serena doesn't get the respect and adulation of an Agassi or Roddick or a Chris Evert? Is it simply racial? Is it her attitude? Her scanty schedule over the last five or so years? She writes a book in the prime of her career and nobody talks about it while Agassi writes one three years after his retirement and everybody is yakking about it and he gets featured on 60 Minutes. Why doesn't Serena get the respect?

Barclay ATP World Tour- A White Elephant

KingArthurUK — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:46:51 GMT

The White Elephant, O2 arena where over 600 million pounds of lottery was spent will hold the ATP world tour finals.

The O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome) 2009

The financial press is currently awash with stories about the forthcoming sale of the Millennium Dome to the Norwich-based millionaire Ardeshir Naghshineh for something in the region of £35 million. Meridian Delta Dome Ltd is now looking to sell not only the 99 year lease on the O2 Arena but the freehold to the arena itself and surrounding area. It is suggested that the maximum rent available from the arena is around £1.6 million and while many people believe this is a very interesting prospect, the current economic climate would appear to have curtailed what could have been a significant number of parties interested in acquiring the property.

Conclusion

The total cost to the UK taxpayer is probably well in excess of £1 billion when everything is taken into account for a development which looks like being sold for around £35 million. If ever there is an example of over exuberance and over expenditure on any property around the world then the O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome) has to be the ultimate "white elephant". It perfectly highlights the fact that while some government initiatives may work there are very few ventures into the private sector which have been worthwhile from the point of view of taxpayers, profitability and overall value for money.

Why oh why is the final played in the afternoon when a late evening of 7pm - 8pm would be more appropriate to attarct a large audience accross the pond. a 5 hour and 7 diference East and West coast repectively in the USA. The evening matches are at 8:45pm but as far as I know the semis and finals are in the afternoon.

Serena and Sister Respect II

skeptic — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:55:52 GMT

If the behavior that I experienced involving the Williams sisters is representative of how they deal with people day-in, day-out then the reason they may not get much respect is readily explainable/apparent.

I was at the Australian Open when the girls were just starting to win big matches and events (mid-90s). I was staying in the same hotel as them (at the time it was the Sofitel Melbourne). I was talking to the conceirge when the sisters without so much as an "excuse me" bumped by me and started asking the conceige questions while I was in mid-sentence; to them I was air, it was about them, their immediate needs, they were the stars, I could wait.

Of course the star struck, salivating conceirge (exhibiting a conditioned tip-anticipation response), also in mid-sentence, forgot that I existed and proceeded to answer the girl's questions. To me that said it all. Sure one could argue, "oh they were just young girls," but I know that when I was ten years old or even younger I would have waited my turn to ask a question or if the matter was extremely urgent said "excuse me please."

These girls were raised to be aggressive and have a chip on their shoulder and over time they have been coached by handlers to sublimate their sense of entitlement and play the media game; but well consolidated behavioral tendencies (like being rude) while remaining dormant under innocuous conditions, especially, are manifested under "stress" conditions and that's when an individual's true colors come out (like at the U.S. Open with Serena this year).

I also remember an unsolicited comment from a tournament driver down under about the sisters, namely, that they were rude and most of the drivers disliked them. What some of their coaches have to say about the sisters (off the record) might also surprise some people.

Despite trying to show their best side when the cameras are rolling such attempts are transparent; their incessant bragging about this and that venture and absolute lack of humility come through and rubs many people the wrong way. The "world revolves around them" is their maxim, their reality; we are mere actors in their play. Many people see right through them and are disgusted by the diva behavior that they exhibit but are oblivious to.

While racial considerations may mediate some people's attitudes toward Serana and Co. being rude, transparent, disrespectful and exhibiting diva-like behavior transcends race; meaning, few people like such behavior regardless of an individual's race or background. Agassi was also once perceived in a similar light and maybe is again.

The Showman Agassi

KingArthurUK — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:36:26 GMT

Can Agassi walk away from the stage. Will he sell more books, Are we going to see him on prime time TV 'OPRAH' confessing. Now we can understand WADA who want access to players within one hour. If one researchers the net, passing any drug test is simple with a detox kit guaranteed hair, blood, and urine within 24 hours. Are there other federations who fail to expose athletes. Did this not happen at the Olympics in 1984

tennis channel interview with Andre was not good

Dobey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:49:02 GMT

The tennis channel did not do a very good interview with Andre last night. The host asked Andre a few questions about the unkind comments Boris made about him but nothing about the tactics and strategy of the 1995 Wimbledon and US Open matches. Nothing! The personality issues are a little entertaining but the TC audience wants strategy and tactics and evaluation. Here are the questions that the host never asked:

1) If you played Nadal when both of you were in your primes, how would he have tried to control the points and what type of strategy would you have taken into the match? If you and Rafa had the chance to play 35 matches versus each other, what do you think the match results would have been? In whos favor?

2) The host never asked Andre one question about DelPotro!!!! Not one!!! I was astonished. For the TC audience, she should have Andre how Federer, in retrospect, should have played DelPo. If anyone would know the answer, it's Andre. She should also have asked Andre if the onslaught of 6 4 and 6 5 guys like Cilic, DelPotro, Monfiels is going to make it impossible for guys of regular height like Andre, Hewitt, even Rafa to have a chance of winning mamy majors.

3) Most egregious, the host never asked Andre about the 1999 title match against Todd Martin and how Andre felt he would have done that year against Pete, had Pete not pulled out.

4) And she never even asked him about the 2005 Blake match at the US Open. That is like interviewing the president of Heinz and not asking him about ketchup. You have got to ask him about the most talked about match in his career. Astonishing lapses in the TC interview. , ,

Andre has a way of coming out on top, and the rest of us are fools to let him...

tommyboy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:51:26 GMT

Watching Andre ask for compassion in his interview with Katie Couric was just pathetic. It looked like some of the best acting I have ever seen from a non-professional actor. He was taking an illegal, dangerous substance, that he tested positive for back in 1997; then he lied about the circumstances of the test. He goes on and wins more grand slam trophies, tons of endorsements worst about $100 million, a present book deal that may garner him an additional $10 million, and he is the one who needs the compassion (from his fellow professionals).

Where was the compassion when he played against the likes of the old geezer Connors, the journeyman Spadea, the "uninspired" Sampras who fell out of a tree, the unworthy and untalented #1 Courier, and others.

I will save my compassion for those who really need it.

I will add myself in the minority of those not going to buy his book.

I've read the Agassi book...

redhead — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:38:49 GMT

and I don't think it's a remarkable read the way a lot of critics have opined. Now, I've only read parts of the book, flipping around to find what might be interesting to me. And what I've gleaned from this is that Agassi is a pretty maudlin guy, which isn't bad in itself, but when you're reading many passages of a book and you don't once find yourself laughing or any parts that are humorous, that to me is a bad sign.

Basically, Agassi is down on his father for being a violent tyrant, his mother for not standing up to his father--ever, Brooke Shields for not caring about Agassi's tennis and being too immersed in the trappings of wealth, and most every tennis player I came across in the book--Sampras for being dull, Bernd Karbacher for being bow-legged, Gaudenzi for playing a muscular style of tennis, Spadea for beating him at the Aussie Open, Courier for being not a nice guy and Chang for playing a backboard style of game.

Even when he gets to Graf, there's not a whole lot of mirth to their meeting and greeting. The only guy Agassi seems to adore is Gil Reyes, who comes across as totally devoted to Agassi. I think Katie Couric's comment to Agassi that he might be alienating fans by coming across as "weepy" is on target. I picked up the book with the intention of buying it, but after reading it for about 30 minutes, I wasn't so intrigued. He does mention lots of matches he played, but I didn't come across one time where he really analyzed a match or another player's game. And he never talks about tennis, how to hit a ball well (although he's upset with Jan Simmerink (sp) and others for not hitting the ball with the right style), move on the court or do anything well tennis-wise.

Part of writing a good book is like being a good host at a party. You have to make it fun or engaging to hang around. Agassi is honest, but frankly, much of what I read was boring honest. And he's not even insightful about tennis which you'd expect him to be. In retrospect, I'm not so surprised about the relative blandness of the book besides the graphic violence of his father (Andre, how about little gratuitous sex, not for you, but for the reader at least.) I read J.D. Moehringer's "The Tender Bar," and while it was well-written, J.D. is also a bit of a dud and a whiner. So I'm not surprised that Agassi felt such a kinship with J.D.

I was at the signing today in NYC and there was a good crowd on a rainy day--a guard said he thought there was 400 people who bought books--but not a line going out the door on 5th Avenue. Finally, Agassi said he wrote the book for his kids so they could see what kind of guy there dad is and read the book over and over through their lives. I haven't gotten to the part when Agassi and Graf form their family, but I hope it picks up; otherwise his kids are going to think AA is a bit of a drag.

Nice tribute to Safin

xiowa — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:15:16 GMT

I watched the final tribute to Safin as he retires from tennis. Although I do not know what was said, everyone seemed to be enjoying the occassion. Safin was always a joy to watch. I for one will miss him a lot.

xiowa

Agassi admits use of crystal meth

mal1219 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:20:39 GMT

From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8329193.stm I'm sure the American media will be all over it as soon as the US wakes up.

American Andre Agassi has admitted in his new autobiography he lied to tennis authorities about his use of crystal methamphetamine to escape a ban.

Eight-time grand slam winner Agassi, who retired in 2006, said he used the drug in 1997 when he had an assistant known as 'Slim'.

"Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table," writes Agassi in his book, which the Times are serialising.

"He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some."

Crystal meth, which looks like small ice crystals, is a very powerful and addictive form of the drug speed, which can be eaten, inhaled through the nose or injected.

Agassi recounts in the book, which is called 'Open', being introduced to the drug in 1997, by his one-time assistant.

The 39-year-old revealed he failed a drugs test that year but escaped a ban by saying his use was accidental.

"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness," he writes about the first time he used crystal methamphetamine.

"Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful - and I've never felt such energy."

Agassi later writes he received a call from a doctor working for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in the autumn of 1997 to inform him that he had failed a drugs test.

The Las Vegas-born American says he wrote a letter to the ATP to argue the use was accidental, blaming his former assistant Slim.

"My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing," Agassi writes.

"Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth.

"I say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth - which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter.

"I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely.

"I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it."

Agassi writes the ATP reviewed his case and while he faced a minimum three-month ban, decided to believe his account and the case was withdrawn.

Tennis Holidays

OMS — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:18:43 GMT

Dear fellow tennis fans.

Tennis Holidays:

I wonder if you can help me. What I would like to know from you is :

Is there a demand for “Tennis Holidays” ….. like Golfing Holidays?

With that I do NOT mean Tennis Coaching holidays..... there are enough of those world wide and that is more for younger players!!

At this stage in my life (I am in my forties) , I find it VERY frustrating to go on a holiday and NOT being able to play my favourite sport. I do not need coaching at this stage.

When one do a search on Google for “tennis holidays”, all one get is tennis COACHING holidays or camps.

That is NOT what I am looking for. I would like to combine my holiday with playing organized tennis for at least 2 hours per day.

For e.g. I would like to play tennis from 09h00 to 11h00 every day, and then do my own holiday thing for the rest of the day.... but I WANT to start my day with a game of tennis.

Tennis is not like golf which one can play on one's own, we NEED partners. So all that I would like is for somebody to organize games and players... be this at a beach resort, wine farm, hotel, caravan park etc.

I do not want to play against a Pro Coach on my holiday. What I would like is to meet like minded tennis players like myself, and enjoy a social game of tennis every day.... then if I would like some coaching, I shall do that in my own time with a Pro Coach.

Is there no demand for this????

I can not believe that !

Am I the only frustrated tennis player on this earth?

I would appreciate your opinion.

Thank you.

Cheers.

OMS

Nishikori/Jankovic/Lisicki Official Facebook Fan Pages

tennisfan24 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:51:47 GMT

Just saw that Kei, JJ, and Sabine opened their Official Facebook Fan Pages on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/keinishikori

www.facebook.com/sabinelisicki

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jelena-Jankovic/174667687063

Newcombe strongly supportive of Agassi

Texastennis — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:52:34 GMT

Sympathteic and very interestingly candid on how his own experiences (not with crystal meth!) were similar ie depression, angst etc:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/tennis/newk-serves-up-some-love-for-agassi/2009/11/12/1257615112723.html

Are present day players taking drugs

KingArthurUK — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:02:25 GMT

Agassi has admitted taking crystal meth, then the law of averages says there must have been other players taking drugs who were never punished or banned. My thoughts are this, How many players who are playing today will in later life when they have retired be exposed or announce in public their use of recreational or performance enhancing drugs while playing tennis on tour. Time will tell.

So sad..

robertk29 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:39:05 GMT

to see Marat leave..so much fun to watch..I guess jumping up and down, yelling, having tantrums. keeps you a young , healthy cool looking dude..He looks great for 29...hope he has a good , happy and successful future...for all the enjoyment he has given us..

Martina's mea culpa? I'm not buying it

DMan1 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:16:37 GMT

Yeah, so NOW she claims, 'oh I didn't have all the facts', and that's not what I meant.

Typical Martina. She can't help herself. the sound of her own voice keeps her ticking. And foot-in-mouth disease hasn't stopped her tongue from wagging.

But Martina just couldn't wait to get her opinion out there ......she claims she is a compassionate person.....well Martina, a compassionate person would have kept her mouth shut (yes Martina there are folks who are capable of doing that!) and perhaps read the book first, or learned a litle more of the rael story.

But instead she goes and blasts Andre. She claims she doesn't care if he took crystal meth, and claims she doesn't think it shoudl be against the rules. So why say anything at all Martina?

Yup, Martina also had to get in her 'I'm a compassionate person' point of view across. Actions, and sometimes lack of words, speak louder than actual protestations!

=====

I re-read Becker's comments. And I has howling laughing. I think Navratilova is pathetic. But Becker takes the cake. The height of hypocrisy knows no bounds! Becker says smoking a few joints is OK, but meth is very bad (fist hand experience Boom Boom?) Agassi is harming tennis? Since when is Becker the keeper of moral dignity of pro tennis? Becker is wondering if Agassi beat him because he was taking meth? Did Becker pay attention at all to the facts? (probably not!) Agassi took the stuff in 1997, well after Becker was in his prime, or in contention for majors. What a sour puss to even speculate about what was happening when *he* was playing for major titles?!

And then Becker goes on to mention his own battle with sleeping pills! Do we care? And in addition to sleeping pills, Becker turned to women (we know about his staircase encounters!) and whiskey! How marvelous for him ?!

Bottom line is Boris is sore at the Becker depiction Agassi relates in his book. As always, ego gets the better of Becker each and every time. McEnroe is still tops (and thankfully silent on l'affaire Agassi), but boy is Becker a close second to egomaniac of the game!

Malisse the latest sacrificial lamb

Scoop — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:53:22 GMT

Here we go again, preying on the lesser ranked players the powers that be send the X Man to solitary confinement for a year not testing positive but missing a test and missing telling his whereabouts twice. It's always the lesser players who get made the example out of. But when they get the positive test of a major star, they accept any lies/excuses without any further questioning. Like when he says he took a drink out of his assistant's soft drink which was spiked with drugs. Or he kissed a girl. or something was contaminated. Yeah sure. Talk about double standards. Jonas Bjorkman said it, he said he's heard of cases where the ITF covered up knowledge about positive tests, he said this which appeared in a 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated. Bjorkman said it, it was documented, and to my knowledge, Bjorkman was never sued by the ITF for defamation or slander. So here we go again, now they will hang Malisse, though he never has tested positive FOR ANYTHING. Who's next? Arguello? Granollers? Coetzee? Kukushkin? Saeda? Reckon we won't ever see a top 10 suspended for one year for missing a test or not disclosing his whereabouts. But who cares anyway? Who cares about the little guy.

xiowa's mini contest 10-9-2009

xiowa — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:34:52 GMT

1	NicoFan	M. Russell	USA	S	259	C	100	159
2	David_D	T. DeBakker	NED	S	250	C	98	152
3	Mason D	G. Zemlja	SLO	S	267	C	`154	113
4	Vinco	J. Isner	USA	S	145	C	35	110
5	garybru	D. Hrbaty	SVK	S	257	C	157	100
6	4kids	P. Cuevas	URU	S	132	C	48	84
7	Xiowa	S. Koubek	AUT	S	201	C	119	82
8	tennis.nut	K. Beck	SVK	S	160	C	78	82
9	Smoing Ace	S. Devvarman	IND	S	204	C	124	80
10	Peggye1	A. Beck	GER	S	110	C	34	76
11	RP	X. Malisse	BEL	S	162	C	95	67
12	Mason D	J. Ignacio Chela	ARG	S	143	C	77	66
13	garybru	O. Rochus	BEL	S	120	C	59	61
14	Ten_isse_fan	E. Korolev	RUS	S	113	C	52	61
15	NicoFan	N. Lindahl	AUS	S	282	C	260	53
16	misskimi	A. Ungar	ROU	S	238	C	185	53
17	Hitman*	L Mayer (ARG)	ARG	S	102	C	61	41
18	tennis.nut	J. Souza	BRA	S	206	C	165	41
19	Dobey	R. Sweeting	USA	S	214	C	175	39
20	Gma3	S. Decoud	ARG	S	180	C	141	39
21	a. hack	L. Recouderc	FRA	S	177	C	145	32
22	a. hack	P. Polansky	CAN	S	215	C	193	22
23	RP	F. Dancevic	CAN	S	139	C	123	16
24	UESNYNY	D. Istomin	UZB	S	103	C	89	14-Jan
25	gotroom	J. Levine	USA	S	129	C	117	12
26	Hairload	S. Bubka	UKR	S	271	C	270	1
27	David_D	A. Mannario	FRA	S	131	C	142	-11
28	Tommyboy	R. DeHeart	USA	S	237	C	252	-15
29	Redhead	K. Anderson	RSA	S	106	C	125	-19
3130	EricssonBallBoy	T. Alves (BRA)	BRA	S	114	C	148	-34
31	EricssonBallBoy	F. Cipolla (ITA)	ITA	S	126	C	163	-37
32	Xiowa	M. Fischer	AUT	S	218	C	267	-49
33	Vinco	P. Andujar	ESP	S	103	C	164	-61
34	Redhead	D. Young	USA	S	140	C	206	-66
35	Smoking Ace	J. Goodall	GBR	S	197	C	281	-84
36	misskimi	G. Moraru	ROU	S	286	C	377	-91
37	4kids	A. Peya	AUT	S	148	C	258	-110
38	UESNYNY	F. Volandri	ITA	S	104	C	217	-113
39	Ten_isse_fan	J. Huta Galung	NED	S	176	C	337	-161
40	Gma3	O. Patience	FRA	S	144	C	351	-207

14

Who's writing those repetitive TW headlines???

SmokingAce — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:05:52 GMT

Back On Top: Sharapova Takes Tokyo...........

Just occurred to me, that sounds very similiar to the cover when MS won the Aussie in 08 and appeared on the cover with trophy and "Back on Top," headline.

I like the headline, don't get me wrong, but be careful about redundancy with your avid TW readers. How many times can MS achieve Back On Top status?

Agassi: Preemptive Strike

skeptic — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:56:09 GMT

Not sure if anyone else brought up this angle. One might speculate that Agassi acted preemptively to beat any potential future extorter or blackmailer from spillng the beans. Perhaps he got wind of a plot on the part of someone in the know going public with all the dirty details. Someone like Agassi who most lkely does not need the money, could, in a book, reveal and rationalize on his terms why he did certain things and come away for the most part looking pretty good. An introspective dude, owning up to his mistakes and flaws, turning a potential PR disaster into another Zen-like laudable response.

Mark Philippoussis is broke

KingArthurUK — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:54:10 GMT

Fast seves, fast cars and fast women, now it is reported Philippoussis is broke after defaulting on his mortgage it was repoted in the Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/6487941/Mark-Philippoussis-gets-off-his-knees-for-The-Aegon-Masters.html

Hidden racism

Tnut — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:08:16 GMT

Why is Dinara Safina picture on tennis week(ranking and earning section) as the number one player in the world? Yes, I know that when you click on the link it shows in the data that Serena is the number one player in the world, but I just feel that this is hidden racism.