ainst Germany in Hamburg that prevented the 19 year-old from being axed from the Australian line-up.
John McEnroe accused Tomic of not trying in the final set of the match with Roddick and the Aussie captain was as harsh in his criticism. “I threw out the big D word, disgraceful, to him yesterday,” said Rafter to Australia’s Fox Sports channel. “That’s just the way it was and he’s got to learn.
“There’s no use sugar-coating something, he has to do the work, and I’m sick and tired of tip-toeing around it, and I think everyone else is as well. He needs to realize that’s what he needs to do, and he says he does.”
Tomic, still Australia’s top ranked player although he has slipped from a career high 27 before Wimbledon to a current position of 43, worsened his position when he made threatening comments to a reporter who was questioning him on McEnroe’s comments.
Rafter condemned Tomic’s display and demanded an improved work ethic in team practice before the tie on September 14-16. “We’ve got two weeks now of Davis Cup coming up and that’s hard work, and hard training, so he has to pull his socks up if he wants to be part of this team, and train hard and work hard,” he said.
“It’s about hard work now. It’s about trying your hardest on the court, and if those goals are not met then you won’t be part of this team.”
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8nZk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=tennis…
Added by Tim Prapong at 4:29pm on September 5, 2012
David Nalbandian’s disqualification from Sunday’s final of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in London is, without question, one of the most unusual conclusions to a tennis match – and…
i Graf's record with an asterisk since she won all those titles when Monica Seles was off the tour, recuperating from being stabbed? Is McEnroe less of a champion because Bjorn Borg burned out and failed to give him a sustained fight? Was Roy Emerson's Grand Slam record bogus because he didn't have to face Rod Laver for much of the 1960s because the Rocket turned pro and Emerson "padded" his résumé by defeating the likes of Fred Stolle and Arthur Ashe?
It's nonsense. If you accept any of these arguments, if you accept that we should parse each player's record to decide the quality of their opponents -- and the quality of their Grand Slam titles, Masters Series titles and so on -- then you accept that no statistic, no record, means much at all. Everything could be twisted and turned to support virtually any point of view."…
so, he is dumb looking.
mikeindo said:he simply needs to win more majors before he's earned his way into GOAT conversation. he's at 8, btw. IMO, he's passed the beckers and edbergs (sorry, guys) and now among the connorses, mcenroe, and lendls (all also coincidentally at 7 or 8). to get into the federer-sampras-laver-agassi (ONLY because he won all the slams) group, he's got to win the Open and maybe another couple AusOpens. his talent level is there - he seems to play well everywhere and his volley is pretty darn good, for a baseliner or otherwise. of course, if he has to quit early, then that'll work against him. of course, borg retired early and is still included in the GOAT discussion....
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but for their wallets as well.
I doubt Nike would ever ask him to change his style because it's HIS style and it's an individual sport where personality matters - that's PR 101. I used to work in publicity so I really understand the nuances involved in working a person's image.
Look, playing up baller's personalities has been going on in tennis forever - do you think the greatest rivalries happened only because of the game ballers bring to the court? Personality plays a huge part in it and makes it even more compelling - Evert vs. Navratilova, McEnroe vs. Borg, Agassi vs. Sampras. Their matches were so intense because of different energy each baller brought to the court.
And, at the end of the day fashion is fun and tennis is supposed to be fun, but I think fans and people in the sport take it too seriously as if they're trying to protect it. In most other sports there's a sense of fun, personality, celebrity, tongue and cheek, etc. Tennis could use a little more of it.…
urvey questions to see the full article).
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6361853_ITM
Here's an excerpt from the article:
"Schoenfield lives in what used to be a bed and breakfast in Hialeah. Now it is a halfway house offering supervised living for adults with mental problems. The building has a bright coat of orange paint and an equally optimistic name: Happy Home.
"Doctors have diagnosed Schoenfield as a type one paranoid schizophrenic. ``The most severe kind,'' says Happy Home manager Marco Guim. ``He hears voices. He's delusional. He's paranoid.''
Here's Sports Illistrated article about Howard Schoenfield from 1982:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1126091/6/index.htm…
Added by Paul Atreides at 12:36pm on December 15, 2012
y. If you start, we'll promote it.
Once a group gets real full, lets take Dallas for instance. At some point it will be a good idea to subdivide into North Dallas/ Central Dallas/ South Dallas/ Plano & Richardson, etc. But that can always happen now or later.
Other ideas include groups for your favorite player, like the McEnroe Maniacs one. Or a group for your club, like the "Canyon Creek Country Club Racqueteers" or for your public park where you play "Central Park Smashers". Ok, you get the idea.
How about a junior tennis group, or a beginners group. You know that sounds like a good idea. A general "Beginner Tennis" group where people can share tips and ideas...... what else? "Lefties" "Wheelchair Tennis" "College Playaz" "Going to Wimbledon"..... what else?…
k back on last week’s Davis Cup semifinal matches and examine statements concerning Serena Williams and her being able to beat an ATP player ranked 50 and above and whether or not an exhibition match between John McEnroe and Serena Williams would benefit the game of tennis in the United States.
Come check out the show at
http://thisweekintennispodcast.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/this-week-in-tennis-9-19-2014-is-li-na-a-future-hall-of-famer/…
layed in Boston. Borg's hair and face was drenched.
Here it is, be there or be square. (It should be on Tennis Channel)
BNP Paribas Showdown: Agassi vs. Sampras, Lendl vs. McEnroe
Madison Square Garden
New York, NYMon, Feb 28, 2011 07:00 PM …
Added by Tim Prapong at 12:36pm on January 6, 2011
e the favourite player and home team worthwhile routing for and just that much more appealing when it comes time for trash talking.
I loved watching Pete Sampras smash the the grand-slam record; only to find myself again right behind Roger Federer as he snatched Sampras' spot for the accolade. Recently though is Novak Djokovic, blazing hot, handing out Ls almost routinely to everyone in his way. It is borderline disrespectful, the way he handled his fellow countryman V. Troicki (6-0/6-1) in Miami and almost routinely dismisses the Mighty Fed right now.
Being a sucker for records, I cannot help myself but wish him well, simultaneously, I could not help wonder how he did not play Monte Carlo as a result of a knee injury, then of course ends Rafa's 37 clay winning streak with his 34th straight win. Monte Carlo is too cool of a purse to pass up plus the hardware is decorated with names of legendary champions. By comparison however, legendary names mentioned in "winning streaks" discussions are potentially way cooler than the Monte Carlo purse and trophy put together; Borg, McEnroe and now Djokovic in the same sentence. It is tempting to think he was protecting his streak. Thoughts?!
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