May 2009 Articles (58)

FRENCH OPEN: MADRID WIN “BODES WELL” FOR ROGER FEDERER

*INTERVIEW BY FREAKYFRITES WITH PATRICK MCENROE + MARY CARILLO

via GOTOTENNIS

Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe, who will be anchoring ESPN’s French Open commentary team at Roland Garros next week, took time to chat with reporters (and me) about the upcoming action on the terre battue. Here’s some of what they had to say about Nadal, Federer and the rest of the… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 21, 2009 at 12:24am — 2 Comments

CHRIS EVERT ON ROGER FEDERER: “I CRY EVERY TIME HE LOSES”

Who knew that 18-time Grand Slam champ, Chris Evert, was such a hard core Fedophile? I’m putting her in the “Historian” category, due to the fact that she also really admires Nadal. Here’s the money quote from her ESPN interview with Bonnie D. Ford (click here for the full article):

“Isn’t there something about Federer that pulls at your heartstrings? I cry every time he loses a match, and I don’t even know the guy. (Laughs) There’s… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 21, 2009 at 12:20am — No Comments

DOPERS, EN GUARD! TOUGH ANTI-DOPING TESTING AT ROLAND GARROS

Tough new anti-doping controls will be in effect at this year’s Roland Garros.

From Le Monde (click here for the original, my translation):

“This year, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, like all players who compete at Roland Garros (May 24 to Sunday June 7) will not only be subject to traditional anti-doping controls by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), but also those carried out by the very effective French Agency for the… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 21, 2009 at 12:18am — No Comments

Debentures in Sports

I've suddenly started getting a lot of comments on the post I made in mid-April, that made reference to the relatively new association of Wimbledon Debenture Holders, www.wimbledondebentureholders.com, and at the same time, I've been learning that other large sports associations are just beginning to bring in the same system. Do other people have experience of Debenture systems, or of how well the Debenture system at Wimbledon works? The original post is below:

I've just found the… Continue

Added by Jana Hertz on May 20, 2009 at 4:38pm — No Comments

New Roof on Centre Court

I was lucky enough to be at Wimbledon on Sunday for the launch of the new roof on Centre Court. And it's magnificent! The players, Agassi, Graf, Henman and Clijsters, reported that the conditions were perfect. There's a complex air conditioning system that ensures that, even when the roof is closed, the humidity and air circulation is the same as if on a sunny day in the open air, and the tarpulin over the roof is specially designed to give the appearance of natural light. Sitting in the… Continue

Added by Kate M on May 20, 2009 at 9:00am — 3 Comments

Shouldering a Burden

Maria Sharapova made her singles comeback yesterday in Warsaw and managed to get through a three-setter against Tathiana Garbin. She came out smokin' in the first set, but had some rusty spots that led to the match being extended. Still, it was a good win for Sharapova and I'm glad to see her back as she's one of my favorite players on the WTA Tour.

But I think she should've just skipped the clay-court season!

That shoulder injury of hers was (or is?) obviously pretty… Continue

Added by Van Sias on May 19, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Second-Best Can Be Good Enough (Or My Crazy Theory on Broken Streaks)

You know what I would've said to myself if Rafael Nadal had lost that epic match Saturday against Novak Djokovic? And you know what I think after he lost to Roger Federer on Sunday?

Good for him! (And believe it or not, the "him" I'm referring to is Nadal!)

You see, I have this feeling about players on huge streaks going into Majors: I actually don't like to see them, particularly if a player is the favorite to win the event that's set to start just days after their latest… Continue

Added by Van Sias on May 19, 2009 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Tennis Rally

Lets play and get some sun..In the North park area ...Solid 4.0 For fun and excercise.. No beginners please ...

Added by Alexander Lozano on May 17, 2009 at 12:45am — 1 Comment

Let's Play

Some one call in so we can go play tennis - I am available all day(s) I live in north Austin - my email id is nirvanaaent@gmail.com

Added by nirvanaa on May 16, 2009 at 9:39pm — 2 Comments

Unique Gift Idea

Imagine a beautifully printed, perfectly personalized greeting FROM Andy Roddick, Justine Henin or Vera Zvonareva.

At Great Friends Greetings, you can make that happen. Select a spectacular photo of Andy, Justine or Vera for the front, compose a perfect message for inside and identify yourself as the gift-giver of the card… Continue

Added by Angela Wyatt Dean on May 16, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Mill Creek area Tennis this weekend?

For the love of God...please get me on the court! :)

Added by brett dison on May 16, 2009 at 10:52am — 1 Comment

Andy Murray on Clay

Its getting really annoying watching Murray on clay, he has the game for it as he can hit all the shots, his fitness is second to nadal so he can run around all day. Watching others like Monaco, Ljubicic and Verdasco all unlucky to lose in a way, they went for their shots, Murray it seems and this is what really annoys me is a better player but he wants to out think everyone and Del Potro last night just played to his strengths which to be honest for #5 in the world are nothing special and… Continue

Added by Meags on May 16, 2009 at 4:00am — 4 Comments

MEDIA MASHUP: Adidas photo shoot or Old Navy ad? You decide.

Check out these images of Fernando Verdasco (doing his usual shirtless dance), Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga showing off their Roland Garros duds courtesy of… Continue

Added by tennis baller on May 15, 2009 at 5:23pm — 5 Comments

UNCLE TONI TO RAFAEL NADAL: FEDERER’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU

I admit it, the Fedophile in me ran screaming from S.L. Price’s Sports Illustrated article based on its title alone: “How Nadal humbled Federer.” But boy, am I glad I talked myself into reading it, because it’s chock-full of fascinating facts and anecdotes that even the most avid tennis fanatic may have missed along the way. Obviously, you should click here to read the entire thing, but if you still need persuading, here are some… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 15, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Rafael Nadal: The crowd-puller who didn't pull the ball girl to safety

If you're a Rafael Nadal, then you'll be guaranteed a sold-out crowd.

Playing in front of his homecrowd in his opening match in Madrid, Nadal had quite a number… Continue

Added by HCFoo on May 14, 2009 at 7:48pm — 1 Comment

An email interview with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Thanks to Astro for giving us the opportunity to participate in an email interview with French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recently.

Worried about Jo Willy's performance on clay, we came up with several questions regarding his… Continue

Added by HCFoo on May 14, 2009 at 7:38pm — No Comments

PATRICK MCENROE: THE U.S. NEEDS CLAY COURT PLAYERS, NOT CLAY COURTERS

Before I launch into how Americans suck on clay, I want to congratulate Andy Roddick for an impressive three set win over Tommy Haas in Madrid on Wednesday. It was a gutsy debut on the red stuff. Okay, back to business. . .

There’s been lots of talk going into the French Open about both the Americans’ lack of success on clay and their lack of success in general.… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 14, 2009 at 10:25am — No Comments

Personalized Greetings from Top Female Athletes

Many of the world’s finest female athletes have teamed with Great Friends Greetings to be featured in the customized gift company’s unique line of personalized greetings.

World all-around champion gymnasts Shannon Miller and Chellsie Memmel, tennis stars Justine Henin and Vera Zvonareva, softball sensation Jennie Finch, soccer icon Kristine Lilly, hall of fame hockey star Angela… Continue

Added by Angela Wyatt Dean on May 14, 2009 at 5:45am — No Comments

Federer to Play 3rd Fiddle...Maybe

Roger Federer.

The ex-King of the tennis world.

The former invincible one.

The man with shots that never existed before.

Roger Federer, (on the brink of being) the #3 player in the world.

Wow.

That just sounds wrong, doesn't it?

But here we have it...Roger doesn't make the finals this week and Andy Murray takes over the #2 spot in the ATP rankings. Andy Murray will instantly hold a better position… Continue

Added by Mark Oskar on May 13, 2009 at 5:39pm — No Comments

RAFAEL NADAL: I LOVE MADRID!

Rafael Nadal has changed his not-so-sweet tune about this week’s Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. After complaining about the court surface, the schedule and the general disorder around the tournament a few days ago, Nadal is now heaping on the praise, saying stuff like, “It’s special to play in Spain and in Madrid. And this year is no exception.”

On the tournament’s facilities, which he called “disorderly”:

“The facility is… Continue

Added by FreakyFrites on May 13, 2009 at 1:33pm — No Comments