Golf and tennis seem to be closely related

So much of the worl believes that once you get a membership at a country club you must love to do the following:

• Leave work early on Friday and play 18 holes of golf
• Gamble against your golfing buddies with a minimum wager of $50 on anything you can think of.
• Use the club pool to do laps each morning for a refreshing workout
• Meet at the club for a guys night out and drink crown and coke telling old stories of what you did in your yonger days.
• Play tennis OR at least get lessons from the local young woman tennis coach who wears the short little skirts everyday.

I just want to clear up a few things.  In the past I worked for a large golf retailer and have played tennis since I was young kid.  I feel the need to clarify a few things. Golf and tennis players are a COMPLETELY different breed.

Golfers & Tennis Players show anger differently

• Tennis players actually sweat from running around on the court and enjoy the sport for both the technique and physical fitness aspect.
• You WILL NOT see an amazing tennis player that is OUT OF SHAPE.  You often see really good golfers that look like they were rolled out of a local buffet joint.
• Golf does take a high level of skill.  In tennis I can hit a ball within 6 inches of my target 25 feet away and it’s perfect. In golf you can use any of the golf putters and only be 10 feet away and miss the target by 3 inches and look like a complete idiot.

I will be honest, from my personal involvement in both sports I would say golfers drink a WHOLE lot more on average than tennis players. Tennis players drink alot more water. Golfers believe more in the technology of their equipment to make a difference more than tennis players. Often golfers will buy new golf drivers each year hoping for a few more yards in distance.  Tennis Players on the other hand often have a racket for 5-7 years because the stick works for them.  Of course, we mess with our string often BUT that is much cheaper than buying a whole new racquet. Cleveland Golf does a good job of keeping the upgrade costs to a minimum in golf unlike some other brands.

What do you think the biggest differences are between the two sports?  Do you play both?  I have to be honest, I prefer tennis….. of course you probably knew that….. this is a tennis blog

Does surfing and tennis even go together?

Being a tennis player, dating a surf crazy guy like Harry had made me want to start up the sport myself but it seemed easier to just sit and watch from the warmth of the vacations homes nearby. I had to admit I was a wimp when it came to getting in the cold sea which wasn’t a great start to my surf career. So you can imagine my shock when I came home one night and saw Harry grinning and holding up 2 matching body glove wetsuits “Damn it!” I told him that was my only excuse for not getting in the water and letting him teach me this sport I had idly sat back watching for the last few months.

Interestingly enough the first thing I noticed about my new wetsuit was the fact it had handy pockets for keys something that had always worried me about surfing alone. After this discovery Harry asked if I had any intention of trying it on! Of course I was pessimistic about getting most wet suits on as it had always seemed a stressful procedure that certainly did not look flattering on a beach in front of the Harry and his surf friends.

Luckily Body Glove is way ahead of me when they designed wetsuits for women. Conveniently placed zips increase the likelihood I would be able to independently get my wetsuit on without a team of assistants. So here I am on my third surf lesson and strangely enough I haven’t even noticed whether the water was cold or not!

Marat Safin finally retires from tennis

Marat Safin is officially playing his final tournament on the ATP tour and will retire afterward. In spite of his recent comments about Andre Agassi’s crystal meth use, Safin has a prety good reputation in the tennis world. Have you not heard what he said? Here’s the highlight referring to Andre – ‘He feels guilty? So let him just give back his titles, money, his Grand Slams,’ said Safin. ‘He should go all the way. The ATP has a bank account, he can refund if he wants to.”

Marat Safin retires after 12 years playing pro

The Russian is retiring from his tennis career at the BNP Paribas Masters where he has a good run of  it in the past decade. Safin has won the title three times, in 2000, 2002, 2004 and finished runner-up on his debut in 1999. IN fact, his latest win improves Safin to a 24-4 record here.The streak might end shortly as Safin plays Juan Martin Del Potro, US Open champion, in the next round.

“The tennis I’m playing at the moment is not the best of my career. I always came here to win, but this time, frankly, I don’t think I can do that. I’ll just try to finish on a high note and say goodbye to everybody,” said Safin.

Safin, ranked 65th will face Del Potro for the first time. “The way he’s playing right now, I don’t think I have a chance,” confessed Safin. “But I’m going to try. Why not? If I’m going to serve well and he’s not going to be at his best, I have a chance. At the end of the day, I don’t think I’m going to be the winner. I’m going to make a decent match, that’s for sure.”

Wow Marat, you think you would have a little more confidence in your tennis game than that…. Oh wait, you have no confidence and that’s why you’re retiring. Do you think Safin should have kept playing or did he stay in the sport to long?

Here’s a gerat quote I remember from old Marat Safin – “No, she’s not. Two women is too much for me.”
– Marat Safin, when asked if his mother was in Melbourne in addition to his sister.

Here’s a great Youtube video of him kissing the line lady after hitting her with a tennis ball at the HopMan cup.  He was a good sport I must say and will be missed!!

Andre Agassi used Crystal Meth, at least it wasn’t steroids….

Andre Agassi admits in a new book, “I hate Tennis” by Sports Illustrated, that he used crystal meth during his tennis career.  He also lied to tennis authorities about taking any drugs. He says it happened at the height of his success.   This and other drug abuse tales might be a result of how tennis players are trying to cope with their rigorous sport. Major sports headlines are frequently filled with drug abuse incidents either steroids, meth, cocaine, or alcohol and the ever constant problem.

Andre Agassi cries after admitting to crystal meth use

The first tidbits from his autobiography have rocketed through tennis like a 135-mile-an-hour serve. He hated the sport, hated doing something that his father had shoved down his throat. He rebelled, he sought escape, maybe even self-ruin. One day in 1997,

Hot Ana Ivanovic pictures, photos, & avatars

Ana Ivanovic in a slinky black dress

Ana Ivanovic’s bare feet, some would find this incredibly attractive, but I just don’t think she could find shoes that went perfect with this outfit.Why not add some more pictures of the hot & sexy Ana Ivanovic while we’re at it.  Sorry guys, not adding any nude, naked, or topless shots of her.  Was wondering around the Ana Ivanovic forums and decided to collect some of my favorite pictures & make some cool avatars for her.

Andy Roddick slips past Lleyton Hewitt at the 2009 Wimbledon

Andy Roddick brought former champion Lleyton Hewitt’s fine Wimbledon run to an end on Thursday with an energy-sapping 6-3 6-7 7-6 4-6 6-4 quarter-final victory on Court One.

Quick recap of this amazing 3 hour game between Andy Roddick & Lleyton Hewitt at the 2009 Wimbledon:

Adny Roddick thumbs up after beating Lleyton Hewitt at the 2009 Wimbledon

5pm: Would Murray prefer to face Hewitt or Roddick in the semis? “Both are tough, they’ve got a lot of experience,

Maria Sharapova loses in the French Open, with only 2 games in her favor

Facing match point in the quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova was no dreaming about winning her first French Open title.  She didn’t want to lose without a single won game.  But her never give up, never surrender attitude at least helped her keep her pride.

Maria Sharapova loses in the French Open against Cibulkova

A tired, rusty Sharapova barely skimmed a shutout but lost Tuesday to Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 6-2. Cibulkova was one point from victory at 5-love in the second set before Sharapova finally found her form. She won that game and then another, hitting a flurry of winners and saving four match points before Cibulkova closed out the win. Sharapova was playing in just her second tournament after a layoff of nearly 10 months because of a right shoulder injury. The three-time Grand Slam champion had

Maria Sharapova makes a comeback at the French Open

Maria Sharapova is proving that not only is her shoulder fit to fight, her game has come back too. 

Last year the former world number one underwent arthroscopic surgery on her serving shoulder and spent three months without touching a racquet, a sobering time she said allowed her to gain some perspective.

Maria Sharapova is making a comeback at the french open (Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)

Just Wednesday, Maria Sharapova found herself in a genuine battle for survival against a tough opponent in the second round at the French Open and came through with the shoulder in one piece (still bandaged) and another victory to boost her confidence.

The score against Nadia Petrova, a former world No. 3, was 6-2, 1-6, 8-6 and Sharapova had to battle back from 4-2 down in the final set.

“I think it was a great match where I had to fight my way through many, many challenges and I did,” Sharapova said. “I thought I served well. It was actually one of the things I did best in the match. It was important to get a high percentage of first serves, to take control of the points. Nadia is a very aggressive player and she likes to get you on the run.”

“I kind of started stumbling away. Things went in the wrong direction,” said Sharapova, “I was just glad I

Brother & Sister have achieved #1 tennis ranking, now what?

Dinara Safina yells in victory

Russia’s Dinara Safina has now became the No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player in the world this past Monday, knocking out Serena Williams of the United States. Safina’s brother, Marat Safin, was once the top-ranked men’s player. Thanks to the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings Williams fell to No. 2 after 11 straight weeks at the top. We all know WIlliams has been bothered by a leg injury, lost in two recent tournaments, and withdrew from a third.

The 22-year-old Safina, winner of four WTA titles in the past year, is the second Russian to hold the No. 1 ranking. Maria Sharapova, now famous, previously was top-ranked for 17 weeks. Safina has nine WTA titles overall and has placed second in two majors. Definitely not a shabby record to say the least.

“It’s a great honor to reach the No.1 ranking and it is a dream every girl who has ever wanted to play professional tennis shares,” Safina said. “It is even extra special for me since my brother Marat was able to reach the No.1 ranking and I am happy to share this achievement with him.” Of course, Marat didn’t hold the position very long, maybe Safina can do better. Of course Marat would do well well at prison tennis tournaments.

Russian Elena Dementieva is third in the rankings, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia is fourth and Venus Williams of United States is No. 5.

Who will be the next woman to take the #1 position and hold it for at least a year. This is how legends are remembered. It’s hard to get to #1 in tennis, but much harder to stay their any length of time. Just ask new daddy Roger Federer or Tiger Woods, they’ve been there and lost that. Who do you think Safina will get sponsored by now that she’s #1. She definitely doesn’t have the “marketing appeal” that the mighty Maria Sharapova had so she probably will not land the massive endorsements.

Prison Tennis funded by taxpayers?

“In prison, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all.” – This is a quote from Albert Einstein.  I guess we’re getting some Australian prisoners really excited about professional tennis?

Tennis at Bali's Kerobokan prison

Thank God for the competition today,” Rush said. “It’s good for us here. To keep us active, and I like to be active, so do all the prisoners here.”

Chan and Rush formed a doubles team to take on the finest from Indonesia’s Immigration Department as the prison opened its doors to the media for the tournament.

Prisoners and public servants traded ground strokes as an organ played music in the background similar to a baseball game anda prison choir  serenaded about 100 spectators, among them Australia’s consul in Bali, Bruce Cowled.

The event was the idea of Yon Suharyono, the prison governor, who revealed that the many of the Bali nine, the young Australians convicted of trafficking heroin, were keen tennis players. “They love it,” he said. “They play tennis almost from morning till noon, all day until they have to go back in (their cells),” he said.  Looks like the ATP needs to look new places for some professional players?

All prisoners competing in the two-day “Department of Law and Human Rights Tennis Open” wore matching red shirts, like Tiger Woods, with Si Yi Chen, Myuran Sukumaran and Matthew Norman of the Bali nine also hitting the court.

For Rush, Chan and Sukumaran, all residents of “The Tower”, the section for inmates awaiting death by firing squad (Bali’s death penalty), the tennis is a good distraction as they wait to make appeals against their sentences.  I mean, when I’m sentenced to die, the first thing on my mind, is how I can improve my backhand, how about you?

Asked about the possibility of death, Rush was uncomfortable, if existential: “I don’t know, I don’t think death is a good thing. But, it’s the law in this country.” Typically death is not viewed as a good thing, so I understand where he’s coming from.

Do you think the USA should add prison tennis to it’s activities as taxpayers pay $15,000 for each court they place in the prison plus $1,500 a year in upkeep?

Jimmy Connors arrested in California, some things don’t change.

Jimmy Connor arrested for bad behavior

In the past Jimmy Connors was called the original bad boy of American tennis. At the 1991 U.S. Open, he called an umpire who ruled against him “a bum,” “a son of a bi***” and “an abortion”.

It seems that he was arrested outside a college basketball game in California on Friday night, November 21, for standing his ground, police said. At the age of 56 Jimmy was ordered to move away from the entrance of the Thunderdome just before North Carolina and & UC Santa Barbara were set to play that evening.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion, known for his explosive temper in the past, refused and was arrested, police said.

He was released on Saturday and details are still sketchy on what exactly happened.  I’m guessing the police told him to do something he didn’t fully agree with. Some people just don’t change in their old age.  Or do they?

UPDATE 11/24/2008

Connors, 56, issued a statement thorough his business manager Karen Scott Happer saying he was picking up tickets for the game with his son Brett when he was twice confronted by a man who made derogatory comments and physical contact.

An altercation ensued and when campus police arrived, they told Connors to leave the campus.

“Jimmy said he wanted to stay and wait for his son to watch the game, and as a result was taken into custody,” the statement said. “Police told Jimmy that he was being taken into custody for ‘being a non-student refusing to leave the campus.’ Jimmy is extremely disappointed and embarrassed about the way the situation was handled.”

What is the future of tennis?

I decided to watch the LaCoste future of tennis commercial on YouTube and it really made me think about the future of tennis.  How can players monitor their game and get more into the game? What can tennis associations & media do to make the game more exciting?

So I watched this video and was really sucked in.  Was it realistic…. heck no.  Was it fun to watch like the movie “The Matrix”, yes but without an additional book to read to explain the meeting.  What could the world of tennis pull from this video?  Here’s a few ideas:

1.  Create a tennis racket with a small computer inside the handle and sensors on the frame that records how you hit every shot and the movement.  Heck you could have an microSD card slot in the bottom of the racket that would allow you to easily transfer your entire game into some software program on your home computer.  With this information you could replay your rackets movements and get advice on what you need to improve your game.

This is like the Dixx digital putter but for tennis.  Someone has to get creative and make this like Babolat, Prince, or Wilson and they would make the front page of any tennis publication.

2.  I think the USTA needs to get more involved in the public school system and offer guided programs with the help of volunteer teachers and trainers in the area.  Have a USTA trained instructor show up at each high school once a year and give kids an idea of what it takes to play in college or the benefits of playing the game your whole life.

3. Help other tennis players find someone to play of their skill level.  The USTA’s find a partner program is horrible.  I signed up for years ago and they never seemed to be able to find me a partner.  Luckily I was wondering around earlier this year and found Tennisopolis. This is a social tennis community site that actually was alive and ended up finding 33 players in my area, 5 that matched my 4.5 NTRP skill level.

4. Create new tennis court technology that makes it less expensive to keep up the local tennis courts.  How many public tennis courts have you seen in shambles while the indoor and outdoor basketball courts are in tip top shape?  Many city governments don’t mind the initial cost of a tennis court, it’s the expensive upkeep that’s the problem.  We need longer lasting court surfaces that require less maintenance.  Who is really working on this?  Court manufactures are definitely not motivated to do this since they make so much on maintenance.

What do you think should be done to improve the future of tennis?

Guillermo Canas, tennis star robbed blind

You ever had a rough dinner at your parents house? Good old Canas had it worse off this night.

Copyright & Photo taken by Yvonne Westers

Two armed robbers – who reportedly did not recognize this professional athlete (like they watch the news??) – threatened the player and took one racket he was carrying, along with his identity documents, credit cards, some cash and a chain he wore.

They fled in Canas’ convertible.

Over the weekend, the tennis player had been part of the Argentine team that beat Russia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup in Buenos Aires.

When he was attacked, Canas was leaving his parents’ home after dinner.

Now remember this was in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It’s a good chance that his “convertible” was probably one of those old Ford Falcons you see lining the streets everywhere.

Guillermo Canas's Ford Falcon stolen

Tennis legend supporting Sarah Palin?

Sarah Polin poses for Vogue magazine

Billie Jean King calling Palin “awesome,” “honest,” and “real” seems to catch us all by surprise around here. It seems the American public is flip son the topic of what Palin is about. King is just expressing the irony of how everyone (both Democrats and Republicans) keeps flip-flopping. “No to Hillary Clinton because she has too much experience! No to Sarah Palin because she has too little experience!”

It seems the article misrepresented what King was trying to say. “Last Friday, reporter from the New York Observer asked me what I thought about Sarah Palin. I told her I thought Sarah Palin was honest and real. I believe that.”

The statement went on, “But, that in no way should be viewed as an endorsement of any kind.”

Added the statement, “I oppose many of the positions of Sarah Palin, particularly those tied to the LGBT community.”

I guess that clarifies where Billie Jean King stands.  What about Palin posing in Vogue, that’s a whole new way to get publicity.  I give her points on that. What’s up with vendor running out of badges with Mrs Palin’s picture and the legend: “Coldest State, Hottest Governor.”

Can Rafael Nadal win the 2008 US Open?

Nadal roll saround in victory

This first week of September, the tennis community will be biting their nails watching to see whether Nadal will close the deal this summer or whether Federer will be able to bounce back with the mental challenges of having the No. 1 ranking torn from his grasp for the first time in 1/20th of a century.

Nadal has never made it past the quarterfinals at the US Open or Australian Open, which are played on hard courts – (except once). And other players, such as #3 Novak Djokovic, who will be looking to follow up on his win over Federer in this year’s Australian Open, and past US Open champ Andy Roddick, could easily take the trophy for the tournament as well.