Why do people love to watch Tennis?

Tennis is a game which I’ve always enjoyed watching. The four most famous championships are the Wimbledon Championships, the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. We all love watching heroes battle it out on the court with skill that we could never imagine to have.  They are the most important when it comes to tradition, world ranking, public attention and prize money.

People faithfully watch tennis in spite of the summer heat during Australian Open where it is held on grass courts in Melbourne Park or during occasional rain showers in Wimbledon Open. Sometimes however, a drizzle would postpone a game like what happened in the US Open last September 2011. Those who cannot afford to buy tickets to watch these tournaments are glued in their televisions at home just to be able to witness these sports events.

So, why do people watch tennis? It is a fast-paced game where the tennis ball is being volleyed back and forth with tennis racket. Some tennis players have made themselves famous with their acrobatic moves just to be able to send the tennis ball off to their opponent which make the crowd cheer for more and for their opponent be taken in surprise. A bit of drama also surfaces in some tournaments where fans would bicker insults to the players that they dislike or would run in the court just to be able to kiss their favorite tennis player. But the most important event is the real drama on who will emerge as the winner in the championship in the singles event. It showcases the frustration and disappointment of the player who lost and the triumph and glory of the one who won.

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!!

What is the cause of increased professional tennis injuries?

It’s obvious we have a problem in the world of professional tennis.  Imagine if 15% of the star players in soccer, basketball, baseball or football were all injured in one season?  The sponsors of the game would investigate safety issues and see if the season was to demanding.  Even Nadal complained in a recent interview about the ATP schedule citing the toll it has taken on his body. “It’s impossible to play first of January to finish fifth of December,” he said. “It’s impossible to be here playing like what I did the last five years, playing a lot of matches and being all the time 100 percent without problems.” 

Here is the quick list of tennis injuries that have happened in 2009 and what tournament it occured at:

Tennis injuries - is the season to long?

• Roger Federer (fatigue) – after US Open taking a break
• Rafael Nadal (knee, stomach) – US Open
• Andy Roddick (knee injury) – Shanghai Masters – “I think it’s ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport

Kim Clijsters inspires Justine Henin to return to tennis

OK, Justine did not say this about Kim Clijsters but we all know it must have inspired her to “unretire” from the sport. Justine Henin’s proclamation this past Tuesday that she’s coming back after almost 1.5 years adds to the surging number of high-profile but temporary retirements in the game of tennis. Of course, she really does think she can win the next Wimbledon, I’m sure.  I doubt the picture below will happen again..do you agree?

Justine Henin being cocky & Kim Clijsters sad in 2003

In the last six years, three other former female No. 1s besides Henin—Martina Hingis (foot injury), Kim Clijsters (pregnancy/burnout) and Lindsay Davenport (pregnancy) — announced they were done and then subsequently unretired. Each enjoyed success in their comebacks, including Clijsters’ phenomenal run to the U.S. Open title this month as an unranked wild card in just her third tournament back.

Melanie Oudin defeats Caroline Wozniacki at the 2009 US Open

Melanie Oudin defeats Caroline Wozniacki. Well, at least that’s what the USA fans are cheering for tonight at Arthur Ashe staduim. This little 5’6″ 17 year-old from Marietta, Georgia is getting the attention she deserves for US women’s tennis.

Melanie Oudin pink yellow shoes - 2009 US Open

 Caroline Wozniacki, the first Danish woman to be ranked in the top 10, defeated the last remaining Russian in the field, sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, last night in similar fashion to Oudin victories, coming back to win, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). She will meet Oudin in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal gets a surprise kiss at the US Open

A little bit after Nadal defeated Gael Monfils on Tuesday night in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open, a spectator came out of the stands and hugged and kissed him his naked chest before being escorted quickly by security guards.

Nadal gets kissed at the 2009 US Open

Although caught off guard, Nadal did not seem to be shaken, in fact he smiled and chuckled after it happened.

Nadal stomach patch US open injury

“For me it wasn’t a problem,” said Nadal, noting that the man spoke in English. “The guy was really nice.”

“He was a great fan,” he said. “He said, ‘I love you,’ and he kissed me.”

Nadal had just removed his shirt (showing his stomach patch) and was preparing for an on-court interview when the man suddenly emerged with a camera to approach him. I’ve included a quick YouTube video showing the highlights of the quick hug, kiss, & run guy.  He actually attacks him about the 57 second mark.

Thirty minutes after the match, the police had a man in custody, and they handcuffed him to the bleachers alongside Court 5 (were they better setas for the match then he had before, who knows?). A USTA spokesman said the incident was being reviewed, as were on-court security procedures.

Tournament spokesman Tim Curry said police arrested the man for interference with a sporting event.

“We’re reviewing what happened and then will determine if we have to make any changes to our on-court security procedures,” Curry said.

The scene reminded me of the French Open final in May, when a fan came out of the stands and tried to greet Roger Federer during play, although that incident was scary. Federer was in the middle of a match and it broke his concentration, requiring a few minutes during play to compose himself.

John Isner defeats Andy Roddick…major upset at the US Open 2009

What an insane match.  This helped show that American still has some great tennis talent and can gring out an enexpected historical matchup between these 2 Americans that can serve easily over 125 mpy consistently.  You see John Isner defeated Andy Roddick, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6. So far, It’s the biggest upset so far in the men’s draw with the #5 mens seed now out.  Isner beat Roddick at his own game, tallying 38 aces and winning two tiebreaks to advance, marking the farthest he has ever lasted in a Grand Slam.

“This is hands down the biggest win of my career,” Isner said after the match. “The hair was kinda standing up on the back of my neck at some points. But I never panicked. I knew I had a shot.”

Indeed.

Here’s the final tiebraker in the 5th set of this insane match.

In the biggest match of Isner’s young career, the lanky 24-year-old didn’t shrink on the biggest of stages.

“We were waiting around in the locker room forever. But I actually kind of enjoyed that. I figured if I had a decently long match with Andy, it would kind of end at nighttime. I wanted that atmosphere,” said Isner.

US Open Tennis TV Schedule 2009

Sometimes finding the schedule to the 2009 US Open isn’t easy so I decided to gather all the information in one spot and post it for you guys.  Enjoy the US Open and I hope to see some amazing matches!!

All Posted times are Eastern Standard Time (EST)

US Open 2009 Tennis Logo - Flaming Ball

Friday, September 4

11:00 am – 7:00 pm U.S. Open 3rd Round Tennis Channel – LIVE
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm U.S. Open 3rd Round ESPN2 – LIVE
Paul Capdeville vs Andy Murray, Juan Del Potro vs Jurgen Melzer
7:00 pm – 11:00 pm U.S. Open 3rd Round ESPN2 – LIVE
Nicolas Kiefer vs Rafael Nada

Saturday, September 5

11:00 am – 6:00 pm U.S. Open 3rd Round CBS – LIVE
7:00 pm – 11:00 pm U.S. Open 3rd Round Tennis Channel – LIVE

Roger Federer getting old?

Roger Federer losing his edge?

Does it seem Roger is losing his edge.  He has endured much, achieved much, tolerated much and delivered much this season. Do you think he can continue to have the weight of the tennis world on his shoulders, this is Roger Federer, not superman.

The day after his painstaking 5th consecutive triumph in the US Open last month, Roger Federer talked about how he had not felt stronger and fresher for a long time (yeahh…..) – that he believed the old invincibility (not quite) was flowing back. The chirpy champion looked as if he could have slipped straight into his tennis gear and played a few more sets.

Federer spoke, too about the period at the beginning of the year when he was not feeling at all chipper, about the glandular fever that had affected him and how he had worried about how he should tell the world that he had been suffering from it without any of his words sounding like an excuse for the semi final loss to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and the first round defeat in Dubai to Andy Murray. When Federer said yesterday that he might not play again this year, it was not that much of a shock, because his twin aims for 2009 are to regain his No.1 ranking from Rafael Nadal and collect a couple of grand slam titles so that he can overhaul Pete Sampras’ tally of 14, from which he is currently one removed. This is no time to flog himself to death.

All hype? Babolat Pure Drive Roddick Tennis Racquet

Tennis marketers are convinced that when people watch good players, they want to try their rackets.  THis is also the case with this racket.

When a tennis player finds a “stick” he really likes, he hates to give it up— even when someone will pay him millions to do so. For tennis racket companies, there is another moral: the earlier you can get your racket into the hands of young, promising players, the more likely they are to keep using it as they rise through the ranks.

The background of the babolat pure drive roddick tennis racquet is that Benhabiles’s player was an American junior almost no one had heard of, Andy Roddick. “I didn’t know much about him,” concedes Brownlee, who at the time was working for Prince. Back then, Roddick didn’t have a big reputation; in 1999, he lost in the first round of 2 of the junior grand slam tournaments. Volkl was the only other cooperation willing to give Roddick a racket, but he decided on Babolat because of his coach’s relationship with Appino.

A year later everything changed. Roddick won three out of the four boys’ majors and became the No. 1 junior in the world. Other juniors took notice, especially of his monster serve. Some actually phoned Babolat in France, to see if they too could get “Andy’s racket.” “If he had been out there with a broomstick,” says Rick Macci, who coached Roddick between ages 9 and 14, “I think people would have wanted to try a broomstick.”

Over the next three years, Roddick was the hottest thing in tennis, an electrifying player with a crowd-pleasing personality. And — how blessed can Babolat be? — he was American. If you are going to sell rackets in America, you need an American star.

Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Babolat was doing something it doesn’t often do: paying Roddick to endorse its rackets. His agent, Meyerson, negotiated a small six-figure deal in 2000, shortly after Roddick turned pro, and then a much larger deal in 2003, right around the time Roddick won the United States Open. That deal nets him millions a year. Would Roddick have changed rackets had Babolat low-balled him? Probably not. But the company decided not to take that risk. A happy endorser is always better than a grouchy one. Now the babolat pure drive roddick tennis racket is a hot seller.

I guess the tennis marketers were right.

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.