The long wait is finally over! The official line up of players that would be featured in Sega’s Virtua Tennis 2009 and EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis has been released. Virtua Tennis 2009 is expected to be released later this month while Grand Slam Tennis will be on the shelves by June 15th. These games can be played on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Nintendo Wii. Sega and EA need to send us a copy of the games to test drive for the Wii!
Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the Madrid Open because of a knee injury, but expects to be fit in time to defend her French Open title.
The seventh-ranked Serb is struggling with inflammation in her right knee. Doctors have ordered her not to play for a week.
Ivanovic said in a statement Friday that the knee has bothered her since a Fed Cup match last month. She said, “It’s become more painful with each match, so I decided to go and see a specialist in Munich.”
Ivanovic says there is “no danger” of her missing the French Open, which begins May 24.
Have you ever wondered what Boris Becker is upto these days? Well no neither have I, but now you have an opportunity to see what Boris has been getting upto. Boris Becker has launched his very own internet TV website which hosts and provides video content just about Boris. This does seem quite self centered, but it is worth a look. Head over to Boris-Becker.tv.
There has been a lot of talk about two young girls from the USA who have been called the next Serena and Venus Williams. Their names are Regina and Maya Pitts and they are 8 and 5 respectively at the moment. Recently they were on the Ellen show and received tickets to go and watch Wimbledon. I just thought I would embed the video of them on Ellen and also a video of Regina playing. It would be great to hear everyones thoughts.
This afternoon I headed over to the Wilson YouTube Channel and noticed that they had a bunch of videos on the site from all the major Wilson sponsored players. However, when taking a look at the videos I noticed that they have all been made and edited using Windows Movie Maker (a free program from Microsoft). I’m now wondering how come the biggest brand in tennis cant actually even scrap together enough funds to purchase a good video editing piece of software and even hire someone to produce these videos professionally. I’m sure if Wilson took the time to do something professional they could receive a lot more views on YouTube and then even receive a partner channel with YouTube which would allow them to make advertising revenues.
This is typical of most major brands who are still yet to understand what they should be doing in terms of web 2.0 and new media. If someone at Wilson does read this please contact us because I’m sure we could help you really get ahead of the competition in this area!
Will Ferrell unveiled his tennis talent versus Swedish tennis world champion Mats Wilander on Saturday May 2nd at the K-Swiss Global Tennis Showdown at The Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA in Westwood, California.
During the no-holds-barred singles match, Wilander entertained the crowd with his skills that ranked him number one in the world, while Ferrell entertained the crowd with an oversized Prince racket and hilarious commentary. The match, umpired by comedian Andy Richter, raised more than $50,000 for The Swedish School of Los Angeles. Swedish School students even got involved in the match: at one point Ferrell played with a student on his back while Wilander had to hold hands with another student at all times during play.
Despite Ferrell’s attempts to distract Wilander, i.e. shouting IKEA while serving, Wilander walked away with the win: final score 15 Wilander 14 Ferrell. Directly following the singles match, Ferrell and Wilander joined forces against actor/comedian Rainn Wilson and tennis star and UCLA alumni Justin Gimelstob for a fierce doubles match. Ferrell/Wilander again walked away with the win. Post-match, The Dan Band performed while guests bid on auction items during a barbeque.
Novak Djokovic has decided to make a change and hire a new fitness coach. Novak still understands that he is still a lot way behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and hopefully this new addition will bring some improvements.
Djokovic has hired Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, famous for coaching Austrian clay-court specialist Thomas Muster to the No. 1 ranking during the 1990s. “I felt that I needed a change,” Djokovic, 21, said Friday. “I needed something new to improve on.”
As to the specifics of his new regimen, neither the Serb nor his manager, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, would delve into any details. But at the very least, it seems the shuffling has boosted the confidence of an already confident Djokovic. Conditioning has been cited as a weakness in Djokovic’s game over the last few seasons. There has been a sense that the immensely talented Serb is more vulnerable than his opponents to the extreme heat frequently experienced Down Under in January or on the U.S. summer circuit.
Argentina’s two-time French Open semifinalist David Nalbandian faces a fight to be fit for the event after a hip injury resurfaced in his first-round defeat at the Estoril Open. The 27-year-old was thumped 6-2 6-2 by Chile’s Paul Capdeville , with Nalbandian frustrated after initially hurting his hip little more than a week ago in Barcelona. All he can do now prior to a possible start next week at the new Madrid Masters on clay is undergo more physio. “I’ll do my best to try and play in Paris,” he said.
Serena Williams still rates herself as the best player in the world even though she has been toppled from the top spot by Russia’s Dinara Safina. “We all know who the real number one is,” Williams told a news conference at the Italian Open on Monday. “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”
Williams then went on to face Patty Schnyder in her opening match in Rome, which she lost 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. The World No.2 has now entered a 3-match losing streak dating back to her final loss in Miami to Victoria Azarenka, followed by an opening round loss in Marbella and now this loss to the Swiss.
What does this teach you? Don’t open your mouth when you cant back it up on court. I should have some compassion for Serena because I do think she is just the best player in the world, but this is just over the top and I’m quietly glad she lost.
Former world number one Marat Safin has failed to win back-to-back matches in nine of his last 10 tournaments, often perishing despite being in a winning position. This has lead his sister to have a few quiet words in the press and insist he put his whole heart into playing tennis or quit. Im not really sure it was her place to say anything and Im sure if my little sister mentioned something like this I would tell her to shutup.
The 29-year-old was knocked out of last week’s Rome Masters in the first round by Tommy Robredo after throwing away a 6-2 4-1 lead and Safina suggested her brother should hang up his rackets immediately if he is unable to turn around his form. “He knows he’s going to retire (at the end of) this year, so it’s tough,” Safina told reporters at the Italian Open on Monday. I would say that if you want to retire, either you do it or you play. He doesn’t. So he should make a decision if he wants to play or if he wants to retire. He was supposed to (have) already retired last year and he’s still going. He’s a little bit unpredictable.”
Jim Courier provided fans and followers on Twitter with an insight into his in-match thought process (or lack of it) last Saturday May 2nd, at the grudge match against John McEnroe at the Turning Stone Resort in New York.
“I have been using Twitter for the last few months and find it an excellent way to communicate directly with fans,” said Courier, who can be found at www.twitter.com/jimcourier. “It will be quite a unique experience to use Twitter on change-overs and provide fans and followers some unique perspectives on in-match thought processes and perspectives.”
World number one Rafael Nadal will be making his debut at the Thailand Open in September. The Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand announced on Thursday that Nadal would also be joined by reigning champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“I am very pleased to finally be able to come and compete at the PTT Thailand Open. I look forward to playing some great tennis for all the Thai fans,” Nadal said in a press release.
The Thailand Open is set to be held on the 26th September until the 4th of October in the suburbs of Bangkok.
Actor Will Ferrell will be armed with a trusted ally – a Prince racquet – when he takes on Mats Wilander in a charity exhibition match on Saturday. Former French Open champ Wilander will come face to face with the new king of clay next month – and will be crowned a Viking after the encounter. The Swedish School of Los Angeles – a non-profit 501 C3 organization offering a cultural program for children – will host The K-Swiss Global Tennis Showdown, a charity tennis event, taking place on Saturday at The Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Lleyton Hewitt invested hundreds of thousands of dollars offshore and took up to $2 million a year from his bank account as personal expenses, the Victorian Supreme Court has heard.
This legal battle is over the handling of his finances, Octagon claims that Lleyton Hewitt was taking this $2 million per year in personal expenses compared to just $5000 in business expenses for that year.While Lleyton Hewitt claims that his then management team failed to make him enough money.
Mr North said, according to documents before the court, it appeared Mr Hewitt and his father Glynn Hewitt were complaining their investments had not reaped the same results seen on the New York Stock Exchange, including some in entities which had since tanked.
“Mr (Lleyton) Hewitt seems to be suggesting in his hypothetical loss basis, he would have been investing in Lehman Brothers,” Mr North said.
Lehman crashed into bankruptcy last year, helping spur on the US credit crunch and subsequent global financial crisis.
Mr North said Hewitt had been inexplicably vague in stating what he actually wanted from his investment program through Octagon.
Hewitt’s lawyer, Timothy Walker, said the tennis champion was counter-suing for “loss of proper return on investments held” and negligence in Octagon’s management of his finances and investments.
He rejected Mr North’s assertion that Hewitt would have wanted to invest in the ill-fated Lehman Brothers but said the “hypothetical” investment document before the court simply outlined a range of stock “bench-mark indices”.
Hewitt accuses Octagon Inc. of misleading and deceptive conduct, unjust enrichment and management incompetence.
Court documents show that between 2005 and 2006 Hewitt was paid $6.75 million in endorsements and tournament fees.
His off-court earnings included a Channel 7 deal for $600,000, a New Idea payment of $84,000, Nike funds of $3.5 million, Yonex racquets paid $2.3 million and Optus paid $130,000, the records claim.
Hewitt also received $330,000 for endorsing tennis games for video companies and tournament organisers handed over $340,000 in appearance money.
Hewitt, 28, claims he severed ties with Octagon in 2004.
Monday’s hearing centred on an application by Hewitt’s legal team to have Octagon Financial Services added to the pending trial as a co-defendant to Hewitt’s counter-claims. The decision date is yet to be fixed.
The Associated Press has broken the news that Maria Sharapova has made the decision to postpone her return to the WTA tour after citing her continuing recorvery from shoulder injury. Maria has pulled out of the upcoming clay court tournaments in Rome and Madrid and it is now going to be interesting to see if plays the French Open.
Here at The Tennis Times we have made some very large changes to the site and its design today. The content within the site hasn’t changed but we have updated the feel of the site with the aim of providing a much better experience for our readers.
Colours
The colour change will be the first thing that you notice coming back to the site. We have aimed to have a much lighter site that is easier to read. The fonts are also very simple and aim to help our readers easily run through the articles.
Categories
All major categories can be found at the top of the page which allows readers to quickly jump and find what they are looking for. If you are still unable to find the article you are looking for then simply use the search tool found at the top of every page.
Sidebar
Our new sidebar is great for navigation. We have recent articles, tags, and pages in our sidebar. Additionally we have kept our old attendance section which allows us to see how many people have been visiting compared to the Grand Slams.
Advertising
The new site is a lot better than the old site in terms of advertising. We have eliminated most of the useless sponsors that weren’t helping our readers. Now we have a new sponsorship placement at the top of the page and one in the sidebar. We are hoping in the coming months to open up sponsorship/fixed monthly placements at the top of the sidebar.
Overall
We at The Tennis Times are very happy with the new site and how it is going to help our readers find out whats new in the world of tennis.
If you have any suggestions on what you would like to see added to The Tennis Times then please get in touch.
Former French Open finalist Guillermo Coria retired from tennis at age 27 on Tuesday.
Coria, a finalist for Roland Garros in 2004 and formerly ranked third in the world, said he had been considering stepping down from the sport for months.
“I didn’t feel like competing anymore,” Coria said in statements published on the Argentine Tennis Association’s Web site. “I’ve made the decision I will not play again.”
Coria won nine titles during his career, reaching his peak in 2004, when he lost in the French Open final to Gaston Gaudio, catapulting him to third in the world rankings.
Coria’s decline began a year later after he won the Umag tournament — his last title.
“In 2005 I began to feel less and less like competing. My passion just wasn’t the same and it’s impossible to do things well when it’s like that. In this sport, you have to be at 100 percent,” added Coria, who is currently ranked 672.
Coria turned pro in 2000 at age 18 and was suspended in 2001 for two years. But the ATP reduced the penalty to seven months after a lab test showed the multivitamin he ingested was tainted with steroids. In June 2007, after claiming he’d lost a potential $10 million in earnings, Coria settled a lawsuit with the New Jersey-based maker of the multivitamin.
In 2003 he won three tournaments in three weeks, and by the end he was South America’s highest-ranked player. He was also the first Argentine in 21 years to reach the season-ending Masters Cup.
Coria’s last tournament was in March at a challenger in Bangkok, his first event in eight months. He lost in the first round.
“I’m very happy with the decision I’ve taken,” he said, “since I have new projects and I will be able to spend more time with my family.”
Some of the worlds top players including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, all played exhibition matches at the Rome Masters last weekend to remember and raise money for Fedelux. Fedelux is a leukemia foundation established in the memory of former player Federico Luzzi, who died of the disease last year aged 28 last year.
Most of the players wore shirts of the event which had the image of Luzzi on the front. Other players who participated were Tommy Robredo, Marat Safin, Potito Starace, Andreas Seppi, Simone Bolelli and Filippo Volandri.
It was great to see that the players pulled together for a great charity event.
David Nalbandian may need surgery on his right hip and could miss Argentina’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against the Czech Republic in July. Nalbandian withdrew from the Barcelona Open earlier this week, complaining of hip pain.
His physician in Europe, Angel Cotorro, told the Argentine newspaper Clarin that Nalbandian would receive three or four days of treatment including physical therapy and medication before a decision is made on surgery.
Argentina lost the Davis Cup final last year to Spain and is among the favorites to reach the final again with a team lead by world No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro and the 15th-ranked Nalbandian. Argentina faces the Czech Republic from July 10-12 in Ostrava.
Jim Courier beat Jimmy Arias 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday to successfully defend his title at the $150,000 Grand Cayman Legends Championships. Courier has had some amazing results on the Outback Champions Series with already eight career titles.
He earned $60,000 in prize money for winning the title and 800 ranking points that moved him into first past Pete Sampras. Courier tops the rankings with 2000 points, followed by Sampras with 1600 points and John McEnroe with 1300 points.
Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion, won the inaugural clay court title in Grand Cayman last year, defeating Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1) in the final.
Will Ferrell unveiled his 
Novak Djokovic has decided to make a change and hire a new fitness coach. Novak still understands that he is still a lot way behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and hopefully this new addition will bring some improvements.
Argentina’s two-time French Open semifinalist David Nalbandian faces a fight to be fit for the event after a 
Serena Williams still rates herself as the best player in the world even though she has been toppled from the top spot by Russia’s Dinara Safina. “We all know who the real number one is,” Williams told a news conference at the Italian Open on Monday. “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”
Former world number one Marat Safin has failed to win back-to-back matches in nine of his last 10 tournaments, often perishing despite being in a winning position. This has lead his sister to have a few quiet words in the press and insist he put his whole heart into playing tennis or quit. Im not really sure it was her place to say anything and Im sure if my little sister mentioned something like this I would tell her to shutup.
Jim Courier provided fans and followers on Twitter with an insight into his in-match thought process (or lack of it) last Saturday May 2nd, at the grudge match against John McEnroe at the Turning Stone Resort in New York.
World number one Rafael Nadal will be making his debut at the Thailand Open in September. The Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand announced on Thursday that Nadal would also be joined by reigning champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Former French Open finalist Guillermo Coria retired from tennis at age 27 on Tuesday.
