Ana Ivanovic’s Dress for Wimbledon 2009
Today we can reveal the outfit that Ana Ivanovic will be wearing during her matches at the All England Club for the Wimbledon Championships.
Archive for: 2009
French Open 2009 Quarterfinal Recap and Final Predictions
Well a few days ago we previewed the quarterfinals and then tipped a player in each match. I thought I would just quickly run through and see how we went.
Robin Soderling (23) vs Nikolay Davydenko (10) = We tipped Davydenko to come back from two sets to love down to win. Well we were right about one thing, Davydenko would lose the first two sets, but he never recovered. Wrong
Andy Murray (3) vs Fernando Gonzalez (12) = I thought an upset would happen here and I was right. Gonzalez pushed aside Murray in four sets. Right
Juan Martin Del Potro (5) vs Tommy Robredo (16) = I thought Robredo would really put all of his experience into this match, but he never got into the match at all, Del Potro winner. Wrong
Gael Monfils (11) vs Roger Federer (2) = Roger was always the favourite for this match and he didn’t disappoint. It was a great performance by Roger and its good to see him in the semi’s again. Right
Dinara Safina (1) vs Victoria Azarenka (9) = Safina is in great form at the moment and we tipped he to win this match as well, and she didnt disappoint. Safina wins in three sets, but after losing the first in which we knew Azarenka had to win to even be in the match. Right
Dominika Cibulkova (20) vs Maria Sharapova = I really thought Maria had a shot of winning this match in three sets on paper, but in real life tennis matches are a lot different. Maria got punished and tought how to play clay court tennis from Dominika. Wrong
Sorana Cirstea vs Samantha Stosur (30) = I thought that Stosur had a game that was too strong for Cirstea and I was right, plus I knew she would win in straight sets. Right
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) vs Serena Williams (2) = Serena played some of the worst tennis I have seen her play in a very long time. It was like she had a brain cramp today on court. Kuznetsova played a very solid match but didn’t really control the match at all. Wrong
Well after all that we only got 50% right. The French Open is the main tournament all year in which upsets happen, and it is great to see that this year has live up to that expectation.
Who will be in the final for both singles? Well I think the Men’s final will be between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. Women’s final will be between Dinara Safina and Samantha Stosur.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Goes Past Julien Benneteau
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga downed fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 to record his maiden win at the French Open on Tuesday and celebrated the occasion by wearing a tie to his post-match news conference.
“This is my first victory here. I celebrate this victory like this,” a beaming Tsonga told reporters while showing off his navy blue tie. “I wanted to come in a tuxedo … but my sponsor didn’t really want me to. Now I’ve found a solution.”
Asked if he would wear a bow tie if he ended up winning the tournament, Tsonga responded: “If I win, I will wear whatever you want but not a G-string.”
Tsonga, who lost in straight sets to Andy Roddick in his only appearance at Roland Garros in 2005, prevailed after two hours 43 minutes on a windswept Centre Court.
Fabrice Santoro and His Last Harar at the French Open
Last week we were the first to write about Fabrice Santoro and how this would be his last French Open at Roland Garros. Fabrice Santoro, nicknamed the Magician for his habit of mystifying bigger and stronger opponents, is proudly preparing to open his bag of tricks for his 20th and final French Open show. The Frenchman, who will retire at the end of the year, will extend his record of appearances at grand-slam events to 67 in the May 24-June 7 claycourt tournament.
The 36-year-old Frenchman played only eight minutes Wednesday before completing a first-round loss to Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. The match had been suspended Tuesday because of darkness.
“When I started my career on court No. 10 in 1989, I did not imagine at all that I would hold the microphone in my hands 20 years later in front of you,” Santoro said to the crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen. “Those were extraordinary and fantastic years that I will never forget.”
Santoro has played in a record 67 Grand Slam tournaments, making the fourth round three times — at the French Open in 1991 and 2001 and at the Australian Open in 1999.
“Twenty years. That counts for something in a lifetime,” Santoro said. “It has been a long road, a fantastic career. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.”
Santoro and Rochus started their match Tuesday, but it was suspended with the Belgian leading 5-3 in the fourth set. The pair came back out onto the court after top-ranked Dinara Safina’s easy win and finished the match quickly.
“I’m saying to myself that the story is over, that a page is being turned,” Santoro said. “I will no longer be on court next year. But I think that it is time to go.”
Ana Ivanovic is Optimistic Despite Knee Injury
Ana Ivanovic is optimistic about defending her French Open title, saying on Thursday that a niggling knee injury had died down.
“Thankfully the pain and inflammation in my knee has gone away so I have been able to practice this week,” the Serbian said. “My timing is pretty good at the moment and I’m optimistic about my chances of success in Paris.”
The world number eight has suffered a sharp loss of form since last year and pulled out of the Madrid Open earlier this month with the recurring injury, which worsened after her country’s Fed Cup win over Spain in April.
The 21-year-old from Belgrade will need a steep improvement in recent form to retain her crown at Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday, after plummeting down the WTA rankings from the number one spot she grabbed after taking last year’s title.
Tennis Bags for 2009
Over at TennisIdentity they have put together a short article outlining the new tennis bags of 2009. So head over and check out the latest bags from Wilson, Head and more.
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to Play At Roland Garros 2009
After a great Wimbledon exhibition match Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are schedule to now compete in another exhibition match on Saturday the 6th of June at Roland Garros. The famous couple will be playing on Court 7 at 11am. If you are heading to Roland Garros make sure you dont miss this match!
The match is being sponsored by Longines, and is in honour of the tenth anniversary of the couple’s 1999 singles championship wins. That year would prove to be Agassi’s one and only Roland Garros success, while it was Graf’s sixth and final triumph.
Agassi and Graf will also play with ten young players from around the world, followed by a special gala and auction benefiting the Andre Agassi Foundation and Children for Tomorrow.
Roger Federer Ends Rafael Nadal’s Winning Streak in Madrid Masters Final
Roger Federer has stunned Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters event yesterday. Rogers win against Rafael ended a five match, 18 month lising stream against the Spaniard. That run included three Grand Slam titles and ended Nadal’s 33 match winning streak on clay, which streaches back over a year to the Rome second round in 2008.
Federer heads into the French Open in a week’s time with a huge confidence boost after finally defeating the man who stripped him of his Wimbledon title last summer.
Nadal, who had won clay-court titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome this year, was visibly jaded from his semi-final the day before, when he needed over four hours to defeat Novak Djokovic. It was one match too many for the top seed, who was unable to squeeze motivation or power out of a weary body after complaining of problems with his knees in that marathon encounter.
“I think this (fast clay) favoured Roger,” said Nadal, who has won nine of 11 clay meetings against his rival.
“He deserved this victory more than I did. He played well. I wasn’t able to play aggressively enough.”
Nadal and Federer, who have contested the last three French Open finals, both head to Paris with the Spaniard hoping to regain his powers after playing and winning for three of the last four weeks on his favoured surface.
Federer won €585,000 ($1.05 million) and a car as he extracted some revenge in the pair’s first meeting since the Australian Open final five months ago which ended with him reduced to tears.
“I’m sorry to have beaten a Spaniard on your court, I’m sorry to spoil the party,” he told tournament director and former great Manolo Santana on the showcase court named in his honour.
The Spaniard’s defeat was only his fifth on clay over 155 matches dating back to 2005.
Wimbledon Centre Court Celebration 2009
Yesterday afternoon I sat down to watch the Wimbledon Centre Court showcase in which they unveiled the new retractable roof.
The sliding, canvassed roof barely had time to shut Sunday for the All England Club’s grand opening — or closing — of the new structure before the rain starting pouring down over south London. In the same kind of weather that has forced so many rain delays in the past, the Centre Court then hosted a televised tennis spectacle in perfect conditions.
“It’s a real treat to be able to play in these conditions inside, when it’s been so miserable, cold, windy and wet outside,” said Tim Henman, who teamed with Kim Clijsters to play married couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in doubles and singles matches.
It now seems as though no fans will ever have to head home again if they hold a Centre Court ticket. The 15,000 spectators and invited guests had a great opportunity to feel first hand how the atmosphere will feel during the Wimbledon main event. 
“The conditions were really good,” Clijsters said. “And I love the sound. Wimbledon already had that, where you feel like when [the crowd is] really into the match, the sound really comes down to the players. And now even more so with the roof. For the players, it just feels like they’re right there next to you.”
Agassi also said the closed surrounding will take the atmosphere to a new level.
“The sound was magnificent,” he said. “I think when you get two people out there who can really play, and move and hit the ball, I think you’re going to feel a level of titanic battle that you haven’t seen yet. … That’s an environment that lends itself to some spectacular tennis.”
The roof is perhaps the biggest change to come to the 87-year-old tennis cathedral, and marks a remarkable break with tradition by the famously conventional All England Club.
The roof takes about 10 minutes to close, and the Centre Court’s ventilation system then needs about 30 minutes to get moisture out of the air and create the right conditions. During short rain showers, organizers still plan on using the traditional covers on the court to create shorter breaks. Once the roof is up, it will not open up until a match is over.
After finally getting the roof completed, Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Club, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see perfect weather at this year’s tournament. But that’s just fine with him.
The Tennis Times Aims To Get More Viewers Than All 4 Grand Slams for 2009
As most of you have already noticed we have added a new image to our sidebar here at The Tennis Times. The aim of this image is to show our readers how many people have been attending the Grand Slams for 2009, and then just for good measure we have added how many people have visited The Tennis Times for 2009. I thought this would just be an interesting addition and we are aiming to beat all Grand Slams by the end of 2009!
Watch the 2009 Australian Open Television Commercial
The Australian Open is slowly starting to launch their own TV advertising campaign in Australia. The tournament is scheduled to run from January 21st to February 1st. Take a look at their new ad and let me know what you think!
Ivanovic and Radwanska Asked Other Players To Ban Together Against 2009 Calendar
French Open champion Ana Ivanovic and Polish number one Agnieszka Radwanska have called on their fellow players to band together and fight new rules that limit where they can play in 2009.
Although part of the WTA’s new Roadmap is designed to reduce the number of tournaments and shorten the season, it also dictates that top 10 players must compete in at least 10 of the 20 Premier events — previously known as Tier 1 and 2 tournaments — and the four grand slams.
All of the top 10 players must play the tournaments held at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing.
“We do have our voice and we have to come together,” Ivanovic said at the Linz Open. “The changes were made in the middle of the season and when you’re playing grand slams you don’t really want to think about next year’s schedule.
Sydney Trying To Steal Australian Open Away From Melbourne
Sydney has embarked on a secret initiative to snatch the Australian Open tennis tournament from Melbourne, the Sydney Morning Herald said, citing Events NSW Chief Executive Geoff Parmenter.
The pitch involves a plan to build a multimillion dollar stadium at Glebe Island, west of central Sydney, that could host the Grand Slam event once Melbourne’s contract expires in 2016, the newspaper reported.
Sydney will face competition from overseas cities, with Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi all preparing campaigns to hold the Asian Grand Slam event, the newspaper said. The Australian Open is worth more than A$100 million ($64 million) to Victoria state’s economy, it said.
Australian Open 2009 Will Have More Money Than Ever Before
At the 2009 Australian Open men’s and women’s singles winners will receive an 18 percent increase from last year. Bringing the total prize money to $15.6 million.
It was announced on Wednesday that the singles winners will receive an additional $1.15 million each based on the current exchange rates.
The Australian Open is due to begin on the January 19th and finish on the February 1st. It will feature the prospect of Roger Federer winning his 14th major title to equal Pete Sampras’ record.
Federer lost in the semifinals at Melbourne Park to Novak Djokovic this year, then fell to Rafael Nadal in the final at the French Open and Wimbledon. Federer beat Andy Murray in the U.S. Open final for his 13th major.
Djokovic and Maria Sharapova are the defending champions. The tournament is set for its first night women’s final on Saturday, Jan. 30, following a move it made in 2005 to a night men’s singles championship on the final Sunday.
Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said the tournament hopes to improve on this year’s attendance figure of 605,000, which bettered the 2007 total of 550,000.
“We think we’re in great shape,” he said.
Marat Safin and Sister Dinara Safina Committed to Hopman Cup in 2009
With Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua already confirmed starters, tournament director Paul McNamee announced the Russian siblings Marat Safin and Dinara Safina would team up for the first time to form the second team in the tournament. McNamee also admitted he is chasing Djokovic to play the tournament, but there will be no Roger Federer or Raphael Nadal in Perth because they have already committed to other tournaments. Im really looking forward to seeing some new faces in the Perth teams event this year, instead of having most of the top players finding a few up and comers has to be on McNamee’s list.
