Archive for: tournament
It has been announced by Basel sports director Peter Horwald on Monday that the St. Jakobshalle venue will be undergoing renovations and will also have its name changed to Roger Federer Arena.
This is great news for Federer who im sure is still in shock about winning his 14th Grand Slam title and equaling Pete Sampras’ record.
The tennis venue hosts the Swiss Indoors tournament where Federer is a three-time defending champion. He’s expected to participate this November to defend the title.
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.
Lindsay Davenport is rumoured to be returning to Indian Wells next month but not as a player, as a reporter. Instead of headlining the competition in the desert, Davenport will take her place in the broadcast booth at the BNP Paribas Open.
I didnt know but the BNP Paribas Open is the most attended tennis tournament outside of the Grand Slams. Thus, Lindsay and former ATP player Justin Gimelstob will have a lot of commentating to do at the event.
As every year at the end of January the tennis world focuses on Down Under, where the year’s first out of four Grand Slam is taking place. But what to expect of this year’s Australian Open?
A surprise and a close battle for the title! As every year, at least one of the finalists will be a newcomer, as in recent years Marcos Baghdatis or last year’s finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. One of those “newcomers” might this year be the British Andy Murray, who from last year’s second half of the season gradually improved his game and was rewarded with a US Open Final and a Masters Cup Semi Final. As if it were not enough he also defeated the Swiss Roger Federer in their last three confrontations. Lucky for Federer Express that number 4 seated Murray finds himself at this year’s Aussie Open in the upper part of the draw which means Nadal will have to deal with him. Murray with his recent victory in Doha is ready to rumble, but what about the other Top Ten players?
Nadal after a forced break of two months due to his knee problems seems too lack some preparation and practice, but still appears to be confident as he says: “My type of game needs rhythm. But I feel good, I trained hard. I just need some match practice to know where exactly I stand.” After the first week of the tournament he is most likely to be on top of his game again.
Djokovic arrives with two weights: His two defeats in a row at the beginning of this season and of course he needs to defend his title at the Australian Open in order to not lose any points. The fact he changed his racket might also cause him some adaptation problems, but with his self-confidence he should be able to overcome those difficulties and show us a few hours of beautiful tennis during the next two weeks.
Federer, still trying to beat Sampras’ all time record of 14 Grand Slam titles, lost gradually his feeling of invincibility during the last season. Nadal is now not his only opponent anymore, which was recently proven by Andy Murray, but Federer lost from what he benefited so much before: the fear and respect the other players had when it came to play him. He became Human again, but his talent remains and he is still capable of becoming untouchable if he has one of his magic days. On the Australian Open’s pre-tournament press conference on Sunday a cool and fit Federer said: “I want to do well, not only this year but [in] many more years to come. So I don’t feel this is my last chance …”. He also warned to not rule him out of winning this year’s Australian Open.
Let’s also not underestimate Gilles Simon who preferred to delay the start of his season in order to work on his game. With a good second half year he surprised at last year’s Masters Cup with victories against Federer and Stepanek after which he lost in the Semi Final in three sets against Djokovic, who went on to win the tourney. Same counts for recently injured Tsonga who just declared that he will be able to defend his points in Melbourne this year. He declared the day before Melbourne Park opened its doors for two weeks of world class tennis that he felt better and that he was impatient to start. Tsonga enjoys huge popularity in Down Under which is probably why he was helped by tournament’s organizers who moved his opening match to Tuesday evening so as to give him one extra day of preparation. Tsonga’s reaction to this favor: “They gave me the opportunity to play as late as possible and I am very thankful. I hope I will be able to honor this favor.”
Anyways, great two weeks of tennis can be expected and a tournament where the battle for the title hasn’t been that close for a few years…
World Number 3 Novak Djokovic spoke very enthusiastically about how he has been able to help Serbia to possibly host its first ATP tournament.
Djokovic, who has already qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, and his family are on the point of buying out the rights to the Dutch Open tournament in Amersfoot and transferring that week’s action to Belgrade.
The 21-year-old Australian Open champion, who hails from the Serbian capital, revealed earlier this month he was in negotiations with organisers to transfer the event with help from his father and uncle and said the arrangements were all but in place.
“Now I can say the country is supporting us and we have all the things we need – just the formality from the ATP to really take the tournament Amersfoort to Serbia,” Djokovic said after reaching the third round of the Paris Masters when Dmitry Tursunov of Russia withdrew with a shoulder injury in the second set of their encounter.
Djokovic said he expected an official announcement in Shanghai and he was delighted at the prospect.
Back home in Australia we have an airline called Virgin Blue which states they have the best looking stewardesses in the world, but at the Madrid Masters they take it one step further, by hiring models to be ball girls.
Feminism, whats that? I think most females probably don’t like the idea, however it seems to be having a great promotional affect for the tournament. It is kinda portraying a more fun side of tennis.
I still really believe that the ATP and WTA tour are doing such a poor job at marketing and building the sport. Models as ball girls is probably not the best idea in the world, but at least it is giving tennis and tournament a bit more press and stands them out from the rest of the crowd. These types of ideas are only going to help give tennis more exposure and obviously more exposure means more money for everyone involved.
German qualifier and world No. 125 Philipp Petzschner completed a remarkable week’s tennis on Sunday when he beat French eighth seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 in the BA Tennis Trophy final.
Petzschner, 24, put in a disciplined performance as former junior world No. 1 Monfils blew his temper and his chances of ending a four-year wait for his second ATP title.
The German, who had never made it past the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament before arriving in Vienna, defeated top seed Stanislas Wawrinka, former world No. 1 Carlos Moya and 2004 Vienna Open champion Feliciano Lopez on his way to Sunday’s final.
The new Brisbane International tennis tournament which starts on the 4th January, has announced their ground passes will only be AUD $9.90.
Tournament Director Steve Ayles said today, “We are very excited to be bringing international tennis back to the people of Queensland, and giving them the opportunity to see some of the best tennis players in the world for just $9.90.
“The ground pass, which is available for each day of the event, gives access to two undercover show courts and all the outdoor courts, as well as a carnival atmosphere and fun, family entertainment.
“We have already announced three of the biggest stars of the game, all 2008 Australian Open finalists – champion Novak Djokovic and runners up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Ana Ivanovic – will headline the event, and we are looking forward to more top player announcements over the next few weeks.
Tickets go on sale through Ticketek on Thursday October 9, with single session tickets for centre-court starting at just $24.90.
“The Brisbane International, the first event at the amazing new State Tennis Centre, will put Brisbane on the map of the world’s sporting calendar in January,” Ayles said. “And the $9.90 ground pass gives everyone the chance to be part of the action.”
The Brisbane International will take place at the State Tennis Centre in Tennyson from Sunday 4 January to Sunday 11 January.
Tickets will be on sale through Ticketek from Thursday October 9 and can be purchased online at www.ticketek.com.au or 1300 888 104. Ticket prices and corporate package information is available on: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au
