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Category Archives: ATP Off Court

Rafa flexes his muscles on and off-court in Chile

4 Comments Posted by footfaulter on February 6, 2013

Yesterday saw the much-awaited return of Rafael Nadal in Vina Del Mar after seven months out, as he and Juan Monaco took to court for their doubles match and brushed aside second seeds Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy 6-3 6-2 with consummate ease. In what will come as the least surprising piece of information ever written, Nadal afterwards fielded questions on the condition of his knee.

“It was a great feeling to play again and I’m very happy for doing it with a friend like Monaco in a great atmosphere that we had on the court. I’m very grateful for everything that has happened since I arrived.”

“I said the first day in the press conference when I arrived and I’ll say it again. Doctors say (the knee) is okay, in terms of image the tendon is fine, no risk of breaking. Some days it still hurts, and I said that for me the fact of playing is a joy and progression to the right path, towards being one hundred percent” he added.

“I need weeks of tennis in the circuit, the knee is stronger, more comfortable playing at the highest level. I will not talk more about the knee.”

More interestingly, however, the tournament had apparently initially scheduled Nadal’s matches during prime-time in order satisfy the sponsors and, of course, earn back the obscene appearance fee he undoubtedly received. His match was to be played at 22:30, but Nadal refused due to the colder conditions possibly affecting his knee or else leading to other injuries. The two camps allegedly entered into intense meetings until the tournament finally succumbed and were forced to schedule his matches for 6 PM.

It’s understandable in this instance that Rafa would want to ensure that the conditions are perfect for his singles return, but this is also a regular occurrence for him and other players in tennis. It immediately took me back to Lindsay Davenport’s comments during her Sports Illustrated podcast last month. She spoke about how terrible it is, as a former player who too benefited from preferential treatment, that the top players hold such power in the scheduling of their matches. Not only would such a thing never happen in other sports (see: MCILROY, Rory), it’s a completely unfair advantage the top players – or rather the top players with influence and power – hold over the rest of the field, amongst countless others.

ATP, ATP Clay MMs, ATP Off Court, Rafael Nadal

Bernard Tomic Loses License, Remains An Endless Source Of Entertainment

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 29, 2013

Everyone’s favourite future greatest player of all time-slash-adrenaline junkie has once again been caught up with the law, this time losing his license after speeding whilst on probation. Not sure which is funnier – that it took him barely over a month after being placed on probation to land himself back in trouble; the fact that he made such a big deal over selling his obnoxiously orange BMW, only to replace it with an even more obnoxious yellow Ferrari with a ‘Sincity’ number plate; or else his tear-stained pleas to a reporter upon the arrival of the media: “I represent you guys. I play for this country. Yet you pick on me.” Keep on keepin’ on, Bernie T.

ATP Off Court, Bernard Tomic, Video Vault

Video Vault: The Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, Starring Serena Williams

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 29, 2013

Last week, the Mouratoglou academy’s Mauritius feature premièred on French Eurosport. Finally (as in three days ago now), it has made its way to youtube, and the short documentary makes for interesting and entertaining viewing. A few thoughts:

- The entire video puts into perspective the massive change Serena has undertaken since that fateful French Open match, and it’s truly astonishing. For most top players and champions, once they reach a certain age a stubbornness sets in. It becomes about preserving what is left rather than making changes that could possibly hasten their decline – why would they change a system that has reaped so many past rewards?

Then you think about Serena’s upbringing, the much-discussed “us against the world” mentality Richard instilled in her and Venus from so little. Though both have worked with many coaches in the past, it was always Richard, the family and later the sisters who retained autonomy. Again, for her to cede so much power to this new academy – not to mention one completely alien to the rigours and needs of a top favourite for every slam either tour – was retrospectively such a bold and shocking move. Evidently, it worked out fairly well.

- I should probably learn how to spell ‘Mouratoglou’ sometime soon.

- There will never come a time when I don’t get a kick out of seeing a WTA player owning an ATP player, as Serena did during her hit with Jeremy Chardy. Sorry. Suddenly, Chardy’s quote on their time training together makes sense:

- I see you Nastia, Dasha and Yulia

- Serena and Martina reminiscing together on the golden years. Is there anything on the entire planet more perfect? I think not.

Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, ATP Off Court, Dasha Gavrilova, Serena Williams, Video Vault, WTA off-court

Way Back Wednesday: 10 Nostalgic Pictures. Just Because.

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 2, 2013

Fernando

A while ago I stumbled across my old photobucket account, and with it many amusing, sad and iconic pictures I had long since forgotten about. I suddenly felt the burning and unshakeable urge to share these pictures (well, mostly this picture), and here we are.

Breaking: Scientific Proof That Maria Sharapova Is Better Than Novak Djokovic

2 Comments Posted by footfaulter on July 23, 2012

Last week, Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova each posted pictures of themselves while filming their new Head commercial. As per yushe, when these two join forces the result is usually a copious amount of laughs, sarcasm, banter and even a bit of flirting. Though Djokovic jokingly stated that Sharapova didn’t “take it easy” on him during their training, he didn’t quite elaborate on the complete emasculation that took place on the lawns of Stoke Park. Sadly for Djokovic, sovsport (check out the fully translated great write-up here.) was there to expose the Serb for the world to see.

- What is this Serbian guy doing here? – I ask Maria.
- Ha, he just lost his number 1 spot after Wimbledon and wants to train with me to increase his level of play, – Maria laughs but adds seriously: – We will have a photoshoot together and Novak came earlier to train a bit.

- When was last time you played on grass? – Maria laughs after Novak’s first bad shot.
- Haven’t played since Wimbledon – Novak shouts from the other side of the court.
- It’s very, very obvious – answers Maria while embarrassing Novak with her killer forehand cross.
And Novak begins to play with all passion and training quickly transforms into a real match with heav,y raging shots. There is absolute silence around, because the entire Russian team stopped training to watch the breathtaking match.
- I know you girls like all these slices – jokes Novak while running up to the ball. – But we deal with it just like this!
Novak hits ball heavily to the other side but Maria answers with lightning shot. Novak artistically falls down, showing all his disappointment.
- OMG, that was cool… – Maria’s hitting partner Vladimir Volthckov seems still shocked.
- Ha! – laughs Maria as she walks to her bench.

Ouch. No one tell Gilles Simon.

ATP Off Court, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, WTA off-court

Roger Federer and Rod Laver Share Their War Stories On ESPN

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 26, 2012

It is probably not often that Roger Federer gets starstruck and nervous from merely being in the presence of a person, but judging by the amount of nervous smiling on show from the GOAT, sitting down in the ESPN studio to chat with Rod Laver was one of those rare moments.

ATP Off Court, Australian Open, Roger Federer

Yannick Noah Accuses ALL Spanish Tennis Players and Sportsmen of Doping

23 Comments Posted by footfaulter on November 18, 2011

Yannick Noah today launched an astonishing attack on Spanish tennis and sport in general, accusing the leading Spanish sportsmen and teams of taking “the magic potion”. The former French Open champion wrote on his column in Le Monde, eventually suggesting that doping should simply be accepted and all players free to do it.

Take a look at what he had to say under the cut.

Players Clash With The USTA; What To Take From It.

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on September 7, 2011

After Tuesday’s Day and Night sessions were completely washed out, today brought similar woes as rain threatened to completely throw off the US Open’s schedule and only around 10-12 minutes of play was managed before the players were carted off-court and play was eventually suspended. In a desperate attempt to get players on-court and the fourth round finished, officials decided to put the players on-court during a brief window where the heavy rain became the lightest drizzle. Needless to say, the players were unhappy.

Donkey Kong Ain’t Got Nothing on These Two

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on August 25, 2011

A week ago Novak Djokovic willingly put his life in grave danger by imitating Maria Sharapova. Luckily for him, Maria saw the light side of it and in the week that has passed, the pair have been shooting back badly tagged banter on facebook, while simultaneously trash talking each other in the press – Maria, when asked, dorkily proclaiming ‘it’s on like donkey kong.’ She meant it, and in the build events to the US Open, the pair met for in front of reporters for a final showdown to premiere their newest video.

I love these two together. They just have so much chemistry, and clearly considering they have known each other for so long, they’re completely comfortable around each other. Novak is forever flattering her both through imitation and more obvious means, while Maria continues to rebuff and sarcastically berate him at every given opportunity. It’s a comedic match made in heaven.

Needless to say, Head’s promotion and viral videos involving these two has been a massive success. I’m now just waiting for the time when Head go full-out and orchestrate a ‘hit-n-giggle’ exhibition between the two superstars. I know I wouldn’t dare to miss it.

ATP Off Court, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, WTA off-court

How Did Rafa Do On Letterman?

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on August 25, 2011

Yesterday, Rafael Nadal was on the US talk show Letterman ahead of the US Open. I can’t even deny that I was pretty nervous for him – these days his English is fine when talking about tennis, but as soon as the subject veers away from tennis it quickly becomes awkward silence after awkward silence with Rafa struggling (and usually failing) to find the right word to express himself.

Thankfully, it all turned out fine. Letterman stuck mostly to tennis questions and he even set Rafa up with a chance make a funny(!!!), with Rafa joking “sometimes it’s better if he’s not here” when asked about Federer.

I also love that the main point of the interview was to promote his book, and yet they spent more time shamelessly promoting Rafa’s Babolat racket than actually talking about the book itself.

So a good interview and nice effort from Rafa. But as a rule, I think he should leave all the talk shows to the likes of Maria, Serena, Andy, and of course the great Marat Safin: