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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Dokic to return..again!
 Jelena Dokic will be back in action in a few hours in Melbourne, Australia. She is attempting yet another return to the game, this time in the Wild Card competition. Basically, this competition is designed for Australian players to fight for a much prized tournament win as the winner will receive a wild card for the Australian Open but also get some serious consideration for wild cards in the other slam events. Jelena had tried this event last year without actually winning it, and then followed it with a few very good performances in WTA and ITF events in the first half of the year. While it was difficult to know what exactly was going on, it seems like Jelena then had some injury problems that prevented her from playing much in the 2nd half of the year and thus making it tough for Jelena to get into the top 100, which would open up possibilities in terms of playing in WTA events on a consistent basis without depending on WTA events. Jelena has been making the headlines in Australia, especially in the past week or so as she gives details about her renewed motivation going into the 2009 season!"I think I'm on track. I'm in the best shape I've probably been in the last four years … and I need to just continue for the next six months and try to have a consistent year next year." But 2008 wasn't all that negative. "I've played a lot more this year and got my ranking up enough to get into qualifying for all of the (Australian) events, so it's been a lot better … it's probably the best year I've had in the last three years," Dokic said. But since most of those points were gained in the first few months, Jelena will have added pressure to play well if she does not want to slip outside of the top 200 of the WTA rankings again. Fans of Jelena are also hoping that she has gotten rid of all off-court problems. There have been rumors of more problems with her family, with her (ex/not ex) coaches, and maybe even financial problems. Just lots of speculation but it is unclear what is or is not true. What is clear is that every win by Jelena will mean less speculation and more talk about her tennis instead, and at this point, that is what everyone is hoping for, especially Jelena!es
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Ivanovic now dating Verdasco... good or bad?
 Of course, reading this title, I hope you know that I mean the impact on tennis, not on their life as I would not be the right juge for that. But it does bring the question. So far, they have altered their schedules a bit in the fall to spend more time together and they will probably be scheduling their 2009 season hoping to spend as much time together as possible. Will it interfere with their tennis?
We do not really know when they started dating and from the info available, it looks like started after the start of Ana's meltdown in Wimbledon and during the next few months of the 2008 season so it's difficult to really blame those problems on her relationship. But historically, it has been rare to have top players have much success at juggling romance with top players and maintaining success on the tennis courts. Is there a link? Tough to say. Agassi and Graf did not date until Graf had retired from the game. Hingis had some tough stories with a few ATP players (Norman, Stepanek, etc) and while she did not suffer that much, the guys had problems keeping up their game. Lately, Nicole Vaidisova who was linked with Stepanek as well had a terrible season in 2008... Who knows how it will impact Ana's season but there is no doubt that most top players (except maybe the Williams sisters) usually live with only one focus; tennis. So having a significant other, and living a long distance relationship will certainly be a challenge for both of them. Verdasco is not part of the top 10 but is still considered one of the more dangerous players and so it has been a long time since we have seen such a "high profile" tennis couple, in tennis terms at least. Anyway, we certainly hope that Ana and Fernando can both enjoy success on and off courts, they are two very much liked players..!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
2008 Awards Voting is Open!
 Today is the first day of voting in the 2008 edition of the tennisrulz awards, one of my favourite parts in the year. I am incredibly lucky to have one of the top tennis experts in Todd Spiker working with me and accumulating notes all year long for such events. I could probably come up with a decent list of nominees for most categories but it would take me a ton of time and some obvious choices would be missing! Lucky me, Todd had it all under control and I also got many great ideas both on the message board and by email. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Now of course is the time to vote and I hope all of you take the time to go express your opinion. Click here to go vote now. Thanks in advance!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Don't worry, Maria will be back!
 Maria Sharapova was dearly missed in 2008. Sure, she played some tennis and started her year with a great streak as she won the 2008 Australian Open. But after that, it seemed like she could never get on track, especially her serve. And it was only many months later, in August, that we as well as Maria found out what had been going wrong. During the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Maria aggravated a shoulder injury she had been playing with since early in the year. She had been through some medicals but nothing had been found to explain the pain. But finally, by pushing through pain to win her 3rd round match, Maria pushed herself enough to clarify what was happening. The bad news? She would miss the Olympics, the US Open as well as the entire remaining season of the WTA Tour. The good news however was that at least Maria knew what was going on and should now be back at 100% for 2009... And that is tremendous news for the WTA tour. No offence to Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic but there is no bigger star right now in tennis than Maria Sharapova. She has a star status wherever she goes and is known well beyond tennis which helps tennis gain popularity as golf has seen with Tiger Woods. So yes, Maria is scheduled to be back in time to play in Hong Kong, in the JB Group exhibition, as she has in recent years, and should then head towards Melbourne, to defend her title. The big question is if Maria can play a complete season at her full potential? Maria has had lots of ups and downs since winning her first slam title in Wimbledon. But she has yet to play consistent tennis for months in a row, which leads to a lot of questions about not only her potential but also about if her off-court activities are making it more difficult for her to perform on the courts....
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Spain wins Davis Cup title!
 What a performance by the Spaniards it was. Decimated by the loss of their top player Rafael Nadal, who despite his high profile, has been a very important part of the Davis Cup team, but who was out of action for the final because of a recurring knee injury. And with Juan Martin Del Potro, perhaps one of the top 5 players since mid 2008 on the opposite side of the net, the prospects seemed rather bleak for the Spanish team. But they did still have David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and the unpredictable Feliciano Lopez. Lopez, has been capable of the best and the worst in recent years but there is no doubt that he ended up coming up with a huge win to open up the tie as he took out Juan Martin Del Potro, pulling off a big upset, and setting the score to 1-1. "I was a bit nervous at the start, I got over it in the second set and began to believe in myself more. It was a victory over myself. To beat a top ten player this way, in a Davis Cup final away from home, is the happiest moment in my career. There were moments in the second and third sets where I felt I could not have played any better." And that left a great opportunity for Spain to gain the lead and the momentum in doubles, which they were able to do. Going into today's final day, Spain only needed one of two wins in singles, and Fernando Verdasco was able to pull off the feat in the opening match coming back from a 2-1 deficit. "It's a dream. I've wanted this chance since I was a boy, few get it and even fewer take it," said an elated Verdasco.
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