Long long ago, when Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger were the new kids (literally) on the block Tennis court, one of the players at the time – I believe it was either Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova – had made the comment I used as the title of this post.

Guess what? The tigresses are getting tinier and tinier, but they still are as ferocious. Last weekend, I went to the local Tennis joint to check out a local tournament (the first time that I have been to one); I believe it was at the intra-state level.

This tiny girl was pretty competitive from the very beginning of when I started watching this later-round match (I later learned that she lost). With every one of either her good play or her opponents error, she would egg herself on with a “Come ON!” and it was funny to watch her question line calls – there were three different points of inflection that she used (for the same question, repeated thrice) when questioning a line call that her opponent made – “Are you sure?” Here she is (as you can see, she is probably barely taller than her racket):

Then there was Noah in the under-14s – I could not (and still cannot) believe that was U-14! They could not have been more than 12 (maybe they were not and were just playing at the higher level). But boy, were they whacking the ball around. Their normal rallies were longer than probably the longest I have ever rallied with my Tennis buddies. Here is a sample:

It was fun watching the kids so I could do a reality check as to where I would ranks. I am glad to say that I believe I can still probably beat out the under-10 boys and give a tough fight to the under-12 girls in Tennis! Watching these kids was a revelation, to say the least. I mean, the under-10 girls were probably serving better than I ever did – definitely in terms of the first serve percentage and maybe just about my serving speed.

I guess it is time for me to get to the drawing board, and figure out the geometrics of my serve and see how and why it is that I have such a difficult time placing the ball in the right rectangle!

El vikingo Robin Soderling, volvió a atormentar al español Rafael Nadal al derrotarlo el lunes por 6-4 y 6-4 en el primer partido del Grupo B.

Nadal, quien no gana un título desde el Masters de Roma en mayo, tuvo problemas para controlar la potente derecha de Soderling en la rápida superficie bajo techo del estadio O2, y pareció vulnerable en el servicio a lo largo de todo el partido correspondiente al último torneo de la temporada.

Soderling, quien llegó al certamen gracias a la lesión del estadounidense Andy Roddick, se aseguró el primer set al quebrar el saque de Nadal en el décimo juego, para luego repetir la operación en el mismo punto del segundo set y encaminar su victoria. Tal parece que el sueco le ha tomado la medida al español, “domandoló”  cada vez que se enfrentan, esta vez 6-4 y 6-4 tras una hora y treinta y ocho minutos de juego, para quedarse de lider del Grupo B, no importando el resultado entre Djokovic y Davydenko.

El tenista serbio Novak Djokovic remontó el juego y venció al ruso Nicolay Davydenko a base de grandes tiros, voleas y mucho poder del serbio. El choque no defraudó y aunque ofreció más resistencia que en la otros encuentros, Davydenko volvió a rendirse ante el poderío de Djokovic, aunque tardó casi tres horas en doblegarlo.

Al final, el marcador a favor de Djokovic 3-6, 6-4 y 7-5 en el partido que cerraba la segunda jornada del ATP World Tour Finals.

It wasn’t pretty but Novak Djokovic lived up to his pre-tournament favorite hype by finally winning his almost three hour match against Nikolay Davydenko in the first round of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Though it had shades of the brilliant match both played against each other in Shanghai, this match was more a battle of nerves and missed opportunities as Djokovic failed to convert on break point chances in the first set and allowed the Russian to hold on to win it 6-3.

It looked like Davydenko would hang on for the win until Djokovic, serving at 3-4, hit an ace that he thought had won the game. But a let was called forcing him to serve again. Djokovic won the point and regained his intensity allowing him to break at 5-4 and win the second set.

Djokovic broke early in the third set and went up 2-0. After holding his own in many of the extended rallies, Djokovic served for it at 5-4 but lost the game after Davydenko hit a screaming down the line baseline winner at 30-40. But the Russian couldn’t keep the momentum going as he hit three shots long to go down 0-40 and eventually lose the game. Djokovic finally served out the third set at 7-5.

Tomorrow Andy Murray goes up against Roger Federer while Juan Martin Del Potro takes on Fernando Verdasco. For all of Federer’s talk of “hitting through” Murray, Federer will need to clean up his game if hopes to win. The Del Potro/Verdasco match is hard to call. Both players really need to win as I see both of them of being the “weakest” players in the field.

Produto Original

It’s worth considering the revelations contained in Agassi’s autobiography titled ‘Open’ published last month.

The five-times Grand Slam champ’s confessed that he:

• used crystal meth,
• took speed before matches
• and lied to tennis authorities about it when caught.

Up to this point, I was down with Agrassi – he sounded like one of the boys from the ‘hood, particularly Ernesto from number 19, apart from the fessing up to tennis authorities bit.

But it was Agassi’s admission that he wore a mullet wig for much of the 1990s that has me upset.

Andre, let’s get this straight, you mean you went into a wig shop, and faced with a 100 different hair styles to choose from – in the 1990’s – you choose a mullet???

You put this dead raccoon on your head and said to yourself  “I like this. It makes me look hot”

This has made me question everything I know about Agassi.

Is your name even Andre Agassi?

You sure it’s not Raccoonhead?

Yours, while being tilted, taunted and shafted by my teenage role models. Damn you Hulk Hogan. Why is it only now obvious that you were filled to the gills with steroids. Is it you who I blame for causing me to doubt the legitimacy of wrestling, and it’s role in society?

Righteous

p.s. an undercover cop’s gotta be Marlon Brando . . . . you gotta be naturalistic as hell — ’cause if you ain’t a good actor — you a bad actor, and bad actors is bullshit in this job. Same for blogging Samuel. Same for blogging.

Now I, like many people, enjoy when sports are unpredictable.  I often root for underdogs.  I am not pleased that Sam Bradford has busted his shoulder, but the resultant shake-up does not bother me.  I love it when Notre Dame loses to Navy.  I jumped around a lot when the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  And I wouldn’t cry if Xerez beat every team in La Liga.

However.

Follow-through would be nice.  Robin Soderling beat Rafael Nadal in the French Open and then blew up so spectacularly in the final that I had to drink a bottle of champagne in three sets rather than five–that is to say, in an hour and a half at nine ack emma.

Mr. Soderling has now beaten Mr. Nadal again, at the ATP Tour Finals in London.  I know what you’re saying–if Mr. Nadal did not win, he did not deserve to.  You are correct.  I do not demand that everyone lie down and die so that Mr. Nadal may waltz through every tournament in straight sets.

I do demand that people who beat him go on to play well for the remainder of their matches, because what I mostly root for is tennis.  And on that score we may still be all right, as this tournament is a round robin and Mr. Nadal still has the chance to beat Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic (please, please, please).  But if I have to watch Roger Federer (or anyone else) hand Robin Soderling his own head on a platter one more time, I’m going to be furious.

Everyone looks super cute, though:

We are all so blasé and urbane.

- Willy och jag är 112 år äldre än våra motståndare…
Lars-Eric Johansson stegade in till “Askan” efter avslutad match i Måndagsdubbeln för att rapportera resultatet i uppgörelsen Landshypotek – Lucke och Macke och gjorde det med ett extra brett smajl eftersom det hela slutat med vinst för “di gamle”.
Med informationen att Lukas Ökvist är 12 år och Markus Thour 14 kan ni själva bestämma i vilket åldersspann Lars-Eric och Willy med efternamnet Arvidsson hör hemma.
Den nu pensionerade hypoteksdirektören Lars-Eric är en sann tennisentusiast, som bl a har ett ganska långt förflutet som ordförande i Öjaby TK. Willy var hårdför back i Öster innan han slog sig på tennis efter att ha lagt fotbollsdojorna på hyllan. Förutom Måndagsdubbeln – där om jag inte har fel, Landshypotek varit med oavbrutet, d v s 28 gånger,  från starten – syns de båda minst två gånger i veckan på banorna i Strandbjörkshallen.
Visst har tennisen i allmänhet och Måndagsdubbeln i synnerhet värden som få andra sporter kan mäta sig med…

Nel primo incontro della seconda giornata delle finali di Londra , Rafa Nadal viene battuto un po (ma in fondo non troppo visto la sua forma attuale) dallo svedese Soderling in due set con un periodico 6-4 6-4.

Lo svedese ha un’inizio lampo portandosi sul 3-0 con parziale di 13-2 , ma subisce la rimonta di Nadal sul 3-3.Lo spagnolo però dimostra di non essere al massimo, è ha un’altro passaggio negativo arrivando a perdere il set 6-4.Nel secondo parziale Soderling si distrae commettendo una serie di doppi errori sull’1-1 che lo portano a perdere il servizio.Reagisce però è fa il contro-break subito tenendo poi la battuta.I due arriveranno sul 5-4 per lo svedese che riuscirà a vincere il mach non concedendo a Rafa la palla di un 5-5.

Soderling Gives a Victory Howl (GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images).

Soderling’s length of shot, especially on his forehand side, kept Nadal at bay throughout the match. After winning the first set, Soderling held his nerve especially while serving 2-3 in the second set. The game took eleven minutes and Soderling wasted multiple chances to close it out before finally doing so.

With Nadal serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Soderling stayed with Nadal during a very long rally and eventually forced a match point. Soderling’s forehand went long on the next point but he managed to get another match point with a backhand winner. The next point saw Nadal push a forehand long sealing the win for Soderling who let out a howl of delight.

After the match Soderling said, “I managed to play really well on the important points and served well throughout. There’s a long way to go but I’ve got off to a great start. Winning against the world number two is not bad. I’ve got to take one game at a time and hopefully come Sunday I will be pleased with how I’ve done.”

It’s a great win for Soderling but I’m a little perturbed at the use of the words “shock” and “surprise” by some over Nadal losing. Nadal has not played his best late in the season and Soderling was not in awe of Nadal or the surroundings. Whether Soderling can build on this win during the rest of the event remains to be seen, but he certainly proved his last minute arrival in London was not a fluke.

BTW, do you think Soderling could play a part in the “Twilight” movies? He certainly has the “fangs” for it.

Rafael Nadal nu a putut sa inceapa cu dreptul tentativa sa de a termina pe primul loc al sfarsitului de sezon.

Soderling i-a rapus acest vis prin castigarea meciului cu scorul de 6-4 6-4,suedezul practicand un joc ce i-a dat mari batai de cap lui Rafael Nadal.

Jucatorul care i-a luat locul lui Andy Roddick,americanul declarand forfait pentru acest turneu,suedezul a profitat astfel de aceasta decizie a americanului si a castigat in dauna lui Nadal in minimum de seturi cu scorul simetric de 6-4 6-4,dupa ce suedezul si-a adjudecat break-urile castigatoare pe serviciul lui Nadal de fiecare data.

Rafael Nadal numai are nicio sansa de a-l detrona pe Roger Federer de pe prima pozitie a clasamentului din acest an.

Image blatantly stolen from Google Images

Now then!

Let’s imagine you have three teams – England, Scotland and Wales – competing for two trophies, one for golf and one for tennis. How many different outcomes, with regards to winners, of the two competitions are there?

6, 8, 9 or 12?

Vel.

Quick post, the sports photography and editorial group I work with has been picking up a head of steam lately, check us out!

www.offwingphoto.com and www.offwingopinion.com

Football has done it – its natural appeal developed over fifteen years with piles of television money. Cricket had to fundamentally change its format to do it. Snooker has tried unsuccessfully to do it. Darts has done it to great acclaim. Now it is tennis’s turn to try and turn a sport into sports entertainment.

And so we get the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, tennis’s answer to Twenty20 cricket and the Snooker/ Darts Premier League, live from the O2 Arena featuring the requisite moody player graphics, dark lights and indie music during the breaks. It took a decade, but finally the decision to plough millions into the Millennium Dome has been vindicated.

The O2 Arena will host the next five World Tour Finals

The most obvious change is the initial presentation of the sport. Everything is blue. The court is blue; the towels are blue; the advertising hoardings are blue. The crowd are bathed in an eerie blue light. Sky blue, dark blue, laser blue.

“The top 8 players in the world are here!”, commentator Andrew Castle gushes down the microphone. (They’re not. Andy Roddick is injured and isn’t taking part.) The BBC coverage is typically excitable – presumably the excitement at actually having acquired the rights to a sport people might want to watch is too much for them to handle.

In fairness, tennis is a sport that could benefit from this sort of marketing. It is fast paced, exciting, has plenty of individuals to like or dislike, and the idea of an end-of-season tournament featuring the best players of the last twelve months is an appealing one. And there is clearly demand: an impressive 259,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament’s eight days.

The BBC’s coverage is, despite the cynicism, good. Sky Sports set the benchmark for tennis broadcasting with this year’s excellent US Open, but the BBC does have its own selling points. Sue Barker is a safe pair of hands front of house, and Tim Henman and Castle make an appealing partnership behind the microphones.

First up was Andy Murray against Juan Martin del Potro (Scotland versus Argentina. Blue versus blue). Murray raced into a 5-0 lead, his smart changes of pace aided by an injury to del Potro in the third game. Del Potro rallied, taking a break back on a Murray double fault, but could do little to stop the in-form Scot taking the set 6-3.

Andy Murray enters the Arena before his match with Juan Martin del Potro yesterday - Getty

Murray, with his six season titles, boasts the highest trophy count of the year among those in London this week, but the four majors have thus far eluded him. 21-year-old Del Potro, by claiming the US title in September, has achieved more than Murray in a sense, but has been disappointing since his win at Flushing Meadows.

In the second set del Potro demonstrated the powerful forehand that took him to that victory, taking it 6-3 to level the match. Murray responded well, rattling off three games in a row at the start of the final set, to take control of the match with some consistent serving. He won it comfortably in the end, 6-2, and he should go into his clash with Roger Federer with confidence.

Federer ensured that their match would almost certainly see the winner go through to the semi-finals as he came from a set down to beat Fernando Verdasco in the evening. The most decorated player of all time, current world number one, and the tournament’s top seed won 4-6 7-6 6-1. The Verdasco Del Potro match will likely see one of the powerful Spaniards eliminated from the competition.

Group B starts today with Rafael  Nadal taking on French Open runner-up Robin Soderling, and reigning World Tour Finals champion and world number 3 Novak Djokovic beginning the defence of his crown against Nikolay Davydenko.

“El partido fue un poco raro, un poco cambiante. Por momentos dominaba”, explicó Del Potro después de la caída en su debut en el Masters. De un partido que fue muy cambiante, con un set para cada uno y un tercero que Murray resolvió con facilidad. Y recordó que los partidos contra el escocés (cuarto en el ranking) “siempre salen parejos o van al tercer set y luego son pocos puntos los que lo definen”. Y analizó: “El hizo un muy buen primer set, después hace falta un poquito de suerte para ganar y la tuvo él. Por momentos jugué bien y me quedo con eso, saco las cosas que tengo que mejorar para el próximo partido”.
Se mostró conforme, Delpo, de estar en este Masters con los top del mundo. Y dijo que “había un muy buen ambiente. Yo estaba con muchas ganas de jugarlo y de estar entre estos grandes”. ¿Y la sangre en la nariz, que interrumpió el primer set? “Sólo empezó a sangrar y enseguida se cortó, pero no fue nada”. Y más: contó cómo cambió su vida después de ganar el US Open: “Cada vez que entrás a la cancha se siente un poco la diferencia, pero es lindo”. Y entre tanta expectativa confesó que será “difícil” volver a sentirse como en Nueva York.

Ahora la segunda parada de Delpo será nada menos que contra Roger Federer… justamente al que le ganó la final del US Open, ahora se vuelven a cruzar. La cita será el martes a las 11.45 y el tandilense deberá ganar para seguir con chances de pasar a las semis: “Hay que ganar los dos que quedan para llegar a semis, y después hacer un poco de matemáticas”, dijo.

El suizo, número 1 del mundo, la tuvo difícil en su debut hasta el segundo set: perdió el primero por 6-4 y en el segundo llegó a estar 5-5, pero lo ganó y después el español no lo pudo frenar. Roger lo terminó con un rotundo 6-1 en casi dos horas de juego. Ahora el suizo busca en Londres la revancha del US Open.

The first day saw the favourites of the matches winning, but both Federer and Murray need 3 sets to their win.
Murray won 6:3, 3:6, 6:2
Federer won 4:6, 7:5, 6:1

Here is the table of the group

Group A

1. A. Murray GB 2:1 Sets 1:0 Points
2. R. Federer SUI 2:1 Sets 1:0 Points
3. F. Verdasco ESP 1:2 Sets 0:1 Points
4. J. M. del Potro ARG 1:2 Sets 0:1 Points

The Dumfries Sports Club Quiz takes place at the clubhouse this Saturday, the 28th November, at 7:30pm.

Teams of 4 of all ages are invited.  The cost is £5 including food. Any profits go to charity. Everybody welcome. Your friendly local quizmaster is Stephen Mohan.

O gênio tem um dia ruim e mesmo assim aproveita e consegue vencer. Comentarista esportivo

A primeira partida do Atp finals, foi um show de altos e baixos. Murray começou a todo vapor, colocando pressão em cima do argentino Del Potro. Com um bom jogo de fundo de quadra e excelentes deixadinhas o dono da casa abriu 5-0, para o desespero do argentino.

Quando achávamos que a fatura do 1º Set já estava liquidada, Del Potro começou a esboçar uma reação, acertando bolas bem anguladas e respondendo bem as devoluções do saque do britânico. Porém era tarde e Murray fecha o primeiro SET em 6-3

O segundo foi o inverso Del Potro, começou a sacar bem e fez 3-0. O Argentino chegou a controlar o Murray durante todo o 2º SET que fechou em 6-3 para o Argentino.

Mas o Terceiro foi diferente, Murray voltou a acertar a mão e logo quebrou o Argentino que ficou sem reação e não conseguia devolver a quebra, então Murray aproveitou todas as  chance e fechou a partida em 6/3, 3/6 e 6/2 em 2h10 de confronto.

Murray ao final da partida declarou: “O começo da partida foi importante. Tanto eu quanto o Juan não temos jogado muito desde o US Open e já esperava que a partida pudesse ser meio desconexa. Ele não começou muito bem, mas eu pensei nisso depois de abrir 5/0. Foi muito bom para mim”.

No segundo jogo parecia que teríamos uma surpresa. Federer entrou em quadra meio sonolento e logo se viu preso no jogo do Verdasco.

Ao perder o primeiro serviço Federer se mostrou estar totalmente fora de ritmo de jogo, tanto que cometeu uma dupla falta logo no inicio. Federer fez um jogo preguiçoso, não ia a rede e não se esforçava para mover as pernas [parte importante para a execução de qualquer golpe] ali Verdasco viu a sua grande chance e fechou o primeiro SET em 6-4.

Na segunda etapa, o jogo continuava igual, Federer tinha dificuldade de confirmar o seu serviço e se mantinha muito no fundo da quadra. Já o Verdasco não largava o osso e pulou pra cima do Suíço, que no meio do game começou a arriscar a subir a rede. Ai sua produção começou a subir, mas ainda não era o suficiente para bater o embalado Verdasco.

Foi no Final do segundo SET que apareceu a luz para o Suíço, a partida iria para o Tie-break 6-5. Verdasco errou duas bolas simples levando o jogo para o 30-30. Verdasco então é surpreendido pelo looby do Federer, e executa o Smash na própria quadra, abrindo a melhor oportunidade do Federer no 30-40. Verdasco ao sacar para igualar é surpreendido novamente com uma devolução no fundo de quadra que termina com um Smash perfeito do Suíço que fecha a partida em 7-5.

Ai no 3º Set a moral do espanhol já estava em baixa, ela ainda se lembrava das oportunidades perdidas. Foi ai que Federer mostrou um bom jogo e fechou a partida por 6-1.

Quase o Suíço perde na sua estréia, mas vale ressaltar o bom desempenho do Verdasco que só se intimidou no 3º SET.

Jogos de HJ

Não antes das 12h15
(2)Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. (8)Robin Soderling (SUE)

Não antes das 18h45
(3)Novak Djokovic (SER) vs. (6)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)

Roger Federer a intampinat mari dificultati in a-si castiga primul meci din cadrul grupei A al Turneului Campionilor desfasurat pentru prima data in istorie la Londra,pe stadionul O2,stadion al Complexului Olimpic de la Londra.

Federer a inceput dezasruos meciul,Verdasco luand primul break al intalnirii chiar pe serviciul lui Federer.

Acest break a contat in economia primului set,Verdasco castigandu-si serviciul pana cand a reusit sa-si adjudece primul set,6-4.

Era primul set luat vreodata in fata lui Federer din patru dispute intre cei doi.

Momentul decisiv al intalnirii a fost la 6-5 pentru Federer pe serviciul spaniolului,atunci Federer si-a adaugat in contul sau primul break castigator,iar de la acest moment mecanismul ceasului elvetian a fost de neoprit.

Urmatorul set l-a adjudecat cu un neverosimil 6-1,acest set fiind castigat printr-o maniera ireprosabila,marca Roger Federer.

Ca de obicei spectacolul a fost la el acasa in Londra,cei doi jucatori practicand un tennis sclipitor.

Felicit ambii jucatori pentru spectacolul oferit azi-noapte.

Asadar Federer l-a invins pe numarul 8 mondial,Fernando Verdasco cu scorul de 4-6 7-5 6-1,in aproximativ 2 ore de joc.

Astazi cu incepere de la ora 16:15 va avea loc disputa din Grupa B dintre Rafael Nadal si Robin Soderling

Seara va fi incheiata cu meciul Novak Djokovic vs Nikolay Davydenko.

inviato da: Beach Tennis Rovigo

Torneo di Beach Tennis Pro TeleThon, si svolgerà presso la struttura sportiva del Circolo Tennis Rovigo, sito in Rovigo, V.le Tre Martiri con inizio CONTINUA A LEGGERE: Rovigo: Torneo Indoor BeachTennis Pro TELETHON

So, the season comes to an almost end with the ATP World Tour Finals aka WTF. Out of the Top 8 boys, only Andy Roddick could not make the trip out to Londontown for the season’s finale.

Day 1 started and ended with me catching none of the tennis played. I did see the scores and can tell you that Group A played and Andy Murray won his opening match against Juan Martin del Potro in front of his “home” crowd. Roger Federer also won topping Fernando Verdasco in 3 sets.

Day 2 will be closely followed by me but for now, here’s where all the boys stand after Day 1.

I love how the ATP World Tour has little notes under the players names as if we care.

Image via Getty