for the love of tennis

proposed changes on ATP schedule

2006-04-24T15:29:00.000+08:00

what do you think of this:-

THE MASTERPLAN
1. The four grand-slam tournaments and four or five “Super” combined events would be mandatory.
2. Round-robins introduced at events below grand-slams and “Super” combined.
3. Masters Series on ATP Tour would disappear.
4. Davis Cup final played in second week of November.
read more on the propose changes to the atp tour schedule here

diminishing... no, vanishing the masters series? the "Super" combined events means the ATP-WTA combined tournament.

if i understand clearly, they wanted to change the schedule to more like the US Open series. i am alright with us open series coz they did a hell of a good job there. but i also hope they are not squeezing too many tournaments in leading to a grand slam.

In the view of De Villiers, the two areas in the calendar that need the most attention are the clay-court season before the French Open and the autumn season leading up to the Tennis Masters Cup circuit finale.

i hope de villiers didn't forget that wimbledon needs attention too. there are just a handful of tournaments leading to wimbledon. and the gap between switching from a dirty tennis shoe to all-white is too short - sometime i believe given the chance, coria or even ferrero would be excel in grass too.

i wonder how is this round-robin format will turn out? will that mean a low-ranking, like world 200, will have the chance to play against 3 players before they bid farewell? sometime, even before the round-robin matches finish, we already know the result. don't you think it will produce a lot of white-elephant matches?

if this propose new schedule take place, i believe thailand open will no longer exist. it's out of the continent for most players and in odd period too. unless they wanna make history like "winners for most tournaments" or a particular player wanna create a "name brand" globally, don't think they even bother to come to this continent.

the sentimental story

2006-04-06T11:05:00.000+08:00

i was reading SI's Jon Wertheim weekly mailbag and lead me to another story of james blake.

it was written by the dilbert's scott adams praising james blake on his comeback after his 2004 much talk about story... well, if you don't know what happened to james blake, read the link above! it was such a sentimental story that i cried! yes, i cried while reading the story. and at the end of the story, scott adams wrote:

At the trophy ceremony, Blake spoke to the crowd. He said that in 2004, when he was in the hospital with a broken neck, only one tennis player sent him a note to wish him well. It was Roger Federer.

some might said they are not surprise to know that federer sent blake a note coz he's a nice guy and blah blah blah...

for me, it was a surprise. i thought andy roddick was the best pal of james blake and why only federer the only tennis player sent him a well wishing note? though i admit i'm a federer's fan, but i do visit roddick's website regularly. in roddick's website, he (or his webmaster) always include news about james blake.

i haven't learnt to be a blake's fan yet coz i watch too little tennis of him. also blame it on the time difference between the continent... my local paid tv shows the recent 2 masters played in US but unfortunately due to time difference, those live matches played in the wee hours and do not have repeats! crap!

i hardly watch blake play but certainly no short of praises story about him. now, i'll start to learn to like him.

ATP 2006 fantasy tennis season

2006-04-05T10:17:00.000+08:00

hey there, have you register yourself for the atp 2006 fantasy tennis season yet?

join me and my tennis fanatics friends in my sub-league to play against each other - no prize for the winner but you get the fun of competing with someone instead of the thousands of participants... :-)

to play this fantasy tennis game, you must register yourself and create a team before you can join any sub-league team.

my sub-league team: team tennis fanatics

2006 ATP fantasy tennis season

2006-04-04T10:47:00.000+08:00

the 2006 ATP fantasy tennis season is now on! registration is free but you are only allow to register once... heck! if i use different IP to register as many as i want also they wouldn't know! :-)

click here to check it out.

ACE - a new tennis show on espnstar

2006-03-23T23:46:00.000+08:00

hey, fellow asian tennis lovers! there's a new tennis magazine-like show, ACE, being shown on star sports every thursday at ~~11.30pm~~ 10.00pm. (or check your local listing)

the show is hosted by geogina chang and co-hosted by jien of football crazy.

the show also feature special guest, this week was Lyetton Hewitt. it was a one by one interview with geogina but unfortunately the interview clip lasted for a mere minute. i hope it would be longer. though i dislike hewitt, but we don't really get to know more about them outside the tennis court and it's good to hear them speak once in a while too.

the show is pretty up to date. tonight's show also feature last tuesday's night "stars for stars awards gala". oh well, ACE is sponsored by sony ericson and the award is a sony ericson sponsored event too. :-)

disappearance

2006-03-15T10:47:00.000+08:00

well, there were few tournaments played between aussie open and now but no live telecast!

the pacific life is showing on tv. unfortunately the live telecast starts as early as 2 in the morning for my time. that's why i have been unable to update on my tennis blog.

though tennis is the love of my life but with different tournament playing in different continent, it's difficult to catch all of them.

sorry!

australian open - conclusion

2006-01-29T21:15:00.000+08:00

the first hour, i loathed federer. the 2nd, i love him. it's difficult to hate him isn't it?

at first i was cursing him for making those mistakes. baghdatis was too good - in retrieving back all those amazing shots from federer's racket. for any other players, those shots would be lethal but baghdatis managed to get back almost all of it. he won his previous matches simply because he could retrieve balls and have few good winners too.

it was either baghdatis has learned how to serve like federer or federer simply getting old and have difficulty reading baghdatis' serve, but he simply couldn't get close on breaking baghdatis on the first 2 sets - even though he did break baghdatis twice after baghdatis breaks him.

but undeniable baghdatis play pretty good in the first two sets. he keeps on hitting winners on federer's 2nd serve. federer didn't really serve well too. he used to have difficult angle even on his 2nd serve but he was untypically serve to the hitting zone of baghdatis most of the time on the first 2 sets - seems like inviting baghdatis to hit every winner out of his 2nd serve. i couldn't stop cursing so that he can serve wide out so that baghdatis would not take the ball on the rise and get another point out of it.

Baghdatis suffered a fall in game two of the fourth set and immediately called the trainer but the damage was already done. from bbc sports

i don't think bbc sports and us are watching the same match! hey, that wasn't a fall and obviously baghdatis was suffering from cramp. when the journalist writes that baghdatis "fall", it kinda like saying "yeah, baghdatis injured. that's why federer can beat him..."

and what the hell was the band coming out to sing a song right after federer/baghdatis came out from their locker room? isn't that weird? shouldn't any kind of entertainment should be performed before the players set foot on the court? even if they wanna perform, i thought it should be the national anthem instead of just another band trying to sell more record and get their name on the international tv. when i saw the band performing, i was cursing the organiser for having such an arrangement. please do not do that again next year!

will baghdatis here to stay? we'll see after this. he could be just another martin verkerk... who's martin verkerk? exactly! he's the runner up for ferrero in 2003's french open. where is he now? i wouldn't know and nobody's bothered!

Q. You said that you were going to be going home to Cyprus in the next couple of days. The Victorian government said the other day they'd love you to take out Australian citizenship. Would you ever really consider doing something like that?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Really, tell you the truth, that's not what's in my mind for the moment. I mean, my dream is to win Davis Cup for my country. I think my country is Cyprus, and I want to do it with them.

from baghdatis' post final match conference interview

it's funny how australia so desperate for someone (of their own) to win their open after so long and simply make everyone their citizen. and i must laught at jelena dokic, their adopted and failure daughter. now, stop making me laught.

yeah, i was crying too after the final. i remember someone or the media criticising federer for being too sensitive to become a champion when he won his first wimbledon in 2003. after winning his 7th, i wonder what those people gonna say about this? :-)

Q. Could you say how difficult it is when day in, day out, you're having to spend an entire day waiting around. It's likely to happen more and more because No. 1 seeds at US Open and here, there's more night sessions coming along. It's going to become a trend. How difficult is it to spend all day waiting to play, two days really?
ROGER FEDERER: Also the rhythm is just really difficult, you know, because the average going to bed was about 4 o'clock in the morning, you know, the last few nights, waking up at 12 to 2 in the afternoon. So it's a really weird schedule, you know, I'm going through. I wake up and all I do is rest and hit a little bit. If I feel like I need, you know, to do some extra stuff, I'll do it, but I didn't have to do it this time because I thought I was ‑‑ I had to save myself.

I think especially before the big matches, like maybe Kiefer and now Baghdatis, it's hard, waiting in the room all day. So actually nice to get out here and get the first hit, take a shower, get ready, you know, sort of eat something and being active. Just sitting in the room, it makes it hard, but you don't want to lose energy either.

So makes it hard, but I think once you get used to it, it's easier.

federer's post final match press conference interview

last year's us open, the no.1 seed was playing first in the day session. we all fans never know how difficult it was for a player to sit around and wait for their night session match. personally i enjoy the night match simply because i could watch it live on tv (aussie is only 3 hours ahead while us is exactly 12 hours behind malaysia. wimbledon is 8 hours behind but since the center court do not have lights, they don't play until too late. while the local tv station do not broadcast french except from q-final to final but since they play in the afternoon and 8 hours behind, i have chance to watch it)

last us open, i compiled a list of my favourite quotes from those genius (or stupid, it doesn't matter coz it's only between a thin fine line!). this time around, there's a list compiled by aussie open website.

australian open - day 13

2006-01-28T21:37:00.000+08:00

i thought mauresmo was playing a wonderful tennis only to find out that henin-hardene wasn't in good health. what a disappointment that is. is she's not really fit, why wouldn't she pull out in the semi and let the fit one to go through? i'm being selfish for saying this though. doesn't matter now coz tomorrow is what we are waiting for.

see, there's not monkey at the back of mauresmo anymore.

federer vs baghdatis starts at 7.30pm local time - 4.30pm malaysia time.

in the mean time, i'm going to enjoy my chinese new year!

gong xi fa cai to everyone!

australian open - day 12

2006-01-27T22:23:00.000+08:00

i couldn't believe what i heard over AO radio. the chinese pair won the doubles trophy and they came back from a set down and had a dog-fight on the 2nd set tie-break. that's a good "ang pow" (red packet given out during chinese new year) for them since the new year is coming this sunday.

beware, the chinese are coming...

anyway, i was running through the open's statistic and got this: coria was among the "top" in the many statistics compiled - in the "double fault" department! and he's way up there and nobody else will have the chance to surpass him.

3) He's so overcoached in an effort to beat Roger that he's lost his game against the smaller-fry.

read more on jon wertheim - tennis mailbag

australian open - day 11

2006-01-26T23:20:00.000+08:00

while i was listening to nalbandian/baghdatis match and not sure who should i support. afterall, nalbandian got the better chance to beat federer in the final - if federer reaches the final. while baghdatis might give federer a surprise too if he wins.

and after his win, do you think he is capable to become the next roger federer (like he "suddenly" appear from 2003 wimbledon?) or rafael nadal of 2006? read his profile at junior tennis... and why is he still being profile at junior tennis?

Nalbandian doesn't hit a big serve and doesn't have a monster forehand winner that knocks opponents off the court. Baghdatis does. He sets up the point, opens up areas and, boom, hits a winner. He changes gears and paces with his ground stroke and tempo. Nalbandian, by contrast, starts the same way and ends the same way, whether he's up or down. It's very predictable. The toughest thing for clay court players to do is to put their opponent away. from espn.com

my favourite girl is out of the tournament. sigh! not sure whether i'll be watching the match this saturday because of chinese new year's eve reunion dinner. even if i watch, i wouldn't know who i'm going to support. the amelie-i'm kinda a loser-mauresmo or hh?

here's a question for you: do you think players have to apologize for lat call? not like they planned for the lat but the ball was just coincidentally touches the net. IMHO (yeah rite!), i don't think they should!

day 11 complete result
day 12 schedule of play
day 12 tv schedule (for SEA only) - men's s-final starts 4.30pm on espnstar

australian open - day 10

2006-01-25T21:00:00.000+08:00

jl: start counting how many matches federer gonna lost this year. i say between 5 to 10 matches. but definitely not lesser than 5.

by now you should have known about this incident:

however, i'm confuse whether kiefer "toss" or "throw" or even "lost control" as written by the aussie open website, the racket into grosjean's side of court. that's two very different situation but i think kiefer throws than toss after listening to his the press conference. kiefer was basically being grilled by the journalist. all kiefer can say was "well, it was a tense match and you have to understand we were "suffering" out there under the hot sun"

i think this photo tells us that kiefer was throwing the racket thinking he will be unable to return grosjean shot but grosjean actually netted that shot and kiefer's racket ended in grosjean's court.

since this is the longest match for 2006 tournament, it wasn't really a good news for the winner too coz he has to play again tomorrow. will the winner running out of stream after this marathon match tomorrow? we'll see!

while my favourite girl is through to the semis. who are you going to support between mauresmo and clijsters?

hey people, working and can't watch the live matches on tv? do you know the aussie open's ibm on-demand scoreboard has this function called "point tracker"? after every point played, the tracker will show the balls direction for each point. try it out today.

my prediction for the semi final:

nalbandian/baghdatis - nalbandian err... baghdatis maybe
federer/kiefer - federer
mauresmo/clijsters - clijsters
henin-hardene/sharapova - henin-hardene

i'm not sure who to choose with nalbandian/baghdatis. while federer is a clear winner for me. while my favourite girl is clijsters and will do not favour mauresmo at all. sharapova was pretty shaky through out the tournament though my first choice of champion was her earlier but i'm changing my vote now.

day 10 complete result
day 11 schedule of play
day 11 tv time (for SEA only) - women's s-final starts at 10.30am while men's at 4.30pm.

australian open - day 9

2006-01-24T23:15:00.000+08:00

not sure since when, but i have started disliking henin-hardene. like or dislike, she won her match. will sharapova have enough charms to beat her? i'm glad to know that sharapova won the only hard court match they ever met. but lost 2 clay matches too. with the lost, davenport lost her no.1 ranking too.

The loss may cost Davenport, who was beaten by Serena Williams in last year's final, the top ranking that she has held since Oct. 24. more

i am really upset about ljubicic lost. period! but baghdatis plays really good tennis. he manged to return all the lethal shots. but will he do well further than this aussie open?

my tomorrow's matches prediction:

federer/davydenko - federer
kiefer/grosjean - kiefer
schynder/mauresmo - mauresmo
hinggis/clijsters - clijsters

the head to head records between federer/davydenko speaks for itself. 6-0 to federer. furthermore, at this point nobody will fancy davydenko to win except his own entourage. even though kiefer/grosjean head to head favouring grosjean at 3-2 but i still think kiefer has that little bit advantage over grosjean.

i'm taking mauresmo side this time. hopefully she really is the one. i'm waiting excitingly for hinggis/clijsters match. no comment but i go for clijsters to win - provided that she didn't chock on last minute.

Q. You don't even seem in a hurry. You're signing autographs, I notice.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, three autographs (smiling). I'm also cutting them down a little bit. So let's hurry up here, okay. We all got to go to bed and sleep. roger federer's interview after his match against haas. it was 1.30am and the moron journalist asked the most stupid question.

day 9 complete result
day 10 schedule of play
day 10 tv schedule - 8am til the last match on center court

article: player of the year 2005

2006-01-24T11:47:00.000+08:00

presenting roger federer

(click to enlarge)

australian open - day 8

2006-01-24T01:11:00.000+08:00

no wonder daghdatis can do so well... i would well too if i'm waking up next to this girl every day. :-) there's so many photos of them but i choose this simply because... *fill in the blank yourself*

once again, mauresmo surprised me. the reason why i expect vaidisova to win because mauresmo hasn't been in top form this year. she played only 1 tournament and lost in her first match for 2006 to ivanovic. seriously, i expect the up and coming krajicek to beat her in 3rd round but the weather wasn't really kind to krajicek then. vaidisova helped mauresmo by hitting those unforce error. in the first 2 games itself, she has 8 unforce errors - that's how mauresmo breaks her serve.

do you remember hinggis said she might do well because others do not know what to expect from her? could that be the result why she has been winning for 4 matches in a row and with astonishing result? maybe with the exception on today's match against stosur - she has been struggling with her own service game. deja vu? well, she can call dementieva "mate"!

while the federer/haas match managed to get me throwing everything in sight for a good 1 hour. i couldn't believe federer managed to have 66 winners and 58 unforced errors too. both figures are so close to each other. while haas's figure are both half of it.

my women's q-final prediction:

davenport/henin-hardene - davenport
sharapova/petrova - sharapova

provided that davenport is actually fully fit tomorrow! they met 9 times before and the last 5 matches has been favouring henin-hardene regardless of hard or clay court. while i support sharapova all the way... to the championship! :-P

while the men's:

santoro/nalbandian - nalbandian
ljubicic/baghdatis - ljubicic

santoro and nalbandian met only 3 times so far with santoro leading 2-1. santoro beat nalbandian before on both clay and hard court. but i fancy nalbandian on this one. though i expect the result to be in 4 sets or 5 but with the man they call "magician" (santoro lah) you never know what will happen. while the other pair - you know i love ljubicic. and that's the end of the story. :-) but the record shows otherwise! ljubicic lost to baghdatis last year in the round 64. then again, last year this time, ljubicic wasn't as good as he is now. so, i still fancy ljubicic chances.

day 8 complete result
day 9 schedule of play
day 9 tv schedule (for SEA only) - 8am until the last single's match on center court

tidbits:

So here we go. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to all the players about whom I have thought, and continue to think, positive thoughts. My only advice is, beware.

The much hyped Roddick/Maria Sharapova love match isn't what the tennis world is craving it to be. They are not together. Sorry, guys. While it makes a great story and gives the gossip magazines something to occupy their pages, they are both in Australia to win a tennis tournament, not engross themselves in some dramatic love affair.

justine gimelstob aussie open blog. it's a good read since he's also an active player on the tour (though he is out of aussie open now). go through his aussie open 2006 archive and you'll find it pretty informative.

australian open - day 7

2006-01-23T01:10:00.000+08:00

even though roddick lost on the 4th round but he has never play a single tie-break at all in this aussie open. :-) however, i was really disappointed on his lost. i was actually thought that since nadal is not around to contest with him, he would at least be the real rival of federer for once - after knowing he has been playing pretty well in the past few rounds.

another surprise result is santoro. i expected him to lose to gaudio on the 3rd and ferrer on the 4th. but in the open, you never know what will happen.

and the rest of the results are expected and as predicted by me.

Federer has an advantageous draw and the aura that comes with having won 160 of his past 170 matches, a 94 percent clip. from espn.com

tell me that's not a burden for federer! though the article actually focus on roddick's fall and raised the question of "no american men left" after roddick's lost. and how the media has been giving the pressure to roddick to be the "the one" for them and inevitably putting the pressure on federer to win too.

here's my prediction for tomorrow's matches:

federer/haas - federer
hrbaty/davydenko - davydenko
chela/kiefer - kiefer
mathieu/grosjean - grosjean

shynder/vaidisova - shynder
hinggis/clijsters - clijsters

day 7 complete result
day 8 schedule of play
day 8 tv schedule (for SEA only) - starts at 8am and ends on the last single match on center court

australian open - day 6

2006-01-22T00:09:00.000+08:00

another error i spotted on the internet website:

escuse me espn, but are we in the same planet?

mistake like this can never happen.

there are only that much of matches on tv at one time. but guess what? i watch almost all of them today!

i watched how hingis triumph again though she isn't as sharp as her first 2 matches. i saw how the teenager, krajicek, unable to cope with the heat and have to withdraw. i actually predict her to beat amelie coz amelie looks vulnerable. what about coria's antic - "oh look, i'm hurt!". and how clijsters dismantle vinci. then finally how the masters federer beat the beast from belarus...

here's a question for you: since kooyong classic was just an exhibition tournament. so is federer loses to haas is official? a check on the head to head record on atp website, there's no record showing of that lost. this year itself, federer and haas has played twice - federer won in doha at the final and haas won at this kooyong classic invitation. i hope haas will not be another marat safin for 2006!

btw, did you notice that hrbaty is still wearing that peek-a-boo pink shirt? :-)

my prediction for the 3rd round has only 6 uncorrect prediction for men's while it's 2 for the women's! though i know men tennis players more than women's.

here's my prediction for the 4th round on sunday match:

santoro/ferrer - ferrer
robredo/nalbandian - nalbandian
ljubicic/johansson - ljubicic
baghdatis/roddick - roddick

davenport/kuznetsova - davenport
ruano pascual/henin-hardene - henin-hardene
sharapova/hantuchuva - sharapova
vesnina/petrova - petrova

tata, another morning wake up for me tomorrow!

day 6 complete result
day 7 schedule of play
day 7 tv schedule (for SEA only) - as usual will start at 8am until the last match of the night session on center court

australian open - day 5

2006-01-20T23:32:00.000+08:00

remember on day 1 report, i said something like this:

v.williams is out and s.williams will fall in the 3rd round against hantuchova!

i'm such a genius! well, not really! once i see s.williams play her first match, i know very well she will not go far on this tournament with that gorilla-like body. and i know what i'm talking about. this is hantuchova's 4 attempt in beating s.williams and success! with s.williams today's form, all the top 1017 (that's hantuchova ranking) women can beat her ~~in any given day~~easily. but please, don't wait too long coz she might decided "that's it for me now!" and get back to shape! :-)

i saw this pretty photo on the aussie open website yesterday but they never say who she is so i thought the girl was just a model for garnier... heck! it's hantuchova. she's amazing. she could be easily being mistaken as a model instead of a tennis player, isn't she? last year, she put on some weight and have that chubby face. but few days ago when i saw her on tv, she looks skinny like skeleton again... hmm... remember two years ago, reports was saying she has eating disorder problem? another hmm...

heat heat heat!!! then rain rain rain!!!

on an unrelated issue: i've been listening to the AO radio almost every single day. the commentators are mostly aussie, with the exception of 1 or 2. i'm afraid by the end of the aussie open, anybody that speak to me, i will image they speak with aussie accent. he he he...

wow! sharapova and roddick are really matching each other very well now, aren't they? :-) okie, i'm not joining the rumours or tabloids about their possible love match. i'm simply talking about their form! *lol* but boy, they really look good together. couldn't believe roddick going to face the man with woman's chest... sorry baghdatis!

sigh! i'm kinda fed up with nalbandian antic - can not produce a solid result. first, he has to beat someone ranked as low as 121 in the world in 5 sets. it was a wonder how he managed to settle wawrinka in 4 sets. looking at his 2005 aussie open result, he has not straight set win over all his opponents all the way to his lost to hewitt in the q-final. luckily he can produce a more solid result on other surface - doesn't matter losing or winning. so next time when he loses on his 1st set or loses on the 3rd after 2 sets up - don't write him off yet coz he's just reminding you "hey, that's just my antics!"

"When I do that it means I'm not going to miss the ball." Maria Sharapova explains why her screaming sometimes gets louder.

day 4 complete result
day 5 schedule of play
day 5 tv schedule (for SEA only) - as usual starts at 8am until the last match single match of the night session

australian open - day 4

2006-01-19T22:46:00.000+08:00

start off with andy roddick's amex advert photo:

you know what i love about day 4? that pierce lost! if she wins, she'll face hingis - a fast pace player. i wonder how hingis handle pierce slower than turtle pace of style if they really meet.

and hewitt lost must have stunned the aussie crowd. though they said he was suffering an ankle injury but through out the match he has too many unforce errors - all 62 of them while chela only half of that figure. you could say he self destruct on that match. no more that annoying "come on" and fist pumping. don't you think he is quite a different person since he got married? this piece of news is old but pretty much says what i think of hewitt and his wife.

i have actually draw up my own outcome of the 3rd round. after tomorrow's result, i'll know how many of them is correct! yipee! my prediction starts on saturday!

tidbits:

American Alex Bogomolov was fined $4,500 for verbal abuse and obscene language after his heated first-round match with Chile's Fernando Gonzalez at the Australian Open. more and remember to watch the clips at espn.com (hopefully it's still there by the time you watch it)

"Maybe further down the road in my career, in a couple of years when I'm maybe not that fast any more around the court, then maybe it would be good to come to the net a little bit more often." Roger Federer makes plans for his old age. writer's note: federer is good in every position he's playing

"I wouldn't call him my mate." Lleyton Hewitt on his rematch with Juan Ignacio Chela - the man who spat "in his direction" last year. writer note: excuse me lleyton, maybe you should re-evaluate your behaviour why other players acting like that towards you in the first place!

"inside the court you really feel like killing him" guillermo coria commented about hewitt on their davis cup tie in 2005. writer note: i couldn't agreed more with you.

Switzerland's Roger Federer, the No. 1 player in men's tennis, comes from a country with fewer people than New York City. The sport's top team title, the Davis Cup, belongs to Croatia, a nation four years younger than second- ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain. Small Is Big in Men's Tennis, Where Swiss, Croatians Top U.S.

Two elements of the Sorry Aussies story, though, beg to be treated together because of the striking similarities—and balance—they represent: the pathetic duo of Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic. most pathetic story of 2005 from peterbodo's tennis world writer's note: i couldn't agreed more.

day 4 schedule of play
day 3 complete result
day 4 tv schedule (for SEA only) as usual from 8am till the last match on night session

australian open - day 3

2006-01-18T22:46:00.000+08:00

nalbandian/wawrinka: didn't see anything wrong with wawrinka play at all but somehow he loses that match. he served like rainer schuttler and very straight forward with his shots - nothing fancy. in fact, i think nalbandian is the lousy one between 2 of them but he just got that bit extra than wawrinka, isn't he? atp feature wawrinka as the one to watch for this week coz he jumped to no.46 in the world after last week's good performance.

sharapova has another good match. if s.williams win her match against hanthucova, sharapova will meet her in the q-final.

tidbits:

It sounds like Andy Roddick found his mojo. Australian tabloids have reported, quite breathlessly, that tennis' top male hottie has been seen with his female counterpart, Maria Sharapova, on the town at the Australian Open.
mercury news

Jim Courier, the Australian Open champion in 1992 and 1993, believed entourages had expanded in line with increasing prizemoney. "With the advent of players being able to afford to have coaches, girlfriends, wives, boyfriends, husbands, trainers, etc, it's just followed naturally from there," he said. read more about "who said tennis wasn't a team sports?"

day 4 schedule of play
day 3 complete result
day 4 tv schedule (for SEA only) will begins at 8am and end after the final match of the night session.

swiss miss

2006-01-18T00:05:00.000+08:00

for your record, i have never seen martina hingis play in a match before. i just watched the repeat of hingis/zvonavera match on tv and i couldn't believe my very pair of eyes!

she was so fast - with her shots and in between games. she plays like agassi - always in a hurry and never let her opponent have a rest at all. she keeps her opponent on the run all the time. from left to right, front and back. her shots are incredible fast.

but her serve is really vulnerable - slow pace though good placement on the court. against players like davenport and sharapova who like to take chances and give you their best service return, she might have a problem on that.

she could meet pierce in 3rd round. i hope hingis win that match as you know i bloody hate mary pierce!

australian open - day 2

2006-01-17T20:45:00.000+08:00

damn, i was just saying i wanted to see more of monfils, gasquet and the young american, donald young... suddenly 2 of them were defeated in the first round! another youngster - which i really don't want to see, andy murray, is out of the tournament too. i never like murray, he's cocky!

(dennis istomin, federer's 1st round opponent. is he reading on how to play the world no.1?)

i call my boss early in the morning to tell him "boss, i'm going to run some errands and will come in late"... in fact, i was at home watching federer/istomin. well, it was federer's routine match. nothing spectacular hence, no comment from me. :-)

i was following the result of clijsters match online. she was trailing in the first set 3-1 and i thought she was going down... luckily my favourite girl came back strong and trashed her opponent 6-0 in the 2nd set. same goes to amelie. i thought she was going out but she came back in 3 sets.

though all top 20 female players are in this aussie open but the seeded players slowly bowing out one by one.

hewitt's match was very exciting too. through the online radio, i didn't hear that much of "come on" though. is he changing his behaviour slowly? :-) i wonder what happened to those players that was expected to win easily but not. eg. hewitt/vik, amelie/sun tiantian, davydenko/karlovic and kiefer/srichaphan? is that the sign of them fading away slowly?

i also wonder what happened to the german rainer schuttler? in 2003 and 2004 , i heard a lot about him and suddenly he disappear and no where to be seen. he was defeated in the first round yesterday by another german. sigh...

and i got the chance to watch grosjean/philippoussis: totally one sided affair for grosjean. another wild card wasted on philippoussis. if i'm not mistaken, he has the record of losing on all his 1st round - which he got to play because of a wild card, last year while watching him, i feel so sympathy for him. how he survives through out the years? when was the last time he wins something? doesn't he need money to buy food? ... and did you managed to hear him swears on the 3rd set? hehehe... it was clearly heard on the tv!

congratulations to hingis for a successful come back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"The way I've been playing, I didn't really care who I was going to playing first round here."
Haas shows the value of positive thinking.

"If you guys expect me to play well every single match and every single tournament then it's not going to happen." Andy Murray lets the media know there may be more bad days to come.

yes murray, don't think you will be any success in future too!

day 3 play schedule
day 2 complete result
day 3 tv schedule will begins at 8am until the last match of the night session

australian open - day 1

2006-01-17T11:02:00.000+08:00

let start off with an error i spotted on the yahoo tennis page:

when was the last time v. williams won the aussie open?

v.williams is out and s.williams will fall in the 3rd round against hantuchova! the moment i turn on the tv last night, i was surprise who's that heavy weight boxer against the tiny chinese... oh, sorry, was that s.williams? damn! she was breathing heavily through out the match and she's as heavy as a gorilla! sorry, was i too harsh on you, serena? maybe it's time for you to face the truth!

omg! it was really unbelievable seeing s. williams like that. clijsters was out most of 2004. but when she return, she didn't look like she was out for so long. at least she didn't gain so much weight. and s. williams was out for like what, 3 months? and she looks near to a gorilla now!

the only match i wathced was roddick/lammer. i thought i saw 2 roddicks on the court only to realise the other was lammer. :-) doesn't he look like roddick? if roddick didn't put on that cap, we'll have difficulty identifying who's who!

this is an old news but nevertheless, some of you might not read it before - sharapova & roddick love match. though the report says their rumour first surface at last year's us open but if you remember, they met up during the ESPY awards where report says they were chatting by the pool until wee hours. imagining them together, they make a lovely couple!

and other shock defeat that i'm pretty disappointed would be: dent and moya.

yesterday afternoon, i was listening to the aussie open live radio coverage via real player. on the sharapova match, i was supposed to listen the commentator clearly but all the noises came from sharapova!!! nevertheless, from the commentators, sharapova's tennis looks great! she can beat anybody on any given day but somehow i just think she doesn't have that much power to beat the best like clijsters, davenport and the old s.williams.

here's another piece of news that worth reading.

day 1 complete result
day 3 tv schedule (for SEA only) - starts at 8am until the last match of the night session

australian open - day 1 schedule

2006-01-15T01:52:00.000+08:00

day 1 play schedule
day 1 tv schedule (for SEA only) - though the schedule indicate they only show the night session starting at 4.30pm (6.30pm melbourne time) but i strongly believe they'll show the night session which begins at 7.30pm. in any case, espnstar always show the night sessions live. i'm looking forward for roddick's 2nd match on the center court.

aussie open website

2006-01-13T18:27:00.000+08:00

i notice the front page of the aussie open website:

understandable why they choose to put safin, hewitt and serena's photos. but why sharapova's photo is also included in the masthead? did the moderator of the website get their fact for 2005's tournament wrong? or simply because davenport is too ugly to be featured? that's really unfair to davenport who's performance was brilliant through out 2005 season.

next tournament: australian open

2006-01-13T18:11:00.000+08:00

when: 16jan06 to 29jan06
where: melbourne, australia
defending champion: marat safin
official website: www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html
draw: click here

maria will play in aussie open

2006-01-12T14:41:00.000+08:00

if you are wondering where's maria sharapova is right now and whether she'll play in aussie open:

Now that Maria Sharapova knows what is wrong with her sore right shoulder, she's confident she can play through the pain at next week's Australian Open.

read more at espn.com.

she's at melbourne promoting motorola's limited edition pink razr (though they didn't say but obviously that's motoroal logo and recently they launched the limited edition pink razr mah). though she's really pretty but i must admit she doesn't have dressing sense.

who else in the way of federer?

2006-01-11T14:53:00.000+08:00

forget about all the warm-up tournaments to aussie open. the result (of the warm up tournaments) doesn't necessary reflect on the out come of the first grand slam. now, i am looking at the draw (not really coz the draw will only out on this sunday, 15jan06) and finding out who else is standing the way of federer reclaiming his trophy this year after the withdrawal of nadal, safin and andre-the old man-agassi.

a look at the top 10 men - roddick, hewitt, nalbandian and ljubicic are the only few men that i believe are the strong contenders besides federer. even though federer lost to nalbandian last masters cup but i strongly believe he can triumph over nalbandian any given day now than last year.

i was rather surprise to learn my former favourite, coria, defeated ljubicic in the warm up invitation only tournament. that shows, size is not a matter though sometime it does. i'm pretty proud of coria for defeating someone like ljubicic. he has his speed and arrogance to thank for too. :-)

i'm not expecting federer to be undefeated through out 2006 but never thought that he'll lose in the opening match of any tournament too. though he says he doesn't need to up his game to keep winning, but i really hope he will improve and not just stay at the same level in the years to come.

why? looking at roddick - he improved on his volley but he still sucks on other area. i hope he'll do better this year than last. same goes to coria. also, i'm hoping to see monfils and gasquet more. and the US young hopeful - donald young.

i'm back!

2006-01-06T11:03:00.000+08:00

i'm back!!! but not quite!

tournaments started beginning of the week but there's not live telecast except the Hopman's cup. next week's two tournaments - sydney & auckland will not be broadcast live on either espn or star.

anyway, i'm all excited about the coming australian open. with the withdrawal of nadal and possible safin, federer's biggest rival could be hewitt.

the draw should be exciting!

site announcement

2005-12-06T15:49:00.000+08:00

this site is on hiatus until the next tournament starts in january '06.

article: courting federer

2005-11-28T14:52:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

my local major newspaper - the star, sent a journalist to shanghai for an interview with the ambassador of Maurice Lacroix - mr roger federer. nothing in the article that i don't know about. if the writer is not a tennis fan, i would say i know more about federer than the writer. anyway, here's the article: (you may read the original here)

Courting Federer

On a cool autumn evening in Shanghai, the hot Fed-Ex of tennis, also one of People magazine’s sexiest men, talked about his game and the other loves of his life. FOO YEE PING has the story.

Winning combination – when Federer was presented the trophy for his third Wimbledon win in July, he wore Maurice Lacroix’s Roger Federer Masterpiece Croneo timepiece. He is the third man after Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras to have won a hattrick at the tournament since World War II.
THEY say no one is born to greatness. That applies even to Roger Federer, the Number One tennis player in the world.

He gave a glimpse of the hard work and discipline required of a great sportsman like him when he casually mentioned that “the day I arrived (in Shanghai), I went to practise straight away to get used to the conditions here.”

The 24-year-old Swiss maestro was in the cosmopolitan Chinese city early November to defend his Masters Cup title.

Days before the start of the US$4.4mil (RM16.5mil) tournament, the three-time Wimbledon champion spoke to scores of Asian journalists at a get-together organised by Maurice Lacroix, the watchmaker which appointed Federer as its ambassador a year ago.

The tennis star was at ease answering all questions, even one which seemed to be a teaser, a simple test of his geography: Has he heard of Taiwan?

“I have heard of Taiwan although I can’t really tell you much about it,” came his frank reply.

He came across as a pleasant enough guy, smiling most of the time and waiting politely when a number of the questions had to be translated to English for him.

Throughout the 35-minute session, he was patient although it was clear that he must have repeated much of the stuff previously, especially those that concerned his partnership with Maurice Lacroix.

“Of course I like Maurice Lacroix watches. It is an honour to become the ambassador. It is a young brand, very innovative. We have a lot in common,” he said, ever faithfully.

He spoke of his previous visit to the factory in Switzerland and saw how the watchmaker would peer closely at the timepieces.

It was all about precision, he said. That was how he approached his game, too, so they were a good match, he added.

Federer, of course, is not the only tennis star who is endorsing a watch label. Maria Sharapova, the Russian powerhouse, is ambassador for Tag Heuer.

Federer said that he had gotten used to people wanting to know more about him now that he is a tennis star.

“Life has changed quite a bit. It’s been interesting,” he said. “To become number one is a very special feeling.”

The French Open is the only Grand Slam title which has eluded him. He has, so far, six Grand Slam wins under his belt.

His goal next year is to maintain his top ranking, which he concedes is not going to be easy.

On reports comparing him with Pete Sampras, the American star who has won a record 14 Grand Slam victories, he replied: “He was one of best we've ever had, so it is nice to be compared to him but I still have a long way to go to be like him.”

Asked how he relaxes, he mentioned his yen for travelling. “When I arrive at a city, I like to do the classic thing – go to the tourist spots that you can tell your family and friends later. And shopping, too.”

He says that girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec ‘does a lot of waiting’ for him.
He is fond of the “wellness and spas, which is great in Asia.”

Known to like golf as well, Federer professed his wish to meet Tiger Woods, who was also in Shanghai at the same time to play at the Champions Tournament.

The other famous sportsman he had met was David Beckham, he said.

Federer spoke fondly of his Swiss girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec,a former tennis player whom he met five years ago during the Olympic Games in Sydney.

“When I get away from the court, I spend time with her. She does a lot of waiting for me. She has been a great help. I wished I was home more often.”

At 6’1” (186cm), the tennis star was towering over most of the Asians during that press briefing.

The minute he entered the room, one female was overheard gushing about his good looks.

Small wonder that on Nov 16, People magazine named him one of the “International Men of Sexiness” although the main crown went to Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey.

But for the people from Maurice Lacroix, Federer’s winning spirit is the main attraction. To them, the Swiss watch and Federer portray that spirit perfectly.

Throughout the Shanghai promotional event, the top bosses of Maurice Lacroix kept talking about that “winning spirit”. They were clearly proud of having Federer on board, of course for quite a tidy sum which they declined to reveal.

Maybe the watchmaker is right. Although he failed to capture the season-ending Masters title, losing to David Nalbandian of Argentina in the finals on Nov 20, it had been a remarkable year for the tennis king.

Prior to that surprise defeat, he had been on a 35-match unbeaten streak and, according to news reports, remains one of the greatest players around.

masters cup - conclusion

2005-11-20T22:05:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

6-7 6-7 6-2 6-1 7-6

i couldn't bear to watch the decider set. on the 4th, i decided to take my bath and on the beginning of the 5th, i decided to went out for dinner. you should know why! my heart sank to the lowest point when federer was broken twice in the 3rd and couldn't seem able to recover back on the 4th.

i don't use to him being on the losing side. after all, we have been watching him winning 81 matches through out the year. who would thought that he will lose in the final tournament of the year?

obviously, federer wasn't used to 5 setters. on the 3rd set, he doesn't look fit at all. nalbandian has been attacking his right side of the court. hitting those winning forehand deep down into federer's right court. nalbandian got few points out of this. i was literally shouting at the top of my voice on the 2nd set tie break and was glad federer won it.

that joy was short lived! i cussed and cussed and cussed!

finally federer end his own misery by losing the match. thank god it had ended!

obviously federer doesn't look 100% fit when when he has to play a 5 setters. i can't blame him for playing lousily after a 1+ month lay off. i hope he will start next year by winning his first tournament. he has yet to announce his next year's schedule yet so wherever is it, i'm sure my support will go to you, roger!

"The Association of Tennis Professionals, the governing body for men's tennis, will scrap the third set for doubles competition in favour of a Champions tie-break - first to ten points - to speed up play from 2006, it was announced in Shanghai on Sunday, reports James Buddell. The new look format also ensures there will be no advantage played in the first two sets with games decided by the first point after deuce." reported eurosport

*this is the final tournament of the year and i'll be posting interesting articles from tennis, the magazine, if i found any interesting one. *

masters cup - day 7

2005-11-19T23:05:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

ladies & gentlemen, how would you like your bagel being served?

federer / gaudio 6-0 6-0
nalbandian / davydenko 6-0 7-5

how embarrassed could that be? i didn't really see federer sweat it out at all. perhaps the humidity that made him use his wristband once in a while. even with only 50% of his first serve in, he could still win coz mr gaudio has just pushed the self descruct button left by ljubicic and gonzalez.

"Federer's victory was the first whitewash in the 35 years of the competition and Nalbandian looked set to match the Swiss when he stormed through the first set in 25 minutes." reuters.co.za

i, too thought tonight will have double double bagels on the plate in shanghai. luckily davydenko was not humiliated himself by pressing another self descruct button.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

federer vs nalbandian

head to head: 4 - 5

if federer wins tomorrow night, he will have an equal head to head with nalbandian. i'm sure he will be glad he can overwrite the record now.

reminder for tomorrow's final:

Starting at 4:00 PM
(1) R Federer (SUI) vs (8)D Nalbandian (ARG)

interesting bit: -

- south american set standard for aspiring masters in britain
- you might interest to check out the fanzone created by atptennis.com. there are wallpaper of federer, roddick, hewitt, nadal and even coria. also, earlier they have created a player mania page for federer, nadal, hewitt and roddick.

masters cup - day 6

2005-11-18T23:45:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

bee-bee, self descruct button ahead... and mr gonzalez is on his way to press it!

how many choker can there be in 1 tournament. and i must get my "prediction glasses" back from the us open - coz my prediction have been wrong after i accurately predict the last us open from q-final to final. sigh!

why oh why gonzalez failed to close up the match when he has a match point? it can't get any more worse than losing a match after having a match point of your own. come to think of it, it really scares me to watch the s-final and final when i wanted federer to win so much.

gonzalez was whacking any balls that come to him and perhaps his own power that failed him.

drop shot is apparently is the most effective shot on this surface. get ready to see more drop shots in the next 3 matches.

while i didn't even bother to watch the insignificant match between davydenko/puerta knowing puerta is no match at all against davydenko - the silent assassin.

(7)G Gaudio (ARG) d (alt)F Gonzalez (CHI) 16 75 75
(5)N Davydenko (RUS) d (alt)M Puerta (ARG) 63 62

saturday's order of play:

R Federer (SUI) vs G Gaudio (ARG)
N Davydenko (RUS) vs D Nalbandian (ARG)

i think he's sexy too

2005-11-18T18:00:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

i'm not the only one think federer is sexy. ooh la la! i'm glad that he's being recognise for his look and not just his tennis skills. hello carlos (as in moya), federer is sexy too! (just in case you don't know why the sarcastic remarks, carlos moya was also named among the sexiest back in 1999 or 2000)

"Four or five days ago I was on holiday but the ATP called and asked if I wanted to come as the second alternate," he said after his 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory over Puerta. "I was waking up from a big party the day before and they gave me two hours to decide. It's a 30-hour trip, so it's a very tough decision." said fernando gonzalez

seriously, i think he has a very big chance to advance to the semis. not that i like gaudio (after he defeated my favourite boy coria in last year's french), but i really think gonzalez can beat gaudio. with him whacking every balls as hard as he would kill someone, surely he can beat gaudio. *lol* after all, he won a double (as in singles and doubles) in basel two weeks ago.

masters cup - day 5

2005-11-17T22:30:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

(8)D Nalbandian (ARG) d (6)I Ljubicic (CRO) 62 62
(1)R Federer (SUI) d (4)G Coria (ARG) 60 16 62

it was a disaster for ljubicic... and me too! i couldn't believe he play so badly. where's the ljubicic i know has been hiding? oh my god! i was screaming, shouting and supporting ljubicic through out the match and damn, he did a lousy job there.

i was soooooooo disappointed with ljubicic. how could he do this to me? other than federer, i support only ljubicic in the entire 8 players. he choke every single big match - the last 2 masters series, those finals against federer... ok, that can be forgiven since it was the federer!

what about federer/coria? 6-0 in the first set, i was hoping federer can give a doubel bagel to coria. i'm so bad! can't believe i used to be a big coria fan. coria suck big time! in the first game alone, he got 2 double faults already. more to come, baby.

and boy, federer gave us a shock! i have the believe that he lose the 2nd set on purpose. he doesn't want to run, not chasing the voley or lob down the line. i thought he's gonna get that "love"~~bite~~ in the 2nd set.

you know i wanted ljubicic in the semis... now looks like this going to happen:

federer vs gonzalez/gaudio
davydenko vs nalbandian

i strongly believe gonzalez going to excel and meet federer in the semi. while my dream final of federer/ljubici is impossible now, i would love to see a federer/davydenko final.

friday's order of play:
F Gonzalez (CHI) vs G Gaudio (ARG)
M Puerta (ARG) vs N Davydenko (RUS)

has andy lost his mojo?

2005-11-17T12:35:00.000+08:00

from tennis nov/dec '05 issue

andy roddick - has he lost his mojo? (seriously) by bruce schoenfeld
(click to view the larger image)

page 1

page 2

page 3

page 4

masters cup - day 4

2005-11-17T12:10:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

last night's matches were boring. i didn't even pay much attention to the matches. i will not pay to watch players like gaudio, gonzalez or puerta. unfortunately, that's what left in the tournament now - the leftover.

"entering 30 tournaments a year as a “normal” schedule" said davydenko

it's easier for someone that don't really last through out the tournament to say something like that, isn't it?

my prediction for the semis:

federer vs gonzalez
davydenko vs ljubicic

my expectation final is:

federer vs ljubicic

tonight's schedule of play:

I Ljubicic (CRO) vs D Nalbandian (ARG)
R Federer (SUI) vs G Coria (ARG)

though federer/coria match is insignificant, federer is looking forward to break the record set by j.mcenroe for the most matches win in a year.

rafael nadal's official website

2005-11-16T14:34:00.000+08:00

apparently he has launched his official website last thursday, 10 nov 05. www.rafaelnadal.com used to link to www.vamosrafael.com. finally, the website has its own content!

"They said their boss, who is a woman, doesn't really like this, as she likes Nadal, and that they actually try to minimize the number of shots of Rafa adjusting his pants." susan who is a nadal's fan wrote in blog about her trip to shanghai which supposed to have live match commentaries on every nadal match.

masters cup - day 3

2005-11-16T10:50:00.000+08:00

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"In 2000, when Agassi came for the Heineken Open, he took an early exit in the first round. Two years later in the Masters Cup, after two defeats, he cited a hip injury and took off. This year it happened again." said organising committee deputy director Wang Liqun.

i couldn't agree more with the organiser. what the hell was agassi thinking? why he even bother to appear in shanghai at all? same goes to nadal. at least roddick and safin choose to completely sit out of the tournament - knowing they're not 100% fit. if both agassi and nadal knew they were not 100% fit why bother to even give a fake hope to everybody that waiting to watch them?

"I don't know how bad it really was -- only he can tell," Federer said. "But I think it's still great that he shows up and tries." from espn.com

showing up and try is not good enough. that's so kind of federer but i expect him to say that.

since they have used up all the "subsitute" in this masters cup, thomas johansson has been called up to "stand by".

it's funny all the news about this year's masters cup are mostly about injuries and withdrawal. now, here's something related to last night's matches!

it was frustrated to see federer playing like that. as ljubicic points out: he's not struggling but he's not in top shape". this year alone, they have played each other 5 times. overall, the win/loss record is favouring federer with 7-3. each time, ljubicic getting closer and closer in beating federer. just like hewitt, he's getting closer in beating federer in recent year.

the most frustrated thing ever happen would be coming back from losing and start winning only to be beaten in the end. i would love to see him going through to semis, all he needs to do is beat the inconsistent nalbandian.

the only player that coria has a chance to win is non other than nalbandian. and yet he choke with his damn serve. it's getting frustrated to watch him play nowadays. it's easier for him to break serve than hold. his spidy shirt is not doing any good for him. looks superhero but play like a sissy!

tonight matches are pretty boring.

day 4 order of play

N Davydenko (RUS) vs G Gaudio (ARG)
M Puerta (ARG) vs F Gonzalez (CHI)

some interesting read:

- sports illustrated - Hyper-extended Andy: Did Roddick schedule one too many exhibition events?
- tale of two season for james blake
- what good is a msters cup with very few masters on show?

masters cup - day 2

2005-11-14T23:10:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

oh-my-god! this is shock! shock! shock!

"The French Open champion has injured his left foot and joins Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin on the sidelines in Shanghai." more from espn.com

i was shocked to see puerta coming out with gaudio at first. i was really disappointed that nadal has to withdraw. but after checking the news on the internet, i was even shocked to know that agassi pulled out too. i didn't see him having difficulty moving around the court. either he has disguised it very well or he's just plain lying about the injury.

with all this drama, do you know who is laughing at shanghai masters? the organiser at houston. remember that old man you see for the last 2 years at houston? yeah, i don't really like him!

yesterday theme was "green", today it was all "red". wait a minute, yesterday's group was red and today's gold.

did you notice safin was sitting at the stadium watching the match between agassi/davydenko. he was wearing a skull cap but i still can recognise him from afar.

though agassi is old but he still has the omph! i really thought he could pull it off against davydenko but alas, davydenko "the silent assassin" too good in aiming his shots!

can't wait for federer's match tomorrow nite.

masters cup - day 1

2005-11-13T16:45:00.000+08:00

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i don't like the sound of the balls boucing on the surface. "pong, pong, pong..." rather annoying. i also dislike the ball boy/girl in the center (at the net) to be standing, i would rather if they were kneeling. they were pretty disturbing. and what about this:

celtic football club jersey

i wonder whether the shanghai masters (line judges) got approval from celtic for wearing their jersey! *lol*

if you think this is funny, what about coria's spidey shirt? or maybe adidas is slowly changing all their logo by starting with this spidey shirt. but coria looks so fit in that tight fitting shirt.

during the federer/nalbandian match, i spotted gaudio standing at the entrance watching the match too. i couldn't focus on the first 2 sets coz it was rather boring! if you watch the match live on tv, you'll notice nadal was there too. when is nadal going to start combing his hair?

couldn't blame federer for his rusty first match after more than a month without competitive matches. perhaps he'll improve on his 2nd match. he looked like he was playing half-hearted in the first 2 sets. after realised he's in danger then only he up his standard in the 3rd set. he disaplyed more enthusiasm in the 3rd set and i'm glad he didn't lose the opening match.

what can i say more about coria/ljubicic match? coria was his usual - lousy serves. only if he can improve on his service then i'll give him a chance of beating ljubicic - the big man. before the match started, i knew ljubicic going to crush coria like a fly. what can you expect a man with 1-5 win/loss history in the masters cup? last year, he didn't win a single match in the round robin. then of course he has his excuse - he was coming back after a 3 months break from a shoulder operation. what about this year? he has been playing like shit for the most of the time. couldn't believe he reaches 2 masters series final. in this red group, the only player that he could possibly beat would be nalbandian.

it's good to know that all singles will be play at 7pm (shanghai time). i'll make sure i'll be at home by 7pm to catch all the matches. might need to postpone my personal training for next week. :-)

day 1 complete scoreboard
day 2 schedule of play
day 2 tv schedule (for SEA only)

masters cup - day 1 schedule

2005-11-12T14:35:00.000+08:00

starts at 1pm
(1) R Federer (SUI) vs (8) D Nalbandian (ARG)
(4) G Coria (ARG) vs (6) I Ljubicic (CRO)

13Nov05 tv schedule (for SEA only)

masters cup - draw

2005-11-10T09:35:00.000+08:00

Red Group: Roger Federer, Guillermo Coria, Ivan Ljubicic, David Nalbandian

Gold Group: Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Nikolay Davydenko, Gaston Gaudio

could this be another federer vs nadal final? can ljubicic overcome federer after unsuccessful attempt earlier this year? while coria is really the easy meat in red group.

anyone in gold group that can stop nadal would be the experience agassi. think agassi too old to compete with nadal's youthness speed? think again why agassi reached this year's us open final. i would love to see nadal playing hewitt or the "full of weapons" safin. unfortunately, that could not become true for this year.

this week's tournament: masters cup

2005-11-09T12:48:00.000+08:00

when: 13november to 20 november 2005
where: shanghai, china
defending champion: roger federer
official website: www.masters-cup.com

paris masters - conclusion

2005-11-07T01:20:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

before the match, i have already set my mind with ljubicic winning his first masters. besides federer and nadal, he's definitely the only man that should win this masters. with roddick swinging play, coria the 2nd seed bad form, tomas the rookie... i would never want another player to win this masters. no way other player can take away it from him.

but ljubicic is just too tired. we don't need anyone to tell us that - it's so obvious you can even see his black eyes.

we should all salute the fighting spirit of ljubicic. how about coming back from 2 sets to love?

and he choked! when you come back from 2 sets to love, you don't come back to lose the match! you come back to win! ljubicic choke 2 finals in a row. damn it! i'm giving you my 110% percent support and you just can't finish the job.

my heart has been broken once again. ljubicic choke on big occassion - just like kim clijsters. will he learn his lesson? i hope he get enough rest and play well in the masters cup.

paris masters - day 6

2005-11-06T18:00:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

roddick was just not comfortable through out the match. he should retired and get well for the shanghai masters. while berdych is too good for stepanek - the guy who wrote his own rules on what to do on every situation (according to me obviously).

i'm definitely rooting for ljubicic. but he looks just too tired. will he going to put his name on the masters winners list for the year?

paris masters - day 5

2005-11-05T10:25:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

ljubicic looked tired! guess playing week in week out has taken it's toll on him. through out the 3 sets, he seems likely throwing in the towel and ready to fall asleep with a nice bed anytime. it must be his height, otherwise i can't explain why his slices is so high. seriously, sometime i don't even notice those are slices - i thought it was his backhand. and what about his mobility? he has difficulty reaching shots that are landed on his left court. nevertheless, congratulations to ljubicic for reaching the masters cup. he deserves it coz this year, is not just nadal's year but his too.

on the match between stepanek and davydenko. stepanek looks so uptight everytime. that's why i don't like watching him. don't you think his play like a text book? i bet he has a 555 book written down on what he should do on every occasion and he play exactly like that on every game. and what about the injury time out? almost every injury time out, the commentator will have the same discussion:" should we just get rid of this? the injury time out is unfair to the opponent". for me, if davydenko is unfit, he shouldn't continue to play. he should get rest and concentrate on the masters cup. remember, he's the silent assassin!

roddick really likes making scene every chance he has! he should learn from federer - calm is also one of the answers for winning matches! why on earth he wasted his time arguing a point that already passed 2 games before? the commentator said he was looking for "something to blame" for his 6-2 1st set failure. err... i find people being really harsh on roddick most of the time. what about his back injury? he said he might not be able to play on the s-final... making scene again? :-D roddick now plays like lindsey davenport! is it because of his injury? he was having difficulty getting shots back that are 2 steps away. you know how davenport play right? when she thinks she couldn't reach the shot that are just 2 steps away, she doesn't even attempt in getting it and just let it go. last night, roddick played exactly like that. his mobility is a very big problem with him. he looks clumsy.

the defeat of gaudio with the score of 5-7, 0-6 is pathetic! i never like gaudio after he defeat coria in french two years ago, so i don't feel sorry for saying like that! :mrgreen:

i'm looking forward the match between roddick and ljubicic. both are big server with big shots. it could be a short match and all we hear will be "bing, bang, bam!" and it's game over! hehehe!

my prediction for the final:

roddick vs stepanek

today schedule of play
tv schedule: no live s-final matches thanks to the 8 live football matches they are about to show! the repeat is tomorrow at 2pm and 4pm. however, espnstar is showing the final live at 10pm.

paris masters - day 4

2005-11-04T19:15:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

well, my prediction isn't that accurate this time. nalbandian is no good at all! and both ferrero and genepri has let me down too. and i also didn't expect hrbaty to go down so easily to roddick. or is it roddick has improved?

i'm glad coria is going to shanghai afterall. ljubicic still has the chance if he wins and guadio didn't in the paris q-final. but hewitt has doubt whether he'll be attending the masters cup too. therefore, gaudio still has the chance if hewitt pulls out.

3rd day complete scoreboard
today schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)

paris masters - day 3

2005-11-03T02:25:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

roddick forehand is not working and misfiring! he was coming to the net and that's a wonderful news to know. but he losses the tie-break on the 2nd set... surprise! whenever there's a tie break, his chances of winning is pretty high. when he's in trouble, his serves will come to the rescue. a lot of people said roddick needs to improve on his mobility - i think so too. whenever a drop shot was return to him, he always finds it difficult to run to it. i can't say the same about coria, federer or hewitt.

my prediction for the 3rd round was pretty accurate except the one with santoro over gaudio. gaudio won that match over santoro.

my 4th round prediction would be:

roddick/nalbandian
robredo/ljubicic
gonzalez/davydenko
genepri/ferrero

a pretty good read about the change of the ATP calendar. read here and give your suggestion, if you have any.

2nd & 3rd round scoreboard
today schedule of play
3Nov & 4Nov tv schedule (for SEA only)

paris masters - day 2

2005-11-02T11:16:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

seriously, what is wrong with coria? he's getting downhill month by month, week by week. is he doing anything to improve his serve?

i managed to watch grosjean/dent match. dent uses a lot of slices - you can say he uses it almost every chance he has. he's a chip & charge, serve & volley type of player hence he likes using slices so much. but whether it is necessary on every occassion, only he knows better! whoever the winner is, he'll next play andy roddick. i'm hoping roddick could win this masters. put his name and silence everyone back home who has been criticising him since last year.

ljubicic is so hooooooooooooooot! looking at the result - another "what's wrong" goes to ancic! losing with a score like 6/1, 6/2? that's pretty pathetic!

1Nov05 complete scoreboard
today schedule of play
2Nov & 3Nov tv schedule (for SEA only)

roger federer fan club

2005-11-02T02:21:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

roger federer launched his official fan club on 1 november 2005 at his hometown - basel. everyone are welcome to join.

photo from www.rogerfederer.com. you can see more of roger on the launching here. mind you, you have to be member to view those photos. and he also assured his chinese fans that he'll be in shanghai - regardless playing or not.

paris masters - day 1

2005-11-02T01:00:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

i watch a bit of lopez/malisse match. lopez was actually handed the match when malisse complaint about line calls on the 3rd set. i'm still not sure why he was penalised - either it was because of the language he used towards the umpire or he was abusing the line man - a point was awarded to lopez because of the penalty and handed the game to lopez. though there lopez didn't get a single break out of the match but he still managed to win because of that silly penalty.

paris masters - pre tournament

2005-10-31T12:35:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

i am excited! espnstar going to start showing live matches as early as 6.30pm. the best part is i'm off the whole week. i can watch all matches all night long even until the next morning. most of the top players got bye in the 1st round. i really hope roddick will not suffer another 1st match defeat again.

today schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - conclusion

2005-10-31T10:30:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

lyon
"Five titles are not that bad for a season many see as a disappointing one," he said. "Of course, I would trade all of them against a single Grand Slam title." said roddick after winning his 5th title.

the other day, my hubby was questioning why is roddick 3rd in the world? he only notices roddick when he's losing but never compliment him when he's winning. that is really harsh!

here's an article of the young gael monfils from tennis magazine march 2005:

click for larger view
he still young and inexperience in playing the big guns. he needs sometime to adjust himself in ATP tour. but he's definite one hopeful player.

st. peterburg
who would thought thomas johansson could win a grand slam? certainly not me! but he won one and he beat kiefer to win his first title of the year.

basel
first off, why the final is in 5 sets format? i'm getting confuse sometime on how the rules are written. is it because this prize money is more so players are required to play 5 sets in the final?

do you know gonzalez won both in singles and doubles in this tournament?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

federer said he hopes he can play in shanghai. i would love to watch him too after so long. since safin has withdrawn from the masters cup and hewitt is doubtful, we can expect nalbandian, gonzalez and even thomas johansson to be in shanghai.

this week tournament: paris masters

2005-10-31T10:00:00.000+08:00

when: 31 october to 6 november 2005
where: paris, france
defending champion: marat safin
view draw: single
official website: click here

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 6

2005-10-30T07:02:00.001+08:00

- safin to miss the masters cup in shanghai. that means players that thought they might not make it might as well get prepared to be there too.
- hewitt could miss shanghai too!

basel
can't believe the guy with man's boob is in the final!

Marko Baghdatis def David Nalbandian 6-2 7-6
Fernando Gonzalez def Dominik Hrbaty 6-0 6-3

lyon
yipee! roddick is in final!

Andy Roddick def Fabrice Santoro 6-4 7-6
Gael Monfils def Sebastien Grosjean 6-4 7-5

St. Petersburg
Thomas Johansson def Fernando Verdasco 6-3 3-6 6-3
Nicolas Kiefer def Robin Vik 6-3 6-4

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 5

2005-10-29T10:40:00.000+08:00

- hawk eye will debut in a seniors tour (the champions' tour) end of nov. once again, the million dollar question - do you prefer to have the hawk eye as an aid?

- roddick is in the main draw of paris masters.

- draw for the paris masters is out. 1st seed - roddick with coria, davydenko, puerta, nalbandian, ljubicic and gaudio fighting for tickets to shanghai.

Lyon
i'm thrilled for roddick entering the semis. i hope he gets back into his old form soon. i bet he's going to meet grosjean in the final.

Andy Roddick(1) def. Mario Ancic(7) 6-4, 6-4
Fabrice Santoro def. Vincent Spadea 6-2, 6-2
Gael Monfils def. Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-1
Sebastien Grosjean def. Oliver Rochus 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)

St. Petersburg
kiefer have a very good chance in winning this tournament. i would say the final is between him and verdasco.

Nicholas Kiefer(5) def Nikolay Davydenko(1) 6-1, 6-1
Thomas Johansson(2) def. Greg Rusedski(7) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
Robin Vik def. Mikhail Youzhny(4) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Fernando Verdasco(8) def. Kenneth Carlsen 6-4, 6-2

Basel
while i bet nalbandian going to meet gonzalez in the final and nalbandian winning the tournament.

David Nalbandian(2) def. Paradorn Srichaphan 6-2, 6-2
Fernando Gonzalez(4) def. Andy Murray 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Dominik Hrbaty(5) def. Kristof Vliegen 6-7 (9-11), 6-1, 6-3
Marcos Baghdatis def. Jose Acasuso 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 4

2005-10-28T10:10:00.000+08:00

- everybody is talking about the defeat of coria. his serve is as vulnerable as dementieva's. if he ever wanted to win a match, all he needs to do is serve better. he's pretty fast and accurate baseline shots.

- i couldn't believe martinez is still playing? but might not be able more.

- i noticed this youngsters - gael monfils, the former world no. 1 junior last year where he won 3 grand slams. i have yet to really watch a full match of his but according to news, he serves like andy roddick. he turns pro last year but didn't do that well in the beginning of his pro career. now he beats gaudio in lyon.

- what else is new? roddick criticises the tour schedule again. the players have been commenting again and again about the schedule year in year out.

st. petersburg
Singles – Second Round
(2)T Johansson (SWE) d A Pavel (ROM) 62 62
(7)G Rusedski (GBR) d K Kim (USA) 46 63 64
(8)F Verdasco (ESP) d J Monaco (ARG) 75 63
(4)M Youzhny (RUS) d C Saulnier (FRA) 61 61
(1)N Davydenko (RUS) d P Goldstein (USA) 63 64

basel
Singles - Second Round
K Vliegen (BEL) d (1)G Coria (ARG) 76(0) 75
J Acasuso (ARG) d (3)J Ferrero (ESP) 63 67(7) 63
M Baghdatis (CYP) d (8)T Haas (GER) 62 63
(2)D Nalbandian (ARG) d F Mayer (GER) 63 62
(WC)A Murray (GBR) d T Berdych (CZE) 64 26 64
(5)D Hrbaty (SVK) d A Calleri (ARG) 36 63 62
(4)F Gonzalez (CHI) d M Berrer (GER) 64 75
P Srichaphan (THA) d (7)J Novak (CZE) 63 62

lyon
(1)A Roddick (USA) d (Q)N Mahut (FRA) 76 63
G Monfils (FRA) d (3)G Gaudio (ARG) 64 63
S Grosjean (FRA) d (5)T Robredo (ESP) 75 63
(Q)M Gicquel (FRA) d D Sanguinetti (ITA) 63 62
(FRA) F Santoro (FRA) d P Mathieu (FRA) 61 64
V Spadea (USA) d (WC)M Llodra (FRA) 64 63

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 3

2005-10-27T10:05:00.000+08:00

paris masters - federer, nadal, safin, agassi & moya pull out

St.Petersburg
F. Serra 6 6 3
R. Vik 7 2 6

J. Melzer 6 3 5
N. Kiefer 3 6 7

S. Stakhovsky 7 6 6
K. Carlsen 6 7 7

G. Rusedski (ENG) 6 6
D. Tursunov (RUS) 4 4

N. Davydenko (RUS) 6 6
L. Dlouhy (CZH) 2 1

P. Goldstein (USA) 7 2 6
L. Burgsmuller (GER) 6 6 3

Lyon
i guess ljubicic is tired after playing 3 full weeks of tennis.

T. Enqvist 7 6 4
M. Ancic 6 7 6

N. Djokovic 6 5
O.Rochus 7 7

P-H.Mathieu 5
R. Ginepri 2 (retired)

N. Mahut 6 7
J. Benneteau 4 5

F. Santoro 6 7
T. Dent 3 5

I. Ljubicic 6 5
V. Spadea 7 7

Basel
how unfortunate that karlovic is meeting nalbandian 2 weeks in a row? not to mention being beaten 2 times in a row too. but that's just tennis - you play the same player week in week out.
the must publicist match between henman and the young murray finally have an end. it's definitely means the generation is changing to a new one.

T. Berdych 5 6 6
G. Bastl 7 4 2

I. Karlovic 3 6
D. Nalbandian 6 7

J. Novak 7 7
M. Lammer 6 6

J. Acasuso 4 7 6
N. Massu 6 6 4

A. Calleri 6 6
R. Sabau 0 3

A. Murray 6 5 7
T. Henman 2 7 6

G. Coria 6 6
A.Martin 2 4

J. I. Chela 6 2
D. Hrbaty 7 6

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 2

2005-10-26T10:20:00.000+08:00

basel
surprise to see moodie is out on the 1st round.

volandri 2 4
ferrero 6 6

vliegen 7 4 6
Wawrinka 6 6 3

moodie 6 6 3
mayer 7 1 6

baghdatis 6 6
mackin 1 3

haas 7 6
waske 6 4

srichaphan 6 6
c.rochus 3 2

gonzalez 7 6
seppi 6 3

zib 3 5
berrer 6 7

st.Petersburg
philippoussis wasted another wild card. why bother given him one when he isn't really in form? i really think he should go back to challenger circuit.

verdasco 7 4 6
philippoussis 6 6 2

youzhny 6 4
beck 3 1

popp 3 6 4
xtakhovsky 6 4 6

gabashvili 3 3
monaco 6 6

kohlschreiber 3 4
johansson 6 6

minar 1 6 5
kim 6 4 7

garcia-Lopez 3 6 4
kiefer 6 3 6

lyon
finally, roddick won! if not, i really feel sorry for him. what happened to ferrer? no home crowd to cheer on so he loses the match? and puerta was only lucky to be on the final at french open, so i'm not surprise he loses here. and also, i think he still bothered by the drug allegation.

robredo 2 7 6
lapentti 6 5 4

malisse 6 3
llodra 7 6

sanguinetti 6 6 6
lopez 7 4 4

roddick 7 6
ascione 5 3

monfils 6 5 6
hernych 4 7 3

grosjean 4 6 6
hanescu 6 3 4

ferrer 4 0
gicquel 6 6

carraz 1 4
enqvist 6 6

rochus 4 7 6
puerta 6 5 3

other news:
roddick to have an additional coach

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - day 1

2005-10-25T10:32:00.000+08:00

st petersburg
i. kunitsyn 3 2
c. saulnier 6 6

k. carlsen 6 7 6
m. mirnyi 7 6 4

j. vanek 3 6
a. pavel 6 7

v. davletshin 3 4
j. melzer 6 6

r. vik 6 6
j. nieminen 4 4

f. serra 6 6 6
j. bjorkman 7 3 4

basel
'05 draw
25Oct05 schedule of play
nadal is not playing in basel. after the withdrawal of federer, this is a big blow to the organiser.

lyon
n. djokovic 7 6
r. nello 6 4

j. blake 2 6
m. ancic 6 7

a. clement 3 6 3
g. gaudio 6 4 6

other news:

indian wells is moving to china in 2007? nope!

agassi and wife launched new aramis perfume - for him and for her, in germany on 24 oct 05.

st. petersburg / basel / lyon - pre tournament

2005-10-24T18:51:00.000+08:00

st. petersburg
24Oct05 schedule of play

basel
start on 25Oct05

lyon
24Oct05 schedule of play
while the main draw is being played. there are still some qualifying matches going on too.

madrid masters - conclusion

2005-10-24T10:10:00.000+08:00

still, nobody can put their name on the masters series list for 2005 beside the world no.1 and 2. with just another one left in the tournament, it looks doom to have a 3rd name on it. i wonder whether this ever happen in the history.

6-2 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 3-6 1-6

that was the score at this year's miami masters versus federer.

3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)

this is last night's score versus ljubicic.

everybody, applaus for mr rafael nadal. now, he knows how federer felt when he defeat him in miami masters.

though he has surpassed federer's winning record (as at october 23) but federer won the important and big ones. still, one notch ahead of nadal.

"Despite the loss, he improved his chances of making the season-ending Masters Cup at Shanghai, China, next month. He is tied for the eighth spot with Marat Safin." from espn.com

i am so impress with ljubicic. he might reach the year end's masters cup for the first time. why impressive? coz he's already 26. i guess he wouldn't believe this could be the year he "matured" in the tennis career.

now, let's look forward to basel, lyon & st. petersburg

preview of tournament: 24Oct to 30Oct '05

2005-10-23T02:00:00.000+08:00

st. petersburg

draw /players list.
though safin's name is there but he already confirm he won't be playing there because of knee injury.

~*~*~*~*~*

lyon

the singles' draw
roddick is playing. i really hope he found answer to all his misery and improve in this tournament. afterall, seeds player like puerta, gaudio, ljubicic, robredo, ferrer, ancic and ginepri shouldn't be a problem - only if he plays well.

~*~*~*~*~*

basel

draw is not out yet but here's the the players' list
again, though federer's name is there but he already confirm he won't be playing. nadal supposed to play here too but we'll see whether he can make it. not sure whether his knee will be fine by then.

unfortunately, we won't be able to watch all these matches. the next live telecast from espnstar is the paris masters.

madrid masters - day 6

2005-10-23T01:30:00.000+08:00

i still fancy genepri to win the match against nadal. nevertheless, nadal is so damn hot right now. beating him is possible but also difficult.

i hate the madrid crowd. when a player question a line call, they'll whistle and make a lot of noises - but not to their home players like ferrer or nadal. i would like to point out that it's the player's right to question a line call when they have a doubt.

genepri is good and if he keeps on playing like that, he'll be a challenge for anybody. it's still unsure whether he will be qualified for the year end's masters cup. nevertheless, on his official website, he has put aside that period and prepared himself to be there. you go, genepri.

didn't i say ljubicic has a very good chance in getting into the final? and now he is! he met federer 4 times this year and as you know, he lost all 4 times. his year has been spectacular. i am rooting for him to win his first masters.

view nadal/ljubicic head to head record. they have already met twice this year. now your pick - the agreesive nadal or the layback ljubicic.

madrid masters - day 5

2005-10-22T10:50:00.000+08:00

genepri is so damn good! he dictate the whole match and left ferrer looking for god for help! he doesn't hit the same shot for more than twice and made ferrer run from corner to corner. what about those passing shots... from his left to ferrer's right. in the accurate manner too. though ferrer did fight back on the 2nd set but it was a little too late.

i would fancy genepri to beat nadal now. nadal is not convincing throught out the whole tournament. he didn't impress me at all too last night. for a moment, i really think stepanek got a very good chance for a upset. but he didn't make the best out of it and loses his concentration.

what about ljubicic/gonzalez match? ljubicic is a fighter! after the 1st set, i thought he is another gone case but wait, the "salty fish got alive" again. hehehe... did you notice that almost every single of gonzalez's shots are from his forehand? no matter how far away he stands, but he still taking the shot with his forehand. i'm so afraid he's going to kill someone with his shot - he hit every shot so damn hard! unfortunately he uses all his energy on the 1st set and can't produce the same result on the 2nd. he better learn from this article: -

"A tennis linesman who was injured on the court at the U.S. Open Saturday remained in critical condition today, a hospital official said. Dick Wertheim, 61, of Lexington, Mass., was officiating last Saturday at the boys' singles final at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow Park when he was hit in the groin by a shot served by Stefan Edberg of Sweden." old but true news about stefan edberg. read more q & a from sports illustrated

prediction time:

final: genepri vs ljubicic

when you thought you've seen it all...

"Male fashion models will work as ball boys during the WTA Tour Championships next year in Madrid, organizers announced Friday." read more here

do you know andy roddick is playing doubles with james blake in madrid masters? well, they reached q-final but forced to retired because andy was suffering from the symptom of flu. andy, get well soon.

also, confirm news that alicia molik is going to stop playing tennis indefinitely now. she loses few 1st round matches and it's good for her to just slow down and think her next step before another 1st round upset again.

sad news for me now... weekend is always footie days. tonight, i'll be able to watch nadal/genepri match only at 7.30pm. all other matches including the final will not be live on tv. guess i'll have to depend on the internet for the final news then.

go, genepri, go!

21Oct05 complete scoreboard
22Oct05 schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)

madrid masters - day 4

2005-10-21T13:00:00.000+08:00

i never expect ginepri to beat davydenko. davydenko is the silent assassin for me but he was gunned down by ginepri! *lol* ginepri is having the time of his life and kudos to him for reaching another q-final.

the out of form coria is finally out of the tournament! wow, it rhymes! and karlovic is pretty impressive too. who would thought he will be in the q-final? at least not me.

so, my prediction for the s-final is wrong because davydenko is out. here's the new prediction:

nadal vs ginepri
ljubicic vs nalbandian

i'm excited to know that espnstar going to broadcast live matches starting at 8.30pm tonight.

you may also interested to know that agassi is teaming up with his wife, steffi, to play a fundraising match in US. that means, we will not be able to watch it! haha! read the full article together with the weekly write up from atp.

"Could Roger Federer’s ligament injury be worse than first feared? The Swiss world No 1 would miss the rest of the year if an operation is required on the damage sustained in a routine practice session two weeks ago. read the full article here"

"it is the best of times, the worst of times. Mariano Puerta is a top-ten player as never before, marked by his debut in a grand-slam final, and yet he is playing beneath a fog of suspicion that ought to choke his every move. His career hangs in the air through an outrageous act of name-dropping and there is nothing that he can do about it until, or if, exoneration comes. more here"

20Oct05 complete scoreboard
21Oct05 schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)

madrid masters - day 3

2005-10-20T12:28:00.000+08:00

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p/s: somehow the audio blog is not working properly as i wanted it to. i'm going to find out the problem and hopefully it will be back to normal again soon.

what a bad bad match coria had yesterday. the 1st set was alright but the 2nd set was a disaster for both players. after c. rochus hold serve on the 1st game, they keep losing serve and coria only managed to hold serve twice. with the score of 6-4 (2nd set) you know it definitely wasn't a good match at all. and what about coria's serve? the commentator said he was struggling the whole year. i say, he was struggling through out his whole tennis career.

after his shoulder surgery last year, i thought he has improved on his serve. coz i watched him serve better and faster. but somehow or rather, he lost all those touches along the way. at one point, when the umpire said "let! 1st serve"... coria was shouting: "c'mon! this is my first 1st good serve after sometime".

"it was an ugly match, boring for spectators. But the important thing was to win. It was a very important match for me looking forward towards the Masters. read coria's post match press conference"

what about roddick? this is his 5th first match game over for the year. though this is his 2nd round but don't forget it is also his first match for the tournament. i conclude the year for roddick - miserable. when was the last time roddick did so badly on a hard court? he really should re-evaluate on what went wrong exactly.

nadal is obviously struggling too. but nevertheless, with his wrong will, he will triumph.

a look at the current draw. looks like the s-final could be like this:

nadal/davydenko
ljubicic/nalbandian

19Oct05 complete scoreboard
20Oct05 schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)
press conference

madrid masters - day 2

2005-10-19T10:58:00.000+08:00

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well well, i managed to catch 3 matches yesterday. karlovic/rusedski, ferrer/calleri and moya/volandri.

a look at karlovic's this year activity, i don't surprise to see the number of tie-break he had played. both players serve and volley through out the match. no long rally and boring!

if karlovic/rusedski match is the battle of big serve, then ferrer/~~celery~~ calleri match is the battle of big ground strokes.

i strongly believe moya should retire by now... oh, what do i know? he obviously do not have strong ground strokes anymore. i thought volandri going to win but he committed too many unforced errors to give the match to moya.

i was so excited to know that nadal is playing at 10pm today (local time 4pm) but alas, from the tv schedule, it seems they are going to show 5.30pm and 7.30pm matches only. but, nadal might not even play at all. hmm... i thought he has a very good rest for the last couple of weeks?

but my previous favourite, coria is playing at 5.30pm. yipee! me going to gym early today.

have you read the news about davenport might reclaim no.1 again? women's tennis is getting boring...

18Oct05 complete scoreboard
19Oct05 schedule of play
tv schedule (for SEA only)

article: sport psychology

2005-10-18T15:13:00.000+08:00

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"eliminate ad scoring. use four-game sets. introduce instant replay. you heard that mcenroe bigmouth? i was so good to him, and now he talks me down. bring back wood racquets. eliminate the service let. make the balls bigger..."

from tennis, october 2005 issue

(click to view the larger size to read)

madrid masters - day 1

2005-10-18T11:10:00.000+08:00

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i only managed to watch the match between chela/massu. well, what do i expect? nothing! they are the typical claycourt/south american players - trying 110% avoiding coming to the net. do you know chela had to qualify to play in the main draw? while massu, though indesit ranking is 54 but accepted in with a wild card. lucky for chela, he came out the better player. probably the earlier qualifying round do him good.

some of the players that played yesterday, will play again today. like grosjean and melzer. and am wonder why nadal is not playing today. yeah, he got a bye in 1st round but why some players have to play 2 days in a row and nadal is not playing at all in the 2nd day?

and get ready to see long legs in tight fitting top and short short skirts again in madrid.

here's some useful quick link:

17Oct05 complete scoreboard
today's schedule
tv schedule (for south east asia only) - 18Oct to 19Oct

~*~*~*~*~*

do you prefer hawk eye to be used for accuracy in line calls? apparently the international tennis federation said yes to this new technology.

this week's tournament: madrid masters

2005-10-18T09:00:00.000+08:00

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when: 17 - 23 october 2005
where: madrid, spain
defending champion: marat safin
view draw: single
official website:www.tennis-masters-madrid.com

US open - conclusion

2005-09-12T10:00:00.000+08:00

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i know my last wimbledon conclusion was rather lame. so i’m giving you a looooooooooooooong conclusion this time.

the final:

i have to admit, i was rather too harsh on federer. ever since i watched him won his first grand slam at wimbledon in 2003, i expect him to play like that - flawless and faultless!

the american crowd is pathetic! they cheer for agassi AND the service fault of federer. now, if that’s the only way agassi going to win (from federer’s double fault), you better wait for agassi to retire then. and thank god, federer never committed a single double fault in this match.

almost every players have the same tactic in playing federer - attack his backhand. ok, maybe with the exception of hewitt. and his backhand definitely not working as normal this morning. i miss those amazing cross court backhands.

federer curls
image from gettyimage

i love those curls! and guess what? i have the similar curls too. :oops:

while federer was on his way in winning his 2nd us open, roddick was in front row fashion show and cosying with the hk model maggie q.

roddick front row
photo from gettyimage

kim clijsters
photo from gettyimage

and kim looks so pretty!

here’s the overall conclusion…

my favourite quotes:

“I am 30 and I have been on the tour for 17 years and there are still firsts for me”
Mary Pierce surprises herself after reaching the US Open semi-finals for the first time.

“I am just thinking, ‘Why is my favourite score 7-6 in the third?’”
Elena Dementieva gets philosophical after her last-gasp defeat of Lindsay Davenport.

“I just couldn’t lose to a bloke wearing a shirt like that”
Lleyton Hewitt is relieved to beat Dominik Hrbaty - and his cut-out pink shirt.

“It tells you that even a blind dog can find a bone every now and then.”
Las Vegan Andre Agassi on dismantling Xavier Malisse in five sets.

“The guys in the locker room are telling me I will have more gay fans. Andre (Agassi) said ‘you should give it to the women’s locker room.”
Dominik Hrbaty on his see-through pink and black shirt, which also has two holes cut out in the back.

“I’m at the stage where I’ve thought to myself, ‘If I dress like my wife, maybe I can play like my wife’. Been working, by the way.”
Andre Agassi on why he now plays in classic tennis whites rather than the more flamoyant attire he used to wear.

“Berdych, do you want your binkie?”
An Agassi fan tells Tomas Berdych to stop complaining to the referee. Binkie is American slang for a child’s dummy.

“It’s sort of water off a duck’s back.”
Lleyton Hewitt on whether he worries what other people think about his behaviour on court.

“Oh, I’m upbeat. I just haven’t gotten interesting questions yet. Sorry, guys.”
Maria Sharapova on why she seemed a little downbeat in her post-match news conference.

“It’s so windy today I’m really glad I had a piece of chocolate cake last night or else I would have been blown away out there”
And Maria Sharapova has her own way of dealing with the New York weather.

“Obviously, they’re more sexy, they show more skin and they talk more about that than actually their forehand and backhand. I get one question about fashion basically, but I think that’s how it should be”
Roger Federer spends his day off commenting on the role of fashion in women’s tennis.

“If you’re going to win the majors, you’re going to have to beat him somewhere along the line,” Hewitt said of Federer.

“And now Clijsters, at 22, is no longer the best women’s player without a Grand Slam. That albatross now falls around the neck, that monkey lands squarely on the back of Amelie Mauresmo.”

“He could, you know. But then again, he could run into the knife even more brutally”
Roger Federer when asked if semi-final opponent Lleyton Hewitt has worked out a plan to end a run of eight defeats to the Swiss.

some facts that i note:

- among the s-finalist, only genepri has yet to win a grand slam.

- all players except federer played five-setter in q-final.

- speed and aces is not the key to success in us open and anywhere else that has a player named roger federer, lleyton hewitt and andre agassi.

- muscle is also not the key to success in anywhere!

- genepri, blake, dent and surprisingly agassi were doing pretty well in this open.

- people will remember agassi/blake match forever - coz it’s a classic already - and also because i miss it (damn!).

- women’s 1st to 3rd round is getting easier to play for the top guns.

- amelie mauresmo is a big time loser!

- that i bloody hate mary pierce.

matches that i wish i could watch:

agassi/karlovic
blake/nadal
sharapova/mirza
genepri/gasquet
coria/massu
federer/kiefer - watched the ending
clijsters/v.williams
genepri/coria
dementieva/davenport - watched the opening 2 sets
agassi/blake

us open - day 13

2005-09-11T10:00:00.000+08:00

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the open is taking the toll on me. i haven’t been sleeping that much for the past 2 days. on saturday, i slept for 2 hours only.

i really wanted to stay awake and watch the whole agassi/genepri match last night (or this morning)… but i was fallen asleep on the 4th and 5th set until 5-2 on the 5th. i haven’t really seen agassi playing so far and couldn’t believe he’s still very sharp on his shoots. he walks like a kid after winning the match and don’t you think he might be immitating his son? :-D

what do you think? hewitt is going to defeat federer in another 2 matches. he gets better and better on federer and how federer responded? sigh! man, i am gettting frustrated with him. getting bored watching him? wait, he might surprise you with another hard fought victory or lose!

look at how many unforced errors he has. amazing! and it really getting into my nerve watching him plays.

congratulations kim! finally, you won. two years ago, she was in the final with justine. i was rooting for her too but alas, as usual, she panicked in the last minute.

And now Clijsters, at 22, is no longer the best women’s player without a Grand Slam. That albatross now falls around the neck, that monkey lands squarely on the back of Amelie Mauresmo. - from espn.com

that’s so true! finally, kim will not be asked for her grandslam failure. maybe the media will start asking her about her love life!

ok, i’m all ready for tomorrow men’s final.

us open - day 12

2005-09-10T10:00:00.000+08:00

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I BLOODY HATE MARY PIERCE!

seems like losing the match? no sweat - fake injuiry, waste more time and act like a bitch! if you know me, you should know i despise mary pierce even before this open. now, i BLOODY HATE her!

what injury? she bloody fake it! dementieva was on a roll and then she called for 12 minutes injury time out. not forgetting that stop-play-stop style of hers! what happen to the 24 seconds rule in between play? every time she serve, she’ll take more than 30 bloody seconds. where’s the warning? and i damn hate her adjusting that stupid hair of hers. it’s BLOODY TIGHT, stop adjusting it and waste more time.

it was obvious, pierce was struggling with long rallies - she’s 30, for god’s sake! how to make up from running for long rallies? adjusting hair, looking around the crowd and dragging her time.

when she’s on the winning side (other matches) she never waste time in adjusting hair!

now, i really bloody hate the VIRGIN MARY!

“Taking a 12-minute timeout, I don’t think it was fair play, but she can do it by the rules. If that is the only way she can beat me then it is up to her”
Elena Dementieva is not impressed as she loses to Mary Pierce in three sets. from bbc sports

as for clijsters/sharapova match - sharapova was literally handed the match to clijsters. all kim needed to do was to make sure all her returns are in the court and sharapova will do the job for her. AND occassionally, kim will hit some winners too.

sharapova should stop looking for answer from her father. instead, she should just calm down and regroup herself. she’s a hard cookie, she always mentally stronger than any other players. but did you see her helplessly looking for “the answer” from her father? at one point, i thought she’s going to cry out loud!

i think she did a good job in changing her tactic to serve and volley. but alas, when you are not in form, you are just not for everything!

i also couldn’t understand why sharapova responded only when she was 5-feet underground (you know, 6-feet means you are fully inside the grave). i thought i could go back to sleep at 5am… nope, she fights back and drag on to another hour. and when kim ready to close out the match, she fights back again. this could drag on forever but as i said “if you are not in form, you are just not for everything!”

did you notice that most of the unforced errors from women’s players are the result of over-hitting? while men tend to hit into the net, mis-hit and occasionally over hit.

“He could, you know. But then again, he could run into the knife even more brutally” Roger Federer when asked if semi-final opponent Lleyton Hewitt has worked out a plan to end a run of eight defeats to the Swiss. from bbc sports

roger, that sounds like a warning! and once again, everyone is figuring out how to stop federer! a guarantee make you laugh article and… they are so lame to think of such tactics!

jl: you started the andy’s mojo but never mention the ending. it’s up on the internet for viewing now. well, the mojo blame it on the plastic! or rather “worshipping it”.

us open - day 11

2005-09-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

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yeah, i watched the whole match this morning. this year, federer always started his match sloppy. s-t-u-t-t-e-r...

he flirts with the balls and you still can't help but fall in love with his artistic style.

something to ponder - there shouldn't be a tie break in the final set (3rd for women and 5th for men). but why agassi/blake q-final match has a tie-break? now, i know the match was really late or rather early in the morning. but how do they decide that they wanted to go for tie-break instead as stated in the rule?

ok, who's your favourite to win the women's title in the us open?

a. kim clister
b. elena dementieva
c. mary pierce
d. maria sharapova

the voters that visited espn.com give 51% to sharapova. but i voted for clister, of course.

and who's the most dominated athletic in their field?

a. roger federer
b. tiger wood
c. anika sorenstam
d. i forgot already :oops:

and people voted federer on espn.com. (they have taken down the poll) and of course i voted federer too.

i bet by now you should know there were few celebrities attended the match between dementieva/davenport and agassi/blake yesterday. guess who got the most photos? i've checked out gettyimages and surprisingly there were so many photos of nicole kidman. but where's the photos of dementieva or davenport? (got lah but not so many)

us open - day 10

2005-09-08T10:00:00.000+08:00

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once again, i'm right! and it was a close call...

it must have been an exciting match and i really wish i could watch it. damn! when blake was 2 sets up and leading on the 3rd, i was telling dickhead: gone case liao! and suddenly, the "salty fish got alive"! (try translate directly into cantonese) hahahha!

6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6

so i asked dickhead:

"what will happen in the final set?"

"tie-break..."

ooooohhhhhhhh.......... i was hoping the score line will be something around 3 and 6... :-P

and finally, coria ended his "fairy-tale" run in us open. fairy tale coz he isn't really the in-form player at the moment. and i wonder what the hell he's doing in the q-final too. he reached q-final in 2003 too but back then he was the in-form player after winning back to back 3 clay court titles.

and do you know coria actually out-performed federer in aces? coria has 42 compares to federer's 38. but soon that will be history coz federer got another 2 more matches to go. hoo-ray federer!

this morning, i watched a bit of dementieva/davenport. if you watched the match, did you see the "little mouse" on dementieva's fore arm? :-) i notice that little mouse since last year's french. besides, i also noticed her heavy groundstroke. i'm not a pervert but a tennis freak!

i wonder why suddenly those "aged" players started to get better and better - first, it was davenport now pierce. last year, when i watched pierce in one of the wta tournaments, she was fat and unfit. suddenly, she reaches 2 grand slams' s-final?!

us open - day 9

2005-09-07T10:00:00.000+08:00

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my prediction: i'm only wrong on verdasco but i already admit that i'm not familiar with nieminen. so, you think my prediction for the s-final will correct as well?

i have a confession... i woke up at 6am this morning because of stomachache. after came out from the toilet, conveniently i switch on the tv... lucky for me, i watched federer won the match. and kiefer made some incredible shots too. don't you think kiefer look a bit like colin ferrell? :oops:

i am disappointed. last night, the tv only start showing us open at 12 midnight. but they weren't showing the men's 4th round which was playing at armstrong court (nieminen/verdasco). instead, they were showing the men's doubles on ashe court. it would be nice and no harm to know a bit of nieminen/verdasco.

once again, thanks to the world cup qualifier, tv is not showing the matches until tomorrow 7.30am.

and PLEASE (everybody pray): kim, i really want you to win this year's us open.

us open - day 8

2005-09-06T10:00:00.000+08:00

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my prediction is correct.

agassi vs blake
coria vs genepri

you could say i was pretty pround of myself! *lol* but my prediction might not be accurate for the first half. i have never seen the guy that nalbandian is going to play and kinda forgot now nieminen looks like.

i watched a bit of henin-hardene/pierce match this morning. i was rather surprise to see a helpless justine. i definitely didn't see the real power of pierce in hard court before.

it's true - men players tend to keep the way they look for as long as they're still in the tournament - look at the dirty beard of blake.

i thought mitv would be my saviour... *blah* they don't even have a single sports channel, for god's sake! someone please tell mr vincent tan, who owned mitv, that sports is good, sports is healthy (might turn into unhealthy if we only watch it), sports is our life (at least tennis is for me)...

for a starter, may i suggest mr tan to bring in tennis channel for me, the nba channel for dickhead, mutv for both of us... hahahha!

us open - day 7

2005-09-05T10:00:00.000+08:00

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I AM FURIOUS! i woke up early this morning and the stupid astro was showing clister/unknown for 20 minutes and rudely switch to the unimportant women's doubles match...

err... don't they (astro) know their domination time is over now? check out our new pay tv (launching tonight) - -> mitv. but mind you, i was trying to access it just now but couldn't. bet every astro hater must be overwhelming the website right now. you fucking asshole astro!!!! see how you going to stuck your big fat ass everywhere and whore our money!

back to tennis... it's getting tougher and tougher. from R3 onwards, almost every players are playing 4 setters with the exception of massu vs dunno-who and nalbandian match is still in progress.

wait! you must be screaming - that include my beloved roger federer... :-)

but sadly that loud-hailer hewitt is still in the game. bet he needs someone like federer to kill off his voice as always. *lol*

here's my prediction:

quarter
top half
federer vs nalbandian
hewitt vs verdasco
bottom half
coria vs ginepri (gasquet is tempting too)
agassi vs blake

s-final choice is:
federer vs hewitt
ginepri vs agassi

and final is:
federer vs agassi

what's yours?

us open - day 6

2005-09-04T10:00:00.000+08:00

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probably not watching? who am i kidding? :-P

i didn't get up as early as 7am but i did watch genepri/haas match though. i don't think i have watch them play for more than 5 times in their entire career. so i'm not going to start yakking away about this match.

but look at the figure of american men still alive at the moment. pretty impressive, i should say. players like dent, genepri and blake don't normally survive into the 2nd week. (ok, dent is not in the 2nd week yet but i'm definitely cheering for him). i believe the american were awaiting for roddick instead of these 3 players.

i have checked the statistic of nadal/blake match. though i didn't watch it but i can see from there that blake was either serve and volley or chip and charge. and definitely a risk taker and a more creative player than nadal. at the end, the experience excel over power.

ace leader:

1. I.Karlovic - 62
2. G.Kuerten - 44
3. A.Murray - 38
4. T.Haas - 37
5. T.Dent - 35
5. M.Mirnyi - 35
7. R.Ginepri - 34
7. X.Malisse - 34
9. A.Agassi - 31
9. T.Robredo - 31

5 out of the top 10 ace leader are out of the tournement. something to ponder about. power is not the key to success in us open. :-)

good news for me too - the tv is going to start showing live matches as early as 11pm (according to their schedule though arthur ashe court starts at 11.30am) probably they're going to show the ladies' at louise armstrong court to us first.

what a surprise, coria and srichaphan are still alive! *lol*

us open - day 5

2005-09-03T10:00:00.000+08:00

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i am insane! i need someone sane to tell me i am insane. i slept for only 4 1/2 hours this morning. why? because i was watching sharapova last night until 3am... in fact, i dozed off before the match ended. and woke up again at 7.30am to watch venus/hantuchova (more sleeping than watching though!) and federer/santoro.

ok, do i need to say more about federer/santoro match? you can't disagree with me if i say it's getting easier in playing federer nowadays. they played before in aussie open, in round 2 if i'm not mistaken. back then, everybody predict it was going to be a tough match but alas what tough match? easy meat for federer.

this morning match was pretty excited though. i like to watch federer because he always give me ease and not fasten my heart beat. but he did this morning. i was disgusted more than cheering coz he made so many unforced errors until i started cursing him. :-D

seriously, why they use only 2 line judges instead of 3 (in the center)? the line judge made few mistakes in the serves, 1 or 2 of them are important points. anyone support in the hawk-eye/point checker/computer line judge?

congratulations sania. wait, first i must grunt! though they were showing sania's match, i wasn't able to watch until 12.30am because astro supersports was showing live golf. i managed to watch the 2nd set. as always, sania is the risk taker. she always go for it and attacking the opponent's serve and short ball. she hit the balls real hard. but can she match sharapova? we'll see. but who's your bet?

for your info - thanks for the world cup qualiflying matches, the tv is not showing live tennis until 7am tomorrow. :-( that means, i can only watch lindsay and some unimportant guys playing. and i might not even watch it - not worth waking up early for.

us open - day 4

2005-09-02T10:00:00.000+08:00

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ace leader - karlovic, 62 as at today. a more believable contributor compares to kuerten! :-P

it's a great thing when federer was not scheduled to play on thursday! coz he'll be playing at night session tomorrow! i'll be able to watch him at home in the morning. and once again, sania mirza is given another chance to play at louise armstrong court - 1st match of the day. though i would love to watch her but i bet the tv is going to show the arthur ashe court match instead of hers.

alrigh-ty.

i watched the match between mauresmo vs karatantcheva - i remember her as the girl who bad mouth sharapova last year, this morning. *lol* ok, to be fair, the media do not refer her as that. instead, they remember her as the girl who beat venus williams in roland garros this year. and she is no match at all for mauresmo.

"The American (davenport) later admitted that the early rounds of Grand Slams had become easier since seedings were extended from the top 16 players to the top 32."

i am so agreed with davenport. looking at the scoreboard, easily you can spot double bagel or 6-1, 6-2 results. especially vs those top guns. sometime, those matches is really un-watchable - like mauresmo vs karatantcheva.

and a small cheers for coria for entering the 3rd round quietly. see? told ya, he has improved his hard court though he's not the player he used to be anymore.

us open - day 3

2005-09-01T10:00:00.000+08:00

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the ace leader - kuerten (total 35 as at today). err... what? how can a clay court player hit so many aces on a hard court?

watching live tennis now... actually live score lah. the match between nadal and jenkin. finally, the rain came to the us open today. first, it was the wind now the rain. then follow by fedex! :-)

i must first congratulate sania mirza on a good performance by reaching the 3rd round. i didn't watch the match though. but i watched a bit of hewitt vs costa match last night. it was not worth waiting for... costa basically just gave in. it was a boring match... err wait, was there a match at all?

i must admit i don't know how the schedule works. bottom half to play first then followed by first half on the 2nd day. but why hewitt played only on the 3rd day? coria supposed (according to "my" schedule) to play on wednesday but he's not...

you should check out the players' quote here. one of them is:

"It's so windy today I'm really glad I had a piece of chocolate cake last night or else I would have been blown away out there"
Maria Sharapova has her own way of dealing with the New York weather.

us open - day 2

2005-08-31T10:00:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

S.H.O.C.K.!

i was cheering pretty loudly at home for roddick. i even wanted to start a statistic on how many tie-break he's going to have this time around. but blah! after 3 tie-breaks, he crashes out.

recently, roddick's performance has not been consistent. remember, a week after he won in an atp event, he crashes out on the rogers masters. after that he bounced back to reach final in the cincy masters? he improved tremendously on his volley but not his consistency. hmm... sounds familiar? safin is one of them.

last night, i was watching federer. he was the usual self. no sweat... ok, sweat because of the heat and humidity and not because of his opponent. and davenport started slowly. deja vu - well, she started slowly on clay too and played 3 sets most of the time at roland garros. and the chair umpire made 2 mistakes by overruled the line judge which favoured davenport. talking about bad judgement. one of the mistakes, it was on the line right infront of the umpire. she must be blind not to see the ball was out!

i just hate how the british media give murray that much coverage and rate him highly. i think he's a spoil brat alright after watching him in wimbledon. and guess what? sarnia mirza will play on louise armstrong court later tonight. louise armstrong court is the 2nd largest court after arthur ashe court, if you don't know yet.

us open - day 1

2005-08-30T10:00:00.000+08:00

listen to this entry

there are total of 14 days for me to talk about a sport that (i estimate) only 1 out of 50 (or more) people in malaysia that watch it - the US open, tennis that is and not golf.

i left my house at 9am this morning. no prize for guessing what i was doing so late at home - sharapova was live on tv.

i couldn't remember whether espnstar was showing it or not last year but i was rather surprise to see astro supersports is showing the event. if you don't know yet - normally, the programs on espnstar in malaysia is 3 minutes later than singapore. but since astro supersports is showing it, it is "oh-so live" and no commercial break every time they change ends too! :-)

daniilidou might be over-rated as a tough opponent for sharapova... if she's that good, how come she's not seeded? oh well, how much i really know?

though today is the merdeka eve, i'll be at the gym and no plan for me and dickhead to celebrate outside. but we gonna watch the fireworks... err, at home? *lol* not going out meaning more tennis at home.

a reminder: federer is playing the 1st match at arthur ashe court. and i'll be entertained by lindsay and roddick tomorrow morning as early as 7am.

cincinnati masters

2005-08-01T14:43:00.001+08:00