Hingis Plans 2006 Comeback, Hewitt a Father
Posted on November 30, 2005
McEnroe a Maybe at Senior MastersFour-time champion John McEnroe has been fighting the flu and is a question mark for his scheduling opening round at the senior year-end Masters today in London.
"John is suffering from stomach flu. He was in bed over the weekend and is taking medication," said Tournament Director John Beddington.
The 12-man Masters field consists of four groups, with the winner from each advancing to the semifinals: Group A: John McEnroe, Sergi Bruguera, Mikael Pernfors; Group B: Thomas Muster, Paul Haarhuis, Jeremy Bates; Group C: Cedric Pioline, Pat Cash, Henri Leconte; and Group D: Jim Courier, Anders Jarryd, Mats Wilander.
On Tuesday, homecountry favorite Jeremy Bates saved 10 match points to beat Paul Haarhuis after trailing 2-6, 1-4 before winning the second-set tiebreak 19-17, then a Champion's Tiebreak (first to 10) to end it.
Other winners were Sergi Bruguera (d. Pernfors), Jim Courier (d. Wilander), and Pat Cash (d. Leconte), all in straight sets.
"He started having a bit of fun, relaxed and then he hit about six great winners in 10 points," said Cash after his 7-6(4), 7-5 win over Leconte. "There's nothing you can do about that. That's the way he is, that's the way he has always been, and it's really tough to play against. It wasn't like I starting playing badly. He's a fun guy to play against, he's a great laugh, apart from when he starts hitting shots like that."
As of Wednesday morning McEnroe was planning on flying to London to compete.
Goran Ivanisevic qualified for the event but will instead be part of the Croatian team facing the Slovak Republic over the weekend in the Davis Cup final.
"I played on the Champions Tour all year, I qualified for the Masters and I would have loved to have played at the Royal Albert Hall because I heard that it has an unbelievable atmosphere and I think I had a real chance to win it," Ivanisevic said. "But, this is a chance of a lifetime for me to be in the Croatian team for the Davis Cup final...Trust me, I will be there in London next year."
Scheduled for Wednesday are Leconte vs. Pioline, Bates vs. Muster, Jarryd vs. Wilander, and McEnroe vs. Bruguera.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright had a baby girl on Tuesday: "Lleyton and Bec are absolutely thrilled," manager Rob Aivatoglou said in a statement released by Tennis Australia. "Most importantly, everything went smoothly and mother and daughter are well. Bec and Lleyton very much look forward to taking their daughter home in the coming days." The offspring was the result of a whirlwind romance after Hewitt was scheduled to marry Kim Clijsters in February...25-year-old former No. 1 Martina Hingis says she will make a tour comeback in 2006: "I was never happy that my injuries cut my career short and ultimately forced my decision to step away from tennis. I have enjoyed my time away from the court...However, I miss the game and the challenge of competing at the highest level of tennis, and I want to gauge whether I can stay healthy and compete against today's top players." Her manager Mario Widmer told Reuters: "Martina has been thinking about a return throughout this year and made the decision gradually after seeing how much stronger her tennis was becoming. We haven't yet decided how many tournaments she will play, and she is certainly not setting any targets in terms of titles or world ranking places because she first has to see how her feet react."...Brit-Scot Andy Murray on 19-year-old brother Jamie: "My brother is very talented. He was the No. 2 junior in the world when he was 13, then he went down to an LTA school in Cambridge and they ruined him. It was their fault. I want him to come back and do well because he is a good guy who works very hard. I think he's shown he has the talent."...A Florida production company has sued Maria Sharapova over the right to market the documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," produced by Byzantium Productions, Inc., of West Palm Beach. The documentary has been sold in DVD format since May, but Sharapova's camp has sent a cease and desist letter...30-year-old Spaniard Al Costa says he will play on another year: "I still feel like a tennis player and want to carry on playing as long as I keep getting invitations to play in tournaments," Costa told the sports daily Marca on Friday. "I've decided to carry on for at least another year. I want to say goodbye gradually and not all of a sudden."...Thai Paradorn Srichaphan is in the fifth day of his seven-day period of training as a Buddhist monk. "I will spend the next seven days as a monk, especially meditating, which is something I can make use of when I return to tennis," Paradorn told The Nation newspaper. Paradorn has adopted the Buddhist name "Mahaviro," which means "great and brave," serving in a temple outside the Thai capital Bangkok...Jelena Dokic, still estranged form her wacky dad, leaves this week for Australia to train for the 2006 season: "I am an Australian, I feel like an Australian and I want to play for Australia again," Dokic told The Times. "What happened before, I had no control over, the decisions weren't made by me. I wanted to go back before, but I was a little afraid of what reception I'd receive."...From AAP on Lleyton Hewitt's new addition: "Hewitt's coach, Tony Roche, is believed to be among the first to see the baby. Roche was at the hospital by coincidence, visiting his daughter who was also giving birth yesterday." Coach or advisor? How many people is Rochey coaching nowadays?...Alicia Molik speaking to the Herald Sun on Jelena Dokic's return Down Under: "I think it's in Jelena's best interests to move back to Australia. She's spoken about it a lot. I actually bumped into Jelena a number of months ago. We were crossing paths. We had a very good chat at Dubai Airport. I think she played some of her best tennis when she played for Australia and I think Australia is a country where it's very easy to make friends. Australians are very good at embracing and especially successful people."...From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Jury selection got under way Monday for a lawsuit against tennis-playing sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Sixty-one potential jurors remained as of Monday afternoon. The sisters, along with their father, Richard, are defendants in a suit brought by Women's Sports Zone Inc., which accuses the family of reneging on an agreement that Venus and Serena would perform in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on Dec. 1, 2001."...The Hawk-Eye technology went on the fritz during the opening day at the senior Masters in London and was not used...The Hopman Cup exhibition will debut the Hawk-Eye line-call-challenging technology in January: "I'm a big proponent of Hawk-Eye," said Jim Courier, who predicts the US Open will use it in 2006. "I think it's a wonderful addition, not only for the players, but more importantly for the fans. I think it will be such a value-add. I think that's what we need to do to catch tennis up to the rest of the world of sport. This is a step in the right direction."...Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino earned the Philippine team the gold medal in tennis at the Southeast Asian Games...India's Leander Paes on the ATP's doubles scoring changes for 2006: "I must say the ATP has done a good job to find a happy ground to popularize the game of doubles and not only finance more prize-money for the doubles but also increase its popularity of the game as well," Paes said in an interview with China Central Television's Sports Scene. "In the last five to seven years, we have seen doubles taking the back seat compared to the singles. It is really unfortunate, especially for a person like me who has transitioned from the singles to the doubles game. By capsuling the quantity of the match, they can predict a bit more how long it will take and put it on prime time spot which will gain more publicity for the game of doubles. It is a bit of give and take for the players and the tournaments. If they can put more of doubles on prime time TV, it will be wonderful for the game of tennis."...Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "The men's game also has reason to look ahead. His name is Etienne de Villiers. A South African of Dutch extraction, de Villiers is the newly named chairman of the ATP, succeeding Mark Miles, who was both chairman and CEO. In time, de Villiers, 55, will choose a CEO. Meantime, he has gone to work, involving himself in the ATP's activities on a daily basis in order to learn the business. "I like this guy a lot," said Graeme Agars, an Australian who serves as the ATP's vice president of media relations, which is enough for me. A very knowledgeable chap, Agars. He noted that de Villiers, a London resident, has been Disney's top guy in Europe, owns an investment company and has served on at least one of the BBC's boards. "He takes in everything," said Agars. "He is a great listener, but also very decisive."