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Tennis Notes: WTA Looks at On-Court Coaching; Simmons Rips Tennis; Serena Still Fat?
Posted on July 15, 2006
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Q&A with ESPN's Bill Simmons: "Tennis (Flushing Meadows, NY): Will anyone ever, ever care about me again?! Bill Simmons: Hey, it's tennis! I was just thinking about you on Sunday as I tried to watch the Federer-Nadal match. What happened to you? That sport is on life support; we may have to eliminate men's tennis altogether. What a yawner. The technology has just gotten too good, with those rackets and the improved conditioning, it's like baseball allowing batters to use HGH and steroids AND corked aluminum bats. Ridiculous. You should not be able to hit a backhand that goes 150 mph and dips at the last second."..Quick, name the two match-ups in the Fed Cup semis...Serena Williams in a conference call prior to her Cincy appearance: "I just needed to take some time for myself, for my knee, mentally. I was going through a lot of stuff in my life, a lot more than everyone would know. I was taking on a lot, I was playing but I wasn't mentally ready to play and that had an effect on my knee. I needed time to clear my mind. But tennis is what I like to do best...Match toughness is what I'm most worried about, getting back, playing some matches, getting used to points, knowing what points are best to win...Tennis only lasts so long. Family lasts forever, happiness lasts forever and that's what I've stuck with. Now I'm playing tennis and I'd like to play my best. I hope I'm in good shape. I hope to stay well, stay fit, keep my knee in shape. I'm taking it tournament by tournament. I'm not looking ahead." -- Uhh, "knowing what points are best to win"? Huh? "Hoping" she's in shape? Serena needs a coach, a life coach...From Dan Weil writing for FOX Sports on what he learned from Wimbledon: "The men's field lacks depth. Federer and Nadal currently have no obvious challengers. Baghdatis may grow into a formidable competitor against them. And Andy Roddick could rebound to offer them some resistance. Marat Safin would worry the Big Two if he was healthy and truly committed to his tennis. But it's been 18 months since he was a real threat, so it's unlikely he'll re-emerge at the top. Lleyton Hewitt has probably peaked. Federer and Nadal's games appear too big for him. David Nalbandian reached the final of Wimbledon in 2002, but his game and intestinal fortitude are more limited than Federer or Nadal's. Ivan Ljubicic doesn't look ready for primetime." -- So two of the likely greatest players of all time emerging at the same time means the whole sport lacks depth? Then some swipes at Safin, who has been injured, and Ljubicic? Time to go back to covering golf...Taking "cutting edge ideas" too far, the WTA Tour has announced it will experiment with ruining singles, turning tennis into a team sport by introducing on-court coaching this summer at events in Montreal and New Haven. As long as players designate an individual, from a coach to another player to, say, an ESPN commentator or a random fan, that person can come on court once per set and once during the set break for coaching during change-overs: "As we seek to strike a balance between our core traditional strengths as a sport and the desire to increase the accessibility of our athletes to fans, we will continue to experiment with cutting-edge ideas," said Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA Tour...Rafael Nadal has pulled from next week's ATP event in Stuttgart citing a "hand injury"...Those Fed Cup semifinals are looking pretty important this weekend, with world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Venus Williams all taking a pass -- to rest...From DNAIndia.com: "India will host the inaugural Asian Hopman Cup mixed team tennis championships to start from November 13. The $70,000 prize money event has been allotted to the All India Tennis Association by the Asian Tennis Federation for a period of three years and the winner will be given an entry into the main draw of the Hyundai Hopman Cup. The Asian Tennis Federation and the Hopman Cup are entering into an agreement for having the event every year before the annual Hyundai Hopman Cup, which is held in Perth, Australia in December-January...From TennisReporters.net: "Although he is rapidly balding, Sampras looks to be in good shape. However, in Sacto, he appeared a little bored, frequently yawning. He also hasn't quite gotten the team concept yet, often sitting by himself and rarely standing up to cheer on his teammates. Just imagine if Sampras doesn't win a singles contest during his seven match WTT campaign. Who is going to be whispering comeback then?"...Paradorn Srichaphan has hired Dean Goldfine as a part-time coach...Thomas Johansson has been talking with the Swedish press on his disappointment that Mariano Puerta will be let back on tour in 2007 after multiple positive drug tests...From Tennis Week: "Andy Murray made headlines when he knocked two-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick out of the grass-court Grand Slam last month. Murray will hit the shelves when the 2007 Wimbledon concludes. The Random House Group announced today it has acquired the rights to publish Murray's autobiography. Century will publish the autobiography in hard cover two weeks after the end of Wimbledon in the summer of 2007, with an Arrow paperback the following year." -- Wow, the autobiography of a teenager who just cracked the Top 50. Pass...Justine Henin-Hardenne says she will not play, but will show up to support Belgium vs. the U.S. in the Fed Cup semis...Serena Williams on her physical shape entering Cincinnati: "I don't know. I hope I'm in good shape. I'm trying to stay well, stay fit and I don't know. I've always been insatiable so we'll have to see." -- Uhh, insatiable...how? Not training. Appetite?
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