Davenport Done? Federer, Nadal Begin 2009 in Abu Dhabi
After digging around, this really has been a rather quiet, holiday off-season in the tennis world. No major injuries, coaching changes or even retirements to speak of. But fortunately it’s not completely without a modicum of news. ADHEREL
Top of the list goes to three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport announcing that she is pregnant with child No. 2. Davenport had entered the Australian Open, but since learning she’ll be eating for two again she’s pulled out of Melbourne as well and her playing days are “on hold” for now. My guess is that’s it for Lindsay. We’ll see her in the Hall of Fame in the summer of 2013…
Sticking to women’s tennis, Maria Sharapova has just withdrawn from the Jan 7 Hong Kong exo, and that’s not good news for Sharapova fans. Maria has been on the sideline since the summer with a rotator cuff injury in her right shoulder. My guess is if it’s not good to go for the HK exo, she’s not going to defend her Australian Open title. Shoulder injuries in tennis are real, real nasty, especially when they are not allowed to fully heal…
Speaking of injuries, just how bad are Rafael Nadal’s knees? Last we saw of the Spanish Bull, Rafa was pulling out of tournaments and skipping Davis Cup final after suffering yet another flare-up of knee tendinitis. Well, apparently he’s now doing much better. So much so that’s he’s starting his Australian Open prep early, and cashing in no doubt!
Rafa and a bunch of other top players who incessantly complain about the season’s length have decided to cut their off-season short to play an exo starting tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. The other entrants include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydeko and James Blake who will all fight it out in a three-day event with $250,000 going to the winner and God knows just how much just making the trip over. Ah, the unmistakable smell that is Middle Eastern cash.
And naturally, if you are in the area (Middle East that is), why not stick around and play another event, like Doha? And sure enough the Qatari capital will host a stellar field next week which includes Nadal, Roddick, Federer and Murray. And here we thought that a month ago Rafa really needed to cut down his hardcourt schedule. Oh well…
As for the exo, my feeling remains that if you want to get the cash, by all means go for it (especially in this economy!), but then don’t turn around complain about the schedule being too long. Enough already. (By the way, Novak Djokovic will be playing in Brisbane next week.)…
Federer was also battling his own injuries at the close of 2008 season. Fed we recall was hampered by a back injury, but now is apparently 100% healthy and mono-free. And yes, Fed’s still with Mirka, still coach-less and still spending a lot of time in Dubai hitting with lefties like Jesse Levine…
Here stateside, wasn’t much going on during the Holidays in tennis. Through a wildcard exchange program, big John Isner and Christina McHale earned wildcards last week into the Australian Open. In a round-robin format event for the card, it was Isner coming out on top (pun intended) over Wayne Odesnik, Jesse Levine and The Donald, Donald Young…
Andy Murray seems to really be into training. Nice to see the rest of “Team Murray” also getting into the act. But let’s hope Andy and his crew are mindful of not overdoing it.…
Strange if not startling news from the Andre Agassi camp. Agassi’s former manager (and friend) Perry Rogers is suing Steffi Graf! Pretty incredible…
The global economic crisis has been huge news here in the U.S. and some sports are taking it on the chin. The long-running Arena Football league suspended its 2009 season and the champion Houston Comets of the WNBA had to fold among other stories. No doubt more setbacks in the sporting world will come due during this downturn and that includes tennis. Not much has been reported thus far but I bet we’ll see a few tournaments go under and perhaps lesser prize money down the road. Who knows…
If you haven’t noticed (hard not to!) the ATP – or whatever they call themselves now – has redesigned their website. Honestly, if I wanted to go to the NASA space website I’d just type in N-A-S-A. I wouldn’t type in ATPtennis. But that’s what they’ve done with their new “World” or “Feel It” motif, and I think they’ve taken it a bit too far. With all the celestial imagery of the stars and globe I half expected to see Luke Skywalker flying around his X-Wing in the background of the tournament schedule, or have the Battlestar Gallactica hovering on the player profiles page. Hell, why not just stick an image of Darth Vader (Darth Federer anyone?) on Fed’s page, or stream HAL 9000’s voice on the rankings page?…
And of course the ATP is no longer the ATP, but now officially the ATP World Tour complete with a new logo(s), new ranking points and new names for tournaments. It seems every few years the men’s circuit has to re-invent itself with an image and marketing facelift, and for what I don’t know (though they usually say it’s in the name “making the sport easier to follow” – ha!). Not to fear though, once the new ATP CEO gets into office I’m sure he’ll vomit up his own new scheme and we’ll have yet another change.
Perhaps it’s different overseas, but here in the U.S. I just don’t see a lot of successful sports leagues or even top companies changing their name and logos every 3-4 years. But then again that’s tennis for you, and the year hasn’t even started!
Have a safe and happy New Year everyone!
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