Serena Complaints Unfounded? Gimelstob Show? Blue Clay Here to Stay?
After rejecting the WTA Dubai’s appeal of their fine for denying Israel’s Shahar Peer a spot in their tournament draw, the WTA Tour says The Dubai Tennis Championships will pay their $300,000 fine. Which to you and me is like paying the electric bill…
ADHEREL
Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters won the doubles portion of the Wimbledon exhibition on Sunday, beating Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf 7-6(6). In singles Agassi beat Henman 6-4, and Clijsters defeated Graf 6-4…
French Open wildcards thus far include John Isner, Gaston Gaudio, Bernard Tomic, Lauren Embree, and Olivia Rogowska…
French player Mathieu Montcourt’s suspension for betting on matches has been reduced from eight to five weeks by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which cited “the small amounts gambled [and] the absence of influence of the bets on the matches in question.”…
David Nalbandian is out 4-5 months after hip surgery…
Richard Gasquet is expected to have a hearing on his positive coke test within the next two months, and he will miss the French Open…
Madrid tournament promoter Ion Tiriac says that whether Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal like it or not, his event will eventually be played on blue clay (to appease their main sponsor’s company color): “We try something new every year. The ATP has nothing in the rules that does not say I cannot play in any color I want…that’s the future of the game…Nadal is a huge champion. He’s an unbelievable asset not just for Spain but for sports in general. But after Nadal are going to come the others. But an event like this is not made for two players. I hope they are going to wake up, the ATP and everybody.”…
According to the SportsBusiness Journal, the ATP is developing a new TV show hosted by Justin Gimelstob: “The ATP is developing a TV series titled “ATP World Tour Uncovered,” offering a behind-the-scenes look at the circuit. The show is being produced by British Telecom and IMG and will be sold by Pitch International, a British sales agency with soccer and rugby experience.”…
From BBC tennis blogger Jonathan Overend on Serena Williams complaining about having to play injured: “The clear implication is that she feels forced into playing through injury by an overly strict WTA rulebook. A rulebook she clearly hasn’t read properly. Nobody is forcing an injured player to play a match, that clearly would be insane and irresponsible. What the WTA has introduced, for its premier tournaments, is a requirement for injured players to turn up to the venue, shake a few hands, do some media and sponsor work. If those commitments are fulfilled — and a medical certificate is produced — the fine for not playing will be waived. The player can even turn up on any one of three nominated dates in the future, if more convenient. Serena Williams would not have been fined for pulling out of her match with Schiavone because she had already honoured her commitments and the suggestion that she would have been fined $75,000 was total hogwash. The same situation was true in Rome — a bit of handshaking and publicity work and the fine would have been waived.”…
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