Posts Tagged ‘Tennis’

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus hits a return to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships in London

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus hits a return to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships in London
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus hits a return to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships in London June 22 2010. REUTERS/Phil Noble

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When do you think we’ll see tennis stars Venus Williams and Serena Williams do a tag-team WWE wrestling event?

They are sort of pumped up, and Serena does have a very nice backside . . .

Can anyone tell me what is the sponsor for Sania Mirza’s Tennis Racket this Australian Open-2008?

The sponsor is the one which appears on the net of her racket..

Made in Romania – TENNIS – NEW CHAMPION ALEXANDRA DULGHERU

Made in Romania – TENNIS – NEW CHAMPION ALEXANDRA DULGHERU

ATP Tennis – James Blake Loses in the First Round and is out of Wimbledon

The American and ATP No. 17th, James Blake, was unable to win for the third straight time in Grand Slam tournaments, losing against the 50th ATP-ranked, Italian Andreas Seppi, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(5), this past Monday.

Blake had beaten the Italian in their last two meetings, but for some reason he couldn’t do it this time at Wimbledon. Moreover, the American also lost in the first round of this year‘s French Open, after exiting in the fourth round of the Australian Open back in January.

Nevertheless, Blake thought he was ready for Wimbledon since he has trained hard and his fitness was extremely well, but maybe his confidence was the problem.

Since the beginning Blake started making too many errors, which gave Seppi an advantage in the first set by winning it 7-5.  During the second set, Blake expected to take advantage of his best shot, the forehand, but Seppi managed to neutralize it forcing Blake into exchange backhands and at the end the Italian won the second set as well, 6-4.

In the third set, Blake though he had chances to get back into the match when he held one set point with a lead of 6-5, but he missed a forehand that went too long and tied the set. Blake then missed a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker when the Italian went into a 7-0 run to win the set and the match.

At the end of the match, the American expressed his frustration for his bad performance and the disappointment of not getting further in Wimbledon.

“I still feel like I can play with anyone in the world, but it’s just, for some reason lately, it’s been very inconsistent. I’ve been doing all the training. I’ve been doing all the conditioning. I’m fit as I’ve been. I just haven’t been as confident, I guess.  But I still have the ability. It’s just frustrating, because it’s happening at big tournaments where I’m having my not-so-good performances,” stated the former world No.4.

On the other hand, the Italian Andreas Seppi stated his satisfaction on his performance especially because he played more aggressively than usual on Blake’s serve, which used to be one of his weaknesses.  Seppi also said that he was a little happier when he found out that his opponent would be Blake, instead of Juan Martin Del Potro, as it was originally planned but changed after the bracket was modified due to Nadal’s withdraw. According to Seppi, Del Potro has a very strong serve and he considered he would have a better chance with Blake, which he proved right on Monday.

Now after this loss, James Blake expects to regain his confidence and play better in the following tournaments since he knows in spite of his age, he still can compete within the top 10 players of the ATP rankings. Whereas for Andreas Seppi, this win increases his confidence and grows his expectations to advance in the tournament.

The next opponent of the Italian will be the French Marc Gicquel and the game will be played on June 24th.

Tennis Lessons – No Fear Of Losing

I have taught tennis players from all competitive levels not to dwell on past failures, but to keep moving forward, to always look ahead and never look back when.

I teach them that bad cycles will occur, so they should stay relaxed, wait for the cycle to change and the tide WILL turn….if they keep the right mental attitude.

I give them phrases like, “the next shot is more important than the last mistake.” Or, “in order to be good I have to make mistakes.”

I prepare them for the inevitable frustrations that will happen when they learn and play tennis. Does it work? Yes, most of the time, but sometimes the overwhelming negatives are just too much for the players’ emotions. As a result, they begin to analyze their foibles incorrectly. They whine, “All my practice and tennis lessons and look at what I have done! I couldn’t even make an easy shot. I’m such a horrible player.” Their focus goes off course; they drown in a flood of negatives. Usually all this drama begins because they are losing, NOT necessarily because they are playing poorly.

Let me tell you what tennis coach Robert Lansdorp saw in Maria Sharapova when he watched her play tennis at 14 years old. Even while she was suffering a devastating loss, throughout the entire match she continued to go for her shots again and again and again. Coach Lansdorp recognized this as the number one quality for a great player. You, too, should remember that if everything falls apart in your tennis game you can grab onto this one principle and ride out the storm!

In an article in Tennis Life Magazine (June 2005), the writer Alix Ramsay states: “By the time [Sharapova] was 14 and losing in her first professional tournament … Lansdorp knew he was onto something good. Mopping up the tearful teenager after she had been roughed up by an older, more experienced girl on the slow clay court, Lansdorp tried to convince Sharapova and Yuri [her father] that everything would work out all right in the end. Sharapova was going to make it.”

Lansdorp said, “I saw right there, the way she played: she played without fear. She wasn’t good enough that day because she would miss a ball, her shots weren’t accurate enough, but she had no fear of hitting it. She would never hold back or be afraid to lose. Every great champion, they have that when they walk on the court: they have no fear. They hate to lose but they are not afraid to lose.”

Did you catch the irony? Sharapova just got destroyed in a tennis match and Coach Lansdorp thinks she is unbelievably fantastic and is going to make it! What is this all about?

Before I go on, let me tell you something about Robert Lansdorp. He coached and was instrumental in the careers of Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport. I believe he may be someone we just might want to pay attention to! Maria Sharapova was brought to him for tennis lessons at the age of 11 because she had potential. Someone got that one right!

Did you notice that after Sharapova lost the match, Lansdorp did not say, “she is missing too much, that’s the big problem here. I have to straighten all of that out.” To Lansdorp, missing when she played tennis was irrelevant. Instead he keyed in on the fact that she had no fear of hitting the ball and no fear of losing. He totally ignored the loss!

Let me put this into simple terms for you. The most important principle to master when you play tennis is, “No fear of losing!”

Of course Lansdorp will go back to the drawing board with more tennis lessons and improve Sharapova’s consistency and accuracy, but that was NOT his main focus after the devastating loss. His focus was her mental attitude.

In Lansdorp’s mind she was a winner not because she won or lost a match, but because she lost with the correct mental attitude. This is the stuff of champions!

Champions do not win all the time – they just never give up trying! Maria Sharapova never quit in that match; she just kept swinging and swinging and swinging. To this day she is still swinging away when she plays tennis. In fact, she swung her way to a Wimbledon title!

Now wipe the frown off of your face, get back on the courts, play tennis and keep fighting…I don’t care how many times you lose! That is the stuff of champions.

Tennis Betting Tips ? In 2009 Yet So Far for Rafael Nadal

At the start of 2009 tennis betting tips, many thought that Rafael Nadal was set to dominate world tennis after the way he won the Australian Open, beating Roger Federer in an epic five-set final.

However, a knee injury then played its part in his shocking fourth-round defeat at the French Open, and he was not able to defend his titles at Queens and Wimbledon.

Nadal made his comeback at the Montreal Masters 1000 Event and reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to the eventual runner-up Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.

The following week, Nadal made the semifinals of the Masters 1000 Event in Cincinnati, where he lost to the Serb Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard then reached the semifinals of the US Open for the second time in as many years, but was blown apart by an inspired del Potro, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

To top it off, this weekend, Nadal reached the finals of the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, but was beaten by Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6, 6-3.

Since Nadals comeback tennis betting odds , he may not have won a title, but a Masters 1000 final and semi appearance, as well as a last four showing at the US Open, prove that it has been a case of so near, yet so far for Rafa in 2009.

If Nadal can find his best form , then he could yet upset the tennis betting tips and win the Masters Cup in London next month

Wimbledon 2010 – Longest Match Ever, Longest Tennis Match i

2010 Wimbledon, John Isner and Nicholas Mahut, day 2 of the longst match in history. This video shows the highlights from Sportscenter of the match. The match has taken over 9 hours at this point. Over 180 aces, 700 points played, 434 winners, 5th set has taken over 6 hours. The match will be continued on 6/24/2010 at 10:30 AM on ESPN U or ESPN 2.

Tennis Videos. Where can I find actual tennis match video of Maria Sharapova and others?

I am not looking for sexy video or her TV ads, just tennis play because I admire her as a sportswoman. It is frustrating because even her websites mostly display her TV ads. Please Help! Thanks, J

Where can i get Blue Tennis racquet grip like Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray?

They both have blue grip on thier rackets so where can i get it? And what is it> is it tape or just a grip they put on it?

in world tennis, which players have given Roger Federer his toughest matches ?

I hope I spelt Roger’s last name correctly, but i watched the 2nd wimbeldon final between him and Nadal and that was close, Nadal played some crisp forehands from the baseline at times.

but which other tournaments has he had close shaves and with whom ? which players have the attributes and playing styles to trouble Federer ?

Any good way to watch Wimbledon tennis tournament 2010 live online?

Any good way to watch Wimbledon tennis tournament 2010 live online?

What do you guys think of Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova?

I admire her grit and determination to win but sometimes she can get really annoying on the court. What’s your take?

Roger Federer vs Julian Reister: French Open tennis 2010

Watch Roger Federer vs Julian Reister Live Online

Roger Federer vs Julian Reister French Open tennis 2010- Roger Federer will match up with Julian Reister in the tournament, ‘French Open 2010′ on Friday, May 28, 2010.

Match Venue: Court 1.

Time: 12:00 P.M.

Players Report:

Roger Federer will match up with Julian Reister in the tournament, ‘French Open 2010′ on Friday at Court 1.

Federer and Roddick have a long, though lopsided, rivalry. They have met 21 times during their careers, with Federer leading their overall head-to-head series 19–2. Roddick is Federer’s most frequent opponent on tour. Roddick has lost four Grand Slam finals, each time to Federer: Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and one US Open in 2006. On 2 February 2004, Federer supplanted Roddick as World No. 1 to begin his record reign of 237 consecutive weeks at number 1. Federer and Roddick are the only players to have finished each tennis season in the ATP top 10 every year from 2002 to 2010.

Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semi-final on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Nadal has not lost a French Open (4) or Australian Open (1) final, while Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing to del Potro (5). Both have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer).

Federer and Roddick have a long, though lopsided, rivalry. They have met 21 times during their careers, with Federer leading their overall head-to-head series 19–2. Roddick is Federer’s most frequent opponent on tour.[60] Roddick has lost four Grand Slam finals, each time to Federer: Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and one US Open in 2006. On 2 February 2004, Federer supplanted Roddick as World No. 1 to begin his record reign of 237 consecutive weeks at number 1. Federer and Roddick are the only players to have finished each tennis season in the ATP top 10 every year from 2002 to 2010.

The Stars Show Up for the Australian Tennis Open in 2008

The Australian summer tennis series is upon us once again. For most players the Australian Open is one of the toughest tournaments of the year due to several factors.
First of all many players use the last month of the year to take a break from the tour and their hectic travel schedules. As a result many players struggle physically to cope after this extensive layoff. To add to the drama most players are coming out of the cold winter conditions of Europe and the USA and straight into extremely hot weather conditions of the Aussie Open.
The Australian Open is notorious for players having to forfeit matches due to heat exhaustion. As a result there is a great opportunity for those players who may be inferior when it comes to talent but possess superior fitness levels.
The Australian open has undergone some major changes but none more so that the new surface that has been laid down. The green colour of the rebound ace courts have been replaced by the blue Plexi-cushion surface. Only time will tell as to the playability of the new surface. So far in the lead up tournaments in the Hopman Cup and also in Adelaide the feedback has been positive from the players.
From the men’s draw the favourite is of course Roger Federer who has proven to be a class above the other players especially in the Grand Slam tournaments. He should follow up again with another win after his emotional victory last year.
A record number of tennis fans will once again flock to Melbourne Park to brave the extremely hot weather conditions. Tennis Australia has already stated that they will not tolerate any of the fan misbehaviour as was seen last year. There were violent clashes between various groups last year including the Serbians and Croatians. There will be a strong police presence throughout the tennis complex to prevent this from happening again.
When it comes to tickets the night sessions are still very popular and always showcase the top players in action. The best ticket during the grand slam is the “Grounds Pass” for the first week where you can get courtside and watch some of the great matches on the outside courts. It is during the second week that most of the outside matches consist of the juniors, mixed doubles and veterans’ matches.
Roger Federer’s chance of winning all four grand slam tennis titles starts here in Australia. His preparation was suppose to start at the Kooyong Classic but he was a late withdrawal due to illness. Federer would have had some valuable match play against his fellow top players such as Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, David Nalbandian, Tommy Haas, Andy Murray, Ivan Ljubicic and the crowd favourite Marat Safin. The Kooyong Classic will be the first opportunity for many of the players to test out the new surface of Plexi-cushion which has replaced the controversial rebound ace.
The Australian Open always produces some great matches and we look forward to another great tournament this year. Of course it is Federer’s tournament to win but there will be some players trying to knock him off. Some of the players to watch out for include Roddick, Murray, Hewitt and Gonazalez.
On the women’s side Justine Henin is coming off another top year but will definitely face some tough competition from the William’s sisters, Maria Sharapova and the veteran Lindsay Davenport. With hot conditions predicted it will be interesting to see if Sharapova experiences the same heat exhaustion that she succumbed to last year. Davenports’ experience will get her through to the later stages of the tournament but fitness may be questioned when it comes to being able to win seven matches in a row.
Overall the Australian Open brings in record crowds and provides for some great entertainment not only to the die hard tennis fans but also those who enjoy the social experiences that are found at the open. Live music, great food and plenty of entertainment always attracts a diverse group of spectators.

French Open Tennis

Watch French Open Tennis 2010 Live Online TV Channel, Watch all the games, highlights and interviews live on your laptop or PC! Roland Garros Mens and Womens Tournament.

Tennis: Federer gets top seeding at Wimbledon

Reigning Wimbledon champion Roger Federer will be the top seed at the grass court grand slam despite losing the world number one spot to Rafael Nadal.

Federer was passed by Nadal in the world rankings after the Spaniard won the French Open earlier this month.

But Federer has won Wimbledon six times, including his dramatic final victory over Andy Roddick last year, so All England Club chiefs have decided to install the Swiss star as their number one seed ahead of Nadal.

Nadal, who was last year unable to defend the Wimbledon title he won in 2008 because of injury, is the second seed, while Novak Djokovic is the third seed and Britain’s Andy Murray the fourth.

“I will enjoy it from a distance” Roger Federer told German Press Agency dpa. “It falls right between Roland Garros and Wimbledon”.

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick moves up to fifth seed due to his fine record on grass despite being ranked seventh in the world.

Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, currently ranked 26 in the world, also receives a significant rise to the 15th seed spot after beating Federer on grass in the Halle final on Sunday.

World number eight Juan Martin Del Potro will miss the tournament because of a wrist injury so Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga move up a place each in the top 10.

Juan Carlos Ferrero at 14 and Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic at 25 are also seeded higher than their rankings in recognition of their achievement in reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year.

Meanwhile, American Sam Querrey’s victory at Queen’s Club on Sunday has earned him the 18th seed slot, up from his world ranking of 21.

In the women’s singles, defending champion and world number one Serena Williams is the top seed, with her sister Venus Williams the number two seed.

With world number five Elena Dementieva out due to injury, Caroline Wozniacki is seeded third, Jelena Jankovic fourth and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone fifth.

Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are eighth and 17th respectively, while former champion Maria Sharapova is at 16.

Wimbledon Championship Hospitality
Wimbledon Hospitality

French Open Women’s Final Tennis Betting

This Saturday sees the final day’s action for the ladies at Roland Garros as Francesca Schiavone takes on Samantha Stosur in a surprise final. Who will emerge with their first Grand Slam victory? BetRepublic.com previews the action here.

Francesca Schiavone v Samantha Stosur Tennis Betting:

Both of these players have been the surprise packages of the tournament, with Schiavone becoming the first Italian to reach a Grand Slam semi final, and now final, in the Open era while Stosur has beaten four time winner Justine Henin and world number one Serena Williams on route to the final. PaddyPower.com have made Stosur a 2/9 favourite to claim the title ahead of 13/4 for Schiavone, mainly down to whom she has beaten and the fact that she is unbeaten against Schiavone since 2005. Will that run continue or will Schiavone become the first Italian to win a Grand Slam?

In her last three matches Stosur has had to overcome four time winner Justine Henin in round four, world number one Serena Williams in the Quarter Finals and the fourth seed, and my pre-tournament favourite for the title, Jelena Jankovic in the Semis. Stosur took three sets to get past both Henin and Serena, but she completely blew Jankovic away with a 6-1, 6-2 win to book her place in her first ever Grand Slam final. Can she continue in this form to claim the 2010 French Open title?

Schiavone has beaten seeded players in her last four matches, with three of those matches being against players seeded above her. The seventeenth seed defeated Na Li (11) in round three, Maria Kirilenko (30) in the fourth round, Caroline Wozniacki (3) in the Quarter Finals and Elena Dementieva (5) in the last four. She won the first three of those matches in straight sets with the semi final match against Dementieva going on for just one set as Dementieva retired with a calf injury after losing the set 7-6. In fact, apart from the first set of her first match, Schiavone has not dropped a set on her run to the final. Can she keep that going and make history as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam in the Open era?

These two players have met on five previous occasions and Stosur leads the scorecard 4-1. The Australian has won the last four matches and Schiavone’s only win came in 2005. Of their five previous matches two have been on clay and Stosur has won both of these in straight sets, including beating Schiavone in the first round of the 2009 French Open. However, I feel that things will be different this time around with both players in highly confident moods after their exceptional runs to this point. Who will win though? Despite Schiavone having lost just one set in six matches at Roland Garros this year I feel that Stosur has had the more difficult run in terms of matches, if not opponents, and she has had to dig deeper to get the results and this will have her better prepared for whatever may happen in the final. I don’t expect Schiavone to make it easy for her though, so my money is on a 2-1 Stosur win at odds of 16/5 with William Hill.

BetRepublic.com Recommends Tennis Betting Tips:

•    Back Samantha Stosur to win the French Open by beat Francesca Schiavone 2-1 @ 16/5

Should Sania Mirza play Tennis for Pakistan after her marriage with Pak cricketer?

Roger Federer, a Rising Tennis Legend

If there’s one tennis player today who exhibits the stuff that legends are made of, it has to be the current men’s world number one player, Roger Federer of Switzerland. Since gaining the top spot in the men’s tennis rankings in February 2004, Federer has been an immovable force and now holds the distinction of staying at number one for the third-longest time behind only Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors.

And Federer has done it in style. In 2004, for instance, he became the first man since 1988 to win three out of four Grand Slam events in the same year, capturing the championships at the US Open, French Open and Wimbledon. From 2003 to 2006, Federer won an astounding seven Grand Slam singles titles and was already being mentioned in the same breadth with some of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Like many of the other tennis greats, Federer took up the game early, at age eight. He dominated the junior’s circuit for several years before joining the ATP tour in 1998, but not before an impressive reign as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion. By 1999, he was good enough to be named to the Swiss Davis Cup team. He finished the year as the youngest player ever to be ranked among the ATP’s top 100.

He won his first ATP tournament in 2001, but his big accomplishment that year was when he powered the Swiss Davis Cup team to a 3-2 victory over the United States. He was the 13th-ranked player in the world by end-2001.

He won his first ATP Masters Series (AMS) final in Hamburg in 2002 as well as the Medibank International title. The highlight of that year was when he beat two former world number ones (Russians Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov) in Davis Cup competition. Federer finished 2002 as number six in the world.

It was in 2003 when Federer started to hit his stride. He started the year by winning two tournaments in a row. In July, he also captured the Wimbledon Championships, his first Grand Slam crown. He also won the Tennis Masters Cup and led Switzerland to a semifinals appearance in David Cup action.

The year 2004 was the Year of Roger Federer as he put together one of the most dominant seasons ever seen in the open era of modern tennis. Aside from winning three of the four Grand Slam events, Federer also went home with the Tennis Masters Cup for the second straight year. He finished 2004 with a remarkable 74-6 win-loss record and was named by Tennis Magazine as its “Player of the Year.”