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Post by jimm on Dec 26, 2007 16:12:28 GMT
Here
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Post by jimm on Dec 26, 2007 16:20:03 GMT
Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday, December 25, 2007 (Mumbai)
Tennis star Sania Mirza was on Monday signed by world's leading sports brand addidas as its first global brand ambassador.
Announcing this, Hartwin Feddersen, director of marketing, adidas India said: "Sania is one of the most recognisable faces of global tennis and is a youth icon amongst young Asians across the world. Her appeal goes well beyond tennis and the sporting world and it's only natural for us to use her as a global brand ambassador."
Commenting on the tie-up with adidas, Sania Mirza said: "I am extremely happy to be part of such a distinguished family of players and brand ambassadors. I have been associated with the brand as a junior and I believe adidas' experience and expertise will be a key part of my on-court performance. I am really looking forward to wearing the stylish 3-Stripes for many years to come."
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Post by jimm on Dec 27, 2007 11:16:52 GMT
Let’s go back to basics, says Court 27th December 2007, 8:30 WST
Tennis great Margaret Court says the game is ruining its young rising stars. “We’ve got to go back and teach the right stroke production, grips and everything,” she said. “I think we need a coach for the coaches. We’ve got to go back to basics, like we do in school with spelling and times tables.” Court is regarded as Australia’s finest female player, winning 24 grand slam singles titles. She became the first woman in the open era to win all four majors in a calendar year. She said Australian tennis had to go back to its roots. “We are ruining them with the way we are coaching,” Court said. “They run so many miles today instead of knowing how to play the ball or finish it off or be aggressive. A lot of those things are not taught anymore.”
Court said coaching from a young age needed to improve, with emphasis on footwork, timing and the way players struck the ball.
“We need to go back to that and then, as they get older, they can apply other things to stroke production,” she said.
Australian tennis was taking good athletes and limiting them in what they could do.
“You can look at young people and see they are not going to go far,” she said.
“They are worn out by the time they are 14 or 15 years old.
“You hear about people who are No. 1 in their age group at a very early age, and you don’t hear of them anymore.” Court said Tennis Australia must put more emphasis on individual coaching and on allowing young players to develop emotionally. “The mind is such a key area of being successful and believing in yourself,” she said. Samantha Stosur, ranked 46, is the highest of the four Australian women in the WTA top 100. Court disagreed with 54-ranked Alicia Molik that players of the past did not have to compete with as many nations as players do now. “Those countries may not have had the depth they do today but tennis has so much history in this nation,” she said. Court said she believed Australia could again develop the depth of playing talent it once had.
WINSTON TAN SYDNEY"
A lot of people have been saying that for a long time.
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Post by jimm on Dec 27, 2007 16:53:59 GMT
Big names on their way to Hobart
A record 19 of the world's top 50 players have signed on for the 2008 Moorilla Hobart International, tournament organisers announced today.
Ukraine's world No.21 Alona Bondarenko, Russian former top ten player Vera Zvonareva and former champion Michaella Krajicek (NED) headline the strongest field in the tournament's history.
Russian glamour girl and rising star Maria Kirilenko will make her second appearance at the tournament in 2008 and will be joined by fellow top 30 players Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) and Victoria Azarenka (BLR). Moorilla Hobart International tournament director Michael Roberts said he was thrilled with the calibre of the line-up.
“We are delighted to be able to showcase the best field ever assembled in Hobart,” said Roberts. “The Moorilla Hobart International has built a reputation for attracting world-class players and 2008 is no exception.
“The tournament always provides a great springboard for players leading up to the Australian Open and the season that follows.
“This was clear in 2007 when Serena Williams went on to win the Australian Open following her appearance in Hobart and champion Anna Chakvetadze proceeded to record her best season on tour and moved to a career-high world No.5.”
The 2008 event is set to build on last year's momentum when record crowds turned out to see the action live, while more people than ever before also followed the tournament online.
Roberts said fans would again be treated to the tournament's usual electric atmosphere and exciting on-court action.
“There is such a great mix of young stars and experienced campaigners, which is always a good recipe for gripping tennis.
“It's great to see Alona Bondarenko back again, but this time as our top seed and at a career-high ranking. It won't be an easy path for her though with players such as former top 10 Vera Zvonareva and 2006 champion Michaella Krajicek keen to start their years off on a high.”
Entertainment also moves to new heights for the 2008 tournament with Richard Gower, lead singer from the legendary band Racey, performing prior to the final. Racey were know for hits such as "Run Around Sue", "Some Girls" and "Lay Your Love On Me". In 1980 the band's album "Smash 'n' Grab" outsold ABBA and Paul McCartney.
For the first time in Hobart an exciting new doubles format will also be introduced. The No-Advantage scoring rule will be used for all doubles matches, which will mean a deciding point will be played any time a game reaches deuce. There will also be no third sets in doubles matches, rather a 10-point “Super-Tiebreak” will be played.
Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko will be returning to the tournament for the sixth time and will be looking to outdo her previous best quarterfinal appearance in 2004. The 23 year old collected her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title in 2007 and reached the quarterfinals or better at six other WTA events to record her best season to date.
A quarterfinalist in her only previous appearance in Hobart, Vera Zvonareva is a 23 year old who scaled great heights at a young age. The Russian reached world No.9 as a 19 year old before qualifying for the season-ending Tour championships in 2004. Now on her way back towards the top 10, Zvonareva has won five singles titles on the Tour.
Agnieszka Radwanska made her first appearance in Hobart this year when she was ranked too low for direct acceptance into the main draw. A brilliant 2007 season, in which she collected her first Tour titles in both singles and doubles, saw her rise to a career high world No.25 late this year. The 18-year-old Radwanska will be one to watch at next year's tournament.
Victoria Azarenka is another teenager making a rapid dash for the world's top 20. The 18 year old began 2007 ranked world No.92 and by the season's end was inside the top 30. Her year was highlighted by two finals appearances in Estoril and Tashkent.
Russian Maria Kirilenko is well recognised as one of the glamour girls of the WTA Tour. The face of the adidas by Stella McCartney tennis range, Kirilenko won her second career title at Kolkata in 2007 and is returning to Hobart for the second time.
A sporting superstar at home in India, Sania Mirza will have big expectations in Hobart after upsetting fourth seed Kirilenko on her way to a semifinal showing this year. The Indian, an experienced doubles campaigner, was a runner-up at Stanford this year and also reached semifinals in Pattaya City and Cincinnati.
The tournament will also have a local flavour with Tasmania's top ranked female Anna Wishink having secured a wildcard into qualifying. Wishink made her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour appearance at the tournament this year and following a successful season has again been rewarded with a wildcard.
The tournament will continue to be beamed right around the world. For the first time in 2007 the event was broadcast on live and delayed telecasts to seven different countries and will occur again next year. Southern Cross will also televise the final delayed throughout Tasmania and other regional areas.
The tournament's popular night sessions will again take place from day two of the event right through until the final.
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Post by jimm on Dec 28, 2007 9:04:59 GMT
Goolagong Cawley Awarded WTA Tour's Top Ranking 31 Years Late
By Bob Bensch
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Evonne Goolagong Cawley was officially awarded the No. 1 spot in the women's tennis rankings, 31 years after the fact.
The WTA Tour said the Australian should have been top- ranked for a two-week period in 1976. The oversight occurred because paper records kept at the time were missing, the WTA Tour said on its Web site.
Goolagong Cawley, then ranked No. 2, beat No. 1 Chris Evert in the 1976 Virginia Slims Championship in Los Angeles on April 17. That moved her past the American by eight-tenths of a rating point for the period between April 26 to May 9.
Two weeks ago, the WTA Tour sent the 56-year-old Goolagong Cawley a trophy recognizing her as one of the 16 women to hold the No. 1 spot since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975.
``I'm simply delighted,'' Goolagong Cawley said on the WTA Tour's Web site. ``It's personally very satisfying and this has been the best Christmas present.''
Evert won the 1976 Family Circle Cup in May, a tournament Goolagong didn't play, to regain the top spot and start a run of 112 straight weeks at No. 1.
``Evonne was always one of the most beloved and gracious of champions,'' WTA Tour Chief Executive Larry Scott said. ``We felt once it came to light that she did in fact assume the No. 1 ranking for a period in 1976, it was important to recognize the achievement, just like with all the other 15 women who have achieved that pinnacle in women's tennis.''
Goolagong Cawley won seven Grand Slam singles championships, including four Australian Open titles, and finished second 11 times. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Post by SuperMarion on Dec 28, 2007 16:48:22 GMT
Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday, December 25, 2007 (Mumbai) Tennis star Sania Mirza was on Monday signed by world's leading sports brand addidas as its first global brand ambassador. Announcing this, Hartwin Feddersen, director of marketing, adidas India said: "Sania is one of the most recognisable faces of global tennis and is a youth icon amongst young Asians across the world. Her appeal goes well beyond tennis and the sporting world and it's only natural for us to use her as a global brand ambassador." Commenting on the tie-up with adidas, Sania Mirza said: "I am extremely happy to be part of such a distinguished family of players and brand ambassadors. I have been associated with the brand as a junior and I believe adidas' experience and expertise will be a key part of my on-court performance. I am really looking forward to wearing the stylish 3-Stripes for many years to come." Who'd be Sania Mirza. The weight of expectation on her shoulders must be burdensome. Perhaps unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, the degree of exposure she enjoys back home, means she can command brand endorsment deals the envy of other players of a similar ranking. However, the has had to deal with scrutiny and intrusion upon every corner of her life, coupled with a fanatical Muslim element that have variously been outraged at her court dress, and for playing doubles with Shahar Peer. She's a brave girl. For the past few seasons I have hoped she would go deeper into a slam. Because tennis deserves greater Asian representation. And more importantly, the Muslim world really needs strong succesful female role models. Yesterday's tragic assasination of Benazir Bhutto demonstrates this.
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Post by jimm on Dec 28, 2007 17:38:45 GMT
I agree 100%. She is one brave girl, and I hope she has a great season and future. (as long as she dosent beat Masha or Marion )
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Post by jimm on Dec 29, 2007 15:21:33 GMT
USA gains first Hopman Cup win defeating India 2-1
USA took a victory over India 2-0 in their first tie as Mardy Fish defeated Rohan Bopanna 6-2, 6-4.
India defeated USA 6-4, 6-4 in the doubles rubber.
USA will play Czech Republic Monday and India will play Australia on Tuesday.
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Post by jimm on Dec 30, 2007 12:47:48 GMT
Sharpova identifies Mike Joyce as her coach
After years of Yuri Sharapova vehemently denying that anyone other than he is Maria’s coach, Maria identified Mike Joyce as her coach.
At a press conference in Singapore the day before her Saturday exhibition match with Anna Chakvetadze, Sharapova was asked if she would like to return to Singapore again to play in a Tour event, Sharapova said: “Yes I would definitely love to, because I know that tomorrow is not a Tour event although it is still an important match.
“Every single year you travel around the world and you go to the same places and you play the same tournaments. To have an event in Singapore where I have never been to in my life - although my coach has been here plenty of times when they did have the Challenger series years ago – makes me really glad as it gives an opportunity for the fans to see me and for me to see my fans from a different part of the world. So yes, I hope that the sport can grow here and I can one day come back to play in a competitive match.”
Yuri did not travel to Singapore, and only Mike Joyce, usually identified as her hitting parter was travelling with Sharapova.
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Post by jimm on Dec 30, 2007 12:49:50 GMT
The New Year's Eve Ball at Hopman Cup is great, but be careful One of the highlights of the Hopman Cup is the New Years Eve Ball, when players have the chance to dress up in dinner suits and glittering gowns. One of the features is a charity auction, and players have often been involved in bidding for items such as a Stevie Wonder Tour jacket.
But there are also matches to be played on New Years Day, so one year Swede Mikael Pernfors sent a mannequin, suitably attired in a dinner suit, in his place. Great fun, except someone put the mannequin’s hand up during the bidding for one item and Pernfors got stuck with a $5000 item.
LOL! Hope he has a hefty bank account!
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Post by jimm on Dec 31, 2007 10:48:55 GMT
Garbin has unfinished business
By Daniel Pace December 31, 2007
ITALY'S Tathiana Garbin declared she had unfinished business at the Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament on the Gold Coast after eliminating No.2 seed Nadia Petrova.
Garbin advanced to the semi-finals at the Tier III event last January and was leading 4-3 in the opening set against former world No.1 Martina Hingis, who has retired from the tour.
But the Italian was forced to withdraw from the match due to breathing difficulties resulting from a viral illness that struck her during the week.
"I feel like I didn't finish the tournament last year,'' Garbin said after upsetting world No.14 Petrova 5-7 7-5 6-3.
"It was very bad luck because I was sick in the semi-final against Martina (Hingis).
"To come back here and win this match first round was very tough because Nadia is one of the best players in the world. I'm proud of myself today.''
It was Garbin's first win over Petrova in five attempts stretching back to 2001 and she was made to work hard for it.
The world No.36 ran down almost every shot and blunted the impact of Petrova's powerful serve.
Garbin led 5-0 in the deciding set when she began to suffer some nerves in closing out the match, allowing Petrova to claw her way back to 5-3.
But the pressure was too much for the powerful Russian, who hit a forehand into the net to hand Garbin the match.
"The key was to give her back every ball,'' said Garbin, who has been training in Marbella, Spain in the lead-up to this $200,000 event.
"I ran so much today - three hours almost - I ran for everything.''
Petrova praised the tenacity of Garbin, who reached a career-high world ranking of 22 this year before injuries hampered the latter part of her season.
"I think she played over her limit and had a really good match from the beginning until the end,'' said Petrova, adding her signature shot, the backhand down the line, didn't work.
"She was like a wolf. She was going for everything and getting every single ball.
"Well done. Hopefully she can continue playing all her matches here like that.
"I could do nothing about it. I didn't play any matches in almost three months.
"To be honest I felt at the end of the match I might make a comeback but it just didn't work out.''
The 25-year-old Petrova, who also struggled with injuries in 2007, said she would decide over the next two days on whether to enter the Sydney International starting Sunday.
Petrova wasn't the only big name player to bite the dust, with Ukraine's Yuliana Fedak defeating Hungarian teenager and No.8 seed Agnes Szavay 3-6 7-5 6-2.
Fedak, part of her country's successful Fed Cup campaign against Australia on the same courts in July, will take on Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in a second round match on Tuesday.
Defending champion Dinara Safina survived a scare before disposing of Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6 6-1 6-2 in a battle of the power hitters.
The tall Russian said she had changed her mindset after playing too defensively in the first set against Slovakia-born wildcard Gajdosova, who is an Australian resident awaiting citizenship.
"In the second set I said, 'either I'm aggressive or I make her play' but no free points anymore,'' Safina said.
"She hits the ball so hard and so fast, you have to be really awake.''
In an earlier first-round clash, two-time Gold Coast champion Patty Schnyder of Switzerland cruised to a 6-1 6-3 win over Russian Alisa Kleybanova.
AAP
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Post by jimm on Dec 31, 2007 10:58:07 GMT
Sharapova downs Chakvetadze
From correspondents in Singapore December 31, 2007
RUSSIAN star Maria Sharapova was off to a good start in her tune-up for next month's Australian Open, winning her exhibition match in Singapore against compatriot Anna Chakvetadze.
The former world No.1 is using the Singapore match and a tournament in Hong Kong later this week to fine-tune her game before launching her Australian Open assault.
Sharapova said her Asian strategy was an attempt to go one better at next month's Australian Open in Melbourne where she lost in the final in 2007 to American Serena Williams.
The former Wimbledon and US Open champion defeated her compatriot in straight sets, winning 6-0 7-6 (12-10) in 1hr 34mins with blistering first serves and clean winners from the baseline.
It was a closer match in the second set as Chakvetadze found her groove but Sharapova eventually prevailed in the tightly contested tiebreak with her powerful groundstrokes.
"I think I did a pretty good job," Sharapova said after the match.
Next up for the world No.5 is Hong Kong where she will play in the star-studded JB Group Classic tournament which features sixth-ranked Chakvetadze, reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and No.4 Serbian Ana Ivanovic, among others.
"... I am going to take every single match seriously because it is like I said, my only preparation for the Australian Open," Sharapova had said before her Singapore match.
The Russian star, who came close to adding this year's Australian Open crown to her grand slam resume, gave the thumbs up to the new Plexicushion surface for the first grand slam of the season which starts January 14.
"Well I heard it's going to be a faster surface and I also heard that it's not going to be as sticky which is going to be beneficial for all players especially in extreme heat. The court gets very sticky and a lot of injuries can occur," said Sharapova.
"So yes, I am very excited about it," she said.
Agence France-Presse
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Post by jimm on Dec 31, 2007 11:02:08 GMT
December 31, 2007
WORLD No.7 Serena Williams had to fight hard to beat Lucie Safarova 6-0 2-6 7-5 and give the US an edge in its Hopman Cup tie against the Czech Republic in Perth today.
Williams' came storming out of the blocks, her devastatingly powerful groundstrokes overpowering the 23rd ranked Safarova's and taking the opening set in 22 minutes without dropping a game.
But Safarova showed her mettle in the second set, breaking Williams' serve in the second and seventh games with quick ground work and clever drop shots, to give herself a chance.
With both players stepping up their games and the third set level 5-5, Williams, the defending Australian Open champion, then broke serve and went on to take the match in 112 minutes.
'It was definitely interesting. Lucie's a great player and I was a little off, obviously," Williams said.
"She was just hitting a lot of winners on her forehand and her backhand, she was going for broke."
Williams' year has been plagued by injury after the then ranked 81 singles player became only the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the Open era.
She said she welcomed the challenge to reach No.1 again.
"Of course I want to be No. 1, of course I want to win grand slams ... I wouldn't be out here if I didn't have those goals," she said.
Williams arrived in Perth only yesterday for the mixed team event, after a stomach illness forced her to miss the tournament's opening tie between the US and India.
Safarova's on and off court partner Tomas Berdych has come down with a stomach bug, forcing tournament officials to push back his singles match against Mardy Fish today.
The mixed doubles will now be played next, ahead of the men's singles, to ease Berdych into the tie.
The Czech team lost its first tie to Australia 2-1 on Friday, while Meghann Shaughnessy successfully substituted for Williams when she and Fish beat India 2-1 on Saturday.
- AAP
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Post by jimm on Dec 31, 2007 11:06:20 GMT
Margie McDonald | December 31, 2007
FIFTH seed Shahar Peer got an early scare on her way to a hard-fought victory over American Julie Ditty on the opening day's play at the Australian Women's Hardcourts championships on the Gold Coast yesterday.
In her first match of the new season, the Israeli found it heavy going against left-hander Ditty, ranked 84 places behind her on the WTA list.
But after dropping the first set, Peer found her range and greater accuracy to overcome the 18-year-old from Kentucky 3-6 6-0 6-2.
"It's the first match of the year. It's not that easy," Peer said. "I maybe was too much defending on the court, but in the second and third sets I dictated much more.
"So it all depends on me. If I play better, I will win and that's what happened."
The Gold Coast event is being played on Rebound Ace, since it is enjoying its 12th and last year on the WTA circuit. The Gold Coast event will combine with the Adelaide ATP event to form a combined tournament at Brisbane's new State Tennis Centre in 2009, which will be played on Plexicushion, the new surface for the Australian Open.
But Peer likes hard courts and enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2007, reaching the quarter-finals at both the Australian Open and US Open.
In Melbourne, after dismissing Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, she pushed eventual champion Serena Williams before losing 8-6 in the third set.
To prepare herself for the Australian summer, Peer has spent the past five weeks in Barcelona under new coach Jose Higueras and arrived here a week ago to acclimatise. "I've been practising well but it's slowly, slowly to get my game together. Not everything can come in one match. But I like this place. It's very relaxed," Peer said.
It was also very wet yesterday. Play was delayed three times by rain although centre court is covered with a sail-like roof.
The tropical humidity and sunshine have abandoned one of Australia's best-known beachside playgrounds while a low pressure system is parked off the southeast coast of Queensland.
The European players have been asking what everyone has been complaining about in the past, with temperatures in the mid-20s rather than the mid-30s.
Peer was the only seed who played yesterday. The tournament has attracted eight of the top 20, including Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic), Amelie Mauresmo (France) and defending champion Dinara Safina (Russia).
In other first-round results, two-time Gold Coast champion Ai Sugiyama of Japan was knocked out by Belarus's Victoria Azarenka 6-2 6-3 and France's Nathalie Dechy overcame China's Zi Yan 6-2 6-2.
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Post by jimm on Dec 31, 2007 11:08:17 GMT
Golovin impresses first up 31st December 2007, 7:45 WST
Tatiana Golovin put France on the front foot with a polished 6-4 6-3 win over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in the Hyundai Hopman Cup tie at the Burswood Dome last night.
But Juan Ignacio Chela hit back for Argentina in his first appearance at the $1 million ITF mixed-teams event when he brushed aside Arnaud Clement 6-3 6-1.
Golovin broke Dulko’s serve twice in the first set and twice in the second.
A break of serve in each set was not enough for Dulko, Golovin claiming the key points to win in convincing fashion.
Dulko was troubled by back and hip injuries and received treatment at the end of the first set and again early in the second. She failed to make the most of numerous break-point opportunities, converting just two of 10 for the match compared to Golovin’s four of six chances. Golovin said she had been glad to emerge with a hard-fought victory before France’s next tie against Serbia on Wednesday. “We have two days to recover and hopefully we will be ready for Jelena (Jankovic) and Novak (Djokovic) and we’ll have another great match,” she said. Golovin, the youngest in the field at 19, said she was mindful of the rigours of a tough campaign in the lead-up to next month’s Australian Open. Tour veteran Clement had replaced the injured Gael Monfils, who withdrew last week with a knee complaint. Chela was rarely troubled after the scores had been locked at 3-3 in the first set. The tall Argentinian took the match in 74 minutes.
RUSSELL REID
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