Tennis: March 2008 Archives

OK, so here's the deal: I think Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is a real babe. I love his passionate play and those big guns of his which he misses not a single opportunity to put on display. But while I was in Palm Springs last week, some of us got into a discussion about the hotness of certain players and I was surprised at the number of guys who said Nadal just leaves them cold! They also hate his Capri pants! I wondered if I'm posting the pictures of Rafael - the three-time defending French Open champ and world number 2 - just for myself!

Let me hear from you: Rafael Nadal: HOT or NOT?

A few days ago, Martina Navratilova and her arch-rival from her playing days - Chris Evert - were scheduled to appear on "Oprah" together for a show on extraordonary friendships. It's been 20 years since they last played an official match on the women's pro tennis tour. In all, they had played 80 times dating back to 1973 with the finals tally being 43-37 in Martina's favor. They may have been fierce rivals on the court, but off the court, they had been close friends since the early 70s and remain so to this day.

As Chris' career was winding down, Martina began a fierce rivalry with another blonde superstar with steely determination: Steffi Graf. We talked about Martina playing Steffi recently in an exhibition match in Japan and she said the time they spent together there was probably the most they had ever really talked and hung out. Of the match itself Martina said: "It was fantastic. I lost 8-7 so it was close. Her chip backhand worked better than it used to. It was good, it went well. It was amazing playing her again. The first couple of games I felt like I was in a time warp. We hadn't played since 1994. It was like time stood still."

When Martina was dominating the game in the 80s, there was a stretch of five years when she would only lose 2-3 matches each season. Roger Federer has had a similar record since 2004 but is slipping a bit these days. I wondered what Martina thought of that: "He's dominated so much that when you lose a set or match, everyone gets their hopes up because they were beaten into submission. They think they have a shot at him. They are going to try that much nharder. The intimidation factor is a little dented at the moment. When you are number one, everyione plays their best against you.
"Quite frankly, I think he could use a coach," Martina added. "It's hard to get better on your own, to dissect the players. You need somebody to bounce ideas off of."

And what about the rising star Novak Djokovic who many think will end up replacing Federer at the top? "He's fantastic," Martina said. "I saw him play over two years ago and I thought, 'This guy is gonna be great. He has that presence and all the tools and he wanted it, you could tell."

It was fun to talk about tennis with Martina but the main reason for our chat was to set the record straight on false stories that she was renouncing her American citizenship which I detailed in a post yesterday. Here are some more comments on that and on the upcoming presidential election:

On speaking out in the Bush era: "It is peculiar, in 1992 when Clinton became president and he created Don't Ask, Don't Tell and I actually said, 'President clinton wimped out.' That was reported and that was the end of it. I said about four months in the Bush admininistration 'It seems to me that all the decisions that have been made are based on money and not good for the people, people were wanting to send me back to Czech Republic. And that was piror to 9-11."

Who will she vote for? "I'd like to see a change in adminstration. The war was wrong from the get-go and John McCain would be hapy to stay there the next 100 years. As far as Hillary (Clinton) and (Barack) Obama, I think they are both qualified but Hillary has more experience. For Obama to be president, to compare it to sports, a rookie captain of the football who might be the best player but (doesn't) know the ropes yet."

All Martina Navratilova wanted was to get duel citizenship so she could travel easily between the United States - where she defected to 33 years ago - and the Czech Republic where she was born.

But this led to a flood of erroneous stories published in recent weeks that the nine-time Wimbledon champion was leaving the U.S. in disgust over the policies of the Bush administration.

"Somehow, out came these reports that I was going to denounce my citizenship," Martina told me this week. "I never said those things and I don't know how it got to that point. Next thing I know, I read that I'm leaving America. It's just astonishing and insulting."

The 51-year-old athlete, who retired from pro tennis after winning the mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open in 2006, has been a U.S. citizen since 1981. Martina fled the then-communist Czechoslovakia in 1975 in a highly-publicized defection that was of great risk to her at the time. She was just 18 and didn't know if she'd ever see her family again.

That's why the false stories have cut so deep.

"This goes to the core of who I am and why I'm here," she said. "I'm very loyal and very grateful. This is my home and l've lived her for over 30 years. To have this kind of stuff said is really hurtful and disappointing. I'd like to get to the bottom of it."

"Millions of Americans have duel citizenship and I get roasted for it," Martina added. "I don't think anything less of America. But I'm proud of where I came from. When it was communist I wasn't proud of the government. Now it's a good place to be. There's nothing to be embarassed about."

The reasons for obtaining duel citizenship were actually quite simple: "It was practical because I travel a lot and I'm doing some business in the Czech Republic and have been on a monthly basis for a few years and my mom was sick."

Martina has long been something of a lightening rod for criticism because of her unfailingly outspoken nature. I reminded her of the time she was critical of the Bush administration while being interviewed by Connie Chung on CNN several years back. Chung shockingly wondered aloud why Martina just didn't go back to the Czech Republic if she didn't like the way things were in the U.S.

Martina now says of the incident: "I wondered, so if (Connie Chung) didn't agree with something she should go back to China? I thought the whole point of democracy is to be able to disagree with the govenment. That's the beauty of America."

As a major tennis fan, I've followed Martina's career for many years and she has always come across as incredibly partriotic, proudly played for the U.S. in the Fed Cup international team competition (the picture above is from the 1986 Fed Cup when the U.S., led by Martina and Chris Evert, defeated Czechoslovakia in Prague) as well as in the Olympic Games. But there is one moment from her career that I will never forget: she had just lost to Monica Seles in the finals of the 1991 U.S. Open and the crowd gave her one of the most rapturous ovations that I can ever remember.

Martina tearfully made some remarks then wrapped up her speech by saying: "I'm so damned proud to be an American."

That pretty much says it all.

Kennethinthe212 is even better than I am at spotting pictures of our favorite tennis hotties. Above is a K-Swiss ad featuring Tommy Haas, the gorgeous German star who seems to get sick or injured before big matches. Below is an image of Andy Roddick from a Bloomingdales event held earlier this week in NYC...

Caught a little bit of "Dancing With the Stars" results show last night and enjoyed seeing Monica Seles all dolled up and dancing as opposed to tennis whites and a hair bun! But Monica trailing all comers on the judges' leader board and became one of the first to be eliminated from the sixth season of the show.

Monica, winner of nine grand slam tournaments in her hall of fame career, earned just a combined 30 points (out of a possible 60) for two dances in two weeks, After her departure, I saw Monica appear on Jimmy Kimmel's show where her dancing shows were burned! "A part of me is disappointed, another part of me is absolutely relieved...I was definitely disadvantaged. I had no acting experience and this show is about being a dancer and an actress and I didn't have either so I think that really hurt me because I just could not sell the performance. I never missed a step but yet I could not sell the actual storyline."

While Monica didn't get enough votes to stay on the show, I know one person who did vote for her: fellow tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

"I''m pulling for her," Martina told me yesterday before the vote was made public. "She got so much better the second week., There's no way I could do that, to go out there out of your comfort zone. She is such a perfectionist as I am and went out there and put herself on the line."

Martina and I spoke for an interview to be posted here tomorrow and in my newspaper column on Friday. Look for it!

Tennis hottie Andy Roddick looks just as good modeling as he does on the tennis court. Andy is pictured here at the Lacoste Men's store at Bloomingdale's in New York City to help the brand celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Novak Djokovic beat Mardy Fish in the final of the Pacific Life Open on Sunday in three tough sets and after meeting at the net, the two look like they are ready to share a snog! OK, it's my own little fantasy but for some reason, most photos of Novak seem homoerotic to me...

SHOCKER: Roger Federer, the invincible number one tennis player for four solid years, lost to the most improbable of opponents at the Pacific Life Open on Saturday: a guy named Mardy Fish who is ranked number 98 in the world. Mardy has been ranked as high as 17th in the past but has more often than not failed to live up to early promise. His most prestigious achievement was winning the silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games.

But Mardy has come out of nowhere this week upsetting higher-ranked Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbanian before taking down Federer 6-3, 6-2.
The Federer loss is the Swiss star's third this season and leaves him without a title in 2008. It's also the most puzzling. A semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open is acceptable and even a loss to 11th-ranked Andy Murray a few weeks back. Murray had beaten Federer in 2006.

Speaking of Novak (pictured, right), he easily brushed aside second-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal. The Serbian has gotta be heavily favored to beat Fish in the final tomorrow. He's getting ready to rule the tennis world as Federer begins to lose his grip.

The world's second-ranked tennis player reminds me of Popeye in this picture. He's gonna need plenty of spinach this afternoon as he takes on Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open.

I wonder what Olive Oyle would think of Rafa's big guns?

Tennis champ Novak Djokovic reminds me more of Gumby than Beckham actually with the way he can bend his body to get to every and any shot. Here he is in action at the Pacific Life Open Thursday. He won his match and is now in the semifinals of the prestigious tournament.

If your name is Andy at the Pacific Life Open this week, you didn't wanna see Tommy Haas across the net from ya.

The German with the movie star looks took down Andy Roddick earlier this week then on Wednesday, eliminated Britain's Andy Murray, a player who beat Roger Federer a few weeks ago. I'm happy for Tommy who always seems to be getting injured which is quite curious since he has such a strong-looking body (I'm serious!) I've watched him practice and play many times and he's quite a physical specimen I must say.

Good luck next round Tommy. I won't be there to see it. My trip to the tourney is once again off due to scheduling difficulties...

Monica Seles showed on Tuesday night's "Dancing With the Stars" that she's a far better tennis player than she is a dancer.

But one thing Monica has in spades is courage and heart. On Wednesday, the former top-ranked female player in the world announced that she is working on a memoir.

Monica officially retired from the sport this year but has not played for several years due to a bad foot. She had won three French Opens titles in a row, three Australian Opens and two U.S. Opens by the age of 19 when a madman stabbed her in the back with a knife during a match in Germany.

It took Monica more than two years to recover physically and emotionally and she returned to win many more titles. In a statement, she said that in her book, she wants "to share how I found balance, strength and happiness in my life after a rollercoaster ride of exhilarating accomplishment and sometimes overwhelming tragedy."

Whatever happens on "Dancing," this woman is a winner.

Andy may have crashed out early at the Pacific Life Open but how many of his fellow players on the ATP tour get their own calendar? I picked this shot from several posted on Kennethinthe212. I didn't even know Andy had a calendar but Kenneth doesn't miss a thing when it comes to hunky tennis players - or hunky men in general!

I'm heading out to the Pacific Life Open on Thursday so hopefully will get to see a Roger Federer match. Earlier today, he emphatically showed that he is back after a few lackluster months during which he was slowed by a case on mono. This started talk that he was slipping.

Ha!

The top-seeded Swiss swept past unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, 6-1, 6-1, on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the event - his second consecutive straight-sets victory. He's been the world No. 1 since February 2004 is a 12-time Grand Slam champion and the current holder of the US Open and Wimbledon crowns yet some people want to suggest he's past his prime - at 26!

Get ready for Roger Federer's second act folks!

NO MORE EYE (C)ANDY: My annual trip to the Pacific Life Open is up in the air for various reasons. But if I do end up missing the big tennis tournament near Palm Springs for the first time in ages, two of the biggest reasons I wanted to go are already gone: both Andy Roddick and Robby Ginepri lost in the second round over the weekend. Andy lost to Germany's Tommy Haas who has now defeated Roddick in six of their nine career matches.

Andy was still upbeat at his post-match press conference Sunday because he is coming off a really big win last week in Dubai: "I've been playing very, very well for the last month so I'm not going to freak out over this loss and forget everything I've been able to kind of work towards in the last month. My confidence is fine," the 2003 U.S. Open champion added. "I feel optimistic about the tournaments coming up."

One last thought: Tommy (below) is pretty awesome to watch himself. There is still a lot of incentive to get to Palm Springs this week!

Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova always did bring out the best in each other.

The tennis legends played the exhibition "Dream Match 2008" before a sellout crowd at Tokyo's Ariake Stadium on Saturday and Steffi managed to edge Martina in a one-set contest 8-7 after winning a tiebreaker 10-5. It was their first match in 14 years,

"It was great that it went to a tiebreaker," Graf said afterward. "It was a lot of fun playing Martina again. It brought back so many memories."

Martina summed it up this way: "It was almost a surreal experience. I felt like we went back in time. People always asked me who the toughest player to play against was and if it wasn't Steffi, I don't know who it was."

Before retiring, the two had met 18 times and each won nine times.

TOGETHER AGAIN: Quick! Somebody buy me a ticket to Tokyo! The chance to see Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova play each other in an exhibition called "The Dream Match 2008" would be a dream come true. Here are the two all-time greats greeting each other as they begin a practice session earlier today.

CLASS ACT: Steffi has done it just about as good as anyone ever has. Wimbledon champ seven times, French Open champ six times, US Open champ five times, Australian Open champ four times; two-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, 88), one silver medal (1992). Now she's a busy mom of two adorable kids and the wife of some guy named Andre Agassi.

This is for my pal, Henry, the biggest Roger Federer fan I know. Here, Roger is seen signing autographs for fans at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells...

Not while they're practicing for the Pacific Life Open it seems. And that, is a good thing. Above are a few shots taken this afternoon 20-year-old Novak Djokovic of Serbia, ranked third in the world and just loaded with personality and potential. Then there is defending champion Rafael Nadal (below) who it seems is going to be wearing that white tape around his knees on a permanent basis. At least there's no white tape on those fabulous biceps of Rafa's!

Kennethinthe212 has posted these and other shots of Robby Ginepri in the 760! The pictures were taken as he practiced yesterday at the Pacific Life Open.

I can't wait to get out to the desert!

Boy, this sounds like one heckuva night...

First of all, you've got my hero, Billie Jean King, on court at Madison Square Garden with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer who went on to stage a thrilling three sets of tennis that lasted 2.5 hours before a crowd of just under 20,000 that included Federer pals Tiger Woods and Anna Wintour.

In the end, the elegant Federer edged Pistol Pete 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6) and won $1 million.

"It turned out to be this thriller match," Federer said. "You don't often get the No. 1 in his prime playing against maybe the greatest player of all time."

The two only played one real match, back at Wimbledon in 2001 and it was a real changing-of-the-guard affair. A teenaged Federer edged Sampras in a five-setter on Centre Court, ending his' 31-match winning streak at the All England Club; Sampras never won there again while Federer has won five consecutive championships at Wimbledon.

Kennethinthe212 was there and wrote up a nice recap you should check out!

Something really incredible can happen to a person when they are written off. Andy Roddick seemed to be slowly fading from his position as one of tennis' elite. But the former world number one, now ranked sixth, threw down the gauntlet to the men's tour by winning the Dubai tournament on Saturday over Feliciano Lopez. Along the way, Andy beat reigning French Open champ Rafael Nadal and the Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic.

Andy at full stretch (above) played with all his heart to win his second tournament in three weeks. Even Lopez (quite a looker himself) had to look at his conquerer with awe (or is it lust? I can't tell!)

Out In Hollywood fave Andy Roddick is back in action at the men's pro tourney in the Middle East. He beat Juan Carlos Fererro in his opening match - the same dude he beat in the finals of the 2003 US Open. This was in the pre-Roger Federer era.

Lift that shirt Andy!