Dunlop?

On Feburary 6th, 2010 Verdasco signed a contract with Yonex, but there was one stipulation the general public was not made aware of.

Apprently Verdasco's Yonex contract had a 30 day 'opt' out option according to an inside source of mine. An aggressive move by Yonex in my opinion to sign Fernando, who's well known for his Calvin Klein ads.

And the worst happened, after winning the SAP Open using the Yonex RDiS 200, he was spotted in Indian Wells using his Tecnifibre frame again. Reason for this? Verdasco had opted out of the Yonex contract as stated in it even though Yonex offered him a generous amount of money (my source did not disclose the amount) and signed with Dunlop, news broke yesterday in a press release released by Dunlop .

Verdasco commented: "Becoming a brand ambassador for Dunlop is a very proud moment for me and I look forward to joining the great players already associated with the brand. I am continuing to work hard and with the help from Dunlop I hope to be able to make this my most successful year to date."

Verdasco will immediately begin testing Dunlop's 2011 technology. A shocking move for one of the top 20 players in the world in my opinion!

Ok so as everybody knows recently American player Wayne Odesnik pleaded guility last week to importing eight vials of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to Australia before a tournament in January. This has earned him scoldings publicly from the likes of Andy Roddick, James Blake, and many others for his actions.

So the million dollar question I have for all of you today is: if Odesnik knows he's guilty, and we as fans all know he's guilty...why's he being allowed to play at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston this week?

Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated interviewed a member of the ITF to get some answers and they said:

"Wayne Odesnik is entitled to due process under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, just as you and I are entitled to this protection under our legal systems. He has not as yet been found guilty of a doping offense under the rules of the TADP and therefore is allowed to play. In order not to prejudice the player's ability to defend himself in his criminal case, the TADP decided to await the outcome of those proceedings rather than run concurrently, but began the process immediately once the decision of the Australian Court was taken. The player is entitled to put forward a defense and this can take some time and he has elected not to take a provisional suspension."


What's this sound like in my opinion? The ITF is pretty much hiding behind the lousy excuse of rules they created.

I think he should be suspended, and if that does happen he'd have to forefit all the prize money and ranking points he's earned while playing while this investigation is ongoing.

James Blake announced he'd be recovering from a knee injury and would sit out most of the European clay court season that the rest of the tour is on now despite recent events in Iceland that are preventing air travel.

Blake is now 30 years old, and ranked 52nd in the world, just a few years ago he was number 4! He has confirmed he'll be playing in the AEGON international tournament the week prior to the Championships.

What do you guys think? Are Blake's best playing days behind him? Is he beating on a dead horse? Should he retire and become a coach?

Or do you like that even though he's overcome so much he refuses to quit and pursue his dreams playing the sport he loves so much?

2-6, 6-1, 7-5.


These were the only numbers that ran through my head after witnessing what had just happened earlier today on TV (which I did sit and watch in its entirety)

For the third time this year at a Masters Level tournament Roger Federer was knocked out in the early stages of the tournament.

His latest loss? 40th ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.


Which brings me back to Roland Garros 2009 where Roger triumphed over Robin Soderling to claim the one grand slam that had eluded him in his amazing career, the French Open.

His latest performances on hard courts and now with the transition into the summer clay court/ grass court season is leading me to believe...does Roger still have it in him? Or was it all just a fluke? He's 28 years old and still has plenty of time left in him, but recent performances are leading me to believe that Roger has lost his touch...but is it real? No, this is only temporary. Roger and clay aren't best friends and everyone knows it.

I wouldn't know what to think. I do know that despite him being in a slump now,  Roger has overcome many, many slumps in his career, for example he fought back to regain his #1 spot after losing it to Rafael Nadal in 2008. In 2009 he captured Roland Garros and then his record-breaking 15th grand slam title at the All England Club a month later.

What I do genuinely believe is that Roger will be at the top of his game come time for the AEGON championships in London leading up to Wimbledon, grass is where Roger's game fully shines in my opinion, and transitioning into the North American hardcourt season with the Rogers Cup in Toronto, The Western/Southern Group Masters in Cincinnati, which all lead to Roger's stomping grounds in Flushing Meadows for the US Open which I do believe is his title to reclaim this year, but I think after Flushing Meadows he should take sometime off and return at the Rakuten Japan Open Championships in Tokyo, which is an ATP 500 event, dominate the Shanghai Masters after that and I believe the ATP Crown will be his again this year. The last Masters event in Paris leading up to the tour championships would just be icing on the cake for Roger.



Long live the king.