 The rise, fall and rise again of Ana Ivanovic has been well documented in the tennis world. Now she's telling all in a new book - "Eat, Play, Love - one woman's search for a decent win across Australia, France, the UK, the US, Linz and Bali."
The title is a clever play on Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Eat, Pray, Love" - released earlier this year as a motion picture starring Julia Roberts.
After being ranked as low as 62nd this season, Ivanovic is back in the Top 20. She was ranked No. 1 for a stint in 2008 after winning the French Open, but struggled during the second half of that season as well as most of 2009 and the first half of 2010.
She wrapped up her 2010 season with a title at Bali to finish the year ranked 17th. Still ranked as one of the most searched female athletes in the world,
The 6-foot, 1-inch Serbian just turned 23 and fans hope she's got plenty of tennis left after a long stretch of uninspired play.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/10/2010 9:48:46 AM | with 2 comments
On Thursday, Jelena Jankovic announced that she had undergone minor eye surgery, giving her Facebook fans the in-depth analysis that she "had to get something removed from my left eye."
She followed that up with the fact that she has to have the stitches removed in week or so, and that in the meantime she'll "have to wear an eye patch so guess I will look like a pirate this week."
Sadly, this is the most interesting thing to happen to Jankovic in a long time. A former world No. 1, Jankovic was in absolute free fall post-Wimbledon this year, dropping from second in the rankings all the way down to eighth in just a few months with no reasonable explanation.
The Serbian national has been a Top 10 player each of the last four years, but won just one title in 2010 and finished 38-23 overall. While a majority of the tour would kill for that 38-23 record, consider that she stood 32-12 after retiring in the fourth round at Wimbledon against eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva.
Her losses didn't just come early in the remaining tournaments, they came to a "who are you?" group of players that included five ranked outside the Top 75, highlighted by No. 268 Zarina Diyas, who crushed Jankovic 6-1, 6-2 in Moscow. Jankovic returned to the court eight days later and barely registered a pulse at the Tour Championships, losing to Kim Clijsters, Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka in succession without ever winning a set.
Could the eye injury be a reason for all this terrible play? At 25 years old, it's hard to imagine that Jankovic's prime has already come and gone, but where is the player who reached the semifinals or better of three Grand Slam events a mere two years ago?
The late fade looks particularly daunting considering how very good Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki, and Francesca Schiavone looked in 2010. If Jankovic can't regain her form this off-season, the plunder will continue belonging to someone else when she takes the court in 2011.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/11/2010 4:15:37 PM | with 0 comments
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Just $2G for Agassi's racquet!
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 Three months ago I used this blog space to take a look at the most interesting, expensive and unusual tennis items for sale on Ebay.
 With the pro seasons winding down, another look at the goofy world of online auctioning seems in order before the Rafael Nadals and Kim Clijsters of the world settle in for their long winter's nap.
Once again, pages of tennis bracelets stand between me and blogging gold. A couple of old favorites, notably the $28,500 Sambot ball machine robot make an early appearance as well.
Alas, Hall Groat's painting of Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors at the US Open is all still unsold, now down to $9,025.
Our new top bizarre item is the Tennis Made Easy cubist original painting by Anthony Falbo, going for a low, low price of $3,900. According to his own Ebay page, Falbo is "one of today's hottest international contemporary artists." I find that highly debatable however. Dude doesn't even have his own Wikipedia page.
After a whole bunch of weird table tennis robots, we get to a pair of tickets to the 2011 Australian Open men's final going for $3,000 Australian. The picture attached is apparently guaranteeing a Federer-Nadal final, so get your bids in early.
A few ticks down the price list gives us the very fresh Leroy Neiman signed original print entitled "Sudden Death." I don't have $2,950 to spend on much of anything these days, but if I did, I might actually consider buying this.
The most expensive racquet for sale on Ebay is a Head MG Radical used by Andre Agassi during post-retirement exhibition matches. Yours for just $2,000. There's only one picture of it, showing a close-up of his initials (A.A.) inside. But how do I know this racquet didn't belong to Anthony Anderson, Alan Alda or Anne Archer?
At the other end of the spectrum, we find a vintage Wilson Jimmy Connors racquet going for 99 cents, plus $8 shipping.
Sounds like a perfect stocking stuffer.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/13/2010 11:26:13 AM | with 0 comments
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Home Cooking continues vs. Soderling?
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 As a bit of a late comer to fandom of the modern game of tennis, I'll admit I have some eclectic tastes when it comes to picking my favorite players.
Having written a large number of the biographies on our player pages (check them out!) before I ever saw many of the current stars play gives me a bit of an odd perspective on things, sort of like an online dating service. I knew their hobbies, career goals and backgrounds before ever seeing them play live.
That's probably why Gael Monfils is one of my favorite ATP players. He's different looking, he's got a bunch of interesting hobbies, and you root for the guy because of his untapped potential. If he could just get his head straight on and stop getting hurt, maybe, just maybe he could join the elite.
Beating Roger Federer in the semifinals yesterday was an awesome thing to see for Gael. He went toe-to-toe with the GOAT (you're fooling yourself if you think it's Nadal just yet), and showed off that unmistakable charm and flair that have him a fan favorite when he's on his game.
A good number of elite players is what I wish men's tennis was all about, not the lock-step oligarchy it's become where the yearly list of Slam winners reads "Federer-Federer-Nadal-Nadal-Nadal-Federer-Nadal."
I much prefer having a mix of guys who are all capable of knocking each other off every week. It's what I love about the NFL and college football. Every game is worth watching because you never know what's going to happen.
WIth that in mind, I'm pulling whole-heartedly for Monfills today against Robin Soderling. Soderling is one of the guys that bores me to tears on the tour. He's ranked No. 5 in the world and I honestly can't tell you why, other than he wins a lot of early-round matches, then gets killed in the semifinals by Nadal or Federer.
Granted, that's pretty much everyone these days, but I see no flare or style or personality from a guy like Soderling. I lump him in with the likes of Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Jurgen Melzer. They win enough to be considered great players, but they never truly win.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/14/2010 8:08:33 AM | with 0 comments
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Eat your heart out, Federer
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Tennis companies are just as competitive as tennis players, and Wilson has taken a bold step forward in the war for coolest ad.
Instead of filling our vision with Roger Federer mystically hitting a bottle off a production assistant's head during the filming of a commercial, they've taken it the other direction, proclaiming "No Special Effects Were Used" at the beginning of their ad.
And what an ad it is, the unnamed tennis player playing on a normal, outdoor court performs every trick shot in the book, and a few that will dazzle you and make you chuckle.
He nails Federer's legendary tweener (although it's debatable it cleared the net based on the height of the shot), and incorporates a little break dancing into the mix.
The short ad ends with an homage to Michael Jackson and the Wilson logo, indicating there's no need for a fancy tagline, rather "'nuff said."
Of course as Tennis Now fans know, it's only the second-coolest non-special effects tennis video out there, but hey, Wilson, imitation is the highest form of flattery.
What do you think of Wilson's cool new video?
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/16/2010 7:08:37 AM | with 0 comments
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Is anyone else feeling worn out?
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On Tuesday, ATP head Adam Helfant said that a reduction in the men's schedule is likely coming in 2012.
Not a moment too soon.
As travel and the opening of so many countries has expanded the world of tennis and made the season schedule and unwieldy monstrosity, I am  reminded of a quote by Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park. He tells Richard Attenborough's dinosaur-creating billionaire at one point, "You got so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you didn't stop to think if you should."
Such is the case of the professional tennis tours, heck all professional sports these days. With money flowing freely, anything seems possible, sending players all over the world to play in distant lands simply because said location happens to have a stadium, a sponsor and a rabid fan base.
To give a good example of it all, we'll take a look at the 2010 schedule of world No. 2 Roger Federer. Federer is 60-13 this season entering the Barclays in London, and has played in 17 tournaments.
 Assuming he didn't fly home to Switzerland after any of the tournaments, which is a ridiculous assumption given its proximity to a large chunk of the tour, not to mention his own wealth making access to private jets very possible, and Fed travelled 46,433 miles on Tour.
More than a quarter of that (12,218) came in getting to the Shanghai Open in early October, then playing in Stockholm the next week.
That's plain ridiculous, even if you are the Greatest of all Time.
Can ATP officials really expect the players to be at their best for the Year-End Championships after all that? Shortening the schedule makes a ton of sense, because you want your players to be at their best for the biggest events - namely the four majors and year-end stuff.
The Australian Open is already taken care of. Players have their off-season right before it, and plenty choose to ignore the warm-ups before it takes place.
Likewise, the French Open and Wimbledon really aren't too bad because as diverse a continent as Europe is, it's still pretty tiny in terms of land mass for most of its Western members.
Once Federer hit Rome in April, he never had to travel more than 1200 miles in a day, with most of the trips less than 400 miles. In Texas, we call that a road trip.
The end of the season is a mess, however, particularly for players seeking to improve their rankings and qualify for the year-end finals, with all the extra points and money that go with it.
There need to be enforced breaks down the stretch to keep players fresh, otherwise the people that wait all year to see their favorites on court will either get nothing due to injuries from the grind, or a watered-down product that will turn them off the game.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/17/2010 6:59:57 AM | with 0 comments
I happened to be checking out the news side of TennisNow.com yesterday where I saw that Caroline Wozniacki has been nominated as Danish Sports Person of the Year.
Now I like Woz a lot, both because she's a tough competitor and very cute, but I'm going to have to make fun of her homeland a bit here.
Nominated? Does there really need to be a nomination process for Danish Sports Person of the Year? How can anyone but the No. 1 player in the world even be considered?
Reading the names of the other two finalists -- a cyclist and a swimmer, I  realized the two have about as much of a chance of winning as the other Best Supporting Actor nominations did the year Heath Ledger passed away after owning "The Dark Knight."
The list got me thinking that Wozniacki might not be just the Danish Sports Person of the Year, but perhaps the Danish Sports Person of All Time, or even the Dane of All Time.
My personal knowledge of Denmark is pretty sorry, other than the fact that Shakespeare thought there was something rotten there and they buck the rest of Europe's trend by driving on the right side of the road.
Research was in order to back up my claim, so I did a thorough search of the long history of Danish athletes. The first page I pulled up had a picture of Wozniacki, only furthering my initial hypothesis.
A quick review made me realize that there hasn't been a lot going on in  Denmark's sporting world. The only name I recognized from their list of exports is Morten Andersen, who is the NFL's all-time leading kicker and played for more years in the league than Wozniacki has lived on this planet.
The rest of the pickings are slim: A couple of sailors who won four straight Olympic medals, the 1996 Tour de France winner and a poker Hall of Famer.
But surely, Denmark has more to offer than just athletes, heck, Hamlet had  some fun there until the big party where everyone died. Sure enough, the true challenge to Wozniacki's reign as Top Dane comes from the literary world in the form of Mr. Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote among other things, "The Princess and the Pea," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling."
The proof is in the Google search, however. Andersen gets 2,910,000 results in 0.23 seconds, Wozniacki whips his butt with 3,520,000 in 0.21 seconds.
 The Danish acting world is woefully thin, at least from an American cinema standpoint. Boasting that Brigitte Nielsen, former wife of probable-roiders Sylvester Stallone and Mark Gastineau, and significant other of Flava Flav, is nothing to write home about.
It was starting to seem like Denmark's most famous men were fictional -- Hamlet and Beowulf -- when I came across the name Ole Kirk Christiansen, who lived from 1891 to 1958.
The staggering 13th son of a family in Western Denmark, my man Ole Kirk trained as a carpenter and started making wooden toys in the 1930s. But wood was unwieldy and boring, so he moved the business to plastics. he built a company off the Danish equivalent of "Play Well" - Leg Godt, which became Lego.
Google search confirms his power - with 53.3 million searches in 0.15 seconds.
Sorry Woz, but you can't beat the guy who gave me so many childhood hours building animals, spaceships and castles out of a box in my closet.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/17/2010 9:53:17 AM | with 1 comments
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You lived your life like a forehand in the wind
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When you're drawing straws for doubles and two of the contestants are married, you can be pretty sure you're going to get the short end of the deal.
Thus, Martina Navratilova ended up teaming with Sir Elton John against Steffanie Graf and Andre Agassi Monday night in a charity doubles event to raise money for AIDS research.
John draws some impressed hoots from the crowd as he shows he's got game with some early returns in this clip before Navratilova and Graf show off that despite being retired from the pro tour, both can still bring it. After an eternity of not moving,
John gets back into the act with a lob shot that leaves Agassi cemented in place and the crowd going crazy.
Anna Kournikova and Billie Jean King were also on hand at the World Team Tennis Smash Hits which raise more than $500,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Washington AIDS Partnership.
Team Billie Jean defeated Team Elton 19-15, although John and Navratilova beat Agassi and Graf 4-1.
A pre-play auction raised $267,000 of the net for the night, with a hitting session with Graf and Agassi fetching a cool $50,000.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/18/2010 7:47:26 AM | with 0 comments
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Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's off to the Barclays I go
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I was reading our story on the ATP Top 8 meeting the British Prime Minister Thursday before the Barclays start on Sunday when something in the photo caught my eye.
Why, I wondered, were seven of the greatest tennis players in the world and the leader of the British empire being joined by a kid dressed up for his junior high dance?
Only on closer inspection did I realize that the diminuitive, grey-suit wearing ninth member of the photo was in fact Spain's David Ferrer, the No. 7 player in the world.
Now at 6-feet, 7-inches tall myself, I view anyone under 6-2 to be a bit on the short side, but holy smokes is Ferrer a shrimp. I'm not sure how I never noticed this fascinating fact before.
 His bio claims that he's 5 foot 9, but that's like a Hollywood 5 foot 9. That's like Tom Cruise saying he's 6 feet, then you meet him at Planet Hollywood and he's eye to eye with your 12-year-old sister.
It's not just the height that has me gawking at Ferrer this morning, though. He also decided it was a good idea to wear a grey suit to meet one of the most powerful men in the free world.
Who doesn't know you wear black to formal occasions? Heck, even I know that, and I know as little about fashion as Ferrer knows about big and tall stores.
I'd like to think that all the players are staying at the same hotel and Ferrer was the last one down to the lobby to take the bus over to wherever the Prime Minister hangs out. When he got down to the breakfast buffet, he suddenly realized the other seven dudes were all dressed in black, but by then it was vastly too late.
But maybe the warning signs of fashion failure have always been there for Ferrer, I mean the guy is 28 years old and wearing a backwards baseball cap in his ATP mug shot. Amigo, once you hit 23, that look becomes unacceptable.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/19/2010 6:45:13 AM | with 13 comments
 When I was five years old, I correctly picked the score of the Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, writing it in crayon on a drawing I had made of a Steelers helmet.
Since that time, I have felt that deep within me lies the power to accurately predict anything that involves competition. There have been some hills and valleys in that theory over the past 30-something years, but I've been able to look like a genius enough to feel that I have something of a gift.
In my married life, that gift has mainly been used to predict what score the judges are going to give each contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" through their inflection and body language. It might sound like bragging, and pathetic bragging at that, but I truly feel I have a limited power of sports foresight .
With DWTS reaching its finale on Monday, I need something else to captivate my prediction productivity, and that's where the ATP World Championships come in.
Starting today, right here, right now, I'm going to predict the winner of every singles match all the way through to the end. And while gambling is illegal in the state I live in, that shouldn't deter you from visiting your favorite Caribbean isle and turning my prognostication potency into cold, hard cash.
I'll not be picking the doubles, because as previously mentioned in this blog, neither I nor anyone else really cares about doubles.
Without further adieu, my opening picks.
 Sunday, Nov. 21
(4) Robin Soderling (SWE) vs. (5) Andy Murray (GBR): It's guy who never wins anything vs. other guy who never wins anything! Seriously though, Soderling just won Paris and is feeling all high and mighty about moving up to No. 4 in the world. Murray is playing on his home turf, which I always like in first-round matchups.
Winner: MURRAY
 (2) Roger Federer (SUI) vs. (7) David Ferrer (ESP): I'm having a really hard time taking Ferrer seriously since I realized what a diminutive chap he was this morning. It also doesn't help that Federer has a 10-0 lifetime advantage over him. I sometimes wonder if Ferrer slurs his name when being introduced as a famous tennis player to strangers so they might mis-hear him as "Federer." Winner: FEDERER
Monday, Nov. 22
 (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. (6) Tomas Berdych (CZE): I've got a real Ringo Starr vibe going on for Berdych, as in "I'm just happy to be here." The Djoker remains the most unknown 57-win tennis player in the world, and is painfully aware who kept him from the Wimbledon finals four months ago (hint, his name rhymes with Bomas Ferdych). A guy like Berdych isn't used to facing the top shelf competition this early in a tournament. He's toast. Winner: DJOKOVIC.
(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. (8) Andy Roddick (USA):
I'm much more intrigued than  I should be by this matchup. Nadal has never been better than in 2010, sporting a 67-9 record with seven titles. Plus he reached at least the quarterfinals of the first 15 tournaments of the year. But a funny thing happened to Rafa in Shanghai: Jurgen Melzer kicked the crap out of him in the third round, and he's been gimping around ever since. Add that to the fact that one of his nine defeats this year was to Roddick on hard courts, and well, I'm calling the colossal upset. Winner: RODDICK
Check back Tuesday for a recap of how I did and my next round of picks!
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/19/2010 12:54:47 PM | with 0 comments
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The Greatest Story Ever Told?
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The new issue of ESPN the Magazine is devoted to sports movies. Based on the success of 2009's "The Blind Side," Hollywood is cranking out several dozen in the next few years, with the most intriguing of them all being a tennis film.
Yes, in 2013, Hollywood will give us "LIam McBain: International Tennis Star and Proper English Geezer." Clearly, this is the greatest name for a sports movie since "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" hit in the summer of 2006.
The brief synopsis provided by the magazine tells us that "McBain" is the story of "a hooligan becomes a 1980s tennis sensation after he's seen using a racket in a street fight."
Hopefully, I don't have to tell you that this is a comedy.
Granted, it's still more than two years away, but I'm pretty excited about this film, particularly given the utter lack of good tennis movies out there.
There's no cast attached yet, although I could definitely see Russell Brand in the role. It's a Warner Brothers film with Peter Segal directing. Mr. Segal previously brought us the remake of "The Longest Yard," along with "Anger Management," "Get Smart," and "50 First Dates." That's three Adam Sandler movies in there, perhaps this will be Sandler's "Happy Gilmore" for the next decade.
The movie's screenwriter is Chip Hall, who did a ton of work on "King of the Hill."
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/20/2010 10:01:58 AM | with 0 comments
Last Thursday, Serena Williams got to watch her investment in the Miami Dolphins get shut out by the Chicago Bears in a Thursday night football game in South Beach.
After the game, Williams was photographed by paparazzi exiting the stadium with buddy Kelly Rowland, limping steadily along on crutches.
Crutches. For the cut on her foot that allegedely happened the week after Wimbledon. The Wimbledon which ends in early July.
She also continues to wear the boot on her right foot. It's really baffling what is going on with Serena's body at this point. What happened between the actual injury and now that had her initially speculating that she could play in the US Open Series or the Open itself?
The WTA is now as close to the start of the 2011 season as it is to the US Open, and she's in no shape to start training for next year. Serena notched 500 points right off the bat last year by reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals.
If she misses the start of the season, that ranking is going to plummet, much as it did in 2006 when she missed the middle of the season and wound up barely inside the Top 100 at year's end.
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/22/2010 6:54:33 AM | with 1 comments
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3-1 record for the first 2 days
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I must admit I was feeling mighty cocky when I learned Andy Roddick had taken the first set from Rafael Nadal Monday in their round-robin match-up at the Barclays.
Sitting at 3-0 in my picks for the first two days, and having picked Roddick in the upset will do that kind of thing for you. Alas for me, Nadal proved why he's Nadal, rallying from a tie-breaker second set victory and taking the third 6-4.
Still, I can manage with a 3-1 opening duo of days, particularly when I picked the mild upset of Andy Murray over the red-hot Robin Soderling to start things off.
With the action kicking off again in a few hours, here are my picks for Tuesday and Wednesday's action at the year-end championships.
Tuesday, November 23
Roger Federer (1-0) vs. Andy Murray (1-0): Like Nadal, Murray is in that  rare group of current players with winning records over Federer, sporting an 8-5 advantage that includes their last two meetings, the finals at Shanghai and Toronto.
Last year in the Barclays, Federer had to rally in three to beat Sir Andy, and here's saying he'll do it again today. Winner: FEDERER
Robin Soderling (0-1) vs. David Ferrer (0-1): It will take a miracle for either  of these guys to advance, particularly Soderling, who would have to win today, then beat Federer.
Both played acceptable tennis in their opening-day losses, but neither looked up to par against players who are supposed to be their contemporaries in the game's giants.
Ferrer is 2-1 against Soderling this year on hard courts, but his inexperience in this format makes me think he's a prime candidate for 0-3. Winner: SODERLING
Wednesday, November 24
Tomas Berdych (0-1) vs. Andy Roddick (0-1): Now that he lost to Nadal  after having a tremendous chance to take him down, I fear for Roddick's mental state. Will he dig down and try to make something special happen in London, or chalk it up to a year where he wasn't at the top of his game or very healthy and start thinking about 2011.
He's beaten Berdych three straight times this year, all on hard courts, and Berdych looked overwhelmed by in his first match of the tournament. Still, my gut says Berdych over a disheartened Roddick, so he gets the slight nod. Winner: BERDYCH
Rafael Nadal (1-0) vs. Novak Djokovic (1-0): The real question here is, do I  pick against Nadal twice in a row? Djokovic looked masterful in whipping Berdych while Nadal struggled mightily against Roddick in the first round. If Nadal has his sea legs now, he could go 5-0 and join Lendl and Federer in an elite company among Slam winners. Djokovic has won three of his last four against Nadal, including a 7-5, 6-3 round-robin win here a year ago. Djokovic is 13-3 since losing the US Open finale to Nadal, with two of those losses coming to Federer. Winner: DJOKOVIC
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/23/2010 6:52:13 AM | with 0 comments
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The greatest resorts this fine world has to offer.
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In reviewing our favorite tennis resorts throughout the world, the task was daunting, the hours were long and my life was absolutely miserable. Traveling here, relaxing there – it was mighty stressful. But here it is – my favorite resorts in the entire world. You’re very, very welcome.
Sure, it sounds a touch hokey, Hope Island. You might say to yourself, “Nah, that’s goofy. I came here to play tennis and just max out with chill. I don’t want none of that positive philosophy forced down my throat like I just sentenced to therapy for being too good at tennis.” Well, you’d be very wrong. Hope Island, in Australia, is a fabulous place. This is serious tennis here though, be warned. Furnishings can be sparse (perhaps because so many students come here) and they recommend adults stay in the resort section opposed to the “Academy House.” Gladly. The hotel is quite nice, with soft beds and luxurious amenities and breathtaking views. So if you’re looking to not get hokey, get serious about your tennis and take a load off to boot, Hope Island may just be you’ve been…(wait for it)…hoping for.
This healthy, natural resort is designed for stress recovery, fitness and health. Featuring several programs to help people get away from the grind and find time for themselves to better themselves through fitness and dieting and relaxation. Basing itself in The Middle Nowhere, Utah, Green Valley Spa is the oasis that you might be looking for. It’s got several courses on tennis, with informative and proactive lessons to help you better yourself, get fit and impress all your tennis partners back home. And the digs aren’t bad, either – in fact, the rooms are actually quite nice. So let your worries melt away and let your body and mind just…do their thing.
This isn’t your typical Mexican resort; it’s more of a resort community. Encompassing a large grab of land just outside of Puerto Vallarta, Punta Mita is a community for relaxation and enjoyment. The grounds feature amenities such as golfing, fitness centers, and beach clubs. Life is easy in Punta Mita. Just don’t stay here too long – things won’t make sense to you back home.
Whether you’re coming here for the weather or the tennis, you’ve already made the right decision. Granted, you might not want to come here during the winter, when the place is overrun with skiers and snowboarders looking to “stomp that fresh powder, brah.” Still, it’s quite nice. The center has 10 tennis courts, some of them featuring cushioned technology. The pro shop is also quite nice and helpful, stocking exactly what is needed. The rooms aren’t as lavish as the ones in that new Dubai hotel I just back from, but still – they’re nice enough. Really though, you don’t want to be spending too much time indoors here – this is a tennis resort and play tennis you shall. So go on, be outside and enjoy yourself.
The Whistler Club is a great tennis club through and through. It’s important to note, though, that it is first and foremost a club and secondly a place to kick back with pina coladas and watch the sunset (although I’m sure that is easily done as well). The flagship of this place is its excellent classes and programs. Get in a for a week-long session and practice your ground strokes for 8 hours a day, letting your worries wash away in your oversized bathtub and through the rum in your stomach. A Whistler trip to British Columbia is not one to be dismissed - your tennis will improve and you’ll have a great time doing it. What’s not to like about either of those things?
There is no greater place to straight-up just chill out than Southern California. With the exception of Los Angeles (sorry, folks), Southern California and absolutely amazing – great beaches, weather, people – I couldn’t ask for more (except for a smaller price tag). La Costa Resort, besides being beautiful and lush, is also the home to the WTA Acura Classic. And you know you’re at a serious tennis resort when the WTA decides to host a tournament. I had the pleasure of actually attending the tournament during my last trip and it was everything I expected – fabulous tennis in a fabulous location. If you strain your neck from the grandstands, you can even see the ocean. Oh, and the rooms are nice too.
There is no need to get huffy – I know the title says golf in it. I know, I know. Tennis and golf are mortal enemies of the casual sportsperson. Oil and water, if you will. Put this is for a vacation, so let you biases go about this sniveling little white ball hitters, always looking to grab as much land as possible who like to steal the title of US Open and just relax. You’re at another resort on Hilton Head Island – the oasis of tranquility in Southern Carolina. The Club boasts 14 surfaces on which to play and has played host for a number of famous players and tournaments alike. So give it a chance and just try to ignore on those cleated, pleated golfers trouncing around.
Rarely do I find myself yearning to take a trip to South Carolina. Perhaps it was too Dixie this and Rebel that, but it never seemed appealing. Palmetto Dunes is the exception. Situated on Hilton Head Island, Palmetto Dunes touts itself as an “oceanfront resort” and indeed it is. Providing delicious views of (unfortunately unsurfable) magnanimous sunsets and slow-sailing yachts, the Palmetto Dunes is something of a Southern Oasis. But on to the important stuff – it has tennis. And a lot of tennis at that. They have 23 play courts and 2 Nova ProBounce Courts and a serious staff of tennis professionals and staffers. Thanks Palmetto, you’ve changed my view of the south. Dixie here I come!
You can’t go wrong when conceptualizing a tennis resort in the Caribbean. You’ve got the sun, the sandy beaches, the tennis courts, the Red Stripe – life seems pretty good down here. And the Tryall Club is one of the best places to play some legitimate tennis in paradise. The courts (4 great clay courts and 5 hard courts) are great places to meet fellow relaxers/players/travelers and have been the locations for many Davis Cup games. Additionally, the tennis resort boasts 24 (!) on-staff pros and hosts weekly tournaments, private lessons and camps. So get your jerk chicken on, take a trip down south and let try one, try all – Tryall! Do you all need a jingle writer?
Sanctuary is as its name states – a paradise in the middle of a desert. Situated in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Sanctuary is, in a word, amazing. A “green” spa and resort with some of the lushest accommodations I’ve come across. Moreover, it’s got great tennis facilities. It has 5 full size tennis courts and has a myriad of classes and clinics to sign up for. It’s indeed a touch on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for, right? And in this case you’re paying a lot and it’s worth every single cent. If you can’t afford something like this, save up, because where ever you’re going probably isn’t as nice. Unless, of course, you hate beauty, nature, life, tennis, relaxation and everything fine. Then, of course, don’t go. They don’t want you there anyways.
What did I forget?
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Sean Bradley on 11/24/2010 2:14:07 PM | with 2 comments
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Only a turkey would pick against Nadal three straight times!
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So the lesson learned after four days of the ATP Finals for me is: Stop picking against Rafael Nadal.
He's too good and he's too focused, and he's 2-0, meaning that I'm only 8-2 in my picks through the first two round of round-robin play.
Today's choices are mighty interesting, the final fate of Group B on the line.
Thursday, Nov. 25
Roger Federer (2-0) vs. Robin Soderling (1-1): Soderling hasn't done much for me since winning at Paris, and I fully expect Federer to take him down today. On the other hand, it's do-or-die time for Soderling, who would fall to 1-2 here and be out of the competition unless Ferrer can upset Murray. Even though he's famous for his French Open quarterfinal takedown of King Fed, I think Soderling just doesn't have the muscle to overtake the GOAT with so much on the line. Federer knows that if he wins this, it puts him squarely back in the limelight heading into next season. Winner: FEDERER
Andy Murray (1-1) vs. David Ferrer (0-2). Well, I hate to say I told you so, but Ferrer looks like the proverbial deer in he headlights. He hasn't won a set yet, and has lost 26 of 41 games. Not a great way to end the season. If he doesn't pull this one out, he goes home with zero points gained and zero dollars in his pocket. If he does win, and Federer destroys Soderling, things would get interesting with a three-way tie-breaker needed to determine the second seed from Group B. Murray wins and he's in, having beaten Soderling head-to-head to take the tie-breaker should the Swede beat the Swiss. Winner: MURRAY
Friday, Nov. 26
Rafael Nadal (2-0) vs. Tomas Berdych (1-1): Kudos to Berdych for coming back from a miserable first match to defeat Andy Roddick on Tuesday. It keeps him firmly in the hunt to reach the semifinals. But Nadal has proven he's a very different animal, going 2-0 despite not playing in a while, and racking up 29 games won, the most of any competitor in the field. He's hit 71 wins for the year now, and seems to be absolutely unstoppable. I'm finally on the bandwagon. Winner: NADAL
Novak Djokovic (1-1) vs. Andy Roddick (0-2): The Djoker fought Nadal hard, but it was the same story as the US Open final. Too much, too good. That's OK though, because Djokovic won the match he had to against Berdych, and now has Roddick, 0-2 and across the pond during one of the biggest American holiday weekends of the year, probably wishing he had finished ninth and could enjoy time off with his family. This should be a cakewalk. Winner: DJOKOVIC
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/25/2010 8:36:35 AM | with 0 comments
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You want, I want, the tennis fans of the world want it.
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You know, I was a bit skeptical about the Barclays, with this being my first year as a full-time pro tennis writer. I didn't really like the format or the generous helpings of awarded points at first, but after four days of round-robin play, I've genuinely enjoyed it, getting to see the best players in the world going head to head every day instead of waiting through the ho-hum first rounds for the occasional upset.
You really couldn't ask for a better semifinals than the one we've got shaping up Saturday with Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray.
Technically, Robin Soderling was the No. 4 seed, but Soderling's a snooze fest. In fact, the only interesting thing I can tell you about Soderling is the answer to a great trivia question next time you want to win a bar bet.
 What country has a player in the Top 10 and no other player in the top 300? It's Soderling's Sweden. After Rob-Sod (copyright pending), the next highest-ranked Swede is No. 302, Filip Prpic, who went a cool 1-3 this season.
But Murray is the hometown guy (sort of), Nadal the Spaniard sensation, Federer the GOAT and Djokovic the guy who just might be playing the best of all four of them. Enough jibber jabber, to the picks. Currently, I'm up to 12-2 on the week for a solid .857 winning percentage.
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 5 Andy Murray: Murray's grown on me lately, and I don't think that's just holiday guilt for making fun of his magazine spread and his teeth. The guy has the weight of so much on him. England cares about three sports -- golf, football (soccer) and tennis. So, the Brits are super excited  because Lee Westwood is ranked No. 1 in the world on the links, they're extremely unexcited about their football team, which last won the World Cup in 1966, but Murray holds the hopes and dreams of a country that used to own the sport. But the problem is Nadal. He's not just having the best year of his career, he's bearing down on the best year of anybody's career in the Open Era. The guy is 72-7 entering Saturday, a .911 winning percentage, which puts him in the Top 20 all-time for a single season. He's like the Terminator at this point, he can't be stopped. Winner: NADAL
No.2 Roger Federer vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic. This match-up doesn't have the same sex appeal as one involving Nadal because both these guys are consumate professionals. They  save the emotion for the end of the match and they beat you technically. Regardless, it's a great match-up to have and one I look forward to watching, particularly if they can emulate the semifinals of the US Open when it comes to top-level tennis. Like Murray, Djokovic has grown on me during the second half of the year, but the heart wants what it wants. Winner; FEDERER
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/26/2010 4:01:32 PM | with 0 comments
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"We come to it at last, the great battle of our time." - Gandalf the White
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At long last, it's Nadal-Federer in a big-time final again.
 Forget the NFL (at least the early games), and tune in today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time for the clash of No. 1 vs. No. 2 for the year-end championship and temporary bragging rights in a rivalry which Nadal currently owns 14-7.
I actually put some thought into this beyond my initial gut reaction, even though in the first six days of this tournament, that strategy has netted me a 14-2 picking record (.875).
The two losses on my docket both came by picking Nadal to fall, first against Andy Roddick, then against Novak Djokovic.
 Thus, I want to pick him here just so I don't play the fool to him three times in a week. But going with your gut only lasts so long, especially when Federer is not only involved, but also red-hot on the court.
He's 64-13 on the year now, second-most wins on the tour to Nadal, and since falling in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, he's got a white-hot 34-4 (.894), a better winning percentage than Nadal (24-4, .857) over the same stretch of time.
Nadal has won six of the last seven match-ups between the two, but in this format, Federer is 2-0 all-time. What really strikes me however, is the rest and recuperation aspect of it all.
Federer played later in the day Saturday, but he needed barely more than an hour to hammer Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-4. Nadal played earlier, but it took him three hours and eight minutes to knock off a stubborn Andy Murray.
For all the glory he's put forth in 2010, it's still been a long year for Nadal, with all the extra attention, media requests, etc. that go with being the No. 1 player in the world.
 Federer has had just a bit less of that this year, although he's by no means flown under the radar, but he knows what it's like to parcel out your time and still be fresh at year's end, as he's taken the crown at this event four different times and sports an all-time mark of 33-7.
So the prediction. Nadal takes the first set on pure adrenaline, Federer the second on smart baseline play and Federer makes the Australian Open the must-see event of 2011 by winning a tie-break third.
Winner: FEDERER
Posted to Tennis and stuff. by
Nick on 11/28/2010 8:50:05 AM | with 1 comments
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