Archive for August 2013
Aug/13
24
ATP Number One Dinner At Waldorf
8 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Marcelo Rios gave me the word about this function and I was lucky to be admitted in. First person I see is Richard Krajicek. He shared Hewitt memories for my feature, said he didn't even remember he played him until he was reminded of it earlier this year. All around the big room are huge stars like Albert Costa, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Karel Novacek, Jonas Bjorkman, Hewitt, Newk, Thomas Johansson, Michael Stich, Tim Mayotte, Manolo Santana, Corretja. The really big guns like Fed and Nadal and Djokovic, McEnroe, Borg did interviews on the red carpet and are in the back room signing stuff and hanging out together in private.
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Agassi · Boris no shows · Muster · Pete · Safin
Status: ATP player. Winner of three ATP singles titles (Chennai and Delray Beach twice) and eight doubles titles. Won 2004 Roland Garros doubles title (w. O. Rochus). Reached a career high ranking of #19 in August 2002.
DOB: July 19, 1980 In: Kortrijk, Belgium
Early Tennis Memory: "In under 14's world championships in Japan, we got second. That was my first big thing in tennis."
Tennis Inspirations: "Mats Wilander. The calm, the light guy. Just playing, doing his own thing. Always been my favorite."
Nicknames: The X Man, X, The Belgian Chocolate, Poofy.
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The first thing I see today on the grounds is a guy wearing a Chile shirt. He is in front of me so I ask him if he has heard of the Rios book in English. He only speaks Spanish but his friend says they haven't heard of it. Then he says the guy is a friend of Rios and that Rios arrived to NYC and is at a certain hotel sleeping. Rios will be honored by ATP along with all other number ones. Whoa. You know if he's here I'm getting that Biofile. Stay tuned.
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Arrive at eleven with Pete and Steve, two pals from the park. It's the first time for both to see qualies and they are lovin it.
We see the outer practice courts near the subway side entrance and Taylor Townsend is hitting. One of hte Plyskova sisters is waiting to get on court. Continue to read full article...
Aug/13
18
So Rafa has a pair of bad knees, eh?
36 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
How many times were we told Rafa Nadal has bad knees? I don't even know who exactly was putting it out there all these years about these supposedly bad knees but I think we can all safely conclude the 'Rafa has bad knees' angle is a falsehood.
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First memory of tennis: "When I was nine and a half years old I played my first tournament and I made it to the final and I was wearing these big loafers as tennis shoes. And I lost in the final and I ended up crying, I was so mad because I wanted to win so bad."
Tennis inspirations: "Kim Clijsters. I think she was one of my favorites. She's just an all around amazing person, so down to earth. And Roger Federer, of course."
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Aug/13
11
Opinion: Why & How Rafa Has Regained Mental Edge On Djokovic
23 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
I don’t think it’s anything technical or any certain shots, Nadal simply wants it more than Djokovic. He has more adrenaline and fury than Djokovic and this seems to propel him above Djokovic in the crunch.
Nadal is a very very unique creature in how he can raise his intensity levels to abnormal heights.
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Aug/13
9
Alternatives for the “Come On” shout
5 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Players of all levels of talent like to yell "Come on" or "Vamos" or "Allaiz" to celebrate a big point or to pump themselves up in a tough match.
But those are about the only three options players can choose from. Or is it? I did some research by asking various players for some other phrases they use on the court in the heat of battle for inspiration and motivation and discovered, there's quite a plethora of alternatives Continue to read full article...
Aug/13
7
Montreal, the theater of the unexpected
73 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Roger Federer opts to skip Montreal but gives no reason.
Novak Djokovic debuts his new Djokovic Shuffle dance moves after annihilating Florian Mayer. Djokovic, the greatest player in tennis today, with a boatload of charisma and humor, world humanitarian, once again showing he has Muhammmad Ali qualities.
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Here is a guest article by former Fordham University star, Alex Bancila, who now resides and teaches tennis and platform tennis in Chicago. Alex will be attending the Cincinnati event next week and hopefully will post from that high-energy event.
Set-up Points and the Rule of Two (Consecutive points)
by Alex Bancila
In the paragraphs below, I will further explore the flow of points and importance of score
dynamics. I will first address the “set-up point†– the second most important point in a given game
(after game point). Set-up point is the point that PRECEDES game point, i.e. any point that
you play once EITHER team reaches “30†on the scoreboard: 0-30, 30-0, 15-30, 30-15,
30-30. Continue to read full article...
