Harry Cicma Revives Pro Tennis In Bradenton

Yes catherine, Kriek won the AO twice. He still is able to make money off of it all these years later. He plays exhibitions here and there. He runs a small tennis academy near us, mostly 5-6 local rich kids whose parents/grandparents remember him. He usually moves his academy every 2-3 years and finds a fresh group of kids. He is friends with Branson and does appearances at Necker Island every year. But Branson’s Virgin companies are in deep financial trouble these days so who knows what happens to Necker Island and the annual celebrity tennis matches.

We first ran into Kriek in Lakewood Ranch, FL. 10 years ago. He had the same set up he has now, a small academy of local kids. He was not married then. He moved his academy every few years. He coincidentally ended up with an academy a mile from our current house about 3 years ago. Last year he moved it again and now uses courts at our friend’s tennis club. We have been following each other all over Florida it seems the past 10 years.

He married a tennis pro and became an older father, they now have a boy and a girl, ages 7 and 9. The kids play local tournaments and their mother helps out at the academy. Very nice family.

Scoop – I thought you were part of the media yourself ? How come you’ve not been contaminated by all this evil satanic stuff ?

Why does Harold keep his comments secret ? They might be interesting. I sense a conspiracy.

I saw Trump’s press briefing. No one twisted his words. They came right out of his mouth. Maybe he regretted later but he should know how the press take things and how quotes get changed. Part of politics.

Scoop, down to important things. Who’s the other African born male GS winner?

I actually agree with you that some in the media twist Trump’s words. But the same happens to other policiticians, though it’s different parts of the media doing the twisting. No need to get worked up about it. Besides, might be easier if he had a professional press person who did more press briefings.

In any case, this is all unimportant stuff. Part of the rough and tumble of politics.

Bundesliga is planning on football in May in front of empty stadiums but I imagine Mrs Merkel will be cautious. Harrt’s not here now and I don’t think she’s a soccer fan but she might be interested in the new Canadian rising star signed to Bayern Munich, a team which features one A Kerber among supporters.

And on Canadian theme – whenever tennis resumes I’ll be watching Bianca with an eagle eye. Surely she’ll be recovered by now ?

WTA/ATP is an old story. It’s not going to happen anyway.

USO at IW ? Larry Ellison would love that. Not likely, but if a tournament is held there it won’t be the USO.

Restrictions will continue in some degree until there’s a vaccine or the virus is shown to be fading. Doesn’t sound as if the lockdown is bothering you anyway Scoop, from what you’ve been saying.

I love this forum, we can go from totally crazy talk to tennis and back and forth.

Concerning tennis, University of Wisconsin Green Bay has announced their tennis program, both men’s and women’s has been cancelled. I am sure others will follow suit.

On the virus front, even though we are opposites politically, I agree with Scoop on some matters. The closures were done with a broad brush and no common sense.

I am in heated discussions with our neighborhood board to reopen 2 tennis courts to singles. Simply ridiculous that barely used courts are shut with the same mindset as a crowded pool. Totally different risk factors. Common sense.

Same with Martin County. In discussions to allow groups of 1-3 to use wide open soccer fields for fitness training. So kids who worked 10 years to try for college scholarships can at least work alone or with parent to keep their skills. They again are using the logic that if a full soccer game is risky, any activity on a field is risky. Stupidity.

So as much as I dislike 99% of Trump supporters politics….I agree with them on one thing. Do not let the virus be used as a broad brush to take stuff away and monitor people. Demand local and state leaders use common sense and actually govern with appropriate rules.

Shockingly, I am siding with Brian Kemp, Georgia governor. I think Trump should have gotten his back and not said he was wrong. There is nothing risky about a hair cut if both wear masks, neither are coughing, the tools and chair are sanitized.

Again common sense. If I am smart enough to sanitize my groceries and packages from amazon, I am also smart enough to protect myself during a hair cut.

From Ubitennis:

‘Earlier in the week it was stars such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who backed the idea to merge the ATP World Tour and WTA World Tour together.

WTA players such as Belinda Bencic, Petra Kvitová and Garbine Muguruza have backed the move as tennis looks to be more unified in post-Coronavirus times.

However there are some criticisms of the idea with Nick Kyrgios being the biggest leader against the potential move between the two organisations.

Speaking to the National, WTA tour coach Darren Cahill has spoke positively of the idea saying that it would simplify the sport, “This leads us more towards a commissioner in tennis,” Cahill said to the National.

“Let’s say hypothetically the four Slams remain as they are, but then you have the ATP, the WTA and the ITF all rolled into one, and that means you can appoint a commissioner of tennis that oversees the men’s and women’s tours, Fed Cup, Davis Cup, the Olympics and also the smaller events that are under the ITF and also under the WTA. That person and that organisation would have enormous power.

“And I think, hypothetically, it would be a pretty good position for a tennis player to be in, because you know that every single decision being made is made in the best interest of the game.

“Even for us that live on the WTA Tour, it’s not easy to understand how the Tour works, whereas the men’s Tour is much easier. We know your 1000s, the 500s, the 250s and how the rankings work, it’s much more complicated on the women’s tour, so this would simplify everything.”

There is truth to Cahill’s arguments with the demographic of tennis fans seeming to get older, with a lack of simplification turning young tennis fans away.

However the suggested move will not be easy to execute and will take time as issues such as equal scheduling, prize money distribution and media are some of the many obstacles facing both parties.

Would the ATP be willing to lose some of its money and power for a merger with the WTA, who will be looking to increase prize money?

Only time will tell but for now the more support this merger gets, the better it looks for tennis in its bid for unification.’

Doesn’t take a genius to see the big roadblock here. The ATP members will not be prepared to lose any of their money or power. That will not happen. Kyrgios knows how the guys feel. They won’t want to be seen to be given anything up to women. Pie in the sky.

“Eat high vitamin c diet. Eat healthy. Be free.”

Well, Scoop, Djokovic might have just a little to say about that as well. 😉 Apparently at least once a week, he’s going to be featuring a live chat on Instagram with someone in the alternative-health field.

I think it’s cool that he’s displaying other interests like this. He seems to have a real desire to communicate topics that he’s passionate about. Good for him.

Anyway, besides vitamin C, vitamin D3 is very helpful too. Around 4,000 IU a day should be safe for most people. And now that we’re getting more and more sunlight, if you spend time outside, that should help your vitamin D level as well.

“I don’t hate him but I know he hates me because my politics and religion are the opposite of his.”

Scoop, how exactly can you be “friends” with someone who hates you? 😉

“He can’t tolerate Trump and conservatism, he starts going crazy about white supremacism and turns into a frothing maniac.”

Oh, I thought you meant that he’s a white supremacist. LOL. Well, my sister has a friend who thinks everybody’s a “male chauvinist.” Those kinds of people are very difficult to be around.

“I never knew a single white supremacist.”

Don’t believe I have either.

“I will watch your film…”

Great, hope you find the time. It’s a brand new documentary about Covid-19 that I haven’t even finished watching myself.

“Vit D is important for health too.”

Concerning Vitamin C, so much of the stuff on the market comes from China. 😛 The highest quality supplement I’ve been able to find is called Pure Radiance C (in powder form). Expensive but worth it.

“But the left wants everyone locked up inside. Stay at home they tell us.”

As Janet Jackson once put it: “It’s all about control.” 😉

“Djokovic is smart and he cares about people. He has a lot to offer.”

I think so too.

“He is resisting the gates vaccine despite”

And did you realize that Bill Gates refused to vaccinate his *own* kids???

“I started Facing Djokovic this week by asking Lorenzi for his Facing Djokovic memories.”

Hope you found out some juicy stuff from Lorenzi. 🙂

Scoop – you’ve said that before. It’s getting tedious.

BTW, I saw the post from Harold which was deleted. Doesn’t sound as though you’re friends. Politics divide us, sadly.

No big tennis action but quite a lot going on which is worth comment. Let’s go back there. I’ll try to, even if no one’s reading it.

Vijay – Jane Austen ? I prefer the Brontes. All that wuthering. And there was a family which faced mortality.

I watch tennis on youtube. That can be pretty interesting. As for tv, I haven’t had one in years. For the kind of tennis I follow these days, it doesn’t matter.

I did a tennis book a few years ago which was on Amazon, but it was just a collection of old articles. Historical interest to me really. And then a very short story on createspace but under a pseudonym. I just feel sport in general, and tennis in particular, is not easy to write about.

I like to write here on tennis and personalities, but one has to be polite. I think many people have no idea of how much they reveal through postings on twitter and IG. Easier in the old days to conceal your true self.

Cahill has given the merging of the tours some thought it seems. The tours are going to look different. Some sponsors will be gone, some venues closed, fan loss that was occurring anyway accelerated by the virus.

If they do not merge the ATP will be a good deal smaller and the WTA will be a whole lot smaller in the near term. Thats why Fed was saying 1 tour might be better than 2.

It sounds great for the men to just say back the ATP and the heck with the women. But before the virus there were many more girls playing juniors than boys and they pay attention to the WTA not the ATP. Its a trend we have seen grow the past 5 years. So tennis fans in 10 years will be a much higher percentage of females. Short term thinking by the ATP is not smart. The day may come where they will be wishing for a merged tour as the percentage of male fans continues to lessen.

As I said before, I hope these players outside the top 100 are thinking about other ways to make money. Its going to be even more of the players at the very top making money and many others not.

Jon – re other ways of making money, from ubitennis :

‘Kevin Krawietz, who claimed his maiden grand slam doubles title less than a year ago in Roland Garros, is filling in his free time by working in a local supermarket. The German currently has a doubles world ranking of 13th and has achieved six wins on the ATP Tour this season prior to the suspension.

The 28-year-old is currently earning 450 euros per week in his supermarket job to help out during the lockdown in his home country. Speaking with Der Spiegel about his new venture, Krawietz has said his job has helped give him ‘more appreciation.’

“In general, I had been planning to look into a normal job for a long time. With Corona, I now have the opportunity to do this,” he said.
“Some of the colleagues here get up at five in the morning and are in the store from half past five to fill the shelves. In my life, on the other hand, I had the luxury of being able to turn my hobby into a job.”

The tasks he does range from shelf-stacking to disinfecting trolleys in a store located in the area of Munich. According to Eurosport Germany, he came across the job after hearing from a friend that they were in need of staff to work during the pandemic.

“I replenish shelves and I make sure that the sausages and cheese are in sight,” Krawietz said of his duties
“I sort the empty boxes.”
“I’ve also done security at the entrance, spraying the shopping trolleys with disinfectant.”

Despite his taste of life as a retail worker, Krawietz isn’t giving up on his tennis dream anytime soon. Due to a relaxation in Germany’s lockdown rules, he has been given a permit to train at a local sports facility nearby. He says he currently trains there three to four times a week.

Krawietz peaked at a ranking high of No.7 on November 4th 2019. Last year he qualified for the season-ending ATP Tour Finals along with compatriot Andreas Mies. They were only the second all-German team to ever play at the event and first since 1975.’

No one has an absolute right to make a living playing tennis and if they are not making enough money to survive then perhaps they should look around for alternatives. A lot of low ranked players I’ve seen over the years clearly do not have a future in the game. It’s like showbiz.

Domi’s comments are of course causing squeals of outrage:

“None of the lower-ranked players have to fight for their lives. I’ve seen players on the ITF-Tour who don’t commit to the sport 100%. Many of them are quite unprofessional. I don’t see why I should give them money,” Thiem told Krone Sport.
“I’d rather donate to people and institutions, who really need it. There is no profession in the world, where you are guaranteed success and high income at the start of your career. None of the top players took anything for granted. We all had to fight our way up the rankings,” he added.

I get idea that a lot of scrabbling players have the feeling that because it’s tennis and they are encouraged to think of what they’re doing as a regular job with all the benefits accrued, then somehow they’re entitled to support from the game – which of course they are not because they are actually self-employed and any insurance against unemployment (for whatever reason) is up to them.

Thiem: “I hereby declare open season on me. Please, here is more than enough extra motivation to come after me when we play. I welcome the extra MPH you put on your serve as well as the extra effort you use to determine my weaknesses and stick it to me.”

Thiem is welcome to say what he wants. But he probably doesn’t get that he just gave a lot of other players extra motivation to get their first career win over a top five player.

I don’t want to talk too much about Thiem and his problems in saying too much. His remarks were pretty bad on Muster, on Mladenovic, and now on other players on tour, even if they are generally cannon fodder set up to be beaten easily in the first round when they get there. I know top players often have egos and many of them make their entourage do everything (including laundry). But Thiem is a guy that shows he is and there’s not much humility there.

Not to get Jackson’s hopes up with a positive comment about his boy Rafa Nadal, but Nadal would never do this. He’d never put down other players or diminish them unless they were hostile towards him, which is rare.

Maybe this Thiem comment is more of the bad boy tennis that has re-emerged on tour. I can’t call myself a Thiem fan, but given what he says I can’t say I’ll ever be one.

In normal times I would be the first one yelling about the Gauff award. But tennis is going to battle to be relevant going forward. I will take anything that brings attention, even a silly award for a player who has not won a damn thing yet.

Thiem is 100% correct. The reason lower ranked players do not make money is because they are replaceable. Thats the real world.

10000000000 people are talented/willing to work enough to park cars, 10000000 are talented/willing to work enough to be nurses, 100000 are talented/willing to work enough to build businesses, 1000 are talented/willing to work enough to play amazing tennis and get pro ranking points….and 10 are talented/willing to work enough so that people will fill the stands and turn on the TV and make money for advertisers.

Of course the numbers are just for effect, but in most cases, the rarer the ability/work ethic, the more the compensation. No one comes to watch the 89th ranked player play tennis.