Zeballos Wins Maiden Title By Defeating Rafael Nadal

Posted on February 11, 2013 by admin| 1 Comment

It took 2 hours and 46 minutes for Horacio Zeballos to claim his first ATP title beating the King of Clay Rafa Nadal 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Zeballos put on a great show and refused to be intimidated by the record of Nadal, playing some incredibly points and being far more effective on serve than the Spaniard.

Zeballos became only the third man ever, behind Djokovic and Federer, to beat Nadal in a clay court final.

Zeballos was playing a huge tennis name and a clay court giant and yet the way Rafa was moving around the court made it feel like the great Spaniard was the underdog – the one legged underdog. Read more »

Posted in Horacio Zeballos, Injury, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Vina del Mar

Pat Rafter Refuses To Back Down To Tomic

Posted on February 3, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

Australia’s Davis Cup selections will come down to a battle of the wills that it sounds like Pat Rafter is determined to win, refusing to let the cocky, but talented, 20 year old call the shots.

During the Australian Open Bernard Tomic sounded like a petulant child when describing his potential contribution to the Davis Cup team, essentially saying that Pat would hear from him when Bernard wanted to play. Read more »

Posted in Andy Roddick, Australian Open, Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup, Pat Rafter, Roger Federer, US Open

Watching Rafa’s Return

Posted on February 3, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

When Rafael Nadal arrived in Chile to play his first match in seven months he was training without tape on his knees – tape that has been largely absent for the last few years.

His training session on Sunday was a different story. Not only was Rafa wearing his old faithful tape for patella tendinitis but he appeared to have a small patch underneath the tendon – something that he has rarely been seen with. Read more »

Posted in Chile, Injury, Media, Pablo Andujar, Rafael Nadal

Bernard Tomic To Face Traffic Court Again And Continues To Show A Lack Of Respect For The Law

Posted on February 1, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

Bernard Tomic has repeatedly accused the Queensland police of deliberately treating him unfairly. The top Australian player who Pat Rafter refused to use in Davis Cup until he started behaving better has again broken the law and lost his license. Tomic will face traffic court for two offenses on Australia Day.

After his previous infringements Tomic had 1 point remaining on his license and was placed on a 12 month good behaviour license. After being busted in his new yellow Ferrari (so much for not driving such a powerful car) he was fined $220 and docked 3 points and will face court to see how long he faces being without a license. Read more »

Posted in Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup, Media, Pat Rafter

Nadal Cautious On Return

Posted on February 1, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

After a 7 month break Rafael Nadal has admitted that he’s not only cautious about returning to play but that his knees are still bothering him. Previously he had stated that he wasn’t coming back until they were 100% because he didn’t want to take more time off… I guess he can’t hang out at home anymore because what he’s saying now sounds different.

“My knee is much better, and this is the most important thing now because there’s no risk of a big injury. But it’s still bothering me, which will keep me from playing all the time, which I would like to do. Read more »

Posted in Injury, Media, Rafael Nadal

Djokovic Beats Murray For Third Consecutive Australian Open

Posted on January 27, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

There had been a look in Novak Djokovic’s eyes since he battle Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open, a look that since 2011 has been a sign of his determination and an indicator of the likely outcome of the tournament. Djokovic looked, despite the enormous amount of time he spent on court, like he was hungry for a third consecutive Australian Open title.

Andy Murray, his opponent in the final, looked unusually calm – a peace, and sense of direction that seemed to descend on the Scot after winning the Olympic gold medal and the US Open last year. For the first set of their final it looked like Murray was the one keeping a calm head and as though the weary Djokovic would be frustrated by his shoes slipping and his inability to convert break points. Read more »

Posted in Andy Murray, Injury, Media, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka, US Open

Azarenka Beats Li Na For Second Australian Open Title

Posted on January 26, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

Victoria Azarenka has successfully defended her Australian Open title by defeated the injured Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

After shooting herself in the foot in the semi finals when she called for a lengthy injury time out for a rib/breathing issue and later repeatedly made it sound like she was choking and needed the time out for anxiety purposes, Vika was sure to be fighting for the crowds support. Her opponent, Li Na, has long been adored by the Australian crowd for her good sportsmanship and hilarious post match interviews. Read more »

Posted in Australian Open, Injury, Li Na, Media, Victoria Azarenka

Wawrinka Pushes Djokovic To The Brink

Posted on January 20, 2013 by admin| Leave a comment

Coming into his match with Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka had been in great form but few really anticipated that he would provide much resistance against Novak, let alone keep him on court for five hours and almost beat him.

Ultimately Novak won 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 12-10 but Wawrinka is bound to now be a crowd favourite for years to come much the same way Fernando Verdasco became after his 2009 match against Rafael Nadal.

Wawrinka was simply impressive. He hammered 16 aces down compared to Djokovic’s 9 and didn’t serve a double fault until the fourth hour of the match. He punished 69 winners to 51 from Nole but was ultimately undone but his error count. Read more »

Posted in Australian Open, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Injury, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka

Simon And Monfils Engage In 71-Shot Rally

Posted on January 20, 2013 by admin| 1 Comment

Eventually Simon came out on top of their battle… but here’s the 71-shot rally

Posted in Australian Open, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon

Djokovic And Others Comment On Lance Armstrong’s Fall From Grace

Posted on January 18, 2013 by admin| 2 Comments

Has there ever been a greater fall from grace than that of Lance Armstrong? Doubtful.

The disgraced cyclist made headlines today for finally admitting to various kinds of doping before and after his cancer diagnosis, saying he never doped again after his first retirement in 2005. Lance also discussed the ways in which doping was performed in cycling.

Tennis players have long been vocal about the doping control they are subjected to. They must provide a time and location for a possible test for every single day of the year twelve months in advance. Now the players are speaking about Lance Armstrong’s scandal… and here are some of their thoughts. Read more »

Posted in Drugs, Julien Benneteau, Lance Armstrong, Maria Sharapova, Media, Novak Djokovic, Olivier Rochus