ITF Forms Junior Travel Team
The ITF Development Department has announced that the following players will form the ITF/Grand Slam International 18 & under Junior Team for an eight-week tour of Europe this summer: BOYS Damir Dzumhur (BIH) Mate Zsiga (HUN) Duilio Beretta (PER) Hugo Dellien (BOL) Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI) John Morrissey (IRL) Roberto Quinoz (ECU) GIRLS Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR) Cristina Dinu (ROU) Luksika Kumkhum (THA) Grace Sari Ysidora (INA) Zarah Razafimahatratra (MAD) Nour Abbes (TUN) The team will play the following schedule: May 7-9: ITF Training Camp, Italy May 10-16: 32nd Torneo Internazionale "Citta Di Santa Croce", Italy May 17-23: 51st Trofeo Bonfiglio 2010, Milan, Italy May 24-29: 46th Astrid Bowl Charleroi, Belgium May 30 - June 6: Roland Garros June 8-13: 18th International Junior Tournament of Offenbach/Main, Germany June 14-18: Lensbury Club, Training, UK June 20-25: AEGON International Junior Tennis Championships, Roehampton, UK June 26 - July 4: The Junior Championships, Wimbledon The team is financed by the Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF), providing players not only with the opportunity to take part in top level international competition but also the invaluable experience of traveling abroad as part of a team under the guidance of an ITF coach.
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Patrick McEnroe has revealed that the United States Tennis Association’s desire to exert power over players, and a subsequent backlash, could have resulted in Andy Roddick’s decision not to play Davis Cup this year.
McEnroe’s revelations come in his new book “Hardcourt Confidential: Tales From Twenty Five Years In the Pro Tennis Trenches” that the United States Davis Cup captain of the last ten years co-wrote with the veteran American tennis journalist Peter Bodo. Until this year Roddick’s service in the cause of his country had been exemplary since making his debut against Switzerland when aged just 18 back in 2001. He had played in 23 ties, scoring 31 singles victories from his 42 rubbers, a record that leaves him second all time in US Davis Cup history to McEnroe’s esteemed elder brother John. In January Roddick announced he would not be available for Davis Cup selection this year as he sought to overcome injury problems that saw him miss the year ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London and make a more concerted effort at the Grand Slam titles after performing so admirably to finish runner up to Roger Federer in an epic Wimbledon final. However McEnroe writes that by the end of 2009, Roddick “was growing a little tired of the extraneous demands of Davis Cup.” The causes were not on-court issues and the demands of playing. Rather economic issues and budgetary restraints on the team that a little over two years earlier had won the cup for the United States for the first time in 12 years. “He was pissed by the way the USTA started nitpicking the players’ phone bills, or insisting that Mike Bryan’s girlfriend take a cab and pay her own way to the airport when she had to leave a tie a day early,” writes McEnroe, whose Davis Cup deal is due to expire next year. “It was petty stuff, easily averted, and a transparent attempt by the USTA to show who’s in charge. But the reality is that the USTA has to be careful not to alienate the top players.” In September the United States team, presumably still without the services of Roddick, will play to preserve World Group status for the first time since 2005. With both Roddick and James Blake opting not to play in February and Mike Bryan ruled out by illness, McEnroe was forced to rely on youngsters John Isner and Sam Querrey with the team losing 3-2 to Serbia on indoor clay in Belgrade. China has several times grabbed the tennis headlines as several of its women players have performed well at the highest level. Li Na hit the top 10 after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open this year, with Zheng Jie also reaching her second major semifinal at the same event after previously reaching the final four at Wimbledon in 2008.
But what of the men? They have made no impact at all, but according to captain Lu Ling that will change in around two years from now. That is a brave statement coming after a 4-1 Davis Cup defeat by Kazakhstan at the weekend and there presently being just one player ranked inside the ATP World Tour top 400. "The popularity of tennis in China still lags far behind," said Gao Shenyang, deputy director of China’s tennis management center. "To be honest, we are in an embarrassing talent drought. The grass roots tennis training system is more focused on the score than on players' body and basic skill. Lacking such necessary elements in tennis will block further development. The level of Chinese tennis coaching also lags far behind as they still cannot find the discipline of the game. Due to the low level, Chinese male players don't have a high ranking so that they could only take part in a few low-class tournaments, which makes them lack experience and confidence." In order to remedy the situation, Gao revealed that more experienced foreign coaches will be invited and more young players will be sent abroad to learn and practice The renaissance of Belgian women’s tennis seems to be faltering in the build up to the French Open. Kim Clijsters already seems unlikely to be a starter because of her foot injury and now world no.12 Yanina Wickmayer faces a race against time to be fit for Roland Garros after undergoing surgery to have a bone spur removed from her left elbow.
Wickmayer’s injury is not thought to be tennis related. According to her spokesperson, it actually dates back eight years when she was accidentally knocked over by a car. Nevertheless the 20 year-old travelled back to Brussels after being emphatically beaten 6-2, 6-0 by Jelena Jankovic in the third round of last week’s Internazionali BNL D'Italia in Rome and immediately withdrew from this week’s Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open where she would have been seeded 11th. “Yanina underwent a small arthroscopic surgery to remove a small floating bone spur,” said her agent Olivier van Lindonk of IMG. “She will work very hard over the next two weeks and still hopes to be able to participate at Roland Garros.” This time last year Wickmayer was ranked in the mid 60’s on the WTA Tour and only reached the second round in the French Open. But she progressed to reach finals in s-Hertogenbosch and Birmingham before making the semi-finals at the US Open. Clijsters is doubtful for Roland Garros after suffering two small tears in the muscles of her left foot but Justine Henin, beaten in Madrid’s first round by Aravane Rezai, revealed she had been suffering from a virus after winning the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart and expects to be fully recovered in time for the start at Roland Garros on May 23. The ITF has announced the seeds for the Draw for the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group play-offs. The Draw will take place on Tuesday 11 May at the ITF offices in London at 11:00 (10:00 GMT).
The eight seeded nations are Australia, Ecuador, Germany, India, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland and USA. Seeds are based on the new ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking of 10 May. Each of the seeds will be drawn against one of the following unseeded nations: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Romania and South Africa. The 2010 World Group play-offs will take place alongside the World Group semifinals September 17-19. The eight winning nations will then contest the 2011 World Group. a. Tennis is a game that requires quite a bit of time and effort to make a relatively small change. You can only effectively change one thing at a time.
Take an inventory of your strokes, and make a priority list for those things that you want to change. If you are really dedicated, you can probably only change a maximum of three strokes in a given 5 – month tennis session. Most players can only change and improve one stroke.
4. Recapturing and improving your strokes is the next on your planning list. If you are a fairly well skilled player, it will take at least two weeks of hitting (assuming you hit at least five days per week) to get back your old form. The question is: “Do I want to regain my old form or do I want a new one?”
Expect a different look from Elena Dementieva in the coming weeks and months. It’s not about a new outfit, although she’ll probably be introducing a new ensemble or two at the majors. It’s about sunglasses.
Olympic champion and winner already of two titles in 2010, the Russian has signed a deal with Maui Jim, the manufacturer of premium sunglasses. Under the agreement, Dementieva will be a brand ambassador for the Hawaii-based company, promoting its products on a global level with various forms of marketing, advertising, PR, communications and promotions. "I’m excited to partner with Maui Jim Sunglasses as I really like the durability and style of their products," said Dementieva. "But what really grabbed my attention is their concern for sunlight protection. As a professional tennis player, many of my events are outside so protection from the sun is critical. Maui Jim’s combination of protection and top performance was a perfect fit for me and I’m looking forward to spreading that message as a brand ambassador." No matter what happens between now and then, Bob and Mike Bryan will be there when Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde are inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, R.I. shortly after Wimbledon.
The twins are set to eclipse the record 61 doubles titles that the Aussie team won, earning the 60th crown of their careers when they defeated fellow Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey in the final of the Rome Masters at the weekend. Next up is Madrid, and if they win that they will go into Roland Garros knowing they can become the most successful team in the Open era if they win there too. But they’d rather not crack the record in Paris. "Probably Wimbledon would be the best place to do it because that's TV live back to the states, Centre Court match, so that would be exciting," Mike told the Associated Press. Once that record is broken, as it surely will be, the Bryans have another record to chase. The Woodies hold 11 major titles, while the Bryans are still lagging behind with eight. |
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August 2011
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