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ESPN’s John McEnroe, Mary Joe Fernandez Preview Australian Open

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There aren’t many conference calls with media these days in the tennis world, but ESPN always conducts telephone availability with their talent before each of the Grand Slam tournaments that they televise. They do an excellent job and provide same-day transcripts as well of the conversations. In advance of the 2024 Australian Open, ESPN made John McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez available t the press and this is the ESPN provided transcript of the call.

Moderator: Thank you very much, Mary Joe and John, for joining us today to preview the Australian Open 2024 kickoff of the 2024 season. As you know, this is our longest programming relationship at ESPN. This is the 40th annual time we’ll be presenting the Australian Open. We’re very excited about that.

We have first ball to last ball and absolutely everything on ESPN+. A couple new things in 2024. It’s now a 15-day tournament which means it starts in the U.S. on Saturday the 13th. We will have it on 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and midnight ET on ESPN 2. We’ll also be airing the local prime time matches at 3 a.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN-2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes. We have every match available for live stream.

As you know, Naomi is back. Rafa is out, unfortunately. Another person looking to mount a comeback at Melbourne Park is Angelique Kerber. Djokovic is seeking his 25th major singles title.

John and Mary Joe, we’ll take our first question.

Q. Have you guys heard anything on Novak’s wrist injury? Do you think that will be a hindrance for him? As far as Rafa, what do you make of his career situation right now? Do you think he can try to mount a comeback for the French Open?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Novak, I haven’t heard anything. I did see he’s on the practice schedule for today in Australia, which is a good sign. Last year, remember he went in with an injury and he somehow played some of his best tennis towards the end of the event.

He knows how to manage himself, deal with some injuries here and there. We’ll see. I think the next few days will be telling on how much he practices.

For Rafa, big bummer that he’s not going to be in Melbourne. I was really excited to have him back. I watched some of his matches last week and thought he looked very good for not having played in one year. He was striking the ball really well.

The injuries are tough. The game has become so physical that I think the goal will be the French and the Olympics for Rafa. I think tennis-wise he’s optimistic because his level was quite high right away. It’s a matter now of managing the body and seeing if he can be healthy.

If he’s healthy, then he’s definitely going to be a contender.

JOHN McENROE: I think that pretty much sizes it up. We don’t know is the answer. I don’t know, at least, either one of those.

Novak has been injured allegedly the last couple years and won the event handily. As Mary Joe pointed out, let’s just say he knows how to manage it. So we’ll see. Obviously he’s won it 10 times. Who would have thought that could have happened. Then again you look at Rafa who won the French 14 times.

I’m not even remotely comparing myself to Rafa, but in my mind the few times I played Australia was to sort of get ready for the rest of the year. The timing was tough to seemingly to be able to put all the chips on the table early on.

Players have now accepted that the Australian Open has gotten closer in importance with Wimbledon and the U.S. When I was playing, the top guys didn’t even play. It’s come a long way.

I think Rafa was hoping, “hopefully I’ll be ready for the French, see if my body holds up there.” If it doesn’t, I think you’ll see him not play anymore. We’re all obviously hopeful he can because Rafa has been amazing for the game. We’d like to see him as long as we can.

Q. What will you be looking for as Naomi Osaka returns to Grand Slam action? Is it unreasonable to think she could be a factor in Melbourne after the time away? A more broad question, why do you think there are so many more mothers competing on tour than there used to be? Is it because of anything the sport or tour has done to make it easier for them? Are things different now than they were, say, when you played, Mary Joe?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: That’s a great question.

In regards to Naomi, I always say you never underestimate a champion. She’s won the Australian Open a couple times. I watched her play last week, as well. I thought she was striking the ball very well after a long time away. Actually thought she was moving pretty well.

A lot is going to depend on the draw, who she comes up against early. If she can find a way to get through the first few rounds, she always becomes a threat. She has major weapons with her serves and groundstrokes.

You look at the top four with Iga, Sabalenka, Rybakina and Coco, tough to get through those I think at the moment. I thought it was very promising what we saw last week from Naomi.

I was thinking about what you just said about moms coming back now. When I retired, I never even thought it was a possibility after having a child to come back. I think having players like Azarenka and Serena and Kim Clijsters set the example and show that you can do it and come back at a very high level, Kim won majors, Serena came close, I think that’s been powerful.

I’m excited to see Kerber back. Svitolina is playing the best tennis of her career. That’s been one. Wozniacki played great at the US Open. We’ll see. Kerber got a win at the United Cup at the end. I think that’s going to help her a lot.

I know Azarenka pushed hard not to lose her ranking, maternity leave. That’s made it easier for moms to come back as well. I think the examples of Serena, Clijsters and Azarenka set the tone.

JOHN McENROE: I would add that Osaka, because of all the talk about mental health, getting away from the game, you can’t help but take a look at her when you see her. Obviously in our sport or any sport pretty much, you need to be fit. That goes without saying.

Then you have to take a close look at where her head’s at as far as going out and competing. This sport, you win and you lose. She’s got to be able to accept that and be able to handle that and enjoy the process that it takes to even get out on a court and compete for a major. I hope she can.

Obviously because there’s been so much talk with her in particular, it’s going to be inevitable that people are going to look even more carefully.

My favorite player growing up on the women’s tour, I loved Chrissie obviously, we miss her, but Evonne Goolagong was my favorite. She had a kid and won a major.

Another incredible person that Mary Joe mentioned was Kim Clijsters who came back and played better than before and won more. I think when you look at that, then what Mary Joe mentioned about the rankings, it allowed players, some of the young ladies that wanted to have a kid, to be able to get away and not feel like they had to start over, which is a tough thing to do if you’re trying to win majors.

It’s good to see that there’s been some changes that have taken place that allowed these young ladies to hopefully have their cake and eat it, too.

Q. John, with this year’s Australian Open becoming a 15-day event, what are your thoughts and opinions on the continued growth of the tournament? How competitive will this year be in 2024 compared to last year’s Open?

JOHN McENROE: First of all, it’s a money grab as far as I’m concerned. They just found another way to make some money. I don’t agree with it. I’m a commentator. No one’s particularly concerned about my feelings.

The players, if they accept it and they’re getting something from it, like some money for their pensions or retirement for some players that don’t have insurance, I would say that’s a good thing that they have added an extra day.

I don’t think that has happened, just like it didn’t happen at the French Open. I completely disagree with it. That’s probably me being selfish that I have to be away from home an extra day or two.

As far as 2024, particularly on the women’s, I believe there’s some players coming back. Mary Joe mentioned most of them, but Kerber and Osaka, two obvious ones, Raducanu, that haven’t been around. That sort of adds an element of excitement to the women’s side.

For the men, it’s a little bit of a bummer because Rafa is not playing obviously. You still got these youngsters that are trying to step up. Carlos hasn’t been there for a couple years. Me personally, just to see my old buddy Boris, to come out the other side hopefully and be with Rune who is looking to take that next step, to me that is interesting.

I like Sinner a lot. I like Ben Shelton a lot. I think the American males, it’s a pretty interesting event actually, especially dare I say if Novak isn’t 100%.

Q. Both tours are making kind of drastic changes this year. The ATP is doing this profit sharing. They have this one vision. The WTA is requiring their players to play more and more and more. I’m wondering, are we heading in the right direction or are we just creating more problems for these players?

JOHN McENROE: Obviously I don’t think there should ever be a tour where they need to ask the players to play more. I never agreed with that in the first place. I don’t know if that’s where it’s headed. I’m hearing there’s other possibilities in the mix that would change that.

Obviously the slams, they want to make themselves even more important, so they’re going to try to come up with something that helps themselves. I can’t blame them for that.

As far as the profit-sharing, I’m not exactly sure what you’re referring to with the tour. But I will tell you as far as profit sharing, if you want to get a tour that everyone can get behind, there should be profit sharing with the majors. I mean, I’ve only been saying that for 45 years, with the players who get a much lower percentage of the revenue than in any other sport.

I don’t disagree with the idea of a profit sharing experience with the players, and I’m not exactly sure who you’re referring to in what you’re saying, but that is where I believe we’ll see the sport get to a better place. Until that happens, it’s going to be factions all over the place.

I’ve been saying this for the same amount of time, how about a commissioner of tennis? How is that for an idea, someone that can actually oversee this and make decisions based on what’s best for the sport, not what’s best for the Australian Open? Oh, okay, let’s have an extra day of the event. Great. We can make more money.

Is that better for the players? I don’t know about that.

We could go on and on and discuss this for hours.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yeah, I agree with a lot of what John said. The majors, that’s where I think the big change has to come for the players to participate more with the revenues. Some of these Masters 1000s have gone to 10, 12 days. I think that’s tough on the players.

I’ve always been a big believer that the best product is when you do have the men and the women together. If we had a commissioner of tennis, they could be overseeing both the women and men, bringing them as much as possible, the product’s great.

I don’t know enough about the ATP Tour and what they’re doing to really discuss that. I agree with John: it’s never a good idea if you force players to have to play more. Players should be able to dictate their schedule as much as possible and create something that’s right for them.

Q. Where do you all come down on players who choose to not play at all before these tournaments, as a couple of big names are sort of showing up and playing in this event? Novak obviously did it before Wimbledon, has done it a lot before Wimbledon. Turns out all right for him. I’m curious about the adjustment to going very far away, what you have to get used to, or maybe it’s no big deal because it’s a hard court and you figure it out?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think it’s tricky. I think it’s tricky when players don’t play anything before major events, especially Wimbledon because it’s such a unique surface.

This year for Australia, Alcaraz and Sinner, I think Medvedev on the men’s side, haven’t played anything. They did have a busy off-season. We’ll see how that plays out. There’s so much depth in the game, you have to be careful with the draws. You can get a tough draw right away, you haven’t played the matches to start the season…

The top players have so much confidence in themselves. Serena used to play sometimes without playing. And Steffi. They find a way to work their way into the tournament and do well. I always think it’s tricky.

I did see I believe that Alcaraz is playing a couple of XOs on-site with de Minaur and one with Ruud. They’re looking to get some exhibition matches this week to get some repetition, but it’s not the same as playing a tournament.

JOHN McENROE: I will only add that it depends on the player. You hear Rafa talk, he likes to get matches. There’s other players where it doesn’t matter one iota whether they play or not. As a matter of fact, they’d be better off not playing. Considering what Mary Joe just mentioned, that Sinner played till late November, early December with the Davis Cup. We’ve been through that routine before with the scheduling.

Alcaraz sure as hell could have used the break. Medvedev played more matches than anyone on tour. So to think that he has to play Adelaide is a joke. I mean, c’mon.

On top of that, God bless them, play some matches at Melbourne where they get paid a bunch of money on the court they’re playing on. Perfect for them. They get there a week, two weeks. It depends on the person again how early you want to get there to adjust – that’s all – to the heat. If you’ve come from the cold in Europe, obviously you need to adjust. Most of them are probably already in places. Roger used to go to Dubai or something before Australia. I hear other players do something similar, or they get there early.

It doesn’t matter at all to me one bit what happens, like, the lead-up before.

Q. John, you’ve talked about Saudi Arabia possibly infusing money into tennis in the past. You said you’re opposed to it. There’s a report that the Saudis are looking to buy the Miami Open and the Madrid Open. What are your thoughts on Saudi Arabia getting involved in tennis that way? Could there be a breakaway LIV type tour like there was in golf?

JOHN McENROE: It wouldn’t shock me. Let’s put it this way: money talks. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that. How much was I offered? On second thought maybe I will do that.”

Personally, I disagree with it completely, with the golf and the tennis. The ladies are going to play the WTA Finals there? Are you kidding me? Because they treat women so well? That part is to me laughable.

At the same time, which is also laughable, is the people that can criticize tennis players or golfers for doing something that virtually every business and the government do, which is deal with Saudi Arabia.

This idea that tennis players have to set the moral standard, or golfers for that matter, when they’re all making the money, it’s a total joke as far as I’m concerned. We’ll see what happens.

I’d be surprised if the Saudis don’t buy those tournaments actually. Not that they will. I’ll be surprised if they don’t have them. Billie Jean endorsed it. Billie Jean King endorsed this? I have so much respect for Billie Jean that I have to actually think about it. Maybe I’m the idiot.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I remember seeing that about Billie Jean. She basically said she’s willing to learn, she’s willing to explore what it entails, what the opportunities are.

I feel like I’m on the same page with John, but I also see the other side of it. We will see. Time will tell. I hear the same rumors that they’re trying to buy a lot of events.

Q. Who do you see sneaking through to challenge the big champions that you haven’t mentioned in terms of any players? Who do you see sneaking through to challenge the big names?

JOHN McENROE: Well, maybe I’ll talk about the men and Mary Joe can talk about the women.

I don’t see anyone sneaking through, to be honest. I see a handful of guys, eight guys, that could win it. Obviously Novak being by far, if he’s healthy, the guy that would be the big favorite.

If I had to pick one guy that could potentially sneak through, if you want to call it that, and I’m really happy that I see this late in his career, that he has the potential to do something that he’s never even come close to doing, I would pick Grigor Dimitrov. The guy looks as good as the top five or six guys. I would consider that completely sneaking through, even though he’s like 12 or 14 in the world.

Then the obvious: Medvedev, Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, Rune, Zverev. Tsitsipas has been in the finals there a couple times. Those guys. Then Ben Shelton I believe is going to win majors.

Sebastian Korda, would you call it sneaking through? Maybe he’d be sneaking through. I don’t know if physically he’s ready to make that move yet. He’s got an unusual problem: he needs to put on weight, get stronger. Normally you are always like, I have to get really fit.

Still I’d be surprised not to see the top guys do it.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I would be surprised as well on the women’s side if one of the top four doesn’t come away with the title.

I don’t think you can call it sneaking through, but I’m waiting for Jessica Pegula to have a breakthrough and get past the quarterfinals and win one. I think she’s got the game for it. She’s beaten all the top players.

Is the surface going to be the right speed for her? She likes it when it’s a bit quicker. She’s the one player I think can make a big move.

Ons Jabeur has been in the finals a few times of Grand Slams. Can she be healthy? She has a unique game with her variety. Can she disrupt those top players? Yes.

The one player I’m waiting for her to do good at majors as well is Sakkari. She’s got such a good game. She’s such a good athlete. She’s lost in the first round of the last three majors. It’s mental for her. Can she get over that and start threatening these top players?

Q. Since you were both great doubles player, it’s an Olympic year, Alcaraz and Nadal may be playing together, which doubles combinations would be excited to see in the Olympics? We saw some mixed doubles that pretty cool at United Cup. Also, it’s going to be 35th anniversary of you getting defaulted from the Australian Open next year, John.

JOHN McENROE: It’s the 34th, isn’t it?

Q. Next year will be the 35th.

JOHN McENROE: Talk about it next year then (laughter).

Q. Do you look at it as one that maybe got away? You had Noah the next round and you never lost to him. You were set up there to go deep.

JOHN McENROE: Are you trying to rub salt in the wounds?

Q. Until Djokovic got kicked out of the US Open, that was the most famous.

JOHN McENROE: I did like my draw, though I had to play Edberg in the semis. That obviously wouldn’t have been a gimme.

I should have known the rules had changed. I will admit that. I screwed up. The rules changed right before the tournament. That did cost me because I did have a good-looking draw there.

I don’t want to say thank you for bringing that up (smiling).

What was the other part of the question?

Q. On the doubles, since you had doubles success, thinks an Olympic year, talk about doubles more than we normally would.

JOHN McENROE: Doubles? Would be incredible to see Nadal play with Alcaraz. I’d love to see that. I’d love to see Tiafoe play with Shelton. They played with me in the Laver Cup. They both have so much personality that those would definitely be my top two picks, for sure.

I don’t even know if the Olympics is like a 16 or 32 draw. I haven’t thought about it a whole lot, to be honest, because I don’t think it’s on the forefront of the sport, who is going to play the doubles or mixed at the Olympics?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I do think we’re going to see more of the players as it gets closer play some tournaments together, for sure. Those teams would obviously be exciting, the ones John mentioned.

I think Wozniacki has been talking about playing with Rune. The Americans have a lot of options. I think Coco and Jess would be big favorites to win the gold, but then you have great doubles players like Taylor Townsend in the mix.

It’s going to be exciting. It’s always fun. Doubles, we wish we saw more of the top players playing more consistently.

Q. Djokovic is so great at playing when the crowd is against him, like when he beat Federer at Wimbledon, in Turin he played Sinner. John. Had great success in Davis Cup playing in adverse situations. Why is he so good from that? Who is great at playing against the crowd?

JOHN McENROE: That’s a great question.

He’s the greatest that I’ve ever seen, by far, when the crowd is against him. I had some times where that took place certainly, many times. It felt like never to the extent of Novak. I didn’t handle it nearly as well.

For a while, you get inspired. Eventually it wears a little thin and old. You’re like, How come I can’t get some love in a way? When I got some love, that was when my game went down. I wasn’t good enough to win, unfortunately.

Novak has been able to find that perfect sort of sweet spot where he’s able to use that as fuel, and in his 30s gotten better. I wish I knew. I wish I had known when I played. I wish I know even in a way now because I would try to impart that to anyone that would listen.

That is the greatest quality he’s got without a doubt. Connors was great at it also. He’s probably the best I played. A lot of times the crowd loved him. He could do anything. When he had the crowd against him, he’d somehow turn it around in his favor. He was the best at manipulating a crowd. Novak is the best by far of having the crowd against him and turning it around.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: It’s pretty remarkable. He almost sometimes looks to get them riled up on purpose to get his mojo going.

I don’t know. I saw that interview he did with Jon Wertheim on 60 Minutes. I think John asked him about being so mentally tough being a gift. He said it’s not a gift, he works very hard on it. When it matters, can he turn it on despite the crowd not being on his side. It’s definitely I think a gift that he can do that because that’s not easy.

Q. Your thoughts on players concerned about, complaining about, switching from tournament to tournament, week to week, the tennis balls used, some speculating that injuries are increased because of that? Do you think there’s some legitimacy to those concerns that injuries are being caused by those switches? Is that any different from when the two of you were playing?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think it’s very legitimate. I think there should be a universal ball. Players playing one week leading up to a major with one ball, they switch the next week, switch back the third week. Some balls are heavier, some lighter. It affects their shoulders, their wrists. I don’t think there’s enough money in the sponsorship of the balls that it makes sense.

I feel like there should be one ball for the whole Australian summer, which they might have this year. On the clay, you go to the grass, back on the hard courts… There should be a consistent ball because I do believe it contributes to a lot of the injuries we’re seeing.

JOHN McENROE: I’m going to have to respectfully disagree on that one. I think the whole thing is just that players are always wound up before. Oh, my God, the ball is too heavy, it’s terrible. I can’t play, my shoulder is falling off. I mean, c’mon.

It’s something that you get worked up about to blow off some steam. Then suddenly in the semis, it’s the greatest ball ever once you made it that far. Slazenger balls were too heavy at Wimbledon. The Wilsons are too…

Weigh them. I’d like to see what the difference in weight is in balls that these top-notch players can’t, God forbid, go down one pound maybe in their tension or go up one pound.

How about the strings? Do you think the strings are maybe tougher on the players than the balls, these synthetic strings that come off the racquet? How about the racquets? How about the courts? How about the traveling? How about the body holding up playing too many events?

I would rank those all above the balls personally.

Q. Any advances in technology or equipment that you think can influence player performance in this year’s season?

JOHN McENROE: Make it better? At this point that’s a tough one to answer honestly. I have a tennis academy. I think it starts teaching kids at a young age the skills. You look at Alcaraz. Everyone should try to figure out what he did as a kid ’cause the guy is skilled at everything. He’s incredible at net as well as the baseline. He’s one of the best movers in the history of the sport. Clone that and teach that.

Even at my academy where I would take pride in wanting to teach kids the volley, because I think I was a pretty decent volleyer, no one listens to me. They sit and stay back. They’re like, Who is that old guy? They don’t volley anymore.

It’s got to be sort of a start from the very beginning, then eventually you’ll get to the stage where hopefully it will bring out the best in our sport ’cause I think it is a great sport.

I hear as much about pickleball as I hear about tennis. We got to keep marketing ourselves better. We got to do a better job. We have to follow in the footsteps of American football, basketball, soccer even, what you call football in Europe. I mean, we’ve drifted way behind those. We got a lot of work to do, in my opinion.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I’m not sure we have new technologies going into this season. Like John said before, the strings have been a big part of advancements, the thickness, how they grab the ball, the spin they’re producing these days. It’s so different than when we played.

Like John said, I mean, the key is early on get great technique, try to get great instructors. You watch Alcaraz, someone like Djokovic and Swiatek, how flexible they are, the way they move. Not just play tennis, play other sports. Become a more all-rounded athlete I think is the key for the next generations to keep getting better.

Thank you, everybody. Tune us in, Saturday the 13th, 7 p.m. ET ESPN+, midnight ESPN-2. Thank you all for the time. Looking forward to a great event. Have a nice day.

Nick Kyrgios Success First Forecast By The Son of Mary Joe Fernandez and Tony Godsick                              

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by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Nick Kyrgios is pretty much the hottest player in tennis at the moment.

Nick Kyrgios is pretty much the hottest player in tennis at the moment.

He won his seventh career singles title at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., coming on the heels of winning the doubles title in Atlanta the previous week and, of course, his runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

Did anyone see Kyrgios capturing lighting in a bottle for the best run of tennis in his career to date?

The answer is… yes. It was Nico Godsick, the 17-year-old son of two-time Olympic gold medallist Mary Joe Fernandez and famed tennis agent Tony Godsick.

Fernandez, who works as a commentator for ESPN, stated during Wimbledon that Nico gave her a heads up that something had changed with Kyrgios when he had the chance to practice with him in Germany before Wimbledon.

“Mom He’s trying,” Fernandez said on ESPN during Wimbledon, relaying what Nico told her in a phone conversation. “He’s engaged in the practices. They have purpose. One day he wanted to play tiebreakers, another day he wanted to hit targets.”

Fernandez continued, “He said, ‘watch out. He’ playing so well. He could go far at Wimbledon.’”

Cliff Drysdale, in the ESPN segment with Fernandez during the segment, then responded, “So Nico is a genius.”

Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios

When Lindsay Davenport First Burst On The Scene

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Lindsay Davenport leads the “Class of 2014” at the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction in Newport, R.I. The induction provides a platform to relay memories of when she first burst onto the top of the tennis scene in 1996.

I first met Lindsay at the U.S. Open in 1993 when she was just 17, one year removed from her winning the junior title at Flushing Meadows. She was one of the U.S. players I was promoting as part of my USTA publicity duties with top up-and-coming American players in conjunction the USTA Player Development program.

Three years later in 1996, I was fortunate enough to serve my first stint as press officer for the U.S. Olympic tennis team at the Atlanta Games. Lindsay barely made it onto the U.S. team as the last singles player on a squad that also featured co-world No. 1 Monica Seles, top-ten player Chanda Rubin as well as defending gold medal doubles champions Mary Joe Fernandez and Gigi Fernandez.

At the U.S. team pre-event press conference before the competition began, Lindsay was sitting on the stage with seven of her teammates – Seles, Rubin, Mary Joe and Gigi Fernandez as well as men’s team members Andre Agassi, Mal Washington and Richey Reneberg and U.S. coaches Billie Jean King and Tom Gullikson. It was curious that of all the questions asked by media during this press conference, not one was directed to Lindsay. She was the only team member to be silent during the session.

As the tennis competition started, Lindsay moved through the draw as quietly as she sat through the pre-event team press conference. With upsets of No. 5 seed Anke Huber of Germany and No. 4 seed Iva Majoli of Croatia, Lindsay, the No. 9 seed, reached the semifinals where she met teammate and close friend Mary Joe Fernandez, a replacement for an injured Rubin in the singles draw. It was an emotional match between Lindsay and Mary Joe – both being such great friends – but Lindsay pulled the minor upset of the more experienced Fernandez 6-2, 7-6 (6) and surprised the tennis world by reaching the final against former world No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

The day before the gold medal match, we booked Lindsay on a media junket in downtown Atlanta to help get some much needed publicity towards Olympic tennis, which at the time was still in its nascent stages as an Olympic sport, having returned to the Games after a 64-year absence just eight years earlier. Tennis was almost a forgotten Olympic sport, still trying to find its identity on the Olympic landscape. As we shuffled between media outlets and TV stations around Centennial Olympic Park, it was a bit unusal to see that no one really recognized or paid much attention to Lindsay when we walked through crowded fan areas. Standing at over six-feet tall, it was hard not to mistake her for an athlete in this Olympic environment.

The next day in the gold medal match, Sanchez-Vicario was the heavy favorite – so much so that Juan Antonio Samaranch, the President of the International Olympic Committee, had bestowed upon himself to be the IOC official who would award the medals at the tennis event that day, believing that he would be presenting gold to his fellow Spaniard Sanchez-Vicario. But Lindsay pulled a stunner – not quite the U.S. Olympic hockey team upsetting the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Games – but she surprised Sanchez-Vicario 7-6 (8), 6-2 in the final. The player who no media member had even bothered to ask a question to in the pre-event press conference was the Olympic champion. Samaranch placed the gold medal around Davenport’s neck and silver around Sanchez-Vicario’s.

The day after the gold medal match, we returned to downtown Atlanta for an even more crowded media junket for the newly-crowned gold medalist, visiting CNN, ESPN, NBC, MSNBC and others. We walked down the same route where Lindsay was completely unnoticed just 48 hours earlier, but now she was being greeted with constant barrages of shouts of “USA” and “Way to go Lindsay” while posing for numerous photos. It’s amazing what winning a gold medal will do for your notoriety. All the while, Lindsay kept her gold medal neatly tucked in her front pocket, out of sight until she needed to bring it out for her media appearances.

Even though it was five years before the September 11 attacks on the United States, it was just a week after the Centennial Olympic Park bombing and security was tight. Entering TV studios required going through metal detectors, which is what we had to do and, as Lindsay walked under the arches of the detector, she set it off. The security official was one of the few people during the day who did not recognize the new Olympic golden girl and asked politely for Lindsay to empty her pockets of “any metal objects” and to place them in a non-descript blue plastic dish to the side. Lindsay reached into her pocket and took out her Olympic gold medal, placing it in the plastic dish before walking again through the detector. The security official, with her mouth ajar, then reached into the dish and pulled the gold medal up by its green ribbon. “Woooowwwwwwwwww,” was all she could manage to say as her eyes bulged in amazement, staring close up at the most desired object of the Olympic Games. It was a unique and amusing moment.

Two years after her Olympic win, Lindsay won her first major singles title at the U.S. Open, beating another favorite in the final, top-seed Martina Hingis. A year after that, she won Wimbledon, also in a surprise, beating 22-time major champion Steffi Graf in the final. Another year later, she added the Australian Open to her collection of major singles titles. Now, 18 years after winning Olympic gold in Atlanta, she’s a Hall of Famer.

Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport

Petra Kvitova Dominates Genie Bouchard To Win Second Wimbledon Title

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

In a 55-minute display of ferocious power tennis, Petra Kvitova easily won her second Wimbledon singles title with a 6-3, 6-0 domination of 20-year-old upstart Genie Bouchard.

Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, slammed 28 winners and constantly barraged the 20-year-old Canadian with her left-handed groundstrokes.

“That was power tennis at its best,” said Mary Joe Fernandez, the U.S. Fed Cup captain on ESPN of Kvitova. “She played with so much freedom.”

“I’m shocked,” said three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert on ESPN. “I did not expect her to play that well. She’s been so up and down this whole year. Genie Bouchard was taken completely by surprise by Kvitova. She was pushed backwards.”

For Kvitova, playing her first tournament final since last September, winning a second major title more firmly establishes her legacy in the game, wrestling free of being labeled a “one-hit wonder.” She also began to make a case to potentially be elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the future. In addition to her now two Wimbledon titles, Kvitova has led her native Czech Republic to two Fed Cup titles and was also the winner at the prestigious year-end WTA Championships in Istanbul in 2011, one of her now 12 WTA Tour titles.

With her powerful ground game and wicked lefty serve, many observers feel that the still-only 24-year-old Kvitova is poised to make a run at several more Wimbledon titles in the years to come.

Said Pam Shriver on ESPN, “You could realistically see her matching the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) with five titles (at Wimbledon).”

The Kvitova-Bouchard final was the most one-sided Wimbledon final since 1983 when Martina Navratilova, like Kvitova a Czech lefty, beat Andrea Jaeger 6-0, 6-3. Bouchard, however, hardly folded, incredibly only hitting four unforced errors in the match, showcasing the one-sided dictation administered by Kvitova. Seeded No. 13, Bouchard entered the final without losing a set and having reached the semifinals at both the Australian and French Open earlier in the year.

“This has nothing to do with shakiness or nerves from Genie Bouchard” said Evert on ESPN of the one-sided final result. “She had no answers for the power, but there were no holes in Kvitova’s game either.”

Bouchard entered the final with most of the hype, dominating headlines in London and around the world, being labeled the new “it” girl in women’s tennis. She has started to command the attention of such media brands as Vogue, as seen here: http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/canadian-tennis-star-eugenie-bouchard-wimbledon/?utm_source=modeldemand.com&utm_medium=modeldemand#1, Elle, as seen here  http://www.ellecanada.com/living/health/eugenie-bouchard-her-health-and-fitness-secrets/a/90073#.U7awcvldWGc and the American tennis program “Good Morning America” here: https://gma.yahoo.com/eugenie-bouchard-5-things-know-tennis-girl-120817909–abc-news-celebrities.html

Only two years removed from winning the Wimbledon junior girls’ title, and playing only her sixth career major tournament, Bouchard was looking to make a hallmark introduction to the global stage in women’s sports like another No. 13-seeded blonde-haired battler Maria Sharapova, who won at the All England Club 10 years ago in 2004 as a 17-year-old. Bouchard, however, seems poised to be a force in women’s tennis and sports marketing for years to come.

“Genie has unlimited endorsement potential,” said Ben Sturner of Madison Avenue-based sports marketing agency Leverage Sports Agency. “She has it all talent, good looks and a super personality which brands really like, especially global brands. And she is only 20 years old!”

 

Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova

Serena Williams Shocked In French Open Second Round, Winning Only Four Games

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by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Not since her very first match as a professional on October 29, 1995 had Serena Williams lost a match in a more convincing fashion that she did Wednesday in the second round of the French Open.

The world No. 1 and defending tournament champion was dismissed in the second round at Roland Garros – winning only four games – losing to No. 35-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-2, 6-2.

Williams, described throughout the match as “flat” by ESPN2 commentators Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez (also her Fed Cup and Olympic coach) as she virtually gave away the match – committed 29 unforced errors (a player only technically needs to win 28 points to win a two-set match with no deuces). Regarded as the greatest server in the history of women’s tennis, Williams made a mediocre 67 percent of her first serves, but only won 55 percent of those points when she got her first ball in. On her second serve, she won only 27 percent of points, illustrating  on her second,

“She left the car in the garage today,” said commentator Brad Gilbert on ESPN2. “She wasn’t getting her free points on her serve today. She looked puzzled.”

“She was flat and Muguruza took it to her,” said Patrick McEnroe, also on ESPN2.

Entering the match, Muguruza had a career record of 0-7 against top 8-ranked players with an 0-14 record in sets played in those seven matches.

The only time Serena Williams lost a pro match by a worse scoreline came in her pro debut in the first round of qualifying of the Bell Challenge in Quebec when she lost 6-1, 6-1 to American Anenie Miller, as excerpted below in the book, digital download and mobile app “This Day in Tennis History” available at www.TennisHistoryApp.com

October 29, 1995 – Fourteen-year-old future world No. 1 Serena Williams makes an auspicious, humbling professional debut, losing in the first round of qualifying of the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, Canada to 18-year-old, Anne Miller 6-1, 6-1. The match is played at Club Advantage, a private tennis club in Quebec with little fanfare. Writes Robin Finn of the New York Times, ”Instead of a stadium showcase, she competed on a regulation practice court at a tennis club in suburban Vanier, side by side with another qualifying match.  There were no spotlights, no introductions, not even any fans. Her court was set a level below a smoky lounge that held a bar, a big-screen television, an ice cream cart and 50 or so onlookers with varying stages of interest in her fate.” Says Williams, “I felt bad out there because I lost.  I didn’t play like I meant to play. I played kind of like an amateur.” Says Miller, “I guess I played a celebrity…She has as much power as anybody around, but maybe she needs to play some junior events the way Anna Kournikova has to learn how to become match-tough. There really is no substitute for the real thing. I felt like a complete veteran compared to her.”

 

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

New SAP Deal With WTA Will Change The Way Pro Tennis Is Played, Watched And Reported

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

In a bruising baseline rally, what percentage of points does Maria Sharapova win when she hits 10 or more forehands in a single point?

If a player approaches the net against Victoria Azarenka, what percentage of backhand passing shots does she hit down-the-line versus crosscourt? What about on her forehand side?

When Serena Williams is engaged in a tight-match, what are her tendencies and patterns of play when the score is 5-5 in a set and beyond?

A player’s coach or a very astute and observant tennis commentator or student of the game may be able pick up the propensities of top tennis players with extended scouting over many months, perhaps years. But with the Women’s Tennis Association’s new relationship with SAP, statistics and analytics such as this will be available at the touch of a few buttons.

The WTA and SAP announced on August 12 in Cincinnati an agreement where SAP would collaborate with the WTA to develop innovative solutions to provide players with the tools to better analyze performance and optimize strategy while also better servicing the media and further engaging with fans with state-of-the-art new statistics.

“Through the use of SAP’s analytics, we will be able to provide greater statistical and data insight, and through SAP’s technology, our athletes will gain a competitive edge,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA at the press conference announcing SAP’s new sponsorship of the WTA. “Media and fans will have greater access to richer and faster data across multiple platforms.”

With data powered by SAP, players, coaches, media and fans will be able to virtually analyze WTA matches and derive player patterns, trends and on-court tendencies in certain match situations.

“I believe SAP analytics is really going to add tremendous value and it’s going to transform the sport of tennis in all areas,” said Mary Joe Fernandez, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, now the U.S. Fed Cup captain and commentator for ESPN. “As a former player, I wish I had this when I played. This would have helped me out a lot to be able to perform better with all the strategy and patterns and tendencies that you can follow.”

Fernandez, however, can benefit from the new data not only in her position as a television commentator but also with her coaching responsibilities. In her TV role, she, as well as other commentators, media and tennis bloggers, will be able to sift through and analyze the provided data and better explain to fans the on-court chess match and on what exactly is happening on court.

“We’re going to be able to tell the story that you’re watching on TV better and better connect with the fans,” Fernandez said.”The fans are going to be able to get closer to the action on a daily basis and the players are really going to benefit. The coaches are going to be able to look all these stats up, all these patterns, not just from the match, but from the season. It’s a win‑win really for everybody involved.”

Players and coaches will be able to call up, for example, 15-30 or break point during their year and crunch that data to find patterns. Do they come to the net 75 percent of the time when down break point? What percentage of points were won when a left-handed player was able hit cross-court into a particular player’s backhand?

In her role also as the U.S. Fed Cup captain, Fernandez, as the on-court coach for American players during Fed Cup play, can more easily scout players’ strengths and weaknesses with an analysis of the data at hand. For example, when Fernandez and the U.S. team, led by Serena and Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens, played Sweden earlier this year, Fernandez would be able to better develop a strategy against the Swedish players Sofia Arvidsson and Johanna Larsson, two players who Fernandez and her team did not know too much about in advance of the matches.

Patrick Mouratoglou and Sam Sumyk, the respective coaches of world No. 1 Serena Williams and world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, were some of the early tennis insiders to get a preview of the statistical and analytical data that SAP would be offering at the year-end WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey last October.

“My coach was actually in Turkey and he came up to me and was telling me all these statistics and all these facts,” said Williams at the press conference. “And I’m like, ‘Where did you get all this information from?’ And they’re like, ‘Well, the WTA is working on something to get more stats and to get more this.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, this sounds really cool.’ So I think in the day and age where technology is just at literally everyone’s fingertips, it’s going to be so exciting not only for the players, not only for the competitors, not only for the coaches, but most of all for the fans, for the viewers, to have an opportunity to just be that much closer and that much more involved into tennis.”

Said Azarenka, “When you’re on the court you don’t visually see everything, the game, the way you see it on TV. And with the stats, that kind of makes you more aware of what you do on the court and can help you to develop your game better. I think for fans it is very exciting to see about all the players, but for me personally, as a player, I feel like it can take me and make me a better player to know how I play actually, because you never have a chance to play against yourself, so that’s kind of a learning process.”

If Williams, Azarenka or any WTA player becomes aware that they are falling into certain patterns that can predicted, they have the opportunity, armed with the new data, to make adjustments to make their games less predictable and play with more variety.

“This is actually a way that technology can improve one’s game,” said Williams. “You would think five years ago, How can technology improve a game? Well, here’s your answer.”

Said Azarenka, “It’s something that I think everybody was looking forward to, to expand our sport, to really take it to the next level, to educate not only fans but also young players who can get more excited about it.“

This new analytical data will also be available for fans, eventually on mobile devices, because as Steve Peck, SAP’s Senior Vice President for Global Strategic Initiatives, said simply. “Fans out there are just thirsty for data.”

“Everybody, while they’re going back and forth watching the live tennis, wants to see data right in the palm of their hand,” said Peck. “This is the world we have today. It’s about the second screen. It’s about getting the data and engaging fans, and we have to compete with all the other sports and all the other outlets out there. The more you engage the fans, the happier they’re going to be. And then once you engage them, the more you can get to know them. And there’s fans all over the world.”

Said Allaster, “We haven’t had a rich database of analytics historically. I think we’ll have that opportunity, but more importantly, going forward also there will be so much more depth with SAP software to be able to analyze it, record it, and make it historical for generations to come.”

 

SAP, WTA Press Conference
SAP, WTA Press Conference

Who are the best American Tennis TV Commentators?

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Former US Olympian, Fed Cupper, top 20 WTA star and long-time tennis journalist and insider Andrea Leand reveals her picks as the best American tennis TV commentators. Readers are encouraged to comment on their picks for best TV commentators below in the comment section of this article, on the World Tennis Magazine Facebook page or via twitter at @WorldTennisMag

By Andrea Leand

 

It was well past midnight when Justin Gimelstob reached his hotel room and made do for dinner munching left over peanuts and olives. His last summer stop in NYC for a 18 day US Open stint as broadcaster for CBS and Tennis Channel capped a whirlwind schedule like none he knew when competing on the ATP Tour. While Gimelstob enjoyed his successes on tour as a top American junior, pro career high ranking of No. 63 and over 2.5 million in prize money. his infectious personality always seemed as big as, if not bigger than, his game. His quick wit, self-deprecating humor and keen enthusiasm for the sport have translated as well on television as they did in the locker room. He has shown the same determination to one day become a top broadcaster – like Matt Lauer – as he did maximizing his ability on court.

That’s not to say making the transition from court to commentator has been easy or – as in the case of his much tweeted, daily travails with blackberries, IPADS, flight times and passports – glamorous. With his many hats – he’s a member of the ATP Player Council – and recent marriage to Cary Sinnott, Gimelstob still has proven indefatigable in the booth. His hustling for interviews and candid insights add needed dimension to otherwise often staid broadcasts. His unflapable spirit and passion for the job have disarmed players like Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer and Serena Williams and given viewers cause to smile. Who else would gush about attending a three-hour NBC Olympic Seminar to get in word with Bob Costas and Al Michaels or be so enthused about getting to the courts at Wimbledon to commentate his first match of the day that he forgot his suit? Either way, Gimelstob has our attention as one of the top five faces to watch.

John McEnroe: No one is better than John McEnroe. His intelligence, experience, analytical preciseness and natural way of communicating in a poignant yet concise way make him the standard to which all others aspire.

Lindsay Davenport: Lindsay Davenport is the best female color commentator on air and hands down the “Newcomer of the Year.” Davenport is so politically correct these days and trying so hard to be a team player that she probably won’t like being singled out. But like it or not, she does stand out. Many have tried to emulate McEnroe, but, without the same smarts, insight and clarity, have failed miserably. Davenport is the only one who comes close. She doesn’t try too hard with overbearing, non-stop mumble jumble. She understands that she is covering pro tennis, not reporting on Iran for CNN. She realizes that the tennis is the star and never talks over points. Davenport also proves there is a shelf life to this job. Her insights show that she really knows the players. She has played against this generation of stars, been in the locker room with them and kept quiet tabs on everything that goes on. And like McEnroe, she is not afraid to be candid. Her remarks and smooth cadence in communicating them to the viewers make her easy on the ears and interesting to even the game’s insiders.

Rennae Stubbs: Australian-born Stubbs has been commentating for non-American channels for years, so it is difficult to call her a newcomer – but she is one to American audiences who enjoyed her comments during the Italian, French, Wimbledon and Olympic broadcasts. Stubbs loves the game, lives the tour and has infused that intrinsic knowledge in her capacity as commentator. Who else could describe once taking Samantha Stosur to the emergency room in Miami as she did? Such anecdotes and experiences make her a welcome breathe of fresh air and material While Stubbs is a ham and loves the spotlight, she handles being the (third) man on the commentating team – the point person on court-well, she doesn’t talk over her colleagues or points but gives well-placed, quick witted observations.

Brett Haber:Most of the company play by play guys are well healed professionals, who all do a pretty good job. Brett earns kudos for his efforts in going beyond in doing his homework about the players and matches so that he can converse with his color commentators and bring out their best insights.

Justin Gimelstob and Brett Haber
Justin Gimelstob and Brett Haber

Darren Cahill, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe: All terrific, all with their own styles. All professional, knowledgeable and with undeniable channels to the players and behind the scenes business of the game. They are also true team players. But some have wondered if they lose their individual identity when sandwiched together.

Mary Joe Fernandez: Bright, capable and with undeniable channels to the players as US Fed Cup captain (and marriage to Federer agent Tony Godsick). Mary Joe has the material and the discipline to be a valuable member of the team – when she is able to get a word in edgewise.

Tracy Austin: We haven’t seen as much of Austin this year as she has been commentating for the BBC. But in a career where aesthetics count, Austin deserves recognition for best presentation. Her hair, make-up and attire are always perfectly put together, age appropriate and camera friendly-and something her female colleagues should take note.

Mary Joe Fernandez and Jay Berger named coaches of 2012 U.S. Olympics tennis teams

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 5, 2012 – The USTA, the governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S., announced today that U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez and Jay Berger, USTA Player Development Head of Men’s Tennis, have been named as the women’s and men’s coaches for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Tennis Teams. In addition, Dan James, Head U.S. National Wheelchair Team Coach, has been named coach for the U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Team.

Mary Joe Fernandez (L) and Jay Berger (R) named 2012 U.S. Olympic tennis team coaches

The 2012 Olympic Games will be held July 27 – August 12 in London, England, with the tennis competition being staged July 28 – August 5 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon. The 2012 Paralympic Games will be held August 29 – September 9 in London with the tennis competition scheduled for September 1-8 at Eton Manor in the Olympic Park. The Olympic competition will begin 20 days after the completion of The Wimbledon Championships.

“With Olympic tennis being held at the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon, the Olympics add another dimension to what will be a memorable summer of tennis,” said Jon Vegosen, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “Tennis as a sport benefits greatly from being showcased on such a prestigious international stage as the Olympics. Each of the coaches who will be representing the U.S. brings experience as an accomplished player and coach, with a unique ability to connect with the athletes to lead our quest for 2012 gold.”

“I’m honored and thrilled to be selected as the Olympic coach,” said Fernandez, who led the U.S. Fed Cup team to the final in two of her first three years as Captain. “Some of my fondest tennis memories are from the Olympics and the incomparable thrill of winning a gold medal. I would like nothing more than to share in that Olympic experience with our team this summer.”

“We have some very strong players who should all be medal contenders in London,” said Berger, who has been the USTA Player Development Head of Men’s Tennis since 2008. “I know the American men have been looking forward to competing for gold at Wimbledon, and will relish the opportunity to compete on one of the biggest stages in sport.”

The 2012 U.S. Olympic Tennis Team will consist of up to six men and six women, with a maximum of four men and four women competing in the singles competition and a maximum of two men’s and two women’s teams competing in doubles. The U.S. will also be able to place a maximum of two mixed doubles teams in the competition, which will be contested at the Olympic Games for the first time. Olympic Team nominations will be made using the ATP World Tour and WTA rankings as of June 11. All team and staff nominations are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The United States has won 17 Olympic medals in men’s and women’s tennis since its return as a full medal sport in 1988 – more than any other nation. U.S. players have won 12 medals at the Paralympic Games, including a gold and a bronze in 2008.

The 2012 U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Team will consist of a maximum of four men and four women in the wheelchair singles competition, with no more than two doubles teams in the wheelchair doubles competition. In the quad wheelchair competition (limited movement or strength in at least three extremities), a maximum of three players may compete in the event, with a maximum of three in the singles event and one team in the doubles event. Team nominations will be based on ITF Wheelchair Tennis World Rankings as of May 21, 2012, and are subject to approval by the USOC.

“The Paralympics is the ultimate platform for worldwide competition among outstanding wheelchair athletes,” said James. “It is a tremendous privilege to coach at the highest level of international play and I am eager to begin our quest for medals.”

Wheelchair tennis was introduced to the Paralympic program in 1988 as an exhibition event before becoming a full medal sport at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona. Paralympic tennis is an open competition, eligible to those athletes with a mobility-related disability and all competitors must compete in a wheelchair.

The USTA was officially designated by the USOC as the national governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair tennis in June 2002, becoming the first Olympic national governing body to earn this recognition. As the national governing body for wheelchair tennis, the USTA manages wheelchair tennis in the United States, including the sanctioning of tournaments, overseeing the ranking systems, creating and managing a High Performance program for developing elite disabled athletes and coaches. The U.S. Olympic Committee will approve all team and staff selections.

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with more than 785,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page facebook.com/usta or follow @usta on Twitter.

Serena Williams leads U.S. Fed Cup on Tennis Channel this weekend

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Serena Williams, Christina McHale, Sloane Stephens and Liezel Huber Battle Ukraine in 2013 Cup Qualifier

LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2012 – Tennis Channel will provide exclusive coverage of the U.S. Fed Cup team’s playoff competition against Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, this weekend, with live telecasts Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22. The United States must defeat Ukraine to qualify for the 2013 Fed Cup tournament. Thirteen-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams will join Christina McHale, Sloane Stephens and doubles World No. 1 Liezel Huber as they fight for a spot in next year’s Fed Cup competition after losing matches to Belgium and Germany last year.

The battle between the United States, a finalist during the 2009 and 2010 Fed Cup tournaments, and Ukraine will consist of two singles matches Saturday, and two singles matches and a doubles match Sunday. Tennis Channel will carry all matches live, beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday and 10:30a.m. ET on Sunday.

Coverage from Superior Golf and Spa Resort, Kharkiv, Ukraine, is as follows (subject to change):

Saturday, April 21:

12 p.m. – Live Singles #1- Ukraine vs. USA

2 p.m. – Live Singles #2 – Ukraine vs. USA

Sunday, April 22:

10:30a.m. – Live Singles #3- Ukraine vs. USA

12:30 p.m. – Live Singles #4 – Ukraine vs. USA

2:30 p.m. – Live Doubles – Ukraine vs. USA

{1a.m. – Instant Encore Doubles- Ukraine vs. USA}

The United States and Ukraine have never faced each other in Fed Cup play. The American squad must defeat Ukraine in order to compete in the 2013 Fed Cup competition. The U.S. team enters this weekend’s match after defeating Belarus 5-0 in Worcester, Mass., in February. In 2009 and 2010 the United States reached the championship before falling to Italy both times. The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup championships, the most recent in 2000 when it defeated Russia 5-0 in Las Vegas.

The 2012 U.S. Fed Cup team is captained for the fourth year by star Mary Joe Fernandez, who as a player helped the team win the championship in 1996. Williams won her 13th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2010 and holds 12 doubles titles and two Olympic doubles gold medals with her sister Venus. McHale had a career year in 2011 when she beat former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and reached third round at the US Open. Stephens recently reached the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami before losing to World No. 2 Maria Sharapova. Huber, doubles World No. 1, won her fifth Grand Slam doubles title at the 2011 US Open with partner Lisa Raymond.

Ukraine enters this weekend’s playoff after falling to Italy 2-3 in the first round. If Ukraine wins this weekend it will qualify for a chance to play for the 2013 Fed Cup. Ukraine’s team is captained by Igor Dernovskyl and features Lesia Tsurenko, Elina Svitolina, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiya Kichenok.

In addition to televising the United States and Ukraine’sFed Cup playoff this weekend, Tennis Channel will cover the 2012Fed Cup semifinal match between the 2011 champions,Czech Republic, and Italy in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Italy has won its past four consecutive matches against the Czech Republic and holds a 4-3 advantage. The most recent competition between the two nations was at the same stage of play in 2010 when Italy claimed a 5-0 victoryover the Czech team in Rome. Competition between the defending champions and Italy will consist of two singles matches on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. ET, and two singles matches and a doubles match Sunday, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 video providers.

Building The Tennis Team

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U.S. Fed Cup Team

The tennis world is smack in the middle of “team season” as the women assembled national teams for Fed Cup last weekend and the men gather for Davis Cup this week.

In the amateur world of tennis, recreational players are in the process of assembling teams and planning for the upcoming United States Tennis Association (USTA) League Tennis season.

The most important element for any tennis team is assembling the right group of people to comprise of the team itself – whether you are U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier, U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez or the captain of your local USTA League Tennis team. In the newly-released book “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by 25-year USTA League Tennis veteran Tony Serksnis, ($14.99, New Chapter Press, available here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257839/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=tennisgrancom-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0942257839&adid=1627AS7N937SDB5K6P5Z&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennisgrandstand.com%2F) an outline is presented to recreational tennis players on how to build a team. The exclusive book excerpt is found below in the chapter called “BUILDING THE TEAM)

***

This is might be the most important chapter of this book. Many people get into a sport for the following reasons: Exercise, Camaraderie, Competition, Fun period.

FULFILLMENT TO EXPENSE RATIO

Tennis more than fulfills all of the above reasons to participate in a sport, plus it is very reasonably priced. Tennis certainly has one of the highest fulfillment-to expense ratio as compared to golf and other endeavors such as bowling, soccer, or flag football. Certain other sports, such as adventure racing, also enjoy very high fulfillment to the participant while not costing very much (except for travel).

Tennis expenses are minimal if played on public courts. Public courts are very available in all parts of the country as cities and schools find them fairly easy to maintain and a good use of public property. Some public tennis courts are very well used. A “queue system” is used to get on a court and usage is usually limited to one hour. Other public courts charge minimal fees to reserve a court or provide lighting.

Other than getting a court, tennis expenses minimally are:

• Tennis Racquet – This can vary from between $100 to $300 and may be good for 10 years. Stringing (string & labor) can be about $50 per season.

• Tennis Balls – A $2 can certainly lasts a few sets (one tennis outing).

• Tennis Shoes – These can run between $50 to $100 and last about a season

Tennis expenses go up as one’s “seriousness” or “competitiveness” increases to include:

• League or Tournament Fees – Joining the USTA is $40 per year.

– Joining a USTA team is about $20 per season

– Playing in a NTRP Tournament is about $35

• Lessons – Can vary all over the map from lessons given privately ($80/hour) to taking lessons as part of a group for a much reduced price.

• Hitting against a ball-machine can be on the order of $15/hour.

Generally, there are no incredible expenses for tennis clothing. The standard “uniform” is a tee-shirt and shorts and possibly a hat or sun visor. As with any endeavor, there are fashion statements to be made with tennis clothing for all sorts of prices.

Also, there is another large factor in the fulfillment to-expense ratio and that is the rather low time-expense that tennis has (relative to other competitive endeavors). If one looks at the “door-to-door” time of a match (match plus shower time), it typically takes one-and-one-half hours, with two hours being a more relaxed pace. No one leaves an hour of tennis without thoroughly being “exercised.” Calorie burning is on the same order as for jogging (at about 5 mph).

OK, we have talked about the exercise and expense aspects of the sport of tennis, now let’s return to the team-building aspects. This is where the camaraderie, competition and fun come into play. 

WHERE TO GET PLAYERS

Building a competitive USTA team involves some of the aspects of building a team in any professional sport. Let’s take a NFL franchise, for example. These teams are built by:

• Drafting players onto your team, and

• Getting players to leave other teams (to join your team), which can be construed as “free-agency” players or “hired guns.”

• A “minor league” development program that develops players that are a “feeder” system to the main team.

Some clubs or facilities field teams at various levels. It’s very possible that a 3.5 team at a club provides a natural developer of 4.0 caliber players that go on to join the 4.0 team.

• Trades – obviously, this is not a methodology for developing a USTA team.

A major difference (from an NFL franchise) is that there is basically no money involved in winning any matches (even at the Nationals). Therefore, what are the factors that will make players join this tennis team? For one thing, there is something that every captain should put-forth and that is the “Team’s Charter.” Teams are formed for various reasons which can be:

1. To win at all costs – every lineup consists of best available players

2. To have fun and meet people while playing tennis (winning is nice, but not essential). Some of these teams can state that all team members will play in an equal number of matches.

3. Some blend of the above two reasons. Captains may keep winning at the forefront of their lineup creation, but certainly look at appropriate matches to place engaged “second tier” talent from the roster.

4. Starting out as No. 1 (above), but drifting towards No. 2 (above) if playoffs aren’t imminent.

Teams normally are formed out of some sort of affiliation. It can be:

1. A tennis team is formed from club members that are affiliated from a municipal tennis club. This usually means that a team member must join that club, to be a member of that team.

2. A tennis team is formed within a private athletic club. This is similar to No. 1 (above) except that the dues are much higher. Thus, attracting team members is limited to those that can afford the (higher) club dues.

3. A tennis team can form out of players that “gravitate” or normally play out of a community park that has tennis courts. This team can, of course, go outside of “the neighborhood” to recruit. This would also include a team formed out of members in an apartment complex that has tennis courts.

4. A tennis team can form out of players that bond due to ethnicity. This is a slight variation on No. 3 (above), again without any restrictions on adding players.

5. A tennis team can form with the sole intention of creating a winning team. This can generate a “hired gun” makeup of a team with members coming from a large radius within a region. No affiliation is required at all for this team – it is assembled with players with proven records or proven ability.

Let’s return to the idea of “Building the Team.”

DECIDING ON TEAM CAPTAIN

The team starts with the decision of determining the captain (and, hopefully co-captain). The captain of a USTA team can be determined in a couple of major ways:

• A group of affiliated players put forth a candidate – this is a captain who is chosen by his peers, and the position can rotate amongst that group, or

• A person is the driving force behind the team, and assumes control.

The co-captain position can have a range of “influence” to the captain, all the way from having little to say (or, even not required), to being an equal partner to the captain. Some teams have evolved into having a captain for over-riding considerations, but are actually a “core of elders” that are polled by the captain for important decisions such as lineup determination.

The personality attributes of a captain, of course, have a large range. They are usually well-organized and good multi-taskers. If they have been nominated by their peers, they certainly express to others an ability to get things done. If the captain’s position is more one of “assuming the position,” then that type of captain has a strong personality where the team may be run more like a dictatorship than a democracy. Teams can, of course, be in existence before determining the captain, as this may be a team that has a nucleus of players that have played together for a number of years. This is a team that usually elevates one of the core members of the team to the captain’s position. So, this is a team that already has a solid foundation and is looking to a captain for leadership. 

Building a team does little good if the core players that you presently have become dissatisfied and end-up leaving the team. Players can leave the team for a number of reasons outside of your control:

• Moving from the area

• Getting large constraints on their time, such as family or work

• They join a new facility that has more to offer them

So, what are the things that are within a captain’s control that can keep players on this team? I believe the number one item to keep players interested in staying on this team is by creating a “sense of family” within the team. Here are some examples on this:

• Communication (different forms) really helps. Publishing practice schedules, match results and any “newsletters” keeps everyone connected. A team meeting at both the beginning of the year and at the end of the year fosters a sense of belonging to that particular organization.

• Even on teams that have a “win at all costs” charter, I think that the captain should not go over the top on this. If a singles player or doubles team comes up with a match loss, there should never be any degradation. The captain must instill a sense that the loss is fine if the players were as well-prepared as they could have been and there are things to be learned from the loss. At the end of the day, they may have just played a better person or team.

• Humor helps. Keep the tone of practices as light as possible.

• The captain of the team needs to study very carefully how often he himself is in the lineup. It would definitely be a source of resentment if the captain played an overly amount of matches unless his record warranted his inclusion in the match. I would caution that the captain should “error” on the side of not putting himself in the lineup on borderline cases. What might help with this situation would be to have the captain keep polling a small group of the team’s core players to get feedback on the lineup. Sometimes, it’s obvious to the “team core” that, indeed, the captain should be in the lineup.

• It should be clear to the team that even though it may be “win at all costs,” that the captain is indeed trying to get all (involved) players into matches. I believe it really helps the team’s camaraderie to get a player into the lineup that may be not quite as good as the top players. I believe that all members of the team are sensitive to the fact that hard work should be rewarded with a chance to make the lineup. If one keeps on limiting the lineup to a select few, the “second tier” of players will see that they have no chance to prove themselves. This may be very unfortunate in the long term as many of these players are on the way up in their tennis skills and are just, perhaps, a season away from being quite a top player.

If, after a match, you have the players who finished an early match sticking around and cheering for the teams still on the court, you have indeed created a team that is all pulling for each other. If these players stay and extend a handshake to the players now walking off the court (win or lose), this stays with those players for a long time.

I’m not sure how the above situation occurs, but I do know that it takes an investment of time and true caring from the captain. 

SETTING UP PRACTICES

Practices for teams have a variety of purposes and can vary in purpose as the season progress. It’s fairly obvious that a team practice both improves skills while providing a chance for the players to bond as teammates. It is probably a good idea to set up a regular (once-a- week) practice on a day suitable to the majority of the team. A poll of the team members before the beginning of the season is best. If your home matches are on Wednesday evenings, possibly a team practice on Monday or Tuesday evening may be good. Another possibility for the regular practice time is the weekend, perhaps early Saturday morning. Another factor on choosing a practice time is court availability. If courts cannot be reserved, it might be difficult to get a “public court” at a particular time (and, maybe the practice has closer to eight players, requiring two courts). I’ve seen teams handle this very well with a spreadsheet of some type that players log into and mark whether they are coming to practice (and, at  what time) or not. That way the players can see if there is interest enough for a group of four, or a group of eight.

Obviously, picking practice courts where there is a larger probability of getting a court (or two) is paramount to establishing a regular practice. As the season progresses, “special” practices can be, of course, established. For example, an upcoming match against another top team might warrant the set up of a practice with emphasis on playing players that will be (likely) in the lineup against that other team.

Teams have to be careful to use the practice on what matters most to the team. It’s possible that the team practice is used as a convenient time for teammates to play a “challenge match” against other teammates. This is fine, except that it doesn’t allow other teammates, who perhaps just want to work on their strokes, or possibly try out a different doubles partner, the opportunity to do so.

So, possible “types” of practices are:

1. Where there will be drills meant to sharpen particular skills – often this type of practice needs a “leader” to take the participants thru something like

overheads or volleys period.

2. Where it’s specifically known that players will mix it up with several partners for the dual purpose of trying out chemistry between different partners and to get players to know a bit about each other (establish camaraderie).

3. Where one or two challenge matches will be played that have already been established between the participants before the practice time.

4. Where players just meet and play some matches with the same partner (over the course of the practice), but this happens more or less in a more random way then No. 3 above.

It’s clear that the captain and co-captain have to establish with the team exactly what type of practice is going to be held. Also, it’s clear that some leader needs to take control during the practice to keep the players on track. So, even if the captain or co-captain is not at the practice, another player should take on a leadership role to quickly poll those present on what type of practice will be held.

Another main purpose of practice is for the captain to gather actual data on how well the players stack-up against each other, or what best chemistries are being formed for doubles. It’s very possible that a “random” pairing of two people during a practice leads to that pair being tried in a match lineup and possibly even establishing one of the best doubles pairings on the team. Again, this may happen with two players who don’t have necessarily the highest individual skill levels.

Team practices tend to be mostly doubles. However, if six players show up and you can get two courts, a singles match can occur. Even with that set of circumstances, it’s common to have the two singles players rotate back to play in with the other four players. Singles players on the team seem to find their own times and places to practice and challenge completely independent of team  practices. I think this is because singles players need an established time to play out three sets and it is generally easier to get just one other person for singles (than three  others for doubles).

As the season matures, and if the team gets close to making the playoffs, it’s clear that the practice takes on a more serious tone. There would be more pairings of established doubles players. There might even be the possibility of hiring a tennis teacher to run some drills for the team – I’ve seen this happen and it could be of great value. Obviously, there would be expenses and logistics to work out.

U.S. Team in Fight for Fed Cup Spot This Weekend on Tennis Channel

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Sisters Serena and Venus Williams, Christina McHale and Liezel Huber Battle Belarus and Australian Open Champion Victoria Azarenka to Compete for 2013 Cup

Venus Williams at pre-draw press conference

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2, 2012-Tennis Channel will provide exclusive coverage of the U.S. Fed Cup team’s first-round competition against Belarus in Worcester, Mass., this weekend, with live telecasts Saturday, Feb. 4, and Sunday, Feb. 5. Because the Americans lost in their first-round competition last April, they must defeat Belarus for a chance to compete for the Fed Cup in 2013. Former World No. 1 and 13-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams will join the United States team against Australian Open champion and World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

The battle between the United States, a finalist during the 2009 and 2010 Fed Cup competitions, and Belarus will consist of two singles matches on Saturday, and two singles matches and the doubles match Sunday. Tennis Channel will carry all matches live, beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday and 12p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by same-day encore coverage each evening at 7 p.m. ET.

Coverage from DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., is as follows (subject to change):
Saturday, Feb. 4:
1 p.m. – Live Singles #1
3 p.m. – Live Singles #2
{7 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}
{9 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #2}
{11 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}

Sunday, Feb. 5:
12 p.m. – Live Singles #3
2 p.m. – Live Singles #4
4 p.m. – Live Doubles
{7 p.m. – Instant Encore Doubles}

The United States and Belarus have never faced each other in Fed Cup play. The American squad will be playing outside of the Fed Cup’s top division for the first time in its history after losing matches to Belgium and Germany last year. In 2009 and 2010 the United States reached the championship before falling to Italy both times. The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup championships, the most recent in 2000 when it defeated Russia 5-0 in Las Vegas.

The 2012 U.S. Fed Cup team is captained by American tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez, who won the Fed Cup championship as a player in 1996. Serena Williams returned to the courts this past fall after a year-long injury, and reached the final at the 2011 US Open. In 2010 she defended her Wimbledon crown by overpowering Vera Zvonareva to win her 13th Grand Slam singles title. Williams holds 12 doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles in 2000 and 2008 with her sister Venus. Christina McHale scored the biggest win of her young career last year when she upset World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and defeated Marion Bartoli en route to the third round at the US Open. She enters this weekend’s match after an impressive run at the Australian Open before falling to Jelena Jankovic. Venus Williams is appearing in her first sanctioned competition since being diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome last year. She has captured seven Grand Slam singles titles and won the Olympic gold medal in women’s singles in 2000. Liezel Huber, doubles World No.1, recently won her fifth Grand Slam doubles title at the 2011 US Open with partner Lisa Raymond.

Belarus earned its spot in Fed Cup play this weekend for the first time since 1999 after an impressive 5-0 victory over Estonia in Minsk, Belarus. If Belarus wins this weekend it will qualify for a chance to compete for the 2013 Fed Cup. The Belarusian team is captained by Sergei Teterin and features World No. 1 Azarenka, Anastasia Yakimova, Olga Govortsova and Darya Kustova.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 video providers.

(photo via USTA)

Single-Day Tickets Available for U.S. vs Belarus Fed Cup World Group II First Round in Worcester, Mass.: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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Single-day tickets available for U.S. vs. Belarus Fed Cup World Group II First Round tie in Worcester

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., January 30, 2012 – The USTA announced today that single-day tickets for the 2012 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II First Round tie between the United States and Belarus at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., February 4-5, have been released. Tickets will be available for public sale starting Tuesday, January 31, at 10 a.m. ET.

Tickets for either the Saturday or Sunday session will be sold with prices from as low as $40. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-888-334-8782. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the DCU Center Box Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to shortly after the matches begin at 12 noon. Two-day ticket packages remain available for sale.

The best-of-five match series begins Saturday, February 4, at 1 p.m., with two singles matches, featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. Sunday’s schedule will feature two “reverse singles” matches, when the No. 1 players square off followed by the No. 2 players meeting each other, followed by a doubles match.

U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez named Serena Williams and Venus Williams, American teen Christina McHale, and world No. 1 doubles player Liezel Huber to the U.S. team last week. New world No. 1 and 2012 Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will be leading the Belarus team.

The match will mark the first-ever matchup between the U.S. and Belarus in Fed Cup competition.  The winner of this match will advance to the World Group Playoff and play for a chance to compete for the Fed Cup title in 2013.  The loser will compete in the World Group II Playoff and will either maintain its status in World Group II for the following year or be relegated to zonal competition.

Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the world’s largest annual international women’s team competition with 90 countries competing in 2011.  The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, the last coming in 2000.  For more information, including access to player and historical Fed Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/fedcup.

Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Fed Cup team.

Azarenka, Djokovic earn big pay days in Melbourne with victories

Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic each pocketed $2,372,910 after winning the singles crown at the 2012 Australian Open in Melbourne. Azarenka, who claimed the top WTA Tour ranking on Monday and her first Grand Slam title, polished off Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match on Saturday in one-hour and 22 minutes. “It was an amazing month in Australia. It’s a dream come true,” said Azarenka. Djokovic, who captured his third consecutive Grand Slam title including his fifth overall major, defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal in five grueling sets in five-hours and 53 minutes, the longest Grand Slam championship match in the open era.

20 million viewers watched Djokovic-Nadal Australian Open finals match on Eurosport

20 million viewers watched Novak Djokovic defeat Rafael Nadal in five sets to capture his third Australian Open singles title on Eurosport, which was the most watched tennis match ever on the network. Australia’s Channel 7 coverage of the match saw an average audience of 1,860,000 million tune in past 1:30 a.m.

Djokovic-Nadal Australian Open epic to be added to Steve Flink’s upcoming book

Stop the presses! Steve Flink, the noted tennis journalist and historian who is in the process of finishing his upcoming book, THE GREATEST TENNIS MATCHES OF ALL TIME, has a new chapter to add. Novak Djokovic’s epic 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 victory over Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open singles final will be a last minute addition to the volume, due out June 1, 2012 by New Chapter Press. Djokovic’s victory lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes, making it the longest singles final ever at a Grand Slam tournament and the longest match in the history of the Australian Open. “This was definitely one of the greatest matches of all time – easily one of the ten best since the Open Era of tennis started in 1968,” said Flink. “Djokovic and Nadal both showed boundless energy and determination. They moved beyond themselves time and again, finding reserves of willpower they never knew existed. It was a match that will stand the test of time. It was riveting theatre and I am looking forward to documenting it in my book THE GREATEST TENNIS MATCHES OF ALL TIME.” THE GREATEST TENNIS MATCHES OF ALL TIME features profiles and rankings of the greatest matches and strokes in the history of the sport. The book features matches played by such legends as Bill Tilden, Suzanne Lenglen, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and many others. Flink breaks down, analyzes and puts into historical context these most memorable matches, providing readers with a courtside seat at these most historic and significant duels. THE GREATEST TENNIS MATCHES OF ALL TIME ($25.95) can be pre-ordered at the following link: http://m1e.net/c?96018505-hfHRXEzeOF2.c%407188901-8dHbIBKkvkdMM. Flink, one of the most respected writers and observers in the game, is currently a columnist for TennisChannel.com. He is the former editor of World Tennis magazine and a former senior columnist at Tennis Week. He lives in Katonah, New York.

Ten tennis players make Top 100 most powerful athletes list

The 2012 Power 100 rankings of the most powerful professional athletes in the United States was recently released by Bloomberg/Businessweek, revealing ten tennis players in the Top 100. The ten tennis players included in the list were: Rafael Nadal (No. 5), Roger Federer (No. 6), Novak Djokovic (No. 9), Serena Williams (No. 25), Maria Sharapova (No. 33), Caroline Wozniacki (No. 40), Andy Murray (No. 80), Petra Kvitova (No. 83), Venus Williams (No. 93) and Victoria Azarenka (No. 96). CSE’s Analytics team, lead by VP, Analytics, David Newman, evaluated more than 3,000 athletes across a variety of sports, with 50 percent based on “off-field” measurements and 50 percent on “on-field” performance.  CSE’s proprietary analytics utilizes a range of industry statistics, including data from E-Poll.

Bryan Brothers to compete at Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport

For the first time in 10 years, the top-ranked ATP World Tour doubles pair of Bob and Mike Bryan will return to the famed grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport to compete in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. “Playing at the International Tennis Hall of Fame is always a special experience, and we’re really looking forward to returning this summer,” said Mike Bryan. “Coming off Wimbledon, it will be great to keep going on grass courts for a bit longer this summer.” This year’s tournament, which is the only ATP World Tour event in the United States played on grass courts, will occur from July 9-15. Tickets for the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships are on sale now on www.tennisfame.com or by calling (866) 914-3263. Through February 12, a Ticket Twosome special is available – buy two tickets for any one session, Monday – Thursday, and save $2 per ticket. The promo code to access the discount is TWINS. Members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the history of the sport, save $5 on all Monday – Thursday tournament tickets.

del Potro to defend title at Estoril Open

World No. 10 and recent Australian Open quarterfinalist Juan Martin del Potro has confirmed that he will return to the Estoril Open in Portugal to defend his title. Last year, the Argentine defeated Fernando Verdasco in straight sets to capture the title. This year’s tournament will be played from April 28-May 6. “I’m delighted to have the chance of defending my title at the Estoril Open, a tournament of which I keep found memories, not only for the victory itself, but above all for the fact that it was in Portugal, where I fully recovered my confidence after the wrist injury,” said del Potro.

Ricardo Sanchez out as Wozniacki’s coach after two months

TENNIS.com is reporting that after just two months, Ricardo Sanchez is out as 20-year-old Caroline Wozniacki’s coach. The Dane, who dropped to No. 4 from the top spot in the new rankings on Monday after losing in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open to Kim Clijsters, will supposedly not hire a new coach for the time being. Wozniacki will continue to be coached by her father, Piotr, and possibly work on occasion with adidas development coaches Sven Groenefeld and Mats Merkel. According to the Ekstra Bladet, the Danish newspaper will quote Piotr in their Wednesday edition as saying his daughter didn’t get enough inspiration from Sanchez’s coaching. Sanchez previously coached world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.

Andy Murray to skip Britain’s Davis Cup match against Slovakia

World No. 4 Andy Murray will skip Britain’s Euro/Africa Zone Group I Davis Cup tie against Slovakia in Glasgow, Scotland from February 10-12 after sustaining several injuries en route to reaching the semifinals last week at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Murray said it was “probably a sensible decision” to pull out of the tie because his schedule this year is extremely busy due to the London Olympics. Without the former three-time Grand Slam finalist on his squad, British Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith has selected James Ward, Daniel Evans, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins to headline his team.

Blake and Tomic withdraw from SAP Open

American James Blake (knee) and Australian teenage sensation Bernard Tomic (leg) have withdrawn from the SAP Open due to injury. Due to the recent withdrawals of Blake and Tomic, American Sam Querrey and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin have moved into the main draw. Querrey is scheduled to play his first round match on Tuesday, February 14 at 7 p.m. PST. In 2011, rising Canadian star Milos Raonic defeated Fernando Verdasco to claim his first ATP World Tour singles title. This year’s tournament will take place from February 13-19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.