Archive for the ‘Tennis News’ Category
Can Federer really keep going?
Roger Federer fans will howl a great big ‘yes’ to this question. I find myself having to agree, whatever might be said in the press. But there are certainly two sides to the argument and it’s important to look at them both before either a) writing Federer off or b) putting money on him winning a number of Grand Slams in the future.
No
The case for Federer not being able to continue lies mostly within his age. Players like Federer and Rafael Nadal run themselves into the ground for their sport; although the Spaniard’s style of play makes him all the more susceptible to injury, Federer is still a highly talented athlete. At the top of the game, he is required to take part in a high volume of tournaments. He may only be 27, but it’s obvious the physical stress has had an effect. A few years ago, Federer was nearly unstoppable. His record has begun to slip this past year, and already this season he has been blighted with a back injury left over from the year before. He announced yesterday that he was pulling out of the Dubai tournament and the Davis Cup, to let his back rest after an injury from last year has more »
Politics & Injuries
Two very different stories have dominated the tennis headlines this week, with politics and injuries being their main focus.
Israeli Player Discriminated Against
The biggest story of the week was the decision made by the government of the United Arab Emirates to deny a visa to Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, preventing her from playing in the WTA event in Dubai.
Initially this decision was met was disgust from all quarters – players, foregn officials and tennis fans, with the general consensus being that sport should be separated from politics. The Tennis Channel has gone so far as to make a decision not to air the event in supprt of the Israeli player.
But there are always two sides to every story, and the initial outrage masked the fact that the government in question had not fully explained their decision. They did so in the last few hours, and their statement potentially makes you reconsider their motives for taking such a stance.
It is their contention that a number of factors were considered including fears of public dissent, and a concern for the well-being of the player in question. This then changes the focus of the matter from one of politics and sport, to a more safety based dilemma.
If this is the case (i.e if the statement is true, and not just media spin), perhaps some consultation with the Israeli player, and the WTA should have occurred. The men’s event is being held next week and there is an Israeli player again seeking more »
After the Open has Gone…
The Australian Open is always an exhausting start to a year of tennis; coming out of it you get strange withdrawal symptoms and suddenly you feel a little bare. For years I was a fan of tennis who only ever watched the big Open events (being British, Wimbledon was one of the highlights of my entire year), and I used to wonder what on earth the tennis stars did with themselves in between times.
A little older and wiser, I found the very simple and obvious answer: they play tennis. Sure, they give themselves a rest; for most of the players just recovering from the jetlag of being in Australia is cause enough to sit back for a little while. Andy Murray, for example, arrived back in Britain after his stint in Australia with a virus. He trained at half his usual intensity to let his body recover, and went on to sweep aside Ivan Ljubicic in the first round of the ABN AMBRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. Many have injuries to recover from and abused bodies to coax back into good health. There’s also a lot of press to contend with, particularly for the top players. Rafael Nadal seems to have been cropping up in the sports section of every newspaper and television/radio broadcast, so one can only guess how tough his schedule has been. more »
No Idea Who’s Going To Win!
As the tournament enters the second week I’ve got to you tell you, I’m pretty excited. The form that so many players are showing, particularly on the men’s side has been very impressive. I have found myself switching back and forth numerous times on who I think will win as the various players stake their claims with resounding performances.
After the Federer/Safin game I was convinced Federer would take this tournament by the scruff of the neck. But in his very next match he had to come back from two sets down to win in five against an opponent you’d think would offer him little resistance.
At the start of the tournament I was convinced Djokovic could not win – his confidence was down, he had an untried racquet in his hands and other players seemed more likely.
Then he goes and plays some unbelievable tennis on his way to defeating Marcos Baghdatis, who’s ranking in no way reflects the level of his play in this tournament. Djokovic is moving extremely well, and there was none of the holding back on ground strokes that a lack of confidence in equipment would bring. He is ready to win this tournament.
Unfortuntaely I have missed Nadal’s last two games, but a straight sets demolition of a player of Tommy Haas’s quality is impressive. Fernando Gonzale may have been a little leg weary after his previous two matches went the distance, but again Nadal’s win to progress to the quarter finals seemed very easy.
Outside of these three you have plenty of others that are more »
Welcome to GSFT Beta!
Welcome to GrandSlamFantasyTennis.com, a new and exciting fantasy tennis site created by tennis fans for tennis fans. We created this site so that fans of the Grand Slams could compete to see who can predict the outcome of the tournament and key matches the best. Also, we wanted to create a fun environment where fans can discuss tennis, read a dynamic tennis blog, and share Grand Slam travel experiences and advice.
We encourage you to please let us know what you think about the site. We are currently in beta, and we expect there to be bugs or issues that we have not yet found, or ideas for improvements that we have not thought of. Please post any thoughts and ideas in our help and support forum and we will be sure to discuss them with you and add the most promising ideas to our later releases.
Our current to do list includes the addition of leagues so that a group of friends can compete against each other to see who knows their tennis. This feature will be implemented for the French Open. If you have any other ideas, please share them with us.
Thank you very much for being a part of GSFT, and please share our site with anyone else you think would enjoy it.
Thanks,
The GSFT Team more »
