2013 Tennis Thread

[Smallville22]

Karlovic: I didn’t know my name

Ivo Karlovic has stated that he didn’t ‘know his name’ or ‘what year it was’ as he recovers from viral meningitis.
Karlovic:”I didn’t know my name”
Ivo Karlovic has stated that he didn’t ‘know his name’ or ‘what year it was’ as he recovers from viral meningitis.
The 6’ 10” Croatian, who makes his long-awaited return to the tour in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Friday, says that he now feels lucky to even be competing again after doctors stated that they weren’t sure whether he would ever fully recover.
The 34-year-old was preparing for an event on the Challenger Tour in April when the symptoms first occurred.
“I woke up and my arm was numb,” Karlovic recalled. “Then my wife [Alsi] asked me I don’t even remember what. I was slurring, so she called the paramedics.
“They gave me IV [therapy] and I felt good. But when they left, I began to ***** a lot and had headaches, so I went to hospital.
“They released me after one hour, but later that evening the numbness and pain returned. I became less and less conscious. I returned to hospital again. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“The doctor’s didn’t really know if I would recover 100 per cent. I was *********** for a long time. I didn’t know my name or what year it was. I was in a lot of pain. My right arm and my face was numb.
“Headaches lasted almost 10 days. I recalled my name after four days and the numbness disappeared after five days.”
After making a recover from the illness, Karlovic has since struggled getting back to full match-fitness.
“The toughest part was fitness, and the fact that I didn’t know if it would happen again because there was still a virus in my head,” he added.
“I took to the practice court after one month. Five minutes one week and then every day. I really didn’t know that I would be back, so now it is good feeling because I feel no stress.
“It’s like a bonus. Every day now that I’m actually in a match, the atmosphere is like a bonus. I really like it now a lot more.
“I’m not fearful any more. The goal is just to be healthy and here. So it’s fun.”

 

[Smallville22]

Judy Murray fears for British tennis despite Andy's triumph

Judy Murray fears that an opportunity to grow tennis in Britain following *** Andy’s heroic Wimbledon triumph will be lost due to a lack of courts and opportunities in the “elitist” sport.
Andy ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s champion at SW19 on Sunday against Novak Djokovic and celebrated with a kiss for his mum.
However Judy, who is coach of the British Fed Cup team, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme that she fears the wave of optimism will break under a lack of facilities at grassroots level.
"The country will go tennis crazy. **** and adults will want to try tennis and not all of them will get the opportunity," she said.
"The key is to make sure there are as many public courts in as many communities we can put them in if we're going to tap into this great imagination…
"I'd like it to become way more inclusive. I think it still is [too elitist]. Some moves have been made to make things better but there's still such a long way to go and there are huge swathes of the country where you can't find tennis courts.
"You need to build courts in areas where they currently don't exist for it to become a much more inclusive sport…
"We need to get into rural areas and disadvantaged areas and get tennis to people that haven't had the opportunity to play.”
However Tom Gibbins, head of education at the Lawn Tennis Association, refuted the notion that tennis is inaccessible.
"We're trying to dispel lots of myths about tennis and one is that it has to be an expensive sport to play. The average weekly membership of a tennis club is less than £1.50 a week for a junior to play,” he told BBC London.
"Andy gave British tennis its greatest moment ever and it's our job to capitalise on that interest and inspire more **** and adults to play tennis.
"There are 20,000 tennis courts up and down the country, 1,500 of which are free. Tennis isn't an expensive sport especially at beginner and recreational level."

 

[Smallville22]

Sharapova names Connors as new coach

Maria Sharapova has appointed eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors as her new coach after parting ways with Thomas Hogstedt.
The WTA world number two confirmed the split from Hogstedt on Thursday, having gone out of Wimbledon in round two against Michelle Larcher de Brito.
The Russian said Hogstedt was “not able to travel in the near future”, and two days later the 26-year-old made public her new coach will be the 60-year-old Connors via her official website.
"I am really excited about our new partnership and looking forward to the upcoming tournaments," she said.
"After almost three years of working together, Thomas Hogstedt and I decided to part ways.
"I am very thankful for all his work, and wish him much success in the future."
Connors won five US Open men’s singles titles, as well as Wimbledon twice and one Australian Open, and topped the ATP rankings from July 1974 to August 1977.
Connors has worked with Sharapova in the past, during her preparations for the Australian Open in 2008.

 

[Smallville22]

Hingis inducted into Hall of Fame

Martina Hingis has been inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, becoming one of the youngest members to be enshrined in one of the sport's most elite clubs.
The 32-year-old from Switzerland was among a distinguished class of inductees who were formally inducted at Newport, Rhode Island.
Hingis, who was seemingly born to play tennis and succeeded in fulfilling her destiny, told the crowd she was humbled by the honour.
"Thank you, tennis. You gave me the world," she said.
"And now I honestly am out of words, because there are no words to explain what I feel.
"You chose to give me a place here for eternity."
Hingis became the fourth youngest player to be inducted, following Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32).
Born in Czechoslovakia and named after Martina Navratilova, Hingis announced her arrival on the world stage when she won the 1993 French Open junior title at just 12 years of age.
She turned professional two weeks before her 14th birthday and went on to achieve a series of youngest-ever records.
Hingis won five grand slam singles titles - the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Australian Opens, 1997 Wimbledon and 1997 U.S. Open - and held the number one ranking for 209 weeks.
She also won nine grand slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title before injuries ****** her into early retirement at the age of 22.
Hingis made a comeback four years later but retired after testing positive for *******. She denied using the **** but retired without fighting the ban.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame president Stan Smith said Hingis was a worthy recipient.
"Having achieved world number one status in both singles and doubles and having won an incredible 15 grand slam tournament titles, Martina Hingis is undoubtedly one of the world's elite tennis players, and we are glad to pay tribute to her among the legends of the sport," Smith said.
Also enshrined were 94-year-old Australian great Thelma Coyne Long, who was inducted in the master player category, and Ion Tiriac, Cliff Drysdale and Charlie Pasarell, who were inducted for their contributions to tennis.

 

[Smallville22]

Mahut wins Hall of Fame championship

Frenchman Nicolas Mahut won two matches in a day to capture the Hall of Fame Championship at Newport on Sunday, denying former world number one Lleyton Hewitt his first title in more than three years.
Mahut, who won his first career ATP title in the Netherlands last month, added a second in quick succession after a marathon day in Rhode Island.
He beat American Michael Russell 6-2 6-2 in their rain-delayed semi-final in the morning then returned to the grass court to defeat Hewitt 5-7 7-5 6-3 in the afternoon final.
The Australian, bidding for his first singles title since he beat Roger Federer in the final at Halle in June, 2010, also played in the morning, blunting the booming serve of twice defending champion John Isner to win 5-7 6-2 6-4.
Despite spending more than an hour longer on court in his semi-final, the 32-year-old Hewitt looked to be on the verge of a straightforward victory in the final.
He won the opening set then served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but was unable to close it out as Mahut, a runner-up in Newport six years, fought back.
Mahut, 31, won the next three games in a row to ***** the match into a third set and despite going down an early break, he recovered and went on to seal victory after two hours and 20 minutes.

 

[Smallville22]

Serena too strong for Karatantcheva in Bastad

Serena Williams enjoyed a comfortable afternoon on her first WTA appearance since Wimbledon on the red clay of Bastad, Sweden.
The world number one and top seed was too strong for Sesil Karatancheva of Kazakhstan as she raced to a 6-1 6-2 victory.
Williams is the red-hot favourite for the tournament with the second seed in the event – Romania's Simona Halep– being ranked only 23rd in the world.
Still it is a popular event on the tour and was voted WTA's tournament of the year in 2012.
A packed crowd watched Serena in action but the contest last only 64 minutes as world number 131 Karatancheva found the step up in class a little too much.
Next up for Williams is a clash with Georgia's Anna Tatishvili, who defeated Swiss wild card Belinda Bencic in three sets.

WTA Bastad round one results

Andrea Gamiz (Venezuela) beat 4-Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) 6-1 6-3

1-Serena Williams (U.S.) beat Sesil Karatantcheva (Kazakhstan) 6-1 6-2

6-Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) beat Anastasia Grymalska (Italy) 6-3 5-7 6-1

Richel Hogenkamp (Netherlands) beat Lara Arruabarrena Vecino (Spain) 6-3 6-3

3-Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) beat Ellen Allgurin (Sweden) 6-1 6-1

Nina Bratchikova (Russia) beat Lesley Kerkhove (Netherlands) 6-3 6-1

Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) beat Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 2-6 6-4 6-4

Teliana Pereira (Brazil) beat Dinah Pfizenmaier (Germany) 3-6 6-2 7-5

Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) beat Caroline Garcia (France) 7-6(2) 6-1

Mathilde Johansson (France) beat Julia Cohen (U.S.) 6-2 6-3

WTA Bad Gastein round one results

Petra Martic (Croatia) beat 4-Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (Austria) beat Tereza Mrdeza (Croatia) 6-4 6-3

Alexandra Cadantu (Romania) beat Maria Joao Koehler (Portugal) 6-2 6-4

Mandy Minella (Luxembourg) beat Dia Evtimova (Bulgaria) 6-2 2-6 6-3

2-Annika Beck (Germany) beat Shahar Peer (Israel) 7-5 6-3

6-Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa) beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia) 6-1 6-4

Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) beat Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) 6-3 6-1

Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat Michaela Honcova (Slovakia) 6-2 6-2

Lisa-Maria Moser (Austria) beat Elena Bogdan (Romania) 7-6(6) 2-6 6-4

Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) beat 5-Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 6-2 6-2

Estrella Cabeza Candela (Spain) beat Tadeja Majeric (Slovenia) 6-1 6-3

 

[Smallville22]

Federer, Haas progress in Hamburg

Roger Federer came from a set down to beat Daniel Brands 3-6 6-3 6-2 on his first appearance since Wimbledon at the German Open in Hamburg.
Having ****** up two break points of his own, Federer was punished when Brands broke at 4-3 before serving out the first set to take the advantage.
However the world number five, who was debuting a new, larger racket, rattled off the next two sets with ease.
Such was the Swiss’ dominance, he only lost two of 22 service points in the second set and, despite missing two match points at 5-2 in the third, he wrapped up the win in one hour and 25 minutes to progress to the next round with his next match point.
Joining the 17-time Grand Slam winner in round three is second-seed Tommy Haas, who also needed three sets to progress having beaten qualifier Blaz Kavcic 6-1 4-6 6-4.
Fifth seed Juan Monaco, meanwhile, saw off Gael Monfils with two well-timed breaks of serve in as many sets.

ATP Hamburg round two results

1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Daniel Brands (Germany) 3-6 6-3 6-2

2-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) 6-1 4-6 6-4

4-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) beat Robin Haase (Netherlands) 6-4 3-6 7-6(4)

5-Juan Monaco (Argentina) beat Gael Monfils (France) 6-4 6-4

Marcel Granollers (Spain) beat 6-Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-2 1-6 6-1

Federico Delbonis (Argentina) beat 10-Tommy Robredo (Spain) 6-1 4-6 6-4

11-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 7-5 6-3

12-Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat Albert Ramos (Spain) 6-1 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) beat 13-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-3 6-7(3) 6-2

14-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Roberto Bautista (Spain) 6-4 3-6 6-2

Jan Hajek (Czech Republic) beat 15-Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 6-4 2-6 6-4

Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) beat 16-Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 4-6 6-1 7-6(6)

 

[Smallville22]

Hingis to play first WTA event in six years

Former world number one Martina Hingis is to come out of retirement and play her first WTA event since 2007.
The 32-year-old will play doubles in the Southern California Open with Daniela Hantuchova in Carlsbad after being granted a wild card
Hingis last played on the women's tour in September 2007 but retired after testing positive for *******. She denied using the **** but retired without fighting the ban.
Just last weekend she was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame.
"I am very much looking forward to making a return to competitive play at the Southern California Open," Hingis told the WTA website.
"I remember winning the singles and doubles here in 1997 and winning the singles again in 1999. This has always been one of my favorite events to play. I feel in good shape at the moment after playing World Team Tennis. My competitive spirit is still very much alive and I love being out on court."
Born in Czechoslovakia and named after Martina Navratilova, Hingis announced her arrival on the world stage when she won the 1993 French Open junior title at just 12 years of age.
She turned professional two weeks before her 14th birthday and went on to achieve a series of youngest-ever records.
Hingis won five Grand Slam singles titles - the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Australian Opens, 1997 Wimbledon and 1997 US Open - and held the number one ranking for 209 weeks.
She also won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title before injuries ****** her into early retirement at the age of 22.
Hingis made a comeback four years later but retired again after her failed ***** test.

 

[Smallville22]

Federer, Haas through to quarters in Hamburg

World number five Roger Federer strolled past Jan Haje to progress into the quarter-finals of ATP Hamburg with a 6-4 6-3 win.
Top seed Federer impresses while sporting his new, larger racquet and wasn’t particularly troubled by the unseeded Czech.
The Swiss maestro hit seven aces and won 71 per cent of points on serve, but could only convert 23 per cent of his break points, winning just three of 13 opportunities.
Federer will next face Feliciano Lopez or Florian Mayer as he looks to win the title for the fifth time despite this being his first appearance at the event since 2008.
"I guess it’s to a degree some more getting use to, just to see how it reacts on every single shot," Federer said.
"Clearly it reacts better to some shots. But it's important not to think of it the whole time, not to talk about it all the time, but more just sort of go with it, fight for every point, have the right mindset, be optimistic about playing here now and wanting to achieve a good result and that’s what I'm doing.
"I’m just still looking for the timing and the rhythm here, but the longer I stay in the tournament the more confident I am that I’m going to play better and better as the tournament goes on."
World number 11 and second seed Tommy Haas also cruised into the quarters with a very comfortable 6-2 6-4 win over Argentine Carlos Berlocq.
Home-favourite Haas is aiming to win his hometown title for the first time in 11 appearances and will now face Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

ATP Hamburg round three results

1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Jan Hajek (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-3

2-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) 6-2 6-4

3-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-2 6-3

Federico Delbonis (Argentina) beat Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 6-4 6-3

14-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat 4-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) 7-5 4-0 (Janowicz retired)

5-Juan Monaco (Argentina) beat 9-Benoit Paire (France) 6-3 2-6 6-2

12-Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat Marcel Granollers (Spain) 6-2 6-4

Florian Mayer (Germany) beat 11-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6(1) 6-2

ATP Bogota round two results

Matteo Viola (Italy) beat 4-Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) 6-3 7-5

 

[Smallville22]

Serena brushes aside Tatishvili in Bastad

Serena Williams eased into the third round of the WTA Bastad open with a 6-2 6-3 win over Anna Tatishvili.
Williams barely broke a sweat, dropping only five games in a match that lasted just over an hour.
It was the first time that the two had faced each other with the world number one and top seed coming through against the world number 104 in typically ****** fashion.
The 31-year-old American struggled with her serve throughout the match, making just 58% of her first serves and was broken 3 times by her Georgian opponent.
Although red-hot favourite, Williams is now in a stronger position with 2nd seed, and world number 23, Simona Halep retiring hurt in her match against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.

WTA Bastad round two results

1-Serena Williams (U.S.) beat Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) 6-2 6-3

Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat 2-Simona Halep (Romania) 4-6 7-5 2-0 (Halep retired)

Richel Hogenkamp (Netherlands) beat 6-Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-1 2-6 6-3

WTA Bad Gastein round two results

2-Annika Beck (Germany) beat Mandy Minella (Luxembourg) 2-6 6-4 6-4

Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) beat 3-Irina Begu (Romania) 6-3 6-3

Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat 6-Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa) 7-5 1-6 6-1

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (Austria) beat Petra Martic (Croatia) 6-4 6-4

Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) beat Estrella Cabeza Candela (Spain) 5-7 7-5 6-3

 

[Smallville22]

Federer progresses, Fognini beats Haas

Roger Federer beat Florian Mayer 7-6 (4) 3-6 7-5 to reach the semi-final of ATP Hamburg.
Federer, who is using a new, larger racquet, struggled for much of the match and his opponent had more breaks – five to the Swiss’ four – and won more points.
The four-time Hamburg winner won the first set on a tie-break but home hope Mayer raced into a 5-1 advantage in the second set before the Swiss won two games on the spin to cut the arrears to 5-3.
However, a double fault and two forehand errors from the former world number one saw Mayer take the second.
In the third, Federer broke service twice only to see Mayer break straight back but when he took a third break to lead 6-5 in the decider he served to love to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Federer will face qualifier Federico Delbonis, who beat 14th-seeded Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) in a three hour and 14 minute epic.
Second-seeded Tommy Haas lost to Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4 – the 12th-seeded player is looking for his second straight title having won in Stuttgart.
The first set was an even affair with both players having four breaks points but Fognini prevailed having converted two of his to take the first set.
Fognini then closed out the second set 6-4 to take the match in one hour and 21 minutes.

ATP Hamburg quarter-final results

1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Florian Mayer (Germany) 7-6(4) 3-6 7-5

12-Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat 2-Tommy Haas (Germany) 6-2 6-4

Federico Delbonis (Argentina) beat 14-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 6-7(5) 7-6(8) 6-4

3-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat 5-Juan Monaco (Argentina) 4-6 6-0 6-3

ATP Bogota quarter-final results

2-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) beat 6-Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) 6-3 6-3

Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) beat 5-Adrian Mannarino (France) 7-6(5) 7-6(3)

 

[rivasky]

lame tournaments this week; my beloved twins in action next week in Baku.

in the meantime, the WTA has launched another round of its Strong Is Beautiful campaign, including two particularly beautiful ladies: Elena Vesnina and Sloane Stephens :heart:

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[Smallville22]

Serena brushes aside Zakopalova to make Bastad final

Serena Williams defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-0 6-4 to book her spot in the final of WTA Bastad.
Williams’ early dominance was total as she rattled off the first eight games to bagel her Czech opponent and open up a two game advantage in the second set.
Zakopalova did manage to fashion a break of her own to tie the second set at 2-2 but Williams, who lost to Sabine Lisicki in the last-16 of Wimbledon, broke back to take the set and the match just shy of an hour and ten minutes.
Williams will face home hope Johanna Larsson in Sunday’s final.
The Swede came from behind to overpower her Italian counter-part Flavia Pennetta 2-6 6-3 6-4.

WTA Bastad semi-final results

1-Serena Williams (US) beat 3-Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) 6-0 6-4

8-Johanna Larsson (Sweden) beat Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 2-6 6-3 6-4

WTA Bad Gastein semi-final results

Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) beat Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 7-5 6-7(1) 6-4

Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) beat 8-Karin Knapp (Italy) 6-4 6-3

 

[Smallville22]

Federer humbled by world number 114 in Hamburg

Roger Federer fell to a shock 7-6(7) 7-6(4) defeat to world number 114 Federico Delbonis in the semi-finals of ATP Hamburg.
Federer, who is debuting a new larger racquet, has struggled throughout the tournament and took three sets to beat home hope Florian Mayer in the quarter-finals.
However, Federer’s loss marks another defeat to a player outside the top 110 in the world following his surprise loss at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky at Wimbledon.
The Swiss, a four-time Hamburg winner, made a raft of unforced errors to offer the qualifier a route to his first career final.
For Delbonis, a final awaits against in-form Fabio Fognini, who beat third-seed Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-6(1) in one hour and 50 minutes.
The win ensures a successive final appearance following on from last week’s win against Philipp Kohlschreiber at ATP Stuttgart - his first career title.

ATP Hamburg semi-final results

Federico Delbonis (Argentina) beat 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) 7-6(7) 7-6(4)

12-Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat 3-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 6-4 7-6(1)

ATP Bogota semi-final results

Alejandro Falla (Colombia) beat Vasek Pospisil (Canada) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4

Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) beat 2-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-3

 

[Smallville22]

Fognini battle to beat Federer-conqueror Delbonis in Hamburg final

Fabio Fognini saved three match points before going on to beat Federico Delbonis 4-6 7-6(8) 6-2 in the ATP Hamburg final.
It was the second title in as many weeks for the Italian after he won in Stuttgart last weekend.
It had looked like being storybook triumph for world number 114 Delbonis who had the biggest win of his career against Roger Federer in the semi-final.
The Argentine qualifier won the opening set after saving five breaks points before converting with his only opportunity.
He was also a break up in the second but Fognini fought back and brought it to a nail-biting tie-break.
There the Italian saved three match points before going on to take it 10-8.
That seemed to bury Delbonis mentally as Fognini won the first four games of the decider before going on to take it 6.2.

Ivo Karlovic celebrated his first ATP title in five years as he won ATP Bogota with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Alejandro Falla.
Karlovic won all 61 of his service games and served a total of 104 aces during the tournament.

 

[Smallville22]

Williams wins fourth clay title of season in Bastad

Serena Williams completed her dominance on clay this season by beating Johanna Larsson 6-4 6-1 in the WTA Bastad final.
It made it 28 clay court wins in a row for Serena with five of her seven 2013 titles coming on the surface - four on red clay and one on green clay (Charleston).
Larsson got off to a good start in her home tournament, breaking in the opening game, and was 3-1 in front early but the eight seeded Swede only went on to win two more games as Serena took control.
It was the 53rd WTA title of Williams' career and puts her level with Monica Seles for ninth on the all-time list in the Open era.

Meanwhile in Bad Gastein, Austria, Yvonne Meusburger delighted the home fans by winning the first title of her career against Andrea Hlavackova of Czech Republic 7-5 6-2 .
Meusburger is ranked only 86th in the world but enjoyed a fantastic tournament – not dropping a single set all week.

 

[rivasky]

After three years of draught. Finally, Shahar Peer has found her mojo again. :nanner:

With a win against Svitolina in the Baku final tomorrow, Little Miss Sunshine will be back in the Top 100. Nevertheless, it's good to see her enjoying what she does. Her priorities have been anywhere but on the court recently. lasma:

 

[Deepcover]

Might check out Williams play Live in Toronto next month.

 

[Smallville22]

British doubles star Hutchins in remission from cancer

Ross Hutchins, one half of Britain's Davis Cup doubles pairing, has confirmed he is in remission from Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Hutchins, 28, was diagnosed with the form of cancer in December 2012.
He took a break from tennis to undergo treatment at London's Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
The Wimbledon-born player confirmed the remission via his official Twitter account.
"Was a big day today. Met my oncologist and I am now in remission. So grateful to fantastic Professor Cunningham and his team at Royal Marsden," he tweeted.
"Thank you to everyone for your constant, incredible support, I couldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for all of you, I really mean that!"
Hutchins has been eager to return to action sometime in 2013.
He and regular partner Colin Fleming enjoyed a banner year in 2012, reaching four doubles finals and winning two of them in Eastbourne and Delray Beach.
Fleming has been playing doubles with 2012 Wimbledon doubles champion Jonny Marray while Hutchins battled the illness.
Nearly 1,500 people are diagnosed with the white ***** cell disease each year in the UK.

 

[Smallville22]

Federer to continue new racquet experiment

Roger Federer says he will continue to use his new, larger tennis racquet for the foreseeable future.
Federer debuted a blacked-out Wilson with a 98-square-inch head last week in Hamburg as he tasted action for the first time since being stunned in the second round of Wimbledon.
The Swiss ace reached the semi-finals in Germany, only to fall to Federico Delbonis in the last four.
Federer is now in Gstaad for the first time since winning the clay tournament nine years ago. He enters the fray on Thursday against Daniel Brands or Marco Chiudinelli after getting a first-round bye.
And Federer says the new racquet will be there too, as he continues to pass judgment on the equipment.
"So far, I'm happy with this change,” he explained. “But I need many hours on the court to see if this is a good decision.
“I haven't yet taken the decision on whether to use it in the US. I still need to think it over.
"There are players who have experienced problems when they changed racquets, Fernando Verdasco and to some extent Novak Djokovic."