Notícias/Artigos/Entrevistas Gerais

[Lleyton]

Não me tou a lembrar de mais nenhum. O Moya não ouvi nada sobre isso, mas duvido que continue a jogar...

[Peplin]

Vamos lá recapitular:

 

Safin, Santoro, Horna, Roitman, Pavel, Malisse (?).

 

Lembram-se de mais algum que tenha anunciado o abandono este ano? O Moya chegou a anunciar o abandono?

 

O Malisse ainda não está confirmado. O Moya, oficialmente, não está retirado. Para além desses, acrescento o Thomas Johansson e o Guillermo Coria.

[Descartes]

O Malisse ainda não está confirmado. O Moya, oficialmente, não está retirado. Para além desses, acrescento o Thomas Johansson e o Guillermo Coria.

 

O Coria e o To Jo anunciaram? Não me lembro...

 

O Malisse não confirmou, claro. Só disse que, se calhar, depois da suspensão já não valia a pena voltar. Por isso é que eu coloquei o (?).

[Lleyton]

Também tenho ideia de o Coria e o Johansson anunciarem

[Peplin]

O Johansson retirou-se em Junho/Julho e o Coria por alturas de Março. O Malisse pôs essa hipótese, mas ainda não está nada decidido.

[Lleyton]

Nova suspeita de fraude no ATP

 

COMISSÃO ANTI-CORRUPÇÃO INVESTIGA DEZ NOVOS CASOS

 

 

O ATP está de novo envolto na obscura malha das apostas ilegais, segundo avançou o diário inglês "Daily Mail" que revela a existência de suspeitas sobre os desfechos de dez partidas disputadas no circuito profissional.

 

Segundo o "Daily Mail", a comissão anti-corrupção no ténis está a investigar a possível ocorrência de fraudes envolvendo tenistas de currículo menos preenchido, mas com lugar assegurado no top 100 do ranking mundial.

 

Ainda segundo o jornal, os comissários ficaram surpreendidos pela enormidade de dinheiro injetado em partidas de tenistas considerados mais fracos e que se encaminhavam para a derrota, sendo que nos dez jogos em questão surge o nome do mesmo jogador em três deles e outro tenista envolvido em duas partidas.

 

A polémica volta à agenda do ténis mundial depois de ter sido tornada pública em 2007 quando Nikolay Davydenko se retirou quando se encaminhava para um triunfo sobre o modesto tenista argentino Martin Vassallo Arguello.

 

O tenista russo foi, entretanto, absolvido, mas o caso levou a que alguns tenistas italianos fossem investigados e suspensos por apostarem em partidas de outros adversários.

[Peplin]

Andam a ver muito o tópico das apostas. :lol:

[Peplin]

Arguello admite consumo de droga

ARGENTINO NUNCA ACUSOU NADA NOS CONTROLOS

 

 

Depois do escândalo protagonizado por Andre Agassi, ao assumir ter tomado drogas quando ainda estava no activo, agora é a vez do argentino Martin Vassalo Arguello confirmar, durante um conversa num "chat" de um jornalista, que já consumiu substâncias proibidas "inúmeras vezes".

 

"Experimentei drogas e muitas. Mas nenhuma foi detectada nos controlos. Uma vez consumi erva e não sei se fumei mal ou se era de má qualidade, mas a verdade é que não teve efeito algum", relatou o argentino.

 

No seguimento da polémica recente em torno de Agassi, Arguello não só admitiu o uso de drogas como disse ser favorável a uma ampla discussão na sociedade de forma a equacionar uma eventua liberalização de determinadas substâncias. "É preciso saber se a sociedade está preparada para ter a liberdade de consumo. Na Holanda, parece que funciona", disse o actual número 71 do "ranking" ATP.

 

Curiosa foi, de seguida, a sua interpretação sobre o anúncio de Agasso. "Ele está, em primeiro lugar, interessado em vender livros. É isso o que eu penso", disse o tenista que, pese assumir já ter usado substâncias ilegais, se colocou contra a postura da ATP no caso do tenista norte-americano. "Se alguém rompe com as regras deve ser punido. A credibilidade é a base da confiança", concluiu.

[Rōnin]

Bora descredibilizar o desporto...

[Lleyton]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/DEUCE-Ten...ce-Santoro.aspx :prayer:

[Peplin]

Roddick, back with Lacoste, focusing on next year

 

After missing the ATP World Tour Finals because of a left knee injury, Andy Roddick is already looking forward to the start of the 2010 tennis season.

 

Roddick, who was at the O2 Arena on Tuesday to announce that he has renewed his sponsorship deal with French apparel maker Lacoste for another four years, said his knee was “coming along well.”

 

“We’re probably a little bit ahead of where we thought we would be,” the 2003 U.S. Open champion said. “I’ve been able to run, run in a straight line, and hopefully next week I’ll be able to get back out on the courts and practice.”

 

Financial details of the deal with Lacoste were not announced. Lacoste CEO Christophe Chenut said Roddick brings “his human dimension” to the company.

 

“Andy will continue to be a major ambassador for the crocodile, thanks to his natural elegance, thanks to his fair play and smile,” Chenut said.

 

Roddick had one of his best years on tour this season, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and later losing to Roger Federer 16-14 in the fifth set of an epic Wimbledon final.

 

“As far as the disappointment of Wimbledon, I don’t think I’ll ever be happy with the result,” Roddick said. “But I’ll always want to win that tournament.”

 

But with this season over for Roddick, he is focused on what is next. He said he is planning to start in Brisbane, Australia, in January and then move on to the Australian Open in Melbourne.

 

“I’m going to try to get down there probably earlier than I normally would, try to get used to conditions in heat,” Roddick said. “Obviously, I’d love to get some sets in with these guys before it’s all said and done.”

 

The guys Roddick was referring to were the eight taking part in the ATP World Tour Finals, the season-ending event that runs through Sunday in London.

 

Top-ranked Federer, Rafael Nadal and U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro are among the competitors.

 

“It is a different dynamic for me to be here and to be talking with all of you, not playing,” Roddick said. “It was a lot easier to deal with for me not being at this tournament when I was home. But to be able to come here and see just the energy that’s around it, just the great event that’s being put on, I definitely am envious towards those guys out there.”

 

His disappointment didn’t detract from his sense of humor, though.

 

Instead of answering yet another question about his chances of winning the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, Roddick joked that he may use his contacts to get some things changed at Roland Garros.

 

“Well, we were talking earlier, and I said we have … the Lacoste family here, a bunch of big players, big people in France. So we were talking about a surface change maybe for the French Open,” Roddick said with a smile. “So we’ll keep you updated on that. We’re still in negotiations.”

[Peplin]

Nice to Host New ATP World Tour Tournament In 2010; Replaces Kitzbuhel

 

 

The ATP announced today a change in the 2010 ATP World Tour calendar with a tournament in Nice (France) replacing Kitzbuehel (Austria), the week of 17 May. The ATP World Tour 250 event will be played on the clay courts of the Nice Lawn Tennis Club the week prior to Roland Garros.

 

The Nice event becomes the fifth ATP World Tour event in France after Marseille, Metz, Lyon and Paris. Nice had held an ATP World Tour event for several years until 1995.

 

"We are delighted to announce the new event in Nice," said Laurent Delanney, ATP Chief Executive Officer - Europe. "Nice staged a popular ATP World Tour event for many years and it is great to be able to return there after a 15 year absence. Tennis has a huge following in France and many French players compete at the highest level on the ATP World Tour."

[Lleyton]

Serena é suspensa e paga 175 mil dólares

TENISTA EM "CONDICIONAL" DURANTE DOIS ANOS

 

 

A federação internacional de ténis (ITF) multou Serena Williams em 175 mil dólares e aplicou-lhe uma pena de suspensão, a qual fica suspensa durante dois anos, pelo comportamento da norte-americana no decorrer do Open dos Estados Unidos, em setembro.

 

A ITF sublinha que qualquer nova ofensa no decorrer de um torneio do Grand Slam nos próximos dois anos ditará a suspensão na prova norte-americana em 2010, 2011 ou 2012. Por outro lado, a multa será reduzida a 82.500 dólares caso Serena não cometer uma infração grave aos regulamentos até 2011.

 

Recorde-se que no decorrer das meias-finais do Open dos Estados Unidos, frente a Kim Clijsters, a norte-americana ameaçou de morte um árbitro.

 

Serena já tinha sido multada em 10 mil dólares em Nova Iorque por comportamento anti-desportivo.

[Peplin]

Falou-se em 1M$ de multa, mas já se sabia que não ia ser tanto. Agora, que ganhe juízo e não volte a fazer figuras tristes.

[Peplin]

Viewpoint: The Ups and Downs of the WTA Season

 

Serena Williams

 

The defining moment of Serena's 2009 season came not in Melbourne, where she dominated Dinara Safina for her 10th career Grand Slam singles title, nor at Wimbledon, where she soundly defeated her sister, Venus, for No. 11. Those victories were overshadowed by her notorious tirade against the lineswoman who called her for a foot fault in the U.S. Open semifinals.

 

But regardless of whether you were perturbed by the vitriolic nature of Serena's outburst (I was) or thought she should have been allowed to play the women's doubles final 36 hours later (I didn't), one has to acknowledge that from a competitive standpoint, Serena's season was an unqualified success. She may have bungled her apologies for foot-fault-gate (for which she was fined $82,500 earlier this week), but in going 5-0 to win the year-end championships in Doha, Williams reminded us how dominating her top tennis is.

 

As my colleague Steve Tignor wrote earlier this month, her status as the world's greatest player derives not just from her serve -- the best in the women's game -- or her quickness, but also from her court coverage, her competitive mettle, and most of all her ability to hit winners from any position.

 

Ten years after she became the first Williams sister to win a major, and seven years after she first claimed the world's top ranking, Serena will finish the year ranked No. 1. It's appropriate that that distinction goes not to the hapless Safina but to Williams, the best in the game.

 

 

Svetlana Kuznetsova

 

After an embarrassingly lopsided loss to Justine Henin in the 2007 U.S. Open final, it looked as though Kuznetsova -- the 2004 U.S. Open champion -- was a one-hit wonder on the downside of her career.

 

But this year, Kuznetsova, inspired partially by a discussion she had with Roger Federer, rededicated herself to her game and her training, and her results reflected her raised level of commitment. Kuznetsova was up a set and a break on Serena in the Australian Open quarterfinals before officials invoked the extreme-heat rule and closed the roof. When the players returned to the court, Serena regained control, which she didn't relinquish for the rest of the tournament.

 

Kuznetsova got her revenge in Paris, however, knocking off Serena in the French Open quarterfinals en route to her second career Grand Slam title. Kuznetsova gets extra credit for the maturity and empathy she displayed in the Roland Garros final, during which Safina suffered another meltdown. After completely outclassing her countrywoman on the court, Kuznetsova proved to be a classy champion by keeping her celebration relatively subdued.

 

 

Players of Polish descent

 

Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki, who was born in Denmark to Polish parents, won three more tour titles this season, raising her career total to six, and entered the Top 5. Entering the U.S. Open, she had never made it past the fourth round of a major, but she went all the way to the final there -- and then in the on-court interview afterward addressed her fans in English, Danish and Polish.

 

Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak, the daughter of Polish immigrants, also enjoyed the best season of her career, reaching the fourth round of the French Open and achieving a career-high ranking of No. 21 in June. Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska, 20, maintained her spot in the Top 10 despite not winning any tourneys, and her younger sister Urszula, 18, made her debut in the Top 100, reaching No. 62 in August.

 

 

On-court creativity

 

We were reminded this year that bludgeoning the ball isn't the only way to be effective, and that multidimensional games make for compelling viewing. Notable players who, refreshingly, incorporated some variety into their play include Flavia Pennetta, who this summer cracked the Top 10 for the first time; the undersized and inexperienced but surprisingly crafty Melanie Oudin; and, most significantly, U.S. Open finalist Wozniacki. (Woz, however, gets a few points deducted for that unflattering, multi-layered lavender trainwreck of a Stella McCartney smock/dress.)

 

 

Comebacks

 

Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open in her third tournament back from retirement. Kimiko Date Krumm, who hadn't played competitive tennis since the Clinton administration, returned to the tour and won a tournament the day before she turned 39. Maria Sharapova came back from a career-threatening shoulder injury to make the French Open quarterfinals, and during that Paris run spoke eloquently about the satisfaction she derived from having rejoined the pro ranks. Given Clijsters' fairy-tale return to the fold, and Sharapova's more qualified success, it is little surprise that the retirement of another former No. 1, Justine Henin, didn't take.

 

 

Newbies

 

The most promising newcomers to distinguish themselves in 2009 included Germany's Sabine Lisicki, a "Fraulein Forehand" for the new generation and a winner in Charleston; Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who made the semis of the French Open; and Sorana Cirstea, whose spirited effort against Jankovic at Roland Garros (Cirstea won 9-7 in the third) earned the Romanian a berth in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

 

 

Victoria Azarenka

 

The Belarusian's play in the first half of the year announced her as a starlet in the making, and the poise she showed in defeating Serena Williams in the Key Biscayne final seemed to clinch her status as the "next big thing" in the women's game: She's athletic and powerful, blond and bubbly.

 

But the intensity that the Arizona-based Azarenka shows on the court is not necessarily a competitive asset. She lost her composure during her ugly third-round loss to Francesca Schiavone in the U.S. Open, berating the officials, the fans and herself before double-faulting on match point. During her round-robin match against Caroline Wozniacki at the tour championships, the tantrum-prone 20-year-old suffered another meltdown. It was an inauspicious end to a season during which Azarenka established herself as a Top 10 player.

 

 

Elena Dementieva

 

It may seem harsh to offer a negative assessment of a season during which Dementieva won three titles and made the semifinals at two majors. But the Russian 6-footer has been near the top of the women's game for so long that at this point, her career is defined less by what she has accomplished than by what her competitive résumé lacks -- a Grand Slam title.

 

Over the past decade, Dementieva has been a finalist at two majors (the French Open and the U.S. Open, both in 2004) and made the semifinals six other times. This year, in one of the best-played women's matches of 2009, she had a match point against Serena in the Wimbledon semifinals before surrendering to the eventual champion. As the 28-year-old closes in on a second consecutive year-end Top 5 finish, the absence of a Grand Slam goblet in her trophy case feels conspicuous, especially considering the volatility and inconsistency at the top of the women's game.

 

Dementieva's serve is no longer a liability, she's less prone to breaking down psychologically in the big moments, and she's as fit as ever -- yet her best tennis credential is still the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. Her emotional reaction to that triumph in Beijing demonstrates how significant the big wins are for her, but she has still yet to hoist a Grand Slam trophy. With Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin back on the scene and Serena looking as formidable as ever, Dementieva may have missed her window. I fear she's doomed to a career of major futility.

 

 

Serbian players

 

In 2008, French Open champion Ana Ivanovic became the first Serbian player, male or female, to achieve the No. 1 ranking. She was displaced at the top spot by her countrywoman Jelena Jankovic, who won four titles in 2008 and ended the year ranked No. 1. This year, both Ivanovic and Jankovic seemed to regress. Ivanovic, now ranked No. 22, didn't make it past the fourth round of a major (and flamed out in the first round of the U.S. Open). Jankovic, whose stellar 2008 Grand Slam record included a final and two semis, also failed to advance past the round of 16 at a Slam this year, and now finds herself ranked eighth.

 

 

Waterworks

 

Though his weepy performance following his loss in the Australian Open final made Roger Federer this year's top lacrimation sensation, there was no shortage of tears on the women's side. The talented but tragicomical Dinara Safina made it halfway to a Sob Slam by tearing up during the finals of two consecutive major finals (the Aussie and the French, both of which she lost badly). Ana Ivanovic sobbed when injury forced her to retire from her fourth-round match against Venus Williams at Wimbledon. And Vera Zvonareva, already known as the master of the meltdown and a champion of self-flagellation, added to her legend in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, where she failed to convert any of six match points during her wrenching 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0 loss to Flavia Pennetta. Not everyone is as unflappable as Don Draper, but the volume of tears shed during that epic loss was high, even by Zvonareva's standards.

[Peplin]

Former world No. 1 Mauresmo retires from tennis

 

 

Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo retired from tennis Thursday, saying she no longer had a burning desire for competition.

 

The 30-year-old Frenchwoman is a former No. 1 player who finished this season at No. 21.

 

“I don’t want to train anymore,” Mauresmo said after shedding tears about the decision. “I had to make a decision, which became evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grew older, it’s more difficult to stay at the top.”

 

Mauresmo, who won both of her Grand Slam titles in 2006, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, said she was happy to leave on a good note after winning her 25th singles title—her first in almost two years—in Paris this season. She also had seven wins over Top 10 players in her final year.

 

“It’s a bit sad, but this is the right decision,” Mauresmo said. “I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to experience very strong feelings on the court.”

 

Mauresmo, who was the No. 1 in 2004, played her last match in the second round of this year’s U.S. Open, losing to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 6-0. She pulled out of her last two tournaments of the year.

 

“It became very hard in buildup to the U.S. Open,” Mauresmo said. “If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course I could continue, but to achieve this you need to put in such hard work. And I’m not capable of that.”

 

Mauresmo said she has no regrets and feels proud when she looks back at a career that started in 1993.

 

“I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title,” she said. “I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years.”

 

Mauresmo, who says she decided to play tennis after watching Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open, became the first player from France—male or female— to reach the No. 1 spot on Sept. 13, 2004. She held it for five weeks and recaptured it on March 20, 2006, holding it for the majority of that year until falling from the top on Nov. 12. In total, she spent 39 weeks at No. 1.

 

But she was never able to emulate Noah’s feat of winning on the clay at Roland Garros, failing to go beyond the quarterfinals at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, where she struggled to withstand the pressure in front of her home crowd.

 

Mauresmo also won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the WTA Tour championship in 2005. She won the Olympic silver medal in Athens in 2004.

 

She had her best season in 2006, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon with victories over Justine Henin in the finals.

 

“Amelie will go down in history as one of the best players of her generation and a terrific ambassador for women’s tennis,” WTA Tour chairman Stacey Allaster said. “Amelie is an extraordinary player, one of the nicest and friendliest personalities on Tour, and a true champion both in tennis and in life.”

 

Asked about a possible comeback, Mauresmo said her decision was definitive.

 

“Even if I’ve learned to never say never,” the Frenchwoman said. “The players you are thinking about stopped earlier than me before coming back.”

 

Former No. 1 Henin confirmed in October she’ll make her return to the WTA Tour at the Brisbane International—two weeks before the Australian Open. Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open in September after coming back from two years in retirement.

 

Uma das minhas tenistas favoritas. Mauresmo :prayer:

 

Xlx5Lt-q69Q

[Peplin]

Safina withdraws from Brisbane with bad back

Dinara Safina withdrew Friday from next month’s Brisbane International because of a bad back, leaving her status for the Australian Open in doubt.

Safina, the former top-ranked player in the world, had hoped to return from injury at the Brisbane event and start tuning up for the first major of 2010. But tournament director Steve Ayles said Safina’s back problem will prevent her from playing Jan. 3-10 at Brisbane.

“At this stage she’s still entered in Sydney and the Australian Open. We were first up … unfortunately she’s not going to be recovered in time,” Ayles said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

“I know she would have been working around the clock to try to be ready for the event, but in the end time beat her and she is still undergoing treatment.”

The Sydney tournament will feature most of the women’s top 10 in the week before the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 18 in Melbourne.

Safina tearfully withdrew from the WTA Championships with a serious back injury in October, a problem she originally thought could keep her out of the Australian Open. But she signed on for the Brisbane tournament only two days later.

The Russian player lasted only 13 minutes in her first round-robin match of the season-ending championships before retiring while serving at 1-1 against Jelena Jankovic. Safina’s withdrawal meant she lost the year-end No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams.

Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, both back from retirement, headline the Brisbane International women’s draw, along with Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Dokic. The tournament is in its second year.

[Jone Sampaoli]

Ainda não é desta que o Millán tira aquele avatar, cá para mim :lol:

[Lleyton]

Eu bem disse que ele tinha arranjado um avatar vitalício 8)

[Lleyton]

Tribunal de Bruxelas anula suspensão a Malisse e Wickmayer

ATLETAS ESTAVAM IMPEDIDOS DE COMPETIR DURANTE UM ANO

 

Um tribunal de primeira instância de Bruxelas anulou esta segunda-feira a suspensão de um ano imposta aos tenistas belgas Xavier Malisse e Yanina Wickmayer pelas autoridades regionais de Flandres, por falta a controlos anti-doping num período de 18 meses.

 

Segundo o advogado de Malisse e Wickmayer, vencedora da edição de 2009 do Estoril Open, o tribunal baseou-se na Convenção Europeia dos Direitos do Homem para a anulação da pena que tinha sido aplicada.

 

O levantamento da sanção presupõe o regresso À actividade de imediato de Malisse, 29 anos, actualmente em 94.º no ranking ATP, e Wickmayer, 20 anos e 16.º na hierarquia mundial, que recorreram da decisão do Tribunal de Dopagem de Flandres (VDT) para o Tribunal Arbitral do Desporto (TAS), em Lausana, na Suíça.

 

Malisse, 29 anos, está actualmente em 94.º no ranking ATP e Wickmayer, 20 anos, é a 16.ª na hierarquia feminina mundial.

[Baggy_Baghdatis17]

Van Grichen deixou de ser treinador da Azarenka

[Peplin]

Estranha decisão. :-k

[nEsT_1]

Realmente surpreendeu-me. Até porque estava a fazer um trabalho notável, mas acredito que o facto de a Azarenko ser frágil a nível mental e isso lhe ter custado pelo menos 2 finais possa ter pesado na decisão (não as finais perdidas mas sim a não progressão a nível mental) e talvez ele tenha outra proposta na mão.

 

Eu via bem este senhor como treinador do Gil por exemplo.

[Lleyton]

Supostos problemas de comunicação.

[Peplin]

Por acaso, não me importava de o ver a treinar... uma portuguesa. A Michelle, mais concretamente.