Happy Birthday Swiss Maestro!

Happy 31 Birthday to my fave male tennis athlete Roger Federer.

Here's to many more successes and accolades.

Thanks for 31 years of brilliance and class on and off the court.  Cheers!.

Martina Hingis Rogers Cup Hall of Fame inductee

MONTREAL -- Martina Hingis and Jim Courier both trotted out their best French as they were inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame on Monday night.

Hingis, a winner of five Grand Slam singles titles, won consecutive singles titles in Canada in 1999 and 2000, the latter tournament in Montreal.

The 31-year-old Swiss great addressed the Uniprix Stadium crowd in French, attributing her improved skills in the language to lessons from her husband, show jumper Thibault Hutin.

"I was able to win here at least once in Montreal and always had really good results," Hingis said. "It's one of the nicer events on the tour you have throughout the year. It was one of my favourites."

Courier, who won consecutive French Open singles titles in 1991 and 1992, also briefly addressed the crowd in conversational French before asking to switch to his native tongue.

A two-time singles semifinalist in Canada, Courier won the 1993 tournament's doubles title in Montreal. He teamed up with partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas to beat Toronto's Glenn Michibata and American David Pate.

"I have good memories from here because I won doubles here," said Courier, who won four Grand Slam singles titles. "It's the most European city in North America so it's a pleasure for me to come here and play with and against older peers."

Hingis and Courier were honoured prior to the Legends Night matches on the eve of the women's tournament's main draw. 

The two new inductees capped the evening with a mixed doubles match against tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who was previously inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame, and Michael Chang.

Hingis, an avid equestrian, was given a horse blanket that was delivered to the court on horseback by Roger Deslauriers, who was riding I Win in full riding gear.

"I wish I could ride around the court," Hingis said.



Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Martina+Hingis+Courier+inducted+into+Rogers+Hall+Fame/7048946/story.html#ixzz22szoukrw

Roger Federer pulls out of Rogers Cup to rest after marathon Olympic match

Switzerland’s Roger Federer became the third player ranked in the world’s top five to drop out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. 

Federer, the No. 1 player in the world, withdrew Friday, soon after winning a four-hours-plus marathon against Argentina’s Juan Del Potro in the men’s Olympic semi-finals.

 Federer will play for the first gold medal of his career Sunday, and given the magnitude of that event, didn’t think he could make the quick turnaround to compete next week in Canada.


Federer joins No. 3 Rafael Nadal and No. 5 David Ferrer on the sidelines, alongside American Andy Roddick, the 2003 Rogers Cup champion, who also withdrew Friday. 

Nadal is out with a knee injury that obliged him to miss the Olympics, where he was scheduled to be Spain’s flag bearer. Ferrer withdrew for personal reasons.

According to tournament director Karl Hale, the good news is that the two other marquee names in men’s tennis, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Britain’s Andy Murray, are still coming, even though Murray will play Federer for Olympic gold Sunday, and will be under some duress of his own.

Hale said he spoke to representatives from both Djokovic’s and Murray’s camps, who “guaranteed” him they would be in Toronto.

“I’m confident both players will be here next week,” Hale said. “I’ll take them at their word.”

For more than a year now, organizers of both the men’s event in Toronto and the women’s event in Montreal were aware that the presence of the Olympics on the 2012 tennis calendar could play havoc with their respective events.

Anticipating the potential overlap between the two, the fields were reduced to 48 players from 56, with the top 16 all receiving byes into the second round in the hopes that it would encourage the elite players to come, even if they made it deep into the Olympic draw.

“With the Olympics, we knew that could be an issue,” Hale said. “That’s why we added the byes for the nine-to-16 players and moved the men’s final to Sunday night. We did what we could, but it is a tough schedule for the players.”

The ATP requires its biggest names to appear in what are classified as Masters 1000 events, but in a sport as physically demanding as tennis, just about every player is playing injured to some extent, so finding a plausible medical reason to drop out is generally not that difficult.

Because of all the withdrawals, Canada’s Milos Raonic has been moved up to the 16th seed and will receive a bye into the second round. 

Raonic, ranked No. 23 in the world, has previously been seeded in Grand Slam tournaments (because they seed down to 32 players), but this will be his first time seeded in a Masters event.

In a conference call prior to the Olympics, Raonic had hoped that the tournament’s format changes, coupled with its importance on the tennis calendar, would keep the dropouts to a minimum.

“Tennis is played all over the world and all of us have had moments with tight schedules,” Raonic said. “I’ve only been on the tour two years, but I’ve gone back-to-back from San Jose to Memphis, which is nine hours of travel, and you deal with it. You try to get past those first few days and you know it’s just going to get better and better.”

The event offers more than $3-million in prize money and invaluable ranking points. Raonic is in an especially enviable position. Because he missed last year’s tournament recovering from hip surgery, he has no ranking points to defend in Canada or at the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the season, in a month’s time. 

It means with a couple of good results in these events, Raonic could crack the top 20 for the first time in his career, something no other Canadian man has ever done in singles (though Daniel Nestor is co-ranked the world’s No. 1 in doubles).

Raonic, who lost a marathon four-hour match to world No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the Olympics, is scheduled to make his first appearance in prime time Tuesday.

In a statement issued through Tennis Canada, Federer explained his decision this way: “I am very disappointed I have to withdraw from Toronto, as I love the city and the Canadian fans are amazing. I have always enjoyed playing there, but after a long stretch of tournaments, I will need some time to recover.”

theglobeandmail

Martina Hingis visits Vancouver to promote 'Tonic'

WEST VANCOUVER - A dazzling diamond necklace glistens against Martina Hingis’ neck, sparkling as bright as her toothy, megawatt smile.


Officially and comfortably retired from tour tennis since 2007, the five-time Grand Slam champion is still only 31, which is why she might well have been in London this week in a dream mixed doubles pairing with Swiss countryman Roger Federer instead of in West Vancouver to promote her Tonic Tennis clothing line.


But her life, while admittedly still busy, is one of relative leisure now. She travels with her husband, French show jumper Thibault Hutin, and plays occasional exhibitions, legends doubles at Grand Slams and some low-pressure, short-set World Team Tennis with the New York Sportimes.


She also helps coach a group of teens at a tennis academy in Paris and is actively involved in the design and marketing of that clothing line for Vancouver-based Tonic Lifestyle Apparel.


“I don’t miss the workouts, the grind, the training — the six hours on court, I don’t miss that at all,” Hingis said in explaining why she turned down Federer’s entreaty late last year to join him for mixed doubles at the 2012 Olympics.


Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning on the patio of Hollyburn Country Club, Hingis said she was flattered by Federer’s invitation, “but I haven’t played [competitively] in five years.


“I would have had to get back in the grind and train six months and play some doubles, some real competitions,” added Hingis, who lost in the second round of the Olympic singles competition in 1996. “I was really happy when he thought about me, but I was like ‘yeah, you go get the gold medal in singles,’ right.”


So instead of hitting her two-handed backhand on the grass courts of Wimbledon this week, she was on the hard court at Hollyburn between matches Tuesday evening to show off that clothing line.


Wednesday night, she will play an exhibition match against Toronto’s Sharon Fichman, who is 10 years Hingis’s junior and who admits to having posters of the Swiss Miss on her bedroom walls as a youngster.


“She was my hero, my idol growing up” said Fichman, who is also in the Odlum Brown VanOpen women’s draw this week. “I tried to watch her as much as I could. She was such a smart player, she could hit every shot. This opportunity is definitely exciting for me.”


Hingis was part of the WTA’s teen era, joining the tour at 14, reaching No. 1 when she was just 18 and holding that spot for 209 weeks.


Ankle injuries led to a first retirement at age 22 in 2003. She returned in 2005, then retired again in November of 2007 after testing positive for cocaine. She denied using the drug, but decided not to appeal a two-year ban.


Today, girls must be at least 15 to play on tour, and even then are limited in the number of tournaments they can play. Hingis is not a fan of those restrictions.


“I think that’s the time you learn the most, when you are 15 to 16. When you’re 18 or 20, it makes it a bit more difficult. That’s why you see players winning Grand Slams who are older and more experienced.”


Some of Hingis’s contemporaries are still playing, including sisters Venus and Serena Williams.


“I don’t look like the Williams sisters, I don’t have the same physicality,” the 5-7, 125-pound Hingis said with a laugh.


“If I had Serena’s serve, probably I’d still be playing as well. My game was just a little bit different. To hit four aces in a game, that makes tennis pretty easy.”


Hingis certainly wasn’t a power player. She relied on finesse shots, using angles to open up the court and deploying the drop shot as one of her key weapons.


“I miss the variety, the clever game out there,” she said of today’s tennis. “It’s so much [more] physical, so much faster.”


Hingis hooked up with Tonic after discovering some of the company’s exercise clothing in London in 2009 while she was appearing on an English version of Dancing with the Stars.


“I loved the materials, loved the colours,” said Hingis, who contacted the company about creating a line of tennis wear.


“The one thing I can help on is how it feels. Already the material’s so great, so just little adjustments here and there for tennis, like what is practical.


“I think I have pretty female features, it’s not like Sharapova or somebody,” she said with a giggle while referencing the statuesque Russian star. “It kind of fits everybody, that’s the goal.”


Hingis, whose parents had her swinging a racket at age two, says she wants any children she has to play tennis.


“It gave me a great life. It’s a social sport, a beautiful sport. Even today, I’d rather go play tennis than run on the street.”



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Martina+Hingis+doesn+miss+daily+grind/7020605/story.html#ixzz22K9Ik2Kd

Roger Federer wins silver for Switzerland at Olympics

Well it wasn't the story book ending every Federer fan would have liked.

Roger simply didn't have enough gas or mental energy today after that marathon 4.30 hour semi with Juan Martin Del Potro on Friday (which btw nice going getting the bronze from Djokovic defeat well deserved).

The semi was a match many won't soon forget, worthy of a medal.


Roger played like a medalist and that's the match I will always think of when I think of the 2012 Olympics (not the final which sadly due to  Fed's exhaustion was very one sided).

The gold may have gone to Andy Murray but a silver is a remarkable achievement nonetheless.  Congrats Swiss Maestro!.

Onward to the U.S. Open (but first hope you get some well deserved rest!).

Roger Federer defeats Del Potro in epic Olympic semi!

(Photo credit:ITF & taken by Eisele/Giubilo/Zimmer)

It was only a matter of time before Roger Federer broke through against Juan Martin del Potro.


And in typical Federer fashion, he did it in the most dramatic way possible.


After four hours of exhilarating, record-setting tennis, Federer finally put away del Potro 3-6, 7-6 (7), 19-17 on Friday to advance to the gold medal match for the first time in his storied career, securing Switzerland's first medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.


But it wasn’t easy. At four hours and 26 minutes, Federer and del Potro set the record for the longest three-set men's singles match in the Open Era.


The top-seeded Federer had numerous chances to swing the match in his favour – to nail down the one piece of hardware missing from his bursting trophy case. 


The crowd cheered, the opportunities came and went, but Federer, arguably the greatest player of all time, struggled to capitalize on his game-changing break point chances and more than once placed an easy put-away shot into the net.  


"It was a big match obviously. Very tough from start to finish,” Federer said. “Juan Martin did so well to hang in there. I got lucky in the second set to get back and then in the third it was so tough.


“I don't think I have ever played as long a set in a best of three-set match and it was over four and a half hours, so it was very physical at the end and so mental. Obviously I feel bad and horrible for Juan Martin but he can be very proud." 


It was a spectacular display of resistance from del Potro, who has been dominated by Federer in his career. Coming into Friday's match del Potro had dropped five straight matches to Federer, with five coming in 2012. In his career, del Potro had only won two of 14 matches against the 17-time Grand Slam champion. 


"It is tough to speak now, I feel sad, but Roger made a fantastic match, he is a good winner,” Del Potro said. “When you lose you can't see the good things. I'm very sad at the moment. I just hope I will be better before my mixed doubles match."


After dropping the first set, Federer survived an edgy tie-break in the second set, setting the stage for the dramatic and grueling 163-minute third set. 


It looked like Federer had finally found his seam in the 17th game.  


Up love 30 on break Federer made his way towards the net, exchanging quick volleys with del Potro. But right when it looked like Federer had del Potro down and out, the Argentine made a brilliant lunging stab to avoid triple break point. The crowd stood and cheered the effort, and del Potro, who fell and seemed to be favouring his hip, used the momentum to rally and hold serve.


Unflinching, Federer held serve the next game and finally kicked down the door the game after, breaking del Potro with a chance to serve for the match. 


That appeared to be all Federer needed – that one break and a chance to serve for the win. But to no avail. Del Potro broke right back and stole the game without giving up a point.


And on it went. 


"I think I was calm. I was good throughout,” Federer said about his mindset during the third set. “But obviously serving against the match so many times, it's hard and it takes its toll and I maybe could have been out of the match earlier as a winner but also as a loser. So I thought I was fortunate to stay in there. I liked my attitude today, so I am very happy."


Federer only converted two of 13 break point opportunities to go along with an uncharacteristic 41 unforced errors. Del Potro also converted two breaks (on seven opportunities).


Federer will play the winner of Great Britain's Andy Murray and Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the final on Saturday, although the world’s No. 1 isn’t too concerned which of the two he faces.


"No one. I'm happy. I got my first medal for Switzerland," Federer said.


The four-time Olympian hasn’t had much success in singles competition. Prior to London 2012, his best finish at the Olympic Games was a semi-final loss at Sydney 2000 when he was 19 years old. At Athens 2004, Federer, the top seed, was eliminated in the second round; at Beijing 2008 he was upset by James Blake in the quarter-finals.

ctvolympics.ca


That's all fine and dandy but why don't the Canadians get to see it?!.  Put some tennis on for once instead of swimming, gymnastics and pretty much every other sport on the planet.

Out of 6 matches CTV has only broadcast one.  ONE freaking match!.  Staying glued to the t.v. hoping they'll show it at prime time perhaps.

On a different note congrats Rog! knew you could do it :).

Kim Clijsters Olympic dream ended by Sharapova

London – Maria Sharapova powered to a 6-2, 7-5 win over Belgium's Kim Clijsters as the Russian world number three booked an Olympic semifinal clash with compatriot Maria Kirilenko.


Sharapova will play 14th seed Kirilenko for a place in the final at Wimbledon after ending Clijsters' hopes of a medal in her penultimate tournament before retiring for the second and final time after the US Open.


French Open champion Sharapova and former world number one Clijsters have eight Grand Slam titles between them, but both were competing in their first Olympics and they have been relishing every moment of it.


Clijsters had advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set, so this was a frustrating way to say farewell to the All England Club, but she could have few complaints after being overpowered by Sharapova on Centre Court.


The 29-year-old made a sloppy start as a double-fault on break point in the opening game gifted Sharapova the lead.


Clijsters broke back to level at 2-2 but Sharapova delivered a ruthless response as she won the next four games, breaking twice, to take the set in stunning style.


When Sharapova landed an early break in the second set, it looked all over for Clijsters.


The Belgian refused to wave the white flag and broke back to level at 3-3, but Sharapova wasn't in the mood to be subdued and one last break at 5-5 was enough to end Clijsters's resistence. 

iolsport.co.za

Well I said it was going to be a really tough match so this was not unexpected, it was nice to see Kim fight back in the second set, but it ended up being a little too late, and Sharapova's serve was just too good.

On to the U.S. Open Kim goes.  Good luck Kimmy I'll be cheering for you! :).