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Post by Ljubica on Aug 13, 2009 10:09:43 GMT -5
Well I will be in Belgrade the entire week before - and at Serbia DC at the weekend, so the only way I'll go to Metz, is if I can delay my return to work for a couple of days, in which case I would only be there on the Monday and Tuesday anyway. Would be nice to see you again too - I'll keep you informed of what's happening.
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Post by getta on Sept 9, 2009 13:49:26 GMT -5
Upcoming tournament: China Open, Beijing, October 5-11. www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2009-09/09/content_8673235.htm Grand slams stars to shine at China OpenBy Guan Xiaomeng (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2009-09-09 17:24One year after the Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court will again host Rafael Nadal, the Beijing Olympic champion, together with a swarm of his fellow star players. The organizing committee of the China Open tennis tournament announced on Monday all of the regular players confirmed to play at the upcoming Open in early October are ranked within the ATP top 50. Top ten seeds and grand slam winners including Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick will join the tournament in China and eighteen of the top-30 ranked men's players have also confirmed. All of the 25 regular players are from the top 45. Two of the wildcards have gone to former China Open champions, but lower-ranked, Marat Safin of Russia and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.On the women's side, big names like the Williams sisters, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva, who are competing at the ongoing US Open, will play at the tournament in China. Chinese sensations 19th seed Li Na, the highest-ranked Chinese player, and doubles specialist Zheng Jie will compete for the title named after their country. The ten-day tournament from October 2 has been upgraded to one of the top-tier Asian events this year, putting it just one step below the four annual grand slams, namely the Australian Open, the Wimbledon Open, the French Open and the US Open. Possible eye-catching match-ups Rafael Nadal vs Robin Soderling The Nadal terminator grabbed the world's attention at this year's French Open. Nadal is seeking revenge and Soderling is geared to beat more top players. Serena Williams vs Venus Williams The Williams sisters have been ruling the tennis world for the past ten years, winning 18 grand slam titles and presenting eight Williams derbies. Another "family fight" is expected. Maria Sharapova vs Kim Clijsters Recovering Russian babe Sharapova and new mom Clijsters are both aiming for a perfect comeback.
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Post by getta on Sept 9, 2009 13:55:05 GMT -5
Rumours spread that Marcos had requested wildcards for:
1. Open de Moselle, Metz, Sept 21-27 and 2. Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Sept 28 - Oct 4
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Post by getta on Sept 9, 2009 14:12:14 GMT -5
Marcos has confirmed his participation in the 2010 AAMI Classic (Kooyong, Jan. 13-16, 2010). www.aamiclassic.com.au/pdf/2010_AAMI_Classic_Launch_Release.pdfKOOYONG CLINCHES CHOICE FIELD2010 AAMI CLASSIC January 13-16 – KooyongThree top ten players have been confirmed for the 2010 AAMI Classic at Kooyong (January 13-16), two of whom will be competing for the first time: NOVAK DJOKOVIC JO-WILFRIED TSONGA FERNANDO VERDASCO They will be joined by: FERNANDO GONZALEZ ROBIN SODERLING TOMMY HAAS MARCOS BAGHDATISSo where does that leave five time participant, world no. 1 and current AAMI Classic champion, ROGER FEDERER (SUI)? Tournament Director, Colin Stubs, said today at the event’s launch at Rippon Lea, Melbourne: “I have been asked by Roger to keep a spot open for him in January’s field. He has not yet decided on his Australian Open preparation because of the recent birth of his twin girls, Myla and Charlene, with wife Mirka Vavrinec. Naturally I said I would do so and clarity is not expected until early in the New Year. I have a few options in mind as a fall-back position and will work on those in the coming weeks”. World no. 4, NOVAK DJOKOVIC is making his first Kooyong appearance. The 22 year old Serbian, who credits his family with much of his success, has had a good year to date. He won the Dubai tournament in February and took out the inaugural Serbian Open in May. He was a finalist in Miami/Monte Carlo/Rome Masters, Halle and more recently in Cincinnati; semi-finalist in Sydney, Marseille and Madrid Masters and quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, Indian Wells/Montreal Masters and Wimbledon. He was consistently ranked no. 3 from 13.8.07 to 11.5.09. Seventh-ranked, JO-WILFRIED TSONGA, will be a popular new-comer to the AAMI Classic eight-man field. The 24 year old Frenchman won the hearts of Australian fans early last year when, after making the semi-finals in Adelaide, he reached the final of the Australian Open, where he lost to Djokovic in four sets. This year he won in Marseille and Johannesburg (bringing his total ATP World Tour titles to 4), got to the fourth round at Roland Garros; semis in Montreal (where he ended Federer’s 21 match winning streak) and quarter-finals in Brisbane, Sydney, Australian Open, Miami Masters and Rotterdam. FERNANDO VERDASCO, who beat Fernando Gonzalez into third place at the 09 AAMI Classic, is returning for the second time. The tenth ranked Spaniard stunned Rafael Nadal (and the rest of the tennis world) at last January’s Australian Open by almost defeating him in an epic semi-final match that lasted a record 5 hours, 14 minutes. He has been a consistent performer in the top ten this year - finalist in Brisbane; fourth rounds at Roland Garros & Wimbledon and quarter-finalist in Bastad, Barcelona & Madrid/Rome/Monte Carlo/Miami/Indian Wells Masters events. He took out his first hardcourt title last week in New Haven. Chilean, FERNANDO GONZALES (ranked 11), back for his fourth Kooyong appearance, is a consistent crowd-pleaser. He began the year strongly, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and going on to win the Vina del Mar tournament in his home country. He reached the semi-finals in Washington, Barcelona, Rome Masters and the French Open, where he lost to eventual finalist Robin Soderling. Gonzales has won 11 ATP World Tour titles and is the first player to have won medals at successive Olympics – Gold in doubles, Bronze in singles in Athens 2004 and singles Silver in Beijing 2008. The AAMI Classic is pleased to announce the debut of Swede, ROBIN SODERLING. Presently ranked 12, Soderling reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros (defeated by Federer) after beating Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. He followed up by making the round of 16 at Wimbledon, taking out his fourth career title in Bastad and reaching the quarter-finals in Washington. Earlier this year he won the Sunrise tournament in Florida, made the semi-finals in Auckland and quarters in Brisbane. Soderling is coached by former Swedish pro, Magnus Norman. TOMMY HAAS notches up his fifth Kooyong visit. The 31 year old German (who has lived in the US full-time since the age of 13) has struck a “purple patch” this year, winning in Halle and reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon (where he lost to Federer, ending a 10 match winning streak) and in LA. He also lost to Federer at Roland Garros, going down in 5 sets, having led 2 sets to 0 in their fourth round match. Presently ranked 21, his other best results have been in San Jose, Houston and Washington where he got to the quarter-finals. Amiable Cypriot MARCOS BAGHDATIS (ranked 110), a popular figure on Kooyong’s centre court for the past two years, is back for the third time. Marcos has been working hard to regain the form and confidence which took him to a career high of 8 in 2006. He recently took out the Vancouver Challenger in August and earlier in the year made the quarter-finals in Johannesburg and Delray Beach.Stubs is well-pleased with the field he has assembled: “We are delighted to welcome Novak, Jo-Wilfried and Robin to Kooyong for the first time” he said at today’s launch. “Fernando Verdasco is one of the hottest players on the Tour right now and it’s great to have Fernando Gonzalez back for his fourth visit. Tommy Haas has had a resurgence in form this year and Marcos – well, everyone loves Marcos” he added. Stubs was also excited to announce: “We have entered into a 5 year arrangement with Tennis Australia which will guarantee our 7 Network telecast going forward. The Network will provide approx. 12 hours of live national (metropolitan and regional) coverage over the four days. Added to that is the international distribution by IEC (International Event & Communication in Sport), which went to 18 countries in 2009”. KLTC President, Ian Hill, updated the media throng with news of his clubhouse renovations: “The Club renovations are progressing according to schedule, with the anticipated handover prior to Christmas. We look forward to showcasing the club to members, players, media and corporate supporters during the 2010 AAMI Classic” he said. The event’s new website, www.aamiclassic.com.au, is now operational. The site has been designed and built by Bryce Ford from Guns4Hire. Wayne Arthurs was today announced as the “Face of the AAMI Classic”. Wayne will be involved in a number of activities leading up to and during the event. Play begins at 11.00 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Jan. 13, 14 &15) and 1.00 pm on Saturday (Jan. 16). Corporate facilities are approx. 80% reserved and tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster on 13 6100. For further information, please contact: Marie Kelley (Media & Corporate Sales Consultant) t. 03 9827.8422 m. 0417 168019 marie@aamiclassic.com.au Website: www.aamiclassic.com.auPlayer bios: www.atpworldtour.comMajor Sponsor: AAMI Support Partners: Seven Network, IEC, Snap Printing, Rowland Major Events, Schweppes, 3AW, Diadora, Wilson, Vittoria Coffee, Tennis Australia, Tennis Victoria
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Post by getta on Sept 9, 2009 14:17:06 GMT -5
Well, exhos are designed to be fun and a joy to play. The Copa Argentina in late December (Dec. 17-20) should also be a quite interesting event to play.
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Post by getta on Sept 19, 2009 11:33:13 GMT -5
Rumours spread that Marcos had requested wildcards for: 1. Open de Moselle, Metz, Sept 21-27 and 2. Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Sept 28 - Oct 4 Ouanna, Llodra and Grosjean have been granted wild-card entry for the upcoming tournament in Metz. Marcos, not being able to play the qualies cuz of the Davis Cup tie, is sacrificed in vain for a useless team once again. All pain no gain...
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Post by getta on Sept 23, 2009 23:35:51 GMT -5
Upcoming tournament: Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Sept 28 - Oct 4 thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/9/24/sports/4770709&sec=sportsThursday September 24, 2009 Baghdatis and Dent add glitter to Malaysian OpenBy LIM TEIK HUATKUALA LUMPUR: Grand Slam finalist Marcos Baghdatis and American Taylor Dent, who made a great comeback at the recent US Open after almost three years on the sideline, have been given wildcards into the main draw of the Proton Malaysian Open. The two players are the latest to join the strong cast for the inaugural US$947,750 ATP World Tour event, which will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Sept 26-Oct 4. Cypriot Baghdatis was a finalist at the 2006 Australian Open and reached a career high ranking at No. 8 that year. He was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in the same year and enjoyed career wins over Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Nikolay Davydenko, Tommy Robredo and David Nalbandian. But Baghdatis has struggled with various injuries, including a stress fracture in his right wrist as well as back problems. The 24-year-old is now fit and is determined to make a full return to the Tour. He has already won two ATP Challenger events this year. Dent was bedridden for almost a year after a second back operation and had to wear a body cast. The son of 1974 Australian Open runner-up Phil Dent was only given the all-clear to begin light exercise a year ago. Dent defied doctors’ predictions that he would never play professional tennis again by qualifying for the main draws of the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. He capped his comeback story at Flushing Meadows where he reached the third round before losing to Andy Murray. Virtually unranked at the start of the year, Dent has shot up to No. 122 in the world. And he will come to Kuala Lumpur fresh from bagging the US$50,000 ATP Challenger at Tulsa. Tournament director Nick Freyer, who has the discretion to pick the wildcard entries, believes that the presence of Baghdatis and Dent will be welcomed by Malaysian tennis fans. “Wildcards are valuable assets at an event and they are always eagerly anticipated,” said Freyer after a sponsorship function at the Ministry of Tourism yesterday. “It is also a very important entry point for players who are returning after injuries and trying to get their rankings up or for young players looking for the chance at a breakthrough. “I have followed the Dent story closely as his manager is a close friend of mine. It is not only a truly remarkable story but he is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet and is an inspirational role model to us all and proof that by never giving up, dreams are achievable.” Freyer also said that the Ministry of Tourism were taking advantage of the latest technology in tennis by taking up the naming rights for the Haw-Eye Challenge system (electronic line-calling). The “Malaysia Truly Asia” tagline will be seen each time a player challenges a call on centre court. “We will call it the ‘Malaysia Truly Asia Review’ and through the use of high-speed, high-definition video cameras and powerful computer technology, we can see what the correct line call outcome is on any challenged calls,” he said. “This is going to be exciting for the tennis fans as this is the first time the technology is on display in South-East Asia.” ============================================== There was absolutely no good reason to accept that WC. Marcos should have chosen a smarter option than that: to play two rounds qualies. Anyway, hope he doesn't make a first-round exit, similar to that in New Haven where he said that he felt like an idiot... feeling he's made the tournament organisers embarrassed, genuinely embarrassed himself...
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Post by getta on Sept 23, 2009 23:41:28 GMT -5
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Post by getta on Sept 23, 2009 23:51:27 GMT -5
www.clarin.com/diario/2009/06/13/deportes/d-01938291.htmSábado 13, Junio 2009 VIENEN A BUENOS AIRESVisitas de Safin, Moya y BaghdatisEl ruso Marat Safin, el chipriota Marcos Baghdatis y el español Carlos Moya (un clásico ya), participarán en la Copa Argentina, que se disputará en cemento entre el 17 al 20 de diciembre. Safin se retirará del circuito a fin de año y vendrá a Buenos Aires. La última vez que vino a nuestro país fue en 2003, por la Copa Davis, pero no jugó ya que se lesionó. El trío de figuras fue confirmado por Pier Squillari, del Grupo NOS, organizador del evento que todavía no tiene sede. La Copa Argentina es un torneo exhibición que siempre se jugó en el Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis. Entre los jugadores argentinos que confirmaron su presencia está el tandilense Juan Mónaco, ganador del último certamen, cuando derrotó en la final a Gastón Gaudio. ================================================= hehe, Infantino and his connections with Argentine tennis influenced Marcos greatly. Nice to hear something a bit different. Second announcement for Copa Argentinawww.clarin.com/diario/2009/08/14/deportes/d-01978131.htmViernes 14, Agosto 2009Más allá de los nombresPor: Mariano RyanEl escenario tradicional del tenis por excelencia, la superficie atípica para el templo argentino del polvo de ladrillo, los auspiciantes de primer nivel, la atmósfera especial que rodea el ambiente y, fundamentalmente, los protagonistas --entre ellos, números 1 del mundo, campeones de Grand Slams y top ten-- le dieron a la Copa Argentina desde 2003, año de su creación, la seguridad de ser el torneo de pretemporada más importante que se juega en nuestro país y una cita impostergable antes de las Fiestas. El grupo NOS, la empresa de Luis Lobo y Pier Squillari que produce y comercializa la Copa Argentina, acaba de anunciar a los protagonistas de la séptima edición. Del 17 al 20 de diciembre jugarán en Palermo el ruso Marat Safin, el español Carlos Moyá, el chipriota Marcos Baghdatis, el chileno Fernando González y Juan Mónaco mientras David Nalbandian, si se recupera de su operación, sería el sexto invitado. Más allá de que tres de los actores (Safin, Moyá y Baghdatis) están lejos de sus momentos de gloria --Safin, incluso, para esa fecha estará retirado--, la propuesta ya suena atractiva. Y aparece como el final --o el cierre, según el lugar del almanaque desde donde se la mire-- de otro año más que intenso para el tenis argentino.
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Post by getta on Sept 28, 2009 6:50:02 GMT -5
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Post by getta on Oct 6, 2009 19:51:41 GMT -5
Upcoming tournament:Seoul Challenger - Seoul, South Korea Seoul Challenger ATP Challenger Tour 26 October - 1 November Marcos is one of the players currently entered the event's main draw.
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Post by getta on Oct 6, 2009 20:01:59 GMT -5
Chuncheon Challenger in South Korea (2-8 November) should be Marcos' next tournament. Marcos has said in a recent interview that he's gonna play 3 challengers after Beijing to end the season... Tashkent, Seoul and (most likely ) Chuncheon... then, he's gonna build strength during the off-season...
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Post by getta on Oct 13, 2009 13:31:21 GMT -5
Full entry list announced for Chuncheon Challenger.
I got it right, Marcos has announced officially that he will be competing here.
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Post by getta on Oct 16, 2009 21:43:11 GMT -5
Upcoming tournament: If Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, October 19-24. www.ifstockholmopen.se/en-gb/News-and-Multimedia/News/Play-starts-Saturday/2009-10-17Play starts SaturdayVinciguerra was awarded the final wildcard for the main draw, Baghdatis and Gulbis joined the main draw and the qualifying draw was set. Even though the tournament has not yet started there was no shortage of interesting news on Friday evening: Andreas Vinciguerra joins fellow Swede Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov as receivers of wild cards for the main draw singles tournament. The crowd pleasers Marcos Baghdatis and Ernests Gulbis will join the main draw due to a couple of late withdrawals.The qualifying draw features twelve Swedes. The top seed, German Michael Berrer, faces swedish wild card Tobias Blomgren in the first round. Second seed Frenchman Arnaud Clement is perhaps the most well- known name in the draw. Matches in the qualifying event starts Saturday at 10:00 am. At 15:00 the draw will be conduted for the Main Draw tournament.
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Post by getta on Oct 27, 2009 16:52:17 GMT -5
L’Equipe doesn’t offer free online access to the full text of each article, so I quote Françoise’s post in mtf: Question: Any chance of Baghdatis getting a WC (at Bercy)? Fran: I doubt it, he said last week that he didn't even ask for one. (He gave a rather bitter interview in L'Equipe, saying that he used to be seen as a semi-Frenchie when he was successful, but now that he needs help, everybody seems to have forgotten him and only Marseille gave him a WC. And he adds that he didn't even ask for a WC in Bercy because he already knew the answer would be no. But maybe he changed his mind after Stockholm, I don't know.) ====================================================== Well, we'll just wait and see how it develops…
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