Tennis Talk

by Savannah

It wasn't just the meth. It's not just the on court rages. And no it's not the hair piece. Can we forget the hair piece? Now it's admitting that he tanked his 1996 AO semifinal match to Michael Chang so that he wouldn't have to play Boris Becker.

My friend Lucio Lopez provided me with a side by side translation from the Spanish of Marcelo Rios 2004 statements. I like to put the original language in the translation since there are nuances that may not translate well into English. Lucio did this in between performing his regular life duties as a doctor. Thank you Lucio.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=562905
Está claro que el tenis mundial vive un momento de ebullición tras la salida a la luz de los casos de doping del argentino Mariano Puerta y del británico Greg Rusedski. Y más aún luego de las declaraciones de este último, que afirmó que "de los mejores 120 del ranking de la ATP, hay 43 con índices de nandrolona por encima de lo permitido".

It is clear that tennis is going through a boiling point after the doping cases of Argentine Mariano Puerta and British Greg Rusedski have seen the light. Even more so after the latter’s declarations, where he stated that “of the best 120 in the ATP ranking, there are 43 with levels of nandrolone above the permitted”.

Ahora, el chileno Marcelo Ríos alimentó la controversia. En declaraciones publicadas por el diario La Tercera, el Chino disparó contra la ATP. "Yo sé que si le detectan a (Andre) Agassi nandrolona, no lo van a decir. El es un tipo muy fuerte en el tenis y el tenis se vendría abajo si lo agarran con doping. La ATP no lo diría", acusó Ríos.

Now, the Chilean Marcelo Rios has fueled the controversy. En public declarations published by La Tercera newspaper, El Chino fired against the ATP, “I know that if they detect nandrolone in Agassi, they will not say it. He is a very strong person in tennis and tennis would devaluate if they match him with doping. The ATP would not tell.”, accused Rios.

El ex número 1 del mundo se refirió a ciertos "privilegios" que recibirían los tenistas más reconocidos. "Los sudamericanos lo hemos discutido bastante. Es un tema complicado. No tengo problemas en decirlo: siempre nos preguntamos quién te certifica que le hacen el control a Agassi o quién le hace el examen a Sampras...", afirmó Ríos.

The World ex –number referred to certain “privileges” that the more known tennis players would receive. “(We) The South Americans have discussed it a lot. It’s a complicated issue. I have no problems in saying it: we always wonder who certifies that Agassi is controlled or who performs the exam on Sampras…”, stated Rios.

Y contó una anécdota sobre un hecho muy llamativo que involucra directamente a Andre Agassi durante un torneo del circuito. "Hay un caso en Australia donde hubo un control y él (por Agassi) desapareció diciendo que al hijo lo iban a raptar".

And he told an anecdote about a very suspicious event that involves Andre Agassi directly during a tournament in the tour. “There’s a case in Australia where there was a control and him (Agassi) disappeared saying that they were going to kidnap his son.”

http://www.icarito.cl/medio/articulo/0,0,3308_5832_47763787,00.html
Ti, this article status the same things, I’m only translating the new stuff that appears.
El "Chino" profundizó aún más y recordó un hecho en especial: "Hay un caso que hubo en Australia (N de la R: en 2002), donde hubo un control y él (Agassi) desapareció, diciendo que al hijo lo iban a raptar... A mí me encantaría mandar a que le hicieran dóping y yo decir 'oye, yo quiero ver y certificar que se lo están haciendo'. Porque no sé quién manda, quién decide a quién se lo hacen".
(the bolded part is the Australia anecdote again, what follows after the bold is new):
“… I would love to have him tested and say “hey, I want to see and certify that he’s being tested”. Because I don’t know who’s in charge, who decides who is tested.”.

yo sé que si le pillan a Agassi nandrolona, no lo van a decir. El es un tipo muy fuerte en el tenis, y el tenis se vendría abajo si le pillan un dóping. El ATP no lo diría. Son organizaciones tan fuertes que Agassi sería un problema si sale positivo
(same MO, this one adds to the ATP keeping silent if Agassi were to be caught comment)
“…They are such strong organizations that Agassi would be a problem were he to test positive.”
(I assume that Rios refers to Andre as an organization)

En Pontevedra, Florida, donde está el cuartel general de la ATP, no reaccionaron muy agradados ante los dichos de Ríos, pero la respuesta fue más técnica que pasional: "Los procedimientos son muy básicos y están claramente especificados para todo el mundo en nuestra página web (www.atptennis.com) y se demuestra cuántas veces se le han hecho controles a los jugadores... Nosotros no tenemos favoritos y tampoco tenemos algo contra los sudamericanos", di-jo a La Tercera Greg Sharko, director de Comunicaciones de la ATP, quien además no cree que por estas declaraciones el "Chino" pueda recibir una sanción.

Más al oeste, en las oficinas de Agassi Enterprises, en Las Vegas, evitaron realizar cualquier comentario hasta que Perry Rogers, representante del tenista, regrese de un viaje de negocios en Los Angeles.

In Pontevedra, Florida, where the ATP headquarters lie, Rios’ comments did not sit very well, but the answer was more technical than passionate: “The procedures are very basic and are clearly specified for everyone a tour website (ATPtennis.com) and it shows how many times the players have been tested… We don’t have favorites and neither do we have anything against the South Americans.” said to La Tercera Greg Sharko, director of ATP Communications, who Besides doesn’t believe that “El Chino” could be sanctioned for his statements.

Further to the West, in the offices of Agassi Enterprises, in Las Vegas, they avoided any commentary until Perry Rogers, his manager, returns from a business trip in LA.

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/01/14/d-05204.htm
Nuestro deporte está a la cabeza en los controles antidóping", opinó el estadounidense Agassi. "El tenis está limpio", añadió su compatriota Roddick. Rusedski denunció días atrás que más de 40 jugadores controlados por la ATP dieron positivo por nandrolona, como él, e insinuó que este esteroide está ampliamente difundido en el circuito. Sin embargo, la Asociación dijo que 36 tenistas presentaron niveles elevados de la sustancia, pero que estaban debajo del nivel considerado dóping (dos nanogramos por mililitro). A las críticas del inglés se les sumaron las del chileno Marcelo Ríos, ex número uno del mundo. "Son organizaciones tan fuertes que Agassi sería un problema si sale positivo. La ATP no lo diría", declaró Ríos.

“Our sport is at the head in antidoping controls.” expressed the American Agassi. “Tennis is clean.” (present tense) , added his compatriot Roddick. Rusedski denounced in recent days that more than 40 players controlled by the ATP came back positive for nandrolone, as him, and insinuated that this steroid is spreaded amply in the tour. However, the Asociation said that 36 players presented high levels of this substance, but that they were below the level considered as doping (two nanograms per milimeter). Former world number one, Chilean Marcelo Rios, added to the British’s critiques. “They are such strong organizations that Agassi would be a problem were he to test positive. The ATP would not tell.”, declared Rios.

Then there are these comments by Nicolas Escude of France made in 2002. Emphasis mine.

Drug Testing Under Fire

Nicolas Escudé, along with several top French players, harshly criticized the ATP for its drug-testing program in interviews with Le Parisien, a French publication. Escudé was quoted as saying, ''To say tennis is clean, that's wishful thinking.'' Also criticizing the tour's chief executive, Mark Miles, Escudé added: ''They tell me there are files that can't be opened. What can they be, if not files on doping? If these files exploded, tennis would be in bad shape for six months. But it would be a bad thing for a good cause.''

ATP Tour officials defended themselves by citing the intense testing scrutiny the players are under. Last year, in ATP events alone, there were 542 in-competition tests and 50 out-of-competition screenings. The top 10 players were tested an average of 3.8 times each.

This year, the Tour has increased testing in competition by 20 percent and out of competition by 100 percent, David Higdon, a Tour spokesman, said.

The majors also conduct drug testing of players. In the past year, only one player, Argentina's Guillermo Coria, has violated the Tennis Anti-Doping Program. He tested positive for metabolites of nandrolone, which he said he unknowingly consumed while taking a contaminated nutritional supplement. But as rigid as the Tour's testing is, there is no screening process in place for EPO, a banned endurance booster.

''We're always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve,'' Miles said.

Last month, the ATP switched from a United States-based testing company to a Swedish firm, in part because of its advanced blood-testing capabilities. Soon, the ATP hopes to incorporate an EPO test into its Tennis Anti-Doping Program.

In the same Tennis Notebook NY Times reporter Selena Roberts reports the following:

Juan Carlos Ferrero was concocting a devilish blend of drop shots and forehand winners in a cold drizzle when Andre Agassi ended the young Spaniard's assault with the crook of his finger.

Agassi motioned to the chair umpire, who summoned the French Open referee, Stefan Fransson, to the court. After a few words with Agassi, and a nod toward a baffled Ferrero, Fransson suspended the men's quarterfinal match around 7 p.m. even though play on the outside courts continued.

Call it the perks of superstardom and the trickle-down effect of star power. That's how the annoyed Spaniards saw it. Thirteen minutes into the resumption of play, after a five-hour rain delay that had halted the match in the sixth game of the first set, Agassi had lost two of the first three games.

Down by 6-3, 1-0 and with Ferrero locked in on his shots, it was to Agassi's advantage for his opponent to sleep on his hot start. Who knows if Ferrero can replicate the same flawlessness on Thursday?

Visibly upset after the match was suspended for the day, Ferrero said, ''I didn't say anything'' when Fransson came onto the court at Agassi's request. One person from Ferrero's camp added: ''Andre canceled the match. No one asked Juan Carlos.''

Although he could not explain why the juniors kept playing on the outside courts today, Fransson dismissed the notion that Agassi influenced his decision to end play on center court. ''I can't do much about the perception,'' he said.

Agassi did not stick around to discuss the matter. Wearing a ski cap on his head, but still in his tennis shorts, Agassi hustled out of the building 15 minutes after the match was suspended.

In his wake, there was anger. Not only did the decision to suspend Agassi's match disrupt the 22-year-old Ferrero's groove, it also meant that Alex Corretja's rain-delayed quarterfinal from Tuesday had no chance to be completed, either. If it was too dismal on center court for one match, it was too dismal for Corretja's.

''Yesterday, he played until 9:45 p.m., to when you couldn't see,'' said Corretja's coach, Javier Duarte. ''Tonight, it's early. Why now? I don't like it.''

Corretja wouldn't have needed much daylight to win his quarterfinal against Andrei Pavel. It would have been no contest. After Corretja left the court with a lead of 7-6 (5), 7-5, 4-5 on Tuesday night, Pavel left Paris today to be by his wife's side for the birth of their baby.

''I've been here all day,'' Corretja said. ''I've been waiting and now I don't know what to say.''

He'll have to wait for Thursday. So will Ferrero. Perhaps seeking a turn in momentum, hoping to ice Ferrero overnight, Agassi managed to end the day early with the crook of his finger.

Maybe this answers some of the questions about why no one is really rallying around Agassi. And this is just what is known publicly.

I'll end with Marat Safin's comment.

"How they will escape this situation -- this is the ATP's and Agassi's problem."

Miscellany

Despite being diagnosed with H1N1 Tommy Haas expects to play Bercy.

Serena Williams now holds the WTA 2009 earnings record. Her winnings totalled $6.5 million.

There are people trying to talk up an ATP version of Bali. My first response is no. So is my second.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from Bali.

Marcelo Rios on Agassi

by Savannah



Thanks to Craig for finding a translation of comments the Chilean former number one made regarding drug testing and Andre Agassi. It's little wonder that Chino was hated by the American tennis establishment.

Scandal in Tennis

Rios thinks that the ATP protects Agassi of doping "I know that if nandrolona were found on Agassi, they would not disclose it. He is a very prominent, very popular player and if he were to fall, the world of tennis would fall with him. The ATP would not say it. They are such a large dependent organization that it would be a problem if Agassi or Sampras tested positive", attacked the Chilean, ex- Nº1 of the world. The Marcelo Chilean Rios, ex- Nº1 of the world, accused the organization of the ATP of never openly disclosing certified drug tests on Andre Agassi. When commenting on the situation of dopajes of the Argentinean Mariano Puerta and, specifically, of the Englishman Greg Rusedski, whom respectively tested positive of clenbuterol and nandrolona, the Chilean not only lamented the incidents but accused the ATP of favortism. In his third radial commentary since the 2 of January on the microphones of Chilean Radio, Rios directly blamed the Association of Professional Tennis players (ATP) of not wanting to surface similar cases of doping of the more famous players, focusing instead on the "lesser" players of the tour. "[We]the South Americans have discussed it repeatedly. It is a complicated subject. I do not have problem in saying it: we always said (we asked ourselves) who publicly certifies the doping tests of Agassi or Sampras ?". The Chilean left-handed person remembered a case in Australia 2002 "where there was a control and Agassi disappeared, saying that they were going to kidnap his son..."

"I would love to be able to see and certify Agassi's doping tests because now I currently have no idea who is doing the test, and who decides who gets it and who doesn't."

"I know that if they were to find nandrolona on Agassi, they wouldnt say it to anybody. It would taint his reputation and bring tennis down dramatically. ATP would not say it. It is such a large organization that it would be a problem if Agassi tested positive ", he charged. The newspaper La Tercera consulted the ATP, in Pontevedra, Florida, and obtained an answer by them stating that "the procedures are very basic and clearly are specified for everybody on our website (www.atptennis.com) and it publicly states how many times controls to the players have been performed". "We do not have favorites nor do we hold something against the South Americans", said Greg Sharko, director of Communications of the ATP. In the offices of Agassi Enterprises, in Las Vegas, they avoided making any commentary until Perry Rogers, representative of the tennis player, returns from a business trip in Los Angeles.

According to the statistics of the ATP, during 2002 1,428 controls were made and amongst the most frequently tested players of that year, the Russian Marat Safin, the Argentinean Juan Ignacio Chela, the Czech Jim Novak, the Swiss Roger Federer and the Swedish Jonas Bjorkman, appeared with ten controls each.

The translation was posted by tennis head undomiele HERE

I highlighted the Perry Rogers factoid because there has been speculation that Agassi revealing the meth information has to do with his split from his long time friend and confidant.

Peter Lundgren on Roger, Marat, Marcelo and Marcos

by Savannah

Fascinating discussion with Peter Lundgren on his famous charges. Enjoy, and of course, comment.

On Roger Federer


The Role of A Coach



On Marcos Baghdatis

Random Thoughts

Thread title of the week goes to the www.wtaworld.com poster J_Migoe who created the thread “And Now The Stage Is Set. Its Serena V The Hand”

Great to see what a gentleman Willy Canas is. He speaks English well enough to understand and to be understood. He didn’t blink when Pam Shriver said something to his face about his suspension making her look like an idiot for bringing it up to him on a day when news of his winning his appeal was published in an Australian paper. I guess PMac and his crew didn’t want news of Canas appeal having merit to cloud their view of him. How many times did PMac say “returning from a suspension” last night? Maybe he should read Bonnie De Simone’s excellent piece on ESPN.com. Here’s a link Patrick just in case you need something to read before tomorrow’s final.

Link

Seems racist hecklers have no shame. After being pointed out by fellow fans the dweeb had the nerve to say he didn’t use the “n” word before going on to use every coded word in the book to illustrate what he did say. Surprise was that some defended him. The incident did force some to re evaluate the use of the word “lazy” which has been used by many so called fans to describe both Williams Sisters approach to their sport. We “venuts”, of which I am one, are accused of being overly sensitive. Maybe it’s because we do understand the intent of the word when used by certain individuals.

I’m ashamed to say it but I refused to watch Andy Murray’s match yesterday. It’s on my DVR. I just won’t watch it. This young man has a very long way to go in the maturity department to say the least. I’m no fan of Brad Gilbert but if I’m Brad I snatch the kid by his neck and body slam him. His behavior showed not only disrespect to his coach and paying fans but he disrespected the sport of tennis as well. If anyone else had done what Murray did they’d be nailing his junk to the wall. Double standard much?

So Ljubo, head of the Player’s Council, is still calling Canas a doper huh? What happened to Willy Canas can happen to any player. I take that back. Greg Rusedski was caught doping at the same time Canas was but he was never sanctioned or faced a suspension. Funny how all the guys who were “caught” come from one country in South America isn’t it? Many may forget that Argentina was in the same position Spain is in right now at that time and the destruction of their players reputations has gone far to diminish what they’ve accomplished. How many know Guillermo Coria successfully sued the company that made the tainted medication he took? Juan Ignacio Chela’s suspension was reduced. And now Guillermo Canas is in the position, if things pan out, to name his price to TPTB in the ATP, CAS and anyone else involved in ruining his earning potential for the last 15 months. But I digress. Ljubo has been called a certain player’s water boy. I suspect all this animosity to Willy is coming from neutral territory somewhere in central Europe and Ljubo, as usual, is just, well, carrying water.

Some fans are saying Maria Sharapova should skip the clay season and concentrate on Wimby and the U S Open series. Doesn’t that violate some provisions of Roadkill? Oh, my bad. I forget we’re talking about Sharapova. Yuri coaching from the stands? No problem. Change the rules. Brown bottles appearing mysteriously out of racquet bags? What brown bottle?
Rules? The Sharapov(a)’s don’t follow the stinkin’ rules. Venus and Serena are violating the spirit of the rules by saying they will continue their boycott of Indian Wells. Come on guys, act like you know.

Just so you know Justine has been suffering breathing problems in Miami. Allergies they say.

The good people who run the Hamburg Masters Event are suing the ATP in the State of Delaware for running a cartel. Will the nice folks who run some of the tournaments the WTA is downgrading have the cojones to do the same to the WTA or is Richard Williams going to be forced to shoulder that weight alone on behalf of his daughters? If he’s successful watch for a lot of “me too” to break out among the tournament directors and sponsors. I think the RICO statutes are still on the books here. Hard to tell about these things here in the States lately.

So Richard Williams knows something about tennis. Those Kodak/You Tube moments were brought to you by Yuri Sharapov.

The Oz Open is said to be scraping rebound ace. Miami type surface coming up down under?

The Shallow End of the Pool

You could tell how humid it was by watching Pam Shriver’s hair. I felt her pain.

PMac thinks Djokovic is the second coming.

Andre didn’t look good last night. Very stiff. Face very moon like.

Marcelo looked like a bad stereotype with the Fu Manchu goatee going on. That lefty slice backhand is still a thing of beauty though. Without him where would Roger be since Roger totally pimped his game and on court demeanor. I wish Rios back would allow him to play some main tour events so people could see where Roger got his game and style from.

Fena was in the stands last night. I hope Pretty Eyes, clean shaven or not, finds his early season form.

Final Notes

The clay court season is starting. I’m happy. Rome has produced the best matches of 2005 and 2006 and seems to have survived the ATP version of Roadkill. I love clay court tennis. It rewards stamina, intelligence and patience. You can not ball bash on clay. You need to know how to slide. You can’t expect a 58 minute match.

It’s a shame the men running things have no idea about tennis. They are on course to ruin the sport. They are fixing things that weren’t broken all to make the sport hard court based instead of clay court based. Hard courts rule in the States. Clay rules everyplace else yet the mandatory matches are heavily hard court based. I guess if you can’t accuse everyone of doping you just eliminate the surface on which “they” play the best. Forget that hard court play shortens careers because of the stress on the body. Players are looking out for themselves these days and that means some events like Canada field what they consider weak fields. Somehow telling a player where he or she has to play smacks of totalitarianism to me and takes away the very randomness that makes tennis what it is.

One of the announcers on TTC asked why the United States isn’t investing more in players like Kim, Delic and others who want to play, who do sometimes play above what is perceived to be their potential and could make us more competitive as a whole. These guys may not win Grand Slams but who knows what they would do with better coaching and training options? The same is true on the women’s side. After Venus and Serena who is the top American woman? Not her, she plays for Russia.

There are two good finals matches on tap for today and tomorrow. May the best man and woman win.

Idle Chit Chat

Important News!

The Advance Sale of US Open tickets begins April 14. The seats suck but they get you in the joint. Once there, if you’ve saved your pennies, starting about Wednesday or so you can turn the shitty seats in for better ones. This is best done during the day sessions. I did end up with great seats last year for the Blake/Federer night match though. Let’s just say what I spent could have bought a steak at Whole Foods.


Tennis Week Magazine

It’s as bad as we thought.
GVGirl on TAT posted the cover of the new magazine landing in subscribers mail boxes starting this week. If I wanted to buy Vogue, Bazaar, InStyle, or any such magazine I would. I subscribe to a tennis magazine for…tennis. Would I bitch if the first cover was of Rafa? Not so much, but the principle is still the same. For you Povanuts, enjoy. Let’s just say her face, in that pose, on the cover of that magazine, is the beginning of the end of one of the better tennis publications.





You should know that the hype machine has already started for the prepubescent cousin of Maria Sharapova, Daria. She's Yuri's brothers daughter. Don't say you weren't warned. They're already calling her Dasha.




In other non tennis news…

Someone in Britney Spears publicity posse thought it would be a good idea for the Sinead wannabe to don a wig, a baseball cap and be photographed playing at playing tennis. I guess it never occurred to them that a proper tennis outfit might make their gushing praise of Britney’s newly acquired interest in sport. If there was any doubt that our beloved sport is not held in high esteem by others this is proof positive. I mean couldn’t they have chosen softball or shown her shooting a few hoops?
Why diss tennis?



Back to tennis…then again maybe not.

Why can’t I find ESPN’s tennis message board?



Andre Agassi is playing an exo on March 30 against Marcelo Rios in Chile. Supposedly the ticket prices are astronomical. The retired Agassi’s former coach Darren Cahill is saying Agassi is in the best shape ever and that he’s looking forward to the event. Rios it seems always played Andre tough and resented being called the left handed Agassi when he first started out feeling comparisons to other players were insulting his uniqueness. Sounds like this is going to be fun huh?

Sybille Bammer is the new fan fave on the women’s side. She’s a mom with an adorable daughter named Tina who is about to enter school. This adorable picture has been widely circulated.




So have some not so adorable ones I won’t post here. Like Haruka said the Australian Open series and the Australian Open usually introduce us to the players we’ll be watching all year long. Anyone remember Marcos Baghdatis from last year?

Fernando Gonzalez looks to be struggling with expectations after his spectacular run in Oz. He played tentative tennis during his stay in Indian Wells and went out rather meekly to Tommy Haas who turned around and lost to Andy Murray. Murray should look at acting for a second career...




On the subject of new talent, young Asia Muhammad, a product of Andre Agassi's work with kids in Las Vegas, has had some nice publicity lately and is playing a limited schedule on the pro tour.
I haven't seen her play yet but the buzz is good. The USTA site says she was born April 4, 1991 in Long Beach, California. She now lives in Las Vegas and plays right handed with a two handed back hand.




Jelena Jankovic, another fan favorite, has a feature out featuring a day in her life. Here’s the link.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1g4q1_jelena-jankovic-2007-cnni-ws-featur

Funny how tennis fans keep embracing female athletes who actually show they love the game and leave it all on the court. We don’t have to be told who to like do we?




Oh, and if you haven't heard, Federer's opening match in Miami is going to look like halftime at the Super Bowl complete with light show and a celebrity singing the American National Anthem. I don't think JoJo would attempt the Swiss National Anthem do you?
From the official site:

Two-time defending champion and world's No. 1 Roger Federer will make his first appearance at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday, March 24 at 8 p.m. on Stadium Court, highlighting a full night of entertainment at the Crandon Park Tennis Center that will include a fashion show, a "FIRE" performance and a special guest anthem singer, Tournament Director Adam Barrett announced Wednesday.

One of the most dominant athletes of any sport, the 10-time Grand Slam champion reached a new milestone Monday when he broke Jimmy Connors' 30-year-old mark with his 161st week at the top of the ATP rankings, a streak that began Feb. 2, 2004.

http://www.sonyericssonopen.com/



I’d like to end by giving a shout out to Venus Williams. While various and sundry people have taken pot shots at the older member of the Williams Sisters Venus has been quietly doing her thing. Both Wimbledon and now Roland Garros cite Venus stance on the equal pay issue in their decision to provide equal prize money for both the WTA and ATP players. Many people wanted Venus to be many things. In the end Venus chose to just be Venus. And that seems to be a very good thing for tennis.