Aces & Winners

The Battle of the Belgians

2010-01-10T09:14:00.000+08:00

In a thrilling encounter between the two Belgians, Kim Clijsters edged out Justine Henin in a 3 set thriller at the Brisbane International.

What can I say? The match was a classic. It could have gone either of them. Justine once again proves that she still has what it takes to reach the top echelon of tennis. Down 4-1 in the 2nd set, she was able to turn things around. But i think the momentum shifted in the 3rd set, when the line judge called a foot fault against Justine, replay shows that it was not a good call. But anyways, who could have complained when you see the drama unfolds.

Kudos to Justine and Kim!

In the News

2010-01-05T20:20:00.001+08:00

Kim Clijsters shows no mercy against Alicia Molik demolishing her 6-0, 6-3. Kim is in good form right now and it would definitely be difficult to beat her in she peaks right in time the Australian Open.

Top seed Li Na was beaten in Auckland by Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes. With her huge serve and hard hitting strokes, it's not surprise that Li Na was not surprised by Kanepi upset against her.

Shahar Peer won her match against Polona Hercog of Slovenia 7-5, 6-3 despite a group of protesters rallying against the Israel's occupation of Palestine. I believe that sport should be separated from politics. It's not the fault of Peer if her government decides to occupy Palestine. I believe that if protesters want to express their opinions and sentiments then tennis stadium is not the place for such kind of activity.

Australia's big rising star Bernard Tomic crashes out of the Brisbane tournament. He was defeated by Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. 6-4, 6-4.

Dinara Safina has declared that she is 100 percent and ready to play for the Australian Open. It's very easy to say that you're fit and ready but it's a different ballgame once you're on the tennis court. Women's tennis is so decongested with so many stars right now. I'm very interested to see how Dinara plays against the likes of Justine and Kim. Good luck Dinara! I wish her all the best.

In the Hopman Cup, Andy Murray led Great Britain to a 2-1 win against Kazakhstan. Andy Murray won his match against Andrei Golubev and paired with Laura Robson to claim the mixed doubles. I'm sure that Britain's chances of winning the Hopman Cup lies on the shoulders of Andy Murray. There's so much about Laura Robson but she hasn't shown that she has the weapons to become a top 10 player in the world. She isn't hitting the ball hard and doesn't play intelligent tennis on court.

Another protest against Shahar Peer

2010-01-05T19:38:00.005+08:00

I hope that whatever political issues between Israel and Palestine should not crossover to sport because sport aims to unite people with their differences. Shahar Peer is innocent and should not be blamed by whatever differences between Israelis and Palestines because she's out there playing tennis.

Results of Brisbane International (January 4, 2009)

2010-01-04T15:32:00.002+08:00

Ana Ivanovic won against Jelena Dokic in 3 sets. The score: 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. It was a seesaw battle in which Ivanovic prevails. It would be interesting if she will be able to pull off a back to back win. It's been a long time since Ana won a back to back matches. With Adam Scott in the player's box, Ana will surely motivate herself to be more aggressive with her game.

Next match saw Justine Henin vs. Nadia Petrova. Although Justine had already played Nadia in an exhibition tournament in Cairo last month. Today's match is the first competitive match of Justine Henin in the world of professional tennis. With reconstructive serve and a more compact forehand, Justin displayed her tennis skills infront of the Brisbane crowds. She didn't disappoint the crowd as she cruised to a 7-5 7-5 win against the second seeded Petrova. Although the score was tighter in this match, we saw the old flashes of brilliance of Justine displaying her beautiful single handed backhand as well as her strong forehand. It would intriguing to see how well she performs in this tournament. If she wins the tournament, players will definitely don't want to see her in their draw in the upocoming Australian Open.

On the men's side, Richard Gasquet won his match against Jarko Niemenen of Finland with a score 6-3 4-6 6-4. I would be remembered that Gasquet was embroiled in a drug controversy in 2009 when he failed in a doping test for allegedly kissing a girl who is positive of cocaine. With the "French Kiss" scandal behind him, it is hoped that he can fully concentrate on his tennis.

Tennis Updates

2010-01-03T23:58:00.000+08:00

- Rafael Nadal wins the Abu Dhabi Tournament. Will these be a good omen for Rafa to do well in the Australian Open?

- Kim Cljisters won her first round match in Brisbane against Tatiana Garbin. Kim seems to be in devastating form as she routed Tatiana in 2 easy sets.

- Justine Henin will be facing a very intriguing first round encounter against Nadia Petrova on Monday. All eyes will be on this match. If she wins, not only will Alicia Molik get scared but everyone doesn't want to face Justine in the other side of the net in the next succeeding rounds.

- Maria Sharapova won an exhibition match against Venus Williams in Thailand.

- Everyone seems to be intrigued on what players will wear for the Australian Open. Tune in for the fashion report in the next couple days.

Rafa wins Abu Dhabi Tournament

2010-01-03T18:00:00.001+08:00

RAFAEL NADAL kicked off the new year in style as he dumped Robin Soderling 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to clinch the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The Spaniard took revenge for his defeat to Soderling in last year's French Open in a hard-fought final.

Nadal took the first set after a tie-break but Soderling continued to put up a tough fight in the second as he came from 4-2 down to tie it at 4-4.

The Swede held serve to survive first time but not the second as Nadal wore down his resistance to begin 2010 with a title.

Nadal earlier hailed the exhibition event as a "perfect preparation" for Doha, where the ATP season begins next week.

But it was Soderling who began more aggressively.

Nadal had to save two set points in the first set before forcing a tie-break which he won 7-3 on the back of strong defensive work.

Soderling came back from a break down to level the second at 4-4 then rescued three match points two games later to get to 5-5 before the world No.2 finished him off.

Injury-plagued Nadal insisted regaining the top ranking spot from Roger Federer - who beat David Ferrer of Spain 6-1 7-5 to finish third - wasn't his top priority this year.

He said: "Everybody wants the No.1 spot but it's not my goal for 2010. My aim is to play competitively and win as many tournaments as I can - to be happy, healthy and to play like I have over the last two days."

Nadal wins, Federer loses in Abu Dhabi

2010-01-02T12:59:00.001+08:00

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Rafael Nadal won and Roger Federer lost in the semifinals of the season-opening Capitala exhibition tournament on Friday.

Nadal beat Spanish Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to secure a place in the final against Robin Soderling, who earlier dispatched the top-ranked Federer 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. The players held serve in the first two sets before Soderling broke Federer in the third and seventh games of the third set to earn his first victory over the Swiss in 13 matches.

“Now when I go out there I feel more confident having beaten all the top guys,” Soderling said. “I can now believe that I belong up there.”Last year, Soderling broke into the top 10 on the back of two wins over Nadal. He first beat him in the fourth round of the French Open to end the Spaniard’s 31-match winning streak, but went on to lose to Federer in the Paris final.

Federer praised Soderling’s performance.

“Magnus (Norman), his coach, has been doing a great job with him and I’m sure we will be playing a number of times in the future. It was hard to play him in the very first match of the year, but I had fun,” Federer said.

Courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Tennis Great in the Making --- Grigor Dimitrov

2009-12-31T13:14:00.001+08:00

Nike shoes for 2010

2009-12-30T22:34:00.001+08:00

Here's a picture of the new Nike shoes for 2010:

New deals, Rumors and Separation... What more can you ask for?

2009-12-30T22:28:00.003+08:00

2010 will usher some new developments in some of tennis player's gear particularly in the apparel and racket section. Here are some information that I gathered from the net.

1. Andy Murray will unveil the adidas competition range beginning with the Hopman Cup. In the earlier part of 2009, there were a lot of rumors on his impending transfer to K-Swiss but unfortunately it didn't happen since he extended his endorsement deal with Fred Perry for the rest of 2009. But 2010 ushered a new marketing strategy for Murray team so to increase his marketability, they decided to sign him up with adidas which costs the shoe and apparel company a fortune but nevertheless, Andy's price tag is worth the price.

2. Novak Djokovic. In the latter part of 2009, there were some rumors that Novak Djokovic is shopping for a new apparel sponsor that will pay him his price tag. Among those supposed to be interested was K-Swiss until the curtain rolled and he finally signed up with Sergio Tachinni amounting to an undisclosed 7 figure deal. To many observers, Novak was just cashing in with his popularity that he wanted to find a suitable sponsor who can say yes to his demands.

3. Bryan Brothers and Sam Querrey. The Bryan Brothers tweeted to our surprise that they are leaving adidas in favor of K-Swiss. This is not the first time that an adidas player left in favor of K-Swiss. Sam Querrey was one of the first adidas player in 2009 to have replaced their 3 stripes in favor of K-Swiss.

4. Jo Wilfred Tsonga. While most players traded their apparel and shoes sponsors for a more lucrative deals, Jo Wilfred Tsonga made a statement when he finally signed with the French racket manufacturer, Babolat. It seems to be delicate decision on the part of Jo-Wilfred to switch racket since it is the most important equipment of a tennis player. Let's see if he will be able to improve his game using a very french racket.

Rumors:

Could it be true that Fernando Verdasco will be using a new racket in 2010? Rumors has it that adidas might finally sign up the Spanish hunk with its racket line. There are also rumors that babolat and head are also very insterested with his services. May the best racket win this time.

Nikolay Davydenko is said to be in talks with Lotto.

Confirmed:
Antonio Van Grichen is no longer the coach of Victoria Azarenka. This is based on his tweeter: http://twitter.com/vangrichen

Adidas Women's Apparel for 2010

2009-12-30T21:53:00.005+08:00

Here are some of the photos of the Adidas Women's Apparel for 2010 specifically for Australian Open

Adidas Gear for 2010

2009-12-29T10:58:00.001+08:00

New Year is just around the corner and so with the drums rolling, here are the latest shoe and apparel collection of Adidas for 2010 for its male players.

Beginning with its newest star player: Andy Murray

Based on my readings, a lot of people are not happy with the apparel and shoe collection of andy murray. But personally i like it so much because it's simple and elegant as well. Andy is a very classic british tennis player (based on the looks) so simple designs makes him very flattering on the court. The color suits him a lot even some people think that it's just a copycat of his Fred Perry Gear. But who cares, Andy looks dashing on those outfits, period.

What can I say with Jo Wilfred --- sexy . No other adidas tennis player who can wear this outfit so well than Jo Wilfred Tsonga. With a flashy personality and with a very potent game surely he's one sexy Frenchman wearing these red body hugging adidas outfit.

Nando .... He's one of the sexiest tennis player on the planet right now. Oozing with charm and with that very cute smile..... He's a tennis player who combines male machismo with some boytoy appeal on court. I must say that his outfit for 2010 is something very extraordinary but it works for him really well..... If I'm not mistaken, his outfit are supposed to part of the falcon range of adidas for noval djokovic. But since Novak left adidas for Sergio Tachinni, hopefully Nando will get a lot of exposure in adidas campaigns. As for his outfit, we'll see if he can produce that latin sexiness once he hit the courts of australia.

Rafa's New Secret Weapon is out (New Babolat Racquet)

2009-12-26T00:25:00.001+08:00

Guys, check out the new racquet of Rafael Nadal courtesy of Babolat:

Adidas Tennis Player Development Programme

2009-12-25T23:58:00.000+08:00

I know most of you have already heard about the adidas tennis player development programme. It's a one of the kind player programme which aims to help/assist adidas player to reach their full potential.

Here's again the video of the programme:

The winning piece

2009-12-25T22:19:00.001+08:00

For those who love the game of tennis, it's not only the tennis rackets and tennis balls that we're so obsessed about. Tennis fans will always have to check what's new and what's hot in internet. Gossips, intrigues, the latest news about players outfits as well newest equipments are some of those things that we are so obsessed about. That is the reason why my day will not be complete without checking the latest on the net.

To be honest, i'm a big fan of downthelinetennis.com and womenstennisblog.com. I always check the newest and the latest infos about the atp and wta tour. Not only that, they also inspired me to finally create this blog.

A few weeks ago, marija of womenstennisblog.com put up a contest on the comeback of Justine Henin. Contestants are required to subscribe on her blog as well write their views about the return of Justine. Since I'm a big fan of Justine Henin, I decided to write my own personal views about her return.

So here is my winning piece on the said contest:

The return of Justine Henin in 2010 will surely change the landscape of women's tennis. When she retired in 2008, the leadership of women's tennis is in a limbo. There was no assertive leader of the group. Gone was the time when the world no.1 would assert her supremacy in the game. Nobody question her accomplishments. But since the departure of Justine, a lot of questions were raised in women's tennis. The inconsistencies of Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina, the question of motivation of the part of the Williams sisters and the injury problems of Maria Sharapova to name a few. To put it simply, women's tennis lack excitement and intensity.

So what could Justine bring to the table now that she will be back full time in the women's tour? The answer: a lot…..

Here are some things that we can look forward to in 2010:

1. The return of Justine Henin will surely challenge those who are in the top 10. I'm pretty sure, the Williams sisters, Russian Armada and the Serbian ladies will prepare really hard this off-season to stay in shape and polish their game since the true queen of tennis will be back in full force.

2. Her game. Justine's game is totally different compared to those who are in the tour right now. Who would forget the silkiness of her forehand and the exquisite execution of her backhand? Even male player's are impressed of how she executed her one-handed backhand to perfection. When Justine retired, Ana Ivanovic was quoted as saying that Justine brings the best in her and other players and that Justine was a very different player. Fans don’t just want to watch tennis with glamour but they also wanted to see tennis with a different twist, athleticism combined with mental game on hand.

3. Rivalry. Fans flock to the court to see great rivalries. Who would not forget the rivalries of Justine against Kim, against the William sisters and against Maria Sharapova. Her matches with them are surely a tennis classic. What Justine sets it apart from other players is her ability to use her head all the time. Remember the French open match against Svetlana Kuznetsova? She was 1 point away from exiting the competition when she suddenly turned the game around in her favor. Then, there are those tight matches, were you can see that despite the pressure she still can keep her cool and execute her strategies very well.

4. The Hunger to win. The elusive Wimbledon title is considered by Justine as the main reason why she wanted to return to the women’s tour. This will make tennis in 2010 very exciting since she will challenge the dominance of the Williams sisters in the grass courts of Wimbledon. Justine is not a kind of player who only do the talking all the time. She tries to match it up with the right plan and strategies in order to get what she wants.

5. Justine is an exception to the rule. Justine Henin is not a conventional player. She doesn’t have the height to produce power tennis but she compensates that with sheer determination and guts to beat those who taller and bigger than her.

I can’t wait to watch tennis in 2010. With these things in mind, Justin Henin will be once again a force to be reckon with in women’s tennis.

Well, when I opened my email today, I found out that I won the said contest. My first reaction: I couldn't believe but happy at the same time. This is the first time that I won in an online contest and I can't wait to receive the prize.

To Marija of womenstennisblog.com, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Welcome to Tennis Aces and Winners

2009-12-25T22:02:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone and welcome to my new blog called Tennis Aces and Winners. This blog is intended for those who love to play the game of Tennis. I will keep you updated with the latest news on the ATP and WTA Tour as well as provide an in-depth analysis on the current state of professional tennis.

Hope you will enjoy all the stuff available in my blog!

Leo