TennisToday

Rafael Nadal Withdraws from London Olympics

That damn knee.

Defending Olympic champion has pulled from the 2012 London Games.

From his release: I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics...

And therefore will not travel as planned with the Spanish delegation...

To take part in the games. I have to think about my companions...

I can't be selfish and I have to think of what's best for Spanish sport...

Especially tennis and Spanish players and give fellow sportsmen with better...

Preparation the chance to compete.

I tried to hurry my preparations and training to the very last minute...

But it was not to be.

Is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions...

That of being Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games...

In London, cannot be.

You can imagine how difficult it was to take this decision.

Let's hope for a successful return to the summer hard court season.

Mend, Rafa. Mend.

Rafael Nadal Wins Opener at Roland Garros

Roland Garros - Men's First Round

2 Rafael Nadal d Simone Bolelli - 62 62 61

Rafa is now 46-1 at RG. This was also his 150th Slam match win.

He moves his W/L on the year to 34-4 with 3 tournament titles.

Playing in his 32nd Slam Rafa has never lost in the 1st round.

Remember: He is looking for a record-breaking 7th title here.

From a presser the other day:

I played fantastic tournaments in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome.

That's it. I'm playing well.

I arrived here with positive feelings, and I will try my best to be very...

Competitive and to be in the right level to have my chances.

Photo: From a practice session yesterday.

Roger Federer Ready for ATP 500 at Dubai

Roger Federer sat out the Dubai tournament the last 2 years but the 4-time champion is back and ready to play. And begin a road back to the #1 ranking again - or so goes the goal. He addressed this 'changing of the guard' idea at his press conference...

Look, Novak played well (in Australia), but so did Andy, and so did Rafa I thought, although unfortunately he was injured. I played well too.

It was just one of those times where a lot of guys were playing well. Just because one guy loses he is playing shocking and can't play tennis any more.

That's where it gets a bit annoying in the press conference explaining something that doesn't need any explanation. One guy throws a stupid question and unfortunately you have to answer it.

That's why I said let's see in six months how things are. Maybe they are quite different, maybe they are the same. Don't jump to conclusions after three days of tennis in a season that lasts 11 months.

That's right Roger. You tell 'em.

Roger Federer Loses at the Australian Open

Yea, you're not going to read any 'end of Federer' stuff here.

I do not own a crystal ball and have no idea what the rest of 2011 looks like.

But boy, some tennis writers sure seem to know what's going to happen huh?

Must be nice to be them.

Here are some things I do know - because they actually happened...

This is the 1st time since Wimby '03 he is not the holder of a Slam title.

This is the 4th straight Slam without a final round showing: 2 Sf's & 2 Qf's.

Interesting: None of those losses were at the hands of Rafael Nadal.

Roger, being the AO defending champ, will lose 1,280 ranking points.

Which means if Novak wins the title Roger will drop to #3 on Monday.

If Murray/Ferrer win the title he'll stay #2 - tho with a fairly loose grip.

Since the USO Roger's result have been pretty damn good.

He had early round losses at IW & M - he can surely improve those results.

Roger had this to say about the suggestion of the torch being passed:

Yeah, I mean, they say that very quickly, so... Let's talk in six months again.

And Roger on his game and the rest of the season:

I feel very good. I'm very optimistic about the next 15 tournaments.

I've barely lost matches lately really, so I'm happy with where my game is at.

I'm really excited for what's to come. This is obviously a bit of a blow.

At the same time, I played a good tournament. I have no regrets.

I left everything out there. We'll see what comes next.

One thing I've learned over the last 8 years: Never count Federer out.

He ain't done yet.

Rafael Nadal's Australian Open Post Loss Presser

Here is the good news for you Rafanatics... muscle tears heal. He should be 100% by the time Indian Wells and/or Miami rolls around. Then we're heading to the clay... He is still gonna give you a good year.

Here is the transcript of his press conference from the AO website:

Q. How emotional is it for you tonight?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, is a difficult day for me. I lost in quarterfinals another time. So I tried my best. I couldn't do more. Tonight I think I played against a great player, a great opponent. Today I really can't do more than what I did. So he played at a very high level, and I wasn't able to compete against him tonight.

Q. It's going to be difficult for us to write a piece without appreciating how well you could move. It seemed to us you couldn't move as well as you would like to have been moving tonight. Is that a fair statement?

RAFAEL NADAL: You see the match?

Q. Yes.

RAFAEL NADAL: So you are ready to write everything. I don't have to tell you about what I felt on the court because I tried my best all the time. But is obvious that I didn't feel at my best. I had a problem during the match, in the very beginning. After that, the match was almost over. So that's what I can say.

But you know what, for me is difficult come here and speak about. In Doha I wasn't healthy. Today I have another problem. Seems like I always have problems when I lose, and I don't want to have this image, no? I prefer don't talk about that today. If you can respect that, will be a very nice thing for me. Thank you.

Smile Showdown: Fernando Verdasco vs Tomas Berdych

Wow, how bored am I?

Fern & Tomas are playing the Kooyong Classic this week.

Remember, Fern won this exo title last year.

Both boys finished 2010 in the top 10 - Tomas at #6, Fern at #9.

They both enjoyed a very strong 1st 6 months of 2010 then they tapered.

In fact, in Fern's last 6 tournies he's won only 2 matches.

But in this showdown of smiles I'll go with Fern all day long.

I SAID I WAS BORED.

Photos: Getty Images from Kooyong presser today.

Novak Djokovic & Ana Ivanovic Go 1-0 at Hopman Cup

What a great looking mixed doubles team. London 2012 anyone?

They beat the Kazakhstan team of Shvedova & Golubev 3-0.

As a team they won 6 of 7 sets - Novak dropped the 1st set to Golubev.

Novak post match: All in all, I'm just happy to not embarrass Ana.

I was just trying because I wanted to make her happy.

We have known each other since we were five...

And we have a great relationship. She's the nicest girl I know in tennis...

Photo: Alex Willis

Quotes & Pics from the Serbian Davis Cup Presser

Team Captian Obradovic: The surface is, of course, prepared for my team. They like to play on it. We already beat a couple of teams on this surface.

Obradovic: I spoke to Janko and Viktor. Tomorrow they're going to have one more practice and then we're going to make the decision.

Novak Djokovic: I came here on Sunday so I’ve had time to rest a little bit. Now I'm ready to practice and give my best throughout the weekend.

Photo & Quotes: Getty Images & Davis Cup Twitter page

Quotes & Pics from French Davis Cup Presser

Guy Forget: We wish we would have a big stadium like this in France. It's very nice. I think it's made for big moments like this one.

Michael Llodra: It's always an honour to play for your country. I beat Djokovic in Bercy but Davis Cup is totally different than ATP events.

A journalist asked about Gasquet not liking Llodra which produced a kiss. Mmm, didn't a kiss get you in some trouble before?

Arnaud Clement: I'm ready for doubles. I don't know yet if I'm going to play, that's a question for the captain, but I'm ready to go on court.

Action begins Friday - live on Tennis Channel.

Handsy: What exactly is going on there Gilles?

Photos: Davis Cup & Gael Monfils Twitter pages

Rafael Nadal Injury Presser in Paris - London Calling

The year-end title is really the only thing missing from his resume. It would make a fitting cap to an incredible year, no?

Some quotes from his press conference in Paris today:

The injury is not a big problem but I have to be careful, because if I had an injury now it could be difficult to play London and to play well at the beginning of the season next year.

It is a goal for me to try to improve the image of last year in London. I think I am focused to try to do this. We will see what happens; I am focused on trying to play well there.

It is probably the most difficult surface against the most difficult opponents for me, so probably is the most difficult tournament for me to win during the year.

Photo: Getty Images

Roger Federer in Shanghai Without Wife & Kids: "Bored"

Here are a couple photos of Roger at the Swiss Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The first is a lift that is big enough to hold the wife, kids and a nanny. The second is with the Expo mascot Haiboa.

In a presser he had this to say about travelling alone: It's bored, yeah. It's a bit slower, that's for sure. But I have friends here. We have a good time, you know. It's busy here anyway. I have a lot of things to do with some of my great sponsors. Also media I'm doing quite a bit. For that side I'm kept busy.

Further: But clearly it's a different week this time around that they're not here. I do miss them, yes, of course.

Oh hey, how about a video too?

Roger Federer is in Asia and he's "Ready to go."

Am I the only one a bit nervous that he's jumping into Shanghai with no match play while the rest of the tour has been playing in Asia for a week or two? This didn't work for him in Rome nor did it turn out well in Indian Wells.

But he says, "I practised extremely hard for the last three weeks. I feel like I am ready to go."

Today he stopped in Hong Kong for a presser and stressed that he is "eager to play again" and warned, "This is exactly the time I've worked so hard for, to enjoy now. That's why I have no intentions of quitting the game and I'm looking forward to the future."

He went on to confess, "The biggest disappointment for me was Wimbledon." Referring to his quarterfinal loss there to Tomas Berdych.

Roger also took time to praise his main rival Rafael Nadal, "The world number one spot takes more time and it happens if you play well. He (Nadal) is the best player in the world right now. He's won the last three Grand Slams so he completely deserves to be at world number one."

Photos: AP

Gilles Simon became a Father while at the US Open

Cutest photo I've seen from the Open all week.

Simon's lady-friend gave birth on Thursday - a month premature.

He lost quickly to Rafa yesterday. A loss that probably didn't sting too badly.

He's happy to get home, surely. Have a fun baby.

Rafael Nadal's Thoughts on God...

Jon Wertheim posted a wonderful Q&A with Rafa on Sports Illustrated.

I'll confess Wertheim is one of my favorite tennis thinkers and I am curious as to why he brought up God in his brief sit-down with Rafa (his Q&A was granted just after he won Wimbledon.)

Having said that, this is a question I have long wanted asked of Rafa (and Roger for that matter) and I think it's an iteresting answer. He and I are basically on the same page.

Q: Do you believe in God? We see football players crossing themselves. You don't do that. Do you do praying?

A: It's hard to say, "I don't believe in God." I would love to know if God exists. But it's a very difficult thing for me to believe. I don't know. It's private and I don't want to speak about it, but I say, "If God exists, you don't need [to cross yourself] or pray." If God exists, he's intelligent enough to [do] the important things, the right things.

So the bottom line is - be a good person and if there is a God you'll be rewarded all the same. I like it.

Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal's Post Quarterfinal Presser

Well, the first 10 minutes of it, if you care...

Francesca Schiavone: A Hero's Homecoming in Italy

Becoming the 1st Italian women's Slam winner - an Italian legend was born.

And with her winning personality - the sky is the limit.

I'm thinking she'd make a great commentator for Italian television some day.

***

And the worldwind continues...

Francesca met with PM Berlusconi today at Palazzo Chigi in Rome.

Who knew he was so short? And you know she's in heels.

Photos: Reuters

7 & 7: Rafael Nadal's Post-Title Interview with John McEnroe

Yesterday Rafa joined John McEnroe in the 7 Slam club. Rafa has 5 RG, 1 W & 1AO. JMac has 3 W & 4 US. Interesting to note in this interview is that Rafa is looking forward to completing a career Slam. Please watch that clip HERE. I couldn't get it to attach so instead below is a video of highlights from the final.

Rafael Nadal's 'French Open Tonight' Interview on Tennis Channel

A very nice sit-down with the King of Clay.

Rafael Nadal: "I probably played my best match today."

From his press conference today.

Roger Federer's Post 3rd Round 'French Open Tonight' Interview at Roland Garros

Great/cool interview from yesterday. Enjoy.