The Tennis Thread

[Scott]

chaky,how about anna chakvatadze this week at slovenia? not only did she upset errani but was able to pull out a win against one tough vera dushevina today. hopefully this will give her some much needed confidence and some realisation that she still can win these kinds of matches.

btw,nice to hear the news that juan martin is returning. but i do reside on the side of caution in hoping it's not too swift of a comeback after that may surgery he had on his wrist,just because he's defending the hard-court season and the open. as much as i do want to see him back on the courts again,i just want him to return healthy so we won't have to endure another long absence.

 

[Chaky]

This is so far turning into a dream week for Anna in Slovenia and I'm thrilled. She's in her first semi-final for nearly two years. And she plays the doubles final on Saturday. Slowly she is putting her game back together and going on the sort of winning run that will give her the confidence she's been desperately lacking.

I can see the USTA is quite desperate to get Juan Martin back in time to defend his US Open title. It would of course be nice but it's not worth it to jeopardise long-term success. If he's not ready he should do as Rafa did at Wimbledon - skip a year and he can still go into 2011 unbeaten.

 

[Scott]

and she did it!! hurray for anna! let's hope that this will be the start of a courageous comeback. she certainly deserves one.

 

[Chaky]

I'm so happy right now! Anna destroyed Larsson in the Portoroz final. She was playing like the old Anna I remember. It's been more than two years since her last title. This may only be a smaller tournament but it's an important victory in getting Anna back into the Top 100 after her awful slump.

 

[Scott]

^it's really an emotional and mental victory for anna. kind of reminds me of when mauresmo won the paris indoors last year over lena after two years of struggles. it was so emotional for her. and this is what i've felt anna needed. a strong early round upset and everything has sort of fell into place now.

 

[Chaky]

Good times again!

sonyericssonwtatour.com

 

[colourmepretty]

Aw, congrats to her!

 

[Tinna]

I think this hasn't been posted yet. Charity Match Let's DU it! held in Dubrovnik, Stradun, Croatia between John McEnroe and Goran Ivanišević. It was big fun (drinking beer during match among other things )

 

[miu_miu]

love Goran

Two coaching changes to mention, Roger will do a test with Paul Annacone - via his official site.

Dear Fans,
I’ve been looking to add someone to my team and I’ve decided to spend some days with Paul Annacone. As Paul winds down his responsibilities working for the Lawn Tennis Association, we will explore our relationship through this test period. Paul will work alongside my existing team and I am excited to learn from his experiences.
See you soon.
Roger

Andy Murray now without a coach...via the Telegraph

Andy Murray sacks coach Miles Maclagan after Alex Corretja concerns
Andy Murray has sacked his coach Miles Maclagan after a disagreement over the role of coaching consultant Alex Corretja.

By Simon Briggs

According to sources inside the Murray camp, the three men were finding it difficult to work together. Although Maclagan was Murray’s main coach, Corretja had been working with the team as a coaching adviser since May 2008, and will continue on a part-time basis in the build-up to the US Open.
Corretja, a Spaniard who rose to become the world’s second-ranked player in 1999, was originally brought in to advise Murray on how to improve his clay-court performance.

But Murray, who was with Maclagan for three years, has since started to seek his guidance on a wider basis, especially in hard-court tournaments. Recently, Corretja has been spending up to three months a year with the British No 1, and Maclagan may have felt he was being marginalised.
The Spaniard is not seen as a full-time coaching option, partly because of his broadcasting commitments.
A press release from Murray’s management company, 19, explained that “Andy is completely focused on the US hardcourt season and he will review his coaching situation after the US Open”.

Read more here

Interesting in both cases. Roger announcing the decision on his website suggests to me that it may be more formal than just a test but I think it can only be positive to have another perspective and it's good to see that he's willing to try something new. For Murray, I think it's strange to go into US Open without a proper coach, wouldn't it have made more sense to split after the tournament, or straight after Wimbledon which everyone suspected would happen?

 

[Chaky]

Murray's split from Maclagan seems weird to me. But who knows what goes on behind the scenes. Maybe he thinks he can get away with a part-time coach like Federer did for a long while. No word from Andy on his twitter.

I think it's good Roger is trialling with Annacone. But isn't he still under contract with the LTA. Does that mean the LTA is paying Annacone to coach Federer?

 

[anaa lpz]

Hi guys!

I´m new on the thread!

 

[Scott]

well the murray decision definitely came out of nowhere. i wonder how much this will affect his HC season?

glad lena got through in her first match back since RG and the injury. it was tough but hopefully she can relax a little bit and find her comfort.

sam stosur as well. tough first round with that second set and having to fight back after being down.

 

[miu_miu]

Welcome anaa lpz

Chaky, I think Annacone is finishing with LTA because he doesn't want to be here so much when his family is in NY...I think I remember that being mentioned over grass court season, so perhaps he will be with Roger for US hardcourts but not beyond? I can see the LTA swooping in on Maclagan.

 

[colourmepretty]

Anyone watching the Bank of West Classic?


Sharapova's been doing great; hopefully, this will go her way. Ah, I hope I didn't jinx it! *unjinx*

 

[Scott]

did anybody read the comments marion bartoli made after beating ana ivanovic? marion better be careful about getting over-confident in beating somebody who's been struggling so mightily. it's just very rude. i'm not surprised of course.

“When I played Ana before she was on the rise to becoming the No. 1 player in the world,” Bartoli said. “Now I finally passed her. Having a higher ranking than her helped my confidence and gave me the mental strength to play the game.”

 

[Scott]

did you guys hear this? i saw on the news wire on the tennis channel here that sveta has parted ways with larisa levchenko and has now hired on amelie mauresmo's former coach loic courteau who himself just parted ways with julien benneteau. good idea? i hope he can help sveta get her form back.

 

[constanceMafioso]

did you guys hear this? i saw on the news wire on the tennis channel here that sveta has parted ways with larisa levchenko and has now hired on amelie mauresmo's former coach loic courteau who himself just parted ways with julien benneteau. good idea? i hope he can help sveta get her form back.

Yes this is true... I think they're going to make a good team together. Loïc Courteau did a great job with Amélie and helped her a lot on her focus and belief. I guess that's what Kuz need. He also worked with Tati and I remember she had played some incredible tennis during the only week they worked together. Anyways knowing how Amélie and Svetlana are friends that also played a big role.

I'm somewhat surprised of the Andy Murray situation... I really like his game and I hope that doesn't affect him in the USO... Andy needs to work on his mental approach of the game and I don't really think it's his tactics or tennis that are wrong just that he can never really bring his best when things counts the most.

And Vika what a great win from you... I really thought the match was over at 6-3 2-0 down and really great comeback.

 

[Scott]

i like loic a lot. very calm guy...very neutral..perhaps he can instill some of that into sveta because she can get rather emotional out there. or at least get her to translate that negative energy into something more positive.

 

[colourmepretty]

Yay to Maria Sharapova for beating Elena Dementieva!

 

[Scott]

i'm glad lena got that kind of match because you notice she started finding more of her rhythm after that first set. it was a great match to shake off the rust. she needs a couple more tough matches like that and she'll be back to her old self. but lena did say she didn't have a lot of expectation right now and that she needs a couple more weeks.

btw,isn't this maria's first win over a player of lena's calibre since she returned?