Who's your favourite Tennis player? #1

[Chaky]

omg,can you believe this crap they're trying to do to wickmayer? she's been suspended for one year due to she not reporting to the testing tribunal. is this getting out of hand or what? gasquet can get away with his nonsense yet they want a year out of wickmayer just for not reporting.

Not just Wickmayer but Xavier Malisse also. It's absolutely ludicrous!

In fact I believe Malisse has said that if this doesn't get overturned he's gonna retire. Apparently the three days that Yanina missed on the 'whereabouts' report she was actually playing at tournaments so they could've checked where she was by looking at the WTA website.

I know they're both gonna appeal but perhaps they should consider suing for lost earnings and reputational damage.

 

[Scott]

what i find most appalling is that she's been reprimanded for a length that a player who tests positive usually tends to get. she's never even negatively tested yet she's being suspended. you know i love and adore belgium and belgians generally,but there is something very suspicious in the way WADA handle cases and in the way they have in the past handled cases. like you said,xavier got the crap for the same thing. and remember svetlana when she was playing an exhibition with justine in liege a couple years ago during the off-season and they found something due to the cold medicine she had been taking? and then they tried to start something at the aussie open which completely took her focus away. and there wasn't even a case in that because it was a non-professional event. and now it's happened with yanina....in light of the ruling she's voluntarily withdrawn from bali. it's terrible to have to end a stupendous season like that and go into next season doing nothing. so her strides have been halted now because of something ridiculous.

 

[Chaky]

It's the Flemish Doping Tribunal who've banned the two players but as I understand it WADA's 'whereabouts' rules are only supposed to apply to top 50 players. So Malisse shouldn't be affected. And Wickmayer was only recently top 50.

The Belgian world number 18 has denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Compatriot Xavier Malisse has also been banned for a year over two similar "whereabouts" testing failures. Malisse could also appeal against the decision but the 29-year-old claims that he does not have enough money to.

"A procedure before Cas is very costly and lasts a very long time," he said. "I currently don't have the financial means to take on such a battle. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but if the suspension is maintained that means the end of my career."

...

The VDT said in a statement issued on Thursday that the minimum one-year sanction was a "reasonable and justified" punishment.

BBC Sport

The VDT are nuts if think this punishment is reasonable and justified. Sure the two players are partly at fault but give them a fine or a short suspension, like a month maximum.

This has basically ended Malisse's tennis career. And Wickmayer will lose all of her ranking points and have to start 2011 back at zero, relying on wildcards to get into good tournaments.

 

[Scott]

it's sad because these appeals are expensive and neither yanina or xavier are wealthy like their compatriots in kim and justine.

and you're right,they're morons if they believe that's justified.

do you think perhaps the situation with andre may have possibly influenced their decision? that seems to be the chatter amongst some people i've noticed on other boards.

btw,are we allowed to speak about this here? miu miu? i'm trying to stay away from anything too explicit.

 

[Scott]

i think this proves the hypocrisy of the ITF.

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (AP)—Top-ranked Serena Williams will most likely receive a “significant” fine but no suspension for her U.S. Open tirade, the president of the International Tennis Federation said.

Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock is expected to give his recommendation to the Grand Slam committee, which probably will announce the sanction Monday or Tuesday.

“I don’t think (an Australian Open ban) would make much sense, because it would penalize the people handing out the punishment,” Francesco Ricci Bitti told The Associated Press on Saturday. “For the Grand Slam committee to exclude her from a Grand Slam doesn’t seem likely.”

The Grand Slam committee is composed of Ricci Bitti and the four Grand Slam presidents.

Williams was fined $10,000 after her profanity-laced outburst at a lineswoman during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters in September. A fine from the ITF could be much greater.

“A significant financial penalty makes much more sense. But it has to be significant enough for the fans (to appreciate) it,” Ricci Bitti said. “Of course it may not be significant for Serena Williams, who earns tens of millions.”

By winning the season-ending tour championship last weekend, Williams set the record for single-season prize money in women’s tennis by topping $6.5 million in 2009. Her career prize money is a record $28.5 million.

Ricci Bitti spoke at the Fed Cup final between the United States in Italy. Serena and Venus Williams decided not to play in the Fed Cup final after meeting in the final of the season-ending championship last weekend in Doha, Qatar.

The ITF president is also involved in a request by the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate Andre Agassi’s recent admission that he took crystal meth in 1997.

Agassi wrote in his soon-to-be-released autobiography “Open” that he ingested the drug and then lied to the ATP to avoid a suspension after failing a doping test.

Ricci Bitti is also a member of WADA’s executive committee.

“The WADA code is our reference point and in every doping case the rules are quite clear. There is an eight-year period for sanctions to apply,” Ricci Bitti said. “In terms of the regulations, there is nothing that can be done because we’re past the eight-year period. It’s more upsetting than anything else — for our sport and for the players.”

Still, Ricci Bitti noted that the ATP should have a dossier on the case.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

In another drug-related case, the ITF confirmed a one-year suspension for Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse on Saturday. The duo was suspended by a Belgian tribunal this week for failing to report their whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times during 2009.

“This reminds me of the cases of Italian players involved in betting a little while ago,” Ricci Bitti said. “These players need to be aware of their responsibilities. If they don’t know, this is the result.

“These cases create discussion because they’re not reliant on positive tests, but there are rules to respect,” Ricci Bitti added. “We’re awaiting the details from the Belgian federation. These kids need to wake up. They’re professionals and they earn a lot of money. They don’t need to merely know the rules, they should also respect them.”

*yahoo.com

and i say that because they stated yesterday that they supported the decision to suspend wickmayer and now they're playing this b/s? what a crock they are.

 

[Chaky]

This actually makes me pretty angry. I'm not even particularly a fan of Wickmayer or Malisse but this is all so out of proportion and I feel bad for them. Essentially what they are saying is that three misses on the whereabouts info is equivalent to a positive doping test so they have to ban them for a year.

This from Kim Clijsters:

Hi everyone, I feel I have to write about this. Its very unfortunate what’s happened to Yanina and Xavier this week. While they may not have followed correct administration, they did not register a positive doping offense either. To receive a one year ban because of this seems extremely harsh and is potentially career-ending for both of them. I hope the authorities and athletes can work together on finding better solutions to keep our sports clean.
twitter.com/clijsterskim

 

[Chaky]

On another downer (well it is for me!) USA are losing their Fed Cup final against Italy. I managed to watch Oudin vs Schiavone today.

Mel was the better player at the start but conditions were not good. The clay was pretty soggy. Schiavone did manage a cool 'hotdog' shot in the first set. There was a rain delay and when they came back Fran was taking control and she ran away with it in the second.

It was always a tough ask for the USA without a Williams sister but I think losing both singles on the first day has pretty much sealed it for Italy. They've got a solid squad.

 

[Scott]

good for kim that she made that statement. for she to speak out says a lot about the unscrupulous nature in which this is being handled. it's ridiculous and over-the-top.

and i understand and support real actions to keep the sport clean but they have really become extreme....almost to the point where it seems these players are just dictated. they come to one whenever they feel like it,at any given time(i've heard from players that sometimes they will come in wee hours of mornings,while the player is still sleeping,rudely wake them and make them test)and without any real notice....

fed cup:

i watched some of the matches today in and out of dropping off(hehe)and melanie put up a good fight in the first set but i agree with you,that rain delay really disrupted her rhythm and you know frannie,she is a hardcore dirt-baller and can dominate you if you're not at your best on clay. flavia for the most part was really quite flawless today. no real sign of that injury she sustained during the indoors bothering her. that's one thing i appreciate about her....she gets injured and somehow recovers rather quickly. i think it speaks volumes about her physical fitness.

 

[Chaky]

That's dedication to the team. That Flavia match was a bit early for you wasn't it Scott?

 

[miu_miu]

Not sure about this topic
But since Agassi's revelations, I do wonder how situations like this will be handled differently...

 

[AnaBGD]

^ that's what I thought too. Agassi doesn't have much to lose now, but he didn't do a big favor to the others.

Anyway, can't believe Đoković has beaten RF in Basel! Congrats to him. He played amazing both today and yesterday in the semis.

 

[Scott]

chaky,it was. but you know i can't get enough of flavia....i just love the way she plays. and fran,they never show any of her matches during the season unless she's in a semi or final,and i've been a long-time fan of hers.

today though i just couldn't stay up. but they dominated anyway. even errani and vinci managed to pull out the doubles victory over one-half of the no.1 doubles team. impressive.

miu miu,and you know that's what a lot of people are speculating about with yanina and xavier's ban....that somehow in the revelations of agassi that it most likely influenced their decision. whereas before many of the heads were speculating that they would only give a warning to wickmayer considering this was really her first full season and her age.

i'm hoping though,given the tremendous outcry over this ruling,in a couple months,they will eventually and ultimately overturn the decision,as they did with gaquet. i don't think i've read or heard anything but this incredible sense of unfairness.

 

[Scott]

nole won?! i was watch the score just a few moments ago as they weren't airing it live for the fed cup final today.

congrats! he's had a wonderful latter season.

 

[Chaky]

today though i just couldn't stay up. but they dominated anyway. even errani and vinci managed to pull out the doubles victory over one-half of the no.1 doubles team. impressive.

I watched Mel vs Flavia this morning. Very similar story to Mel's match yesterday. She had good opportunities in the opening set but couldn't take them. Then Flavia ran away with the second set. Some inexperience showing on the American's part I think but she looks promising for the future.

Italy have to be congratulated. They've got a very solid squad who are really supportive of one another. They've taken out some teams with a lot of Fed Cup history this year: France, Russia and now USA.

Roger lost to Nole in his home town. Must get revenge next week.

 

[miu_miu]

atptour.ru

Ouch! Happy for Novak though, he played a lot of tight matches this week.

 

[Scott]

I watched Mel vs Flavia this morning. Very similar story to Mel's match yesterday. She had good opportunities in the opening set but couldn't take them. Then Flavia ran away with the second set. Some inexperience showing on the American's part I think but she looks promising for the future.

Italy have to be congratulated. They've got a very solid squad who are really supportive of one another. They've taken out some teams with a lot of Fed Cup history this year: France, Russia and now USA.

Roger lost to Nole in his home town. Must get revenge next week.

i agree wholeheartedly chaky. italy has been sooo tough the entire fed cup season. dominated france and then beating russia handily. that to me is still more shocking than dominating the americans.

mel's going to be fine. she's still young and inexperienced as you said,for the most part. my feeling is,she really needs to develop on clay. her footwork and her movement. i could really tell how lacking those elements were yesterday. she already has this really wonderful sense of patience and versatility on the court....clay should be the surface to thrive on for such a game-style. she,her parents and her coach should get to spain or somewhere to train.

 

[miu_miu]

*relief* now onto round 2

 

[AnaBGD]

*relief* now onto round 2

you can say that again!

All I could think about was that he looks so hot in this black outfit and that I want to watch him one more time (let's face it, next time really is the LAST time )

 

[Chaky]

B) Nice one Marat, acing his way out of three match points against him. Perhaps he does want a final hurrah.

“Well, it's the best way probably to save the match points,” joked Safin afterwards. “It's not as painful and I don't have to run around on the court and just hope for the guy to miss. Just fast paces and it's over. Not painful. I was definitely lucky to serve wide twice on the match points. It's a sign that I have to stick around for another match.”

Afterwards, Safin was philosophical about his approach to the tournament: "[I am] not coming here to win, that's for sure. The shape that I am in right now, I don't think that I can aim there. I just want to finish on a good note and say goodbye to everybody. So it's completely different approach of coming to the tournament. It's strange feeling. It's not the way I thought it's going to be, but just personal. But it's okay. I still managed to play decent tennis, actually."

The No. 65-ranked Safin next will face US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro for the first time.

"The way he's playing right now, I don't think I have a chance," confessed Safin. "But I'm going to try. Why not? If I'm going to serve well and he's not going to be at his best, I have a chance. At the end of the day, I don't think I'm going to be the winner. I'm going to make a decent match, that's for sure."
atpworldtour.com

 

[miu_miu]

you can say that again!

All I could think about was that he looks so hot in this black outfit and that I want to watch him one more time (let's face it, next time really is the LAST time )

Aw it was never in doubt!
Although, if you have to play any top guy, Del Potro is your man - he's injured, he's already qualified for London so now worries there AND he said he has found it difficult to adjust to post GS glory life so, you never know But if you go out to the reigning US Open champ, there's no shame in that either

Have to agree though, I love the black & his hair is perfect right now