I have mad the decision to move Tennis Hotspot from blogger to wordpress, you may have wondered why I have been silent recently, particularly over Wimbledon, but I have been sorting out the new blog. To find out what I was up to over the last few weeks head over to the wordpress blog. This blog will be deleted within a week. I may copy some of the posts that I have previously posted on here, as it seems a shame to waste them, so please bare with me! Thank you for understanding.
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Twitter Tuesday
This week the focus is on not a real account but a fake one and proud, this account has gathered a loyal following and it's easy to see why!
Not Roger Federer! (PseudoFed)
We all know Roger Federer is the GOAT, right? and that he's extremely humble? If you didn't Not Roger Federer will keep you reminded!
Full of funny, often laugh out loud, tweets Not Roger Federer, who ever it is, does a fine job of following Rogers career and commenting on it, always justifying his loses and celebrating his wins, always in a #humble way of course. References to wife, 'Mirky' (apparently a secret Nadal fan) and his twins are also included, and occasionally you forget it's not really Roger Federer!
A sample of some of Not Roger Federer's funniest tweets:
As you can see Not Roger Federer makes light of many incidents on court, for example the blue clay one in which Djokovic and Nadal both said they would not return to the tournament is the clay was still blue, Not Roger Federer quickly jumped in and claimed he loved the blue clay!
For further, more in-depth, reading check out Not Roger Federer's blog!
The question is, who is Not Roger Federer? A reporter, fan, hater or could it be the real Roger Federer? Who ever it is Not Roger Federer is a must follow, even if your not a fan of the GOAT!
Friday, 8 June 2012
Future Winners Friday
With the grass-court season returning on Monday, and the focus switching firmly to London, with Queens, Wimbledon and the Olympics all in a short space of time, I think the Future Winner's feature should focus on the young up-and-coming British players.
While it seems Britain does reasonably well in the juniors it is often that a lot of players get lost in the transaction from Juniors to the main ATP tour, one youngster who is trying to make a success of that transaction is Oliver Golding
Oliver Golding is a former child actor of stage and screen, but he retired from that in order to persue a career in tennis.
His Juniors career was very successful as he became the youngest ever junior British number one, and the 2011 U.S.Open Boys Champion.
He is also a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist, having won gold in the boys' doubles event in tennis at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics with Czech partner Jiří Veselý.
After winning the Boys US Open Golding turned pro in 2011, fittingly his first appearance as a non-junior was at the Aegon Championships last year, held at Queens Club. Golding was given a wildcard but was knocked out by 2007 finalist Nicholas Mahut!
Golding still continues to play in junior events and has been successful in both boys Grand Slams and in doubles, he seems to get on well with the other British boys on tour and has teamed up with fellow Brit Liam Broady for doubles.
We will be seeing Oliver mixing with the pros again at the Aegon Championship where he has once again been awarded a wildcard, he will surely be hoping to advance further than last year, and prove that British junior talent can make a successful transaction to the main tour as he improves his ranking and plays more tournaments.
What do you think of Oliver Goldings chances next week? Is he the next British hope?
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Twitter Tuesday
The world of tennis and twitter seems to have collided perfectly and for fans of social networks the best way to be keep up to date is definitely the twitterverse! To make up for my longtime away this new feature, Twitter Tuesday, is my apology. Each week I'll feature something tennis related from twitter!
This week we start with...
Micaela Bryan!
She may have only been born in late January but she has certainly made herself known! As Micaela, daughter of Bob and Michelle Bryan (Bob is one half of a formidable doubles pair along with his twin brother Mike!), can barely lift her own head let alone spell it is likely that one, or both, of her parents are responsible for running her twitter account.
Along with cute pictures of Micaela with her parents and in adorable outfits, mostly pink, the best part about Micaela's account is the unique view she provides of life on tour. Micaela seems to be a firm favourite with the players and most are happy to pose with her so that a joke can be made about them later on twitter!
Monday, 4 June 2012
Murray Watch Monday
I'm back! I'm very sorry that I haven't been updating recently but I have been swamped with exams and have been unable to give this my full attention, however I have now finished exams and I don't have any more till January so I expect this blog will be running as normal from now on. At least I'm back for the second week of Roland Garros, If I had missed a slam I would have felt terrible!
So since I've been away what has Mr Murray been up to? Well he's rejoined twitter! I wont bore you with everything he's said but here's a few of the comments he's made since he's been at the French Open, just so you can get a sense of whats going through his mind at this time.
So as you can see he has been joking around most of the time and seems relaxed, however after his second round match, when he had to fight back from one set down with a back injury, he was keen to other his thanks for the support he received. The next day he seemed agitated at the speed it takes for the schedules to be released but it seems he's gone back to relaxing by playing scrabble with the 'missus' winning with 'hernias'!
We hope to see Andy Murray in action today and fingers crossed he is feeling in better shape and will not pull out of the Aegon Championships as the more time we get to watch grass-court tennis the better!
If your a fan of the whole Murray family then this series of interviews with the brothers gives a snap-shot into their lives on tour, and off!
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
WTA Wednesday
With the next Fed Cup round coming up and the Olympics being on home turf this year I thought I would take a look at the prominent British WTA players!
Elena Baltacha
Anne Keothavong
Heather Watson
Laura Robson
Naomi Broady
Although the Fed Cup team consists of only Baltacha, Keothavong, Watson and Robson I felt it was only fair to include all players in the top 200, Naomi Broady is the sister to Liam Broady who last year was runner up in the junior women's title.
Robson is most famous for her Junior Wimbledon win and Watson is famous for advancing to the second round of the French Open. They have teamed up for doubles and they appear to be the rising stars of British women's tennis, no doubt as they get older they will be able to hold their own and creep up the rankings.
Elena Baltacha has reached a career high of World No. 49 and has consistently been the British number 1, she has beaten players in the top 10 (e.g. Li Na). Anne Keothavong has also been British number 1 and has reached the third round in the 2008 US Open, and the second round of Wimbledon on three occasions.
These women have provided Britain with a steady place in the world of women's tennis, although there has been no Grand Slam winner to come out of this generation (yet!) they have each achieved relative success and I look forward to seeing the development of women's tennis in Britain, in particular if the appointment of Judy Murray as Fed Cup Captain!
Monday, 16 April 2012
Murray Watch Monday
After his defeat in Miami to Novak Djokovic Andy Murray must have felt something needed to change, and this something appears to be his hair!
As you can see he is sporting a much shorter look, perhaps he has been taking style tips from his coach Ivan Lendl?!
He has been interviewed by Sir David Frost, both before and after the haircut, what do you think? Do you prefer this Murray or the massive Afro Andy of years ago?
Some past hairstyles!
Murray also managed to get his hands on a Blue Peter Badge pre-haircut!
Watch some of the interview here.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Sony Ericsson Open
The end of the hard court season was played out with another Murray V Djokovic final (A future rivalry?) although Murray triumphed last time they played this time Djokovic eased to victory with a 6-1, 7-6(4) win.
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| I'm loving the bubbles! |
Djokovic has successfully defended an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown
for the first time, capturing his 30th tour-level title and second in
2012, following his victory at the Australian Open.
The doubles was won by Leander Paes (who has won the doubles title twice before) and partner Radek Stepanek.
The Clay court season has now begun so expect fireworks!
Monday, 9 April 2012
Murray Watch Monday
In my last Murray Watch Monday I mentioned how Andy Murray had been chosen to carry the Olympic flame and this time around we get to see him modelling the Olympic kit, designed by Stella McCartney the kit is effortlessly chic but I'm sure Adidas has ensured it is practical as well!
As tickets for the ATP World Tour Finals have now gone on general sale I'm sure those of you with tickets to the London O2 event in November will be very excited and it seems Andy Murray is adjusting his tournament schedule in order to give himself the best advantage:
“The end of last year was a bit unlucky,” Murray told Standard Sport.
“I got a freak injury so I look forward to performing well there this
year, if I qualify. I need to make sure I structure my year and plan it
well and not make any mistakes with that. Last year I probably
made a couple of mistakes. I probably shouldn’t have played in Rotterdam
(in February) — I should have taken a little more time off and then
trained hard. Then at the end of the year, I probably shouldn’t
have gone to Basle (where he suffered a bizarre injury, eventually
diagnosed as a sciatic nerve problem). But to be fair, I got really unlucky at the end of the year with the kind of freak stuff that happened.”
Andy also spoke about how important it is to have the home advantage:
“Every time I play at home I get great support so I look forward to
playing in London every time, It helps to be at home for sure, especially because now I am spending a bit more time training abroad, I am not really at home that much.”
Mr Murray also touched on the lack of tournaments in Britain, particularly in comparison to the other Grand Slam hosts, Australia, France and the US:
“It’s about time, really,” the 24-year-old said. “Australia has a few
tournaments there before the Grand Slam and the French guys have so many
tournaments — Metz, Montpellier, Marseille, Paris Bercy, French Open,
Lyon, Nice. They’ve got loads and obviously the US has the most
tournaments on the Tour. It’s nice we are starting to get a few more
events. The more tournaments at home, the better.”
Have you got tickets for the ATP WTF yet?
Friday, 30 March 2012
Future Winner's Friday
I bet you thought I had forgotten about these posts, but I have put together a slightly different 'future winner' this one has great expectations although it will be a few years yet before we see if he lives up to them:
Djordje Djokovic
As you may have guessed he is Novak Djokovic's brother and while Novak has played doubles with his other brother, 20 year old Marko, but apparently it is 16 year old Djordje who is the one to watch!
Djordje trains at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida and has
shown signs of emulating his older brother, Novak said of his brother:
"He's very talented, and actually [Radek] Stepanek was just telling me a
couple days ago that he practised him with him and he's a copy/paste of
my forehand,"
"I'm really happy to see my brothers, especially the younger one, doing
well now in tennis. Because it's not easy for them. They're still not
matured enough to be able to face these really difficult mental
struggles all the time and practising in front of 20, 30 people, because
they're carrying the burden of Djokovic family.
"For them it's not really the best situation you can ask for, but it
makes them stronger. They are really fighting. They understand that
they have to fight their own way through and hopefully they will."
On Novak's website there is a interview with his brothers, key things we discover about Djordje include:
3. Who were your tennis idols growing up?
Djordje: My idols were Rafter, Sampras, Agassi, and now it’s Nole, of course :-p
Djordje: My idols were Rafter, Sampras, Agassi, and now it’s Nole, of course :-p
4. Who is your favourite player, male and female?
Djordje: Ugh… Well, Nole, and I could say Ana Ivanovic…
Djordje: Ugh… Well, Nole, and I could say Ana Ivanovic…
15. If you did not become a professional player, what job would you have chosen?
Djordje: Probably skiing, or I would be a table-tennis player maybe.
Djordje: Probably skiing, or I would be a table-tennis player maybe.
19. Worst aspect of tennis?
Djordje: Smashing racquets on court.
20. Worst habit your brother has?
Djordje: He’s always late, except for tennis!
Djordje: Smashing racquets on court.
20. Worst habit your brother has?
Djordje: He’s always late, except for tennis!
Do you think Djordje has the Djokovic tennis genes and can become the next Serbian great?
Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo team up for Nike ad
Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo teamed up for the ad for Nike’s new
football boots, the Mercurial Vapor VIII. It's lovely to see a more
natural side of Nadal in an ad for once and we all know he is a fan of
football and after shooting the ad Nadal interviewed Ronaldo to discover
he was a fan of tennis.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
WTA Wednesday
Venus William's return to tennis was marked by a special landmark, she reached her 600th career win! Only 13 other players in the Open Era have achieved this and I am sure that Venus is specially proud of this as she has been stuck on 598 wins since August, due to battling with Sjögren's Syndrome.
Now with 602 wins she sits at the bottom of the list of 14 but I am sure she will work her way up, as long as her health remains decent!
There are only 3 active players with at least 500, sister Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Tamarine Tanasurgan.
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| She still has a way to go before she beats Martina Navratilova's record! |
Sjogren's syndrome is a disorder of the immune system (the
body’s defence system against infection). White blood cells attack the
body’s tear and saliva glands, which reduces the amount of saliva and
tears produced. This causes a dry mouth and dry eyes, along with other
related symptoms.
Monday, 26 March 2012
Murray Watch Monday
Andy Murray has been chosen to carry the Olympic torch in Merton, other tennisplayers include Elena Baltacha and Oliver Golding. Murray will carry the torch through Merton, the torch will be carried through Mitcham, Colliers Wood and Wimbledon Park on July 23. The torch will be taken past the All England Club, where the Olympic tennis event will be held in.
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I'm sure all of the football fans out there have heard about Fabrice Muamba, he collapsed during a match from a suspected heart attack and after being in a critical condition for a while whilst in hospital he is now recovering. Andy Murray believes regular heart screening in tennis and other sports should be put in place to avoid this situation happening again.
"I think it's time in almost all sports [that] everybody should have screenings before they can compete. This has happened too many times. Here in the States it's happened in high school and college basketball games and, of course, it's happened a few times in football.
"With all the pressure and stress of modern sport you have no idea how much you are pushing yourself on the pitch or court. I think it's something that's just got to be done."
Murray revealed he lead by example:
"I've been doing my tests for three years now so I have heart scans, heart monitors and other tests," Murray said. "I started when these things seemed to be happening more often. But it's not something that's done within tennis. But I just think it should be. Everyone should have a medical or a check-up before you're allowed to compete because it's such a horrible thing for people to witness. The reality is if something doesn't happen about it, it's likely to happen again at some stage and it's just so, so horrible. You don't wish something like that to happen to anybody."
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| Support for Muamba |
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Tennis player banned for life for match-fixing
Just as one player bows out from life on the tour so does another, but for completly different reasons!
Daniel Köllerer is a 28-year-old Austrian who reached No.55 in the world, his best Grand Slam appearance was in 2009 when he reached the third round at the Us Open.
Köllerer has been a controversial player, he was accused of racism by Brazilian tennis player Júlio Silva, who filed charges against him after a match on the ATP Challenger Tour at Reggio Emilia, in Italy, on June 2010. Silva accused Köllerer of calling him "monkey" and telling him to "go back to the jungle", imitating monkey movements. He has also had problems with other players and Stefan Koubek
was disqualified from an Austrian league match after grabbing Daniel
Köllerer by the throat during a changeover. Koubek said Köllerer
insulted him during the match. "I'm man enough not to let myself be
insulted, especially not by him," Koubek was reported as saying by the Austrian Times.
The tennis governing bodies ruled in
January last year Koellerer had made invitations to other players to fix
matches on five occasions between October 2009 and July 2010.
He appealed to have the sanction overturned after the Anti Corruption Hearing
Officer (AHO) found him guilty last May of attempted match fixing.
Köllerer has been banned permanently from
participating in any event organised or sanctioned by any of the four
tennis governing bodies ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slam Committee.
'On the basis of the evidence
submitted by the parties to the CAS, the panel of arbitrators was
satisfied the player attempted to engage in match fixing,' a CAS
statement read.
CAS did, though, set aside the £63,041 fine which had been imposed on the player.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Goodbye Gonzalez!
A while ago Fernando Gonzalez announced his retirement from tennis, and after losing out to Nicolas Mahut at the Sony Ericsson Open, 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7/3), the 31-year-old Chilean ended his career on a double fault!
In his career he has reached at least the quarter-finals of every Grand Slam tournament, he played his first major final at the 2007 Australian Open, losing to top-ranked Roger Federer.
He is the fourth male tennis player in history to have won each Olympic
medal (gold in doubles and bronze in singles at Athens 2004, and silver
in singles at Beijing 2008).
Throughout his career, he has defeated
many former no. 1 players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer (all while they held the top spot), Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyà, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, and Pete Sampras.
González qualified twice for the year-end Masters Cup event and was
runner-up at two Masters Series tournaments.
He is arguably Chile's best
tennis player of the 2000s. His highest ranking was achieved in 2007 when he reached No.5, he has won a total of 11 career titles in the singles and 3 in the doubles!
This tribute video was shown on after his last match, all the top players speak about the respect they have for him and in particular his fantastic forehand ;).
In Spanish he was known as El Bombardero de La Reina ("The La Reina Bomber") and Mano de Piedra ("Stone Hand"), because of his amazing forehand but the English-language media settled for "Gonzo".
So Thank you Fernando, and best wishes for the future, we hope to see you involved in somethig tennis related soon!
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