Though the season is already a couple of weeks in, I decided to take some extra time this year, as I overdosed on tennis last year. With some rest, I am back to overindulging on tennis this year. Last year started out great but then when to the dogs. It was hard to see Rafael Nadal go from winning the Australian Open to not being able to defend his title at Wimbledon in just four-short months later due to an extreme case of tendinitis.

Other low points last year include:

• Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek broke up
• Richard Gasquet’s suspension
• Andre Agassi’s biography. Some of the revelations revealed the subsequent ridiculousness of Gasquet’s predicament
• The tricolor charge did not live up to expectation. Let’s hope this year will be better
  

The year did improve with some things:

• Juan Martin del Potro won the US Open
• Spain repeated its Davis Cup championship
• Novak Djokovic finally got his act together and is back to living up to his potential
• Nikolay Davydenko’s rise again as force to be reckoned with
• Gasquet cleared up his troubles and can now focus on tennis
• Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer turned out the Valencia Open. It went from to some tiny tournament to a definite must-go-to stop on the tour. See for yourselves:
  

Marat Safin played his final match of his career this evening. He lost to Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 5-7 6-4. The big Russia did well today and put in a solid performance against the 21-year-old Argentine. The US Open and Australian Open champion closed his career with a 422-267 record.

The Parisians gave him a great tribute, and it was nice to see the other players join in the ceremony. His good friends Younes El Aynaoui and Marc Rosset were also on hand for the festivities.

Tennis fans will miss the former world no.1 for his play and charm. His wit and honesty will be sorely missed, and I do not know if any one will be able to fill his shoes. With this gem from yesterday in regards to Andre Agassi’s book, there is really no other player that could sum up what most people are thinking with sounding like a heel:

I'm not defending the ATP, but what he said put it in a delicate position. The ATP allowed him to win a lot of tournaments, a lot of money. It kept his secret. Why does he need to be so cruel with it?

. . . . . .

If he is as fair play as he says he is, he has to go to the end. You know, the ATP has a bank account and he can give the money back if he wants.

Marat will be missed. I just cannot believe he already gone.

Part 1


Andre Agassi was on 60 Minutes to promote his new book last night. The tennis star made a confession of using meth in 1997 a couple of weeks ago. This revelation sent the tennis world a flutter. It is kind of naïve to think these guys would not try recreational drugs, as they are of the age where people usually experiment with drugs.

The real shocker for me was when he revealed that his bleached-blonde mane -- the one that made him famous -- was actually a wig. How did this get past me? I can usually spot a wig a mile away. I guess the headband threw me off.

In the interview, he described being in the final of the French Open and being terrified of his wig falling off during the match after his wig fell apart the night before. Though he lost, he felt he triumphed because his hair stayed on for the entire match.

What was disturbing was when he described failing a drug test. He was able to avoid suspension by writing a letter stating that he took drugs on accident. If that is true, then it looks like the ATP does not take its own drug policy too seriously. I guess you can talk your way out of a suspension if you are a big enough star.

Which brings us to the present day . . . Why were they hassling Richard Gasquet ten months ago if this happened? Some have wondered if there is a need to test for recreational drugs in the first place. The ATP should just test for performance enhancing drugs and call it a day.

Anyway, it is a good interview, so enjoy.

Part 2


Thanks Mrs. P!

Czech Ivo Minar tested positive for a banned substance and denies the allegation (The Guardian)

Gasquet returns to the circuit in New Haven but fails to qualify. Let's hope he gets back into form soon (BBC News)

Novak Djokovic gained confidence from his week in Cincinnati and looks forward to the US Open. (Reuters)

Dmitry Tursunov is questionable for the US Open and may need a second surgery (The Sacramento Bee)

Le baiser à la cocaine as told in grand fashion by the Brits (Times Online)

An interview with Novak Djokovic, who thinks he was born at the wrong time (Blic)

Andre Agassi will release his autobiography in November (CBS Sports)

Safin wedding rumors (Oh No They Didn’t)

How you can obtain an autograph from Rafa (Gossip Barf)