Newsletter #9

Hi all!

Sorry this didn't come sooner but I had written out everything on Wednesday and then my computer crashed before I could send my mail. So here I go.. :) It's kinda long sorry but I made links so hope fully that's make it easier for yall  =)

   1.Quote of the day
   2.Pete Sampras Interview (the part that I watched)
   3.ATP Awards 1997, Pat Rafter Interview and Richard Krijeck Interview
   4.Mark's 2nd round match and his tattoo
   5.Pat Rafter's match vs. Stoltenberg
   6.Guga'a match

Quote of the Day:

Commentator: Nick Boletteri had this to say about Marcelo Rios. He's a tiny guy but you know the
story of Napoleon and small men. The always put up a big front to make up for their size!
[Back to top]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the rain delay on Tuesday or Wednesday USA showed a Sampras interview which I suppose was done after his first round win. Pete had to say that he knew he wasn't the fav but that was ok with him and that he would still be a threat though. (umm Pete's gonna have to take that back since crashing and burning out the open) The commentator talekd about his obsession with winning the French Open. Pete said that he wasn't obsessed and that it wasn't in his nature to become obsessed with things. He said that it was just a goal. I think afterwards John McEnroe was talking to Bill Mcafee and they were commentating that perhaps it's true Pete isnt obsessed with the french open title. Unlike Ivan Lendl
who built a grass court in his back yard in an attempt to learn to play better on grass for Wimbeldon. :)
[Back to top]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok I was just finshing watching highlights of tennis in the night when this programme started with Richard Krijeck so I stuck around to watch it. They were interviewing him about his new baby etc. He said (and I find this so sweet) that he likes it a lot.. (fatherhood i take it ) and that it's nice to come back to the apartment and have his 2 girls waiting for him. He talked about his playing which isn't too bad this year and the commentator asked him how he felt about his girlfriend being the Bond film recently. He said that that sort of movie asn't the type he liked because the villain is so obvious and essentially he said if she wanted to do that sort of thing he would support her.  Then they had some funny Pete bloopers. The is the first  time I ever laughed at something Sampras did and didn't mean it in a bad way :) He was trying to introduce the ATP TOur Awards function that was held in Monte Carlo. He couldn't  get the line "Hi I'm Pete Sampras and coming up is the ......
from Monte Carlo" He kept messing up the line and they did it like 4 times until he said ok this is the last time.. edit it if I don't get it right :)
Switch to the Awards function where they showed all our fav tennis players decked out in black tie :) Jonas Bjorkman looked good *yummy* A funny part was wehn Tim Henman had to present an award to a fellow Brit and he said something about the guy being with thm for 120 years instead of 20 years and the guy was OLD!! Everyone was laughing. he Woodies won an award I'm not sure for what but in the Interview they were asked if they were tired of doubles and the partnership and Woodbridge looked at Woodforde and was like.. I'm not tired.. You're tired? Pete won best player of the year for the 5th straight time. Sergi Bruguera won for Best comeback of the year. And Pat Rafter won for best Sportsmanship of the Year. The Interview was when he was at the Gold Flake Open. He looked awful
I have to admit. He looked sunburnt and very tired but he was still smiling :) He said,: Sportsmanship of the year? I dunno how I won it. Obviously there are a lot of mats out there who feel I deserve it. I personally voted for Todd Martin. I just wana say thanks " Imagine that with a sexy Aussie accent and smile. *I wonder if he voted for Todd cuz they have the same bad taste in Roobok outfits... ie those ugly candy stripped shirts which he was wearing in the Interview!*
[Back to top]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmm Mark's match. He looked interesting cuz I had not seen him play in such a long time. He had a little facial fuzz going on. His eyes looked sooo intense. He was wearing blue loose short and a blue and white FILA shirt. AND welcome back bandana!!! :) Ok onto his playing.... hehe.. I really though he was gonna win. I mean he was up 2 sets and was up abreak in the 3rd ZI think and then he just fell apart. In the 5th things were looking good. He was hitting such great backhands, forehands and serves!

Then the rain came! And my tape ran out LOL. I got the bad news that he had lost via that wonderful technology we know as the Internet. :(
I heard from the USA Commentator that Mark has a tatto on his serving arm in the form of Alexander the GReat
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man! Don't get me started on the Rafter/Stoltenberg Match! I have some of it on tape which I didn't watch yet and I saw the rest. The bit that I saw makes me pity Rafter. I dunno what he's trying to do. He's sporting a goatee which actually didn't look too bad on him, wore that ugly candy stripped shirt and his hair is so long now it can fit a while ponytail instead of half pony. And he was wearing a white cap. Stoltenberg had never beaten him the commentators said. But the way Rafter was hitting shots all over the place made me think anyone couls beat him. One thing though.. his serves sounded harder than usual. John McEnroe kept saying Rafter's hoping the ball's on the line etc. John McE. is not a big fan of Rafter I see :(
Most of you may know that in a recent Rafter iNterview at the French Open, Rafter said that he was not happy with the game of tennis anymore and that he wasn't confident, and really wasn't handling all the attention very much. He said he finds it hard to say no especially when he goes back to Australia. I really feel for him cuz his game is suffering. Note, John McE has called Rafter a One time Grand Slam Wonder.. and in response to that Rafter said that it was probably true but that he didn't care if he was. He said some people never achieve even that much and he's so right! I think Rafter has a good attitude from that perspective. This commentator on USA Network was on the NEt chatting, Tracey Austin is her name and she was talking about Pat's lack of confidence and that's basically his only problem. She has the hots for him i gather cuz she was talking about his great ass and legs. I think so too
[Back to top]
:)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was very upset that Guga had lost. Personally I wasn;t backing Pat cuz I knew he wasn't gonna do as well as he did last year. And anyway I felt the commentators were being mean to Guga by saying that his win was a fluke. So what if his attitude isn't "I want to do tennis every second od every day" Unfortunately he lost to Safin in a 5 setter which was great to watch! Kuertan in his colourful duds was refreshing to see :) He played well but both guys were not playing their best and were missing a lot of easy shots. I really winced when the second set tie breaker ended after Guga brought the score
from 6-2 to 5-2 and then missed an easy volley and lost the set. Had he not missed the shot he might have won the match. *sigh* I guess it just wasn't meant to be but the ESPN female commentator was rather annoying because she kept harping about Rios Rios Rios and saying Kuertan's not gonna win etc. One really funny part of the match was when Safin was chastising himself for making an error he was saying it loudly in Russian and Kuertan smiled and answered him in Portuguese :) The commentators thought it was funny too.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well looking at my unfaithful *lol* TV Guide I see that NBC will be showing Tennis in the Afternoon around 3 pm ET. However it isn't live because ESPN INt will be showing tennis from 5 am to 1pm! On Sat and SUN. For all of you out there who reallly llike the women's matches, ESPN show's more than USA but the women's matches are shorter and I think they aren't as exciting as the men's. Maybe that is why they don't show them unless they are waiting on a guy's match to start. Unfair and annoying but
what can we do? :)

[Back to Homepage] [Back] [Next]