I laughed even harder at this Nike commercial which someone posted on YouTube. And it features a cute ___--well, I'm not spoiling things so you better watch it yourself--whom I've never considered cute at all. Federer is ever so much more good-looking. Ha ha ha... [Oh, my mom's gonna kill me for this.]
I had a good laugh when I saw this ad which was aired by NBC right after match point at the Roland Garros men's finals last Sunday. It's obvious they taped this some time ago in anticipation of the great event. I hope they didn't have to wait too long to finally run it on television.
World number one Roger Federer was seen practicing with Jose Higueras looking on before announcing during his pre-tournament press conference at Estoril, Portugal that he would be working with former ATP pro from Spain for at least the start of the clay season.
Higueras is well known for coaching Michael Chang and Jim Courier toward titles at Roland Garrosa and was hired at one time by 14-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras, among many others.
Given Higueras' impressive coaching resume, it looks like that the King of Tennis is serious about wrestling the Roland Garros crown and title of King of Clay this year from closest rival Rafael Nadal by hiring the well-respected clay-court specialist. Obviously, doing so would allow the Swiss to complete a career grand slam, something which Sampras failed to do.
Photo credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images
It's always a pleasure to read about Roger Federer, this year's recipient of the ATP Stephan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, doing some good deed now and then. It was therefore no surprise that an act of kindness by Federer has inspired another to repeat the gesture to another fellow tennis player.
Preparing to leave Indian Wells for Miami for a pre-tournament photo-shoot, world tennis number two Rafael Nadal offered Ana Ivanovic, his female counterpart on the WTA rankings, and her entourage a ride on the private jet which organizers chartered for him. He had learned that Ivanovic had difficulty getting a plane ticket to Miami and had been relegated to the waiting list of a commercial flight. There were apparently still some spare seats on the chartered private jet so after making sure it was alright with the organizers the Spaniard invited Ivanovic. Recounting the story in his blog, Nadal wrote, "I remember Roger gave me a ride from Montreal to Cincy last summer and I know how it feels to be stuck in a place when you want/have to leave to play the next tournament."
This indeed nicely echoes what Federer did for Nadal late last year when the latter was in a similar situation: After competing at the ATP Masters Series Tournament in Montreal, the latter couldn't get a plane to arrive in time to prepare for the next ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. Federer then heard about Nadal's predicament and let Nadal hitch a ride on the private jet chartered for him.
One good turn really does deserve another although in this case the favor wasn't returned directly. But certainly Federer (as well as his fans) would recognize the compliment implied by Nadal's generosity toward Ivanovic.
When Roger Federer said he came down with a stomach flu before the AAMI Classic at Kooyong early in January it turns out that that was just part of a bigger picture.
A number of articles have begun popping-up all over the world-wide-web to report that the world number one had been ill with mononucleosis--and for at least six weeks according to doctors.
The New York Times described the disease as follows:
Mononucleosis is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It can produce flu-like symptoms and extreme, lingering fatigue. Physicians often discourage those with mononucleosis from taking part in intense physical activity because of the risk of rupturing the spleen, which can become enlarged because of the infection.
That sounds rather scary, doesn't it? Especially when one knows that Mario Ancic had to miss six months last year when he came down with the disease.
And to think Federer even played at the Australian Open up until the semi-finals, including that four-hour match against Janko Tipsarevic.
No wonder he looked sluggish and his shots were missing their usual fire and finesse!
But at least we finally have an explanation for his poor form on court though the Swiss graciously refuses to use this as an excuse for his recent string of losses.
For now Federer believes that he's over the disease because his body has begun creating antibodies against it. He seems relieved that he can prepare for the highly-anticipated exhibition match against Pete Sampras at the Madison Square Garden this coming Monday, 10 March.
Federer fans will certainly pray that he will get sufficient rest to avoid falling ill again. We can't afford to have him risk his health just for the sake of saving his number one ranking. We desire nothing less than for him to fully recover, if not in time for the upcoming ATP Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, at least for him to feel comfortable enough to give 100 percent when he next gets back on the tour.
So once again, we wish Roger to get well soon!
UPDATE: Federer talks about his illness in a message recently posted on his website.
Photo credit: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images
World tennis number one Roger Federer dominated sports headlines worldwide yet again by being crowned the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for the fourth year running!
Federer had already made history last year when he scooped up a third straight Laureus award. By collecting another award this year, the Swiss has become first man to win the award four times--in straight years no less!---since the awards, considered the Oscars of the sports world, were established in 1999. Only one other athlete had been named Sportsman of the Year in consective years (2000 and 2001): Federer's good friend Tiger Woods who is another giant in the world of sports and a nominee himself this year.
It was in fact a big night for tennis as other Laureus winners this year included Federer's fellow world tennis number one Justine Henin who was named World Sportswoman of the Year and wheelchair tennis legend Esther Vergeer who won the Laureus Disability Award for the second time.
The Swiss star who was on hand to receive the award during the star-studded ceremonies held in St. Petersburg, Russia yesterday thanked "all voters who didn't think three would be enough."
Indeed, given another amazing tennis season last year which saw him add another three grand slam titles--including a record-tying fifth straight Wimbledon title and a fourth straight US Open title--to his ever-growing haul of trophies and hold on to the year-end number one ranking for a fourth straight year, who could refuse the deserving tennis great one more accolade in recognition of such achievements?
Apparently four Laureus awards would not satisfy Federer himself as he told reporters afterwards, "I would like to win it again next year to have five in a row. I have five (successive) Wimbledon titles so it would be great to have five Laureus."
Long live King Roger the great!
Photo credit: Getty Images
Here's a hilarious video of a few ATP tennis stars singing (or at least trying to sing) Jingle Bells. Be sure to watch it til the end!
Roger Federer took some time out during his exhibition series with Pete Sampras to talk with CNN International's Anjali Rao on Talk Asia over the weekend.
In case you missed it (I watched the original airing and nearly all the replays because I kept getting called away from the tv), there is a transcript of the interview over at CNN's website. Another blog on Federer has also compiled the videos of the interview as well.
For the third year running, Roger has been nominated for Athlete of the Year by the United States Sports Academy.
The winner will be decided by an online vote the USA Today and the MSNBC websites that opened today and will be ongoing until 24 December 2007.
The world number one in men's tennis won the Outstanding Athlete of the Year in the past two years and could win it for a third straight year if he once again receives the highest number of votes in both the Male and Female categories.
Tennis fans unite to vote King Roger the Great for Outstanding Athlete of the Year!
As part of his duties as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Federer has recorded a public service announcement to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. The video which the popular and well-respected Swiss athlete recorded in English, German and French, will be released on World AIDS Day on 01 December 2007.
The world number one has been recognized once more for his achievements on and off the court: he has been named one of the Men of the Year by GQ magazine for the year 2007. Included in the article about the Swiss tennis star is a tribute written by the legendary Bjorn Borg, and yet another stunning photo of Federer.
Honored along with the "Court King" are former US president Bill Clinton, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, Pixar director and producer Brad Bird and several Hollywood stars including Tom Hanks, James McAvoy and Daniel Craig.
Photo credit: Liz Collins
David Ferrer, Federer's challenger for the recent Masters cup title, has just edged out the champion for this year's Golden Bagel Award™. Since both players were tied at seven "bagels apiece--that is, sets won to love--the winner had to be determined by counting the number of "fries" or "breadsticks" (6-1 sets) each had given out: Federer had fourteen "fries" while Ferrer had eighteen.
The award is given "all in good fun" by Side Spin Productions to the top eight player who hands out the most "bagels"during the season. Federer previously won the inaugural Golden Bagel Award™ in 2004 when he had twelve "bagels" and then again last year when he produced a whopping eighteen "bagels".
The Side Spin website now even includes the "bagel histories" of several past tennis greats like Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Our King Roger the Great has been in another photo shoot by renowned photographer Annie Liebovitz and this time it's for Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" promotion.
In a photo (detail shown at left) aptly entitled "When You're Always King of the Court", Roger looking every inch a dashing knight in shining armor--and a flowing red cape to boot!--poses as the legendary King Arthur as he pulls the sword from the stone. The backdrop was said to have been taken at Tintagel Castle at Cornwall, England, purportedly the birthplace of King Arthur.
The photo is just one in a series that was commissioned by Disney to feature various international celebrities--such as singer Julie Andrews--in fairy tale settings.
P.S.
Don't you think that if the photo were cropped as shown, it would look just perfect in a gilt frame hung on a castle wall?
Photo credit: Annie Liebovitz/Disney/PA
As many of you most probably know, ATP has a wonderful magazine called DEUCE which they launched a few years ago. But I don't think did too well on print because it is now being published exclusively online. Having it online though should be a big plus since it will be more accessible to many (like me) who are interested in reading the articles in the magazine but cannot afford to pay for a season's worth of issues.
This year's summer issue has very enlightening and fun articles about many ATP players like Federer, Djokovic, Gonzalez and Karlovic. It's a joy and refreshing change to read about off-court facts these players.
The article about Federer in particular lists his "last times": the last time he went somewhere and wasn't recognized, the last time he had to hire a tennis court or the last time he flew economy. My favorite was his response when asked about the last time he played a practical joke in the locker room:
Basically everyday with everybody. In Cincinnati we had a fight in the locker room with Dmitry Tursunov. There were probably six people involved, including three or four players, throwing about 50 balls at each other for 15 minutes. I won! [Editor's note: Towards the end of the fight, the Penn ball mascot chose the wrong time to return to the locker room and was mercilessly pummeled.]
This is a bit late but I thought I'd post a video of the new Gillette commercial featuring Roger together with Tiger Woods and Henry Thierry.
Another past tennis great had something to say about Federer. Before he was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame, 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras said this of his meeting with Roger before the AMS tournament at Indian Wells earlier this year :
He came by, and we hit for two days, and it was a lot of fun to not only hit with Roger, but to get to know him a little bit.We talked for two hours after one hit. He's a great guy; he's a funny guy. He's a young kid in a lot of ways.
When he breaks my record, he's the type of person I'd like to see break it. In my opinion, he's what sports is all about.
I was amused--though not surprised--when Sampras remarked that Roger was a "young kid in a lot of ways". Roger certainly seems serious on court but haven't we heard of Roger playing pranks on other players in the locker room? And even more interesting is that Sampras used the word "when" and not "if" when he talked of Federer breaking his record of 14 grand slam titles. Like Borg with Wimbledon, it seems he's accepted the fact that Federer may overtake him in the all-time grand slam winners list.
Here's a new Nike advertisement which starts off with beautiful flashbacks of the tennis champion's career and ends with a cheeky message from the golf champion to his good friend. After all, isn't that what friends are for?
Eleven-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg is clearly an admirer of Federer and is reportedly looking forward to seeing the current world tennis number one match his five consecutive titles at Wimbledon when he returns to the All England Club for this year's championships.
I can't wait to hopefully sit down on Centre Court on the second Sunday and watch Roger win. That would be wonderful, I really hope that Roger does that as he's such a great guy.
Wow! That's ultimately a compliment to Federer since it's well known that Borg called up Federer in 2001 to thank him for stopping Pete Sampras in the fourth round and essentially preventing Sampras from matching his five-title streak:
I decided to call Roger up, to congratulate him, yes, but also to thank him for keeping my record intact. That was a great win for Roger, and it was a pity that he didn't go on to win the tournament that year. But records are there to be broken, so if he matches me this year, I'll be pleased that it's Roger who has done it. ... Maybe Roger will win six or seven times, who knows?
This will be only the second time Borg returns to Wimbledon after playing at his last finals there (he lost to John McEnroe) in 1981.
I haven't posted in nearly two months, having been out of the country for a month's vacation. Before that, I was busy wrapping up things at work so that I could pass them on to whoever would be taking up my duties while I was gone.
Now that I'm back, quite a lot has happened since that last post about both Federer and Nadal getting into the finals at Monte Carlo:
Whoa! Roger Federer's on the cover of the May/June 2007 issue of Men's Vogue magazine.
There's a nice lengthy revealing article inside as a result of the author's interview with Federer in Dubai where Federer has established a second home and base. Among many other things, Federer talks about meeting tennis legend Bjorn Borg, his friendship with Tiger Woods (the same issue also contains an article devoted to him), his rivalry with ATP's number two player Rafael Nadal, and how longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec has helped make him the person and player that he is today (such a lucky guy, such a lucky girl!).
This is complemented by a slideshow of awesome photos of a dashing and impeccably-dressed Federer taken at different locations around Dubai. (Move over Maria! Roger is one hot model!)
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