US Open 2008 Men's & Women's Draws

The men's and women's draws were announced on Thursday, ahead of the US Open which starts on Monday, 25 August.

Here's first round encounters by the top 10 men's and women's seeds in the tournament:


Top 10 Men's Seed's, First-round Matches:

1. Rafael Nadal vs. Qualifier

2. Roger Federer vs. M Gonzalez

3. Novak Djokovic vs. Arnaud Clement

4. David Ferrer vs. M Arguello

5. Nikolay Davydenko vs D Sela

6. Andy Murray vs. S Roitman

7. David Nalbandian vs. M Daniel

8. Andy Roddick vs. Fabrice Santoro

9. James Blake vs. Donald Young

10. Stanislas Wawrinka vs. S Bolleli


Top 10 Women's Seed's, First-round Matches:

1. Ana Ivanovic vs. V Dushevina

2. Jelena Jankovic vs. C Vandeweghe

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Qualifier

4. Serena Williams vs. K Bondarenko

5. Elena Dementieva vs. A Amanmuradova

6. Dinara Safina vs. Qualifier

7. Venus Williams vs. Samantha Stosur

8. Vera Zvonareva vs. B Strykova

9. Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Qualifier

10. Anna Chakvetadze vs. E Makarova


Complete draws for both the men's and women's event can be seen at (see links below):

http://tennis.com/tournaments/2008/usopen/draws.aspx

http://tennis.com/tournaments/2008/usopen/draws_women.aspx

US Open 2008 Seedings

Just a short week after Beijing 2008, the US Open 2008 is about to begin on August 25.

For the 1st time in Rafael Nadal's career, he is seeded #1, ahead of Swiss star, Roger Federer.

On the women's side, newly crowned world number 1, Ana Ivanovic is seeded #1 ahead of fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic.

There are no noticible absentees from the men's side but the women's side is missing former champion, Maria Sharapova, who has withdrawn due to injury.

The rest of the top 10 men's and women's seeds are as follows:

Men's Seedings:

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Roger Federer

3. Novak Djokovic

4. David Ferrer

5. Nikolay Davydenko

6. Andy Murray

7. David Nalbandian

8. Andy Roddick

9. James Blake

10. Stanislas Wawrinka

Women's Seedings:

1. Ana Ivanovic

2. Jelena Jankovic

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova

4. Serena Williams

5. Elena Dementieva

6. Dinara Safina

7. Venus Williams

8. Vera Zvonareva

9. Agnieszka Radwanska

10. Anna Chakvetadze

Singles draws will be anounced on Thursday.

For more details, visit the Official US Open website at http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html.

Latest ATP & WTA Rankings

Here's the latest ATP / WTA Singles and Doubles rankings as per 19 August 2008:

ATP Singles:

1. Rafael Nadal (ESP), 6700

2. Roger Federer (SUI), 5930

3. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 5105

4. David Ferrer (ESP), 2865

5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS), 2700

6. Andy Murray (GBR), 2415

7. David Nalbandian (ARG), 1975

8. Andy Roddick (USA), 1845

9. James Blake (USA), 1825

10. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), 1695

ATP Doubles:

1. Nestor, D. (CAN) / Zimonjic, N. (SRB), 859

2. Bryan, B. (USA) / Bryan, M. (USA), 812

3. Erlich, J. (ISR) / Ram, A. (ISR), 537

4. Bhupathi, M. (IND) / Knowles, M. (BAH), 444

5. Bjorkman, J. (SWE) / Ullyett, K. (ZIM), 371

WTA Tour Singles:

1. Ana Ivanovic (SRB), 3612

2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB), 3515

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), 3455

4. Serena Williams (USA), 3341

5. Elena Dementieva (RUS), 3194

6. Maria Sharapova (RUS), 3131

7. Dinara Safina (RUS), 3077

8. Venus Williams (USA), 2586

9. Vera Zvonareva (RUS), 2177

10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), 2076

WTA Tour Doubles:

1. BLACK, CARA (ZIM) / HUBER, LIEZEL (USA), 4392

2. MEDINA GARRIGUES, ANABEL (ESP) / RUANO PASCUAL, VIRGINIA (ESP), 2283

3. BONDARENKO, ALONA (UKR) / BONDARENKO, KATERYNA (UKR), 2206

4. CHUANG, CHIA-JUNG (TPE) / CHAN, YUNG-JAN (TPE), 2194

5. PESCHKE, KVETA (CZE) / STUBBS, RENNAE (AUS), 2161

Nadal, Ivanovic Top World Rankings

Rafael Nadal's childhood dream finally came through on Monday morning when he overtook Roger Federer as the world number 1 tennis player.

Nadal, who was the undisputed world number 2 for the last 4 seasons said "I was very happy being the number two. So finally I'm number one. For sure there's satisfaction, but at the same time ... I don't know. I don't have time to celebrate. I play New York in one week."

This achievement is the feather in the cap for Nadal's inspirational year - winner of 4 consecutive French Open titles, Wimbledon 2008 winner and Beijing 2008 Olympic Gold medal holder.


In the women's game, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia recaptured the world number 1 title from fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic - the title that has been shared by the 2 players during the last couple of weeks.

She will keep the title for the next 3 weeks.

Beijing 2008 Results - Finals

Here's the final medal tally at all tennis events at Beijing 2008. What a wonderful week it has been - upsets, close encounters, wins - one of the best Olympic tennis tournaments held in a long time!

Men's Singles:

• Rafael Nadal (Spain) - Gold
• Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) - Silver
• Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - Bronze

Women's Singles:

• Elena Dementieva (Russia) - Gold
• Dinara Safina (Russia) - Silver
• Vera Zvonereva (Russia) - Bronze

Men's Doubles:

• Roger Federer / Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) - Gold
• Simon Aspelin / Thomas Johansson (Sweden) - Silver
• Bob Bryan /Mike Brayan (USA) - Bronze

Women's Doubles:

• Serena Williams / Venus Williams (USA) - Gold
• Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) - Silver
• Yan Zi / Zheng Jie (China) - Bronze

See you all in London 2012!

Nadal - Emperor of Beijing, King of the World!

Yes, Rafael Nadal has done it again! Not content with being the King of Clay and King of Grass, he nows adds the title of Emperor of Beijing with his Olympic Gold win over Chilean, Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 6-3, in today's men's singles final.

To top that off, Nadal is officially crowned ATP world #1 player today, replacing the great Roger Federer who held the throne for the last 4 1/2 years!

Gonzalez was just no match for Nadal's consistency, power and sublime passing shots. According to Nadal, "I played almost the perfect match!"

Gonzalez was very happy with his own personally hat-trick of medals - adding Silver to his tally of Olympic Gold and Bronze in the men's doubles and singles in Athens 4 years ago.

The Bronze went to Serbian, Novak Djokovic, who beat American, James Blake.

No time for rest for all 3 players though as they make the trip half-way across the world to USA, where the US Open begins in a short time.

Russian Hat-trick

Russia's domination in world tennis on the WTA was summed up today when all three singles medals at stake were won by Russian's, with Elena Dementieva taking Gold, Dinara Safina, the Silver and Vera Zvonereva, Bronze.

It all began when Zvonereva, a late replacement for the injured Maria Sharapova, won comfortably against China's Li Na, 6-0 7-5 to take Bronze.

This set the stage for a hard-fought final match between Dementieva (world #7) and Safina (world #6 and sister to Marat Safin). The first set was easily won by Safina 6-3, with Dementieva having a very nervy start.

In the 2nd set, Dementieva started to play more freely and subsequently went ahead 4-1. However, Safina's powerful groundstrokes and fantastic defensive play brought it back to 4-4. Unfortunately, Safina's mental fragility started showing itself when a series of uncharacteristic double-faults cost her the set, 7-5.

The 3rd set was pretty much the same but again, it was Safina's double-faults that let her down and with Dementieva tightening up her baseline play, she prevailed 6-3 to take Olympic Gold.

Olympic Gold was ever more sweet for Dementieva who, 8 years ago at Sydney, achieved Olympic Silver at the similar event.

It was a very emotional situation for the Russian ladies, especially when standing on the winners podium, listening to the Russian National Anthem playing and watching the 3 Russian flags being raise. A very rare and spectacular moment indeed - tennis or otherwise!

Congratulations to the 3 ladies and Russia as a whole! Will Russia repeat this once in a life time feat? Tune in to London in 2012 to find out!

Predictions - Nadal vs. Gonzalez

Another fantastic encounter to cap a week of remarkable men's tennis in Beijing 2008.

Spain's Rafael Nadal will be hoping to be crowned the new King of Beijing 2008 by winning gold, just before receiving the title of Best Player in the World when the new ATP rankings come out tomorrow (Aug 18).

Extreme spin, great court coverage and amazing passing shots (especially on the bankhand side, make Nadal a tough competitor to beat.

In his way is Chilean, Fernando Gonzalez, who has brought pride to his country by bringing Chile to its second men's Olympic final. The former top 10 player (currently ranked 15th in the world) has a great serve and big forehand. His deep slice backhands also makes it tough for opponents to attack but it also his archilles heel in my opinion.

Nothing can stop Nadal at the moment from becoming the King of Clay, King of Wimbledon, Emperor of Beijing and soon to be King of the World! In fact, barring some major incident et al, I think Nadal may even be able to get the US Open in a few weeks time!

My prediction is for Nadal to win comfortably in straight sets.

Predictions - Dementieva vs. Safina

An interesting match-up for this afternoon's all-Russian encounter between Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina.

In in blue corner, we have Dementieva, world #7, who has one of the best backhands in the women's game and some fantastic groundstrokes. Unfortunately, she's also famous for her mental fragility, as well as her weak serve.

In the red corner, we have Safina, world #6 and winner of of a few big events coming into the Olympics. She's very much in-form at the moment and her deep, penetrating groundstrokes have brought her once again to a major final event. However, match jitters have also plagued her game, resulting in some double-faults during crucial points.

One may think that Safina's power-play will be too much for Dementieva to handle but then again, Dementieva did take out world #4 Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

My prediction is for Safina to win, simply because she's the more in-form of the two players and much better prepared mentally.

Catch the match on Astro's CH818, which starts at around 2pm Malaysian time.

Redemption for FedEx.. Just...

Roger Federer struck gold in Beijing, but not for the event he was hoping for, when he and partner Stanislas Wawrinka beat the Swedish pair Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin, 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-3, in the men's doubles final.

This fantastic achievement is a good consolation for Federer, who lost in the singles quarterfinals to American, James Blake.

Elsewhere, the Bryan Brother's captured bronze for America when they defeated the top French pair of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra, 3-6 6-3 6-4.

China Out, All Russian Women's Final

It will be an all-Russian women's final when Dinara Safina took out China's, Li Na, 7-6 7-5 and Elena Dementieva beat fellow Russian, Vera Zvonereva, 6-3 7-6 in the women's tennis semifinals.

The final match-up should be an interesting one given that Safina is one of the best power players on Tour at the moment and Dementieva has the best groundstrokes when in-form.

It all depends on whether Dementieva can calm her nerves and serve well; otherwise big returner, Safina, will be all over her.

Should Zvonereva win her 3rd-place play-off match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, it will mark a perfect hat-trick of Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Beijing 2008 Women's Tennis!

My prediction is for Safina to win because I just can't see Dementieva having the mental capacity to counter the power play and consistency of in-form Safina.

No Djoke, Srbija Win Bronze

World #3, Novak Djokovic, brought back some pride to the Serbian camp when he beat American, James Blake, 6-3 7-6, to take home Olympic bronze in convincing fashion.

Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion won the first set easily but Blake, who was still angry over what he deemed as "cheating" by Fernando Gonzalez in the previous round, made him work in the second set but succumbed to the tenacious play of Djokovic.

The Serb celebrated by throwing his shirt, racquet and other accessories into the crowd while holding the Serbian flag with pride.

Serbia may be able to make it a bronze-double if Jelena Jankovic can win her 3rd-place play-off against China's Li Na, who lost to Russian, Dinara Safina, in the semifinals.

Jankovic Out, King Aces Djoker

It was a bad day at the office for Srbija (Serbia) as women's #1, Jelena Jankovic and men's world #3, Novak Djokovic lost to Russian Dinara Safina and Spanish Raphael Nadal in their respective semifinal matches.

Jankovic could not cope with the power play of Safina and wilted under pressure to succumb 2-6 7-5 3-6.

Elsewhere, Djokovic fought back from a nervy start to level the match 1-1 with some fantastic cross-court backhands but could not find an answer in the end for Nadal's consistency and incredible court-coverage.

Nadal won the match, 6-4 1-6 6-4.

Safina will now face Li Na and Nadal will face Gonzalez in their respective women's semifinal and men's final matches.

Beijing 2008 Results - Semifinals

A fantastic day of tennis, weather wise but dampened a little by some controversy in the men's game (see news section on Blake-Gonzalez match).

Here's the semifinal results of today's matches:

• Safina - Jankovic 6-2 5-7 6-3
• Nadal - Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4
• Gonzalez - Blake 4-6 7-5 11-9

This means that Safina will meet Dementieva in the women's finals and Nadal will meet Gonzalez in the men's final. Can't wait!

Speedy Gonzalez Breaks Blake, Controversy

In a slightly controversial match, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile came from a set down to beat giant killer James Blake of the USA, 4-6 7-5 11-9.

Gonzalez lost the first set through a large number of unforced errors and some fantastic backhand winners from Blake, who took out the number 1 seed, Roger Federer in the previous round. Gonzo kept his calm to take the match to a decider.

The 3rd set was a long drawn affair, as there was no deciding tie-breaker and at 9-8 in the 3rd, Blake struck a backhand that went wide but clipped Gonzalez's racquet in the process.

Unsportsman-like Gonzalez never admitted the fault and with Blake pleading his case to the umpire to no avail, Blake lost his nerve to give the 3rd set away, 11-9.

This is the second time Chile are in the Olympic final, where Nicholas Massu prevailed to get Olympic Gold.

Gonzalez is hoping to equal that by lifting the medal but standing in his way are either new world #1, Raphael Nadal or world #3, Novak Djokovic.

Predictions - Jankovic vs. Safina

Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina's quarterfinal match has been postpone to today (Friday) because it would be too much to ask them to play at 3am!

This should prove to be an interesting encounter between the new world #1, Jankovic and in-form Russian, Safina (sister of the great Marat Safin).

Jankovic is known to have match jitters and her serve is very suspect. She has something to prove though as she, unlike previous world #1 compatriot, Ana Ivanovic, has not won a Grand Slam event and she's hoping that Olympic Gold will more than make up for that.

Safina is no push-over though, having won some major events prior to Beijing 2008. She's got a fantastic return of serve and her punishing ground-strokes proved too much for China's Zheng Jie in the previous round.





My prediction is for Jankovic to win, simply because she has so much more to prove by winning Gold in Beijing - to cement her place as one of the tennis greats. I expect Safina to push her to 3 sets though.

A fantastic quarterfinal not to be missed!

Beijing 2008 Results - Quarterfinals

After a major rain delay and with matches being played after midnight (only occurs in major Grand Slam events), Day 5 saw some major upsets.

Here's the quarterfinal results at Beijing 2008:

• Nadal - Melzer 6-0 6-4
• Djokovic - Monfils 4-6 6-1 6-4
• Gonzalez - Mathieu 6-4 6-4
• Blake - Federer 6-4 7-6
• Li Na - V Williams 7-5 7-5
• Dementieva - S Williams 3-6 6-4 6-3
• Zvonareva - Bammer 6-3 3-6 6-3

Rain Pain for Federer, William Sisters

Torrential rain brought tears to some big names in men's and women's tennis.

With much of today's matches delayed due to rain, day 5's quarter-finals saw the end of Olympic glory for Fed-Ex and the William Sisters.

Roger Federer's barren year continued today when he was stunned, 4-6 6-7, by resurgent American, James Blake. Blake, who had never beaten Federer before was clearly elated by his win.

It was also not a good day at the office for the William Sisters - with Venus Williams losing 5-7 5-7 to China's lone Olympic singles medal hopeful, Li Na and Serena Williams losing out to Russian, Elena Dementieva, 6-3 4-6 3-6.

At time of writing, Nadal's match was still in progress - with the match starting a few minutes past midnight local Beijing time (same time as Malaysia).

Beijing 2008 Results - Round of 16

With the 3 top mens seeds through to the next round, Day 4 saw few upsets to the big name players, with only Nalbandian losing and Serena pushed to 3 sets.

Here's the results of Day 4 play:

• Monfils - Nalbandian 6-4 6-4
• Blake - Simon 6-4 6-2
• Mathieu - Kiefer 6-3 7-5
• Federer - Berdych 6-3 7-6
• Gonzalez - Rochus 6-0 6-3
• Djokovic - Youzhny 7-6 6-3
• Nadal - Andreev 6-4 6-2
• S Williams - Cornet 3-6 6-3 6-4
• Jankovic - Cibulkova 7-5 6-1
• Dementieva - Wosniacki 7-6 6-2
• Safina - Zheng Jie 6-4 6-3
• Li Na - Kanepi 4-6 6-2 6-0

Big Guns Through

Another rain-free day of tennis in Beijing today. No major upsets for the big-guns of tennis with all 3 mens top-seeds making it through to the next round.

Roger Federer avenged his second-round defeat in Athens 4 years ago when he beat Tomas Berdych in stright sets, 6-3 7-6. Meanwhile, Spain's Raphael Nadal posted an easy 6-4 6-2 victory over Russian, Igor Andreev, while 3rd-seed, Novak Djokovic overcame Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 6-3.

James Blake and Fernando Gonzalez also move to the next round.

On the women's side, China's hope of Olympic glory sufferred a blow when 2008 Wimbledon semi-finalist, Zheng Jie was overcome by the power play of in-form Russian, Dinara Safina, 4-6 3-6. Li Na is still in the running with her 3-set win over Kanepi of Estonia.

The William's Sisters, Jankovic and Dementieva all moved to the quater-finals.

Day 5 should be a better day for tennis-viewers because it's being shown on Astro Supersport. Transmission starts at 10.15am, Malaysian Time (see Astro Channel 826 for details).

Interesting Day 4 Match-ups

Day 4 again promises a great day of tennis - weather permitting - and a couple of tie-ups look promising:

Firstly, Roger Federer will hope that he cries tears of joy when he faces Tomas Berdych - his second-round conqueror in Athens 4 years ago. Fed-Ex wept after the Athens loss and hopes to make amends this time round; in the hopes of recapturing some of the form that has so eluded him this year.

I'm also hoping to see the David vs. Goliath match between small-sized Oliver Rochus of Belgium and hit or miss big-hitting Chilean, Fernando Gonzalez.

On the women's side, China's new star-player, Zheng Jie takes on in-form Dinara Safina. I hope Zheng can harness the power game of her Russian opponent by returning well and keeping her opponent back with her penetrating ground-strokes - just as she did to reach the 2208 Wimbledon final.

I'm also looking forward to the Elena Dementieva - Caroline Wosniacki tie. If the Russian can serve well, she has a good chance of moving to the next round. The up-and-coming Danish teenager is no push-over though and if she can keep calm at this huge world setting, she has the chance to progress to the next round.

Beijing 2008 Results - Tuesday (Round of 32)

No weather problems affecting today's play and the temperature was a relatively cool 26 degrees Celcius during the morning session. Humidity was a high 75% and players were seen using ice-packs during change-overs.

The latest results for Tuesday's matches are as follows:

• Gonzalez - Cilic 6-4 6-2
• Federer - Arevalo 6-2 6-4
• Nalbandian - Massu 7-6 6-1
• Mathieu - Davydenko 7-5-6-3
• Nadal - Hewitt 6-1 6-2
• Simon - Canas 7-5 6-1
• Berdych - Seppi 6-3 7-6
• Dementieva Arvidsson 6-3 6-4
• Jankovic - Bondarenko 7-5 6-1
• Safina - Matinez Sanchez 7-6 6-1
• S Williams - Stosur 6-2 6-0
• V Williams - Benesova 6-1 6-4
• Zheng Jie - Llagostera V 6-7 6-1 6-4

China off to Flying Start, Williams Sister Through

China's bid for Olympic glory on home turf got onto a great start when three of their players went through their tricky first-round encounters.

China's Li Na overcame Russia's Svetlana Kutsnetsova 7-6 6-3, Wimbledon 2008 semi-finalist, Zheng Jie beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary, 4-6 6-3 7-5, in a marathon 2 hr 50 min match while Peng Shuai defeated Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-5 7-6.

Both William's sisters also went through their first-round encounters with relative ease, as did Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Murray Out

Andy Murray has his sights set on the US Open after failing to capture Olympic tennis singles glory, when he fell in the first round to Taiwan's Lu Yen Hsun, 7-6, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic should be breathing a sigh of relief at this unexpected loss - Murray beat him at the recent Cincinnati Masters.

Andy is still in the hunt for gold as he's in the doubles competition with his brother, Jamie.

Beijing 2008 Results - Monday (Round of 64)

Much better weather meant a better day for day 2 of tennis at Beijing 2008.


The latest results are as follows:

• Llodra - Stephanek 4-6 7-6 11-9
• Djokovic - Ginepri 6-4 6-3
• Lu - Murray 7-6 6-4
• Andreev - Querrey 6-4 6-4
• Federer - Tursunov 6-4 6-2
• Monfils - Almagro 6-4 3-6 6-3
• Hewitt - Bjorkman 7-5 7-6
• Nalbandian - Zeng 6-2 6-1
• Nadal - Starace 6-2 3-6 6-2
• Dementieva - Bondarenko 6-1 6-4
• Li Na - Kutznetsova 7-6 6-3
• Zheng Jie - Szavay 4-6 6-3 7-5
• Williams - Bacsinszky 6-3 6-2
• Williams - Govortsova 6-3 6-1
• Cornet - Vaidisova 4-6 6-1 6-4

Federer and Nadal Through

Both powerhouses of tennis are through to the next round of Beijing 2008.

Federer is through in straights sets against Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-2 but Nadal had to work a little harder to beat Italy's Potito Starace, 6-2 3-6 6-2.

Federer has warned Nadal that he is ready to reclaim his throne as the world's best player - the title which Nadal is set to take come August 18.

Nadal will meet Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the next round.

Beijing 2008 Results - Sunday (Round of 64)

Although suffering a major rain delay due to heavy downpours in Beijing, there was still much tennis to be played.

Here's the results of Sunday's Round of 64 competition:

• Berdych - Yu 6-1, 6-2


• Blake - Guccione 6-3, 7-6


• Davydenko - Gulbis 6-4, 6-2


• Gonzalez - Sun 6-4, 6-4


• Stosur - Errani 6-3, 6-2


• Wozniacki - Sfar 6-4, 6-1


• Pironkova - Domachowska 6-3, 6-4

Organisers say that the rain delay will not affect the schedule of play for subsequent days and play should hopefully resume again today.

Roddick's Loss Affects US Open Preparations

Injured Andy Roddick's US Open preparations were tested today when he went down in straight sets, 6-1. 7-6, to Argentine youngster, Juan Martin Del-Potro at the Los Angeles Classic.

Roddick received treatment for a lower back problem halfway during the first set but succumbed to the 19 year old's strong play.

Del-Potro won the tournament without dropping a set and is his 3rd successive title.

Ana Ivanovic's Olympic Dream Ends

Having lost her world #1 ranking to Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic's Olympic dream came to an abrupt end when she withdrew from the Beijing Olympics, due to a nasty thumb injury.

According to her, she picked up the injury after coming back from short break after Wimbledon and hasn't been able to practice since.

She joins the ever increasing crock list of player withdrawals from the Olympics - including Ivan Ljubicic, Ivo Karlovic, Lindsay Davenport & Maria Sharapova.

To be honest, I'm a little sceptical about players withdrawing from the Olympics so close to the US Open in a few weeks time. Perhaps they feel the US Open is a bigger event in terms of prestige, money and glamour?

Let's see how much of a "miraculous recovery" each one makes during the US Open? Only time will tell...

Who Is The Satchman?

About Me:

I'm Tom and go by the handle, "Satchman" or "4ever10is" on many online Tennis forums including Tennis.com, Tennis-Warehouse.com & Yahoo Answers Malaysia (tennis).

I'm a keen tennis enthusiast, having played the sport for more than 12 years. I follow the latest trends, players, tournaments & equipment, as frequently as I can and I'm constantly trying to find that holy grail of the perfect racquet, string, tension and play style, in order to improve myself to model the great Pete Sampras and lately, Novak Djokovic.


How I Got Started:

I remember the time when I first started tennis - in particular, the difficulty in selecting racquets for a particular play style and play level. Demo racquets and programs were almost non-existant where I was (and still is a major problem till today) and we were limited to what was on offer, what was imported and what the coaches were selling.

In fact, I got so frustrated because many sales-people only promoted a particular product to reduce stock or to promote a particular brand they carried. Many of these so-called sales-people didn't even play the sport!

So I decided to share my experiences on the online forums - by posting reviews, tips & recommendations on the sites mentioned above.


Sports E-tailer:



Soon, some people were asking if I sold the stuff that I reviewed and that's how I got started.

Thus, I began selling online - firstly on the local Malaysian auction site, Lelong.com and finally on the grandfather of all auction sites, EBay!

And I haven't looked back since!


Check out my Wilson, Babolat, Prince, Dunlop, Yonex and Head racquets, bags and accessories at the links below:

http://search.ebay.com.my/_W0QQsassZ4ever10is

http://list.lelong.com.my/Auc/List/List.asp?DA=A&TheKeyword=satchman&CategoryID=&MyAuctionType=1