Rob's Blog » Tennis

Balding Agassi Wears Mullet Wig

Rob Wood — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:51:25 +0000

Is this the tennis story of the century? I think it is hilarious. In his recently release tell all book, Andre Agassi admits that when he was at the peak of his career, confidently playing in front a huge audiences as the number one ranked player in the world, he was also so self conscious about his receding hairline that he succumbed to wearing a wig. Not just any wig, but a ridiculous mullet wig, boofy at the front and long at the back – the complete antithesis of what was really underneath. And why didn’t anyone notice? I can usually spot a rug a mile off. It just shows that when you have enough money you can pay for a quality toupee.

Related Pages: About Tennis, Andre Agassi profile

Agassi Out

Bad Sport Serena

Rob Wood — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:26:44 +0000

In the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, defending champion Serena Williams was fined $10,000 for her tirade directed at a line judge. She said: ‘If I could, I would … shove [this ball] down your throat’. There were a few expletives deleted from that quote. Can you get a bigger contrast between the champion of men’s tennis, Roger Federer and her? Thankfully such bad sportsmanship has not gone unnoticed, with the big fine and her losing the final match point based on that outburst. She was going to lose the semifinal to Kim Clijsters anyway, and the fine is only a smidgeon of what she earned playing the tournament. Let’s hope she gets punished in more ways, but somehow I think she will not be repentant.

Related Pages: US Open, About Tennis, Roger Federer profile

Federer versus Woods

Rob Wood — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 07:29:49 +0000

Roger Federer is the current undisputed champion of tennis, and Tiger Woods is the undisputed champion of golf. Although they could never go head to head, comparing their stats and their impact on their respective sports and the world of sport, who do you think is the greatest? It is a debate that is difficult to win, but interesting to have nonetheless. Roger Federer has just won another grand slam title, making it 11 grand slam singles titles. Tiger Woods has equally dominated his sport, winning 13 Majors. Both have been labeled the greatest ever, but there can only be one! The greatest greatest? In terms of fitness, Federer would win hands down, but that is not what this is about. They have both dominated their respective sport in recent years. There are good arguments on both sides about who may have the edge. My answer? I would give it to Woods, but only just. In the history of golf, it seems more difficult to win tournament after tournament like he has. They are still very close and I think that we will have to wait until they have each completed their careers before a clear winner may emerge.

Related Pages: golf, Tiger Woods profile, tennis, Roger Federer profile

Women’s Tennis Prize Money

Rob Wood — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:23:55 +0000

It was recently announced that women tennis players at Wimbledon next year will get the same prize money as the men. Why does it have to be so? There is inequality in sport everywhere, but this is not sexist. Athletes in most Olympic sports and many other international sports do not get anywhere near as much as tennis players, and most likely work just as hard, but it is just the way it is. It comes down to market demands, if people are paying to watch them play, to buy products etc, then there will be money in sponsorship and gate fees that can be passed on to the players in the form of payments and prize money. If women tennis players want to get paid more, they should entertain us more, increase the quality of their play, make reasons for people to come and watch, and give us value for money. I am not saying that they are all like this, but I see are too many fat, lazy, bitchy, rich kids which are not good for the image of females in sport. If you looked at most of the high-profile women’s sports, they don’t need a pay rise – they are getting paid too much already.

Related Pages: Wimbledon, Tennis

Grunter Sharapova

Rob Wood — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:27:28 +0000

I can’t stand to watch a women’s tennis match when the players grunt every time they hit the ball. I have no problem with them occasionally making a grunt as they strive for a difficult ball or put in an extra effort, but not every time they hit the ball. There is no rule against a tennis player grunting, unless in doing so they are distracting the opposition player. If they were making a loud noise as the other player was trying to hit the ball, then in could be distracting.

They should consider bringing in a rule to limit it, as it is turning people off the game. Anyone who follows tennis will see that there are other players who are also following suit, and I am sure there is a bunch of young players out there following in their idols. Now that the women are earning as much as the men in some tournaments, they should be doing their best to satisfy the sponsors and entertain the crowd, not putting them off.

Related Pages: about tennis, Maria Sharapova profile

Breaking the Wave

Rob Wood — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:24:36 +0000

Yesterday at the Australian Tennis Open we were witness to a Mexican Wave out on one of the smaller courts. An audience wave can come around pretty quickly in a small tennis stadium. They also had a double wave going, the wave going in alternate directions and seemingly passing through each other – I had not seen that before. I have also heard of crowds coming up with combinations, changing speed, and bouncing back in the direction it came. A few stadiums are discussing the option of stopping audiences from making the wave, as it is considered dangerous. Although this wave at the tennis was just a ripple as far as waves go, I would have to agree that they can be dangerous when people start throwing objects and drinks as the wave passes, and it can be distracting if you are trying to watch a game being played. If they can control it so that waves are only done during breaks in the games, and stop people from dangerous trowing of objects. It may be easier said than done, as a log day at the cricket or tennis, after a few beers, people will think they can get away with whatever they want.

Related Pages: Australian Open, Grand Slam Tennis, About Tennis

A Day at the Open

Rob Wood — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 04:47:02 +0000

I planned a nice day today at the Australian Open, avoiding the forecasted very hot weather mid week. However, today the weather has gone too far the other way, and drizzling rain set in for the day. After some days where the heat policy was put into play, it was now the turn of the wet weather policy to have an effect. Luckily our day ground pass tickets allowed entry to the Vodafone Arena, with its roof closed to the rain. We could see on the scoreboard that no play was taking place on the outside courts, so we settled in to watch a few games under shelter. There was a strong French theme providing the netertainment: Amelie Maurezmo, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet. At the end of the day, the clouds cleared for a short time for us to explore the outer courts and set down to watch Australian crowd favourite Wayne Arthurs. The crowd was very excited about the prospect of watching one of the few Aussies left in the draw, however, a misdirected pain killing injection prior to the match turned his leg numb, and he had to hobble off the court and withdraw only after a couple of games. It was not the day we expected, but nevertheless very entertaining.

Related Pages: Australian Open, Grand Slam Tennis, Tennis

First Day Violence

Rob Wood — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:07:34 +0000

At the first day at the Australian Open there was lots of action and excitement, but unfortunately a lot of that took place off the court. Melbourne is a very multicultural city, with many Australians having European ancestry, including Croats and Serbs. There has been a long history of animosity between Serbs and Croats back home in Croatia, but not here. I don’t know all the details, but some youths from these groups had an altercation in the crowd resulting in them being ejected. These guys have mostly grown up in Australia, so they must have learnt this hatred from their parents. It is embarrassing that these images were broadcast around the world – they are painting a bad image of Australia for the world audience, one that is essentially untrue. They have obviously not embraced the spirit of Australia. The Australian Open has a history of the Swedes being very vocal and colourful, and they have added a unique flavour to this ‘friendly’ tournament. There has never been a serious complaint about their behaviour. The authorities are going to increase security at the tennis from now on, but the tennis supporters don’t want to see a stop to people dressing up, chanting and showing support for their country or parent’s country.

Related Pages: Australian Open, Grand Slam Tennis, Tennis

No grunting please

Rob Wood — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 04:00:02 +0000

A New York fitness club, which has outlets nationwide, has a long list of “dos and don’ts” that its members have to follow. That does not sound too bad. However, one of these rules is that no grunting is allowed, apparently to create a non-intimidating environment. And they enforce the rules too. Recently, one of the club’s members was expelled for grunting. I don’t know if he ended up giving a bit more resistance, but eventually Police Officers were called in by the management to escort the patron out. He admitted emitting several grunts when he was about to lift 227 kilograms. I think sometimes you have to make some noise to get the most out of a lift, and it usually feels good too. Where they need to stop the grunting is during women’s tennis matches. It really annoys me when I am trying to enjoy watching a game of tennis and all I can hear are the women grunting. The Wimbledon Championship have laid down the law in the past with regulating the clothing people could wear, now they should regulate the sounds the women can make too.

Related Pages: chosing a fitness club, tennis, Wimbledon

Hewitt in Danger

Rob Wood — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:02:23 +0000

Lleyton Hewitt arrived in Buenos Aires Argentina on Sunday night for a Davis Cup tie, accompanied by two personal security guards. He has previously been abused and felt threatened by the Argentinean supporters, but it seems like overkill to me. If he was not popular with the Argentinean fans and players before now, this will certainly not make it any better. David Nalbandian, who Hewitt beat to win his Wimbledon title in 2002, has said that none of the other players like Hewitt, and out on the court this animosity may be the extra fuel that players need to beat him.

Related Pages: Davis Cup, Tennis, Lleyton Hewitt profile