Roundup from the Tennis World
Guy Forget holds on to Davis Cup captaincy for two more years
In a recent press release, the French Tennis Federation confirmed that Guy Forget will retain his position as the country’s Davis Cup captain for the next two years. The forty-five year old has held the position since 1999. During his tenure he has led the
French team to four Davis Cup finals, as well as their recent 3-2 loss to Serbia. There were doubts over the likeliness of Forget being retained as captain, because certain officials felt he had done a poor job of selecting a suitable player for this year’s
final against Serbia. However the FTF obviously feels he is still fit for the job.
Martina Hingis gets married
Former world number one Martina Hingis married Frenchman and competitive horseback rider Thibault Hutin this weekend in Paris. The 24-year-old Hutin is six years younger than Hingis. The player commented on the circumstances of her wedding, saying, “our
marriage may come as a surprise to many, but it was long planned in advance.”
Hingis has been engaged twice before; her first fiancé was a Swiss lawyer Andres Bieri, and her second fiancé was Czech tennis player Radek Stepanek (now married to WTA pro and compatriot Nicole Vaidisova).
The 30-year-old, one of the best tennis players the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has ever seen, retired from the game in 2008 after being suspended for two years due to cocaine usage. Although she continues to play exhibition matches, she seems to have
found a new niche in competitive show jumping.
Members of Navratilova’s team reach the summit of Kilimanjaro
The ‘Laureus Sport for Good’ team of climbers and fundraisers reached the summit of the 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro this weekend, after battling heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures. Former World Number one Martina Navratilova was part of this team
until Thursday, when she was forced to give up the climb due to poor health. The 18-member team (which originally had 27 fundraisers) made it to the peak of the mountain, including British Olympic badminton player Gail Emms and German cyclist Michael Teuber.
Upon hearing of their success, Navratilova said, "I am thrilled to hear that most of the team made it to the top, an incredible achievement, even more so because of the extreme weather conditions we all experienced throughout the week.”
Protected ranking helps Del Potro and others into Aussie Open
The 2011 Australian Open organisers recently announced that there would be 104 direct acceptances for men, and 107 direct acceptances for women in tournament. However, the women’s draw will be held without defending champion Serena Williams and World Number
37 Agnes Szavay, who are out due to injuries and recently retired pro Elena Dementieva.
The players who were awarded direct acceptances into the men’s draw include Juan Martin Del Potro, who won the 2009 US Open tournament, and Russian player Dmitry Tursunov. Both pros are entering the Australian Open on the basis of injury-protected rankings.
In addition to this, the men’s field is completed by 16 qualifiers and eight wild cards. The women’s field is based on 12 qualifiers in addition to eight wild cards. The final draw will be announced today.
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