Sad first for USA men
For the first time since the beginning of the Open era, no American men have made it through to the second round of Roland Garros. All nine representatives of American men’s tennis fell at the very first hurdle. Robby Ginepri was the last of them today, and he lost in five sets to Daniel Hartfield from Argentina. The last time no American man reached the second round of a Grand Slam event was back in 1973 at the Australian Open, when only 64 players entered the tournament. The nine who would prefer not to go down in history are James Blake, Amer Delic, Justin Gimelstob, Robby Ginepri, Robert Kendrick, Andy Roddick, Vincent Spadea, Michael Russell and Sam Querrey.
Fans flock to the Tenniseum
The Tenniseum, Roland Garros’ museum, has been inundated with visitors since the start of this rainy week in Paris. Numbers are up 40% compared to last year, with no less than 2,250 people visiting on Monday, for example. Two intriguing exhibitions are currently being staged at the Tenniseum. The first is a joint venture between Slovakian artist Juraj Kralik and tennis great Martina Navratilova, while the second is given over to the work of Kate Shepherd, who produced the official poster of this year’s French Open.
Leconte laments lack of financial acumen
Henri Leconte has been telling the Daily Mail about his misfortune with his investments. "I’ve never been good at investing my money. Every time I buy shares, the market goes though the floor," he revealed. But according to the former French Open finalist, that was nothing compared with his worst investments – his marriages. "My first two cost me a lot of money. They’re more costly than the Stock Exchange," he insisted.
Safin gives it two more years
Marat Safin, who was knocked out by Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic today, says he will play on for at least two more years. "We’ll see how it goes. I’m not really into playing around 50 in the world. It doesn’t really motivate me. It will all depend on how I feel, on my mood. Maybe I don’t want to play anymore next year, maybe in two years. I don’t really know. But I don't want to carry on being No.24 in the world, I at least want to close in on the top 10,” said the former US and Australian Open champion.
Surface switch for Melbourne
Australian Open champion Craig Tiley has announced that the home produced WM Loud surface will replace Rebound Ace surfaces for at least five years, beginning at the next edition of the tournament in January 2008. One of the main characteristics of the new surface is its low heat retention; a considerable advantage when the temperatures rise in Melbourne.
Record…no record
Venus Williams was all smiles after her win over Ashley Harkleroad, and not just because she had secured safe passage into the third round. When one of her serves was clocked at 206 km/hr, the American was convinced she had set a new world record for the fastest serve ever. ‘I was so pleased to break the record, I kind of lost my concentration at the end of the match,” she confessed. That loss of focus could have cost her dearly too, because from 6-1, 5-1 she was taken to a tie-break before finally winning.
Unfortunately for Venus, the WTA issued a press release a few hours later saying the record still belongs to Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands, who hit a serve at 208km/hr back in July 2006 in Cincinnati.
