Wednesday 31 October 2012

Novak Djokovic Exhibitions Calendar

The offseason is drawing upon us, and that means one thing - exhibitions time!
The soon to be No.1 Novak Djokovic has quite a busy schedule in this longer off season. If you're having trouble to keep track, worry no more, since now you have an interactive calendar updated with all his events right here!

Each event in the calendar contains a link to the official website of the tournament.

Currently, you should see each event in the Central European timezone. If you're using Google Calendar, you can import this calendar and merge it with your own, and then you'll see each event in your own timezone, no need for time conversions! Alternatively, use this link, which should show you the calendar in your own timezone. You can also import the calendar in XML or iCAL formats.

The first exhibition is on November 14, 2012.

The current list of exhibitions is:
  • Tennis Classic, Slovakia, vs Martin Klizan
  • Djokovic in Rio, Brazil, vs Guga Kuerten
  • Necker Cup
  • Mubadala WTC, Abu Dhabi
  • Hopman Cup, Australia

Monday 29 October 2012

The real S̶l̶i̶m̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶d̶y̶ No. 1

9.01.
B. The South African Airways ATP Rankings (singles) and the ATP Doubles Rankings are the objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles, except as modified for the ATP World Tour Team Championship and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (singles or doubles).
E. The South African Airways ATP Rankings (singles) or ATP Doubles Rankings period is the immediate past 52 weeks, except for:
* Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, singles and doubles, which is dropped on the Monday following the last ATP World Tour event of the following year.
* Futures Series tournaments that are only entered into the system on the second Monday following the tournament’s week.
Once entered, all tournaments, except for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, remain in the system for 52 consecutive weeks.
- The 2012 ATP Official Rulebook

XIV. A.
1. The worldwide computer ranking for women’s Professional Tennis (“WTA Rankings”) reflect a player’s performance in tournament play and determine player acceptances and seeding for all Tournaments.
4. a. The ranking system is a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of Tournament results comprising a player’s WTA Ranking is capped at 16 Tournaments for singles and 11 Tournaments for doubles.
The results used to determine a player’s WTA Ranking shall be those yielding the highest ranking points during a rolling, 52-week period, and must include a player’s ranking points from the Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory Tournaments and the Premier WTAChampionships plus the best two (2) Premier 5 Tournament results for Top 10 Players.
- The 2012 WTA Official Rulebook

Just so we're all clear on this.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

[Translated] Doctor Involved in the Armstrong Case Didn't Treat Safina

Following the recent publications about Lance Armstrong's doping case and the possible involvement of one of his doctors, Luis García del Moral, with tennis, Sport-Express reporter Vladas Lasitskas talked to Dinara Safina to get her comments. What follows is a translation of his piece, published on Sport-Express.ru.

- Anna.

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Doctor Involved in the Armstrong Case Didn't Treat Safina
 
Former No.1 tennis player Dinara Safina, talking to Sport-Express' reporter, refuted the information about her involvement with Dr. Luis García del Moral, who's involved in the Armstrong case. According to the report published by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), del Moral was one of those responsible for the doping program of the American cyclist, who was stripped of his seven Tour De France titles on Monday. The report also indicated that del Moral cooperated with the tennis academy in Valencia, where Russian players Marat and Dinara Safina, Italian Sara Errani and Spaniard David Ferrer trained at various times. 

- This doctor didn't have anything to do with the academy in Valencia, - said the 26 year old Safina. - How did our names get into the USADA report? Del Moral has, in fact, the only clinic in Valencia, where sportspeople can undergo tests before the start of the season and at its end. And we gave those tests in that clinic: ran on the treadmill, gave blood from our ear, and so on. This kind of information is extremely important for our personal physical trainers, so that they'd understand what load they should give to the sportsmen. So we were there for clinical examination, got our test results and that concluded our dealings. Del Moral didn't give us any advice and didn't manage our cases. 

- What did you feel when it turned out that del Moral was involved in Armstrong's case?
 
- Nothing. I have nothing to afraid of - I'm clean. I can answer only for myself, and everything else doesn't concern me.