"Chez Foo" - I love it.

um no beth, it's the 2008 award, so I guess they give it every year. although they may be implying that he's not coming back in 2008. Which seems extremely likely.

Man I love how the spanish announcer is saying "Moo-RYE" Oh dude it's cracking me up, he inserts a lilt of delighted surprise every time. MooRYE! Moo-RYE! Moo-RYE!

murray just won his 4th title and should enter top 10 on monday (I mean I think).

congrats Andy! great start to the year-- boy he excels in indoor tournaments

Murray impressive in the end.

Well, the top 10 beckoned, he had his girlfriend watching, and much to prove to his critics after parting with Brad Gilbert. Plenty to motivate him.

i dunno - just giving the award doesn't mean carlos won't be back...does it?

*furrows brow anxiously*

snoo- please use the word "lilt" as much as you can thru the course of the year-- for some reason it's just funny reading it from you :)

oh- thanks jb! I read upstream before I caught your answer :)

anyone know when the final is tomorrow? i couldn't find the time on the site....

ahhh - watching cute boys in shorts is thoroughly exhausing - i'm taking a nap. *yawn*

nite all!

brad: I focused on Rafa-Carlos on screen, the scoreboard well ahead of the action, so finding out how everything happened after I had seen the scores. But had no sound for Rafa-Carlos, so listened to the TV commentary on Murray-Wawrinka, looking round whenever there was a break. I will watch back the Murray-Wawrinka match for what I missed. Murray certainly has his forehand back now.

Both he and Rafa have added points to their totals today. I think Andy's points go to 1830, so he knocks Gasquet out of the number 8 spot. And Robredo out of the top 10.

i just saw the best ever tennis match . Coming back from the Rafa-Moya semi. Sheer brilliance. 4 hrs of inside out forehands and memorable groundstrokes played by 2 of my favourites.Have an exam tomorrow.Got to go and sleep . Will try and write a more detailed report tomorrow.Totally spent mentally.

jb, i think it's 5pm their time, 8am tw time.

here is the link for Sydney (guys)
http://www.medibankinternational.com/ arg? there's no direct link to the pdf?? well nervermind.

The girls are there too.that's definitely an event I woudn't mind attending: in the middle of beautiful Sydney (bondi beach!!!!!), during the summer men & women' s tennis, at the same time!!! what a treat!!

Anyway, I'm here in santa claus' country where it's minus 7 degree celcius. My lips are all chapped because of the ambient frost, it's dark and in certain streets there's this lugubrious schwoooosh noise made by the wind before it crushes your bones...

Ok, back to tennis:

gasquet,berdych,moya,blake,hewitt,santoro,verdasco = all there in sydney,
for the girls Justine, Amélie (in the same quarter !), Ivanovic, Kuznetsova, Vaidisova, Chakvetadze, Janko, Bartoli

No Americans, the Williams, Davenport and Sharapova are all AWOL.

In New Zealand, the draw http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2008/301/mds.pdf

only ferrer, ancic & a less bulky monaco are the highlights.

the fed, roddick, gonzo, safin, murray, haas are all at the Kooyong exhibition that starts wednesday.
http://www.kooyong.com.au/

mmmm, the 2008 season is really on now. My lips hurts.

thanks for the time of the final tomorrow I was also wondering when it would be!

The Rafa-Moya match was just such a thriller. what an exciting match and what a heart in both men to fight like that.

did you see that little girl who started crying when RAfa seemed to be losing in the second tie break? I saw her and i knew rafa would win.

Oh, what a match. I still have the hangover!

5 a.m. wake up call tomorrow. UGH! I feel like we are back at clay court season.

Interesting comments on Hingis.We'll never know whether she is innocent or guilty.But i do know that London is a hotbed of cocaine.My 27 year old daughter lives there,actually in Wimbledon and apparently its normal practice amongst well-off 20's folk to do cocaine.She was blown away no pun intended,although not a saint she certainly thinks its crazy amongst all the health pros she hangs out with.Interesting to see that some people on this board also think its fine/funny.
Robbyfan; I also am concerned about your being belittled;I'm hoping that kind of behaviour towards posters simply expressing an opinion politely is going to stop.

"We'll never know if she's innocent or guilty" Hingis no longer stands accused, she stands convicted by the ITF. They rejected her argument. Innocent until found guilty. She has been found guilty. Case closed.

Tari: Happy Birthday!

Thanks for the time of the final tomorrow. i was sort of dreading a 6 or 7 oclock start - but I can handle 8!

anna: I lived in Wimbledon for many years until recently, including most of my 20s. Cocaine use may be normal practice for some people who live there, but it's far from true that everybody of a certain age who lives there and can afford it will be using it. I never did, and nor did my friends.

That isn't to say that I didn't meet people who used it.

In Hingis' case, to be clear, I am not saying that recreational drug use is a good thing, or fine. My main argument has been all along that it wouldn't have been performance-enhancing. I don't like drug cheats in sport in the slightest, but I don't think she's that. So, I think it's fair to ask whether the severity of the ban that was imposed on her, and the damage to her good name, is proportionate to what she did - which is, after all, something that would never have helped her win a tennis match.

It's as though she's being punished for not being a role model. I don't happen to think of tennis players as needing to be role models, even if some of them are.

Oh, sure, she knew the rules, but the ban seems long compared to the bans given to some players who have been caught in situations where what they may have taken WAS performance-enhancing.

That she was caught out seems not to be in doubt from what I did manage to read of the documents about the case.

Sounds like I need to be up one hour before the match so I can make sure I give the live streams to the match.

Ros, I would agree that those who take performance drugs should be given a more severe penalty. I believe Hingis used coke for recreation. A sentence of one year would have been good. Also, I don't buy the argument, a lot of people do it.

Thanks for the additional birthday wishes! You guys are sweet.

Ros: I'm in total agreement with your last post. 2 years? Even one year is substantial, right? I think there have been bans of only a few months for banned substances. Seems like the guidelines are a little out of whack for the length of suspension.

I wonder, and no, not because I'm defending her, for those of you out there that think making comments other than approval of all of this is doing that...if she had been giving a lighter suspension, would she have retired for good?

Although I think Hingis is 1OO% guilty, it would have been compassionate for the ITF to stop their investigation. If you think about it, her retirement gave them the punishment they wanted. She was out of tennis. Allowing her to keep her good name would have been the nice thing to do. I think the greatest loss for Hingis isn't the ban, she was already retired. I think her greatest pain is the damaged done to her name and her legacy. She can never get that back. The only problem with this is how do you choose which cases the rules should be change for. Sesil was only 15, should she have been given a break to?

Tari, good question. I'm not sure if she would have retired or not. My guess would be yes, the way her injuries and results were progressing. It would have been nice if she could have gotten a proper send off, though. A 2-year ban for a first time recreational offense is more than ridiculous.

Samantha, I really don't think her legacy has taken a big hit at all. Do you or anyone else look at Wilander's career differently? I know I don't. He was great regardless. I don't condone it, but it happens. Pffft.

Martina made a mistake. She initially did not want to fight this decision and now we know why. We all make mistakes, but we made more when we were Martina's age. So on that score, I feel bad for her. But this was a perfect opportunity for the WTA to look tough without really hurting Martina much. They could have banned her from Tennis for 10 years or 50 and it really wouldn't matter. She had already retired for a second time before the decision came down and her reputation for the moment is not made better by a lighter penalty. A lot of fans here on this blog really sympathize with "their" players. And to a lesser degree, so do I. But the thing we should really be pulling for here is Tennis itself. Gambling and drug use go right to the heart of the integrity of the sport. Tennis needs to be out in front on these issues in a serious manner before the sport goes the way of Cycling.

Sorry Sherlock have to disagree, being accused and found guilty damages the reputation of anyone's career. Why do you think Hingis hired such an expensive lawyer, she was out to protect her name and preserve her legacy. She had already retired, so her interests couldn't have been to stay in the game. Also, go on to any tennis board and read the things people are saying and then tell me no damaged has been done. At an athlete, the last thing you want is your name connected to drugs. Look at how hard Bonds is fighting. Backhand Blaster, I completely agree that we now know why she initially said she wasn't going to fight. Her chances of winning were slim and none and she knew it. In order for the ITF to find Hingis not guilty, they would have to reject the objectivity and accuracy of science(coke in her urine)in favor of someone's word. If we accept someone's word over science then we might as well open the prisons door because most of the people in prison will tell you they're innocent. But science tells us different. Science is greater than someone's word for the simple fact that people will lie to get out of trouble and that is what Hingis did from the start. Go Justine!

Chuckie's banned for 2 years, meanwhile Marcelo Melo who was caught with a stimulant in his pee the same time chuckie was busted just won the doubles at Adelaide after serving a 2 month suspension. Congratulations!

http://tinyurl.com/2jhwch

Samantha,

I don't think this development tarnishes her Grand Slam victories. It certainly disappoints a lot of fans and may alter the way they view her as a person, but her stellar accomplishments during her "first career" are undeniable.

I really must get my own computer instead on relying on friends as I sent a couple yesterday about Hingis cocaine ban (apparently they didn't go through) which I am bit upset. Two years is a long time you don't even get that much if you have it on you.

I sent through a post yesterday in regards to an Aussie Rules footballer who is allegedly a cocaine user. I did mention his names but in hindsight maybe its better the post didn't go through. He has been tested on a number of occasions and always came up clean he won a Brownlow Medal which is the highest award you can win for his sport and premiership with his club. He is regarded as a nice guy and a great footballer. He has been suspended from the league for 12 months for bringing the game into disrepute.
Does this mean that Hingis cannot attend any matches or commentate. If I have already sent this post I do apologise.

The case is indeed closed, but it does not prove absolutely that she took cocaine. Experts have challenged the accuracy of finger print science that have convicted people (See 60 Minutes archive). TLC or Discovery presented a documentary about a mother who had an epic battle to clear her name and get back her children, after valid DNA test concluded that her children could not be hers. Welfare agency had accused her of fraud.

I think the people who say that the punishment was too harsh and that others have received a lesser punishment are making a good point. I think the people who continue to proclaim her innocence are in denial. From the start, there was tremendous evidences to support guilt, both A and B samples testing positive, a medical doctor stating she "absolutely" tested positive and then her reaction to run and retire revealed a consciousness of guilt. There was never any evidence to support innocence accept her word. When this story first came out, a lot of people on this board criticized and ridicule people who held the minority opinion that she was guilty. Well, it turns out they had it right.

Samantha:

Could she have been set up? Could someone have spiked her food or drink? Not "Did," but "Could." Yes or No?

Keep Smiling

CB, I read the entire report and no where in it doesn't Hingis claim that she went to a party and felt funny, nor did she claim that she passed out after taking a drink from someone. If that was a defense, don't you think her lawyers would have used it? Also, CB, who do you think set her up and for what purpose?

The question remains unanswered, Samantha.

Could she have been set up, yes or no?

Whether or not she admitted it, (or even realized it had happened at all) does not impact the question asked.

Keep Smiling

CB, fairy tale can come true, if you only believe.

Samantha:

I see that you're practicing for your future in politics.
I appreciate your sophisticated candor, in that regard.
Excellente!

Keep Smiling

This is the first problem I saw with your little plan of giving the "W"s to players who lost to dopers. How do you know that the player in the final (in this case Rios) is more deserving of the title than the player who lost to the doper in the semi-final (in this case, Karol Kucera, but that's not important)

A better example is a hypothetical, say the Australian Open 2005. Imagine that we find out that Safin was doping during the tournament. Does it make sense to give Hewitt the win over Federer, just because he happened to be on the other side of the draw?

I think that there's no way to go back and fix history with dopers. You can punish them (strip titles) but rewarding second place doesn't work in a single-elimination sport like tennis. Its not Olympic Gymnastics or Skiing. Unless you redo the tournament, the results can't be changed.