Wiped out!

All Malaysian players were wiped out from the qualifying round today.

I'm not surprised.

The only thing that surprised me was the poor line-up chosen by the national coach. Yeah, that's it. I'm not going to comment further.

Now check out the final scores here as well as the OOP for tomorrow.

Qualifying Singles - First Round Results
Qualifying - B Evans (USA) d [WC] M Bin Othman (MAS) 6-0, 6-0
Qualifying - M Kukushkin (KAZ) d [WC] A Bin Zainuddin (MAS) 6-2, 6-2
Qualifying - M Yani (USA) d S Huss (AUS) 6-2, 6-2
Qualifying - R Bopanna (IND) d [WC] K Balakrishnan (MAS) 6-2, 6-0
Qualifying - W Jun (KOR) d [WC] N Khan (MAL) 7-5, 6-2
Qualifying - A Qureshi (PAK) d [WC] K Somasundram (MAL) 6-1, 6-1
Qualifying - M Fyrstenberg (POL) d Y Si (MAS) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1)
Qualifying - S Lipsky (USA) d A Jaya (MAS) 6-2, 6-2

ORDER OF PLAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009
CENTER COURT start 10:00 am
Qualifying - B Evans (USA) vs W Jun (KOR)
Qualifying - M Kukushkin (KAZ) vs A Qureshi (PAK)
Qualifying - R Bopanna (IND) vs M Fyrstenberg (POL)
Qualifying - M Yani (USA) vs S Lipsky (USA)

Click image to enlarge

Tough draw at the Malaysian Open

I was at the Main Draw Ceremony and it was a great honour to see Tomas Berdych there for the first time since he landed this country on Thursday.

To cut the story short (need to run for another assignment later), here's the draw story.

The top four seeds at the new Proton Malaysian Open Kuala Lumpur 2009, Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez have gained the benefit of first round byes.

Eighth seed Lleyton Hewitt will start against his sister’s former boyfriend, wild card recipient Joachim "Pim Pim" Johansson.

Fifth seed Gael Monfils who will be on a late arrival in KL will take on Denis Istomin.

Sixth seed Tomas Berdych who was on hand to help with the draw, is feeling confident having come off a very successful Davis Cup campaign last weekend that saw his team, the Czech Republic, reach the final of the event by defeating Croatia. Berdych will face Russian Igor Kunitsyn.

Wild cards Taylor Dent and Marcos Baghdatis have drawn Andrey Golubev and Rendy Lu Yen-hsun respectively.

Here's the complete main draw for singles doubles events.

Click image to enlarge

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Welcoming Rendy Lu Yen-hsun to Malaysia (updated)

I was at the airport today to welcome Asia's no.1 player Rendy Lu Yen-hsun to Malaysia.

This is the first time in 8 years that Rendy visits Malaysia, the last time was for the Davis Cup tournament.

I'm going to conduct a casual interview with him and watch him practice tomorrow. So, do stay tune.

In the meanwhile, hope you'll enjoy these pictures.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Pim Pim receives Wild Card to play at the Malaysian Open

Pim Pim during his prime years

Former top 10 player, Joachim "Pim Pim" Johansson has been awarded a singles and doubles wild card into the Proton Malaysian Open, which begins today.

The Swedish joins Taylor Dent and Marcos Baghdatis as wild cards recipients.

In addition to receiving the singles main draw wild card, Johansson has also been given a main draw doubles wild card slot and he will be teaming up with a Malaysian player, possibly Si Yew Ming, who gains wild card entry to play in the singles qualifying round.

Due to his injuries and the surgeries he underwent, Johansson, who briefly retired from tennis only to launch a comeback in 2008, saw his ranking drop to No. 774 in January. He has brought his ranking up to 451 this week.

(Via tennisweek.com)

Tweet moment at Robin Soderling's practice?

Together with my sis, we headed to the Putra Stadium to pick up press kit yesterday.

The security was very tight and the IMG staff, contractors and volunteers were as busy as bees getting ready for the biggest tennis tournament in this country.

I didn't expect to see any players at the centre court, so I wasn't prepared (not equipped with camera).

I managed to Tweet a bit before my phone battery went flat.

• http://twitpic.com/j1uva - I can't believe @RSoderling's the first player i met here. He said 'hi' to me...

• fuck. Low batt. Didn't expect to watch practice.
• Magnus hitting with Soderling.. I think Magnus is better looking on tv
• http://twitpic.com/j1wd9 - Here's Magnus Norman warming up

• i don't know why i'm feeling guilty watching Soderling practice for almost an hour
• @tennislust @RD_Tennistalk I hate to admit this but I think I'll forgive @RSoderling for beating Rafa at FO
• @RD_Tennistalk it was his smile and 'hi'... he gave me a good impression I almost forgot he's the evil one

If you're interested to follow my experience at the Malaysian Open, you can follow my tweet at http://twitter.com/hcfoo

TENNIS WATCH: Richard Gasquet's lawsuit dismissed, Pamela to check into rehab

• A lawsuit filed by Richard Gasquet has been dismissed, with no finding on whether he took cocaine nor whether an outside source was responsible. Pamela, the woman who kissed him was part of the investigation was ordered to attend a drug rehabilition program after she was found to be a regular cocaine user.

• Serena Williams has pulled out of Tokyo with knee and toe injuries.

• Roger Federer has pulled out of Toyko and Shanghai. He did not mention any specific reason for the withdrawals. In his website, Federer said "After consultation with my team and doctors, I decided to take the difficult decision to withdraw from both tournaments so that I can give my body a chance to rest, rehabilitate and fully recover from a physically challenging year."

• Kim Clijsters will centre her 2010 schedule around young daughter Jada and around the four Grand Slams, planning a limited program that will put family first. Clijsters said she ultimately plans to play a total of about 16 tournaments, concentrating on the four Grand Slams. For the rest of this season, she will play in two exhibition matches.

• Jelena Dokic's dad, Damir was sentenced to a 15-month jail term for threatening the Australian ambassador in Belgrade. The threats were made in relation to comments by Jelena in an interview with an Australian Sports & Style magazine.

PROTON Malaysian Open: Here's the Qualifying Draw

The singles qualifying draw has been announced and surprisingly Malaysia has seven (7) players in it!

They are Nazim Khan, Azli Zainudin, Raj Kanagar, Faizal Osmann, K Somasundram, Si Yew Ming and Adam Jaya.

If you look at the line-up in a positive way, you can call it one of the easiest to qualify for the main draw!

Good luck to fellow Malaysians!

ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
CENTER COURT start 10:00 am
Qualifying - B Evans (USA) vs [WC] M Bin Othman (MAS)
Qualifying - [WC] K Somasundram (MAL) vs A Qureshi (PAK)
Qualifying - R Bopanna (IND) vs [WC] K Balakrishnan (MAS)
Qualifying - M Yani (USA) vs S Huss (AUS)

COURT 1 start 10:00 am
Qualifying - M Kukushkin (KAZ) vs [WC] A Bin Zainuddin (MAS)
Qualifying - [WC] N Khan (MAL) vs W Jun (KOR)
Qualifying - M Fyrstenberg (POL) vs Y Si (MAS)
Qualifying - S Lipsky (USA) vs A Jaya (MAS)

Click image to enlarge

(Via IMG)

VIDEO: Roger Federer's "We Are The Swiss" Music-Remix

Remember the original version of "We Are The Swiss" made popular by Roger Federer?

Looks like Federer not only inspired Justine Henin's return to professional tennis and Rafael Nadal's proposal to Xisca (although it was only a rumour), he also inspired the remix version of that famous Swiss song.

TENNIS WATCH: Does Federer inspire Nadal to propose to Xisca?

• It has been rumoured that Rafael Nadal supposed to propose to Xisca in Krabi while in Thailand this week. Nadal was said to have booked into a five-star Thailand resort of Rayavadee with a three-bedroom villa facing the sea. He also reserved a private boat for a day, private plane and three dedicated butlers. However, Nadal had to drop out from Thailand Open at the last minute because of an injury to an ab muscle. So there goes the possible marriage proposal too. [More]

• Look who's a calendar boy! Andy Murray has released his official 2010 calendar published by Danilo.com. [More at downthelinetennis.com]

• Kim Clijsters welcomed Justine Henin's comeback in her official website. She said, "I think Justine's return is very good news for women's tennis, but even better for Belgian tennis. Justine worked very hard in the past to get the magnificent results she got during her first career. It's magnificent for tennis that she is coming back."

• Next year's Davis Cup draw has been decided and the biggest news buzzing around the internet is the potential Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal face-off when Switzerland meet Spain in their first round tie (March 5-7).

The full draw is as follows (hosting nation first):
Spain vs. Switzerland
France vs. Germany
Russia vs. India
Sweden vs. Argentina
Croatia vs. Ecuador
Serbia vs. USA
Chile vs. Israel
Belgium vs. Czech Republic

Flavia Pennetta oozes sex appeal on fashion runway

Warning: Hotness ahead!

Trust me you'll never see Flavia Pennetta the same way again after these pictures.

The Italian tennis star hit the fashion runway to display a creation as part of Pin-Up stars Spring/Summer 2010 women's collection in Milan today.

(Images by Reuters/Alessandro Garofalo (Italy Fashion Sport)

Ads: Everyone is crazy about cheap tudor watches, when you intend to buy chronoswiss watches & cheap jacob & co watches, don’t go away, just explore thomas sabo carriers sale store and enjoy auto insurance with your family.

Meet Fernando Gonzalez at Starbucks KLCC

Starbucks Coffee, a partner of the PROTON Malaysian Open Tennis will host a “Meet the Fans Session” with Fernando Gonzalez on next Monday.

WHO: 2009 US Open Quarterfinalist, Fernando Gonzalez

WHAT: Meet the Fans Session

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 (6:00 pm)

WHERE: Starbucks, KLCC (ground floor), Kuala Lumpur

Not only that you'll have a chance to meet the tennis star and get his autograph, Starbucks will also pick a receipt from a lucky customer in the lucky draw contest and the winner will receive an autographed (should be Babolat) tennis racquet!

Here's how you can participate: Customers write their name and I.C. on their Starbucks receipt for beverage or food purchased throughout the day from 9 am to 5.45 pm on 28 September 2009 and drop it in the lucky draw box at Starbucks KLCC (ground floor).

Winning customer has to be present during the event to receive their prize.

Hope to see you there 'cause I'm not going to miss this!

For the latest on court and off court updates, follow me at: http://twitter.com/hcfoo

(Via Starbucks Malaysia facebook page)

Marcos Baghdatis, Taylor Dent wild cards recipients for PROTON Malaysian Open

Marcos Baghdatis and Taylor Dent, ranked outside the top 100, have been given wild cards into the PROTON Malaysian Open main draw.

Marcos Baghdatis

Taylor Dent

According to the tournament director, Nick Freyer, the third and final wild card will be decided in the next few days.

If this article published in the Malay Mail is true, the wild card could go to Malaysian player, Si Yew Ming.

However, based information that I've gathered at press conferences, Yew Ming would probably get a wild card to play in the qualifying rounds, which I think is fair and fine.

There's also a considerable buzz on the Internet that a particular player has accepted the third wild card, but I won't mention his name here. I'll just leave it to the tournament director to announce it later this week.

The tournament will kick off this weekend from Sept 26 to Oct 4 and will see a strong line-up of marquee players including Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Lleyton Hewitt, Robin Soderling, Fernando Gonzalez, Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych, and David Ferrer.

For the latest on court and off court updates, follow me at: http://twitter.com/hcfoo

(Via Bernama)

Federer inspires Henin's comeback... not Clijsters (maybe subconsciously)

"Maybe subconsciously Kim's return influenced me... but it wasn't the determinant factor. Roger Federer's victory at Roland Garros spoke to me much more because it made me think of a lot of things in relation to Wimbledon."
~ Justine Henin on her comeback

Henin added that for the first time she felt that Wimbledon was missing from her list of trophies and winning the Wimbledon title would be a dream.

She was interviewed on Belgian TV station RTL-TVI yesterday after much speculation about her return to professional tennis.

Henin drove off after the TV appearance

(Via sportinglife.com; Images via sports.sina.com.cn)

TENNIS WATCH: Justine Henin confirms return to tennis

• Former world no.1 Justine Henin confirmed her return to professional tennis on Belgian TV station RTL-TVI yesterday. She is expected to return in January in Australia. [More]

• Beilgium media Le Soir reported that Telecom company Belgacom will be one of Henin's sponsors in her comeback.

• L'Equipe reported that Richard Gasquet is looking for a new coach in his preparation for next year. French great Yannick Noah has advised Gasquet to pick a foreign coach who speaks French and specifically named Brad Stein, the former coach of Jim Courier and Sebastien Grosjean.
  

• Andy Murray's camp confirmed that the Scot suffered "no long-term damage" to his wrist following his Davis Cup injury. Murray plans to be back on tour soon for the Japan Open.

• 2009 US Open junior champ Bernard Tomic has left the Bollettieri tennis academy and will be based in Australia again.

(Via Yahoo! Sports, tennis.com)

Novak Djokovic opens fourth cafe & restaurant at Serbia Open venue

In less than a year, Novak Djokovic has opened four cafe and restaurant chain under his name.

‘Novak Cafe & Restaurant’, the fourth outlet, was officially opened on Sunday, next to the clay courts, the venue where the Serbia Open, the first ATP tournament in Serbia owned by his family, was held earlier in May.

His family members and girlfriend Jelena Ristic were great hosts to more than 400 guests, including the Interior Minister of Serbia.

(Images via Novak Djokovic's website, novakcafe)

Juan Martin del Potro honoured in Bombonera

Juan Martin del Potro walked out from the tunnel of the Bombonera (the stadium's nickname) and received an ovation from his home crowd, minutes before an Argentinean league football match between his favourite team Boca Juniors and Godoy Cruz in Buenos Aires on Sunday.

He wore a Boca Juniors' shirt with an inscription on the back that said “Champion U.S. Open 09”.

The club made a special tribute to del Potro after his successful bid at the US Open.

Check out del Potro's puffy eyes. Isn't it time to catch up with some sleep. Delpo?

(Images via menstennisforums.com, eldia.com.ar)

TENNIS WATCH: Belgian media reports say Justine Henin to return to tennis

• Justine Henin is set to announce her return to competitive tennis today, according to two top Belgian newspapers. La Derniere Heure and Le Soir reported the comeback on Monday.

• Serena Williams appears in Procter & Gamble Co.'s lighthearted new print ad campaign for its Tampax brand, just weeks after her U.S. Open outburst. With the theme “Outsmart Mother Nature”, we believe that's Serena's promise that we will not see the same incident happen again in the future.

• Taylor Dent won the Oklahoma challenger, defeating Wayne Odesnik in the final. With this win, Dent continues to climb in the rankings (started the year at 865) and will be ranked 122 in the world this week. IMG also announced that Dent has been offered a wildcard into the Malaysian Open next week and he will fly there early to prepare for yet another big step in his comeback.

• Martina Hingis became the first person eliminated on BBC's celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing despite earning respectable debut scores from the judges for both her waltz and her rumba.

(Image via tampax.com)

Shahar Peer, Melinda Czink win in Guangzhou, Quebec City respectively

Controversial Israeli player Shahar Peer won her first WTA Tour title in three years, beating Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-4 in the Guangzhou Open final.

Peer’s last championships came in Prague, Istanbul and Pattaya in 2006.

In the doubles event, Olga Govortsova and Tatiana Poutchek win their first title after defeating Date Krumm and Tiantian Sun .

In Quebec City, Melinda Czink won her first career singles title after beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the Bell Challenge on Sunday.

In the doubles final, Vania King and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Severine Bremond-Beltrame 6-1, 6-3.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

VIDEO: Roger Federer showcases his monotonous dark, deep voice to the world

Some people believe Roger Federer already started showing signs of ageing.

To prove he still full of energy and knows how to have fun, check out this video.

Leading his fellow team mates, Federer showcased his dark, deep voice chanting/singing "We are the Swiss" to celebrate their victory over Italy after winning 3-2 in the Davis Cup playoff yesterday.

(Image via menstennisforums.com)

Rafael Nadal to miss Thailand Open for the third time

It's third time unlucky for the Thai fans.

The PTT Thailand Open announced in their website late yesterday that Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

Rafael Nadal with team mates Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez at the Davis Cup semifinal last weekend.

This is the third time Nadal has pulled out from the tournament, the last two times were back in 2006 and 2007.

In the medical certificate provided to the tournament yesterday, Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro, Medical Services Chief for the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation said that Nadal was suffering from an acute rupture of his right abdominal muscle, which was confirmed by an ultrasound.

The doctor added that Nadal would require, “… medical treatment consisting of physiotherapy, rest, and medication …” for a period of two to three weeks.

Nadal expressed his disappointment at not being able to participate in the PTT Thailand Open.

"I am very disappointed not to be able to play in Bangkok."

"I was looking forward to this tournament but the injury I have been suffering during the North American summer swing needs to be taken care of."

"I am really looking forward to playing next year in Thailand where I have a very loyal and big fan base."

(Via PTT Thailand Open website)

The Fab Five in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Newly crowned US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has become the fifth men's singles player to qualify for the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, scheduled to take place at the O2 in London from 22-29 November.

He will join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

Three spots remain open for the eight-player event.

Meanwhile, players who have qualified for the Sony Ericsson WTA year-ending championships in Doha are Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva and Caroline Wozniacki.

Four slots are still open for the eight-player event.

(Image via ATP World Tour website)

Spain to meet Czech Republic in Davis Cup final

Spain will host Czech Republic in the December's Davis Cup final after the two teams recorded 3-0 victories in the semifinals.

Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo clinched the tie for Spain, defeating Israel's doubles specialist Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 7-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Spain, winners in 2000, 2004 and 2008, play without Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco who were watching from the sidelines.

David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero filled in for their injured team mates and recorded straight-set wins in both matches on Day 1.

Ferrer defeated Harel Levy 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and Ferrero ground down Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.

Meanwhile, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 yesterday.

The first day of play stretched to almost 10 hours as the Czechs narrowly win two five-setters to go up 2-0.

Stepanek withstood 78 aces for almost six hours to edge past big server Ivo Karlovic 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 16-14, while Berdych held firm after losing a two-set lead to defeat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.

It will be the Czechs’ first final since their only Davis Cup triumph in 1980, led by Ivan Lendl.

(Via AP, tennis.com)