Players' arrival photos in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur

As a big tennis fan and tennis mamarazzi, nothing beats welcoming my favourite players at the airport with a bunch of flowers :D

Unlike last year, this time I only got to know Rendy Lu Yen-hsun's flight schedule. Rendy arrived together with his mom, brother and his team.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, the organiser sent me some arrival photos of their star players - Juan Martin Del Potro, Ernests Gulbis, Fernando Verdasco and Jurgen Melzer (in sequence).

Yay, Del Potro is back in tournament!

(Images via PTT Thailand Open 2010, HSFoo of HCFoo's Tennis Blog)

It's not easy being Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori is probably one of the few players whom I want to meet personally.

My wish came true yesterday when he was present at the Malaysian Open Main Draw ceremony.


Poor Nishikori... he suffered jet lag and couldn't stop yawning from the moment he sat down during the event which was made public this year.

Yawning or not I'm still cute :D

After the Main Draw ceremony, Nishikori went to the Wilson booth for an autograph session. The crowd was quite amazing!

Hope you like the candid photos and the video below.



For original photos without watermark, you can request from me at hcfoo7@gmail.com


(Images by HSFoo of HCFoo's Tennis Blog)

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Rewind: Unseen before footage from the Malaysian Open '09

I had too much free time last weekend so I decided to put some of the unused footage clips from the Malaysian Open back in September into some sort of a music video.

As usual, I appreciate off court a lot, so you'll only find off court footage in this MV.

HCFoo's Top Ten Malaysian Open Moments Wrap-up

1. The whole world witnessed Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez touchdown in Kuala Lumpur with their identical LV bags :)

2. First meeting with tennis idol, Asia's no.1 Rendy Lu Yen-hsun.

3. Uncut exclusive interview with Fernando Verdasco.

4. A conversation with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes on the Centre Court.

5. From bad to lasting good impression - Robin Soderling smiled and said 'hi' to me when I first arrived at the Putra Stadium. So, I forgive him for beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open earlier this year.

6. Signature photo shoot at KLCC with Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez - one of the most important off-court moments for the Proton Malaysian Open.

7. The other off court event at KL Tower with David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and their parrot friend was really fun!

8. Our favourite match was the one between Rendy Lu and Marcos Baghdatis! Rendy saved three match points to take the third set into a tiebreak. Although Rendy lost to Baghdatis we truly enjoyed the match on the first day of the Malaysian Open tennis tournament.

9. Attending the Main Draw Ceremony.

10. We met so many tennis friends this week - Zahirah, Joash, Ong, Giri, Eugene, Ron, Ann, Mei Kiteroad, Nazz, Peter, Claire, Tracy, Lynthia, Sammie, Su Lynn, CK, Danny, Lim, Darren, Joshua, Asri and the gang, etc. (let me know if I missed out your name). We even bumped into our 'FB friend' and former host of tennis magazine (ESPNStar) ACE, Georgina Chang!

We would like to say thank you to the organiser IMG and sponsor Astro for given us so many opportunities throughout this ATP tennis tournament.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

A conversation with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes

Thanks to a contest by Astrolife I had the opportunity to toss coin for the doubles semifinals match last night.

It was such an honour to be able to step onto the Centre Court. [Click here to check out the court preparation, if you haven't seen it yet]

I was introduced to the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes by the international Media Director Craig Gabriel.

I congratulated Carlos as his country Brazil won the rights to host the Olympics 2016.

I teased him by saying that the organiser should have a special autograph signing session for the chair umpires as he and Mohamed Lahyani are very popular here.

Then we started talking about Malaysia - he said he had now know the meaning of 'Malaysia Truly Asia'.

Carlos said he had seen the commercial countless times on CNN but only understand the true meaning of that famous tagline when he reached this country.

Everywhere he went, including the KLCC, he was truly amazed by how the different races in this country able to live together despite social and cultural differences.

As we walked towards the middle of the Centre Court, waiting for the players to join us, Carlos added that the ATP World Tour tried very hard to promote the doubles event - having the players' names on the back of their t-shirts is one way to do so.

I shook hands with all the players and tossed the coin. Mariusz Fyrstenberg joked/praised me for that nice flip :P

What a priceless experience that was on Friday night.

I'm glad I made full use of that opportunity to speak to one of the best and nicest chair umpires in the world.

(Images by HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Final Day

Davydenko vs Verdasco in the final showdown

RESULTS - SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER, 2009
Singles - Semifinals
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) d [3] R Soderling (SWE) 16 76(1) 62
[2] F Verdasco (ESP) d [4] F Gonzalez (CHI) 64 75

Doubles - Semifinals
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d [3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) 63 67(4) 10-4
I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) d S Huss (AUS) / S Lipsky (USA) 36 76(5) 10-3


ORDER OF PLAY - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2009
CENTER COURT start 2:30 pm
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) - DOUBLES FINAL
Not Before 3:45 PM
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) vs [2] F Verdasco (ESP) - SINGLES FINAL

(Images by Proton Malaysian Open)

Autograph session: Reason why you should come on weekdays

This was how the crowd looked like yesterday evening. However, in the end, no autograph session took place.

The best time for tennis fans to meet their favourite players and get their signatures is during the weekdays.

Due to assignment on other places, I only get to attend two autograph sessions organised for Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny.

Youzhny signs autograph after he wins the match against Marcos Baghdatis

Gasquet during autograph session after he beat Pim Pim in the second round.

(Images by HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Mo: I'm so adorable

You may have read the title and seen the picture in twitpic which I tweeted earlier while at the Putra Stadium.

Mohamed Lahyani again proved to be the most celebrated chair umpire.

He receives celebrity treatment from Malaysian tennis fans who ask him for autographs and photographs everywhere he goes.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Day 6

How to meet Fernando Verdasco - the little boy was crying when he wasn’t able to catch a shirt that Verdasco had thrown into the stands. So he was brought on court to meet the tennis star.

RESULTS - FRIDAY, 2 OCTOBER, 2009

Singles - Quarterfinals
[3] R Soderling (SWE) d [6] T Berdych (CZE) 62 62
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) d [5] G Monfils (FRA) 63 63
[4] F Gonzalez (CHI) d M Youzhny (RUS) 63 64
[2] F Verdasco (ESP) d R Gasquet (FRA) 75 64


ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER, 2009

Semifinals
CENTER COURT start 2:30 PM
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) vs [3] R Soderling (SWE)
I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) vs S Huss (AUS) / S Lipsky (USA)

Not Before 7:00 PM
[4] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [2] F Verdasco (ESP)
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs [3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE)

(Image by Proton Malaysian Open)

Malaysia must have one of the best hairstylists in the world

I had to give Richard Gasquet presser a miss to take these gems.

I knew Feliciano Lopez had a new haircut on Tuesday so I headed to court 1 to see him practice with Fernando Verdasco hoping to snap some pictures of his famous blond locks.

How do you like his short hair?


(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Day 5

Insider source said that Gonzalez requested for a golf session yesterday.

RESULTS - THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER, 2009

Singles - Second Round
[2] F Verdasco (ESP) d K Beck (SVK) 64 60
[4] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] R Bopanna (IND) 64 36 64
[5] G Monfils (FRA) d M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 64 62
[6] T Berdych (CZE) d S Greul (GER) 63 46 63
R Gasquet (FRA) d [WC] J Johansson (SWE) 46 76(1) 62

Doubles - Quarterfinals
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d A Golubev (KAZ) / D Istomin (UZB) 57 64 10-1
[3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) d M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) 64 62
S Huss (AUS) / S Lipsky (USA) d M Elgin (RUS) / F Moser (GER) 63 62


ORDER OF PLAY - FRIDAY, 2 OCTOBER, 2009

CENTER COURT start 12:00 noon
[3] R Soderling (SWE) vs [6] T Berdych (CZE)
Not Before 2:30 PM
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) vs [5] G Monfils (FRA)
Not Before 5:45 PM
M Youzhny (RUS) vs [4] F Gonzalez (CHI)
Not Before 8:00 PM
R Gasquet (FRA) vs [2] F Verdasco (ESP)

(Image by Proton Malaysian Open)

Mr Congeniality goes to... Joachim Johansson

The ATP 250 PROTON Malaysian Open hasn't end but HCFoo's Tennis Blog has officially named Joachim "Pim Pim" Johansson, Mr Congeniality for the year 2009.

Not only that I've seen him practice with Rendy Lu Yen-hsun earlier this week, the Swede wild card recipient and former top 10 player also partnered with Malaysian wild card Si Yew Ming in the doubles event yesterday.

However, his bids in the singles and doubles events came to an end after he was defeated by Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-7, 2-6 and by Brazilians Marcelo Melo-Andre Sa 1-6, 7-5, 3-10.

I managed to chase Pim Pim down after his practice. I've got to say that he's the most humble (the other player is Rafael Nadal) and nicest guy I've met on tour.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Day 4

Monfils said he wasn't comfortable with the new hairdo so he had to put the cap on. Hope that solves the mystery.

RESULTS - WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER, 2009

Singles - Second Round
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) d [WC] T Dent (USA) 63 76(4)
[3] R Soderling (SWE) d [Q] B Evans (USA) 61 61
M Youzhny (RUS) d [WC] M Baghdatis (CYP) 62 63

Singles - First Round
[5] G Monfils (FRA) d D Istomin (UZB) 76(3) 76(2)
S Greul (GER) d C Rochus (BEL) 64 36 62
R Gasquet (FRA) d V Crivoi (ROU) 61 62

Doubles - Quarter-finals
I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) d [WC] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) 26 76(4) 13-11

Doubles - First Round
M Elgin (RUS) / F Moser (GER) d [2] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 64 46 10-8
[3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) d J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) 76(6) 64
M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) d [WC] J Johansson (SWE) / Y Si (MAS) 61 57 10-3


ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER, 2009

CENTER COURT start 11:30 am
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs A Golubev (KAZ) / D Istomin (UZB)
S Greul (GER) vs [6] T Berdych (CZE)
M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) vs [5] G Monfils (FRA)
[WC] J Johansson (SWE) vs R Gasquet (FRA)

Not Before 5:45 PM
[Q] R Bopanna (IND) vs [4] F Gonzalez (CHI)
K Beck (SVK) vs [2] F Verdasco (ESP)

COURT 1 start 4:00 pm
S Huss (AUS) / S Lipsky (USA) vs M Elgin (RUS) / F Moser (GER)
[3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) vs M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA)

(Image by Proton Malaysian Open)

You choose: Watch LIVE matches on Astro SuperSports or get tickets from HCFoo

A lot of tennis fans have been asking about this since Monday.

Finally the schedule for Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2009 on Astro SuperSports Channel 816 is out!

01/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles Round 2 & Doubles Quarter Finals at 1130 Live
01/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles Round 2 & Doubles Quarter Finals at 1730 Live
02/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles & Doubles Quarter Finals at 1200 Live
02/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles Quarter Finals at 1700 Live
03/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles & Doubles Semi Finals at 1430 Live
03/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles & Doubles Semi Finals at 1900 Live
04/10 (Thurs) - Men’s Singles & Doubles Finals at 1430 Live

If you want to experience LIVE tennis, I have some Friday evening session tickets to giveaway.

I just need you to write down ANY comment and leave your email address so that I can contact you. Limited tickets available, so be fast. You could be walking away with a Proton Satria Neo that night too!

You need to collect the tickets from me at the stadium on Friday before the matches.

Thanks to the organiser of the Malaysian Open for reserving those tickets for us as tickets are almost sold out for Friday and weekend matches.

For those outside of Malaysia, you can watch live streaming at atdhe.net.

Fernando Verdasco makes Malaysian Batik shirt look Spanish

The title isn't from me... I took it from @candelifera :D

Richard Gasquet, Robin Soderling, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco attended the player party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel wearing traditional Malaysian Batik shirts for the evening function.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife First Lady Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Sports Minister Datu Ahmed Shabery Cheek also attended the event.

(Image by IMG/Proton Malaysian Open)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Day 3

RESULTS - SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
Singles - First Round
[6] T Berdych (CZE) d I Kunitsyn (RUS) 61 36 62
M Youzhny (RUS) d [7] D Ferrer (ESP) 76(3) 62
[WC] J Johansson (SWE) d [8] L Hewitt (AUS) 76(7) 63
M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) d F Lopez (ESP) 63 63
[Q] R Bopanna (IND) d J Acasuso (ARG) 46 63 64
K Beck (SVK) d [Q] M Kukushkin (KAZ) 16 76(4) 63

Doubles - First Round
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d J Cerretani (USA) / R Wassen (NED) 75 75
A Golubev (KAZ) / D Istomin (UZB) d J Acasuso (ARG) / F Gonzalez (CHI) 63 61
I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) d K Beck (SVK) / J Kerr (AUS) 62 64


ORDER OF PLAY - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
CENTER COURT start 11:30 am
R Gasquet (FRA) vs V Crivoi (ROU)

Not Before 12:30 PM
D Istomin (UZB) vs [5] G Monfils (FRA)
M Youzhny (RUS) vs [WC] M Baghdatis (CYP)

Not Before 5:30 PM
[3] R Soderling (SWE) vs [Q] B Evans (USA)
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) vs [WC] T Dent (USA)
M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) vs [WC] J Johansson (SWE) / Y Si (MAS)

COURT 1 start 1:30 pm
[3] M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) vs J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO)
S Greul (GER) vs C Rochus (BEL)

Not Before 4:30 PM
K Beck (SVK) / J Kerr (AUS) or I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) vs [WC] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) - Possible Court Change
M Elgin (RUS) / F Moser (GER) vs [2] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK)
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs A Golubev (KAZ) / D Istomin (UZB) or J Acasuso (ARG) / F Gonzalez (CHI) - To Be Arranged

Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco & text messaging

Both Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco seem to share a common habit. They like to send text messages in between photo shoots.

During his photo shoot at KLCC, Verdasco also took pictures of the magnificent-looking twin towers with his cell phone.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Davydenko, Verdasco, Gonzalez, Soderling at KLCC

Kuala Lumpur has some very identifiable landmarks but none compare to the iconic Petronas Towers in the heart of the city.

Top seeds Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez and Robin Soderling paid a visit to the KLCC this morning.

“It’s incredible looking building. Very nice. Incredible how they make this bridge across two building like this," Davydenko said.

Verdasco said: “It’s incredible, these two buildings. You can see it from all over. It is amazing to see the buildings from my room at the hotel which is next door.”

After the photo shoot, the guys went back to Mandarin Oriental Hotel for round table interview. You can watch my exclusive interview with Verdasco here.

Here are some of the pictures at the events.

(Photo credit to HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Uncut Exclusive Interview with Fernando Verdasco in Kuala Lumpur

If you have been following my tweet, you would definitely know how I screw up my first meeting with Fernando Verdasco.

I was so starstruck upon seeing the Madrid twins (Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez) at the airport and I mistakenly called Verdasco 'Feli'!

You have no idea how embarrassing that was!

Today I had the opportunity to apologise to Verdasco and even get to interview him personally.

Thanks to @piratesswoop for providing a couple of questions.

In this interview, you will get the answers directly from Verdasco regarding his delayed foot surgery, his abs injury, FeVer clothing line, long-awaited official website, etc.

Enjoy!

(Image by HSFoo/hcfoo.com)

Proton Malaysian Open: Results and OOP for Day 2

Wild card Marcos Baghdatis pumped his fist with relief as he scores a two hour 49 minute 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Rendy Lu Yen-Hsun at the PROTON Malaysian Open.

Baghdatis has been struggling with confidence lately and he said the win was an important boost for him.

Earlier, Taylor Dent, also a wild card recipient, fought hard to come back in his match against Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).

I did not follow the earlier session but here's the complete results and OOP for Day 2.

RESULTS - SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
Singles - First Round
[WC] T Dent (USA) d A Golubev (KAZ) 46 63 76(4)
[Q] B Evans (USA) d [Q] M Yani (USA) 63 64
[WC] M Baghdatis (CYP) d Y Lu (TPE) 46 63 76(5)

Doubles - First Round
[WC] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) d [4] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) 63 64
S Huss (AUS) / S Lipsky (USA) d C Rochus (BEL) / M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 64 63

ORDER OF PLAY - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
CENTER COURT start 11:30 am
F Lopez (ESP) vs M Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
J Acasuso (ARG) vs [Q] R Bopanna (IND)

Not Before 3:30 PM
I Kunitsyn (RUS) vs [6] T Berdych (CZE)

Not Before 5:30 PM
[7] D Ferrer (ESP) vs M Youzhny (RUS)
[8] L Hewitt (AUS) vs [WC] J Johansson (SWE)
A Golubev (KAZ) / D Istomin (UZB) vs J Acasuso (ARG) / F Gonzalez (CHI)

COURT 1 start 2:30 pm
[1] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs J Cerretani (USA) / R Wassen (NED)
[Q] M Kukushkin (KAZ) vs K Beck (SVK)
K Beck (SVK) / J Kerr (AUS) vs I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Levinsky (CZE) - After Suitable Rest

(Image by IMG)