Singapore Women’s Tennis Exhibition 2011: Stosur, Radwanska, Pennetta, Hantuchova among to play this December

Singapore Women’s Tennis Exhibition (SWTE) is set to bring 6 WTA tennis players for an exciting 3-day knock-out tournament, on 16th to 18th December 2011.



They are US Open Women’s Single Champion Samantha Stosur, world no. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska, Italian favourite Flavia Pennetta, hottie Daniela Hantuchova, Spanish player Anabel Medina Garrigues and Asia’s Peng Shuai.

The tickets are available for purchase from SISTIC.

The last time Singapore organised a women's tennis exhibition was back in 2007 that featured Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic to play charity soccer match for Japan

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will lead a group of top tennis players (Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, Marcos Baghdatis, David Ferrer, Jurgen Melzer, etc.) in a charity soccer match to help raise money for Japan earthquake relief.

Nadal and Djokovic are in South Florida for the Sony Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne.

The tennis players are planning to play in the soccer match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers pro team at a Miami high school Wednesday night.

The match is free and open to the public, with all donations collected throughout the evening will proceed to the American Red Cross Japan disaster relief effort.

A fundraising dinner is also planned after the game.

Earlier last week, Djokovic wore a knee tape with the message written in support of Japan while playing at the BNP Paribas Open.

(Image via SunSentinel.com)

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I missed Rally For Relief...

On the eve of the Australian Open, Pat Rafter, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, Justine Henin, Caroline Wozniacki, Roger Federer, Sam Stosur and Jim Courier spent 90 minutes of their time to come together in an exhibition to raise money for the flood victims in Queensland.

The ATP and WTA stars entertained 15,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena and raised $1.8m within hours on Sunday.

Here's the highlight of the sold-out charity event if you've missed it too.

(Image by by Julian Finney/Getty Images AsiaPac via zimbio.com)

Paradorn Srichaphan's mohawk defeats Thailand's tallest prang

I'll have to give Paradorn Srichaphan's mohawk a pass.

Together with current Thai no.1 tennis player Danai Udomchoke, the boys were promoting Hua Hin Centennial Invitation exhibition match earlier this week.

They will set to play in a one-set mixed doubles match with Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova at 2.30PM on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at the brand new centennial Park, InterContinental Hua Hin Resort.

You can get the tickets from ThaiTicketmajor.com or at the hotel.

For fans who want to welcome Sharapova and Venus at the Suvarnabhumi airport, here's a huge tip: the girls will be arriving at 6.30AM on Friday, January 1, 2010. Send me an email if you want further details.

Thanks for BEC-Tero Entertainment for the info.

Nobody, I mean nobody should ever yell at Roger Federer!

Do I sound like a Fedtard? Hehe...

Now this is rather embarrassing because Roger Federer pointed out an unpleasant situation he had to deal with during his stay in Malaysia back in 2007.

This was mentioned in an extensive Q&A with Federer by Basel-based newspaper, Basler Zeitung.

Q: Are there still people who are impolite to Roger Federer? When was the last time someone yelled at you?

Federer: When I was playing exhibition match with Sampras in Asia, we were invited by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The man who had arranged this told us it would take half an hour – after two hours it was time for us to go. The dinner was still being served, and I called the person in charge, in order to complain about the fact that he had made us deal with this unpleasant situation. At that point I was very angry. He didn’t like it and he yelled back at me. This wasn’t good.

Thankfully Federer came back the following year for another round of exhibition match.

Now please head to Freakyfrite's blog to read the rest of the interview.

Kei Nishikori wins Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational in Bahamas

Kei Nishikori is back from his knee injury with a win at the Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational in Bahamas.

He participated along with other pros such as Mark Knowles (of course), Alex Kuznetsov, Xavier Malisse, Hugo Armando, Ryan Sweeting, Don Johnson, Sabine Lisicki, and Michaela Krajicek.

Kei won the Celebrity Pro-Am last weekend by playing against amateur and local Bahamian businessman Jeff Everett.

The event raised over $100,000 for three children’s charities.

Knowles who was born in Nassau launched the first Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational in Paradise Island in order to support different Bahamian charities. Andre Agassi and James Blake are among the high profile tennis players who have hit the courts in the past.

(Images by Matt Dunn/Matt Dunn Photography via nicktennispicks.com, thebahamasweekly.com)

Kings of Tennis is cancelled; Showdown of Champions draw near

Unfortunately, the first ever team event featuring former world no. 1 players, Kings of Tennis, will not be realized in Penang.

The event dubbed as Big Bang Penang is confirmed canceled today.

In their e-mail, the press officer at Kings of Tennis explained that the event has to be canceled due to the current financial crisis and the uncertainty of the world economics which resulted in the pulling out of some of their key sponsors.

As what SK Boey has predicted, Big Bang Penang has blown up.

P/S Anyone who wants to comment about this part of the post can try answer my doubts in this post too: What is going on with Kings of Tennis / Big Bang Penang? Arianna Teoh, Penang Government, please answer.



However the good news is, Showdown of Champions which is going to be held on the 18th in Stadium Putra KL is going strong!

In the past few days, there are quite a lot of visitors dropping by this blog searching for news regarding this exho.

I was informed that James Blake will be conducting a tennis clinic for LTAM junior players on Nov 18.

There will also be an autograph-signing session at KLCC, which I'll let you know the time, date and place in the next few days.

Drop me an email if you are interested to meet Roger Federer, James Blake, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

If you still haven't get your tickets to the showdown, which is priced between RM108 and RM498, go to Ticket Axcess outlets or call +603 7711 5000 for enquiries. The official Showdown of Champions website is at www.showdownkl2008.com.

Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer in exho? It's just publicity gimmick!

Honestly I felt cheated by the announcement that Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer will be making way to Asia for exhibition matches in Macau and Kuala Lumpur, only to have Nadal unconfirmed and possibly replaced by James Blake three days later.

Personally, I believe IMG Asia, the organiser for the Showdown of Champions and The Venetian Macau Tennis Showdown, has fully EXPLOIT the 'rivalry' between the top two players in the world.

They should know that there is almost 0% chance for Nadal to play in the exho matches on Nov 18 and 20. Before I make my point, let's flash back why there's a sudden change in the line up for the exho match.

The reason why Nadal MIGHT NOT be able to make it is due to the clash with the Davis Cup final.

“The decision as to who will play in Malaysia will hinge on the outcome of the Davis Cup semi-final clash between Spain and the United States (US) in Madrid on Sept 21,” said Nick Freyer, senior vice-president and head of tennis of IMG Asia, the event organisers, at a news conference, here today.

Freyer said if Spain were to lose, Nadal will travel to Kuala Lumpur but if the US were to lose the clash, Blake, who is currently world no. 8, will make his way here.

Spain and the US team will be playing in Madrid, on CLAY COURTS in their semifinal ties. The Spaniards are well known for their exceptional skills on clay while the US team whose expertise on hardcourts has already earned them the Davis Cup last year, are never convincing enough on the slow surface.

With Nadal teaming up with Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer (possible line up) representing Spain, any tennis fans would know there's no way for Andy Roddick and team mates to go through the semifinal.

Well, IMG, LTAM or the Ministry of Sports might have cheated on us with that cheap gimmick but it's still worth it to buy the tickets. There are still Federer, Borg, McEnroe and Blake LIVE in Malaysia. Just that, it wasn't the same excitement anymore.

Showdown of Champions in KL: Federer, Borg and McEnroe LIVE in Malaysia

World no. 1 Roger Federer and two tennis legends, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe has confirmed their participation for the Showdown of Champions 2008, to be be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur on Nov 18.

However the fourth player will either be the newly crowned Wimbledon champion and world no. 2, Rafael Nadal, or American hottie James Blake to complete the cast of this 'chance of a lifetime' star-studded show.

The reason why Nadal might not be able to make it is due to the clash with the Davis Cup final.

“The decision as to who will play in Malaysia will hinge on the outcome of the Davis Cup semi-final clash between Spain and the United States (US) in Madrid on Sept 21,” said Nick Freyer, senior vice-president and head of tennis of IMG Asia, the event organisers, at a news conference, here today.

Freyer said if Spain were to lose, Nadal will travel to Kuala Lumpur but if the US were to lose the clash, Blake, who is currently world no. 8, will make his way here. Personally I don't mind because Nadal will have a chance to grab the Davis Cup for his country and I'll get to see Blake, who is also one of my favourite player.

“We will watch the lively battles between the 80’s stars, Borg and McEnroe followed by Federer and the fourth player. Then the final set will be Federer and Borg against McEnroe and the other star,” Freyer said.

Three matches with one ticket, wow, that's worth enough to pay for the best seat.

Tickets for the showdown, priced between RM108 and RM498, are on sale at all Ticket Axcess outlets from yesterday or call +603 7711 5000 for enquiries. The official Showdown of Champions website is www.showdownkl2008.com.

Nadal vs Federer and McEnroe vs Borg LIVE in Malaysia?

Thanks to Nazz for this tips from The Star:

Fans in for a double treat in November

KUALA LUMPUR: Tennis fans are in for treat in November with exhibition matches featuring Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg against John McEnroe.

Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) executive secretary Jaafar Abu said yesterday that the four had confirmed participation in the “Countdown of Champions”, set for Nov 18 at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

“Last year, we had Pete Sampras and Richard Gasquet along with Nadal and Federer,” he said.

World No. 1 Federer will get another chance to avenge his defeats by world No. 2 Nadal in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

Borg, 52, and McEnroe, 49, will take the fans a chance to walk down memory lane, remembering the highs and lows of their bitter rivalry, typified by the 1980 Wimbledon final won by Borg in five gruelling sets. – AFP

OMIGOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could this be real? Let's wait for more updates.

Updates: This exhibition match was mentioned in Tennis Week. Just got to know that this exho is known as "Showdown of Champions".