With the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, Michael Chang finds it appropriate to receive his sport’s highest honor. On Saturday, the Chinese-American athlete was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Michael Chang poses with his fiancee, Amber Liu, after he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
He won the 1989 French Open at age 17—the youngest man to win a major—as the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing were escalating into bloodshed. “For me, at the French Open, if I wasn’t playing my match I was glued to CNN watching the events unfold,” Chang said during a news conference before his induction. “The crackdown actually happened that Sunday of the French Open.”
“I think it’s a very special year for Beijing. I’m really excited for what’s going to happen for China,” Chang said.
Chang was an ambassador who helped China get the bid to hold the Olympics.
(Images by AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
I'll be going back to hometown tonight. So, no blogging during this weekend.
Before I knock off for my weekend rest, here's a picture (or two) of Nicolas Kiefer. Finally he got himself a haircut (and clean shaven)! Look so much better now.
Handsome and confident (Sorry but he's out from Gstaad Open anyway due to foot problem).
Ugly and depressing, eh? No more.
And lastly, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have confirmed their place at the prestigious Tennis Masters Cup, to be held for the fourth year at Shanghai’s Qi Zhong Stadium from November 9-16.(Images by Getty Images/AFP/File/Glyn Kirk)
Rafael Nadal might give the Mercedes Cup a miss but not former Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova. She and Henri Leconte from France were playing at an exhibition match at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany.
(Images by AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)
After a successful run at the Wimbledon Championships, Rafael Nadal arrived to a hero's welcome in his home town of Manacor on the Spanish island of Majorca, and declared that the number one spot in world tennis is now his goal.
"Now it has become a little objective," Nadal said.
Nadal has long been world number two, behind five-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer of Switzerland.
However, Nadal admitted that things have changed after beating Federer in Sunday's historic final.
Federer continues to lead the way in the ATP ranking with 6,600 points, followed by Nadal on 6,055. This is the closest gap for them.
Nadal acknowledged that he has "good options" to reach the top spot in the upcoming North American tour, when he plays the Masters Series tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.
He was acclaimed by hundreds of fans - including Balearic Islands regional president Francesc Antich and Manacor Mayor Antoni Pastor - as he waved to them from the balcony of the Manacor town hall.
Nadal, 22, said he stands a chance of becoming world number one provided he maintains his current level of play and keeps "working with the same humility," while he again praised Federer as "the best player in history."
I think he made the right decision by pulling out from the Mercedes Cup due to fatigue and to prevent further injury to his knee.
(Images by JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
(Most of the text via bangkokpost.com)
