Danai Udomchoke has posted some photos from Astana, Kazakhstan. He is there to represent Thailand in the Asian Hopman Cup.
Thanks to Esther for getting in touch with the media team in Kazakhstan for the latest press release regarding the tournament. Here you go:
A unique team superiority on tennis will be held in November 12 -15 in Astana.
For the first time the Asian qualifying stage of the Hopman Cup where the teams of China, India, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Korea and Kazakhstan will participate, takes place in the capital of Kazakhstan.
The tournament winners will get a chance to play in a draw of the Australian Hopman Cup among 8 best world teams.
Hopman Cup - is a yearly international tennis team tournament, which was found in 1989 and is held in Perth of the Western Australia in the beginning of January (sometimes at the end of December).
The competitions were named in honour of Harry Hopman (12.08.1906-27.12.1985) - one of the greatest tennis players and a famous Australian coach.
For 30 years he guided young talented players to victories on 15 Davis Cups and 21 Challengers rounds.
What the difference of Hopman Cup from other team tennis competitions?
Unlike other major international team tennis tournaments like the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, which are strictly for men or women only, the Hopman Cup is a mixed competition where male and female players team up together on combined teams.
Each team consists of one male player and one female player. Each match-up between two teams at the championships consists of:
- one women's singles match
- one men's singles match
- one mixed doubles match
In the Asian qualifying stage 6 competing teams will be divided into 2 groups. The winner of each subgroup will play for the pass to Australia.
The honour of their countries will be defended by: Udomchoke Danai and Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand), Lu Yen-Hsun and Hsieh Su-Wei(Chinese Taipei), Jun Woong Sun and Chae Kyung Yee (Korea), Li Zhe and Zhou Yimiao (China), Vishnu Vardhan and Shikha Uberoi (India).
The Kazakhstan banner will be carried by our first rackets –Andrey Golubev and Yaroslava Shvedova, who recently has gotten into best hundred tennis players in the WTA ranking.
The Tournament Director: Daniel Chambon
Referee: Andrey Kornilov (Uzbekistan)
(Images via Danai's official website)
Thanks to TennisPunk for inspiring the title of this blog.I've lost count of how many times I've stressed in my blog that the cancellation of Kings of Tennis is based on reliable source: media at Kings of Tennis Sweden, player's statement and also endless investigation from tennis fans including SK Boey and I.
And in the latest email I received from the webmaster at Marat Safin OFFICIAL website, denisem the webmaster confirmed that Marat Safin is NOT COMING to Malaysia for King of Tennis!
From his official website, it seems that Safin is in Miami beach building his tan to match his girlfriend Nastya Osipova!
And for one last time before tomorrow comes, please read the latest update from SK Boey's blog.
Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.
Here's what arthur13 has posted in a forum in lonelyplanet.com.
Surprisingly there are no similar press release published in the mainstream media (international or national yet). Also Arthur did not provide source of the article.
Anyway this is what he had posted:
For the first time ever a tournament featuring former world number ones in Tennis is being staged and Penang (press release error, should be Georgetown, Penang is the state) designated as a World Heritage City by UNESCO seems to be the perfect place to hold its first edition. Dubbed as “Kings of Tennis” Big Bang Penang, it is being held from 14th–16th November, 2008 at the scenic Esplanade in Georgetown, Penang.
Be ready to witness a keen battle between Tennis greats like John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Pete Sampras from America and captained by Australia’s Roy Emerson and Europe’s Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, captained by the all time Romanian great, Ilie Nastase. Both teams will have one extra player – battle hardened Jim Courier from America and enigmatic once-upon-a-time big-serving Russian Tennis prodigy, Marat Safin.
Will style and grace of John McEnroe’s volleys triumph over the booming service of Marat Safin or the impeccable serve and volley tennis of Stefan Edberg triumph over strong-serving Pete Sampras, still the holder of maximum numbers of Grand Slam singles titles among men. Definitely a sumptuous fare for all those tennis fans who were either not born or were too young when these greats ruled the courts.
The event is interestingly planned to bring out the drama among these Tennis Hall of Fame players who have enthralled the audiences across the world in the last 4 decades. On the first two days of the event, there will be two singles matches and one doubles match respectively while on the final day there will be four singles matches. This three-day event will be staged on a temporary tennis court with a 13,000 seating capacity (although Sunday Star reported only 5,000 seats). The court and the seating arrangements are almost ready and the overhead spot lights are being tested.
THE 'King of Tennis' showdown in Penang has been sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM). The tournament received the endorsement two weeks ago. There has been rumors of the tournament been cancelled but our reliable sources have confirmed that this unique battle of titans is on and will be held as scheduled.
According to Arthur here's the order of play:
Friday, 14th November, 2008
3.00 pm Gate Opens
5.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. Courier
6.30 pm M. Safin vs M.Rios
8.00 pm S. Edberg/B Bjorg vs P. Sampras/J. McEnroe
Saturday, 15th November, 2008
2.00 pm Gate Opens
4.00 pm M. Safin/M. Wilander vs M. Rios/J. Courier
5.30 pm B. Borg vs J McEnroe
8.00 pm S. Edberg vs P. Sampras
Sunday, 17th November, 2008
1.00 pm Gate Opens
3.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. McEnroe
4.30 pm B. Bjorg vs J. Courier
6.00 pm S. Edberg vs M. Rios
7.30 pm M. Safin vs P. Sampras
Also someone left a comment saying that the stage is beautiful.
I don't know what kind of stage she meant but I can only find a small pathetic picture of the incomplete court covered with a canvas. Anyone from Penang want to send a photo of the newly built stadium to me?
So despite all the confusion and misunderstood created by the media guy at Kings of Tennis based in Sweden, Emerson saying that it's cancelled and the organizer unhappy with the Penang government for being unsupportive, it seems that this event is ready to roll, although there are still doubts about this event.
Hopefully everyone will enjoy the great opportunity to meet the former champs in action in Penang starting this Friday. I hope I can drop by this weekend to witness the event myself (if the event on Friday is on).
Updates
The webmaster of Marat Safin's official website said Safin coming to Malaysia is NOT true. Now I'm really pissed off for those who's responsible to give us false hope!
More Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.
Venus Williams wins the WTA’s Sony Ericsson Championships for the first time, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2 Sunday at the season-ending event. “I’m so excited,” Williams said. “That was a hard-fought match, every point, right down to the end.”
Williams won $1.34 million at the event, which for the first time offered the same prize money as the men at the ATP’s season-ending Masters Cup.
The first lady of Qatar, a conservative Muslim sheikdom, presented the trophy to Williams, shaking her hand and kissing her on both cheeks. Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned wore a traditional black head scarf and robe. “Thanks to your Royal Highness for coming. Wow!” Williams said.
Such a public appearance by a ruler’s wife is unusual in the region. Mozah might be one of several wives; many emirs and kings in the Gulf have multiple wives—up to the four permitted by Islam.
Billie Jean King sat with Mozah and other dignitaries during the match and joined Williams on the court for the awards ceremony.
The trophy is named for King. Williams’ ranking will improve to no. 6 from no. 8, while the 9th-ranked Zvonareva also will move up two spots.
The two were the lowest-ranked players at the event, which featured the top eight players in the world.
“I know I can go higher” in the rankings, said the 28-year-old Williams, a former No. 1 who defeated top-ranked Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals.
Williams qualified for the championships for the eighth time since 1998.
She had reached the semifinals twice and withdrew five times because of injuries and illness.
“It was missing, this one,” Williams said of the WTA Championships title.
She has won 39 tour singles titles, including five Wimbledon and two U.S. Open crowns.
Williams’ career earnings rose to $21.9 million.
In doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber defeated Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs 6-1, 7-5.
(Via AP, Images via Yahoo! Sport)
