Indian Wells Day 1: Women’s Qualifying

The women’s qualifying at the BNP Paribas Open is heating up, with a couple U.S. women posting upsets in the opening round. Julia Cohen upset Eva Birnerova 6-1, 7-5 with a very defensive style of topspin high on Eva’s backhand. Later, Jessica Pegula of the U.S. beat Bojana Jovanovski. Play continues today and tomorrow to see who will make the main draw.

Indian Wells Qualifying Today and Tomorrow

Gene is headed out to Indian Wells for the final days of qualifying for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, one of the biggest tournaments of the year.  The field is full and Gene hopes to see some fresh talent in the qualifying event over the next couple of days.  Gene will have a video blog of his travels upon his return for your viewing pleasure.  If you see him walking around, tap his shoulder and talk some tennis!

Federer Looks Strong: Wins Dubai Duty Free Again

Roger Federer’s month’s long drought last year made it seem that the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) was on his last legs, but with two titles and another Aussie semi-final in 2012, the #3 player in the world isn’t leaving the top 5 anytime soon.  This was Fed’s 72nd title and it came over Andy Murray, a very in-form #4, who straight-setted Djokovic out of the event in the previous round, 6-2, 7-5.  With the 7-5, 6-4 win, Federer picked up points from his finals result last season, where he succumbed to Novak.

Two Year Ranking System on ATP Tour Discussed

This article is an interesting discussion of what would happen if Rafa Nadal got his way and we switched to a 2-year accumulation of points instead of the current system in men’s pro tennis that uses a 1-year system.  The most amazing change:  Nadal would still be #1 in the world despite Djokovic’s dominance over the last year!!!

Great Marina City Club Tennis Holiday Party 2011!

Mcc Tennis Holiday Party

The Marina City Club Tennis Holiday Party was held on December 2nd in the Galaxy Room. Over fifty members attended this fun event. We traded tennis tales from the year gone by. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful buffet provided by the Restaurant and the room was beautiful. Throughout the month of November, Gene accepted award nominations in four categories. Many good candidates were nominated for all categories, but here are the victors:
Diane Nathan won the women’s “Are we talkin’ or playin’ award.
Alan Koshkin won the men’s “are we talkin’ or playin’ award.
Diane Lerner won the women’s Most Fashionable award.
Lamont Cosby won the men’s Most Fashionable award.
Barbara Osborn won the Sportsmanship award.
Vicki Miceli won the Most Improved award.
Congratulations to all our award winners and to everyone who participated in the wonderful sport of tennis at this amazing club. The Tennis Holiday Party and all our events are only successful because members of our club participate. So, make a New Year’s resolution to play more tennis and enter more of our club events! See you in 2012!

Fed Wins Big- Guaranteed #1 Spot in Semis of Barclay’s World Tour Finals 2011

Roger Federer put a hurtin’ on Rafa Nadal 6-3, 6-0 in their round robin match at the ATP Barclay’s World Tour Finals (Masters) 2011. With that convincing win, Federer was guaranteed a berth in the semifinals whether he wins or loses tomorrow against Mardy Fish (6am pst Tennis Channel). In the semis, he will face the #2 player from Group A, which is still undecided. David Ferrer leads that group with two convincing wins over Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Djokovic suffered only his fifth loss of the season today versus the tenacious Spaniard 6-3, 6-1.

Dynamic Stretching for Tennis this Winter

The weather’s getting cold, so make sure you warm up before your matches during the winter months.  Pre-match warm-up should consist of dynamic stretching, some light jogging around the court (3 laps is ideal), and some footwork exercises so you are ready to move from point one.  Arm circles, trunk rotations, and knee bends are just some of the excellent dynamic stretches you can do.  For a visual on these exercises, check out Gene’s latest video on youtube called, “5 Dynamic Stretches for Tennis.”  See you on the courts!

Federer wins Paris!

In the last 1000 level atp tournament of the year, Federer finally left his mark, winning the Paris Indoors with a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Amazingly, despite Tsonga being French and playing the Paris, the crowd showed great support for the ever-popular Swiss legend as he won this title for the first time in his illustrious career. It is Fed’s 69th professional title and he topped the 800-win mark for his career earlier this week.

Fed Impresses at Swiss Indoors Basel

Federer returned to his winning ways, ousting Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-3 in the finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel.  The 21-year-old Japanese sensation who took out Novak Djokovic in the semis to face a solid Federer in the final and move to No. 24 in the world, the highest ranking ever by a Japanese male tennis player.  Federer secured his spot in the London Masters months ago, but this year had only one title in Qatar, back in January, so this hometown victory brought tears to the great player’s eyes.  Congrats to both athletes for making their countries proud.  Nadal did not play and Andy Murray pulled out of Basel with an injury.

Andy Murray Wows in Japan Open Final

Andy Murray looked like he was on his way to a 14th loss to world no. 2, Rafael Nadal as he dropped the first set of the 2011 Japan Open final, 6-3.  However, Murray decided to hang in there and force the future hall of famer, Nadal to close out the match, rather than giving up.  His tenacity and emotional stability allowed Murray to play two outstanding sets and defeat Nadal, 6-2, 6-0 in the final two sets, including a three break third set in which Murray only lost 4 points.  That’s right, 4 points against Rafa.  Murray has set a goal of finishing this year ahead of all-time great, Roger Federer at no. 3 in the rankings and with play like this, that goal seems reachable.