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Post by Grarliner on Feb 28, 2008 19:38:21 GMT -5
I clicked the link. A Mo Drake comeback! Finally!
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Post by janie on Mar 9, 2008 20:15:21 GMT -5
I was surprised to see Sharon Fichman's name in the qualies for the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 25K this week. Unfortunately, she bowed out in Qr3, and so earns 0 points. I hope she's at least having a nice vacation over there.
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Post by janie on Apr 14, 2008 18:09:49 GMT -5
the Battle of Canada took place in Palm Bch Gdns qr2, and this is how it turned out:
Gabriela Dabrowski def. (7)Heidi El Tabakh 61 62
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Post by Brinyi on Apr 15, 2008 7:57:07 GMT -5
the Battle of Canada took place in Palm Bch Gdns qr2, and this is how it turned out: Gabriela Dabrowski def. (7)Heidi El Tabakh 61 62Good! Gaby should be posting scores like that at this point.
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Post by janie on Nov 12, 2008 21:09:10 GMT -5
Rebecca Marino portion of a Bell Challenge article:"I do," was Marino's strongly affirmative response on Thursday night to a reporter's remark that she appeared to genuinely love playing tennis. The way she said it rang true, and her passion for the sport becomes obvious within minutes of watching all gangly six-feet tall of her bounding around the court. There's a coltish enthusiasm and spirit to her play. Add to those her intense emotions on court, and it is easy to see how much she cares. "I didn't start until I was 10 years old, played badminton and other sports before that," she explained. "I don't why it is but there's something about hitting the crap out of the ball. I enjoy it." A little red-eyed, Marino looked anything but as if she enjoyed it right after a nervy display in a 6-1, 6-3 loss to the No. 98-ranked Voskoboeva at the Bell Challenge on Thursday night. But it was her fifth match in six days and her game was frayed, even though she still managed to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. Currently living in Davos, Switzerland, Marino trains there with Swiss coach Nina Nittinger, who reached a ranking inside the top 300 before a disc problem in her neck forced her to retire about a decade ago. They have been working together for two months and Nittinger, who returned to university after stopping tennis, is highly certified in all aspects of coaching. Over the next six months, she hopes to work on Marino's fitness and mental strength to turn her into what she described as "a good athlete". Ranked No. 471 entering the Bell Challenge, Marino won three qualifying matches and then defeated No. 65-ranked veteran Jill Craybas of the United States 7-6(4), 6-1 in the first round. She will move up to about No. 340 after the best week of her young career. Her first breakthough came when, almost out of nowhere at age 16, she won the 2007 Canadian Junior International in Repentigny, Que. It is the main event before the US Open junior tournament and many of the world's top juniors use it as a tune-up. Marino has a very good serve and a free-swinging cracker of a forehand that can do a lot of damage when she has it under control and it lands inside the lines. Her backhand and movement are the main areas she is working to improve. Several American universities recruited her with offers of tennis scholarships, including the University of Florida and Stanford, but Marino elected to sign a letter of intent with Georgia Tech. She told the coach there she wants to play the pro circuit for a year and will not go to college any sooner than the fall of 2009.In fact, she hopes she never goes to college because that would indicate that she has had enough success to turn pro. About her Quebec experience, including her first match win at a WTA Tour-level event, Marino said she had learned about the pros that, "no matter what a player's ranking is, they're all tough. You have to play well every day." She earned $2,200 (U.S.) for reaching the second round. But in order to retain her amateur status, she can only use the money to pay for her expenses. That should not be a problem for her after the Bell Challenge. "I have a flight back to Europe that I can cover," she said. Unrelated Marino pic, from June:
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Post by janie on Feb 8, 2009 14:03:31 GMT -5
Fichman's at a new career high: 232. But last year she qualified and then reached the QF in Midland, so she's got to do at least that this week.
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Post by janie on Apr 2, 2009 13:55:41 GMT -5
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Post by leelee on Apr 2, 2009 19:08:20 GMT -5
Doing more research, because I'm not bored at work, both sisters are USTA rated 4.5. You'd probably find many people on WTAWorld who are/were ranked higher, me included. So, they really have no business trying to play ITF events. But, they're still better than most bagel girls, probably.
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Post by Brinyi on Apr 22, 2009 11:04:06 GMT -5
Genie may be next Canadian tennis gem TOM TEBBUTT Globe and Mail April 12, 2009 at 8:31 PM EDT If, as many Canadian tennis officials hope, Eugenie Bouchard becomes a force on the world scene, she will have the cachet of a distinctive first name. Bouchard, who at 15 won the Canadian under-18 indoor championship in Toronto on Saturday, is a non-identical twin. Her parents, Julie and Mike, named her sister Beatrice and her after the daughters of Prince Andrew and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. “They call me Genie in a Bottle sometimes,” Bouchard said jokingly. “But my real name is nice, too.” In January at the Australian Open, this reporter watched her second-round junior match against eventual champion Ksenia Pervak of Russia and was told by Sven Groeneveld, a consultant for adidas who works with its players, that his company first noticed her when she was 11. In women's tennis, it's not just solid strokes that count. Bouchard, who lives in upscale Westmount in Montreal, also has good looks to go with a promising game. It is no accident adidas has glamour girls Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki under contract, and has recently signed Bouchard to what is believed to be a lucrative clothing deal. On Saturday, the blonde, lean, 5-foot-9 Bouchard overpowered fellow Quebecker Marianne Jodoin 6-4, 7-5 to become, at 15 years and a month, one of the youngest winners of the indoor event. Helen Kelesi from Richmond, B.C., in 1983, and Sharon Fichman of Toronto in 2003, were both victorious at 13. Bouchard spent much of 2007 and 2008 training at the tennis academy in Sunrise, Fla., run by former American player Nick Saviano. But she is now based at the National Tennis Centre at Jarry Park in Montreal. “I was able to practise with a lot of great players,” Bouchard said about Florida, where she did her schooling online. “It showed me real tennis, outdoors. Indoors, it's kind of different, more first-strike. The point's over quickly. Outdoors, you got to work for the point. It's a different mindset.” So far in 2009, she has played six International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior events in Australia and South America, compiling a 10-6 record and reaching No. 84 in the ITF's under-18 rankings. One of her best friends is Laura Robson, the British phenom who won last year's Wimbledon junior title at 14. Exactly 35 days younger than Robson, Bouchard said: “It's cool because we can be together when we travel. We talk to each other a lot on Facebook.” Bouchard, whose mother is of Irish ancestry, prefers the English pronunciation of her first name, and it is written without a French accent. (What is the English pronunciation, Yi Brin wonders?) While she lives on the same tony, quaint street in Westmount as former prime minister Brian Mulroney, her formative years were not spent at high-end private tennis clubs. She began playing on public courts in nearby Murray Park and at the popular commercial indoor club on Nun's Island. It was there she had her first strong feelings for the sport. “I started at five. My parents put my twin sister [she also has a younger sister and brother] and me in groups. It was more like games, jumping hoops – not playing tennis. I didn't like the groups because I wanted to play tennis. My sister loved them because they were fun. My parents realized I actually wanted to play tennis and started signing me up for more – twice a week, three times a week, [in] groups and then private [lessons] later on.” Tennis Canada recognizes Bouchard's potential and a coach at its National Training Centre, Roberto Brogin from Italy, has been assigned exclusively to her. With an improving serve, ground strokes that pack serious punch, especially a wickedly flat two-handed backhand, decent volleys and genuine competitive grit, it is no surprise Bouchard has lofty ambitions. “Short term,” she said, “I'm doing all the [junior Grand] Slams this year, so it will be a good experience. Long term, I want to be No.1 in the world and win a real Grand Slam.” Tennis Canada hopes it has found a gem in the girl her investment banker father calls “Genie.”
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Post by Brinyi on Apr 22, 2009 11:04:58 GMT -5
You-Jeanie, I guess.
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Post by leelee on Apr 22, 2009 12:09:36 GMT -5
Pervs (which I assume everyone with a Sharapova avatar is) have been on Eugenie for a while at the other board.
Another fairly cute blonde Barbie. Yay.
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Post by janie on May 3, 2009 15:04:10 GMT -5
I liked her because I rashly assumed she was French-speaking Québécoise. Westmount! Anyway, heck with her. It's great to see Fichman level-jumping this week, winning WTA Q matches in Estoril.
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Post by janie on May 4, 2009 5:57:07 GMT -5
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Post by R. Black on May 15, 2009 13:29:00 GMT -5
(Melanie Gloria coach)
Attouchements sexuels: un entraîneur de tennis risque la prison
Un entraîneur de tennis professionnel québécois risque la prison pour avoir commis des attouchements sexuels sur deux de ses ex-protégées, alors qu'elles étaient mineures. La Couronne a réclamé une peine d'un an de pénitencier suivi de trois ans de probation pour le réputé entraîneur montréalais Yann Rapini ce matin au palais de justice de Longueuil.
M. Rapini, 36 ans, a plaidé coupable en décembre dernier à deux chefs d'accusation d'avoir fait des attouchements sexuels sur deux mineures de moins de 17 ans, alors qu'il était une personne en autorité.
L'une de ses victimes, aujourd'hui âgée de 26 ans, est venue témoigner ce matin des «conséquences dévastatrices» de l'emprise qu'a eue M. Rapini sur sa vie. La jeune femme, que les médias ne peuvent identifier, éprouve de «l'amertume» et du «dégoût» envers son ex-entraîneur.
Rapini est devenu son entraîneur lorsqu'elle avait 11 ans. «J'avais une totale confiance en lui», a raconté avec aplomb la jeune femme au tribunal. Lorsqu'elle devenue une jeune adolescente, il s'est mis à lui poser des questions sur sa vie sexuelle. Un jour, il la complimentait sur ses fesses, sur ses seins. Le lendemain, il la rabaissait en la traitant de «cuisse de jambon».
L'adolescente rêvait de devenir joueuse de tennis professionnel. Elle obtenait d'excellents résultats dans des tournois québécois et canadiens. Les parents de la victime avaient aussi une confiance totale en l'entraîneur. Un jour après un entraînement, la jeune joueuse, alors âgée de 15 ans, lui a demandé de lui faire un massage. Rapini en a alors profité pour lui faire une pénétration annale. Il lui fera ce genre d'attouchements à trois reprises.
L'adolescente ne portera pas plainte immédiatement, mais elle s'éloignera de son entraîneur. Elle a décidé de le dénoncer à la police lorsqu'elle s'est rendu compte que «ça continuait avec d'autres», a-t-elle expliqué. La seconde victime avait 17 ans lorsque Rapini a abusé d'elle lors d'un tournoi provincial junior à Trois-Rivières en 2005. La jeune femme a d'ailleurs souligné devant le tribunal que l'actuelle conjointe de Rapini, âgée de 19 ans, avait été l'élève de ce dernier lorsqu'elle en avait 14.
L'accusé éprouve «peu d'empathie» envers les victimes, selon un rapport de son agent de probation. M. Rapini représente un risque de récidive faible, mais tout de même présent, a souligné la procureure de la Couronne, Me Marie-Josée Guillemette. De plus, l''accusé croit toujours qu'il est «pertinent» pour un entraîneur de connaître la vie sexuelle de son athlète, a indiqué Me Guillemette.
La Couronne a énuméré plusieurs facteurs aggravants dans ce dossier. M. Rapini était un entraîneur professionnel qui a profité de la vulnérabilité de ses victimes. Des victimes qui «visaient un haut niveau dans leur sport», a rappelé Me Guillemette.
De son côté, la défense a recommandé une peine à purger dans la communauté, en énumérant plusieurs facteurs atténuants. M. Rapini, qui avait sa propre école de tennis, a perdu tous ses contrats. Il a dû déclarer faillite. La Fédération québécoise de tennis l'a suspendu pour cinq ans. Il suit actuellement une thérapie. M. Rapini a toujours travaillé et occupe présentement un emploi de directeur des opérations à la clinique de physiothérapie du Parc olympique. L'accusé s'est brièvement adressé au tribunal pour s'excuser auprès de ses victimes. «Je demande pardon», a-t-il dit, la voix étranglée par l'émotion. La juge Ellen Paré de la Cour du Québec prononcera la sentence le 15 septembre.
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Post by janie on May 16, 2009 19:06:57 GMT -5
What, I don't think cinq ans is enough; why isn't he suspended for life?? These guys don't change; don't let him back in ever! So who's the 26-year-old?
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Post by R. Black on May 17, 2009 0:00:41 GMT -5
That's what I wonder. I saw her back only and she has blond hair. Her age and hair correspond to Melanie Marois, but to my knowledge he never trained her.
The other player is most likely Melanie Gloria. If it is the case, it might be part of an explanation for her lack of success.
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Post by janie on Jun 1, 2009 13:33:13 GMT -5
Canadian Valerie Tetreault defeats Alexandra Stevenson to win first pro title By THE CANADIAN PRESS – 16 hours ago CARSON, Calif. — Valerie Tetreault of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., won her first pro title Sunday after defeating Alexandra Stevenson of the United States at the Home Depot USTA Challenger. The unseeded 21-year-old defeated No.8-seed Stevenson 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a hotly disputed singles final. Tetreault, ranked No. 304 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings, beat Julia Cohen of the U.S. in straight sets Saturday en route to the final. She faced a much stiffer test in the Sunday, after losing the opening set to Stevenson to take home the US$7,700 winner's purse. Tetreault will become one of six Canadian women to be ranked in the top 300 when the new Tour rankings are released following the conclusion of the French Open.
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Post by Brinyi on Jun 15, 2009 13:26:34 GMT -5
Valérie Tétreault remporte un deuxième tournoi d'afillée De LA PRESSE CANADIENNE – Il y a 21 heures MONTREAL — Valérie Tétreault a remporté un deuxième tournoi consécutif, dimanche, en défaisant l'Américaine Mashona Washington, septième tête de série, 6-4 et 6-3, à la Classique Hunt Communities d'El Paso, au Texas. La joueuse de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu avait remporté le tournoi de Carson, il y a deux semaines. "Ça n'a pas été facile. En finale, il y a toujours beaucoup d'émotions à gérer. Elle a bien commencé le match. Elle servait très bien. Mais je savais qu'en restant calme je finirais par avoir mes chances. Je me sentais bien et j'avais de l'énergie", a expliqué Tétreault. "Il est certain que cette performance m'apporte beaucoup de confiance. Je constate que je joue très bien depuis un bout de temps. Mon résultat à Carson m'avait également beaucoup encouragée. Ce dont je suis le plus fier, c'est que mon classement va me permettre de jouer les qualifications des Internationaux des Etats-Unis. "C'est une autre étape que je viens de franchir. Je vais participer à la Coupe Rogers et quelques challengers au cours des prochaines semaines." Pendant ce temps, au Portugal, une autre Québécoise s'est mise en évidence. La Montréalaise Mélanie Gloria a gagné le simple féminin du tournoi de Montemor-O-Molina, doté d'une bourse de 10 000 $. En finale, elle a eu raison de l'Espagnole Yerra Campos-Molina par le score de 6-1 et 6-2.
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Post by janie on Jul 1, 2009 16:28:46 GMT -5
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Post by janie on Jul 6, 2009 10:10:28 GMT -5
Sharon Fichman has qualified in Budapest! HET nearly did the same in Bastad, falling 6-7 in the 3rd to the Vak.
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Post by janie on Jul 15, 2009 9:16:33 GMT -5
Current Canadian WTA Rankings: players with at least 10 tournaments: rank . player . # of tournaments 22 Wozniak, Aleksandra 25___________________________ 105 Dubois, Stephanie 26166 Tetreault, Valerie 14 200 Marino, Rebecca 19 ___________________________ 212 Fichman, Sharon 22 233 El Tabakh, Heidi 31 ___________________________ 365 Pelletier, Marie-eve 25735 Dabrowski, Gabriela 12
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Post by janie on Jul 16, 2009 19:09:43 GMT -5
After the excitement of barely losing to the Vak in the qualifying round in Bastad, HET has moved back to the more familiar territory of a 25K. She's 4th seed in Darmstadt this week and has reached the quarters there.
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Post by janie on Aug 8, 2009 14:54:12 GMT -5
Canadian Top-200 Watch:Sharon Fichman is in! HET could not be closer, at #201. Becca Marino was in, but has dropped back to 207 for now. Meanwhile, former (barely) top-100 player Dubois has fallen to 129. Maybe they'll all end up in the middle, huddling around Tetreault (161). Woz, of course, is in her own little world; yes she's dropped like a stone but she's still pretty far up there for a Canadian, in the top 40.
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Post by janie on Aug 10, 2009 13:49:30 GMT -5
Canadian Top-200 Watch: and then there were six ... Wozzie droops down to 39; still miles above the rest; she's the Dulko of Canada "Blanche" Dubois races up to 104 thanks to her shiny new :title: Val has one of her crummy weeks, but drops just one spot to 162 Little Fich takes a set from Sania and jumps to 182 HET bursts through the barrier and lands at 195 Dan Marino claws back in, fetching up at 197 I have to say I find this all very astonishing!
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Post by janie on Aug 10, 2009 13:50:18 GMT -5
Sorry about the flag; it was the closest I could find!
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Post by leelee on Aug 10, 2009 23:43:54 GMT -5
I think Steve Marino would be more appropriate than Dan. Since he's been active in this decade, and she kinda looks like him. Poor girl.
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Post by janie on Sept 3, 2009 17:42:47 GMT -5
Dubois ousted at U.S. Open By Stephanie Myles, Montreal Gazette September 3, 2009 6:01 PM MONTREAL — Stephanie Dubois missed a chance at joining fellow Quebecer Aleksandra Wozniak in the third round of the U.S. Open when she lost Thursday to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
The Laval, Que., native lost her second-round match 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to Cirstea, the No. 24 seed.
“I’m pretty disappointed, for sure,” Dubois said on conference call from New York. “I would have loved to be in the third round.
“I think in the first set she was serving well, and she played well,” Dubois added. “In the second set, I came back and was more aggressive and I served better. In the third, it was really close. The match really turned on one or two points.”
Dubois felt she was the victim of a bad line call on a game point that would have given her a 5-4 lead in the third set. She ended up having her serve broken, and Cirstea held to close out the match.
“That’s tennis,” Dubois said. “It could have gone either way. Unfortunately, it didn’t go my way.”
Wozniak, a Blainville, Que., native, will play her third-round match Friday against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, the No. 10 seed.
Dubois said her main goal going into the U.S. Open was to win a round at a Grand Slam, which she did Tuesday in defeating French junior Kristina Mladenovic.
She almost went a step further.
“I played aggressive and went for my shots, and I played the right way,” she said of her effort against Cirstea. “Maybe I lost, but it looks good for my other tournaments coming up.”
Next up for Dubois is the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, a WTA Tour event, followed by a $50,000 Challenger event in the Saguenay, Que.
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Post by janie on Oct 9, 2009 6:45:21 GMT -5
rare MEP article: Don't count Pelletier out No. 68 in doubles. Left off Canadian Fed Cup squad By STEPHANIE MYLES, The Gazette October 5, 2009 There are six Canadian women in the top 170 on the WTA Tour this week. And then there's the forgotten one, Marie-Ève Pelletier. Maybe the Canadian tennis establishment thinks she's yesterday's news. But she's never been better, thanks very much for asking. The 27-year-old from Repentigny, even with a singles ranking out of the top 400, is still going strong. This week, she's at a career-high No. 68 in doubles - by far the best of all the Canadians. After faithfully representing Canada since 2002, Pelletier was left off the Fed Cup squad for the American Zone playoffs in Montreal in February. She was overlooked again in April when the Canadians travelled to Belgium for a World Group II playoff tie. And after being awarded a wild card into the main-draw singles at the Rogers Cup every year since 2002, Pelletier not only was demoted into the qualifying this year, she had to play the pre-qualifying - fighting it out with two juniors and a college player for one qualifying spot. Pelletier didn't really have an issue with that on principle - she hasn't played much singles this season. But as the elder stateswoman, the one who blazed a few trails for the current successful crop, you have to think she feels a little disrespected - especially because of her doubles success. The tie in Belgium, which would have raised Canada out of the zonal competition, came down to the doubles. Aleksandra Wozniak and Stéphanie Dubois got crushed. "It really made me sick to my stomach not to be chosen, not because I had my place there in singles. But I have so many years of service, and I love team sports in general," Pelletier told The Gazette. "I'm not saying I would have won (in Belgium). But I couldn't have done worse. It seems like they closed the door on me last year. "It doesn't change my life, but it's chance to represent my country. And I know I bring something to the team," she added. Part of it may be that Pelletier is out of sight, and out of mind. Her training base has been at the Racing Club in Paris for years. Longtime boyfriend Julien Cassaigne (they met in the juniors) lives there. She gets free training at the Racing Club because she plays for the club's team, which is a big thing in France and other European countries. Pelletier also has taken advantage of the club's educational plan for elite athletes, in conjunction with the management company Lagardère. She was awarded a bursary for a two-year program at Sciences Po , considered one of the top three business schools in Europe. "I did it out of curiosity. I was starting to find the time a little long on tour. There are only so many DVDs, so many movies I can watch," Pelletier said. "I read a lot, maybe I'm preparing my post-career a little. It was always in the back of my mind as I was playing to gradually put one foot into my studies so when I stopped, I'd be better prepared." A lot of people have asked me over the last few years why Pelletier doesn't retire - as if, if you're not ever going to be top 20 in the world, it's not even worth playing at all. Pelletier said her father was joking recently that even back when she was Dubois's age, 22, with a similar ranking (around the top 100), people were asking when she was going to stop. "Nobody ever asks Stéphanie that now," she said, laughing. Five years later, she's still around. And she's making a nice living; there are other ways to make a buck in tennis other than on the WTA Tour. Pelletier plays World Team Tennis in the U.S. during the summer. She's paid well to play on her French team. And this summer, she helped her Dutch club to a championship. She plans to play all of the Grand Slams in doubles in 2010, most likely with Frenchwoman Julie Coin, her best friend on the Tour. As with many who have had to make the decision to specialize in doubles, it's a tough call. But when Pelletier plays in the smaller tournaments in singles, the expenses are on her, and the prize money small. When she plays WTA Tour events, even in doubles, the hotel is covered. She hasn't closed the door on it, and she'll play singles when she can. She says she'd probably have to be top 50 in doubles to make a living on the WTA Tour full time. As for those who call for her to hang up her racquets? She'll do it when she's good and ready. "This is my 'me' time. Later, when I'm 30 or 32 and have kids, there will be no more 'me' time," Pelletier said. "This is the only time that I can do what I want. I earn a nice living, I do what I want to, when I want to. I train. I enjoy my sport. Why stop? smyles@thegazette.canwest.com © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette www.montrealgazette.com/sports/count+Pelletier/2070127/story.html (incl. pic)
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Post by Iorix on Oct 9, 2009 9:43:32 GMT -5
"This is my 'me' time. Later, when I'm 30 or 32 and have kids, there will be no more 'me' time," Pelletier said. "This is the only time that I can do what I want. I earn a nice living, I do what I want to, when I want to. I train. I enjoy my sport. Why stop? Interesting perspective. MEP teamed up with another legend of the game, Julie Coin, to form the inept Team Francophone here at the Estoril Open - incredibly managed to make their way to the final, where they had MP (on Coin's serve!). Wore matching outfits; I managed to snap a portrait of both of them grinning at the camera. I'll try to find it and post it this weekend.
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Post by leelee on Oct 9, 2009 10:35:27 GMT -5
And the perspective that most tennis players should have. Too bad that MEP can't play worth a darn anymore.
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