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Post by TennisHack on Oct 10, 2004 13:49:00 GMT -5
Woohoo   Sweden's Robin Soderling returns the ball to Belgium's Xavier Malisse during their final of the Lyon Open tennis tournament, Sunday Oct.10, 2004 in Lyon, central France. Soderling won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. (AP Photo/Rolland Quadrini, KR Images Presse)  Sweden's Robin Soderling reacts as he defeats Belgium's Xavier Malisse in the final of the Lyon Open tennis tournament, Sunday Oct.10, 2004 in Lyon, central France. Soderling won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. (AP Photo/Rolland Quadrini, KR Images Presse)  Sweden's Robin Soderling shows his trophy after defeating Belgium's Xavier Malisse in the final of the Lyon Open tennis tournament, Sunday Oct.10, 2004 in Lyon, central France. Soderling won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. (AP Photo /Rolland Quadrini, KR Images Presse)  Sweden's Robin Soderling shows his trophy after defeating Belgium's Xavier Malisse in the final of the Lyon Open tennis tournament, Sunday Oct.10, 2004 in Lyon, central France. Soderling won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. (AP Photo/Rolland Quadrini, KR Images Presse) |
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Post by fatboy aphex on Oct 11, 2004 10:23:01 GMT -5
www.svd.se/dynamiskt/sport/did_8270556.aspPretty long article on Andreas Vinciguerra. About his friendship with Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, media relations, his growing up and most importantly: he's coming back NEXT WEEK!!!! He plans to play a challenger or a future and he hopes to get a WC for Stockholm Open.
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Post by fatboy aphex on Oct 30, 2004 0:38:00 GMT -5
Earlier this week Magnus Norman announced his retirement from tennis. His injured hip will never heal properly, and since he risks a chronic injury if he keeps going, he has decided to call it quits.
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Post by The Chloe on Oct 30, 2004 2:23:41 GMT -5
www.svd.se/dynamiskt/sport/did_8270556.aspPretty long article on Andreas Vinciguerra. About his friendship with Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, media relations, his growing up and most importantly: he's coming back NEXT WEEK!!!! He plans to play a challenger or a future and he hopes to get a WC for Stockholm Open. I don't usually read in here or I would have sen this earlier. Thanks for the news. I'm glad he's coming back ;D Can you outline the parts of the article that might be of interest in a bit more detail? If you get time, of course. I saw you mention it in the discusssion thread a while ago but didn't know where you post it  |
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Post by fatboy aphex on Oct 30, 2004 18:04:50 GMT -5
I don't usually read in here or I would have sen this earlier. Thanks for the news. I'm glad he's coming back ;D Can you outline the parts of the article that might be of interest in a bit more detail? If you get time, of course. I saw you mention it in the discusssion thread a while ago but didn't know where you post it Well, Vinci didn't come back. He felt his knee/leg injury again. Back to the medic. So disappointment. Do you reckon France will play next year's DC tie on indoors clay now? |
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Post by The Chloe on Oct 31, 2004 1:40:20 GMT -5
Oh  This is what happens when I respond to thinks weeks after the fact As for the DC tie, clay would make the most sense, would it not? Especially if France has Grosjean back at that point. |
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Post by TennisHack on Oct 31, 2004 14:23:12 GMT -5
Big congrats to Thomas Johansson for winning Stockholm again! |
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Post by The Chloe on Oct 31, 2004 15:37:51 GMT -5
THomas cost me 500 vcash |
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 3, 2004 23:28:49 GMT -5
THomas cost me 500 vcash You should have consulted with a SwedeHead first! |
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 4, 2004 0:47:01 GMT -5
You should have consulted with a SwedeHead first! Hello, stranger  This is so, I should have done that. If I was betting with real cash I may have sent a Janie message through and have done so... but with v(pretend)cash it's okay ;D |
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Post by Lee on Nov 4, 2004 19:04:35 GMT -5
It's difficult to find a cute pic of Soderling but this one will do, IMO   |
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Post by TennisHack on Nov 4, 2004 22:23:20 GMT -5
From Bob Larson, 11/3/04
No Question
When a player retires, we always face a question: Is he worth a farewell feature? Do we have enough information for a farewell feature?
In the case of Magnus Norman, there is no question. He never won a Slam, he never reached #1 -- but he was about as good as a guy could be without either of those feats. In his prime, in 2000, he was the closest thing to a threat Gustavo Kuerten faced on clay, and he wasn't bad on hardcourt either. Pretty amazing for a guy whose career seemed doomed in 1997 when he suffered an irregular heartbeat and ended up undergoing five hours of surgery.
Norman started playing in 1992, and at the age of 16, he played his first ATP match (losing to Rostagno). He turned pro in 1995, and posted his first ATP wins that year. His record was only 3-2, but it started a run in which he had a winning record in six of seven years.
His first breakthrough came in 1996. He won his first Challengers. He played his first two Slams, and earned his first Slam victory at Roland Garros. And he hit the Top 100 for the first time, ending the year at #86.
1997 brought another milestone: His first title (at Bastad). He also scored a win over Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon, and beat Pete Sampras in the Roland Garros third round (the last time Sampras ever made it that far at the French Open); he went on to earn his first Slam quarterfinal. All that translated into a year-end ranking of #22, even though he played only one of the Super Nines. He also earned the only doubles final of his career at Doha.
Then came the heart surgery. It didn't eat into his schedule -- he was back in time to play the Australian Open -- but it cut badly into his results. He did win his second career title, at Amsterdam, but he didn't make it past the second round of any of the soon-to-be required events; he ended the year with a depressing 28-31 record and a ranking of #52. Though he did win one of the big matches that set Sweden on the way to the Davis Cup title that year.
In 1999 came the breakthrough; Norman would lead the Tour in titles over the next two years. In that year he won Orlando, Stuttgart (the outdoor version), and Umag on clay, and Long Island and Shanghai on hardcourt. All told, he won 44 matches (while losing 22), his best-ever record to that time. He beat Haas to win Stuttgart, Kafelnikov and Corretja to win Long Island, and Chang and Rios in Shanghai. He ended the year at #15.
2000 was even better. He made his first Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, and made the Roland Garros final, losing to Gustavo Kuerten in a fourth set tiebreak. He won his first Masters Series, beating Kuerten in the Rome final -- the last clay loss Kuerten suffered until Rome 2001. He had four other titles: Auckland, Long Island, and Shanghai on hardcourt, and Bastad on clay. His 67 wins were second only to Marat Safin's 73. In 27 events, he suffered only four first round losses (prior to losing all his round robin matches at the Masters Cup). He had ten Top 20 wins, beating #17 Hewitt and #4 Kiefer at the Australian Open, #19 Grosjean at Indian Wells, #17 El Aynaoui at Barcelona, #12 Hewitt and #6 Kuerten at Rome, #15 El Aynaoui at Hamburg, #20 Medvedev and #12 Safin at Roland Garros, and #7 Enqvist at Long Island. He peaked at #2 in the world after Roland Garros, and ended the year at #4.
Then came the decline. He reached a couple of finals early in 2001 (Sydney and Scottsdale), but his left hip was starting to hurt. He ended up missing Wimbledon (he would, in fact, never play it again, and his fourth round showing at the Australian Open proved to be his last-ever Slam victories), the U. S. Open, and the two indoor Masters Series; his last match of the year was an opening round loss at Cincinnati. He had surgery in August. He ended 2001 at #49, with a record of 25-22. He was never really the same. He played 31 matches in 2002, with a final at Tokyo, but overall went 12-19, which left him ranked below #100; he had knee surgery at year-end. 2003 was worse: 10-19, with only three quarterfinals (plus a third round showing at Monte Carlo). He retired from the last of those quarterfinals at Shanghai, had surgery a few weeks later, and never came back. His career effectively ended at age 25, and now, at age 28, he's retired. Much too soon.
What else is new?
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 5, 2004 14:11:53 GMT -5
It's difficult to find a cute pic of Soderling ... There's a reason for that |
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 5, 2004 21:10:53 GMT -5
There's a reason for that Yes, he's a dork! Also a choking Dog, judging from the Mirnyi reports. Oh, and hi stranger.  |
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 5, 2004 21:20:59 GMT -5
Hello again, stranger ;D
It seems I just missed you!
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Post by fatboy aphex on Nov 7, 2004 1:45:43 GMT -5
Thx for that Bob Larson on Norman TennisHack. Unless Vinci comes back Swedish tennis will only be indoor idiots from now on. |
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 7, 2004 2:07:43 GMT -5
... Swedish tennis will only be indoor idiots from now on. It it appropriate for me to  @ this comment here? |
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Nov 7, 2004 9:49:31 GMT -5
Thx for that Bob Larson on Norman TennisHack. Unless Vinci comes back Swedish tennis will only be indoor idiots from now on. The irony is that Vinci can play indoors as well. Indoor idiots that's a great call and they have been translated with the Enqvist charisma as well. |
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Post by Slaughterhouse on Nov 8, 2004 3:40:03 GMT -5
The irony is that Vinci can play indoors as well. Indoor idiots that's a great call and they have been translated with the Enqvist charisma as well. |
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 8, 2004 19:00:32 GMT -5
Too bad they didn't inherit some of Enqvist's, erm, *other* qualities ;D
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 8, 2004 19:00:59 GMT -5
Perhaps we should rename this the New Swede Haters thread ;D
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Post by fatboy aphex on Dec 8, 2004 10:32:58 GMT -5
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Post by freudo on Dec 8, 2004 11:03:07 GMT -5
Thanks, Hack, for the Larson article on Magnus Norman. I saw him play 2003 at IW, a qually match, I believe. Sat near his coach. He played Vahaly or some other young usian, who wanted to beat him, and expected to. That was painful. He moments of great Magnushood, and that was fun to cheer , loudly. So sad to see such a good man, and fine tennis player saddled with serious injuries before he gets to play his best tennis for a while.
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Post by fatboy aphex on Dec 10, 2004 4:16:01 GMT -5
Here's a Norman article from Sw. Tennis magazine #6/04 by Lars-Ivar Jansson (I think) Magnus Norman played his first ATP match at the 1992 Stockholm Open. He came full circle almost exactly 12 years later when he, at a press conference, declared his decision to put an end to his tennis career. 1992 the young upstart at the Stockholm Open was called Magnus Norman.This year, as you know, his name was Mikael Ryderstedt. Only an hour after Ryderstedt had played the match of his life to defeat spaniard Feliciano Lopez, it was once again Magnus Norman's turn to be in the centre of attention at the if...Stockholm Open. This time off-court. - Most players get the possibility to say "this is my last match, when I've played it, I'll quit". That didn't happen to me, but it still feels good to have a clearcut finale of my career. A couple of days after the press conference at the Kungliga Tennishallen, Magnus Norman feels content about his decision. He finally realised his injured hip wouldn't hold up for yet another venture at the top of tennis. -Looking back with what I know now I can think I should've taken this decision earlier, for health reasons. But I've been so focused on my coming back, so there haven't been anything else for me. Sure, I've thought about calling it quits once in a while before, but I've always been willing to give it another go. But at the recomendation of his doctor he finally decided to leave the life he's been leading the last ten years. Every time Magnus gave 100%, his hip ached, and the last x-ray pictures were ill-boding. -It feels really good to have made this decision and also to have made it official, so everyone knows that I'm getting on with my life. Now I'll put everything I have into my studies instead, says Magnus Norman. He has applied for an education in marketing, but he won't leave tennis behind completely. To work as a mentor or adviser for young tennis players and share his experiences is a way to keep in touch with the sport. He also considers helping out as a coach for his club KLTK. -Right now I don't want a coaching job that involves a lot of travelling about in the world. But let's wait a couple of years, then we'll see if I have the urge to travel again. After New Year Magnus moves back home to Sweden and Stockholm after many years living in Monaco. The life of a tennis pro, always on the move, will be replaced by life as a student in Stockholm. -It will, for sure, feel awkward in the beginning. Although I didn't exactly like to travel constantly when it was happening, I probably have it in my blood a little. Not traveling will probably feel strange at first. But you always need an adjutment period. When I first came to Monaco everything felt somewhat surreal, but after a while you got used to it and started to enjoy yourself. Magnus thinks it's a certainty tennis will still be a part of his everyday life. But he's not a stranger to letting other sports into his life. -I'd love to play more golf, that is on the condition my hip won't take more beating. I'm also talking to an old buddy who shall play bandy for Djurgården's recently started team. They're going to have a "farm team"(  ?) and he wants me in it. It's very tempting, but that will also be decided by how my hip holds up, he says. It was bandy which had to give way when Magnus chose to go for tennis. At 15 years of age he was picked for a youth national team which were going to Russia to play a tournament. At the same time a letter arrived from the Swedish Tennis Association where he was invited to represent Sweden at a tournament in Florida. He chose Florida, a choice Swedish tennis should appreciate. Now he's made another important choice, albeit not as pleasant for Swedish tennis. -It feels good to quit now though, when several new world-class players are emerging from Swedish tennis(?! two, I guess that's several). I believe we will continue to be among the best countries also in the future, says Magnus Norman. Magnus Norman's career in short ATP debut: 1992 Stockholm Open, lost 1st round vs. Derrick Rostagno ATP titles: 12 ATP singles record: 244-177 Prize-money: US$ 4 537 247 Highest rank: #2 at the entry-list after Gustavo Kuerten in 2000(july?) Best Grand Slam results: Finalist Paris(Roland Garros) 2000, lost to Kuerten. Semifinalist Australian Open(2000), lost to Kafelnikov. Misc: Part of Sweden's DC winning team in 1998. Magnus Norman played his last match in Shanghai 2003, he had to retire against Novak. |
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Post by Francine on Dec 10, 2004 5:29:02 GMT -5
Thanks Aphex  |
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Post by TennisHack on Dec 10, 2004 9:43:38 GMT -5
I'm also talking to an old buddy who shall play bandy for Djurgården's recently started team. They're going to have a "farm team"( ?) and he wants me in it. It's very tempting, but that will also be decided by how my hip holds up, he says. "Farm team" is a term used in baseball here. It's like the little club teams that feed into the pros. Well Soderling and Johansson are "established", but then there are players like Ryderstadt who had a breakthrough performance. How big could a single class of Swedish tennis players be? |
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Dec 10, 2004 22:16:39 GMT -5
 How big could a single class of Swedish tennis players be? Wilander, Jarryd, Pernfors, Carlsson, Nystrom, Svensson, Edberg, Sundström. Too bad you weren't around when the golden years of Swedish tennis were happening when they had 6 guys in the top 20, that is how big the class could get. |
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Post by TennisHack on Dec 10, 2004 22:29:57 GMT -5
Wilander, Jarryd, Pernfors, Carlsson, Nystrom, Svensson, Edberg, Sundström. Too bad you weren't around when the golden years of Swedish tennis were happening when they had 6 guys in the top 20, that is how big the class could get. Did they all come out at the same time? That's impressive for any country  |
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Dec 10, 2004 22:35:35 GMT -5
Did they all come out at the same time? That's impressive for any country  Henrik Sundström was one of the 3 people to beat McEnroe in 1984. After Wilander beat Connors in the 1st match of the Davis Cup, then Henrik came out and chopped Mac in straight sets and he didn't have a clue, then Edberg/Jarryd won the doubles 7-5 5-7 6-2 7-5 and the Swedes won the DC for losing just one set in the live matches. |
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Dec 10, 2004 22:46:08 GMT -5
The Top 21 at the end of 86 and there were 4 Swedes in the top 10 at one stage.
1. Ivan Lendl
2. Boris Becker
3. Mats Wilander
4. Yannick Noah
5. Stefan Edberg
6. Henri Leconte
7. Joakim Nyström
8. Jimmy Connors
9. Miroslav Mecir
10. Andres Gomez
11. Brad Gilbert
12. Mikael Pernfors
13. Kent Carlsson
14. John McEnroe
15. Tim Mayotte
16. Emilio Sanchez
17. Martin Jaite
18. Kevin Curren
19. Anders Järryd
20. Thierry Tulasne
21. Jonas Svensson
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This is what happens when I respond to thinks weeks after the fact 
Gugaaaaaaaaa 
?) and he wants me in it. It's very tempting, but that will also be decided by how my hip holds up, he says.