World No.2 Rafael Nadal Suffers Foot Injury

A little bit of mystery seems to be surrounding the true nature of Rafael Nadal's foot problem. It seems he's been suffering from a foot injury for a couple of years. That hasn't slowed him down much.

He's a powerful player, but somehow he seems short on finesse. At least, as it appears to me. I don't enjoy watching unrelenting brute force over an extended period of time. However, at the end of the day (or of the match, perhaps I should say) it's the final score that counts.


His coach has remarked that Nadal's injury is "very serious". We will see whether his condition will tone him down a bit, at least in the short term.

Support for Martina

The WTA Tour president has announced that they are ready to support Martina Hingis... depending on the findings of the tennis anti-doping committee.

I suppose that's the best he can say at the moment. We are all waiting for the air to clear, and hope that Martina's good name will be restored soonest possible.

Who is the underdog now? Sampras demolishes Federer!

This is thrilling news! It may be the biggest upset of the century - but I won't vouch for that.

Pete Sampras pulled off a stunning victory in Macau today- beating Federer in two sets 7-6(8-6), 6-4. A tied first set and a straight win in the second. Superb! Quite a reverse from the first match when Pete lost 6-4 6-3.

Maybe my good wishes and cheering were somehow conveyed to him. There's life - lots of life - in old Pete yet. Acutally he is only 36 - a youngster outside the world of tennis. Even if he doesn't get back into the full professional circuit, I hope he will play in more exhibition matches against the top dogs. It's only fair to give Federer another chance!

Federer does it again..

In game 2 of this exhibition series, Sampras lost again, this time by 7-6(8-6), 7-6(7-5). This was a great improvement by Sampras over the previous match. Though he lost in 2 sets, each one went to a tie-break.

Was Federer trying to be soft on Sampras? I don't think so. Sampras is getting back to his old form, but just not enough against the formidable Federer. But he has words of praise for Sampras, saying that he was really impressed. He was gracious in victory. He was impressed by Sampras "incredible serve". "He serves harder than me," he said.

Well done, Pete! We'll be cheering for you in Macau this Saturday!

Martina Hingis Innocent

It was sad indeed to watch Martina Hingis announcing her retirement after failing a drugs test at Wimbledon while insisting that she had never taken drugs. I really cannot believe that a player of her stature would resort to drugs. Sometimes there are just too many unknowns as to why someone would fail a drugs test.

I'm not the only one to accept her declaration of innocence. Billie Jean King has come out in her defence. "It's just not in her character." she said. She unwaveringly believes in Martina's innocence. I am sure there are many who support Martina. And I hope that one day this stain on her character will be justly removed.

Sampras the underdog

It is interesting to watch a former world champion playing against the current world champion. It's always a welcome sight to see a former (and still) a world class player in action, and to see how he or she fares against the current top of the crop.

Such a match took place yesterday in Seoul, Korea between the former champion Pete Sampras and the reigning ace Roger Federer. The generation gap was unfortunately evident. Sampras was no match for Federer. He lost in straight sets 6-4 and 6-3 in this exhibition match.

Yet Sampras put up a good show and actually led by 4-2 before Federer struck back. Not bad for someone who has been in retirement for 5 years. I think the crowd was rooting for the underdog but to no avail.

Let's see how they fare later in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Macau. These games are coming up on Thursday and Saturday. I think there's a chance Sampras is getting back into the swing. We shall see.

Roger Federer - Highlights 2006