Caliente

Azucar!!!! Spain's tennis wonder kid, Rafael Nadal, and his fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, share a hug after Rafa beat his countryman in the men's singles semifinal match at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne on Friday. What a hot pic of the duo celebrating! You're lucky, Fernado! We wish we could have a sweaty Rafa Nadal wrapped around us! -PEREZHILTON.com

This is a little too close for comfort for me. It was a rough five setter. I can't believe Verdasco let up at 4-4 in the fifth up 0-30 and choked on two forehands in a row to let Rafa back in the game and close out the match. Well, we look forward to another rafa-fed marathon soon...Rafa has never been to the final of a slam on a hard court surface. Should be fun to watch with some theatrical points like there was in the Verdasco match. Just hope they play the final during a reasonable hour instead of 3:30am EST...I can't stand waking up that early anymore to watch these matches...

Familiar Faces

Roger Federer and Quentin Tarantino have an uncanny resemblence. Fed won in five against beatable Berdy. Five is too many Roger, what happened? You almost lost in the 4th round and almost ensured you to lose your number 2 ranking to novak and drop to numero tres. You face another 10 footer in del potro who is WAY better than Berdy...that will be a match to watch. tough to say because you hate betting against the fed but i will go with del potro and roddick in the semis and roddick back in the final gunning for his second slam to prove the first time was not a fluke. i think the weight loss is going to be the mental play that brings him through, but we shall see. and that is why we play the matches...

Board of Disasters?

Word hasn't really hit the street yet, but if anyone is looking for a job, there's an opening for a player representative for Europe on the ATP board of directors. The position became available on Wednesday morning when Croatian Ivan Ljubicic decided to resign from the board position he was elected to in August. Apparently, Ljubicic was a bit dismayed after the ATP player meeting -- at the outset of the Australian Open -- became heated.

Others currently serving on the board: David Edges, a senior vice president at the Tennis Channel; TV analyst Justin Gimelstob; senior vice president, managing director of IMG tennis, Gavin Forbes; former player and tournament director Zeljko Franulovic; and CEO of Auckland tennis, Graham Pearce. Those applying should know the job requires a heavy-duty involvement in the game, and the position comes along with a few choice trips during the year to events such as the Australian Open. -ESPN

I have recently put my name in the hat and hope to pull this string. Helfant needs help and a lot of it, guess his mother didn't teach him how to keep everyone's mouth shut at the dinner table. Ljubcic bailed on the job because the president couldn't keep a simple meeting organized or under control and nobody stepped up. Don't worry Adam, I am sure you're not fired yet and I am sure you will still get paid. It sounds like my good ol' frat days when I had to keep 60 drunken and disordely guys mouths shut just to get through a meeting. Sounds like this is up my alley. Experience....Check!

Chang Tennis Academy

While playing tennis in China might not be the first place a person would think about for the sport, one place in that country is definitely worth visiting. In seeking to advance the sport of tennis at the national and international level, Mission Hills and American born Chinese tennis legend Michael Chang has established the world’s first Michael Chang Tennis Academy at the Mission Hills Country Club, home to Asia’s number one tennis complex.

Through the establishment of this world-class training facility, up and coming athletes, as well as budding enthusiasts wishing to improve their game now have the opportunity to excel in the sport. Mission Hills features exceptional tennis facilities that are second to none in Asia, boasting 51 International Tennis Federation recognized courts illuminated by floodlights. The essential mix of hard and synthetic surfaces utilized throughout the tennis complex has already proved to be an invaluable training asset for China’s National Tennis Team, having adopted the complex as its preferred training base during the winter months since 1998. This in conjunction with the adoption of the best internationally recognized methodologies and Michael Chang’s own personal training regimes and philosophies -- who at the height of his career was ranked the world’s number two men’s single player in 1996 -- will impact greatly on the way in which tennis is played in the future in China. -TennisNews.

The Asains only have one kid in the top 100, Kei Nishikori who recently beat James Blake in a breakout tournament in Delray Beach, Florida. Just based on the number of asians there are and how their typical work ethic is there should be a few more cracking that top 100 ranking if the tennis trend continues to be promoted at the right angles.

Helfant in Hell

Adam Helfant, the ATP's newly appointed chairman and chief executive, has quickly learned what an arduous job awaits him after sitting in on the annual players meeting that took place before the start of the Australian Open and was described by seasoned observers as both ' embarrassing ' and 'a farce'. Helfant is in Melbourne on a fact-finding mission before moving to London at the beginning of February. Flanked by new lieutenants such as the ATP's Chief Marketing Officer Phil Anderton, Rules Chief Gayle David Bradshaw, CEO of ATP Properties Richard Davies and Communications Director Kris Dent, he watched on as Chief Player Officer Andre Silva got the meeting underway. A lack of order was apparent from the onset but things descended to disrespectful proportions when jeers and whistles greeted Stuart Miller, the International Tennis Federation's Head of Science and Technology, who had been invited to explain the new anti-doping rules. Then Argentina's Guillermo Canas, banned for two years in 2005 after being found guilty of using a banned diuretic, made a point of standing up and walking out of the room as Miller tried to make his address, Canas had also been vocal amongst numerous complaints about the new prize money levels in the game which, he believed, unfairly favored players right at the top of the pay scale. Helfant, appointed after much support from both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, could not mistake the mood of the meeting. "I've been to a few of these but this was the worst behaved I've ever seen," said one official in attendance who wished to remain anonymous. "The new guy must have been thinking 'What have I let myself in for?'. He clearly did not wish to say anything himself but just sat quietly to one side of the hall and took everything in. Frankly the whole behavior of the players was embarrassing and a farce." Reported by mltennis.com

It has begun, the reign of Hell, I mean Helfant begins his CEO reign and doesn't say a word during his first ATP meeting...This article makes it sound like he is just an observer...He is the freakin' CEO, let me say that again...HE IS THE CEO and he didn't speak up and put things to rest, he didn't man up during this meeting and straighten the players out and demand some respect for the ATP or his colleagues. Yeah, he got the approval from Federer initially who probably didn't care about their meeting and Nadal whose english is far from good so he probably just smiled during their meeting, unless Helfant was able to speak "cough cough" some spanish. The ATP selected a smart guy and thats what we got and all they got, no personality, no leadership, just smartness. I am sure he took some great notes, Harvard quality...Maybe he should take notes from Obama on how to speak up for what is right. I would say, lets call it quits while you're ahead Helfant or at the very least give me a call because it sounds like you need someone to do your job for you. I would only demand 50k of that million you're getting...The offer is on the table...

IMG TENNIS

The Sarasota-Bradenton Herald Tribune reported a major restructuring is going on at the top of IMG Academies, the world renowned sports training facility. The deepest impact has come at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy, leaving some of the facility’s founders jobless. Four top executives were either fired or encouraged to resign since December. They include tennis academy director Gabriel Jaramillo, VPs Ted Meekma and Greg Breunich and CFO Jeff McNeil were asked to leave. Each man was given severance pay, according to Jaramillo‘s attorney, and signed nondisclosure and no-compete contracts that prohibit them from coaching tennis or speaking publicly about the changes. IMG officials refused to comment yet. Meekma and Bruenich started as tennis instructors who worked side-by-side with Bollettieri since the early years of the academy. Jaramillo also started as an instructor and worked his way to the head of the academy while training dozens of top players, including Agassi, Sharapova and Pete Sampras. He is the guy who spotted the talent in Kei Nishikori when he was in Japan. In 1987, Bollettieri joined IMG to open the multi-sport academies in west Manatee County, on 300 acres of former tomato fields. IMG now trains thousands of athletes in sports from golf to basketball.An investment firm, Forstmann Little & Co., acquired IMG — an international sports and entertainment marketing company — in 2004 for $750 million.Forstmann Little has a history of cutting costs to make its acquisitions more profitable before reselling them. Hopefully the restructuring process taking place would not affect the players.

I was interviewed by two of the men who got canned, (Alvaro Bedoya and Gabe Jaramillo) whom resigned, retired, or fired whatever they are going to call it last Wednesday from 9am to Noon. I was told I would get a call back on Thursday, Friday, or Monday and did not get a call back. I then followed up on Tuesday morning only to find out the bazaar news. I will admit the interview was extremely intense and I thought both of these guys were great and I was hoping and looking forward to working for them as a manager underneath them if an offer was extended which I thought they were going to. The shake up has had a domino effect and hopefully things will work out the way they are supposed to.

ATP CEO

Adam Helfant a former Nike executive and Harvard lawyer is to be named shortly as the ATP CEO, unless there is a dramatic change of heart. This change of heart I hope for and pray holds true and respectfully ask for the interview process to be extended to other candidates and reviewed again.

Clearly, this man selected so far is very smart as he is another Harvard kid. I have met many people who have gone to Harvard and they were all smart and also socially awkward and all had these big dramatic life experience stories attached to their achilles tendon. It actually saddens me that unless you went to Harvard you don't have a shot to work in the tennis upper offices because that appears to be the minimum requirement of hiring these days. If I had known I would surely have done better in my Princeton High School so that I could have gone to this school. I know that I wanted to go to that school but I never knew why, I just knew that I wanted to. After a few years I was not sure why anymore because it was not in Florida, so really who is the smarter one now? I would like to officially extend a challenge to Helfant in a game of chess to see who is truly the smarter kid, and then a set of tennis to seal the deal.

Helfant will join three other men in tennis that went to Harvard who are CEO's with the WTA, ITF, and US Open. Do you think that a lawyer's training will really be useful for calendar shifts and upset tournament directors? Let's be honest, does this guy even play tennis or know how the tennis scoring works? The ATP has potentially hired an outsider, AGAIN. Villiers was the outgoing and now former CEO of the ATP and was a Disney Executive previously (similar to Nike) and just destroyed player relations and was ousted in the press as a vicious CEO with awful player relations and everybody couldn't wait to see him go including himself. How is this selection going to be any different? It is always wrong to bring in an outsider to do an insider's job. It's nothing personal, but does Helfant even know how to hit a backhand? It's like bringing me in to run the NBA or NHL or any other sport besides tennis, its absoultely ridiculis this and this may sound harsh but its true that this decision potentially brings a boatload of shame to people in the running for this spot who have a tennis background.

When I need an oil change I go to the mechanic and get an oil change, I don't ask my lawyer to change my oil. If someone wants a tennis lesson I don't send them to a mechanic. This appointment saddens me and I hope it is reversed...Adam I am sure you are a great guy, but surely something else will come up, you might as well form your own company and surely its not about the money...or is it (didn't Nike pay you enough)? I do have some personal stake in this as well as I have fortunately spoken to the only three American Board Members of the ATP (there are six total) in the past week now and they were all really great, witty guys, especially the South African. If you have not spoken to a South African on the phone it is one of the coolest things ever. All my calls were brilliant and they all sounded brilliant (except for the one who thought it was a prank call which was entertaining in its own right) while I was trying to promote myself to get a last minute interview in front of the board and hopefully swing their votes. I am sure they probably all got enamored as anyone would with a Harvard guy who worked for the NHL and Nike and is good looking. It's easy to lose sight of the whole tennis concept and what the spot is being filled for. If you guys like him so much, bring him in has in-house counselor not as the TOP GUN. The outspoken one of the bunch on the Board was Gimelstob in which case said the decision was finalized and that came straight from the horses mouth but there appears to be no official press releases on the most important newslines in this situation which is TENNIS.com, TENNIS MAGAZINE, ATPTENNIS.com a Press Conference on the Tennis Channel or ESPN which leads me to believe there may still be time to change this selection or maybe I will just wait for the next one.

Anywho, what was a short jewish kid from jersey who went to UTampa, dropped out of law school to play mediocre professional tennis at best, and is only 28 thinking anyways?