A special place called Kooyong

Written by: Lovey on 4th January 2011

A special place called Kooyong |

Kooyong… I can’t tell you how special that place is in my heart. Almost the moment we arrived in Melbourne that’s where I wanted to visit. I can tell you I wasn’t disappointed. You can feel the history.

I love Aussies. I can’t help it. They are fun people. Easy going. Laid back. Very organized and thoughtful. I must say the Aussies as a group have been my favorites players and friends…

Some of the greatest of Australians are: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, and Wayne Arthurs.

Rod laver is the king of the hill… Two GRAND slams in the calendar year. 1962 and again in 1969… Roy Emerson is next—13 slams. The Ken Rosewall backhand was a magnificent shot… Wayne Arthurs’ serve… The biggest lefty “banana” anyone ever saw. Wayne’s touch and spins were the most underrated in tennis… He had the same soft hands as John McEnroe… It’s referred to as “Feel”…and what a first rate mate… GDay Wayno!!!

Maria Sharapova alert and update. She has left Prince after playing her career with their rackets to switch to head rackets. More interesting than that is the hiring of Thomas Hogstedt. . He is a great coach. A great guy (As a junior he won the 1981 US Open Title). He had a nice career as a player but is better known in recent years as a coach.

Which reminds me… Thomas coached Nicolas Kiefer. I heard the retirement word. Ouch. Nicolas, Please think about how hard you worked to get your ranking back up. Selective events in Europe? Doubles? We know you have a new bundle of joy at home. A new baby came this year. Big congrats.

If it’s true and you’re hanging up the rackets, 10sballs.com will really miss you. You were a fierce competitor. Sure you played some mental games…but we loved you in spite of it. We wish you well dear “Kiwi,” it was always fun to watch how fast you were. You had those huge calf muscles that turbocharged you like a car on the autobahn…
Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas. Both traded off being the number one and two players from Germany. Now both are new daddies for the first time. But Tommy is going strong to keep playing. I always feel most players leave the game too soon. If there’s still tread on the tires…drive the car. The life of pro tennis is tough…but the money is pretty good….compared to the average Joe with the average 9 to 5 job.

Oh if I had a change I’d love to see in tennis for 2011, it’s a true player representative system…as well as a commissioner. More. Much more on those subjects as the year moves on…

Topics: Australians, Backhand, Bundle Of Joy, Calf Muscles, Fun People, John Mcenroe, Ken Rosewall, King Of The Hill, Laid Back, Lefty, Maria Sharapova, Mental Games, Nicolas Kiefer, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Soft Hands, Tommy Haas, Two Grand Slams, Wayne Arthurs, Wayno

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