 | | 01-29-2008, 06:15 PM |
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#9 |
| Total Fan
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 7,622
| I read this over at TW... Anyway, it is part of an interview with Mats Wilander..its about the final but kinda sums up some of my feelings. Djoko's family was very disrespectful in the SF too..
Quote:
Swedish interviewer Annette Sjober: "In all your years have you ever seen security having to guard the parents of a player during a match?"
Wilander: "No, that was really unbelievable. I've never seen it
before. Not only security but the lower tournament director sitting by the family box. You know, it seems they [the Djokovic parents] were bothered that the crowd was pro-Tsonga. Well, Tsonga is a modest guy, you know, he's very popular in the locker room and with fans. Novak is, a little, not too modest."
Interviewer: "Do you know why the security guards were by the Djokovic family?"
Wilander: "Well, they are known to talk trash, let's say. Even to players on the court. It's one thing to encourage your player, but they take this to a level I've just never seen. Just because there's some pro-Tsonga people behind them, you know, with their faces painted the French colors, they get upset and complain. I've never heard of a player's family interjecting themselves like this or complaining. That's just sports. Get used to it."
Interviewer: "Novak seemed upset in the first two sets that the crowd wasn't supporting him."
Wilander: "Well again, he needs to get used to it. I've played in
Davis Cup matches where we were booed and heckled and all the rest. It comes with the territory. He's not endearing himself to fans or press people, just a timely warning. It's always better to play down your strengths and not trumpet up your own wins. And the family aspect is very weird at the moment."
| Anyway. Happier times!
Quote:
Jan 28, 2008 from Tennis Week:
The swoosh may well become a much more lucrative symbol to Roger Federer next month. Nike is reportedly on the verge of signing the 12-time Grand Slam champion to "the most lucrative tennis endorsement deal ever," according to a published report in the SportsBusiness Journal written by Daniel Kaplan and Terry Lefton.
The 10-year contract extension "could be worth as much as $13 million a year", according to SBJ, though it is unclear how much of that figure is guaranteed and how much is contingent on Federer meeting performance-based incentives.
Federer is a long-time Nike endorser. His prior Nike contract, signed in 2002 without the benefit of an agent (Federer is now represented by IMG's Tony Godsick) and before he had won his first Grand Slam title at the 2003 Wimbledon, paid him about $1 million annually, which is well below market value for a champion of his status.
Though tennis shoes and clothes sales in the United States are not nearly as large as other sports, Federer's popularity in Asia, where tennis is booming, his international appeal and his pursuit of Pete Sampras' record of 14 career gives the company global exposure.
| even when he is not playing he is breaking a record in tennis  |
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