Tired of Novak Djokovic's ball bouncing? Catch a rising star on a challenger web service - your alternative tennis source.
Monday in São Paulo
The first day of the main draw of the São Paulo challenger was very good for the Brazilians. João Souza and Franco Ferreiro survived tough opponents and Ricardo Hocevar won a close match against his countryman Eric Gomes.
Brazillian Thiago Alves is a well known name in the challenger circuit. Most of his success was achieved in the South and North American hardcourts. Last year, he gained some fans after a good match against Roger Federer in the second round of the US Open. He lost, but his grunts made him famous.
São Paulo: the rain delay challenger; Sunday report
The Sao Paulo challenger qualifying could also be known as “The Rain Delay tournament”. After a terrible Saturday, the organizers also had problems with the weather on Sunday.
Saturday was supposed to be the first day of the São Paulo challenger qualifying, but the rain made impossible for any matches to be complete. So players will have to play twice this Sunday and the final round is scheduled for Monday. But Vicente, Becker and Capdeville tried to get some action off court.
São Paulo kicks off the 2009 challenger circuit alongside with the Nouméa event. The difference between them is that the players on the Brazilian tournament aren’t thinking about the Australian Open qualifying.
Noumea is the capital city of New Caledonia, a French territory on the Pacific Ocean. Despite the beautiful landscapes, it's not necessarily the favourite touristic destination because of the travel expenses. This is also why many players withdrew from the initial entry list of this challenger.
Year summaries conquered the worldwide media, from BBC, through Eurosport, to The Sun. Let's check the most popular 2008 news on Tennisalternative. If you are registered, you can also choose your favourite weekly coverage in our poll.
I interviewed Jelena Dokić in summer during the 25K tournament, but it was on behalf of the Polish magazine "Tenis Gem Set Mecz". Now the English version is available on our site.
Houston, we have a problem. I could never imagine I'd get so many opinions asking for the site back. *But* for many reasons I'm unable to keep to regular updates alone. Also, reporters for the tournaments are welcome.
