Tennis Night in American Tradition Continues On

Tennis promoter, Jerry Solomon, still remembers when he asked Roger Federer to play in an exhibition in New York`s Madison Square Garden back in 2007. The night marked the start of “Tennis Night in America” which has become a tradition.

Tonight, March 5, 2012, that custom continues on with 1400 tennis clubs and facilities hosting “viewing parties” and other activities. Pros, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer seemed thrilled to be there.

“Coming back [to New York] at a time when tennis is not dominating headlines is really nice, a bit more laid back for us because it’s an exo. On a personal note you look back [one day] and say it was an amazing feeling to be playing in MSG. You think about Ivan, Mac, all the legends playing there in the past. And who knows, maybe in the future bringing back a big tournament to New York?” Said Federer.

In the first Tennis Night in America, Federer played against the legendary, Pete Sampras, and tonight he faced-off with Andy Roddick.  Despite Federer leading their head-to-head 21-2, Andy has nothing but kind words for his fellow competitor.

“He’s been playing great. He played well in Australia and seemingly even better in Rotterdam and Dubai. It’s amazing to see his level. A lot of the guys we started with have been done for five or six years now. It’s been fun to play during the same time. . .Well, at times it’s been. .  . But it’s not surprising to see Roger winning tennis tournaments.”

Tennis Night in America is doing extremely well, by noon today there was approximately 16,000 tickets sold and ESPN televised the exciting event. In hopes that this tradition could turn into an event for the entire tennis world, Scott O`Neil, president of MSG Sports said, “Think of this event as something like the NHL or NBA All-Star Game. You can build a lot of great things around a single event like that.”

Roger Federer Opens Up About Hurt Confidence

In a recent article published on ESPN. com, pro tennis star, Roger Federer, opens up about his game, his confidence and his future in the tennis world.

Roger Federer, ranked No.3 hasn`t won a major tournament since the 2010 Australian Open and although he doesn`t feel this has anything to do with his performance, he did say that, “a bit of confidence not on my side and on my opponent’s side.”

His lack of confidence could possibly be due to the, “tough losses over the past couple of years.”  Although the pro did break Pete Sampras` record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, he did miss breaking Sampras` mark of a 286 week record at No.1 by merely a week.

Although times have been tough for the pro, he claims he is doing just fine, “It would be great having that record but my life is very much OK without it, too,” Federer said. “Pete is a good friend and was an amazing champion for our game. I don’t need to break every record he has. I came so close and I could have chased it if I had wanted to. I didn’t choose to.”

Even though his confidence, or perhaps his ego, is somewhat hurt, he is positive about his future in the game, mentioning that he has won three titles in the last four months and believes he can once again be No.1.

“I feel if I play really well until the U.S. Open, and then obviously there is a shot. But then again there is a shot for about 10 players,” Federer said. “I am aware I’m not the only one. But I feel like I’m on a good run right now. I’ve won a lot of tournaments in a short time, which gives me a lot of confidence.”

Despite this rough patch, Roger Federer is no doubt one of those most skilled players in the tennis world and being ranked at No. 3 is quite an accomplishment; but do you think he can be No.1 again?

 

Congrats to Federer!

Roger Federer claimed a record 6^th title at the ATP World Tour, defeating competitor, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had beaten him earlier in the season at the Wimbledon quarter-final. Federer admits he was having doubts after some crushing loses this season, “Same as Rafa (Nadal) at the French Open in the final, Novak in the semis of the US Open. It’s fine to respect that. But I feel when it happens that often, I do have to question myself that maybe I did something wrong.

According to an article in, The Telegraph, the 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 triumph moved Federer`s record since the US Open to 17 wins and no defeats. In an interview, Federer answered questions regarding his mental state and what was going on in his head, “I think I’m mentally good right now. That was also one of the reasons why I did take some time off, to actually think it through, get into the right mental mindset.

“There is a lot of time that goes by out on tour, during a match, you’re just trying to stay positive, but you can’t always be positive out there. It’s just too difficult.

“That’s where maybe the doubts were just a bit too strong during certain important moments. I wanted to get that out of my system during the six-week break, and I was able to do that.”

Congratulations to Roger Federer on his exciting victory and hopefully there are many more to come!