Indian Wells, California, USA (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer won’t be starring at Indian Wells this year, after a defeat, 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7/4), at the hands of Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament.
Scot Andy Murray beat US player Michael Russell 6-3, 7-5 to move on in the tournament.
Links to other sites: AFP/Sydney Morning Herald, Lawn Tennis Association
Didier Defago, Switzerland, winner of the 2010 Olympics gold medal in downhill skiing
Didier Defago (stock photo, Swiss Ski 2009)
Vancouver, BC, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Didier Defago Monday evening Swiss time has won a second gold medal for Switzerland in the men’s downhill race at Whistler Mountain in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, after Simon Ammann Saturday 13 February in ski jumping. Defago, from Morgins, was until recently not even sure he’d make the cut for the Swiss team. The 32-year-old gives Switzerland its first Olympic gold in the downhill event since Pirmin Zurbriggen won in Calgary in 1988.
In the 2008-2009 season Defago won impressive back-to-back wins at Wengen and Kitzbuehel, two of the toughest runs on the World Cup circuit. He won with a time of 1:54.31.
Defago is a close friend of another Swiss sports winner, Roger Federer.
Didier Cuche, the current world number one and the favourite to win the race, came in sixth, after losing a lot of time in the final sector, for a time of 1:54.67.
Silver was taken by Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway, with 1:54.38 and bronze by Bode Miller, USA, 1:54.40.
The other Swiss hopeful, Carlo Janka, came in 11th at 1:52.02.
Links to other sites: Didier Defago site, Vancouver Games on Mother Nature and ski racing, TSR (Fre), wikipedia
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - Swiss world number one tennis player Roger Federer added a fourth Australian Open to his collection, and a record 16th Grand Slam singles title to his trophy cabinet as he crushed Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11.) Federer quickly took control as he broke Murray’s first service game but the Scot battled back to win the next three games.
The Swiss star then gave a masterful demonstration to take the first two sets. The third set was tightly contested as Murray took advantage of a few weak points to break Federer’s serve and lead 5-2 but he handed back the break and the set went to a tie-break. A tiring Murray failed to convert four set points and eventually lost the tie-break 13-11 to end the match.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) – Swiss tennis star Roger Federer cruised past Swiss resident (canton Vaud) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2 6-3 6-2 to reach the finals of the Australian Open. Federer and British player Andy Murray face off Sunday for the title.
Links to other sites: Australian Open, TSR (Fre)
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - The big surprise in the womens’ draw for the 2010 Australian Open has been the performance of Chinese players Li Na and Zheng Jie but they failed to make it through to the final. Serena Williams powered her way past Li Na 7-6, 7-6 in a closely fought match. Justine Henin thrashed Zheng Jie 6-1, 6-0, winning 12 games in succession. The final showdown between Serena Williams and Justine Henin should be a fascinating match. The Williams sisters moved into the final of the womens’ doubles where they will face Zimbabwean Cara Black and Liesel Huber of the USA.
Andy Murray started his semi-final match against Marin Cilic nervously, losing the first set 6-3 but then the British player picked up to break the Croatian’s serve and take the second set 6-4. He then went on to take the next two sets against a tiring Cilic to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. He will play either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.
Links to other sites: Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer escaped a tough first hour of play to suddenly take over his match with Nicolay Davydenko to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5. Federer now moves into the semi-finals of the Australian Open, setting another record, for playing in more Grand Slam semi-finals than any player in tennis history. The win also assures him his number one place, which had been under threat from Novak Djokovic.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - Scotland’s Andy Murray moved into the semi-finals of the Australian Open when last year’s champion Rafael Nadal withdrew in the third set suffering from a recurrence of an injury to his right knee. Murray was already leading the match 6-3, 7-6, 3-0 and looked in awesome form. He will face the Croatian giant Marin Cilic, who beat Andy Roddick in five sets.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer was in fine form as he brushed aside the local favourite Leyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to enter the quarter-finals of the Australian Open Monday 25 January. Federer was in complete control throughout, dropping serve only once, in the third set, and then coming back immedately to beat Hewitt for the 15th time in succession.
Federer will next face Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Fernando Verdasco in a tough five-setter 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-3. Davydenko beat Federer in their last two matches, after a long string of losses against the Swiss star.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer was behind the idea to add an exhibition game to the Australian Open, in order to raise funds for Haiti, and the event was a giant success, says the Open’s organizers. The event raised $200,000 in aid for Haiti, with 15,000 tickets sold, a full house, for Aus$10 each. More money was raised in the stands during the exhibition games. Another 5,000 fans who could not get into the stadium watched on the giant screens outside.
Federer’s team lost 6-7 to Rafael Nadal’s team in a doubles competition.
Team Federer: Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, Samantha Stosur
Team Nadal: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters
Links to other sites: Guardian, Roger Federer, TSR (Fre)
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer and his family have posted a Federer Christmas card with a family photo, answering requests from fans for another look at the twin girls born in July, taken by Robbie Federer. Within a short time more than 300 comments had appeared.
Background, GenevaLunch
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer and Serena Williams have been named ITF tennis champions for 2009, Federer for the fifth time, Serena for the second time. Roger Federer regained his top seed ranking from Rafael Nadal and he surpassed Pete Sampras’ 15 career Grand Slam titles. Serena Williams won Wimbledon and the Australian Open for a total of 11 wins. She last won the award in 2002. They will receive the awards in Paris in June.
Val-d’Isere, France (GenevaLunch) - It was back to Earth with a bump for the Swiss skiers as Austria dominated the World Cup events 12-13 December. Carlo Janka won three races the previous weekend at Beaver Creek in Colorado, USA, but he was eliminated in France, while Didier Cuche could only manage ninth place. Cuche became the oldest skier to win a World Cup downhill during his Canadian trip and was rewarded for his contribution to Swiss skiing by being voted the Swiss sporting personality of the year, edging out tennis star Roger Federer.
O2 Arena, London, England (GenevaLunch) - Russian Nikolay Davydenko scored his finest career result when he beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP tennis World Tour Final. In the semi-finals he scored his first win over Roger Federer after 13 losses. The finals win was fairly routine as del Potro never showed the energy and power that had seen him beat Federer and Robin Soderling in the previous rounds.
London, England (GenevaLunch) – Nicolay Davydenko defeated Roger Federer 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 at the ATP World Finals in London, outpowering him in the first set and outlasting him overall. Davydenko played extremely well and now awaits the winner of the Saturday evening match between Robin Soderling and Juan Martin del Potro for the finals in an end of season tournament that has seen the world’s top players seem to run out of steam.
Links to other sites: Guardian, UK, Sports Illustrated
Federer inches closer to another Sampras record
London, England (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer neatly defeated Scotland’s Andy Murray in three sets, 3-6 6-3 6-1 at the ATP World Tour in London’s o2 arena. The Swiss player thus ensures that he will keep his ranking as the world’s top player for the rest of 2009. He finishes the year at the ATP World Tour Champion: “With five year-end number 1 finishes, Federer ties Jimmy Connors’ mark and now stands just one back of Pete Sampras on the list of all-time ATP World Tour Champions. Sampras finished as the No. 1 player six straight years, from 1993-98,” the tennis association notes on its site.
Federer held the top slot in world tennis for 237 straight weeks from 2 February 2004 to 17 August 2008.
London, England (GenevaLunch) – Rafael Nadal’s chances of pushing Roger Federer out of the number one slot in tennis faded Monday night when he lost to Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4 in the ATP World Tour, in the first match of a round robin. Soderling had handed Nadal his first loss on clay at the French Open in Paris in May 2009. Monday’s game had Nadal running all over the court, and after the game Nadal said he hadn’t really had the “necessary calm” to stay on top.
Links to other sites: AP, ATP official site, Guardian
London, England (GenevaLunch) - Andy Murray started strongly in the end of year ATP Masters, beating Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, the winner of the US Open, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The Scot looked in fine form in the first set, quickly going to a 5-0 lead. Del Potro suffered from an inability to maintain a rally, and a nosebleed. He came back in the second set, winning it 6-3, but quickly fell behind in the third. The match ended 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
The other match in the O2 arena saw world number one Roger Federer take on Fernando Verdasco.
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, ranked number one in the world by the ATP tennis association, lost to number 49-ranked Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the first match for Federer at the start of the Masters 1000 Paris-Bercy. Benneteau fell to the court in tears at the end of the match, where he dominated the game and defeated Federer 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4. The last time Federer lost an entry-level match in a tournament was in August 2008 in Montreal.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer missed out on the chance to win his fourth successive title at his Swiss hometown tournament. He played without his customary power and precision to let Novak Djokovic take the title.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - World number one Roger Federer eased past his fellow Basel player Marco Chiudinelli (ATP rank, 73) after a difficult first set in the semi-finals of the Basel tournament. He won 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 against his much improved friend.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer and long-time friend from Basel Marco Chiudinelli teamed up against Pakistani A.H. Qureshi and American James Cerritani 3 November in the first round of the ATP doubles match in Basel, and lost 4-6, 3-6. Both can now concentrate on their singles game.
Link to other site: Rogerfederer.com
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer’s return to tennis Monday 2 November after time off for family gave him a smooth win over Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-3, in a match that lasted 66 minutes. Federer had 12 aces in the match that showed him in top form.
Roger's other family
Kilchberg, canton Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer, Switzerland’s favourite tennis player, has been tapped by chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli to market the brand. The company made the announcement 29 October.
Lindt has two production facilities in the USA and six around Europe. It distributes around the world. The company announced poor first half 2009 sales for its premium products as the recession took hold, and consumers spend chocolate money on cheaper brands. Reuters
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer is withdrawing from two tournaments after consulting with his team and doctors, he says, to let his body rest and recuperate after a tough year. He is pulling out of the Tokyo and Shanghai tournaments, in what he describes as “two of his favourite cities in the world”, after consulting with his team and doctors. In the first four hours after he posted the information on his Facebook page, more than 16,000 of his three million-plus fans had reacted.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland drew Spain to kick off the Davis Cup in March 2010, which team captain Severin Luthi describes as “one of the toughest draws you can have.” Spain was the 2008 champion and is the top seed. Luthi notes that it’s too early for Roger Federer to say whether or not he’ll participate in March. Federer’s 20 September 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 win over Italy’s Potito Starace ensured Switzerland’s place in the Davis Cup. Full list of draws
