Austria, Hodge-Podge, and Officially "Underrated"

Monday 15 December

Sorry for being a day late, another weekend with snow and snow and ice - nearly 2 feet last week and this weekend another 5" or so - with ice. I've got some Rainer mentions from the past week, but honestly haven't had the chance to study all the German papers completely, so I will certainly post more as I come across them. Last week was a 65+ hour workweek and this week should be the same, but I will note when the links and pictures get updated.

Rainer played in an invitation tourney and faced off against Sjeng Schalken in St Anton am Arlberg in Austria, and rounded out 2003 with another loss to the Dutchman 63 46 5-10. Hopefully in 2004 Schuettler can foil him and get some W's off Schalken. What is it about this guy?!

I wrestled with whether or not to post the picture of Rainer and his dad, I don't want to toe the line between tennis and non-tennis, but it was part of an article in Sport1 and it's not paparazzi-ish, so I went with it. I found a picture of his parents during Houston, but never posted it because I don't want to seem intrusive, we're here for the tennis.
(updated 6:50pm {NY time} Thursday 18 Dec... PS - Anyone want send me a German Tennis Magazin that has Rainer on the cover? I'll pay all the related costs... and now if I can just find a source to see the Klitschko fight on Saturday...)

There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• Tennis-X compilation of the year in review


• TennisMagazin.de excerpt from their latest issue, has Rainer on the cover. I believe the headline on the magazine asks if Rainer will be stronger in 2004.


• TennisMagazin.de piece on Rainer v Sjeng


• Yahoo Deutschland's similar article


• Sport1 article on Rainer


• Sport1 piece on match, more about Sjeng. Rainer said that he would certainly play the event again if he were invited.


• SI's Jon Wertheim's "Baggie Awards" column


• Sun Sentinel article (Florida paper) on Sebastien Grosjean, with a Rainer mention


• BBC blurb


• Tennis-x piece on their year-end awards


• NEW! Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim listed Rainer Schuettler as the 2003's underrated player (male or female) in the year's ups and downs... "Rainer Schuettler - Be it because a) his game relies on quickness and consistency, not sleek power b) he speaks English with an accent or c) he didn’t win a big-ticket tournament it was all too easy to overlook Schuettler. The Germanator reached at least the fourth round at all four Majors, won 71 matches (only one fewer than Andy Roddick), and finished the year at No. 6. A wunderbar year for a guy who went unrecognized as he walked around the grounds of the U.S. Open."
  Great news for Rainer! I have yet to receive my actual SI magazine, so we'll see if anything is in the current issue as well. Of minor note: I happened to pass/see Rainer a number of times on the grounds and Dirk a few times as well (all that trucking back and forth to distant courts), and it was pretty weird to see the 8th seed just disappear in the crowd. I could see him going unrecognized if it were baseball game, but to be at the premiere US tennis event - as a Top 10 player... Maybe it was because he didn't have his hat on, but that's a big maybe. Personally, between being famous or being a face in the crowd, I'm all for face in the crowd. Along those same lines, Wertheim listed as most annnoying: "American arrogance - Seventeen of the Top 20 men and 14 of the Top 20 women have the bad manners to hail from countries other than the U.S. This, likely, is startling news if you attended the U.S. Open or watched tennis on American television. According second-class status to the foreigners is not just ugly and arrogant, it’s incredibly short-sighted. A great way to ensure lousy ratings and dwindling interest is to perpetuate the myth that all those Fernandos and Guillermos and Anastasias aren't worth watching." Here here! (I just couldn't wait until Sunday to post this, but I have a couple things that can hold until the weekend... let's just say it relates to the Christmas Spirit)


Other Tennis and Sports news:

• ESPN piece on Serena's Nike deal. One interesting fact, Serena played most of 2003 without a contract with Puma, yet still wore their clothes.


• ESPN's Kreidler has a commentary on the deal


• Sports Illustrated's AP story on Vietnamese player


• SI's Jon Wertheim's column from 8 Dec


• SI's AP report on no THG found in tennis tests


• For fun, here is SI's Jon Wertheim's 2002 Baggies


• 2001 Baggies


• ATP's preview of 2004... apparently defeating Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Gustavo Kuerten, Sebastien Grosjean, Guillermo Coria, being a Slam finalist and Masters Cup semifinalist isn't enough to earn even a mention.


• ESPN and ESPN2's television schedule for the 2004 Oz Open


• Abilene (Texas paper) blurb on what recreational players should do on the court


• NEW! Hewitt has said NO to the Olympics... the cynical way to look at it: either he's totally committed to getting back into the top 10 for 2004 or he only cares about country via Davis Cup. In truth, I hope he comes roaring back and has a great year - it would make for quite a season with all this talent around.


• Kuerten says YES to the Olympics... Cynical version: maybe he wants to show how it can be done when you're under one sponsor and your Olympic team is under another. In truth, if he faces Rainer again, he needs to lose.


• Olympic disgrace from XC skiing (not the 1st sport you think of when it comes to doping, eh?)


• Lance Armstrong will hang up the bike after two more TdF's. One of my "sports and travel dream-combos" is to cross the pond for a month or so and just go from sport to sport to sport... check out the action at Roland Garros, do some time at Wimbledon, see some Tour de France stages, and then some travel/sightseeing in between... may have to save more and plan faster to do this in 2005 to see Armstrong compete... another of my favorite people who happen to be athletically gifted.


• Thomas Johansson article on his 2004 comeback


• ESPN commentary on doping and Athens

Schuettler Shots... Photos