Pre-Houston Week

True Fact:
There's a saying in America,
"Everything's bigger in Texas!"








Normally I group any pre-tournament info into the first day of the actual event, but I feel that there's too much from this week to pile into Monday's sole entry. So, the following pre-Houston articles and info will remain as their own entry, and the actual tournament entry will start with Monday (the day the singles begin, even though the doubles started on Saturday).

Sunday 9 November
There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• Sport1 article


• NY Times piece about new CBS/TV deal


• Another Sport1 piece


• SportBild article


• Die Welt piece on Rainer, need to register to read it, so here it is, but any German characters come out jumbled, will try to fix later:
  

  Aufschlag für Könige - Heute beginnt der Masters Cup der besten Tennisspieler - Rainer Schüttler stellt seine sieben Konkurrenten vor
  von Jörg Allmeroth
  Houston - Der noble West Side Tennis Club im texanischen Houston wird ab heute zur Bühne für die Großen der Szene. Masters Cup, das Tennis-Finale der Saison, einfacher ausgedrückt: die Weltmeisterschaft, sie beginnt. Für die acht stärksten Spieler des Jahres 2003 wurde eigens ein exklusiver Center Court mit einem Fassungsvermögen von 7000 Zuschauern gebaut. Die halbrunde Tribüne erlaubt einen herrlichen Überblick über die komplette Anlage.
  
  Gespielt wird in zwei Gruppen, der Roten und der Goldenen Gruppe - nach den Vorrundenmatches (jeder gegen jeden, zwei Gewinnsätze) bis einschließlich Freitag spielen die Gruppenersten am Samstag gegen den jeweiligen Zweiten der anderen Gruppe die Halbfinals aus. Die beiden Sieger ermitteln am Sonntag über drei Gewinnsätze den Masters-Cup-König, der im Siegfall 1,52 Millionen Dollar gewinnen kann.
  
  Rainer Schüttler ist der erste deutsche WM-Teilnehmer seit Nicolas Kiefer (Hannover) 1999. Der Korbacher weiß, was in Houston auf ihn zukommt. Für DIE WELT beschreibt er einen Tag vor seinem Auftaktspiel gegen den Argentinier Guillermo Coria alle Masters-Cup-Teilnehmer.
  
  Schüttler über Andre Agassi: "Er ist ein Wahnsinnsspieler. In Australien hat er gegen mich in einer anderen Tennis-Liga gespielt, da hatte ich null Chancen. Er ist ein Phänomen, ich bewundere ihn für das, was er in seinem Profileben geschafft hat."
  
  Schüttler über Roger Federer: "Er ist für mich der Mann mit dem größten Potenzial. Sein Spiel hat diese Leichtigkeit, das sieht schon genial aus. In London hat er zum ersten Mal sein Können auf einer ganz großen Bühne bestätigt."
  
  Schüttler über Guillermo Coria: "Ein echtes Laufwunder. Man muss schon ganz mächtig Ausdauer und Willen haben, um ihn niederzuringen. Er ist ein großer Stratege, ein Schachspieler auf dem Court. Im Moment der stärkste Südamerikaner im Wanderzirkus."
  
  Schüttler über Juan Carlos Ferrero: "Er ist sicherlich der beste Allrounder der Welt, kann auf jedem Belag konstant aggressiv und gefährlich spielen. Man muss ihn ein komplettes Match lang beherrschen, wenn man gegen ihn gewinnen will. Er steht zu Recht ganz vorne."
  
  Schüttler über David Nalbandian: "Gerade auf dem Hardcourt ein sehr gefährlicher Gegner. Besonders stark und unberechenbar ist seine Rückhand. Wir hatten dieses Jahr so einige heiße Duelle. In Melbourne war ich vorne, er kurz danach beim Daviscup. Ein sehr reizvoller Rivale."
  
  Schüttler über Carlos Moya: "Die ehemalige Nummer eins der Welt, das sagt einiges. Im Sommer in einem kleinen Formtief, aber im Herbst traditionell stark. Gegen ihn hatte ich einen der schönsten Siege, nach 0:2-Satzrückstand in Melbourne 2002. Wir hatten immer großartige Matches. Ein Geheimfavorit für mich."
  
  Schüttler über Andy Roddick: "Er hat nach dem Sieg in New York Selbstvertrauen ohne Ende. Viel hängt von seinem Hammer-Aufschlag ab: Kommt der, ist er schwer zu schlagen. Er ist kein Leisetreter, ein typischer Ami eben, dem man immer eingetrichtert hat: Du wirst der Stärkste und Beste. Ich gebe zu: Es ist ein besonderer Reiz, ihn in Amerika zu schlagen."




• ESPN's mini profile of the players


• Piece on Agassi from ESPN but also some little details on tourney as a whole


• Agassi's ideas on tennis' future

Again, will translate/clean up posts as I get time, promise. (Friday's too)

Friday 7 November
My Friday finds...
There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• Bild interview with Rainer about Houston


• Netzeitung interview with Dirk Hordorff


• Masters Cup info page on Rainer from their site


• Die Welt's interview with Hordorff


• Sports Illustrated's mini player bios. Here is their Rainer info:
  RAINER SCHUETTLER (6)
  Age: 27
  Country: Germany
  2003 Match Record: 69-28
  2003 Singles Titles: 2
  Career Singles Titles: 4
  Major Titles: None (Best: F)
  2003 Grand Slams: AO-F, FO-4th, W-4th, US-4th
  Topspin: Year-end ranking will improve for ninth straight season, the top active streak. ... Only time in career he's reached quarterfinals at a major was on run to Australian Open final in January.


• Announcement of a Masters Cup documentary

Will translate later when I get some more time


Thursday 6 November
Not much to report for Thursday, but went through my usual sites and came up with these articles. I'll post more Friday if anything new comes along.

There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• Netzeitung article. "There are no light opponents with such an elite tournament," said Rainer about the draw, "but clearly it could have been much worse."
  On facing Coria first: "Against him you can win only if you play concentrated from the first second to the last second. He does not give you points." Schuettler looks forward to facing Roddick for the first time since the summer, "Andy has in the meantime naturally become more self-confident. However, it is appropriate for me. I look forward to this duel."
  On skipping a few days rest in Florida, "for 48 hours, however, pure vacation would become stress - and I really cannot use that now," said Schuettler.


• Sport1 piece with Becker quotes. Boris, I believe, says that the quarterfinals are possible for Rainer and that he is prepared and concentrated for Houston.


• Sports Illustrated's brief preview from Reuters


• As a footnote, Roddick is also in the news this week with reports that he's going to have his own reality show called "The Tour." It's about life on the ATP tour, interacting with other players, etc but no station for it yet. Also, he is hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend and is in NY for the week, and will arrive in Houston on Sunday. If he doesn't do well in the tourney, everyone will blame the show. If there's any mention of Rainer on SNL, I'll fall out of my chair.
  My personal favorites of the best sports-related SNL's are: Wayne Gretzky doing the Elvis/hockey skit back in 1989; chocolate-chip cookie dough Gatorade commercial; The Rock's skit with Mr Peepers; and Nomar Garciaparra in the Sully skits. Though Charles Barkley playing Barney one-on-one wasn't bad.


• Betting site's odds on the tournament. They have Rainer ahead of only Philippoussis (!) at 25-1. This mention of Rainer: "Accordingly, Roddick is 1/2 to win his section which will be played on a round-robin format. Interestingly, Roddick holds a negative 1-2 head-to-head record with underrated German Schuettler."


• Piece on the top three, no Rainer but the 1st in-depth tennis article I've found in a Texas paper


• Tennis-X has kind of made fun of Rainer all year, but they do have some good tennis reports. Here's some of their Houston preview: "Roddick is 1-0 career against both Coria and Moya in his group, but has struggled with a 1-2 record against Schuettler.
  While Coria's hardcourt game in still in the developmental stages, Moya could join Schuettler in proving problematic for the world No. 1. "I honestly think I am a better player than I was four years ago, when I was No. 1 in the world," said Moya earlier this year when he reached the hardcourt final at the TMS-Miami, losing to Agassi... Red Group Intangibles: What if Coria goes into "Wizard Mode"? What if Schuettler realizes he is 2-1 vs. Roddick this year? What if Moya's shoulder is good and the former No. 1 peaks like he did during the spring U.S. hardcourt season?
  Blue Group Intangibles: What if Agassi comes out firing? What if Fed has shaken off the back injury and goes into "Fed Mode"? What if Ferrero plays like he did at the US Open? What if Nalbandian pulls with his wrist injury, and alternate Mark Philippoussis is introduced into the mix?"
  
  Here are some examples of their "flavor"...
  Pre-Oz Open final: Rainer Schuettler in the final of a Grand Slam? Come on, this must be some kind of a cruel joke. But just has been the case the last few years in Australia, the first Slam of the season really does turn things "Down Under" as it's become the norm for a relative unknown to make a huge impact. Last year, it was Thomas Johansson, who shockingly walked off with the trophy. Prior to that in 2001, it was Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean. Heck, just look back at history at the other players who have reached the semifinals or better in Oz: Jiri Novak, Nicolas Lapentti, Marcelo Rios, Patrick McEnroe, Mark Woodforde, Tommy Haas, Nicolas Escude and Thomas Enqvist. Not exactly hall of famers, but really not pushovers either. So, Schuettler, while not in the highest of company, should feel right at home. Unfortunately, he's playing Andre Agassi who has not lost in Melbourne since 1999, and this year the 32-year-old shows absolutely no signs of losing now or anytime soon for that matter. He's simply steamrollered everyone along the way to the final surrendering just one set. Plus, Schuettler matches up nicely for Agassi, as the German has little fire power and lots of speed. That's not a recipe for success against Andre, unless of course he's having a bad day. So...It's Agassi in front 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.
  
  Excerpt from their Aussie Serena observations... "Do I really need to be subjected to Serena's big thighs and ass exploding out of those mini-skirt outfits?"
  
  Rainer mentions from January: "No one from last year's ATP Top 8 (save Andre Agassi) reached a final through the 2003 Asia/Australia swing (Go Rainer!)."
  and "ATP Masters Cup Houston promoters are sweating it at the thought of stadium-emptier Rainer Schuettler in the Top 8 at the end of the year, no doubt"
  
  And Rainer blurb from February: DAVIS CUP WEEK - No ATP events during this the first week of Davis Cup play for 2003. Don't worry German fans, Rainer Schuettler still remains at No. 2 on the "ATP Champions Race" standings, frightening the organizers of the year-end ATP Masters Cup.
  
  From June: "It is a great feeling to be in the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time," Schuettler said after wearing down Martin. "I always feel confident on grass and this just shows that I am playing better and better each year." Yeah, the Masters-Houston organizers are thrilled.
  
  This one I totally agree with: "Americans can put a man on the moon but they can't get more blow dryers on the Armstrong court?"
  -- Dirk Hordorff, coach of Rainer Schuettler, as told to Charlie Bricker of the Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  
  Their favorite ways to address Rainer: Aussie Open runner-up Rainer "I'm Clearly In Over My Head" Schuettler and Rainer "I'm Going to Houston, Baby" Schuettler

Wednesday 5 November
Rainer Schuettler (sixth seed) begins his first Masters Cup appearance on Tuesday, 11 November in a 1pm match against Argentina's Guillermo Coria, the #4 seed. After Paris the German was to spend a couple days in Florida visiting countryman Tommy Haas before heading over to Texas, but he went straight to Houston to prepare for this year-end showdown.
Coria had a great 2003, improving upon his # 57 rank to close out last year. He won Basel, Hamburg TMS, Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel and Sopot, was a finalist in Monte Carlo TMS and Buenos Aires, a semifinalist at the French Open/Roland Garros and a quarterfinalist in Cincinnati TMS, US Open and Auckland.
Rainer was upset by Coria in their only career meeting, 46 26 36 at the 2002 French Open.

The draw was held on Wednesday and here are the results:
RED GROUP
1 Andy Roddick USA
4 Guillermo Coria ARG
6 Rainer Schuettler GER
7 Carlos Moya ESP

BLUE GROUP
2 Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP
3 Roger Federer SUI
5 Andre Agassi USA
8 David Nalbandian ARG

Groups and schedule breakdown found here.

There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• AP report on the draw


• Former pro Mal Washington offers his thoughts on the draw in his ESPN column


• Netzeitung's draw mention

Monday and Tuesday
The draw will be held on Wednesday at 2pm (Houston time) for the Tennis Masters Cup Houston, so certainly an update then, and will add anything Houston-related as I come across it. The man behind the tournament is a fascinating figure, so I am going to post a few articles on him too.

What we do know about Houston and rankings so far...
Andy Roddick is #1 and will head the Red Group while Juan Carlos Ferrero, the second seed, sits atop the Blue Group. These two will battle for the top spot to close out 2003, Roger Federer (#3) has a slight chance - he must win the title while Roddick goes winless in TX or Ferrero only wins two of his matches.
Here is how the Houston site describes the order of play: "Players seeded 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, will then be drawn in pairs with the first drawn placed in the Red Group. Each player plays the three other players in his Group. The winner of each Group (best overall record) will be placed in separate semi-final brackets, with the top player in the Red Group playing the Runner-Up in the Gold Group, and vice versa. If two or more players are tied after the round robin matches, the ties will be broken as follows:1. Winner of match between the two players tied; 2. Player with the highest percentage of sets won; 3. Player with the highest percentage of games won."

I am not going to make it to Houston, huge work event was changed from this weekend to next (15-16th) so I have to stay here to deal with that. I'm bummed, but I'm looking forward to attending Rainer's appearance next year!

In the US, both ESPN and ESPN2 will be covering the event, here is the schedule according to their site. (Both live and tape-delay coverage)
ESPN:
Nov. 11 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Nov. 12 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Nov. 13 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Nov. 14 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Nov. 16 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm
ESPN2:
Nov. 11 12:00 am to 2:00 am
Nov. 11 11:00 pm to 1:00 am
Nov. 12 10:30 pm to 12:30 am
Nov. 13 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Nov. 13 11:30 pm to 1:30 am
Nov. 14 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Nov. 15 12:30 am to 2:30 am
Nov. 15 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Nov. 15 11:00 pm to 1:00 am

There's Something About Rainer... Articles

• ATP's Houston preview from 11/3. Here is their Rainer mention: "Rainer Schuettler FastFacts:
  Tennis Masters Cup: First appearance.
  2003 Highlights: The 27-year-old German has enjoyed his most successful season on the ATP circuit... Won two titles in Tokyo (d. Grosjean) and Lyon (d. Clement) as well as reaching finals at the Australian Open (l. to Agassi) and Costa do Sauipe (l. to Schalken)... Has a 69-28 record during year... He has reached quarterfinals or better in 16 tournaments in 2003, including five Tennis Masters Series events... In Melbourne, became first German to reach a Grand Slam final since Michael Stich lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov at Roland Garros in 1996... Also became first German to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup since Nicolas Kiefer reached the semifinals of the ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover in 1999."


• Actual mention in Sports Illustrated's site by Jon Wertheim, author of Tennis Mailbag.
  "I think Jimmy Connors was the best returner ever. Most will say Andre Agassi is, but I'd love to see Agassi return serves using the mallet-like racket that Connors used in his career. Who do you think is the best-ever returner and who today (besides Agassi) do you like?
  -- Neil Grammer, Toronto
  Good question. I still rank Agassi ahead of Connors. Remember that 149 mph bomb that Roddick spanked at the Queens Club event just before Wimbledon? Lost in the hype was the fact that Agassi returned it cleanly. Agassi, it sometimes seems, returns the ball before the server is done with his follow-through. Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Coria are probably next on the list. Maybe Rainer Schuettler should make the short list, too."


• Another Rainer mention in the same column... unheard of! Mainly a Kiefer blurb:
  "What has happened to Nicolas Kiefer lately? I like his game a lot. He reminds me of Boris Becker. Has Kiefer struggled because he does not have enough mental toughness? Also, who is his coach?
  -- Thai Le, Lawndale, Calif.
  Once a top-five player, Kiefer (a dead ringer for Colin Farrell, by the way) began the season in March after recovering from a stress fracture in his left heel. He played well at times, reaching the Halle final before losing to Federer and reaching the semis in both L.A. and Long Island. He is currently working with former ATP player Thomas Hogstedt. Kiefer has a ton of talent, though I think of him more as a poor-man Agassi than a dangerous volleyer. Much like countryman Tommy Haas, Kiefer has had all sorts of problems with injuries and never really lived up to his potential. Now, in his late 20s, you wonder how much he last left in der tank.
  
  An aside: If five or six years ago, you had been given a trivia question, "Which German player will reach a Grand Slam final first a) Haas b) Kiefer c) Schuettler?" how many of us would have picked the right door?"


• ESPN's preview of Houston, no Rainer mention though




• Article on last minute preparations at tourney


• Agassi already in Houston for a few days.