Doubles Vision - Quick Volleys Shanghai
(source : atpworldtour.com)

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2009/10/Doubles-Vision-Quick-Volleys-Shanghai.aspx

Doubles Vision - Bryan Brothers' Asian Photo Blog

Shanghai, China
13.10.2009

Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan, who reclaimed the No. 1 2009 ATP Doubles Team Ranking on Monday by winning the China Open in Beijing, showcase their personal Asian photo album for Doubles Vision. The twins this week are playing at the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 Presented by Rolex.



Jamming in the players lounge in Shanghai




Sightseeing in Tiananmen Square




Beijing's famous silk market. Take any price they give you and divide by five!




Checking out the view from the top of Longevity Hill at the Summer
Palace.




Practising my Chinese writing skills at the player party.

Doubles Vision - Influenced By Sweden's Tennis Boom

by Robert Lindstedt
Bastad, Sweden
| 16.10.2009



© AFP/Getty Images
Robert Lindstedt, 32, first made his Davis Cup debut for Sweden in 2007.

In our latest Doubles Vision blog, doubles player Robert Lindstedt looks back on his development as a Swedish junior and what influenced him to focus on the team game.

Hello there! This is Robert Lindstedt writing to you. I was asked to write a little something for the Doubles Vision blog and wasn’t sure if I was going to do it or not. I asked what I could write about and if they were really sure they wanted to hear what I had to say. You see, sometimes some would call me a “glass is half empty” kind of guy and I might not always say what people want to hear. Sometimes some might even call me a “glass is 2/3 empty” kind of guy, but that is just my closest friends…

Anyway, for the most part of the year, I have been blogging on a Swedish Internet site. My good friend Magnus Norman, former player and now coach of Robin Soderling, asked me if I was interested in blogging on a site he was creating. So, some of the things I talk about here might have already been printed on my Swedish blog. I hope my Swedish readers can see past this and still continue reading…

As of now I am back in Sweden after a tough loss in Shanghai against Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak, a team we are fighting against to reach the [Barclays] ATP World Tour Finals in London. So it was not a good result for our campaign. My doubles partner, Martin Damm, and I have a few more weeks to do what we can to reach our goal for the year before we split up, but it’s going to be tough.

Now, what should I write about? They did give me fairly free hands to do what I wanted. So do I want to write only this one time or a few more times? I’ll just write a little about why I love playing doubles. After all, this is Doubles Vision…

It is kind of strange that I actually chose to play tennis. You see, I love team sports. I love being part of a team, always have and always will. Since tennis is a very individual sport it is kind of strange that this was my choice. But I guess growing up and watching my big brother play, I didn’t have a choice in the end after all. Both my brother and my sister played and both were much more talented than me. They got to No. 1 in Sweden in the junior rankings and I was the black sheep of the family with only a career-high No. 6 ranking among Swedish juniors. So they were the ones that should have made it, not me. But injuries stopped their careers and I’ve been doing what I can to stay away from the same fate. That is why I might spend an extra minute or two on the physio tables at tournaments. Okay, okay, okay!!! A few extra hours!

I always loved being part of a team and I always had more success in doubles. Like everybody else, I tried singles, but doubles always came easier to me. Eventually I had to make the choice to give doubles a chance and I have not looked back since. It has opened many doors for me and has given me the opportunity to reach my biggest dream: Davis Cup. In tennis there is nothing bigger than Davis Cup, at least not for me. As a guy who loves being part of a team, playing Davis Cup is as good as it gets. The ultimate goal. If I would not have chosen to play doubles, I would never have gotten the chance to represent my country. That and the fact that Swedish tennis doesn’t have as many stars as we used to.

For example our assistant captain is Joakim Nystrom, a former player and coach of Jurgen Melzer. Joakim was ranked inside the Top 10 during his career, but that did not help him in this one tie. He was not chosen to play for Sweden and he was not even chosen as the fifth guy to be there for practise. The reason was because there were already five other Swedish guys ranked ahead of him at this time!!! Sweden had six guys ranked in the Top 10 for a while. If this was still the case, I am pretty, pretty sure I would have never gotten the chance to play Davis Cup. So in a weird and very selfish way, I am really happy we are not as good as we used to be!

To have Mats Wilander and Joakim Nystrom as captain and assistant captain, two childhood idols of mine, makes the Davis Cup week heaven for me. The last tie we played against Romania at home was a really important one. We won 3-2 to stay in the World Group [for 2010]. Robin Soderling won his singles and we both combined to win the doubles. I was supposed to have played with Simon Aspelin, but Robin was playing so good that he got to play instead. It was the most important match of my career. And to have been able to win, what you know already beforehand is the most important match of your career, is an unbelievable feeling. Worth all the sacrifices you have ever made.

The only thing I regret about choosing to play doubles is that I didn’t make the choice sooner. But it is not an easy decision to make. I should have seen the signs though.

During my junior years I won National Championships in doubles, but nothing in singles. So already from a very young age, doubles was giving me much more success than singles did. Maybe it was because I have always been a very offensive player and attacking the net. Being 12 years old and playing serve and volley in singles is not very easy. I still have nightmares from all the lobs. So the fact that my game is more suited for doubles and that I love the team aspect of the sport, to have someone to share the success with, is why I chose doubles. That and the fact that I suck in singles, I guess.

Doubles Vision - Making The Most Of Time Off

by Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer
| 19.10.2009



© Johan Brunstrom
Johan Brunstrom likes to relax by going fishing during his time at home in Sweden.

Hello everybody,

It’s Juls and Bruny blogging to you again. We're back in action at the Stockholm Open this week but we thought that we'd tell you about our week off last week at our respective homes. There are few things that tennis players look forward to more than finally getting a break in the schedule to do other things that we enjoy. Every tennis player has his personal favourite thing that he looks forward to when taking a week off, only often times our time off is not spent exactly how we planned it. We are going to share with you some of the things that we look forward to, but don’t necessarily get to do!!

Juls:

As many of you know I am from Curacao (my family lives there). I live in Miami, have a “base” out of Holland (more relatives here), with a brother also in DC (Hi JJ). It’s very natural for me to call Holland my “base’” when I’m travelling in Europe.

During my weeks off, the things I look forward to the most are spending time with my friends and family, eating “traditional foods of Curacao” here and, of course, some down time walking around the beautiful city of Rotterdam and doing a bit of shopping. That all sounds very nice, but instead I found myself making three trips to the Russian Embassy in order to get my Visa for an upcoming tournament in St. Petersburg.

I spend countless times looking at my schedule trying to purchase my tickets in advance (really helps to have Bruny in charge of this stuff). Of course you still have to practise a bit during your time off, because there is no point in showing up to your next tournament without having hit a ball. (I feel Bruny does this quite a bit, he should stay away from hitting when he is “off duty” more than he does). Oh yeah, I did get to sleep in a little bit more, but this only means that your days off are that much shorter!!

One fun thing I did get to do, though, is finally purchase my Blackberry so I can be in touch with my friends in all these different places. Bruny doesn’t know this yet, but this is horrible news for him because now instead of listening to his boring stories over dinner I can be catching up with my mates back home.

It’s just funny how in the beginning of the week we make this huge “to-do” list with things you really want to accomplish during this time off, only to see that list still fully intact by the end of the week.

Bruny:

I was born and raised in Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, a small town on an island along the Swedish west coast. Growing up by the water influenced me a lot and there’s nothing that relaxes me more than the ocean. In a perfect week off, I get to go out a lot on the ocean fishing (the only time I don’t mind getting up at 5.00am in the morning), play some guitar (very limited), and hang out with family and friends.

However, this happens very rarely. For starters Juls and I play a lot of tournaments. When we are not playing, the time off seems to disappear rapidly. Always when I get to go home there is plenty of “musts” to be done. Organising your next trip (yes it would have been nice to get some help, hint, hint …) get visas, flip through post - letters to be read and bills to be paid are a few normal things on the agenda. Once this is done, it’s often time to start practising again and the only fishing going on is me trying to get my stuff together. To some extent it’s my own fault, if I know I have a tournament coming up soon I have difficulty taking time off with a clear conscience. Nevertheless, when the “perfect” week off does happen, it’s all the more appreciated.

I just got the news broken to me of Juls’ Blackberry. He can dream about messaging away over dinner! In the beginning it might be alright, because our friend Juls is not exactly “Mr. Handyman”. But once he gets the hang of the Blackberry, I can easily see him nonstop on that thing. Talk to me about how annoying that is! On the other hand, finally some peace - now he can hassle his friends back home and stay away from me! I know enough as it is about Aventura songs (all you have to know is that the singer calls himself Romeo), rap battles and batting averages.

Hope you guys have enjoyed the reading. We will get back to you next week! See ya soon! Some

Doubles Vision - Butorac In Moscow
(crédits: atpworltour.com )

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2009/10/Doubles-Vision-Butorac-In-Moscow.aspx

Doubles Vision - A Flavour Of Stockholm

by Stephen Huss
| 21.10.2009



© ATP
Stephen Huss braves the cold this week in Stockholm.

Hello Everyone,

I am writing to you from the If Stockholm Open here in Sweden. It is my first week of cold weather for a while but for now it feels refreshing and nice so I like it. One of the great things about the ATP World Tour is that we follow the sun pretty much year around.

Combining my professional career and my college days at Auburn University (War Eagle!), where I went home to Australia for December, I have not seen a full winter since 1995! The only thing I miss about being home for the winter is the AFL Football and my team the mighty Hawks. Otherwise I love waking up to the sun, which gives me the motivation to train and get better every day.

I love coming to Stockholm, it is without a doubt one of the prettiest cities in Europe with water meandering in between the historical buildings of the city center. It combines the old and the new with ‘Gamla Stan’ (Old Town) and the modern ‘Galleria’ shopping center. The city is very walker and biker friendly so exploring is easy and accessible.

I am fortunate to speak the language as both of my parents are Swedish but moved to Australia four years before I was born. I have always admired the Europeans for being able to speak multiple languages. Roger Federer is well known for his linguistics but there are many players who speak several languages. In Australia we are so isolated from the rest of the world that learning a language seems pointless and most of us are unmotivated to do so. I thank my parents for teaching me Swedish from a young age, its fun to use it here or even eavesdrop on others who are unaware I can understand.

The tournament has an old school feel to it, the center court which we played on last night is very intimate, surrounded by wooden bleachers which the crowd start stamping their feet on to make noise when a Swede is playing well.

My partner Jeff Coetzee and I won a close match against Jarkko Nieminen and Henri Kontinen. They came out on fire and smoked us in the first set 6-2 but we hung in there and with a little luck were able to turn it around. Kontinen is a very good young player who qualified in the singles here, I am sure we are going to hear a lot more about him in the years to come. But for this year, I think Soderling takes the title!

Stephen Huss

Doubles Vision - The Balancing Act

by Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer
Stockholm, Sweden
| 26.10.2009



© Johan Brunstrom
Jean-Julien Rojer, Johan Brunstrom and David Martin spend time away from the court.

Hello again,

It’s Juls (Jean-Julien Rojer) and Bruny (Johan Brunstrom) here to share some more stories and talk about some of the issues that tennis professionals deal with on a weekly basis. Things didn’t go so well for us last week in Stockholm (we lost first round) so this means that we had some “time to kill” before leaving for our next event. As you guys well know, there can only be one winning doubles team each week, this means that more often than not you are trying to cope with losing. It is extremely important to stay positive during these weeks and try to live a normal, well-balanced life, which can be difficult on tour. We will now share with you guys some of the things that we do to make sure we remain upbeat yet relaxed during these hard times.

Juls:

I clearly remember the days when a younger more stubborn me started playing professionally and how I felt like quitting after every loss (remember there can only be one winner each week so losing happens quite a bit). Looking back at it I get some great laughs out of some of my reactions to these losses. One time in Bolivia I lost a tough three-set match, where I had multiple match points but couldn’t get the win. My match finished around 5 p.m. and I decided to skip dinner. As a matter of fact, I didn’t eat another meal until lunchtime the following day (not recommended) because I thought that I would learn this way. As I got older I realised more and more the importance of having a more balanced, happy/healthy life.

These days it’s the complete opposite. After losses I make sure I get to do things that will keep my mind at ease (yes Bruny even if it means chatting up a storm on my phone with my friends). This week after our loss I went into the Old Town (Stockholm) and walked along the harbour and into the little boutiques and of course visited the Royal Palace. I made sure I got out of the hotel a little bit at night also where I went to some very nice lounge places where I could relax and have a drink (non-alcoholic), listen to music and danced (which is probably what puts me in a good mood the quickest).

Sometimes Bruny and I also watch some funny movies or TV series at nights to get some good laughs in and make us forget about the tennis world even if for a few hours. This is a big change from the old days where I would stay in and order room service the rest of the week. I am proud to say that I have learned to change and appreciate the other benefits that life on tour has to offer.

Bruny:

Being on the road, playing tournaments week after week is, of course, what I always dreamt of. Playing matches for a lot of points and money is a thrill that I love, but it can of course be stressful from time to time. When you are done at a tournament, I think it’s important to find a way to relax and reset your mind and get pumped for the next tournament.

In an optimal world I would love to get to see all the cities we are playing in and do the sightseeing spots worth seeing and so forth. However, it’s not always easy to find the right mix of things to do because when you lose that also means that you have another match around the corner to prepare for. Sometimes I find myself with an inner conflict with a part of me wanting to enjoy a day at the beach, an evening in the city checking out the hotspots with your friends and the other part is telling me to practice my butt off and stay in the hotel room resting for the morning practice. More often than not I choose the latter. At times, I think it would be more beneficial for me to go the other route. Every so often I find myself not having seen anything more than the tennis courts and the hotel.

You know how in the cartoons there’s an angel and a devil fighting each other when the character is about to make a decision. Maybe I should go more with what the big curly-haired devil tells me next year, that could be a good new years resolution:) On the other hand, maybe he should try to listen to the pale blond guy some as well;)

It’s a fine line to walk when you have a few days until the next tournament. You need to find a balance where you are fit and ready to go both physically and mentally!!!

Doubles Vision - Blowing Off Steam

by Kevin Ullyett
Stockholm, Sweden
27.10.2009


© Bildbyran
Kevin Ullyett (foreground) clinches his 500th match win in the Stockholm Open semi-finals.

Kevin Ullyett penned his first Doubles Vision blog from Stockholm last weekend on the eve of winning the title with Bruno Soares.

Hi from Stockholm everybody!

Was asked to put few lines down for the dubs vision section. This is my year 11th year here I think and this will be the last as I am hanging up the bats at the end of the season. Was lucky enough to notch up my 500th win today in the semis against Steve Huss and Jeff Coetzee 6-4, 7-5. Was a special day and my partner Bruno Soares lit it up today! Tomorrow we square off against Paul Hanley and Simon Aspelin who have cruised through the draw and are looking very good, but each day is new as we all know so looking forward to good final.

Robin Soderling had to withdraw from the singles so the live TV showed our doubles, which was great for the sport and my family in South Africa as they showed it there… a rare occurrence in today’s tennis. We had a lot of people come up to us at dinner at Cafe Opera and say congrats etc., as well as texts from around the world, which gets me thinking how sad it is dubs is not on TV every week!!!

I have enjoyed playing with Bruno this year. He is really laid back but I think he is more intense than he lets on due to the number of warnings and fines he has got this year for ball abuse. He is the first guy to smash a ball out of Wimbledon Centre Court (with the new roof). He could have had way more warnings but the umpires are more compassionate these days, I think.

I might have been lucky on the odd occasion too… having snapped and beaten a racquet to a pulp; snapping it then throwing it over the spectators’ heads on court one in Estoril into a bush. No fine! People like to see players letting go and losing it occasionally!

We are busy chasing points in the last few events of the season to try and qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in the O2 arena. There are three or four teams vying for the last spots. It is getting really close and there will no doubt be some real do-or-die matches in the coming weeks!

While in Stockholm I was able to catch up with Jonas Bjorkman, whom I partnered in 2008. He has blended into normal life well since retiring from tennis and is getting very involved in the two Swedish opens: this one and the outdoor event in Bastad in July.

Got to sign off and get some sleep before tomorrow! Be sure to check out Undici and Cafe Opera if you decide to visit this beautiful city!

cya

Kevin U

Doubles Vision - A Great Time For Sports Fans

by Daniel Nestor
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy
| 28.10.2009



© Getty Images
'I am definitely not going to the Opera House with Zimo.'

Hello tennis fans out there checking in to Doubles Vision.

I’m currently in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe this week, that being Vienna for the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. So many historical buildings, museums and churches made with such precise detail throughout this city, pretty amazing to experience. We were also spoiled with these great views in Asia the last couple of weeks with their ultra-modern approach to architecture. Can’t believe how much more advanced they are than the rest of the world in that regard.

Anyways, back to the Tour: Zimo and I had another early exit today in our fall season and quest to keep pace with the Bros., losing to Isner and Kerr. They played great, had a couple of match points, but that doesn’t mean much when The Viper/Legend Killer is serving to you on those opportunities.

What to do now? My lovely wife isn’t here to get me out to do some sightseeing and I am definitely not going to the Opera House with Zimo, so I may have to challenge Jarkko Nieminen again to another hockey skills competition, if he is up for it. For some reason instead of a fast serve area for the fans they have a net with targets, pucks and sticks; pretty strange, but I am not complaining being a Canadian and obvious hockey fan. We were pretty even the other day but the fact that I can’t skate means I for sure lost, even though I have a nasty wrist shot.

I am in the process of closing out my 17th season on Tour (don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed about that), with three more events on the calendar and I must say that I have gotten to know a lot of the guys over those years. A lot of good people out here and a lot of guys who like to follow other sports.

This is a great time to be a sports fan back in North America, with the World Series about to get underway, the NFL season in full swing, (Steelers look ready to repeat!), NBA kicking off tonight and NHL season about a month old. Sling Box can definitely help digest a tough loss!

So with so many sports fans out here on tour and with our competitive juices constantly flowing, what can be better than starting an NBA fantasy pool. This is the task that I have taken on myself now that I have all this free time, with a week before my next match and with my wife and child back home not meeting up with me again till the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

It wasn’t hard to find 12 guys to partake; it may be a little tougher when I have to collect their entry fees. The highlight so far was when Andy Roddick contemplated joining but then quickly rejected when he found out the password to enter the league was DOUBLESRULES. The pool is mixed with a few singles players, mostly doubles guys, who according to singles guys have way more time on their hands because we never practise, and have few trainers/coaches.

The trash talking will definitely reach new heights in the weeks to come when the action heats up. Having been in a few pools over the years, mainly football and hockey, I know what to expect, so I am pretty confident that I will compete for the title come next April when the basketball season comes to an end. Will keep you posted. Have to get to bed so I can wake up fresh and prove the singles guys wrong by going out and practising early with the hottest team on tour from Poland and two guys who I love to practise with: Matkowski and Fyrstenberg - hard hitters, who are cocky and make great targets!

Doubles Vision - Water Cooler Conversation

by Robert Lindstedt
Lyon, France
| 30.10.2009



© Robert Lindstedt
"Mmmmmmmmmm! Chips!" Hi again!

This is Eeyore the donkey (Robert Lindstedt) writing to you again. Sorry about that... I was surprised when I got an email from the ATP asking me to write another blog as they had found my first one pretty good. Really???

Right now I am sitting in my hotel room in Lyon after having retired from our match on Tuesday evening. My arm was simply too bad to continue. I have had problems for a long time but now it has simply got too much. 150 mg of Voltaren and I still felt bad out there. Someone once told me that "the signs are there" and if you take 3x50mg of Voltaren pills and you still feel pain, believe me, the signs are there!!! So I stayed an extra day here to have some tests and it looks like we found the problem. Have to wait and see.

I felt really bad for my partner, Martin Damm, about this whole mess. I have not retired from many matches in my life and for sure, not a lot of doubles matches! In singles you only have yourself to think about, but in doubles you have another guy’s career in your hands as well. So the decision was not easy to make! It was not how I wanted our campaign to end.

I felt after Stockholm that something was worse than usual, so I flew to Lyon with a troubled mind. But this is tennis. It is so competitive that you have to push yourself to the limit pretty much every day and I guess I crossed one of mine. The only reason to have tried to continue was to try and make the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. But then we would have had to win one tournament and do really well in Paris. And to do so without a lot of practice and not being 100 per cent fit, well... At this level everybody is so damn good that it is impossible to win matches if you are not 100 per cent ready to play. At least for me, I am not good enough to win matches unless I am fit and ready to go - well that and having a lot of luck, my opponents being injured or blind! So in my mind it was impossible to do as well as we needed to. Thanks Marty for playing this season!

Anyway, it means that the season is over for me. No Valencia and no Paris (Bercy). Ending the season with only two tournaments left is not the biggest sacrifice you can make in tennis, but as we still had a small chance to make the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London it hurts a little extra. But my reasoning is sound, at least to me. Take care of my elbow issues now and then get back strong and healthy for the 2010 season with my new doubles partner.

I'll let you know soon who it will be as I know ALL of you out there wake up each day wondering who it is going to be. It is what you talk about at the water cooler at work and during your lunch breaks. Who is Lindstedt going to play with next year??? I had a missed call from the Swedish Prime Minister, who left a message saying he needed to know! Riiight... And then I saw Marcin Matkowski in the gym... Dziekuje!!!

So what to do now? Well, I will not touch a racquet for a while, that's for sure. Just try to get rid of this injury. My former doubles partner, Jarkko Nieminen, introduced me to his physio a few years back. His name is Jarmo Ahonen and he is really, really good. So I will go to Helsinki, Finland for a few weeks like I have done the past couple of years for rehab and fitness. Jarmo has done something like five or six Olympics as a physiotherapist for Finland, so he knows what he is doing.

I heard lying on a beach under an umbrella with a drink in your hand helps a lot too, so I think I simply have to do this! (Gonna be a lot of umbrellas next to my sun lounger...) I mean, I don't really want to, but if it helps, then who am I to object?!?

Other than that, being in Sweden for a while is not too bad either! Being on the road as much as we all are makes you really miss home and everything about it. Everything from friends and family to simple things like food or candy! But also doing the things you can't really do during the season, like eating a little bit unhealthily and enjoying life. For me, if I don't do this, then it is so much more difficult to be a "good boy" during the season. I am pretty sure I will gain a few kilos this month. Damn!

Daniel Nestor wrote that it is a great time to be a sports fan in the States now with everything going on. The Swedish ice hockey league is now in full swing and the Swedish soccer season is about to end. So a lot going on there too. My team in soccer, Djurgården, is fighting to stay in the first division. Not good if they drop out!!! Kom igen!!!

Not much more to say. I'm on holiday now I guess. Not too bad. Hey, where's my drink???!!!??