A snapshot of Venus at the Olympic Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea. Venus defeats Maria 6-4, 6-4 in an exhibition match.

A snap of Roger Federer who is the spokesperson for the International Year of Sport and Physical Education, IYSPE 2005, at a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

Back in the limelight. Former tennis ace Martina Hingis signing autograph at a mall in Zurich, Switzerland.

Thanks for those pics Frank.
What tennis champs

*blush*  

I love Martina Hingis. Hope she comes back for summer tennis here.

Hell, bring back Jelena as well. We need some good sports people at the moment so we can stop losing at everything. Luckily New Zealand are not in the world cup soccer.

But tennis is great. The women's is best because they at least have longer rallies. It's not so much slam and win. They are nice (mostly) to look at too!

Bit too much grunting and moaning going on as well at the moment. Blame Monica Seles for starting that trend. She might be coming back too. Even though Lleyton dumped her, I still like Kim Clijsters as a player too.

Is Agassi playing in the Australian open? I love him. Ihave loved him since i was about8. I'm 20 now. WOW he has been around for a while.

Anna

Well there goes the TV for the next month! Cricket and tennis, to bad if your not a sport lover.

So whats the story behind Dokic's return to Australia? Did she finally leave her father? And how long has she been mole free? Its about time she had it removed!

Bleah!

Argentina knock Australia out of Davis Cup

David Nalbandian led Argentina to their first Davis Cup final in 25 years with victory over Australia in Buenos Aires overnight.

Nalbandian partnered Agustin Calleri to a straight sets win over Paul Hanley and Wayne Arthurs in the doubles to give Argentina a decisive 3-0 semi-final lead and knock Australia out of the tournament for the second year in a row.

The world number four, dubbed arrogant by Australian media when he confidently predicted an easy win for his team before the tie, had set the ball rolling on Friday with a straight sets win over Mark Philippoussis in the opening rubber.

Nalbandian and Calleri won the doubles 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to end Argentina's frustrating run of three semi-final defeats in the previous four years.

"I wasn't surprised by this 3-0 win," Nalbandian said.

Coach Alberto Mancini said: "Argentina has had a strong Davis Cup team for a long time but a lot of things have to work out for you to get to a Davis Cup final.

"A fundamental aspect has been the unity of the team, another is the quality of the players we have."

Australian captain John Fitzgerald was generous in defeat and declined to complain about the crowd.

"The court was pretty slow and tough for us. It's difficult to come here and win in these conditions because Argentina have a world class team," he said.

"We understand the culture here is different. The local people have looked after us very well and we feel we've made a lot of friends.

"The second rubber was the one we were closest to winning. Lleyton's record in five-setters over the past three years has been phenomenal, he doesn't lose many.

"That was difficult for us to recover from."

The South Americans will face either Russia or the US in the final as they attempt to win the trophy for the first time.

A team featuring Guillermo Vilas lost to the US in their only previous final appearance in Cincinnati in 1981.

Wild celebrations

The result prompted wild celebrations in the 14,000 crowd which included Diego Maradona.

Thousands of pieces of paper rained down onto the court, resembling the ticker tape celebrations which greeted teams at the 1978 World Cup soccer tournament held in the country.

The match had created huge expectations because of the presence in the Australian team of Lleyton Hewitt, who has clashed with several Argentine players in the past.

The turning point proved to be Hewitt's five-set defeat to Jose Acasuso in the second singles, which began on Friday and finished Saturday morning (local time) after being interrupted by rain and fading light.

Acasuso needed only 12 minutes to polish off a 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win after holding a 4-0 lead in the fifth set overnight and maintain a 100 per cent record in three Davis Cup singles rubbers.

"I didn't play my best tennis but I won the match and that is the most important thing," Acasuso said.

"I've beaten higher-ranked players in the past, but to win at home in a Davis Cup semi-final with 14,000 people watching me here... makes it one of the most important wins of my career."

Hewitt, who was jeered by a group of fans waiting outside the media centre, said he was surprised how long organisers took to suspend play on Friday as the light faded and the rain began.

"I don't think I've ever played in those kind of conditions," he said.

"I didn't get offered (a suspension), we asked for it and they said no. I couldn't see the ball out there."

Hewitt said the turning point came early in the fourth set when he squandered three break points and had his serve broken in the next game, before Acasuso went on to reel off eight games in a row.

"It was not taking those half chances which made the difference," Hewitt said.

"I had quite a few of them in the third, fourth and fifth sets. He's a player who has hot streaks and cold streaks.

"Once he got confident, he came up with a lot of winners."

Argentina dominated the doubles from the moment that Arthurs had his serve broken in the fifth game.

Arthurs was also broken at the start of the second set, Nalbandian producing a superbly-executed lob to finish the first game.

The third set went with serve until Hanley, after surviving three break points, was broken in the 11th game. Nalbandian comfortably held his serve to spark the celebrations.

-Reuters

Tennis star Lleyton Hewitt's younger sister Jaslyn is flexing her muscles in her own right.

The 24-year-old is competing in  bodybuilding.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22585649-2,00.html

Candy Candy Candy... posted this story about 6 weeks ago.
Not in the tennis thread though. I put it in the Celebrity Chit-Chat thread
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1161472557/s-142/highlight-/#num142

She tried out for the new Gladiator's show. Not sure how she went though.

Okay, Suzi...missed that....not been there. Just found it interesting.

It is interesting Candy... and a little scary (Ms.Hewitt that is).

i rather watch the hopman cup, i think that is the best tournament here in austraila. love the way men and women play together and the fun and joking around the players do. it is a wonderful tournament and love mrs hopman she is amazing to fly to perth every year from the usa for this tournament. she is a lovely elderly lady, don't remember her husband though, must be before my time.  i started following the tennis with tony roach and newcombe and the maccas, don't make then like that anymore. i think good australian tennis players are hard to find now and sadly i think hewitt has peaked and just hasn't got it anymore.