"There is such a large number of challenges lying ahead - facing them, working hard and giving my best to succeed is precisely why I love my job so much."
Gotta love a guy who relishes a challenge...I can't wait for this season to start!!
Roger Federer's assault on the 2009 season kicks off in a few days and we should expect nothing but a rollercoaster 2009 campaign.
The world number 2, heads to the Gulf where he will participate in 2 events, an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi featuring 5 other fellow top-10 players including Nadal, followed by the Qatar Open where he will officially start his season.
The new season is barely 10 days away and am sure you're all psyched for the action to start. The competition will be more fierce than ever this season as Rafael Nadal will be fighting to keep his number 1 ranking, with an insane number of points to defend, while Novak Djokovic will try to close on the 10-point gap that separates him from 2nd-ranked Roger Federer. Not to forget Britain's ruthless Andy Murray, who has a title to defend in Doha, where he will be joined by Nadal and Federer this year.
Here is a guide to who will be playing where first in 2009:
Exhibition Events:
Abu Dhabi World Tennis Championship, United Arab Emirates January 1-3
Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Andy Murray Nikolay Davydenko Andy Roddick James Blake
Rafael Nadal - Qatar Open Roger Federer - Qatar Open Novak Djokovic - Brisbane International Andy Murray - Qatar Open Nikolay Davydenko - Chennai Open Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Brisbane International Gilles Simon - Sydney Medibank International Andy Roddick - Qatar Open Juan Martin Del Potro - Auckland Heineken Open David Nalbandian - Sydney Medibank International David Ferrer - Auckland Heineken Open Stanislas Wawrinka - Chennai Open Marat Safin - Australian Open (following Hopman Cup and Kooyong)
Most TV shows have been on hiatus during December and they'll be making their respective returns pretty soon. A new season of Lost also kicks off in January as well as the long-awaited Scrubs. Speaking of Scrubs, it has been confirmed that there will be a new Cox on the show this season. Courtney Cox-Arquette will appear on Scrubs for a 3-episode arc as the new Chief of Medicine for Sacred Heart. Let's hope Cox-Arquette's return to the small screen this time, will redeem her horrible mistake a.k.a. Dirt, last year.
HBO's Entourage is set to start shooting in January and we should expect the new season by early summer.
Still no news on Greek and am not sure what's happening with Prison Break. The Hollywood Reporter revealed in November 2008 that Fox has ordered two extra episodes of the fourth season, which may serve as a two-hour series finale in 2009. Am still not sure when those 2 episodes are scheduled to air.
Here are return dates for some of the shows:
January 4th : Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives
January 5th: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl
January 6th: 90210, Scrubs
January 8th: Private Practice (moved to Thursdays), Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty
For all the tennis freaks out there who are just dying for a proper tennis fix since the season ended; well your hopes could be answered on New Year's day if you head to the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, where 6 of the top 10 tennis players will be taking part in the first edition of the Capitala World Tennis Championship.
The tournament will take place between the 1st and 3rd of January at the spectacular 5,000-seater Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at Zayed Sports City. The event will feature Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and James Blake, where the winner bags a $250,000 cheque. 'I am really looking forward to playing in Abu Dhabi. The player field is very strong and the location is beautiful. It is always exciting to play in new facilities and I am sure Abu Dhabi will be up there with the best of them. We all hope that this event will return year after year and set the standard for tennis lovers in the region,' said world number 2, Roger Federer.
Super Sunday was packed with some sweet Premier League action; City vs. United, Arsenal vs. Chelsea... Ronaldo playin' goalie, referees overlooking offsides... you know, that kinda stuff. Anyone else confused about how the refs missed Van Persie's offside? Van Persie's clearly offside goal basically turned the match around and like Arsene Wenger said; it gave them "the belief to come back". Don't get me wrong am happy the Gooners downed Chelsea, but am astonished at the fact that the refs missed such an obvious offside... Van Persie wasn't even remotely close to being onside... It's like the refs were not really watching the match at the time.
Scolari is furious and demands an apology from the ref while Wenger said the offside goal revived the team "but what kind of impact it will have on Chelsea, I do not know" (Duuuhh!! They lost!! That's the bloody impact).
Van Persie's reaction---> "[The goal] was maybe a little bit offside, but it counted and that's all that matters."
Notice the use of the word "little" :) Moving along... I think Ronaldo's handball/red card also deserves our mocking efforts. What exactly was that?!?! When the Sir came to his defense and said:
"He [Ronaldo] was trying to protect himself from the ball hitting him in the face. He thought he had heard a whistle, he got a little push as well and it is not as if he punched the ball. If that had been outside the box, it would have been a free kick and nothing else. But the crowd played a part and he got sent off.”
Mark Hughes rightfully responded saying:
"...if he says the ball was going to hit him in the face, why didn’t he head it?" Good point!!! Ronaldo actually had a look on his face that seemed as if he was temporarily brain damaged or something. Did he really hear a whistle?!?!
Another intriguing moment yesterday was during the final moments of the City-United clash, when the Manchester City goal was wide open after goalkeeper, Joe Hart, had gone up for a corner, and Rooney curled the ball towards the net from just inside the City half, but Hart made a miraculous save and managed to punch the ball at the very last second. I think Rooney did a good job trying to score that goal; my concern actually is about the player who fed the ball to Rooney (I don't remember who it was). He was looking towards his left and totally missed the fact that the goal was EMPTY and it took him quite some time before he gave Rooney the ball. Which is why Hart ended up pulling off that save.
The football ain't over yet...Liverpool play West Ham tonight at 8:00!
