Gelfand Joins CAPS Team

Missed Opportunity for Knowles

    Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupati missed a chance to take over the top spot in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race.  Both players have been No. 1 before, but they came up just short of getting back there when they lost to Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo in the Monte Carlo Masters Series final, 6-7(7), 7-5, 10-7.  The pair did not play in Barcelona and lost in the second round of the Rome Masters event.

    Both of those titles went to the sons of CAPS Coach Wayne Bryan, who haven't lost since the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo.

    While Bhupati and Knowles try to find their way around the clay, the Bryan Brothers have taken over the top spot in the ranks and are the favorites to win at Roland Garros later this month.  

    Both teams are back in action this week in Hamburg.  Knowles and Bhupati will face the American duo of James Blake and Mardy Fish in the second round, while the Bryans take on Andre Sa and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.    

    

Gary Gelfand on Board as New Voice of the CAPS

    The CAPS recently announced its newest team member.  Gary Gelfand will entertain the Allstate Stadium crowd as the new public address announcer.  A Chicago native, Gelfand has been doing live TV for over fifteen years.  You may know him as the sports anchor for "Good Day Sacramento," or the host of CBS-13's "The Sports Show."  Gelfand has also  worked nationally with CNN in Atlanta and brings a passion for tennis and high-energy persona to the CAPS.  

    He has covered the CAPS before, and reflected on some of his favorite moments.

    "I was given the opportunity play against Anna Kournikova and return a serve from Andre Agassi.  I had no business doing either but it was all in good fun." Gelfand said.  

    So did his tennis skills shine through?

   "Well, I was too busy looking at Anna, and Agassi's serve painted the center line and was past me before I even had a chance to react."

    Gelfand said he is ready for another great season of World Team Tennis. 

   "I've covered the Capitals for many years and I am very excited about the opportunity to now work for the team. I'm looking forward to 2008, the playoffs, and another championship; GO CAPS!!"

From Mexico to Monte Carlo; a Note From Belgium too

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Will someone please tell me where the month of April went? It's been awhile, so let's get you up to speed.

Warburg Continues Rise in Ranks
Last week, Sam Warburg went down to Mexico City, where he was the top seed. After a see-saw win in the semifinals over George Bastl, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, Warburg came up short in the title match. With a 6-4, 6-3 victory, Dawid Olejniczak won his second straight futures tournament.

Despite the loss, Warburg reached a career high ranking of 138.

Warburg was also invited by the USTA to compete in a four-man qualifying tournament for the American wildcard spot into the French Open.

From Belgium, With Love
The CAPS newest aquisition Tamryn Hendler has chimed in and written a personal note to all CAPS fans. Here is what she had to say:

To all,
I am sooo excited to part of the world champions in team tennis, and am looking forward to learning from my great teammates and coach. I am 15 year old Tammy Hendler (will be sweet 16 in August) who loves to hit the ball very hard. I was born in South Africa and moved to Florida more than 10 years ago. I have spent many years training at Bollittieiri's where Nick spent hundreds of hours on my tennis over the years. I will never forget at 10 years old, he decided to change my grip... well, I will leave it at that.

My mother is Belgian, hence my nickname "The Belgium Babe." I will be representing Belgium at Fed Cup at the end of the month for the 4th consectutive time. One of my goals is to surpass our captain's (Sabine Applemans) record of "32 ties for Belgium."

Currently I spend a lot of time in a small town in Belgium called Mons, where I am working with the technical director of the French Speaking Federation (AFT) and am making a lot of progress on the technical aspects of my game. (I want the slice and drop shot, but for us girls thats not so easy).

I cant wait for Team Tennis. In the meantime you can follow my progress on my website at http://www.tamarynhendler.be/

With love from Mons,
Tammy

What a sweetheart!

Unfortunately for Hendler, she suffered a torn quadriceps last week in practice, forcing her to pull out of this weekend's Fed Cup match. Although it will be a slow healing injury, Hendler plans to be ready for the CAPS season.

BIG Decision
Former CAP Nicole Vaidisova has parted with long-time coach and stepfather Alex Kodat. After struggling in her last few tournaments, Vaidisova has dropped to No. 17 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

"She lost in the first round of both Indian Wells and Key Biscayne and said she wanted to spend a week away from the game getting her head together," manager Oliver van Lindonk said.

She has turned to David Felgate, who was Tim Henman's coach. Felgate also was recently asked to re-focus Xavier Malisse.

Kodat had been coaching Vaidisova since she began playing at six years old. Now 19, she felt it was time for a change if she wants to reach her goal of becoming the best player in the world.

"She had to make a big decision to part with Alex but she also needed to feel she could maximize her talents with the right coach," van Lindonk added.

The CAPS wish Nicole a Happy 19th Birthday! (today)

Knowles in Monte Carlo
Mark Knowles is back in action this week. He and Mahesh Bhupati are the fourth seed in the Masters Series event in Monte Carlo. The pair got a first round bye and face the Brazilian duo of Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa in round two.

After Draft, CAPS '08 Roster Complete

Roster Finalized
The 2008 WTT Draft took place April 1, in Miami, where the CAPS took doubles specialist Eric Butorac to team with Sam Warburg on the men's side. For the women, Elena Likhovtseva will be joined by Tamaryn Hendler this season.


If you liked the energy from last year's young rookie, Michelle Larcher de Brito, you'll enjoy watching this 15-year-old as well. For Hendler, tennis has been her whole life. "Tammy" has trained at the Bollettieri Academy and Chris Evert's Academy in Florida, and now trains mostly in Belgium. The young Belgian, currently the No. 18 junior in the world, just partnered with former CAP Nicole Vaidisova at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. The pair lost to Elena and Lisa Raymond in the first round. I'm sure Hendler will enjoy being Elena's teammate rather than going up against her this summer at Allstate Stadium.


Eric Butorac, at just 26-year-old, is a tour veteran. Since turning pro in 2003, the Minnesotan has focused mainly on doubles and is joining the CAPS after a career year in 2007, in which Butorac won three titles -- San Jose, Memphis, and Nottingham. He has continued that momentum into '08. In February, he reached No. 30 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race, a career high. He and Warburg will be looking to dominate in men's doubles for the CAPS!


Coming soon: More detailed player profiles and player reaction/thoughts on playing for the defending WTT Champions.


Knowles and Bhupati Back in Finals
A rivalry is brewing in men's doubles on the ATP Tour. For the second time in the last three tournaments, CAPS MVP "Knowlsey" and partner Mahesh Bhupati have taken out the Czech team of Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner. This time, it was a tight 7-6 (5), 4-6, 11-9 triumph to reach the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open.


March Madness
The NCAA Basketball Tournament has to be near the top of the "best sporting events" list. The upsets, the cinderella story, the .... 4 top seeds making up the Final Four?? The year I decide fill my bracket with upset picks just happens to be the year everything goes according to plan (mostly). So my brackets were busted a long time ago, but the games, the passion, the suspense, is still as entertaining as ever. The effort put forth by collegiate athletes, especially with so much on the line, just makes you wonder what happens to that heart and emotion if and when they turn pro.


Dream Job
Have you happened to notice all the beautiful people at sporting events these days? If not, the camera guys are trying to help you out. Just about every time a game comes back from a commercial, there's a shot of some gorgeous young blonde or good-looking couple enjoying their evening. This got me thinking, and I think I've found the ultimate dream job:

Job description: Attend sporting events, hang out and watch games for free. During timeouts or breaks in action, please scope crowd for any and all "hotties," zoom in and focus camera on them. Go strike up conversation with "hottie" that caught your eye (to be sure we can put them on TV, of course), and if needed, please get contact info (this is a judgement call). Requirements: Good vision and people skills. Wow, can the job get any better?!

* It is probably worth mentioning that the Major League Baseball season began this week.