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| 05 Mar 2010 | |
| BLOG: Swedish fans come in all sizes |
 By Lee Goodall in Stockholm
One of the youngest fans inside the Kungliga Tennishallen in Stockholm on Friday was Swedish star Joachim Johansson’s two-month-old son, Leo, attending his first Davis Cup tie to cheer on dad against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer.
There’s a fair chance young Leo – born on December 29 – will grow up to be a talented sportsman of some sort with a tennis pro father and a golf professional as a mum. Johansson’s Swedish girlfriend is Johanna Westerberg.
Leo was on best behaviour on his Davis Cup debut, sleeping for most of the afternoon either in Johanna’s arms or in his buggy in the media room. Thankfully for the Swedish team, he’s even treated dad to some restful nights in the run-up to the tie at the team’s Grand Hotel.
“He’s a great baby,” Johanna told me as mum and son prepared to watch Joachim, or Pim, as he’s affectionately known in these parts. “Joachim sleeps with earplugs and if Leo wakes in the night then I get up, so it’s been no problem.”
So will it be tennis or golf that Leo takes to when he’s a little older, I asked. “Ha ha, he’ll probably be a musician or something crazy,” joked Johanna. “I don’t know, hopefully he’ll play both. We’ll see.”
Amazingly, Johanna was still competing on the professional golf tour in Europe late into her pregnancy and played her last event only a couple of months before giving birth. “It was OK – my bump didn’t interfere with my swing. The toughest part was that I got tired after around 12 holes!”
Chilean squad seek support for earthquake relief efforts
By Rodrigo Valdebenito in Coquimbo
Chilean national media is providing constant coverage of the reconstruction efforts that are beginning to take place after the strong 8.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged the central and southern region of Chile last week.
The daily images in newspapers and on TV have made everybody sensitive to what is happening in the most affected areas.
When the earthquake hit, members of Chile’s Davis Cup team – Fernando Gonzalez, Nicolas Massu, Paul Capdeville and Jorge Aguilar – were just about to travel home for the Davis Cup weekend.
It took them about three days before they could make the trip to Chile, so, like the rest of the world they watched earthquake coverage all day, concerned how their family, loved ones and fellow Chileans were faring considering the devastation.
On Thursday, back in Chile to play the Davis Cup tie against Israel, the Chilean team spoke informally to the press about the earthquake, revealing their feelings and making a call to their fellow countrymen to help support relief efforts.
“We are very sad, and would like to be helping in the catastrophe area, but we must play and we hope to beat Israel,” Gonzalez said. “We will do our best for our fellow Chileans to have some joy (so they) may step out of this difficult moment.”
Nicolas Massu confirmed Gonzalez’s statement. “We want to make this country happy. I’m sure Chile will move forward,” said the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.
Additionally, the mayor of Coquimbo, which fortunately was not adversely affected by the earthquake, announced there would be several places in the city to gather food and clothing for the people in the south. One of those collection sites would be located at the Davis Cup venue.
Talking from Toulon
By Chris Bowers in Toulon
On the right road…
Visitors to the France-Germany tie in Toulon arriving by car have no excuse for failing to find the Palais des Sports. Electronic signs on the highway from Marseille to Toulon have been explicitly advertising 'Coupe Davis, Sortie 15' - Davis Cup, Exit 15 - directing traffic to the Franco-German contest. It makes a change from the word most commonly used on such electronic signs: 'bouchon', meaning cork or, in this sense, traffic jam!
Speaking the right language…
The leading French tennis supporters club has several dozen of its members in the Palais des Sports in Toulon, and you can see where they are because they've draped a large banner across the tier of the stand where they're sitting saying 'We are here'. Only they've written it in German ('Wir sind da') to show the visiting supporters that the French fans are out in force.
Can Swiss get upper-hand in Spain?
By Clive White in Logrono
With world No. 1 Roger Federer absent through injury, it’s probably fair to say that Switzerland’s chances of coming out on top in their away tie to Spain could be better.
The Swiss will need to take what chances they can get, like at yesterday’s photo-shoot in Logrono following the draw for this first round match.
The Spanish team was already proudly lined up for the photographers behind the Davis Cup trophy that they won in such emphatic fashion against Czech Republic last December, when the Swiss squad was asked to join them.
Since the Spanish were backed up against the dais where the draw had been held there was really only one place for the Swiss to go – above them, on the platform itself.
Eric Keller, the Vice President of the Swiss Tennis Federation, gleefully spotted the opportunity for a bit of one-upmanship and urged his boys forward. “Go, on top!” he called out with an impish grin on his face.
A perfect place to pour wine
By Clive White in Logrono
Logrono, where this week’s Davis Cup tie between Spain and Switzerland is being held, is recognised as being the heart of the Rioja region of Spain, so great wine is a given. But at the pre-tie official dinner in honour of the Spanish and Swiss teams, it became very clear why Logrono is also considered a gastronomic destination, too.
A superb four-course meal arguably surpassed even the fine wines. The hosts were sufficiently confident in their culinary skills to even present the Swiss with a delicate, leaf-shaped chocolate as a parting gift – talk about coals to Newcastle, but it was gratefully received, nonetheless.
If a savvy wine connoisseur, when in Logrono head to the Vultura del Vino de la Dinastia Vivanca Museum. It tells the story of wine culture through the years. This museum is certainly no secret to the world – it won the 2004 Best of Wine Tourism in Australia award.
Who says it rains in Belgium?
By Eli Weinstein in Bree
I have to admit that when I left my home in Marseille to go to Bree earlier this week, I was a little bit depressed… and in no reason is this due to the tennis, I must add. I’m always excited to cover Davis Cup, and frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn who is playing because a Davis Cup tie is always exciting.
My slight depression is due to the fact that where I live it is sunny 300 days a year and in Belgium it’s pretty much the opposite.
Imagine my surprise then that, since arriving on Belgian soil, I’m yet to see a drop of rain. Of course, having said that I’m now literally watching the rain clouds move in. The Beatles didn’t write it, but here the song would go ‘Here goes the Sun’!
Hey, it’s not just me, everyone’s been talking about it. “You see the weather we set up for you?”, “What do you say about the Belgian weather?” If you would listen to the locals you would think the Belgium vs. Czech Republic tie could have been played outdoors because the weather is sooooo great!
A little detail that nobody mentions is that it is very, very cold. So, for at least three days it was all good because the sun was shining, but as soon as it gets cold and wet it’s going to get painful, especially for me because I didn’t even take a sweatshirt knowing what the weather often is like in Bree.
I’m sure everyone is wondering what Bree’s most well-known for and the tennis answer is simple and probably already known: the city is the hometown of Kim Clijsters. But it also is the hometown of painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder, and of American actor John Gialecki, a star of the CBS TV show “The Big Bang Theory.”
PS: Yup, it has just started raining. Good thing the tennis is indoors, especially since someone we know doesn’t have a coat!
Stunning Stockholm
By Lee Goodall in Stockholm
For a city surrounded by the Baltic Sea and spanning 14 islands – linked by 57 bridges – water is not surprisingly a major feature of Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, perched three-quarters of the way down the country’s east coast.
The city, thanks to its abundance of lakes and river channels along with its grand saffron and terracotta-coloured medieval buildings, is easily one of the most beautiful in Europe, if not the world.
Dating back to the 13th century, Stockholm is steeped in history, but is also a vibrant and modern capital city with hundreds of attractions for visitors to enjoy.
Stockholm’s Old Town - Gamla Stan - is one of the best preserved medieval towns in the world and a popular area for visitors, who can navigate the winding, cobbled streets to find art galleries, boutiques and cafes as well as some of Stockholm’s most important buildings such as The Royal Palace and cathedral.
But with so much water around a boat tour has to be near the top of the agenda. The views of Stockholm’s architecture from the water are stunning and there are many different boat tours to choose from.
If visitors get a taste for life on the water they can even venture further afield by visiting one of the 30,000 - yes, that’s 30,000 - small islands that form the archipelago that surrounds the city.
Even in early March, when, like today, much of the water is snow-covered and frozen over, boat tours continue to operate. Don’t worry about the temperatures of -6C outside, the hosts promise to keep passengers warm with Swedish pea soup - historically an important dish in the navy - washed down with Swedish Glogg, a traditional, hot mulled wine.
A Croat in Miami
By Sandra Harwitt
Ivo Karlovic grew up in Zagreb, but these days he spends most of his time at his South Florida home. The 6’ 10” Karlovic, the tallest tower ranked in the Top 100, has a place in Aventura, which used to just be referred to as the northern part of Miami.
These days Karlovic spends a lot of time driving up-and-down the Interstate-95 corridor to Palm Beach County to work with Tarik Benhabiles, who opened a tennis academy in Delray Beach, about an hour drive north of Aventura.
Some might remember that it was Benhabiles who shaped the game of Andy Roddick in his last year in the juniors and for a few years after he burst on the pro scene.
And don’t worry that Ivo is spending all his time in Florida training. He made time to head south of his home to trendy South Beach last Sunday to celebrate his 31st birthday – he celebrated even though he lost the Delray Beach final to Ernests Gulbis that very day.
What attracted Karlovic to South Florida? Not just the weather, which has felt more like winter than summer this winter. “Everybody is relaxed, everyone is always a little bit late, which I like because I’m always a little bit late,” Karlovic says.
BLOG EDITOR...
Sandra Harwitt
 Sandra, an American sportswriter for longer than she's willing to admit, has travelled the world to cover tennis for major publications, such as ESPN.com, The Miami Herald, and Associated Press.
Her biggest problem of late is managing to pack worldwide purchases into suitcases and still meet the airline weight restrictions.
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