Rise and Shine
Giving you an inside look into the ATP this week


 
Andy Roddick and Jim Courier at the Rockefeller Center

? andyroddick.com 
UP FRONT...
->> - RISE AND SHINE¡­It was a busy Monday morning for JAMES BLAKE and ANDY RODDICK this week, as the two American stars made separate appearances on two of the country's most popular breakfast shows. Blake appeared on the Today Show, during which time he was interviewed and played mixed doubles with Katie Couric against weatherman Al Roker and Alexandra Stevenson on a court laid down at New York's Rockefeller Center for the USTA's Rock 'n Rally festival, which marked the start of May as USA Tennis Month. After playing mixed doubles on the special court, which was laid temporarily where the ice rink is, Katie and James stuck around and played for a while. "He's so cute, I'm distracted," said Couric making excuses for hitting a ball long, while paying particular interest in his modeling duties during the interview. Meanwhile, Roddick appeared on Live! with Regis and Kelly. Regis is an avid tennis fan and has participated in numerous charity events. During his intro, co-host Kelly Ripa noted that Andy was one of the hottest athletes in the world and ranked No. 6 at only 20 years old, to which she questioned: "Do you remember when athletes used to be older than you?" They interviewed Roddick about his improvement since his last appearance on the show a year ago and his match against Andre Agassi in the Houston final the previous day. After the interview, they wheeled in a ping-pong table where Andy took on Regis on live TV. Roddick and Blake later joined US Davis Cup captain and TV commentator PATRICK McENROE, former World No. 1 JIM COURIER, WTA stars Alexandra Stevenson and Zina Garrison as well as former New York City Mayor David Dinkins and TV personality Daisy Fuentes for more fun and activities. As the Smithereens performed a live concert, a number of interactive displays were on exhibit on the top level of Rockefeller Center. Members of the NYPD and various corporate sponsors also joined in the fun with games of pro-am mixed doubles. (For pics, please log on to www.atptennis.com/en/media/insiderpics/).

->> - BURNING RUBBER¡­At the CAM Open Comunidad in Valencia, top seed JUAN CARLOS FERRERO joined Spanish golfing star SERGIO GARCIA at the Circuito Ricardo Tornos, Valencia's famous racing track which played host to the World Superbike Championship in March 2003. The Valencian sports stars met at the circuit - which is located in Cheste about 20 kilometres from Valencia Capital - to race official cars of the tournament up to speeds of 190 kph on the twisty circuit. Joining them were MARKUS HIPFL, SARGIS SARGSIAN and wild card GUILLERMO GARCIA-LOPEZ, along with tournament director MIGUEL MAESO and Ferrero's coach ANTONIO MARTINEZ. "One of my greatest passions apart from tennis is speed," said Ferrero. "Normally, I can't find the time to get to a race track. It was a great experience to go out there and test the cars and the circuit. Pushing myself and driving at extreme speeds actually relaxes me on a tennis court." Garcia, currently at No. 11 in golf's official world rankings, said: "I love racing cars and I am a big tennis fan. Combining the two things today was something special." Hipfl added: "You don't realise when you are in the official cars travelling to and from the club, but they are very fast. There were a lot of bends on the circuit, but we still managed to reach 180-190 kmh on the short straights. We were really pushing the cars to the limit." After burning rubber on the track, they entered the circuit's clubhouse to sample the famous Valencian dish, seafood Paella. (For pics, please log on to www.atptennis.com/en/media/insiderpics/).

->> - AMERICAN IDOL¡­In the week in which he took over as No. 1, ANDRE AGASSI also regained his "pop icon" status with a reference on this week's wildly popular television program American Idol. After performing his second song, Idol front-runner Clay was evaluated by celebrity judge and singer Neil Sedaka: "You sang that song like Andre Agassi plays tennis...100 percent perfection." 


TOURNAMENT TALES
->> - IN VALENCIA¡­Argentine Mariano Zabaleta visited one of Valencia's main attractions, L'Oceanog¨¤fic, which is one of the largest sea aquariums in Europe. After going through the glass tunnel, which allows sharks and many species of fish to swim around you, Zabaleta was treated to a dolphin show to wrap up the visit. (For pics, go to www.atptennis.com/en/media/insiderpics/).

->> - IN MUNICH¡­ROGER FEDERER, TIM HENMAN and SJENG SCHALKEN were among 16 players taking part in a Pro-Am with tournament sponsors and guests on the eve of the BMW Open by Credit Suisse. WAYNE ARTHURS, TOMAS BEHREND, LARS BURGSMULLER, JOSHUA EAGLE, MICHAEL KOHLMANN, STEFAN KOUBEK, JARED PALMER, BJORN PHAU, DAVID PRINOSIL, OLIVIER ROCHUS, RAINER SCHUETTLER, ALEXANDER WASKE and MIKHAIL YOUZHNY also participated¡­ATP stars LARS BURGSMULLER, MICHAEL KOHLMANN, ZELJKO KRAJAN, RAINER SCHUETTLER and RAEMON SLUITER joined the season opening of the Sport Scheck store in central Munich. Two mini-tennis courts were set up outside the store, which is close to the Marienplatz in the center of the city¡­RAINER SCHUETTLER celebrated his birthday on Friday by going to one of Munich's best restaurants with his parents Karl and Klara Schuettler and his coach and manager Dirk Hordorff. During the week, the German star also made a live appearance on host broadcaster Bayrisches Fernsehen's Monday Sports Show 'Blickpunkt Sport'¡­At the Kids Day on Monday WAYNE BLACK, KARSTEN BRAASCH, JENS KNIPPSCHILD, JEAN-RENE LISNARD, CECIL MAMIIT, PETR PALA, RAEMON SLUITER, CYRIL SUK and KEVIN ULLYETT hit some balls with 200 local kids and signed autographs at the Iphitos tennis club in Munich during the BMW Open by Credit Suisse¡­On Wednesday, TOMAS CIBULEC and PAVEL VIZNER served champagne at the traditional ladies day to the first 250 ladies entering the grounds at the Iphitos tennis club. (For pics, go to www.atptennis.com/en/media/insiderpics/).

BECKER-EDBERG RENEW RIVALRY¡­Four-time Stella Artois champion BORIS BECKER and three-time finalist STEFAN EDBERG will face each other for the first time since their 1996 final at the Queen's Club to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the tournament. Becker and Edberg will contest a first-to-eight-game Pro Set match between the singles and doubles finals on Sunday June 15. The match will be televised and is scheduled for inclusion in the BBC 'Sunday Grandstand' program for finals day. "It will be an honor to play Stefan at the 25th Anniversary of the Stella Artois Championships," said Becker. "Having won the tournament four times, the Queen's Club holds many special memories for me. My career really took off when I won the Stella Artois title in 1985 and then Wimbledon three weeks later as a 17-year-old. Stefan and I enjoyed a great rivalry, playing many big matches over the years including my victory in that 1996 final at Queen's. I am planning a similar outcome this time!" For more information, as well as the Stella Artois Entry List, log on to: www.stellatennis.com.

PHOTOS AVAILABLE ONLINE!¡­Various photos from this year's ATP Insider, including last week's off-court activities in Casablanca, can be downloaded on-line from www.atptennis.com/en/media/insiderpics/default.asp.

SAY WHAT?
"To see this tournament succeed so beautifully, only leads me to believe the Tennis Masters Cup is going to be a monster event. I've got to believe that it's just going to add a lot to the game of tennis and bring due respect to the standard of competition it has to offer. Because truly from a competitive standpoint, it should be right up there with the Slams."
- Andre Agassi on the US Men's Clay Court Championships at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston, which will host the Tennis Masters Cup from November 8-14.

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