Not every partnership in tennis is a perfect match. While there has been a buzz of new hook-ups lately, a few partnerships in the sport – romantic and otherwise – have dissolved.
Andre Agassi and Perry Rogers
Andre Agassi recently ended his business relationship with manager and good friend Perry Rogers after 27 years. Both cited a need to separate their business relations from their friendship as the cause for the split.
“It was getting to where every call I was getting was about business, and Andre and I agreed that it has to be more than this,” Rogers told the Las Vegas Review Journal.
“Andre and I both feel the same that at the end of the day it's about our friendship first. It's not about the number of zeroes in the bank account but the quality of the friendship.”
The pair remains friends.
Flavia Pennetta and Carlos Moya
Pennetta’s romance to the former world number one ended some time ago, but her wounds may have not completely healed, according to tennisreporters.net.
Their break up was apparently caused by Moya’s infidelity. In July 2007, Pennetta traveled to Båstad to pay a surprise visit to Moya, who was there playing in a tournament. The article states that she “found him with another woman,” and she is “still raw from the way the relationship ended.”
Coincidentally or not, Pennetta is in the midst of a career year on the court. She has reached four tournament finals in 2008, and has risen to a career-high No. 14 in the world rankings (on October 20).
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Stefan Ortega
Kuznetsova, a consistent presence in the Top 10, has defected from the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain, where she has trained since her teenage years. She also split from coach Stefan Ortega, in favor of former tour player Olga Morozova.
“I have gotten to a stage in my life where I would like to return to my family and continue developing my career,” said Kuznetsova. “It's a bizarre situation and feeling for me to be working with another coach, as I have only been with the academy since I went pro. But I feel and hope this will be a successful decision for me moving forward.”
Stanislas Wawrinka and his Driver’s License
The quiet and almost painfully shy Wawrinka has been getting plenty of exposure since winning doubles gold at the Beijing Olympics with Roger Federer – and a little too much for the Swiss transportation authorities. It appears that “Stan the Man,” as he has come to be known, has a need for speed.
“I'm not proud to admit it, but recently I lost my license for a month for driving a little fast,” said Wawrinka. “But I have learnt my lesson and we took it easy on the trip [to Basel]. Besides, there are lots of speed cameras so you will almost certainly be caught if you drive too fast.”
Wawrinka has since had his license reinstated.
Madrid Masters and Hard Courts
After being played on indoor hard courts in the fall for the last seven years, the Madrid Masters event will take on a new look in 2009. While it will maintain its title sponsor, Mutua Madrilena, the event will return to its Spanish roots and be contested on outdoor red clay next May. The tournament, which will take the place of the former Masters Series level event in Hamburg on next year’s calendar, bid farewell to its current home during the trophy presentation on Sunday.
Roger Federer and the Year-End No. 1 Ranking
After four years atop the men’s rankings, Federer has passed the baton (albeit involuntarily) to Rafael Nadal, who last week clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time.
Pete Sampras and Another Record
Pete Sampras kept the most hallowed men’s tennis record – most career Grand Slam singles titles won – for at least another year. But he was replaced by Federer in regards to another achievement: top career money earner. Last week, Federer surpassed Sampras for career prize money earned following his semi-final showing in Madrid, which earned the 27-year old $43,389,181. So it is with good reason that Federer appears unburdened by the current world-wide economic crisis, saying, “I have a big mattress."