Pierce, Moya and more out of Wimbledon

Well, Mary's out and the list of withdrawals grows longer. Right now we've got: Mary Pierce, Serena Willaims, Lindsay Davenport, Carlos Moya, Taylor Dent, Guillermo Coria and Igor Andreev. Who's next I wonder.

Gimelstob's Blog: Couch Potato Pros

American journeyman Justin Gimelstob's got a funny entry in his Sports Illustrated blog.

Money quote: "With almost every TV showing a different match, there is a feeling of sensory overload. But you would be amazed at how long players sit there staring like zombies. A who's who of French Open champions and contenders can put even the finest couch potatoes to shame. My top four seeds in logging couch time on Monday would have to be Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya, Juan Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio -- ironically, the last four French Open champions."

Good to know that the pros find tennis on TV just as addictive as the fans.

Mixed Doubles for Moya and Pennetta

Too cute:)

From the Australian Open site: Who calls the shots?

The personal and professional worlds of Carlos Moya and Flavia Pennetta collided at Melbourne Park on Friday when the pairing took to the court for their opening round mixed doubles clash.

The pair, who have been an item for a couple of years, decided to enter in the event after Moya was eliminated from the men's singles by Andrei Pavel early in the tournament...

Injury Break May Have Helped: Moya

Carlos Moya may be the forgotten Spaniard these days most places on tour, but not in India.  The local media are all over him as he goes for his third consecutive Chennai Open title.

From rediff.com: 'I'd like to be remembered for my tennis, not looks'

Carlos Moya, with his rugged look, long tresses, looks like some medieval king. Standing tall at six feet three inches, the Spaniard brings the silent ferocity to the battle. It was this heart for a fight that saw him become the first player from his country to be ranked number one in the world...

After a successful start to 2005, when he won his second title at the Chennai Open, Moya suffered a shoulder injury and was out of action for the last two months. He also slipped outside the top-20 in the world for the first time in eight years.

"After the break I will have to fight to be a top-10 player again. I was in the top-10 before the injury and I'm sure I haven't forgot how to play tennis in three months. I still have the ability to beat the top players of the world," he says...

Carlos Moya Interview

Just a quick interview by Carlos Moya here, but it gives you a pretty good idea of his state of mind going into the 2006 season.

From the Mumbai Mirror: Just too much tennis these days, says Moya

With a packed schedule and fitness doubtful, how do you see your chances here?

My shoulder has recovered but at this moment, I would like to take it step by step and see how it progresses. In any case I am a slow starter and the next two matches are always crucial. Having played my last match in October, if I can get used to the conditions here, it would be nice if I make it to the last stages.

With fitness worries, how do you see regain-ing your world number one status?

That is not possible. There are many young guys out there…Federer, Nadal. If my shoulder stays okay, I could make a fight for it but, realisti-cally, I would be satisfied if I get into top 10.

How difficult it is for an injured player to make a comeback after a long layoff, having lost all the points accumulated?

The layoff affects you mentally more than anything else. The game is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. You need to be strong in the mind and believe in yourself.

Moya Opens Gym in Mallorca

He insists he's not retiring anytime soon, but Carlos Moya today will host the grand opening of Profitness, a new gym in Mallorca in which he is a partner.  Rafael Nadal is also scheduled to attend as a guest and in honor of the occasion Moya is doing interviews with the local press.  Here are the highlights:

• If his body holds up, he plans to play professional tennis for several more years.
• He called his year "strange" and "not easy" and blames his shoulder injury for costing him a good part of the clay court season that is his specialty but emphasizes that he's not finished with tennis yet.
• He doesn't know yet whether he wants to return to the Spanish Davis Cup team in 2006.  However,  he was definitely not in favor of the recent firing of Davis Cup captains Jordi Arrese and Juan Avendano, saying the problem was that they were just honest, good people who know tennis and not politicians.
• He's happy for Rafael Nadal and says he deserves everything that has happened to him this year.  He's also confident that Nadal will eventually become #1 because he's sure Roger Federer's level will drop.  And he says he's not bothered at all that Nadal's star has eclipsed his for the moment, that he never wanted to be the big star anyway.
• He calls L'Equipe a trustworthy paper and says the Mariano Puerta doping case is bad for all of tennis, but cautions that Puerta still hasn't been proven guilty yet.  Nevertheless, he claims tennis is overall a very clean sport because the players are tested so often, including blood tests.

Carlos Moya

Carlos Moya wanted to make one thing clear after his 6-7(3) 3-6 loss to Thomas Johansson at the China Open today: he may have lost the match, but he is definitely not retiring in the near future. 

From Xinhua:  Moya plays down suspections on retirement (their English, not mine, don't shoot the messenger)

"Retire from tennis? No, I didn't think of it at all. As long as I keep healthy, I will keep going on," said the 29-year-old Spaniard...

"As long as my tennis is good and I am healthy, I will be around for a few years," he said.

Moya, Nalbandian and Ferrero Visit Great Wall of China

More "Tennis Players in Exotic Places" photos out of China today.  This time, Carlos Moya, David Nalbandian, and Juan Carlos Ferrero paid a visit to the Great Wall of China to promote the Beijing Open.  Photos in the People's Daily Online here.  Just disregard the captions which refer to  Juan Carlos as "Carlos Ferrero":)