Tennis is Malaysia's new favourite sport.For a country like Malaysia who prefers badminton and football, it's amazing to see fans queuing up for almost 4 hours just to catch a glimpse of Roger Federer and get his autograph.
When Esther and I arrived at the KLCC foyer, we met up with some fans from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and also from Japan!
As a Rafatard, I must say that Roger is still a King here in Asia, and ASEAN to be specific.I'm exhausted after covering the event for 2 days, I said to myself, I'm glad I'm just a tennis blogger, not a reporter or photographer.
I'm really happy to meet so many tennis enthusiasts from so many places.
Sorry for those whom I can't return call or couldn't meet up. I've tried to return as much calls as I can but at certain situation, I wasn't convenient to do that.
I hope you guys enjoy the event. Do write to me on how you felt.
Now I believe the WTA Tier II event could be a reality next year.
I'll come back to you guys soon on photos and videos of the activities took place yesterday: James Blake tennis clinic, Roger's meet-the-fans/autograph-signing session, Mirka, at the exhibition match and post match press conference.
I've just called Esther, who's at the Mandarin Oriental now. She said she managed to meet the players and take photos and autographs!
The players will be heading to the Subang airport at 10 a.m. on private jet to Macau for another exho.
(Images via Yahoo! Sport)
17 comment(s):
I'm waiting eagerly for your showdown's update.
Highlighted in the Malay Mail on Tuesday (Nov 18).
Enter Sharapova
By Haresh Deol
As ardent fans gear up to watch their idols play in the Showdown of Champions at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil this evening, Mailsport learnt that there are plans to bring Maria Sharapova to KL next year.
Sharapova is expected to play in an exhibition match early November but it remains unclear who she will play against or the number of women players involved in the event.
The Russian beauty made a pit stop in Singapore last December. Together with several other tennis stars, the former world No 1 has also been speculated to play in the US$400,000 (RM1.4 million) WTA Malaysian Open next year - pending the organisers’ ability to secure their appearance fees.
Sharapova’s appearance here next year is timely as Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick stressed that the world No 2 will play less exhibition matches to concentrate on winning more major tournaments next year.
Nevertheless, the spotlight tonight is on the four stalwarts - Federer, American hotshot James Blake, Swede legend Bjorn Borg and his arch rival John McEnroe — as they play two singles and a doubles match.
Having arrived in Malaysia yesterday, all four players made a brief appearance for a quick photo shoot at the KLCC park followed by a Press conference.
Federer assured his fans that he has almost recovered from his back ache and is able to give his best before taking a long break and concentrate on the next season. However, it was McEnroe who kept the crowd in stitches.
When asked of his outbursts on court, the American said; “My father used to tell me (in a rather loud tone) you don’t need to yell at the umpires all the time!”
“I grew up in a noisy environment and New York is a boisterous place. So yes, I tend to speak loud,” added McEnroe who won seven Grand Slams during his illustrious career.
On a serious note, McEnroe acknowledged that the current batch of players are beginning to show aggression on the court. “In this year’s Open events we saw players who are emotion - ally charged.
(Rafael) Nadal, Andy Murray and (Novak) Djokovic showed a lot of character on the court. Even when Federer played Nadal in the Wimbledon (final) ... we’ve never seen this side of Federer before.”
“Players play with tremendous power today and they are physically well built. We used wooden racquets then but today there’s just so much of technology involved.”
This is McEnroe’s and Blake’s first visit to Malaysia while Federer played in an exhibition match with Pete Sampras, Nadal and Richard Gasquet at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam last year. Borg too has visited Malaysia before.
“I’m happy to be back. I was in the country many years ago. I won’t say how long ago,” quipped Borg.
“It is great to be playing with three great guys. I’m sure the fans will enjoy it and there’s going to be lots of fun.”
Borg plays McEnroe in the first singles match followed by the clash between Federer and Blake. Federer will then team up with Borg to take on Blake and McEnroe in the doubles match.
Thanks, JB. I'm really looking forward to hear her shriek in Malaysia :P
yes seriously federermania!! i was speechless when i got to him for the autograph!! it was worth the wait n chase!! i will share my pics later too!
Its the same concept in Macau?
Boooo, I want Ivanovic in KL!
HC Foo, you guys pegi stalking Mirka jugak? :p
hcfoo,
Thanks for the update. With your update, i managed to meet and get the autograph from roger yesterday. If u did see me around, i was the first one in the queue. i was in KLCC around 730am, but didnt see anyone queue up. End up i went for breakfast and when i came back around 830am, the security informed us the correct place to q up. :) it was such a great experience as roger himself is such a friendly and nice guy. The only sad thing is, the organiser didnt allow us to take photo, and i didnt have any nice photo with roger. The organiser kept telling that they will take the photo and upload them into the website (dont even know what website they are refering to). They even told us that with all the camera flashes around, roger may become unhappy and leave. all of us were quite unhappy with that statement coz we know roger very well that he will never leave without a good reason.
Anyway, sad that roger has left. hope he will come back here again even for a short holiday.
che-cheh, sure sure. be patient yeah coz i need some time to digest so many photos and videos at the same time :D
zara, didn't really stalk her but we KNOW what she did here .... nak gossip later :P I'm hoping for Ivanovic too. If it's the same organiser, then chances are higher :D
Anna, go to Yahoo! Sport under tennis photos. Lotsa pics there. I can't believe you really queue up at 7.30 a.m.! Yeah the bodyguards are big size and quite mean, right? but for security reason, I guess they have to do whatever they can to make sure Roger is comfortable and safe. There are more than 1000 there! If you were to stalk the players PATIENTLY at the hotel or event place, you'll have a chance for personal photos (but not guaranteed though). Anyway, Roger already knows how crazy the fans are in Asia. Malaysia is still not that crazy compare to China though :P
please dont take too much time. we cant be so patient when it comes to anything about roger. :)
anna, haha.. okay I'll be working on that tonight after work. stay tune.
it would be great to see sharapova vs ivanovic, murray v nadal/djokovic, & a lil mix boubles between them. that would send the fans into a frenzy.
Wow, what a crowd to see Roger!
I would be there too if I could, and would take my mom with me (she's a huge fan of his). Ok, I'd rather see Rafa... But I like Roger too. :D
chanhowmun, oh yeah I would love mixed dubs match too ;) That line-up of yours is simply amazing!
mila, oh your mom's a huge Roger fan, eh? i really hope Rafa is coming back here next year, if he's fully recover.
anna, roger federer does not make public appearances that much, Malaysian fans were indeed lucky to have the meet the fan session, hence the tight security measures as well as restrictions imposed by the organisers. The website is www.showdownkl2008.com. The pictures will be uploaded to the website soon.
Ld, thanks for the info. Now the fans can look forward to see themselves in photos with Roger. I think the security is fair enough coz Asian crowd is usually quite fanatic.
ld,
when the photos will be posed? As far as i know the website you mentioned could not be assessed since few days already. i am also doubtful coz i dont think that the organiser was able to take the photo of each and everyone that day.
anna, i agree with u! I think now the only place to get those pictures are from getty images. will update you guys if showdown website is back to normal.
Post a Comment