THE K-BLOG

The stage is set for a very intriguing Indian Wells men’s event. Top players usually fare very well at this event as they come in well-rested. In fact, every year since 2002 a top-three seed has won the event—except for last year when Ivan Ljubičić was the surprise victor.



Seeded third, Novak Djokovic is the man to beat, as he is undefeated this year. Second seed and three-time champion, Roger Federer will seek revenge for his two losses to Djokovic this year, as both have been drawn in the bottom half. Another big name in this half is last year’s finalist Andy Roddick, who won Memphis in his last-played event.


Top seed and two-time champion, Rafael Nadal is playing his first ATP event since
his injury at the Australian Open. He will be challenged in the top half by fourth-seed
Robin Söderling , who has an 18-1 record this year with three titles. Fifth-seed Andy Murray will look to rebound from his confidence-destroying loss at the Australian
Open in January, his third loss in a Grand Slam final.


The BNP Paribas Open, the first of nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events,
is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The Men’s qualifying draw ends today,
March 9th, and the Men’s main draw starts tomorrow, March 10th, and lasts until March 20th. For in-depth analysis of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event and many statistical tennis articles, please visit thebigtip.com.au/tennis.

True to our new motto: “(Even) More Tennis!”, the new
Yonex V-Core rackets are already at keller-tennis.com!

Even though the official release of the new Yonex series is in March, keller-tennis.com already has three of the new Yonex V Core rackets online and available!

The “D” is for “drive” in the V Core 95D and V Core 98D, and it’s thus designed for players who hit with straight shots. The advantage is that, with this new frame design, the optimal meeting point at the top of the frame is enlarged. This allows Yonex to promise more power in your return hit.

The V Core 100S was designed for players who employ a lot of spin in their game, and it is the latest “weapon of choice” of Caroline Wozniacki. “VCore lets you play aggressively because it has so much power, but you still have control to put the ball in the right spot to hit clean winners. The spin is amazing. The ball just kicks off any surface which allows anyone to play with great confidence”—so says the top
player in women’s tennis about your new secret weapon!

The new Head rackets and racket bags are now available! To give you an idea of what you can expect, here’s a little recap on the general technology behind Head’s rackets, as well as what makes the Extreme and Speed series so special.

Head puts the best technologies behind every tennis racket. Head rackets offer a wide range of technologies: Innegra, HydroSorb, Flexpoint, Liquidmetal and Protect System. Here are some highlights:

• Innegra is the lightest fiber in the world and it combines with Heads of advanced carbon composite technology to provide you with an extremely resilient structure.

• d30 is the new material incorporated into the coating of the racket, positioned in the fork of the racket shaft. d30 adapts itself to fit your style of play and amplifies it. What does that mean to you? Your hits are more explosive and slower hits can be better controlled.

• In the terms of the grommet system, a lot has changed. Since 2010, Head’s offered grommets with a friction-reducing teflon polymer. The result is that little energy is lost on impact, thereby making even more power possible. This also creates a larger sweet spot.

• Available string patterns of 16×19 and 18×20.

• Top tennis players like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Söderling, Svetlana Kusznetsova and Maria Sharapova play with the Speed, Youtek Prestige Youtek and Extreme models.

Speed Series:
The Youtek Speed is tailored to the needs of Novak Djokovic. This racket is very stiff and perfect for players who are continuously playing with quick hits. The Speed series is equipped with brand new Head’s YouTek technology with Innegra, which provides unparalleled control and precision for every shot.

Extreme Series:
The YouTek Extreme is designed specifically for the needs of players such as Ivan Ljubicic, and for competition-oriented players with a long swing style. The Extreme series is also infused with Head’s YouTek technology and Innegra material. This makes the racket even more powerful than ever before, while simulatenously guaranteeing maximum spin.

With a spectacular finale, the first Grand Slam of the year actually finished up on keller-tennis.com’s home court last Tuesday. Thanks to enthusiastic participation from our employees and the support of Dunlop, who made the new club Biomimetic available to us (and therefore made it impossible for anyone to claim that their defeat was due to equipment), our home-grown tournament raged for 3 weeks.

The final match? Product Management vs. the Finance Department. In four sets, Flo Berg (Product management) prevailed with 10:5 10:6 10:4 6:10 to steal the title.

We are already looking forward to the next Grand Slam, and we will of course let you know whether this Product Manager was able to defend his title! Check out a portion of the game below. Have fun!

In the picture, Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander play in an exhibition game under the “Berenberg Bank Classics,” for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Scattered throughout the crowd was everyone from the sports agency of the three-time Davis Cup winner, Carl-Uwe Steeb, and as well as Berenberg Bank, the title sponsor of the game, which was played on the center court of the Porsche Arena.


The two men were the dominant and influential figures in the 80s. Mats Wilander has seven Grand Slam titles to call his own, as well as three Davis Cup victories. Ivan Lendl could claim even eight Grand Slam titles for himself, not to mention one Davis Cup.

With the success of this exhibition game, the organizers have created yet another great highlight leading up to the world-class tennis tournament. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix takes place from 16 to 24 April 2011 in the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart.

Tennis isn’t all about technique; it’s also about mental toughness. Sure, tennis technique has its place in a player’s development, but it’s not the key to winning. Every player has lost at least a few matches in his or her career to players with poor technique, but obviously superior tennis tactics. These opponents tactically outplayed them.



A site that we’ve recently come across and think is pretty cool, www.tennismindgame.com, helps you work on your tennis tactics to get “in the zone” and stay there.



TennisMindGame.com offers players of all levels tips and techniques on how to improve their mental game. We think the Inner Game section offers solid common-sense insights and suggestions that can be readily applied to your game. There tennis beginners can also find a set of instructional videos that teaches them the basics of tennis technique with 49 step-by-step videos.

Going forward, you will now find tennis apparel from Under Armour in our selection!
For those who don’t already know the brand, we’d like to give you a brief introduction…

Under Armour is an American sporting goods manufacturer headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Originally known as a brand that specialized purely in martial arts clothing and thermal underwear, it’s now focused on sports like baseball and basketball, as well as shoulder pads for ice hockey, lacrosse, American football, etc. Additionally, Under Armour also produces normal T-shirts and pants. Under Armour leads the market with its breakthroughs in body-fitting and temperature-regulating clothing.

While the tight, functional shirts and pants serve specialized needs, Under Armour also offers polo shirts and T-shirts with a more relaxed cut for those who prefer their sportwear a little less skin tight.

Among other things, Under Armour supports the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Likewise, Igor Andreev and Robby Ginepri have played for years in Under Armour clothes. In the future, more pro players will definitely be following these athletes’ example. Meanwhile, Under Armour has also got its foot in the door of the German sports market too, for example, with the Hannover 96 club football team.