There's a new James Bond novel, commissioned by the Ian Fleming estate, called Devil May Care. Why the heck do we care on a tennis blog? Because James Bond plays a tennis match in the book.
So we finally can find out:
Does James Bond play with a one- or two-handed backhand?
How does he spend his change-overs?
What's his favorite post-match quencher?
In the book he plays on Court 2 in the Bois de Boulogne on red clay (near Roland Garros). I can't wait to read it - they play with wooden racquets and white Slazenger balls. Classic!
TennisPuzzles.com Launches with French Open Crossword, Word Search & Sudoku
A fun idea to test your stretch your brain muscles and test your tennis trivia knowledge - Tenniswire Network has lauched TennisPuzzles.com, where you can play tennis-themed crosswords, word searches and wordoku (which is sudoku with words). And since it's French Open time, you'll find tournament-themed clues in the puzzles.
Check out this Kia ad. If you're a sci-fi geek you'll notice the Voltron references big time. Apparently Kia is recalling it's ad for containing some innappropriate content. I don't see it. The content is weird but I don't see it as inappropriate. Then again I suppose Nadal shoving his foot up the a#$ of a mini Nadal midget while transforming into a anime style super robot was a little over the top...
The French Open starts today (may have already kicked off), here are my picks:
Women: Jelena Jankovic
Men: Roger Federer (yes, you read it right I said Roger Federer...I believe the bear has been poked one too many times, and with the new coach he's still the best player in the world)
50 Great Things you Never Knew you Could do with Tennis Balls
Back on March 29, we posted about how tennis balls may be able to help your laundry endeavors (Tennis Balls can help your clothes dryer work better). But did you also know you could keep gnats and flies away from you by covering a tennis ball in Vaseline, use them to make pencil/mail/phone holder, or donate them to nursing homes for use on walkers? Life Hackery actually lists 50 great things you can do with tennis balls, check it out.
Tennis Balls can help your clothes dryer work better.
Check out this "life hack" - putting tennis balls in your dryer to speed up and fluff up the laundry. Just toss a few in the dryer. Lifehacker notes some dissent in the idea, though, from "The Laundry Alternative" website:
"Some manufacturers recommend putting new tennis balls in the dryer to keep the down from clumping. However, the Soap and Detergent Association does not recommend this practice. The neon dye on the tennis ball could transfer to the down-filled item, or the tennis ball might not be able to withstand the heat. To avoid clumping, it is safer to periodically remove the item and shake vigorously. Adding clean, dry towels to the dryer load can also help."
A "readymade" tennis ball chair. Its made from the chromed steel frame from the popular line of Galaxy stacking chairs by office furniture company GGI. The person who made this chair modified it by replacing the original cushions with a new seat and back made of laser-cut, high quality, quarter-inch oak veneer plywood over an MDF substrate. Each cushion has a grid of twenty-five tennis balls contoured to fit the body, trapped in place by the carefully sized holes in the plywood. All for a mere $400.
I'm new to the manga and anime scene, so forgive me for being late to the game. I came across The Prince of Tennis, a popular manga and anime series created by Takeshi Konomi. The series is primarily set in Tokyo. The main character's name is Ryoma Echizen - a tennis prodigy who attends the famous Seishun Academy. While there, Ryoma quickly kicks the asses of many upperclassmen and gets a spot on the varsity team. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.
OK...that's all I know right now. More to come as I learn more about tennis' other prince.
Back on October 12th we covered an interesting item we came across a cool tennis-related product on Etsy - business card holders/wallets made out of old Wilson tennis racquet covers. Well, we ordered ourselves one to give as a Christmas gift, and it did not disappoint.
It is exactly as it appears in the images. More than that, its handmade and very well put together. In fact, knowing it was a handmade item, I was a little skeptical about quality, but it is very well made with solid construction.
If you have a tennis fan in your life, especially one who is old enough to have had one of these old-time racquet covers, this is a great gift.
Ion Tiriac Proposed 5th Grand Slam, Wins Moustache Award
Former tennis player and coach of Boris Becker, Ion Tiriac is pushing to make Madrid the location of a 5th Grand Slam tournament. The Romanian is the most powerful businessman in world tennis, and he already has another goal - to make a fifth Grand Slam in Madrid. For all of history, there have been four Grand Slam tournaments, and they are played in London, Paris, New York and Melbourne. Why Madrid? Tiriac say because the city incarnates this "new sport," the city that can go beyond the limits of Paris and London.
"Madrid has a very great future, and it is going to have facilities like no other tournament. There is no other which can close three courts in five minutes and keep playing despite the rain," Tiriac stresses.
He notes he has ruled out the Asian option that he contemplated a couple of years ago.
"I do not need to move Madrid. It is likely that in Shanghai I could have made money, a lot of it. But I am lucky enough not to be about to starve to death," he says.
Really, I don't want a 5th Grand Slam, nor do I believe there needs to be one. However, I would like to change the focus of this Tirac story to focus on his mustache. Over the year, this baby is really something to behold.
Ever wonder what happened to all the single, slip-on, racquet covers we used to have on our racquets - before the days of having a bag big enough to carry your mother around with you.
Well...now we know. Some creative and industrious person has decided to make wallets out of them. Well, they're more like business/credit card holders, but they are cool nonetheless. These are handmade, though, so I'm guessing inventories are limited.
This item is a minimally-sized wallet made from vintage tennis racket covers. Great for the person who doesn't want a bulky wallet, it measures approximately 4x6" when open and contains 2 inside pockets perfectly sized for credit cards and business cards. Sewn with heavy-duty nylon thread, the color is dark green vinyl with white lettering and black stitching. The inside pockets are brown.
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New James Bond Novel Features 007 Playing Tennis
Why the heck do we care on a tennis blog? Because James Bond plays a tennis match in the book. 
