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March 13, 2010 |
Hello from sunny Rio.
Have had four great days here with great weather and a lot of fun on the courts.The only negative has been losing to Fernando in the first round, but to be honest with you I played quite well and just did not have the "goods"at the end.
We have had a great time with the ams in the clinic and pro-am. Talk about tennis enthusiasts.
We also had the pleasure of spending some time with Guga in a great session at Kid´s Day on Saturday.
Also good to see Marat on the tour. He is a lot of fun to be around, with some really good storys to tell. I think he now also realizes that some of the "old" guys can still play.
Back to training in Vero Beach for a couple of weeks and then I will hopefully be ready to play the legend that is Bjorn Borg in Boston. Hope to see you all there.
All the best and don´t forget the drop shot,
Mikael
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September 26, 2009 |
It's good to be back in Charlotte once again. Unfortunately I ran across a very focused Jim Courier in the first round, but I'm really looking forward to some fun doubles today. I'm really enjoying the hospitality here at the Palisades and our accomodations at the Ballantyne Resort. Now I'm looking forward to some Outback Ribs and good match between Pete Sampras and Pat Cash.
All the best and don't forget the drop shot.
Mikael
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August 20, 2009 |
It's great to be back in Newport. What a great place for tennis.
We have a great field this week, and looking over to the centre court it looks like a great crowd is out enjoying the first match of the week. I play Mark Philippoussis in the first round tomorrow, and my goal is to have more aces than him!! So if you are coming to watch and have an extra set of cards at home, please bring them. Come out and join us for some great tennis and some wonderful Outback Ribs.
Don't forget the drop shot.
Cheers,
Mikael
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March 12, 2009 |
Hey,
I'm back in Brazil. It's great to be back in the country that kickstarted my professional career. I came here in 1985 to play some challengers and managed to win the first one I played in. Now I'm back playing here on the Outback Tour.
I've got three tough matches starting with John McEnroe. I hope to play some good tennis this week and hope to combine it with some sightseeing in this incredible city.
We had a great welcoming party yesterday with some great food. Now I just need to wait and see if I can play good tennis without preparing with Outback Ribs.
All the best from Rio and don't forget the drop shot.
Cheers,
Mikael
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February 16, 2009 |
Hey,
It was great to be back in action again this past week in Boston.
I had great time and even though I lost to Todd Martin, I felt good after injuring myself back in September. The one thing I wasn't too happy about was losing two straight mixed doubles matches against Mats Wilander. I had a great time playing with both Anna Kournikova and Tracy Austin. Losing those two matches was a hard pill to swallow, but I made it up by swallowing about three racks of Outback's ribs. Did I mention that it's great to be back on the Outback Tour.
See you soon and don't forget the drop shot.
Cheers,
Mikael
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August 13, 2008 |
Hey,
It's great to be back on the Outback Champions Series after the summer break, and what a place to start! With the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the back ground, playing on beautiful grass courts, it does not get better than that, except maybe a better draw. I've got a tough week ahead. Playing Jim Courier, Wayne Ferreira and Magnus Larsson is going to to make it really tough to make it to Sunday action. I guess not advancing would mean that I could spend some time in the Hall of Fame as a visitor, which by the way is the only way you will see me in there - as I'm still working on earning my way in.
It has also been two months since my last rack of Outback Ribs, so watch out in the hospitality area.
All the best,
Mikael
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June 10, 2008 |
Hey,
Having just left Paris and Roland Garros for a tournament in Liverpool, I was thinking about the crushing defeat Nadal handed Federer in the finals. Nadal has definitely become more aggressive on his backhand which I think really frustrated Federer. In my opinion, in combination with the fact that Federer did not seem comfortable with his own tactics, made it an easy day for Nadal.
One thing I think that Federer should have done was, instead of always hitting hard and flat to Nadals backhand, to maybe try to loop the ball a little bit more to hope for a short ball. When playing serve and volley, I think maybe he should hold back and let the first dipping ball bounce and then approach the net.
Of course, it's easy for me to sit on the side and coach and for the record, I would never want to play Nadal under any circumstances.
I do think that Federer is one of the few players who can beat Nadal on clay, but it looks like it's going to be up to Nadal for that to happen.
My advice to Federer is that the next time he plays Nadal on clay, he should have a rack of Outback ribs the night before and then imagine that he is playing somebody he's never lost to.
Advice to everybody: don't forget the dropshot.
Ciao,
Mikael
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June 6, 2008 |
Another great trip to Paris. I was able to play doubles with my idol Ilie Nastase. We didn't win, but had great time.
As I write this Nadal is through to the finals and Federer is up two sets to one. I think Federer will go on and then we have anther heavy weight Final. I think Federer's chance lies in coming to net more often and taking chances on Nadal's second serve. It should be another great finals.
Hope everybody has a great summer
And then we will see you over some Outback Ribs at another Outback Champions Series event..
All the best,
Mikael
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June 3, 2008 |
Hey,
On my way once again to the Champions doubles at the French Open. Always a fun event to play with a good mixture of serious and sometimes not so serious tennis.
It is also going to be interesting to see if this is the year for Federer to win the one Grand Slam that he does not have. It's going to be tough, but after not having a "normal" Federer start to the year I think he is extra fired up.
I'll get back to you all later in the event.
As thay say in France, "Vives les ribs des Outback".
Mikael
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May 2, 2008 |
I'm at another great event - this time in Boston. I'm going in to my last match against Aaron [Krickstein] and I have a chance to make it to Sunday! I'm having a great time off site also. We are staying at a great hotel, the Taj, right in the middle of the city, which makes sight-seeing very easy in this historic city. Me and Dr Kitchell are taking a walk every morning and we've found a great shop to get our daily protein smoothie.
The only disapointment of the week was that I was invited to play the Brookline golf course, but the weather did not cooperate and we were rained out.
But otherwise, I've already had Outback ribs twice this week. Maybe that's why I feel so good.
Until next time.
Mikael
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March 14, 2008 |
If you were at The Oliver Group Champions Cup on Thursday night, I had my best win on the Outback Tour - beating Magnus Larsson. I played as good as I can at this point of my career. I guess when you are in a great tennis city, with excellent hospitality and the organization treats us as well as they do - it's not difficult to play well.
I was also able to bring my family this week. My son, Figge, and my wife, Kristina, are having a great time at the Lely Resort. And let's face it - the fact that I refuel with Outback's food every day (the ribs are my favorite) makes it a perfect combination.
Wish me luck for the rest of the tournament!
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December 6, 2007 |
I really had a great time in dubai. I had never been here before but had heard a lot of incredible things about this place and really everything is true. The people are nice and always polite. More and more buildings are being added and there is construction all over town. Interestingly enough, my favorite thing I have seen are some old wooden boats being built in the creek across from our hotel. The boats have old charm because they are wooden but there is no question they will be top of the line luxury when complete.
As far as the tennis goes, I'm happy about the way I had played. My match with Jim was a good match and I have enjoyed the crowds here in Dubai.
The one thing that I really did miss are the Outback ribs!!
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November 12, 2007 |
I was exited to once again be invited to play in an Outback Champion Series Event.
The Dallas event was a lot of fun for me, mainly because I actually played some good tennis.
Coming back from two surgeries in 2006, I have been working hard to get back into some kind of “singles shape”.
Friday was the high point during the week, not only did I take a set off Jim Courier, but I also got to spend most of my evening in the Outback lounge cleaning some Baby Back Ribs “Insideout”.
Finishing off with a win against Pat Cash didn’t hurt either especially since it has been shown on The Tennis Channel, so I could prove to my friends that I have actually won a match on the tour this year.
Happy Holidays and have fun on the courts.
All the best,
Mikael
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