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[Aileen]

Glad he wasn't quite as gushing as Djoko on facebook, who is in danger of sounding a bit Fed-like

....Even though Australia is quite down under, very far from home, I never felt alone. I always had my team and you by my side. Guys, you were unbelievable these past few weeks! So many messages, letters... I felt how excited you were to see me play, and how much you missed me on the court during the off season. So many of you came to watch my matches and practices....

That really does sound uncannily like something straight out of PseudoFed. 

[Aileen]

I was just thinking that too Aileen about Novak's words sounding a lot like PseudoFed there! I wonder if he writes his own tweets or has a PR person to do them for him? But there's no doubt that he does appreciate his fans, he always has a lot of time for them.

I used to like Andy's tweets (well, apart from the fantasy football ones!) but have got used to him not being on twitter much nowadays. Can't say I blame him - I don't suppose reading his mentions column was a lot of fun most of the time (especially after losses).

I know that Novak, like Andy, is always very appreciative of his fans, but if this kind of stuff is being written by his PR person I think he should have a word in his/her ear.  On the other hand if they're coming from Novak himself, then it's his PR person who should be having the word.  It's so OTT that it's  laughable.

I gave up reading Andy tweets because not only were most of them about his fantasy football but also the silly forfeits games he and his team played.  Anyway I'm glad he stopped because he was tweeting so often that he was just wasting his time and energy - and John McEnroe, who had been standing beside him at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, said he was appalled at the number of malicious and abusive tweets Andy received.  Whether Andy realised it or not, that sort of negativity must really have been eating into his soul.

[Aileen]

Yes, I couldn't help reading it with capital Ms for Me and My!

But he also said all this "....I was lucky enough to have a chance to inspire some of you to start playing tennis, too. I had a lot of memorable moments with each of you, and most of your words touched my heart.

I love tennis not only because it brings happiness, excitement and stability in my life, but also because I got to have you - millions of you around the world watching me and supporting me. We have unbelievable power in our hands my friends, we can inspire many people around us to do good things, to play sport, to study and fight for better lives. We are all part of one team, one family - no matter the race, religion, sex or origin. We all share the same passion and love for this sport. So thank you for these wonderful couple of weeks and for believing in me".

He sounds pretty chuffed, and perhaps a bit relieved, to have won another AO. And that's fair enough.

That certainly puts a different complexion on things, so I think that, given the circumstances, that bit of purple prose can be forgiven.

[teejay1]

That certainly puts a different complexion on things, so I think that, given the circumstances, that bit of purple prose can be forgiven.

I agree. I think that last bit fits Djokovic to be honest, given how proud of Serbia he is, and the bad times his country went through. It's nice to see that he can see the game in the context of something much bigger.

[Elena]

Which makes me wonder now if the first bit was actually written by Djoko or added later, maybe by his PR person or somebody else, because it just seems so out of gear with what he says next.  I suppose it's possible that players' Facebook comments could be monitored by their PR people before they appear.

I think it's all Djoko Aileen. It's quite a long post - see it all here (don't need to log in) https://www.facebook.com/djokovic.official
27th Jan "I am still overwhelmed with excitement and joy ..."

[Coldmarek]

  I don't really miss his tweets tbh.  They were mostly about football fantasy   or something        and plus  I think its good that Andy has these twitter breaks,     sometimes  you can spend far too long on twitter,   (  I should know this)

Well it was interesting for me.

[Aileen]

[quote author=Aileen link=topic=9518.msg838298#msg838298 date=1359737616

"Had a privilege to hit today with Andrew Lapthorne, the wheelchair tennis player from UK and AO 13 runner up.  I have a lot of respect for these champions, amazing athletes who bring so much joy to our game. It was a great pleasure hitting with him!"

I have a lot of admiration for these sportspeople as well and yet they're rarely seen on TV apart from during the Paralympics, and that's very sad because they truly are an inspiration.  It's a sobering thought to know that when Andy was 16 his knee was giving him so much trouble that he could barely walk and he learnt how to play tennis in a wheelchair in case he was going to be left permanently disabled.


I have a lot of respect for the comment about wheelchair tennis. I must admit though, as a disabled person I haven't seen much of it. Maybe I should.

I really like that bit of respect for Andy too. It is remarkable that Andy struggled like that with his knee and now moves like he does. I'm sure he has to be one of the best movers on the tour. His speed and ability to change sides so fast is incredible to me.

Wheelchair tennis is very interesting to watch.  Seeing these players whizzing and turning around on the court in their specially adapted wheelchars is amazing.  The rules are all the same other than the fact that the ball is allowed to bounce twice.  Britain's previous No.1, Peter Norfolk, who has only just retired, was not only paraplegic but also had limited strength in his right arm and shoulder as well, and so he used to play with the racket strapped to his arm.   

[teejay1]

Wheelchair tennis is very interesting to watch.  Seeing these players whizzing and turning around on the court in their specially adapted wheelchars is amazing.  The rules are all the same other than the fact that the ball is allowed to bounce twice.  Britain's previous No.1, Peter Norfolk, who has only just retired, was not only paraplegic but also had limited strength in his right arm and shoulder as well, and so he used to play with the racket strapped to his arm.   

I've seen it a little bit. I watched some during the Wimbledon coverage last year, and I've seen some live as well. I just think it's funny that as a disabled person I've seen the able-bodied game more.

The way they move is remarkable, I agree. I know I couldn't do it. Even pushing a wheelchair isn't easy, so to move round the court like that and put yourself in position to play a shot, I don't know how they do it.