Let The Desert Duel Begin
I'm posting this mainly for the photos. It's good to see Palm Island getting used for something once and a while! More details about the tournament can be found here; http://www.qatarliving.com/events/14oct2008/sony-ericsson-championships-...
Update: Qatari has now kindly embedded a video of the event, to offer some proof to those who thought the photos were fake :p
To mark the start of the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Sony Ericsson staged a unique tennis game in a place that has never been played in before - a desert island. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Doha skyline, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva rallied on a replica tennis court, specially built for the occasion, on Palm Island in the middle of Doha Bay in the Arabian Gulf.
After the game, 2008 Roland Garros Champion Ana Ivanovic said: "It was such a fun way to start the Sony Ericsson Championships; it was amazing and so unusual to be playing tennis on a deserted island with no one there but Elena, myself and the ballboys. I'm really looking forward to the tournament here in Doha and a great finish to the 2008 season."
The Sony Ericsson Championships is the prestigious end of season finale to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour year; and sees the world's top eight women singles and top four women's doubles teams compete for the title and a share of a record prize money of $4.45 million. The Championships sees female players from eleven countries: Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, United States and Zimbabwe compete to end the 2008 season on a high.
"This was a fantastic way to celebrate the beginning of the Sony Ericsson Championships. All the players have played brilliantly during the season and have earned a deserved shot at this prestigious title," said Aldo Liguori, Corporate Vice President and Head of Global Communications & PR. "We are committed to innovating and introducing unique activities in women's tennis to continue to attract new fans and broaden the appeal of the sport on a global basis. It has been a great year for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and I hope through events like this we can attract more fans to the Tour and the exciting prospect of the 2009 season."
The stunt involved a replica tennis court being constructed on Palm Island, similar to the court in the Khalifa Stadium where the Sony Ericsson Championships are being held.
The Sony Ericsson Championships will run from November 4th to November 9th and the line up for the tournament has been finalised: Jelena Jankovic (SRB), Dinara Safina (RUS), Serena Williams (USA), Elena Dementieva (RUS), Ana Ivanovic (SRB), Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), Venus Williams (USA) and Vera Zvonereva (RUS) will all compete for the singles crown.
Doubles players Cara Black (ZIM) / Liezel Huber (USA); Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) / Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP); Kveta Peschke (CZE) / Rennae Stubbs (AUS); and Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) / Ai Sugiyama (JPN) will compete for the doubles title. The Sony Ericsson Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar for the next three years, after being held in Madrid for the past two years, with Justine Henin having won the title in 2007.
Source: http://www.sonyericsson-championships.com/en/news/story/460.asp
the game last night between Jankovic and Williams was so far the most nerve-wrecking in the SE Doha 2008.. Ha-ha!
cheers,
paul
See why we should stop watching macho brothers playing tennis with each other?
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
i was about to tell you that Ivanovic is playing... wish you success in giving her H&K before she could bid goodbye to Doha =))
yeah.. I'll be watching tonight! told yah, got Friday and Sunday tickets.. i won't be watching from the lower tier.. but who knows, maybe a Russian girl will take her pity on me for the second time.. you know, I'd be watching ivanovic tonight..
cheers,
paul
and Heero... what's your problem dude??? PALIN is out of topic here.... =))
come and watch tonight...
heero_yuy2, what?
cheers,
paul
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
no way! V. Williams was tough! well,they're both tough actually! Lotsa deuce! lol. I was there up until the end of Dinara Safina and Dementieva's game at around 11!
cheers,
paul
how's the game of the 2 sisters?
do you think one gave way to another?
oh... and you're on the side where i was stationed
i was taking pictures of this gigantic poster just outside the main gate last night when a pretty lady with a heavy Russian accent approached me and gave me her orange ticket! Gee, I'm so lucky! I asked her why and she told me she's leaving. Thank you very much Russian Girl! May God Bless you! BTW, i was able to take a picture of Venus Williams this close with my camera phone! :D
cheers,
paul
cool.. I thought that little island over there dont have any use.. heheheh.. I'm imagining me and Ana on that island instead.. lolz.. unfortunately she's out of the league.. T_T
ivanovic is out! huhu :(
at least i got a chance to see her last night :)
cheers,
paul
I think....
That is so cool!
The internet is our revenge machine
Ha-ha! i thought the pictures were too good to be true! (That's so illogical of me! :D ) Whatever!
and oh yeah, saw old pictures of Khalifa tennis,
there has been a significant improvement!
Actually, the word significant won't suffice.
cheers,
paul
verry cute
Yeah, whatever. I still don't understand why you were so adamant they were fake!
nuff said.. okay?
saw that on bbc..
cheers,
paul
lol! Do you like any sport Novi?
Here is where the matches will actually be played;
Khalifa Tennis Complex (©Adrian Haddad)
Centre Court (©Getty Images)
ooops ... tallg ... seriously i wasnt joking. My interest towards tennis just like my interest towards english football.
Not sure if you're joking or not novi! lol either way!
The tournament is being played at Khalifa Stadium. This was just a pre-tournament stunt to whip up a bit of interest.
Tallg, where the audience going to sit ? r they going to put some seat on there?
The tennis court in palm tree island is something different ! Just hope the weather will be nice and not windy.
Nice find Tallg :o)
Did you Google it first?
Cheers Novi!
Qatari has kindly embedded the video I linked to above into the main post.
Tallg ! nice pics ...
Is this proof enough for you; http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/multimedia/default_video.asp?videoid=534
Bloody cynics.
okay tallg..
I'll concede..
can't prove it. Ha-ha!
btw, I'd only be watching on
Friday and Sunday too! lol.
cheers,
paul
I think you're wrong who.am.i. Why wouldn't they be able to do those poses on the island? It really wouldn't have taken much effort to go to Palm Island and set this up. You can even see the creases in the tennis court where it's been unrolled onto the sand.
Show me some proof they've been photoshopped and I'll believe you.
nice pictures of Andy Murray..
cheers,
paul
I'm only going on Friday and Sunday, and by the time I got round to buying tickets (over 2 weeks ago) they only had upper tier ones left.
So I'll be sitting up top freezing my nuts off, probably watching the whole thing through my 300mm lens!
Last January I managed to get pics like these, but I'll be far too far away to get anything like that this time!
click to see more
of course they're photoshopped!
well, if you actually saw them taking pictures
on the palm island, then I'd believe you.. lol!
those poses are obviously taken in the studio, tallg..
cheers,
paul
see you tonight at the tennis.
do you have a VIP pass?
Ha-ha - I wish greentea! They're on the website I took the story from (link at the bottom of the post).
Of course they're real who.am.i! Do you really think someone would go to the bother of faking them?
that picture couldn't be real! Ha-ha!
cheers,
paul
are you the one who took these photos?