OH NO - very disappointing loss for Anna in Denver / annaforever-news
Oh no - Anna lost in straight sets against a player she said she has always looked up to when she was young - Monica Seles! 2:6,2:6 the disappointing score of this exhibition match which took place yesterday in Denver, Colorado. From what I have seen (CNN), heard and read (annak.org FANS-Forum) so far it doesn't seem that Anna has had a chance. She committed many unforced errors, double faults and also many hits into the net which is just frustrating. I have read a report of a guy who was there yesterday and if I understand him right then Anna was even frustrated in the mixed doubles which she also "lost" 6-8 against Monica & Murphy Jenson (she played with Luke Jenson)! Well, this was just a fun-event but she also refuses to give any comments to reporters which isr really a strong indicator that Anna was absolutely frustrated about her performance yesterday. Reports from Denver
These circumstances are also frustrating me of course as one of her biggest fans - after her great performances against Amanda Coetzer in South Africa I really thought that she was getting close to her shape she was in at the beginning of 2001 but now this...! Well, Monica has played Denver already last year so she was used to the surface etc. and perhaps it was simply not Anna's day!
PS: Instead of Anna as the new "Bond"-Girl (a story I never really believed) it will now become Halle Berry - just to end this "Bond-Girl"-Issue!
annaforever-news:
I will start now to Upload the Vidcaps and the whole
Tour Gallery! It should be available in a few hours!
November 28, 2001
Denver tomorrow and annaforever.de-News
Anna will be already in Denver - tomorror evening she plays Monica Seles in the Biogen MS Tennis Classic. Details:
Where? - The Magness Arena at the University of Denver's Ritchie Center
When? - Nov 29 6pm, doors open 5pm
What? - Singles vs. Monica Seles and afterwards mixed doubles exhibition between Luke and Murphy Jenson and Seles and Kournikova
Plus: If you have the chance to be there earlier tomorrow you might also be able to see Anna practising. I wish I could be there!
annaforever.de-News: Throughout the weekend I will re-upload the whole Tour Gallery (around 2000 images) and I will also enlarge the Vidcaps Section!
November 27, 2001
Unlimited Wildcards for Anna in 2002???
Did the WTA changed the rules??? 20 so called "gold exempt" players are selected each year, 4 of them with a wildcard (as Anna was not ranked in Top16 after US Open 2001 she has to rely on this way but for sure Anna will be selected). These 4 wildcards are nominated by worldwide Tournament Directors only (ALL Directors want Anna at their tournaments...)!
Criteria
for a "gold exempt" Player:
A Player must be ranked in the Top 50 singles of
the singles rankings immediately following the
previous years US Open in order to be considered for
Gold Exempt status the following year
This is no problem for Anna!
According to a WTA World Board Member those players with this status are entitled to the following:
You are allowed as many WC's as you like in that year
This is the real new thing, hopefully this turns out to be really true! This would mean that Anna won't have to worry about if she can enter a Tournament like Sydney or Tokyo (TierI and TierII) because of her low Ranking! This would be great and who knows? Has the WTA realized that Anna "needs" such a measure??? Ok, Anna is gifted enough to rebuild her Ranking where it belongs to but with unlimited Wildcards...this will certainly speed up Annas rising up the Rankings!
Another interesting info:
Gold
Exempt Players must commit to two (2) Tournaments in
which they have not participated during the previous
two (2) years
This
might get difficult for Anna but Auckland is the
first tournament Anna has never played before - the
second might be one of the brandnew Tournaments the
WTA has added to the 2002 Tour Calendar! Let's see
November 26, 2001
Anna at her boyfriend's matches - was she impolite?
Anna was attenting another NHL-match of her boyfriend's team (Detroit Red Wings) yesterday. It was against Chicago Blackhawks.
According to a statement of a fan she said the following to some fans who wanted an autograph from her:"I will sign it just so you will leave"! Well, whether this is true or not - remember Anna is a young woman who is recognized all over the world and she also deserves some privacy. My message to all you fans: Leave her alone in her spare time and let her live her life!
Do you wanna see a small video of Anna attanding an NHL-match of her boyfriend Sergej on November 13, 2001? Click here to see it (765 KB)!
November 25, 2001
annaforever.de-Policy
Today I wrote some general words about the intention of this Website - read them!
Unfortunately there aren't any Anna-News to add but fortunately she plays in Denver against Monica Seles in 4 days!
November 23, 2001
Point System 2002 / Adidas International 2002 / Exhibition-News / Site-News
Now I know better how the new point system called "2002 Sanex WTA Rankings" works and what effects this will have - e.g. if Anna wins Auckland (Tier IV) she will only get 97 ranking points instead of 140 out of the old ranking system!!! Overall they decrease the amount of ranking points you get at TierIII- and TierIV-Tournaments and increased ranking Points for the higher-level- Tournaments, especially the Grand Slams! Take a look at it!
Adidas
International 2002: On an australian website there
was an article which said that ANNA WILL PLAY SYDNEY
2002 despite her poor ranking right now! She has to
use her first Wildcard to be able to participate but
Adidas is her main sponsor and so it wasn't a
big surprise that she takes part in this tournament
although the Cut off Ranking for this TierII-Event
is 26!
Exhibition-News:
On the 14th December she is scheduled to play
Jennifer Capriati at 7.30pm at the Ice Palace..On
the 15th
AUBURN HILLS, MICH.— Palace Sports &
Entertainment announced that Anna Kournikova will
take part in the Holiday Tennis Challenge on
December 15 at The Palace of Auburn Hills at 7:30 pm.
Kournikova is matched up against Amanda Coetzer.
Another match will precede that event with players
that are yet to be determined. All players will then
take part in a doubles match following both singles
events. The competition will be played in a
2-out-of-3 set format. (thanks to infos posted by
OCT_1 on annak.org-Forum)
Exclusive chance for everyone - you can bid on items on ebay and you have the chance to win an unforgettable event in Denver together with Anna and all the other players. She will also play a mixed match in Denver! All infos how to bid and win!
Site-News:
Today I relaunch Jonny's Filderstadt2000-Pics and
start with 2 of Anesh's South Africa01-Pics. More
pics will follow!
November 22, 2001
A N N A ! Ranking system added
I know that this is not a real big adding to the Anna Kournikova Forever Site but it is one - as I described there is a lot of trouble coming up for sites which run huge picture galleries with pictures they don't have the permission from the photographes. I am convinced that most of the visitors of annaforever.de came to this site to view the latest pictures of Anna Kournikova but NOW I will pay much more attention to this issue of copyrights because, like I said, a few weeks ago I received a message by anna-fans.com that I display pictures of them I even didn't know of.Once again - IT WAS ABSOLUTELY MY FAULT. That's for sure! So right now I say "only" this to you fans:
Anna plays in 1 week against Monica Seles in Denver - it will be her 4th exhibition match in the "off-season"! I am really convinced that she will beat Seles and I will be happy to provide you pictures of that match (if I am allowed to do so)! What I am allowed to do? In hopefully just a couple of days I will provide you will exclusive pictures from one of Anna's matches in South Africa...! As long as this hasn't happend - please VOTE, write your comments in my GUESTBOOK and stay patient. I know that there are really ANNA-FANS out there who are also interested in the "how the Rankings work"-feature I added today!
November 18, 2001
also Tampa-Exhibition at Dec 14
Once again I found out that Anna added an Exhibition to her off-season-calendar 2001: She will be playing in Tampa at Ice Palace against Jennifer Capriati on December 14!!! Let's sum up - there are (right now) 3 Exhibition events left in 2001:
| Date |
Location |
Opponent |
| Nov 29 | Denver | Seles |
| Dec 14 | Tampa | Capriati |
| Dec 15 | Auburn Hills/Michigan | Coetzer |
Rumors are saying that she plays these additional Exhibition events because her boyfriend's birthday is at December 13! Well, I don't know.Maybe. But of course Anna wants to get the best possible preparation for the new season which will be the major reason for these additional exhibitions.
November 18, 2001
Additional Exhibition in 01 / Auckland-field / Offcourt-News
News, News, News! Anna plays an additional Exhibition event at Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan (USA) on December 15, 2001! Her opponent once again will be...Amanda Coetzer! Anna obviously thinks that this will be the best way to get back in shape for 2002! I totally agree!
Auckland-field you see her:
Main
draw - 32 players (21 direct, 4 qualifiers, 3 wild
cards, 3 play-in)
Cutoff #79
1. Montolio
2. Nagyova
3. Kremer
4. Martinez
5. Panova
6. Tu
7. Frazier
8. Diaz-Oliva
9. Hopkins
10. Black
11. Medina
12. Sucha
13. Lamade
14. Rittner
15. Gagliardi
16. McQuillan
17. Kandarr
18. Razzano
19. KOURNIKOVA
20. Husarova
21. Poutchek
22. Matevzic
23. Pittsburgh winner
24. Dallas winner (10/22)
25. Seoul winner (9/10)
It hurts to see Anna below players I haven't ever heard of but we just have to wait a little while - Anna will climb up in Rankings again for sure! Auckland by the way is a TIER IV-Tournament!
Offcourt
News: Anna was spotted attending the Matches of
Detroit Red Wings on last Tuesday and also yesterday
against LA! She is obviously happy to see her
boyfriend again after her European Tour and the
Exhibition in South Africa!
November 17, 2001
ANNAFOREVER.DE back online / South Africa / WTA-Ranking-News
The last 1 1/2 week was wonderful as well as scary. Last Saturday I had to DELETE annaforever.de immediately after an email by anna-fans.com that they will activate lawyers against me because I am displaying hundreds of pictures owned by them. I want to say this here as clear as possible: IT WAS MY FAULT!!! I am absolutely guilty that I put these pictures on my site just because I found them on other websites whose webmasters had cut away the copyrights on the pictures. It was not right and because of that - annaforever.de will feature less pictures in the future. I am convinced that some of you are thinking right now "Oh no,that was the best thing, I move to another Site" but I am also sure that REAL Anna-Fans will stay here as regular visitors - because the news will stay (and also pictures will be available again)!
South
Africa: Annas Trip to South Africa was very
funny for her. She performed really well oncourt
beating Amanda Coetzer in 2 of 3 matches (she only
lost their last encounter in Johannesburg on
November 11). Offcourt she went on Safari for 2 days
at Sabi Sabi near Kruger National Park - Pictures
and lots of Reports will follow in the next hours.
WTA
Ranking-News: In 2002 Ranking points for Tier
I-Events (like Key Biscayne, Kremlin Cup,...) will
increase to make those tournaments more
attractive.More on that also in a few hours!
November 6, 2001
More from Exhibition - Pressconference / Absent until November 17
More Interview-Statements from Annas press conference yesterday - "I have something they don't have and that is why they don't like me... (Anna addressing players who don't like her)...I spent nearly two months in hospital in Germany... (2 months?? - I think in May and also in June)...I am hyperactive and for four months couldn't even walk to the fridge. I had to rely on others to bring me things... (Yeah Anna is definitely hyperactive but to imagine that she couldn't walk painless to the refrigerator...scary)...I can become a doctor with all my experience of hospitals...(Annas wonderful sense of humor)...It makes you realise how short a tennis player's career is...(this seems to be the proof that Anna really thought about that this injury might be the end of her young career)...Since my return, every match I play is important...(this sounds to absolutely scary because what will happen if this injury reoccures suddenly?)...If I play to the best of my ability and work very hard, I believe the title will follow" (this is the truth and I love to see Anna training and THIS is what she really wants and loves)...!Read everything!
Absent until November 17: Sad
news - from today until Saturday, November 17,
2001 I won't
be able to update this website due to working
reasons. Make sure to subscribe
to the Mailinglist because I probably will be
able to inform you in this way!
November 5, 2001
Ranking nightmare becomes truth - down to 74!!! / Exhibition-News / Exhibition-Pressconference
It is just unbelievable - Anna is ranked 74 in the world right now - she lost her points from Leipzig to Masters from last year. It is just a nightmare which finally came true and now I think everyone sees how unbearable this stress fracture was/is for Anna! The consequences for 2002 are obvious - ranked 74th in the world she will have to play QUALIS for Tournaments like Sydney - have you ever seen Anna playing Quali??? I haven't! I am sure that Anna is also very frustrated but like I previously said I am convinced that she will see this as a real challenge for 2002! Hopefully she finally stays injury-free which is more important than anything else. Unfortuantely one thing is for sure - In the beginning of 2002 she will also have to defeat her points from her good results in 2001 (Australian Open-QF etc.)!
Exhibition-News:
Anna will train with a 19-year-old local tennis guy
named Nomdo. Reportedly he is very nervous already
to meet Anna and to be able to train with her during
the next few days (who wouldn't be nervous?). I also
found out the exact Exhibition times:
Thursday: McNeil clinic in Westridge Park (Durban) at 4 p.m. / Match at 7.30 p.m.
Friday: Spier Wine Estate, Stellenbosch - McNeil clinic at 3 p.m.
Saturday: Spier Wine Estate - Match at 3 p.m.
Sunday: Standard Bank Arena, Johannesburg - McNeil clinic at 10 a.m. / Match at 1.30 p.m.
Exhibition
Press conference: Today morning Anna arrived in
Johannesburg in an overnight flight from MUNICH
(GER)...! Was Anna at the Sanex Championships??? I
thought that she flew home after her loss in
Luxembourg on October 26! Some remarkable comments
from Anna at this press
conference: "I'm really looking forward
to seeing your wild animals. I'd love to be able to
take a baby elephant home. I love baby elephants,
they're so cute...First practice, then the
safari...By May it seemed to come right, then I
tried to play and the bone went again and I was in
plaster and a wheelchair having to ask for help to
get things out of the refrigerator..." -
new details directly from Anna concerning her foot
injury and it is more than a sad imagination to see
Anna needing help to get sth out of the refrigerator.
These bad times seems to be over and hopefully Anna
will enjoy her time in South Africa as well on the
Safari as on the tenniscourt.
November 4, 2001
South Africa-Trip starts tomorrow!
No this is not wrong info - Anna will already leave Florida tomorrow to take part in 3 exhibition-matches in South Africa on 8,10 & 11 November 2001! Here more details:
Both arrive on November 5 and travel to Earth Loge at Sabi Sabi private game reserve where they'll go on Safari! They will practise on tenniscourts owned by Richard Branson. On November 8 both depart to Westridge Park in Durban where they will play a 3-setter! Afterwards they depart to Cape Town and head a development clinic under the SA (Sata) Tennis Association banner at Spier Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch. At the evening on November 10 they play their second Exhibition match at Estate's 3000-capacity stadium. On November 11 both play their final Exhibition match at 3500-seater Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg.
Look at 2 Images I found in the Internet - they show you where the Westridge Park is located in Durban...
November 2, 2001
2nd AKFS Theme
How do you like the other AKFS THEME?? I will add more in the future - use these buttons
to switch among the themes.
And thanx to Jonny for allowing me to add your Banner!
November 2, 2001
"Anna Kurnikowa"-Book / Luxembourg01-Umpire-scandal???
Karren Farrington, an english book writer, wrote a book about Anna, simply called "Anna Kurnikowa"! As you can see in the Images below it is divided into several chapters. They deal with Annas tennis career, her personal life etc.! It is written in GERMAN and you can order it here for 12,70 € (if this direct link doesn't work anymore go to amazon.de and search for "anna kournikova" - you will find it then)!
Luxembourg01-Umpire-scandal???:
According to a posting at the FANS-Forum on
kournikova.com the Umpire during Annas match vs. Kim
Clijsters at Luxembourg was a belgian!!!!
Additionally he reportedly also said when his
microphone was turned off "Go Kim"! Anna
didn't protest any decisions by him but it was not
the case that these circumstances influenced the
game badly for Anna (reportedly)! Strange thing - it
shouldn't be possible that the Umpire has the same
nationality as one of the players!
November 1, 2001
Amanda pro Anna & 5000 pictures
Amanda Coetzer talks nicely about Anna (not for the first time) - she said that she saw Annas "real" personality when Anna came to her and asked her to play Doubles with her! Annas behaviour was polite and Amanda saw what other people don't or don't wanna see - Annas passion for Tennis! Amanda also said that she is looking forward to play the 3 exhibitions against Anna! more news
This is nothing new for me (Annas Passion for Tennis) after having seen her in person many times.
Annaforever.de-News - I am proud to announce that the Anna Kournikova Forever Site displays now more than 5000 pictures!!!!!!!! Of course - I am running this site alone so any Images which are not shown (dead links / x's /...) I may see later than YOU so please keep me informed about broken links, not displayed Images!