Source: Davis_Cup
BLOG: Legend of Blackberry Yogurt
OG: Legend of Blackberry YogurtBy Rodrigo Valdebenito in CoquimboOne of the cornerstones of Chilean tennis is Exequiel Carvajal, who is popularly known as Yogurt de Mora, or Blackberry Yogurt. Exequiel was given the nickname by former Chilean Davis Cup finalist Patricio Cornejo in the mid-70s, when Exequiel was just a ballboy at the National Stadium in Chile. The origin of the nickname comes from Exequiel’s dark-skin tone, but Exequiel was never offended by the reference. He embraced the nickname in the fond spirit it was given, and it’s become his trading card in tennis, making him a widely known and popular character in the region.Since those days, Exequiel has become a first-class stringer, and a familiar face at all levels of tournaments. He is also an ITF-certificated coach, has been captain of junior national teams and is the proud founder of the Yogurt de Mora Social, Sporting and Cultural Club. He is known by many professional players from their junior years. Israel’s Harel Levy met Blackberry Yogurt” in the lobby as he arrived to the official hotel and offered a very friendly greeting, as did the rest of the Israeli team.Blackberry Yogurt” is currently a major part of the Chilean Davis Cup squad as the administrative aide to captain Hans Gildemeister. He’s been a friend to almost all the Chilean Davis Cup players of the last 20 years especially with Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, who are godparents to his younger daughter. Baroque city offers night life plethoraBy Zoran Milosavljevic in VarazdinCroatia’s home tie with Ecuador in Varazdin will long live in the memory of everyone who came to the city and not only for the on-court thrills, the incredible hospitality of the organisers, or the world class catering that served lobster with green pasta in the media room. What will also stand out is the top quality entertainment available in the city’s Baroque Quarter.Following Friday’s opening singles rubbers, we were welcomed by Varazdin mayor Ivan Cehok at the Art Rock Caffe, where domestic and international rock and roll hits set the tone for what turned out to be a memorable evening. You don’t often see a city mayor, whose appearance is akin to a rock star in these parts, dance to Billy Idol and Rolling Stones tunes, but party goers in Varazdin assured me he was a regular Friday night visitor. Next up on our nightlife junket was The Ritz,” where a giant limousine was parked outside the posh club crammed with the city’s lively youth. A pair of DJs played clubhouse blockbusters while a separate bar had a wide range of exotic cocktails on the menu, in addition to the main bar offering all kinds of beer and beverages. We were only halfway through our evening escapades after a long day of work at the Varazdin Sports Arena when we made our way to Morgan’s,” a seasonal nightclub treating its guests to a special party before it shuts down for the spring and summer. Finally, we ended up in the Aqua-Marin” karaoke bar, where my colleagues needed only a five-minute crash course in Croatian to join in with local visitors who instantly befriended us. It was a long and arduous walk back to the hotel at five o’clock in the morning, but mercifully we had enough time to recuperate for Saturday’s doubles. If Croatia is to be at home in its quarterfinal tie, Varazdin would certainly be a good choice to host it. Is Leander Paes passionate for snowBy Richard van Poortvliet in MoscowAfter sleeping on mum’s lap for most of Friday’s opening singles, Ayana Paes came alive on Saturday as dad stepped out on the court for India’s crucial doubles match with Russia. Ayana, who’s approaching four, is Leander Paes’s daughter, and he says ‘he tries to have her around him as much as possible.’Ayana travels around 20 to 25 weeks a year with me, but school’s going to start in March, so she won’t be able to travel as much.”Paes, 36, is not only the team’s veteran, but also their resident jokester. He managed to keep a long tradition of initiating the newest guy on the team alive during the official team dinner on Wednesday. The new player, Sanam Singh, is one of India’s brightest up-and-coming players. But I’ve also been told he’s one of the shyest. Nevertheless, shy or not, Paes urged Singh to the stage to sing a few lines from Eagle Eye Cherry’s ‘Save Tonight.’ The boys always know when I get up on stage that I’m going to put one of them on the spot, but I’m really happy with how Sanam handled himself.”Aside from tending to his daughter and testing his teammates singing abilities, Leander could have a future in diplomacy, as he’s been very complimentary about Moscow’s Indian restaurants, and praising relations between the two countries. He’s even taking to the Russian weather. Yesterday during one of the matches I went outside to buy some popcorn for Ayana, I was watching the snow come down, so I took her out and she was stunned. It’s the first time she’s ever seen it, and I haven’t seen (snow) that often either.” As much as Leander’s enjoying everything that Moscow’s winter can throw at him - and he says he’d like to take up skiing and snowboarding - I don’t think he’s planning on moving here full time in the near future. I don’t know how it would be to live in it for six months though, and I do pity you guys!”The white paper on BelgradeBy Craig Gabriel in BelgradeIt really is quite special that a country as small as Serbia is in size, and as new as it is on the world scene, it’s been able to produce so many outstanding tennis players. The nation has a population of a little more than 9 million, but among those millions are citizens who know how to make a tennis racket talk: Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic!But the threesome are certainly not the only Serbians at the top of the tennis charts. In fact, in the doubles arena Serbia boasts the best Nenad Zimonjic is currently ranked No. 1. The 33 year old Belgrade native, however, doesn’t always get the attention he deserves. His trophy shelf is full and still growing: there’s already back-to-back Wimbledon doubles crowns (2008 and 2009), as well as three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. At this tie against USA, Nenad was presented with a Serbian team Davis Cup shirt with the number 50” on the back to signify the number of career titles he’s won.During the week, Nenad admitted that before his career is over he would dearly love to help bring the Davis Cup trophy home to Serbia. If the Serbians were successful in their quest, it would probably be the greatest piece of sporting silverware to ever be won by Serbia.Until not very long ago, Serbia was going through some tough and well-documented embattled times. In Belgrade, the capital, which sits at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers, you can still see some of the bombed buildings from the war. Belgrade’s old town is quite charming with its coffee shops (they love their coffee here, although I wish they would make a stronger cup of cappuccino), and the walking street is lined with interesting shops. At one end of the city is the Belgrade fortress perched atop a small hill - from that location you can pretty much survey the whole city. The fortress was founded in the third century by the Celts. At the opposite end of the city is a large white church, the Temple of Saint Sava.The name Belgrade translates to White City” and the palace where the crown prince lives is known as the White Palace.One thing, however, that many visitors will think needs to change in Belgrade is this is still a city of smokers. Apparently, there are next to no restrictions on smoking, so in more places you go than not, you’re walking into a fog. Gross!French postcardBy Chris Bowers in ToulonHis Master's Voice…There will be no lack of talking in the German doubles team for Saturday’s match against France. While Philipp Kohlschreiber may be more the reticent type, his doubles partner, Christopher Kas, is the son of a television sports commentator who has clearly inherited his father's gift of the gab. Karl-Heinz Kas is a leading commentator on the German national soccer league, the football 'Bundesliga', and he got permission from his television station to have an afternoon off so he could see his son play tennis. But illness among Kas Sr's colleagues means he has had to go to a soccer match in Germany after all, leaving Kas Jr to call the shots in Toulon. Both, incidentally, are known by the nickname 'Kasi'.In the Club… Like a number of countries, France has a Davis Cup Club, and to be a member you have to have played Davis Cup at least once for the French team. Unlike other Davis Cup Clubs, the French one seems to be thriving, and held a lunch before the doubles of the France-Germany tie. Several generations of French players were represented, including Robert Haillet, who played in the two France-Germany ties that took place in the 1950s. Also present from that generation was Jean-Noel Grinder, and from more recent times, Jean-Baptiste Chanfreau, Patrice Beust, Daniel Contet, Patrice Dominquez, and the 1990s generation of Arnaud Boetsch and Guy Forget.BLOG EDITOR...Sandra HarwittSandra, an American sportswriter for longer than she's willing to admit, has travelled the world to cover tennis for major publications, such as ESPN.com, The Miami Herald, and Associated Press. Her biggest problem of late is managing to pack worldwide purchases into suitcases and still meet the airline weight restrictions.
