Divine Tennis

Yes, I still have some dilemmas going on when Juju plays Kim! Then I am about to put on my 'I am Switzerland'-shirt and try to be very impartial. I never try to compare both these two exceptional players. Justine is not Kim, and Kim will never be Justine. Many journalist are trying to point out where both players could have met up and what they could learn from each other.

Kim was called many times to nice to be hitting balls in the very tough world of tennis. Justine was then considered more a girl who would even consider her tennis racket as a weapon suitable for mass destruction. One has got tons of friends running around in the circuit, the other is considered being rather a loner. So Justine and Kim are in many ways extreme opposites.

I have to admit that I do like Justine her backhand better then the one Kim pulls out of her sleeves. But when it comes down to smiles I prefer Kim her very open book face and sincere emotions. It is funny to say but once these two ladies get on the field and face each other then inside of me a war is going on. I cheer for both because I badly want them both to play their best tennis. Not to give up that easily and not let it be a walk over.

The last tennis season was for both tennis ladies for sure a season to remember. Kim showed the world out there that her comeback is a fact and she became a grown up lady who is also able to hit very focused a flying object across a field. This even after a car accident. The girl of Wépion also hit graciously the balls over the net but admits more openly that it is going to take some time to be back where she wants to be.

Justine and Kim, both Twitter and I both follow them. Kim is sometimes very funny and like predicted is Justine rather down to earth when sending out 140 characters into the open digital world. The more personal Tweets of Justine still feel a bit awkward. Happens Justine and I both love to have dinner/lunch in a very 'happy' place in Waver! We have already dragged many of our friends to that place! So you never know...

Last week I was then also very glad to see them having a press moment together and that they admited they were considering to team up for the next Olympics. It is sad to state but in the previous years these two ladies were never granted a fair chance to team up on a field. We never made it easy on them, and they not on themselves and not to mention the coaches and fathers who where also making confusing statements why or why not an Olympic double could be a reality.

Kim and Justine seem now to be able to add up the numbers and figure out what they will get in return when they will finally give it one ultimate hit. Let us be honest in a way it is going to be scary to see them both at the same side of the net. Not that they have not tried before but it always seemed something was in the way.

2012 is for sure an option for teaming up! It is going to be the Olympic year where the Olymics will be so close to our homes. They will be both playing in their backyard. And this on a field that they know very well and not has got that many secrets left! But perhaps they do need each other to win on that ultimate divine surface!

So, I am going to keep my fingers crossed in the next 1,5 year that they both stay focussed, don't suffer to many mental breakdowns or get serious injured. Because I would love to see them both out there like once Dominique Monami and Els Callens did at the Olympic games of Barcelona. I never again saw two Belgian tennisgirls have so much fun and at the same time get their points across the field. For once I want to have Kim and Justine to have just one thing in common: the urge to win an Olympic medal of the same color and this for once by playing their best tennis and this together!

I want them to play together, to see them having tactic conversations, hold out for each others hand, cheer each other on while standing next to each other, 'fool' together the opponent, motivate each other to try harder, take breaks sitting next to each other without having to hide under a towel, practice together and feel and experience together the happiness that will make them the best 'divine' tennisplayers ever. They have missed out golden opportunities before and in 2012 it will the last shot they get to go out and come home together and climb Olympos as a team! Let it be a climb to remember!

P.S.: So I wish the picture here above to be a bit different. No net in between of them, each holding out a hand on their shoulders, and facing each other instead of looking ahead! It will be a divine sight, one that will make them the players they truely can be!

P.S.2: I know that Kim loves to listen to the music of Ozark Henry and that Justine goes wild for the voice of her very close friend Lara Fabian. I both like them! So I flipped coins as well to make up my mind for picking out a song that goes along with this entry. 'Immortelle' by Lara Fabian would for sure be a fitting song to be on Justine her MP3 player!

The perfect swim!

'Let's go swimming!', was P his ultimate idea this morning. P has got 10 days a summer free time to spend with us! Not that this means exclusive contact. Nope the iPhone is still fired up. Also the private practice stays open for visitors in pain. P is not a globe trotter and so he just likes it to take it slow once he does not need to be in the hospital. A is very happy to have his dad around for so much more time. But I sometimes want to just get him out of the house asap! With or without us!

The swimming idea was not such a bad idea but it seemed the only idea P could come up with the last 5 days. And I was having for the moment some certain serious issues with filled up pools. 'You don't need to come if you don't want to!', he said. But A wanted to show me how well he could now swim across the deep water! So I packed up all the swimming gear and dragged myself to the car!

I do believe that physical activity is very important but for the moment I do not want it to take place in a pool. 'It is not the swimming I do not like, P, it all the things that get in my way while swimming!', I explained to him. The hurdles I need to take in order to get some swimming done are close to facing the Mount Everest.

1. Looking right for swimming! I am not talking about turning into Pamela Anderson in Bay Watch but half of the time my hair is popping up all over my body parts! And sorry even being half of the time being covered up by water does not seem to work. The suspicious looks I get under the shower can already make me run back into me changing room! Brazilian Wax here I come!!!!

2. Getting changed! Such a bliss those changing rooms! Claustrophobic I get between those four walls. Not to mention the fact that half of my outfit (and I am not talking about my swimming suit) is already wet before having tipped one toe into the pool. Always I manage to pick out the one where they have left a puddle as big as the Atlantic Ocean!

3. Dealing with lockers! AHHHH!!! Change and keys are two more items that can drive me nuts! Most of the time I just throw everything in there like an Olympic Disc and hope that when I come back that I will find my shampoo fast underneath that big pile of personal belongings. Also the combo of wet fingers and metal seems not to work for me. Cursing, showing the finger, calling bad names, head banging I have done it in front of a locker! More suspicous looks guaranteed!

4. Taking a shower! There I meet up with many humans who are on the same mission! There the war starts. First for a spot underneath for one shower that works and will produce enough water to make you wet. The 'obligatory' shower I do not mind but I do mind the looks I encounter there. Seems then already many have decided that I am the enemy! 'She is not going to swim in my lane, not today!'-looks all over.

5. Picking out the right lane! Stallie sucks at this part!! I screw up this very essential part of my swimming outings! Here I get hit by a torpedo! Because I seem not to fit into a single lane. Not the slow one or the fast one. And even once I have managed to find an empty lane I still seem to be in the one where then the next wannabe Michael Phelps jumps into and threatens to crash into me! Not to mention the many times that two women pick out MY lane as the perfect place for exchanging the latest gossip!

6. Dealing with my hair! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Once I manage to cover successful the things mentioned her above I face the ultimate wet nightmare. MY HAIR!!! Not that I have tried tons of trade secrets that were passed on by own hair dressers. Still, I need to drag along half of my bathroom to bring back that healthy shine and to get that big bunch of hair untangled! One time I even got out with my brush still stuck to my head! No, I am not kidding! I had to hide my head underneath a huge orange towel and ran in a personal olympic record to my car! And nope, even the high quality (Swiss!!!) blow dryers seem not to be up to the task to get my hair back into shape!

7. Getting rid of the chlorine smell! Not that I do mind the substance itself but it manages to turn me insane! Because if I do want to smell fine in front of a black board or at a dinning table then I need an other shower to get rid of that pool perfume! And sorry, two times dealing with shampoo, conditioner and tons of hair products and brushing equipment that I just seem not to handle correctly are just a bit too much to handle for one day! When I then face the fact that I have forgotten my 'magic' brush at the pool I go ballistic! 'Uhm, I went for a swim, can you tell and smell!'-looks are sometimes the once I drag along for days!

So, nope P did not turn this into the perfect holiday day! The only highlight was A who managed to take in bravely his three portions of antibiotics. For the moment he is fighting back a dental infection.

P even had one of what I call a precious 'Doctor-Carlisle-Cullen-moment' while trying to force the bad smelling medication into the throat of his son! The doctor in holiday spirit seemed to loose it because A seemed to think that this white bad smelling and tasting substance belonged every where but not in his mouth! 'I just can't stand this! When he is this way I just feel so bad! Because this really smells bad and tastes awful!, he said while looking very compassionate! A topped this up by announcing just before going to bed:'Mum, I did like the swimming part today better then taking antibiotics!' Yeah, right!!

Jurgen, a bike and presidential toes!

Contador took home the yellow jersey and Andy Schleck managed quite well without his brother. Hope that he will be back next year with the same ambition and legs! Lance biked not his best Tour ever. The Texan went up a mountain but came down a hill, so to speak! Seemed it was one too much! In many interviews there were reasons given why Lance was not the racer he used to be.

But hey, after three days I did started to notice one name that made me feel a bit more excited: Jurgen van den Broeck! Not the most famous Belgian biker we have but still this hardworking athlete seemed to have the legs that it takes to go out there for a very long ride. A drive of a life time for many. But I doubt that most of them did notice the breathtaking landscapes they passed by! Because the 'Tour de France' you can only ride when you are focused and know where you are heading for.

Most of them are out there all by themselves when it comes down to biking the longest ride of all. Jurgen managed to keep up with the big names. I did think there were moments that I was a bit anxious. Especially when the mountains were looming. It is out there then the beasts are set free and go for the top and the ultimate climb. There they put their bodies to the test. Do they need to feel one with the two wheels they try to keep in balance. Do they try to keep focused on what really matters. And for sure do they need to read clearly the signs and not only those that are written on the road.

Creeping into the mind of a Tour biker is for sure very fascinating. While sitting in front of your screen it are the many cameras that are zooming into their very tensed faces and their bodies that seem to tell a very emotional story. Jurgen was for sure one of the most honest about what that bike tour did to his body and his emotional welfare.

'You know what I do think that Jurgen is out there racing very focused!', I did tell P. The Tour was only into the first week but it seemed like this 27 year old guy knew suddenly some facts about his sport he did not knew before. Facts that can make the difference! Like he was racing liberated and free of his personal ghosts of the past!


Jurgen was very outspoken once he made it up hill! In case you wonder what it feels like having to answer 'stupid' questions while catching your breath this bad boy made sure that you got a very outspoken answer. Finding the shortest way to the 'pee-control'. No problem! Even when President Sarkozy his toes were in the way! He ignored those in order to get there asap!

More then a month ago many biking experts hoped that this focused guy would get into Top 10 and that he would stay heading that way. Not loosing it where it matters the most. Don't crash and then burn! Because burned he got many times before. Like when he was out there in the Giro of 2007! For Jurgen out there his personal 'tipping point' took place! While he had to give up and let tons of others pass him by. Many who were on paper not even as good as him but were still overtaking him up hill!

"This is it! This the very last time that I will feel so redicilious! From now on I am not going to 95% for it but 200%! I had promised myself that I would not be 'average'. And that before turning 27 I would know what I was worth as a pro. Well, now I am 27. And I guess, that I am about to find out!', he stated in the interview given after the Tour de France.

When I read this kind of stuff then I do think that it seems that many of us need moments like this. The locomotive of Morkhove states very openly in that same interview that if you have a dream you have to go for it! Life is not something that 100% happens to you, you still have to respond to the signals or call it even signs! You can ignore them or decide to fight the battle and use all you have got to the fullest potential.

Becoming a pro Tour de France racer is bringing sacrifices also personal ones. Many had given him parental and professional advice. He had lost some precious time out there, like he was hesistating about this whole biking adventure. He needed to try harder, rent an apartment close to the mountains to feel, experience, sense, become one with that one extra push he needed to go after his personal dream! Facing the height and then experience it from very close by!

Jurgen embraced the last three years many things he had to put into the right perspective! He even got of his bike to have a good look at what was passing by! Jurgen is not Lance, Andy or Alberto! No, he is just a 27 year old man with a bike finding out where he belongs, what his right place is there up in the yellow league!

Number 5 is not bad at all! It is a very long time ago that we had a Belgian bringing home such a nice number from France! Still Jurgen wants more, feels that there is something more out there he can reach for. Next year he wants to be back finding out where he truely belongs! For sure on a bike! So make sure your feet are not in the way when he is passing by! Sarkozy did find out, the hard way!

P.S.: Once more Boston did come up with a very nice selection of pics:2010 Tour de France - part II - The Big Picture - Boston.com

The cup of all cups.

I was 'Switzerland' for most of the World Cup Football. Because in most cases it tears me up inside when I start to cheer for a certain team. As long if there were any private links with teams I had even more issues going on. On top of that I did not think there were many outstanding matches this tournement and I even am tempted that I have not seen 'newborns' that I love to see out there in the months to come.

Being a girl I have been forced many times to watch football games. I even broke a toe once while fighting over the remote control! Not kidding. Was so fed up with the men at home who only could rave about certain players and game statistics. After almost four weeks of seeing green, white and 22 moving colored dots on screen I was fed up. I ended up at the emergency room with a broken toe! And for three weeks of summerholiday I was forced to walk on crutches!

When I was in the States I did find out that football is rather a 'smooth' sport. My best friend H played on the 'soccer team' and she was awesome with a ball. And to be honest the most European and good looking (and perhaps also rather intelligent) guys of the school played baseball or 'soccer'. Those 'sweet' guys gained all my respect. There are some realy nice pics in my Yearbook of the 'soccerteam', tying their shoes and getting focused just before a game.

I took classes with some of these guys! They were less giantlike then some of the Hoover Viking Football players. This also meant that the school never went completely insane when they won a game. Seemed as they were playing out there under the radar. The silent knights aiming for that one meaningful hit.

Not that they lacked the attitude I now link with some of big players of my generation. 'You know he 'only' plays soccer!', was one of these sentences that I just couldn't put my finger on. Where I came from 'Football' is the ultimate wet dream of many boys. Playing in the major league stands for so much more. Just a few out of the big wish box: getting treated as a real man, buying that one fast car that makes people turn around, and dating the gorgeous Miss of your nation.

Secretly I had something going for that high school team. It felt rather familiar, especially the vocabulary they used while talking about the game. American Football was for me the ultimate nightmare if it came to understanding tactics or reading a field. The only two American Football words that made it into my daily vocab where 'touch down' and 'quarterback'!

For me the past Cup final was for sure not the best game I ever saw. My two men were crossing fingers for Spain and I just sat there thinking that being impartial in this case was more fitting. After 3 minutes I just knew that there were was a war going on. Many kicks went the 'wrong' way. I have seen people getting hurt and some lost it out there completely. 'Clockwork Orange'came to mind a few times.

The looks in the eyes of many players told me stuff that was not linked to victory. Okay, you might get to play once only this so devine making match! Still it is not an excuse to go for that one painfull kick. As a player those 90 minutes seem to turn your world tupsy turvy. It is the one ultimate game that can make or break you. It can be the beginning or the end of something! Stars are born on that unique football field. When one of them finds that one opening and goes for the ultimate kill the outside world comes to a complete stand still. But once you let go your foot, there the dreams or nightmare start and you don't have any control over that one split second. All you can do then is hoping that it will go where you want it to cross the line.

I have seen men do very strange stuff when that moment came. Seems like they only then show their 'real' emotions when there is white object involved. And not only on the field but also next to it and way beyond it. Tears, kisses, huges, smiles, handshakes, screams, yells, obscene gestures, cursing,...... Men suddenly expose themselves so openly when dealing with this sport. They then seem to change into individuals with a EQ that hits through the roof.

Hey, the Spanish goalie Casillas kissing his girlfriend while she was working was so cute but it told me that they had kicked the hell out of him. And getting close to your queen in your locker room must be a bit surrealistic. Football seems to make many do exceptional stuff.


Madrid and Amsterdam are embracing back there big boys (some even became men!) and celebrating the homecoming they deserved. One national team with the ultimate cup that can take away all the pain. The other team wearing silver medals. These last ones will need badly a peptalk to make sure that they snap out of their ultimate nightmare.

Rightfully Spain won out there. 'La Furia Roja' will for sure be the next copple of years considered untouchable by the rest of the world. Except Switzerland seems to have found that one small loophole. Being 'Switzerland' is so cool when it comes to watching a football game!

P.S.: Before I forget I had very high' expectations when it came to that one 'El Nino' (the kid) Fernando Torres. He did not live up to those. Seemed he was a bit lost out there! Fernando, you do realise, hopefully, that you are now playing with the big boys! The cup looks good on you! But please take care of your fragile body. It will have to stand many future field wars!

P.S.: For the best images that were caught by a camera you can turn here! All the emotions of 4 weeks wrapped up in more then 40 pics for you to enjoy!

2010 World Cup comes to a close - The Big Picture - Boston.com

War on wheels

Yes, I do know that I am girl and that not that many of the weak sex are walking encyclopedia when it comes to biking or the Tour de France. But please allow me to admit that for me that French institution stands for many things: summer, long, yellow, green, polka dots, campers, fans, winners and losers, hundreds of seconds, mountains, flat tyres, escapes, tactics, injuries, L'Equipe, brown-white colored bodies, the map of France with known places and less known ones, racing against time, the teamspirit when it matters, VIPs on Tour (even Tom Cruise will be over this year!) and every day coming a bit closer to Paris d'Amour.

Lance is ready for this year's Tour!! It is written all over his face. He knows what he is after. This is 'pure sang' boy who wants to get his message across when it comes to biking and this year he will be racing just against a few. The living sport's monument has been there so many times. Still after last year things did change a bit. Lance and Alberto won't be that close anymore. Tempted I am to call them enemies on wheels.

The war is on! I don't look forward to all the useless interviews that will be broadcasted. Many reporters will try to trigger their brains. I don't think they will show the back of their tongues! The only place that the real battle will take place on will the bike. Hopefully I will be able to feel the true emotions that matter. I hope to be able to see through the harsh words or the sentences that they will or won't say. All I want to see is the faithfull sportman's ship they will show to the world.

Today, we ended up after a nice breakfast with our good friends N,T and T who had invited us over to cheer on the cyclists. I have to be honest that I dressed A for the occassion in his Swiss Safari t-shirt he got as a present of his auntie Lilly. We cheered the yellow jersey on that was covering up the body of Fabian! Because family in the Swiss makes it a bit more personal when a Swiss is passing through. My personal highlight was the force that my little camera showed because the moment I show yellow heading my way I made it go bezerk. The result is quite a nice pic that I will put on Facebook very soon.

While we were heading back for home the troops on wheels were heading for Spa. On the wet roads many fell. 70 men felt the hard road under them and many saw a hospital or doctor. Even the bud of Alberto Contador looks a bit less glamorous. After the fall Fabian made them all slow down. So no real race! In a interview that was taken in the garden of the hotel in Lanaken (so damn close to my mother's!) he had to explain why he did it and what will happening next in the race of the year. 'Every day is a war!',was his response. He feels sad that he won't make it on the cobble stones in yellow but 'c'est la vie'!!

A was even a bit out of tune by this news. 'Mum, I think it is such a shame that Cancellera lost the yellow jersey today!' There was a 6 year old boy sitting next to me with rather sadness in his face. I tried to comfort him by trying to explain to him that the Swiss superbiker might get that shirt back. But like in most cases I could not garuantee that. Because in the Tour de France there are not that many waterproof facts. Today 70 people found that out the hard way! Hopefully they found many bottles of Spa-water in their minibars to clean out the dirt!

Bent it for Mandela

Like mentioned in a post a long time ago football is not my sport. But there are a few exceptions when the ball hits the grass. One of them is the World Championship. Then I become suddenly one of those women who seem to get the whole thing about the black and white flying object. This year I even feel obliged to watch some matches because I do think that this time it will be a very exceptional championship.

South Africa is hosting them and so finally Africa gets to host this sports fiesta. You might wonder why this is so important for a country. But believe me for a nation like South Africa is about getting accepted on completely new level. Being able to play in the big league. For one get the opportunity to show your nation unified and showing the whole world what you are worth.

When thinking about South Africa many words come to my mind but for sure Nelson Mandela is one of them. They day he found out that the cup was coming to his country and was asked what he felt like his respons was:'Well, I feel back like a 15 year old boy!' He showed then his so cute smile and his face was so radiant that you were tempted to put on your sunglasses! The least you could say was that he felt proud!

Okay, the press has been all over while they were getting ready. Stations that were not getting ready, hotels that seemed not to get fully booked because let us be honest this colorful country has not the nicest crime statistics. It did not got even better when I tried to find out the names of the players of their national team! Googling was not an option because the hits were a bit confusing. When I checked with friend of ours who adopted a lovely South African girl they told me that they still had no 11 men dressed in shorts!

Yesterday night Shikira shaked her hips and did many colorful africans showed their best moves on stage. Today the kick off took place in Jo'burg and did we got to hear and see the colorful audience that filled up a brand new station. Amongst them tons of important Fifa people and the very cheerful arch bischop Desmund Tutu! He looked football all over. But no Nelson Mandela. It was rather a bit sad to see thousands of people witnessing that occasion without him being present. Like they were missing their biggest fan!

Turns out that today of all days Nelson lost one of his great grandchildren in a car accident. Their car seemed to be on the way back home after the kick off concert! While 22 men out there were running wild for one rolling object this national hero must have experienced very deep going emotions.

But now it is time for football and that the best team may win. I still not know who I am going to cheer for and therefor I will be watching a movie instead of a game. Because as long as I have not made up my mind who to cheer for I want to stay impartial.

So tonight I will be cheering for Jessminah and Julliette in 'Bent it like Beckham'! But then I do think that watching a movie about football on the opening evening of the world championship is still quite an achievement! I am looking forward to seeing tons of hot men with sexy legs in shorts! Also I bet that it will be eassier to find a team to cheer for then to make up my mind about who I am going to vote for this coming Sunday! Perhaps I should take one of those vuvuzela horns to the ballot station. Then at least I will get them to listen for once!!!

Fabian,The Lonely Cyclist

It may surprise many but I do like to watch cycling competition! Not that the summer stands for the Tour de France but still. As a teenager I did witness Fignon loosing in one of the most dramatic ways his Tour against Greg Lemond. And because my dad loved watching the classics as well I did knew in no time certain bike vocabulary that makes the difference when I end up in all male company.

The day I left for the States as an exchange student I arrived at the exact moment as Eddy Merckx at Brussels airport. He was carrying bikes and was perhaps heading for Texas to hand over that personalised bike to his friend Lance! Eddy was during that year an opening line! I remember that many Americans knew something about Belgium once I announced he was Belgian!!

A few years ago P got an invitation to follow 'De Ronde van Vlaanderen' in a rather exciting way and I was allowed to go along! I still remember that morning in Brugges quite vividly. At the tourbus of Lance Armstrong there were tons of people standing to catch a glimpse of Sheryl Crowe!!

After a nice breakfast we saw the cyclists take off and got in a car. Imagine two cars with excellent drivers who know the whole way by heart because they were professionals themselves and 7 men and one woman (me!!) trying to keep up with them. The only sound in the car that mattered was the competition radio. It took me a few minutes to feel at ease amongst some amateur cyclists. Especially when the driver asked very seriously to make a prediction who had the best leggs and was going to win that day.

Most passengers started to analyse everything, compared previous results and called then out their favourite! 'And what do you think?', P then asked me. I felt so stupid at that moment because all I had to go for where a few articles I had been reading in order to prepare myself a bit not to look to goofy amongst those fanatics. 'Uhm, Tom Boonen, will win today!', I then said. The car went silent and I then stared out of the window thinking that I made a complete idiot of myself right there.

Well, turned out that day I was right!!! I witnessed that day Tom winning in a very nice way and a week later he won the hell of Paris-Roubaix as well! Perhaps that year I started to get the hang of keeping up with the whole biking world. When there will be a broadcasted ride on and the men will sit down and the women dissapear I stay!

Believe it or not I can go wild when something happens or when I do consider the way things go out there not as expected. Yesterday I saw the swiss super cyclist winning his Paris-Roubaix in a rather extra ordinary way.

I am reading the online newspapers for the moment and I do totally agree with many out there that Cancellare deserved to win yesterday. This Swiss athlete is blessed with the best leggs, condition, material and team spirit! Even the biggest loser of all, Tom admitted he was not able to beat this guy! The fact that the walser crush just took of at the moment that he was graving for a bite and a sip was his good right! 'I would probably have done the same thing!, Tom admitted.

Still, yesterday, about 30km before the finish I started to yawn and then decided that my book 'Talking About Jane Austen In Baghdad' was far more interesting then watching the cyclists crossing the white line. The only silver lining is that the guy is Swiss and because of present family connection I was able to feel a bit happy. But then I bet that my sis will had to put up with many more insults then me.

Bet that in Bern, the birthplace of the Spartacus on bike, the streets will be buzzing with this news. Perhaps they will even gather around one of the colorfull city fountains to celebrate and sing out their joy. I would consider the one her depicted for sure the most fitting one for that party! Cancellera is for sure the giant ready to digest many more victories! But forgive me, Fabian, I just seem not to get the hang of watching solo rides! Sorry!!!

P.S.: Fabian his wife, Stefanie, happens to be a hairdresser. But I wonder if she will cut her husband's hair because after winning so many you would start believing that those wonderful healthy looking hair are his secret powerbooster!. Fabian Cancellera, the Samson on a bike!! Uhm that would look nice as a headline, don't you think so?

They are back!

'The Belgians are back', one of the Australian newspapers headed! At the beginning of the week I was a bit nervous for the fierce girl of Wépion! It is one of the comebacks of the year and so I guess that Juju was for sure not the most calm player out there. So every morning I woke with the news and was a bit eager to know what Kim and Justine did out there in Brisbane! The two of them seemed to be in a winning mood. Some started to talk of a final. And yes, Friday morning it turned into be a fact: Juju would be playing against one of her old enemies on the court: Kim!

Because I am one of those fans who sometimes just can't stand the heat while watching the game I decided to let A have the opportunity to watch some breakfast television. Just so that I would not be tempted to turn on the TV and get distracted. But like always an other medium made go completely wild about that encounter: the radio.

By the time that the two players got into the 2nd set I was once more the the stress chicken! If I would ever end up in a stadium while these two ladies are playing a final then you will have to pump some Valium into me because otherwise I will be asked very politely by the tennis fans to leave the building!! Even our house is too small to hide.

So then I had to convince A that we had to watch this and that was not easy. But then he decided that he was going to cheer for Kim and we had a deal! What I witnessed was just like in the old days: pure suspense and two players fighting for each ball! Loved the split and the ralleys. When P came and saw the score we both conclued that Juju was going for the kill! But after a very exciting third set and a very suspensful tiebreak it was Kim to hold up her hands in the air.

God, I had missed this for quite some time: the fierce look in Kim her eyes, her split, Justine her breathtaking backhand, her endurance to go after even a lost ball, her wild look in her eyes. For sure this was a winning weekend for the Belgian out there. Also 'Whoopie' Yanina won in New Sealand!

Welcome back Justine and thanks Kim for the very emotional speech. Brisbane will for sure adopt you when needed because donating your prizemoney to their children's hospital is also very nice way to give something back to the world you play in. Respect!! I feel in my bones that 2010 will be for sure a very 'special' tennis year!

P.S.: Please forgive me for hiding behind a couch when we would ever end up watching a game together. It is just my way of handling the supsense.

The winner takes it all! The loser standing small!

Sports and doping are two words that live together very closely! Last week Agassi admitted openly that he also was called to the dark side. 'Of course I am ashamed of myself and hope that this is the end of this lie!' André had managed to cover up a positive drug test and had begged the ATP not to call a press conference! Our bold tennis star got involved with crystal meth because of the break up with Brooke Shields!

He managed to get out of his personal mess and found the long arms of Steffi Graf to rest on! Now 12 years later he lifts up the lid and hopes that we can forgive him! Well, André, what can I say!? You won tons of tournaments, you were for sure the clown of the tennis circus, had the nicest smile of all and when you cried it was heartbreaking! Emotions all over the field! Now that you left the field and have for sure nothing to fear of you think that the time is ripe to call it to and end.

I bet that there are two tennis colleagues that really envy you for the moment. Yanina & Xavier! They are suspended for one year because they did not mention their whereabouts a few times! And Xavier missed on top of that one drug test! So this morning two athletes their lives changed for the worst! For the next 12 months they are not allowed to enter any official tournament!

This is the ultimate nightmare for a tennis player. It means that you lose everything. All the points you gained last season you will lose, not a single official tournament you can enter, sponsors that will end their cooperation, a condition that won't be challenged, no rhythm and of course tons of people that will have second thoughts about you!

Especially that last one is very hard to deal with as an athlete! You will mentally be challenged day in day out! Chances are very low that you will come out stronger! And when you then finally are allowed back on the centre court you are up against an extra opponent!

I do agree with the people who say that the law is the law! Rules must be obeyed! I do hope that whenever I get in trouble that the judge that I am facing applies lawfully the rules! In the case of Yanina&Xavier the judges did not bend any rules! The did what was expected of them and rightly so!

If Y&X had just filled out their paperwork correctly they would have been fine! It seems a bit strange that they left open some blanks and just forgot about it! They must have seen that one coming! They have of course tons of excuses ready but none them justify this and so rules are rules.

But I do feel so sorry for them! One year suspension is very harsh! For Xavier it could for sure mean the end of his career and this is for sure not the end he had in mind. For Yakima is might be the next big test! Finding out if she can cope with the not competing and hanging out with her peers! But still having to keep her mind and body ‘sane’!

The only thing that really ticks me of here is that if they both had been living in the Walloon part of our country this would have not getten into the open! Doping wise we already have split up our nation! COOL!!!

One last tip for Y&X: please, fill all the blanks or write a very emotional letter to the WADA, ITF or ATP! That one worked for André and he will even make money out of that story! Seems that paperwork really makes the difference! Or to say it with some very wise words:’ who writes, lasts!'

So, where is my Moleskine daily planner? I need to feel in urgently my whereabouts! In case you are interested: I am doing some shopping with A& my mum for a very important date!!!

P.S.: I wisely advice you not to start any dinner discussion in the presence of P&me about this subject!!! We might end up throwing your best china across the room!! At least I can be happy about Kim Clijsters here whereabouts! She manages to fill them out every day and it only takes 5 minutes!! Good girl!!!

That one dream!

I still remember where I was when Justine Henin announced her farewell of the tennis court. All I was thinking at that moment while hearing over the radio was: 'Why? Why now?' The days after the news papers were so nice to give the big scoop. Justine was tired of travelling, had a complete burn out, felt a bit out of tune, wanted to become a mother, had won everything there was to win (not true!!) and wanted to find out how life was without running around with a tennis racket! So the why and why now got a decent answer but still it seemed not to make sense.

In two years time the most successful tennis ladies with a Belgian passport left centre court. First Kim and then Justine. Strangely enough they seemed to have certain very personal reasons to announce they were fed up with the tennis world. And hey, I don't blame them! Above all their young bodies already seemed to ache for retirement and they still had to start with the life that most of all call so average but that they seem to long for: a steady relationship and a calm family life!

When people questioned me if I thought that one of them would announce a comeback I was pretty sure about Kim. Justine at the other hand seemed not to send out any clear signal. A few miles away from my home this fierce athlete started her new adventure with the foundation of a tennis academy called the '6th sense'!!

For a tennis lady who played the love game by her own rules a very fitting name. A very long time Juju was out there all by her self and only trusted her senses. Technically I consider her one the best female tennis players that I ever watched playing. Justine her backhand seems hard to comprehend. The purity she hits it with and the efficiency makes your head spin. It is almost poetry in motion. John McEnroe is die hard fan of that one pure shot!

On top of that her emotions have turned her into a very exceptional player. Once this rather tiny player is standing at the baseline she goes for the kill. In most cases she manages to dictate the game and it is not with pure force. If Venus, Serena, Safina, Sharapova are ready to join the special forces then is this girl the best candidate ever to get a MI6 badge. Her game is sleek, very deep going, hard to grasp and sublime! Many opponents will gladly point out that this girl plays the tennis that they just can't stand.

Of course her personal story even made her tennis more edgy. Loosing your mum to cancer after promising she would chase that one dream: winning Roland Garros and this against all odds. This girl had a mission and just think what that one promise did? Her father still remembers how his daughter was obsessed with that tiny yellow object. While she was hitting the ball against the outside walls he was sitting at the dinner table wondering where this was heading for?

Well, we know now!!! The lady with a mission won her Roland Garros tournament 4 times, got the Olympic Gold medal, won the Masters twice, got her name printed in many cups across the world and was number one for a very long time! Justine got the honour to be called a living sports monument by the UN! She is also good will ambassador for Unicef!!! A mission she takes to heart.

So why and why now? Hard to answer! It was so funny to read all the speculations of Justine returning. Like she was once more playing that one game she is so good at! Nobody seemed to figure out for 100% if Justine was seriously considering it. All she did was smiling and keeping her mouth shut.

Two days ago the national TV stations had the honour to have her personally coming over to announce her comeback. Justine looked rather serene and answered all the questions very calmly. And then she spit it out that she still has a few dreams out there waiting for her in the company of a tennis racket. On top of her list still that one cup that she was not able to hold in her hands and granting her life time membership to the All England Club and a nice seat in the champions box!!

Well, that is why! And I do understand why this exceptional player suddenly reconsiders her future plans. She managed to talk Rodrigues to join her once more and in a few weeks she will be back standing down there at the baseline. Ready to face the enemy and chasing that one dream she is after! So, 'Allez Juju', tie those laces of your tennis shoes and grab that racket and walk towards that one field were dreams can be created!

Reasons enough to have a press conference!

P.S.: Hopefully Justine and Kim will have also some icecream after playing some winners! And yes they are both in the picture her above. Believe it or not!!

Cool runnings!!!

Once more we came home empty handed from the WC Athletics in Berlin. Not that is must have been a surprise to many but still. It is never fun having to face the fact that we can’t seem to compete with the rest of the globe in certain things. One of them must be then athletics and it seems that it is going to cost some time till we will be able to beat some of these big guys and women out there on the track.

Okay, Usain Bolt is a league of his own. While I was in 7th heaven in Zürich he won the gold medal in fantastic time. Cool, man!! According to many this won’t be the last time that this Jamaican will amaze us.

Reading the newspapers I did feel the tension out there in the Belgian camp. Especially the women’s 4x100 felt the heat. And it was not only the exotic temperatures I am talking about. Since Kim retired last year in order to become mother and did gave birth in the second week of the tournament the rest of the team need to rethink their strategy. The fastest girl of our nation left behind a huge gap that had to be closed.

The three knew that they were not going to find another Kim very soon and it was not with high ambitions that they left for Berlin. So when the first new reports reached us from Berlin I knew that these girls were in a pickle.

The heat was on and it did not make them run faster!! Nope they seemed to be out of breath and had no plan B to turn to. So when the four ladies failed to make the finals and the reporter asked them what went wrong I knew we had something coming.
The reporter was facing four athletes that were catching some air but at the same time looked very upset! The answers he got were very straightforward. Once more they felt so let down. “Hey, we did run not that well!! Nothing went okay! Passing on the stick went wrong most of the times. We did not practice together many times.” , were some of the sentences that came out.

Normally that would have been the average chat would be aired out to us but then the tone of the girls did change. “Hey, how do you think we feel? Nothing went right the last few weeks! What they have written about us did not make it any easier. Not only one year after the medal at the Olympics it seems that we are treated as dirt!’ , were basically one of the words of the out of tune ladies. They were pointing the fingers at each other while explaining why things did not went that smooth like one year ago.

Watching this scene I did feel sorry for them! Right there in the sun were standing frustrated, feeling let down, disappointed, outraged women. I think that all they wanted to do was run of as fast as they could to a shower and cool down! Instead they had to face once more the national press and answering useless questions. No harmony what so ever in that team and I do agree with that they need some more time in order to run more smoothly. Patience they asked of all of us and I am going to grand them exactly that.

The contrast with the men of 4x400m couldn’t have been more obvious. The fast guys did pretty well last year in Beijing and it was rather an unusual sight to see one white boy running passed some of the these coloured speedy Africans. They came in fifth and so the expectations were kind of high as well went they put on their running shoes. And what a sight! They first won their head and just ran past the Bahamas and the Dom. Republic.

I do love that race the 4x400m!! I am sprinter and so I know that running 400m can kill you!!! Before you know you will run without a breath! Respect to those people that seem to be able to disect their own running pattern in order to figure out the perfect race! So that we Belgians seem to be rather good at this very hard race is an accomplishment on its own!

Nils, Cédric, Antoine and Kevin just did one thing and that was running very fast. When they were asked why it worked so well, it was the oldie of the team, Cédric who gave the best answer: ‘ We want to fight for one an other! We just go for it! The trust grew trough out the competition!’ He pointed out that they did not had the opportunity to practice together a lot but that once they need to deliver they go for it. Cédric also pointed out that we have to be mild with the women of the 4x100!

Their final was also quite impressive! They ran a very tactic race and came in fourth and that is even better then one year ago. The boys were satisfied! Amazing to state is also the fact that this was not the best team that Belgians have out there. Jonathan is injured for the moment an he is our fastest runner! So very promising for the next big meet!

Comparing the two means it just shows that trust and unity is very important in a team. Perhaps that was something the 4 girls were running without. Also the lack of cement, of an individual who motivates and stimulates them! They are still looking and seem to be lost!! Cédric does it for the boys but there were moments that also the national press gave him a rather hard time. But put him in a team he will grow by the minute and so do his team members.

So the biggest challenge the next few months for Elodie, Hanna, Olivia to find the perfect fourth match for their team or at least find the cement they need to make the team stronger as ever. Not only in order to win races but also be a unity!!! ‘Cool runnings’ seems to be something that not everybody is good at. ‘Cool, man!!!’, would the average Jamaican say! It worked for Bolt but then they have got white beaches, palm trees, blue water and rum!!! So ladies perhaps a ticket to the tropics?

The Green Grass of Wimbledon

For me there are a few sportive moments every year that bring along some very excitement. Wimbledon is one of these. I love that tournament. The atmosphere, the elegance and the passion. Also most professionals when asked what their favourite Grand Slam is will answer: Wimbledon.

As a child I noticed that for once they weren't playing on gravel but on grass. So as soon as I got the opportunity I tried out myself what it felt like to hit a ball on grass. Gosh, rather hard. It seems like all the rules you have been taught about hitting against a yellow ball don't apply anymore. So my respect started to grow for those who managed to use their racket in an elegant way on a green surface. Me I had to face the truth: Wimbledon for dummies.

Steffi, Chris, Venus, Martina N, Martina H, Maria were some of the girls who managed to hold up that rather funny looking plate. The proof that they can beat the grass. Rodger, John, Pete, Boris, Ivan ans Björn they had white shirts covered with green spots but also that devine prize to give their cv some more color!!

At the time of John and Ivan my brother and I spend hours in front of the television to argue about balls in or out. And we ate strawberries with cream while watching the championschip point being hit. Every year again we seemed to look forward to that time that men and women dressed up in white played their very best game. I even cursied when I knew that the Duchess of Kent was present.

This year I am having a rather hard time. For the first time in long time I don't know who to cheer for. I am longing for that time that this tournament created new heroes. Once a name shows up that doesn't ring a bell I am relieved. So when Maria, dressed up and looking very posh, got hit by one of the rather unknown girl I was very excited. When an underdog has a lucky day and just seems to play on air and get all the balls where she wants them to end it is so nice to be a witness. You start to believe that when you really want something you can do it.

Wimbledon always can get under your skin. In one case it got very far. You could easily state that most tennisplayers will never hit anything else than a ball. Exceptions are the ones that have the urge to destroy theirs by throwing it away in all the directions of center court. But Wimbledon also seems to have a rahter bloody tale to tell.

Turns out that in 1907 one of their former winners commited a rather ghastly crime. An Irish lad called Leger Goold who won the title in 1897 ended up with a big debt and the only way out was killing. The body he hit in a trunk. For all the bloody details I suggest you check out http://www.wimbledon.org/. The murderstory can be found under the catagory history. Worth while to read. Try to imagine Rodger or Andy (the English have to put their hopes on a Scotsman for the next few years) as murders!?

For the real diehards you can even find some information about the grass. Because people seem to complain more and more about the surface their idols play on. It seems that the courts are two percent slower. Eddie, the Wimbledon groundsman, seems to have a hard time defending himself and the grass. He blames the weather, tennisrackets and the players for that. Fortunately for him there is still the number one gentleman of the grasscourts: Rodger. He blames it on baseline where many more players spend their time. So I guess that we won't be albe to see an other Boris Becker rolling over the net after jumping after the great volley the opponent just sent over.

I might have to stop being rather nostalgic because Wimbledon will be able to stand time. It might change on the edges. The roof over center court will also banish an other typical image of Wimblon: green covered fields and tennisfans in raingear. But what can we do about it? Wimbledon is preparing for the Olympics of 2012. I just wonder one thing: will be that the year that you can win twice Wimbledon? I hope that by that time I have an other favourite player to cheer for.

Andy, Rodger, Santiago, Radik, Flavio,Nikolav, Roham will be the white knights who will try to entertain me in the years to come. Elena, Galina, Yanina, Georgie, Tiantian, Barbora and Jelena are a few of the ladies in white who will try to convince me that Wimbledon is here to stay and that grass can be more then a surface to play football, golf, hockey and rugby on. And when they fail I still can get my picnic basket out and get down there with strawberries and an old tennis magazine recalling the past!! Just let me be retired by then!!

Good luck white knights and ladies. I believe in you all but please be respectful for the grass!! And get some extra washing powder because I want to see you jump, crawl, make funny faces, curse, yell and run for miles on that lovely divine grass!! It deserves some respect!