[caramel]

ANDY RODDICK

By EMILY NIPPS, Tampa Tribune

.......
Blanche laughs when she remembers 8-year-old Andy playing tennis with his friend in front of the house, using cracks in the sidewalk as the net. Andy was Michael Chang and his friend, who was Asian, was Agassi.
``A man walked by and asked what the score was, and Andy said, `I'm Michael Chang and this is Andre Agassi,' '' Blanche said. ``The guy looked at both of them and said, `I think you've got it mixed up.' But when you're 7 or 8 years old, you don't see things like that.''
Ten years later, Andy Roddick made one of the most dramatic debuts at the French Open, fighting through cramps to defeat Chang in May.
..............
That was when Blanche and Jerry watched from courtside at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne as their youngest son - the same one who sleeps in the bedroom next to theirs and still drives his mother's car - beat Pete Sampras.
Roddick nearly took Sampras' head off with one of his 140 mph serves, and beat his boyhood idol in two sets.
Afterward, Roddick found his mother in the stadium's training room. They embraced, both in tears, while trainers and reporters walked by, staring.
``He said to me,'' Blanche said, pausing because she still cries when she thinks about it. ``He said, `Mom ... thank you for driving me around all those times.' ''

(quoted from roddickrocks.com)

 

[caramel]

Paradorn

"I learned to drive when I was 16. I have spent quite a lot of money modifying my car," he said.
Ubon Srichaphan, his mother added, "He loves that car more than girls. It is like a girlfriend."
Paradorn enjoys driving and insists he is a good driver. Three years ago, however, while returning from a party, he was involved in a four-car pile up on the expressway. Fortunately, he was not injured too badly but he does have a scar on his chin to remind him of the incident. The car suffered more and was in the garage for over a year.
"It was quite late and I was hurrying home because I didn't want to worry my mum," said Paradorn.
His mother sees the story in a slightly different way. "He was secretly involved in road racing. I found a helmet in his car but he and his brother lied to me and said it belonged to a friend," she recalls.
In his own defence Paradorn said, "We were not lying to you, mum. I had been involved in some racing but when my dad said that I could continue if I wanted to die early, I realised that I should stop."
...............................
His mother says that he can also be a sweet guy when he wants something. Paradorn was not allowed to use any of his hard earned money without his father's permission. She recalls one time when her son came to kiss her. She asked him what he was after. "Nothing" he replied. "I just want to kiss you." The next day the truth came out when he pleaded with his mum to ask his dad to give him some money to buy a new mobile phone.

 

[caramel]

Lleyton Hewitt

By James MacSmith

........
The tennis superstar's aggressive demeanour on court bore no resemblance to that off the court, she said.

"The fierce competitor out on the court is not the shy, reserved kid that he is off the court," Mrs Hewitt said. "He is very much the Jekyll and Hyde personality."

She said her son was aware of the public expectations, but that didn't weigh too heavily on his mind.

"Lleyton keeps everything deep inside. He doesn't really talk about it a lot. He probably confides in Kim (Clijsters) a fair bit, but we only find out after the event. Then he'll come out and say what he's thinking.

"He's always been like that. When he first won the Adelaide event, I'd take him to training and we wouldn't talk about the tennis. We'd talk about every other thing and then when it was all over he'd start talking about how he felt."

Cherilyn and Lleyton recently filmed a commercial for toilet paper. It's one she considers apt considering his treatment by the media.

"What disappoints me most is when stories are made up by the media," she said. "The media have given him so much crap over the years that he actually needs a bit of toilet paper."

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,5821231-23216,00.html

 

[caramel]

William sisters
......
They're all very close," Price said of her daughters. "They talk more to each other than they do to me when they're at home or even out of the country. They are always communicating, always in contact with each other. Sometimes they get the opportunity to come on the road with us and that's nice. I love it."

Seeing Serena and Venus succeed in the ultra-competitive world of professional sports, Price added that sometimes, she thinks too much is made of what the girls have accomplished on the tennis court.

"I think a lot of times, too much is made of tennis," she said frankly. "People don't really know about the individual. The girls recognize that they are role models and they try to be good role models. That's what I'm really proud of. They try to keep their lives straight.

"They try to live a clean life and be an example.

"The personal satisfaction came when one year, Venus came to me and she said to me, 'You know, Mom? I like my life.' The next year, Serena came back and told me the same thing," Price added.

"Neither one had heard the other say this. That was very important. That's when I was happy."

http://www.sportserver.com/tennis/general/story/751346p-5440079c.html

 

[Chloe le Bopper]

Thanks. Cute read.

 

[Chrisie]

I wonder what Hewitt's mum thinks of that 'egg incident' that happened at the Clijesters' house?

 

[J. Corwin]

Ooo..thanks for the post. Interesting to read.

 

[King Aaron]

Thanks

 

[maratski]

Thanks

I especially like the one from Paradorn.

 

[caramel]

You're welcome BTW if you guys find any other interesting articles ,pls. let me know by posting here or sending it to [email protected]....Thanks

 

[GabbylovesLleyton]

Lleyton's mom is hilarious!! I would love for her to be my mother and law..............HEHEHE......duh!