Archive for the ‘Quick Facts’ Category
(This is by far the best statement I’ve ever heard about fitness and nutrition)
Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
~Greg Glassman
It’s been a very hectic month of July, returned from playing 2 futures in Italy where i played quali for the first time in a very long time, passed both times and reached quarters in the second week, won all my final set matches easy except one that should have won but lost 7/6 in the third, I had this problem last year but not anymore, I discovered that being really fit just helped me mentally and made me stronger, so it was nice to play with no pressure there and play well. I returned to continue my work in my academy and to play Davis Cup. I had a bit of an argument with our new Davis Cup captain who just put me in an unnecessary situation that result in me leaving the team and not participating for the first time since 98. I really felt bad about it not that I didn’t play because anyway it was easy as we played in group three but it seems that my history as a tennis player in Egypt was not put in consideration at all, I was treated from the captain who didn’t participate in any Egyptian event since 98 in the same manner as a junior player on the team, no exceptions for me what so ever. So I decided not to abide to his so called (rules) and leave the team. Well everything happens for a reason, i am glad that i took this decision . Next month will be really tough in Ramadan with the academy and hope that it will be a successful one too.
It’s been a while since I last traveled to play outside Egypt, almost 6 months, especially after starting my own academy. Stars Academy located in Galaa Army Club, Mostafa Naim ex Davis Cup captain, Ramy Saleh fitness coach and ex top tennis player in Egypt, Ahmed Siddik our financial and business planner and myself have opened this academy shortly after the Egyptian revolution.
So I traveled for the first time as a coach and player with one of our top players Bassam Beidas, a college player in one of the top universities in the states, it’s been really an exciting experience for me, as I participated in 2 Futures in Morocco after almost losing all my points and ranking, I actually did pretty well , I reached semi final in the first week with my player so of course as a coach I had to give him the chance to pass me and reach the final to win his first ever future after coming out from the quail. The second week almost the same happened but I had to let him pass in the quarter final so as a result he reached finals but lost which is still great, the first 2 futures to play in almost 2 years , he wins one and reaches final in the second. I am satisfied as a coach and feel good and played good as a player.
Now I have to train for Davis Cup that will be held in July in Cairo so I will be traveling to Italy as a player to play some tournaments over there to get ready for the tie, it’s really nice to play with no pressure and enjoyment, tennis feels good like that when u just focus on performance and not results.
It’s been three months now since I ‘ve been working out in a crossfit style. Crossfit involves constantly varied high intensity functional movements, it includes power lifting, kettle bell swinging, jumping and pull ups, squatting and throwing. Stuff, carrying heavy stuff and running, it’s amazing how it is, it’s raw fitness I’m actually addicted to it now and I wish I worked out like that when I was younger but its; never too late, it’s true no pain no gain. A person is not called fit until he works out in this manner; crossfit focuses on power endurance, strength endurance, speed, agility, u name it. Gym Jones is the same thing but even tougher they train athletes to become indestructible, I ve been working out with my partner who is the first certified trainer in the Middle East in crossfit and Gym Jones. Now since I ‘ve tried it and loved it I am trying me and my partner Ramy to mix it up and introduce this way of training into all sports and especially tennis where we want to change the old mentality of people saying ( a tennis player doesn’t need all this fitness or doesn’t have to work out in this way coz it’s too tough) well I am sorry to say that the world changed and it’s time to evolve and to understand that if u are not fit and strong enough then u can’t play tennis.
This year wasn’t successful for me, it started well but ended badly, I can also call it the year of the final set lost lots of close matches that could have turned things around, there is one thing that was good at least I didn’t get injured on the other hand I didn’t play so many matches to get an injury 
.Not having a coach with me to see my mistakes was a key in all the matches that I lost, after all the experience that I have it’s always important to have someone who can tell u something extra that u can’t see while playing instead of throwing the blame all the time on the mental side or the physical side, maybe there is a tactical problem that I don’t see. In the end 2010 wasn’t as good as 2009 but there is always something to learn from my mistakes and losses, hope next year will be a better year for me and my family.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Scientists have discovered that the age old view that muscle has a bad effect on cardio performance is all wrong. It turns out , weight lifting activates more muscle fibers and enhances the link between your mind and muscles, which researchers have found to be vital for improving your performance, as well as helping you to climb hills and speed up your sprinting. If people are still buying into the idea that lifting weight slows them down, they really need to look at the star athletes and realize that lean muscle is the foundation for athletic performance especially in cardio based sports.ex: Nadal in tennis and Ronaldo in football.
I just came back from Romania; I played the challenger in Brasov and the ATP Bucharest Open. I really played well but I won’t blame it on the mental again. In Brasov, I passed the qualifying rounds then lost first round main draw final set again.. then I lost in the second round of the ATP after winning a first good match against an ex top 150 player which gave me a boost that faded away after a 4-1 lead in the second match. It was really nice to play there, another atmosphere, great courts, nice hotel and everything easy to reach. I am preparing now for the last tournaments of the year including club matches and 2 futures plus some local tournaments. As for the club matches I really want to know when they are going to separate men’s club matches from the juniors. I really think that it would be much better for the Egyptian tennis. Firstly, because there will be more competition and all the good juniors could participate in it to strengthen the men’s team.. well as I said before there are no men playing now so they are all juniors. Secondly there are some clubs that have good men’s team but don’t have a junior team so like that they aren’t able to participate in the league which is really a waste. Thirdly, people are interested to watch high level or men’s tennis more than watching juniors so these matches could be broadcasted on TV with big prize money for the winning team. This leads me to the other point which is the prize money, the biggest incentive for any sportsman is to earn money and since we are wondering why all our players quit at the age of 22, well it’s simple they don’t see how they can earn money from playing in Egypt without traveling and blah blah blah. You can earn money in men’s tennis by separating it from the juniors. There should definitely be more men’s tournaments than juniors, not the opposite, and with money included, which will raise the level of competition and players will play for longer like in France and Italy and Germany. It’s like a job, maybe better than a regular one because u will do what u like and earn good money for it. The prize money in tournaments has been the same since 10 years can u believe that? 3500 Egyptian pounds which is 600$ for the winner for the last ten years if the tournament is full, it’s a joke. Well if u play 3 tournaments a month or more and win 600$ each week then it’s ok and for one year then it’s worth it, but there are like 4 or 5 tournaments a year for that, it takes 2 to 3 weeks to finish a tournament consisting of juniors starting from under 10( I don’t know even why do they make tournaments for this age) until men’s. So as I said club matches should be a tournament on its own with its own prize money for men weather it’s for one week or 5 consecutive weeks. There should be more prize money tournaments, trust me, the players when they find that they earn money from competing they will continue and always try to improve. In France there are so many good players who play money tournaments and their level is even better than a top 400 guy, most of them don’t have even an ATP point but it’s a worthy job. If we take a step towards this Idea, I think that there will be more players continuing to play for a longer period of time not just finish college then quit, and even better coaches in the future because they have played the game.
I finished playing the last two Futures of the year held at Solaymaniah city. I reached quarter final in the first week and won the second week. I am really happy that i won the second week which was 15000 $ Future. It was tough playing there because of the courts, lots of bad bounces so it was not easy to control the match. Every match was a challenge for me, i had to play against the court (bad bounces) the other player and my mind. Playing in these kind of situations makes u tougher and tougher. In my semi final, i won 76 76, i was serving 54 first set and 53 second set. In the final i won 76 67 64 it was very tight because i was playing against a big server so it was very difficult to break or return his serve so all the pressure was on me how to hold my serve, playing against big servers is really annoying because usually u can’t rally with them, u just have to focus on holding serve and trying to get mistakes on his serve, i got my first and only break with a double fault
I am preparing my self now for the African Cup Of Nations that will be held at Smash Academy starting the 9th of Nov. We’ll play singles, doubles and teams competitions; I’m looking forward to winning that competition for my self and for Egypt so good luck for me and our Egyptian team.
Hi everybody, it’s been a while… I just finished with my tour in Romania and Bosnia. It wasn’t so successful for me but it’s always good to gain experience and learn from every match, no matter the outcome. In the Romanian Challenger i passed quali and lost first round in the main draw, it was a match that i should have won but just couldn’t finish it off. In the Bosnian Challenger i was first out from the main draw so i had to play quali again, lost in the first round against a good player in around 3 hours 7/5 in the third, another match that i should have won but just could’nt win the big points. I was first out in doubles too so i had to wait 10 days to play the next match in the Bosnian Future. Not playing matches for 10 days gets u out of the mood of competition especially if u are hanging around the tournament’s site and not competing. Of course i practiced and played alot but playing matches is totally different. Finally, i played the Future and lost second round, another tough match that i couldn’t pass . Playing in Europe is really different especially after playing in Egypt on our so called “clay court”. It’s funny coz playing in a rainy place on real clay and with heavy balls makes a difference in my game. It’s not an excuse but i need to adapt more to it or change my game a bit because under pressure and on these courts i become more defensive which doesn’t help me alot.:) Anyway i will start preparing for the next 2 Futures that will start on the 12th of October in Cairo then the African Cup that will start in November.
I’ve been playing tennis in Egypt for almost 20 years now, I practiced with several coaches and I witnessed the administration of 5 tennis federations. I was there when there were no international tournaments at all to play in Egypt for several years, when you had to travel all year round in order to participate in Futures, and when finally Satellites and Futures started to be played, including Cairo Open held in Gezira Club 7 years ago and the most recent years tournaments. Years passed by and still we don’t have any player in the top 100 or even 200 except for the ones who did it in the 70’s. Of course people here in Egypt start wondering why we don’t have top tennis players like in other countries.. well it’s easy to ask the question but creating such kind of top players is not that easy, especially in a game like tennis that is growing year by year and getting more and more competitive; not to mention the large amounts of money that it absorbs. We had so many good juniors over the last 15 years but as soon as they pass the junior stage it’s over. In juniors we always have a player that is in the top 50 and even top 20 but what happens when they enter the men’s circuit?! Everything changes. It’s a big difference between men’s circuit and juniors.
So what are the main reasons that prevent us from reaching a high ranking? I think sponsors and education and the system of training are the main reasons. To be a top player you need to have a sponsor who can support you financially. Sponsors don’t have to be individuals, I am talking about big companies for which sponsoring someone wouldn’t make a big difference in cost, and it would be a fraction of what they are spending on publicity. As a player you need money for equipments, traveling and for your traveling coach if you have one, tennis is very expensive in that, you need to play around 25-30 weeks of Futures and Challengers a year to really evaluate yourself and to reach a decent ranking. Imagine all the countries you have to travel to in order to achieve that, not to count the expenses of training at a high level, which is not available in Egypt until now because of the lack of experienced coaches. So how can we reach a top ranking if we don’t even play half of these tournaments and even if we do, the money you get from winning is not enough to cover the other expenses. Countries like Spain, France, Italy and America have so many tournaments that the players there don’t need to travel outside to play, a country like Italy or the States has around 30 futures and 15 or 20 Challengers and ATP series; imagine the intensity of competition they have and the number of players who compete… well it’s nearly impossible not to have top ranked players after all that!
Education is another problem; we are not a sport oriented country; what I mean is that people consider sports as a hobby not as a profession. When you are in school or university the teachers and the system don’t support an athlete because they think it’s a waste of time. Well not everybody has to be a doctor or an engineer, we have plenty. What we don’t have is a champion in tennis or in most of the other sports.
The transition from juniors to seniors is delayed because of the university period; it starts from the age of 17 to 22, the peak of any athlete actually. It doesn’t mean that if he/she doesn’t reach the best during this period then it’s over, on the contrary, a lot of players mature after that age and reach their peak around 26- 27 but at least they started early enough to be able to reach top form at that age. What happens here is that most of our players quit during university or travel to the States to continue their studies, play college tennis over there then come back to Egypt and quit tennis to pursue the carrier they studied for. You don’t have to quit studying in order to become a tennis professional (provided that this is your dream!) You can very well do both. Studying at the appropriate age while working on becoming a tennis champ can and should go hand in hand, and once you’re done studying you’re free to choose any of the two carrier paths.
Finally the training system in the country… qualified coaches are few and most of the coaches and trainers that we have never competed on a high level or even intermediate level. It’s very hard to teach someone something (especially in sport) if you never felt it or experienced it. I am not only talking about tennis trainers and coaches but fitness trainers as well. Hopefully my generation and the future one will be a new start for a better training system and coaching for the young ones.
I think that if the above three aspects are achieved we might have a chance of having a top 100 or even top 50 player in the future.
