30th November - It's all about Charity
Greg is playing Boris Becker tonight in an exhibition match to raise funds for the devastated town of Omagh. The 16 ballkids for the match have been flown in this afternoon from either side of the border. All money raised from the event will go to the town.
30th November - Greg to finish year at 9
Greg will finish the 1998 season at ninth in the rankings having collected an amazing 912,000 prize money. A remarkable achievment considering he missed 2/3 months at the time of year when he would normally profit most.
28th November - Costa fails in his bid
As predicted Costa failed to beat Corretja and therefore Greg failed to make the semi finals. Greg can take some solace in his return to the top 10 and his 2 from 2 record at the Masters this year. In the end those 33 points he failed to get to make the grade initially proved all the more expensive..
27th November - Battle of Britain over (without too much battle)
In a very one sided affair Greg crushed Tim Henman this afternoon. Greg played better than yesterday but the result was dictated by a lacklustre Henman. It almost posed the question "Just how friendly are these two...?"
Tim's mind certainly appeared to be more focused on his semi-final with Moya tomorrow. Greg could still play Sampras in the other semi, although the ball is still in Corretja's court who only needs to beat Costa to get there.
On the plus side Greg will definitely finish the year in the top 10. Meanwhile if your're listening Costa the whole of Britain is with you...
26th November - GB 2 Spain 0
Greg scraped past 2nd reserve Albert Costa this afternoon in a nervy affair between the two alternates, a consequence of Rios pulling out at the last minute. It took Greg 10 set points to claim the first set before he settled down a bit in the second. Final score 7-6 6-1.
Currently in three matches the Brits are unbeaten, but that will all change tomorrow as Greg takes on Tim. Henman has already qualified for the semis. Whoever does the better of Corretja and Greg tomorrow will join him. Should they both win or lose then Greg will fall out as a consequence of being the alternate.
The results we need therefore for both Greg and Tim to move on, is for Greg to beat Tim and Costa to beat Corretja. Somewhat unlikely considering Costa has never won a match indoors. All is not lost for Greg though $110,000 and a place in the top 10 would still be a good reward for hammering Tim!!!!
26th November - Sing and be Happy
Finally the news we've been waiting for all week, Agassi has retired from the tournament, and Greg has been handed the chance to play in his two remaining group games. Qualifying will be tough but not impossible - Greg takes on Andres record of having lost to Corretja in three sets. Greg starts today against Rios. Let's hope he can follow Tim's example...
25th November - Greg to get his Chance, probably
Although Agassi recovered sufficiently to take part in his first match against Alex Corretja he was forced to retire hurt. With the tournament requiring him to play again tomorrow and Friday, surely he will retire from the whole event and hand his place to Greg. Greg would be left with a tough job to qualify, but Agassi did win a set in this first match - so that would be in Greg's favour.
25th November - TV Appearance
we beleive Greg will be appearing alongside Tim Henman on ON-side on the BBC next Monday evening. Meanwhile Greg waits patiently in Hanover for either Rios or Agassi to pull out injured.
23rd November - Agassi to Withdraw?
Apparently Andre Agassi is suffering from a back spasm and so might be forced to withdraw from this weeks world championships. This would mean Greg could replace him in the 8 man field. The competition is divided into two groups where every one plays every other group member.
The two groups are:
Red Group: Sampras, Moya, Kucera, Kafelnikov.
White Group: Rios, Henman, Corretja, Agassi.
More news from Hanover if and when Greg plays - we may still get a Tim vs Greg showdown before the year ends.
19th November - Pics and Quotes On-line
We went along to the press launch for the Davis Cup tie in Birmingham, read all about it on my Davis Cup site. Follow the headline link...
18th November - LTA Launch Tomorrow
Tomorrow, Thursday, sees the launch of the Davis Cup tie between GB and USA. Representatives from Grgemagic, Henmagic and this website will be in Birmingham to see the LTA present to the press the details of the biggest team tennis event in this country for many years.
Hopefully by tomorrow tonight a report and pictures will be on-line. Catch th e news hear first! Meanwhile plans to create the biggest Official Support team f or GB are reaching fever pitch - if you haven't already seen the plans, see the davis cup site.
15th November - Weighing up the Alternatives
Despite encouragement from most of Great Britain Goran Ivanisevic failed to beat Kafelnikov this afternoon - meaning the Russian grabbed the last automatic place on the plane to Hanover. Greg will be offered the chance to be 1st Alternative/Reserve. Too often in the past though this has meant little to players in the same situation. You either qualify by right, or being there doesn't feel proper. We will have to wait and see whether Greg goes with it or maybe feels that now is a good time to wave goodbye to the 1998 season....
15th November - Clarification
The people that understand the points on offer this week say the following. If Yevgeny wins today (against Goran) then he goes to Hanover. If Goran wins then Greg goes automatically. Simple isn't it ....!?!?! Come on Goran....
14th November - Greg Out of Stockholm (& Hanover?)
Greg lost in two tight sets today to the home favourite Thomas Johansson. It looks likely that this will put him in 10th position at the year end rankings. This would mean someone else (as well as Rafter) would have to pull out of Hanover for him to qualify. Rumours suggest that Sampras might just do so now his No.1 slot is secure.
Kafelnikov plays Ivanisevic in the final at Moscow tomorrow. Yevgeny has probably done enough to secure his place at Hanover. Should Ivanisevic beat him and take a surge up the rankings - this will be largely irrelevant since Goran has decided not to compete in the World Championships. More news when things sort themselves out .. eg when everyone has done the calculations after the final on Sunday.
13th November - Davis Cup Ticket Prices
We have now been informed of the cost of tickets for the Davis Cup tie next April ... click the headline link.
13th November - Greg beats Nestor ... just
In his closest match for a while Greg edged past Canadian star Daniel Nestor in Three close sets. He did though pick up a slight back injury in the first set, but this wasn't enough to stop him playing through to victory. In tomorrows semi-final he faces Stoltenburg or Johansson. The race to Hanover is still on...
12th November - Spadea latest on Greg's list
Greg once again looked focused and sharp as he brushed aside Vince Spadea of the
United States. Looking composed throughout the first set and a half he slowed up a bit
towards the end of the two set match - but the result was never in doubt. In tomorrow's
quarter final he plays ex-compatriot Daniel Nestor .
11th November - Davis Cup to take place at NIA
The LTA have announce that the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham will host GB vs USA in April next year as the Davis Cup takes Britain by storm. To read more about the venue and what is going click the headline link.
11th November - Greg has no Haas-le
Greg continued his stunning form - cruising past Tommy Haas in two quick sets, in the second round he plays Vince Spadea - I imagine that this will be tomorrow.
9th November - Greg and Tim favourites
Unless Kafelnikov wins in Moscow this week it appears that Greg and Tim will both be on the plane to Hannover in a weeks time. Sound performances for both of them at this weeks event in Stockholm should also secure it.
8th November - Celebrate
Greg won his first tour title since Antwerp in February today, by beating Pete Sampras the worlds best player in three comfortable sets. The Paris win is the biggest in his career and the biggest tournament to be bought home to Britain for many years.
Greg took the first set but then went down a break in the second, and the match looked delicately poised. But then Greg never looked back, regaining the break, taking a tiebreak and then cruising through the third set. The match was over in under two hours and Greg served out using his 18th ace of the match.
This means he is more than in with a shout of competing at Hannover, more news of that though tomorrow when the rankings list is produced. He plays next week in Stockholm in his last opportunity this year to collect ranking points.
This results also puts an interesting slant on GB's Davis Cup tie with USA next April. Popular opinion was that if Sampras turned out for the USA then we might have problems but this victory has put that on the back-burner, considering the tie will be played indoors on a similar surface. Follow the headline link to take a look at Great Britains bid for Davis Cup glory...
7th November - Greg squeezes into final
Greg squeezed past Kafelnikov and into his first tour final since losing to Jan Siemerink at the end of September in Toulouse. He plays Pete Sampras - a player he has never beaten before. The semi was won rather bizarrely in the third set by a break of serve early on when the umpire awarded a point to Greg afer Yevgeny had 'thrown a wobbly'!
1th November - Greg faces Tour Showdown
Greg faces his biggest match of the year today when he plays Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The winner will be best positioned to claim the end of year 9th ranking slot - Good enough to qualify for the end of Year World Championships in Hannover (Due to Rafters injury).
6th November - Three on the trot
For the third time this week Greg breezed past his opponent in straight sets, this time with a convincing 3 and 2 win over Gustaffson of Sweden. In the semi-final he plays Kafelnikov.
With Rafter pulling out of the World Championships it is possible that both Henman AND Greg can reach the year's premier tournament. In fact a win against the other main player in the race, Kafelnikov, would make a World ranking of 9th a real possibility. By the nature of the rankings system it is fair to say that no-one really knows.
5th November - Greg eases past Stoltenburg
Greg eased past Australian Jason Stoltenburg with a straight sets win. He was quoted afterwards as saying it was possibly his best display of serving indoors ever. Contrary to popular belief Greg is NOT out of the race for Hanover and the World Championships... think it was probably me that started that rumour anyway!!
As Greg himself put it "Tim is currently in 8th place but Kafelnikov and I are sneaking up and have half a chance..." or words to that effect anyway [Quote used with artistic license]. A few more wins this week in Paris would be a great start.
3rd November - Greg crushes Kiefer
Despite struggling with his serve Greg sailed into the thrid round of the Paris open this afternoon beating German star Nicholas Kiefer in straight sets. In the next round it's Stoltenburg or Moya.
2nd November - Come Join The Party!
My Davis Cup Site now carries information of how to support team GB in the best way possible at next year's Davis Cup tie against the States. If you believe supporting Davis Cup tennis is about more than polite applause then you may well be interested in joining with us to create the BIGGEST OFFICIAL SUPPORT GROUP in British Davis Cup History.
For the last year or so the Fanclubs - Gregmagic and Henmagic have been largely responsible for the atmosphere created at Davis Cup ties Home and Away. They appreciate though that as the level of Tennis steps up a gear then so must the support. That is why they are inviting the general public to join with them to make one large Support Group for Greg, Tim and the Boys. Click the headline link to read more about it...
Remember Peoples Sunday in 1997 - we are aiming to better it....