2009 World Tour Finals Blog

The official site for tennis star Mark Knowles!

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Day Five: November 26th, 2009

If there was ever a day to be thankful, today is the day. With the United States celebrating Thanksgiving today and Mark being married to an American, it was a tough day on the courts as Mark could not be in two places at once. Dawn flew home this morning to help out her family with the meal, as her parents, along with her three brothers, twin Brent, Scott, and Todd, (and their families), had been spending time with Graham and Brody.

Still, Mark and Mahesh knew what was on the table today … a chance to go 3-0 in their round robin group. They had already clinched the #1 seed in their group by virtue of Tuesday’s results, but with their highly competitive spirits, they did all they could to try and win.

Copyright © 2009 Matt Fitzgerald

Copyright © 2009 Matt Fitzgerald

Their opponents were the number one seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. These two were knocked out of contention for a semifinal berth on Tuesday, so they had nothing to lose in this match. Zimonjic served unbelievable and there were quite a few short lived points. One point determined the outcome of the first set, as Nestor/Zimonjic were able to break Mahesh’s serve on a deciding point at 2-2. Knowlzee and Hesh had an opening when ZImonjic was serving for the set at 5-4, getting to 0-30, which was highlighted by a crushing forehand return by Mark on the first point and a phenomenal backhand lob winner by Mahesh at 0-15. However, Zimonjic continued to hit powerful serves that seemed untouchable, and he and Nestor closed the set out.

It was equally as competitive in the second set, though Mark/Hesh had a few chances to break on Nestor’s serve. Again, some well placed serves helped bail out Nestor/Zimonjic. The best point of the match was at 3-2. All four players were involved at the net and both teams were pushed around the sides of the court. Eventually, Zimonjic cut an angle that forced Mark completely off the court. It looked like Nesti/Zimmy were going to take it but Daniel missed an open court volley. The conclusion of the point was followed by a roaring crowd, as they respected the efforts of all four players.

The set eventually went into a tiebreaker. Hesh made a beautifully reaching backhand volley to help win the opening point. At 1-1, Mark hit a fantastic backhand inside out return winner to give him and Mahesh the early minibreak. They gained even more momentum at 4-2, when Mark returned a 129mph serve down the ‘T’ that caused Zimonjic to move to the back of the court, where he eventually missed an overhead. Things looked like they were clicking in our favor, when at 6-2, it all stopped. Credit to the opponents for hitting some clutch serves to get back in the tiebreaker. It went back and forth, with both teams having set points until 9-10, when Nestor/Zimonjic were able to get the victory.

Mark was disappointed after the match. “It was unfortunate. We were up 6-2 serving. Didn’t close it out there. We also had it on our serve at 6-5. I hit a good first serve, but they hit a good return as well. It’s rare that is happens where you can’t close it out. The tiebreaker had a lot of good points.”

As mentioned earlier, Mark and Mahesh were already into the semifinals prior to this match being played. Knowlzee is eager to play the next stage of the tournament. “I’m pretty excited. To win our group is fantastic and I’m pleased to move onto the semifinals. It’s like a new tournament is starting on Saturday. We need to carry our confidence into Saturday’s match if we want to have a chance of getting into the final. All the teams here are great.”

Mark met up with his aunt Diana, his coach Scott and Scott’s mother Elaine for lunch, where he had two types of pasta and a chicken breast. With it being Thanksgiving, the group wanted to find a place for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Being in a country that doesn’t celebrate the holiday, it was tough to get a booking, but with the help of the concierge Frasier earlier in the week, they were able to sort out a suitable place. Mark said at lunch that “A group of us are going to try and have a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Unfortunately, my wife left today. She’s going to have a real Thanksgiving with our kids and her family. Obviously I wish I could be there but I have a job as a tennis player and that’s to try and win every match I can!”

Everyone needed to go back to the hotel to get ready, so Mark and his entourage departed the venue around 3:30pm. It was sad to see everyone leave, but I really enjoyed my time with him, Dawn, Scott, his mother, and everyone else I met on the trip. I may be a bit biased, but I definitely think Mark and Mahesh are going all the way at this tournament – they have all the goods … just need to stay positive and keep serving well!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the states who’s been following us this week! The tennis channel will be airing the semifinal on Saturday, so look out for Mark and Mahesh. We’ll do our best to get some quotes from Mark on Saturday up on the site whenever time permits to do so. As for the fans in Great Britain, keep cheering loud and proud for the M&Ms! J

Later,

-Webmaster

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Day Three: November 24th, 2009

If there was an MVP award for today’s match, it would for sure be awarded to Mark. He had a stellar day on his serve and played some fantastic volleys to help push himself and Mahesh to a 2-0 record in Group A. The two really rose to the occasion today. Playing in front of another packed crowd, they were part of the most exciting doubles match thus far at the World Tour Finals.

Their opponents, Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, otherwise known as “The Poles”, went on a torrid start on their serves, hitting between 80-90% in the first set. Mahesh struggled early on to find his first serve and the Poles took advantage by breaking him in the sixth game of the first set, and ultimately went on to earn that set 6-3.

The second set was a different story. After a strong hold on Mahesh’s opening service game to start the set, Mark and Hesh really started to increase in confidence. When Fyrstenberg double faulted on the first point of the fourth game, Knowlzee and Hesh pounced like tigers and took full advantage. Mark felt that they earned the momentum when “Fyrstenberg/Matkowski started to miss first serves. It gave us a chance to look at some second serves and we capitalized.” Some brilliant returns and quick hands propelled them to a break of serve and they continued to play extremely well, taking the second set 6-3.

The momentum Mark and Mahesh had carried on through the first part of the champion’s tiebreaker, as they came out of the floodgates and built a 5-0 lead. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski never gave up and made it close, but Mark/Hesh closed it out and earned the victory 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. As for Mark’s thoughts on the CTB, he felt “we played really well to start. Served great to say in the breaker. At 4-0, I made a tough reaching backhand volley to get to 5-0. They still hung tough. Our experience and execution helped us close it out.”

Dawn felt Mark played a fabulous match, stating that “he was like Derek Jeter today – Mr. Clutch!”

After going to the presser, getting showered and being stretched, it was time for a well deserved lunch. Justin Gimelstob stopped by to congratulate Mark, and Dawn asked him if he taught Mark the dance moves Mark did on the court. In jest, he responded with, "I don't dance. I'm Jewish!" After eating, Mark logged onto the computer in the lounge to update his Facebook Fan Page.

Around 3:30pm, it was time to catch the ferry back to the hotel – while Mark and Mahesh are sitting in a great position, their semifinal slot isn’t guaranteed, and so they aren’t taking anything for granted. The ride from the O2 to County Hall is a short 20 minutes and it’s something the player’s enjoy as it’s not a mode of transportation they take often at tournaments, though Mark has several years of experience on boats with his keen interests in fishing and diving!

It wasn’t raining, so we decided to take some ‘touristy’ photos after departing from the ferry. It was quite breezy, hence the messy hair! Walking up the terminal, we passed by Andy Murray and Co. and Mark quickly caught up with Alex Corretja.

The London Eye is right next to the player’s hotel, so it was a no brainer in trying to get some photos of both Mark and Dawn near it. After shooting several different angles, we finally got the shot we wanted. By this time it was after 4:30 pm and it was time to head back.

Copyright © 2009 Matt Fitzgerald

Mark will practice tomorrow on site sometime before noon, so if you’re going to the event, why not stop by and congratulate him and Mahesh on their successes thus far. They certainly enjoy the fan support! J

-Webmaster
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Day Two: November 23rd, 2009

Today’s blog is a brief chapter.

Mark’s schedule was much lighter today, but there was still work to be done. Today’s schedule consisted of a morning practice, followed by a massage and then lunch. The focus of today in practice was working on returns. Mark had positive sentiments about the practice court. “The practice court is nice. It’s good for fans to be able to watch up close with the stadium being so big. It plays a little different than centre court but it’s sufficient.”

His afternoon and evening will be based around relaxation. He’s determined to win tomorrow knowing what the implications of a win would do. “It’s an important match. Whoever wins has a good chance of advancing. We’re both undefeated so it’s definitely a match to look forward to. We’ve played them twice this year and won, so we hope to be successful again. It will be tough as they are a great indoor team.”

-Webmaster
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Day One: November 22nd, 2009

The life of a professional tennis player is an alternate reality that not many experience. On the one hand, there’s the luxury of the player’s lounge. From the tables of food and unlimited beverages to the comfortable sofas for relaxing, everything about the place exudes exclusivity. Add in the diffusion of world class players like Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray sitting at the tables and you’ve got a utopia for the avid tennis fan.

It looks like ‘the life’ – then you find out the typical daily schedule for a player like Mark and the thoughts transform from luxury to grueling.

Here’s what Mark’s schedule for today consisted of:

Morning

- Wake up and shower

- Breakfast

- Talk to his children on the computer

- Gym session

Afternoon

- Lunch at Subway

- Boat ride on the Clipper to the O2

- Wait around for the Murray/Del Potro match to finish

- Quick up for match

- Small bite to eat

Evening

- Gym session to loosen up

- Bike ride and stretching

- The match

- Post match interviews

- Shower

- Stretching session

- Finally, dinner with guests

With all the tedious requirements a player has to fulfill each day, it’s no wonder players cannot wait to step out onto the court. Mark was excited about the atmosphere inside the O2. He exclaimed that, “it was the best crowd I’ve ever seen. I looked to the first level and saw all the fans sitting and thought, this is a decent crowd and assumed the top was empty. Then I glanced up and saw how full it was and it really hit me at how many tennis fans were packed inside. It was a fantastic atmosphere to play under and I liked the lights.”

The Match

The first round robin match was fairly routine – Mark/Mahesh had never played Cermak/Mertinak before so they didn’t know exactly how things would turn out. It couldn’t have gone better. They earned a break of serve in the middle of the first set and never looked back.

The most exciting point of the match occurred on a deciding point on Mertinak’s serve with Mark/Mahesh leading 6-3, 3-1 in the second set. “It was an awesome point. Made a good return and they had some great volleys. We played a couple of solid reflexes. Then I hit a backhand lob for a winner to give us a second break. It was pretty huge.” The thrilling point resulted in Mark and Mahesh jumping up for a chest bump.

They finished their opponents off without a waiver, winning the match with a final score of 6-3, 6-3. Mark stated after the match to his wife Dawn that “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

After the Match

It took Mark a while to get back upstairs. After having a routine stretch, he joined Dawn for dinner. On tap for tonight was a chicken breast with rice and grilled vegetables. While they were eating, a few familiar faces emerged.

Mark was checking NFL scores on his phone when Justin Gimelstob came over to inform Mark about a scoring result he would not like. Both attended UCLA and are loyal to their athletic programs, so Mark was surprised to hear that UCLA’s men’s basketball program was upset by Cal State Fullerton in Double-Overtime!

Not long after, recently retired Swedish Grand Slam Champions Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson sat down for a chat with both Mark and Dawn. The conversation ranged from real estate developments to swapping memorable stories about their children. At one point, Mark described his youngest son Brody as “the real Bam Bam from the Flintstones.” The banter lasted roughly twenty minutes and then it was time for everyone to go their separate ways.

We hope you enjoyed this first blog and plan on writing another installment after Mark’s next match.

-Webmaster