argentinian players argentinian players dont u think that in this newsgroup ignore argentinian players and claycourters in general? > dont u think that in this newsgroup ignore argentinian players and > claycourters in general? They do not get ignored. They are openly hated! ;) Seriously talking. This newsgroup contains a lot of different posters who have different views to the tennis. Some of them concentrate on women's tennis only, someones only slams, someones only bluechips, someones only lendls, samprares, agassis, grafs, seleses.... There have not been (so far) any deep knowledge of South American tennis in general. Rios and Guga of course get some discussions but so far there have not been any regular poster who had been openly pro-Argentinian (or pro-South American). Claycourt tennis always gives mixed feelings. It is probably the greatest surface to play but on top level it has produced too many not-so-respected-by-the-media champions during the last decades. BTW. I like Nalbandian a lot.

.mikko > dont u think that in this newsgroup ignore argentinian players and > claycourters in general? They get less attention, yes. To be fair, clay courts are only, what, a third of the Tour? As to the Argentinian aspect... Gaudio got a bit of time last year, but he, and Argentinian players overall, have been doing less well this year. And they don't seem to cross over to hard courts as much, or as well as, Spanish players, so they get much less exposure. 15 Apr 2005 20:21:02 > dont u think that in this newsgroup ignore argentinian players Not if they accomplish something worth of note. Gaudio would have been ignored if it weren't for his RG win. Coria is always mentioned when the claycourt season come around. Nalbandian was noticed more when he was Federer's "nemesis" and even now he usually gets mentioned, when it comes to discussing FO favourites. Others haven't achieved that much and their showings haven't really been noteworthy, perhaps.

Also, how many Argentines (who would probably know argentine players best) post on the group? But even then, there are quite a few regular posters from the UK (e.g. Groundaxe, though he's perhaps not the best example). This doesn't result in Henman, Rusedsky or Perry being topics of most regular/intense discussion. Did You just see the lull in rst activity during the key points of the *clay* *court* match between Fed and Gasquet? I did... 15 Apr 2005 11:27:05 but argentinian players, represents 30% of the top 10 players right now and more of the 10% of the top 100. and the made to second week in all the GS in the last 3 o 4 years. I am from argentina and just courius on how tennis fans look the awesome time that our tennis is having.

15 Apr 2005 20:56:34 > but argentinian players, represents 30% of the top 10 players right now > and more of the 10% of the top 100. > and the made to second week in all the GS in the last 3 o 4 years. You have a point there. However, I'll stick to the (subjective) view that what they display does not captivate tennis fans' imaginations as much as what the likes of Tevez and Cavenaghi do, even though these footballers do not perform abroad as often as the tennis players. > > I am from argentina and just courius on how tennis fans look the > awesome time that our tennis is having. It'd be great if You would bring us up to date on argentine tennis, but... prepare for a bashing, sometimes. 15 Apr 2005 15:29:07 > but argentinian players, represents 30% of the top 10 players right now > and more of the 10% of the top 100.

> and the made to second week in all the GS in the last 3 o 4 years. > > I am from argentina and just courius on how tennis fans look the > awesome time that our tennis is having. Several things will make people appreciate Argentinian tennis more: 1. If Argentina win the Davis Cup (I think they have an excellent chance this year). 2. An Argentine player wins more than one grand-slam. 3. An Argentine player becomes world number one. Coria and Nalbandian are still young, but they need to deliver their promise. Coria has been very dominant on clay but this won't count for much until he wins the French Open, and Nalbandian (who I'm a big fan of) is a great performer on all surfaces, but this doesn't mean much until he starts winning more tournaments, and get through to another slam final (he's a much improved player on when he got to Wimbledon final). >> but argentinian players, represents 30% of the top 10 players right > now >> and more of the 10% of the top 100.

>> and the made to second week in all the GS in the last 3 o 4 years. >> >> I am from argentina and just courius on how tennis fans look the >> awesome time that our tennis is having. > > Several things will make people appreciate Argentinian tennis more: > > 1. If Argentina win the Davis Cup (I think they have an excellent > chance this year). > 2. An Argentine player wins more than one grand-slam. > > 3. An Argentine player becomes world number one. > > Coria and Nalbandian are still young, but they need to deliver their > promise. Coria has been very dominant on clay but this won't count for > much until he wins the French Open, and Nalbandian (who I'm a big fan > of) is a great performer on all surfaces, but this doesn't mean much > until he starts winning more tournaments, and get through to another > slam final (he's a much improved player on when he got to Wimbledon > final). IMHO Coria is the last really great pure clay-court player, maybe even more talented than Guga in this respect.

There's something of a natural-born carefree virtuoso in the way he places his drop shots, something akin to the technical tricks of Ariel Ortega in football. I find this sort of thing nearly as appealing on clay as Mac's sv-ing (on any surface). Nalbandian, a more athletic type, as well as most Spaniards, have gone the all-court way and stress surface versatility more than Coria, whereas GC's game seems entirely adapted to red clay. I always enjoy watching him during the clay-court season and was really pissed off when he lost that RG final to cramps. Not that Gaudio hadn't played well in previous rounds... 16 Apr 2005 01:27:01 > dont u think that in this newsgroup ignore argentinian players and > claycourters in general? In general this group is heavily oriented towards the Anglo-Saxon brand of the game. On top of that, a number of obsessive loudmouths here still consider grass tennis at the pinnacle of the game. Of course in the real world 98% of players will never ever play on grass.

Grass tennis has become an obsolete oddity, tennis for the happy few, kept alive by the marketing machine of Wimbledon and the Anglo-Saxon media. It's a bit like Formula 1 where the media hype leads the undiscerning public to believe that it is the ultimate in car racing. Knowledgeable fans know that F1 drivers are not necessarily the best. On 15 Apr 2005 15:29:07 -0700, "Invisible" <the_invisible_man_@hotmail.com > wrote: >> but argentinian players, represents 30% of the top 10 players right >now >> and more of the 10% of the top 100. >> and the made to second week in all the GS in the last 3 o 4 years. >> >> I am from argentina and just courius on how tennis fans look the >> awesome time that our tennis is having. > >Several things will make people appreciate Argentinian tennis more: > >1. If Argentina win the Davis Cup (I think they have an excellent >chance this year). Argentina beating Australia on grass..... unlikely, I feel. >2.

An Argentine player wins more than one grand-slam. Unlikely this year, I think. I can see the FO being won by an Argentine, but not Wimbledon or the USO. >3. An Argentine player becomes world number one. Can't see this happening either, really. Coria is still struggling to improve off clay, and whilst Nalbandian has had better results on HC and grass, he's still got a long way to go. Gaudio on HC is appalling. >Coria and Nalbandian are still young, but they need to deliver their >promise. Coria has been very dominant on clay but this won't count for >much until he wins the French Open, and Nalbandian (who I'm a big fan >of) is a great performer on all surfaces, but this doesn't mean much >until he starts winning more tournaments, and get through to another >slam final (he's a much improved player on when he got to Wimbledon >final). > >1. If Argentina win the Davis Cup (I think they have an excellent > >chance this year). > Argentina beating Australia on grass..... unlikely, I feel.

True, Argentina beating Australia on grass is unusual, but do they have to play them on grass? (My apologies if next round of Davis Cup has been drawn already, but I'd not heard anything about it). If Argentina were to play Australia would it be a home fixture for Australia then? Also, if Argentina aren't playing Australia in next match, there's a chance that the likes of Russia, France or Slovakia could beat Australia - so I maintain that Argentina do have good chance at Davis Cup this year. > In general this group is heavily oriented towards the Anglo-Saxon brand of > the game. On top of that, a number of obsessive loudmouths here still > consider grass tennis at the pinnacle of the game. Of course in the real > world 98% of players will never ever play on grass. Grass tennis has > become an obsolete oddity, tennis for the happy few, kept alive by the > marketing machine of Wimbledon and the Anglo-Saxon media. more people watch W worldwide than any other tournament because of the tournament's history and interesting style of play..not because u.s. media pushes it, because u.s. media pushes USO but more americans STILL prefer wimbledon..

don't be sour about it because you personally prefer clay and hate the W champions.. I'm not sour. As the self proclaimed "most objective" poster on this group you should realize that I don't "prefer" clay (just go and try to find a quote where I say so..). What I vehemently object to is the loudmouths proclaiming that one surface is "inferior" to another, and apparently do so mainly because their favourite player fails or failed to win major titles on it. (e.g. Whisper about Sampras's FO failures, Raja about Lendl's W shortcomings) Neither do I hate Wimbledon. But it has become quaint and more than a little artificial. Wimbledon is to tennis what Monaco is to Grand Prix Racing and Paris-Roubaix to professional cycling. It's obsolete. If only rationality were involved and not "history", "prestige", the marketing dollars and the fact that it's staged in England (not in the US or Australia where the "superior" grass slams were abandoned long ago), it would have ceased to exist as such 10 or 15 years ago. To name Wimbledon, in this day and age, as the ultimate test of tennis is simply false.

What it tests is the ability and skills to play on grass. An ability that has become a lot less relevant these days. Is there a single rational and objective reason to be found to call these grass skills "superior". 16 Apr 2005 11:35:04 Grass court tennis fills some people's needs and obsessions for power and instant gratification (in this case, quick points). Why do you think the home run is so popular in baseball? Of course the home run is an important part of the game and is fun to watch. But IMO, real baseball fans would also like the walk, SB, move the runner over to 3rd, and score on the sac fly - the manufactured run(s). But the average fan yawns and finds this boring...they need to see home runs (instant gratification and power obsession). Winning on clay is all about patience and point construction/manufacturing, not unlike the walk-SB-sacfly in baseball. The "home run" (power-serving, ace boming) is not as relevant. If fans find the "run manufacturing" part of baseball boring, of course they will have no interest in clay court tennis. It fits their mentality perfectly.

> the technical tricks of Ariel Ortega in football. I find this sort of thing I despair in assessing the damage that Ariel Ortega has done to argentinean futbol (my favorite of all the world). He's best suited for a circus so he can do tricks for the audience, but he slows down the team play... Luckily right now there are people who play better team-oriented futbol, like Riquelme or Aimar, who can correct the damage that can be done to youn impressionable kids growing up to be the next futbol circus freak like Ortega instead of being a real player :D -- Ingeniero Civil en Computacion - Universidad de Chile 16 Apr 2005 13:38:21 F1 is still better and more difficult than the NASCAR league, though, IMO. ASSCAR is simply going around in the same oval all day long. No real emphasis on cornering or braking. Speaking of race car driving, Schumacher is pretty dominant, right? Since people seem to have loose criteria for what makes a great athlete, I suppose he's as great & dominant as it gets. Golfers, race-car drivers, horse jockeys, bowlers = great athletes?

omg, that's so ridiculous to me. Getting back on topic, the anglo/american/uk/aussie world will become more irrelevant as time goes. All they basically have and can be proud of is money (particularly the US). And for as proudly as the whites in middle america wave their flags, they aren't even the ones that control the money or have the real power. But these 3 can continue to remain isolated, and let's see how far that gets them in the long-run. With the rising E.U., China, and even players like India; and the continued racist, oil-hogging attacks on the muslim world (who should unite and become 1 billion strong instead of existing as factions), their time in the sun is coming to an end. Tennis is only a sport, of course. But thinking that Wimbledon is the only important Slam (dissing the RG) is part of the overall arrogant, isolated, myopic mentality that they have in all areas of life that will lead to their downfall. 17 Apr 2005 06:54:49 > I'm not sour.

As the self proclaimed "most objective" poster on this > group you should realize that I don't "prefer" clay (just go and try to > find a quote where I say so..). What I vehemently object to is the > loudmouths proclaiming that one surface is "inferior" to another, and > apparently do so mainly because their favourite player fails or failed > to win major titles on it. (e.g. Whisper about Sampras's FO failures, > Raja about Lendl's W shortcomings) > Neither do I hate Wimbledon. But it has become quaint and more than a > little artificial. Wimbledon is to tennis what Monaco is to Grand Prix > Racing and Paris-Roubaix to professional cycling. It's obsolete. If only > rationality were involved and not "history", "prestige", the marketing > dollars and the fact that it's staged in England (not in the US or > Australia where the "superior" grass slams were abandoned long ago), it > would have ceased to exist as such 10 or 15 years ago. To name > Wimbledon, in this day and age, as the ultimate test of tennis is simply > false.

What it tests is the ability and skills to play on grass. An > ability that has become a lot less relevant these days. Is there a > single rational and objective reason to be found to call these grass > skills "superior". Yes. The bumrooter can run down amazingly skilled shots from his amazingly skilled opponent simply because of the slow surface - it's a handicap event rather than testing anything more than stamina & ability to roll another groundie over the net. That is how FO's are won - they aren't - they are lost due to erros & physical exhaustion. On grass you see plenty of winners - baseline, serves & volleys. Clay is a paradise for the mediocr. His thought process during a match with a bi champion is along the lines; -"Yikes, big serve - wait, if I run fast I can run this down & roll it back." -"Oh oh, amazing cross court volley. wait, if I run fast I can run this down & roll it back." - "Oh, how cam hit such a delicate drop shot. wait, if I run fast I can run this down & roll it back." Wake me after I've come back from the gym & had a nap.

17 Apr 2005 06:55:46 > Grass court tennis fills some people's needs and obsessions for power > and instant gratification (in this case, quick points). Why do you > think the home run is so popular in baseball? Of course the home run > is an important part of the game and is fun to watch. But IMO, real > baseball fans would also like the walk, SB, move the runner over to > 3rd, and score on the sac fly - the manufactured run(s). But the > average fan yawns and finds this boring...they need to see home runs > (instant gratification and power obsession). > > Winning on clay is all about patience and point > construction/manufacturing, not unlike the walk-SB-sacfly in baseball. > The "home run" (power-serving, ace boming) is not as relevant. If fans > find the "run manufacturing" part of baseball boring, of course they > will have no interest in clay court tennis. It fits their mentality > perfectly. >> the technical tricks of Ariel Ortega in football.

I find this sort of >> thing > I despair in assessing the damage that Ariel Ortega has done to > argentinean futbol How do You assess that? > (my favorite of all the world). Guess I share your feelings :) > He's best suited > for a circus so he can do tricks for the audience, but he slows down > the team play... His circus-tricks were exactly the reason why I brought him out here. He was really able to do amazing things on the pitch *and* when under pressure, at that. I really found it enjoyable, especially when not rooting for the side he was on. ;) As You justly pointed out, his team rarely profited from his superior technical abilities. He was duly punished for his attitude after the WC finals in France. Heck, the last time I saw him he was playing for some turkish side and trying desperately to return to the Los Milionarios.

> Luckily right now there are people who play better team-oriented futbol, > like Riquelme or Aimar, who can correct the damage that can be done to > youn impressionable kids growing up to be the next futbol circus freak > like Ortega instead of being a real player :D > Riquelme and Aimar are of course much better players since they understand the nature of the game a lot better. However, they do not have the same feel for the ball. "Mikko �mm�l�" <michaelb@deletethis.mail.suomi.net > wrote in message news:d3ospc$8fd$1@plaza.suomi.net... > There have not been (so far) any deep knowledge of South American tennis in > general. Rios and Guga of course get some discussions but so far there have > not been any regular poster who had been openly pro-Argentinian (or > pro-South American). Excuse me? Here's a post I made in May 2003.

I called it "The Magnificent Argentines": "Over the past year I've become a fan of the Argentine players, starting with Canas at last year's FO. In fact as a group they display the highest level of tennis skills, even more so than the Spaniards, and it's interesting to speculate on why they haven't achieved the results such talents deserve. They're still young of course, but with the exception of Canas (and possibly Zabaleta) they seem to lack grit sometimes when things aren't going to plan. But when they're going with the flow they are beautiful to watch. Starting with Gaudio: this guy is a tennis aesthete's dream. The closest thing to flawless groundstrokes technically and aesthetically I've seen and how he hasn't won something big is just a mystery. Perhaps he gets so wrapped up in HITTING the ball he forgets this is just a means to an end.......anyway in the meantime just watch him take that backhand topspin on the rise and get a momentary semblance of nirvana. Then Coria: not quite the technical beauty of Gaudio but a wonderful sense of the right shot to play, silkily quick movement, and great point construction.

Calleri: not as smooth as the previous two but a better serve (and remarkable kick on the second delivery) and tremendously forceful groundstrokes. Nalbandian; another great point-constructor and a very decisive player when he's on but looks ordinary when his game goes off - which it can do very quickly. And tremendous topspin off the forehand. Canas: great fighter and tremendous forehand and footspeed. Add the swashbuckling Zabaleta and you have a remarkable talent pool which just has to win a Slam sometime in the future." 17 Apr 2005 18:37:46 >> >1. If Argentina win the Davis Cup (I think they have an excellent >> >chance this year). >> Argentina beating Australia on grass..... unlikely, I feel. > >True, Argentina beating Australia on grass is unusual, but do they have >to play them on grass? (My apologies if next round of Davis Cup has >been drawn already, but I'd not heard anything about it). If Argentina >were to play Australia would it be a home fixture for Australia then?

>Also, if Argentina aren't playing Australia in next match, there's a >chance that the likes of Russia, France or Slovakia could beat >Australia - so I maintain that Argentina do have good chance at Davis >Cup this year. Yes, it's all arranged. A mobile grass court in Sydney, IIRC. -- ok, bitter is better word. > As the self proclaimed "most objective" poster on this group you should > realize that I don't "prefer" clay (just go and try to find a quote where > I say so..). What I vehemently object to is the loudmouths proclaiming > that one surface is "inferior" to another, and apparently do so mainly > because their favourite player fails or failed to win major titles on it. > (e.g. Whisper about Sampras's FO failures, Raja about Lendl's W > shortcomings) > Neither do I hate Wimbledon. But it has become quaint and more than a > little artificial. what is wrong with "quaint" in a world like we have? that's part of what makes it the best tournament.. > Wimbledon is to tennis what Monaco is to Grand Prix Racing and > Paris-Roubaix to professional cycling.

It's obsolete. hmm..would federer call it obsolete? is federer himself obsolete? if W is obsolete, how come yr 2005 federer, completely dominant player of today, has it as #1 priority for yr? > If only rationality were involved and not "history", "prestige", history and prestige are very important in professinal sports though (as important as anything in professional sports can be).. > the marketing dollars and the fact that it's staged in England (not in the > US or Australia where the "superior" grass slams were abandoned long ago), > it would have ceased to exist as such 10 or 15 years ago. so you don't hate W, you hate england? > To name Wimbledon, in this day and age, as the ultimate test of tennis is > simply false. What it tests is the ability and skills to play on grass. An > ability that has become a lot less relevant these days. Is there a single > rational and objective reason to be found to call these grass skills > "superior".

grass court tennis IMO requires more variety of skills, it helps you to serve well, volley well, hit overheads well, and groundstrokes too..that's only my opinion though.. the fact that FO champs of past 15 yrs have done NOTHING at USO or AO (HC favors no special "style") PROVES a lot though, no opinion necessary for that.. no wonder you like clay tennis, you're a baseball fan! bob "coop-a-loop" <coop21@sbcglobal.net > wrote in message news:1113676504.196302.61430@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com... > Grass court tennis fills some people's needs and obsessions for power > and instant gratification (in this case, quick points). Why do you > think the home run is so popular in baseball? Of course the home run > is an important part of the game and is fun to watch. But IMO, real > baseball fans would also like the walk, SB, move the runner over to > 3rd, and score on the sac fly - the manufactured run(s).

But the > average fan yawns and finds this boring...they need to see home runs > (instant gratification and power obsession). > > Winning on clay is all about patience and point > construction/manufacturing, not unlike the walk-SB-sacfly in baseball. > The "home run" (power-serving, ace boming) is not as relevant. If fans > find the "run manufacturing" part of baseball boring, of course they > will have no interest in clay court tennis. It fits their mentality > perfectly. > > As many as Stich, Krajicek and Cash won outside of their lone Wimbledon. > > thank you..you made my pt..stich/krajicek/cash are NOT considered > Wimbledon's great champs of past 15 yrs, sampras becker edberg are..but > bruguera/guga (heck, even muster) ARE considered FO's great champs.. Guga of course, Bruguera still won 2 + 1 final + 1sf. Muster gets more credit for his general dedication and work-a-holic approach (of which the FO title was a deserved prize for him). Muster definitely was no Costa/Gaudio.... > you must improve mikko.

:-) Of course I have to, as like everyone. So far my wisdom level has not passed the stupidity level some of you have...;) .mikko >> > As many as Stich, Krajicek and Cash won outside of their lone >> > Wimbledon. >> thank you..you made my pt..stich/krajicek/cash are NOT considered >> Wimbledon's great champs of past 15 yrs, sampras becker edberg are..but >> bruguera/guga (heck, even muster) ARE considered FO's great champs.. > > Guga of course, Bruguera still won 2 + 1 final + 1sf. Muster gets more > credit for his general dedication and work-a-holic approach (of which the > FO > title was a deserved prize for him). Muster definitely was no > Costa/Gaudio.... of course not..but you make my pt..those "great FO champs" of past 15 yrs won no other slam, i don't believe made another slam F... >> you must improve mikko. :-) > Of course I have to, as like everyone.

So far my wisdom level has not > passed > the stupidity level some of you have...;) hehe..did you read this post? you surpass right there! bob Sport in Argentina Sport in Argentina World Heritage Sites Pato is the national sport in Argentina. The practice of sports in Argentina is varied due to the population’s diverse European origins and the mostly mild climate. Association football is the most popular discipline and other sports played both professionally and recreatively athletics , auto racing , basketball , boxing , cycling , field hockey , fishing , golf , handball , mountaineering , padel tennis , polo , roller hockey , rowing , rugby union , sailing , skiing , swimming , tennis and volleyball . Argentine achievements can be found in team sports such as association football, basketball, field hockey and rugby union, and individual sports such as boxing, golf, tennis and rowing. Pato , the national sport, is not very popular. Argentina is one of the most important sport powers in the region, ending at the top of the medal count at the South American Games since 1978, with exceptions in 2002 and 2010.

In the all-time medal table of the Pan American Games , Argentina holds first place among South American countries and fourth place in the Americas, behind the United States , Canada and Cuba . Despite a relative lack of success at the Olympic level in more traditional sports like athletics, swimming, and gymnastics , Argentina has had successful participations in other sports like association football, basketball, field hockey, roller hockey, padel tennis, polo and rugby union. Contents 21 Books Football Argentina playing Uruguay in 1927 . The Clásico del Río de la Plata is one of the oldest derbies in the world. Football is the most popular sport in Argentina and part of the country’s culture. The sport is played by children during breaks at school and by grown-ups on the plenty of both indoor and outdoor fields located throughout the country. The national team has won the FIFA World Cup twice (in 1978 and 1986 ), successive Olympic gold medals (in 2004 and 2008 ), fourteen Copas América , one Confederations Cup and six World Youth Championships .

Argentine clubs have won the Copa Libertadores , the top continental competition, a record 22 times and the Intercontinental Cup or FIFA Club World Cup 8 times, a record shared with Brazilian clubs. The Argentine Primera División is the top level domestic competition. The country’s most famed football idol is Diego Maradona . Actually the most famous football player is Lionel Messi . Argentina’s fiercest rival is Brazil and their rivalry is sometimes known as the “ Battle of the South Americans “. They have played each other numerous times in the Copa América and the Confederations Cup, and their clubs have met several times in the Copa Libertadores finals. Argentina is one of the few national teams in association football that have beaten Brazil on a regular basis. Argentine and Brazilian national youth teams have also met at various tournaments. At the 2008 Summer Olympics , the under-23 teams met in the semi-finals , with Argentina winning 3–0 in a hard-fought game. In addition, the aforementioned Maradona has been often compared with Brazilian iconic player Pelé . Women’s football is far behind in terms of popularity and professionalism.

However, the women’s national team has competed in the South American Championship since 1995, finishing as runner-up three times before winning the competition in 2006 with a 5–0 victory over Brazil . The national team also played in the 2003 and the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cups , but finished last in its group on both occasions. Basketball Basketball is a very popular sport, mostly in the provinces of Argentina . The Basketball Clubs’ Association organizes the Liga Nacional de Básquet , the top level league in the country. Although the national team won the first FIBA World Championship in 1950 , the sport did not gain country-wide popularity until the 2000s, when the national team conquered the Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and had a good performance in the 2002 , 2006 and 2010 World Championships finishing on the second, fourth and fifth position respectively. The national team also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics .

Argentine NBA star Emanuel Ginóbili also won NBA Championship rings in 2003, 2005, 2007 & 2014 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs , the 2007 victory included compatriot Fabricio Oberto . The National team also has won the 2001 Tournament of the Americas and the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship . Although women’s basketball is not professional in Argentina, the national team participates in most international competitions, reaching their highest point at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women where they finished in the 9th place. Rugby union Argentina facing England at the 2011 Rugby World Cup . Rugby union is a popular and largely amateur sport. However, despite this amateurism, the national team have become one of the most powerful in the sport, finishing third in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and rising as high as third in the World Rugby Rankings (then known as the IRB World Rankings) immediately after.

Since November 2004, Argentina have picked up at least one win over all the participants in Europe’s Six Nations Championship , drawn with the British and Irish Lions and narrowly lost to the All Blacks , who were forced to survive a last-second assault on their try line. In particular, the Pumas have enjoyed a dominating record in recent years against France , going 7–2 since 2000, with a total points against of 7. For the first 20 years of the sport’s professional era, dating from 1996, most important Argentine players have emigrated to Europe (mainly to England and France).

Probably the best known players are 1970s and 1980s star Hugo Porta ; Agustín Pichot , Pumas captain during their 2007 World Cup run and later a key Argentine rugby administrator; his successor as captain, Felipe Contepomi ; current star utility back Juan Martín Hernández ; 1990s star and later Pumas head coach Santiago Phelan ; Marcelo Loffreda , who coached the team during their 2007 World Cup run before leaving to take up the coaching post at English club power Leicester Tigers ; and current head coach Daniel Hourcade . In 2012, Argentina joined New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in the Tri Nations Championship, which then became The Rugby Championship . In 2014, Argentina took their first victory in this competition, against Australia in the first round. Argentina further cemented its links with SANZAAR when the country was added to that body’s Super Rugby competition, which added teams based in Argentina and Japan in 2016. Handball Handball is a firmly growing sport in Argentina, with the men’s national team regularly qualifying for the World Championship.

Argentina has started producing world class talent, such as the brothers Diego and Sebastián Simonet . The national team won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games . Tennis David Nalbandian and fans at the 2006 Australian Open . Tennis has been quite popular among people of all ages since the 1970s, after both Guillermo Vilas and later Gabriela Sabatini in the 1980s reached the number 2 position and won several Grand Slams . Even though no Argentine player has thus far reached the first place at the ATP Rankings , many Argentines have been among the most important in the circuit. During the 2000s a number of Argentine players were among the top 10 and the 2004 French Open featured an all-Argentine final. Gastón Gaudio won the Roland Garros in 2004. At the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup , David Nalbandian defeated world number 1 Roger Federer and the tournament gathered 4 Argentine players, an all-time record for any nationality.

Most recently, Juan Martín del Potro has emerged as one of the leading players in the world, having won the 2009 US Open a few days before his 21st birthday. Argentina has won the World Team Cup four times, in 1980, 2002, 2007 and 2010 and has reached the semifinals of the Davis Cup 7 times in the last 10 years, losing the finals against Russia in 2006 and Spain in 2008 and 2011 ; the Argentine team also played the final in 1981 , where they lost against the United States. The national squad won the 2016 Davis Cup . Field hockey Las Leonas, the women’s national team. The men’s national team Los Leones won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2014 World Cup and 2008 Champions Trophy . The national squad also won Pan American Games on nine occasions and the 2005 , 2007 and 2012 Champions Challenges .

Rink hockey Rink hockey is mainly played in the Cuyo region (especially in San Juan Province ). Argentine players have an international quality, with the men’s national team winning 5 Rink Hockey World Championship titles. The women’s national team is the world’s most successful team, having won 5 FIRS Women’s Roller Hockey World Cup titles. Argentine Clubs such as Olimpia and UVT have also won international titles. Boxing For a list of Argentine boxers, see Category:Argentine boxers Luis Firpo throws Jack Dempsey out of the ring in 1923; this was the basis for artist George Wesley Bellows ‘ famous portrait. Pascual Pérez was Argentina’s first world boxing champion. There are Argentine boxing legends such as Carlos Monzón , Santos Laciar , Juan Martín Coggi and Nicolino Locche who held the world champion’s title in their categories. Argentine boxers have, as of 2004, earned 24 Olympic medals, including seven gold medals.

Argentine boxer Victor Galindez was the third Latin American to win the world’s Light-Heavyweight title (after Puerto Rico ‘s José Torres and Venezuela ‘s Vicente Rondon , WBA -recognized champion during the middle of the 1970s). Galindez died after he was run over by a car during an auto racing competition in which he took part. In 1994, WBA world Middleweight champion Jorge Castro knocked out John David Jackson in the ninth round to retain his title in Monterrey, Mexico . Since Castro was on the brink of suffering a technical knockout loss when he won the fight, the punch with which he beat Jackson has become known as boxing’s version of Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal . Marcela Acuña is a world champion female boxer , and arguably one of the most popular fighters of the 2000s in Argentina. Other fighters, such as Oscar Bonavena , Juan Roldán , and Luis Firpo , did not win world championships, but were also popular among boxing fans during their years as professional fighters.

On 17 April 2010, Sergio Martínez outpointed American Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City to become the lineal Middleweight champion of the world. Marcos René Maidana has also been champion in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Volleyball Volleyball has a professional male league. Argentina national volleyball team ‘s best achievements are the bronze medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1982 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship . The male team is usually ranked by the FIVB among the top 10 national teams in the world. The national team also won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in two occasions (1995, 2015). Female volleyball is not played professionally. The female team is less important internationally than its male counterpart. Auto racing From rallying to Formula One , auto racing is a sport followed by a number of fans in Argentina.

Formula One legend Juan Manuel Fangio was five times Formula One world champion under four different teams, winning 102 of his 184 international races, and is widely ranked as the greatest driver of all time. [4] Other distinguished racers were Oscar Alfredo Gálvez , Juan Gálvez , José Froilán González , and Carlos Reutemann . [5] Years after Fangio’s career was over, Carlos Reutemann was the best known Argentine driver of the 1970s. More recently José María López has emerged as one of the world’s top touring car drivers, winning the World Touring Car Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Argentine competitions include the TC 2000 and Turismo Carretera road racing series, as well as Rally Argentina of the World Rally Championship . Argentina has also hosted the 2009 , 2010 , 2011 and 2014 editions of the Dakar Rally , along with Chile. Former events include the defunct Formula One Argentine Grand Prix and World Sportscar Championship ‘s 1000 km Buenos Aires .

Golf Among the best in South America, the first prominent figure of this sport in Argentina was José Jurado . He was the first Argentine to travel to major international championships and is thus often credited as the “Father of Argentine Professional Golf” [6] Other notable Argentine golfers include Roberto De Vicenzo , Antonio Cerdá , José Cóceres , Eduardo Romero , Ángel Cabrera , Andrés Romero and Ricardo González . De Vicenzo and Cerdá won the 1953 Canada Cup . In history, Argentine golfers won three Majors, Roberto De Vicenzo the British Open in 1967 , and Ángel Cabrera the U.S. Open in 2007 and the Augusta Masters in 2009 . Polo Argentine Polo Open Championship . Argentina’s polo team won their first Olympic gold medal in 1924 and the second gold medal in 1936 . Adolfo Cambiaso , Gonzalo Pieres , his brother Facundo , the Novillo Astrada brothers, the Heguy’s, and Tommy Iriarte are currently ranked amongst the best polo players in the world.

The three most important polo tournaments in the world, the Argentine Open , the Hurlingham Open , and the Tortugas Open are held in Argentina . Historically, Argentina has always been a leading country in this international handicapped sport, and have been uninterrupted world champions since 1949, and Argentine players comprise most of the world’s top ten players. Argentina has won four World Polo Championships Cricket Buenos Aires C.C. and Rosario C.C. players posing together during a game, 1916. Cricket has been played in Argentina since 1806, with the international side making its first appearance in 1868, against the Uruguay national team. The sport regained some popularity, due to the national team’s participation at the World Cricket League , and the Argentina national women’s cricket team at the Women’s version of the ICC Americas Championship . Though cricket is a minor sport, Argentina is the strongest team in mainland South America, and are currently playing in division 1777 of the World Cricket League. There is a huge scope of development of the sport in this country, given that there are a large number of British descendants in Argentina. Argentina dominated the South American Cricket Championship.

Olympic Games Argentina was one of eight founding members of the International Olympic Committee , and first participated in the Olympic Games in 1900 with one single athlete. Argentine Olympic competitors have, from 1900 to 2016, garnered 74 medals (21 gold, 25 silver, 28 bronze); from 1924 to 1952, its athletes had good showings, giving the Argentine delegations global ranks of between 16th and 19th. From 1956 to 2000, however, Argentina did not win any gold medals, a situation that was reversed in 2004 , when it acquired two and further so, in 2008 , 2012 and 2016 . On July 4, 2013, Buenos Aires was selected as host city for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics . [7] Sailing Argentina won 10 Olympic medals in sailing (1 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze), the Argentinian experience and level in this sport are high, even between young children competing in optimist class boats.

Carlos Espínola is the sailor who won most Olympic medals in this sport with 4. Santiago Lange won the World Championship on four occasions (1985, 1993, 1995 and 2004) and the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics . Padel tennis Padel tennis is played by four and a half million amateur players in thirty five thousand courts; it is the most participated sport in Argentina. [1] Professional players compete in national circuit of tournaments and Argentinian professional wrestling. Argentina won 18 titles at the Padel Tennis World Championship (women and men). Pétanque Pétanque is a popular sport played by more than half a million amateurs, whom 4,000 have a licence from the Argentinean federation. There is no professional players. Argentina plays in international competitions and world championship. In 2009, Argentina was 15th in the world ranking among 62 countries. Despite good performances in World Championship, Argentina has not won any World Champion titles.

The Federation of Argentina became a member of the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal in 1950. Team nicknames “Rusia se benefició con el éxito de Holanda” [Russia benefited from the success of Holland] . La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 16 August 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2012. El seleccionado argentino femenino consiguió la tercera victoria en la gira europea que está realizando, como antesala de su participación en el Mundial de Alemania. Las Panteras, tal como se las conoce, superaron a Kazajstán por 3 a 2 (parciales de 25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25 y 18-16), en un match disputado en Varna, Bulgaria. Books Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles, eds. (2012). Sports around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. 3.

Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1598843019 [ Amazon-US | Amazon-UK ]. Dougall, Angus (2013). The Greatest Racing Driver. Bloomington, IN, USA: Balboa Press. ISBN 978-1452510965 [ Amazon-US | Amazon-UK ]. Arbena, Joseph (2002). “In Search of the Latin American Female Athlete”. In Arbena, Joseph; LaFrance, David Gerald. Sport in Latin America and the Caribbean. Lanham, MD, USA: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 219–232. ISBN 978-0842028219 [ Amazon-US | Amazon-UK ]. Sport in Argentina - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pato, the national sport of Argentina.

Benefiting form a multicultural population and a mostly mild climate, Argentines participate in a variety of sports, though, without doubt, the most important sport in Argentina is football . Other sports with wide following locally include basketball , rugby union , tennis , field hockey , boxing , volleyball , auto racing , golf and polo . Most of the Argentine sport succes come with the group sports. Although boxing, tennis, golf and, more far in time, rowing, are the exceptions of the rule. The national sport, though not very popular, is pato . Other sports that are played professionally and recreatively are athletics (track and field) , swimming , mountaineering , skiing , cycling , rink hockey , padel tennis and fishing . Argentina is one of the most important sport powers in his region, ending at the top of the medal count at the South American Games since 1978 except for 2002. In a continental level, Argentina holds the fourth place in the historic medal table in the Pan American Games only behind of the sport superpowers United States, Canada and Cuba .

Even if is true the relative lack of succes at the Olympic level in the more traditionals sports, like athletics, swimming and gymnastics, Argentina always have a great participation in the most popular sports in the world like football, basketball, tennis, volleyball and boxing. Contents Main article: Football in Argentina Football in Argentina, it could be said, is more than a sport, as it is arguably part of the country's culture. The sport is played all over the country by children during breaks at school and by grown-ups in the indoor football fields that can be found almost everywhere. The Argentina national football team has won the World Cup twice in 1978 and 1986 , successive Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008 , won the Copa América fourteen times, one Confederations Cup and six Youth World Championship 's. Argentina's most famed national football idol is Diego Maradona . The Primera División is the top level domestic competition. The Argentines clubs won a record 22 times the Copa Libertadores and have achieve 9 times, like Brazil, the World Club Cup also know has the Intercontinental Cup . Argentina's fiercest rival is Brazil.

The rivalry is sometimes known as the Battle of the South Americans . They have played each other numerous times in the Copa América and in the Confederations Cup. And the clubs of this countries plays several times in the Copa Libertadores finals. Argentina is one of the few nationals teams in football that have beat Brazil in a regural basis. Although in recent years Brazil as turn the situation in their favor. The youth teams have also met at various tournaments. In the 2008 Olympics the Under-23 teams met in a semi-final clash and Argentina won 3-0 in a hard-fought game. Women's football is way far behind in terms of popularity and professionalism. Nevertheless, the Argentina women's national football team has competed in the Sudamericano Femenino since 1995, finishing as runners-up three times before finally winning the competition in 2006 , with 5-0 victory over Brazil in the last match of the final group stage. The national team also played in the 2003 Women's World Cup finals and in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup but finished last in group in both occasions. Basketball Former Pres.

Nestor Kirchner (left) shares old anecdotes with San Antonio Spurs great Emanuel Ginóbili , 2005. Basketball is also a very popular sport mostly in the inner provinces of Argentina , since the game is less popular than football in the capital. The Argentine Basketball Federation organizes the Argentine National Basketball League . Although Argentina also won the first World Championship in 1950, the sport has not gained country-wide popularity until the 2000s, when the Argentine team conquered the Olympic Gold in 2004, and had a good performance in the 2002 and 2006 World Championship finishing respectively in second and fourth position. Argentine NBA star Emanuel Ginóbili also won NBA rings in 2003, 2005 and 2007 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs , the last one with Fabricio Oberto . Though women's basketball is not professional in Argentina, the national team participates in most of the international competitions, reaching perhaps its highest point at the 2006 World Championship , when they finished in 9th place.

Rugby union Main article: Rugby union in Argentina Rugby in Argentina is still largely amateur; however, there are many professional players. Nevertheless, Los Pumas (the national team) have become one of the most powerful rugby national teams in the world by finishing third in the 2007 Rugby World Cup played in France; they rose as high as third in the IRB World Rankings immediately after their World Cup run, and are now sixth. Since November 2004, Argentina have picked up at least one win over all the participants in Europe's Six Nations Championship , drawn with the British and Irish Lions , and narrowly lost to the All Blacks (who had to survive a last-second assault on their try line). Most important Argentine players emigrate to Europe (mainly to England and France) where they play professionally.

Probably the best known players are Hugo Porta (played during the 1970s and the 1980s); current Pumas captain Felipe Contepomi ; his immediate predecessor as captain, Agustín Pichot ; current star utility back Juan Martín Hernández ; Marcelo Loffreda , a former Puma who coached the team during their 2007 World Cup run before leaving to take up the coaching post at English club power Leicester Tigers ; and Loffreda's successor as head coach, 1990s Pumas star Santiago Phelan . There has always been discussion regarding the possibility of Argentina joining the Tri Nations alongside the main Southern Hemisphere powers of Australia , New Zealand and South Africa , although this proposal and a similar one to join the Super 14 Southern Hemisphere professional league have both been consistently denied. More recently, Argentina has lobbied for inclusion in the Six Nations, which arguably makes more sense for the country, considering that most top Argentine players are based in Europe.

In 2006, both Pichot and Loffreda publicly urged that Argentina be admitted to the Six Nations, with both on record as being willing to have the Pumas play their "home" fixtures in Europe (possibly in Spain or Portugal) to alleviate travel issues for all teams involved. However, while these discussions were ongoing, The Sunday Times of London reported in February 2007 that the sport's world governing body, the International Rugby Board , was brokering a deal with Tri Nations organiser SANZAR that could have seen Los Pumas admitted to that competition as early as 2008. However, this plan was not implemented; ultimately, after the Pumas' 2007 World Cup run, it was decided that the earliest that the team could enter a major international competition would be 2012, and that the Pumas would eventually join the Tri Nations. SANZAR has since extended a provisional invitation for Argentina to join an expanded Tri Nations in 2012.

Tennis Main article: Tennis in Argentina Tennis is, ever since the 1970s with Guillermo Vilas and later with Gabriela Sabatini in the 1980s both reached the number 2 position and winning several Grand Slams, quite popular among people of all ages. Even though no Argentine player reached the first place at the ATP rankings, there are many Argentine players within the most important in the circuit. During the 2000s, a number of Argentine players were among the top 10 of the ranking. The highlights of that succes were an all-Argentine final in the 2004 French Open , the hit of David Nalbandian winning the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup to world number 1 Roger Federer . In that edition of the Tennis Masters Cup were gathering the top 8 players of the season there were 4 Argentine players, a record for any nationality in the history of the Masters Tournament. Most recently, Juan Martín del Potro has emerged as one of the leading players in the world, having won the 2009 US Open , beating Roger Federer, days before the Argentine turn 21 years old.

Argentina won the World Team Cup three times, in 1980, 2002 and 2007 . The Argentine team also reached the semifinals of the Davis Cup 4 times in the last 5 years, losing in the finals of 2006 and 2008 , to Russia in Moscow, and to Spain in Mar del Plata , Argentina, respectively. Increasing this defeats in the last stage of the competition is the loss in the final of 1981 against United States in Cincinnati . Field hockey Las Leonas Las Leonas (Argentina's national women's team) is one of the usual contenders in all the premier tournaments in women's Field Hockey. They conquered the Women's World Hockey Cup in 2002 and the Olympic silver medal in 2000 , as well as bronze in 2004 and 2008 . Also Las Leonas won the annual Hockey Champions Trophy in three occasions, 2001 , 2008 and 2009 .

In the other hand the men's team hasn't been able to win any major tournament except for the hockey tournaments at the 1971 and 2003 Pan American Games , althoug they won the 2005 and 2007 Champions Challenges , and are usually positioned among the top ten teams in the world participating in the World Cups and Champions Trophies. Rink hockey Rink hockey is mainly played in the Cuyo region (especially in San Juan Province ). Argentine players have an international quality, with the men's national team has won 4 Rink Hockey World Championship titles. The woman national team also has won 3 World titles. Argentine Clubs such as Olimpia and UVT have also won international titles. Boxing for a list of Argentine boxers see Category:Argentine boxers Luis Firpo throws Jack Dempsey out of the ring in 1923; this was the basis for artist George Wesley Bellows ' famous portrait. Pascual Pérez was Argentina's first world boxing champion. There Argentine boxing legends such as Carlos Monzón , Santos Laciar and Juan Martin Coggi held the world champion's title in their categories.

Argentine boxers have, as of 2004, earned 24 olympic medals, including seven gold medals. Argentine boxer Victor Galindez was the third Hispanic to win the world's Light-Heavyweight title (after Puerto Rico 's José Torres and Venezuela 's Vicente Rondon , WBA -recognized champion during the middle 1970s). Galindez died after he was run over by a car during an auto racing competition that he took part of. In 1994, WBA world Middleweight champion Jorge Castro knocked out John David Jackson in the ninth round to retain his title in Monterrey, Mexico . Since Castro was on the brink of suffering a technical knockout loss when he won the fight, the punch with which he beat Jackson has become known as boxing's version of Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal . Marcela Acuna is a world champion female boxer and arguably one of the most popular fighters of the 2000s in Argentina. Other fighters, such as Oscar Bonavena , Juan Roldán and Luis Firpo , did not win world championships but were also popular among boxing fans during their years as professional fighters.

Volleyball Volleyball has a professional male league. Argentina national volleyball team 's best achievement was the bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics , and is usually ranked by the FIVB among the best 10 national teams in the world. Female volleyball is not played professionally. The national team is less important internationally than its male counterpart (FIVB's 17th place). Auto racing From rally to Formula One , auto racing is a sport followed by a number of fans in Argentina. Formula one legend Juan Manuel Fangio was five time world champion and has held the record of most victories for many years. Years after Fangio's career was over, Carlos Reutemann was the best known Argentine driver of the 1970s. Argentine competitions include the TC 2000 and Turismo Carretera road racing series as well as Rally Argentina of the World Rally Championship . Argentina has also hosted the 2009 edition of the Dakar Rally along with Chile. Former events include the defunct Formula One Argentine Grand Prix and World Sportscar Championship 's 1000 km Buenos Aires .

Golf Among the best in South America, important Argentine golfers include Antonio Cerdá , José Cóceres , Roberto DeVicenzo , Eduardo Romero , Ángel Cabrera and Ricardo González . DeVicenzo and Cerdá won the 1953 Canada Cup . Polo The Argentine Olympic polo team, 1936. Argentina's polo team won their first Olympic Gold Medal in 1924. Adolfo Cambiaso Jr., Gonzalo Pieres Jr. his brother Facundo, the Novillo Astrada brothers, the Heguy's, Tommy Iriarte are amongst the best polo players in the world. The three most important Polo tournaments in the world, The Argentine Open , The Hurlingham Open and the Tortugas Open are held in Argentina . In the history, Argentina was and nowadays is the leader of this international handicapped sport. However, less handicapped national teams have defeated Argentina. Argentina has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949 and is today the source of most of the world's top ten players. Argentine cricket players, before their first wicket, 1949.

Cricket Cricket has been played in Argentina since 1806, with the international side making its first appearance in 1868 against Uruguay. The sport regained some popularity due to the national team's participation at the World Cricket League , and the Argentina national women's cricket team at the Women's version of the ICC Americas Championship . Though a minority sport here, Argentina is the strongest team in mainland South America currently playing in division 4 of world cricket league. There is a huge scope of development of the sport in this country, given that there are a large number of British descendants in Argentina. Olympic Games Main article: Argentina at the Olympics Argentina was one of eight founding members of the International Olympic Committee and first participated in the Olympic Games in 1900 with one single athlete. Argentine olympic competitors have, from 1900 to 2004, garnered 60 medals (gold, 15; silver, 23; bronze, 22); from 1924 to 1952 its athletes had good showings, giving the Argentine delegations global ranks of between 16th and 19th.

From 1956 to 2000, however, Argentina did not win any gold medals, a situation that was reversed in 2004 when it acquired two and further so, in 2008 . Sailing Argentina has 8 olympic medals in this sport (4 silvers and 4 bronze), and argentinian experience and level in this sport are high even between young children competing in optimist class boats. Advertisements Padel tennis Padel Tennis is played by four and a half million amateur players in thirty five thousand courts: it is the most participated sport in Argentina. [1] Professional players compete in national circuit of tournaments and Argentinian professional wrestling.

Question: Argentinian David Nalbandian is a professional player of what sport?
Answer: Tennis