Query about some players

[Rob & Stephen]

Can Steve clarify some of these for me please:

When did Daniel Lencina become Lithuanian?
Is the Kevin Sorensen (GER) on the ranking list the same player who played for Ireland in this years Davis Cup ties?
Could the player "formerly called Segodo" play for Qatar or Benin in future Davis Cup ties? What happens if the two countries ever meet - could he play himself?

Is Alexander Tabares, ranked last year, Spanish or Cuban, or are there two different players with the same name as with Francisco Cabello?
Thanks.
Rob.

[R. Jayakrishnan]

Well the chances for Qatar and benin to play each other is ZERO, unless they somehow make the world group playoffs from Asia and Euro-Africa and then one of them is good enough to be seeded too! .. Ain't gonna happen in a long long time

Jay

[Steve G]

When did Daniel Lencina become Lithuanian?

Very recently. I got the official word a couple of weeks ago.

Is the Kevin Sorensen (GER) on the ranking list the same player who played for Ireland in this years Davis Cup ties?

Yes. This is another case of a Greg Rusedski type national jump. As you can see they are quite common. Sorensen plays for Ireland now. Oddly his brother, Louk, is still listed as German.

Could the player "formerly called Segodo" play for Qatar or Benin in future Davis Cup ties? What happens if the two countries ever meet - could he play himself?

No, you can only be eligible for Davis Cup under one nation. If Segodo/Saeed ever plays Davis Cup again, it will be for Qatar, he will no longer be able to play for Benin. But he has quite a few brothers that still do.

Is Alexander Tabares, ranked last year, Spanish or Cuban, or are there two different players with the same name as with Francisco Cabello?

The Tabares brothers are quite an interesting story. Like many Cubans they fled the country. Alexander settled in Spain while older brother Mario became an American citizen. Check the player file, it is always up to date with correct spelling and such and often contains notes.
http://stevegtennis.com/data/playerdb.xls

Thanks.

[Rob & Stephen]

Jay, if certain nations keep on buying tennis (and other) stars you never know what might happen! Maybe a Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia Davis Cup final at some point.
Thanks for those updates Steve, might have a few more soon for you if your player database can't help. At least its got coorect info in it - try the ATP one its full of howlers including somebody called XXXXXXXXXXX -------. Great player, eh?

[zikmat]

Hopefully Segodo didn't qualify for the Olympics...
He might have been selected to represent Qatar under his new name , and Benin as Segodo...
And then ... we would have play against himself at the Olympics ! Wahou !!

[Steve G]

He DID qualify for the Olympics. At least he was given a wild card, but turned it down. Ouahab got it instead.

[Rob & Stephen]

How do you pronounce this guys name? Is it ooo-a-hab, wa-hab or what?
Rob.

[R. Jayakrishnan]

Wahab, I believe ... Quite a talented player.

Jay

[Rob & Stephen]

Thanks Jay. Hope to see some of his play during the Olympic coverage.
Lets see if we get more than what happened at Sydney - at least on British terrestrial television.
Rob

[Steve G]

We are lucky in the US, NBC has gone all out...5 networks with 1200 hours of coverage!!
For tennis we will probably see all Andy Roddick and Venus Williams.

[seb]

I think "Segodo" is not allowed to represent Qatar in a team event (Davis Cup) for 3 years, as he recently played for Benin.
Is it not the rule ?

As far as I remember, Rusedski did not play DC for Canada and when he changed for Britain, he was allowed to play the team events in the first weeks...

[R. Jayakrishnan]

For once I wanted to see Andy Roddick. The most intriguing doubles match of the round -- Roodick and Fish against Paes and Bhupathi (which paes-bhupathi won 76(5) 63) ..

And they decide to show the Carlos Moya and Thomas Enqvist match on a 2 hour tape-delay! ..

I can't get a break!

Jay

PS: But the moya-enqvist match turned out to be a great one, so I can't complain ....

[Rob & Stephen]

You lucky guys.
In Britain unless you have digital or satellite tv then your stuck with coverage on BBC, which so far has been awful. They keep promising to show some, but rarely do. All i've managed to see is 30 mins of Novak beating Henman (no surprise there, tough 1st round match when compared to others) and last two games of Moya vs Enqvist.
Anyway, Steve is Cristobal Aguirre Argentinian or Chilean, he's been put down as both in various tourns this year?
Thanks.
Rob

[Steve G]

Aguirre is ARG on my list every time.