Mas que tenis : episode 12

Mas que tenis : Episode 12

[To download]

In this week show : Gisela and Fernando practicing together, interview with Gisela, visit of Budapest with Gisela and Fernando with a cruise on the Danube river, interview with Attila Savolt (former Hungarian tennis champion)

[To learn more about Budapest]

1- We start with Fernando & Gisela’s training, at the Tennis Academy Romai. Gisela is interviewed and she said that it’s a great chance for her to have Fernando in Budapest this week because she’s learning a lot by watching him play. For Gisela, he has the best forehand on the tour. Then, we see Fernando watching Gisela’s match, and talked about the women’s tennis and Gisela’s tennis. Gisela talked about the life on the tennis tour, the fact to be far from her family and friends. About her goals, her first one is to be in the top 20 (she was 50 in Budapest), she’d be delighted to reach the top 10 someday.

2- A touristic visit of Budapest with Fernando, watching the postcards, books, souvenirs, he made some shopping. He visited places like : Heroes’ Square, dominated by the Millenary Monument, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front, the visit of the Synagogue, it’s one of the most imposing historic buildings in Budapest and the largest synagogue in all Europe. A turistic guide explains that there’s a memorial in the gardens. A big community of Jewish people lived in Budapest before the second world war, and due to the Holocaust, today, there are only 150 000 Jewish people living in Hungaria. The guide said that there are many places, many historic monuments to visit in Budapest. The guide said that it’s a very good feeling to live in Budapest, he likes his job as a guide, because each day, he can go around the city. Visit of the St Stephen’s Basilica (picture above), Budapest’s largest church, whose landmark dome can be seen from all over the city, was built in Classical style between 1851 and 1905. Inside is the Hungarians’ most revered relic – the mummified right hand of Hungary’s first monarch, King Saint Stephen.

Fernando introduced a report about Ferenc Puskas, a football player from Hungary, he also played for Spain, he used to play for the Real Madrid. He died in 2006. He was the coach of the Colo-Colo Team (Fernando’s favourite soccer team in Chile), in 1975-1976.

3- Back to Fernando, he visits a market in Budapest + a sightseeing tour of the city with Gisela. For Fernando, it’s one of the most beautiful city in the world. Some Argentine tourists have been interviewed, they think that Budapest is lovely.

4- Back to the tennis courts, and practrice with Fernando and the former Hungarian tennis player, Attila Savolt. Nice interview with Attila, he said that he saw Fernando’s forehand, and remembered that he was very young, his coach said that this guy, someday will become very  good Attila won but Fernando surprised him. Attila faced him in a Challenger (Edinburg, in 1999, Savolt won in straights sets 7/5 6/2), and Fernando was different than the other guys, he hitted the ball very hard, he missed a few balls, but he could see some different potential. Attila heard that Fernando was in Budapest by his friends, he was surprised, he knew that his fiancée was playing the WTA Tournament, but he didn’t know that he was going to meet him, so a real surprise, he was happy to meet him again

Attila retired apparently and for him it was a great feeling because he misses the tour, and it’s great for him to feel that he’s still playing. Attila has opened a Tennis Academy this year, he’s working with kids, who are less than 12 years old, and probably this year, he’ll work with some juniors.

At the end of the practrice, Fernando signed autographes and took pictures.

5- Fernando & Gisela, mini-cruise on the Danube river, Gisela filming Fernando. It’s also a great way to visit Budapest, through the river, like Paris. The guide explained during the tour on the river with the great monuments the visitors are going to see.

Mas que tenis : episode 8-9-10

3 new episodes are available :

Episode 8 : Miami

[To download the episode 8]

Fernando González is in Miami, sightseeing in the city, playing golf with Alberto Plaza, a popular singer from Chile. We see him in an amusement park with Gisela, playing basket-ball, and preparing “asados”. Fernando scored 120 aces last year, he’s ranked 17th.

[The webmaster : I liked a lot the show, made me travel in Miami, would like to go there someday]

Episode 9 : Rancagua (Chile)

[To download the episode 9]

Back to Chile for Fernando

Fernando participates to the rodeo in Rancagua, city situated at about 87 km in the south of Santiago, in the VI region, capital of the province of Cachapoal, city known for its rodeo.

Santiago : la Taverna “El hoyo”, a restaurant with a typical chilean culinary tradition. Fernando tasted “Terremoto”, it’s a classic beverage in base of white wine and pineapple ice-cream

Archive : H. Gildemeister vs G. Michibata, in 1986 – Interview with Hans Gildemeister, who is now the Chilean DC captain.

Visit of Hogar de Cristo : The Home of Christ constantly is looking for to give integral attention to children, greater young people, women, adults, ill terminals and to people with mental discapacidad as much physical, that they are in a situation of extreme poverty.

Fernando met different people in the association, the director of the association said that he met the people with a lot of humanity, close to the people, and with sincerity and that Fernando is a man with a big heart.

Last part of the show : some highlights of Roland-Garros and we see Fernando practricing in Chile. Some highlights of his practrice with R.Federer during the last Wimbledon, and some highlights about his mixed – doubles with Gisela during the last Roland-Garros. Then, a photo shoot for Kia Motors (check their website very soon ) And, then, a visit of the “Centro veterinario Padre Hurtado” with Jessica, Fernando’s sister. They visited the dog Fernando saved (the whole story is in the blog).

[The webmaster : very nice episode, about Chile and its traditions (Rodeo, food, drinks), and a touching report about the Hogar del Cristo association, when, we watch that report, I think we can't complain because there are people less happy than us. Fernando showed that he's not living in his "ivory tower", he's caring about those people, it was touching to see the eyes, the smiles, of the different people he met]

Episode 10

[To download the episode 10]

Fernando starts the show, on a practrice court, with a soccer (football) ball in his hand. Fernando is a big fan of the soccer, this sport is the most popular sport in South America.

Meeting with Marcelo Salas, Fernando asked him several questions and played a little bit. This popular chilean soccer player was born in Dec. 24th, 1974, in Temuco, his nickname is “El Matador” (the killer), he was a former international player for Chile, he scored 35 goals in his career, the best result ever. He was very popular during the World Cup in 1998, in France.

A few minutes of soccer tennis with both champions. Salas was not awkward with a tennis racket and Fernando is not awkward with a soccer ball as well.

The “plaza de la constitucion” in Santiago : Fernando remembered when he came back from Athens with N. Massu, after the Olympics Games. We can see some archives videos of one of the best moment in Fernando’s life. Nicolas and Fernando have been received by the former Chilean President, Ricardo Lagos, at the Moneda Palace.

El barrio concha y toro (Santiago) : this is a neighborhood of narrow, short streets converging on a small plaza, once the property of doña Teresa Cazotte, the widow of Concha y Toro of wine fame. Between 1926 and 1939 a number of neoclassical, gothic and renaissance style three story homes were built, and are now a favored residence of artists and filmmakers who use the barrio in their films.

In this area, Fernando visited a paintings gallery. Funny thing : a painting represented a man bitten by a dog lol lol

El barrio Bellavista : is an area that lies between the Mapocho River and San Cristobal Hill, in Santiago. It’s famous for its bohemian night life, and its main artery, Pio Nono Street, is lined with dance clubs, restaurants and pubs. In addition, it’s a popular place to purchase Lapis Lazuli (a unique semiprecious stone found principally in Chile) craftsmanship. Bellavista is also home to Pablo Neruda’s house in Santiago, La Chascona.

Fernando played squash with one of his friend, Francisco, en el club lo Cañas, Vitacura.

And, then, Fernando visited la fundacion Museo de la Moda. There, you can find old rackets, old tennis balls, old outfits, a tribute to the past.

[Webmaster : nice show, I prefered the parts about Santiago, a real guide to visit the city and the memories after the Olympic Games]

Mas que tenis : episode 6

Mas que tenis : episode 6 [to download]

A tour of California with Fernando, one of his hobby : the cars, interview with Gisela Dulko, autograph session in IW, Palm Springs Air Museum visit, the ESPN chat backstage.

Mas que tenis : episode 5

Mas que tenis : episode 5 [To download the episode 5]

The preparation of the Ms Indian Wells.

The episode starts in Santiago, at the MEDS, with an interview from Carlos Burgos, Fernando’s physical trainer, they work on Fernando’s physical shape, then, was the tennis practrice at Fernando’s club. Then, it’s the departure to Indian Wells, we see Fernando driving a car (in IW, the top players can drive their own car during the tournament), then, practricing with Del Potro, Cañas and Robredo, doing some photoshots for the ATP Tour, we also see Gisela Dulko playing football.

Mas que tenis : episode 4

[To download the episode 4]

The visit of Buenos Aires with Fernando and Gisela. Visit of San Telmo, Palermo Soho, La boca. To see pics and touristic informations, just click here

La bocca

Interesting blog written by a French who studied in Buenos Aires and who travelled in south America for two months (with reports and pictures)

Then, back to Roland-Garros, we see Fernando walking in direction of the players’ lounge, close to the court 2 and Chatrier court (and I missed him lol, only one personne bothered him), we have an interview from the former champion from Ecuador, Andres Gomes.

Also, an interview from the author of “La historia del tenis in Chile” (The tennis history in Chile), his name is : Mario Cavalla

Mas que tenis : episode 3

Mas que tenis : episode 3

The episode 3 took place in Pucón, Pucón is a city and municipality in Chile. Located, 780 km south of the capital Santiago in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region. Its unrivaled location by a lake and a volcano and quite stable weather (especially in the summer) make it a popular destination for tourists. Pucon offers a variety of sports and adventure/recreational activities for tourists, including water skiing, snow skiing, backpacking, white water rafting and kayaking, natural hot springs, zip line rides, and guided ascents of Volcano Villarrica.

Fernando did a sport adventure, called “Canopy”. In Central America, the scientists who explored the flora and fauna thought to a form to be transported between trees by means of the use of a steel cable and pulleys. Canopy, is a sport which allows by means of platforms built close of the trees and interlaced by steel wire ropes by carrying out a preestablished circuit, while making it possible to the tourists to move while hanging by means of a pulley and by using a harness, a helmet and gloves and thus to enjoy nature from the inside, enjoy the forest, the rivers or the volcanic lava and the valleys.

Then, Fernando stopped in Buenos Aires, to make some promotional stuff, signing autographes at the tournament, and giving interviews to apologize of his withdraw from the tournament.

[Interview of Fernando, about Pucon, from proaraucania.cl]

Fernando González en Pucón : “Esta es una zona que me gusta mucho”

Pasa completamente inadvertido entre los miles de turistas que por estos días aún veranean en la zona lacustre… Luce ropa deportiva (como siempre) y algo de barba que demuestra su merecido relajo.  Lo cierto es que el número 5 del mundo eligió para su descanso al balneario de Pucón, donde además aprovechó la estadía para realizar las grabaciones del programa “Más que Tenis” que se emite los días sábado, a las 18:30 horas por las pantallas de TVN.

Según nos comenta, Pucón es de los mejores lugares para descansar y divertirse, haya o no haya sol :

“Pese a las condiciones climáticas,  me fui dos días a Pucón para descansar… Es una zona que me gusta mucho y donde se pueden hacer varias actividades”.
Prueba de esto último es que visitó un salto de agua cercano a las termas de Huife, escenario donde por primera vez se animó y tuvo tiempo para realizar un descenso en canopi.

Fernando González se mostró feliz con la experiencia, además de ratificar su admiración por la zona lacustre de la Araucanía: “Primera vez que realizaba esto, la verdad es que cuesta lanzarse al vacío así como así, pero me explicaron que todo era muy seguro…”

En medio de estas actividades, el tenista número uno de Chile confesó que en materia de deporte aventura sólo había realizado antes un vuelo en parapente en Montecarlo, durante uno de sus múltiples viajes por el mundo, pero nunca antes algún tipo de turismo aventura en nuestro país.

En su visita a Pucón, el “bombardero de La Reina” ha compartido con lugareños y turistas, además de causar mucha sorpresa cuando se detuvo a orillas del camino a comprar empanadas para el equipo de producción, situación que los incrédulo transeúntes aprovecharon para pedir autógrafos y sacarse fotografías.

Todo, en medio de las grabaciones del citado  programa de TV, un docureality que muestra su vida fuera de la cancha y donde él es el entrevistador y narrador de historias.

Dicho espacio televisivo, que ya se ha anotado buenas sintonías, es realizado por la productora Río Negro TV, con asiento en la capital y cuyos camarógrafos lo seguirán por todo el mundo.

Esta semana, González estará en Acapulco, sólo para dar parte de lesionado y no jugar, con el fin de poner toda su concentración en los torneos más importantes.  Es de esperar que sirva de algo este último descanso en la Araucanía, donde además de probar la gastronomía y jugar en el casino, pudo conocer en carne propia las emociones y actividades que han hecho famoso a este bello destino turístico.

[Internet website of the place]

[To download the episode 3]

“Mas que tenis”, episode 2

The Chilean have just watched the second episode of “Mas que tenis”, the new docu-reality starring Fernando Gonzalez.

In today’s show :

La Serena, the Davis Cup with the backstages, Fernando having lunch in a restaurant and Fernando playing football with children, in Renca, a school which has the name of Fernando Gonzalez, “Escuela de Fútbol Deportiva y Social “

A few words and pictures of La Serena, second oldest city of Chile, at about 471 km from Santiago, the Chilean capital. La Serena features a wealth of historic architecture, including some 29 churches from the colonial era and 19th century. A splendid climate and outstanding selection of hotels have made La Serena, one of Chile’s top beach resorts, just inland is the Valle Elqui.

[More pics on this website]

About Renca… it’s a city in the suburbs of Santiago. Fernando inaugurated the school last september. The school “Escuela de Fútbol Deportiva y Social ” has Fernando’s name, and is composed of 61 children of the city of Renca.

I found an article about this school in “La Cuarta”. They decided to give the name of Fernando instead of a soccer player, because Fernando represents all the spirit and the mirror in which they want to be reflected like sportsmen.

Later next week, the video will be on TVN website, I’ll let you know

To watch “Mas que tenis”

For those who missed “Mas que tenis”, you can watch it by clicking on this link

http://deportes.tvn.cl/seccion.aspx?IdS=54

Someone has uploaded some parts of the show on youtube

Mas que tenis : episode 1

 

The Chileans have watched the first episode of “Mas que tenis”, the new tv show with Fernando Gonzalez. I also watched the show on the internet and I liked a lot, even if I haven’t understood everything.

Fernando started with his two fantastic weeks in Melbourne, then, we saw him at the press conference in Viña del mar. The rest was about Chile, Fernando made us discover his country, with Valparaiso, Viña del mar which is close to Valparaiso. In Valparaiso, we heard a French chef (I recognised the French accent) and an artist, both in love with this city.

 

[Interesting article to read, in spanish]

[Valparaiso website]

[Viña del mar website]

He also visited : la Valle del Elqui, at about 90 kms from la Serena and in the south of the Atacama desert and the Museo Gabriel Mistral in Vicuña (a Chilean Poet, Literature Nobel Prize in 1945).

[An interesting article]

[An interesting page about la Valle del Elqui]

[Internet website about la Valle del Elqui]

[Another interesting website]

Vicuña

[link to the Museum]

About Gabriela Mistral

[The biography of Gabriela Mistral]

[Her poems]

 

[Summary of the first episode ]

From la nacion.cl, translation by the webmaster

In the middle of his duel of the DC against the Russian team, the ATP number 5 in the world, launches his first tv show. In this first chapter, Fernando will visit El Valle del Elqui, Viña del mar, Valparaiso, where he faces the desaster of the Serrano’s street.
 

About Valparaiso : “the joy of the Pacific”.

Also, he visited El Valle de Elqui, where he met the son of the ex president of the Chilean Tennis Federation, Carlos Herrera. This place is full of history and mystery. And, in the same zone, he tries to enter in the museo of Gabriela Mistral (Chilean Poet), the tennis player lived something anecdotical, because before entering inside the museum, he tried to pay his entrance with a bank note de 5000 pesos with the face of the poet. Finally and with some jokes, Fernando entered.

Then, in Vicuña, the cameras recorded a funny thing, when a salesman travelling, noticed Fernando but confused the person, he said to Fernando : “Mathias Fernandez?”… “clearly”, responded Gonzalez to him.

In addition, the sportsman wonders himself why visiting el valley del elqui. According to it aims, it serves him to disconnect a little bit with the rackets, to replenish forces and to remove something of the stress that brought above after the Aussie Open and the Movistar Open.One of the other moments is the meeting between Fernando and Hans Gildemeister, the DC captain, and when he entered in a hyperbaric chamber in the Arsenal Osorio de Quillota to be oxygenated and to recover after his weeks.Also in the first chapter,  it will be possible to visit Gonzalez’s appartment, he has in Reñaca,  where from the balcony and while he’s playing with his dog “Duck”, the double Olympic medallista of Athens will remember his fantastics two weeks in Australia. There, he recognizes that  was the most important match of his life and that at the end, was not possible to defeat the Swiss. This tv show shows a Fernando more mature and very close to his country and to the people.Next week, we’ll have La Serena, and the DC duel against Russia, then, the other chapters will show Fernando in other cosmopolitan cities, having dinner in luxurious restaurants, making massages, relaxation, and swimming and other activities he realises in his professional life and he never talks in general.

More about “Mas que tenis”

[In la Tercera - Feb. 1st]

During the Movistar Open, Fernando confirmed by he’ll have his own tv show, the fans will follow his life all around the world. The name of the tv show is “Mas que tenis” and will be broadcasted by the National Chilean TV (TVN), on Feb. 10th (saturday). There will be 13 tv shows, 30 minutes each, relating the weeks of Fernando on tour.

From Fernando :

“It will be something new for me. It won’t take a lot of time and the idea is to go beyond tennis : the places where I go during my free time, to know a little bit the cities where I play. But, we’ll also show how the ATP tour is, the relationship with the other players, and other things”

If you are Chilean and you can watch the show, please send us a summary, it will be appreciated.