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16.06.2020

#ATP #Grass #Wimbledon #MercedesCup #NoventiOpen #HenriLeconte

The Noventi Open is a ATP grass court tournament played in Halle and is used as a warm up event alongside with the MercedesCup in Stuttgart for the prestigious Wimbledon championships in London.

The Halle ATP event was first played in 1993. That year, former French Open finalist, Henri Leconte held the winners trophy in Halle.

Henri already won the MercedesCup in 1984.

Roger Federer sealed his 10th title in 2019 in Halle to go alongside his eight Wimbledon crowns.

Both tournaments the MercedesCup and the Noventi Open would have been played in June but were postponed to

2021 because of Covid 19 Corona virus outbreak.

07.06.2020

#RafaNadal #ATP #Formula1 #RolandGarros

Henri Leconte continues to be astonished by 12-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal each year.

French great Henri Leconte has hailed Rafael Nadal as an “extraordinary” player due to his ability to improve every year, adding his mentality is “out of this world”.

Nadal has won 19 Grand Slams, which leaves him just one shy of Roger Federer’s all-time mark, while the Spaniard has also won a record 12 French Open titles.
His achievements at Roland Garros are incredible as he has only lost twice in Paris since making his debut back in 2005.Former French Open runner-up Leconte used a brilliant analogy to describe Nadal’s Roland Garros record.
“When you think about it, 12 Roland Garros in 15 years,” he said during an interview with Stats Perform.
“You don’t think it would be possible. If someone told you that, you’d say, ‘You’re crazy.’
“What’s astonishing to me is how he evolved physically, how he changed his game, how he improved.
“I like to compare him to an F1 racing team which is producing a new car every year, he is coming every year with a new way of playing and adapting.“He works on his serve, on his right hand, his left hand, and he’s always changing some things.“He’s been able to improve every year which allowed him to win Roland Garros, this is amazing. And mentally, he’s out of this world.“To play at his level at Roland Garros, under these circumstances, physically and mentally, I couldn’t even play one set like that.“During my time, [Sergi] Bruguera was a bit like him, and when I had to play him on clay, with my style, I knew it was over, I was about to run everywhere and get destroyed.“Rafa is extraordinary. This is what’s impressive and people don’t realise how much he works.”

06.05.2020

#Monte-Carlo #HenriLeconte #BjörnBorg

MONTE-CARLO VINTAGE 

 

Continuation of our dive into the tennis memories during the corona crisis 2020.

In 1983, after months of absence, Björn Borg returned to Monte-Carlo before retiring as he announced at the start of the year.
It is a 19 year old impetuous young man named Henri Leconte who will end the journey of the Swedish legend, after a memorable match.

One is a legend. The biggest star ever generated by tennis. The other is a 19 year old kid. Talented, but in search of his own limits.

Björn Borg against Henri Leconte. A match which, for very different reasons, marked the careers of the two men.
A great match, loaded with emotions and memories.
It was the comeback of Björn Borg, who has not played for exactly a year.
In Monte-Carlo, in 1982, the former world number one lost against Yannick Noah.

This was the only tournament which Björn Borg played in the year 1982.
Since he lost at the US Open in 1981 against John McEnroe in the final, the living Swedish legend has lost the taste for competition.
However, he was only 26 years old when, in January 1983, he formalized what everyone feared: tennis, for him, was over.

Björn Borg: "I can't give 100% anymore," he explains in the Swedish press, "and if I can't do that, it would be foolish to continue.
Tennis is fun if you're at the top, and I can not deliver that anymore. That's why I'm leaving."

Henri Leconte:"I was scared, but it got me excited to play Borg. He was my idol. He is still my idol, by the way. To face him in Monte Carlo was a dream.
It was a breathtaking match. 
He was perfect, he was Björn Borg. 

It was the match that launched my career, it was my first big performance, recalls Henri. Playing Borg was huge.
I don't know, it's like Nadal stopped a year, then he comes back, you have to play him on his favorite surface, and you beat him 7-6 in the 3rd. Unbelievable."


Borg and Leconte, no hard feelings at all. They are very good friends and both like to drink a glas of champagne when they see each other.

Here a funny poster of the tennis match in Monte-Carlo on March 31, 1983 plus other pictures of Björn Borg an Henri Leconte. 

 

 

08.04.2020

Dear Friends and Clients,

We sincerely hope this message finds you, your family & team well and healthy. 
Our deepest thoughts are with those affected by this pandemic. We wish them all the best.

As our dear industry as well as most other industries are going through an unprecedented situation, suffering from mainly postponed and some cancelled projects, Team Startourguide Henri Leconte remains dedicated and focused on preparing our mutual future when these challenging times will belong to the past. 

According to the strong measures taken by our governments during this crisis of Covid-19, our offices are closed but our team is working remotely since March 17th until the end of April 2020. 

Under these circumstances, we are doing our best to answer your questions, remaining optimistic and proactive on what can be done or not, juggling between wishes and the economic reality.

We remain available, wherever possible by email and phone, ready to assist you. 

Helping our clients to postpone their events to a better and safer time kept us busy… and now, working on the execution of projects starting as of summer 2020 makes us feel confident and optimistic. 

Relationships matter: If we accept the challenge of today and come together to find new ways of working, on the other side we will be stronger than ever before.

We are here for you now and we will be here for you tomorrow to revive our cooperation and create lifetime memories for you plus extraordinary experiences which we will enjoy together!

Stay strong, stay healthy. We are in this together.

The new slogan is: It is just Postponed. We will see you and celebrate together once we are through this.

Thank you for your support. Warmest regards.






22.01.2020

Thomas Muster on working with Dominic Thiem:

I want to be committed. I think he's got the skills, he's one of the top players, but you can take it further.

Dominic has the chances to win Grand Slams. We know that. He has the ability to do that.

When this chance came up, when we started talking about this opportunity, I really had to pinch myself and go. Well, do I want to do this?

I said, Yeah, I want to. I want to commit myself to Dominic, and I want to make him better than I ever was. I wouldn't have done that for anybody else.

 

 

04.11.2019

Top 50 Restaurants 2019:

1 Hotel de Ville Crissier Franck Giovannini, Crissier, Switzerland
2 Régis et Jacques Marcon Régis et Jacques Marcon, Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, France
3 Gilles Goujon/Auberge de Vieux Puits Gilles Goujon, Fontjoncouse, France
4 Waldhotel Sonnora Clemens Rambichler, Dreis, Germany
5 Troisgros Caesar Troisgros, Ouches, France
6 Restaurant Bareiss Claus-Peter Lumpp, Baiersbronn, Germany
7 Cheval Blanc Peter Knogel, Basel, Switzerland
8 Alain Ducasse- Louis XV Dominique Lory, Monte Carlo, France
9 Schwarzwaldstube Torsten Michel, Baiersbronn, Germany
10 Flocons de Sel Emmanuel Rennaut, Megève, France
11 Dal Pescatore Nadia & Giovanni Santini, Canneto Sull’Oglio, Italy
12 L’Ambroisie Bernard Pacaud, Paris, France
13 Les Prés d’Eugénie Michel Guérard Michel Guérard, Eugénie-les-Bains, France
14 Patrick Guilbaud Patrick Guilbaud, Dublin, Ireland
15 Le Clarence Christophe Pele, Paris, France
16 Ledoyen Yannick Alleno, Paris, France
17 Le Cinq Christian Le Squer, Paris, France
18 Hof van Cleve Peter Goosens, Kruishoutem, Belgium
19 Pic Anne-Sophie Pic, Valence, France
20 La Vague d’Or Arnaud Donckele, St. Tropez, France
21 Heiko Nieder Heiko Nieder, Zürich, Switzerland
22 Epicure Eric Frechon, Paris, France
23 La Mere Brazier Mathieu Viannay, Lyon, France
24 Restaurant Guy Savoy Guy Savoy, Paris, France
25 Bras Sebastian Bras, Lagioule, France
26 Greenhouse Mikael Viljanen, Dublin, Ireland
27 Da Vittorio Enrico Cerea, Brusaporto, Italy
28 Le 1947 Yannick Alleno, Courcheval, France
29 Auberge du Père Bise (Jean Sulpice) Jean Sulpice, Talloires, France
30 Joël Robuchon Christophe Cussac, Monte Carlo, Monaco
31 Le Grand Restaurant Jean-François Piège, Paris, France
32 Bernard Loiseau Bernard Loiseau, Saulieu, France
33 Pierre Gagnaire Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
34 Côte St-Jacques Jean-Michel Lorain,  Joigny, France
35 La Pergola Heinz Beck, Rome, Italy
36 Le Petit Nice Gérald Passédat, Marseille, France
37 Christophe Bacquié Christophe Bacquié, Le Castellet, France
38 La Bouitte Reneé and Maxime Meilleur, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, France
39 L’Assiette Champenoise Arnaud Lallemont,  Reims, France
40 Villa Maiella Arcangelo Tinari, Guardiagrele, Italy
41 Spondi Angelos Lantos, Athens, Greece
42 Château de la Chèvre d’Or Arnaud Faye, Èze, France
43 Tantris Hans Haas, Munich, Germany
44 Søllerød Kro Brian Mark Hansen, Holte, Denmark
45 Ciel Bleu Onno Kokmeijer & Arjan Speelman, Amsterdam, Netherlands
46
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester Jean-Philippe Blondet, London, United Kingdom
47 Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli Stefano Baiocco, Gargnano, Italy
48 Claude Bosi at Bibendum Claude Bosi, London, United Kingdom
49 The Ritz John Williams, London, United Kingdom
50 Mosconi Illario Mosconi, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

04.11.2019

#Wine #BjörnBorg #HenriLeconte #Saint-Émilion #FineDning

Henri Leconte: I am friends with the Bertrand family of Château Carteau. Through a family member, I was admitted to the Jurade in 2011 and have since become friends with Hubert de Boüard. Saint-Émilion is a myth. You can play golf and tennis there and of course enjoy Saint-Émilion wine! Then I talked to my friend Björn Borg and he also likes the wines of this region. But Björn has never been there.

I called Jacques Bertrand and told him, "I have a friend, he did not play bad tennis, do you think you can invite him?" (Laughs)

The Jurade of Saint-Émilion is more than a brotherhood, it is a family. And now I am here with my friend Björn Borg.

I am very happy to honor with the winemakers of Saint-Émilion a world star who has taken tennis to another dimension.

What is your relationship with wine?

Björn Borg: I have always enjoyed drinking wines from Saint-Émilion.
Henri Leconte: Wine is our blood, it flows in our veins. Thanks to my parents, who took me to nice restaurants when I was young, and my dad made me try wine ... I needed training and education first. Then I had the opportunity to meet an extraordinary generation of tennis players. Everyone was a tennis pro as well as a connoisseur. With Björn or with Yannick (Noah) we went to great restaurants and luxury hotels. At this time nothing was supported or paid by the tournaments. But we had dinner in these luxury restaurants and hotels,and enjoyed fantastic wines. I'm friends with Pierre Gagnaire, Guy Savoy and Bernard Loiseau ... The great food and wine tasting go together. I am a wine connoisseur. Sometimes it's harder to test and judge everything, sometimes easier. Very similar to my tennis experiences (laughs). The wine changes as we constantly. Sometimes it gets better with time, sometimes less, like us!

21.09.2019

#LaverCup #ATP #HenriLeconte #RogerFederer

Henri Leconte, what do you think about the Laver's Cup?

 

This is an incredible concept. Roger Federer had the unique idea of ​​creating a kind of Rider Cup tennis. how enthusiastic he is organizing this event in Prague, Chika oh and now here in Geneva. With the creation of three "tournament", Laver Cup shows that tennis can also be played differently. This sport can be more dynamic and much faster than the Grand Slam tournaments. This leads to another vision for world tennis. I find this extremely.

ATP has decided to include the Laver Cup in its calendars. Good decision?

Yes, completely. In the beginning it was more like an exhibition, now it has quickly become an important event on the ATP calendar. But the Laver Cup is completely different from the grands or classic tournaments organized by ATP as it is played in teams.

Like Roger and Rafa – suddenly the biggest rivals come together. It's the beauty that gives this event a whole new dimension. Originally tennis was an individual sport. This is where Laver Cup becomes a team sport. I think this is really fabulous, I would like to play in this era.

 

On paper, Team Europe in Geneva seems to be the favorite to win. What do you think about the balance of power?

The American-led "team world" consists mainly of "archers". In other words, they are powerful and rather serve willpower specialists, relying on 2-3 strokes to get the point. It will be so quick and interesting. On paper, it is true that there is an imbalance. You have Roger and Rafa on one side, but beware: There are players on the other who can beat them. I hope it will be a real battle. Anyway, in tennis you never know what happens until the last point. We also saw that he was in Wimbledon with Roger.

Federer says he has to be careful, especially for couples. Is Team World in favor of these games?

 

Is it true that they have players who specialize a little more in pairs, like Jack Sok. However, they do not have a true double team to play together throughout the year. So you also have to adapt. The decisive criterion will also be to be able to recover well from individuals.

 

Do you think players will give everything and fight like in a Grand Slam tournament?

 

Of course they will give anything. The atmosphere and atmosphere that players expect will really be something special. However, this will not be like a grand slam tournament because these are individual competitions. But the desire to win, of course, will be present as players defend the colors of Europe or the world. We will see some fabulous and spectacular games.

 

Finally, a word about the abundance of such team competitions. In addition to the Laver Cup, there is the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup, whose first edition takes place in January 2020 in Australia. Are there not too many similar events?

 

It is clear that the Laurel Cup overshadows the Davis Cup. But the latter lost his soul by changing its shape – Monsieur Pique made a terrible mistake – and somehow deviated from the ATP. Roger uses this opportunity to establish the Laver Cup on the ATP calendar. When the Davis Cup was still in its original format, the Laurel Cup was nothing more than an exhibition.

As for the ATP bowl, this is different. First, he replaces the Hopman Cup. Then the tournament takes place at the beginning of the year in Australia, where players go anyway for the Australian Open. Therefore there are no issues.