Djokovic,  building on the high level of play he showed all last year,  will probably continue his impressive play, although he did show signs of fatigue at the end of last season. It would be great to see a Djokovic/Federer final at this tournament.  Federer has defeated the Serb twice in the finals of the Australian Open but hasn’t been able to celebrate a Grand Slam victory in two years. Not to be underestimated, however, are Murray and Tsonga, who both have had a good start with their respective victories in Brisbane and Qatar. In 2012, I will be interested in following Nadal’s season, which will depend a lot on his health and fitness.With the addition of the Olympics to an already tight schedule,  all the players will test their endurance but Nadal,  who has had some health issues the past couple of years, will need to be especially careful to pace himself appropriately.

For the women,  the New Year will begin much as it ended last year: Serena Williams recent foot injury and the lack of match practice (not since the U.S. Open 2011) will make things difficult for her.  But there are at least six other potential winners in Melbourne who could also simultaneously be crowned as the new number 1: Wozniacki, Kvitova, Azarenka, Sharapova, Stosur or Radwasnka. Unfortunately, Petkovic,  one of our great German hopes had to cancel due to a back injury.  I hope all the other players are able to have an injury free start to the season.

I’m looking forward to two exciting weeks, seeing how well prepared the players are for the season and for the Summer Olympics. The anticipation has even inspired a promise to myself to get out on the court and hit the ball around a bit more than I did last year.

On the personal side, I got a lot of great opportunities to share some memorable times with family and friends, like our vacation in Canada, our visit to Germany, Andre’s induction to the Hall of Fame and introducing a new addition to our family, a Yorkshire Terrier named Yankee. Best of all, Andre and I are so appreciative of being able to share so many special moments with our children and for the fact that all those close to our hearts are healthy. Wishing all of you a happy holiday filled with success, health, peace and happiness for the new year.

That being said, 2011 was definitely Djokovic’s year, who stacked up a record of 69 wins in his 73 matches. Among the 10 titles are the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, in which he played undeniably outstanding tennis on highest level. However, at the tournaments in Basel and London his spectacular but grueling season definitely had a noticeable effect on his game.

Though Nadal won the French Open against Federer, his only three tournament wins were limited to clay, certainly his best surface, and towards the year end, and a long and intense tour, he was also showing signs of fatigue.

The upcoming break should help the Top 4 players, including Murray, who had a fantastic Fall but is currently injured, to regain their strength for the 2012. In 6 weeks, it starts all over again with the Australian Open and I can imagine that Federer’s three tournament titles at year-end will give him some confidence for the upcoming season – also, by the way, an Olympic year. I am looking forward to seeing if Djokovic will be able to continue to perform at such a high level and maintain his top position. I am also curious to see if the Top 4 will continue to dominate the finals.

The Ladies‘ Grand-Slam winner list in 2011 tells the story of year which the lacked a dominating presence on the WTA tour: There were four different winners, three of them claiming the title for the first time. Li Na made tennis history at the French Open by being the first Asian champion in history. Her triumph was definitely one of the highlights of the year.

The Czech Petra Kvitova is definitely one of the year’s exciting newcomers with six tournament titles, including Wimbledon and the WTA Championships in Istabul. Also Samantha Stosur won her first big title at the US Open after defeating Serena Williams in straight sets. It would be great for women’s tennis if Serena Williams continues to find her way back to form in 2012 as well.

Another great story was Sabine Lisicki. She won two tournaments in Birminham and Dallas, reached the semifinals in Wimbledon and worked her way up in the rankings in a short time from rank 218 to rank 15. A great achievement for the German player who could also feel pride in the accomplishments of compatriots like Petkovic, who is the first German player in some time to rank in the Top 10, Görges and Kerber, semi-finalist at the US Open, who also showed great improvement and already have me looking forward to the upcoming season.

I was sorry to hear about the former number 1 Justine Henin, who had to withdraw from a great career with seven Grand-Slam titles for good due to a persistent elbow injury. Her talent and personality will be missed on the tour. Although Wozniacki ended the season as number 1 for the second time, her first Grand-Slam title still eluded her this year. So it remains to be seen if the women’s tennis will again produce a season with a broad top field and thus many winners. In any case we can hopefully look forward to another season with outstanding tennis and the additional highlight – the Olympic Games in London.

To note just a couple of recent examples of tremendous generosity, at the end of September,  the Cash Gala,  sponsored by Cash Medien AG,  collected EUR 27,000 on behalf of the Foundation. And now,  everyone involved with our organization is honored to hear that our team in Hamburg will be presented with the Marion Dönhoff-advancement award which includes a EUR 20,000 prize. The Marion Dönhoff award acknowledges people and organizations who act to improve international understanding and reconciliation.

Receiving this award from Marion Dönhoff foundation,  which has done a great deal to promote peace and cooperation around the world,  greatly encourages us in our efforts for children, who particularly suffer from the consequences of war, expulsion and violence. It is very clear in the daily work at the foundation that children’s mental health is a fundamental building block for peaceful social coexistence and the ability to integrate within a multicultural society.

On behalf of the foundation, I would sincerely like to thank the jury and their chair, Mr. Theo Sommer and the founders, the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, the ZEIT-foundation ebelin, Mr. Gerd Bucerius and the Marion Dönhoff foundation.

Since I unfortunately will not be able to attend the award ceremony, I also wish to take the opportunity here to thank all readers of DIE ZEIT, who nominated us for the award. Both donations from Cash Medien AG as well as from the Marion Dönhoff award helps us not only to make a difference in lives of the children we treat but hopefully also raises awareness of the psychological impact that violence can have on a society and its children.

The holiday season is here and thus the time of hope and giving. We see the needs of so many refugee children in our daily work, and so we have written a wish list on behalf of the children to our friends and supporters.

Fulfill even one wish and you can change a child’s future!

Every gift helps the children from our projects – and if you specify your name and address in your payment, we will send you a gift certificate that you can use or give to friends and family!

OUR CHRISTMAS WISHES:

Gift for our children in Gulu, Uganda

In Gulu, Uganda, the prevailing belief is that people with mental disorders are possessed by evil spirits. War traumatized former child soldiers are therefore often shunned and excluded from their communities. In order to help them reintegrate into society, we offer therapy in our outpatient clinic in Gulu and also travel to the surrounding refugee camps:

“runabout”

Gasoline for a month in the refugee camps, mobile psychotherapy costs 100 €.

“listener”

Three hours into our outpatient psychotherapy costs 20 € a month.

Year package: Give a child a long-term healing perspective and make a donation for one year 12 x 20 € – 240 €, we can enable a child 36 hours of therapy!

Gift for our children in Gjakova, Kosovo

Even ten years after the war in Kosovo officially ended, prejudice, hatred and violence between the multiple ethnic groups is still prevalent, which makes a peaceful coexistence impossible. Our project in Kosovo is therefore very important for the children of the region and has won several awards from the mayor of the city. Specifically, the project “Therapy in School” and the annual multi-ethnic camps “Youth Building Bridges” have now become a regular institution in Gjakova:

“Therapy in School”

With 500 €, we can fund a psychologist for a month.

Year package: Donate for a year – 12 x € 500 – € 6,000 – and we can employ a psychologist in primary schools in and around Gjakova.

Gift for our children in Hamburg, Germany

In our newly established foundation based in Hamburg, we operate the Outpatient Clinic for Refugee Children and their families. Doctors and therapists give children new hope through psychotherapy. In art therapy, they are given the opportunity to express their feelings and nonverbal expression:

“Picasso”

A years supply of pens, brushes, paints and clay for art therapy for each child costs 200 €.

“psychologist”

The fee for a psychologist is 3,500 € a month.

Gift for our children in Asmara, Eritrea

In 2008 we opened our first kindergarten in the slums of Asmara, Eritrea. The inhabitants of the slums speak with pride of the building where 300 children are now cared for. The marked poverty of living conditions in the area, and high percentage (over 20%) of children younger than six years old makes our work there critical to the well being of the community!

“Toys”

Treatment material costs for each child for a year is 10 €.

“bookworm”

A picture book for story time, costs 15 €.

Please donate using the form below or in Germany or Europe at the official Children for Tomorrow website:

http://childrenfortomorrow.de/index.php?article_id=31

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Ideally, exercise should be part of our daily lives, regardless of the weather. For me, the focus and energy level that I get from physically challenging myself on a daily basis – not to mention the obvious health benefits – is irreplaceable. But as the weather gets colder, we often have to make some adjustments to our routines.

Thankfully, there are a lot of great winter sports that provide both a good workout and are a lot of fun. I personally love snowboarding and along with my whole family, we try to get out on the mountain as soon as the snow is deep enough. Also, when it starts getting cold, I like to take the opportunity to do more Pilates for my back and flexibility and I tend to go to the gym more often for strength training.

For those of us in colder climates, winter inevitably leads us to engage in more activities indoors. The gym is a good place to work on a variety of muscles or doe aerobic based workouts. For some sports, indoor training is an ideal method to focus on technique and strength, since you are less likely to be distracted by external factors, such as weather or traffic. Studies even show that some indoors sports, such as running on the treadmill or cycling, result in less injuries than if they were exercised outdoors. For those who do not like riding on the indoor-bike or exercising on the cross-trainer in the gym: there are also a lot of indoor gyms that offer the facilities for team-sports like tennis, racquetball, squash or basketball, as well as dance classes or and swimming pools.

For a lot of people, it can be difficult to find the time to work out between family and work. So its a wonderful thing when we can include our family in our exercise routine by taking a long walk out in the snow, playing ping pong, bowling or playing interactive Wii-Fit fitness games. That way, we get to develop good exercise habits and spend quality time together.

Winter is a good opportunity to mix different activities, and perhaps work out different muscle groups or try a new sport. There is no reason for winter to slow us down.

“We do a lot together as a family. We especially like fun games for the whole family that encourage movement”, explains Stefanie Graf. “We liked Wii right away. We tried it out at home and realised that Wii isn’t just fun for the kids, but for the whole family”. A television ad set to appear in early November will show just how much fun Germany’s most successful tennis player has with the Nintendo television game console. In the ad, Stefanie Graf is shown moving along with Wii Fit Plus and along with kids, enjoying ecstatic gameplay with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. The ads are part of a large-scale TV, print and online campaign for three of the most popular, motion-based Nintendo game titles.

Stefanie Graf is clearly taken by the active Wii games, especially considering that they spark a passion for sports and an active lifestyle. The games are also perfect for families. “I had already heard a lot about Wii Fit Plus”, she explains, adding “I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that I benefit from it, too.”

Thanks to her own experience with Wii, Stefanie Graf is a particularly credible advocate not only for sports games, but also for family gameplay. “When we met for the first time, I was impressed by her lively and enthusiastic account of her experience with the Wii console,” reflects Dr Bernd Fakesch, General Manager Nintendo Germany. “That’s when I realised that she was just the right person for our campaign”.

Stefanie Graf on WhoSay

The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education is delighted to announce that amongst others, Michael Bublé, Jimmy Kimmel and Train will headline its 16th Grand Slam for Children benefit concert. Hosted by Andre and presented by the new main sponsor Longines, the 2011 Grand Slam for Children will happen on October 29th at the Wynn in Las Vegas. The event supports the Foundation’s efforts to transform education in Las Vegas and across the United States.

On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween with a big party and elaborate costumes as a kind of festival, which is more the style of celebration in Germany and other European countries. It is, in many ways, a traditional Halloween celebration in which we decorate our house with carved pumpkins, spiderwebs and other spooky things and we vote for the best costume at the party. However the costumes don’t even have to be scary, and end up being quite diverse following the example of German carnival. I dressed up as Cher last year and I will try to win the prize for the best outfit this year with a new costume, which remains a secret for the moment.

October is also my favorite month because of the autumn-like atmosphere around the house. After the blazing hot summer months of Vegas, I enjoy the cooler weather, when the first snow has fallen in the mountains and when you come back to the warm house from a stroll outside and the smell of herbal tea, chimney fire and pumpkin is in the air. By the way, there are many great pumpkin recipes, which we like to try out with the family, as for example a very easy pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie or roasted pumpkin seeds for a salad.

Apart from our regular October appointments, Andre and I were on the road a lot the last month, as I just returned from Germany where I inaugurated the first TEEKANNE Tealounge in Berlin, paid a visit to my foundation and met with a new partner, about whom I look forward to telling you more about in the next few days. Andre for his part, has recently been traveling with the Championship Series Tournament along with a lot of other great players including Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and John McEnroe. Its a 12 city tour and last week they stopped in Las Vegas. It was a great opportunity for the local audience, family and friends to cheer for him in his hometown in the great atmosphere at the Thomas and Mack Arena. Next week, he will play his last match of the tour in Chicago and will then fully concentrate on the preparations for the charity concert.

By contrast, the field in the women’s Grand Slams was much more wide open. Clijsters won the Australian Open, but injuries forced her to miss most of the season. Na Li won her first title in Paris in a truly historic moment for tennis. Kvitova won at Wimbledon. And a heartfelt congratulations to Stosur, who used her calm game and superior fitness in New York to win what was also her first Grand Slam. Serena Williams was in the final at Flushing Meadows but was unfortunately, not in her usual fine form and once again disappointingly displayed some emotional behavior on the court. In a pleasant surprise at the U.S. Open, the unseeded German Angelique Kerber showed some major potential advancing to the semifinals against Stosur.

It remains to be seen in the next season, if Serena Williams can return to dominance after being away from the game for so long, if Wozniacki can solidify her number one ranking with a grand slam win, if number two Sharapova can get back to her winning ways, and what we will see from newcomer Na LI.

Now until the Tour returns with the WTA Championships in Istanbul, and the ATP World Tour Finals in London, things will be relatively calm as we will see mostly smaller hard court tournaments, Fed Cup matches and the Davis Cup. I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming tennis and I wish the players all the best for the last months of this season.

Children for Tomorrow’s new ambulance center and foundation headquarters opened just this past April on the premises of the university medical center Eppendorf in Hamburg and we are already seeing some very positive results. Mr. Rami Gaber, Assistant Medical Director of the refugee ambulance, has treated 34 children and young adults these past few months, and works with about 30 patients on a regular basis. The majority of the patients come from Afghanistan, but there are also young people from Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Somalia and the Balkans, just some of the countries where children have often been traumatized by war and persecution.

The most common condition is post-traumatic stress disorder, followed by severe depression and various social behavior disorders, which all require different therapeutic treatments.

Together with our doctors and therapists, everyone associated with the Foundation is very enthusiastic about our additional capacity to support the treatment of more refugee children through the new foundation building. We also look forward to many new opportunities and projects, including our “mobile consultation” initiative, which will allow our doctors to go to refugee camps and schools and reach children who are not likely to find their own way to our center. In the near future, we will also be extending our methodology from its focus on conversational therapy to other proven nonverbal therapy methods: In September we will start with art therapy and by the end of the year we will be adding music and dance programs.