Rio and the Olympics

Maria Bueno has been making the headlines again, this time in relation to the Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro next year.

She was first interviewed for Expressions, the luxury magazine for Platinum clients of Banco Bradesco in Brazil; and then she was off to Rio for a meeting with the President of the 2016 Olympic Organising Committee.

“Both were a fantastic privilege,” Maria told her website. “Very special people and very special occasions.

“I met the Chief Executive of Bradesco, Luiz Carlos Trabuco, and various members of the Board of Directors at the bank’s head quarters, which are very impressive.

“They all couldn’t have been nicer and I was so pleased to be shown around and to have the chance to talk to so many of them there.”

Lazaro Brandao, Bradesco’s President, told Maria how he founded the bank and built it into one of the most successful in Brazil. She was particularly struck by the sense of family that prevails among the staff, despite the enormity of the organisation these days.

Bradesco is a supporting sponsor of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Subsequent to that meeting, Maria was invited to be interviewed for Expressions, a glossy magazine produced for American Express Platinum Card holders throughout Latin American.

“That was quite something too,” she said. “We had a whole crew at Harmonia [Sociade de Tenis] for the day – ranging from people to do my make-up and hair, to lighting technicians and, of course, the interviewer, Flávia G Pinho, and Egberto Nogueira, the photographer.

“They all did a great job and I think the feature has turned out very well for all concerned!”

[To download a copy, click HERE / For English translation, click HERE]

Meeting with the Rio Games organisers

The following week Maria spent a morning with the 2016 Olympic Organising Committee and was thrilled to meet Carlos Nuzman, the President, and members of his team.

“That also was an amazing experience for me,” Maria said. “These are exciting times ahead of the build up to the Rio Olympics and to meet those responsible for all the organisation was really great!”

Once again, Maria’s passion for both her own sport and the Olympics was called into play when she was asked to film an interview, which can be viewed here:

“These are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for all concerned and everything is being done to make sure the Olympics in Brazil, here in South America for the first time, are a huge success.

“We must all do everything we can to make this happen well.”

Covering Madrid

Maria finished off her busy week by commentating on the closing matches of the Matua Madrid Open tournament, an ATP 1,000 event.

“It was the tournament where [Rafael] Nadal, the King of Clay, lost his crown to Andy Murray, who played a near-perfect form of clay court tennis.

“Rafa has confessed to a loss of confidence lately and it seems as if his dominance is now coming under threat.

“In fact, Roger [Federer] was the second seed and although he too was playing well on the clay, having won the tournament in Istanbul the week before, he was shocked by the Australian, Nick Kyrgios.

“Murray too won his first clay court tournament in Munich the week before and is becoming a real contender for the title at Roland Garros alongside Roger and , of course, Rafa – who can ever discount him there?

“Novak Djokovic remains the world number one but didn’t play in Madrid, taking the week off after an amazing run of wins, so he must remain the favourite to win his first French Open title.

“For sure, the coming weeks will prove to be interesting!”

And so to Europe…

Unfortunately Maria picked up a virus which, exacerbated by severe air conditioning and fatigue, morphed into a severe lung infection that called for strong antibiotics and lots of rest.

“I got pretty sick,” Maria admitted. “Which wasn’t too good just before I was due to travel but I was taken care of well by my doctors and, luckily for me, the antibiotics kicked in well enough for me to get on the flight to London but I had to promise to rest well when I got here!”

Maria is now almost back to her fighting strength and took the chance to meet up with some Brazilian friends at the All England Lawn Tennis Club last week.

“For them to see Wimbledon outside The Championships is fantastic for them because the club is so different then,” Maria explained.

“We did the full tour and took in the Museum and so on before having a lovely lunch in the Members Restaurant.

“For me, it was my first outing since arriving at Heathrow and it was great to see everyone there at Wimbledon and to see all the arrangements for The Championships coming together.

“It happens so smoothly and easily, you wouldn’t believe it is now only a few weeks away!”

… and Roland Garros

Maria is watching the French Championships with interest and as it entered into the second week, she gave her thoughts on the movers and shakers.

“The top four, and I include Rafa [Nadal] in that although his ranking has dropped, continue to see off the younger players,” says Maria.

“Rafa is finding his form at the right time and is looking stronger in each match; so are [Andy] Murray and Roger [Federer], while [Novak] Djokovic is impeccable!

“Rafa, Murray and Djokovic are all in the same half, which is a pity because we are going to see Rafa against Djokovic in the quarters in what probably should be the final.

“Roger is in the other half and cruising, although every match is a test for him on the clay, of course, and he has to meet Stan Wawrinka next.

“I am disappointed in [Grigor] Dimitrov losing so early as he really is the leader of the pack of young faces who are generally doing well – [Dominic] Thiem, [Borna] Coric and [Thanasi] Kokkinakis.

“Everyone is also talking about [Nick] Kyrgios but he seems to be prone to carrying lots of injuries which is not such a good thing at his young age.

“As for the women, once again [Serena] Williams and [Maria] Sharapova are dominating the draw as expected, although Serena dropped a set to [Victoria] Azarenka and has looked a little more fragile than usual.

“It is good to see [Ana] Ivanovic finding her form again on the clay after some years since she won the Championships at Roland Garros.

“This game is such a balance of things. You have to be well to play, physically fit that is, but you also have to be very strong mentally and that means having total belief in yourself.

“That is something that both Williams and Sharapova have and it makes them so very hard to beat.

“There are some new faces it seems among the women players too. I was particularly impressed with [Elina] Svitolina, who is only 20 years old and had a fantastic battle with [Alizé] Cornet.”

So who is going to be hoisting the trophies next Sunday?

“Djokovic for sure in the men’s,” confirms Maria. “… and perhaps Sharapova!

“But who knows? This is tennis and anything can happen on a good day!”

As it happened, both Sharapova and Federer lost, the former to Garmine Muguruza and the latter to Wawrinka.

“Such is tennis,” laughs Maria. “Anything can happen on an off day, particularly in Paris when it is not too warm and the wind is blowing hard! And also, in each round someone has to win and the other lose.”

She will be watching from London with great interest as Roland Garros draws to its conclusion and the game switches to grass.

“There is an extra week between Paris and Wimbledon for the first time, offering three weeks on the grass for the players,” says Maria.

“It should help the players adjust better and to get a bit of a break between the two Grand Slams.”

The Championships at Wimbledon start on 29 June.