Moto Gp Wallpaper: 2009

The powers that be at Wimbledon decree a day of rest on the first Sunday of the tournament. In the past this was done for religious reasons and while I'm sure the good folks at St Mary's church on the grounds of the AELTC would love to see a few players in the pews, especially since it was made public that they were allowing people to park in their cemetery, I somehow suspect that most of the players still in contention are on the practice courts.
@Jim Courier tweets the following re practice time at Wimbledon.

Found out that current situation is 30 mins/day for seeds 1-16. 30 mins every other day for seeds 17-32. 30 mins 1 time for non-seeds.

It's a good time for those of us who blog to look back on the week that was on the sacred tennis ground that is Wimbledon. Were there surprises? Yes there were. Cupcake draws? Please. Let's see what the men and women were up to last week.

If you don't have ESPN360 it's time to bug the shit out of your ISP provider to get it because if you don't have it you missed the match of the week between Juan Carlos Ferrero and Fernando Gonzalez. This was not a clay court match on grass. It was a grass court match with shots that made you leap out of you seat (or off of your computer chair) in awe and wonder. It was seeing Juan Carlos say to himself that he was not going to lose and then not losing. It was Fernando using his big forehand to try and intimidate Juan Carlos. It was a match of two veterans pulling out all the stops and yesterday Juan Carlos was the one left standing.

The match lasted until after 9p London time but neither ESPN or NBC saw fit to air any of it. ESPN stuck with the match between Andy Murray and Victor Troicki, a match in name only since Troicki vs Murray is a bad match up for Troicki and Murray was doing what he wanted when he wanted from the first ball toss. As for NBC all claims they want to make to being the Wimbledon network went out the window when they aired the complete Andy Roddick match that had taken place earlier in the day. This is the same network that aired golf's US Open live on Monday disrupting their daytime schedule folks. Do you have any idea how much advertising money is invested in daytime television ladies and gentlemen? Yet when it comes to tennis they air a match that only casual tennis fans didn't know was long over.

I understand that there are situations where people can't see the matches live online and don't scoreboard watch and that many of them were happy to see the Roddick match. It just wasn't gripping tennis. Yes Andy dropped a set and it's still interesting to see the new and improved Andy Roddick play his way into the second week but really people. Why is tennis held to a three hour window while golf is given free rein of the airwaves? I'm sure the programming geeks at NBC were happy to have a match they could put into their alloted space. I'm sure fans with no other recourse were happy to see some tennis. It's just that Gonzalez vs Ferrero was the better, and more compelling match and would've brought more fans to the sport. I could speculate as to why this match was not deemed worthy but I won't go there, at least not today.

The other match of the week was also a men's match. Veteran player Tommy Haas gave tennis fans a glimpse of what could have been in his career if not for injury. In a best of five set match that saw the fifth set spill over from Friday into Saturday Haas won the deciding set 10-8 over Marin Cilic, one of the up and coming players on the ATP tour. Haas had played a lot of tennis coming into Wimbledon and I really thought he'd be too tired to get through to the second week. I was wrong. This match also had everything, great shot making, great thinking, and great attitude from both men. Since I spent most of the day on the computer I don't know if ESPN aired the end of the final set of this match so I'll let them slide. I know what network didn't show it. I'm just saying.

Lleyton Hewitt is somewhat of a surprise player in week two. I'll admit I don't watch his matches because I find myself waking up and they're over but from all accounts he's playing well this week. I wonder how many times they cut to his actress wife beaming a la Nancy Reagan at her husband. I'll take Haas' gum chewing fiancee any day over those scenes. I know. I'm not apologizing although someone should teach Ms Foster that a lady does not chew gum like that. I'm all for keeping it real but all I could hear is my mother making a reference to cud chewing by bovines.

As for the women the matches of the week were the big upsets. I really don't like watching Jelena Jankovic matches. Even when she's winning she pulls some stunt that makes me want to hurl a shoe at her. You can only imagine my amusement when she found herself on the wrong side of the score in her match against American teenager Melanie Oudin.

I hate to say it but when Jelena or Novak Djokovic play unless I see blood or a bone protruding I take their injuries and bouts of illness with a box of salt. A very large box. Jelena really did her acting coach proud yesterday pulling out the dizzyness thing causing a long delay in the second set. In the third set she realized her toe or something was hurting and Oudin, returning from a bathroom break asked "What's wrong with her now?" I'm sure JJ thought that she'd throw the young woman off and ease her way into the second week but Melanie was having none of it. She held her focus and sent the Serbian nominee for Best Actress home. Mary Carillo was only one of many who called Jelena's presser tasteless, classless and tacky. She gave her opponent no credit for outwitting her and instead blamed her monthly cycle for her poor play. Have it your way JJ and thanks for that glimpse into your world.

The other big match on the women's side saw French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova flummoxed by Sabine Lisicki. Sabine has been on tennishead's radar for awhile now and while her making it to the second week of a Slam is a surprise it's really Sabine showing that what everyone saw in her was not an illusion.

What was my biggest surprise result on the women's side? Was it Li Na losing to Aggie Radwanska? Was it Peng Shuai's inability to close out her match against Aggie? The fact that none of the Chinese women made it to week two this year? Surprise, yes. Shock no.
What surprised me the most was Samantha Stosur rolling over and playing dead against Ana Ivanovic. It's not that I'm a big fan of Stosur but that she's been playing very well of late while Ana's play has been lackluster at best. I have to say I was stunned to see Stosur allow Ivanovic to stand in the middle of the court and dictate play a la Daniela Hantuchova. Instead of making Ana run Stosur subjected us all to the Bubble and Squeak show of Ana who pirouetted, strangled a few gerbils, and would've done the squeaky sneakers thing if she could have on her way to a straight set victory.

Of course the pundits are all scratching their heads at Maria Sharapova's loss since she was supposed to cakewalk her way into the second week. One can forgive Gisela Dulko for not following up on that win. Well I can anyway. In case you're interested I have stopped doing Debbie Reynolds "told you so" dance from "Will and Grace". Find it on YouTube. Hi-larious.

Day 7 Orders of Play

Singles

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Robin Soderling (SWE) [13] 113 vs Roger Federer (SUI) [2] 128
2. Dinara Safina (RUS) [1] 1 vs Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [17] 9
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [3] 33 vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [19] 41

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Venus Williams (USA) [3] 33 vs Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] 48
2. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [7] 97 vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [22] 105
3. Tomas Berdych (CZE) [20] 24 vs Andy Roddick (USA) [6] 32

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Elena Vesnina (RUS) 86 vs Elena Dementieva (RUS) [4] 96
2. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 115 vs Serena Williams (USA) [2] 128
3. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 3 vs Radek Stepanek (CZE) [23] 9

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [8] 97 vs Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10] 112
2. Dudi Sela (ISR) 85 vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [4] 96
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 53 vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [8] 64

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Igor Andreev (RUS) [29] 72 vs Tommy Haas (GER) [24] 73
2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9] 17 vs Sabine Lisicki (GER) 26

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [11] 49 vs Melanie Oudin (USA) 58
2. Virginie Razzano (FRA) [26] 72 vs Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 74

Doubles

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT

3. Wesley Moodie (RSA) and Dick Norman (BEL) [9] 25 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) and Evgeny Korolev (RUS) 28
4. Mike Bryan (USA) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) [6] 33 vs
Philipp Petzschner (GER) and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 35

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) and Monica Niculescu (ROU) 60 vs
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) [2] 64
2. Cara Black (ZIM) and Liezel Huber (USA) [1] 1 vs
Iveta Benesova (CZE) and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 5
3. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) and Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 51 vs
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10] 56
4. Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Andy Ram (ISR) [7] 33 vs Simon Aspelin (SWE) and Paul Hanley (AUS) 37

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Lukasz Kubot (POL) and Oliver Marach (AUT) [8] 49 vs Christopher Kas (GER) and Viktor Troicki (SRB) 54
2. Rogier Wassen (NED) and Igor Zelenay (SVK) 11 vs Bruno Soares (BRA) and Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) [5] 16

COURT 12 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Martin Damm (CZE) and Robert Lindstedt (SWE) [15] 41 vs James Blake (USA) and Mardy Fish (USA) 47
2. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) and Tatiana Poutchek (BLR) 36 vs Kristina Barrois (GER) and Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 38
3. Andrei Pavel (ROU) and Monica Niculescu (ROU) 13 vs Robert Lindstedt (SWE) and Rennae Stubbs (AUS) [7] 16

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Bob Bryan (USA) and Mike Bryan (USA) [1] 1 vs Leos Friedl (CZE) and David Skoch (CZE) 7
2. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) and Mark Knowles (BAH) [4] 17 vs
Prakash Amritraj (IND) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 23
3. Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG) and Gisela Dulko (ARG) 62 vs Bob Bryan (USA) and Samantha Stosur (AUS) [2] 64

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT

3. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) [11] 9 vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Elena Vesnina (RUS) [7] 16
4. Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) [4] 17 vs Zi Yan (CHN) and Jie Zheng (CHN) [13] 24

MATCHES TO BE ARRANGED

Not before 4.00 pm
Jamie Delgado (GBR) and Jonathan Marray (GBR) 59 vs Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) [2] 64

Not before 5.00 pm
Leander Paes (IND) and Cara Black (ZIM) [1] 1 vs Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) and Sania Mirza (IND) [13] 8
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) and Iveta Benesova (CZE) [15] 41 vs Marcin Matkowski (POL) and Lisa Raymond (USA) [3] 48

Juniors

COURT 6 - 11.00 AM START

1. Jana Cepelova (SVK) 5 vs Akiko Omae (JPN) 6 GS
2. Tamara Curovic (SRB) 31 vs Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO) [8] 32 GS
3. Jennifer Ren (GBR) 45 vs Nastja Kolar (SLO) 46 GS
4. Harry Fowler (USA) 61 vs Emanuele Molina (ITA) 62 BS

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

3. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [1] 1 vs Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) 2 GS
4. Facundo Arguello (ARG) [14] 57 vs Dino Marcan (CRO) 58 BS

COURT 8 - 11.00 AM START

1. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) 37 vs Richard Gabb (GBR) 38 BS
2. Beatrice Capra (USA) 29 vs An-Sophie Mestach (BEL) 30 GS
3. Ana Bogdan (ROU) [3] 17 vs Magda Linette (POL) 18 GS
4. Timea Babos (HUN) [6] 49 vs Tara Moore (GBR) 50 GS
5. Gianni Mina (FRA) [6] 49 vs Oliver Golding (GBR) 50 BS

COURT 9 - 11.00 AM START

1. Dominik Wirlend (AUT) 3 vs David Thomson (GBR) 4 BS
2. Khunpak Issara (THA) 11 vs Alexandra Walker (GBR) 12 GS
3. Kevin Krawietz (GER) 53 vs Guilherme Clezar (BRA) 54 BS
4. Olivia Rogowska (AUS) [5] 33 vs Lesley Kerkhove (NED) 34 GS
5. Johannes Robert Van Overbeek (USA) 7 vs Cheng Peng Hsieh (TPE) [13] 8 BS

COURT 11 - 11.00 AM START

1. Alessandro Bega (ITA) 43 vs Tom Farquharson (GBR) 44 BS
2. Tiago Fernandes (BRA) 11 vs Sandro Ehrat (SUI) 12 BS
3. Chantal Skamlova (SVK) 43 vs Ilinca Stoica (ROU) 44 GS
4. Andrei Vasilevski (BLR) 29 vs Marin Draganja (CRO) 30 BS

COURT 14

4. Katarena Paliivets (CAN) 63 vs Laura Robson (GBR) [2] 64 GS

COURT 15 - 11.00 AM START

1. Miyabi Inoue (JPN) 27 vs Fatma Al Nabhani (OMA) 28 GS
2. Julien Obry (FRA) [10] 9 vs Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) 10 BS
3. Jocelyn Rae (GBR) 15 vs Sloane Stephens (USA) [7] 16 GS
4. Alexander Domijan (USA) 5 vs Liam Broady (GBR) 6 BS

COURT 16 - 11.00 AM START

1. Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (EGY) 45 vs Sudarwa Sitaram (IND) 46 BS
2. Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas (GER) 27 vs Jordan Cox (USA) 28 BS
3. Alejandra Granillo (MEX) 47 vs Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) [4] 48 GS
4. Malou Ejdesgaard (DEN) 61 vs Sally Peers (AUS) 62 GS

COURT 19 - 11.00 AM START

1. Heather Watson (GBR) [12] 25 vs Valeria Solovieva (RUS) 26 GS
2. Devin Britton (USA) 15 vs Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN) [7] 16 BS
3. Sachia Vickery (USA) 3 vs Luksika Kumkhum (THA) 4 GS
4. Filip Horansky (SVK) 21 vs James Marsalek (GBR) 22 BS
5. Riki McLachlan (NZL) 59 vs Stanislav Poplavskyy (UKR) 60 BS

The Monogram is going to meet Robin Soderling. Excuse the yawn. If Soderling wins I won't snark about the Monogram for two posts. It occurred to me yesterday that while some are screaming GOAT from the rooftops the only great matches he's played have been when he's faced some upstart from Mallorca. Otherwise it's been the bum of the month club and expected wins. Again I'm just saying.

Dinara Safina vs Amelie Mauresmo is interesting on paper. Both women have a lot to prove. Dinara is anxious to show that she can make it to a Slam Final and win. Amelie wants to prove her best days aren't behind her. Both are tenacious on court and if they both bring their "A" game this should be a good one.

Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka is another "should be" match. Murray will use his rope-a-dope style of play against Stan who runs hot and cold. If he's cold it'll be a good match to snooze on.

As for Bubble and Squeak vs the Grass Court Queen let's just hope Venus Williams doesn't go on walkabout during this match.

Andy Roddick vs Tomas Berdych can be a very good match. Or not. If Andy starts checking to make sure the family jewels are still there you'll know he's in panic mode. Off course there's always the chance that Berdych will go out like a bitch.

Actually there are a lot of potentially good match ups on the woman's side.
Victoria Azarenka vs Nadia Petrova is one of them. The match I'm most looking forward to though is Caroline Wozniacki against Sabine Lisicki. This is a big test for both women. The same goes for Aggie Radwanska vs Melanie Oudin. Huge test for Oudin against the crafty Radwanska.

End Notes

Dare I say it? With the exception of the two ATP matches I mentioned above as being the best of the week the WTA has been the tour with swagger. The new jacks are announcing their arrival at a major in a big way while the old guard is looking to hold on to their dominance for another year. Will one of the new jacks make it into the semi finals? Will one, or more of the old guard fall victim to the new jacks? It's hard to come up with a catch phrase to sum up week two of Wimbledon. All one can say is that it's time to put your money where your mouth is boys and girls. It's on.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Seen and Heard Around Wimbledon Day 5

by Savannah

I admit it. I fell asleep and missed most of today's play. At some point during Victoria Azarenka's match against Sorana Cirstea I dozed off. That I woke up too late to see Serena Williams singles match made it even worse.

Serena Williams
I guess the gods knew what was right though because I did see the end of the fourth and all of the fifth set of Tommy Haas vs Marin Cilic easily the match of the tournament so far. The match was called due to darkness and will be resumed at six all tomorrow. If the expressions on the guys pictured up top are any indication I missed some good tennis.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Apparently Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wishes he could start the day over. Ivo Karlovic outplayed Jo and moves on into the second week of play. I'm guessing Ivo did more than serve to get his win. Tsonga has looked uncomfortable on the grass beginning during his warm up play.

Congratulations Ivo.

Francesca Schiavone
Outside of Fed Cup play Francesca Schiavone has not had much to celebrate lately. Her win over Marion Bartoli today had to give her the confidence to start winning the matches she should win.

Dudi Sela
I'm sure there are some who thought Israel's Dudi Sela would make it to the second week outside of his family and friends. His is the surprise win of the day.

Saturday Order of Play

Singles

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Venus Williams (USA) [3] 33 vs Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 39
2. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) [26] 25 vs Andy Roddick (USA) [6] 32
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [3] 33 vs Viktor Troicki (SRB) [30] 40

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) [12] 17 vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [20] 24
Tommy Haas (GER) [24] 73 vs Marin Cilic (CRO) [11] 80 T/F 7/5 7/5 1/6 6/7(3) 6/6 0-0*
2. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 26 vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) [5] 32
3. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) [10] 49 vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 53

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Samantha Stosur (AUS) [18] 41 vs Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] 48
Andreas Seppi (ITA) 66 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) [29] 72 T/F 1/6 6/7(5) 6/4 5/5 0-0*
2. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 3 vs Philipp Petzschner (GER) 6
3. Dinara Safina (RUS) [1] 1 vs Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Melanie Oudin (USA) 58 vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [6] 64
2. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [17] 9 vs Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [15] 16
3. Victor Hanescu (ROU) [31] 57 vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [8] 64

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9] 17 vs Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) [20] 24
2. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [19] 41 vs Jesse Levine (USA) 47

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Radek Stepanek (CZE) [23] 9 vs David Ferrer (ESP) [16] 16
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [11] 49 vs Na Li (CHN) [19] 56

Doubles Order of Play

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT

4. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) and Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [16] 41 vs Samantha Stosur (AUS) and Rennae Stubbs (AUS) [3] 48

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT

3. Leander Paes (IND) and Cara Black (ZIM) [1] 1 vs Michal Mertinak (SVK) and Mara Santangelo (ITA) 4

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Julie Ditty (USA) and Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) 54 vs
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10] 56
2. Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) and Sania Mirza (IND) [15] 57 vs
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) and Monica Niculescu (ROU) 60
3. Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Elena Vesnina (RUS) [5] 49 vs James Auckland (GBR) and Elena Baltacha (GBR) 52
4. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) and Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 34 vs
Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) and Tatiana Poutchek (BLR) 36

COURT 7

Not before 1.00 pm

2. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) [11] 9 vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) and Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 11
3. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) and Iveta Benesova (CZE) [15] 41 vs Eric Butorac (USA) and Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 43
4. Marcelo Melo (BRA) and Shuai Peng (CHN) [14] 57 vs
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) and Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 60
5. James Cerretani (USA) and Sybille Bammer (AUT) 54 vs Mark Knowles (BAH) and Anna- Lena Groenefeld (GER) [9] 56

COURT 8

Not before 1.00 pm
2. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) and Vania King (USA) [12] 25 vs Kaia Kanepi (EST) and Ipek Senoglu (TUR) 31
3. Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) and Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) [4] 17 vs Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) and Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 19
4. Simon Aspelin (SWE) and Paul Hanley (AUS) 37 vs Travis Parrott (USA) and Filip Polasek (SVK) [10] 40

COURT 12

3. Rogier Wassen (NED) and Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 30 vs Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Nadia Petrova (RUS) [8] 32
4. Stephen Huss (AUS) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) [12] 25 vs Bruno Soares (BRA) and Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 28

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Gisela Dulko (ARG) and Shahar Peer (ISR) 22 vs Zi Yan (CHN) and Jie Zheng (CHN) [13] 24
2. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) and Ai Sugiyama (JPN) [6] 49 vs
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) and Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 51
3. Arnaud Clement (FRA) and Marc Gicquel (FRA) 46 vs James Blake (USA) and Mardy Fish (USA) 47
4. Andre Sa (BRA) and Ai Sugiyama (JPN) [11] 9 vs Kenneth Skupski (GBR) and Katie O'Brien (GBR) 12

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

3. Andy Ram (ISR) and Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 21 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) and Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 22

MATCHES TO BE ARRANGED
Not before 5.00 pm
Colin Fleming (GBR) and Sarah Borwell (GBR) 6 vs Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) and Sania Mirza (IND) [13] 8
Jamie Murray (GBR) and Liezel Huber (USA) 38 vs Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) and Zi Yan (CHN) [10] 40

With all that happened yesterday I forgot to do the seed watch for Day 5. Here is seed watch for Day 6.

Carla Suarez Navarro is ranked #34
Jurgen Melzer is ranked #30
Victor Troicki is ranked #31
Tomas Berdych is ranked #20
Sabine Lisicki is ranked #41
Juan Carlos Ferrero is ranked #70
Lleyton Hewitt is ranked #56
Philipp Petzschner is ranked #55
Kirsten Flipkens is ranked #110
Melanie Oudin is ranked #124
Victor Hanescu is ranked #28

Junior Wimbledon play begins tomorrow. Here is the draw and the order of play for Day 1.

Boys' Singles Draw

[1] BERTA, Daniel SWE v REUTER, Yannik BEL
WIRLEND, Dominik AUT (Q) v THOMSON, David GBR
DOMIJAN, Alexander USA (Q) v BROADY, Liam GBR (Q)
VAN OVERBEEK, Johannes Robert USA v [13] HSIEH, Cheng Peng TPE

[10] OBRY, Julien FRA v CARRENO-BUSTA, Pablo ESP
FERNANDES, Tiago BRA v EHRAT, Sandro SUI
LAVIE, Sebastian NZL (W) v CARPENTER, Jack GBR
BRITTON, Devin USA v [7] SEKIGUCHI, Shuichi JPN

[4] VELOTTI, Agustin ARG v SCHOLTZ, Nikala RSA
ALCANTARA, Francis Casey PHI v NEUCHRIST, Maximilian AUT
HORANSKY, Filip SVK (W) v MARSALEK, James GBR
PUGET, Adrien FRA v [15] SANDGREN, Tennys USA

[11] SOUTO, David VEN v (W) BURTON, Lewis GBR
GEORGOUDAS, Alexandros-Ferd GER (Q) v COX, Jordan USA (Q)
VASILEVSKI, Andrei BLR v DRAGANJA, Marin CRO
GAIO, Federico ITA v [8] URIGUEN, Julen GUA

[5] COLLARINI, Andrea ARG v BOLUDA-PURKISS, Carlos ESP
KOVALIK, Jozef SVK vFRANK, Mitchell USA
HERBERT, Pierre-Hugues FRA (W) v GABB, Richard GBR
URBANEK, Radim CZE v [9] SCHULZ, Dominik GER

[16] KING, Evan USA v DE GREEF, Arthur BEL
(Q) BEGA, Alessandro ITA v (W) FARQUHARSON, Tom GBR
MAAMOUN, Karim-Mohamed EGY v SITARAM, Sudarwa IND (W)
MORGAN, George GBR v [3] TOMIC, Bernard AUS

[6] MINA, Gianni FRA v (W) GOLDING, Oliver GBR
KUZNETSOV, Andrey RUS v WEISSBORN, Tristan-Samuel AUT (Q)
KRAWIETZ, Kevin GER v CLEZAR, Guilherme BRA
EHARA, Hiroyasu JPN v [12] KUDLA, Denis USA

[14] ARGUELLO, Facundo ARG v MARCAN, Dino CRO
MCLACHLAN, Riki NZL v POPLAVSKYY, Stanislav UKR
FOWLER, Harry USA (Q) v MOLINA, Emanuele ITA (W)
HEWITT, Ashley GBR v [2] HUANG, Liang-Chi TPE

Girls' Singles Draw

[1] MLADENOVIC, Kristina FRA v (Q) BOUCHARD, Eugenie CAN
(Q) VICKERY, Sachia USA v (Q) KUMKHUM, Luksika THA
CEPELOVA, Jana SVK (Q) v OMAE, Akiko JPN
JAMES, Hannah GBR v [15] GAVRILOVA, Daria RUS

[10] SILVA, Camila CHI v YSIDORA, Grace Sari INA
ISSARA, Khunpak THA (W) v WALKER, Alexandra GBR
HOLLAND, Isabella AUS (L) v VAN DER MEET, Angelique NED
(W) RAE, Jocelyn GBR v [7] STEPHENS, Sloane USA

[3] BOGDAN, Ana ROU v LINETTE, Magda POL
SAENYAUKHOT, Natchanok THA v HOGENKAMP, Richel NED
TREVISAN, Martina ITA v (W) VICKERS, Samantha GBR
SUSANYI, Zsofia HUN v [16] EIKERI, Ulrikke NOR

[12] WATSON, Heather GBR v SOLOVIEVA, Valeria RUS
INOUE, Miyabi JPN v AL NABHANI, Fatma OMA
CAPRA, Beatrice USA v (Q) MESTACH, An-Sophie BEL
CUROVIC, Tamara SRB v [8] TOMLJANOVIC, Ajla CRO

[5] ROGOWSKA, Olivia AUS v KERKHOVE, Lesley NED
KIRILLOVA, Ksenia RUS v CEPEDE ROYG, Veronica PAR
CORNISH, Stephanie GBR v KRUNIC, Alexandra SRB
GIBBS, Nicole USA v [11] NJIRIC, Silvia CRO

[13] (W) HENDLER, Tamaryn BEL v MUTAGUCHI, Emi JPN
SKAMLOVA, Chantal SVK v (Q) STOICA, Ilinca ROU
(W) REN, Jennifer GBR v KOLAR, Nastja SLO
GRANILLO, Alejandra MEX v [4] LERTCHEEWAKARN, Noppawan THA

[6] BABOS, Timea HUN v (W) MOORE, Tara GBR
JUHASZOVA, Vivien SVK v (W) GEORGE, Nicola GBR
ISHIZU, Sachie JPN v LERTPITAKSINCHAI, Nicha THA
BUCHINA, Yana RUS v [9] MCHALE, Christina USA

[14] SIMMONDS, Chanel RSA v ZANEVSKA, Maryna UKR
LEYKINA, Polina RUS v LEMOINE, Quirine NED
(Q) EJDESGAARD, Malou DEN v (Q) PEERS, Sally AUS
PALIIVETS, Katarena CAN v [2] ROBSON, Laura GBR

Junior Day 1 Order of Play

COURT 6 - 11.00 AM START

1. Camila Silva (CHI) [10] 9 vs Grace Sari Ysidora (INA) 10 GS
2. Jozef Kovalik (SVK) 35 vs Mitchell Frank (USA) 36 BS
3. Nicole Gibbs (USA) 39 vs Silvia Njiric (CRO) [11] 40 GS
4. Sachie Ishizu (JPN) 53 vs Nicha Lertpitaksinchai (THA) 54 GS
5. Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI) 19 vs Maximilian Neuchrist (AUT) 20 BS

COURT 7 - 11.00 AM START

1. George Morgan (GBR) 47 vs Bernard Tomic (AUS) [3] 48 BS

COURT 8 - 11.00 AM START

1. Ksenia Kirillova (RUS) 35 vs Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR) 36 GS

COURT 9 - 11.00 AM START

1. Natchanok Saenyaukhot (THA) 19 vs Richel Hogenkamp (NED) 20 GS
2. Radim Urbanek (CZE) 39 vs Dominik Schulz (GER) [9] 40 BS
3. Yana Buchina (RUS) 55 vs Christina McHale (USA) [9] 56 GS
4. Agustin Velotti (ARG) [4] 17 vs Nikala Scholtz (RSA) 18 BS

COURT 11 - 11.00 AM START

1. Polina Leykina (RUS) 59 vs Quirine Lemoine (NED) 60 GS
2. Andrea Collarini (ARG) [5] 33 vs Carlos Boluda-Purkiss (ESP) 34 BS
3. Tamaryn Hendler (BEL) [13] 41 vs Emi Mutaguchi (JPN) 42 GS
4. Adrien Puget (FRA) 23 vs Tennys Sandgren (USA) [15] 24 BS

COURT 12 - 11.00 AM START

1. Hannah James (GBR) 7 vs Daria Gavrilova (RUS) [15] 8 GS

COURT 15 - 11.00 AM START

1. Evan King (USA) [16] 41 vs Arthur De Greef (BEL) 42 BS
2. Zsofia Susanyi (HUN) 23 vs Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) [16] 24 GS
3. Federico Gaio (ITA) 31 vs Julen Uriguen (GUA) [8] 32 BS
4. David Souto (VEN) [11] 25 vs Lewis Burton (GBR) 26 BS
5. Chanel Simmonds (RSA) [14] 57 vs Maryna Zanevska (UKR) 58 GS

COURT 17 - 11.00 AM START

1. Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 51 vs Tristan-Samuel Weissborn (AUT) 52 BS
2. Isabella Holland (AUS) 13 vs Angelique Van Der Meet (NED) 14 GS
3. Vivien Juhaszova (SVK) 51 vs Nicola George (GBR) 52 GS
4. Sebastian Lavie (NZL) 13 vs Jack Carpenter (GBR) 14 BS

COURT 19 - 11.00 AM START

1. Hiroyasu Ehara (JPN) 55 vs Denis Kudla (USA) [12] 56 BS
2. Martina Trevisan (ITA) 21 vs Samantha Vickers (GBR) 22 GS
3. Stephanie Cornish (GBR) 37 vs Alexandra Krunic (SRB) 38 GS
4. Ashley Hewitt (GBR) 63 vs Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) [2] 64 BS
5. Daniel Berta (SWE) [1] 1 vs Yannik Reuter (BEL) 2 BS

Miscellany

That empty space in the ATP World Tour has been filled.

The ATP World Tour’s strengthened fall Asian swing will begin in South-East Asia after the governing body of men’s professional tennis today confirmed that Kuala Lumpur will host an ATP World Tour-level tournament.

The tournament was officially launched by Prime Minister of Malaysia, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and will be known as the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur. The ATP World Tour 250 event will be held indoors at the 16,000-seat Putra Stadium at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex, commencing on Monday 28 September.

“There is great demand for cities to host ATP World Tour events and in particular within the Asian region. Kuala Lumpur presented a very strong application to become part of the ATP World Tour. This, combined with their excellent tournament facilities, management team and the support of the Malaysian Government, we are confident that Kuala Lumpur is the right venue to continue developing tennis within South-East Asia,” said Brad Drewett, CEO, ATP International.

“Asian tennis fans have demonstrated that they are among the best in the world and we are excited that tennis fans across Malaysia now have the opportunity to see some of the world’s best players battling it out in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.”

The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, supported by the Government of Malaysia, will be organized by leading international management company IMG and headed by Tournament Director Nick Freyer, Senior Vice President IMG and Head of Tennis, Asia.

“I warmly thank the Prime Minister for his belief and support of this project from the very start, to all those people, many of whose contributions remain private but deeply appreciated, people whose advice and counsel was invaluable and who worked so many hours during the bid process and more recently during the event launch phase,” said Nick Freyer.

“Our great appreciation extends to the ATP World Tour Board and Brad Drewett for the support and trust they showed in us and to our friends at the Putra Stadium and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for their confidence and contributions, the Ministries of Sport and Tourism, the National Sports Council and of course to the ATP World Tour players who have so readily accepted the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur as a tournament to play and be part of.”

The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, will be one of five events in the strengthened Asian swing, that will culminate with the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Seen and Heard, and Mourned

by Savannah

It's been a stunning day for me. Farrah Fawcett, 1970's icon passed after a long illness. The King of Pop Michael Jackson died suddenly. Both passings affected me greatly. May they both rest in peace.

Wimbledon Day 4

Today was one of those days where what everyone thought would be epic matches turned into one sided affairs.

Apparently this is the most life Juan Martin del Potro showed during his match against Lleyton Hewitt on Centre Court today. Juan Martin turned in one of those performances that make people wonder how he made it to the top ten as Hewitt won in straight sets.

Venus Williams who was first up on Court 1 walked on with wrappings on her calf and just above her knees. While her motion appeared stilted at first she adjusted to playing with the wrappings and proceeded to wipe out any hopes Kateryna Bondarenko may have had of catching her on an off day. There wasn't even her almost routine mental lapse in the second set.

Ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki played on Centre Court today and had an easy time of it as well.
Both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina have expressed unhappiness with their court assignments in this Tennis.com post.

Andy Roddick continues to play well. As his play has improved fans are seeing less and less of him on ESPN television. If you have ESPN360 you've been able to see his matches but on the broadcast side the hype is going to Andy Murray and the above mentioned Lleyton Hewitt. Go figure.

Li Na continues to play well. Her countrywoman Peng Shuai had more than enough chances to put Aggie Radwanska away but failed to do so.

You have to give it to Jelena Jankovic. Fans had grown weary of her on court antics - the injury timeouts, the anger at whatever took her fancy, the saccharine smile, so she introduced a new weapon against Iveta Benesova. Players are often delayed coming on court for one reason or another but I can say I've never seen the chair umpire call to find out where the hell a player was before today. JJ got a mixed reception when she came on court but one look at Benesova's face told you that she was past pissed. I wondered if Benesova would be able to put her anger aside and play. She wasn't. JJ made it look easy against Iveta who seemed to have forgotten how to play tennis while JJ played rings around her. Too bad. Should've been a good one.
American qualifier Jesse Levine is supposed to be back in the States by now. Instead he's into the third round at Wimbledon with two surprise victories. An even bigger surprise was American teen Melanie Oudin advancing. Congratulations to both of them.

Vera Zvonareva withdrew from her doubles match today due to a right ankle injury. Dominika Cibulkova also withdrew from doubles with lower back problems.

The Championships 2009

Intended Order of Play for Friday 26 June 2009

SINGLES

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) [27] 121 vs Roger Federer (SUI) [2] 128
2. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [8] 97 vs Sorana Cirstea (ROU) [28] 104
3. Mardy Fish (USA) [28] 89 vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [4] 96

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Regina Kulikova (RUS) 92 vs Elena Dementieva (RUS) [4] 96
2. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [22] 105 vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [9] 112
3. Tommy Haas (GER) [24] 73 vs Marin Cilic (CRO) [11] 80

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 123 vs Serena Williams (USA) [2] 128
2. Vera Zvonareva (RUS) [7] 65 vs Virginie Razzano (FRA) [26] 72
3. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [7] 97 vs Albert Montanes (ESP) [32] 104

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Robin Soderling (SWE) [13] 113 vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 117
2. Gisela Dulko (ARG) 107 vs Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10] 112
3. Tommy Robredo (ESP) [15] 81 vs Dudi Sela (ISR) 85

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 115 vs Ai Sugiyama (JPN) 119
2. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [14] 81 vs Elena Vesnina (RUS) 86
3. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 74 vs Marion Bartoli (FRA) [12] 80
4. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 66 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) [29] 72

Doubles Day 5 Order of Play 6/26/2009

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT

4. Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) [4] 17 vs
Sabine Lisicki (GER) and Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 19

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT

4. Cara Black (ZIM) and Liezel Huber (USA) [1] 1 vs Klaudia Jans (POL) and Alicja Rosolska (POL) 4

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) and Mark Knowles (BAH) [4] 17 vs
Philipp Petzschner (GER) and Alexander Peya (AUT) 19
2. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) and Vania King (USA) [12] 25 vs
Jocelyn Rae (GBR) and Melanie South (GBR) 27
3. Robert Kendrick (USA) and Sam Querrey (USA) 62 vs
Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) [2] 64

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Vera Dushevina (RUS) and Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) 30 vs
Kaia Kanepi (EST) and Ipek Senoglu (TUR) 31
2. Bob Bryan (USA) and Mike Bryan (USA) [1] 1 vs
Johan Brunstrom (SWE) and Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) 4
3. Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Andy Ram (ISR) [7] 33 vs
Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) and Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) 35
4. Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) and Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 19 vs
Jeff Coetzee (RSA) and Jill Craybas (USA) 20

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Frantisek Cermak (CZE) and Michal Mertinak (SVK) [13] 57 vs
Jamie Delgado (GBR) and Jonathan Marray (GBR) 59
2. Iveta Benesova (CZE) and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 5 vs
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) and Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 7
3. Kristina Barrois (GER) and Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 38 vs
Sara Errani (ITA) and Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 39
4. Philipp Petzschner (GER) and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 35 vs Scott Lipsky (USA) and Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 36

COURT 11 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Rameez Junaid (AUS) and Philipp Marx (GER) 21 vs Prakash Amritraj (IND) and Aisam-Ul- Haq Qureshi (PAK) 23
2. Pablo Cuevas (URU) and Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 39 vs
Travis Parrott (USA) and Filip Polasek (SVK) [10] 40 T/F 7/6(4) 6/7(4) 3/6 0/0 0*-0
3. Dusan Vemic (SRB) and Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 5 vs Colin Fleming (GBR) and Sarah Borwell (GBR) 6
4. Andrei Pavel (ROU) and Monica Niculescu (ROU) 13 vs Jordan Kerr (AUS) and Vania King (USA) 14

COURT 12 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) and Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [16] 41 vs Laura Robson (GBR) and Georgie Stoop (GBR) 44
2. Martin Damm (CZE) and Robert Lindstedt (SWE) [15] 41 vs
James Cerretani (USA) and Victor Hanescu (ROU) 43
3. Lukasz Kubot (POL) and Oliver Marach (AUT) [8] 49 vs
Chris Guccione (AUS) and Frank Moser (GER) 51
4. Dick Norman (BEL) and Liga Dekmeijere (LAT) 53 vs
James Cerretani (USA) and Sybille Bammer (AUT) 54

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) and Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 45 vs
Samantha Stosur (AUS) and Rennae Stubbs (AUS) [3] 48 [/i]
2. Andrei Pavel (ROU) and Horia Tecau (ROU) 29 vs Eric Butorac (USA) and Scott Lipsky (USA) 31
3. Christopher Kas (GER) and Viktor Troicki (SRB) 54 vs
Marcelo Melo (BRA) and Andre Sa (BRA) [11] 56
4. Eric Butorac (USA) and Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 43 vs
Johan Brunstrom (SWE) and Vera Dushevina (RUS) 44

COURT 16 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) and Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 61 vs
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) [2] 64
2. Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) and James Ward (GBR) 13 vs
Bruno Soares (BRA) and Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) [5] 16
3. Frantisek Cermak (CZE) and Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 59 vs
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) and Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 60
4. Paul Hanley (AUS) and Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 45 vs
Marcin Matkowski (POL) and Lisa Raymond (USA) [3] 48

MATCHES TO BE ARRANGED
NOT BEFORE 17:00 HRS
Travis Parrott (USA) and Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 51 vs
James Auckland (GBR) and Elena Baltacha (GBR) 52
Ross Hutchins (GBR) and Anne Keothavong (GBR) 27 vs Bruno Soares (BRA) and Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 28
Andy Ram (ISR) and Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 21 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) and Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 22

A Photo Essay

I guess the Williams Sisters were in a cranky mood today. They walked on court to take names and proceeded to do so wiping up the court with their opponents. You know there was something special in their demeanor because photographers recorded it.

Michael Joseph Jackson August 29,1958-June 25,2009

Musical genius. Business man extraordinaire. The King of Pop. World Wide Superstar. May you Rest in Peace.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Seen and Heard Wimbledon Day 3

by Savannah

The Harder They Come...

Gisela Dulko steadied herself and sent Maria Sharapova home. Gisela used her serve and her guts to race out to a 6-2, 3-0 lead before seeming to be overcome with the vapors as she lost the next seven games. It's usually when you reach the business end of a match that a player like Dulko is expected to fade. Instead she buckled down and played the better tennis pulling out a 6-4 third set. She needed five match points but a win is a win. Funny how all the machinations came to naught isn't it? I thought Mary Jo Fernandez, who should not be calling any matches involving Maria Sharapova or Roger Federer sounded as if she were going to cry.

To be honest this was a match that under normal circumstances would not have been on Centre Court. Sharapova's true ranking is 59. Dulko's ranking is 65. In this match of equals Dulko won. Not really all that surprising when you think about it.

Interesting hearing John McEnroe and his second banana trying to hype the Querrey/Cilic match. No matter what they say this was definitely not a Centre Court match. Querrey played his best but as I said it's what's between the ears that counts in tight matches.

Marin Cilic
JMac was also incredulous that Ernests Gulbis decided to turn down an invitation to work with the Adidas team in Las Vegas. Went on a five minute tear about how badly Gulbis is doing before he caught himself. And people wonder why I avoid the ESPN talking heads like the plague.

Vera Zvonareva

And of course they made it sound like the Monogram beat the bestest player in the world today and then spent time, while live tennis is going on, interviewing the Monogram. Amazing.

Michael Llodra retired from his match against Tommy Haas after the above collision with a ball kid.

The British Government has appointed a panel to investigate unusual betting patterns during the Jurgen Melzer vs Wayne Odesnik match yesterday.

Intended Order of Play for Thursday 25 June 2009
SINGLES

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [5] 1 vs Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 3
2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9] 17 vs Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 20
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [3] 33 vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 36

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Venus Williams (USA) [3] 33 vs Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 36
2. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 30 vs Andy Roddick (USA) [6] 32
3. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) [10] 49 vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 52

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 22 vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [20] 24
2. Dinara Safina (RUS) [1] 1 vs Rossana De Los Rios (PAR) 4
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 53 vs Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 55
4. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 62 vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [6] 64

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 29 vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) [5] 32
2. Thiago Alves (BRA) 61 vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [8] 64
3. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [17] 9 vs Kristina Kucova (SVK) 11
4. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [19] 41 vs Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 44

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) [26] 25 vs Benjamin Becker (GER) 27
2. Elena Baltacha (GBR) 5 vs Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7

COURT 6 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Victor Hanescu (ROU) [31] 57 vs Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 59

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 37 vs Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 39
2. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 53 vs Na Li (CHN) [19] 56
3. Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 22 vs Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) [20] 24
4. Pablo Cuevas (URU) 46 vs Jesse Levine (USA) 47

COURT 12 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 26 vs Patricia Mayr (AUT) 27
2. Philipp Petzschner (GER) 6 vs Mischa Zverev (GER) 7
3. Radek Stepanek (CZE) [23] 9 vs Potito Starace (ITA) 11
4. Melanie Oudin (USA) 58 vs Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 60

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [11] 49 vs Shuai Peng (CHN) 52
2. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) [12] 17 vs Victor Crivoi (ROU) 19
3. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 38 vs Viktor Troicki (SRB) [30] 40

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Samantha Stosur (AUS) [18] 41 vs Tatjana Malek (GER) 44
2. Sara Errani (ITA) 45 vs Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] 48
3. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 13 vs David Ferrer (ESP) [16] 16
4. Vania King (USA) 13 vs Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [15] 16

Doubles Order of Play

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT

3. Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) [4] 17 vs
Virginie Razzano (FRA) and Aravane Rezai (FRA) 18
4. Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) and Melanie South (GBR) 29 vs
Rogier Wassen (NED) and Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 30

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) and Sania Mirza (IND) [15] 57 vs
Jill Craybas (USA) and Carly Gullickson (USA) 58
2. Marcel Granollers (ESP) and Santiago Ventura (ESP) 5 vs
Chris Eaton (GBR) and Alexander Slabinsky (GBR) 6
3. Ashley Fisher (AUS) and Abigail Spears (USA) 11 vs
Kenneth Skupski (GBR) and Katie O'Brien (GBR) 12
4. Sara Errani (ITA) and Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 39 vs
Lisa Raymond (USA) and Vera Zvonareva (RUS) [9] 40

COURT 6

2. Joshua Goodall (GBR) and Naomi Cavaday (GBR) 61 vs Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG) and Gisela Dulko (ARG) 62
3. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) and Urszula Radwanska (POL) 55 vs
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10] 56
4. James Cerretani (USA) and Victor Hanescu (ROU) 43 vs
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) and Albert Montanes (ESP) 44

COURT 9 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Colin Fleming (GBR) and Kenneth Skupski (GBR) 3 vs Johan Brunstrom (SWE) and Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) 4
2. Paul Hanley (AUS) and Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 45 vs
Filip Polasek (SVK) and Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 46
3. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) and Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 11 vs Alize Cornet (FRA) and Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 12
4. Julian Knowle (AUT) and Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 61 vs Robert Kendrick (USA) and Sam Querrey (USA) 62

COURT 11 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Rameez Junaid (AUS) and Philipp Marx (GER) 21 vs Guillermo Garcia- Lopez (ESP) and Ivan Navarro (ESP) 22
2. Andrei Pavel (ROU) and Horia Tecau (ROU) 29 vs
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) and Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 30
3. Sabine Lisicki (GER) and Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 19 vs
Maret Ani (EST) and Roberta Vinci (ITA) 20
4. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) and Shuai Peng (CHN) [5] 33 vs
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) and Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 34

COURT 15 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) and Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 59 vs Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) and Monica Niculescu (ROU) 60
2. James Blake (USA) and Mardy Fish (USA) 47 vs Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) and Leander Paes (IND) [3] 48
3. Stefan Koubek (AUT) and Dudi Sela (ISR) 45 vs Arnaud Clement (FRA) and Marc Gicquel (FRA) 46

COURT 17 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Jeff Coetzee (RSA) and Jordan Kerr (AUS) [12] 9 vs Rogier Wassen (NED) and Igor Zelenay (SVK) 11
2. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) and Bjorn Phau (GER) 27 vs Igor Andreev (RUS) and Evgeny Korolev (RUS) 28
3. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) and Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 51 vs
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) and Janette Husarova (SVK) 52

COURT 19 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Akiko Morigami (JPN) and Ayumi Morita (JPN) 23 vs Zi Yan (CHN) and Jie Zheng (CHN) [13] 24
2. Wesley Moodie (RSA) and Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) 3 vs
Michal Mertinak (SVK) and Mara Santangelo (ITA) 4
3. Lucky loser 51 vs Benjamin Becker (GER) and Rainer Schuettler (GER) 52

MATCHES TO BE ARRANGED

Not before 4.00 pm
Elena Baltacha (GBR) and Amanda Elliott (GBR) 15 vs
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Elena Vesnina (RUS) [7] 16

Rik De Voest (RSA) and Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) 37 vs
Jamie Murray (GBR) and Liezel Huber (USA) 38

End Notes

Michelle Larcher de Brito did her thing against Francesca Schiavone. Schiavone looked annoyed at the shrieks and howls that increased as the match went on but decided that winning the match would shut de Brito up. It did. Young men enjoyed young Ms de Brito's performance.

Michelle Larcher de Brito
According to Mary Carillo and Mary Jo Fernandez and the rest of the talking heads on ESPN Sharapova's loss today was not devastating. They all vowed she'd be back next year. Guess they'll bump her into the top ten.

Marion Bartoli is showing no signs of the quad injury that had her limp in agony out of her last match.

Elena Dementieva is overjoyed about her play today.

Aravane Rezai takes a moment to think about it.

Seed watch for tomorrow is as follows:

Lleyton Hewitt is ranked #52
Maria Kirilenko is ranked #59
Ernests Gulbis is ranked #74
Kateryna Bondarenko is ranked #73
Igor Kunitsyn is ranked #39
Leonardo Mayer is ranked #64
Rossana de los Rios is ranked #100
Iveta Benesova is ranked #35
Pauline Parmentier is ranked #78

Breaking News

by Savannah

Canadians to Run WTA in Interim

The The Globe & Mail reports the following:

The Globe and Mail has learned that the WTA Tour will announce Thursday that its president, Stacey Allaster, and David Shoemaker, its chief operating officer and general counsel, will take over joint stewardship of the tour effective July 1.

That is the date current chairman and CEO, Larry Scott, officially leaves his position after six years to become the commissioner of the PAC-10 athletic conference in the western United States.

Allaster, who joined the WTA Tour three and a half years ago as president after serving as Tennis Canada vice-president and tournament director of the Canadian Open in Toronto, still appears to be the favourite to succeed Scott. But the tour has hired world leading executive recruitment firm, Korn/Ferry, to carry out a search to make sure there is no appearance of hiring from the inside without proper procedures.

Allaster, 45, from Toronto, and Shoemaker, a 38-year-old Ottawa native, are both Canadians. Shoemaker, a lawyer, currently heads up the tour’s Asia-Pacific office in Beijing. Considered a rising star with the WTA Tour, he worked for seven years with two New York law firms and was involved in sports-related dealings with the NHL, teams in the NFL and MLB as well as the ATP and Major League Soccer.

It was recently revealed in the Globe and Mail that Shoemaker is also a candidate to succeed Scott.

Tom Tebbutt
WIMBLEDON, England — Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009 10:04AM EDT

Seen and Heard Wimbledon Day 3

by Savannah

The Harder They Come...

Vera Zvonareva

And of course they made it sound like the Monogram beat the bestest player in the world today and then spent time, while live tennis is going on, interviewing the Monogram. Amazing.

Marion Bartoli is showing no signs of the quad injury that had her limp in agony out of her last match.

Elena Dementieva is overjoyed about her play today.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Seen and Heard Wimbledon Day 2

by Savannah

The WTA will not have a new CEO ready when incumbent Larry Scott leaves June 30, but should have a new CEO by U.S. Open, which starts Aug 31 per Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal @Twitter

From Eurosport

Top seed Safina reached the second round on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino and will tackle Paraguay's Rossana de los Rios for a place in the last 32.
But she will do it suffering from a bout of painful tendinitis in her knee.
"It's been bothering me since April, since the clay court season," explained the Russian who has never made it beyond the third round here.
"At some tournaments, I'm playing on (anti-inflammatory) Voltaren, because it's so painful to go on the knee on the serve.
"The French Open was perfect. But it started last week in Holland because of the grass. It's softer, so I have to push more. Today I had to take one more Voltaren because I just could not go down anymore on my knee it was so painful."

Per The Ticker large sums of money were bet on Jurgen Melzer when he was playing Wayne Odesnik causing British bookmakers to suspend betting. Odesnik said he was injured.

Lucie Hradecka

Wimbledon 2009
Schedule for Day 3: Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Centre Court 13:00 Start Time

1. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[24] v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)
2. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Sam Querrey (USA) v. Marin Cilic (CRO)[11]

Court 1 13:00 Start Time

1. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Simon Greul (GER) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4]
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Tommy Haas (GER)[24] v. Michael Llodra (FRA)

Court 2 12:00 Start Time

1. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Mardy Fish (USA)[28] v. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[8] v. Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU)
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Robin Soderling (SWE)[13] v. Marcel Granollers (ESP)
4. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[4]

Court 3 12:00 Start Time

1. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Jie Zheng (CHN)[16] v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
2. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Kristof Vliegen (BEL)
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Simone Bolelli (ITA) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9]

Court 4 12:00 Start Time

1. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Tommy Robredo (ESP)[15] v. Stefan Koubek (AUT)
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[31]
v. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[22] v. Steve Darcis (BEL)
4. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[12]

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Sarah Borwell (GBR) and Anne Keothavong (GBR) 47 vs
Samantha Stosur (AUS) and Rennae Stubbs (AUS) [3] 48
Taylor Dent (USA) 37 vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 38 T/F 5/7 6/7(6) 6/4 0/0 0-0*
2. Jamie Delgado (GBR) and Jonathan Marray (GBR) 59 vs
Nicolas Devilder (FRA) and Christophe Rochus (BEL) 60
3. Jocelyn Rae (GBR) and Melanie South (GBR) 27 vs
Alona Bondarenko (UKR) and Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 28
4. Lukasz Kubot (POL) and Oliver Marach (AUT) [8] 49 vs
Jonathan Erlich (ISR) and Jamie Murray (GBR) 50

COURT 6 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) and James Ward (GBR) 13 vs
David Martin (USA) and Jean-Claude Scherrer (SUI) 14
2. Kaia Kanepi (EST) and Ipek Senoglu (TUR) 31 vs
Maria Kirilenko (RUS) and Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [8] 32
3. Rika Fujiwara (JPN) and Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 37 vs
Kristina Barrois (GER) and Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 38
4. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) and Agnes Szavay (HUN) 29 vs
Vera Dushevina (RUS) and Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) 30

Court 7 12:00 Start Time

1. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[14] v. Urszula Radwanska (POL)
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Jill Craybas (USA) v. Virginie Razzano (FRA)[26]
3. Bob Bryan (USA) and Mike Bryan (USA) [1] 1 vs Dusan Vemic (SRB) and Mischa Zverev (GER) 2
4. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[27] v. Regina Kulikova (RUS)

COURT 8 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) and Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 7 vs
Nathalie Dechy (FRA) and Mara Santangelo (ITA) [14] 8
2. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) and Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 13 vs
Liga Dekmeijere (LAT) and Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 14
3. Agustin Calleri (ARG) and Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 35 vs Sergio Roitman (ARG) and Martin Vassallo
Arguello (ARG) 36
4. Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Andy Ram (ISR) [7] 33 vs
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) and Travis Rettenmaier (USA) 34

COURT 9 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Eva Hrdinova (CZE) and Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 53 vs
Julie Ditty (USA) and Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) 54
2. Martin Damm (CZE) and Robert Lindstedt (SWE) [15] 41 vs
Jose Acasuso (ARG) and Sebastian Prieto (ARG) 42
3. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) and Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 63 vs Anabel Medina
Garrigues (ESP) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) [2] 64
4. Leos Friedl (CZE) and David Skoch (CZE) 7 vs Rik De Voest (RSA) and Ashley Fisher (AUS) [14] 8

COURT 11 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Frantisek Cermak (CZE) and Michal Mertinak (SVK) [13] 57 vs Lucas Arnold
Ker (ARG) and Frederico Gil (POR) 58
2. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) and Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 53 vs
Christopher Kas (GER) and Viktor Troicki (SRB) 54
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) and Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [16] 41 vs
Tatjana Malek (GER) and Andrea Petkovic (GER) 42

Court 12 12:00 Start Time

1. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Dudi Sela (ISR) v. Rainer Schuettler (GER)[18]
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Sania Mirza (IND) v. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)[28]
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v. Karol Beck (SVK)
4. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) v. Michelle Larcher De Brito (POR)

Court 14 12:00 Start Time

1. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[10]
2. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Elena Vesnina (RUS) v. Vera Dushevina (RUS)
3. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[27] v. Ivo Minar (CZE)
4. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)

COURT 15 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) and Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 61 vs
Lucie Safarova (CZE) and Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) 62
2. Philipp Petzschner (GER) and Alexander Peya (AUT) 19 vs
Petr Pala (CZE) and Radek Stepanek (CZE) 20
3. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) and Vania King (USA) [12] 25 vs
Melinda Czink (HUN) and Natalie Grandin (RSA) 26
4. Wesley Moodie (RSA) and Dick Norman (BEL) [9] 25 vs
James Auckland (GBR) and Joshua Goodall (GBR) 26

COURT 17 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) and Mark Knowles (BAH) [4] 17 vs
Kevin Anderson (RSA) and Somdev Devvarman (IND) 18
Prakash Amritraj (IND) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 23 vs
Stephen Huss (AUS) and Ross Hutchins (GBR) [16] 24 T/F 6/4 6/7(12) 6/4 3/6 0/0 0*-0
2. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) [11] 9 vs
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) and Julie Coin (FRA) 10
3. Pablo Cuevas (URU) and Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 39 vs
Travis Parrott (USA) and Filip Polasek (SVK) [10] 40

Court 18 12:00 Start Time

1. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) v. Ai Sugiyama (JPN)
2. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Guillermo Canas (ARG) v. Albert Montanes (ESP)[32]
3. Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[7] v. Mathilde Johansson (FRA)
4. Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Vincent Spadea (USA) v. Igor Andreev (RUS)[29]

COURT 19 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Yves Allegro (SUI) and Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 15 vs
Bruno Soares (BRA) and Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) [5] 16
2. Rajeev Ram (USA) and Lovro Zovko (CRO) 55 vs Marcelo Melo (BRA) and Andre Sa (BRA) [11] 56
3. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) and Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 45 vs
Edina Gallovits (ROU) and Katalin Marosi (HUN) 46

THE FOLLOWING MATCHES WILL BE PLAYED ON COURTS TO BE ARRANGED

Not before 5.00 pm
[B]Cara Black (ZIM) and Liezel Huber (USA) [1][/b] 1 vs Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) and Abigail Spears (USA) 2
Jade Curtis (GBR) and Anna Smith (GBR) 43 vs Laura Robson (GBR) and Georgie Stoop (GBR) 44
End Notes

Ana Ivanovic
It's getting harder and harder to watch Ana Ivanovic play. Not because, as commentator Virginia Wade put it she has to chase after every toss she makes on her serve but the pirouette, gerbil strangle and "Adje" on the mistakes of her opponents as well as her good shots gets to be a pain after awhile. She should be glad she was playing Lucie Hradecka today and not anyone else. The entire match turned on two misses by Hradecka in the second set. Both were easy overhead smashes. She could've gone home then.

Venus Williams played well despite what I read Darren Cahill had to say. I may not think she or her sister will make it all the way but I haven't picked a favorite for the men and the women and proceed to ignore what I'm watching. I'm just saying.

Amelie Mauresmo
Robert Kendrick fought as hard as he could against Andy Murray today. It was interesting to hear the talking heads on ESPN rooting against an American. I think that's a first. I also understand that someone asked when was the last time an Australian, someone from Great Britain, or an American won a Slam.

Prakash Amritraj (L) and Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi
Elena Baltacha did what Anne Keothavong couldn't and fought her way into the second round with a victory of Alona Bondarenko. While watching the end of that match I thought about Vera Zvonareva and how hard she tried to get her match suspended as it got dark the night before. Neither Baltacha nor Bondarenko did that. It was quite dark when the match ended.
Andy Roddick is still acting like a grown man on court.

Robert Kendrick
Serena Williams is very upset about the no eating in the locker room edict that just went into effect at Wimbledon. She brought it up on Twitter today and blogged about it too. Is there some pre match ritual we the public is not aware of?

Watching Lucie Hradecka and Robert Kendrick come close but not make it over the hump I thought about the difference between good players - they're good - and great players. When all is equal on the court it's what's between the ears that makes the difference.

As part of my ongoing seed watch Gisela Dulko is ranked #45.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is ranked #42.
Simon Greul is ranked #106
Jarmila Groth is ranked #69

As far as the pictures are concerned I went with the most artistic I could find. I hope you like them.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Wimbledon Day 1 - Seen and Heard Around

by Savannah

Well ESPN360 has commentary. The good news is it's the BBC feed. Virginia Wade calling a match is heaven. It's all about the match and the asides are match related. They were late putting up Serena Williams match so I had to tune into the ESPN feed. Insert vomit smiley here.

Feliciano Lopez and lucky loser Karol Beck played a hell of a match. It was out on Court 18 and the fans were literally hanging from the rafters. Lopez lost due mostly to some poor shot selection at crucial points in the last set but when both men were playing well it was beautiful tennis.

Victoria Azarenka won her match via walkover. Severine Bremond slipped on the grass and I can tell you knees are not supposed to bend the way her left knee did. To her credit Azarenka did check to see if Bremond was okay before retiring to her chair and discretely asked the chair for balls to practice her serve while medical evaluation was made.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga didn't look like a bull on ice today. He had to play harder than he anticipated against Andrey Golubev though. Where has he been? The first tiebreak between the two men was a thing of beauty and showed how powerful, and graceful Tsonga is at his best.

I'm sure you'll hear all about how wonderful and strong and dominating the Monogram was today. Just keep in mind his opponent is ranked 65th in the world.

The same can be said for #24. Her opponent is ranked #79 in the world. Even at her real ranking of #59 she should've won today and did.

Michelle Larcher de Brito is as mouthy as ever. When asked about her yowling she made the following comments that were posted by @wimbledon on Twitter.

De Brito says she wasn't asked by the AELTC not to grunt before 2day's match and says "If the body needs to grunt more, it grunts".

"I'm here to play, I'm here to win, if people don't like my grunting they can just leave."

Go on with your bad self.

In what must be a sign of the Apocalypse Fernando Verdasco played with no product in his hair. He looks a thousand times better.

I'm glad to see that the women are keeping it simple this year. Serena has her coat jacket.

And Nadia had this number.

So it was up to the men to strut like peacocks.

Miscellany

Vera Zvonareva took the court with a heavy wrap as well as a brace on her right ankle.
Vera Dusevina served a steaming hot bagel to Alize Cornet.
Mathilde Johannson won in straight sets over British player Melanie South.
All three matches were called due to darkness.
Laura Robson was overcome by emotion in her loss to Daniela Hantuchova.
Julien Benneteau took a nasty slide into the back wall at the end of his match against Novak Djokovic. There was a lot of slipping and sliding on the grass today, much more than there was at Roland Garros. Of course none of the sliding today was part of anyone's game plan.

Day 2 Order of Play

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Venus Williams (USA) [3] 33 vs Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 34
2. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 31 vs Andy Roddick (USA) [6] 32
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [3] 33 vs Robert Kendrick (USA) 34

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [5] 1 vs Arnaud Clement (FRA) 2
2. Dinara Safina (RUS) [1] 1 vs Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) 2
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 53 vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 54

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9] 17 vs Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 18
2. Michael Llodra (FRA) 75 vs Joshua Goodall (GBR) 76 T/F 4/6 7/6(5) 0/0 0-0*
3. Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) 23 vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [20] 24
4. Bobby Reynolds (USA) 63 vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [8] 64
5. Akiko Morigami (JPN) 31 vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) [5] 32

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [6] 64
Tommy Haas (GER) [24] 73 vs Alexander Peya (AUT) 74 T/F 6/7(5) 7/6(0) 6/3 4/4 0-0*
2. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 3 vs Robby Ginepri (USA) 4
3. Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 55 vs Nicolas Kiefer (GER) [33] 56
4. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [17] 9 vs Melinda Czink (HUN) 10

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) [12] 17 vs Daniel Evans (GBR) 18
2. Patricia Mayr (AUT) 27 vs Anne Keothavong (GBR) 28
3. Radek Stepanek (CZE) [23] 9 vs Alejandro Falla (COL) 10
4. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 47 vs Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] 48

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Victor Hanescu (ROU) [31] 57 vs Ivan Navarro (ESP) 58
2. Marta Domachowska (POL) 23 vs Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) [20] 24
3. Taylor Dent (USA) 37 vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 38
4. Kristina Kucova (SVK) 11 vs Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 12

COURT 6 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 55 vs Na Li (CHN) [19] 56
2. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 29 vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 30
3. Riccardo Ghedin (ITA) 35 vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 36
4. Alexa Glatch (USA) 51 vs Shuai Peng (CHN) 52

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Jelena Dokic (AUS) 43 vs Tatjana Malek (GER) 44
2. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 13 vs Denis Istomin (UZB) 14
3. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) 15 vs Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [15] 16
4. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [11] 49 vs Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) 50

COURT 8 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 53 vs Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) 54
2. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 59 vs Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 60
3. Brian Dabul (ARG) 39 vs Viktor Troicki (SRB) [30] 40
4. Eric Butorac (USA) and Scott Lipsky (USA) 31 vs
Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL) and Marcin Matkowski (POL) [6] 32

COURT 9 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 35 vs Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 36
2. Benjamin Becker (GER) 27 vs Roko Karanusic (CRO) 28
3. Thiago Alves (BRA) 61 vs Andrei Pavel (ROU) 62
4. Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 29 vs Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 30

COURT 11 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Oscar Hernandez (ESP) 51 vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 52
2. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 3 vs Rossana De Los Rios (PAR) 4
3. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 45 vs Pablo Cuevas (URU) 46
4. Vania King (USA) 13 vs Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) 14

COURT 12 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Samantha Stosur (AUS) [18] 41 vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 42
2. Kevin Kim (USA) 15 vs David Ferrer (ESP) [16] 16
3. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [19] 41 vs Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 42
4. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7 vs Agnes Szavay (HUN) [30] 8

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Katie O'Brien (GBR) 61 vs Iveta Benesova (CZE) 62
Vera Dushevina (RUS) 87 vs Alize Cornet (FRA) [22] 88 T/F 3/6 6/0 4/2 0-0*
2. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) [26] 25 vs Wayne Odesnik (USA) 26
3. Potito Starace (ITA) 11 vs Jose Acasuso (ARG) 12

COURT 15 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 19 vs Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 20
2. Frederico Gil (POR) 21 vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 22
3. Sara Errani (ITA) 45 vs Stephanie Dubois (CAN) 46
4. Pablo Andujar (ESP) 43 vs Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 44

COURT 16 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Simone Bolelli (ITA) and Andreas Seppi (ITA) 63 vs
Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) [2] 64
2. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) and Ai Sugiyama (JPN) [6] 49 vs
Tamira Paszek (AUT) and Olga Savchuk (UKR) 50
3. Jarmila Groth (AUS) and Renata Voracova (CZE) 21 vs Gisela Dulko (ARG) and Shahar Peer (ISR) 22
4. Rogier Wassen (NED) and Igor Zelenay (SVK) 11 vs
Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) and Juan Monaco (ARG) 12

COURT 17 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 19 vs Bjorn Phau (GER) 20
2. Sybille Bammer (AUT) [29] 57 vs Melanie Oudin (USA) 58
3. Rajeev Ram (USA) 5 vs Philipp Petzschner (GER) 6
4. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 37 vs Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 38

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) [10] 49 vs Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 50
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) [7] 65 vs Georgie Stoop (GBR) 66 T/F 7/6(0) 4/6 0/0 0-0*
2. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) [32] 25 vs Sabine Lisicki (GER) 26
3. Jesse Levine (USA) 47 vs Marat Safin (RUS) [14] 48
4. Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 39 vs Kaia Kanepi (EST) [25] 40

COURT 19 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 59 vs Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 60
2. Alberta Brianti (ITA) 21 vs Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 22
3. Mischa Zverev (GER) 7 vs Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) [25] 8

THE FOLLOWING MATCHES WILL BE PLAYED ON COURTS TO BE ARRANGED
NOT BEFORE 17:00 HRS

Elena Baltacha (GBR) 5 vs Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 6

Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) [4] 17 vs
Virginie Razzano (FRA) and Aravane Rezai (FRA) 18

Prakash Amritraj (IND) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 23 vs
Stephen Huss (AUS) and Ross Hutchins (GBR) [16] 24

NOTE: Seeds are in brackets. The small numbers refer to the player(s) line on the original PDF's.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sunday Tennis Talk

By Savannah

Wimbledon Day 1 Order of Play

Centre Court 13:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Yen-Hsun Lu(TPE) vs. Roger Federer(SUI) [2]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Neuza Silva(POR) vs. Serena Williams(USA)[2]
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Julien Benneteau(FRA) vs. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[4]

No. 1 Court 13:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Maria Sharapova(RUS)[24] vs. Viktoriya Kutuzova(UKR)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Robin Soderling(SWE)[13] vs. Gilles Muller(LUX)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[7] vs. James Ward(GBR)

No. 2 Court 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Daniela Hantuchova(SVK) vs. Laura Robson(GBR)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Andrey Golubev(KAZ) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[9]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS) vs. Elena Dementieva(RUS)[4]
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Michael Llodra(FRA) vs. Joshua Goodall(GBR)

Court 3 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
James Blake(USA)[17] vs. Andreas Seppi(ITA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[8] vs. Severine Bremond Beltrame(FRA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Aleksandra Wozniak(CAN)[23] vs. Francesca Schiavone(ITA)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Haas(GER)[24] vs. Alexander Peya(AUT)

Court 4 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)[27] vs. Florent Serra(FRA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Maria Elena Camerin(ITA) vs. Shahar Peer(ISR)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Mahut(FRA) vs. Kristof Vliegen(BEL)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[7] vs. Georgie Stoop(GBR)

Court 5 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[31] vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Dudi Sela(ISR) vs. Santiago Gonzalez(MEX)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Evgeny Korolev(RUS) vs. Igor Andreev(RUS)[29]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA) vs. Arantxa Parra Santonja(ESP)

Court 6 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP) vs. Agustin Calleri(ARG)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Nathalie Dechy(FRA) vs. Ioana Raluca Olaru(ROU)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Paul Capdeville(CHI) vs. Vincent Spadea(USA)

Court 7 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Jie Zheng(CHN)[16] vs. Kristina Barrois(GER)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Jan Hernych(CZE) vs. Janko Tipsarevic(SRB)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Tamira Paszek(AUT) vs. Virginie Razzano(FRA)[26]
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Alberto Martin(ESP) vs. Marin Cilic(CRO)[11]

Court 8 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Karolina Sprem(CRO) vs. Regina Kulikova(RUS)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Roberta Vinci(ITA) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova(SVK)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Edouard Roger-Vasselin(FRA) vs. Stefan Koubek(AUT)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Sam Querrey(USA) vs. Ivan Ljubicic(CRO)

Court 9 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Gisela Dulko(ARG) vs. Stephanie Foretz(FRA)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Marcel Granollers(ESP) vs. Andreas Beck(GER)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Simon Greul(GER) vs. Michael Yani(USA)

Court 10 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Doubles - 1st Round
Simon Aspelin(SWE) /Paul Hanley(AUS) vs. Fabio Fognini(ITA) /
Potito Starace(ITA)
Ladies' Doubles
Iveta Benesova(CZE) /Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE) vs. Sybille Bammer(AUT) /
Alexa Glatch(USA)
Ladies' Doubles
Yuliana Fedak(UKR) /Mervana Jugic-Salkic(BIH) vs. Klaudia Jans(POL) /
Alicja Rosolska(POL)

Court 11 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Ivo Minar(CZE) vs. Maximo Gonzalez(ARG)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Lucie Safarova(CZE) vs. Jarmila Groth(AUS)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Timea Bacsinszky(SUI) vs. Vesna Manasieva(RUS)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Grega Zemlja(SLO) vs. Albert Montanes(ESP)[32]

Court 12 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Almagro(ESP) vs. Juan Monaco(ARG)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Anastasiya Yakimova(BLR) vs. Nadia Petrova(RUS)[10]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Aravane Rezai(FRA) vs. Ayumi Morita(JPN)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Diego Junqueira(ARG) vs. Guillermo Canas(ARG)

Court 14 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Anna-Lena Groenefeld(GER) vs. Sania Mirza(IND)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Mardy Fish(USA)[28] vs. Sergio Roitman(ARG)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Robredo(ESP)[15] vs. Luka Gregorc(SLO)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Alize Cornet(FRA)[22]

Court 15 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Edina Gallovits(ROU) vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU)[28]
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Simone Bolelli(ITA) vs. Daniel Koellerer(AUT)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Jill Craybas(USA) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Steve Darcis(BEL) vs. Frank Dancevic(CAN)

Court 17 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Adrian Mannarino(FRA) vs. Marc Gicquel(FRA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] vs. Julie Coin(FRA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Michelle Larcher De Brito(POR) vs. Klara Zakopalova(CZE)
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Ivo Karlovic(CRO)[22] vs. Lukas Lacko(SVK)

Court 18 12:00 Start

Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Karol Beck(SVK) vs. Feliciano Lopez(ESP)[21]
Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Xavier Malisse(BEL) vs. Rainer Schuettler(GER)[18]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Yung-Jan Chan(TPE) vs. Marion Bartoli(FRA)[12]
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Yanina Wickmayer(BEL) vs. Elena Vesnina(RUS)

Court 19 12:00 Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Alisa Kleybanova(RUS)[27] vs. Sesil Karatantcheva(KAZ)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Masa Zec Peskiric(SLO) vs. Urszula Radwanska(POL)
Gentlemen's Doubles - 1st Round
Jeff Coetzee(RSA)[12]/Jordan Kerr(AUS)[12] vs. David Ferrer(ESP)/Marc Lopez(ESP)

TBA Start

Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Melanie South(GBR) vs. Mathilde Johansson(FRA)
Ladies' Singles - 1st Round
Ai Sugiyama(JPN) vs. Patty Schnyder(SUI)[21]

End Notes

It's the day before Wimbledon. The draws are set and the Order of Play for Day 1 has been released. It's time to put up or shut up as the saying goes. What am I thinking about today?

I think it would've been nice to see The Monogram take over Rafael Nadal's position in the draw and have to play the guys Rafa was set to play instead of Juan Martin Del Potro taking Rafael's spot.

It would've been nice to see Maria Sharapova stay at her real ranking, Venus Williams seeded #1, Serena Williams seeded #2 and Dinara Safina seeded #3. That would mean Sharapova would be exiled to some outer court and have to play her way to the Show Courts. Quaint notion no?

I wonder why fans of Roger Federer feel the need to beat other fandoms into submission when it comes to any critique of their idol? No one is making anything up out of thin air when they cite chapter and verse about his cupcake draws, arrogance, and diva ways. Every other fandom accepts the best and worst regarding their favorite. It's when snide, derogatory remarks get hidden behind pretty words that people go off. Denying a player said he was injured when he said it when there is ample evidence that he did is low. To do so in an attempt to make your idol appear less of an arrogant anal aperture is even lower.

Everyone should have a friend as good as Robin Soderling.

Michael Stich is being lambasted for saying that the WTA tour is selling sex not tennis. He's not a favorite but isn't this the truth? The best athletes on the women's tour - Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, are not considered worthy of promotion by the powers that be at the WTA which is part of the reason the women's tour is an after thought to most fans right now.

I'm thinking of watching more of Wimbledon online than on television to avoid the ESPN talking heads. On ESPN360 they broadcast the matches without commentary. Next best thing to Wimbledon Live which I can't get this year.

The sun is out in my neck of the woods, a rare occurence these days. Hope to watch some golf, snooze and be ready to go at 7a tomorrow morning.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Simply the Best

by Savannah

Singles

Dmitry Tursunov 2009 Men's Champion Eastbourne

Caroline Wozniacki 2009 Women's Champion Eastbourne

Tamarine Tanasugarn 2009 Women's Champion Ordina Open

Benjamin Becker 2009 Men's Champion Ordina Open

Doubles

Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski Men's Doubles Champions Eastbourne

Sugiyama Ai and Akgul Amanmuradova 2009 Eastbourne Women's Doubles Champions

Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta 2009 Women's Doubles Champions Ordina Open

Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman are the Men's Doubles Champions for the Ordina Open.

The Ladies Draw - Wimbledon

by Savannah

I am not picking either Venus Williams or Serena Williams to win. This is a nice, tricky little draw and I have to give the AELTC props this year. This draw makes up for the Sharapova seeding thingie in my mind. Of course I could be totally wrong about all my predictions and probably will be.

Top Half

Dinara Safina RUS (1) v Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP
Nicole Vaidisova CZE v Rossana De Los Rios PAR
Elena Baltacha GBR v Alona Bondarenko UKR
Kirsten Flipkens BEL v Agnes Szavay HUN (30)

Amelie Mauresmo FRA (17) v Melinda Czink HUN
Katarina Srebotnik SLO v Aiko Nakamura JPN
Vania King USA v Mariya Koryttseva UKR
Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP v Flavia Pennetta ITA (15)

How Dinara does in the early rounds will depend on which Alona Bondarenko shows up. Agnes Szavay has had a pretty good Spring and should be well rested coming into SW19. Alona vs Agnes should be a barn burner with the winner facing Dinara who faces no one she shouldn’t be able to beat.

Amelie should get past Melinda Czink. That said Melinda stands a good chance of besting the French woman. Flavia should be Nuria Llagostera Vives with should being the operative word. Flavia has been showing shaky as of late. Regarding the other two matches it’s a toss up as far as I’m concerned. If it comes down to Flavia vs Amelie I’ll take Amelie if she’s made it that far.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) v Kimiko Date Krumm JPN
Petra Kvitova CZE v Maria Kirilenko RUS
Alberta Brianti ITA v Tathiana Garbin ITA
Marta Domachowska POL v Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (20)

Anna Chakvetadze RUS (32) v Sabine Lisicki GER
Patricia Mayr AUT v Anne Keothavong GBR
Pauline Parmentier FRA v Akgul Amanmuradova UZB
Akiko Morigami JPN v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (5)

Quite the intriguing little section here. Caroline Wozniacki surprised me by staying in and winning Eastbourne. I know she’s trying to follow the Jelena Jankovic route to the top by playing as much as she can but that does catch up with you especially at a major. She should get past Kimiko Date Krumm but Maria Kirilenko may be a trickier opponent for her. It’s a toss up between Brianti and Garbin. It’ll depend on who wants it more and stays more consistent. Domachowska is a dark horse in this section. She can play herself into facing Caroline if things fall her way.

Anna Chakvetadze is the seed but Sabine Lisicki may get past her. I’d love for Anne Keothavong to get past Mayr but see their match as a toss up. Parmentier should be able to get past Akgul and would then face Svetlana. Going out on a limb here and I’ll say it’ll be Sabine vs Sveta in that section with Sveta facing the winner of the other section.

Venus Williams USA (3) v Stefanie Voegele SUI
Anastasija Sevastova LAT v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR
Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE
Carla Suarez Navarro ESP v Kaia Kanepi EST (25)

Samantha Stosur AUS (18) v Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA
Jelena Dokic AUS v Tatjana Malek GER
Sara Errani ITA v Stephanie Dubois CAN
Lucie Hradecka CZE v Ana Ivanovic SRB (13)

Will Venus make it past the first round? She’s playing a relative unknown in Stefanie Voegele which is always a dangerous proposition for her. Pironkova anyone? If Venus gets past Voegele she should face K-Bond, again with the emphasis on should. I’ve never seen Ms Sevastova play. Makarova vs Strycova should be fun with Strycova pulling it out. After seeing Carla collapse in France I’m taking Kanepi over her.

I wish Bethanie had not gotten shafted here. Stosur, despite changing coaches just before the start of the tournament should beat her and face Jelena Dokic. Yes I’m picking Dokic to win a round. She won’t get past Stosur though who is on a mission. Errani vs Dubois should be the most competitive match of this section of the draw with the winner facing Ana Ivanovic who has a lot to prove here. In a Stosur vs Ivanovic match I’m going to pick Stosur. She’s going to want to steamroll the slumping Ivanovic. Stosur vs Venus would be epic.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (11) v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP
Alexa Glatch USA v Shuai Peng CHN
Olga Govortsova BLR v Tatiana Perebiynis UKR
Galina Voskoboeva KAZ v Na Li CHN (19)

Sybille Bammer AUT (29) v Melanie Oudin USA
Monica Niculescu ROU v Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ
Katie O'Brien GBR v Iveta Benesova CZE
Julia Goerges GER v Jelena Jankovic SRB (6)

I’m going for A-Rad against Miss “it didn’t hit my arm”. Peng Shuai vs Alexa Glatch will be quite the interesting match. Peng when she’s on is good. If she wins she has the potential to beat whoever wins the A-Rad match. Li Na should beat her first round opponent and face – Peng?

Jelena Jankovic has said she may take a break after Wimbledon. I'll believe it when I see it although getting past Iveta Benesova may challenge her. I don't see her beating Li but she has a chance if Peng wins that matchup.

BOTTOM HALF

Vera Zvonareva RUS (7) v Georgie Stoop GBR
Melanie South GBR v Mathilde Johansson FRA
Jill Craybas USA v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL
Tamira Paszek AUT v Virginie Razzano FRA (26)

Aleksandra Wozniak CAN (23) v Francesca Schiavone ITA
Michelle Larcher De Brito POR v Klara Zakopalova CZE
Timea Bacsinszky SUI v Vesna Manasieva RUS
Yung-Jan Chan TPE v Marion Bartoli FRA (12)

It’ll be Vera vs Razzano in that section and Wozniak vs Bartoli in the other. If Bartoli plays that is. I mean Marion was doing a mean imitation of someone with a quad injury on Friday. If Bartoli is out that section will be wide open for Wozniak to take. LdB may be able to scream all of them off the court but I think they’ll all be ready for her antics.

Dominika Cibulkova SVK (14) v Julie Coin FRA
Masa Zec Peskiric SLO v Urszula Radwanska POL
Yanina Wickmayer BEL v Elena Vesnina RUS
Vera Dushevina RUS v Alize Cornet FRA (22)

Alisa Kleybanova RUS (27) v Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ
Karolina Sprem CRO v Regina Kulikova RUS
Aravane Rezai FRA v Ayumi Morita JPN
Alla Kudryavtseva RUS v Elena Dementieva RUS (4)

It could be Domi vs Yanina. Or Domi vs either of the Russian women. Yanina just played a final and it’ll be interesting to see how she comes out here. U-Rad won’t get past Domi. Vesnina vs Dushevina is a toss up if Dushevina comes to play.

Rezai will get past Morita and face Elena Dementieva who will easily defeat her. Who Elena will play is a toss up.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (8) v Severine Bremond Beltrame FRA
Nathalie Dechy FRA v Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU
Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER v Sania Mirza IND
Edina Gallovits ROU v Sorana Cirstea ROU (28)

Maria Sharapova RUS (24) v Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR
Gisela Dulko ARG v Stephanie Foretz FRA
Maria Elena Camerin ITA v Shahar Peer ISR
Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Nadia Petrova RUS (10)

Azarenka will probably face Anna-Lena. Sorana looked shaky during her last match. Whether that was on purpose or not is another story. Her match against Anna-Lena will be very interesting.

Sharapova will probably win her section of the draw unless Nadia decides that Maria is not superwoman and plays her without fear. I would love Nadia to win since a match between Sharapova and Azarenka will rid SW 19 of all life, human and animal.

Jie Zheng CHN (16) v Kristina Barrois GER
Daniela Hantuchova SVK v Laura Robson GBR
Tamarine Tanasugarn THA v Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP
Ai Sugiyama JPN v Patty Schnyder SUI (21)

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (31) v Petra Cetkovska CZE
Roberta Vinci ITA v Magdalena Rybarikova SVK
Lucie Safarova CZE v Jarmila Groth AUS
Neuza Silva POR v Serena Williams USA (2)

What does it mean when you think Laura Robson has a good chance of beating Daniela Hantuchova? Zheng Jie has a nice little section there. I’d like to think Ai can beat Patty on grass but one never knows.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will get a fight from either Vinci or Rybarikova. Serena is playing a relative unknown, again a danger for a Williams. Assuming she makes it past Neuza Silva she will face either Safarova, who can give her a run for her money, or the relatively inexperienced Aussie Jarmila Groth. This is a tricky section of the draw for Serena and there is no guarantee she’ll make it out.

Heard Around

by Savannah

More medical expertise from Dr. Monogram's minions. Seems ESPN talking head Darren Cahill thinks the pain is all in Rafael Nadal's head. In this ESPN video clip Cahill says the following:

But I think to me, just a gathering from the press conference here, it seems to be a little more mental than physical and he just knows that he's hit a wall at the moment. And with the knee problems he has he's not getting any better.

So, I think it's quite a lot psychological and not so much physical, to be quite honest.

Keep it coming dudes. I mean your man said he had mono and to date no one has questioned his declaration even though he seems to be fitter than the Energizer Bunny and is not suffering relapses the way Mario Ancic has been for awhile now. I find it ironic that The Monogram's pronouncements are treated as if they come from Mount Olympus while everyone else's, especial Rafael's, are treated as fodder for inane and dare I say slanderous ruminations by everyone in the tennis press. It's been obvious for some time that Rafa's movement hasn't been right. In the match against Soderling it was painfully obvious to anyone who cared to look. Instead of talking about Rafa's lack of movement the press, especially here in the States, focused on Robin Soderling's "great" game. This while the Monogram went through a field that even I wouldn't have had too much trouble overcoming.

It occurred to me yesterday that maybe all this medical expertise is being bandied about because the Monogram knows in his heart of hearts that he only wins majors when Rafa is not there to challenge him. While his fans and sycophants rail that no asterisk should be placed next to his name he knows that if he had to face the one man who has not fallen under his spell he wouldn't be able to overcome.

Is it "psychological" when you have to think about how to move without pain or a normal human reaction to pain and discomfort Darren? Is it wrong for Rafa to try and be a man of his word and honor his commitments? It's not an easy thing for Rafael to walk away from a tennis tournament. He had to see for himself that he was not doing himself any favors by trying to play Wimbledon, the major that means so much to him. Let's hope he listens to his family and rests awhile before picking up a racquet again.

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Right Choice

by Savannah

Rafael Nadal did the right thing and withdrew from Wimbledon. He tried to play on his sore knees but couldn't stop thinking about how to avoid pain instead of what his next shot should be. After yesterday's exhibition loss to Lleyton Hewitt Toni Nadal said point blank that his nephew should be on his way home, that the defending champion could not bend.
There was little doubt in this fan's mind that Rafa would not play this tournament.

I'm sure no one is more frustrated about this than the defending Wimbledon Champion. Somehow he'll have to make peace with his decision and realize this is for the best.

Wimbledon - The Ladies Draw

Thanks to Moose for putting this together!

TOP HALF

Dinara Safina RUS (1) v Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP
Nicole Vaidisova CZE v Rossana De Los Rios PAR
Elena Baltacha GBR v Alona Bondarenko UKR
Kirsten Flipkens BEL v Agnes Szavay HUN (30)

Amelie Mauresmo FRA (17) v Melinda Czink HUN
Katarina Srebotnik SLO v Aiko Nakamura JPN
Vania King USA v Mariya Koryttseva UKR
Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP v Flavia Pennetta ITA (15)

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) v Kimiko Date Krumm JPN
Petra Kvitova CZE v Maria Kirilenko RUS
Alberta Brianti ITA v Tathiana Garbin ITA
Marta Domachowska POL v Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (20)

Anna Chakvetadze RUS (32) v Sabine Lisicki GER
Patricia Mayr AUT v Anne Keothavong GBR
Pauline Parmentier FRA v Akgul Amanmuradova UZB
Akiko Morigami JPN v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (5)

Venus Williams USA (3) v Stefanie Voegele SUI
Anastasija Sevastova LAT v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR
Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE
Carla Suarez Navarro ESP v Kaia Kanepi EST (25)

Samantha Stosur AUS (18) v Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA
Jelena Dokic AUS v Tatjana Malek GER
Sara Errani ITA v Stephanie Dubois CAN
Lucie Hradecka CZE v Ana Ivanovic SRB (13)

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (11) v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP
Alexa Glatch USA v Shuai Peng CHN
Olga Govortsova BLR v Tatiana Perebiynis UKR
Galina Voskoboeva KAZ v Na Li CHN (19)

Sybille Bammer AUT (29) v Melanie Oudin USA
Monica Niculescu ROU v Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ
Katie O'Brien GBR v Iveta Benesova CZE
Julia Goerges GER v Jelena Jankovic SRB (6)

BOTTOM HALF

Vera Zvonareva RUS (7) v Georgie Stoop GBR
Melanie South GBR v Mathilde Johansson FRA
Jill Craybas USA v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL
Tamira Paszek AUT v Virginie Razzano FRA (26)

Aleksandra Wozniak CAN (23) v Francesca Schiavone ITA
Michelle Larcher De Brito POR v Klara Zakopalova CZE
Timea Bacsinszky SUI v Vesna Manasieva RUS
Yung-Jan Chan TPE v Marion Bartoli FRA (12)

Dominika Cibulkova SVK (14) v Julie Coin FRA
Masa Zec Peskiric SLO v Urszula Radwanska POL
Yanina Wickmayer BEL v Elena Vesnina RUS
Vera Dushevina RUS v Alize Cornet FRA (22)

Alisa Kleybanova RUS (27) v Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ
Karolina Sprem CRO v Regina Kulikova RUS
Aravane Rezai FRA v Ayumi Morita JPN
Alla Kudryavtseva RUS v Elena Dementieva RUS (4)

Victoria Azarenka BLR (8) v Severine Bremond Beltrame FRA
Nathalie Dechy FRA v Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU
Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER v Sania Mirza IND
Edina Gallovits ROU v Sorana Cirstea ROU (28)

Maria Sharapova RUS (24) v Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR
Gisela Dulko ARG v Stephanie Foretz FRA
Maria Elena Camerin ITA v Shahar Peer ISR
Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Nadia Petrova RUS (10)

Jie Zheng CHN (16) v Kristina Barrois GER
Daniela Hantuchova SVK v Laura Robson GBR
Tamarine Tanasugarn THA v Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP
Ai Sugiyama JPN v Patty Schnyder SUI (21)

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (31) v Petra Cetkovska CZE
Roberta Vinci ITA v Magdalena Rybarikova SVK
Lucie Safarova CZE v Jarmila Groth AUS
Neuza Silva POR v Serena Williams USA (2)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Seed Wars

by Savannah

The chatter in tennis circles over the Wimbledon seeding allotments continues. Not only Mary Carillo but her broadcast peer Brad Gilbert has asked how Dinara Safina can be seeded Number 1 with an abysmal record on grass while the five time Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams is seeded Number 3, especially since Sharapova was given a late birthday present by being seeded at 24. This allows her to avoid a top seed until the second week in case you were wondering what all the shouting is about. As Craig mentioned yesterday Ms Sharapova has not done much at SW 19 for the last few years. As Gilbert asks in his blog post why didn't they simply move her into the top ten if she's that good?

Not to be outdone the men's side made a little news today. As expected Gael Monfils withdrew due to his wrist injury. A lucky loser will replace him in the draw. As for seeding previously unseeded Tommy Haas is now the 24th seed. I hope Tommy sends Gael a nice Christmas present. With Marcos Baghdatis expected to withdraw as well and Ivan Ljubicic suffering what looked like a severe ankle sprain there are more opportunities for creative seeding by the LTA. Have fun boys and girls.

Jock's Rule
Yes Maria Sharapova is on the cover of ESPN. Isn't she the bestest and hottest female tennis player on the planet? Anyway the geniuses at ESPN magazine asked the Golden Girl how she would reform her sport. Some of these responses are laugh out loud hilarious and show her PR people think tennis fans are babbling idiots with short memories.

Sharapova on fixing the sport of tennis

Send in the clowns

When I go to sporting events, I enjoy the entertainment that surrounds the game. Tennis fans never get that experience. Tournament organizers need to play music or invite dancers and clowns onto the court during side changes. It's too quiet during those breaks.

Don't let the dogs in

Everyone knows I love dogs (I have a Pomeranian named Dolce), but the players' lounge is not a vet's office. Players carry around their dogs in little bags and let them run all over the place. They put bowls of water on the floor, and it spills everywhere. It's a tournament -- leave the pooch at home.

Get rid of the riffraff

And while I'm on the subject: The players' lounge isn't a nightclub, either. It's hard to get ready for a match when there's a bleached-out blonde in six-inch stilettos and a denim miniskirt hanging out. Who is this person, and why is she here?

Quit while we're ahead

The WTA schedule is too long. We start in January and go full speed all the way through to the U.S. Open in September. Then we have to keep going until the Sony Ericsson Championships at the end of October. I'd end the season with the Open.

Plug in and plug us

I would use the Internet, Facebook and Twitter more effectively to market our sport, and I would make all the athletes participate. Raising the popularity of individual players raises the popularity of tennis.

Give on-court coaches the boot

I would ban all contact with coaches between sets. I'm sure when the male players see coaches walk onto the court during our matches they laugh.

Accept a good challenge

Now a player is allowed three unsuccessful challenges per set. Obviously, a player shouldn't be allowed to challenge every call, but if she is out of challenges and the umpire appears unsure, why shouldn't she be allowed to ask for a replay?

Don't hide the game face

While I was sidelined with my shoulder injury, I watched a lot of tennis on TV. Sometimes I thought, Why do these girls wear so much makeup? I can't even figure out how they keep their eyeliner from running. Athletes should play au naturel.

Ignore the pain

Limit on-court injury timeouts to two per season. I've asked for a trainer twice in my career, but I've played against girls who call for an injury timeout in every match. They're just buying time; it's laughable.

Colorize Wimbledon

Once every two or three years, Wimbledon should let us wear something besides white. It would add a spark of fun to a very traditional place. Of course, style has its limits, so I would also…

…Recruit fashion police

In my tennis, a board would approve all outfits before players could wear them on the court. There are some tacky outfits out there!

Throw a surprise party

I'd create a tournament in which you wouldn't know whom you were playing or on what surface until the start of each round. You might get the first round on grass, the second on clay and the third on hard court. This is unrealistic, but it would be interesting.

My dear the on court coaching business was done so that you and your father didn't have to go through elaborate pantomimes boarding on farce when he wanted you to do something. And as for blondes in six inch stilettos creating a distraction we are talking the Women's Lounge no?

SOURCE

End Notes
Four American men qualified for the Main Draw at Wimbledon. Taylor Dent, Jessie Levine, Rajeev Ram and the until now unheard of Michael Yani deserve some props.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

More Wimbledon - The ESPN News Conference

by Savannah

NOTE: This content was reported on TalkAboutTennis

ESPN hosted a conference call/press conference to publicize it's coverage of the Championships that begins on Monday, June 22 at 7a on the East Coast of the United States. With Wimbledon Live not available in the States ESPN via it's broadband online site ESPN360.com as well as it's television coverage in ESPN2 has stepped up and will provide extensive coverage for it's viewers. ESPN360 is free if your ISP provides access to it. All coverage will be broadcast in HD.

The featured speakers were broadcasters Patrick McEnroe and Mary Carillo. ESPN also made Len deLuca and Jamie Reynolds available to provide insight from the business end of tennis coverage.

The majority of the questions during the conference related to the ATP. There was focus put on who, outside of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray had a chance at winning the title. Patrick McEnroe felt that Andy Roddick has a good chance if the draw breaks his way. He felt that if both Andy Murray and Roger Federer were on the other side of the draw Andy Roddick has a fairly good chance to make a deep run.

PMac also expressed skepticism about Rafa's knee problems and felt that he just needed a mental break. He feels Nadal will be ready to play at Wimbledon. He also felt that Federer withdrew from Halle because he felt the need to celebrate and take a break.
What was a little surprising was that PMac agreed with Mary Carillo who said that Murray is still going to have problems playing best of five matches especially with his penchant for going on walkabout during a match.
The broadcasters agreed that Novak Djokovic is struggling coming into Wimbledon.
As for dark horses mention was made of Robin Soderling, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Marin Cilic. As for Americans other than Andy Roddick it was said that James Blake has been up and down and that while Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey have the potential to make it into the second week it's doubtful that they would win the tournament.

As for the WTA most of the questions revolved around who, other than Venus Williams and Serena Williams could come into the event with the swagger of knowing they have a good chance to win.
Mary Carillo emphasized that Dinara Safina has expressed her dislike of playing on grass and that if she has that big a mental block against the surface she's setting herself up for a hard time.
Mary also made the case for Venus Williams being seeded number one as opposed to Dinara who has yet to win a major or play well on grass. PMac felt that it was better that the AELTC stick with the rankings. No one asked about Maria Sharapova's seeding at #24.

As for who has a chance at winning other than Venus or Serena Mary said that Sharapova is still on the comeback trail and that her play of late has not been the best. Samantha Stosur has a serve and a game that translates well to grass. Women who can also do well are Li Na, Victoria Azarenka who has a hip problem but moves well on grass, Zheng Jie and Svetlana Kuznetsova especially since, as the saying goes "Jocks win Wimbledon"(thanks for that PMac). Marion Bartoli was mentioned as a dark horse.

The Serbian players, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are not being given much of a chance at being factors in the tournament. Mary also said that the women's game looks better on grass and that some of the best women's matches have been played on that surface citing the 2005 Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport match which is still considered one of the best ever. The surface forces the women to play more aggressively than they may want to she said.

Questions were also raised about the funding of major tournaments, so far so good despite the global recession was the response, and television rankings when it comes to tennis. The highest ranked early round match was a doubles match featuring Venus Williams and Serena Williams during the French Open. The highest ranked were matches featuring Serena Williams and Roger Federer during the later rounds.

The question of grunting, especially in the women's game, was raised. Concern was expressed over how that would be implemented during actual match play. Would a point be taken from a player when after a long rally Player X lets out a blood curdling scream? Who is going to determine what is noise pollution and what isn't? Both broadcasters agreed that the time to stop it is when the players are young not when they've gotten to the point that they're playing on the main tour.

A reporter asked about the effect of hard court play on the body and that many of the European players are not happy with the emphasis on hard court play, something they see as favoring Americans. PMac disagreed that the US hard courts dominate the season and made the interesting observation that indoor courts are harder on the body than hardcourts. He went on to say that the US has lost a couple of tournaments and that with Europeans dominating the top 100 it's only natural that they want to play more on their home continent.

There were quite a few internet journalists on the call and while left until the end they represented.

The Championships Wimbledon

by Savannah

Seeds - Ladies Singles

1 Dinara SAFINA (RUS) [1]
2 Serena WILLIAMS (USA) [2]
3 Venus WILLIAMS (USA) [3]
4 Elena DEMENTIEVA (RUS) [4]
5 Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) [5]
6 Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB) [6]
7 Vera ZVONAREVA (RUS) [7]
8 Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) [8]
9 Caroline WOZNIACKI (DEN) [9]
10 Nadia PETROVA (RUS) [10]
11 Agnieszka RADWANSKA (POL) [11]
12 Marion BARTOLI (FRA) [12]
13 Ana IVANOVIC (SRB) [13]
14 Dominika CIBULKOVA (SVK) [14]
15 Flavia PENNETTA (ITA) [15]
16 Jie ZHENG (CHN) [16]
17 Amelie MAURESMO (FRA) [17]
18 Samantha STOSUR (AUS) [18]
19 Na LI (CHN) [19]
20 Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) [20]
21 Patty SCHNYDER (SUI) [21]
22 Alize CORNET (FRA) [22]
23 Aleksandra WOZNIAK (CAN) [23]
24 Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS) [24]
25 Kaia KANEPI (EST) [25]
26 Virginie RAZZANO (FRA) [26]
27 Alisa KLEYBANOVA (RUS) [27]
28 Sorana CIRSTEA (ROU) [28]
29 Sybille BAMMER (AUT) [29]
30 Agnes SZAVAY (HUN) [30]
31 Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) [31]
32 Anna CHAKVETADZE (RUS) [32]

Note: Maria Sharapova is officially ranked #59 on the WTA Tour.

Seeds - Ladies Doubles

1 Cara BLACK (ZIM) & Liezel HUBER (USA) [1]
2 Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) & Lisa RAYMOND (USA) [2]
3 Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) & Virginia RUANO PASCUAL (ESP) [3]
4 Samantha STOSUR (AUS) & Rennae STUBBS (AUS) [4]
5 Serena WILLIAMS (USA) & Venus WILLIAMS (USA) [5]
6 Su-Wei HSIEH (TPE) & Shuai PENG (CHN) [6]
7 Daniela HANTUCHOVA (SVK) & Ai SUGIYAMA (JPN) [7]
8 Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) & Elena VESNINA (RUS) [8]
9 Maria KIRILENKO (RUS) & Flavia PENNETTA (ITA) [9]
10 Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) & Nadia PETROVA (RUS) [10]
11 Nuria LLAGOSTERA VIVES (ESP) & Maria Jose MARTINEZ SANCHEZ (ESP) [11]
12 Anna-Lena GROENEFELD (GER) & Vania KING (USA) [12]
13 Zi YAN (CHN) & Jie ZHENG (CHN) [13]
14 Nathalie DECHY (FRA) & Mara SANTANGELO (ITA) [14]
15 Chia-Jung CHUANG (TPE) & Sania MIRZA (IND) [15]
16 Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) & Amelie MAURESMO (FRA) [16]

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Winners

by Savannah

Tommy Haas 2009 Champion Halle

Magdalena Rybarikova 2009 Champion Binghamton

Andy Murray 2009 Champion Queens Club

Cara Black and Liezel Huber 2009 Doubles Champions Binghamton

Mikhail Youzhny and Wesley Moodie 2009 Doubles Champions Queens Club

C Kas and P Kohlschreiber Doubles Champions Halle

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The WTA - A Look Ahead

by Savannah

I get tired of writing negative things about the WTA. I really do. It's as if every time a women's tournament takes place the words errorfest, disaster, and horror show come to mind. Holding serve seems to be a lost art and despite all the screaming and carrying on the women's game has become so monotonous that you can predict what a match is going to look like before it even starts. The only time excitement comes into play is when those pesky sisters from the United States take the court. Otherwise it's scream, hit to the right corner, hit to the left corner, screaming all the while. Serve? What's that?

Some are suggesting that the only explanation lies in the Chaos Theory saying that a world in which Svetlana Kuznetsova wins the French Open is one where common sense and what should be have been thrown out of the window.

Others cite Justine Henin's retirement from the sport as the beginning of the end of women's tennis. I see her "retirement" differently. Yes she had personal problems and yes she may have been burned out but it's still ironic that it came when those pesky sisters - they who must not be named - returned uninjured and fully focused to the tour. In my very humble opinion when her Svengali had no answers for her against Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon seeds of doubt had to enter her mind. She beat an injured Serena (too vain to wrap her injured thigh) and a weak Venus(it was later revealed her thinness was due to a return of anemia) at the US Open and while the tennis press didn't present her wins that way it was obvious to true tennisheads that her great victories came against injured players.

Still I give Justine her due. She never had a draw filled with qualifiers, juniors, and lower ranked players. She always had to fight her way to her finals playing the best along the way and perhaps that is what her die hard fans remember most. Yes her character can be called into question but in the end she won her titles. They weren't handed to her. She deserved more than the back of Larry Scott's hand when she left no matter the reason.

The recipient of all the largesse the tour had to offer has returned. For weeks the press had been calling her return "needed" and that it heralded the "return of order" to women's tennis. Her father Yuri Sharapov would not be travelling with her and everything was going to be blue skies and rainbows.

Except it hasn't worked out that way. As long as Maria Sharapova was playing the weak of body and mind she could gut out a win. I watched her match on Thursday and saw her eyes narrow and her spine stiffen as she beat Yanina Wickmayer in three sets.

But Li Na, who lost to Maria a couple of weeks ago came into today's match loaded for bear and while she bent she didn't break. There is a lot of speculation as to why Li doesn't play more events - she's often said to be inured - but today she kept her wits and held her nerve and she won in straight sets, 4 and 4.

Is it a sign of the apocalypse that Sveta, Li, and others, are steadily moving up the rankings? Why is the casual fan always reduced to asking "who"? when one of the women on the tour manages to win a competition? I've said it before and I'll say it again. The tour has let it's players down. The names of Li Na, Zheng Jie, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva should be as well known as that of the Golden Child. Despite all the trash talk the tour is still saddled with a slamless Number One whose breakdown during the French Open final was as tragic as it was predictable. Once Dinara Safina couldn't have her coach come down on court and hold her hand she fell apart.

I doubt you'll see analysis like this in the US tennis press but this article by Nick Pitt appeared in the Times OnLine.

Ranked 20th in the world, and a semi-finalist in the Beijing Olympics, Li is competent rather than exceptional. She was a good trial-horse to make a judgment on whether Sharapova, who recently returned to the courts after surgery to her right shoulder last October, might be a contender at Wimbledon. The answer is clear and negative. The reasons are that her service has lost power and her speed and agility are not good enough. She was half-a-yard slow throughout and her service was broken six times in 10 service games. In their five previous meetings, Li had won just one set. Yesterday she won two with some ease on Sharapova’s favourite surface.

More worrying still was the absence of the intensity that used to be Sharapova’s greatest strength. Six years ago, her grunting and screaming shattered the tranquillity of the Edgbaston lawns and the birds flew away, unable to compete. Yesterday, the birds sang happily, for Sharapova’s decibels have declined with the speed of her first serve. There were moments when Sharapova gave vivid reminders of the flat-driven ground-strokes that helped her win here on her second visit, in 2004, before winning the Wimbledon title three weeks later. A couple of forehand cross-court winners on the run, an exquisite drop shot and a backhand down the line were scintillating. But errors, usually the result of slow footwork, were much more common.

Is there a favorite going into Wimbledon? I said going into the French that someone unexpected would win. Wimbledon is different. Vera Zvonareva is making her comeback from injury at Eastbourne. Sveta got a wild card into the event. I don't think Vera will be at the top of her game coming back after such a long absence but I'm looking forward to seeing where she is. Does Sveta now have the confidence to compete on the grass as well as she did in France? Will Maria Sharapova get her mind and body in sync and win again at SW 19? Will Elena Dementieva regain the form she showed at the beginning of the year or will one of the new jacks find herself attending the Championship Ball?

I'm not picking the woman everyone is talking up, Venus Williams, or her sister Serena Williams. They'll be in it but there's always the chance some unheard of teen will knock one of them off in the early going. Whoever wins is going to have to bite, claw and scream her way to the Venus Rosewater trophy. It's going to be a very interesting tournament.

End Notes:
James Blake is in the final at Queens Club. He'll face Andy Murray.

Tommy Haas found a way to win over Philipp Kohlschreiber at Halle. He'll face Novak Djokovic who beat back a determined attack by Olivier Rochus.

I'm going to take a few days off next week what with Wimbledon coming up. I'm going to be focused on the WTA during the Fortnight. If anything comes up that needs to be discussed I'll of course post and comment.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Seen and Heard Around

by Savannah

The green manicured lawns of England. Once play starts their beauty lasts about two days. After that they look as if a herd of elephants had taken a stroll over them (minus the droppings of course). The beauty of the terre battue is renewed over and over again. Too bad there wasn't much clay court tennis played on the crushed brick this year. But the tennis world has moved on and it's now the season many traditionalists hold dear. After all tennis was originally played on lawns by allegedly genteel people dressed in the style of the court(s) at that time. I'd love to see a Nike swoosh on one of Suzanne Lenglen's outfits.

At any rate the road to tennis greatness has always gone through Wimbledon and that's not going to change any time soon. Don't get me wrong, there is something to be said in defense of tradition. When the center courts at majors look like graffiti marred walls Wimbledon's ad free walls are a welcome relief. The Middle Sunday tradition? With the roof over Centre Court does it need to be maintained? Not that Middle Sunday was ever about tennis but I digress. The all white attire required of both men and women has gone the way of T-Rex with the modern generation sneaking in bits of color to relieve the monotony. I'm sure the men and women who run the AELTC will not let their traditions go. Doesn't stop me from commenting on them though.

Ivo Karlovic

We're now well into the first week of the grass court run ups to Wimbledon. I'm trying to adjust to points being over after three shots. Or in the case of my nomination for the worst match of the grass court season so far, a match being played where essentially two guys stood next to each other, dropped trou, and tried to see who was bigger. I'm talking about the "match" between Andy Roddick and Ivo Karlovic. If you like all serving all the time this was your match. Rallies? Look elsewhere. This is the second match I've seen Andy play like this. The first one was at last years US Open when he faced Fabrice Santoro. The cure for insomnia I tell you. The action at Halle has been much more interesting if equally fast moving. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looked like a bull on ice during his match. Novak Djokovic did a few splits I'm sure he hadn't practiced making but that is to be expected on the slippery green grass. What amazed me was that fans were up and cheering Andy Roddick after he outserved the man called Dr. Ivo. I wonder what match they were watching?

There's not much I can say about women's play since I've only seen one match. That was between Maria Sharapova and Yanina Wickmayer today. There were actually returns in that match. Yanina took a set from Sharapova. But in the end Maria pulled it out. Of course a bathroom break was taken by Ms Sharapova before she buckled down and won the third set going away. There is one thing I need to ask her fans to tell me though. What is the difference between the "changed" serve motion she was doing before her surgery and the one she's using now? I don't see much difference but it could just be me.

As for coverage of women's tennis it will start next week on June 17th. TennisTV will be covering Eastbourne. It'll be nice to get some visual verification that there are other women on the tour besides Maria Sharapova. I'm just sayin'.

Idle Chit Chat

I guess James Blake knew he had to represent after his comments dismissing the European Clay Court season. Unsurprisingly his comments got very little coverage by tennis media here in the States so they can provide very little background as to why he's playing his ass off in the Queens tournament.

Swedish player Thomas Johannson has announced his retirement. He won the Australian Open in 2002 and was ranked as high as seventh in the world.

Serena Williams has been spotted out and about shopping in Los Angeles.

Photographer Bernard Pacalin posted these great pictures of Venus Williams, and others, on his Facebook page.

Damir Dokic was sentenced to fifteen months in prison after he threatened the Australian Ambassador to Serbia. For those of you who watched "Oz" who do you think should be his cellmate, Adebisi or Schillinger? Yes this is an informal poll. I'm leaning to Schillinger because he'll never see it coming so to speak...

Boris Becker has wed Sharlely Kerssenberg in St. Moritz. Both of his sons attended. I didn't see his daughter Anna though. Here is a link to the PHOTOALBUM. I think that brown belt is precious don't you?

Monday, June 8, 2009

This and That

by Savannah

Reading is fundamental. This phrase was part of an ad campaign promoting literacy in the United States many moons ago. The phrase comes to mind because I've been reading some of the responses to Roger Federer's statement admitting that he needed Rafael Nadal to not be in the French Open final in order to win it.

It's not as if he were speaking in tongues people. He said what he meant and meant what he said (apologies to the late Dr. Seuss). The other big reveal was made by Mary Carillo during the NBC broadcast when she said that Robin Soderling and Federer have practiced together before. I didn't hear this one personally but a very good friend told me about it. I had the match on but the sound was only loud enough to hear the sound of sneaker on clay and ball on racquet. I didn't want to waste my few remaining brain cells on the Fedfest I knew would be taking place. I just didn't know that the badass was really only ready to be bad with one player. Makes what happened on court all the more interesting no?

I've noticed that on most of the fan boards the fans of Mr Monogram were left to celebrate on their own. This seemed to vex them a lot. I wonder why? Their man won. They have every right to celebrate. Instead they continue to try and get fans of other players into a food fight. Whatever. The French Open is over.

On the Sea

Nice picture.

The Grass Court Season

It takes me a week or so to get into grass court play. Rallies such as they are last two or three shots. It's impossible to get mentally engaged the way you can during good clay court play. You need the attention span of a gnat to "get" grass court play.

It's not as if there was a lot of real clay court play on view the last couple of weeks. The women played very little clay court tennis. Few of them know how to slide let alone have the patience needed to play well on the surface. That's why it was so pleasing to see Svetlana Kuznetsova win over the ball bashing Dinara Safina.

But that is so much water under the bridge. I've been trying to watch play from Halle and Queen's Club. Not holding my interest yet. I would've liked to see Maria Sharapova in her grass court debut but as usual the WTA has made it's product unavailable. She easily disposed of her first round opponent according to the scoreboard. I love scoreboard watching in this the age of ever advancing internet technology don't you?

Red Bull and Richard Gasquet

So a fan posts a speculative thread stating that maybe Richard got the cocaine in his system from drinking Red Bull. The energy drink was recently cited for having low levels of cocaine as part of it's makeup and this fan thought that maybe that is how M. Gasquet ended up testing positive. It totally got by him/her that the amount of Red Bull Richard would have had to ingest to get a positive result would add up to about 200,000 cans of the energy drink. It's kind of like testing positive for heroin and saying you eat a lot of poppy seed bagels. The amazing part was that fans took the speculation as something Gasquet actually said when it was nothing of the sort. Gasquet has been too busy lambasting Henri Leconte for daring to suggest that he be punished according to the letter of the existing law. How dare he! Doesn't he know he's supposed to join the "poor Richie" chorus and lobby for "time served" or something?
I'm not even going to discuss the speculation that Gasquet kissed a girl who had just done a few lines. Really people. Really?

And can't people read anymore? What the hell are they teaching in the schools these days? If people can't tell the difference between speculation and fact we're in serious trouble. Reading is fundamental.

End Note

Kudo's go to Tennis Channel on line television and ESPN360 for allowing fans with access to their sites to see live tennis. Tennis Channel television has commentary, most of it pretty good (fair and unbiased) while ESPN360 offered it's viewers the chance to see a match as if you were there live. No announcers. Tennis Channel does have "commercials" but that is a minor annoyance compared to the service provided. If there was camera coverage on a court TC was there.

I also have access to a subscription service, WebTV. It's Russian language television and offers much more than tennis although that is all I use it for. It's not cheap and to my knowledge it only works on a Windows platform. Still it was where I watched Rafa's loss in it's entirety and got live coverage of the men's semifinals. Both of them.

As for NBC I think it's time for them to give it up. Their coverage was abysmal and in the States all means of watching online were disabled forcing a fan who doesn't have WebTV to be at their mercy. For the men's semi finals they allowed three hours of coverage. Three hours. Time for one match but not two. This resulted in US fans seeing a tape of the completed first semi final while there was actual live tennis being played. Amazing in this day and age.

There is no need to talk about the commentary. It's intrusive, full of in jokes lost on the average and/or casual fan, and biased. I guess the good news is that they don't employ the Slob. Fans with access to TC have the pleasure of listening to his opinion and commentary. Thank God for small favors huh?

It's painfully obvious that the US networks don't have the cojones to give tennis it's due. Tennis, like baseball, is timeless. You know when the first match will start but that is the only certainty. If the networks don't want to cover tennis the way it needs to be covered why are the tours shelling out big bucks for almost non existent coverage? Golf the networks cover for as long as it takes. The Super Bowl and World Series get the glamour treatment. Tennis is treated like crap. It's time for the tours to reevaluate where and how they spend their money. It's also time for them to make sure that an outlet dedicated to it's sport is part of basic cable service. I'm just sayin'. I have "Gol" television but not the TC.

Idle Chit Chat

Some great pictures of Sveta after her French Open Victory

Some nice pics of Serena Williams and Sasha arriving at LAX. All of the pics are posted HERE

Edited to Add...

The Diagnosis of Dr. Monogram

"It seems like it's not 100 percent serious, his knee injury. I only wish him the best and I hope it's not true that he will miss Wimbledon. I think it's a lot of speculation at the moment," Federer said. "He wasn't taping his knees here in Paris. He seemed fine, [from] what I saw, anyway. I've played him so many times, I can tell when he's in pain and when he's not."

SOURCE

Rafa is in Barcelona for tests today. Dr. Monogram is making noise about pulling out of Halle.
LINK on Halle.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

From The Horse's Mouth

by Savannah

Roger Federer is quoted saying the following in a BBC Article

French Open champion Roger Federer said he was always confident of eventually winning at Roland Garros - provided Rafael Nadal failed to reach the final.

Federer, who lost the last three finals to Nadal, completed the career Grand Slam on his 11th appearance in Paris with victory over Robin Soderling.

"I knew that the day Rafa wasn't in the final I would be there and I would win," said world number two Federer.

"That's exactly what happened. I didn't hope for it but I believed in it."

Note: Roger is being hugged by his mother in the above picture. Mirka is in the red top to his left. Roger's dad is being framed by the door. Note the others in the room.

The Winner

by Savannah

So the badass goes ass up and takes a straight set beating from Roger Federer. Robin Soderling played like a man possessed against all of his previous opponents and yet today he could barely assemble a game let alone a plan. The fact that he got the second set to a tiebreak is the only thing he can look back on with any sense of pride.

Of course Roger's fans are ecstatic and will use this win as proof of his being one of tennis greatest ever players and they have every right to be happy. It does give one pause though when the only player in the men's semi's to have ever beaten Federer was not across the net for the Final. Federer's record against the other three semi finalists was 38-1.

Congratulations on your win Roger.

Junior Champions

Daniel Berta Boys 2009 French Open Champion

Kristina Mladenovic Girls 2009 French Open Champion

Elena Bogdan and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Girls 2009 French Open Champions

Marin Draganja and Dino Marcan Boys 2009 French Open Doubles Champions

Idle Chit Chat

Why was this man widely reported to have been a disgruntled Spanish tennis fan by people who were watching? How was this man allowed to get on court in view of what happened to Monica Seles? Why ask why? If this could happen during a Final at Roland Garros what can happen at other venues?

That flag in his hand was also reported by observers to be a Spanish flag.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

It's The Same Old Song...

by Savannah

An interview with:

DINARA SAFINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Svetlana says you played with too much pressure. Do you agree with her? Is that the reason you couldn't find yourgame, especially your serve?

DINARA SAFINA: Well, pressure I put on myself because Ireally wanted to win. I just didn'thandle it.

Q. You were especially struggling with your serve?

DINARA SAFINA: As you can see.

Q. How did you feel on court? Youlooked desperately around like, where can I find my strokes, my rhythm?

DINARA SAFINA: Yeah, I didn't ‑‑ that's exactly. I was a little bit desperate on the court,and didn't do the things that I was ‑‑ I had to do. Didn't stay tough mentally.

Q. Is there any comfort to you that she played a very good match. It wasn't like she put you in a position towin but you didn't win. Does that makeit any easier for you, or...

DINARA SAFINA: No, because she gave me chances and I had chances. She was not so aggressive as she usually be. I just didn't do anything.

Q. You basically beat yourself?

DINARA SAFINA: I lost myself.

Why is it that when Dinara Safina gives her version of "She didn't beat me I beat myself" it's okay but when Serena Williams says the same thing it's proof of, oh I don't know, her arrogance and lack of class? I'm just sayin'.
SOURCE

The French Open Ladies Champions

by Savannah

I said it the day it happened. The Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova semi final match was the Women's French Open Final. Sveta fought herself and her opponent and overcame her nerves to win that third set. I felt then that the winner of that match would hoist the Championship Trophy.

I've also said it before and I can now say it again. A soft draw does not a Champion make. Dinara Safina was given a cakewalk to the Final playing lower ranked players as she sliced through her opponents. Victoria Azarenka would've taken her out if she'd been able to settle down and had a better working knowledge of clay court play. Her semi final match against Dominika Cibulkova was another case of her opponent being overcome by the vapors and not playing her game. In the Final Dinara faced an opponent who was not afraid of her, who had already beaten her once during the clay season, and could actually play clay court tennis. In the end it was all too much for Dinara. With no on court coaching and the camera catching what coaching was going on between coach and player Dinara found herself losing focus on the court and emotionally. She knew what the stakes were and knew that she had to win this one, that she would never get a draw that soft again. In the end Dinara wasn't up to the task.

The better woman won today and I was glad to see it. As the old people say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Sveta has been through her own horror show. Her record in Finals up until today was abysmal and fans could be excused for thinking that Bad Sveta could show up this afternoon. Sveta stayed calm and focused. She refused to be intimidated by the power of her opponent and doing what needed to be done - keeping the ball low while moving Safina around while playing with the patience clay court tennis demands Sveta seemed able to break at will and Safina, flustered, could only stand by and watch the train as it roared past her.

Dinara remains the WTA Number One. I remember during the run up to the French Dinara said that all the sniping came from people jealous of all that she's accomplished at twenty three. Some of us demurred pointing out players who had won Slams by the age of twenty three, something Safina still has not done.

Congratulations to Sveta on her second Grand Slam.

Congratulations are also in order for Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano-Pascual for winning the women's doubles crown.

Friday, June 5, 2009

The French Open Men's Final

by Savannah

Roger Federer

Robin Soderling

May the best man win.

Edited to Add:

Fernando Gonzalez blasted his way into the men's semifinals dismantling Andy Murray along the way. If he had played at the same level this match I would've been very surprised. Gonzo has played well enough to win a tournament before. I remember how he played in Melbourne a couple of years ago and wondered if he'd be able to play with all cylinders burning two matches in a row.
I'm not sure if what happened is a result of Soderling not letting him play that way or of Gonzalez being Gonzalez.

As the match went on Gonzalez, unable to execute his game plan grew increasingly frustrated while the crowd grew increasingly silent.

That was the main story to me. The other day it seemed as if they were all for the man from Sweden but today no matter what he did they basically sat on their hands. The only people who seemed to be excited were the people from Sweden and even they had to be rallied by Mats Wilander who tried to reassure fans that Soderling is really a nice guy and that he can say that because Soderling is a friend of his. Let's not forget Mats presented Soderling to the world as a guy who doesn't give a shit about anyone on the tour.

It's been widely reported that Soderling doesn't have a fan following in his native country either- one commentator is rumored to have used the word "despised" to describe Soderling's relationship with players and fans in Sweden - so it's nice to know that he has a friend in Mats, and maybe Bjorn Borg.

Juan Martin del Potro is a phlegmatic young man. I'm sure he knows how to laugh, cry and blow off steam but he doesn't do it on the tennis court. He simply goes about the business of playing tennis which he does very well. When he is on he plays beautiful tennis especially when on a hard court. Clay is not his surface but with Chatrier playing faster this year he was kind of in his element. But when he had a chance to take the match in the fourth set he tensed up and his chance to make the final was gone. It doesn't help that prior to the match Juan Martin had said that it would be nice if Federer won the tournament.

With the crowd solidly on his side Federer managed to push himself over the finish line. The hype machine was already in full swing and with his combined record against his fellow semi finalists standing at 38-1(Gonzo having the sole win) I'd think he was pretty confident. Del Potro played extremely well though and I began to wonder if Roger would have to give himself a "calm period" if he lost.

So the "people's choice" will face the man who "doesn't give a shit" in the men's final on Sunday. As I said initially, may the best man win.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The French Open - Ladies Day

by Savannah

The predicted all Russian women's final will take place Saturday. Both Dominika Cibulkova and Samantha Stosur were overcome by nerves and let their Russian opponents pull out wins to set up the final pairing many had predicted since the quarter finals. Safina survived horrendous serving and what appeared to be weariness (It was later revealed that Dinara is battling the flu) and Kuznetsova used her experience to outplay a nervous Stosur who had forced a third set.

I actually wish that Stosur had found a way to win. Sveta in a final is usually a disaster. She managed to beat Dinara in the Stuttgart final and then failed to show up the next time they met in a final. Stosur would've had nothing to lose and would've made an interesting opponent for Dinara.

But that's all water under the bridge. Can Sveta beat Dinara? Of course. Will she play the kind of tennis that got her to the Final? I hope so. Sveta at her best can beat anyone.

On Court Coaching

Once again Dinara was looking to her coach after every point just like Justine Henin used to do. Mary Carillo spoke on it during the match again today. It's annoying. I can understand that at a critical juncture you look to your coach for reassurance (and maybe a hand signal or two) but after every point? Isn't part of the coaches job to teach on court strategy? It seems that today's coaches want their charges to be totally reliant on them for their every action on court. Tennis is about one on one combat, mano a mano, mind against mind. It's not supposed to be a video game where the on court players become mere two dimensional extensions of the game players will. I don't think I've ever seen either Williams sister constantly stare into the stands at either of their parents during a match. Their gaze is always inward. They search their memories for times they've been in the same situation or to think what tactic they should use at a particular point in a match. It's why they're so dangerous and beating either one of them is such a goal among their peers. People like me lament the state of women's tennis now. When Venus and Serena exit the stage things are going to be bad for a very long time.

Americans in Paris and Other French Open News

The Bryan Brothers are gone from the Men's Doubles Competition. The team of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman escorted the twins to the Chunnel winning a three set match. The Bryan twins have played a lot of clay court tennis unlike the other American players male and female.

Junior Sloane Stephens has made it to the girls semi finals. She played Junior Fed Cup in Italy and won the Rome junior title.

Surprisingly the team of Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor were also shown the exit by the team of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets. Zimonjic and Nestor have dominated men's doubles.

American Vania King is playing Mixed Doubles with Braziian Marcelo Melo against the American team of Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber.

The Women's doubles final will feature the team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascaul against Elena Vesnina and Victoria Azarenka.

This and That

Martina Navratilova has spoken out about the howling some of the WTA players make when striking the ball.

"The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done."
(...)
"A player is in a difficult position because if they make too much of a fuss, the crowd can turn against them,” she said. “It is the umpires who have to act because if they start enforcing the hindrance rule and give point penalties, it will soon stop. The grunts are louder and lasting well into the opponent's strike zone."

The Times Online reports that the Grand Slam Committee is meeting today in Paris and that the situation will be on the agenda.

(FROM L to R) Chairman of All England Lawn Tennis Club Tim Phillips, French Tennis Federation (FTT) President Jean Gachassin, Unites States Tennis Assosiation (USTA) president Lucy Garvin, President of the International Tennis Federation Ricci Bitti and Australian Open President Geoff Pollard pose on June 4, 2009 at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris following a meeting of the Grand Slam federations.

The article notes the noise made by Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Michelle Larcher de Brito. Maybe it's me but I don't find Serena's grunting on the same level as the other three. And of the other three Michelle Larcher de Brito is by far the worse followed by Victoria Azarenka. Aravane Rezai's complaints about Larcher de Brito were justified in my opinion. My ears were still ringing an hour after her match ended and I'm sure there were calls to the emergency services of Paris by citizens thinking someone was being attacked. Azarenka's noise level is not far behind. Anytime Maria Sharapova gets ranked third in this category you know something is wrong.

Kim Clijsters talked about motherhood, family and the new girls on the block during an interview with the BBC. The interviewer called the up and comers "young machines". Kim's comments about the locker room, getting along and thinking on court are pertinent. Listen and enjoy.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Seen Around

by Savannah

During my days away from blogging I was watching tennis. In fact I just saw the real French Open Women's final. Oh I know the match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams was a quarter final one and that the winner will now face surprise semi finalist Samantha Stosur but the tennis played by both Sveta and Serena is the best I've seen from the women the entire tournament.

That said I wonder what the reasoning was behind putting Serena and Sveta on the slower Lenglen court as opposed to Chatrier which is playing like a hard court this tournament? Both Sveta and Serena are in the top ten and even on paper their match was obviously the better of the two. One could argue that the mysterious and unknown "they" wanted to blunt the effect of Serena's serve and ground strokes and make sure the final did not feature one of the Sisters Williams. One could say that "they" want Dinara Safina - who had played absolutely nobody until yesterday when she met Victoria Azarenka - to win a major and justify her number one ranking, something the previous Slamless Wonder, Jelena Jankovic, couldn't do. Azarenka was done in by her lack of experience and emotions in her match allowing Safina to slow the pace and take control of the match which she went on to win.

As you all know I'm not a big fan of Victoria but she blew Dinara off the court during the first set. She set a quick pace and jerked Dinara around like a marionette while hitting winners left right and center. How embarrassing is it for the WTA's number one player to be screaming at her coach to "tell her something" to do during a Grand Slam quarter final? That alone should be the impetus to stop the nonsensical on court coaching that takes place in non Grand Slam events for WTA players.
As Mary Carillo and Mary Jo Fernandez noted during the ESPN tape delayed broadcast yesterday what image does it send to the world that women athletes are always whining for their coach - usually male - to tell them what to do. Why don't we go back to making the women play in long skirts and petticoats?

I hope Dinara gifts her coach very well.

As for the other women's quarterfinal between Dominika Cibulkova and the golden child Maria Sharapova what can you say? Cibulkova is not an offensive player and she relies on her opponent to give her pace. She took all the pace Sharapova was generating and gave it back to her in spades. The women commentators on ESPN kept saying Maria was tired after all the three set matches she'd played coming into yesterdays match and that she just couldn't keep pace with the energetic Dominika. That's not what I saw. I saw Dominika absorbing all that power and sending it back to a surprised and flummoxed Maria Sharapova. When I saw Maria coming into the net I knew she was in trouble. I saw a Maria Sharapova who had no answers for the questions Dominika was asking her. If Dominika hadn't gotten tight at the end she would've served up two bagels to the Queen of the WTA. Tired indeed.

So who do I like to make the final? Despite her performance against Serena today Sveta in a final is a disaster. I've seen too many tournaments where Sveta plays great tennis coming into the final and then goes on walkabout. I really haven't seen Samantha Stosur play yet so I have no opinion on her right now. I'll watch the replay on ESPN. She's an Aussie and I'm guessing she's good on a fast playing court.

As for Dinara vs Dominika it's a toss up. Dinara can be taken.

As a side note I wish I had seen some clay court play from the WTA. Kuznetsova plays clay court tennis and it showed today against Serena. Other than her I don't think I've seen any clay court play. It's kind of sad.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Friday, June 26, 2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Friday, June 12, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Friday, June 5, 2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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