Forty Deuce

See You At Chevy's!

Can anyone stop the freight train that is Venus right now?  She's won back to back tournaments now on two completely different surfaces and has won 19 of her last 20 matches.  Not even Serena seems to be able to stop her. 

She thoroughly dominated Flavs in the Acapulco final, winning 1 and 2.  No time to celebrate though.  She's gotta hop a plane to NYC and be ready to play on Monday night.

Sometimes Even The Devil Has A Good Day.

Oh, Nole.  It's just so good to see you smile again.  He beat Daveed 75 63 to take his first title of the year. 

“(This week) I played a very good game, very good tennis, and I'm very happy. Maybe this week I found my tennis. This week, I enjoyed the tennis. I'm happy with my tennis.”

Now, say it with me....reeelaaaaax.


That's a really big shiny hat.

Kournikova. Condoms. That Should Get Me Some Search Hits.

Anna K, the woman who single boobedly spawned Russian tennis, is buying condoms for charity.  No really. She's in Haiti with Population Services International (PSI), a nonprofit group that's waging a global war against malaria, HIV, and child mortality. PSIs ammunition, a combination of education and public-awareness campaigns, plus malaria nets, water purification products and, yes, condoms, all of which it sells at subsidized prices, or, here in Haiti, gives away to those too poor to pay.

Kudos to Anna.

Don't Make Me Burn My Abba CDs, Sweden. You're Being Retarded.

Sigh.  Don't you love how now the excuses are not that the safety of the Israeli players, but the safety of the community IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN INVITED TO PLAY.

I echo the sentiments of many commentators.  Hosting is a privilege, not a right.  If you cannot guarantee the safety of the players and spectators in a meaningful way then you forfeit your privileges and the tie should be held either in a neutral location or in the other country.  Or, if your government REALLY wants to take a stand, you forfeit the tie altogether.  But you don't get to treat a country's players as though they are pariahs and government representatives.  And you absolutely do not get to benefit from your own government and constituency's' idiocy. 

And here I thought Sweden was one of the cool kids.  Such is the world today, I suppose.

Take a stand ITF. 

Venus vs. Flavs. Thy Will Be Done.

Waiting for my delayed flight at SFO so I might as well catch up on the tennis news.

So it looks like the tennis gods are smiling down on us and granting us the Venus vs. Flavia final on clay.  Should be a fun one seeing as how the last time they met Flavs bounced the big Vee in the shadows of the Paris night. 

PS -- the Asian dude inexlicably sitting next to me (seriously, there are 20 other open seats in the terminal) smells like chocolate.  And not in a good way.  Knowing my luck he'll sit next to me on the plane.  Boo face.

Pic This: Just Like Old Times.

JJ and Masha's cars.  They're both practicing at Bollitieri's.
(From HCFoo's Blog)

The "J" Is Silent, Billie.

Another BJK Cup video with all four girls.  Love the fact that they have Serena commenting on JJ's game.  She sounds so...reluctant.

The Battle For Relevancy

 

That's your finals lineup folks and you know this had to mean a lot for both of these guys.

Nole gutted out a three setter over Gilly, fighting both himself and the heat, 36 75 75.  The temperature ranged from 36-40 degrees during the match and while Gilly had played all his matches during the afternoon, Nole had played all his prior matches at night.  The kid looked out of it in the third, falling behind a break immediately before finding a way to grind out the win.

“I think I fought my way through in the match, really believed till the end and mentally this is a very important win for me,” said Djokovic. “If I want to stay on top of the men's game, I have to win these matches because Simon is certainly one of the best players in the world.”

A disappointed Simon said: “I was just playing very badly, so even when I had opportunities I wasn’t not able to do anything with them. I had several chances to break him in the second and third sets, but every time I just made a mistake. I think I had enough chances to win this match and finally I lost it, so that's why it is a very bad match.”

Gilly definitely had this match and it's a shame to see him lose it.  But all credit to Nole for fighting through.  This has to help him so much mentally.

On the other side, I definitely didn't see Daveed woodshedding Reeshard 62 62.  But he put on a pretty fantastic display to do so, so all credit to him.

Pic This: Head + Gilly + Same Sentence = WIN

Head ad thanking Commodus for a fabulous 2008.

Love that they have no problem putting those chicken legs on full display.

Air Quotes: Well That's A Load Of Dudi.

"I think it's a pity they didn't let Shahar play, but it's also the fault of Shahar.  Because she asked for the visa a few [days or two weeks] before. The average person, if you want to go, you do it [several] months before.  Even though, it's still bad. It's sports, not war. Everybody should play.''

-- Dudi Sela, on the UAE's decision not grant Shahar a visa.  Here's the thing.  If Shahar applied too late and missed a deadline or something (ala Agi in Moscow last year) don't you think the UAE would have just cited that as the reason for the denial and EASILY avoided all the negative press?  Whatever, Dudi.  You should have your girl's back on this one.  A pity, indeed.

Pic This: Did The Flowbee Just Hit Russia?

 

Ana and JJ Talk BJK

It occurred to me while watching this that NO ONE will know who these girls are when they run these ads on HBO. I know that's a "duh" revelation, but for someone who eats, breathes, and sleeps tennis, it just came to me.

Pic This: Get The Woman A Towel!

Hey Look! A Post Not About Roger In Any Way Shape Or Form!

God.  Recently it seems like every picture of this kid just makes me sad irrespective of whether he's winning or losing.  They remind me of Sveta's quote after her loss to Dina at RG 08, "I could not put up much of a fight with her today because first I had to fight myself and that's as far as I can go."  Or something like that.  I just see a guy who just has no idea what's going on right now and is fighting against himself to get through.

Luckily he did today, beating Tuxedo 63 64.  Quite a nice win for him over a very solid opponent. 

And the hot teacher/student French-on-French action ended the way that it should, with Gilly winning in straight sets and looking might good doing it.  I seriously want to lick his neck in that pic.  Nom nom.

Nole and Gilles will face each other tomorrow.

[1] N Djokovic (SRB) d [5] M Cilic (CRO) 63 64
R Gasquet (FRA) d [2] A Murray (GBR) W/O (virus)
[3] G Simon (FRA) d F Santoro (FRA) 76(3) 61
[4] D Ferrer (ESP) d [6] I Andreev (RUS) 75 61

Air Quotes: My Better Is Better Than Your Better

“I have never believed in working on my weaknesses. My serve and my forehand are my strengths and I work on them to get better.”

-- The Mighty Fed.  Uh...I guess.  That is the first time I have ever heard any athlete say something like that.

Gerta Raauuuusssss....

Not really, but it's close and I always say that when I see Greta Arn's name.  Imagine my shock when I saw that she pushed Venus to three pretty tough sets in Acapulco.  Of course, no result with Venus would really be shocking here.  She's in great form but this is clay. 

Speaking of shocking results on clay, CSN got bounced as did Gisela.  But we're still on track for Venus/Flavs final.  Keep it together girls and give the people what they want!

Oh, and Agnes has now won TWO STRAIGHT main draw matches.  Her reward?  Venus.

(1) Venus Williams (USA) d. (Q) Greta Arn (HUN) 63 67(3) 64
(2) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 61 63
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. (3) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 64 75
(4) Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 46 64 76(3)
Maret Ani (EST) d. (5) Gisela Dulko (ARG) 76(6) 63
Petra Cetkovska (CZE) d. (8) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) 36 64 61
(LL) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 76(1) 64

Men's and Women's OOP:

Center Court (from 13.00hrs)
1. ATP: Koellerer vs. Vassallo Arguello
2. ATP: Almagro vs. Gimeno-Traver
3. ATP: Acasuso vs. Robredo
4. V.Williams vs. Szavay
5. ATP: Mayer vs. Monfils (NB 21.00hrs)

Cancha 2 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Johansson vs. Benesova
2. Cetkovska vs. Parmentier

Cancha 3 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Zahlavova Strycova vs. Ani

Muzz Bugs Out of Dubai

I'm totally starting to think the top guys are doing this on purpose so that they don't have to play each other at full strength unless it's a Masters or Grand Slam. 

Muzz has withdrawn from Dubai, citing a virus that he's suffered ever since Melbourne.  Admittedly, he doesn't look too good there.

"I love what you do, don't you know that you're toxic."

Hee.  From Boyfriend's mailbag.

It's interesting when reporters take shots at coaches. The question referred to Gil Reyes as a possible trainer for Roger Federer. Instead of answering directly, you took a toxic shot at me [Feb. 11 Mailbag] -- this was a gratuitous attack. I'm not looking for the job nor has he ever asked me, but I'm also not one to take a casual negative retort about writers. Fine if you want to slam me when the question is about me, but in this case, you went overboard. I've always respected your writing, this seems rude and unwarranted. Stick to the questions.
-- Brad Gilbert, San Rafael, Calif.

Here's what I wrote to Brad: "While I could have (and should have) used a different word than "toxic," I think you're overreacting. After Federer lost in Melbourne, I must have gotten 50 e-mails about his coaching situation and, as you can imagine, your name came up often. So while the question was about Reyes, I tried to incorporate as many related questions as possible. I stand by the opinion that you and Federer would not be an ideal match of personalities. I don't think that's rude or a cheap shot. It's not a statement on your competence (We've often sung your praises as a coach, a tennis mind and commentator.) Or, for that matter, on Federer's. It's just a plug and socket kind of thing. (Think: Nash and Nellie.) I am happy to clarify and make the point that you're not looking for a job. I'm sorry this upset you, but please know that this was not meant disparagingly."

Like, for serious?  I really love Boyfriend.

Hey Colm, I Bet You Have A Really Nice View Of Your Colon.

Dubai player party. Other than the quick shot of Daveed noshing away ala his soulmate JJ, it's pretty whatever. In fact, I found it awkward to watch.

The Jury's Still Out

I'm a Rafa fan and all but I'm not entirely sold on this.  I've just never looked at Rafa and thought, "Damn!  I bet he smells good!"  I can't put my finger on why that is.  Marat?  Yup.  Fer?  Duh.  Fed?  Yeah (he smells of gold, tears, and chocolate). 

But Rafa?  Meh.

Thank God I'm Actually Going To Indian Wells (I Think).

Guess who's commentating for FSN during Indian Wells:

Lindsay Davs and Justin Gimelstob.

Nein Danke.  If I'm not actually at Indian Wells I'm definitely scouring the web for a Eurosport stream.

Yeah, Meet Joe Black Was Totes A Tough Guy Movie.

How did I miss this the first time around?

Appearing at a publicity event for a vibrating razor, Federer demonstrated his skills with a blade to 1,000 youths at a Chinese coming of age ceremony [This sounds...awkward so far]. Introduced as the world's sexiest man [Uh...], Federer also said he wanted to play until he was 35 — and that he wants Brad Pitt to play him if a movie was made about the Swiss player's life . . .

"Brad Pitt did some tough movies and I'd like mine to be a tough movie too," said Federer, who will be bidding for a fourth title at the Masters Cup beginning on Sunday. "Comedy would be fine too but I'm more a tough-guy movie kind of guy." [...huh?]

Federer finished his appearance in downtown Shanghai by shaving alongside three baby-faced Chinese 20-year-olds, who appeared not to know one end of a razor from the other. [Asians don't do facial hair. No need to openly mock us].  "You have to put water on your face," Federer advised his fellow shavers, who shook nervously under the glare of flashlights and television cameras. "Then add the shaving cream."  [Fed brings shaving to the Orient!]

It's Weird To See Reeshie Unseeded, Non?

Nole didn't make it easy for himself and Apricot Bars gave Marin a scare, but all the seeds got through today, setting up a pretty fantastic set of quarterfinal matchups.  Nole will take on Marin (yikes!) and Andy will play Reeshie.  In the other two quarters, it's some more French-on-French action with Gilly and Fabrice, and then Daveed and Igor.  Fun!

[1] N Djokovic (SRB) d J Hernych (CZE) 63 36 64
[2] A Murray (GBR) d A Clement (FRA) 62 63
[3] G Simon (FRA) d T Gabashvili (RUS) 61 62
[4] D Ferrer (ESP) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 64 62
[5] M Cilic (CRO) d J Benneteau (FRA) 63 46 75
[6] I Andreev (RUS) d D Tursunov (RUS) 57 64 63
F Santoro (FRA) d [Q] M Chiudinelli (SUI) 36 61 76(1)
R Gasquet (FRA) d S Bolelli (ITA) 67(4) 63 76(5)
 

Or Is It Fantabulouser?

Serena popped by to chat with the ever annoying Jim Rome to discuss life, love, being Serena, and of course, Gatorade.  And as per yoosh, it was ReRe in all her delusional craziness.

And now for a Gatorade rant:

WTF, Gatorade?  You already made me retch during my trial and error experiments to figure out what the difference is between Rain and G2 (result: G2 be NASTY).  Now you just up and decide you're going rebrand for no apparent reason and start calling things by completely new and unrelated names?

From Wikipedia (so you know it's true)

• Original Gatorade is now known as Gatorade G.

• G2 received a minor name change to Gatorade G2.

• Gatorade Rain is now known as No Excuses.

• Gatorade AM is now known as Shine On, which now contains the addition of 20% RDV of Vitamin C per 8-oz. serving.

• Gatorade X-Factor is now known as Be Tough, which now contains the addition of 20% RDV of Vitamin E

• Gatorade Fierce is now known as Bring It, which now contains the addition of 25% RDV of several B vitamins, including B3, B5 and B6.

• Gatorade Tiger is now known as Focus, and adds the amino acid theanine, naturally found in many forms of tea, which is purported to improve mental focus. Focus contains about 25mg per 8-oz. serving, or 50mg per half-litre (16.9 oz) bottle. Focus is still endorsed by Tiger Woods, and bottles still feature his likeness.

Hmmmm...is someone feeling a little bit threatened by a certain awesome drink that frequently makes it way onto Gossip Girl?

Get it together, Gatorade.  No one drinks your drink unless they're working out or hungover.  You're not going to capture share in the "enhanced water" market.  Know why?  Cuz chicks drink bottled water and vitamin water.  They're not going to walk down the street drinking fucking' Gatorade.  It just ain't gonna happen.

Also?  I will drink whatever Fiddy tells me to drink.

Lil Wayne = Classy Rafa Fan

We know Lil Wayne loves Rafa.  But don't expect him to pile on Fed:

Did you see Nadal beat Federer in Australia? Why do you think Federer cried like that?

-- Marie

I don't know, but I have an idea. I don't play any sports, but I gotta imagine the adrenaline and emotion is so intense for something that big that when you come so close and lose, sometimes it just comes pouring out of you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. The tears just come out on their own. Federer is a warrior and everyone knows that. He can cry if he wants to.

It's Comforting To Know Ana Uses Her Adidas Gear The Same Way I Do.

 



I take it on and off, I don't sweat in it, and my gym routine pretty involves being in the vicinity of a pilates ball and meandering about with 2.5lb weights. 

Also, I really like looking orange.

Impossible is nothing.

Seriously, Argentina. You Should Really Rethink This.

Hey look!  Nalby lost in the first round of Acapulco to an Austrian qualifier, 16 63 64.  So...there's that.

Q] D Koellerer (AUT) d [1] D Nalbandian (ARG) 16 63 64
[2] G Monfils (FRA) d [Q] O Patience (FRA) 76(4) 64
[3] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) 64 36 63
[4] N Almagro (ESP) d [WC] S Gonzalez (MEX) 64 62
[5] J Acasuso (ARG) d B Dabul (ARG) 63 75
[7] M Granollers (ESP) d F Fognini (ITA) 76(3) 75
[8] C Moya (ESP) d P Andujar (ESP) 64 67(2) 62
A Martin (ESP) d M Daniel (BRA) 64 75
K Kim (USA) d J Monaco (ARG) 16 30 ret. (left leg)

Gorgeous pic.

Venus and Flavs won.  But the big news?

Lucky Loser Agnes Won A Match!!!  Down is up, right is left.  This is her first win of the year.

(1) Venus Williams (USA) d. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) 64 46 62
(2) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) 63 61
(3) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (Q) Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 75 63
(5) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (Q) Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) 63 62
(8) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (Q) Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 62 63
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. Andreja Klepac (SLO) 26 61 64
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d. Rossana de los Ríos (PAR) 64 61
Maret Ani (EST) d. Patricia Mayr (AUT) 46 76(1) 64
(Q) Greta Arn (HUN) d. Edina Gallovits (ROU) 62 63
(LL) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (WC) Anna Orlik (BLR) 75 75

Baby Marat In. Lame-O Ernie, Out.

 

The socks.  It's all about the socks.

[1] M Fish (USA) d [Q] F Dancevic (CAN) 75 63
M Baghdatis (CYP) d [3] E Gulbis (LAT) 75 62
[Q] E Korolev (RUS) d [4] I Kunitsyn (RUS) 64 76(3)
[7] J Chardy (FRA) d T Haas (GER) 76(7) 63
[8] Y Lu (TPE) d [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) 75 26 62
D Sela (ISR) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 41 ret. (left wrist)
G Muller (LUX) d [Q] R Sweeting (USA) 76(5) 62
V Spadea (USA) d D Gremelmayr (GER) 26 75 61
M Zverev (GER) d [Q] T Dent (USA) 64 63
A Golubev (KAZ) d [WC] E King (USA) 62 64

Dooby, Dooby, Doo.

 

[1] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] F Cipolla (ITA) 63 62
[3] G Simon (FRA) d [WC] M Ghareeb (KUW) 57 64 64
R Gasquet (FRA) d [8] [WC] M Safin (RUS) 63 57 63
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [Q] M Lammer (SUI) 61 61
J Benneteau (FRA) d J Melzer (AUT) 16 63 63
S Bolelli (ITA) d V Troicki (SRB) 63 64
J Hernych (CZE) d M Youzhny (RUS) 46 61 64
[6] I Andreev (RUS) d R de Voest (RSA) 64 60
A Clement (FRA) d R Schuettler (GER) 16 63 63
D Tursunov (RUS) d [WC] A Seppi (ITA) 61 64

Everyone Stacks Their Team Except Argentina. Have You Really Learned Nothing?

   

Davis Cup teams have been announced, and all the big guns are bringing it except for Argentina, who have left JMDP off the team to let him focus on his singles.  Big mistake.  The Dutch demand respect, yo.  You know what happened the last time the Dutch were disrespected?

Yeah, I don't remember either.  Ah well. 

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

ARGENTINA v NETHERLANDS
Venue: Estadio Parque Roca, Buenos Aires (clay – outdoors)

Argentina
David Nalbandian
Juan Monaco
Juan Ignacio Chela
Lucas Arnold
Captain: Tito Vazquez

Netherlands
Jesse Huta Galung
Thiemo de Bakker
Matwe Middelkoop
Rogier Wassen
Captain: Jan Siemerink

CZECH REPUBLIC v FRANCE
Venue: CEZ Arena, Ostrava (carpet - indoors)

Czech Republic
Tomas Berdych
Radek Stepanek
Jan Hernych
Lukas Dlouhy
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

France
Gilles Simon
Gael Monfils
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Richard Gasquet
Captain: Guy Forget

USA v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena, Birmingham, AL (hard – indoors)

USA
Andy Roddick
James Blake
Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan
Captain: Patrick McEnroe

Switzerland
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stephane Bohli
Marco Chiudinelli
Yves Allegro
Captain: Severin Luthi

CROATIA v CHILE
Venue: Visenamjenska Sportska Dvorana “Zatika”, Porec (hard – indoors)

Croatia
Marin Cilic
Ivo Karlovic
Mario Ancic
Roko Karanusic
Captain: Goran Prpic

Chile
Fernando Gonzalez
Nicolas Massu
Paul Capdeville
Guillermo Hormazabal
Captain: Hans Gildemeister

SWEDEN v ISRAEL
Venue: The Baltic Hall, Malmo (carpet – indoors)

Sweden
Robert Lindstedt
Simon Aspelin
Bjorn Rehnquist
Daniel Berta
Captain: Mats Wilander

Israel
Dudi Sela
Harel Levy
Andy Ram
Noam Okun
Captain: Eyal Ran

ROMANIA v RUSSIA
Venue: Sala Transilvania, Sibiu (carpet – indoors)

Romania
Victor Hanescu
Adrian Cruciat
Victor Crivoi
Horia Vlad Tecau
Captain: Andrei Pavel

Russia
Marat Safin
Dmitry Tursunov
Mikhail Youzhny
Teimuraz Gabashvili
Captain: Shamil Tarpischev

GERMANY v AUSTRIA
Venue: Olympia Eissport Zentrum, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (hard – indoors)

Germany
Rainer Schuettler
Nicolas Kiefer
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Petzschner
Captain: Patrik Kuhnen

Austria
Jurgen Melzer
Alexander Peya
Stefan Koubek
Julian Knowle
Captain: Gilbert Schaller

SPAIN v SERBIA
Venue: Parque Tematico Tierra Mitica, Benidorm (clay – outdoors)

Spain
Rafael Nadal
David Ferrer
Tommy Robredo
Feliciano Lopez
Captain: Albert Costa

Serbia
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Janko Tipsarevic
Nenad Zimonjic
Captain: Bogdan Obradovic

Brain. Does. Not. Compute.

Bears.  Beets.  Andy Roddick.

Note to Andy:  I do not appreciate your recent Awesomeness Offensive.

I do not appreciate it AT ALL.

(Courtesy of Rainn Wilson's Twitter feed)

Marat's Last Stand.

The Original and End All Hottness has announced that RG the Paris Masters will be his last tournament.

My ovaries just shed a tear.  Sad ovaries.

Marat Sends Me A Belated Valentine.

"Hey you."


"I made this heart-shaped racquet for you."


"Let's bump belly buttons."

Patience vs. Monfils? I Don't Know Who Will Win That One.

Tuesday OOPs:

Dubai

Center Court (from 14.00)
1. Gilly vs Ghareeb
2. Marat vs. Reeshie
3. Nole vs. Cipolla (NB 19.00)
4. Dima vs. Seppi

Court 1
1. Douche Stamp vs. Apricot Bars
2. Hernych vs. Misha
3. Igor vs. De Voest

Court 3.
1. PEHK vs. Lammer
2. Troicki vs. Goth Bols
3. Old Man Schuettler vs. Clement

Delray Beach

Stadium Court (from 11:00)
V Spadea (USA) vs D Gremelmayr (GER)
[8] Y Lu (TPE) vs [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) (NB 12:30)
T Haas (GER) vs [7] J Chardy (FRA)
[3] E Gulbis (LAT) vs M Baghdatis (CYP) (NB 19.00)
[1] M Fish (USA) vs [Q] F Dancevic (CAN)

Court 1
[Q] R Sweeting (USA) vs G Muller (LUX) (from 11.00)
[Q] E Korolev (RUS) vs [4] I Kunitsyn (RUS)
A Golubev (KAZ) vs [WC] E King (USA)
[Q] T Dent (USA) vs M Zverev (GER)

Court 4
P Petzschner (GER) vs D Sela (ISR)  (11.00)

Acapulco

Center Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. de los Ríos vs. Johansson
2. Koryttseva vs. Pennetta
3. ATP: Almagro vs. González (NB 15.00hrs)
4. ATP: Patience vs. Monfils
5. ATP: Nalbandian vs. Koellerer
6. V.Williams vs. Llagostera Vives (NB 21.00hrs)

Cancha 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Szavay vs. Orlik
2. ATP: Daniel vs. Martín (NB 12.30hrs)
3. Suárez Navarro vs. Kutuzova
4. ATP: Moyá vs. Andujar
5. Olaru vs. Dulko
6. ATP: Ramírez Hidalgo vs. Robredo

Cancha 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Zahlavova Strycova vs. Klepac
2. ATP: Fognini vs. Granollers (NB 12.30hrs)
3. Martínez Sánchez vs. Parra Santonja
4. Doubles
5. ATP: Acasuso vs. Dabul
6. ATP: Mónaco vs. Kim

Cancha 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Ani vs. Mayr
2. Arn vs. Gallovits (NB 15.00hrs)

Pic This: Hmmm...That's A Lot Of Unjustified Rage Waiting To Be Unleashed

Monday's Scoreboard

To summarize:  Muzz won, Tipsy's still fun to look at, Marin's the #1 Croat with a bullet, I get Steve Darcis and Christophe Rochus confused, and everytime I think Agnes has reached rock bottom she surprises me spiraling even more out of control.

All in all, not a bad day to be busy at work instead of watching tennis.

Dubai:

[2] A Murray (GBR) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 67(3) 63 53 ret. (left ankle)
[4] D Ferrer (ESP) d I Ljubicic (CRO) 36 62 61
[5] M Cilic (CRO) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) 26 76(3) 64
[Q] M Chiudinelli (SUI) d [7] I Karlovic (CRO) 76(4) 46 76(7) – Saved 1 M.P.
T Gabashvili (RUS) d [Q] L Recouderc (FRA) 57 76(4) 63
F Santoro (FRA) d V Hanescu (ROU) 64 62

Delray Beach:

[2] [WC] S Querrey (USA) d G Canas (ARG) 76(3) 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [5] S Darcis (BEL) 63 63
[6] F Serra (FRA) d J Nieminen (FIN) 63 76(5)
S Koubek (AUT) d B Reynolds (USA) 64 63
C Rochus (BEL) d R Karanusic (CRO) 63 64
R Kendrick (USA) d P Capdeville (CHI) 46 62 61

Acapulco:
WTA
(4) Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Olga Savchuk (UKR) 62 60
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. (6) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 64 64
(7) Tathiana Garbin (ITA) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 76(4) 46 63
Petra Cekovska (CZE) d. Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 62 62
Pauline Parmentier (FRA) d. (WC) Melissa Torres Sandoval (MEX) 62 63
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. (WC) Emilie Loit (FRA) 46 64 75

Qualifying:
(8) Greta Arn (HUN) d. (1) Agnes Szavay (HUN) 16 75 62
(2) Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. Alina Jidkova (RUS) 61 64
(5) Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) d. (4) Alexa Glatch (USA) 64 36 76(5)
Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) d. (6) Arantxa Rus (NED) 63 75

ATP
[6] A Montanes (ESP) d [WC] B Echagaray (MEX) 61 64
T Bellucci (BRA) d N Devilder (FRA) 36 64 64
L Mayer (ARG) d D Junqueira (ARG) 76(1) 63
P Starace (ITA) d O Hernandez (ESP) 64 62
D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) d N Lapentti (ECU) 64 57 63
[WC] J Chela (ARG) d [Q] P Cuevas (URU) 26 63 62
M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) d I Navarro (ESP) 63 57 76(3) - Saved 2 M.P.

Venus Reminds Us All To Stop And Smell The Syrup.

You know how most player blogs these days just seem like...I don't know...blogs.  Structured sentences, perfect punctuation, introductions, themes, theses, all that good stuff.

And then there's Venus, who totally writes stream of conscious style.  And it rules:

Hello again everyone! I'm excited to be blogging again, this time from Acapulco!

The trip here from Dubai... oh my gosh, it was long. I didn't realize it would be that long. It took 30 hours to get here, which was my longest trip ever! But I was mentally prepared for it. I was strategic: I only slept on the first flight, and after I landed in New York, I didn't sleep until I got here. It was a winning game plan. I got a full night's sleep last night and woke up happy.

I got to Acapulco around 10 last night, opened the windows and the sea was right there. I was SO happy! Then I went to the player party, it was a White Party. But I was wearing my black warm-up suit! With a green stripe... Anyway, the party was really nice. The chicken was great - I really love meat, I just had to try it.

This morning it got even better. I went down for breakfast and I just knew it was American breakfast, I could just smell it! I smelled the pancakes and syrup. I was way too happy about it. I even took a picture of myself at breakfast - it was just ridiculous. The strange thing is, I usually can't stand breakfast! I never eat it. But I was just so happy to smell the syrup. I think it was the feeling of smelling something from back home. It was a long way from Dubai and there were so many hardships along the way, I didn't think I'd ever make it here. But I kept a positive attitude on the trip. I took it one mile at a time.

Reason #2344953 not to have a tournament in Dubai:  No syrup.

Also?  Unless you're Paula Radcliffe or Kenyan...WHO TAKES THINGS ONE MILE AT A TIME???

Venus, that's who. 

Pic This: "I'm holding on too tight. I've lost the edge. Sorry, Sir. Sorry"

ATP Draws and Monday OOPs

   

Dubai -- OOOH!!! Marat vs. Reeshie!!!  Can we fast forward to tomorrow, please?

Center Court (2pm)
Tipsy vs. Marin
Lubey vs. Daveed
Stakhovsky vs. Muzz (NB 7pm)
Hanescu vs. Santoro

Court 1 (2pm)
Chiudinelli vs. Dr. Ivo
Gabshvili vs. Recouderc

 
Delray Beach -- OOOH!!! Ernie vs. Baggy!!!  Can we fast forward to tomorrow, please?

Center Court (11am)
Darcis vs. Garcia-Lopez
Lapentti vs. Dent
Koubek vs. Reynolds
Canas vs. Querrey (NB 7pm)
Capdeville vs. Kendrick

Court 1 (11am)
Odesnik vs. Dancevic
Niemenen vs. Serra
Karanusic vs. Rochus

Court 4 (11am)
Korolev vs. Polansky
Becker vs. Sweeting

Acapulco -- Meh.  I got nothin'.

Center Court (from 15.00hrs)
1. ATP: Bellucci vs. Devilder
2. Loit vs. Zakopalova
3. ATP: Chela vs. Cuevas
4. ATP: Echagaray vs. Montañés (NB 21.00hrs)

Cancha 2 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Szavay vs. Arn (Singles Q Final)
2. Savchuk vs. Benesova
3. Parmentier vs. Torres Sandoval
4. ATP: Lapentti vs. Gimeno-Traver

Cancha 3 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Glatch vs. Kutuzova (Singles Q Final)
2. Cetkovska vs. Domínguez Lino
3. Garbin vs. Craybas
4. Vinci vs. Safarova

Cancha 4 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Olaru vs. Jidkova (Singles Q Final)
2. ATP: Mayer vs. Junqueira
3. ATP: Hernández vs. Starace
4. ATP: Vassallo Arguello vs. Navarro

Cancha 1 (from 15.00hrs)
1. Parra Santonja vs. Rus (Singles Q Final)

Death Wish Tommy

Kids?  Don't try this at home.


I never knew he was a cutter but if it works, go with it, I guess.


He won Buenos Aires, beating Juan Monaco in the final, 75 26 76(5).  Notably, Monaco took out Nalby in the semis 2 and 3.

Mmmm...Nice Watch.

Andy got his revenge over the Streaking Steps.  So congrats to Andy.  The guy deserves some validation after all the hard work he's put in. 

See?  I can be nice.

Hey look!  A not horrible picture of Radek!  Still had a solid performance today.  I don't think anyone wants to be drawing this guy right now.

Venus Killers In Mexico

Acapulco Draw.

Will we see an AO rematch in the quarters between Venus and CSN?  And can Flavia make it to the finals and keep her winning record over Venus alive?

Yeah, probably not.  But as they say, that's why you play the game.

Double, Triple, Quadruple Take

Jo Rulez!

 So for whatever reason, whenever Jo plays all I can think of is this:

And then I just end up singing "Jo Rulez!" throughout and saying "He macks on BA-NAN-AS." Oh to be inside my mind. Worrisome.

Congrats to Banana Jo, who beat Llodra in a surprisingly tight one, 75 76(3).  This is his second title of the year.  You know, I thought Jo was going to drop out of the top 10 after he failed to defend his points in Melbourne.  But the guy is playing solid tennis and picking up points left and right.  Good for him.  Here's hoping all these tournaments aren't going to destroy him physically though.  He's going to have to play Davis Cup, Indian Wells, and Miami and that's a pretty rough stretch.

Dubai Bends Over, Takes It In The...Wallet.

Not a bad job by Larry & Co. in making sure (a) Dubai is punished, (b) Shahar and ALG are recompensed, and (c) ensuring this nonsense won't happen again.  All while, at least to me, Dubai gets a bit of egg on their face and called out as an untrustworthy business partner.  I would have liked to have seen Shahar and ALG get more money but the average is probably fair.

• Ranking Points: Peer gets 130 points, which is the amount she did not get to defend this week.  The points stay on until she gets an opportunity to earn equivalent points at the next tournament offering rankings pints equal to Dubai (i.e. another Premier non-mandatory tournament).

• Prize Money: Shahar gets $44,250, an amount equal to the average prize money that she earned per tournament in 2008. ALG gets $7,950, an amount is equal to the average prize money that she earned per tournament in doubles in 2008.

• Dubai Tennis Championships Financial Penalty: Dubai is fined $300,000, which is the highest fine ever levied against a Tour member. Proceeds from the fine shall be used to compensate Peer and ALG, with the balance to be donated to a charity or charities, to be determined by the Tour in consultation with Shahar.

• Dubai Tennis Championships Conditions for Continued Membership: The establishment of a series of conditions to be met by the Dubai tournament in order to maintain its membership and be included on the Tour's 2010 calendar, including

(i) confirmation of the written assurances already received that all players who qualify for the tournament shall, regardless of nationality, or any other reason, be allowed to play in the Dubai event and shall be issued entry visas or permits,

(ii) proof of approved UAE entry permit to enter the UAE for any Israeli player a minimum of eight weeks prior to the start of the 2010 Dubai tournament, and

(iii) guarantee that Ms. Peer shall be offered a wildcard to play the Dubai tournament in 2010 in the event that she does not qualify by ranking.

• Dubai Tennis Championships Financial Performance Guarantee: The tournament must post a $2M financial performance guarantee by July 1, 2009.  Failure to satisfy the conditions outlined above will result in forfeiture.

Now the fun part will be watching how Dubai tries to weasel itself out of this one.  Because you know they'll try.

The Vika and Caro Show, Starring Vika.

Well look at you, Vika.  Two titles on the year.  It's a real shame she got all viral in Melbourne.  It would have been really interesting if she could have taken out ReRe.

Vika dusted Caro, 61 63 for the title and in my eyes, really made a case for being at the top of the class of young kids.  She's got power off both sides and if she can be consistent there's no reason she won't win multiple slams.  Boots still has to work on her consistency and she needs a weapon.  Otherwise she'll end up being the JJ to Vika's Masha.  I still kinda can't stand Vika and I don't really enjoy watching her play (I don't know what it is and there's no reason for it) but I'm super impressed with her talent.  And her coach is super hot so I'll stay tuned just for that.

Vika and Boots also took the doubles title. 

There Is Just So Much Wrong Here.

I'm fairly certain that the Delray Beach ATP tournament would be my own personal hell.

 
First of all, there is graffiti.  Done by these guys:

Because there's nothing that makes a tennis tournament more "tennisy" and "legit" thank turning the stadium into a fucking acquarium.

Then of course, there's the VolleyGirls!  They are described as "a troupe of young women who promote the tournament and encourage crowds during matches."  Alrighty then.

Now, there's this:

When tennis fans arrive at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships next week, they'll find a new seating option on the stadium court: a cherry red Porsche Boxter.

The convertible sports car will serve as two "front-row" seats for promotion and contest winners to watch matches. It's the latest innovation at the men's tennis tournament known for its creativity.

Also, the tournament website is www.yellowtennisball.com.  For whatever reason that really bothers me.  

Of course when the tournament's big selling point is that these guys are there, it's already a lost cause to me.

Watch Out Mark, I'm Gunning For Your Job.

A Q&A with Mark Young, in house general counsel for the ATP, on Visa-Gate:

Hi, Mark. Thanks for your time. What exactly are the rules for determining which players get to enter a tournament?

Simply stated, if a player, based on his ranking, is eligible to be entered into a tournament, the tournament has to accept him, nationality aside.

So who exactly is "the tournament"? Who "owns" tournaments in general, and in the case of the upcoming Dubai tournament and Andy Ram, does the tournament's owner have any relationship with the government of the United Arab Emirates?

The tournament is normally owned by a private entity that chooses to operate a tournament in accordance with our rules. Our tournament in Miami, for instance, is run by IMG, a sports marketing company. Our event in Cincinnati is run by a local nonprofit.

In this case, the tournament member is Dubai Duty Free, a tourism agency in Dubai. I don't know precisely what its relationship is with the UAE, but I feel comfortable describing it as an agency that receives some government assistance. It's akin to a national chamber of commerce, but they (Dubai Duty Free and the UAE) aren't one and the same.

How does the ownership of a tournament work? Is it something the owners have to renew every year, and can the ATP simply strip an owner of its property?

A tournament is a transferable property, and they have the right to have a tournament on our calendar every year--as long as they pay their annual dues to the ATP and follow our rules and obligations. It's perpetual; it doesn't have to be renewed annually. 

This week, a lot of people in the sports press said the ATP ought to cancel the event if it turned out Andy couldn't go. I'm sure in a big picture way, that's the right answer, but it's not quite that simple. We have due process hearings and requirements we must follow before we can act. Had we canceled, we'd have exposed ourselves and our membership to legal liability for not honoring a member's rights.

Say the UAE government denied Andy Ram a visa, and Dubai Duty Free came to you and claimed it couldn't do anything to stop the government--that the decision was made over its head, even though it owns the tournament. Could you still take the tournament away from Dubai Duty Free and sell it to someone else? And would you have to compensate Dubai Duty Free? 

There is a hearing process, and there is a spectrum of possibilities. But, there is the possibility that the ATP can simply decide it's contrary to the best interests of the ATP and its members to have a particular tournament and to terminate Dubai's membership without compensation. That is a possibility. I'm not saying that's going to happen in this case. I'm only saying it's a possibility.

Zina Pulls The Trigger

Well it looks like attempts to keep this out of the headlines have failed.  Zina Garrison has officially filed a lawsuit against the USTA for discrimination.

In the lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, Garrison says she was treated unfairly because she was paid a lower salary than Davis Cup coach Patrick McEnroe, wasn't given a multiyear deal equivalent to McEnroe's and subjected to higher performance standards than he was.

Garrison's suit also claims her replacement, Mary Joe Fernandez, was given a given a higher salary than she was despite little coaching experience at the national level.

The USTA announced in December 2007 that 2008 would be Garrison's final season at the helm and Fernandez would take over in 2009.

Garrison, the first black captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team, replaced Billie Jean King in 2004 and was not brought back after going 5-5 over five seasons, losing in the semifinals four times and the quarterfinals once.

"The USTA takes all allegations of discrimination seriously and takes pride in its numerous diversity initiatives and achievements," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. "The USTA elected not to renew Ms. Garrison's Fed Cup captaincy based on her performance, and strongly denies any allegation of discrimination asserted by Ms. Garrison.

"During Ms. Garrison's five-year tenure as captain, the United States Fed Cup team did not advance to the Fed Cup final, it's longest drought in the competition's 45-year history."

Ouch.  But true.

Not knowing any of the specifics or details I still think Zina's treading into dangerous water here.  Your baselines for comparison are going to be Patrick McEnroe and MJ?  Does it surprise anyone that in a competitive market where top level tennis coaches are rare, that Patrick McEnroe and MJ would have more leverage to negotiate higher salaries than Zina?  I mean, both of them are TV commentators and surely their services are in demand.  You have to pay them more to lure them away from other opportunities.

I'm still very surprised that this has been elevated to an actual litigation.  The USTA clearly not only thinks it did nothing wrong but also that Zina's evidence and arguments aren't going to embarass them in the court of public opinion, which is typically a huge bullying stick for plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases.

The only thing I could dig up was this:

Garrison says Fed Cup Chairwoman Sara Fornaciari once complained to her that Venus Williams hadn't called her back about playing in a tournament, saying: "Venus was like you and just like Serena; none of you people call back."

But Fornaciari isn't affiliated with the USTA.  So......

I can pull the complaint on Monday.  Should be an interesting read.  From what I can tell she's no longer claiming her termination was racially motivated/tinged, but how she was treated while she was there.

"Don't You Dare Poking Me With That Cursor Thing."

"I'm Speed Lessons, and this is my Novak Djokovic."

Fun, though I couldn't help but wonder if it was Nole in the ambulance at the end.

More on the ad campaign here.