Forty Deuce

Russian Rule

Other thank Peng's win over Pova, the Russians ruled the roost today with Lena, Sveta, and Pavs all coming through.

Singles - Third Round
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (16) Li Na (CHN) 62 60
(6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 63 46 60
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 64 64
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. Maria Sharapova (RUS) 62 64

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Yan/Zheng (CHN/CHN) d. (6) Groenefeld/Schnyder (GER/SUI) 46 60 105

Doubles - Second Round
(4) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. Grandin/Kops-Jones (RSA/USA) 16 75 106
(5) Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN) d. Errani/Pennetta (ITA/ITA) 62 75
Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) d. Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) 76(4) 62

Pavs' reward?  Pizza: 

 

Man, the WTA is really hell bent on keeping the chub on the kid. 

Also, who knew Papa Johns was in China?

(no really, that's a publicity event for Papa Johns.  Wha?)

Pic This: Aw, Shucks...

Little Miss Sunshine

Back to Back wins by Pavs over Venus, coming back from a set down to win 36 61 64.  She's just the best.  Is there anyone who can resist the charms of this kid?

Thanks to Maz and Sodapop for reminding me of this:

"I give up."

Pavs and Nails...nail it.

Pic This: When In Rome...

The C-Listers (Pavs, Rybar, Petkovic, and Nails) got together and made some sushi rolls that are the size of your face.  Seriously, I'm pretty sure those rolls are bigger than most people in Japan.  They look fuckin' good though.

Hilariously, of all the promo pics coming out of Tokyo, this one actually has a collection of players who are still in the tournament.

Love that Pavs is rocking the sushi chef sweatband.  She's conscientious like that.

Pic This: Fistpumps -- It's What's For Dinner

I'm starting to think that the WTA Glamour Girls aren't actually pretty. 

They just know how to put an outfit together. 

Dani looks great.  Tranny looks...confused.

Why Must You Torture Me, Tennis Gods?

Bye bye, Pavsy.  You lost to MaKiri in straight sets.  I don't know what to say to that other than it was her best surface and maybe you were distracted by the awesomeness that is her Stella McCartney kit.

Oh well.  Go MaKiri!

And in the other upset of the day (and I mean "upset" because I am upset), Olivia Newton John beat Sorana in three sets.  This, I am not ok with.  And no, boys, they did not just start making out and rolling around on the clay together.  Sorry to disappoint.

"Drove My Chevy To The Levy But The Levy Was Dry."

:(

Never forget.

Pic This: So What'd I Miss During My 72 Hour All Nighter?

It's a good day to be Agnes.


We get it.  You're *so* pretty.  Stop.


Something about Pavs is very Mini-Dina.  I can't stop lolling.


Suspect.


Jesus!!!


Devil. 

They are often dressed the same.  Some might argue they have the same sponsor.

Yeah, wrap you little heads around that one, kiddies.  Suck it, C.S. Lewis!


"Pass the dutchie 'round the left hand side, Pass the dutchie on the left hand side."


Show off.


Man.  The 'coon eyes need to go.


Oh, look at you pounding on your heart.  I just want to give you a noogie.


Ana.  Tongue.  Wrinkly Sausage Finger Man Hands. 

You're welcome, boys.


Masha/Dina semis?  Masha/Ana semis?  The world is your oyster.


Gilles Simon: The Daniela Hantuchova of the ATP.  Wear some bike shorts or something. 


I want to go to there.  Minus the RogerSex.  But otherwise, YES.


I'm going to pretend that's Mo in the chair.  Because that makes it 700,000% awesomer.


Never Forget.

Dear Pavs: You're Hired.

God, she's adorable, what with the headband and the matching nail art and the general cuteness.

Anyway, Pavs, it's official.  You're on the payroll.  Dinara needed a match with someone who was willing to go toe-to-toe with her, and you gave it to her (okay, at least you gave her a set).  She needed someone to make her realize that playing 9 feet behind the baseline is a crappy strategy, and you fed her dropshots and short balls until it hammered through her thick skull.  She needed someone who was going to force her to step her game up from where it had been languishing in idle, and you did.

(Ha!  Adidas matching.)

Poor Pavs.  She threw the kitchen sink at Dina in the first set, even had a positive winners/UE ratio, and still lost it 6-2.  It was sad to watch her collapse in the second set, at least until she stepped it up at 0-5.  First set she was willing to try anything, second set she looked like she didn't believe there was anything she could do that would work.  Hopefully she and her braces and her headband can get back on track for some solid wins over the summer, I just love how plucky she is.

Dinara, for her part, finally seemed to process that playing "her game" is all well and good, but sometimes your game needs to incorporate things other than running around 3 meters behind the baseline.  It seemed to click late in the first set and she never looked back.  The other sign that her head finally came together, at least for today, at least for this match?  No searching for Zeljko between sets, games, points, shots, or other discernable tennis units.  Good for her.

And as far as I'm concerned, Pavs, if Dinara ever needs a practice partner, you're welcome anytime.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

I really kind of meant it in a "lookit all those straight set wins" kind of way, but then I found this...

... and this...

Ha.

That, of course, is the pride of Great Britain, taking a dive on his way to a tough 4-set victory over Potito Starace.  It's a good sign that he could tough out a win on a surface he's clearly uncomfortable on, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that RG 2009 is not where Muzz is going to have his Grand Slam breakthrough.  His next match, where he'll face either F-Lo or Tipsy, could be a real struggle for him.

Back to all those straight setters... Nando, Gilly, Marin, Gonzo and Victor Hanescu (okay...) are all through to the third round in straight sets.  Nando, Gilly, Gonzo and Marin had almost absurdly easy times of it out there, with Gilly in particular picking up speed as the match progressed.  Good for him, it would be great for him to be able to turn around his season a little at his home Slam.  Arnaud Clement, C-Roch and Nico Almagro are through in 4, the latter meaning that-- of course-- we must say goodbye to Ernie.  Oh Ernie.

On the women's side, Kristina Barrois is gunning for my personal "least favourite person" award for failing to take out Vika, even after being up two breaks in the first.  Oh well.  Agnes had an impressive 0 and 2 win over Lena V and Nails also had a competent win (1 and 4) over Timea Bacsinszky (known to me as the only player who wears more makeup than JJ).  The Cone managed to finish off her match from yesterday in 2, so good for her.  Pavs is also through, headband and all, in two sets over Julie Coin.

(Sorry for the rushed, picture-free quality of this post; I've got my goddaughter the rest of the day and somehow her mother didn't think "watch TV with Aunt Carrie" was the best idea for an activity.  Bummer.)

Survival Is The Name Of The Game

Was it pretty?  No.  Does any Ana fan really care?  Nope.

A win's a win these days and though Errani had her chances, in the end Ana's bigger weapons (namely her forehand) brought her through.  Iffy serving, a nervy backhand that fell short, and some poor decision making on key points made the match closer than it should have been.  But all credit to Errani.  She played well.

My take?  Her forehand's in good shape and with that weapon alone she should be able to get to the fourth round.  I really expected her to spray that thing all over the place but she's got a good measure of it.

In non-elephant related news, Bad Ass Nails was the first woman into the second round with a 4 and 2 win over Marta Domachowska. 

And Pavs wiped the floor with Olaru, 3 and 2, and TImmy gutted out a three setter to beat Loit, 64 46 61.

As for the men, nothing too notable quite yet, though Rendy Lu retired in the first set of his match.  Maratski and Marin seem on their way, Lleyton is coming back against a tired Dr. Ivo, and Fer just took the court against Serra.

Fed Cup Foto Fun

Sigh.  I'm really sad that I was too drunk and hungover to enjoy this round of Fed Cup in any meaningful way.  I guess I'll just have to piece it all together CSI style:

  
I love how JJ gets away with this shit.  Classic.


"Pop the corks, boys.  Mama's thirsty!"


Sigh.  Oh, Chakky.


"It's the one that says 'BADASS MUTHAFUCKA', motherfucker!"

 
"Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry."


Heeeeeeeeere's Kimmy!

(Also, I'm pretty sure there's a gyno joke I could make but seriously,
I'm not firing on all cylinders quite yet.)

 
Rad!


"Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!"


It takes a pretty dress and a million dollar smile, too.


Huh?  What's Bepa doing here?


All that's missing is a can of Fosters.


Liezel rocks her O face.


Heh.  Heh heh.  The world is changing, indeed.
 

Acne, cold sores, and manhands.  I don't think you're ready for this jelly, World Group.

I Don't Know, Russia. I'm Not Feeling It.

Italy's got their game faces on. 

And never underestimate what Tranny can do during Fed Cup.  Or Flavs for that matter. 

As for the Russians, they come in a bit battered and shell-shocked:

Into the second singles berth steps the 22nd- ranked Anna Chakvetadze who has registered only four wins to her name this year, four less than Nadia Petrova who can count herself unlucky to be watching from the bench.

Winners of 15 of their last 16 ties, Russia will look to Svetlana Kuznetsova to provide a backbone for success. Kuznetsova is now coachless after her split last month from Olga Morozova but is enjoying a Fed Cup run of eight straight singles wins. She admits though that preparations this week have not been perfect: “We have not managed to practise indoors, only outdoors, and not as much as we should have because of the conditions but we are looking forward to the weekend.”

Chakky only has 4 wins this year?  Ugh.

Saturday
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) v Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Sunday
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) v Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
Sara Errani /Roberta Vinci (ITA) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Nadia Petrova (RUS)

Draw day interviews with Chakky, Sveta, Flavs, Tranny, and Nads and Chevy.

I'm A Little Worried About The Kids These Days

Getty Images seems to think this Jersey hooker with a heart of gold is Dina. 
No, go ahead, keep laughing.  I'll wait.


... 
...
...
...yeah.  I got nothin'. 


Here's the thing, Boots.  You're actually a really adorable kid.  But wearing a punk-dyed wrinkly Hefty bag is not the way to go.  Methinks the Adidas Player Development program needs a style component.  This is just...bad.


Oh of course you did, Domi.  You just can't help yourself, can you?

(Pics from Great Tennis Photos)

More IW Stalkerazzi Footage

I'm starting to feel like I'm the Perez Hilton/TMZ of Indian Wells.  That makes me very very sad.  Oh well.

More random video from around the grounds this week:


Hint to Dina: Kuzzie will totally be friends with you if you would stop noshing for a second and say hello. It's the little things, girl.

>br> Rafa getting swarmed by fans after his win over Elf yesterday. He proceeded to hit the practice courts for some more reps. I guess he wanted to burn off those cookies.


Vika goes down 2-5 against Bepa.


Cahill and Mats hitting with Ski Boots. Gotta love the idiots behind me who thought he was Lleyton Hewitt.


MaKiri watching Igor beat Jo.


Marat says goodbye to Indian Wells.


Match point.

Hop On The Bandwagon. It's Getting Pretty Full.

(Pic for Forty Deuce by Love All)

Ok, y'all seem to hate "Latisha".  So I'm going to go with Chevy Nova and Pavs.  The kid is so rad she gets two Forty Deuce nicknames.

Tignor has picked up on Chevy Nova's awesomeness.  This kid is going to be gold for soundbites.  She's like a cross between Dina's candidness and Ana's charm:

The most noticeable difference, at first glance, between then and now is Pavlyuchenkova's height. By sight, she appears to have shot up 2 to 3 inches. Apparently, that isn't true. In her press conference, she's asked if she's grown in the past year.

Pavlyuchenkova responds, her eyes widening as she goes, "I thought so, yes. Compared to my coach, every time I walk, I'm like, Look, I grew up. And we go to measure and it's the same height. I'm like, No? How come?

"And the medical checkup here," she went on (we've got another chatterer on our hands), "they measured the length of my legs. They grew up 2 centimenters. The legs are growing but not me. It's a miracle." (Fortunately she's a funny chatterer.)

Taller or not, Pavlyuchenkova is hitting harder and with infinitely more accuracy than she did last year at Wimbledon. Once a rally gets underway, she inevitably backs the slighter Radwanska behind the baseline. There are times when Radwanska is forced to bend both legs to meet the ball as it skids toward her, like a hockey goalie stopping a slap shot from center ice.

Pavlyuchenkova's shots are much heavier than Radwanska's. You can hear the difference: The Russian's come off her strings with a thick thud. She gets all of the ball, as they say in baseball. Like most other young women players, her backhand is more reliable. She begins with a long, Davenport-esque loop. The result, like Lindsay's so often was, is a devastatingly flat and penetrating ball.

If her backhand is reminiscent of other new WTA stars, her manner is less intense and temperamental than, say, the personality of her fellow breakout performer this week, Victoria Azarenka. That's not to say that Pavlyuchenkova doesn't get frustrated. When she makes an error, she can spin toward her coaches with as much disbelieving fury as the next millionare girl. But where Azarenka is lean and wiry and perpetually ready to be enraged, Pavlyuchenkova is husky and stolid. Her steps around the court aren't light, but she pushes off with power. After a crucial miss today, she makes a face of modest disgust—"Ugh"—but doesn't take time to berate herself.

"I think I'm getting more confident," Pavlyuchenkova says when asked about how she turned around the result from last year's match with Radwanska. "I think five or six times is enough to learn how to play against her. Well, if you're not stupid."

Random Smatterings From Around The IW Grounds

I will always, always, always love Agi's "who farted" face.  It pwns.

 
Rafa's butt.

Muzz looking good in red while practicing with a shirted (!) Ross.

The Kaiser of Techno trying to jog off his loss to Fer.

Dani heading to practice.

MaKiri noshing on a Drumstick while on her way to watch Igor play Lubey.

"Is now a good time for an autograph?  Oh you can't hear me?  Cool."

New Forty Deuce fave Anastasia Pavlychenkova.  That's the last time you'll see me spell that.  She shall heretoforth be known as "Latisha".  Look it up.

Momes having a grand ole time, playing soccer and pulling a Chastain.

(Pics for Forty Deuce by Love All and C Note)