Forty Deuce

Nads and I Are Total BFF

The Ladies talk about their guilty food pleasures.  Not surprisingly, no one asked Dinara because we all know the answer already.

Nadia Petrova: Burger and french fries with everything on it, and Coke. At a nicer restaurant though!

Elena Dementieva: Chips. It’s my favorite bad habit. Potato chips and pizza. The chips are simple – just sea salt. I like to keep it as natural as possible

Vera Zvonareva: My mom makes this Napoleon cake a few times a year…

Liezel Huber: Chips. Not fries, but as in chips from the packet!

Cara Black: My favorite bad food is ice cream!

Sabine Lisicki: Ice cream. Italian ice cream!

Vania King: Fried chicken.

Dominika Cibulkova: A Slovakian dish my grandma cooks called Bryndzove Halusky… it’s potato dumplings with cheese and bacon… and it’s unbelievable.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Dark chocolate-covered almonds and sweet potato fries… not together, of course!

Aleksandra Wozniak: My indulgence is chocolates.

Caroline Wozniacki: Crêpes with nutella… it’s SO good.

Ana Ivanovic: Pancakes with nutella!

Michaella Krajicek: Porridge with pieces of chocolate in it. I really love it.

Katarina Srebotnik: Chocolate

Dude.  Nads.  Indian Wells.  You.  Me.  In n Out.

Wow.  That sounded really dirty.  Also dirty?  Whatever the heck Domi is talking about. 

Vania King Is Awesome.

Dinara!  Put.  The Gun.  Down.

WTAers tell you about their love (in Vania's case) or not (Jesus, calm the fuck down, Liezel) of video games:

Ana Ivanovic: "I never did until I was introduced to Guitar Hero, and I love it."

Vania King: "YES. I love video games. I play mostly RPGs, MMORPGs and action/adventure games."

Aleksandra Wozniak: "When I was little, my sister Dorota and I would play Nintendo for hours. Now I just travel around the world with a PSP!"

Katarina Srebotnik: "No, not at all. When I was younger I used to love them and I have to say I was pretty good because I couldn't stand the words GAME OVER on the screen! I played the games over and over again until I would go all the way or at least reach a very high score."

Dominika Cibulkova: "I do - I play tennis video games! I'm not very good at them though, everyone is always beating me..."

Caroline Wozniacki: "I do, with my brother. Race car games, singing star... it's a lot of fun!"

Cara Black: "I don't play video games."

Liezel Huber: "NO!"

Vera Zvonareva: "Not really. I used to play Super Mario and Tetris on Gameboy. I would play Tetris for such a long time..."

Elena Dementieva: "I don't play video games. My brother is a big fan of them though. I could never understand his passion for them!"

Thoughts:

• We get it, Ana.  You LOVE Guitar Hero.  That answer is getting as canned as her pool story, through no fault of her own, really.

• I can totally see Bepa dominating on Tetris.  I can also see her banging her head into the controller when she realized she flipped the "S" piece one too many times.

• I love that A-Woz's sister shares the same name as this piece of awesome.

• Domi was so that girl who pretended to suck at video games so guys would think she was cute.  Or, you know.  She would just suck.  Dick.

• I would totally pull a Domi if I ever played video games with Caro's brother.

• Vania King rules.  Even I had to look up MMORPGs.

Closer I Am To Fine

Pretty much can't wipe the smile off my face right now.

Pic This: Muggy

Day 3 is in the books and the first rounds on both sides are complete.  

Hike up your socks, folks, it's just getting interesting.

Surrealism.

Still the best hair in tennis.

The WAGs are out in full force.

Happy and no headlights.  Win.

Pic This: In Like A Lamb...

Day 1 is on its way into the books. 

And except for a few moments of stress, it was pretty snoozy.

 

Fed won easily, though Devon Britton, the young American, showed some stuff to be excited about.

 

Makiri won easily in her new Adidas Competition gear. 

Hmm...maybe it *was* the clothes.

 

Don't tell Aga, but that ain't a checkmark on her kit.

WTA Lonely Planet: The Midwest = Waffle Houses and Malls.

Bethanie's blogging from Cincinnati.  Love that her warmup with Nads consisted of getting a latte and powerwalking through the mall:

Nadia and I had our first match of the week today, but it rained during the day and our match got pushed back. There were still matches ahead of us so we took a drive. We went to Starbucks then to Whole Foods for skin products, and then the White House Black Market… then we got a call saying it wasn’t raining anymore and we needed to get back. So, that was basically our warm-up

I think we’ll go to the Waffle House now… I assume everything else is closed at this time. A few years ago I was playing lots of night matches here and we went to the Waffle House every night, it became a tradition! It’s right across the street from us. I’m excited for my 10 strips of bacon and sausage. It’s still protein! It’s so humid here, I can probably get away with a few extra calories

I wonder if she ran into Mono at the Waffle House.  It's food not feelings, Marion.

The WTA: Now With 100% Less Dan Brown

Giggles at Twilight, Gone With The Wind, and Elena not answering the question.

But What Is That Annoying Sound In The Background?

Wow, you get really close to the action at the Eastbourne practice courts. I want to go to there. Here's Momo and Nads practicing.

Nads and Bethanie

AI practicing with Cahill.

Sveta and CSN.

Cones, Snot Rocket, and the Rads.

Rad, Stosur, and I can only assume Stubbsy there in the background.

JJ with, and I know I'm going out on a limb here, *not* Ricardo Sanchez.

All Kinds Of Crazy Awesome.

First the British #1 gets some ink and now the non-Williams US #1.  Nice Q&A, but I like this article, written by none other than Ana's agent (huh?) in 2007.

I sat, like, two feet from Bethanie and her husband at IW while she was talking to a friend of hers that had come to watch her play.  She really is one of the most cool, down to earth chicks.  I want to go to a dive bar with her, pound some pitchers of beers, and play darts.  She's that girl.

Oh, and *of course* she shares her coach with Nads.  Twue wub.

No on H8!

Can We Get Together on This One?

Bizarro Week AWESOMENESS:

Funnest doubles team ev-ah!  That was a great match between them and Serena/Venus, and Beth and Nads looked beyond thrilled to win it.  They play Black/Huber next, but whatever, it's been awesome while it's lasted!

Blink And You'll Miss Them

They came, they saw, they said "Nah...I'm over this."

Too bad.  Makiri's white and purple Stella number looks, as always, rad.  And what's up with Chakky's overheatedness?  Did the pink skirt bring out the color in her face?

Love ya, Bethanie.  But is that skirt made of basketball short material?  Just checking.

Oh, Flavs.  Sadness.  More sad?  The fact that Sergio Tachnini NEVER gives you anything fun or cool to wear.  Would it kill them to migrate away from the navy blue pallette?

(A)KO

Poor Anne.

She really didn't play badly, certainly nowhere near the level where you'd expect someone to get double bagelled. An awful lot of those games went to 30-30 or deuce, sometimes multiple deuces. She had a great clay season coming into Roland Garros and even with an unlucky draw, deserved better than that. After all, Dina's had problems with players a lot worse than AKO.

But Dinara was just on a mission today. It wasn't her best performance by any means, but she did the most important thing-- she played the big points big. In the middle of the second set, AKO was up 40-0 on her own serve and the crowd went wild-- but a few minutes later, Dinara had heartlessly broken her once again. Sad for Anne, who really played well enough to win a few games, but an important start for Dinara, proving to herself that she can hold it together and decimate an in-form player.

In other news, Kleybs is out; Aravane's in; Kolya's through; Rafa is serving for the second set in a surprisingly close match (!!!) with a guy Justin Gimelstob assures us has "played a lot of Challengers"; The Burrito got bagelled in the first set by Melanie South; Stan's just into a 5th set against Devilder, and Venus is at a set all (!!!) with Bethanie Mattek, but up a break in the 3rd. The most stunning news from that match, of course, is that Bethanie is not the worst dressed player on the court.

"Multiply Life By The Power Of Two."

How about some love for our favorite happily ever after dubs team? 

They beat Flavs/Dulko, 57 63 10-7 to take their second straight clay final.  On their way to the title they beat #1 and #3 seeds.

I wonder where they're registered.

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.

Upset Sunday

How weird is it that I kinda feel bad for Russia?

Congrats to Team Italy for securing a spot in the finals by defeating the defending champions 4-1. 

Boss Lady Schiavone and Flava Flav took care of business yesterday, beating Sveta (16 62 62) and Chakky (64 60), respectively. 

Russia responded today though, as Kuz destroyed Flavs (60 63), which set up a crucial rubber between The Boss and Chevy Nova.  The match went the distance and for a while there, Tarpy was once again looking like a genius.  But despite Pavs having two set points in the first, Boss Lady was able to weather the storm and secure the tie for Italy, 76 46 62.

So it'll be Italy vs. the wily Americans, who pulled out the shocker of the weekend.  It wasn't just that they beat the Czech Republic. It was the *way* they did it, on the back of 19 year old Alexa Glatch, and a spectacular comeback by Liezel and Bethanie from match point down in the doubles rubber.  A true team effort which starts at the top with Captain MJ's leadership. 

I was scratching my head on Friday when MJ tapped Glatch over Oudin for the tie.  Clearly I've been drinking the Zina Kool-Aid and I should know better than to quetion El Capitan.  Glatch, ranked #114, took out both Iveta (#29) and Kvitova (#48) in straight sets, dropping only 6 games in the process.  Impressive stuff considering it was her first Fed Cup and it was an away tie with a boisterous Czech crowd. 


With Bethanie dropping the two singles rubbers, it was time for bit of redemption.  With the tie going to the decisive doubles rubber the Czechs quickly found themselves with a 6-2 5-2, match point.  But then the wheels came off after Peschke sailed a second serve return long, and Bethanie and Liezel found their form, coming back to take the second set in a tiebreaker and reeling off a 6-1 final set for the win.

And yes, Liezel showed off her awesome dorkitude throughout the match.  Fun stuff.

So Italy vs. U.S. in Italy on what I presume will be clay.  Yeah, good luck with that, MJ.

Pic This: Smile Like You Mean It

I forgot to give a shout out to Nads and Bethanie winning the dubs in Charleston. 
And, well, this picture just needed to be posted. 

It just looks like the most fun lesbian wedding ever.

Thursday @ IW: Andy's Special, Bethanie's Back, and Masha's Homeless

USOS Tournament Update -- 7/25

So who had a Simon v. Kiefer semifinal in their bracket?  Simon beat Roddick-killer Marin Cilic today and the freshly shorn German tore James Blake a new one, blasting him 61 62.  On the other side of the draw, the side we shall now refer to as "the side that has players you actually know", Andy Murray finally beat Nole in straight sets and Rafa and Dickie Gasket played an extremely entertaining first set, which the Frenchman was able to pull out in a 14-12 tiebreak, and then Rafa reminded everyone of why he is almost impossible to beat on any surface.  The tireless and ruthless bull took the next two sets 62 61, setting up a fun Wimbledon rematch with Murray.

As for the Ladies of LA, today pretty much went according to plan.  Jelena Jankovic continued her march to #1 by beating Nadia Petrova, but she didn't look great doing it.  Her movement looks fine but her game was off.  The match was broadcast on ESPN2, and I cringed every time I thought of a new tennis fan tuning into the match and hearing that they were watching the potential new world #1.   

Aside from JJ, Dinara Safina played a near flawless match in her 62 61 drubbing of Azarenka.  Those two will play tomorrow and I put my money on Baby Beluga to stop JJ's run and keep her good friend Ana's ranking at #1.  The other semifinal will see Flavia "Screw you Carlos" Pennetta vs. Bethanie "YouTube" Mattek.  Pennetta gutted out a win over Bammer and Mattek showed Meng the door.  I'm going with Bethanie to make it to her first tour final.

Lastly, top seeded Maria Kirilenko fell to Sara Errani in Potoroz.  But in happy news, Caroline Wozniaki destroyed Vera Dushevina 60 61 in 53 minutes.  Ski Boots has lost only 8 games in the entire tournament.  She'll face Errani in tomorrow's semifinal for a shot at her first final.