Forty Deuce

Tweet Responsibly

So Rafa has made good on his promise during Wimbledon to join the awesome heaven and hell that is THE TWITTERVERSE.  Good news?  Bad news?  I genuinely don't know.  Twitter has been a boon for fans, players, and organizations who choose to use it as a medium to show off their personalities.  In some cases, if they have awesome personalities, it's the best thing in the world.  In other cases, if they have crap personalities (or no personality) it's complete boresville.  And in other cases (HOW MANY CASES ARE ON THIS DOCKET???) it's a complete waste because the Twitter accounts are completely corporate and agent run.  Oh, you just posted 15 new pictures on your Facebook page, JJ?  Thanks for the breaking news.

So basically I'm a little scared for Rafa.  This is a 90% you lose, 10% you win situation.  He's such a huge public figure with an established persona.  His Twitter account already has a lot to live up to, whereas most of the players who have greatly benefitted from Twitter (Petko for example) were virtual unknowns when they started.  They had the freedom to brand themselves as they saw fit.  Not everyone can pull off a Novak Djokovic.

And so, as a public service to one Mr. Rafael Nadal, here is a list of tweeters to emulate, and a list of tweeters to...not.

Twitter Idols:

• Dinara Safina (@Dinarik27) - With a few tweets, Dinara was able to shuck her unearned reputation of being a morose, unfun, stereotypical Russian (DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SMILE????), to show the world the "real Dinara".  The one who live-tweets her baking adventures, regularly has dinner with her family, and knows how to operate her phone's camera with, as Serena would say, aplomb.  TWITPICS ARE YOUR FRIEND, RAFA.  That said, whatever you do, DO NOT JOIN FOURSQUARE.  Bad idea pantalones.
• Juan Monaco (@picomonaco) - Why should you emulate Pico?  Because his tweets are just pure joy.  He happily gets into Twitter convos with other players, he celebrates his favorite sports teams, and he just seems like a happy guy.  I don't want to tune in and hear how emo you are all the time (*cough*Feli*cough).  It bums me out.  Twitter is happy times.  Let's all be happy like Pico!
• Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) - We can't all be Nole.  Hell...right now I'm sure you kinda wish you could be like Nole, Rafa.  Not only is his game off the chain right now, he's also got personality in spades, which clearly spills over into his tweeting.  His tweets are irreverent, funny, and self-aware.  Let's face it, given his stature, he's the best tennis tweeter in the game.  It ain't easy to be entertaining when you're a top player.  It would be so much easier to play it safe and keep it corporate.  But Novak's the king.  Much like his tennis game, don't let his Twitter game get into your head, Rafa.
• Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) - Taking advice from a 17 year-old?  A dicey proposition, I'm sure.  But you could learn a lot from Robbo, Rafa.  This is a kid who doesn't tweet a whole lot, but when she does they are well-crafted tweets, infused with personality and self-deprecating humor.  You can do it, Rafa!  I know you can!
• Andy Roddick (@andyroddick) - Funny, snarky, and informative, A-Rod has no problem letting his opinions fly.  Those opinions and the way he presents (usually in a funny way) give us insight into his personality.  That's all we want, Rafa.  Some insight into your personality.  I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
• Rebecca Marino (@rebecca_marino) - I don't know why exactly, but I kind of love Rebecca Marino's twitter.  It's just so...normal.  Like, oh yeah, you're a totally normal person who happens to travel the world playing tennis.  It's refreshing in that way.

Twitter Jersey Shore:

• Gael Monfils - Hey, Rafa?  Please don't use your Twitter to tell the world you're going to sleep EVERY NIGHT.  I love you but even I don't care about that information.
• Jelena Jankovic - Here's a woman who CLEARLY has personality and completely locks it up on Twitter.  SNOOOOOOOZER.  Please don't let Benito run your account.  Thanks.
• Ivo Karlovic - Apparently some people like Ivo's Twitter.  Judy Murray thinks he's HILARIOUS.  I do not.  His tweets are sexist, raunchy but not funny, and he pops off about topics he has no business popping off about.  He basically comes off as an undersexed, ignorant, misoginist.  No bueno.
• Fernando Verdasco (deleted) - Twitter is not your own personal livejournal, Rafa.  It is not a place to go to vent about shit thinking that no one will read it.  It's public, it's out there, and if you act a fool and then delete your account, we're going to laugh at you.  Just like we laughed at Sam Querrey. 
• John Isner - Lord help me if you start incessantly tweeting about WWE RAW, Rafa....
• Caroline Wozniacki - Humblebragging.  Look it up up.  And then don't do it, Rafa.  If I see a "Oh noes!  I'm getting horribly sunburned on my stomach.  I guess that's what happens when you sunbathe naked on a private beach in Mallorca with Beyonce, Jose Mourinho, and Ryan Gosling! #fml" tweet I will punch you in the knee.

So here's the basic upshot:  Let your twitter show off *your* personality, Rafa.  Don't *try* to be anything.  Just be Rafa.  If you're not funny, that's ok!  You know what you are?  YOU ARE ADORABLE AND NICE.  So be adorable and nice.  My guess is that your Twitter will be a cross between Sunshine Sabine's always happy and informative tweets (that include a lot of pics), and Andy Murray's semi-boring-but-they're-not-really boring-if-you-love-him tweets about sports.  Or maybe you can shoot for a Mardy Fish-style (I know, it's weird for me to say that).  But his Twitter has been great.  Informative, classy, and occasionally funny. 

But, like, no planking, dude.  Also, don't "vamos" in every tweet.  That would be the Caro equivalent of winking.  

All I'm saying is vamos responsibly.  Our eyes are on you.

(Pic: Rafa's Twitter)

 

 

Practice Makes Perfect.

A view of the practice courts this morning at the Bank of the West Classic. Gorgeous day and chicks who hit the ball really really hard. Well, and Maria Kirilenko.

Would you like to see the 2008 Australian Open finalists hitting side-by-side? OKAY.



And one nice thing about Stanford: You get rill rill close, whether you like it or not.

I wuff this tournament.

Generation Next. Now.

Do you like winners? ZOMG I LIKE WINNERS TOO! Let's get married!

Petra, Petra, Petra.  Your hossyness over the course of Wimbledon could not be denied.  Sure, we all knew you had talent, but it wasn't until I sat courtside as you dismantled Wicky, *actually* forcing her to break out in a "Well if you're going to play like that I got nothing" smile, that I truly believed. Your game is like nothing else out there.

How great was it to see the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Petra's win?  This seemed like a signal of things to come, and while everyone was waiting for Vika and Woz to be the ones to break through for Generation Next, it was Petra, the relative unknown (I mean that from a casual fan perspective) who absolutely demolished the field and signaled a new kind of game that felt unique and exciting.  Let's face it, it felt a hell of a lot like DelPo's run at the USO in 2009.  The woman puts her head down and grinds, she's charming in a refreshingly understated way, and what she lacks in shyness she makes up for in one of the biggest games currently on tour.  Heck, given current form it is THE biggest game on tour.  She can hit winners from any position, she's greatly improved on her movement, and HOLY SHIT SHE DOESN'T MIND COMING TO THE NET. 

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS AND CAN I HAVE MORE PLEASE.

It was a great tournament for the oft-forgotten members of Generation New (yeah, I'm trying out different names).  Not only did Petra break through but Sabine.  OH SABINE!  There has not been a day that has gone by since you crippling injuries that I didn't wonder what the tennis landscape would have looked like with you in the mix.  Another kid with an impossibly big game, her run to the semis was inspired.  That win over Nails and how she took care of business in her matches after that was such a great show of class from a kid who constantly looked like she was just happy to be playing tennis again.  That kind of joy is, unfortunately, rare and it was refreshing.  Unfortunately she played her one bad match when it really mattered, getting dismantled by Masha in the semis.  But from a personal perspective, it was so fun to follow her through the grass court season, first in Birmingham and then at SW19.

I can't wait to see if these two can carry their momentum through to the US hard court season.  They're two likeable women with games that are fantastically fun to watch. 

Bring it on, kids.

(Pics: Getty)

Revival.

 

It'll be Dani vs. Sabine in the finals of Birmingham on Sunday morning, and really, you have to be chuffed (heh, look at me!) for both of them.  Dani came back from a set down to break the hearts of Ana fans everywhere (and, yeah, Ana herself), to survive and play on.  My choice of "survive" is intentional.  Ana had 20 break point chances and converted...two.  2/20, people.  That, like, takes effort.

"In the second set, I don't know if I can even count the number of break points I had and didn't use, and obviously that was disappointing.  But still I was positive coming out for that third set.  I still believed I could come back and win that third set.  But the last couple games there was not really intensity and I was still in the previous games and I just let my mind go off wander off a bit, and on grass everything happens too fast.  But besides those last couple of games I really felt I created plenty of chances for myself and I feel like I was dominating the match in many cases."

But well done to Dani.  She played a really solid match and, not to sound like a broken record, she's played really fantastic tennis this week.  It's pretty hard to believe how crappy her results were in the first quarter of the season.  She's like a whole new woman this past month.

On the other side of the net is Boom Boom, who is just unbelievably over the moon right now, both in terms of her play and her excitement.  She demolished Peng today, 63 61, and the kid is absolutely savoring every moment of her resurgence.

"I think it's pretty much impossible to put it into words.  It's been such a great week for me.  From the first match on it was a really tough first round and I knew if I could win that one I would be into the grass court season well.  It's just going well.  I just love the grass."

"After the injury, I always enjoyed being on the court, but after the injury I did even more.  I appreciate every minute that I'm on the court with the crowd.  That's what I love that's what I miss so much about being away.  Being on the big courts with the huge crowds, it's just the best moments."

There's lots of questions right now about whether Sabine's even eligible for a Wimbledon wildcard.  They have three cards to give to the ladies and one would think she'd deserve one.  But according to WTA rules she's used up her allotment of wildcards already, which might mean that if she gets offered one for Wimbledon and takes it then she would have to forfeit any points and prize-money she gets in the tournament.  Still working to confirm this info but that seems to be the chatter on Twitter.  I was under the impression that WTA rules don't apply to ITF tournaments, which the Slams are, but seriously, I don't know the rules for shit.

(Pic: Getty)

Pong.

She's no longer sponsored by Adidas but that doesn't mean "Impossible is Nothing" doesn't apply. She's had an absolutely stellar year, and if not for that pesky Li Na lady, she'd be holding down the fort for all of China.  She's already won more matches this year than she played last year, only Caro, Bepa, Nails, and Mono have been to more semifinals this year than she has, I saw some unverified stats on Twitter that said she's second in wins this year, and she just cracked the top 20 this week. 

And she gave this great answer to the question of whether Nails' RG triumph gives her confidence:

"I think it doesn't matter if she win Grand Slam or not win Grand Slam to me.  I think I always have to believe in myself because if I don't believe then why I go play, right?"

Word up.

She's got Boom Boom in the semis tomorrow.  First semifinals for Sabine since Luxembourg 2009.  She was, needless to say, happy.

(Pic: Getty)

Air Quotes: Gluten-Free Lisicki

“I've been playing so well and against Vera, I was actually the better player on court on that day I think. But I started cramping at the end of the second set which disappointed me a lot because there was nothing I could change. I played, I didn't want to retire and it was actually amazing to go up 5-2 in the third set with cramps. I was cramping the entire third set badly, I couldn't even stretch my legs out anymore. I played with cramped legs and I was playing with a lot of pain. I was trying to finish that match somehow. Unfortunately it didn't go my way but for me the most important part is that we're finding out the reasons, we're talking to specialists and its all about adjusting to the gluten-free.

“It's a big change. They found out about it 2 months ago and it's a huge change for your body because all of a sudden you cannot eat bread or pasta for example, and those are the two main things that athletes eat, especially pasta before the match. It's very tough when you travel, you know? If you're at home and can cook for yourself it's not a problem.

"A lot of things where gluten is included where you don't think it is, and I'm still learning that. In Paris I was eating stuff that had gluten and I didn't know, you know? I'm still learning, it's a learning process, but also for your body to adjust so that you have the energy you need on the court. It was very hard for me because I was fit, I was healthy and all ready to play, and then all of a sudden I'm cramping. I guess it's a process. It's good we found out. I guess I have to be patient one more time, but in the long run that's what's the most important thing, that I feel a lot better. I feel a lot better already.”

-- Sabine, in Birmingham, on her new gluten-free diet and what happened in Paris.

This Is Just Sad.

Sabine was up 5-2 in the third set over Bepa.  She was absolutely crushing the ball, showing everyone why I call her Boom Boom.   Back in 2009, Sabine was always my favorite of the Caro, Vika, Sorana, Aga crew of new talent.  She was super nice, German, and had the big serve and forehand that I love.  She made her great run at Wimbledon (bumping Caro along the way) and it looked like things were on the up and up for young German.  Then she sustained that horrible ankle injury at the US Open and she's been fighting to get herself back ever since.  It's been a tough process to watch but her attitude throughtout has been admirable.  The kid was plugging away and this year we started to see the results.

So at 5-2 up, it looked like Sabine was ready to score her first big scalp since coming back.  Remember this is a kid who beat Venus, Kuz, and Caro before she had injury problems.  A win over Bepa would be huge.

And then her body gave out on her.  She started cramping and from there, despite her fight, Bepa reeled off five straight games to take the match.  Sabine had to be carried off the court in a stretcher and rushed to the infirmary.  Word is that she's fine now.  Just physically and emotionally exhausted from the match.  But man, when is this kid going to catch a break.  She's one of those players who, when on, seems unbeatable.  The forehand and serve are just that good.

Get a saline drip and rest up, Sabine.  It's so nice to have you back in the mix (she's back into the top 100).  On to Wimbledon!

(Pics: Getty)

Aaaaand We've Come Full Circle.

Sam Stosur: Doubles Specialist.

Whatever.  I'll take it.  Looks like Sam and Sabine hit it off as doubles partners.  They'll look to team up again in the future. 

"She's always laughing and smiling, there's no chance to be down."

So I guess playing with Sabine is pretty much like watching Sabine.  Good to know.

(Pics: Getty, AP)

Gold Dust Woman.

It's not clay.  It's magic dust. 

And omigosh that kit looks like a hospital gown.

Sam came back from a set down to beat a string-breaking Bepa 26 63 76(3), to score her biggest win of the year, first win over a top 10 player of the year, and first semifinal of the year.  It also just happened to be the best match she played all year.

What is it about the combination of clay and Bepa that brings out the best in Sam?  I don't know, but let's just say I won't be freaking out if they land in the same part of the draw in Paris.  Is Sam back?  HAIL NAW.  It was one fucking match.  But it was one fucking match that saw her come back from being a set down and win in a third set tiebreak.  She's been dropping the close ones left and right this year.  This was a huge step forward.  Methinks DT gave her a nice pat on the back when she got back to the locker room.

As for Bepa, gurl, I don't know how much Prince and Gamma are paying you, but you've been busting strings for the past year.  Today you went through 9 freshly strung racquet and had to play with a replacement racquet while you were waiting for your racquets to get restrung.  Figure this out quickly, because it's been happening for a while now.

Sam will take on Julia Goolia in Saturday's semis (no play on Friday b/c it's...Good Friday).  Julia turned in a remarkable performance against Sabine.  Sabine wasn't playing poorly, but what ball striking for Julia!  Hands down the best match I've ever seen from her.

So it'll be another ball-crunching match on Saturday.  I have to think that if Sam can get the ball kick on her serve and forehand, she should be able to negate Goolia's power.  But then again, isn't that always the book on Sam?  The gameplan isn't a mystery.  Her ability to execute is. 

(Pics: AP, Getty)

 

Pic This: Here. I Sneezed On It.

"No thanks."

(Pic: WTA Site)

Holy Auf Geht's, Batman!

During an interview with a writer for the Sony Ericsson Open website (which was never posted, unfortunately, though I have the audio) Petko said that her favorite tournament outside of the Slams was Stuttgart.  She cited the fact that it's the only tournament in Germany these days (which blows) and she loves any excuse to get home.

So it must have been quite the boon for Team Germany when they all got to fly home early for Fed Cup (which was held in the same arena this past weekend) and now get to show their stuff to their countrypeople.

So far, so good.  Congratulations, Stuttgart.  You've got four Germans in the quarters, with at least one guaranteed in the semis.

Petko fought off the nerves and a pesky JJ to advance, 36 61 63.  Sabine took out a struggling-but-still-very-good-at-tennis Nails, 64 75.  Kristina Barrois upset Mono, 64 62.  And the in a shocking turn of events, the day ended with Vika taking the first set over Julia Goolia, only to *abruptly* retire seconds later without calling a trainer.  The official word is that she retired with a right shoulder injury.  Puzzling, no doubt. 

Regardless, it's been a dazzling five days for the German Ladies of Wrestling and it's not over.  Sabine and Julia will face off in one quarterfinal, Petko gets another chance at a big forehead scalp against Caro, and Barrois will try not to lose her head against Aga.  All that AND Petko and Julia will face off against Sam and Sabine in doubles. 

All aboard the GLOW revival.  You know you missed it.

(Pics: Getty)

 

 

SamSicki!

Last week, I had a conversation with a friend who was surprised that I was a big Sabine fan.  "Oh yeah, I've always liked her.  There just...hasn't been much to write about her lately :("

Remember the early days of FD?  Boom Boom Sabine firing down double-digit aces, making deep runs at Slams, body-checking a pissy Caro, and winning Premier tournaments, all the while rocking the most ridiculous eye makeup this side of Gaga?  Those were good times.

Then injury struck.  Horrible injury after horrible injury.  She got dropped by Adidas (FUCK YOU, ADIDAS!  You're a German company for Chrissakes!) and she was stuck in the qualifying doldrums, getting her ass kicked every which way while she struggled to hit the ball over the net and into the court. 

But dare as I ask?  Is Boom Boom back?  She scored a nice win over Christina McHale over the weekend and came out today to beat Domi in straights, easily her best win in over a year.  She'll take on Nails tomorrow after Nails broke her five match losing skid with a win over Sevastova.

Did you hear Sabine has teamed up with Sam for doubles this week?  That's a big-serving team right there.  Sam looked preeeeeeetty horrible for most of the first set.  She raced out to a 3-0 lead behind some heavy serving and hitting, and then MGMT's wily dropshotting ways seemed to get into the kid's head.  But at 5-5 Sam buckled down, won the next two games with some crazy shot-making, and then reeled off a 5-0 lead in the second, eventually taking it 75 61. 

PHEW.  She gets Dani.

(Pic: Getty)

 

SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN.

Right around noon today the Tennis Gods finally got the plumbing over Melbourne fixed and that famous Aussie sun broke through, transforming Melbourne Park from the dreary and grey slab of the last few days into the vibrantly blue tennis heaven that I had previously only seen on television.  Let me tell you, this place sparkles when it isn't being cried on.  It's enough to put the pep into any tennis fan's step.

So with the courts dried and players finally able to take the court, I grabbed my camera and did the requisite rounds.

First stop, Sabine!  She won her first round qualifying match over Michaela Kraijcek 76 63, hitting 8 aces and 24 winners on the way.  She can still clock that serve and forehand, though her movement is still (and may always be) an issue. 

But it was a nice win for her and she was really pleased with herself after the match, throwing a jolly and heartfelt thank you to a few fans and congratulated her.  I really like this kid.  Super sweet.

Of course, while I was watching Sabine, I couldn't have but be distracted by a very familiar figure off in the distance...

Hey, you.

Nice to see Aga back on court again after that stress fracture in her foot.  She was practicing with Gisela. 

It was just a light hit but hopefully Gisela (who does not wear a sports bra and I cannot understand why) was able to pick up some tips for her match against Caro.  Probably not, but we can hope.

While Aga was practicing I couldn't help but giggle as a familiar figure sidled up beside me waiting to take the court.  That's right, Mlad the Impaler was set to take the court next.  She put her bag down and walked away for a few seconds, but unfortunately I was distracted by Bojangles and I missed my window of opportunity to fuck up her bag.  Or at least give it a light kick or something. 

When Mlad walked onto the court Aga asked her if she had the court next.  Mlad said yes and Aga told her that she and Gisela would just play across if it was ok (hitting to each other cross court).  Mlad hesitated, Aga just started serving, and Mlad finally said it was fine, though she didn't look happy about it.  All this is to say, Aga RULEZ.  You know who also rules?  Heather Watson.  She took out Mlad in the first round of qualifying in straight sets.  Get it, Hev.

No sleep for the weary, huh Bojo?  One day after losing in the Sydney semis, Bojo was back out on court hitting with Mlad.  I would see her 3 hours later hitting with someone else on another practice court.  Oh to have the energy of 19 year old legs.

Now, on to the boys...

Churnin' Butter

Oh I've missed you and your legendary Ho!Yay!

I'm a bit busy with some personal stuff this week (don't worry, it's nothing serious or anything) so I apologize for falling behind on the blogging.  To be honest, I normally don't feel bad about it (because I'm a dick) but seeing as how Wimbledon starts in less than a week, I feel particularly derelict in my responsibilities to you, the sometimes-loyal-but-would-totally-stab-me-in-the-back reader.

Thankfully there are other great tennis bloggers who aren't ignoring the tennis.  I don't really like churning links, but again, it's the week before Wimbledon and I feel like if I don't set the table for all the jokes I plan to drop in the next couple of weeks, well, the jokes will fail.  And nothing pisses me off more than someone making unfunny jokes especially when that someone is me.

So here's my churnalistic attempt to get you caught up with the goings on in Yellow Ball Land.  And by "Yellow Ball Land" I mean tennis, not Asian porn.  Get your head out of the gutter and into the game, pervies.

• Uncle Jamie throws his Wimbly thoughts out into the information superhighway.  You should read it because I always agree with him.  Except for the times when I don't.
• Stephanie Myles, thankfully, breaks down how the Wimbledon seeds are calculated for the ATP side.  Why did she feel compelled to Mathnet?  Because Fed has been seeded #1 and the Twitterverse had a cow.  And by Twitterverse I mean me because I was apparently the only one in the world who didn't know that the formula only applies to the ATP, not the WTA.  My thoughts in a nutshell: I don't really care that Fed's #1.  It had no effect on the draw.  It's more symbolic than anything else, you know, like THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.  But what does annoy me is that this formula isn't used for the ladies.  Think about it and you will come to the same conclusion that I did: Wimbledon hates Venus.
• C Note read at Down The Line that Franny is referring to herself in the third-person.  C Note thinks it's just...weird. 
• GoToTennis sat on a conference call with Brad and Mary and didn't bother asking whether there would be a "Big Babe Tennis 2: Electric Buggaloo" installment this year.  Also they both pick Rafa to win.  Where was Aunty Pimmy?!?
• I love Andy Murray.  Just thought I'd mention it.
• Vika and Sveta won back to back matches.  That seems like news.
• You don't want to know how this makes me feel, Roger.
• Best. Coach. EVAH.
• Sam just wants to make the fourth round at Wimbledon.  Now if people could please stop paying attention to her, I'd appreciate it.  Thanks.  Meanwhile, she's doing ok on grass so far, making the quarters of Eastbourne against Elena Baltacha.
• Boom Boom Sabine is out of Wimbledon.
• Great piece on Shazza in The Guardian.
• JJ's boxing.  If JJ doesn't like fistpumps in her face, I can't think she's a fan of fists in her face.  Also, "WATCH THE NOSE!"
• Welcome back, Kimmy.  I see you've left your mercy in Belgium.
• Thanks to Jane Peng for getting Boyfriend to link to my Rafa piece.  That's how the Kong rolls.
• WTA Boo Boo Boo Watch: MaKiri retired with an ab injury; Aravane retired with a right wrist injury; Nails also retired.
• ATP Boo Boo Boo Watch: Nico retired with a right hip injury; Feli retired two points from losing with some sort of injury, I'm thinking it was either a brain injury or World Cup fever; Special Kei also retired.
• Via Twitter, Nalby announced he's not playing Wimbledon.  So enjoy your crumpets as per yoosh.
• I would like to be introduced to these "people" who thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen.  Seriously, Serena.  I want a list.  Tweet it.  
• Oh, and Rafa's in Mallorca hanging with Xisca.  And probably crying.  A lot.

And that's the news I care about.  Oh, Ana lost to PetKo.  Shit happens.  Moving on.

Russian Headliners.

Ah, Paris.  It's just not the same without Momo, to be honest.  But life must go on.

After Serena's shocking withdrawal, Lena leads the field, with Flavia, Yanina, and Fran in tow.  After getting bounced in the second round of AO by Justine, I'm actually really rooting for Lena to take the tournament.  The tennis world needs to be reminded that she's still part of the conversation.

Paris Main Draw.

Whoa, Bepa.  That hair is...whoa.

Bepa will try and defend her title in Pattaya City.  Boom Boom is also there, so I'll be looking to see if she's finally recovered from injury and able to make a deep run.

Pattaya City Main Draw.

Boom Boom Fizzle.

The top seeds are rolling, and that's a good thing.  Or so they tell me.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Singles - Second Round
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 62 61
(4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 61
(6) Venus Williams (USA) d. Sybille Bammer (AUT) 62 75
(7) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 64 60
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 60 63
(10) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 60 62
(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Kristina Barrois (GER) 75 63
(16) Li Na (CHN) d. Agnes Szavay (HUN) 36 75 62
(17) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 63 64
Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (20) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 67(6) 75 64
Alberta Brianti (ITA) d. (21) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 26 64 64
(22) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 64 61
(29) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 61 64
(32) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Andrea Petkovic (GER) 61 64
Tathiana Garbin (ITA) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 67(5) 62 60

Doubles - First Round
Dushevina/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. (5) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) 36 64 61
(7) Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) d. Brianti/U.Radwanska (ITA/POL) 46 75 76(3)
(9) Vesnina/Zheng (RUS/CHN) d. Cornet/Fichman (FRA/CAN) 75 63
(10) Mirza/Ruano Pascual (IND/ESP) d. (WC) Basuki/Date Krumm (INA/JPN) 64 62
(12) Chuang/Peschke (TPE/CZE) d. Senoglu/Shvedova (TUR/KAZ) 60 75
(13) Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) 64 26 63
(14) Groenefeld/King (GER/USA) d. (WC) Golds/Mirkovic (AUS/AUS) 60 61
(15) Kirilenko/A.Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. Cirstea/Pavlyuchenkova (ROU/RUS) 60 67(4) 62
(16) Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Errani/Suárez Navarro (ITA/ESP) 62 61
Azarenka/Kuznetsova (BLR/RUS) d. Kanepi/Woehr (EST/GER) 76(5) 64
Olaru/Savchuk (ROU/UKR) d. Amanmuradova/Tanasugarn (UZB/THA) 46 61 62
Peer/Voskoboeva (ISR/KAZ) d. Rybarikova/Voracova (SVK/CZE) 62 75
Szavay/Vinci (HUN/ITA) d. Govortsova/Poutchek (BLR/BLR) 75 64
Jankovic/Perry (SRB/USA) d. Cibulkova/Krajicek (SVK/NED) 61 64
Czink/Grandin (HUN/RSA) d. Lisicki/Rezai (GER/FRA) 63 62
Razzano/Wickmayer (FRA/BEL) d. Kondratieva/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) 75 36 62
Gullickson/Uhlirova (USA/CZE) d. Dulgheru/Gallovits (ROU/ROU) 63 36 63
Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) d. Hercog/Martic (SLO/CRO) 64 76(3)
Baltacha/Dekmeijere (GBR/LAT) d. Safarova/Wozniak (CZE/CAN) 75 62
(WC) Peers/Robson (AUS/GBR) d. Craybas/Spears (USA/USA) 63 75

Pic This: Shiny, Happy People

Emphasis on "shiny".  Jesus, Australia looks hot.

 

I can't decide if I hope that's Irina's bag or not.

Just a couple of d-bags, chillin'.

Happy and shiny.  Love the shorts.

That seems like it might be a bad idea.

Few people do pure joy like Sabine.  I saw this picture and forgot that she lost that match.

To quote the lady herself, "hahahaha."

So much awesome that you should probably avoid looking directly at it.

And, finally, some more belated C Note birthday presents.

 

Crash & Burn

Things looked rough in Sydney today, with top seeds and high-ranked players crashing out, retiring, and having uncomfortably close calls. Caro, JJ, Bepa (still having problems with that ankle) and Nads all lost, while Vika got played a little too close for comfort by Sabine. And while Sam losing to Flavs is not, on its face, a terrible result, the quality of play she showed was... uh, not good. What up, Sammy?

The only seed that lost on the guy's side was Igor Andreev. I think his hair is getting him down.

And then there was this...

Yeah, they got their asses kicked, but hee, they match. Hee hee.

Auckland

Singles - First Round
[6] J Melzer (AUT) d F Fognini (ITA) 57 63 62
[WC] J Statham (NZL) d [WC] D King-Turner (NZL) 62 75
T Bellucci (BRA) d M Chiudinelli (SUI) 63 63

Hobart
Singles - First Round
(2) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. (WC) Olivia Rogowska (AUS) 63 62
(5) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 61 62
(7) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Kaia Kanepi (EST) 46 63 76(4)
(8) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. Melinda Czink (HUN) 64 62
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Melanie Oudin (USA) 36 63 75
Jelena Dokic (AUS) d. (Q) Elena Baltacha (GBR) 64 62
Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 64 63
(Q) Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 60 60
(Q) Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d. (WC) Sophie Ferguson (AUS) 62 62

Sydney
Women's Singles - First Round
Li Na (CHN) d. (4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 26 63 62
(6) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 36 62 75
(Q) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 57 61 75
Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. (8) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 33 ret. (right ankle injury)
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 60 64
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Samantha Stosur (AUS) 63 61
(Q) Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) d. Nadia Petrova (RUS) 63 57 64
María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (Q) Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 63 63 
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (LL) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 76(2) 61
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. (Q) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 67(3) 62 62
(Q) Vera Dushevina (RUS) d. (WC) Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 62 62

Men's Singles - First Round
[Q] L Mayer (ARG) d [7] I Andreev (RUS) 67(7) 63 76(4)
R Gasquet (FRA) d F Lopez (ESP) 61 64
M Baghdatis (CYP) d [WC] N Lindahl (AUS) 62 75
A Seppi (ITA) d [Q] M Matosevic (AUS) 64 64
P Cuevas (URU) d M Llodra (FRA) 62 76(1)
P Starace (ITA) d [Q] F Gil (POR) 61 64

But What Does It Meeeeeeaaaaannnnn????

   "The Economist, once a year, heads out on this mission to see the 
   future.  They try to predict the coming year... I am a fan of The 
   Economist-- that said, I think this project where they try to predict 
   the coming year is totally ridiculous.  You have these great reporters 
   who have to write about, for instance, what's going to happen in 
   China in the year 2010 and they bring so much knowledge to this 
   question, but in the end, because no one can know the future, they 
   end up making these kind of equivocal 'on the one hand, on the other 
   hand' kinds of predictions... who cares??  ... 'Here's a bunch of random 
   things that may or may not happen, believe whatever you want.'"
   -- Ira Glass, This American Life ("2010")

That right there is pretty much my personal opinion of predictions in sports like tennis.  Who cares?  Mostly, nothing means anything.  The business of predictions, proclamations, assertions made on the basis of a single match (or one good week) is misleading and serves no purpose in an objective sport like tennis.  This year especially, when there are so many comebacks (from both retirement and injury) and a string of Very Good Players who had Very Bad Years last year, proclaiming the future seems particularly futile.  Trust me, I've been in sports where predictions and what certain people say and who won which events actually matters.  You don't want any part of it.

I don't even get why people like to do it (is it so you can say later that you were right? Usually I could get into that).  All you can do in tennis is watch and see what happens.  To me, that's part of the beauty of it.  I hate trying to guess what's going to happen.  I'd much rather take stock as I go along.

So.

Things That--Really Guys-- Seem Completely Meaningless Right Now

  

Sorana Cirstea d Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)

I can't even count how many times I read after this match that Sorana had served notice or some such.  Yes, Sorana played that match-- at least the last set and a half-- very well.  But what's earthshattering about that?  We all know Sorana Cirstea can play good tennis.  What we don't know is whether she can play good tennis consistently enough to make a significant impact on the tour.  Considering that she followed up her (impressive) defeat of Stosur with losses to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Melanie Oudin, the win (and the declarations that followed) seems particularly meaningless.

Sabine Lisicki d Elena Dementieva (Hopman Cup)

See above.  We all know that Sabine can have big wins.  We also all know that Elena can have very bad losses.  How did Sabine follow up her (spectacular) defeat of Dementieva?  By getting played way too close for comfort by a 15-year-old who's not even full time on tour yet.

Melanie Oudin's "Sub-Par" Performance at Hopman Cup
Melanie's always down in small events and then up in Slams and Fed Cup (or, at least, that's the pattern she established last year).  Her performances at Hopman Cup indicate nothing other than that-- so far-- that trend looks to continue.

"Comeback" Wins By Daniela Hantuchova, Alize Cornet, and Dominika Cibulkova
All of these women are former top-20 (or even top-5) players with immense amounts of talent, loads of past results, and a not-so-hot 2009.  All of them had pretty stellar early matches this week that looked like their peak selves, prompting some to call them contenders for the second week of the Australian Open.  All of them immediately had their asses handed to them by higher-ranked, more consistent players.  Ahem.  (Not that they couldn't be, mind you, it's just silly to declare that based on two good matches that follow 6 months--or more-- of nothing.)

Things That Hold My Interest

 

Laura Robson (Hopman Cup)
Laura's new on the pro scene and has her youth and lack of record working against her in the "where might this be going" game.  She also, should her mind turn out to tend towards these kinds of things, has a huge disadvantage in all the pressure that is being, and will continue to be piled on her by the British media.  But it's been a lot of fun to watch her grow in confidence at Hopman Cup this week.  In her first match, she looked terrified, but through playing mixed doubles with Andy Murray, she seems to be growing in her belief that she can keep up with the big kids.  She played Sabine Lisicki very well, looking at all times like she belonged on the same court.  It'll be interesting to see if that continues to develop for her.

Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)
On paper, Sam should have won all her matches at Hopman Cup.  In the real world, she lost two out of three.  Her ability is undeniable, but she isn't exactly projecting the kind of mental strength that's going to sustain her at the top of the game.  Is this particularly dismal performance just a sign that, like Amelie Mauresmo in France, she doesn't cope well with the hometown pressure?  Is it something bigger than that?  Or did she just have a really bad week?

Ana Ivanovic (Brisbane)

Ana's having a winning week, which is obviously much better than what's been happening for her since Roland Garros.  But is it really a sign of recovery?  There's a tendency to (rather dramatically) pretend like since she won RG in 2008, Ana's been losing in the first round every week.  But of course that's not true.  She won Linz that fall, made the quarters of Brisbane and Dubai and the final of IW last year, and made the third or fourth round at three out of four Slams last year.  Of course, those aren't the results that anyone expects from her, but they're not exactly Nicole Vaidisova, either.  So far this week she's beaten-- in tough matches-- people who are ranked significantly below her.  Since there's not anyone at Brisbane ranked significantly above her, even a win at the event might not be a very good indicator of where, precisely, she is at this point.

Justine Henin (Brisbane)
She's back, and she's winning, but winning how?  Her matches have all been close, and with the exception of Nadia Petrova, they've not been against people ranked anywhere near what is popularly thought of as Justine's caliber.  We all know what Justine's capable of, her record is clear evidence of that.  But it shouldn't be forgotten, either, how dismal the last few months of her "first" career were, or that she has yet to play-- let alone beat-- a top 10 player on her comeback.  

Flavia Pennetta (Auckland)
Flavia's usual modus operandi is to have a pretty dismal winter, pick up at Acapulco, have a couple of good clay events, and then really come alive on the US Open Series in the summer.  But this year in Auckland she's come roaring out of the gates, kicking ass and taking names.  Hmmm.

Things That Absolutely, Positively, Indicate Amazing Future Performances

Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka (Twitter)

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.

Vera Zvonareva (Hong Kong)

 
Whaddya know.  Some shit is completely predictable after all.

One For You, One For Me (UPDATE)

Programming Note: I'm super tired today and expecting a long day at work.  I'm trying to enlist some help so y'all won't be left with just results and OOPs today, but... if it happens, my apologies.

Anyhoo.

One for you...

Aaaaaaaaaand... one for me:

Not that I actually saw either of those matches.  I did see a few others, though, and I have to say that I was more impressed by the way Sabine took down Elena than I was by the way Sorana took down Sam.  Jesus, that was a shellacking, even if Elena was serving like... Elena.  Flavia looked decent for her first match out, and Reeshard looks like he continues to be his nutty self.  [yawn]

Auckland
Singles - First Round
(1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 62 64
(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Julia Goerges(GER) 63 75
(7) Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 64 63
Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) d. (8) Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP) 62 63
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 60 63
(WC) Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 61 62

Brisbane
Women's Singles - First Round
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (2) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 75 75
(3) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Jelena Dokic (AUS) 75 16 63
(4) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS) 61 67(5) 61
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (5) Alisa Kleybanova(RUS) 64 26 62
(6) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (Q) Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 62 62
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 67(5) 64 61
Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. Peng Shuai(CHN) 57 64 62
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 64 26 62
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. (Q) Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 64 76(3)
(Q) Sesil Karatantcheva (KAZ) d. (WC) Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 62 06 76(1)

Men's Singles - First Round
[1] A Roddick (USA) d P Luczak (AUS) 76(5) 62
[2] R Stepanek (CZE) d [WC] J Millman (AUS) 64 60
A Falla (COL) d [7] J Chardy (FRA) 64 64
[8] T Bellucci (BRA) d J Chela (ARG) 63 36 61
R Gasquet (FRA) d J Nieminen (FIN) 63 46 64
W Odesnik (USA) d A Clement (FRA) 64 76(2)
M Gicquel (FRA) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 61
H Levy (ISR) d M Llodra (FRA) 62 60

Chennai
Singles - First Round
[2] M Cilic (CRO) d I Kunitsyn (RUS) 62 64
[4] J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [WC] C Moya (ESP) 63 76(2)
J Hajek (CZE) d [6] S Greul (GER) 36 62 64
T de Bakker (NED) d [8] R Ram (USA) 61 61
S Giraldo (COL) d B Phau (GER) 64 67(6) 63

Doha
Singles - First Round
S Stakhovsky (UKR) d [4] M Youzhny (RUS) 76(11) 62
[5] V Troicki (SRB) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 61 75
E Gulbis (LAT) d [6] A Montanes (ESP) 62 75
[7] I Karlovic (CRO) d F Fognini (ITA) 64 64
O Rochus (BEL) d [WC] A Hajji (QAT) 61 60
M Chiudinelli (SUI) d P Lorenzi (ITA) 75 63 
P Starace (ITA) d F Gil (POR) 62 60
E Korolev (RUS) d M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 62 63

Hopman Cup

Russia d. Germany, 2-1

• Sabine Lisicki d. Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-1
• Igor Andreev d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
• Dementieva/Andreev d. Lisicki/Kohlschreiber 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)

Great Britain d. Kazakhstan, 2-1

• Yaroslava Shvedova d. Laura Robson 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
• Andy Murray d. Andrey Golubev 6-2, 6-2
• Robson/Murray d. Shvedova/Golubev 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (12-10)

Pic This: Prom Night!

Ah, Hopman Cup Ball.  It's like watching 12-year-olds go to their first dance.

Sam's looking pretty good with Pat Cash, but this picture would have been 700,000% better with Stubbsy.

Sabine.  Sabine.  Honey.  No.

Laura looks pretty cute.  Also, she definitely came to Perth equipped with her flat iron.

Lord.  Pretty.  And, as Brodie would say, well-dressed.

Lleyton with someone named Nathan Healy, sporting completely unacceptable hair.

[snerk]  Mutt and Jeff.

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. 

Bali Welcomes 90% of You.

 
Pretty sure Shahar's rockin' a flak vest under there.  Can't blame her.

The confusingly named Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions has kicked off in Bali.  I'm not sure anyone would describe Melinda Czink as a "Champion" per se, but whatever.  I'm tired, it's the end of the season, I'll go with it.

Here's your 12 woman field:

 

 

 

 

 

Vera is actually there as an alternate.  Sammy Stones and MJMS are also in the draw, though they were probably still on the boat from Doha.

Speaking of which, I'm craving a Pina Colada all of a sudden.  Not virgin.

Here are the groups:

GROUP A

Marion Bartoli

Shahar Peer

Magdelena Rybarikova

GROUP B

Samantha Stosur

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez

Agnes Szavay

GROUP C

Yanina Wickmayer

Anabel Medina Garrigues

Kimiko Date Krumm

GROUP D

Sabine Lisicki

Melinda Czink
Aravane Rezai

The ladies will play Ring around the Robin, and the top player from each group will advance to the semis.

For more on how Indonesia knows how to throw a party, read this.

I'm Guessing The Theme To This Junior Prom Is "Island Paradise"

And that motley crew is your Bali field.  I'm sure the WTA was stoked to see that their headliner was Marion Bartoli.  Then again, I'm sure the WTA was stoked that they could even put together a field given the number of ladies who were refusing to play Bali.  I still think it's BS that there are women who were ranked higher than these ladies who didn't "qualify" for Bali because either they won the wrong tournaments or they didn't win a tournament at all.  But congrats to these ladies, who I'm sure will put on a solid tournament (and I mean that with no sarcasm at all).  I am firmly in the Sam/Sabine camp, with Kimiko serving as a spoiler. 

Ok, So The Competition Kit Has Its Limitations

 

Poor Sabine.  After her promising run at Wimbledon she's been riddled with injuries.  Now she gone and rolled her ankle during her second round match against Rodionova. 

The kicker?  She rolled it on the last point of her match, which she lost 75 in the third.

Not even Lynn Welch's awesomeness could fix this one.

Get well, kiddo.

Well...Shit.

Of course.  Of course I would book my flight, hotel, and car for LA and of course Ana and Dinara would lose.  OF COURSE.

Dina fell to Jay-Z in three, 75 46 64.  Of course no one could possibly offer any insight to this match because it wasn't broadcast anywhere.  But from what I can tell from the livescore, it all came down to 1st serve points won.  Dina only won 58% of her first serve points compared to Jay-Z's 63%.  Even crazier?  Jay-Z won 42% of her 1st serve return points, compared to 37% for Dina.  Dina's one of the biggest servers on tour so if tiny Jay-Z is outplaying her on first serve points, you know we have trouble in paradise.

In other crap news, Boom Boom had to retire from her match against Sorana with a bum shoulder.  Not that I was rooting for her against Sorana, but I would have liked to have seen those two play this one through.  And by "see" I mean "stare at livescore".

But again, it's important to focus on the positives.  Masha came back to beat A-Bond in three sets, Bepa, Sam, and Flavs are still in the tournament, and A-Rad is still in there mixing it up.

But if Championship Sunday ends up with an all Polish final, I'm am going to crack some heads.

Oh, and did I mention Dani and Ai lost their dubs match?  In fact, both of the top seeded dubs teams fell today.

Pfft.

Here are today's scores:
Singles - Third Round
(14) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (1) Dinara Safina (RUS) 75 46 64
(2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 76(5) 46 64
(10) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (5) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 63 63
(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (6) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 63 62
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 63 62
Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. (12) Li Na (CHN) w/o (right knee injury)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. (17) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 63 10 ret. (shoulder injury)
Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 46 60 63

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Kirilenko/A.Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. (1) Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) 63 76(3)
Chuang/Yan (TPE/CHN) d. (2) Hantuchova/Sugiyama (SVK/JPN) 16 63 107
(4) Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN) vs. A.Bondarenko/Vesnina (UKR/RUS) w/o (Vesnina: low back strain)
King/Niculescu (USA/ROU) d. Garbin/Schiavone (ITA/ITA) w/o (Schiavone: right hamstring strain)

"Is She Your Favorite Player?"

Work has been a bitch all week but I was finally able to make it to Stanford for Thursday's evening session, which featured JJ vs. Boom Boom and Nads/B-Matt vs. Klebs/Rodionova.  I was able to secure a front row baseline ticket and we were in business.

The JJ/Boom Boom match was full of starts and stops by both players.  In the first set Boom Boom was, well, booming her serve and her forehand.  JJ was playing tentatively, as she's prone to do when she gets nervous or doesn't know what to do, and Sabine was just teeing off on the ball. 

The second set saw Sabine just lose her way.  Spraying balls all over the place and missing first serves.  She seems really conscious of her service toss.  She practices the toss motion quite a bit between serves and while it doesn't wonk off like Ana, you can tell when she's going to hit the slice as opposed to a flat serve.  Clearly the service issues got into her head because she stopped moving her feet on her groundies and she was just off balance all set. 

The last set went back and forth but all of a sudden JJ found her serve and began holding pretty easily.  It was over after that, as Sabine's serving woes pretty much gave JJ the match.  Serving to stay in the match, Boom Boom tossed in two doubles to pretty much give JJ the match.  One serve bounced before it hit the net. 

So good on JJ for scraping through.  The match was a typical JJ show.  Some interaction with the crowd, lots of Serbian screams to the heavens, sniping at the ballkids, but in the end she found a way to win.  Papa JJ and Ricky were in the crowd.  No sign of Kung Fu Tennis dude.

Next up, Indigo Girls vs. Kleybs & Co.  Nads and Bethanie were nails in the first set, and then Nads starting stinking up the joint in the second.  The tiebreak was tight until the IGs opened it up with a stick forehand volley from Nads and then a ripped forehand return up the line by Bethanie.  It got tight again after that but you had the feeling Nads and Bethanie would pull it out, which they did.

Apparently I was cheering for Nads pretty hard during the match, to the point that the woman sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked "Is she your favorite player?"

All in all, a fun time.  I'm going to get tickets to tomorrow's night session to see Masha vs. Venus.  That'll mark Maria's first big match against a true top player since her return.  Can't wait.

Boom Boom, Pfft.

Yup, this ugly sack of shit won despite serving 15 double faults.  Or, you know, more, according to her:

Q. Are you working specifically on the mental side of your game?

DINARA SAFINA: If I would work, I would not serve 250 double‑faults today, (laughter) because it's just my brain sometimes doesn't do the things that I have to do.

...

Q. Where did these 15 double‑faults come from?

DINARA SAFINA: 15? I thought it was much more (smiling).

Yeah, I don't know. Sometimes even I don't know what I'm doing with my serve. I mean, yesterday's match I'm serving the whole third set very good. Suddenly I warm up, I'm serving good, everything good, and suddenly I come and just... I think for the serve, it's not me there serving.

Because there I say like, Okay, go down, go up, do this. Then I toss the ball and I'm already by the fence running. I am just escaping the serve.

But seriously, nice gut out win by Dina.  No, it wasn't pretty, but she's a fighter and that's what she did again after dropping the first set.  She's now been to the semifinals of all of the last four Slams.  Not too shabby for the faux #1.

A really impressive run by Boom Boom but it she just ran out of gas today.  How else can you explain the fact that she can't even beat a fat ugly girl who served 15 double faults?  Can't wait to see what she can do during the hardcourt season.  That said, rest up, kiddo.  Your body is falling apart.

So Dina will face Venus in the marquee matchup of the semifinals. 

Well, if you like ugly people on your marquee.

Pic This: "It's Business, It's Business Time..."

The BEST.DAY.EVER. started with a whimper and ended with a bang. 

We can't have it all, people.


Unless your name is Mirka.  In which case, you *can* have it all.

 
Um.  No thank you.


"You want a piece of this?"

It's official.  Tennis needs to have pre-match staredowns, a la boxing.  Because they are both awesomely intense and you never know if you're about to watch a sporting event or porn.  So, win-win!

Shhh!  Do you hear that?  Listen oh so carefully and you can hear the sound of a thousand blades of grass screaming.

Yes.  He did it again.  Oh, and FYI, reporters, "slapping the bull" is nothing even close to resembling "The Robot."  Come on.

Did anyone else think it was really inappropriate for the world feed cameras to be shooting Ana all gyno style?  Show some class, fellas.

Seriously?  What is this, 2002?


Yes, she won.  No I have no idea when she's due.


But what does it all mean....


Yeah, so I'm gonna need some of that in and or around the general vicinity of my JJ area.


Sometimes it's really creepy how much Andy looks like Judy.  Oh, and while I'm at it...

K.SEARS IS WAY HOTTER THAN B.DECKS!!! Suck it!


Yes, Tranny scares me.  But she has one of the most awesome "Win Smiles" in the game.  Pure joy.

 
Open your heart, Andy.  Let us in.

In an unfortunate setback for race relations, Venus and Serena double bageled Jay-Z & Co.  Thanks a lot ladies. 

So...you refuse to sign with a clothing company but an insurance company with a lizard mascot put together a deal that sounded appealing to you?  O...k....

Oh, Dina.  Inapporpriate.  In.a.propriate.  Besides, Momo has no idea what that means.

"I'm Not Invisible"

Boots/Boom Boom Bumpgate. Sabine probably thought it was just her reflection coming back at her in a mirror.

"Boom, Shake Shake Shake The Room!"

That was impressive.

The Bobbsy Twins went to battle for a quarterfinal spot, and is usually the case in the women's game these days, power won.  Boom Boom was unbreakable and Boots was frustrated.  Matches like this reinforce in me why I'm still not totally on the Caro train.  I really like her and I want her to do well, but she really needs to develop a weapon, something that will help her hold her serve more easily.  Beef up that serve, Bootsie, otherwise you're going to continually get owned by the Vikas, Soranas, and Boom Booms of the world.

This is the first match I've ever seen where Caro was visibly frustrated and negative.  It was possibly influenced by BumpGate:

Oh come on, Sabine.  You *totally* saw her.

The WTA: It's like any high school hallway in America.

Pic This: "You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, And Gosh Darn It, People Like You."

Aw, how sweet. 

But I've read Revelations.  God may love you if you lose, Andy, but the apocalypse will come.  No pressure!

Boom Boom in da hizz.  Kind of a surreal shot there.


Boo.  You lost.  How dare you.


Yeah, I made the same face when I found out too.  Everyone loves Gonzo.


This just looked like a picture I should post.  But I honestly have nothing witty to say about it.

Convo during the Muzz/Viktor match:

Cousin: Diadora makes tennis clothes?
Me: Apparently.
Cousin: Does Kappa make tennis clothes?
Me: How awesome would it be if someone was sponsored by Umbro?

Ok, it was a much funnier conversation than it seems.  Take my word for it.  That Umbro line is GOLD.

Oh, Flavs.  We still love you.

Dinara: "So...should we cancel the surprise party?"
Nads: "NAAAAAHHHH."

Oh, Tomas.  Don't ever change.

"When you were a baby, the Gods reached down and turned your right arm into a thunderbolt."

Looks like we have a new German "Boom Boom" on our hands. 

That serve is going to get you far, kid.  First stop, dumping out the French Open champ on her birthday in straight sets, 62 75.  She'll face good buddy Ski Boots on Monday.  The last time they met was Charleston, where Sabine took her out in straights.   Should be a good one.

As for Kuz, the letdown was expected, though her inability to figure out Sabine's game was rather surprising.  She just wasn't moving her feet to get around the ball, leaving it short or just missing altogether.  This win shouldn't have been this easy.

After the match Boom Boom got a little emotional.  Understandably so.


 
This is the first time she's ever been through to a second week at a Slam.