Victoria Azarenka 2012 French Open Dress for Roland Garros
Here is what Victoria Azarenka will be wearing at the 2012 French Open at Roland Garros. This Nike dress is going to look amazing up against the clay backdrop.
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What Colour Clay Will Be Used at the Madrid Masters?
The Madrid Masters have apparently gone through some drastic changes, as the traditional color of clay will not be present at the ATP 1000 event. Instead, the color will be a somewhat new and different: blue. I am deeply interested at the sight of these courts, and some players have already spoken their thoughts about the change at the Mutua Madrilena Open:
Rafael Nadal: “The history of the clay court season was on red, it wasn’t on blue. . .”
Novak Djokovic: “Sometimes change is good. I like innovative and creative people. But, on the other hand, it’s going to be the only blue clay-court tournament in the world, first time ever in history. To be honest with you. . . I never played on blue clay. Rafa didn’t. Roger didn’t. We’re going on there and we’re going to play for the first time ever. We don’t even know if it’s a natural blue clay because natural clay is a red clay. I’m not really too happy about it.”
Andy Murray: “For the players, it would be better for it to be on the red clay. But at the same time, I’ve watched sometimes in Madrid. It’s very difficult to see the ball. I understand the reasons for doing it.”
We have yet to know what Roger Federer thinks about this change, and I wonder if his opinion will be positive or negative, and whether, based on all of these opinions from top players, the tournament will change back to red clay in a matter of years…
Kim Clijsters out of French Open
Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters will not play the French Open held in Paris, France due to still needing recovery from a hip surgery.
The 28-year-old, previously stating that she will end her career after this season, has been suffering from ankle and hip injuries for a while now. Clijsters admitted to having an injury after being defeated by Yanina Wickmayer in the Sony Ericsson Open last month.
The Belgian has also stated that she will mainly focus on the grass-court season that comes after the clay-court season, which includes Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
Good luck to getting better and playing well again, Kim!
Ivan Ljubicic Retires
The end of former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic’s career is over. After losing to fellow Croat Ivan Dodig, the 33-year old broke down into tears. “I felt like it could end up emotional, but I didn’t expect it this big, this emotional,” he told reporters. “Obviously, it’s the end of something beautiful for me. I knew my mind was everywhere else but on the tennis court.”
During his tennis career, Ljubicic served as the Vice President and President on the ATP Player Council, and his best result in any singles Grand Slam was a semifinal run in the 2006 French Open.
“Really to feel also now walking into the locker room, all the guys standing and clapping, it’s something beautiful to see how guys respected me and the way I represented them for many, many years.”
Good luck in the future, Ivan, and may you be happy without your favorite sport!
Serena Williams Kills Lucie Safarova in Family Circle Cup Final
It was another great win for Serena Williams at the Family Circle Cup. Serena Williams defeated Lucie Safarova 6-0 6-1 in the final. This was by far the most dominant tournament I have ever seen from Serena.
I know the Clay courts in Charleston are a lot different to those in Paris, but this will hold her in good sted for a French Open 2012 push.
Caroline Wozniacki Starting Pop Career!
World number six, Caroline Wozniacki seems to have found a new talent other than using those incredible legs to defend against other players. With Caroline being extremely famous in Denmark, she has decided to release a charity single, “Oxigent” (Oxygen) to support the Danish and Polish Paralympic teams.
While this was apparently recorded back in 2010, it’s now being released for the same cause! Even though it has autotune written all over it, I’m a big fan of Caroline and love the song. While you have players like Djokovic and Monfils in music videos and Rafa sharing a video with Shakira, here you have a tennis player using their voice, which very often is used to grunt, or to yell, so to hear the Danish number 1 sing is quite a breath of fresh air! Let me know in the comments what you think, wonder what Wozniacki’s boyfriend, Rory Mcllroy thinks of her potential to duet with Rihanna!
Bubka Vaulting Up The Rankings
Sergei Bubka Jr. has lived his entire existence being called “the great pole vaulter’s son.” However, it seems that he is now being removed from his fathers shadow.
Sergei Jr., No. 182 in the ATP World Tour rankings, played a strong opening main-draw match at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park, defeating 79th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-4, 6-4, on a low-profile side court.
Maria Kirilenko Interview Direct from Indian Wells
Thanks to Adidas we were lucky enough to have a phone interview with Maria Kirilenko direct from Indian Wells. Clare was our reporter and she did a great job. All the questions she asked were grabbed directly from our introduction post or via Twitter.
Andy Murray Defeats Novak Djokovic in Dubai
Andy Murray has had one of the matches of his life defeating Novak Djokovic in Dubai. Murray looked strong from the outset and defeated Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-5.
It is amazing how Andy Murray can pull off such great performances in the lower tournaments, but struggle in Grand Slams to beat the other top players. He has improved his game of late and is a lot fitter since Ivan Lendl started coaching him.
Serena Williams Dating Grigor Dimitrov!
Is Serena Williams dating Grigor Dimitrov? Well it seems like the paid were having a romanic lunch together at L’Avenue, and then left together for a romantic stroll on the streets of Paris. Oh.. and then they visited the Eiffel Tower together. Definitely a date!
Oh.. did I mention he is 10 years younger than her!
Martina Navratilova Says Margaret Court’s View are Outdated!
Martina Navratilova and Margaret Court dont have the same views on gay marriage, but Navratilova is still happy to play on Court’s cout at the Australian Open.
“It’s an honor, as always, to be on that court,” Navratilova told reporters. “It’s a personal issue. Clearly Margaret Court’s views that she has expressed on same-sex marriage, same-gender marriage, I think are outdated. But it’s not about any one person. It’s not about religious rights, it’s about human rights. It’s a secular view, not a religious view. She’s only seeing it from one viewpoint. I think it goes outside of tennis.”
Margaret Court needs to get her head out of the sand and get with the times!
David Nalbandian, Julien Benneteau and Marcos Baghdatis Receive Penalties from Australian Open 2012
David Nalbandian was fined $8,000 for his outburst on Friday where he threw water at a staff member at the Australian Open. The incident happened in his match against John Isner and frankly I can easily see why he got upset!
Nalbandian commented about his penalty and said, “ridiculous playing this kind of tournament with this kind of umpires.”
Other penalties included:
Julien Benneteau’s $2,500 penalty for verbal abuse is the next highest.
Marcos Baghdatis was fined $1,250 for smashing four rackets on Wednesday.
Overall, I think Baghdatis got the best out of the penalties, it could have been a lot worse! Additionally, it got him a huge amount of press!
Marcos Baghdatis and Stanislas Wawrinka Great Australian Open 2012 Match
Last night (Australian time) I was watching Marcos Baghdatis and Stanislas Wawrinka match. Baghdatis seemed to be in complete control in the first set, but really struggled to close out the set. This seemed to become a trend for the rest of the match.
Wawrinka won the match 7-6 6-4 5-7 6-1.
p.s. Did I mention that Baghdatis broke four racquets during the match! Great to see some emotion on court from a top player (shows it means a lot).
Sorana Cirstea Whips an On the Run Forehand Winner
Here is the hot shot of the tournament so far. Sorana Cirstea finishes a lengthy rally with a quallity forehand at full stretch.
Its strange because it seems like her forehand technique isnt great… very whippy!
Longest Tennis Match in History: Nicolas Mahut and John Isner Wimbledon 2010
The longest tennis match ever played is still going and scheduled to continue today at 3:30pm. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are set to continue their titanic battle on court 18 later today with the score standing at 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-7 59-59.
It’s already the longest match in tennis history at 10 hours but the 7 hour, 6 minute fifth set alone was enough to break the old record of 6 hours, 33 minutes set at the 2004 French Open. The on-court scoreboard (above) even broke down while the online Slam Tracker reset itself to 0-0 once the score hit 50-50.
The comment on DTL said it the best:
So what was it like watching every minute of this battle of attrition live on TV? Well, I can only compare the experience to what it’s like staring at a JJ outfit: I desperately wanted to look away but I kept being drawn back to the insanity of it all.
We also wrote about Mahut and his epic marathon in the qualifying event. Mahut defeated Alex Bogdanovic 24-22 in the third set and final round of qualifying. Has he played the most games ever at Wimbledon in a single year?
Aravane Rezai and Marion Bartoli Having a Good Bitch-fest
Aravane Rezai has criticized Marion Bartoli’s attitude after being told that her compatriot appeared jealous about the attention being given to Rezai at the French Open following her victory in Madrid.
“Marion is a difficult girl. She already attacked me two years ago when I reached the final in Istanbul,” said Rezai.
“If she has a problem with me, I don’t know, because I did nothing. That’s a bit of a shame, but that’s her education. I mean, she attacked me many times in the press. I don’t have the same education as the one she has. I think I have respect for players. I do what I have to do. I get on with many people. But with Marion, it’s very difficult. She has difficulties getting included with the other girls.”
This actually shows the tennis players have a bit of a personality. I really just wish some would show some personality on court and make it a little less boring to watch!
Martina Hingis Cancels Her Engagement to Andreas Bieri
Martina Hingis was engaged to Zurich attorney Andreas Bieri, but we have been informed that the tennis star is canceled the engagement. Hingis hasn’t commented on the situation, as hasn’t her ex fiance Bieri.
Feliciano Lopez and Girlfriend Maria Jose Suarez Expecting Their First Child
Tennis star Feliciano Lopez and his girlfriend, María José Suárez, are rumored to be expecting their first child. Nothing has been confirmed from the couple however stories have been written in Spain about Saurez’s pregnancy.
Suarez, a former Miss Spain in 1996 and current TV personality, has been dating Lopez on and off for the last five years. From reports, the 30-year-old Suarez is now anywhere from 5 weeks to two months pregnant with her first child.
Although stories are now emerging the couple is again having problems. (What could it be now?)
Serena Williams Defaulted from US Open Semi Final Against Kim Clijsters, Terrible!
Womens Tennis has just got a lot worse for me. Serena Williams at the US Open was pretty much a disgrace to Womens Tennis after being defaulted from her semi-final against Kim Clijsters. Here is the incident and the after match interview. Whats your thoughts?
Anna Kournikova Bar Brawl in Vegas
Im not really too sure why but I still class Anna Kournikova as a previously good tennis player, so thought I better continue to write about her new crazy antics off court. Kournikova always seems close to trouble and when she was on tour she wasnt very liked and know as being a bitch.
Kournikova was in the headlines again this week because she was involved in a bit of a bar brawl in Las Vegas. Kournikova wasnt really in a brawl it was more of a woman throwing a drink over here. Knowing Kournikova she most probably had a bit of a run in with the woman and then probably mouthed off knowing that she would have a lot of people around her to protect her. Kournikova really needs to grow up and get over herself!
