During Wimbledon this year Prince has a little contest going on that seems to be getting a bit of hype. Prince has got a container and filled it with tennis balls and all you have to do is guess how many tennis balls are in the container.
If you head to the Prince site here you can enter until the 5th July, but unfortunately this competition is only for USA citizens. This is the internet age Prince, get with it, anyone anywhere should be able to enter!
Prize = Autographed Prince racquet signed by Maria Sharapova. Approximate Retail Value of prize is $300.
If you want to see the container for yourself then you need to head to the HSBC Wimbledon in Rockefeller Center (June 22 – June 26).
There has been a lot of talk about grunting at this years Wimbledon. I saw on the news the other day that Nick Bollettieri mentioning that he will be providing grunting lessons at his academy after the tournament. I do think that with Maria Sharapova, Michelle Larcher de Brito, Serena Williams and others, there is just too much grunting on court at the moment.
I previously I used to grunt a little bit myself and found that it was more habit than anything, but it was always a small noise compared to Sharapova is producing these days.
So what do you think about grunting and its current situation in the game?
The AELTC has released the seedings for the 2009 Championships. They follow the ranking almost exactly, except Maria Sharapova has been seeded #24 despite her current ranking of 59. There is no disputing Sharapova’s grass court prowess, having won the title in 2004 and made the Semifinals on other occasions, and the All England Club clearly wanted to reward her for her past success. Why then, was the same criteria not applied to other players?
Venus Williams has won the Wimbledon title 5 times, and Serena Williams has won it 2 times, and yet they were not elevated and are both seeded behind Dinara Safina, who has never been past the third round at Wimbledon in 6 attempts. And what of Amelie Mauresmo? She has nearly identical grass court credentials to Sharapova, having won the title herself in 2006, but her seeding was not elevated from #17.
Personally, I don’t think that rankings should be changed at all for seedings. Players earn a ranking over the course of 52 weeks, which should not be able to be changed on a whim. At the same time, if they are going to alter seedings, then they should apply the same criteria to all players. They should not pick and choose which players they want to reward. This will certainly be a major topic of contention as the Championships get underway this Monday.
This has to be one of the funniest videos I have seen in a while. It is a scream off between Maria Sharapova and Michelle Larcher De Brito. I simply find all this screaming very over the top and it also kind of makes me wonder what type of noises these girls make when having sex.
Robin Soderling (23) vs Nikolay Davydenko (10) = This is going to be a great match. Robin Soderling beat four time reigning champion Rafael Nadal in four sets in the previous round and Davydenko defeated Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. I think Robin will be still on a high from his last victory, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. This could be a five set match with Soderling taking the first few sets then Davydenko coming back.
Andy Murray (3) vs Fernando Gonzalez (12) = Andy and Fernando have been in great for in this tournament so far and they both didnt lose a set in their fourth round matches. Murray has had quite an easy draw so far and I think Gonzalez might actually cause a big upset in this match.
Juan Martin Del Potro (5) vs Tommy Robredo (16) = Juan Martin Del Potro has been playing some great tennis and beating good opponents so far in the tournament. However, in this match he will coming up against Tommy Robredo who has a huge amount of experience on the clay courts of Roland Garros. I can see Robredo winning this match in a long five set match.
Gael Monfils (11) vs Roger Federer (2) = This is another exciting match with Roger on the back of coming from two sets to love down to win in five, while Monfils played one of his greatest matches at the French Open defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets. I think this will be Rogers match to lose.
Dinara Safina (1) vs Victoria Azarenka (9) = Azarenka had a great previous match disposing of the defending champion Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. While Safina hasn’t put a foot wrong and has been demolishing her opponents. I think the first set is going to be very tight and Azarenka really needs to win it, cause I cant see her coming back in three sets.
Dominika Cibulkova (20) vs Maria Sharapova = This is going to be a very interesting match, Maria hasnt been in the greatest of form but she has been grinding out wins. Cibulkova has been playing some good tennis, but hasnt really played a major name at this years French Open. I can see Maria winning in another three set match.
Sorana Cirstea vs Samantha Stosur (30) = Cirstea has had a great tournament so far, especially with her win in the last match at 9-7 in the third set over Jelena Jankovic. Stosur has been going through the draw very quietly. Clay is not Stosurs best surface but she has a great kick serve for a female player and I can see her demolishing Cirstea in straight sets.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) vs Serena Williams (2) = The girls have a great rivalry and have played some great matches over the years. I think Serena is in great form and the quick clay surface this year is suiting her game and I cant really see Kuznetsova getting into the match from the beginning.
There has been a lot of talk in the last few days about Maria Sharapova and her return to the tour. Sharapova played yesterday in her first match in over 8 months at the Warsaw Open in Poland. Maria played Tathiana Garbin and won the match 6-1 6-7 (6) 6-3.
I must admit it is great to see Maria back on court and winning tennis match. However, that being said should she really get this much hype? She is a very good player and I’m sure she will return to the top of the women’s game, but I feel that she now seems to be more of a celebrity than a tennis player.
Additionally, it just completely drive me nuts that she can scream and make so much noise on court. Grunting seems to happen when players get tired on court and they put more and more effort into the shots, and most of the time they don’t even know they are doing it. However, with Maria is seems to be very loud, completely over the top, it starts from the beginning of the matches, and I’m sure she knows and deliberately does it!
Maria Sharapova will soon be returning to competitive tennis after a long injury layoff. Here’s the latest from Russia Today(dated April 15):
Russia’s tennis star Maria Sharapova plans to return to the court in May at the Roland Garros tournament, says Russia’s tennis team coach Shamil Tarpishchev, Sport-Express newspaper website reports.
“I have spoken with Maria Sharapova’s father the day before yesterday. He said she is preparing to play at Roland Garros. Prior to that she’ll probably play in two tournaments to get in form. It’s not clear which tournaments that would be now. But it is clear Sharapova intends to play on clay. Let’s hope that it’s the way it’ll be,” Shamil Tarpishchev said.
Sharapova will likely make her singles debut at the Italian Open in Rome at the beginning of May.
Over at the DamnGoodList they have profiled the top 25 female tennis players. The list features so big names and some ladies who are still yet to actually make their mark on tour. Take a look and let us know what you think.
Players include:
Elena Dementieva
Tatiana Golovin
Sania Mirza
Marta Domachowska
and more..
Maria Sharapova seems to be doing a lot of work lately with Canon, and this time it is to promote the affects of breast cancer.
To help raise breast cancer awareness, Canon U.S.A and Maria Sharapova have announced the digital imaging company’s new “Pink” campaign.
It is great to see Canon putting together a package to support the American Cancer Society. For the month of October, Canon U.S.A. will contribute $150,000 to the American Cancer Society.
“Breast cancer is an important issue that affects too many women and it is critical to generate awareness, educate people about this disease and the importance of early detection and yearly mammograms,” said Maria Sharapova. “I am proud to partner with Canon on this cause.”
