Sharapova's ugly side gets NYT coverage

I watched this match on TV, and I think it would have been great to be there - plus the stadium looked so empty! I would have definitely been booing right along with everyone else.

And yes, I am a pretty big Tatiana Golovin fan - I watched her on court while I was at the NASDAQ, mostly in doubles, and I hope she can pick up her game and fitness in the near future.

But Thursday against Tatiana Golovin — a Frenchwoman ranked 20 places below her in the world standings — the fourth-ranked Sharapova won the first set, 6-3. She then squandered a 5-1 lead and four match points at 5-3 in the second set, at which point she took a bathroom break.

It was a curious time for nature to call, what with the 18-year-old Golovin putting together points as if she were a master craftsman and not a player who is Sharapova's peer in age only. The crowd at Crandon Park, sensing that Sharapova was stooping to gamesmanship, booed as she left the court, and again as she returned.

The fans had reason to be suspicious. In her second-round match against Li Na of China, Sharapova took a bathroom break in the second set after Li jumped to a 4-1 lead. Sharapova returned and reeled off five consecutive games to dispatch Li, 6-2, 6-4.

After Golovin won the second set in a tie breaker, Sharapova again repaired to the restroom. If her plan was to rattle Golovin, it did not work. The two dueled on nearly equal terms in the third and decisive set of their semifinal. Sharapova was serving at deuce, up by 4-3, when Golovin rolled her left ankle while running down one of Sharapova's laser strokes. Golovin whiffed on the shot, then crumpled to the court.

As a trainer attended to Golovin, who was writhing in pain and wiping away tears, Sharapova practiced her serving motion and hit a ball against the padded wall near the baseline. A hush fell over the crowd, which could sense what seemed to escape Sharapova, that Golovin was badly hurt.

Golovin's ankle was already starting to swell as the trainer taped it. She tried to continue, but retired after playing only one more point, with Sharapova leading, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 4-3, ad in. Golovin spent the night in a local hospital and had a magnetic resonance imaging test Friday; it revealed that she had torn ligaments. She will probably be sidelined for a month.

Sharapova was asked afterward why she did not leave her side of the net to check on Golovin's condition, as is customarily done in tennis when an opponent is injured.

"Well, I did not know what happened until the ankle was being taped," she said.

She added: "I honestly thought it was cramps. That's why I was kind of getting ready, trying to get myself going, because I know after a three- or four-minute layoff, you can get down and very sloppy. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen."

Sharapova also had an explanation for her trips to the bathroom. "Well, I had to go to the bathroom from the beginning of the set, and that was the longest game," she said. "I really had to go."

After the second set, she had to change into a dry top, she said, "which is absolutely normal."

So much for Nike's Dri-Fit technology on that shirt.

Detailed article about Puerta's defense

Sure, this is old, and maybe I missed it in the news, but I hadn't seen this detailed article about how Mariano Puerta believes he tested positive for drugs after the French Open:

In his defense, Puerta claims the etilefrine entered his system when he unknowingly drank from a glass his wife, Sol, had used. Mrs. Puerta testified she has taken etilefrine, which can be purchased in Argentina and Spain over the counter without a prescription, since about the age of 15. She testified she uses about 20 drops of an odorless, colorless, liquid version of the drug in water, primarily during menstruation or times of stress, including when her husband is playing important matches. On the morning of the French Open final, Mrs. Puerta testified she began menstruating and took etilefrine at about 7:30 a.m. in the hotel.

The couple arrived at Roland Garros later in the morning. After Puerta practiced prior to the 3 p.m. final, he joined his wife, her brother Diego and his wife and their mother at a table in the player lounge where Puerta drank coffee and mineral water.

At some point, Puerta said good-bye to his family and left the table to change in the players' locker room, however his coach told him he was too early and had more time before taking the court for the final, so Puerta returned to the table where he had been sitting with his family.

Sometime after Puerta left to visit the locker room, his wife testified she sat in the chair previously occupied by her husband and poured about 20 drops of etilefrine into a glass of water on the table she believed was her glass and not her husband's glass. She believed she drank the entire contents of the glass and left the table, accompanied by her sister-in-law, to use the restroom. While his wife was in the rest room, Puerta testified he returned to the table, which by that time was occupied only by his mother-in-law. Puerta poured some of the bottled water he was carrying with him into what he believed was his empty glass, however both Puerta and his wife testified they now believe that glass still contained small amounts of the etilefrine his wife had poured into it while her husband was in the locker room and both claim that is how the etilefrine entered his system.

In its ruling, the three-member Tribunal suggested Puerta's story was not completely credible.

"We are concerned that the evidence of the player and his wife concerning the contamination of the player’s glass with effortil is not reliable. We do not say that it is deliberately misleading but we do not accept on the balance of probabilities that it is the complete or correct explanation of how etilefrine entered the player’s body," the Tribunal wrote. "We considered carefully the demeanor and narrative of the player and Mrs. Puerta. We are concerned that her account and that of the player constitute a self-serving speculative theory derived from the necessity of explaining the positive test as required under the Code and the Program. The events they describe are not commonplace and not such as to be likely to happen in the ordinary course of life. Even though the table was small, we do not see any reason why Mrs Puerta would use a glass which corresponded to the chair on which her husband had been sitting, rather than the glass she herself had been using. We are concerned that if the player and Mrs Puerta were sure of their account concerning the transmission of effortil to the player via the glass in question, they would have put that account forward much sooner than they did."

Aside from the fact the story contains a series of coincidental events, the Tribunal's skepticism

Thanks to Tennis Week for this info.

Kuznetsova defeats her doubles partner to make the Miami finals

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Svetlana Kuznetsova will be in the finals at the NASDAQ 100 Open, after defeating her double partner and #1 in the world, Amelie Mauresmo. It does have to be a little weird to be working as a team and then against each other so quickly. :)

I ran into Kuznetsova a few times while I worked the women's locker room at the NASDAQ, and let me tell you, that is a big girl - built like a compact tank. She and Amelie could easily kick my ass.

Wired features the Boomer - the ball machine from hell

The April 2006 issue of Wired feaures Boomer, the tennis bot:

This tennis bot won't give you Sampras' speed or Sharapova's looks, but it might make you curse like McEnroe. Boomer, the latest training device for collegiate tennis stars and country club regulars, is an autofeeder that uses a videocam and machine-vision software to respond like a real opponent. Nail a hard shot to the deep left, and Boomer returns weakly to the right. Send soemthing soft down the middle, and it'll fire back a screamer. The 14,450 device can simulate a full match - complete with serves, spins and lobs - or run players through one of 17 drills. It even talks trash. Double-faults get a "D'oh!" Blown backhands are heckled with "take a rest!" "It's harder to play against than an actual person," says Kelley Hyndman, a sophomore on the University of Georgia tennis team, "but it's fun."

Whoa. Has anyone seen this thing in person???

Sharapova's new clothes [photo]

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Here's a photo of Maria Sharapova's new on-court clothes. Nike is pushing this outfit on the tournaments - I checked it out and the top felt too neoprene-y for me, and the design reminded me of something that was cool a decade ago. But trust me, I know nothing about cool, and Maria does have that magic touch to make anything sell.

Mauresmo wardrobe malfunction photo

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

I was going through my photos for the NASDAQ 100 Open, and I came across this one (click on photo for larger view). Amelie shows a little bit of nipple action through her Reebok shirt. I'm not sure if this is a marketing tactic, or just poor clothing design.

Or maybe she just wanted more attention because she was stuck out on the smaller courts for most of the early tournament - let me guess - she is not represented by IMG?

Roddick hits the clubs

Andy Roddick is reportedly picking up the girls in South Beach -

Sounds like tennis superstar Andy Roddick has found a special friend in Sabrina, the shy, blond, acne-prone twin from MTV’s model reality show 8th and Ocean.

The pair was spotted flirting up a storm at a club in South Beach last week. Witnesses told the New York Daily News that Andy left the VIP room to greet her at the front door, but was careful they not be photographed together.

They left separately.

It has been awhile since I have seen an Andy Roddick girlfriend watch going on - let's hope he gets his head together in tennis first, otherwise he is going to make a great commentator for the sport sooner than he thinks.

It is good to see him make the quarters at the NASDAQ though..

Player Hotel Alert

Several people have seen Ivan Ljubicic in the Conrad, so he is likely staying there also.

NASDAQ 100 Open Volunteer Report: Day 2

I arrived around 5.30 PM to Crandon Park - my volunteer shift started at 6.30 PM, but I didn't do too much wandering because I didn't bring my camera. You're not supposed to haul around a bunch of stuff with you - and you definitely aren't supposed to take advantage of your closeness to the players by taking photos or harassing them for autographs. I did swing by the Volunteer Tent, located on one side of the stadium to enjoy the free soda perk, which requires that you be in uniform. (It is a good idea to keep your uniform in your bag).

Most people were still talking about Andre Agassi withdrawing earlier in the day - I had seen him practicing on Thursday with Lleyton Hewitt and he looked okay, but this back problem has been a long term issue for him. He was even making fun of Hewitt for the sake of the crowd gathering around the practice court, telling Hewitt that he was finally starting to "hit like a real Aussie". I did like how the NASDAQ website had a sappy "we love you Andre" article. You wouldn't see that for any other player that withdrew at the last minute. I think they were trying to convince him to come back next year - even though most people seem to think that this year will be Andre's last.

The other hot topic was the loss of so many top players: Justine Henin-Hardenne and Rafael Nadal. I was so mad that I didn't get to see Nadal play - I really like his energy on court, and the Baghdatis/Nadal match was a highlight of Indian Wells. A few people I talked to were excited to see how the draw would look with the top players out, but most people were disappointed that these players would be out so early.

Right around 6, I had dinner with Grand Slam Tennis Tours in the Champions Club - this is the group that I bought my box seats for the day sessions from. I was able to meet people from all over, and have soem of the better food at the tournment (Indian Wells take note: buffet style food is waaaaay better than a crappy menu of only fancy food).

So, at 6.30 the members of the Safety volunteer team meet up to get assignment, and go over the rules. Some of the rules are to not let a certain expired credential into restricted areas, to not say stupid things over the radio, and to watch the other posts on the court you are on so you can make sure only people with the correct credentials are near the court. We get our pretty orange vests (think traffic cop) then, and coat ourselves in bug spray. WE also get our fake money to use on food later.

The mix of volunteers is interesting - I met court monitors (the people who stock the gatorade into the on court fridge) who were still in high school, and safety volunteers who were retired and planning to go to the Bausch and Lomb event next in order to volunteer. Almost everyone was local to the general Miami area, so I was the odd one out. I did meet one guy who had a several hour drive to the tournament. Most people volunteered for more than one shift in a day at least once during the NASDAQ. We also use volunteers from the floaters group - they are the folks who can end up doing any job. We needed to use them when we didn't have enough people to cover all of the posts among all of the courts.

The volunteer teams are run by a few supervisors who are called co-chairs. All of the co-chairs on the Safety team were pretty cool - in general, they tried to get you into a job that would allow you to see tennis for at least part of the time, and to also get you a 25 minute break so you could eat.

When the assignments were handed out, I was sent over to NW Court 2. There was one match left on that court - Gisela Dulko and Jamea Jackson. Dulko was seeded 26. This was a great match - I got to watch from the corner of the court - behind the fence to get on court, and right on the edge of the bleachers. Every now and then I just had to turn around to make sure no one had sneaked in behind me - if someone had, I just needed to make sure their ID designation matched up to the list that was allowed in that entrance - usually this was restricted to linespeople, court monitors, players guests and the players themselves. The one major exception everything is that the people who runt he tournmanet have a credential that can get them in anywhere, and they can bring as many people without credentials as they want. I only saw these people in the stadium.

Jackson ended up winning, and she was so happy - she ran over to her coach and hugged him - I don't think I have ever seen anyone happier to win an early round match.

After a match ends and it is the final match on that court, the safety people hang around until people leave. Yes, we will "encourage" you to leave if you start taking your time. After that we either meet up with a co-chair in person or on the radio - this time we were able to go on break. We're supposed to eat in the volunteer tent so we don't hog up any chairs from "paying customers", but I really think the co-chairs are afraid of what we will do when left unsupervised for 25 minutes out in the general population. I can't imagine why.

By the time I was starting my break, Martina Hingis had already won her match against Tiantian Sun in the Stadium. A negative about volunteering is that sometimes you don't get assigned to the court with the match you want to see, and it ends up being over before you know it.

I did have a 300 level night ticket, so I decided to use my break to watch some of the David Nalbandian / Paul Goldstein match.

After break, I was put into various posts in the stadium - one was the player's box, which is attached to the player's lounge area - this is where family, friends, coaches, etc can go sit as long as they have the right credentials (this is another heavily restricted area). Some volunteers mentioned how they don't liek this post because you end up fighting with people who think they have the right to be there, etc. For example, I heard a story about how in a previous year, Roddick family and friends were approved to bring in 12 people to the player box. Instead, they showed up with over 20 and there was a big ol' piss and moan fest when they could not get all of them in.

Luckily, I had a pretty easy time of it - the one person I booted was able to get the proper sign off from the tournment desk locate dinside the lounge.

The lounge attaches to a big kitchen/cafeteria area, and is full of big chairs and a few TVs. There were generally lots of bored girlfriends in there, but sometimes screaming kids too. The lounge is located behind the chair umpire and just above the 100 level box seats.

I was rotated out of that job fairly quickly - but the box is a great place to watch tennis. :)

My next job was in court access - these are the four points to get on court from inside the stadium - one of which is the entrance and exit for the players to use. I was placed at this one, which got me really close to tennis. The general rules of court access positions are the same as other courts - try to watch without being seen. The key thing is that you aren't supposed to show up on camera. This rule is pretty amusing since you are also forced to wear a bright orange vest. In the tennis I've watched since then, I can spot all the orange vests fairly quickly.

I saw Goldstein in Indian Wells, and now I am just convinced that he must like sliding around the court - the Kim Clijsters of the ATP. I swear he left more shoe marks than anyone else. I had heard from other volunteers that he was looking tired, but he did put quite a bit of effort in - and no one could believe how badly he choked after having the opportunity to close out some serious points.

The only good insider info that I have about this match is that Goldstein smashed up his racket after leaving the court. The court access volunteer job once the match is over is to make sure the stadium clears - and then we are free to go back to the volunteer trailer and check in with the co-chair. Then it is time to sprint to the shuttle and get a ride back to your hotel with the hottie driver (who sadly, does not speak english). Anyone want to help me with my spanish???

NASDAQ 100: 3/24 tennis viewing

I didn't have any tickets for Friday's day session, so I went photo hunting outside of Crandon Park - I took a cab down to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables. I knew that a Dale Chihuly exhibit was going on there, and I love photographing his work. It was a nice sunny day, so the tennis stayed on schedule, and I showed up for my second night of volunteering.

NASDAQ 100 Loot Roundup

Everyone loves free stuff, and here is a round up of what I got and why I got it:

• $5 Starbucks card (volunteer gift)
• 2 samples of Maria Sharapova perfume (volunteer gift)
• 2 NASDAQ 100 Open T-shirts (volunteer uniform)
• 1 NASDAQ 100 Open Jacket (volunteer uniform)
• 1 NASDAQ 100 baseball hat (volunteer uniform)
• 1 Nexxus 5.1 oz Shampoo (volunteer gift)
• 1 Nexxus 5.1 oz Conditioner (volunteer gift)
• 1 small bag (volunteer gift)
• Small bottle of olive oil and bread dipping plate (free sample)
• Nexxus shampoo and conditioner samples (free sample)
• 2 pairs of tickets to the night sessions, 400 level, for Sunday and Monday

I did miss out on some free samples at the tournament, but I had enough camera junk to carry anyway.

If anyone has volunteered at other tournaments, speak up and let me know what kinds of junk you got. As far as free samples went, Indian Wells was a bust compared to Miami. I didn't volunteer but I think the uniform was about the same.

Just another incentive to volunteer at an event...

My NASDAQ 100 Open photos

Well, flickr is about to cut me off as far as my monthly space allocation goes, but I managed to get the vast majority of my tennis photos up. There are about 200 more, and they will be posted as soon as I get a limit reset, which happens on April 1.

In the meantime, the semi-complete photo collection is here - I also need to crop and clean up most photos, so watch for better version to replace the old ones.

And now that I am back from Miami, I will also write up the rest of what I did there.

Autograph photo (Safin, Baghdatis, Gonzalez)

I got a few email requests to post a photo of the autographs I got, so it is here.

The first rule of volunteering

There really are unwritten rules of volunteering, and one of them is that you always favor the person/team to win the first set. This is because you either want to go home early or want to get a change of scenery - the worst is when a match just drags on and you start to lose interest in what is happening.

I'll be writing up more once I get back home tomorrow, I am just totally out of time. :)

Tips for going to a tennis tournament

After a few days of volunteering, here's some helpful hints for folks:

• Your kids: you can't stand being around them, so you ditch them in the stadium and let the staff/attendees take care of thm. Well, everyone else hates your kids too. If you can't get them to not scream inappropriate things to the ball kids, staff, etc, I suggest you lock them in a closet.
• Find a map of the venue ASAP. Signage is there, but you'll save time.
• Autographs: get them at practice sessions. Be prepared to wander around endlessly between practice courts and to camp out if you want a certain player. The planned signings usually aren't that good, and the locker room exit is generally not where players leave (especially at night). This may vary with the venue, but at the NASDAQ players generally go straight to Player Transport (which a general ticketholder can't easily get to).
• Trash: boxholders are slobs based on my unscientific survey.

:)

Player Hotel Alert!

Okay, I have seen or confirmed that Marat Safin, Tommy Haas and Kim Clijsters are all staying at the Conrad Miami.

I ran into Kim when I was leaving the hotel yesterday morning - I almost didn't recognize her - she looked really good! I talked to a few other people and they said the same thing - and every single person said that dumping Hewitt was the best thing that she did. :)

Also today I was in the elevator with Dinara Safina, and she seemed to be on her way to tennis also. She had her own car pick her up.

NASDAQ: Is there anyone left???

Agassi is out - injury.
Safin is out - defeated by Henman.
Henin-Hardenne is out - defeated by Shaughnessy.
Nadal is out - defeated by Moya.

Wow. I guess I'll be checking out a lot of doubles play while I am here. :)

Where are the players???

Word on the street is that most players are staying at either the JW Marriott or the Conrad - both in downtown Miami. I am staying at the Conrad, and so far I have seen Peter Lundgren. I've seen a few other players that I didn't know also.

NASDAQ 100 Open Volunteer Report: Day 1

After getting incorrect directions from about five other volunteers, I finally located the volunteer office (trailer). Inside, I got 2 NASDAQ t-shirts (girls size Large - sigh), a Fila jacket, and a Fila hat. This will be my official uniform for the next few days (we provide our own pants/shorts). I also got a list of all the rules (DO NOT TOUCH GUESTS!!!) and a form to go get my credentials, which were another walk around to the G gate area. For the ladies, this walk means you get to wander past the Miami Dade Fire Rescue guys - and they are pretty easy on the eyes. :) My credentials were just a badge to get me into the proper areas for my post (Safety, which basically amounts to "Security") - with a really horrible photo of me on it. I was pretty excited to see that the posts for Safety people are in all kinds of areas that can be cool - from court access to locker rooms to the player box.

I had a few hours to kill before my shift started (6.30PM until close), so I had some food and wandered back to the hotel. In that time, there was a damn deluge of rain - I kid you not, there was a foot of water in some parts of downtown Miami. On site, several lakes sprung up and I meandered through one, soaking my shoes. All the tennis was obviously suspended, and it took about an hour for the rain to start to let up. After that, showers kept messing up the court drying process.

So, I arrived for my shift and signed in - this entitled me to free fake money to get some munchies after I was done working. My first post was to work the court entrance for Court 1. This pretty much involved standing at the entrance and only letting folks through that had the correct badge - such as Anna Smashnova and Lourdes Dominguez Lino, who were up on that court first in order to finish their rain delayed match. I also answered a lot of questions for people standing outside, who were trying to find any tennis to watch while the main courts were dried.

The Smashnova/Dominguez Lino match was over really fast because Smashnova retired after the first game they played. Then came the rain.

Up next was Gilles Muller and Max Mirnyi, but the sprinkles just kept coming. The rain was not so bad that I felt like I had to take cover, unlike earlier in the day, but it was enough to prevent the match from getting started. I was able to take a break during this rain delay and munched on some pizza. The volunteers have a special eating area so we don't hog up the outside tables, and this gave me a chance to talk to the folks I was working with. This alone was well worth the volunteering effort.

Once we were done with break, I was assigned to the Women's Locker Room inside the stadium so that another volunteer could take a break. The locker room is very strict access - even parents of players can't get in. Sania Mirza and Anna Tatishvili were both getting ready for their match together on stadium court while I was there. For the most part, the players ignore the volunteers except to show their id cards - but lots of coaches (who are allowed in, but don't always go in), family and others will ask if a certain player is in the locker room or wait outside. I also saw the male players wandering by - Tim Henman was pretty much all over the place. It is interesting to see the players go out - I'd figure they'd stay the heck away from each other, but they didn't.

My next assignment was to go to the player box and make sure people didn't go into it who weren't supposed to be there. I saw Henman up here also, as people were in the box for him. This is a great post - you can watch tennis and do your job. I ended up seeing most of the first set for Mirza/Tatishvili and it was also the first time I got to see instant replay in action. I can say that the crowd loves it, and I think they get noisier about "bad calls" to try to push the player into using instant replay. (Of all the uses I saw last night, not a single one ended up being a corrected call - but I did miss quite a bit of the women's stadium court match).

Sadly, a far more boring job awaited me and I was asked to head on back down to the Locker Room. This job got pretty mind-numbing - you have absolutely nothing to do. I got to know the security and cleaning staff a bit, because they were also stuck down there. :) Meanwhile it became obvious that the women's match was going to run quite long. At some point, some wonderful soul brought me a Red Bull - probably around 12.30. The women's match finished up with Tatishvili winning, and her sister and mom (?) were down by the locker room - everyone was so excited for her! They were telling me how she hadn't had a good win like this one to build her confidence. This sure made me wish I had seen this match! And no, there were no tears or yelling or anything else coming from the locker room - sometimes you hear about a player getting completely out of control, etc. Both players were extremely nice.

It was about this time that Henman was jogging around the halls and warming up. I didn't see Marat Safin until just minutes before the start of the match, when he jogged around also. Henman looked so relaxed all night, but with Safin being his typical reclusive self, I couldn't pin down what would happen. I did have a feeling that my earlier post about Safin owning Henman could be wrong.

With the press sessions over for the women, I was done for the night - I just had to make sure everyone left the stadium at the end of the night. I opted to stay and watch Henman/Safin - and I had an awesome seat - one of the tunnels that the players come out to go on court. And, sure enough, Henman just took off - beating Safin in straight sets. I'm much more of a Safin fan, but Henman deserved that win.

Volunteering turned out to be very close to what I expected - the only downsides are that when people don't show up it is really hard to get rotated out of a position enough to prevent brain meltdown. Overall, it was well-organized, and my favorite part by far is getting the behind the scenes feel for the event.

This blog post has been brought to you by Red Bull. Without it, I'd be dead.

Disclaimer: This is my experience volunteering and doesn't reflect anything about anyone or the event. Go have a hissy fit elsewhere.

Miami arrival and day session report - and new photos

So this morning I got into Miami, on one of the worst red eye flights ever - TWO screaming children in the row behind me AND I had a middle seat. Obviously I did not sleep much.

Despite that, I made it to the NASDAQ right around 11AM - first getting all my tickets in order and then wandering off on my own to see what was going on. I didn't spend much of my time at Stadium Court at all - I ended up swinging by the practice courts and seeing a ton of players - Justine Henin-Hardenne was practicing with Daniela Hantuchova, Andy Roddick was practicing with Ginepri, Agassi with Hewitt, Nadal with Baghdatis and Schrichipan...and more. I ended up getting autographs on a hat from Fernando Gonzales, Marcos Baghdatis, and Marat Safin. Gonzales was by far the most autograph friendly of the bunch - he hung around and signed a ton of stuff. Safin was the least in the we had to run after him, although he very willingly signed anything for those of us who could catch him. Some crazy guy kept following Baghdatis and chatting about every past match that Baghdatis had ever played - so maybe Safin had run into this bozo earlier and knew to outrun him. Please note my "bozo" standard - it's ok to run after a player for an autograph, but not okay to berate him while doing so. ;) Safin was the last player I saw on the practice courts because the deluge and thunderstorm began right about when he left. He looked like he was trying out racquets with different string tension - he didn't seem very happy with any of the options.

So, I am posting the photos from this adventure - they're all here - and there will be tons of updates. I'm taking requests for player photos. :)

The next thing I did was get my volunteer credentials and uniform - I'm going to save that for another post after I get some sleep. I was watching the Henman / Safin match (Safin lost) and it ended around 1.30AM ET.

NASDAQ 100 Open info - I'll be there!

I've decided to show up for a bit of the NASDAQ 100 Open in Miami, so I will be leaving tonight to get down there. I have good photography seats, so keep an eye out for new photos - the first round match I am most eager to cover will be Safin/Henman - mostly because I think Henman is really gonna mentally throw in the towel after he loses.

I will also be volunteering for the tournament - expect some insider info on what it is like to do this. I have 30 hours lined up, so I hope to get a good feel for what it is like to be involved.

Anyone else going to Miami?

Agassi group to buy Borg's trophies

I've not been following this story much, because all the uproar seems to be around Borg either being a) hard up for some cash b) insensitive to all of us who really know what some tennis hardware means or c) all of the above.

But now, the newest caretaker of all things tennis, Andre Agassi, is stepping in to save the day:

Borg, who is financially strapped, is planning to auction the five trophies he won between 1976 and 1980 as well as two signed rackets he used.

The sale is due to go ahead June 21 at Bonham's salerooms in London, and the trophies and rackets are collectively expected to bring in between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds, or $521,100.

"I've discussed it with my own people to find a way of gathering the right people together to buy those trophies and do right by the game to purchase them," Agassi told reporters at the Pacific Life Open.

"I think there's a lot of people who could step up to help for sure -- Wimbledon being one and myself another."

In a statement, Borg, 50, said he had decided to put the items up for auction because he and his family need long-term financial security.

Or he could just do the move in vogue right now, and make a comeback return to tennis!

Sharapova wins Indian Wells

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Every single time that Elena Dementieva makes it into a final, I cringe. Back when I saw her a few years ago at the NASDAQ 100 Open in Miami, I couldn't help but think that it must be tough to be an Elena fan. I really do think she has a great attitude, on court and off - but I do think that it hurts her in that she clearly isn't compelled enough to do her best serving during a match. Anyway, I am tired of thinking about, seeing and hearing about her shitty serve, so enough on that.

Maria Sharapova had this match to lose, and she didn't squander this opportunity. She has finally escaped her semifinal curse. I'm looking forward to the draw for the NASDAQ, because the IW draw, while weak, still had enough top players in it to really rule out any major surpises on who the final 8 would be.

Click on the photo to see more that I took at IW.

S Williams withdraws from NASDAQ 100

Well, Serena has yet to reappear on this tennis scene, and it will not be happening this month.

Serena Williams, who hasn't played since losing in the third round of the Australian Open in January, withdrew on Thursday from next week's Nasdaq-100 Open.

Williams has been hampered by left ankle and knee problems for months and has played 31 matches since the beginning of 2005.
"I am very disappointed to withdraw," said Williams, who won the Key Biscayne title in 2001-03. "But I feel like I need more time before I am able to compete at the highest level."

The former No. 1 player has slipped to 58th in the rankings because of her inactivity, and she faced the prospect of being unseeded at Key Biscayne.

She was replaced in the draw by Karolina Sprem of Croatia.

From Fox Sports.

Anyone going to the NASDAQ 100 Open?

Has Safin changed his mind about instant replay?

Marat Safin, who was defeated at Indian Wells yesterday, may be a little more welcoming toward the instant replay system set to be used at the NASDAQ 100 Open in Miami next week.

Earlier, he had this to say:

Marat Safin told the Orange County Register's Janice Carr that he isn't buying it. "I am totally against it," said Safin. "I think it will destroy the game. It will slow it down, lose the momentum and the motion of the game. Who was this genius who came up with this stupid idea? Who approved it?" They are looking for solutions on how to save the game, and this is not it," Safin said. "It is bull. This definitely is not the way to help the game."

But in his interview yesterday:

Q. If you can relax in here and think about the match, why can't you let one bad call just go by?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, because, of course, look at the score, 6-4. It's very important to keep your serve. Then it's coming with a call that's basically it's an important moment. It is an important moment. Once you go 1-0, then you calm a little down bit yourself because you lost one set. Then it is starting all over again.

Of course, you have opportunities in the second set. But if one bad call, it's already 1-0 down, everything, it's moving on too fast. These first few games, just keep your serve. One bad call, that's it. 3-Love in two seconds. Then, of course, the guy is starting to be more confident, start to play his game, he doesn't miss any ball, he makes the shots he didn't even make before, the luck is on his side, all these things. All these things start to push on you, you start to put more pressure on yourself. Then, of course, it's a whole thing. It's a mess. It's becoming a mess.

So one call, yeah, but it was a tough one. It was a really important ball for me.

Q. So next week in Miami with the electronic appeal, do you think that will make a big difference?

MARAT SAFIN: These balls could help actually because, really, it's a breakpoint. We'll see.

It is always easy to bash change when you only look at the negative sides of it - the possibility that instantly replay will be misused and interrupt match flow - but overall I think the positives such as what Safin complains about here still far outweigh those negatives.

Davenport defeated by Hingis at Indian Wells

Lindsay Davenport's hopes for the Pacific Life Open are also over - she has just been defeated by Martina Hingis 6-3 1-6 6-2. More details will follow.

She joins the defeated Andre Agassi, Gaston Gaudio, Lleyton Hewitt and Anastasia Myskina.

Hewitt out of the PacLife Open; Baghdatis sends Gaudio packing

Lleyton Hewitt is out of the PacLife Open -

Two-time champion and 2005 runner-up Lleyton Hewitt was a third-round loser Tuesday at the $2.725 million Pacific Life Open, the first of nine Masters Series events this season.

The ninth-seeded Hewitt gave way to 23rd-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-3 at the beautiful Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Berdych was one of only three men to capture a Masters Series tournament last year, which he did at the Paris Masters. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal combined to win the other eight Masters Series tourneys.

Marcos Baghdatis eliminated Gaston Gaudio also, and will play Berdych next.

Current results from Indian Wells

Tuesday (partial results):

Dinara Safina has defeated Anastasia Myskina, 6-1 6-3 in just under an hour.
Sania Mirza is out of both the singles and doubles.

Monday (selected results):
Men's Singles - Second Round
(9)L Hewitt (AUS) d R Schuettler (GER) 76(3) 26 64
(23)T. Berdych (CZE) d T. Henman 64 64

Men's Singles - Third Round
(4)D Nalbandian (ARG) d (Q)J Benneteau (FRA) 64 61
(3)A Roddick (USA) d F Verdasco (ESP) 63 64
M Safin (RUS) d (5)N Davydenko 76(5) 36 64
(26)T Haas (GER) d (8)A Agassi 75 62
(12)J Blake (USA) d (17)T Robredo (ESP) 62 75
P Srichaphan (THA) d (14) JC Ferrero (ESP) 62 62

Women's Singles - Third Round
(1)J Henin-Hardenne (BEL) d A Nakamura (JPN) 60 60
(17)G Dulko (ARG) d (12)T Golovin (FRA) 16 75 76(6)
(4)E Dementieva (RUS) d S. Mirza (IND) 57 64 64
(22)A Chakvetadze (RUS) d (11)M Kirilenko 62 63

Men's Doubles - First Round
(WC)Gimelstob/Huss d Baghdatis/Volandri 26 62 10-4 (Match TB)
Nadal/Youzhny d Erlich/Ram 36 64 10-7 (Match TB)
Berdych/Levinsky d Gonzalez/Massu 63 26 10-7 (Match TB)

Safin had a really tough match against Davydenko, and it really seemed like it would go Davydenko's way.

Agassi's year continues to be tough, with the lack of play seeming to be his biggest issue. I think that you can bet on the retirement talk increasing unless he can pull something off in Wimbledon or the US Open. He won't be playing the French Open.

Full PacLife results are here.

From the PacLife Open: Massu can't challenge Federer

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Massu put in a gutsy match, but was unable to take a set from Roger Federer. This guy is pretty entertaining to watch, as he clearly played very passionately.

There was a little bit of Federer heckling going on in the crowd - all I will say is that I know nothing about it at all. ;)

Click on the picture to see more Federer and Massu pics.

From the PacLife Open: Safin defeats Moya on Sunday

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Marat Safin defeated Carlos Moya on Sunday in a tough 3 set match. I didn't stay for the whole thing, but it does seem that Safin is limiting his emotional involvement in these early matches - he isn't getting really mad on the court, nor do you seem him celebrate when he wins. It isn't as much fun for the fans, but I guess hehas to do what he needs to do to get through to the next rounds.

From the PacLife Open: Bryan twins autograph session

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

The #1 doubles team in the world, the Bryan brothers, had an autograph session for their fans. I was able to get both to sign my program.

Click on the photo to see a few more photos of them.

From the PacLife Open: Steffi watches Andre [photo]

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Here's a photo I took of Steffi Graf watching Agassi play from the Luxury Suites. The kid is just a bonus. :)

From the PacLife Open: Baghdatis says every match is tough

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Marcos Baghdatis played and won on Stadium 3 Sunday, and I ran into him while he was having dinner (big salad) at the hotel afterward. He seemed very relaxed, and curious about what the rest of us were up to - he kept turning around/looking around. The waiter was asking him and his dining buddy (perhaps his doubles partner? a friend on tour?) how things had gone, and Marcos said that every match was tough, that there aren't any easy matches. Then he finished his dinner and seemed to head back to his room.

The short time I spent watching his match was enough time for me to decide he was the most photo-friendly of the players so far - every shot of him seems to have something interesting to it.

From the PacLife Open: Agassi shows some of everything

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

In Sunday's match against Paul Goldstein, fans got to see a side of Andre Agassi that doesn't show up too often - from swearing, to racquet-tossing to a hissy fit about what he defined as "rain".

Let's begin with the fact that Agassi was by far the main draw for the crowds of the day - Goldstein didn't have a chance of getting the crowd support, as Stadium 1 was nearly full with Agassi supporters. You could tell in the first set that he wasn't quite on his game.

Then, a very light sprinkling of rain started around the time Goldstein began to gain and hold momentum - and by rain, I mean that nobody took out their umbrella and it was far, far less then what we saw on Saturday during Dementieva's match. So, Goldstein slips in the back court, and Agassi starts yelling about how he wants to stop play and that Goldstein almost got hurt. Arguments ensue, Goldstein doesn't want to decide either way, and they finally sit down for a few minutes.

Thr crowd booed when play stopped, and here's why I think that happened - first, Goldstein needs to talk to Nike and get some better shoes. That guy was sliding all over the court when it was sunny out. Even before he fell, we were commenting on how his show skids were visible all over the court. Second, it was barely raining - those of us who have lived in Seattle certainly wouldn't even notice it. While it is understandable that Agassi would be concerned about injury, and that he should speak up when that is an issue, it seemed as though he was taking advantage of a situation to get a break. Third, Goldstein didn't back him up on court - he wouldn't say the conditions sucked or that he thought they were dangerous. While he does have the motive of keeping his momentum going, you'd think the man that just took a fall would be more likely to agree. Agassi pressured him hard to stop. Fourth, they started playing after a few minutes and the weather conditions had not changed a bit. Fifth, the crowd was sick of rain delays. Part of me wonders what would have happened had this not been Andre Agassi. :)

Earlier Agassi swore and smashed his racquet, which was quite entertaining. He later gave it to a woman in the seats behind him.

Photos of weather argument.

From the PacLife Open: Murray exits on Sunday

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Andy Murray fought hard and had to brush off a fall on court, but failed to defeat Nikolai Davydenko. Davydenko was next set to play the winner of Moya-Safin. From the little that I saw of him, he clearly had a lot of enthusiasm and passion. From the interview:

I don't think I played my best match today, but I gave 100 percent, and I think that's all you can ask for. I said other day I'm not going to play consistently my best every week because I'm too young, but I fought pretty hard and he hardly made any mistakes. And it was tough to get the ball -- I was struggling a little bit with the conditions. It was -- I didn't feel like I could go for the ball too much. And when I was, it was almost working against me because he was just standing right up on the baseline and just hitting it into the corners.

From the PacLife Open: Hingis defeats Bammer, plays Davenport next

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

On Sunday, Martina Hingis had a fairly easy time to beat Bammer 6-0 6-3. She had a cheering section also. She will meet Davenport in the next round at Stadium 1 on Tuesday.

She spoke a bit about being competitive at her interview: "It's not only athletes, we have different kind of people, some are competitive, some aren't. But I definitely am. I mean, no matter what I do, if I play cards, if I play checkers. I mean it doesn't matter what I do. Anything I touch, the ball with the racket or play soccer or do skiing, I always try my best, or at least if I feel like I have the opportunity or possibility."

PacLife Open: Henin-Hardenne schedule

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

With her defeat of Pironkova in the second round, Henin-Hardenna has advanced to play Ai Sugiyama on Tuesday. I'm predicting she'll be able to get through that match without much difficulty.

Click on the picture to view a set of the rest. I went photo-crazy.

From the PacLife Open: Pironkova can't pull upset against Henin-Hardenne

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Pironkova, who downed Venus Williams at the Australian Open, was not able to defeat number one seed Justine Henin-Hardenne on Sunday at Indian Wells. The final score was 6-2 6-2. I did not hang around long for this match on Stadium 2 - the good weather made it a great time to haul my camera to other courts. :)

From the PacLife Open: Nadal brings the crowd

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Finally, finally we had some sunny weather for tennis! Everyone in Palm Springs who claims to be a local says this kind of weather "hasn't been since in the 14 years I have been here", hasn't produced "this much snow in the mountains since 1964", etc.

I was looking forward to seeing Nadal on the court on Sunday - I find his energy to be absolutely infectious. He has a large following with the younger fans - and they showed up in force on Sunday morning. The stadium did not fill up, but was the most full I had seen it (stay tuned for who DID fill it up).

The wind was a constant presence, as Nadal, noted in his post-match interview: "Yeah, unbelievable, very difficult to play like this, no? It's windy, and the windy is not go to the right, to the left, like this, in front. The wind go like this (swing to left) and it's very difficult to play like this. It's not easy and I -- I don't feel good."

All in all, it was a good match to start with, and this win is just one step. He was able to beat Hernych 6-4 6-4.

BTW, I can vouch that those white pants are pretty much see-through. :)

PacLife Open: My complete photoset has been posted

I'll be updating the blog with more info later, but just wanted to mention that I have posted all of my photos from my weekend at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, CA. You can view them here.

From the PacLife Open: Rainy and Cold

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

A cold, rainy day resulted in the rescheduling of most matches, so the schedule will be as follows for tomorrow (which has a slightly better forecast):

Stadium 1 start 11:00 AM
J Hernych (CZE) vs (2)R Nadal (ESP)
S Bammer (AUT) vs (19)M Hingis (SUI)
A Agassi (USA) vs P Goldstein (USA)
(1)R Federer (SUI) vs N Massu (CHI)
Not before 7:00 PM
L Raymond (USA) vs (3)M Sharapova (RUS)
Not before 8:30 PM
J Acasuso (ARG) vs (3)A Roddick (USA)

Stadium 2 start 11:00 AM
(1)J Henin-Hardenne (BEL) vs T Pironkova (BUL)
A Murray (GBR) vs (5)N Davydenko (RUS)
(31)L Granville (USA) vs (2)L Davenport (USA)
Not before 3:00 PM
(28)C Moya (ESP) vs M Safin (RUS)
(5)A Myskina (RUS) vs (27)M Domachowska (POL)
(18)R Ginepri (USA) vs P Srichaphan (THA)

Stadium 3 start 10:00 AM
(31)F Volandri (ITA) vs (WC)M Fish (USA)
S Bremond (FRA) vs A Ivanovic (SCG)
(20)M Bartoli (FRA) vs E Bychkova (RUS)
D Nalbandian (ARG) vs (Q)J Gimelstob (USA)
J Bjorkman (SWE) vs (25)M Baghdatis (CYP)
V Spadea (USA) vs (14)J Ferrero (ESP)
(Q)M Yuan (CHN) vs (10)D Safina (RUS)

Plan is to see everything on Stadium Court and pop into whatever is going on at Stadium 2. I might be over to Stadium 3 for some photos also.

From the PacLife Open: Dementieva hangs on

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Elena Dementieva finally beat Anastasia Yakimova today, 6-4 3-6 6-3. There is no point in even mentioning Dementieva's serve, because it was crap as usual. Neither player was playing well, and I think I even fell asleep a few times watching this. Luckily, the rain did hold off for the most part during this match, but it would be the last time we saw the sun today. The rain started and all play ended up being rescheduled with the exception of one match that seems destined to be rained out three days in a row (Schuettler).

From the PacLife Open: Blake advances

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

James Blake defeated Sam Querrey today, 1-6 6-1 6-3. That firsdt set was a little bit scary for the Blake fans (which dominated the audience), but anyone who watched his US Open run last year knows that he has his ups and downs.

Intermittent rain delayed the match and seemed to be a concern for Blake, who didn't want to play after the ball kids toweled off the lines.

Click on this picture to see a lot more Blake photos.

Pacific Life Open Photos (from me)

You can view my Pacific Life Open photos here.

Agassi wants to play Davis Cup matches

Yes, something is going on here - doesn't this feel a little orchestrated to anyone else? I'm getting suspicious that it may be Roddick, not Blake, who might not be playing the next time around in April.

Andre Agassi yesterday declared himself fit and desirous of joining a U.S. Davis Cup team that on April 7-9 is to oppose Chile in a second-round tie on the grass of the Mission Hills Country Club in nearby Rancho Mirage.

Agassi's announcement complicates the decisions U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe must make in settling on a lineup. Andy Roddick is assured of being one of McEnroe's singles players and James Blake had been expected to be tapped as the other.

Sharapova, Myskina will not play Fed Cup

Sharapova claims her schedule conflicts with the early Fed Cup events, and Myskina says she is choosing the focus on her individual career this year.

Roddick reviews old tapes, searching for ways to improve

Andy Roddick is reviewing some of his old tapes in the hopes that he can figure out exactly why he has a one-dimensional game based solely on his serve:

“It's a lot easier to comprehend what someone is telling you when there is a visual in front of you,” Roddick said. “I have been looking at a lot of my good matches to see what I was doing well, my temperament, everything. Just little things. Where you're firing, when you're firing. It really hit home, seeing it.”

Taking such a studious approach was a departure for him, Roddick admitted. “My nature is if you fall off the horse, get back on and just keep going,” he said.

You mean he hasn't been doing this all along?

From the PacLife Open: Sharapova vs. Jackson

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Maria Sharapova defeated Jamea Jackson tonight, 6-4 6-3. Jackson hung in there for quite awhile, mostly thanks to Maria's iffy first serves - yep, that issue is still the main one that is physically holding her back. The crowd tried to give Jackson an extra push, which gave me the opportunity to be obnoxious and boo Sharapova and scream "no coaching!" when Yuri opened his mouth. Yes, I am that annoying.

From the PacLife Open: Yuri Sharapov chaps my ass

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Seriously. There are few non-players that can evoke the hatred in me that Yuri Sharapov somehow manages to do. Tonight, I was sitting down minding my own business at the tournament, and Yuri appears 2 feet to my right, trying to find seats. First he was looking at the ones right in front of me, but was upset because he didn't want to put his namby-pamby ass on the rained-on seats. Note: His "entourage" was carrying at least 6 towels. So, instead, he proceeded up to the front row, where he managed to get his usual "right behind Maria" seats - I think the people up there were tripping over themselves to grant him his every wish.

Next time he gets this close to me, I might have to give him a firm whack with my very heavy camera lens.

From the PacLife Open: Myskina defeats Washington after rain delay

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Anastasia Myskina beat Mashona Washington after a lengthy rain delay at Stadium 2. I caught the warm-up and final few points played until the match ended.

I still don't think Myskina looks very strong, but she isn't claiming to be either.

You'll have to look at the rest of my pictures to see the one of her looking at my camera as if it was bothering her. :)

From the PacLife Open: Moya Signs autographs

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Carlos Moya took some time out of his schedule to sign autographs, which was a great way to spend a rain delay. The line was pretty huge, but I got him to sign my program after I hung around to see how fast it would move.

From the PacLife Open: Safin shows no emotion

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

The match between Amer Delic and Marat Safin was a lot more exciting than the Davenport-Harkleroad one. Other than one yell of frustration, Safin didn't show much emotion, even though the crowd was behind him (much more so after a very long rain delay ended). He didn't even wave as he left after his win, which was a bit disappointing. I'm a huge Safin fan ever since I stayed up all night to watch him in the 2005 Aus Open finals and semifinals. Hopefully the lack of smiling and waving can be attributed the the fact that he is playing again tomorrow against Carlos Moya, who will likely be a tougher opponent.

I still worship the ground he walks on anyway.

From the PacLife Open: Davenport defeats Harkleroad

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Lindsay Davenport defeated Ashley Harkleroad without a problem today, 6-0 6-0. Lindsay looked really good in this match - she didn't have many problems and looks fit.

"The two-time Indian Wells champion, who is making her thirteenth event appearance, nearly doubled up on points won to secure the double bagel in 53 minutes. She saved all three break opportunities she faced to hold Harkleroad off the scoreboard, while successfully converting six of 12 herself.

Davenport, who picked up her 700th career singles match win two weeks ago in Dubai, improved her Indian Wells record to 43-10 with Friday's victory."

From the PacLife Open: Sania Mirza Practices

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

After I arrived today, I ran into Sania Mirza at my hotel, waiting for the shuttle to the tournment. She looked fairly relaxed. We all took the 11.30AM shuttle in. I didn't want to stuff my camera in her face, so I waited until she turned her back before I started snapping away. This shot is of her after getting off the bus.

From the PacLife Open: Roddick must still be in the tournament!

Why do I say that? Well, I arrived this morning, and I checked all over the airport, but there was no sign of Andy Roddick on his way home. :)

Indian Wells starts up...

Only a few more days until I get my butt down to Indian Wells for the Pacific Life Open...in the meantime, here's some info on what has been going on:

Andre Agassi has had several sessions on the stadium court, hitting with Europeans Tim Henman and Ivan Ljubicic. Maria Sharapova and her double-duty father Yuri had an early morning session, while Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin-Hardenne hit on the main stage in afternoon.

Some players hit on the outside courts and get their workouts among the common-folk. For the fans who venture out to the Tennis Garden over the first few days this often offers up the best entertainment. Elena Dementieva has been hard at work, and until Davenport hit on the outer courts earlier in the afternoon she was the highest seed the fans could ogle. Without question Lindsay was the big draw of the afternoon. She’s the No. 3 seed and from southern California–not a bad combo to draw a crowd in Indian Wells.

I'll be writing from IW Friday through Monday, and hopefully posting some pics.

McEnroe v ...Blake? Exhibition match scheduled

An exhibition match has been scheduled in Nashville, TN between John McEnroe and James Blake. This is interesting, not only because it will be a charity benefit -

Tickets will be limited for the exhibition match. The price tag is $75, which according to Centre Court co-owner Lenny Simpson, is easily a deal.

``We could have gotten Andy Roddick, but we didn't want him,'' said Simpson, a former player on the ATP tour. ``These guys are the best. They're going to put on a great show.''

So, first - I think this Andy Roddick comment is bullshit. Why not get everyone you can for an exhibition match? I think it is pretty clear that Andy's schedule is in serious question, and I don't have many doubts that this may be a bit of backlash for his no-show in Vegas - still no reason to brag about NOT getting Andy Roddick.

Second, Blake deserves the compliment, and whatever he can do to increase his exposure to US fans is ultimately good for him. Roddick's absence from the court has taken away that fun, joking side of him that was seen in previous years. He's slipped into a Roddick that no one understands right now - probably he is still trying to grasp what is going on in his life. This gives Blake a great opportunity to up his status as a fan favorite.

Anyway, if you have kids in this area, get them to this event - there is supposed to be a tennis clinic held by these two for the younger players.

Serena gets wasted at pre-Oscar party

Apparently, the only news I have to offer today is that Serena Williams got drunk and had to be helped out of a bar.

Serena Williams seemed a little overserved at a Vibe magazine Oscar pre-party in L.A. Our spywitness spotted a wobbly Williams being helped out of Republic nightclub by two friends. "They were literally holding her up and keeping her steady so she could walk out," clucked our spy. Serena - who'd been indulging in free-flowing Moet Champagne - stumbled out early from a party...

Maybe it was a knee problem? ;)

Instant replay system is coming (really)

It looks like we're finally going have a chance to see what happens when a challenge system is used in major tournaments.

Players at some tournaments, beginning with the Nasdaq-100 beginning March 20 in Miami and including some US Open Series tournaments and the U.S. Open, will be able to challenge a line call and see the result of the challenge on giant screens with a instant-replay ball tracking system.

By limiting players to two unsuccessful line-call challenges per set, plus one more in a tiebreak, organizers are hoping to give players a recourse for bad calls while avoiding unnecessary delays to the game and possible gamesmanship by players hoping for a little rest or to break another player's rhythm. If a player wins a challenge, that player retains the challenge. There's an element of strategy as players may want to save their challenges for only the most crucial points.

Lots of players have comments included in this article, including James Blake, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Lindsay Davenport. I hate bad calls, even though they have been a part of tennis forever, so I am looking forward to seeing how well this goes. For me, it is a step in the right direction.

Blake defeats Hewitt at Las Vegas

Yay! Lleyton Hewitt's so-called title drought has been extended another week. James Blake has just defeated him at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, NV, 7-5 2-6 6-3. More when the interviews get posted.

Sharapova wins "Oscar" of sports says NBC Sports

File this under "writers who should be out of a job due to their stupid ideas" - this moron decides to hand out fake sports Oscars.

• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
  
• The Los Angeles Lakers, for their desolate landscape with nothing visible on the horizon.
• Maria Sharapova, for offering glimpses of a heavenly body.
• Barry Bonds’ head, for exceptional use of a wide-angle lens.
• The New York Yankees, for unforgettable images of an active volcano.
• The officials at the XL Super Bowl, for showing us moments on the screen we couldn’t quite believe.
  AND THE WINNER IS … Maria Sharapova. Her close-ups were better.
  

Tennis Channel Open final: Hewitt v. Blake

Yeah, whiny old Lleyton Hewitt is on a roll. This will be his second final this year, and I am also pulling for it to be his second defeat. James Blake, who has taken out Ivo Karlovic tonight (7-6, 6-1), is his opponent.

Why am I pulling for James? Well, I cannot stand Hewitt. I have all these strange rules about who I would root for in a match if two people I liked played each other, two people I didn't like played each other, etc. My rule with Hewitt is that no matter who he plays, I always want him to lose. Always.

No, I wasn't always this way about Hewitt. He has truly earned my hatred over the past few years. I'm sure I've mentioned the reasoning enough in past posts...

I think James continues to put in a lot of hard work to earn everything coming to him. He never acts like a jerk (*coughcough*), never gets full of himself, and seems to put in a honest effort for the matches he plays. I really like watching him play. He is currently getting press as the person to dethrone Andy Roddick - I am not sure that will happen, since it is hard to be sure of anything with Roddick these days, but I'd like to see Blake continue to improve.

Roddick vs. Vegas continues...

Andy Roddick removing himself from the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas has caused the Las Vegas Sun much anguish over the past week:

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC:

DO FANS DESERVE A REFUND WHEN HEADLINERS WITHDRAW FROM TOURNAMENTS ON SHORT NOTICE?


Tennis star Andy Roddick's decision to withdraw from this week's Tennis Channel Open disappointed many fans who had purchased tickets thinking he would play.
RON KANTOWSKI'S TAKE: In a perfect world, or at least one presided over by Judge Judy, the answer almost certainly would be "yes." But Andy Roddick is not the first player to skip out on a commitment by citing a vague reason such as "fatigue." While some injuries can't be avoided, saying one is "fatigued" has become the politically correct way of saying "one doesn't feel like playing." Roddick may as well have said the dog ate his homework.

JEFF HANEY'S TAKE: I'm overcome by fatigue from hearing about so many athletes pulling stunts like this. But I think we should allow the free market to work its magic. There's bound to be a backlash from fans against Roddick - and, in the course of time, from the ticket-buying public against any sporting event whose officials implicitly or explicitly condone such behavior.

RK: Yes, the ATP tour has some kind of point system that in theory is supposed to cut down on players pulling out of tournaments. But I've heard from tennis fans who claim top players have been known to withdraw from a tournament just so they can go shopping with their supermodel girlfriends.

JH: You certainly can't criticize a player who is truly hurt, or who legitimately needs some time off. But those mall-rat types are starting to draw more fire. Last week, Mayor Oscar Goodman ripped into Roddick for bowing out. Late last year, the directors of the Shanghai Masters Cup wanted to impose a substantial penalty for late withdrawals by stars such as Andre Agassi, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal ... and (drumroll) Andy Roddick. Sense a pattern?

RK: Yeah ... lots of guys with backward ball caps headed for the food court.

JH: Let's give credit where it's due. At least Roddick offered a reason for his pullout, lame as it was. When golf star Padraig Harrington withdrew at the last minute from last year's Hong Kong Open, he really blindsided everyone. "He just informed the organizers that he was not coming," a tournament official was quoted at the time. Gives new meaning to the phrase "no excuses."

RK: Maybe the golf and tennis tours should just make the players bring a note from their doctors, like you had to do in kindergarten when you got the sniffles.

JH: Meanwhile, ticket-buying fans are stuck with an old catchphrase: "Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances."

This is a bit of waste of space - when I buy tennis tickets (since no major tournments are near me) I take the risk of not seeing a top player in the sessions I have tickets for - and I don't expect a refund just because a player I wanted to see didn't make a final, no matter how that happened. At least we're all on the same page.

Read about crazy tennis dads (part 2)

What is going on in tennis??? Yet another story (see part 1) surfaces about the crazy parents, a tennis mainstay.

A father of two young French tennis players went on trial on Wednesday accused of drugging their opponents and inadvertently causing the death of one of his son’s rivals.

The case of Christophe Fauviau, 46, has raised questions about how far ambitious parents are ready to go to help their children reach the top in a fiercely competitive sport which can have huge financial rewards.

Agassi; Safin out of Dubai in the 4th Round

Catching up on losses from earlier in the week -

Eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi lost to 80th-ranked Bjorn Phau of Germany 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the Dubai Open on Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Agassi - playing only his third tournament since losing the 2005 U.S. Open final - struggled to keep pace with Phau, who at 26 was nine years Agassi's junior.

Marat Safin's comeback was derailed when Belgium's Olivier Rochus beat him 7-6 (5), 6-4. Wildcard entrant Tim Henman beat seventh-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (3).

"The ball never came in my range today," Agassi said. "I didn't play badly but it certainly wasn't good enough."

Pacific Life Open to stay in Indian Wells

The Pacific Life Open, held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, has signed a deal that will keep the most-attended non-Grand Slam tennis tournament in the world in Indian Wells, California, it was announced today by PM Sports Management owners Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore.

I'll be at Indian Wells next weeks, so watch here for pictures and updates.

Myskina wasn't ready for French Open win

Anastasia Myskina has gone on record to say that her French Open win came too early for her:

“Things happened so suddenly. My whole life changed after I won the French Open in 2004. I realised that, all of a sudden, I have become so famous, people coming up for handshakes and pictures. The fact that I was becoming popular was okay, but for a young person like me, things were happening too fast,” Myskina revealed yesterday.

“Soon after the French Open triumph, I was in the newspapers everyday. With me becoming popular, expectations of fans went up as well. All of a sudden I was expected to win every event I took part in or reach the final at least,” recalled the Russian, who has not won a WTA Tour title since January last year.

“The expectations of the fans and the global attention became too much for me. I couldn’t handle the pressure associated with fame and success,’ said Myskina.

The Russian wondered how England football captain David Beckham handles the media glare and the public attention so well. “I sometimes wonder how Beckham copes with the attention that he gets all the time. How does he manage himself in front of such public adulation or media focus,” asked the Russian.

Despite the public pressure and the media frenzy following her Roland Garros triumph, Myskina said the happenings of 2004 for good for Russian tennis. “That year, not only I but Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova also won Grand Slams. In all, three Russians won three of the four Grand Slam titles. That made tennis a huge sport at home. That is still the case and I am happy about it,” Myskina, who has 10 titles to her credit,” said.

It is ncie to see someone being honest about not being able to handle the pressure.

Petrova comments on the Russian Tennis Federation

Her comments were generally not positive:

Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova has blamed the Russian tennis authorities for not contributing to the success of Russian players.

“The Russian tennis authorities can’t claim any credit for the success many of the players are having on the professional circuit these days,” Petrova was quoted by AFP as saying. “All they do is talk and their contribution doesn’t go beyond mere words.”

She added that if at all anyone could claim credit for the rise of players like Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and herself, it was their parents. “Our parents made great sacrifices and that is the main reason why many of the Russians are at the top today,” Petrova said.

In her opinion, the Soviet Union took better care of their athletes. “Now I keep hearing from younger Russians all the time that they are facing severe financial problems. Before Perestroika, athletes didn’t have to worry about training expenses, but now the federation has no money and they can do very little to help,” Petrova said.

She added that the competition between the players had brought to disconnection. “We often stay in the same hotels during tournaments but sometimes I get the feeling that there’s no connection at all. I guess you can blame it on the generation. We just talk to one another casually but we never have dinners or go shopping together. I guess because we are competing against one another so fiercely it’s difficult to get close to one another. I would like all of us to be friends, it would be very exciting but I don’t know how that’s going to happen,” Petrova said.

Petrova defeats Mauresmo in Qatar Final

Another upset of sorts - Nadia Petrova of Russia has defeated the on-a-roll Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Amelie Mauresmo failed to regain the world number one spot when Nadia Petrova beat her 6-3 7-5 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.

This is only Petrova's second career title - it remains to be seen if she is going to get better at defeating the big-name players to push her rank up.

Nadal beats Federer to win Dubai

Finally, a contender is back!

Rafael Nadal overcame a first set loss to beat Roger Federer at Dubai, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. This match was only finished recently, so stay tuned for interview comments!

[Updated]

This story has really made my day. Watching Feds win week after week is annoying - and no, that isn't a bash on him, it is more of a comment on his ability to just crush the competition. I'll save my derogatory comments about Federer for another time - I really do dislike that guy.

Here's some comments from the post-match interview:

“I think it is unbelievable to win against the best player in the world — perhaps the best in history of the game,” said Nadal, who broke down in tears on court. “It was also special because I was out of the game for more than three months. I cried because I was happy.”

The 19-year-old Nadal, the 2005 French Open champion, recently recovered from a foot injury that kept him out of most tournaments the last four months. He made his return in Marseille two weeks ago, where he reached the semifinals.

Completely outplayed in the first set, Nadal changed his tactics in the second set.

“He was playing too well in the first set, very aggressive. I could do nothing,” Nadal said. “In the second, I told myself just to hold my serve, and try and be aggressive on his serve and hopefully get a break.

“I also applied more topspin on my forehand. Once I won the second game after being 0-30 down, my confidence also went up.”

Federer said he was happy with his game despite his loss.

“I think Nadal deserved to win because he played so consistent. I started off really well, but sprayed a little toward the end,” Federer said. “But I am very happy with my game right now. And hopefully, I will pay him back soon.”