Upcoming Planet TennisFan Adventures

Just an update that I will have more interesting experiences to share in the near future. Coming up will be blogging some USTA events, then blogging live from part of the French Open. If you've been to Roland Garros before, let me know!

Sharapova Injures Foot

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

The perfume business is not without dangers, and Maria Sharapova is the latest victim. While promoting her perfume and practicing her game, she has apparently injured her foot. The injury has been described as inflammation, and isn't expected to take more than a week from her schedule.

It's On! The Nadal - Federer rivalry

Yes, that's right - a real rivalry has finally emerged,and likely saved us tennis fans from the unending calm perfection of Roger "can't do any wrong" Federer. After so many media-inspired attempts at a rivalry with Andy Roddick, I think we've finally got the real thing - but my gut instinct says that this one could also go the way of the Feds/Roddick rivalry - and not to the advantage of Mr. UN Ambassador either.

It all began this morning when I hauled my butt out of bed late, which means that due to time zones, I had already missed everything live. I eagerly visited my first stop for news (Google News) and scanned the sports section - nothing. So I did a quick news search, and there it was - the story that made my day. Nadal defeats Federer, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) for a win at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Anyone who reads here regularly knows that I don't like Federer. Sure, he's a great guy. He's talented. He's a really hard worker. He cares about the sport, and doesn't act like a spaz (ever). He's not as humble as folks make him out to be in my opinion, but he definitely isn't an egomaniac. So, this makes him a tad boring to me, especially when he wins nearly everything he enters. I haven't been a tennis fan all my life, and I am the first to admit that the more drama there is, the more interesting things get to me. I like to see how the players really are - on and off the court. Call me a fan from the ADD generation, but I want to see someone with a bit more spark than Feds.

Rafael Nadal is pretty much the antithesis of our boy Feds. He's showy, often to the point of alienating some fans, and is not a quiet threat on the courts. Watching him lose in person at Indian Wells and Miami was a bit of a letdown, but you can see that this guy has tons of personality even in his down moments. While he doesn't appear to be a complete ego-fiend either, he doesn't play the nice gentlemanly game of tennis that irks me so much.

And so, here we are - Federer just can't get his mind around Nadal's game, and Nadal is going balls-to-the-wall to own this guy. I love it. Nadal has won four of their last five meetings, which is great - it gives Roger something to work on and Nadal a distinction that no one else can claim in these past few years. I think the side effect will be that Nadal's influence on a younger or lesser known set of tennis players will inspire more men to unseat Federer. I do think we can write off player like Roddick in overcoming Feds, because they just don't have a clue on how to mentally reinvent themselves, along with their best tennis being on surfaces that Roger can easily work his magic. Nadal was different from day 1. I feel like he had the intensity and goals to drive him to the point he is at now, and he didn't concentrate too much on who was in his way.

While I respect Feds enough to know that you can never count him out, this is just what tennis fans like myself and the sport in general needs - while we may end up with Nadal just dominating Feds, we have all seen how Nadal is not unbeatable by other players. Rivalries are good for everyone - the players get to push themselves, fans like me dump more cash and time into the sport, and tennis gains a wider audience.

I look forward to whatever is to come.

NASDAQ 100 + Volunteer Report: Day 3 [Part One]

Saturday, March 25 - Another day with a few upsets - I actually avoided the main court matches for the most part. I did swing through to take some pictures, but I wasn't the only one skipping out - the vast majority of the seats were empty. Tim Henman was able to shake off Lleyton Hewitt and the Kim Clijsters most of us are used to seeing was essentially a no-show against Jill Craybas. Craybas is starting to build on her reputation of taking out formidable players early in major tournaments. At this point, you could hear a lot of talk among the crowds about how the NASDAQ wasn't shaping up to be quite as interesting as some had hoped - but I did talk to a few people who found the elimination of top players to be very exciting.

The weather was again great, so I spent most of my time doing some photography and catching a few matches here and there. One of the major highlights for me was the schedule on court 2 for the morning - matches involving Maria Kirilenko, Tatiana Golovin, and Michaella Krajicek were planned, along with the doubles match of Kuznetsova/Mauresmo v. Dechy/Golovin. Yeah, I said Court 2 - to me, these were easily Court 1 matches. :) For me, Golovin was the most interesting to watch - Krajicek still seemed to be getting her game together, and Kirilenko is still pretty much a new face to me. Golovin has gotten a little more press coverage as one to watch (although both other women are quickly catching up), but so far hasn't been able to deliver on that. She has a lot of time left though.

I wandered over to the practice courts and managed to catch Amelie Mauresmo hitting some balls. [photo]

Based on the people I had talked to, I knew the James Blake (v. Carlos Berlocq) was high up on everyone's list to see for that day, so I wandered on over to get a seat early. Boxholders are ale to get into specific seating areas in the Grandstand, so if you have a boxholder ticket, make sure you use it! I did hear something about the seating arrangements being different than previous years...

Feliciano Lopez and Sebastien Grosjean were still playing at this point, although waiting in line outside you could see it likely was close to over because of the number of people lined up with their giant autograph tennis balls. [photo]

I also nabbed some photos of Kim Clijsters (Kim lovers, rejoice - I know you are out there) - every now and then I could capture some of that fighting spirit that just could not pull her through today. [photo]

Blake didn't seem to be quite as on top of his game at the start.

to be continued...world of warcraft calls...

CNBC video on Maria Sharapova

CNBC/MSN has posted a video about Maria Sharapova and her finances in particular. It includes an interview.

Watch video.

Hewitt's defamation suit goes to trial

Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt's claim that he was defamed by the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuit looks likely to go to trial.

The Australian is suing the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) after it fined him for not attending a press conference at the Cincinnati Masters tournament in 2002.

I still can't believe there hasn't been a settlement in this. Both sides are wasting money and effort on something so petty - but 'petty' and 'Hewitt' are words often found in the same sentence these days.

People Magazine Maria Sharapova Interview

More insights into the Sharapova bathroom fiasco, and no word on who she is dating.

You had some drama recently in Miami, when you had to use the restroom during a match and the audience booed. How did you handle it?
I'm a woman. I have a small bladder. I needed to go – what are you going to do when you gotta go? Actually, it was a really tough situation in the match because I was winning and then she started coming back. It actually ended very dramatically – it was very unfortunate – the girl (Tatiana Golovin of France) twisted her ankle. But that's tennis. We all need a little drama.

Wertheim: Sharapova has a long way to go in decorum

Good article to read.

Sharapova is a hyper-motivated player whose intensity is to be admired. The underbelly, as we've seen before, is a galling level of self-absorption and a general tone-deafness to common courtesy. In Sharapova's defense, she still recalls the time Serena Williams was felled during the 2004 WTA Championships. Sharapova acted solicitously, and before she knew it, Serena had reeled off four straight games. Also, she was gracious after the match. (We hear Sharapova and Golovin are even sitting courtside together at the Miami Heat game Thursday night.)

But overall I think she could use a crash course in decorum. You'd think that as the WTA's de facto figurehead, she would want to represent her sport as well as possible. (See: Federer, Roger.) And short of that, there are crass commercial reasons to support an attitude adjustment. It's great that she can attach her name to every product under the sun (and, in full disclosure, pose for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue). But how much longer can she turn entire stadiums against her and expect the endorsement booty to roll in? How much longer can she get blasted on ESPN and still expect to seduce Madison Avenue?

To me, this is symptomatic of a larger issue. We love women's tennis. Really, we do. But maybe the WTA (with underwriting provided by Sony Ericsson) might want to hold a symposium for players on the topic of professionalism and sportsmanship. Some possible topics:

You don't bail on event after event with highly questionable injuries only to show up drunk at Oscar parties. You don't quit in the second set of a Grand Slam final with a tummy ache. You don't get a shiatsu massage from the trainer or venture to the water closet every time you're losing. You don't accept the blatant mid-match coaching from your coach or father. You don't hit practice serves into the back wall when your opponent is writhing in pain.

Sampras wants to play Federer

The most exciting thing about the pre-match online match between Pete Sampras and Robby Ginepri was that Sampras said he'd definitely like to do a charity match with Federer. I don't like Feds, but I'd watch this for sure - and preferably online. I only caught a bit of the actual match, but the online format, while not perfect, is MUCH better than my current lack of the Tennis Channel. Wouldn't it be great if all matches were available on demand? No more bitching about ESPN only covering American players...no more Tennis Channel exclusives...

Oh yeah, and I'd pay for a subscription to it.

I'd still go to tournaments because I love being there, but I can only travel so much.

You can watch the video on-demand at usta.com.

Clijsters is engaged

Kim Clijsters is engaged again.

Kim Clijsters has announced that she is now engaged to her boyfriend Brian Lynch, a professional basketball player. The news was broken over the US Open champion's internet site, but as yet the couple have not set a date for the ceremony.

It's hard to not criticize Kim about her decision to retire in 2007, because it taints event like this - she shouldn't have said a word about it. I feel like she is walking around with a checklist of things to get done before 2007. I guess engagement (round 2) is checked off the list.

My complete NASDAQ photoset

I finally was able to post all of my NASDAQ 100 Open photos over the weekend - next up is the remainder of my volunteer experience blog posts.

Photos are here.

Kuznetsova takes down Sharapova for Miami win

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Originally uploaded by robynw.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets, 6-4 6-3, to win the Miami final.

Player interviews will be posted here as soon as they are available.

NASDAQ Women's Final: Did anyone see it? Talk about it here!

Apparently my local CBS station didn't want to show tennis this morning, so please let me know if you managed to see this match on tv or in person - and hand over the details! Bathroom breaks? Shirt changes? Challenges?