Update: New Haven Open at Yale

Hi everyone,

We're now less than a 100 miles from New York and the US Open in this final US Open Series tournament: New Haven Open at Yale!

 

It seems a lot of high ranked players don't digest these North American tournaments well. Azarenka is still struggling with a knee injury and hasn't played since Montréal. Sharapova apparently has a stomach virus, my guess from eating too much of her own candy or weddingitis. She'll be fit for the US Open, so I'm not worried she'll do a terrific job! But also Radwanska's shoulder injury caused her to forfeit here in New Haven! She was trailing 0-6, 1-2 against the unknown Govortsova in the second round (after getting a bye in the first round).

 

 

Wozniacki won the New Haven title four years in a row, but this time a troubling knee held her from a fifth victory. Kirilenko was too strong for her in the first set of the semifinals and took it: 7-5 before Wozniacki gave up.

 

 

Another victim that usually suffers during the US Open Series is Kvitova. The Czech never reached a quarterfinal before because of her asthma but this year it's different! She won the Rogers Cup already and this time she was the strongest in New Haven as well!

 

 

She faced Kirilenko in the final, the Russian has been doing very well in this US Open Series as well! The first set featured a lot of breaks but in the end it had to be decided in the tiebreak. Kvitova had two setpoints at 6-4 but Kirilenko came back brilliantly. Then it went on to 7-7 ... 8-8 ... 9-9 and finally the Czech could make two points in a row to take it: 7-6(9).

Kvitova had a dip in the beginning of the second set and faced a 2-5 deficit in no time. She didn't really up her game but Kvitova still got back to 5-5 and even to a 6-5 lead. It was funny how she just smiled and laughed to her coach like she couldn't understand what was going on. Kirilenko crashed in the last game so Kvitova won her second title with: 7-6(9), 7-5.

 

 

 

Next up is the US Open draw, so keep posted! 

Fun off court - Sugarpova

Hi everyone,

Sharapova launched her candy line: Sugarpova!

 

 

This brand of candy has everything for the sweet tooth: check it out.

Sharapova previously talked about it with Cibulkova while the Slovak was working on her interview skills:

 

 

More funny was Sharapova's interview at the late night show of Jimmy Fallon, where the Russian tennis player was challenged in a game of (root)beerpong!

Watch the interview: click here (be sure to watch part 2 too, it'll appear after this part)

Watch the game of beerpong: click here.

 

Update: Western & Southern Open - Cincinnati

Hi everyone,

We're at our next stop on the US Open Series: Cincinnati!

Already some interesting stuff happened on the road to the quarterfinals. We've always known hardcourt isn't Schiavone's best, but she lost already in the first round against Giorgi, an Italian youngster 11 years her junior: 6-1, 6-3. I like her style, quite offensive and not at all nervous for closing out the match. This is how she looks like (by the way, if you add an 'o' to Giorgi, you get a 15th century artist named Giorgio Schiavone!):

With the number one and two out for the US Open Series, Radwanska has a shot to take a lot of points away from them. However, the Pole arrived in Cincinnati with a taped right shoulder and this interfered greatly with her performance. She needed three sets against Stephens: 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 before falling to Na Li: 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

On the other hand, Venus and Pavlyuchenkova (Pavly for short) had a great tournament! The Russian outplayed Wozniacki to reach the quarterfinals: 6-4, 6-4 to just fall short against Kvitova: 3-6, (4)6-7 next.

Venus looked fabulous, both her game and her dress! She probably had the most hours on these courts, playing four tight threesetters against Kirilenko, Scheepers, Stosur and Na Li. Only the Chinese could knock her out of the tournament: 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinal when Venus was also experiencing back problems. That's how much it takes, folks!

So you got that Na Li is our first finalist at Cincinnati. She faced Kerber, who won against Serena Williams: 6-4, 6-4 before defeating Kvitova: 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. The German looked on a roll, leading 6-1, 3-1 against Na Li before the Chinese turned around the match completely! The eight game in the second set (at 4-3 for Na Li) was decisive for the entire match. Na Li got five break points but Kerber kept wiping them off the score board. But nine deuces proved too much for the German and she lost the second set: 3-6. Na Li kept playing with a lot of determination while Kerber looked tired and discouraged (especially against her coach, saying she couldn't win anymore). It was 6-1 in no time!

So Na Li leads the standings of the US Open Series with just New Haven to go. This time not only Wozniacki plays there, but also Radwanska, Bartoli, Errani and Kvitova so stay posted!

Update: Rogers Cup - Montréal - Quarter, Semi's & Final

Hi everyone,

We're at the last 8 for the Rogers Cup and I'll start with the player who has the most to gain by winning this tournament: Radwanska. She was one step closer to the number one spot if she could get past Na Li in the quarterfinals.

However, things worked out completely different for the current number three! Na Li brushed her off the court with a: 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Chinese faced Safarova next in the semifinal after the lefty Czech defeated wonderwoman Vinci: 6-2, 6-2. Na Li needed three sets against Safarova after the Czech took the first set. Surprisingly enough, Safarova even had a 5-1 lead in the third set but squandered the following six games to still lose the match: 6-3, 3-6, 5-7.

Kvitova is keen on winning her first title here of 2012 after winning three in 2011. She was impressive against Paszek, winning: 6-3, 6-2. But Wozniacki is also searching for her first tournament win of this year, after winning a whopping 6 in 2011! (You're starting to wonder who took all the victories then?) She crushed the hope of many Canadian fans by defeating name-buddy Wozniak: 6-4, 6-4. She probably had the toughest quarterfinal win because she had to play it after her 2 and a half hour match against Lepchenko.

Kvitova needed the full three sets against Wozniacki: 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. So the final was between Na Li and Kvitova: they both haven't won much this year so the determination was definitely there! It was quite entertaining because the momentum swung from one player to another in mere seconds. Kvitova broke Na Li at 5-5 in the first set to serve it out 7-5, but the next set went to the Chinese easily with 6-2. I kinda thought Na Li had the steadier play but Kvitova's serve won her the title: 7-5, 2-6, 6-3!
Stay posted for the next tournament in the US Open Series: Cincy City!
(by the way does that second photo look hot or what for a simple cheek kiss!)

Update: Rogers Cup - Montréal - Road to Quarterfinals

Hi everyone,

We're back at the US Open Series on our beloved blue hardcourt and it's time for the Canadian tournament at Montréal: the Rogers Cup!

The draw is packed here with 11 of the 15 best WTA-ranked players. We're missing Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kirilenko and Zvonareva. To update you immediately about those WTA-rankings: Radwanska lost her second spot to Sharapova because of her better results at the Olympics but oddly enough, she can win the first place here if she wins the Rogers Cup! And this is her best shot to do so, I think, with no Sharapova, Serena and Azarenka. The current number one had to forfeit against Paszek after a 3-3 score in the first set due to a knee injury.

This is the tournament of the Canadian Wozniak, she competes well on home soil! First she defeated Hantuchova: 7-5, 7-6(5) and then went on to win against Jankovic: 6-2, 6-3. She got past McHale: 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.

Surprises fell early in the tournament with the desastrous defeat of Ivanovic at the hands of Vinci with a double bagel: 0-6, 0-6. Ivanovic had a whopping 33 unforced errors!

Radwanska had quite a rocky start at the Rogers Cup, barely winning against the number 37 Barthel: 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Her win against Scheepers was more convincing: 6-2, 6-4.

The first quarterfinal will be played between Paszek and Kvitova, who outplayed Bartoli quite easily: 6-1, 6-1. Wozniacki will take on Wozniak (to make things very clear of course!) in the second quarterfinal. The Dane had to fought hard to get past Lepchenko in three sets: 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Next Safarova will compete against Vinci for a place in the semifinal. The Czech won against Stosur in a very close match: 7-6(9), 7-6(5) in the third round. And it wasn't just coincidence Vinci crushed Ivanovic, because she defeated Kerber next: 6-2, 7-6(7). The last quarterfinal features a match between Radwanska and Na Li. The Chinese beautifully won against Errani in two sets: 6-4, 6-2.

The Rogers Cup also offers us different stuff than only tennis with their WTA-party where all the tennis players could dress up and have fun.

Stay posted!

Olympic Games - Wrap-up

Hi everyone,

It's sad to wrap up these Olympic Games because we'll have to wait another four years to experience it again but that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun with it. Where else are you gonna find such enthousiastic fans?

First up, I totally forgot to tell about a Williams crash in the quarter finals of the doubles. When facing a breakpoint, they both were so eager to get the ball they ran into each other! But they wouldn't be Venus and Serena Williams without still winning the point after that! I can't seem to find good pictures or clips of it but if I do, they will be posted immediately.

This is what they said: ''She said 'Mine,' and she said 'Mine' again,'' Serena said. ''I was like, 'I don't know why I'm not stopping.'' ''I really didn't see what happened,'' Venus said. ''But Serena told me we won the point after.''

I was very pleased with the colors on the Wimbledon courts, so let's take a look at the best and worst outfits, shall we?

I liked Azarenka's kit, it's not that flashy green that's quite a hype recently (seriously, we needed sunglasses to see her matches because of the brightness and we already got earplugs in, so who's winning for God's sake!). It's also very representative for her country, don't you think?

Not such a success with the German outfits or am I mistaken and their flag is just ... blank.

So who actually did like those Russian sweaters, right nobody.

I really don't get the blue, was red taken already or something (they're from Poland!)

You gotta love this mixed doubles duo, even though they're in yellow!

Wow, I really sound critical! Don't worry, there were a few I did like: the Brits, Serena Williams and Sharapova.

Just watch at this photo for a second...

My first thoughts were: oh a tweener...her shorts match her baseball cap...lose the baseball cap Wozniacki!...what are those army men doing there?

That's all folks, keep posted!

Olympic Games - The Medals

Hi everyone,

The big winner of these Olympic Games was definitely Serena Williams. She won gold both in the single's game and doubles with her sister Venus. Silver for the doubles went to Hlavackova and Hradecka, two very talented Czech doubles players after losing: 4-6, 4-6. The Russian duo Petrova-Kirilenko defeated Huber and Raymond to take the bronze.

Azarenka didn't do so bad either: she won individual bronze and gold with Mirnyi in the mixed doubles tournament. Silver was for the duo Robson and Murray after a very intense match: 6-2, 3-6, [8-10]. Raymond made up for her doubles lost bronze match by winning bronze in the mixed doubles with one of the Bryan brothers. They won against the German team Lisicki-Kas: 6-3, 4-6, [10-8].

So one last snapshot of the three medal winners in the single's game to conclude these very interesting Olymic Games!

The ladies don't get much rest because next up are the US Open Series at Montreal, Cincinnati and New Haven before reaching New York! Keep posted!

Olympic Games - Semi's & Final

Hi everyone,

The next four matches decided who would get the gold, silver, bronze and absolutely nothing (well an Olympic diploma of course, but these ladies come for just one thing!)

The first semifinal featured two Russian Maria's for a place in the final. I'm wondering if the many fans of Sharapova realized they were cheering for her opponent as well by shouting: come on, Maria! I also had forgotten how loud Kirilenko can be too!

But the two Russians are still very different from each other. Sharapova set the tone from the beginning and Kirilenko was brushed off in two sets: 6-2, 6-3.

I didn't expect Azarenka and Serena's match would to be one sided as well! But it was clear early on, it wasn't a question of: would Azarenka win a set but if she could win a game! The number one didn't know what was happening to her when Serena got a lead twice of 4-0. Azarenka didn't get the chance to display her best game, only when facing match balls the Belarussian could make some excellent points! Serena through in two sets: 6-1, 6-2.

Is it me or does reaching the final, makes you look a little drunk on the photos?!

So the bronze medal game had to be played between Azarenka and Kirilenko. The first set went to 3-3 before Azarenka won 6 games in a row! Kirilenko was quite desperate when facing 0-3 in the second set and the crowd totally sided with the Russian. The cheering and the new found hope, brought the second set back to 3-3. You noticed Azarenka's game getting tight but the tears of joy finally appeared when the 6-3, 6-4 got on the scoreboard. Bronze for Azarenka!

But everyone was waiting for the golden medal match between Sharapova and Serena! The American raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set in no time. Is nobody able to stop Serena's fabulous play as if from another planet? The wind made it extremely difficult for the Russian to get a game and Serena was ruthless: 6-0!

The crowd wanted to see a much tighter match and started cheering extra hard for Sharapova but the Russian kept making too many mistakes. At 3-0 she could finally take a game to bring the score at 3-1, the crowd went ballistic! From that point on, Sharapova put more pressure on the Serena serve but the American just upped her game even more. The gold is for her with an epic win of: 6-0, 6-1. Sharapova goes home with the silver.

Holy crap, that means my prediction was right for a change! Big applause for me and of course for all the tennisplayers of this Olympic Games. There was no stopping Serena, she lost just 17 games in 6 rounds (of which 5 against the younger Radwanska, the most in one match she lost). She had more trouble with her massive hair than her opponents!

Keep posted for the photos with their medals and the (mixed) doubles results!