Feeling it

The Venus Monologues? 

Got something in your nose Delpo.

Two and a half matches. NBD. 

Hug it out. Get better Sabine.

Captain Swag. USA and France tied 1-1 in Monte Carlo. 

Doubles Fun: Indian Wells

I think that Indian Wells is one of the best events all year for exciting doubles pairings. Everyone seems to be playing and it's fun to see the singles players out playing doubles.


We have the defending Doubles Champions: Alexandr Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse.

The 2010 Indian Wells Doubles Champions: Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez.

The 2009 Champions: Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish.

Here is the full draw for the men.

Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azerenka are teaming up as a wild card team.

Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua

Julia Goerges and Sabine Lisicki

Full Ladies Doubles Draw. 

Passing Shots: Girl Power Edition

This is Lara Arruabarrena she won her first WTA title in Bogota this weekend. She moved up 65 spots in the rankings & is now on my radar. Hopefully a better known Spaniard will to be back to trophy biting ways soon.

Ash Barty won her first Pro title this weekend. Laura approves. 

In Doha, Vika keeps winning and Sam made a good run to get her season on track. Sometimes I still can't believe that they won the last two Slams. 

Watch more videos on Gymnastike

Rebecca Bross made her competitive comeback after being sidelined with the knee injury and subsequent surgery following National's last August. Please Valeri please get the girl a new dismount I hold my breath ever time.

Fed Cup Fun!

It's time for the first Fed Cup action of the year and the ladies look to be enjoying it. While the bulk of the action takes place this weekend but Great Britain is already off to a winning start in Europe/Africa Group 1. 

Laura Robson, Heather Watson & Judy Murray during doubles against Portugal.

Team GB answer twitter questions. 

Venus is part of the team that will take on Belarus in World Group II action.

Sam Stosur is all smiles in Switzerland for Australia's World Group II tie. 

Germany take on the defending champion Czech Republic in Stuttgart. (On Indoor hard, why did you pick this surface. To crush my dreams.)

Petra is also really good at footie tennis indoors. 

Of course you would Liezel. Serena on the other hand looks disappointed she doesn't have an Eli jersey.  

Maria Sharapova is in Russia to play the World Group tie against Spain in Moscow.  

Things I Noticed: Day 2

• Petra started off a bit shakey losing the first two games of her match. She then went on to win the next 12 games.
• It occurred to me that Novak's kits since he switched to Sergio Tacchini he very rarely is not in Serbian colors. To Davis Cup-ish for me. He won in straight sets. 
• I cannot stand the tweener. The need to stop.
• Stosur got knocked out in the first round by Cristea in straight sets. Ending Sam's Australian summer of tennis with only a single victory. I am thinking she will enjoy returning to the Northern Hemisphere. 
• The ESPN montages are just about my favorite part of their coverage of the Slams. 
• Ryan Harrison but up a good showing taking the first set from Andy Murray before eventually losing in four sets. Hope Ryan uses it as a spring board for a good season. 
• Andy Roddick won in straight sets. Brooklyn's dress was lovely. 
• Ana Ivanovic played a soild match for to advance to the second round. 
• Lleyton Hewitt had a dramatic fourth set to come back from 1-5 to win the match. He fell to the court on his back when he won it was and endearing reaction. He has a throw match with Roddick in the second round. 
• Maria Sharapova sailed through the first round 6-0 6-1 against Dulko the single game she lost was a game where she hit 3 double faults in a row.
• Serena won. She beat Pazek and the bugs late into the night on Rod Laver. 
• Nicholas Mahut won his first round match. 

Quotables: Round 1 Pressers

Q.  Do you think it's unfortunate that it's been played out as a split between the game's two biggest figures basically?  ANDY RODDICK:  Well, if you guys reported the facts, the issues, it wouldn't be as exciting as Rafa and Roger.  Those guys have been the model of a respectful rivalry in sports.  So for it to be represented any differently is unfortunate.
Like I said, same fundamental problems, same end goal, difference of opinions on how to get there, which is fine.  There's going to be that.  We're going to have to kind of negotiate through that to get anything done.
But the last thing I worry about is Roger and Rafa getting along.  I mean, they've been great throughout the years.  So, you know, I think this is all new territory for us.  I think, if anything, it probably taught us that we have to choose our words very wisely right now when talking about it, because it is a sensitive issue.  

Q.  What do you tell your fans when they ask, What happened in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne?  SAMANTHA STOSUR:  Well, I don't know.  I mean, it's hard.  It's not through lack of trying or not wanting it or anything like that.  I mean, you can't pick the times that you want to play well.
Of course, I wanted to do very well here.  You want it to come right now.  I'm thankful that everyone was behind me.  I'm sure they will stay behind me.
That's sport.  Unfortunately you can't pick and choose when it's all going to happen for you.  
  

Q.  Your thoughts on the match?
            PETRA KVITOVA:  Well, after slow beginning it was fine.  Yeah, I think that I can improve for sure my serve.
            But, you know, it looks easy, the score, but it wasn't.  The games, some was very close.  And, yeah, I'm glad that I'm through.

            Q.  Did you find it hard to shake her in some of those close ones?
            PETRA KVITOVA:  No, I didn't feel any shakers [sic]. 

Q.  He said you've got one view and the others have got something else.  ROGER FEDERER:  Yeah, I think that's normal.  We can't always agree on everything.  So far it's always been no problem really.  Back in the day he used to say, Whatever Roger decides, I'm fine with.
Today he's much more grown up.  He has a strong opinion himself, which I think is great.  It's what we need, especially on the council.  It's been nice working with him.
That he has a strong opinion also creates sometimes good arguments about where you want to move the sport forward to.
You know, we talked about that in London after we played at midnight before, I don't know, my semifinal match.  We called each other after Davis Cup, and then we met again here.
So we're always constantly trying to get on the same page, or at least talking about it, so we can do the best for the sport.  That's at the end of the day both our goals.  

I advise all of you.  You can try hard, but I gonna talk about tennis.  If I am here two weeks, if I am here two days, I gonna have less work.
 

THE MODERATOR:  Any more questions?

RAFAEL NADAL:  After that...  You are only interested in that, not the tennis (smiling).   

Pressers can be found here.  

What I am Watching: Day 2

Day 2 has the bottom half of the Women's draw and the top half of the Men's draw take the court.

Rod Laver Arena 11 AM (7 PM est)

  Match 1: Women's Singles - 1st Round: Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs.  Petra Kvitova(CZE)[2]

 Match 3: Women's Singles - 1st Round: Samantha Stosur(AUS)[6] vs.  Sorana Cirstea(ROU)

Rod Laver Arena 7 PM (3 AM est)
  Men's Singles - 1st Round : Cedrik-Marcel Stebe(GER) vs.  Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)
 
  Women's Singles - 1st Round: Tamira Paszek(AUT) vs.  Serena Williams(USA)[12]

Hisense Arena 11 AM

 Match 2:  Women's Singles - 1st Round : Gisela Dulko(ARG) vs.  Maria Sharapova(RUS)[4]

 

 Match 3: Men's Singles - 1st Round : Andy Murray(GBR)[4] vs.  Ryan Harrison(USA)

 

 Match 4:  Men's Singles - 1st Round: Robin Haase(NED) vs.  Andy Roddick(USA)[15]

 

Margret Court Arena 11 AM

Match 1: Men's Singles - 1st Round : Rui Machado(POR) vs.  David Ferrer(ESP)[5]

Show Court 2 11 AM

 Match 1: Men's Singles - 1st Round: Andreas Seppi(ITA) vs.  Richard Gasquet(FRA)[17]

 

 Match 4:  Women's Singles - 1st Round: Lourdes Dominguez Lino(ESP) vs.  Ana Ivanovic(SRB)[21]

 

 Show Court 3 11 AM

 Match 1: Women's Singles - 1st Round: Sabine Lisicki(GER)[14] vs.  Stefanie Voegele(SUI)

 

 Match 4: Men's Singles - 1st Round: Gilles Simon(FRA)[12] vs.  Danai Udomchoke(THA)

 

Non Watchable matches of interest from 11 AM:

Court 5: Match 3:   Women's Singles - 1st Round: Sloane Stephens(USA) vs.  Silvia Soler-Espinosa(ESP)

Court 7: Match 4:  Men's Singles - 1st Round: Julien Benneteau(FRA) vs.  Karol Beck(SVK)

AO Kids Day: When Forehands Attack

Rafa Nadal and Sam Stosur took on the defending Australian Open Champions Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic for Kids Day Saturday in mixed doubles. The highlight of the match was during one rally Rafa pegged Novak with a shot in which he in own his dramatic way fell down and was helped up by Kim. Rafa's responce with a cheeky smirk "that was for the six finals of 2011". Everyone laughed.

Sam looked to be on cloud nine partnered up with Rafa even though he was a bit late coming straight from practice. 

At the end of it all it seemed as if a good time was had by all.

Passing Shots

Get well soon Robin. Miss you dimples darkening quarters of the draw. 

• The draw was made for the Australian Open.  Women's & Men's
• Azerenka defeats Li for Sydney title.
• Laura Robson and James Ward advance to the final round of qualifying. 
•  Jarkko Niemin will play Julien Benneteau  for the men's title in Sydney. 
• McDonald's and the Olympics extend their partnership. 
• "Samania" grips Australia.

On Site: Sydney

Chel you can follow her on twitter and tumblr went to Sydney qualifying on Sunday here is a recap of her day:

I was surprised by the number of people in attendance at the tennis centre for qualies, nice to know I wasn't the only one who'd rather spend a hot summer's day at the tennis than at the beach.

Before I head towards the match courts, a quick peek at  the practice courts first.

Of course, quick is a relative term. I ended up spending 2 hours there, most of it at the court where Andrea Petkovic was practicing with Feliciano Lopez.  It was... Eye candy for all. I'm not ashamed to admit I was the only person there taking pics on my phone and immediately uploading to twitter. isn't that every fan's duty? I wouldn't want my card revoked hehe.

More pictures here

It got incredibly hot towards noon so I sought some shade... And found Ana Ivanovic practicing with Jelena Dokic. Ana was not happy with her toss, Jelena was all focus. Sat on the shade next to Ana's mum, she was all smiles when people came and went, taking pics of Ana.

After some lunch by the far match courts, I went to Mahut's match. It was horrid. Nicolas lost in straight sets. Next up, Kiri! I had my fingers crossed for her, she barely scraped by with the win in her first qualifying match. A couple of bad line calls had Kiri protesting "are you joking??!" and smacking a ball out of the court in disgust. No warning though. I guess the ump didn't want any more drama. After the meltdown, it was all downhill, towardsa a bagel in the second. Ouch. Bye kiri. I'll see you in Melbourne!

Sam Stosur was practicing on centre court with Peng Shuai when I went there to seek some shade. Cameras everywhere Sam goes. Comes with being Australia's darling. We wuv you, Sammy!

Went for another peek at the practice courts cos I haven't seen (or heard! LOL) Vika all day. No blonde Belarussian princess in sight. Sadz. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was on to my sta-- um, observation at a polite distance plans, practicing really early in the morning. I was right, I heard people discussing she practiced early. Boo.

Passing Shots

• Stosur meets Schiavone on Australian soil for the second time since their French Open final in the first round of Sydney. 
• The WTA number one ranking is a stake in Sydney. 
• Kaia Kanepi tops off her stellar week with the title in Brisbane.
• Raonic advances to the final in Chennai.  
• The organizer of the 1980 Winter Olympics dies.  
• Tsonga defeats Monfils in a foggy Doha final. 
• The Czech Republic wins Hopman Cup Final over France. 
• Zheng Jie won the delayed by rain then forced indoors by more rain Auckland final over Penetta when Flavia retired down a break in the third set. 
• Ivanovic lost to Safarova in the first round of Sydney. 
• Sabine Lisicki withdraws from Sydney. 
• Madrid's bid for the 2020 Olympics gain support from the Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities. 

HIghlight Reel

Andy Murray advanced to the quarterfinals in Brisbane after defeating Gilles Muller 4-6 7-6 6-0.

Iveta Benesova upset Sam Stosur 6-4 6-2 in Brisbane to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Serena Williams defeated Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 6-4. But do to the ankle injury she sustained in the second set she withdrew from the tournament granting Daniella Hantuchova a walkover to the semifinals.

Serena Press Conference

Sammy... Sammy... Sammy...Oye Oye Oye Vey

Home towngirl Sam Stosur was upset in the second round of Brisbane by Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-2. 

Better luck in Sydney Sam. 

Switching it Up

For some player's the new season means a new look. 


Tsvetana Pironkova has gone from Lotto...

to Nike which she debuted this week at Hopman Cup.

US Open Champion Sam Stosur has gone from the classic Lacoste...

to the sporty Asics she unveiled in Brisbane. 

Jelena Jankovic moved from Anita...

to Fila

Julia Gorges and Jarmila Gajdosova go from Wilson...

to Babolat.

Highlight Reel: Brisbane

Serena wins her first match since the US Open Final 6-2 6-3. 

Ana Ivanovic starts her season with a 6-3 6-3 victory. Has a second round meeting with Kin Clijsters.

Stosur debuts her new kit in a 6-2 6-3 victory

Petkovic debuts a new move after her 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-3 victory. 

Passing Shots: Video Edition

Happy Olympic Year Everyone!

Serena is ready to start the year in Brisbane

• Rafa and Roger play tennis on a candle lined court in Doha to launch the ATP season. No burns were reported. 
• A study shows that Olympic performance and National Pride are linked. Interesting although not surprising. 

Sam Stosur leaves Lacoste for Asics. 

• Kim Clijsters wins her first match of the year. 
• Verses becomes NBC Sports Network. Expecting lots of awesome Olympic lead up on this channel starting with the US Women's National Soccer teams attempt to qualify for London. 

• A look back at 2011 in the world of gymnastics. 
• After an amazing 2011 Ryan Lochte say 2012 is his year. 

Passing Shots

Sam speaks to the media

• Aly Raisman hopes to keep living the dream to London. 
• Stosur hopes she can handle the pressure at home. 
• In Abu Dhabi, Roger Federer was wearing his watch. He lost to Djokvic today and will play Nadal who lost to Ferrer in the third and fourth place match. 
• Sharapova and her scarf are off to Oz! 
• I love stories like this: I was at London Olympics in 1948 - I can't wait to see them in 2012
• United States Olympic Committee's Best of 2011 featuring the Bryan Brothers, Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin, Jordyn Wieber and more.