Seen Around

by Savannah

Hey Savannah, following on from our discussions recently, are you thinking what I am thinking regarding the exceedingly strong field at Charleston and Memphis and the pull outs from Dubai?

One of the regulars here, Karen, posed the above questions about Dubai, Memphis and Charleston. Her comment sent me to look at the draw for Charleston so I'll talk about that last.

Memphis is a very weak draw. The main attraction is Maria Sharapova. Melanie Oudin, who just finished playing Fed Cup and the GDF Suez semi final is the second seed. I'm having trouble deciding whether back in the day this would've been a Tier III or Tier IV. Think I'm kidding? Here's the draw.

[1] Maria Sharapova vs Shenay Perry

[WC] Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Katie O'brien

Monica Niculescu vs Qualifier

Renata Voracova vs [8] Elena Baltacha

[3] Kaia Kanepi vs Arantxa Rus

Laura Granville vs WC Nicole Vaidisova

Julia Schruff vs Michaella Krajicek

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro vs [5] Petra Kvitova

[6] Kristina Barrois vs Anne Keothavong

Michelle Larcher De Brito vs Qualifier

WC Ajla Tomljanovic vs Kristina Kucova

Karolina Sprem vs [4] Lucie Hradecka

[7] Vania King vs Kathrin Woerle

Qualifier vs Marta Domachowska

Stephanie Dubois vs Lilia Osterloh

Qualifier vs [2] Melanie Oudin

Don't get me wrong, there are some interesting players here but if the top seed doesn't make the final there are serious decisions that will have to be made in that camp. Oudin has a cold and it remains to be seen how fresh she'll be coming into this event.

Dubai is a Premier tournament. This is the draw.

[1] Wozniacki vs Bye

Shvedova vs Cibulkova

Razzano vs WC Sfar

Peer vs [13] Wickmayer

[11] Bartoli vs Q Makarova

Schyder vs Dulgheru

Martinez Sanchez vs Safarova

[8] Na Li vs Bye

[3]Venus Williams vs bye

Lisicki vs Q Chan Y J

Benesova vs Govoertsova

Cirstea vs [14] Schiavone

[9] Stosur vs Garbin

Srebotnik vs Pavlyuchenkova

Hantuchova vs Q Manasieva

[5] Dementieva vs Bye

[6] Jankovic vs Bye

Bammer vs Rezai

Bacsinsky vs Q Flipkens

Vesnina vs [12] Zvonareva

[16] Zheng vs Q Molik

Kleybanova vs Q Groenefeld

K Bondarenko vs Rybarikova

[4] Azarenka vs Bye

[7] Aga Radwanska vs Bye

Q Sevastova vs Dushevina

Petkovic vs A Bondarenko

Czink vs [10] WC Pennetta

[15] Petrova vs WC Vogele

WC Kirilenko vs Q Kulikova

Mirza vs Medina Garrigues

[2] Kuznetsova vs Bye

Dubai is a much stronger field than Memphis as it should be. There are several unseeded players who can get hot and make a run toward the semi's. The Bansidhe's fans say it was smart of her to play Memphis instead of Dubai. As I said we'll see.

The South American clay season is underway and a tournament is being played in Bogota. I haven't seen a MD for this event yet but I wanted to mention it so that no one thinks I'm ignoring South America.

The Family Circle Cup's official website hasn't updated for 2010 yet. So far the official site lists defending champion Sabine Lisicki and Jelena Jankovic as confirmed. Of course the big names are supposed to be entered but nothing official that I've found so far. I'll keep an eye out for an entry list.

A Dish Best Served Cold

Melanie Oudin defeated Elena Dementieva at the US Open last year. After a dramatic come back by the 18 year old Georgian yesterday their matchup today was expected to be close with American hopes pinned on Oudin. When Oudin won the first set it looked as if she might pull off another upset and make the final. What happened wasn't part of the Cinderella script.

Dementieva pulled herself together and systematically wore down her opponent. By the third set Oudin, who does have a cold, was mentally fried and visibly tired. The veteran showed how to put a bad set behind her and go on to win the match. Oudin showed that she is a couple of years away from being able to hang with the big girls and has nothing to be ashamed about.

Karen spoke about the WTA tournaments but there is some fascinating stuff going on in the ATP.

In support of those who believe draws are totally random at Memphis Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, James Blake, Robbie Ginepri and Sam Querrey are all in the same section. The TD must be pulling his hair out.

The TD in Marseille might be in the ICU though. Top seeds [1] Andy Murray and [2] Juan Martin del Potro both pulled out with injuries. Del Potro is said to be out until May. The top seed is now Robin Soderling who has gone deep in Rotterdam. Film at eleven.

Richard Gasquet says he is playing the South American clay swing to improve his chances at the French Open.

End Note

I haven't written a lot about tennis this week but I have been watching. I have to say I haven't been impressed. It's hard to do commentary when you keep falling asleep on the matches don't you think? I'm talking about both tours here.

I'm also annoyed that TennisTV has picked up where it left off last year. It simply dies and there's nothing you can do - clear you cache, log on and off, restart the feed - that brings it back. Ironic that the best feed comes from Russian television isn't it?

Lucie Safarova wins this weeks what not to wear prize. She'll face Elena Dementieva tomorrow in Paris.

It's nice to end on a happy note. Stan Wawrinka and his wife welcomed a new baby girl into the world on Friday. Congratulations to them both.

Breaking News

by Savannah

Canadians to Run WTA in Interim

The The Globe & Mail reports the following:

The Globe and Mail has learned that the WTA Tour will announce Thursday that its president, Stacey Allaster, and David Shoemaker, its chief operating officer and general counsel, will take over joint stewardship of the tour effective July 1.

That is the date current chairman and CEO, Larry Scott, officially leaves his position after six years to become the commissioner of the PAC-10 athletic conference in the western United States.

Allaster, who joined the WTA Tour three and a half years ago as president after serving as Tennis Canada vice-president and tournament director of the Canadian Open in Toronto, still appears to be the favourite to succeed Scott. But the tour has hired world leading executive recruitment firm, Korn/Ferry, to carry out a search to make sure there is no appearance of hiring from the inside without proper procedures.

Allaster, 45, from Toronto, and Shoemaker, a 38-year-old Ottawa native, are both Canadians. Shoemaker, a lawyer, currently heads up the tour’s Asia-Pacific office in Beijing. Considered a rising star with the WTA Tour, he worked for seven years with two New York law firms and was involved in sports-related dealings with the NHL, teams in the NFL and MLB as well as the ATP and Major League Soccer.

It was recently revealed in the Globe and Mail that Shoemaker is also a candidate to succeed Scott.

Tom Tebbutt
WIMBLEDON, England — Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009 10:04AM EDT

This and That

by Savannah

Maria Sharapova's website has been updated to show the following schedule:

Warsaw Open
Roland Garros
AEGON Classic - Birmingham
Wimbledon

An aggressive schedule no?

Match Fixing in Tennis

Hannah Karp has posted the following article on the Wall Street Journal's online site.

Four months ago in a hotel room overlooking the landscaped gardens of the luxurious Dusit Thani hotel in Pattaya City, Thailand, Dmitry Avilov sat deep in thought for several hours, he recalls, nervously composing a message in Russian to Ekaterina Bychkova, a tennis player now ranked No. 169 on the WTA Tour.

Mr. Avilov, 25, who says he makes a modest living betting almost exclusively on women's tennis, had decided, for the first time, he says, to approach a player about fixing a match.

While Ms. Bychkova refused the overture and no money ever changed hands, Mr. Avilov's story highlights a growing concern among some coaches, officials and corruption experts: that lower-ranked tennis players are easy targets, especially with the rise of social-networking sites that make it simpler for strangers to contact them.

In the U.S., tennis bets can only legally be made in person at Nevada sports books. While online betting is legal in many countries outside the U.S., including Russia, match fixing is prohibited almost everywhere. In Russia, however, the penalties are relatively light. Individual violators are subject to arrest and to a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (about $6,000).

"I feel like I can just do whatever I want," says Mr. Avilov, a father of two who lives in a one-bedroom flat in western Russia. "Professional tennis doesn't want to deal with fixes, period."

The article comes complete with pictures and makes it seem like there are guys like this all over the world plotting to fix WTA matches. This is one of the many issues the new WTA CEO will have to face. Jon Wertheim tweeted today that based on news out of Madrid the search could get quite nasty. Between this, the lack of popularity among tennisheads let alone the casual fan for the WTA product, the uproar over mandatory or be fined events and on court coaching the incoming man or woman will have their hands full.

The Dust Bowl

Reports are still filtering out of Madrid about player dissatisfaction with conditions on the ground at the Magic Box. One of the problems has to do with climate and location. Let's not forget that this is the event that replaced Hamburg, a locale infamous for it's damp wet weather and heavy slow clay courts.

I noticed during Rafael Nadal's match yesterday that as he slid to make a shot a mini dust storm erupted. The effect is seen in the above picture of Novak Djokovic. The grounds crew is being maligned by the TennsTV commentators and while they acknowledge that the courts have yet to settle and that once they do things will be better it's to the point now that at every changeover the court is being watered. This results in the surface being too wet to play on. Once it dries however it's back to the dust bowl. It also appears to be very windy in Madrid this time of year. One fan noted that her car was pushed sideways by the wind as she drove to the site yesterday. This same fan also noted that she had a wonderful time at the complex and posted the pictures to prove it.
Please click HERE to read Elisat's blog post and view her wonderful pictures.

One of the things this fan posted in her blog was about the on court coaching given Juan Martin del Potro and Fabio Fognini. I thought about this as I watched Caroline Wozniacki destroy Alisa Kleybanova. It wasn't even a contest. All Caroline had to do was wait for Alisa to make a mistake. The match stats showed Kleybanova had 44 unforced errors compared to 21 for Wozniacki but I digress.

Caroline was cruising along up 4-0 in the second set when horror of horrors Kleybanova won a game. Totally flummoxed Caroline called on her coach to explain what happened and what she should do to avoid it happening again. Lo and behold Kleybanova won another game. I expected to see Caroline come totally unglued but she managed to pull out the set 6-2. I'm sure she drank a cup of chamomile tea and took immediately to her bed. For me all I could think of was Venus Williams inability to play "military tennis" as Robbie Koenig and Jason Goodall call it. When Wozniacki wasn't benefiting from a Kleybanova error she was moving her opponent side to side, left, right, left right, along the baseline. Ms Kleybanova, a throwback to the days of the unfit woman player, didn't have the stamina to keep up.

Seriously though the hand holding for WTA players is getting to be a bit much. If a player has to have her hand physically held to get through every point of every game why is she playing tennis? This is not to say that the situations noted above are better but I doubt if we'll ever see an ATP player calling down his coach to tell him what to do. There may be examples of coaches and players seemingly talking to themselves - something I've seen personally - but on court coaching sucks. Sorry. One of the reasons I feel the women's field at Roland Garros is wide open is because of this reliance on "Big Daddy" holding a players hand. Maybe Carlos Rodriguez can give a crash course to the coaches of these players on the proper way to "guide" your player through a match.

Richard Gasquet

There's really nothing new to report. Some fans are citing the revised figures of 151 nanograms over a base of 50 but the figures still show a level three times the base rate that was originally reported. The outgoing head of the French Olympic committee chimed in in support of a reduced sentence for Gasquet while the head of the FFT said he wished Gasquet had withdrawn from the tournament with his shoulder injury the day before the party and therefore avoid the test being categorized as "in competition". I guess he's not trying to see that the very fact that Richard withdrew AFTER the party leads to some disturbing conclusions about the timing of the withdrawal. Meanwhile Richard's fans are citing everything from a change in his anti inflammatory to his being duped by nefarious beings at a party. They're ignoring drug abuse forums that say orally ingested cocaine numbs the mouth and the esophagus and results in poor absorption of the drug. That is why the drug is either snorted, smoked or injected.

I wonder if all of this sympathy for Richard is because this was supposed to be the man at the top of the tennis heap now? Instead, if he is given a two year suspension it looks as if his career would be over. This has to be a blow - no pun intended - to his Federation and his financial backers. What if one of the Spaniards or South Americans had tested positive for cocaine in Miami? I don't have to go into the snide remarks and winking that would be going on do I?

In case you're thinking I'm exaggerating think about the reported drug use of John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg? No big deal right? What about the seven ATP players who were caught using nandrolone back in the day but whose names were never made public? What about the oft rumored drug suspension of a very popular male that was said to be covered up as an injury break? The rules were changed in January of this year to make the names of drug offenders in sports public. The only names we've heard recently were South American, which have been proven or suspected to be false, and Richard Gasquet. There was Greg Rusedski but for some reason his offence was/is overlooked while another man's career was stolen from him.

Don't get me wrong. There is tragedy in L'Affaire Gasquet but in the end he was caught with three times the base level of cocaine in his system. Maybe this is the universe's way of forcing him to take a time out, to decide if he really wants to play tennis, I don't know. I remember in the wake of the Davis Cup incident versus the United States there was a lot of talk about Richard being coddled by both his parents and his Federation. With the head of the FFT coming out and saying that Richard shouldn't be given a two year suspension doesn't this give credence to those arguments?

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

TennisTV and the WTA - Again

I have truly enjoyed the coverage of the ATP provided by TennisTV this week. I had a problem with my transmission once and it was solved quickly by the tech support staff. I've seen men's matches on all three show courts up to and including the final match of the day. Even with today's double withdrawals the commentators kept their audience informed as to what was happening to the schedule and reassured viewers that they would see the substitute match which was a very good one.


Agnes Szavay
I wish I could say the same about the WTA coverage. I think they've managed to show two matches a day, three at the most. So what since I seem to be bitching and moaning about the state of the WTA ad nauseam? Let's take today for example. What did paid subscribers miss? There was this match between Victoria Azarenka and Agnes Szavay. Agnes was being touted as an up and comer a couple of years ago but due to injury had fallen off the radar. She's been playing well, WTA well anyway, of late and the match up was intriguing. I've posted action shots from the match which was all I could see here in the States.

Victoria Azarenka
Then there was this little set to between Dinara Safina and Lucie Safarova. It went three sets. It was nip and tuck for Dinara for awhile there. Guess someone decided it wasn't worth viewing by potential fans. Here's a picture of Lucie so her family knows where she was this afternoon.

I seriously don't get it. It seems that once again if there is an interesting men's match somewhere on the grounds the fans - and TennisTV, try to cover it. If it's not on a television court you're kept informed. With the WTA you can't keep informed because they're not broadcasting the daily matches. Apparently attendance was low - even for an early in the day match in Madrid between Jelena Jankovic and Elena Vesnina. I missed it this morning so I have to go by fan reports. Something is very very wrong with the live streaming approach of the WTA. Why pay for such minimal coverage?

Mountains out of Mole Hills

Andy Murray
This morning I read the following comments by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on the ATP ranking system as reported by The Ticker

Andy Murray on the ranking system: "I don’t think it was a problem for the last few years, I think that it has only become a problem for Novak in the last few weeks."

A day earlier, Djokovic had said, "Playing three Masters Series finals in a row and winning a 250 event is incredible success and even then you are dropping a spot down in the rankings.

"That shows how cruel the ranking system is in this sport."

Sounds like an "a" and "b" conversation right? Well here's how the same situation was reported on TennisReporters.net

"Playing three Masters Series finals in a row and winning a 250 event (in Belgrade) is incredible success and even then you are dropping a spot down in the rankings," "That shows how cruel the ranking system is in this sport. Federer or Nadal have been winning four or five grand slams in a row and they haven't [added] a single point. I think this is an issue we have to talk about."
Interestingly, but oddly, Nadal said he had talked to Djokovic about the issue and agreed the system needs changing, to what appears to be a more complicated one. "I think a ranking based on two years would be much better in terms of being relaxed and, from my point of view, would allow me to lengthen my career,"...
(...)
The reality is that while Djokovic has played very well, so has Murray, who by the way, is still carrying a zero-pointer in his 18 tournaments fro putting out of Indianapolis last week. And, had Djokovic won just one of the recent Masters Series, it would not even be an issue.
But Djokovic wasn’t getting on Murray's back, just the system. "I think that I have played fantastic tennis and have had huge success on both hard courts and clay courts so I will be very patient and I am sure that if I continue this way I will get my spot back," said Djokovic. "Andy absolutely deserves that place because he's been winning a lot of matches lately and playing good tennis but it is still a long way for him and for me."

Guys, keep hoping that the chances of the ATP merging with the WTA still seem slim to none. Be very very careful what you wish for.

Seen and Heard Around

by Savannah

WTA News

Samantha Stosur

Gisela Dulko d. (3)Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-6(5)
(25)Agnes Szavay d. (7)Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Samantha Stosur d. (2)Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-4

Agnes Szavay
Good thing WTA coverage will start in earnest tomorrow when all the top players will be in action. And no I'm not going on a rant about the idiocy of starting the women's coverage so late. I think the above results make my case. What fan wouldn't have wanted to see those matches as they were played instead of scoreboard watching?
Is someone going to make the argument that this shows the depth of the women's game as opposed to the weakness of the top ten with a couple of notable exceptions? Probably. Looks like Dinara is not yet ready to assume the mantle of Number 1 and all that it implies.

The State of American Tennis

Neither Justin Gimelstob nor Andy Roddick made any friends for American tennis this weekend. I turned the sound off on The Slob Saturday after he whined about what would happen if a certain player made it to the Finals saying that it would ruin ratings for CBS so I missed this wonderful exchange.

Gimelstob: It’s interesting that for the first time ever at our last ATP player meeting, some of the clay court players asked for some of the clay court tournaments to be switched to hardcourts. That’s how much they’re enjoying playing on hard courts.

Ted Robinson: Clay courters …. asked for more hard courts?[Laughter] I wish I had been there. [Laughter] I can’t fathom that Rafa was one.
Gilmelstob: Rafa was definitely, adamantly, against it. But players like Nalbandian, Del Potro, and Gonzalez were arguing for it.

Robinson: Really? … Was the subject of player longevity, player health, raised since clay is the least difficult surface for the players’ bodies?

Gilmelstob: Well, that’s how we countered it --- beyond the fact that clay needs to be protected as an important historical part of tennis, we need to protect their bodies as hard courts are the most abrasive and physically damaging of all surfaces. Rafa was quick to point that out as well. But in a classic Rafa way: “I want to walk when I’m 27, no? I like play with my kids some day, no?”

SOURCE

I admit I was skeptical that even the Slob would divulge statements made during a player meeting especially since he is a member of the ATP Board but not one person has disputed what he said.
So what is wrong with the statement?

• Since when are David Nalbandian, Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Martin del Potro clay courters? All three men play their best tennis on hard and/or indoor courts. I guess in the Slob's mind if you come from South America you are automatically a clay courter. Abysmal ignorance at the very least from someone who is supposed to be a tennis professional and an expert commentator.
  
• Apparently he did a very bad imitation of Rafael Nadal's accent when he speaks English when allegedly quoting what he said during the meeting. This has also not been disputed by anyone.
  
• Since when does an ATP board member reveal the goings on at what is supposed to be a private meeting between players and the ATP? Not that information hasn't ever leaked out before. Usually the reporters who divulge the information make sure to hide the source of it.
  

Andy Roddick and Tournament Referee Alan Mills

This morning Andy Roddick continued to enhance the reputation of American tennis by going into a profanity laden and infantile rant against chair umpire Cedric Mourier because Mourier didn't stop play when Andy thought play should be stopped. To put things in context rain is threatened for most of the afternoon. A brief shower started and before Mourier could say anything Roddick had picked up his racquets and announced he was leaving the court. Mourier asked that he stay on court since the shower was going to be brief. Andy left and no sooner was he off the court than the sun reappeared and the court deemed safe to play on.
After being broken by his opponent a few stray drops fell and Roddick again demanded that play be stopped. Mourier refused to be bulled and Roddick threw his racquet and said the following of Mourier:
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"(You're a )fucking asshole"
"You're sitting on your fat ass doing nothing"
Unfortunately I heard this with my own ears and couldn't believe that Andy was not given a warning or a point deduction. I understand that he was upset at being broken but the chair is in control of the court and all Andy had to do was ask Cedric to check the lines. If Mourier refused then be upset and no one will blame you.
I recall Serena Williams being called out for using an f-bomb to berate herself yet nothing has been done to Roddick. The umpires say they know it's not personal and don't take offense. If that's the case a guy ranked in the 80's should be able to get away with that behavior as well in my opinion since it's not personal.
Andy Murray tends to go on profanity laced tirades as well. In fact he went on a couple of them yesterday but no one says a word. Double standard much?

Photos of the Week

Elena Dementieva

Serena Williams

Larry Scott Resigns

by Savannah

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
LARRY SCOTT TO STEP DOWN AS SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR CEO TO BECOME COMMISSIONER OF NCAA’S PAC-10 CONFERENCE



· Six-year tenure as CEO highlighted by unprecedented growth for sport and business



· Tour Board to determine selection process for next Chairman and CEO in due course



MIAMI, Florida – The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced today that Larry Scott will step down as the Tour’s Chairman and CEO to become Commissioner of the NCAA’s (National Collegiate Athletic Association) PAC-10 Conference, effective July 1, 2009. Scott will work with the Tour Board on the selection process for the next Chairman and CEO.

“With women’s professional tennis more popular than ever, the Tour in the strongest business position in its history and a fantastic senior management team in place, now is the right time for me to embrace a new challenge consistent with my family and personal goals, and leave room for the next generation of Tour leadership to take on new responsibilities,” said Scott.

“Under Larry’s leadership, the Tour and our sport have grown over the past six years beyond anyone’s wildest expectations,” said Steve Simon, Tournament Board Representative and Chairman of the Tournament Council. “As an organization and sport, we are positioned for continued success. We wish Larry the very best in his new role, and are looking forward to beginning the process of selecting a new CEO for the organization to lead us into the future.”

“Players have always appreciated Larry’s understanding of their issues and his sense of fairness, and the results over his tenure in terms of player prize money increases, equal prize money to the men, promotion and player health initiatives are major achievements,” said Lisa Grattan, Player Board Representative and Chairperson of the Players’ Council.

During his six year tenure as Chairman & CEO of the Tour, Scott is credited with having engineered a remarkable turnaround for the sport, with the Tour and women’s professional tennis in a stronger position today than ever before in its history. Milestone achievements under Scott include: (i) passage of the Tour’s Roadmap plan, the most sweeping reforms to the Tour calendar in history to enhance the women’s tennis product, (ii) achievement of equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with the top 10 events in women’s professional tennis now featuring equal pay, (iii) signing of the largest sponsorship deal in the history of women’s sport and professional tennis with Sony Ericsson at $88 million over 6 years, along with inking deals with a host of other major partners including Whirlpool and Dubai Duty Free, (iv) signing of the largest television deal in the history of the Tour with Eurosport, (v) signing of the largest year-end Tour championships deals in Tour history, with the event hosted by Doha, Qatar from 2008-2010 following a successful two year stint in Madrid, and by Istanbul, Turkey from 2011-2013 at a total value of $84 million, (vi) significant global expansion of the sport into new markets, including establishment of the Tour’s first ever Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing, with the Tour poised for major growth in the world’s fastest growing market, (vii) launch of the Tour’s largest ever global marketing campaign, “Looking for a Hero?”, (viii) leadership role in the introduction of more innovations to the sport than in its prior history, including electronic line calling, on-court coaching, pre-match players interviews, interviews with coaches during matches and a new doubles scoring format, (ix) unprecedented lifestyle and fashion coverage of the Tour’s players, and (ix) establishment of the Tour on its strongest financial footing in history, including a 500% increase in sponsorship revenues and two and one half times increase in overall revenues, a 40% increase in prize money and $710 million in new stadium investments.

What does the future hold for the WTA? I don't know what the suits will decide. Here's what I think.

• Scrap the RoadMap
  
• No Mandatory tournaments. Set up a system like the ATP where you have "Masters" events where everyone is expected to attend. Otherwise players can play where they want when they want.
  
• Get Rid of on court coaching.
  
• Realize that there is a demand for women's tennis and expand media coverage for the Tour, not just one designated "face of the WTA".
  
• Better Internet and broadcast television coverage of tournaments.
  
• Better promotion of up and coming players.
  
• A more fan friendly approach to women's tennis. This would include early and accurate information on tournaments including Challengers and Exhibitions.
  

Will this be when the tours merge? With Scott at the helm of the WTA it was something I was against. Now that he's gone maybe this is back on the front burner.

The Western Winds

by Savannah

The wind arrived during the match between Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal. It so enjoyed the Coachella Valley and and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden it hung around dropping temperatures to the seventies and wreaking havoc with those tennis balls flying through the air. It had a ball, pun intended. The women of the WTA would have preferred the zephyrs take their games someplace else.

I missed the live play between Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva (more on that later) and watched the replay late last night. I felt that Vera had a better than average chance of beating Ana since she had been playing the better tennis coming into the match and seemed to have banished her demons. She did have one racquet bashing moment, one that equalled Fernando Gonzalez efforts earlier in the tournament, but after that Vera settled down and began hitting winners. Ana meanwhile seemed totally upset with what was happening to her outfit in the wind and appeared to be totally discombobulated.

As you know I saw Ana at the BJK Cup in Madison Square Garden earlier in the month and that while everyone is going on about her serving woes I felt that her game was lacking, that she'd lost something in her mental approach to the game. That was obvious yesterday.

Some fans have said the match was the worst ever because of the wind. I think the wind exposed the hit hard and harder approach many of the women have now. Most of the women hit a hard, flat ball. This approach made it more difficult for Vera and Ana to play well during their match. A ball with more "work" on it could carve it's way through the at times 50 mph gusts.

After Vera's racquet bashing there was no doubt who was going to win the match. Ana could not keep her focus and ended up being outplayed by the woman she was once up 2-0 on during the first set. WTA matches these days are usually won by the player who keeps the ball between the lines and has less UFE's than her opponent. The wind just added to the problems.

It was the best match the women who made the final could play given their approach to their games and the windy conditions. That is not an excuse. WTA play has been subpar for some time now. The wind just blew away any illusions fans of women's have about what is going on in the sport.

The Unseen Final


If the final of a WTA Premier Mandatory event is held and there is little or no live coverage on broadcast or internet television has it really happened?

Fans of women's tennis found themselves tuning into tennisradio.com to hear live commentary on the women's final yesterday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Why? Because in some parts of the country regular television broadcast both the men's and women's final on delay. In my area coverage started at 8p. The internet option? This is when it got interesting.

TennisTV was inoperable. It wasn't available. Now you know there was a feed somewhere and that someone online had to be streaming it right? Wrong. The usual sources were all on lockdown thanks to the ever vigilant WTA gnomes who made sure the sites knew that if they were streaming the match they would be slapped with cease and desist orders. The only source that worked was a Russian satellite subscription service. Thank the gods for those people.

So what happened? I have no idea. My email to the tech support folks at TennisTV has gone unanswered. I didn't even get one of their "it's your fault" responses. There were fears that the ATP feed would suffer the same fate. Not. The ATP feed came on just fine and played with few if any problems.

I'm not a techie but one would think that since Masters Series TV, the precursor to TennisTV, worked fine for so many years the WTA would use the same technical set up as the men's tour does. Apparently the geniuses at the WTA didn't think so.

What happened in parts of the United States was a blackout of the women's final. I have no idea whose interest that served. It certainly didn't get Vera Zvonareva the exposure deserved. It didn't give Ana Ivanovic a chance to be seen by her fans.

Where do we go from here? TennisTv coverage of the ATP begins Saturday, March 28. WTA coverage begins Monday March 30. Deja vu all over again.

End Notes

Lindsay Davenport belongs in the broadcast booth. Her approach is no frills. Want fangirl hype of the latest hot thing on the WTA tour? You won't get if from Lindsay. When coverage started she would discuss Player X serve and Player Z's return. At one point after a terrible point she said that it wasn't as if Player Z was returning a ball hit by Venus Williams or Serena Williams. She said it more than once. I think they told her to stop mentioning they who must not be named.

During yesterday's women's final she said up front that conditions favored Vera. They also showed a clip of eventual men's champion Rafael Nadal warming up on center court in the brutal wind before the start of the women's final. Lindsay said he was frustrated with his serve but she said that she was sure that by the time he took to the court he'd be fine with his game.

She deserves better than Gimelslob, friend or no friend. Pair her with Darren Cahill and lock PMac in the locker room where he'll be free to gush to his hearts content. She'd even work well with Cliff Drysdale.

Speaking of the Slob did anyone see him manhandle actress Kate Walsh in the broadcast booth? And did anyone hear Sam Gore's polite snark about the way the men's final was going when it became obvious the "efficient" Andy Murray was not going to win?

Gore is a good broadcaster and while he sounds eerily like PMac he avoids the fanboy raving and just talks about the tennis. I'd like to hear more of him on the airwaves.

Tennis Talk

by Savannah

Tomorrow the cameras will be turned on at Indian Wells and tennis fans will finally be able to watch real live tennis. Of course this depends on several things. I can only speak for what will be going on here in the States but I've read that European coverage begins Saturday as well.

If you have the Tennis Channel you will get coverage this weekend, March 14 and 15. If you don't then you're shit out of luck and have to wait until Monday when "regional" coverage will be provided by FSN/Comcast. What this has meant in the past is that some locales will get live tennis and others won't. Thems the breaks.

If you have purchased TennisTV you will have coverage starting March 14 with no interruption. You can purchase daily passes, tournament passes, or season passes. In these troubled times some can't afford cable let alone purchase access to TennisTV. If you have access to tennis via cable one could be excused for asking why it's necessary to purchase online access for two days when you're already paying for cable service.

It should be mentioned here that I hate scoreboard watching. It's an anachronism that should have been long gone. Yet it is still needed because some cable companies don't carry the outlets that feature tennis play while other areas don't have broadband access that would allow video streaming.

Anna-Lena Groenefeld
I make the sacrifice and purchase TennisTV (I had Masters Series TV for quite some time and valued it. The WTA was late to the party hence the new carrier TennisTV. There is something I really don't understand though. If someone like me pays for online access why should I have to wait until the third day of the tournament to begin watching live tennis? I know the suits think no one wants to see Qualifying or early round play and that they're saving money by waiting until the big boys and girls take the court.

It may come as a surprise to those bright young things making these decisions but there is a following for tennis of all kinds. I know that interns are tasked with monitoring fan sites and at times using the anonymity the internets can bring float ideas the marketeers want to get opinion on. Surely these people notice that a player like Danny Koellerer who may be new to them has quite a fan following. Players like Bjorn Phau or Anna-Lena Gronefeld are tracked and people do know their records. Sure the big marketing firms don't give a rat's ass about them - they're still pushing Anna Kournikova for crying out loud - but fans do. There are Asian players from India, China, and Japan who fans know and care about. But we don't often get to see them because they're just not the NEXT BIG THING in some marketing managers eyes. This is not fair to the players and it's not fair to tennis. Roger Federer didn't emerge full blown from the head of a Wilson racquet, he has a history that many of his fans delight in telling. Why have Jelena Dokic and Lindsay Davenport remained fan favorites? Because of their histories in the game. The only way many tennisheads get to know and follow these players is because of fanboards. David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro pIaying doubles is big news because of their recent history. Thanks to South American fans tennis heads all over the world know about it and would like to see how they play together. The same situation exists with Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes of India. Once again fans from their country keep all of us informed.

Nishikori Kei
I know I kind of went off on a tangent but it's annoying that the match between Marion Bartoli and Shahar Pe'er or Jeremy Chardy and Victor Hanescu are not available for viewing anywhere. A service like TennisTV would attract more fans if these early round matches were available. I want tennis to grow as much as the next tennishead does. It's just that myopic decisions like this one, and the one that blacked out all WTA play at Memphis continue to hinder tennis growth.

Miscellany

Andy Murray on his recent illness:

"I took a full 10 days off. Because of that I've lost a little bit of fitness," he said at a press conference ahead of Indian Wells. "Hopefully I can get through a couple of matches and start to work my way into the tournament."

Murray said it had been difficult to diagnose the nature of the virus, but blood tests had eventually ruled out his initial fear that it was mononeocleosis. "I'd never felt that bad before," he said. "My first blood tests came back and the signs showed it could be glandular fever [another name for mononucleosis] so I had to take more tests to find out some different things. They came back and showed the glandular fever was negative.

"I don't know what exactly it was because my symptoms changed a lot. I went from having a sore throat and temperature, sweating during the night, bad stomach, nose bleeds and was throwing up, which I hadn't been at the start."

Glad that's over Andy.





Maria Sharapova is not setting a timetable for her return to tennis. Seen at her post match presser above, she said that she will return when she has no pain in her shoulder putting her appearance in Miami in doubt. Maria has taken on the powers that be in the WTA before and won. See you in London Maria.

World Team Tennis announced today that Kim Clijsters will play for their St. Louis Team for two matches this summer.

It's official. Darren Cahill, left, seen with Gil Reyes and Sven Groenveld has signed onto the Adidas program.

The adidas Player Development Program offers a mix of advice and support, from coaching and fitness training through to hitting partners, nutritional advice and career management plans. Cahill will work with Sven Groeneveld, who coached Ana Ivanovic to the Roland Garros title and World No. 1 ranking last season, as on-court coaches and advisors, while Gil Reyes provides players with off-court fitness training and mentoring.

SOURCE

Tennis Talk

by Savannah

The BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has started. The women qualifiers started play on Monday. The men begin today. Main Draw play begins Thursday and Friday respectively. The new online service TennisTV begins it's coverage on March 14 when the men's seeds commence play.

High School Drama

Colette Lewis is reporting on some news out of Miami regarding the men's draw and the Sony Ericsson event.

India's Yuki Bhambri, the world's top-ranked junior and the reigning Australian Open Junior champion has received a main draw wild card into the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins on March 25. That news, first reported by The Hindu, was confirmed by IMG Vice President Olivier Van Lindonk. The 16-year-old had earned a qualifying wild card by virtue of his victory at the Orange Bowl, on the site of the Sony Ericsson, but IMG, who owns the tournament, has decided to upgrade him. He'll join Marcos Baghdatis and Lleyton Hewitt, who have already been announced as wild card recipients.

Bhambri recently came in for some criticism for choosing to play in this week's Pro Circuit event in Texas rather than serve as a practice partner in India's Davis Cup tie with Chinese Taipei this weekend, according to this story from DNA. (University of Virginia's Sanam Singh, who is mentioned here as a part of the Davis Cup team, is not participating). Bhambri, using a junior exemption gained by finishing in the Top 10 of the ITF Juniors last year, lost in the first round of the Futures event to Lester Cook 6-4, 6-2. He also lost, in three sets, to Singh in the first round of qualifying for the ATP's Chennai Open back in January. IMG needs to use some caution in handing out a wild card to such a big tournament--it worked fine with Michelle Larcher de Brito, who last year used hers to win two Sony Ericsson matches before losing to Shahar Peer, but Bhambri is well behind her in terms of physical maturity. No one wants to see the Donald Young scenario repeated with another precocious and talented teen who is being viewed as the best hope to improve his country's tennis fortunes.

I recently spoke with Chris Woodruff, the associate head coach at the University of Tennessee (this is a teaser for my Tennis Recruiting Network article next week) and he made it very clear to me the danger of playing at the wrong level--and this was as an NCAA champion who felt in over his head. The occasional wild card is generally not harmful, but as Woodruff said, word gets around that you haven't earned your way in and there's not much sympathy from professionals for that circumstance.

The highlighted section regarding Donald Young is especially relevant since Donald, once the great American hope, was passed over for a Main Draw wild card at Indian Wells while lower ranked Ryan Sweeting and John Isner got in. Boys grow at a different rate than girls do as indicated above. I hope that someone somewhere slows young Bhambri's roll so that he grows both mentally and physically into his game.

Speaking of juniors Bernard Tomic of Australia has been fined and suspended from ITF sponsored events until April 6, 2009. Rumors were that he was looking at a life long suspension after following his father's instructions and walking off the court during a Challenger event so I guess this relatively light sentence will be accepted with grace by the Tomic clan. Bernard is also sixteen by the way. He also won a Challenger event last week.

Coaching News

Brad Gilbert will be working at Nick's place. With the USTA working hard to put in place a team that will teach an all court surface, thinking form of tennis to the best and brightest the United States has to offer this has to be a step backwards. It's one thing for Brad to try and hone an already developed mature player. It's another thing to have him shaping young minds.

David Nalbandian has hired Juan Monaco's coach. We all know how David likes to share. Lets see how this works out.

Davis Cup/Fed Cup News and Talk
Fed Cup semi finals take place April 25-26, 2009. Italy vs Russia will take place on clay at the Castellaneta Marina in Puglia, southern Italy. The Czech Republic vs United States will take place indoors at Brno in the Starobrno Rondo Arena.

The Fed Cup World Group Playoffs take place the same weekend.

As for Davis Cup the World Group Quarterfinals take place in July. The draw will be done May 12, 2009 in London.
Will Croatia choose clay even if it's not their players best surface? Will Captain Patrick McEnroe go with James Blake or will we see someone like Sam Querrey or Robby Ginepri if the surface chosen is indeed clay?

Does anyone remember the Fed Cup tie between Russia and Israel in Israel and how the crowd behaved? People said it was because they're not used to the rules of tennis. They know the rules in Argentina and that's never stopped them there. I'm just sayin'.

Apples and Oranges

Why is there so much virtual ink being spilled over the continued boycott of the tennis tournament at Indian Wells by Number One in the world Serena Williams and Number Five in the world Venus Williams? Why is almost all of it negative? These postings started appearing last week and have increased in vitriol as the time for the tournament to begin approaches. Here are excerpts from Martin Rogers Blog on Yahoo that are in wide circulation.

It's bad enough for a professional sports tour to implement a toothless, useless and self-defeating piece of legislation. To make sure that its idiocy generates a flurry of media attention and overshadows one of the biggest tournaments of the year, however, takes a special brand of ineptitude.
The WTA Tour tried to get tough at the start of this season by attempting to force leading players to compete in "premier" events or risk penalties of ranking points or suspension.
But as soon as Venus and Serena Williams stood up for themselves on a point of principle, the Tour cowered into submission and rendered its own "Roadmap" program utterly ineffective.
(...)
While the actions of some fans all those years ago can never be condoned, it is time for Venus and Serena to either forgive and forget, or be prepared to face the consequences of a continued boycott.

Under "Roadmap" rules, any top player skipping Indian Wells should receive zero ranking points and be ineligible for the following two tournament weeks. If WTA Tour chairman Larry Scott was serious about making his policy work, he had the ideal opportunity to lay down the law.
Instead, he has allowed the Williamses to exploit a loophole that permits them to avoid suspension by performing promotional duties for the tournament.

What is Mr. Rogers saying here? Yes the situation seven years ago was allowed by the powers that be to get out of control. Yes the Williams family has stood on principle and boycotted the event ever since. BUT the Williams family should abide by the WTA rules and either forgive and forget or accept the penalty of 0 points for the IW event and not be able to play in Miami. That insolent Williams family is being allowed to "exploit a loophole" and get away with thumbing their noses at the tour.

I wonder where Mr. Rogers, and all the other pundits, outrage was when one Maria Sharapova announced publicly last year that she couldn't be bothered doing some p.r. work for the tour, pulled out of a tournament late, and was -gasp- allowed to do promotional work for the tournament involved by one Mr. Larry Scott. And just to show it's not just the WTA that bends over backwards for it's superstars Mr. Roger Federer pulled out of Dubai just because and avoided the 0 points for that event by attending the players party while the injured Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco received 0 points for that week. Andy Roddick also withdrew from Dubai. Let's just say he didn't attend the players party.

I know how old I am and there are days I feel like I'm up to the "h" in Alzheimer's but I try not to cherry pick what I remember and what I don't remember. I'm not paid to write this blog. It's something I do because I love tennis. Mr. Rogers is being paid to write his blog and it would behoove him to mention, even in passing, that exceptions have been made and continue to be made for certain players. It doesn't matter if it's Roadkill or Brave New World. Those of us who criticized the WTA in the Sharapova situation were vilified. No one dares mention the get out of jail free card Roger got regarding Dubai nor the statement by his trainer that there wasn't really anything wrong with Roger's back and that the withdrawal was precautionary. I wonder what the reaction would've been if any other coach or trainer came out with something like that?

At no point did the Willams family say they were unwilling to accept the rules of Roadmap. They simply restated their position that they will not step foot on the premises again. No one has ever said differently on either side. In this case I think the tour did the right thing and all the "pundits" need a big cup of the stuff the guy in the picture is offering. It seems he's going to be quite busy this year.

It should be stated that I'm not singling Mr. Rogers out. He's not the only one who's pushing this. It's just that the selective outrage of the tennis press is mind boggling at times.

End Notes

Congratulations to Marion Bartoli who won the only tournament last week in Monterrey Mexico. Marion is newly svelt and getting moreso. It's Marion's first title in three years.

The doubles at Monterrey were won by Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo.

Remember her? Kim Clijsters is working on her tennis six hours a day four days a week according to a report by The Times Online. Her fans are ecstatic. If she returns can the other Belgian be far behind?

With Serena not playing at IW Dinara Safina is poised to become Number One. Is she ready for what that means? Somehow I can't see her and Ana Ivanovic having a girlfriend chat but Ana is Exhibit A for not being ready for the demands on the top player.

Breaking News

by Savannah

ATP’s $3 Million Dollar Bailout
March 6, 2009 ·

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - The ATP is returning around $3 million in fees to tournaments to help ease the effects of the global economic crisis. “In these difficult times the ATP has decided to give the tournaments a reduction in tournament fees to help them financially,” a spokesman for the ATP said on Friday.

“This allows the tournaments to take some pressure off their bottom line while waiting for economic circumstances to improve,” he said, adding that the total reduction was about $3 million.

The decision was made at an ATP board meeting in January and at the moment applied only to this year, he said.

The ATP World Tour, which this year features 63 tournaments in 31 countries, lost an 11-year sponsorship deal with Mercedes-Benz at the end of 2008.

The luxury car unit decided not to renew the agreement when it expired last year, saying it wanted to shift the focus of its marketing activities to sports such as golf, equestrian events and soccer.
The ATP spokesman said the fee reductions would come from ATP resources, so prize money for the tournaments should not be affected.

A spokesman for the WTA said the women’s tour would not be making similar reductions as it was in a healthy position financially, having achieved a 500 percent increase in sponsorship revenues over the past five years.

“The Tour is closely monitoring the impacts of the current economic environment,” he added. “We are taking proactive steps to manage expenses and monitor the health of our events.”

The original source on this is tennisreporters.net which is a subscription only service. This excerpt can be found HERE

The combined Masters Events are putting pressure on the WTA to do the same thing.

The Sick Bay



Andy Murray doesn't have mono. That's the only definite result from tests that were carried out on Thursday. As of now no one knows what's wrong with him and the whispers are getting louder that he may not play the BNP Paribas Open formerly known as Indian Wells where play gets under way March 9.

SOURCE

Tennis NIght in Gotham - The Pictures

by Savannah

As you see I am far from a professional photographer. I posted the pictures in order and provide the names of the people in the pictures where possible.

You never knew when a player was going to decide to walk in your direction and you'd have a chance at a picture. Venus was the most accommodating in this regard. Ana and Jelena stayed on the other side of the court. Serena had a running conversation going with some people to my left and if she came close that was where she went. That is why there are so few pictures of Serena and Ana. I did get some of Jelena. There was no slight intended it was just a rough night to take action pictures.

And next time I won't be so scared of moving around.


Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams Coin Toss


Jelena Jankovic


Ana Ivanovic


Up and coming juniors Sloane Stephens and Gail Brodsky along with WTA President Larry Scott lead the honored guests onto the court.


Former President Bill Clinton introducing Billie Jean King


Ms King addressing the crowd. Former President Clinton and the Mistress of Ceremonies Leslie Visser are standing behind her.


The Former President greets the young players.


Nancy Kerrigan leads the honored guests off the court. She is so tiny!


The Former President and Ms King pose for the press.


Sloane and Gail join in the photo-op.


Venus and Serena Take the Court


Venus Williams


Serena Williams


Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins

Monday Tennis Talk

by Savannah

Blame "Slumdog Millionaire". Oh I know! Blame Brangelina! Mickey Rourke? You can blame him for just about anything. I was kind of pulling for him to win but after his nasty remarks about Sean Penn after the nominations were announced I knew he was out of the running.
See? There's a reason I didn't post on Sunday. I have to see the Red Carpet at the big award shows and this time I stuck around to actually watch the award show. Sound plausible? Good.

Tommy Robredo 2009 Champion Buenos Aires

The Controversy Part II
So after all the drama surrounding the UAE and Shahar Pe'er not to mention fines and all that imagine my surprise when I read this on The Ticker this morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he feels Andy Ram should boycott this week's tournament in Dubai. "I was a bit surprised to discover that Andy Ram did intend to go there," Olmert was quoted as saying by Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. "It would be highly worthwhile for someone to advise him to demonstrate patriotism and solidarity and boycott the tournament."

The UAE government granted Ram a visa in the face of international pressure following its decision to deny one to Shahar Peer for the women's event last week.

If this is how the Israeli government feels why didn't it comment last week before everything went down the way it did?

In other Middle East related tennis news The Ticker also reports that the city of Stockholm has offered to replace Malmo as the host city of the Sweden-Israel Davis Cup tie next week, which would allow the matches to be open to the public.

The city council of Malmo had decided not allow spectators into the arena during the tie, citing security concerns over planned protests against Israel's actions in Gaza.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2009 Champion Marseilles

This and That
With the changes in how ranking points are doled out it seems paying attention to who is playing where and when is going to be very important this year. Exhibit A is what happened to the ATP 500 event scheduled in Dubai this week. The original draw looked like a who's who of the top ten men. The tournament that is actually being played features a field minus Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Nikolay Davydenko,
Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco. As I mentioned before Roger Federer will not play a 500 event before the US Open and will receive "0" points for each event not played. Clarification is needed. All of the men who withdrew will receive a "0" for the missed event with no chance of making it up. If they had come and all lost in the first round they'd still get a "0" but that could be erased by playing in another event. Clear? Here's a look at how the men stand this week.

D = Dallas
DE= Delray Beach
A= Acapulco

Thanks to ""Judio" for putting this information together and updating it every week.

New Old This Project Low
Rank Rank Player Week Points Opt
1 1 Nadal 0 14360
2 2 Federer 0 10910
3 3 Djokovic 0 8920 D
4 4 Murray 0 7310 D
5 5 Davydenko 0 4715
6 6 Roddick 0 4440
7 7 Del Potro 0 4290 220
8 8 Simon 0 3745 D
9 9 Verdasco 0 3330
10 11 Tsonga 0 3300 200
11 10 Monfils 0 3250 A
12 13 Blake 0 2990 150
13 12 Nalbandian 0 2895 A
14 14 Ferrer 0 2725 D
15 17 Wawrinka 0 2660 0
16 18 Gonzalez 0 2650 120
17 15 Robredo 0 2620 A
18 16 Stepanek 0 2530 50
19 19 Cilic 0 2420 D
20 20 Fish 0 2305 50 De
21 23 Berdych 0 2230 100
22 24 Andreev 0 2060 D
23 25 Safin 0 2040 D
24 22 Soderling 0 2015 90
25 27 Lopez F 0 1995 45
26 26 Gasquet 0 1920 D
27 29 Karlovic 0 1880 D
28 28 Tursunov 0 1875 D
29 30 Ancic 0 1795 45
30 21 Almagro 0 1780 A

Mark Knowles and son Graham celebrate Mark and Mardy Fish' Doubles Victory in Memphis

What makes a match must see? Well Marat Safin faces Richard Gasquet tomorrow in Dubai. Train wreck or instant classic? Won't you kick yourself if you miss it?

Victoria Azarenka 2009 Women's Champion Memphis

Andy Roddick overcame the challenge that is Radek Stepanek and eked out a victory over the man known in some circles as Mack Daddy. I saw the Roddick temperament - I mean what's a Roddick match without a racquet throw or two - but I didn't see the maniacal panicked back and forth, the groin picking (well maybe once or twice) and the arguing for arguments sake from Andy. What I did see was a game plan, stuck to and well executed. He obviously still wants it because he's listening to what new coach Larry Stefanki is telling him and seems to have incorporated what his prior coaches were trying to teach him as well. It is true that the field at Memphis didn't feature any of the big boys - they're over in Europe but will be here for the BNP Paribas Indian Wells and Miami - but it was still a good out of town tryout for Andy. The proof of the pudding will be during those back to back Masters events.

Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 2009 Doubles Champions Marseille

Maria Sharapova is hitting at Nicky B's place in Florida. There's video on YouTube to prove it. Will she come back for Indian Wells? Maybe. She's not a big fan favorite in Florida - many still remember the incident with Tatiana Golovin a few years back - but her fans are beating the bushes everywhere you turn for her to come back and "stop" Venus and Serena Williams.
Why does someone have to "stop" Venus and Serena when they're the biggest draws on the tour? A lot of these screeds are written by American "fans" of women's tennis. Wonder why the Russian's aren't baying for Maria's return since she carries Russian, not American citizenship? Maybe it's because the Russian women - minus Maria - seem to be doing very well on the tour thank you very much? I claim no inside knowledge as to what Maria will do and make no predictions as to when she will come back. I just wish some of these "fans" would get behind the top American women as vociferously as they do a Russian woman.

Marcel Granollers and Albert Martin 2009 Doubles Champions Buenos Aires

By the way they're still writing essays on how Roger can beat Rafael just in case you thought that cottage industry had gone away. Roger has now stated that he will only play when he's totally fit.

Liezel Huber and Cara Black with Princess Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein 2009 Doubles Champions Dubai

Yet another tennis player is making the pilgrimage to Las Vegas. The Times of India" is reporting that Sania Mirza will spend a week with Gil Reyes at his training center. She will also get to work with Sven Groeneveld who has made working for Adidas famous. Sania is hoping for wild cards into both Indian Wells and Miami.

Andy Roddick 2009 Men's Champion Memphis

There was a women's event in Bogota Colombia last week that seemed to be the tournament that time forgot. I'm sure the winner, María José Martínez Sánchez (seen below) will remember it. There was also a women's event in Memphis. If you're a casual fan you can be excused for not being aware of it. Two of the top new generation women, Caroline Woznicaki and Victoria Azarenka duked it out for the championship. Ms Wozniacki also had a go at this years feel good story star Jelena Dokic at the beginning of the tournament. There was a lot of interest in the women's side of the event but I guess the wiz kids of the WTA missed that memo. There was absolutely no coverage of the women's event to be found. Zero. Zip. Nada. The entire world, except for the United States, could see the men's event via TennisTV for a fee. Great marketing there too kids. You could, if you looked hard enough, find coverage of the men's event, including the final, if you looked hard enough.

Some tennis heads reported that the camera's were turned off during the women's events in Memphis. The only reason I didn't think this was a joke was because there was really a media blackout for the women. One would think with the WTA only holding on to die hard fans right now they'd look for every chance to put their product out there not hide it. It's not like people were going to descend on Memphis in droves to see the new kids but the tennisheads really wanted to see the play here. Instead they were reduced to scoreboard watching and wild guesses as to what was taking place on court. For a tour that consistently ignores it's top players in favor of one, for a tour that is more the butt of jokes among tennisheads instead of being known as a bastion of good play I find it amazing that every chance isn't taken to push the new generation. I know they're looking for a "savior" but in the meantime push the good product you've got. For every final where one contestant has thirteen double faults(that's you Gisela) there is play like that seen in the Dubai quarters, semis and Final. I'm just sayin' guys. Come on already.

Serena Williams was in the stands for her sister's win at Dubai but wild horses (and several time zones) wouldn't keep her from an Oscar's event. She may be bleary eyed. She may be dog tired but here she is attending Elton John's party. I remember those days when mere mention of the word "party" revived the spirit and sleep could be made up tomorrow. Good times.

Meanwhile, in the "Caption This" photographs of the week Venus was seen working out with her (unidentified) coach.


End Note
I leave you with this question. Why do people laugh when Richard Williams is mentioned as a potential Davis Cup coach for the United States? To steal a phrase enquiring minds want to know.