The Week That Was

by Savannah

The week that the tennis world found out that the woman who had been chosen as the face of her sport was doping for the last ten years is drawing to a close. Everyone, tennis fans and non fans is talking about the fall from grace of Maria Sharapova and what it means for the future of women's tennis.

Some of her fans (and those who are paid or not paid) to promote her on social media, are promoting a few things now.

• She wasn't "officially doping" until January 1, 2016.
• She is being persecuted because she is Russian.
• The effects of meldonium are negligible, no more rousing than a double expresso.
• A TUE may be granted.

Okay lets go one point at a time.

A man or woman hitting bottom and showing up at an AA, NarcAnon or Gamblers Anonymous meeting isn't a newly formed addict. They've engaged in the behavior that brought them to that meeting for many years and have finally reached the point where they can't stand themselves either. Acknowledging the fact that they're addicts doesn't mean that as of the day of their first meeting they became an addict does it?

Let's be clear. I'm not saying Ms Sharapova is a junkie. I'm making an analogy. However, what do you call someone who takes a medication they don't need (it bears repeating that her lawyer never said she had any of the medical conditions meldonium treats and that mentioning diabetes was a really silly thing to do) for ten years? Drugs like Vicodin, oxycontin and adderall all treat specific physical conditions, temporary or permanent. Those who take them when they're not needed are called what? Addicts. In sports they're called dopers.

Let's turn to sports then, specifically Lance Armstrong. He strongly denied, for years, that he was using PED's. He destroyed the careers of those who insisted that he did use them. And when the truth was revealed sports media was left with egg on its collective face. They'd reported the denials as truths and vilified those who "were out to get Armstrong" for years. And they were wrong.

It's because of the Armstrong case that I'm still surprised that Ms Sharapova and her lawyer took a page out of that book and came out of the gate charging citing medical use that has yet to be proven, telling a closed door meeting with chosen members of the press that Ms Sharapova had listed the drug on her declaration sheets she'd given to the ITF during the AO, and putting out cheerful press releases saying "the world is with Maria" and showing her romping on the beach with an unidentified male who was wearing a shirt that said "Sven" on the back. I should note in passing that none of the men who have coached Maria since her father stepped aside have said a word. Not one word that I'm aware of as I type this.

A Russian friend made me aware that the Russian press was taking the tack that Russian athletes were being persecuted by the West for geopolitical reasons. That argument has gone from one made only in Russian language forums to non Russian fan forums. I don't know what to say except that if even after the ban close to 60 of your athletes have tested positive for a drug that was on the watch list for all of 2015 and officially banned at the beginning of 2016 there is cause for concern.

I'm seeing this argument a lot now because fans are asking if tennis and sports media would've stepped so lightly if the person found to have doped for ten years was another player. "It's not racial" they say. Uh huh. I'll be charitable and say they're delusional. Or that their jobs depend on them pushing that meme.

If the effects of meldonium are so negligible why were so many athletes using it? Did it give them a buzz of some kind? Or did it, as has been alleged, increase endurance? Tennis fans can cite matches where Sharapova showed miraculous fight and endurance and many admire her for that if for nothing else. If it was so above board why did Sharapova, a 21 year resident of the US, have to buy the drug on her own after it was prescribed by a "family doctor" who has yet to be identified? If a doctor in the US prescribed and provided it to her he or she has probably hired a lawyer by now. If the doctor is based in Eastern Europe or Russia he or she is simply shrugging their shoulders and asking "what?".

Then there's the TUE (therapeutic use exemption) solution that was being bandied about. There are four criteria that have to be met in order for a TUE to be granted. You can't meet some of the criteria you have to meet them all.

1.1.2. Criteria for granting a TUE

The four criteria that must be fulfilled before a TUE is granted are set forth

in the International Standard for TUEs:

1. “The Athlete would experience a significant impairment to health if

the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method were to be withheld in

the course of treating an acute or chronic medical condition.” (Article

4.1 a. of the International Standard for TUEs.)

2. “The Therapeutic Use of the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited

Method would produce no additional enhancement of performance

other than that which might be anticipated by a return to a state of

normal health following the treatment of a legitimate medical

condition.

The Use of any Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method to increase

“low-normal” levels of any endogenous hormone is not considered an

acceptable Therapeutic intervention.” (Article 4.1b of the International

Standard for TUEs.)

Enhancement of performance should be taken to mean the return by the

Athlete to his/her level of performance prior to the onset of the medical

condition requiring treatment. This means that there may be some

enhancement of individual performance as a result of the efficacy of the

treatment. Nevertheless, such enhancement must not exceed the level of

performance of the Athlete prior to the onset of his/her medical condition.

3. “There is no reasonable Therapeutic alternative to the Use of the

otherwise Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method.” (Article 4.1

c of the International Standard for TUEs.)

Two points should be noted in relation to reasonable Therapeutic

alternatives:

 Only valid and referenced medications are considered as

alternatives.

 The definition of what is valid and referenced may vary from one

country to another. These differences should be taken into

account. For example, a medication may be registered in one

country and not in another, or approval may be pending, etc.

4. “The necessity for the Use of the otherwise Prohibited Substance or

Prohibited Method cannot be a consequence, wholly or in part, of

prior non-Therapeutic Use of any Substance from the Prohibited

List.” (Article 4.1 d. of the International Standard for TUEs.)

Once these guidelines were posted on Twitter the TUE option kind of went away. Some fanatics tried to post only some of the requirements but other fans posted all four.

So what conclusions are to be drawn?

Ms Sharapova's lawyer John Haggerty did an interview with Simon Cambers of The Guardian newspaper where he appears to walk back several of the talking points that had been put to the public. The following is from that interview linked above.

Q) Did she put meldonium on those forms?
A) Maria never took meldonium, she took mildronate. I’m in the process … I’ve yet to review those forms so I can’t answer that question. I simply do not know.
Q) There has been talk that Maria could ask for a retrospective TUE (therapeutic use exemption). Has Maria asked for one, can she ask for one?
A) We’re evaluating all of Maria’s options and since the TUE process is confidential I’m not in a position to be able to comment either way in what she has or has not done in that regard.
Q) Is there a time limit on doing this?
A) I’m not aware of any timeframe with regard to submission of such a thing.
Q) Meldonium is not licensed in the US so there are questions about where Maria got it from, as individuals are banned from importing it into the US. Has the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) been in touch with you?
A) The FDA has not been in touch with me. It is an over-the-counter medicine that is readily available in a number of countries. Maria legally purchased it and obtained it and has been taking it per her doctor’s recommendations.
Q) So would she have been buying it outside of the US?
A) Given that goes into the medical records and out of respect for the ITF (International Tennis Federation) process, I’m not going to be able to respond to that.

Poor Lindsay Davenport. She's become collateral damage in this situation. She reported to Tennis Channel viewers what Haggerty said in that closed door invitation only meeting - that the forms submitted in Melbourne showed meldonium as one of the drugs she was taking. Sharapova's fans are still trying to say "but Lindsay said" but that doesn't wash since Sharapova's lawyer waffled when asked about it directly.

Saying that it was Mildronate and not meldonium is ridiculous since they're one and the same. Mildronate is the name it's sold to the public by. Meldonium is the active ingredient, the generic name much is the way "Advil" is the retail name for ibuprofen. I give credit to Cambers for asking where she got it from. His question provoked another non answer from Haggerty.

So back to those conclusions.

Ms Sharapova's people have been silent for a couple of days now. Again I'm writing this post so I haven't been able to check and see if anything new has been said by anyone associated with the case.

Tennis media has also gone pretty quiet. There really isn't much to say now is there? Chris Evert, with whom I've had many disagreements, did an interview with ESPN that is must see video. I think she sums things up better than anyone else has so far. As we all know she can't be called an apologist for any player other than Sharapova. In that she went along with the entire ESPN on air staff. Here is the link to her interview . It was after this that a lot of the reporting changed from rah-rah to taking a sober look at the facts.

While watching tennis yesterday in the middle of a match Mary Carillo and Lindsay Davenport started talking about if Maria Sharapova is required to give back the money she won at Melbourne it should be evenly distributed among the players she beat.

I will repeat what I said in my first post about this. All any of us can do is wait.

© Savannahs World 2016 All rights reserved.

A Facepalm to End The Year

by Savannah

I thought that the silly season was just about over. Live tennis, real tennis, not some ginned up exhibition that pays players a ton of money to show up, but real live tennis will be starting soon.

Silly me. I should've known better. The WTA, in its never ending mission to dumb down women's tennis will be introducing an app during Brisbane that will do all the things that make match play exciting. What are those things you ask? Oh, little things like knowing where your opponent is standing. Is she standing way behind the baseline, on the baseline, or just inside the baseline to receive your serve and returns? Simply looking across the net will tell you that.

Is she hitting to your forehand or backhand? Is she taking advantage of your slowness on court to try and make you move? If you know the success of your game relies on you dominating the center of the court and you're constantly trying to catch up to balls that are catching the line you're in trouble.

The WTA has a solution for you. It's introducing an app that will do your thinking for you. Paul Malone a sportswriter for the Courier Mail of Brisbane posted an article detailing just how wonderful and groundbreaking this app is. Forget that the app will only be used by the WTA. Forget that it will not be used during Slams even though some muckety muck associated with Tennis Australia feels it will be allowed to be used during Slams.

And you know ATP players are somewhere laughing their asses off.

The women's game is already disrepected by the men and I think this will make it worse. The whole point of tennis is to figure out what your opponent is doing and adapt to it. The WTA, with oncourt coaching, has already dumbed down the women's game encouraging the spectacle of a coach swanning down out of the stands to hold his charges hand and clear her muddled mind. Now the coaches will have this app so that the poor dear can see how far back her opponent is standing, see where her opponent is hitting returns to her and tell her what to do. I wonder what the player has been doing out there all this time? Filing her nails while balls whiz past her because the heat of competition is too much for her?

There are already people, me among them, who see a drop in the quality of women's tennis coming. It's coming in mens tennis too but they're not doing something as asinine as this. This is only going to hasten the decline and perhaps make it impossible for the sport, as played by women, to return to its glory days. Serena Williams dominates women's tennis because she's always thinking out there. She can change strategy during a match and mentally wears her opponents down. Thinking on court can be done but apparently the WTA thinks its special snowflakes need an app to show them what should be done routinely during match play.

There are many passionate followers of women's tennis out there. I hope that they condemn this further dumbing down of women's tennis. Intelligence will no longer be the deciding factor for a female player. Her coach will do everything for her. That way she can concentrate on magazine covers, fashion spreads and selfies. Oh, and staged photoshoots with boyfriends.

More on the WTA - Are Five Set Matches The Answer?

by Savannah

I went on a bit of a rant about the WTA's emphasis on having any and everyone on the tour do a half naked photo shoot in a lame attempt to draw people to the tour. I also slammed fan sites for buying into this. I didn't talk about how the alleged tennis fans that populate these sites seem to have the collective mental age of thirteen year old boys because I thought that might be a bit of a cheap shot but I'm mentioning it in this post because, well I should've mentioned it yesterday.

But it's not fair to paint all of the people on fan sites with a broad brush. Under all the drivel there are true tennis fans, fans who won't waste hundreds of cyber pages on flat chested vs not flat chested and who want to talk about what measures can be taken to improve the play and reputation of women's tennis.

To support this point a view a fan calling him/herself "T-Rex" posted an article from The Economist from January 2012 that should've been required reading for all tennis fans, coaches, players, organizations and journalists, professional and non professional.

The first picture in the article is shown below.



The picture makes it clear what the focus of the article will be. Remember that this is over a year old.

...Introducing best-of-fives into women's majors would have numerous benefits. For a start, it should boost athleticism. That has been perhaps the most exciting development in the men's game over the past decade. As modern tennis has retreated to the baseline and rallies have lengthened, the need to prepare for a punishing, five-set encounter has made fitness a priority. The supreme conditioning of Mr Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who have split all of the last seven slams between them, has allowed them to perform acrobatics that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. This has replaced the court craft of the 1970s as the visual treat for spectators.

By contrast, without best-of-fives, the fading of serve-and-volley tennis has arguably led to a setback for athleticism in the women's game, which probably peaked with Germany's Steffi Graf in the 1980s and 1990s. Players approach the net less frequently than ever before, and yet they have never had to build much stamina...

That is also, partly, because best-of-threes give weaker players more chance to cause an upset. A brief lapse in concentration or a lucky mishit can determine the outcome of a set and put a player firmly in control of a match. Best-of-fives, on the other hand, reward consistency. They also favour more cerebral players, who can adapt their game plans to counter troublesome opponents. That makes them more interesting to watch as well as harder to win. It is notable that over the past three years, eight different men have won Masters 1000 tournaments, where best-of-threes are played, but just four have triumphed at majors...

In itself, the shorter format demeans women. It gives ammunition to opponents of equal pay, who argue that women put in fewer hours and attract less interest than men. And the discrimination is unusually sexist...

Reform will not happen unless women demand it, however. And the leading players remain silent on the issue. That is hardly surprising. Having enjoyed success as things stand, they have little incentive to call for a physically taxing change, especially as tournaments like Wimbledon now pay them equal prize money to the men.

The last paragraph says all that needs to be said about why the WTA and the women players keep playing the "pay us" card while avoiding the issues raised in the above article.

There is no excuse for anyone in the top ten to be as physically unfit as Ana Ivanovic, Petra Kvitova, and Marion Bartoli. Thin does not equal fit. Showing up on court with a visible gut is obviously not fit. Thin may get you modeling work but with no muscle tone you won't play well on the court.

I hope people read the entire article and think about it. So often the reaction to any article critical of women's tennis is met with venom and attack from the supporters of women's tennis. It's not sexist to demand fitness. The proof of the articles premise was visible in Indian Wells and Miami where attendance at women's matches was horrible.

Let's think about it. And stop abetting the WTA tour in putting an inferior product on display.

The Whisper's Are Getting Louder...

by Savannah

The debate about the 5th Slam is over, at least for 2013. Indian Wells dropped that mic and Miami's flow is not working.
Is it time to take another look at the two events place in the calendar? Is it time for Miami to think about becoming a clay court tournament so that European players will be more inclined to stay and play? Will IMG give up it's control of the event?

Actually all of the questions are interrelated.

First the IMG story. The players highest in tennis fans esteem, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, left the fold last year. With no pipeline to the inside story I can only speculate and say that the decision was purely a business decision. The controversial head of IMG, Theodore Forstmann, died in November 2011. In doing some research I came across this:

The sale is expected to draw interest from big entertainment players ranging from Creative Artists Agency and William Morris to French media group Lagardere, according to the people familiar with the matter. Large private equity firms and billionaires are also expected to participate, the people said.
(...)
Forstmann Little has been holding on to the IMG investment for longer than a typical investment period for private equity, and has for years rebuffed overtures from prospective buyers. Buyout interest increased following Teddy Forstmann’s departure in April 2011 as IMG Chairman and CEO, and his death later that year.

Notable buyers that had approached Teddy Forstmann included former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, who was willing to pay $1.5 billion for IMG in 2008. Sources told Reuters at the time Teddy Forstmann wanted at least twice the amount.

Both men have opted to work with their personal PR people.

Turmoil always opens the door to chaos and that seems to be what is reigning in Miami right now. The tournament admits that ticket sales are down. Indian Wells had record attendance.

Then the issue of so much hard court play came up. Victoria Azarenka, who seems to be the only top rated woman who uses her vocal chords on and off court raised it in relation to her injury. Rafa has been a one man band about it for awhile now.
I guess that's why the idea of Miami switching to clay has been floated.

Now to me clay is red clay, not the artificial stuff used in the United States. Hard court purists decry the slow hard courts of Indian Wells because the big servers don't do well on it. I have to think that for players coming off the South American swing it's a god send. Of course most North American players don't make that swing.

If the slow hard courts of Indian Wells hamper North American players why aren't they well represented in the late stages of Miami? The only American doing well is...Serena Williams. Oh yeah Sam Querrey is still around but if he makes the final I'll be surprised. Very surprised.

I don't think the USTA, after mounting a full court press to get rid of Monte Carlo as an event, will let Miami change to clay without a fight. I'm pretty sure it's loyal press will soon start posting stories about the glories of hard court play. We've already seen the idiotic results of strict enforcement of the twenty five second rule, an emphasis that makes it easy for largely immobile hard servers to stay competitive while those who play a more sophisticated game are supposed to suffer. The most experienced chair umps, after a long rally, give the players time. Steve Ulrich, with the freedom retirement brings, called the rule "crazy". And he's an American.

Then of course there's the issue of top players dropping like flies. Almost every day has brought another player pulling up lame or citing illness as the reason for their withdrawal. That is why Sam Querrey is still around. Milos Raonic said he has strep throat and is unable to play so Querrey got the walkover. I can imagine tournament officials holding the remaining seeds hostage to ensure their appearance.

Lastly if Miami is moved where would it go? The last thing the USTA wants is a player focused TD like Larry Ellison getting control of the event. I'm guessing it'll be some organization that will allow things to go on as they have been.

But the issue going forward will still be hard courts and their effect on players. The game is much more physical, requires much more thought than a fast hard court will allow. There has even been talk of reviving indoor carpet.

I think in the end Miami will stay where it is in the calendar and remain a hard court event. Sorry a fast hard court event.
Of course I could be wrong. Time will tell.

Miscellany



I think that we will soon be able to add Sloane Stephens to the trash heap next to Melanie Oudin. I'm being so harsh because I watched Sloane play a brilliant set of tennis against Aga Radwanska yesterday on her own, with no coach flying out of the stands to tell her what to do. After that set her new coach, USTA darling David Nainkin, came and talked to her. And that was it for Sloane. She stopped doing everything she'd done well and played right into The Queen Vulture's hands. I didn't hang around for the third set so missed seeing Sloane get served a bagel.

Any player can beat any other player on any given day. Look at what Alejandro Falla almost did to Tomas Berdych yesterday. And let's just forget how hard Serena had to fight to come back against Dominika Cibulkova.

On second thought lets not forget Serena's match. Domi was all over Serena like a cheap suit. Serena couldn't find the court. Her footwork was nonexistent. Her smashes were finding the net. But she took a deep breath and ended up a winner. Her father got so nervous he left the court. Patrick Mouratoglou looked like he was on pins and needles. But Serena sat on the sidelines and fought her way out of the trap she'd set for herself. This is what Sloane is going to have to learn to do. And attitude is not going to win anything for her. The top players see her coming now and be ready for her. Sloane, dearie,(I'm a big OUAT fan), all those people blowing smoke up your ass because you defeated a severely injured Serena in Australia are bullshitting you. You are not a top ten player. In fact you sound as if you'd be content to be a top thirty player. Think I'm kidding? This is what a fiery Sloane said at her post match presser yesterday:

Sloane Stephens: "I'm 16 in the world. I can lose in the first round the next 2 months and I prob would still be top 30. "

The above was posted by @jonwertheim but he wasn't the only one who posted it yesterday. That is not what you want an up and coming player to say. It's not what you want an up and coming player to even conceive of thinking. Unless Sloane has the cojones to go outside of the US coaching establishment I don't see her game maturing much beyond where it is now. That injured woman you played in Melbourne is sitting on top of the rankings Sloane. She didn't get there by being content with a lower ranking.

Ironically Sloane is allegedly seen by Sam Smith as being the only athlete among the younger players. It's something I've noticed but been loathe to bring up after the Patrick McEnroe comments about sixteen year old Taylor Townsend.

But Smith has a point. There is a difference between being slim and being fit. I've seen more spare tires around the waists of women much more mature than Townsend, players considered the top picks from their countries. No one is saying women have to go the Ana Ivanovic route but there has to be a happy medium.

As for the lack of television coverage for WTA matches I'm saying the same thing I've been saying. Improve your product and you will get butts in the seats and television coverage. Right now the WTA is getting what it pays for. It sucks for fans of women's tennis but it is what it is. All the photo shoots and red carpets won't change what happens on court. It says something when two 31 year old women are fitter than the young'uns. It would also help if the WTA got rid of on court coaching. It's a crutch a top player shouldn't want or need.

No One Stayed

by Savannah



Marion Bartoli took the court late last evening to play Svetlana Kuznetsova in a match that could hardly be described as marquee for the casual tennis fan. For hard core tennis heads it was an intriguing match up. Marion had just formally announced that she was now being coached by Jana Novotna and Sveta had begun to show signs of having her mind focused on tennis.

It turned out to be what I can only call an "interesting" match. Sveta raced out to a 4-0 lead and it looked as if Maid Marion was still adjusting to life with out father.

But then Sveta did a Sveta and ended up losing the first set and the match.

It should be noted that the day session ran late and that the first match of the night session could also be called a match made for tennis junkies. That match featured American player James Blake playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I thought Tsonga would wipe the floor with Blake who is playing here thanks to a wild card. There was a decent sized crowd to urge both players on and a lethargic distracted Tsonga was ripe for the picking. Blake came out on fire but soon embroiled himself in an argument with Fergus Murphy on esoteric points of umpiring, something he wouldn't let go. I wonder what it is about US based players that when they reach the point in a match where they know they can't win they start a fight. Is that the way US players tank matches?

Anyway this post is about who stayed late to watch the women's match.



The above was posted on Twitter right after the match ended. (I don't know who posted it. It was late when I downloaded it and forgot the poster's name. I apologize for using the picture without accreditation).

There were fans there after Marion won the first set but she took a rather long potty break and that sent everyone home. It's cold in the desert at night and I didn't see fans in the upper deck invited to sit in the expensive seats like they do at the US Open. In no way could it be called a crowd. In fact the attendance at WTA matches has been appalling. Fans will watch lower ranked ATP players or head for the practice courts or the soccer field instead of watching the women play. Neither Victoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova drew a full house. It's a matter of branding with the WTA as I've said before.

It's the fans loss though. Last night's women's match was a great look at two women, one who has never really lived up to her potential and another, a Slam winner, who had lost her way.

Double Standards

Speaking of potty breaks Tomas Berdych took an epic one the other day. The comms on TennisTV were bending over backwards to explain that the bathrooms are a long way from the court where Berdych was playing and that he wasn't trying to play a head game and psych out his opponent. Yeah, right.
The fans got restless and Berdych reappeared on court just before it started getting really ugly. But as the comms said it wasn't his fault the bathroom was so far away. Uh huh.

This and That

by Savannah

Thank goodness for people like FootFault who while saying he/she is not out to change the WTA ranking system still manages to throw more fuel on the fire of the WTA ranking system. Keep In mind that the rankings were once based on points scored per tournament.

Rank – Name – Average Points Per Tournament

1. Serena Williams 893

2. Venus Williams 554

3. Kim Clijsters 553

4. Justine Henin 379

5. Caroline Wozniacki 365

6. Vera Zvonareva 357

7. Sam Stosur 262

8. Francesca Schiavone 224

I'm just saying.

Team Glamour Girls, Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko, proved they are more than that by winning the Doubles crown in Doha. The Smiling Assassins - Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, winners of two Grand Slams, did not make the final. The Glamour Girls defeated the team of Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik to win.

Christophe Rochus Slings Mud

Career record 109–186
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 38 (May 1, 2006)
Current ranking No. 158 (June 14, 2010)

When you Google Christophe Rochus name you get two results, his name, and another reference to match fixing. Being the person I am I read the match fixing stuff first. It makes for pretty interesting reading. Here's a sample from a 2009 article.

Exclusive: Wimbledon on high alert over suspected match-fixing rings
Up to 12 players feature on official 'watch list' following betting irregularities

By Nick Harris

The Independent has...learnt that...there was also irregular betting on at least one match at the Monte Carlo Masters in April. France's Jean-René Lisnard's first-round win, 6-2, 6-2, over Belgium's Christophe Rochus led to non-payment of bets by some bookies.

From this year there's this

Newport Match Under Investigation for Match Fixing
July 9, 2010

Richard Bloomfield and Christophe Rochus’ first-round match at the Newport event in R.I. this week attracted a great deal of suspicion after $1.5 million was waged on the contest.
Bloomfield won in straight sets, even though he was ranked No. 552 in the world, and Rochus was ranked No. 160. Bloomfield became the 1-8 favorite shortly after capturing the first set.
With match fixing becoming an evident problem in men’s tennis, further inquiry by the ATP and Tennis officials will continue to take place.

So of course as Rochus exits stage left he talks about - doping - and how it's rampant in mens tennis. In the interview he talks about the suspicion around Justine Henin's bizarre exit but of course says nothing libelous. "You've heard the talk," seems to be his proof.

As long as there are sports competitions there will be those who try to cheat - either by doping in the hope of enhancing their performance, or when they think they can't falling prey to those who care only about making money off of sport not about sport itself.

Then there are those who just become bitter that their talent wasn't enough, or that they turned pro at the wrong time. Christophe is the shorter of the two Rochus brothers and maybe he never got over not being a foot taller. I'm no shrink so I don't know. It's interesting that he seems to be dropping hints about who the nosebleed player could be so that fans will obsess about solving that riddle instead of looking at the man who is casting aspersions.

I have no idea if Rochus is guilty of anything. It's just that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. We are all raised with that maxim. At least we should be.

Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace won the doubles crown in St Petersburg.

Ross Hutchins and Stephen Huss won the doubles title in Montpellier.

In Wien the team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the doubles title.

The Future Of the WTA

WTA CEO Stacey Allaster delivered her State of the WTA speech at Doha this past week. A few things stood out and are excerpted below. It's a long excerpt but well worth reading.

...On the business perspective, I highlighted the digital international growth, circuit structure, and financial stability would be our priorities. We kicked it off with the renewal of our major partnership with Sony Ericsson, and that gave us all the wind in our sails.

To have Sony Ericsson renew, such a terrific brand, perfect to help us communicate and promote an energetic product. We couldn't be more thrilled to have Sony Ericsson as our lead global partner in 2011 and 2012.

There's no doubt, a new leader at Sony Ericsson, Bert Nordberg, who is incredibly committed, very energized, participating in our global advisory council. He has restaffed and reprioritized our partnership. It will be reenergized, and I think in 2011 you'll see some exciting now marketing programs specifically targeted on the young players who are in that 30 to 50 category, the next group of stars. That's fantastic for us, because we need that energy to help market and promote those future stars.

But obviously there has been a change. They are no longer our title sponsor, but they remain or No. 1 partner. We will unlock our two brands, but our two brands will live together, wherever possible, side by side.
(...)
We decided to go back to exactly who we are: The Women's Tennis Association. In had 1973, Billie Jean King and approximately 50 players were in the Gloucester Hotel in London, and they formed the Women's Tennis Association. We decided first and foremost to be the WTA.

That would be our hero brand, and then we would create a subportfolio of brands: WTA Tour, WTA Championships, WTA news, rankings, scores, WTA Premier event. I think in doing so, we wanted to keep our communication simple, and also create a model for commercialization so we could have revenue growth.
(...)
In 2010, not only did we renew Sony Ericsson, we secured three new sponsors. We had not secured a new sponsor in six years. I think that had everything to do with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Because when you have such a dominant brand, it is much harder to attract other brands to want to partner.
(...)
So we kicked it off with a new relationship with Oriflame, a Swedish‑based cosmetics company.
(...)
The WTA clothing line will launch in 6,000 retail outlets in 2011 in China, with our new partnership with Peak. Peak is a Chinese‑based apparel company with global aspirations, performance, and style. They're(sic) focus at first will be on China. They work with NBA China, so it's a great brand to now partner with the WTA.

Our third partnership, I really would like to tell you, but I can't. It is signed, and it will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
(...)
We go to our international growth strategy. Asia‑Pacific is the priority, and specifically China. You know that in 2009 we put one of our four mandatory events in Beijing. There is the incredible Olympic stadium that was built, and now is the home of the China Open. Next year when I'm here, I'm going to be able to show you a new 15,000-seat, retractable roof stadium. Laura Ceccarelli is smiling, a supervisor.

It is absolutely amazing what the Beijing government and the China Open are doing for our sport. At the press conference there in Beijing, Chairman Yabin said to me, Stacey, what took tournaments 20 or 30 years to build, we're going to to build it in four or five years. They are incredibly ambitious. They have made women's tennis a priority sport, and that is just simply fantastic for the WTA.

We have an office in Beijing. We're two and a half years into it. It has been led by David Shoemaker, our president. I don't know where Dave is. He's done an incredible job. He's now back in St. Pete with me, thank goodness, but he's still overseeing this very important strategic growth project for us.

We have taken a play right out of David Stern's playbook from the NBA. We need to excite kids about our sport. We need to get racquets in their hands and show them our sport is fun through tennis festivals throughout the country. That's created an opportunity for our brand, and also assets for our partners, like Peak.

We have a lot education to do. We're going to work with the Chinese Tennis Association to educate the Chinese people on our sport. Even a simple thing as how to score the game. And being on the ground and in the market is a great advantage to us.

And then we have the local heroes. Where our team week in, week out is promoting back to the Chinese fans their stars. And what a year the Chinese players had, making the semifinals in Australia, Li Na being the first Chinese woman to crack the top 10. As David has said, it's not a matter of if there will be a No. 1 female Chinese player in the world, it's just a matter of when.

The circuit structure really has been a beacon of focus for me. You know, in 2009 we launched the new circuit structure. We call it the Roadmap. It was the most extensive set of reforms in the history of the WTA. It was about streamlining our calendar and shortening the season. Together with the players and the management team and our board, we are all thrilled that tonight at about 10:30 the 2010 season will be over and we end with two months off. That is great for the athletes.

Better geographical flow around the Grand Slams with the surface and the climates. Very important for the overall health and well‑being of the athlete, and giving them some breaks in between. Is it working? Absolutely. Compared to where we were in 2008, withdrawals are down 35%, and our top 10 players are committing at 84% to our top events.

We never said the Roadmap would be without injury. There is going to be injury in sport, particularly when you have 40 weeks on a very demanding and grueling calendar.

But if we look at I think the injuries that are on everyone's mind ‑ Serena, Venus, Justine ‑ those injuries are not from overplay. They are not because of the demands on the circuit where we've asked now the top 10 players to play ten, they have each of their own individual reasons for why they're not with us here in Doha.

Miscellany

Tennis players are getting more exposure via fashion oriented photo shoots. Here are examples of players doing the supermodel thing.

Vera Zvonareva in Russian Harpers Bazaar

Jelena Jankovic

A Fond Farewell

by Savannah

With Elena Dementieva's retirement after her match against Francesca Schiavone at the end of round robin play in Doha it seems as if that clock is ticking louder than ever. No she never won a Grand Slam. No she never got higher than number three in the rankings. Heaven knows she had no serve. And yes she was different. A truly beautiful woman she was never the one hyped by the tennis establishment let alone the media. Yet for twelve years she was a mainstay in her sport and spent years ranked within the top echelon of tennis. I became a fan late in her career but admired her ability to fight, to try and be the best she could be whenever she took the court.

To be honest she did look a little distracted in the second half of the year. Rumor is she had told a select few that this was going to be her last year. It was hinted that she wanted what life has to offer away from the court, away from airports and practice and training. Maybe she'll be seen at NHL games watching her boyfriend. Will their engagement make the news cycle around the world? I doubt it. Elena is not that person.

Some are saying her retirement is the beginning of the end of the Golden Age of women's tennis. Was there such a thing? Let's look at active players who have been at or near the top of the sport in singles and when they turned pro.

Patty Schnyder turned Pro in August 1994

Venus Williams turned Pro October 31, 1994

Serena Williams turned Pro September 1995

Kim Clijsters turned Pro in 1997

Francesca Schiavone turned Pro in 1998

Elena Dementieva turned Pro August 25, 1998

Justine Henin turned Pro January 1, 1999

Daniela Hantuchova turned Pro May 1999

Svetlana Kuznetsova turned Pro 2000

Maria Sharapova turned Pro April 19, 2001

How do you define a "Golden Age"? I think what people mean is that before all the up and comers began to play the same generic game there were players who brought a unique style and personality to the game and to the court. These women are innovative and can think their way out of a paper bag. You very rarely see any of the women above (with the notable exception of Maria Sharapova) resort to on court coaching. They take pride in what makes tennis great - the ability to go mind to mind with the person across the net figuring out their game and developing a way to beat them. Does that mean that a "Golden Age" is about to end?

There's been a lot of talk in the broadcast booth about the recent spate of slamless number one players, women who play almost every week in order to amass the points that will put their name at the top of the heap. There's also been a lot of talk about the toll that takes on the body.
But that's an end of year discussion and not one that needs to be had now.

Elena Dementieva is going to be missed. I'm not sure if she asked that her name be taken off of the rankings list or if she wants it to fall off naturally. 2011 is going to start out strangely without her name on the entry list for the Australian Open.

For those who haven't seen it here is the tape of Elena's farewell speech.

Best wishes and much success with the rest of your life Elena.

Elena Dementieva Has Retired

by Savannah


Elena Dementieva of Russia announced her retirement after her match at Doha today. The news broke on Twitter via Russian journalist Vladas Lasitskas minutes before the end of Elena's match but Lindsay and Corinna both said they'd known since yesterday and all of the players at Doha were in the stands.
Elena's retirement comes as a surprise. More reaction later.

Weekend Winners

by Savannah

The men rejoined the fray last week as the Asian swing gets underway. There are some faces in the winners circle we rarely ever see even in semi finals.

Gilles Simon hoisted the alien baby trophy Sunday after he won Metz. I wonder what deal the FFT struck with the aliens so that they can keep handing out this trophy.

Meanwhile the doubles winners Dustin Brown and Rogier Wassen took home trophies their wives/mothers/girlfriends/significant others can use as for flowers.

Meanwhile it was Alla Kudryatseva who donned the traditional winners head dress in Tashkent. I love the traditional wear the winners put on here.

Doubles winners Tatiana Poutchek and Alexandra Panova were draped in traditional robes for the awards ceremony.

Juan Ignacio Chela won the singles title in Bucharest, Romania. He is flanked by Ion Tiriac and Ilie Nastase on the left.

Chela had a great weekend. He also won the doubles crown playing with Lukasz Kubot.

Alisa Kleybanova proudly hoists the winners trophy in Seoul.

Julia Goerges and Polona Hercog won the doubles crown in Seoul.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Miscellany
Some early results from Tokyo.

Soon to be forty Wild Card Kimiko Date-Krumm defeated the #12 seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Dinara Safina lost to the above mentioned Julia Goerges 1-6, 7-5, 2-6.

In totally expected news Serena Williams, sporting a large scar on her foot, has not returned to the main tour. This means the top spot in the WTA rankings is up for grabs.

This and That

by Savannah

Ana Ivanovic has officially withdrawn from Montreal citing the article below as part of the reason. Personally I don't have any problem with the premise of the article but that could be because being female she does nothing for me.

Should Tennis Canada have been so blunt? Maybe not. But is there anything in the article that isn't true? An excerpt.

The vast majority of media and fans seem squarely on the Serbian cutie's side.

Ana Ivanovic, in the qualifying? How disrespectful, given her track record, the fact she won here four years ago -and mostly, how cute she is.

Ivanovic is cute, and really nice, and everyone wants her to get back on track.

But in the particular context of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, she's not necessarily added value. And that made the decision a little easier for tournament director Eugene Lapierre.
(...)
But unlike the three U.S. tournaments (San Diego, Stanford, Cincinnati) that did give her wild cards, Lapierre did not consider Ivanovic an "incontournable" -a player you couldn't pass up like, say, if Steffi Graf decided she wanted to play.
(...)
Beyond all that, you have to wonder if they're really helping Ivanovic, long term.

When you're struggling with your confidence as much as she is, the best cure is to win tennis matches. Unseeded, the 22-year-old Serb could very easily run into a top player in the first round, lose, and be no further ahead.

"If I were her coach, I'd force her to play qualies," Lapierre said.

Ivanovic seems to be running her career as if she were still on top, or as if all it's going to take is one good win -and she'll be right back there. During a training week last week, she wrote on Facebook that she had her entire family with her.

How can that be anything but pressure, a group of well-meaning people Ivanovic -who is a people-pleaser above all -has bearing down on her at all times as a reminder of what she no longer is?

The entire article is HERE

What gets me is that no one is clamoring for Dinara Safina to be given wild cards and she was ranked number one for more weeks that Ivanovic. Double standard much?
Both women are where they are because of the decline in their level of play. Dinara does have a back problem she says she is free from now but Ana has never to my knowledge cited injury as her problem.

I guess the boys want to be able to continue their visual masturbation and they're going to keep the pressure on. Will the US Open grant her a Wild Card into the Main Draw? I guess we'll know soon enough.

Tennis Channel Commentators

Robbie Koenig, Doug Adler and Jason Goodall are fonts of knowledge when the commentate a match and I mean that in a good way. During Andy Murray's match yesterday the subject of his not having a coach naturally came up. It started calmly enough and the obligatory picture of Judy Murray flashed on screen. Then the comment was passed that Murray is a very head strong individual and that if a person is hired as a coach he needs to be in charge of the players professional life and the player must listen to him. Hmmm Andy. I guess you know best what's good for you huh?

But back to the announcers mentioned above. During last night's match there were times when they knew to keep their mouths shut and let the tennis speak for itself. That doubled the enjoyment of one of the best tiebreaks played in a long time. It ended with a 14-12 score. It was so nice not to have to hear a discussion of Isner/Mahut while it took place. Or the Monogram. I wish the ESPN announcers would learn that sometimes silence is indeed golden

I should mention in passing that Jamie Murray comes across as much more likeable than his brother in his bag check spot on Tennis TV. I'm just saying.

The WTA Follies

The WTA never ceases to amaze. The Premier event in Cincinnati had some dynamite first round and potential second round matches lined up. As @olerafa put it on Twitter here were the big matches. Emphasis is by @olerafa.

KUZNETSOVA vs SHARAPOVA FIRST ROUND!!!

Azarenka - Ivanovic first round

Clijsters-Safina potential second round.

Jankovic's section is Rezai and 5 qualifiers

Unless you were on site you didn't see any of the first round matches because the WTA, in its infinite wisdom, made sure the cameras were off so that fans and potential fans of its product were unable to see how play went.
Coverage starts today on TennisTV.com where a paid subscription is required. That means there will be live streams since the cameras will now be turned on.

Meanwhile a shout out has to be given to the men and women who got press credentials or who attended as civilians for keeping the tennis public updated on Cincinnati via Twitter. The tournament's official Tweeter has also done a magnificent job at keeping the public updated and informed during rain delays and reporting play by play. Thanks people!

The Rogers Cup official Tweeter has also done a great job but we the public have been able to see the men play.

End Notes

Is it time to start worrying about Elena Dementieva?

Note to fans of Novak Djokovic: When a commentator asks on air if your fave is playing possum there is no need to get upset. The commentator is not the one who looks ready to be carried off on a stretcher one minute and is running like a gazelle the next.

I was reluctant to follow the Spanish speaking players on Twitter because I don't speak a lick of Spanish that can be repeated in public but it's a great idea to have them comment and then have the comment translated by persons unknown into English. Feliciano Lopez has really been great. So has Fernando Verdasco. They're reaching Andy Roddick and Serena Williams levels in terms of personality and tid bits about what they're up to. Without Feli's tweets how would we know he and David Ferrer visited Niagara Falls? Now if someone would just provide translations of Gustavo Kuerten's Tweets...

It also seems that some former players are upset about Paul Annacone's new gig with Roger Federer. Greg Rusedski was named on Twitter yesterday as being among those who ridicule the choice saying that Annacone was not much more than a water boy for Pete Sampras. That makes him a perfect fit for Federer if you ask me. Towards the end of his tenure with The Monogram Tony Roche(?) was reduced to picking up the balls that had been used in practice by the Monogram and his hitting partner. Not much difference in temperament between him and Murray is there?

A well known online tennis source hinted that Andy Roddick's medical issues may be chronic. I haven't seen this repeated anywhere else and I'm sure something would've been said by Andy's publicists if there was any firm information ready to be released to the public. I won't repeat what they said here because it hasn't been confirmed. And it's not Tennis.com. Hey I did my first blind, well semi blind item! I'm so happy. Cheap thrills.

Has David Nalbandian stopped with the cerveza and gotten himself ready to do battle during the outdoor season? He's looking fit and ready to go. Ask any of his recent opponents.

As someone who suffers in heat and humidity I feel for Dinara. This is how I would look just walking a few feet in Cincinnati.

Andrea Petkovic of Germany has also become a Twitter favorite.

Best comeback of the day was made by Vera Zvonareva. She was down and seemingly out in her match against Maria Kirilenko but after a long rain delay she sucked it up and won.

Nicolas Almagro won the Fernando Gonzalez Award for best racquet destruction in Toronto. Didn't get to see this melt down but from what I hear it was spectacular.

Yanina Wickmayer continues her charm offensive, emphasis on offensive. She spent most of her match yesterday berating a ball kid. Way to go hon.

To Everything There Is A Season

by Savannah

13] G Simon (FRA) d [2] A Roddick (USA) 63 63

[3] [WC] F Verdasco (ESP) d [Q] R Sweeting (USA) 64 75

[4] M Cilic (CRO) d [15] M Fish (USA) 64 46 62

X Malisse (BEL) d [5] J Isner (USA) 64 36 76(5)

There will not be any Americans taking the court to play singles in Washington DC later this afternoon. As you can see by the above results Andy Roddick, Ryan Sweeting, Mardy Fish and John Isner all lost to European players. For Roddick this is especially hard since the loss will see him ranked #11, the first time he's been out of the top ten since August of 2006.

Is it time for weeping and gnashing of teeth? It's been that time for American tennis for quite some time. The bigger culprit in my very humble opinion, aside from the fact that we don't have players who can compete against the best Europe has to offer on a regular basis, is the schedule.

In case you didn't know there is a Masters 1000 event being played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada next week. Legg Mason is a Masters 500. All of the big boys, like it or not, will be in Toronto with their eyes on the prize.

I don't know how many of you remember this but when the ATP under Etienne de Villiers was revamping the schedule many players wanted the events in Canada moved to a different part of the year. The Canadians refused. The ATP and WTA backed their stance. So while venerable tournaments like Hamburg were downgraded the Canadian events were made as sacrosanct as the Slams. Meanwhile the US Open series becomes a glorified Challenger event where the best we have to offer is put on display with the hopes someone will catch fire going into the US Open.

Are the players making choices? I doubt it. But look at what they're facing. For the men there is Toronto followed by Cincinnati, also a Masters 1000. For the women after Stanford and San Diego, both Premier events come Cincinnati, Montreal and Pilot Pen, all Premier events.

On the men's side the Europeans don't bother to come over until Toronto. The American men are expected to play the US Open series as well as those back to back Masters 1000 events.

So before we start bemoaning the state of American tennis we should bemoan the schedule that would have the last Slam of the calendar year see the sports top players limping into Flushing Meadows instead of coming in rested and ready to compete at the highest levels.

Miscellany

A few years ago a promising young American girl was served up as cannon fodder on opening night at the US Open. She was hyped as the next best thing and after her loss faded into oblivion. Only tennis junkies noticed her name on Challenger entry lists and figured her to be another victim of the system.
Well that little girl has grown up and Coco Vandeweghe is suddenly winning on the main tour. Her win over Vera Zvonareva in San Diego is huge. Let's hope that she is not "oudinized" and that she is able to set her own pace and terms for her career.

Pictures of the Week
Note to WTA: Feminine does not mean slutty. I'm just sayin'.

Daniela Hantuchova and Sorana Cirstea

Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki

Dominika Cibulkova

Zheng Jie (Actually the best of the bunch)

Jelena Jankovic

All but the pic of JJ were taken in Dubai. JJ's picture appears to be from a Serbian magazine shoot.

Alls I know is that someone needs to be dragged out and shot over this one.
Why Elena? Why?

The Reign of Spain

by Savannah

If you don't know why this octopus is the most famous animal on the planet right now you have been living in a cave. Named Paul, the cephalopod mollusk correctly predicted the outcome of eight out of eight World Cup matches including the eventual winner Spain. The Washington Post reports this morning that the now famous oracle was given his own replica of the World Cup. As of now there is no truth to any rumors about Paul taking his act to Vegas.

While on the subject of the World Cup I'm sure the NFL has emailed players saying that while cleats to the chest of a man who is not wearing any protective gear underneath his jersey is not a red card offense in the World Cup any attempts at duplicating this will result in a flagrant foul being called.

American sports fans also know this guy got off easy. Try to get at the Super Bowl or World Series trophy. I'm just saying.

To kind of segue back to tennis this gentleman was seen in South Africa. It appears that he has yet to meet a trophy he doesn't like.

This is the first year I've been able to watch the World Cup from beginning to end and I have to say I totally enjoyed it. Here in the States we have an event called the World Series as well as the Super Bowl but nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to what goes on for the month the World Cup takes place.
It is truly a spectacle and it's a good thing it's only held every four years.
This was the first World Cup held on the continent of Africa and despite all the people predicting gloom and doom it went off without a hitch. No hooliganism in the stands, nothing. Everyone seemed to be having a great time blowing the now famous, or infamous, vuvuzelas.

I did read some fan posts saying that Spain has a racist history towards players from the African continent and that that was reason enough to not support the Spanish team. I guess they forget that the word "apartheid" is a Dutch word and defined the racial caste system that dominated South Africa. No Western European country has a clean record when it comes to the African continent. All I can say is haters to the left.

Davis Cup

Davis Cup played second fiddle, as did all other sports, to the World Cup but there were some stunning surprises in the results. I'm posting the World Group quarterfinal results today. I'll post the complete results tomorrow.

WORLD GROUP QUARTERFINALS

FRANCE defeated SPAIN 5-0
Venue: Grande Halle d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France (hard - indoors)

Gael Monfils (FRA) d. David Ferrer (ESP) 76(3) 62 46 57 64
Michael Llodra (FRA) d. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 67(5) 64 63 76(2)
Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) d. Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 61 62 67(6) 76(5)
Gilles Simon (FRA) d, Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 76(4) 76(7)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 76(3) 64
Spain going out to nil is stunning. After it's horrid World Cup performance I think the French were on a mission. Michael Llodra, above was the most valuable player on the French side.

ARGENTINA defeated RUSSIA 3-2
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia (hard - indoors)

David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 64 76(5) 76(6)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) d. Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 63 61 64
Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d. Nikolay Davydenko/Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 76(7) 64 67(3) 61
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) d. Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 46 63 61 64
David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 76(5) 64 63
The world met David Nalbandian's brother from another mother Diego Forlan from Uruguay during the World Cup but David got to dance a jig while dodging water as Argentina defeated Russia in Russia. Think I'm kidding about Forlan?

SERBIA defeated CROATIA 4-1
Venue: Spaladium Arena, Split, Croatia (hard – indoors)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 76(3) 64 61
Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 64 75 62
Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) d. Marin Cilic/Ivan Dodig (CRO) 63 62 64
Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Marin Cilic (CRO) 63 63 62
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. Antonio Veic (CRO) 62 76(5)
Serbia overcame the ugliness that greeted their arrival in Croatia by defeating the Croatian team on its own soil.

CZECH REPUBLIC defeated CHILE 3-0
Venue: Enjoy Tennis Center, Coquimbo, Chile (clay - outdoors)

Ivo Minar (CZE) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 60 62 63
Jan Hajek (CZE) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 60 62 61
Lukas Dlouhy/Jan Hajek (CZE) d. Jorge Aguilar/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 76(3) 63 36 63
Nicolas Massu (CHI) v Jan Hajek (CZE)
Cristobal Saavedra-Corvalan (CHI) v Ivo Minar (CZE)
The Czech Republic (got that Hannah Storm?) won rather easily over Chile. the semi finals will see France vs Argentina in France and the Czech Republic vs Serbia in Serbia.

Weekend Winners

Aravane Rezai holds her trophy after winning the singles title in Bastad.

Agnes Szavay successfully defended her title in Budapest defeating Patty Schnyder in the final.

Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko won the doubles crown in Bastad.
Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin won the doubles crown in Budapest.

Mardy Fish won the title in Newport.

Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione won the doubles title at Newport.
Unfortunately an investigation into possible illegal gambling has been launched against the match between Christophe Rochus and Richard Bloomfield. Bloomfield, a British player ranked #552 in the world defeated Rochus. As usual tremendous sums of money were involved. This is the second time Bloomfield's name has come up in relation to gambling.

Idle Chit Chat
Tennis players were still out and about last week. There is photographic proof of this.

Alona Bondarenko married her coach Nikolay Dyachok on July 8 in the Ukraine. It's important to say they were married in the Ukraine otherwise residents of the United States would think the wedding took place somewhere in the South.
A formal church wedding and reception was held afterwards.

Venus Williams looked very nice while out promoting her new book.

Serena Williams attended the wedding of basketball star Carmelo Anthony to former MTV vj Lala Vasquez. That looks like her sister Isha in the background.

This man was seen almost Monogramless on the beach.

Maybe Andy Roddick wants to get into acting. With his new haircut maybe he's lobbying for a role in a remake of the HBO prison drama Oz?

End Notes

No they're not rioting over some political situation. It's just Spanish fans getting their party on after their country's win in the World Cup. I think the image below is a much more fitting last image.

God willing and the creek don't rise I hope to be able to witness another World Cup in four years.