Second Time Around: Federer Loses to Canas

Maybe it’s too early to say that Roger Federer has found a new nemesis in the form of Guillermo Canas of Argentina, but it sure must be disappointing for the world no. 1 to lose to the same player twice in a month. 

 

What’s happening to Rogi?   

Read the story here.

I hope he gets it together before the clay season starts. What are the odds that Federer will finally clinch the French?

 

Federer: Playing Against History

Roger Federer has broken Jimmy Connors’ record of 161 consecutive weeks at the no. 1 position.

He’s only 5 Grand Slam titles short of Pete Sampras’ record of 14.

If he wins his opening match at Indian Wells, which starts this week, he will match John McEnroe’s record of 42 consecutive wins.

Three more wins after that, he’ll break Ivan Lendl’s 44, and then the all-time winning streak of 46, set by Guillermo Villas in 1977. Read story here.

He’s only 25. Imagine the possibilities.

[Pictured: Posted on Roger's official site, a young Federer takes a picture with the legendary Jimmy Connors in an exhibition at Basel, Switzerland, where Federer actually served as a ballboy. He just accepted an award as the best junior under 14.] 

 

What’s Up with Agassi?

I haven’t updated this site for a while. But for anybody who’s wondering about Andre Agassi’s post-retirement activities, I’ve got some updates here and there.

 

What if Federer (heart) Sharapova?

I found another funny video at YouTube and I can’t stop laughing about it. Watch here:

So in the eve of the Australian Open finals, here’s wishing the finalists good luck! Sharapova vs. Williams and Federer vs. Gonzalez are both must-see finals.

As the favorites going into the match, let our minds wander and wonder. If Federer and Sharapova would ever be an item (at the moment, no chance of it ever happening), could they possibly overshadow the Agassi-Graf phenomenon? Beats me.

 

The Games Are On, Mate!

The Australian Open has officially started today! I’m still a bit sad that Justine’s a no-show, but there’s another Belgian I’m cheering for - Go Kim!

Well, the first day is not without excitement. Already, there were news of acts of violence between Serbian and Croatian fans. Almost 150 fans were thrown out the stadium by the police when they caused pandemonium - insulting, kicking, and punching each other with flagpoles. The notable Serbian player is Jelena Jankovic, while Croatians are Mario Ancic, Ivan Ljubicic, and Karolina Sprem.

 Amelie Mauresmo, the women’s defending champion, advance to the second round by defeating American Shenay Perry. Roger Federer, the men’s champion, was shaky during the first set but won in straight sets anyway. No. 6 seed Andy Roddick survived an early scare when his opponent, French guy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a wildcard entry, took the first set in a 20-point tiebreak. Serena Williams starts her renewed quest for domination by winning her first-round match against Italian Mara Santangelo.

 Tomorrow’s highlights: Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, James Blake, David Nalbandian, Anna Ivanovic, and many more.

 For latest news, scores, and schedule of play, go to AO’s official site.

 

Australian Open Seedings

Seedings are out! As expected, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova are top seeds. If I’m gonna bet, I’ll bet good money for these two. Though I’d love Kim Clijsters to win the AO. One more Grand Slam before she retires (Besides, JJH is an absentee so she has a good chance). Cmon! Kimmie! Show it to Lleyton’s people. Looking forward to some splits out there.

I got the list here:

 Men:
1. Roger Federer (SUI),
2. Rafael Nadal (ESP),
3. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS),
4. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO),
5. James Blake (USA),
6. Andy Roddick (USA),
7. Tommy Robredo (ESP),
8. David Nalbandian (ARG),
9. Mario Ancic (CRO),
10. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI),
11. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP),
12. Tommy Haas (GER),
13. Tomas Berdych (CZE),
14. Novak Djokovic (SRB),
15. Andy Murray (GBR),
16. David Ferrer (ESP),
17. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN),
18. Richard Gasquet (FRA),
19. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS),
20. Radek Stepanek (CZE),
21. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS),
22. Dominik Hrbaty (SVK),
23. Robin Soderling (SWE),
24. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP),
25. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS),
26. Marat Safin (RUS),
27. Jose Acasuso (ARG),
28. Sebastien Grosjean (FRA),
29. Xavier Malisse (BEL),
30. Agustin Calleri (ARG),
31. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI),
32. Nicolas Almagro (ESP).

Women:
1. Maria Sharapova (RUS),
2. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA),
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS),
4. Kim Clijsters (BEL),
5. Nadia Petrova (RUS),
6. Martina Hingis (SUI),
7. Elena Dementieva (RUS),
8. Patty Schnyder (SUI),
9. Dinara Safina (RUS),
10. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE),
11. Jelena Jankovic (SRB),
12. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS),
13. Ana Ivanovic (SRB),
14. Francesca Schiavone (ITA),
15. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK),
16. Shahar Peer (ISR),
17. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER),
18. Marion Bartoli (FRA),
19. Li Na (CHN),
20. Tatiana Golovin (FRA),
21. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO),
22. Vera Zvonareva (RUS),
23. Ai Sugiyama (JPN),
24. Samantha Stosur (AUS),
25. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP),
26. Maria Kirilenko (RUS),
27. Mara Santangelo (ITA),
28. Flavia Pennetta (ITA),
29. Alona Bondarenko (UKR),
30. Tathiana Garbin (ITA),
31. Zheng Jie (CHN),
32. Eleni Daniilidou (GRE).

Good luck, boys and girls!

 

Get Well Soon, Rafa!

World no. 2 Rafael Nadal has not won a title since winning the French Open June of 2006. After his unexpected race to the finals at Wimbledon, losing to chief rival and world no. 1, Roger Federer,  Nadal has struggled. Earlier this month, in Chenai Open (India), where he was the defending champion, he lost in the semis against Xavier Malisse who eventually won the title.

Just today, in Sydney, he retired from his 1st round match while trailing Australian Chris Guccione 6-5 in the opening set.

With this injury and the Australian Open about to start on Monday, what hopes have the Spaniard of doing well? Well, in his website, he said that AO is still a priority and he just needs to find his rhythm by playing more matches. Well, good luck Rafa! Get well soon.

 

Tursonov imitates WTA Players

I found this very funny video of Dmitry Tursonov on YouTube. Thanks to the people of WTAWorld, a forum for tennis fans. If you want the latest on tennis news, rumors, and everything women’s tennis, go to this site. Also check out menstennisforum for the guys. Keep your cool, though, if you’ll decide to read every other post. These forums are sites of too many bitch fights and some pretty stupid rantings from internet trolls.

Anyway, here’s the video. Watch out for the Sharapova impersonation. It’s really priceless:

 

Henin-Hardenne Pulls Out of AO

Just two weeks shy of the Australian Open (the tennis Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific), world no. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne announced that she will not play due to personal reasons.  A Belgian newspaper apparently reported that the reason was marital problems with her husband of four years, Pierre-Yves Hardenne. Justine haven’t confirmed the news herself but her physical trainor said that Justine is staying in Belgium while her husband stays at their apartment in Monaco. She’s reported to have started training again and might be able to resume playing by February.

It’s a sad news, especially considering that she was last year’s Australian Open finalist. She lost to Amelie Mauresmo when she had to retire midmatch due to stomach cramps. She was widely criticized for that; a lot of people thought it was unsportsmanlike behavior. She lost the first set and was losing the second when she retired.

With Justine out, the field is wide open for Maria Sharapova. I wouldn’t be surprised if she win this, too, after winning the last Slam (the 2006 U.S. Open).

 

Rogers Cup Final: Another Three Setter, Another Trophy for Federer

Rather expectedly, Roger Federer won the Rogers Cup. How fitting!

It’s his 53rd successive win in North American harcourts, and his 40th tournament title. I won’t go into statistics. His records go on and on. Well, it has been quite a week for the world no.1. Six straight days of playing, with the last four matches being thrilling three setters. He looked a lot more human here than he was at Wimbledon - in the grass courts he knows best. I wonder if he’ll play at Cincinnati this week, with the U.S. Open coming too close.

Anyway, Gasquet put off a good fight, especially in the first half of the match. He lost at 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.  He’s certainly very promising, with all the good shots he managed to make. Plus, he came to the finals losing only one set against top players. I’ll watch him closely then; I prefer him to Andy Murray, who looks to me as someone so full of himself.

So I’m signing off for now. I’ll be back when the U.S. Open starts. Ciao!