Back to Reality...

My 1-month hiatus has come to an end. It was nice to not have to worry about posting daily and what not, but it's great to be back bringing you tennis 24/7. So what happened when I left: Andy Murray was brilliant in Montreal, Federer hired Paul Annacone, David Nalbandian looked like a new man, Sharapova and Clijsters played some inspired tennis, Dinara Safina fell to world number 70, Ivanovic got back on track then fell off again and Murray and his coach parted ways.

This week the men are in Cincy while the ladies are in Toronto, and the year's final Grand Slam is less than two weeks away.

I got my vacay so now I'm back to full-on blogging again. I'd like to think I was terribly missed, but some voice in my head is telling me that that's a fabrication.

Rankings Reports: Federer Drops to 3, Venus to 4 and Zvonareva Back in Top 10

The rankings were rattled in more ways than one after 2 weeks of craziness at Wimbledon, but none probably more shocking or surprising or noticeable than Roger Federer with a 3 next to his name. Yes, you hard me right. THE Roger Federer is now outside of the top 2 for the first time in 7 years. Novak Djokovic takes his place at number 2, while Rafa remains in the drivers seat. Robin Soderling entered the top 5 for the first tme in his career, Andy Roddick dropped two spots to 9th and Tomas Berdych reached a career-high 8th. Surprise quarterfinalistYen-Hsun Lu jumped an incredible 40 spots to 42nd.

In the WTA rankings, Venus William's shocking quarterfinal loss resulted in a drop to the 4th spot, behind Serena, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki. Vera Zvonareva's run to the finals got the Russian back in the top 10 for the first time in almost a year, to 9th, while Czech Petra Kvitova's semifinal appearance bumped her from 62nd to 29th. Dinara Safina continued to fall rapidly, as she is now out of the top 30 and the same goes for Ana Ivanovic, ranked 64th. Semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova increased 47 spots to 35th and Sabine Lisicki, out with an injury, fell to 79th.

WTA's Glamour Girls Get Dolled Up for Pre-Wimbledon Party

The Pre-Wimbledon party is one of the biggest red-carpet events for the ladies of the WTA Tour, as the extravaganza, this year hosted by Richard Branson, lets the athletes trade in their Nike and Adidas sneakers for Louboutins and Manolos. This year held at the Roof Gardens in London, the party's attendees hit the style mark on the head, for the most part, at least.

Maria Sharapova, pictured above, opted for a shiny and shimmery plunging gold number paired with brown strappy heels. The Russian's look was perfection, head to toe, as usual.

Serena Williams decided to let her hair and shoes do the talking. She wore a muted off-the-shoulder black mini, but her shoes were anything but quiet. The silver bedazzled ankle-booties were a little over the top, as was Williams' 80's style hair, but what would you expect from the WTA's resident drama queen.

Venus Williams was celebrating her 30th birthday today, and the b-day girl impressed with her look. V wore a simple ivory dress, putting the focus on her gold accessories, from her shoes, to her necklaces to her earrings and bracelets.

Not bad for a 30-year old. Not bad at all. Hope you enjoyed your big day, girl!

Despite Jelena Jankovic's tendency to go a little cray-cray with her red-carpet choices, the Serbian was a perfect 10 on Thursday, looking stunning in a gold and black lace number with a tulle overlay. She opted for matchy-matchy shoes, earning her the Serve and Return title of best dressed for the event.

Nice work, JJ!

Dinara Safina went low-key in a grey body-hugging, short-sleeved number with a belt. She seems to have gotten a haircut too. Let's hope she can turn her recent results around at Wimby.

Ana Ivanovic went total-glam for her outfit, from the hair all the way down to her sky-high strappy stilettos. Aussie Ana went with a kaleidoscope dress and she must have been the tallest girl there in her sky-scraping heels. Look at those legs!

Elena Baltacha wore a pretty lady-like dress, with a banded waist and an embellished neckline. BUT, the Brit should have ironed her ensemble before leaving the house. And couldn't anyone tell her about her very apparent sock tan-line!

Anne Keothavong was another best-dressed, donning a blue maxi dress with gold floral detailing. She looked great and was smart to keep her accessories to a minimum.

Rankings Report: Schiavo Debuts in Top 10, Rafa Back to 1, Safina/Kuzzie Free Fall

Rafael Nadal's resounding victory in Paris at the French Open has catapulted the Spaniard back to the ATP driver's seat, replacing 16-time Major champ Rogerb Federer. Rafa lost the top spot last summer after a disappointing showing at RG and a forced withdrawal from Wimbledon, but less than a year later, he is back at the top. other significant ranking moves amongst the men were Juan Martin del Potro, who is unable to play until at least October, causing the Argentine to drop two spots to number 8. Jurgen Melzer moved up 11 spots to number 16, Tomas Berdych reentered the top 15, Fernando Gonzalez fell out of the top 20 and Robby Ginepri improved 28 spots, to number 70, after a pleasantly surprising run to the final 16 at the French.

In the women's rankings, Francesca Schiavone, fresh off her remarkable triumph in France, went from 17th to 6th. Schiavone's compatriot, Flavia Pennetta, went up 5 spots to number 10 while the top 5 was unchanged. Svetlana Kuznetsova had a boatload of points to defend after her 2009 RG win, but she failed to repeat, descending rapidly from number 6 to number 19. Fellow Russian Dinara Safina fell from 9th to 20th after going out in the 1st round. Elena Dementieva is now the only Russian in the top 10, just a couple year's after the women from her country revolutionized the sport, while Italy has 2 women. WTF!? Shahar Peer and Nadia Petrova both joined the top 15 after impressive results at the clay slam, while Sorana Cirstea suffered a 24-ranking fall to number 58.

Look Who Came to Their Senses? Dinara!

Dinara Safina and Zeljko Krajan, her coach, who is often credited with the Russian's rise to the top of the women's game, have always had an interesting relationship. A relationship that mostly consisted of (from what we saw) Dinara flashing a look of desperation towards Krajan and him, well, usually giving some sort of scary/angry/abusive snarling glance back. That's probably why everyone thought that Dinara needed to get out of that pairing ASAP, and finally, she has come to her senses and parted ways with Krajan.

Russia's Sport Express is reporting that they split recently and Safina will work with Gaston Etlis during the French Open.

Madrid Results: Federer Advances, Dementieva and Wozniacki Ousted on Day 3 in Madrid

Madrid Results postings have been slow 'cuz I've been totally bogged down with school shit and all the rest....ya catch my drift?

But I forced myself to bring you all some of the happenings from Madrid so far. As I'm sure you know, Kuzzie, Maria, Dinara and Vika have all been upset. Serena won in an epic match against Vera Dushevina 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 and Venus won her opening round match on Sunday. Ferrer, Monfils (debuting K-Swiss) and Almagro all advanced and that should catch you up. Now, on to today.

Roger Federer looked better than he did last week (thankfully) in beating Benjamin Becker today, winning in 2 sets 6-2, 7-6 (4). Ernests Gulbis picked up right where he left off in his fantastic run in Rome, defeating last week's Estoril winner Albert Montanes 6-1, 7-5. Mikhail Youzhny earned a comeback victory, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 as did John Isner 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Stanislas Wawrinka and Thomaz Bellucci both won in straight sets.

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez was showered with publicity for her brilliant victory in Rome last week, but Sam Stosur has been just as impressive, and proved to the world that she is without a doubt a Roland Garros contender by ousting Martinez Sanchez in Madrid today, 7-6 (2), 6-4. 16th seeded Nadia Petrova won 6-2, 7-5 against Klara Zakopalova, who beat Safina yesterday. Shahar Peer won in a lopsided match against Alisa Kleybanova, 7-6 (4), 6-0. Li Na beat Dominika Ciblukova 7-5 in the third.

Fernando Verdasco overcame a tall task in beating 6'10 Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (6), 6-3, while Sam Querrey was narrowly defeated by Daniel Munoz- De La Nava 6-7 (3), 6-5, 7-5. Marcos Baghdatis beat Marco Chiudinelli 3 and 4, joining others such as Victor Hanescu, Phillip Petzschner and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the 3rd round.

Venus Williams didn't get the best draw in Rome, as she was set to play Vera Zvonareva, only unseeded because she has fallen out of the top 20, in the 2nd round. Despite this difficult task, Venus handled the Russian with ease, winning the late-night encounter in 2 sets. The upsets in the ladies' draw continued as Caroline Wozniacki,now in jeopardy of losing her number 2 ranking, was bested by Alona Bondarenk0 6-2, 6-3. Elena Dementieva was beaten in 3 sets by Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 while Agnieszka Radwanksa, Marion Bartoli and Flavia Pennetta, all seeded in the top 15 this week, were upset.

Rome Womens Results: Ana Upsets Vika, Safina Goes Down and The Williams' Win

At the ladies' tournament in Rome, Serena Williams played her first match since her Aussie Open win, and the American number 1 came out on top, defeating Timea Bacsinszky 7-6 (2), 6-1. In Williams' section of the draw, Maria Kirilenko upset 5th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 in the third and will play Dominika Cibulkova, a straight set winner.

In the loaded 2nd quarter of the draw, Venus Williams advanced to the Round of 16 with a quick 2 and 2 win against Patty Schnyder. Her 4th round opponent will be Shahar Peer a 3-set comeback winner over Polona Hercog. Yanina Wickmayer and Jelena Jankovic will face off in a block-buster match after both women fought hard to earn 3-set wins over Aravane Rezai and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, respectively.

It's quite obvious that Ana Ivanovic's career has suffered a severe downslide, but her win over 9th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, her first win over a top-tenner since Linz in 2008, was an extremely positive note in an extremely depressing year thus far. The 6-4, 6-4 victory gave the Serb her first back-to-back wins since the Australian in January. But things won't get easier for Ana, as her next opponent will be another hard-hitting blonde in Elena Dementieva, also a straight set winner. Dinara Safina's comeback from a devastating back injury hasn't gone as planned, as the Russian fell in 3 sets to Alexandra Dulgheru. Dulgheru will face Nadia Petrova in the 4th round.

In the 4th quarter, Agnieszka Radwanska thwarted Roberta Vinci and Caroline Wozniacki crushed Maria Elena Camerin. Both ladies lost just one game in their matches and will take on Lucie Safarova and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, respectively.

Miami Takes a Hit: Serena and DelPo Pull out

Maria Sharapova, Nikolay Davydenko and Dinara Safina have already withdrawn from next week's Sony Ericsson Open, but the event took a hard hit today when tournament organizers announced that Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro would be unable to compete.

Serena is still struggling with her knee, while JMDP had hoped his wrist would heal in time to make a return in Miami. Unfortunately, both injuries have made little progress and last year's respective runner-up and semifinalist will have to delay their tour returns.

Sharapova Withdraws from Miami

First the shoulder, not the elbow.

Just when Maria Sharapova has been back for a good amount of time, and is ostensibly healthy, a new injury arrives. In her Indian Wells loss to Jie Zheng a couple days ago, Sharapova revealed that her elbow had been bugging her and after waiting it out for a few days, the 3-time major champ has now withdrawn from next week's Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. MRI's have concluded that the Russian will be out for at least 3 weeks.

“I just felt like I couldn't really extend it all the way,” Maria told the BNP Paribas Open press. “It was a little stuck. I'm not sure if it's the balls or maybe the air and the tension is a little bit tighter. But [the trainer] said that more than average have been complaining
about arms, so I don't know.”

The withdrawal dampens an already weakened Miami field, as Dinara Safina has also pulled out.

Have a quick recovery Shazza!

Safina Out of IW, Roger 50/50

Since retiring in her 4th round match at the Australian open, Dinara Safina has been resting her on-going back injury, but the Russian has officially pulled out of next week's tournament in Indian Wells. This assures that Serena Williams will mantain the number 1 ranking thru Miami.


Roger Federer has been battling a lung infection that kept him out of the Dubai Tennis Championships, but although he plans to compete in Indian Wells, inside sources have apparently told the continually UNRELIABLE Peter Bodo that the Swiss will not take part.

The article on tennis.com reads:

Although there has been no official confirmation, reliable sources have told Peter Bodo, Senior Editor for TENNIS magazine, that Roger Federer will pull out of the Indian Wells tournament because of his ongoing struggle with a lung infection.

Interestingly enough, Federer, though, has taken to his official Facebook page, saying: "I am feeling really good again and I was happy to hear from my doctor today that I have the green light to start working out again so I plan to try and play in Indian Wells next week. Thanks for the well wishes."

Im trying to block it out, but a little voice inside my head is telling me not to get optimistic.

Post-Melbourne Rankings: Rafa Plummets, Djoko World Number 2

For the longest time we all talked about how bad a ranking system the WTA has, but after the Australian Open, the new ATP ranking order looks much more messed up than the ladies.

Men:

1 Federer, Roger (SUI) 11,350
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 8,310
3 Murray, Andy (GBR) 7,800
4 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 7,670
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 6,400
6 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 5,290
7 Roddick, Andy (USA) 4,150
8 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 3,375
9 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3,235
10 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 2,970

We all know what's wrong with this. Due to being forced to retire in the quarters down under, Rafael Nadal lost a big chunk of the ranking points he earned with his Aussie Open title in 2009. Sorry Novak, but there is no way in hell that Nadal is the 4th best player in the world. Stupid rankings.

Anyways, Fernando Verdasco was bumped out of the top 10 to no. 12, but not much other movement besides that. Also, congrats to Marin Cilic on entering the top 10!

Women:

1 Serena Williams (USA) 9,195

2 Dinara Safina (RUS) 6,480

3 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 5,995

4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 5,861

5 Venus Williams (USA) 5,526

6 Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 4,960

7 Elena Dementieva (RUS) 4,705

8 Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 3,845

9 Agnieszka Radwanksa (POL) 3,605

10 Li NA (CHN) 3,500

Slight movement around the top, with Wozzi and Kuzzie swapping spots, Venus re-entering the top 5, Azarenka moving 1 spot up and Elena dropping a few, but nothing major. The big story, though, is Li Na advancing 7 spots to become the 1st Chinese woman to reach the top 10.

Aussie Open Day 7: Cilic and Roddick Survive 5 Setters, Henin and Petrova Move On While Kuzzie, Safina Bow Out

Many times before, Marin Cilic has been dubbed "The Next Juan Martin del Potro". You can't deny the two have many similarities: their height, birth years, huge forehands and solid backhands. On day 7 of the Australian Open the two met in the round of 16, and the encounter exceeded expectations. Despite the fact that JMDP, who's numerous injuries proved more serious than suspected, had the edge in most of the statistical categories, the 14th seeded Cilic still edged out a victory, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to upset the world number 4. DelPo's frustration got the best of him in the 4 hour 38 minute epic, as the Argentine knocked over the courtside trash cans and smashed his racquets, consequently blowing his shot at moving on to a 2nd straight Aussie Open quarterfinal.

In the quarters 2nd match, Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez battled into the wee hours of the morning, as the 7th seeded American came back from a 2 set to 1 deficit to win 6-2 in the 5th in 3 hours and 25 minutes.

In a battle of the Belgians, unseeded Justine Henin was thoroughly tested, and even breadsticked, by world number 16 Yanina Wickmayer before pulling the match out 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3. Although she lossed, Wickmayer's run has been quite the success story, as she was unfairly forced to go through the quallies to earn a spot in the main draw, which she did with ease. She has been overlooked by Kim and Justine, but there is no doubt in my mind that her time will come. After all, her game is extremely solid and she's proved she can play with the big girls.

Nadia Petrova kept her cinderella story going when she followed up her dominating win over Clijsters with a 3 set victory over number 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova yesterday. The two Russians split the 1st 2 sets 6-3 before Petrova routed Kuzzie 6-1 in the decider. Henin won;t have an easy time with the 19th seeded Petrova in the quarters, as the Russian is as motivated as ever.

Q. Do you feel like you’ve left some things on the table in your career that you want to achieve?

NADIA PETROVA: That’s why, you know, I’m still here. That’s why I’m working hard and digging deep, because I know there’s still a lot to accomplish. There’s still a lot to let out. That’s what I’m really looking for. Like I’m looking for different little kind of like, you know, I know there’s a lot left, and I’m just trying to discover those things, you know.

I really want to finally be a complete player. I want to quit tennis knowing that, you know, I’ve done everything possible, I developed as much as I could, and I gave hundred percent of it.

Rafael Nadal had a tall task to overcome on Saturday, literally, as The Spaniard took on 6'10 Ivo Karlovic. Rafa had little trouble with the Croat, dropping the 2nd set 6-4, but winning the other 3 by the same score behind a stellar serving performance. The 2nd seed didn't have to do much to win besides hold serve, which Dr. Ivo's lack of a backhand made easy, and get a break or two.

Nadal's quaterfinal will be none other than rival Andy Murray. The Scot, who also had to cope with some monstrous serving from his 6'9 opponent, played a spectacular match in easily ousting John Isner 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2, commiting just 8 errors to 32 winners, while never once being broken.

Can't wait for Rafa/Murray! It's good to be a tennis fan these days.

Just when things looked like they were starting to come full circle, Dinara Safina was struck by the injury bug in her round of 16 match with Maria Kirilenko. The same back injury that plagued Safina at the WTA Year-End Championships returned to haunt the Russian, who was forced to retire in tears down 5-4 in the opening set.

“It’s my back again. It suddenly hit me and was getting worse and worse and I have no idea how it could happen. And it’s really, really terrible," the world number 2 told the press.

You can't help but feel for Dinara. She has tried so hard to finally nab her 1st major title, and this injury will be a major setback. What a bummer. Nonetheless, kudos to Kirilenko, who is on a magical run.

Zheng Jie will be Kirilenko's quarterfinal opponent. The Chinese 26 year old earned a straight set victory over Alona Bondarenko to put herself into position to be the first women from China to reach the semifinals down under. If you can remember, she reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2008.

Aussie Open Day 5: Petrova Crushes Kimmie, Safina, Rafa and Kuzzie Advance

Kim Clijsters' road back from retirement had been as smooth as can be before Nadia Petrova stepped on to Rod Laver Arena on Thursday. The Russian absolutely thwarted Clijsters, 6-1, 6-0, in just 53 minutes. The Belgian hit just 5 winners compared to 26 errors, and summed up her disaster quite simply to the press: "It sucked". Justine Henin was lucky enough to survive her match, in which she was down a set and a break to 27th seeded Alisa Kleybanova before springing off 5 of the next 6 games to force the match into a deciding 3rd set, which Henin won 6-2. In her next match, the 27 year-old will be playing her 1 compatriot left, 16th ranked, yet unseeded, Yanina Wickmayer, who fought through cramps and a tough Sara Errani to advance and get a crack at her countrywoman.

In an electrifying late night 4-setter, John Isner overwhelmed Gael Monfils, the 13th seed, with huge serves and commanding forehands to pull off a huge upset in what was 1 of the young Americans biggest wins to date. Isner will next take on Andy Murray, who has yet to lose a set on his way to the 4th round, most recently dispatching Florent Serra 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. After dropping the 1st set, Marin Cilic rebounded to win the next 3 sets and defeat Stanislas Wawrinka, the 19th seed, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The 6'6 Cilic will fight for a spot in the quarterfinals against fellow giant and number 4 seed Juan Martin del Potro, who again looked very unsettled in a 4-set win over Florian Mayer, in which the Argentine was bageled in the 2nd set.

The 2nd and 3rd seeds, Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, have both been extremely under-the-radar in their paths to the round of 16. Safina has looked dominant, as she stormed past Elena Baltacha 6-1, 6-2, while Kuznetsova was up-and-down in her 3 set win over Angelique Kerber. Despite her impressive play, Dinara was asked about her cooking in the press conference, where she responded "I’m just starting, you know. Until now nobody got sick, so this is the positive (smiling.) They might like, not like, but if they have problems with the stomach, it’s not good. But until now, nobody would complain about the stomach (laughter)" Safina's road to the semifinals got a lot easier when Alona Bondarenko upset Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-3. Jankovic hit 13 winners compared to 40 errors, while Bondarenko had a difference of just -3. Zheng Jie ousted 11th seeded Marion Bartoli, while Maria Kirilenko kept her run alive, beating Roberta Vinci 7-5, 7-6 (4).

In the remaining men's matches, Rafael Nadal worked past the intrepid Phillip Kohlschreiber in 4 sets to set up a round of 16 match with Ivo Karlovic, also a 4-set victor. Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez with also meet in a sure-to-be exciting 4th rounder, as they were pushed to 4 and 5 sets respectively in their Thursday matches.

Things are shaping up pretty well and the tennis has been nothing shy of indulging.

Aussie Open Day 3: Henin Fights off Dementieva, Rafa, DelPo and Muzz Move on to Round 3

Whether Justine Henin's near-flawless comeback has been expected or not, the Belgian has played extremely impressive tennis in her 2-week old return to the game. In a much anticipated 2nd round encounter with 5th seeded Elena Dementieva, the former number 1 advanced, 7-5, 7-6 (6) in an enthralling 2 hour 40 minute match. In the court-side interview, Henin told reporters, "my heart was there 200%". Henin's countrywomen, Kim Clijsters, looked so-so in a 3 and 3 win over the lovely Tamarine Tanasugarn. Mama Kimmie will take on 19th seeded Nadia Petrova, whe joined fellow Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova in the 3rd round.

Juan Martin del Potro's wrist injury has been apparent in his first 2 matches, but despite being hampered, the Argentine continues to fight, and his 2nd round epic with James Blake was filled with emotions (see above). The American looked more like the Blake of old, but it still wasn't enough as DelPo squeaked out a victory 6-4, 6-7 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 10-8. “It was a great victory for my career. I have no words to explain this moment. I’m so tired,” said JMDP after the 4-plus hour fight. Andy Roddick took out Tomaz Bellucci in straight sets and will play Feliciano Lopz, who was a 4-set winner on day 3. Marin Cilic looked very shaky in a 5-set thriller with 17 year-old Aussie Bernard Tomic, who squandered a break in the final set to go down 6-7 (6), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Fernando Gonzalez and Stan Wawrinka moved on as well.

2nd seeded Dinara Safina advanced with a solid 2 set win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and kept her under-the-radar run alive. Maria Kirilenko avoided a letdown after upsetting Maria Sharapova and earned a comfortable straight-set W, while Jelena Jankovic and Marion Bartoli advanced to the final 32 with easy victories.

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, both located in the last quarter of the men's draw in Melbourne, looked dominant in easy victories to move closer and closer to a potential meeting between the two in the quarterfinals. Rafa will play a dangerous Phillip Kohlschreiber, who earned his spot in the 3rd round with a 4 set win over American Wayne Odesnik, and Murray will take on Florent Serra. 3 Giants also turned in wins on Tuesday, as 6'10 Ivo Karlovic, 6'9 John Isner, and 6'4 Ivan Ljubicic kept their Australian Open hopes alive. 12th seeded Gael Monfils rounded out the winner's circle in the 4th quarter with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.

Aussie Open Day 1: Rafa, Clijsters, Murray Advance, Sharapova Bows Out

It sure didn't take long for an upset to occur on day 1 of the Australian Open. First up on Rod Laver Arena were Maria Sharapova and Maria Kirilenko. After Sharapova blew the first set, losing in a tiebreak, she recovered to win the second set. Kirilenko jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the deciding set, and battled her nerves to hold on for the victory. “It’s just a bad day, and a bad day is not going to stop me from doing what I love. I’m still going to go back on the court and work hard and perform. I’ll be back here on the Saturday of a second week. You’ll watch," said Sharapova, who commiteed an embarrasing 76 errors in the first round loss, her first at a mjor since the 2003 French Open when she was 16.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, both in the fourth quarter of the men's draw, advanced in three sets. Nadal wasn't his best in the 7-6 (0), 6-1, 6-4 victory, while Murray was lights out, crushing Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Ivo Karlovic took out 13th seeded Radek Stepanek in five sets, joining Aussie Bernard Tomic and Ivan Ljubicic in the second round.

Justine Henin and Elena Dementieva both cruised to victory to set up an exciting second round match between the two. In that same quarter, Kim Clijsters crushed Valerie Tetreault 6-0, 6-4, Svetlana Kuznetsova surrendered just three games in a win, and Flavia Pennetta advanced in a tight three-setter.

Dinara Safina looked shaky in her two-set win, while the majority of the other matches in the bottom section were delayed due to rain.

Andy Roddick looked extremely impressive in a straight-set win over Thiemo de Bakker, and Juan Martin del Potro, the highest seed in the third quarter of the draw, was hampered by a wrist injury in his four-set win over Michael Russell. The Argentine claimed his wrist hurt him "a little bit". Fernando Gonzalez, the tournament's 12th seed, also advanced in four sets.

2010 Australian Open: Women's Predictions

Oh, how women's tennis has changed in the past, 6 months or so. Back in early 2009 we were complaining about how boring the WTA was, and the lack of motivation shown by the ladies, and blah, blah, blah (Ke$ha!). We had Mary Carillo constantly bashing the women, and Jelena Jankovic saying how uninteresting the game was. Funny how things change, because this year promises to be the most exciting Australian Open yet. Ever since Kim Clijsters returned and took the decade's final major, things have been looking up. Maria Sharapova has returned to top form, and who can forget the return of Justine Henin, who will be playing her first major since the Aussie two years ago. And of course, Serena, Venus, the Ova's and the Ina's. Heres a breakdown of the ladies' draw and predictions for the opening slam of 2010.

1st Quarter

To noone's surprise, this quarter is Serena Williams' to lose. The American is the top seed and the defending champ, but ODDly enough, she seems to only triumph down under in odd-numbered years. After dominating the WTA Year-End Championships, Serena came back last week in Sydney and reached the final, suffering a knee injury in the process. Regardless, the 11-time major champ is a heavy-favorite. The second highest seed here is Victoria Azarenka, who came extremely close to sending Williams packing last year. The Belarusian has the chops to beat anyone, on any given day, but she has proved to mentally weak to break through on a big-time stage. Following Azarenka comes Vera Zvonareva, a semifinalist in 2009, Aussie-native Samantha Stosur, the homecrowd fave, and Ana Ivanovic, who has fallen so off the radar that she is barely worth writing about. Expect the Serb's fall from grace to continue. Zvonareva, when healthy though, poses a true threat to Serena. Here powerful groundstrokes can keep up with anyone, but, similar to Azarenka, this Russian is a MAYJAH headcase.

Quarterfinals: S. Williams def. V. Azarenka

2nd Quarter

Looking up and down the 2nd quarter of the draw, very few pop out as potential dark horses. The sections highest seed, Caroline Wozniacki, reached the finals of the US Open, but I expect 2010 to be a very dissapointing year for the Dane. She plays a smart brand of tennis, and can hit a backhand as good if not better than anyone, but her flaws can be easily exploited, and her serve is a major liability. Next comes Venus Williams, who has never won an Australian Open title in her illustrious career. She scarecly plays well in Melbourne, and was ousted in the 2nd round last year. Her play of late has not impressed, and I simply don't see the elder Williams doing any damage. That leaves us with Agnieszka Radwanska, Li Na, Francesca Schiavone, Daniela Hantuchova and Shahar Peer. Na and Peer both have great capability, but both frequently fail to come up with big-time performances at the majors. Schiavone doesn't have a game fir to make a run on the hard courts, and Radwanska is vulnerable to going out early, although she has had some quality victories. After reaching the final four in 2008, I see Hantuchova as the one in the best position to make noise here. And let's not forget Melanie Oudin, America's sweetheart, who made headlines with her impressive run at the' '09 US Open.

Quarterfinals: D. Hantuchova def. A. Radwanska

3rd Quarter

Let's just refer to this section as the "Ova's vs The Comeback Girls." The 3rd quarter is loaded with heavy-hitting Russians like Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova, but the real big-names are Clijsters and Henin. The two Belgians could possibly meet in a block-buster quarterfinal, but the latter won;t have an easy time doing it, as Henin could possibly clash with 5th seeded Dementieva in the 2nd round. Kuznetsova has never won in Oz, but one of her two major titles, the US Open, was on hardcourts, which means the 3rd seed can never be counted out. Petrova has made two quarterfinals at this slam, and Flavia Pennetta of Italy also boasts a solid resume fit for hardcourt success. This one'll play out just like we all want.

Quarterfinals: K. Clijsters. def. J. Henin

4th Quarter:

The final section of the bracket boasts a lot of talent, as Dinara Safina and Maria Sharapova are the headliners, followed by Jelena Jankovic and Marion Bartoli. All five of the ladies have put up extremely impressive results down under. Safina is the defending runner-up, Sharapova took home the big prize the last time she played, in 2008 and both Jankovic and Bartoli have reached atleast the quarterfinals. In exhibtions in Thailand, Sharapova has looked stellar, and it seems as though her shoulder issues are long behind her. Back to her old service motion, the Russian is ready for a deep run. Her compatriot, Safina, completely lost it in the last half of 2009 after beginning the year with 2nd place finishes at the 1st two slams of the year, and Jankovic has fallen to 8th in the rankings after holding the top spot just a year ago. The two Russians could unfortunately meet way too early, in the round of 16, and I'm not convinced Safina can out-grit Shazza. JJ and Bartoli could also meet in the 4th round, and the Frenchwoman has always had Jankovic's number.

Quarterfinals: M. Sharapova def. M. Bartoli

Semifinals: S. Williams def. D. Hantuchova; M. Sharapova def. K. Clijsters

Finals: M. Sharapova def. S. Williams

Take your own look at the draw here.

Serena Advances, Dementieva Downs Dinara for Spot in the Sydney Semis

World number 1 Serena Williams continued her mauling of the Medibank International draw when she surrendered just four games in an absolute beat down of Vera Duchevina. Victoria Azarenka dropped the 1st set of her quarterfinal encounter with Dominika Chibulkova, but showed resilience in coming back for a 3-set win. In the most anticipated match of the day, Elena Dementieva made quick work of the world's 2nd ranked player, Dinara Safina, trouncing the Russian 3 and 2. Aravane Rezai also won in straight sets, crushing Flavia Pennetta.

Sydney
Women's Singles- Quarterfinals

Serena Williams (1) def. Vera Dushevina 6-2, 6-2
Elena Dementieva (5) def. Dinara Safina (2) 6-2, 6-3
Victoria Azarenka (6) def. Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Aravane Rezai def. Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-0

Serena and Dinara Kick off 2010 with Wins in Syndey

With a loaded draw filled with past major champions and rising stars, the Medibank International women's tournament kicked off yesterday, and upsets were a plenty. The tournament's top two seeds, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina, both easily advanced in 2 sets, but Svetlana Kuznetsova, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva, all top 10 seeds, were ousted. Both Elena Dementieva and Victoria Azarenka moved on, but barely, beating their unseeded opponents in 3-setters. “I don’t care who I play. Whenever I play someone they play their best.” said Serena, reacting to the many high seeds who were upset on day one. “I play Vera Dushevina next and she’s a good player and she’s been ranked high before. So whoever I play, believe me, they’re going to play like No. 1 on that particular day against me for whatever reason, so it doesn’t matter for me.”

Sydney
Women's Singles- 2nd Round

Serena Williams (1) def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1, 6-2
Dinara Safina (2) def. Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4
Dominika Cibulkova def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (3) 7-5, 6-2
Elena Dementieva (5) def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Victoria Azarenka (6) def. Kimiko Date Krumm 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
Flavia Pennetta def. Na Li 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Vera Dushevina def. Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-4
Aravane Rezai def. Agnes Szavay 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

Women's Singles- 1st Round

Na Li def. Caroline Wozniacki (4) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Victoria Azarenka (6) def. Sabine Lisicki 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Vera Dushevina def. Casey Dellacqua 6-2, 6-2
Kimiko Date Krumm def. Nadia Petrova 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Dinara is Healthy and Ready For the AO

photo via medibankinternational.com.au

This is good news..

I was badly missing her press conferences, and dry humor, but much to my excitement, Dinara Safina told reporters in Sydney that she is 100%, completely recovered from the ruptured disk in her back, which caused her to end her '09 campaign in October, and feels smarter than she was last year. After her unimpressive play in the last half of this past year, Dinara is now seeing the positive in the defeats. "After every loss, you get smarter. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it last year but I still have a few years ahead of me and I hope I’ll get smarter as I get older.”

After the Russian left her Australian Open status up in the air following a tearful end to the WTA Year-End Championships, she told the media, "I’m 100 per cent. I’m ready to play. If I play my best, let’s see what can happen."

Next Week, the world number 2 will compete in the Medibank International in Sydney, which features a stellar field consisting of Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Justine Henin and other top-tenners. “It’s a great tournament to prepare for Melbourne,” she said.

Glad to have you back!

Henin Looking Good in Exos; Safina Out of Brisbane

Justine Henin is set to make her comeback to tennis in less than a month, and to prepare herself for the fierce competition shell be returning to, the Belgian has been playing a few exhibitions in Cairo. She started with a defeat of Kristen Flipkens, then she went on to beat world number 12 Flavia Pennetta. She continued her impressive play today, by beating Nadia Petrova 7-6(4), 6-2. Looks to me like Justine really has a fire lit in her. Can't wait for the Australian!

World number 2 Dinara Safina has withdrawn from the Brisbane International, a popular tune-up to the Australian Open, due to a back injury. The Russian was forced to emotionally pull out of her match at the WTA Championships in October, and the pain has not relieved. The injury has cast a shadow of doubt on Safina's chances of participating in the year's 1st Grand Slam, but hopefully the 23 year old can get herself together in time.