Hot Rod

Here is an update on today`s matches on a wet day at the French Open.

First of all, JJ defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Alona defeated Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-3. Good wins for those ladies. JJ did a good job of stepping up her play late to subdue the very tough Kaia Kanepi, while Alona had a nice solid performance.

Unfortunately our title hopes in singles took some big hits as Ana was routed by Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 0-6; Vera Z was upset by Anastasia Rodionova 4-6, 4-6; Aggie was upset by Yaroslava Shvedova 5-7, 3-6 and Kat was defeated by Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 1-6. First of all, Ana looked absolutely dismal in her match. It`s so hard to believe in the last three years she has gone from the glory of winning the ladies title to being drubbed in the second round. Also we got very disappointing results from Aggie and Vera, who has been two of our more reliable stars. I had a bad feeling about Aggie`s match against Yaroslava Shvedova, who always seems to beat at least a couple of our favorites in the last 2-3 years during the clay court season. Aggie really fell apart mentally from what i`ve read in the report, taking her frustration out on her daddy/coach Robert, while Vera also had a disappointing performance.

Masha took on Kirsten Flipkens late in the day and she was leading 6-3, 2-2 when the match was suspended due to darkness. The match will resume early in the afternoon session tomorrow. Also Dani`s match and the doubles matches were postponed due to all of the rain delays.

Here is the rest of tomorrow`s schedule. First of all, Caroline will take on Alexandra Dulgheru, Makiri will face Svetlana Kuznetsova, Domi will play Venus Williams, Dani will take on Olga Govortsova and Flavia will face Polana Hercog. Meanwhile in doubles, the V Team, the Bondarenko sisters and Elena will be in action. Also mixed doubles gets underway with Gisela and Iveta playing their first round matches. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well tomorrow.

In other news, Masha will be heading to Big D soon, where she will play in the Cowboys Tennis Slam, which will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on July 10. She will be in the event along with Serena Williams, Andy Roddick and John Isner. I`m so happy that Masha will be playing at the greatest stadium ever build and the home of the great Cowboys. Hopefully we`ll get to see Masha wearing a Cowboys jersey. Of course it has to be a white one. Plus it would be nice if she wore a silver and blue outfit for the event.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.








Good job JJ.




This pic obviously illustrates how badly the day went for Ana.

The Daywalker

I do like the colors of Masha's new outfit, but the pattern does nothing, making it look bad.

Dreadful time for our ladies, but we still have some in the running!

Hot Rod

Here is an update on today`s matches at the French Open.

First of all, Masha completed her match against Kirsten Flipkens and came out with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Good win for Masha. She did a good job of turning up her play after losing the first game to quickly take care of business.

One of our favorites scored a big upset as Makiri upset defending Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Good win for Makiri. She came out strong in winning the first set and did a good job of showing a lot of poise in a tough third set where she missed out on closing out the match a couple of times, but finally did so on the third attempt. I`m really happy for Makiri that she got another big win like this. She showed the tough spunkiness that we saw at the Australian Open and was very poised in some tough situations.

Also Caroline defeated Alexandra Dulgheru 6-3, 6-4; Dani defeated Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-3 and Flavia routed Polana Hercog 6-3, 6-0. Good wins for those ladies. It`s nice to see Caroline and Dani with nice solid performances again, while Flavia looked very sharp in her match.

Unfortunately it wasn`t all good news as Domi was defeated by Venus Williams 3-6, 4-6. Not much of a surprise there.

In doubles, the Bondarenko sisters upset Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2. Good win for Alona and Kat. It`s nice to see them put together a pretty good performance for the first time in a while. Elena won her second round doubles match in straight sets, while the V Team were defeated by Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 2-6, 4-6. Tough loss there for Vera Z and Vika. Hopefully they can regroup before Wimbledon after a very disappointing early exit in Roland Garros.

Lastly mixed doubles got underway with Elena winning her first round match and Iveta having tough loss in her`s.

So it was a pretty good day for some of our favorites in Roland Garros with Makiri`s big upset win over Svetlana Kuznetsova being the highlight of the day.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches. First of all in the marquee match, Masha will take on Justine Henin. Obviously this will be a very tough match for Masha, going up against the four time champion. However she has been playing well on the red clay lately and if she can keep it up in tomorrow`s match, then i like her chances in it. We`ll have our second all hotties matchup where JJ will face Alona. JJ will be the favorite in it, however Alona is capable of giving her a tough match. Also Dani will play Yanina Wickmayer. This also looks like a very tough match for Dani. She will be back in action for doubles later on where she and Caroline will take on the Williams sisters. Also Gisela/Flavia will face Alberta Brianti and Alexandra Dulgheru, Makiri/Aggie will play Petra Kvitova and Stefanie Voegle, Iveta and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova will take on Lucie Safarova and Aleksandra Wozniak and Domi and Julia Goerges will play Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Finally in mixed doubles, Flavia will play her first round match and Elena will play her second round match. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in tomorrow`s matches and we`ll get a pretty good match between JJ and Alona.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.








Good job Masha.








Good job Makiri. It was such a great and very lovely sight seeing her so happy after she clinched the win.






Good job Caroline.

Hot Rod

Here is an update on today`s matches at the French Open.

First of all in the marquee match, Masha took on Justine Henin later in the afternoon. Masha lost the first set 2-6, but came back to win the second set 6-3. After that play was suspended due to darkness. Masha got off to a slow start, falling behind 0-4 to start the match, but she did a great job of keeping her poise and staying patient, which paid off late in the second set when she won the last three games to win the set. I`m really pleased with how well Masha played in the second set, with her showing her patience and getting some nice shots off of her slice forehand and backhand. Plus she was the first player to take a set off of Justine Henin at Roland Garros since 2005, which should not only be a confidence booster for Masha, but also put some doubt into Henin`s mind.

We had our second all hotties matchup today where JJ defeated Alona 6-4, 7-6(3). Nice to see a close match between those ladies. Good win for JJ. It was far from her best performance, with her committing 33 unforced errors and missing out on some break chances, but she showed her grit by stepping up her play when she needed to. Aa for Alona, obviously this is a pretty tough loss for her. She did a good job of breaking JJ`s serve seven times, but her own serve was worse, getting broken eight times. That obviously proved costly.

Also Dani upset Yanina Wickmayer 7-5, 6-3. Good win for Dani. She put together a pretty good performance in upsetting Belgium`s #3 star. Dani really had the nice backhand going throughout the match.

Meanwhile in doubles, Gisela/Flavia defeated Alberta Brianti and Alexandra Dulgheru 7-5, 7-6(2); Makiri/Aggie defeated Petra Kvitova and Stefanie Voegle 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 and Iveta and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova crushed compatriot Lucie Safarova and Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-1. Good wins for those ladies. I`m pleased to see our top teams winning tough matches and Iveta having a pretty good performance. The news wasn`t all good as Domi and Julie Goerges were defeated by Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 2-6, 7-6(8), 0-6. Also Dani and Caroline withdrew from their scheduled match against the Williams sisters. Lastly in mixed doubles, our title hopes there was dashed as Elena and Andy Ram were defeated by Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic 3-6, 7-6(6), 8-10. Tough loss there for Elena.

So it was a good day for some of our favorites in Roland Garros.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches. First of all, Masha will complete her match against Justine Henin early in the afternoon. It`ll be interesting to see if Masha can keep it going after the overnight layoff. We`ll get another all hotties matchup as Caroline will take on Flavia. Both ladies has been playing in Roland Garros after having their share of struggles in the previous tournaments. I think that this could be a pretty tight match. Also Makiri will face Francesca Schiavone. Obviously Makiri is coming in with a lot of momentum after her big upset of Svetlana Kuznetsova, however this is going to be a pretty tough match for her against the tough and scrappy Schiavone. Meanwhile in doubles, Iveta and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova will play Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues, Makiri/Aggie will take on Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, Gisela/Flavia will face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Zi Yan and Elena and Cara Black will play Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. Nothing but very tough matches for our favorites in doubles. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in tomorrow`s matches and we`ll get a pretty good match between Caroline and Flavia.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.












Nice view there.


Same here.


Poor Alona. I want to give her a right now.


Good job JJ.


Thanks for giving us a good match ladies.

Hot Rod

Here is an update on today`s matches at the French Open.

First of all, our title hopes took a huge blow as Masha lost the third set of her match against Justine Henin 3-6. What a tough loss for Masha. She got off to a good start in winning the first two games and had triple break point, but was unable to convert on any of them to take a two break lead. Then she had numerous other break chances, but could only convert one of them. Plus Masha really struggled with her serve in the windy conditions. This is such a tough loss for her. I really felt that Masha was going to pull out a big win over Justine Henin today, especially when she was up 2-0. If only she could`ve converted at least a couple of those break chances. Instead it`s another tough loss for Masha to the Menace from Belgium. I have a feeling that they will see each other again soon. Hopefully Masha won`t let Henin off the hook and get some payback on her.

If Masha losing to Justine Henin wasn`t bad enough, Makiri`s run came to an end as she was defeated by Francesca Schiavone 4-6, 4-6. Tough loss there for Makiri. She put up a good effort, but didn`t have enough for the tough Schiavone.

We got another all hotties matchup between Flavia and Caroline and it was a very good match with Caroline coming out with a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-2 win. This match was a lot of fun to watch with Caroline and Flavia both putting up great effort in a tough battle. I really loved watching the tough resolve from both ladies. Caroline proved to be too much in the end as she was much fresher in the third set compared to Flavia, who ran out of gas. So good win for Caroline.

Meanwhile in doubles, Gisela/Flavia defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Zi Yan 7-6(7), 6-0 and Makiri/Aggie defeated Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 7-6(6), 6-4. Good wins for our top teams. It`s nice to see Flavia and Makiri bouncing back from their tough losses in singles. Unfortunately Elena and Iveta`s stay in Roland Garros came to an end as Elena and Cara Black were defeated by Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-7(5), 1-6 and Iveta and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova were defeated by Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-2, 4-6.

So that`s the story on today`s matches at Roland Garros. Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches. First of all we`ll get another all hotties matchup as JJ will take on Dani. This will be their third meeting of the year, with Dani winning the previous meetings in Charleston and the Serbia-Slovakia tie in the Fed Cup Playoffs. Both ladies has been playing well in RG and expect another pretty good match between them. Also in doubles, Makiri/Aggie will face the Williams sisters, Gisela/Flavia will play Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues and the Bondarenko sisters will take on Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur. These are some very tough looking matches for our top teams, especially for Makiri/Aggie. I really hope that most of our remaining favorites will do well tomorrow and we`ll get a pretty good match between JJ and Dani.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.






More frustration at Roland Garros for Masha.




Makiri showed her tough spunkiness ,


but it still wasn`t enough for her. On a much better note, i love the nice pokies Makiri had going in her matches at Roland Garros.


















Another tough loss for Flavia,


while Caroline survives for another day.


Good job Caroline.

Hot Rod

Here is an update on today`s matches at the French Open.

First of all, we got another all hotties matchup where JJ defeated Dani 6-4, 6-2. Good win for JJ. Nice to see her delivering another solid performance. As for Dani, she was pretty competitive in the first set, but fell apart after she got a time violation during the ninth game in the first set.

Also in doubles, our title hopes there took a big blow as Makiri/Aggie were defeated by the Williams sisters 2-6, 3-6 and Gisela/Flavia were defeated by Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 0-6, 6-7(4). Makiri and Aggie`s woe against the Williams sisters, while Gisela and Flavia had a tough loss. However the Bondarenko sisters kept hope alive with a 6-4, 1-0 ret win over Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur. Good win for Alona and Kat.

So that`s the story on today`s matches at Roland Garros. Tomorrow Caroline will return to action as she will take on Francesca Schiavone. Caroline has been playing well lately, but has a tough looking match against the always tough and scrappy Schiavone. Also in doubles, the Bondarenko sisters will face Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. That`s a tough looking match there for Alona and Kat. I really hope that they and Caroline will do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from the JJ-Dani match along with some pics from Gisela and Flavia`s first round doubles match.
















Good job JJ.








Take it off Flavia!

Hot Rod

Here is the latest update from the French Open.

First of all, our title hopes in singles took another big blow as Caroline was defeated by Francesca Schiavone 2-6, 3-6. Disappointing performance there from Caroline. She was really outplayed by the always tough Francesca Schiavone, who really showed her superior clay court skills. While i`m sad that Caroline`s stay at Roland Garros is over with, i have to say that it was pretty good considering her lingering ankle injury. Hopefully she will take a much needed break and come back strong to defend her title at Eastbourne in a couple of weeks.

If Caroline losing wasn`t bad enough, our final hope in doubles was dashed as the Bondarenko sisters were defeated by Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4, 2-6, 3-6. Tough loss there for Alona and Kat. While i`m very pleased that they had a pretty good run in their second tournament together since Kat`s recent return, it would`ve been nice to see them at least reach the final.

So that`s the story on a very disappointing day at Roland Garros. Now JJ is our final hope over there and she will take on Yaroslava Shvedova tomorrow. This is going to be a very tough match for JJ. Yaroslava Shvedova has given JJ some tough matches in their three meeting, especially at the US Open last year. So JJ will need to come out strong in her match tomorrow. I really hope that she will do well in it.

Anyway here are some pics from Caroline`s match.






Caroline was obviously befuddled trying to find a way to counter Francesca Schiavone`s good play.


Eventually her frustration boiled over. On a more positive note, i love seeing Caroline showing her feisty side.

Hot Rod

Our title hopes are still alive in the French Open as JJ defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-4. Good win for JJ. It was a tough match as expected, but JJ did a good job of putting her experience to good use against Shvedova. Now she`s back in the semifinals, where she will take on Samantha Stosur tomorrow. Obviously this is going to be a very tough match for JJ going up against the always tough Aussie who has beaten former champions Justine Henin and Serena Williams in her last two matches. JJ will really need to come out strong right from the start. I really hope that she will do well in tomorrow`s match. This is a great opportunity for her and hopefully she can make the most of it.

In other news, the draw for the first round of next year`s edition of the Fed Cup was made and here are the ties involving our favorites.

First of all in the World Group, Russia will host France. Team Russia will obviously be favored in this matchup. Hopefully we`ll get to see at least one of our favorites like Anna, Elena and/or Makiri representing Team Russia to play Alize. We`ll have a very intriguing matchup between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The countries that once were Czechoslovakia met up in the World Group II a couple of years ago with the Czechs winning it. Now the stakes are much higher with the Czechs and Slovaks playing for the Fed Cup. Hopefully we`ll get to see Iveta and at least one of the other Czech beauties like Petra Kvitova going up against Dani and Domi. Also Italy will be heading down under to face Australia. This is going to be a very tough looking tie for Flavia and company having to make the long trip down under and most likely playing the very tough Samantha Stosur.

Meanwhile in the World Group II, Germany will play Slovenia, Serbia will take on Canada and Ukraine will face Sweden.

Obviously there will be plenty of time for the teams to be formed, but i hope that we`ll see all of our favorites who usually play in Fed Cup like Flavia, Dani and the Bondarenko sisters back representing their countries next year. Plus it wouldn`t be too much to see our favorites in Team Russia back playing on the team, who obviously needed them when they were recently beaten by Team USA in the semifinals.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s match.














I wanted to include some pics of Yaroslava Shvedova. She looks good in the Lacoste outfit, which is the same one that Gisela wore.


Plus the Oakley shades are a good look for her.


Also Yaro is quite a cutie. With her moving up the rankings, it might be time for her to doll herself up a bit more if she wants to compete with Sabine and Ula for those cuties photoshoots.




Good job JJ.

Hot Rod

Well our title hopes at the French Open came to an end today as JJ was crushed by Samantha Stosur 1-6, 2-6.


What a disastrous match this was for JJ. I was really hoping that she could keep up the good play, but instead was dominated by the tough Samantha Stosur. This really sucks for JJ to get blown out like this after all of the good wins she had at Roland Garros.

So the Grand Slam slump continues for our favorites. JJ and Caroline were the only ones with pretty good runs in singles, while some like Masha had very tough draws and others like Aggie ran into in form players like Yaroslava Shvedova. Plus Ana`s struggles continues with another early exit for her. Also our top teams in doubles got very tough draws.

The tour will move to the grass courts starting next week at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, England. Masha will return to Birmingham to go for her third title there. Domi, Anna and Sania are also scheduled to play in Birmingham. I`ll have the draws for the tournament as soon as it`s released.

The Daywalker

Yaro cleans up very nicely

Our ladies really came up short in this grand slam. No one put together a good run - which includes all top female players falling. Could have "stolen" a GS trophy.

Hot Rod

Yeah this was such a missed opportunity for our favorites at Roland Garros, especially with Caroline and JJ missing out on making it an all hotties final.

Hopefully our favorites can turn things around on the grass courts, starting next week at Birmingham.

Speaking of Birmingham, here are the first pics of Masha over there along with some recent pics of a few of our other favorites in Roland Garros and a couple of new pics of Sorana.





It`s nice to see Masha showing some skin again during her practice session.


I`m also happy to see Makiri and Elena back together again.








Sorana looks very gorgeous in this pic.

Hot Rod

Here is the singles draw for the AEGON Classic, which was released earlier today:

AEGON Classic singles:

1-WC-LI, Na CHN vs BYE
PARMENTIER, Pauline FRA vs KEOTHAVONG, Anne GBR
MORITA, Ayumi JPN vs CAMERIN, Maria Elena ITA
Q vs 13-KERBER, Angelique GER

12-BALTACHA, Elena GBR vs Q
COIN, Julie FRA vs GROTH, Jarmila AUS
Q vs LARCHER DE BRITO, Michelle POR
7-GOVORTSOVA, Olga BLR vs BYE

4-REZAI, Aravane FRA vs BYE
Q vs RODIONOVA, Anastasia AUS
DUQUE MARINO, Mariana COL vs Q
SPREM, Karolina CRO vs 15-BARROIS, Kristina GER

11-CZINK, Melinda HUN vs ERAKOVIC, Marina NZL
HRADECKA, Lucie CZE vs CRAYBAS, Jill USA
PERRY, Shenay USA vs WC-BROADY, Naomi GBR
5-ERRANI, Sara ITA vs BYE

8-PETKOVIC, Andrea GER vs BYE
CHAKVETADZE, Anna RUS vs WC-SOUTH, Melanie GBR
Q vs ZAHLAVOVA, Sandra CZE
MOLIK, Alicia AUS vs 9-WOZNIAK, Aleksandra CAN

14-TANASUGARN, Tamarine THA vs OSTERLOH, Lilia USA
CHAN, Yung-Jan TPE vs MIRZA, Sania IND
Q vs VOEGELE, Stefanie SUI
3-WICKMAYER, Yanina BEL vs BYE

6-SHVEDOVA, Yaroslava KAZ vs BYE
Q vs O'BRIEN, Katie GBR
CHANG, Kai-Chen TPE vs MAKAROVA, Ekaterina RUS
KULIKOVA, Regina RUS vs 10-RYBARIKOVA, Magdalena SVK

16-KING, Vania USA vs FLIPKENS, Kirsten BEL
KUDRYAVTSEVA, Alla RUS vs WC-WATSON, Heather GBR
BRIANTI, Alberta ITA vs MATTEK-SANDS, Bethanie USA
2-SHARAPOVA, Maria vs BYE

First of all, Masha has a pretty favorable looking section. If she can show the good form we saw recently in Strasbourg and at the French Open, then she should get through without much trouble. Looking down the road, Masha will likely face either defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova or Yaro, which could be a test for Masha. Also Anna, Sania and Michelle has good opportunities to get a win. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in Birmingham next week. This is a great opportunity for them to get the grass court season off to a good start. Plus it would be nice to see Masha reassert her dominance in Birmingham.

Hot Rod

Just wanted to inform everyone that the AEGON Classic gets underway later today.

First of all, Anna will take on hometown Melanie South. Also Sania will make her return to the court for the first time in a few months as she will face Yung-Jan Chan and Michelle will play Ekaterina Dzehalevich. I really hope that the ladies will do well in today`s matches.

Anyway here are some pics of Masha from yesterday along with some practice pics of Anna.

Hot Rod

Here is the first update from Birmingham.

First of all, Sania made her return to the court for the first time in a few months and it was a successful one as she defeated Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-4. Good win for Sania. This was a pretty good performance in her first match back. Also Anna defeated hometown favorite Melanie South 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and Michelle defeated Ekaterina Dzehalevich 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Good wins for Anna and Michelle. I`m especially pleased with Anna coming back from down 1-4 in the third set.

So that`s the story on a pretty good first day of action in Birmingham. Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches:



Masha has a pretty favorable looking opening match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who she crushed 6-1, 6-1 a couple of months ago in Memphis, while Michelle and Anna has pretty tough looking matches. I really hope that the ladies will do well in tomorrow`s matches.

Hot Rod

No action for our favorites in Birmingham today as their matches were postponed due to rain. Masha, Anna and Michelle`s matches will be pushed back tomorrow. Plus Sania will take on Tamarine Tanasugarn. I just saw that there will be more rain in the forecast tomorrow. Hopefully it will stay away so that the ladies can get their matches in.