Sports - Maria Sharapova #7: Because she`s reeking of talent and sex appeal! - Page 17

**Hot Rod** · 07-26-2008, 03:57 PM

Here`s an update on the afternoon matches.

First of all in Portoroz, Caroline`s quest for her first career title came to an end with a 4-6, 4-6 loss to Sara Errani. Tough loss there for Caroline.

She gave a good effort, but just didn`t have enough today. I really think that she`s due for her first title sooner or later.

Meanwhile in L.A.. In a match that just finished a few minutes ago, Flavia defeated Bethanie Mattek 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Great win there for Flavia.

She rebounded very nicely in the second set. The third set was very tight. Flavia really stepped it up in the last part of the match and hit some great winners to clinch the win. I`m very pleased with the great poise Flavia showed in the third set, especially when she was down 4-5, 15-40. Now she`s in her first career Tier II final.

Later tonight Jelena will take on Dinara Safina. Like i`ve said before, this will likely be a tough match for Jelena. So hopefully she can step up her play tonight.

Anyway here are a couple of pics from Flavia`s match.

**Hot Rod** · 07-26-2008, 09:27 PM

The second semifinal match has just ended in L.A. and sadly for the second year in a row we are denied an all hotties final in L.A. as Dinara Safina defeated Jelena 6-7(3), 1-6. Disappointing loss for Jelena.

She didn`t have an answer for Dinara`s powerful forehand and big serve. Plus her own serve wasn`t that good in the match, especially in the second set where it completely went away. If anyone wants to know why Jelena hasn`t been able to win a Grand Slam like Masha and Ana, then tonight`s match was a perfect illustration.

So tomorrow in L.A. it will be Flavia going against Dinara Safina in the finals. This will be their second meeting of the year, with Dinara winning the first meeting in the Gold Coast at the beginning of the year. Obviously this will be a very tough match for Flavia going up against one of Team Russia`s top stars. Still i think that she has a chance in it. She just needs to come in with a good gameplan to counter Dinara`s more powerful game like extending the rallies and coming up with some nice shots. If she can do that, then i like Flavia`s chances. I hope that she`ll play hard and give it her best tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches along with some hot pics of the Bondarenko sisters from the Australian Open.

It`s nice to see Caroline wearing fingernail polish during her match. She`s definitely a quick learner.

Alona and Kat definitely turned a lot of heads not only with their great play,

but also for their nice pokies.

**Hot Rod** · 07-27-2008, 04:43 PM

The finals in L.A. has just ended and unfortunately Flavia was defeated by Dinara Safina 4-6, 2-6. This was a match that Flavia needed to be really on and unfortunately she didn`t have enough for Dinara, who played very well.

She had her moments in the match, but couldn`t hold serve in the last part of the match and had too many unforced errors.

With our hopes for a repeat hotties title win in L.A. dashed, it`s time to move on to the Rogers Cup in Montreal this week, which will feature the much anticipated return of Masha and Ana. Here is the draw for the tournament:

(1) Ivanovic - Bye
Nakamura - Kvitova
Q - Q
Paszek - (14) Schiavone

(11) Azarenka - Q
Q - Bammer
Razzano - Rezai
(8) Zvonareva - Bye

(4) Kuznetsova - Bye
Q - Q
King - Q
Harkleroad - (15) Pennetta

(9) Schnyder - Q
Niculescu - Q
Rodionova - Q
(7) Safina - Bye

(6) Chakvetadze - Bye
Craybas - Fichman
Q - Kleybanova
Q - (10) Bartoli

(16) Vaidisova - Sugiyama
Lisicki - Peer
Mattek - Domachowska
(3) Sharapova - Bye

(5) Dementieva - Bye
Cibulkova - Vesnina
Tanasugarn - Sanchez
Pelletier - (12) Petrova

(13) Kirilenko - Keothavong
Govortsova - Dubois
Chan - Wozniak
(2) Jankovic - Bye

First of all Ana has a favorable section. The only possible early i see for her is a likely third round match against Francesca Schiavone, who gave Ana a pretty tough match earlier this spring at Indian Wells. Still i like Ana`s chance of going through with very few problems. Plus i`m sure she will be very motivated to do well at where she won her first big title a couple of a years ago, which was a breakthrough for her.

Next Vera Z`s section looks manageable early on, but could get tough should she meet up with Victoria Azarenka in the third round. Still if Vera can play the good solid tennis we know she can do, then she has a great chance of getting through.

The next section has the first of two all hotties first round matches, which will have Ashley going up against Flavia for their first ever meeting. This looks like an interesting match. I think that Ashley has a chance in it, especially with Flavia having to fly out east late due to her playing in the finals in L.A. today. This will a good opportunity for the winner of that match to go on a little run before likely meeting up with Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.

Moving to the top part of the lower half of the draw, Anna has a favorable looking section, but with the way she has been playing lately, i`m going to take a one match at a time approach with her. She should beat either Jill Craybas or Sharon Fichman in her first match in the second round. Then she`ll likely meet up with Marion Bartoli in the third round for their third meeting of the year. Obviously Anna has some unfinished business after losing to Bartoli in Stanford recently. I really feel that if she can beat her, then it will boost Anna`s confidence.

The next section is the most hotties filled one with Masha leading the way. She`ll play either Bethanie Mattek or Marta Domachowska. Masha will be the heavy favorite against either of those ladies, although less so against Bethanie Mattek, who has been playing much better lately and did give Masha a tough match in the second round of the French Open after being double bageled by her in their first meeting of the year at Charleston. I really feel that Masha will need to come out looking sharp right away to establish control in her second round match. Also Nikki will take on Ai Sugiyama in the first round. This will be their second meeting of the year, with Nikki winning the previous meeting at the Australian Open 6-3, 6-4. Obviously this will be a tough match for Nikki, especially since her play has regressed after the great run at Wimbledon and Ai has recently beaten Nikki`s partners in crime on Team Czechoslovakia, Dani and Domi recently. So Nikki will need to come out and show the good form from earlier this year. Lastly Sabrine will play Shahar Peer in her first round match. This will be their second meeting of the year, with Sabrine winning the first one in Berlin. So Sabrine has some confidence with that previous result. However i think that she needs to come out strong if she wants to have a chance of winning. Overall Masha is the favorite in the section. If she can rediscover the good form from earlier this year, then i think that she should have no problem getting through, especially with most of the players like Nikki slumping.

The next section will feature the other all hotties first round match, which will be between Domi and Elena. Like Ashley vs. Flavia, this will be their first ever meeting. Both ladies has been slumping lately, especially Elena. So a win here will restore some confidence. The winner of that match will take on Elena Dementieva. I think that Domi has a better chance against her, especially since she had a tough loss to Dementieva earlier this spring at Miami.

In the last section, Jelena will be the heavy favorite there. Also Makiri will take on Anne Keothavong in the first round. This is pretty favorable looking matchup for Makiri, although it`ll be interesting to see how well she`ll look after flying across the Atlantic.

Overall i think that our top hotties has a good chance of going far and winning the title in Montreal. This is a great opportunity for Masha and Ana to not only redeem themselves after their very disappointing showings at Wimbledon, but also to build some positive momentium heading into the Olympics and US Open. I really hope that they and our other favorites will do well this week in Montreal. It`s time for them to reestablish the hotties domination in Montreal.

Anyway here are some pics of Masha, Makiri, Nikki and Vera practicing at Montreal.

**Hot Rod** · 07-27-2008, 10:34 PM

Here are a few more things that i wasn`t able to fit in the last post.

First of all here`s the doubles draw in Montreal:

(1)Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) v bye
Ditty/S.Uberoi (USA/IND) v Dekmeijere/Haynes (LAT/USA)
Karatantcheva/N.Uberoi (BUL/USA) v Dubois/Lisicki (CAN/GER)
(wc)Dabrowski/Fichman (CAN) v (8)Hrdinova/Uhlirova (CZE)

(3)Azarenka/Peer (BLR/ISR) v bye
Govortsova/Kustova (BLR) v Pelletier/Tanasugarn (CAN/THA)
O`Brien/Scheepers (GBR/RSA) v Fusano/Harkleroad (USA)
Adamczak/South (AUS/GBR) v (7)Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS)

(5)Poutchek/Rodionova (BLR/RUS) v Kleybanova/Niculescu (RUS/ROU)
Domachowska/Petrova (POL/RUS) v Craybas/Spears (USA)
Kirilenko/Pennetta (RUS/ITA) v Lepchenko/Osterloh (USA)
(4)Y.Chan/Mattek (TPE/USA) v bye

(6)King/Kudryavtseva (USA/RUS) v Kuznetsova/Safina (RUS)
Jidkova/Nakamura (RUS/JPN) v Morita/Sugiyama (JPN)
(wc)Gloria/Tetreault (CAN) v Czink/Savchuk (HUN/UKR)
(2)Peschke/Stubbs (CZE/AUS) v bye

I`m very happy to see Flavia and Makiri are back together again.

I think that their section of the draw isn`t bad looking. If they can pick back up on the good form they showed recently, then i think that they have a good chance of making a nice run. Also Elena and Vera Z will be teaming up again. I think that they have a pretty chance of getting out of their section. They`re starting to gel together well lately as evident by their run to the finals in Stanford recently. I really hope that they and Flavia and Makiri will do well in Montreal. I think that they have a good chance of making it to the semifinals.

The Rogers Cup won`t be the only tournament going on this week. Some of our less heralded favorites will be playing inthe Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm, Sweden. Here is the draw for it:

Agnieszka Radwanska [1] vs Nathalie Dechy
Ekaterina Makarova vs Mariya Koryttseva
Julia Goerges vs Johanna Larsson [WC]
Camille Pin vs Kateryna Bondarenko [7]

Caroline Wozniacki [4] vs Qualifier
Emma Laine [WC] vs Alexandra Panova
Qualifier vs Petra Cetkovska
Sandra Roma [WC] vs Anabel Medina Garrigues [5]

Marina Erakovic [8] vs Qualifier
Virginia Ruano Pascual vs Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
Qualifier vs Ekaterina Bychkova
Anna Lapuschenkova vs Katarina Srebotnik [3]

Sania Mirza [6] vs Emilie Loit
Tatiana Perebiynis vs Iveta Benesova
Vera Dushevina vs Lucie Safarova
Yanina Wickmayer vs Agnes Szavay [2]

Not a bad looking draw for our favorites in Stockholm. First of all Kat has an interesting first round match against Camille Pin, whom she`s 0-2 against. Obviously this will be a tough for Kat, but at the same time, this is a good opportunity to get out of this slump she`s in. A win or two will definitely boost her confidence. Also Caroline has a favorable earlier draw, but it could get much tougher if she meets up with Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals. Lastly Iveta will have a tough first round match. If she can somehow rediscover the good form she showed in Estroil, then i think that she can get a win or two at least. I really hope that Caroline, Iveta and Kat will do well in Stockholm this week. It wouldn`t be too much to see at least one of them make a nice run and likely meet up with Aggie in the later rounds.

The action will get underway in Stockholm later today as Iveta will start out the day with her first round match against Tatiana Perebiynis. Then Kat will take on Camille Pin. Meanwhile in Montreal, the headline match of the day up there will be the Domi - Elena match. Like i`ve mentioned earlier, this will be the first meeting between the ladies. Later in the afternoon, Sabrine will take on Shahar Peer. As always, i hope that our favorite hotties will do well later today.

Anyway here are some pics from the Player`s party in Montreal along with some pics of Ana, Elena and Domi practicing, some recent pics of the Radwanska sisters and a pic of Flavia during the awards ceremony after yesterday`s match.

Masha looking very good as usual.

Same with Ana,

who looks very lovely in that dress.

Domi looking very good with the more casual look.

Same with Vera.

Seriously how can anyone resist Poland`s most beautiful tennis stars, especially Ula?

Just look at that smile.

Now that is further proof of why Ula is a covergirl in the making.

Aggie and Ula are more than welcome to bring their friend, who looks like one of Hef`s girlfriends, to our parties anytime.

It`s pretty obvious what this dude would like to see happen.

I think that Flavia`s runner-up trophy looks better than both of the trophies from her title wins earlier this year.

In fact i think that it would look good next to her trophy from when she won the doubles title in Estroil with Makiri a couple of months ago.

The Daywalker · 07-28-2008, 10:19 AM

Wow tons of updates and hot pictures, thanks! Awesome pokies there from the hottest sisters catagory.

And also Alona sporting some nice nail polish as well. I always love the Marceau shots, they are always upclose with excellent quality. Great short tight shorts for all the ladies as well.

Nice run by Flavia, no title, but i'm sure she'll take this runner up trophy as a success.

And Aggie, so close to touching the goodies

**Hot Rod** · 07-28-2008, 03:44 PM

Glad that you like the updates Chris. I wanted to get as much good stuff as possible here, especially with the Bondarenko sisters. Those pics from the Australian Open were too good not to post here.

As for Flavia, i think that her run to the finals in L.A. should be a confidence booster for her, given how well she played there.

Here`s the first update from Montreal and Stockholm.

First of all in Stockholm, Iveta routed Tatiana Perebiynis 6-2, 6-2. Very good win there for Iveta.

This is the best she showed in a while. This is a great start for her. Unfortunately it wasn`t all good news as Kat was defeated by Camille Pin 4-6, 6-7(3). Tough loss there for Kat, who falls to 0-3 against Pin.

Meanwhile in Montreal, the first all hotties match was played this afternoon between Domi and Elena, with Domi crushing Elena 6-1, 6-1. Very good performance from Domi.

She really came out with playing with some purpose. As happy as i am for Domi, i`m equally sad for Elena.

What a disappointing showing for her to get blown out like this. I was hoping that she would make the match more competitive.

So that`s the story with the afternoon matches. Later this evening in Montreal Sabrine will take on Shahar Peer. Hopefully she will do well in the match. Anyway here are some more pics of Masha and Nikki practicing along with some more pics of Masha from the Players` Party and some pics of Masha and Ana from All Access Hour.

http://images.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pb...=5157&MaxW=700

**Hot Rod** · 07-28-2008, 10:26 PM

After having to wait out some rain delays, Sabrine took to the court to play her first round match against Shahar Peer and unfortunately was beaten 3-6, 4-6. This was a match where Sabrine needed to elevate her play and unfortunately was no much for Peer.

So it was an alright day overall in Montreal and Stockholm. Domi and Iveta had impressive wins to start out, while Kat, Elena and Sabrine are still searching for ways to end their slumps after having early exits again.

Tomorrow the action will pick up with more of the hotties in action. First of all in Stockholm, Caroline will take on Angelique Kerber. This is a favorable looking first round match for Caroline. Hopefully she can shake off her tough loss in the semifinals at Portoroz. Also Iveta will be back on the court for doubles as she will team up with her longtime teammate from the Czech Fed Cup team, Barbora Zahlasova Strycova for their first round match against Sophie Lefevre and Jasmin Woehr. Meanwhile in Montreal, some of the marquee stars will take to the courts tomorrow. Nikki will start out the day with her first round match against Ai Sugiyama. Also around the same time, Makiri will take on Anne Keothavong. First of all Makiri has a pretty favorable looking match. Plus she has more of an advantage having a couple of days in Montreal to shake off the jet lag from flying across the Atlantic. So this is the type of match where Makiri will need come out strong and take care of business. Also regarding Nikki`s match against Ai Sugiyama, like i`ve said earlier, this will likely be a very tough match for her. I`m sure Nikki is well aware of Ai Sugiyama`s recent success against her partners in crime on Team Czechoslovakia, Dani and Domi, in Stanford. Sugiyama doesn`t process the power game of the more elite players like Masha, Ana and the Williams sisters, but she`s a crafty veteran with a tricky game designed around good shotmaking that can frustrate a player like Nikki. Still if she can do what she did in their first meeting at the Australian Open and play good constant tennis where she uses her powerful forehand properly to overpower Sugiyama and more importantly keep her poise in the tough situations, then i like Nikki`s chances of winning. Later in the afternoon, Flavia will make her return for the first time since the final in L.A. yesterday. Unfortunately we won`t be seeing her playing Ashley, who withdrew today with a back injury.

Instead Flavia will play Olga Savchuk. This will be an intriguing match to see how well Flavia can play after flying across the continent. Plus Savchuk won`t be a pushover as evident by the tough match she gave Flavia in Rome earlier this spring. After that match, Vera Z will face Virginia Razzano. This is a pretty favorable looking matchup for Vera to where she should win if she plays the good solid tennis we`ve seen from her. Finally in the last match of the day, Domi will take on fifth seed Elena Dementieva. This is a great opportunity for Domi, who is coming in with some added confidence after her rout of Elena today. I think that Domi has a good chance in it. She just needs to exploit Dementieva`s at times inconsitant serve and show the feistiness and spunk from earlier this spring when she had her best runs. As always i hope that our favorites will do well later today. BTW i`ve just read that there is a virus going around with some players in Montreal. Hopefully it won`t affect any of our favorite ladies there, especially our big three of Masha, Ana and Jelena.

Anyway here are some more pics of Masha and Ana.

http://images.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pb...=5157&MaxW=700

More loveliness from Masha.

It`s nice to see her back in good spirits.

Same with Ana.

Seriously how can anyone resist that beautiful smile of her`s.

**Hot Rod** · 07-29-2008, 10:27 AM

Here`s an update on the early matches.

First of all in Stockholm, Caroline defeated Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4. Good win for Caroline.

She delivered a nice solid performance in it. Also in doubles Iveta and Barbora Zahlasova Strycova handlely defeated Sophie Lefevre and Jasmin Woehr 6-2, 6-2. Very good win for the Czech duo.

Meanwhile in Montreal, Makiri defeated Anne Keothavong 6-1, 7-5. Good win there for Makiri.

She had to work a little longer than expected in the second set, but did a good job of finishing the match in straight sets. Unfortunately it wasn`t all good news as Nikki was defeated by Ai Sugiyama 3-6, 6-3, 2-6. I was afraid this would happen.

This match pretty much illustrates how the year has gone for Nikki in that she looks good for a moment, but eventually falls apart. It`s getting really frustrating and increasingly hopeless watching her matches lately.

So that`s the story with the early matches. Flavia, Vera Z and Domi`s matches will be up later on. Hopefully those three will do well later today. In the meantime here are some practice pics of Masha, Jelena, Anna and Makiri from yesterday.

**Hot Rod** · 07-29-2008, 09:46 PM

Here`s an update on the late matches in Montreal.

First of all in a match that has just ended a few minutes ago, Domi upset Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2. Very good win for Domi.

The first set was a tough one, but Domi showed her spunk and fighting spirit to win it. Then she really carried over the good momentium into the second set where she dominated it. This is a great win for Domi, which will greatly boost her confidence after some recent struggles.

Earlier this afternoon, Flavia defeated Olga Savchuk 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Good win for Flavia.

I`m glad that she bounced back after that terrible first set. Then afterwards, Vera Z was upset by Virginia Razzano 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(2). This was a very disappointing loss for Vera.

She was up 4-1 in the third set and was a break point away from going up 5-1, but couldn`t get it. Then her serve was a mess and really deserted her in the last part of the match. Once again another one of our favorites blows a good lead. I have to say that it is a surprise to see the usually solid and reliable Vera blow a lead like this. It`s such a shame that she`s the latest one to fall victim to this epidemic.

So in all it was a good day for some of our favorites with Nikki and Vera`s losses marring the day. Tomorrow the actions is really going to pick up in Montreal with Masha and Ana making their long awaited returns to the court. Makiri will be the first one up in the second match at Center Court as she`ll take on Stephanie Dubois. This looks like a pretty favorable match for Makiri, but i think that it could be a tough one for her, especially with Stephanie Dubois playing in front of the hometown fans. After that match is over with, Ana will make her return to the court against Petra Kvitova. This is a pretty favorable looking match for Ana. If she can come out strong and looking sharp then she should very little trouble in the match. Meanwhile out on Court 9, Anna will play veteran Jill Craybas, while on Court 5, Flavia will take on youngster Michelle Larcher de Brito. Barring any kind of disaster, i think that Anna and Flavia shouldn`t have too much troubles in their matches, although you never know with Anna. Later in the evening, Masha will also make her long awaited return to the court as she`ll play Marta Domachowska. This is a pretty favorable matchup for Masha. If she can get her game working smoothly, then she shouldn`t have much trouble in this match. After that match, Jelena will take on Montreal native Aleksandra Wozniak. I`m a bit wary about this match. Wozniak has been playing well lately as evident by her title win in Stanford nearly a couple of weeks ago. Plus she will be pumped up playing in front of the hometown fans. So Jelena will need to come out looking very sharp tomorrow night. Lastly in doubles, Elena & Vera and Flavia & Makiri will be in action with their first round matches. As always, i hope that all of our favorite hotties will do well tomorrow, especially Masha and Ana. I would love to see them get off to great starts in their first matches back.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches along with another pic of Masha from All Access Hour.

The frustration continues for Nikki.

This is Marta Domachowska, who is pretty good looking.

Poland has quite a lovely trio with her and the Radwanska sisters.

**Hot Rod** · 07-30-2008, 01:31 PM

Here`s an update on the early matches in Montreal.

First of all Anna defeated Jill Craybas 6-2, 7-5. Good win for Anna.

She looked sharp in the first set, but struggled with her serve for much of the second set. Fortunately she got it together to win the match in straight sets, which i`m very pleased with.

Unfortunately we got some more disappointment as Flavia and Makiri were upset their matches. Flavia losing to Michelle Larcher de Brito 3-6, 6-0, 3-6 and Makiri to Stephanie Dubois 2-6, 6-2, 6-7(4). I`m really disappointed with both ladies, especially Makiri.

She had a chance to finish the match on her serve up 6-5, but sadly couldn`t put Dubois away. Plus she got away from going with the nice backhand down the line that she had working well for much of the match. As for Flavia, it`s disappointing that she would lose after serving up a bagel in the second set. It looked like she ran out of gas in the third set.

So that`s the story on the early matches. Ana has just started her match, while Elena and Vera were in the second set of their doubles. Also we still have Masha and Jelena in the evening matches. Hopefully they can come through for us. Anyway here are a couple of pics from Makiri`s match.

The Daywalker · 07-30-2008, 05:51 PM

Marta is quite cute. We'll have to take her out for some ice cream.

YouTube - Marta Domachowska practicing in RG2008

YouTube - Marta Domachowska interview @ Aussie Open 08

**Hot Rod** · 07-30-2008, 08:25 PM

Thanks for the videos Chris. The Aussie Open interview only further confirms Marta`s cuteness.

Not only we should take her take out for ice cream, but also invite her to our parties with her equally lovely compatriots Aggie and Ula. I have to rate Team Poland(Aggie, Marta and Ula) slightly ahead of the French Connection(Tati and Alize) and behind only Team Russia, Team Czechoslovakia and the Sexy Serbs.

While i`m on the subject of Marta, she and Masha finished up their match a few minutes ago and it was a more competitive match than expected with Masha pulling out a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. She had a lot of trouble with the serve, mainly due to her shoulder problems that has sadly resurfaced.

However she did a great job of elevating her level of play in the third set. So it was a good win for Masha despite all the serving problem.

Hopefully she`ll get some good treatment for her shoulder.

Ana also had a tougher than expected match against Petra Kvitova, but she managed to win it 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Ana looked really good at times, but for the most part, she played sloppy in the match and didn`t look very focused at times in the second set and in the last part of the match where she had trouble closing it out after going up 5-0. I`m glad that Ana pulled out the win, but there`s some improvement for her to do, especially with her serve and focus.

Meanwhile in doubles, Elena & Vera Z and Flavia & Makiri won their first round matches. Good job by those four to bounce back after their disappointing losses in singles

, although i still have that bad taste from Vera and Makiri`s matches.

So that`s the story with the late afternoon and evening matches. While i`m happy to see Masha and Ana winning their matches, i`m pretty concerned with them with the less than stellar way form from them, especially Masha. Jelena`s match is underway, with her winning the first set 6-0. Very good work there by JJ.

Hopefully she can keep going in the second set.

Anyway here are some pics from Masha, Ana and Anna`s matches.

It`s nice to see Masha in the navy version of the nice outfit she wore at Amelia Island, Charleston and Rome earlier this spring.

Masha struggling with her right shoulder again.

However she fought through it to get the win.

Good job Masha.

Good job Ana.

**Hot Rod** · 07-30-2008, 10:36 PM

Here`s an update on the last match of the day. Jelena defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 6-0, 6-4. Very good win for Jelena.

She really came out looking very sharp and did a great job of quieting the hometown fans that were obviously rooting for Wozniak.

However here`s some news that just came up:

Maria Sharapova withdraws from Rogers Cup with shoulder injury

MONTREAL — Third seed Maria Sharapova announced after her second round win Wednesday that she was withdrawing from the US$1.34 million Rogers Cup with a right shoulder injury.

Sharapova defeated Poland's Marta Domachowska 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 in a match that took nearly three hours. "It's obviously unfortunate," Sharapova said. "You know, you try to do every little possible thing you can. But at the end of the day when you go on court and you're thinking about aggravating things, you're thinking about an injury, it's not really the way to play."

Sharapova had the trainer come out trailing 3-4 in the second set to look at the shoulder, which may have contributed to her committing 17 double faults in the match. Though she eventually lost the second set, Sharapova won the first four games of the final set to lock up the match.

Sharapova said she considered not coming out for the third set, and she will visit a doctor Thursday for an MRI on the shoulder that's been bothering her since March when she aggravated it at Indian Wells.
She said her presence at the Olympics and the U.S. Open in the coming weeks will depend largely on the results from Thursday's tests.

"At the end of the day, it's tough to go on court and not be close to even 50 per cent," Sharapova said. "I'm too good of a player to go out there and try to fight through something that I think can eventually become something serious."

I have to say that i`m not surprised by this withdrawal since the shoulder was really bothering Masha. Still it`s sad that she`s unable to continue in Montreal

, but at the same time she`s doing the right thing in withdrawing. You have to wonder about the long term effects of Masha`s shoulder. Still i`m positive that things will go well for her. Of course i wouldn`t mind seeing her pulling out of the Olympics.

Later today in Stockholm, we`ll have an all hotties matchup as Iveta will take on Sania Mirza. Both has had their shares of struggles this year. So this will be a big opportunity for them. Then a little later, Caroline will face Emma Laine. Meanwhile in Montreal, Domi will be start out the day by taking on Nadia Petrova. Also Anna will have her rematch with Marion Bartoli and Jelena will face another hometown favorite. This time it`s Stephanie Dubois. Later in the evening, Ana will take on Tamira Paszek. Also in doubles, Elena and Vera Z will play Anne Keothavong and Alexandra Stevenson. I really hope that our remaining favorite hotties will do well later today in Stockholm and Montreal. I especially hope that our favorites in Montreal will do well. It`s time for them to step it up with Masha out.

Anyway here are some pics from the evening matches.

Bravo Masha.

Good effort Marta.

Good job Jelena.

The Daywalker · 07-31-2008, 12:28 AM

Damn, the last thing we wanted was for the shoulder injury to come back. Any player with a good serve needs that to establish their pace for half of the match, we've seen that if Masha doesn't have this weapon, she is just another random ranked player and not the top 3 Grand Slam winner we know and love. Let's hope she recovers quickly and fully.

**Hot Rod** · 07-31-2008, 10:01 AM

I echo your sentiments Chris. Lets keep her fingers crossed with Masha and hope that this latest problem with her shoulder isn`t too serious.

Here`s an update on the early matches.

First of all in Stockholm, Caroline crushed Emma Laine 6-1, 6-0. Very impressive performance from Caroline.

Also in the all hotties matchup, Iveta upset Sania Mirza 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Good win for Iveta.

This is the type of win that will obviously give her a nice confidence boost.

Meanwhile in Montreal, Domi defeated Nadia Petrova 7-6(2), 6-2. Very good win for Domi.

It`s nice to see her continuing her good play. Also in doubles, Elena and Vera defeated Anne Keothavong and Alexandra Stevenson 6-3, 6-3. Another good win for Elena and Vera.

It`s nice to see them put together a nice solid performance like this.

So that`s the story in the early matches. Anna and Jelena will be up this afternoon, while Ana will on the court later this evening. Hopefully they will do well later today. Like i`ve said earlier, it`s time for them to step it up with Masha out.

Lastly Ana and Jelena are the first two players to qualify for the WTA Championships, which will be held in Doha. Great job by them both to make it to the season ending event for the second year in a row.

They have played very well for most of the year.