Sports - Maria Sharapova #7: Because she`s reeking of talent and sex appeal! - Page 8

**Hot Rod** · 06-04-2008, 02:21 PM

Not much happened today at Roland Garros other than some doubles action.

The Bonderenko sisters played their semifinal match eariler today against Francesca Schiavone and Casey Dellacqua and were sadly routed 2-6, 1-6.

What a disappointing showing from Alona and Kat.

I was really hoping that they could put together another good performance, but instead they were badly outplayed today. A little later on, Kat played her mixed doubles match and unfortunately she and Jordan Kerr were defeated by the top seeded team of Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik 3-6, 3-6. Tough loss there for Kat.

We`ll have to wait until next year for hottie title wins in the ladies doubles and mixed doubles.

Tomorrow we`ll have the ladies` semifinals, which will be headlined by the much anticipated matchup between Ana and Jelena. This will be the second meeting of the year between the Sexy Serbs and their first Grand Slam meeting. Ana has dominated the series recently and comes in playing very well lately, while Jelena has struggled at times in her previous matches, but turned it up when she needed to win those matches. It`ll be interesting to see how the ladies will do in their first Grand Slam meeting. Hopefully we`ll get another good competitive match from them.

Anyway here are some new pics of Ana and Anna from a recent photoshoot that was done in Dubai.

Ana looks very gorgeous in this pic.

It`s great to see her showing her nice legs off like this.

Anna also looks very gorgeous.

**Hot Rod** · 06-05-2008, 12:34 PM

Today we got another matchup between Ana and Jelena in the second semifinal match of the day at Roland Garros. Once again it was another pretty good competitive match between the Sexy Serbs with Ana coming out on top with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory. The match was a seesaw affair. Jelena jumped out to a 3-0 to start the match, but Ana quickly recovered to win six of the last seven games to win the first set. Then she started the second set with a 3-1 before Jelena really got it going to win the last five games and the set. In the third set Jelena was twice up a break, but Ana refused to surrender and really elevated her play to win the set and the match. Great win there for Ana.

She really responded very well in her first tough match at Roland Garros. As for Jelena, tough loss for her today.

She played well today, but just didn`t have quite enough to get the win. Still it was a great run for her. I really feel that Jelena is getting closer to a Grand Slam breakthrough sooner or later.

Now Ana is in the finals at Roland Garros for the second straight year and also her second straight Grand Slam final. Next up for her is Team Russia`s latest Grand Slam finalist, Dinara Safina, who continued her surprising run by going through the formiable Svetlana Kuznetsova with shocking ease 6-3, 6-2. Obviously this will be a tough match for Ana, especially with Dinara playing so well lately and in the process showing a never say die attitude by twice coming back from the brink of defeat against Masha and Elena Dementieva. So Ana has her work cut out. Still i really feel that if Ana can come out strong immediately, then i like her chances of winning. So hopefully the third time will be the charm for Ana on Saturday.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s match.

Thanks for giving us a pretty good match today ladies.

Keep your head up Jelena. We`re still proud of you.

You`ll make that Grand Slam breakthrough soon.

Great job Ana.

Lets do it again on Saturday.

The Daywalker · 06-05-2008, 06:27 PM

I figured Ana would pull it out. After Masha lost, i had my money on her. Just one more match to go!

**Hot Rod** · 06-06-2008, 03:35 PM

Great move to put your money on Ana. In fact i would`ve put my money on her before the tournament start, mainly because i have more confidence in her on that terrible red clay than Masha. Anyway the ladies final is tomorrow and i really can`t wait to see it. Like i`ve said eariler, i really hope that the third time will be the charm for Ana.

Anyway here are some pics of Ana modeling her new outfits for Wimbledon and the US Open and a few pics of Makiri and Flavia playing their doubles match last week.

The outfits aren`t bad looking, but still nowhere near as good as Masha`s outfit. Of course i do like how nice and tight they are on Ana, which obviously showcases her nice curves.

Makiri and Flavia obviously are making plans to meet up with us later this summer.

I really hope that they`ll team up some more soon. They are such a lovely team.

Plus i want to see them and the Bondarenko sisters play each other soon.

**Hot Rod** · 06-07-2008, 10:15 AM

The third time proved to be the charm for Ana today as she defeated Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win her first career Grand Slam title at the French Open.

What a great win for Ana today. She came out strong right away with a 4-1 lead to start the match, but Dinara in typical fashion came back to tie it up at 4 all. However Ana showed her poise by winning the next game and then getting the break to win the first set. Then in the second set, it had some long games, but Ana really put her experience to good use and played a nice solid game to win the set, the match and the title. I`m so proud of Ana for winning her first Grand Slam title and it`s very fitting that it`s at Roland Garros.

She played so well throughout the tournament. Ana not only got her first career Grand Slam title today, but also she will be #1 for the first time in her career when the new rankings are released on Monday. This is such a great achievement for Ana, which is very well deserved for her. I really hope that this will launch Ana into a new level of stardom much like Masha`s first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon four years ago did for her. Now the perfect scenerio has been fulfilled in the first half of the Grand Slams has been achieved with Masha winning the Australian Open and Ana winning the French Open today. Plus the Bondarenko sisters winning the Australian Open doubles title is a nice bonus. Ana`s win today further extends the hotties domination on the year, especially at the Grand Slams. Hopefully it can continue at Wimbledon soon. Anyway here are some pics to celebrate Ana`s great win today.

Justine Henin passing the torch to Ana.

There`s that Grand Slam winning smile from Ana.

Viva la Anci!

**Hot Rod** · 06-08-2008, 10:13 AM

With the French Open now over with, it`s time to move to the start of grass court season. The first tournament for the ladies will be the DFS Classic in Birmingham, England. That tournament has been the one most dominated by the hotties, with Masha starting it with back to back titles in 2004 and 2005 where she defeated Tati and Jelena respectively in all hotties finals. Then it continued in 2006 with Vera Z winning the title and last year Jelena won the title with a victory over Masha in another all hotties finals. Of course there will be a big change with this year`s edition of the tournament with Masha not playing there. In fact she has decided to not to play in any warmup tournaments before Wimbledon, opting instead to train in Florida. Personally i have no problem with Masha making that move. Besides if Venus Williams can win Wimbledon last year without playing in a warmup tournament, then i don`t see any reason why Masha can`t do the same thing this year. Anyway here is the draw for the DFS Classic:

Marion Bartoli [1] - Bye
Meng Yuan vs. Petra Cetkovska
Marta Domachowsha vs. Q
Camillle Pin vs. Anastasia Rodionova [16]
Kateryna Bondarenko [12] vs. Anne Keothavong
Q vs. Sabine Lisicki
Vania King vs. LL
Bye - Olga Govortsova [7]
[3] Alona Bondarenko - Bye
Vivi Ruano Pascual vs. Milagros Sequera
Q vs. Petra Kvitova
Naomi Cavaday vs. Jill Craybas [14]
Akgul Amanmuradova [10] vs. Q
Alla Kudryavtseva vs. Katie O'Brien
Stephanie Dubois vs. Marina Erakovic
Bye - Sania Mirza [6]

Misa Krajicek [8] - Bye
Q vs. Ioana Raluca Olaru
Q vs. Yanina Wickmayer
Julie Ditty vs. Casey Dellacqua [11]
Aravane Rezai [13] vs. Tzipora Obziler
Sorana Cirstea vs. Ayumi Morita
Melanie South vs. Anna Fitzpatrick
Bye - Sybille Bammer [4]
Tamira Paszek [5] - Bye
Monica Niculescu vs. Tammy Tanasugarn
Q vs. Bethanie Mattek
Q vs. Aiko Nakamura
Ekaterina Makarova [15] vs. Elena Baltacha
Olga Puchkova vs. Angelique Kerber
Severine Bremond vs. Nathalie Dechy
Bye - Nicole Vaidisova [2]

The draw looks pretty favorable for Alona. This is a great opportunity for her to get her first singles title in a couple of years. She has played well this year as evident by her upset win over Svetlana Kuznetsova at Berlin and the tough matches she gave Masha at Indian Wells and Amelia Island. Hopefully she can take full advantage of it. Also this is a good opportunity for Kat to get a win or two in Birmingham. As for Nikki, it`s time for her to get out of this terrible slump she has been in lately. She has a favorable looking draw, but you never know what you`re going to get with her. Still i hope that Nikki can finally rediscover the good form she showed at the beginning of the year. It would be a nice confidence builder for her to get some wins at Birmingham.

The DFS Classic isn`t the only tournament with some of our favorite hotties. Also this week, we got the KIA Classic, which is a tier IV clay court tournament in Barcelona. Here is the draw for that tournament:

Peer (1) vs Llagostera Vives
Loit vs Compostizo de Andrés (WC)
De Los Rios vs Lepchenko
Errani (6) vs Dom�*nguez Lino

Safarova (4) vs Q
Parra Santonja (WC) vs Q
Wozniak vs Mart�*nez Sánchez (WC)
Parmentier (5) vs Mamic

Garbin (8) vs Q
Castaño vs Q
Camerin vs Rybarikova
Cibulkova (3) vs Cohen Aloro

Zakopalova (7) vs Sprem
Gallovits vs Vakulenko
Molik vs Suárez Navarro
Kirilenko (2) vs Osterloh

First of all Makiri`s draw looks pretty tough, with a potential second round match against Carla Suarez Navarro looming. If Makiri can win that potential matchup, then i like her chances of going on a nice run. Meanwhile Domi`s portion looks more favorable. I think that this is a good opportunity for her to get her first career title. If she can continue the good play she has shown in the last couple of months, then i like her chances of winning the tournament.

I really hope that some of our favorite hotties will do well this week in Birmingham and Barcelona. It would be nice to see at least one of them win a title at either city. Anyway here are some more pics of Ana to continue the celebration of her winning the French Open.

The Daywalker · 06-09-2008, 04:09 PM

Great job, Ana.

It's be nice to see Makiri take the KIA Classic with a whipped cream match in the 3rd round with Domi

I can see Sania Mirza taking the DFS Classic. A hunch.

**Hot Rod** · 06-09-2008, 08:01 PM

I would love to see that happen in Barcelona Chris, especially the potental whipped cream match against Domi.

Now that would be quite a matchup between two of the cutest stars on the tour.

I can`t see Sania taking the DFS Classic. She`s just coming back after another long layoff due to an injury. Sania is a lot like Tati in that she has been promoted as one of the most promising stars in the last 3-4 fours, but unfortunately has been plagued by various injuries, which has hindered her progress. I think that the draw is favorable enough for Sania to get at least two or three wins in Birmingham.

Speaking of Birmingham, Kat will play her first round match tomorrow against Anne Keothavong. Hopefully Kat can get off to a good start tomorrow.

Also in Barcelona, Makiri will take on Lila Osterloh in her first round match. Hopefully she can get off to a good start as well tomorrow.

Anyway here is a pic of Nikki practicing in Birmingham and some pics of Elena practicing in Roland Garros about a couple of weeks ago.

**Hot Rod** · 06-10-2008, 04:03 PM

Here`s the first update from Birmingham and Barcelona.

First of all in Birmingham, Kat routed Anne Keothavong 6-3, 6-2. Good win there for Kat.

This is a nice start for her.

Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri also got off to a nice start in her first round match against Lila Osterloh. She won the first set 6-0 and was up 2-0 when Osterloh retired. Good win for Makiri.

I`m very pleased with how well she played today. Unfortunately it wasn`t all good news in Barcelona as Domi had to retire in her first round match against Stephanie Cohen-Aloro due to a abdominal strain. I hate to see this happening to the very cute Domi.

Hopefully it isn`t too serious and she`ll be back on the court by Wimbledon.

So that`s the story with today`s matches in Birmingham and Barcelona. Tomorrow in Birmingham, Alona and Nikki return to action with their opening matches against Vivi Ruano Pascual and Nathalie Dechy respectively, while Kat will take on Samatha Stosur. Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri will be playing some doubles with Lucie Safarova. They will play the Spanish team of Llagostera Vives and Mart�*nez Sánchez. As always i hope that our favorite hotties will do well tomorrow. Anyway here are some pics of Ana at her homecoming celebration in Belgrade today.

**Hot Rod** · 06-11-2008, 04:48 PM

Here is the latest from Birmingham.

First of all the Bondarenko sisters were both in action today. Alona had a really tough match against Virginia Ruano Pascual, but managed to pull out a 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-5 win. Kat had an easier time against Samatha Stosur, winning her match pretty handlely 6-3, 6-2. Good win by them both.

I`m especially pleased with Alona`s win. She did a good job of keeping it together in such a tough match match.

Also Nikki returned to action for the first time in a couple of weeks and it was a nice return as she defeated Nathalie Dechy 6-1, 6-3. Very good win there for Nikki.

I`m so glad that she finally won a match for the first time in a while. This is a great start for her in Birmingham.

So in all it was a great day for Nikki and the Bondarenko sisters in Birmingham. Tomorrow they will be back in action. Alona will start out the day with her third round match against Sunitah Rao. Then later on, Kat will take on Melinda Czink and Nikki will face Ekaterina Makarova. Also in Barcelona, Makiri will take on Carla Suarez Navarro. Obviously this will be a very tough match for Makiri. Hopefully she can come out strong right away in it. In fact i hope that all of our favorite hotties in action will do well tomorrow. BTW Chris, Sania Mirza was beaten pretty handlely in her match today. So there goes your pick to win the tournament in Birmingham.

In other news, Ana withdrew from next week`s tournament in Eastbourne due to an injured right abductor muscle. Obviously i hate it for the folks at Eastbourne, but at the same time i think that Ana did the right thing in withdrawing. There`s no reason for her to take an chances, especially with Wimbledon around the corner.

Also i recently made some changes at the second OP by adding Jelena, Flavia and the Bondarenko sisters there. I decided to add them after their good performances so far this year. Anna is likely the next one to be added.

Anyway here is a pic from Nikki`s match along with some pics of Tati playing at Birmingham a couple of years ago.

**Hot Rod** · 06-12-2008, 04:11 PM

Here is the latest update from Birmingham and Barcelona.

First of all in Birmingham, Alona had another tough match today against Sunitah Rao, but she manages to pull out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory. Kat also had a tough match herself against Melinda Czink, where she pulled out a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win. Good job by them both.

Alona and Kat did a good job of responding well in their tough matches today and not completely imploding mentally. Nikki also had a tough match as well against Ekaterina Makarova, but she also pulled out a win as well, winning the match 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. Good win for Nikki.

She rebounded nicely after losing the first set by coming back strong in the second set, which turned things around. I`m very pleased to see her winning her second straight match for the first time since the early part of the year.

Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri took on hometown favorite and recent surprise quaterfinalist at Roland Garros, Carla Suarez Navarro. The match was a tough one as expected, but Makiri came out with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory. This is a very good win for Makiri.

I was following this match on the live scoreboard and she was edging to the verge of defeat, down 2-4 in the third set, but she showed a lot of poise in turning it up a notch or two to win the last four games to win the match. This is a great win for Makiri, especially since it came against the hometown favorite and one of the emerging clay court specialist.

So in all it was another great day for some of our favorite hotties. Tomorrow in Birmingham, Alona will take on Marina Erakovic, Kat will face Petra Cetkovska and Nikki will play Bethanie Mattek. Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri will take on Edina Gallovits. As always i hope that all of our favorite hotties in action will do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.

Nice to see some pokies from Kat.

The Daywalker · 06-12-2008, 04:37 PM

Tati is looking pretty damn buff.

I'm happy to see Makiri tough it out a tight 3rd set for the win. Too many times we have seen our ladies come out flat in a 3rd set, but she channeled her inner Masha and pulled it out.

**Hot Rod** · 06-12-2008, 05:23 PM

I`m also happy to see Makiri pull out a tough third set for the win, which is a great sign of her much improved mental toughness that she has shown this year.

As for the pics of Tati, i agree with you on them. She looked pretty buff back in `05, but sadly the time off due to the various injuries she has had has diminished it. I really miss seeing Tati on the court. It`s not the same without her and Dani.

I really hope that they`ll somehow be back for Wimbledon.

Anyway here are some classic pics of Tati along with some new pics of Ana.

Tati busting out the sexy red undies back in `05.

Here she is in all of her perky glory at Amelia Island last year

where she won her first singles title of her career.

I can`t get enough of seeing Tati with that hot schoolgirl or as some people have called it, the Pocahantas look, she had to start out the year at the Hopman Cup.

Here`s Tati`s hottest pic to date.

The Daywalker · 06-13-2008, 08:34 AM

PocaTati needs to come back. That was so hot.

**Hot Rod** · 06-13-2008, 12:27 PM

I`ve been wanting to see Tati go back to that look for a while now. In fact i think that she should go back to it when she returns, which will hopefully be at Wimbledon.

Well the action continued for a few of our hotties at Birmingham and Barcelona today.

First of all in Birmingham, Kat defeated Petra Cetkovska 7-6(2), 6-2. Another good win there for Kat.

The first set was obviously a tough one, but she did a great job of turning it up in the tiebreaker. After that Kat pretty much controlled the rest of the match. It`s great to see her finally making a nice run in singles. Unfortunately big sis Alona couldn`t do the same as she was beaten by Marina Erakovic 4-6, 5-7. Disappointing loss there for Alona.

What makes it more disappointing is that it ruined a potential matchup between Alona and Kat.

Then there`s Nikki. She really stunk up the court today as she was shockingly routed by Bethanie Mattek 3-6, 0-6. What a terrible performance from Nikki.

Just as she`s starting to slowly get it together, she does this. Without question this is a new low for her to get blown out like this, especially to a player that Masha served a double bagel to recently at Charleston.

Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri defeated Edina Gallovits 7-6(3), 6-2. Another good win by Makiri.

She responded well in the tough first set and took over in the second set. I`m very pleased to see Makiri deliver another nice solid performance today.

So it was a mixed bag today. While i`m happy that Makiri and Kat won their matches, it`s overshadowed by Alona`s disappointing performance and Nikki`s horrible match. Tomorrow in Birmingham, Kat will take on Marina Erakovic in her semifinal match. This is a great opportunity for Kat. Hopefully she can take full advantage of it and in the process get some payback for Alona. Kat can`t let this Erakovic chick get away with beating her big sis. Meanwhile in Barcelona, Makiri will face Stephanie Cohen-Aloro in her semfinal match. I also hope that Makiri can take full advantage of her good opportunity in Barcelona.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches along with some pics of Masha at last night`s game in L.A. and another pic of Ana at her big homecoming celebration in Belgrade.

BTW happy belated birthday Chris.

I had forgot it was your birthday yesterday. However i did give you a present, which is those hot pics of Tati.