Sports - Maria Sharapova #9: B/C we`re ready for her to come back and restore order to the Tour! - Page 5

The Daywalker · 05-02-2009, 08:18 AM

Team Poland cleans up very nicely. Love the Candids.

**Hot Rod** · 05-02-2009, 03:20 PM

Yes they sure do, especially Ula. Like i`ve said before, she`s not only the hottest star of Team Poland, but also has big covergirl potential.

Alright here`s an update on today`s matches.

First of all in Stuttgart, Flavia was defeated by Dinara Safina 6-3, 5-7, 0-6. What a tough loss for Flavia.

She got off to a good start, winning the first set and was up 3-1 when Dinara launched her comeback. I was following the match on the live scoreboard and Flavia couldn`t withstand Dinara`s revived play. It was very obvious that Flavia was beaten mentally in the third set. This was a big missed opportunity for Flavia to get her second straight win over a top ten player. Plus i must add that Dinara is now the biggest nemesis of our favorites outside of the Williams sisters. Just in this tournament alone, she has beaten Flavia, Aggie and Dani. Plus she`s also beaten Domi a couple of times and we can`t forget about her comeback win over Masha at the French Open last year. So we better keep an eye out for Dinara. Later on Flavia played her semifinal doubles match where she and Gisela Dulko won in straight sets. Good win for Flavia.

It was nice to see her redeem herself with a good performance in doubles.

Meanwhile in Fez, Makiri and Sorana were defeated by Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova in the doubles final 3-6, 6-2, 8-10. What a tough loss for Makiri and Sorana.

They came back strong in the second set and made a nice comeback from down 4-7 in the super tiebreaker to tie it up at 8-8, but unfortunately had a double fault and then lost the next game and the match. You hate to see them lose like this after working hard in coming back in the super tiebreaker. Still it was a pretty good run for Makiri and Sorana in their first time teaming up together. Hopefully we`ll get to see them team up some more whenever their regular partners aren`t available, because they have some potential together and are quite a lovely team.

So in all it was a tough day for our remaining favorites. Tomorrow in Stuttgart, Flavia and Gisela Dulko will take on Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in the doubles final. This will be a very tough match for Flavia and Gisela Dulko, especially since Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova has been playing well lately not only in Stuttgart, but also recently winning the doubles title in Charleston. Still i like Flavia and Gisela Dulko`s chances tomorrow since they always play well on the red clay. Hopefully they can win their second title together tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.

This pic obviously illustrates how the match went for Flavia.

Makiri and Sorana are lamenting just missing out on the title. On the more positive side, they are quite a lovely team.

I hope that Adidas will give Sorana a nice promotion push soon. It would be nice to see her in some ads with Ana, Makiri and Caroline.

**Hot Rod** · 05-03-2009, 03:06 PM

Earlier today in Stuttgart, Flavia played in the doubles final and unfortunately she and Gisela Dulko were defeated by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova 7-5, 3-6, 7-10. What a tough loss for Flavia.

I was really hoping that she and Gisela Dulko would come through and win their second title of the year, but sadly they came up short. Their loss ends what has been a fruitless week in Stuttgart and Fez.

The next tournaments will be the Intnernazionali BNL d`Italia in Rome where JJ has won the title three out of the last four years and the Estoril Open in Portugal where Makiri won the singles title with a win over Iveta in the final and the doubles title with Flavia.

In fact here`s the draws for the tournament in Rome.

Internazionali BNL d’Italia singles:

[1]Safina .v. BYE
Razzano .v. Rybarikova
Vesnina .v. Q
Dechy .v. [14]Zheng

[11]Bartoli .v. Peng
Mauresmo .v. Martinez Sanchez
Keothavong .v. Navarro
BYE .v. [8]Petrova

[4]V.Williams .v. BYE
Safarova .v. Q
Woziniak .v. Errani
Chakvetadze .v. [15]Garrigues

[10]A.Radwanska .v. A.Bondarenko
Kleybanova .v. Q
Schiavone .v. Q
BYE .v. [5]Ivanovic

----------------------------------------

[7]Kuznetsova .v. BYE
Dushevina .v. Hantuchova
Q .v. Stosur
Pironkova .v. [12]Pennetta

[13]Cornet .v. Sugiyama
Vinci .v. K.Bondarenko
Knapp .v. Dulko
BYE .v. [3]Jankovic

[6]Azarenka .v. BYE
Niculescu .v. Q
Garbin .v. Mattek-Sands
Szavay .v. [9]Wozniacki

[16]Kanepi .v. Q
Bammer .v. Li
Schnyder .v. Q
BYE .v. [2]S.Williams

Internazionali BNL d’Italia doubles:

(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. BYE
Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) vs. Errani/Knapp (ITA/ITA)
Brianti/Dentoni (ITA/ITA) vs. Keothavong/Morita (GBR/JPN)
Husarova/Wozniacki (SVK/DEN) vs. (5) Hantuchova/Sugiyama (SVK/JPN)

(4) Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez (ESP/ESP) vs. BYE
Bachmann/Henke (GER/GER) vs. Craybas/Ditty (USA/USA)
Safarova/Uhlirova (CZE/CZE) vs. Petrova/Safina (RUS/RUS)
Garbin/Vinci (ITA/ITA) vs. (8) Azarenka/Vesnina (BLR/RUS)

Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN) vs. Koryttseva/Poutchek (UKR/BLR)
Dechy/Santangelo (FRA/ITA) vs. (WC) Burnett/Moroni (ITA/ITA)
Dushevina/Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) vs. Kondratieva/Lefevre (RUS/FRA)
BYE vs. (3) Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS)

(6) Ruano Pascual/Zheng (ESP/CHN) vs. Senoglu/Shvedova (TUR/KAZ)
(WC) Chieppa/Vierin (ITA/ITA) vs. Radwanska/Szavay (POL/HUN)
Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) vs. Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL)
BYE vs. (2) Peschke/Raymond (CZE/USA)

This is a very well balanced and star studded lineup in Rome, which will be a big challenge for our favorites. They mostly have pretty tough section, especially Anna, who has to play Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round. This is not the first round matchup she was looking to get. As for who are best hope to win the title, it`s obviously Ana and JJ. Ana could have a tough first match likely against Francesca Schiavone. If she can get past this match, then i like her chances of going on a nice run. I don`t think that neither Aggie nor Alona presents much of a threat to her on clay. Plus in a likely round of 16 matchup against either Venus Williams or Anabel Medina Garrigues, i think that Ana will be the favorite against either of those ladies since Venus is very vulnerable on clay and she defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues last week in Fed Cup. As for JJ, she also could have a tough early test likely against Gisela Dulko. If she can get past that match, then i also see JJ going on a nice run. However the round of 16 will be tougher for her likely facing either Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won the singles title in Stuttgart today, or Flavia, who upset JJ a few days ago. As for doubles, all of our favorites there got very tough draws in it. However there is some hope with Flavia and Gisela Dulko and Elena and Vika. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in Rome this week. This is a good opportunity for them to sharpen their games and build some positive momentium with the French Open getting closer.

In fact the tournament got underway today with some of our favorites in action. First of all Dani defeated Vera Dushevina 6-4, 6-1. Good win for Dani.

It`s nice to see her deliver a nice solid performance. Also in doubles, Elena and Vika defeated Tathania Garbin and Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-2. Good win for Elena and Vika.

I`m pretty surprised with how handlely they beat the Italians. This is a nice start for them. Lastly the Bondarenko sisters defeated Sara Errani and Karin Knapp 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-3. Good win for Alona and Kat.

It`s nice to see them getting a good win like this over a tough team like Errani and Knapp.

So in all it was a good first day for some of our favorites in Rome. Tomorrow a lot more of our favorites will be in action in Rome. First of all Alize will take on Ai Sugiyama to start the day. Following that match, Kat will face Roberta Vinci and Alona will play Aggie in the first all hotties matchup. Also Caroline will take on Agnes Szavay, Vika will face Ayumi Morita, Anna will play Anabel Medina Garrigues, Elena will take on Jill Craybas and Flavia will face Tsvetana Pironkova. Also in doubles, Dani and Ai Sugiyama will play Caroline and Jana Husarova. I hope that all of our favorites will do well tomorrow and that Aggie and Alona will play a nice competitive match. I`ll have the draws for Estoril later tonight. In the meantime, here are a couple of new pics of Dani along with a couple of pics of Ana and Vika during a promotional thing in Rome.

It looks like Vika is asking Ana some advice on potential double dates with us.

**Hot Rod** · 05-03-2009, 08:46 PM

As promised earlier, here are the draws for the Estoril Open:

Estoril Open singles:

(1) Iveta Benesova vs (WC) Neuza Silva
Jarmila Groth vs Mathilde Johansson
Barbora Strycova vs Qualifier
Akiko Morigami vs (7) Shahar Peer

(3) Sorana Cirstea vs Kimiko Date-Krumm
(WC) Frederica Piedade vs Maret Ani
Olga Govortsova vs Qualifier
Yanina Wickmayer vs (5) Petra Kvitova

(8) Anna-Lena Groenefeld vs Pauline Parmentier
Kristina Barrois vs (WC) Maria João Koehler
Qualifier vs Alla Kudryatseva
Kirsten Flipkens vs (4) Sabine Lisicki

(6) Ekaterina Makarova vs Petra Cetkovska
Severine Bremond vs Melinda Czink
Julie Coin vs Maria Emilia Salerni
Qualifier vs (2) Maria Kirilenko

Estoril Open doubles:

(1) Cirstea/Kirilenko (Rou/Rus) vs Ivanova/Yakimova (Rus/Blr)
Coin/Pelletier (Fra/Can) vs Ani/Barrois (Est/Ger)
(3) Kops-Jones/Spears (Usa/Usa) vs Cetkovska/Salerni (Cze/Arg)
Czink/Grandin (Hun/Rsa) vs Dulgheru/Silva (Rou/Por)

Groth/Piedade (Svk/Por) vs Diatchenko/Dzehalevich (Rus/Blr)
Date Krumm/Wickmayer (Jpn/Bel) vs (4) Sun/Vedy (Chn/Fra)
Beygelzimer/Scheepers (Ukr/Rsa) vs Fichman/Marosi (Can/Hun)
Govortsova/Rodionova (Blr/Rus) vs (2) Peer/Yan (Isr/Chn)

The draws in Estoril look more favorable for our favorites over there than in Rome. Iveta and Sorana has pretty favorable looking sections, while Makiri and Sabine`s are much tougher. As for doubles, Makiri and Sorana are obviously the heavy favorite after their great run to the finals in Fez and has a pretty favorable looking draw. However i`m wary of the teams of Coin/Pelletier, Kops-Jones/Spears and Peer/Yan. I really hope that Makiri, Sorana, Sabine and Iveta will do well in Estoril this week. This is a great opportunity for them to get a title win and build some good momentium heading toward the French Open. I know that Iveta is especially hungry for a title after losing to Makiri in the final last year and with a couple of runner ups finishes this year.

The action gets underway tomorrow. In one of the first matches of the day, Iveta will take on hometown favorite Neuza Silva. Later in the afternoon, Makiri and Sorana will face Ekaterina Ivanova and Anastasiya Yakimova. Also Michelle will play Elena Bovina in the third round of qualifying. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well and get off to good starts tomorrow.

Anyway here are some caps from Masha`s segment on E:60.

God her legs in this cap =

Maybe it`s just me, but Masha`s abs look better and hotter than ever.

**Hot Rod** · 05-04-2009, 03:09 PM

Here is an update on today`s matches.

First of all in Rome, we got our first all hotties matchup of the week where Aggie crushed Alona 6-0, 6-1. Good win for Aggie.

I`m very surprised that she won in such a convincing manner. As for Alona, this is a very disappointing performance from her.

I know that she was having a tough time today, but this is pretty bad for her to get taken into the bakery. We got the first upset of the tournament where Anna defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-3. Good win for Anna.

I didn`t think that she had much of a chance, but she finally put together a good match to get her best win in a while. This is the type of win that could restore a slumping player like Anna`s confidence. Also in the other matches, Flavia defeated Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-1; Elena defeated Jill Craybas 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; Caroline defeated Agnes Szavay 6-3, 6-2; Vika won the first set in her match against Ayumi Morita 6-0, who then retired to due to injury following the set, Alize defeated Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 7-5 and Kat defeated Roberta Vinci 6-3, 7-6(4). Good wins for those ladies.

In doubles, Dani and Ai Sugiyama defeated Caroline and Jana Husarova 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. I`m very pleased that we finally got a nice competitive match between Caroline and Dani.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Iveta defeated hometown favorite Neuza Silva 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Good win for Iveta.

I had a feeling that this would be a tough match. I`m glad that Iveta kept it together to beat the hometown favorite in Silva. Also Michelle was routed by Elena Bovina 0-6, 2-6 in one of the last qualifying match. However Michelle gets in the main draw as the lucky loser due to the withdrawal of Akiko Morigami. Finally in doubles, Makiri and Sorana defeated Ekaterina Ivanova and Anastasiya Yakimova 6-3, 6-4. Good win for them.

Nice to see them rebound from their tough loss in the final at Fez on Saturday.

So in all it was a very good day for most of our favorites with Anna`s upset win over Anabel Medina Garrigues being the highlight of the day. Later this evening i`ll have tomorrow`s schedule along with some great new pics of the Radwanska sisters. In the meantime here are some pics from some of today`s matches.

Good job Alize.

Nice to see JJ making some time to meet with the young fans.

I hope that she was watching out for some of the more eager boys there. We all know how bad they can get around a hottie like JJ.

I wonder if Iveta was wearing anything under her shorts. If she wasn`t, then it`s very likely that a lot of guys were fighting to get a peek.

The Daywalker · 05-04-2009, 06:29 PM

Wow. Masha is looking great up there

**Hot Rod** · 05-04-2009, 09:03 PM

As promised earlier, here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches.

First of all in Rome, we`ll have plenty of action over there again with most of our favorites in action. In one of the first matches of the day, JJ will take on Gisela Dulko. Following that match, Flavia will face Yaroslava Shvedova and Ana will play Francesca Schiavone. We`ll have another all hotties matchup as Alize will take on Kat. Also Caroline will face Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Dani will play Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna will take on Aleksandra Wozniak, Aggie will play Aravane Rezai and Elena will take on Jie Zheng. Also in doubles, the Bondarenko sisters will play the top ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber and Flavia and Gisela Dulko will take on Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Michelle will face Shahar Peer to start out the day. Also Makiri will play Sharon Fichman, Sabine will take on Kirsten Flipkens and Sorana will face Kimiko Date Krumm.

Obviously all of the tough matches will be in Rome, mainly for Dani, Elena, JJ and the Bondarenko sisters. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are the new pics of the Radwanska sisters i promised earlier today. I have warn everyone that these pics might cause accelerated heartbeats and shortness of breath. Other than that i think that everyone will enjoy these pics.

Wow!

Aggie and Ula look very hot striking a pose there.

It looks like they`re auditioning for the next SI Swimsuit issue. They certainly have the goods for it.

It looks like the ladies are ready for us to rub some suntan lotion on them, which i personally would be more than happy to do.

I hope that someone got them running on video, preferably in slow motion.

I`m so glad that Aggie and Ula did these great pics, which they look very hot in.

BTW it looks like they`re ready for a private party at the beach house.

**Hot Rod** · 05-04-2009, 09:04 PM

Double post. Sorry about that.

**Hot Rod** · 05-05-2009, 05:18 PM

Here`s an update on today`s matches.

First of all in Rome, rain delayed the action over there, but most of the matches were played. Ana made her return to tournament play where she defeated Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-4. Good win for Ana.

I thought that she would have a tougher match, but she looked pretty sharp today. We got another all hotties matchup where Kat defeated Alize 6-4, 6-1. Good win for Kat.

It`s nice to see her put together another good performance. As for Alize, her struggles continue and she will lose all the points from her run to the final last year.

I`m disappointed that she got manhandled in the second set. In the other matches, JJ defeated Gisela Dulko 6-3, 7-6(6); Caroline defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 7-5; Flavia defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1; Aggie defeated Aravane Rezai 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) and Anna defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3. Good wins for those ladies.

I`m especially pleased to see Anna winning back to back matches for the first time in a while. However i`m disappointed with Flavia and Aggie`s performances. Flavia should`ve won her match in straight sets and Aggie nearly had an epic choke, blowing a 5-0 lead in the third set and having to save a match point in the tiebreaker before closing out the match. Unfortunately it wasn`t all good news in Rome as Dani was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetosva 3-6. 3-6 and Elena was defeated by Jie Zheng 2-6, 7-6(3), 2-6. Not much of a surprise in Dani`s match and Elena came back nicely in winning the second set, but didn`t have much left in the third set. The Bondarenko sisters and Flavia`s doubles matches were postponded until tomorrow.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Sabine defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-2; Sorana defeated Kimiko Date Krumm 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 and Makiri defeated Sharon Fichman 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3. Good wins for those ladies.

Sabine looked pretty sharp, while Sorana and Makiri struggled in their matches. It was nice to see them getting the wins, but obviously there is some work for them to do. Also Michelle was defeated by Shahar Peer 6-4, 0-6, 0-6. I`m very disappointed with Michelle getting bageled in the last two sets after winning the first one.

So in all it was a pretty good day for most of our favorites. I`m pleased with how most of them responded in the tough matches today.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s matches.

First of all in Rome, the day will be highlighted by three more all hotties matchups. In one of the first matches of the day, JJ will take on Kat. Also around the same time, we`ll get a rematch from the Memphis final as Caroline will face Vika. Following that match, Ana will play Aggie. Also Flavia will take on Svetlana Kuznetosva and ;ater in the evening, Anna will face Venus Williams. Also in doubles, the Bondarenko sisters will play Cara Black and Liezel Huber, Aggie and Agnes Szavay will play Virginie Ruano Pascual and Jie Zheng, Elena and Vika will take on Dinara Safina and Nadia Petrova and Dani and Ai Sugiyama will face Tsvetana Pironkova and Martina Gledacheva.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Sabine will play Elena Bovina, Iveta will take on Jarmilla Groth, Sorana will face Maret Ani and Makiri will play Maria Emila Salerni.

I hope that all of our favorites will do well tomorrow and that the Ana/Aggie, Caroline/Vika and JJ/Kat matches will be pretty competitive.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.

**Hot Rod** · 05-06-2009, 05:57 PM

Here`s the latest update.

First of all in Rome, we got three all hotties matchups to highlight the action over there. In the marquee match, Aggie defeated Ana 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. This match had it`s share of twists and turns where Aggie came back from down 0-4 in the third set. A lot of players would`ve been mentally getting ready to go, but Aggie did a good job of elevating her play in the last part of the match. So good win for her.

As for Ana, this is a very disappointing performance from her.

She was on the verge of a pretty good win and unfortunately she got tight and didn`t respond well to the challenge of Aggie`s comeback. This is not how we want to see from Ana heading toward the French Open. In the match preceding the Ana-Aggie match, JJ won the first set against Kat 6-1 and was up 1-0 when Kat retired due to illness. While i`m happy that JJ won, i hate that Kat had to retire. Just as she was playing well again, an illness strikes her.

Hopefully it isn`t serious and Kat will be back to get ready for the French Open. Also Caroline and Vika played each other for the second time this year and much like their previous meeting in the Memphis final, Vika routed Caroline again, this time 6-2, 6-2. Today`s match is further proof of the gap between Caroline and Vika. Vika has more of a complete game than Caroline, who has traditionally had trouble with the power players like Masha and Vika. I thought that she would give Vika more of a test, but instead Vika once again wins in a rout. In the other matches, Flavia was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-3, 0-6 and Anna was defeated by Venus Williams 0-6, 7-6(8), 4-6. I`m disappointed that Flavia got bageled in the third set.

As for Anna, she came back nicely after being bageled in the first set to win the second set. Then in the third, she was down 0-4 when she launched a comeback to win the next three games and was a break point away from tying it up 4-4. Unfortunately she couldn`t convert on it, which ended any hopes of an upset win. Even though she lost, i`m very proud of the way Anna played today.

She showed some much needed resolve and fight going against a tough opponent and went down swinging. Hopefully this will be the much needed stepping stone for Anna to get back to playing good constant tennis again. In doubles, Dani and Ai Sugiyama won their match in straight sets and later on Elena and Vika were defeated by Nadia Petrova and Dinara Safina 6-7(5), 7-5, 12-14. Obviously a mixed bag there. I`m pleased to see Dani doing well in doubles again. I hate it that Elena and Vika had such a tough loss.

They really went toe to toe against two of Team Russia`s top stars and saved three match points in the super tiebreaker. Then they had a match point, but unfortunately couldn`t convert it. Then a few games later, the match was over. Also with Kat`s retirement due to illness, the Bondarenko sisters were unable to play their match against Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Sorana defeated Maret Ani 7-5, 6-2; Sabine defeated Elena Bovina 7-5, 6-4 and Makiri defeated Maria Emilia Salerni 6-3, 6-0. Good wins for those ladies.

I`m especially pleased with the improvement from Makiri and Sorana. Unfortunately our hope for an all hotties final four were dashed as Iveta was upset by Jarmila Groth 5-7, 4-6. What a tough loss for Iveta.

This is obviously a missed opportunity for another good run in Estoril for her. Plus she`ll lose the points from her run to the final last year next week.

So in all it was a good day for a few of our favorites today.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s quarterfinal matches.

First of all in Rome, JJ will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vika will face Kaia Kanepi and later in the evening, Aggie will play Venus Williams. The doubles matches hasn`t been scheduled yet, but it`s likely that Dani and Ai Sugiyama will take on Cara Black and Liezel Huber in a rematch of their epic quarterfinal match at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Meanwhile in Estoril, Makiri will face Ekaterina Makarova, Sabine will play Fed Cup teammate Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Sorana will take on Yanina Wickmayer. Also later on, Makiri and Sorana will play Julie Coin and Maria-Eve Pelletier.

A lot of tough matches for our remaining favorites, especially in Rome. I really hope that they will do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.

I like to wish Domi a happy 20th birthday today.

**Hot Rod** · 05-07-2009, 05:00 PM

Here`s an update on today`s matches.

First of all in Rome, Vika defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-6(5), 6-3. Good win for Vika.

I`m pleased with her performance against the always dangerous Kanepi. Unfortunately the news wasn`t so good in the other singles matches. First of all, JJ`s two year reign as champion came to an end as she was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova 1-6, 6-7(3). Then later in the evening, Aggie was crushed by Venus Williams 1-6, 2-6. Tough loss for JJ, who blew a 3-1 lead in the second set.

As for Aggie, i felt like that she would have a chance against Venus, but sadly she played very sloppy.

In doubles, Dani and Ai Sugiyama upset the top ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-1. Good win for Dani.

It`s nice to see Hantuyama putting together their best performance in a while in beating the top ranked team in the world for the second time this year.

Meanwhile in Estoril, it was a very tough day for our remaining favorites over there. First of all, Makiri`s reign as champion came to an end as she was upset by Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 2-6, 2-6. Sorana was upset by Yanina Wickmayer 4-6, 6-1, 4-6. Disappointing performances from Makiri and Sorana.

I had a bad feeling about Makiri`s match, but i didn`t think that Sorana would lose her. If Makiri and Sorana losing wasn`t bad enough, Sabine had to retire from her match against Fed Cup teammate Anna-Lena Groenfeld with a shoulder injury after losing the first set 2-6. This freaking sucks.

Just as Sabine is playing the best tennis of her career, this happens. Hopefully this injury isn`t serious. Lastly in doubles, Makiri`s title reign there also came to an end as she and Sorana were upset by Julie Coin and Maria-Eve Pelletier 3-6, 6-2, 7-10.

So in all it was a pretty tough day for most of our remaining favorites with title hopes in Estoril going down the drain.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow`s semifinal matches. First of all, Vika will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova. Later in the evening, Dani and Ai Sugiyama will face Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Martinez Sanchez. These are very tough tasks for Vika and Dani. I really hope that they`ll do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from today`s matches.

Nothing but frustration for JJ as her title reign came to an end.

Good job Vika.

**Hot Rod** · 05-08-2009, 05:29 PM

Here`s an update on today`s semifinal matches in Rome.

First of all, Vika was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 4-6. Tough loss for Vika.

She had a golden opportunity to get back into the match up 4-1 in the second set, but then had a disputed call with the umpire and came apart mentally where she lost the last five games.

Meanwhile in the doubles semifinals, Dani and Ai Sugiyama defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Martinez Sanchez 6-4, 6-3. Good win for Dani.

I`m surprised that she and Ai Sugiyama defeated the Spaniards in straight sets. This is another nice win for Hantuyama.

So in all it was a mixed day with our remaining favorites in Rome. Tomorrow Dani and Ai Sugiyama will take on Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng in the doubles final. Obviously this will be another tough match for Hantuyama going against the Beijing-Taipei Connection as i like to call Hsieh and Peng. Still this is a great opportunity for them to get their first title in a while. Hopefully they can do it tomorrow.

In other news, Ana has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to inflammation in her right knee. I think that Ana is doing the right thing in not playing in Madrid. Hopefully she`ll be well in time for the French Open.

BTW i`ll have the draws for the Madrid Open later tonight. In the meantime, here are some pics from Vika`s match along with a animation of Aggie and Caroline.

**Hot Rod** · 05-09-2009, 12:55 AM

As promised earlier here are the draws for the Madrid Open:

Madrid Open singles:

[1] Safina bye
Suarez Navarro - Li
Keothavong - Qualifier
Safarova - [16] Kanepi

[10] A. Radwanska - Stosur
Chakvetadze - [WC] Ruano Pascual
Cirstea - A. Bondarenko
[6] Kuznetsova bye

[4] Jankovic - [WC] Llagostera Vives
Hantuchova - Dulko
Razzano - Tanasugarn
Qualfier - [13] Cornet

[11] Bartoli - Wozniak
Schnyder - Errani
Qualifier - Niculescu
Benesova - [8] Petrova

[7] Azarenka bye
Pavlyuchenkova - Peng
Qualifier - Pironkova
Szavay - [12] Pennetta

[15] Zheng - Kirilenko
Mauresmo - Sugiyama
[WC] Dominguez Lino - Qualifier
Mattek Sands - [3] Dementieva

[5] V. Williams bye
[WC] Soler Espinosa - Kleybanova
Qualifier - Rybarikova
Peer - [9] Wozniacki

[14] Medina Garrigues - Qualifier
Qualifier - [WC] Martinez Sanchez
Bammer - Kvitova
Schiavone - [2] S. Williams

Madrid Open doubles:

First of all the singles draw looks very tough. I have to be realistic and say that we`ll be lucky if one of our favorites makes it to the quarterfinals and JJ has a favorable looking draw to make it there. Doubles looks more hopeful for a few of our favorites. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in Madrid. The action gets underway later today. First of all in the first round matches, Anna will take on Virginie Ruano Pascual, Iveta will face Nadia Petrova and Makiri will play Jie Zheng. All three of these are very tough looking matches, especially for Makiri, who has to play the always dangerous Jie Zheng. Meanwhile in the qualifying matches, Elena will take on Akiko Morita and Michelle will face either Anna-Lena Groenefeld or Camille Pin. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in Madrid later today.

**Hot Rod** · 05-09-2009, 04:16 PM

Earlier today in Rome, Dani played in the doubles final and unfortunately she and Ai Sugiyama were defeated by Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng 5-7, 6-7(5). What a tough loss for Hantuyama.

Just as they were on the verge of their first title in a while, they came up short against the Beijing-Taipei Connection. I`m happy for Dani that she had her best showing since the Australian Open, which is pretty good considering the recent early exits she and Ai Sugiyama had. Hopefully this will be a nice confidence builder for them with the French Open around the corner. I really think that they`re due to win a title sooner or later.

With the tournament in Rome now over with, our focus shifts west to Madrid, where the first round got underway.

First of all, Anna defeated Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-4, 6-3 and Makiri was defeated by Jie Zheng 4-6, 4-6. Good win for Anna.

I`m surprised that she won in straight sets. Nice to see her continuing her good play. As for Makiri, not much of a surprise there. I`m glad that she was able to keep the match competitive. Hopefully she`ll have much better luck in doubles. Iveta was also in action in today and unfortunately she had to retire from her match against Nadia Petrova likely due to a back injury down 0-6, 1-2. I hate to see this happen to Iveta.

Hopefully this isn`t anything serious and she`ll be ready for the French Open. Meanwhile in the qualifying matches, Elena routed Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-1 and Michelle was crushed by Anna-Lena Groenefeld 1-6, 0-6. Good win for Elena.

Nice to see her making the main draw. As for Michelle, i`m disappointed to see her get taken to the Bakery again.

It`s not too much to put up more resistance.

So in all it was a so so day in Rome and Madrid.

Tomorrow a few more of our favorites will be in action in Madrid.

First of all, JJ will take on hometown favorite Nuria Llagostera Vives, Aggie will face Samantha Stosur and Flavia will play Agnes Szavay. We`ll have a couple of hotties matchups as Alize will take on Elena and Sorana will face Alona. Also Sania will play her first round doubles match. Both of these matches look pretty intriguing, especially the Sorana/Alona match. I hope that all of our favorites will do well tomorrow.

Anyway here are some pics from Makiri and Anna`s matches.

It`s nice to see Anna back with the tough determined look.

jaksnbtths · 05-10-2009, 03:08 AM

Is there any chance that Maria could compete at all before Wimbledon??

I think Roland Garros is quite impossible now