Tracy Austin’s Mom Passes Away

The mother of former US Open champion, Tracy Austin, has passed away. Austin’s sister, Pam, released a statement earlier saying their mother, Jeanne, died this past Tuesday.

Jeanne has been suffering from illness at the Torrance Memorial Hospital. She was 84 years old.

Another sad news in the tennis world for sure.

Kuznetsova’s Double Whammy

Friday is turning out to be a very bad day for Svetlana Kuznetsova. Not only did she lose but when the ranking comes out after Roland Garros, Kuznetsova will be out of the Top 10.

This will be the first time she is not ranked in the Top 10 since 2006.

Double Whammy!

Video: Nishikori Sings - Roland Garros 2010

Video: Soderling Sings - Roland Garros 2010

Video: Murray Sings - Roland Garros 2010

Video: Tsonga Sings - Roland Garros 2010

Venus Puts Her Mind Onto The Clay

World no. 2, Venus Williams, the Queen of Grass, might find her feet on grass and has had many problems on clay, but the American is finding her way through the red dirt of Roland Garros this year.

Williams advanced to her first fourth round at the slam since reaching the final in 2002 where she lost to younger sister, Serena. The last few years, she has gone in the third round.

“Obviously grass suits my game,” Venus told reporters. “For me the clay is just about my mindset, remembering that I have to hit some extra balls.

“I think in the past I’ve played too aggressively, so just this season I’ve tried to play my game still, but to be patient. Most of the successful players are very aggressive so to change your mindset to be patient enough is tough.?

Venus, ironically, has one of the best record on clay this year, including one title at the Abierto Mexicano event in February.

“As time passes, I think that I understand the game more on any surface to be honest,” she added.

Nishikori Feels Good With Comeback

Japanese Kei Nishikori is going through the comeback trail and even though he lost to Novak Djokovic earlier today in the second round, all and all, things are coming together for him.

“It took five or six months.I played Delray in February, but I felt again in my elbow,” Nishikori told reporters.

Nishikori had surgery last summer on his elbow.

“Elbow is feeling good. Of course it’s sore from—these guys are hitting heavy balls and it’s clay court, so it’s sore, but it’s not painful,” he said. “So it’s a good thing. I think compared from two months ago it’s feeling so much better now, and I don’t have to worry anymore.”

Good to see him back!

Henin vs. Sharapova: Showdown Number 10

It will be a blockbuster match tomorrow, or so hope Maria Sharapova. She will be going up against Justine Henin for their tenth career meeting.

The Belgian holds 6-3 record against Sharapova, but the good news is the last time they met, the Russian won easily down under including a bagel set.

“We’ve had some great matches in the past,” Sharapova said. “I’ve had some tough losses and great wins. I look forward to this one.”

Both of them are going through a comeback to say the least with Henin coming back from retirement and Sharapova coming back from shoulder surgery.

“It’s going to be an interesting match,” Henin said. “Comes very early, of course, third round, but I expect a big fight as we always had in the past. It’s going to be very exciting to play her again in the second career. The motivation is going to be really high just to keep going in this tournament.”

The real bad news here is this is clay, not Sharapova’s best surface.

I really do enjoy it,” Sharapova said. “I’ve learned a lot playing on it the last few years. It doesn’t affect me as it did many years ago, because I knew I couldn’t last quite as long as I feel that I can now.”

Tsonga Holds Down French’s Flag For The Guys

Pity is the one of the words that came up on Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga’s mind when reporters told him he was the last of the Frenchmen still roaming the grounds of Roland Garros. After Florent Serra and Nicolas Mahut went out today, Tsonga will have to carry the flags for the French into the second week alone.

“This is sad, because it means the others didn’t advance,” Tsonga said. “It’s a pity, but this is it and I will try to do even better in my next match.”

Former semifinalist Gael Monfils went out in a dramatic five-setter yesterday, while comeback man Richard Gasquet lost in the first round to Andy Murray.

“I was sad to see Richard loosing because he was my bet, I thought he could go deep in this tournament,” Tsonga said. “And for Gael it went close.”

Better one than nothing!

Petrova and Rezai Play Roller Coaster Match

Nadia Petrova and Aravane Rezai will have to wait one more to day to finish off their crazy match. Both players were at 7-7 when the match was suspended moments ago.

It was one of the wackiest match. At 5-4 down in the third, Petrova saved several match points, then Rezai saved several match points herself while trailing 7-6.

Neither player seems to be holding serve so far so maybe a day of rest will do them some good.

Kuznetsova Runs Out Of Lives

How many match points can you save before you lose?

Defending champ Svetlana Kuznetsova would say about five or six. Moments ago, countrywoman Maria Kirilenko took advantage of her third match points and sent Kuznetsova out of the French Open.

Not a big shocker considering how bad Kuznetsova has been playing all year, but on the defending champ note, it is quite a shocker. Kirilenko once again knocks off another countrywoman to create a stir in the women’s draw.

Kirilenko knocked off Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in the first round earlier this year.

I guess from now on all the Russian women will try to avoid Kirilenko as much as possible.

Scores: 3-6, 6-2, 4-6

Fognini Finally Gets The Last Boohoo

Just moments ago, Fabio Fognini finished off Gael Monfils in five sets. After all the booing and the darkness, the Italian won 9-7 in the fifth.

Kleybanova Trashes Ivanovic; Krumm Loses Too

Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champ, got a shocker from the 28th seed, Alisa Kleybanova today. The Serb got trashed, 6-3, 6-0.

This is not a surprising loss, though, the bagel set is a bit out of the air. Ivanovic is slowly regaining her confidence thus far this year, but Kleybanova is a heavy hitter, and not to mention, a much better server than Ivanovic.

On the same note, veteran Kimiko Date Krumm said her fairytale quickly ended on at the hands of Jarmila Groth. The Australia knocked out Krumm with a 6-0, 6-3, victory.

Krumm knocked off Dinara Safina two days ago.

French Open Goes Under Water

For the second day in the row, matches are being delayed or push back due to the rain. It is almost 4pm in Paris as I'm writing this piece.

What is more annoying about this, beside from the fact that none of the courts has a roof over it, is there are no lights on the court. When the organizers pissed off Fabio Fognini yesterday, it just made me wonder what they are thinking.

I don't think Wimbledon has lights on the courts either, but at least now they have a roof. French Open has neither and if I were Fognini, I would be pissed too.

Fognini and Gael Monfils were playing in complete darkness when their match got halted, even though Fognini had stopped play way before the official stopped the match.

Instead of increasing prize money, I would suggest saving the money to get some lights on the court.

Venus Williams On Her "Imaginative" Underpants

Excerpts from Venus Williams' post-match interview earlier today.

REPORTER QUESTION. (Through French translation.) Well, talking about your dress, I discussed with the crowd. They watched you. They love it. They think it's very sexy and it's a bit of a change. When we ask the men what they feel about it, when the dress flies a little when you serve, there is a man who said, It's good for my imagination. Was that your objective?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, the whole that was never the objective. I mean, it all started in Australia with the slits, and it was about a I had a dress with really long slits in the front, and it was about wearing a dress that it looks like, oh, you have these slits with bareness.

So it has really the design has nothing to do with the rear. It just so happens that I have a very well developed one (laughter.) It's all genetic. If you look at mom and dad, you'll see the same thing happening. If you look at my sister, you'll see the same thing. It's genetic.

But it's really about the illusion. Like you can wear lace, but what's the point of wearing lace when there's just black under. The illusion of just having bare skin is definitely for me a lot more beautiful.

So it's really not about anything else other than just that skin showing. So I'm glad that, you know, it's gotten good reviews. I mean, it could be worse.

REPORTER QUESTION. Some players have actually been fined I think for their outfits and so on. I wondered if there has been anybody here or at Australia who has talked to you and said, You need to cover up a little bit or talk about maybe you've pushed the envelope too far?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I mean, I had no idea that it would, first of all, that it would match so well my skin. I had no idea. Like I said, I had no idea. So I just was going for the illusion of, in Australia, the slit. It went a whole other level to the point where I was getting calls from my publicist in the middle of the night.

I was like, well, the last time this happened there were rumors I was married. So what's going on? It's gone on to a whole other plane that I never was designing for.

Kuznetsova Digs Out A Big Hole

The only thought flowing through defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was probably her countrywoman, Dinara Safina. Safina, last year runner-up, lost yesterday and Kuznetsova saw the exit down earlier in her match.

Going up against Andrea Petkovic, the Russian saved four match points to advance to the third round. Kuznetsova was down 0-40 on Petkovic's serve and worked hard to get the break back.

She had trouble serving out the match but did it on her fourth match point in the third set. Kuznetsova is still alive...but for how long?

Tsonga: No French Love

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a five-setter on Sunday and had no problem winning earlier today to advance to the third round. Nevertheless, the Frenchman is angry at the tournament organizers for putting him up on as one of the first round matches last Sunday.

“Frankly, I was a bit disappointed because I was playing on a Sunday,” Tsonga said. “I had asked not to play on a Sunday, absolutely, because I had practiced in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit. But they imposed it on me.”

Tsonga added considering he is the no. 1 player for the French, they would at least consider giving him an extra day or so to play his first round match because he was not ready to play on Sunday.

His countryman, Richard Gasquet, also asked to play at another day, but played on Monday and lost to Andy Murray.

“If I had lost on Sunday because I was not feeling good, then many people would have been disappointed. This would have been a bit silly, I think,” Tsonga said. “But it wasn’t the case, so I’m here, and I’m fit. I’m ready to play. This story will continue, and that’s the end of the story.”

I think for Gasquet, they should had him play on Tuesday because he won Nice and deserved the extra time off. As for Tsonga, I don't know.

The organizers probably wanted to draw the French crowds on the first two days with two of their guys.

Roland Garros...and Justine Henin

Justine Henin will try to break the record at the French Open in her career...or what is left of it until 2012. Henin's records at the French Open is already putting her in the record book.

1. Only the 4th player to win 3-consecutive women's singles titles
* Helen Wills Moody (1928-30)
* Hilde Sperling (1935-37)
* Monica Seles (1990-92)
* Justine Henin (2005-07)

2. Only one of 5 players to win 4 or more women's singles titles
* Christ Evert, 7 (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986)
* Steffi Graf, 6 (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999)
* Margaret Court Smith, 5 (1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1973)
* Justine Henin, 4 (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)
* Helen Wills Moody, 4 (1928, 1929, 1930, 1932)

3. Longest Winning Streak
* Christ Evert, 29 (1974-75-79-80-81)
* Monica Seles, 25 (1990-91-92-96)
* Justine Henin, 21 (2005-06-07)...still ongoing
* Steffi Graf, 20 (1987-88-89)
* Helen Wills, 20 (1926-28-29-30-32)

4. Consecutive Sets Won
* Justine Henin, 35
- Started in 2005, fourth round defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5...ongoing streak.
* Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 26
- Started in 1994, first round defeating Florencia Labat, 6-4, 6-1...ended in 1995, final, lost to Steffi Graf, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.
* Steffi Graf, 26
- Started in 187, final, defeated Martina Navratilova, 6-4, 4-6, 8-6...ended in 1989, semifinal, lost to Monica Seles, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
* Chris Evert, 22
- Started in 174, first round defeating Regina Marsikova, 6-1, 6-4...ended in 1975, final, lost to Martina Navratilova, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
* Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 20
- Started in 1971, first round, defeated Joan Koudelka, 6-3, 6-1...ended in 1972, final, lost to Billie Jean King, 6-3, 6-3.

Henin won't be knocking off all the records above, unless she plays past 2012, but nevertheless, she is the Queen of Clay during her time.

Quotes of The Day

“Every single time I’ve got to serve in this match, except once, he stopped me. It’s amazing.”

~ Andy Murray said, referring to Richard Gasquet’s refusal to play while spectators were still moving in the stands.


“You know, I’m struggling to understand English,” Gasquet said. “So with Murray being Scottish, it was impossible for me to understand.”

~ Richard Gasquet on not being able to understand what Murray was saying during the match.

Serena: Happy To Still Be In Tournament

Serena Williams wants everything to be perfect in her match. Even though she won in straight sets today going up against Swiss Stefanie Veogele, Serena was not too happy with the way things were going.

The Swiss made the American worked hard in the first set and Williams had to win the tiebreak.

“I definitely didn’t feel good about it. At least I won. I think I’m still in the tournament, that’s what matters,” Serena said.

Next up for her, Julia Goerges of Germany.

Hawk-Eye, Clay...Federer Calls The Shot

Roger Federer won easily today in his first round match against Peter Luczak, but one call made it tough on the world no. 1 to accept. On one of Luczak's serve, Federer thought it was out but the Chair Umpre said Nope.

The Swiss lost his cool for a few minutes but regrouped nicely to win, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

“It’s always important coming back as defending champion trying to get off to a good start,” he said. “It was like a perfect match to get off the French Open campaign, really.”

Luczak seemed to agree with Federer on the call.

“He got a bit of a rough call against him, actually,” Luczak said. “If it was anyone else, I’d be getting pretty angry. He just had me on a string and just (was) toying with me at the end. I think he was enjoying it.”

Dent Wins At French Open...After 12 Years

There is always a first for everything!

For Taylor Dent, it took 12 years but earlier today, he advanced to the second round of the French Open by defeating Nicolas Lapentti in straights. Dent has never gone past the first round at the slam.

He joined John Isner into the second round.

“Better late than never, right?” Dent said. “There’s nothing more that Americans love than to come over here and win matches. We always have that label, like, `Oh, you’re American. First round, see you later.’ So I think we get a lot of pride from winning matches here.”

Dent won 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

Nishikori Wins First Round

Japanese Kei Nishikori is getting back on the road after going out with injury and playing through challengers. Nishikori needed over three hours today to advance to the second round.

He got through qualifying and needed five sets to defeat Santiago Giraldo earlier in the first round. Nishikori won 2-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The match lasted 3 hours, 36 minutes.

Murray Survives Gasquet In Five Sets

Richard Gasquet will be having a hard time sleeping tonight after losing to Andy Murray just moments ago on court Suzanne Lenglen. The Frenchman went down in five sets after winning the first two.

Ironically, he never led in any of the last three sets after going up two sets. The Brit hit a total of 83 winners compared to 82 for Gasquet.

Both had more winners than unforced errors. Gasquet had 46 versus 41 for Murray in unforced errors.

Scores: 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1

American Yani Falls After 71 Games

American qualifier Michael Yani lost to Lukas Lack of Slovakia, but it was not all bad because they tied the record with three other matches at the French Open for the most games played in a match at 71.

The two played their match on Sunday but it got suspended due to darkness at 8-8 in the fifth. They were able to finish up the match today and Lack won 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 12-10.

The overall record is 83 games in a match played in 1957.

Venus: Dress To Thrill

Venus Williams definitely knows how to draw attention to her dress, not to mention the code-violation of a underpants she is wearing that looks as if she is not wearing anything from a distance.

Go to the link below to see some photos of her latest dress, which is very nice.

Venus and Her Dress

Azarenka Gets Double Whammy

Feisty Victoria Azarenka got a double whammy yesterday after the French Open fined her $4,000 for skipping the news conference after her first-round loss. The 10th seed got knocked out easily by Gisela Dulko, 6-1, 6-2.

Players are obligated to attend a news conference after their matches, but Azarenka just did not show up. She reached the quarterfinal last year so this first-round loss will knock off a bunch of points from her ranking.

Video: French Open Day 1 Highlights

French Open Rewards Henin...With Bad Draw

Justine Henin's road to the French Open is tougher she would have hoped for. She will open up against Tsvetana Pironkova but might have to face Maria Sharapova in the third round, Jie Zheng or Samantha Stosur in the fourth round, then probably Serena Williams or Mario Bartoli in the quarterfinal, and possibly Jelena Jankovic or Yanina Wickmayer in the semifinal.

If it was 2006 or 2007, I would give Henin an easy pass to the final against any of these players, but the way she is playing and her up-and-down serve, I don't know which Belgian will be showing up. The Stuttgart's Henin or the Madrid's Henin.

The same question could be said for Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic. The top half is the tough side, but no one is playing that great to call the top contender this year.

Aravane Rezai will have a big task on her shoulder but if she can play the way she did in Madrid, she could very well win the tournament and make the French crowds happy. But let's not forget Amelie Mauresmo and her story with the French Open.

I have a feeling Rezai will falter and lose early. The pressure will probably be too much.

Wozniacki Retires Against Zheng

Carolina Wozniacki injured her ankle during her match against Jie Zheng and this will not be good news for the Dane. With the French Open only a few days ago, she will hope the ankle heals fast.

She is just playing too many matches, too many tournaments. She needs to fix her schedule in order to stay healthy.

Wozniacki will have a big fall out of the top 10 if she gets injured and stays off the courts for a few months.

Del Potro: Expect Major Delay

US Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro will likely miss the rest of the slam season due to recuperation of his right wrist surgery. The Argentine said he will likely miss Wimbledon and the US Open, in addition to the Davis Cup against Russia.

Del Potro has not played since losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open. He will need a few months to regain strength and flexibility on his arm.

Odesnik Banned Two Years

Wayne Odesnik will be hitting the bed for two years or go out partying because the ITF has handed down the two-year suspension for his HGH problem down under in January during the Australian Open.

“Mr. Odesnik did not in fact obtain or apply for a therapeutic use exemption … prior to obtaining it,” the ITF said in a statement. “Accordingly, Mr. Odesnik’s possession of the human growth hormone is an anti-doping rule violation.”

The ban will roll back from December 29, 2009 to December 28, 2011. So all his results will be wiped out.

Karlovic Out of French Open

Ivo Karlovic has officially withdrawn from the French Open due to a right foot injury. The injury is also putting doubts on whether he will be able to represent Croatia for the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Serbia.

The big guy says his Achilles' tendon has been bothering him for months. His team, Mario Ancic, is also in the wind with back pains.

Your Daily Wimbledon Poem...

Here a green ball, there a green ball, everywhere, lots and lots of green balls.

Here a pick, there a pick, every one game, Rafa picks his butt.

Here a grunt, there a grunt, every shot, the Williams Sisters grunt.

Here a grab, there a grab, every one point, Roddick grabs his crotch.

~ Your Daily Wimbledon Poetry ~

Wimbledon Goes Poetic

Who say tennis and poetry don't go together?

Wimbledon will have its own poet this year after the All England Club hired British comedian and poet Matt Harvey as their "Championships Poet." Harvey will be sitting down and writing one poem a day and it will be on the tournament's website.

There will also be a podcast of the poem online.

“It’s an honor,” Harvey said. “And I’m acutely conscious it’s the only time I’ll come first in anything at Wimbledon, unless you count the queue for strawberries.”

I don't know whether to laugh or cry for this historic moment.

Stosur Soars In Ranking

Australia has finally seen one of its ladies go up to the Top 10 of the world ranking. Samantha Stosur's run to the semifinal of last week's event in Madrid moved her up to Number 7 in the world ranking.

The last time someone made it that high was in 1985 when Wendy Turnbull reached Number 3 in the world. The previous highest ranking Aussie gal was Alicia Molik, who climbed all the way to Number 8.

With Stosur's form so great on clay so far, she should be a force at the French Open next week.

Video: Federer vs. Nadal - Madrid 2010 Final Highlights

Video: Williams vs. Rezai - Madrid 2010 Final Highlights

All Hail The Queen

Just another pressure to put on poor mentally unstable Andy Murray!

The Queen herself, Queen Elizabeth II, will be attending Wimbledon on June 24, making it the first time in 33 years she has been back to the stadium. The Queen planned to attend last year's men's final but of course, another Andy took out Murray in the semifinal.

Murray will have the country on his shoulders and with the Queen clapping and staring down at him from the Royal Box, it will be one hell of a day!

American Cities Fights For Fed Cup Final

About 11 US cities are vying to bid for the right to host for the Fed Cup final between the US and Italy. These cities are Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Pacific Palisades, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Portland, St. Louis, the island of Hawaii, Surprise, Ariz., and San Diego.

The final bids are due to the USTA on June 4 and the winning venue will be picked on around the 14th. This is a rematch of last year's final where Italy won over the United States.

This is the first final on US soil since 2000, also the last time the USA won Fed Cup. The final will be played in November.

Bryan Twins Tie Record Doubles Mark

Bob and Mike Bryan had lots to celebrate over the weekend after winning their 61th tour title in Madrid. The win tied them with Australian duos Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

The twin will try to jump over the Aussies next week when they play at the French Open. The year is still long so they will surely break the record as the top men's doubles team ever in the open era.

Navratilova Still A Busy Woman

Martina Navratilova will be a very busy woman when the French Open starts next week. Not only will be be getting radiation therapy for cancer and calling matches for Tennis Channel, but she will also be playing in the senior doubles event.

She and her partner, Jana Novotna, has been practicing for the event which starts in the second week of the tournament.

French Open starts this Sunday!

More French Open Pullouts

Argentine David Nalbandian and French Gilles Simon have both pulled out of the French Open starting next week. Nalbandian is out with a left hamstring injury while Simon had to pull out due to not having enough matches played leading up to the year second Grand Slam.

Igor Kunitsyn of Russia will be replacing Simon.

Days of The Youngsters

Martina Hingis winning slams at the age of 16, Maria Sharapova, Serena Wililams, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker...the days of the youngsters winning the slams are long gone. The WTA and ATP tour are just not producing the talents anymore, maybe because of the way tennis is going today.

Scheduling is tough, the power, the serve, fitness...so many of these things contribute to winning a slam. When Juan Martin Del Potro won the US Open last year, it looked as though the ATP had a new young star.

That was not meant to be as Del Potro went down with injury. Maria Sharapova rocked the WTA Tour winning Wimbledon but she has not been able to continuously play well and injuries have also taken a toll on her.

While there are so many pretenders on both side of the Tours, they just do not produce the games and talents to go all the way. Andy Murray is suffering from that in slam finals so far, Melanie Oudin plays here and there...things are just not going too great for the youngsters.

The veterans of the games are getting older by the day and while they might win the slams, the reality is they are not what advertisers are looking for. Sharapova might not be having a great time on the courts, but her $70 millions Nike deal say otherwise.

Money talks in sports and sadly, you need to win a slam or two in order to see the money. Sharapova might be a veteran by now, and might not be playing well, but at least she still have beauty on her side.

Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams, Justine Henin...sure, beauty is from the heart and the eyes of the beholder, but tell that to the companies shelving out the money. Federer could won 20 or 30 slams, but he would never get that $70 million deal like Sharapova.

The same goes for Serena or Venus or Justine.

It is good to be young and be a slam winner, and when you add beauty to it, you will have yourself a grant deal!

Beside from the money, a new talent on the block mean good business for tennis overall, not to mention a great news headline to publicize the sports. For now, no such headlines exist.

This is the new decade, it is just the beginning so hopefully from now until 2020, there will be a bunch of youngsters coming out of the woods to lift up tennis like the good old days of the 1980s and 1990s.

Clijsters, Davydenko, Del Potro Withdraw From French Open

The first patch of French Open's causalities have been announced. Kim Clijsters, Juan Martin Del Potro, Nikolay Davydenko, and James Blake have all pulled out of the year second slam.

Clijsters is suffering from a left foot injury, Del Potro recently had wrist surgery, and both Davydenko and Blake are going through some kind of injuries of their own.

Joining these four out of the clay event are Urszula Radwanska, Sania Mirza, Anna-Len Groenefeld, Sabine Lisicki, Tommy Haas, and Igor Andreev.

Video: Verdasco Models For CK

Ana Ivanovic probably regrets breaking up with Verdasco after seeing this video! :-D

Serena Explains Madrid Dilemma

“This isn’t a player-favorite tournament, just to be honest. None of the players are really gung-ho about playing here.”

~ Serena Williams after losing to Nadia Petrova.

This would explain why all the top players crashed out so early.

Sharapova Gets Wildcard for Strasbourg

Maria Sharapova has received a wildcard into next week's tournament at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. This will be a big draw for the tournament for sure.

The Russian lost early this week in Madrid and will use this tournament as her next warm up for the French Open.

Another Case of The Bad Prescription

Ukrainian Kristina Antoniychuk has been suspended from tennis for 14 months for doping. The word doping might sound bad, but before you go jumping on the 19-year-old, she was not taking call from Wayne Odesnik.

Antoniychuk apparently was taking some kind of prescription and it has the banned substance, diuretic furosemide, during the Mexican Open this past February. While the ITF accepted her explanation, they don't give a damn.

What you put in your mouth is your own fault, that is basically their views.

She can come back and play in April 21, 2011. Her results since the date she tested positive will be disqualified.

Wikipedia:

"Furosemide (INN) or frusemide (former BAN) is a loop diuretic used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and edema. It is most commonly marketed by Sanofi-Aventis under the brand name Lasix. It has also been used to prevent thoroughbred and standardbred race horses from bleeding through the nose during races.

Along with some other diuretics, furosemide is also included on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned drug list due to its alleged use as a masking agent for other drugs."

Roddick Rocks By Illness

American Andy Roddick just might sit out the clay season this year. Roddick was forced to pull out of Madrid due to illness today.

He was suppose to play against Feliciano Lopez in his first match at the event but was not to be after suffering from weakness due to vomiting the last couple of days. Spain's own son, Oscar Hernandez, has taken over Roddick's position.

Clay is not a man's best friend, especially, if you are Roddick.

One Sister In, One Sister Out

On a day of celebration for the Williams Sisters, it was only half to be exact.

When Venus Williams defeated Francesca Schiavone to advance to the quarterfinal, she was guaranteed to move to the No. 2 position in the world ranking, right behind Serena. It was a grand day for the sisters being in the Top 2 positions once again.

But a few hours later, Serena lost to Nadia Petrova and the celebration ended just when it started. The younger of the sisters lost in three sets and will have to sit out for the rest of the week.

Serena is just one of the many top players already leaving Madrid this week before the quarterfinals. Only Venus and Samantha Stosur are still left in the draw.

The rest of the other seeds have crashed out days ago including Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Caroline Wozniacki, who lost yesterday.

Madrid is becoming a burial ground this week for the top ladies of the WTA Tour on clay.

Video: Rafa Ducks!

Madrid: Ladies' Day Out

The first round of the Madrid Open for the women have not been too kind. Already out of the tournament include Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

It has been a good week with Henin saying she is not 100% healthy and Sharapova making a comeback that didn't last long. Kuznetsova is of course still going through some kind of mid-life crisis with her tennis.

Venus Williams survived, but retiree Victoria Azarenka once again give the fans something to wonder about with another retirement in her first round match.

The WTA Tour ladies are having a day out, too bad it is not a shopping day.

Scores

Estoril Open Estoril, Portugal

Final
Albert Montanes (4) def. Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5


BMW Open Munich, Germany

Final
Mikhail Youzhny (2) def. Marin Cilic (1) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4


Serbia Open Belgrade, Serbia

Final
Sam Querrey (3) def. John Isner (2) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4


Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open Madrid, Spain

First Round
David Ferrer (9) def. Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
Juan Monaco def. Simon Greul 6-1, 6-1
Ivo Karlovic def. Evgeny Korolev 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)


Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open Madrid, Spain

First Round
Venus Williams (4) def. Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) def. Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-2
Lucie Safarova def. Maria Sharapova (11) 6-3, 6-4
Francesca Schiavone (15) def. Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2
Alexandra Dulgheru def. Melinda Czink 6-1 retired

Olga Govortsova def. Tathiana Garbin 7-5, 6-2
Dominika Cibulkova def. Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
Vera Dushevina def. Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-1
Aravane Rezai def. Justine Henin 4-6, 7-5, 6-0

Andrea Petkovic def. Sara Errani 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 7-5

Madrid Open Goes 3DDDDDD

No, you are not going nuts...it's just 3D!

Madrid Open will be going out at your face next week when the tournament finals for the men and women will be telecast at three movie theaters in Madrid, Barcelona, and Malaga. The tournament organizers have confirmed the exciting news.

Unless you faint on 3D movies, this will be something worth the price of the ticket...well, unless the match goes on for 3.5 hour, then you probably want to get up and puke out the popcorn.

The tournament will be the first ever to do so.

Nothing say 3D better than seeing Rafael Nadal grabs his butt or Andy Roddick rearranging his goods like in-your-face 3D action.

WTA Tour Loses Prague Open

The WTA Tour will have to find something to fit into the July 12-18 time slot next year when the Prague Open ends its run after this year edition. The tournament is facing some financial problems after losing its major partner.

Vladislav Savrda, the tournament director, has confirmed the end is near, though financial details were not given.

Maybe the WTA can move the schedule around a bit instead of adding a new tournament. Some tournaments could use the move such as Indian Wells and Miami.

Give players more of a rest between Top Tiers and Premiere tournaments.

Ivanovic: Back To The Good Old Days?

This is something of a pleasant surprise for Ana Ivanovic this week at the Italian Open. Whatever she did during her long time off seems to be working this week.

Ivanovic took out Victoria Azarenka in the second round and now has taken out Elena Dementieva in the third round. These are two back-to-back top 10 wins for the former world no. 1 and French Open champ.

What I am most impress about is the Serb had three aces and two double faults in her match. Her serve seems to be working right now and it definitely helping her through these matches.

She has a lot of talent, I hope this is really going to stay. Her countrywoman Jelena Jankovic has somewhat upped her level so far including that Indian Wells victory.

If Ivanovic can get back up there with the rest, it will be a interesting mix. Now we just have to wait for Maria Sharapova.

Maybe the last half of the year for the WTA Tour will be a battleground.