Mesh Tennis

Yeah, I’m still a little bitter about that poor sportmanship show by Henin against Serena a few years ago in the French Open.

It is the start of the third set in the women’s final, and things are really looking to go Serena’s way after she couldn’t win a single game in the first set. Since I am getting to watch this on TV (a rarity for me), I’m enjoying that the Miami crowd is backing Serena.

And in the time it took to write that, Serena is already up 2-0. Will Henin make the comeback?

Yeah, I’ll definitely be reading this book. Just thinking about his career, it could easily be 800 pages long!

The memoir of tennis sensation, gossip column favorite and philanthropist Andre Agassi, a book strongly desired by numerous publishers, has been acquired by Alfred A. Knopf.

Financial terms were not disclosed Wednesday, although bidding reportedly topped $5 million as publishers flew out to see Agassi at his hometown of Las Vegas, touring his Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a charter school for at-risk youth, and then meeting with him at his office.

David Hirshey, senior vice president and executive editor at HarperCollins, one of the publishers that competed for the book, said the deal was more in line with what a former U.S. president would get.
MSNBC

And it looks like Andy Roddick is out too…more on Nadal’s exit in a future post.

Rafael Nadal and captain Emilio Sanchez have decided to leave the second-ranked player in the world out of Spain’s Davis Cup team in order to avoid further aggravating an existing foot injury.

The quarter-final match-up between Spain and the United States is set for April 6-8 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“Emilio and I were analysing the situation and we have jointly decided that it is better for the team if I don’t play in this Davis Cup tie against the USA,” Nadal said on his website.

“The fact is that I’m carrying a pain in my foot that I injured which is aggravating me, and we don’t think I could manage another week playing on hard court.

“For me, Davis Cup is the most important competition as I represent Spain, my whole country, and it’s because of this that I can’t play in the tie. I can’t go and not be at 100% because I would be deceiving the fans and my team-mates.”
Wimbledon

Williams and her sister Venus last played in the California tournament in 2001, when the family was booed after Venus withdrew just before a semifinal match against Serena. Their father, Richard, said the jeers were racially motivated.

“I can guarantee you the chances of getting me to Indian Wells are slim to none, unless - I’m not going to go back. I have no interest in going. It’s just how I feel. And I think anyone that went through what I went through would feel a similar position,'’ Serena Williams said Wednesday after winning her quarterfinal match at the Sony Ericsson Open.

The new WTA Tour rules were announced Tuesday and take effect in 2009. They require players to participate in four events - Indian Wells, Key Biscayne and new tournaments in Madrid and Beijing. Top-10 players who miss mandatory tournaments will be subject to suspensions and larger fines than in the past.

When the new rules were announced by Larry Scott, chief executive officer of the WTA Tour, he said there would be no exceptions.

“This is a system that’s designed for the future and hopefully long into the future, and it won’t be designed around any individual player,'’ Scott said.

“I’m very sensitive to some of the concerns that Venus and Serena have had with Indian Wells. I’ve discussed this with both of them, and I think they understand that we can’t design a system around individual issues that players have.'’ MSNBC

Q. After what happened in Australia, did you really think you could come back with another emphatic victory against Maria today?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I know if I’m playing well then anything can happen. You know, I believe there could be a similar score if I’m playing well.

Q. Did you expect it to be quite that easy?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Haven’t you learned that I expect the best of myself already? I mean, I expect nothing less.

Q. Is it simply that you just figured her game out?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I know her game pretty well. We’ve played each other a few times, and I like her game style, yeah. But, you know, next time it’s going to be another tough battle.
It’s not going to be easy. I’m not going to go in there thinking, I’ve already won this. Not at all.

Q. When you hold your index finger up in the air, does that mean you’re No. 1, if not in the ranking but in practice right now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I’m not hitting well in practice. I’m definitely not No. 1 in practice.

Q. The de facto No. 1?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Every time I do that I win, so I’m a little superstitious. I’m working towards getting to be the best. It’s an uphill battle.

Q. You were also saying something, I’m not a great lip reader so I was going to ask you what you were saying.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t remember. I don’t even remember saying anything.

Q. Is this possibly the next great rivalry do you think between you and Sharapova?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, there’s a lot of rivalries with her, and there’s a lot of other players on the tour, as well, that’s playing unbelievable tennis.

Q. Suspensions, just to veer off, we wanted to get your thoughts on suspensions. We were listening to Larry Scott earlier, and he spoke about suspensions for, I guess, pulling out of tournaments. The question was asked: Does it apply to players who are age 30 or approaching age 30 or in cases like with —
SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, my God.

Q. Not that you’re approaching 30, but younger players like yourself as well as older players as well as players with special circumstances, such as Amélie.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven’t had a chance to talk to Larry about it. I’ve been here every day, and we’re supposed to have a sit down and a powwow about it, but I haven’t had a chance.
So I look forward to talking to him at least an hour about it so I can be updated with everything. I don’t want to make any comments until I’m knowledgeable about it.

Q. Can you describe - because obviously I’ve never been in your position - what does it feel like to be on the court and be dominating a match the way that you’ve done the last few times with Maria? Can you articulate what that feels like?
SERENA WILLIAMS: For me it feels like, Okay, stay focused. I never think about, I’m winning. It’s easy. No, because every point, Maria is a fighter. She doesn’t give up. So every point it’s like you’ve got to win and you can’t just say, I’m winning so easy.
I just always think about, Okay, I won that game, now let me focus again. I try to stay focused more than — I never even think about dominating.

Q. How much was this match a statement, or how much satisfaction do you take out of this match that Australia wasn’t just a one-off when you came out here and beat her worse than Australia?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think a lot of people might have thought it was a one-off. I don’t know anyone who’s won eight Grand Slams and had so many doubters in their lives. I guess just me (laughter). It’s okay.

Q. Did your father have anything useful to say?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, he just said, Stay relaxed. More than anything he wanted me to stay relaxed, and that’s what I wanted to do when I told him how I felt.
I said, I don’t feel like I’m doing everything I want to do. I’m not doing it right. He said, That’s okay, just stay positive.

Q. Are you feeling under appreciated when you say that many doubters?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. We’ll have to have a sit down.

Q. Why do you think there are so many doubters? What do you think people think of you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know what people think about me. You know, I just — the only thing I would care for me for people to think about me is I have a great attitude and I’m always positive and I’m a great sportsperson.
More than anything I’m a good person off the court, and I think that’s what matters more than anything.

Q. You said in Australia you needed a mental break. Can you expound on that a little, how you needed a break?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I would love to expound on that, but I’m hot and I think I’ve talked about it a lot. No offense, but I just had an injury and I had a physical break, and because of it I got a mental break that I never had before. But that’s basically what I said.

Q. Was there any emotional hangover of any kind for you because of that incident yesterday? Did you spend time thinking about it last night, or was it over once you left the grounds?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it was over once the match was over.

Q. How much fitter are you now than Australia? You looked great out there.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I feel like I’m running better. I’m moving a lot better. Still not on the level that I would like to move, but I’m not — I’m still trying to work my way up into the clay court season, which will be next week. You have to be extremely fit to play on the clay.

Q. Did you find Maria’s double faulting a little bit distracting today, or did you just think to stay focused?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely was not distracting (laughing). I don’t think anyone who double faults is distracting. More than anything it’s an easy point to win, so yeah.

Q. Can you describe to a non-bling expert what those earrings are, what they’re made of, and if they’re heavy?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You would have to refer to the LL Cool J song called “Round The Way Girl,” and he explains it in full detail, the meaning of the earrings. These are bamboo. He explains it in full detail. I’m a Round The Way Girl.

Q. Do you think you could be the Federer of the women’s tour, or do you feel that you are?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know what, that would be awesome. Roger Federer has done an unbelievable job with not only being No. 1 but staying there and just being the best. He’s so inspirational. That would be awesome if I could do that.

Q. What would you have to do to do that? What’s the difference between where you are now and what you’d have to do to do that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess I’d have to stay injury-free. I don’t think that guy ever gets injured. If I could do that, then that would be awesome.

Q. What is all the wrist tape for? I haven’t seen you this taped off.
SERENA WILLIAMS: This is my Warrior Pepe look.

Q. But seriously.
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, just for prevention. You know, I’m approaching 30 (laughter). I’m almost you guys’ age, so I have to tape my wrists.

Q. Is there anything wrong with your wrists?
SERENA WILLIAMS: There’s little tweaks in there, but as long as it’s taped I don’t feel anything. It’s mostly for prevention so I can get through the whole two, three sets, whatever, four hours.

Q. Do you worry about — this was obviously an emotional match. You talked yesterday about the intensity of when you play Maria. Do you worry at all about a letdown for the next round? How do you keep yourself motivated?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know what, it’s easy because Nicole Vaidisova is good player, and she’s, what, No. 6 in the world or something like that.
Here I go again. I have to play another Top 10 player who’s playing great tennis. This is a win; this isn’t the finals. I have to be ready for the next round.

Q. I understand Florida is being considered your home court because you guys live here, and scanning the seats I saw a huge group of supporters who were spelling out your name. Would that happen to be extended family, especially since you’re home?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn’t see them. That’s awesome. It’s always great to have supporters. I’ve been here so long in Florida, it’s crazy. It’s definitely home.

Q. Are you disappointed that in the Fed Cup you and Venus could have been playing Clijsters and Henin but they pulled out, and it looks on the surface it’s going to be fairly one-sided. Do you have any thoughts about Henin and Clijsters and should they have competed for Belgium?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think playing Fed Cup is a personal choice, and it’s hard to play this tournament and Charleston and possibly Amelia and then Fed Cup and then all the other clay court events right after that. It takes a lot out of you.
I’m playing because I want to play, and I think — maybe they’re injured. You never know what’s going on with someone. I encourage them to do what they want to do. Whatever they want to do, that’s what they should do.

Q. You went to Africa last year, I believe. Kerry Washington, she was filming “The Last King of Scotland.” Talked about landing in Africa and being sort of nervous, like she felt if she didn’t feel anything, what would that say about her. And I was wondering if you could relate to that and how that experience did change you maybe?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I felt so excited to land. I couldn’t wait. When we first landed we had a layover in Nigeria, and I couldn’t wait. I wanted to get out of the plane and just take off my shoes and start running and never come back, because I just felt at home and at ease.
I mean, I’ve never felt so comfortable physically and just like mentally and just — I can’t even explain it. It’s like this whole aura that just surrounds you. That’s just how I felt.
I’ve never been in a place where I felt happier ever.

Q. Where is the famous Sharapova serve gone to?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I don’t know. You know, I guess it’s a little bit of everything. I guess when you feel that you need to hold serve against someone like her and someone that’s serving so well, I think that puts a little bit of extra pressure on your serve because you know that you have to hold your serve.
Because once she gets up in the set or in the match she seems to steamroll. I think I pushed a little bit too much on it. I was just trying to go for it a little bit more because she was attacking most — stepping into the court and also not just the serves but the shots that I hit.

Q. Your second is coming in not at the same speed as it usually does. Are you being a little too careful with it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I wouldn’t say careful, maybe a little bit tentative, yeah.

Q. Did it feel a little bit like Melbourne?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, against her you need to be the first person that strikes a good ball, and whoever gets the advantage in the first half of the point is going to win the point.
I didn’t — like for my return she was — she served the corners really well, and also on the second serve didn’t give me a lot of balls to work with. I didn’t feel like I had a chance to really step in and hit my shots. She was controlling most of the points.

Q. How do you break out of this situation?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think it’s one of those things where you just have to — you obviously go out on the practice court and you work on it. You know, it’ll take time, but I’m sure I’ll get there.

Q. Do you think it’s a technical problem or when that ball gets up are you just thinking — not that confident?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Maybe a little bit of both. You know, but I’m not going to look at it as a confidence thing or not. I have to look at what I have to do to make it better, and how am I going to improve it so it gets bigger and it gets better so it can help me win more tournaments.

Q. Serena was saying yesterday one of the reasons when you play each other it’s intense is you’re kind of similar in personality. That you’re perfectionists to a tee, that you both hate to lose so much. Do you see that? Do you think that you both are similar in a way and that’s why your matches are the way they are emotionally?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I mean, I’m definitely a fighter and so is she. I definitely don’t like to lose, and I’m sure she doesn’t, either. But I think all the athletes don’t like to lose. I think it’s just that we show it more emotionally on the court than other people do.

Q. There aren’t a lot of players where you’re not controlling most of the points. Is she hitting with that much more power, or is she stepping in and taking the ball that much earlier than a lot of players? What’s your explanation for that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think if I was watching it from high above I’d get a better idea. But I did feel like I was late on most of the shots, yeah. She’s a strong, powerful girl, yeah. You expect her to hit a big ball.

Q. WTA has a rule now that you can call the coach in after the set. If I’m correct I don’t believe you called your father for any consultation. Do you think at the end of the first set you could have used his coaching advice?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I did. Eric came out on the court today.

Q. Today it’s probably not, but is it good for the game to have Serena back?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah, definitely. You know, she’s achieved a lot in her career, and I think when she gets on the court everyone expects great things from her because of what she’s achieved and the champion that she is. So definitely, yeah.

Q. Does it sort of raise the bar for everybody else do you think when she plays?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I think you’ve got to be ready to — I guess in any single tournament, whoever is playing, you’ve got to be ready in order — if you want to be the champion of the tournament, you’ve got to be ready to play against the best players. You’ve got to expect the best from your opponents.
With that mindset obviously you’ve got to go out there and still do it, but that’s — I don’t really — when I see a draw I don’t think of this person as this is a really great player and I’m going to try to do everything I can to sort of work my way in the match and sort of beat that player.
I try to think of the things I need to do in order to win myself rather than think about the other players or how they’re playing.

Q. What do you need to do to regain your No. 1 status? And what do you think about suspensions, because that’s been a whole other conversation Larry Scott has been talking about.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: The first question is how will I get No. 1? Just by winning matches. It’s a lot easier said than done, but like everything else you’ve just got to work on it. You know, I’m definitely going to be out on the practice court and I’m going to keep working hard.
And on the suspensions, yeah, this is definitely something that we’ve been discussing with players and with Larry. It’s something that is very concerning at the moment, and there are a lot of buts and ifs, so we’re definitely in the talks.

Q. Do you think suspension is too harsh for a player that doesn’t have a legitimate reason to miss a tournament?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: With the way it is set right now, yes, I do.

Q. What would be your solution?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think right now that’s kind of within ourselves, within the players and everything. Everyone has their own little ideas. I don’t want to bring that out into the open yet.

Q. Are you surprised that she can come out so match tough when she plays so few tournaments? I mean, she hasn’t played competitively in six weeks.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I mean, if it was a first match I’d be a little bit surprised, but this is her third. So no, not really.

This guy is just racing to the top of my personal hero list! I no longer feel like men’s tennis is The Roger Federer Show 24/7. Maybe we’ll actually see a few new faces this year, huh?

Two points later, Federer had lost to his new nemesis. Guillermo Canas beat Federer for the second time this month, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a fourth-round epic at the Sony Ericsson Open.

The upset wasn’t the only rematch repeat Tuesday. Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-1, in a rout reminiscent of their Australian Open final two months ago.

With that, Key Biscayne’s two No. 1-seeded players were eliminated.

Two weeks ago, Canas ended Federer’s 41-match winning streak at Indian Wells. The dogged Argentine showed that victory was no fluke, extending points by repeatedly chasing down shots and forcing a frustrated Federer into 51 unforced errors.

“It’s one of those matches I never should have lost,” Federer said.

The defeat ended his bid for a third successive Key Biscayne title, while Canas improved to 3-0 this year against top-10 players. He was ranked as high as No. 8 before serving a 15-month doping suspension, and he had to qualify for the Key Biscayne draw.

“I’m surprised because I beat two times the No. 1 in the world. Really, I don’t know what is my secret,” Canas said. “I’m just trying to enjoy the moment. For me it’s like a dream.”
MSNBC

Hopefully his secret isn’t doping.

I’ll spare you all the details of how insanely busy I have been. It is getting repetitive. Good news though - I should be done with school in a few short weeks, so I’ll be recovering a lot of time there.

Serena Williams routed Maria Sharapova — again.

With a performance reminiscent of their Australian Open final, Williams beat the top-seeded Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams won 6-1, 6-2 in Melbourne two months ago. The match was only the third since then for Williams, seeded 13th and seeking her fourth Key Biscayne title.

When Williams hit a forehand winner on match point, she raised her index finger and shouted “No. 1” to the cheering crowd. After shaking hands with Sharapova, a jubilant Williams raised her finger again.

Sharapova beat Venus Williams in the third round Sunday but lasted only 58 minutes against the younger sister. As was the case in Melbourne, Sharapova struggled with her serve. She double-faulted eight times and won only four of 16 points on her second serve.

Williams went for a winner on most of her shots, yet still committed only 15 unforced errors. She won the final five games of the first set and the last six games of the match.

Williams reached break point for the first time by skipping a crosscourt forehand off the sideline. The ball was called out, but a replay reversed the ruling.

Williams won the next point for 3-1, then hit four service winners to hold and take control.

Sharapova began to look increasingly frustrated in the second set. When she double-faulted on consecutive points, she waved her arms, shook her head and looked at her father in the stands with a frown. MSNBC

Just an excerpt…

Q. Congratulations. How does this compare to the first?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I think it’s even sweeter, I mean, just the feeling of being able to win the same tournament again. It’s something I haven’t even thought about. And I know people been saying that I haven’t won a tournament since 2002, but if I had the choice, I would much rather to pick this one than, you know, having to win some little tournaments.
I mean, this is what’s the most important thing for me, to be able to do well in big tournaments like this and grand slams, so definitely it means a lot to me.

Q. Why no nerves at all all day?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I don’t know. I had exactly the same feeling like I had against Martina in 2002. I just knew that I was gonna enjoy myself out there, and not for one second I didn’t believe in myself. I was just so confident from the first point, and I didn’t really think about the score. I just went out there and tried to play my game and really just enjoying every moment on the court.

Q. Daniela, do you wonder why you can’t bring that same feeling or same approach to other tournaments?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, since now I will able to do it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I don’t know. There is something special about this place that I love so much. I don’t know what it is. I can’t describe it. But, yeah, like you said, if I could have that feeling all the time, I think, you know, I would be already having a few more titles behind me.

Q. Does it feel like a monkey’s come off your back a little bit, getting the win finally after all these years?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, definitely, I think all the best things in life are worth waiting for, you know, for moments like this. And I guess all the hard work and everything I had to go through makes the victory that much sweeter.

Q. Can you kind of take us — what happened with your career right after you won here in 2002? ‘Cause like when you won in 2002, it looked like the start of some bright things. Can you kind of take us through?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: After that, I thought I had a great year. I finished the year — I mean, I finished like No. 8 in the world, and in January, I was No. 5. So I felt like I was on the right track.
Of course, there was some disappointments and some losses, but, you know, it’s like in life. You have your ups and downs, and definitely, I’m now on my ups again.

Q. Not to pry, but it seemed like as soon as the match ended, you were off the side, you were calling somebody on the phone?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: My mom. She’s the first one I always have to share all the bad and good things, so…

Q. So how did this conversation with your mom go?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: She was busy. She didn’t pick up, so I was very upset about it (laughter). But, no, we talked already now so…

Pacific Life Open

And it was at Indian Wells again. She beat the Kuz (who didn’t look to be in great shape quite yet, although looking a bit trimmer than when I saw her last year).

Daniela Hantuchova captured her second career singles title and second in Indian Wells by upsetting Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4 at the Pacific Life Open yesterday.

This marked the first final of the year for the 23-year-old Hantuchova who made a name for herself in 2002 at Indian Wells.

Both WTA singles titles for Hantuchova have come at the tier one event at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden stadium. Gulf Daily News

Yay, Dani!