Mesh Tennis

People magazine tried to get to the bottom of a new paparazzi shots showing rapper Common and tennis star Serena Williams hitting a West Hollywood nightclub together over the Easter weekend.

One witness told the magazine that they were “affectionate,” holding hands and kissing” during their night on the town. Reps for both Common and Williams declined to comment on their clients’ personal life.

Meanwhile, Serena, who appears in Common’s video for “I Want You,” recently played the first ever tennis match on water as part of an event hosted by Sony Ericsson to launch the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams took on men’s tennis star Rafael Nadal in what was billed as “The World’s First Tennis Match on Liquid Terrain.” The event took place Monday, March 24, 2008, atop Miami’s new Gansevoort South Hotel overlooking South Beach. Eurweb

Magician Penn Jillette and tennis champ Monica Seles were booted off “Dancing With the Stars” on Tuesday night’s double elimination episode.

And in a new twist, their dancing shoes were ceremonially burned in a flaming trash can during their guest appearance later that evening on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Jillette, touted as the biggest (in terms of height and weight) star ever to compete on “Dancing,” got kudos from the judges for being entertaining, but was criticized for his clumsy footwork.

Seles, a newcomer to dancing, never seemed comfortable on the ballroom floor. Still, she said she enjoyed the experience because she never got to go to prom and this made up for it.

With Jillette and Seles gone, that means radio host/comedian Adam Carolla, another low-scoring celebrity, is safe for another week. Detroit Free Press

JAMIE MURRAY says he will do anything to persuade Jelena Jankovic to partner him again at Wimbledon.

The Scot has said he will even cut his flowing locks if it ensures the Serb helps defend their mixed doubles title.

Murray said: “I think I could manage to get my hair cut for her, yeah. It’s just been growing and growing I think. Everyone can see that.

“I quite like it the way it is now but when it dries out and stuff it’s a bit wild and not very good.

“You can’t always get a comb through it and there’s probably acouple of them stuck in there somewhere.”

He may have to visit the styling salon inMiami, where Jamie and his brother Andy are preparing for the start of the Sony Ericsson Open, to make sure that a hairdresser can get to his mop of hair before Jankovic does.

She said: “I think he should get it cut. Every time I see him it’s longer and longer. I think if he straightens it, it would be longer than mine.

“I will do it with a straightening iron and fix it in time for Wimbledon. I’ll pull it back in a ponytail and see how he looks.”

Murray has yet to ask Jankovic officially if she will partner him again but the Serb will probably take little persuading. She enjoys the idea of being an honorary Brit when she plays alongside the elder Murray brother and she clearly loved every minute of her time on court with him.

She said: “It was an amazing experience and I really had so much fun playing with Jamie.

He’s really one of nicest guys on the tour and I really enjoyed the whole time on court.

“I see him around all the time in the players’ lounge. We always talk and we make fun of each other.

“It’s good. I would love to play again but singles is my priority. Depending on how I feel and injury-wise if I’m healthy I would like to defend the title. Daily Record

Amid economic gloom and doom in the United States, Serb Jelena Jankovic has tipped property as the best investment for these troubled times. And the world number four is putting her own advice to good use by purchasing her second in the US located north of San Diego.

With around four million dollars in career prize money, the 23-year-old had a large wad to toy with. And with the weak state of the dollar, buying becomes even more of an incentive for a European.

“I have a house in Miami and I also bought a lot in San Diego,” Jankovic said. “It’s on a hill and just amazing. But it will take maybe a year and a half or two years to build a whole house.”

With two parents trained as economists, little is being left to chance in the project. Some of the amenities Jankovic is planning for her palace in a gated community: huge swimming pool, tennis court, sauna, cinema.

As of yet, the busy player has not seen the property. But the architect did visit the family at Indian Wells to go over the plans.

“It’s like a fairytale to me to listen to it,” said the excited Jankovic. “When I have time I will go and check it out.”

As for furnishing the mansion, that won’t be a problem for Jelena, who hates to shop for household items.

“I don’t have to deal with that. My mom, she loves going to those shops, and she drives me nuts,” Jankovic said. “She goes there like she’s in a museum and she just keeps looking at all those things.”

“She has really good time because she was a designer before when she was younger, so she has good taste for that,” Jankovic added. “So she’s really the expert and she’ll do all the job.” Earth Times

Here’s a video relating to the making of ESPN the Magazine with Serena and Venus Williams as the cover girls.

I don’t normally spend too much time getting things signed by tennis players, but I couldn’t pass up a few opportunities this year. Click on each image for a larger version.

Maria Sharapova:

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Rafael Nadal:

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Lindsay Davenport:

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Links to youtube kept popping up and disappearing (probably due to NBC), but Novak Djokovic’s site seems to have a more permanent copy of his appearance on the Tonight Show.

Check it out by following this link.

Seles announced her retirement last month and yesterday made her debut on the television show. Davenport, meanwhile, is rounding up support for the former champion among WTA tour players.

advertisement”I’m so excited for her,” Davenport said having moved into the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Yung-Jan Chan. “I sent her an email today wishing her good luck, and there’s signs in the locker room for all the players to vote for her and watch.”

Seles will be dancing with Jonathan Roberts, who partnered Marie Osmond and Heather Mills in previous series.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn dancing,” she said. “This doubles, it’s a lot of fun, a lot more enjoyable.”

Davenport, though, is convinced her old pal will be as competitive as ever. “I think she will do well in the first few rounds. With the mindset of an athlete, knowing what needs to be done, I’m sure she’s worked her butt off for six months. I think she’s going to go at least in the final four, final five.” Telegraph

I’m informed that within days Justine Henin will announce the opening of the Sixth Sense Tennis Academy in the Mission Hills area about 30 miles north of Orlando.

She’s not seeking competition with the Bollettieri-IMG Academy in Bradenton or Saddlebrook, just outside Tampa. But she’ll take in a limited number of students. She’s not going to be there on a consistent basis, but she’ll make her appearance, along with long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez.

Why sixth sense? Because she seems to have it on court and thinks she’ll be able to pass it on to developing players who have an eye on a pro career. Sun Sentinel

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Click on the above photo to see more of the pictures I took while in Indian Wells.

I’m back home after a short 3 days down in Indian Wells, CA to watch the Pacific Life Open. Overall the trip was good - I booked this trip through the travel package option on the Pacific Life Open site, and chose to stay at the Embassy Suites Palm Desert because I didn’t plan on renting a car and wanted to use the shuttle service.

The shuttles were pretty good, but if you stayed at the hotels near the Embassy Suites (Holiday Inn Express, Best Western - both in Palm Desert), the shuttle departed hourly (8.30, 9.30, 10.30 etc) to head to the tennis grounds. It typically took 10-15 minutes to get there. This really wasn’t enough departure times for the number of people staying at these three hotels - the buses would frequently leave well before the appointed time because they filled up (no, you can’t stand, or double up on a seat). If you travel at peak times, plan to get on the bus early. That said, next year, the tournament should arrange for 30 minute departures at peak times.

The nice thing about the Embassy and nearby hotels is that you can walk to food (Starbucks, Panda Express, Domino’s, Del Taco, and probably some nicer places) and to grocery shopping (Albertson’s). This isn’t true for the Miramonte and Indian Wells Resort Hotel (my stays for previous years), as nothing seemed to be close by if you didn’t have a car. A large water is $4.50 at the tournament, but you can bring your own in and grab it at a store for less than a dollar. Same for food. I didn’t have any problems getting through security at the gatewith this in my backpack - and I was even carrying a prohibited item (laptop), which was never discovered.

Another hotel item - the players, if they are at a hotel, tend to be at a nicer option like the Miramonte and Indian Wells Resort. I didn’t see any at the Embassy, but they might have been hiding or lesser known people. However, the officials were definitely at the Embassy/Holiday Inn/Best Western. If you take an early bus to the tournament (9.30AM if play starts at 11AM), you will be on a bus with a lot of umpires! And they are a friendly, chatty bunch.

Part 2 will discuss the tournament itself.