Faces we love to see this new ATP/WTA season

Oh, and not forgetting this... *evil grin* :D

(Images via yahoo! Sports)

TENNIS WATCH: What's up Down Under?

• Earlier this week, Andy Roddick and wife Brooklyn Decker visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.

But guess who steal the show?

Roddick tweeted about two koalas making love that stole the limelight during his visit.

• The protest at Israeli Shahar Peer's match ended with an arrest today. The demonstrators belonged to local activist groups opposed to Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
  

Peer said the noise was disruptive but only increased her determination to win. She won 6-0, 6-1 against Magdalena Rybarikova.

More protests are planned for tomorrow. I guess this will continue until the Australian Open later this month.

• The recently retired Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro may play in Australian Open. If he does, he'll be the only player to have played Grand Slam events across four decades. He first made his Slam debut at the French Open in 1989.

• Now all top players want to participate in the Kooyong exhibition, including Robin Soderling who confirmed his presence after losing in the first round of Chennai.

Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Haas are also booked for the eight-player round robin event.

One last spot is currently being held for Roger Federer who's in taking part in the Qatar Open this week.

Andy Murray and Andy Roddick also have indicated that they may want to play at Kooyong if they do not get sufficient preparation this week.

Yan Zi & tycoon hubby's sexy wedding photos unveiled

It's not easy to get hold of a tennis player's wedding photos.

So this sexy wedding photo of Chinese pro tennis player, Yan Zi and her rich hubby is rare and priceless.

Recently the doubles specialist has married the son of a Hong Kong tycoon, Mr Lee Shing Kan, a general manager of a plastic manufacturing company.

He is the son of Lee Yin Yee, Hong Kong's 'Glass King'.

Nearly 1,000 guests, some of whom were government officials and prominent businesspeople, attended their wedding ceremony and banquet.

Yan Zi said she would continue her career as a pro tennis player even after married.

More photos here:


(Via sports.sina.com.cn)

TENNIS WATCH: First post of 2010

Here's some brief updates on what had happened recently.

• Rafael Nadal kicked off the new year by beating his has defeated Robin Soderling 7-6(2), 6-4 to win the Abu Dhabi exhibition.

• Maria Sharapova outplayed Venus Williams to take a 6-3, 6-4 victory in an exhibition match in Hua Hin, Thailand last Saturday.

• The Auckland Tennis centre, hosting the WTA Tour's Auckland Classic, was evacuated today after a security scare over an unattended bag.
  
  Police said the bomb scare was not linked to the public street protest held outside the tennis centre against Shahar Peer.

"It's the second year in a row I have a demonstration against me. They shouted "shahar pe'er go away," she wrote on her Twitter account. "[I]t's a shame!!!"

• Still on Peer, the WTA has confirmed that the Israeli will receive a visa to play in Dubai this year.

• In Doha, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play a unique game of tennis on a magic carpet in the Souq Waqif to kick off the 2010 ATP World Tour season at the Qatar Open. Check out this video: