Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli announces retirement from tennis

Marion ‪‎Bartoli‬ shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement from the sport at the age of 28. She just won a Wimbledon title weeks ago and has tweeted her anticipation for the US Open 15 hours before she made that tearful announcement!

After a second round loss to Romanian Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open, Bartoli walked into the media room and said she just can't do it anymore.

"My body was really starting to fall apart and I was able to keep it together, go through the pain - with a lot of pain - throughout this Wimbledon and make it happen. That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me."

"I've been playing for a long, long, long time, and it's time for me now. It is."

The French player has won eight WTA titles in her career.

"Everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No one will remember the last match I played here."

We wish her all the best. She'll be missed!

(Image via Quqster)

Weekend winners: Roger Federer's no. 16; Elena Dementieva bites in disbelief

C'mon stop djoking... this trophy looks like mine...

Roger Federer captured his 16th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters after defeating Novak Djokovic 6-1, 7-5 in just one hour and 31 minutes.

Is the number 16 going to bring him more luck at the US Open? We'll see!

In the men's doubles final, Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor took down home favourite Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

The American twin brothers defeat is understandable as they are busy preparing for the launch of their debut album in September.

Elena Dementieva had to bite herself to believe she had won the Rogers Cup title yesterday.

The no. 4 seed had a bad start against Maria Sharapova but soon took over the match and won 6-4, 6-3.

Will she be able to maintain her top form (and most importantly not choke up) at the US Open to eventually win her first Grand Slam?

Let's discuss this again when Dementieva can get into the semifinals.

In the women's doubles, Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated Australians Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.

(Images by Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Andy Murray kowtow to Roger Federer

There's just too much hype about Andy Murray.

From being called the 'true no.1' to believing that he can 'easily' beat Roger Federer in the upcoming US Open, can he really live up to the hype?

Last night, Federer proved that Murray can't.... perhaps not so soon...

Federer defeated Murray 6-2, 7-6 at the Cincinnati Masters semifinals and will meet Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serbian defeated Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Super Saturday's semifinals

It's going to be an explosive Saturday when all top 4 seeds at Cincinnati Masters collided in the semifinal matches tonight.

New world no.2 Murray will face no. 1 Roger Federer first.

Federer, who won this tournament in 2005 and 2007, extended his winning streak against Lleyton Hewitt to 13 matches with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

Murray, the defending champion, defeated 'lucky loser' Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Meanwhile third-ranked and second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5, setting up a semifinals rematch with fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic, who beat Nadal in straight sets in last year’s Cincinnati semifinal, won 6-4, 7-5 over Gilles Simon.

Nadal, playing just his second tournament since the French Open due to tendinitis in both knees, declared himself “very happy” with his progress.

In the women's singles, second-seeded Serena Williams breezed through to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup on Friday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lucie Safarova.

Williams will next face no. 4 Elena Dementieva, who advanced with a tough three-set win over Samantha Stosur.

In another semifinals, Alisa Kleybanova will face off with Maria Sharapova after a gruelling 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Jelena Jankovic, while Sharapova overcame Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 7-6 (5).

(Via AP; Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Fernando Verdasco upset in Cincy, narcissistic FeVer takes over

It's quite a rare occasion to see Fernando Verdasco lost in the first round.

He blamed the racquet. But Verdasco could have underestimated his fellow compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, which resulted him to lost 6-7, 6-7 in Cincinnati Masters.

Loss aside, Verdasco could be winning with his FeVer clothing range soon (I stole this picture from Forty Deuce).

Most probably inspired by the famous "RF" monogram, Verdasco's dad assured fans that their are working towards making FeVer available in the market soon!

Elena Dementieva takes on comeback queen Kim Clijsters at the Kings Island fountains

Elena Dementieva and Kim Clijsters were at the Fountain at Kings Island yesterday before the start of the Wester & Southern Financial WTA Tennis Championship at the Linder Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Former world no. 1, Kim Clijsters who is making her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour received a wildcard to play in this tournament.

(Images by John Sommers II/Getty Images North America)

Pre-Olympic updates

I've been pretty busy with shifting house for the past weekend and do not have time to really sit down and write something. But nevertheless, here's my updates in one post.

Boost for Murray's Olympic campaign

Novak Djokovic might have beaten soon-to-be world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinal at Cincinnati, but I'm not devastated watching the match on Sunday morning. After all, Nadal has achieved his ultimate goal, dethroning King Roger from the peak of the ATP rankings. It's best to remain at his top form and focus on Beijing Olympics instead. As you can see in this video, Nadal has arrived in Beijing International Airport to begin his quest for a gold medal.



I didn't think Nole played his best tennis at Cincy Masters. Not even during the semifinal against Nadal. Hence I'm not surprised that Andy Murray won his first Masters Series here by knocking off Nole 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5). If he maintains his consistency on hardcourts, perhaps he Murray might have a huge chance to clinch his first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open right after the Olympics.


Jankovic to become new no. 1 but Safina wins the Rogers Cup

Jelena Jankovic is going to become the new world No. 1 in women’s tennis by the narrowest of margins. The WTA determined that as of the August 11 rankings, Jankovic will have 3,620 points - eight more than Ivanovic, who took the top spot on June 9.

“Since I was a young girl, it has been my dream to become No. 1 in the world,” Jankovic said. “When you get older, at least one day you can say you were No. 1 and no one can take that away from you. You are in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history books, and it’s a great achievement.”

However, Jankovic lost in the quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup. I would say that the woman player we should focus on now is Dinara Safina, the no.1 player in the making. Safina has been playing remarkable tennis by reaching the final in five of her last six tournaments.

Dinara easily handled unseeded Dominika Cibulkova in a 6-2, 6-1 victory on Sunday to win the Rogers Cup. This the second win in a row for Safina, who beat Flavia Pannetta in the final in Los Angeles last week. With a win earlier this year in Berlin, it was the 22-year-old’s third victory of the year and the eighth of her career. So, Dinara should be the hot favourite to win a medal in the Beijing Olympics.

Look Who's in Beijing? And who's not?

Ana Ivanovic might be losing her no. 1 spot to Jankovic, but looks like it doesn't really affect her much. Perhaps the two top women players in the world are Serbia's best bet to win a medal or two in the Olympic Games.

Too bad we might not be seeing Sharapova the Fashionista in Beijing as well as the U.S. Open because of a torn rotator cuff tendon in her right shoulder.

Sharapova said in a posting on her official website that she probably won’t need surgery and could be ready to play in two to three months.

(Images by Ronald Martinez/Elsa/OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Quote of the day: Rafael Nadal set to end Roger Federer's no. 1 rank

“It’s emotional. I know I’m going to be No. 1. Getting No. 1 is a present for a lot of work in the past, so it’s satisfying.” ~ Rafael Nadal

Finally, after years of chasing, Nadal is guaranteed to claim the world No. 1 ranking this month after reaching the semifinals at the Cincinnati Masters with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory over Nicolas Lapentti.

The timing of Nadal's rise to No. 1 replacing Roger Federer depends on his results in Cincinnati:

• If Nadal wins the title, he will become No. 1 this Monday.
• If Nadal loses in the final he will become No. 1 on August 11
• If Nadal loses in the semifinals he will become No. 1 on August 18

Federer has held the top ranking for a record of 235 consecutive weeks (since Feb. 2, 2004) and Nadal has been No. 2 for a record 158 straight weeks (since July 25, 2005). The last player to rank No. 1 before Federer's reign was Andy Roddick the week of Jan. 26, 2004.

The Spaniard will become the 24th player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hold the No. 1 position. He will join countrymen Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003) to rank No. 1.

"Well, there are so many different things, no, so difficult to compare," said Nadal, when asked about becoming No. 1."

"But when you win Roland Garros it's in the moment, no? It's, I don't know, very emotional. Right now I know I going to be No. 1 and I'm very, very happy to be No. 1. Be No. 1 always is, I think, is a present for a lot of work in the past, no? So that's satisfying me a lot. But for be No. 1 you only can be No. 1 winning Roland Garros, Wimbledon, so..."

"I am very happy but at the same time, my goal is continuing be there (at No. 1). So my goal is continuing be there Olympics and US Open, so no time for enjoy."

Nadal, who also won his career-best 32nd consecutive match on Friday, has reached the semifinals or better in all nine ATP Masters Series tournaments in his career. He will attempt to become the first player to reach the final in all nine when he plays World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals on Saturday. Nadal leads the all-time series 9-3, winning the last three meetings this year.

(Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Via Cincytennis.com)