Bite me!
You know what? Agassi achieved the feat at the age of 34 but Nadal is only 23!
Almost like Wimbledon once again - minus Roger Federer 
Pure hotness
Now I can't wait for Madrid Masters and the French Open, where he fell hard last year.
Where are the medals?
In the men's doubles final, Bob and Mike Bryan beat fellow Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-3 for their 4th title of the year and 60th in their careers.
The retired Australian pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde hold a record of 61 career titles.
Justine won't be retiring again anytime soon.. perhaps in 2013
Meanwhile, Justine Henin won her first title since coming out of retirement, defeating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.
In the women's doubles final, Gisela Dulko paired up with Flavia Pennetta to defeat Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 3-6, 7-6, 10-5
(Images via Yahoo! Sports, Sina Tennis)
If Rafael Nadal wins his fifth consecutive French Open later this month, probably 2009 will be the best clay court season he ever had.
Fresh from winning his fourth Rome Masters title on Sunday, beating reigning champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in the final, Nadal looks confident for Madrid Masters and the French Open.
Now Nadal owns 15th Masters Series title and only Andre Agassi has won more with a whopping 17 titles! "I would love to have more than 17."
"Right now I have 15, I'm very happy for that (but) I'm going to try my best in the next tournaments," said Nadal.
In the men's doubles final, Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor continued their European clay court domination by defeating defending champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6(5), 6-3.
While in Stuttgart, Germany, Svetlana Kuznetsova stunned world no.1 Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Sunday.
American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Russian Nadia Petrova won the doubles title with a 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 victory over Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.
(Images Ryan Pierse/Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Too bogged down with work recently, I didn't have much time left to spend on women's tennis for the past weeks, missing the Fed Cup and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
At Stuttgart, looks like the new world no.1 Dinara Safina will play against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final match tomorrow, after defeated Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Earlier, Kuznetsova easily overcame compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic are already in Rome for a promotional event at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Someone in tennis forum suggested that Vika was flipping off Ana.
Okay, they are friends again :P
(Images via Quotidiano.net)
New No. 1 Jelena Jankovic won her second title in two weeks, defeating Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.The 23-year-old Serb also won the China Open last week and the Italian Open earlier this year. “I am really proud of myself,” she said.
“I am playing with a lot of confidence and I played some good tennis this week.”
Jankovic was assured of taking the top ranking Monday from Serena Williams regardless of the outcome of the final.
She already held the No. 1 spot for one week in August. “I feel that every day I am getting better and better. I am really working on my game, I want to reach my full potential,” Jankovic said.
Williams became the No. 1 after defeating Jankovic at the U.S. Open final, but the American will drop in the rankings after losing her opening match in Stuttgart.
Jankovic won her eighth career title after overcoming a brief lapse in the second set against the 18th-ranked Russian, who won the Stuttgart tournament in 2006.
After the win, Jankovic took a spin in the red Porsche 911 convertible given to the winner and appeared to have more trouble controlling the powerful car than the match.
She broke serve in the opening game and it was enough to give her the set against an error-prone Petrova. “I really wanted to win this trophy, and when you want too much, sometimes it doesn’t work in tennis,” Petrova said.
“I gave it my best.”
Petrova had not dropped a set this week until the final.
Jankovic has been playing with a painful left foot after tearing off a toe nail. She needed painkiller shots before her semifinal win over Venus Williams and got two more before the final.Asked about her foot at the post-match news conference, Jankovic misunderstood the question and replied, “The food is great.”
Realizing the mistake, Jankovic burst out laughing and then added: “It’s numb during the match and I don’t feel anything, but after a couple of hours it hurts a lot,” she said.
“The doctor told me to wear flip-flops but I am flying to Serbia tonight, I can’t go in flip-flops like I am going to the beach.”
Jankovic is scheduled to play the Kremlin Cup next week. Although she left open whether she would actually show up in Moscow for the tournament, which Williams is skipping. “I feel tired now, but mentally I am not tired, I am hungry to do well. I want to finish the year as No. 1,” she said.
The doubles final, which followed the singles final, saw top seeds Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs taking on the wildcard pairing of Patty Schnyder and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
And it was the underdogs who came out on top, as Groenefeld and Schnyder won their first title together with a 62 64 upset victory.
Groenefeld won her seventh career Tour doubles title, and first since the beginning of 2007; Schnyder picked up her fifth Tour doubles title, her first since early 2004.
(Via AP, Images via Yahoo! Sport, zimbio.com)
Serena Williams bagels Li Na in the first set. However her game collapsed right after that.
With the results 0-6, 6-1, 6-4, the loss to the China player costs Serena her no. 1 ranking.
By dropping the second-round match at the Porsche Grand Prix, Serena will be overtaken by Jelena Jankovic in Monday’s new rankings, the WTA said.
Serena gained the top spot when she beat Jankovic in the U.S. Open final three weeks ago for her ninth Grand Slam title. Jankovic will play her first match in the tournament today against Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. “Obviously, I want to be No. 1 but I am not focusing on that. I am focusing on winning titles and that goes hand in hand (with getting No. 1),” Serena said.
“I am not worried. It will come again if I win tournaments. I play to win titles and Grand Slams, although obviously the No. 1 is also on my mind.”
Williams was playing her first match since the U.S. Open, getting a first-round bye in Stuttgart. “I started making a lot of errors and I just gave it to her,” she said.
“Maybe I started doubting myself.”
Li, ranked No. 30, said she was so nervous at the start of the match her hands were cold. “I didn’t have a chance in the first set,” Li said.
“But I looked at the clock and I saw it was only 20 minutes (into the match) so I told myself I could be winning in an hour. I knew I just had to hang in there.”
Serena's sister, Venus Williams is still in the Stuttgart tournament and watched Serena’s defeat.
Li Na at an autograph session earlier this week.
In her blog, Jelena Jankovic posted some pictures from Stuttgart of her celebrating the China Open win with her parents Snezana and Veselin Jankovic.
There are champagne, strawberries, chocolates and lots of love!
This is a crucial week for the Serbian sensation.
Not only that a luxury Porsche is at stake, but this Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will determine who's the world no. 1; Jankovic or Serena Williams.
If one of the two loses second round and the other goes further, the one who goes further will be No.1; if they both lose in the second round, Jankovic will be No.1.
If Williams wins her second round match, Jankovic's chances of becoming No.1 diminish significantly - Jankovic would have to do two wins better than Williams, so she would have to be either runner-up (with Williams losing in the quarters) or champion (with Williams losing in the semis).
If Williams reaches the final, No.1 is safe, win or lose.
(Via www.jj-jelenajankovic.com)
Bite me!
Almost like Wimbledon once again - minus Roger Federer
Pure hotness
Where are the medals?
Justine won't be retiring again anytime soon.. perhaps in 2013
