TENNIS WATCH: Malaysian Tennis Classic, Serena living On The Line, Oudin & Querrey at NASDAQ, Uncle Toni lookalike

Great news for fellow Malaysians!

Next year, we'll be having both ATP and WTA events! What a dream come true!

Officially announced in the Sony Ericsson WTA website, the Malaysian Tennis Classic sanctioned by LTAM will begin on February 22, 2010, right after the Chinese New Year :D

Thanks to Hamdan for the tips!

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Serena Williams memoir already hit the bookstore.

For more info regarding the content of the autobiography, read it from Black Tennis Pro's.

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No... giant-killer Melanie Oudin did not get arrested for defeating Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova.

Together with fellow American Sam Querrey they were at the NASDAQ earlier this week to ring the opening bell at the stock exchange.

Check out Querrey's nerdy look...

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Am I the only one who think Jesse Witten look like Uncle Toni?

By the way, I enjoyed Witten's performance at the US Open. He proves chubby guys can play good tennis too :D

US Open Day 1 Wrap-up: Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters give young players tennis lesson

Kim Clijsters returned to Arthur Ashe stadium at the US Open on Monday after two-year absence from tennis.

Although she said she was a 'little more nervous than usual' she was still able to thrash Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-1, 6-1 for a first-round victory.

Roger Federer, chasing a 6th straight US Open title and 16th Grand Slam, overwhelmed American wild card Devin Britton, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, in just 88 minutes.

Following Federer and Clijsters on the centre court was Serena Williams, who walloped fellow American Alexa Glatch 6-4 6-1.

Her sister Venus was far from impressive and barely survived the match with Vera Dushevina. Venus won 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-3.

Andy Roddick closed Monday’s opening night with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 demolition of Bjorn Phau.

Before the Americans took their places under the spotlight, I need to specifically mention the double victories of Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza who posted first-round victories on opening day of the U.S. Open to become the first man and woman from India to reach the second round of the same grand slam event.

Mirza defeated Olga Govortsova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and qualifier Devvarman beat Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Here's the complete results for Day 1:

US Open men's singles first round results from New York on Tuesday (Prefix denotes seeding)

5-Andy Roddick (US) beat Bjorn Phau (Germany) 6-1 6-4 6-2
15-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat Simone Bolelli (Italy) 6-4 6-4 6-4
Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) beat Andrey Golubev (Kazakhstan) 6-4 4-6 7-5 6-3
Marc Gicquel (France) beat Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 6-2 5-7 6-3 6-3
Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) beat Oscar Hernandez (Spain) 6-4 6-4 6-2
23-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) beat Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-0 6-4 6-4
21-James Blake (US) beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) 6-1 6-4 7-5
31-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Thiago Alves (Brazil) 6-0 6-3 6-4
20-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 7-5 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2
Olivier Rochus (Belgium) beat Igor Kunitsyn (Russia) 6-3 6-0 6-2
Robert Kendrick (US) beat Martin Vassallo Arguello (Argentina) 6-3 6-2 6-2
Marsel Ilhan (Turkey) beat Christophe Rochus (Belgium) 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-5 7-5
Somdev Devvarman (India) beat Frederico Gil (Portugal) 6-3 6-4 6-3
14-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Donald Young (US) 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-3
John Isner (US) beat 28-Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-1 7-6(14) 7-6(5)
Simon Greul (Germany) beat Giovanni Lapentti (Ecuador) 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-0 7-6(9)
1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Devin Britton (US) 6-1 6-3 7-5
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) beat Peter Polansky (Canada) 6-4 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-1
Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) beat Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4 2-6 6-3
8-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Dieter Kindlmann (Germany) 6-3 6-4 7-5
12-Robin Soderling (Sweden) beat Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-4
Marcel Granollers (Spain) beat Mischa Zverev (Germany) 2-6 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-0
Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat 26-Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) 2-6 7-5 6-0 6-2
Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) beat Potito Starace (Italy) 7-6(3) 7-6(2) 6-0

US Open women's singles first round results from New York on Tuesday (prefix denotes seeding)

3-Venus Williams (US) beat Vera Dushevina (Russia) 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3
18-Li Na (China) beat Raluca Olaru (Romania) 7-6(4) 6-3
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) beat 28-Sybille Bammer (Austria) 6-4 1-6 7-6(5)
22-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) 6-2 4-6 6-1
31-Elena Vesnina (Russia) beat Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 6-4 7-6(5)
Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) beat Jelena Dokic (Australia) 6-3 6-4
Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) beat Mathilde Johansson (France) 1-6 7-5 6-1
Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 6-4 5-7 6-3
Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) beat Vesna Manasieva (Russia) 6-3 6-4
Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) beat Yurika Sema (Japan) 4-6 6-1 6-2
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) beat Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-4
20-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) beat Gail Brodsky (US) 6-4 6-4
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) beat Marta Domachowska (Poland) 2-6 6-2 6-3
Jill Craybas (US) beat Carly Gullickson (US) 6-3 7-6(5)
Sania Mirza (India) beat Olga Govortsova (Belarus) 6-2 3-6 6-3
7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) 6-0 6-4
Melinda Czink (Hungary) beat Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) 6-3 6-4
17-Amelie Mauresmo (France) beat Tatjana Malek (Germany) 6-3 6-4
Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Valerie Tetreault (Canada) 6-3 4-6 6-1
26-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) 6-1 6-2
Maria Kirilenko (Russia) beat Mariya Koryttseva (Ukraine) 6-2 6-1
Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukraine) 6-1 6-1
8-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beat Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) 6-1 6-1
12-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Patricia Mayr (Austria) 6-1 6-2
Vania King (US) beat Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarus) 2-1 (Yakimova retired)
Kai-Chen Chang (Taiwan) beat 25-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 6-0 2-6 6-2

(Via AP, Reuters, TVNZ, US Open website)

VIDEO: 2009 Arthur Ashe Kids Day

The US Open Arthur Ashe Kids' Day — an annual kid-centric event for families — got off to a rainy start on Saturday and all morning activities were cancelled.

By afternoon, all the programmes went on according to schedule.

Event highlights included musical performances and appearances by popular tennis stars and celebrities — Andy Roddick, James Blake, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Will Ferrell, Jordin Sparks and many more.

Jordin Sparks

The performance by funnyman Will Ferrell was probably the highlight of the day, when he appeared wearing the same outfit as Blake and a rubber hairpiece to mimic Blake's clean shaven head.

He then climbed clumsily into the umpire's chair and made a shout out at Blake's exhibition doubles match, offering funny advice like, "Get closer. Try to kiss your opponent."

Here's the video made by tennisnakama of the event:

(Images by Rob Loud/Getty Images North America)

Serena Williams meets her match at Madame Tussauds

In conjunction with the US Open, Serena Williams' wax figure was unveiled at the Madame Tussauds, in NYC yesterday.

Serena's wax figure shows her wearing a replica of the outfit which she wore during the 2004 US Open, a Nike denim tennis skirt, with a black Nike sports top and sports shoes.

Can you tell which one is really ME?

Other tennis icons who have their own wax figures include Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.


(Images via sports.sina.com.cn)

The US Open Draw is out! Easy path for Federer; rocky road ahead for Murray, Nadal

Hey guys, the US Open draw is out!

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been drawn on opposite sides.

Federer could be facing Andy Roddick or Novak Djokovic in the semifinals while Nadal could meet second seed Andy Murray or Juan Martin del Potro.

Now the interesting part of the draw is that Nadal will be playing against and old friend Richard Gasquet in the first round!

Nadal's section also features Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Gonzalez.

Lurking in Federer's section are Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Robin Soderling, Sam Querrey, and Nikolay Davydenko.

Andy Murray's section has some big servers: Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic and first-round opponent Ernests Gulbis.

The men's US Open draw can be found here.

In the women's US Open draw, comeback queen, the unseeded Kim Clijsters has ended up in a tough third quarter, which is sandwiched by names like Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams.

Clijsters' potential second-round opponent is Marion Bartoli, whom she defeated in the first WTA match of her comeback in Cincinnati.

The winner of that section could face defending champion Serena Williams in the semifinals. That means Venus Williams will not be meeting her baby sister in the final at the US Open, if everything goes smoothly.

Dinara Safina has a tough top quarter draw which also includes Alisa Kleybanova, Ana Ivanovic, Sabine Lisicki and Jelena Jankovic.

The second quarter is highlighted by a potential third-round clash between Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova, with Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki also in that section.

The women's US Open draw can be found here.

(Via US Open official website, tennis.com)

Nike's "Game. Set. NYC" event serves up new US Open gears

To add on to the excitement of season ending grand slam, NIKE unveiled its US Open gears for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams at a Nike-built, regulation-sized tennis court in the heart of NYC.

Hopefully some of you guys read the announcement earlier and headed to the event located at 23rd Street and Broadway earlier today.

Except for Sharapova, those who joined Federer, Nadal, Serena at the event were John McEnroe, Victoria Azarenka, Gael Monfils and Li Na.

According to NIKE, Federer's shirt was inspired by the subway signs of NYC, Serena's by cocktail party attire and Nadal's by the streets of NYC and its’ signature yellow taxi cabs!

To read more about the event, go to Down The Line! as he provides his take on the event.

More pictures:

(Images via NIKE, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images North America)

Miami Dolphins' deal with Williams sisters announced

Serena and Venus Williams are the first female African-Americans to hold an ownership stake in an NFL franchise.

Their ownership stake with the Miami Dolphins was officially announced earlier today.

The sisters paid their first visit to the Dolphins' complex, watched some practice, checked out the weight room and chatted with several players.

At the press conference the sisters posed for photographers holding team jerseys — no. 11 for Venus and no. 89 for Serena (EleVen is Venus' clothing line; 8-9 is the birthdate of their half sister, Yetunde Price, who died in a 2003 shooting).

(Via AP; Image via Yahoo! Sports)

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams & John McEnroe: NYC Nike fan challenge, set to unveil 2009 US Open looks

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and John McEnroe will gather on August 26, in the heart of New York City to challenge local youth tennis players and the general public to try their hand at experiencing what it’s like to return a pro serve.

So, if you're in NYC on Wednesday, you can drop by at the Nike-built regulation tennis court on 23rd Street and Broadway New York, NY.

10:15AM – 10:45AM Roger Federer Appearance

1:30 PM – 2:00PM Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal Appearance

In addition to that, Nike, for the first time will also unveil the players look for the 2009 U.S. Open.

Maria Sharapova looking for a taste of success

Russians Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva will meet in Sunday's final after each won their respective semifinal matches on Saturday at the Rogers Cup.

Sharapova took down Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to secure her spot in the finals and a chance to win her first title after 8 months of injury layoff.

Earlier, Dementieva defeated Serena Williams 7-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 41 minutes.

This will be the 11th all-time meeting between Sharapova and Dementieva, with Sharapova leading the head-to-head series 8-2.

(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)

TENNIS WATCH: US Open wildcards, Serena Williams can't kick shopping habit

The U.S. Open men's and womens' wildcard recipients are out.

In the men's singles main draw, wildcards go to Devin Britton, Chase Buchanan, Taylor Dent, Brendan Evans, Jesse Levine, Rajeev Ram, and Chris Guccione, with the French reciprocal wildcard still to be announced.

Qualifying wildcards go to Lester Cook, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Domijan, Ryan Harrison, Scoville Jenkins, Ryan Lipman, Tim Smyczek, Blake Strode, and Michael Venus.

In the womens' singles main draw, wildcards go to Gail Brodksy, Mallory Cecil, Kim Clijsters, Alexa Glatch, Vania King, Christina McHale, Kristina Mladenovic and Olivia Rogowska.

Qualifying wildcards go to Kristie Ahn, Lauren Embree, Irina Falconi, Nicole Gibbs, Asia Muhammad, Alison Riske, Laura Robson, Sloane Stephens and Coco Vandeweghe.

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Venus and Serena will join celebrities like Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marc Anthony as stakeholders in the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins are scheduled to officially announce the William sisters investment coming this Tuesday, reports AP.

During the earlier part of her career, Serena Williams has dated two NFL players before.

(Via tennis.com)

VIDEO: It Must Be Love US Open promo videos

If you haven't watch any of the US Open promo videos released by the USTA, here are the players so far who has taken a seat in the director's chair and express their love for tennis.

Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dinara Safina, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Jelena Jankovic, James Blake, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Ana Ivanovic, Sam Querrey

TENNIS WATCH: The Bryan Brothers Band, Djokovic's new coach, Davis Cup, top 8 in Montreal, Clijsters' in Williams' out

From chest bumping to music recording, Bob and Mike Bryan are set to take the music world by storm with the release of their debut album "Let It Rip", with close friend and accomplished singer/songwriter David Baron on September 1, 2009.

The album will contain 5 songs that feature Bob playing the bass and keyboards, Mike on the drums, and Baron as the lead vocalist also playing piano and guitar.

More information on The Bryan Brothers Band Featuring David Baron can be found on www.bryanbrosband.com, which will be made live before their debut at Arthur Ashe Kids Day.

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Novak Djokovic will be training under Todd Martin after Cincinnati. Martin is the new addition to Djokovic's team, which will continue to engage with full-time coach Marian Vajda.

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World Group Davis Cup dates for next year are out:

World Group First round (5-7 March)
World Group Quarterfinals (9-11 July)
World Group Semifinals and World Group Play-offs (17-19 September)
World Group Final (3-5 December)

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For the first time, all top eight-ranked players in the world have reached the quarterfinals in Montreal.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nikolay Davydenko have all made their way to the final eight at the Masters event.

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Kim Clijsters continues her winning comeback, defeating 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the Cincinnati quarterfinals.

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Serena Williams is ousted 7-5, 6-4 by Sybille Bammer in Cincinnati.

With Venus' loss to Flavia Pennetta earlier, both Williams sisters are out of the tournament.

Serena & Venus Williams at the 2009 ESPY Awards

Tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, who received the Arthur Ashe courage award at the 17th Annual ESPY Awards today.

Mandela's daughter Zindzi and grandson Zondwa accepted the silver trophy from the Williams sisters.

(Images by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America)