Serena vs Safina: My bet is on...

Looking at the many faces of Dinara Safina, who wouldn't find her cute?

Instead of the same ol' boring Serena, don't you just want a fresh face like Safina to take the Aussie Open title?

Well, I have no problem until I saw these photos of Safina in the February issue of Glamour Russian magazine.

Seriously fashion wise, Safina is still behind Queen of Bling, Serena.

Her experience is ALSO nothing compare to the multiple Grand Slam winner.

Now needless to say who will win at the women's final.

Besides it's pretty hard to stop a lucky Rooster right now!


(Images via Yahoo! Sports, tennisforum, fortydeuce)

Roger Federer nails Aussie Open final

Andy Roddick thought he can pull a Nando at the semifinal today against Roger Federer.

I guess his power went haywire and A-Rod failed to cope with all the range of shots bombarded by the Swiss and lost 2–6, 5–7, 5–7.

Now Roger will play either top-seeded Rafael Nadal or Fernando Verdasco in the final — the two Spaniards will play their semifinal match tomorrow.

Roger could have a chance to clinch his 14th Grand Slam title Sunday final.

See, he's already celebrating like he has got it today. You better believe in the power of visualization!


(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Q&A with Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupathi

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi defeated Aleksandra Wozniak and Daniel Nestor in the mixed doubles quarterfinal match today with the results 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

They will next face the Czech pair of Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy.

Here their interview via AO website.

Q. How long have you been playing doubles together?
(There’s some back and forth banter about how many tournament they’ve played. Is it three, four or five? Finally it’s decided: Australian, Wimbledon, French and US Open.)
Sania Mirza (SM): Two years, this is the second year.

Q. How did you pair up as a doubles team?
SM: Well, he manages me, he has a company he manages me, we’re great friends, we know each other, we’re Indian. I guess there are enough similarities.

Q. Are you happy with how you’re doing in the doubles?
Mahesh Bhupathi (MB): Yes, we’re pleased, we’re still alive! We’ll just take it one at a time and see how it goes.

Q. What’s your strategy going into your next mixed doubles match?
MB: Win (both laugh)

Q. How are you handling the heat on court?
SM: It’s hot! It helps that we’re Indian, I guess. We’re used to it, but it was very hot today.

Q. Do you hang out when you’re not playing doubles?
MB: Sometimes; obviously we’ve known each other a long time. I mean, we did our pre-season training season together in December with a group of players in India in Bangalore this year. We train together in the off-season for the last two years.

Q. What do you like to do when you’re not playing tennis?
SM: I like to catch a movie, very normal stuff, go out for a quiet dinner.
MB: I’ve got enough to do, so I spend a lot of time on my computer. That’s about it. Go out for dinner or movies. I’ve got a coach and a trainer travelling with me so it’s a big entourage.

Q. If you weren’t tennis players, what would you be?
SM: I’ve been playing since I was six. Honestly, I don’t know. I was interested in interior decoration.
MB: I’ve been playing since I was three, so I haven’t even thought about it.

Q. Your compatriot, Yuki Bhambri is playing in the junior boys’ tournament here. Do you have any advice for him?
MB: He’s the biggest talent we have in India right now, so it’s very exciting for us. We’re hoping he can make the transition from the juniors to the main game very soon.

Q. Have you had a chance to see much of Melbourne?
MB: I’ve been here so many times. We have a set number of restaurants that we try and visit every time we’re here.

Q. You both travel a lot. What’s the one thing you can’t leave home without?
SM: My phone, [same for] him too (referring to Bhupathi)
MB: My laptop.

Q. What’s the favourite city you’ve visited?
SM: This is one of my favourite cities, actually. And New York.
MB: Australia’s definitely one of my favourite destinations.

(Interview and image via AO website)

Elena vs Serena: Will it be Jane of the outback or the comeback queen?

As predicted, Serena Williams will play against Elena Dementieva in one of the women's semifinals tomorrow.

Both players have a fair chance to win; Serena has more experience than anybody to win in Grand Slam tournaments while Elena has been very consistent and had won two warm up tournaments in Auckland and Sydney.

Here are their thoughts on each other.

Elena on Serena:
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Every time it's different, especially against Serena. You don't know what to expect from her. All the matches that we play, all the last three matches, was completely different games.

I think she likes to play here (in AO). She won this title (here before). She feels pretty comfortable playing, you know, in this surface. I think it's going to be tough match. It's always good to have, you know, a positive results. But it's all new.

Serena on Elena:
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think she's playing amazing. I think she's actually playing some of the best tennis on the tour. She's really stepped up the level of her game to an unbelievable level. I'm going to have to play really well to do well tomorrow.

The other semifinal match is between Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina.

By the way here are some off court photos of Elena who visited the Melbourne Zoo yesterday. That's a nice dress for an outing to the zoo.


(Images by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images via zimbio)