Maria Sharapova is officially dating LA Lakers' Sasha Vujacic

So, Maria Sharapova is officially done with Charlie Ebersol and now dating LA Lakers struggling backup guard Sasha Vujacic.

Speculation started after CNBC's Darren Rovell tweeted that "the two were seen cuddling up" during a U2 concert at the Rose Bowl.

Later Sharapova was spotted holding hands with her Serbian boyfriend (who was born in Slovenia), something which she has never done in public before. Huge PR boost for Vujacic!

Now that Sashapova has taken over the role from Klamar (Khloe Kardashian + LA Lakers Lamar Odom), most likely we'll see them often in gossip columns from now on.

(Image from Women's Tennis Blog via Forty Deuce)

Read Andre Agassi like an "Open" book

Let's give credit to the cover designer - the messed-up look helps sell the book.

Honestly, I haven't get hold of Andre Agassi's latest controversial memoir "Open: An Autobiography" yet, but anyone would know this is a book you don't want to miss whether you're a tennis fan or not.

Here are some of the interesting facts that you can find in that autobiography:

On Substance Abuse: Agassi recounts how, when he was a kid, his father would give him Excedrin before matches because it contained caffeine.

Agassi also writes how his father gave him what Agassi believes to be speed. At various points of the book he also mentioned about using marijuana and alcohol.

Agassi called crystal meth "a performance inhibitor" and said, "Everything I earned on the tennis court, I actually had to probably earn more than I needed to, because of many of the things I did to myself."

Agassi however denied he ever took performance-enhancing substances as a professional.

On Pete Sampras: Agassi says Sampras "sounds more robotic than" a parrot. At his depths, Agassi thinks: "I envy Pete's dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack of need for inspiration." Agassi tells of betting coach Brad Gilbert about how much Sampras tipped a parking valet; they ask the valet, who says $1; Agassi's conclusion: "We could not be more different, Pete and I."

On Michael Chang: "He thanks God - credits God - for the win, which offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God should side against me, that God should be in Chang's box, feels ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous stroke." When Chang wins the 1989 French Open, Agassi thinks, "I feel sickened. How could Chang, of all people, have won a slam before me?"

On other opponents: Agassi writes about holding grudges against Becker (who Agassi says blew kisses at Shields during a match), Jim Courier, Thomas Muster, Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Jeff Tarango (who Agassi says cheated during a match between them when Agassi was 8).

On "tanking": Agassi says he lost on purpose against Chang in the Australian Open semifinals one year so he wouldn't have to face Becker in the final, writing: "It's almost harder than winning. You have to lose in such a way that the crowd can't tell." He also says of sports writers: "They never get it right. When I tank, they say I'm not good enough; when I'm not good enough, they say I tank."

On his fake hair: Of the 1990 French Open final, Agassi writes, "Warming up before the match, I pray. Not for a win, but for my hairpiece to stay on."

On the 1999 French Open final, which he won to complete a career Grand Slam: "I've already obsessed about this tournament for the last 10 years. I can't bear the idea of obsessing about it for another eighty. ... If I don't win this thing right now, I'll never be happy, truly happy, again."

To purchase the book, you can order from Amazon (click on the link below) or go to your nearest book store.

(Via AP)

Safin, Sharapova among tennis stars to kick off 2010 at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic

Looks like it has becoming a trend in Asia (e.g. Doha, Malaysia, etc) where tennis events are heavily bankrolled by their respective governments.

Now the same thing is happening to the yearly tennis exhibition JB Classic after its title sponsor pulled out recently.

A new event with different format has taken over - the Hong Kong Tennis Classic 2010.

Next January, teams from four regions of the world (Russia, Asia, America and Europe) will consist of two ladies and a man.

Team Russia: Marat Safin, Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva
Team Asia: Paradorn Srichaphan, Zheng Jie, Ayumi Morita
Team America: Michael Chang, Venus Williams, Gisela Dulko
Team Europe: Stefan Edberg, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka

The new team format will feature women’s & men’s singles and mixed doubles matches over four days of action packed tennis at Victoria Park.

Tickets for the Hong Kong Tennis Classic will be on sale from the beginning of December. Details will be announced in due course.

For more information, please contact the following:
KCE Sport and Entertainment
Mr. Terry Catton, Co-Tournament Director
Ms. Amy Tsang, PR & Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 2723 8721/ (852)9809 8710 Fax: (852) 2311 0040
Email: amy@kcesport.com.hk

The Real Glam Slam in Doha

All top eight women's players attended the draw ceremony for the WTA Championships at the Museum of Islamic Art in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday.

Round robin groups for the Sony Ericsson year-end championships are:

WHITE GROUP
Dinara Safina
Caroline Wozniacki
Victoria Azarenka
Jelena Jankovic

MAROON GROUP
Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Dementieva
Venus Williams

The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals, where each first-placed player will face the second-placed player from the other group.

The 1.55-million-dollar championship willl be held between October 27 and November 1.

World no.2 Serena Williams


World no. 7 Venus Williams


World no. 5 Elena Dementieva

Svetlana Kuznetsova (no. 3), Dinara Safina (no.1), Caroline Wozniacki (no.4)

Victoria Azarenka (no. 6), Jelena Jankovic (no.8)

(Images by Getty Images)