Royal treatment awaits Rafael Nadal in Bangkok

As you've already know, Rafael Nadal will be playing at the PTT Thailand Open this month.

The official hotel sponsor, Intercontinental Hotel, has opened the door and let fans take a glimpse of Nadal's luxurious Royal Suite Room.

Remember his face... Mr. Warachai, Nadal's butler

(via PTT Thailand Open website)

Congratulations to the winners of the "We Love Malaysian Open" contest

Here are the winners for the "We Love Malaysian Open" contest. Judges' decisions are final. Winners will be contacted via e-mail.

Grand Prize #1
Gold Semifinals Seat (Day session) x 2
Winner: Joash Wee
Rafa: I hear you're heading to South East Asia for a tournament! So am I! Is it the Thailand Open?
Richard: Unfertunetely i enters zee Maleesien Open.
Rafa: Oh.
Rafa/Richard: Anyways...

Grand Prize #2
Gold Semifinals Seat (Evening session) x 2
Winner: Freddy Kwa, Puchong, Malaysia
Richard: So, how's Xisca?
Rafa: She's HOT, no? Hehhe... so, how's Pamela*?
Richard: Hmmmppphhh!
Rafa: Ooops....
(*the chick who kissed Richard and landed him in drug controversy)

Second prize
Australian Open "mini tennis ball" keychain x 1
Malaysian Open notebook x 1 (not laptop, okay)
Official Guide To Professional Tennis x 1
ATP World Tour 2009 season book x 1
Malaysian Open car sticker x 1
Wilson socks x 1
Wilson cap x 1
Winner: Pt, Ampang, Malaysia
Seeking to break the monotony that is training, Rafa and Richard resort to a fun game of mirroring each other's movements and expressions, and soon come to realise that in the event of the relentless pursuing of a certain Mr Tendinitis or Miss Pamela, they could very well retire into mime.

Third prize
Malaysian Open notebook x 1 (not laptop, okay)
ATP World Tour 2009 season book x 1
Malaysian Open car sticker x 1
Wilson socks x 1
Wilson cap x 1
Winner: ReliableRaf, Philippines
Rafa: Did you watch my game against Fed last week? I totally butchered him. I'm quite shock but great hahaha
Richard: Yeah i saw that match, i was surprise how helpless he was on that match.
Rafa: shhhhhhhhhh....quiet Fed's coming. He might hear us, pretend to wonder hehe
Richard: oh ok...as you say ;-)

Consolation prize
Malaysian Open poster x 1
Malaysian Open car sticker x 1
Winner: arvy harahap, Cyberjaya, Malaysia
RQ: Hey Rafa, how's your knee man?
RN: It's holding up pretty well..haha
RQ: Good! then i can't wait to play against you in the Malaysian Open!
RN: HAHAHAHA...same here...if its possible
Q: What? I thought that you are playing in the tournament
RN: Hmm...hmm....nope, i am going to Thailand.
RQ: What! but you said you gonna go, that's why i entered the tournament!
RN: hmmph..sorry...
RQ: SHUT UP!

Thank you for all your entries.

I know some said this contest was hard. So I'm amazed by a few entries which I think are pretty creative.

To those who won, congrats... and to those who didn't win, don't give up as I'll be organising more contests in the near future.

Thanks again to the tournament director of the Malaysian Open for sponsoring 4 tickets to the semifinals!

Have a good weekend!

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!

*******

Serena Williams memoir already hit the bookstore.

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

*******

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...

*******

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 Week 1 Wrap-up: Bizarre weekend as Roddick, Sharapova, Safina oust in the third round

It seems like a bizarre day at Flushing Meadows as Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina were sent off by lesser known players, John Isner, Melanie Oudin and Petra Kvitova respectively.

Big-serving Roddick was defeated by the 6-foot-9 and countryman Isner who won 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6.

Another American who delivers one of the biggest shock is Oudin who sent off Sharapova in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory, followed up her win over another Russian Elena Dementieva in the earlier round.

In a late night match moment ago, top seed and world no. 1 Dinara Safina blowed a chance at the season ending Grand Slam after she was defeated 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 by little-known Petra Kvitova.

Earlier, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic led a parade of seeds — Nikolay Davydenko (8), Fernando Verdasco (10), Robin Soderling (12) and Radek Stepanek (15)—into the second week of the hardcourt major.

Kudos to American Jessie Witten who battled for almost 3 and a 1/2 hours before succumbing 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 to Djokovic.

That was hell of an entertaining match as we saw Djokovic's racquet slipped off his hand several times.

I truly enjoyed this match although the LIVE coverage on TV kept hopping from court to court.

Since I did not post any updates on Saturday, here's the complete results for Day 5 and Day 6.

US Open men's singles third round results from New York on Sunday (prefix denotes seeding)

14-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat 21-James Blake (U.S.) 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4
John Isner (U.S.) beat 5-Andy Roddick (U.S.) 7-6(3) 6-3 3-6 5-7 7-6(5)
10-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat 20-Tommy Haas (Germany) 3-6 7-5 7-6(8) 1-6 6-4
12-Robin Soderling (Sweden) beat 22-Sam Querrey (U.S.) 6-2 7-5 6-7(6) 6-1
8-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) 6-4 7-5 7-5
4-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Jesse Witten (U.S.) 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(2) 6-4
1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat 31-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-4
15-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat 23-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-3

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

Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat 1-Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-4 2-6 7-6(5)
9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat 24-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-3 6-2
Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) beat Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) 7-6(4) 6-4
6-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Shahar Peer (Israel) 7-5 6-1
Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) beat Sara Errani (Italy) 6-3 6-4
Gisela Dulko (Argentina) beat Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) 6-3 6-4
Melanie Oudin (U.S.) beat 29-Maria Sharapova (Russia) 3-6 6-4 7-5
13-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat 21-Zheng Jie (China) 6-4 6-1


US Open men's singles second round results from New York on Saturday (prefix denotes seeding)

3-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 6-0 3-6 6-3 6-4
Taylor Dent (US) beat Ivan Navarro (Spain) 6-4 5-7 6-7(1) 7-5 7-6(9)
Jose Acasuso (Argentina) beat 18-David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3 3-6 1-6 6-3 6-2
11-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) beat Josselin Ouanna (France) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4
13-Gael Monfils (France) beat Andreas Beck (Germany) 6-3 7-5 6-3
32-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Robby Ginepri (US) 6-7(7) 6-2 6-3 4-6 6-4
Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan) beat Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador) 2-6 6-4 4-6 7-5 7-6(4)
2-Andy Murray (Britain) beat Paul Capdeville (Chile) 6-2 3-6 6-0 6-2
Daniel Koellerer (Austria) beat Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 3-6 6-2 6-1 6-4
17-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 6-2
9-Gilles Simon (France) beat Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) 6-3 6-2 6-4
6-Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) beat Juergen Melzer (Austria) 7-6(6) 6-3 6-3
24-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Philipp Petzschner (Germany) 1-6 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-4
16-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Jesse Levine (US) 4-6 2-6 6-0 6-3 6-0
Julien Benneteau (France) beat 30-Viktor Troicki (Serbia) 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-0
7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 7-5 6-3 6-4

US Open women's singles third round results from New York on Saturday (prefix number denotes seeding)

3-Venus Williams (US) beat Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) 6-2 7-5
Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) 6-0 6-2
18-Li Na (China) beat Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 6-4 6-2
7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat 31-Elena Vesnina (Russia) 6-2 6-4
26-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat 8-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 4-6 6-2 6-2
2-Serena Williams (US) beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) 6-3 7-5
22-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Vania King (US) 6-2 6-2
10-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-1 6-1

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