I have high hopes for her this upcoming tennis season. I am actually hoping she will grab at least one title and make it into the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament.

And she has exceeded my expectations already by reaching the quarter finals of the AusOpen 2010. Now it’s time for her to be consistent and I hope that she will be throughout the rest of the 2010 season. Just one step at a time. There is no need to rush.

When asked what she is going to do for her birthday she replied with the following:

Q. I believe it’s your birthday in an hour.

MARIA KIRILENKO: That’s true.

Q. What are you going to do?

MARIA KIRILENKO: I mean, I don’t know. When I was a kid, I had a dream, you know, to be in a Grand Slam main draw in Australia when I have a birthday. I think my dream comes true.

Q. Do you get to have champagne or do you not have that because you’re still in the tournament?

MARIA KIRILENKO: No, I don’t want to get drunk before my next match (laughter). It’s going to be difficult for me to play then. But, yeah, maybe after when I finish with my tournament I will celebrate with the girls from the locker room, with all my friends.

Anyway I am sure you have enough of my ramblings and so here we go with the photos:

[View with PicLens]

A renewal of one of the best rivalries in women’s tennis over the last 10 years looks to be in the cards as the bottom half of the women’s draw opened up with losses by No. 2 seed Dinara Safina and No. 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Henin defeating fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3, to advance into the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams

To reach the Australian Open final in only her second tournament back from a 20-month retirement, Henin will have to beat Petrova and then the winner of the Maria Kirilenko vs. Jie Zheng quarterfinal.

Henin won six and lost seven matches against Serena during their rivalry and the two future Hall of Famers have combined for 18 major singles titles. The two players seems destined for a second-round collision course at the pre-Aussie Open event in Sydney, but Henin withdrew from the event after losing an exhausting final the week before against Kim Clijsters in Brisbane.

“I’m sure she’ll be ready and amped to go,” Williams said two weeks ago about the possibility of playing Justine in Sydney. “She has a good record against me so I’m sure it will be a good match.”

Williams lost only two games in their last encounter at Miami in 2008, shortly before Henin announced her shock retirement from tennis while holding the No. 1 ranking. Their most famous – and contentious – match came on June 5, 2003, as documented and excerpted below in the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com)

2003 – Serena Williams is defeated by Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in front of a raucously pro-Henin Hardenne crowd in the semifinals of the French Open, ending Williams’ 33-match major tournament winning streak. The match is highlighted by an incident in the third-set that proves to be contentious and acrimonious between the two rivals for years to come. With Williams serving at 4-2, 30-0 in the final set, Henin-Hardenne raises her hand indicating she is not ready to return serve. Williams serves in the net, then protests, to no avail, to the chair umpire and tournament referee that she should be given a first serve, while Henin-Hardenne says nothing of her gesture. Williams then loses the next four points to lose her service-break advantage and eventually the match. Says Henin-Hardenne, “I wasn’t ready to play the point. The chair umpire is there to deal with these kind of situations. I just tried to stay focused on myself and tried to forget all the other things…It’s her point of view but that’s mine now and I feel comfortable with it….I didn’t have any discussion with the chair umpire. He didn’t ask me anything. I was just trying to focus on playing the returns. She saw me and she served. It was her decision to serve. I just tried to stay focused on the second serve. One point in the match doesn’t change the outcome.”

Safina retired with a back injury in her round of 16 match with Maria Kirilenko, trailing 4-5. Petrova, who upset reigning U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-1 in the third round, continued her run by upsetting reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.  Serena Williams faces Aussie Sam Stosur in the round of 16 on Monday night.

I know she lost that exclusive deal with Stella McCartney to Caroline Wozniacki but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t look stylish on the courts anymore. In fact she still looks good in whatever she wears.

I have high hopes for her this upcoming tennis season. I am actually hoping she will grab at least one title and make it into the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament. She deserves it. But most of all I am hoping she will actually be consistent in her game this year. That’s what she lacks in my opinion. Consistent performances on the court and I don’t mean first round crashes by that.

If you are interested in more videos then please take a look at the World Tennis Magazine YouTube Channel by clicking here or visit this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldTennisMagazine.  Many interesting interviews by Harry Cicma with Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Anna Kournikova and many more.

Sam Stosur

By Leigh Sanders

The following is Leigh Sanders’ weekly look at tennis headlines in “The Commonwealth” or the traditional tennis powerhouses that were former members of the British Empire, most notably Australia, South Africa, India, Canada and, of course, Great Britain.

Revered British tennis centre, the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, has been handed a boost by the confirmation that the WTA Tour’s AEGON Classic will be returning in 2010. It was feared the tournament would be moved as part of the new British Tennis Series.

But the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has agreed a contract for a further year with a view to extending that providing the centre makes substantial improvements to its facilities.

Discussions have now begun between the LTA, the club and Birmingham City Council to see how the site and future events can be improved.

A pre-Wimbledon event has been held here every summer since 1982 and past winners include Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.

Priory Club Chief Executive Robert Bray said: “We have a long tradition of hosting international tennis and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with the LTA.”

* Samantha Stosur of Australia picked up her maiden singles WTA title at the Japan Open on Sunday. She beat Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-1, Schiavone now losing 10 of her last 11 singles finals. Stosur dropped only one set throughout the tournament, in the semifinal to Caroline Wozniacki. She has previously won 22 doubles titles and has stated her intention to break in to the world top 10 singles following her first triumph.

* It was Wozniacki who had been the conqueror of new number two Brit Katie O’Brien in the second round. The Danish world No. 6 needed only 44 minutes to wrack up a 6-0, 6-1 victory over 94^th ranked O’Brien.

* Britain’s Andy Murray dropped to 4th in this week’s ATP Rankings (10/19) following Novak Djokovic’s win in Beijing while Lleyton Hewitt of Australia climbed one place to 22^nd. Fellow Aussie Peter Luczak dropped 19 places to 83^rd and Chris Guccione also dropped 2 places to 109^th.

* In the doubles rankings (10/19) Canada’s Daniel Nestor remains No. 1 despite his early exit from Shanghai (see below). Mahesh Bhupathi of India remains sixth after his semifinals berth at the same tournament. Aussie pair Jordan Kerr and Paul Hanley rose to 29^th and 30^th respectively while Jeff Coetzee of South Africa fell 9 places to 35^th.

* In the WTA Rankings (10/19), Samantha Stosur’s win in Japan sees her climb two places to 13^th in the singles while India’s Sania Mirza climbs to 58^th after her semifinals berth at Osaka. Australia’s Jelena Dokic climbs from 69^th to 62^nd while Britain’s injured No. 1 Anne Keothavong continues to fall during her recovery, now down in 79^th place. Katie O’Brien is now Britain’s number two after jumping above Elena Baltacha after her exploits in Japan.

* In the doubles rankings (10/19) Samantha Stosur dropped to 9th place after her singles exertions this week while India’s Sania Mirza climbed two places to 36^th. Marie-eve Pelletier of Canada is up one to 66^th and Britain’s Sarah Borwell is also up to 79^th. Canada’s Sharon Fichman also climbs one place to 98^th in the world.

* Andy Roddick has become the sixth player to secure his place at the ATP World Tour Finals to be held in London, England next month despite his withdrawal from Shanghai.

* Two Aussie women failed to follow the lead of Stosur this weekend by losing their respective ITF finals. Jelena Dokic went down to the Swede Sofia Arvidsson in the Joue-les-Tours event in France while Alicia Molik fell to Sacha Jones of New Zealand in the Port Pirie Tennis International, Port Pirie, Australia.

* French duo Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga picked up their first doubles title as a partnership in Shanghai this week having seen off the top seeds and world No. 1 and No. 2, Canada’s Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic in the second round and India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, in the semifinals.

* Aussie tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley received a strange tribute this week as the town of Barellan, where she spent most of her childhood, unveiled a giant statue of the wooden Dunlop racquet she used to win 7 Grand Slam singles titles. Seven-thousand people attended the launch that also saw the 58-year-old hosting tennis clinics and a crayfish-gathering activity known as ‘yabbying.’

* Philip Brook has been named as the new Vice Chairman of the All England Tennis Club, Wimbledon, England from December 2009. He has been a member at the club since 1989, serving on many sub-committees during that time. The decision follows the announcement by current Vice Chairman Tim Phillips indicating his intention to step down in December 2009 following ten years in the role.

* Mixed fortunes for Great Britain this week as Alex Bogdanovic won the 42.5k Euros Challenger event in Denmark while Jocelyn Rae prevailed in the £10k event in Mytilini, Greece, beating fellow Brit and doubles partner Jade Windley in the final. Not so much luck in the doubles as Jonathan Marray and his partner were beaten in the doubles final in Denmark while Rae and Windley were edged out of the doubles final in Mytilini. Colin Fleming/Ken Skupski and Jamie Murray/Jamie Delgado, have progressed though to the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger Event in Orleans, France.

* Also at Orleans, Australia’s Carsten Ball fell in the R32 of singles to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

* Australian Peter Luczak has lost in the first round of the If Stockholm Open doubles paired with Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. They lost 7-5, 6-3 to Brazilian Bruno Soares and Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett in 71 minutes. Fellow Aussie Jordan Kerr and American Travis Parrott are through though after victory over Brazilians Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa.

* Canadians on the march this week are Aleksandra Wozniak and Peter Polansky. Wozniak is through to the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow after her first-round opponent, Sara Errani of Italy, retired after just 30 minutes. She’ll play the winner of Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska in the next round. At the Copa Petrobas Challenger in Santiago, Chile, Polansky is through to the second round of both singles and doubles. He beat Diego Alvarez of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 in the singles and with American Alex Bogomolov Jr. overcame Brazilian duo Ricardo Hocevar and Joao Souza in the doubles.

* Brit Dan Smethurst lost in the quarterfinals of the $15k ITF event in Dubrovnik, Croatia to Italy’s Simone Vagnozzi who was ranked 216 places above him in the rankings.

* The Canadian Junior Fed Cup team placed a respectable fifth at the recent Fed Cup finals held in Mexico. After narrowly missing out on the main draw they beat Croatia and China to top the bracket competing for fifth to eighth spot.

* Aussie Marinko Matosevic was beaten in the Round of 32 at the Royal Bank of Scotland Challenger in Tiburon, Calif., by America’s Vincent Spadea 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-0.

Kim Clijsters is on a roll

Quickly getting in front 3-0 in the opening set, Clijsters eventually took the opening set 6-3, backed by winning 15 of 16 first serve points and breaking serve twice in the 23-minute set.

“I’m very happy that I’m starting the matches off well,” said Clijsters, a winner of 34 career singles titles including the 2005 US Open. “

The 26-year-old Belgian continued showing the signs of consistent tennis and superb fitness that was clear during her first round triumph over No. 12 seed Marion Bartoli.

“The main thing I was happy with today was the first serve percentage was a lot better than in the first match,” said Clijsters.

Schnyder picked up her game in the early stages of second set, before Clijsters broke in the 12th game and never looked back.

“She just had a great start,” said Schnyder, who won the title in Cincinnati in 2005. “She’s striking the ball great. It was really tough to get the rallies going and to get some advantage in the rallies.”

Clijsters’ was able to win the match without facing a break point on her serve, while smashing four aces and only two double faults. Schnyder, who was making her fourth appearance in Cincinnati, falls to 2-6 lifetime against Clijsters.

Next up for the newest mother on tour, is a third round match-up against reigning Roland Garros champion and No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. Clijsters has dominated Kuznetsova in the past, winning six of seven meetings.

In other matches, No. 5 seed Jelena Jankovic saved two set points in the opening set tiebreak to edge past Russian wild card Maria Kirilenko, 7-6(6), 6-3, in one hour and 45 minutes. A match full of serving problems featured 13 service breaks and a combined 10 double faults.

“First match for me, it’s never easy,” said Jankovic, who finished the 2008 season as the top-ranked player in the world. “You know, I had trouble holding my serve, especially in that first set. I was returning well, but I wasn’t putting many first serves in, and kept playing with the second serve almost throughout the whole first set.”

Jankovic will next square off against No. 9 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus for a place in the quarterfinals. Azarenka stormed past Russian Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 21 minutes. Jankovic leads the head-to-head 2-1, winning both matches on hard courts in 2007.

Eleventh seed Ana Ivanovic’s struggles since winning the 2008 Roland Garros title continued, as she was bounced by in-form Melinda Czink, 7-6(6), 7-5. Ivanovic struggled with her ball toss for the second straight match, hitting 11 double faults and dropping her serve five times. The loss marked the second early exit in as many weeks, after losing in the third round last week to Samantha Stosur in straight sets in Los Angeles.

In the late match, No. 2 seed Serena Williams sailed past Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3, 6-2. Williams, who won her 11th Grand Slam singles title earlier this summer at Wimbledon, smashed 12 aces, while dropping just three points on first serve. The Florida native was also able to break serve on three of six occasions. Williams will next clash with Sybille Bammer in the third round. Bammer won the only previous meeting in three sets in Hobart in 2007.

Other winners on Wednesday in Cincinnati:
No. 4 Elena Dementieva def. (Q) Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3, 6-3
No. 7 Vera Zvonareva def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Sybille Bammer def. No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-0, 7-5
No. 14 Flavia Pennetta def. Agnes Szavay, 6-2, 6-2
Sorana Cirstea def. Anna-Lena Groenfeld, 6-3, 6-2
Daniela Hantuchova def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
Peng Shuai def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchzez, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1

STARS

Juan Martin del Potro beat Andy Roddick 3-6 7-5 7-6 (6) to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic title in Washington, DC, USA

Flavia Pennetta

Flavia Pennetta beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-3 to win the LA Women’s Tennis Championships in Los Angeles, California, USA

Feliciano Lopez won the ATP Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain, defeating Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-4

Andreas Seppi beat Potito Starace 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-4 to win the San Marino CEPU Open in San Marino

Marcos Baghdatis beat Xavier Malisse 6-4 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open men’s singles in Vancouver, Canada

Stephanie Dubois beat Sania Mirza 1-6 6-4 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open women’s singles in Vancouver, Canada

SAYING

“We play until the tiebreaker, and then I did the best service of my life.” – Juan Martin del Potro, who hit five of his 19 aces in the tiebreaker to beat Andy Roddick and win his second straight Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“I kind of forced him to play high-risk tennis, especially with the heat. He was taking big cuts, especially for the last 30, 45 minutes we were out there, and he was connecting.” – Andy Roddick, after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the final at Washington, DC.

“Every match I improved. I had a great chance in the second set and I took it, that’s why I won.” – Flavia Pennetta, who won the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“My whole career I’ve been trying to get to this point. It kind of looks like I’ve done it late, but I don’t worry too much about that. I took a little longer to develop.” – Samantha Stosur, after reaching the final of the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“I don’t have fear if I miss that important point. If you don’t take a risk, you don’t gain.” – Fernando Gonzalez, after beating Tommy Haas at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“Did I hear the baby? My grandmother in Russia heard the baby.” – Maria Sharapova, after a baby started crying in the first set of her 6-4 (4) 6-4 6-2 victory over Victoria Azarenka at the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“I have to give him a lot of credit. He helped turn my mind around. I’m no longer looking at tennis as a matter of life and death.” – Philip Bester of Canada, speaking about his several sessions with sports psychologist Jim Loehr.

”I realized how much I missed it and how it made me sharper, and, in some ways, more focused. Then I realized I wanted it back.” – Ana Ivanovic, talking about the pressure of being number one in the world.

“Maybe some people think it’s too crazy, but I’m enjoying a lot. For me it’s not only for the ranking or always to win the tournament. It’s just to enjoy life.” – Kimiko Date Krumm, on returning to the WTA Tour after her 12-year retirement.

SECONDING THE CALL

After battling through 14 points in the final-set tiebreaker, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro waited at the net for the replay to tell them if their match was over. Del Potro appeared to win the match with a crosscourt forehand winner, but Roddick challenged the call. “I actually thought it might have been out, and I asked him and he said it might have been out,” Roddick said. “So imagine the disappointment when it wasn’t.” The disappointment was all Roddick’s as del Potro won his second straight Legg Mason Tennis Classic title in Washington, DC, edging Roddick 3-6 7-5 7-6 (6).

STRIKING BACK

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has appealed a ruling that essentially cleared Richard Gasquet, who said he inadvertently took cocaine by kissing a woman in a nightclub. The ITF is appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an independent tribunal decided to exonerate Gasquet for a positive cocaine test. The Frenchman was allowed to resume playing after serving a 2½-month retroactive ban. The ITF is seeking a two-year ban under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code.

SKIPPING SUSPENSION

Tamira Paszek will not be suspended while officials investigate whether medical treatment the Austrian tennis player received for a back injury violated doping regulations. The disciplinary committee of Austria’s anti-doping agency said Paszek can continue to play on the WTA Tour until a verdict is reached in about seven weeks. Last month Paszek had blood taken for homeopathic enrichment, and then re-injected into her lower back. Re-injecting one’s own blood is banned under international anti-doping rules. It was Paszek herself who alerted the doping agency when she learned that her treatment may have been illegal. She hasn’t played a match since retiring in the first round of Wimbledon in June.

SPARKLING MARK

Andy Roddick reached another milestone at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC. When the Wimbledon finalist beat fellow American Sam Querrey in a third-round match, it was his 500^th career match victory, making Roddick only the fourth active player and the 36^th in the Open Era to win 500 matches. Roger Federer – no surprise there – leads the active players with 657 match wins, while Carlos Moya has 573 and Lleyton Hewitt 511.

SODERLING STOPPED

An elbow injury did what an opponent couldn’t at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC. An injury to his right elbow forced Sweden’s Robin Soderling to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro. Soderling reached the French Open final this year, losing to Roger Federer, then won the Swedish Open in Bastad, Sweden, in his last two tournaments.

SQUEEZE PLAY

After years of paying on consecutive weeks, men and women will compete for the Rogers Cup at the same time but in separate Canadian cities. The men and women take turns playing one year in Montreal, then the next in Toronto. This year, the men will play in Stade Uniprix at Jarry Park in Montreal this week; the women will play at Rexall Centre at York University in Toronto next week. But because of increased international pressure for more combined men’s and women’s tournaments, Tennis Canada will squeeze its two marquee events into the same week beginning in 2011. That’s the only way the Rogers Cup can be played three weeks before the US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Despite the two tours playing in separate cities, Tennis Canada will be calling it the world’s first “virtually-combined” tournament, melding the two events into one through the medium of television.

SINGLES WINNER

On her way to the court to play for the title, Stephanie Dubois noticed the photos of the previous winners of the Vancouver Open. “I visualized myself on that wall with the others,” said Dubois, a native of Quebec, Canada. “I worked very hard for this.” The 22-year-old Dubois made sure her picture will be added to the “winners’ wall” when she became the first Canadian to capture the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open women’s singles title by beating India’s Sania Mirza 1-6 6-4 6-4. The winner didn’t hold serve until 3-2 in the second set, then knotted the match at one set apiece when she cashed in on her sixth set point. “I’m very happy to have won,” Dubois said. “I came here with that objective.”

SWEETING FINED

When he suffered a second-round loss at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Ryan Sweeting had a few choice words to say to the chair umpire. The officials weren’t impressed by his choice of words and instead fined Sweeting USD $1,500 for verbal abuse of a chair umpire. The young American made his expensive speech after losing to Canada’s Philip Bester 6-4 6-3.

SIGN UP, PLEASE

Two tennis stars, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, have asked cricketers in India to sign the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code despite apprehension about the “whereabout” clause. “Lots of the tennis players had apprehensions early but we are all doing it,” Bhupathi said. The disputed clause makes it mandatory for athletes to disclose their whereabouts three months in advance. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are two tennis stars who are the most vociferous critics of the clause, but both have signed it. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) supports its players and has asked the International Cricket Council, a WADA signatory, to explore the possibility of having an anti-doping agency of its own. “It would not be fair to all the other sports and sportsmen of the world to make exceptions to WADA’s rules, and I’m sure any doubts that the cricketers have can be sorted out amicably through consensus before they sign on the dotted line,” Sania said.

SWISS DOUBLES

Roger Federer posted the first public photo of his twin daughters on the Internet. The Swiss tennis star wrote below the photo on his Facebook account that the girls and mother are “doing great,” and thanks friends and fans for their wishes. Federer and his wife Mirka are each holding a baby in the picture. Charlene Riva and Myla Rose were born July 23. Federer said the photo was taken by his father.

SPECIAL HONOR

Jane Brown Grimes and John Reese are the 2009 recipients of the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum (ITHFM) Chairman’s Award, which recognizes outstanding service by a board member. Brown Grimes opened the ITHFM’s New York office in 1977 and became the Hall of Fame’s executive director in 1981. In 1986 she became managing director of the Women’s Tennis Council, then returned to the Hall of Fame as its president and CEO in 1991, serving until 2000. A board member since 1983, Reese became executive vice president of the Hall of Fame board and later served in a number of positions, including president and CEO, chairman and CEO, and chairman of the executive committee. In 1998, Reese was inducted into the United States Tennis Association’s Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame.

SPOT CLINCHED

Dinara Safina is the first player to clinch a spot in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, which will be held October 27-November 1 at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar. The world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will compete for the year-ending title and a share of the record Championships prize money of USD $4.45 million. It will be Safina’s second trip to the Championships, having made her debut a year ago. The Russian reached the world number one ranking on April 20. Her 16-match winning streak is the best on the WTA Tour this season. She also has reached the final of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, while gaining a semifinal berth at Wimbledon. “Qualifying for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships is one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year,” Safina said. “I’ve accomplished a lot of milestones this season and am thrilled to be the first to qualify for the Championships.”

STAR JUNIORS

The United States became the first nation to win three straight World Junior Tennis titles when the 14-and-under girls beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final held in Prostejov, Czech Republic. Aneta Dvorakova beat Victoria Duval of Delray Beach, Florida, to begin the title competition. After Sachia Vickery of Miramar, Florida, beat Petra Rohanova 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-2 of knot the tie at one match each, the American doubles team of Duval and Vickery beat Dvorakova and Rohanova 6-2 6-7 (4) 6-1 to clinch the crown. Also on the winning team was Brooke Austin of Indianapolis, Indiana.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Washington: Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 7-6 (3)

Los Angeles: Chuang Chia-Jung and Yan Zi beat Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Segovia: Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Lovro Zovko 6-7 (4) 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

San Marino: Lucas Arnold Ker and Sebastian Prieto beat Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6 (4) 2-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Vancouver (men): Kevin Anderson and Rik De Voest beat Ramon Delgado and Kaes Van’t Hof 6-4 6-4

Vancouver (women): Ahsha Rolle and Riza Zalameda beat Madison Brengle and Lilia Osterloh 6-4 6-3

SITES TO SURF

Montreal: http://www3.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php

Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com/

Cordenons: www.euro-sporting.it/challenger/

Toronto: www.rogerscup.com/

Algarve: www.atpchampionstour.com/

Newport: www.championsseriestennis.com/newport2009/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$3,000,000 Rogers Cup, Montreal, Canada, hard

$120,000 Internazionali del Friuli Venezia Guilia Tennis Cup Cordenons, Italy, clay

WTA

$2,000,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

SENIORS

Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, Algarve, Portugal, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$3,000,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada, hard

SENIORS

International Tennis Hall of Fame Champions Cup, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, grass

Ofcourse I found a whole bunch of other stuff first before I got there. Like photos of a certain Vanessa Hudgens. I don’t know who she is or what’s so controversial about her “private” photos finding the internet but everyone on Twitter and Googlenews is ranting and raving about it.

Anyway as I continued my search for new photos of any tennisbabe for the column I am writing right now I also came accross an interesting article written by Joe Favorito called the Twitter Distraction.  An interesting read, especially if you are in Sports Marketing.

Ofcourse we are not falling behind either on TennisGrandstand and I hereby invite you to be distracted a little more and follow us on Twitter!

Enjoy the photos of a very colorful Maria Kirilenko! (photocredits by the official Maria Kirilenko website)

Maria Sharapova was injured for quite a long time and but is on her way back to the top. And we can sure use her. I have read some articles where the writer wondered if Sharapova has a backup plan.  I thought to myself: A backup plan for what? She makes 25 million dollars a year on sponsorships alone and she’s isn’t even 25 yet.   But apparently Sharapova’s been tossing the ball before tennispractice to warm up her shoulder. It’s a good thing. A premature exit from tennis  for Sharapova would be a shame for tennis and its’  fans.

Anyone who watched Wimbledon this year may have noticed that the pretty ladies played on Centre Court. Not just Maria Sharapova but Maria Kirilenko as well and many more goodlooking girls. Apparently the Wimbledon organisation picked looks over good tennis. Is that fair? No, I don’t think so.  When I want to watch a match then I want to see high quality tennis in an exciting match.  Highly skilled players who passionately fight for every ball.  Not some goodlooking barbie, if I want to see any of those I’ll just tune in to Egotastic.com. But then again who am I to say that? After all this column written by me isn’t about the highly skilled and proficient players of the WTA.  It’s  about the sexy side of tennis.

Speaking of the sexy side of tennis. If you are still wondering about what Maria Sharapova has for a backup plan then I am sure the following video and photos will make things pretty clear.

Looking at the video she really found her second calling. Which is good. We’ll be sure to enjoy Sharapova for a long time.  And what about these? I found some good photoshoots of Sharapova on the net.

Unlike the No. 1 ranking… Thanks to Chris for tipping us off about Caro Wozniacki being the new face of the adidas by Stella McCartney line. I guess the folks in Portland finally realized that while Maria Kirilenko has the best face/bod combo to show off the British designer’s amazing pieces, the Russian’s game (and thus the fashion show that should come with it) has relegated Stella’s designs to the outer courts (and early rounds) of most tournaments.

And all that will change now that the Woz has exclusive opportunities to wear the collection, starting with the fall/winter 2009 tennis range — including apparel and shoes — at this year’s U.S. Open.

“I feel like I have everything any fashionable female tennis player always dreams about: cutting-edge adidas technologies combined with Stella’s unique designs that actually perform,” said the current world No. 9 via a press release.

And with this partnership, McCartney finally gets to design for someone who wins. “It’s very rare for a fashion designer to dress one of the top 10 players in the world. I couldn’t be more thrilled and happy to be given that opportunity.”

Along with key styles from the tennis collection (Performance Dress, Hot Pant, Bra, etc. in pinks and purples), Caroline will also wear the Skynde, whose Barricade V base is redesigned in a seed pearl/dark grape/white colorway.

She’s been with adidas for a while, of course, joining the company’s Player Development Program back in 2007. The PDP helps nurture young tennis talent through a unique mix of advice and support, giving an extra helping hand towards building a successful career. And FYI, Wozniacki has two titles this year: the MPS Group Championship (on clay, in Florida) and the AEGON International (grass, Eastbourne).

More later: We’re in the process of getting a lookbook for the collection. When it shows up, we’ll post!

What about Maria? Wozniacki will be the only player wearing adidas by Stella McCartney. From the folks at adidas: “Maria Kirilenko continues to be an excellent tennis ambassador for the adidas brand and remains part of the adidas tennis family. From the U.S Open onwards Maria will move out of the range and start wearing the adidas Competition tennis products.”

(image courtesy of adidas)

STARS

Rafael Nadal wins Rome

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (2) 6-2 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy, for a record fourth time

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany

Gaston Gardio beat Frederico Gil 6-2 1-6 6-3 to win the Tunis Open in Tunis, Tunisia

Benjamin Becker beat Simon Stadler 7-5 6-3 to win the Aegean Tennis Cup in Rhodes, Greece

Anabel Medina Garrigues beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-0 6-1 to win the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Merriam in Fez, Morocco

Anastasia Eastover beat Eva Trinova to win the Soweto Women’s Open in Johannesburg, South Africa, 6-2 6-2

Maria-Elena Camerin beat Zuzana Ondraskova 6-1 6-2 to win the Open GDF Suez in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France

SAYING

“Winning in Rome is a big title. I now have 15 Masters Series in my career, so that’s a lot, and I’m very happy for that.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Rome Masters.

“The few times people asked me to help in past, no one listened to a word I said.” – John McEnroe, talking of advice he gave to Boris Becker, Sergi Bruguera and Mark Philippoussis.

“I’d love to snap my fingers and magically turn it around and be playing better, but I don’t have those powers. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know how I’m going turn it around.” – James Blake, who has lost both of his clay court matches this year.

“I wasn’t going to leave my sister. We look forward to playing high school tennis and (playing on the boys team) was our only option.” – Karli Timko, who with her sister Tanya won a Pennsylvania regional boys doubles title and qualified for the state tournament.

“It’s purely a sports event. Politics has nothing to do with it.” Mohamed Kharchafi, manager of the Royal Tennis Club in Fez, Morocco, where Israeli Shahar Peer competed in the Grand Prix SAR tournament.

“The conditions were terrible. At each point my shoes would pick up so much clay that it was like ice skating. There was no grip at all. He fell. I fell too.” – Tommy Robredo, after beating Marat Safin in a rain-delayed first-round match at Rome.

“I hope the Williams sisters don’t come. If they do come, we’ll try to beat them. It’s not impossible on clay. (Flavia) Pennetta has already beaten Venus more than once.” – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian Fed Cup captain on his team playing the United States in the final.

“I would love to play in the final. Serena and I would both love to play. We talked about it and we just have to stay healthy. I really hope we can both play. It will be great for the US.” – Venus Williams.

“I haven’t lost early for a long time. I knew it was going to happen some time.” – Andy Murray, after losing his opening match at the Italian Open to Juan Monaco.

“It’s a bit like a red rag to a bull, risk wise, in my opinion, yet the ITF have showed a lack of protection and concern for the safety of the players.” – Lleyton Hewitt, commenting on the International Tennis Federation’s decision not to move the India-Australia Davis Cup tie to a neutral venue.

“I didn’t have any more desire to compete. I had been thinking about it for several months and in Thailand I realized that it was a struggle for me to travel.” – Guillermo Coria, announcing his retirement from tennis at the age of 27.

SENOR CHAMPION

Rafael Nadal won his record fourth Italian Open when he defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (2) 6-2. It as Nadal’s third clay-court title in three weeks, a span that has seen him drop just one set. The Spaniard will be seeking a record fifth consecutive title at Roland Garros, which would break a tie with Bjorn Borg. The loss also knocked Djokovic out of the number three spot in the world rankings. He will be surpassed on May 11 by Andy Murray.

SUFFERING

Fernando Gonzalez won’t be able to defend his title at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany. The Chilean has pulled out of the tournament because of an ankle injury. Marin Cilic of Croatia, ranked 15^th in the world, is now the highest ranked player in the tournament. Lleyton Hewitt of Australia of received a wild card entry into the clay-court event.

SAD HISTORY

Jelena Dokic says she was physically abused by her father early in her career. Now 26 years old, Dokic said she fled from her family in 2002 to escape the abuse. “I’ve been through a lot worse than anybody on the tour. I can say that with confidence,” Dokic told Sport&Style Magazine. “When you go through stuff like that, playing a tennis match is pretty easy thing to do.” Dokic said she went through years of mental turmoil after packing her bags and fleeing what she called “the situation.” She credited her boyfriend, Tin Bikic, for helping her recover.

STARRING ROLES

Now that she’s no longer playing tennis, Justin Henin has embraced the public life. She is appearing in the hit French soap opera Plus Belle La Vie, where she plays herself. The former world number one player also has an entire show to herself, “De twaalf werken van Justine Henin,” which is Flemish for “The Twelve Labors of Love of Justine Henin.” Two other retired players have recently appeared on television. Jennifer Capriati had a spot on ABC’s “The Superstars,” while Martina Hingis appeared on the British TV network’s “Beat the Star.”

STERLING, NOT SO

When qualifier Juan Monaco walked off the court a 1-6 6-3 7-5 winner, it was only the fourth loss of the year for Andy Murray. Murray’s other losses this year came against top-ranked Rafael Nadal, twice, and to Fernando Verdasco.

SHAHAR WELCOME

There was no problem this time for Shahar Peer. The Israeli played in a clay-court tournament in Fez, Morocco, without incident. It was the first time she has played in an Arab country since she was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates so she could compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships in February. Dubai authorities cited security fears to justify their decision. Peer beat Aravane Rezai, a French citizen of Iranian descent, in her first-round match before falling to Lucie Hradecka 6-4 6-1.

SMASHING PERFORMANCE

Weather and his poor play almost got the best of Novak Djokovic. Beginning the defense of his Italian Open title, Djokovic wasn’t able to get on the court for his second-round match until 10:30 p.m. because of rain disrupting play throughout the day. Then he dropped serve twice in the first set against Spaniard Albert Montanes. Still, the Serbian right-hander rallied to send the set into a tiebreak. When he made an error in the tiebreak, he threw his racquet to the ground and snapped it in two. That seemed to solve his frustration and Djokovic went on to defeat Montanes 7-6 (5) 6-0. Before his match, Djokovic delighted the Rome crowd by staging an impression of Italian entertainer Fiorello, walking onto the court wearing a gray wig.

SISTER POWER

Move over Serena and Venus. Sisters Karli and Tayla Timko won the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-area boys doubles tennis championships by defeating Tin Chu and Drew Gallatin 6-2 6-1 in the final. The sisters, from Chartiers-Houston High School in Houston, Pennsylvania, won the Pennsylvania state girls doubles title a year ago. But when their high school dropped its girls tennis program, the Timkos joined the boys team. By winning the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League doubles crown, they qualified to compete in the state boys championships later this month. Their father is Mike Timko, who quarterbacks West Virginia University in the 1980s. Their mother is Shari Retton Timko, the sister of 1984 Olympic all-around champion Mary Lou Retton.

SHOWING UP?

Italy is hoping the Williams sisters decide to skip the Fed Cup final November 7-8. Venus and Serena say they want to play in the title match. The best-of-five series will be staged on slow red clay courts in an effort to combat the Americans’ superior firepower. “We’re definitely going to play on clay – very slow clay – and if possible, outdoors,” Italian Fed Cup captain Corrado Barazzutti said. “First we need to determine if we can play outdoors, then we’ll choose the most uncomfortable setting possible. Uncomfortable in the sense that it suits us and not the Americans.” Italy defeated Russia 4-1 and the United States edged the Czech Republic 3-2 to advance to the final.

STILL MISSING

Maria Sharapova’s disappearance from the WTA Tour will continue for at least two more weeks. The former top-ranked player pulled out of this week’s Italian Open as well as a tournament in Madrid, Spain, next week. Because of a shoulder injury, Sharapova has not played a singles match since last August although she played doubles in a tournament in Indian Wells, California, in March.

STANDING TALL

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Any Murray played exhibition matches before the Internazionali BNL d’Italia began, helping to raise funds for FedeLuz, a leukemia foundation established in the memory of former player Federico Luzzi, who died of the disease last year at the age of 28. Others competing in the exhibition included Marat Safin, Tommy Robredo, Potito Starace, Andreas Seppi, Simone Bolelli and Filippo Volandri.

SAYS BYE-BYE

Guillermo Coria says he has lost motivation so is retiring from tennis. The 27-year-old Argentine had been ranked as high as number three in the world. Coria won nine singles titles and was runner-up to Gaston Gaudio at Roland Garros in 2004. In 2001, he served a seven-month ban after testing positive for nandrolone. He currently is 672 in the world rankings.

SET FOR PARIS

For the second year in a row, the US Tennis Association is holding a tournament in Boca Raton to award two French Open wild cards. John Isner won the men’s event by beating Jesse Levine. Grabbing a spot in the women’s draw, where play beings May 24, was 18-year-old Lauren Embree of Marco Island, Florida. Embree beat Nicole Gibbs 6-4 7-6 (2) to earn a wild card for Roland Garros.

SEES THE LIGHT

Jelena Jankovic believes a change in her fitness regime cost her the number one ranking. “I did a lot of fitness work in the off-season and that was the problem,” the Serbian right-hander said. “I was one of the fastest players on the tour, but (after the fitness work) I started feeling very heavy. I felt so slow, my whole game broke down. Then the confidence falls.” After losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open, Jankovic suffered early losses at Indian Wells, California, and Miami, Florida, before she finally won her first title of the year, the Andalucia Tennis Championships in Marbella, Spain. “I feel I am coming back into form,” Jankovic said. “I am not doing any more experiments. My goal now is finding my game again and winning Grand Slams.”

SWIFT VICTORY

Anabel Medina Garrigues had no problem capturing the ninth title of her career and make up for last year. The Spaniard crushed Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-0 6-1, winning the first 10 games of the match on her way to victory in the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, a clay court tournament in Fez, Morocco. In the opening set, Makarova, who was playing in her first career final, won just nine points and double-faulted on set point. Last year, Medina Garrigues reached the final at Fez, only to lose to Gisela Dulko. Makarova finally won her first WTA Tour title when she joined with Alisa Klevbanova to edge Sorana Cirstea and Maria Kirilenko 6-2 2-6 11-9 (match tiebreak) in the doubles final. It was also Klevbanova’s first Tour title of any kind.

SPONSOR

Sony Ericsson will continue its sponsorship of the men’s and women’s tennis tournament through 2011. That’s one more year than the sponsorship originally was to run. The telecommunication industry “is changing rapidly so we don’t know what we are going to do from 2010 onwards,” said Aldo Liguori, who oversees the London-based company’s a global communications. The tournament, which began life as the Lipton International Tennis Championships, is a men’s and women’s event with USD $4.5 million in prize money for each, one of the most lucrative on both tours. This year’s winners were Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka. Sony Ericsson also is the main sponsor for the women’s tour. “We will certainly be requesting more for the same amount of money,” Liguori said of the WTA Tour sponsorship, which expires at the end of next year.

SALE PRICE

Lleyton Hewitt and wife Bec have decided to formally advertise their waterfront property which is up for sale. “The reason Lleyton is selling this property is that it simply no longer suits his family’s needs and it’s just going to be chewing up interest, so it’s just a logical thing for him to do,” said real estate agent Steve von der Borch. The five-bedroom home features a sweeping stairway, large hall with an internal water feature, indoor pool, spa, sauna and an indoor barbecue. Hewitt, who paid $3.2 million for the home in 2003, is asking between $2.95 and $3.24 for the West Lakes mansion.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Rome: Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (5) 6-3

Stuttgart: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova beat Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 5-7 6-3 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Tunis: Brian Dabul and Leonardo Mayer beat Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4 7-6 (6)

Fez: Alisa Klevbanova and Ekaterina Makarova beat Sorana Cirstea and Maria Kirilenko 6-2 2-6 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Rhodes: Karol Beck and Jaroslav Levinsky beat Rajeev Ram and Bobby Reynolds 6-3 6-3

Johannesburg: Naomi Cavaday and Lesya Tsurenko beat Kristina Kucova and Anastasija Sevastova 6-2 2-6 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Cagnes-sur-Mer: Julie Coin and Marie-Eve Pelletier beat Erica Krauth and Anna Tatishvili 6-4 6-3

SITES TO SURF

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.it/1/default.asp

Estoril: www.estorilopen.net

Tennis Australia: www.tennis.com.au/

International Tennis Federation: www.itf.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$580,000 BMW Open, Munich, Germany, clay

$580,000 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay

$580,000 Serbia Open, Belgrade, Serbia, clay

$100,000 Israel Open, Ramat Hasharon, Israel, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$220,000 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay

$100,000 GDF Suez Open Romania, Bucharest, Romania, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$4,500,000 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$110,000 Bordeaux Challenger, Bordeaux, France, clay

WTA

$4,500,000 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay