I called it! The first day of the tournament passed and Victoria Azarenka (women’s top 10 seed, fell 1-6, 2-6 to Gisela Dulko) and Ernests Gulbis (popular dark horse pick, retired with hamstring issue vs. Julien Benneteau) are out.  I am pretty sure these are the only predictions of mine that will come true. So [...]

We can savour another all-Spanish Masters final on Sunday when Nadal takes on David Ferrer. Tennis fans who think variety is the spice of life might find Saturday’s Nadal vs. Gulbis semi to be the tastier dish. (From what I’ve googled, Latvian food is very mild – think boiled grey peas with bacon and jellied [...]

Here’s some video of Roger Federer’s presser after losing in three sets to World No. 40 Ernests Gulbis in the second round of the Rome Masters on Tuesday. You know, in case you needed more proof that it actually happened. According to the ATP, this is the first time since 2002 that Federer has lost [...]

Sergio Tacchini confirms what many of us already suspected: Novak Djokovic is H-O-T. Why yes, Robin Soderling qualifies as a Tennis Hunk, in that pasty-faced Northern European kind of way. Speaking of. . .here’s Andy Murray! And bona fide Hunk Feliciano Lopez, looking more funky than hunky. (He was practicing with Murray today.)

The trend this weekend in tennis: Firsts and seconds! Self-described “best friends” David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero met in a final for the second time in two weeks, with Ferrer avenging last weekend’s loss in Argentina with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win in Acapulco. With this victory, Ferrer scored his first title since 2008 [...]

Swedish police detained two tennis players before the Stockholm Open on Sunday for allegedly soliciting prostitutes (via AP): The two men were identified only as foreign citizens. Investigation leader Jonas Trolle told The Associated Press on Monday that they were detained as they entered a hotel in Stockholm early Sunday with their escorts. He said [...]

Day 3 at the LA Tennis Open was a potpourri of tennis surprises. John Isner rolled his ankle at 10-all in a 2nd set tie-break against Marcos Baghdatis – and won. (He has a day to rest.) Marat Safin played Ernests Gulbis in a see-saw match with eight breaks of serve – and won. And [...]

Yeah, taking photos hunky players at an ATP tournament is not a challenge. Talk about point and shoot! Make sure to check out the gallery to find your favorites. (And our apologies for not getting everyone!) Hot Potito! Yeah, I was surprised, too. Potito Starache was until recently a UHO – Unidentified Hunky Object – [...]

Hi all! We’ve arrived in the land of golf visors and prime rib specials and are looking forward to a spectacular day of tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Which means that we won’t be watching Federer vs. Giquel in the vertigo-inducing main stadium, but hanging out at the side courts watching the supporting [...]

So I had picked Ernests Gulbis as my surprise finalist of the Australian Open. I thought he’d built up enough mojo and momentum to pull off the Tsonga/Gonzalez/Baghdatis role to make it to the title match next Sunday. Of course, my prediction’s gone to sh*t now that the curly haired Latvian’s lost to Igor Andreev, [...]

Oh, yes, things are really heating up in anticipation of the Australian Open – especially in the wild world of sports betting. Most of us Statesiders don’t participate in the cash transactions, but it’s still telling that the bookmakers abroad have made Murray the favorite for the title. This from OLBG Sports: Murray successfully defended [...]

It always amazes me that Rafael Nadal loves Roger Federer so damn much. More than I do! Here’s what he had to say about the World No. 2 this week in Doha (Rafa got bumped out of the tournament today by Gael Monfils – Fed plays Murray in the semis tomorrow): “According to me, (Roger [...]