The players partied on the helipad of the Shanghai Hilton to celebrate this week’s Masters tournament. They managed not to look too grumpy, and Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal even dressed up a little:

Marat, do you really want to wrap up your final season wearing plaid flannels? Come on now:

That’s more like it!

It’s always fun to hear what the players have to say, especially in the pressure cooker of a Grand Slam tournament like Roland Garros. Here are some of my favorite quotes so far:
Marat Safin, on being booted out of his last Roland Garros:

MARAT SAFIN: Well, as you can see, I didn’t draw the heart, and [...]

FRENCH OPEN DAY 1: The brick orange clay, the renewed fire (and fear) in the players’ eyes, new drinking games based on Brad Gilbert-isms – what’s not to love about a Sunday start at Roland Garros?
Here are some random musings from the debut day on Paris clay:
1.  Sad face: 2004 champ Gaston Gaudio lost to [...]

A quick detour onto grass while we wait for the Roland Garros draw to come out later today. (You can catch it live, at 11:30am, Paris time, at rolandgarros.com (anyone else relieved to be done with that awful Madrid Masters website?)
The following video is an ode to Rafael Nadal disguised as a promotional video for [...]

Tell me fellow book worms, did this edition of the ATPs “Favorite Things” depress you at all? Because besides a Dan Brown novel every now and then, most of our favorite tennis players don’t read anything but draw sheets (no, wait, that’s what their coaches are for.)  At least the Eastern Europeans are keeping literature [...]

Roger Federer’s been keeping a low profile since he and his bride, Mirka, arrived in Monte Carlo on Sunday, reportedly skipping a press roundtable on Monday and generally ignoring the ATP’s calls. (Come on, Roger, don’t you want to swim with dolphins? Or visit a casino with Nole? How ’bout Flamenco dancing?)

Federer may be keeping [...]

It was rough out on the courts this weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open. Maybe it’s good that Fox Sports Network aired BMX world, instead. Yikes!

The wreckage on the WTA side was especially graphic:
Jelena Jankovic crashed out to Gisela Dulko (who then went out to Benesova)
Dinara Safina was crushed 6-1, 6-4 by Sam Stosur in [...]

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 – until [...]

Davis Cup is all about the thrill of VICTORY and the agony of DEFEAT, as this photo essay demonstrates. (I think you’ll agree that Gilles Simon suffered more than any one tennis player should have to bear.)
Spain over Serbia: 4 – 1

This video basically sums it up.

VICTORY! I bet Rafa wakes up every morning in [...]

Well, it’s as should be expected, considering the depleted field. Top seed Novak Djokovic will meet fourth seed (and world No. 14) David Ferrer in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday evening.
I watched Novak beat third-seed Gilles Simon today in three tight sets and boy, was it crap-tastic. For much of the [...]

The big “surprise” according to the ATP is that Roger Federer made an appearance at the ATP Dubai players party last night. From the video and photos, I think Roger looks a little sheepish – kind of like when you see your friends for the first time after a sloppy, drunken breakdown at a dive [...]

Gilles Simon has had a sneaky-good year – winning three tournaments, including Indianapolis, and making the semi finals in Toronto a week later, knocking out Roger Federer along the way. So it shouldn’t be that surprising that he beat Rafael Nadal yesterday on the indoor courts of the Madrid masters. But damn, was I surprised! [...]