Well, that was kind of a bummer. Schiavone vs. Dementieva had all the components of a great match: two tough veterans, a power baseliner vs. a wily dirt baller, a Russian vs. an Italian, the Best Player Never to Win a Slam vs. the definition of deserving dark horse. And what did we get? No [...]

NBC viewers – what did you think of today’s coverage? You know, squishing Sharapova vs. Henin, Petrova vs. Venus, Federer vs. Wawrinka and the Williams sisters’ doubles match into one three-hour thick, tape-delayed tennis club sandwich? (Even when there was actual live tennis going on?) It left a bad taste in my mouth, but I [...]

Yay! I never feel like a tournament’s really started until I watch the Players Party video. Bonus – listening to Jelena Jankovic imply that she doesn’t wear a full face of makeup on the court. Body glitter must count as an accessory. Any guesses on what magazines Caroline looked to for inspiration? Senior Showgirls Quarterly? [...]

Indian Wells is getting woozy. Big wins, puzzling losses, falling seeds, big match hangovers. Makes me glad I’m not a betting woman. Here’s a quick report on Wednesday’s action at Indian Wells. Grrr. Marcos Baghdatis failed to follow up his career best win over Roger Federer, losing to Tommy Robredo 5-7, 6-0, 4-6 in his [...]

No, these aren’t our photos. We weren’t invited to the Indian Wells Players’ Party, sniff! And good thing we weren’t, because. . .well, we might have said something rude to Ana about her pantyhose. Let’s take a look: So far, so gorgeous, for Ana Ivanovic! And then we get to the nurse pantyhose and 80′s [...]

So the ladies’ draw is out for the Indian Wells tournament (click here) and the first question that comes to mind is: Really, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki are the top seeds? I mean no offense to either of these players – it’s just a jarring reminder that Serena (boycott) and Dinara (back) are not [...]

The citizens of Tennis Land are keeping busy, with five different players earning a spot in the winner’s circle this week. Let’s see who’s hoovering up the rankings points on Sunday: In Paris, Elena Dementieva beat Lucie Safarova, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4 for the Premier-level Open GDF SUEZ title. After losing in last year’s final [...]

Here’s a quick peek at what’s going on in the tennis world this weekend. In Paris we have the WTA’s Open GDF Suez, a Premier-level event without the Williams sisters, Clijsters or Henin. It’s nice to see Melanie Oudin taking advantage of both the draw and the confidence she gained last weekend in Fed Cup; [...]

By now, all of our favorite players have taken a turn or two on the Australian Open catwalk. And a few have already been “Auf’ed”  – though not for their tennis fashion sense. We’ll take care of the rest. . . THE WOMEN Maria Sharapova wasn’t around for very long, but her dress certainly made [...]

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images via Daylife INTENSE. That’s the only way to describe the evening hours in Melbourne park on Wednesday. And it’s how Justine Henin described it after beating Elena Dementieva, 7-5, 7-6, in 2 hours and 50 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. “My heart was there 200%” Justine said. We didn’t hear from Dementieva [...]

Big Day Three news: Svetlana Kuznetsova is playing in Rod Laver arena! And it’s not even the second week. Amazing. But the real news on Wednesday Down Under involves Sveta’s countrywoman Elena Dementieva, who has the great misfortune of playing unseeded Justine Henin in the second round. It’s a drag to lose one of these [...]

Yes, you are too sexy for that shirt. . .photo by REUTERS/Mick Tsikas via Daylife Well, we have the latest crop of weekend winners, (almost) the last before the Australian Open starts on Monday. Winning a warm up the weekend before a major is tricky – it gives a player loads of confidence but can [...]