I thought I was witnessing the most awkward part of Day Three at Indian Wells when Maria Sharapova went down 1-5 in the first set to Vera Dushevina on Stadium 2. The crowd was groaning and wincing as she hit serve after serve into the bottom of the net. But then I heard a collective [...]

Okay – first of all, Rafael Nadal is not keeping the kinds of hours I’d expect of a Spaniard. Meaning, I totally missed it when he and Kim and Roger and Ana were all together on the practice courts on Thursday morning. I was still eating my breakfast! Thank goodness there are other crazed tennis [...]

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 secretary pumps. [...]

We can’t get enough of the practice courts (and practice field) at Indian Wells. Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Robin Soderling, Gilles Simon, the Spanish Armada, Justine Henin and Caroline Wozniacki worked on their strokes and their foot work on Thursday. Anna Chakvetadze looked on while Marcos Baghdatis, Juan Monaco, Gaston Gaudio et. al played a [...]

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 showing [...]

REUTERS/Michael Fiala via Daylife
It’s the incredible shrinking draw! Juan Martin Del Potro and Fernando Gonzalez are both confirmed “nos” for Indian Wells. Gonzalez, who is playing Davis Cup in Chile this weekend, has decided to stay in his country to help with earthquake relief (his efforts reportedly include organizing a Hit for Chile in Miami [...]

Great news for SoCal tennis fans – Justine Henin was granted a wild card for Indian Wells, a.k.a. the BNP Paribas Open, which begins on March 8. This will be Henin’s next tournament after playing the Australian Open. She won the event in 2004.
Quotes via the tournament website on February 3:
“Not only is the BNP [...]

There are always some loose strings and leftover challenges after every major. Allow me to clean out my virtual tennis bag.
ROGER AND SERENA ARE OUT OF SIGHTS
(I love this photo because it looks like he’s been awarded a Ferris Wheel for a trophy):

Roger Federer decided to spice things up on his [...]

“Billie – we’re tied!”
That was Serena’s best moment on the podium on Saturday night, sharing a laugh with Billie Jean King, who was ensconced in the stands. Serena’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Justine Henin in this year’s Australian Open final pulls her even with Billie Jean’s 12 Major singles titles. Five of [...]

Nikolay Davydenko made this comment after beating Fernando Verdasco in the Round of 16 on Monday:
Q. Have you allowed yourself to dream that it (an AO title) might be this time?
NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO: Dream? No, no. No, I never dream. Maybe in the night, but not in the day.
Contrast this to what Justine Henin, [...]

Wow, this tournament suddenly emptied out. Day eleven brings semifinals action in singles and doubles. It’s lonely at the top.
Match of the Day: Obviously the singles semifinals. In doubles, the Williams sisters vs. veterans Stubbs/Raymond should be good.
Question of the Day: Justine vs. Serena in the final?
2010 Australian Open Order of Play Day 11: Thursday, [...]

Tuesday was Australia Day and the first day of quarterfinal action at the Australian Open. There were fireworks.
Andy Murray was awesome against Rafael Nadal on Tuesday night. He out-served him, out-hit him, out-ran him and out-muscled him. He brought Rafa low:

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images via Daylife
Nadal was moving well at the beginning of the match – [...]