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Pierre's Tennisrulz Blog (get your own blog here)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Roger out of Toronto...
 Wow...shocking loss today by Roger Federer who once again did not look like himself in the Rogers Cup as he lost his opening match to French Gilles Simon 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 after a few rain delays.Gilles Simon was coming off a title last week in Indianapolis and many suggested he would be tired and may not fare much of a chance against the top ranked Swiss.Not that Simon did not play well, but we have to be honest, Roger was not up to expectations. He looked flat, missed numerous forehands and could not adjust to come back...This is a huge upset and raises the question if pressure is finally getting to Federer as Nadal closes in to the #1 ranking in the world...i'm heading to Toronto tomorrow evening and will be watching the quarterfinals live from the Rogers Cup so seeing Roger be taken out like this is certainly disapointing but what is there to do right?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Serena injured....again
Well, not a big surprise given how Serena was forced to stop her semifinal match in Stanford last week but still some very sad news for the WTA tour as Serena Williams withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, just a few weeks before the Beijing Olympics.
Say what you want about the Williams sisters, they do bring a lot of interest, excitement and emotion to tennis, something that is much needed in the women's game.
And while she is still hoping and planning on playing in both the Olympics and in Beijing, there is no doubt that this is a major blow to Serena.
After the crushing Wimbledon loss, Serena spoke not about results she was hoping for, but rather just about hoping to be healthy for an entire season, and she could not even get 1 full month before getting injured again...
“I have been getting intensive therapy and doing everything in my power to get my knee in shape for this week, waiting until the last possible moment to see if I could play,” Williams said in a statement. “Unfortunately after hitting this morning, I knew that I was not going to be ready for this week. In the meantime, I am working hard to be ready for the Olympics and U.S. Open.” So let's hope Serena can get back very soon, tennis needs her...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wozniak creates impact in Canada
Rarely do I get into talking about players from Canada simply because there is not much to talk about. Sure, there has been some success in men is doubles (Olympics and Slams) but in singles, there really has been nothing to talk about. And while I certainly do not expect Aleksandra Wozniak to become a top 20 player overnight, her win in the Bank of the West Classic on Sunday was a great start, and at the perfect time.
With two weeks to go before the start of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Tennis Canada was hoping to see a possible Canadian success. Last year saw the surprise run of Frank Dancevic who made the quarterfinals (knocking out a returning Mario Ancic which is interesting since they meet again in Toronto tonight) and gave high hopes to the emotional fans.
And now, with Aleksandra Wozniak pulling off a big performance in Stanford, it gives hopes of seeing her do well in Montreal.
But let is not get too excited either. Reading the main newspaper in Montreal describe her win over Serena Williams as “Historical” was ridiculous in my opinion. No matter how good of a player someone faces, if that player is injured, it takes away a lot of the credit. Strangely, two years ago, an event as ridiculous happened in Montreal when Stephanie Dubois started crying after taking out an injured Kim Clijsters.
But I am not writing this to bash on Wozniak. I am more than happy to see a Canadian now enter the top 50 (ranked at a career high obviously), I hope the trend continues and that tennis can continue to grow as a sport in Canada, let is just keep ourselves in check and not get TOOO excited, it is a first win, probably not the last one, but I am not expecting anything out of Wozniak in Montreal so will be happy if she pulls off a win or two..!
Go Aleks!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Ramblings
 Good evening everyone. I'm going to bed soon so will have to make this one a bit short. But first off, today I was able to test the forum design. If you are a member, you will see it by going to: http://www.tennisrulz.com/forum/index.php?styleid=5 If you are not a member, you will unfortunately see the old design. There are a few minor things I want to work on but it's very good in my opinion. Had great work done by ForumSkin.com. A lot more to come but it's a great start, no doubt about it. As for tennis, well I was a bit shocked that Daniela Hantuchova lost today in Stanford to Ai Sugiyama. Ok maybe not that she lost, but more the way she did (6-3, 6-1) and how fast she did it. Not sure what form Daniela is in and this is in no way against Ai Sugiyama but I really think that she should be able to win this or at least make it very competitive..so a bit disapointed in that sense. Oh well....
Monday, July 14, 2008
New design coming up!!
 Hello everyone! Great news as today we received what should be the final version of our new design to be added to Tennisrulz. It will give the website a much improved look, a much needed revamp, the anticipated steps are: -Forum design upgrade -Main page upgrade -Graduel implementation of design into subsections -As the new design is implemented, we will move into a database driven website, which will help us be a lot more flexible in terms of getting details information quickly out there and also helping you, the fans, be able to contribute with news, photos, comments, etc. Sounds exciting and it will take a few months to have everything out there but we think it will be a MAJOR upgrade:)
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Trying to figure out Venus
 How could it be explained? How can Venus Williams time and time again rise up to the occasion in Wimbledon despite not playing well in Paris and then not practicing in any tune-up events on grass. This year, it seemed even more impressive with other top players (other than sister Serena) dropping out like flies throughout the first few days of Wimbledon. And yet, for anyone who watched Wimbledon, you will have seen how Venus was not even really worried throughout the event. Venus had won one match against a top 20 player in the past 8 months or so (Vera Zvonareva in Rome) and yet in some way, she was able to come into Wimbledon with confidence. "It's nice coming to a tournament where you have a really good record, because obviously that gives good confidence" It's as if the moment that Venus steps foot in the All-England Club, she forgets about everything else that's happened on and off the courts. "I just think it's the ultimate place to play your best tennis. The most wonderful tournament to win would definitely be here. I've been blessed to do well a few times here, so that feels obviously very good. I just love it here. It's good for my game, too." Good for her game, yes obviously. With her very strong serve, and big reach, Venus is able to play a very agressive game on the grass courts. And perhaps even more important is how Venus can play short points in SW19 that allow her to escape her main weakness, that forehand that sometimes gives in other surfaces but rarely if ever does so on grass. But it's still surprising that Venus is not able to put more of a fight in other events. She's had some decent results overall (her 50-10 record in 2007 is among the best on tour) but it seems like she's not been as dominant in the highlights except at Wimbledon.. Let's hope for Tennis' sake that Venus can translate a bit more of her Wimbledon confidence in other big events!!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Back from vacations
 Hello everyone! hope you are all doing well. I had indeed restarted to post on my blog and things were all going well, then what happened..dead again? Most certainly not. Actually, I should have advised all of you but I had actually left on vacations for a week...! Beach, a hot sun, girlfriend and family. Oh and I also had a tv to watch some Wimbledon action, what could I have asked for more? Can't see anything really!! Anyway, I was able to see some great matches and by chance decided to come back on Saturday and so waking up Sunday morning with my alarm clock to see the Federer vs Nadal final was exciting. And I didn't even have an idea how great of a final it would be. Turned out to be perhaps the best tennis match I've seen, ever. Could have been a bit better (at least for me) if Roger Federer would have came out on top but oh well, it was still a great match, and I'm lucky to have watched all of it really. I would like to also thank Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for producing one of the best matches ever. They did a great pleasure to all tennis fans and probably converted quite a few. I've never heard so much tennis conversation with family, friends and co-workers who usually do not care for tennis all that much...!! So i'm back, I'll have lots to blog about in the coming weeks!! Can't wait!!
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