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Pierre's Tennisrulz Blog (get your own blog here)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
US Open Day #4
 W ow, an awesome day of tennis for me today. I wasn't sure how I would deal with it all, so many matches I wanted to see in the morning, the one I wanted to see most was between Alize Cornet and Bethanie Mattek. I finally went to grandstand to see that match and apart from a few minutes to see the end of Timea Bacsinszky's match, I was on that court for about 4 hours! I had a great match as Alize Cornet played her opening match... I was not that impressed with how she played her match though, especially when Mattek starting playing moonballs... But anyway, as in her first match, Alize played a lot better in the 2nd set and was dominant as she advanced to the 3rd round!Then, quite a show as I watched Michael Llodra and Andy Murray battle it out in a terrific 4 set match, the best one I've seen in this year's Open this year. There was a little bit of everything, shotmaking, finesse, drama (in so many ways) and in the end, the crowd favourite came out with the win! After that match, I wandered a bit over the grounds, mostly through some doubles and mixed doubles matches..I then finished my day with the end of the terrific match between Evgeny Korolev and Gael Monfils.. spectacular tennis really! Then a bit of doubles with fellow Canadian Daniel Nestor advancing today...!A great if not perfect day of tennis and I'm thrilled to see they've put Azarenka vs Wozniack on grandstand tomorrow, should be a great one really!!!Without further wait, my other photos:)      
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
US Open Day #3
 Hello again to all of you! I hope you are doing well? I got back earlier from tennis today but you know how things go...when that happens, some problems arise and that's exactly what happened to me. Anyway, I had a good day today in the US Open, saw some good matches and took some fairly good photos. I started off on grandstand to watch Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova against Patty Schnyder, a match I was very interested in seeing although I still think that even through slumps, Patty is one of those veteran players that makes life miserable for youngsters. They have never seen such styles of play and have trouble adapting. Anyway, I saw the first set and was a bit disapointed. The score was not that bad and when the Russian started points in control, she was fine. But honestly, her defensive game (mainly because of her movement) is really lacking (like a Ivanovic of a couple of years ago) and she'll need to work hard to get in better shape, and improve her speed on the court.... I then went to see Tamira Paszek but to my big surprise, not only was her match against Magdalena Rybarikova over, but she had been crushed...!? I then watched a few practices and then saw the end of the Makarova-Bychkova match... Bychkova led by a set and 4-2 and simply could not close things out, she let her opponent right back in the match and ended up losing in  3 sets... Following that I went to see Zvonareva and Perebiynis... wow, I never was able to understand Vera Zvonareva and today was no exception.. How someone with so much talent can break down so easily is beyond me... not much to say, it was all mental. After that, I did watch some doubles for a while and then after much hesitation, decided to go see Wozniacki play. I say that because of one of my favourites, Victoria Azarenka, was also in action. But I made the right choice, I'm glad I had my first glance at Carolina..! It wasn,t much of a match for her.. but I got a good preview of a soon to be top 5...    
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
US Open Day #2
Hello again everyone! I'm back with a little blog following day #2 of the US Open in Flushing Meadows. I again have a few pics that you can see in this post. I saw a few decent matches today and had a lot of fun seeing a few players for the first time (Bacsinszky, Karlovic, etc) and was most happy to see Alize Cornet in my final match as she progressed to the 3rd round in a match that was very tough as she faced tough Camille Pin who was running after every ball. Alize was actually fortunate to get through in 2 sets. Small but funny story... as you can see in one photo, Alize was practicing in a top today and I joined in towards the end taking a few shots of her and of Bondarenko sisters (same court). As she was putting her training clothes to get off the court, this guy next to me kept taking shot after shot. She asked him to stop (which he did as he was quite embarassed). Alize then told Camille Pin (who had just arrived) in French that the guy had been there the whole practice taking photos but not when she was hitting the ball... hehe.. I had a laugh... anyway, without further wait, here are some shots:
Olga Govortsova
Flavia Pennetta
Ivo Karlovic
Alize Cornet
Marta Domachowska
Timea Bacsinszky
Igor Andreev
Alona Bondarenko
Monday, August 25, 2008
US Open Day #1
Hello everyone! I will write a bit and post a few pics from today, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get back a bit sooner and write more:) But today was for sure a great day of tennis, fairly nice weather, not too hot, could have been a bit sunnier for photos but it was probably better that way for a start to this Open!! I saw a few matches although not that many high quality matches among those I chose. I was a bit disapointed by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's game against Vania King but she did manage to win which was very positive of course. Even though Patty Schnyder is not playing that great, I was impressed by Anastasia Pivovarova's game and ability to win a set on the veteran but no surprise in the result.. The best match I saw without a doubt was between Lucie Safarova and Sonara Cirstea, a great match really, I enjoyed it a lot! Sonara Cistea was very impressive and is great to shoot, she shows a lot of emotion and had a very colourful outfit!! Anyway, without further wait, here are more photos:) Anastasia Pivovarova 
Marina Erakovic
Aravane Rezai
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Evgeny Korolev
Victoria Azarenka
Yaroslava Shvedova
Lucie Safarova
Sonara Cirstea
Maria Kirilenko
Sonara Cirstea
Sonara Cirstea
Sunday, August 24, 2008
My US Open picks:)
 Hello everyone! the draw is out and I'm now just waiting to get on my plane towards New York. I just finished writing up what I think will happen in the next couple of weeks. I'm so excited about seeing the Open again this year and seeing a few players I've never seen live (such as Pivovarova). Here they are: WS: 4th round: Ivanovic def Petrova Safina def Cornet SWilliams def Szavay VWilliams def ARadwanska Dementieva def Chakvetadze Kuznetsova def Pavlyuchenkova Zvonareva def Bartoli Wozniacki def Jankovic QF: Safina def Ivanovic SWilliams def VWilliams Dementieva def Kuznetsova Wozniacki def Zvonareva SF: Safina def SWilliams Dementieva def Wozniacki F: Safina def Dementieva MS: 4th round: Nadal def Berdych Monfils def Blake Del Potro def Ferrer Murray def Wawrinka Gonzalez def Roddick Djokovic def Safin Gasquet def Davydenko Federer def Andreev QF: Nadal def Monfils Murray def Del Potro Djokovic def Gonzalez Federer def Gasquet SF: Nadal def Murray Djokovic def Federer F: Djokovic def Nadal
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Heading to NY on Sunday
 Hello everyone! I know, I know, it has been a while since I posted here, I am very sorry about that.
Anyway, not that much new today except for the fact that I will be packing my things very shortly, as I leave Sunday morning towards New York. I will be attending the first 6 days of the US Open as has been the case in the past few years. I will be posting photos and articles as i've done in past years.
Of course, for those who remember, last year I had a bunch of problems transferring my photos to my pc and then to internet but this year everything should be fine. I have actually not yet posted my photos from the Rogers Cup in Montreal but will try to do that very shortly.
I will be writing a tournament preview if everything goes according to plan as I will head off with Todd Spiker in a new set of predictions!!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Olympic Picks
 Women's singles:3rdIvanovic def SchnyderRadwanska def ZvonarevaSWilliams def CornetWozniacki def DementievaVWilliams def Azarenka Kuznetsova def PennettaSafina def SzavayCibulkova def JankovicQFIvanovic def RadwanskaSWilliams def WozniackiVWilliams def KuznetsovaSafina def CibulkovaSFSWilliams def Ivanovic Safina def VWilliamsGold medal:Safina def SWilliamsBronzeVWilliams def IvanovicDoubles:Yan/Zheng def Kuznetsova/SafinaDavenport/Hubert def Stosur/StubbsChan/Chuang def Bondarenko/Bondarenko Williams/Williams def Zvonareva/VesninaSF:YanZheng def Davenport/HubertWilliams/Williams def Chan/ChuangF:Williams/Williams def Yan/ZhengDavenport/Huber def Chan/ChuangMen's 3rd:Federer def BerdychSimon def BlakeKiefer def GulbisFerrer def GonzalezAlmagro def NalbandianDjokovic def YouzhnyMurray def WawrinkaNadal def AndreevQF:Federer def Simon Ferrer def KieferDjokovic def AlmagroNadal def MurraySF:Federer def FerrerDjokovic def NadalF:Federer def DjokovicBronze:Nadal def FerrerDoubles: Bryan/Bryan def Nadal/RobredoBhupati/Paes def Federer/WawrinkaMurray/Murray def Andreev/Davydenko Djokovic/Zimonjic def Almagro/FerrerSF:Bryan/Bryan def Bhupati/PaesDjokovic/Zimonjic def Murray/Murray G»old:Bryan/Bryan def Djokovic/ZimonjicBronze:Bhupati/Paes def Murray/Murray
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Should the Olympics award ranking points?
 With the draws for the tennis tournaments being released today, I was tempted in writing about the exciting draws that were released and some possible very exciting matchups that could happen (such as Hewitt vs Nadal in round #2).
But I changed my mind and wanted to discuss another subject closely related, namely the awarding of ATP and WTA points for the Beijing Olympics.
I am honestly a bit surrpised this has not caused more contreversy even though it's nothing new. I guess there are two main arguments that make me disagree with this.
The Olympic games were made for amateurs, athletes that usually train their whole life for a shot at one day competing in the biggest event on earth. Now don't conclude that I disagree with pros being there, I don't. I do think that the best of the best should compete for medals.
But that being said, if representing your country and doing it for pride is what's the most important, then why is there a need to add incentives such as ranking points. I don't see much of a difference between awarding points and paying athletes as if this was a WTA/ATP event. Sure ranking points are not exchanged for money. But they do help you get into events, get sponsorships, etc. They do indirectly award you money.
I guess someone could argue that tennis is no different than other sports. First off, a growing number of countries has money incentives for athletes if they are able to win a medal in Olympic games, and sure enough winning and doing well in Olympics will also provide money indirectly through sponsorships, etc... Fair enough..
But my second point is stronger I believe. Should an athlete have a penalty because they are from a specific country? Of course not... But that is exactly what happens in this case. With countries having limits on the number of players they can send, we come up with a situation where Vera Zvonareva barely made the Olympic team and Nadia Petrova did not make the cut. How can Cara Black, ranked outside the top 500 as well as other players ranked around #100 in the world get a shot at these ranking points when the 18th ranked player Nadia Petrova isn't awarded the same opportunity...?
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Victoria Azarenka..going up or down?
 Well those who know me know that I've been following Victoria Azarenka for a while now (a little over 2 years) and have seen her play several times with a few months between most tournaments. Last year I was a bit disapointed with her improvement when I saw her play in the US Open. There was something missing, as if she did not know how to finish points off or really have a match plan. So I was really curious to see how things would be during the Rogers Cup as she came in to the event with a top 20 ranking, which would indicate a fair improvement.And no doubt, there has been a big improvement. She is a lot more consistent on her ground strokes, and seems to be able to build the points a lot better and was absolutely playing like a top 20 player...With that said, I still have a few points I think she will be working on... #1-Serve and return - like so many players that are striving for the top, she has not yet reached a point where either of those are a real weapon, which I think with a few exceptions, is really required. It's not shaky or anything, but she needs to get it better.#2-More variety... no secret here... the best way would be to look at Dinara Safina playing a couple of years ago and compare it to the matches she's been playing in the past few months.. major change. She can now change the pace, hit a few drop shots, slices, etc. I think Victoria will benefit a lot in that sense#3-On-court attitude - I was a bit surprised to see this but Victoria had quite a temper, and I'm not sure if that shows how motivated and desperate she is which is good or how much she loses her temper.. but I think it's been pretty rare for players that go through such roller-coasters emotionally can get to the top that she needs to improve that aspect of her game..But without a doubt, great improvement for Victoria, I'm feeling a top ranking less than a year from now..!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Olympics Betting
We are now only a few days from the tennis starting in Beijing as well as draws being announced but you can already bet on the winners of the gold medals here. No surprise on the men's side as Rafael Nadal is the favourite, at 1.70 while Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray follow not far behind. | | | | | | | | | Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) | 19.00 |
| | | | David Nalbandian (ARG) | 30.00 |
| | | | Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) | 40.00 |
| | Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) | 50.00 |
| | Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) | 50.00 |
| | Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) | 75.00 |
| | Robin Soderling (SWE) | 75.00 |
| | | | Nicolas Kiefer (GER) | 120.00 |
| | Ernests Gulbis (LAT) | 120.00 |
| | Tomas Berdych (CZE) | 140.00 |
| | Tommy Robredo (ESP) | 150.00 |
| | Nicolas Almagro (ESP) | 150.00 |
| | Radek Stepanek (CZE) | 150.00 |
| | Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) | 175.00 |
| | | | Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) | 180.00 |
| | | | | | | | Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) | 250.00 |
| | Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) | 250.00 |
| | | | Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) | 250.00 |
| | Victor Hanescu (ROU) | 300.00 |
| | Guillermo Canas (ARG) | 300.00 |
| | Agustin Calleri (ARG) | 300.00 |
| | Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) | 300.00 |
| | Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) | 300.00 |
| | | | Michael Llodra (FRA) | 350.00 |
| | Kevin Anderson (RSA) | 375.00 |
| | Denis Gremelmayr (GER) | 400.00 |
| | Potito Starace (ITA) | 400.00 |
| | Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) | 400.00 |
| | Jürgen Melzer (AUT) | 400.00 |
| | Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) | 400.00 |
| | Nicolas Massu (CHI) | 500.00 |
| | Kei Nishikori (JPN) | 500.00 |
| | | | Thomas Johansson (SWE) | 500.00 |
| | | | Andreas Seppi (ITA) | 500.00 |
| | | | Robby Ginepri (USA) | 600.00 |
| | Chris Guccione (AUS) | 750.00 |
| | | | Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) | 750.00 |
| | | | Olivier Rochus (BEL) | 750.00 |
| | | | Simone Bolelli (ITA) | 900.00 |
| | Jonas Bjorkman (SWE) | 1000.00 |
| | Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR) | 1000.00 |
| | | | Daniel Marcos (BRA) | 1200.00 |
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On the ladies side, Ana Ivanovic is the favourite for the Olympics, while Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic are not too far behind as favourites..! | | | Serena Williams (USA) | 3.00 |
| | | | Jelena Jankovic (SRB) | 6.00 |
| | Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) | 8.50 |
| | | | Elena Dementieva (RUS) | 15.00 |
| | Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) | 20.00 |
| | Victoria Azarenka (BLR) | 25.00 |
| | Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) | 25.00 |
| | Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) | 45.00 |
| | Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) | 50.00 |
| | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 50.00 |
| | Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) | 50.00 |
| | | | Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP) | 100.00 |
| | Alona Bondarenko (UKR) | 100.00 |
| | | | | | Tatiana Golovin (FRA) | 100.00 |
| | Flavia Pennetta (ITA) | 120.00 |
| | Olga Govortsova (BLR) | 150.00 |
| | Sybille Bammer (AUT) | 150.00 |
| | | | Patty Schnyder (SUI) | 200.00 |
| | Francesca Schiavone (ITA) | 200.00 |
| | | | Samantha Stosur (AUS) | 250.00 |
| | | | Virginie Razzano (FRA) | 350.00 |
| | Mara Santangelo (ITA) | 500.00 |
| | Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) | 500.00 |
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Be sure to visit Bwin if you want to bet on the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
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