HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

Let go of the past behind you. Right ahead, lies a new beginning. Make it a memorable experience. Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas! 2015

Best wishes for the holidays
and for health and happiness
throughout the coming year.

Hannah Davis Tennis Tutorial

Hannah Davis is known for her Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue cover wearing a skimpy two-piece and she's also the fiancee of Derek Jeter. Unknown to many she is a former junior ranked  tennis player. She competed on the Caribbean circuit.

Check out her GQ video where she gave some tips on forehand, the backhand, and the serve. She said that she's a small player so she focused on "footwork, stamina and beating them in other areas, I guess." Davis gave up playing competitive tennis at 18 when her modeling career began to take off.

Watch this on The Scene.

International Premier Tennis League in the Philippines

The International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) was held in Manila with tennis stars women’s world No.1 Serena Williams, Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya and Goran Ivanisevic. The three-day IPTL event was very successful in Manila with lot of crowds. The IPTL leaves for New Delhi for the third leg of its tournament which runs from December 10 to 12.

Rafael Nadal represented the Indian Aces as an “icon player” in the exhibition tournament, Nadal and his doubles partner Ivan Dodig produced some magical tennis on their way to defeating Richard Gasquet and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4.

Nadal's team had a 22-shot rally and finished off with a forehand winner down the line and celebrated with a trademark windmill fist pump.

The International Premier Tennis League tour promotes a shortened, speed-up version of the game that organizers said is more television-friendly than the traditional format.

The tour began in Japan last week and will also have stops in India, Dubai and Singapore later this month.

Novak Djokovic Finished a Remarkable Season with A win against Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer to win ATP World Tour title, he has now earn a record 4th straight ATP World Tour Finals title.

Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked 1, broke serve 3 times to win 6-3 6-4 in 80 minutes at London's O2 Arena. Djokovic has also avenge his lost to 6 time  champion Federer in the group stage last Tuesday.

"I am enjoying every moment on the court, I cherish every moment after dreaming of it as a kid," he said.

He ends the year with 11 titles including 3 Grand Slams, taking his total to 10 majors.

The 28-year-old has now won the season finale five times and surpasses Ivan Lendl's 1987 achievement, when he won his third straight Tour Finals title in New York.

Novak Djokovic is also guaranteed to become the first player in tennis history to earn $20 million in a single season.

NCS Tennis tournament: Cardinal Newman High School falls to Bishop O’Dowd in quarterfinal match

Bishop O’Dowd High School defeated Cardinal Newman High School in the North Coast Section Division 2 quarterfinal tennis match, 6-1, on Thursday at Merritt College. Only Rachael McGregor came out with a win.

McGregor at number 3, fall in the first set before rallying to beat Milan McCruden 1-6, 7-5, 10-7.

Gigi Swenson-Aguirre (4) lost the first set 1-6 but took the 2nd to a tiebreaker before losing 8-6.

The 3 doubles positions, all winners in Tuesday’s opening-round match with Justin-Siena, played well after dropping the 1st set.

The No. 1 team of Grace Nonella and Natalia Gamba lost the first set 1-6 before making the second close, 6-4. Elissa Papale and Lizzy Foley, playing No. 2, lost by the same score.

Mimi Almy and Ana Negri, Newman’s No. 3 team, lost the opener 6-2 before dropping the 2nd 7-5.

Happy Halloween

When witches are flying, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ’tis near Halloween.

Eugenie Bouchard sues USTA after concussion at US Open fall

Eugenie Bouchard sues the United States Tennis Association after suffering concussion following a fall at the US Open. The 21 year old Bouchard Canadian, was hurt and suffered concussion when she slipped in the locker room at the Grand Slam event last September.

She withdrew from the US Open tournament prior to a 4th round match and pulled out of her comeback event at the China Open on October 5, 2015 because of dizziness.

According to the lawsuit she filed, she alleges the she slipped on "a foreign and dangerous substance" in New York. She alleges negligence and includes a demand for a jury trial. She's seeking damages from the USTA and USTA National Tennis Center.

Benedict Morelli, Bouchard lawyer said the substance was a cleaning agent intended to be left on the floor overnight when the room would no longer be used. They are seeking damages worth "millions and millions" of dollars.

Here's the Bouchard v. USTA, Inc. et al
 1:15-cv-05920 Complaint

Bouchard v. USTA, Inc. et al 1:15-cv-05920 Complaint http://t.co/vGZNYTR7Ze

— USDC EDNY Filings (@usdcedny) October 14, 2015

WTA: Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka Defeated Lauren Davis

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka dispatched Lauren Davis, she will now face unseeded Brit Johanna Konta.

Azarenka split her two previous match against Davis, who once took her out with straight sets last year in Indian Wells. Azarenka was able to contain Davis on critical moments of the game last Sunday afternoon in Wuhan's new 15,000-seat Centre Court. She converted 5 of 6 break points to take the contest in just over 90 minutes.

Trash Talking in Tennis?

Thanasi Kokkinakis, Donna Vekic and Stanislas Wawrinka

Nick Kyrgios of Australia trash talk Stanislas Wawrinka in the Rogers Cup in Montreal last Wednesday. He told Wawrinka “(Thanasi) Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend (Donna Vekic). Sorry to tell you that, mate.” He was heard saying it courtside.


Last Saturday, American Ryan Harrison and Thanasi Kokkinakis had a heated argument which almost came to a boxing match instead of tennis during qualifying for the Cincinnati Masters. Kokkinakis was clearly annoyed when some calls didn’t go his way, his mouth keep on yapping that it also annoyed Harrison. When Kokkinakis got the 1st set, the two exchanged words, Harrison said that Kokkinakis and Kyrgios are “new age LITTLE KIDS” and he said “Your crew is ‘really cool!’” making fake quotation marks around the final two words "LITTLE KIDS." After Kokkinakis won the match, Harrison thought Kokkinakis was trying to continue the confrontation by not letting go of his hand.

Harrison said at courtside, "These little kids, they’ve got to get under." "They’re going to get hurt. He’s 19. If he wants to get into it, I will bury him. Wawrinka should’ve decked Kyrgios, and I should deck that kid."

During an interview Kokkinakis said that he will talk to Kyrgios about the comments he made to Wawrinka, "I let him know. I made it pretty clear that he can’t be doing that." "If he’s got a problem, he’s got to say it in private. The way he went about it definitely wasn’t the right thing."

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios may face each other in the 2nd round of the Cincinnati Masters, the 2nd to last warmup before the US Open, if they win their opening matches.

Kyrgios issued an apology after the ATP fined him, citing an "insulting remark," but he didn’t seem remorseful in his post-match interview. He said, "You know he was getting a bit lippy at me, so I don’t know, it is just in-the-moment sort of stuff." "I don’t really know, I just said it."

Wawrinka replied on Twitter about the incident, "So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine." "What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stoop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief. There is no need for this kind of behavior on or off the court, and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand for this and stands up for the integrity of this sport that we have worked so hard to build."

Eugenie Bouchard Drops Sam Sumyk Hires Marko Dragic as coach

Eugenie Bouchard announced on Friday August 7 that she had parted ways with Sam Sumyk. Bouchard has been bothered by injury and a couple of early exits from tournaments. The Canadian hired Sumyk after she had fired long-time coach Nick Saviano in November 2014.

The 21-year-old will be coached temporarily by Serbian Marko Dragic at the Roger's Cup in Toronto as she is looking to rebound from her 1st round loss at Wimbledon. Bouchard world ranking slip from No. 7 to No. 26. She withdraw from the Citi Open last Friday for a second straight year because of an abdominal injury. Tennis is that same without Eugenie Bouchard

Francesca Schiavone Defeated Camila Giorgi In Istanbul

Camila Giorgi

Francesca Schiavone

Francesca Schiavone won against fellow Italian Camila Giorgi in the quarterfinal at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.  Schiavone rallied from 5-3 down in the second set to close out the No.5 seed Giorgi, in ab exciting two set match, 6-4, 7-6(6).

Belgian Kirsten Flipkens was the first to advance in the earlier match overwhelming fourth-seeded Alize Cornet, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, to reach her second quarterfinal.

To complete the winners on Thursday, Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, who took out No.1 seed Venus Williams earlier in the week. She kept it going against Mona Barthel, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

All four quarterfinal matches will take place at the International-level event on Friday.

Serena Williams Had an Easy time Reaching the Wimbledon finals, Drub Sharapova 6-2, 6-4

 

Serena Williams sweep her way to the Wimbledon final drubbing fourth ranked Maria Sharapova in an uneventful semifinal match, 6-2, 6-4.

The crowd at the All England Club seemed bored throughout the match, they saw Sharapova clearly outmatched by the much bigger and powerful American. Williams closed out the game and built a seemingly insurmountable 5-3 lead. Williams has now beaten Sharapova 17 times in a row, dating back to 2004.

Williams will be facing 21-year-old Garbine Muguruza, who will be playing in her first major final. Muguruza advanced with a three-set win over No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska earlier Thursday.

 

Event organizer might as well give the trophy to Serena, no way she'll lose to Garbine.

Wimbledon 2015: Serena Williams Beat Azarenka face Sharapova in semis

Serena Williams was too strong for Victoria Azarenka as she got the win 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. It is her 17th victory over the Azarenka in 20 matches.

Williams is now two wins away from obtaining all four grand slam titles. Top seeded Williams will now face fourth seeded Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic Seen Partying together at Madrid players party

Australian tennis players Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic though rival in court they are friends outside and was seen recently partying in Madrid.

They played 3  matches on the ATP tour this year, which includes the five-set epic game won by Kokkinakis at the French Open.

“I’m feeling good, amongst some very beautiful people. Bernard is not one of those beautiful people but I’m here with him anyway,” 19-year-old Kokkinakis says.

VIDEO HERE

Tennis: Wawrinka Not Happy with French Open Website Exposing his Private Life

World number 9 tennis player Stan Wawrinka was not amused about an article posted on the French Open website exposing his private life. He said during an interview after he won against Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the first round at Roland Garros "Completely stupid article. It's the official website of a grand slam, so I hope the guy who did that article is not a journalist. I also hope the guy who is supposed to check all the article on the website is not working anymore for the tournament. Because for me, for a grand slam website, it should be an article about the tennis and that's it."

"I saw the article last night. I told the tournament that I wasn't really happy about it, and I don't think it was great for the tournament to do that. That's it,"

The article has already been removed from the website, www.rolandgarros.com. The author use the 500 words article talking about Wawrinka's marriage and then mentioned Wawrinka romantic affair with an 18-year-old Croatian player Donna Vekic.

Here's the screen capture of an excerpt from the article

Novak Djokovic (1) and Andy Murray (4) In Collision Course in Miami final

Tennis World number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia will be meeting Andy Murray of Britain in the final of the Miami Open for the 3rd time this Sunday after both of them finished their semi-finals assignments.

Murray performed well against Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4 while Djokovic had a hard time disposing American John Isner 7-6(3) 6-2.

Miami Open: Victoria Azarenka Dominates Jelena Jankovic 6-1 6-1

Victoria Azarenka, a Two-time Miami Open champion (2009 and 2011) crushed Jelena Jankovic in a lopsided victory defeating Jankovic 6-1 6-1 in the 2nd round at Key Biscayne on Friday.

Both are former world number 1, and people expected that the game would be close but Azarenka has other plans he finishes the game in just 28 minutes.

Jankovic tried to pick up her game late in the match to force a 12-deuce but in the end Azarenka was able to counter.

3rd seed Simona Halep, who beat Jankovic in the Indian Wells final, almost lose in the second set against Nicole Vaidisova but was able to compose herself and take the game into the third round. She defeated Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a back-and-forth affair.

Serena Williams Successful Return to Indian Wells

It was an emotional return for Serena Williams to Indian Wells, Oracene her mother and her sister Isha were seen in tears after Serena defeated Monica Niculescu in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 . It was Serena's first game in Indian Wells since winning the title when she was just 19 years old in 2001. Back in that year, she was the subject of racial abuse by fans.

This year her fans gave her the standing ovation as she proceed into the center court, at the start of the game it seems that the memory of the events has affected her game as she found herself trailing 2-0. But she soon found her way and finished the game with 7-5, 7-5 victory in two hours four minutes.

"I feel like I've already won this tournament," Serena said. "I don't feel like I have to actually hold the trophy at the end of this. I feel like I'm already holding up a trophy. I have never felt that way before. I feel like just being here is a huge win. Not only for me, but for so many people. It's a wonderful feeling."

Serena Williams beats Sharapova 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Top seed Williams wins 19th Grand Slam beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (5) at the Australian Open. Williams is now ahead of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova at 19 majors. She also won the U.S. and Australian Opens back to back for the 3rd time in her career and first since 2009.

Sharapova can't seems to beat Serena she is now 2-17 against her.

Eugenie Bouchard “Twirling”

Women’s world tennis number 7 Eugenie Bouchard second round match against Kiki Bertens was pretty one sided with a 6-0, 6-3 victory in Australian Open. In just 23 minutes, she had already won the first set, which I think why the reporter was more interested with what she was wearing instead of the game. The reporter asked Bouchard to “twirl”, the reporter said "Last night you tweeted that you loved Serena's outfit, obviously the fluro is working for you girls at the moment. She was kind enough to give us a twirl, can you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?", a twirl Bouchard asked, "yes, a twirl like a pirouette!" which she did wearing her neon dress and miniskirt.

In a post match interview she said she didn't expect it, “I don’t know, an old guy asking you to twirl. It was funny.”

However, other people didn't find it funny they blasted the reporter Ian Cohen, a commentator for Tennis Australia for sexism on social-media. Cohen sounds like a creepy old dude who likes watching teenage girls play tennis.

Novak Djokovic cancelled training session for Australian Open

World number 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic cancelled his training session on Saturday January 18, 2015 just when the Australian Open is about to start because of some undisclosed illness or injury.

An official from the International Tennis Federation said that Djokovic is not well and he cancelled the practice session at Melbourne Park and a pre-event press conference.

Djokovic, who won the Australian Open four times, is scheduled to play his first-round match on Tuesday against Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia.