World Tennis

    JJ seems struggling with himself :S If he'll continue like that, Rafa will eat him in a few minutes. I want to hear "come on" more. Don't really like him being so quiet. Though these looks he's giving are priceless :D C'mon, JJ :box:

    OMG, JJ :wall: Choke, choke, choke against Nadull. He's obviously having some issues, not to mention his first serve is non-existent.

    Eh, JJ unstable as hell in this tournament :whistling: It was said in some interview he didn't practice much before the competition. So I guess it was the reason of this instability. He wanted to heal an injury to the end.


    But. Without his biggest weapon - serve - and making twice more mistakes than Nadal they still went head-to-head. Ah, Rafa, if JJ would be in shape how would it look like then... ? :whistle:


    Tomaszewski Jr amused me. He had BIG difficulties with pronouncing the name of JJ's coach. He said sth like Tiilaikinen :rolll:


    Del Potro is out too :( I didn't like the situation from yesterday's match. Blind referee again. Didn't see Raonic landed in net. Challenge system showed it. Juan argued about it for a while. Referee still didn't change the decision. Raonic didn't plead guilty too. And it was important ball :thumbdown:


    Emotions to come. Novak vs Rafa will meet up again. Ajde, Nole! :heart:



    • Serena won Premier Rogers Cup Toronto Final vs Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-0
    • She won 54th WTA Title
    • 70th Final in Single

    Cheesus, Jerzy :aww: To drop out in first round... :aww: Now, I'm seriously worried before US Open.
    And Radwańska earlier in semifinal - fantastic as well. Williams looked a bit like she was barely playing and Aga still couln't beat her :aww: Unbelievable.

    Once it was over it seemed like just a big upset - Marion Bartoli falling to Simona Halep in the second round of the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday, 36 64 61. But it went much deeper than that later in the day as the Frenchwoman, who just weeks ago fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning Wimbledon, announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis.


    "That was actually the last match of my career. Sorry," Bartoli said in her press conference after the match. "It's time for me to retire and call it a career. I feel it's time for me to walk away actually."


    The press conference was then opened up to questions from the media - here's what Bartoli said...


    On why...
    "My body just can't do it anymore. I've already been through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year. I've been on the tour for so long, and I really pushed through and left it all during that Wimbledon. I really felt I gave all the energy I have left in my body. I made my dream a reality and it will stay with me forever, but now my body just can't cope with everything. I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play. I've been doing this for so long, and body-wise I just can't do it anymore."


    On whether she knew going into the match that it would be her last...
    "Well, you kind of never know before the match that it's going to be your last match, but I felt that way after the match. I felt I just couldn't do this anymore. After one set, my whole body was just in pain.


    "It's been a tough decision to make. I didn't make this decision easily. I mean, I've been a tennis player for a long time, and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality. I felt I really, really pushed through the ultimate limits to make it happen, to be honest. But now I just can't do it anymore."


    On whether she had been thinking about it for a while...
    "You know, it's hard to explain, but when you dream about something for so long and you've been on tour for many, many, many years and you've been through ups and downs and highs and lows and already a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year, my body was really starting to fall apart, and I was able to keep it together, go through a lot of pain throughout Wimbledon, and still make it happen. That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me. It's fine. I have the right to do something else as well. I've been playing for a long, long time, and it's time for me now. It is."


    On whether she discussed it with her dad...
    "I called him, yes. But my dad knows me enough to know it a bit when he saw me leaving home for the States. He kind of felt I was tired and I was exhausted, and he was not surprised by the decision.


    "He said, 'I kind of felt it somehow. I can see it in your eyes and see your body and I know all the work you've done to make it happen. I'm so proud of you. I will support you in anything you're doing.'"


    On where the pain is exactly...
    "My Achilles is hurting me a lot, so I can't really walk normally after a match like that, especially on the hardcourts when the surface is so hard. And my shoulder and my hips and my lower back. The body of a tennis player, you've been using it for so many years, and, yeah, my body is just done."


    On how she went from a really good first set to this decision...
    "As a tennis player you have to be at 100%. And I'm this kind of person, when I'm doing something, I'm doing it 100%. If I have to be on the practice court preparing for the next tournament tomorrow, I won't be at 100%, because my mind is not there, my heart is not there, and I just can't lie like that.


    "I'm too honest and too true to my values to be there, but kind of not really 100%. I think that would be unfair for all my team, and I don't choose to do that. I don't have those values. That's not the way I've been raised. That's not the way I am. So I prefer to stay true to myself rather than just cheating."


    On what she's most proud of from her career...
    "I think being the same person, being honest, being loyal to my friends, to my teams, to the people who have been helping me along the way, the people who have been working with us throughout all the years. I always respect them, and I felt I always respected everyone. I think if people ask, 'How is Marion Bartoli?' They will always respond, 'She's a nice person.' That's what I'm most proud of."


    On what she will do now...
    "Oh, gosh, I don't know. I haven't thought about it so much. There are so many things to do in life rather than playing tennis, so I'm sure I'll find something. I just need a bit of time to settle down. "There is some excitement as a tennis player. There is a lot of excitement as a woman. There is a lot of excitement as a wife. There is a lot of excitement as a mother. There is a lot of excitement to come up.


    "I'm excited to live my future, but I will have time to think about it in the months, years to come."


    WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster: "I congratulate Marion on her long, successful career. She is an inspirational champion and a great ambassador for women's tennis that has dedicated her life to the sport and given so much back to the game. Fans and everyone at the WTA will miss Marion's energy and passion for our sport. I am so proud of her for who she is, her values, and for fighting to realize her dream of winning Wimbledon. We all wish her the best as she enters the next chapter of her life."

    Tommy ;( After first set when Roger played as if his head was on different continent than legs I was like "yupi, Tommy is going to win". (Ehhh, those fantastic passing shots...) But tennis is so unpredictable. You can actually come back from the grave and still win the match. And that's what happened. I don't like this tournament any longer. Janowicz and Kubot lost in debel too. Of course. Why should I expect them to win. JJ didn't make me believe in his debel adventures so far.
    I'm depressed.

    Why no one likes Nadal? I love him... He is hot, he is Spanish, he took a photo with Leo, he is the king, he is strong, he is right handed but plays tennis with the left hand... I've always like him since the first time I saw him playing cause he was very very hot and cute... (and it was ages ago) but it seems no one like him, I always read bad comments about him!

    It's possible, you just have to believe in yourself and really not care what other people say, because I've heard it all.
    If you let someone else dictate what you're going to do in life, then you won't get there.


    Non so neanche come onestamente: in due mesi ero di nuovo in campo.



    Twitter

    Why no one? I love Rafa too. Maybe he's not at the top of the list of my favorites (I'll always chose Nole) but still he's high ;) He's exciting too watch and not because of his appearance (not my type) but because of the heart he always put in the game. I'm happy for him that after injury he's having such a wonderful run. But dude let Nole win sth finally :D Well, it seems that in physical aspect Rafa is prepared perfectly for US Open. It will be hard to stop him.

    Serena Williams lost Cinci Open Final vs Victoria Azarenka, Her 17th WTA Title.

    1st set 6-2 26min
    2nd set 2-6 60min
    3rd set 2-4 5-4 5-6 6-6, in tie break 0-2 2-4 5-4 and Serena 2 serves 5-6 6-8.

    2.5h, in Tennis must be also time limit.


    Azarenka is the only player right now that can play against Serena. Respect for Vika! :obey:

    The loss is very good for Serena. She did if I good remember 49 errors where Vika 20 and said- at least I have real Opponent and feel that I should again work more and hard.

    After such loss Serena should win US Open without problem vs Vika if 1st or 2nd will be in the Final. Sharapova is on corner. By the way She fired new Coach after one match, in Cinci.

    It was great final, really, one of the best this season on WTA no doubt. I like matches between Vika and Serena when Vika is not afraid of her opponent and believes that she can beat her. She was fighting till the end, awesome !

    Maria Sharapova wants to change surname to Sugarpova only during US Open.. Her case is on Court and probably She will do it.. So Referees won't say- gem Sharapova but gem Sugarpova..

    good marketing, she needs to make headlines when she gets out in 1 round :down: