Bring it.

Hi. Just thought I'd tell you that I love Summer. Wanna know why? Because:

Summer = Summer Holidays.

Summer Holidays = 6 weeks of doing nothing.

Summer Holidays = no exams, no stress. And most importantly;

Summer Holidays = TENNIS.

My summer holidays just happen to fall in during the Hopman Cup, Medibank International, Kooyong Classic... and of course; THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN.

I'm also particularly excited for the HOPMAN CUP 2011.

Because there's gonna be this (again):

AND THIS:


HOMMEGOODNESS. I CAN'T WAIT.

And they're only 2 of the 8 competing couples that are gonna be there. *drools*

And what's better, is that since these tournaments are all held in Australia, all the TV channels scrap all their stupid, pointless soapies and show nothing but tennis. 23/7. Practically. Because they gotta show the news you know...

And the cherry on top? Summer Holidays = my birthday.

I LOVE SUMMER.

Champion!

Before I begin, I'd just like to say that I'm sorry for the lack of posting lately. It is seriously amazing how some teachers really want to clog up your life with assignments and assessments RIGHT before exams :(

Seriously insane stuff.

Anyway, even though it's late; Ana won her first title in 2 years!

In under 50 minutes (I believe?!), she absolutely demolished poor Patty Schnyder, 61 62, to take home the Linz title, which was one of her last titles before this one. WOOOOO GO ANA! :D

Seriously it makes me so genuinely happy to finally see a real smile on her face. She's been going through rough patches ever since her injury from the End-of-year Championships in 08, but to see that she's gradually climbing her way back up to the top is abso-freakin-lutely awesome.

The title win moved her up a few spots to no.29, and with a nice showing in Luxembourg (honestly, I don't keep up with the WTA well enough...), she now sits at no.26.

Would it be crazy to think of Ana getting a top 20 seeding in the Australian Open?

I see...

Hmm. The whole Masha-dork thing makes sense now, LOL.

But she still did a dork dance hehehe :D

Prehistoric

Wow. It's been ages since I last went on this and I really do apologise.

When was the last time I blogged? I don't even remember now...

But yeah, some pretty awesome stuff has been happening, like the thing coming straight to my mind right now; the US Open - which I totally did not blog about, and also Andy Murray lifting this year's US Open Series trophy - total awesomeness :)

(Sorry for the crappy picture quality - it was kinda hard to find a good pic of this)

Also stuff like Gilles Simon hoisting a title this year - right after the birth of little Timothee... AWWW! :D And also the French Davis Cup team getting to the finals this year. Which I am surprisedly excited about.. hmm. I'm not sure I ever remember being this excited about Davis Cup before, LOLs.




Too cute.

Also, (once again) the re-emergence of Ana Ivanovic. I always liked her. And when she started dying, that killed me a bit on the inside. But after some impressive showings (for her, anyway) during and after the US Open swing, she's becoming more of that Ana that we used to know and love back in 2008 :D


DELPO. IS. BACK.


Rafael Nadal became the youngest person EVA to achieve the historic Career Grand Slam - and in conjunction with that 2008 Gold Medal in Beijing, he's also the youngest EVA to achieve the Golden Slam. Freak.

Oh, and these publicity stunts for the WTF? AWESOMEEEEEEEEE.

But some pretty crappy stuff has been happening as well, like Andy Murray totally crashing out of the 3rd round of the US Open, losing to Wawrinka. DUDE WTF HAPPENED THERE?! I mean, you were kinda half-scheduled into at least the quarters after winning the US Open Series this year!! D:


Hmm... Andy Murray losing any match just pretty much sums it up for me, LOL.

And no doubt some pretty weird stuff has been happening too. Like what on earth; Vera getting to her 2nd and consecutive slam final at the US Open? What... the... heck... I mean, sure she was playing strong, but heck I wasn't fooled. And then she comes to the final, losing in straight sets 61 62 or something? Weirdo.


And Andy Murray dropping longtime coach Miles Maclagan? .... Weirddddd.

Oh, and also, the thought of Andy Murray ever sitting through a fashion show, then becoming a fan of Burberry on Twitter and Facebook... WEIRDDD! (Believe me, it's true; I checked!) ...But you gotta give the man some credit. He did something that even I probably wouldn't be able to do - sit through hours looking at clothes...


Plus: the rankings. I mean, Roddick falling out of the top 8 and the top 10 in, I dunno, a million years? And then having Youzhny in the top 8 after the US Open? And Tomas Berdych still in, what, the top 7 even after his first round loss or something? Weird. It's amazing what some events can do to some people.


Anyway, they were just some of the thoughts that came to mind while I was thinking about the tennis world. I'd obviously love to talk about it all but if I did, by the time I'm done I'd be 152 :D

Once again, sorry about the lack of blogging over the past couple of months - but I'm sure that not a lot of people read this blog, so it's not like it'd make a difference anyway, haha :D

Talk to you guys soon,
thetennishopper x

Pre-Wimby Party

Wooo! Recently, the lady ballers of the WTA kicked off their tennis shoes and put on their high heels as they attended the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party of 2010. Match highlights?

She is so pretty. Why is she so pretty? I'm pretty sure this is unnatural, right?

I have to admit... I'm not the hugest fan of Serena really. But then again, I'm not a Rere-hater. She looked pretty awesome at the party. Just.. WHOA.. on the heels.

Venus toned her look down a bit and opted for white. She looked really good. Oh, and did I mention she also turned 30 while looking this awesome? Happy Birthday Venus :)

Not bad, Dina. Not bad. But where's the colour?! I'm so used to seeing pink on you!

Okay, Ana Ivanovic just looks like a disco ball. Seriously? This is what happened to her website...

Awww you look pretty damn awesome, Anne! Awesome dress! Platform shoes! Too bad I can't actually spell your name properly... Anne Keaothavangong..?

Best accessory in da house!

Hey Mum; look, Sex and the City's on TV!

Ana's Wimby Dress

Is the fist pump like a permanent thing now, or what?


Ana's website has revealed what she'll be wearing during this year's Wimbledon. My thoughts..? Not bad. I mean.. it's not totally breathtakingly awesome as such, but considering what the team at adidas have to work with, I guess it's not a totally bad design. At least it doesn't hurt the eyes...

Apparently if the English Weather gets a bit chilly, she can add the leggings to the dress. Again, not bad. But after browsing around Ana's website a bit, I do hope she'll never have to wear those pink leggings again o.o Seriously, is anybody else agreeing with me here?

What do you think?

thetennishopper

Flashback!

Ana's best moments.

Too true, too true. It's really a nicely done slideshow; certainly brings back all the memories doesn't it...

& NGAWWWWW DOESN'T SHE LOOK SO CUTE WITH BRACES?! I guess it even shows that incredibly beautiful people also have to sometimes go through the whole braces thing.
Sorry, just had to put that out there.

Love.
thetennishopper

AJDE!

UN. FREAKIN'. BELIEVABLE.

What. a. beast.

Ana Ivanovic defeated Elena Dementieva. And I'm being serious. Straight sets. I'm so happy for her that I don't even care about the scoreline.

GOOO ANA!! I'm really starting to warm up to this girl... she seems to have had it tough after Roland Garros in '08 but hey, whaddaya know - after all that hurt and humiliation she's now beaten 2 back-to-back top 10 players!

First Vika, now Elena. I'm impressed - even if they weren't at their best.

Good for her. And even if this quality tennis is only temporary... I'm still gonna say;

AJDE!!

Once in a blue moon...

Oh thank the tennis gods.

Would you believe. Ana Ivanovic actually won a match. She actually WASN'T humiliated in this match. She wasn't broken once, and she beat someone 26 ranks above her. Probably one of the biggest wins of her season.

Well, congrats Ana! You know I wouldn't want to dream too far ahead but it would be pretty cool if she could knock out Vika in this tournament too [her next opponent] ... but hey, let's not get tooo ahead of ourselves eh. Love.

thetennishopper