Bondarenko, Cibulkova, Chakvetadze and Azarenka in FHM

Alona Bondarenko



Dominika Cibulková



Anna Chakvetadze



Victoria Azarenka

Alona Bondarenko, Dominika Cibulková, Anna Chakvetadze and Victoria Azarenka are in FHM France.

Poor Jelena Dokic

How close was Fed to losing to Acasuso? but it was a great fightback and you sense Acasuso lost interest at the end, Chardy beat Bolelli, Rochus took out his second straight French veteran, Del Potro rolled over Troicki, Jankovic destroyed Rybarikova drop-shotting antics and all, Venus picked her game up to beat Safarova, Cornet went down in tears to Cirstea and Dokic retired against Dementieva.

Poor Jelena Dokic. Up a set and a break against Elena the (almost) Great Dementieva, she broke down with a back injury and couldn’t continue though she bravely tried to battle on for two games where she was unable to run. She then broke down in tears and was consoled by the wonderful Dementieva (yes, it’s true, Dementieva is simply too nice to win at the highest level). Rest up and play like a hurricane at Wimbledon, Jelena.

Marion Bartoli had a whinge after losing against Garbin: “the court was really heavy. The balls were heavy. My serve was not okay at all. I couldn't hit the balls correctly, either. ...the conditions that were really not good. It was so cold, freezing out there. The balls were stuck on the strings of the racquet, so that's why there were many break points, and the ball was too slow.” etc, oh and Garbin’s Italian...

Groth won, Stosur won, Rogowska has now lost to both Bondarenkos in her three match career, Haas is looking good, Roddick is still alive, Tsonga put out the dangerous Monaco, Glatch’s great adventure is over, Wozniacki took her foot off the pedal several times but still won comfortably, AMG and VRP are out and Radwanska the Greater is doing it easy. Both Serbs and both Williams sisters still surviving despite churning rumours of their alleged frailty.

Rafa’s blog – I like Lleyton Hewitt a lot and he has always been very nice to me but he beat me at golf and now he must pay... http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/

Matches to watch:
Rezai vs Larcher de Brito – brave young guns
Sharapova vs Shvedova – the new tough Moody Maria against a qualifier
Benesova vs Ivanovic – the struggling Ivanovic represents an opportunity for Iveta
Venus vs Szavay – bye bye Venus?
Kohlschreiber vs Ferrero – two sets all
Nadal vs Hewitt – it’s the final for Hewitt, can he catch the Toro unawares?
Stepanek vs Cilic – opportunity for Cilic but the Worm’s in form
Davydenko vs Wawrinka – neither of these players’ name is one you want to see in your draw
Hanescu vs Simon – another French upset?
Murray vs Tipsarevic – bye bye Andy

Video: Jelena Dokic injury

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki celebrating



Caroline Wozniacki skipping in Melbourne 2008



Caroline Wozniacki Melbourne 2009



Caroline Wozniacki



Caroline Wozniacki ad for the Nordea Danish Open



Caroline Wozniacki wins in Tokyo



Caroline Wozniacki in Eastbourne 2008

Video: Caroline Wozniacki Blog

Danish sensation Caroline Wozniacki has finally hit the top ten and is still on the rise. She has 4 WTA titles (1 this year) and a burgeoning rivalry with Victoria Azarenka (Vika leads 2-1). Still 18 for another two months, she has a promising career ahead of her if she can stay focussed and determined to succeed.

Caroline Wozniacki Videos

Marat Safin loses to some guy

Bye bye Marat, it was a brilliant comeback from two sets down but he finally lost it 10-8 in the fifth. We’re now officially boycotting the wildcard that beat him. Time to hop on that Sharapova bandwagon instead.

Larcher de Brito upset Zheng – is Zheng losing on clay an upset? – and continues her march towards greatness. Hope she pays careful attention to careers of recent teen prodigies Vaidisova and Karatantcheva.

Q: “Did you already have a chat with your coach? Was he happy?”
Safina: “If one day he’s going to be happy, I think I’ll finish my career. He’s never happy. Even today, he’s not happy.”

Gulbis is out as is Lopez, Youzhny, Rus, Vesnina and Tanasugarn. Grats to Benesova, Li Na, Cibulkova, Ivanovic, Pavlyuchenkova, Tipsarevic, Nadal, Hewitt, Gonzo, Cilic and the Worm.

No doubt Rafa’s too busy to blog today http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/

Matches to watch:
Federer vs Acasuso – nice test for Fed
Chardy vs Bolelli – lots of female interest here
Clement vs Rochus – revenge for Santoro?
Del Potro vs Troicki – dangerous for Del Potro?
Jankovic vs Rybarikova - beauty and the beast pusher?
Venus vs Safarova – Venus is down a set
Cornet vs Cirstea – could be tricky for Alize
Dokic vs Dementieva – could be brutal if Jelena’s not up for it but this is the time to beat Elena

Jo Wilfried Tsonga in action

Tsonga won the battle of France against Benneteau and looks actually good on clay. He probably is the best chance of the French trio (no Musketeer jokes please) since Simon’s out of form and Monfils won’t last a week with his injury. Ferrero beat Ljubicic in five, Monaco beat Baghdatis, Wozniacki overcame the surprising Dushevina, Serena struggled but beat Zakopalova in three, Wickmayer beat U Radwanska, Dokic beat Sprem – is it bandwagon time yet? and Ruano Pascual ended Vaidisova’s expectations as expected. Dani’s gone to join Chaky and Nicole at the hall of wasted potential and James Blake won a match on clay.

Only one press question for poor Svetlana after her match.

Rafael Nadal in Vogue.

Rafa’s blogging on Harry Potter and Fed’s baby.

French Open Diary (Abigail Lorge).

Matches to watch:
Cornet vs Ani – stop messing about Alize
Venus vs Safarova – can Venus stuff this up?
Petrova vs Sharapova – don’t you hate being seeded and drawing a dangerous floater?
Hercog vs Rezai – two great upcoming players you’ve never heard of
Santoro vs C Rochus – fourth set 5-3 Rochus - Can the wizard come back?
Tursunov vs Clement – one set all with the promise of three to come
Murray vs Starace – now Murray is going to lose one of these, but will it be this one?
Kiefer vs Ferrer – possible upset?

Video: Alize Cornet to run naked around the court if she wins the title?


Simona Halep will have breast reduction surgery.

Maria Sharapova’s in blue (and Rafa’s in pink)

Cibulkova beat Bondarenko the Greater in three. Nadal lost his serve regularly but still won with ease. Wawrinka took his time and Radwanska the Greater cruised. Chakvetadze lost to a qualifier – is anyone surprised? Sharapova wants to “be on some island. I mean, sounds good to me... You know,with a nice cold Pina Colada and a nice cold towel they hand around at the pools.” Er if she was a mentally weak person that is.

Safina vs Keothavong – Double Bagel special for Keothavong as Safina looks hot
Yakimova vs Sharapova – The cow on ice wins but looks rusty
Pennetta vs Glatch – In a Fed Cup preview Glatch destroyed noted clay courter Pennetta
Kleybanova vs Hercog – qualifier Hercog wins big – Rezai next
Rogowska vs Kirilenko – Aussie wild card takes down Kirilenko - Bondarenko the Lesser next (the slayer of Schnyder)
Roddick vs Jouan – easy for Roddick
Bolelli vs Berdych – Bolelli gets the upset
Phau vs Chardy – Chardy beat replacement Alves
Tipsarevic vs Montanes – four sets for Tips

Rafa’s blog – “I like pink, and I specially like this outfit very much. The whole combination I find it really nice. We wear a lot of pink in Spain and I think it is a nice colour. If you look at my website it is also pink for this tournament.”

Matches to watch:
Benneteau vs Tsonga – tough for Tsonga?
Santoro vs C Rochus – you mightn’t see him play again
Ferrero vs Ljubicic – can’t believe neither is seeded
Baghdatis vs Monaco – tough opening match for both
Wozniacki vs Dushevina – one set all
Zakopalova vs Serena – revenge for Serena or another embarrassment?
Wickmayer vs U Radwanska – battle of the wannabes
Dokic vs Sprem – Dokic has won exactly one tour match since the Aus Open
Ruano Pascual vs Vaidisova – did Vaidisova look at Chakvetadze’s loss and think that’ll be me tomorrow?

Video: Caroline Wozniacki in braces

Lleyton Hewitt finally beat Ivo Karlovic

Johansson and Diatchenko fought the battle of the awkward service actions with the qualifier ultimately prevailing. Johansson was in tears as she served for the match in the third, pleading with her coach as she double-faulted away her chances.

Lleyton Hewitt loves five setters so much he took his time yesterday refusing to begin until Karlovic had taken the first two tiebreaks, then the gutsy little Aussie swung into the match and wore the brutal serve down. Many people would think this hurts Hewitt’s chances of winning the tournament but he’s scheduled to face Nadal in the third so realistically he’s only contemplating a three match tournament. He should be fine.

Amelie bowed out in the manner she’s become accustomed too and Vera finally admitted what we knew all along and took her name off the list. O’Brien is the lucky loser.

Ana Ivanovic will be watching out for Sara Errani’s name on future draws as she was made to feel uncomfortable before finally fist-pumping her way home. Qualifiers Rus and Shvedova both won and will play each other next.

Rafa’s blogging again – Q. Did you lose some weight this year? A. No, I didn't... Maybe the sleeveless shirt?

Matches to watch:
Safina vs Keothavong – has someone told Zeljko there’s no on court coaching?
Yakimova vs Sharapova – return of the cow on ice
Pennetta vs Glatch – Fed Cup preview
Kleybanova vs Hercog – can qualifier Hercog upset a seed?
Rogowska vs Kirilenko – Aussie wild card gets another chance
Roddick vs Jouan – French wild card should be easy for Roddick?
Bolelli vs Berdych – possible upset?
Phau vs Chardy – Germany vs France
Tipsarevic vs Montanes – another five setter?

French Open - The slacker’s guide to who might win

Men:

Nadal is the clear favourite as usual despite his recent loss to Federer after being beat up by Djokovic beforehand. Hard to see him being mugged at Roland Garros though. Del Petro’s dangerous but won’t win seven on clay. Djokovic and Federer represent the main threat to Rafa and luckily for him they’ll play each other first, meaning he only has to beat the tired winner. Can Rafa be beaten?

Nadal’s Quarter

Seeds: Soderling, Ferrer, Davydenko, Wawrinka, Verdasco, Karlovic

Players to watch: Hewitt, Kiefer, Gulbis, Querrey

Winner: Nadal

Murray’s Quarter

Seeds: Stepanek, Lopez, Cilic, Safin, F Gonzalez, Simon

Players to watch: Gaudio, Tipsarevic, Montanes

Winner: Stepanek

Djokovic’s Quarter

Seeds: Del Potro, Tursunov, Andreev, Tsonga, Kohlschreiber, Fish

Players to watch: Tomic, Seppi, M Gonzalez, Fererro, Ljubicic, Baghdatis

Winner: Djokovic

Federer’s Quarter

Seeds: Roddick, Schuettler, Melzer, Monfils, Blake, Berdych, Mathieu

Players to watch: Beck, Ginepri, Chardy, Haas

Winner: Federer

Final: Nadal vs Djokovic

Winner: Rafael Nadal

Women:

Sharapova’s back but presumably just getting back some form as she tests out the shoulder. Both Williams sisters will threaten but typically fall short. Both Serbs should be contenders but neither is in championship winning form. Azarenka and Wozniacki should make some noise but fall short. Elena the (almost) great could fall over the line if her draw clears but she’ll probably find new some way to lose. That leaves the other Russians Kuznetsova and Safina who’ve done some battle recently and could meet in the final. Should be Dinara’s time and vindication for the Major-less number one.

Safina’s Quarter

Seeds: Pavlyuchenkova, Azarenka, Benesova, Suarez Navarro, Kleybanova, Ivanovic

Players to watch: Rezai, Goerges, Pin, Johansson, Keothavong, Hercog, Olaru, Larcher De Brito, Errani

Winner: Safina

Venus Williams’ Quarter

Seeds: Cibulkova, Svazay, Mauresmo, Petrova, Zvonareva, Li
Players to watch: Sharapova, Lisicki, Vesnina, Embree, Bremond, Rus, Shvedova, A Bondarenko

Winner: Cibulkova

Dementieva’s Quarter

Seeds: Jankovic, Stosur, AMG, Bartoli, Wozniacki, Cornet, Chakvetadze

Players to watch: Hantuchova, Groth, U Radwanska, Wickmayer, Pironova, Rybarikova, Makarova, Dokic, Sprem

Winner: Wozniacki

Serena Williams’ Quarter

Seeds: A Radwanska, Pennetta, Schnyder, Bammer, Kuznetsova, Bondarenko

Players to watch: Mirza, Kutuzova, Rogowska, Vaidisova, Kirilenko, Glatch, Mayr

Winner: Kuznetsova

Final: Safina vs Kuznetsova

Winner: Dinara Safina

Alona Bondarenko dumps Maria Sharapova

photo credit: Nouf

Maria Sharapova has had enough preparation for the clay Major and duly took the beating from Bondarenko the Elder who should go on to meet Dani Hantuchova in a glamour plus final – assuming they get past Keothavong and Dulgheru. Alona dissed Moody Maria a little too saying “I thought it was going to be a harder match.” And pointing out that “her serve isn't as powerful as before.” Yep Alona, but maybe she tanked it just a little so she can go practice at Roland Garros? I’m sure you don’t mind.

In Strasbourg Rezai plays Kutuzova and Morita plays Hradecka. In Kitzbuehel Garcia-Lopez plays Youzhny won and Benneteau plays Hernandez. How weak are the finals in the week before a Major? Rezai looks good though.

photo credit: ADAM NURKIEWICZ/AFP/Getty Images

Halep lost in French qualifying as did Karatantcheva, Fedak, Zahlavova, Vogele, Ferguson, Jenkins and Sirianni. But Anderson, Kukushkin, de Chaunac, De Brito, O’Brien, Woerle, Rus and Hercog all won.

Patrick McEnroe has a go at building the perfect player Frankenstein style. Couldn’t he just use a pic of Rafa?

ESPN splits between picking Jankovic and Safina for the French title and great monkey off the back party. One expert actually picked Zvonareva (who’s not playing) for an early exit. Where do I send my resume?

Is anyone tipping against Rafa for the men’s? Remember once Fed was considered unbeatable too...

Video: “I’m 700,000% certain” - Zeljko Krajan on court coaching Safina

Simona Halep beat Michaella Krajicek

Good win for wildcard Simona Halep against Krajicek in French qualifying. Also Luczak lost, Hrbaty won, Delic won, Rus won, Oudin lost, Zahlavova won, Hercog won, Fedak won, Karatantcheva won and Ferguson beat Rodionova.

In Warsaw, Sharapova dispatched Kustova, Zakapalova knocked out the nominal top seed Zheng, Hantuchova and Alona Bondarenko took care of the remaining Poles and Olaru rolled on. In Strasbourg Rezai won, Coin lost, Kutuzova won, Dulko lost and AMG retired with a lower back injury, presumably with Roland Garros in mind. In Kitzbuehel Melzer won, Youzhny won and Massu lost.

Sabine Lisicki is on Twitter http://twitter.com/sabinelisicki

Ana Ivanovic thinks she is sponsored by an airline, but she’s not.

Why don’t the French adjust seeds the way Wimbledon does?

Rafa in ESPN magazine. “Is it possible to be overshadowed by your own sex appeal?”

John Isner won’t be able to use his hard-won French Wild card as he’s out sick. Does this mean whoever came second in the USTA playoff gets it or do the French hand it out?

Agnieszka Radwanska’s not playing Warsaw but she is pushing watches. She’s an Ambassador of Elegance (with a big mouth).

Oh Jelena

photo credit: AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski

Pity those who picked Dokic to win Warsaw – oh wait... Jelena apparently played her worst match of the last two years to lose to Olaru, although she tried to hit a winner every shot which is a very hit-and-miss strategy. Probably impatient because of the time Olaru takes between points as half the posters on WTAWorld claimed yesterday.

Sharapova tests out the shoulder again tonight against Kustova, Olaru plays Goerges, Radwanska the Lesser meets Hantuchova and both Bondarenkos should win. Is Warsaw really a Premier tournament?

Sponsors pull from Aus Open.

Carlos Moya has an actress girlfriend.

Iveta Benesova

Iveta Benesova changing her shorts on court in Estoril



Iveta Benesova practising in Brisbane 2009



Iveta Benesova practising in Brisbane 2009



Iveta Benesova actually smiling



Iveta Benesova in Dolce Vita magazine.



Iveta Benesova magazine cover






Iveta Benesova at Royal Pines 2007

Iveta Benesova is the top Czech player – although this says more about the decline of Nicole Vaidisova and Lucie Safarova, Iveta did hit her peak ranking of 25 recently. The twenty-six year old lefty has been on the tour for eleven years with one solitary title (Acapulco) to show plus some doubles. She's also done some modelling recently.

Maria Sharapova in Warsaw

photo credit: AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski

Maria Sharapova made a welcome return to tennis and laboured to a three sets win over Garbin. Don’t know what she was doing while serving for the match in the second but who serves two doubles and drops all the pace so Garbin can smack an easy winner? A little tightness can be excused in the first match back but remember if you choke like that then you have to spend another hour on court to wrap it up. Remember that for Paris please.

Caroline Wozniacki celebrated her debut in the top ten by pulling out of Warsaw (lower back strain) and partying with Fernando Verdasco? She was probably just scared of meeting Maria Sharapova in the second round. Moody Maria now faces the winner of the battle of the Lucky Losers. Lucky her. Meanwhile Warsaw lost its two top seeds – Radwanska the Greater pulled yesterday – leaving noted crowd puller Zheng as its top draw. No doubt they are thankful Sharapova decided to test out her wonky shoulder at their particular dirtpile.

Both Bondarenkos won yesterday, Alona scored a rare double bagel against wildcard Piter. Is this tournament wide open for a loner like Dokic or Radwanska the Lesser to come through? Let’s assume Sharapova is only good for a couple of matches with an eye on Roland Garros. Dokic plays Olaru tonight then Goerges. Urszula Radwanska should meet Hantuchova in the second round, but realistically they’re both a good chance of wiping...

The Majors as members of the Beatles.

Interesting article on betting on tennis and possible match fixing. "Mr. Avilov says he "definitely" intends to contact other players through online social-networking sites and if the opportunity presents itself, to ask them to fix matches. "My job is to understand these girls and to think like them," he says."

Goran Ivanisevic marries Smoking-Hot Model. Good Goran or bad Goran?

Agnieszka and Ursula Radwanska

Urszula and Agnieszka Radwanska



Urszula and Agnieszka Radwanska



Urszula and Agnieszka Radwanska



Urszula and Agnieszka Radwanska



Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska



Agnieszka Radwanska



Urszula Radwanska

Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska obviously love to have their photos taken and Agnieszka also provides some of the best quotes in the WTA. (No one asks Urszula anything because she's not in the top ten - yet.)

Roger Federer returns

All is not lost for The (once more) Mighty Fed as he takes down the unstoppable Rafa who apparently is stoppable after four hour matches with Djokovic. Let’s all note that for Roland Garros. Meanwhile let’s give it up for Roger Federer, an all round nice guy who once dominated tennis with a nonchalance one accustoms to breathing. But the wonder of the world fell into hard times losing his crown (and his composure) to a pirate king with biceps like ballistas. And the world grew sad. But bolstered by the taunts of a friendly Tiger and the love of a patient woman he believed he could return to the top and again dwell in the rarefied air of the truly great before all his sponsors dump him. We’re all happy for him. Now it makes the French Open actually open. Well...

Dinara Safina continues to vindicate her ranking while “the real number one” is on a four game losing streak; you sense nothing matters till Roland Garros though – that’s when the real pecking order will be determined. Caroline Wozniacki tried but she still has a little further to go and will have to be satisfied with her long-awaited top ten entry. Oh and is she going out with Verdasco?

Agassi and Graf lost doubles to some retired Brit and some Belgian wannabe. Then Andre beat Tim and Kim beat Steffi. All this for a roof.

Alona Bondarenko beat Anna Chakvetadze

Alona Bondarenko beat Anna Chakvetadze and now faces Safina. The elder of the Bondarenko sisters (of the two that currently play, that is) is hitting form at a good time after her largely lacklustre start to the year. Jankovic shoved Vesnina aside without ever showing form, Szavay ousted Azarenka, Safina took her usual gritty route through three sets and Wozniacki guaranteed a top ten entry by belting Kleybanova. Djokovic had to play unlike Nadal and Roddick, Del Potro beat Wawrinka, Murray is still in the tournament for some reason, Verdasco won, Simon lost and do the seats look empty in Madrid or is it just the women’s game?

Nadal waffling about Murray taking his top spot – seriously Rafa?

Jon Wertheim gets fired up about the tours’ drug policy.

Clever Lindsay Davenport spoof

In the presence of Rafa

A ball girl fainted during Rafael Nadal’s match and unfortunately for her a line judge came to her rescue and not Rafa. Oh well, maybe next time.

Alona Bondarenko had a good win against the hit-and-miss Kuznetsova, Chaky next. Azarenka beat Peer, Elena the (almost) Great disappointed again, Mauresmo exceeded expectations, Djokovic won, Del Potro won and Safina won.

Both Nadal and Djokovic want changes to the ATP ranking system – over two years, no? The Djoker is just miffed that he dropped to fourth after winning a title while clay court novice Murray jumps to third.

Rolland Garros to get a (retractable) roof too?

It’s let’s dump on Serena time with a bit of nice commentary on the Roadmap. It does make sense – why is Serena complaining about the $75,000 fine for not playing when she’s injured when she is allowed to do promotional work instead. Just shut up and go race your hybrid car (sponsor event) and you’re done.

Maria Sharapova finally back

Venus follows little sis to the Madrid exits and is no doubt just counting the hours till the grass season starts and her usual triumph at SW19. Who plays on clay anyway? Well Maria Sharapova soon will and it’ll be a very welcome return. Next week in Warsaw (on clay) the former number one and really only true competition to “the real number one” and first round Madrid loser Serena Williams, will finally get on court. Now while the press will probably fuss over what she wears – and she’s had many months now to choose an outfit – and who’s in her box, but all we really care about is how her game is. With a dodgy shoulder hopefully healed and her “cow on ice” attitude towards clay no one can expect too much, but this is Maria Sharapova so no doubt we will expect everything and be disappointed if she’s not a loud grunting, awesome ball thumping machine that demolishes everything in her path. Welcome back Maria.

In Madrid Wozniacki won, Hantuchova’s out, Chardy won, Verdasco won, Davydenko won, Tsonga atones for putting out Safin by promptly following, Blake won, Murray surprised everyone and Fed cruised.

Vera Zvonareva now probably out for The Championships as well as the French Open.

Elena Vesnina won in Madrid

Serena Williams’s out already and gave more than a hint that she could have kept playing if she wasn’t looking ahead to Paris and severely miffed at the WTA. It was probably more to do with her having to drive a hybrid 100m while balancing a tennis ball on the roof (see below). Can we now say that Serena is on a losing streak of four?

Rumours about Safin and Hantuchova are probably just that: rumours.

Moody Maria Sharapova returns at Poland. She’s ranked 65, will she be seeded using a protected ranking?

Tsonga beat Safin, Dani managed a rare win, Chaky beat Stosur, qualifier Vesnina continued her run, Lepchenko beat Rybarikova, qualifier(!) Haas beat Gulbis, Fish beat Tipsarevic and Monaco beat Lopez. Anyone decent had a bye – sorry Elena.

Polona Hercog won Zagreb.

Video: Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro in a silly driving challenge

Anastasia Rodionova wins Ipswich

Berdych won Munich, Blake lost to Montanes in Estoril and Dokic lost the Bucharest final to Petkovic, Hofmanova won Fukuoka and Serena had a rip at the WTA.

Anastasia Rodionova won Ipswich - her second Aussie (25K) tournament victory in a row. Is this part of her campaign to become Australian?

In Madrid Jankovic won, Pennetta struggled and lost to Szavay, Cornet was thrashed by Vesnina, Stosur took out Radwanska (on clay?!), Alona Bondarenko had a rare win, Dushevina beat ALG, Robredo laboured past Kiefer and I’m one out of three in the ATP tipping contest.

Video: Happy Mother's Day from WTA Players

Dinara Safina wins Rome

Safina easily swatted away Kuznetsova’s challenge for a deserved title. The Venus Williams match was her breakthrough it seems. Yanina Wickmayer won Estoril in what may be her breakthrough. The Djoker seems destined for the title in Belgrade family tournament. Will his dad hand him the trophy?

Gasquet does a Hingis; it did look like he was having too much fun in Miami – turns out it wasn’t just the cheerleaders.

Qualifying in Madrid doesn’t finish until the main tournament starts. This is so annoying and makes picking winners impossible – including in the ATP’s own bracket challenge. Get it right guys.

Jelena Dokic ignores mad father threats, wins in Bucharest

Hewitt and Berdych won in Munich, Ljubicic lost to Daniel in the Djoker’s family tournament in Belgrade, Jankovic got dumped by the Kuz, Safina continued to tough it out. Azarenka won, Venus thrashed Radwanska, Kirilenko’s title defense is over, Wickmayer won, Peer beat Groth and Simon is still on track. Blake is now on a clay court streak of two and Dokic and Halep won in Bucharest. Rodionova, Rogowska, Wejnert, Holland and Peers won in Ipswich.

Mad Damir Dokic update – Yeah so what if I threatened to “attack the ambassador and her husband with a stinger missile.” These hand grenades are for my personal use – Oh, really, I can go to prison for stockpiling illegal weapons and threatening people? I’m sure this is Jelena’s fault.

Moody Maria Sharapova’s still too hurt to play but she doesn’t mind having her picture taken.

Andy Murray’s vigorous training workout.

Ana Ivanovic is out of Madrid.