La Manga Club Tennis Centre is simply one of the World's finest outdoor tennis facilities! Whether you just play tennis for fun or are a top professional, this is definitely the Spanish holiday for you. La Manga Club Tennis Centre is simply one of the World's finest outdoor tennis facilities!
Maria Sharapova sat down for a quick interview while at the WTA Tour event in Rome. I find it very sad that Maria has been to Rome three years in a row and she is still yet to visit the Colosseum.
It seems like Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez has recently got herself a new tattoo. Its hard to tell what the tattoo is in this picture, so if you know make sure you drop it below in the comments. Unfortunately Maria lost her first round match in Rome to Ekaterina Makarova 0-6 7-5 4-6.
Julia Goerges is a player on the rise very quickly at the moment. Goerges defeated Caroline Wozniacki for the second time in two weeks at the Madrid Open. Goerges ended up making the semifinals of the event where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.
Goerges has seen her ranking go from 75th to 25th in the past year and all of this and she is only 22 years of age.
Novak Djokovic went into the final of Madrid with an unbeaten record of 33-0 for the season. He was facing the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal for the title. And the fact that Nadal was playing on his home turf also gave him a bit of an advantage going into the match. Both players looking cool and calm from the first point started off the match with some lively points, but to the surprise of everyone it was Novak who was in control from the first point. He quickly ran ahead with a 4-0 lead, leaving Nadal no choice but to fight for each point and hope for the best. Eventually Nadal got his act together to make the score 5-4 to Djokovic. Both players then went for as much offense as possible to try and finish off the set but after some long points that left the crowd on the edge of their seat, Djokovic finally captured the first set with a score of 7-5. The second set was more consistent from both players, with both Djokovic and Nadal winning their serves comfortably until 4-4, when Djokovic got that crucial break and having a 15-40 lead on Nadal’s serve he finished it off when Nadal hit a shot out wide.
Djokovic then raised his arms in victory and went over to his box to get a big hug from his coach and close ones. He was as always, graceful and full of respect in his speech and received the new tournament trophy with a big smile on his face. As of now, Djokovic is 34-0 for the season and he has ended Nadal’s streak of 37-0 on the dirt.
Do you know Petra Kvitova? You should. The power Czech took home her biggest career win this past weekend in Madrid pushing her into the WTA’s world top 10. It’s her debut appearance in the elite group. Additional wins in 2011 tourneys include Paris and Brisbane. Surely she’s a tennis talent to watch.
Kvitova wears Nike Gridiron group here. The smash classic tank in white with gym pink is $55 USD. It’s got a wide keyhole opening in the back which would be problematic for bra finding reasons had Nike not built a high-impact bra right into the top. I’m loving this trend which allows a great looking outfit to stay attractive without all sorts of sports bra sticking out.
If you prefer sleeves, and many, many do. There is one, $50, pictured right. No bra for the sleeved top though.
The skort here is in in pink with gridiron and white, $55.The top also comes in the solid pink with gridiron accent and the skort, white and pink.
Very classy, strong look for the court. Hint of old school cheerleader in the skirt but just a hint. We’re all grown up now so that’s good.
It seems like Novak Djokovic just cant lose at the moment. Djokovic pushed his winning record up to 34-0 in 2011 with a win in the Madrid Masters final over Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4.
Djokovic had some very tough matches in the tournament to keep is winning streak alive. Novak dropped sets in both his Quarterfinal and Semifinal where he played David Ferrer and Thomaz Bellucci respectively.
Tennis Resorts Online has just published its 2011 list of the Top 100 Tennis Resorts and Camps in the world. I’m a big fan of vacation (who isn’t actually) and a tennis vacation…heavenly. Sites were selected based upon reviews by over 2,500 avid tennis playing vacationers. Below, no pay-to-play favors here, just the straight-up on the top 10 in each category:
2011 Top 10 Tennis Resorts:
1. Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina
2. Rancho Valencia, An Auberge Resort, California
3. La Quinta Resort & Club, California
4. Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, Austria
5. Wild Dunes, South Carolina
6. Caneel Bay, A Rosewood Resort, U.S. Virgin Islands
7. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hawaii
8. Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, South Carolina
9. Topnotch Resort & Spa, Vermont
10. Longboat Key Resort & Club, Florida
2011 Top 10 Tennis Camps:
1. Roy Emerson Tennis Weeks, Switzerland
2. New England Tennis Holidays at Sugarbush, Vermont
3. Cliff Drysdale Tennis School at Stratton, Vermont
4. PBI Tennis Camp at Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, Austria
5. Saddlebrook Tennis, Florida
6. Topnotch Tennis Academy, Vermont
7. Wintergreen Tennis Academy, Virginia
8. Reed Anderson Tennis School, California
9. Vermont Tennis Vacations at The Essex, Vermont
10. Stan Smith Tennis Academy, Sea Pines, South Carolina
Visit Tennis Resorts Online for the full 100 lists and detail on how the locations were ranked. The website, launched in 1999, is run by Roger Cox, the former travel and resorts editor for Tennis Magazine.
David Ferrer hit the clay in Madrid wearing Lotto’s handsome new Graphic Crew and Short. Sergiy Stakovsky, Ferrer’s next opponent, did the same. It’ll be an all-Lotto event. Looking forward to seeing what they show up in tonight.
The white with cyan shirt pictured here (taken in Monte Carlo) also come in Fanta orange and white with black accents. It’s available as a polo as well. The crew cut and neckline mimic the style of a soccer (aka football) jersey, something I’ve seen becoming popular on court since 2009.
The top is $43 USD and shorts, $40 (elastic waist and built in brief). The discreet dotted graphic on the shirt is also at the top back of the shorts. Nice touch. The coordinating wristbands are $23
So what’ll it be guys? Maybe they mix up the color scheme a bit but the blue and white does look sooo good against the clay.
Novak Djokovic has been having an amazing 2011 so far. Novak is currently 27-0 this year. Im very interested to see if he can hold this amazing form going into the French Open.
Djokovic has already won five titles in 2011 with wins at the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Belgrade.
The 23-year-old, who also won the Belgrade title in 2009, now stands just two wins away from equalling Ivan Lendl’s record of a 29-0 winning season start, set in 1986.
It has been reported that Serena Williams’ stalker has been arrested in Florida. Patenema Ouedraogo, 40, was arrested near Williams’ home in Palm Beach Gardens and charged with stalking and cyber-stalking.
Williams’ attorney said a restraining order had been sought against Ouedraogo, but he could not be found so it was never served.
Ouedraogo had reportedly tried to approach Williams four times since October, including on April 15 when he showed up to a radio station in Hollywood, Florida where she was appearing.
Ouedraogo’s bond has been set at $25,000 and a judge ordered him to stay at least 500 feet (152 metres) away from Williams.
Tennis109 with Jimmy Connors is a new app for iPhone that features the 109 title winning phenom as your personal pro.
The app includes a section loaded with game improving instruction on a wide variety of shots and strokes, and a section featuring his thoughts/insight on the game past, present and future as well as his greatest matches, toughest opponents and more. There are bulleted tips and a spot within the app to jot notes down on your own game as well.
The content is presented in rich, clear video filmed on the courts of the Malibu Racquet Club. Man is it gorgeous.
As apps go, this one is up there at $9.99 USD, but with privates running from $30-200 per hour depending on the pro and area, it’s a relative bargain that offers the recreational player some good things to think about when on court and the ability to reference it all again and again.
If you are a Connors fan from back in the day you’ll also enjoy the insight interview segments. The signature vest is omnipresent.
Keep in mind that Connors hits a pretty flat ball. If you are a modern-day heavy spin hitter some of the instruction will not feel like a fit for your game. More old school shot makers will feel a fit right away.
