Rafael Nadal: "I feel much better...I'm in good shape."

Rafael Nadal returned to action today after almost three months away to play an exhibition match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Astana, Khazakhstan. He defeated the Frenchie 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.

After injuring his right wrist in practice, he skipped the entire North American hard-court season, including the US Open, to rehabilitate it. He hasn't played a competitive match since falling to Australian Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon fourth round.

Prior to the match, Rafa and Jo-Willy met with the country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and gave him an autographed tennis racquet case.

"I feel much better...I'm in good shape," said the 14-time Grand Slammer in an interview on-court after the match. "The wrist, I think, starts to be forget. And now I need to take the rhythm again. This takes time. This match today helps me, but I'm going to have a tough comeback for sure in Beijing and Shanghai. But my goal is try to worry as much as possible, practice as much as possible to be ready for what's going on in the end of the season."

Here's video of the on-court interview with Rafa:



Good test for the wrist against one of the heaviest hitters of the ball out there. It's great to hear he's  not so focused on his wrist right now, but on getting in match shape for the remainder of the season. The fall indoor stretch has never been a good one for him historically. But the fact that he's back on the court and healthy is reason enough to be excited.

[Photo(s) credit: inform.kz]

Shrieka arrives in Santiago, to play exo against Gisela

Maria Sharapova arrived in Chile for an exhibition against Argentine Gisela Dulko and took time to attend a press conference for a fashion show in Santiago. The 3-time Grand Slammer be showing off some of her designs presumably from her Maria Sharapova for Cole Haan collection.

But seriously, what's going on with Shrieka's outfit here? I mean, her legs are KILLAH but the clothing is an absolute distraction. I'm really hoping this is her "I-just-rolled-off-a-plane-after-a-long-trip-and-didn't-feel-like changing" outfit. We all have them. Don't lie.

*fingers crossed*

More images after the jump...

SIGHTING: Serena's boob

OMFG.

I can't get myself off the floor after falling down LAUGHING MY ARSE OFF at this pic of Serena Williams and her boob's "Great Escape: Barbados Style."

The 11-time Grand Slammer was there with boyfriend Common vacationing while also appearing at the "Tennis Pon De Rock" exo with Caroline Wozniacki.

At least we know how ReRe was able to stay weighted down on that surf board. *still rolling*

[Photo(s): wtawomenstennis]

Just like old times: Pete edges Andre in Macao exo

Tennis legends Pete Sampras + Andre Agassi renewed their historic rivalry for an exhibition match in Macao this past weekend.

And it seems they picked up where the left off: Pete defeated Andre 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. Their last pro match was the 2002 US Open final when Pete grabbed his then-record setting 14th major title over his great rival.


The Las Vegas natives ball-striking ability can still impress according to the 7-time Wimbledon champion:

Andre just hits the ball so cleanly, even after being retired for three years. The pace of his shots was very heavy.

Pete's legendary skills at the net haven't seemed to dull over the years, either:

Pete's hands are the same as they've always been. He has great feel for the ball. He surprised me with the number of pickups he made out there. It was like it just came very naturally.

Last year, Pete defeated Roger Federer in Macao during the last match of their Asian exo series.

(Photos: AP)

(UPDATED) QUOTE OF THE DAY: Uncle Toni

If it's me, I'm (flying) to Mallorca.

- A concerned Toni Nadal after watching Rafa go down to Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 6-3 during their exo at Hurlingham Club in London

Uh-oh. If Uncle Toni is spewing this shite, there is definitely cause for worry. There's still no confirmation on whether he will be healthy enough to defend beginning next week.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE: According to his website, Rafa will hold a press conference after his match against Stanislas Wawrinka to announce his plans.

(via gototennis, image via daylife.com)

Fed + Andre reportedly in talks for MSG exhibition next March - who'll watch Baby Mango then?

Roger Federer can't seem to stay out of the news this week.

The 13-time Grand Slammer was supposedly rebuffed by Darren Cahill as a potential coach, announced the upcoming birth of Baby "Mango", and now the latest: he + Andre Agassi are in talks to meet up for and exo event at Madison Sqaure Garden next March!

After the success of his exo with Pete Sampras last season and the ladies' BJK Cup a few weeks ago, the organizers are looking to build an annual tradition of tennis at the Garden.

OMG - this pairing would make a phenomenal exo. Let's make this happen boys - and I'll even babysit too (and possibly blog about it - shhhh)!

(via LynnLovesTennis)

(UPDATED) PHOTO OP: Gwen + Gavin take in Nole + Marat at K-Swiss Desert Smash

Gwen Stefani, son Zuma, and her sexy tennis-loving hubby Gavin Rossdale were guests at the 5th annual K-Swiss Desert Smash gala at the La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, CA.

The tennis and golf event benefited Variety Club of the Desert: The Children’s Charity, a group of local business leaders helping kids in need.


The famous family and their fellow celeb guests including Lance Bass, Michael Vartan, Daniel Baldwin watched a doubles match featuring the sexy pairing of Novak Djokovic + Marat Safin. Do you think they did a synchronized short dropping show, y'know for old time's sake?

One can only dream. *faints, drools on self*

UPDATE: Thanks to an anonymous reader you can see more images from the day here (btw, who's the grey-shirted hottie in images #17 + 20. D-reamy.)

(image via FilmMagic)

PHOTO OP: Serena, Venus, Ana, and JJ take part in BJK Cup, Bill Clinton honors Billie Jean

Serena Williams defeated sister Venus 6-4, 6-3 for the first BNP Paribas Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York last night.


The top lady baller got past Ana Ivanovic 6-3 and V beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4 in the one set semifinal matches. ReRe earned $400,000, V received $300,000 (thanks Pamela!) for the win and the Serbian sisters received a hefty $250,000 appearance fee for just showing up to work. How nice.


And before the final match, BJK was honored during a presentation featuring a number of top female athletes from the past, present, and future as well as former U.S. president Bill Clinton. The man can still give a great speech.

Creepiest moment: The unfortunate reappearance of USA Networks' on the ground U.S. Open interviewer Michael Barkan. Did he really say "spread eagle" on live TV? Ick.

Big kudos to the USTA for continuing to create more high profile opportunities to showcase tennis and promoting the hell out of the BJK Cup. I'm hoping this trend continues.

More images from the night below!




(images via ap + getty)

MEDIA MASHUP: Billie Jean talks BJK Cup, follow DtL's coverage on Twitter

The BNP Paribas Billie Jean King Cup featuring top lady ballers Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic, and Jelena Jankovic airs tonight at 7:30 PM on HBO. The above promo features BJK discussing the four ladies and the exciting return of women's tennis to Madison Square Garden.


I'll be *twittering* during the live broadcast so click on the logo above to follow my coverage!

(image via twitter.com)

Andre + Steffi to play exo under Wimbledon's new Centre Court roof, will face Tim + Kim

Andre Agassi + Steffi Graf, Wimbledon '92 Champions' Ball

Former Wimbledon champs Andre Agassi + Steffi Graf will be playing "A Centre Court Celebration", a series of exhibition matches to be played on May 17 against Tim Henman + Kim Clijsters at The All-England Club to test out playing conditions under Centre Court's new retractable roof.

The format will feature men's and women's singles and a mixed-doubles match played in a pro-set format - first to eight games and a tiebreaker at 8-all.

The officials have stated they want to test the atmospherics and humidity levels with 15,000 people sitting in the stands because the court surface needs to be "bone dry" when the roof is closed.

Both Andre + Steffi were thrilled at receiving the invitation to play."I have great memories of playing at Wimbledon and to be among the first to play under the new Centre Court roof is really exciting," said Andre.

Steffi also recalled her past moments at The All-England Club saying, "There is no tennis venue more special to me than Centre Court at Wimbledon. It just doesn't get any better. I couldn't be more honored to play there again with my husband, Andre, and tennis greats Kim and Tim. It will mean so much to return to Wimbledon and ... relive so many wonderful memories."

The couple, married since 2001, won matching Wimbledon titles in 1992.

Sounds like fun though I think it would be more fun if they recreated their '92 Champions' Ball moment - mullet and all - on court. I'd give anything to see that. But question: do they make tuxedos out of lycra?

(image via abcnews.com)

(UPDATED) VIDEO VAULT: JJ shoots promo for BJK Cup, right side still MIA

Jelena Jankovic is featured in a fun HBO promo for next month's PNB Paribas Billie Jean King Cup exo taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York. The spot takes places at the fictional Dave Hill Tennis Academy and showcases JJ being JJ: cheeky remarks, lots o' laughs, and a demo of her flexibility (read: the splits).

But imagine my shock + awe (and a few other words) to see the segment shot entirely from the Serb's LEFT SIDE! WTF?! It seems she can't even turn to look at Dave who's seated on her left side at the beginning of the video.

I'm seriously starting to wonder if her right side even exists. If somebody finds it, please contact her agent (and me.)

CHECK IT:



UPDATE: Here's another promo featuring JJ as well as Venus + Serena. But question: where in the world is Ana?



UPDATE #2: Thanks to anonymous reader for this news on the MIA fourth baller (no, not JJ's missing right side *drats*). I don't know if this info is true, but it sounds feasible. We'll see!

the videos were shot early december last year. vee, serena and jj were all in the US (jj is still wearing her reebok dress) then while ana was enjoying her off-season with now ex-bf fernando in spain (and she's the only one among the four who's based in europe). hbo flew to serbia during the fed cup to film ana in the abandoned swimming pool where she used to train as a kid. boring compared to these comedic skits, yes, but this is probably the first time that she's going to be filmed there. i'm really curious how it's going to turn out...

THE LOW DOWN: Justine + Kim both prepping for exo tourneys - is a return to the WTA Tour next?

Retired lady ballers Justine Henin + Kim Clijsters are both reportedly prepping to play a few exhibitions during the 2009 season.

Belgian papers have noted that the 7-time Grand Slammer Justine is slated to appear at the Belgian Tennis Trophy exhibition in Charleroi on December 5 - 6 while former US Open champ Kim has been training on a regular basis with former sparring partner Wim Fissette and physical coach Sam Verslegers to prepare for some exhibitions this year as well according to her website.

So of course the rumor mill is buzzing with talk (and lots of hope) that the two Belgian ballers will eventually make their returns back to the WTA Tour (and, boy, does the Tour need them.)

As the saying goes, never say "never" but who really knows. Personally, I'd love to see both of them back.

Do you guys think this signals their intentions to return to full-time play or not?

DO TELL!

(image via Getty)

MEDIA MASHUP: Nole heats up chilly St. Anton with Marat + Tipsy, will join Rafa for charity event

Novak Djokovic recently met up with compatriot Janko Tipsarevic for an exhibition at the ski resort St. Anton in Austria.

Tipsy was a last minute replacement for Marat Safin who pulled out of the exo after spraining his ankle in practice. The Russian returned to Valencia to visit his doctor but not before taking a few candid shots with Nole *swoons*:



I wonder why I love tennis so? Anyway the Masters Cup champ, who debuted the new metallic silver Barricades during the match, was defeated by his compatriot 9-8 (4).


And more interesting Nole news: he was invited by top baller Rafael Nadal to take part in the "Friends of Iker vs. Friends of Rafa" charity event tomorrow! Other tennis ballers taking part include David Ferrer + Fernando Verdasco. I can't wait to see video/images from THAT event...oy.

In the meantime, here's some video in German from the exo match featuring a furry Nole + Tipsy. Feel free to leave the translation in the comments section.

CHECK IT:



(image via novakdjokovic.rs)

PHOTO OP: Champions arrive in Kuala Lumpur for exo - so what's James doing there?

The tennis season for most of the men ended this weekend so you know what that means: bring on the money-making exos!

Bjorn Borg, James Blake, Roger Federer, and John McEnroe arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the Showdown of Champions and attended the pre-match presser today. Last year, Fed + Pete Sampras traveled here during their much-heralded series of exhibition matches.

Call me crazy but doesn't James seem severely out of place here? He must be thinking the same thing. For some reason James and "champion" just don't have the right ring to it. I wish Rafael Nadal, who was the other choice besides the American baller, had made this exo - how incredible would that sight have been?

Oh well, it's a great opportunity for James to join these legends and makes some serious bank along the way. Win win!




(images via Getty)

Venus, Serena, JJ, + Ana to play Billie-Jean King Cup at Madision Square Garden

Here's some exciting news: After the overwhelming success of the NetJets Showdown featuring Roger Federer + Pete Sampras, the producers of the exhibition have signed up Venus + Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic for the inaugural BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie-Jean King Cup.

The exo will take place on March 2, 2009 at Madison Square Garden and "will feature a unique format, with two semi-finals preceding a final on the same night. The semi-final matches will incorporate 'no-ad' scoring and will be played over one set; the final will be a best-of-three set match with traditional scoring, although a tiebreak will replace the deciding set. The night, which will benefit the Dream Vaccines Foundation charity, will also feature a special tribute to women’s sports."

Great news - this should be an exciting exo. I'll most definitely be attending this one, live blogging of course!

(image via anaivanovic.com)

SIGHTING: Maria Sharapova takes in Singapore, will take on Chakvetadze

Maria "Shriek"apova has made her first trip to Singapore to play an exhibition match on December 30 against compatriot Anna Chakvetadze, who was recently a victim of a home invasion at her family's country house. The Russian stopped to take some photos on the roof of the Fullerton Hotel, where she'll be staying in the presidential suite. The suite usually runs a cool $4,745 per night, but it'll cost a bit more after Maria's done with it. Why? Because the Singapore officials will be selling every single item from the hotel room for charity - everything except the toilet seat.

We were worried, but it's good to know the officials have their limits, too.

(image via ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Federer wins first match against Sampras, players hit in traditional Korean garb

The first battle of the tennis titans, also known as the Hyundai Card Super Match, was played out between 14-time Grand Slam champ Pete Sampras and his heir apparent Roger Federer in Seoul, Korea. After working the press room the day before, the legends began match day giving a tennis clinic to some extremely lucky (not jealous, really) amateurs, working on serves, groundies, volleys while pocketing some uber-valuable autographs.


The clinic was followed by their highly-anticipated exhibition match. The World No. 1, as expected, pulled out an easy win over Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in 61 minutes. The win wasn't a total whitewash, however. "It was a little tricky situation. I'd been playing well and Pete's been retired for five years," Federer said. "I expected myself to win tonight. "I am very happy with my performance but I think Pete's still playing very, very well. [...] "When I found my range, Pete missed a few too many shots, [...] I was maybe lucky to win the first set. Then I got on a roll and started to relax. I enjoyed the match very much." For his part, Sampras said, "I feel a little disappointed, [...] But I made Roger sweat a little bit tonight. "I can still serve quite well but the hardest thing for me is movement,[...] I was a little careless up on the net and missed a few easy balls. But I think I will play well in the next match."


They ended the first match by donning traditional Korean clothing to thank the fans, even managing to swat some balls in the gowns. Now that's what we call tennis fashion.

(images via AP Photo)

Sampras and Federer come together in Seoul, Korea for exhibition tour launch

Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, two of tennis' greatest men's champions, met up in Seoul, Korea for the first of three exhibition matches - known as the Hyundai Card Super Match VI - in Asia. Together they own an astounding 26 Grand Slam titles. Following Seoul, the two legends will hit up Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 22 and then the November 23 meeting in Macao, China.

Sampras and Federer showcased their framed hand prints for the media.

(images via AP Photo)

Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova play exhibition match in Romania

Two legends of the game, Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova, played an exhibition match in Bucharest, Romania recently as part of a special series featuring these two greats of tennis. Monica, a 9-time Grand Slam champion, defeated 18-time Grand Slam champ Martina 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 and, based on these photos, looks to be in great physical shape again. Keep it up Mon!