(Andy Murray, Cincinnati)
Dominika Cibulkova was all smiles today in Montreal after defeating Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup. The win also prevented the Serb from attaining the coveted top ranking from compatriot Ana Ivanovic again.
Great win for the Slovak but JJ is a mess and clearly not ready for the big time. Isn't this the third time she's been on the brink and couldn't close the deal?
Get thee to a serving specialist!
(image via Getty)
After announcing her withdrawal from the Olympics yesterday, it looks like Maria Sharapova will also be skipping the US Open due to the nagging shoulder injury. The news comes from an anonymous US Open official who didn't want their name revealed since Shrieka hasn't officially confirmed the withdrawal.
All in all, I say it's a very smart move. In fact, the Russian should close down shop and not come out until next year or, at the very least, the WTA Championships if she qualifies. She needs a good amount of down time to recover.
Happy healing Shrieka...
UPDATE: Maria posted the following update on her website confirming her withdrawal from the US Open -
Well my 24 hour medical tour came to an end yesterday after I met with Dr. David Altchek who is the premier shoulder doctor in the world. He looked at all my tests from April and today and informed me that I have been playing with a moderate tear in my rotator cuff tendon since April. He actually couldn't believe that I've been playing this long with this injury. You can imagine that I was not very thrilled to hear that my medical team did not see this tear in my shoulder back in April.
The good news is that it didn't get much worse since April but we could have started the healing time back then instead of now.
He does not believe that I need surgery and is sending me to work with a specialist in Arizona next week to do extensive rehab and strength work and he believes that I should be ready to play in 2-3 months. It hurts me so much to miss the Olympics and the US Open, you have no idea, just to type those words hurt!! I think this will be the first grand slam I have ever missed.
Now I need to move forward and stay positive. I am going to work hard to get healthy. I am going to do some extra work for my amazing sponsors who are always patient with me while I am playing tournaments and training. And I'm going to work on some business projects that I never have time to do, which will definitely keep me busy.
Once I'm healthy, I'm sure I'll look at this as a blessing in disguise. Right now it's a bit painful of course, but every athlete goes through these patches and I'm just grateful that this isn't as bad as it could have been.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your support. Will give you another update in a week or so....
Thursday was not a good day to be world no. 1.
Hours after Roger Federer was served out of Cincinnati by Ivo Karlovic, Ana Ivanovic was knocked out of Montreal. The Serb was defeated by big-hitting Austrian Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-1, 2-6 in the third round, giving compatriot Jelena Jankovic a great chance to steal the top ranking by reaching the final.
According to Ana, the right thumb injury she sustained in practice almost two weeks ago hindered her performance last night:
It was very frustrating in the first set. I was really down by [the injury], really felt like I couldn't do anything. And then in the break after the first set, I thought to myself, 'you know what, you still can serve and play your backhand, so just imagine you have a terrible forehand and try to put ball in as you can, try to look for your backhand.'Ana hasn't made any impression on the Tour since winning the French Open and becoming the top lady baller. It's almost as if she's a place holder, keeping the penthouse warm until the real no. 1 comes along. But, I'd chalk this up to a learning experience: learning how to deal with being the hunted and not the huntee.
It worked well for a while. But I guess it wasn't too hard to figure out what she had to do. In the third set, she started playing much more to my forehand. It was just so frustrating that I couldn't control the racket in my hand. I couldn't feel anything. It was very frustrating. I tried to fight as much as I could.
I really wanted to win this match. But obviously she's a very good player and she figured it out...I give her credit for taking her chances and winning this match.
(Casey Dellacqua, Melbourne Park)
Ivo Karlovic came down from the clouds to celebrate his dismissal of Roger Federer 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) in Cincinnati and putting the fate of the Swiss' top ranking squarely in Rafael Nadal's clay-caked hands.
Color me jealous but Dr. Ivo's probably still 6' 5" in that squat position. Must be nice - aaargh.
(image via Getty)
Maria Sharapova just announced she will not be competing at next week's Beijing Olympics due to the nagging right shoulder injury which forced her to withdraw from this week's Rogers Cup:
After yesterdays match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder. After taking a few different exams and MRI's this morning, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder.Bad luck for Shrieka. Let's hope she received the right diagnosis and will get the correct treatment for this now chronic injury or her career longevity will be seriously in question.
There are so many mixed feelings because last night they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve which could have ultimately been much more serious but after the tests this morning, for the first time in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different problem. But on the other hand this is something that needs a lot of time to heal, which really hurts me to say that I have to miss the Olympics.
I'm currently packing up really quick to hop on the plane and head to NY for a second opinion but I wanted to let all of you know first that there's no chance of me competing in Beijing. The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything.
I will keep everyone updated once I get a clear picture of what the next plan is...
The top management of ATP are always think(ing) about continuing playing more and more tournaments in this kind of surface. I think it's not a good way, because if I look the locker room and you look in the trainers' room, everybody have problems, no? On the knees on the foot, every player, no, here (pointing to the hip). So I think it's not the good way. It's the hardest surface for the body, that's for sure.
Is Common going to pop the big question to Serena Williams?
The rumor mill is buzzing over at The Chicago Sun-Times about the potential engagement between the two stars. The pair were first spotted together last November in NYC at sister Venus' launch party for her clothing line EleVen.
Bill Zwecker notes:
Not only is the romance between Chicago rapper and actor Common and tennis queen Serena Williams back on -- I'm hearing an engagement could be in the works. While Williams was very cagey about Common when asked about their relationship at the recent Wimbledon championship (''He's a great guy, but right now, I'm just concentrating on my tennis''), a good Common source says the talented entertainer has been checking out some serious bling -- focusing on some major engagement rings.It's obvious they're still together since they were both seen hitting up the Big Mac 40th Anniversary event although, to be fair, they didn't technically arrive together.
Ryan Corazza over at ESPN the Magazine's blog wonders aloud how many so-called athlete blogs are true blue. Essentially, are the ballers really writing the personal musings themselves and, if not, should we care?
Corazza mentions Rafael Nadal's blog in the article and links to a post written during his championship run at Wimbledon. In it Rafa says,
First of all I would like to apologize for not sending this blog post last night as usual. I always do it after dinner while I'm at the massage table and my physio works on me. I dictate it and my PR manager writes it. This is how I have been doing it every day.Fine to me - he's being completely honest about Benito Perez-Barbadillo, his flack, writing the words he dictates. Corazza argues the same saying,
Pro athletes are busy people, and largely, they aren't wordsworths...So having your sentiments typed up by a close confidant isn't a huge concern to the people who host the sites. It's still them … mostly.But the article got me wondering - how many tennis ballers who say they're writing blogs for different media outlets are actually penning them or, at the very least, dictating them to someone? Should we care??
