Vika is still suffering pain in the ankle that took her out of Indian Wells.
But since that Qf pull she has posted a few fun photos.
There she is giving us tongue at the Miami players party a few days ago.
And shopping in LA in between Indian Wells and Miami.
Get well momma - the meat of the season approaches.
Rafa is in Vina Del Mar to ease his way back onto the ATP tour.
He has not played a professional match since his Wimby loss last June.
Vina Del Mar is a small 250 event that he has never played before.
His first match will take place on Wednesday.
But he will play a doubles match with Juan Monaco on Tuesday.
If all goes well he will play in Brazil & Acapulco.
ALL HAD BETTER GO WELL!
Tennis needs him.
That damn knee.
Defending Olympic champion has pulled from the 2012 London Games.
From his release: I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics...
And therefore will not travel as planned with the Spanish delegation...
To take part in the games. I have to think about my companions...
I can't be selfish and I have to think of what's best for Spanish sport...
Especially tennis and Spanish players and give fellow sportsmen with better...
Preparation the chance to compete.
I tried to hurry my preparations and training to the very last minute...
But it was not to be.
Is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions...
That of being Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games...
In London, cannot be.
You can imagine how difficult it was to take this decision.
Let's hope for a successful return to the summer hard court season.
Mend, Rafa. Mend.
Roland Garros - Men's Second Round
4 Andy Murray d Jarkko Nieminen - 16 64 61 62
Strange match. In the 1set Andy could bare move.
He was dinking his serve in and going for broke early in points.
The trainer came out and then the back loosen up enough to roll.
He said he was a couple points from pulling the plug at on point.
After the match Andy tweeted:
Thanks to everyone that supported me through a really tough day today.
#alwaysbelieve
With Wimby & the London Olympics on the horizon what will he do?
Carry on or get better for Great Britain's sake.
Decisions. Decisions.
Yikes. And here I thought he just wanted to skip the clay court season.
Mardy underwent surgery for an arrhythmia in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
He told USA Today: It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.
During days, I'm totally fine. I can track it and work out fine.
But every time I would go to bed my mind would start racing.
Is this going to happen tonight? Is this going to be another night like that?
It was super hard to go to sleep.
I was completely panicking, I thought I was going to die.
***
He says he'll be back in time for Wimbledon, possibly even Queens Club.
***
I want to stress that I'm good now, I'm fine, they've fixed the problem.
I don't want people to think I missed the French Open because...
I didn't want to go because I was just tired. That's just not the case.
Look, I'm still in the top 10 in the world and still the No. 1 American.
This is still a very fun time for me.
I don't want to sit on my ass while I'm 10 in the world.
***
Get well soon, Mardy.
Serena had been unbeaten on clay this year: 17-0.
But with Roland Garros a week away why chance it.
And as we all know - it's the Slams that matter to Serena, not much else.
With the pull-out Li Na moves into the final to face Sharapova: 6-4/MS.
Serena: I had some problems with my lower back earlier in the week...
It was feeling a little stiff, and I don't think it's the right moment to force it.
It's just life. I've been playing a lot...
And my body is just getting used to playing a lot of matches again, that's all.
I don't have any plans the next day, or the next couple of days...
Because my plans were to play tennis.
I love Rome, and I might stay today or tomorrow.
Photo: Serena visits the Ford suite - Getty Images
WTA Stuttgart - First Round
Andrea Petkovic d WC Kristina Barrois - 61 64
Andrea's last match was a Qf loss at Brisbaine before the Aussie Open.
She snuck into the top 10 but she's dipped to #12 this week.
We will next face top seed Victoria Azarenka - H2H: 1-0/VA.
Welcome back girl!
Photo: Getty Images
Those ankle and hip injuries are just too slow in healing.
So no last run for a title at Roland Garros for the 2-time finalist.
Instead she is focusing on the grass.
Kim is still hopeful for a nice lengthy stay in London.
She wants to be healthy enough to play Wimbledon and the Olympics.
I wouldn't expect to see her in North America later this summer.
The photo is her Twitter profile pic - of happy family times.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
Kim pulled out of Wimbledon just after she was seeded #2.
She posted the following message for her Twitter followers:
Hey guys, bad news... No Wimbledon for me this year.
Injured my ankle during yesterday's match
I feel very upset and dissapointed...
Get well soon.
Photo: AP
Roland Garros - Men's Fourth Round
Fabio Fognini d Alberto Montanes - 46 64 36 63 11-9
Fabio survived 2-5 down in the 5th, 5 MP's, cramos and a ton of foot faults.
But more than that he survived a highly controvercial injury timeout.
He is the first Italian to make the RG Qf's since 1995.
This is his 1st Slam Qf - he's never been past the 3rd round before.
The bad news: Fabio gets to be Novak's next victim.
Photo: Reuters
Roland Garros - Men's Third Round
4 Andy Murray d Michael Berrer - 62 63 62
Andy went over on his ankle early in the 2nd set.
He had it taped and was able to finish the match (un)comfortably.
But how it reacts in before his next match on Monday is still unknown.
Andy: I don't know if I will be 100 per cent fit.
I don't know if I will be playing the next match. Maybe I will be.
And with his beloved Wimbledon just weeks away... Well, you get the idea.
Tough luck: Just as Andy seemed poised for a Sf run.
Photo: Getty Images
Roland Garros - Women's Second Round
3 Vera Zvonareva d Q Sabine Lisicki - 46 75 75
Scenes like this are just so sad.
And she was thisclose to upsetting Vera. Thisclose. Match point close.
Sabine: I started cramping at the end of the second set.
This continued in the third. From 4-2, I began to feel dizzy and...
Had problems seeing the ball clearly.
At no point did I think of retiring and I kept fighting until the end.
Admirable. Scary, but admirable.
Photo: Getty Images
Serena also changed her avi to this sexy shot.
Va va va voom.
Her tweet: My thanks to all of you guys for the love and support.
I will miss Paris however,
I am working hard to make my return unforgettable.
We eager await.
Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Third Round
1 Rafael Nadal d Juan Martin Del Potro - w/o
Too bad.
I was really looking forward to this one as it promised to be quite a cracker.
This will move Rafa into the Qf's at Madrid for the 7th time: 4-2.
It also marks his 45th trip to a Masters 1000 Qf: 36-8.
DelPo picked up the hip injury while winning at Estoril last week.
DelPo: The pain is getting worse day-by-day so I didn’t want to risk it.
I have experience about injuries so I took the decision not to play.
And here's the real kicker DelPo fans: I won’t be in Rome...
And I don’t know if I’ll be able to play in Nice or Roland Garros.
Get well soon DelPo - you are too good for the game to be out.
DelPo photo: Reuters
And boy did she make it count. My goodness. Yowza.
Serena just tweeted this photo moments ago.
I'm dying. And blinded.
I just flashed back to Anne Smith at Wimbledon years ago.
Bonus points to anyone who gets that reference!
I wonder when Serena will make her comeback...
Will she dare a clay court return or just wait for the grass.
That mystery will be answered soon.
Welcome back (to practice anyway) Serena.
The minute this story broke yesterday I immediately thought: high heels. This sucks, as a Kimmie fan I was looking forward to seeing her get back to Roland Garros - she has played their since her Sf showing in '06. Remember she missed last year owing to injury as well. I suppose there is a small chance but...
From Kim's website: Kim has injured her ankle. She won't be able to compete for four to six weeks. Her participation in the French Open is no longer certain.
At the wedding party of her cousin Tim, Kim injured her ankle severely. The consequences are rather dire. After a visit to the doctor, echo and NMR the diagnosis is a severe strain of both the medial and lateral ligaments of the right ankle and a torn ligaments, a torn capsule of the ankle joint, a hematoma and torn tendon sheath.
Kim's ankle is now completely immobilised and she can not use her foot for a few days. Kim faces a recovery of at least four to six weeks. Since the French Open starts in literally six weeks, Kim's presence in Paris is very uncertain. In the meantime Kim has to continue working on her recovery of a shoulder and wrist injury.
Photo: Getty Images - of happier days.
Indian Wells WTA - Fourth Round
15 Marion Bartoli d 2 Kim Clijsters - 36 3-1 ret.
Kim retired with a shoulder injury. She had tweeted of the pain earlier.
She called the trainer for a medical TO - then played only a few more points.
Suddenly it seems defending at Miami may be in jeopardy.
And Kim will have to put that #1 ranking on the back-burner for a bit longer.
***
Marion moves into her 4th Premier Mandatory Qf: 2-1. Her 1st in IW.
She will face Ana Ivanovic - H2H: 4-2/AI. Tho in 2010 they went 2-1/MB.
About the pic: Marion offered me a sweet smile on Saturday in IW.
In return, I thanked her softly. I got the sense that she appreciated that.
Fernando Verdasco Enjoying His Injury Time Off
Well, if you have to sit out of the tour why not float around the Bahamas.
I'm sure he'd rather be mixing it up with the boys in Acapulco.
Fern is aiming for an Indian Wells return.
Hope so.
Posted at 07:50 AM in Commentary, Fernando Verdasco, Injury, Mens Tennis, So Sexy Man | Permalink | Comments (0)
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