Archive for: November 2008

Serbian cutie pie, Ana Ivanovic, has a boyfriend. She has been hanging out with Fernando Verdasco of Spain, the hero of Spain’s Davis Cup triumph against Argentina.

Apparently they got close in Beijing after Ana was out of the Olympics. Verdasco was also a spectator at the Doha end of season jamboree supporting Ivanovic. Unfortunately, Ivanovic’s 2008 season-end play on the court was not as impressive as Verdasco’s.

So, all you guys who were hoping to win Ivanovic’s hand, you better get busy. She may be slipping through your fingers!

Good news tennis fans! Russian cutie pie Maria Sharapova will be back to defend her Australian Open title in mid-January, according to her agent.

The timeline for her recovery from a shoulder injury suffered during the last season is on schedule. She tore a rotator cuff tendon in her right shoulder in July, causing her to take about five months off.

Her time off has caused her to slip in the rankings to No. 9 at the end of the 2008 season. Hopefully her shoulder will be fully recovered, and she can begin climbing back up the rankings.

Serbian tennis cutie pie, Ana Ivanovic, is scheduled to face off with Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Venus Williams in a one-night-only single-elimination showdown at Madison Square Garden Monday, March 2, 2009. The event will be telecast live on HBO beginning at 7:30 p.m.

These four player each held the No. 1 ranking at least once, and will compete in a one-set semifinal. The winners will move on to a best-of-three-set final.

Jankovic is currently ranked No. 1, Serena Williams No. 2, Ivanovic No. 5, and Venus Williams No. 6. Ironically Jankovic is the only one of the four to have never won a Grand Slam, and she is currently No. 1.

Serbian cutie pie, Ana Ivanovic celebrates her 21st birthday with a piece of birthday cake. Ivanovic was at the 2008 WTA Sony Ericsson Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar at the time.

Ivanovic has a smile on her face while celebrating her birthday, but it was not a good tournament for her. She lost all three of her round robin matches leaving her out of the final four.

Her round robin losses were to fellow Serbian, world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 3-6, 4-6. No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 2-6, 5-7, and No. 7 ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6.

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia receives her trophy from WTA CEO Larry Scott for ending the year ranked No. 1 in the WTA world rankings. Jankovic had just defeated No. 4 ranked Serbian cutie pie, Ana Ivanovic in her first round robin match at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Tour Championships on Nov. 4 in Doha, Qatar.

In her second round robin match, Jankovic defeated fellow Russian, No. 8 ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (8-6) 6-4. She then lost to Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 3-6, 4-6.

Jankovic’s round robin wins got her into the semifinals where she lost to Venus Williams of the USA. Williams defeated Zvonareva for the championship.

Russian cutie pie, Elena Dementieva made it to the semifinals in the 2008 WTA Sony Ericsson Tour Championships played Nov. 3-10 at Doha, Qatar. Dementieva was defeated in that match by No. 7 ranked fellow Russian, Vera Zvonareva in a close 3-set match, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 3-6.

In these championships, the first rounds are played as round-robins to make it to the final four. The final two matches are played out as a regular tournament.

Happy Birthday to sexy, tennis cutie pie, Ana Ivanovic. She turns 21 today. In Nebraska, USA, where I live, she could now go to a bar and have a drink to celebrate. In Serbia, where she was born, 18 is considered the legal age for drinking. Her residence is listed as Basel, Switzerland. Switzerland prohibits minors from buying alcohol, but there is no age restriction for the consumption of alcohol. Wine, beer and ciders as well as some other party drinks can be purchased by the age of 16. Spirits as well as alcopops can be sold only to people above the age of 18. So I’m sure if Ivanovic has a drink for her birthday, it will not be her first.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia defeated Michaella Krajicek from the Netherlands for the championship of the ITF $100,000+H Bratislava 2008 on Sunday. Pavlyuchenkova made it look easy, winning the match 6-3, 6-1.

That’s the way it should have gone according to the numbers, No. 56 Pavlyuchenkova vs. No. 316 Krajicek. It’s nice to see the numbers work sometimes.

How do you think Conan O’brien would do playing Serena Williams in tennis? Well, O’brien challenged Serena Williams to a game of Wii Tennis on his show recently. You can watch the 3.5 minute video at iambordedr.com.

When I saw this photo I thought Serena Williams had designed the ultimate tennis outfit. I was ready for this design to catch on and all the cutie pies to start wearing them on the court. I’m guessing every match would be sold out for as long as there was tennis.

But alas, it seems this is only an outfit Serena wears to movie premieres. According to Lingerie Endorsements, Serena Williams was the center of attention in November 2004, when “she reached a new level of exposure at the London premiere of Pierce Brosnan’s new film, After the Sunset. In an outfit that had a near-topless effect, Serena Williams wore a red gown with strips of sheer fabric.”