Keep up, would you?

The first day of a slam. It’s all so exciting and you make plans that it’s going to be such a fun and relaxed day of tennis-watching. Two hours go by and suddenly everything is happening at the same time, you can’t keep up and it is now super stressful. We fumble with our keyboards trying to flip streams because Twitter said a good match is going on at Court 18. What if it ends up becoming an epic? No one wants to miss out on an epic. *fumble* *fumble* *bufferiiiiiiing…* “Goddamnit!” Also, World No. 547 is leading the 12th seed over on MCA. “Wait, he was but not anymore? Is my stream delayed?” No. 22 is getting routined over at 4. Your sometimes favorite is in a deciding set against some dangerous floater. There’s an upset alert on Hise… RaaaaaaaaaahIlovetennis!

I tried to absorb as much as I could on Day 1 of the Australian Open. I tried so hard that my brain was starting to tap out before the day session ended then nodded off 2 games into the Hewitt-Tipsarvic match. WEAK. In no particular order, here’s what I remember most about the first day:

• You don’t engage in a long rally with a “rusty” Maria Sharapova because she’ll come alive.
• Venus Williams is looking sharp early on and is on course to meet Sharapova in the 3rd round.
• Sam Stosur won her first match of the year! Phew.
• Agree with Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic is still good at tennis.
• Patrick McEnroe’s seemingly ridiculous prediction almost came true. That’s what you get for laughing, tennis world. And me, too.
• Grigor Dimitrov flames out to veteran, Julian Benneteau. Kid still has a lot of work to do on the tennis court. *winkyfaceemoji*
• What happened, Juan Monaco? And who is Andrey Kuznetsov?
• Sad we won’t be seeing more of Mona Barthel’s wide array of outfits.
• Ana Ivanovic scored a good win over Melinda Czink.
• Yung-Jan Chan def Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. Yeeeaaaap, this is Dani’s life these days.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few notable matches/results because I don’t think this is even 1/4 of the Day 1 happenings. Aaah! Let’s do it again!

Image © Getty Images

Not a lesson in modesty

Bernard Tomic won his first ever ATP World Tour title in Sydney after defeating Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in the finals and he’s feeling reeeeal good.

“I feel unstoppable. I feel like I’m playing great tennis and when you know no-one can beat you – not even the number one – you’ve got a good feeling and it’s amazing stepping on court, you’re so confident.”

Number 1? As in Novak Djokovic? Because the last time I checked, Bernie hasn’t won a single match against the Serb. In their most recent Tour meeting in Toronto last August, he managed to win only 5 games. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, kid. 42 ranking spots and 33 titles, including 5 majors, separate him and the World No. 1.

Update: Looks like I missed Bernie beating Nole at the Hopman Cup a few weeks ago. They don’t take stuff so seriously there but, hey, a win is a win. Or something. (Thanks, ccmac!)

And Bernie didn’t stop there. There’s also this gem from his pre-tournament presser in Melbourne.

Q. I’m sure you’ll probably say ‘take it one match at a time’. Third round against Roger Federer, can you beat him?

BERNARD TOMIC: Well, I saw the papers this morning (laughter).

Well, if he gets that far. I mean, like I said, the first round is my goal, to beat this guy. I do struggle against some guys out there. I don’t know how this guy can play. If the possibility comes for me to win that first match, I’ll look for my next round, which is also tough.

I would love to get in that position to play Roger in the third round. He has to get there as well. You don’t know what can happen. Tennis is a funny sport. So we’ll see.

I mean, what he said isn’t technically wrong but a little more respect to one of the greatest tennis players of all time would be nice.

Arrogance aside, it seems like the “up and comers” have decided to arrive this year with Bernie lifting his first big boy trophy and Grigor Dimitrov reaching the finals of Brisbane last week. If this holds up, it’s going to be a very exciting year.

Serena & Andy early favorites for Oz

Serena Williams started off the new season right where she left off. Errr, that’s winning, if you’ve been living under a tree. As usual, it’s hard to see anyone beating Serena in Melbourne but a Viriginie Razzano could always emerge out of nowhere. And only a Virginie catching Serena on an off day can beat her. Vika and Masha ain’t doin’ it.

Between training, playing and winning, Serena found some time to take a stroll around Brisbane. She looked super relaxed in this cute floral number. (Side note: Florals will forever be this to me.)

Current US Open champ, Andy Murray, successfully defended his Brisbane title. He looked a little off, especially during his opening round, but worked his way through a soft-ish field. Shaky play isn’t ideal but Andy will walk into a Slam grounds as a major champion for the first time ever. That should do some weird (in a good way) things to his confidence.

During his winner’s speech, Andy revealed that he’s been playing with a heavy heart as his best friend and doubles specialist, Ross Hutchins, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last December. Ross announced via Twitter that he will be taking time off tennis to undergo treatment for the disease.

I am doing well, very positive with excellent medical support,friends and family around me. Looking forward to being back on the court soon!

— Ross Hutchins (@RoscoHutchins) January 6, 2013

I wish Ross a smooth and speedy recovery!

Images © Getty

Rafa out of Oz

Rafa announced yesterday that he will be skipping Doha and Melbourne due to a stomach virus. He said via Facebook:

As my team and doctors say, the safest thing to do is to do things well and this virus has delayed my plans of playing these weeks. I will have to wait until the Acapulco tournament to compete again although I could consider to play before at any other ATP event

My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors, but this virus didn’t allow me to practice this past week and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled.

I did an extensive research on stomach infections (WebMD) and found out that these things usually take about 2-5 days. Skipping Doha, which starts Monday, totally makes sense but Melbourne doesn’t start until the 14th and he’s out of that too. This caused a widespread panic among tennis fans that Rafa’s knees might never be ready. (ZOMG, will he have to go under the knife?!) We thought he might be able to play the Davis Cup final a little over 6 weeks ago but didn’t. Now, we’re hoping he’ll show up in Acapulco which is over 8 weeks away! (Okay, maybe sooner but not til Acapulco?!)

I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for Rafa and his team. I’m bummed that we can’t frazzle over a potential Rafa-Andy semi then Rafa-Fed final at every draw announcement but, whatever their reasons for delaying his return another 8 weeks, I’d rather see him later fully fit than risk getting re-injured and be out again for months and months.

Image © Ben Solomon/Tennis Australia

Top 12 Style Moments of 2012

Leave your tennis shorts at home. It’s time for some tailored suits, couture dresses and, heck, even intimates! A look back at 12 of my favorite style moments (with a mishap or two) from 2012.

#12 A “good look” doesn’t always require clothes

Feli dares you to disagree.

#11 This is her.

More on clothes being optional in looking good, Caro also showed off her great bod when she modeled her new underwear line. Weeeell, atleast this was different from her off-court staple, Herve Leger, which I’m sure she wore on her way to the shoot.

#10 Nole goes tie-less

What’s so special about Nole wearing a suit? I’m not sure but for whatever reason he looks damn good in this one. Plus, I’m a total sucker for the glasses. And… well, yeah, it’s mostly the glasses.

#9 Kickin’ it in some Air Yeezy IIs

Everybody knows that Roger always looks great in a suit (see Suiterer link above) so seeing him walk around in these Kanye West-designed Air Yeezy IIs (with some non-blue jeans!) was a nice surprise. You gained some extra cool points with me on that one, Mr. RF. 

#8 Some chiffon lace and tape?

Masha’s the best dressed female athlete 90% of the time. This is Exhibit A of that other 10%. I gotta give her props for keeping it together the entire night  because that Alexander McQueen was begging for a malfunction.

#7 Bogo didn’t get the memo

Well, Bogo does seem like a jeans and sneakers kinda guy so why force him into some wool? Either that or nobody bothered to tell him that he was supposed to show up in atleast a two-piece. Whoops.

 #6 Milos does prep

I normally don’t care for the preppy look. (It reminds me of A&F and I’m not that brand’s biggest fan.) But it’s Milos! Not in a hoodie! But in a cardi! Looking adorbs!

#5 Love Him 2 Times

Rafa’s a hipster? The low v-neck graphic tee, red shorts and undone hair totally says so. Who knew?! Hipster!Rafa just might be my favorite off-court style Rafa.

#4 Winning looks good on you

Vika looked great in this little ensemble she wore for her official Australian Open trophy pictures. She looked fresh and young and the blue/green combo worked well with that new, large, shiny accessory.

#3 The wig that shook the tennis world

The amount of buzz this wig generated was ridiculous. I wish the actual photoshoot it was used for was talked about as much because it’s a great spread. There was some really bold styling and we’ve never seen Masha in anything like it before. (Menswear on a woman? Where do I sign up?)

#2 Serena covers US Vogue

Serena’s the first tennis player to ever grace the cover of US Vogue. She often talks about her love for fashion so I can only imagine how excited she was to be on the cover of the biggest fashion magazine in the world. This is only the second time US Vogue has featured athletes on the cover. I may have fist pumped for Serena when this came out.

#1 Wintour throws RF a birthday party

Being on the cover of Vogue is pretty hard to top but Roger, style maestro of the entire tennis world, can do it. How? By being thrown a birthday soiree by US Vogue’s editor-in-chief and tennis fan, Anna Wintour, herself. Some of the guests were the who’s who of the fashion world—Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and David Lauren.

Was there ever a doubt that Roger would be at the top of this list? I think not. I’m sure I missed a look or 10 here and there. Feel free to refresh my memory.

via Just Jared, freshness, The Slice, More Than Stats, 10sworld, Guest of a Guest

Sugarpova in LA

Maria Sharapova did the West Coast launch of her candy line, Sugarpova, last night at the It’Sugar store in Universal City. She looked great on the pink carpet and was very excited to talk about this new venture. Masha signed hundreds of bags of candy and took photos with fans and sweet tooth-ers.

Ummm. Look out, Mash.

Sugarpovaland

 Prepping and waiting for The Pova to arrive.

Aaaaand she’s taller than everyone else. Forever.

Yup.

Images © Maria Noble/thedoublebagel

IIWAPE

Let us (me) play a game called: If I Were A Photo Editor. Here are some of the photos I’d use to wrap the London 2012 Games.

A typical tennis audience size. Juuuuuuuust kidding.

Pins are apparently all the craze at the Olympics. I’m assuming Vee received the coveted RF pin.

A glitch in the system! This rare hair moment during the semifinals should have set off alarms that things were going to be very messy.

See photo. Use photo.

“Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka shared a laugh together.” Nobody would have believed me if there wasn’t photographic evidence.

Sisters.

My new life goal is to smack an Olympic gold medalist’s face with a flag. Because why not?

Goodnight.

Images via AP, Getty