Li Na na!

Always, always awesome, this Li Na. And I don’t mean just in tennis— although, she’s very good at that too. She did beat the tournament favorite, Victoria Azarenka, today in their quarterfinal match. After a tight first set and being a break down early in the second, she ran through Vika and finished the match convincingly. Older, wiser and much calmer was all I could think of in that second set.

But Nails’ most awesomeness comes out in her interviews.

Q. Are you happier playing a player who hits flat and likes to end points?

NA LI: I mean, I don’t like someone play like Spanish player, like topspin, dropshot, I always have run and hit the ball. I hate that. I like to stand there. Yeah. (Laughter.)

I want to be friends with her.

Image via Getty

RG 2011 lewks

Roland Garros fashion isn’t really a big thing. I mean, compared to Wimbledon, feels like the players (and their sponsors) don’t put as much effort into their on-court looks in RG. Which is weird because… well, they are in Paris. Perhaps they know that they’ll get dirt all over the garment at the end of every match.

That said, some still showed up in new kits and some are even pretty.

But then there are also these messes.

Nike: 1000, Lacoste: 1, The Rest: 0

Also, what’s up with adidas not having any new kits for Roland Garros? You have to put the World Number 1 in a new dress for a slam, Stella.

Images via Getty, AP

Masha and Nole win Rome

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Please take a moment and let Masha’s smile (happiness) sink in. … Sunk? Awesome.

Maria Sharapova won her third career clay court title after she defeated Samantha Stosur in the finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, 6-2, 6-4. Masha’s last two titles have been on red clay. RED CLAY. Obviously, she was lying when she said she feels like a “cow on ice” when she plays on the dirt. Except not.

En route to the title, Masha breezed through the early rounds then got a retirement from Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. Vika couldn’t finish their match after having won the first set. Masha’s biggest win of the tournament, and of the year, came in the semis when defeated the World Number 1, Caroline Wozniacki. Caro’s owned her in their last two meetings, at last year’s US Open and in Indian Wells last March, both on hard courts but this time the clay gave Masha that extra second to really set up for her shots and not throw in silly errors off the ground.

This title run’s a huge confidence booster, particularly for Roland Garros. I wouldn’t say Masha’s a favorite but I also wouldn’t say she won’t force herself upon that RG trophy.

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Pssstt.. I’m so happy.

ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images

This is not going to end, is it? Novak Djokovic’s incredible winning streak lives on some more after he defeated Rafael Nadal (again) in the finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, 6-4, 6-4. He is now on a 37-match win streak on the Tour and is still undefeated in 2011. Duh.

The hard court wins over Rafa in Indian Wells and Miami were good, the Madrid win was great but now this is just crazy ridiculous. All the odds were against Nole going into the finals. He played a 3-hour match the night before against Andy Murray and was clearly in some pain, stretching and bending over during the match. Also, Rome has one of the slower surfaces which obviously favors Rafa. Everyone (me) was positive the streak was going to end. Nope. Nole and his backhand clearly knows more than everyone (me).

Nole has already qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals and they haven’t even played the second slam of the year yet. I have no more words.

ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images

F-ing bitch

Victoria Azarenka said “fucking bitch” during her match and it was pretty amusing. It appears like she’s looked at her opponent, Maria Sharapova, before and after she said it. But she tweeted that it wasn’t towards her opponent but to herself. I guess that’s one way to pump yourself up after you win a set that almost got away. I have no problem with it- even if she did say it toward Mash. It’s all part of competing and wanting to win and in the heat of the moment we all say things that we don’t always mean.

The match was building up to be a good one for the fans. Dramaaaaz! Unfortunately, while trying to reach for a forehand early in the second set, Vika injured her elbow. She received some treatment for it and tried to continue but it only seemed to get worse. With Roland Garros coming up in a week, the last thing she wants is to injury it severely. Vika’s got a great shot at the big one in Paris so hopefully that elbow and the rest of her body, really, will cooperate.

Vika 2.0, Zen!Vika, has been shaken a bit this week. Yesterday, during her match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she had a few words with a spectator who applauded her error. Today, Masha let out a big “come on” after Vika netted a pretty easy forehand and that didn’t sit very well with her. (Masha was on the defense during most of that point. Not defending the bitch, just saying.) Many think that was the reason why she let out the f-bomb. Harness the zen, Vika, it does you well.

Like I said before, I really hope Masha/Vika will become a real rivalry. It’s so much fun to watch when they’re both playing at a high level and absolutely killing the ball. Also, the shriek haters are so pressed, it’s funny.

Petra and Nole win Madrid

Petra Kvitova defeated the (kinda) streaking Victoria Azarenka in the finals of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain to win her second title of the year. En route to the title, she also defeated Vera Zvonareva and Li Na. Petra joins the Top 10 this week for the first time in her career.

This clay season has been a big help to the ladies who are known to hit quality groundies but not hit them consistently. I’ve talked about Julia Goerges’ success and now Petra winning a Premiere tournament. I’m still trying to figure out what it is about this season. Eh, maybe it’s just like the rest of the clay court seasons before where different names pop up on weekends. Either way, fun times!

Way to prove me wrong, dude. Novak Djokovic’s winning streak lives on. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain to win another title. NBD. I am contemplating now if this can go on forever because it feels like it. He’s at a 33-match win streak (5000 if you include Hopman Cup and Davis Cup) and has won 6 titles this year. That’s how many titles a pretty decent pro wins in a career. Like, if I knew someone whose won 6 ATP career titles, I’d probably go around town feeling like the shit.

Nole doesn’t even look excited anymore. LOOK AT HIM! Yeah, NEXT!

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Nole and Vika win second Miami titles

Victoria Azarenka won her second Sony Ericsson Open title on Saturday after she destroyed Maria Sharapova in the finals, 6-1, 6-4. Going into Miami, Vika (and the rest of the tennis world) was unsure on how she’d hold up due to the minor injury she suffered in Indian Wells the week prior. She had some struggles in the early rounds but found her form just in time to dismantle some title contenders; Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals, Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals and then Masha (LOL, title contender).

The key to her success? ZEN.

Q.  What’s the key?

VICTORIA AZARENKA:  What’s the key?  I just don’t care if I lose.  I’m just there to do the best I can.  I’m going to fight for every ball, and for me it’s just to do the best job as possible.  What outcome comes out, it’s not up to me.  I’m just there to do my best job.

Q.  I think most athletes would probably tell you if you don’t care if you win you’re probably not going to win.  Seems contradictory.

VICTORIA AZARENKA:  Yeah, for sure.  Well, you always care to win.  What I meant by not caring about losing is not to create such a big drama out of it.  If you lose the match, I mean, you just lose a tennis match.  It’s not the end of the world. You can see so many things happening in the world, and I know it sounds a little bit out there, but look what happens in Japan, for example, and we’re here playing tennis, being able to do something that we love.

I’m very happy to see this transformation from Vika. I’ve always liked her and my two encounters with her have been pleasant. When Masha was out for that surgery, I turned to Vika for support… I mean, to support. But I have noticed her not so pleasant on-court demeanor and that kind of tainted my like for her. I hope she keeps working on this zen attitude. If she does, I have a feeling she’ll finally win that even bigger one. Plus, I’ve always thought she would do it before Caroline Wozniacki so… davai, Vika!

As for Masha, it’s been a pretty great 4 weeks. She couldn’t practice for a while after Fed Cup and had little time for full training before embarking on the ever tough Indian Wells and Miami double. Whodathunk she’d reach the semis in IW and then finals in Miami?

I’m a little late but welcome back to the Top 10, Mash!

Q.  What does it mean to you to be back in the top 10?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Well, it means that I’m winning matches and winning more of them.  It’s been a long road to get here. It’s not over yet, so, yeah, just keep going.

I wouldn’t mind a rivalry between Masha and Vika. More than anything, just to spite the shriek haters.

Novak Djokovic’s incredible winning streak continues, he is still undefeated in 2011. He won his second Sony Ericsson Open title (fourth title for the year) after he defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals again, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). Both guys looked to be low on energy in the beginning of the match. Nole hit error after error to fall behind 1-5 and eventually lose the first set 4-6. After that error-filled start, Nole rallied to win the match in a tight final set tiebreak. Rafa blinked first in that breaker when he double faulted at 2-2.

It’s a tad disappointing for Rafa. I thought he’d get a jolt of confidence after easily beating Roger Federer in the semifinals and top it with some extra motivation to not lose to the same player in consecutive finals. But Rafa has been struggling with his serve since Indian Wells and that’s a huge problem against Nole, returner extraordinaire.

Q.  What do you think is the reason that you weren’t serving as well?

RAFAEL NADAL:  I always say the same:  If I know the reason, I [am] never going to do it.  That’s part of the game.  Maybe because I was a little bit more nervous than other days, second final, maybe because I never won here and this is the third chance. I played against a player who’s playing well, and I lost [to] last week.  All of these facts maybe can affect to be a little bit more nervous, and the serve is a little bit part of that.

In general, I think I didn’t play as well as I did two days ago.  I didn’t play bad, that’s true.  I was close on probably his favorite surface and against the best Novak Djokovic.

This IW/Miami double has been fun to follow as it showcased to the tennis world a (kinda) new rivalry. I can’t wait to watch this one for the years to come. (Injury, go die a slow death.) As the tour moves to clay, the favor will shift to Rafa and he’ll most likely continue to dominate that surface. I am, however, excited to see what Nole will bring to the dirt.

Images via Getty

PS

Close, but no cigar. I am not a fan of predictions and I tweeted that because I thought it was impossible. In my head that went, “Rafa and Masha for Miami 2011 then. HAHAHAHA!” Both were in no shape to make deep runs in Miami after Indian Wells. Only one superhuman is allowed per season and clearly Nole is it this year. I forgot about that tweet until April Fool’s night. After I remembered it, I instantly knew that I just jinxed the fuck out of them. I wish I hadn’t remembered!

The ladies party in Miami

We all got a little preview of all the looks the pros rocked at the Sony Ericsson Open player party in Key Biscane last night thanks to Craig Hickman tweeting them over at GVTennisNews. You can go check out some more of their photos here.

Let’s judge the heck out of these lewks, shall we? Not that I have fashion creds or anything. This is an escape for me from my sorry social life… sitting here in my PJs, hair and make-up not done, etc.

It’s great to see Vee again but this dress is kinda meh/boring and something’s not working. Neckline, maybe? Also, girl should work those curves some more.

Are those different schools of fish? Okay, next.

LOL, Anastasia, whut is that? Sveta looks totally adorbs! And Anna K looks good. She should give Vika some tips on how to work a blazer.

I can see Masha’s tanlines. She’s got a thing for sheer clothing in Miami and I wish she didn’t. Love the skirt though!

As usual, Mel looks cute. She always looks her age when she dresses up for these events. I’m still deciding if that’s a good thing or if it’s totes boring.

I kinda like JJ’s dress but her face looks frozen in all her pictures floating around the interwebs. Like… botox-ed up ala Housewives of Beverly Hills, it’s quite unflattering.

Images via Getty