Melanie Oudin
Saturday, September 5, 2009 — US Open

Q. Five weeks ago you were playing against a kid from Boston College. Now you just beat a former US Open winner on center court. How do you make the transition?
MELANIE OUDIN: It’s not that hard for me ’cause I love playing tennis no matter who I’m playing. Getting to play Maria today was an unbelievable experience for me. She’s such a great competitor, a great player. I just had a blast playing there today. Read more »

As it was expected, Oudinmania has swept the American press. 17-year-old Melanie Oudin pulled off her second upset of the US Open defeating Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Let’s not get carried away, please!!! As Reuters reported, “Maria Sharapova gift-wrapped the match for Oudin by serving up a mind-boggling 21 double faults and committing 63 unforced errors amid perfect conditions on Arthur Ashe Stadium.” If Sharapova were Serena Williams, she would have said Oudin made some “lucky shots and it was up to her to win it or lose it.” But Maria has always been gracious in her interviews. Read Maria Sharapova’s post-match interview after the cut:  Read more »

If  for some reason can’t watch the US Open matches on your TV, try this site (scroll down). It is free. I am so frustrated with Eurosport. It shows the matches live mostly on Eurosport 2 (which we don’t get here in Luxembourg), and then shows only the taped matched next day on the main Eurosport. I don’t understand the concept of taped replay in this information age. Do you?

Serena Williams’ autobiography On the Line has come out this month. Here is the book description from the publisher:

“One of the biggest stars in tennis, Serena Williams has captured every major title. … From growing up in the tough, hardscrabble neighborhood of Compton, California, to being trained by her father on public tennis courts littered with broken glass and drug paraphernalia, to becoming the top women’s player in the world, Serena has proven to be an inspiration to her legions of fans both young and old. Her accomplishments have not been without struggle: being derailed by injury, devastated by the tragic shooting of her older sister, and criticized for her unorthodox approach to tennis. Yet somehow, Serena always manages to prevail. Both on the court and off, she’s applied the strength and determination that helped her to become a champion to successful pursuits in philanthropy, fashion, television and film. In this compelling and poignant memoir, Serena takes an empowering look at her extraordinary life and what is still to come.”

Do you wonder why Venus Williams was wearing Miami Dolphins T-shirt in her press conference today at US Open? The Williams sisters have to be admired not only for their tennis skills but also for their business and entrepreneurial skills. Only about ten days ago it was reported that the sisters planed to become limited owners of NFL’s Miami Dolphins, and Venus has already been promoting the team at the U.S. Open. Serena also famously uses Twitter to promote her business ventures, let it be her upcoming book or her appearance on Home Shopping Network.  Do you get bothered by Serena’s constant promotional tweets, or you love anything she tweets about?

Sovsport.ru carries an exclusive interview with Maria Sharapova’s coach Michael Joyce. This is the first time he has ever given an interview to a Russian magazine. In an interview he discusses Maria’s well-documented troubles with her shoulder injury, about their partnership and about Yuri Sharapov’s absence from the stands. Also, in response to the journalist’s question if she is more Russian or American by her mentality, Joyce answered:

“Maria is 100 percent Russian. Her mother always cooks Russian food. When her grandmother and grandfather visit them, and the family gathers around the table, it becomes so obvious how much they love Russia. Once we were in Phoenix, and somebody told us there is a Russian store in the city. We had to go to great lengths to find it. Maria bought almost whatever was available in the store. I haven’t seen her that happy for quite some time.”

[TIB: I wonder if he would have given the same answer to the American media. I am just saying:-)]

(Photo: AP)

You can tell the media and the tennis fans are all warming up for the US Open. There is so much happening on the count-down days.

Maria Sharapova has unveiled her new fashion collection by Cole Haan. The three-time Grand Slam singles champion has debuted her Maria Sharapova by Cole Haan collection of handbags and footwear at the Rockefeller center in New York on August 28th.

More photos after the cut. Read more »

Apparently those two couples are still together. Regardless of what they say,  the photos say it better.

Serena Williams and Common attended the “Just Wright” wrap party at Greenhouse on August 25, 2009 in New York City. Serena must be emotionally in a good place, something which can help her secure the US Open title.

Remember them? Photo is as recent as it gets, taken at the US Open’s players party.