US Open - Tennis

[AIWANNABE]

The last two years Younes El Aynaoui has been a quater-finalist but this year he retired after the first set againest Taylor Dent.

A hold and a break later and Dent had a 5-1 lead, and El Aynaoui headed over to the sideline. It turns out he was hobbled, and he needed a long injury timeout to tend to a large blister on his foot, the same foot that cause him to miss six months and pull out of the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.

I am shocked that Karolina Sprem was eliminated. She was the one who beat Venus at Wimbledon.

[Fanatic277]

Serena Williams played great yesterday, she beat Sandra Kleinova 6-1 6-3. She played like she did when she was number one in the world, hopefully she can continue playing well.

Former World No. 1 Serena Williams' march towards reclaiming her US Open title began in stunning fashion when she overpowered Sandra Kleinova 6-1, 6-3 in a first round match. Williams made quick work of Kleinova, taking just 53 minutes to finish off the 26-year-old from the Czech Republic in front 23,000 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I think everyone out here would prefer to win all their matches really easy," Williams said. "I know I do. It saves my energy."

Williams advances to the second round where she will square off with American countrywoman Lindsay Lee-Waters.

The 22-year-old Williams had more winners (35-3) and aces (7-0) than Kleinova and won 83 percent of her first serve points.

"I am finally getting to a point where I'm actually playing better and focussing better," Williams said. "I think I performed at a decent level."

This was Williams' first singles match in a month as she embarks on a mission to re-emerge as the best female player in the world. "This (US Open) is my favourite (Grand Slam tournament) because its the first one I ever won," she said.

Williams, who has won this event twice before (2002, 1999), skipped last year's US Open after undergoing surgery to repair a damaged left knee that kept her sidelined until March.

With both Serena and her sister Venus absent due to injuries, Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne captured the 2003 title. Serena made a last-minute decision to pull out of the Athens Olympics but said her knee started feeling better the day after she decided not to get on a plane to Europe.

Asked how her knee felt during Monday's match, she said, "I am feeling pretty good out there."

Serena, who lately has been spending more time talking about what she plans to wear on the court than how she plans to beat her opponents, hasn't won a major in over a year. On Monday, she warmed up with a pair of knee-high black boots but decided not discard them for a regular pair of sneakers in the match.

"It is like a rebel look. I am being really rebellious," she said.

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040831/3/6813.html

[Fanatic277]

Here's Serena's new outfit.

[unexplained]

I was hoping she play with her boots, Fan. That would be a sight.

For you Fan ,

[unexplained]

But the biggest news of the day came from Todd Martin, who waved goodbye to the crowd after his four set loss to No. 31 Fabrice Santoro, indicating that he plans to retire from tennis.

Heartbreaking. He has always been an endearing figure in the men's circuit.

[AIWANNABE]

Somebody told me, Serena played in boots, and I didn't believe them. I looked online for pictures this morning, and my jaw literally dropped.

[Mariner]

Actually, she just warmed up in boots. They told her she couldn't play in them.

[Fanatic277]

I was hoping she'd play in her boots too UE, that would've been interesting!

Thanks for the great pic of Carlos.





Here's one of Juan Carlos for you. Shame the trainer is in the way.

[Mariner]

It took Henman 5 sets and 3:37 but he managed to get through the first round.

[AIWANNABE]

2003 finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero won a five-set thriller Tuesday, defeating Czech qualifier Tomas Zib, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in his first-round match. Earlier today, Tim Henman also narrowly escaped defeat with a victory over Ivo Karlovic. Other Day 2 winners include Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport, Paradorn Srichaphan and Nicolas Massu. Defending champion Andy Roddick will play in Arthur Ashe Stadium later tonight.

In other news, Maria Sharapova almost got eliminated in a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. I really wish she had.

I just found out that Chandra Rubin is back!