Janko Tipsarevic Strips Down For an Underwear Brand

Every year, several male tennis players strip off their inhibitions and pose for the cameras in the buff, some for a cause, others for adverts.  Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, currently #17 in the world, joins the sexy boys of tennis by posing for the underwear brand Extreme Intimo. 

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Viktor Troicki's Girlfriend Suncica Travica

Viktor Troicki of Serbia is one of the more promising young players in the ATP Tour right now and he's currently ranked #15 already due to a good season this year.  Anyhow, while I was checking out his underwear campaign, I chanced upon his girlfiend who's no pushover in the looks department.  Her name is Suncica Travica, and basing on it, she should be Serbian too!

Czech Women's Tennis Experiences A Renaissance

The Czech Republic is another country that has given women's tennis several champions and of course, the first one to come to mind is Martina Navratilova, the greatest women's champion to come from that country.  There is another one that comes to mind, Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna,

Interestingly, this year, another Czech woman wins the Wimbledon title, Petra Kvitova.  She leads the Czech renaissance in women's tennis this year, along with Lucie Safarova (#28) and Petra Cetkovska (#31).

There are actually six Czech women in this week's Top 50.  Aside from the three mentioned, there's Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (#46), Klara Zakopalova (#48) and Lucie Hradecka (#49).  In the Top 100, there's another two, making it eight Czech women in the Top 100 this week!  Impressive!

German Women's Tennis On the Rise Again

One of the more exciting news this year is the renaissance of German women's tennis.  Steffi Graf, arguably the best female German tennis player of all time, was such a dominant force for more than 10 years in the late 80s and early 90s that her departure caused a big void in the game for the next decade or so. 

However, this week, with the developments during the past year, including the surprise semifinal appearances of Sabine Lisicki in Wimbledon and Angelique Kerber in the US Open, you could say that German women's tennis is on the rise again!  To think that Lisicki and Kerber were not even in the Top 2 tier of German tennis when they did those feats!  I think they were both in the lowly 80s before making the surprise run.

This week, there are three German women in the Top 20: #11 Andrea Petkovic, #17 Sabine Lisicki and #20 Julia Goerges.  And there's a second tier within the Top 100 - #33 Angelique Kerber, #77 Mona Barthel and #91 Kristina Barrois.  Andrea reached the Top 10 this year and I won't be surprised if any of the three of them enters the Top 10 next year - or maybe even all three of them!

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Agnieszka Radwanska Into Semi's of the Tokyo Open

Agnieszka Radwanska (#13) of Poland gets into the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.  She defeated Kaia Kanepi (#43) of Estonia 62 76(7), who, in an earlier round, dispatched world #1 Caroline Wozniacki.

In the third round, she won a tight three match set against Serb Jelena Jankovic (#12) 26 64 60.  In the second round, she avenged her US Open loss to German Angelique Kerber (#33) in another tight 3-set match 36 63 63.

In her first round match, she won over Japanese Misaki Doi (#108) 61 61.

She will face world #4 Vera Zvonareva in the semi's.

I pick Vera over her in 3 sets.

Rafael Nadal in Emporio Armani Underwear

Rafael Nadal has one ace over Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.  He can strip down to his skivvies and the whole world drools.  Just check out his latest campaign for Emporio Armani underwear and jeans!  I love the second photo best!  Very naughty pose and look at his eyes!

Pablo Andujar: A Finalist in the Bucharest Open

Pablo Andujar (#43) of Spain was left eating the dust as he lost 36 16 to Florian Mayer in the finals of the Bucharest Open.  He also lost his last final in Stuttgart to Juan Carlos Ferrero.

He defeated top seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the semifinals 64 75.  In the quarters, he defeated Italian Alessandro Giannessi 63 64.  In the second round, he defeated Marius Copil of Romania 62 63.  He drew a bye in the first round.

Florian Mayer Wins First ATP title in Bucharest Open

Florian Mayer (#24) of Germany wins his first ATP title today, as he routs Pablo Andujar (#43) of Spain in the finals of the Bucharest Open 63 61.

In the semi's, he defeated Italian Filippo Volandri (#86) 76(3) 62.  In the quarters, he won over Spaniard Albert Ramos (#87) 61 62.  In the second round, he took care of Argentinian Carlos Berlocq (#71) 62 06 64.  He drew a bye in the first roun.

Filippo Volandri: Semifinalist in the Bucharest Open

Italian Filippo Volandri (#86) has been playing mostly in the ITF circuit this season so it's good that he has reached the semifinals of the Bucharest Open this week, only losing to German Florian Mayer (#24) 76(3) 62.

In the quarters, he routed Joao Souza (#84) of Brazil 62 60.  In the second round, he defeated Marcel Granollers (#31) of Spain 61 63.  In the first round, he won over Rui Machado (#61) of Portugal 63 63.

Juan Ignacio Chela: A Semifinalist in the Bucharest Open

Juan Ignacio Chela (#23) was the top seed in the Bucharest Open, but he lost to Spaniard Pablo Andujar (#43) 46 57 in the semifinals.

In the quarters, he won over Andreas Seppi (#51) 75 63 and in the second round, he routed Frenchman Florent Serra (#146) 61 60.

Gilles Muller A Surprise Semifinalist in the Moselle Open

Gilles Muller (#49) stunned Richard Gasquet (#15) in the quarters, to make it into the semifinals of the Moselle Open, only losing to Ivan Ljubicic (#29) 67(3) 67(5). 

In the second round, he defeated another Frenchman Benoit Paire (#112) 76(5) 64.  In the first round, he edged German Philipp Petzschner (#66) 76(2) 76(5).

Alexandr Dolgopolov Reaches Semi's of Moselle Open

Alexandr Dolgopolov (#20) of Ukraine is slowly making his presence felt in the men's tour.  This week, he reaches the semifinals of the Moselle Open, only losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals 46 46. 

In the quarters, he met the veteran Xavier Malisse (#47) who retired.  In the second round, he edged Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis (#60) 67(5) 75 63

Veteran Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez Wins Fifth WTA Title in Seoul

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (#28) of Spain wins her first WTA title this year in Seoul, and this is her fifth overall.  Her earlier titles came from Bad Gastein, Rome, Bogota and Bastad.  She had a two tight set match with (#82) Galina Voskoboeva 76(0) 76(2).

In the semifinals, she won over Czech Klara Zakopalova (#43) 63 62. In the quarters, she edged German Julia Goerges (#21) 76(6) 61.  She met another Czech in the second round Kristyna Pliskova (#210) 76(5) 62.  In the first round, she defeated American Irina Falconi (#75) 64 64.

Featured Player Hansol Korea Open: Galina Voskoboeva

Galina Voskoboeva (#82) of Kazakhstan has reached her highest ranking ever this week and is coming back nicely from a poor season last year.  This week, she reached the finals of the Hansol Korea Open, losing to eventual champion Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 67(0) 67(2).

In the semi's, she destroyed Slovenian player Polona Hercog (#35) 61 64.  In the quarters, she routed Russian Vera Dushevina (#65) 62 63.  In the second round, she won over Czech Iveta Benesova (#57) 64 64.  In the first round, she defeated Ekaterina Makarova (#42) of Russia 64 64.

Featured Open Hansol Korea Open: Klara Zakopalova

Klara Zakopalova (#43) is one of the Czech Republic's top players and this week, she reached the semifinals of the Hansol Korea Open, only losing to eventual champion Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (#36) 36 26.

In the quarters, she won over American Vania King (#98) 62 46 61.  In the second round, she defeated Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu (#38) 61 61.  In the first round, she defeated Japanese Ayumi Morita (#44) 63 64.

Featured Player Hansol Korea Open: Polona Hercog

Polona Hercog (#35) of Slovenia is one of the most improved players this year, and this time, she reached the semifinals of the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul.  She lost to Galina Voskoboeva (#82) of Kazakhstan 16 46.

In the quarters, she defeated Dominika Cibulkova (#22) 63 61.  In the second round, she routed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 63 75.  In the first round, she defeated Zuzana Kucova (#131) of Slovakia 60 62.

Featured Player Guangzhou Open: Zheng Jie

Zheng Jie (#83) used to be one of China's top players.  She still is but her ranking has slipped a bit in the WTA Tour.  She was one of China's hopefuls in the Guangzhou Open and she reached the semifinals here, only to be defeated by Magdalena Rybarikova (#72) 57 36 in the semifinals.

In the quarters, she defeated Petra Martic (#55) of Croatia 16 64 63.  In the second round, she defeated Thai player Noppawan Leertcheewakarn (#158) 63 75.  In the first round, she defeated Italian player, Alberta Brianti (#58) 76(3) 64.

Featured Player Guangzhou Open: Maria Kirilenko

Maria Kirilenko (#28) is one of Russia's top players and this week in Guangzhou, she reached the semifinals, losing to Chanelle Scheepers (#73) of South Africa 75 57 64. 

In the quarters, she edged Tetiana Luzhanska (#140) of Ukraine 61 75.  In the second round, she routed Iryna Bremond (#112) of France 63 61.  In the first round, she defeated Alona Bondarenko (#140) 64 62.

Featured Player Guangzhou Open: Magdalena Rybarikova

Magdalena Rybarikova (#72) is having a good season this year, reaching another final here in Guangzhou, but this time, losing to Chanelle Scheepers (#73) of South Africa 26 26.  Magda has had wins over some notable WTA players.

In the semi's, she edged hometown favorite Zheng Jie (#83) 75 63.  In the quarters, she took out Jarmila Gajdosova (#34) 64 63.  In the second round, she defeated Aravane Rezai (#106) 64 61.   In the first round, she defeated American veteran Jill Craybas (#117) 63 46 62.

Featured Player Guangzhou Open: Chanelle Scheepers

Chanelle Scheepers (#73) becomes the first South African woman to win a WTA title since Amanda Coetzer in Acapulco in 2003.   She defeated Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova (#72) in convincing fashion 62 62. 

She had a much tougher semifinal, edging Maria Kirilenko (#28) 75 57 64.  In the quarters, she also edged Urszula Radwanska (#105) of Poland 46 76(6) 63.  In the second round, she edged Su-Wei Hsieh (#215) of Chinese-Taipei 36 76(1) 61. In the first round, she defeated Latvian Anastasija Sevastova (#77) 75 16 63.

Featured Player Quebec Open: Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

One of Czech Republic's upcoming players is Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (#75) who won her WTA title ever in the Quebec Open in Quebec City.  She won over Marina Erakovic (#85) of New Zealand in the finals 46 61 60.

In the semi's she defeated Michaella Krajicek (#138) of New Zealand 64 63.  In the quarters, she defeated compatriot Andrea Hlavackova (#103) 63 75. In the second round, she edged Mirjana Lucic (#104) of Croatia 26 61 63 and in the first round, routed Zhang Shuai (#102) of China 64 62.

Featured Player Quebec Open: Marina Erakovic

Marina Erakovic of New Zealand (#85) has reached the first WTA final of this season in Quebec City.  Not really a favorite to win here, Marina almost won her first title, only losing to the Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (#75) 46 61 60.

Marina had two wins over players ranked higher than her.  In the semi's, she won over Tamira Paszek (#40) of Austria 26 75 64 and in the quarters, she edged Daniela Hantuchova (#25) 64 64.  In the second round, she won over Irina Falconi (#74) of the US 63 26 62 and Caroline Garcia (#125) of France in the first round 64 46 64.

Her boyfriend right now is Czech veteran player, Radek Stepanek!

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Featured Player Quebec Open: Michaella Krajicek

Michaella Krajicek (#138) of the Netherlands has reached the semifinals of the Quebec Bell Challenge Open, but she lost to eventual champion, Barbara Zahlavova Strycova (#75) of the Czech Republic in the semi's 46 36.

In the quarters she dumped local favorite, Rebecca Marino (#50) 61 63.  In the second round, she outlasted Frenchwoman Julie Coin (#318) 75 46 61.  In the first round, she made short work of Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier (#331) 76(1) 63.

Featured Player Quebec Open: Tamira Paszek

Austria's #1 player, Tamira Paszek (#40) has been drifting from hot to cold lately, but covers ground again in the Quebec Open, where she reaches the semi's, losing to Marina Erakovic (#85) of New Zealand, 62 57 46. 

In the quarters, she edged British player, Heather Watson (#99) 64 76(5).  In the second round, she defeated American Varvara Lepchenko (#108) 67(2) 63 76(4).  In the first round, she defeated another American Ashley Weinhold (#190) 60 46 62.

Ksenia Pervak: Tashkent Open 2011 Champion

It's not like Russia needed another good player, but Ksenia Pervak (#37) finally has broken into the WTA winner's circle, winning her first title here in the Tashkent Open.  She defeated Czech Eva Birnerova (#93) in the finals 63 61 and Urszula Radwanska (#105) of Poland in the semi's 62 64.

In the quarters, she edged Victoria Larriere (#208) of France 61 62.  In the second round, she edged local player, Sabina Sharipova (#472) of Uzbekistan 63 63.  In the first round, she defeated Galina Voskoboeva (#82) of Kazakhstan 62 75.

Featured Player Tashkent Open: Eva Birnerova

The Czech Republic is the country, other than Russia, which is slowly producing many players in the Top 100 of women's tennis.  A new addition to that list is Eva Birnerova, currently ranked #93 and who made it to the finals of the Tashkent Open, only losing to Ksenia Pervak (#37) of Russia 63 61.

She won over Alla Kudryavtseva (#74) of Russia, the defending champion, in the semi's, and edged another Russian, Valeria Savinykh in the quarters, 64 46 63.  In the second round, she edged another Russian, Evgeniya Rodina (#87) 67(4) 64 61.  In the first round, she won over Junri Namigata (#194) of Japan 64 61

Featured Player Tashkent Open: Alla Kudryavtseva

Alla Kudryavtseva belongs to the third tier of Russian players still waiting for that big break into the Top 50.  Currently ranked at #74, she reached the semi's of the Tashkent Open, before she retired, losing to Eva Birnerova (#93) of the Czech Republic 63 35.  She was the defending champion.

She defeated Sorana Cirstea (#86) of Romania in the quarters 76(5) 64 and defeated compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko (#132) in the second round 61 26 63.  In the first round, she defeated another fellow Russion Vesna Dolonts (#100) 62 75.

Featured Player Tashkent Open: Urszula Radwanska

Urszula Radwanska, Agnieszka's younger sister is slowly trying to make her presence felt in the WTA Tour, by getting into the semi's of the Tashkent Open last week.  Currently ranked at #105, Urszula had some impressive wins before she lost to eventual champion Ksenia Pervak, 26 46.

In the quarters, she edged Greek veteran Eleni Daniilidou (#84) 63 46 64, then defeated hometown favorite Akgul Amanmuradova (#118) in the second round 67(2) 64 63.  Her first round match was against Jana Cepelova (#223) of Slovakia 61 64.

The Philippine Men's Davis Cup Team: Hoping that We Get Back to Group 1 Again

I just read today that our own Philippine Davis Cup team, led by Cecil Mamiit has lost 2-3 to Chinese-Taipei in their Group 1 matches in Cebu City.  Because of this, the Philippines has been relegated to Group 2, in Davis Cup competitions for next year.  Oh well, as they say, when you're down, the only way is up! So hopefully, with the addition of youngster Jeson Patrombon in the mix, and with Treat Conrad Huey in the team, we can climb back into Group 1 again.