This weekend our opponents are local rivals Arsenal and the fixture is probably the most important game we have played against Arsenal since a 1-1 draw in 2007 that ended our slim title hopes.

Arsenal like in 2008 have had an amazing start to the season, with the young players groomed by Arsene Wenger playing attractive attacking football and surging up the table.

In 2008 Arsenal buckled under the pressure and we narrowly missed out to Manchester United in the title race, it has now been 6 years without a title and patience at the Emirates can only buy so much time and the question is how this crop of players will react when the pressure mounts?

Despite defeat to Sunderland last week the match on Sunday brings the league’s two form teams together and gives us a chance to record 3 straight wins against last season’s top four sides.

Hopefully Carlo Ancelotti will have an almost full strength squad to pick from for this game with Lampard, Drogba, Ashley Cole all expected to be fit in time for kick off after recent injury problems.

The game itself should be quite open with plenty of chances with the leagues top scoring teams pitted against each other, the key however will be the midfield battle and Chelsea must ensure that Arsenal’s flair players are not given the time on the ball they crave.

On balance I think that Chelsea are stronger across all over the pitch and have a much more settled and balanced line up than Arsenal with or without the injuries, defensively we have the best defence in the league so far this season and the capabilities of our forward and midfield units are the stuff of dreams.

Ideally for me the Chelsea team to face Arsenal would be.

Cech  A. Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Ivanovic, Lampard, Essien, J. Cole, Mikel, Anelka and Drogba 

This is a fairly standard team for the players available however due to Arsenal’s attacking prowess I would give Mikel the nod ahead of Michael Ballack to provide the back four a more defensively minded midfield option.

Prediction: well I will let you do this bit, what do you predict?

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So the first double gameweek came and went and I was not best pleased with Aston Villa’s attempts at getting a clean sheet. I gambled on bringing in Dunne to complement Collins but Villa decided to draw 1-1 with a team who have an injury list big enough to fill a teamsheet (Everton), and then lose to then second bottom team (West Ham).

I guess it was to be expected they weren’t to be relied on with two away games and I’m glad I took my own advice of not going for a Villa or West Ham player as captain. Our suggested choices of Fabregas or Lampard but got double figures and whilst we picked the wrong Burnley player, the thought was correct. Europa League action means half the fixtures are on Sunday/Monday this week and there’s a clash between the top two to look forward too as well.

Gameweek 11 Top Gun (aka Tom Cruise Approves):

Maverick approves of the score but not so much of the hair.

Defenders who score are always likely to threaten the top points scorers lists and so it proved as Burnley’s Graham Alexander scored twice, kept a clean sheet and earnt three bonus points for an excellent score of 21 points. I feel a bit sorry for Aruna Dindane of Portsmouth. Useless/unlucky (depending on who you speak to) up until now, he scores a hat-trick plus assist and three bonus for 20 points which would win Top Gun most weeks.

Elsewhere Joey Craddock was another two goal defender but the lack of clean sheet means just 15 for him, while Van Persie notched his biggest score of the season (and sixth goal in five games) with 15 in the destruction of Spurs.

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Three Captain Choices:

With Chelsea facing Man Utd at Stamford Bridge it means you should probably look elsewhere for some easier pickings. That said Drogba is perhaps the only player I’d consider from those two this weekend, and depending on who Utd play at centre back may result in another good score for the Ivorian.

1. Van Persie or Fabregas/Arsenal –  Take your pick from these two, both have been in excellent form recently. RvP has six goals, two assists and seven bonus in his last five while Fabregas has two goals, six assists and 12 bonus in his last five. Indeed the Spaniard has been man of the match for the last four games, and has recaptured the form of 06/07 & 07/08 where if Arsenal won you didn’t even have to check as you knew he’d get three bonus. Arsenal face Wolves away and whilst Mick McCarthy’s side have only let in six goals at Molineux so far, they haven’t faced anyone especially good or free scoring. Arsenal are still averaging over three goals a game and while I don’t think it will be a thrashing, either Cesc or RvP should be good for points in a 2-0 win.

2. Adebayor (or maybe Petrov)/Man City – As sure as night follows day, Burnley win at home and lose away. Man City haven’t been great recently with four straight draws but I don’t see Burnley making it five. Adebayor missed last week and is a slight doubt but by it should be clearer later today whether he’s fit. He’s only failed to score or assist in one game so far so should do well against Burnley. Alternatively Martin Petrov is the form player.

3. Dunn/Blackburn – Pompey are the visitors to Ewood Park this week and while they won 4-0 last week I don’t expect a similar outcome. Blackburn are struggling but have been ok at home. Dunn has been by far their best player this season and I would expect him to do something on Saturday.

Gets a Captain's tick

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Three Potential Transfers In:

1. Dempsey/Fulham – A pre-emptive transfer for Gameweek 13 when Fulham play twice but to be fair he isn’t a bad shout this week. Wigan away (masters of inconsistency) following two goals in two games. I like Dempsey as a player, he tends to get forward to support the strikers and takes a lot of shots. Fulham don’t score that many but he’s a better shout than Zamora who could score in five straight games (as if) and I still wouldn’t bring him in. Only masochists would do that!

2. Gibbs/Arsenal – Now that Clichy is out for at least a month (note: you should take this as Arsenal time which is usually half of real time meaning he’s out for two months at least), Kieran Gibbs gets thrust into the left back role. He’s generally impressed when coming into the team and costs just £4.5m. He’s not as good defensively as Clichy but Arsenal don’t really do clean sheets so that’s not a factor. He’s definitely better going forward though so may get an assist or two down the line.

3. Ivanovic/Chelsea – In a similar scenario to Gibbs, he’s replacing an injured full back in Bosingwa. Quite pricey at £5.6m but cheap for a Chelsea defender. They have six clean sheets already this season.

Might be worth a pick.

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Three to avoid:

1. Torres/Liverpool – Yes he’s currently top scorer but I feel it’s only a matter of time before his suspected hernia starts keeping him out of games. Rafa talking about how they have to be careful with him does not fill me with confidence. Cash in and use the money on Drogba, RvP or Rooney.

2. Clichy/Arsenal – Out for ages.

3. Burnley players – Three away games in the next four.

Are you taking the mick?

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T.

Ancelotti e il suo secondo, Wilkins

Carlo Ancelotti schiererà contro l’Atletico Madrid la miglior formazione a sua disposizione, conscio che una vittoria rimetterebbe in carreggiata la squadra dopo la sbandata del Villa Park consentendole anche di consolidarsi in Champions League.

Ben piazzati nel Gruppo D dopo due vittorie, con una terza affermazione mercoledì sera i Blues non si garantirebbero il passaggio alla fase a eliminazione diretta ma farebbero un gran passo avanti, con la trasferta nella capitale spagnola da affrontare da qui a due settimane.

Ancelotti non potrà contare su Jose Bosingwa, per la partita di mercoledì. Il terzino destro era pronto a rientrare dopo la squalifica europea per due turni, ma un nuovo ostacolo si è frapposto.

“Bosingwa ha avuto un problema al ginocchio contro l’Aston Villa,” dice Ancelotti. “Non giocherà domani ma non credo che sia un grande problema e spero di poterlo utilizzare sabato.”

Branislav Ivanovic ha preso il posto del difensore portoghese nel secondo tempo della partita persa col Villa e aveva già giocato da terzino destro nelle vittorie di Champions League sul Porto, in casa, e sull’Apoel, fuori.

Rientra Michael Ballack, fuori nel fine settimana, ma resta fuori John Mikel Obi per un fastidio alla caviglia.

Alex, che lunedì ha giocato 45 minuti con le Riserve, è uno dei nuovi giocatori che il manager avrà presto a disposizione.

“Rientrato dall’infortunio, Alex ha giocato benissimo. Adesso deve allenarsi e per sabato sarà pronto,” riferisce Ancelotti.

La difesa del Chelsea sui calci piazzati è stato il fulcro di ogni analisi da quando il Villa ha segnato due gol su calcio d’angolo. Ci si è allenati su questo ma Ancelotti sostiene che, così come per i rigori calciati sotto pressione, sia difficile ricreare certe situazioni a Cobham (il campo d’allenamento del Club, NdT).

“Ma dobbiamo migliorare,” aggiunge, “perché puoi anche giocare una buona partita ma basta distrarsi per pochi secondi che fai un brutto risultato.”

Difende anche le prestazioni di Petr Cech in questa stagione.

“Petr è in buone condizioni. Ha un approccio fantastico perché si prende molti rischi dato che gli piace conquistare la palla sulle uscite. Ogni tanto può fare un errore ma io voglio che esca per far sua la palla.”

Una vittoria, domani, metterebbe otto punti fra il Chelsea e l’Atletico Madrid, che tutti si aspettavano che ci mettessero pressione in chiave qualificazione. E non è ancora da escludersi, avverte il manager.

“Al momento non è facile per loro perché anche il Porto è messo bene, ma nel giro di quattro partite possono ancora arrivare primi.”

“Non hanno avuto un buon inizio di stagione ma hanno ottime qualità, soprattutto in avanti. Hanno [Diego] Forlan e [Sergio] Aguero, che sono attaccanti temibili. Dobbiamo fare attenzione perché Aguero è fortissimo e può decidere un incontro.”

“Sono una buona squadra ma finora non hanno trovato la giusta disposizione tattica in campo.”

“Dobbiamo batterli non solo per ritrovare la vittoria ma anche per poter amministrare i prossimi tre impegni nel girone.”

servizio del sito ufficiale del Chelsea

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~1831806,00.html

As part of our build up to the game tommorow we look at some of the best goals scored against Liverpool!

But which one is your favourite?

A suggestion via email from David Sellis

Let us know by commenting below or visiting us on facebook

Yesterday’s news that 7 times grand slam winner Justine Henin is set to return to the women’s tour from the start of next season may not have been entirely unexpected, but is certainly the latest sensational move to reinvigorate women’s tennis.

Having retired “for good” 18 months ago, citing personal reasons and a lack of willingness to compete, Henin has been working for UNICEF and running her own tennis academy.  During this time, the WTA tour has struggled with Williams domination of the grand slams, a flawed ranking system and inconsistency from many of its top stars.

Henin's combination of power and technique has been sorely missed on the WTA tour

Interest in the women’s game has dropped off dramatically in the last few years as a credible opponent for either Venus or Serena Williams has largely failed to emerge, especially in the major events.  Maria Sharapova has been blighted by injury and Ana Ivanovic has suffered a chronic drop in form since her French Open win of 2008; a win which was supposed to make her the WTA’s first $100m superstar.

Aside from that, the likes of Svetlana Kusnetsova, Elena Dementieva and, in particular, world #1 Dinara Safina have all failed to perform on the big stage.  The pressure of being world #1 despite never having won a grand slam is something which has clearly hindered Safina, and has riled some of her opponents, most notably Serena Williams.

Henin’s return to competitive action comes hot on the heels of Kim Clijsters’ sensational winning return to the US Open, where she became the first wildcard to win the title, beating both of the Williams sisters along the way.  The women’s game badly needs credible and consistent challengers to the Williams’ domination, especially at Wimbledon, where Venus and Serena have taken 8 of the last 10 titles between them (only interrupted by Sharapova in 2004 and Amelie Mauresmo in 2006).  Clijsters has proved she is up to the task, and few doubt Henin will be back at the top of the game before long.

Clijsters’ spectacular US Open win proved to be a breath of fresh air into the game during a tournament which has done much to revive interest in tennis globally.  Featuring some breathtaking matches, surprise winners in both the men’s and women’s finals and Serena’s extraordinary outburst at a line judge, the 2009 US Open will go down as one of the greatest grand slams in recent memory.

The return of Justine Henin, who retired aged just 25 and as world #1, gives yet more cause for enthusiasm.  She, as much as anyone, has done much to change the shape of the women’s game and, literally, the shape of female tennis players.

Henin arrived on the international tennis stage during an era where power was not yet the dominant factor in the women’s game; Martina Hingis and Monica Seles were battling it out for domination with a combination of flawless technique and gritty matchplay, but not with the type of power we see on the WTA tour today.  The meteoric rise of Venus and Serena changed the women’s game as they displayed the sort of power which would surely see them win an arm wrestling competition against most of the men’s tour.

Serena displays the kind of power normally seen on the men's tour

Realising this, Henin went about building muscle mass and developed the type of power which proved that, even at a mere 5′6″ tall, she could play the Williams sisters at their own game.  It was an important milestone for the women’s game at a time when many felt that power had replaced grace.  Henin proved that a combination of the two was possible and few could argue that her single-handed backhand was one of the most glorious shots in all of tennis.

Wimbledon remains the target for Henin as the one major tournament to elude her.  She explained this week that her quest for a Wimbledon title is the primary driving force behind her comeback.  Henin will be 28 when Wimbledon comes round next and should be at her peak.  She has, apparently, been training competitively since May this year.  The rest of the tour should be very afraid.

Henin's single-handed backhand is one of the greatest shots in the game

The combacks of Henin and Clijsters may also have two extremely beneficial knock-on effects across the rest of women’s tennis. Firstly, going into the next few grand slams, it will be very hard to choose between Venus, Serena, Clijsters and Henin.  Having four outstanding players at the top of the game will certainly capture press and public attention and should make for some wonderfully unpredictable tournaments.  In addition to this, the likes of Sharapova, Safina and Ivanovic will feel the benefits of diverted attention, allowing them to fly under the radar and away from the glare of media attention, concentrating on their tennis and positioning themselves as the successors to the top four.

The WTA tour has missed both Henin and Clijsters badly and their return serves as a welcome reminder of how exciting women’s tennis can be.  2010 is shaping up to be one of the greatest years of women’s tennis for many years, and it’s all thanks to two plucky Belgians.

Pues como ya saben, soy una aficionada al tenis, y cuando hay Grand Slams, me lamento tanto tener que ir a clases o trabajar, pero bueno, la vida sigue. El día de ayer por fortuna pude ver uno de los partidos que más había esperado y que el clima había postergado, afortunadamente para mí, y por eso fue programado hasta el sábado por la tarde, que fue el partido entre Serena Williams y Kim Clijsters.

Después de la eliminación de Safina, mi favorita, aunque la verdad ya lo estoy dudando mucho al verla fuera de forma, lenta y sin ganas de arriesgar, además de la eliminación de otras favoritas como Kuznetsova, Sharapova, Dementieva, Ivanovic, Jankovic y la misma Venus Williams, sólo me quedó una esperanza, y se llamaba Kim Clijsters, ¿por qué Kim si entro a través de un Wilcard? Por la simple razón de que un día fue la número 1, ya ha ganado el US Open y además, es una de las jugadoras más talentosas de la última época, la única que resbala igual en clay como en hard court y tienen la actitud de luchar punto por punto, sin importar qué pasa con el rival, el público o el marcador.

Pues ayer Kim le mostró a Serena que tiene a alguien por quien preocuparse además de su hermana, con puntos que rayaban en la fantasía, cruzados, rectos besando las líneas, aproximándose a la red, profundos, moviendo a Serena como nadie la había movido. Kim ganó el primer set 6 – 4 y había dejado a Serena herida, desesperada, el reflejo más claro de esto fue el tremendo golpe que le dio Serena a su raqueta hasta romperla, lo que le valió un Warning.

El segundo set empezó con imprecisiones y fantásticos puntos como el primero, más por el lado de Kim que de Serena, que aún así sorprendió con un par de puntos que se mostraban más espectaculares por los gruñidos que pegaba Serena como diciendo a Kim “Aquí estoy”, mientras que Kim seguía con su estrategia de no emitir ni una emoción, ni un “Vamos”, ni siquiera una sonrisa o un lamento, nada, seguía con una concentración que se hacía presente en sus puntos paralelos, cruzados, con slice, le pegó de todas las maneras posibles a la pelota.  

Al final, Kim se mostraba como la más fuerte, tenía a Serena contra las cuerdas, el marcador iba 5 – 6 y Serena venía al saque, cuando Kim se colocó  15 – 30, estaba a dos puntos del match point y Serena parecía que quería hacerle las cosas más fácil: primer saque, a la red, segundo saque entra, pero de pronto desde el fondo de la cancha se escucha “Foot fault”, esto significaba que el marcador  ahora era 15 – 40, Kim sólo tenía que hacer el punto que cerrara el trato para la obra maestra que había construido en la cual opacó totalmente a una Williams que nunca pareció cómoda en la cancha, sin embargo, Serena  perdió el control y fue a agredir directamente a la juez de línea, lo que llevó a la juez de silla a llamarla, se había acabado, Serena había insultado a la juez de línea y las autoridades del torneo habían entrado a la cancha, Serena se aproximó preguntando: ¿Les dijo que le dije que quería matara? ¿De verdad?”, después se desmintió esto, la propia Serena lo desmintió en la conferencia de prensa posterior. Acto seguido, Serena caminó hacia Kim, que concentrada aún en el último punto, no sabía que sucedía, se escucha un “Felicidades” de Serena y un “¿qué pasó?” por parte de Kim,  Serena sólo pudo decir “Está bien bebé, tu ganaste”, Kim siente que no era la forma, se puede ver en su cara insatisfecha, estaba a punto de ganarlo ella sola, de meter ese último punto y eliminar a las dos Williams en el mismo torneo y de forma consecutiva, pero la descalificación de Williams lo había terminado todo minutos antes.

Es una pena y ya no sé si pensar mal de Serena, las Williams cuando pierden siempre tienen una excusa, la rodilla, el hombro, el juez, nunca son ellas como algún día enojada dijo Hingis tras la final del US Open en la que perdió contra Serena,  que a pesar de que ayer reconoció la superioridad de Kim, no le dio el beneficio de acabar por ella sola, lo cual es totalmente injusto para una deportista de tanta clase, educación y talento como Clijsters, lo que terminó opacando su dominio total  y que hará que se recuerde este partido como el partido en el que eliminaron a Serena por descalificación, lo cual es más aún injusto si fue una maña más empleada por Williams. Mi única esperanza es que Clijsters hoy tome la corona del US Open, tal vez eso borré un poco la situación por la que llegó al trono, porque al final, la historia no recuerda a los perdedores, sólo a los ganadores, y Kim, tiene todo para escribir historia.   

1. Roger’s hypothetical faux-slam. Seriously people, he hasn’t won three in a row yet, but you’re already hyping him up for Australia and four in a row, which is being called the completion of a Grand Slam? Some nerve. Martina Navratilova completed the faux-slam but didn’t get credit for it… because it isn’t a grand slam. Grand Slam = all four majors in the calendar year. How come the pundits are unanimously claiming that IF Roger wins the US Open and IF he wins Australia, his four in a row WILL BE as impressive as a real Grand Slam? It ain’t so. And he hasn’t done it, so let’s move on. Please.

2. Clijsters is a mom. And it’s incredible, only two women have won grand slam titles as mothers and her baby is adorable, looks just like her. Even as a Kim fan, I’m tired of hearing about the mom thing on every headline. She’s back, she may well win a grand slam title, as a  mother. What’s more interesting is the story we aren’t hearing about:  the death of her father Leo Clijsters, from lung cancer last year. I have a feeling that his illness was known to her when she retired. We don’t know, ’cause no one’s asking. ‘Cause she’s a mom.

3. Oudin is the future of American tennis. Might be, probably will be a big factor in years to come. But as Jon Wertheim noted over on his blog, the hype machine is roaring to life on this one, so get ready for a frenetic couple of months (and probably the next year) of relentless stories on America’s Next Top Model..er, Sweetheart. Oudin strikes me as one of those rare breeds, the kind who step up in the face of pressure rather than being beaten down. Even so, she will run into a wall at some point. Then we’ll get “what’s wrong with her” stories that talk incessantly about the media overhyping her.

4. The McEnroe Brothers. “We’re from Queens and isn’t it amazing John/Patrick, us two Queens boys, broadcasting night matches together at the US Open for ESPN! Remember when we used to ride the train in, from Queens, and we’d see that stadium. Even though it wasn’t this stadium, nor was it Forest Hills, it was Forest Meadows, but who’s counting? Two Queens boys, we are… Now here we are. At the US Open. Probably no one out there in TVLand is familiar with the story of the two McEnroe Brothers.” Sock. in. it.

5. Sharapova’s “comeback” instead of “Sharapova’s dicey shoulder.” There is only one commentator getting this one right and it is the venerable Pam Shriver, no stranger to the destructive aftermath of shoulder surgery. To paraphrase Shriver, there is no guarantee Maria gets back in the top 5 if that shoulder won’t hold up. The “comeback” has been going on since May, and as Shriver points out, we’ve seen many comebacks in women’s tennis that have taken half that time.  Kim’s is just the most recent. It isn’t Maria’s fault, shoulder surgery strikes terror into the heart of a tennis player. Unlike pitchers who have to pitch only once every four days (and they are not assured of a positive outcome either), tennis players must play for several hours every day, with hundreds of serves. The coming back part is over, now we watch as her career hangs in the balance on a sketchy shoulder.

6. Roddick’s weight loss. I’m hedging on this one because I haven’t minded it too much. It certainly has been the catalyst for his resurgence. But I’m certain that a lot of you cannot stand to hear one more word about this – just like I was ready to take the gas pipe after we spent the last five years of Andre Agassi’s career hearing about his training regimen with Gil Reyes up magic mountain. (There oughta be a way to make With Gil Reyes Up Magic Mountain into a folk song about acid, but alas, that’s not my era.)

7. What’s wrong with Safina: I have no clue. Turn the page. Big Brother Marat was a nut who wasted his considerable gifts, but he was a toad. His sister is not a toad. Like Wertheim, I’m inclined not to pile on. Watching her mentally torture herself is horrible. She may benefit from not being number 1 – but we said that about Jankovic and Ivanovic, too. How’s that working out?

8. Who’s number 1 on the WTA Tour? Serena. Williams. Is. Number. 1. Got it? The rankings don’t reflect it, but let’s acknowledge reality – Serena is number 1, Safina number 1 on paper. Don’t get me wrong, Safina earned the ranking. There’s just no need to bandy this about incessantly. Until the system changes, or Serena decides to try to win non-G.S. tournaments, we’re stuck with this bogus argument. A year from now this may be fascinating, especially if Maria fixes her shoulder, Clijsters is in the mix and Henin is back. Until then.. Serena. Williams. Is. Number. 1.

Honorable mentions: James Blake as a title contender (how’s that working out for you, Brad?), Verdasco’s training with Gil Reyes (referenced repeatedly by yours truly), Rafa’s low expectations (part legit, part sandbagging by Rafa’s camp), The Tennis Channel’s firsts (first night match, first morning show, first time Jimmy Connors has been interesting), shots of someone’s girlfriend during the middle of a point (a losing battle, this one)

Melanie Oudin has a legitimate chance to make the top ten. Notice I didn’t say she would win grand slam titles or become #1. It is far, far to soon for anyone to make those predictions. So media people, just calm down! For now focus on one key component of this story:  at 17, Oudin’s mental toughness is second only to Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, which explains why there is room for someone like Oudin in the top 10.

Women’s tennis is deeper in terms of physical talent then ever before. But height and power do not make for a healthy sport. The mental frailty exhibited by the top 30 is unprecedented in the history of tennis. Shevedova’s match against Jankovic was illustrative, because it quickly devolved into a chokefest that lasted for three sets (and Shevedova went down in flames in the next round). Jankovic, Ivanovic, Dementieva, Safina, Kuznetsova and all the other -ovas just cannot get it to together mentally. So many of the women players are just wandering around the sport aimlessly waiting for something to click because they’re talented. I’ve given up!

I have been waiting for someone like Odin for a while now – someone who would compete on every point, someone who can keept the ball in the court while the other player made errors in bunches. Someone like… Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario. You can’t tell me that there isn’t room for a Sanchez-Vicario in the top 10.

Oudin modeled herself after Justine Henin – see the washboard stomach and intensity on every point. Playing tennis at this level takes real work mentally. We may see Oudin inspire a new generation of young American women, the way the tiny spark plug, Michael Chang, did on the men’s side 20 years ago. There is nothing quite like competition and envy to spur young players on.

I don’t fault the media for making a huge deal about this. The Americans have been waiting for a long time for a successor to Davenport, Venus and Serena. It doesn’t mean the latter two are done (although Venus…). But the ten year gap between Serena and Oudin is striking. During that time the US has barely had another woman crack the top 100! Oudin’s dramatic entry onto the stage is another reminder that it isn’t always the cant-miss prospect who makes it big (anyone seen Donald Young lately?)

I’ve some really lazy these few last weeks. Apparently coming back from holiday has that effect on me. Who would have known?!? Anyway, my weeks has been filled with weird sleep hours, weird food and sex books, that is apart from the night classes I’m taking.

Rammstein are getting back their groove with Pussy song, which is great, just as long as they don’t make it into another Kuss mich. But it should be interesting to watch the new video. I know I have been waiting for the new album for much too long now in order to pout at a little misogyny, but I still won’t be quite the case and that the whole deal is just satirical.

Maria Sharapova seems to be getting more feisty as time passes since her return and she is making quite the show within the first two rounds of US Open. While other top players have gone home with somewhat easy defeats(that taking into consideration their rank and consistency of the play) like Dementieva and Ivanovic, Sharapova seems to remain on course. Hopefully she will remain so until the last days of the tournament – maybe even the last day.

Another interesting thing in the tennis world is Kim Clijsters’s comeback and the rumors about a possible return of Justine Henin. I like this kind of news. I always love people who want to keep their dreams alive and do something, not just laze around(like me!) and act defeated. BTW, Ivanovic is pondering a holiday from the tennis world apparently due to the lost she suffered in the first tour. I think she is too young to do that.

I don’t get the hype created around the new freaking flu: the swine flu. I just don’t. There are a lot of other diseases out there who spread more rapidly than anything else, who kill more people and in many cases in worse ways and yet we love to create endemics and pandemics just for the fun of it. Why don’t we do that with AIDS?Oh, yeah, probably because it isn’t fashionable anymore.

I’m trying to learn more about golf and cars. The cars I understand and I like since I am a Formula 1 and a Rallies fan  like forever, but the golf thing is like beyond me. The handicap thing is seriously killing, but I shall pursue this idea until I can play the game in my sleep.

Bye for now

La ex número 1 del mundo Ana Ivanovic, quien fue sorpresivamente eliminada el martes pasado en la primera ronda del US Open, se tomará una pausa del tenis. “Temporalmente me tomaré un descanso del tenis”, dijo la serbia al periódico “Press”, de ese país. Ivanovic, de 21 años, se mostró muy contrariada el martes en Nueva York tras caer ante la ucraniana Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-3 y 7-6 (9-7). Ese día salió con lágrimas de la cancha luego de perder por primera vez en su carrera en la ronda inicial de un Grand Slam. “Simplemente, sigo eligiendo tiros equivocados y no tengo suficiente confianza en mí misma. No he tenido vacaciones reales en años, así que ahora quiero desconectarme del tenis durante un tiempo”, justificó Ivanovic, quien cree que esta decisión le ayudará “a regresar al buen camino”. Ivanovic llegó a ser número uno del mundo después de ganar Roland Garros en 2008, pero desde ese momento comenzó una seguidilla de malos resultados que hicieron que hoy esté undécima en el ránking de la WTA.

La ex número 1 del mundo Ana Ivanovic, quien fue sorpresivamente eliminada el martes pasado en la primera ronda del US Open, se tomará una pausa del tenis. “Temporalmente me tomaré un descanso del tenis”, dijo la serbia al periódico “Press”, de ese país.

Ivanovic, de 21 años, se mostró muy contrariada el martes en Nueva York tras caer ante la ucraniana Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-3 y 7-6 (9-7). Ese día salió con lágrimas de la cancha luego de perder por primera vez en su carrera en la ronda inicial de un Grand Slam.

“Simplemente, sigo eligiendo tiros equivocados y no tengo suficiente confianza en mí misma. No he tenido vacaciones reales en años, así que ahora quiero desconectarme del tenis durante un tiempo”, justificó Ivanovic, quien cree que esta decisión le ayudará “a regresar al buen camino”.

Ivanovic llegó a ser número uno del mundo después de ganar Roland Garros en 2008, pero desde ese momento comenzó una seguidilla de malos resultados que hicieron que hoy esté undécima en el ránking de la WTA.

(Fuente: DPA)

Bondarenko @ 2.75 – Update – WIN – Bondarenko def. Ivanovic 26 63 76

Bondarenko has been in good form beating Venus Williams at Toronto 2 weeks ago whereas Ivanovic has struggled in her last 3 tournaments and is definitely not the player she once was. It seems she has lost her focus for tennis and it’s really showing. Bondarenko has won the only meeting between these 2, and even though it was 2 years ago, it shows that she has the game to beat Ivanovic. The only worry is Bondarenko suffered a left thigh strain last week, hopefully she has overcome it and is fully fit today.

Rumor has it that Justine Henin will return to competitive tennis in January. Do I feel the need to qualify my headline with a hedge? Uhm.. Hell no! I told you in January this day would come. I felt it even more when Serena started dominating the slams. And when Kim Clijsters returned three weeks ago, to much fanfare and early success, I knew it was a done deal. Reports say she’s been training again, ostensibly in preparation for some exhibitions. However, there is this:

Henin’s close friend and former coach Carlos Rodriguez said: “There’s nobody telling me of a return. We’ve not spoken about that. I am really astonished.”

But he did confirm that “she is training … to get herself in shape as she’s not played for a year.”

However, his wife was quoted as telling Vers l’Avenir that “something is in the offing but I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

Henin is scheduled to play exhibition matches at the end of the year in Belgium and Dubai.

LOL, Carlos, good one. He’s as reliable as Brad Childress insisting that the door was closed on Brett Favre… a mere three weeks before it wasn’t. I’d be truly shocked if she didn’t go through with it now.

Here I explained the reasons behind the retirement and why I thought she should simply take a break. Her retirement left women’s tennis with a big competitive void because “[w]ith the demise of Henin they lose the one and only top woman who made tennis her priority.” When I wrote that post back in May 2008, I thought Henin would be tortured by the “I Could Beat that Girl Like a Drum” factor. Indeed, last January, a little bird told me exactly what was going through Justine’s mind:

She’s either practicing that beautiful backhand or….

Pounding her head against the coffee table after watching another crew of D-list tennis players contending for the Australian Open title she could win without breaking a sweat.

Also on Justine’s mind:

“Ivanovic and Jankovic? Those two covergirl mental midgets make Kim Clijsters look like Chris Evert. Why did I retire again?“

“Venus? In it for the money everywhere but Wimbledon. Why did I retire again?”

“The Russians? Couldn’t shoot fish in a barrel. Why did I retire again?”

“Serena? I can fake an injury better than her. Why did I retire again?”

It wound up being even worse than we thought, with mentally fragile players ascending to #1 and then collapsing like dominoes. Safina, Jankovic, Ivanovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva… just don’t have it. The final straw was watching Serena dominate the slams and seeing her hated foe, Clijsters, eagerly return.

Serena vs. Justine was the rivalry that never really got going. I say that because for a good deal of the time Justine was #1, Serena was not practicing or playing her best (guess what – the two go hand in hand). I believe Justine was clearly the better player. But Serena could have changed that. She hasn’t ever faced a challenge like Justine head-on, without excuses. I’d like to see that matchup now, with Clijsters, Jankovic, Dementieva, Sharapova and Venus also in the mix. Women’s tennis could be radically different at this time next year.

Safarova @ 2.45 - Update – WIN – Safarova def Ivanovic 36 75 63 – Close one,  as Ivanovic was up a set and a break.

Safarova has a few matches under her belt already this week, lost a close one in 3 sets to Kuznetsova at Cincinnati last week. She doesn’t have the best record against Ivanovic (only winning 7 games in their 2 matches) but Ivanovic has been struggling of late and those 2 matches were more than a year ago. Ivanovic is struggling against lower-ranked players who she should be beating easily so I see Safarova winning this one.

Okom kamere…

Fudbaleri Slatine, borskog prigradskog sela, debitantni u Timočko-Pomoravskoj ligi pobedili su goste iz Bivolja sa 3:1, ali je „više od igre“ bila želja da se na svom terenu pokaže vrednost ovog tima. Trener Pavlović je, nakon poluvremena, posavetovao svoje igrače da krenu u napad i da agresivnijom igrom dođu do cilja. U toj nameri se očigledno uspelo i Slatinjani su – slavili. Pogodak Ivanova sa 30 metara malo je remek – delo. Naš reporter Dragan Popaz snimo je dva, od tri pogotka domaćina.

Okom kamere dočaraćemo još neke trenutke sa ove, za Slatinu, istorijske utakmice. Jer, takmičiti se u istom rangu sa nekadašnjim srpskoiligašem borskim „Rudarom“ i prvoligašem „Borom“ nije, za Slatinjane,  mali uspeh.. Reč je o velikom sportskom podvigu koja se ne događa često.