Forty Deuce

You Know, Because This Worked So Well Last Year.

2009-12-19T04:20:43-08:00

Apparently Jo has signed on to switch from his trusty Wilson racquet to Babolat. This is a *huge* change and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely confuzzled by this move. Anyone who plays tennis and and has play-tested racquets knows that of all the major manufacturers, Babolat is the most unique in the way that the racquet plays. In my experience, you either *really* love Babolats from the first few swings or...

Best/Worst: What Do We Know, Really.

2009-12-18T01:50:52-08:00

This week, Brodie, the man behind Mind the Racket, joins in as we continue our year-end wrap up by discussing the best and worst student/coaching relationships, our favorite tennis journalists and bloggers, and things that would or would not surprise us in 2010. And I force everyone to stroke my ego by discussing their favorite FD Posts. I think you can hear my awkward squirming. I'll post the links in the comments. The Podcast will...

Finals Week

2009-12-18T01:31:54-08:00

Tennis Channel is reairing 2009's Grand Slam finals starting December 21. Check out the rankings for the men's finals. Geez, SOMEONE hates it when Fed loses, huh? Whatever. #8 – 2009 French Open Women’s Final: (Dec 21 @ 7 pm ET) Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina (6-4, 6-2) #7 – 2009 Australian Open Women’s Final: (Dec 22 @ 7 pm ET) Serena Williams def. Dinara Safina (6-3, 6-0) #6 – 2009 US Open Women’s Final:...

Out of Trouble

2009-12-18T01:26:13-08:00

Reeshard has been officially cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which dismissed WADA and the ITF's appeals. The court accepted Gasquet's claim that he inadvertently consumed cocaine by kissing the woman in a Miami club hours after withdrawing injured from a tournament in March. "It was impossible for the player, even when exercising the utmost caution, to know that in kissing a woman who he had met in a totally unsuspicious environment, he...

FD 09 Year In Review: Sweet.

2009-12-18T01:14:07-08:00

Going into NYC, we all but handed the trophies to Fed and Serena. Everyone seemed to be struggling but them. Boy, am I glad we were wrong. "Bright lights will inspire you..." Rafa was adorbz. Shirtless boys. And JJ. Yes, Dinara was at the US Open. Big Sasha! Ah, the media blitz that is the USO. At least it wasn't Dance Off, Pants Off. I still giggle at this. The stalkerazzi hit the USO. People...

FD 09 Year In Review: Let's Get Hard

2009-12-16T07:11:39-08:00

After a few more stops in Europe, we were off to North America for the US Open Series. And really, it was nutty, especially on the WTA side. But what else is new? The USO marketing machine kicked into gear. Bromance Round 2 commenced. Davis Cup just never sucks. Ever. Ana started WAGging. Badly. Sania got engaged. Rajeev! James Blake is wise. Reeshard was cleared and we were introduced to Pam. Portoroz was awesome. Oh...

Stanley The Married Manley

2009-12-15T16:15:54-08:00

Congrats to Stanley, who looked amazingly cool as he married his beautiful girlfriend, Ilham Vuilloud in a small private ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland. I have to say, that dress is awesome. She looks great. And I love the open collar on Stan.

Pic This: Awww...She's Adorbz.

2009-12-15T13:19:00-08:00

Entertain Me!

2009-12-15T10:02:00-08:00

Interesting Q&A with WTA CEO Stacy Allaster. And props to TW buddy and former FD commenter, Master Ace: 4. The road map was indeed a success especially after Wimbledon. However, I have heard that players and fans complained that the Premier 5 and Mandatory events were too close together. Will the WTA consider separating them by putting a Premier tournament or have an off week between them? --Master Ace, Birmingham, Ala. Thanks for your question,...

Have A Rad Christmas

2009-12-15T08:25:00-08:00

The Rads had a great time shopping for needy families over the holidays. Very cool of them. Even if Agi was thoroughly confused.

Someone's Been Listening To A Lot of Rihanna In The Off-Season

2009-12-15T06:03:00-08:00

Pete visits with JJ at Bollitieris. Nothing new or particularly availing. Maybe it would have been a more informative article if he didn't spend two paragraphs leering. Anyway, I'm really interested to see how JJ does in Australia. There's no reason she shouldn't be making the quarterfinals of every tournament she enters. I mean that.

Back To Sherbet

2009-12-14T22:03:00-08:00

Rafa's AO Kit. It's...colorful. Again, I withhold judgment until I see it on Rafa. The hoodies are cute:

This Is...Not a Good Look.

2009-12-14T21:54:09-08:00

Fer's AO Kit. Um...oh well. More pics here.

FD 09 Year In Review: Green With Envy

2009-12-14T19:47:34-08:00

Wimbledon is not my favorite tournament. I love London, I love the pomp and circumstance at Wimbledon, but I hate hate hate grass court tennis. And to top it all off, my favorite players never do well at SW19. This year would be no exception. It's not you, it's me. The Muzz Machine picked up, whether any of us (or him) wanted it to or not. Jesus, you guys. I really had no idea how...

Pic This: Oh, Sara. You Make Me Laugh.

2009-12-14T17:13:04-08:00

Team Italia celebrating their Fed Cup win in Italy. Sara looks like she literally just came from a poker game.

The Bracket Buster Returns

2009-12-14T16:57:15-08:00

Nalby is playing a number of exos in South America to test how his surgically repaired hip is doing. So far so good. He beat Gaudio and Massu and he's set to play next week in Buenos Aires. We need a healthy Nalby. I miss playing "So, which Nalby will we get this week?" It's a fun game and 10 out of 10 times, I'm wrong.

Suspension of Suspense

2009-12-14T16:50:42-08:00

Don't book your tickets to Australia just yet, but a Belgian court has supended the one year bans handed down to Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse. Wicks has been offered a wildcard into Auckland and she's waiting official word that she'll be permitted to play. It's unclear what the basis of the overrule is. I'm genuinely curious.

Pic This: Team Jacob

2009-12-14T05:32:00-08:00

This whole Vika on Twitter thing is going to be awesome.

Donkey Says...Novak Djokovic

2009-12-13T23:12:16-08:00

"Oh Yes-le. Was there ever any doubt? You are the perfect combination of hot, funny, and intense when you need to be. You are the reason I started reading C Note's blog and obsessively Googling tennis players. You are the reason I called up Comcast to add a subscription for the Tennis Channel. You are the reason I started looking for legal positions in Belgrade. One word from you, and I would pick up and...

Donkey Says...Fernando Verdasco

2009-12-12T10:41:00-08:00

"I'm given to understand that Fer can be a polarizing figure around Forty Deuce land. To that I say: I don't care. It's my birthday. This dude was singlehandedly (and other parts) responsible for the most depraved, filthy, and pornographic dream I've had in recent memory. It was a tough call to put him as only my penultimate choice. Some may scoff. But, put simply and bluntly, I want nothing more than for Nando to...

FD 09 Year In Review: A Melancholy May

2009-12-11T16:10:26-08:00

It's so odd to read the recap of the first quarter of the season and know what we know now. Roland Garros, was...crazy. Like seriously insane. Gilles does his best Alexander Rybak impression. Rafa and Ana continued their adorable blind puppy dog flirtation. Pretty much sums up Ana's season. This might have been Tati's only 2009 appearance on FD. Tennis Channel does a solid and actually puts together a nice profile on Dina, the Rads,...

Donkey Says...Janko Tipsarevic

2009-12-11T10:05:27-08:00

"Wonder how soft that hair would feel on the inside of my thighs as he pops his head up to quote me Nietzsche." --DG I don't think I can really add anything to that. So I'll just be quiet now. Nomnomnom, you little cub.

New Swords

2009-12-10T23:50:50-08:00

I always get really weirded out when players change racquets. Usually they're just paintjobs, i.e., the same racquet with a new paint job, but even just the pain job changes the player's whole look. So buckle up because Fed and Elf are "upgrading". I am so used to Fed's old K-Six-One. This black/red/and gold number is tripping me out. I do like Elf's new one though. The black and yellow is dope.

Serena's Mad. And She's Not Gonna Take It Anymore.

2009-12-10T23:42:32-08:00

As Victoria mentioned during this week's podcast, Serena made her opinions known regarding her $82,500 fine. Not sure why she decided to make it at Globalgrind.com, but so be it. Here it is: Hey Guys!As the world seems to know or for those who don't I want to speak about my recently dubbed "outburst" and how I feel. I have recently been fined by the Grand Slam Committee of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) over...

With Age, Comes Wisdom

2009-12-10T23:22:19-08:00

Dinara withdraws from Brisbane, citing her back injury. I think I speak for the Dina Nation when I say: othankGod.