Rennae's Way

September 10, 7:16am
HI EVERYONE,

Well, what a night for Maria Sharapova yesterday. That was one of the best displays, if not the best display of tennis I have seen from her. She came out hitting the ball well, looked a little nervous as you can imagine, but after dropping her first service game, after having games points in both early games, completely dominated Justine last night. She did not face one more break point after losing that first service game and to finish it the way she did, with some big serves and big forehands, she proved a lot of people wrong last night.

Justine, as always, tried her best to hang in there, but after her escape in the semis, I have to think her confidence wasn't that high and it showed in some crucial games, especially at 4-all in the first set, where she made some uncharacteristic mistakes to give Sharapova the belief that she could win the set. Maria finished the first set with such conviction though, that I felt the upset was in the cards. Then in the middle of the second set at 3-2 to Henin, Sharapova came in on a shot at 15-15 and Henin missed a routine forehand passing shot - that to me cost her the match, because I thought it was the first time Sharapova looked a little nervous. Having said all of that, Maria showed determination to win that game and eventually the match, not to have it given to her and to me, that's the sign on a champion. Someone that will step it up and not wait for someone else to give it to her. CONGRATULATIONS MARIA!

Now for me, well I am writing this blog at the Airport here at JFK about to board my flight home to Tampa, where I will be taking some down time before heading to Europe for the fall and the rest of the year's tournaments. Although, I will be flying to LA to play in the Billie Jean King/Elton John smash hits exhibition on Thursday night in Orange County. For further details, go to http://www.wtt.com/events/smash.asp and if you're in the area, please come out and support this very worthy cause, as well as seeing some great tennis and fun with Elton, Billie, Pete, Andy, Anna and yours truly! hope to see you all there.

Thanks for reading my blog everyone, I hope you enjoyed it, if you didn't well, i guess my answer to that is, it's not my day job! All the best and continue to support the TENNIS CHANNEL IN YOUR AREA!

RENNAE
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September 8, 7:27pm
hi everyone,

I know i know, its been a few days, but after our loss yesterday in the quarters i was a little bummed to say the least. It just doesn't matter when it happens or how it happens, losing sucks! The scary thing is, we win more matches than we lose, but no matter what, unless you win them all, you're never 100% happy and that's a tough thing to deal with, not only for you, but all the people around you, because they are the ones that have to put up with you being miserable!

Sometimes i feel like i let everyone down, that their happiness is based on my results, as is my happiness sometimes and that's a rough existence i tell you. This life is like a drug, when you experience the high of winning tournaments, especially Grand Slams, you just want that feeling again so badly, then when it doesn't happen, its a really low moment, but one we have all had to go through many times. So for those of you still left in the tournament, enjoy the moment when you have it, because there is no feeling like it!

So to our singles finalist, i will eat my words and say Congratulations to Maria Sharapova, she surprised me today by winning, i thought Mauresmo had one more Grand Slam in her, but a great two sets of tennis from Maria today to pull though, good luck in your attempt at you second grand slam, you're 100% in Slam Finals, so you have to feel great about being there again. And to Justine, what another gutsy display. I knew you weren't out of it, but boy, you weren't looking too good there for a while, watch out for Jankovic, she will be back!

Who do i think is going to win, wow, hard to say as they have been a little up and down, you have to like Henin because of her experience, but she was almost taken out today, she can't feel too great about her match and her serving, so i am going to pick Maria, she is due again. I think getting back to a final is going to have her psyched.....so, there you have it, didn't pick her to get to the final, but now she is through that semifinal stage that she has lost so many times in, shows me maybe its her time again......WE'LL SEE!!

talk soon,

Stubbsy
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September 6, 7:19pm
Hi all,
 
Well another day another dollar, right?? Well that was the case for us again today, we won our round of 16 match today and play our quarter final match tomorrow on Armstrong Stadium, 2nd on, so come and cheer:-)!

So, the Womens semi finals are set. I was sorry to see the last American go out today with Lyndsey Davenport losing, but with not a lot of match practice under her belt and a tough record against Henin, it was always going to be an uphill battle. So, Henin vs the surprise semi finalist and fellow blogger Jelena Jankovic, who is a very dangerous player, great ground stokes, great mover and who will be no push over for Henin Hardenne. In the other semi final, its Mauresmo vs Sharapova, both playing well, in good form, but the odds favor Mauresmo as she has the winning record. I did pick the Henin/Mauresmo final and i am going to stick with that.

In the men's draw, we have some great match ups and i will be pulling for James Blake tomorrow night against Roger Federer, not because i don't love Roger, because i truly believe he is the best player i have ever seen play the game of tennis and he is a joy, but i would just LOVE to see James pull off the big upset, i think he might be ready to do it, with the support of the great crowds here in NY, i think he might? Wishful thinking maybe, but either way, a gentleman will be the victor!

What an upset with Nadal going out, but what a beautiful player Yhouzny is, wow, what a backhand! go the one handers! Blake, Federer, Youzny, Haas, Mauresmo, Henin, we are making a come back i tell you!!!!

Anyway, its off to bed for me, had an awesome meal at Nobu, the only problem is i missed who got kicked off of Rockstar? will have to watch it on my tivo when i go home.....ok all, have a nice night and enjoy the Roddick/Hewitt match, should be a good one, but i am off to bed, those poor guys that have to play late, feel sorry for them....I have an early day, so i am off to sleep...

Night all....

Rennae
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September 5, 7:32pm
hi everybody,

Well another tough day at the courts for most today. This has definitely been one of the most frustrating US Opens - as far as weather is concerned - that I have been a part of. Having said that, i guess it's always a good thing to still be waiting around to play matches, so on to tomorrow. We are scheduled second on afternoon after a to be finished match which is almost over.

You are probably wondering once again what i did today during the 6 hours of waiting to see if the rain would stop. Well mostly i sat around and chatted and ate every 2 hours. But one thing i always do on days like this is visit the referees office and chat with Judy and her daughter Penny to pass my time, they are the referee assistants, who probably get annoyed with me coming in so much but they are always a wealth of information and I hope I provide them a laugh or two during these frustrating days. They sit there all day and answer question after question from inquiring players like myself, like "when is the rain going to stop, are you going to move my court or are they going to cancel us." you can imagine the other questions they get asked but I will leave that to your imagination. So to Judy and Penny in the referees office thanks for always trying to answer our questions with a smile:-)...

Once i realized that I probably wouldn't play I jumped on the bike, had a quick workout and headed back the hotel. There is a great little Thai place next to the hotel, so we popped down there for a bite with some friends, then headed back to the hotel, to write my blog and head to bed...oh and watch Supernova on the TV, because I love that show, the singers are so talented, it makes American Idol (which I am obsessed with when its on) look childish. These singers are so awesome, they rock!

ok, talk to you all tomorrow, let the sunshine appear tomorrow! Night all.....

Stubbsy
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September 4, 6:59pm
hi everyone,

Sorry it's been a couple of days since I have written as a lot has happened in that time. The number one story from the past couple of days of course, was the final match in the storied career of the great Andre Agassi. It was one of the most amazing things as a player to watch him leave it all out there once again yesterday. He was in so much pain but to him, leaving by not giving it everything he had, was never an option. He gave everyone that bought a ticket for that day, everything he always did, their money's worth. He will go down as one of the greats of the game, no question, but more importantly, he will go down as one of the most loved. As a player he will be so missed.

On a personal note, as a friend of Andre's, I would like to tell you this, he undoubtedly will go into the Hall of Fame on the first available opportunity, but not one tennis victory will ever surpass the person he has become. He is a gentleman, a jokester, a wonderful father, husband and friend, loyal to a fault, if that's possible and the most genuinely nice person you could ever meet in your life. He is respected by his peers because of all of those things I have said and because he always respected them. I wish him all the best for the future and I expect great margaritas and BBQ's for many years to come. Enjoy it Andre - you have earned it!

As far as me, well we won our 2nd round yesterday. And we are on the schedule 2nd for tomorrow, so for those of you near NY, come and cheer! I always appreciate the support.... All the women's quarterfinals are set and we have some great match ups coming up, Serena went out tonight to the #1 Amelie Mauresmo. What a match up for a 4th round, but I guess the match toughness of Mauresmo came through in the end.

Who is my pick to win??? ok, can't tell you, but i think we might see a Henin- Mauresmo final, but there are still some great players in there, including, Davenport, Sharapova and more, so girls, get to it!!

Ok everyone, i am off to bed.......but before i do, i would like to pay to add a special tribute to a fellow Aussie before going, to Steve Irwin the crocodile hunter, " Crikey, we'll miss you mate" rest in peace....

Rennae
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September 2, 9:51am
HI ALL,

Well i am sitting in my hotel room, waiting to head out to the courts, the worst thing about rain is that you just don't know how to organize your day, especially when you are on the schedule 5th match! Its a wait and see situation.

So in the meantime i want to tell you all about my favorite burger place here in NY...yesterday i got back from the courts pretty late after playing and the thought of showering and getting dressed to head out in the rain for a bite to eat was not appealing to me at all. So when we arrived back at the Parker Meridian hotel here in NY, on 56th between 6th and 7th, i headed straight to the "Burger Joint" here in the hotel lobby! I know its sounds strange that in a beautiful hotel, you have a burger joint, but i tell you its the best burger you will ever eat in your life! Get the works......The funny thing was, i cant tell you how many players and WTA staff i saw in there last night, so funny... everyone must have had the same idea!

talk to you later..

Rennae
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September 1, 9:16pm
Hi all,

So tell me, have you all recovered from watching one of the great matches of our time??? For all of you slackers that fell asleep too early last night, shame on you! In the end, what an emotional and incredible effort from MR. NY. I loved the fact that he admitted he choked in that 4th set, but it also shows you all how human even legends are, in the end, amazing effort Andre!!

As pleased as we all were to see Andre make it one more special memory, kudos again to his opponent Marcos Baghdatis to not only play inspiring tennis from 2 sets to love down, and 2 sets to 1 and 0-4, but to handle the entire occasion including battling cramps and what must have felt like the entire population of NY city with such class. He may have lost, but he made thousands of fans with his effort and his smile last night, he will be loved for years here in NY. His tribute to Andre after the match also showed you his class and how people including his opponents feel about the little bald guy:-) from Vegas!

Oh yeah i played a match today, it just doesn't matter how many times you've done it, its always nerve racking to play a grand slam first round, so we are happy that's out of the way! Onto the next one now. We are supposed to play tomorrow 5th match, but i am thinking that we might be seeing some more replays of last nights match, because the weather isn't supposed to be too good? stay tuned...

Thanks for reading, hope your day went well too,

Rennae

keep it going Andre!!
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August 31, 8:42pm
hi everyone....

As i am writing this, i am watching the Andre match and i cannot believe what i am seeing. As a player, you just hate to watch something like this, 2 sets to 1 up, 4-0 serving and you are now in the 5th.....come on Andre try and pull it out....this will be the one people will remember if you can do it...COME ON!!

Anyway on a boring note i lost my mixed, aggh, we didn't play a good match and my opponents played well, oh well, sometimes you just say to good. Anyway, sorry to make this short but i've got to get back to watching as i am dying.....

hope you all enjoyed your day, mine was a bummer, talk tomorrow, doubles on 3rd...so better things to come!

NIGHT,

RENNAE
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August 30, 8:44pm
Hello everyone!

Ok i know, can you believe it, NO RAIN!!!! Its a miracle.... what a nice day of nonstop tennis...Nadal, Mauresmo, Federer, Williams, Roddick, Sharapova, the list is endless of all the great players we saw today win through there first rounds. Its unusual to be starting this late in the week, but due to the weather, sometimes there is nothing you can do about it.

Now believe it or not, i actually play a match tomorrow, mixed doubles 6th match! i don't think i have ever played a mixed doubles match in my life before a doubles match, but hey, the US Opens schedule can sometimes get a little wacky! Now for some of you out there you're probably thinking, 6th match after 11am , how do you know when you'll play? well the answer is, I DON'T KNOW!!!!! So, i have to guess-ta-mate! i follow all doubles matches that are best of 3, so i estimate that i might be on around 5 or 6pm.....it depends on how quick the matches go. So i booked a court with Cara at 2pm for about an hour and a half and will more than likely, sit around for a while after that and wait. My friends always joke, yep, that's what we do at tennis events, hurry up and wait!

Just to let you know, we went back to Valdino West tonight, we called to see what there specials were and they said Gnocchi Gorgonzola, so i couldn't resist:-) ....and it was worth it. When we got there we bumped into Mary Carillo, a good friend who has an apartment in the area, so we joined her for a bite! Always good stories and laughs with Carillo!

OK everyone, fingers crossed i can get my tourny started on a positive note!

talk to you all tomorrow!

Rennae

oh PS.. GO ANDRE!!!!!
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August 29, 8:43pm
Hi everyone, 

I know you are all dying for more tennis, especially after that magical night last night, of naming the tennis center after the great Billie Jean King, followed by Mr.NY:-) Remember, that's what we are calling him for now, winning through in a thrilling four-set match against Andrei Pavel. But alas, another horrible day of weather at the US Open and another frustrating day for all involved. I must say I often think about all those people who picked today of all days to play hooky from work or those parents that decided to bring there kids to the tennis for possibly the first time and its rains all day! I feel so sorry for them, but just know that we appreciate you sitting there and hoping along with us!

As far as my day, I had to head to the hospital at 9am to get an MRI on my elbow, its been bothering me for a few weeks and so the doctor wanted to have me get an MRI to rule out anything major. Good news is there wasn't anything major, so onto the anti inflammatories and ice and the good old, deal with the pain Stubbs train of thought. The amazing thing is, having an MRI is such an normal occurrence for athletes, but such a necessity so we don't injure ourselves so much that we create an even bigger problem or to let us know, hey, its time to stop and take a rest. Its the nature of the beast of this life, your body sometimes just can't take it.

Anyway, managed to get on a practice court with Cara Black my doubles partner for an hour, we were scrambling around trying our best to find a dry court in the hour or two window we had and we were a little sneaky cause we jumped on a match court that wasn't quite dry yet:-)...sometimes its good to be old and wise! I know how lucky we got, because I saw Martina Hingis practicing in the rain for about an hour on a wet practice court, talk about dedication, or maybe just a little stupidity, because that's a little dangerous, but hey, she has always had good balance!!!

Had a nice dinner with Lyndsey and Barbara Schett, yeah good old Bubsy is in town, so we headed to Tao and had a really nice dinner, came home checked my schedule and i don't play....so, practice again and hopefully with no wet feet...like i said, a frustrating day for everyone, i promise we will get to see some great tennis tomorrow.
talk to you all soon,

Rennae
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August 28, 10:35pm
Hi Everyone,

Please excuse me for making this blog a little short as i just got back from the tennis center and need to get to bed. Why you ask? Well i just back from watching Mr. Vegas, or maybe for this fortnight, we'll call him Mr. NY? Obviously you all know who I am talking about and for those who have been asleep for a little bit, I am talking about Andre Agassi.

What a great match and what and amazing atmosphere it was out there. You can just feel the crowd just not wanting to let go of this great champion, showman and person, just yet. Kudos to Andre Pavel for playing one of the great matches - he played amazing, but I just think the crowd and the experience on that center court paid off for Andre. Keep it going AA!

As far as my day, ah lets not worry about it right now, let me get some sleep and I will fill you in more tomorrow, I promise! Night everyone and GO ANDRE!!

Ciao,

Stubbsy!
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August 27, 5:51pm
Hi everyone and welcome back!

Well, what can I say about today, except, RAIN RAIN RAIN!! These are the days as a tennis player you just hate. I woke up, got a little treatment from Louise and heading out to the courts with the grand idea that i was going to practice today, GOOD LUCK! We all sat around and waited and waited to try and hit some, but in the end, we all realized there wasn't much hope, so I headed back to the city.

Most players will spend a day like today getting a good workout in and trying their best to stay busy as well as trying their best not to stress out that they lost an entire day of practice the day before their first round matches. It's funny though because I know there are people walking around trying to look for their opponents, thinking, "Is she going to stay and try and hit"?? We are such funny creatures sometimes, like one day of no practice is going to ruin us!

I took advantage of an early night in the city and headed down to my favorite place in NY, the West Village. One of my favorite restaurants down there is a place called Valdino West on Hudson and Bank St. My friend Lyndsey had the gnocchi gorgonzola and it was so unbelievable - I had order envy. I had the ravioli and it was almost as good. Trust me, give it a go when you come into town, its great little place and you wont be disappointed. We finished our meal off by heading over to the world famous Magnolia Cafe on Bleeker St and picked up some cup cakes - I know those of you who know what I am talking about are super jealous!

Ok, well get yourselves prepared for some great matches and some late night magic once again here at the Open, especially tomorrow night as the incomparable Andre Agassi, one of the truly great champions and even better people in our sport, prepares for his last ride here. Andre, please keep it going as long as you can, because we will all miss watching and cheering for you, good luck friend!

see you all tomorrow,

Stubbsy
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August 26, 10:54pm
Hi everyone out there,

US OPEN 2006! Here we are again, back in NY, the city that never sleeps and I can't wait, because that fits my personality to a T - crazy, restless, unpredictable, but most of all, loyal. It's always entertaining and always makes you want to come back and visit one more time. I love this city, there is no question - other than Sydney - this is my favorite city in the world. I am not sure what it is about this place, but if you have never been, put it on your to-do list, especially when the US Open is in town.

I arrived today from New Haven and checked into my hotel, did the tennis player ritual which is to unpack and settle in for - lets hope - two weeks. I had a little treatment here at the hotel from Louise Field our Tennis Australia appointed Osteopath. We love that, thank you Tennis Australia. Then we jumped in a car out to the tennis center to get my credentials and have our annual player meeting. We as an association, meaning the WTA tries to get all the players together to discuss the current issues. Now I know what corporate America is like, meetings meetings!

At the end of that meeting, the great Billie Jean King came in to discuss a few things, but also to announce to us, THE WTA, the association she instigated in creating, that the USTA have announced that the national tennis center will now be known as the USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER. And as a benefactor of her hard and tireless work all those years ago, its about time. Thank you Billie Jean for everything.

I then got into a bus with all my fellow players back to the hotel, showered and hit Topaz Thai next to the hotel, for a amazing dinner. I hope you all stay tuned and see how these two weeks pan out, there is much to talk about and much to tell. So stay tuned.......

Rennae

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