Blog Milestone: 700th Post

This entry marks sort of a milestone for the blog. This is my 700th post. Wow! The blog was created on November 12, 2007 as a tribute to one of the Greatest tennis players ever and as a resource for Serena fans. Having said that, let's not forget about tomorrow's big event.

THE PREMIERE OF
SERENA WILLIAMS SIGNATURE STATEMENT COLLECTION
Thursday, April 30, 2009 @ 10:00pm EST
Home Shopping Network

HSN will re-air the collection on:

Friday, May 1st @ 8:00pm and Saturday, May 2nd @10:00am

You can view the ENTIRE collection on HSN.com

Serena's HSN Signature Statement Promo Video

Offical Player List for GRAND SLAM TENNIS

Developed specifically for the Wii, EA SPORTS™ Grand Slam® Tennis delivers the deepest and richest tennis experience ever developed for the platform with real life tennis strokes letting anyone quickly pick up a racket and use every shot type and inch of the court. It is the exclusive home of Wimbledon and includes all four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon.

The player line-up features some of the greatest and most accomplished ever including John McEnroe in his exclusive videogame debut. Joining Mac is an impressive roster of current and legendary men's and women's players who collectively own 135 Grand Slam singles titles, making this the most accomplished group of players ever assembled for a tennis videogame.

Offical Player List:

Chris Evert, Justine Henin, Martina Navratilova, Andy Murray, Michael Stich, Lindsay Davenport, Pat Cash, Kei Nishikori, Lleyton Hewitt, Venus Williams, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, SERENA WILLIAMS, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.

Singles and Mixed Doubles: Mannings vs. Williams

Williams Sisters and Manning Brothers Coach DSRL

Famous Twist, Lick and Dunk Duos Helped Train Ten Lucky Lickers On How to Win An Oreo Lick Race As They Competed For Part of $10,000 Prize

Safina replaces Serena as World #1

1. Dinara Safina (RUS) = 8951 points
2. Serena Williams (USA) = 8272 points
3. Elena Dementieva (RUS) = 7391 points
4. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) = 7350 points
5. Venus Williams (USA) = 7102 points
6. Vera Zvonareva (RUS) = 6270 points
7. Ana Ivanovic (SRB) = 5174 points
8. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) = 4646 points
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) = 4308 points
10. Nadia Petrova (RUS) = 3840 points

Serena visits The Today Show

Serena visited the today show to discuss her upcoming "Collection" for HSN. She also speaks briefly (when asked) about playing against Venus and helps with Kathie Lee's serve.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Serena attends "Spring Dinner Dance"

Serena (and Common) attended the New Yorkers For Children Sixth Annual Spring Dinner Dance - "New Year's in April: A Fool's Fete," Wednesday in NYC.

Images courtesy of the Patrick McMullan Company

Monica's thoughts on Serena

Monica Seles recently reflected on her career via questions submitted to Jon Wertheim's Sports Illustrated Mailbag. Here's a Serena-related entry:

Serena Williams, after winning the Australian Open in 2007, said she holds you in extremely high regard. What do you feel about the Williams sisters and their mentality on the court? Over their careers, they seem to attack tennis balls with a similar kind of ferocity and mental toughness that you showed when you played on the tour. (Thank you!)

-- Andrew Miller, Cambridge, Mass.

Since I retired, I very much enjoy watching Serena Williams play. While I was playing, she was one of the toughest players I ever faced. Her ground strokes are so solid, her serve is one of the most powerful in women's tennis, and mentally she is just so strong. As you will read in my book, I played her when she was 16. When I lost to her, I had the feeling that the new generation was coming and she is going to be one of the best of it.

Serena spends another week at #1

(As of April 13, 2009)

Women's Singles Rankings: # 1 (9132 points)
WTA Points Race: # 1 (3451)
WTA Money Leaders: # 1 ($2,09,404)

* This is Serena's 72nd (career) week at #1 *

Grand Slam Tennis (Video Game Preview)

Grand Slam Tennis at IGN.com

Injured Serena withdraws from Family Circle Cup

Defending Family Circle Cup champion, Serena Williams, has withdrawn from the tournament which starts Monday in Charleston, South Carolina. Serena is nursing a left leg injury that occured in Miami earlier this month. Williams, the reigning US and Australian Open champion hurt her leg during the prestigious hardcourt tournament in Miami.

On Wednesday, still playing with her leg bandaged, she crashed out of the first round of the claycourt tournament in Marbella. "I am unable to compete this year at the Family Circle Cup as I need to give my leg injury time to heal," said Williams, who beat Russian Vera Zvonareva in the final here last year. "I will still be coming to Charleston next week to support the tournament but hope to be back on its clay courts next year."

Serena tries hand at golf; Fills in for Tiger

Serena is one of the athletes featured in the Gatorade "Focus On Your Game: Golf Tips With Tiger Woods" video series. It's all about "power" and "precision."

Serena 1st Female to Cover EA Sports Video Game

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS - News) announced today that tennis stars John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Serena Williams will be the North American* cover athletes for its new tennis franchise, EA SPORTS™ Grand Slam® Tennis. Eight different regional player partnerships will be announced soon. McEnroe, one of the sport’s most recognizable figures, was recently confirmed as exclusive to the game. Federer and Williams are among the biggest names in tennis and the most accomplished; having won 23 Grand Slam singles titles between them. Williams becomes the first woman to grace the cover of an EA SPORTS simulation product.

“It’s very exciting to be on the cover of EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis. This game not only shows EA’s enthusiasm for tennis but for also women’s tennis,” said Williams. “I know from experience how tough and gratifying it is to win all four Grand Slams so I hope people will enjoy the Grand Slam experience that is offered in this game.”

EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis is being developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. Designed first for the Wii™, it ships to North American retailers on June 15th, one day earlier than the previously announced ship date. Worldwide it ships on June 26th with the exception of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain and Australia, where it ships on June 12th.

This fall, EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis will also be served up for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. With stunning realism, it will feature innovative control systems and robust online capability. Classic matches from the past will be recreated, along with simulated dream match-ups that weren’t possible before. EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii has been rated “E” with a Retail Price of $49.95 in North America. For more information, log onto www.easports.com/tennis.

Top-selling titles and franchises from EA SPORTS include Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL®, NBA LIVE, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.

Serena loses 1st Round (Spain) and #1 Ranking

Earlier today Serena lost her 1st Round match to 95th ranked Klara Zakopalova (6-4, 3-6, 6-1) at the Andalucia Tennis Championships. First let me say that I applaud Serena for honoring her commitment to appear for this tournament but I am still scratching my head as to why she would play given that she was just heavily bandaged and limping in the Sony Ericsson Open Final (in Miami) just days ago.

With this loss, Serena relinquishes her #1 ranking to Dinara Safina effective April 20th. Serena has spent the past 11 weeks at #1 and 72 weeks total before Safina accepts the keys to the WTA Penthouse. Serena is now "scheduled" to defend her Family Circle Cup title (next week) in Charleston, South Carolina. Get well Serena. Take care of yourself. The WTA needs you.

Andalucia Tennis Experience: 1st Rnd (Wednesday)

1st Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs Klara Zakopalova (CZE)
Serena leads Head-to-Head 2-0

Centre Court / Not before 5:30pm

Last meeting: Rome 2003 (Clay)

Serena has arrived in Marbella, Spain

Serena is expected to play her 1st match on Wednesday against Klara Zakopalova - image courtesy of the Official Andalucia Tennis Experience website.

WTA Tour Rankings: Serena holds on to #1

(As of April 6, 2009)

Women's Singles Rankings: # 1 (9132 points)

WTA Points Race: # 1 (3450)

WTA Money Leaders: # 1 ($2,016,697)

* This is Serena's 71st (career) week at #1 *

Sony Ericsson Open Final (Photo)

Azarenka defeats injured-Serena for Miami title

MIAMI (AFP) - Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka clinched the first major title of her career on Saturday by beating top seed and world #1 Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 in the Miami WTA hardcourt final. Williams, bidding to claim a record sixth title and third in a row, was badly affected by carrying a left thigh injury which got worse as the match progressed. Williams played with her left thigh taped and struggled to move to her left. Despite the defeat, the American was already assured of hanging on to her world #1 ranking for the 71st week of her career.

It was a poor quality final. The players reached 3-3 in the first set before Serena, who had defeated sister Venus in the semi-finals, began to feel her thigh which was heavily-bandaged and which was also supporting her knee. From that point on, the reigning US and Australian Open champion managed to win just one more game. At 19, Azarenka claimed her first major title and third of her career which have all been won in 2009 with the previous two coming in Brisbane and Memphis.Her win will elevate her to #8 in the world when the new rankings are released on Monday.

"It was such an honour to play Serena," Azarenko said in the post-match presentation, broadcast on Eurosport. "She's the greatest player, for me. It's only this season that I have started to believe in myself and to believe that I can win tournaments." Williams refused to blame her injury for her woeful display. "My problems are not an excuse. All the credit goes to Victoria," said Williams who refused to discuss further how serious the injury may be.

She was certainly under-powered on the court with five double faults, a poor 54-percent of first serves successful and an ugly 34 unforced errors. Azarenka tensed up as she served for the title. She double-faulted on her second match point before wrapping up the trophy on her third.

New G2 Commerical: Serena and Serena

The Serena/ Serena spot is the second G2 commercial to compare and contrast an everyday American with a star athlete.

Game, Set, Match: Serena Williams

Serena stops Venus; Advances to SEO FINAL

On Thursday night, the Williams Sisters faced each other for the 20th time in their stellar careers. What was at stake? For Serena, retaining the #1 ranking. A loss would have dropped her to #2 and Dinara Safina would have taken her place. For Venus, a win would vault her to #3 in the world. When it was all said and done, Serena refused to give up the keys to the WTA Penthouse.

Serena defeated older sister Venus, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Their head to head match up is now evenly split, 10 wins each. There were some awesome rallies and phenomenal ball-striking. Serena appeared to be limping in the 3rd set but she charged on to claim her spot in Saturday's Final where she will take on 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.

Sony Ericsson Open: Semifinal (Thursday)

Semifinal

[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [5] Venus Williams (USA)

Venus leads Head-to-Head 10-9
Stadium Court / Not before 9:00pm

Serena defeats Li Na; Soars into SEO Semis

In what appears to be becoming a pattern as of late, Serena opened the quarterfinal encounter with China's Li Na by losing 5 straight games. Serena fought back to get the first set to 4-5 but Li Na called for her coach / husband and came back to the court and closed out the 1st set 6-4.

In defeating Li Na, 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2, Serena completes her CHINESE SWEEP, her third successive victory over a Chinese opponent, having also dispatched No. 32 seed Shuai Peng (3rd round) and No. 17 Jie Zheng (in the fourth round). Li Na said in the post-match presser that this week Serena beat the entire Chinese Fed Cup Team. Serena also completed a RUSSIAN ROLLOVER this year en route to her 4th Australian Open Grand Slam singles title (10th total). Serena defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova (Quarterfinal), Elena Dementieva (Semifinal) and Dinar Safina (Final).

Serena will play her semifinal match tomorrow night. She will do battle with the winner of tonight's quarterfinal match between Venus Williams and Iveta Benesova.