Maria Sharapova Hot at 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower-Photos

Hot Tennis Babe Maria Sharapova Pics from 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower

Rafael Nadal cramps up after victory

Even if it turns out to be nothing, which Rafael Nadal insisted was the case, the frightening scene in his postmatch interview Sunday will go down as memorable.Answering questions in Spanish, Nadal suddenly started grimacing in pain. He tilted his head back, covered his face with his arm. His face twisted in agony as he slid down in his chair, motioning for help.

After a few nervous moments with trainers crowded around the table, Nadal popped back up. A simple leg cramp, he insisted."It's bad luck it happened here and not in the locker room," he said.

But because it did, that was the big news Sunday at the U.S. Open. Bigger than Nadal's straight-set win over David Nalbandian, which came about 2 hours before the cramping episode. Bigger than wins by Americans Donald Young (a surprise) and Andy Roddick (not as much of one)."I just have cramping in my leg, that's all," Nadal said.

His 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 7-5 win over Nalbandian was routine, at least as routine as they've been going for the defending champion and No. 2 seed through the first week at Flushing Meadows."I was happy about almost everything today," Nadal said. "I think my movements worked pretty well, and the forehand worked really well, and the backhand, too. Just when I had to win the match at 5-3, I played a really bad game there. For the rest of the match, I'm happy about everything."

But shortly after saying that, the cramping came -- in his right quadriceps and his right hamstring. It was a scary scene with a few dozen reporters watching and the cameras rolling. Certainly something that will give people plenty to talk about as Nadal gears up for the second week.Nadal wasn't the only one who struggled with the heat on a windy, humid day in Queens with temperatures in the mid-80s.

In Louis Armstrong Stadium, No. 26 Flavia Pennetta backed up her victory over Maria Sharapova with a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) win over No. 13 Peng Shuai of China. But she also struggled with the heat. Trailing, 5-3, in the second, Pennetta got a break to stay in it. She forced a tiebreaker but appeared near exhaustion as the set wore on. The match took 2 hours, 31 minutes.Later, Roddick and Young won their matches.

Roddick, seeded 21st, defeated Julien Benneteau, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).Young, the one-time top-ranked junior, took another step toward fulfilling his vast potential with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 upset over No. 24 Juan Ignacio Chela. The 84th-ranked Young is in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

In an all-American match Sunday night, John Isner served 17 aces in a 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Alex Bogomolov Jr. and moved to the fourth round.Later, fourth-seeded Andy Murray beat No. 25 Feliciano Lopez, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

source:freep

Maria Sharapova shows off her washboard abs in tiny sports bra

She’s a former world No. 1 in her sport but Maria Sharapova proved in her new Nike campaign that she’s not bad at modelling either.The Russian tennis player showed off her rock hard abs and bulging biceps while she was being photographed by Annie Leibovitz.The stunning 24-year-old, who is also an American citizen, posed in tiny blue hot pants and a white sports bra while holding an abdominal crunch position.

From left, Australian surfer Laura Enever, British runner Perri Shakes-Drayton, American footballer Hope Solo, Li Na of China, Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella, Maria Sharapova and American runner Allyson Felix

Fellow tennis player Li Na of China joins Sharapova in the campaign, alongside runners Allyson Felix of the US and British Perri Shakes-Drayton, American footballer Hope Solo, Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella and Australian surfer Laura Enever.Li Na joins Sharapova, alongside runners Allyson Felix and Perri Shakes-Drayton, football player Hope Solo, dancer Sofia Boutella and surfer Laura Enever in the group portrait.

In the group photograph the star models Nike jogging bottoms and a loose grey T-shirt.

 

Sharapova looking glamorous at the annual pre-Wimbledon party last year held at the Roof Gardens in West London, left, and playing at Wimbledon last year, right

Bjorn Borg in Paris to watch Rafael Nadal try to match his six French titles

At Wimbledon four years ago, he nobly congratulated Roger Federer on matching his five straight titles and now everyone here is hoping he will be at Roland Garros this afternoon to shake hands with Rafael Nadal should the Spaniard equal his landmark of six French Open crowns.

Not that Nadal is in the slightest preoccupied with all the talk that, should he beat Federer, he would cement his claims to being the greatest clay-court player in history, even ahead of the Swede.
“Seriously, I don’t think about that. A lot of respect for the great Bjorn but I am only focusing on trying to play well,” said Nadal after his semi-final triumph over Andy Murray. “For me it’s much more important to win Roland Garros again than to equal Bjorn.”
Nadal turned 25 on Friday and is now at that point in his phenomenal career when tennis historians are already trying to assess his place in the pantheon.
There are those who argue, as an expert panel assembled by French sports paper L’Equipe did last year, that Nadal is already the best clay-courter. After all, the man who lost just once at Roland Garros (to Robin Soderling) now has a better winning percentage than Borg, who lost twice to the same man – Italian Adriano Panatta – during his 1974-1981 reign where he won his six titles in eight Opens. Nadal is going for six from seven.
The Spaniard has already won more career titles on clay (31 to Borg’s 30) and victory over Federer for the fifth time at Roland Garros today — including the fourth time in a final — could clinch the argument, considering his serial Swiss victim’s claim on being the best in history.
Of course, each major title the Spaniard annexes adds fuel to the belief that we should look beyond the claims for clay-court supremacy and consider that, as John McEnroe suggested last year: “There is an argument that Rafael Nadal may be the greatest player ever, eventually. Even possibly now.”
Borg himself still believes Federer is history’s best but each time Nadal improves his impressive head-to-head against the Swiss — he currently leads 16-8 — it becomes harder to defend that thesis. And the Swede is under no illusions that Nadal may well consign his own records to ancient history by eventually winning “seven or eight French titles”.
For while Borg hung up his wooden racket at 26, weary of the grind of the circuit and unable to come to terms with life as world No 2 in the shadow of McEnroe, Nadal’s hunger for more glory in his 26th year shows no sign of being satiated.
The Spanish press have been a bit worried about him here, saying that he has not looked happy, but after his victory over Murray, he evidently felt it was time to put them right as they asked what the difference was between the 19-year-old Rafa, who burst into Paris without a seeming care in the world to win the title at the first attempt, and the 25-year-old serial champion.
“Well, when you are a kid and you win here for the first time, what you think is 'Oh, OK, I’ve won one match’. You might think it’s going to be easier in my career now that I’ve won titles but that’s not at all the case. It’s a lie. If you win now, there’s even more pressure on you.
“And when you win, you want to win more. It’s always renewed. The appetite is still there. It’s an incredible feeling and I’d like to continue on the same path.” But don’t tell him he is the best there ever was because he will tell you who owns that accolade. It is the bloke who will stand across the net today.
“I know how good he is. What Roger has done in his career is impossible to repeat for any of today’s players,” is Nadal’s eve-of-final tribute. “You are more surprised than me that Roger is in the final.”

source:telegraph.co.uk

Sania Mirza, Vesnina lose women's doubles final

India's Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina lost in straight sets to Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in the women's doubles final at the French Open on Friday.The seventh-seeded Indo-Russian pair lost 4-6, 3-6 to the unseeded Hlavackova and Hradecka in a match that lasted around 82 minutes at Roland Garros.This victory helped the Czech duo, who became the sixth unseeded team to capture a major in three decades and are the second unseeded French Open finalists in 30 years, to improve their head-to-head record against Sania and Elena to 1-1.

The Indo-Russian were broken in the third and fifth game of the first set and were trailing 5-1. However, Sania and Elena capitalised on few errors committed from the Czechs to bridge the gap to 5-4.In the end, Hradecka kept his cool and held her serve to go one-up.In the second set, Hlavackova and Hradecka broke the seventh seeds twice after exchanging early breaks to pocket the match.

Elena said reaching the slam final was a great experience and hoped to win a Grand Slam title soon."I thank Sania, our team and everyone who supported us. It has been a great week for us and a great experience. I am sure we will have more wins on our way and I am hopeful we will make it someday," said the Russian.

Federer to meet Nadal in French Open 2011 final

Roger Federer defeated Novak Dokovic, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, to reach the finals of the French Open Friday and snap Djokovic's winning streak of 43 consecutive matches dating to last year.Backed by many in a cheering crowd among 15,000 spectators at Roland Garros, Federer overcame a series of mis-hits, which bedeviled him throughout the match, often resulting in balls hit dramatically off the court.

Djokovic, whose last previous loss was to Federer in December in London, started to recover from is two-sets-to-none disadvantage, but could not contain his Swiss opponent in the final moments, when both slashed forehand and backhands before a spellbound audience.

Federer, seeded third, will face Rafael Nadal in the final on Sunday. Nadal defeated Andy Murray of Britain in straight sets in the other semifinal.