THE LOW DOWN: Gasquet may skip French Open - did he read my open letter?

Sometimes it's fun to think that you write these posts, blogging about things you think you know about and maybe, just maybe, some of the ballers are actually reading them. Fine - not likely but weirder things have happened (right Justine?).

Such is the case with Richard Gasquet. I wrote an open letter to the Frenchman laying out the terrible start to his year and suggesting he skip Roland Garros and take a sabbatical - well, more to the effect of taking time off to hook up with one of Amelie Mauresmo's fave sports shrinks.

Now comes word today that Richard, who lost in Hamburg's second round today 6-3, 6-2 to Andrea Seppi, is considering skipping his country's Slam to catch a break after a successful 2007:

I am completely burned out. I haven’t fully recovered from the efforts I made last year. And I am paying for it at the moment. I am not fit to play tennis - running, moving, everything is becoming difficult.

I am going to cut myself off for the week. Forgetting about my racquet can’t do me any harm. For Roland Garros, we will see. Don’t expect a big tournament from me if I take part in it.

It is nearly two years since I have had a break. I miss that. Imagine what I would do at Roland Garros, it would not be nice for anyone.

Hallelujah! No Richard, it wouldn't be nice for anyone, including yourself, to see you struggle and lose early in Paris in front of the notoriously fickle French fans.

Who knows what could happen as you perform the walk of shame towards the locker room - barraged by baguettes? made to eat cake?? Again, ask Amelie because she's been there. You two could be BFF's right now sharing war stories about life on the tour, being too self-conscious, lacking real tenacity and grit, etc. You know what I'm talking about...

Anyway, take the break. I wouldn't say you've earned it per se but you certainly need it.

(image via Getty)

Behind-the-scenes of infamous WTA marketing campaign

So finally we get to see what all the hype was about...

Here are some behind-the-scenes images and video from the infamous WTA Tour "Superheroes" marketing campaign photoshoot that Maria "Shriek"apova made a public stink about recently. Unfortunately we don't get to see Maria in action, but we do get Maria Kirilenko, Ana Ivanovic, Venus + Serena Williams, and Jelena Jankovic.

ReRe enjoyed her experience saying,

This has been a fun experience and I love anything in front of the camera! Matthieu is a great director and I could really follow his vision.” She added, “This is a great campaign for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and it’s another sign that women’s tennis is the leading sport for all female athletes worldwide.

(images via Getty)

BREAKING: Henin to announce retirement today according to Belgian newspaper

Is Justine Henin retiring from professional tennis? Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad is reporting the world no. 1 will announce her retirement today. Justine has been struggling of late and I wondered where all the talk of retirement had been coming from - now we know where her mind has been recently.

This news would truly be shocking.

Stay tuned - she is scheduled for a news conference at 10am EST.

UPDATE: Justine announced her official retirement from professional tennis in a news conference in Belgium. She has been considering the decision for the past six months or so, said her agent Ken Meyerson:

She's simply burned out and has no more juice to go on. I was surprised at the urgency of the decision. We, as agents, like long farewells. I'm really sad. She did so much for the game, and we need her in the women's game. Pound-for-pound, she was one of the best tennis players in history. She was an underdog. She was someone we could relate to.

"It's the end of a wonderful adventure but it's something I have been thinking about for a long time," Justine said about her career.

(image via Getty)

VIDEO VAULT: Venus gets personal for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Venus Williams sat down with Bryant Gumbel for Real Sports to give a rare glimpse into her inner world and off-court life. The 6-time Grand Slammer discusses her need for privacy, her boyfriend Hank Kuehne, her role in getting equal prize money at Wimbledon and some of her father Richard's more infamous quotes.

One of the most revealing moments was when Gumbel asked V about her father's belief that sister Serena was the better player.

BG: How much does it bug you that your dad always thought [Serena was] the better player?

VW: Ummm...

BG: You just answered the question when you give me that "Ummm". Looking for a way to say it. It bugs you.

VW: No...

BG: Oh c'mon!

Check out the full interview:





(image via Getty)

BREAKING: Perry Rogers removed from ATP Board of Directors

Tennis Week is reporting that Perry Rogers, who managed Andre Agassi throughout his career, was voted off the ATP Board of Directors by the players council.

The council is comprised of 10 current players, one former player and a coach and includes President Ivan Ljubicic, vice president James Blake, Thomas Johansson, Olivier Rochus, Paul Goldstein, Davide Sanguinetti, Bob Bryan, Kevin Ullyett, Paradorn Srichaphan, Martin Garcia, alumni David Adams and coach Ricardo Piatti. The vote required at least 7 of the 12 members for it to pass.

An ATP spokesperson confirmed the change on the board saying,

We can confirm that there has been a change to the composition of the ATP Board by action of the Player Council and look forward to working with the new Player Board Representative. We thank Perry Rogers for his dedicated service on the ATP Board.

Rogers was seen as a strong supporter of ATP CEO Etienne de Villiers, who has come under heavy fire by top ballers recently for a number of issues including the heavily packed schedule and the downgrading of Hamburg from Master Series status.

Expect more news to come.

(image via tennisweek.com)

PHOTO OP: Anna + Jelena get pretty for Whirlpool

The now-infamous Maria "Shriek"apova photoshoot wasn't the only sponsor obligation for the lady ballers in Rome.

Anna Chakvetadze and Jelena Jankovic were spotted getting their hair and makeup done for a photoshoot with WTA Tour sponsor Whirlpool. The background image features Justine Henin, Elena Dementieva, and Amelie Mauresmo along with Anna and Jelena getting their spa on.

What, no love for Maria Whirlpool?




(images via Getty)

THE LOW DOWN: Hewitt struggling with hip injury - could his career be in jeopardy?

Bad news for Lleyton Hewitt.

The Aussie hot head, who suffered a hip injury during last season's US hardcourt swing, may not be fully fit in time for the French Open or even Wimbledon:

The hip is starting to feel a little better, but I'm yet to fully test it out on court. The specialist did a couple more tests today but the results won't be back for a few days. Once I get those I can make a decision on the French Open and the grasscourt season.

At 27-years of age Lleyton is already on the downswing of a very good career. But a chronic hip injury in tennis usually spells curtains on a career, particularly for a baller whose movement is an integral part of their game. Gustavo Kuerten and Magnus Norman are prime examples of what a hip injury can do and now it looks like Lleyton Hewitt may soon be added to the growing list.

I'm thinking this injury will unfortunately seal the deal if it doesn't get better.

(image via Getty)

Quote of the Day: Federer

The more you lose, the more they believe they can beat me. But believing is not enough, you still have to beat me.

- Roger Federer on his challengers this season

Finally the world no. 1 is starting to talk the talk with some attitude...which he needs to do. Nothing wrong with a little psychological warfare between friends, right?

(image via Getty)

THE LOW DOWN: Rafa swims against the tide, but will it drown his game?

Rafael Nadal is having a rough go of it lately.

The Mallorcan matador fell with blisters in the second round of Rome, giving eventual champion Novak Djokovic a golden opportunity to leap frog into the no. 2 spot on his inevitable climb to the top...and Rafa knows it:

Djokovic is very close, there's no doubt about that. I think, no I'm certain, that the logical thing is that he goes past me here, gets to number two here or at Roland Garros or in Wimbledon. He's a great player and he's doing things very well. If I'm number three I'm number three. When it happens I just have to accept it and fight to get the position back.

Do I hear a hint of resignation in his tone? Most likely.

To add clay to his wounds, the Spanish federation has decided to host the Davis Cup semifinal tie versus the US in Madrid, which sits at a high altitude making the court surface faster and allowing the ball to fly - never pleasant news for clay-loving ballers.

To say Rafa and his teammates are unhappy with federation president Pedro Munoz is an understatement:

We never had any problem with playing in Madrid. But we can't accept that the president told us 100 times that we were going to decide, and then we don't decide. What you can't do now is keep saying we're the clear favorites. We're not playing against number 50 and 60 in the world.

Roddick is at number six and Blake is at eight and they have the world's number one doubles team. It's going to be a very difficult tie and we'll do everything we can to win but it's going to be very open and anything can happen.

I give Rafa a lot of credit for being so young but so vocal about these issues. But he seems more tense and anxious these days than ever before, taking the weight of the tennis world on his bronzed, muscular shoulders. But don't let his physical appearance fool you - the culmination of these moments won't be good for his game - mental, physical, or otherwise.

He might want to just focus on the ball right now.

(image via Getty)

Kournikova website gets botoxed, can't tell if its happy or sad about it

For those of you who still give a damn about a non-playing/non-retired tennis baller still living off the fat, I give you the latest Anna Kournikova news. The original Russian glamourpuss has just relaunched her website, sponsored by K-Swiss.

The site was given a few shots of botox (I said the site, not her) but nothing new in the way of content, save for an added feature called "Current Status". I assume it gives Anna's hardcore fans an idea of what she's doing right about now - or somewhere close to now. Think Twitter, but not really.


And what's her "Current Status" you might ask? "Saw Ironman movie this weekend, its great!"

Do you feel closer to Anna now? I do.

(image via kournikova.com)