No Dubai

As most of you will have already heard by now, Martina was forced to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Championships this week due to a back injury. Here is what she had to say about that on the message board:

Well, I got some bad news, guys. I will not be playing Dubai. Thursday morning when I bent over to move some stuff in the back seat of my car, when I straightened up, my lower back locked up on me. Totally unexpected, though it has happened before - last time about 6 years ago... so I have been in bed since, getting accupuncture treatments and will now try to play Indian Wells instead, if I get well enough, needless to say.

Martina was kind enough to update us again yesterday with the good news that she was doing much better:

As you can see, I have too much time on my hands now as I am still on my back, but feeling better today, I know i will be ready for Iindian Wells. The accupuncture really helped, highly recommend it for all kinds of problems.

It is so nice of Martina to keep in touch with us during this stressful time. We wish her a speedy recovery and cannot wait for Indian Wells!

Hyderabad Round-up

Alright guys, I know I've been slacking off again but can you blame me? It's been such a disappointing week in Hyderabad after it began with so much promise. By now, you all know what happened: Martina & Anna-Lena were forced to retire from their quarterfinal match against Amanmuradova & Panova while leading 3-2 when Anna-Lena suffered a right knee strain. The injury was serious enough to force her out of her singles semifinal as well. Martina, now back in the USA, posted on the message boards today, explaining what happened:

Well, that was a bummer. Anna-Lena landed funny on the first point of the match and hyperextended her knee without actually hitting a ball. She served, I poached - first point of the match!!! - and hit it to Panova. Panova reflexed a backhand volley down the line, it was a let cord and so I ran for it and as I hit a backhand, I heard a yell, stopped playing and saw Anna-Lena on the ground clutching her knee. The trainer taped her, she was ok for a few games. We went up 3-0 and then it started to bother her. At 3-2 she stopped. Apparently she does have a slight tear in her meniscus and right now is not sure when she will be good to go again.

We wish Anna-Lena a speedy recovery and hope she gets better soon.

In the meantime, here are a few links to articles, photos etc. from Hyderabad. Martina's appearance received a lot of press attention in India - which is nice but not surprising when you consider how many fans she has over there: Mid Day (1), Despardes, The Hindustan Times (1), NDTV (1), The Telegraph, The Indian Express (1), The Indian Express (2), NDTV (2), rediff.com (1), Press Trust of India (1), Mid Day (2), Press Trust of India (2), The Hindustan Times (2), rediff.com (2), The Indian Express (3), Indo-Asian News Service, rediff.com (3), NDTV (3), The Times of India. And here are a few photos from the tournament website: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four.

Some folks in India are already asking when Martina will be back. The tournament organizers are trying to get her to play at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in the fall. This article from 'The Telegraph' sheds more light on that including quotes from Leander - who is recovering well from his ankle injury per Martina.

As for what's next. Like I said earlier, Martina is back in the USA for the first time in a long time. She will return in two weeks time to Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) for the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open with Daniela.

Martina also updated us on the message boards with her tentative upcoming tour schedule over the next couple of months. Right now, we're looking at Dubai, Miami, Amelia Island, Charleston, Rome, Istanbul, Roland Garros, Eastbourne & Wimbledon. The Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto also confirmed this week that Martina will be back in Canada this summer.

First Round win

Just a quick update... Martina & Anna-Lena won their first round match today, defeating Shiho Hisamatsu & Remi Tezuka 6-2 6-1. Hopefully, I'll have links to articles tomorrow. Up next is a more difficult quarterfinal match tomorrow against the always-dangerous Tatiana Panova & the towering Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova.

Ceremonies in Hyderabad

No tennis today - and there's nothing scheduled for tomorrow either - but Martina took part in the opening ceremony at the Hyderabad Open today. She was joined by the Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Rajashekhar Reddy & India's top-ranked player, Sania Mirza. Later in the day, Martina appeared on court in a saree (!!!!) for another ceremony and was presented with a miniature replica of the Charminar, the famous landmark of the city of Hyderabad. Reports indicate Martina will get to visit the real Charminar tomorrow.

For an article on today's events from NDTV.com click here. And for a few photos, click on the following links: Opening Ceremony (1), Opening Ceremony (2), Exotic Martina.

Martina in Hyderabad

Martina has arrived in Hyderabad for her debut appearance in India. She held a press conference earlier today that seems to have been well-attended and received wide coverage by the Indian press: The Indian Express, The Times of India(1), The Times of India (2), Deepika Global, The Hindustan Times (1), The Hindustan Times (2), NDTV.com. There will likely be more articles tomorrow. For a photo of Martina arriving at a practice session in Hyderabad, click here. The reports indicate that she had to postpone several business meetings in the USA to play in Hyderabad. And it looks like she will head straight home following this event and will bypass the Middle Eastern events this month.

The doubles draw came out today. Martina & Anna-Lena are seeded #1 and will meet Shiho Hisamatsu & Remi Tuzuka in their opening match. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour website, click here.

Hyderabad with Anna-Lena

Confirmation today on the doubles next week. Martina will partner Germany's top-ranked player, Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Groenefeld's regular partner, Marion Bartoli, is not playing in Hyderabad and neither is Daniela. Just out of curiosity, I went back and looked up the last time Martina played doubles at a tour event with a German player - I had to go all the way back to 1973 when a 16-year-old Martina reached the finals of the Canadian Open in Toronto with the "Golden Giraffe" Helga Masthoff.

Victory in Christchurch

Martina made a clean sweep of her matches in New Zealand earlier today, defeating Monica 4-6 6-2 6-4 in their second match in Christchurch. Undoubtedly, this has been a good week for Martina and it has also been nice to have Monica back and we wish her the best as she contemplates a return to the tour.

A couple of articles: The Press, The New Zealand Herald, TV NZ. For photos from the second match, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. And for a nice video interview with Martina on "One News" courtesy of XtraMSN, click here. My special thanks to Jinnie for locating this video clip.

Victory in Auckland

Good news out of Auckland earlier today. Martina scored a straight sets win over Monica, winning 6-4 6-4. The two were also involved in a hit-and-giggle mixed doubles match afterwards with Martina partnering Xavier Rush & Monica with Carlos Spencer - both New Zealand All Blacks rugby players. Not sure how that one turned out. For a nice article from 'The New Zealand Herald,' click here. There have also been a few articles the last couple of days on the TV One website: One, Two, Three. For photos, here're two by the Associated Press: Photo One, Photo Two. Getty Images and Fotopress also have many photos from last night's action, albeit watermarked. The ladies get today off before their second and final match in Christchurch on Thursday.

I never was a big fan of Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Wertheim, but of late, I must admit I have been enjoying his weekly online columns. His latest - a round-up of the just-concluded Australian Open - is no exception. I'm so glad Martina said what she did about the annoying Lleyton "C'mawwwwwn" Hewitt and would I have loved to have heard Martina try plug Desperate Housewives on Australian TV. Hehehe!

Meanwhile in India, Mahesh Bhupathi spoke to the press about Martina playing in Hyderabad next week - his father, Krishna, is the tournament director. In another article, Mahesh describes Martina as "the ultimate champion and ambassadress of the sport." Hmmm... has he been reading another website I know quite well ;-)