[Just Do It]

Ricardo

[MaBaker]

Originally Posted by lepa brena

The real question is whose advice she's going to ignore now?

Yeah, it's a bit confusing. I just hope she won't develop another personality for that.

[LoLex]

Bye bye Ricardo. ;p

[lepa brena]

Originally Posted by MaBaker

Yeah, it's a bit confusing. I just hope she won't develop another personality for that.

It's already crowded in there so I really hope not.

[JJ-Fan]

Originally Posted by lepa brena

It's already crowded in there so I really hope not.

LOL

[kikiriki]

Originally Posted by lepa brena

The real question is whose advice she's going to ignore now?

Sneki's

[ce]

Originally Posted by lepa brena

It's already crowded in there so I really hope not.

[terjw]

I'm OK with not having a coach for a short time but I don't like the idea of her not having a coach for like a whole season. A coach can spot small little things in matches which need attention. And can watch other players which Jelena is notoriously bad at.

I remember Kim said and did the same thing after winning the USO 2005 - that she knew what to do and just needed sparring partners. And whilst she was still good and in the big 4 (Justine, Masha, Amelie, Kim) - she never beat the other big 3 all the time she played until her retirement in 2007. I'm sure she would have done better with a coach.

But with Jelena - it has to be the right coach. If she doesn't believe him or trust him and he confuses her - she's better off on her own without that coach. But there must be someone who is good and can work with her and get her trust.

[Bruno71]

Originally Posted by terjw

I'm OK with not having a coach for a short time but I don't like the idea of her not having a coach for like a whole season. A coach can spot small little things in matches which need attention. And can watch other players which Jelena is notoriously bad at.

I remember Kim said and did the same thing after winning the USO 2005 - that she knew what to do and just needed sparring partners. And whilst she was still good and in the big 4 (Justine, Masha, Amelie, Kim) - she never beat the other big 3 all the time she played until her retirement in 2007. I'm sure she would have done better with a coach.

But with Jelena - it has to be the right coach. If she doesn't believe him or trust him and he confuses her - she's better off on her own without that coach. But there must be someone who is good and can work with her and get her trust.

In order for a character (read: maniac) like JJ to find the "right coach," she has to try out a whooooooole bunch of them. I don't think she has either the patience or the guts to hire and fire a bunch of coaches in succession. Look how long she stuck with Sanchez.

[дalex]

Found this in neighboring Anapolis.

BTW, I don't want Jelena to change. Her dramaqueeness is half the reason I love her to deathbed.

Fed Cup 1st round - Russia def. Serbia 3-2

RUSSIA tied with SERBIA 1-1 (after Saturday's play)

This one was by far the most eagerly-anticipated first-round tie - not only because of the potential star power on both sides, but because it's in Serbia and guaranteed to get by far the biggest crowd.

The drama began on the Serbian side with Jankovic, who flamed out early in Australia on the coattails of her now omnipresent cold n' sniffles, playing possum about her participation in the tie.

A long confessional on her web site Monday made it all the more dramatic for the ultimate drama queen. You can find it here; here are some excerpts (start the violins version of the Serbian national anthem now, please). To be fair, it was probably translated literally from Serbian.

"No, I haven't come to Belgrade yet, and I'm still in Florida, where I'm fighting with back injury received in Melbourne. I didn't want to speak in public about the problems that struck me in Australia, about the cold and the back injury that occurred during a practice while trying to change the way I served, because many would describe it to as a justification for the lost match. (Well, she was pretty clear about it Down Under, so we're not sure what secrets she was holding back).

Unfortunately, the situation got complicated, so I'm still in Florida, sad and in great uncertainty whether I would start the journey to my home town. I was in certain isolation, not giving any statements, also because the Russians would not hear of my injury, which would probably encourage them before arrival to Belgrade, knowing that the Serbian team would be weakened, and their job made easier in the battle for the semifinal of the World group.

The pain and desire are fighting inside of me, since I want to wear Serbian jersey once again in the crowded Arena, and be there for my country, fighting without mercy to the last breath, as I always did before. ... There is little more time, and we shall see what's happening with my injury in the next 24 hours. After that I will decide if I'm the passenger for Serbia (on a slow boat, she makes it sound), or I stay in Florida, healing and mourning for not being able to play in Arena against Russia, for Serbian victory, for the entry into the semifinals."

It's great stuff. And it turned out that the patriotic, plucky Jankovic managed to rouse herself from her deathbed and make the trip.

The other drama came from the Russian side, which looked to be fielding a squad that didn't include top players Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Nadia Petrova or Vera Zvonareva.

Well, well, well, Kuznetsova put aside her differences with captain Shamil Tarpischev (whom she said had told her she wouldn't be needed for this one), and managed to make it to Belgrade.

And so it went, with No. 1 Kuznetsova squaring off with Serbian No. 2 Ana Ivanovic in the first rubber.

After getting whitewashed 6-1 in the first set, Ivanovic managed to get up a break, 4-2 in the second.

Then the old, familiar stuff came back into play. Ivanovic started chasing her toss, sometimes twice in a row before serving it up. She coughed up her serve twice in a row. And even though Kuznetsova had a couple of nerves of her own when she served for it at 5-4, she got the job done.

Poor Ivanovic; does she look like someone who needs a full night's sleep, or what?

Kuznetsova got enveloped in a bear hug by coach Larisa Neiland, who never got off the cell while she was doing it. Poor Ivanovic trudged off with the Serbian captain.

She did, though, go into the locker room (probably have a little cry) and come bright ack out to support teammate Jankovic. The two are not pals, but Ivanovic would do that sort of thing. She's awesome.

Jankovic broke in the very first game against Alisa Kleybanova. Then she was broken back. Kleybanova was up 4-2, coughed that up, and finally took the set 6-4.

The Russian was up 4-1 in the second, and a point away from leading 5-1 and running away with it, when Jankovic pulled out vintage tennis from back when she was at the top of the game.

Kleybanova didn't really do anything wrong; Jankovic just was ridiculously good. She won four straight games, and took the second set – after which Kleybanova needed to have a little talk with herself in the ladies' room. Jankovic was just hungry.

In the third set, it was no contest. The only dramatic moment was when Jankovic needed six break points to get Kleybanova's serve for the second time, and take a 3-0 lead. Kleybanova was clearly physically spent (and mentally done) by then. Jankovic ran out the third set 6-0, and evened the tie at 1-1 going into Sunday.

Ivanovic watched on, then signed some autographs. We'll say it again; this girl is awesome.

Now, she's got to be thinking, she'll either play the match to clinch at 2-1, or stay in it at 1-2, because she's the second singles match on Sunday.

And if it comes down to doubles, you'd have to think that the two ladies will team up; we don't see the other two Serbs getting any face time (beyond being in the stands, cheering) this weekend. And in terms of doubles, they're not very good. They hardly ever even play.

So Ana's got a lot to roll over in her mind tonight, as she tries to sleep off today's disaster.

Meanwhile, Tarpischev has some decisions to make. Kleybanova was baked at the end of this one; and she and Kuznetsova are the two best doubles players on his squad.

He always is a pretty cagey guy, and his moves often work out well. Will he put the inconsistent but talented hothead Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in for Kleybanova, saving her for the doubles? Likely that depends on whether Kuznetsova can beat Jankovic, first up.

It's going to be an intriguing finish, as it always is when Fed Cup ends its first day in a 1-1 tie.

SUNDAY:

The heavyweight battle between Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova opened things up.

And Jankovic rolled through the first set with free-wheeling, aggressive tennis that actually brought her to the net, and showed off a more aggressive new serve.

She had break points (three) early in the second set to get that one rolling, which probably would have had the struggling Kuzzie go away. Instead, it got to 4-4, and Jankovic double-faulted to gift Kuznetsova with the break. She then held to wake the second set 6-4.

It was then officially a dogfight. But Kuznetsova played a pretty terrible set. A double-fault and a wild forehand when she was on serve at 2-3 gave Kuznetsova the break. When JJ served for the match, she was down 0-30, and Kuzzie had a break point later. But Jankovic managed to finally put it away in three hours, 16 minutes, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev didn't change his expression much; he learned that in the old system.

The numbers were UGLY: 28 winners for each. 63 unforced for Jankovic, a whopping 77 for Kuznetsova.

Ana Ivanovic then took the court to try to clinch for Serbia. She'll have two chances at it; she and Jankovic are listed as playing the doubles as well.

The poor girl quickly went down two breaks, 0-4, before breaking Alisa Kleybanova to get on the board, and held at love to narrow the gap to 2-4. Ivanovic looks like she again didn't get a wink of sleep last night. She was broken at 15 (a double-fault at love-30 didn't help) to give the first set 6-2 to the Russian, in 33 minutes.

Jankovic returned to the court to cheer. She got a little sidetracked for a bit (understandable, from our vantage point), but quickly got back to the business of being a good teammate.

The commentators were making much of the fact that Ivanovic STILL doesn't have a full-time coach, abandoning the Craig Kardon experiment after just a few months and going back under the wing of the adidas development program and guru Sven Groenefeld. They're right about that - if anyone needs a full time coach/shrink, it's Ana.

The female commentator (I believe it's Sam Smith) pointed out some serious technical flaws in Ivanovic's game. They're the kinds of things that people ignore as a kid is moving up the ranks, because that kid is winning. But they always rear their ugly heads when the confidence is gone.

She pointed out that Ivanovic's forehand - considered her weapon - has some big flaws. And she said that Ivanovic's weaker backhand is actually a sound stroke; it's the feet that are incorrectly positioned. She also said she'd lock Ivanovic on a court and make her toss her serve until she gets it right, that the left arm was doing some things it shouldn't be doing. She's not factoring in the mental side. But if we draw a conclusion from what she said, it's that if Ivanovic's technical base were more sound, there would be less to go awry when her head is a mess. And that's valid stuff.

She had some pretty perceptive things to say about the movement of Kleybanova, as well, pointing out that despite her lumbering size (which most people can't get past), she actually motors pretty well and has a very effective first step towards the ball, perhaps because she reads the game better than the average player.

Ivanovic was more competitive in the second set. But she had plenty of opportunities she didn't take. Ultimately, at 3-4 on her serve, she saved four break points before another errant forehand gave Kleybanova the break, and the opportunity to serve for the match and even the tie at 2-2.

That forehand caused Ivanovic to give her Yonex a pretty good smack on the court. Just before Kleybanova was about to launch her first serve, Ivanovic decided she had to go over and change it. A tough spot to break in a new string job; her first return went long.

Kleybanova's first ace of the match came at 30-love. A huge service winner on match point gave it to her, 6-2, 6-3.

A total of 15 winners and a whopping 51 unforced for Ivanovic; Kuzzie was real happy to be let off the hook for losing her match.

So it all comes down to the doubles.

And Russia has put its two singles players, Kuznetsova and Kleybanova, together to try to win it. They're both good doubles players. Ivanovic is already a target, in the very first game; Ivanovic and Jankovic hardly ever play doubles, never mind together.

Jankovic has already forgotten which side she was supposed to serve from, at love-40 in the first game.

Maybe it broke the tension; Ivanovic and Jankovic (NOT pals) are already laughing. You hope they will at least enjoy it, regardless of the outcome.

The Fila Russians had no trouble coordinating; Jankovic, anticipating this very occurrence, has another cute dress, this one white with red accents, to better match up with her partner, an ITF regulation.

Ivanovic playing the forehand side, which means that the relatively weaker side for both girls is where the strength should be - up the middle of the court. That's not how we'd go with that. But hey, they didn't ask us.

The Russians win it in straights, and take the tie 3-2. The "Ic"s led 4-2 in the second set; the "Ova"s won the last 10 straight points to take it. We'll have more on the bizarre finish for this one in a separate post.

[lepa brena]

^Meh, I don't like that article. It focuses on Ana instead of the amazing awesomeness Serbian Queen JJ displayed this weekend.

[~Kiera~]

https://twitter.com/JamesLaRosa

Aravane Rezai, on who shows the worst sportsmanship on tour: "Jelena Jankovic and especially Marion Bartoli." SLAP.

[Illusionist]

The whole JJ presser after her victory against Kleybanova. On Serbian only... Try using google translate for translation :\ It's really too long for me to translate. I almost died after typing it

[lepa brena]

Originally Posted by ~Kiera~

https://twitter.com/JamesLaRosa

She's gonna get it. Why are they all so desperate to get it from JJ??

[Bruno71]

JJ's only played Aravane once a few years ago and beat her easily. Maybe JJ hit her with a ball, she's easy to hit