I’m amazed, only 14 days into the New Year and the men’s side has seen three huge moves concerning equipment.

James Blake: I'd suspected that James was going to switch to the
Dunlop Aerogel 200 4D Tour for the 2010 season from his original Aerogel 200.



As this photo from Yahoo! Sports depicts, I was dead wrong, in a shocking turn of events James popped up in Brisbane sporting a generic bag, and out of it came the all new Wilson BLX 6.1 Tour 90!

After scouring the web to see if this was a mere paintjob, upon closer inspection of the racquet in photos it is a genuine BLX 6.1 Tour 90, the same racquet world #1 Roger Federer will be using this year, but why?

Some say that with the Aerogel 200 James was using his 1 handed backhand didn’t have the type of penetration he’s getting with the 90” head on the BLX 6.1 Tour, also watching him play in the Brisbane tournament it seems his serve has a bit of extra pop now compared to his usage of the Aerogel 200 (which a source tells me is a complete paintjob as Blake’s was a custom mold utilizing a 97” head size) 

Also it’s good to see his beard back, when he’s clean shaven he plays terrible, but that’s just my observation.


Tomas Berdych: I'd also suspected Tomas to switch off to the  Aerogel 200 4D , but I was mistaken as Berdych was seen in Brisbane using the Head YouTek Radical MidPlus.



Berdych along with Blake were the two headliners of the Dunlop Pro Lineup, Tommy Haas left Dunlop prior to the French Open last year in favor of Head and has enjoyed a large jump in rankings, ending 2008 ranked number 82, and ended 2009 after the switch at number 18. Did Haas’s new success inspire Berdych to join the Head camp? Who knows.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: In my honest opinion this was the biggest move this year, at the end of last year rumors were speculating that Tsonga was in talks with Babolat to join the pro lineup after a long history with the Wilson brand was seen in Brisbane sporting the new Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex GT, the same racquet world #2 Rafael Nadal will be sporting this season as well.





In all honesty the Wilson K Factor Kobra Tour that he leaves behind is almost identical specification wise to the Aeropro Drive Cortex GT he’s using now. But maybe Tsonga feels more at home with the Babolat seeing as they are based in his native France. Who knows.

I wish the three of these players the best of luck this year in their matches! 2010 is shaping up to be an exciting season. The Australian Open starts next Monday! (1/18/2010)

The world number five launches his bid against South African Kevin Anderson in the early hours of Monday UK time after two weeks of preparation down under.

"I believe I can win it," Murray, 22, told BBC Scotland. "I just need to make sure I play my best tennis and not get too far ahead of myself."

Murray, the only player in the top five without a major title, is hoping to maintain the progress he made in Grand Slams last year, when he reached his first Wimbledon semi-final and the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time.

He has yet to progress beyond the fourth round in Melbourne.

"I feel pretty relaxed mentally about it and physically I feel good," Murray said. "You never know when it's the right time, but I feel ready. My game is there and I think I've got a really good chance."

After skipping the Qatar Open this month, Britain's number one opted to prepare in Australia for a fortnight, which included playing alongside 15-year-old Laura Robson in the Hopman Cup in Perth.

Murray, 23 in May, believes he will be at his peak from 23 to 27 and will be playing his 17th Grand Slam event at Melbourne Park - the same stage as Federer when he won his first Slam.

To achieve his dream the Scot may have to beat Nadal in the quarters, Del Potro in the semis and Federer in the final, if the top seeds all progress to the last eight.

"I need to make sure I win my first match and get to the quarter-final for it to be a problem," Murray added ahead of his first ever clash with the 6ft 8in Anderson, ranked 147 in the world.

"If I lose in the third round it's no use if Nadal is in the quarters. I feel if I do get there I have a good chance against any of the guys."

 

I thought i'd show you guys a funner side of tennis today, even though players like Novak Djokovic , Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova are travelling around the world eleven months out of the year, they still find time to give the fans a ton of laughs.


Just a few videos that I found to be funny.

 

Andy's impressions of Hewitt, Agassi, and a few other players:
 

They'll even poke fun at each other! Like Novak and Andy are doing here:





Novak has always been a crowd favorite, this video will show why:



Even Maria gets in on the action, poking fun at Andy:

Photo Credit goes to Mark Peterson at Corleve Photography. Photo Credit goes to Clive Brunskill at Getty Images


Dinara, is there something you're hiding from us here? I mean with all the recent drug testing bans popping up, haveyou been tested? Because these images show the physique of someone who could be on something that they're not supposed to be on, look at the rest of women on tour compared to Dinara, except Serena Williams haha.. she's the only exception.

Seriously, people want to talk about fair standards and what not, but seeing things like this just makes me wonder.

Or I could be completely wrong and she could be putting in hard work at the gym. But I'm sure people besides myself have been very curious as well, here's your chance to voice your thoughts, let me know.

Top one on my list so far.

Clijsters v. Petrova- Petrova wins 6-1,6-0


What happend? It was supposed to be Kim vs. Justine in the quarterfinals!? Petrova has never defeated Clijsters in four meetings between them, actually let me rephrase that... Petrova hasn't come close in either of those four meetings to defeating her.

So what gives in this match? Did Clijsters just not come out with any fire? Did Petrova play so well that she shut down the 2009 US Open champion?!


Let me know your thoughts. I'll also be keeping this updated as more upsets occur!

 1.  Winning five consecutive titles at two different Grand Slam tournaments

About The Feat: Since the abolition of the Challenge Round [when the defending champion was automatically placed in the following year’s final] Federer is one of just four players to win the same Grand Slam tournament five consecutive years. [Tilden six at the US Open 1920-25; Emerson five at the Australian Open 1963-67 and Borg five at Wimbledon 1978-81]. But Federer is the only player in history to win two different Grand Slam titles [Wimbledon 2003-07 and US Open 2004-08] for five consecutive years.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 1%


 

2. Winning 15 Grand Slam titles in the span of 26 majors

About The Feat: After going titleless in his first 16 Grand Slam tournaments, Federer has made up for lost time. Beginning with his 2003 Wimbledon breakthrough, the Swiss has won more than 50 percent of the majors he has contested. In contrast, Pete Sampras won his 14 majors over a span of 45 Grand Slam tournaments.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 2%


 

3. Reaching 17 of 18 consecutive Grand Slam finals between Wimbledon 2005 and US Open 2009

About The Feat: This record goes beyond consistency. It speaks to Federer’s unrivaled excellence at the pinnacle of the sport – the Grand Slams – and his ability to play his best under pressure and when it counts most. No other player has come even close to a streak of Grand Slam finals appearance like this – and no one likely ever will. Federer will try to make it 18 of 19 at this month’s Australian Open.
 
Chance of Feat Being Topped: 3%

 

4. Reaching 22 consecutive Grand slam semi-finals (or better) from Wimbledon 2004 to US Open 2009

About The Feat: To put this feat into context, Federer’s ongoing streak of contesting 22 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals is more than double the length of Ivan Lendl’s 10 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals reached – the next best streak. The last time Federer didn’t make the last four at a major was in 2004 at Roland Garros, when he was beaten by three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten in the third round.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 3%

 

5. Winning 24 consecutive finals

About The Feat: In 2004 and 2005 Federer won 22 consecutive finals in which he appeared [in addition to winning his last two finals of 2003] for a streak of 24 straight finals won. That’s astonishing considering that Federer was going up against the second best player in each of those particular tournaments. In finals, you not only have to play well, you have to play clutch. Federer’s finals streak ended at the last event of 2005, the Tennis Masters Cup. Although he came into the tournament with an ankle injury, Federer led arch rival David Nalbandian two sets to love and later, in the fifth set, was two points from the title on his own serve before Nalbandian rallied to win a fifth-set tie-break. It was all down hill from there for Federer, who in 2006 lost in four finals (all against Rafael Nadal) and only won 12 titles :)

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 4%

 

6. Reaching all four Grand Slam finals in the same season three times

About The Feat: Only two singles players have ever reached all four Grand Slam finals in the same year: Rod Laver, who did it twice when he completed calendar-year Grand Slams in 1962 and 1968, and Federer, who did it a remarkable three times in the past four years. Considering also that Federer is the only man to reach all four Slam finals in the same year on three different surfaces (hard court, grass and clay), it seems even more unlikely that someone will top that feat in Federer’s lifetime.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 4%

 

7. Three-year period of dominance

About The Feat: Between 2004-2006 Federer went on a tear that is unlikely to be matched during any future three-year period, compiling a 247-15 match record. His season records during that time were 74-6 (2004), 81-4 (2005) and 92-5 (2006). He won a stunning 34 titles, including eight Grand Slams, nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000s and two Tennis Masters Cup titles. Had he served out the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup final against David Nalbandian [instead of losing in a fifth-set tie-break] Federer’s season record that year would have been 82-3, the same as John McEnroe’s unrivaled match record in 1984.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 5%

 

8. Holding the No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking for 237 consecutive weeks

About The Feat: Federer’s 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings (from 2 February, 2004 to 17 August 2008) is best contextualised by looking at the next best streaks: Jimmy Connors at 160 weeks, Ivan Lendl at 157 weeks and Pete Sampras at 102 weeks. Federer, who has been No. 1 a total of 265 weeks (as of 11 January, 2010), is now within reach of Sampras’ all-time (non-consecutive) record of 286 weeks at No. 1. [Federer has five times finished as ATP World Tour Champion, just one year shy of Sampras’ six finishes as year-end No. 1. But Sampras finished No. 1 six consecutive years - a separate feat that Federer, now 28, is unlikely to ever match.]

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 7%

 

9. Sixty-five consecutive grass-court match wins

About The Feat: Federer’s 65 straight wins on grass could so easily have ended at 39 when he saved four match points against Olivier Rochus in the Halle quarter-finals in 2006. But history shows that Federer scratched out a win and ultimately extended his record streak to 65 before he lost 9-7 in the fifth set to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final. With modern-day grass-court tennis no longer favouring a dominant serve-volleyer like a Sampras, Becker or Edberg, it will be more difficult for one player to dominate on the surface and threaten Federer’s streak.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 12%

 

10. Winning one Grand Slam title a year for seven consecutive years

About The Feat: This is a category in which Federer does not hold the record – yet. The Swiss has won at least one Grand Slam title for seven consecutive years, just shy of Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg, who won at least one major for eight consecutive years. Assuming Federer wins a Grand slam title this year to get a share of the record, what are the chances someone (other than Federer) will extend it? It sounds a tough record to break, but Rafael Nadal is already riding a five-year streak. And despite his lapse at Roland Garros last year, he’s likely to be the leading contender for that title for many years to come, as well as at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, where he is a former champion.

Chance of Feat Being Topped: 25%


What do you guys think?

So if you were watching the Cilic/Murray match last night you might have caught something at the end of the match.

 

If you didn't here's the video.

 

I personally think this is absurd, the safety of the players appears to be very easy to compromise, and this is at a SLAM tournament.

How can this guy just casually walk on court, shake his hand, and then be noticed by security that "oh no, there's an intruder on court"

What if this guy had intentions to harm either Cilic or Murray?

 

Let me know what you think.