Prince William was touring Victoria, Australia, and decided to drop by to watch some tennis in Melbourne at the end of his 3-day visit to the country. He arrived just in time to see Roger Federer complete his 2nd-round match and stayed to watch the ladies match between Australian Casey Dellacqua and Croatian Karolina Sprem. Too bad all British players will be playing tomorrow.

In the post-match interview, Federer was asked to welcome the prince. A bit shyly, he said, “Your royal highness, from the tennis world, thanks for coming.”

Well, it’s hard not to be excited by the sight of royalty, just like the cameras pan to every celebrity tennis fan. I remember watching a video of Steffi Graf’s old championship match where William and Princess Diana was present. Seems like a long time ago; he was just a small boy, then. I can only imagine the life of someone born to privilege, like that. It’s not some title you get from Craigslist or a position you find from sites like Seattle job search. But as they say, with privilege comes great responsibility. Or something to that effect.

I was watching the Tomic vs Cilic match last night and I am quite impressed by the Australian teenager Bernard Tomic’s performance against someone many consider to be dark horse and a possible contender to this year’s crown. They played for hours, in a tight five-set match, with the young Australian showing signs of brilliance and a bright tennis future.

I felt bad for him when he lost, after having chances to win even in straights (3 sets). But Cilic has more experience and is seeded 14. What’s funny, however, is that Tomic eventually “lashed out” at  the organizers for their “ridiculous” scheduling. He said that’s its unfair for a 17-year old to be playing past 1 am, and that it cost him the match over his older opponent (Cilic is 21).  I mean, isn’t his youth actually an advantage in these situations? I understand the 36-year-old Agassi having to ask for rescheduling during the 2005 US Open, but not when this guy’s a relatively newcomer and barely over the age most concerned about the best acne treatments! He was probably just tired and disappointed, though. But Australian tennis may have its new hope with this guy.

Day 3 of the Australian Open is enough to make me run to check www.zitremedy.org; the tension and the stress (in a good way) today’s matches brought is enough to make any tennis fan develop all kinds of body rash.

Earlier in the day, Kim Clijsters had to work hard to win, Rafa Nadal didn’t have to break much sweat, Sharapova remains the only one of the top 15 women’s seed who is out of the tournament, Roddick and Murray are through.

The big games had to wait for the night, however. Almost simultaneously, James Blake vs Juan Martin del Potro and Justine Henin versus Elena Dementieva created matches worthy of Grand Slam finals. del Potro (in five sets) and Henin won (in two). Later that night, Australian teenager Bernard Tomic broke the hearts of his compatriots when he lost the five-set marathon, albeit playing brilliantly,  to the up-and-comer Marin Cilic, who many believe is a real dark horse in the men’s draw.

What really got my attention is Henin vs Dementieva. I’ve been rooting for Elena Dementieva since she lost to Serena Williams last Wimbledon. She has always been known as a talented player who maybe isn’t a champion enough to win the big tournaments and I really wanted her to win, especially seeing her nervous mother, the only supporter she has in her box, really gutted with the way things are turning out. Dementieva has improved her game and her fitness so much, and it just is a pity that she hasn’t won any Grand Slam title. Well, the answer is demonstrated in empathic fashion by Henin. Playing in her 2nd tournament since retiring just over a year ago, Justine Henin, despite being rusty is some parts of her game, shows what being a champion really means. And she coupled the mental toughness with some brilliant shot-making that is not too common with the current breed of women’s tennis players. That is to say, I am happy that Justine won, but I am equally sad that Elena lost. Now Justine should go all the way and win this whole effin’ thing.

So who are the big winners in round 2? Federer, Djokovic, Davydenko, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Ivanovic, Dementieva, among others.

For the random thoughts:

• Venus Williams is being ignored by the press so much that when she won in ruthless fashion against Lucie Safarova, who is a very good player in her own right, she’s suddenly being remembered as a serious contender, together with her sister Serena, Dementieva, Henin, and Clijsters.
• I wonder why professional women’s tennis players can train so hard and compete  so often and still be a bit rounded and plump, especially around the midsection. Tennis has strict anti-doping law so I’m guessing no one takes even a harmless diet pill like phentermine.
• Roger Federer gave his fans a scare when he dropped the first set of his first match, the first set he’s dropped at round 1 of a Grand Slam since 2003.
• I was rooting for Richard Gasquet to win his five-set marathon with Youzny, but it was not to be.
• Dementieva and Henin will battle it out on Day 3 and I’m torn. I want Henin to make a flashy comeback and I wouldn’t mind if Dementieva wins the whole thing. It’s way to early for them to meet at the 2nd round, but because Henin is unseeded, it can’t be helped.

The best thing about the Australian Open being in Australia (duh!) is that it means I don’t have to stay up too late to watch online scores or look for live streaming of matches (seriously, I’ll need eye wrinkle cream if that keeps up). Or maybe the best thing is that Star Sports Asia is finally covering this year’s Open. The bad thing is, I am usually at work during the day matches and I only come home early enough to catch the last few sets of the night matches.

But there’s always the Internet to check who won or who lost, and also to have an idea which ones are worth watching the replays for. Here’s a list of some of the (big name) winners (round 1, day 1): Henin, Clijsters, Dementieva,  Safina (women’s singles); Murray, Roddick, del Potro, Nadal (men’s singles).

I’ve thought about my last post about Maria Sharapova and I realized that I may be wrong to think that Masha probably won’t be playing professional tennis eight years from now. She is just 22 years old, after all. So I take it back; maybe she’ll still be there playing, I just don’t know how successfully or how much of a force she will be by then.

At the Australian Open, however, the big picture may be a little bit “foggy” right now. Sharapova had lost her first-round match to compatriot and good friend (and namesake!) Maria Kirilenko.  Looks like her comeback to the Grand Slam circuit has to wait. The spotlight now will be shared by Henin, Clijsters, and S. Williams.

But I’m hoping Kirilenko can go deep into the tournament, in the very least  the quarters. I read she “danced” through her match, being in perfect balance and positioning as she fought Sharapova. I wish I can be that spry, especially while playing badminton. Maybe need to diet first or get a colon cleanse. I’m feeling heavy-footed these days.

Another bit of news from Melbourne, at the upcoming Australian Open. Maria Sharapova recently signed an eight-year $70 million deal with Nike. Wow. That means Nike will still be sponsoring her way after she retires, because I can’t see her still playing pro tennis eight years into the future.  A lot can be said about this girl – like she’s more suited to the glitz and glamor of the fashion scene than the tennis courts or that she’s an ice queen, or that her ear-splitting screams while playing are beyond annoying – but they don’t take away from the fact that when she’s at the top of her game, she’s a very formidable tennis player. Her powerful game took out Serena Williams in Wimbledon 2004 for her first Slam. Her accomplishments off the court are astonishing as well. She must be the highest-paid female athlete of all time now. She may be all sorts of out on the tennis circuit recently because of her nagging shoulder injury, but she remains the most bankable of all the pretty tennis WTA stars. Somehow, tennis as a commercial sport cannot do without her yet.

And here’s something that she’ll be wearing, aside from her Nike gear, at the tournament next week. Bet you won’t find those in promotional bags anywhere else.

Those stunning earrings are designed by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co, and Maria  will be wearing them (while playing!) at the Australian Open.  Lucky girl.

On the eve of the first Grand Slam of the year, some of the highest ranking tennis stars (Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, among others) decided to give up their last day of preparation to join in an exhibition for a cause.

Roger Federer, the world’s no. 1 tennis player and the top seed at this year’s tournament, spearheaded a campaign to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, which has claimed so many lives and is continuing to be a harrowing experience for the people of the country.

They say Federer’s the quintessential Swiss. He’s a quintessential European. He makes me want to pack my bags, call cross country movers, and move to Europe right now.  In 2005, Federer also gathered his fellow players to help raise funds for the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. It’s really heart-warming to see that people are trying to help the best way they can.

It’s a last-minute effort, and hopefully the people of Melbourne will make this event a success. Knowing how superstitious tennis players are – for example, a lot of them profess not to do anything out of habit during tournaments, like staying in the same hotels or eating the same kind of food – changing their schedules to make this happen really counts for something.

Update: Rafael Nadal is joining, too, even if he’s playing his first round on Monday. Vamos, Rafa!

After a relatively long wait – at least for me, because anybody else would tell you that there’s tennis all year round; it’s like they never stop playing – the Australian Open is finally here. Play starts on Monday, January 18.

The seedings are out, too, and of course top seeds are world no. 1s Roger Federer and Serena Williams. The players are already in Melbourne and the official site has videos of some of the most famous of them practicing at the Rod Laver Arena - like Maria Sharapova, trading her miami beach hotels for the Australian heat to reclaim the title she wasn’t able to defend last year because of injury. Kim Clijsters, the US Open champion, has been practicing as well, while the other players are still competing in other warm-up tournaments in Sydney, Kooyong, and Auckland.

I’m bad with predictions, and most tennis players are so superstitious so I’m taking a page out their book – I won’t predict that Roger Federer will win the title, or that Justine Henin will make a comeback to rival Clijsters’ in the record books, so that I won’t jinx them, but they sure are my favorites to win. Big cheers for the first Grand Slam event of the year. It sure is going to be so much fun.

photo from the official site

Caption this tennis fans:

With all the hoopla surrounding the publication of Andre Agassi’s autobiography, I nearly forgot that the tennis season isn’t over just yet. The World Tour Championships, featuring the world’s best 8 tennis players (Andy Roddick had to pull out due to injury, which made French Open finalist Robin Soderling eligible) started today, November 22 London time.  Someday I’m gonna have to go to London, find cheap apartments for rent, and watch Wimbledon live. Or maybe in time for the next Olympics (2012). A girl can always dream.