“I don’t love tennis today but I’m here,” she said after beating Chanelle Scheepers, in the first round of the Brisbane International. “I can’t live without it – there’s a difference between not loving something and not being able to live without it. I have never liked sports and could never understand how I became an athlete.”

Serena went on to say that she doesn’t like working out or training and that her 2012 schedule will be scaled back in order to provide her rest for big tournaments. The lighter slate also is intended to keep her motivated.

From one view, Serena’s candor could be seen as refreshing. Here’s a top athlete discussing the delicate balance of passion and obligation and fear of the unknown. She’s revealing herself to the press, something she rarely has in the past.

Serena may experience some backlash from her recent statements. Some are saying Serena’s quotes are selfish nonsense. Some critics are expressing her “I don’t love tennis” quote isn’t a revelation, it’s a self-congratulatory declaration as if she’s saying, “Imagine what I could do if I actually cared.”

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Williams had her service broken in the opening game before settling in. She needed just 68 minutes to advance, firing seven aces and taking advantage of eight double-faults by Scheepers.

In other matches, former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic beat Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3, 6-3 and American Vania King beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.

Sam Stosur, who beat Williams for the U.S. Open title last September, plays her opening match at Pat Rafter Arena on Monday night.

Top-seeded Andy Murray plays his opening men’s match on Tuesday.

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According to TMZ, Law enforcement sources say Serena’s assistant called 911 around 6AM last Wednesday, reporting a possible burglar or prowler. It was so serious, we’re told Serena retreated to her panic room for safe keeping in case things got dangerous.

But we’re told, it was a false alarm — the person on Serena’s security camera was a random drug tester for an unspecified tennis association, stopping by Serena’s pad unannounced.

Police came but realized the mistake. TMZ didn’t know whether Serena eventually submitted to the test.

There are plenty of holes in this story (ie. why did they think the drug tester was an intruder), but given Serena’s previous run-in with a stalker, being overly cautious is always the right move.

As for the fact that it was an eventual drug tester, surely there are some better methods to collection. Drug testing is only effective if it’s unannounced, but you’d think they could at least give a five-minute “we’re on the way” heads up.

Happy birthday Serena!

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She will receive no tournament ban and her probation, which had been in effect since her infamous 2009 outburst at the U.S. Open, has been lifted. To call this a slap on the wrist would be overstating it. The fine was more like an imperceptible shake of the head.

Critics say U.S. Open officials are afraid to punish Williams too harshly since she’s the biggest name in tennis.

Here’s what happened:

After losing the first set in the U.S. Open in the final match against Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams hit the best shot of her losing day–a thumping forehand which her opponent barely laid a racket on. Unfortunately for Williams, she also yelled “Come on!” after she struck the ball–a no-no in tennis and a violation of distraction rules in tennis. Asderaki awarded Samantha Stosur the point, which gave her the game, and reprimanded Williams. “This is not a replay,” Asderaki said. “This is hindrance and it is her point. Because when you shouted, she ran to the ball and she touched the ball.” Williams responded, “Are you the one who screwed me over last time?”

While Asderaki remained quiet in the face of Serena Williams’ outburst, analysts and sports writers were quick to jump on Asderaki’s side.

“That’s bad form. That is bad form,” said Mary Carillo who called the match for CBS. “That’s totally not cool.”

“That is a classic violation of tennis’ intentional hindrance rule, the equivalent of unsportsmanlike conduct,” wrote Greg Garber, ESPN’s tennis analyst. “Chair umpire Eva Asderaki correctly awarded the point to Stosur, who merely got a racket on the ball.”

ESPN’s headline for a video recap of the final reads, “Serena Disrespectful.”

Bloomberg reports that U.S. Open officials stand by the call and are reviewing if any other punishments will be doled out.

Asked at the press conference after the match if she regretted anything she said, Williams responded. “I don’t even remember what I said.” Williams, who did not opted out of the post-match handshake with the umpire, continued, “It was just so intense out there. It’s the final for me, and I was just … I guess I’ll see it on YouTube.”

Williams confused the umpire with another umpire she clashed with in 2009.

The Huffington Post reports:

Chair umpire Eva Asderaki awarded the point to Stosur, at which point Willliams lost her temper. “Are you the one who screwed me over last time?” she said. “Yeah, you are.” (Williams was seemingly confusing Askeraki with a different umpire from a 2004 match against Jennifer Capriati.)

“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way, because you’re out of control… You’re totally out of control, you’re a hater, and you’re unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow… We’re in America last I checked. Can I get a water or am I gonna get violated for a water? Really, don’t even look at me! I promise you, don’t look at me, ’cause I am not the one. Don’t look my way.”

Read More At The Huffington Post

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There is no known cure for the disease, but doctors say it is rarely life-threatening and — if managed — shouldn’t be career-ending. The surprising announcement came just hours before her scheduled second-round match against 22nd-seeded Sabine Lisicki.

“I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue, but right now I am unable to,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion said in a printed release. “I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon.”

Sjogren’s Syndrome is a chronic disorder that causes insufficient moisture production in certain glands of the body, according to webmd.com.

As many as 4 million Americans have the disease. It occurs when a person’s normally protective immune system attacks and destroys moisture-producing glands, including salivary glands and tear glands. The lungs, bowel, and other organs also are occasionally affected.

According to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, white blood cells attack moisture producing glands.

There is no cure, but it can be treated and controlled, with the goal to decrease discomfort and reduce the harmful effects of dryness. But medical experts told The Post it’s something that can usually be managed.

“It’s usually a disease that’s not cureable, but it usually can be managed. Everybody’s a little different; there could be some fatigue with it, but most patients handle it pretty well,” said Dr. Stuart Green, a rheumatologist at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. “Fatigue is not uncommon. It’s when you have it you want to make sure there’s nothing else going on, in terms of other associations.

“It’s a lifelong illness but there are medications that help from a pulmonary point of view. Any loss of lung function, that could be serious. And with a top athlete, the lung problem would be the other area. I could see her getting a little short of breath. Someone who’s a top athlete really stresses her body. Lung functions, she may notice it and not be up to her game. Again, that’s hypothetical on my part.”

Williams, 31, previously had cited a virus when withdrawing from hard-court tune-up tournaments between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

And this is Serena Williams’ post-injury body.

Following her clingy and very revealing ESPYs outfit last week, the tennis champion was photographed on the Miami beaches showing off even more of her slimmed down figure in a two-toned bikini.

Serena has said she’s been trying out different exercises to stay in the best shape possible. “I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight. So I’ve been doing Pilates and yoga, trying to lean out my body so I won’t be bulky.”

In shape, yes. I’m not so sure about that less bulky goal, though.

At least there’s one way to look like the tennis star, no matter what your shape: last night Serena hit HSN to sell her Signature Statement collection. “We have amazing new fashions!” she Tweeted.

Williams walked the red carpet in a dazzling, low-cut pink mini-dress that accentuated her curvy physique. The gold Christian Louboutin heels added at least four inches to Serena’s 5-foot-9 frame.

Despite playing in two tournaments since last year’s show, Serena was awarded the ESPY award for best female tennis player.

Serena is playing some World Team Tennis events for the Washington Kastles this month before returning to tournament play July 25 in Stanford. She’s set to play three more tournaments before the U.S. Open.

What message was Serena trying to relay?  Do you think this pic was appropriate?

SOURCE

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