Draft Day Suit

As I type this, a first round match at Wimbledon between Nicolas Mahut of France and John Isner of the United States  just hit the nine and a half hours mark, tied at 54 games all in the fifth set. The match began yesterday but was postponed due to darkness after 4 sets. Isner leads in winners, 318 to 299. For comparison, Andy Roddick won his last match with 82 winners.

Match stats do not include how many bathroom breaks have been taken.

John Isner in less exhausted times.

The New York Times is live-blogging the match at the aptly named Straight Sets blog and the Guardian has it blogged on local time.

[Update:  Play was suspended on day two with the 5th set score tied at 59 games all. The match will resume not before 15:30 local time tomorrow.]

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ClumberKim enjoyed a successful high school tennis career, thanks entirely to a doubles partner with a killer serve.

When I saw the pictures this morning the mother in me screamed “VENUS EBONY STARR WILLIAMS! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WEARING!” I am a pretty liberal person. It is not easy to offend me by talking about sex or using coarse language, but I admit I cannot believe that Venus Williams wore this outfit outside of her house.

She looks like a hooker.

I really can’t believe that she wore this outfit to play in the French Open. Outside. Where people were looking at her.

Seriously, what the hell am I looking at?

If that little black lacy number isn’t supposed to be lingerie, I don’t know what one would consider unmentionable.

Many were referring to her tennis dress as lingerie and we can see why.  Venus wore nude nylon booty shorts underneath her “costume” —- the same kind that caused so much controversy at the Australian Open.

- Bitten and Bound

And no kidding. At one point I was entirely convinced I was looking at Venus Williams’ bare ass, and while I find Venus to be an attractive woman, this is neither the time nor the place for partial nudity.

News everyone! She designed it herself.

Whistles and whispers circulated through the stands, a reaction brought about not by Venus Williams’ play, but by the outfit Williams designed herself. The fashionista, who has her own apparel line called EleVen , told the press it was all “about illusion”  which, she noted is “a lot of my motif this year” when it comes to clothes design.

As Williams ran and jumped her way around the court, the tennis dress —- designed to give the illusion of being see-through —- was prone to several revealing moments. The black overlay material made the dress appear as if it was see through, even though it was not. To add to the raciness, she also sported skin-colored underwear, which was visible to fans and photogs and gave the illusion that she wasn’t wearing any undergarments at all.

- Pretty Tough

I don’t mean to be a bitch, but maybe she should either stick to playing tennis or designing intimates, because outerwear that is not.

Of course Venus won the match. Venus almost always wins the match. She is an extraordinary tennis player. I just wish she would show some respect for the game. I think I am actually offended as a tennis fan.

I am sure that there are people out there who think that her little outfit was great but when I did a google search for May 24th with the words: Venus, Williams, French, Open and Outfit and the exact phrase “I liked it,” there were zero matches. I guess you can interpret that however you want.

It seems to me that Venus Williams was playing two games at the French Open, and she only won one of them.

Originally Written for and Cross-Posted with minor changes on BlogHer.

Martina Navratilova, one of the all-time tennis greats, is battling breast cancer.

She announced April 7 that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a non-invasive form of breast cancer.

She talked about the scary February day she received the news.

“It was my personal 9/11. I was shocked because I was so sure [the calcification] was benign, and I found out and I was devastated. Physically, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t move. I was useless.”

She said that her four-year lapse in mammogram appointments was a big mistake, but is thankful she returned when she did. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Let’s keep in her in our thoughts and ladies, don’t forget to schedule your next mammogram. Mammograms are recommended every one to two years after 50 years of age.

Dang, I didn’t realize that Martina was over 50.

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I’m watching Serena Williams play Victoria Azarenka. I think if Captain Kirk had an Azarenka handy he wouldn’t have had to time travel and steal our whales.