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| McIlroy (left) and Caroline Wozniacki/AP Images |
By Allie Leogrande
The Dubai Championships finished up earlier this week. Roger Federer won the tournament defeating Andy Murray in the finals, making this his first outdoor title in 14 months. On the women’s side, number five-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland got the championship victory.
The top tennis stars will get right back into the swing of things (no pun intended) this week at the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
The men’s Main Draw begins Thursday, March 8. As No. 1, Djokovic gets a bye in the first round. Other notable first round byes include three Americans: Andy Roddick (30), John Isner (11), and Mardy Fish (8). And of course, Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Englishman Andy Murray receive byes as well.
Not only will Djokovic, Nadal and Murray be playing solo in Indian Wells, but they’ll also be competing in doubles. Djokovic will play with fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki, Nadal with Marc Lopez, and Murray with his brother Jamie. Americans Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish will also be partnering up in the doubles competition. The doubles draw begins March 11.
In other professional tennis news, the Williams sisters will be playing in the World Team Tennis competition this summer. Making her first World TeamTennis appearance, Serena will play with the defending champion Washington Kastles on July 22 before she travels to London for the Summer Olympic Games. Also a part of the Kastles team is Venus, who is scheduled to play Martina Hingis of the New York Sportimes on July 23 in Albany, NY.
And one of the more entertaining tennis stories of the week came from Madison Square Garden in New York. If you missed the exhibition matches, here’s a quick recap…
Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki played in a 2-set match, with Sharapova coming away with the win 6-3, 6-4. But the highlight of the match was near the end, when Wozniacki invited pro golfer Rory McIlroy to the court to play a point. Sporting jeans and a sweater, McIlroy dealt a one-handed backhand to Sharapova who then lobbed it wide, giving McIlroy the point. McIlroy won the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Monday and became No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career.
The former No. 1 Wozniacki and the current No. 1 McIlroy are presently dating. After the match, Wozniacki said her impromptu invitation surprised her boyfriend. “He wasn’t too pleased with me,” she said.
The men had some fun at MSG as well. Roddick imitated Nadal’s style of play; He grunted and did a Nadal-like fist pump after the match-winning point against Federer.
If you haven’t seen McIlroy win a point off the No. 2 female tennis player in the world, you can watch it here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7650588
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