Next in travel series

Well it seems 2 of the film rolls arent on a VCD so i will first have to get that done, before i can add the next update of my Char Dham trip.

Will keep you posted. Watch this space...

:)

Google Trends: search on sex & God

Lol i was recently searching on google trends and typed in sex to see who were the cities, countries & regions most looking out for that term...

And indeed surprise surprise top of the heap was our neighbour Pakistan!

Followed by

2. Egypt
3. Viet Nam
4. Iran
5. Morocco
6. India
7. Indonesia
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Turkey
10. Philippines

It seems most of the countries which crow about tradition, morality, ethics and norms of behaviour are the most curious. They are also the ones who deny women equal rights and are patriarchal socities.

It could also mean on the other hand that the levels of sex education are indeed down about sex in these countries, hence the need to gain knowledge from internet resources. What quality of information laced with true facts they do find is suspect herein with the plethora of porn sites!

Equally strange is the fact that none of the top Western countries in Europe or America make the top 10. Whether this may be allocated to proliferation of readily available porn, saturation of information resources or plain boredom. No idea.

So next i keyed in "God"

hmmmmmmmm

It seems Americans are very religious or rather interested in God!

All top 10 cities are American:

1. St Louis, MO, USA
2. Orlando, FL, USA
3. Atlanta, GA, USA
4. Seattle, WA, USA
5. Philadelphia, PA, USA
6. Dallas, TX, USA
7. Tampa, FL, USA
8. Portland, OR, USA
9. Phoenix, AZ, USA
10. Minneapolis, MN, USA

By regions/countries:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. Canada
6. India
7. United Kingdom
8. Denmark
9. Netherlands
10. Sweden

So the Philippines and India are both majorly interested in Sex as well as God. In conclusion we are contradictory societies. Or well not quite, are we!? ;)

sources: Google Trends

http://www.google.com/trends?q=sex&ctab=1&geo=all&date=all

http://www.google.com/trends?q=god&ctab=1&geo=all&date=all

Note: Search Trends differ from day to day. The same results arent guaranteed

Brangelina fever in Pune

Pictured: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with adopted son Maddox in an autorickshaw in Pune


After Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have stepped foot in the city of Pune, the foreign as well as local media have been in a frenzy of late.

Chasing the star couple along with their son Maddox we have been relentlessly and studiously getting reports of their travels, sightings and offcourse the 'daily feed' of pictures!

So after her bodyguard Mickey Brett assaulted a British photographer we have this news to cope with...

...the car chase involving paparazzi led to an accident with a biker couple when they were knocked off their perch after Brangelina's car hit them.

All this has indeed led to Brangelina becoming one of the most searched terms on google india

Talk about a "Brandstand" appearance!!!

Tit For Tat!!!

So after filtering a glance through my trip report the most 'exciting' comment i got was indeed the "shock" that Luis Carlos suffered on reading the following...

Typically waiting is quite boring and not as exciting as making someone else wait!

Ahaaaaaaaa!!!

So it has prompted me to list some advantages versus disadvantages of making someone else wait to waiting for someone else to arrive!

Firstly the disadvantages of waiting:

1) Namely its boring
2) You have to figure out how to kill your time effectively!
3) You have to bear those weird looks about "haa waiting arent we, now you know"
4) you feel silly
5) what the heck, you have to decide when its enough.

Now the "Glorious" Advantages of making someone else wait:

1) Ha Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa
2) Gotcha
3) How tediously hard to get!
4) You can arrive fashionably late
5) Spy on them after sneaking in announced. Just see if they are doing some silly act. lol

And after reading this you will say, "How evil Vicky is!"

Indeed i am muhaa muhaa!!!

CST station to get 'facelift'

Its been reported in the news that CST station (also popularly and formerly known as Victoria Station, V.T. for short) will get a face lift.

The plans include a shopping mall, parking area, toilets, ATMs, kiosks and food plazas!

The railways plans to put all the new infrastructure on vacant land in its possession around the station.

Since the place is already a 'World Heritage Site' it remains to be seen how the railways accomplish this task without causing any damage to the main structure!

Already the structure is under much strain due to pollution, and people.

Wonder if it is all 'Lalu's idea!

Monica Seles news update

Seles to attend Laureus gathering in Gauteng, Africa


Some of the world's most influential sportsmen and women are to attend next month's Laureus World Sports Academy Forum in Gauteng. It will the first time the forum is held in Africa.

The Laureus World Sports Academy is a unique association of 42 of the greatest living sporting legends who share a belief in the power of sport to break down barriers, bring people together and to improve the lives of young people around the world.

The Academy members act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, volunteering their time to visit projects in order to draw attention to the problems afflicting society today.

Among the members who are to attend the Laureus Academy Forum are Giacomo Agostini (former world motorcycling champion), Kip Keino (former Olympic middle distance champion), Morné du Plessis (former Springbok rugby captain), Boris Becker (winner of multiple grand slam tennis titles), Franz Klammer (former Olympic ski champion), Hugo Porta (former Argentinian rugby player, regarded as the best ever to come from Argentina), Bobby Charlton (former England footballer), Edwin Moses (former Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion and world record holder), Monica Seles (multiple tennis grand slam winner), Kapil Dev (Indian cricketer regarded as one of the greatest allrounders of all time), Nawal El Moutawakel (former Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion), Mark Spitz (winner of seven swimming gold medals at Munich Olympics in 1972), David Douillet (former world judo champion), Ilie Nastase (former world number one and US Open tennis champion), Daley Thompson (former world and Olympic decathlon champion), Emerson Fittipaldi (former world motor-racing champion) and Martina Navratilova (holder of record number of grand slam tennis titles).

At the Academy Forum, to be held in Johannesburg from November 5-9, the members of the Laureus Academy will discuss organisational issues, the consolidation and growth of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the development of Laureus's global sporting community through enlisting more Laureus Friends & Ambassadors.

Particular focus will be given to Laureus's work in Africa, where the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation tackles a range of social issues from child soldiers, AIDS and homelessness to poverty, racial issues and abuse -- in each case using sport as the tool for social change.

Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses said "At the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000, our patron Nelson Mandela said sport has the power to change the world and the power to unite people in a way little else does. That message has become the mantra of Laureus. Nowhere is that philosophy more true than in Africa.

"Africa has a unique vibrancy and spirit, but it also faces overwhelming challenges. We cannot overcome them all at once but we can, with the support of partners around the world and the focus of the world sports community, contribute by changing one playing field at a time."

The Laureus Academy Forum will be supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government and financial services company Discovery -- the founding partner of the South African chapter of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which currently backs nine projects in the country. Laureus also provides support for projects in Chad, Kenya and Uganda.

Morné du Plessis, chairman of Laureus South Africa, said he was delighted that the Laureus Academy Forum will be coming to South Africa.

"I like to think that South Africa is a perfect example of what Laureus can do. We support projects throughout the country to help underprivileged young people, and we have the enthusiastic backing of the business community, which makes our work possible.

"Gauteng is known as the home of champions and competitive sport and therefore a natural choice for the Laureus Academy Forum. The next few years will be very exciting in South Africa as we build up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The Laureus Academy Forum is the perfect precursor to that."


Source:

http://www.superxtra.co.za/default.asp?id=193493&des=article

Monica Seles Interview

Great interview of Monica talking about her life. The incident of the stabbing and its effect on her.

Also footage of the unfortunate and one of the saddest events in sport!

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario Bio from Spanish Biography Channel

A Biography of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario from the Spanish Biography Channel. Although in Spanish one can see great footage of baby Arantxa... A must watch for tennis fans. :) Spanish speakers may please comment on whats being said.

Adding youtube videos to your blog

Heh i finally did add a youtube video to my blog.

And incase you want to know the secret visit this page....

http://www.bloghacker.net/how-to-add-youtube-videos-to-blogger-platform/2006/08/23/

Happy blogging!!! :)

Char Dham trip - part one

So long overdue is this project finally i get to put it into motion. An account of my 'Char Dham' trip... :D

Enjoy folks...

MY CHAR DHAM TRIP

From 20th May 2006 to 4th June 2006.

Travel arrangements made by Jyoti Travels, Mumbai.

The director: Mr. Jairaj Jariwala
The cast: Mummy, Ms. Kamble, Ms. Mashilkar, Ms.& Mrs. Shettye, Ms.Jayu and her mother , Mrs. Sawant. Titu’s mother and aunt in the ladies section and Neelkanthbhai, Mr. Sawant, Mr. Sharad, Mr. Shettye, Mr. Titu, Titu’s uncle on the men’s side.
Star Performer: Now who else would it be? Any guesses? :P


20/05/06 Saturday - The day of departure

After days of anxiety the day we were finally waiting for had dawned. After our final minute preparations we left for Bombay Central to board the “August Kranti” which left from Mumbai around 5.40 p.m.

We had left home early around 3.30 p.m.; along the way we picked up Mrs. Jariwala. So we reached quiet in advance and had to wait around for the other members of the trip.

Typically waiting is quite boring and not as exciting as making someone else wait!

So when our troupe had gathered we proceeded towards the platform to our respective bogies.

The train arrived and thankfully left on schedule. So there our trip commenced. Our co-passenger was a hefty man along with his young son named Rahul. Now this little guy was so talkative and restless. Endless questions heaped upon his father made me feel ‘wow, how do parents remain so patient!’ Anyways he was quite fond of his “Superman” toy which he took great delight in hanging from the overhead berth. Seeing the plight of the toy I thought to myself ‘Poor Superman’.

We passed by many stations. There was a halt at Surat. I had fallen asleep on the lower berth which off course didn’t belong to us offcourse and when the passenger whom it was booked for got in at Surat and created quite a din at 10.30 p.m., I was mighty irritated. Ok so I woke up and went upstairs lol

21/05/06 Sunday - Delhi (Hazrat Nizamudin) to Haridwar

It was 3 minutes to 11.00 a.m. and we were still in the train. “August Kranti” was late by 2 hrs. Our last stop was Mathura where that bossy guy from Surat got down after apologizing for waking everyone up that night. Earlier he had called the T.C. to complain about the attendant who didn’t serve him dinner at night. Well first of all he dropped in at 10.30 p.m. well past dinner time. I don’t know what happened but the guy created an unpleasant atmosphere.

Although it was cooler inside our compartment, when I looked outside of the window there were fields upon fields but due to the intense summer gripping Northern India they were all dry with green shrubs of vegetation. I thought it must be really hot.

The electric power cables were running parallel to the train track on either side. The uncle opposite us (Rahul’s father) told us it is hot upto Haridwar and that we would also find Delhi hot, that Kedarnath and Badrinath will be cold. Upon hearing that I thought to myself ‘now this man is well built and if he finds it cold, I don’t know how cold someone with a mild constitution as me would feel’

Btw it was cold inside our bogey too. Mom said it must be 15° C in AC 2 tier. It was much cooler at night though especially on the overhead berth.

Finally when we arrived at the decrepit H. Nizamudin station I was both relieved and shocked by the heat outside. Relieved to step of the train and shocked in part by the state of the station! :( Thumbs down…

We got onto our bus. Passing through Delhi I saw Akshardham temple from a distance. The temple is even bigger than I expected.

One thing that stuck me about Delhi were the roads. The capital has indeed very good roads unlike Bombay which unnecessarily touts itself as a frontline world class city when our infrastructure is in shambles. We also saw the famed Yamuna river (very polluted) whose source we were going to visit at Yamunotri on our Char Dham trip. Mr. Jairaj informed us that the road we were on directly leads to Rajghat. We also passed by the infamous ‘Khoni-Darwaja’. (Bloody Gate where Bahadurshah Zaffar the last Mughal emperor of India had his sons murdered by the British.)

Since we were going to Haridwar, we turned right. In Delhi it seems vehicles were not allowed to put on music. As soon as we left the checkpoint and crossed over into U.P. the driver put on the songs. The first song to greet our ears was Himmesh Reshamiya’s “Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa”. Ok so the song could be called cool especially the remix but the repetitive “Uuuuuuuuuuuu” doesn’t quite hit the mark in my opinion. Except for “Yeh Hai Meri Kahani” from the movie Zinda all the rest failed to impress me cause they weren’t too meaningful. It was the first time I had heard all those songs in completion.

Around 1.30 p.m. we stopped for lunch at a dhaba which was strictly ok. It was indeed very hot in Delhi. Delhi I supposed was 2°-3° hotter than Bombay. Meerut seemed hottest to me perhaps 37° to 39°. On the way to Meerut there were a lot of eucalyptus, date and mango trees. I had never previously known that North India had so many rivers crossings and not just big but smaller rivers as well, since my only other trip to this part of India was to Jammu and Kashmir and that was way back when I was just a child.

Here I also got to see a strange decoration of salads sold on carts! Also ‘channa garam’ is sold in a ‘haandi’ here. Quite interesting to see the different ways things are sold in different places.

We stopped this time at Cheetal restaurant at Khotoli in U.P. This place has a very scenic garden. Haridwar was now around 100k.m. from here. Jai uncle informed us the roads from here upto Haridwar was straight but from there on all roads would be winding.

Here we had some cold drinks the bill for which we paid out of our own pockets. Now this is a self serve restau. And as mom and I were leaving I chanced to see one of the most fab sandwiches I have ever seen. Regret! Regret! Regret! for this “sandwich-fan”…

Cheetal restaurant presents one with a lot of photo ops. The landscaped gardens with get this in a corner chilly and tomato plantations accompanied by lotuses and also other varied flowers and creepers along with palms and manicured grasses is a visual delight. The only sore sights were the “exotic” birds in cages. I would describe their state as “In a Golden cage”. The more pleasant sight was the nightingales in the adjoining underbrush free and definitely happier. So silly to see people taking pictures of the caged birds though.

Ok so there was a lot of singing in the bus as all were in an upbeat mood. Frankly speaking if the crows had heard our melodious voices they would have run err… flown away!

Except ‘Titu’ ’s uncle whom someone (I wont say who) later christened as ‘Mukesh’ (since he sang all of Mukesh’s classics – Oh and don’t worry too much for missing them since these were strictly heartbreak songs. Me thinks “God save romance”.), the rest of us had drab voices.

We passed through the famous town of Roorkie famous for 2 things throughout India, one is IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) and Roorkie Cantt (military training institute).

Around 7 or so we reached Baba Ramdeo’s Patanjali Ashram which is just on the outskirts of Haridwar. Since he is now everybody’s favourite baba we had to take a halt here.

Quite grand this Ashram is! And if you don’t believe it see this picture…

Pictured above: Ramdeobaba's Patanjali Ashram

Need I say more?

Wonder how these babas get all their funding from!? And devout followers don’t seem to mind or think rationally. Well the insides are even grander with a large hall with granite flooring, a mighty big domed ceiling and gigantic pillars! And all this in the name of an “Ashram”. I frankly state that I don’t agree with the blind adulation that so called ‘holy people’ get. And unscrupulous politicians can join the same tribe along with corporates. But anyone who has ever read Ramayana or Mahabharata and its descriptions of an “ashram” will be left stunned as I was.

Mercifully the baba wasn’t there and even better that we had a quick stop but the garden was great and had it been day I would have perhaps taken more pictures not that I didn’t at this time too as you can see…

Pictures above : Riddle me this now which is the more beautiful flower? lol

And as it happened my roll was over.

We first got Darshan of the Ghat and mighty Ganga at Haridwar. Our hotel was Hotel Basera which I was a little impressed by cause the lane leading upto this hotel wasn’t too clean looking and I wasn’t expecting anything nice. But it was decent with a t.v. set which I always do well with. Thank you!

The news that greeted me was that Hingis had won her first title this year and being her avid fan I was over the moon simply thinking how glad everyone on our site must have been and missing the grand celebrations.

Next up was dinner which I enjoyed thoroughly. Especially the salad which I love so much. While we were having our dinner Jai uncle informed us about the next day’s itinerary. The next day was totally booked for Haridwar and Ganga pujan which was to be performed at Har-Ki-Pauri or Har-Ki-Pairi as it is referred to.

Sharapova in Moscow Red Square

U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova during a public relations event near Moscow's Red Square October 7, 2006 like anna did a few years back

thanx to member Romania

Mummy home

hey folks mom is home and advised rest for now... :D

Mummy sick!!! In hospital. :(

:(

On wednesday:

my mom is sick with viral fever!she has very high fever, headache and spine ache and cant even get up without aid. since she got wet in the rain yesterday she has been showing these symptoms.

Today:

her fever is down from her high of 102-103!!!

but its still howering around 99-100 with headaches that happen every few hours or so. after she takes her pills the headaches and fever go but they seem to come back.

today morning she was complaining about stomach ache and irregular stools.

her blood results are out. dengue is absent (there are many cases in Delhi now), malaria has been absent (but she was given a "FALCIGO" injection before the blood sample was taken as the procedure is in India. CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHATS "FALCIGO" GIVEN FOR?)

also her Complete blood count report says: Hematocrit is below normal, Platelet count is below normal (comment: borderline), Neutrophils are above normal, are above normal.

General body Profile: TCO2 is below normal, Anion Gap is above normal, Albumin is below normal

A/G ratio is below normal.

SGOT is above normal. (54 U/I normal 9.00 - 36.00)
SGPT is at 38 U/I normal 10.00 - 40.00
Bilirubin (total) 1.00 mg/dl or 17.10 umol/l normal values: 0.20 -1.00 mg/dl or 3.42 - 17.10 umol/l

its the SGOT which has doc suspecting it might be jaundice.

her chest X-ray report/urine report will be given today.

only the 'Bactec' will be given after 5 days!!!

today they took some more samples.

its very troubling they dont know what it is! they treating her symptoms only.

i am so worried right now. and as you can imagine very harried. i am home now but will be off again soon.

please keep her in your prayers and hope she gets well at the earliest and this illness gets diagnosed soon.

P.S. anyone a doc here or has any friend can please tell me what some of those terms means or are used to test for what illnesses?

Martina Hingis vs. Maria Sharapova Dubai 'choke' video

After Sharapova unleashes a loud shriek, Marti flashes a smile, then the choke sign. Maria S. eventually won the match, but this was a highlight. Lol enjoy it!!!

Brilliant article about Martina.

Comeback kid proves she still has it


By Matt WilanskyESPN.com

The year-end WTA Tour championships -- where the top eight players will gather in Madrid, Spain, to determine the season-ending No. 1 ranking -- are just over a month away.

Justine Henin-Hardenne and Amelie Mauresmo are first and second, respectively, in the points race. Henin-Hardenne has reached the final of all four majors, including a win at the French Open, while Mauresmo won the first two Grand Slam titles of her career at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Although they battle for the top spot, one or both of them will have to go through this year's comeback player of the year, Martina Hingis. The former No. 1 player in the world -- who didn't touch a racket on the professional circuit for three years following the 2001 season -- Hingis is on the verge of securing a spot in the year-end championships.

The Swiss entered the 2006 season unranked. In her first tournament, she had an impressive run in an Australian Open tune-up, reaching the Gold Coast semifinals. Two weeks later at the Australian Open, Hingis was cruising, winning her first four matches without dropping a set. However, in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters got the best of Hingis in a well-played, three-set match.

Despite the loss, it was clear she would once again be a factor on the WTA Tour, it was just a matter of whether or not she could get by the game's elite. After that match vs. Clijsters, ESPN analyst Luke Jensen said Hingis "needed that extra gear" if she was going to compete with the best again.

In her first seven events of the year, she reached at least the quarterfinals six times. In May, Hingis won her first tournament in four years with a straight-sets win over Dinara Safina in Rome. As it stands right now, the former No. 1 player in the world has reached four finals and won two titles.

In January, she was ranked No. 349; in May she was all the way up to No. 25. Currently, Hingis is ranked No. 8 on the WTA Tour and sixth in the standings for the year-end championships.
"I'm very happy with my comeback year," Hingis told reporters following her win last week in Kolkata, India. "Getting to the top 10 was a dream and the next dream is making it to the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid."

It's common for a retired player who once dominated his or her sport to have a change of heart and want to compete again at the highest level. And from 1997 through '99, Hingis owned the women's game, winning 24 titles.

In 1997, Hingis became the undisputed No. 1 player in the world, winning 12 titles -- including three of the four Grand Slam events. With her win in the Australian Open, she became the youngest player in the 20th century to capture a major championship at just 16 years old.

For 209 consecutive weeks -- the fourth longest streak since the inception of the rankings system in 1975 -- Hingis reigned over the tennis world with her No. 1 ranking. And aside from a French Open championship, she captured just about every honor there was.

In 1999, she won 71 singles matches; however, at that point she began to notice a difference in the competition. In February 1999, the more powerful Lindsay Davenport claimed the No. 1 ranking from Hingis. The Swiss would recapture the top spot four more times before permanently losing it in 2000.

Players such as Venus and Serena Williams were bigger and stronger than Hingis, and her creativity and movement on the court became less effective. Furthermore, a chronic foot problem was derailing any hope she had of recapturing her once dominant presence. After the 2002 season, she called it quits, despite still being ranked in the top 10.

From 2002-05, Hingis was home in Switzerland skiing and riding horses, but admittedly missed the sport. Her feet felt better and she wanted to give tennis a try again. She was only 25 and believed she could compete with the best. The challenge was going to be her ability to adapt to the current game, which was more powerful than it was in 2002.

"If I want to play the tennis I played three years ago, I would not survive … You have to grow with the game and you have to get better physically and tennis-wise," Hingis said upon her return.

"What Hingis lacks in size and strength she makes up for in vision and anticipation," Brad Gilbert, a former ESPN analyst, said before the Australian Open. "She has great eyes and sees the play earlier than her opponent and reads where the ball is going to go."

With all the uncertainty surrounding Hingis this season, no one knew for sure whether she would succeed. Although it's unlikely she'll repeat the five Grand Slam titles she won between 1997-99, her 2006 season has been above and beyond what anyone could have imagined.

She finds herself being an underdog, something she is not accustomed to, but that's OK. Hingis has proved to all the critics that she has been able to adjust to a new age of tennis and can still compete with the best in the world.

Matt Wilansky is a general editor for ESPN.com.

source:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2606571

Martina's interview with Gulfnews

Published: 09/30/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)
'I certainly want to add Roland Garros to my kitty'

By A Correspondent


Kolkata: Martina Hingis was the little Swiss Miss who was named after the grand dame of women's tennis a certain Martina Navratilova.

And when she started her career with nine Grand Slam finals in three seasons and five victories, it appeared she could even beat the number of titles held by her namesake.

But then injuries took their toll on Hingis and while her male compatriot Roger Federer was conquering the men's game, she retired from the WTA Tour a victim of her chronic injuries.

However, she never lost her iron-will throughout her time on the sidelines and finally made it back to the court and showed tremendous fighting spirit and skill to gain a world ranking of number nine.

Just a few days before her 26th birthday (September 30), Hingis spoke to Gulf News in Kolkata where she was playing in the Sunfeast Open. Following are excerpts.

Gulf News: How tough was is to stage a comeback after a three-year layoff?

Hingis: It is very difficult, really. But once you decide to do something, you should never be worried about the difficulty of the task. You have to go on doing what is required of you and if you can keep at it you will get what you deserve.

Considering that all of your Grand Slam success was during your teenage years, do you consider yourself a burnout case?

No, Never. For me, injuries forced me out of the tour and nothing else. I was doing extremely well but then the injuries came relentlessly and I had to take a break. At that point I was not sure whether I would be able to stage a comeback so I decided to quit. And last year when I felt I was okay, I begun my journey again.

What changes have you observed in the game since your return?

Well, it has moved its own way. Nothing will stop for you in life, you have to be ready to keep up the pace with it. The game has become more powerful, thanks to the Williams Sisters. They used their power intelligently on the court and with it made the game more athletic. Martina Navratilova was the pioneer on this front though, then Steffi Graf did her bit and recently it's the Williams sisters.

In this era of power-packed women tennis players, what does a comparatively frail girl like Martina Hingis need to do to stay competitive? Does she increase her gym work or spend more time in practicing on courts ...

I always believed that my strongest point is in my court coverage. For that I need to stay as light as possible. It is a part of my game to keep the ball in play as much as possible so that my powerful opponents become tired while sending the ball back to me. That is when I have my chances. So I have to continue doing the same things while trying to add a few more aspects to my game like service and net-play. I'm trying to develop these two parts of my game.

You have three Australian Open titles, one each of Wimbledon and the US Open. But there is no French Open yet …

Yes and I certainly want to add a title from Roland Garros to my kitty. I went so close to winning it in 1999 when I was just three points from the title, when Steffi made a great comeback.

You have now played twice against India's Sania Mirza. What do you think about her game?

When I first played her in Dubai last February, I was really surprised to see the quality of her ground strokes. This time I was better prepared to face her. Her backhand has improved a bit and she is a wonderful talent but she needs to keep on improving.


source:

http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Tennis/10071062.html

WTA year end championships race

Here is a Tennis.com article about it.

please read it at the following link:

http://www.tennis.com/features/general/features.aspx?id=48054

Excerpts about Martina Hingis...

6. Martina Hingis – Effectively tied with Clijsters and has the chance to overtake her if she can put up some good results – losing her second match in Seoul this week was an opportunity lost. Historically, she likes indoor surfaces a lot, though she hasn't played indoors much in her comeback.

Hingis' 26th birthday today!

Here is wishing The Princess of the WTA

"A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

Hoping she has a great year with good health, titles, grand slams and the French Open...

:)

Hingis at Sunfeast Open final presentation ceremony.

Hingis at Sunfeast Open final...


Hingis Claims Kolkata TitleKOLKATA, India -

After surviving some battles during the week, one of the world's best took it up a notch over the weekend in Kolkata. Martina Hingis silenced a rowdy Indian crowd in the semifinals with a 61 60 demolition of national heroine Sania Mirza, then Sunday blitzed unheralded Russian Olga Poutchkova, 60 64, for the Tier III title.

After a string of upsets early in the week on the bottom half of the draw, it was the unseeded, 85th-ranked Poutchkova who emerged as Hingis' final opponent. Contesting just her fifth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour-level main draw, the 18-year-old was given an opportunity to play one of her idols in her career-first final, which she commented on before the championship bout.

"It's amazing to me," Poutchkova said. "I used to watch her in Grand Slam finals when I was 12 and now I'm going to play her. We'll just have to see how it goes!"

But Hingis held tightly to her top billing Sunday evening, easing through the first set and overcoming a spirited challenge from her opponent in the second, rallying back from a 3-1 deficit en route to capturing her second title of the season.

"I played very well; the first set was almost scary," Hingis stated. "When you play a set like that, you can lose concentration. In the second she started playing my forehand and I was surprised, but I started to adjust. She managed to get to 3-1 before I got my concentration back. I stepped up when I had to.

"She's a great young player."

"It was my very first final and it was against Martina Hingis," Poutchkova said afterwards. "I was a little bit nervous, but I feel good about the experience. In the second set she gave me some chances, then she took them away!"

The Sunfeast Open title marks Hingis' 42nd Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title, augmenting her finals record to 42-24. She won her 41st at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome, and now becomes the 14th multiple titlist this season.

"As this is my first win in India, it makes the win even more special," said Hingis, who was actually playing her first career tournament in the Asian nation. "I'm very happy with my comeback year. Getting to the Top 10 was a dream and the next dream is making it to the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid."

It was the second straight day that Hingis would silence an anxious, excited crowd. In her highly-anticipated Saturday semifinal against Indian icon Sania Mirza, seeded No.5 at her home event, Hingis dropped just one game in cruising to victory in less than an hour, a contrast to their only prior encounter, a tight two-setter in Dubai this year.

"I felt like she knew where I was hitting the ball before it even left my racquet," said Mirza, who was playing her first semifinal of the year. "She's a great athlete and a great mover on the court. There are only a few girls as fit as her on the Tour. She's a natural athlete. Like Federer, she makes the game look effortless."

"She did have a couple of chances in the second set," said Hingis afterwards, "but it's not easy for her playing at home, with the pressure and expectations."

There was some solace for Mirza in the end, however. She and Liezel Huber went on to win the doubles title with a routine 64 60 win over Yulia Beygelzimer and Yuliana Fedak in the final. Huber and Mirza, the top seeds, had already claimed two titles as a team, both on Indian soil, at Hyderabad two years ago and earlier this year at the brand new Tier III event in Bangalore.

"It's great to win here with Liezel, my mentor," said Mirza, now 3-3 lifetime in doubles finals. "Playing with an experienced player makes all the difference."

"We put the pressure on early, which forced them to keep trying for something extra, and then mistakes were made," added Huber, who is now 15-14 lifetime in Tour doubles finals. "The second set was not as easy as it looks from the score."

Another story with somewhat of a happy ending this week was a return to form for one of the world's former 20 players, Iroda Tulyaganova, who, after missing most of the last three years with an elbow injury and coming into this event ranked outside the Top 300, stormed through the qualifying and made it all the way to the semifinals of the main draw. Not so bad for the 24-year-old Uzbek's first Tour event of the season.

"I qualified and reached the semifinals, which is a fantastic result for me," stated Tulyaganova, a three-time Tour singles titlist who went as high as No.16 in the world and has beaten Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Elena Dementieva and Mary Pierce, among other marquee names. "It gives me a lot of confidence for the future."

Sunfeast Open 2006 final pictures

Maria Sharapova's latest blog entry

Too many movies!
9/21/2006 10:01:00 PM

Hi there! Just so you know this is not going to be my most exciting doodle. I was basically in my house for the first five days after I came back from NY, and three of those spent glued to my bed. Well I got some bug and had a fever for a couple of days.....UGH! Not so much for the pain, but the boredom is just awful. I don't think my body was ready for all the partying, therefore couldn't quite deal with the recovery too well. I had all these plans of going to the spa, swimming, and getting rid of my sock tan when I got back...... that went down the drain real fast. Being sick is not fun at all!! First of all you have to go on a tea and lemon diet, then you have to spray that nasty stuff down your throat. WHO NEEDS THAT!!! I watched more movies in three days than I watched this whole year. (Sixteen Candles, Risky Business, You Me and Dupree, When Harry Met Sally, to name a few) At least I can tell my manager that I watched all the old classics he got me for Christmas!! SHHH!! My friend Estelle flew down here for a week so she is keeping me somewhat entertained. We've been getting a few good laughs about my win at the Open, because only a few weeks ago we were quite happy about my win in San Diego. So when I wasn't shivering to death, I spent a few hours signing my fan mail which my mom organizes for me. Estelle and I have the system down very well.....I sign and she puts it in the envelope.

I started training again on Monday....one word....BRUTAL! It's not very fun when you just win the Us Open and you come back on the court and feel like a fish out of water. And this humidity is out of control.....no, I'm not whining.....just requesting the academy to put up some aircon in the indoor center, in the very near future, haha!

I have been listening to Justin Timberlake's new CD over and over and over again! Luv it!

Quote of the week goes to my dad....A group of us were out at lunch and Estelle wasn't eating a lot so my dad says....."Estelle, honey, I know you're in love but you gotta eat!" p.s estelle IS in love!! Lucky girl!