http://rylcolikes.com/resellers

Saturday, January 21, 2012


Busted Racquet
Add caption
  • Andy Murray’s on-court somersault, in pictures

     

    137466309_10
    Andy Murray did an awkward, on-court backward somersault on Saturday night and Getty Images photographer Clive Brunskill and his rapid shutter Canon EOS-1D Mark IV were ready. Enjoy the 11-picture montage of Murray's tumble, all while delighting in the fact this happened after he hit/deflected a winner on set point.
  • Four spectacular points from Andy Murray’s third-round win (video)

    murray somersault ao12
    The score doesn't suggest it, but Andy Murray's 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Michael Llodra was pretty darn exciting. The 31-year-old Llodra is one of the game's last serve-and-volleyers and that style always makes for an interesting contrast when he steps on the court against a player like Murray.
    In a span of six points in the final game of the second set, the following happened: Llodra hits a winner around the side of the net, Llodra dekes Murray while coming to net, an exchange of drop shots from opposite sides of the net culminates in a failed Llodra tweener as he runs off the court and, on set point, another tweener from Llodra goes right at Murray's face, forcing the Scotsman to stick his racquet in front of his face and hope for the best. The result is the picture you see above.

    The best parts of those clips are the smiles on each player's face following each of the points. It's always a nice reminder that, all competition aside, tennis can be a lot of fun.
    Murray will play
  • Bernard Tomic’s girlfriend is becoming more popular than him

    (Getty)
    Bernard Tomic is on his way to becoming the most popular person in Australia, provided his girlfriend doesn't get there first.
    The rising 19-year-old tennis star has been making headlines at the Australian Open and could become a worldwide sensation if he upsets Roger Federer in their fourth-round match on Sunday. But Tomic is sharing the spotlight with girlfriend Donay Meijer, who has been a favorite of television cameras, photographers and tabloid reporters during Tomic's three wins in Melbourne.
    The 21-year-old Meijer has been dating Tomic for six months. They met through friends, a publicist says, as if we believe that an up-and-coming tennis star and aspiring model get set up on awkward blind dates.
    American sports websites are just finding out about Meijer and showering her with the attention you'd expect a young, blonde model to receive. We're not so gratuitous at Busted Racquet, so in lieu of a photo gallery, here are some facts about Tomic's love interest. (Totally kidding. The photo gallery is below.)
    Read More »
  • Aussie teen Tomic wins crucial game due to shady non-challenge (video)

    – Fri, Jan 20, 2012 12:49 PM EST
    Serena Williams' least favorite rule made another appearance in a Grand Slam late Friday night at the Australian Open.
    It took place in the opening game of the fifth set between Bernard Tomic and Alexander Dolgopolov. The young Aussie was serving for the game when Dolgopolov hit a scoop forehand that sailed toward the baseline. Tomic returned the shot, then got out of his defensive crouch, raised his racquet, looked at the chair umpire and relaxed his body, clearly signaling for a challenge. His call went unheeded and Dolgopolov, distracted by the gesture, hit a loopy forehand that went wide.
    Dolgopolov immediately argued that Tomic called for a challenge and, if he didn't, the gesture should have been ruled a hindrance. The chair disagreed and the Russian went on to lose the final set, 6-2.
    [Profanity warning (rhymes with "gritty") at the 0:44 mark of the video.]

    "I looked at the ref, but I didn't say a thing, I continued to play," Tomic said after the match. "In my mind, I didn't challenge."
    Read More »
  • Azarenka snaps at lineswoman after blown call on match point


    By Chris Chase | Busted Racquet – Thu, Jan 19, 2012 9:36 PM EST
    Victoria Azarenka cursed at a lineswoman following a blown call on match point and continued the outburst minutes later when she eventually won her third-round match against Mona Barthel.
    The Australian Open's No. 3 seed was out of challenges when Barthel hit a forehand wide on match point. Azarenka argued to the chair umpire, who deferred to the lineswoman's original call. Replays showed that the ball was clearly out.
    She walked back to baseline, barking at the lineswoman as she prepared to serve. Replays showed her using the f-word. On TV, Martina Navratilova accurately described Azarenka's attitude as "pissy."
    Azarenka went on to win the point at deuce and then the point after that to seal a 6-2, 6-4 win.
    When Barthel netted the ball on the match's final point, Azarenka turned to the lineswoman and issued three consecutive expletives. Two of them featured the same word as above and the middle one rhymed with "witch." She then took the ball from the side of her shorts and tossed it in disgust towards the official.
    Read More »
  • The 11 worst-dressed players at the Australian Open

    (Getty Images)
    While compiling our quarterly Grand Slam best and worst dressed lists, we realized something disheartening. The same names kept cropping up on the best list at every major. Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Kirilenko; it was becoming as predictable as the Grammy's are ridiculous.
    Our worst-dressed list is more fluid. From one tournament to another, the most heinous outfits could be on a world No. 1, a major title contender or an unknown qualifier. It was ever changing. For that reason, Busted Racquet is eschewing the best-dressed list for Melbourne and instead is focusing on the fun one. Presenting the 11 worst fashions from the 2012 Australian Open.
    Philipp Petzschner (above) is our 11th-place winner. It's no wonder he and his neckhole-less shirt lost in the second round.
    10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
    Lots of players failed to pull off orange. Only one wore matching sweatbands. (Getty)
    Read More »
  • Australian Open power rankings (opening rounds)

    djokovic backhand ao12
    Busted Racquet ranks the top 10 player performances through the first two rounds of the Australian Open.
    1. Novak Djokovic -- If anyone ever needed a vacation, it was Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1 was broken down last fall, feeling the effects of his historic three-Slam season. He was the odds-on favorite to win in Melbourne, though there were slight concerns that he may show up rusty. Losing a total of eight games in two matches put any of those doubts to bed. Novak is still the one to beat.
    2. Maria Sharapova -- Masha's match against Gisela Dulko was supposed to be a round-one battle. It quickly turned into a blowout. If Djokovic was to have been rusty, Sharapova was supposed to be the Tin Man. She hadn't played a single warm-up event and was a popular pick to be an early upset victim. All she did was lose two games to Dulko and one to the overmatched Jamie Hampton in round two.
    3. Victoria Azarenka -- Identical breadstick/bagel scorelines propelled the No. 3 seed into the third round.
    4. Rafael Nadal -- The only news Rafa is making in Melbourne is his mild swipe at Roger Federer and his curious hotel injury. Otherwise, it's business as usual. The last time Nadal dropped a set in the first two rounds of the Aussie Open was in 2007.
    Read More »
  • Stan Wawrinka steals Frank Costanza’s move, stops short (video)

    While Marcos Baghdatis was bustig racquets at the Australian Open, his opponent, Stanislas Wawrinka was busy stealing moves from Seinfeld's Frank Costanza.

    Frank -- Where's your friend, Stan?
    Busted Racquet -- I don't know, why?
    Frank -- Because I'm looking for him, that's why. He stopped short.
    Busted Racquet -- Well, what do you mean?
    Frank -- On the court, with the ball girl. He stopped short. You think I don't know what that's about? That's my old move! I used it on her 40 years ago! I told everybody about it. Everybody knows! (Reaches out left arm, squeezes right hand.) Ooh, I stopped short.
    Racquet clap to Deadspin
    Read More »
  • Roddick retires in Melbourne after aggravating hamstring injury

    (Getty)
    A meeting of tennis' old guard ended prematurely Thursday night in Melbourne when Andy Roddick was forced to retire from his match against Lleyton Hewitt with a hamstring injury. Roddick took a tumble to the court early in the match and appeared hobbled afterward. He was down two sets to one when he pulled out, later citing an aggravation of a hamstring injury he first suffered in December. The American said reaching for shots was difficult with the ailment. He made the decision to retire from the match when he realized that "pulling a rabbit out of a hat" and winning would be fruitless, since he wouldn't be healthy enough to play his third-round match on Saturday.
    [Related: John Isner celebrates Aussie Open win Cam Newton style]
    Hewitt, the longtime Aussie favorite, was leading 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 when Roddick walked over, shook his hand and said, "Lleyton, that's it."
    During his post-match press conference, Roddick was dejected, but reflective. "I can't really complain," he said. "I had 10 years pretty much of a clean slate. That's a lot more than most people get."
    Read More »
  • Recounting Serena Williams’ second-round win through photos

    t – Thu, Jan 19, 2012 12:05 AM EST
    Serena Williams' second-round match against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova featured little of note. The American tennis star won 6-0, 7-5 to extend her winning streak at Melbourne Park to 16 straight matches.
    Rather than recap the match (Serena wins serve, Tracy Austin butchers Barbora Zahlavova Strycova's name), Busted Racuqet decided to take readers on a visual tour of Serena's victory. The tennis may not have been challenging, but her on-court obstacles were.
    Played in a black hole, as predicted by Stephen Hawking on his 70th birthday.

    (Getty)
    Had a beef with some trickster bugs, so she got her gams in gear and went to find those itchies to get them cram-say. When they didn't, she took them for a ride, see, right to Fort Knuckle Sandwich.
    (Getty)