Candy on the Court

Ok, so the story I saw on ESPN last night was just too ridiculous for me to not write about. According to reports, Maria Sharapova is attempting to legally change her name to Maria Sugarpova in time for the U.S. Open. For those of you not in the know, Maria launched a line of candy this year called "Suagarpova" so this is a nice marketing stunt to promote her line (which by all accounts is proving to be quite popular).

I can even begin to fully describe the absurdity I find in this story. I am calling it right now. Maria Sharapova has no chance of winning the U.S. Open. Not only is this name change story floating around, but there are some other issues as well. Jimmy Connors just recently lasted all of 1 official match as her new coach. He was one and done after her loss to Sloane Stephens at the Western & Southern. I have a hard time seeing Maria as 100% mentally focused and ready to win the title in a couple weeks. It seems like she has some other interests at the forefront of her mind right now and that will make it difficult to beat someone who can be so singularly focused like Serena if they meet up.

I will say that a part of me hopes that this starts a trend of ridiculous stunt marketing in tennis. With Maria taking a page from the Chad "Ochocinco" playbook, it can only get more entertaining from here. Maybe Federer will wear that Super Mario mustache from his latest Wilson ad during the tournament. Perhaps Rafa will become Rafael Babolat? Maybe Tomas Berdych will get a giant H&M tattoo somewhere to promote his relationship with his clothing sponsor. I just hope we get to see Bob & Mike "E-surance" entered into the doubles draw.

It sounds like Maria has some legal hurdles to clear before this name change can happen. Here's hoping the U.S. Open is a "sweet" one for her.....

The Del Po Show

As we approach the start of the U.S. Open next week, I find myself reflecting on a player I have become a big fan of over the course of the last year. Juan Martin Del Potro has steadily grown from a player I saw as just another giant with a huge serve and forehand into a player I find myself actively rooting for. It all started for me during his match at last year's Open when he lost to Djokovic in the quarters. While it was a straight set victory for Novak, I was blown away by the passion, heart and determination on display from Del Potro. He genuinely fought for every ball and every point and the crowd responded by cheering him on and applauding his effort. In the time since then, he has shown time and time again that he will fight for every match and isn't afraid to put his emotions on display. He also has a deceptive game that it takes awhile to appreciate. While he still has a cannon serve and one of the biggest forehands in the game, he also has a great slice backhand and moves incredibly well for someone of his size.

Del Potro could easily have taken some events off after winning in D.C. in order to rest before the U.S. Open. Instead, he showed up at every event, made deep runs and played some of the most entertaining tennis of each event. He has grown on me so much that it hurt to hear about how after he got injured and missed all of 2010, he struggled to deal with it and ended up not doing any tennis related training in that year off. Talk about going from the mountain top (winning '09 Open) to the valley! I am happy to see him gaining ground on the big 4 again and will be glued to any of his matches at the Open that I can see. August 26th can't come soon enough! Who else is rooting for the big guy?