推 iamgiant:哈哈第三張XD 12/14 23:21
推 dioo:整個就是喜感天后~~拉提法? 12/15 18:07
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球迷心得
WOW! Rock-N-Racquets was in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday and it was
an awesome event. Andy and Serena defeated John and Caroline in Mixed Doubles
(6-4). Serena also defeated Caroline in singles, 6-3. During the autograph
session I was able to get Serena to autograph my TENNIS Magazine (with her on
the cover with the caption "Serena Williams #1 again"). Serena looked GOOD
and her movement was great. She was hustling from every angle of the court.
In one rally she tried to track down a short ball and ran into and over the
net. She was not hurt and continued striking the ball cleanly and effectively
and her serve was ok. During the mix doubles, Serena was handling Isner's big
serves. Earlier in the day, Andy and Serena held a tennis clinic for the Boys
and Girls Club of the Midlands.
Also after each game won, the "jumbo-tron" showed Grand Slam winning
highlights of Serena's stellar career as well as her appearances on the TV
Shows "My Wife and Kids," "All of Us" and "The Simpsons." Her awesome run to
the '08 US Open Title was also highlighted. Mayor Bob Coble presented each
player with the Key To The City. Andy had fun with our Carolina Gamecock
mascot, "Cocky." At one point he did a wrestling move, pinned Cocky to the
court and John Isner counted Cocky out. During the men's singles match Andy
ejected the female chair umpire and she was replaced by Justin Gimelstob (who
looked really tall). The matches were played in this order: Mixed Doubles,
Women's Singles, and Men's Singles.
Andy did his infamous impersonation of quite a few of the ATP and WTA players
(including: Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams,
Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, and John McEnroe). Wayne Bryan (the father of
the former #1 Doubles Champions, the Bryan Brothers) was the very
entertaining emcee. Serena's hitting partner, Sacha, was also in attendance.
In closing, Andy told the crowd that he can always depend on the Williams
Sisters and that they do more off the court than we will ever know. Andy also
let one of the very young ball girls play his match point against John Isner,
which she won. All in all, I had a wonderful time and Serena looks quite fit
and ready to win another Australian Open. This was my FIRST time seeing
Serena play (live) and I was NOT disappointed.
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Andy, Serena and rock — oh my!
Pro tennis stars, musicians entertain 4,600 in Columbia for charity
She signed shirt sleeves, posters and tennis balls. Serena Williams is as
deft with a Sharpie as she is with a tennis racket.
“Serena, please,” a man begged as Williams was being escorted away.
He awkwardly held a poster to his back, which he presented to Williams.
“It’s OK, I can hold it,” she said, her signature scribbled before he
turned around.
Wow, she is fast.
Sure, matches were played at Rock-n-Racquets, the tennis style exhibition
presented by The Andy Roddick Foundation at the Colonial Life Arena on
Saturday night.
But the real action was before the stars — Roddick, Williams, John Isner and
Caroline Wozniacki — hit the court.
Autograph seekers packed the arena’s atrium an hour before the event for the
chance to snap a photo while their balls and programs were being signed by
the tennis players who were joined by music headliner Gavin Rossdale (more on
that later) and USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.
Caitlin Smith brought her own “tennis” ball, which was about the size of a
volleyball. Her sister, Courtney, walked the roped-off autograph line, too.
Flashes twinkled on the arena concourse like what you might see on an E! red
carpet show.
“He’s a good tennis player, and this is for charity,” Courtney, a tennis
fan, said when asked why she came.
Yes, the event benefited Roddick’s foundation, which helps neglected,
abused, at-risk and seriously ill children. But come on, he’s hot.
“Yup, that helps,” Caitlin said.
Listening to the rapper The Game on his iPhone, Sascha Bajin leaned unnoticed
on a rail a few feet away from the signature hounds.
Bajin, Williams’ practice partner, lives in anonymity on the tennis tour, so
why was he at an exhibition?
“We’re getting ready for Sydney, so I go everywhere she goes,” he said,
referring to the Australian Open. “I’m not going home for Christmas or New
Years.”
And if she wants to hit balls at 6 a.m., “I’m up at 5:30 a.m.,” he said.
Former Gamecock heroes Sterling Sharpe, Corey Jenkins and Duce Staley were
recognized. NBA veteran Xavier McDaniel was in the building, too.
McDaniel, Duce Staley and Dawn Staley (no relation), even stepped onto the
court.
“Stand right there and do not touch a ball,” Roddick told McDaniel, who was
subbing during the doubles match. The X-Man, as NBA announcers called him,
took some wild swings and, after contact, was walking triumphantly off the
court.
“You’re not done,” Roddick nagged.
(I kept wishing that Roddick and Williams had wireless mics, like the NBA and
NFL does from time to time.
There were two rock stars, too. Mark Bryan, the Hootie and The Blowfish
guitarist sang the national anthem, and funk-rockers Villanova, local rock
stars, played the role of houseband.
Rossdale played three songs, two of which — “Comedown” and “Glycerine” —
were hits by his band Bush more than 10 years ago.
His set was about as long as the previous paragraph. And I didn’t even get
an autograph.
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Tennis clinic offers treat for pros, kids
Roddick, Williams give Harbison West Elementary group a thrill of a lifetime
By MISTI N. BAILEY
Special to the State
For a Saturday treat, some families went to see the Columbia City Ballet’s
The Nutcracker.
Some college students crammed into coffeehouses, taking a break from studying
for final exams.
But a small group of youngsters from Harbison West Elementary had everyone
else in town beat.
They took part in a clinic with professional tennis players Andy Roddick,
Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and John Isner at the Colonial Life Arena.
The players, who were in town for Saturday night’s Rock-n-Racquets tennis
and music extravaganza, played interactive tennis games with the students and
Newberry tennis team members.
“(The players) show us a good example,” said 10-year-old Madison Brown, one
of the lucky students who participated in the clinic. “I can’t believe that
out of all the places they could have gone, they chose to come here. It’s
really exciting for us.”
Kelly Cheese, a Newberry College tennis player who was there to help conduct
the event, was thrilled to see the little ones’ reactions.
“It’s just really fun to see how the kids react to not only playing the
sport but also the celebrity players who they look up to.”
Newberry College along with BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television)
served as hosts for the event.
In addition to giving kids a once-in-a-lifetime on-court experience and a
chance to see some of the world’s top players in action, the event was a
great opportunity for Newberry to raise awareness of its tennis program,
according to coach Jim Greene.
The youngsters weren’t the only ones excited about the event.
“I did Rock-n-Racquets with Andy last year and loved it,” Williams said. “
I had to come back. The best part is getting out here beforehand with the
kids. Through the games, you get to interact with them.”
Roddick echoed her sentiment.
“I just want (the kids) to have fun today, even if they never pick up a
racket again,” Roddick said. “But, who knows, there may be some superstars
out here.”
Rock-n-Racquets is a weekend-long series of exhibition events that raise
money for The Andy Roddick Foundation, a non-profit group whose mission is to
help at-risk youngsters.
“Our mission statement is ‘Helping children today for tomorrow,’” Roddick
said. “We want to impact children who have been abused, neglected, or whose
parents just haven’t done what they should have or could have.”
Though the foundation has a serious purpose, Saturday’s clinic was about
showing participants — whether or not they ever pick up a racket again —
the advantages of playing a sport and how much fun tennis can be.