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Kvitova wins Toray Pan Pacific Open
Petra Kvitiova won the Toray Pan Pacific Open today, defeating Angelique Kerber in the final of the the event's 30 anniversary. The victory was a portrait of both the truly great player Kvitova became in 2011, as well as the inscure, error-prone player she became following her banner year. She defeated Kerber 6-2, 0-6, 6-3, and the scoreline paints the portrait.
Kvitova swept through the first set, hitting winners into both corners and comporting herself easily at the net. She so dominated Kerber that it would have been easy to think that she was actually going to get off the court with a straight sets win. But hey--this was Kvitova, and this was a big match. There was still time for her to lose her way. And lose her way she did (following a between-sets chat with her coach--just saying). Second set Petra was an error machine whose clumsiness boosted Kerber's confidence, which is really all that the German needed to bring up her own level.
So befuddled was Kvitova that Kerber was able to take the second set 6-0 while hitting only a few winners.
But we knew how it would end. Kvitova raced to a 4-0 lead in the final set, Kerber then made things harder for her, but--on her fourth match point--Kvitova won her second title of the year, and the 11th of her career.
It had been four years since two leftys contested a WTA fnal, and 20 years since two of them contested a big (what we now call "premier") final: In 1993, Martina Navratilova defeated Monica Seles for the Paris indoor event final.
Cara Black and Sania Mirza won the Tokyo doubles title. They defeated Chan Hao-Ching and Liezel Huber 4-6, 6-0, 11-9. This win gives Mirza four doubles titles for the year.
Sweeping the court
Li Na is the fifth player to qualify for the WTA Championships in Istanbul. The others who have qualified are Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and Agnieszka Radwanska.
Serena Williams will end the year as the number 1 player in the world.
Li, in the meantime, has been named a Global Athlete Ambassador for Right To Play.
Get to know Stephanie Dubois and Jovana Jaksic.
Venus Williams dreams about Hostess Sno Balls.
Martina Hingis's estranged husband says that Hingis and Melanie Molitor physically assaulted him.
Patty Schnyder and husband Reiner Hoffman are alleged to have separated. I generally wouldn't mention this type of news about a retired player, but so many fans have expressed concern about Schnyder's well-being, I thought I'd pass this along, for what it's worth.
Jovanovski wins Ningbo title as Kvitova and Kerber reach Tokyo final
Bojana Jovanovski won her second WTA title in three weeks today when she defeated Zhang Shuai 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 to win the title in Ningbo. Zhang won her very first WTA title last week in Guangzhou. Jovanovski was a set and a break down in today's final. The Ningbo event is a 125K Series tournament.
Zhang and "Wrong Way" Bojo broke each other 18 times.
Zhang did win the doubles title, with partner Chan Yung-Jan. Seeded at the top, Chan and Zhang beat Irina Buryachok and Oksana Kalashnikova 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova played a "comeback match" to rival any. Williams showed no sign of the Sjoegren's syndrome fatigue that has taken her out of the latter stages of tournaments for some time, nor did she show any sign of the lower back problem that has inhibited her serve lately. For her part, Kvitova didn't show any of the "Oh, Petra" nonsense we've come to expect from her. It was as if both women were telling us "Don't give up on me--I can still play tennis really, really well."
Both players served wonderfully in this semifinal, and some of the rallies were stunning. In the end, Kvitova took control of the third set tiebreak, going up 6-0, and winning it 7-2. Her opponent in the final will be yet another woman who seems to be telling us to remember who she is--Angelique Kerber. Kerber defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6.
The doubles final puts Liezel Huber against two players who, without a doubt, don't want to hang out and have dinner with her at the tournament's conclusion. Huber and partner Chan Hao-Ching will play Cara Black and Sania Mirza, who upset top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai in the semifinals. Black and Huber, who held the number 1 spot for a long time, split a few years ago in a painful, public fashion. As for Mirza, she once became so frustrated with Huber's antics that she knocked her right down with what I think is still the fiercest forehand in women's tennis.
40 LOVE Story, Episode 5
Posted by Diane at 9:49 AM No comments:
Venus into Tokyo semifinals
Venus Williams answered a tough challenge from Eugenie Bouchard today in the Tokyo quarterfinals, but emerged the winner, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Williams beat Mona Barthel in the opening round, and easily got past a visibly ailing Victoria Azarenka in the second. Before knocking out Bouchard, Williams defeated Simona Halep 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Next for Williams is Petra Kvitova, who has also had a very good week in Tokyo, beating Belinda Bencic in the second round (Bencic got her first tour win, over Daria Gavrilova, in the opening round), Madison Keys in the third round, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.
In the other semifinal match, Caroline Wozniacki will play Angenique Kerber. In Tokyo, everything old is new again!
Kerber, by the way, reached the semifinals today by knocking out 2012 runner-up (and 2011 champion) Agnieszka Radwanska.
In Ningbo, top seed (and Tashkent champion) Bojana Jovanovski reached the semifinals with a win over Johanna Larsson. She is joined there by Guangzhou champion Zhang Shuai, who defeated Yvonne Meusburger 6-3, 6-0.
Radwanska wins Seoul title
It took her three sets and two hours and 45 minutes, but top seed Agnieszka Radwanska won the Korea Open championship today when she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Pavlyuchenkova beat Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11) in her semifinal match, in which she had to come from behind in both sets.
This is Radwanska's 13th WTA title, and her third of 2013.
In doubles, the top seeds, Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, were upset in the final by Chan Chin-Wei and Xu Yi-Fan, who defeated them 7-5, 6-3.
Jill Craybas retires from professional tennis
Veteran of veterans Jill Craybas has announced her retirement from professional tennis; the U.S. Open was her last event.
Craybas, always popular with U.S. fans because of her easy-going personality and hard work on the court, began her professional tennis career 16 years ago. She was in the top 100 for 10 straight years, and she reached a career high ranking of 39 in 2006, and a career high doubles ranking of 41 in 2008.
Craybas won the Japan Open in 2002, and she won five WTA doubles titles. She was a four-time member of the USA Fed Cup team, and a member of the USA's 2008 Olympic team.
The 39-year-old Craybas (born on the 4th of July) graduated from the University of Florida, and was the NCAA singles champion in 1996.
Craybas reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2005, and on her way there, she took out Serena Williams; the next year, she beat Kim Clijsters in Miami. Craybas also had victories over Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva and a half dozen other top 20 players.
Jill Craybas was the first tennis player to get a sponsorship from Under Armour, and the company outfitted her before it officially manufactured and sold women's clothing.
In announcing her retirement, Craybas said:
"I tried to put the wins and losses into perspective and I hope I handled the ups and downs they provided with equal grace. I have truly cherished my years on the tour as they have taught me so much and encouraged me to grow into a unique, determined individual."
Zhang wins Guangzhou Open
Zhang Shuai
Zhang Shuai won her first WTA title today when she defeated Vania King 7-6, 6-1. Zhang, who got a wild card into the tournament, won the final 13 points of the match. The Chinese player was a semifnalist at the event in 2010.
One of the players Zhang beat along the way was defending champion Hsieh Su-Wei. Hsieh and her partner, Peng Shuai, won the doubles title. They beat King and her partner, Galina Voskoboeva, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10. Hsieh and Peng were the top seeds. Last year, Zhang was a member of the winning doubles team.
Safarova wins Bell Challenge
3rd seed Lucie Safarova won the title in Quebec City today when she defeated Marina Erakovic 6-4,6-3 in the final. This is Safarova's fifth WTA title, and her first one in over five years.
Erakovic was the runner-up in 2011, also.
Alla Kudryatseva and Anastasia Rodionova beat top seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, also 6-4, 6-3, to win the doubles title. Hlavackova and Hradecka made their run to the Quebec City final after winning the U.S. Open.
Bojana Jovanovski won the Tashkent Open today when she defeated Olga Govortsova 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 in the final. Jovanovski, who was the top qualifying seed, went on to become the top seed in the tournament (has this ever happened before?). Top seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova won the doubles title.
The Backspin third quarter awards have been published, and do not miss the video of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova dancing after winning the U.S. Open.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Mattek-Sands tore her right MCL during the third set of a match in Quebec City this past week.
Anna Chakvetadze has retired from professional tennis. Chakvetadze, who was the number 5 player in the world six years ago, suffers from chronic back probems and therefore cannot continue to play.
How great is this photo?
Maria Sharapova says that her goal is to play in the WTA Championships at the end of the season, but of course, that depends on the progress of her rehab from shoulder bursitis.
Congratulations! You've just been put in charge. No, you're not the coach--you're the boss of everyone involved, including the coach. You have about two weeks to do your job. So, what would you do for/with any or all of these players during your time of ultimate authority:?
Petra Kivitova
Li Na
Sam Stosur
Sloane Stephens
Feel free to add the names of players who need your help!
Defending champion and top seed Kirsten Flipkens was upset in the first round in Quebec City today. Polona Hercog beat Flipkens 6-3, 6-1.
If you live in the U.S. and you missed the PBS American Masters feature on Billie Jean King, check your local PBS station's schedule for re-broadcasts; it's really worth seeing. And even if you did see it, you may want to see more. Here, you can find all kinds of interviews and excerpts.
It's time to get to know Julia Glushko.
Sloane Stephens: Is she destined for the top 10?
Sabine Lisicki is a new brand ambassador for Peugeot.
Marion Bartoli is a surprise entrant in the All England Club's members-only end-of-season mixed doubles competition.
A plea on behalf of Vika
We don't need no Jockey waistband
We don't need no elastic folds
No dreary pink and gray and coral
Nike, leave them shorts alone
Hey--Nike! Leave them shorts alone
All in all it's just some ugly lint on the ball
We don't need no hybrid outfit
We don't need no flouncy skirts
Makes Vika look like all the others
All in all, it's just some ugly lint on the ball
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 (Official Music Video) from BigDaddyAEL1964 on Vimeo.
Posted by Diane at 9:55 AM 10 comments:
Interior, Grand Central Station
My top 10 U.S. Open occurrences, in ascending order:
10. Don't like the weather?: Just wait a day and it will get worse. This U.S. Open featured extreme heat, a lot of rain, and enough wind to give the finalists fits.
9. The young and the winless: Down they went, the young ones, taken out by veteran players who know what it takes to win big matches. The only "youngster" who made it to the final four was 24-year-old Victoria Azarenka, who lost to a 31-year old in the final. The final eight was mostly made up of older players, too; the youngest players to make it to the quarterfinals were Azarenka, Carla Suarez Navarro (24) and Ekaterina Makarova (25).
8. The best match no one talked about: On a very hot day at the Open, Carla Suarez Navarro beat Angelique Kerber. It took her 2 hours and 41 minutes, and in the first two sets, the momentum swings were outrageous. The third set was an all-out thriller, and one of the highlights of the tournament.
7. Still a fragile golden flower: Will it ever change for Li Na? She's fitter than ever, has the best coach she's ever had--and one who really understands her--but she showed us in the quarterfinals that she can still come unglued when the stakes are high.
6. We just started playing, and you're already upset: Stanford and Carlsbad champions Dominika Cibulkova and Samantha Stosur were both upset in the first round of the Open. The Stosur upset got all the press because Stosur is a former U.S. Open champion, and because she was upset by a very young player from the USA. But the Cibulkova upset was big, too.
5. Caio, I'm back!: Thought Flavia Pennetta was finished? Then you don't know anything about Fighting Italians, and especially this one. For the second time in her career, the Queen of Fed Cup has made a huge comeback. So huge, in fact, that she reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open for the first time. At 31, Pennetta is one of the "old" players, and it would be excellent instruction for the young players to study not only her game, but the way she approaches her career.
4. Getting closer all the time: Victoria Azarenka didn't really look like herself throughout much of the tournament, yet she still managed to fight all the way to the final. And she made that final memorable. Down a set and two breaks, she forced a second set tiebreak, which she won. The two-time Australian Open champion didn't win the tournament, but she showed us, yet again, that she has what it takes to rise to a very high level. Stay tuned.
3. Czechlist--first, you beat the Williams sisters: And they did. Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, the 2011 French Open champions, defeated Serena and Venus Williams in straight sets in the semifinals. So if you can do that you should be able to win the whole thing, right? And they did. The Czech pair won the U.S. Open doubles title when they defeated Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the final.
2. Giving "doubles" a whole new meaning: Andrea Hlavackova not only won the women's doubles title with partner Lucie Hradecka, she also won the mixed doubles title with partner Max Mirnyi. This victory marked Hlavackova's first major mixed doubles title.
1. Having a blast: When asked if she was having fun at the Open, Serena Williams said she was "having a blast." I guess so. The world number 1 pretty much romped to the final, in which she was given a true fight by world number 2 Victoria Azarenka. But in the third set, Williams pulled out all the stops, and that was that. She won her fifth U.S. Open title and her 17th singles major. An extraordinary athlete with great finesse and exceptional mental strength, Serena Williams appears to be in her prime. Williams says she's feeling exceptionally good physically, and we can only imagine what that will mean in 2014.
She really made it happen. In that particular moment, she was tougher today. She was more consistent, and she deserved to win.
In the third set, Serena really found a way to calm down and restart from zero and quickly erase what happened.
Patrick Mouratoglu
If there was one player that you could meet and have a conversation with, maybe not even a hit with, somebody either on the tour now or who played before, who would that be?
Maybe like Federer. Yeah.
What would you ask him?
I don't know. I'd just be like, I love you.
Tornado Alicia Black
...I have never felt better. I feel really fit. I can play a tournament like this, singles, doubles, with tough, tough schedules. For the most part, I felt really good. You know, I haven't felt like this in a number of years. I'm excited about the possibilities. I don't know what can happen. I just keep playing and do the best that I can.
...It hurts really bad. I'm not gonna lie. It hurts bad. But to just take the most positive out of that and, you know, see that light in the tunnel, as you can say, is good. I can see a lot of positive things from that. So I'm just gonna go back out and work my ass off, you know, to go and fight hard again, to put myself in this opportunity again.
You just said you stayed calm, but obviously the crowd were behind your opponent. How tough it gets for you to stay calm?
Well, it's always tough. I mean, she's American. I mean, that's normal. But somehow that gave me even more power to win, and I'm really happy that I had my team out there. They were like also loud for me, so, yeah.
Ana Konjuh
You handled Serena's serve pretty well for the most part all day. Were you happy with your own serve? Do you think the wind affected it?
Didn't help. Didn't help, for sure. You can always pinpoint what could have been better. I'm just trying to look overall. And, yes, I'm going to try to improve that particular aspect, because the gap between Serena's serve and my serve is pretty big. But I don't want to compare that because, you know, I think she has the best serve of all time, definitely. I'm just trying to find the way to raise my level on that.
What was particularly unique about this Grand Slam journey?
Well, I don't know. I just felt so good playing the doubles. I felt like it really was able to help me a lot in my singles matches. I was so focused these two and a half, three weeks really. I have just been so focused and so, you know, just really kind of crazy where I'm not losing, I'm never leaving my room and just really trying to stay in the zone and stay in the spirit. What's unique is just the fact of finally reaching number 5 at the Open, so that's pretty cool.
Serena Williams: Queen of the hill, top of the heap
When I think back on today's outstanding U.S. Open final, the image that will come to my mind first will be that of Serena Williams' pink flared skirt blowing in the wind. The wind blew her skirt all the way up on several occasions, and the top seed had to make adjustments to it over and over. It wasn't really the skirt she needed to wear on a very windy day, but it was the least of her problems. Williams fought the wind, her skirt and an opponent who simply refused to give up.
Down a set and two breaks, Victoria Azarenka somehow forced a third set, making this year's final as good as last year's. The outcome, however, was the same: Williams won her fifth U.S. Open, 7-5, 6-7, 6-1. In doing so, she also won her 17th major.
The wind was a factor in every game, frustrating both women, and sometimes--when they least expected it--helping them. The match began with an exchange of breaks, and then Azarenka asserted herself as the player more able to handle the wind. In the ninth game of the set, Azarenka hit her peak, hitting fluid, accurate groundstrokes, and looking dominant on both serve and return.
At 4-5, Williams double-faulted. It got dicey for her for a while, but she held when she hit a 104 mph. serve, after hitting a winning backhand volley on the run. Williams then broke Azarenka, and served for the set. She held at love.
Azarenka was broken right off in the second set, and Willliams followed the break with a hold at love. It would have been easy for a casual spectator to start discussing dinner plans, but this was only the beginning of what would turn out to be one of the more dramatic sets of tennis we've seen this year.
At 1-3, Azarenka double-faulted twice in a row at 30-all, giving Williams a second break (now, can the dinner plans be discussed?). At this point, even to the not-so-casual spectator, it looked like the world number 2 was going down fast. But then she got two break points in Williams' next service game. Williams saved one, but then--after a long rally--Azarenka broke. She then held with a forehand up the line hit after a long rally.
Serving at 4-3, Williams held at love, and threw in another ace to get to game point. Azarenka then had a solid hold. Serving for the match at 5-4, Williams double-faulted and made crucial errors. She was broken. But she broke right back. During all this drama, the wind never let up.
Once again, Williams served for the match. She began with an ace, but then became visibly tight, and double-faulted to give her opponent another break and to set up a tiebreak. Williams, putting the last game behind her, went up a mini-break right away. Azarenka then proceeded to hit a swinging volley that blasted its way right to the baseline. After Williams tossed a volley into the net, it was 3-all. The score became 4-all when Williams hit a ball long, then Azarenka went up 5-4 with a volley that Williams also returned long, just as the wind churned even harder.
Suddenly, Azarenka had two set points. Williams saved one with a huge, out-wide serve, and then she saved the second one, too. But then Azarenka hit a second serve right into her opponent's body, and--on set point--Williams hit a return out. A third set was established.
I can only imagine what it felt like to the players to come down a bit after that second set. I felt depleted just from watching it. Azarenka, of course, had accomplished the seemingly impossible, but she still had a set to go.
Each player held at the beginning of the final set. The third game was fascinating, with Azarenka double-faulting twice, but also with Williams starting to throw everything in her considerable repertoire at her opponent. For the rest of the match, the world number one would volley, spin, lob, and masterfully serve her way to victory. In the fourth game, Williams hit an unreturnable serve, a lob that made it to the baseline, a 126 mph. ace, and an ace up the T. What's a world number 2 to do?
Williams broke Azarenka to go up 5-1, then served for the match for the third time. At 15-all, she got a bit of assistance from the wind when a ball went in that was expected to perhaps go out. At 40-15, Azarenka saved a match point, but then the inevitable could no longer be postponed, and Serena Williams became the 2013 U.S. Open champion.
Williams hit nine aces. She had 76-47 first and second serve win percentages and she hit 36 winners. She missed a lot of volleys, she experienced a great deal of frustration, and she looked across the net and saw the kind of attitude she herself carries into every big match. It was a long--2 hours and 45 minutes--ordeal. The crowd couldn't have asked for a better final. And in the end, Serena couldn't have asked for a better one, either.
Serena wasn't the only winner today. 2nd seed Ana Konjuh of Croatia won the junior girls title by defeating unseeded Tornado Alicia Black 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. And Aniek Van Koot, seeded 2nd in women's wheelchair singles, won the title when she defeated top seed Sabine Ellerbrock 3-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Konjuh had some company--a Croatian player (and friend of Konjuh's) won the junior boys title.
...our junior girls won the title today, and they inspired us, for sure.
Andrea Hlavackova
I like to fight a lot in matches.
We all know--me, mostly--that you sometimes ask for an umpire not to be in the chair.
Rennae Stubbs
We'll get one one day, and it'll feel good.
Casey Dellacqua
I cannot believe I won two Grand Slams in two weeks.
Hlavackova and Hradecka win U.S. Open doubles championship
Lucie Hradecka had a lot of work to do tonight in the U.S. Open doubles final. Not only did she have to fight off the Australian duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua, she also had to soothe the nerves of her suddenly cranky partner, Andrea Hlavackova.
Hlavackova, high on having won the mixed doubles title, was as loose as she could be when the Czech pair defeated the Williams sisters in the semifinals. But her mood changed the moment she walked onto the court to play the final. Literally, the moment. Hlavackova wasn't pleased about the choice of chair umpire and complained about it. Once the match got going, she just couldn't settle down, and the Australians took the first set in a tiebreak.
Having lost the first set, Hlavackova visibly came out of her funk and took the pressure off of Hradecka. It took the Czechs just 30 minutes to romp through the second set and win it 6-1. During those 30 minutes, they hit 11 winners and made just one unforced error.
Not surprisingly, Barty and Dellacqua put up a much bigger fight in the final set, breaking the Czechs early. But Hlavackova and Hradecka broke back, and broke again, then served for the match in style, winning the third set 6-4.
In 2011, Hlavackova and Hradecka won the French Open. Last year, they were the runners-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and they won silver at the Olympic Games. Their opponents know what that feels like: Barty and Dellacqua have now won the runner-up trophies at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2013.
It's been a good year for the Czechs. Not only did Hlavackova and Hradecka win the title today, with Hlavackova also winning mixed (with Max Mirnyi), but also, two Czech girls won the junior doubles title (they also won titles at the French Open and Wimbledon). And Hradecka won the mixed doubles title at the French Open.
Vika and Serena, together again
As you always wanted to see them.
Last year, Victoria Azarenka took Serena Williams right to the brink in the U.S. Open final. She served for the match, in fact, but--when doing so--made three consecutive errors and was broken. And that was pretty much that. In other words, she was done in by nerves.
This year, Azarenka has had to battle all kinds of tennis demons to even get to the final, while Williams has blasted her way through. It looks like a fifth U.S. Open championship for Serena is just a day away, but.....Azarenka could raise her level and make a real contest out of it.
1st round--def. Francesca Schiavone
2nd round--def. Galina Voskoboeva
3rd round--def. Yaroslava Shvedova
round of 16--def. Sloane Stephens (15)
quarterfinals--def. Carla Suarez Navarro (18)
semifinals--def. Li Na (5)
AZARENKA
1st round--def. Dinah Pfizenmaier
2nd round--def. Aleksandra Wozniak
3rd round--def. Alize Cornet (26)
round of 16--def. Ana Ivanovic (11)
quarterfinals--def. Daniela Hantuchova
semifinals--def. Flavia Pennetta
Today, top seed Sabine Ellerbrock and 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot both advanced to the women's wheelchair singles final. Van Koot and partner Jiske Griffioen, the top seeds, won the women's wheelchair doubles competition. They beat 2nd seeds Ellerbrock and Yui Kamiji in straight sets.
Martina Navratilova and Rennae Stubbs won the Women's Champions Doubles event when they defeated Chanda Rubin and Iva Majoli in straight sets.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the junior girls doubles title, defeating Belinda Bencic and Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 6-4. Krejcikova and Siniakova, the top seeds, also son the doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Finally, in junior girls singles, Tornado Alicia Black of the USA advanced to the final when she defeated 7th seed Antonia Lottner today in the semifinals. Also advancing to the final was Ana Konjuh. Black is unseeded. Lottner took out top seed Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals.
Czeched out
Andrea Hlavackova, who--earlier in the day--won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title, has advanced, with partner Lucie Hradecka, to the women's doubles final. The Czech team beat Serena and Venus Williams 6-4, 6-2 in tonight's semifinal match.
How do you beat the Williams sisters in doubles? You serve really well, and you hit the ball right at them--repeatedly. Hlavackova and Hradecka never let up on their aggression, and they ruled at the net from start to finish.
In the final, the Czech team will play Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. This is an interesting match-up from a stats point of view. Barty and Dellacqua were the runners-up this year at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Hlavackova and Hradecka were the runners-up last year at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and they won a silver medal at the Olympics. The Czech team, however, has tasted major victory, as they won the French Open in 2011.
Meanwhile, the women's wheelchair doubles final will be contested by top seeds Jiske Griffioen and Aniek Van Koot, who will face 2nd seeds Sabine Ellerbrock and Yui Kamiji.
The women's wheelchair final will be played between top seed Ellerbrock and 2nd seed Van Koot.
Top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will face 3rd seeds Belinda Bencic and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the junior girls doubles final.
If you had to pick another player to be your tour guide around New York, who would you take?
I would take Daniela Hantuchova because I always feel comfortable when I'm talking with her. We are best friends, so we don't have to worry if I say something wrong.
I have said it I believe in some other press conferences I kind of feel that I helped the diamond in the rough to be polished. And from a young age, both Victoria and Serena....
Max Mirnyi
...I never did well in mixed doubles and I could not figure out why, and then I got this great partner. We didn't do well in Wimbledon, and I was like blaming myself. Then here, you know, playing so well, I started to believe it from the first round match. It's great. I'm so happy.
Andrea Hvlackova
I mean, today doesn't matter who is the opponent. Problem is myself, because today I cannot face to the problem, you know. So even, I don't know, even today I was play against maybe the ranking 100, still the same problem, you know. So, I mean, I really have to face to this thing for next step.
I didn't serve really well today, but she neither. I think it was a lot of wind in the court. It's moving a lot the ball all the time. It was not easy to serve. But for me, I think I didn't serve in the way I was serving before because she make me a lot of pressure. I know I had to try to find a good serve for start of point, and I didn't today. Actually, I was trying doing the same thing all the match, and in the moment was working and in another moment not.
Flavia Pennetta
And you dance on court a little bit.
I do. I love that.
If you win the title, maybe singing on court?
Let's just wait.
We know you said that Carlos saved your marriage. Now, with Serena, she's being coached by her boyfriend. Now that you have been through all this, what would be the advice you would give to Serena for being coached?
Don't be married, okay?...
Hlavackova and Mirnyi win U.S. Open mixed doubles title
Andrea Hlavackova and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi won the mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open today. Seeded 7th, Hlavackova and Mirnyi defeated Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 7-6, 6-3.
This was Mirnyi's third U.S. Open mixed doubles title, and Hlavackova's first major mixed doubles title. She and her partner, Lucie Hradecka, are trying to get to the women's doubles final, but first they have to get past Serena and Venus Williams. The players are warming up as I write this.
Tales from Na Na Land
Not long ago, some of us were hanging out in the Backspin Lounge, and someone wondered: Where does Li Na go when she "goes off"? The answer? Na Na Land, of course.
Unfortunately, the Chinese star chose the U.S. Open semifinals as the time for her latest trip to Na Na Land. Just half an hour after the television commentators said that the second semifinal had to be better than the first one, Li found herself not just down a set, but down a set 0-6. It wasn't just that Serena Williams was serving up a storm and returning just as well; it was that Li was flat, hesitant and out of rhythm.
The second set didn't look like it was going to be any better for Li, but then, suddenly, she was plucked out of Na Na Land and deposited back into Reality, which wasn't pretty. Li then went about picking up her serve, hitting the lines right at Williams' feet, and rushing the net. But the clock was ticking, and the 5th seed soon found herself serving at 2-5. And it was then that she had a true "Li Na moment." She saved six match points in a game that went on for almost 14 minutes. That one game was what the entire match should have been.
Li held for 3-5, and for a moment, it looked like she might break Williams when she served for the match. That wasn't to be, however, and Williams advanced to the final, and a chance to win her 17th major.
Williams' opponent, once again, will be Victoria Azarenka, and the 2nd seed will definitely have to raise her level if she intends to get the title. She looked awkward playing her semifinal against Flavia Pennetta, and Pennetta let go of so many chances to make the match more competitive--or to win it. Neil Schlect, writing for the U.S. Open website, sums it up perfectly:
Flavia Pennetta, who had come back from injury and unexpectedly streaked through the draw without losing a set, arrived at her first U.S. Open (and Grand Slam) semifinal. She had upset high seeds and slammed the door on one of the summer's hottest players, Simona Halep.
On a perfect 70-degree and cloudless early autumn afternoon, Pennetta met No. 2 Victoria Azarenka and impressively broke serve five of six times in the match.
Pennetta lost, 6-4, 6-2.
That's not a misprint.
And so it went. Azarenka "found a way," as they say, to not only win, but to win in straight sets. Pennetta, playing in her first major semifinal, could probably kick herself for ultimately not taking advantage of Azarenka's service weaknesses. The 2nd seed knows how to win the big points, and she emphatically did that today. But her opponent in the final isn't likely to give her the luxury of "finding a way"-- Azarenka has to serve better if she is to have a chance against Williams.
Last year, Williams and Azarenka played in a highly competitive and thrilling U.S. Open final. Perhaps memories of that final--and memories of losing it--will give Azarenka the motivation she needs to clean up her act.
Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce and Conchita Martinez have been nominated for 2014 induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Li Na has been awarded the 2014 U.S. Open Sportsmanship Award. David Ferrer won the award for the men.
Vicky Duval appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Wednesday night. She apparently survived.
Monica Seles will be inducted into the U.S. Open Court of Champions on Sunday. Seles won the Open twice.
Sara Errani does CNN Open Court.
And here's a new interview with Sania Mirza.
It's going to be epic.
Brett Haber, on the upcoming Legends match
Rennae Stubbs: I want to know how you got stuck with me.
Martina Navratilova: I don't know...
"racket as mic" "interview" before Legends match
It was a black day.
Esther Vergeer, on winning silver in Beijing in 2008
Defending champions out of U.S. Open
Defending champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci made their exit from the U.S. Open today when they lost their quarterfinal match to Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters--who won 6-3, 6-1--were truly on their game. Venus was especially impressive, between her serving and her volleying. They never let the Italians in at all.
Next up for the Williams sisters are Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Whoever wins will face Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in the final. This is the third major final the Australian team has reached this year, and they'll be looking for their first major victory.
Tomorrow, Serena plays Li Na in the semifinals, and Flavia Pennetta plays Victoria Azarenka. I'm really pleased with the final four, and especially pleased to see Pennetta reach the semifinals (and at a time when observers probably thought that she couldn't). And while a Williams-Azarenka final is predicted, anything could happen. All four women have very impressive hard court skills.
Women's wheelchair top seed Sabine Ellerbrock will play her first match tomorrow.
One final note on today's action: Monica Seles is officially a skeleton. Scary.
My coach said "There's hope for you."
Victoria Azarenka, who is now listening to Motown
Many people see your game and say that it's a game from a different period maybe, that it's very different from the way most women play today with your use of slice and coming to the net so much. Do you feel this yourself, that you're a little bit different from these other women?
Yes, of course I have a different kind of tennis. I know, but I think this is my key. Sometimes help me; sometimes not, you know. Depends of course the opponent. But, yeah, this is my kind of tennis. I cannot play in different style. I'm happy that I'm different.
Roberta Vinci
If you win too easily and you're not tested, you don't know how good you can be.
Personally I think she's really positive girl. She always try to find the light, no? When you see everything really dark. So she always really a good person.
Flavia Pennetta, commenting on Roberta Vinci
Pennetta's winning strategy was ruthlessly uncomplicated. She made the match about her opponent's weakness, and she refused to allow Vinci to coax her into playing points that would take Pennetta away from her game plan.
Geoff MacDonald
Good luck against all the old ladies.
Pam Shriver, to Vika Azarenka
There's no Fighting Italian like an old Fighting Italian
If you thought Flavia Pennetta was done, think again. The 31-year-old Queen of Fed Cup has had a rough year, yes, but today, she did something she's never done before: She reached the semifinal of a major. Just over a year ago, Pennetta had surgery on her right wrist, and her comeback has been long and difficult.
It's not the first time Pennetta has been through something like this. Several years ago, the Italian star had to leave the tour for several months because of injury, and when she returned, she had little confidence, so she played in small tournaments until she felt like herself again. Pennetta then returned to "regular" tournament play and did well.
Today, she beat countrywoman Roberta Vinci, whose performance against Pennetta was not unlike Vinci's performance against doubles partner Sara Errani at last year's U.S. Open. Put another waya--Vinci didn't really put up much of a fight. Apparently, playing her Fed Cup teammates at a big event just doesn't agree with her.
After defeating 10th seed Vinci 6-4, 6-1, Pennetta thanked--among others--her former coach, which I thought was a nice touch.
Pennetta has a history of doing well at the U.S. Open, where she has reached the quarterfinals four times. In 2009, the Italian star reached the Open quarterfinals by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the round of 16. Pennetta saved six match points--five of them with winners.
In the semifinals, Pennetta will have her work cut out for her. She'll play 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets tonight. Hantuchova had multiple opportunities to stretch this to a three-setter, but the ball coming off of her racket just couldn't find the lines. Following Hantuchova's stunning performance in the round of 16, this was--sadly--kind of what you would expect to happen.
The doubles quarterfinals were somewhat of a massacre. 2nd seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina were taken out in straight sets by 8th seeds Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua, and 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik lost to 5th seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Serena and Venus Williams defeated 11th seeds Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova, and 10th seeds Sania Mirza and Zheng Jie beat 4th seeds (and Wimbledon champions) Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai.
The Mladenovic watch is over. She and partner Daniel Nestor lost in the mixed doubles semifinals to Andrea Hlavackova and Max Mirnyi. In the other semifinal, Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Bruno Soares.
She could break Steffi's racket--I mean, record.
Chris Evert, caught in a Freudian slip when commenting on whether Serena Williams can win more than 22 majors
Are you concerned about the slow starts, two matches in a row?
If I'm concerned?
Yeah, are you concerned?
No. I'm chill.
...if you only think about what opponent doing, of course you already lose the match before you come to the court.
You talked about when you have fun you play better. How much fun are you having this week?
I'm having a blast this week.
...opponents like Vika, Maria, Serena, they're top of the game. So if you don't put them under pressure, they're going to use that and they're going to kill you out there.
You became a dropshot maniac.
I always had that. I just didn't feel like I needed it too much; today I did.
I'd like to thank all my fans who supported me.
Chris Evert, when told that 64% of those voting in a poll said they thought Serena Williams would overtake Evert's record of winning 18 majors
Li Na moves forward
Once there was a young woman who played tennis very well. She had a great gift, but she also had fear, and she tended to choke away big matches. Her coach told her she had to learn to come to the net much more frequently, but she she said she didn't want to because she was uncomfortable doing that. Her coach, however, was as stubborn as she was, and he finally had his way. She learned to come to the net, she overcame her fear, and then went on to win seven majors. She also gained recognition as the greatest clay court player of her generation.
That woman was Justine Henin, and that coach was Carlos Rodriguez. Now Rodriguez has in his charge another somewhat mentally fragile player who has long resisted coming to the net. Li Na, like Henin before her, is listening to her coach, and is showing more strength in her game than she has in a while. Of course, Li is 31 years old and an international celebrity, not an up-and-coming player like Henin was when she teamed up with Rodriguez. But she's very fit, and she undoubtedly knows that her one major title, the 2011 French Open, shouldn't be her only one.
Li, who retired once because she couldn't deal with the unfair treatment she received from her country's tennis federation, returned to the tour and revolutionized Chinese tennis. She went from having constant serious injuries to being extremely fit. It took her a long time to work things out, and then, after her triumph in Paris, she seemed to wilt. But the work she's being doing in the last several months appears to be paying off. Li stunned her U.S. Open opponents--up until today. Today, she had to deal with the tricky Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, who was the first player in New York to take a set off of the Chinese star.
Li's level went down today. So did Makarova's, but even with an opponent who isn't playing her best, Li has been known to make an exit from a big tournament. Today, though, Li used the final set to assert herself, and in doing so, she reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open for the first time. In defeating Makarova 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, Li booked a spot opposite world number 1 Serena Williams, who ran over Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-0. It was windy all day, but the wind really picked up this evening, and made it next to impossible for Suarez Navarro to get her breath and do so much as to win even one game.
Anything can happen, but something is telling me that the Williams-Li semifinal could turn out to be more of a show than the anticipated Williams-Azarenka final.
As for Azarenka, she had to play her round of 16 match today because of yesterday's rain delay. The 2nd seed was outsmarted and outplayed by Ana Ivanovic in the first set, but you know AnaIvo--she couldn't sustain that superior level. Still, watching the first set made me remember why Ivanovic won a major, and also just how dangerous she can be when her service toss is working and she's feeling good. That forehand!
Ivanovic's outstanding first set put Azarenka in a bad mood, and she stumbled and muttered and glared her way through the rest of the match. No matter--she won it, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the next round, she'll get Daniela Hantuchova, and she better hope that Hantuchova doesn't play at the level she did yesterday.
Top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won their third round match against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Flavia Pennetta, and 2nd seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Cara Blak and Marina Erakovic. In the other doubles match played today, 4th seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai defeated Jelena Jankovic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
In mixed doubles, Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor advanced to the semifinals.
I'll end the way I began, with a comment about Justine Henin. The Belgian star was so tightly wound that--when she didn't have a tournament to play or a day of training--to relax, she jumped out of planes. It seemed to work for her. I don't foresee Li drifting through the clouds, but just imagine that she might: Wouldn't you love to hear her talk about it?
You are 30. Do you have the same motivation on the tour right now?
Yes, I do. Even more. Like I said, I just enjoy every single moment being able to be out there and compete. Doesn't really matter which way it goes.
Daniela Hantuchova
What would you say has been the key to your rivalry with Errani?
Well, I know Sara of course a lot. I played aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. I know that she doesn't like when someone plays aggressive. She likes to play a lot of ball on the court. Yeah, I won the last two times, but I play really, really good.
I'm sure you've been talking about this a lot the last couple weeks, but discuss how difficult it was to come back from wrist surgery.
It was and still is really tough. Since one year already. A lot of thing change when I come back in March. Was really tough. Everything was really different, from my coach, from my doubles partner, from the feeling I had in the court, everything. I try to just come back and play the most I can, single, doubles, mixed, everything. You know, when you stop for so many time, so long part, like seven months, something like that, when you come back, you feel different, and all your body have problem. You don't have problem in your hand, but you start having problem in the leg or the abdominal because you are not used to play for such a long time. Your body just need time to recover.
When was the last time you served so well?
Couldn't really remember. I guess eleven years ago.
Veterans--3, Upstarts--0
I went to work today. I know, in the U.S., it's Labor Day, but I went to work. And just when I thought I would miss watching matches, the rain came. Unfortunately, it kept coming--hard--during my long break. In the end, I didn't get to see that much. The match I saw the most of, however, was the one I most wanted to see--Simona Halep vs. Flavia Pennetta. What I saw was Halep minus the confidence, rushing through points and making errors. It didn't help that the rain delay began right when Halep was at set point in the second set.
As for Pennetta, well--seems like old times. The Italian veteran likes the U.S. Open and has a good U.S. Open history. Now she's again into the quarterfinals, and will play countrywoman (but of course) Roberta Vinci.
Pennetta beat Halep 6-2, 7-6. Vinci beat (countrywoman) Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-2. The match between Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed until tomorrow. In the meantime, Alison Riske took Daniela Hantuchova to three sets, but Hantuchova prevailed, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. She also hit 15 aces.
Here is the quarterfinal draw:
Serena Williams (1) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro (18)
Ekaterina Makarova (24) vs. Li Na (5)
Roberta Vinci (10) vs. Flavia Pennetta
Daniela Hantuchova vs. either Ana Ivanovic (13) or Victoria Azarenka (2)
I'll watch them all, but I'm looking especially forward to the Makarova-Li match and the all-Italian match. So many Italians, so few rounds left!
For several weeks now, the commentators on ESPN have been irritating me beyond tolerance with their re-invention of tennis's markers of highest achievement, in their attempt to give the Bryan Brothers glory. They are now referring to the Grand Slam as the "Calendar Slam," implying that there's more than one way to win really big. And while I'm glad to recognize what we call a Career Slam (winning all four majors at some point in one's career), a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam, and that's it. You have to win all four majors in the same year.
This nonsense started when Serena Williams dubbed her four-in-a-row the Serena Slam. It had a nice ring to it, yes, but it was the beginning of the chiseling away at what is a truly outstanding accomplishment--winning the Grand Slam. If the Bryan brothers do win the Grand Slam, that would be very big indeed, but anything else is just number of majors-in-a-row. A very great accomplishment, but not a Grand Slam.
Over at the LPGA, they have an interesting problem because a fifth major has been added to the calendar. So there is discussion about whether the Grand Slam should remain the way it is--winning four majors in a calendar year (with winning all five to be called the Super Slam), or whether it should be winning all five.
That's a legitimate argument, and a tricky one. But calling a Grand Slam a Calendar Slam to make winning consecutive majors in different years "Another Slam" is an insult to those few players who did win the Grand Slam. ESPN has even gone so far as to say that the Bryans have won the Golden Slam, which they have not. They have won a Career Slam, plus an Olympic gold medal, and they even held all four major titles at once. That is a really big accomplishment. However, the only tennis entity to ever actually win the Golden Slam was Steffi Graf.
I think this year has been a pretty good year for me. I'm going to try to end it with a bang.
I just pumped my fist, I was down, and then I walked to the net.
To the box, when you pirouetted.
Well because I kept kind of falling over my pirouette, so I was trying to get the right semi half circle. I couldn't quite get it right. I think I was just off balance on that one.
People seem to want Serena to mentor Sloane Stephens. She's spent her whole life trying to beat her sister--do you think she's going to mentor someone outside the family?
Mary Carillo
What did you have for breakfast?--because that's the most amazing match I've seen you play in a while.
You really want to know?
I'm not going to tell you.
Are you interested in watching this match again? Would you watch a replay of this match to pick up something? Once the match is over, do you move on?
I definitely will watch it again. When I'm sitting at home in the off season and I don't have anything to do I watch tennis on my computer. It's kind of boring. It's something to do. You learn the most from your losses, so I'll definitely watch it again.
I didn't listen to my husband at all, no mater what he say.
Here comes Li Na!
Tonight at the U.S. Open, Li Na dismissed Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-0 in under an hour. Considering how well JJ has been playing lately, this was an unexpected dismissal. But there was nothing Jankovic could do to stop Li, who put on a display of serving, returning and volleying that was a joy to watch. She had seven break opportunities and converted all of them. Hitting 20 winners and making 12 unforced errors, Li made it look so easy, just as she did in the previous round, when she beat Laura Robson. Tonight, though, the Chinese star played a much cleaner match.
In tonight's other round of 16 match, Ekaterina Makarova defeated 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4. Radwanska has been making a lot more unforced errors lately (meaning, more like a normal number; her unforced error count is generally kind of amazing). Tonight, she made 27, but she also hit 18 winners, which is uncharacteristic, too. Makarova's second serve stats tend to be high, and today was no exception--she had a 72 second serve win percentage.
The television commentators were kind of in shock, but I'm not sure why. Radwanska has always made an early (considering her ranking and her usual level) exit from the U.S. Open, and Makarova just keeps getting better, though it's always a "surprise" to the commentators when she wins a big match. Go figure.
In doubles, top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci had a comfortable win, but Kristina Mladenovic and partner Galina Voskoboeva are out, defeated by 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.
Crazy from the heat
Detail of building near Morningside Heights, New York City
Sloane Stephens predicted that her U.S. Open round of 16 match against Serena Williams would be "epic." It wasn't, but the one between Angelique Kerber and Carla Suarez Navarro was. In fact, I had trouble taking my eyes off of it. Talk about a match having everything! The first two sets were so seesaw in nature, it was hard to believe. Rise, slump, rise, slump. The opponents each won clusters of games, then lost clusters of games. Kerber took the first set 6-4 and Suarez Navarro took the second set 6-3.
Consider the personalities involved. No one gets down on herself quite like Kerber, and few can choke big matches away quite like the Spaniard. The final set, postponed after a break--the extreme heat permitted the players to take a ten-minute rest--was so physical in nature that I think I burned a few hundred calories just watching it. Kerber looked like she was going to drop. Yet still, I thought she would win because I didn't think Suarez Navarro had the mental toughness to close.
But she did. She also did some fine, and very tricky, serving. Kerber, gathering all the strength she could, broke Suarez Navarro at love when the Spanish player served for the match at 5-4. "There it is," I thought. "The end has come for Carla." But the next thing I knew, the players were in a tiebreak, and--after working so hard to keep things even--Kerber blinked. Repeatedly. The final insult came when the German's superior forehand up the line fired past the baseline on match point.
They played for 2 hours and 41 minutes and, between them, they made 97 unforced errors. They also hit 75 winners, with 45 of those coming off of Suarez Navarro's racket. Suarez Navarro's celebration was kind of intense. However, this was her first time to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, and her next opponent will be Serena Williams, so why not?
Williams had a fight on her hands in her first set against Stephens. She won that fight 6-4, then won the second set 6-1. In the end, it was a routine win for Williams, though if Stephens had kept up her first set mode of play, it would certainly have been more interesting. More interesting, yes--but I don't think the result would have been different.
Jovanovski wins Ningbo title as Kvitova and Kerber...
Hlavackova and Hradecka win U.S. Open doubles cham...
Hlavackova and Mirnyi win U.S. Open mixed doubles ...
There's no Fighting Italian like an old Fighting I...


According to Verified Market Intelligence, The Global Inulin Market was valued at USD 876.3 Million in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 1.6 Billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2018 to 2025.
Inulin is a starchy substance that is found in an array of vegetables herbs and fruits. Inulin can be found in sources such as including onions, wheat, leeks, artichokes, bananas, as well as asparagus. Inulin by definition, is a group of polysaccharides (naturally occurring) which is produced by many types of plants. In the case of industries, Inulin is mostly extracted from chicory. Insulin can be used for several applications that result in benefits such as weight loss and helps with diarrhea, diabetes as well as constipation. These advantages of Inulin are leading to the growth of the Global Inulin Market.
Due to the growing developments for the benefits of inulin, the demand for Inulin is increasing. Factors such as the advantages that inulin have such as its function as a powerful prebiotic fiber which in turns leads to improving bowel function as well as for weight loss are driving the Global Inulin Market. Factors such as the lack of awareness about Inulin as well as side effects such as bloating and gas restrain the markets growth for Inulin.
- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Online Language Learning market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.


Leicester City have more injuries to contend with after Kelechi Iheanacho was forced to visit a specialist over a problem with his toe.
The Nigerian looks set to miss City's first home game of the season against Brighton along with Danny Drinkwater, Vicente Iborra and Robert Huth.
On our latest podcast, Mercury reporters Rob Tanner and Jordan Blackwell have the latest news on all of the injury issues ahead of the return to the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
There's also updates on the transfer front with Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani linked with moves away.
Plus, there's a preview of the meeting with the Seagulls, which sees former fan favourite Anthony Knockaert return to Leicester for the first time.
Listen to the podcast below or search for 'Dilly-Ding, Dilly-Dong' on iTunes.


Everyone's talking about budget cuts and it seems that most schools are doing something to lower their costs. However, they seem to be going about it a bit wrong. Rather than lower the salaries of the fat cats in the head office here are something's that schools have down in order to try to lower their budgets.
Give teachers a trial period and pay them less or get rid of them when the trial period is over.
11 month firings: famous in Korea where a hagwon gets rid of you in the 11th month to avoid paying severance and flights.


text:
Boerensmurf (ook wel: Boeresmurf) is een Smurf die een boer is.

Boerensmurf komt zowel voor in de stripserie als de tekenfilmserie. In de stripserie draagt hij soms een strooien Smurfenmuts en een groene tuinbroek.

In de tekenfilmserie De Smurfen ziet hij eruit als een gewone Smurf. In de Nederlandse tekenfilmversie praat Boerensmurf met een Drents accent (stem gedaan door Frans van Dusschoten), de nieuwe Boerensmurf (stem gedaan door Stan Limburg) heeft geen dergelijk accent. Boerensmurf werd later ingesproken door Freddie Tratlehner (voor de film De Smurfen uit 2011) en Thijs van Aken (voor de film De Smurfen en het Verloren Dorp uit 2017).

De originele stem van Boerensmurf werd onder andere ingesproken door Alan Young (televisieserie De Smurfen), Joel McCrary (De Smurfen uit 2011 en De Smurfen 2 uit 2013), Jeff Dunham (De Smurfen en het Verloren Dorp uit 2017) en David Freeman (3D-televisieserie De Smurfen).

Boerensmurf in andere talen
Engels: Farmer Smurf
Frans: Schtroumpf Paysan
Duits: Farmi Schlümpf

Smurf

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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How to get in touch with relevant external parties?
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An efficient way to create online visibility of your product, brand or treatment, is influencer marketing: the deployment of prominent influencers with large communities on social media and/or blogs. These key figures are seen by their followers as a reliable source of information. People are more easily tempted to believe in something, visit a place or buy your product if they come in contact with it through what they see as an authoritative individual. The opinion of a valued blogger or someone on Twitter is therefore of higher value than an online ad. This makes that influencer marketing is a valuable way to generate awareness online for (the disease) that is affiliated with your brand or product.
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Potomac horse fever (PHF) was confirmed in a pony gelding stabled in Frederick County, Maryland.
On Thursday August 2, 2018, the Maryland Department of Agriculture received confirmation of a case of Potomac horse fever (PHF) from the University of Kentucky's Equine Diagnostic Laboratory.
The PHF was confirmed in a pony gelding stabled in Frederick County. The pony began showing clinical signs on July 26, 2018, and did not respond to treatment. The pony died on July 30, and a necropsy was performed at the Frederick Animal Health Laboratory on July 31.
Four horses were confirmed positive in Albemarle County, Virginia, with one euthanized and the rest under veterinary care.
Three Maryland farms that had horses present at the EHV-1 premises in Virginia have been placed on "hold."


text:
When the past obscures the past
In beaver, museum
If I asked someone to tell me why they think beavers were hunted in the past, I think the most likely answer would be 'for their fur'. As I've done research on the partial extinction then reintroduction of the European beaver, I've come to realise more and more that this answer has to do with the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) in early modern Canadian colonial environmental history than the European beaver (Castor fiber). I think that the importance of the Canadian beaver for the fur trade in the 17th century to make fashionable wide-brimmed felt hats has made us think that this was always why beaver had been killed.
Summary of reasons given for the extinction of the European beaver in the UK in 137 articles (1997-2010)
This is apparent if we look at news coverage of the beaver reintroduction efforts in Scotland (see graph). I did some analysis of 137 newspaper articles from 1997 (when the beaver reintroduction was proposed) to 2010. What I found was that a majority of the articles say that beaver extinction in the UK was caused by hunting. In nearly a third of the articles, a specific use of the hunted beaver is given–and almost always that is for its fur. Killing the beaver for castoreum only gets a mention in one-sixth of the articles and meat shows up in only 4 articles. When it is specified, hunting for fur tops the list of reasons given for why beaver became extinct.
Certainly beavers were used for fur before the 17th-18th century boom in beaver fur for felting. We know that there was an earlier felting industry in Russia: medieval evidence from the 12th century attests to a thriving fur industry, which included beaver, in Novgorod. In the article 'Om Bäfverns Natur, hushållning och fångande' (On the beaver's nature, household and capture) from 1756 by Nils Gisler, he mentions that beaver skins are sold by the people of Jämtland to Norwegian traders so we know beavers in Scandinavia were caught and their fur sold. But Gisler spends the majority of his text on castoreum and meat. He comments about the best time of the month and the year to catch beaver to maximize the gall contents. He notes that everyone who catches beaver eats the beaver meat (which tastes like pork according to him), and beaver tail is both eaten and used medicinally. In the medieval literature, the beaver is always discussed as a source of medicine and meat, never as fur. While this doesn't mean that the fur went unused, I think it should make us pause and reconsider why European beavers were hunted to extinction.
One of the many jars of castoreum canadensis (Castoreum from North American beavers) in the Pharmacy Museum in Riga, Latvia.
If you look at old apothecary collections, castoreum is ubiquitous. In April, I visited the Pharmacy Museum in Riga, Latvia, and containers of castoreum were included in almost every set. These were all labeled as castor. canadens., indicating that the castoreum came from Canadian beavers, which makes sense considering that they are from the 19th century when there weren't really any beavers left in Europe. According to Illuminerade figurer till Skandinaviens Fauna (1832), castoreum of European beaver was stronger than the North American one which was typically found in apothecaries of the time, so if you could find it, it was better. I've written about my experience drinking castoreum liquor and the use of castoreum as a medicine. I've since discovered it was a typical ingredient in early modern recipe books, like The practice of physick in seventeen several books (1655) which includes castoreum in a number of recipes related to women's reproductive issues, diseases of the joints, and fevers. According to Johann Schröder's Zoologia: or, the history of animals as they are useful in physick and chirurgery (1659), castoreum is
profitable in the Lethargy, Apoplexie, Epilepsie, Palsie, Vertigo, trembling of the members, defluxions to the joynts, suffocation of the matrix, the Colick both inwardly and outwardly used. Moreover it helpeth the noise of the ears, and difficulty of hearing (put into the ear) and the toothach.
I plan to look deeper into the medicinal uses of castoreum sometime, but for now, it is sufficient to say that it was a common medicinal ingredient.
Probably one of the best soups I've ever had — beaver tail soup in Tartu, Estonia
As for use as a food, I've previously written about beaver as Lenten fare and its other culinary uses. Earlier in the spring, I had a fabulous beaver tail soup at the Eduard Vilde restaurant in Tartu, Estonia. Perhaps it was similar to the medieval recipes for vegetable soup with beaver meat. If so, then I can see the attraction of beaver meat as a food.
Again, I'm not saying that European beaver fur wasn't a valuable commodity, but fur wasn't the only–and perhaps not even the primary–reason they were hunted to extinction. I think in the case of the beaver, Canadian colonial history has dominated the way we think about the historical relationship between humans and beavers, even though the relationship may have actually changed over time. Sometimes a particular past obscures another past.
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is a character in the manga series The Promised Neverland, created by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Norman is an 11-year-old boy living at Grace Field House. Like Ray and Emma, Norman consistently gets perfect scores on his daily exams. He is known for being a genius strategist and planner, as well as unbeatable at the game of tag. He discovers the truth of the orphanage with Emma and teams up with Ray to devise a plan to escape. While he knows leaving with every child in the house is near to impossible, his love for his sister Emma pushes him to continue trying.

Creation

According to Kaiu Shirai, Norman is the mainstay of the group and had a "lighter" mood compare to Ray and Emma. For his character design, Shirai asked for something like angelic, and a bit ethereal, with a simple design philosophy. Making him look like a moon or a knight of the story.

Posuka Demizu had difficulties creating the character design of Norman, including his body type, face and hair. According to Demizu, Norman was supposed to be slender in his original design, but it was difficult to show the difference between him and the other children. All of them wear the same clothes. So she decided to maintain the current design.

Casting
In the anime adaptation, the character is voiced by Maaya Uchida in Japanese; and Jeannie Tirado voices the character in English. In the live-action film adaptation, Norman was portrayed by Rihito Itagaki.

Appearances

In The Promised Neverland
Norman was born on March 21, 2034. At the beginning of the story on October 12, 2045, Norman is 11-year-old boy living at Grace Field House orphanage. He has blue eyes and short white hair that is parted to his left, with a longer piece curving upwards on the left side of his head. An authentication number, 22194 is tattooed on his neck. As the most intelligent out of the three, he is the first to find out Ray's true identity as Isabella's spy and prepare various back-up plans and escape routes. After Ray is betrayed by Isabella, Norman is forced to be shipped before his 12th birthday, accepting his fate of inevitable death to deceive her and let the rest of the children escape.

However, instead of being put down, Norman is sent to a special research facility called Lambda Λ7214, it was created in order to try to create higher quality human livestock in a faster and more efficient way than the Premium Farms for the tifarti ceremony. He escapes from Lambda and destroys the place after leading the other children held there in an uprising. Afterwards, he establishes a place called The Paradise Hideout for children they rescued from Lambda to live at and prepares a plan to wipe out all demons.

Appearances in other media
Norman appeared in two drama CDs released along with the anime series' first season Blu-ray disc, titled GF House Ghost Disturbance and Gift from the 39th Girl. The stories were originated from the novel A Letter from Norman. Norman also appeared in two other drama CDs titled The day Emma cried and Voice Time Capsule, released along with the anime series' second season Blu-ray disc.

Good Smile Company launched a Nendoroid figure based on the character from the series in June 2021. Norman is a playable character in the mobile game The Promised Neverland: Escape the Hunting Grounds released on iOS and Android. Norman is also a playable character in the crossover collaborations between The Promised Neverland and the smartphone video games Identity V, Jumputi Heroes, Dragon Egg, Vivid Army and LINE POP 2.

Reception

Popularity
Norman was nominated to the Best Male Character category at the 41st Anime Grand Prix in 2019. He was also nominated for the Man of the Year category in the 6th Anime Trending Awards in 2020. Norman ranked at the 1st place in the Color Illustration Character Poll of the series in 2018. In the popularity poll of the series in 2018, Norman is in the 2nd place. He also took the second place in the 2nd popularity poll of the series, with a total of 4763 votes.

Critical response
Brittany Vincent from Syfy praised the character and describes him as "Norman looks fragile but has a calm demeanor and quiet strength about him". Pauline Croquet from the french newspaper Le Monde said that the design of the three main characters, including Norman, is very original and comes out of the shōnen manga typical designs.

See also

 List of The Promised Neverland characters

References

External links

Comics characters introduced in 2016
Male characters in anime and manga
Fictional orphans
Orphan characters in anime and manga
Child characters in anime and manga
Fantasy anime and manga characters


June 15 (Reuters) - James Frawley, Macquarie Group Ltd's U.S. head of mergers and acquisitions, has left the Australian investment bank to join Nomura Co Ltd, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The high-level departure comes as Macquarie continues to slim down its traditional investment banking operations to focus on more stable returns from activities such as retail banking and annuity-style businesses. Japan's Nomura, on the other hand, has been on an investment banking hiring spree in the United States.
Frawley will play a leading role in Nomura's M&A group, the people said, although his new title could not be immediately learned. The sources requested anonymity because Frawley's move has not been made public.
Macquarie and Nomura declined to comment.


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14 Worst Sequels of Bollywood Films That Should not Have Been Made
By Afifa Shah February 18, 2020 February 27, 2020
Movie sequels and prequels are becoming more common than ever. At their best, sequels are a win for both the studios that produce them and the audiences who get to enjoy yet another installment of a familiar story. But it's not just good or successful movies that get sequels. Some bad sequels are even made for movies that weren't especially well received in the first place.
Not all movies are created equal, however, and some sequels leave moviegoers wishing these sequels had never been made.
1- Hathyar (2002)
With so many lovers of Sajay Dutt's Vaastav, the sequel was the biggest heart attack for the fans of the actor. It did not appeal to anyone. What an amazing movie Vaastav was. And what an equally disappointing movie this was!
2- Golmaal Returns (2008)
Golmaal was funny in every way. Even the climax was shot in a funny way. However, Golmaal Returns wasn't as funny as its predecessor. The humour was forced and it was really difficult to laugh at those jokes. Also, the movie stereotyped women in various ways. The only hilarious moment in this movie was when the lead actors masquerade as women.
3- Bheja Fry 2 (2011)
Bheja Fry made Vinay Pathak an overnight star! When it's sequel was announced, everyone was certain it would scale the same heights. But sadly, it was panned by everyone. This sequel wasn't entirely bad. However, the movie could have been better. Although, the movie makers made an effort at making this movie funny, they weren't totally successful. It can be watched once.
4- Double Dhamaal (2012)
Dhamaal was a rare gem. It is loved by almost everyone. Double Dhamaal? It turned out to be a disaster. It was a movie filled with crass jokes and made no sense at all. Even the original actors playing the old characters could not retain the charm of the original movie.
5- Murder 3 (2013)
This movie was released in the year 2013. The director of this movie is Vishesh Bhatt. This film did not do well at the box office. No one really understands why the makers of this film decided to make the third part of the film 'Murder'. The second part was also not good. The third part was even worse. The script was poor and there were many laughable loopholes. It really ruined the image of the original film ' Murder.'
6- Krrish 3 (2013)
Despite loads of money Krrish 3 made, the original Koi Mil Gaya was far better than the sequel. The sequel was nothing but a lame efforts to squeeze the original Hollywood story to make a shabby motion picture. Koi Mil Gaya was judiciously made move with the Extraterrestrial element fitting into the right bill. However, Krrish 3 proved out to be a hotchpotch movie, which simply replicates from a number of sources, which makes the film simply haywire with a very feeble climax.
7- Satya 2 (2013)
Satya is regarded as one of the best movies of all time! And to ruin it with such a pathetic sequel is criminal! Way to go, Verma ji!
JD Chakravarty and Manoj Bajpai's gangster drama worked really well in Satya, mainly because of their acting and also because of Ram Gopal Varma's direction, but the same was not true for the sequel. In the past few years RGV has been losing the plot of the films a lot and has been going into a lot of experimentation, which audiences are not liking at all. That was one reason why the film bombed at the box office. Puneet Singh Ratn did well in the film, but his lean physique and long hair could not create that much fear among the audiences like that of Bhiku Matre and Satya.
8- Jism 2 (2013)
The Bhatts may be popular for copy Korean or Hollywood movies while making their films, but this doesn't mean that they are bad filmmakers. The fact is, they have made some cool movies as well and Jism is one of them. However, the sequel was nothing but a big blunder wherein you had Sunny Leone in one of the most bold avatars, however, it simply lacked the story, which can make it a good movie. The original one had John Abraham and Bipasa Basu who did a cool job in the movie making it worthy to watch, which was missing in the sequel.
9- Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara! (2013)
After the amazing part one of the underworld story, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobara was a roaring disappointment and subsequently tanked at the box office. Akshay Kumar's attempt at being the don of Mumbai proved futile as he was unable to create the same magic that Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi had done in Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. Also Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha's presence did not do much help to the film's story line. It was the story line of the first installment that had intrigued the audiences a lot.
The second installment moved away from being a gangster drama and turned out to be more of a love triangle, which ruined almost all of the goodwill for the franchise.
10- Welcome Back (2015)
I feel sad that they did this. Welcome was one of the most hilarious films produced and ranked in some of the most favourite films of all time. Welcome Back was a cheap, crass continuation of Welcome which was bound to fail at the box office.
11- Hate Story 3 (2015)
I don't think anyone asked for Hate Story to be turned into a franchise! The first film was bad already and there wasn't any need for terrible films being sold only for sex.
Hate Story 3 ! Wow. The Hate Story movie series have gained attention only because of the steamy scenes and skin show. The story has been non-existent in the earlier 2 movies and the acting was also unbearable. The third instalment has Sharman Joshi, Daisy Shah, Zarine Khan and Karan Singh Grover. The movie was just like its predecessors – bad.
12- Rock On 2 (2016)
Magic did not repeat its success at the box office like the first one. I don't think anyone dislikes Rock On. Unfortunately, that can't be said about Rock On 2. Like many other films on this list, this one too didn't go down well with the audiences and they wished the movie hadn't spoiled the legacy of the original film.
13- Great Grand Masti (2016)
The third installment finally failed with its overt sleaze feast. A series that started out as a sleazy sex comedy turned weirder with each installment. Great Grand Masti is about a ghost who wants sex. It doesn't get weirder than that. The movie bombed terribly at the box office and was rejected by the audiences.
14- Sarkar 3 (2017)
The final film of Ram Gopal Verma's Sarkar franchise was not just a flop but a disaster at the Bollywood box office when it released in 2017. There was a lot of expectation from the movie because of the talented star cast, but when this movie came, it really disappointed its audiences. Although Amitabh Bachchan was good as always, the script was weak. The third part did not have the same level as the other two parts had. Some of the scenes were very funny and pointless. It could have been made good and interesting but then maybe it's just tough to make a sequel which is as good as the original film.
Exclusive! 8 Bollywood Celebs Love to do ??? in these Favorite Positions
A Fan Called Taapsee Pannu as 'Female Ayushmann Khurrana', Actress Gave Perfect Reply


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'Promising' treatment against coronavirus coming soon to Baton Rouge
8 months 3 weeks 1 day ago Tuesday, April 28 2020 Apr 28, 2020 April 28, 2020 11:00 PM April 28, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ
By: Trey Couvillion
UPDATE: The FDA approved the drug for emergency use on coronavirus patients Friday. Read more here: https://www.wbrz.com/news/fda-allows-emergency-use-of-drug-for-coronavirus
BATON ROUGE- An experimental, yet promising treatment against coronavirus is on its way to Baton Rouge.
On Wednesday, researchers released their findings on the antiviral drug 'remdesivir.' They say the drug can stop the virus from replicating inside the body, and significantly decrease how long patients need to stay in the hospital.
"This is the first drug that's been proven to work for this disease in a rigorously conducted clinical trial. So it's very exciting," Doctor Hollis O'Neal, the Medical Director of Research at OLOL said.
We are excited to be #BatonRouge's only hospital participating in @GileadSciences' expanded access program to provide #remdesivir to critically ill #COVID19 patients. We will begin enrolling patients on Monday. https://t.co/CHOhWy2ktT
— Our Lady of the Lake (@ololhealth) April 29, 2020
Starting next week, a few patients at Our Lady Of The Lake Regional Medical Center will be receiving the drug through Gilead Science's expanded access program.
"It's a drug that inhibits the replication of the virus, of this coronavirus. It works by inhibiting the enzyme that's required for the virus to actually build its RNA," O'Neal said.
The nation's leading infectious disease expert, Doctor Anthony Fauci, revealed the results of an international clinical trial involving around 1,000 patients.
"What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus," Fauci said. "This will be the standard of care."
Both doctor Fauci and Doctor O'Neal detailed how the drug seems to help patients recover faster from the virus.
"They defined recovery as being discharged from the hospital, back home. And they found that in patients who got the drug, they were discharged, on average, about 11 days later. Whereas if they did not get the drug the patients who got the placebo were discharged at 15 days. And so there was a significant reduction in the amount of time in the hospital for these patients who got the medication," O'Neal said.
Remdesivir is delivered through an IV. It was reportedly created to fight Ebola and is known to have few side effects, according to ABC News.
O'Neal says the biggest difference between this drug and others like hydroxychloroquine is the amount of research done to prove that remdesivir works and is not harmful to patients.
"Hydroxychloroquine has not been through a rigorously conducted clinical trial. There's some that are underway but none that have been completed yet," O'Neal said.
Starting as soon as next Monday, 10 patients at OLOL will start receiving remdesivir. O'Neal says the program will likely be expanded in the coming days.
"The anticipation is now the FDA will probably give an emergency use authorization of the medications, so that it will be widely available on the market," O'Neal said.
Medical experts across the country and world hope this treatment method will continue to prove to be a solid resource in helping patients beat the virus as its access is expanded.
"Prior to now, if you come, you get the most aggressive standard of care for supporting you and allowing your immune system to help us fight the virus. This actually gives us another tool to be able to fight the virus independent of the patients' immune system," O'Neal said.
O'Neal stressed that remdesivir is not the singular miracle drug that people might be hoping for, but he says it is a big step in the right direction towards identifying similar medications and treatments that are proven to stop the spread of COVID-19 inside the body.
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text:
Wines and Vineyards
Grape and wines
Cantina Valsamoggia — Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara
land of fine wines
That along the hills of Bologna is our land: a unique one, a borderland, one with a profoundly Emilian soul yet with a gaze cast towards Romagna. A land of both tradition and innovation, of work and hospitality, and one of unmistakable flavours.
Here the Cantina Valsamoggia has stood for almost a century, located in the area that goes by the same name in the province of Bologna, a winery specialised in the production of the most typical of Bolognese wines.
We are a historical entity, drawing on a century-long tradition 'hands-on' approach to doing things.
In 2016, we joined forces with the Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara, a name which offers a guarantee of excellence. This integration allowed us to further innovate our production processes so as to be able to respond to the needs of an ever more demanding clientele.
We have chosen to look to the future without forgetting the past, safeguarding of our long-standing craft methods, enhanced through the use of modern technologies and cutting-edge machinery.
"Ricordo di San Luca" is born.
The new Pignoletto Brut by Cantina Valsamoggia is dedicated to Bologna.
With a new design, this elegant wine can be tasted in any occasion.
The first bottles of the new Spumante wine by the new Cantina dei Colli Bolognesi are going to be on sale from October.
It's an homage to a region intimately connected to its vines and winemakers.
Dedicated to Bologna by one of its most distinctive symbols beloved by its people.
The homage by Enrico Dicò to Pignoletto by Cantina Valsamoggia.
The roman artist and leading interpreter of the Italian Pop Art dedicates two labels to the new Pignoletto Spumante wine "Ricordo di San Luca".
Two limited edition labels represent a tribute to the longlasting relationship between Bologna and Pop Art and the desire to read the spirit of the younger generations by a universal language like the one captured by the artist Enrico Dicò. Learn more…
It was 1928 when 15 farmers entered the Town Hall of Bazzano to establish a cooperative firm for the processing and sale of grapes: this was to be the Cantina Sociale di Bazzano.
The events of the '30s and '40s – first the devastation caused by phylloxera throughout Italian vineyards, and then the hardship caused by the war years – were to jeopardise the very survival of the newly founded cooperative winery. With a heavy heart, the decision was taken to suspend all activity and let out the space, waiting for better times to come.
The post-war years were those of rebuilding and rebirth, thanks to its enlightened management, aiming at an increase in production, in investments and in the modernisation of the production process.
The '70s and '80s proved to be those of the boom – in terms of the number of members, production levels and turnover – but also ones of experimentation: from wholesale distribution, the move was also made towards in-house bottling and retail, thus valorising the qualitative aspect of wine production.
The following decades would confirm the importance of the Cantina Sociale as a key point of reference for the whole economy of the Samoggia Valley: a position further strengthened in 2016 due to joining forces with the Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara.
We specialise in the production of typical Bolognese wines of the highest quality. Wines with organoleptic properties that are unique in the world, thanks to the particularity of the territory on which the vines grow: the Bolognese hills, lying around 500 to 600 metres above sea level, characterised by a multitude of different terrains, from the most sandy to the most clayey, interspersed by ravines and seams of tuff rock.
In the glass, this diversity becomes a wealth of flavours. From the still reds, like Rosso Bologna, to the sparkling whites – including one of the mainstays of Bolognese oeno-gastronomy: Pignoletto – our range of wines is so broad as to offer the perfect pairing with any dish.
We like to do things properly and to be able to assure the quality of our products. For this reason, the entire production process – from the harvesting and selection of grapes right through to the wine sold directly to the customer – is managed internally.
Every bottle produced has a history to it which is also our own history: a path which is closely monitored and supervised, from the producer right through to the end consumer.
Joining the Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara in 2016 led to improvements along the entire production line, thanks to the adoption of solutions and working methods that allowed us to further refine our winemaking process.
The great care in every stage of production and the careful temperature control of the cellars in which the barrels are stored allow us to obtain wines with unmistakeable aromatic characteristics..
We like to do things properly and to be able to assure the quality of our products. For this reason, the entire production process – from the harvesting and selection of grapes right through to the wine sold directly to the customer – is managed internally. .
The great care in every stage of production and the careful temperature control of the cellars in which the barrels are stored allow us to obtain wines with unmistakeable aromatic characteristics.
From the ruby red typical of still Bolognese wines to the straw yellow of the local whites, our wines offer a palette of hues that reflects the unmistakeable shades of the Bolognese hills in the harvest season.
The range of wines embraces all the key elements of the Emilian oenological panorama, responding to all pairing requirements and adapting to every context.
pignoletto
the 'King of the Hills'
Lively, fresh yet with an antique feel to it, and with a long history of excellence behind it: the 'Re dei Colli' has nothing to envy from more prized whites. Straw yellow in colour, fairly intense and with a delicate aroma and a fine and harmonic flavour, Pignoletto is the local white grape vine par excellence.
An ancient wine – known ever since the first century AD thanks to the description given of it by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia – it has evolved over time, today being appreciated and sought after even abroad.
Its better known types – the light and often sparkling wines from the plains – stand alongside the more structured versions, typical of the hillside areas. This versatility allows it to satisfy the demands of even the most refined palates.
Straw yellow colour, not too intense, with greenish highlights.
Delicate and fruity bouquet; harmonic and persistent flavour.
Produced with at least 95% grapes from the vine of the same name.
Best served at a temperature between 8–10° Celsius in open goblets, where it may unleash its full aromatic potential.


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You've seen them: the photos that make a powder room look like a long gymnasium (with a very low ceiling). While the cause of the stretching may simply be an innocent case of submitting a low-resolution photo, it can turn buyers off, and make it seem like you're trying to misrepresent your home.
If you've ever questioned the necessity of staging, peruse MLS and compare the listings of staged properties to those that aren't. If you think a clean, de-cluttered home warrants the same price as a messy residence with sheets for curtains, then go ahead – skip the staging part.
3. Taking pictures at the wrong time of day (or season).
Chances are, your home probably looks best when the sun is shining and the place is filled with natural light. It also probably looks best in the early summer – when the grass is lush and green and the trees are full of leaves. Obviously, we don't all have the foresight or the luxury of taking listing pictures in the appropriate season, but if you do, go for it.
4. Forgetting to mention desirable features.
If you're selling a corner unit condo – with a lot more natural light than the average unit in the building – mention it! In the same sense, if your home is walking distance to a park, or if it has new hardwood floors, or if you've bothered to improve it in any way – mention it! If you don't, you could be missing out on potential buyers.
Remember – the job of a listing is to entice people to see your home in person. Don't scare them away – or worse, misrepresent your home in a negative way – by skipping a few simple steps.


In an Auto Accident and the Other Driver Takes Off?
And sometimes, he or she is just a jerk who thinks they can get away with it.
If a driver flees the scene, all is not lost. While many police departments do very little in their "hit and run" departments, our law office may be able to identify the driver if you have a license plate. The RI DMV allows access to insurance and registration information if you have a plate of the hit and run vehicle. If you were unable to obtain a license plate, you may still be protected.
Depending on your insurance coverages you may be fully protected and able to obtain compensation for damages to your car, a rental vehicle, and a personal injury claim including medical bills and lost wages. Many people have uninsured motorist coverage on their auto policy and do not even know it. This coverage means that your insurance company will take the place of the insurance company that the at-fault driver should have had if they did not flee the scene. Bear in mind that uninsured motorist coverage is very affordable, so if you do not currently have it on your policy, get it! You never know when you might need it.
The point of this post is to remind you that if you are struck by a hit and run driver, you still have many options not only for your vehicle but also for your personal injuries. Contact our office for a free consultation and we will search high and low to find coverage for your losses.