Mildly Interesting Factoids

Today we are going to talk about two relatively little things that I find mildly interesting. (Wow, this sounds like a very engaging blog post! You are such an interesting writer, Jodi!)

1) When asked what his most heartbreaking loss this year was, Roger Federer answered with 'losing the Halle final to Lleyton Hewitt.' Wow, dude, you, like, really love Halle. Possibly more than Wimbledon? I know Halle is your tournament and you've said that you'll play there for ever and ever and ever, and yes, I did get a bit angry at you when you lost...

...but more heartbreaking than the F^&* THE WOOOOOOOOOORLD!!!!!!1! moment we all went through with the Berdych match at Wimbledon? Or even the Soderling match at Roland Garros? Or Djokovic at the US Open, with the match points? I do not think so.

2) Dinara Safina is playing Hobart next year. Now, we all know that Hobart is the Mickey Mousiest of the all the Mickey Mouse tournaments, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad move for Dinara. If she can get some wins in here, she might get a bit of confidence back. And certainly match play.

If she loses early, however... the inverse will be true. Times a thousand.

Wild Wild Cards

The wildcard action continues apace, with two more wildcards being awarded to Aussie girls for tournaments this summer: we have Casey Dellacqua carded into Sydney (which is hardly a surprise - actually, I'm surprised that she didn't make it in on her own recognisance. The field must be mighty.) And then we have little-known but recently-impressive Olivia Rogowska making her WTA debut in the Moorilla Hobart International.

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I've said enough about Casey over the last year for her to need no introduction, and doubtlessly I'll say more over the course of the Hopman Cup (which starts on Saturday! Finally, tennis!) but she's a beautiful little player, and I'd love to see her make a big run in Sydney. 'Nough said.

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But Olivia Rogowska... I've never seen her play, but I like the sound of her a lot. She won the very competitive Sorrento International - that was a Pro circuit tournament, yeah, but it was worth $25,000! Man, if you're good at tennis, you must make some pretty sweet dollars. Anyway, she's hardly going to win the Hobart tournament, but it's just so nice to see we have some good female players coming up. Rogowska and Jess Moore both should do well at Hobart - again, my goal is for one of them to win a match. And then with Isabella Holland and Monica Wejnert in Brisbane, I think we can be pretty proud of our girls. It'd be nice if we could have a good run in the juniors at the Aussie Open. The world better watch out for them - perhaps Monica Wejnert especially.

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And today, on Tennis From The Backseat, we are debuting a new segment. I went and played tennis with my brother Josh yesterday, who is twelve and an excellent player, and he smashed me with his topspin (his words, not mine.) He also spent a long time correcting my technique (and lack thereof) and his advice was so sound I thought it deserved a little segment of its own. So here today, I present the first of Jumping 'J-Mac' Josh's Tennis Tips:

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Josh's Tennis Tips

Focus: Forehand

Today's Tip: Gripping A Racquet

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To grip a tennis racquet you will need to create a 'V' shape with your thumb and pointer finger on the top side of the grip. You place your hand at the 'butt' (bottom of the grip) to get the most power in your shots and to reach the ball quicker. This is to prevent any injury in your wrists, forearm, biceps and triceps.