Rogers Cup Toronto

“Tennis Anyone?”

This is a great week for tennis as the Rogers Cup is here in Toronto! To start this tournament there are 56 singles players in the main draw (48 in qualifying draw) with 28 doubles teams in the main draw. The turf is hard court (deco turf) with Centre Court holding 10,300 seats! Last year (2010) Caroline Wozniacki won the championship in Montreal.

Taking a look at the history of this tournament they state, “Since 1892, the best women's tennis players in the world have showcased their skills on Canadian courts. Only Wimbledon and the U.S. Open have longer histories than the major Canadian stop, which is acknowledged by the tennis world to be one of the best-run tournaments on the Tour. Classified as a Premier 5 event under the WTA Tour Roadmap, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank offers US $2 million in prize money and attracts the brightest stars of women's tennis year after year”.

If you are a fan of tennis legends Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, and John McEnroe are playing the Rogers Legends Cup in a round-robin tournament August 12-14th. This is bound to be a fantastic event!

I must say it’s a great experience watching any tennis match live. This is a great opportunity to see these professionals play in Toronto as they gear up for another grand slam in a few weeks. Don’t know which one that is?! Well, these professionals have to get ready for the US Open (August 29-September 11th)! So get out there this week and see some amazing tennis action live!


Image Source: http://www.rogerscup.com/women/english/home.php

Funny Money & Wimbledon Update #4!

“Plastic Bills” New Treat

I have gotten used to using the very colorful paper bills and coins (for Canadian currency) over the years I have been visiting here. However, using it everyday I have gotten used to paying with “loonies” and "toonies" (two loonies) for things like my coffee each morning. The term "loonie" was adapted after the loon that was seen on the original dollar bill! I must mention here that I have yet to see a loon- but I am on the lookout for one! 

I have acquired a lot of change the past few weeks in which I deposit into a dish by the door. The nice thing about the “change dish” is that eventually you realize that you may have $12 sitting there in change without realizing it! Yeah! I know I’ve said it before, but it really does feel like I took out the Monopoly board game money when I open my wallet to the colorful array of purple, blue and green bills. But looking at all the same green currency of US money I really do like the different colors!


It seems as though I will have to get used to another change in currency here as the Canadian Government is going to switch to plastic bills next year (to replace the paper money) I have just become accustomed to! Just another new "Canadian thing" for this girl to get used to!

Wimbledon Update #4

Time for another update from Wimbledon! The Americans are falling off the draw as we only have a few left in this tournament. S. Williams pulled through this morning with a win against Halep in straight sets (3-6), 6-2, 6-1. The young hopeful with McHale (USA) lost in straight sets against Paszek (AUT) (4-6), (1-6). However, there is still hope for S. & V. Williams, Harrison, Isner and Roddick. If you're inclined to keep an eye on doubles matches, today is also jammed packed with first round matches. Another great day for tennis (I hope the rain holds out)! 

Image Source: http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/photos/2011-06-23/201106231308834106799.html,http://www.revnyou.com/Making_Money_in_Real_Estate_is_as_Easy_as_1-2-3.html

Wimbledon!

“40-Love” New Treat!

Today is the first day of Wimbledon, and tennis fans around the world are not disappointed! The day still continues now (the roof is out because of the rain) but out of 14 Americans playing we have a 5-5 record thus far (more matches are still left to play). It has been a great first round for Venus Williams, Fish, and Sweeting; and still high hopes for Roddick, King, and Glatch.

A great match to start the day was 19-year-old Jersey girl, McHale (USA), who defeated 28^th seed Makarova (RUS). I watched the match and happy to see McHale pull this one out. Just to add to the flavor of this blog there is also a first round match coming up with Falconi (USA) playing Dubois (CAN) today. I hope they show some highlights of this match!

But the surprising story in Wimbledon is the match up between Isner and Mahut! Do you remember watching the longest match in tennis history (played on court 18) last year? Well, if you don’t, it was an intense match and a test of human endurance and mental toughness that spanned 3 days and took 11 hours and 5 minutes over 5 sets! It was an 183-game match 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 with Isner taking the win. Mahut served the first ball of the match at 6.13 p.m. local time on Tuesday June 22. It finally reached its conclusion at 4.48 p.m. on Thursday June 24. Can you believe it?! Well, against all the odds these opponents play again in what will be an epic match that at least will stir up some nostalgia from last year. The question everyone seems to be asking is will they play on Court 18 again or move to a larger court (like Centre Court, Court One, or the new Court Three)? Lots of tennis left to play but this first day is living up to be a great start to the week! 

Image Source: http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2010/0624/scencore.jpg