I am now a fan of women's tennis.

The Qatar Total Open tournament is in full sway here in Doha. Tickets were cheap and my daughter said she was bored so we drove ten minutes to the stadium. The onsite ticket system was broken, so this nice guy with an ID necklace and lots of clout took us to VIP seats worth $400. We were so close we could hear the coin they tossed hit the court. We watched two matches then had to go because my daughter had chemistry homework. I never watch sports--it was surreal and kind of exciting.

ugh, no Eugenie Bouchard and no Maria Sharapova? That's no tournament

I can't stand sports on TV, and I'm one of the few guys around who have zero interest in soccer/football (which side of the pond again?). But I *always* enjoy watching them directly.

That totally non-creepy man in the blue anorak sitting alone with his partially obscured hand and crossed legs looks to be a fan of women's tennis as well.

I don't want to begrudge any professional athletes any money they might make from modeling, and hate to deny anyone their F:AT/Fratboy fantasies, but this whole Sharpova/sex symbol thing is silly. I googled one of the Italian players who was in the first match, and in the glamour shots she looked like a supermodel. On the court she looked like a very pissed off, focused athlete. Same with Kvitova. They have legs like the superhero women in "The Marvel Way to Draw" of my wasted youth. It would be interesting to see supermodels without makeup, playing tennis for comparison. I guess my point is that tennis beauty is as illusory as anything else.

I think it should be called "Transgendered Tennis" because it's pretty obvious that the Williams Bristers are not actually women.

SuperflyTNT wrote: I think it should be called "Transgendered Tennis" because it's pretty obvious that the Williams Bristers are not actually women.

There does seem to be the possibility of performance enhancing drugs.