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Gilles Simon: heartthrob or hater?

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By Ashley Babich


Well, someone was drinking his daily dose of haterade!
The usually-admired French ATP player Gilles Simon (ranked #13) enflamed some in the tennis community this week when he expressed his opinion about equal prize money between men and women at Grand Slam tournaments.
Simon is a newly elected member of the ATP Player’s Council, and he will serve a two-year term which ends in June 2014. He used this new role as an avenue to discuss his thoughts about gender and money. (Really, he might as well open the can of worms the rest of the way and bring up politics and religion, too, right?)
In the words of Simon:

“I have been on the Tour for a long time, and have learned a lot about tournaments and players. I have some ideas to share with the other players, and feel it is important for us to work together and make good decisions. Tennis is at the top and we want to continue to improve.”

Apparently, when Simon says, “some ideas,” what he really means is ‘erasing tennis history and angering all female tennis players and scores of tennis fans.’
Simon went on to say that “equal prize money has no place in tennis” and that the men “provide a more attractive spectacle.” (Goodness. Someone sure is bursting at the seams of his adidas-sponsored clothes with confidence.)
He continued:

“We often speak of equality in wages. I think this is not something that works in sport…I think today men’s tennis is ahead of women’s tennis… [In a] Grand Slam, men spend twice as much time on the courts than women.”

After his comments went public, Twitter was abuzz with Simon-bashing, and many users were quick to point out that the four Grand Slams are the only tournaments where there is a set difference; at all other tournaments throughout the year, both men and women play to best of three sets.
This is obviously a polarizing topic, and not many other players will touch it with a ten-foot tennis racquet.
When asked about Simon’s comments after his 2nd-round win at Wimbledon, Roger Federer minimized the need for debate:

“I hope it doesn’t become a big issue during Wimbledon. It’s obviously a debate that’s out there ever since, I guess, the Slams have made equal prize money. There’s nothing you can do, anyway, about it. It’s just a matter of who believes what, and then that is an endless debate. So whatever you believe.”

But one tennis player who would take a decisive stand and offer a true opinion on Gilles Simon?
WTA American player Sloane Stephens:

“I don’t care what he says about anything. He hit me with a ball the first time I was a ball kid. He hit me in the chest, because he lost a point and lost the set. He turned around and slammed the ball with his racket and hit me … and I’ve never spoken to him since then.”

So, David Nalbandian, looks like you’re off the hook for a while. There’s a new tennis tough guy in town.
Ashley Babich is a writer for Tennis Grandstand and has co-authored for the tennis blog Four Hands on Court. Follow her on twitter for more humorous updates at @tennissmash.

Sam Stosur defeats Sloane Stephens to set up quarterfinal meeting against Dominika Cibulkova

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By Melinda Samson, Special for Tennis Grandstand

Prior to Sunday’s fourth round match at Roland Garros, Sam Stosur had never played against 19-year-old, 70th ranked Sloane Stephens from America. Like Stosur, Stephens had not lost a set during her first three matches. But unlike Stosur, this was the first time Stephens had made it through to the second week of a grand slam.
Originally scheduled to be the final match played on Court Philippe Chatrier, the match was moved to Court 1 due to long running men’s matches, meaning a much smaller crowd and less intense atmosphere.
The first set started steadily with Stephens taking the first break during Stosur’s fourth service game at 4-3. She held the break until Stosur, broke back to level the score at 5-5. Stosur then held serve and went on to break Stephens again, aided by Stephens’ double fault on set point, to win the set 7-5.
Stosur came out firing at the start of the second set, quickly getting a double break to lead 5-1. But then nerves seemed to creep in as Stosur twice failed to serve out the match and Stephens was able to win the next three games. With the score line at 5-4, Stosur broke Stephens’ serve to close out the set at 6-4, winning the match in 1h 23m.
After the match Stosur commented on Stephens’ pressure during her post-match press conference:
“She came out playing very aggressive and kind of got me off guard. I went down that break and got a little bit mad with myself and then recomposed and yeah, really tough to come back from 5-3.”
Stosur’s win puts her through to the Roland Garros quarter finals for the third time in the last four years. She will play 15th seed Dominika Cibulka of Slovakia, who upset world world number one and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets earlier in the day.
Keep an eye out for talented Stephens in the future, especially at the French Open as clay is her favourite surface.
Follow Tennis Grandstand for updates on all the Australian players’ progress throughout the main draw of the French Open.
Melinda Samson is attending Roland Garros and will be writing updates on Australian players through their trek of the tennis world’s second slam. She also manages the website Grand Slam Gal and is attempting to do the fan version of a tennis grand slam in 2012. Follow her on Twitter for further live updates @GrandSlamGal.

US ladies score a perfect 10 in Paris

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By Andrea Lubinsky

American women went undefeated, winning all ten of their matches in the first two days of the French Open. This statistic is impressive on its own. Any country would be thrilled to have ten players in the second round. However, considering that most Americans don’t favor the clay, and add in some pretty big wins from young up and comers, this was a rather surprising turn of events.

 
Perhaps the biggest upset of the day on the women’s side came in the form of Bethanie Mattek-Sands straight sets victory over 12th seed, Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki has never been the picture of consistency due to various injuries, but either way, this was an excellent win for Mattek-Sands to set up a second round 19 year-old Sloane Stephens, who also had a very impressive performance, beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Teenager Lauren Davis served up two breadstick sets (6-1, 6-1) against the 30th seed, Mona Barthel, which sets up another American vs American second round as she will face off against Christina McHale. This guarantees the Americans at least two women in the third round, but possibly several more.
Other notable wins came from Melanie Oudin who has been struggling, Vavara Lepchenko, who was down match points against Ksenia Pervak, and Christina McHale who toughed out Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in three sets. Vania King, Irina Falconi, Alexa Glatch, and Venus Williams rounded out the two day domination, all winning their first round encounters. Interestingly, based on the first set, it looked like Williams could have been the first to falter. Down 6-4 to Paula Ormaechea of Argentina, it looked like Venus may have been half way out the door, but being the veteran that she is, Williams cruised in the second set, winning 6-1, before comfortably closing out the match 6-3 in the third.
Looking ahead, the US ladies won’t have much time to celebrate as several of them will face off against very difficult opponents in the second round. Perhaps one of the most anticipated matches when the draw was released, Venus Williams will compete against No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska for a spot in the third round. Irina Falconi also faces an uphill battle as she will play 2010 finalist and reigning US Open champion, Samantha Stosur in the second round. Unfortunately for the Americans, Oudin, Glatch, Lepchenko, and King will all also face seeded opponents in round two.
If the ladies are aiming to make it a truly perfect first round, Serena Williams and Jamie Hampton will also have to score wins in their matches on Tuesday.

WTA Strasbourg Day 5 recap and photos: Francesca Schiavone, Alize Cornet to meet in finals

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By Romana Cvitkovic

Tennis Grandstand photographer Rick Gleijm is in Strasbourg, France covering the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament live all week. The singles and doubles finals are set and will feature Italian Francesca Schiavone against Alize Cornet, and the number 1 doubles seed of Nicole Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova taking on number two seed Olga Govortsova and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik.
RESULTS – FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012
Singles
[W] Alize Cornet d. Pauline Parmentier 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
[2] Francesca Schiavone d. Sloane Stephens 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
[1] Nicole Grandin/Vladimira Uhlirova d [4] Timea Babos/Su-Wei Hsieh 0-6, 6-2, 12-10
Check back tomorrow for finals coverage direct from center court by our photographer Rick Gleijm! Scroll down for today’s full gallery of over 70 photos.
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WTA Strasbourg day 2 roundup and photos

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By Romana Cvitkovic

Tennis Grandstand photographer Rick Gleijm is in Strasbourg, France covering the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament live all week. Main draw action continued today and saw several more seeds fall including Maria Kirilenko, Mona Barthel and Marina Erakovic, while number two seed Francesca Schiavone eased through.
2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone may not have had her best serving day, but she converted enough break points to give her a solid win over Romanian Alexandra Cadantu, 6-1, 6-2, and was the only seed to survive the day. Number three seed Maria Kirilenko retired with an ankle injury giving American Sloane Stephens a pass to the next round after splitting the first two sets, 6-3, 5-7. Number five seed and newest WTA Tour breakout player, Germany’s Mona Barthel went down to Russian qualifier Alexandra Panova 3-6, 6-7(7). Barthel double faulted ten times, struggled to hold her second serve and faced 18 break points, while only converting on three. Shahar Peer refueled in the second set against Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak, handing her a bagel to seal the win, 7-5, 6-0. Japan’s Ayumi Morita sent the day’s last seed, number six Marina Erakovic, home in commanding form, 6-1, 6-3.
Other notable wins include Mirjana Lucic’s handling of Anne Keothavong. After easily winning the first set, Keothavong served for the match at 5-3, before Lucic fought back to win the next four games and force a third set which she won with a final score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Johanna Larsson of Sweden sent American qualifier Lauren Davis home in three hotly contested sets that lasted just under three hours, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Timea Babos, a former junior doubles champion at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, moved onto the next round when Anastasija Sevastova retired just three games into the match. 2009 Strasbourg runner up, Lucie Hradecka moved on as did French wildcards Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano.
Check back each day to catch all new action direct from the courts by our photographer Rick Gleijm! Scroll down for the full gallery below.
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Wozniacki, Radwanska, Bartoli out of the Rome Open

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By Lisa-Marie Burrows

Internazionali BNL D’Italia, Rome – It was all about the women’s matches out on the red courts of Rome today. There were some exciting line-ups, fantastic rallies and staggering losses. Many of the matches were scheduled around the same time, so with a lot of running, camera ready and comfy shoes here are some of the exciting matches I was able to catch today.
Agnieszka Radwanska versus Petra Cetkovska:
Cetkovska defeated Radwanska 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
This was the first featured match up in the Super Tennis Stadium and indeed the match was super. World No.28 Petra Cetkovska recorded yet another victory against world No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska to improve her head-to-head 4-0. Radawanska was certainly not playing in the same form that I witnessed last week in Madrid where she reached the semi-finals. Cetkovska made her debut here this year, as she has never played in this tournament before and after today’s performance, she looked quite at home and withstood the fight back from the Pole.
Flavia Pennetta versus Sloane Stephens:
Pennetta defeated Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
The home crowd favourite Flavia Pennetta opened up play in the Pietrangeli stadium surrounded by huge Roman statues in front of a packed audience, where she has made her appearance for the tenth time at the tournament. The world No.21 delighted her supporters with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the qualifier Sloane Stephens. The two players had played against each other on one other occasion which Pennetta won back in 2010. The young 19 year old had no answers today against the power of Pennetta and with the impartial crowd heavily cheering on their girl, Pennetta comfortably progressed into the next round.
Samantha Stosur versus Sara Errani:
Stosur defeated Errani 6-3, 7-5

Samantha Stosur was pleased to get through her match.

Samantha Stosur and Sara Errani have met on four previous occasions, all in favour of Stosur, but today the 25 year old Italian stood tall against the world No.5 and pushed her to the brink during the second set. In their last meeting in Dubai Stosur lost only one game against her but today, with the crowd becoming heavily involved Stosur went down a break and was almost staring at going into a third set. Eventually the aggressive play of Stosur withstood and after breaking back to level up the second set, she broke again in the eleventh game before serving it out.
Caroline Wozniacki versus Anabel Medina Garrigues:
Medina Garrigues defeated 6-4, 4-0 (retired).
Caroline Wozniacki looked uncomfortable from the onset.

Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki stepped out onto the small Court 2 against Spaniard Medina Garrigues not feeling well from the onset. She went down a break early in the first set and the trainer was called onto court. Wozniacki continued battling through most of the rallies in the first set and managed to come back from 1-4 down before eventually losing 6-4. Once again at the start of the second set, Wozniacki was broken on two further occasions and due to upper respiratory problems, she was forced to retire.
7th seed Bartoli was defeated by Julia Goerges in straight sets

In other news, 7th seed Marion Bartoli was another seed knocked out in straight sets 3-6, 1-6 against world No.29 Julia Goerges and Sorana Cirstea defeated Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden by exactly the same scoreline 6-3, 6-1.

Lisa-Marie Burrows covered the Mutua Madrid Open last week and is currently in Rome covering the all of the action from the Masters. Catch her as a regular contributor for TennisBloggers.com and on Twitter: @TennisNewsViews.

Young Americans Struggle at Family Circle Cup

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The youth movement has stalled temporarily.
Among the American women, the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, SC has belonged to the tour veterans. The tournament began with 10 main draw players from the United States but only four remain: 5th seed Serena Williams, 30, wildcard Venus Williams, 31, qualifier Jill Craybas, 37, and Varvara Lepchenko, 25, an Uzbek-American who turned pro back in 2001.
The younger Americans have not fared well. Aside from fast-rising Jamie Hampton’s win over compatriot Sloane Stephens, 19, in the first round, none of the other players aged 23 or younger made it into the second round. The 22-year-old Hampton, who is ranked No. 92 in the world, would go on to lose in the following round to second seed Sam Stosur.
Eleventh-seed Christina McHale, 19, faded down the stretch in a three-set loss to Aleksandra Wozniak – marking the first time this year she has lost to a player ranked below her. Twenty-three-year-old Vania King, the 3rd ranked American behind the younger Williams and McHale, exited in straight sets to 12th seed Yanina Wickmayer.
Wildcard Irina Falconi, 21, has hit a slump after exceeding expectations last year. Currently ranked No. 99 in the world, Falconi will have to find her game quickly in order to reach her goal of qualifying for the Olympic team.
Melanie Oudin, ranked No. 304 in the world, needed to win two qualifying matches for a spot in the main draw. Despite losing in three sets to 10th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, the 20-year-old can take positives away from her experience in Charleston. Oudin showed glimpses of her confidence and fighting spirit that defined her earlier in her career with victories over Heather Watson and Petra Rampre, her first WTA Tour wins this season.
With plenty of tennis to be played, these young players have a lot to look forward to. The spotlight may belong to them in the future, but for the rest of the week in Charleston, it’s the veterans’ time to shine.
(Photo of Christina McHale by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Rising Star Sloane Stephens Impresses On and Off the Court

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Photo by Amanda Schwab/Startraksphoto.com

At just 19, things definitely seem to be falling into place for Sloane Stephens. This week, she broke into the WTA Top 75 for the first time in her career after a run through qualifying to the third round in Miami. She’s smart, funny, and has a smile that could blind a room full of people. To sum it up, she’s a marketing dream, and as she climbs the rungs of the WTA ladder, we will most definitely be seeing more of her. Under contract with Lagardere Unlimited, Stephens already has endorsements from Under Armour, Head, and Johnson and Johnson. Making a pit stop between Miami and Charleston, Stephens stopped in New York last week to promote the launch of BENGAY® Zero Degrees™, a cooling pain relief gel, and I was graciously afforded the chance to sit down and chat with the up and coming star in the Sky Apartment the London Hotel.
Having just come back from an excursion to find some real New York pizza, I asked Sloane how she was enjoying the city. In town for just a day or two, it seemed like pizza was the best she was going to get on this particular trip, but she did enjoy the view of Central Park from the Sky Apartment. When I asked her if she’d ever gotten a chance to explore the park on previous trips, she explained, “Not really. I mean, I’ve seen Central Park, when I’ve been here, but I’ve never actually walked through it. I’m too scared, cause I keep seeing on like, you know, Law and Order how everyone always dies in Central Park.” That served to break the ice as the teenager grabbed her racket and a seat on the floor, rather than the couch.
Over the next half hour, we had the chance to talk about her love of clay, crazy fans, her off court fashion choices, and, of course, Twitter.
Clay
Ask most American players about their favorite surface and you will almost always hear hard courts, or occasionally grass, never clay. Sloane lit up at the mention of the upcoming clay season, putting Paris up there as her favorite tournament next to Miami and Indian Wells. Growing up in Fresno, she explained, there was only one clay court in town and it was “so trendy” to play on it. Always reserved, Stephens would only get the chance to play on the trendy court once a month or so, dramatically exclaiming, “that was like devastating.” Her move to Florida only served to enhance her love of the dirt, “we played on clay everyday because they only have clay. Like when I was at Evert, they only have clay. It was like the best thing ever. I like it so much cause we could never play on it, it was so cool.” I would guess the fact that most clay tournaments take place in the warm weather doesn’t hurt, as Stephens found the 50-degree New York weather downright frigid.
Photo by Amanda Schwab/Startraksphoto.com

Crazy Fans
You won’t find Sloane Stephens wandering the grounds seeking attention. In fact, you may not notice her at all, and she likes it that way. “I go low key. I go with the hoodie on, with the headphones in, with like no, not even wearing my badge, with my badge in my pocket, so I don’t even look like I belong there. “ It’s going to get tougher for her to blend in with the fans. The young American is already starting to get recognized in tennis circles.
She had a couple of interesting stories to offer up. “Oh my god, like this guy yesterday. His daughter was playing and they had gotten out of the car and we got out of the car at the same time and he walked up and he was like, ‘you look so much bigger on TV.’ I was like ‘thank you? Do I look little now, or what?’ He was like, I think he said, ‘you look like a little gazelle or something.’ I was like, ‘wait, so what do I look like on court again?’ He was like, ‘you look HUGE on court on TV.’ I was like, ‘well, ok, thanks…’”
This wasn’t the only strange experience. Some fans treat Stephens like a longtime friend. I can understand the mistake, since she is easy to talk to, but she draws the line at fans that dole out advice. “Like on my birthday, this guy came up to me, ‘you know if you want to hit your slice more crosscourt, you’ve got to do this, this and this.’ And I was like ‘do I know you?’”
She does love the support she gets on US soil though, and was touched when the fans in Miami sang her Happy Birthday after her match. She particularly likes the outside courts at the US Open where people pack in even on the tiniest court to cheer her on.
Fashion & Twitter
While most 19 year old girls would have nightmares about fitting their life into a suitcase and travelling for weeks at a time, Sloane has no problems packing light, since she rarely has to dress up, the only exception being mandatory player parties. When she does get dressed up, she still likes it hot. “I like when you go outside and you start sweating, like in your nice dress clothes and you just start, your pits just start flowing. That’s more my thing.” Joking around, she explained, “I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have a boyfriend. I mean, I have no one to impress.” Whether she likes it or not, she’s already making an impression on the tennis world, and if she’s looking, it’s doubtful that single status will last long.
Aside from her tennis goals this year, Sloane has set herself a Twitter target, 30,000 followers by the year’s end. She admits this might be a bit lofty as she currently has a little over 5,000, and thinks 15,000 would be a great accomplishment. As candid as she is in interviews, Sloane is a must follow on Twitter. You can find her at @sloanetweets.

Vania King: A Model of Consistency

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Vania King, ranked No. 54 in the world, will take on the 15th seed Ana Ivanovic in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, FL.

Call it the Vania King generation.
With the Williams sisters seemingly nearing the end of their careers and the focus of American tennis turning to young rising stars such as Christina McHale and Sloane Stephens, King remains one of the standout players who fits neither group – the other being 26-year-old Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a former American No. 1.
The oft-overlooked King has reached success mostly as a doubles player – winning the 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open women’s doubles titles with partner Yaroslava Shevdova – but has enjoyed a consistently strong singles career as well.
The 23-year-old southern California native turned pro at the age of 17 in July 2006. She would go on to reach a career high of No. 50 in the world a few months later. Since then, King has never finished a season ranked lower than No. 129. She is now the third ranked American behind Serena Williams and McHale at world No. 54.
And she is just getting started.
“I think my game has evolved a lot,” King told Tennis Grandstand. “Most importantly, my motivation and my confidence have been good. I’ve been happy with playing. Obviously, I feel like my tennis has improved. I feel like I have a lot to improve still. It’s always a good thing to know that you can be better – I’ll have something to look forward to.”
When speaking of her current status in the game, King turned philosophical.
“I’m trying not to worry too much about the ranking; I’m trying to focus on each match and my game itself,” she said. “I feel like if you’re playing well, the results will come. It’s not a reflection of the number that you have, it’s more of a reflection of the work you’ve done before.
Although her only WTA title came in 2006 at the now defunct PTT Bangkok Open, King has experienced a recent surge in success at the big stages. A run into the third rounds at last year’s French Open and U.S. Open was followed by a third round finish at the 2012 Australian Open – her best results at the majors.
At the BNP Paribas Open last week, King came down with the stomach virus that affected many other players and was forced to withdraw after posting two strong victories over higher ranked opponents. Still not feeling 100 percent, she defeated Laura Pous-Tio to open her Sony Ericsson Open campaign in Miami. She takes on 15th seed Ana Ivanovic, who defeated her earlier this year in Melbourne, in the second round.
Even with the success on court, King has never been one to let tennis consume her life. The youngest of four children of Taiwanese immigrants – her brother Phillip was also a professional tennis player – King has found passions in other outlets. A very talented singer, she has performed at baseball stadiums and night sessions at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Additionally, King has been taking online classes for the past half year.
“I think I’d be something like a guidance counselor for kids, that’s something that I want to pursue,” she said, when asked what career she would have chosen aside from tennis. “I haven’t declared my major yet, but I’m studying online right now. I’d like to work in something like elementary education or psychology.”
King may not be the headline American player at tournaments or have experienced a notable break out match that some of the younger players have, but she has been a stalwart of the U.S. contingent ever since turning pro.
If it feels like Vania King has been around the pro tennis circuits for a long time, it is because she has. And she is not going anywhere, anytime soon.
(Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images North America)

Comebacks, Smiles and Wins: Tuesday at the Sony Ericsson Open

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Day one of any tennis tournament can be overwhelming. But multiply that by 3 and add two 128-player draw for both the WTA and ATP and you have yourself a full-blown tennis party at this year’s Sony Ericsson Open held in Key Biscayne, Florida.
Although the women’s first round just began today and the men’s will begin tomorrow, there was still plenty of tennis around the grounds for fans to enjoy. From matches, to intense player practices, to fun off-court promotions, there was something in store for every age. The temperature was steady and warm, but the sun made it feel balmier than the 80 degrees that it registered.
Walking the grounds during the first couple of days of a tournament as large as this, you may be surprised to find the atmosphere calm, but therein lies the beauty. In order to see the elite practice, it’s best to come at the very beginning when there aren’t as many restrictions around the site and you have easy access to players.
Having never been to Crandon Park before while the Sony Ericsson Open was in session, the nature and palm trees nearly persuaded me into a vacation attitude. But I had work to do. I entered the media center and situated myself with my laptop, camera, chargers, schedule and personal flatscreen tv — all just steps away from stadium court. As I looked out over the stadium, top Serb Novak Djokovic was basking in the mid-day sun as he practiced against Xavier Malisse. Djokovic’s morning session took a more serious tone while his afternoon session near dusk was more light-hearted in order to please the fans that had converged to watch – which were numerous!
Also spotted were Maria Sharapova working on baseline shots extensively, and countless shirtless men sweating and playing to their hearts’ content on the practice courts. Needless to say, there were also many matches in progress, but the interest by fans was spread evenly between the practice sessions and the matches.

Highlights of the day

Venus Williams: In what turned out to be an emotional day on the WTA tour with the return of both Venus and Alisa (below), the former is back on court and practicing! Need I say more? Well, yes, actually. As wonderful and courageous as she has been, her Sjogren’s is something she will need to manage for the rest of her life. As good as she looks, she was visibly frustrated during her practice session, consistently hitting balls at wrong angles and sending them flying into neighboring courts. One thing is for sure though: she knows when to be fierce on court and when to smile once the work is done.
Alisa Kleybanova: In what has become the story of the day, Kleybanova came back after 10 months of being off the tour due to treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma and basically rocked the tennis world off its axis. If you want to talk about a fighter and a strong woman, just use her as the example. She fought off world #64 Johanna Larsson in three mighty sets and afterward couldn’t stop smiling and hugging friends and coaches, and chatting up fans. If you ever needed a feel-good story in tennis, there you have it.
Milos Raonic and Jurgen Melzer: The Canadian in person looks even larger than his 6’5” frame would have you believe. The towering “Missile” is mostly legs though, as his normal-sized Lacoste shorts constantly ride up on his long legs. His left knee though is still alarmingly taped up. This is the same knee that was feared to be a serious injury which forced him to pull out of the Davis Cup. However, I hope the tape job is just precautionary. Melzer, on the other hand, looked great and invoked the same strategy in the practice set as he had used to beat Raonic in Memphis: pull Raonic to the net wide as quickly as possible and pass him into the open court with Raonic on the wrong foot to recover. Worked like a charm.
Bernard Tomic: Where do I begin? Here we have a 19-year-old boy who gets speeding tickets yet has no problem being the only player of a group to stop, bend over to a young fan and sign autographs. One who is constantly bombarded by the media as having a rude or offensive demeanor, yet none of this was seen today. Instead, the focus of why Tomic might be viewed the way he is should fall on his father John (Ivica) who is originally from Croatia. Having myself been born there, I’ve stayed fluent with the language and so had the privilege of watching Tomic’s afternoon practice session on a side court and actually understanding what was being said. And boy, did it not disappoint. John hounded his son nearly the entire time from the chair on court – yelling, pointing, talking, or simply swearing in Croatian at his son’s inabilities. It was quite honestly disturbing and somewhat saddening. Tomic is one of the brightest youngsters on the tour, but to see the background he comes from makes me question how far he will really go before he cracks emotionally. Take away: get yourself a non-relative coach, Bernard.
Sloane Stephens: The young American continues to prove her place in the upper echelons of tennis as today she defeated former top-30 player Sania Mirza in two easy sets, 6-2, 6-4. At the conclusion of the match, fans busted out in a fun rendition of “Happy Birthday!” in honor of Stephens turning nineteen today. She instantly got shy and covered her immensely smiling face. A few minutes later she joked, “Why didn’t you bring me any gifts?!” Touche, Stephens.
Practice Courts C & D: Another personal highlight of mine was these two practice courts. To me, there was no better tennis for your buck than watching the practice sessions that took place there. At any one time, four ATP players and two WTA players would take the court and hit at the same time. Whether it was Marcos Baghdatis and Ivo Karlovic on the same side or Ryan Harrison and Viktor Troicki during another hour, these courts were not short on talent – or laughs! Don’t believe me? Check out the great candid shots of Baghdatis below!
Shirtless Men: Last, but definitely not least, the hot weather tends to bring out shirtless male players. Namely, Janko Tipsarevic, Gilles Simon and Philipp Kohlschreiber. I can’t complain.
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