BELGIAN REDUX: The rumors had it right. Her retirement barely a year old, 27-year-old Justine Henin will return to the WTA Tour beginning in January 2010. The seven-time Slam champ plans to play exos in Belgium and Dubai in preparation for the Aussie Open. Was she motivated by her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters‘ run at the U.S. Open? “Subconsciously, it might have had an impact, but it certainly was not the most important reason,” she said.
INDY POP: The USTA designated the Indianapolis Tennis Center (on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue) as its newest Certified Regional Training Center in order to better serve competitive juniors in the Midwest Section.
TENNIS STUBS ITS TOE AGAIN: Maybe tennis players just weren’t cut out for the dance floor. First Monica Seles bombed out on “Dancing with the Stars.” Now Martina Hingis has been voted off the BBC show “Strictly Come Dancing.”
A BRAVE GIRL: U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin threw out the first pitch before the Sept. 19 Braves-Phillies game.
THE NUMBERS
78: Record number of aces served up by Ivo Karlovic in a nearly six-hour 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 16-14 Davis Cup loss to Radek Stepanek.
3: Times Ivo Karlovic has blasted 50 or more aces only to lose.
92: Percent of his service games that Ivo Karlovic has won in 2009, tops on the ATP Tour ahead of Andy Roodick (91 percent) and Roger Federer (90 percent).
1,500: Dollars Roger Federer was fined for dropping the “S” word on the chair umpire during the U.S. Open final.
QUOTEBOOK
“Like me, del Potro is from a small, poor town, which gave him tremendous desire and discipline to win. This hunger was a joy to watch as history was made on the court.” — Pancho Segura on fellow South American Juan Martin Del Potro‘s U.S. Open victory
“How would we be reacting if the athlete doing the yelling, cursing and threatening were a man? Serena went way, way over the line, but my gut tells me a woman going nuts like that just does a number on our collective sense of what’s appropriate for a woman.” — Kurt Streeter on Serena Williams‘ USO meltdown
