BUT IT WORKED WITH GREG RUSEDSKI…: Neil Harman revisited what could have been, looking back to when Britain attempted to lure Novak Djokovic to its side with financial (and other) incentives. But Djokovic didn’t budge. “I said, ‘Why the heck? I am Serbian. I am proud of being a Serbian.’ I didn’t want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions,” reflected Nole in Shanghai. “If I had played for Great Britain, of course I would have played exactly as I do for my country, but deep inside, I would never have felt that I belonged.”
ROAD RAGER: The Herald Sun reports Aussie Bernard Tomic‘s controversial father let road rage get the best of him and ran his car (with three passengers, including a young female player) off the road, narrowly avoiding a power pole. “I admit my behavior on the road was wrong and unacceptable,” said John Tomic. “My action was unplanned, spontaneous and based on poor judgments. I truly feel sorry and would like to apologize.” Mr. Tomic has been ordered to complete a behavior modification course.
GOOD QUESTION: A reader of Jon Wertheim‘s Tennis Mailbag posed the following, “Harder to reform: the U.S. healthcare system or the professional tennis tournament schedule?”
NO SURGERY FOR A-ROD: Andy Roddick‘s knee injury, which caused him to pull out of his match against Stan Wawrinka in Shanghai, has been determined to be a mild MCL sprain, and the No. 6-ranked American will not undergo surgery. Doctors have recommended rest and regular treatments, and A-Rod is expected to start activity in two to three weeks, meaning that he would be available for the Nov. 8-15 Paris Masters.
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE: One of the nice features of the U.S. Open is a radio headset that American Express provides free of charge. At the recent Presidents Cup, a similar earpiece cost $15…A tennis industry vet who was recently traveling in Asia had to undergo a stress test, which in America cost about $1,000. The charge there was $20. He also needed an MRI, which cost him $200. In the U.S., it would have been approximately $7,000. He finally underwent an operation, which would have run $175,000 or so in the U.S. There, it was $29,000 – everything included.
THE NUMBERS
66: ATP Tour-best win total for Novak Djokovic in ’09.
23: Net approaches for Czech Petra Kvitova in her 6-4, 7-5 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in Linz. (Who says nobody comes to the net anymore?)
QUOTEBOOK
“I don’t miss tennis in the slightest.” — Tim Henman
“Wimbledon has its English grass. The French Open, its red clay. The U.S. Open has an American hard court…and so does the Australian Open?” — Will Swanton on the PlexiCushion (formerly Rebound Ace) courts of Melbourne
“Unfortunately, I’m this kind of player. I can play very good one week and terrible the next.” – Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who will face fellow countryman Rafael Nadal in the Shanghai Masters semis
