WILANDER TO STEP DOWN: Mats Wilander“s days as Sweden”s Davis Cup captain have come to an end. The seven-time Slam champ, who cited “private reasons” for his decision to step down, has headed team Sweden since “03. Said the Hall of Famer, “It was a difficult decision.”
MORE NEWS FROM SWEDEN: Swedish police say two tennis players solicited prostitutes prior to the Stockholm Open. The athletes” identities remain a mystery, although Swede Joachim Johansson called out a few of his colleagues in a blog that has since been removed: “[Juan] Monaco found out last night that he was accused in the Argentine press of being the player who bought sex during the weekend while [Ernests] Gulbis already acknowledged. [Monaco] will probably have a difficult time before the match on Wednesday. I”ll try to take advantage of it early in the match…” (Johansson won 6-4, 6-4.)
IF LOOKS COULD KILL: A Chinese reporter asked Nikolay Davydenko, “Because you”re not so good looking…[does that] make you put more focus on your tennis? And given the chance, would you like to be more good looking or keep your life going like this?” Surprisingly, Davydenko dignified the question with an answer, saying, “If I don”t have a wife, maybe I can say, “Yeah, I disappointed I”m not, maybe, good looking.” But really, I have many girls [that like me] in Russia. I don”t know about China, but in Russia, I still look good.”
HEY, RAFA, MAYBE IT”S TIME TO GO BACK TO THE CLAMDIGGERS: Tom Tebbutt said Rafael Nadal“s new checkered shorts “look like they”re right out of a summer barbecue in the backyard.”
THIS KERFUFFLE IS GETTING OUT OF HAND: Todd Woodbridge says he”s willing to act as a go-between in an attempt to clear up the taking-on-a-life-of-its-own feud that’s unfolded between Aussies Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt, a he says/he says rift that centers on the disputed Wimbledon practice session that never happened. Woodbridge described the drama as a “kerfuffle.”
THE NUMBERS
$500: Fine handed to 20-year-old Hariz Omerovic — one online casino gids of seven men charged after Serbian and Bosnian fans clashed at the “09 Aussie Open. (Omerovic reportedly threw a chair and spat toward a group of Serbians after his girlfriend was knocked unconscious by a flying object.)
5: Months since Rafael Nadal had last reached a final — a streak that came to an end at the Shanghai Masters, where the Spaniard fell to resurgent Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(3), 6-3.
$16: Amount that Bob Bryan (he of more than $6,190,150 in career earnings) recently paid for a trim at Supercuts. Said Bryan via Twitter, “Found out that it was the lady”s first day on the job after she gave me a “faux-hawk.” Refund please!”
HEADLINES
Boris Becker Tells All, but Alas, His Broom Cupboard is Bare
Boris Becker Sets the Record Straight: My Quickie Was On the Stairs
Boris Becker: I Did Not Have Sex With That Woman…In a Cupboard
QUOTEBOOK
“I can”t play any worse than I did this year.” — Ana Ivanovic
“Ivanovic”s perfectionism is an important part of her engine, but being overwhelmed by the emotional responsibilities of success puts sugar in the gas tank. Pulling out of this tailspin will require her to do perhaps the most difficult thing of all for a bright, analytical athlete – keep it simple.” – Bonnie Ford
“It doesn”t take all that much to drag you off the pedestal; an unexpected loss here, a nasty little injury there, a slight shift on confidence or attitude — even the reasonable amount of chaffing against the day-in, day-out, demands, to which a top player is entitled, can all contribute to a fall from that ultimate state of playing grace.” — Peter Bodo
