HE’S A PRINCE OF A GUY: Andy Roddick may be able to boast NFLer Terrell Owens in his Friends Box, but Roger Federer one-upped him on Wednesday night, when none other than Prince William showed up to witness his routine 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Victor Hanescu. “Where he comes from, he knows tennis and Wimbledon’s big. So, for me, it was a big honor that he came to watch me,” said Federer. The Swiss got a chance to hobnob with the future King of England after the match, but he refused to reveal much of their conversation: “I’m not going to tell you everything he just said to me. You’ve got to have a little bit of a secret.”
IN NEED OF A BREAK (OR TWO, OR THREE): Trailing two sets to love against David Ferrer, Marcos Baghdatis shattered three rackets during a changeover, then rallied to win 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-1.
BURNING QUESTIONS: Has anyone seen Ana Ivanovic‘s serve?…Are there any parts of Serena Williams’ body that haven’t been taped up yet?
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The official website of the Australian Open features a direct link to betfair.com, which offers the latest AO odds. (Are we REALLY trying to keep the sport clean?)
BARACK & D-YOUNG: A ’02 Newsweek article alerted readers to two Chicagoans to watch — Barack Obama and Donald Young. (Some would say one has delivered on his substantial promise. The other is still finding his way.)
THE YOUNG AND THE LISTLESS: Donald Young rallied from a 4-1, double-break-point deficit in the first set against Lleyton Hewitt, winning four straight games and serving for the set. Still, the American lost in straight sets 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1.
PROTESTS CONTINUE: A group calling itself Australians for Palestine distributed a poster around Melbourne that depicts Shahar Peer in a military uniform with a photo of a distraught child on her racket. It reads: “Shahar Peer Serves For Israel.” (Peer had earlier been dogged by protestors at the ASB Classic in Auckland.)
ANGRY ANDY, MEET RATIONAL RODDICK: Reflecting on Roddick’s lambasting of the chair ump following the Texan’s win over Thomaz Bellucci, The Age’s Jake Niall opined, “Angry Andy is not entitled to carry on, swear and attempt to claim victimhood. It so happens that the umpire was proven right. But that is not the most pertinent point. Tennis officiating is not a democratic process, or a negotiation, no matter what Roddick thinks. At 27, Rational Roddick needs to put his childish alter ego to bed.”
IN A FAMILY WAY: Only moments after his 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Taylor Dent dashed to Melbourne International Airport to catch a flight back to the U.S. What’s the rush, you ask? Dent and his wife, former WTA pro Jennifer Hopkins, are expecting their first child any day. Said Dent, “She’s just waiting for the contractions to begin. That’s the stage it’s at. I wish with all my heart I was there.”
ROGER’S TALE OF THE TIGER: In an interview with L’Equipe, Roger Federer confided that he has been in touch with the embattled Tiger Woods. Said Fed, “He’s my friend and I said to him my full support. It’s difficult for him and his family to see their most intimate problems on display everywhere. Tiger needs calm. And soon he’ll again return to being the fantastic golfer who we know.”
LET’S SEE, THAT’S ONLY $47,020 A YEAR THESE DAYS…: After the college-educated Leif Shiras failed to come up with an explanation for why Serena Williams wins the AO on odd years only, fellow commentator Corina Morariu said, “A lot of good your Princeton education did for you.”
THE DEATH OF GLAMOUR?: With the early-round departures of Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, the tennis world lost two of its most high-profile glamour girls.
A SAMPRAGASSIAN SAMPLER:
•“I’m not much of a reader.” – Pete Sampras when asked if he had read Andre Agassi‘s bio, Open
•“It’s a reflection that I didn’t know Andre all that well.” — Sampras on Agassi’s crystal meth revelation
•“Andre always likes to separate himself from the rest, good or bad.”
THE NUMBERS
$17.99: Will buy you an Andy Roddick bobblehead doll, which, according to the Texan’s official website, is “a must have for the avid fan.”
$336 million: Budget for the redevelopment project at the Australian Open — part of a long-term deal to keep the event at its current site in Melborne.
$3,000: Bond posted by Alla Kournikova, who was booked on Tuesday on child neglect charges after her five-year-old son, Allan, was found wandering the street near her Palm Beach home.
11: Out-of-control fans who were ejected from Melbourne Park during the Ivo Karlovic vs. Radek Stepanek match.
HEADLINES
Angy Andy Blots His Copybook
QUOTEBOOK
“The standards of discipline practiced by tennis officialdom are so lamentably weak they make the no-spank parents of the lentil-belt suburbs seem downright draconian.” — Richard Hinds, The Age
“I’m not Paris Hilton. I don’t want to be like this. I don’t want to be like Nadal, Federer. These guys I never see buy breakfast. They stay in the room and take room service. For me, it’s better go downstairs, take breakfast, or to go out to dinner somewhere, not to be so much famous.” — Nikolay Davydenko
“To hear some of the discussion, you’d think that [Justine] Henin had been spending the last 30 years playing shuffleboard in Boca (“Allez!”). She suddenly puts down her cane, gets an artificial hip, Lasik and botox, starts ordering the cottage cheese and not the Reuben sandwich at the early bird special and works her way back. Let’s be realistic: We’re talking about an elite athlete (always in peak condition) and peerless competitor who took an 18-month hiatus and now, at age 27, has returned.” — Jon Wertheim
“I have nothing to do with politics. I’m only a tennis player who wants to enjoy the tour like the other players.” — Shahar Peer
“Don’t mix politics and religion and culture with sport. Just play.” — Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi
“Your Royal Highness, welcome to the world of tennis.” — Roger Federer to Prince William
“[Kim] Clijsters is well aware of the answer to the disingenuous question posed by glossy magazines about actresses, pop singers and sports stars who successfully mix motherhood with work — ‘How does she do it?’ The ‘secret’ is the around-the-clock help that comes with an eight-figure bank account.” – Richard Hinds
“It might take some time, and I have to accept that.” — Ivanovic, forecasting the return of her once-dominant form
“It is remarkable how little tennis players grunt in practice.” — Greg Baum
