FED VS. MARTINA: After Martina Navratilova said Roger Federer “is on the other side of the float. I don’t think he’ll ever play as well as he did three or four years ago. That’s not to say he can’t still win a Slam, but it’s difficult to see him climbing back to No. 1,” the Swiss shot back, “Maybe she missed the London World Tour Finals. Maybe she was somewhere else climbing Kilimanjaro. Look, I love Martina. She’s been an inspiration to my wife, and I always love seeing her, but sometimes if you have the microphone in front of you and you get a negative question, you get dragged into it. And she’s in front of the microphone a lot of times. Eventually, you can’t just say only good things. You have to say more negative things.”
PETE’S IDENTITY CRISIS: Pete Sampras told Christopher Clarey, “You kind of live your life with your wife and your kids, and you sort of forget who you were a little bit.”
HYDE AND SEEK: The Sun-Sentinel’s David Hyde lamented, “Look around. Finding an American tennis player winning right now is like finding my wallet at home. Is it on the desk? No. The stairs? No. The couch?”
OH DANI BOY: Andy Murray — who hasn’t won a match since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final — has curiously added pal Dani Vallverdu as a traveling coach/hitting partner. Alex Corretja will stay on as a part-time consultant.
A SHAKESPEAREAN SCOT: Of Andy Murray’s woes, The Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell opined, “Nobody suffers so painfully as the Scot, his naturally drawn features growing more mournful with every passing excuse. He is the Hamlet of tennis.”
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS ‘TOO SEXY?’: International Working Group on Women and Sport co-chair Johanna Adriaanse took Serena Williams to task for the American’s risqué 2K Sports ad, in which the 13-time Slam champ is billed as “The World’s Sexiest Tennis Player” and is seen in a more-than-skimpy black outfit. “The main thing is if she’s good looking that’s fine, but there’s a difference between being good looking and looking after your body and actually using the body just as a sexualized object to gain media coverage,” she said.
SERVING NOTICE: Jason Goodall said that as great as Roger Federer’s feel is and no matter how punishing his forehand is, “when his career is all said and done, his serve will be his best shot. His serve is magnificent.”
A GREAT MATCH HARDLY ANYBODY SAW: Kim Clijsters’ incredible comeback from 5-1 down in the third set in Miami, in which she saved five match points to overcome Ana Ivanovic 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(5), was played on a back court with no TV accessibility.
LATE BLOOMER: By beating Juan Martin Del Potro 7-5, 7-6(5) at the Sony Ericsson Open, Mardy Fish, 29, reached the quarters for only the fourth time in his 47 top-tier ATP tournaments.
QUESTION: Was Maria Sharapova’s return-to-the-top-10 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) win over Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru the best effort by an elite player since Francesca Schiavone outlasted Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 at the Aussie Open?
WHO SAYS TENNIS IS A COUNTRY CLUB SPORT?: A prime sponsor at the Sony Ericsson Open is a Swiss truffle candy manufacturer.
OBSERVATION OF THE DAY: After Maria Sharapova mounted her extraordinary comeback against Alexandra Dulgheru in Miami, Lindsay Davenport noted, “That’s why she is who she is.” Davenport added that Sharapova is “one of the toughest athletes in women’s sports — maybe in all of sports…My level of respect for her was insanely high, but it’s at a different level now.”
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A LITLLE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE: Deep into the instant classic Sharapova vs. Dulgheru match, Sharapova pulled up lame and walked to her chair to have her ankle checked out. Many in the crowd whistled and booed. After the big screen showed the Russian coming down on her ankle on a serve, many winced and there were no more whistles.
THE NUMBERS
3:28: Time it took Maria Sharapova to dispatch Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in the Sony Ericsson Open quarters.
6: Weeks it took resurgent Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro to jump from No. 484 in the world to No. 45.
1/2009: The last time Maria Sharapova was inside the top 10.
18: Breaks of serve in the Sharapova-Dulgheru match.
QUOTEBOOK
“I have to listen to my body these days. For a lot of years, I told my body what to do, and now it’s paying me back.” — Andre Agassi
“Whoever wants to criticize Roger for the way he’s playing tennis right now better be very, very good at their job.” — Andy Roddick on Roger Federer
“She cannot win everything. She’s no robot.” — Caroline Wozniacki’s father, Piotr
“You should see my racket. I kind of broke my racket and then cried a little bit, and then I was okay.” — Ana Ivanovic after squandering five match points against Kim Clijsters in Miami
“Andy [Roddick] could put his career on top of mine 15 times. So I don’t think I would ever feel like the No. 1, even though if I were to win tomorrow the number next to my name would be smaller than his.” — Mardy Fish on being the top-ranked American
“Athletes simply aren’t built to duplicate historic dominance as the times, surroundings and competition shift so dramatically.” — Bruce Jenkins
