GO FIGURE: Roger Federer has dropped to No. 3…Andy Roddick fell to his lowest ranking since ’02…Fish (that would be Mardy) swam with dolphins at a Miami theme park as part of the PR blast prior to the Sony Ericsson…Neither Federer nor Rafael Nadal have won Miami since ’06…The last three Sony Ericsson champions — Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick — were nowhere to be seen by the third round…Chile named Marcelo Rios the Sportsman of the Century.
FRENCH FRIED: After being run around like a yo-yo by Caroline Wozniacki in the Indian Wells final, Marion Bartoli said she cried “tears of exhaustion.”
CURIOUS QUESTION: The amiable Caroline Wozniacki was asked, “Are you friends with everyone?”
FED DEFENDS A-ROD: Andy Roddick’s 6-4, 7-6(4) loss to Pablo Cuevas in Miami surely stung, but Rodger Federer says the Texan’s got some big wins left in him. “Considering everybody is always so negative around him, especially in terms of the press, I think he knows what he achieved,” said Federer. “The players know it, too, and that’s why he’s so respected. His career is not over yet.”
JAMES BLAKE — ‘I’M NO UNDERACHIEVER’: James Blake balked at being tagged with the label “underachiever,” saying, “The fact is that I’m playing with scoliosis, bad knees. I’ve broken my neck and had shingles, and all that could have ended my career. The fact that they’re saying that I should be better — it’s comical. Because if I had ever dreamed of having a career anywhere close to this when I was 14 years old and 5-foot-3 and 85 pounds — I would have taken it in a second. Anyone that’s been around me, they laugh that anyone has ever questioned my motivation. Because I don’t care if I’m playing you in golf, in tennis, in checkers, in tiddlywinks, I want to win.”
I’M HAVING A BRAD DAY: Darren Cahill tweeted, “Definition of a bad day..when you sign an autograph for a kid at the tennis and he looks you square in the eyes and says..thanks Brad!”
RETIREMENT DOESN’T SOUND SO BAD AFTER ALL: Maria Sharapova said the best thing that will happen when she stops playing is that she won’t have to get WTA approval every time she wants to take a pill or cough syrup.
A CHEEZY ANSWER: Long an advocate for revamping the Davis Cup calendar, Andy Roddick said, “The fact that a defending champion wins in December and has to play the first round in February is ridiculous. So you [should] start with a two-team bye. Then you can’t get relegated. It’s amazing to me that you can win, lose in February, and then be relegated out of the World Group a year later…that’s ridiculous. You can be sitting there at No. 2 in the Davis Cup rankings that nobody really cares about, and all of a sudden you’re being relegated. It’s like Swiss cheese. There’s a lot of holes in it.”
GREATEST OF ALL TIME: When it comes to the women’s tour, the GOAT argument often waivers between Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. But for Kim Clijsters, the answer is clear: “Serena, to me, is the best player ever…Serena as an overall athlete, power, speed, is a step ahead of everybody.”
A MENTAL GAME: Novak Djokovic said tennis “is more or less a mental game in the end…Players who are 50, 60, 70 in the world, they’re striking the ball as well as the top five. The difference is the mental strength and the ability to cope with pressure.”
WITHER TEEN WONDERS?: It’s no secret that fewer teens rising to the top these days. No. 70 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria is the only sub-20-year-old in the ATP’s top 100; only six teens are inside the WTA’s top 100. With that in mind, the Swedish Tennis Association launched a study that found the culprit to be — surprise, surprise — money. According to the STA findings, to break even, players need to at least be ranked within the top 150. While a tennis player ranked No. 160 earns approximately $35,000, a comparably ranked PGA golfer earns nearly twice that.
QUOTEBOOK
“Novak Djokovic, known for his hilarious spot-on impersonations, is now the player most men on tour would like to imitate.” — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald
“Being No. 1 isn’t something you have to apologize for. You don’t have to explain it. It’s something to be proud of.” — Ted Robinson on Caroline Wozniacki
“That did not just happen. This is what shocks me. A No. 1 player in the world goes up to the line with a match point on her serve and she spins a 73 mph serve in the court. You have to take matters into your own hands sometimes.” — Lindsay Davenport on Wozniacki
“I measure success with my own scope now. I can sleep very comfortably as long as I know that I’ve maxed out, done everything I possibly can to win a match. I still get really pissed when I lose, but if I know I tried my best, I’m okay with that. I’m older now, and see things different. I stopped worrying about other people’s scopes when I realized, ‘Wait a minute, I’m No. 3 in the world and they’re bagging on me.'” — Andy Roddick
“He’s always in a good mood.” — Roger Federer on Rafael Nadal
“I can’t be doing so many things wrong.” — Roger Federer
“Sometimes I feel like, ‘Is it okay to play tennis right now? If I can do something, I want to help.’ But at the same time, it’s my job, and that’s something I can give them — like joy, happiness.” — Japan’s Kei Nishikori Nishikori on the disaster in his homeland
“If you don’t believe he’s capable of going out in a few months time and winning Wimbledon without losing a set, you need to have your head examined.” — Peter Bodo on Roger Federer
“My sense is she is really missing tennis for the first time. She realizes she’s not going to have a whole lot of years left, so I could see her making one last great Agassi-like push. If anyone can do it, Serena can.” — John McEnroe
