Off to a Tidy Start

5″ />LONDON — John Lloyd said, “Serena and Venus Williams are rightly regarded as two of the greatest players of all time, but I believe it would be a huge embarrassment for the WTA Tour if either won this Wimbledon.” Then again, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands claimed that if Serena wins Wimbledon, “it will be the most amazing story ever.”

JUST WONDERING: Will Lebron James, as the L.A. Times asked, eventually become a beloved figure as did bad-boy Jimmy Connors after his PR transformation?

POTENT PREDICTIONS: John Isner, who has become fast friends with Nicolas
Mahut sent his French friend a text a few days before the Wimbledon draw, saying, “Watch us play each other next week.” … Just before the U.S. Open golf tournament, Rafael Nadal texted his Irish pal Rory McIlory, saying, “You are going to win.”

SAY IT ISN'T SO: The reprise of the singular Isner-Mahut marathon was put on Court 3, a modest outside court that will be making its debut. Such a shame…Gael Monfils is playing with a heavy heart. He learned four days ago that his physio is in a coma.

GENIUS ALERT: As Andy Murray won his 13th straight game en route to a stunning comeback against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0, Radio Wimbledon noted, “He has a little bit of genius about him.”

HEADLINES

SURELY THIS HAS TO BE HIS YEAR TO WIN (The Telegraph on Murray)

BRITAIN MUST INVEST IN A HOT-HOUSE FOR YOUNG TALENT AND STOP TREATING TENNIS AS JUST A SOCIAL GAME

FROM TEARS TO CHEERS: American Christina McHale was leading 5-0, just a game away from victory in her opening-round match at the French Open when, incredibly, she lost. To her credit, in the first round at Wimbledon, she managed to outlast the talented Russian Ekaterina Makarova 2-6, 6-1, 8-6.

SWEETEST CELEBRATION: Alex Bogomolov Jr. — a war-weary 28-year-old with an abundance of ATP scar tissue — was overwhelmed with wonder when he beat his fellow American Donald Young 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

TIDIEST COMMENTARY: Nick Lester noted, “Andy Murray's campaign here at Wimbledon is off to a tidy start.”

JUST WHO IS THAT REPORTER FROM AVENUE PRINCESS GRACE WHO IS ASKING THE DJOKER ALL THOSE PROBING QUESTIONS?: Caroline Wozniacki lives in the same Monaco apartment building as Novak Djokovic. On Saturday, the Serb's neighbor came into the Wimbledon interview room and lobbed these fun-loving questions to the often witty Djokovic:

CW: Novak, I'm sorry if you've been asked this question before since I'm a little bit late.

ND: Where are you from?

CW: I am from the Monaco newspaper on Avenue Princess Grace.

ND: Oh, okay. I'll be glad to answer.

CW: You know, you had this losing streak of one, so what are you going to do to change that?

ND: Well, you know what? I will try to look up to some women players who have been so consistent with their wins, for example, like Caroline Wozniacki. I don't know if you've heard about her. She's been winning so much. She's become a role model for all of us ATP players. So I'm going to try to look some of her matches and try to break this losing streak of one, you know, try to get on the right path.

CW: So who is your favorite women's tennis player? Is that her, as well?

ND: Well, we'll have to keep that a secret.

CW: Oh, c'mon.

ND: I think I already discovered one of my favorite women's players. I just said her name. She's actually my neighbor, as well.

CW: Really?

ND: She actually lives in the street where you come from.

CW: Oh, really?

ND: Yes. From time to time we have coffee there on the beach and just relax and have lunch, have a jog.

CW: I'm sure she must be a really, really nice girl.

ND: She is a really, really nice girl. She's a great entertainer, No. 1. You never heard about her?

CW: The No. 1 actually drinks coffee on the beach with someone who actually almost never loses a match?

ND: Yes. That's a winning…excuse me…

CW: I cannot even talk anymore. They're pulling me.

ND: Yeah, I know. Monaco press is very popular nowadays.

CW: Monaco press is unbelievable.

THE SERENA WILLIAMS READER: There's a long tradition of great players who, after being sidelined, come back and open up to the press. (Think John McEnroe talking to the press at great length about his woes and worries and wonders during his sabbatical.) Now it’s Serena’s turn as she told Tennis magazine's Doug Robson and assorted reporters the following:

•ON BAD LUCK: She said she doesn’t really believe in it, saying, “I would describe it as a series of unfortunate events.”

•ON HER SETBACKS: “I'm on strike two, so I can't have any more strikes.”

•ON A POSSIBLE RETURN TO INDIAN WELLS: “I would even consider playing Indian Wells.”

•ON HER STRUGGLES DURING HER TIME OFF: “I definitely have not been happy. I was definitely depressed, especially when I had that second surgery. I cried all the time. I was miserable to be around. I hated that cast…It was a horrible, horrible time.”

•ON WIMBLEDON: “This is definitely a steppingstone. I was in no competing form and so to be competing again is great. It definitely is one step in my journey, and I always say life is a journey. It's not a destination. And I'm not going to reach my destination today or tomorrow, but this is just a step for the rest of my career.”

•ON HER FREAK FOOT INJURY: “Something must have fell. It's like the biggest mystery next to the Loch Ness monster. I have never been able to figure it out. I just remember standing up the whole time thinking, 'Ohhhh. That really hurt.' And I took another step with this foot, and I was like, 'Ohhhh, that really hurts.' And I was like, 'Be careful. There's glass. There's glass. Be careful.' I'm like protecting everyone else, and I look down and literally there was this massive puddle of blood, like massive.”

•ON THE SEVERITY OF HER INJURY: “They told me I could have been dead if I didn't come in that day.”

•ON HER SERVE: “I didn't travel with my serve to Eastbourne, so I hope it came with me. I hope he was in my luggage coming to Wimbledon, because I missed him.”