REFLECTIONS ON WHAM, THE SPICE GIRLS AND BRITAIN’S NO . 2 MIXED DOUBLES TEAM
AS LEBRON JAMES MIGHT SAY, “IT’S ABOUT TIME”: Okay, you could say that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip are Britain’s No. 1 mixed doubles team. Having noted that, the land’s No. 2-ranked doubles team – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall (aka Camilla), were on hand Wednesday. It was the first time the Prince of Wales had visited Wimbledon in 42 years.
AND NOW FOR THE MOST USELESS STAT IN THE 126 YEAR HISTORY OF WIMBLEDON: After Federer beat Fabio Fognini, Prince Charles applauded 73 times.
SHE DIDN’T HAVE TO PLAY A SHOT: The Sarah Eranni vs. Coco Vandeweghe match was suspended Tuesday with the Italian having a match point. When they returned today, Coco double faulted.
JUST WONDERING: Is anyone more tired of any question than Roddick being asked about the state of American tennis?
RODDICK REMEMBERS BARRY MACKAY: When IT asked Andy Roddick to recall the late player/promoter Barry MacKay, the Texan said he remembered The Bear from when he began as a tennis player. “There’s about 90% of people who make you earn it a little bit, make it a little tough, as it’s supposed to be. [There’s a] little bit of hazing.
“But Barry wasn’t that guy. I remember the first couple years I played San Jose, he came up, and he had that big, friendly voice. You could recognize it. You could be given a hundred voices and you could probably pick his out.
“I just remember [a] kind of the kindness. I was a wild card, 150 some-odd in the world. He had been a tennis lifer. He had no need to seek me out or talk, but he always stopped. I don’t know if he met my parents, but he knew their names [and] asked how they were. Little things like that, you remember. I’ll remember the personal interaction. You would be hard‑pressed to find someone who didn’t like Barry.”
QUOTEBOOK: “If ever there was a look that could deliver water to ice, Sharapova just delivered it.” – BBC on Maria Sharapova, who saved four set points against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” – Roddick on why, when he was mired in a losing streak, he took a last-minute wildcard for the Queen’s warm-up just before Wimbledon
“They brief you so you don’t do anything stupid.” – Federer on being told that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall would be in the Royal Box
“The hatred of the past have finally receded.” The BBC on the Queen in Ireland shaking hands with a former IRA commander in a struggle in which 3000 were killed over 30 years.
NOT A CANDIDATE FOR THE BILLIE JEAN KING MEDALLION FOR EQUALITY IN OUR TIMES: France’s Gilles Simon called for the end of equal prize money for men and women.
NOT A FAN: When told of Simon’s stance on equal pay, Sloane Stephens that when she was a kid and a ball person for Simon, the Frenchman “slammed a ball in my chest” and more recently tried to kick her off a practice court in Portugal and didn’t say sorry. “Anything he says,” she noted, “I’m looking the other way.”
SAY IT ISN’T SO: As it rained, officials took forever to close their pricey roof.
WOZ WRONG: Last year Caroline Wozniacki was No. 1 for all but one week. This year has been miserable. Another tournament, another loss for Wozniacki, who hasn’t won a title since before the U.S. Open. Despite having two match points against Austrian Tmira Paszek, the 7th seeded Dane lost her first round match 5-7, 7-6, 6-4. Her analysis: “Losing really sucks.”
HEADLINES
BAD NEWS: THE SPICE GIRLS ARE BACK. THE GOOD NEWS: THEY WON’T SING
IS BAD BEHAVIOR GOOD FOR TENNIS
CHOKING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MORALITY OR COURAGE
SILICON VOLLEY KILLING TENNIS (the London Sunday Times’ headline on an article about Pat Cash’s claim that top players are “hugely increasing the spin on the ball by secretly spraying their racket strings with silicon.”
TEARY COMMENTARY: When asked her reaction to being named to Britain’s Olympic team, Anne Keothavong said, “There weren’t actually any proper tears, but I feel like I could cry because I’m so happy.”
LITTLE AND LARGE: China’s Li Na has two names with four letters. Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez has four names with 24 letters.
THERE’S HEATHER IN ‘DEM DARE HILLS: First they called the rise by Wimbledon’s No. 1 court Henman Hill. Then it was renamed Murray Mount. And now that young Brit Heather Watson is through to third round, some are calling it Heather Hill.
OMG – WHAM MAY BE GETTING BACK TOGETHER AGAIN: A London writer noted that Wimbledon “is the gateway to the most marvelous playground in tennis. If this is a nation in despair after the traumas of recession, football defeat and the news that Wham may be getting back together, then you will find precious little evidence of it here … [After all] Wimbledon, for all its tradition, for all the weight of history, there is a pristine feel to the place. The gangways are clean, unsullied by spilt drinks and cigarette butts. The ground staff are yet to have their patience worn down by a succession of anxious tourists asking where they can get one of those giant fluffy tennis balls.”
STRICT DOGGIE DIET, NOT SO STRICT HUMAN DIET: Novak Djokovic said his little dog Pierre follows the same-gluten free diet he does … Nineteen year old Sloane Stephens loves her curries and confided, “I eat a lot of heavy, greasy food, so when I stop playing, I will be fat.”
THE ANDY RODDICK READER:
ON WIMBLEDON: I’m a tennis player. Tennis players play Wimbledon. I enjoy it. Some of my best memories are from this tournament. Regardless of the fact that I haven’t gotten it, it’s a place I really enjoy … I think the Olympics may be a one‑off event every four years, and it’s not the same place. You don’t develop a relationship with the Olympics. You don’t go to the venue and recognize people and know where you’re going.
ON AMERICAN TENNIS: Well, if we’re comparing it to the days when we had seven guys in the top 10, I mean, unfortunately I think every country would come short in that comparison … I can name the majority of other countries who are a lot worse than that. Can’t place your accent yet, but… We came on the heels of probably the best generation ever from a particular country. I’ve been dealing with that for the majority of my career … My job isn’t to throw out numbers and stats, it’s to try to get over the next obstacle, whatever that may be, on a given day.
ON MARDY FISH: My thing is a hamstring. It’s less scary than a heart thing. I was less concerned about tennis at that point. I just wanted him to kind of get it under control. I know he struggled not only when it acted up, but also not knowing when it would come again, trying to get it under control, and then you’re dealing with the mental aspect of traveling. It’s been an ordeal. I know it’s been really hard on him. It’s unfortunate timing, too. He’s on the heels of his best year last year; he’s gotten his ranking up.
ON TENNIS’ BIG THREE – FED, NADAL AND DJOKOVIC: Those guys are just really good. They’re consistent mentally. It’s almost a golden age in tennis with those three guys right now with the way they’re playing, the matches they’ve had. Every time they play, I see you guys writing Federer/Nadal 66, Djokovic/Nadal 28, and you have a full history. That’s what they’re doing. They’re creating memories … Everyone wants to crack it, but it’s going to take an extremely high level.
