By Bill Simons
A SMALL COMMENT ON A BIG MAN: Asked about chatting with Shaquille O’Neal, Andy Murray said, “He’s a big boy. He’s very entertaining.”
VICTORIA AZARENKA AND THE ART OF TENNIS: Vika Azarenka recently revealed that during her months on the sidelines she discovered she loved to paint. So we asked the former No. 1 about the joy of art. “Painting came to me … all of a sudden,” Vika responded. “I just wanted to try it. I feel it’s one of the best ways to express your emotions. I don’t look at it [like] I’m going to sell the painting or make money out of it.
I’ll tell you a funny story. I start painting. I don’t know what in the hell I paint. I was like, ‘Okay, I feel very emotional right now. I am just going to put [in] all the colors.’ I started doing it with my hands. I didn’t want to wash my hands, so I just did like that on my shirt.
Then I forget. It dried out. I put the shirt on. I walked outside because I was lazy. People were like, ‘Wow, that’s such an amazing shirt, where did you get it?’
I was like, ‘Really?’
They [said], ‘It’s so cool.’
I actually had a meeting with Nike. I said, ‘I can make many more like that if you want [me] to. Come to my house, we’ll just do that and stuff.’
Then I had some friends over. I had a big canvas. I wanted to see what people want to bring to the painting, what they think about it. I gave each of my friends their space, a corner or whatever. We [made] that painting that I posted [on Twitter] with the hands.
I felt like it’s just emotions—and the thoughts of people you care about—in one thing, and I can keep it in my house.”
Since last year’s champion Marion Bartoli is an art lover with a fondness for Vincent Van Gogh, we asked Vika to name some of her favorite artists.
“To be honest, I’m not very educated yet,” she responded. “I was talking about that the other day with Ernests Gulbis. He’s very smart, actually. He was telling me about the Impressionists and [then] about Black Square [by Kazimir Malevich] … That was really fun for me. I learned some things, but I think I will be interested in knowing the history more once I get [back] into it.”
THE RELATIONSHIP RACKET: Li Na admitted that she took a total break from tennis and didn’t even pick up a racket after her early exit from the French Open, prompting the following exchange with Inside Tennis:
Earlier in the year, you said you have a special relationship with your racquets. When you left them and didn’t pick them up for weeks, were they pissed? Did they say, “Why did you do that?”
They need a vacation, as well. I’m sure. They cannot see me every day, 24 hours.
They get tired of you?
Yeah, of course. I think I need to take time, to take the vacation, to think about what I should do in the future. And also the racquet, they have the choice, as well, yeah.
ANOTHER CHINESE FIRST: Today, Li Na won a match on Centre Court for the first time.
YES, YOU CAN: When asked whether she can win Wimbledon, Li Na responded, “Can I say yes?”
A MANAGEABLE MARRIAGE: When asked about her relationship with husband Jiang Shan, Li Na responded, “Always the same. The marriage is still working.”
LUCKY 13: It took Coco Vandeweghe 13 match points to claim her first-ever win at Wimbledon, a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Garbine Muguruza, who double-faulted on the last two points after fighting off three successive match points with aces. The same players squared off only a few days ago at the Wimbledon warmup Topshelf Open, where Vandeweghe had an easier time of it, scoring a straight-set win on the way to the title.
SWEET 16: The youngest player to win on Wimbledon’s opening day is also one of the most hard-hitting: Croatian 16-year-old Ana Konjuh, who took the US Open girls title last fall.
COMING UP WITH A TITLE: After her unexpected first-round loss, Sloane Stephens had this exchange with a reporter:
What were your thoughts about Madison {Keys]’s win the other day?
Awesome. Really great. Really happy for her. And Coco [Vandeweghe], too. That’s really awesome.
Just add those two to the list of players who have won a tournament before me. But that’s okay. Don’t worry.
PLAYING HIMSELF? After a straight-set victory in the first round, Australian controversy-magnet Bernard Tomic remarked, “I think it’s difficult playing the guys that are sort of [ranked] between 80 and 100.” Tomic is currently ranked No. 86. Next up for him: a rematch with world No. 6 Tomas Berdych.
KEEP IT CLEAN: When Vika Azarenka was asked what goes through her head when she watches Argentinean soccer hunk Lionel Messi, she quipped, “You don’t want to know. You don’t want to know.”
