STRIKE UP THE BIG BAN: American pro Wayne Odesnik has been hit with a 15-year ban after the second doping violation of his career. Odesnik was ranked No. 267 in the world, but the question of the day for the top men’s players at the BNP Paribas Open was what they thought of the news.
Andy Murray offered the sharpest—and longest—remarks. “[It’s] probably deserved,” Murray said. “I think it’s a good thing … He clearly was taking something and trying to get an advantage … We don’t want that being part of the tour … He’s been linked to a number of people that have been involved in doping presently and in the past and surrounded himself with those people, so I can’t say I’m surprised … It’s good that he’s off the tour now.”
Rafa Nadal was unaware of Odesnik’s ban before he was asked about it. “If somebody is not doing the right thing, he’s obviously—they cannot be playing,” he said.
“I only heard it this morning, like all of you guys, I guess,” said Roger Federer. “What do you want me to tell you? I think it’s good you catch guys who do things they shouldn’t be doing. Players and athletes should know if they cheat, they get caught, I guess. That’s the moral of the story here.”
In the end, a harsh tweet from Murray may have trumped all the remarks from the press room. “Bye bye Wayne … Good riddance,” he wrote.
THE BIGGEST TOOLBOX IN TENNIS: While reflecting on the Jack Sock vs. Roger Federer match, Jim Courier said Sock “will succeed despite his technique, just like I did.” As for figuring out and breaking down Sock’s game, Courier said, “You saw Federer going to his toolbox, and I’m not sure that there’s been a bigger toolbox in tennis history.”
A LINGERING MYSTERY: We still don’t know what really prompted Flavia Pennetta to tear up doing her fourth-round match. The pressure of defending her title and knowing that at 33, her retirement is “close”? Another educated guess is that it had something to do with her romance with Fabio Fognini. After all, she wrote a book titled Dritto al Cuore (Straight From the Heart) that details her breakup with Carlos Moya.
EIGHT HUNDRED TIMES IS NOT ENOUGH: While commentating the round-of-16 match between Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol, the Tennis Channel’s Brett Haber was complimented for cleverly noting that they were “Czechmates,” at which point he admitted, “I’m about the 800th guy to come up with that.”
A TALE OF TWO SEXES: Going into the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open, only two of the top 10 seeded women—Serena and Simona Halep—were still in the draw, while six of the top 10 men remained.
JUST WONDERING: Will the Big 4—Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray—all meet in the semis?
NEW BALLS PLEASE? The stat sheets at this year’s BNP Paribas Open haven’t been pretty, with unforced errors outnumbering winners in a large percentage of matches. Never shy about voicing his opinion or lobbing a criticism, Rafa Nadal put forth one theory after his third-round win: it’s the balls. “During the day, especially, the ball is like you are touching a stone. There is no feeling for the ball. I see a lot of player[s] having a lot of mistakes … and that’s not good for our sport. But that’s what we have today. We have that ball. I think [the] ATP and [the] fans deserve a better ball to have a better show.”
DIFFERENT STROKES: Bernard Tomic is the last Aussie standing after his round-of-16 defeat of countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis. “You have to be different. You have to play for yourself,” Tomic told Tennis Channel’s Justin Gimelstob after the win.
SWISS PRIDE: About the comeback of fellow Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky, who is rocketing up the rankings after almost retiring a few years ago at the age of 22, Roger Federer said, “She has great potential, and I’m so happy for her now … It’s an unbelievable story, actually.”
LIVING ON SWISS TIME: Mary Carillo asked, “How amazing is Roger Federer? How does he have the time to do what he does?”
SERENA’S FUTURE: During her return to Indian Wells, Serena has been serious and even a bit reserved, but there were some moments of wit in her press conference after reaching the semifinals. Asked how, years ago, she’d envisioned herself in 2015, she said, “I don’t know if I ever thought that far in advance. I mean, if you look at Back to the Future, [in] 2015 people were flying in cars. (Laughter.) So maybe I thought I would be in a flying car. (Laughter.)” BTW: Turns out Serena is a fan of Crispin Glover‘s character in the series—she says the first film is her favorite “because I like the dad. He was the ultimate, like, nerd.”
Photos by Brent Bishop.
