VIKA—STRAIGHT OUTTA BELARUS: Going into their third-round match, Vika Azarenka was asked what makes Maria Sharapova special. “I don’t know. You have to ask her parents,” Vika answered, to some laughter. But IT followed up by noting that Sharapova’s father, Yuri Sharapov, has said Maria was born to be a champion. We asked if Vika’s athleticism and competitive drive came from her family. “I think my character was built from where I’m from, from Belarus,” Vika said. “I didn’t have a really easy background. All those experiences that I had, coming from a family who didn’t have pretty much any money, to be able to sit here and play in front of the crowd, it’s a long way to go … So I don’t know if my parents knew I was born a champion, but my parents always want[ed] me to fulfill my dreams and be on the tennis court winning majors, being No. 1 in the world. That was my dream.”
THE VIKA OF NIKE’S LABORS: At the Australian Open, Vika Azarenka‘s bright tennis-ball yellow outfits were a topic of conversation, with some naysayers claiming they should be considered a hindrance. Here at Indian Wells, her color spectrum has shifted, and she offered some wry insights about her Nike wear: “I think I’m getting dressed as every kind of fruit this year. It was a lemon in Australia; now it’s orange. We will see.”
DOG DAYS: At Maria Sharapova‘s post-match press conference on Saturday, the first question wasn’t about her next opponent Vika Azarenka, but about traveling with her dog. For the record: Maria only travels inside the US with her pet because she thinks international travel “would be quite difficult for any dog.”
NOVAK NIJINSKY: Of the Big Four, free-flowing, nimble-footed Roger Federer is the one who gets the most Rudolf Nureyev comparisons. But it turns out that gymnastic Novak Djokovic is the one who has actually taken a ballet lesson, recently joining his wife Jelena Gencic. “I really enjoyed [the] ballet session we had,” Djokovic said. “People underestimate what ballet dancers are doing and how much effort and energy they put [into] creating such a gracious and beautiful-looking moves. It’s really an art.”
SLOANE THROWS A BLOCK PARTY: After a long dry spell, Sloane Stephens is winning again. And she’s talking again. Following Sloane’s third-round victory at Indian Wells, a large part of her press conference was devoted to the subject of quelling Twitter wars with diehard fans of her next opponent, Serena Williams. “Oh, they hate me,” Stephens said, when asked about Serena fans who see red at the mention of her name. “They are the first people to get blocked on my Twitter. I am the queen of blocking. Okay? You say one bad thing, I block … There is no room for negativity … [If] it comes to the point where you’re on Twitter saying mean things about someone else …What [are] you actually doing with your life? Like is this your day job, or how does that work? … I have a lot of other things going on. It’s okay that people don’t like me on Twitter. I will live.”
ANDY THE STAN: Twitter is a different kind of praise tent for Andy Murray, who has tweeted kind words about young players such as Caroline Garcia. Most recently he’s used Twitter to tout the talent of American teen Taylor Townsend and Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis. “I just really enjoy watching her play,” Murray said of Townsend. “I think she has a great personality … an exciting game. She goes for her shots. She plays slightly different to everyone else.”
BUT WHAT ABOUT FLAVIA OF LOVE? During a humorous discussion of Sam Querrey‘s recent appearance on The Millionaire Matchmaker, Madison Keys was asked who else from the ATP tour should be on the show. “Get someone funny,” Keys suggested. “Get [Fabio] Fognini on there or something.”
FINE TIMEA: With two top-ten wins to her name this year, Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky has now won 14 matches in a row—sweeping a pair of WTA events in Mexico—and she’s 19-2 overall in 2015. The 25-year-old Bacsinszky is into the fourth round here at Indian Wells—no small thing, since she considered retiring a few years back. “Maybe I’m like a good wine—with time, I’m better,” she joked after her first title this year.
