OF LEO AND LENNY: Roger Federer‘s two young twin sons are named Leo and Lenny. To us, Leo is short for Leonard, and for that matter, isn’t Lenny also short for Leonard? Federer says yes, but that he and his wife Mirka just like the names.
ROGER’S WAY: Federer, 34, said “being happy” is a key to ATP longevity, and that being based in Europe is an advantage.
THE KING OF CASH: The founding fathers fought hard to free America from Britain’s King. Now, there are plans to replace founding father Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, so why not replace him with a king—Billie Jean King?
JUST WONDERING: Who’ll dethrone Serena?…Will an outsider ever penetrate the tight inner-sanctum of the Nadal clan, which is almost as contained as Michael Chang‘s was?…Who has a better chance of winning another major: Federer or Nadal?…Has John Isner‘s coach Gimelstob arrived “Justin” time? America’s top player won Atlanta, reached the DC final and is now No. 12. Still, winning a slam could be a tall order.
CURSED OR NOT-SO-CURSED CURSES: After a surge in on-court swearing, ref Stefan Fransson said parents didn’t want to hear “too much of that … We want to keep it as clean as we can … We believe it’s not right.” But John McEnroe said, “The players need to be able to feel they can express themselves.” Andy Roddick claimed, “Every person who is upset that Nick Kyrgios dropped an F-bomb at work has probably dropped an F-bomb at work.”
TRIFECTA: It was all there in a flash: on-court coaching, swearing, and a kind of lover’s spat. During a changeover at the Bank of the West Classic, Alison Riske‘s boyfriend and temporary coach Stephen Amritaj ripped off his microphone and told her to “STFU right now.” She went on to win big … Our favorite changeover moment: Coco Vandeweghe‘s coach urged her to show her “Coco-ness.”
PARADISE LOST: GRANDSTAND TO BE NO MORE: There’s Todd Martin “high-fiving” enthralled fans after an epic late night thriller. There’s Japan’s Shuzo Matsuoka cramping, or a long-forgotten warrior vomiting by the ump’s stand. There’s Ivo Karlovic and Daniel Nestor playing the longest tiebreak in Open history, and amateur Andrea Leand beating No. 2 Andrea Jaeger. There’s Martina Navratilova, under the stands, ripping the film out of a photographer’s camera. There’s Brad Gilbert downing Boris Becker, Aussie Wally Masur coming back from 0-5 in the fifth. And there’s modernity, again ripping out our heart. Due to expansion plans, the US Open Grandstand, which some say is the most quirky American court (this side of the Supreme Court) will be history after this year’s Open. The beloved tumbledown court that drew such drama will soon be gone.
THE QUEEN OF VOWELS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
FAREWELL LLEYTON: Soon-to-retire Lleyton Hewitt said that his biggest disappointment was not winning the Aussie Open, and that recently “the Davis Cup has been as big as any Grand Slam.” Asked to name the toughest strokes he’s faced during his 17 years on tour, he responded, “Obviously, Rafa’s forehand on clay, on a hot day in Roland Garros, is nearly impossible to control. [And] Roger’s forehand on hard court in the US Open final – he hardly missed the ball.”
TEARS: After he beat Gilles Simon to clinch Britain’s victory over France, Andy Murray wept for nearly five minutes on the sidelines. Similarly, Hewitt admits he’s cried after Davis Cup losses.
RUSSO-BULGARIAN ALLIANCE CRUMBLES: It’s said that the greatest tennis couple of all time is Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, who between them have 30 Slam titles and two kids. But until recently the best active couple was women’s No. 2 Maria Sharapova, 28, and men’s No. 16 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 24, who’d been together since 2012. Earlier this year Dimitrov also parted company with coach Roger Rasheed.
A GOOD WEEK FOR MARRYING: When Tomas Berdych, Feliciano Lopez and Lukas Rosol all got married the week after Wimbledon, someone remarked, “If you aren’t playing Davis Cup, it’s a good time to get hitched.” BTW: Andy Murray getting married wearing a kilt is still the marital moment of the year, and now he and his wife Kim are expecting their first child.
THE BIG DEBATE: Would Milos Raonic‘s hair move in a hurricane?
ANDY’S LAMENT: Yes, Andy Roddick admitted, “It’s hard for me to say this, but American women are outperforming American men at every level.” Actually, our teenage boys seem more promising than our girls. American boys have won three of the last five junior Slams. But can they prevail in the pros?
