CHRISSIE VS. MARTINA: In his new book “Rivals! The 10 Greatest American Sports Rivalries of the 20th Century,” author Richard Davies lists the storied Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova clashes among the fiercest rivalries in sports. Here are the others: Ohio State-Michigan football, Yale-Harvard football, Duke-UNC men’s basketball, Red Sox-Yankees, Bears-Packers, Dodgers-Giants, Celtics-Lakers, Joe Frazier–Muhammad Ali and Jack Nicklaus–Arnold Palmer. “I’ve heard from friends, colleagues and others, questioning why their favorite rivalry wasn’t included, and some were pretty upset,” said Davis, who spent almost four years researching the book. (For the record, Navratilova holds a 43-37 lifetime advantage.)
AT YOUR BEC AND CALL: Lleyton Hewitt‘s wife, Bec, has opted not to sue the Aussie magazine New Idea for defamation in the wake of an article that claimed she was having an affair. Said the actress, “New Idea have been shown to be at fault and look foolish enough. I hope that they have learned a lesson — you can’t fabricate stories or rely on what you are told without cross checking the facts.”
HEADLINES
Shaken Roger Federer Vows to Bounce Back
THE NUMBERS
11: Of last 12 matches won by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco after a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory over fellow countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Rome.
TWEETS OF THE DAY
“The waiter at my restaurant just touched my belly because he thought I ordered too much food. Creepy man.” — Sam Querrey
“Having the most amazingly funny conversation about boobs.” — Serena Williams
“Just heard someone ask hotel manager ‘how big is that lake out there?’…they were pointing at the pacific ocean…FAIL!” — Andy Roddick
“it’s time find a barber. This mop ain’t getting it done. Everyone is getting tired of my ‘Justin Bieber do.'” — Bob Bryan
QUOTEBOOK
“When you can’t move, it’s difficult to win.” — Caroline Wozniacki (who injured her ankle 10 days ago at the Family Circle Cup) after falling in the second round of Stuttgart 6-4, 6-4 to Lucie Safarova
“Roddick is never going to win the French Open – he knows it, and he surely wants to make sure his body is in top shape for the grass-court campaign, specifically Wimbledon.” — ESPN’s Ravi Ubha on A-Rod’s decision to skip Monte Carlo and the Rome Masters
“[Ana] Ivanovic is in desperate need of a sports shrink. This has become a brutal situation, albeit in a can’t-avert-your-eyes kind of way.” — SI’s Jon Wertheim
“He is the master of compartmentalizing defeats, steadying the ship and turning on the grace and style when it really matters, in best-of-five-set occasions.” — Neil Harman on Roger Federer
