WHERE’S GONZO WHEN YOU NEED HIM?: There’s a bit of an imbalance of power when it comes to the U.S. vs. Chile Davis Cup clash in Santiago. The average singles ranking for the U.S. team (Andy Roddick, John Isner) is 20. Chile’s (Paul Capdeville, Nicolas Massu) is 203.
FLIGHT SCHOOL: Host Austria built a temporary 6,000-seat indoor clay court in Hanger 3 at Vienna International Airport for its Davis Cup tie against France.
SEVERED THAI: Paradorn Srichaphan and wife Natalie Glebova — a former Miss Universe — have reportedly split up after three and a half years of marriage.
TOO OLD TO MOVE BACK INTO THE DORMS?: Regarding a possible return to Harvard to finish his degree, James Blake said, “The reason I went to Harvard was to get a great education to set me up for later in life, but I’m already at later in life.”
SOUNDS A BIT CROTCHETY, DON’T YOU THINK?: Of Roddick’s on-court habits, Tom Tebbutt quipped, “If I had a Benjamin Franklin for every time he touches his crotch area during a match, I would be heading off to a ritzy hotel and a very nice southern vacation sometime before the end of the winter.”
SYRUPY PRAISE: The Montreal Gazette’s Stephanie Myles called Milos Raonic‘s, Daniel Nestor‘s and Rebecca Marino‘s runs to Memphis finals “the most exciting week in history for Canadians on the world tennis stage.”
FIRST LADY, FIRST COUPLE OF TENNIS: Michelle Obama filmed a public service announcement with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf for the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” fitness campaign.
SHOT OF HIS CAREER?: Roddick’s diving forehand pass off a Raonic volley on match point in the Memphis final.
SHOULDER WOES: Sam Querrey was forced to sit out the first-round Davis Cup tie against Chile due to shoulder problems. “The doctors have advised him to rest, so we thought it was best that he not make the trip to Santiago,” said U.S. captain Jim Courier.
THE NUMBERS
7: Career-high ranking for 6-foot-5 Croat Mario Ancic, who has called it a career.
8: Roddick became the eighth American to win at least 30 ATP titles when he defeated Raonic in Memphis.
20: More matches the resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro says he needs before he’s back in top-10 form.
19,000: Fans who packed Madison Square garden to see Pete Sampras square off against Agassi. Pistol Pete won the exo 6-3, 7-5.
QUOTEBOOK
“I guess I rose to the occasion.” — Novak Djokovic on his 6-3, 6-3 win over Roger Federer on Dubai
“Right now, I think my husband is more famous than me. When we walk together, I can hear people whisper, ‘This is the husband of Li Na,’ and, ‘Oh, this is Li Na.’ If I’m walking alone, nobody knows who I am.” — China’s Li Na on her husband/coach Jiang Shan, who got significant face time on TV during the Australian Open and was often the butt of his wife’s good-natured jokes
“It has become almost impossible to imagine that he is not the real deal.” — Tom Tebbutt on rising Canadian Milos Raonic
“Everyone in the complex is so nice except my neighbors — and I’m never home! I’ll come back to my apartment at midnight because my flight was late. In no more than two minutes, as I’m unlocking the door, the neighbors come out and say, ‘Do you know what time it is? I’m going to tell the office!’ I try to say ‘Hi,’ but they just slam the door.” — Vania King on her condo
“Absolutely.” — Jim Courier on whether the Americans can win the Davis Cup in 2011
