News, gossip and other items of interest from the world of tennis:
Shaq’ing Up
Shaquille O’Neal is starring in a new reality TV series called Shaq Vs., which begins August 18 on ABC. During each episode, the NBA great competes against other sports greats…at their own game. Crazy! He’ll toss a football with Ben Roethlisberger, swim laps with Michael Phelps and hit tennis balls with the woman who always seems game for these kinds of things, Serena Williams. You may recall Williams’ previous foray into reality show stardom; she traded paint with NASCAR drivers and other celebrities on ABC’s Fast Cars and Superstars. According to Variety, the Shaq show began taping on Wednesday, July 22. Based on his size, I imagine Shaq could have a pretty mean serve.
What’s a Girl to Do?
Poor Sania Mirza. She’s had to deal with criticism over her court apparel—I guess you can call having a Muslim cleric issue a fatwa against you “criticism”—and for voicing her opinion on the subject of safe sex. Plus she’s been threatened with a lawsuit for having her bare feet too close to an Indian flag. Then it was reported a couple weeks ago that two stalkers were arrested a day apart after both showed up at her house in Hyderabad, India. One of the admirers told her father he wanted to be her husband, while the other threatened suicide if her impending engagement wasn’t called off. Which brings me to the silver lining overshadowed by all this insanity: Miss Mirza has a hot new fiancé, businessman and family friend Sohrab Mirza. He gave her a ring reportedly worth $205,000, and was nice enough to have the same last name as her, so she doesn’t have to do deal with all the name-changing business at the post office and the DMV. Let’s hope this popular Indian player can put all the bad stuff behind her and just be allowed to focus on playing tennis… and finding a non-controversial wedding dress.
Will Not Paint for Food
This is kind of old news but disappointing nonetheless. I just found out that Marat Safin is not giving up his career as a tortured tennis player so that he can pursue a career as a tortured artist. Apparently a reporter at Roland Garros asked him to address the rumor that he was going to become a painter, and he replied, “You're crazy. I'd rather play tennis than be a painter. Trust me.” Alas, the image of Safin tucked away in some attic studio in the Montmartre section of Paris, capturing bohemian nightlife on canvas before succumbing to a bad case of syphilis and alcoholism… It just seemed so romantic to me. Oh well. Once again, Safin, you’ve let down this fan.
Mum’s the Word
Again, here’s an oldie but a goodie. Chuck Culpepper wrote a nice profile on Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, for the Los Angeles Times during Wimbledon. I like Judy. I rank her as the third greatest tennis mum in the history of the sport (behind Jimmy Connors’ obsessively devoted mother, Gloria; and the Williams’ mellow earth mother, Oracene Price). Judy was a pro player in the 1970s. She says she was a fast but so-so player, “I don't know if I ever hit a winner in my life, but I would put balls back until the opponent would wear down.” This tactic seems to have worked quite well for her son. Oh, and according to Murray's website, Andy passed his driving test on the first try. Look out on the street!
The Royal Tennis Balls
James I was a 15th century Scottish king who loved tennis. He was also, as the photo caption for this BBC online news item reads, “frustrated by the number of tennis balls he lost down a sewer.” It killed him in the end.
DJs Ivo and Novak in the House
God please let this story be true. According to sportske.net, Ivo Karlovic and Novak Djokovic are teaming up to record a rap duet. Karlovic already has a hip-hop single out, “Baš sve,” which can be heard on his website, ivo-karlovic.com (WARNING: It’s in Croatian). One can only hope the duet with Nole will be just as sublime.
Red Carpet Strut
Serena Williams is not just a super-confident, take-no-prisoners kind of player. She’s also a super-confident, take-no-prisoners kind of celebrity. Here (in slide 4) she is looking fierce in a low-cut black number at the Hollywood premiere for the new Katherine Heigl-Gerard Butler movie, The Ugly Truth. Not to be outdone by her little sister, Venus appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien last week. She was a guest alongside The Ugly Truth's Butler, and also looked fierce in a flirty hot pink strapless dress. She even looked great while serving aces at O’Brien.
“Don’t you touch my balls, Robert DeNiro!”
If you haven’t seen this heee-larious clip of Robert DeNiro (as played by Jimmy Fallon) and Tracy Morgan (as played by Alec Baldwin), watch it now. It’s a scene from the fake new tennis movie, Ballboy. Can someone tell me when Baldwin started dressing like a cross between Roger Federer at Wimbledon and Charles Nelson Reilly?
Sharapova’s Jewels
Maria Sharapova appears in the current issue of InStyle. She discusses the blings and baubles one would find in her jewelry box, like the cross she received at her baptism. “It’s from my parents and makes me feel secure, so I wear it all the time.” Awww...that’s sweet.
Sarah Thurmond is an associate editor at TENNIS.