Bartoli hits with Sampras, toasting Capriati & more

Published Jul 13, 2012

Anyone else in a post-Wimbledon tennis depression? Well, there's still a lot of action this week, and the U.S. Open Series kick-started for the WTA in Stanford. There, Marion Bartoli got to fulfill a childhood dream by hitting with Pete Sampras, that after Serena Williams left the practice court. Sampras even said that she hits the ball a lot harder than Michael Chang and, well, the rest is here:

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Said Bartoli: "My mom was always a huge fan of Andre Agassi, so whenever they were playing against each other we were cheering for different sides, obviously. And whenever Pete would lose I'd be depressed for a week, crying in my bedroom!"

Strong Woman, Strong Words: Fellow Grand Slam winner and fellow former No. 1 Andy Roddick had high praise for Jennifer Capriati's career ahead of the latter's International Tennis Hall of Fame induction. Among his words: "She was a huge infusion for the game as far as garnering crossover attention. The everyday Joe knew Jennifer Capriati. She was the phenom, then the comeback. It's a great story." Capriati shares 2012 Hall induction with fellow 2001 French Open champ Gustavo Kuerten (the Clay Artist Forever Known as Guga). Capriati, now 36, never officially retired. (She's hardly alone in that. See: Pierce, Mary.)

New Balls, Say Please: Providing the quote of the week, Mardy Fish said of giving tips to ATP upstarts, "Someone like Ryan Harrison jumps out at you. He's sort of a sponge ... The only problem with taking someone under your wing is that you're trying to compete with them, as well, and it's an individual sport, so it's not a team sport ... If a young player would approach me, I would give him my full attention. But they're still trying to take your lunch away."

Flag Lowering: Roger Federer has turned down the opportunity to carry the Swiss Flag in these London Olympics, and he has remarked that he'd like to give the honor to another athlete, possibly his friend and fellow pro Stanislas Wawrinka.

Bon weekend, Spin friends!

—Jonathan Scott (Talk to me on Twitter @jonscott9.)

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