It's been a long, eventful week, tennis fans. Here are a few stories you may have missed, or that are just coming to light:
1] PAPA WILLIAMS IN GOOD COMPANY** Richard Williams finds himself among the likes of Pat Summitt and Alex Ferguson when it comes to the [greatest coaches of all time, per theNew York Times. About Venus and Serena Williams's father, Julie Bosman writes, "He is self-taught in his chosen sport. ...Williams didn’t know anything about tennis, but he drilled Serena and Venus in the art of being rough and tough enough to beat all the kids who learned how to play on fancy courts at the Beverly Hills Country Club. He helped mold two athletes with not only dazzling skill, but incredible longevity—Venus turned pro at 14 and is now 32, and Serena, at 31, is ranked No. 1 in the world. And let’s not forget his crowning achievement: training two athletes who have made their sport more fun and more watchable—those muscles; those outfits!—than anyone else."
**2] SLOANE-SERENA, PART DEUX** Sloane Stephens speaks again about Serena Williams in a new *Boston Globe* [story, which rightly notes in its headline that "fame comes with strings attached." So what's new, with the two Top 20 players' dust-up in the rear-view? Well, Sloane didn't care for Serena's tweeting of her swollen ankle after their Australian Open match. “Obviously, that was a little much, but I got the W. She got the L," Stephens tells writer Stan Grossfeld.
[3] VIKA GOES OFF And so does her game. WTA No. 3 Victoria Azarenka gave chair umpire Mariana Alves two earfuls at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this week, in the midst of her rusty loss to sometimes star-slayer Ekaterina Makarova. Alves was notorious after chairing the Serena Williams-Jennifer Capriati U.S. Open quarterfinal match in 2004 that more or less ushered in the age of Hawk-Eye.