- Maria, what are press conferences for? Talking only, please. Maria Sharapova had to field more than just questions during her post-match interviews in Madrid. After her first match, a reporter asked if she could throw a ball towards him. “That’s not a question, that’s an action,” Sharapova replied. After losing in the semifinals, Sharapova was asked to “shout” for the camera – i.e. give a rendition of the famous shriek she makes when hitting the ball. “You want me to shout?” said Sharapova in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? I don’t think so. Sorry. I won’t shout.”
Who'll be the next company to sign up with the WTA? Justine Henin-Hardenne, who defeated Sharapova in the semifinals and eventually went on to win the tournament, was also informed that she made a noise when hitting the ball. “Not like Sharapova,” Henin-Hardenne replied. Nevertheless, could she give a demonstration? “No, I’m not in the situation to do that,” she said. Just a small scream? “No, no, I’m too shy for that.”
- Elena, are you having a bad day on serve? How can you tell? Asked why she had struggled on serve in her match against Maria Sharapova in Madrid, Elena Dementieva replied, “I don’t think there was a [special] reason. It’s been a problem for a while for me. So, I mean, there is no excuse for such a bad serve.”
- Jelena, what are some adjectives that describe you? Ask the Quebec papers. Jelena Jankovic gave a pre-tournament interview at Quebec City and obviously made quite an impression. “Brilliante, eloquente, chaleureuse et coquette!” ran the headline in the Journal de Quebec (‘Brilliant, eloquent, warm and flirtatious!’). “Favorite et flamboyante!” concluded Le Soleil (‘Favorite and flamboyant!’). The latter also had a colorful description of the tournament finalist, Olga Poutchkova: “Pétillante, enjouée... et un gros péché mignon!” (‘Bubbly, cheerful... and a big cute sin (guilty pleasure)!”
- Damir, would you settle for singing instead? It makes sense when you’ve already proven you know how to make people cover their ears. Damir Dokic, Jelena Dokic’s controversial father, has expressed an interest in appearing on Australian version of the reality show Dancing with the Stars. Previous negotiations apparently didn’t work out, but a former winner of the program – Lleyton Hewitt’s wife Bec – returned to her television career this week as a host of ABBA Mania, a TV special featuring celebrities singing ABBA songs. If the show gets picked up for regular airings, can a tennis-themed episode be far behind? In addition to Damir, possiblities include Mark Philippoussis’ ex-girlfriend and famous Australian singer Delta Goodrem, Andy Roddick’s ex-girlfriend and famous American singer Mandy Moore, tennis player turned famous French singer Yannick Noah, and John McEnroe’s wife and singer Patty Smythe.
- Now that Whirlpool has renewed its sponsorship of the WTA Tour, who’ll be the next to sign up? All signs point to a fabric softener (see photos right).
- David, did you make it that traumatic? Apparently. After David Nalbandian’s Madrid blog for the ATP abruptly ended after two cursory entries, there hasn’t been another player blog on the website since.
- Nikolay, why do you make people’s eyes glaze over? Maybe something just gets lost in translation. Making his acceptance speech in Paris, Davydenko lightheartedly began with, “I don’t speak French – I just started English.” But thanks to the French translator, the crowd heard: “I don’t speak French. I’m going to speak in English.” Hard to tell that the low-profile Russian isn’t above the odd sly remark – before a Davis Cup tie against Croatia last year, he predicted the host nation’s “main advantage will be the line officials.” The following week, he assessed his luck at fishing: “I was there for two hours and caught five, then my girlfriend came and caught three in 10 minutes. That's women for you.”
- Dominik, are you an awe-inspiring player? Sometimes – while racking up of four consecutive five-set matches at the Australian Open this year, for example. More often, though, Dominik Hrbaty is “aww”-inspiring. Transcripts from his breakout run to the semifinals at Roland Garros in 1999 are now inacessible, but if memory serves correctly, Hrbaty was asked what he most disliked about being a pro. He replied, “Nothing. I like everything.” Asked who his friends on tour were, he said, “Everybody is my friend. I love everybody.” Aww.
After proving less than awe-inspiring during a straight-sets blitzing by Nikolay Davydenko in the Paris final, Hrbaty reinforced that cuddly impression. “I was fighting till the last point for you,” he told the crowd during his runner’s-up speech in Paris, tears welling up in his eyes. “Sorry, today it didn’t work out.” He finished by saying he’d like to thank “everyone who works in tennis”: “This game is my life and I love playing it.” Aww.
- Gael, can French crowds be a little tough? And how. After his ankle injury turned out to be less serious than originally thought, the Parisian-born Gael Monfils put off a vacation in Guadeloupe and returned to play at the Masters Series event in his hometown – an unexpected bonus for a tournament whose field had been decimated by withdrawals. His reward? Getting whistled by spectators during a rusty first-round loss to Igor Andreev. Afterwards, he proved more generous than the crowd, saying, “The people perhaps weren’t informed about my physical condition. I forgive them.”
- Does it involve a player sitting naked on a horse? No, that’s only in WTA-sanctioned photo shoots. But an Argentine version of Playboy does feature a tennis theme in its November issue, including a former nationally-ranked player on the cover.