Tennis-X.com Notes: Venus Bails on U.S. Fed Cup

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARB
From The Telegraph: "[Roger] Federer is so far ahead in the ATP Indesit Race, the tennis equivalent of football's league tables, he could lose just about every remaining match this year and still finish top, so it's no wonder the seven-time slam champion feels on top of the world and that he cannot climb much higher. He said: "I'm amazed that I did that all myself with my own team and group, but I have to do it all over again. And on top of that I got the opportunity with my foundation to support projects and to be the international goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, so I feel like this is my prime time." The winning streaks matter less to him than the actual joy of winning and, of course, winning titles like Wimbledon. "I was already happy with two, I was even more happy with three and now the fourth might be coming along," said a man who has a keen sense of history. "That would be quite extraordinary."...From IOL: "Armed with a much-needed sponsorship that is believed to run close to R10-million, South African tennis is finally moving off the baseline to play a far more forceful game in the international corridors of power. South African Airways has joined the party with a sponsorship deal that is designed, according to its chief executive Khaya Ngqula, to bring tennis back to the people of South Africa."...Roger Federer not coming down too strong on the side of the women for equal prize money at Wimbledon: "I don't think it really makes a lot of difference for us. It's a lot of money." And Federer on possibly getting a trophy for breaking Bjorn Borg's record if he beats Richard Gasquet in the first round at Wimbledon: "It's not the right thing to get a trophy for streaks. They did it at the French, which I thought was a little strange...You get a trophy at the end of a tournament, not after a first-round win."...From Eurosport: "The lone bright spot so far in [Andy] Roddick's year was his terrific play on grass in the U.S. Davis Cup victory over Chile in April. He took three straight sets off Nicolas Massu, and then bounced back from dropping the first set to defeat Fernando Gonzalez in four sets. When we watch Roddick play these days on any surface, it's hard to remember the powerful, cocky kid who captured the minds of his nation by winning the 2003 U.S. Open. He appears less sure of himself today."...From Ron Atkin writing for The Independent: "A [Andy] Murray smile has frequently looked as forced as one of Gordon Brown's but now, apparently, the Scottish coin has dropped and he is promising "I'll be letting my personality show a little more", after acknowledging: "A lot of people say I'm permanently miserable on court, and in a way I agree." Of course, he can't resist adding: "If you had to put up with everything I did when I was 18, how do you think you would have felt?" Well, perhaps, Andy, but a swollen bank account and sporting fame do not come without a deposit of some kind. He added: "Obviously I'm a perfectionist and when I'm playing badly I do get frustrated and upset and that's probably contributed to me losing some matches. So I think I will change but it doesn't mean it will happen overnight. It may take two months, six months or a year." As for his behaviour on court, Murray said: "I am not going to go into my shell when I'm out there. You have to be yourself and if it comes out, it comes out."...From the Times Online's Maurice Chittenden: "Wimbledon has served an early warning to the world's tennis stars: step across the line on the tournament's strict dress code and you will be sent packing. For more than a century Wimbledon has fiercely guarded the genteel reputation that today sets it apart from other tournaments. Officials there want spectators to keep their eye on the ball, not on the increasingly revealing outfits that have caused controversy elsewhere. The guide for competitors this year has been updated to warn them that they risk being defaulted -- the tennis equivalent of a red card -- if they break the tournament's code of almost entirely white and most certainly decent clothing. The pirate shorts favoured by the new pin-up Rafael Nadal, the Spanish winner of the French Open, will not raise an eyebrow provided they are white. Neither will the bare midriffs of players such as Tatiana Golovin, the Russian-born teenager based in France who has been known to take a pair of scissors to her outfits to make them even more revealing. But the low-cut tops showing lots of cleavage, favoured by Maria Sharapova and Maria Kirilenko, are likely to be banned, as are loose-fitting outfits such as the one Sharapova wore at this year's Australian Open which billowed up to reveal her underwear."...From Justin Gimelstob gimel-blogging for SI.com: "James [Blake] is a very special guy with so many things going for him, and it's great to see him happy, healthy and playing great tennis again. I would like him even more if I didn't have the sneaking suspicion that my girlfriend, Corina Morariu, likes him more than I do. But it's tough for me to blame her. I also want to give props to James' longtime coach, Brian Barker. I know James was hearing a lot of whispers that he needed a new coach when he was struggling with his game over the past three years, but he believed in Brian, and now they're seeing the payoff from a lot of hard work and confidence in each other."...Venus Williams says she will bail on the U.S.'s July Fed Cup meeting with Belgium -- V knows the score, with sister Serena and Lindsay Davenport out, teaming with Jill Craybas or Jamea Jackson against Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters would be a losing proposition any way you look at it...From Pat Cash writing for The Times Online: "Sadly, the age of serve and volley is dead. A decade ago on the weekend before Wimbledon, when you looked at the list of potential men's champions after Pete Sampras at the top, all the true contenders, with the exception of Andre Agassi, had one thing in common: they attacked the net and followed up their serve with a rapier-like volley...Now look down a list of the top 10 men's seeds this year. How many of them are happy, or even equipped, to play serve and volley? Roger Federer, although he is reluctant to do so; Mario Ancic definitely; and Lleyton Hewitt can play a decent volley if he is forced to. But that is about it. Andy Roddick has a great serve, but he looks lost at the net whenever he is brave enough to try to back it up, and James Blake was lamentable in the Stella Artois final."

Also see:
Nadal Injures Wimbledon Chances at Exo
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-06-24/c.php

Tennis-X Wimbledon Preview: Federer v Baby Fed
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-06-25/c.php