SERENA SAYS WTA MAKING HER PLAY — World No. 2 Serena Williams says the WTA Tour’s fines for missing tournaments was behind her decision to play the tiny Marbella tournament right after limping through the Miami final. Marbella would logically be a rest week after the younger Williams sister was injured in the Miami final, with the top-tier Charleston event looming the week after Marbella. “Unfortunately it doesn’t matter if you’re injured, if you’re dead or if you’re alive, if you don’t play they’re going to fine you heavily,” Williams said from Madrid on Sunday. “So I have to play whether I am injured or not. That’s just how it is so I have no choice.” Apparently Serena found a choice after losing first round at Marbella, as she skipped Charleston the next week…
ADHEREL
‘THOSE GUYS ARE WEAK’ — Roger Federer is no longer even close to the No. 1 ranking, and is even in danger of losing his perch at No. 2, but took time out to slam the unimportance of Brit Andy Murray climbing from No. 4 to No. 3 for the first time (next Monday) on the ATP Rankings: “It’s nice but is there a big difference between being No. 3 and No. 4 in the world? I don’t think so,” Federer told the BBC. “It’s about being No. 1 or No. 2, being the top seed, being the top dog. That’s what it’s about for Andy.”…
DUMBASS DAMIR — Damir Dokic, the father of Australian player Jelena Dokic, was detained in Serbia and had his house searched by authorities for threatening the Australian ambassador in Belgrade, according to police. The Serbian paper Blic quoted Damir Dokic, who claims he called the embassy, threatening to “fire a rocket” on the car of the Australian ambassador to Serbia. He was angry over an Australian magazine reporting that his daughter accused him of beating her. He said the article was a “continuation of an attack on me, with a clear idea to kill me,” but classily added, “there is no child that was not beaten by parents — the same with Jelena.”…
BECKER TV — Boris Becker needs you to watch him. All the time. Partnering with the German tabloid Bild, the former No. 1-ranked player has launched Boris-Becker.TV, a kind of Edtv-type reality (show?) where you can watch Boris go to meetings, wash the dishes, and try to make a marriage work in real time. Enjoy. Boris says, “Whether I like it or not, I’m a public personality. A lot has been written about me in my private life, but now thanks to Boris-Becker.TV, I will be able to show what I am really like, how important my family is to me.”…
THAI CASH FOR NADAL — World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will play the Thailand Open, the lowest level (250) on the ATP calendar, with the Thai organizers apparently slipping the Spaniard a heavy under-the-table appearance fee. In a telling statement from Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand President Suwat Lipatapanlop: “I hope that hosting a tennis tournament with a superstar will bring confidence to both fans and investors.”…
David Nalbandian lost in the first round in Estoril, struggling with a hip problem that could require surgery…
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