“Q: What is the best piece of advice you would give to a junior tennis player, hoping to become a professional? (Michael Stich walks into the room saying: ‘Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n Roll!’) There we go, Michael Stich just came up with some crackers right there…It might be ok for a while…I know Michael Stich tried that and he won Wimbledon…Best advice? Well, I think you have to learn to be very patient and learn how to play on clay. I think it’s a very good grounding for players.”…

“I hate not playing and I hate withdrawing from tournaments,” said Roddick, chomping at the bit to take the court and gain some momentum entering Flushing Meadows. “It’s the most hollow feeling every when you have to walk off because you’re hurt and you know people have come to watch you play.”

“I was too nervous to play well in the beginning,” Safin said. “I got a service break and played better. I had to calm down. I was too nervous to make anything happen.”

WTA officials should add a tab to their website that explains patronymics in Eastern European languages. It might help fans understand why so many top players last names end with “ova” or some such variation.

The Independent on Roger Federer’s Wimbledon sweater: “This, it almost goes without saying, is a prime example of how not to wear knitwear,” Susannah Frankel wrote. “Federer resembled nothing more than an ageing Harry Potter, although one suspects that this was not the effect he was aiming for.”…