WIMBLEDON: Dimitrov downs Murray, William and Kate arrive, and Serena's asleep

I mean, really. What kind of Championships defense was THAT? Andy Murray was completely off his game today and Grigor Dimitrov showed him the door with a 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-2 drubbing in the quarterfinals. I was going to write the Bulgarian “gladly” showed him the door, but, because they’re bros, Grisha was somewhat muted in his post-match point celebration.

Nothing was working for Muzz; his backhand misfired repeatedly and his speed was a non-factor because the 11th seed was quicker off the mark. Grisha seemed to be everywhere, sliding and gliding around the court with ease, and playing like he was the reigning champ. The Bulgarian opened his bag of tricks and clearly confounded the Brit baller from everywhere on the court.

Muzz admitted he was off his game (even Grisha noticed it in the warm up) and was clear on what needs to happen next.

“Today was a bad day from my side,” he said. “I made many mistakes. The younger guys are becoming more mature and improving all the time. I need to take some improvements to my game."

Yes, you do or the British press will NEVER ACCEPT YOU BACK.

Grisha’s now into his first major semifinal where he’ll take on Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer, who defeated his compartriot, Stan Wawrinka, will battle another first-time semifinalist, Milos Raonic. The Canadian ended the exciting run of the Rafa-slaying Aussie, Nick Kyrgios. On the ladies side, Eugenie Bouchard gets Simona Halep, while Petra Kvitova will face off against countrywoman, Lucie Safarova.

OH THE ROYALS WERE HERE THEY DIDN’T LIKE WHAT THEY SAW MUST HAVE BEEN A MUZZ SHOT. (h/t Ben Rothenberg)

Sooooo, there was more strangeness coming from Serena Williams. She posted this photo of her sleeping in front of her laptop with no explanation on her Instagram feed. I guess it means ReRe’s fine, or sleeping a lot, or she was watching the Muzz match and fell out after the first set (understandable). Martina Navratilova, never one to hold back her opinion, jumped into the fray with some words that were one part concern and another part outrage that ReRe was ever let on the court in the first place.

"I find it distressing," she said. "I think virus, whatever they're saying it was, I don't think that was it. I think it's clear that's not the case. I don't know what it is, but I hope Serena will be OK. And most of all, I don't know how she ended up walking onto the court."

Okay, I agree with her if the signs were obvious that ReRe was in such bad shape before heading onto the court. But, if she was walking to the court normally, not speaking to anyone, and got prepared for the warm up, the officials from the WTA and the tournament may not have known to stop it. Obviously, when the top lady baller began serving it became very clear something was wrong and should’ve been called off from that point. Not sure if we’ll ever know what really went on. But until we do, the questions will come.

Other notables: Nick Kyrgios may be gone, but he’s not forgotten. He even left us another ridiculously insane shot to remember him by. Good on ya, mate!

UPDATE: According to Andy Roddick, he texted ReRe to find out how she was doing and she texted back "I'm not well." He also says he's never known a tournament doctor to call a match due to a baller's medical issue. They can give a recommendation but the baller has to make the decision. (h/t 4AllSurfaces)

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

Anything you can say, I can say better. Love, RF.

"Maybe she missed the London World Tour Finals. Maybe she was somewhere else climbing Kilimanjaro."

Ba-dum-bum-CHA!

That would be none other than Roger Federer cracking funnies (sorta) and responding to the comments made by Martina Navrativlova recently about his chances of regaining the top spot in the world rankings.

While speaking to the media at the launch of the Liverpool International Tennis tourney, the 18-time Grand Slammer made her thoughts known on the state of the Swiss' game and whether he could regain the top spot ever again:

"Roger is on the other side of the float, I don't think he'll ever play as well as he did three or four years ago - that's not to say he can't still win a slam, but it's difficult to see him climbing back to number one.


"Nadal is dominating and Djokovic's confidence is off the chart. Roger has lost three matches (this season) to Djokovic and lost to him at US Open last year as well, it will get under his skin." 

Maybe Andy Roddick was talking to you, Martina. But seriously, if anyone understands what it is like to be where Fed is right now it would be a legend, a former No. 1 with 18 Grand Slams under her belt. I think she has a pretty good idea of how a champion tennis career begins, evolves to the glorious middle and ends in high praise and a Hall of Fame refrigerator magnet (or something else meaningful.)

She also has a pretty good idea of how difficult it is to get back to the top once you've been knocked down a few pegs by some hungry (and sexy, if I may say so - and I did) younglings with more stamina and strength than you can or care to muster up anymore. AND. She knows how difficult it is to not only to admit this obvious truth in public (perish that thought) but also to the champion's own mind: age is not your friend in tennis. It's the natural order, and at some point the end begins.

But, understandably, if said champ is currently playing at an elite level and challenging for tourney titles and majors then why would he want to admit any of this to anyone especially himself? I doubt Martina did.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

Quote of the Day: Navratilova on the male anatomy

From what I hear, men give their penis a name for one reason only – that they don’t have a total stranger making all their decisions for them.

- Martina Navratilova from the UK reality show "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!"

O...M...G. Gotta love Marty for the one.

And you know what? It's so true, right Conehead?

(image via celebrity.itv.com)

Quote of the Day: Navratilova on the lady ballers

So it's just kind of, who's going to step up? Somebody will, they just haven't yet.

- Legendary Martina Navratilova on the state of the women's game

Damn Justine - you left a huge void in the game. You were the only lady baller who acted like she really wanted to rule the roost, both on and off the court.

Who'll be the next dominator of the WTA Tour? Who wants it the most??

(image via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Navratilova hits the media merry-go-round with Out + Oprah

Martina Navratilova made the list of the 50 most influential gay people in Out magazine's 2nd annual Power Issue coming in at #46. Here's what the mag had to say about Martina:

The former tennis pro was the 2007 GLAAD Media Awards Special Honoree, in part for the creation of her Rainbow Card credit card, which has raised more than $2 million for LGBT nonprofit organizations. Navratilova also serves as AARP’s health and fitness ambassador and was signed as the Tennis Channel’s primary commentator for all Grand Slam tournaments in 2008. But she still finds the time to play international exhibition matches against other past tennis champs.

Additionally, the 18-time Grand Slam champion will be appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show today with fellow tennis legend Chris Evert to discuss their long-standing friendship.

Greg Hernandez over at Out in Hollywood has the story and two clips of their most memorable clashes.

(image via out.com + oprah.com)

Navratilova to Sharapova: Shut it up!

Put a cork in it: Martina Navratilova, who recently regained Czech citizenship 30 years after defecting to the US, would like to silence the grunters for good, even calling out the girl she helped discover - Maria "Shriek"apova.

Speaking to the press in Tokyo where she's participating in an exhibition with Steffi Graf and Kimiko Date, the 18-time Grand Slam champion said,

"If I were the commissioner of tennis I would outlaw (screeching during matches.) Maria's level gets louder the closer the match and quite frankly it's not necessary, they aren't lifting 300 pounds, they're hitting a tennis ball."

The tennis legend even referenced the recent story of 9-year old Lauryn Edwards, who was banned from her local tennis club for excessive shrieking, to make her case saying,

"Here you had this little kid who was just barely getting the ball over the net yet the noise coming out of her made you think she was hitting the ball 200 miles an hour. She was concentrating more on making the noise than hitting the ball."

I'm all for Martina being the first tennis commissioner - and we all know the game needs one.

(image via AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Martina Navratilova discusses being gay in tennis, doping, and Federer vs. Henin with Outsports

Out and proud: The legendary Martina Navratilova recently sat down with gay blog Outsports on the set of Good Morning America where she was taping cooking segment. (Cooking - who knew?) Anyway, the 18-time Grand Slam champion gave a nice, lengthy interview to the blog and touched upon many topics including her recent appointment as Health & Fitness Ambassador for AARP, her experience as a gay athlete, the absence of openly gay male tennis players, her dream tennis student, doping & drug use, and her predictions on what will happen first: Roger Federer winning the French Open or Justine Henin grabbing the Wimbledon title.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

Q: How did your relationship with the AARP come about?

A: They contacted me about doing an event a year ago, and I guess they liked what I brought to the table, so they wanted to expand the relationship.

Q: The way you’re looked at by society is athlete first. But most of the rest of the well-known openly gay athletes are known as gay first and athlete second. Why do you think society looks at you differently, as an athlete first before you’re gay?
A: I’m a woman first, because that’s been more limiting in a way, and it still is, depending on what country you’re born in. I want the fact that I’m gay to be irrelevant one day. It’s relevant now because we don’t have equal rights and we are discriminated against. One day they won’t even say gay, but right now it is part of leading the way and being a pioneer and leading the fight for equal rights for all of us. It might be because I became famous first as a tennis player and then I came out. But then it was still always “lesbian tennis player.”

Q: How much money in endorsement deals do you think you lost over the course of your career because you were out?

A: Oh gosh. I don’t know. Maybe $10 million? A lot.

Q: There are more and more out lesbians on the tour, but we still have never had an openly gay man in tennis. Why do you think that is?

A: I have no idea. I don’t personally know any who are gay, because none have come out to me.

Q: Really? That seems crazy.

A: Honest to God. I have suspicions, but I don’t know of one who’s definitely gay. I read that letter to Tennis magazine [in 1994] from an anonymous male player who said “thank you because we’re not all as brave as you are,” but I don’t know who they are. But I don’t know why. It can’t be because they’re all worried about endorsements, because most of them don’t get any anyway. [...] There were women I didn’t know were gay that I found out after. I would get a vibe from some players when I was playing. The ones who were very certain of their sexuality, one way or the other, were more friendly. And the ones who were less certain or were homophobic were not so nice. Or they were afraid that people would think they were gay because they were my friends. [...] There was a Russian player who wanted to play with me but her father wouldn’t let her play with me because I’m gay. And at the time she was a nobody. He liked me, he’d say hello to me, but he would not let her play. It’s bizarre, I could have been a help to her. Now she’s off the tour because of injuries.

Q: If you could coach one player on the men’s or women’s side, not necessarily the best player but the person you’d most like to get your hands on, who would it be?

A: It would have been Novak Djokovic [...] Justin Henin would have been a pleasure to work with. There’s a girl named Agnes Savay who is a great talent as well. She’s Hungarian. I saw her hit two shots and saw how she carried herself between shots and I thought, that kid is for real.

Q: How much recreational drug use is there on the tour?

A: Not much anymore because you get busted for it. I don’t think recreational drugs should be tested for, because they’re not performance-enhancing. As athletes we should be punished for cheating, but smoking pot is not cheating.

Q: Why do you think they test for recreational drugs?

A: Tennis is an Olympic sport, and the Olympics has a wide range of drugs that are not allowed. [...] My biggest problem with the drug testing is that they punish you before you’re proven guilty or not. So now with [Martina] Hingis, whether it was her sample is one question, or if someone put it in her drink or her food, she tests positive and now she can’t play and she has to clear her name. She can’t compete until the case is resolved, and that could take a year.

Q: Do you think Federer will ever win the French or Henin will ever win Wimbledon?

A: Yes, both. I think Henin has a better chance, because her game is better-suited to winning Wimbledon than Roger’s is for clay. But both could win it this year, and since the French comes first, Roger would do it first. If Nadal wasn’t around he would have already won it a couple times.

(image via czech.cz)

+ THURSDAY NETCORDS: Andy, Lleyton, James vs. Serena, Pete vs. Steffi...Team Andy criticized, Puma plays tennis and more

- Bargain basement: Dipping their toe into the tennis conversation that is equal pay for women, Sportingo asks: in their prime, who was the better bargain for tournament organizers: Steffi Graf or Pete Sampras? "Consider the following: Pete Sampras finished his career with 14 Grand Slams and Steffi Graf, his contemporary, with 22. She also has 107 titles to her name, 43 more than Sampras. Yet Sampras finished with double the prize money of Graf. The reason is simple; men get higher prize money than women. The question, however, is why?"

- James Blake and Serena Williams will headline the 5th annual Anthem LIVE! in Norfolk, Virginia, which supports cancer research. Mardy Fish and Tatiana Golovin will also be on hand to support the cause.

- The Brits are split on Andy Murray's decision to choose a team over a single coach to help build his career. The recently retired Tim Henman told The Herald, "Andy's made a decision he wants to go in a different direction, and, as your own boss, that's your prerogative. He's now going to assemble the people around him and hopefully move forward from there."

Fellow retiree Greg Rusedski, however, isn't so keen on the 20-year old's decision saying, "You need to have one coach leading the whole situation, like there was Gilbert before, [...] "It will be interesting to see who will be the main person in his camp because with all these personalities someone's got to put a programme together, whether it's a physical trainer, the mental side, and there has to be someone who oversees all those things, [...] I was a little surprised with the team of advisors route he went down, I thought he'd hire another top coach."

The Brits aren't the only ones with an opinion about Andy's decision, though. Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, backing Rusedski's position, thinks this decision might be based on something other than tennis saying, "...as someone who still needs to develop both his game and as a person I think it might not be helpful for Andy to have a big entourage. [...] I think it can be dangerous having a big entourage, but Andy has to find out himself. [...] He shouldn't start feeling too special about the fact that he might be able to hire five or six people, who cost a lot of money."

- Martina keeps moving: The legendary Martina Navratilova has signed on to be the new Health & Fitness Ambassador for AARP, the world’s largest advocacy organization for people over age 50, showing all of us that age is really just a number.

- Lleyton in waiting: Aussie hot-head Lleyton Hewitt is preparing for his full assault on his country's Grand Slam with a rigorous training regimen with coach Tony Roche. The former World No. 1 told Adelaide Now, "I'm hitting every day with Rochey for three hours, [...] I'd be spending about the same time in the gym each day. [...] By the time the Australian Open comes around, I'd be fitter than I ever have been going into it." Lleyton believes this could give him the edge he needs over the top players, including Roger Federer, saying "I'm going to be a lot fresher than Federer, [...] Even when you look at (Novak) Djokovic, (Rafael) Nadal ... (Nikolai) Davydenko were getting tired at the Masters Cup so I'm going to be a lot fresher than those guys but I've just got to try and get some matches under my belt."

- Shopping for a tennis fashionista this holiday season? Puma has just released the Lydia Holiday Tennis Bag in black-dazzling blue, made from eco-friendly materials and featuring a pocket for your 'racquet' - though this is more fashion than function, of course.

- Getting to know Davis Cup champion Andy Roddick. Most revealing moment: "Favorite TV Shows: 'Lost. My Name Is Earl. I love My Name Is Earl. Don't know if it's because I get the trailer park humor since my parents lived in one before they got married, but I think the show is hilarious.'"

- Sentimental for Seles: The Daily Forehand runs down their list of Monica Seles' top-5 clashes. No. 1? The classic battle between Seles and Graf in the 1992 French Open final.

- Mats Wilander, who recently worked with Tatiana Golovin before parting ways with the Frenchwoman has signed on to co-coach another Frenchie: headcase Paul-Henri Mathieu

(images via TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images, puma.com)

+ FRIDAY NETCORDS: Maria, Justine, Rafa vs. Nole...Nikolay gets fined, Venus eats (but doesn't cook) and more

(image via pushtoflush)

- Fine, fine day: Nikolay Davydenko can't seem (or isn't willing?) to stay away from controversy. The usually feisty Russian was actually fined $2,000 for "lack of best effort" during a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 defeat by Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic in St. Petersburg. More stunning was his response to the claim: "I was simply shocked to hear him say that. This is just outrageous. How does he know what I was trying to do?...I was so upset with the whole thing I started crying...The reality is that I started feeling tired. My legs were just dead by the third set. Maybe my problems are psychological, maybe it's in my head." Maybe???

- Falling off the bandwagon: After David Nalbandian's enthralling win over World No. 1 Roger Federer tennis media, including blogs, were heralding his return. Slow down Tonto - in his return to the court at this week's Swiss Indoors, the enigmatic Argentinian lost his first round match to homeboy Stanislas Wawrinka. Time to park the bandwagon for now. In the meantime, check out Peter Bodo's interesting comparison between David and another much-maligned but supremely talented player: Marat Safin.

- "Shriek"apova update: Last time we posted about tennis' high-profile glamour girl, Maria "Shriek"apova was auctioning off the cursed Nike dress to some (un)suspecting fan. Now word comes that ever-evolving Maria will sharpen her writing chops as guest "lifestyle" editor for tennis week magazine while also looking to produce a sport-centric TV show for the CW network.

- 10 is tops: World No. 1 Justine Henin claims she's "not a machine" but she's sure playing like one these days. And is the Belgian satisfied with her title count this year? “I would prefer 10 titles to nine this year for sure but [the WTA Championships are] probably for me the most difficult tournament of the year." said Justine.

- 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova will be a guest panelist on the political talk-fest known as Real Time with Bill Maher. The show is scheduled to air this Friday, October 26th.

- Celeb chef and Oprah Winfrey disciple Rachel Ray takes a peak inside Venus Williams' fridge and does a quick Q & A with the Wimbledon champ. And who would be V's dream dinner guests? "I'd invite my favorite band, 311. I'd cook the guys whatever they wanted—no matter what!" (via TSF)

- Matt Cronin for FoxSports.com thinks World No. 2 Rafael Nadal needs to step up or be stepped on by rising Serb Novak Djokovic.

JUSTINE HENIN: A stellar year for the World No. 1

Justine Henin has been the most dominant female tennis player this year, and the most consistent the last few years. She impressively won her seventh Grand Slam at the US Open without losing a set and defeating both Serena and Venus Williams consecutively. Justine has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking and holds a gawdy 54-4 record this season.

Steely and determined, the mighty Belgian has begun showing her 'softer side' and allowing the world to peer into her inner-workings. Competing at the Zurich Open this week, the World No. 1 met with the press to discuss her incredible year, the state of her health, and the inevitable comparisons to her male counterpart, Roger Federer.

On her standout 2007 season:

"I'll have played just 14 tournaments but I'm almost at 60 matches now, with exceptional results. So far 12 tournaments, eight victories. I can't ask for much more." [...] "I want to end the season on a high, I still want to take one or two titles more."

On the state of her health:

"It'll be the first time in several years that I can complete my season," [...] "That's my other big victory this year."

On emulating the careers of legends including Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf :

"When you see what the greatest girls in the sport, like Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, have achieved then you have to think that nobody is going to do that again in the women's game," [...] "It's a great feeling to be winning a lot of Grand Slams but my motivation is just that I love so much being on the court and competing at the highest level."

On the prospect of winning the "Golden Slam" (all 4 Grand Slams and the Olympic gold) in 2008:

"That's a tough, tough goal, so let's go one step at a time,"[...] "I will definitely be at the Olympic Games which is one of my main goals for sure. My win in Athens was the most beautiful experience of my career. As for Wimbledon, I will do everything I can to win there. For a little girl who dreamed of winning Grand Slams it would be a great achievement if I could win the lot. But if I don't do it, I won't feel any less of a champion because there are a lot of great players who never managed to win all four."

On comparisons to World No. 1 Roger Federer:

"It's an honour to hear those kind of compliments," [...] "But I never like to compare myself to anyone because I just like to do my job the best I can. I do it for myself, the people I love, my fans - but I don't really run after being part of the history of the sport."

(images via AP Photo, source 1 & 2)

Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova play exhibition match in Romania

Two legends of the game, Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova, played an exhibition match in Bucharest, Romania recently as part of a special series featuring these two greats of tennis. Monica, a 9-time Grand Slam champion, defeated 18-time Grand Slam champ Martina 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 and, based on these photos, looks to be in great physical shape again. Keep it up Mon!

Marion Bartoli fights back at Navratilova comments, "This really makes me nuts..."

Marion Bartoli is feeling disrespected and she's over it. The recent Wimbledon finalist is lashing back at legend Martina Navratilova for comments she made about Marion during a phoner with The New York Times. “She can beat a top-10 player here and there, but not day in and day out,” Navratilova said. “For that, you need better movement. But it just shows how good she is and how well she hits the ball. She doesn’t have the foot speed, but she still gets the job done.”


After hearing these comments, Marion told The New York Observer's John Koblin, "This really makes me nuts," [...] "You can't be in the final of Wimbledon if you can't move. I mean how impossible to beat the number one in the world [Justine Henin] in the semifinal if not moving great. And I beat Jelena Jankvoic, the number three in the world, and she moves so well. If you don't move well you cannot beat her, there is no way. So you cannot throw this kind of thing in the air and say 'she is a bad mover, she is not a great athlete.' You cannot say that, there is no way. So maybe Martina Navratilova is not right every time."

We think the Frenchie's run to the Wimbledon final was a fluke, too. Clearly she was in the zone, as evidenced by her post-Wimbledon (lack of) results. But, we're giving Marion her props - it's still a great result.

+ TUESDAY NETCORDS: Nicole, Patrick, Roger vs. Nadal...Wilson goes green, TENNIS magazine gets caught and more

Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA National Tennis Center

- Go green: Wilson Racquet Sports is following the green trend has launched a new Green Initiative that will work to develop and implement environmentally responsible products and manufacturing procedures across the racquet brand’s major product categories.

- Eye candy: A clip of a bunch of shirtless male tennis players for your viewing pleasure...

- SI's Jon Wertheim profiles the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and compares them to the days of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova saying, "Classic rivals Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova became fast friends. Once, before they met in a Grand Slam final, one of them had her period, and together they scoured the locker room for a tampon. While Federer and Nadal aren't quite at that point yet (and not simply because neither menstruates), unmistakable warmth passes between them." That's T.M.I - too much info, Mr. Wertheim.

- Everything you ever wanted to know (and a few things you probably didn't care to know - favorite breakfast cereal?) about Nicole Vaidisova

- The USTA and JP Morgan Chase bank have signed a 5-year worldwide promotional partnership agreement to be the premiere sponsor of the US Open which includes naming rights to the electronic line calling challenge system and "Chase Review" branded replays on television broadcasts and on in-stadium video boards.

- Patrick McEnroe gives New York magazine his "Nine Rules for Watching the US Open". Our personal fave: 3. Watch the players from behind. That's never a problem for us...

- Checkmate: Chess bloggers wonder aloud: Did chess help Roger Federer?

- Tennis heads staying at The Ritz-Carlton in Cancun can now visit The Cliff Drysdale Tennis Center, a premier sporting facility offering world-class tennis programs all year round. Services range from private lessons and morning clinics, to group tournaments and corporate socials. Custom-designed classes using Drysdale-style and technical instruction take place at the three outdoor hard courts overlooking the Nichupte Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea.

- Busted: Is TENNIS magazine guilty of comment boosting on their blog (posting fake comments to boost readership numbers)? Tsk, tsk...

+ THURSDAY NETCORDS: Jelena vs. Maria, Patrick on Lleyton...Brett remembers Serena, Martina debates and more

(image courtesy of intensity)

- Trouble brewing: World No. 3 Jelena Jankovic has called out Maria "Shriek"apova saying, "She's still the No. 2 player in the world, and only winning one title is not something I think you should see from the No. 2 player in the world." (women's tennis blog)

- 2 time Grand Slam champion Patrick Rafter doesn't believe fellow Aussie Lleyton Hewitt will reach No. 1 again, but Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj believes his countrywoman, the red-hot Sania Mirza, has top 10 game in her.

- Serena Williams, who hasn't played since her quarterfinal loss to Justine Henin at Wimbledon, has entered the Pilot Pen tournament. Meanwhile, her former boyfriend, director Brett Ratner, remembers Serena telling him, "Brett, I want to be honest with you, OK? There’s nothing I hate more in life than playing tennis with you."

- Greg Garber asks: Is gamemanship just part of the sport?

- Legendary Martina Navratilova, holder of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, gives her thoughts on tonight's "gay debate" between Democratic contenders for the US presidency.

- Apparently shorty-shorts look good on someone: New York City men

- PHOTO OP: Happy 26th birthday, Roger!

Oh Dani Girl

Dani Hantuchova used to be one of my fave tennis players. Her game is so smooth and effortless, save for her heavy feet. Plus, she's drop dead and has appeared in numerous fashion magazine spreads (I vaguely remember a GQ photoshoot.) Now, apparently, she's tired of the press and public focusing on the players' looks. Hmmm - seems hypocritical to me. Maybe she blames these things for her shocking weight loss a number of years back and, consequently, the hard nose dive of her career. In a recent interview with The Independent, she talks about the press' obsession with the players' looks, Kim Clijster's retirement, practicing with Marty Hingis using wooden rackets, and the match against her countrywoman - the lengendary Martina Navratilova.

On Kim Clijsters retirement:
"I feel we've grown up together, Kim and me," Hantuchova tells me, "so it's very, very strange. On the one side, I can totally understand where she's coming from. As a top tennis player you sometimes want nothing more than a normal life. On the other side, with the talent she has, she has done so many great things but could do much more."

On the press' focus on body image:
"I think," she says, "that there is way too much emphasis on the way we look in sport in general. With the guys nobody bothers, except to say that Ronaldo has got a little bit heavy or something. But with the women, there is too much. Everyone has a different shape. People should focus only on the game."

On playing Martina Hingis with wooden rackets:
"It is a feeling I only get with her, an unbelievable feeling. In Miami we practised with wooden rackets, because someone wanted us to try them, and the ball came off the racket so perfectly."
"That's why I was so pleased to see Martina coming back. Tennis is not all about power, it's also about rhythm, and she proves that more than anyone."

On playing legendary Martina Navratilova:
"I played a singles match against her in Eastbourne a couple of years ago, which I won, but I have never, ever been so nervous in my life. I normally don't really care who's on the other side of the court, but with her that was all I could think about."

On the rise of the Eastern European players:
"It's the mentality," she says. "We are prepared to work very hard to get there, no matter what it takes. We're not spoiled. In the West, it's sometimes hard to stay motivated if you are given everything when you are young."