(UPDATED) +NETCORDS: Stephens and Annacone split, Neil Harman caught plagiarizing, and Vaidisova practicing again

Busy day in the tennisphere...

- Soooooo lookie (up) there. If it isn't our old friend, the ex-Worm loving Czech lady baller who retired at the age of 20, Nicole Vaidisova. She was hugely talented, although I always thought her backhand technique was, er, funky. But Vaida had big wins and was on her way up before calling it quits. Then there was the marriage to Radek Stepanek. Let's not relive that one. Apparently she's back to practicing and feeling good: These last couple weeks Im finally able to serve with less pain then i have in over 3 years, it makes me hopeful and happy to see progress after struggling the last couple years with repeated surgeries,rehabs and setbacks..its one step at a time but finally getting a step closer..

- Remember when I mentioned there would likely be more baller-coach partnerships ending? Well...

Sloane Stephens splits with coach Paul Annacone via release from her management company. #wta
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) July 23, 2014

Release calls split after 8 months “amicable.” Annacone said they couldn’t get “desired consistency” which caused “doubt” & confusion."
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) July 23, 2014

You can read more here. 

- Speaking of coaching partnerships, Ana Ivanovic, who recently split with Nemanja Kontic, will be working with former baller Dejan Petrovic on a trial basis through the North American hard-court season. Here's an all-black look she posted on Instagram today for a photoshoot in Napa Valley. Innnteresting.

- Ben Rothenberg on what Neil Harman said to him after being busted for plagiarism: “As you can imagine, I’m utterly, utterly shocked by the whole thing. It’s left me numb.” He said he “had no idea of the extent to which I have unfairly used other people’s words.” Um, I'm not even going to go into how lame Neil's explanations are and how disingenuous his remorse feels. He's clearly in deep denial and reaching for any excuse to save face. There was no public apology when he was first confronted with the evidence - only when it was about to go public. What I really want to know is who at the All England Club will be held responsible for trying to keep it all quiet; for allowing the Wimbledon Yearbook to still be sold even though they knew sections were plagiarized; and for still giving Neil media access at Wimbledon this year even after the plagiarism was discovered? Somebody has some explaining to do. A MUST READ OBVI.

- Genie Bouchard covers the August issue of Elle Quebec

- John Tomic is disputing news from IMG Tennis that both parties agreed to end the partnership with his son, Bernie. On July 16, the sports agency tweeted that they "mutually ended" their relationship with Bernie and wished him "great success." Papa Johns was no having any of it. He told Fairfax Media that they had been looking to leave IMG for the last year-and-a-half, but the agency wanted compensation to cover any losses they would incur from losing Bernie. Uh-huh.

- Caroline Wozniacki's dog, Bruno, has its own jersey courtesy of adidas. Because dogs are awesome.

- Andy Murray has been posting a bunch of training photos and videos on his Facebook page (I found the vid below on drills without actually hitting a tennis ball particularly fascinating). You can see Amelie Mauresmo in some of the photos which some believe signifies Muzz's intention on keeping the partnership intact. Perhaps. There hasn't been a formal announcement yet, but according to The Telegraph "the fact that Mauresmo has travelled to Miami, breaking her habit of holidaying in Biarritz in late July, suggests that she is committed to the project over the longer term." Solid reporting, y'all. 

Post by Andy Murray.

UPDATE: According to Matt Cronin of Tennisreporters.net, Sloane has brought on Thomas Hogstedt as coach. He has worked with Maria Sharapova, Li Na, and Caroline Wozniacki among others. Speaking of others, wasn't he just with Daniela Hantuchova at Wimbledon? What happened - was it just for the grass-court season?

Sloane Stephens and the art of the magazine interview

Sloane Stephens is featured in the August issue of Elle magazine in an article that asks, "Is Sloane Stephens the Future of American Tennis?" It's a profile piece on the 21-year old they dubbed the "newly anointed princess of American tennis." Fair enough. Amongst the crop of female upstarts in the US, including Madison Keys, CoCo Vendeweghe, Lauren Davis, and Grace Min, Sloane is the only one to have broken through at the majors (reaching the second week six straight times at one point) and to have defeated Serena Williams. The article, however, is far from fairy-tale stuff. If the goal of the interview was to enhance Sloane’s public persona and engender her to a mainstream audience, she may have lost the plot.

From the beginning, it’s obvious the writer was thrown for a loop once she meets Sloane in the flesh.

“I’m at some level expecting Grace Kelly; instead, I get Cher Horowitz.” 

So there’s the set up. The article continues and, at one point, Sloane discusses a visit to her gynecologist, who happens also to be a tennis fan.

“I saw my gyno today, and she’s like, ‘I can’t wait for Indian Wells,’ ” Stephens says. Indian Wells, for the uninitiated, is a major tennis tournament in Southern California in March, and Stephens’ doctor, it seems, is also one of her ardent fans. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! She’s looking in my vajay!’” 

Overshare much? Not quite the image you may have had of Sloane, or wanted for that matter. Later, she pays a visit to the offices of Lagardère Unlimited, her management company. After complaining about the trek to get there (yes, LA traffic is notoriously horrific), she and the writer arrive for a session of autographing items for a USTA kids’ day event. Sloane signs a batch of visors and signals that she’s had enough.

“I’m not signing those wristbands, I hope you know,” she announces, breaking the awkward silence that has settled over the room. Soon, Stephens declares she’s done. “I’m not signing any more. There’s not that many kids in the world.”

Gruff. She also manages to pack in references to Caroline Wozniacki, Khloe Kardashian, Katy Perry, and Beyonce in the piece. They’re all reminders that, after all, she’s only 21-years old.

There’s been plenty of criticism online towards Sloane for the things that were said in this article; and some of it is deserved. She comes across at times like the stereotypically spoiled athlete who can’t pump her own gas or who won’t sign enough wristbands. Rather than consider the fact that she might be missing out on something important like a formal education, she’d prefer to take a nap. Not major offenses, but certainly immature. But, how many stupid things did I say when I was 21 that I wish I could take back? There are plenty. Lucky for me, though, they’re not in print (unless you count my journals…and you can’t).

It was only last year that Serena made controversial remarks in Rolling Stone magazine about the Steubenville rape case (MUCH worse) along with catty musings allegedly referring to Maria Sharapova. She made the obligatory public apology and vowed to do better. ReRe has been in the media glare going on 15 years and she was still caught off guard by some of things she said that ended up being published. It’s a continual learning process even for a veteran.

There’s definitely something about her penchant for oversharing that feels generational. She’s part of an age group that has grown up with social media, where oversharing has become normalized and habitual. And it doesn’t end online. If you know anyone of that generation, you’ll see that their first instinct once something happens in their lives – good, bad, whatever – is to share it with their friends and “friends.” It’s a way of connecting and belonging, and it doesn’t change just because someone is famous. The oversharing also feels compulsive and, as the writer put it, an “unconscious ploy to put people at a distance, to keep expectations low.” With all that Sloane’s been through in her personal life (as detailed in the article), it shouldn’t be a surprise that her best offense is a strong defense.

As the public, we want our athletes to be “real”, to be heroic, and to tell us what they think. We seek them out on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with what they’re doing on a daily basis. We follow them on Instagram hoping for a genuine snapshot of their lives, only to find out that what we’re seeing is both literally and figuratively filtered. We don’t really want to know that they’d rather not autograph every single freebie because they happen to be in a mood (I MEAN, IT’S FOR THE KIDS!!). They owe us, the fans, a genuine effort and an appreciation for the position they worked hard to achieve.

Maybe having a veil over what they really think and feel is a good idea after all.

[Photo(s) credit: Elle.com]

Maria Sharapova towers over Floyd Mayweather at the ESPY Awards

No one upstages Maria Sharapova. Unless you're Floyd Mayweather.

The diminutive boxer was given the royal treatment during his introduction at last night's ESPYs by host Drake, including a rolled out red carpet. But the Russian was having none of it. She walked out in front of Mayweather, took over the podium, and then asked, "Wow, where was my introduction?" Maria then used the 5' 6" boxer to prop herself up. Drake isn't making many friends in tennis.

Sharapova won for Best Female Tennis Player and Rafael Nadal picked up the ESPY for Best Male Tennis Player.

Grigor Dimitrov and Sloane Stephens attended the show along with Maria.

We even got a peek into the shoe collection the 5-time Grand Slammer got to choose from for the night's festivities.

Shoe choices are a girls very good friend... @ESPYS #ESPYS pic.twitter.com/PmOSqHniSs
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) July 16, 2014

And, an awards show wouldn't be complete without some selfies, right?

Red carpet selfie with @LisaLeslie #ESPYS2014 pic.twitter.com/vqGIbvBLTW
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) July 17, 2014

Another quick pic with @NickSwagyPYoung #ESPYS2014 pic.twitter.com/mQKR5k6eeV
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) July 17, 2014

Look who we found backstage @chrissyteigen pic.twitter.com/bdPbT1CJzm
— Grigor Dimitrov (@GrigorDimitrov) July 17, 2014

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Sloane Stephens

The streak is broken. I'm so sorry to all of you who don't have to write about me this week and next week. I'm so sorry. 

- Sloane Stephens after being asked about her streak of 6-straight second week appearances ending today

YIKES. Next question anyone? Anyone??

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

HE SAID/SHE SAID: 2013 Wimbledon, Day One

Q. You've said that only an arrogant man would not have doubts. You've said that a couple of times now. Do you have some doubts on your play on grass? And are you proud of your legacy on grass for a person who was brought up on clay?

RAFAEL NADAL: Obviously I have doubts. I have doubts on grass. I have doubts on clay and hard, for sure in indoor.
If I don't have doubts is because I really don't feel the passion for this game. You don't see myself with doubts the first week of Roland Garros? Yes, with a lot of doubts. Today I play with doubts. I lost, yes.

Q. But you're proud of your grass court play?

RAFAEL NADAL: If I'm proud today?

Q. Not today. Over the years, what you have done on grass.

RAFAEL NADAL: What do you think? Five finals, two victories. I don't know how many players have that. I think for me is a lot. That don't mean I not going to keep trying to have success in this surface.

Q. How did you draw on your years of experience when a friend of yours suffered a tough defeat in the first round in a big tournament back in America? Did you give some nice advice to console him after that setback?

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Sorry, who are you talking about?

Q. Redfoo.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Oh, my God. I thought you were talking about real US Open tournament. He's happy with the match. I didn't see the match because was nighttime here. I mean, as long as he's happy ... I'm proud of him no matter what. 

To go out and have courage to do something like that, that's pretty remarkable. He's a champion in his heart. I mean, his forehand should get better, definitely. I mean, that's something that he has to work on.

Q. The win makes you the most successful British man in Grand Slams ever. Were you aware of that?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I didn't actually know that. Yeah, that's nice. You know, the Grand Slams are obviously the pinnacle of our sport. It's the tournaments I prepare extremely hard for, you know, 
where you want to try and play your best tennis.

Yeah, I guess that shows I've played some of my best tennis at the slams, and hopefully I can continue that.

Q. This week there's a commemoration of 40 years of the WTA. We have some of the best players ever playing right now. When you think of the sport, who do you consider the greatest woman player ever and why?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: That's an extremely tough question because I wasn't part of the generation which consisted of incredible players. I can only speak of the generation that I was part of.

I never played Steffi Graf. I never played Chris Evert. Never played Navratilova. So those are considered incredible champions.

So I think on many different levels, they all deserve a tremendous amount of respect. And I don't think one should be called greater than the other. There's no real reason for that.

Q. If you could play one player who you haven't played?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Probably Steffi.

Q. How do you think you'd play with her great forehand, her speed?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think she'd chop me up (smiling).

Q. Last question from me. I'm from Switzerland, so can you talk a little bit more about Roger Federer's serve? Is it tough to read?

JERZY JANOWICZ: I played against Roger once in Rome, so I remember during the important points he was serving ace perfectly on the line. So this was quite annoying sometimes. But, yeah, it's not easy to read his serve. Second of all, he has unbelievable second serve. He has great kick.

Q. On grass, what do you think comes easy to you and what is challenging for you on this surface?

SLOANE STEPHENS: I think you get to hit the ball as hard as you can and most of the time it's still going to go in. I think that's good, and that's the easiest part. You just, like, go for your shots on. Most of the ones on hardcourts are like going to go to the fence, and on grass for some reason it stays in.

Moving is the hardest part. You want to run, and when you think you're going to slide and do something cool you're on the floor. So I think movement is the hardest part.

Q. This is your sixth time out there on opening day as defending champion. Does it now feel familiar, or do you have a sense of excitement and nerves? Would you wish this were a longer match, to have longer on court for the first day?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, the longer the match, the longer you spend on Centre Court, it's not a bad thing. That's what I was thinking today. It went by very quickly. But I guess at the end of the day you'd prefer to have it this way, walk away as a winner instead of being out there for five hours and losing in the first round.

It's been always a dream come true for me. In some ways, once I understood what it's all about, opening Monday, the defending champion gets the honor to open the court, ever since it's been an amazing day and match to be part of. And I see it also for the other players. They always think it's super exciting being a part of that match. I'm happy I won 'em all. So that's been a good thing, as well. That helps to enjoy it (smiling).

Q. Grass doesn't suck too badly.

ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, it awkwardly has to do with the head a lot. Normally when I went into the grass season I was already pissed before I hit one ball. This time I was just in this whole mood of gratefulness for my second chance career. I just see it really as a second career. I was just like, Okay, you're just going to go for the grass and love it and try to start a romance with it.

If it didn't want you, you're going to force it to love back. So I'm just enjoying myself really. I'm never going to be ... it's never going to be my favorite surface, but as I said, I'm working at least on a romance.

Q. Can you tell us what was your very first thought on Friday when you saw the draw, Rafa in the first round?

STEVE DARCIS: Shit (laughter).

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

PHOTO OP: The 2013 BNP Paribas Open Player Party

I love a good party. It's a chance to dress up, perhaps in something you wouldn't usually wear, have a few laughs and get totally smashed. On second thought, you never want to be that person at the party who ends up seeing their drunken escapades on YouTube. And, I'm not speaking from experience. Pinky swear. 

Anyway, some of the ballers on the ATP and WTA tours put on their party best (or worst, in some cases) for last night's BNP Paribas Open Player Party held at the IW Club. Let's have a look.

THE BOY BALLERS: 

Novak Djokovic: Dayum. Oh right. I actually love the monochromatic look here. It helps to dress up the casual but very classic look. Great navy suede bucks to break it up.

Click on the headline for more looks from last night's bash!

2013 Australian Open: Perhaps it’s just a case of déjà vu

There’s a weird feeling nagging at me. The calendar says the Australian Open came and went, and I remember watching it (full disclosure: DVR is my capital B-estie) but nothing seems that different. No euphoria from an epic final (see last year) or a first-time major winner (see last year). Not even a sniff of a legend showing the young guns how’s it really done (see the 2012 “Serena Storm”). Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka entered the year and this tourney as world number ones and defending champions, and when the last ball was smacked they were left standing in the same spot they began. Wizards of Oz. Again.

Sure, a whole slew of drama filled out the middle. They both had to overcome tough moments that tested their champion’s mettle – an inexhaustible Nole eeking out a 12-10 fifth set win over Stanislas Wawrinka in a fourth round war and Vika fighting through a wonky rib and/or breathing problems and/or anxiety in her controversial semifinal win over a clearly over-awed Sloane Stephens and/AND a majority anti-Vika crowd in the final. But in the end, they defended their titles and remained the top ballers in the world.

Maybe that’s why I’ve been struggling a bit trying to put the finishing touches on this fortnight in Melbourne. It doesn’t seem like anything was figured out. I suppose it just means this first Grand Slam of the year is a proper beginning…a true starting point…A LAUNCHING PAD! So, might this year be different than the last?

After Nole fell onto his back, exhausted and elated, after almost six hours battling Rafael Nadal, it was all about the “Nole Slam.” Would he become first man since Rod Laver to hold all 4 majors at once and the 8th man in tennis history to complete the Career Grand Slam at Roland Garros? As we all know, Rafa exacted his revenge and ended that conversation. Although there were glimpses of that remarkable form, Nole was never really “Nole” again until the fall indoor season when he regained the top spot from Roger Federer and won the ATP World Tour Finals.

Vika went on a spectacular tear after claiming her first major and the top ranking in Melbourne, winning 26-straight matches until she was defeated by Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open. From there, the Belarussian went into something of a slumber while Serena Williams took a stranglehold on Vika (going 0-5 against ReRe) and the rest of 2012. The 15-time Grand Slammer appeared primed to continue her domination in Oz, but a feisty Stephens and a turned ankle stopped her masterful run. When a door opens in tennis you better take it, and Vika did in the end.

"I was actually really happy that I went through so many things knowing that I can still produce the tennis that I can and keep the focus that I can," she said in her post-match presser. "It just motivates me to be a better player."

They were challenged and overcame. Now Nole and Vika are back where they began. But it’s different. Where they ended up may be the same, but something undoubtedly has changed. Adversity has a way of doing that. It’s like a full-circle moment except this one isn’t completed yet. Far from it. There’s still a whole season ahead of them, hungry foes to defeat, and a lot of work still left to do. Just ask Nole.

"You know, I'm just trying to embrace this moment and enjoy it as much as I can and see where tomorrow brings me."

 [Photo(s) credit: AP, Getty]

Sloane Stephens phones it in at the Australian Open, so to speak

"DM me guuurl!"

One of the best moments from Sloane Stephens's breakthrough win over Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals was right after the pair shook hands. The 19-year old went straight for her phone to see if her mom had texted her. Probably, but she couldn't tell from the 233 messages she had waiting for her. Kids. She also said after the match, "I hope to have more Twitter followers" which she does now (43,321 and climbing). That's what it's all about, folks.

It was reminiscent of a 17-year old Maria Sharapova going for her dad's phone to call her mom after winning Wimbledon over, of course, ReRe. She famously wasn't able to grab a signal leaving everyone in giggles and securing the newly-minted star with a phone sponsor, Motorola, one of her many future sponsors (at 3:35):



I guess a teenage win over the 15-time Grand Slammer at a major is worth a phone check. And a lucrative sponsorship. Smartphone brands and carriers take note.

[Photo(s) credit: @TheJordanMiller]

HE SAID/SHE SAID: US Open Day 4

Q. Caroline Wozniacki has a high profile relationship with a golfer. You've kind of been there. Any advice for her on how to deal in the public eye in that way in that kind of a relationship?

ANA IVANOVIC: I think it's different for every person, because some people like to be in the middle of attention or public eye and others don't. It's just very personal how you like to deal with it. I think, you know, once you decide how you want to handle it you should go about it. Of course if you want to be more private, that's harder. If you want to be out there it's a little bit easier. It's, you know, about to find the balance and to accept these things.

Check out more 'HE SAID/SHE SAID' from the US Open Day 4 after the jump - click the header!