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1. A now six-times-a-year publication, Tennis Week can no longer in good conscience call it self a "weekly." How about "Tennis, Sometimes Bi-annually." 2. The publication's reporters will likely get too much access to IMG clients, prompting other journalists to scream. Monopoly capitalism is alive and well in Cleveland and Rye. 3. Once considered an "insider's" publication (it hasn't been that in what, 15 years now), Tennis Week will be pretty to look at, but a mundane read. IMG won't allow anything controversial to be printed about its clients (but watch out Octagon and SFX players). The debut issue is sure to feature a lengthy discussion of Roger Federer's favorite restaurants and Maria Sharapova's favorite designers. 4. The website will continue to be an industry mouthpiece ("Strings Promise to Bounce Balls Back!"), but now will flood the Internet waves with (IMG client) "Sony Ericsson a Boon for WTA Tour" stories. 5. Most of the staff that you see on last month's masthead will be gone by this time next year. Then, after they strip the publication of any fat, they will try to sell it to Shanghai or Doha, just like they did with Indian Wells. As an aside, Tennis-X just announced that they are cutting back on the number of times they produce newsletters. Sad times the tennis journalism industry overall.
Carlos Rodriguez goes off again: Justine Henin-Hardenne's coach tells the Argentine newspaper Ole that the WTA is a "total circus," a "lie," and adds that many other players are hypocrites who screw with his player. He essentially calls Kim Clijsters a manipulator and an unprintable swear word. He also says that Leo Clijsters (Kim's dad) shouldn't mess with him. Bet Justine can't wait to get Down Under and greet all her new friends in the locker room. Croatian newspaper says Bikic was jailed in '03: The National newsmagazine reports that Borna Bikic, the coach of Jelena Dokic and a boyfriend of Karolina Sprem, was jailed for 10 months in 2003 and was on parole for four years for swindling a girl from Zagreb in 1998 for 15,000 euros. Bikic allegedly promised the victim that he would deliver her a Volkswagen Polo GTI 1.6 from Germany, but never produced the car. Sounds like the same type of promise that he has made to Dokic and Sprem, both of whom has seen their ranking precipitously. Jane Brown Grimes begins her two-year term as USTA president: Just the second female chair in the USTA's 126-year history, Brown Grimes promises to "provide children more access to tennis by strengthening school programs from elementary school curriculum to no-cut high school teams." That also may mean getting elementary and middle schools to add courts, no small feat, but a more than worthwhile goal. Brown Grimes also used to be managing director of the Women's Tennis Council. So expect her to work out a compromise with the WTA over player tournament commitments. Philippoussis Hurt at Hopman Cup: After stridently trying to work his way back to respectability, Mark Philippoussis injured his right knee at Hopman Cup, all but ending the 30-year-old's career. He'll have surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus and may never sniff the Top 100 again. Davis Nalbandian Hurt, too: The Argentine blames a long-standing tendonitis problem in his left leg for his 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 opening-round upset to Kristian Pless in Chennai and may have trouble getting ready for the AO. Notable ATP winners on Wednesday included Murray, Baghdatis, Ljubicic and Davydenko (Doha), Djokovic, Stepanek, J. Johansson, Goldstein and Del Potro (Adelaide), and Malisse and Moya (Chennai). WTA Youngsters Cruise: Safina, Ivanovic, Peer and Stosur win at the Gold Coast, while Jankovic and Zvonareva triumph in Auckland. Hantuchova and Bartoli are upset in New Zealand, while Eleni Daniilidou crushes the hopes of home country teen Marina Erakovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. © TennisReporters.net 2007
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