Thursday, May 1, 2008
Myskina joins the WTA moms Looking at 16 Olympic wildcards; Venus' ills could keep here out of Roland Garros

Mal Taam/MALTphoto Anastasia Myskina just gave birth to a boy.

NASTYA WTA'S NEWEST MOM: Anastasia Myskina, the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam when she triumphed at '04 Roland Garros, gave birth to her first child on Monday when her son, Zhenya, was born. (What, did you think she was going to name him Yuri?) Myskina, who has been doing commentary on a variety of sports and Skating With the Stars, hasn't competed since the '07 French Open, when still saddled with a foot injury, she fell quickly in the first round. There is no indication as to whether the deep thinking and moody Myskina will return to the tour, but most assuredly, it won't happen this year. Myskina become the third semi-active Slam champ to deliver a child in the past year along with the now active Lindsay Davenport and the now retired Kim Clijsters, who is a friend of Myskina's.

WHO'S PLAYING TIER I BERLIN NEXT WEEK; WHAT AILS VENUS: As reported here on Tuesday unofficially, Maria Sharapova will not play Berlin, but it's tough to call it a pullout, given that she never really planned on playing. Daniela Hantuchova is still out with a stress fracture in her right foot. However, Justine Henin, defending champ Ana Ivanovic, and Serena Williams are still in - we think. According to Davis Cup Committee Chairman Bill Kellogg via the SD Union Tribune's Jerry Magee, Venus Williams won't play Roland Garros.

WIMBLEDON WON'T PLAY ON MIDDLE SUNDAY: While Wimbledon remains anachronistic in some ways, you have the love the pride that AELTC officials take in the crown jewel of the Slams. Here's what All England Club Chairman Tim Phillips said referring to whether they should bow to TV wishes and play on the middle Sunday except in the case of a rain-delayed emergency: "There is an argument for the Sunday start and that's partly based on the fact it's a good day to get impact through television," Phillips said. "But we think people notice Wimbledon is on already, so we don't have to go down that route."

Here, here.

Wimbledon also increased total prize money 3.4 percent to $23.46 million and has added 1,200 seats to Centre Court. New digital scoreboards will also be installed. In perhaps the biggest piece of news for those fans who actually attend the Championships, because of "health and safety reasons" there will now be a single queue in nearby Wimbledon Park for those wishing to camp overnight for day tickets. No more sidewalk sleeping, drinking and carousing allowed. Boo - sort of, at least for those committed overnighters who know where the bathroom is.

NISHIKORI LOOKS FOR OLYMPIC SPOT: After winning the Bermuda Challenger, Japan's Kei Nishikori cracked the Top 100 and is aiming for a spot in the Beijing Olympics. Both of the tours' Top-56-ranked players will qualify for the competition, while the other eight spots in the 64-person draw will be wildcards awarded by the ITF's Olympic Committee, the IOC and National Olympic Committees.

Look for players with decent rankings from un-represented countries to get the spots. Early frontrunners for male wildcards are Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee, Israel's' Dudi Sela, Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu, Nishikori and maybe China's Sun Peng, although he has yet to crack the Top 450. With Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish skipping the Olympics, it looks like James Blake and Sam Querrey will be the two US singles players, unless Donald Young makes a push over the next month. Speaking of Nishikori, his new deal with Sony is said to be worth around $960,000 per year.

WTA players outside of the Top 56 who will get a look are Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova, China's Peng Shuai, Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova, Poland's Marta Domachowska, Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn and Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan. Expect Aussie Casey Dellacqua to get the nod if she falls out of the Top 56, too.

Here's the question of the day: Does No. 9 and former silver medallist Elena Dementieva grab the fourth singles spot on the Russian team, or will No. 13 Vera Zvonareva overtake her?