Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column (November/December 2011)
Ready for the football season
John Isner ♦ (@JohnIsner): Patrick Peterson meet #89 Steve Smith. This ain’t LSU rook. Best in the league …
What do they do in their time off?
Caroline Wozniacki ♦ (@carowozniacki): Came home today, unpacked, went grocery shopping and cooked. Proud of myself LOL. Now I am tired, lying in bed chilling.
Novak Djokovic ♦ (@DjokerNole): I had a good day off today: Had a good hit, relaxing dinner and I’m ready for tomorrow’s challenge.
Sania Mirza-Malik ♦ (@mirzasania): Spa day today with @anammirza 🙂 Girls have to pamper themselves sometimes 🙂
Sabine Lisicki ♦ (@sabinelisicki): Horseback riding anyone? 😀
Justin Gimelstob ♦ (@justingimelstob): Hanging at Yankee Stadium.
Victoria Azarenka ♦ (@vika7): Watched V. Klitchko fight! Great victory! Congrats! Real strong!
Serena Williams ♦ (@serenawilliams): With @andyroddick we miss you @BrooklynDDecker Andy’s nuts!!!!!
Hurricane Irene had them scared
Sania Mirza-Malik ♦ (@mirzasania): Hurricane Irene coming … supposedly the worst in a 100 years … Yikes! Hit at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow before everything shuts down.
Sabine Lisicki ♦ (@sabinelisicki): Flights are cancelled because of the hurricane … Hope to find a solution soon! Now I’m off to bed. Good night <3.
Serena Williams ♦ (@serenawilliams): Ok. Its official. I’m scared. I’m in NYC. Oh boy … #HurricaneIrene 🙁
Fashion Week has them excited
Serena Williams ♦ (@serenawilliams): Wow. Fashion Night out, football game opener, U.S. Open Tennis … And I have homework 🙁
Caroline Wozniacki ♦ (@carowozniacki): NYC is so busy tonight … Fashion Week starting!!
Open congrats!
Sabine Lisicki ♦ (@sabinelisicki): So proud of my doubles partner Sam to win her first Grand Slam title!
Bob Bryan ♦ (@Bryanbros): Congrats to Sam Stosur.
Casey Dellacqua ♦ (@caseydellacqua): Congrats Sammy … bloody awesome game!
Anastasia Rodionova (@arodionova): Woohoo! Sam won U.S. Open!!!! Bravo!
Katie O’Brien (@katiejobrien): Sam Stosur … RESPECT!
Amer Delic (@amerdelic): Congrats to my neighbor Sam Stosur on winning the U.S. Open! Well done.
Taylor Dent (@taylordent81): I hope everyone is enjoying this tennis as much as I am!! These guys are incredible!
Shahar Peer (@shaharpeer): WWWWOOOOWWWW what a match Nadal vs. Djokovic!
Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki): Watching Nole against Nadal … What a final!
Among the celebrities who attended the open
Donald Trump
Jeremy Piven
Vanessa Hudgens
Justin Timberlake
Beyonce
Jay-Z
Brooklyn Decker
Chris Bosh
Will Ferrell
Olivia Munn
Blake Lively
The Iceman & StretchBar Refaeli
Owen Wilson
Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller
Dennis Leary
Bradley Cooper
Alec Baldwin
Adrian Grenier
Zvonareva bares all for magazine
World number three ranked Russian tennis star Vera Zvonareva has taken it off for ESPN: The Magazine’s "Body Issue,” posing nude for a pictorial alongside other notable sports celebs including Jose Reyes of the New York Mets, U.S. Women’s soccer star Hope Solo, and speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno.
Savic banned for life for fixing matches
Serbian tennis player David Savic has been hit with a lifetime ban from the sport for attempting to fix multiple matches. Savic was fined $100,000 after being found guilty of three violations. These bans begin immediately and at the time of the ban, he was ranked 659th. Just this past May, Daniel Koellerer was banned as well for life for the same violation.
First Lady Michelle Obama loves tennis
At the 2011 U.S. Open, First Lady Michelle Obama applauded the USTA for engaging millions of children in tennis, introducing tennis into thousands of elementary schools throughout the country, and building more than 2,000 right-sized courts that provide a place for young people to play tennis. The USTA’s efforts were part of its partnership with both the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to encourage more children to become active and lead healthier lifestyles. The USTA exceeded its commitment.
The First Lady was in New York to participate in a USTA 10 and Under Tennis Clinic at the U.S. Open. She was joined by several current and former tennis champions including Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, John McEnroe, James Blake, MaliVai Washington and Katrina Adams, as she thanked children from the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program for participating in her Let’s Move! initiative.
“I have been trying to get to the U.S. Open my entire life. I am so incredibly excited to finally be at my first U.S. Open, but I am equally excited and proud to be standing in partnership with the USTA and all they have done for hundreds of thousands of kids across this country. You are an example of what we can do when we put our minds to it,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “I am again grateful to the USTA. The courts you build, these kids sized courts, are just amazing. They will break that barrier; they will make tennis accessible to kids… I am so proud of the USTA.”
Novak Djokovic’s night win over Rafael Nadal in the finals of the 2011 U.S. Open earned the world’s top-ranked men’s singles tennis player a $2.3 million payout, pushing the Serbian’s earnings in 2011 to date over the $10.6 million mark. Djokovic’s $2.3 million U.S. Open payout consisted of $1.8 million for winning the event, plus a $500,000 bonus for finishing second in the U.S. Open Series Standings. Djokovic’s win over Nadal in a rematch of last year’s U.S. Open finals, gave the number one-ranked ATP player his 64th win of the year with just two losses in 12 tournaments to date in 2011.
Djokovic will make more money in 2011 than any other men’s professional player during a full season, topping his finals opponent Nadal who took home around $10 million last year, while participating in 17 tournaments and Switzerland’s Roger Federer who earned around $10 million as well in 2007 and took part in 16 tournaments.
McIlroy and Wozniacki verify romantic link
U.S. Open champ and golfer Rory McIlroy has admitted that he is romantically involved with top-ranked WTA star Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark. McIlroy’s admission verifies a relationship that has been long-rumored as McIlory has been spotted in New Haven, Conn. supporting Wozniacki at this week’s New Haven Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center in Yale.
“Obviously, different sports, but we’re pretty much in the same position at a young age and we can talk about things that probably a lot of 21, 22-year olds can’t talk about," said McIlroy. "It’s nice to have someone that sort of understands what you’re going through.”
Venus vs. Shaq for Oreos
“Shaq got lucky today but it was really fun,” said Venus.
Shaq said of Venus, “She’s fabulous. She’s always been a great athlete.”
Serena and Roddick to team up?
Serena Williams has dropped an intriguing Twitter bombshell, with the former number one hinting that she might be teaming up with Andy Roddick for some mixed-doubles in Australia. Her post-U.S. Open tweet, however, begs as many questions as it answers.