Bouchard, Raonic to play in NBA Celebrity All-Star Game
The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.
• Canadians Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic will participate in a non-tennis, big-time sporting event on Friday night at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto when they take the basketball court in the 2016 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game. Bouchard and Raonic will play on the same team, both coached by rapper Drake and assistant coaches DeMar DeRozan, Steve Nash and Jose Baustista.
Here's a look at the special shoes New Balance made for Raonic especially for the hardwood:
When asked about the game during the Australian Open in Melbourne, Raonic talked about the players he'd like to meet at the event.
"LeBron I've had the fortune of meeting a few times before and sort of understanding his mentality," Raonic said. "I think Steph would be great, especially the stratosphere that he's been in in probably the last 16 months with his game. Also, you know, he wasn't the biggest prospect growing up. He was a later draft pick. He went to a smaller school in Davidson. He wasn't picked up by the Dukes and so forth. And, myself, I wasn't a great junior myself. I think there's a great perspective if I could learn a little bit about what it took for him to get himself to where he is right now."
• Earlier last week, Serena Williams spent some time in Jamaica with her nonprofit, the Serena Williams Fund, to partner with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School for Jamaican youth.
• From Christopher Clarey at The New York Times: Denis Pitner, a Croatian tennis umpire suspended from officiating in August after a corruption inquiry, worked as a linesman at the 2015 U.S. Open, despite that suspension.
• The sport's four governing bodies said on Friday that the independent investigation into allegations of match-fixing and corruption in tennis will take at least a year. You can read the terms of the probe here.
• Guest contributor to the WTA Ana Ivanovic shared her favorite attractions and places to eat in Dubai ahead of next week's Premier-level tournament.
• Though he ended up losing the match, Gilles Simon hit this hot shot against 18-year-old Alexander Zverev in Rotterdam. Watch:
• Ever wonder what a tennis player eats? When she's at home in New Jersey and has some free time, Christina McHale enjoys her grandmother's healthy Cuban cooking. You can get a recipe for her rice, black beans and chicken steak here.
• Former No. 1 Justine Henin has signed on to help coach World No. 21 Elina Svitolina. According to the 21-year-old Ukranian's website, Henin will serve as a special consultant and will accompany her at some tournaments during the year, starting with Dubai next week.
• ICYMI: Dustin Brown pulled off this incredible, behind-the-back circus shot at the Bergamo Challenger. Take a look:
