Tennis Talking Points

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 15, 2009

Tennis Talking Points

Ana Ivanovic

Our weekly Friday look at newsmakers in the tennis world. It's been a bumpy ride for the 2008 French Open champion, who's struggled with form and fitness since spending 12 weeks at No. 1 last year. Earlier this week, after dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, the 21-year-old Serb parted ways with coach Craig Kardon.

Roger Federer

The honors keep piling up in the wake of his historic victory at Roland Garros, where Federer tied Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles and became just the second man to complete the career Grand Slam on three different surfaces. Federer landed the cover of Sports Illustrated and his hometown of Basel, Switzerland, is renaming its international tennis venue in his honor.

Rafael Nadal

The world No. 1 says he'll undergo physical therapy to get his knees ready for Wimbledon. "I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world," Nadal said on his Web site. "I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Centre Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.''

Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski

The wild-card duo from Great Britain stunned the second-seeded pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in straight sets on Wednesday at the Aegon Championships in London. The Bryans have won the Queen's Club event three times.

Maria Sharapova

The 22-year-old Russian is tuning up for Wimbledon with a strong week at the Aegon Championships, Sharapova's third tournament since her return from a shoulder injury that sidelined her for almost 10 months.

Laura Robson

Great Britain's Robson, 15, the 2008 junior Wimbledon champion, will become the youngest player to compete at the Championships since Martina Hingis in 1995 after receiving a wild card.

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Ferrero, a former top-ranked player, also received a wild-card invitation to Wimbledon, just part of a nice week in which he also won his 400th singles match.

Thomas Johansson

The 34-year-old Swede, who won the 2002 Australian Open and climbed as high as No. 7 in the rankings, announced his retirement after nearly 16 years on the ATP Tour.

Mallory Cecil

Duke's Cecil, who won last month's NCAA title, collected Honda Sports Award honors as the nation's top female player. The freshman won 32 of 36 maches this year while helping the Blue Devils to the NCAA team championship.