Tennis Talking Points

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jul 17, 2009

Tennis Talking Points

Madison Keys

Our weekly Friday look at newsmakers in the tennis world. One week after being featured in Sports Illustrated as a star of tomorrow, the 14-year-old phenom defeated Serena Williams 5-1 in a World TeamTennis match in Philadelphia. The big-serving Keys, who made her WTA Tour debut in April (her appearances are limited because of her age), is 5-foot-11 and grew up idolizing Serena's sister Venus. She is coached by Chris Evert's younger brother, John.

Richard Gasquet

The 23-year-old Frenchman was cleared to resume playing after serving a two-and-half-month ban for a positive drug test. Gasquet, who has slipped from No. 20 to No. 32 during his suspension, escaped a two-year penalty after convincing the independent anti-doping tribunal that he ingested trace amounts of cocaine by kissing a woman at a Miami nightclub.

Rafael Nadal

The six-time Grand Slam champion revealed plans to rejoin the tour Aug. 10 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Knee tendinitis has sidelined the 23-year-old Spaniard for two months, a stretch during which Roger Federer won the French Open and Wimbledon and took back the No. 1 ranking from Nadal.

Serena Williams

Along with competing in World TeamTennis, the Wimbledon champion's week included a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House and an appearance at the ESPYs in Los Angeles (where she won an award for best female tennis player). The highlight of visiting with Obama? ''He noticed my shoes,'' Serena said of her 5-inch heels. ''He asked me, 'Should I be wearing high heels?' So I thought that was kind of funny because he may have been right. Because it is a job hazard for me, but I insist on wearing them."

Marat Safin

After crashing out of the Swedish Open with a first-round loss to Nicolas Almagro, Safin expressed his mounting frustration with his farewell season. "I'm tired of the tour, tired of staying at hotels and tired of traveling. ... I've had enough now," Safin told reporters. "I am tired of everything that has to do with rackets and balls. I want to do something completely different."

Martina Navratilova

Navratilova, 52, impressively still active in her 20th season on the World TeamTennis circuit, told reporters that the Williams sisters need to hurry to equal her record of nine Wimbledon singles titles. "They'll have to play a lot of years to catch up," Navratilova said of the 29-year-old Venus (five Wimbledon titles) and 27-year-old Serena (three). "Venus really needed to win this year. The closer you get to 30, the body starts slowing down. It doesn't obey as well."

Michael Stich

After a decade-long retirement, the former Wimbledon champion and world No. 2 announced he's returning to the tour to play doubles at next week's German Open. The 40-year-old will team up with fellow German Mischa Zverev, who warmed up by knocking off top-seeded Gilles Simon in the singles draw at this week's Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

Stacey Allaster

At her introductory news conference, the new CEO of the WTA Tour defended the controversial rankings system. No. 1 Dinara Safina (with no career major championships) is ranked ahead of Serena Williams, who currently holds three of the Grand Slam trophies. "It's a 52-week ruling average and it's a combination of the Grand Slams and tour events," Allaster said. "Without question, based on the ranking system, with consistent performance at the Slams and at the tours, Dinara Safina is the No. 1 player."