Daily Bagel: Davis Cup drama
The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.
• Video: The best thing about the WATTS ZAP montages is that they pick up on all the little moments you may have missed through the U.S. Open. From Juan Martin del Potro's moth rescue to Jelena Jankovic's overhead whiff, it's all here. Warning: Possible NSFW (sorta) at the 7:25 mark. Oh, Marion.
• More Davis Cup drama: South Africa's No. 1, Kevin Anderson, takes to his blog to set forth the reasons why he chose not to play Davis Cup. He says Tennis South Africa offered him no financial support. His letter offers yet another glimpse into the life of the journeymen, who simply cannot afford to play for free:
However for this tie against Canada, TSA was not able to provide the support that justified me sacrificing my schedule and increasing my risk of injury. If I am injured during Davis Cup play, which happened last year, I receive no support, assistance or insurance from anybody. I am on my own. I told TSA during Wimbledon that the compensation for the tie needed to be sufficient to address the issues at hand. I was available to the play the tie against Canada had TSA made me an offer than addressed my concerns. However they did not.
• While Serena Williams love life is in the news, big sister Venus Williams is reportedly dating Cuban model Elio Alberto Pis.
• Interesting note in this report: Philipp Kohlschreiber wasn't picked for Germany's Davis Cup squad because of a falling out with the team captain.
• Grantland's Jay Caspian Kang on The Death of the Anna Kournikova Era and the state of women's sports after the Summer of Serena:
This past Sunday, when the U.S. Open women's final ran concurrently with the 49ers-Packers season opener, the choice felt like one between football and tennis, between two very good football teams and the greatest female tennis player of all time. The choice, for once, wasn't between war metaphors and a ninnying attempt to push women's sports onto the mainstream.
• Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have confirmed for the Brisbane International in January.
• Roger Federer would like to invite you to the Gun Show. Who knew?
• Fun quiz here: Can you match the tennis player to the body part? If so, isn't that kind of creepy? Full disclosure: I scored a 12 out of 13. It takes a creep to know a creep.
• Non-tennis: On the "throwing gap" and why women "throw like a girl."
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