Daily Bagel: Roger Federer elbows Stanislas Wawrinka in the face
The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.
• Photo: The tale of two countries, illustrated by fashion choices. Stay classy, San Diego. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
• Roger Federer accidentally bonked Stanislas Wawrinka in the face during the Davis Cup draw. Oops.
• Christopher Clarey of The New York Times on Federer's rare decision to play Davis Cup this week.
• John Isner is out of Davis Cup with an ankle injury, which means Donald Young will step in to play Andy Murray on Day 1.
• Peter Bodo sees more variety on the women's tour than the men's.
Right now, there’s really only one great WTA player whose game can be described as one-dimensional in the same way that so many women players were one-dimensional two or three decades ago, and that’s Victoria Azarenka. Against quality opposition, her serve will always be vulnerable. Against most everyone else, and often those elites, her straight-on power and consistency will usually do the job.
That isn’t meant as a slight; a “one-dimensional” win is worth just as many rankings points and dollars as a multi-faceted one, and one-speed tennis can have plenty of appeal when it’s matched with a game that can turn the power of that game against itself—as Agniezska Radwanska demonstrated in her dazzling quarterfinal win over Azarenka.
• Tommy Haas has hired Alexander Waske as his new coach, with the goal to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in November.
• Loved this dispatch from Steve Tignor on the grind of the tennis tour and what it feels like when you have the time to settle into a city like Melbourne.
• Interesting interview with Steve Simon, tournament director of the Larry Ellison-backed BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on all the major improvements to the facilities. There really is going to be a Nobu on site.
• Nice vs. Nice: Kim Clijsters interviews Ana Ivanovic for CNN.
• How do WTA players stack up in the Chinese Zodiac calendar?
