Daily Bagel: Maria Sharapova arrives in Sochi for the Olympics with NBC

http://youtu.be/BRtVbg7SF5w

The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: Fun compilation of tennis players' top talk show moments.

• Maria Sharapova is officially in Sochi to attend to her duties with NBC, and she stopped by the court where she learned to play tennis.

• Putting all doubts to rest, Sharapova says she's backing Team Russia in the Olympics.

• Rafael Nadal says last month's Australian Open final was his worst moment on a tennis court. He also says his back is healing.

The Spanish star, who sustained a back injury in the final of the year's first Grand Slam tournament, said it had been a bit harder to recover from the loss in Melbourne than from other defeats.

"The soul is good. It wouldn't be right to say I was not well after all the things this life has given me. I am a person that takes losses very well, I always have been, and I really do not think about them anymore after a few hours. This time it's taking me a little more," Nadal said.

• Nadal picked up the award for the best male Spanish athlete.

• It was bound to happen: Ivo Karlovic fired down a record-tying 44 aces in his win over Daniel Brands, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (3), in Zagreb.

• What happens when the ATP's Big Four start losing? More analysis supporting the idea that the dark age of the ATP is coming soon.

• Peter Bodo's take on the no-win situation created by Davis Cup "dead rubbers". Germany got some heat from their home fans this weekend after they clinched the win over Spain 3-0 and basically threw in the towel on the last two matches.

• You can now vote for your favorite WTA hot shot each month. Here are the nominees for January:

http://youtu.be/ReuoLjfx6Rg

• Five things about Sochi from Russia's Elena Vesnina.

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