A lot of interesting stories continue to develop in Tennis Land, so I thought I’d put them all down in one place:
Let’s start with some fun stuff. Reporter Matt Cronin via Twitter: “Sharapova recently began dating the Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic. Now if she can only help “The Machine” get his deadly jump shot back.”
Vujacic [...]

True story – while playing tennis today, I overheard a woman on the court next to me say: “Forget the crystal meth, the toupee is the really shocking part!”
Agassi’s upcoming autobiography keeps getting juicier. Beyond the drug use, the abusive father and the admission that he hates tennis with a deep, dark passion, Agassi also [...]

Marat Safin may be limping off the tour in a couple weeks (WAH!), but he still has the best BS meter in the game. Here are Safin’s thoughts on Andre Agassi’s recent admission (via his autobiography) that he lied his way out of a drug suspension (CBS Sports):
“One should know how to be silent, but [...]

Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, the Williams sisters and others have responded to Andre Agassi’s “shocking” confession that he used crystal meth and lied to the ATP about it after a drug test came back positive.
UPDATE: Rafael Nadal was less moderate than others in his reaction to Agassi’s confession. He wonders why “now that he is [...]

Andre Agassi admits in his upcoming autobiography to taking crystal meth while still on tour, testing positive and then duping the ATP into believing his innocence:
Via The Times, U.K.:
Agassi, now 39, relates how he took crystal meth — possession of which carries a maximum five-year jail sentence in the US — in 1997, when his [...]

With the WTA’s Year Ending Championships in Doha this week, it seems a fine time to take a look at how the tour’s hyped-up “Roadmap” is working out. If you remember, the Roadmap was implemented by ex-WTA CEO Larry Scott at the beginning of this season to address the rampant injury problems and tournament pull-outs [...]

There’s an interesting story coming out of the Luxembourg Open today, following Caroline Wozniacki’s first round retirement (hamstring) against local gal Anne Kremer on Tuesday. Wozniacki was up 7-5, 5-0 when she tapped out, offering this explanation later:
“I could possibly have finished the match, but felt there was no way I could get ready for [...]

Swedish police detained two tennis players before the Stockholm Open on Sunday for allegedly soliciting prostitutes (via AP):
The two men were identified only as foreign citizens. Investigation leader Jonas Trolle told The Associated Press on Monday that they were detained as they entered a hotel in Stockholm early Sunday with their escorts. He said both [...]

The ATP’s calendar was the hot topic in the Shanghai Masters press room last week, but there were plenty of other interesting exchanges, covering everything from sex, sports cars and when the heck a Frenchman will ever win a major. Before it’s old news, I thought I’d post some of my favorites:
Novak Djokovic on sex [...]

The Times U.K. is reporting that the ATP has changed the way players are allowed to use medical timeouts for cramping:
“From next year, on the men’s tour at least, any player who cramps during a match will not have recourse to immediate on-court treatment. They will have to wait until the end of [...]

We’ve been following the (never ending?) story of the tennis players vs. the tennis schedule this week, as both Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal have said that current scheduling commitments are hurting the players. Roddick, who retired from his second round match in Shanghai, offered some solutions to the problem via Twitter today (I cleaned [...]

“What kind of sportsman are you, what kind of man are you?” – Marat Safin

The ATP’s Grumpy Season is in full swing at the Shanghai Masters (no wonder Roger’s sitting it out). Even Marat Safin, who is saying adios to the tour in just a few weeks, is taking the opportunity to settle some scores. [...]