AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani via Daylife
Andre Agassi wasn’t the only bald tennis-playing daddy making news this weekend. Ivan Ljubicic told his own inspirational story (minus the meth and hair piece), after beating Michael Llodra, 7-5, 6-3 in the finals of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon. It was the 30-year-old’s ninth ATP title and his [...]

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 [...]

Marat Safin and Teimuraz Gabashvili visited an orphanage in St. Petersburg while in town for the St. Petersburg Open. Listen carefully, gals, Marat has a message for you:

Hear that? Marat says retirement will give him plenty of time to find the right woman and make babies. Single ladies, renew those passports!
Oh, and of course it’s [...]

GTT buddy Lorrie sent us these links to Marat Safin’s last press conference at the Kremlin Cup this week (after beating Nikolay Davydenko, Marat went out to Korolev in the second round.) The video is in Russian (non-Russian speakers will enjoy casting Safin into their fantasy James Bond film) but the English transcript shows Marat [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The players partied on the helipad of the Shanghai Hilton to celebrate this week’s Masters tournament. They managed not to look too grumpy, and Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal even dressed up a little:

Marat, do you really want to wrap up your final season wearing plaid flannels? Come on now:

That’s more like it!

“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. [...]

REUTERS/Nir Elias (CHINA SPORT TENNIS) via Daylife
It’s official – the Grouchy Season has started.
Here’s Nadal complaining about the long season to reporters in Shanghai on Tuesday:
“It’s impossible to play 1st of January and finish 5th of December. It’s impossible to be here playing like what I did the last five years, playing a lot of [...]

Marat Safin – the most popular man in China at the moment – was celebrated today at the China Open after his quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal. He lost the match 3-6, 1-6 but said he felt like he was playing some good tennis, considering he wasn’t practicing anymore. (Huh? You know Fabrice Santoro is [...]

The Majors may be over, but there’s still plenty of action on the ATP tour this season. The China Open has been especially exciting, with Rafael Nadal doing well and guys like Safin, Djokovic and Soderling still in the draw. It’s going to be a fun tennis weekend!
Here’s Rafa’s take after his tough second round [...]

In Beijing/China Open news:
Rafael Nadal came out on the winning end of  a tight three-setter against James Blake, and was very pleased with the outcome: “I think I played a very good match. I feel it well – one of my best matches after my injury of the knee. I’m happy with how I played [...]