Tennis News From Here and There. And a Tidbit or Two.

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 2nd January 2014

BNP Paribas 2013 Masters Tennis Tournament

Tennis News From Here and There. And a Tidbit or Two.

epa03930351 Kevin Anderson of South Africa returns the ball to Roger Federer of Switzerland during their second round match at the BNP Paribas 2013 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 October 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Wozniacki And McIlroy Are Engaged

Caroline Wozniacki and boyfriend Rory McIlroy are set to create a tennis-golf dynasty after announcing their engagement on New Year’s Day via Twitter.

“Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! … I said YES,” said former WTA number one Wozniacki. McIlroy chimed in with a tweet of his own: “Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes!!”

The young multimillionaires, together since 2011 made the announcement at Sydney where Wozniacki is training after withdrawing from this week’s Brisbane event as a precautionary move due to a shoulder injury.

The former No. 1 is hoping to play next week in her only tune-up for the Australian Open, the Sydney International.

The engagement comes only a few months after reports circulated that the couple had split up, rumors which were denied by both parties.

Additional News

Kevin Anderson withdrew from Brisbane due to an acute stomach virus, the sixth player to do so in the men’s and women’s draw. Sabine Lisicki was struck with a similar illness. . . New Zealand-born Australian tennis player Sacha Jones has retired at the age of 23, saying she has already suffered too many injuries. She will begin studies at Auckland University in March. . . Australian men Marinko Matosevic and Matt Ebden have today been awarded wildcards into the main draw at Apia International Sydney, January 5-11. . . The Sydney women’s qualifying draw will include top seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kimiko Date-Krumm and former world No.15 Julia Goerges of Germany. Sara Tomic, 15, has a wild card. . . Tennis player Ryan Sweeting and actress Kaley Cuoco were married on New Year’s Eve. . . Jamie Hampton on being a low profile third-ranked American: “It’s OK,” she said. “It has its advantages. No one really knows who I am so I can fly under the radar a little bit. I would like some exposure. Maybe not [as much as Venus Williams]. It comes with the territory. If I do well, I’m going to get more exposure and I will have to embrace it.” . . The Wimbledon Foundation has teamed up with international sports supporter HSBC to bring former British No.1 Tim Henman to India to spearhead a major new initiative aimed at boosting the development of junior tennis in the country. India will host the first Wimbledon tennis event outside the UK as Henman heads to Delhi and Mumbai in January to launch The Road to Wimbledon in India with a series of coaching clinics and events offering local children the chance to play at Wimbledon next August. . . Lleyton Hewitt’s reaction to defending champion Novak Djokovic hiring a new coach, former Australian Open winner Boris Becker and not asking his now part time coach Marian Vajda to come along. “That one is probably the biggest surprise, I would say, out of any of them. That’s a little bit strange to me. I would have thought even if Becker was there and he was going to help out in ways, you know, Marian has obviously done a pretty good job and the success rate at Melbourne Park is pretty good. Obviously Novak knows his game pretty well. He just want that little bit of outside influence, and he thinks Boris can do it.”

We Hear —

—That the top price paid for a 2013 lesson with Rafael Nadal was $150,000 with proceeds going to the Rafael Nadal Foundation

—That there was no knighthood for Andy Murray on the New Year’s Honours List released by Buckingham Palace. Anne Haydon Jones was named CBE, Commander of the British Empire, in recognition of her years of work in tennis administration. She was the 1969 Wimbledon champion who later played for the Minnesota Buckskins in the early 1970s in World TeamTennis play.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, BETHANIE Mattek-Sands, Boris Becker, Caroline Wozniacki, Julia Goerges, Kevin Anderson, Kimiko Date-Krumm, Marinko Matosevic, Matt Ebden, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Rory McIlroy, Ryan Sweeting, Sabine Lisicki, Tennis, Tennis News, Tim Henman, Venus Williams