Tennis Tidbits Of Unrelated Info

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 29th January 2014

Tennis Tidbits Of Unrelated Info

epaselect epa04016163 Tennis balls spread on a blue court during a practice session of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia (not pictured) ahead of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 12 January 2014. The tournament will take place in Melbourne from 13 to 26 January 2014. EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA |

Australian Open champion Li Na stepped off the plane in her home province of Hubei and found a delegation of provincial officials waiting for her with a check for $132,000. . . . . Serbia’s Davis Cup captain Bogdan Obradovic says he respects top player Novak Djokovic’s decision not to play his nations tie against Switzerland. Janko Tipsarevic is also out with an injury and Viktor Troicki has been suspended for doping. No. 117 Dusan Lajovic is the team’s top ranked player. “Djokovic feels that he needs a pause,” Obradovic said. “He is exhausted, both mentally and physically. No one knows what he feels in this moment better than himself. Novak needs a lighter preparation that would leave him full of energy to undertake the rest of the season. We all understand him and stand behind his choice.” . . . Some Chinese critics got on Li Na for failing to thank her home country in her Aussie Open acceptance speech. A Xinhua commentary noted that her title “would not have been possible without her time on the national team.” However, Li is coached privately. . . An Australian gambler won $196,000 for picking Li Na and Stanislas Wawrinka to win the Australian Open with a $435 bet on the pair. At the time the bet was made at one of TAB’s 2,900 stores in Australia, the odds on each player both winning the event were 451-1. . . Babolat had a fine Australian Open. Li Na won the title with a Babolat Pure Drive racket strung with Babolat Pro Hurricane & VS hybrid strings. Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia won the Junior Girls’ Singles and Doubles tournament. Elizaveta plays with the Babolat Pure Drive racket strung with RPM Blast strings. Sara Errani won the women’s doubles with a Babolat Pure Drive racket strung with Babolat Pro Hurricane strings, and Sabine Ellerbrock of Germany won the Women’s Wheelchair Ladies tournament with her Babolat Pure Drive racket strung with Babolat RPM Blast. . . Andy Murray’s Cromlix House hotel is set to open on April 1?

Rumor is that the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil has paid Novak Djokovic only 40 percent of the money they owe him for an exo against Gustavo Kuerten. —That sponsor banking group ANZ extended its partnerships with the Australian Open for a further five years. On-court signage on Rod Laver Arena for ANZ and Jacob’s Creek appeared in Mandarin for the first time.

Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Australian Open, Janko Tipsarevic, Li Na, Novak Djokovic, Sara Errani, Sports, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, Viktor Troicki