A FEDERER DISS?: While Patrick McEnroe singles out a monkey-off-his-back Roger Federer as his prohibitive favorite to win his sixth straight U.S. Open crown, John McEnroe is going with one of the Andys — Murray or Roddick — as his top picks.
FROM GRAND SLAM TO GRIDIRON: Venus and Serena Williams are poised to buy into the ownership group of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. “There have been preliminary talks, and hopefully it’ll work out,” said Serena.
SAM-URAI WARRIOR: Sam Querrey called his 7-6(11), 7-6(3) decision over Andy Roddick in Cincinnati — his first victory in four attempts against his fellow American — “definitely one of my best wins ever.”
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE MEAL: Samantha Stosur confided that she forgot to pay the bill at Fune in Toronto — and was promptly pursued by the restaurant’s staff: “I only filled in the amount and didn’t sign it,” blogged the Aussie. “We were walking down the street back to the hotel a good 100 meters away and the Japanese waitress was running, waving her arms to catch us.”
BROTHER, BROTHER: When it comes to all-sibling press conferences, there’s perhaps no better duo than the freewheeling Bryan Bros., who like to keep it fun and are so close that they often finish each other’s sentences. They’re better as a whole than individually. When together on the podium, Venus and Serena Williams are, in many ways, the complete opposite. They steadfastly watch each other’s backs and rarely reveal any behind-the-scenes insight. Often, all we get is a bunch of inside jokes and giggles. By all signs, Johnny Mac and brother PMac will be more the former than the latter when they take the ESPN booth side-by-side at the U.S. Open. Here are a few thoughts from the always outspoken McEnroe Bros. as they prep for a two-week TV stint in Flushing Meadows:
•“We didn’t have much of a rivalry on the court because of the obvious — John would just kick my butt anytime. In broadcasting, it’s pretty much the same.” — Patrick McEnroe
•“I might have won a few things if I had been focused on my tennis.” — John McEnroe
•“I’m not quite sure how that one’s going to work out.” — John McEnroe on the coach-pupil relationship of Todd Martin and Novak Djokovic
•“His biggest challenge right now may be his twins.” — John McEnroe on new papa Roger Federer
•“As the father of nine-month-old twins, I can tell you that that’s a challenge. But something tells me that Roger may not be changing quite as many diapers as I have.” — Patrick McEnroe on Roger Federer
•“They’re trying to be supportive of the sport, but it appears it’s pretty difficult for them to be motivated for anything other than the big events.” — John McEnroe on the Williams sisters
•“Can anyone mentally stand up to the Williams sisters when it really counts — in a major? That’s the big question…Plenty of these other top women are beating the Williams sisters at these other events. The question is why can’t they beat them at the majors?…These other women kind of mentally melt against them. They almost cower if they come out and play well.” — Patrick McEnroe
•“I’ve often wondered how accurate it actually is.” — John McEnroe on Hawk-Eye
THE NUMBERS
9: Shirts John Isner went through in his 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(3) first-round win over Tommy Haas in hot-and-humid Cincinnati (said the former Georgia Bulldog, “Hopefully, I can keep that number down.”)
QUOTEBOOK
“One of the greatest things in my childhood was boredom.” — Todd Martin
“[Sam] Querrey is no longer the late-blooming, aw-shucks talent that once went on court with a gaping hole in his sneaker.” — Doug Robson
“When she’s on her game, you have to try to weather the storm.” — Sam Stosur on Serena Williams
“I actually got recognized by the border control when we were coming over into the States, which was nice.” — Andy Murray on the Canada-to-U.S. border crossing
