The world number 1 decided to let bygones be bygones. She will return to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, fourteen years after her last appearance. It's nice. Nice as Roger Federer's parrot, Ivanovic's new boyfriend, Rafael Nadal's future restaurant or Sharapova's tricks.
1- Serena Williams (/).
On the tour, Serena Williams has nothing to prove. She won it all. And many times. Except that in her wonderful journey, the American couldn’t get the respect she deserved at home, in Indian Wells. A tournament that she’s been boycotting for 14 years. There won’t be a fifteenth since the World Number 1 posted a video in which she proudly announces her "return to Indian Wells."
Serena hasn't played this tournament since 2001. That year, she was 19 and won the tournament, but with boos and gibes. Blame it on the semi-final where she was to face her sister Venus, but the latter, victim of tendinitis, had to withdraw. The public thought that it was an act, imagining an agreement between the two sisters. Serena was then booed.
2- Andy Murray (+1).
In addition to his final at the Australian Open, Andy Murray is already sure that 2015 will be a special year. The reason? His marriage to his girlfriend Kim Sears, with whom he's been for nine years. So, this week, the date was finally announced officially. It will take place on the 11th of April at the Cromlix House Hotel. A huge Scottish hotel which now belongs to the player, near Dunblane, his hometown.
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The wedding meal could be entrusted to the French Albert Roux. Roux means ginger in French. Quite appropriate for a Scottish wedding.
3- Novak Djokovic (-1).
With the Australia Open on his belt, Novak Djokovic is already looking at the clay court season calendar hoping to shine at Roland Garros. But until the sunny days, the Serb is enjoying his family and especially his dogs that he seems to love very much. Rain or snow, Novak is always outdoors with his pets. Pets that are not afraid of the cold season according to their little coats.
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4- Maria Sharapova (4).
Maria Sharapova isn’t a big fan of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Indeed, she had only played just three games in the history of the competition before her little chilly trip in Poland this week to play the first round.
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But there, the recent finalist of the Australian Open needed more than the cold to get flustered. First, because she proved that she was the boss right from the start by defeating Urszula Radwanska (6-0, 6-3) before an easy victory the next day against the other Radwanska sister, Agnieszka (6-1, 7 -5) to send Russia in the semi-finals. But that's nothing compared to her talent at football. And it’s not the Krakow courts that will say otherwise...
5- Ana Ivanovic (NE).
While all the ladies of the tour were elbowing their ways in their Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, Ana has been practicing and climbing the ladder.
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But that's nothing compared to the buzz of the week: after months of rumours, it seems that the tennis player and the German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger have finally officialised their relationship. It's the lawyer of the Bayern Munich's midfielder, who said that the two athletes were in "a relationship". It's been a while that the two lovebirds were photographed in the same place at the same time.
6- Kristina Mladenovic (NE).
The heroine of the week. It all started when the young French player was preferred over Alize Cornet for the second day of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas against Italy. While Les Bleues were led 2-0, the blonde pulled out a great match to overcome Sara Errani in singles (6-3, 6-4) before beating the pair Errani-Vinci (6-1, 6-2) with Garcia, who earlier managed to help get back to 2-2. At the end, France won 3 to 2. Two matches, two victories for "Kiki" and her funny Twitter account.
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She even received Azarenka’s congratulations.
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Not bad.
7- Richard Gasquet (NE).
And one title for Richard! One! Taking advantage of Jerzy Janowicz surprise withdrawal in the final in Montpellier (Gasquet was leading 3 games to 0 against an apparently feverish player), the French won his eleventh title on the tour. Enough to make him smile.
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But that's nothing compared to the debut of his tournament, including this fantastic meeting with the President of the local football club, Montpellier, Louis Nicollin.
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A colourful character for some. A big mouth for others. The truth is probably in between.
8- Roger Federer (NE).
Roger is back to business. Not on a tennis court but in the media world. Advertising master, Roger is the face, among many other brands, of the Swiss phone company Sunrise. Recently, they released two commercials featuring Federer. The first with a parrot...
... And the second depicting an ordinary day off in the life of the Swiss player.
The Academy Awards aren’t very far away.
9- Rafael Nadal (NE).
What’s new with Rafael Nadal? The clay court season - HIS season - is starting soon. Meanwhile, it's business as usual. And apparently, the lefty has decided to open a chain of Spanish restaurants, which he would like to call “Tatel”. The Spanish player wouldn’t be alone since two other Spanish stars should accompany him on this adventure: Enrique Iglesias and Pau Gasol. The project is not yet finalized but rumours are growing.
10- Marin Cilic (NE).
Winner of the US Open, Marin Cilic is preparing his clay season by working on his fitness. So to promote the Zagreb Tournament that he played last week, the player posed, along with Marcos Baghdatis, disguised as a regiment soldier in charge of watching over the historical monuments of the city.
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The uniform suits him rather well.
11- Samantha Stosur (NE).
More accustomed to Australian January heat waves, the Aussies must have appreciated their little German trip for the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. The proof with this picture of Samantha Stosur and the Australian team training in Stuttgart.
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Yes, that's snow. Conditions that didn't necessarily helped Stosur, defeated by Andrea Petkovic in straight sets (6-4, 3-6, 12-10), nor her team, swept away 3-0 by Germany in two small days.
12- Eugenie Bouchard (/).
What's up with the beautiful Canadian? A new coach for example. Thus we found out that Sam Sumyk, former coach of Azarenka, had agreed to take charge of Bouchard’s destiny. The French coach confirmed the rumour last weekend. And since good news comes in pairs, the blonde also had the pleasure of celebrating her million fans on Facebook with a lovely Selfie.
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13- Petra Kvitova (/).
Defending champion with the Czech Republic, Petra Kvitova chose to skip the first round of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas and didn't travel with her friends to brave the cold and challenge Canada. To give them courage and encourage her colleagues, Kvitova sent them a picture of their victory in 2014.
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Corporate. And effective, her friends finally won 3-0. They will meet the French in the next round.
14 - Victoria Azarenka (NE).
Decidedly, Vicka doesn't do anything like everybody else. While she had to go to Hungary to play a round of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas against Georgia, the former world number 1 failed to play the first game for logistical reasons that she explained on Twitter herself. Her luggage got lost on her way to Budapest. So Vicka had neither racquets nor equipment. Difficult indeed.
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Moral of the story, the player got bored to death until everything arrived. And when you get bored, sometimes you do weird stuff.
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15- Angelique Kerber (NE).
Before challenging the Australians in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, the Germans made a warm up lap in Stuttgart. Who says Stuttgart says Porsche and its museum. And Angelique Kerber couldn’t resist a photo session at the wheel of historic racing cars of the German firm.
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Vroom-vroom.
Out:
Jürgen Melzer, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Venus Williams, Tomas Berdych, Grigor Dimitrov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
