Tennis Players

There was Rafael Nadal on Sunday after a shockingly disappointing upset loss to Robin Soderling at the French Open answering questions in two languages and manfully owning his disappointment and emotions. There wasn't LeBron James on Saturday night after his Cleveland Cavaliers exited the NBA playoffs being reminded that having the best regular-season record means, well, not so much after the playoffs start. There wasn't any James at the postgame media podium.

The grunt and groan begins today. This is U.S. Open tennis time. There are four majors on the tour each year. Each is called a Grand Slam. The players live for them and refer to them merely as "Slams." The people who run them, tennis federations in Australia, France, England and the United States, quietly refer to them with sounds resembling the ringing of cash registers. Australia is the hang-loose friendly major. The French is delightful on clay and delectable in cuisine.

Venus Williams gathered in another big trophy Saturday, defeating Virginia Razzano to win the $2-million Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates. It was her 40th title, a wonderful feat, but if justice is the guide that it should be, this was a title nobody should have won. In fact, not a single match should have been contested at the Dubai tournament last week.

For many years, Andre Agassi stole the show at the U.S. Open. Now, three years out of the tennis game, he's doing it in coat and tie. Monday was opening day. They played 56 matches. Defending champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams won handily. There was drama on the back courts, great play on the grandstand, exceptional effort everywhere. And then, Monday night, the bald guy from Las Vegas walked to the microphone and one-upped everything. He was there as part of a ceremony honoring "athletes who have given back."

Talk about financial bailouts. As one of the biggest events in tennis started to gather steam in the desert Thursday, three of the biggest names in the women's game became notable as big losers. To be clear, that term can never apply to Maria Sharapova and Venus and Serena Williams. Among them, they have won 20 Grand Slam event titles -- Serena 10, Venus 7 and Sharapova 3. This is strictly about money. This year's BNP Paribas Open, an event that pays a $4.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- There were the usual pregnancy cravings, of course, but one unexpected desire reached out, grabbed and fairly shook Lindsay Davenport out of her virtual retirement. She was watching tennis at Indian Wells with her husband Jon Leach in March, a few months away from having baby Jagger and months from having to explain to people on an hourly basis that, no, her son's name was not an homage to Mick.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Has the severe stomach virus that hindered Roger Federer's Australian Open preparation given hope to mere mortals, known as the rest of the tour? "I will tell you in two weeks," said No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal. Federer's march toward history -- he is two short of tying Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam tournament titles -- will continue with a first-round match Tuesday against Diego Hartfield of Argentina to start the Australian Open.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Several players on the women's tennis tour have been approached to fix matches or provide inside information sought by gamblers, the head of the tour said Monday, echoing disclosures of similar overtures made to male players. "Less than 10" women have been approached, said Larry Scott, WTA Tour chairman and chief executive. However, he acknowledged that the full extent of the problem might not be known. "I'm not sure I know all the ways players have been approached.

Golden bangs, so why not a golden Slam to follow? Buzz, after all, takes many forms and Maria Sharapova has created an early splash on two fronts with her undefeated mark (14-0) which includes an Australian Open title in January, having arrived in Melbourne with retro-looking, blunt-cut bangs.

Making a rare combined appearance in Southern California, tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams have entered the East West Bank Classic tournament, July 21-27 at the Home Depot Center. It is the first time since 2004 that both of the sisters, who grew up in nearby Compton, have played the event. Neither played in Carson last year, and in fact, Venus, whose best result came with a semifinal appearance in 2004, has not played here since.