Australian Open tidbits

Abigail Lorge nicely sums up the Safina-Cornet match.

Speaking of Safina, some commentator--I think it was Pam Shriver--said that "She (Safina) has a new name now," referring to Dinara's request to be called "SAFina," rather than "SafEEna." That is the kind of nonsense we have come to expect from commentators (and especially Shriver) when they are asked to correctly pronounce a player's name. Safina does not have a new name--she has just become assertive about getting people to pronounce it correctly. In the past, she followed the Sharapova example of giving up before even making an effort. I wish players would not do that because I consider the act of dumbing down to be a cultural crime.

Here's a quick interview with Yan and Zheng.

For some of us, it was hard to watch the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and the Australian Open at the same time.

Ana Ivanovic has decided that perhaps getting a coach is a good idea, after all.

Speaking of coaches, Ricardo Sanchez pleased Marion Bartoli with a nice gesture following her defeat of his protege, Jelena Jankovic. He went to her and told her how well she had played.

Bartoli, by the way, has added running to her already-grueling training regimen.