Quote of the week

"A Nero d’Avola, strong enough to make your head spin."

Francesca Schiavone, on what she would be if she were a wine

(Thanks to Forty Deuce for this interview.)

Russian Fed Cup team announced for 2011 1st round

Captain Shamil Tarpishchev has announced the members of Russia's Fed Cup team for the first round of 2011 play. Competing for Russia will be Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Russia will play France on the 5th and 6th of February in Moscow. The matches will be played on an indoor hard court.

Miscellany

Former tour player Leila Meshki is the director of the Baku Cup tournament.

Alina Jidkova, as expected, has retired from professional tennis. When she played (and lost in the final) of the U.S. Open qualifying playoffs, she said it was her last opportunity to play in the U.S. Open. Jidkova, who defeated Serena Williams in 2004 in Linz, attained her highest ranking in 2005, when she was ranked number 51 in the world. Her career-high doubles ranking was number 50. The Russian veteran is getting married next month. She and her fiance sell fine pearl jewelry.

"I'm not even 20 and there's someone who's 40 who could kick my butt," Rebecca Marino says of you-know-who.

Tennis Channel's latest "Tennisography" feature is about Vera Zvonareva. Using Leo Tolstoy's work as a backdrop, the story of Zvonareva's tennis life--her performance and her feelings--is told by her mother, her coach, and by Zvonareva herself. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it comes off well. What doesn't come off well is Tennis Channel's decision to use white subtitles on a lot of light background--a persistent problem on U.S. television.

And in tribute to Vera, here's the great Joan Armatrading:

Mattek-Sands to replace Williams in Hopman Cup

Bethanie Mattek-Sands has been named to the USA Hopman Cup team. Mattek-Sands replaces Serena Williams, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of her foot injury. Mattek-Sands and John Isner will represent the USA in the international team event, which begins on January 1. The USA is in Group B, with Great Britain, Italy and France. Group A includes Serbia, Belgium, Australia, and Kazakhstan.

Friday cat blogging--feral edition

These feral cats, who live in Mississippi, aren't so reclusive that they won't pose for photos

Serena Williams withdraws from Australian Open

Defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the 2011 Australian Open. Her foot injury was recently became worse after she went into training, and she had to have more surgery. Her doctors have determined that returning to tennis right now would put her at too much risk.

Williams missed the 2010 U.S. Open because of the injury, which was caused by broken glass when drunken World Cup enthusiasts threw bottles in a Munich restaurant where the former world number 1 was a patron. She recently withdrew from Hopman Cup competition, causing fans to fear that she would also withdraw from Melbourne.

Williams won the Australian Open in both 2009 and 2010.

Miscellany

The USTA has filed a suit against Olympus, the sponsor of the U.S. Open Series. The contract between Olympus and the USTA, which runs through 2013, stipulates that the camera company can opt out of the last two years if wishes to, but Olympus officials decided to opt out in 2011, which is a year early. The USTA is calling this action a breach of contract, but Olympus maintains that the USTA already breached the contract by permitting Panasonic to infringe on Olympus's sponsorship rights. USTA officials have referred to this opinion as being "without merit."

Don't miss WTA Backspin's WTA Yearbook.

A number of tennis and sports websites are reporting that Kimiko Date Krumm will retire next year. When she lost in the Asian Games, she said that she was very tired and maybe would have to quit next year, then she almost immediately felt better and talked about her future tennis plans. Though she certainly could stop after next year, the statement that she absolutely "will retire" was taken out of context by the Asian press and has been carelessly reprinted.

Laura Robson, who split with her coach in September, is reported to be looking for a new one.

Here are some early, and really cute, photos of the Williams sisters.