Sergiy Stakhovsky and phone-gate
Sergiy Stakhovsky upset by a line call during his his losing effort against Richard Gasquet, the Ukranian pulled out his phone to take a photo of the mark on the clay where ball landed.
He argued with Chair Umpire Carlos Ramos on a ball which landed near a line in the first set.
World No. 101 and a membr of the ATP Players Council even tweeted a photo:
Well..here what you asked for … twitter.com/Stako_tennis/s…
— Sergiy Stakhovsky (@Stako_tennis) May 27, 2013
Stakhovsky who expects to get fined, intends to fight it and plans to show the picture to the tournament supervisor
“I believe it was a bad call, it was a bad judgment,” he said. After all, we are playing on clay, where you should be clearly able to read the mark,” he added, “and unfortunately, not all of our referees are able to do so.”
During the first set on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the 101st-ranked Stakhovsky hit a shot that landed right along a line. The ball was ruled out, but Stakhovsky was sure it was in.
This is not the first time Stakhovsky has done this. He also did the same thing at a tournament in Munich last month.
Gasquet spoke about the incident in his post match news conference:
“I think he was pretty sure the ball was on the line, Gasquet said. I’m not sure about it. It’s very close. Maybe it’s good; maybe it’s out. I agree it was very close.
“So he’s a funny guy. I think he’s one of the funniest guys in the draw. For sure it’s not usual to see that, but I can understand he’s frustrated, because the ball is close.
“I was winning 2‑0. I broke him. So for sure not bothering me at all. I prefer to break him and to be confident. And I prefer the umpire say no to the ball. I agree it was a little bit close.
“I think it’s funny. It’s not problem, for sure. When you are winning 2‑0, is better for you. Can laugh a little bit more.
“But I think, yeah, I really don’t know about this ball. As I said, it’s a very close one. So I can understand he did that because some weeks ‑‑ two weeks ago I had problems in Rome, so I can understand when a guy is becoming crazy sometimes.
“But I think it was a funny situation. As I said, he’s a very funny guy, smart guy, so I have no problem about it.”
Sloane Stephens and the media
Sloane Stephens met the media after her straight sets win over Karin Knapp. She had many questions posed to her about her recent slump since the Australian Open and the reaction to her recent controversial interview with ESPN Magazine and article in Time Magazine
Stephens: “Obviously I haven’t had that many good results leading up to the clay season, so to get some match in on my favorite surface and get some confidence back and kind of just start feeling ball better.
“Just really excited to be on the court again and, like, loving it again. Even though ‑‑ I mean, I didn’t win a tournament or I didn’t final a tournament, but I think just having some good results and getting some wins, that really helped.
“Now everything is settled and I’m handling and balancing everything better, so it feels ‑‑ you know, being on the court feels a lot better, and I’m really happy with the way things are going.
“I’m only 20 years old, so I have a lot to learn and a long ways to go. Just finding the right balance is what we’re doing.
“It’s been fine for me. My really good friend came and my mom is here. I’m just having a good time. It’s been fun.
“I mean, obviously attention is attention. It comes, it goes. When you’re winning they love it; when you’re losing they love it. It’s all the same really.
“Just good to be playing and playing well again.
On what she has leaned in the past few months: “I think most importantly just tough times, they obviously don’t always last. To get through it is awesome. I wouldn’t say I had ‑‑ the last couple months have definitely been difficult, but I think I’ve worked my way through it.
I’m feeling good about myself, and I think that’s all that really matters.
Asked if she regretted anything she said about Serena Williams or the way it came out: “No. It’s all been discussed and everything is fine. Just moving forward.”
Caroline Wozniacki and her golf swing
Caroline Wozniacki snapped a five- match losing streak on Monday when she defeated No. 1 British player Laura Robson in straight sets. In press she was asked if she would work on her golf game for next year’s Masters. Wozniacki’s boyfriend is Rory McIlroy.
“You know, I told Rory, I said, I am not going to hit a ball at the par‑3. I said, There is no chance. He goes, Okay. I respect that. Of course. What does he do on the 9th? Tees it up. Gives me the club. He goes, Here you go. I’m like, First of all, I’m not prepared; second of all, I don’t want to hit the shot. He said, I don’t think you have a choice now because the crowd is going crazy. I’m like, I can’t back out now. And I’m stubborn, as well. So I was like, Okay, as long as I don’t air it, I’m going to be fine.
“But I think I made the biggest divot on the grass. And I got quite a few comments after that. For example, like, you know, How much did you have to pay Augusta for the one acre of grass that you tore up? I mean, I had to hear about that for quite a long time afterwards.
“I can actually hit the ball decent sometimes; it just didn’t really show on that one.
“And Andy Roddick, he tweeted me afterwards going, Oh, you know, the grass almost went further than your ball. I’m like, well, as far as I remember, his ball hit the water, too. So it doesn’t really matter if it’s, you know, how far in the water? Water is the water, right?
“So I gave him a bit of slack for that.”
“The referee is gonna win.”
After losing a tough five setter to Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych was asked which player he favored in the second round match between Monfils and Ernesst Gulbis.
“The referee is gonna win.
“The referee is gonna win. I mean, whatever. What you gonna say? They are both great players. One or the other is gonna win, so I really don’t have any magical feelings to say who’s gonna win. That’s it.
Aga Radwanska and her hair
Agnieszska Radwanska was questioned about her recent hair color – going from brunette to blonde just before Fed Cup in April.
“Well, you know, it’s just to change something. Yeah.”
“But I think I go back to dark hair because everybody telling me to come back to the dark, so I will do it soon, probably.
“What do you think?”
Radwanska’s sister Urszula went from blonde to brunette but didn’t like it. “She was brunette for I think two weeks, but she didn’t like it at all, so she changed to blonde again. We’re both blonde now.”