Sowing Some Other Seeds...
OK, enough useful information. That’s not really why you read a London tab, is it? Why would you, when the Daily Mail can give you so much more? Such as these two headlines:
THE END OF THE LOVE-IN? NADAL-FEDERER FROSTINESS ADDS EXTRA SPICE TO RIVALRY
and
DJOKOVIC PREPARES FOR WIMBLEDON BY TAKING GIRLFRIEND TO MURRAY’S SCOTTISH REGION
Tension among the Big 4? You don’t say. Or do you? One of those stories is, obviously, more legit than the other.
“A few weeks ago,” writes Mail reporter Mike Dickson of the Nadal-Federer-Djokovic relationship, “a very prominent figure in tennis’s global hierarchy was reflecting on the changing dynamic between the Big 3.”
“‘We’re in a phase,’” this figure said, “‘when Rafa and Novak take the opposite position on everything to Roger. And it’s not something you want to get caught in the middle of.’”
There’s nothing to this story you haven’t heard before. But it should be noted that the new ATP player council was announced last week—it once included Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic; only Federer remains.
As for Djokovic’s invasion of Murray’s Scottish turf, it turns out that it was a pre-Wimbledon birthday trip for his girlfriend, Jelena Ristic. Was there a subtle message of aggression behind it as well? Perhaps not. When he got to Dunblane, Murray’s hometown, Djokovic said he “made a little picture and sent it to him.”
Murray replied as you might expect: “What are you doing there?”
Nole and Jelena had a nice time. Or as nice as they could in that part of the country.
“We went to see the William Wallace monument,” Djokovic said, “took in some historic culture. We really liked it, although it rained for two days.”