The tennis world was thrown for a loop by Alexandr Dolgopolov's news that he suffers from jaundice due to a Gilbert's syndrome diagnosis. The effects can be heightened for him, it appears, compared to how GS affects others. For one, the Mayo Clinic seems to downplay its severity, but Dolgopolov says, "Whenever I suffer from it, I need about a week or two to get treatment in the hospital.” Surely it can be different for a professional athlete performing at a high level of play than it is for the everyman among us.
Of course, Dolgopolov's disclosure of his condition arrives on the heels of Venus Williams' admission a year ago at the U.S. Open that she suffers from Sjogren's syndrome. Neither condition is pleasant, obviously, but both are acquiring new fans and respect in light of living with their conditions and maintaining such high levels of competition.
YOU GUYS WANT SOME ... COOKIES? In lighter news, a few ATP stars channeled their inner Corky Romano and baked cookies at the host hotel for the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.
On hand were Dolgopolov, Ross Hutchins, and Alejandro Falla. The Spin is amused by the matter-of-fact delivery of this line about the Hilton's Doubletree Hotel and its exalted snacks: "No machine is ever to touch the dough." Yea, they are handmade from beginning to end of the process, and your Spin keeper—with thanks on occasion to the downtown Doubletree in Dayton, Ohio, of all places—will vouch for the veracity of reports about their great taste. Simply delicious, a veritable tonguasm. But now the Spin is wondering if the three pros involved in making that batch actually ate or will eat any of the sweets. Aside from the slightly odd Cheesecake Factory infatuation among some top WTA players, most pros have such strict diets.
—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)