WimbleSpin: Djokovic signs prosthetic leg, Bob pegs Mike in back with serve

WimbleSpin harbors this regal fortnight's latest off-court news.

SIBLING REVELRY If the highly anticipated match between Serena and Venus Williams on Monday morning should come with fanfare, it came with fuzzies exchanged between the sisters on Sunday. The two haven't played in a major event or at Wimbledon since Serena bested Venus in the 2009 final on Centre Court, 7-6, 6-2.

Side Note: A case can be made that Wimbledon is downright disrespecting Venus these days.

A LEG UP In what's considered a first not just at SW19 but at pro tennis tournaments at large, Novak Djokovic was beckoned by a fan to sign the man's prosthetic leg. The defending champion dutifully complied.

KEYS TO SUCCESS Madison Keys has received a few helpful netcords and a outright kind draw this Wimbledon. Tweeters have taken notice, as they always do. Keys' foes to date have been ranked Nos. 104, 109, and 78. Next up: No. 122 Olga Govortsova.

She's hardly alone in that right, though. Roger Federer's opponents through three rounds harbored rankings of Nos. 88, 36, and 69. He gets No. 20 Robert Bautista Agut on this Manic Monday.

LOVE GAME   Yes, 2015 French Open winner Stan Wawrinka recently separated from his wife again, presumably for good. Yes, 19-year-old star Donna Vekic has been linked to him romantically and appears to cheer him on at Wimbledon matches. No, calling her The Next Maria Sharapova is not a good idea. There was no next Michael Jordan, nor a next LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, themselves pegged as the Airs Apparent to MJ. Let Vekic be Vekic. Side Note: For the alleged acrimony felt between Djokovic and Federer, purported by none other than the Djoker's coach, Boris Becker, Novak and Stan seem to get on famously.

STICK AND TIRED  John Isner imploded at the eleventh hour against Marin Cilic on Day 2 of their contest this year, dropping two double-faults in a lengthy final game to lose 12-10 in the fifth set. In the wake of that, not everyone yearns for another Wimbledon marathon match. Some onlookers find it completely needless. And some onlookers include The New York Times' Christopher Clarey, who makes a solid case here for doing away with this particular semblance of "tradition."

IT'S A HIT Big-serving Bob Bryan pegged twin brother Mike in the back with a serve in this fortnight's first week. The two get Mate Pavic and Michael Venus in a third-round doubles clash.

GENIE, BOTTLED  Eugenie Bouchard's first-round exit at this Wimbledon, on the heels of her finalist showing in 2014, launched a hundred more think pieces about her decline this season. See Exhibits A and B here. She's hardly alone in suffering a downward spiral of a year, as evidenced by the famous slumps that Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov, and Agnieszka Radwanska had going into this Wimbledon. (Those of Nadal and Dimitrov continue.) Still, Bouchard's free-fall may be most glaring, based on her reaching the semifinal round or better at three of four majors last year.

ICYMI  Gael Monfils is gone, dispatched by fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon, but not before delivering what may be the most emasculating serve return ever in men's tennis. Pity poor Pablo Carreno Busta.

THE COMEBACK Kit Harington, known to rabid fans the world over as Jon Snow, may not be done on "Game of Thrones". That theory is based on the presence of many long follicles perched atop his dome in the Royal Box on Centre Court. Before that, check him out on July 11 in 7 Days in Hell, a head-shaking, chuckle-inducing mockumentary set at Wimbledon.

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