That's right, Spin fans, it's another patented Fourhand post, as it turns out much news is being made in this pro tennis off-season. Here's a rundown of the latest:
SWAN SONG As it so happens, Juan Ignacio Chela, age 33, wasn't just "a flamingo w/ injured wing" at the time of the 2012 U.S. Open, which he sat out. He was also contemplating retirement, an idea he followed through on this week. Among the players to send him kudos on his career: Gisela Dulko, recently retired in her own right.
PENNETTA ON DULKO Speaking of the Argentine, her hyper-successful doubles partner, Flavia Pennetta, has some glorious things to say about her friend's career and character. Dulko herself recently said this: "Reaching number one in the ranking alongside my best friend was unforgettable." Now if only all pairings in the world, both on and off court, went so swimmingly.
ICYMI That stands for "In case you missed it," for the non-Twitter crowd out there, and what's afoot is that John Isner has traded coach Craig Boynton, his overseer since early 2009, for Mike Sell, the former coach of one Monica Seles.
ICYMI, PART 2 Mark Miles, the Indianapolis-based chairman of Super Bowl XLVI and former chief of the ATP tour, was recently named the CEO of the parent company of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Indy 500 ("The Greatest Spectacle in Racing") is conducted. Miles actually related an anecdote from his tennis management days when speaking about his new gig: "From 1990 to 2005, it happened that Memorial Day coincided with the French Open championships in Paris. So I would hurry back from Roland Garros and get to the hotel and turn on the television, never wanting to miss ... catching the race on TV. We could follow it wherever we were in the world."
—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)