First-round matches will soon commence at Wimbledon, and these are some of the top headlines away from the grass leading into The Championships:
FED FOILS SELF? It doesn't appear that it will have a longterm effect on his Wimbledon play, but Roger Federer accidentally poked himself in the hand with a stick while frolicking with his twin daughters in a forest. (Only a Swiss, right?) Despite the minor injury, Federer is speaking quite confidently about his Wimbledon chances lately.
GO WEIBO Li Na posted a topless shot of herself to her Weibo account (blurred, as you can see) in hopes of raising awareness about breast cancer. The perennial taboo-slayer caused a bit of a kerfuffle in her home nation, China, of course.
SERENA SLIGHTED? Sabine Lisicki, who has just one semifinal showing in her past 17 events since finishing runner-up at Wimbledon last year, will open play Tuesday at Wimbledon in the absence of the champion, Marion Bartoli. "The good folks at the All England Club explained to us that they have a few choices: The slot can go to the champion two years ago, the current top seed, or most recent finalist. Given that Serena Williams meets two of those three criteria, the guess is that she gets the call." Educated guess, but wrong.
PHOTO-GRAF-ABLE Appearing at Royal Ascot and "s]peaking to [*HELLO!* online in the royal enclosure, Stefanie [Graf] admitted it was the first time she had been able to attend the royal racing event, despite being a fan of equestrian sports as a child growing up in Germany."
Well, just cue Lorde's "Royals" song, as your loyal Spin keeper remains smitten by Graf's royal-blue dress—and that black hat. In the article, she speaks to her son's penchant for baseball over soccer, and that he plays in more leagues and tournaments than she and Andre Agassi did growing up.
BONUS An early review of Monica Seles' second young-adult tome in The Academy series is here, and it's glowing (and brief).
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