Larry Brown Sports

Viktor Troicki played a pretty forgettable match against Ernests Gulbis in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday, but he did have a pretty memorable meltdown.

Troicki was down a set and serving to start out the second set down 30-40. Facing a break point, Troicki hit a crosscourt backhand that went deep and appeared to clip the line. The chair umpire called it out, giving Gulbis the break to start the set. It also led to a complete unraveling from Troicki, who went off the hinges.

Troicki immediately complained about the call, leading to him and the umpire investigating the mark the ball left on the clay court. Troicki pointed out that there was no space between the mark the ball left on the court and the baseline, while the umpire refused to change his call.

“You don’t want to correct yourself. You’re wrong,” Troicki kept repeating while making a huge scene.

“From space you can see it’s there,” he said, drawing plenty of laughter.

“You are 100 percent wrong. I wouldn’t make a show out of this,” he continued.

Then around the 2:45 mark, takes the cameramen and has them come out to film a zoomed-in shot of the ball. The camera guys seemed to be loving it, too.

With all respect to Troicki, it looks like he was right in his argument. Check out where the ball landed:

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Tomas Berdych is carving out a nice career on the tennis courts, and he’s doing pretty well off of it, too.

The 27-year-old is ranked No. 6 in the world in men’s singles. His girlfriend, Ester Satorova, might be even higher in the model rankings.

Berdych and Satorova are both from the Czech Republic and have been dating since at least late 2011. Satorova received some attention last year during the US Open, but it wasn’t until I saw Berdych playing in the BNL d’Italia that I learned of Satorova, who was watching him play (seen above). Satorova also watched her boyfriend play at the Madrid Open last week.

Let’s do the rundown on both of them.

Berdych has won eight singles titles in his career, though he has not won a grand slam. His best finish at a grand slam was when he was a runner up at Wimbledon in 2010. He has reached the semis at the French and US Open, and he has made the quarters of the Australian three years in a row. Prior to dating Satorova, he was in a long-term relationship with tennis player Lucie Safarova (don’t be confused by the similar name).

According to her modeling profile, Satorova is 5-foot-9, was born in 1992, and her measurements are 33-23-35. She is repped by agencies in three different countries including Spain, Italy and Malaysia. She has appeared on the cover of at least two different magazines.

Satorova has accompanied Berdych to many tennis functions over the past few years and frequently travels to watch him play. Below are many more pictures of them over the past year and a half.

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Roger Federer recently got a haircut and is no longer sporting his typical long-haired look on the court.

Fed made quick work of Potito Starace in the second round of the BNL d’Italia on Tuesday, winning 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes. He had 35 winners compared to just eight unforced errors, and he broke serve four times.

Federer was wearing a rarely seen look, too. He got a haircut and his hair is now cropped pretty tightly on the sides and much shorter on the top. When he first came on tour, he had a ponytail. In recent years, he still wore his hair long on top so that it spilled over his headband while he played. Though he still wore a headband on Tuesday, Federer didn’t have to worry about his hair getting in his face.

Below are a few more looks at his new ‘do:

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A University of Oregon tennis player died on Saturday after drowning in what is being called a tragic cliff diving accident.

The Register-Guard reports that Alex Rovello, a 21-year-old junior at the school, jumped from a 60-foot cliff into Tamolitch Pool and did not emerge from the deep, near-freezing waters. Witnesses reportedly said it looked like he hit the water with his face and upper chest.

Officials reportedly say people nearby tried to save Rovello but it was too difficult given the conditions. One witness ran two miles to call 911 for help because there was no cell phone service in the area.

Rovello went undefeated in high school and won four state singles titles in Oregon. He went 21-8 last season as a No. 3 and 4 singles player for the Ducks.

“The Oregon tennis family is devastated by the loss of Alex,” said Oregon’s tennis coach, Nils Schyllander. “He was an amazing person and teammate and his spirit will live on forever with all of us who were fortunate enough to have known him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents, Geri and Jim Rovello, and to the entire family.”

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Maria Sharapova was rumored to be dating fellow tennis player Grigor Dimitrov for months, but they never confirmed the relationship. It wasn’t until the two were photographed by the paparazzi after Dimitrov’s upset win over Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open that she finally confirmed they were dating. And she did so in a great way.

After beating Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4 at the Madrid Open, Sharapova went to sign a television camera as is customary for the winner. Instead of signing her name, Sharapova wrote a funny message intended for the paparazzi: “How did you catch us???”

At least there’s no hiding it anymore, and Maria is a good sport about things.

Sharapova was previously engaged to basketball player Sasha Vujacic, but the two broke up last year. Dimitrov, a 21-year-old Bulgarian player currently ranked No. 28 in the world, was rumored to have gone out with Serena Williams in the past.

Racket clap to Beyond the Baseline
Image via Broken at Love

Serena Williams responded to the criticism she faced from Sloane Stephens by saying she is a big fan of the up-and-coming player.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine, Stephens said her mentor-protege relationship with Williams had been overblown by the media, and that Williams essentially dropped her as a friend after losing to her at the Australian Open in January.

Following her second-round match at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, Williams was asked about Stephens’ criticism.

“I’m a big Sloane Stephens fan and always have been,” Williams said at a press conference after beating Lourdes Dominguez 6-2, 7-5, per the AFP.

“I’ve always said that I think she can be the best in the world. I’ll always continue to think that and always be rooting for her.

“I really just always wish her and anyone, really, especially from America the best. We don’t have that many American players, so it’s always exciting to see so many young players doing so well.”

Williams certainly was playing nice with Stephens. That might be because the two supposedly spoke and hashed out their problems.

Stephens tweeted to that effect:

Guilty of being naive. Much respect 4 @serenawilliams , a champ & the GOAT. We spoke, we’re good. ONWARD! #lifelessons

— Sloane Stephens (@sloanetweets) May 7, 2013

So Stephens came out roaring like a young lion in the interview, but she really backed off. Maybe she couldn’t handle the negative publicity that came as a result of her comments.

H/T Beyond the Baseline

John Tomic, the father of tennis star Bernard Tomic, has a reputation for having a bad temper. He may have taken it to the next level if the allegations surrounding his recent arrest are true.

John, who is Bernard’s coach, was reportedly arrested for assaulting a member of Bernard’s team during a recent practice session in Europe. According to Matt Cronin of Tennisreporters.net, Tomic headbutted the man — believed to be Bernard’s hitting partner Thomas Drouet — which knocked him out cold for 20 seconds and left him with a broken nose.

John is reportedly set to appear in court in Madrid on Monday to face the charges brought against him. Todd Woodbridge, the head of men’s tennis for Tennis Australia, said the details are still being sorted out but that any reports about Bernard facing a possible suspension are inaccurate.

“It’s totally incorrect because this would have nothing to do with Bernard’s behavior,” Woodbridge told 3AW radio, via The Age. ”What’s important for us at Tennis Australia is that this allegation is thrown toward John, his dad, and not to Bernard.”

About a year ago, Bernard asked to have his father removed from a match because he was being “annoying.” It’s obvious John has a tremendous amount of passion for his son’s tennis career, but physically assaulting another member of his team would be unacceptable. If the allegations are true, Tennis Australia should make sure John faces a long, if not permanent, ban from the sport.

H/T SbB Live