Larry Brown Sports

Sloane Stephens absolutely obliterated Serena Williams in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, saying the two do not enjoy a close relationship and that she has been shunned by Williams ever since beating the veteran at the Australian Open.

In the interview, Stephens says her relationship with Williams has completely deteriorated since she defeated the decorated 31-year-old in the quarterfinals at the Aussie Open in January. She also says that Williams was not her favorite player growing up and nothing like a mentor to her, contrary to how the story has been told by the media.

The interview appears in the May 13 issue of the magazine. The excerpts below come from Beyond the Baseline.

“She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia,” Stephens says. “And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.”

Stephens’ mother reportedly tried to stop her from going on, but Stephens continued.

“Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?”

Stephens also says that a cryptic tweet sent by Williams shortly after their Australian Open match was about her:

I made you.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) January 26, 2013

“I was like, ‘You really don’t think I know that that’s about me?’” Stephens tells the magazine, per Beyond the Baseline.

Stephens also dismisses the notion that Williams was her favorite player. She says Kim Clijsters became her favorite player after she was denied autographs from the Williams sisters.

In the interview, Stephens says she was in Delray Beach, Fla., at a Fed Cup event when she was 12 and had a poster she was hoping to have signed by Venus and Serena.

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Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert were one of the most popular couples in sports in the 1970s. The two tennis stars were at the top of the food chain in their sport, which in many ways made them the ideal power couple. Connors and Evert were engaged to be married in 1974, but they split just weeks before their scheduled wedding date. The reason why may surprise you.

In his new memoir, “The Outsider,” Connors implied that he and Evert called off their wedding because of a complication that arose in their relationship when Evert became pregnant.

“An issue had arisen as a result of youthful passion, and a decision had to be made as a couple,” Connors wrote in the book, via the NY Post. “Chrissie called to say she was coming out to LA to take care of the ‘issue.’ I was perfectly happy to let nature take its course and accept responsibility for what was to come.”

Connors was 22 at the time and Evert was 19. Having come from a strict Catholic home, Evert reportedly felt that the timing of the pregnancy was bad and that she had no other choice. Connors said she asked him to handle the “details” and had already made up her mind.

“Well, thanks for letting me know,” he said he told her. “Since I don’t have any say in the matter, then I guess I am just here to help.”

Connors said he later told Evert that it would be best if they “take a step back” in their relationship, which did not sit well with her and ultimately led to the split. He said they fought hard to work out their issues but that it became difficult because of their rising status as sports stars.

“Can two No. 1’s exist in the same family?” he wrote.

It seems to be working out fine for Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Novak Djokovic is the current No. 1 player in the world, and he is drawing some high praise from Pete Sampras. The retired tennis legend says he thinks Djokovic can challenge his record of finishing No. 1 in the rankings at year’s end for six years in a row.

Sampras held the top spot in the world rankings at year’s end from 1993-1998. Djokovic has done it twice in a row. Sampras thinks the Serbian player can do it for many more years.

“I do [think Djokovic can remain No. 1 for years]. I was thinking about that when he won Monte Carlo,” Sampras told TENNIS.com in a conference call with the media. “He could stay No. 1 for quite a while, five or six years in a row. Realistically, if he stays healthy, he could very well do it.”

Sampras was doing the call to promote the second annual Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic, which is on September 21-22. He referenced Djokovic’s impressive win at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters last week. Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6 on clay, which is Nadal’s specialty.

Sampras cited Djokovic’s versatility as a reason why he could challenge the mark.

“He’s so good. Really, even though the players are great today, I think he really only has to be concerned with a couple of them,” Sampras told TENNIS.com. “Roger [Federer] and Rafa and [Andy] Murray are the only ones that can really push him. I see him—if he stays healthy—staying on top for as long as he wants to be. I just think he’s that good. He wins on hard court, he wins on clay, he wins on grass. He’s done it all. I think he can stay on top for as long as he wants to be.”

Djokovic, 25, has already won six majors. He has won the Australian Open four times and Wimbledon and the US Open once. The only major to elude him has been the French — just like Sampras — though he has come much closer to winning at Roland Garros than Pete ever did. He lost to Nadal at the finals of the French Open last year, so winning at Monte Carlo this year should be a huge confidence boost for him. He also bounced back from his five-set loss to Murray at the US Open with a four-set win in the finals of the Australian in January.

Being No. 1 at year’s end for another four straight seasons would not be easy. Djokovic would have to avoid injuries and a down season. But if anyone can do it, it’s certainly him.

Photo: Twitter/Novak Djokovic

Agnieszka Radwanska pulled off the tennis shot of the year during her quarterfinal match at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami on Tuesday.

Radwanska was serving to ad court up 2-0 in the second set against Kirsten Flipkens. After a short return from Flipkens, Radwanska sent an approach shot into the corner. Flipkens tried to pass with a backhand up the line, but it hit the net, causing Radwanska to reverse direction. Radwanski reacted quickly with a no-look, behind-the-back shot to win the point. Radwanska raised her arm with confidence following the amazing shot, while Flipkens dropped her racket and stared on in complete disbelief.

“The main thing about the shot was it was a very quick reaction. One second it was supposed to be a forehand and the ball then changed direction. I couldn’t change to a backhand because it was too late, but I was going in the right direction, so I just turned around and I did it. It was lucky but it was the only way to take that ball. Those shots do not happen very often,” Radwanska said of her shot after the match.

Radwanska came back to beat Flipkens 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The defending champion will face Serena Williams in the semifinals.

Thanks to LBS contributor Gene for the tip

With Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki both struggling in their respective sports as of late, speculation began building a couple weeks ago that the couple is going through a rough patch in their relationship. McIlroy put those rumors to rest before the WGC-Cadillac Championship, and it appeared the couple was back to being their corny selves earlier this week.

On Tuesday night, McIlroy and Wozniacki attended the player’s party before the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. As you can see from the photo above that she posted on Twitter, Woz decided to dress as her better half for the event. The wig she wore made the couple look eerily similar.

How perfect. Wozniacki loves breaking out impersonations of people (see: Williams, Serena) and Wozilroy is all about posing for corny pictures together. What better way to reassure the world that their relationship is just rosie than to dress exactly alike and make themselves look like brother and sister? Thank goodness all is well.

H/T Game On!

Victoria Azarenka beat Sloane Stephens in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Thursday in Melbourne, but she used some highly questionable tactics in the process.

Azarenka blew five match points while she was serving up 5-3 in the second set against Stephens. During the side change, Azarenka called the trainer and doctor over and pointed at her chest a few times. Not only was she treated, but she even left the court and didn’t return until several minutes later. Stephens, who had just broken serve and had some momentum, was forced to sit and wait until Azarenka was ready to continue.

Stephens was wearing Azarenka down, fought off five match points, and outlasted Azarenka in a game that took over 12 minutes. But Azarenaka’s timeout allowed her to recover and refocus, and she broke Stephens to win the match 6-1, 6-4.

When asked after the match about her medical problems, Azarenka said she took the break because she was overcome by nerves and nearly had a panic attack.

“I almost did the choke of the year,” Azarenka said. “At 5-3, having so many chances, [I] couldn’t close it out. I’m glad I could turn it around. I just felt a little bit overwhelmed realizing that I’m one step away from the final. Nerves got into me for sure.”

Azarenka was asked if she was happy with her performance.

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Serena Williams shared a picture on her Twitter account Wednesday night of her swollen right ankle and, as you can see, the area is massive in size.

Williams didn’t add much context to the photo, only writing “ouch” in her tweet.

We don’t know when the picture was taken, but what we do know is that Williams rolled her right ankle during her first-round match at the Australian Open last week. She managed to reach the quarterfinals despite the ankle problem, but the swelling coupled with back spasms may have contributed to her three-set loss to Sloane Stephens on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Photo credit: Twitter/Serena Williams