If given the chance for a dream selfie, some ATP World Tour pros might opt for pictures with other famous athletes, such as David Beckham or Kobe Bryant. But not Kei Nishikori. Who would Nishikori want to take a selfie with? “Mickey,” he said on Wednesday after his second-round win against Jeremy Chardy at the Australian Open. [ALSO LIKE] “Who is that?” the reporter asked. Nishikori, apparently befuddled by the question, simply repeated his one-word answer. “Mickey,” he said. The reporter still did not understand, though. “What's Mickey famous for?” the reporter asked. “Disney World,” Nishikori said to laughs. To be fair, the Japanese star should know Mickey Mouse and other Disney World characters better than most. Nishikori trains at...
Rafael Nadal entered Interview Room 1 for his post-match press conference on Tuesday at the Australian Open and looked at his watch. “I was checking how late I am,” he said with a smile. The Spaniard was only about 15 minutes behind, but explained, “In Mallorca, there is a thing, when we are going, we say, ‘I am coming’. [It’s] tough to be 100 per cent on time on an island. But we work [at it] a lot.” Perhaps Nadal was delayed because he was still celebrating his first-round win at the Australian Open, beating Florian Mayer with ease in straight sets in just over two hours. There was little to stress about in the match, in which he won...
If Andrey Rublev was looking for a little extra adrenaline ahead of his Australian Open second-round clash with Andy Murray, the Russian #NextGenATP star found some on Tuesday in Melbourne with some sparring at Fight Club boxing gym. The 19-year-old Rublev defeated Yen-Hsun Lu on Monday at Melbourne Park to record his first Grand Slam main draw victory. Ahead of his clash with World No. 1 Murray, the right-hander, whose father is a former boxer, engaged in a sparring session with the trainer at Fight Club. Looking ahead to the clash with Murray, which is scheduled for the Rod Laver Arena evening session on Wednesday, Rublev said, "I’m so excited, I have nothing to lose. He’s the best tennis player...
