BSR

I'm glad that Jelena Dokic has settled into her post-playing life as a commentator. It sounds like she's happy. I hope so given what she went through. Like too many players (because even one would be too many), Jelena suffered from an abusive tennis parent, father Damir in her case. Damir Dokic got into altercations that caused him to get banned from the grounds several times and even arrested twice. As if her father's erratic behavior weren't enough to deal with, she also alleges that he emotionally and physically abused her, once beating her so badly after a loss that she lost consciousness. Tennis Australia had some issues with Jelena, serious enough that there was bad blood for years. I don't know exactly what she did, nor am I excusing her of all wrongdoing. But when a kid suffers years of physical and emotional beatings, don't be shocked if that same kid later shows some ugly behavior. Jelena did apologize, and if she has a successful career as a commentator, then all must be well between Dokic and TA. I had only heard of Alizé Cornet but never saw any of her matches (don't follow the women nearly as much as the men). Nonetheless, I've become a fan over the course of this Australian Open. First she spoke out in support of my fave Novak. I've heard that a lot of players supported Novak but most didn't say anything to avoid controversy. Props to Cornet for sticking her neck out. Her friendship with Dokic, someone who struggled with serious trauma, makes me like Cornet even more.

Wow, very interesting stat about Rafa. Even without the 2 ATGs, Rafa still isn't the favorite here, imo. Even though Rafa leads 3-1 in the H2H, my pick is Medvedev.

Could we pull back from the gender studies theory and focus instead on the specifics of this case? What exactly prevented these women from saying "no" or "stop" and then leaving?

Because Genting, the parent company of Crystal Cruises, racked up $4.5+ million in unpaid fuel bills, a US court ordered one of their ships Crystal Symphony to be seized once it enters US waters. Instead of returning to Miami as scheduled, the fugitive vessel docked in the Bahamas, where passengers had to take a ferry to Ft. Lauderdale. Yikes, you often hear about a criminal fleeing to another country but never a cruise ship, until now. The saddest part of the article is the heartbroken crew, who face unemployment and uncertain futures. I'm actually surprised that more cruise lines and airlines haven't gone under. Almost 2 years since the first lockdowns, and the travel industry still hasn't returned to normal, far from it.

photo cut off, gotta click

Expecting women who have reached the age of majority to act like adults is neither patriarchy nor misogyny.

I've said several times already that Hefner was gross. I'm sure what his "girlfriends" went through was disgusting and even humiliating. But from the very beginning, these women were free to walk away. At any point in all the grossness, these women could have said "no" or "stop" and then left. I keep asking for evidence that Hefner coerced them in any way, but so far nothing.

OK, I concede Hefner was gross. But what prevented Izabella St. James from walking out of the Playboy Mansion, leaving that life behind, and never looking back?

Of course, if a provider wants to end the session for whatever reason, s/he has every right to do so, and the client must respect that choice. Likewise, Hefner's "girlfriends" could have said no or stop and then left, either left the room on one particular occasion or left the relationship/arrangement permanently. If Hefner did not take "no" for an answer, that's a very different issue. But unless you have proof otherwise, that's not what happened. The women are miserable now because they didn't say no or stop back then.

LOL, so true, kinda like Claude Raines shocked that there's gambling in Casablanca.

OK then, I'll wait until I see evidence of coercion. Even though Hefner is dead, I'll still presume he committed no crime unless solid proof emerges saying otherwise. Honestly, it sounds like the women submitted to all the grossness in hopes of money or career opportunity. Now that the window of opportunity has closed, they're hoping to milk 15 more minutes of fame with this exposé. I read the tragic story of a sex slave in the local paper. Because this woman grew up in a poor family and had no prospects after HS graduation, she took up the offer of a charming smooth-talker to move to Las Vegas. Once he had her alone in Vegas without her family, he went from charming to violent. He forced her into prostitution to make money for him. He beat her when she didn't make enough on a given night. And if she ever tried to leave, he threatened to kill her family. She ended up killed in a car crash caused by her pimp getting into a shootout while driving. My heart broke for this woman because she had no way out. Hefner's "girlfriends" had a way out. They could have left right at the get-go or walked away at any point thereafter. Hefner might have been creepy and gross, might have treated his "girlfriends" in awful ways, but if he never forced them to stay, then that's on them. That said, I'll keep an open mind. Maybe some details will emerge in this documentary that will change my mind.

I think of Zverev as Russian because I've seen video of him speaking Russian with his father and brother. I think he spoke Russian, and only Russian, at home growing up. I've seen a couple of clips of Shapo speaking Russian also, but he didn't seem as comfortable in the language. Just my sense, I don't know a speck of Russian beyond da & nyet.

Again, if they were slipped drugs without their knowledge or consent, I would change my tune. But it sounds like the women took quaaludes voluntarily, whether to get high or to get through the trauma of sex with the creepy geriatric. To be clear, I am not judging these women for being part of Hefner's bizarre sex harem. I am judging them for trying to portray themselves as victims when the reality is they were adults who could have walked away whenever they chose to.

Fortunately for his Louis Vuitton luggage, he's flying private. An uncle who used to work on baggage crew with United said that whenever they saw fancy designer luggage, they made it a point to totally abuse it.

Holy Toledo! Shapo pulls off the upset! Zverev continues his record of underperforming at Slams. Given how well he played in the World Tour Final, beating Novak at his (near) best then beating Medvedev soundly, I thought Zverev was a lock to get to the final. He must be brutally disappointed. I can't believe how the draw opened up for Nadal. When the draw first came out, Rafa was facing a murderer's row: Karatsev in R16, Zverev in the QF, Novak in the semi, and Medvedev in the final -- maybe the toughest draw I've ever seen. With Novak deported and Karatsev & Zverev upset, Rafa's draw went from murderer's row to cupcake alley. Medvedev's draw was cupcakey from the get-go. It's gotta be a Rafa-Medvedev final. If either one gets upset before the final, that'll be the biggest upset of the tournament.

Of course, if Hefner did anything to coerce these women, I would one thousand percent condemn his actions. But in the absence of coercion, these women were free to walk away from all the alleged abuse and humiliation, or am I missing something? If they suffered through it in hopes of money or fame, it must suck that it didn't pan out, but they're victims only of their own bad choices, not of the creepy pajama-clad geriatric.

Neither one of them does it for me, but I will be very interested in the outcome of this match. Shapo, while inconsistent, has enough firepower to upset the Russian, er, German. If Zverev wins the tournament, he will become the new #1 (same true for Medvedev).

I loved his music. The last performance I saw was his duet of "It's All Coming Back To Me" on the 2006 season of American Idol. I didn't know until then that he suffered from horrible stage fright all his career. It was so bad that he said he blacked out during this performance, that afterward he had no memory of it. Despite such crippling stage fright, he managed to have a helluva career. R.I.P.

Wallace the Corgi hugs every dog he runs into during his walks ...

Back in his stand-up days, Joe Rogan used to do a savage takedown of Hugh Hefner. To quote the immortal wisdom of Bart Simpson, it's funny because it's true."

In Novak's final appeal, the Australian federal government never challenged the medical exemption nor Novak's documentation. They canceled his visa "for public health reasons," which the court did not overturn -- because they couldn't, and Alex Hawke knew that. The medical exemption for infection within the last 6 months allowed for entry until the 9-time Australian Open champion was on a plane headed to Australia. That's why the lesser-known Renata Voracova, who arrived before Novak, was allowed in. The federal government wanted to make an example of Novak to send a message to all anti-vaxxers. The Immigration Minister's decision to cancel Novak's visa was nakedly political.

One of the odd things in all this madness is that of all players, Nick Kyrgios has come out as one of Novak's strongest defenders. Odd because for years Kyrgios has been trolling and at times flat-out disrespecting Novak, like mocking Novak's "boob throw" after winning matches and criticizing him for trying too hard to be liked, saying "it's so cringe!" It got so bad that Novak said in a presser that off the court he has no respect for Kyrgios. Yet Kyrgios boldly called out top players for failing to support Novak: "On a human level, he needs support from other players. [Stefanos] Tsitispas, I get you have your views on vaccination. [Andy] Murray, we can always count to say the right thing, Nadal whatever... But bro, where is your support for the guy?" While the two aren't going to be BFFs any time soon, there has been a warming of relations. On Instagram, Novak thanked Kyrgios for his support, the first words the Serb has spoken to the Aussie in years.

I just read that unvaxxed players will not be able to play Roland Garros, which means that Novak is now locked out of all four Slams. I doubt Novak worries about looking weak to his Serbian countrymen. He is so worshipped in Serbia that if video came out of him strangling puppies, it still would not dent his popularity. His anti-vaxx stance is rooted in his aversion to "artificial" medicine, the same reason he avoided a simple surgery for an elbow issue he suffered for 2 years. Novak learned the hard way that he can't rely on exemptions or natural immunity. Either get the jab or get the **** out, say the four Slam countries. Sure, he can sit out until the nations relax their vaxx requirements, but given that we're going on 2 years of "2 weeks to flatten the curve," he best not hold his breath. Will Novak cave and submit to the jab? Most ordinary folks would decide that it's just not worth the fight, but as I've pointed out, Novak is an odd bird in some ways. There's no predicting his next move.