Recap the A-Z of quirky moments, awkward interviews and dummy spits from the ATP and WTA

FORGET Roger Federer’s brilliance or Serena Williams’ dominance. Here, we are looking at the other highlights of a big year in tennis. Recap the best blow-ups, dummy spits, feuds, fines and quirkiness here.

IF you’ve come to read more about Roger Federer’s brilliance or Serena Williams’ dominance, you’re in the wrong place.

We are here to celebrate the lighter side of the ATP and WTA tours.

Casual fans might have missed some of the recent blow-ups, dummy spits, feuds, fines and a host of other unusual moments.

Fear not though, just days out from the Australian Open, you can catch up on the A-Z of 2017’s quirky tennis moments here.

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MISSING STAR: MURRAY PLANS TO KEEP PLAYING

A — ALMAGRO’S PRIZEMONEY BACKHAND

It’s always sizzling in Melbourne, but the heat was turned up extra hot for Nicolas Almagro at last year’s Australian Open. The Spaniard was forced to defend himself against claims he only showed up for a quick pay day.

Almagro pulled out of his first-round match with a calf injury after just four games, collecting $50,000 for his trouble. That’s $12,500 for each game he lost.

When asked about his motives, Almagro said, “I have more than 10 million dollars. I’m not going to play for $50,000.” Whack!

Nicolas Almagro in action during the 2017 season. Picture: AFP Photo

B — BERNIE GOES DEEP INTO THE TRICK BAG

He made PLENTY of headlines over the 2017 season but less publicised was this effort from Bernard Tomic at the Vienna Open.

Taking on world no. 83 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Tomic was serving at 5-5, 40-0 when he decided to throw in an underarm serve.

The tactic came back to bite him pretty quickly though. Herbert won the point and went on to win the match in straight sets.

Tomic (🎥@TennisTV ) pic.twitter.com/IAgwja8xrF

— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) October 23, 2017

C — ‘CHEATER’ — RIVALS SLAM SHARAPOVA

After a two-year absence following a drug suspension, Maria Sharapova made her triumphant return to the tour last season. The only problem was, not everyone was happy to see her.

Canadian Eugenie Bouchard attacked Sharapova throughout the year, at one stage labelling the Russian a “cheater”.

Caroline Wozniacki was another who had no time for the comeback story, slamming tournament officials at the US Open for continually putting Sharapova on centre court.

“I understand completely the business side of things and everything — but someone who comes back from a drug sentence, performance-enhancing drugs, and then all of the sudden gets to play every single match on Centre Court, I think that’s a questionable thing to do,” Wozniacki said.

D — DARREN CAHILL DOES IT AGAIN

Is there a better coach in world tennis than Darren Cahill?

The Aussie mentor now sits in elite company after guiding another player to the top of the world rankings.

In 2001, he helped Lleyton Hewitt become the youngest season ending world No. 1 in history.

Two years later he led a 33-year-old Andre Agassi back to the top of the world rankings. At the time, Agassi was the oldest man to ever hold the top spot.

Last year, Cahill made it a hat-trick, taking Romanian Simona Halep to the top of the tree in the WTA. It’s no wonder Cahill is a man in demand on the tour.

Eugenie Bouchard sits with her date John Goehrke. Picture: AP Photo

E — EUGENIE IS A WOMAN OF HER WORD

Her ranking might have tumbled in 2017 but Eugenie Bouchard still found her way into the headlines. The popular Canadian made news all over the world when she lost a bet with a Twitter fan during the Superbowl and had to take him on a date.

True to her word, Bouchard took John Goehrke out for a drink before the pair sat courtside at an NBA game. But their fun hasn’t stopped there. They was recently spotted catching up for a second date. How’s that for a love story!

F — FINALLY, PROOF FED ISN’T PERFECT

For everyone who has ever wonder if Roger Federer is good at everything, now you have your answer.

At last year’s Open, footage emerged of the Fed Express performing karaoke with fellow tour players Tommy Haas and Grigor Dimitrov.

We aren’t saying they weren’t good, we are just saying, it’s lucky they have backup careers.

G — ‘GUTTURAL SOBS’ — SHARAPOVA ON WILLIAMS FEUD

It is arguably the biggest rivalry in tennis. But how did the Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova feud start?

In her book, released last year, Sharapova lifted the lid on the bad blood between the pair, sighting the catalyst as her victory over Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final.

The Russian later found out Williams said, “I will never lose to that little b**** again”.

Sharapova also detailed how hard Williams took the loss, claiming she heard Williams crying hysterically in the locker room after the match.

“What I heard when I came into the locker room was Serena Williams bawling. Guttural sobs. I got out as quickly as I could, but she knew I was there.”

Sharapova has beaten Williams once since that Wimbledon final.

H — HALEP UNDERGOES AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

Simona Halep’s rise to the top of the world rankings wasn’t without controversy.

She briefly split with coach Darren Cahill after this awkward exchange at the Miami Open.

Later, Halep said she was ashamed of her behaviour.

I — IN THE FACE! SHAPOVALOV MISFIRES, BADLY.

When it comes to young talent on the tour, Denis Shapovalov is about as good as it gets.

The 18-year-old made the fourth round at the US Open and is a big part of the next generation of stars. But in 2017 he made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he whacked a ball in anger during a Davis Cup clash. The ball smashed the chair umpire in the face.

Shapovalov was fined $7,000 for the incident which left the umpire needing surgery.

The moment @denis_shapo hit the chair umpire in the face, resulting in a default and Win for Great Britain. I'm in shock. #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/8nawleuac7

— Matthew 🐨 (@MRisingStar18) February 5, 2017

J — JOHANNA KONTA’S UNWANTED AUSSIE ATTENTION

Be prepared to hear the phrase, “Sydney born Johanna Konta” throughout the Australian Open.

Whether it was on TV, court announces or fans in the crowd in 2017, so big were our efforts to claim Konta it led to some confusion about her actual name.

“I’ve been confused since I’ve been in Australia about the pronunciation of your first name. Is it Sydney Born?,” one reporter said in Konta’s post-match press conference.

After laughing off the question at first, Konta replied, “Yeah, it was quite awkward actually on court.

“My place of birth is no secret. Also where I call home is no secret either. Yeah, everyone’s pretty clear where they stand with me.”

K — KOKKINAKIS PUTS AWAY THE ‘GUN SHOW’

It’s been a tough ride for Thanasi Kokkinakis who has battled serious injuries over the past couple of years. But what started it all? The search for bigger arms.

Two years ago, the youngster started working on his ‘guns’ because he heard Nike was bringing out a sleeveless playing top and he wanted to bulk up. The increased stress on his body kicked off a horror stint on the sidelines.

“I’m an idiot. Looking back, it was probably my biggest regret,” Kokkinakis recently told 20FOUR In My Own Words.

Thanasi Kokkinakis is back on the court. Picture: AAP Images

L — LOST IT! FABIO BLOWS UP

Italian Fabio Fognini has always been a little fiery on the court. But he took that to new heights at the US Open. Fognini was kicked out of the event and fined $24,000 at the time for launching a sexist tirade at Swedish female umpire Louise Engzell.

In October, he was hit with another $96,000 fine and received a suspended ban for two Grand Slams.

M — MANNARINO MAKES ALL THE WRONG MOVES

Adrian Mannarino didn’t leave Wimbledon with too many friends.

The Frenchman was public enemy no. 1 with the crowd after he barrelled through a ball boy in his second-round match. The ball boy was knocked off his feet however, Mannarino offered no apology.

The Frenchman also copped three separate fines, totalling $19,725 after clashing with officials.

It isn’t the first time he has had a run-in with a ball boy.

N — NICK HITS THE (BASKETBALL) COURT

Nick Kyrgios made plenty of headlines during the season and they weren’t always for his work on the court.

Just a few days after pulling out of a tournament in Atlanta, Kyrgios showed up as a fill-in for a mid-week mixed basketball team in Canberra.

Now that is one high profile recruit.

Nick Kyrgios pulls out of Atlanta Open with hip strain, nek minnit Tues night mixed bball at Belco, ACT. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/PoHOJx86jy

— ABCcameramatt (@ABCcameramatt) July 25, 2017

O — OPENING UP ON LOVE

Grigor Dimitrov has had some VERY high-profile relationships since joining the tour, previously dating Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. But did this impact his tennis?

Dimitrov was asked by a reporter last year if he was “distracted” by some of the women on the WTA Tour.

The Bulgarian immediately started laughing before doing his best to come up with an answer.

“I obviously have a soft spot for that,” he said. “I think when I was younger, I was struggling to kind of differentiate love from a personal love or a tennis love.”

P — ‘PLEASE HELP ME’

For the most part tennis injuries are usually related to repeat stress on the body. But that wasn’t the case for American Bethanie Mattek-Sands who suffered a horror blow at Wimbledon.

Mattek-Sands was left screaming in pain after crashing into the net post, leaving her with a badly dislocated knee.

She could be heard yelling, “Please help me, please, please.”

In good news, Mattek-Sands was able to return to training later in the year.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands is helped after her injury. Picture: AFP Photo

Q — QUERREY’S INCREDIBLE RISE

The 2017 season will go down as a monster year for Sam Querrey, who climbed to a career-high ranking of 13 in the world.

But it wasn’t long ago the big serving American was a reality TV star. Just a couple of years ago, Querrey went in search of love on American reality show, Millionaire Matchmaker.

“The date was fun, the girl I chose was really cool. At the end of the episode it said we’re still together, but actually she never talked to me once after the show was shot,” he said after the experience.

Querrey is now dating American model Abby Dixon.

R — RISING UP THE RANKINGS

Just two years ago, Ash Barty was playing in the Women’s Big Bash League with the Brisbane Heat. Now she is ranked 17 in the world and well on her way to contending for Grand Slam titles.

While the minimum retainer contract in the WBBL is $7,000, Barty has picked up a cool $2,384,709 in prizemoney on the WTA Tour so far.

She may have made the right decision to come back to tennis.

S — SNAKES ON A TENNIS COURT

Spare a thought for Pierre Faivre who was trying to train ahead of a challenger event in Sri Lanka last year.

Faivre’s hitting session was interrupted by a very unwelcome guest.

The funny life on @ITFprocircuit : video on Instagram by Pierre Faivre playing Sri Lanka Futures pic.twitter.com/jcpTUGODnc

— Stefano Berlincioni (@Carretero77) June 23, 2017

T — TOMIC DECLARES HE’S ‘BORED’

Following a first round Wimbledon loss, Bernard Tomic delivered an extraordinary press conference, declaring he was bored with the sport.

“Really, me being out there on the court, to be honest with you, I just couldn’t find any motivation.

“I don’t know why, but, you know, I felt a little bit bored out there. You know, to be completely honest with you.”

Tomic was later fined for his comments, while his ranking crashed out of the world’s top 100. He is currently ranked 142.

U — UNDERDOG’S GIANT KILLING AUS OPEN RUN

As far as underdogs go, few will ever top Mirjana Lucic-Baroni’s dream run at last year’s Australian Open. Lucic won her first Open match in 1998. She had to wait 19 years to win her second match at the tournament.

That’s a whopping 6939 days between victories.

Her run didn’t stop there though, with Lucic-Baroni going on to make the semi-final before losing to Serena Williams.

The 35-year old defeated top five seeds Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwańska along the way.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni celebrates an Australian Open win. Picture: George Salpigtidis

V — VANDEWEGHE TURNS TO AN AUSSIE GREAT

She may seem pretty confident out on the tennis court but American Coco Vandeweghe was at a serious low at the midpoint of 2017.

She had just been dumped by her previous coach and after a string of early defeats, her confidence was shattered.

Enter new coach, Aussie Pat Cash, to help save the day. The former Wimbledon champion set about rebuilding Vandeweghe’s swagger. Soon after taking on the top job, the 26-year-old was back on top, making the Wimbledon quarter-finals and the US Open semi-finals.

So how did Cash work his magic so quickly?

“You will have to ask him how he’s been able to do that. I don’t really know. Maybe it’s like some Jedi mind trick,” Vandeweghe said.

W — WOZNIACKI GETS ENGAGED

It’s been a big 12 months for Caroline Wozniacki. She has climbed back up the rankings to No. 3 and will enter this year’s Open as one of the tournament favourites.

During 2017, Wozniacki also announced she was engaged to fellow professional athlete, NBA player David Lee.

Lee is a two-time NBA all-star and won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.

Safe to say it has been the most incredible couple of weeks in my life! So thankful! pic.twitter.com/2OaiY4eshq

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) November 9, 2017

X — X-FACTOR ON AND OFF THE COURT

Grigor Dimitrov has plenty of X-factor on the court. But after winning the ATP World Tour finals, he thanked an X-Factor of a different kind.

Dimitrov was full of praise for his girlfriend, X-Factor judge and singer Nicole Scherzinger.

“I want to thank one person here, my girlfriend Nicole. She’s somewhere hiding. She deserves quite a bit of credit this week, she’s been amazing.”

When you add one X-factor with another X-factor, does that make a Grand Slam champion?

Y — YONEX SAYS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Everyone loves a good tennis dummy spit. And with the heat in Melbourne, we see plenty of them.

But racquet provider and sponsor Yonex has had enough.

The global brand, which is used by the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios, announced last year that it would now be fining players for smashing too many racquets.

Luckily, this rule wasn’t around when Marcos Baghdatis unleashed this effort a few years ago.

Z — ZVERVE’S RACQUET WORK

Speaking of racquet throwing, keep a close eye on rising star Alexander Zverev this Australian Open.

While in the past 12 months he has announced himself as a genuine contender on the tour, the young German has also joined the ranks of some of the game’s best racquet throwers.

Zverev made headlines around the world for a couple of classic smashes last year.