Venus and Serena Williams, who are currently ranked ninth and fourth respectively, have released a book for preteens. Stuart Hannagan/Getty Images

Since we're only midway through the Nasdaq-100, let's throw this week's Player of the Week award to Venus and Serena Williams. Not for anything they did on the court but for the release of their new book: Serving From the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving and Winning. At a time when every quasi-celebrity (see: Canseco, Jose) tries to cash in with a salacious, self-promoting tome, the Williams sisters have released a book aimed at preteens, girls in particular, which deals with breathless topics like deferring crushes. It's easy to be cynical when athletes talk about wanting to be "role models for kids." Good for Venus and Serena for taking this seriously.

Nice work by the WTA for signing Bed Bath & Beyond as a sponsor. Players will never have to steal those Wimbledon locker-room towels again.

Big props also to the WTA and ATP for finally getting together and holding the joint Pro Tennis Choice Awards last week in Miami. Here's hoping this will lead to similar collaborations between the two tours. Trite as it sounds, when it comes to professional tennis, one plus one really does equal three. The Waterford Crystals went to:

• WTA player of the year: Maria Sharapova
• ATP player of the year: Roger Federer
• Arthur Ashe humanitarian of the year: Andy Roddick
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's diamond aces award: Anastasia Myskina
• Comeback player of the year: Serena Williams, Tommy Haas
• Most improved: Joachim Johansson
• Newcomers: Tatiana Golovin, Florian Mayer
• Doubles Teams: Mark Knowles-Daniel Nestor; Virginia Ruano Pascual-Paola Suarez
• Best TMS event: Nasdaq-100 Open
• Best men's "gold series" event: Dubai Duty Free Men's Open
• Best international series event: The Synsam Swedish Open (Bastad) and U.S. Claycourts (Houston)
• Media excellence: The Tennis Channel

Continuing last week's theme: Donald Young will be a creditable pro one day, but what good does it do him when he falls to qualifier J.R. Lisnard in straight sets? Slow down, everyone.

Apropos of nothing, what a great line our friend Frank Deford got off last week when discussing steroids:"Oh what business Ponce de Leon could drum up in the Grapefruit League."

The height differential match of the week: 5-foot-5 Olivier Rochus beat 6-10 Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-6. 7-6. "It's like he's right behind the net when he serves," Rochus observed.

In third-round action at the NASDAQ, Ivan Ljubicic beat Vincent Spadea 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. Imagine the Davis Cup second-guessing had Spadea pulled that one out.

He's no Kevin Pittsnogle, but what a big-time win for West Viriginia's Jeff Morrison, taking out Joachim Johansson the other day.

Ian Katz of Key Biscayne, Fla., writes: "I guess this somehow got cut off when I sent you the others, but here are two of the most interesting results from that same Round of 16 in the 1985 Kalamazoo, Mich., tournament.

(1) Al Parker, Claxton, Ga., def. (15) Pete Sampras, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., 6-4, 6-4.

(5) Murphy Jensen, Ludington, Mich., def. David Wheaton, Deephaven, Minn., 3-6, 7-5, 8-6."