Aussie Open thoughts (cont.)

Twenty pounds is pushing it, but Tricia has a point. It's amusing that Walter Bartoli, "the mad scientist," as Mary Carillo calls him, made his daughter walk around with tennis balls glued to her feet or jump off a moving treadmill; but it does bear mention that these methods have left his daughter comparably less fit than her colleagues. And I think if we're discussing a WTA player's weight in the context of athletic performance -- not in a mouth-breathing "You think she's hot?" context -- it's legitimate. And if you don't think those extra few pounds make a difference, check out Roddick's results. Maybe you heard: he lost weight lately.

• Ana Ivanovic, end the hiring freeze and get a full-time coach!

• J. Diersing of San Diego writes, "I have a feeling a lot of folks will be jumping on the Amer Delic bandwagon after his match with Novak Djokovic (...and good for them). If you need any further proof of what a class act Amer Delic is and previously has been, please read the following e-mail. Background: I was deployed to Iraq from 2006-2007. I was familiar with Amer (in large part due to one of your previous write-ups about him). Long story short, one of the Bosnian KBR employees saw me watching tennis and asked if I could tell him when Amer might be playing (there were a large number of Bosnians who worked for KBR in housing operations and food service). He was very excited when he found out I knew who Amer was. I went to Amer's Web site, and sent an e-mail passing on the fact that he had a fan base in Baghdad, of all places. I have cut and pasted the e-mail response he sent:

"Dear LTC Diersing: First of all, I want to let you know how honored and humbled I am to have received an e-mail from you, especially since you are writing from Baghdad. Secondly, I want to apologize to you for taking this long to respond to your initial e-mail.. This time of the year is particularly rough when it comes to travels, but then again, its nothing comparing to your travels. I appreciate you and the rest of the crew following up on me and my "adventures." I am glad to hear that you can squeeze in a minute or two once in a while to check out my Web site. Hopefully reading some of my blogs gives you a laugh or two and hopefully keeps your mind away from some the things you see on your tour of duty. I am also glad to hear that you have the opportunity to work and get to know many of the people from my hometown (Tuzla) and homeland. Unfortunately, those people had to come from one war-torn country to another to try and make a living, but that's life. Hopefully, one day when all this is said and done, you will get a chance to come and visit Bosnia in "normal" conditions. Hopefully by now you have gotten your release papers to go back home to your family, just like I have the privilege to do every once in a while. All the best to you, rest of the troops and definitely all the Bosnians." -- Amer Delic.

• Note to Venus and Serena Williams: try this next time you're interrupted by a streaker:

• Like Nick Einhorn of Brooklyn, I like the way Federer spoke of the retiring Fabrice Santoro, who continues to add to his record of consecutive majors: "He teaches you how to treat a tennis ball. You know, not to go crazy about it."

• Tons of you wrote in about the television commentary. As usual, lots of the comments were completely contradictory. You love Mary Carillo, who dances circles around her colleagues. No wait, she's a Williams hater and she never keeps quiet. Mary Joe Fernandez tells you nothing you didn't already know. No, take that back, she could teach her colleagues a thing or two about restraint. You find Brad Gilbert to be a cliché-spewing boor. Wait, you love his everyman sensibilities and observations.

My take: yes, some commentators are better than others. Yes, some of the talking heads appeared to be off their games last week. And yes, some talking points -- did player X finishing his match quickly send a message to his opponent about his fitness? -- need a rest. But for all of tennis' issues, lack of talent in the broadcast booth isn't high on the list. The coverage selection is radically improved too. (Now, if ESPN could angle in for the Indian Wells and Miami coverage, we'd really be happy.) This sentiment extends to most networks. Tennis Channel gets better with each event. Got some nice notes about Jimmy Arias' work on ESPN International. The local coverage in Australia is consistently strong.

• OK, three quibbles. 1. Could ESPN show some doubles every now and then? 2. I like a distasteful analogy as much as the next person, but when Chris Fowler likened Elena Dementieva's erratic serve to a case of herpes, I'm thinking he may have crossed the line. 3. Those commercials for "male enlargement" that ran during the coverage? Those I could do without. No pun intended.

• Some players losing early in Australia hightailed it to other events. At the Carson, Calif., USTA Challenger Scoville Jenkins upset Somdev Devvarman. And call off that APB for Donald Young. He was there too.

• The WTA told me that Bethanie Mattek missed the Australian Open on account of a hip injury. But it also appears that she was recently married.

• Several of you noted that Hsieh Su-Wei (from Taiwan) was entered in the women's doubles with Peng Shuai (from China).

• We always did like Gustavo Kuerten. Now even more.

• We're thinking that Richard Hinds, the gifted Australian columnist, is maybe not such a big fan of Serena Williams:

• How long before Nike sponsors those snazzy ice vests the players have taken to wearing between sets?

• This quote from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga should be passed on to James Blake. "For me, sometimes it's better to hit the ball slower."

• In the women's doubles draw, each of the top eight seeds was eliminated before the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Williams-Williams were seeded 10th, so it's a bit of an asterisk.

• We're barely into February and already three readers have used the word "man crush" in the same sentence as "Tsonga."

• Tennismd.com launched last month as the latest in the sportsmd.com family. The site will have expert advice from a host of doctors and fitness pros, including Dr. Vijay Vad, the ATP's official physician for over 10 years, U.S. Open nutritionist Page Love and ATP PT Bob Donatelli.

• Trivia: Jelena Dokic became the first woman to play five consecutive three-setters in a Major.

• Full disclosure: I was bounced from a suicide pool by David Nalbandian (karmic payback, no doubt, for all the unflattering things I've said about him) and Flavia (Flav) Pennetta, who, of course, was slowed on the court by the large timepiece adorning her neck.

• Alex Ketaineck of Madison, N.J., passes on this shot of Henri Leconte's new forehand grip:

• Props to Rachael Wong of Honolulu for noting that: When Dementieva, Zvonareva, Safina and Serena Williams made the semifinals, it meant that all three 2008 Olympic singles medalists and a gold doubles medalist played for the title.

• Check out the entry list for Indian Wells. If I'm Charlie Passarell, I say to Larry Scott: "You bang the drum for equal prize money and this is the field you deliver me?"

• From the unsolicited book promotion department, I just received an advance copy of Monica Seles' forthcoming memoir, Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self. The official release date is April 21.

• On a final note, for the New York base, I'll be doing a reading on Thursday night. Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome St. (between Forsyth and Eldridge). J/M/Z/F to Delancey or B/D to Grand Street. Look for the hot-pink awning with the words "Health Club" on it. Doors open at 7:30. Readings start at 8 sharp. Admission is free.

Programming note: we'll resume usual Mailbag schedule starting next week. Have a good week, everyone!

Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim is the author of the new book, Blood in the Cage, which chronicles the rise of the UFC. He will be doing a reading in New York City's Lower East Side on Thursday, Feb. 5.