Highly strung

A few nights ago, Bernard Tomic curiously described his next opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov's playing style as "very unco and very weird." Dolgopolov let that slide, commenting on tennis rather than getting involved in a slanging match. But a quick chat with the Ukrainian's racquet stringer revealed that Tomic's comments may have actually been quite accurate. While some players have their strings designed for spin, and others for power, this stringer can't budget for any particular game style because Dolgopolov is so "erratic." Interestingly, he also revealed that while most players experiment with different styles, especially on different surfaces, Rafael Nadal has never once changed his racquet's tension.

The stringer also spared a thought for his counterpart who works with Marcos Baghdatis. Wherever the Cypriot's poor stringer is, we're pretty sure he had his head in his hands while watching his handiwork get smashed all over the floor the other night. He'd be one of the few people not interested in re-watching that incident on YouTube.

Hair today...

British pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins have advanced to the third round of the men's doubles tournament, but there was one element of their match that stood out more than their sterling net-work. Those with a keen eye may have noticed that Fleming had had half of his left leg shaved, leaving quite a conspicuous hairline. Pressed for an answer in their press conference, Fleming explained that it had served to effectively treat a calf injury, but did reveal that it had taken the combined effort of a trimmer and a razor to get the job done. Smooth.

Thanks for clarifying, Ivo

Following Roger Federer's victory over Ivo Karlovic, the Croatian was asked what the difference was between the players that led to the result. Karlovic slowly answered, "he won match point." Then, met with a sea of blank stares, he added, "that was a joke."

And a final word...

To those who like to claim that "now I've seen everything," that only holds true if you've seen a brass trio dressed as kangaroos playing "Octopus' Garden." Well, you'll truly see everything at the tennis.