SBNation.com - From Our EditorsBlog Posts

Roger Federer Wins Madrid Open, Will Smith's 'Men In Black' Suit

2012-05-13T19:10:01Z

Roger Federer defeated Tomas Berdych in an up-and-down match Sunday for his third Madrid Open Championship. The win vaults him to No. 2 in the ATP rankings, jumping his longtime rival Rafael Nadal.

But of course the real prize came after the match when Federer, quite randomly, was presented with Will Smith's suit from Men In Black III. The Fresh Prince was in attendance for the men's final with his wife Jada, as they continue to tour through Europe doing press around the premiere of the movie. The suit was framed and given to Federer on the court after that match, with Smith doing the presentation himself in his best Spanish. Video of the odd ceremony is after the jump.

For complete coverage of the 2012 Madrid Open, visit this StoryStream for full results and scores. For more on the 2012 tennis season, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub.

Sam Groth Records Fastest Serve At 163 MPH

2012-05-12T15:57:22Z

In a challenger event in South Korea, the fastest record serve in tennis has a new mark, set by the 340th-ranked male in the world. Australia's Sam Groth fired up 263 kph serve in the event, according to a report by Reuters.

The ATP Tour said on Saturday that Groth, ranked 340 in the world, produced the serve in a second-round match against Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik in Busan.

That's about 163 mph, by the way.

Groth bested the previous fastest recorded serve of 251 kph set by Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the 2011 Davis Cup against Germany. Groth wound up losing the match where he recorded the serve to Uladzimir Ignatik in two sets, 6-4 and 6-3. The ATP doesn't officially recognize speed records because of the variance between radar guns, but did note that the radar guns used were approved equipment.

For more on tennis, stick to SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub.

Serena Williams Knows Tennis, Fashion And Rapping, Maybe

2012-05-12T04:26:12Z

Baby, like, 'Serena, is you really rappin'?'

... I'll just drop this right here.

For more tennis players who should probably just stick to their sport, there's always Caroline Wozniacki.

German Town Names Street After Roger Federer

2012-05-09T04:22:42Z

A company named their candy bar after Babe Ruth. Fans named their sons after Brooks Robinson. Now, a small German town named a street after Roger Federer.

Halle, a tournament that Federer has dominated, renamed the road that leads to their grass-court stadium after the Swiss tennis master.

While most of the top players chose to play at Queen's in London, Federer picked the small town for his preparation.

This year, Federer will return to the tournament along with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal. From Reuters UK:

"It was this personal commitment to us and the fact that he is highly respected the world over that led us to consider how we could honour him," tournament director Ralf Weber said on Tuesday.

The ATP Made A Mistake With Their Choice Of The Color Blue

2012-05-08T03:07:43Z

The top players in the world aren't big fans of the color blue.

Really, now. Let's brainstorm. What are the coolest things in the world that are blue?

The Blue Man Group and that Blue Da Ba Dee song. Can you really blame the ATP players for speaking out?

They like their red -- like the red dirt that comes up in so many country songs.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the world No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, openly criticized the ATP's decision to allow the organizers of the Madrid Open to change the color of the clay.

It's not just the color change. It's the act of not even consulting the world's top players.

From the AP:

''The only thing that is a little bit disappointing from a player's standpoint is that this is decided without players agreeing on it,'' Djokovic said Monday. ''If you don't have, especially, top players testing the court and agreeing for this change, that should mean something. They should have value in what they say.

''Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The ATP should have done a better job in representing the players' rights.''

After further contemplation, the only good thing about the color blue is that song. Hello, '90s.

Caroline Wozniacki Made A Music Video For Charity

2012-04-23T03:34:49Z

Ladies and gentleman, SBNation presents to you -- the Rebecca Black of tennis players turned singers.

We give you, Caroline Wozniacki.

Woz, we love that you did this music video for charity but, uh, let us quote some of your lyrics.

Boy: "Yo, whatcha name girl?"

Caroline: "My name is Caroline."

Boy: "Yo, whatcha name girl?"

Caroline: "My name is Caroline."

Boy: "Girl, you're my match point."

Caroline: "Boy, you're my match point."

Or our personal favorite

Caroline: "O-X-Y-G-Eeeee-N. I'm breathing you. I'm breathing you. I'm breathing you in."

No further comments, dear reader.

(h/t Beyond the Baseline)

Serena Williams Is Obsessive About Collecting Olympic Pins

2012-04-19T00:56:57Z

Some people write books to help with this obsession. Others organize this obsession into categories: mascots, sport, sponsor, game place and so on.

And yes, Serena Williams obsesses about this obsession: collecting Olympic pins.

From USA TODAY:

I became one of those freaky pin collectors. Beyond freaky. Freaky isn't even the right word. I was a stalker pin collector. In Sydney I even negotiated trading pins with Johnnie Cochran. That's like a moment in my life. I talked him out of a pin he wanted! It was really cool.

I knew who he was but I didn't recognize him. I was like, 'No, you don't need that pin. I need it.' I literally out-talked him. He was like, 'OK, we'll trade.' It was for a Sierra Leone pin, which was hard because there were only like four athletes there that year from Sierra Leone. Man, it was hard to get that pin. I finally got it.

Let's face it: You could drop some serious bank on these things. The cheapest? $9.99 The most expensive? $65.95.

Oh, well. What else do these athletes really have to spend their money on? Obsess away, oh pin-collector Serena.

In other news, if Serena didn't play tennis in the Olympics, she says she'd choose rhythmic gymnastics.

Don't laugh. ... What else am I going to do? I could do track and field, but I'd still do rhythmic gymnastics. What can I say? I'm not predictable.

Maria Sharapova Says She Is Stubborn

2012-04-06T04:04:50Z

Maria Sharapova might be labeled with many things: a Russian, a winner, a model.

But stubborn?

Was that the first word that popped into your mind the last time you saw her rip a backhand down the baseline accompanied with a high-decibel grunt?

Well, in a series of videos released by the Tennis Channel that helps you get to know your favorite tennis players better, Sharapova owns up to being just that.

In her words, Sharapova is "more stubborn than anyone can imagine me to be."

There are also videos of Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Gael Monfils and Jo Wilfried-Tsonga.

Yeah, and Caroline Wozniacki loves to bake chocolate chip cookies. Oh, Rory. Come and get 'em.