Sloane Stephens won her first-round match at the Italian Open on Tuesday. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

ROME — Sloane Stephens said Tuesday that she never expected her controversial comments about Serena Williams to be printed.

In the May 13 issue of ESPN The Magazine, Stephens questioned Williams’ authenticity and dispelled the idea that the two were close. But Stephens, 20, said she was under the impression that she was speaking off the record to author Marin Cogan.

“We were eating pizza!” Stephens said, emphasizing that the casual context of her meeting with the reporter made her believe that the late-March interview in Florida had yet to begin. “I understood the fact that those things weren’t going to be written in the article and I was just saying whatever. The person who wrote it just kind of took that and ran with it. That’s what they’re going to do.

“I’m really disappointed in the lady who wrote it,” Stephens said after defeating Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open. “It wasn’t a good reflection and it’s not what I meant. That’s why I had to talk to Serena about it because it was not good at all.”

Read More…

Roger Federer posted on Facebook this week a random picture of a fly on the wall. Now we know why: The post was a tease for his new Nike ad, which involves Federer’s struggling to kill a fly in his house.

How does that saying go? Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw sneakers?

Tough life, that Roger.

The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: The ATP counts down the top Madrid Hot Shots. But how about the top-10 play calls? Not much can beat Robbie Koenig’s “Oh! That’s pure box office from [Grigor] Dimitrov!”

• The headline says it all: Jimmy Connors Shouldn’t Be Talking About Chris Evert’s Abortion.

• Is Taylor Townsend the next great American tennis star? Slow down, folks. Give her some time.

Read More…

Andre Agassi was with Nike from 1988-2005, and he’s back now. (Heinz Kluetmeier/SI)

Andre Agassi has re-signed with Nike, eight years after leaving the company that helped him become one of the most recognizable personalities in sports

Agassi parted ways with the Swoosh in 2005 after 17 years to join Adidas, which made a financial commitment to his foundation. His return to Nike coincides with its new “Designed to Move” campaign, which looks to end “the growing epidemic of physical inactivity.” Agassi and Nike both tweeted about the reunion on Monday.

“Nike has opened new horizons through its Designed to Move campaign, while consistently and historically championing health and fitness,” Agassi said in a news release. “Coming back together through this partnership will have a multiplying effect on this and future generations.”

Read More…

Rafael Nadal has won five of seven tournaments since returning in February. (Andres Kudacki/AP)

The Report Card hands out grades for the week in tennis. Last week, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal won titles in Madrid, where Grigor Dimitrov had a breakthrough victory and Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka struggled in returns from lengthy layoffs.

Serena Williams: A. Another week, another title, another demolition of Maria Sharapova (who has lost 12 consecutive meetings), another week at No. 1. Williams successfully defended her Madrid Open title and showed for the first time in more than a decade that she could dominate on all shades of clay, flattening Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final. The scary thing about Williams’ three-title, 19-match winning streak is that she’s not even playing as well as she was at this time last year, when she also won the Family Circle Cup and Madrid Open and came into the French Open streaking.

Serena talks career, pop culture and more

Rafael Nadal: A. As the other Big Four members fell one by one, Nadal was able to fight through his one blip of a match and find better form late in the tournament. After being two points from losing his quarterfinal against David Ferrer, Nadal rolled past Pablo Andujar in the semifinals and Stanislas Wawrinka in the final to collect his 40th clay title and 55th overall. Nadal, who missed all of January as part of his seven-month recovery from a knee injury, has made the final in all seven tournaments he’s played this year and claimed a tour-leading five titles. Not even the most optimistic Nadal followers could have foreseen this type of dominance in his return.

Read More…

The U.S. Open has been televised by CBS since 1968. (David Walberg/SI)

Sports Business Daily reports ESPN is close to acquiring all coverage rights for the U.S. Open beginning in 2015, moving the tournament coverage exclusively to cable. CBS has owned some portion of the coverage rights since 1968.

ESPN’s pitch to the USTA was of a Wimbledon-style deal, where ESPN picks up rights to the entire tournament, bringing another major sports championship to cable. ESPN has a lot of college football commitments in the fall, but has committed to carry the semis and finals on ESPN. Their plan includes TV Everywhere rights, which allow it to stream live matches to authenticated users.

PODCAST: Connors discusses his memoir

Read More…

Sloane Stephens hasn’t made it past the round of 16 of an event since her Australian Open run. (Alan Diaz/AP)

According to an annual list of the 50 most marketable athletes compiled by British sports magazine SportsPro Media, ATP No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the sixth most marketable athlete in the world. In a rather surprising selection, Sloane Stephens comes in at No. 9, making her the most marketable female athlete in the world. Djokovic and Stephens come in ahead of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal, as well as Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who didn’t even make the list.

Are you scratching your head? Me, too.

WERTHEIM: Serena, Nadal confirm French Open favorite statuses

Read More…

Laura Robson can get a seed at Wimbledon if she plays well the rest of the spring. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

ROME — It doesn’t get much more precocious than this: After winning the 2008 Wimbledon junior title, giggly Laura Robson, 14, was asked if she she was ready to take on Venus Williams, who won Wimbledon that year.

“I’ll take her down,” she said with a face-breaking grin.

It took five years for her to get a chance to make good on that lighthearted promise, but it finally happened on a windy Monday in Rome. Robson, now 19, beat a struggling Venus 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Italian Open to earn a shot at Serena Williams in the second round.

Video: Madrid opponent fluffs new balls against Serena

Read More…

Serena Williams has won 19 matches in a row entering the Italian Open. (Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

ROME — Serena Williams has won three consecutive tournaments and 19 matches in a row after defeating Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open on Sunday to claim her first red clay title since 2002. Last year, Williams rode a 17-match winning streak into the Italian Open semifinals before withdrawing from her match against Li Na because of a back injury. She went on to lose to Virginie Razzano in the first round of the French Open.

“I feel definitely different this year,” Williams told reporters here Monday as she prepares to try to win the Italian Open for the first time in 11 years. “I feel more calm. Last year I was really happy and feeling really good about it. I just feel more calm and poised [this year].”

Serena continues dominance of Sharapova

Read More…

Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams won the Madrid Open on Sunday. Nadal defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, while Williams continued her dominance of Maria Sharapova with a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Serena talks career, pop culture and more

Nadal collected his 55th career title and Williams her 50th, so these two have plenty of experience celebrating. After the jump, check out a few pictures from the trophy presentation in Madrid.

Read More…