Maria Sharapova Dishes About 'Refreshing' Relationship With Grigor Dimitrov

Written by: ThePostGame Staff

Maria Sharapova hasn't been too keen on letting the press into her relationship with fellow pro Grigor Dimitrov, but in a surprisingly open interview with USA Today, she uncharacteristically gushes about Dimitrov -- and says dating a younger man (Dimitrov is 22 years old) is "refreshing."

"Maybe it makes me really young, too, inside, which is good," Sharapova, 26, told the newspaper.

As for what she's looking for in a man, she says: "It's about finding the person where you can be yourself all the time, where you're comfortable with being younger girl, the older girl, the mature girl, and the person that understands you and look at you and say you're completely off your rocker!

"I have so many things going on in my life and I really love them. Of course I want someone to be by my side to enjoy them. You know, I can jump on a plane tomorrow and go somewhere because I want to do it. And it's really important that that person respects me for the decisions that I make and the things that I do in my life."

She did not, however, offer any of her tips about outrunning the paparazzi.

The two were first spotted cozying up on a Madrid street earlier this month. Sharapova ended her engagement to basketball player Sasha Vujacic last year.

Tennis legend Andre Agassi has raised an estimated $175 million for charity in his lifetime

by Yahoo Sport

Andre Agassi is adored in his native Las Vegas and, granted, winning eight Grand Slams and 60 men's singles titles might have a bit to do with that.

Everybody loves a winner, after all.

Las Vegans, though, adore Agassi for far more than his ability to run down a shot or return a serve. He's become an icon in the community with his philanthropic efforts, particularly his work to improve the quality of the American education system.

If there is a worthy charity out there, chances are pretty good that Agassi has helped raise money for it. He said that he has raised around $175 million to aid charity.

Most famous is the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, which includes elementary, middle and high school students.

"It's my life's work," Agassi said of fighting on behalf of children.

The amount of money he's raised is enormous, but it is not what motivates him.

"I don't function by taking stock of what we've achieved or the distance we've covered," Agassi said. "It's about moving forward, finding solutions and trying to give every child an opportunity."

Sofia's Elite Eight: Breaking It Down

source wtatennis.com

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Istanbul had its elite eight, now Sofia has an elite eight too - and what a group it is, led by former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and a slew of former Top 10 and Top 20 stars hoping to wrap up their seasons on a high.

The Qatar Airways Tournament Of Champions Sofia is the finale for the WTA's International Series, with the six highest-ranked players who have won an International title this year - and two wildcards - in the eight-woman field.

Bulgaria's own Tsvetana Pironkova is one wildcard, and talked about playing a WTA event in her home country for the first time. "It's funny, I feel like I'm a host here, and whenever there's a problem somewhere I just want to help and keep everyone happy! But it's great, I have many people coming to watch me this week, like tomorrow I have 30 or 40 friends coming. I'm very excited!"

And on her round robin group? "I think I'm happy with the draw - it's not very easy here no matter which group you're in, because the players here are the best of the best," she said. "I'm just going to try and stay calm and keep my energy, practice a little bit and get ready to play my first match tomorrow."

The tournament format will see the round robin groups play out over the first four days from Tuesday to Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday. Here's a breakdown of the two four-woman round robin groups:

Group Serdika

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #11)
~ International titles this year (1): Seoul
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-2
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 2-0 vs Hsieh
- 5-1 vs Hantuchova

(4) Roberta Vinci (ITA #16)
~ International titles this year (1): Dallas
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-2
- 1-0 vs Wozniacki
- 1-0 vs Hsieh
- 2-2 vs Hantuchova

(5) Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE #27)
~ International titles this year (2): Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 0-4
- 0-2 vs Wozniacki
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 0-1 vs Hantuchova

(7) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK #32)
~ International titles this year (1): Pattaya City
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-7
- 1-5 vs Wozniacki
- 2-2 vs Vinci
- 1-0 vs Hsieh

Group Sredets

(2) Nadia Petrova (RUS #13)
~ International titles this year (1): 's-Hertogenbosch
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 12-6
- 4-4 vs Kirilenko
- 8-1 vs Zheng
- 0-1 vs Pironkova

(3/WC) Maria Kirilenko (RUS #15)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-9
- 4-4 vs Petrova
- 3-5 vs Zheng
- 0-0 vs Pironkova

(6) Zheng Jie (CHN #29)
~ International titles this year (1): Auckland
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 8-11
- 1-8 vs Petrova
- 5-3 vs Kirilenko
- 2-0 vs Pironkova

(8/WC) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL #44)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 1-2
- 1-0 vs Petrova
- 0-0 vs Kirilenko
- 0-2 vs Pironkova

The Tournament Of Champions debuted in 2009 in Bali, before moving to Sofia's Armeets Arena for the 2012 to 2014 editions. Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia, which is Bulgaria's capital and largest city. It is home to many of the country's major universities, cultural institutions and businesses.

Breaking Down The Istanbul Elite Eight

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The eight competitors at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012 were divided up into their two round robin groups at the official draw ceremony on Sunday, with play set to begin at the $4.9-million year-end finale on Tuesday. Here's how everyone stacks up...

Watch live action from Istanbul on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

RED GROUP: Azarenka, Williams, Kerber, Li...

(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Sydney, Australian Open, Doha, Indian Wells, Beijing, Linz
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Australian Open
~ Fall record: 13-0 (and 26-0 in sets)
~ H2H vs group: 1-10 vs Williams, 2-0 vs Kerber, 4-4 vs Li
~ Quote: "Every match here will be tough - I obviously have great champions in the group. It's challenging, definitely, but I'm looking forward to it."

(3) Serena Williams (USA)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Charleston, Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, Olympics, US Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Wimbledon & US Open
~ Fall record: 0-0
~ H2H vs group: 10-1 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Kerber, 5-1 vs Li
~ Quote: "I don't really care who I play or when I play, as long as I can play. I'm really happy to be here. I'm on the red side with Victoria, so it'll be good."

(5) Angelique Kerber (GER)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Paris [Indoors], Copenhagen
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 4-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-2 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Williams, 1-5 vs Li
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, it's not easy - we're the best eight players, and every match will be hard. But it's an honor for me to be here. I'll enjoy every match. It's a bonus after such a great year. When I started this year I wasn't thinking about No.5 or being here, so this is a great highlight."

(8) Li Na (CHN)
~ '12 Titles: 1 - Cincinnati
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: 4r at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 5-2
~ H2H vs group: 4-4 vs Azarenka, 1-5 vs Williams, 5-1 vs Kerber
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, everyone's tough. Only the Top 8 players play this tournament. It's a good challenge for yourself."

WHITE GROUP: Sharapova, Radwanska, Kvitova, Errani...

(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Stuttgart, Rome, French Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won French Open
~ Fall record: 7-2
~ H2H vs group: 7-2 vs Radwanska, 4-2 vs Kvitova, 1-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "When you're coming here you pretty much know what you're going to get in terms of the level of the group. With the field we have, I think every match, no matter what group you're in, will be pretty tough from the get go."

(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Dubai, Miami, Brussels
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 6-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-7 vs Sharapova, 0-3 vs Kvitova, 5-1 vs Errani
~ Quote: "It's the eight best players in the world, so there's no easy group and no easy match - but I'll have a good couple of matches, I hope."

(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Montréal, New Haven
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 1-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-4 vs Sharapova, 3-0 vs Radwanska, 3-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "You can't choose who can be in your group. All eight players are great players who have had a great season. I'll try my best. I remember the great support I got last year. I'm looking forward to being on the court again."

(7) Sara Errani (ITA)
~ '12 Titles: 4 - Acapulco, Barcelona, Budapest, Palermo
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at French Open
~ Fall record: 2-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-1 vs Sharapova, 1-5 vs Radwanska, 0-3 vs Kvitova
~ Quote: "Of course it's a tough group - both groups are tough, and the players are strong. We will see how it goes. I'll just try to play my best game, singles and doubles - it's amazing for me to be here."

s Serena Williams’ purple headband against Wimbledon rules?

AP

By Chris Chase | Busted Racquet

Serena Williams' first-round match at Wimbledon was far less eventful than the one she played at the French Open. The four-time tournament champion didn't show any ill effects from her upset loss at Roland Garros and defeated Barbara Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-4.

The most interesting part of her opener, as usual, was the clothing. When you hear "warmup jacket" you think of zipped-up nylon or hoodies. Serena's white, double-breasted Nike number is a bit of a genre bender. I can't tell whether the jacket looks like it belongs to a waiter at a party thrown by a James Bond villain or someone portraying a nurse in a Cinemax movie.

In recent years, Serena has opted for cardigans and shawls but wore the same style coat in 2008 and 2009.

The headband is even more interesting. Wimbledon has let players subtly flout the "almost entirely white" rule for years. Colored stripes, details on sleeves and bandanas are prevalent despite the seven rules forbidding such pigmentation. We detailed the trend during last year's tournament. But that purple headband is pretty blatant. Even the official Wimbledon site wondered whether it was crossing a line.

Maybe it's a nod to royalty. Either way, I wonder if that white swoosh on it has anything to do with officials at the All England Club looking the other way.