When it comes to excuses for not doing your homework, playing in the Australian Open is way better than the dog ate my assignment. Serena Williams has enrolled in two online courses that begins on January 23 one in management, the other in kinesiology. She's already texted one of her professors to tell him she won't get the first assignment in on time.
"He was like, it's fine. I was wondering if it was really you," she said after beating Greta Arn 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday. "I haven't been able to reach my kinesiology teacher," she added. "Hopefully she will understand that I am going to get those assignments in. But I'm a wee bit busy."
Serena, who's cultivated off-court interests in fashion and acting, said she became interested in kinesiology because of the injuries she's experienced through her career. "I've always thought if I could just learn about my body and keep learning about physiology, sciences, stuff like that, just for the future I thought it would be really cool."
Rap-star zheng?
China's Zheng Jie, who shot down Marion Bartoli's chances on Saturday, has got a lot more streetwise since appearing in a hip hop video sketch.
Zheng, dubbed "Jay-Z" due to the constant mangling of her name by Westerners, dons tracksuit and visor and struts through a carpark in the video, set to Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". But Zheng, who says she prefers slow piano ballads, insists hip hop is not really her thing. "Oh, I think this is not my style," laughed the Chengdu native. "After my video, every player who sees me doesn't say hello, they say, 'Yo, Yo.'"
{{/usCountry}}Zheng, dubbed "Jay-Z" due to the constant mangling of her name by Westerners, dons tracksuit and visor and struts through a carpark in the video, set to Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". But Zheng, who says she prefers slow piano ballads, insists hip hop is not really her thing. "Oh, I think this is not my style," laughed the Chengdu native. "After my video, every player who sees me doesn't say hello, they say, 'Yo, Yo.'"
{{/usCountry}}Bhupathi skypes
Mahesh Bhupathi was miles away in Melbourne when his wife, actress Lara Dutta gave birth to their first child but the 37-year-old sports star managed to catch a glimpse of his wife and his daughter through video calling. "Just spoke to @DuttaLara and baby on Skype. They got to watch the match on TV in the hospital, got to thank the Aus open for moving us," Bhupathi, who is currently in Melbourne to play in the Australian Open, wrote on Twitter.
Dutta and Bhupathi became the parents of a baby girl, their first child together on January 20. The girl has been named 'Saira.'