Maria Sharapova's doping suspension isn't just harming her tennis ambitions -- it's also hurting her ability to sell her candy and chocolate. Her Sugarpova sweets come in bags with names such as 'sassy', 'flirty', 'smitten', 'spooky' and 'quirky', though right now she might be reaching for one marked 'sour'.
For the past couple of years, the Siberian has had a pop-up Sugarpova Candy Lounge in Wimbledon Village during The Championships. But, after taking a stroll up the hill from the All England Club and peering through the window, the Wimbledon Diary can confirm that the site is empty. There's not even any sign at the front or inside the shop that Sharapova's company had previously used the premises.
At a time when many of the shops in the Village are decorated with tennis balls and rackets, and when the cafes and restaurants are enjoying their high season, it's startling to see such prime retail space not in use.
Supermarket sweep
Some tennis players are seemingly incapable of going anywhere around the All England Club without an entourage. But not Novak Djokovic, the defending men's champion, and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors simultaneously. The world No.1 was on his own as he arrived at the Aorangi Park practice courts for his morning training. Alone, that is, apart from a supermarket carrier bag, which appeared to be full of shopping.
Opponents with benefits
The deeper Serena Williams goes into this tournament, the more you will hear comparisons between the American and Steffi Graf. That's because if Williams scores this title, she will go level with the German on 22 Grand Slam titles, a record for the modern era. But there's one area of life on the tennis road that Williams excels at and Graf didn't -- forming friendships in the locker-room.
"Steffi was an extreme introvert in the tennis world. She really wanted to be alone," Pam Shriver, an ESPN analyst, told the Wimbledon Diary. "She wanted to fight the fight alone with just her closest confidantes and family. She didn't feel as though she needed that many people. I think she had a couple of friends on the tour. I think with Serena, perhaps because her sister Venus is in the locker-room, she has some friendships in the game, including with Caroline Wozniacki.
"I feel like she's maturing into a champion who can juggle winning major titles with being friendly with her fellow players in the locker-room. I think social media helps this. If Steffi was playing in the era of social media, I'm not sure that she would have been up for it."
At ease, Dominic
Dominic Thiem's rise from being one of the foot-soldiers of tennis to becoming a new member of the top 10 is all the more remarkable for the fact the 22-year-old Austrian managed to squeeze in some compulsory military service between tournaments.
A few other players, who had been supposed to perform national service, have managed to avoid picking up a rifle. They include former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who was given a reprieve from the Cypriot army, while Roger Federer was exempted from the Swiss military.