Between the lines

This American takes the hard road to success.

Biting the hand that feeds him? World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt (pix, below) is threatening to sue the ATP for $1.5 million over a fine he incurred for refusing to do an ESPN interview at last year's Tennis Masters Cincinnati event. Long story short: ESPN wanted to do a taped pre-tournament Q & A with Hewitt, who passed but offered instead to do live on-court interviews after his matches. The ATP said the taped interview was required by Hewitt as part of his obligations to the media and fined him half of his prize money from the tournament, or $106,000, which was reduced to $20,000 on appeal in January. Apparently, that wasn't good enough: Hewitt has sent a letter to the ATP stating that he'll take the tour to court in Australia to seek damages for defamation and legal costs.

Great Scott: Larry Scott was named chairman and CEO of the WTA tour. Scott, 38, had been with the ATP for the last 11 years, most recently as the chief operating officer and president of ATP Properties, the organisation's marketing and sales arm. Scott's appointment may open the door to more dual gender events. " I am eager to work toward maximizing the unique power of the WTA tour product — the players and the tournaments," Scott says, "and bridging the divide between tennis' governing bodies."

The Big W: ESPN has signed a four-year agreement to telecast Wimbledon starting this June. The network will air nearly 120 hours, including one women's and one men's semifinal. NBC will also have coverage culminating with its traditional Breakfast at Wimbledon on championship weekend.

Time to split? Goran Ivanisevic (pix, below) plans to play his beloved Wimbledon and then probably hang up the racquet for good. He told Croatia's Jutarnji List newspaper, "I'm going to come to Wimbledon even if they push me there in a wheelchair." That's not out of the question: In April, he had surgery to remove a piece of seashell that got stuck in his foot while he was walking on a Florida beach.