That’s my explanation. And here is Marat’s explanation:

A battered-looking Marat Safin on Sunday admitted involvement in a brawl in Moscow last week, but wasted no time declaring he had won the fight.

The fiery Russian stunned fans when he turned up late at the mixed team Hopman Cup sporting two black eyes, but recovered in time to beat Italian Simone Bolelli 7-6, 6-4 in his opening match.

“I won the fight, I’m good, I’m OK,” said the former world No. 1. “I got in trouble in Moscow but it’s OK, I can survive.

“It’s just a small problem. I wasn’t in the right place at the right time,” he added, without elaborating.

Dolce is eclipsing Maria’s fame…

While our stars are busy enjoying their lives during the off season (which means falling in love, breaking up, buying tournaments, posing for magazine covers, etc). Let’s take a look at some photos of famous Russian stars and their “significant others.” Since this is based on mostly gossip, I have to say I don’t really know if these couples are still together as of my writing:-)

Maria Sharapova and Charlie Ebersol. When talking about Russian stars, she comes first.  Along with posing for magazines, making headlines for being threatened by a crazy tennis player, Maria Sharapova also managed to find a boyfriend while waiting for her shoulder to heal).

Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko. (Wikipedia still says Andreev is dating Russian fashionista Masha K.) Don’t they look like the blond version of this famous tennis couple

Mikhail Youzhny and Julia Thomas. So he can also be nice and tender?

Nikolay Davydenko and his wife Irina. (I hope Irina has more color and personality than her famous husband).

Marat Safin and Russian pop singer Nastya Osipova. (Our favorite playboy’s latest girlfriend didn’t score high among his  fan base:-)

…and Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias.

Are there any other couples out there that I don’t know of?

Maria Sharapova in Spanish GQ in December. See more photos at Craig Hickman’s tennis blog.

Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo will meet in Friday’s quarterfinals here. Mauresmo is 8-5 in their lifetime series, but the Russian won their last meeting in Stuttgart last season. I am really excited to have a chance to see them here. I also really wanted to see Chakvetadze play, but she already lost her second round match.

Don’t forget to check out Amelie Mauresmo’s Luxembourg blog.  The 2008 Luxembourg titlist will make $35,000.

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev met yesterday with Russian national tennis team and their captain Shamil Tarpischev in Kremlin. This year’s Beijing Olympics champion Elena Dementieva has given her Olympic “gold” racket to President Medvedev as a gift. Would you give your Olympic racket to your President?

Elena Vesnina blogs about the experience.  According to her, all the players were very nervous initially but thanks to Marat Safin who told a couple of jokes to break the ice, they relaxed and greatly enjoyed the experience. They drank some tea, and the President thanked them for all their achievements.

Dinara Safina looks gorgeous. I am not saying anything about her brother

Dementieva thinking: “Just don’t sell it on Ebay, please.”

Medvedev thinking: “What the hell is this?”

Marat Safin is famous for both his tennis and dating skills. His new girlfriend is Nastya Osipova, a Russian pop singer. Here are some photos for you to grade his new girlfriend:-)

See more photos here.

Have you ever wondered what American Andre Agassi and Argentine David Nalbandian have in common?  Both famous tennis players are of Armenian origin.  Nalbandian began playing tennis at age five when his Armenian grandfather built a cement court in his backyard in Cardoba, Argentine. Agassi’s father is also Armenian who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran. Agassi’s middle name, Kirk, is after Armenian American tycoon Kirk Kirkorian, who hired Agassi’s father Mike to work in one of his casinos. Later they became good friends.

David Nalbandian plans to visit his ancestrial homeland Armenia in early October, where he will give a master class and play an exhibition match with Armenia’s top tennis player Harutyun Sofyan.

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has announced a scholarship program for the students from the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus. The program with the total funding of $210,000 is a joint initiative of the Maria Sharapova Foundation and UN Development Program. The scholarships will be granted to 12 talented Belorussian students, and will cover their education costs for four years. “I’ve always dreamed of making my own contribution to restoring the region I have a personal connection with,” said Maria Sharapova, whose parents lived in Gomel. “Providing young people with an opportunity to get higher education is part of the efforts meant to create a better future for the affected region”.

Russia’s tennis boss Shamil Tarpischev has announced his team  for the upcoming Fed Cup final tie against Spain. Though traditionally Russia has the best selection pool when it comes to Fed Cup, it seems Russia’s captain had to be satisfied with a second-string team. World number 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead the team comprised of world number 10 and Beijing bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva, 56th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova and number 71 Elena Vesnina.

Elena Dementieva, and Dinara Safina are somewhat exhausted after their recent sucesses in Olympics and US Open, Anna Chakvetadze can’t find her form after the horrific robbery attack, and Maria Sharapova is out with a shoulder injury.

“This is the best team we could assemble at the moment. Dementieva and Safina have a real chance to become world number one so we have to give them a break,” Tarpischev said.