The Russian's bad boy image seemed to get him even more popularity with the female audience. Screams and cheers echoed around the Impact Arena when he arrived on court and during his matches. Even tennis super model James Blake, who has appeared in magazines like People and Esquire and been on the Oprah show, did not seem to have as much support in the semi-final against the Russian.

Safin also discovered he has a big fan who has just been crowned Miss Thailand World first runner-up, Panassarom Koomkij or "Nicky". He was spotted asking for her number during the opening ceremony and after that she was always there in the crowd supporting him. - The Nation.

Paradorn serves with a spin

Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan told the local media that he had no one special to cheer for him at this year's Thailand Open. But local reporters at the tennis thought it was a line call. Paradorn told the press he was more mature now and wanted to concentrate on his tennis.

Despite what the tennis star said, there was plenty of hot gossip in the media room to suggest otherwise. A young and good looking girl who was reported to be studying in a private university appeared in Paradorn's VIP box during matches. When reporters went into the player's lounge for an interview, Paradorn was seen chatting to the same girl. He seemed startled and awkward when the press appeared.

But what took the whole country by storm was when former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova pecked him on the cheek after his heroic win over Tim Henman in the quarter-final. He denied having a special bond with the beauty queen, claiming they knew each other because they are Brand Ambassadors for the Boon Rawd Brewery. - The Nation.

Food a concern for Thai athletes

Napoleon Bonaparte once famously said that an army marches on its stomach. The same could be said for Thailand's athletes. Apart from homesickness, the biggest problem for almost all Thai athletes who travel overseas is food, or to more specific, a lack of Thai food. And at this year's Asian Games in December, Thailand's athletes face another hurdle - it will be the first time the quadrennial sporting event has been held in a Muslim nation, Qatar.

Muslims are prohibited from eating pork. This may cause some problems for Buddhist Thai athletes because pork is usually part of the diet. However, Thai star striker Teeratep "Leesaw" Winothai shrugged off that concern as he and his team-mates had already found a way around the problem. Their answer is canned food.

"I do not think we [Thailand's football team] will have any problem," he said. "Importantly, in Doha [Qatar's capital] there is Thai embassy and many Thai people work there so we should not find difficulty in searching for Thai food. However, to prevent any trouble we will take a pile of canned food, comprising green curry and many kinds of nam prik [spicy dip]."- The Nation.

Some pain in Spain

Although Thai player Sudket Prapakamol was impressive at the World Badminton Championships where he paired up with Saralee Thungthongkham to win a bronze medal in mixed doubles in Madrid last week, the trip was a little unpleasant for him as he had once lived a quiet life there. Sudket and his partner lived quietly in Spain as the people there do not speak English and are quite nationalistic.

The other Thai players, who crashed out of the tournament, had to return home early and left the Thai duo, who had to wait for the awards ceremony. They stayed in Spain with only three staff of the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT). Asked what was the most impressive thing in the event, Sudket replied: "Myself."

"We couldn't communicate with the local people. Besides, Spanish girls are not to my taste. However, I had a memorable match and I'm satisfied," said the 26-year old who is ranked No 4 in the world.

"We faced much stronger Chinese opponents in the quarter-final. We lost the first game, but recovered to win the match. At that I didn't believe myself. It was an impossible win and that it impressed me." - The Nation.