Mixed reviews for Twitter at French Open
Some love it, some hate it, others are not quite sure what to make of it - but all agree that Twitter is on the march among tennis professionals. Serena Williams is a frequent user of the social media platform as is Caroline Wozniacki, but the world's best paid sportswoman Maria Sharapova has little time for it. "I think it's too much for me," she said after winning her way through to the last 16 of the French Open on Friday. "I mean, I'm bored with myself on a daily basis, and I think if I'm bored, like eating a bowl of pasta, I don't need to let the world know that I'm at this restaurant eating a bowl of pasta. "That's my opinion about it now. Maybe that can change, but I feel like it's just too much every day to tweet and to write. "I write enough texts a day. I can't even imagine what it would be like if I would tweet constantly. I'm like, I'm getting arthritis in my thumbs. I already text so much, it's embarrassing." That's not how rising American player Sloan Stephens sees it. Asked what it meant to her to have reached the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time, and with a promising career stretched out ahead of her, she replied: "Yeah, I'm excited, because now I'm going to have more Twitter followers. That's good." It's not all good though, the 19-year-old agrees. "I get some very interesting comments. I really don't know, like, what some people think when they write stuff to me. I'm like, What? What are you saying? "For me it's fun, because, like, I mostly talk to my friends. A lot of people write me, and I always see what people write. "I read every message, but I don't respond for some reason. It's just like I feel if I respond to one person, then I have to respond to everyone. "That's when people start writing you, like, Why aren't you responding to me? Do you hate me? I'm, like, God!" Andy Murray says he can take it or leave it and sounds somewhat confused what it is all about. "I just do it sometimes when I feel like doing it," he replied when asked to explain his fleeting appearances on Twitter. "I don't think you can decide when you want to say something on anything. It depends what certain people might use it for. "I don't know, to promote things or, you know, some people like to do it just to give their opinion on things. Some people like to do it to interact with fans or with friends. "I just use it for whatever and whenever I feel like it." US Open champion Samantha Stosur is another who, like Sharapova, prefers Facebook to Twitter and her disdain for the latter was not helped on Friday when she was told that there was a Twitter account dedicated to her biceps. "I didn't know that. That's a little bit disturbing, I think," the muscular Australian said. "I like the Facebook aspect better, and I think it's easy to use. I don't use Twitter, I don't have an account, I don't follow anyone. Yeah, so far I'm not too bothered about it."
