2017 review: Off-the-court moments when tennis superstars dominated headlines

TOI looks back at off-the-court moments when tennis superstars dominated headlines for reasons other than just their game…GENIE GRANTS FAN'S WISHEugenie Bouchard had no inkling that her support for Atlanta Falcons winning the Super Bowl was going to find her love. When a fan, John Goehrke, proposed on Twitter that Bouchard should go on a date with him if the New England Patriots win, the Canadian tennis star took on the bet. Falcons, leading 21-0, lost 28-34 and Bouchard stayed true to her word. The 23-year-old paid to fly him down from Missouri to New York to join her for a basketball game at the Madison Square Garden. John, meanwhile, gifted her a pair of Tiffany earrings.ROGER & THE BACKHAND BOYSHand him a racquet or a mike, Roger Federer never ceases to impress. The Swiss ace teamed up with tennis buddies Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas to showcase their singing skills as the 'Backhand Boys' at the Australian Open this year. Backed up on the piano by Haas' father-in-law and musician, David Foster, the trio crooned their rendition of '80s classic 'Hard To Say I'm Sorry', which also featured a special cameo by Novak Djokovic. This boy band is here to stay.OF WEDDINGS AND BABY BOOMIt has been a year of weddings and Serena Williams, undoubtedly, stole the show. Also joining the 'I do' list were Agnieszka Radwanska, Andrea Hlavackova and Yanina Wickmayer, while Dane Caroline Wozniacki found love again in former NBA player David Lee. Donning parenthood roles were Djokovic and Murray, who welcomed their second child, while retired Serbian ace Ana Ivanovic announced she's expecting her first with football star Bastian Schweinsteiger.A FROSTY WELCOMEMaria Sharapova's return to competitive tennis after a 15-month doping ban didn't go down well with several of her fellow players. While the Russian may have got some sympathy from Serena Williams and a few others, the majority was against her return. Bouchard said Maria should have been banned for life while players such as Caroline Wozniacki, Roberta Vinci, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Andy Murray were fiercely vocal in their displeasure over wildcards being handed to someone returning from a doping ban.ANIMAL PLANETIt was not just humans that impressed: Animals, too, had their share of limelight in the world of tennis this year. For the second year running, the Brazil Open had six dogs from animal shelters who stole the show, standing in as 'ball boys' to raise awareness for pet adoption. Later in March, an iguana held up play by perching himself on top of the scoreboard at the Miami Open, and then became world famous by posing for a selfie with Tommy Haas.