Mirka stays at home for Federer match (Wimbledon Notebook)

LONDON - Pregnant Mirka Vanvinec was a no-show for husband Roger Federer’s second-round Wimbledon win, with the second seed damping down speculation that her due date is approaching.

Observers noted that the mum-to-be was not in the Federer box for the match, a somewhat rare occurance for the former WTA player.

“She’s just not feeling, 100 percent,” said Federer, who has steadfastly refused to say when the summer baby is due. “She only felt 95 percent so we decided it’s better if she takes it easy instead of sitting in the sun, maybe, feeling worse the next day.”

“It’s important for her to rest. She’s already feeling better, which is good.”

Federer said later his wife spent the day at their accommodations with a girlfriend. But he knocked back more guesses on when his child will be born.

“You can speculate as much as you want,” he told one persistent Italian questioner.

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Exiting Scott says WTA on strong financial footing

Larry Scott says he’s leaving the WTA in great shape - financial and otherwise - as the CEO heads off to an American university administrator post in California within days.

The ex-player and ATP executive said at Wimbledon that the state of the women’s game is healthy. And he has no anxieties about the 530-million-dollar loss made in the last financial year by Sony-Ericsson, main sponsor.

That contract expires in 2010, when Scott’s unnamed replacement will be in the chair. And with no Americans apparently in the pipeline to replace the late-20s Williams sisters, fears have been voiced that US interest in the sport will soon be minimal.

“It would be a mistake to write off women’s tennis,” said Scott.

“Global starts can drive interest the US. Sony-Ericsson is global and does not depend on a US strategy.”

The exiting exec said that he is leaving a healthy sport where season prize money rose to the current 86 million dollars: “We’re in our strongest position ever.”

Besides the Sony-Ericsson money, the WTA earned 84 million dollars from current and future year-end championships in Doha and Istanbul and has sparked up to 750 million dollars in spending on new stadiums and infrastructure by member tournaments.