Predicted Winners in BOLD Picking the Chalk [3] Simona Halep (ROU) vs Karin Knapp (ITA) – Knapp is a solid player who got a bad draw. Halep did not get any favors here either, but the Romanian should advance. [5] Ana Ivanovic (SRB) vs. [Q] Lucie Hradecka (CZE) [2] Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs [Q] Petra…
Author: Dan Martin
I am a proud husband and father. I have my PhD from the University of Dayton and love theology, philosophy, ecology, and tennis among other things.
Australian Open 2015: Day 1 Men’s Predictions
Predicted Winners in BOLD Welcome Back as Tennis’ Off-season is Now Over [3] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) – Rafa’s draw is pretty soft after this match, but I think Rafa is low on confidence and is not yet grooved. I give Youzhny a 40% chance at the upset despite one of my…
Australian Open 2015 – Women’s Draw: Impressions
Serena has a potentially interesting second round match. I hope Garbine Muguruza shows some of the fight she showed at Roland Garros last year. Azarenka vs. Stephens is a match to circle. Can Petra Kvitoa beat the heat when she plays day matches? Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep both have to like their chances at…
Australian Open 2015 – Men’s Draw: Impressions
Novak Djokovic got a good draw, but Wawrinka and he could contest an epic semifinal. Roger Federer’s camp likely wanted Nole and Rafa to battle it out, but Rafa has a tricky first round match. Jerzy Janowicz vs. Juan Martin del Potro is my favorite first round match on paper. Each big man wants to…
Quick Hits: Federer’s 1000th and 84th, Ferrer Rises, and Wawrinka Defends a Title
Roger Federer Winning 1000 matches is no easy task as only two other men accomplished this feat in the Open Era. Roger Federer added to his established reputation for consistency across many years and to his growing legacy of logevity by joining Ivan Lendl an Jimmy Connors. Roger also has an outside shot at overtaking…
Federer Throttles Dimitrov and Reaches First Final of 2015
Roger Federer collected his third career win versus his shadow Grigor Dimitrov. I am not going to read too much into Dimitov’s one-sided loss, but at 33 Roger Federer is someone Dimitrov should press a bit more than he has to date. Dimitrov only won 4 games in this match and is now 0-3 (0-6 in…
Tennis Abides Vlog/Podcast #1
Last month, I dipped my toe into the world of podcasting. Podbean has a great product, but it does not offer a lot of space in terms of its free services. I liked the idea of a voice only podcast as I have a good speaking voice. However, youtube allows me to upload to my…
Wawrinka and Federer Bring the Davis Cup to Switzerland
Stanislas and Roger’s Excellent Adventure This match set a tone Stanislas Wawrinka added Switzerland’s first Davis Cup title to a year that saw him win a first Grand Slam and a first Masters 1000 title. Roger Federer added an important missing piece to his unprecedented career. Stan and Roger also won Gold for Switzerland in…
Davis Cup 2014: Day 3 Analysis and Predictions
I did not post anything about the doubles today because the line-ups could be changed so close to match time and because doubles is a different animal. The remaining singles matches set Switzerland as 1 win away from a first ever Davis Cup title, but France will likely have 27,000 fans and a winnable set…
Davis Cup Final 2014: Day 1 Thoughts and Predictions
Thoughts I did not write about the dust up between Federer and Wawrinka this past Saturday because it was so minor. In a team sport, it would not even have registered. I think the individual nature of tennis made this into a bit of fodder for many tennis sites, but if Boris Becker and Michael…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 