This past June I was fortunate enough to have a second interview with Tim Mayotte. Mayotte is an incredibly nice person with a lot of well-rounded interests. In that conversation, we discussed multiple things, but when it came to tennis Mayotte explained that the Big 3 in men’s tennis all share certain commonalities in how…
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.
The Complex Case of Rick Pitino and Basketball in Kentucky
Complete with hyperlinks and endnotes News of dueling books about Rick Pitino as well as stories surrounding the lawsuit between Rick Pitino and the University of Louisville regarding the recruiting scandal that led to his firing in 2017 have me reflecting on Rick Pitino’s time in my beloved home state of Kentucky. Kentucky cannot make…
Tennis Needs to Rework International Competitions
Originally posted on Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life:
There was a time when a case could be made that tennis should not be an olympic sport, but it is not 1988 any longer. With the summer games having taken on a great deal of importance, is it time for Davis Cup and…
The Self-Similar Nature of Tennis
Tennis can be thought about at a number of levels, but each level is of a similar complexity to the level above or below it. I will look at 3 of these levels. The Level Most People Talk About: Individual Skills One’s technique when hitting the ball, one’s movement on the court, and one’s conditioning…
John Isner and Intentionally Slower Surfaces
Wimbledon decided to look into slowing its courts down and increasing the length of points after the 1998 men’s final. The rest of the tour tended to follow Wimbledon’s lead as outdoor and indoor hard courts were slowed down, indoor carpet events went away, and tennis balls were slowed down too. It may not be…
My Last Male GOAT Column for at Least 5 Years
I admit it. I am bored with speculating about who is the greatest of all time (GOAT). Has any topic gotten more ink or pixels in the tennis universe over the past 20 years? It started with Pete Sampras closing in on Roy Emmerson’s then record 12 major titles. Then Andre Agassi won the career…
Wimbledon 2018: More Twitter Content
Beautiful embrace between Serena and Kerber. Great sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/HlVJC7pkun — Jeff Donaldson (@jddtennis) July 14, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js "I know I had to play my best tennis against a champion like Serena" Angelique Kerber did just that to become #Wimbledon champion for the first time. Here are the highlights and best quotes 👉 https://t.co/HIepsSHx70 #bbctennis pic.twitter.com/LNa7aU46vq…
Wimbledon 2018: Best of Day 4 Twitter
Matt Zemek – @mzemek – in another thorough piece, examines Cilic's coping with expectations and unpacks the underlying causes/consequences of his loss.On @accent_tennis#AccentSW19#Wimbledon https://t.co/6nrXwyHtrY — Mert Ertunga (@MertovsTDesk) July 5, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Time to give credit where credit is due. My piece on the type of (often overlooked) player that I admire the most. Including…
Is Tennis Dying in the US? Part 2 – Prognosis Negative
Note – On one hand, this column is quite anecdotal. On the other, there are a lot of wrecked public tennis courts across this country. This sign should read “Courts Are for Tennis Play and the Cultivation of Plants that can Crack Decoturf II Only” Klondike Park is attached to Klondike Lane Elementary School in…
A Real Dispute About Tennis by Two Philosophers
Chang lost the point but won the match in part by “pushing” during certain points Philosophical Divide A friend of mine named David who has his doctorate in philosophy relayed to me a story about a dispute that broke out after he played tennis with a friend who also has a doctorate in philosophy. David…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 