As a fan, I have never enjoyed a period of tennis as much as I have from 2004-present. 2003 was a generational shifting year in which the New Balls players won 3 of the 4 majors. In 2004, Roger Federer gave a dominating and aesthetically pleasing game to this new era. 2005 saw Marat Safin…
Category: Australian Open
44 Majors Since 1990 by the Numbers: Australian Open
Pete Sampras won his first Grand Slam at the 1990 US Open and eventually broke a long standing record for the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis in 2000. Sampras added one more slam in 2002 to set his total at 14. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras’ record in 2009 and tallied an additional…
2 out of 3 in Men’s Slam Play?
I have seen a number of columns pop up discussing the possibility of switching Grand Slam play to 2 out of 3 sets for men. Here are two of them: Billie Jean King’s take and Drew Franklin’s take First, I Disagree Having tournament of 2 out of 3 sets matches with a day off between matches…
The Djokurray Era in Full Swing
Prior to writing my preview and prediction of the championship match, I think it is important to note that Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are the two people leading the tour on a week-in and week-out basis. Rafael Nadal still rules clay. There is no disputing that. Roger Federer has lost a lot of consistency,…
First Power Ranking of 2013
Dan Martin’s 2013 Power Ranking #1 Post Australian Open Ranking 1. Novak Djokovic – Nole won the Australian Open in convincing style to pick up where he left off in my rankings. 2. Andy Murray – He is playing quite well, just not quite well enough to have won the first major of the year….
Novak’s Reign
Owning an Event For a player to pile up a lot of major title, he tends to need to own one event. Jimmy Connors won 5 US Open titles, Bjorn Borg won 6 French Open titles and 5 Wimbledon titles, Andre Agassi won 4 Australian Open titles, Pete Sampras won 7 Wimbledon and 5 US…
Australian Open Final Prediction Murray vs. Djokovic
2013 Australian Open Men’s Final #3 Andy Murray vs. #1 Novak Djokovic We have a lot of data to draw upon for this match. In 2012 alone the two met seven times. Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in Melbourne, Miami, Shanghai and London. Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in Dubai, at the Olympic Games, and…
Australian Open Women’s Final Pick Li vs. Azarenka
Predicted Winner in BOLD Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [1] v Na Li (CHN) [6] WARNING: I have picked against Na Li in the past two rounds and been spectacularly wrong. Each player enters the third Grand Slam final of her career. I think Li has more variety than Azarenka and a better serve. Those two factors…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 