1. Andy Murray d. Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 Some highlights from their final encounter in Tokyo. A good sign for Murray who looks poised to rise to #3 in the world. Still, 3 Grand Slam semifinal losses to Nadal keep the edge in Rafa’s corner in big matches until Murray proves otherwise. Andy Murray…
Category: Australian Open
6’9″ John Isner’s Road Map to the Top 10
Career High 18 John Isner is the #18 player in the world. This is his highest career ranking. Isner followed a disappointing Wimbledon with titles in Newport and Winston-Salem. Isner was also runner-up in Atlanta and a semifinalist in Washington, DC. Those four events alone netted Isner 830 points. He garnered 360 points from his…
Review of ‘Unmatched’ ESPN’s 30 for 30
ESPN’s 30 for 30 Takes on Navratilova and Evert Review of Unmatched Directed and Produced by Lisa Lax and Nancy Sterm Winters It was by accident that I got to watch this great sports documentary. Considering that Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova won 36 combined singles Grand Slam titles and faced one another 80 times,…
What does 3 different players recently winning 3 slams in a single season mean?
Winning 3 of 4 slams in a single season: Jimmy Connors did it in 1974 Mats Wilander did it in 1988 Roger Federer did it in 2004, 2006 & 2007 Rafael Nadal did it in 2010 Novak Djokovic did it in 2011 Seems like this is becoming more commonplace. Why do you think this is?
#2 Rafael Nadal vs. #1 Novak Djokovic
The Final 128 players and 6 single elimination matches later to get to this point and form should not hold so neatly should it? At Wimbledon and now the US Open we are treated to a #1 versus #2 showdown. In 2006 through 2008 we got these matches between Federer and Nadal in Paris and…
Jimmy Connors Part 2
Preface Novak Djokovic just completing a 2 sets to love comeback in the US Open semifinal makes writing this a bit surreal. I think comebacks from 2 sets down are one of the most unique events in all of the sporting world. Jimmy Connors turned the momentum of one such comeback into an indelible memory…
Rafael Nadal Labor Leader?
Impressed I know some people referred to Rafael Nadal’s reaction to the short court time in misty conditions yesterday as “venomous.” Still, Nadal joined notorious rebels such as Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander who stalled before their 1987 US Open semifinal match as a protest against what the two Swedes saw as disastrous scheduling….
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 