My first distinct tennis memories are matches between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the 1982 Wimbledon men’s championship and the 1984 US Open semifinal. Both were five set thrillers, but I did not start following tennis regularly until Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985. French Open matches did not make much of an impression…
Category: Blue Clay
Nadal’s Reign: Unrelenting Supremacy
King Rafa 2005 – ? Can anyone stop a prepared Nadal on clay? That is a question that has been hounding professional tennis since 2005. There are a few scenarios for how Nadal might lose a match on clay, but these scenarios become even less likely when a match moves to a best of five…
Big Man Tennis: JMDP vs. Cilic & Berdych vs. Anderson
Big Man Bracket We know that at least one of the eight quarterfinalists at the 2012 French Open will be at least 6’5″ or 196 cm tall. Juan Martin del Potro faces Marin Cilic in the round of 32. Both Delpo and Cilic are 6’6″ or 198 cm tall. This looked like a promising rivalry…
Blue Clay Angst is a Sad Moment for Tennis
Counter Factual Time Imagine the organizers at the Key Biscayne event announcing, “Because we are the last event before the European clay court season starts, we will be changing our tournament from a hard court event to a green clay event as a transition to softer courts.” Would the same players be up in arms…
Power Ranking for the Week of May 14 – May 20
Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings for the Week of May 14 through May 20 (a lot of changes from the last few weeks) 1. Novak Djokovic – Novak is the number one player in the world, but the next few months will be interesting. 2. Roger Federer – Titles in Dubai, Rotterdam, Indian Wells and Madrid…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 