Preview Olympic Tennis has had a lot of ups and downs. During some Olympic years, the tennis events have seemed at best like a 500 point tour level tournament while other years have produced high drama for the sport. With Davis Cup, Federation Cup, Hopman Cup, World Team Cup, and tennis’ four majors being held…
Category: Olympic Tennis
Power Ranking for the Week of July 16 – July 22, 2012
Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings for the Week of July 16 through July 22 1. Roger Federer – Fed has spent 287 weeks at #1 with at least a 288th week in the works. 286 is exactly 5 1/2 years at #1. Federer is pushing toward 6 years at #1. 2. Novak Djokovic – This…
Newport Semifinal Predictions
Predicted Winner in BOLD John Isner 1 vs. Ryan Harrison 6 John Isner has stopped some of his recent bleeding by winning some matches in Rhode Island, but I sense that the big man is just not playing very well. He has accomplished one goal in terms of getting more match play on grass courts…
Federer’s Ability to Rebound
Olympic Years Most tennis fans can remember the result of Wimbledon 2008. Remember 2008, the year of the last Summer Olympic Games? Roger Federer had a tough June and July in 2008. He was throttled by Rafael Nadal in Paris. Going into a highly anticipated Wimbledon final due to the 5 set thriller of 2007,…
The International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is hosting its annual 25o level event on the ATP tour. It is the only grass court event held on US soil. It is also the only grass court ATP tour event held after Wimbledon concludes. I attended the tournament in 1999 and watched Chris Woodruff win the title. …
Serena Williams’ Legacy Grows
Serena Williams fought of a game Agnieeszka Radwanska to win her 5th Wimbledon singles title 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Serena’s first two service games of the 3rd set were crucial to determining the winner. Williams’ serve had abandoned at the close of the 2nd set. Aga had her teeth in the match. Serena failed to convert…
WTA Benefiting from Continuity
I wrote last year that 2011 was a good year for the WTA. I felt this way because Petra Kvitova looked like she would be a contender for multiple years, Na Li helped tennis expand into a market of over 1 billion people, Sam Stosur added a Grand Slam champion to the great Aussie tradition,…
Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS Part 5 – The Usual Suspects: Rafael Nadal
Part 1 Laid out Key Questions Part 2 Looked at Bjorn Borg’s Credentials and the Difficulties of the GOAT Debate Part 3 Looked at Pete Sampras’ Credentials Part 4 Looked at Roger Federer’s Credentials Rafael Nadal Why Rafael Nadal Might be the GOAT – Rafa’s claim to the GOAT title revolves around three areas of…
Requiem for Gonzo and Ljubicic
Tennis, being an individual sport, tends to quickly cycle through generations. Time is an opponent that a few can fend off, but is an opponent that no one defeats. Fernando Gonzalez and Ivan Ljubicic are both hanging up their racquets this spring. Both players brought an interesting dimension to the tour, and both will be…
Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS Part 2 – The Usual Suspects: Bjorn Borg
Setting Difficulties Aside In part 1, I asserted that the GOAT question is hard to answer, but that two separate but related questions contribute to the process of naming a GOAT. Who played tennis at the highest level and who accomplished the most in his or her career are rarely the same thing. No one…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 