Alpha? Omega? The recent controversy about Caroline Wozniacki’s impersonation of Serena Williams got me thinking about the history of impersonating a player’s ticks or idiosyncrasies. My mind initially thought that Jonas Bjorkman was the progenitor of this fad. His rain delay US Open fodder of lighthearted imitations did indeed pave the way to Djokovic’s 2007 US Open impersonation tour….
Category: Pete Sampras
Sampras Turns 41 and Federer Turns 31
Familiar Faces By some luck for tennis junkies, Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 and Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981. The two men are almost exactly 10 years apart in age. Tennis fans waited from Borg’s retirement to Sampras’ ascendency to see a player win over 10 slams in his…
Olympic Tennis Review: 1992 The Women Delivered & The Men Did Not
The 1988 Olympic Games brought tennis back as a medal sport. Steffi Graf completed a “Golden Slam” in 1988, and the overall success of the tennis events brought about a great deal of excitement for the 1992 games. These games were held in Barcelona, Spain so Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario looked to be a major factor. The…
Who is the Greatest Male Grass Court Player of the Open Era? (POLL)
Martina Navratilova seems to have locked up the female honor here. Consider the following cases before voting and of course comment below. Bjorn Borg – 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 2 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes Pete Sampras – 7 Wimbledon titles, 7-0 in Wimbledon finals, 1 Wimbledon…
Tennis History: Nadal and Sharapova
A Trip Inside my Unofficial Historical Tennis Rankings The 2012 French Open is in the books. Sadly, the quick transition to grass rarely allows for the full impact of this event to be appreciated until later in the year. Still, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova made a great deal of history. Here is a quick…
Roland Garros 2012 Men’s Semifinal Predictions
1 Novak Djokovic vs. 3 Roger Federer I don’t think either man has played near his A level during this event. To me, that means the player who is most likely to raise his game is the player who will win. Novak Djokovic is under pressure attempting to complete the Nole Slam. Roger Federer twice…
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…
Rare Species: 90’s Style Tennis
Endangered Species While I do not feel as rare as the East African Bongo (pictured above), I was watching some top junior players in my region hitting. They all hit with extreme grips, generated a lot of topspin and hit two-handed backhands that were slightly different from the form I observed as a kid (I…
Youtube Tennis for the Week of 4-10 through 4-14-2012
1. Edberg vs. McEnroe at Wimbledon 1989 2. Muster vs. Sampras 1995 3. John Isner vs. Gilles Simon 2012
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 