The unexpected drew me to tennis in 1985 Rafael Nadal Forever Young? Rafael Nadal has always been a revolutionary figure in tennis. Whether it is his method for hitting the ball with record RPMs, his ushering in a new level of athleticism, or his raging bull persona, Rafa has always seemed to be young. He’s…
Category: Tennis History
The Loss of the Serve Volley Game Explained in Under 7 Minutes
I love the geometry and angles of the serve and volley game. By today’s standards, I hit an exceptionally flat forehand and used to be a serve-volley player in the junior ranks. Well I need a Jurassic Park makeover.
At What Point does a Fan Transition from Clay to Grass?
Just a Bit of Musing Queen’s Club has a lot of history. Many winners have gone on to do serious damage at Wimbledon (see Murray, Andy in 2013 for the most recent example). Halle has gotten a major boost from Roger Federer winning the event in 2003-2006, 2008 (all part of Federer’s 65 match grass…
Serena Williams: At a Crossroads? Probably Not
Cue Jim Morrison to Sing The End? When Do Questions Start? As a champion declines, there are always points when questions about his or her future move from the subconscious to the conscious to the public. Pete Sampras’ loss to Marat Safin at the 2000 US Open was not the start of this talk…
The 5 Least Important Federer-Nadal Matches
A lot was made about the recent Australian Open match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Notable tennis observers even called it a career defining match. Sometimes reality works out in ways that tennis analysts would not predict. Federer lost to Nadal again, but Rafa getting to 17 majors seems like a more uphill affair…
Is Tennis too Predetermined?
Although Baker was a prodigy at Center Parcs, he didn’t seem to be anything special at Loughborough at first. Even at that age, you could see the game beginning to stratify. Andy Murray won the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl tournament in Florida at the age of 12; the year before, Baker had played an overseas…
44 Majors since 1990 by the Numbers: Roland Garros
Prologue Part 1 of this series looked at how Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 44 of the 96 majors held since 1990. If Rafa, Roger and Pete don’t add any majors in 2014, they will have won 44% of the Grand Slam events held since 1990. That is a remarkable accomplishment…
Counterpunch – This is Not the Golden Era
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…
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…
2013 US Open: Men’s Championship Prediction Djokovic vs. Nadal
2013 US Open Men’s Championship 1 Novak Djokovic vs. 2 Rafael Nadal The top two seeds meet in the final of the US Open just as happened in the 2013 Wimbledon championship match. Novak Djokovic has won 24 matches in Grand Slam play in 2013, and Rafa has won 13. Yet, they each have 1…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 