I will be sharing some of my favorite French Open memories between now and the start of the 2013 French Open. My first subject is Andre Agassi versus Jim Courier. Once upon a time it was rare to see the same players match-up year after year at slams in men’s events. Jim Courier and Andre…
Category: Tennis History
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…
The State of US Men’s Tennis
The Big Four Help The US Open is obviously a Grand Slam event. One third of the ATP’s Masters 1000 events reside inside of the United States. The Wimbledon and French Open championship start times are designed to get access to some of the television market in the US. Yet, the US does not currently…
Who Needs a 5th Major?
Four or Five or? The Indian Wells-Miami section of the tour is a great stretch for tennis fans. Most of the top players on the ATP and WTA play both events and great matches abound. It also leads to talk of a “Fifth Major” status for one or the other event. This talk is not…
Novak’s Reign
Owning an Event For a player to pile up a lot of major title, he tends to need to own one event. Jimmy Connors won 5 US Open titles, Bjorn Borg won 6 French Open titles and 5 Wimbledon titles, Andre Agassi won 4 Australian Open titles, Pete Sampras won 7 Wimbledon and 5 US…
Venus Williams’ Legacy
Sports Illustrated Mailbag Today a tennis fan asked Jon Wertheim if Venus Williams will ever win another singles major. Wertheim, an all-around good guy, answered that it was unlikely due to age, health and form. This is an answer I think most tennis writers would give. It is easy to forget that Venus first reached…
Tennis Impersonations: A History
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….
Andy Roddick in Retrospect
Roddick Start to Finish I first heard of Andy Roddick during the 2000 US Open final when the announcers mentioned the winners of the junior US Open events. I saw Andy Roddick’s final match as he lost to Juan Martin del Potro. I will miss seeing Roddick in major draws. It became apparent after some…
US Open Final Weekend a Preview of a Post Fedal World
Golden Age Many words have been written about how great Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been for tennis. Each has been nearly omnipresent on the big stage for many years. Both players are respected by fans and the media alike. Most importantly, each appeals to different sensibilities. Nadal draws on the gritty hustle driven…
Federer Gets to 20 Slam Match Wins Again
My apologies for not having my picks for today posted, but I had some difficulties with WordPress. My readers will just need to trust that I picked every match today correctly and check in tomorrow for my Day 7 picks. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras failed to win 20 Grand Slam Matches during…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 