Historical Difficulty with Repeating Rafael Nadal won nearly everything of importance from the onset of the clay court season of 2010 through the conclusion of the US Open 2010. Nadal’s 2011 did not feature the same level of success. The same could be said for Nadal’s 2008 French Open, Wimbledon, and Olympic Gold trifecta was…
Category: Tennis History
Indian Wells Final Sunday Predictions
Final Round – Predicted Winners in BOLD Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Maria Sharapova (2) – Maria may be due to beat Azarenka, but Vika is undefeated in 2012. I have said in my other picks that until someone beats Vika I am going to keep picking her. I think Azarenka wins in straight sets. She…
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 4 – The Usual Suspects: Roger Federer
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 Roger Federer Why Roger Federer might be the GOAT – Roger Federer has a compelling case to make on both fronts of the GOAT argument. He holds many of…
Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS Part 3 – The Usual Suspects: Pete Sampras
Part 1 – Laid Out Key Questions Part 2 – Discussed the Difficulties of Naming a GOAT while Examining Bjorn Borg’s Case Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS Part 3 Pete Sampras Why Pete Sampras Might be the GOAT – Pete Sampras holds fourteen Grand Slam singles titles and seven Wimbledon titles. Pete Sampras spent…
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…
Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS Part 1
Part 1 – Arriving at the Relevant Questions A Question from California Shortly after Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the 2012 Australian Open semifinal round, I was asked how I thought Roger Federer’s record against Rafael Nadal impacted his arguable status as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT). Federer winning only one third of…
Best Two Time Australian Open Champion (Poll)
Tennis has produced a lot of two time Australian Open champions. All of the solo winners plus Andre Agassi (4), Roger Federer (4) and Mats Wilander (3) are not eligible, but who was the best player to win the crown twice?
Jim Courier The Entrepreneur Former Australian Open Champions Part 2
Jim Courier: the Entrepreneur The 1992 and 1993 Australian Open Men’s Champion Jim Courier has been a strong presence in tennis since retiring without overshadowing active players. Although Courier made his Grand Slam breakthrough in Paris on red clay, I think the Australian Open best meshed with Courier. His off season preparation left Courier ideally…
Milos Raonic Leads a New Wave
Historical Waves Tennis players tend to arrive in waves. Pete Sampras was so dominant that his generation, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera, Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Muster, Michael Chang, and Richard Krajicek, more or less eclipsed the next group of promising players. To be sure, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter and Yevgeny Kafelnikov made marks…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 