First, my post-US Open sabbatical is over, and I am glad to be writing about tennis once more. Second, I am not departing on the HMS Beagle, but tennis has its own historical record nicely preserved on sites such as youtube. In my Tim Mayotte interview, I posted a video in which Mayotte described…
Category: Tennis History
How Stan Wawrinka Thrives in an Era of Oligopoly
Stan Wawrinka’s career haul is pretty impressive In 2008, Stan partnered with Roger Federer and won a gold medal in men’s doubles In 2013, Stan pushed Novak Djokovic to 5 sets at both the Australian quarterfinal and US Open semifinal, after beating defending champion Andy Murray at the US Open In 2014, he won the…
US Open 2016: My Favorite Memories of Louis Armstrong – Part 2
These are a Bit Late, but Sometimes Life Gets in the Way of My Tennis Writing In Case You Missed Part – 1 As a reminder, I put in place a no Jimmy Connors rule as I have written quite a bit about Connors and the US Open over the years. 3. 1996 Steffi Graf d….
US Open 2016: Angelique Kerber’s Rise to #1
Angelique Kerber is Number One Kerber started 2016 with a bang. She was runner-up in Brisbane and then avenged her loss to Victoria Azarenka en route to the Australian Open final. Kerber upset a 6-time Australian Open champion in Serena Williams. This seemed to be the culmination of her strong 2015 season. What happened from…
My 5 Favorite Memories of Louis Armstrong Stadium – Part 1*
* I’ve written a fair amount about Jimmy Connors as well as his 1991 US Open run so I won’t use any Jimmy Connors matches. Honorable Mention: 1987 John McEnroe d. Slobodan Zivojinovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 McEnroe went bonkers during the match. “Bobo” was a player I liked to watch due to his crushing…
US Open 2016: My 5 Favorite Men’s US Opens
Tournaments can take on a personality of their own based on the draw and actual matches that unfold. 5 US Opens stand out for me. I vaguely remember Connors v. McEnroe in the 1984 US Open semifinal, but I don’t remember an impression of an entire tournament prior to the 1986 US Open (Mecir beating…
Tennis in Literature
In this brief break between Cincinnati and the US Open, I thought I would give a few examples of our great sport popping up in major literary works (my list is not this exhaustive). Prelude: The Tennis Court Oath and More Jean Jacques Rousseau mentioned court/real/royal tennis in his First Discourse. A major event in the French Revolution…
Tennis Interviews: Interview with Tim Mayotte Forthcoming!
Dear Readers, I have greatly enjoyed the two tennis interviews I have done in recent months. If you missed them, check them out here. I am proud to announce an upcoming interview with Tim Mayotte. Getting the chance to discuss tennis with a former top 10 player, 1988 silver medalist in singles , 2-time major…
International Tennis Hall of Fame: Justine Henin and Marat Safin
Henin and Safin: Backhands To Remember Justine Henin Most Vivid Memory – I vividly recall an incredible match versus Jennifer Capriati at the 2003 US Open. Their semifinal clash seemed to be a match of power versus variety and movement. Both players were excellent in this match. As was expected, Capriati hit the ball hard, but…
Wimbledon 2016: Serena Claims Her 22nd Major Title!
Sublime Serving Makes a Difference Serena Williams faced one break point today. She hit an ace. When serving for the match, Serena got to 40-0 with 3 unreturnable serves. Serena put away a volley to win the match. This was a fitting way to end this match as she had a hard time putting volleys…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 