5 set points? No problem 2007: Roger Thrives and Novak Arrives Novak Djokovic announced his presence in the top tier of tennis in 2007. Early in 2007, Novak played well at Indian Wells and then dominated the Miami event. His semifinal runs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon were followed by a Masters Canada win and…
Category: Tennis History
Tennis Match Fixing Part 1 – Lack of Effort
When is Lack of Effort Okay? When is it not Okay? The breaking story about match fixing in tennis has me thinking. There is not enough known on this story for me to say much yet, but it does have me thinking about how deep a player should dig in a given situation. NPR’s story…
My Memories of Lleyton Hewitt
I first heard of Lleyton Hewitt when reading sports capsules about Australian Open tune-up events in 1998. A hometown kid named Lleyton Hewitt upset Andre Agassi who was launching his comeback from a poor 1997 campaign. I thought either this kid is really good or Agassi has a lot of work in front of him…
Brad Gilbert on His 1988 Bronze Medal
@bgtennisnation @TimMayotte With 2016 being an Olympic year, do you have any words on your 1988 medals? — Dan Martin (@DanMartinTennis) December 31, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Fond memory's https://t.co/n2FOSqF84e — Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) December 31, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js We hope to get Mayotte’s outlook as well. Gilbert answered in his own unique syntax.
The Top 10 Male French Open Champions
The Top 10 Male French Open Champions Rafael Nadal – This is no surprise as Rafa has played Roland Garros 11 times and won the event 9 times! Rafa’s athleticism, competitive nature, and massive generation of top spin allow him to play clay court tennis with brutal efficiency. Rafa has dominated this event as no…
The Top 10 Female French Open Champions
The Top 10 Female French Open Champions Chris Evert – The draws Evert faced in the 1970s may not have been terribly deep, but Evert won this title 7 times with her first title coming in 1974 and her final title coming in 1986. Evert’s final two triumphs were three set thrillers against her #1…
The Top 10 Female Australian Open Champions
I found this list harder to compile than its male counterpart. I think my final reasoning is sound, but it is certainly not infallible. Top 10 Female Australian Open Champions Serena Williams – Serena claimed her first title in Melbourne in 2003 to clinch her first Serena Slam. Much like Jimmy Connors streak of winning the…
The Top 10 Male Australian Open Champions
This is the first installment in a series looking at the best performers at each Grand Slam event. I will look at the 10 best champions on the male and female sides of Open Era tennis and explain why they are ranked where they are in my eyes. Since this focuses on the Open Era,…
A Rose by any other Name?
When I was first following tennis the season ended with a great event in Madison Square Garden called “The Masters.” In 1990, players took over the tour and a new year-end event called “The ATP World Championships” was born. However, the ITF was not happy about this and it launched a lucrative season ending event…
Novak Djokovic Currently Lacks a Rival
Novak Djokovic Currently Lacks a True Rival, but Tennis like Nature Abhors a Vacuum On a few occasions in my tennis viewing life, a player has separated himself so far from his competition as to lack an identifiable rival. I saw matches prior to the 1985 Wimbledon championships, but I did not start following tennis…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 