Originally posted on The Grandstand:
The Asian swing will begin this week without two of its defending champions. Kei Nishikori (Kuala Lumpur) and Andy Murray (Shenzhen) lost earlier than expected at the U.S. Open before suiting up for Davis Cup duty, so they are still taking a break prior to their fall campaigns. Nonetheless, there…

Originally posted on The Grandstand:
Few people realize the harsh realities of pro tennis outside of the Top 10. The majority of players are left to their own devices to manage their own accommodation and transport to matches without seeing the vast return that the most famous players such as Andy Murray and Roger Federer…

Originally posted on The Emmerson Papers:
To the strains of The Proclaimers and the cheers of the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Great Britain reached the Davis Cup final this weekend with a 3-2 win over Australia. Commentator Andrew Castle was excited, and rightly: it’s an achievement of world-historical magnitude. Not since 1936 have GB won…

Originally posted on The Grandstand:
Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem will continue their St. Petersburg campaigns on Friday. They are set for respective quarterfinal meetings with Tommy Robredo and Denis Istomin. (5) Tommy Robredo vs. (2) Milos Raonic Raonic has mostly been an afterthought on tour since a foot injury began troubling him after the…

Originally posted on The Grandstand:
The top two seeds in Metz may have their hands full when they take the court for quarterfinal action on Friday. Stan Wawrinka is facing Philipp Kohlschreiber and Gilles Simon is going up against Gilles Muller. (1) Stan Wawrinka vs. (5) Philipp Kohlschreiber Wawrinka and Kohlschreiber will be going head-to-head…

An interesting take on Andy Murray’s value to the tennis tour

Originally posted on The Grandstand:
Until the U.S. Open, this year’s World Tour Finals race was a snoozer. The top eight spots in the race were in a stranglehold, owned by Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal, and David Ferrer. In the tenuous eighth place, however, Ferrer…

Originally posted on IF I ONLY HAD A TIME MACHINE:
The women’s liberation movement was beginning and on May 13, 1973, tennis stars Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court faced off in a $10,000 winner-take-all challenge match. Bobby Riggs was 55-years-old and a tennis champion from the late 1930s and 40s.  He was known to be skeptical of women’s talents on the…