Mayotte and Gilbert Weigh in on Roland Garros 1989

I wrote about what might have happened if Thomas Muster had been healthy entering the 1989 French Open. What do I know, though? Tim Mayotte and Brad Gilbert were seeded 7th and 12th at Roland Garros in 1989.  Mayotte lost in the 2nd round while Gilbert ended up withdrawing from the event.  I asked their…

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What if Muster was Never Injured? A Roland Garros 1989 Counterfactual

Could we have seen this in 1989? Michael Chang’s improbable 1989 French Open title is one of the great underdog stories in the history of tennis.  The 17-year-old Chang rallied from two sets down to beat the #1 seed, world #1, and three-time French Open champion Ivan Lendl.  He followed that up with 4-set wins…

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Stan Lee – In Memoriam: Tennis Heroes

Tennis and comic books commanded much of my attention from 7th through 9th grade.  Comics faded in my life but tennis persisted.*  I was a Marvel fan collecting Silver Surfer and Thor comics for the most part with a few Dark Horse Godzilla comics thrown in for good measure.  Comic books stoked the imagination of…

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Final Power Ranking for 2018

 Novak Djokovic – I am sure Nole would have loved to have grabbed the big trophies in Paris and London to end the year.  Still, his Wimbledon and US Open triumphs as well as solving the riddle of Cincinnati more than place him atop men’s tennis for 2018.   On the plus side, finishing the year with…

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Emotions in Sports – Bjorn Borg as an Outlier?

I ate out tonight and a soccer recap show was on the big screen.  The celebrations and the displays of anger over poor plays were quite volatile to the point of being a bit comical.  I know basketball far better than soccer, but again it is easy to think of players celebrating big dunks, making…

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Tennis Abides: Players of the Year

2018 WTA Player of the Year – Naomi Osaka The 2018 WTA Player of the Year is a topic that could be debated without any clear verdict.  Still, I think Naomi Osaka’s virtuoso performance at the US Open firmly established her as a player who can become the dominant force on the WTA Tour.  She…

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Tennis Stories: The Sub

There are moments that stand out for the wrong reasons.  The strangest and most cringe-worthy moment of my 33-year tennis career happened when I was subbing.   Tennis can be an expensive sport.  Lessons cost money, court time can cost money, tennis equipment is not cheap, tournaments cost money, leagues are not free … Subbing is…

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