South American Renaissance Gustavo Kuerten was not expected to win the 1997 French Open, but he went through accomplished champions and clay court powers in the process. Kuerten beat fifth seeded and 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster in the round of 32. He beat Andrei Medvedev in the round of 16. He beat defending…
Tag: Tennis History
My Problem with the Federer Post Mortems
My Starting Point I will put my bias out there and state that Roger Federer has been all-time my favorite tennis player to watch since 2003. I like his game, his balance, his shot making etc. I also will bluntly say that Roger is not playing near his career best 2006 level, or his 2004-2007…
French Open Memories: Steffi Graf 1987-1989
My first distinct tennis memories are matches between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the 1982 Wimbledon men’s championship and the 1984 US Open semifinal. Both were five set thrillers, but I did not start following tennis regularly until Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985. French Open matches did not make much of an impression…
How Much Are You Looking Forward to Jimmy Connors’ Autobiography?
Some early press has already created a buzz about the book. What do you think about the release of the The Outsider?
French Open Memories: Agassi vs. Courier 1989-1992
I will be sharing some of my favorite French Open memories between now and the start of the 2013 French Open. My first subject is Andre Agassi versus Jim Courier. Once upon a time it was rare to see the same players match-up year after year at slams in men’s events. Jim Courier and Andre…
The State of US Men’s Tennis
The Big Four Help The US Open is obviously a Grand Slam event. One third of the ATP’s Masters 1000 events reside inside of the United States. The Wimbledon and French Open championship start times are designed to get access to some of the television market in the US. Yet, the US does not currently…
Who Needs a 5th Major?
Four or Five or? The Indian Wells-Miami section of the tour is a great stretch for tennis fans. Most of the top players on the ATP and WTA play both events and great matches abound. It also leads to talk of a “Fifth Major” status for one or the other event. This talk is not…
Novak’s Reign
Owning an Event For a player to pile up a lot of major title, he tends to need to own one event. Jimmy Connors won 5 US Open titles, Bjorn Borg won 6 French Open titles and 5 Wimbledon titles, Andre Agassi won 4 Australian Open titles, Pete Sampras won 7 Wimbledon and 5 US…
Venus Williams’ Legacy
Sports Illustrated Mailbag Today a tennis fan asked Jon Wertheim if Venus Williams will ever win another singles major. Wertheim, an all-around good guy, answered that it was unlikely due to age, health and form. This is an answer I think most tennis writers would give. It is easy to forget that Venus first reached…
Tennis Impersonations: A History
Alpha? Omega? The recent controversy about Caroline Wozniacki’s impersonation of Serena Williams got me thinking about the history of impersonating a player’s ticks or idiosyncrasies. My mind initially thought that Jonas Bjorkman was the progenitor of this fad. His rain delay US Open fodder of lighthearted imitations did indeed pave the way to Djokovic’s 2007 US Open impersonation tour….
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 