If you hadn't watched Murray's first round match, a 62 64 61 straight set match over Alex Bogomolov, you would have thought he had a comfortable win, without too much stress, but it was anything but. Bogomolov was able to break Murray 4 times, quite impressive, given the lop-sided score in the Russian's favor, but
On the heels of the news that Rafael Nadal will not play the US Open, the top seeds were on court at Cincinnati after receiving byes in the opening rounds. Last year, unknown Alex Bogomolov beat Andy Murray during one of his slumps. That victory was still enough to boost the former and now Russian's
A year ago, Novak Djokovic was in a different place. When Montreal rolled around, he still only had one loss to his name, that to Roger Federer in the semis of the French Open. Nonetheless, he won Wimbledon for the first time, indeed, reached the finals for the first time. Like many top players, he
Belgians seem to produce these short stocky players. The Rochus brothers, Oliver and Christopher, are about 5'6". Such heights were more common 40 or 50 years ago, but as taller players have become more athletic, being short has become a liability. Steve Darcis, had he been playing in the 1970s, would have been at a
Muller? Muller? Gilles Muller comes from the tiny country of Luxembourg and was once the top ranked junior in the world. That success never quite translated to the pro tour. Muller has had the occasional upset, most notably, a first round upset of Andy Roddick in the US Open in 2005. Muller has only been
There are players on tour that have been there for some number of years. Not everyone who plays pro tennis hoists trophies week after week. Some labor even when titles are scarce. After all, they are still among the top 100 or so players in the world. More than ten years ago, Gilles Muller, from
More European clay results. In Hamburg, top seeded Nicolas Almagro beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 75 75. Juan Monaco over Jeremy Chardy, 63 75. Marin Cilic over Albert Ramos, 64 76. Wildcard Tommy Haas over Florian Mayer, 61 64. In Gstaad, Switzerland, top seeded Janko Tipsarevic beat Jan Henrych, 61 61. Paul-Henri Mathieu over Ernests Gulbis, 46
You have to give credit to Lleyton Hewitt. For some reason, Federer's generation produced players whose bodies have broken down, most notably, Tommy Haas, but yes, Lleyton Hewitt. Many of his generation's stars play infrequently now or are retired: Hewitt, Haas, Ferrero, Nalbandian. Some of his generation continue to plod along working in the top
Newport is the only remaining ATP grass court event that's held in the United States. Once upon a time, the tour primarily consisted of grass, but grass is expensive to maintain, and unlike clay, it needs to be grown and maintained. Unlike golf, this grass is on a small area, so scuffs can be problematic.
Does everyone feel so sorry for Andy Murray that they're willing to lose so he can have a shot at a Slam? This story seems familiar. In 2009, Rafa did the unthinkable at the French Open. He lost. Federer had long wanted to complete the career Slam. In 2008, he got demolished by Rafa. And
