With a bug going around at Indian Wells, players are trying to stay healthy. Federer apparently has some combination of a cold and flu, but it didn't affect the results against rising talent, Denis Kudla, who he beat 64 61. Kudla is a contemporary of Jack Sock (the two played as juniors). This was his
We're getting to the business end of the Australian Open fortnight with the top half playing their fourth round matches today. Let's take a look at these matches. Tsonga vs. Nishikori On paper, this match should be Tsonga's. He's had pretty straight-forward matches while Nishikori has struggled with slow starts. Alas, this is nothing new
And that's why no one plays serve and volley anymore. Michael Llodra is perhaps the last of a dying breed. The serve-and-volleyer. It isn't a coincidence that Llodra is just north of 30 years old. I know, I know, veterans will tell you that everyone's forgotten how to volley. You have to be around 30
Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt go way back. Hewitt was contending for Slams nearly a decade ago winning a US Open in 2001. Roddick followed suit two years later. The two were considered rivals for the number 1 spot. All this was, of course, prior to Federer breaking out and leaving both of them in
It may be the start of the new year, but tennis has made a roaring start with three tournaments just concluding, plus an exhibition in the Hopman Cup. The tournament with the most star power is in Doha, Qatar, which featured Federer, Nadal, Monfils, and Tsonga, Brisbane was the only men's tournament in Australia. The
Doha tournament organizers surely didn't expect this. When you have Federer and Nadal in the draw, you hope for Federer and Nadal in the final, or at least one or the other. Federer had to withdraw due to a back issue that had him in danger of missing his match against Seppi. He worked a
One reason Federer struggled against Seppi was due to a back injury, which Federer said was a muscle spasm. Although he did play against Seppi, he wasn't able to hit as hard as he was accustomed which may explain how Seppi took a set off the Swiss maestro. Federer said his back hadn't improved enough
Doha These four players have nearly met before. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils were all at the Abu Dhabi exhibition last week. However, Djokovic beat Monfils and Ferrer beat Tsonga, so the two Frenchman never played Federer or Nadal. This time, Federer will face his nemesis in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat
Roger Federer may be the old man of tennis, but he's still breaking records. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wasn't the player he expected to play in the finals. Perhaps it should have been Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic. But Nadal was affected by a stomach bug, and just lacked his usual intensity. Andy Murray
Tomas Berdych is a rhythm player. If his timing is on, he can be one of the purest hitters in the game. But because he hits a pretty flat ball and needs to hit aggressive due to his lack of real footspeed, Tsonga, by contrast, has good footspeed, a good first serve, and a huge
