What a difference a few months make. For some reason, Europe seems to get John Isner in a funk. He's played well in Europe before, but the last two years, not so much. The solution, it seems, was return to home soil. Last year, Isner decided to play Newport. Newport is played the week after
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
"C'mon, Almagro!" "I'm not well!" Some time between the end of the first set and the start of the second, Nicolas Almagro called for a trainer. His shoulder, which had been giving him problems, perhaps due to the sheer amount of tennis he plays had flared up. Suddenly, it was Federer vs. Malisse, part 2.
When Roger Federer was slated to play Julien Benneteau in the third round of Wimbledon, few expected that the journeyman Frenchman would push the Swiss maestro to the brink coming within 2 points of the upset. After all, Federer rarely loses to players his age. So when Benneteau was slated to meet Federer after his
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
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
Thirty years ago, in the early 1980s, tennis in the US was still predominantly American. Indeed, in the 1970s and before, only a handful of counties were producing top players, including the US, Australia, and well, maybe France. In those days, Swedish tennis was riding the surge of Bjorn Borg with players like Mats Wilander
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.
Since I haven't reported in the last few days, let's start with John Isner. With Mardy Fish's heart problems causing him to leave the tour since March and Andy Roddick's quick exit and Ryan Harrison not quite ready to make the leap, John Isner has become the beacon of men's tennis. Brian Baker might become
