The two week period between the French Open and Wimbledon is among the shortest in sports that feature major events like the Grand Slams in tennis. The contrast of the dirt, which requires patience and topspin, and high-kicking balls, to the fast, low-bouncing surface of grass was so extreme that it was considered a rarity
It's funny how, in tennis, people like comparing pros of different eras. Perhaps if you put a gun to McEnroe's head, he would tell the truth, but Mac likes to say that Nadal and Borg would be about even and they would play long points. Even Tennis Channel had a show wondering how pros of
Ah, time zone differences. The continuation of the men's final was scheduled at 1 PM in Paris. This would be 7 AM in the east coast, but somehow I forgot I was in Central time (being at an ET clinic) which pushed the time to 6 AM. By the time I start searching for the
The last time Nadal was this dominant heading into a French Open final was 2008. He beat Thomaz Bellucci, then a qualifier, in the first round, then Nicolas Devilder, also a qualifier, then Jarkko Nieminen the 26th seed, then 22md seed and fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco. Nadal only dropped 3 games against 19th seed and
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the top 3 women players were practically guaranteed smooth sailing until at least the quarterfinals. Players like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Steffi Graf would lose a game or two in early rounds when women could either not keep up with the consistency or the power or these top
Today, 3 of the 4 quarterfinalists were Spaniards. On the one hand, there was Rafael Nadal against Nicolas Almagro. Almagro's a hard hitter, but Rafa's battled with hard hitters and does a great job moving his opponents around. Add to that, he's never beaten Rafa. Rafa's played and beaten many a hard hitter including Berdych,
Let's get caught up on other news before addressing the subject at hand. Two matches were postponed due to lateness. The shorter of the two matches was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Stanislas Wawrinka. Tsonga was up 4-2 in the fifth before the match was called. Wawrinka was able to break and tie it up at 4-all,
Having heard that David Goffin, Roger Federer's fourth round opponent, had posters of him in his room, Federer recalled a match he played against Patrick Rafter. He took a set off of the Aussie, but the Aussie claimed the next 3 sets. He felt, once Goffin claimed the first set, that it was his job
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
First, Rafa had a much first round than he did last year when he was pushed to a five setter for the first and only time by John Isner. This year, he played Simone Bolleli and had a straight set romp dropping no more than 2 games a set. Andy Murray's opponent, Tatsuma Ito, said
