Five years and counting. That's how long Roger Federer has been making Grand Slam semifinals. That's five years of staying healthy, never retiring, and winning. Roger Federer used to fear powerful baseliners, players like Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian. He even got intimidated by other serve-and-volleyers like Tim Henman. But Roger Federer worked hard to
At 32 years old, Nicolas Kiefer has been on the tour for 14 years. Watch enough tennis and pay enough attention to the players playing Slams and you'll notice the players you don't know are not 19 year old wunderkinds but 29 year old veterans, who have grinded on the tour for years. On the
Marat Safin had one of those careers that had a peak very early on when he reached the finals of the US Open in its millenial year and beat Pete Sampras in straight sets. Here was a talent that people thought, for sure, would rise to the top. Safin would not win a second title
While most watchers of tennis generally care about the very top of the sport, there is some intrigue in watching the little guy beat a somewhat bigger guy. Jesse Witten is ranked 276 in the world. He's 26 years old. There are gobs of American players that have had better results from him. Roddick, Blake,
Federer Express. Darth Federer. The Federer. Roger. Rog. Whatever you call him, call him champ. Roger Federer played the first day of the US Open. His opening round was a wildcard, Devin Britton. Britton recently turned pro. He had won the NCAA Men's Championship in singles this year as an unseeded player from University of
Ever since Andy Murray moved up to number 2 in the world in Montreal, the possibility lingered that Nadal and Federer could now appear in the same half of the US Open draw. Tournament organizers had to be hoping fervently that that wouldn't happen. Although Americans are Anglophiles, Andy Murray still lacks the name recognition
