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Aug 23, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Serena Williams (USA) holds the Rookwood Cup after defeating Simona Halep (not pictured) in the finals during the Western and Southern Open tennis tournament at the Linder Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Federer and Serena Win Cincinnati, But There’s More To The Stories

Before telling you about tennis over the past few weeks in North America, take just two minutes to appreciate the site of Roger Federer’s and Serena Williams’s victories on Sunday afternoon. * Cincinnati, for the international readers in the crowd, is an American sports city starving for a professional sports success story. The Reds are […]

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Prime Times: Fresh Evaluations Of The Big 3

On an immediate level, the Wimbledon men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer marked an occasion to salute Djokovic for the greatness he has achieved.  When you pass Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Ken Rosewall, and Fred Perry on the all-time majors list, with a few prime years left in your career, you deserve […]

5 Takeaways: The ATP At Wimbledon

The ATP side of the Wimbledon divide offered plenty of fascinating stories. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will get their own stand-alone treatment, so here are the five big non-final observations from the past two weeks at SW19: * 5 – CANADIAN SUNRISE  There was no Canadian Sunset at Wimbledon — not when one realizes […]

Novak Djokovic Displays a Greater Greatness, And Could Become Even Greater

In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roger Federer — down a set — fell behind in the second-set tiebreaker, 6-2. He improbably won a point on his opponent’s serve at 6-5 in that tiebreaker and eventually won the tiebreaker. Federer won the third set and then outlasted Andy Roddick in one of Wimbledon’s greatest championship matches. […]

He played in the 1954 and 1974 Wimbledon singles finals. Ken Rosewall might not have written the book on tennis longevity, but he certainly authored several chapters.

Ken Rosewall: Supreme Longevity, Quiet Greatness

When he attends the Australian Open, Ken Rosewall is a distinguished guest. He is a global legend, one especially cherished in Australia. He’s part of the phenomenal golden generation of Australian male tennis players, the group of marvelously skilled wizards who — from 1950 through 1967 — won 14 of 18 Davis Cup championships, part […]

Roger Federer Isn’t God, But He Played One On TV

In January of 2003, another old man — in tennis terms — won a major title. Andre Agassi, three months short of his 33rd birthday, became one of the oldest ATP major champions in the Open Era of professional tennis. His opponent in the final of the 2003 Australian Open, though, was not Andy Murray, […]

Wimbledon 2015 And A Timeless Sports Lesson

A timeless lesson is something which exists in any point of human history. However, when talking about tennis or baseball or a few other sports, the idea of “timelessness” is more specific, since those sports aren’t played against the backdrop of a clock. Baseball players and solo-sport athletes — and any other athletes in sports […]

The Way Forward For Rafael Nadal: Respecting Limits

Those who watched Pancho Gonzales, at age 41, win a Wimbledon match in 1969 with sets of 46 (!), 30, and 20 games might regard him as the greatest fighter men’s tennis has ever known. (That 1969 match with Charlie Pasarell helped usher in the era of the tiebreaker one year later, an interesting side […]

Nadal Loses: Storm Clouds Gather, But Will They Give Way To Sunlight?

When the story of this resplendent and unforgettable era of men’s tennis is written, the footsteps of Rafael Nadal will never stray that far from the footprints left by Roger Federer, and vice-versa. When this era is recalled 30, 50, or 75 years from now, any mention of one man will invariably bring the other […]

Wimbledon 2015: Men’s Draw Analysis

The gentlemen’s singles draw for Wimbledon 2015 has been released, with seeded players in white: Here are the items of foremost importance after the revelation of the brackets: The biggest question in the men’s draw, in terms of pointing the path to the eventual champion, was whether Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer (the top two […]

Wimbledon Pre-Draw Preview: Murray Seeks A New Moment

When Stan Wawrinka won his second major a few weeks ago in Paris, he forever banished the possibility that his only major title would come against a physically compromised opponent in the final. Wawrinka registered an achievement which will rightly change the way we think about him as a tennis player. Something else Wawrinka did […]

Before Wimbledon Begins, A New Way To Appreciate Roger And Rafa

We’ve traveled many thousands of miles as tennis fans and chroniclers with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Billions of words have been written about them. Millions of arguments have been launched by their partisans. Neither man should be favored to win the 2015 edition of Wimbledon, though both have a chance and could slip through […]

5 Ways Wawrinka’s Upset Has Changed The Story Of Tennis

The championship match of a major singles tournament always influences and changes the larger story of tennis, but much as some points in a tennis match are more important than others, some title tilts acquire more importance than others. Let’s be clear: What you’re about to read is not a final verdict on history or […]

The Top 10 Stories From the 2015 French Open

The 2015 French Open figured to be crazy… and it was. Let’s review the past two weeks, shall we? * 10 – WOZNIACKI’S WOES — NOT TO BE OVERSTATED, BUT NOT TO BE IGNORED, EITHER The (lack of) fortunes of Caroline Wozniacki in 2015 should not be given too much play after Roland Garros — […]

Stan Wawrinka: The Big-Moment Player Makes The Biggest Moment

The 2015 Roland Garros men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka carried the weight of history. It also carried the flavors of the 2009 final between a Swiss player and a man who had beaten Rafael Nadal earlier in the tournament. In 2009, one man was trying to win a career Grand Slam, […]

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