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Novak Djokovic is still looking for a first French Open title, and he’s also searching for a second Wimbledon after losing to Andy Murray last year. The losses in major finals have piled up for Djokovic since June of 2012. It’s time for the Serbian superstar to make a stand and show a level of resilience that was missing in the 2012 Wimbledon semifinals against Federer.

U.S. Open: Andy Murray has a lot to prove in New York

If Novak Djokovic fails to win the 2015 U.S. Open, he still has two majors in the bag this year; more Masters 1000 titles than anyone else; and the year-end No. 1 ranking. He successfully defended a major title outside Australia for the first time in his career. He is, by any measure, the best […]

U.S. Open Schedule: Super Saturday is now fully buried, as tennis moves past the 1980s

The Super Saturday format used at the United States Open tennis championships was officially retired in 2013. That year’s tournament marked the end of the United States Tennis Association’s decision (in partnership with CBS television) to put two men’s semifinals and the women’s final on the same order of play. Yet, in reality, the possibilities […]

U.S. Open Women’s Draw Analysis

The U.S. Open women’s draw is out. Here is the bracket for the year’s final major. We all know who the main story is in Flushing Meadows, New York: Serena Jameka Williams, whose initials — “SJW” — could just as easily refer to the reality of life on the WTA Tour: Serena Just Wins. It […]

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. […]

Resilience Is The Source Of The Serena Slam And An Autumn Empire

Purely in a chronological sense, Serena Williams stands in the autumn of her career. If her career could be likened to a 12-month calendar year, she’s in late September as opposed to early April. More years are behind her than in front of her as a transcendent tennis player. Her first major title came 16 […]

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, […]

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 […]

Simona Halep’s World Isn’t Ending, But It’s Getting Tougher

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (pictured above) didn’t score an aberrational victory over Simona Halep in last year’s U.S. Open in New York… because she defeated Halep again in the second round of the 2015 French Open on Wednesday. Lucic-Baroni, whose remarkable tennis story can’t be repeated enough, won a 7-5 first set and then hammered Halep (and […]

Covering The Coverage: TV At The 2014 U.S. Open

American television’s coverage of major-tournament tennis is never less complicated than at the Australian Open each January. ESPN2 has to work around its college basketball programming at times, but Tennis Channel picks up the early window of coverage on most if not all days, and deep into the night, ESPN2 and ESPN are all too […]

The Top 10 Stories Of The 2014 U.S. Open

The last major tennis tournament of the year is over. The Davis Cup semifinals begin this Friday, and there are a lot of points to be won (or defended, depending on the player) in the Asian swing and the fall indoor portions of the tennis calendar. Both the WTA and ATP will unfurl their year-ending […]

Marin Cilic And The Discovery Of Joy

It was not a day anyone who follows tennis — as fan or chronicler — expected to see two very long weeks ago, when the 2014 U.S. Open began. It was, however, a one-day window into the future of tennis… not next year or the year after that, but six years into the future, when […]

The Constant Star

The U.S. Open’s trophy presentation ceremonies are usually the tackiest in tennis, even worse than the Australian Open’s prolonged affairs. The U.S. Open ceremony becomes something of a game show, with the CBS emcee rattling off the prizes and money totals for the champion and runner-up. This time, though, the U.S. Open ended with an […]

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