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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

0 comments by on 7/11/2015

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

0 comments by on 7/10/2015

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, […]

Serena, Muguruza, And The Absence of Treachery

0 comments by on 7/9/2015

As a Spanish woman, Garbine Muguruza, prepares for a Wimbledon singles final on Saturday, the pages of tennis history turn. Back in 1974, 39-year-old Ken Rosewall contested the Wimbledon men’s final against 21-year-old Jimmy Connors. That’s a college freshman’s lifespan between the two competitors. In the annals of Wimbledon women’s finals with large age disparities […]

Wimbledon 2015 And A Timeless Sports Lesson

0 comments by on 7/8/2015

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 […]

Serena Williams And The Freshness Of Familiarity

0 comments by on 7/7/2015

For some fans of tennis and some fans of various sports, dominance is boring. What’s so special about seeing the same winner over and over again, the same movie over and over again? It’s not inherently right or wrong to look at sports this way — it’s simply a matter of taste and preference. The […]

8 Compelling Stories, 4 Fascinating Matches… And Very Little Time To Savor Them

0 comments by on 7/6/2015

Manic Monday, as the second Monday of Wimbledon is referred to, claims a special place on the tennis calendar, mostly for good reasons. However, some of the effects of this day are unavoidably unwelcome. You can call it a “first-world tennis problem,” a consequence of the All-England Club’s annual decision (due to the politics of […]

The Way Forward For Rafael Nadal: Respecting Limits

0 comments by on 7/5/2015

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 […]

Kvitova Loses: Affirmations And Transformations Coexist At Wimbledon

0 comments by on 7/4/2015

Twice in a span of 24 hours at Wimbledon, the same basic drama unfolded… and cut in different directions. On Friday, Serena Williams — one of the two players expected to make the women’s final — found herself at 4-4 in the third set on Centre Court. She lost serve at 4-4 and watched Heather […]

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

0 comments by on 7/2/2015

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 […]

Halep and Bouchard Lose, Making 2014 A Distant Memory

0 comments by on 6/30/2015

In tennis, it’s important to emphasize the following point, lest this discussion veer in an unwanted direction: Much as duration of match and quality of match have little to do with each other, qualities such as parity and depth are value-neutral. They require circumstances in order to be seen as positive or negative. A division […]

Wimbledon 2015: Men’s Draw Analysis

0 comments by on 6/26/2015

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 2015: Women’s Draw Analysis

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The women’s draw for Wimbledon was announced Friday morning. Here it is: The first thing which stands out about the women’s draw is that the bottom half is a vast green field (word choice intentional, since this is lawn tennis) of opportunity for everyone in it. Petra Kvitova has to be very happy with the […]

Wimbledon Pre-Draw Preview: Murray Seeks A New Moment

0 comments by on 6/24/2015

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 […]

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

Wimbledon Pre-Draw Preview: Kvitova Stands At The Center

0 comments by on 6/23/2015

The month of July honors America’s independence from Great Britain, and this July, American dreams of calendar Grand Slam glory will either reach a crescendo or die a fiery death across the pond. Later in July, Jordan Spieth will head to the British Open trying to do the unthinkable. He’ll attempt to capture the third […]

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