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Maria Sharapova: to the very end, a happy contradiction

To the very end of her illustrious career as a professional tennis player, Maria Sharapova remained a pleasing and positive puzzle, one the sports world had a hard time solving. Sharapova’s retirement on Monday, announced before her 29th birthday in April, offered one last revealing glimpse into an athlete who was easy to judge from […]

Serena Williams continues to define professionalism

Serena Williams really does deserve her own entry in the dictionary of the English language. Serena Williams (noun) – A professional, and everything that word means. * Interestingly enough, another American female tennis player owns a connection — albeit a very tangential one — to this idea of professionalism and how Serena so fully embodies […]

Halep and Radwanska have no one to blame but themselves

Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska were not happy with French Open officials on Tuesday. In rain-soaked conditions, both players would have preferred to not play. On merit, their points were not unreasonable. Hitting a waterlogged ball on a highly saturated court doesn’t seem like an ideal way to contest a major championship. The ball should […]

Near-death in the afternoon: Murray and Wawrinka survive

The French Open didn’t occupy a prominent psychological place in Andy Murray’s tennis season — not in the distant past. Murray’s favorite major tournament is and has been the U.S. Open. His most consistent major tournament is the Australian Open, where he’s reached five finals dating back to 2010. The major tournament freighted with the […]

Halep wins: What happens in Madrid stays in Madrid… or will it?

If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, one must then ask: “Does anything that happens in Madrid not stay in Madrid?” Simona Halep hopes the answer is yes after her championship in La Caja Magica this past week. Hope and reality don’t always find their way to the altar, but maybe in this case, […]

The resurgence of Rafael Nadal and a magical week in Monte Carlo

Anyone who has ever loved tennis knows the sport possesses a singular quality, a uniquely combative nature which resonates across much of the globe. This is a violent sport. It’s anything but the longstanding and laughably empty stereotypical image of a “sissy” or “genteel” activity. Yet, the competitors don’t suffer black eyes, fractured jaws, or […]

Flavia Pennetta, of Italy, holds up the championship trophy after beating Roberta Vinci, of Italy, in the women’s championship match of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ORG XMIT: USO190

20 for 2015: 20 Notable Players At This Year’s Major Tournaments

We did this last year, and we’re going to do it again right now. Without commentary or analysis, here’s how 20 notable WTA and ATP players performed at the majors in 2015. Review the year at the majors solely through the lens of results. Commentary can be found in our other U.S. Open wrap-ups and […]

Italy’s cup overflows on Flavia Pennetta’s big day

Italy is a nation known for a number of things, vineyards being near the top of the list. Italian tennis has featured four industrious professionals in the 21st century, all of them players who have been able to reach a major-tournament singles final. In 2012, Sara Errani reached the French Open final. This Saturday afternoon […]

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. […]

Serena Williams And The Freshness Of Familiarity

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 […]

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 […]

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 — […]

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