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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 […]

5 Takeaways: The WTA At Wimbledon

The latest edition of Wimbledon provided plenty of off-court controversies and sideshows, but Attacking The Net wants to keep the focus on the court. What were the most important developments of the past fortnight in suburban London for the members of the WTA Tour? Let’s take a look: * 5 – THE ART OF THE […]

Serena, Muguruza, And The Absence of Treachery

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 […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

Kvitova Loses: Affirmations And Transformations Coexist At Wimbledon

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 […]

Halep and Bouchard Lose, Making 2014 A Distant Memory

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 […]

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

Wimbledon Pre-Draw Preview: Kvitova Stands At The Center

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 […]

Serena’s still alive, Maria’s gone, and everything is possible in Paris

For the men at Roland Garros, the end of play on Monday evening marks the calm before the storm of four blockbuster quarterfinals. For the women competing for a major championship in Paris, everything is possible… despite what you might think about the hollowed-out nature of the bracket. In 2013, Serena Williams fended off Maria […]

French Open: Post-Draw Women’s Preview

The women’s singles draw for the 2015 French Open has been announced. What stands out about a bracket that features so many delicious (or perilous, depending on your viewpoint) uncertainties? You can debate which item is the second most important one on your list, but there should be no discussion about the top story to […]

French Open Women’s Preview, Part I: Before The Draw

It is a basic reality of any bracketed tournament: It’s generally best to wait until the draw comes out to make more finite assessments of what’s at stake, who has a profound opportunity to create a lifelong memory, and which performers are uniquely vulnerable. With this in mind, we don’t yet need to delve into […]

Rome WTA Review: Cloudy With A Chance Of Everything

In 2012, Maria Sharapova conquered Rome and then Paris. Being able to win the last prominent lead-up tournament to the French Open, and to then claim Roland Garros itself, represented one of the more substantial clay-court achievements in recent women’s tennis history. Sharapova has once again lifted a trophy in Italy’s ancient city, but as […]

Madrid WTA Review: Opposite Days, Exceptionalism, and Azarenka

The 2015 Mutua Madrid Open — like the ones before it — is a point of intrigue and fascination, because this tournament has an inconsistent relationship with Roland Garros, the crown jewel of the clay-court season each year. On one hand, Madrid’s higher elevation lends itself to a more aggressive style, one in which quality […]

The Top 10 Stories From The 2015 Australian Open

The Australian Open is done, and so is daily coverage of tennis at Attacking The Net… for now. This is still a major-tournament-focused blog. We hope to branch out in the coming months, but at the present time, our resources only enable us to cover the majors in full. We will provide Sunday or Monday […]

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