Serena Williams has an air of joie de vie about her. Some fans interpret that as brash cockiness, but those fans do not understand Serena Williams. In the finals of the Australian Open, Serena laid claim to the world’s number one ranking and displayed her superlative tennis skills to the packed house as well as […]
In one the greatest matches ever played on any venue, Rafael Nadal took everything his Spanish compatriot could throw at him and held off the hard-charging Fernando Verdasco in a semi-final matchup for the ages. This match will long be remembered for the extremely high quality of play and for the stream of remarkable retrieves, […]
In the first of two Australian Open women’s semifinals, the tennis world received yet another illustration of the difference between a great champion and a talented but disappointing pretender to the throne. Serena Williams possesses abundant talent, but the decorated performer defeated Elena Dementieva on Thursday in Rod Laver Arena because she was stronger between […]
Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco set up an Australian Open semifinal clash between friends, compatriots, and Davis Cup teammates by winning their respective quarterfinal matches on Wednesday in Melbourne. Verdasco turned back 2008 Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets, while Nadal dispatched Gilles Simon in three sets. It was not a routine three […]
Ever since Steffi Graf retired in 1999, Serena Williams has been the best pressure player in women’s tennis. This well-deserved reputation was only affirmed on Wednesday afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, as the nine-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. In […]
Two of the “Big 4” (Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic) are out of the Australian Open. Now Rafael Nadal will aim to make it a 50 percent success rate for the top four players in terms of reaching the semifinals. Only Gilles Simon stands in the way of the No. 1 player in the world. […]
With high flying determination, the ninth seeded entry of the gorgeous Slovakian star, Daniela Hantuchova, and sure-handed Japanese star, Ai Sugiyama, refused to lose in a stirring, three set quarterfinal win over the world’s best doubles team. With the triumph, Hantuchova and Sugiyama move to the semi-finals as the lowest seeded survivor in a topsy-turvy […]
There’s more to tennis than merely hitting a bright-colored ball. Fitness, psychology, and movement are all part of a winning equation in this sport-just ask the many competitors who have had to retire from the 2009 Australian Open for one reason or another. Yet, as often as tennis matches are decided for reasons other than […]
Can anyone stop Rafael Nadal? That question has been on people’s minds ever since Nadal struck his first ball against Christophe Rochus in the first round of the Australian Open. And that question only grows louder and louder by the day. Following a dismantling of Roko Karanusic and a three-set blowout of Tommy Haas in […]
Just before the 2009 Australian Open, Roger Federer said that Grand Slam tournaments are “a different animal.” The comment referred to the difficult task facing Andy Murray, regarded by many pundits as the favorite for the tournament despite the lack of a major title. Federer tried to make the point that it’s extremely hard to […]
