The first thing that needs to be said about Marat Safin is that 99.5 percent of human beings would love to have this enigmatic Russian’s problems. This magnetic Muscovite with movie-star looks, a body tailor-made for tennis success, and a full assortment of formidable skills won over $14 million, traveled the world, won two Major […]
Throughout his storied career, and especially over the past three years, Roger Federer possessed feet of clay in the men’s singles final of the French Open. The second-best claycourt performer in the latter half of this decade showed a manifest ability to play for championships on the terre battue of Paris, but the Swiss legend […]
Over the past month and a half, only Rafael Nadal had played better claycourt tennis than Novak Djokovic. On a stunning Saturday afternoon in Paris, the Serbian superstar wasn’t as good as a 29th-seeded floater from Germany. As a result, the French Open has been turned upside-down… and a prolonged stretch of steady play no […]
In horse racing, “winning by a head” represents a very small margin between the winner and the runner-up. In tennis, the same phrase could accurately characterize the way in which champions so frequently fend off talented challengers in the early rounds of Grand Slam tournaments. After surviving a scare from amped-up Argentine Jose Acasuso in the second round […]
Three dependable veterans reached the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, the first major tournament of the new tennis season. The fourth member of that quality quartet emerged from relative obscurity to burst into the consciousness of tennis fans around the globe. Fernando Verdasco, the No. 14 seed and a non-factor before the tournament started, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Fernando Verdasco and Felciano Lopez made Spain easily forget Rafael Nadal…at least for one monumental weekend. Spain, without the No. 1 player in the world, went into Mar del Plata and stunned the host Argentines 3-1 to win the 2008 Davis Cup. Verdasco clinched the title with a thrilling 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 over […]
Who needs Rafael Nadal when you have Feliciano Lopez…and Fernando Verdasco? Going into the 2008 Davis Cup final, the question was how Spain could win without Nadal, but two days later the question is now the one above. Argentina took an improbable 2-1 lead over host Argentina on Saturday afternoon in Mar del Plata as […]
A thrilling 2008 season filled with surprises, a new No. 1, and arguably the best tennis match of all time has come and gone, but not for the eight players and two countries contesting this weekend’s Davis Cup final. It’s Spain vs. Argentina for the title. The time for controversy and not-so-good off the court […]
