The men swing into action today at the 2010 Paribas BNP Open. All the biggest stars will be there, vying for their share of the more than $3.6 million purse. Indian Wells drew more than 330,000 last year and indications are that this year the turnstiles will keep moving. Why not? This is the crème de la crème of men’s tennis in a great venue with good weather.
While the landscape of women’s tennis is changing, the men’s field seems a bit more predictable. Early-line odds makers strongly favor Spanish clay court magician, Rafa Nadal while the current unranked favorite on the women’s side is Belgian Justine Henin. Too bad the odds makers and the ranking committees can’t get together. We might have more balanced events.
Nikolay Davydenko and Andy Murray share the distinction of being the two best players on the professional circuit without a Grand Slam Championship to their credit. That is no easy cross to bear. While the flashy Murray gets loads of criticism, Davydenko’s resume shortcoming goes relatively unnoticed. But, time is running out for the talented Russian.
Elena Dementieva has had to endure the label so many tennis players and golfers dread: the best player never to win a major. Spain’s Sergio Garcia is widely regarded as the male golfer who ought to have won a prestigious championship by now, but hasn’t. In men’s tennis, Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko are battling for that double-edged distinction, which carries with it both a compliment and a deficiency.
What a mess! The fans at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship are witnessing the unpredictable nature of men’s tennis. On Wednesday, a trio of stunning upsets continued to highlight the need for top players to stay in top form. When the game’s elite fail to get in playing shape and stay there, they are very […]
Marin Cilic may be seeded sixth and ranked sixth internationally, but he is the player, no other tour player wants to play right now. In his first round match at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Tournament, the surging Croatian showed why. Cilic, who has won two AP tour events this year and who sports a spectacular […]
In San Jose, second seed Fernando Verdasco found his serve just in time to deny American Andy Roddick his fourth SAP Open 2010 title in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset.
They are on to Round Two in Rotterdam’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and Nikolay Davydenko received a little help from Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. The 36th ranked Baghdatis put away American James Blake 6-4. 6-2 and moves on to face Davydenko in round two. The second seed has a lifetime 0-7 record against Blake. The […]
Justine Henin stood on Mount Olympus, playing tennis from the gods. Serena Williams realized, though, that even tennis legends are mortal. That’s why one great champion turned back another in a deliciously dramatic Australian Open women’s singles final. Serena Jameka Williams and Justine Henin entered their ultimate Saturday showdown in Melbourne with 18 Major singles […]
On a memorable Wednesday afternoon at the 2010 Australian Open, a lot of tennis fans had very good reason to think that Serena Williams and Roger Federer were both going to be knocked out in their respective quarterfinal matches. Yet, those same people should have realized that when champions are getting outplayed, they can and […]
