There will be a time and place to celebrate the winners of the first two men’s singles quarterfinals at the 2010 Australian Open. (In the next post, actually!) But one can’t comment on two riveting spectacles at Melbourne Park without addressing the acute agony of the valiant competitors who lost on Tuesday.
Andy Roddick and Rafael [...]

If ever a tennis match other than a Wimbledon final deserved a banner headline, in raging capital letters, this was it.
The words are simple but substantial, and they carry the weight of 41 years of Open era men’s tennis: Robin Soderling defeated Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open on Sunday. The [...]

Much of the drama in the first week of a Grand Slam event concerns the middle-tier players fighting for added respect, bigger paychecks, and the momentum that can re-invigorate a career. In light of these tensions unique to the world of major championship tennis, it can be said that on Wednesday at Roland Garros, Nicolas [...]

Roger Federer knew that Rafael Nadal’s physical condition wouldn’t decide the championship match of the inaugural Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. He also knew that mere awareness of a situation doesn’t lead to success in the heat of battle. Quality execution and top-shelf tactics had to emerge if a storied rivalry was to acquire a delicious new taste of intrigue.
After 86 [...]