Even as she spent the past three months climbing the ladder in the world of women’s tennis, Victoria Azarenka lacked a really big achievement to show for her excellence. Now, another milestone can be crossed off the Belorussian’s checklist. A promising 2009 season just got better for Azarenka, who showed steely nerves to hold off [...]
The last time Andy Murray stared across the net at Fernando Verdasco, dreams of a first Grand Slam title melted away in the Australian Open heat. Just over two months later, a quietly determined Scotsman ensured that a frustrating loss wouldn’t happen again. Murray–victimized by Verdasco in the fourth round at the year’s first major [...]
The high seeds just keep tumbling out of the women’s field at the Sony Ericsson Open. Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina injected shock value into the weekend with early-round stumbles at the Crandon Park Tennis Center, but by the time darkness fell on a crazy Sunday, two more bombshells did further damage to a bracket [...]
Andy Murray didn’t bench press 600 pounds or stop a criminal in a back alley on a humid Saturday afternoon in Miami. He did, however, prove his toughness to his peers. Murray withstood the hard hitting of Argentina’s Juan Monaco to pull out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory in just over two hours. The second-round [...]
Rafael Nadal hit 13 winners and committed 17 unforced errors in Sunday afternoon’s championship match of the BNP Paribas Open. Under normal circmstances, such a performance would have led to a decisive loss. But this was no ordinary day in the California desert, and Nadal, of course, is no ordinary player. In the face of [...]
Tennis was not meant to be played in high winds, so when gusts of 20-30 miles per hour overwhelm a tennis match, the losing player can’t be blamed for inferior execution. The survivor should be saluted for enduring incredibly difficult conditions. Consider Vera Zvonareva, then, one of the better survival stories on the WTA Tour. [...]
On Saturday afternoon in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Rafael Nadal produced a performance that was entirely typical of the No. 1 player in men’s tennis. However, don’t let the word “typical” suggest that the Mallorcan master had an easy day at the office against a determined Andy Roddick. Nadal ultimately prevailed in Saturday’s second [...]
It’s been known to happen on a tennis court: One player experiences a scary moment and gives the appearance of physical shakiness, only to see an opponent lose concentration. This is precisely what occurred in the first men’s semifinal of the BNP Paribas Open, as fourth-seeded Andy Murray recovered from a fall to blitz second-seeded [...]
Physical fitness is part of the battle in the world of men’s tennis, but it can sometimes feel like an insult to tell a player that he won a match only because of superior stamina. Friday afternoon in Indian Wells, Calif., Andy Roddick made sure that any comparisons with rival Novak Djokovic would be confined [...]
Vera Zvonareva used to be the kind of player who would fuss when a match didn’t go her way. Friday afternoon in the California desert, this gifted Russian took a big step forward in the world of women’s tennis. No longer an emotionally volatile performer who would telegraph her feelings to an opponent, Zvonareva allowed [...]
