The Cinderella Dream is on hold, at least for another two weeks. Melanie Oudin, who hoped a return to big galleries and American soil would lead her to a repeat of her performance at last year’s U.S. Open became a first round casualty at Indian Wells. Oudin did not have the fuel to stay with Italian upstart Roberta Vinci, who fought back for the 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 triumph.
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.
After this week’s opening round play in the Davis Cup, 96 of the world’s premier singles players and 32 stellar doubles teams will head to the desert, where only the strong survive. An impressive field, only equaled by Grand Slam events, is expected for the year’s first of nine World Tour ATP tournaments.
Sam Querrey won the Memphis tournament beating his friend John Isner 6-7(3-7), 7-6(7-5), 6-3.
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 [...]
Andy Murray began his first-ever Australian Open men’s singles semifinal with the trepidation of a middle-tier performer. He left Rod Laver Arena with not just a victory, but a newfound sense of swagger that could lift him to the very top of his sport. The fifth-seeded Murray – ranked fourth in the world and poised [...]
“Image is everything,” uttered tennis legend Andre Agassi in his series of television adverts for Japanese photography giants Canon during the 1990’s. The American former world number one, with his flowing long locks, was very much the pin-up of men’s tennis during this golden decade of the sport. Girls loved him, mum’s adored him, and [...]
In Israel, a land attuned to the ancient texts of the world’s monotheistic faiths, the words “my cup overflows” possess a considerable amount of historical weight and meaning. That phrasing comes from scripture, of course–it’s no small thing in the Holy Land to encounter a lavish and abundant blessing. Now, 108 years after the Davis [...]
As the claycourt season begins on the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal can be relied on to deliver the goods. Outside of the King of Clay, however, the world of men’s tennis faces numerous uncertainties on the red dirt of Europe, and the early rounds of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event showed why. Two talented [...]
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 [...]
