It’s one of the cruelest aspects of professional sports: On some days, the nature of an event simply won’t allow the winner to gain a deserved amount of praise. Such was the scene in Paris on another disappointing final Saturday at the French Open. Every year, the occasion of the women’s singles final at Court [...]
In a span of just under 29 hours of time, Svetlana Kuznetsova has radically reshaped her reputation. Forced to play on back-to-back days by the quirks of the French Open’s scheduling format, Kuznetsova found an extra ounce of will to complement her level of skill. The seventh seed, just one day after outlasting Serena Williams [...]
In sports, it is often said that “speed kills.” While few people would doubt the truth of that statement, it takes more than raw footspeed or pure velocity to rise to the top of the heap in professional tennis. Dinara Safina showed why on Thursday afternoon in Paris, and that’s why the world’s top-ranked female [...]
Five years ago, Svetlana Kuznetsova had nothing to lose when she captured her first and only Grand Slam title. Today, the woman who has been hounded by frail nerves and stage-fright fiascoes finally grew up as a tennis player. Kuznetsova–one of the most talented yet unimposing performers on the WTA Tour–registered what should be viewed [...]
It could well be that the first Tuesday of June in 2009 will represent a mere blip on the radar screen of Dominika Cibulkova’s tennis career. Then again, if this tireless Slovakian becomes a powerhouse in her profession, she’ll look back on a magical afternoon in Paris as the moment when her life changed forever. [...]
One day after Roger Federer personified patience on a tennis court, Dinara Safina evidently learned a few lessons of her own. Only 24 hours after Federer overcame a confident and hard-hitting opponent to win a full-length match, Safina–the No. 1 seed in the women’s portion of the 2009 French Open–withstood a ball-blasting barrage from Belarus’s [...]
The French Open draws are out, and a quick look at the singles brackets suggest that the two top seeds should stroll to the finals, and very likely capture the second Grand Slam event of the season. Part I – Women’s Singles Of the 128 women who will converge on Paris over the next 15 [...]
The draw for the 2009 French Open will be announced in Paris. Let’s review the players.
They don’t call Spain’s glorious new tennis facility The Magic Box for nothing. In the very first year of its existence, the architectural marvel played host to one of the finest tennis matches ever contested, anywhere and anytime. In the decades to come, many more Madrid Opens will unfold at “La Caja Magica,” but the [...]
The men’s side of this week’s dual-gender claycourt tournament in Spain has not yet witnessed a major upset. In the women’s portion of the tournament, a different narrative has emerged. Three upsets took center stage on a wacky Wednesday at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, giving the rest of the WTA Tour a great opportunity [...]
