When Roger Federer won his fourteenth Grand Slam singles title a few weeks ago in Paris, the number one storyline for the 2009 Wimbledon Championships became etched in stone. But as the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament gets set to start in suburban London, the gentlemen’s singles competition now owns a second supreme theme: Life’s [...]

Throughout his storied career, and especially over the past three years, Roger Federer possessed feet of clay in the men’s singles final of the French Open. The second-best claycourt performer in the latter half of this decade showed a manifest ability to play for championships on the terre battue of Paris, but the Swiss legend [...]

The 2009 French Open men’s singles final offers a surprising matchup, but anyone who’s watched the first 14 days of the 15-day event at Roland Garros would find it hard ignore the notion that Robin Soderling should be the man standing in the way of Roger Federer‘s path to an added measure of tennis immortality. [...]

Whenever tennis fans are hungry, they always get Fed. Once in a while, lovers of this racket sport are given more comfort food than they can possibly comprehend. On an amazing afternoon (and evening) at Roland Garros, a sport gave the world a remarkable two-match display of heart, hustle and higher-than-high drama. At the very [...]

For the last four years, men’s tennis has had Roger and Rafa, two giants who have transcended the rest of the sport. For the past two years, the ATP Tour featured a Big Three in which Novak Djokovic joined the studs from Switzerland and Spain. Over the past 12 months, the Big Three has allowed [...]

Later this week, the draw for the 2009 French Open will be announced in Paris, but before the brackets are made public, here’s an early look ahead at the year’s claycourt major. Part I – Men’s Preview As is the case in any sport, matchups matter. With respect to this year’s 15-day thrill ride at [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have made a habit of contesting claycourt championships this season. While those two rivals will clash in one of Saturday’s semifinals at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, the player they’ve suprassed will try to bounce back on the crushed red brick of Spain. In prior years, Roger Federer unmistakably stamped [...]

If tennis fans wanted explosive action on day four of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, they were sorely disappointed. Two retirements on the men’s side deprived spectators (and TV viewers) of compelling combat, while the women–with their tournament bracket thrown upside-down by a spate of upsets–provided just one eyebrow-raising result in the round of 16. [...]