The Young and the Restless: Azarenka joins others in Parisian soap opera

French Open 2009 30 May 2009

One has to admit this much: If you’re going to act like a diva, you might as well do so in a city like Paris. The members of the WTA Tour at least have a sense of drama, if not proper decorum. In the first week of the 2009 French Open, many of the headlines [...]


All Fizzle, No Sizzle: Frenchwomen continue to tumble out of Paris

French Open 2009 29 May 2009

American female tennis players have a way of winning on native soil. Australian and British girls don’t get many chances to wow the home crowd in Melbourne or suburban London. As for the females of France, the comforts of home just aren’t comfortable enough, and never seem to be sufficient on any day, in any time or [...]


Quick on the Draw: Breaking down the French Open brackets

French Open 2009 23 May 2009

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 [...]


“El Rey de Clay”: Nadal masters Monte Carlo for the fifth straight year

What is it like to witness a dominant champion operating at the top of his game? From 2004 through 2007, Roger Federer dominated on grass and hardcourts at a level rarely seen in the history of tennis. Today, Rafael Nadal’s conquests of clay represent the most awesome displays of excellence in a sport that’s anything [...]


A King and a Joker in Monte Carlo: Nadal, Djokovic advance to final

Gambling is one of the many pleasures to be found in the destination city of Monte Carlo. Saturday afternoon at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, a king and a joker found a winning hand, and a ticket to Sunday’s championship match. The king, of course, is Rafael Nadal. The current master of men’s tennis and [...]


Sizing up the semifinals: Three heavyweights and a Swiss guy

As the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters heads toward a pair of Saturday semifinals, it’s just as the oddsmakers predicted heading into the tournament: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray join a Swiss tennis player in the final four. Oh, wait: Stanislas Wawrinka, not Roger Federer, is the man representing Switzerland as the year’s first [...]

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