The 2010 Australian Open, much like the 2009 edition of the event, will be remembered in a very simple way: It witnessed the continued dominance of tennis’s greatest modern-day champions.
The eyes of China were fixed upon the women’s singles semifinals at the 2010 Australian Open. After two homeland heroes were dismissed on Thursday afternoon, the world’s most populous nation might not remain riveted to the rectangle inside Rod Laver Arena. When one considers the quality of the matchup that’s been established for Saturday’s women’s [...]
Marin Cilic and Andy Murray are putting their demons behind them. Two young guns in the world of men’s tennis finally showed a readiness to seize one of the biggest prizes in their sport. Tuesday at the Melbourne Park tennis complex, Cilic and Murray punched tickets in a semifinal showdown. The 14th-seeded Croatian and the [...]
There will be a time and place to celebrate the winners of the first two men’s singles quarterfinals at the 2010 Australian Open. (In the next post, actually!) But one can’t comment on two riveting spectacles at Melbourne Park without addressing the acute agony of the valiant competitors who lost on Tuesday. Andy Roddick and [...]
Now that the first week – and the opening three rounds – of the 2010 Australian Open are over, it’s time to examine what seasoned hands call the “business end” of the tournament, a time when the summer charms of Australia take a back seat to the pursuit of a major championship and some hefty [...]
While Justine Henin’s victory over Yanina Wickmayer stole the show in the women’s singles portion of the 2010 Australian Open, Sunday’s men’s singles showdowns hardly disappointed, either. Two titantic tilts headlined a delicious day (and night) of action at the Melbourne Park tennis complex. In the match of the afternoon, reigning U.S. Open champion and [...]
Day six of the 2010 Australian Open could have been compared to an exhausted runner who, after finishing a race and drinking ample fluids, immediately finds a soft bed and blacks out for 10 hours of deep, reviving sleep. Indeed, the end of the third round in the year’s first major tournament marked a point [...]
In the second week of a major tennis tournament, the world’s best tennis players fight for championships and compete at an elevated level. In the first week of a Big Four event, the main goal is merely survival. On day two of the 2010 Australian Open, sports junkies were once again reminded why Roger Federer [...]
Real sadness, the kind of heartbreak which defines the human condition in its deepest vulnerabilities and its most profound moments of loss, exists in Haiti, where a nation screams in agony and wails in lamentation. Real hardship consists of buildings flattened, lives ended, dreams shattered amidst rubble and wreckage. There’s no question that sportswriters – [...]
A once-stoic Jelena Dokic is showing an emotional side of her this week at the Australian Open 2009. And for good reason. The fallen star has now, improbably, won two matches in Melbourne Park after upsetting Anna Chakvetadze in an emotional 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 on Wednesday night in an emotional thriller on Rod Laver Arena. [...]
