Worthwhile developments and especially newsworthy scores after a packed day of action at Melbourne Park: FIVE-SET THRILLERS ABOUND The losses of Robin Soderling and Juan Carlos Ferrero (mentioned elsewhere on this blog) weren’t the only five-setters witnessed on a rather contentious Tuesday in Australia. Other extended wars dotted the landscape on the blue plexicushion courts [...]

Maria Sharapova’s injured right shoulder received a lot of medical attention last year, but a player with plenty of fighting spirit is still learning how to re-tool her game and rebuild the form that carried her to three major championships. The 2010 Australian Open began on Monday in Melbourne, with stormy skies and soggy weather [...]

QUESTION: Can Nikolay Davydenko break through? Much like the Kim Clijsters-Justine Henin debate on the women’s side, tennis aficionados are wondering if Davydenko, the sixth-seeded Russian, can become a force at major tournaments, beginning with this event. Davydenko has defeated Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in two separate events over the past two months, at [...]

Don’t let that calm, mature demeanor fool you. Venus Williams comes to play.

“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 [...]

Tennis great Pete Sampras came from a set down to beat fellow veteran American Andre Agassi in a friendly encounter, the first meeting between the old foes since 2002. The compatriots captivated fans in the 1990s and early 2000s with their contrasting styles and personalities. Sampras was known for his serve and crafty volleys while [...]

Arthur Ashe Stadium will feature the day’s top match on Day Four of the Open. Diminutive Melanie Oudin, a surprise quarterfinalist and media darling will face the best player in the Women’s Draw, Elena Dementieva, in a match between two great players with very different styles. Today, the edge goes to Elena, but watch out [...]

As the tragic news of professional tennis player Mathieu Montcourt’s death circulates, his as of yet unexplained death unearths a certain shameful side to the modern world of tennis. Montcourt’s body was found in his Paris apartment on Monday by his girlfriend and an autopsy is expected to be carried out as soon as possible. [...]

For the past two years and three of the last four, Centre Court was Venus Williams‘s personal summer cottage. Now, another member of the Williams household has claimed ownership of the most famous place in tennis. Serena Williams had not won a ladies’ singles championship at the All-England Club since 2003, but this little sister now [...]

Unlike the 2009 French Open final, Robin Soderling played his best tennis on Monday against Roger Federer in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Sadly for the Swede, it didn’t matter one bit. Showing the fabulous form that eluded him against Federer in Paris, Soderling blistered the ball and kept it inside the lines for most [...]