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.
Justine Henin stood on Mount Olympus, playing tennis from the gods. Serena Williams realized, though, that even tennis legends are mortal. That’s why one great champion turned back another in a deliciously dramatic Australian Open women’s singles final. Serena Jameka Williams and Justine Henin entered their ultimate Saturday showdown in Melbourne with 18 Major singles [...]
The men’s singles final of the 2010 Australian Open doesn’t figure to be boring, but an analysis of the titanic tilt involving top-seeded Roger Federer and fifth-seeded Andy Murray isn’t going to win many points for originality. No, it’s hard to be overly creative in assessing the second Major final to pair the world No. [...]
Andy Murray began his first-ever Australian Open men’s singles semifinal with the trepidation of a middle-tier performer. He left Rod Laver Arena with not just a victory, but a newfound sense of swagger that could lift him to the very top of his sport. The fifth-seeded Murray - ranked fourth in the world and poised [...]
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 [...]
On a memorable Wednesday afternoon at the 2010 Australian Open, a lot of tennis fans had very good reason to think that Serena Williams and Roger Federer were both going to be knocked out in their respective quarterfinal matches. Yet, those same people should have realized that when champions are getting outplayed, they can and [...]
The 2010 Australian Open is the Major tournament of the South Pacific, and so it’s entirely fitting that in one of the world’s most ethnically diverse nations, just west of the international dateline, the women’s singles tournament has witnessed the rise of China. Before tonight’s women’s semifinals get underway at Rod Laver Arena, it’s worth [...]
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 [...]
