Entrance to USTA Tennis Center
NEW YORK – As the 43rd season of the chase for dollars rolls toward its crescendo in Flushing (who will come out of it most flush?), few tennis junkies are aware that this monstrocity called the U.S. Open was once-upon-a-time a split personality.
It was in a day when something amusingly labeled as “amateurism” held sway, and room-and-board was a prized goal on the tournament circuit. That was prior to 1968 when the U.S. Championships were divided into separate tournaments: the Doubles in Boston at Longwood Cricket Club, followed by the Singles at Forest Hills (the West Side Tennis Club in New York). continue reading »
Tags: Flushing Meadows, Longwood Cricket Club, US Championships vs. Open
August 29 2010 | US Open | No Comments »
Participants at the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction of the 2010 class
NEWPORT, R.I. – Little guy. Little country. Giant performance. But it wasn’t quite enough for the diminutive dynamo named Olivier Rochus, who did his best to wreck the afternoon for the homebodies – and very nearly did.
You really couldn’t dislike this teddy bear of a tennis player, 5-foot-5, 140 pound Ollie. However, he was rocking the cradle of American tennis, the Casino, and almost ran circles around the crowd’s man, a US citizen, Mardy Fish. Smallest laborer on the pro tour, Ollie Rochus out of a small Belgian town called Namur, has the legs to keep up with and often surpass the big guys in his business. His shotmaking is a collection of spins that keeps the ball low, and he’s a sharp volleyer, the main man of Belgium’s Davis Cup team. continue reading »
Tags: international tennis hall of fame, Mardy Fish, Olivier Rochus
July 12 2010 | International Tennis Hall of Fame | No Comments »
Rafael Nadal on Centre Court
LONDON – Federer and Venus got beat. So did Roddick, Djokovic, Henin and Clijsters. Wimbledon upsets to be sure, but not the most startling reversals as the aged tennis tournament faded away for another year.
Caught up in the most incredible upset of the fortnight was none other than that veteran performer – Jupiter Pluvius. continue reading »
Tags: Men's singles winner, Rafa Nadal, Tomas Berdych, Wimbledon
July 04 2010 | Wimbledon | 3 Comments »
Serena's fingernails covered with rhinestones
LONDON – Why does Sister Serena remind me of the Statue of Liberty? Well, both of them are famous Americans, recognizeable heroines just about everywhere.
They stand out in their occupations, symbols of the fact that anything is possible in the USA. Lady Liberty is a one-woman welcoming committee in New York. Sister Serena travels the world as the best female tennis player in creation. continue reading »
Tags: Serena Williams, Vera Zvanoreva
July 03 2010 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
Heroic umpire of Isner-Mahut match, Mohamad Lahyani
LONDON – If you were somewhere near the Atlantic and heard a horrendous, sound-barrier-breaking noise yesterday about noon, don’t be alarmed.
It was merely the last groan raised throughout Great Britain as the last of the Brits at Wimbledon hit the last shot and lasted no longer in the oldest lasting tournament.
That was a Scottish lad named Andrew Baron Murray who stalled in the semifinals for a second straight year, and the long-lasting Curse of Fred Perry continues for a 75th year. Way back in the age of schoolboys wearing knickers and Model A Fords with rumble seats, a Brit named Fred Perry won the singles championship. He did it in 1934-35-36. None of his countrymen has imitated Fred since. continue reading »
Tags: Berdych, Djokovic, Men's semis, Murray, Nadal
July 02 2010 | Wimbledon | 2 Comments »
London Eye from St. James Park
LONDON – Decline and falling? Like the Roman Empire?
Maybe.
But one thing is clear. Roger Federer, the man who owned the green room – Centre Court at Wimbledon – will not be the centerpiece Sunday. After seven straight years of believing that this tennis court belonged to him, he was rudely evicted by a guy born in the Czech Republic village of Vallasske Mezerici and lives in Prostejov. Anybody who can spell or pronounce them should get a prize. (Like many other athletes, Tomas Berdych visits his money in Monte Carlo.) continue reading »
Tags: Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych
June 30 2010 | Wimbledon | 3 Comments »
Bud with Kim Clijsters, feting Martina Navratilova
LONDON – If they had been shooting at each other in a Western, one of the antagonists might have threatened, “This country ain’t big enough for both of us.”
The country in question is tiny Belgium. Not much cactus, sagebrush or prairie there, but the firing was fierce as they tried to drive one another out of a Wimbledon canyon called Court 1.
No canyons in Belgium either. Their ammunition is tennis balls and has been for at least two decades since Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin – the Brussels Sprouts — first took aim at one another at a kids tournament in their native land. continue reading »
Tags: Brussels Sprouts, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters
June 29 2010 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
Pal, Damien, celebrates his 50th b'day at Wimbledon
LONDON – Jimmy Van Alen would not be amused.
Though Jimmy, who used to run the Newport tournament, is no longer with us, his baby is: the tie-breaker (not tiebreak as many incorrectly call it today). Alive and well in a fifth set at the US Open – but not at Wimbledon or the other two major championships, Australian and French. continue reading »
Tags: Isner, Mahut, Marathon, Records fall, Wimbledon
June 26 2010 | Wimbledon | 4 Comments »
Historic scoreboard, Isner, Mahut and umpire, Mohamed Lahyani
LONDON – Elizabeth Windsor decided to take in some tennis at Wimbledon yesterday. Although tickets are scarcer than elephants cavorting at Piccadilly Circus, she managed to cop a couple, and in the front row of Centre Court, no less. continue reading »
Tags: John Isner, Nicolas Mahut, Tennis records rewritten
June 24 2010 | Wimbledon | 4 Comments »
Bud with Jimmy Connors
LONDON – Shall we call it “The Johnny and Nico Show”? Two young guys skipping about on a grassy stage of an outdoor theatre called Wimbledon, and hoping “you’ll tune in again tomorrow because we ain’t finished yet.” continue reading »
Tags: John Isner, Nicolas Mahut, Records fall, Wimbledon marathon
June 23 2010 | Wimbledon | 3 Comments »
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