Bud and Bethanie Mattek-Sands with her Alex North Lady Gaga's designer designed Wimbledon jacket
LONDON – The centuries old tale of St George and the Dragon is a popular item in this town. After all, the heroic George is the patron saint of England, and dragons keep their distance.
Anyway, yesterday seemed perfect for an updated re-run. The local tennis Cathedral called Wimbledon was jammed with 14,979 parishioners, and the anti-dragon element were out in loud, enthusiastic force, rallying behind their man, but fearing the fire breathing dragon. Could they hope to cripple and discard the spiky-spined monster? Well, they would try, as the reward for success would be places in tomorrow’s Wimbledon men’s final. continue reading »
July 02 2011 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
Bud doing his feature for Tennis Channel
LONDON – May I cut in?
That may be what Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was thinking when he went out to play the most celebrated guy in tennis, Roger Federer, at Wimbledon. Cut in on Roger, who has won the championship six times, plus 10 other majors?
Ridiculous, right? Especially if you are Jo Tsongas of France, ranked No. 19, 1-4 against the Lord of the Swings – Roger – showing off his brilliance on his favorite patch of grass. continue reading »
June 29 2011 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
Watering on the Middle Sunday
LONDON – The Royals, Kate and Bill, turned up to watch a game of tennis yesterday at Wimbledon, and lend moral support to one of their wayward subjects. That would be Young Murray out of Scotland, who may suffer hernia from carrying the British Isles on his back.
Will he ever dissolve that pressure by winning Wimbledon, a feat last accomplished by a homeboy 75 years ago. It merely seems like yesterday – if you’re Methuselah. But if you’re a Brit waiting for somebody to emulate Fred Perry’s last triumph in 1936, it gets a little tedious. (He also won in 1934, 35) continue reading »
June 28 2011 | Wimbledon | 1 Comment »
With Chris Evert and Gabriela Sabatini ... at a WTA reunion
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Is Andy Murray lost in a London fog that enshrouded him on this sandy, sunny isle?
How can you explain his brief appearance as a staggering soul, allegedly No. 5 on the planet, being chased from the Sony Ericsson Open by a hustler unknown to almost all: Alex Bogomolov, a local qualifier ranked No. 118. continue reading »
March 26 2011 | Key Biscayne | 1 Comment »
View from the balcony of the Shrine of Remembrance, showing entry courtyard (depicts shape of a bomb blast) with Melbourne in the background.
MELBOURNE – Where’s Rafa? What happened to Roger? Am I in the wrong place? Aren’t Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer supposed to monopolize the major finals in tennis, leaving the rest of the mob out in the cold?
Sure, that’s been the overpowering pattern of No. 1 Senor Nadal and No. 2, M. Federer. But as I scan Rod Laver Arena, jammed with 15,000 patrons Sunday night for the Australian Open showdown, those two are nowhere in sight. This is only the second final in 23 majors that both Federer and Nadal are missing. continue reading »
January 31 2011 | Australian Open | 6 Comments »
Ollie Rochus
KEY BISCAYNE, FL — Maybe no man is an island, but a little man owned an island called Key Biscayne — at least for a day as the Transcontinental Double set up shop on an East Coast beach after a fortnight in a California desert. continue reading »
March 27 2010 | Key Biscayne | No Comments »
Federation day fireworks in Melbourne, near the tennis
“This is going to be the greatest Scottish victory since we beat the English at Bannockburn,” a Scotsman was telling me before the Australian Open final commenced.
When was that, sir?
“Why, 1314,” he answered, as though it were yesterday.
Andy Murray, the great bright hope of Scotland and Britain, hopes he doesn’t have to wait that long to win a tennis major and acclaim as his land’s most prominent victor since the Scots of Bannockburn. continue reading »
January 31 2010 | Australian Open | 8 Comments »
Sunset with Manhattan skyline
NEW YORK – The Great Bright Hope of Great Britain came, saw and was conquered, and will have to wait another year to maybe break the Curse of Fred Perry.
No Brit has won the tennis championship of the United States (or Wimbledon) since the dashing Limey, Perry, took both those prized majors in 1936. continue reading »
September 08 2009 | US Open | 1 Comment »
Flower pots adorning Centre Court
Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey were, among other things British, all weighing Andy Murray down. What a load as he strove to be the first British guy to scale the Big W all the way to the final since Bunny Austin in 1938. Austin lost to a Yank named Don Budge (three-quarters of the way to the original Grand Slam), and Murray, the gifted Scotsman, was also waylaid by a Yank: the other Andy, as he’s known here. Andy Roddick.
There was more to it than the local pressures, dating back 73 years when a Brit, Fred Perry, actually won the title of 1936. Perry then turned pro, becoming ineligible for the major championships, as were all pros until the game opened up in 1968. continue reading »
July 03 2009 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
