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The Australian Open has given us some memorable matches over the years, almost always before the finals. Each one was a mini-epic with spectacular, high-quality play and lots of drama. The four matches highlighted below had very different emotional through lines. Today / last night Oz time, Rafael Nadal had to summon his best stuff […]
January 28, 2009
I feel a little guilty paying tribute to Elena Demetieva because usually when I do this right before a big match, it’s the kiss of death. But Lena plays Serena in the semifinals, so she is the underdog anyway. Lena Dementieva is one of the most underrated players and human beings on the tour today. […]
January 28, 2009
Andy Roddick has always been in good physical condition, so I was surprised that he chose to focus on fitness in preparation for 2009. Roddick lost fifteen pounds and still managed to add muscle. It was hard for me to believe that Roddick could find fifteen pounds to lose. This picture was taken in August […]
January 28, 2009
A.O. Lacks a Coherent Policy on Extreme Heat I am a traditionalist when it comes to tennis and Mother Nature. Cold, hot, dry, humid, wind, snow, whatever. You play. It’s a great test. I don’t like indoor tennis because tennis wasn’t meant to be played in perfect conditions. It’s like watching football in a dome. […]
January 27, 2009
Defending champ Novak Djokovic quit in the middle of his QF match against Andy Roddick yesterday, handing Roddick the victory, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 ret. Joker wilted in the 140 degree court temperature. He was being closely monitored by trainers, but I still thought the decision to play on was borderline reckless. Joker staggered around […]
January 27, 2009
As we all know, there is no shortage of idiocy in tennis media. Calling it out is one of the founding principles of this blog. Thus, we must deal with Michael Wilbon, even though we know he is more tennis friendly that just about every other American writer today. We also like Bill Rhoden, but […]
January 25, 2009
Above: tennis fans rejoice after Dokic victory. Jelena Dokic continues to be the best story on the women’s side. She’s into the quarters after a three-set thriller over Alisa Kleybanova 7-5 5-7 8-6. This reminds me of Jennifer Capriati’s stunning victory in the AO. Even though Capriati spent years out of tennis, I was confident […]
January 25, 2009
She’s either practicing that beautiful backhand or…. Pounding her head against the coffee table after watching another crew of D-list tennis players contending for the Australian Open title she could win without breaking a sweat. Also on Justine’s mind: “Ivanovic and Jankovic? Those two covergirl mental midgets make Kim Clijsters look like Chris Evert. Why […]
January 24, 2009
I tossed off a random comment last night about tennis security being pretty good, or at least significantly better in the post-Seles-stabbing era. While I still believe that to be true, I’ve studied the videotapes of the Bosnian/Serb melee and concluded that the Aussie Open security team is a farce. These guys got almost ninety […]
January 23, 2009
The first video shows the fans throwing metal chairs at each other. I have no idea why the video includes dance music. The actual sound of the metal chairs smacking the cement sounded like gunfire. This video appears to have been shot by a fan with a camera phone.
January 23, 2009
The match between Delic and Joker was an entertaining, hard-fought four-setter played in the spirit of competition and sportsmanship. Joker won in four sets, the two men shook hands and embraced. Unfortunately that was not the dynamic outside the stadium. Moments after the match ended, the Serbian and Bosnian fans clashed in the garden area […]
January 21, 2009
Ethnic tensions between the Serbs and Croats seem to be a permanent fixture on the tennis circuit. I touched on it earlier this week in my post about Monica Seles inspiring a generation of Balkan tennis players from Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia. I discussed my fascination with the Powder Keg of Europe. Australia has a […]
January 21, 2009
I have never before addressed politics on any of my blogs. Tennis, like all sports, is a welcome respite from the real world. But it would be ridiculous not to mention the inauguration of Barack Obama. Americans Down Under were tuned in to news from the home front, even though the players generally couldn’t get […]
January 21, 2009
The Melbourne Herald Sun will have exclusive chats with Rafael Nadal for as long as he’s in the draw at the Australian Open. You can send your questions to Rafa here. These are mine. Question 1. How can you allow Nike to put you out there in such a hideous outfit? The way your biceps […]
January 20, 2009
And Welcome Back Jelena Dokic If Roddick drops from the top ten and Blake flames out, America will look as desperate as Tennis Australia, which has been reeling from the dismal state of its tennis program. Although ESPN spent all day sounding the alarm bells over the performance of the American men, wake me when […]
January 18, 2009
Joker switched from Wilson to Head racquets just two weeks before his Aussie Open title defense. Is that a good idea?
January 18, 2009
Rafael Nadal Prepares to Change The tennis world is abuzz with stories about Rafael Nadal’s 2009 makeover. Gone are the Man-pris (hooray!), which Nike has replaced with a much worse clothing option. I didn’t think it was possible to get worse, but then again this is Nike we’re talking about. They followed up Agassi’s revolutionary […]
January 16, 2009
I still haven’t imported the archive from Counterpuncher or the Enquirer, so the blog moderators thought it was important to let you know they are still with us at the new place. So yes, the dynamic duo known collectively as Cyclops will be calling the lines around here. Cyclops loves to call me out when […]
January 16, 2009
Monic Seles was just elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. Unlike the selection of Michael Chang a year ago, Monica will not spark another round of debate over who is deserving of enshrinement in the Hall. She punched her ticket before she even turned 20. (I happen to think Chang deserved it […]
January 13, 2009
You probably missed it, what with the agony of OSU football snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Texas in the Bowl of Tortilla Chips and everything, but last week was a milestone for the Ohio State Men’s Tennis (OSMT) program. It was named the 2009 NCAA pre-season #1, completing a meteoric rise up […]
January 13, 2009
Myths and legends die hard in America…Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of the rat race is not yet final. ~ Hunter S. Thompson American sports journalists are firm proponents of two myths from the last decade of the Twentieth Century: that college football […]
Passing Shots 
January 30, 2009
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