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Love ‘em or hate ‘em, and I do a lot of both, the Williams Sisters are back. The one thing I was certain of before the tournament began was that I was done with Venus and Serena. In years past I always anticipated their returns because I knew they would bring controversy, great drama and […]
May 23, 2011
When I returned to Passing Shots, the first thing I noticed is that my thinking has evolved on some subjects. Take my unhinged ranting about Serena Williams, for example. I still find that 09 US Open meltdown deplorable. She should have been disciplined. In retrospect, though, there is something to the sexism charges brought by […]
September 10, 2009
Melanie Oudin did not cry on court after her quarterfinal loss to Caroline Wozniacki. That is a positive sign. It shows strength, it shows resolve, it reminds one of the steeliness of Chris Evert. It will make her work harder. But that’s not the main reason I think not advancing to the semis and final […]
September 8, 2009
This was before the US Open in a promotional event at Bryant Park. The other players are John McEnroe and Murphy Jensen; thankfully we don’t see much of them dancing. I was expecting Venus to start breakdancing any second. Serena, come on, some of those moves are almost as bad as mine. Was that inspired by Riverdance […]
September 7, 2009
1. Roger’s hypothetical faux-slam. Seriously people, he hasn’t won three in a row yet, but you’re already hyping him up for Australia and four in a row, which is being called the completion of a Grand Slam? Some nerve. Martina Navratilova completed the faux-slam but didn’t get credit for it… because it isn’t a grand […]
September 6, 2009
Melanie Oudin has a legitimate chance to make the top ten. Notice I didn’t say she would win grand slam titles or become #1. It is far, far to soon for anyone to make those predictions. So media people, just calm down! For now focus on one key component of this story: at 17, Oudin’s […]
September 3, 2009
Is there anyone in the women’s tournament who can beat Serena Williams when she plays like she did tonight? No. We’ve grown accustomed to watching Serena meander through the early rounds, even when she’s having an “on” year. She rarely plays her best when she isn’t pushed. Not tonight though. This was Serena at her […]
August 31, 2009
Rumor has it that Justine Henin will return to competitive tennis in January. Do I feel the need to qualify my headline with a hedge? Uhm.. Hell no! I told you in January this day would come. I felt it even more when Serena started dominating the slams. And when Kim Clijsters returned three weeks […]
June 30, 2009
Too Ugly? “Looks Are A Factor” Sexism never quite goes out of style at SW19 does it? They’re still dragging their feet on equal prize money and now they’ve admitted to scheduling hot chicks for center court, regardless of whether they are any good. The Daily Mail reports: And last night, the All England Club […]
June 1, 2009
“I would never do that. I’ve never done that. I’ve never sunk low, and I would never do that to anyone on this tour and I never have.” – Serena Williams, explaining that she would never cheat to win a point I know half of you think I hate Venus and Serena, despite all the […]
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 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 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 […]
July 8, 2008
To those of you who think we just pick on Serena unfairly, consider this: (H)er relatives willingly take much of the blame for her inability to deal with defeat as an outgrowth of them always spoiling her as the baby of the family. Her sister, Lyndrea, who flew in from Los Angeles yesterday, said Serena […]
July 6, 2008
Venus beat Serena Williams Sunday to win her fifth Wimbledon title, breaking a tie with Billie Jean King and bringing her within two of Steffi Graf’s seven championships. Serena came out like gangbusters, winning ten of the first eleven points. Everyone was thinking ‘here we go again’ because it certainly looked like Serena would beat […]
July 5, 2008
[Venus and Serena during their win in the Ladies Doubles Semifinal] So now that we’ve established that Venus and Serena didn’t cure cancer, it’s time to examine the match they are about to play. It’s time to give credit where it is due. The first time I saw Venus play I couldn’t wait to see […]
July 5, 2008
Ever notice how many “sportswriters” are busy clogging up the airwaves at ESPN? Of course you did, to watch that channel is to see sportswriters trying to make themselves famous by yelling like blowhards about things they know nothing about. At least when it comes to other sports, they may have a passing idea of […]
June 2, 2008
Programming note: For an enhanced blog experience, today’s posts are meant to be read while listening to the New York Philharmonic play George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. ________________________________To properly assess American failure and success in Paris, we need look no further than Robby Ginepri. The 80th ranked Ginepri made the fourth round! He is […]
January 22, 2008
Nike made a fairly big deal out of Serena’s new thigh-covering spandex bike pants, yet no one noted that we’ve seen this before, with Agassi. You can attribute that to Aggasi dumping Nike for Adidas a few years ago, after Nike refused to give Agassi money for his charity. Nike. Still dumb after all these […]
January 22, 2008
I see we’ve settled into a fairly typical women’s match, circa 2008: Deuce, deuce, deuce. Error, error, error. Grunt, scream, grunt, scream, grunt, scream. Real injury? Fake injury? Real injury? Fake injury. Drama.
January 22, 2008
Oh, it’s on now. After Chris Fowler pointed out that Serena isn’t limping and hasn’t called the trainer, Shriver said Serena needs to get fired up, since that’s what players do when they have “niggling” injuries in the QF of a slam. True dat. The folks over at Black Tennis Pro’s are going to be […]
January 13, 2008
Serena has posted a new poem on her website. And it’s about Serena’s favorite subject. “Me me me me me me…….” An excerpt: I love to actI love to play tennisI love to designI dream of people watching me holding up my third Wimbledon trophyI dream of people watching me on the big screen in […]
January 11, 2008
Although the tennis doping and betting scandals contributed to the genesis of this blog, it was Serena Williams’ official website that finally pushed me over the edge. Serena’s blog is full of fascinating discourses on bad relationships and tips for leading a better life. You see, Serena read a book last fall that changed her […]
Passing Shots 
June 24, 2011
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