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There are times when Patrick McEnroe seems to turn into a snarky, arrogant asshole. His arrogance has coincided with his ascendancy as the man who runs player development for the USTA. This was on full display Sunday during the Wimbledon first-week review show. Patrick haughtily laughed when asked to assess whether Marion Bartoli could beat […]
June 27, 2011
Andy Roddick’s explanation for his straight sets loss to Feliciano Lopez was pretty simple: “I got beat.” He did. He got his ass handed to him by a free-swinging Lopez, who hit 28 aces, more than 50 winners and only 7 errors. Seven errors! That’s one hell of a performance, and should provide plenty of […]
June 22, 2011
What exactly is Venus Williams wearing at Wimbledon? Faced with yet another one of Venus’s “designs” I can only say they aren’t getting any better. The first thing you want in tennis clothing is for it to be functional. I can’t imagine playing in a high-wasted one-piece with a gold zipper going up to my […]
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 […]
May 23, 2011
The French Open is back and so am I. After a year of being burned out, this blogger has returned. My sporadic 2010 posts on a now-defunct domain were deleted by the ISP. A year of thinking about tennis totally wiped out. This leaves us with an incomplete archive here at WordPress. When I read […]
September 14, 2009
Serena apology, take 2: “I want to amend my press statement of yesterday and want to make it clear as possible – I want to sincerely apologise first to the lineswoman, Kim Clijsters, the US Tennis Association and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst,” Williams said. “I’m a woman of great pride, faith […]
September 14, 2009
The men’s final is just underway. A few notes on Delpo’s chances: Remember when Safin shocked the world by beating Pete Sampras in the US Open final? Veteran player playing on less than a day’s rest, youngster who had the power to blow him right off the court. Just putting it out there. His play […]
September 14, 2009
I told you non-tennis folks would weigh in on The Incident and make it more complicated than it was. I told you they would claim that Serena was treated worse than John McEnroe and that everyone would conveniently forget that McEnroe was defaulted for similar conduct after tennis decided that it would no longer tolerate […]
September 13, 2009
How’d She Get That First Code of Conduct Penalty? By attacking her racquet. Did You Know Part 1: Clijsters is the only player to beat both Williams sisters in the same tournament more than once. Others who beat them in the same tournament include Davenport, Hingis, Graf, Sanchez-Victario and Henin. Henin was the last player […]
September 13, 2009
Once upon a time I got to write a post called Serena and Andre: Joined by Bike Pants. Didn’t think I’d live to use a headline like that again, but after tonight, how could I not? Chris Chase of Yahoo Sports was the first journalist to report the substance of Serena’s obscenity, and it’s a […]
September 13, 2009
So. Women’s tennis is still entertaining for all the wrong reasons! Actually, there has been good tennis played in between the psycho-weirdness that breaks out inside every women’s match. Now that all hell has broken loose over the ending of the Clijsters/Serena match, let’s get correct information out there. Because we all know the non-tennis […]
September 10, 2009
This just in, alert the Four Letter: Roger Federer isn’t playing well. If ESPN can be said to have one style that dominates every broadcast of every sport it is this: decide the sporting event is about ONE story and beat the ONE story into the ground until the event is over. This may work […]
September 9, 2009
In a performance that Jon Wertheim called “weirdly timid”, Andy Murray fell to Marin Cilic in straight sets yesterday. Two days ago he looked like the class of the tournament. There is no shame in losing to Cilic, who will be a permanent fixture in the top ten in the imminent future, but it leads […]
September 7, 2009
Now that we’ve arrived at week two of the US Open, there are four men’s players I want to call out: Gael Monfils, Jo-Willie Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic: Dear Boys 2 Men: Well done, boys. I mean men. God knows, you’re all in your early 20s now and by some measures […]
September 1, 2009
Want to know why ESPN got an A- instead of an A? ESPN’s minus comes from its commentators’ early proclamation that Venus would never, ever fake an injury or take an injury timeout in order to freeze her opponent. I was willing to let that slide, since Venus and Serena are different in their use […]
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 […]
July 5, 2009
Reaction to the Roddick/Federer match is all over twitter. Trending topics include Wimbledon, Roger Federer, Grand Slam, Pete Sampras and sadly, “Poor Roddick.” Since Andy is a twitter star we hope he sees the messages later this evening. Bob & Mike Bryan, who lost the doubles final yesterday to Zimonjic and Nestor, tweeted: BryanbrosUnbelievable match. […]
July 3, 2009
It’s a sad day when NBC, which used to be the gold standard in tennis broadcasting, now chops up the greatest event in tennis so that it is unrecognizable and unenjoyable to tennis fans and causal fans alike. This network pioneered Breakfast at Wimbledon, but as I’ve discussed before in this space, Dick Ebersol hates […]
July 1, 2009
Say one thing for Andy Roddick, he sure has been in some of the most incredible matches of the decade. Today’s five set victory over Lleyton Hewitt was emblematic of those other occasions, because usually they are five setters Roddick shoudl’ve wrapped up. Today was no exception. I can’t say enough about Hewitt’s resurgence in […]
June 7, 2009
By special request, I’m going to address the reasons for Robin Soderling’s pesky image problem. Nearly every article about Soderling has described him as “unpopular” or “not well liked.” What is it about this guy that gets under people’s skin? The oft-cited dustup with Rafael Nadal in 2007 is a good place to start. The two were […]
June 7, 2009
We are about to close the books on a fascinating 09 French Open and I am reminded, yet again, of why I must never bet on tennis. My predictions have been horrid. Judging by the prognostications of tennis writers and bloggers, I was not alone, and I’m not even referring to Nadal. None […]
June 2, 2009
I’ve been ripped for constantly complaining about the screaming and wailing that goes on during every women’s match these days. It’s as if some people have lived with it so long, they actually think it’s poor form to criticize the rudeness. There’s always some dull commentator ready to point out, incorrectly, that they’ve been playing […]
May 27, 2009
I haven’t forgotten the traveling mediocrity known as women’s tennis, circa 2009. I think Bud Collins over at his blog summed it up better and quicker than I ever could: The women? It’s a tournament no one can win. I’ll say. The spring was filled with the usual: no one can cement a hold on […]
May 27, 2009
I mean besides the fact that I’m an inconsistent blogger? We learned the ITF had no more backbone than the WTA in geopolitical matters. The ITF runs the Davis Cup and it allowed Sweden to play Israel in Malmo Sweden to a stadium of no spectators because of political protests that were scheduled to disrupt […]
February 24, 2009
The Williams sisters have gone down a notch in my mind after their failure to confront the Dubai issue head on by taking anything resembling a stand. Here’s Venus, who I’ve always believed to be the most intelligent player on all the women’s tour, trying to put the Dubai discrimination in perspective: “I felt like […]
February 18, 2009
The Controversy The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department apparently has a war on its hands between dodgeball people and tennis players after the artful dodgers invaded the public tennis courts. When the tennis players complained, the city told the dodgeball players to scram. They even gave the dodgeball folks gyms to play in – but they […]
February 11, 2009
Ana Ivanovic has hired Craig Kardon as her new coach, parting ways with Sven Groenevald. This is a smart move. Kardon captained Martina Navratilova during the last few years of her singles career and also worked with Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Mary Pierce. I don’t think he’s been coaching anyone in the recent past, […]
February 11, 2009
Women’s tennis players are once again featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I have a question – in the age of porn on demand, your wife’s Victoria’s Secret catalogues and Go Daddy Super Bowl commercials, do men even care about the SI Swimsuit issue anymore? Really? Ok. So here are Daniela Hantuchova (who David […]
February 3, 2009
I’ve never set my alarm at 3:30 a.m. watch a tennis match before yesterday but something just told me this Federer-Nadal was not to be missed. These two have officially surpassed McEnroe and Borg in the rivalry department. Their Wimbledon final in 2008 was the greatest match of all time, surpassing the McEnroe/Borg battles in […]
January 30, 2009
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 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 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 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 […]
July 13, 2008
I think I just found a new way to get my drugs through customs.
June 3, 2008
Nothing like a little Weezer to kick off the morning. So you’ve heard the news obviously. Tatum O’Neal was arrested with two bags of cocaine in her front pockets. John McEnroe’s ex-wife allegedly asked the police if they could just forget it happened and commented that she was just “researching” a role. Obviously this can’t […]
February 18, 2008
Well well well, an unheralded Japanese player, qualifier Kei Nishikori beat James Blake to win his first title. Interested in knowing how he did it? So am I. Too bad that this AP article doesn’t fill us in on the how and why behind the final score. Although it hints that James wasn’t “there emotionally” […]
January 31, 2008
Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko won the 2008 Australian Open Women’s Doubles Title. The Bondarenko Sisters–sound like they ought to be 40s era showgirls, entertaining the troops or something. Kateryna is more well known, having hovered inside the top fifty singles rankings for the last few years. Although she and older sister Alona have been around […]
January 26, 2008
Sharapova beat Ivanovic in a 705, 6-3 final that featured more uninspired play. Women’s tennis is rotten right now. They haven’t had a compelling major final in two years. The error-riddled matches occasionally take dramatic turns, but those are brought about by the psychological weaknesses of stars who can’t close out matches, along with the […]
January 25, 2008
I can’t vouch for much of the tennis since I gave up on Ivanovic after she was down a set and a break. I had to sleep sometime! Apparently, while I was counting sheep Ivanovic clawed her way back into a match that Legs was completely in control of. In fact, Legs won that first […]
January 24, 2008
Speaking of bloody awful things, that first semi between Sharapova and Jankovic was horrendous. I feel for Jankovic with her “injury” (she’s injured every match but so far has made up for it with her giggly on-court charm). Sharapova didn’t dominate this match because of her play, it was all Jankovic playing bad. This was […]
January 24, 2008
The picture quality isn’t the best, but watch his court coverage. It’s amazing. What’s he doing now? Coaching in the US and China. Fishing. Attending seminary part-time. According to Wikipedia, hitting 400 yard drives in golf.
January 24, 2008
Photo: Legs, the original. Michael Chang was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI, today. Chang is the youngest male to win a grand slam tournament. He was just 17 and a few months when he triumphed at the French Open after an inspiring two weeks of tennis. That wasn’t the apex […]
January 24, 2008
It’s Jelena v. Maria followed by Daniela v. Ana. A name ending in A is popular now, no?
January 24, 2008
Photo: Ana Ivanovic Sounds like a joke about a bar, but it is nice to see new blood in the women’s semifinals. The Serbs of course are part of the story I’ve been writing for two years (that the media has now picked up on, duh) of the five fantastic Serbs who are shaking tennis […]
January 24, 2008
For not using the old “I was injured” excuse to explain their losses to the two higher-ranked Serbs, Ivanovic and Jankovic. Venus and Serena both lost in a similar fashion, going down a bit meekly in two sets. Carillo and McEnroe pointed out that these younger women play games that are similar to the Williams […]
January 22, 2008
Above: James meets an Aussie snake. James Blake has turned a huge corner in his career, in three important steps. Step 1. Win a five-set match. Players don’t make their reputations by playing great in New Haven. They are made during grand slams and Davis Cup, where the stakes are highest and the matches are […]
Passing Shots 
June 27, 2011
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