Tennis

Roddick fights his way past Hewitt in a five set thriller

By Krystle Lee | July 2, 2009 | Tennis Diary

Before Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt stepped on court for their quarter-final showdown, they showed an interview from Roddick describing what it feels like to play against Hewitt."It's a fight. Everything is a fight. Lleyton's not going to give you anything. A lot of guys you can get on top of, you can get on top of their game, you can look for holes in it. Lleyton doesn't really have a lot of holes. He's pretty solid off both sides. He volleys well. You're definitely not going to get on top of him mentally."...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Tennis

Stepping Over the Lines: Sabine Bares Her Fangs

By Patricia Davis | June 29, 2009 | Tennis Diary

...and Jelena wishes she could find hersDid you know Sabine Lisicki has fangs? Yeah, cool! Some would say she got to bear them, not once, but twice on Saturday. First against Kuzie in offing the Number 5 seed in straight sets. Then after, in her presser, when Sabine smiled and you saw those two nice little teeth on the top row. A lot of women on tour are going to experience the "Fangs of Sabine." Sounds like some great German porn movie with vampires mixed in! Since I saw her debut in Charleston earlier this spring, I still harbor the same thoughts: she's the best thing from German tennis since Steffi. But then I love the big servers, especially on the women's side where few pure servers emerge. So when we get one, forgive us if we drool a bit and swoon floorward. if we drool and swoon on our...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Jelena Jankovic, Sabine Lisicki, tennis, Wimbledon

American Oudin Shocks Jankovic

By Mike McIntyre | June 27, 2009 | Tennis Diary

Seventeen year old American qualifier Melanie Oudin has proven to be the surprise story of the women's draw at Wimbledon this year as she knocked off sixth seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday. Oudin is listed at 5'6'' and reminds me of Justin Henin in terms of her physique. While not physically imposing, Oudin used a versatile arsenal of shots and a well disguised drop shot to upset the former world number one....

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Jelena Jankovic, Melanie Oudin, tennis

FUZZED: Wittiness from Wimbledon

By Lexa W. Lee | June 26, 2009 | Tennis Diary

I like reading the Times Online. A few of today's gems in their tennis section: Simon Barnes: ...too many people have assumed...that the nastier you are, the more successful you will be in sport...we see really quite decent people doing their best to look horrid...We want our athletes to give us maximum intensity during the action and yet to assume courtly manners the instant hostilities cease. We want a civilised human being at either end of the competition and a savage in the middle. Alyson Rudd: He sauntered on to court looking like a cross between Cristiano Ronaldo and Elvis. The Spain flags fluttered and a few girls screamed. [I knew there was something familiar about that new Curly hairdo - Elvis, not Ronaldo. The faux mo was Ronaldo. Curly Verdasco was interviewed in the ESPN studio; nothing special until Gilbert says, what about the US soccer team beating...

Read more | 93 Comments | Tags: Brad Gilbert, Darren Cahill, Fernando Verdasco, Ivo Karlovich, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Marin Cilic, Mary Carillo, tennis, Tommy Haas

Hewitt Returns to Form at Wimbledon

By Mike McIntyre | June 25, 2009 | Tennis Diary

2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt displayed strong grass-court form on Thursday as he knocked off number five seed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the third round. "Oh, it was a big win. I wanted to beat a top‑five guy," Hewitt stated after the match. "These are the places you want to do it, too."...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Juan Martin Del Potro, Lleyton Hewitt, tennis

How Not To Think - While Screaming for Help....

By Margaret Perry | June 24, 2009 | Community

What do Wimbledon and Carnegie Hall have in common? To play at either, one must "practice, practice and practice more." To become a top-ten or top-100 player this is essential. The question of who is the women's number one tennis...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Coaching, Serena, Tennis

Is the LTA to blame for British Losses........Again?

By Steve Law | June 24, 2009 | Tennis Diary

We live in a blame culture. If something doesn't get done or achieved, who can we blame? The boss? The workers? The Labour Government? My mum? Dad? The next door neighbour? His dog?The list is endless and exhausting, and quite frankly, irrelevant. I do feel we are looking in the wrong direction if we are blaming the LTA for the lack of British tennis stars. But many still seem to take some sort of peverse delight in jumping on that bandwagon. Andy Murray said that the current state of senior British tennis is "unacceptable." He's right of course. But he did not cite the LTA as the culprits, at least not directly. The LTA has plenty of money to spend and since the start of Roger Draper's term as Chief Executive (Feb. 2006), things have definitely changed in a very positive way. The "production of Laura Robson," for example, is...

Read more | 9 Comments | Tags: Annacone, Brad Gilbert, Carl Maes, Draper, Georgie Stoop, Keothavong, LTA, Murray, Robson, Tennis, Zvonareva

FUZZED: Wimbledon Shorts

By Lexa W. Lee | June 23, 2009 | Tennis Diary

The fine serving of Robert Kendrick. Murray couldn't read it, had to work hard. Santoro in straights over Keifer - what happened there? Brit Alex Bogdonavic loses his 8th first round at Wimbledon on his 8th wild card. No more WCs for you, Boggie. Nice guy, but this is too embarrassing. The superannuated but still spry Kimiko Date Krumm wins first set vs Cwoz, loses the next two. Youth wins out. Dimitrov wins first set vs veteran Kunitsyn, loses 2nd, retires in 3rd. No details yet, but not good news. Youth crashes. Keothavong made to cry in post-match presser. "This is not an accusation, but do you feel as though you've let a few people down today?" Up yours, you low-life hack. Anne stayed polite; I wouldn't have. Ivanovic has slid to #13, dumped Coach Kardon, confidence gone, relegated to lesser courts with no Hawkeye. Needs to consult Dementieva re...

Read more | 83 Comments | Tags: Andy Murray, Elena Dementieva, Robert Kendrick, Roger Federer, tennis

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