The U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston keep getting weirder. The pesky presence of HGH smuggling Wayne Odesnik, mass player withdrawals and retirements and now this, the case of Tanky Schwank. According to the AP, 7th seeded Argentine Eduardo Schwank played so erratically during his 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1 loss to countryman Juan Ignacio [...]

With Andy Roddick and James Blake leaving Davis Cup off their 2010 calendars and Roger Federer pulling out of a much anticipated first round tie against Spain, I’ve been wondering about the future of Davis Cup as an elite, world-class event. It seems the players have been, too. Members of the ATP players’ council, which [...]

I love Jon Wertheim’s quip from his excellent tennis awards post this week: “apparently the off season falls on a Tuesday this year.” Agreed that the off season is too short, but at the same time, what the heck are we going to talk about? Well Tiger Woods, of course! I was hoping Tiger Woods’s [...]

I said I would refrain from reading Rafael Nadal’s tealeaves until next season, but Peter Bodo at tennis.com offered this provocative analysis after this weekend’s Shanghai final: So the real issue, looking to Nadal’s future, is: To what degree can he recapture the form and aura he enjoyed until a few weeks after the Australian [...]

With Roger’s big win(s) in Cincinnati this weekend, it’s getting crowded on the Federer Express. Next stop, US Open. Here are some choice quotes: Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated sums it up: Was it really about three months ago that the Fed Express appeared to be sputtering, as the eponym was lacking a single title [...]

Robin Soderling has competition – Chair Umpire Mohamed Lahyani may be the best thing going in Swedish tennis right now. Tennis nuts have often remarked on Mo’s cheerful, yet decisive, style: he’s charming with the players and shows no fear on the overrules. Brad Gilbert and Darren Cahill of ESPN have started calling him “Number [...]

Friday was quarterfinals day in Montreal, with Andy Murray advancing over Nikolay Davydenko,  del Potro showing Rafael Nadal the door and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga winning a game of choking chicken against Roger Federer. Sure, Roger’s loss was a shocker, but the result that really struck me was Andy Roddick’s straight set win over Novak Djokovic: 6-4, [...]

Sam Querrey beat Tommy Haas on Saturday evening at the LA Tennis Open, 6-3, 7-5. The towering American was surprisingly fleet of foot, hit serves consistently in the 130s and rushed the net when he could. It was a great win for Sam, who is now in his third straight ATP final, having played Sundays [...]

It’s not easy choosing the G.O.A.T. Like American Lit exams, it’s more essay question than multiple choice. And even if you’re tennis’s answer to Mark Twain, those snarky Sartre-types can always blow smoke in your eyes and snarl: “What a futile exercise. It’s obvious that the G.O.A.T. is a media construct and not reality.” Can [...]

Maria Sharapova made an all-too-brief return to the WTA tour today at Indian Wells after a seven month injury layoff. She and Russian partner, Elena Vesnina, lost their first round doubles match: 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 to Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek. The upcoming Miami tournament is likely NOT on her schedule, at least for singles [...]

A recent Newsday article (click here) about the upcoming BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup in Madison Square Garden had some intriguing news about the growing interest in exhibition tennis as a marketing tool for our sport. Jerry Solomon – organizer of the BJK Cup and last year’s Sampras vs. Federer exo [...]

Serena beat Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter finals of Dubai today, setting up a semi final match with her sister Venus Williams. This is what she had to say about the all-Williams match-up: “We are both the best players on the tour right now.” I wish Serena was right  – that would mean [...]