Roger Federer Biding for the Calendar Slam: What Are His Chances?

How a year can turn things around. A year ago there were questions as to whether the mighty Federer could ever equal Sampras' Slam record. Was he simply past his prime? Overtaken by the young generation who beat him on a regular basis, not least Nadal who had prevailed over the Swiss in three Slams finals within a year, two of them being instant classics. Long had Federer fought and kept the young challengers at bay. But now, they seemed to have his number almost every time they met. "Thank god, the hard court season is over,” declared the punished eight-times hard court slammer... 

WTA Power Rankings: Venus Williams Reigns Supreme, Retains No. 1 Spot

Venus Williams held on to her top spot in the power rankings with a victory in Acapulco, while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Alisa Kleybanova recorded their first ever WTA Tour titles in Monterrey and Kuala Lumpur, respectively.  Less than half of the women from my last series of rankings have claimed a place here, with many of the more established players opting to miss the trio of events over the past fortnight in favor of resting up for the big competitions in Indian Wells and Miami. One thing is for sure though. With Venus yet again giving the BNP Paribas Open a miss, there will be a new... 

Men’s Tennis Power Rankings: Novak Djokovic Edges Roger Federer for Top Spot

The U.S. hardcourt swing is under way this week as players compete at the ATP Masters Series Tennis Tournament in the desert at Indian Wells followed by another sunny outing at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Last year’s champion at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal, has been sidelined with injuries since the Australian Open. No. 1 seed Roger Federer has also been absent from play since the Australian Open with a lung infection. As the top players vie once again for supremacy, look for the rankings race to heat up as the lull is set aside and the summer season beckons.   The Top 10 1. Novak... 

Ken Rosewall: The Real GOAT? What About Roger Federer or Rod Laver?

The last couple of years, tennis fans and pundits have been engaged in a GOAT debate. Eurosport is even running a fictive GOAT tournament, where the readers decide who proceeds in each round—helped by tennis writer Simon Reed's own pick and analysis. Is Federer the GOAT, ahead of all the other contenders? More and more people, who buy into the argument of there being a GOAT, seem to believe so due to his play and to his records. The other top contenders for the title are the usual suspects: Rod Laver, Björn Borg, and Pete Sampras. Most have left Sampras out of the discussion after Federer... 

In Admiration Of Roger Federer

There is this funny anecdote that effectively drives a serious point home. A man well over 100 years was asked the secret of his long life. The old man thought for a while, and then replied that "I think it’s because I’ve had many many birthdays." Longevity is perhaps the toughest to maintain at the top level of any sport and is therefore the yardstick for measuring greatness. The players who do it year after year, at one Olympic and then the next do not share their place in history with those who quickly melt in the immense heat of the arena. Any cricketer who has played over 100 Tests... 

Caroline Wozniacki, the Next No. 1 in Women’s Tennis Or…?

Danish Caroline Wozniacki, still only 19 years old, has had a phenomenal 2009, advancing from 12th to fourth in the world—the highlight being her US-Open final loss where Little Miss Sunshine played another audience favourite, the reborn Kim Clijsters. Before that, she enjoyed incredible progress as well, progressing from 237th to 64th to 12th to 4th in the course of 2006-2009 year end rankings. Pretty good for a teenager to say the least and it earned her the 2008 WTA newcomer of the year ahead of Azarenka.  This year, however, is a different matter. Now she got to the top, the... 

Kim Clijsters in Conversation: On Comebacks, Laureus, and Motherhood

In the week that Martina Navratilova recalled the “heroic performance” of Kim Clijsters in winning the U.S. Open last year, the charming Belgian made time for an altogether more low-key performance back in the United States. She was runner up to Venus Williams in the Billie Jean King Cup exhibition tournament in New York this week. But Clijsters’ first return to competition since her untimely exit from the Australian Open just over a month back is not the performance in question. Rather, it is the relaxed 45 or so minutes she spent chatting with a handful of journalists to mark... 

Real Cause Revealed For Federer’s Lung Condition: Chain Smoking (Humor)

Tennis superstar Roger Federer today shocked the world by confessing that he is in reality a chain-smoker.  He held a press conference today in Basel, Switzerland to offer his sincere apologies in Tiger Woods-like fashion. Here is the transcript: "First of all, I want to apologize to my wife Mirka.  I am sorry that I deceived you and the twins.  I realize the road to recovery is going to be long.  But I am committed to making amends and not having to cough through it." "I want to make clear that in no way did Mirka ever hand me a cigarette nor did she ever suggest doing so. ... 

Jana Novotna and Amelie Mauresmo’s Similar Path to Wimbledon Success

Two great players who landed the Wimbledon title at relatively late stages of their career, two players who were probably the best volleyers of their generation – its interesting how Amelie and Jana had such similar careers at Wimbledon; Jana in the 1990s and Amelie in the 2000s.  I would like to delve deeper into this scenario.  Lets look at Jana Novotna's Wimbledon career first. On grass Jana was a lovely player to watch; wonderfully athletic and a very good volleyer, Jana’s game revolved around serve and volley on grass.  Her serve was quite good and when confident Jana was very quick... 

What is Novak Djokovic’s Deal?

Perhaps Federer’s insane brilliance spoiled us. Perhaps too much pressure has been placed on the very talented, but very raw youngsters of the game. Perhaps we are all simply too hard to please. No doubt Serbia’s own Novak Djokovic would agree with all of the above mentioned thoughts. After all, we have been patiently waiting for the talented Serb to explode and challenge Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for Grand Slam Singles titles. We first caught sight of young Djokovic in 2005. He was kid, barely out of diapers, but possessing a level of ball striking on par with the very best... 

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