Carillo Reveals Details of Serena’s Mysterious Injury

'There was Blood and Glass Everywhere'

As reporters quizzed Kim Clijsters about what she knew about Serena Williams’ injury (the reigning U.S. Open champ saw the laceration during their big-money, record setting Belgian exo), Mary Carillo told IT the details of what occurred on the night of Williams injury, as based on her conversations with Serena’s camp. More »

Top 10 U.S. Open Questions

l. THE ROGER RIDDLE: For eons it seemed like Slam wonder Roger Federer played with an astounding ethos: “Just win baby.” Now’s there’s a different drill. He loses, we begin to write him off, he comes back, we’re amazed and so on? What’s next? More »

U.S. Open Draw Analysis: The Women

TOP HALF

1st QUARTER

Question: When does a player have their best shot at a Grand Slam title?  Answer: When Serena Williams is on the sidelines. “With Serena out, that really changes the entire element of the tournament,” observed Brad Gilbert.  You can be sure former U.S. Open champs Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, plus ‘09  finalist Caroline Wozniacki, are acutely aware of the 13-time Slam champ’s absence (and Justine Henin’s, too).  All three have had strong summers (Wozniacki won Montreal, Kuznetsova won her first title in 10 months in Carlsbad, and Sharapova reached back-to-back finals in Stanford and Cincy), but unfortunately, only one of them will reach the semis, as all three find themselves in the top quarter of the draw.  The No. 1-seeded Wozniacki is looking at a possible fourth-round matchup with Sharapova, with the winner likely facing a quarterfinal clash with Kuznetsova, Na Li or Yaroslava Shvedova.  Is Wozniacki ready to take the next step?  Or will Sveta or Masha’s experience prove the difference? More »

U.S. Open Draw Analysis: The Men

Is a Nadal vs. Federer Final In the Works, or Is This Murray’s Year to Shine?

TOP HALF

1st QUARTER

Rafael Nadal has twice managed a Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, an otherworldly feat Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg pulled off three years in a row.  But Borg never could solve the Flushing Meadows puzzle, falling short in the U.S. Open final on four occasions between ’76 and ’81.  And Rafa has never been at his best in NYC either, his best results being two semifinal appearances in seven years. In the words of Mary Carillo, “The hardest thing to do is what you’ve never done before.”  Will ‘10 be the year the Spaniard completes a career Slam?  If so, the top seed – who for the first time will sport an all-black Nike getup for his night matches – will need to stay healthy, step up his return game and adjust to the super-fast cement of Ashe Stadium.  A quintet of his countrymen – Fernando Verdasco, David Fererer, Feliciano Lopez, Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Pere Riba — have the unfortunate pleasure to falling in the world No. 1’s quadrant, but the biggest obstacles standing between the lefthander and the semis will more likely be the enigmatic (and often erratic) Latvian Ernests Gulbis or the resurgent Argentine David Nalbandian.  But if his knees hold up, pencil Rafa through to the semis (or better) for the third straight year. More »

Jelly Legs, Spaghetti Arms and the Genius Over in Row C

FUZZY INSIGHT: Reflecting on the very basic nature of tennis, Maria Sharapova said, “If you really think about it, it’s so dumb — you have a grip in your hand, strings in the racket, there’s a yellow fuzzy ball and you’re hitting it and you’ve been doing it since you were four years old — it’s ridiculous, it’s really dumb, but it’s what we do.” More »

Serena’s Absence a Big Blow for U.S. Open

Three-time Champ Ranks Pullout Among ‘Most Devastating Moments’ of Her Career

Maria is a delightful mix of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Centre Court ferociousness.  The Belgians (Kimmy and Justine) have a certain je ne sais quoi. The Serbs (JJ and AI) bring an appealing Balkan bravado. More »

U.S. Open Preview

14 Women/14 Men To Watch

JELENA JANKOVIC: ‘08 finalist and former No. 1 seems to have steadied her ship, but does the sometimes-soft Serb possess the mental toughness to win it all in the Big Apple? More »

All Aboard the Indo-Pak Express

Wimbledon Quarterfinalists Asiam-Ul-Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna Bring the Message 'Stop War, Start Tennis' to the Indian/Pakistani conflict

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who hails from the greatest family in Pakistani tennis history, has a nice smile and a tough name for Westerners pronounce. He’s a Muslim and a doubles specialist in a sport where there are few other good Muslim players. To succeed, Quereshi usually partners with players of other faiths. In ‘02, when he played with Israeli Amir Hadad, the Islamic-Jewish tandem caused a small sensation. But the duo actually downplayed the political ramifications of their partnership. Pakistani tennis authorities didn’t get the message and cracked down. Eight years later, Qureshi is playing with another intriguing partner, Indian Rohan Bopanna. More »

Carillo Talk

Feisty, Fun and Kind of Brilliant, Mary Carillo Talks of Federer and Follies, Mac and Manners, Serena and (Glass) Ceilings and Much More With IT Publisher Bill Simons

INSIDE TENNIS: Tennis is so revealing of character. For such a little sport, you see everything. You’re out there naked.

MARY CARILLO: Yet coaching is allowed in women’s tennis. I find that to be so sexist. Men don’t have it, but the women are allowed to say, “Daddy, she’s breaking my serve,” or, “Mom, how come I can’t?” Are you kidding me? This is the biggest women’s sport in the world. We’ve had decades of mental toughness. It was always, “Give me the ball, I’m going to figure a way to walk off winning this. I refuse to lose.” But women’s tennis is basically saying, “I can’t figure this out by myself, I’m just a woman.” That galls me. And it’s supposed to be good for TV. They’re speaking Spanish or whispering. You’re telling the audience that she can’t figure it out. What kind of a message is that? More »

The Biggest Babe

For Nearly Three Decades, Mary Carillo's Wit and Wisdom Has Shaped Our Game

“She’s a snappy little broadcaster.”

That’s how Mary Carillo, in her bubbly ‘n breezy way, would probably describe herself. “I’m one broad,” she might continue, “they couldn’t get out of broadcasting.” More »