The Buzz: Reflections On the Hallucinogenically Vivid View From the Sonic Womb

SPORT AT ITS BEST: Nicolas Mahut going all out and diving for a shot with the score at 55-55.
WIMBLEDON AT ITS BEST: Was the first week of Wimbledon — with the John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut marathon, the Queen’s visit, great weather and great/near upsets — the best week in tennis history?

Somersault!

Rise and Fall, Reemergence and Redemption, the Roger-Rafa Rivalry Sizzles With Compelling Storylines

Like Bjorn Borg, Rafa Nadal has, more than once, achieved what’s said to be the greatest back-to-back achievement in tennis — winning the French Open and Wimbledon within weeks.

Wimbledon: Eight Is (Not) Enough For Nadal

Rafa Claims Another Crown and Other Notes From the Wimbledon Battlefield

LONDON — Moments after winning his second Wimbledon title in three seasons the joyous man-child Rafa Nadal unleashed an athletic somersault on the hallowed grass of the All England Club.
Not since Guga Kuerten drew a heart in the Roland Garros clay have we seen a more appropriate post-match gesture. In the past thirteen months no [...]

IT Exclusive: Coach Toni Nadal on His Man Rafa

LONDON — Right after the singular Wimbledon awards ceremony, Inside Tennis weaved through the swarming English crowd to catch up with champion Rafael Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni Nadal, who spoke to us as we weaved through the crowd and then took a back route via the outer courts to reach the locker room.

Serena Williams: Chaos Buster

LONDON — When chaos descends, when the middle no longer holds, when rule and order is batterred  and butchered by anarchy and turmoil, who you gonna call?

Murray’s Defeat Extends Britain’s 74-Year Drought

The Hopes of a Nation Are Shattered

LONDON — Sports fans endure slumps. Tennis lovers are familiar with droughts. But this is something else.  England is the font of tennis. Wimbledon is the mother church. But for 72 years, a Brit had never reached the final.  Okay, it’s not a national disgrace. It’s not an annual humilation for God and country.

The No-Name Wimbledon: Notes and Reflections

It’s a game of big names. From Bjorn and Billie Jean, to Pete and Andre to Steffi and Sharapova, Roger and Rafa,Venus and Serena.  Tennis stars are, if nothing else, bigger than life brands and international icons.

Wimbledon Wobble: The End of the Age of Federer?

On Court and Off, Tennis Suffered a Day With Little Federerian Grace

LONDON — The elder in the old school military uniform with all the medals, the housewife from Sussex in a purple frock, the attentive schoolboy with his askew blue tie and thousands of knowing Englishmen in sun hats were aghast.

Rafa the Caravaggesque Seraph

A Wimbledon Notebook

A TRANSFORMATIVE FIGURE: Tim Keown said Roger Federer has “transformed the sport, rescuing it from the square-jawed clench of the power serve generation while infusing it with variety, class and longevity.”
SWEDE ‘N DOUR: Calvin Tomkins said Swede Robin Soderling “doesn’t look like a tennis player.  Tall (six feet four inches), ungraceful, and a bit bowlegged, [...]

Return of the Spice Girls

Kournikova, Hingis Team Up at Wimbledon

LONDON — Helen Wills vs. Suzanne Lenglen in Cannes in 1926; Bobby Riggs vs. Jack Kramer in Madison Square Garden in 1947; BJK vs. Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes in Houston in 1973 — exhibitions and special events have long been a part of the fabric of tennis.