Wednesday Notebook: Even Pavarotti got the Yips

TWENTY SOMETHING: Federer‘s astounding record of reaching 20 straight Grand Slam semis is far ahead of any other guy. Incredibly, Chris Evert reached 34 straight semis. Roger was elated, saying, “It’s the ‘in-a-row’ that seems incredible to me. Twenty semifinals is incredible, but twenty semifinals in a row? It’s even more incredible, even to me. [...]

Think the Unthinkable

SILLY SEASON IN PARIS: Roland Garros has rarely seen so many shock results as the draw opens and opens (and, some would say, weakens).

32 Questions

1. Why today do the immortal words of Red Smith come to mind today? After Bobby Thompson hit his historic ’51 home to lift the New York Giants over the Brooklyn Dodgers Smith wrote, “Now it is done. The art of fiction is dead. Only the utterly implausible, the inexpressibly fantastic can ever be plausible [...]

The Buzz – June Edition

"I Am Tennis" and Other Curious Assertions

‘I AM TENNIS:’ Despite overwhelming odds, local hero Will Ferrell slayed Swede Mats Wilander in the epic K-Swiss Global Tennis Showdown. “This one’s for the USA,” Ferrell gushed after he served up a screaming sub-50-mph heater at a benefit for the Swedish School of L.A. at UCLA.

Ana Ivanovic’s Pursuit of Happiness

Can the Multifaceted Defending Champion be Happy if She’s Not Winning Slams?

Defending French champion Ana Ivanovic never stops learning, but even a bookworm with an angel’s eyes and a devilish forehand can’t always put into practice what she’s attempting to preach. As one of the most striking players in tennis history, she might be gracing the covers of men’s and women’s fashion magazines the world over, [...]

Monica Seles

"It Wasn’t What I Was Eating, It Was What Was Eating Me"

IT: Congratulations. How does it sound, Monica Seles Hall of Famer? MS: It’s so exciting. I worked on this book for nine months and now to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the same time is fantastic. I look back, what a humble beginning. Then I started playing tennis and look where it [...]

Ole Madrid: Safina Leaves Rome Red Hot, Gasquet Test Positive for Coke

SUNDAY, MAY 10 – Dinara Safina backed her status as the tour’s top ranked player in a huge way in Rome, besting Venus Williams in a classic three-setter and then on Saturday, capturing her first title this season over the same woman who had taken her down the week prior, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-2.