The Most Successful Bad Player Ever

Yanina, X-Man Appeal Bans...Surgery For Zvonareva...Quotebook

BAN APPEALS: Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse have asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn their one-year bans for missing drug tests. SOMEBODY GET THOSE GUYS A RAZOR: Reflecting on his epic five-set, 16-14 in the fifth win over Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final, Roger Federer said, “I had a feeling at [...]

Why the Best Cars In the World Break Down More Than Yours

Ivo’s (More Than) Minar Infraction…Safin Disses Berdych...Quotebook

GAMESMANSHIP?: After dropping a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision to Tomas Berdych in Shanghai, Marat Safin refused to shake the Czech’s hand, and later complained about what he deemed an unnecessary injury time-out that Berdych took in the second set.  Said the Russian, “Grow up a little bit — 26 years old [actually, Berdych is only [...]

Written by Shakespeare, Translated From Dostoyevsky

A-Rod Calls for an Off-season…Bopping Towards Bali..Quotebook

THE NEW BIG KID IN TOWN: Kevin O’Connor, the longtime president of Saddlebrook Academy, had this to say to the SBJ about Arnaud Lagardère, the 48-year-old billionaire owner of Lagardère Group.  “He is not something out of a Pink Panther movie. He is very real, very down to earth, a family man. He brings a [...]

What? You Mean ‘Poo’ Isn’t In the Dictionary?!?!

The Wozniak-Wozniacki Mixup…Safin Still Cares...Quotebook

WOZ IN A NAME?: It’s difficult enough to decipher some of the names in the WTA Tour guide.  And just when you think you’ve got them all down, along comes the duo of Aleksandra Wozniak and Caroline Wozniacki to mix things up.  Says Canada’s Wozniak, “It’s getting messy.  Now when we book practice courts, sometimes [...]

Open Bids Farewell to One of Game’s Last Great Characters

With a Four-Set Loss to Melzer, Safin Ends Grand Slam Career

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — The world of Grand Slam tennis lost its Tolstoy on Tuesday.  It’s Dostoyevsky.  It’s Gogol.  With a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win, Austrian Jurgen Melzer put an end to free spirit/contrarian Marat Safin’s career at the majors, a 12-year run that has seen the Russian at times embody tennis perfection, and [...]

‘Untender’ Mercies and ‘The Greatest Day of Our Lives’

Nadal's long lost twin... Clijsters' return...
Fed's 'Greatest Day'... Quotebook

SAY IT AIN’T SO: Anna Kournikona’s onetime boyfriend and former Detroit Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov claims that his money manager swindled him out of $43 million…Forty-year-old Jeff Tarango – yes, he of the infamous ’95 slapping incident at Wimbledon — entered the qualifying tournament in Indy, winning his opening match before losing to Sebastien [...]

The Last of The Great Characters

Marat Safin and bigger-than-life entertainers who capture our imagination with more than forehand winners are an endangered species.

We blew it. No question about it. Call it neglect or indulgence, or simple short-sightedness — whatever. But tennis is facing a crisis. All our great characters — those bigger-than-life entertainers who captured our imagination with far more than forehand winners are now an endangered species.

Anna K On Her Career: ‘I Wouldn’t Trade it for Anything’

When, mere days before her triumph at Roland Garros, Svetlana Kuznetsova was asked about the roots of the Russian Revolution, she credited some unlikely heroes for igniting a trend that has seen Sharapova, Myskina, Safina, Dementieva, Zvonareva, Petrova, Chakvetadze, etc. rise to the top of the game.

Dancing With Defeat

Time and Again James Blake Flirts With Victory, but...

“It’s like love. When you look too hard, you don’t find it. When you let it come naturally, it happens.” – Marat Safin on Confidence There are gobs of reasons to like James Blake. The guy’s a hunk and a special guy: a reflective gentleman everybody likes. He has one of the best forehands on [...]

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.