Sisyphus, Paganini and One Heckuva Livestock Auction

Australian Open Buzz: Day 12

MURRAY AS SYSYPHUS: SI.com’s Jon Wertheim said that Andy Murray remains “the tennis Sisyphus. He’s long past the point of moral victories and consolation prizes, but he ought to leave Melbourne with immense confidence in his fitness level, his improved aggression, his choice of coach, his willingness to fight.”

Raonic: ‘There’s Room Among the Big 4′

Canadian Poised to Challenge Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray

It’s rare to see a player leap from well outside the ATP Tour’s top 100 into the top 25 in a matter of one year.  But that’s just how special a player Milos Raonic is.  In an era of big-boy tennis, the 6-foot-5, 198-pound Montenegrin-turned-Canuck has all the tools — big serve, big groundies, an [...]

The Best Surfer In Iowa

Australian Open Buzz: Day 10

GOODBYE, NO. 1: Caroline Wozniacki may have surrendered her No. 1 ranking, but the 5-foot-10 Dane says she has little doubt that she’ll win it back.  “I finished No. 1 two years in a row.  In the end of the year we will see who played the best.  We are just in January.  In the [...]

The Buzz: 2011 In Review

Occupy ATP (and Other Tales of the Good, the Strange, the Weird and the Bizarre)

WORST ANALYSIS OF THE YEAR: Mary Rhodes said that Victoria Azarenka (the loudest screecher in the game) was “quietly working her way through [the draw].” INTRO TO PARENTING 101: Of his son, Pete Sampras complained, “I don’t know what’s going on in this kid’s head. Anything I say, he does the opposite.”…After the arrival of [...]

Australian Open Draw Analysis: The Men

Return of Roger In 2012?

TOP HALF 1st QUARTER: The question on everybody’s mind is whether or not Novak Djokovic can sustain the kind of awe-inspiring momentum he displayed in 2011, when the Serb went 70-6 in capturing 10 titles, including three Slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open), five Masters 1000 crowns and the No. 1 ranking.  While it’s hard [...]

Tennis and the Meaning of Life

Let’s get one thing straight. It’s just a game, no big deal. Tennis is as simple as pie. Yellow ball and nifty racket: hit it over that net and into the rectangle and you’re home free. Win two or three sets, and you’re a hero. Gotta love it. “If you really think about it,” says Maria [...]

Of Armed Hippies and Wild Animals

The Buzz

AUTO (NOT) CORRECT: Andy Roddick tweeted, “I just texted the word ‘badass’ and it autocorrected it to Nagasaki.” Bob Bryan wrote, “I meant to send ‘xoxoxo’ to my wife and it autocorrected it to Codfish!”

They Did Their Best Work In Sneakers

Steve Jobs, Roger Federer and the Zen of Genius

It was said that he looked “like some kind of aging vegan long-distance runner.” But truth be told, Steve Jobs was not much of an athlete. But so what. His mindset and inventions impacted sports. Then again, they affected everything.

Miraculous U.S. Open Comeback

For Second Straight year, Djokovic Fights Off Pair of Match Points Against Federer

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — Rafal Nadal insists that if you keep patiently plugging away against Roger Federer, keep grinding, you’ll eventually wear him down, get into his head and force him to make errors.  But, the Spaniard cautions, there are no such tactics, no backup plans, no solutions against the best-of-all-the-rest Serb Novak Djokovic.

The Shot

Novak Djokovic's ‘Shot Heard 'Round the World’ Changes Everything

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — There have been many great moments in sports. Bobby Thompson‘s “shot heard ‘round the world” in ’51; Ted Williams clubbing a Fenway Park homer in his last at bat. “The Play” by Cal’s rugby-like/never-say-die football team, and “The Catch,” when 49er Joe Montana hit a leaping Dwight Clark in the back [...]