gototennis

Oh gosh, I’ve fallen behind. No Men in Tracksuits, no preview post. Sorry guys. Davis Cup just came upon me like a whirlwind, leaving me a bit unprepared. Roger Federer obviously felt the same way today in Fribourg, at least when faced with John Isner’s serve . Perhaps he was a bit mentally exhausted from watching his compatriot, Stanislas Wawrinka , go down in five see-saw sets vs. Mardy Fish . The fifth set of that match, alone, took 95 minutes, with Stan fighting off a match point. Excuses... Read Full Story

REUTERS/Paul Hackett via Daylife Novak Djokovic won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award in London on Monday evening in recognition of his torrid 2011 season. Accompanied by girlfriend Jelena Ristic , Nole worked the event – from red carpet to acceptance speech – like a Hollywood veteran. The man’s on fire. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Laureus via Daylife Some video of the ceremony is below. It’s hard to hear with the voice over, but I enjoyed Nole’s Oscars routine (look surprised... Read Full Story

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NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images via Daylife Incredible. Really. How on earth did Novak Djokovic pull this off? I’m not saying the win was a surprise – as they say, Nole now “owns” Rafa in finals on all surfaces – but it sure was surprising how he did it:  5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 . The two had never played a fifth set against one another, and by the time they got around to it I felt that Rafa finally had Nole right where he wanted him : in a state of pain, exhaustion and regret for all... Read Full Story

Wow, what a performance from Victoria Azarneka , whooping former champ and former No. 1 Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 for the Australian Open title and the World No. 1 ranking. Given Maria’s repuration as a fighter, and the general feeling that first time finalists don’t win, you’d think there would have been more suspense during this match. We’ve all watched Maria get behind and thought, “Oh yes, she’s right where she wants to be.” Not this time, though. Azarenka rushed the most deliberate woman... Read Full Story

AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill via Daylife Ahhhhh. . . .for the first few games it was all so sweet for Fed fans. Roger was playing flawless tennis. Rafa was shanking, playing a bit tentatively. Then, at 4-2 up, Roger hit a few funny shots – netted a volley, hit an inside in forehand a bit wide, came into the net to prove some strange point (and end up losing it.) Sigh. . .and suddenly it felt all too familiar. Stay away from Fedal, kids, the flashbacks are killer. But Roger kept it together. He... Read Full Story

GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images via Daylife We just watched the women semifinalists play six sets of nervy, dramatic, up and down tennis. Sharapova finally took the match from Petra Kvitova , overcoming the usual double faults and streaky tennis to get to that final victory shriek. As a late-blooming Masha fan (love the clenched fist, love the killer glamazon vibe, kind of like her flat as a frying pan game), I’m thrilled to see her with a chance to win her first post-surgery Major title (her last... Read Full Story

For all those who missed this endearing ESPN video interview with Rod Laver and Roger Federer . Unfortunately the audio cuts out at the end. but you get the point. Enjoy! Read Full Story

Wow! Roger played a spectacular quarterfinal match vs. Juan Martin Del Potro in Melbourne. It was billed as a dogfight and instead we got a ballet. How fitting that Federer played his 1000th match (winning his 2000th set in the process) on his own high falootin’ terms. It’s 2:15am where I am and we’re still in line for a Federer vs. Nadal semi – hopefully it’s set by the time the sun comes up! A quick note on the ladies – Kim Clijsters won another nervy quarter, including a nail biter of a... Read Full Story

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