Momentous Moments from Melbourne
Australian tennis fans would have loved nothing more than to see one of their own win their Grand Slam. It has been thirty-three years since the host nation saw a compatriot hoist the trophy in triumph, since Chris O’Neil concluded that last great era that introduced other greats such as Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Margaret Court and Kerry Melville Reid on the tennis world. It has been even longer for the gentlemen, Mark Edmondson concluding the... Read More
Previewing the 2010 Australian Open: Doubles Edition
We’re mere hours from the start of the 2011 Australian Open. The preview is coming late, and this is the first time in four years that I’m not linked into cable television for the tournament. (For all my gripes about television, the main one is the cost — yet somehow it ended up that my wife and I were plugged at that moment in three different domiciles in three consecutive years.) I’m also without internet at the house still, over a month... Read More
2010 U.S. Open – Day 12 Musings…
Championship weekend looms as the singles tournaments play to their conclusion on Saturday and Sunday. But there was a major storyline converging to open the play on the showcase court. The Cinderella story missed its most fitting outcome possible as the U.S. Open; but even in defeat, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna gave us a display that will resonate longer than any victory or defeat ever can. It may have been the Bryan brothers that walked... Read More
2010 U.S. Open – Day 11 Musings…
The first champions of the 2010 U.S. Open were officially crowned today, the mixed doubles final headlining the day’s showcase at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the top-seeded team of Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan against the unseeded Czech-Pakistani partnership of Kveta Peschke and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi for the title. It was a warm-up for tomorrow’s final of the men’s doubles, which incidentally will feature both men involved in the championship... Read More
2010 U.S. Open – Day 9 Musings…
It was back to work for most everyone in the United States, and the stars of tennis were no exception as they graced the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center. The youngsters took to the outer courts to wind their way down to the weekend finals. The pros took to the show courts, the men completing the fourth round and the women starting to whittle down from eight to four. Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who I talked about yesterday... Read More
