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  4.      <title>TENNIS.com - All Blogs</title>
  5.      <description>Pipes Output</description>
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  8.      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 23:32:19 +0000</pubDate>
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  11.         <title>1994: The Williams era begins as 14-year-old Venus debuts</title>
  12.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/Df8ODPb5dt0/</link>
  13.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14. &lt;em&gt;This year marks the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine's founding in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, we'll look back each Thursday at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/50th-anniversary-moments/&quot;&gt;one of the 50 moments&lt;/a&gt; that have defined the last half-century in our sport.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  15. &lt;hr/&gt;
  16. &lt;p&gt;
  17. To some careful tennis observers, by the time she made her pro debut at age 14, Venus Williams might already have seemed a little over the hill. For years earlier, the long, tall, beaded girl from the wrong side of the tennis tracks had been featured on &lt;em&gt;Trans World Sport&lt;/em&gt; with her younger sister, Serena, and the two swinging sisters were famous enough to show off their precocious skills at arena-sized exhibitions. Yet before October 31, 1994, few, if anyone, had seen either of them play a match that mattered.&lt;/p&gt;
  18. &lt;p&gt;
  19. This was, of course, exactly as their father, Richard, had wanted it. He had pulled his daughters out of the junior tennis ranks and had them practice against older, hard-hitting boys instead. Was Venus a legitimate prodigy? Was Richard conning the world? Nobody had any way of knowing.&lt;/p&gt;
  20. &lt;p&gt;
  21. In 1994, when Venus turned 14, reality had to be faced, and a decision about her future had to be made. That year, the WTA was set to introduce the so-called “Capriati Rule.” In an effort to prevent another case of teen burnout like the one that had derailed Jennifer Capriati’s career the previous year, the tour would now limit the number of tournaments young players could enter and raise the age when a girl was allowed to turn pro.&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p&gt;
  23. According to Venus’ coach at the time, Rick Macci, Richard decided to have Venus turn pro then and there, at 14, before the rule could take effect. So, after not having played a match in more than three years at any level, Venus took her talents to the WTA tournament up the coast in Oakland. Women’s tennis would never be the same.&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p&gt;
  25. The event, naturally, was a media circus. Twenty-four press credentials had been issued for it the year before; 252 were handed out in ’94. National TV networks came with cameras and commentators. “It was almost like Elvis arriving in the building,” Macci wrote in his autobiography, &lt;em&gt;Macci Magic&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p&gt;
  27. But at the same time, Macci secretly wondered how Venus would react to competition after playing only practice sets for so long. Even Richard, who had spent years telling anyone who would listen that his daughters would be the best in the world someday, sounded a note of nervous caution. &lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p&gt;
  29. &lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p&gt;
  31. The one person who didn’t appear at all worried or unsure of herself was Venus. With 300 people watching, she came out and, according to Macci, “was practicing better than she ever had in three years.”&lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;p&gt;
  33. “This was like a lion being in a cage,” Macci said, “and now you’re going to let this lion out and she gets to perform. I couldn’t believe how she was hitting the ball.”&lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;p&gt;
  35. Venus drew 57th-ranked American Shaun Stafford in her opener. Stafford was a former NCAA champion who had been ranked in the 20s at one point, but she was no match for this 14-year-old. With a logo-less racquet and clothes, Venus—already serving at 115 M.P.H.—out-slugged and outran Stafford, 6-3, 6-4. The open-stance strokes Venus used from both wings that day were startling to traditionalists, but today they’re the norm on both tours.&lt;/p&gt;
  36. &lt;p&gt;
  37. Her only mistake came on the changeovers. Venus, who had never been allowed to sit down during practice workouts, stood and bounced like a boxer on the sidelines during the breaks. She didn’t know that she was supposed to sit in the chair next to her.&lt;/p&gt;
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  42.  &lt;/p&gt;
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  44. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/225499&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  45. &lt;/div&gt;
  46. &lt;p&gt;
  47. Venus, the tennis world learned that day, was for real. Just how real she was, though, wouldn’t become apparent until her next match, which happened to be against the No. 1 player in the world at the time, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Again, Venus showed no fear while running circles around her older opponent, and running out to a 6-3, 3-1 lead. In the stands, veteran tennis writer Bud Collins said that if Venus held on, it would be the greatest upset in spots history.&lt;/p&gt;
  48. &lt;p&gt;
  49. “Forget tennis,” Collins said. “Forget Ali-Frazier. Forget the ’69 Mets. The history of sports. A girl walks off the street, never playing a junior tournament in the last three and a half years, never played a pro tournament and beats the No. 1 player in the universe. If you think of it in that context, it’s make believe.”&lt;/p&gt;
  50. &lt;p&gt;
  51. Collins was right on both counts—it was a little too good to be true. A desperate Sanchez Vicario gave young Venus a glimpse of how the game was played at the pro level: She took a 10-minute bathroom break in the middle of the second set. “Venus thought she probably left to go eat dinner!” Macci said.&lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;p&gt;
  53. Whatever she thought was happening, it threw her off. Sanchez Vicario came back and won the last nine games of the match. Venus had left her orbit and come back to earth, but her world had changed forever.&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;p&gt;
  55. That night, Nike and Reebok each made calls to the Williams family, and a few months later Venus inked a deal with Reebok for multiple millions. In 2000, Venus would become the first African-American woman to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open since Althea Gibson did it more than 40 years earlier. In 2002, Venus would fulfill her father’s prophecy by becoming the first black woman to reach No. 1 since the start of the WTA’s computer rankings in 1975. Two years after Arthur Ashe’s death, tennis had a new African-American star. &lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;p&gt;
  57. What Venus showed us in Oakland remains true today. In those two matches heard round the world, she signaled that not only was she a precocious talent and a world-class athlete in the making, she was a born competitor who played her best tennis when she was on the big stage.&lt;/p&gt;
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  62.  &lt;/p&gt;
  63. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  64. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1791547&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  65. &lt;/div&gt;
  66. &lt;p&gt;
  67.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/Df8ODPb5dt0&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  68.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/10/1994-williams-era-begins-14-year-old-venus-debuts/56488/</guid>
  69.         <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 17:19:00 +0000</pubDate>
  70.      </item>
  71.      <item>
  72.         <title>We're Not in Paris Anymore</title>
  73.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/sXXYAtNOUbU/</link>
  74.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  75. It seems like just yesterday that we were in Paris celebrating the “Serbian spring”—those heady days in 2008 when Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Jelena Jankovic were fresh faces and the talk of the tennis world.&lt;/p&gt;
  76. &lt;p&gt;
  77. That May, all three players burst through to the semifinals at Roland Garros, and the women in some ways overshadowed Djokovic. For one thing, there were two of them; for another, they were strikingly different from one another. And, finally, they were obliged to play each other for a place in the final.&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;p&gt;
  79. Ivanovic led the head-to-head rivalry with Jankovic by that time, despite being roughly three years younger, 5-1. If Jankovic were to reverse the tide, that semifinal was the place to begin the process. But she fell just short, with Ivanovic pulling out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory en route to the title.&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p&gt;
  81. It’s tempting to say the long-term status of both women was cast in stone that day, even though Jankovic had the last laugh in 2008 by earning the year-end world No. 1 ranking. In ensuing years, however, Jankovic would be plagued by meltdowns and consistently overshadowed by the diligent and much-loved Ivanovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p&gt;
  83. These two Serbians continue to fascinate many of us, even as Jankovic enters her 30s with the dream of winning a major title rapidly evaporating—and even as Ivanovic, hoping to get back to the top, keeps spinning her wheels so furiously that you can smell rubber burning in the air over any court she sets foot on.&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  85. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:70.370370% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  86. &lt;/div&gt;
  87. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  88.  &lt;/p&gt;
  89. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  90. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/81459789&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  91. &lt;/div&gt;
  92. &lt;p&gt;
  93. As the Asian swing gets underway, Jankovic is ranked No. 25 and once again is showing signs of resurgence—what is this, the fourth, ninth, 11th time? She cleaned up at Guangzhou last week, beating up on poor greenhorn Denisa Allertova in the final, 6-2, 6-0.&lt;/p&gt;
  94. &lt;p&gt;
  95. In the process, Jankovic also joined Venus and Serena Williams as the only active players with 600 wins (only 16 women in the entire Open era have won that many matches, and 12 of them have won Grand Slam singles titles). Venus and Serena have won a combined 28 Grand Slam singles titles. Jankovic has reached but one final, at the 2008 U.S. Open, where she lost to Serena, 6-4, 7-5.&lt;/p&gt;
  96. &lt;p&gt;
  97. Securing the year-end No. 1 ranking is the one significant achievement of Jankovic’s that Ivanovic has never been able to match (Ivanovic was briefly No. 1 after her French Open win). Yet Jankovic is more famous for accomplishing it without winning a Grand Slam title than for the consistency that earned her the honor.&lt;/p&gt;
  98. &lt;p&gt;
  99. Jankovic has 14 titles to her credit thus far, eight of them Premier-level or higher. That’s a fairly modest haul for a player in the 600 win-club, and it underscores Jankovic’s shortcomings as a player and her longstanding penchant for self-sabotage. She’s had her chances at the majors, having played in six semifinals and a final. But the drama queen always asserted her authority over the practical-minded tennis player. Jankovic has found ways to shoot herself in the foot by throwing a tantrum over a line call, succumbing to some other distraction, or simply losing the plot.&lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  101. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:67.508418% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  102. &lt;/div&gt;
  103. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  104.  &lt;/p&gt;
  105. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  106. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/490089428&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  107. &lt;/div&gt;
  108. &lt;p&gt;
  109. All this might make you feel badly for Jankovic, but for the fact that she’s vivacious and quick to laugh, even at herself. Even after she’s taken a bad loss you walk away thinking, “She’s going to be okay.” It’s clear that she still enjoys playing, and she’s an absolute joy to watch. Who can forget Jankovic, outfitted in an Easter-yellow dress, smiling and laughing as she scrambled after all those Williams blasts in the ’08 Open final? Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to join the crowd in watching replays of herself on the Jumbotron, but that’s Jankovic for you.&lt;/p&gt;
  110. &lt;p&gt;
  111. Style-wise, Jankovic is a fluid, instinctive player whose athleticism is complimented by often radiant ball-striking. Just watch when she wraps her forehand follow-through around her left shoulder, her braid flying across her back, her left foot off the ground. You’d swear she’s the figurehead off the prow of an old Spanish galleon, come to life.&lt;/p&gt;
  112. &lt;p&gt;
  113. To my mind, one of the great crimes against sport is that Jankovic has never had what it takes to win a Grand Slam singles title. It’s almost as much of a travesty as the fact that Jankovic and Ivanovic have never teamed up to win a Fed Cup for Serbia. But that’s tennis for you.&lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  115. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:66.498316% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  116. &lt;/div&gt;
  117. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  118.  &lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  120. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/490465762&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  121. &lt;/div&gt;
  122. &lt;p&gt;
  123. Speaking of Ivanovic, it’s hard to say a negative word about her. She appears to be on some sort of quest for perfection in, well, everything. In fact, it may be the very thing that holds her back.&lt;/p&gt;
  124. &lt;p&gt;
  125. Ivanovic’s strokes are precise, even elegant (her serve, which she sometimes must go chasing, is an exception), but they’re not quite explosive, and rarely employed in a creative way. Ivanovic dots every “i” and crosses every “t.” She works incredibly hard. Yet if you charted her career on a graph it would look like the electrocardiograph of a patient in cardiac arrest. It’s because Ivanovic, who’s simply dripping with poise in most of her glam shots, tends to go to pieces inside during key moments in tennis matches.&lt;/p&gt;
  126. &lt;p&gt;
  127. Ivanovic is back up No. 9 in the world rankings, but once again her Grand Slam season was a disappointment. The only bright spot was a French Open semifinal, but even then she botched an excellent opportunity, losing to No. 13 seed Lucie Safarova. Ivanovic won just one match at the other three majors combined.&lt;/p&gt;
  128. &lt;p&gt;
  129. It’s hard to watch Ivanovic play sometimes, simply because it’s obvious how earnestly she wants to win, and how much work she’s put into preparing herself. Unlike some, she isn’t conspicuously aggressive in her behavior, but there she is, twirling and clenching her fist after a nice shot just two games into a second-round match against a relative nobody. You almost want to tap her on the shoulder and say, “Hey, try not to want it so much—maybe you’ll get it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;p&gt;
  131. Okay, so it doesn’t usually work that way in tennis. It still seems that Ivanovic gets herself tied up in knots, even at the veteran age of 27. And a part of her must wonder why, when she works so hard at doing everything right, the big payoff she seeks is still being withheld.&lt;/p&gt;
  132. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  133. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:66.666667% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  134. &lt;/div&gt;
  135. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  136.  &lt;/p&gt;
  137. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  138. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/479136256&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  139. &lt;/div&gt;
  140. &lt;p&gt;
  141. Ivanovic still has just one Grand Slam title, the one she earned at Roland Garros in that magical 2008 season. She hasn’t reclaimed the No. 1 ranking since then. Much the same can be said for Jankovic, although she lasted at No. 1 for a little while longer. Perhaps one day the two women can sit down over a glass of wine and recall what a wonderful year that was for both of them, for their compatriot Djokovic, and for tennis.&lt;/p&gt;
  142. &lt;p&gt;
  143. Perhaps they could also get together and win the Fed Cup, so Jankovic won’t feel so badly about never having won a major, and Ivanovic won’t get the blues about never finishing the year ranked No. 1. Some goals are more realistic, and appropriate, than others.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/sXXYAtNOUbU&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  144.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/were-not-paris-anymore/56472/</guid>
  145.         <pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2015 02:02:00 +0000</pubDate>
  146.      </item>
  147.      <item>
  148.         <title>Week in Preview: Swinging into Asia</title>
  149.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/kTPBZHe-pS8/</link>
  150.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  151. For tennis fans in the West, and especially in the U.S., this is the time of year when everything happens while we sleep. Upsets, epics, trophy-hoistings, meltdowns: They’re tough to keep up with, and keep straight, when the tours head to Asia. This is when we find out what it feels like to be Australian. &lt;/p&gt;
  152. &lt;p&gt;
  153. Sometimes you can miss more than just a match. On Monday morning I woke up to discover that Belinda Bencic had not only &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/radwanska-takes-pan-pacific-open-title-with-win-over-bencic/56443/&quot;&gt;lost her final in Tokyo&lt;/a&gt;, she had already traveled to Wuhan, China, and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/scores/&quot;&gt;won her first round there&lt;/a&gt;. I guess when you’re 18 you don’t need any sleep at all. A private jet doesn’t hurt, either: Tokyo offers them to its finalists.&lt;/p&gt;
  154. &lt;p&gt;
  155. Here’s a look at what awaits Bencic and the rest of the players in action this week, as the tours begin to get into the Asian swing of things.&lt;/p&gt;
  156. &lt;p&gt;
  157. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  158. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  159. &lt;strong&gt;Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open (WTA)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  160. &lt;p&gt;
  161. &lt;em&gt;Wuhan, China&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  162. &lt;em&gt;$2,513,000; Premier 5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  163. &lt;em&gt;DecoTurf II&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  164. &lt;em&gt;Draw is &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/bracket_stage/837728/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  165. &lt;p&gt;
  166. As you can probably tell from Bencic’s adventures, the women are off to a faster start in Asia than the men. That’s partly because Wuhan is in its second year, and has had to wedge itself into an already crowded, and shortened, WTA schedule. But while it isn’t a mandatory event, with $2.5 in prize money for its 56 entrants, it’s not one that a player will pass up lightly, even if she has to go without sleep to get there. Hence the excellence of the draw: Most of the Top 20, with the prominent exception of Serena Williams, has made the trip to Li Na’s hometown.&lt;/p&gt;
  167. &lt;p&gt;
  168. Many of them, even as I write this preview on Monday morning in New York, have already started their weeks: Bencic, Jelena Jankovic, Madison Keys, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/vinci-rebounds-to-win-opener-at-wuhan-open/56449/#.VgldE7SLWEc&quot;&gt;Roberta Vinci have all won&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  169. &lt;p&gt;
  170. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/28/201507091119407450493-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:461px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Unfortunately, the second seed, Maria Sharapova, is already out, retiring early in the third set of her opener versus Barbora Strycova. This was Sharapova’s first match since Wimbledon. Injuries have plagued her this season, and she’s still scheduled to defend her title in Beijing, go to the season-ender in Singapore, and play the Fed Cup final for Russia.&lt;/p&gt;
  171. &lt;p&gt;
  172. Even worse, Eugenie Bouchard had to withdraw due to lingering problems from the concussion she suffered at the U.S. Open. Will we see her again in 2015?&lt;/p&gt;
  173. &lt;p&gt;
  174. Wuhan, however, has a deep bench, and, if everything goes according to plan, it will feature some third-round matches worth staying up for (or at least taping): &lt;/p&gt;
  175. &lt;p&gt;
  176. —Simona Halep, the top seed, could play Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of their U.S. Open quarterfinal.&lt;/p&gt;
  177. &lt;p&gt;
  178. —Petra Kvitova, a lover of the late season, could play Vinci, the Open runner-up.&lt;/p&gt;
  179. &lt;p&gt;
  180. —No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova might play No. 12 Elina Svitolina in a match between two of this season’s up-and-comers.&lt;/p&gt;
  181. &lt;p&gt;
  182. —Garbiñe Muguruza will play Sloane Stephens next, while Ana Ivanovic might get a second chance in as many weeks against Dominika Cibulkova.&lt;/p&gt;
  183. &lt;p&gt;
  184. —Keys could play Caroline Wozniacki&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;p&gt;
  186. —Bencic, if she can keep her eyes open, is scheduled to play Angelique Kerber&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;p&gt;
  188. Speaking of keeping her eyes open, Agnieszka Radwanska, champion in Tokyo this weekend, just walked off the plane and onto the court to play Venus Williams. &lt;/p&gt;
  189. &lt;p&gt;
  190. Who said nothing happens in the fall?&lt;/p&gt;
  191. &lt;p&gt;
  192. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  194. &lt;strong&gt;Malaysian Open (ATP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  195. &lt;p&gt;
  196. &lt;em&gt;Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  197. &lt;em&gt;$1,041,540; 250 rankings points&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  198. &lt;em&gt;Hard courts&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  199. &lt;em&gt;Draw is &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/bracket_stage/837369/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  200. &lt;p&gt;
  201. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/28/201508202034740783175-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:429px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;It may be hard to remember or picture now, but David Ferrer won three titles in January and February. Since then, the 33-year-old has slowed considerably; an elbow injury has limited him to just two ATP events since Roland Garros. But he did play the U.S. Open, and won both of his matches in Davis Cup last weekend. Now he’s the top seed in Kuala Lumpur. Ferrer has made a mint over the years by grinding his way though the fall, while his higher-ranked opponents rest. Is there any reason to think he won’t continue that tradition in 2015? Like many of his colleagues, the Spaniard’s decline in his 30s has been a slow and relatively graceful one so far.&lt;/p&gt;
  202. &lt;p&gt;
  203. Also here: Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios, Ivo Karlovic, and No. 2 seed Feliciano Lopez. Ferrer’s fellow 30-something Spaniard doesn’t seem to be declining at all; he played some of the best tennis of his career this summer.&lt;/p&gt;
  204. &lt;p&gt;
  205. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  206. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  207. &lt;strong&gt;Shenzhen Open (ATP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  208. &lt;p&gt;
  209. &lt;em&gt;Shenzhen, China&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  210. &lt;em&gt;$668,945; 250 ranking points&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  211. &lt;em&gt;Plexicushion&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  212. &lt;em&gt;Draw is &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/bracket_stage/837371/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  213. &lt;p&gt;
  214. Shenzhen, the ATP’s other, slightly less lucrative 250 of the week, would be a better fit before the Australian Open; it’s played on the same Plexicushion surface used in Melbourne. Call this week pre-preparation for 2016.&lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;p&gt;
  216. Tomas Berdych, whose Grand Slam season started so promisingly and ended so tepidly, will start his post-Slam season here as the top seed. If all goes according to plan, he’ll meet No. 2 seed Marin Cilic in the final. &lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;p&gt;
  218. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  219. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  220. &lt;strong&gt;Tashkent Open (WTA)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  221. &lt;p&gt;
  222. &lt;em&gt;Tashkent, Uzbekistan&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  223. &lt;em&gt;$250,000; International&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  224. &lt;em&gt;Hard courts&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
  225. &lt;em&gt;Draw is &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/bracket_stage/837720/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  226. &lt;p&gt;
  227. Yes, there is another women’s event in mighty Wuhan’s shadow. While it’s being played in Uzbekistan, it has an oddly German flavor. Annika Beck and Carina Witthoeft are the No. 1 and 2 seeds.&lt;/p&gt;
  228. &lt;p&gt;
  229. Player to watch: Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The 21-year-old Belarussian came out of qualifying, beat Stephens 6-3, 6-2, and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/sasnovich-into-first-wta-final-to-face-begu-in-seoul/56439/#.VgldrLSLWEc&quot;&gt;reached the final in Seoul&lt;/a&gt; on Sunday. We’ll see if she has anything left after that eight-matches-in-a-week effort.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/kTPBZHe-pS8&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  230.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/week-preview-swinging-asia/56455/</guid>
  231.         <pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:08:00 +0000</pubDate>
  232.      </item>
  233.      <item>
  234.         <title>The Big Downshift</title>
  235.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/ffPazekY8Oc/</link>
  236.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  237. &lt;em&gt;“Thiem Surges into St. Petersburg Semis”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p&gt;
  239. &lt;em&gt;“Cibulkova Has Ivanovic’s Number Again”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;p&gt;
  241. As of 10:30 A.M. in New York on Friday, these were the lead stories on the ATP’s and WTA’s respective websites. As far as headlines go, neither qualifies as banner-level stuff. Instead, they serve as a reminder of what stage of the season we’ve reached. Fall has officially arrived for tennis fans—not with a whimper, exactly, but certainly not with a bang, either.&lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p&gt;
  243. Traditionally, “fall” was a code word in tennis. It meant, roughly, “The season is obviously too long, but there are still tournaments to be played and money to be made, so what are we going to do, &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; watch?” That’s not as true as it once was; over the last five years, both tours have helped make the fall more palatable by shortening it a bit. Still, because it doesn’t lead to a major, and because a good deal of it is played in Asia, this is the easiest stretch for Western TV networks to ignore and casual fans to tune out. Often, when players do their losing press conferences at the U.S. Open, they have to remind the non-tennis journalists in the audience that, &lt;em&gt;no&lt;/em&gt;, the season is not over, and that, &lt;em&gt;yes&lt;/em&gt;, they really do have tournaments to play before next year’s Australian Open.&lt;/p&gt;
  244. &lt;p&gt;
  245. Those of us who don’t forget about tennis as soon as the last ball is struck at Flushing Meadows know there’s plenty to reward our time and interest in the coming months. In 2014, we saw Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka nearly come to blows in London before leading Switzerland to its first Davis Cup title a week later. We saw the WTA successfully establish its year-end championships in Singapore. We saw Novak Djokovic lock down the No. 1 ranking, and set the stage for his blockbuster 2015, by winning three of four events. And, as always, a fair number of the best matches of 2014 were played in its closing weeks. Petra Kvitova-Angelique Kerber in Fed Cup, Federer-Wawrinka at the World Tour Finals, Serena Williams-Caroline Wozniacki in Singapore: Those alone were worth the price of fall admission.&lt;/p&gt;
  246. &lt;p&gt;
  247. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/25/201509061507544476410-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:428px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;If the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/summer-lightning/56329/&quot;&gt;thriller-heavy Open&lt;/a&gt; is any indication, there will be more memorable matches to come this year—these days Kerber and Victoria Azarenka are virtual epic machines. But as the sport downshifts after New York, the question is what story lines will be left for us to follow. We already know how the biggest of them—who will finish No. 1?—ends. Djokovic and Serena each clinched the top spot two months before the season’s end.&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;p&gt;
  249. It’s hardly news that tennis' last decade has been one of (a) top-down domination and (b) aging. In 2015, both of those long-running trends reached new peaks. When Djokovic and a 33-year-old Serena won the Australian Open in January, some (not me) dared to speculate that we could see two calendar-year Grand Slams in the same season. It sounded like laughable hyperbole at the time, but it nearly happened. &lt;/p&gt;
  250. &lt;p&gt;
  251. Domination is not a bad thing for any sport. People tune in to see all-time greats win, and even more tune in to see them lose. Serena’s quest for the Slam drew record ratings and attendance for the Open, and turned her semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci into the season’s most earth-shaking drama. On the men’s side, while neither the Wimbledon or U.S. Open finals were classics, the fact that No. 1 Djokovic and No. 2 Federer played them made sense, and grabbed people’s attention.&lt;/p&gt;
  252. &lt;p&gt;
  253. But domination can come with a downside, when its so thorough that it wipes out all plausible future challenges. As we look toward 2016, this is the flip side of the Serena and Djokovic stories. In years past, even if a player has clinched No. 1 early, there has been a jockeying for the most-like-to-succeed-next-year position just below. Since 2011, Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, and Simona Halep have taken turns trying to climb onto the podium with Serena. Among the men, Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal have traded the top spot among them, and fended off Murray and even the long-lost Juan Martin del Potro in the process. &lt;/p&gt;
  254. &lt;p&gt;
  255. For now, Djokovic does still have Federer and Murray in his rear-view mirror; each recorded a win over him in a U.S. Open tune-up event in August. But Djokovic also stands nearly 7,000 ranking points ahead of them, an unprecedented number. He’s a full 10,000 points ahead of the only man to beat him at a Grand Slam this season, Stan Wawrinka.&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;p&gt;
  257. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/25/201507061010366162004-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:390px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;More important and troubling than the quality of Djokovic’s current competition is the quality of his future challengers, if there are any. “How do you beat Djokovic?” is a question I’ve heard more than a few times from people lately. I’d say the bigger question is: “&lt;em&gt;Who&lt;/em&gt; is going to beat Djokovic?” Federer did it twice this year, but he’s 34; Wawrinka may look like a new face to some, but he’ll be 31 in March; Murray is 28, Nadal 29. Even del Potro turned 27 this week. The latest hot shot to break into the ATP’s Top 10? Gilles Simon, a Frenchman who is 30 years old and 14,000 ranking points behind Djokovic. Of the Top 13 men, just two of them, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori, are younger than Djokovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  258. &lt;p&gt;
  259. There are plenty of women who are younger than Serena Williams; of the WTA’s Top 25, only her sister Venus is older. Yet the one woman to beat Serena at a major this year, Vinci, is nearly as old at 32, and she lost to 33-year-old Flavia Pennetta in the Open final. We seem to have reached the point where, instead of announcing their presence with a first major title, players announce their retirement instead. Pennetta did it after her Open win, and who would have blamed Federer if he had done the same had he beaten Djokovic for his 18th Slam the next day?&lt;/p&gt;
  260. &lt;p&gt;
  261. There were younger women who pushed and even beat Serena in 2015: Halep, Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, Sloane Stephens, Garbiñe Muguruza, Lucie Safarova, Heather Watson. Yet while it’s possible that Serena will finally have a letdown next year, when she turns 35, there’s no one in that list who stands out as a legitimate future rival or logical successor to her—Azarenka, a former No. 1, and the 18-year-old Bencic may be the closest. The women who showed so much promise in their losses to Serena in the French and Wimbledon finals, Safarova and Muguruza, have done little since. The world No. 3, 28-year-old Maria Sharapova, hasn’t played since Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  262. &lt;p&gt;
  263. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/25/201509022029737405053-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:291px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Sharapova will &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/injury-plagued-sharapova-takes-wild-card-wuhan-open-next-week/56395/#.VgFZz7SLWEc&quot;&gt;join a strong field in Wuhan&lt;/a&gt; next week, and there will be matches worth watching there, as well as in Beijing and Singapore. Maybe she or Halep or Azarenka or Kvitova or Bencic will build some momentum for 2016. On the men’s side, the Davis Cup final between neophyte nations Great Britain and Belgium will be intriguing, and the mandatory weeks in Shanghai, Paris, and London will be enjoyable. Maybe Federer, Murray, Wawrinka, or even Nadal will build some momentum for next season.&lt;/p&gt;
  264. &lt;p&gt;
  265. Maybe. Maybe it’s also a blessing that the season’s big questions have been answered and we get to downshift even more than normal this fall, and just enjoy tennis for its own sake. I'm happy to see how Dominic Thiem and Dominika Cibulkova make out in St. Pete and Tokyo this week. But next fall we may want a little more for our viewing time. In 2016, we may want a little more rivalry, and a little less domination. We may be happy with the present, but we want to know there's going to be a future, too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/ffPazekY8Oc&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  266.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/fallback-plan/56437/</guid>
  267.         <pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2015 18:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
  268.      </item>
  269.      <item>
  270.         <title>1993: Monica Seles' Stabbing</title>
  271.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/2K3OGbZd7h4/</link>
  272.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  273. &lt;em&gt;This year marks the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine's founding in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, we'll look back each Thursday at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/50th-anniversary-moments/&quot;&gt;one of the 50 moments&lt;/a&gt; that have defined the last half-century in our sport.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;hr/&gt;
  275. &lt;p&gt;
  276. No story in tennis has been as big, or as hard to fathom. Who would stab a tennis player? More than that, who would stab a 19-year-old girl in the back with a nine-inch knife while she was playing in front of a capacity audience?&lt;/p&gt;
  277. &lt;p&gt;
  278. That person was Gunter Parche, forever known in the tabloids as a “deranged Steffi Graf fan,” an overweight and disheveled man who wanted to help his favorite player overcome her younger rival and take back the No. 1 ranking. Mission—horribly—accomplished: His act of violence in Hamburg would force Seles to leave the tour for two years, and when she returned she would be a shadow of her formerly indomitable self. Graf would indeed regain No. 1 and win 11 more Grand Slams. As for Parche, he was deemed mentally unstable and never saw jail time. Because of that, Seles hasn't set foot in Germany since.&lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;p&gt;
  280. Maybe the worst thing about the whole sad story is that in April 1993, there really wasn’t much else that could stop Monica Seles. She had won seven of the previous nine majors and, after her title at the 1993 Australian Open, she looked like she might just tear through the season and win a calendar-year Grand Slam. Her father, Karolj, said that from a young age she had wanted nothing more than to hit a tennis ball. Seles at her early-’90s peak played in what can only be described as a trance. Nothing, it seemed, could wake her from it. &lt;/p&gt;
  281. &lt;p&gt;
  282. Before Seles arrived on tour in the late 1980s, as a 99-pound 15-year-old, it had been hard to imagine a fiercer fighter than Graf, but Monica matched her. There was nothing ladylike or elegant about her roundhouse swings—Seles slugged with two hands from both sides—or the pioneering grunt that she brought with them. In terms of both power and willpower, Seles upped the ante and pointed the way ahead. It’s no surprise that so many of today's players, including Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic, cite her as an inspiration.&lt;/p&gt;
  283. &lt;p&gt;
  284. If there’s a moral or a lesson to Seles’ story, it may be that having the stuff to be a warrior in tennis, or any sport, is a more delicate proposition than we think. At first, Seles was tentative about walking back on a tennis court. By the time she became a fixture again on tour, she had lost the edge, the hunger, the youthful gusto—as well as the wiry physique—that had once made her unstoppable. If her stabbing shocked people around the world, imagine what it did to her, and imagine how hard that shock must have been to forget. &lt;/p&gt;
  285. &lt;p&gt;
  286. After the incident, Monica knew that there was more to life than smashing a tennis ball. She had been jolted, in the most frightening and permanent way, out of her trance. But in that brief, blazing, invincible period when she was in it, she changed the women’s game and set the bar higher for its future champions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/2K3OGbZd7h4&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  287.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/1993-stopping-unstoppable-monica-seles-stabbing/55433/</guid>
  288.         <pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  289.      </item>
  290.      <item>
  291.         <title>The Bull, Gored</title>
  292.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/KXltHu0gMhs/</link>
  293.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  294. Given the year Rafael Nadal has had, his great rival and friend Roger Federer did him an enormous favor in the second half of 2015. Toting a gleaming new SABR as the centerpiece of his re-tooled offense, Federer stole all the headlines. This was a great gift from the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion, because the headlines Nadal would have generated in and around the U.S. Open would have been ugly. Dispiriting. Soul-crushing.&lt;/p&gt;
  295. &lt;p&gt;
  296. It was a remarkably quiet if anxiety-laden U.S. Open for Nadal, his relative anonymity aided by the fact that he was ousted in the third round. Once, his nemesis was Novak Djokovic. Now it is Fabio Fognini. How far the mighty hath fallen.&lt;/p&gt;
  297. &lt;p&gt;
  298. It was easy to forget, enthralled was we all were by the handiwork of Djokovic, the eventual champion, and the sizzle of Federer, the runner-up, that Nadal is in deep trouble. The best spin you can put on it is that, for once, Nadal enters the fall season in reasonable health, not over-tennised. He’s still ranked No. 7, and with a strong finish he could move up considerably higher.&lt;/p&gt;
  299. &lt;p&gt;
  300. But don’t bet on it. Nadal hasn’t won a Masters title in the fall since 2005, back when Madrid was held indoors. And even at the very peak of his powers, Nadal has underwhelmed at the ATP’s annual year-end championships. His failure to win that title remains the single, glaring hole in his resume.&lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p&gt;
  302. Even Nadal’s rivals have tried to bolster his floundering confidence. Shortly before Djokovic began his U.S. Open campaign, he spoke about Nadal to the press: “I’m sure he is really motivated to win the U.S. Open. He always has a chance. You can’t sign Nadal out, 14-time Grand Slam champion, he deserves [to be] a favorite.”&lt;/p&gt;
  303. &lt;p&gt;
  304. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/22/1 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day1_20150831_3149.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  305. &lt;p&gt;
  306. Despite the endorsement, Nadal wasn’t perceived as a favorite in Flushing Meadows; more alarmingly, he didn’t act like one. The toll of a stressful, problem-ridden year seemed to lay heavy on him. While the opinions expressed in the press are hardly the stuff you want to take to the bank, the players often reveal themselves, intentionally or not, when they’re subject to their meetings with the fourth estate.&lt;/p&gt;
  307. &lt;p&gt;
  308. Nadal has always had good relations with the press. They have valued his sincerity, humility, as well as his colorful turns of phrase (“We gonna see, no?”). But as this difficult year rolled on, Nadal’s willingness to reveal his doubts and lack of confidence struck some as oversharing. Many began to question his fitness as a competitor. Nadal kept his cool—until his news conference after winning his second-rounder at the U.S. Open.&lt;/p&gt;
  309. &lt;p&gt;
  310. “I am No. 8 in the world; I am not No. 100,” Nadal protested. “I am not so bad. After I arrive here with the victory, I come back to the locker room [hearing outsiders] saying how bad I am. Every day. ... [It] seems like I come here and, if I am saying the truth, if I am being honest, it is bad. ... I don't know what you want of me.”&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p&gt;
  312. So there it is, out in the open. Things had gone from bad to worse. At wits end at Flushing Meadows, Nadal let the hurt show.&lt;/p&gt;
  313. &lt;p&gt;
  314. It’s a poignant quote, as so many have been from this sensitive 29-year-old whose on-court demeanor has been likened to that of a raging bull. It was a far cry from the man who, just weeks earlier in Montreal, had told an interlocutor how he almost always keeps such a sunny disposition. “Normally I don’t lose the smile,” Nadal said. “I do not have one reason to lose the smile, even if I lose 100 tennis matches in the future.”&lt;/p&gt;
  315. &lt;p&gt;
  316. Nadal wore that smile at the U.S. Open, and then he went out and won two sets from Fognini, got up a break at 3-1 in the third—and flamed out, losing that set, along with the next two. Nadal had never before lost from two sets up at a major. There’s a first time for everything, of course. But given his druthers, this is not exactly how Nadal would have wished this “first time” to happen.&lt;/p&gt;
  317. &lt;p&gt;
  318. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/22/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day5_Nadal_Fog_20150905_0050.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  319. &lt;p&gt;
  320. Yet even that terrible loss didn’t destroy Nadal’s outward resolve. The 14-time Grand Slam singles champion denied that it was a “tougher” defeat than most, even though it guaranteed that for the first time in a decade, he would not win a Grand Slam title.&lt;/p&gt;
  321. &lt;p&gt;
  322. Instead of mourning, Nadal clutched for slivers of hope:&lt;/p&gt;
  323. &lt;p&gt;
  324. “My mind allows me to fight until the end [against Fognini]. Is something that I was missing for a while, that feeling that I am there. For the nerves, for the anxious[ness] that I had for a long time this season, I was not able to do it. I was not able to be fighting the way that I was fighting today. So [it] is an improvement for me.”&lt;/p&gt;
  325. &lt;p&gt;
  326. Was Nadal merely trying to make a purse out of a sow’s ear? It’s hard to tell. On one hand, everyone ought to cut him some slack. On the other, everyone but trigger-happy critics have been cutting him slack most of the year already.&lt;/p&gt;
  327. &lt;p&gt;
  328. Those who believe Nadal has lost half a step, or isn’t hitting with his familiar velocity and ferocity are right—and wrong. For Nadal’s long struggle with confidence has been an inhibiting factor in his game. This has had strategic and tactical repercussions that have manifested in subtle ways.&lt;/p&gt;
  329. &lt;p&gt;
  330. “If you hit the ball a bit shorter, the opponent has more space,” Nadal explained. “If you hit the ball with a little bit of less confidence, then there is not as much topspin like used to be. If you hit shorter, you will run slower. Is not you run slower, but the opponent take the ball earlier so it looks like you are slower, no? Is easy to understand, easy to explain, difficult to change, but I going to do it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  331. &lt;p&gt;
  332. Nadal has made that same promise a number of times this year. It hasn’t been fulfilled yet, and it’s unlikely to come to fruition in the months ahead. That means 2016 will be a critical year for Nadal—and you can be sure that once it gets underway, the spotlight will find him once again.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/KXltHu0gMhs&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  333.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/bull-gored/56413/</guid>
  334.         <pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2015 02:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  335.      </item>
  336.      <item>
  337.         <title>PODCAST: Stacey Allaster's Legacy</title>
  338.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/WJg4gsLrfNM/</link>
  339.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/WJg4gsLrfNM&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  340.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/podcast-stacey-allasters-legacy/56407/</guid>
  341.         <pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:37:00 +0000</pubDate>
  342.      </item>
  343.      <item>
  344.         <title>To the Brim Again</title>
  345.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/9pOU6lhimv4/</link>
  346.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  347. Will there ever come a time when tennis players and fans just throw up their hands and admit that Davis Cup is fine as it is? Probably not; no competition inspires as much hand-wringing and second-guessing. And there are legitimate reasons for that. But for those of us who actually tune in to it four times a year, no competition is as consistently satisfying, either. After watching another round of semifinals and relegation matches over the last three days, I’d go so far as to say that Davis Cup is that rare entertainment that never lets you down. Here are three reasons that was true again this weekend.&lt;/p&gt;
  348. &lt;p&gt;
  349. ******&lt;/p&gt;
  350. &lt;p&gt;
  351. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/21/201509200934344778587-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:512px;height:373px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  352. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  353. &lt;strong&gt;1. You see the best players get better&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  354. &lt;p&gt;
  355. Andy Murray was the hero of the weekend, as he led Great Britain to its &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/murray-sends-britain-into-1st-davis-cup-final-in-37-years/56376/#.VgAp1rSLWEc&quot;&gt;first Cup final since 1978&lt;/a&gt;. Murray won his two singles matches, in straight sets, over Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic, and teamed with his brother Jamie to win a thrilling five-setter in doubles. Each of his fellow Big 4 members has had at least one moment in the Davis Cup sun; so far 2015 is Murray’s year.&lt;/p&gt;
  356. &lt;p&gt;
  357. Just as amazing, though, was what Murray &lt;em&gt;didn’t&lt;/em&gt; do in his singles matches. He didn’t scream at his player’s box, he didn’t give his coach a sarcastic thumb’s up after every lost point, he didn’t bark out F-bombs on the sidelines or as he got ready to return serve, the way he did at the U.S. Open two weeks ago. Instead, Murray played with a razor-sharp, no-frills, no-messing-about sense of focus. And it worked. His backhand was better than it has ever been, and there was a fortress-like thoroughness to his game. Murray’s singles record in Davis Cup is now 25-2.&lt;/p&gt;
  358. &lt;p&gt;
  359. This is what playing for your country, rather than yourself, does to some people. The best and most talented players don’t let their mental vulnerabilities sabotage their talent the way they often do in tour matches. The pros always say there’s a special anxiety that comes with competing for their countries, but it also offers a special motivation; the top guys have no choice but to block out distractions and win. Coming into this weekend, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Murray were a combined 134-18 in Davis Cup singles. The Cup effect was even more pronounced for talented head cases like Marat Safin and David Nalbandian, who played with an unfamiliar, straightforward resolve when they led their teams into battle. Where else could Marcos Baghdatis win 32 straight matches?&lt;/p&gt;
  360. &lt;p&gt;
  361. For all of these players, the little voice of doubt and negativity that they bring on court with them most of the time is silenced. In Davis Cup, tennis, for once, is no longer a reflection on the individual; it’s a reflection on the group. This adds responsibility, but it also seems to lessen doubt—you have a purpose bigger than yourself. Watching Murray ignore his (usually very loud) voice of negativity this weekend, and marveling at his level of play, I wondered what tennis would be like if it was always a team game, played with stakes this high. Would the quality rise? And who would win when the best players faced off? &lt;/p&gt;
  362. &lt;p&gt;
  363. Unfortunately—and here is one of those legitimate reasons for hand-wringing about the team competition—of the 193 matches played between the Big 4, just two of them have come in Davis Cup.&lt;/p&gt;
  364. &lt;p&gt;
  365. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  366. &lt;p&gt;
  367. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/21/201509190947352320069-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:512px;height:344px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  368. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  369. &lt;strong&gt;2. You have a reason to watch doubles&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  370. &lt;p&gt;
  371. It may be heresy to some, but I admit to being conflicted about watching doubles as a fan. The pinball points can be exciting, and the hand skills that create them amazing to behold, but I miss the one-on-one psychological struggle of singles. &lt;/p&gt;
  372. &lt;p&gt;
  373. In Davis Cup, the struggle and the stakes are built-in, and that’s especially true in doubles. With a day to itself, and five sets to play itself out, doubles is, for once, the main event rather than the sideshow. It matters as much as singles. &lt;/p&gt;
  374. &lt;p&gt;
  375. Fans who have followed Great Britain’s path through the tournament have been rewarded with two of the best matches—doubles or otherwise—of 2015. The first was Bob and Mike Bryan’s win, 9-7 in the fifth set, over Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, in the first-round tie between the U.S. and the Brits. The second came on Saturday, when Jamie and his brother Andy beat Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth 6-4 in the fifth. &lt;/p&gt;
  376. &lt;p&gt;
  377. The fast hands, the flying poaches, the lob returns, the sharp angles, the long, laugh-inducing smash-lob rallies: These are things you don’t see in singles; they’re elements of tennis that have largely been eliminated from the modern game, with its focus on, and marketing of, the individual star. But here, when they’re given meaning in Davis Cup, they engage the crowd in a way that even the best singles points don’t.&lt;/p&gt;
  378. &lt;p&gt;
  379. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  380. &lt;p&gt;
  381. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/21/201509201308473340456-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:512px;height:341px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  382. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  383. &lt;strong&gt;3. You can suddenly, without proper preparation, be thrown into the middle of an emotional pressure-cooker&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  384. &lt;p&gt;
  385. This isn't just true of players, it's true of fans as well. By early Sunday afternoon, I had finished watching my tape of Murray disposing of Tomic, and had assumed that Argentina, which led Belgium 2-1 after the doubles, had done the same and advanced to the final. Then I learned on Twitter that Belgium’s Steve Darcis was serving for the match, and the tie, against Federico Delbonis. Up until then, Darcis had been the weekend's anti-Murray, losing in singles and doubles. Now he had a chance to be the hero in the fifth rubber. &lt;/p&gt;
  386. &lt;p&gt;
  387. By the time I turned to the match, Darcis and Delbonis were at 5-4, 15-15 in the fourth and the Belgian crowd was on its feet—more than that, it looked like they were ready, en masse, to leap onto the court. And why not? They were about to reach their &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/belgium-beats-argentina-to-reach-davis-cup-final/56378/#.VgAro7SLWEc&quot;&gt;first Davis Cup final in 111 years&lt;/a&gt;. From my perspective, this was exciting, obviously, but it was also nerve-wracking. Could I deal with seeing Darcis blow it and lose? Was I ready to have my pleasant, low-stakes Sunday upended? When Darcis did lose that game, after holding two match points, I had to change the channel. I couldn’t see that crowd walk away disappointed. I couldn’t watch a fifth set.&lt;/p&gt;
  388. &lt;p&gt;
  389. But I couldn’t stay away, either. I turned back as the two players entered a fourth-set tiebreaker, but I kept the remote in my hand in case Darcis fell behind. Fortunately, he never did, and fortunately I got to see his final overhead winner, and his final leap of joy. &lt;/p&gt;
  390. &lt;p&gt;
  391. Darcis had come through, but Delbonis had pushed him to the limit; he had made him hit one more shot to clinch it. Here was a chance, at a time when just a few top male players dominate, to see two journeyman show us their best on one of the game’s great stages, to perform with the whole tennis world watching. Here was a chance, at a time of few surprises in men’s tennis, to see a genuinely surprising Davis Cup final take shape, between Great Britain and Belgium. &lt;/p&gt;
  392. &lt;p&gt;
  393. And here was a chance to see 59th-ranked Steve Darcis overcome his nerves and play a perfect point to win the tie—I’m not even sure how he held the racquet steady on that final smash. His diving celebration, and the pandemonium in the arena, ended up reverberating through my Sunday. Davis Cup hadn't let me down.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/9pOU6lhimv4&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  394.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/brim-again/56392/</guid>
  395.         <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2015 15:38:00 +0000</pubDate>
  396.      </item>
  397.      <item>
  398.         <title>1992: Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS</title>
  399.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/zbBg_xvNWB0/</link>
  400.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  401. &lt;em&gt;This year marks the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine's founding in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, we'll look back each Thursday at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/50th-anniversary-moments/&quot;&gt;one of the 50 moments&lt;/a&gt; that have defined the last half-century in our sport.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  402. &lt;hr/&gt;
  403. &lt;p&gt;
  404. It may be hard for some of us to remember now, but in 1992 AIDS was still a mysterious, highly stigmatized, and sometimes panic-inducing disease with no remedy, let alone a cure. The previous fall, Magic Johnson had shocked the sports world when he became the most high-profile athlete to announce that he has contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. But there was another, equally famous African-American sportsman who had kept his own HIV-positive status under wraps for three-and-a-half years. In the spring of ’92, though, Arthur Ashe could keep his secret no longer.&lt;/p&gt;
  405. &lt;p&gt;
  406. It began with a call from Doug Smith, a reporter from &lt;em&gt;USA Today&lt;/em&gt; and a friend of Ashe’s. Smith said that he had learned that Ashe had the disease, and that his editor wanted to run the story. Ashe, outraged by the intrusion, called the editor to make his case for privacy. Since finding out in 1988 that he had received an infusion of tainted blood during heart surgery, Ashe felt that going public with the news would compromise the lives of his family and take valuable time away from the activist work that he still wanted to do. Now he realized there was no way to avoid it.&lt;/p&gt;
  407. &lt;p&gt;
  408. Rather than having the paper report the news, the 48-year-old Ashe made his announcement in a nationally televised press conference at the offices of HBO. “Some of you heard that I had tested positive for HIV,” Ashe said. “That is indeed the case.”&lt;/p&gt;
  409. &lt;p&gt;
  410. “I am angry,” he continued, “that I was put in this position of having to lie if I wanted to protect my privacy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  411. &lt;p&gt;
  412. Ashe died the following February, three years before the management of AIDS became possible with drugs. Tennis had lost perhaps the most important figure of its last half-century before he was 50 years old.&lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;p&gt;
  414. In making the announcement his way, Ashe had, as always, spoken truth to power. He ended his sadly short life in the same dignified way that he had always conducted it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/zbBg_xvNWB0&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  415.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/1992-arthur-ashe-announces-he-has-aids/56352/</guid>
  416.         <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2015 18:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  417.      </item>
  418.      <item>
  419.         <title>Stirring Up a Breeze</title>
  420.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/cMr2N4bcuwo/</link>
  421.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  422. The President’s Box, which sits at the south end of Arthur Ashe Stadium, is where America’s version of tennis royalty gather to watch their country’s national championship. While it’s not as picturesque as its counterpart at Wimbledon, the Royal Box, it does come with a dining room and a lounge and the best seats in a house full of so-so ones.&lt;/p&gt;
  423. &lt;p&gt;
  424. As of a few years ago, at least, it also came with a little bit of American history. The last time I was in the lounge there, its walls were adorned with vintage black-and-white photos of past U.S. tennis greats—Sidney Wood, Tony Trabert, Bill Tilden, and others float through the air, each dressed in immaculate whites.&lt;/p&gt;
  425. &lt;p&gt;
  426. But none of these legends looked quite as immaculate as the four players, none of them famous, who appeared in another shot, from 1930. It was taken at an American Tennis Association doubles tournament, and the four players, like most members of the ATA, were African-American.&lt;/p&gt;
  427. &lt;p&gt;
  428. In the picture, they pose, smiling, at the side of a court. They sport collared white shirts, khaki pants, and canvas shoes, and each carries a stack of wooden racquets. Like their better-known white contemporaries, each exudes the easy grace of the amateur sportsman. A small sign nearby said that their names were Eyre Saitch, Sylvester Smith, John McGriff, and Elwood Downing.&lt;/p&gt;
  429. &lt;p&gt;
  430. On the night I saw the photo, eight decades after it was taken, their images were hanging inside a tennis stadium—the world’s largest—named after an African-American player, Arthur Ashe. Playing on the court a few feet away was the United States’ most famous player, an African-American named Serena Williams. All of this may have been a little hard for the four men in the photo to believe, considering that at the time it was taken, they weren’t allowed on the courts at the nation’s most prominent tennis clubs, or to enter its national championships at Forest Hills.&lt;/p&gt;
  431. &lt;p&gt;
  432. How did American tennis, specifically African-American, get from the ghostly gentleman in that photo, each lost the game’s official history, to a world-famous figure like Serena Williams? The answer is simple: By way of a one-person bridge who spanned two thoroughly separated worlds. Sixty-five years ago, Althea Gibson cracked the sport’s color barrier. In 1950, the child of sharecroppers and roamer of the New York City streets became the first African-American player to enter the U.S. Championships.&lt;/p&gt;
  433. &lt;p&gt;
  434. That once-amateur event is now called the U.S. Open, in a nod to its open-door policy toward professionals. But while its name always began with “U.S.,” it wasn’t until Gibson made her debut, 69 years after it had first been held, that the tournament could claim the right to the those initials in full.&lt;/p&gt;
  435. &lt;p&gt;
  436. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  437. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  438. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:84.006734% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  439. &lt;/div&gt;
  440. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  441.  &lt;/p&gt;
  442. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  443. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/3112193&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  444. &lt;/div&gt;
  445. &lt;p&gt;
  446. As her own history indicated, the women who made the Open a fully American event was an unlikely candidate for the job. Gibson was born in South Carolina in 1927 and raised in Harlem. Always on the move, she spent her youth roaming the neighborhood’s avenues and riding New York’s subways from one end of the city to the other.&lt;/p&gt;
  447. &lt;p&gt;
  448. “I hated to go to school,” Gibson wrote in 1958 autobiography, &lt;em&gt;I Always Wanted to Be Somebody&lt;/em&gt;. “What’s more, I didn’t like people telling me what to do.”&lt;/p&gt;
  449. &lt;p&gt;
  450. The person telling her what to do most often was her father, Daniel. Disappointed that Althea hadn’t been a boy, he treated her like one, even training her to become a boxer. It was a skill she put to use against him on at least one occasion.&lt;/p&gt;
  451. &lt;p&gt;
  452. “One day he got mad at me for not coming home for a couple of nights,” Gibson wrote. “When I finally showed up, he just walked up to me and punched me right in the face and knocked me sprawling down the hall. I got right up and punched him as hard as I could, right in the jaw, and we had a pretty good little fight going. We weren’t fooling around, either.”&lt;/p&gt;
  453. &lt;p&gt;
  454. This likely wasn’t a typical childhood experience for most champions at Forest Hills up to that point. But while Gibson didn’t know it at the time, she had a spiritual sibling growing up across the country. Pancho Gonzalez, born to Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles one year after Gibson, was also a street-running truant who found freedom, and a home, on the tennis court. In 1948, Gonzalez became the first Mexican-American to win the U.S. Nationals at Forest Hills. Two years later, Gibson would follow him onto those grass courts.&lt;/p&gt;
  455. &lt;p&gt;
  456. To get there, though, she would have to cross an extra, entrenched barrier: tennis’ color line. The sports, like much of American life, had long been split by race. Tennis took root in the private clubs of WASP society near the end of the 19th century, and the public courts that were built at the start of the 20th were largely segregated as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  457. &lt;p&gt;
  458. Still, tennis had a following among the black elite, its doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. By 1916, there was enough interest in holding a national African-American championship that the ATA was formed in Washington, D.C., that year to organize one. But while its membership was primarily black, the association was open to all. Perhaps early members believed there was a better chance of whites playing in their tournaments someday—and thus creating a fully “American” tennis organization—than there ever was of blacks being allowed onto the lawns of the sport’s all-white clubs.&lt;/p&gt;
  459. &lt;p&gt;
  460. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  461. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  462. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:85.690236% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  463. &lt;/div&gt;
  464. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  465.  &lt;/p&gt;
  466. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  467. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/3062972&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  468. &lt;/div&gt;
  469. &lt;p&gt;
  470. A tomboy, Gibson was a table tennis champ by age 12. She impressed local teaching pro Fred Johnson, who guided her away from the ping-pong table and onto the tennis courts of Harlem. There she could show off both her hand skills and her pugilistic skills. Gibson’s style, it seemed, was too rough-edged for some.&lt;/p&gt;
  471. &lt;p&gt;
  472. As a teenager, she was allowed to play at New York’s all-black Cosmopolitan Club, but she said she never comfortable there. “They had set ideas about what was socially acceptable behavior,” Gibson said of its members. “They were probably stricter than white people of a similar position. They felt they had to be doubly careful to overcome the prejudiced attitude that all Negroes slept eight to a room.”&lt;/p&gt;
  473. &lt;p&gt;
  474. Even when Gibson beat a white girl at the club, she believed that most of its members had been rooting against her, because she was “too cocky.”&lt;/p&gt;
  475. &lt;p&gt;
  476. Whatever problems that tennis authorities may have had with her attitude, Gibson’s ability was recognized within the ATA. In 1946, as an 18-year-old, she reached the final of an association event in Ohio, where she caught the attention of two African-American doctors and tennis lovers from the South, Hubert Eaton and Robert Walter Johnson. They thought her talent might go to waste in New York, so they offered to take her into their homes and travel with her to tournaments.&lt;/p&gt;
  477. &lt;p&gt;
  478. “Are you interested?” they asked.&lt;/p&gt;
  479. &lt;p&gt;
  480. “Who wouldn’t be interested in a deal like that?” Gibson asked back.&lt;/p&gt;
  481. &lt;p&gt;
  482. For three years, she lived with the Eatons in North Carolina during the school year and played tennis in Virginia with Johnson, who would go on to coach Ashe, in the summers. Along the way, she honed her net-rushing style, which was a rarity in women’s tennis at the time.&lt;/p&gt;
  483. &lt;p&gt;
  484. It was obvious, though, that Gibson’s game would stagnate without better competition. She dominated the ATA, winning its national championship 10 straight times. But the sport’s color line remained intact. In reality, it was less a straight line than a circular piece of logic. To be invited to play the U.S. Championships, it was necessary to have a record in other USLTA grass-court events. The problem was, Gibson couldn’t play those events because they were held at private, whites-only clubs.&lt;/p&gt;
  485. &lt;p&gt;
  486. It took a fellow player to break the impasse. Alice Marble, a Grand Slam champion, wrote a stinging editorial in the July 1950 issue of &lt;em&gt;American Lawn Tennis Magazine&lt;/em&gt;. “If tennis is a game for ladies and gentleman,” she wrote, “it’s also time we acted a little more like gentlepeople and a little less like sanctimonious hypocrites.” That summer, the gates opened for Gibson at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in New Jersey, where she was allowed into the Eastern Grass Court Championships.&lt;/p&gt;
  487. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  488. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:78.282828% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  489. &lt;/div&gt;
  490. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  491.  &lt;/p&gt;
  492. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  493. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/3431788&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  494. &lt;/div&gt;
  495. &lt;p&gt;
  496. A few weeks later, a USLTA (now USTA) committee accepted Gibson’s application to play at Forest Hills. According to author Bruce Schoenfeld, in his book on the period, &lt;em&gt;The Match: Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton&lt;/em&gt;, this was a step short of full integration. In the new set-up, the winners of the ATA’s national championships would automatically enter Forest Hills. “Blacks would be qualifying on a parallel course,” Schoenfeld wrote, “which meant that integrating the grass-court tournaments held at exclusive clubs would not be necessary.”&lt;/p&gt;
  497. &lt;p&gt;
  498. Nevertheless, history was made on August 28, 1950, when, in front of a few hundred mostly black spectators on Court 14, Gibson beat Barbara Knapp 6-2, 6-2 in the first round at Forest Hills. Whatever its historic significance, though, that result was forgotten as soon as Gibson began her next match, on a packed show court, against the 1947 U.S. National champion, Louise Brough.&lt;/p&gt;
  499. &lt;p&gt;
  500. Gibson started nervously, and Brough, a two-time Wimbledon winner, controlled play thoroughly enough to win the first set 6-1. In the second Gibson loosened up and got hot, winning it 6-3. The two dueled through the third set as storm clouds approached. When Gibson went up 7-6, the skies opened and rain swept over the court. A bolt of lightning knocked off one of the concrete eagles that stood at the top of the arena.&lt;/p&gt;
  501. &lt;p&gt;
  502. The symbolism wasn’t lost on Gibson. “It may have been an omen that times were changing,” she would later say. At the time, though, the storm only brought her bad luck. She came back the next day and lost three straight games.&lt;/p&gt;
  503. &lt;p&gt;
  504. It appeared for a time that Gibson’s career had peaked on that dramatic day. She went to college at Florida A&amp;M and came close to quitting the game. But a State Department tour of Asia rekindled her love for it, and in 1956 she won 16 of 18 tournaments, including the French Championships. Besides her race and her aggressive game, Gibson was ahead of her time as a competitor. In an era when the amateur women’s circuit could have the air of a traveling sorority, she played to win and didn’t go out her way to make friends along the way.&lt;/p&gt;
  505. &lt;p&gt;
  506. “She was imposing to begin with,” Billie Jean King said, “and she had a swagger that added to that aura.” Fellow player Doris Hart took pride in never losing a set to her. Like that other roamer, Pancho Gonzalez, Gibson injected a tough, individualistic streak into a game known at the time for its sporting camaraderie.&lt;/p&gt;
  507. &lt;p&gt;
  508. Gibson had one more breakthrough in her. In 1957, age 30, she became the first black player to win Wimbledon. When Queen Elizabeth II presented the winner’s plate to her, the Queen said, “It must have been terribly hot out there.” Gibson answered, “Yes, Your Majesty, but I hope it wasn’t as hot in your box. At least I was able to stir up a little breeze.”&lt;/p&gt;
  509. &lt;p&gt;
  510. This year, a visitor to Flushing Meadows could still feel that breeze. It will be swirling through a stadium named after an African-American, and you might feel it coming off the racquet of Serena Williams as she powers through a winning serve. It’s the breeze that has, for the last 65 years, put the U.S. in the U.S. Open.&lt;/p&gt;
  511. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  512. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:76.430976% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  513. &lt;/div&gt;
  514. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  515.  &lt;/p&gt;
  516. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  517. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/135932632&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  518. &lt;/div&gt;
  519. &lt;p&gt;
  520.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/cMr2N4bcuwo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  521.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/stirring-breeze/56331/</guid>
  522.         <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 21:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
  523.      </item>
  524.      <item>
  525.         <title>Summer Lightning</title>
  526.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/-9rZ-pjxRfQ/</link>
  527.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  528. NEW YORK—Sizzling heat, a crashing drone, debilitating cramps, a new roof, an arrest gone wrong, a frightening fall in the locker room, a rattling SABR, a gala sister act, a stunning upset, an even more stunning retirement: These were some of the headlines that made the 2015 U.S. Open such incident-filled entertainment over the last two weeks. Maybe in 30 years we’ll look back on it the way we look back on those free-for-all Opens from the 1970s, as a window into the wild-west days of New York’s De Blasio administration.&lt;/p&gt;
  529. &lt;p&gt;
  530. There was also some good tennis played at Flushing Meadows. Here’s a look at who played it well, and who played it not so well. &lt;em&gt;(Photos by &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.anitaaguilarphotography.com&quot;&gt;Anita Aguilar&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  531. &lt;p&gt;
  532. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  533. &lt;p&gt;
  534. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_20150911_2191.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  535. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  536. &lt;strong&gt;Novak Djokovic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  537. &lt;p&gt;
  538. “Now, actually sitting down here with this trophy and reflecting on what I have achieved, it’s quite incredible.” The world No. 1, as calm and content after his victory as he was stubborn and tense during it, said those words a few minutes after he had fended off 23,000 tennis fans, and the man he described as “the best player in history,” to win his 10th Grand Slam title. As in 2011, his previous &lt;em&gt;annus mirabilis,&lt;/em&gt; Djokovic put an exclamation point on an historic season with a U.S. Open title, and ended what he jokingly called his “tradition” of losing finals in New York. In a career that is fast filling with dramatic, tightrope-walk victories, his win over Federer may have been his most spectacular circus act of all. He could have let the match slip innumerable times, but he never did. As it was, Djokovic remained the sole barrier to a tidal wave of tennis-fan joy in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Even in this individual sport, few have shown what a lone individual is capable of the way Djokovic has. &lt;strong&gt;A+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  539. &lt;p&gt;
  540. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_20150911_0627.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  541. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  542. &lt;strong&gt;Flavia Pennetta&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  543. &lt;p&gt;
  544. “I couldn’t think to finish in a better way,” Pennetta said as she announced that this would be her last U.S. Open, just a few minutes after winning it. I doubt anyone was happy with the news, but no one could argue with her. She didn’t just finish on top; she finished much farther up the mountain than she probably ever thought she would. Before last week, Pennetta had reached just one Grand Slam semifinal, at the Open in 2013, and just last year it seemed borderline miraculous when she won the title at Indian Wells. Pennetta said knowing this was her last Open helped her relax, and while she lost a set in her first-round match and two more along the way, she closed like a seasoned champ, pummeling Simona Halep in the semis and running away with the second set against her friend Roberta Vinic in the final.&lt;/p&gt;
  545. &lt;p&gt;
  546. Flavia’s win will be celebrated on tour, and her absence mourned when she stops at the end of the year. When I think of Pennetta, I think of balance: She was (and will continue to be) elegant but athletic, regal without being haughty, charismatic without being a drama queen—she gave the tour a flavor that it will miss. But we always knew that about her. Now we’ll get to remember as something even better: A champion. &lt;strong&gt;A+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  547. &lt;p&gt;
  548. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0061.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  549. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  550. &lt;strong&gt;Roberta Vinci&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  551. &lt;p&gt;
  552. The shot that will stay with me longest from this year’s Open may be the backhand slice approach that Vinci carved, with such elegant forward-moving force, down the line in the final game of her semifinal against Serena Williams. Vinci, who followed that slice with a drop volley winner, said she was shaking as she tried to serve the match out. Instead of being overtaken by her nerves, as others had against Serena this season, Vinci was fueled by them. &lt;strong&gt;A&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  553. &lt;p&gt;
  554. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day3_Fish_Lopez_20150902_0051.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  555. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  556. &lt;strong&gt;Mardy Fish&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  557. &lt;p&gt;
  558. “I want to help people who have gone through it, and try to be a role model for people who are deep into some bad times, that they can get out of it, because I was there. They can conquer it.” Athletes are supposed to show us grace under pressure. Fish said he was here to show what weakness looks like. It felt like a breakthrough. &lt;strong&gt;A&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  559. &lt;p&gt;
  560. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Federer_20150911_0038.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  561. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  562. &lt;strong&gt;Roger Federer&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  563. &lt;p&gt;
  564. “Lost too many times in finals,” Federer said with a little more frustration than normal in his voice on Sunday night. The man who won his first seven Grand Slam finals has now lost five of his last seven, dating back to 2009. He’s also 2-6 in three-out-of-five-set matches against Djokovic since 2010. Federer looked like he had his doubts about this one from the start; after hearing a monumental roar go up when his name was announced in Ashe, he followed it with four forehand errors in the first game. Yet even at 34, he was able to inject some fun and controversy into the game with his SABR return—how many other great players were still innovating at his age? There’s a reason why, despite his defeat, the crowd roared as loudly as it had all night when he said, “I’ll see you next year.” &lt;strong&gt;A-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  565. &lt;p&gt;
  566. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day5_Serena_San_20150904_0023.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  567. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  568. &lt;strong&gt;Serena Williams&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  569. &lt;p&gt;
  570. Few people believed her when she said that winning the calendar-year Grand Slam wasn’t the be-all and end-all for her. And if she had pulled it off, she surely would have been pleased. But can a player really be disappointed in not winning &lt;em&gt;five&lt;/em&gt; majors in a row? Who could ever imagine doing it? Only Serena. For someone who didn’t always play her best in 2015, she got close. Or, as she said, “I did win three Grand Slams this year. Yeah, I won four in a row. It’s pretty good.” Pretty great, really. &lt;strong&gt;A-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  571. &lt;p&gt;
  572. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day10_20150909_0755.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  573. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  574. &lt;strong&gt;Simona Halep&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  575. &lt;p&gt;
  576. “Fighter girl” fought: She survived a sweltering afternoon against Sabine Lisicki, and held on to win the match of the tournament over Victoria Azarenka. But she couldn’t dodge Pennetta’s bullets in the semis. The uphill battle continues, and it continues to be fun to watch. &lt;strong&gt;A-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  577. &lt;p&gt;
  578. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/1 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day1_20150831_3149.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  579. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  580. &lt;strong&gt;The Roof&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  581. &lt;p&gt;
  582. Has much-maligned Ashe Stadium just been waiting to be covered all these years? The 18-year-old arena felt new and improved with its half-finished roof structure hovering above it—somehow, perspective-wise, it made the place feel a little more intimate. If the stories of James Blake, Eugenie Bouchard and the drone brought a wild-west feel to this Open, the roof, and the atmosphere it created in Ashe, felt perfect for our moneyed moment. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but the lights were brighter and the music was louder than ever. Now we just need it to keep out the rain. &lt;strong&gt;A-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  583. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  584. &lt;strong&gt;Marin Cilic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  585. &lt;p&gt;
  586. “Extremely great tournament,” is how the 2014 champion described his run to the semifinals. “Considering the first time having to defend a Grand Slam title, I feel that I accomplished well.” It’s true, this may have been his best result since last year’s Open. He won two five-setters and lost to the world No. 1 with a twisted ankle. Maybe he can build on it this time. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  587. &lt;p&gt;
  588. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day9_20150908_1157.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  589. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  590. &lt;strong&gt;Venus Williams&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  591. &lt;p&gt;
  592. At 35, she wasn’t all that far from winning the title. She dismissed the teen of the summer, Belinda Bencic, and dictated many of the rallies in her three-set loss to her sister. If she didn’t watch the final, she must have heard by now that Pennetta won it. If Flavia can do it, why not Venus? &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  593. &lt;p&gt;
  594. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day10_20150909_0593.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  595. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  596. &lt;strong&gt;Victoria Azarenka&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  597. &lt;p&gt;
  598. It won’t be any consolation to Vika, who lost another Grand Slam heartbreaker, but no one gives better value for a ticket than she does. She now has the dubious distinction of having lost the best women’s match at the French Open (to Serena) and Wimbledon (to Serena again), and the second-best at the U.S. Open (to Halep). At least this time she &lt;em&gt;won&lt;/em&gt; the third-best match, against Angelique Kerber. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  599. &lt;p&gt;
  600. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day4_20150903_0485 resized 2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:621px;height:427px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  601. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  602. &lt;strong&gt;Johanna Konta&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  603. &lt;p&gt;
  604. While some of us were touting Belinda Bencic as the sleeper of the tournament, the 24-year-old, 97th-ranked Konta beat two Top 20 players, Garbiñe Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic, to reach the fourth round. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  605. &lt;p&gt;
  606. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day9_Djokovic_20150909_0011.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  607. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  608. &lt;strong&gt;Feliciano Lopez&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  609. &lt;p&gt;
  610. He made his first U.S. Open quarterfinal at age 33, and told us why he continues to thrive on tour: “When you’re old, as I am,” Feli said, “you enjoy more what you do.” &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  611. &lt;p&gt;
  612. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day8_Murray_KA_20150907_0106.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  613. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  614. &lt;strong&gt;Kevin Anderson&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  615. &lt;p&gt;
  616. From the ritz to the rubble. The 29-year-old Anderson played some of the best tennis of his career to beat Andy Murray over four hours in the fourth round. Two days later, when he lost a bagel third set to Stan Wawrinka, it looked like he still hadn’t recovered. Still, it was two steps forward, and just one step back for Big Kev. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  617. &lt;p&gt;
  618. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/23 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day6_20150905_2212.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  619. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  620. &lt;strong&gt;Donald Young&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  621. &lt;p&gt;
  622. Ten years after being touted as the next John McEnroe, Young proved he was the next...American to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam. That may sound like a disappointment, but Young did it the hard and entertaining way, and helped create the best atmosphere at an event that had a lot of it, when he came back from two sets down to win what will likely be the last men’s singles match on the Grandstand. “It was 90 percent you guys, 10 percent me,” he told the rowdy Labor Day weekend crowd when it was over. DY, who had never made a comeback like that in his decade as a pro, matured as a player for these two weeks, and he did as a person as well. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  623. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  624. &lt;strong&gt;Petra Cetkovska&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  625. &lt;p&gt;
  626. The 30-year-old Czech rose to the night-match occasion when she saved four match points, with four winners, to beat Caroline Wozniacki. Cetkovska’s roll continued through a 6-1 first set against Pennetta in the next round. Fortunately for Flavia, that’s where it ended. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  627. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  628. &lt;strong&gt;Eugenie Bouchard&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  629. &lt;p&gt;
  630. The calamity of the fortnight. Before Bouchard slipped and suffered a concussion, she really did look like she was back to her old fighting form, and her draw looked clear to the semifinals. Even worse, the woman she defaulted to, Vinci, went all the way to the final. For now, we can only hope Genie is OK physically, let alone ready to continue her comeback. &lt;strong&gt;B+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  631. &lt;p&gt;
  632. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/9 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day5_Nadal_Fog_20150905_0008.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  633. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  634. &lt;strong&gt;Fabio Fognini&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  635. &lt;p&gt;
  636. He played perhaps the most jaw-dropping tennis of the two weeks to beat Rafael Nadal, and he was still around to take a selfie inside Ashe as his girlfriend, Flavia Pennetta, won the title and announced her retirement. What more can the Fog man ask?&lt;strong&gt; B&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  637. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  638. &lt;strong&gt;Stan Wawrinka&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  639. &lt;p&gt;
  640. He reached his third Grand Slam semifinal of 2015, which shows that sometimes you &lt;em&gt;can&lt;/em&gt; teach an old dog new tricks. Then, in the semis, he let himself be rattled by Federer’s SABR and went away quickly, which shows that sometimes you can’t. &lt;strong&gt;B&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  641. &lt;p&gt;
  642. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/7 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day4_Murray Hew_20150903_0137.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  643. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  644. &lt;strong&gt;Lleyton Hewitt&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  645. &lt;p&gt;
  646. It’s hard to think of a more appropriate exit. Rusty lost in the way he has lost so often in recent years. He fought all the way until he finally had a lead, and then he let the lead slip. Hewitt began his career in the 1990s as a rebel who was hard to love. He ended it as a respected elder statesman, a fan favorite, and the most human of players, all without ever really changing or trying to be anyone but himself. &lt;strong&gt;B&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  647. &lt;p&gt;
  648. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day1_20150831_0899.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  649. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  650. &lt;strong&gt;Benoit Paire&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  651. &lt;p&gt;
  652. He beat Nishikori. He crushed Robredo. But just when we were beginning to wonder who this fabulous new Frenchman was, he reverted to form. Against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, Paire banged his racquet twice; when he was warned by chair umpire Mohammad Lahyani, Paire protested that it was unfair, because “no one saw&quot; him do it. &lt;strong&gt;B&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  653. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  654. &lt;strong&gt;Petra Kvitova&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  655. &lt;p&gt;
  656. Kvitova’s collapse was Pennetta’s gain: The Czech led the Italian by a set and 3-1 in the second, but succumbed to the heat. Just when it looked like Petra had learned to love New York, she had to leave. &lt;strong&gt;B-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  657. &lt;p&gt;
  658. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/6 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day4_Murray Hew_20150903_0287.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  659. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  660. &lt;strong&gt;Andy Murray&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  661. &lt;p&gt;
  662. It was destiny: Murray had reached 19 straight Grand Slam quarterfinals; his opponent, Anderson, had lost seven straight fourth-round matches at majors. Both streaks had to end eventually, so why not kill both birds with one stone? Murray was on his heels in that match, but it was a rare slip in an otherwise consistent season. And he fought like a madman. &lt;strong&gt;B-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  663. &lt;p&gt;
  664. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/3 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day4_Murray Hew_20150903_0105.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  665. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  666. &lt;strong&gt;Bernard Tomic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  667. &lt;p&gt;
  668. He hung in long enough to send his pal Hewitt out of the Open for the last time. Then he came back two days later and threw in the towel against Richard Gasquet. He was probably gassed, yes, but did he have to grin about it at the end? &lt;strong&gt;C+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  669. &lt;p&gt;
  670. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/14 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day5_Nadal_Fog_20150905_0038.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  671. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  672. &lt;strong&gt;Rafael Nadal&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  673. &lt;p&gt;
  674. It seemed prudent, as the season went along, to reserve judgment on Rafa’s mediocre play. Over the last 10 years, his valleys have always been followed by another peak. Now that the four majors have been played and he failed to reach the semifinals of any of them, it’s clear this is a dip unlike the others. Watching him lose a two-set lead against Fognini, fight to come back in the fifth, and lose it again in the end, I was reminded of Hewitt’s struggles in recent years—Rafa doesn’t want to go down that road. He used to be a master at winning the points he needed to win. He couldn't come up with any of them against Fognini. &lt;strong&gt;C+&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  675. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  676. &lt;strong&gt;Garbiñe Muguruza&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  677. &lt;p&gt;
  678. This star keeps being not quite born. After losing to Konta in the second round, she’s 1-3 since reaching the Wimbledon final. &lt;strong&gt;C&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  679. &lt;p&gt;
  680. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/14/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day2_Murray_Kyr_20150902_0111.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  681. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  682. &lt;strong&gt;Nick Kyrgios&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  683. &lt;p&gt;
  684. The man who beat him described the young Aussie’s issues—the on-court ones, that is—best: “Just sort of 5- or 10-minute periods in the match,” Murray said after their first-round match, “it happens a little bit too often, where he has dips, misses a few serves, like gets distracted or loses concentration.” Were you happy that Kyrgios's jabbering energy was mostly absent the last two weeks? Or did you miss having a villain in the drama? I can’t decide myself. &lt;strong&gt;C&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/-9rZ-pjxRfQ&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  685.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/summer-lightning/56329/</guid>
  686.         <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 17:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
  687.      </item>
  688.      <item>
  689.         <title>Into the Lion's Den</title>
  690.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/R7HZ0IRI9fg/</link>
  691.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  692. NEW YORK—What do you get when you pack 22,000 Roger Federer fans together and let them tailgate through a rain delay for three hours? One very loud tennis crowd. Just how loud it was going to get inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night was obvious from the moment that Federer was introduced. Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras: None of those home-country heroes inspired the sound and fury that Federer did.&lt;/p&gt;
  693. &lt;p&gt;
  694. Yet as the match began, it quickly became clear that the man across the net from Federer, Novak Djokovic, was probably going to be the player and the athlete to watch through this evening. Djokovic is 15 pounds lighter than Federer, and the difference was obvious as they scrambled across their respective baselines in the early going. As many have remarked over the last two weeks, Federer hardly appears to have lost a step at 34. But it was Djokovic who was the bouncier and spryer player. Federer, after playing rings around his opponents for two weeks in New York, had finally met his athletic match. More important, he was in his prime.&lt;/p&gt;
  695. &lt;p&gt;
  696. After that cacophonous, long-delayed introduction, it seemed only logical that Federer would come roaring out of the gate with his traditional 30-second opening service hold. Instead, he was off-kilter and looked nervous. He missed a forehand into the net, he missed a forehand long, he double faulted, he missed two more forehands into the net. Even when he won a point with his serve, Djokovic read it, and was on it. While Federer eventually held in that game, he was broken in the next one. It was still early, but a tone had been set. Djokovic, with his back ramrod straight, his shots crisp, and his sneakers virtually smoking as he scraped them across the baseline, had already quieted the crowd—to the degree that it could be quieted—and dug in for a long fight. That was ominous news for Federer; since 2010, he was 2-5 against Djokovic in three-out-of-five-set matches.&lt;/p&gt;
  697. &lt;p&gt;
  698. &lt;img src=&quot;https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO2QhvrWEAAXXfU.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  699. &lt;p&gt;
  700. For both players, the final had a very different tone from their previous six matches here. This time Djokovic allowed himself no lulls or distractions, and he didn’t cock his ear at the crowd as he had last week. This time Federer, instead of moving forward unimpeded and having his way in rallies, was forced to throw everything in his considerable arsenal at his opponent. That included his running-start SABR return, of course, but it also included his chip-and-charge, his low, dying-slice backhand return, and even his drop shot return. It included serve-and-volley attempts on second serves, and 59 trips to the net.&lt;/p&gt;
  701. &lt;p&gt;
  702. While Djokovic had the answer to Federer's vaunted SABR—a perfect topspin lob—many of the Swiss's forays and variations worked. Yet he couldn’t quite crack the uncrackable Nole; Federer earned 23 break points, but converted only four. In the end, Djokovic won just two more points than Federer, 147 to 145, but those two points were enough to account for two sets of his 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory.&lt;/p&gt;
  703. &lt;p&gt;
  704. “I knew that coming to the court. I knew he’s going to be aggressive,” Djokovic said. “He’s going to try to disrupt my rhythm, and he’s going to put a lot of variety in his game, slice, chip and charge, come to the net, serve and volley. Which he did.”&lt;/p&gt;
  705. &lt;p&gt;
  706. “But I was ready for it. I was ready for the battle. That’s what it was. Three hours, 20 minutes. We pushed each other to the limit, as we always do.”&lt;/p&gt;
  707. &lt;p&gt;
  708. &lt;img src=&quot;https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO2QhtRWoAAT-JJ.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  709. &lt;p&gt;
  710. And as always when these two play, it was tense and toe-to-toe. Much of the time, the pace was so quick that Federer and Djokovic seemed to be half-volleying the ball from the baseline. Unfortunately for Federer, it was also a pace that, over the course of three hours against Djokovic, he was going to struggle to keep up. By the start of the third set, Federer appeared to be a step slower; by the end of that set, he had already covered twice as much ground as he had in the entirety of any of his previous six matches at the Open. &lt;/p&gt;
  711. &lt;p&gt;
  712. “I think it was the right game plan,” Federer said of his attack mode. “Just execution was missing in some crucial moments. But other than that, I think I played a good match. Maybe I haven’t played this offensive for a very long time, and that’s maybe the reason I was slightly shaky when it came to the crunch on the break points. Who knows?&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
  713. &lt;p&gt;
  714. The momentum swayed back and forth, but the match was decided by a few crucial games at the end of the third and fourth sets. All of those games were long, all were tense, all were up and down; but as he so often does in matches likes these, Djokovic survived every one of them. &lt;/p&gt;
  715. &lt;p&gt;
  716. Down 3-4 in the third set and beginning to reel a little, Djokovic saved a break point with a brave forehand winner. At 4-4, he came from 40-15 down to break with some spectacular defense and stout returning. At 5-4 he saved two more break points and held for the set. Federer had points to win each of those games, but he came away empty-handed.&lt;/p&gt;
  717. &lt;p&gt;
  718. The same was true in the two most important games of the fourth set. With Federer serving down 2-4, Djokovic fought off a game point and broke with a brilliant forehand return winner off a first serve. Then, serving for the match a second time at 5-4, with the crowd baying all around him, Djokovic saved three more break points, one with a terrific change-up second serve down the T that fooled Federer, and another with a penetrating down the line forehand. While he was on the defensive for much of the night, Djokovic found just enough offense, with his serve and his forehand, when he needed it.&lt;/p&gt;
  719. &lt;p&gt;
  720. “You could feel the momentum was switching from my side to his, for, I think, all the way to the end of the third,” Djokovic said. “It was anybody’s game. It was really even.&lt;/p&gt;
  721. &lt;p&gt;
  722. “Serve was not really a strong link for me tonight, but in the important moments, I got a couple of free points in the last game on serve, and that’s what matters.”&lt;/p&gt;
  723. &lt;p&gt;
  724. &lt;img src=&quot;https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO2QhHcWIAAWlWk.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  725. &lt;p&gt;
  726. When Federer sent his final forehand return over the baseline, Djokovic pointed to himself, and then pointed to his box. It must have felt as if they were the only people in the building on his side. And for that reason, Djokovic’s second U.S. Open and 10th major title will go down as a signature achievement, and perhaps his most impressive. He held off a charging Federer, 19 break points, and a tsunami of booze-filled humanity.&lt;/p&gt;
  727. &lt;p&gt;
  728. Djokovic, as usual, refused to blame the audience.&lt;/p&gt;
  729. &lt;p&gt;
  730. “Everybody has the choice to support a player they want to support,” he said, “and [Federer] absolutely deserves to have the support he does because of all the years and success that he had, and the way he carries himself on and off the court.”&lt;/p&gt;
  731. &lt;p&gt;
  732. “Me, I’m there to earn the support, and hopefully in the future I can be in that position.”&lt;/p&gt;
  733. &lt;p&gt;
  734. Djokovic understands the dynamic well. Tennis fans are famous for rallying around old champions, and the sport has had few champions like Federer. As raucous and occasionally distracting as this crowd was, I didn’t sense hostility toward Djokovic, outside of the unfortunate fact that he was Federer’s opponent.&lt;/p&gt;
  735. &lt;p&gt;
  736. “It’s part of the show,” Djokovic said. “It’s part of what we do, and that’s why this tournament is so special.”&lt;/p&gt;
  737. &lt;p&gt;
  738. &lt;img src=&quot;https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO2QgNmWEAAwbYK.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  739. &lt;p&gt;
  740. Djokovic was the best part of the U.S. Open show in 2015. Afterward, when he blew a kiss to the crowd that had pulled against him, he had blood on his forearm. That’s what the evening took out of him. As he says, hopefully the work and the winning he’s doing today will earn him the crowd’s love down the road.&lt;/p&gt;
  741. &lt;p&gt;
  742. For now, in this individual sport, no one represents the stubborn spirit and ultimate worth of the individual the way Djokovic does. Again he was the man alone in the arena; and again he was the one who walked out of that arena a winner. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/R7HZ0IRI9fg&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  743.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/lions-den/56324/</guid>
  744.         <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 07:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
  745.      </item>
  746.      <item>
  747.         <title>U.S. Open Men's Final Preview: Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer</title>
  748.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/i7pwUjXEnmY/</link>
  749.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  750. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/13/201508271007364710733-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:298px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  751. &lt;p&gt;
  752. NEW YORK—“I think it’s just a straight shootout, and I think that’s the cool thing about our rivalry.”&lt;/p&gt;
  753. &lt;p&gt;
  754. That’s how world No. 2 Roger Federer described how he feels about playing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and it’s hard to argue with him. Since their first match in 2006, they’ve stood toe to toe on the baseline and let the best man win. And over the years, their rivalry has turned into the coolest—or at least the closest—in the men's game. With his win over Djokovic in the Cincinnati final last month, Federer broke a 20-20 tie in their head-to-head.&lt;/p&gt;
  755. &lt;p&gt;
  756. This matchup has also been pretty cool, and pretty close, at the U.S. Open. Federer beat Djokovic in the Serb’s first Grand Slam final in 2007, and smacked his most &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMJ0-1GGf5k&quot;&gt;legendary tweener past him&lt;/a&gt; there two years later. But Djokovic turned the tables, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTXRuOS0zss&quot;&gt;in the most painful way possible&lt;/a&gt;, in 2010 and 2011, beating Federer in five sets after saving two match points both times.&lt;/p&gt;
  757. &lt;p&gt;
  758. With Rafael Nadal dropping out of their “trivalry” for the moment, the Djokovic-Federer battle has only escalated in frequency and import in recent years. They played six times in 2014, and they’ve already played five times in 2015; Djokovic won in Indian Wells, Rome, and at Wimbledon, Federer in Dubai and Cincy.&lt;/p&gt;
  759. &lt;p&gt;
  760. And as usual these days, each will come into this match in what appears to be peak form. Djokovic has dropped two sets over the fortnight, one to Roberto Bautista Agut and one to Feliciano Lopez, while Federer hasn’t dropped any. Each was &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/cruising-shadows/56297/&quot;&gt;especially good in the semifinals&lt;/a&gt;; Djokovic ground the defending champion, Marin Cilic, into dust, while Federer played circles around Stan Wawrinka.&lt;/p&gt;
  761. &lt;p&gt;
  762. Considering their form, and the historical tightness of their rivalry, it’s clear that either of them could win this match. Federer says there aren’t any new tricks they can show each other, but of course he knows that isn’t true. His running-start SABR return, which may have started as a joke and a gimmick, proved to be a valuable tactic against Wawrinka. It rattled his countryman just enough to get him out of rhythm and earn Federer an early break. Federer also used it successfully at least once against Djokovic in Cincy; we’ll see how much of an effect it has here. Djokovic wouldn’t comment on it after their last match, but his coach, Boris Becker, has said Federer would have faced “retribution” for it in his day. It would obviously serve Djokovic best to stay calm and not let Federer SABR-rattle him on Sunday. (For the record, I think the cheeky SABR is a fair play and a smart play, but that Federer shouldn’t be surprised if he finds a passing shot or two flying closer to his face when he does it.)&lt;/p&gt;
  763. &lt;p&gt;
  764. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/13/6 Aguilar_USOPEN_Day8_Federer Isner_20150908_0510.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  765. &lt;p&gt;
  766. More important than the SABR itself may be the mindset it installs in Federer. Could it help him react more quickly to serves from a normal position? Djokovic’s serve, and Federer's inability to return it, has been the story of the last two Wimbledon finals; if Federer can make more inroads on Novak’s service games here, it would make a difference. Beyond the return, could success with the SABR make Federer more confident about being aggressive in general? Federer served and volleyed 17 times against Wawrinka, and won 22 of 28 points at the net. His volley looked as sturdy as it ever has.&lt;/p&gt;
  767. &lt;p&gt;
  768. But that brings up the most important point of all in this match: Djokovic is not Wawrinka, and Federer obviously knows this. Djokovic has a much better return, and is a much better defender, especially from the backhand side—he has killed Federer with his backhand pass in recent years. It’s unlikely that Federer will be able to approach this match with the easy aggression that he has shown against everyone else here.&lt;/p&gt;
  769. &lt;p&gt;
  770. It’s also unlikely that Federer will, as he did against Wawrinka, take an early lead and feel like he can run away with it in this match. At Wimbledon, Federer soared over Andy Murray in three sets in the semifinals, but when he had an early break against Djokovic in the final, he gave it back. He doesn’t have the same confidence in his superiority against Djokovic that he has against virtually all other opponents. But Federer may have a little more confidence now than he did at Wimbledon. There he was coming in after being thoroughly beaten by Djokovic in Rome; this time he comes in after a straight-set win over him in Cincinnati.&lt;/p&gt;
  771. &lt;p&gt;
  772. The quick conditions favored Federer in Cincinnati, but if Sunday's forecast holds and the weather is cool and overcast through the afternoon, the advantage may shift to Djokovic. Either way, as he did at Wimbledon and Cincy and everywhere else, Djokovic will have to take on the world in New York—the 23,000 people in Ashe Stadium are going to make a lot of noise in Federer’s favor today. They should be rewarded with, as Federer says, a shootout to remember.&lt;/p&gt;
  773. &lt;p&gt;
  774. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/13/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_20150911_2191.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  775. &lt;p&gt;
  776. Who will hit the target this time? Can Djokovic hold Federer and his faithful off again? I wouldn’t be surprised if he finally cracked, but I’m not going to bet against him.&lt;/p&gt;
  777. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  778. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: Djokovic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/i7pwUjXEnmY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  779.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/us-open-mens-final-preview-novak-djokovic-vs-roger-federer/56314/</guid>
  780.         <pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2015 14:24:00 +0000</pubDate>
  781.      </item>
  782.      <item>
  783.         <title>A Victory and a Farewell</title>
  784.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/d9yPzHXB5U8/</link>
  785.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  786. NEW YORK—As it began, the U.S. Open women’s final had the look of a party that was missing its guest of honor. Celebrities off all stripes—Robert Redford, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Michael Douglas, James Taylor—crowded the suites in Arthur Ashe Stadium, while 20,000 others, many of whom had paid top dollar to be there, filled the rest of the arena. The only problem was, the star they had come to see and cheer, Serena Williams, had been forced to cancel at the last minute. &lt;/p&gt;
  787. &lt;p&gt;
  788. What none of the fans in Ashe knew at the time was that, while they wouldn’t get to see Serena’s coronation, they would be treated to a very different type of bash, one that combined elements of a debut, a reunion, a surprise party, and a retirement gala. No, Serena wouldn’t make history on this Saturday by winning the calendar-year Grand Slam; but her fellow 33-year-old, Flavia Pennetta, would, by winning her first Grand Slam singles title on the same evening that she announced her retirement from tennis. Along the way, Pennetta and her opponent, Roberta Vinci, a fellow Italian who also happens to be an old friend, made it a bittersweet celebration for tennis fans in New York, in Italy, and around the world.&lt;/p&gt;
  789. &lt;p&gt;
  790. If Williams had been going for the Grand Slam, a thick mix of tension and anticipation would have filled Ashe from row A to row triple-Z. Instead, Pennetta and Vinci brought a comfortable sense of camaraderie to the court. Earlier in the day, they had chatted for so long in the lunch room that Boris Becker jokingly asked them, as he walked past, whether they were aware that they were supposed to play each other in a couple of hours. Once they were on court, instead of posing stiffly at the net for their pre-match photos, Pennetta and Vinci hugged and mugged for the camera, bantering all the time. They picked up their conversation as soon as the match was over, laughing and whispering to each other like classmates as they waited for the trophy ceremony to begin. Pennetta, it would turn out, had news for her friend.&lt;/p&gt;
  791. &lt;p&gt;
  792. “I’ve known her since...ever,” Pennetta said of the 32-year-old Vinci. “We moved to Rome together when we were 13, and lived in the same room for four years. We’ve shared so many things together.”&lt;/p&gt;
  793. &lt;p&gt;
  794. “Before the match we say, doesn’t matter. &lt;em&gt;We’re&lt;/em&gt; gonna win. It’s going to be a big win for both of us. It’s going to be a really big win for both of us.”&lt;/p&gt;
  795. &lt;p&gt;
  796. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/12/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day13_20150912_1057.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  797. &lt;p&gt;
  798. Despite that, both women started as if it very much &lt;em&gt;did&lt;/em&gt; matter what happened on court. There may have been a friend on the other side of the net, but this was the first Grand Slam singles final for both women, and they were nervous. Vinci was especially anxious to start, but neither could reproduce the brilliance that had helped them knock off the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players the previous day. Vinci’s slices floated instead of biting, her volleys flew wide, and her forehand, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/vincanity/56295/#.VfTf_7SLWEc&quot;&gt;so penetrating against Williams on Friday&lt;/a&gt;, sailed long. Pennetta’s backhand, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/cruising-shadows/56297/#.VfTgCbSLWEc&quot;&gt;a laser against Simona Halep in the semifinals&lt;/a&gt;, lacked the same sting. The match in general lacked the sting of tooth-and-nail competition.&lt;/p&gt;
  799. &lt;p&gt;
  800. “I didn’t play my best tennis today,” Pennetta admitted. “I have to say I was scared and tight from the beginning. Was not easy for me to hit the ball in the same way I did yesterday.” And that was the winner talking.&lt;/p&gt;
  801. &lt;p&gt;
  802. The first set lasted for 60 minutes, and ended with Vinci making four unforced errors to lose a tiebreaker. The level of play improved in the second set, but it improved a good deal more on Pennetta’s side. She found her range on her backhand, and most important, she closed out this 7-6 (4), 6-2 win like a Grand Slam champ. At 4-2, Pennetta held with a half volley from the baseline that she turned into a lob winner. In the final game, she lasered a backhand winner down the line to reach 0-30, and finished the match by putting a forehand on the sideline for another winner, her 28th. Pennetta’s timing had been impeccable: As the two women walked to the net to shake hands, rain had begun to fall.&lt;/p&gt;
  803. &lt;p&gt;
  804. “Was tough today,” Vinci said, “Flavia played unbelievable, just too good.” &lt;/p&gt;
  805. &lt;p&gt;
  806. Pennetta’s timing was perfect, and so was her sense of what to do for an encore. If her victory was a surprise—she had played 48 majors before winning her first, the most of any Open era Slam champion—what she did afterward left jaws dropped around the stadium. As the trophy ceremony wound down, Pennetta announced that she would this would be her last U.S. Open, and, as she would clarify later, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/italys-flavia-pennetta-wins-us-open-1st-grand-slam-title/56306/#.VfTgW7SLWEc&quot;&gt;she would retire at the end of 2015&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  807. &lt;p&gt;
  808. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/12/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day13_20150912_1156.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  809. &lt;p&gt;
  810. Why? Why leave the sport you love when you’re playing it better than you ever have?&lt;/p&gt;
  811. &lt;p&gt;
  812. “Sometimes it’s getting hard for me to compete,” Pennetta explained. “This is the important point. When you are in the court, when you have to play 24 weeks in the year, you have to fight every week. And if you don’t fight every week in the same way I did today, it’s gonna be bad...I don’t feel like I have this power anymore sometimes.”&lt;/p&gt;
  813. &lt;p&gt;
  814. Pennetta said she had been considered retirement for the last few years, but that she didn’t know what else she wanted to do. Speaking to ESPN after the match, she made an interesting admission: “I don’t know what I like.” She said that her life after tennis will begin as one of self-discovery.&lt;/p&gt;
  815. &lt;p&gt;
  816. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/12/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day13_20150912_0777.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;From my sightings of Flavia around the tour, she certainly appeared to be devoted to the court. Two years ago in Eastbourne, walking through the facility early in the morning, I saw her out hitting on an otherwise empty set of courts. This was during a down period in her career, and at 31 her best years seemed to be behind her. Pennetta grew frustrated as she practiced, bouncing her racquet on the grass and threatening to smash it into a wooden scoreboard at the back. She was trying, and repeatedly failing, to hit a target that her coach had placed in the far corner of the court. Finally, Flavia found her range with her forehand, and began to find the target. For the last 10 minutes of her session, she couldn’t miss it. This, it seemed to me, was the profesional’s secret to making it look so easy during a match: Making it so hard in practice.&lt;/p&gt;
  817. &lt;p&gt;
  818. Pennetta didn’t always make it look easy, but she played with an appealing mix of athleticism and elegance. She could slide in a drop shot for a winner on one point, and drill a backhand past her opponent on the next. She would punctuate one point with a smile, and the next with a fist-pump. Her walk and her posture were always regal, but never haughty. Flavia added personality—flavor—to the sport, without being overly dramatic about it. By all accounts, her Open win will be as popular in the locker room as her presence on tour will be missed.&lt;/p&gt;
  819. &lt;p&gt;
  820. The fans at the Open came for a home-country crowning, but they got an Italian reunion, and a parting, instead. The evening may have lacked competitive tension, but it had warmth. With her play, and her humor, Vinci made herself an instant fan favorite in New York over the last two days; Flavia always has been. And while Pennetta’s title and retirement will be the lead stories on Sunday, the most fitting image of the night wasn’t of her waving good-bye or holding the trophy over her head. It was the image of the two Italians at the net after the last point had been played, in what may have been the longest post-match embrace of any Grand Slam final. Pennetta's and Vinci's shared history, begun two decades ago, had led them both here, and they could each feel that they had a share in the winning result. This party hadn't been missing its guests of honor, after all.&lt;/p&gt;
  821. &lt;p&gt;
  822. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/12/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day13_20150912_0968.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/d9yPzHXB5U8&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  823.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/hello-and-good-bye/56310/</guid>
  824.         <pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2015 00:19:00 +0000</pubDate>
  825.      </item>
  826.      <item>
  827.         <title>U.S. Open Women's Final Preview: Flavia Pennetta vs. Roberta Vinci</title>
  828.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/9qQ-V_5PxK0/</link>
  829.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  830. NEW YORK— It has been reported that some spectators paid up to $4,000 for a ticket to see the women's final. Maybe we should just pretend that, instead of hoping to be there to watch Serena Williams complete the Grand Slam, they’re all huge Roberta Vinci fans and they knew exactly how the tournament was going to play out.&lt;/p&gt;
  831. &lt;p&gt;
  832. “All Italia!” Vinci cried happily when she was asked, after her &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/vincanity/56295/#.VfQ8DrSLWEc&quot;&gt;all-time upset win over Williams &lt;/a&gt;on Friday, about the women’s final. She had a right to be excited. How could she and her opponent on Saturday, her countrywoman Flavia Pennetta, have known when they faced off in the first round of an indoor tournament in tiny Ortesei, Italy, in 2003 that the two of them would play for the U.S. Open title 12 years later?&lt;/p&gt;
  833. &lt;p&gt;
  834. It has been a long time coming for the 32-year-old Vinci and the 33-year-old Pennetta, two old friends and doubles partners. While each has hovered in vicinity of the Top 10 in recent years, neither has ever been seen as a Slam-winning threat, and it’s probable that neither believed she would ever reach a major final until the last winner had come off her racquet yesterday.&lt;/p&gt;
  835. &lt;p&gt;
  836. But Pennetta and Vinci deserve their unlikely spots today, because both of them came up with something close to the match of their lives in the semifinals. Vinci, as Serena said, “played literally out of her mind” to beat the world No. 1, but if anything &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/cruising-shadows/56297/#.VfQ9prSLWEc&quot;&gt;Pennetta was even better&lt;/a&gt; in her demolition of the world No. 2, Simona Halep. “Everything was working amazing today,” Pennetta said afterward. Most tennis players can only dream of ever getting to say those words.&lt;/p&gt;
  837. &lt;p&gt;
  838. How will a meeting between the two play out? Pennetta leads their head to head 5-4, and while they’ve played just once in the last five years, she’s won their last two meetings easily. Two years ago they played in the quarterfinals at the Open, and Pennetta won 6-4, 6-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  839. &lt;p&gt;
  840. The onus, then, will be on Vinci to do something special to change that dynamic—to serve well, to hit her forehand with the same flat assurance that she did against Serena, to play through her nerves again. It would be satisfying to have her complete an Open win after pulling off such an epochal upset. But as much as I keep remembering Vinci’s brilliant down the line backhand approach in the final game of her semi, Pennetta’s backhand winners against Halep looked even better.&lt;/p&gt;
  841. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  842. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: Flavia Pennetta&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/9qQ-V_5PxK0&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  843.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/2015-us-open-womens-final-preview-flavia-pennetta-vs-roberta-vinci/56302/</guid>
  844.         <pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2015 14:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
  845.      </item>
  846.      <item>
  847.         <title>Cruising in the Shadows</title>
  848.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/QXeH9UTRM3k/</link>
  849.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  850. NEW YORK—You already know what the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/vincanity/56295/#.VfOg07SLWEc&quot;&gt;big news&lt;/a&gt; was here on Friday. But Roberta Vinci’s stunning win over Serena Williams wasn’t the only stellar performance in Arthur Ashe Stadium. This will almost surely be the only time that the world No. 43’s performance overshadows outstanding ones by Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Vinci’s better-known Italian countrywoman, Flavia Pennetta. In the interest of equal time, here’s a quick look at how Vinci’s three more famous colleagues advanced to the finals.&lt;/p&gt;
  851. &lt;p&gt;
  852. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  853. &lt;p&gt;
  854. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_20150911_0627.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  855. &lt;p&gt;
  856. &lt;strong&gt;“When you want too much something,” Pennetta said after her 59-minute, 6-1, 6-3 win over Simona Halep, “and you really like say &lt;em&gt;this&lt;/em&gt; is the moment I have to do this and that, always it’s gonna be a big mess.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  857. &lt;p&gt;
  858. Pennetta was talking about her own run to the U.S. Open final, of course, but she could also have been describing Simona Halep’s day at the office in their semifinal. Pennetta came to New York as the 26th seed; Halep as No. 2. Pennetta wasn’t sure she would be physically ready to play this Grand Slam; despite having reached the quarterfinals or better at the Open five times prior to this year, she had no expectation of success.&lt;/p&gt;
  859. &lt;p&gt;
  860. “I don’t think too much about the draw,” Pennetta said. “I go match by match.”&lt;/p&gt;
  861. &lt;p&gt;
  862. Halep, for her part, says she tried to play this tournament with no expectations, but after reaching the finals in Toronto and Cincinnati and beating Pennetta in Miami, she was the clear favorite to do it here as well. Halep looked nervous to start on Friday, and things only got worse from there. It was, in the end, a big mess.&lt;/p&gt;
  863. &lt;p&gt;
  864. “She was better emotional than me,” Halep said. “...I was flat. I tried. It was better than Australian Open when I gave up during the match. Here I tried to find a way to play better, but I couldn’t.”&lt;/p&gt;
  865. &lt;p&gt;
  866. Pennetta began by mixing speeds well. She cracked her backhand whenever she had the chance, and the result was a laser into both corners. But she also threw in drop shots and followed them to net. While Pennetta was on her front foot throughout, Halep was on her heels; she could never get herself out from under the Italian’s pace and accuracy. The match could be summed up with this simple, symmetrical statistic: Pennetta hit 23 winners; Halep made 23 unforced errors. &lt;/p&gt;
  867. &lt;p&gt;
  868. “Today I play really well,” Pennetta said. “I mean, I didn’t make mistakes. I was focused. I was aggressive.”&lt;/p&gt;
  869. &lt;p&gt;
  870. No wonder then, that when Pennetta fired her final forehand winner into the corner on match point, all she could do was throw her head back and laugh.&lt;/p&gt;
  871. &lt;p&gt;
  872. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  873. &lt;p&gt;
  874. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_20150911_1926.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  875. &lt;p&gt;
  876. &lt;strong&gt;“All in all,” Novak Djokovic said after his 85-minute, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 win over Marin Cilic, “it was from my side a very solid match.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  877. &lt;p&gt;
  878. Perhaps only the world No. 1 could describe a Grand Slam semifinal in which he won 83 points and held the defending U.S. Open champion to 39 as merely “solid.” &lt;/p&gt;
  879. &lt;p&gt;
  880. But there were mitigating circumstances to this one: Cilic had twisted his ankle, and he had trouble pushing off in his last match, against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as well as this one.&lt;/p&gt;
  881. &lt;p&gt;
  882. “The foot was causing me obviously some trouble with the movement,” Cilic said, “but Novak was able to expose me much more today.”&lt;/p&gt;
  883. &lt;p&gt;
  884. Outside of the scores, Djokovic’s stats were unspectacular—16 winners, 13 errors, three aces—but they didn’t need to be. From a physical standpoint, this counts as an important win because it will leave him as rested as possible for the final on Sunday.&lt;/p&gt;
  885. &lt;p&gt;
  886. But it also might help mentally. Djokovic knew coming in that Cilic was hurting. Often that will distract a player, but if anything it did the opposite to the Serb. If his opponent wasn’t going to beat him, he looked bound and determined not to beat himself, and he maintained that attitude through three sets without a letup.&lt;/p&gt;
  887. &lt;p&gt;
  888. “It felt great to be able to perform as well as I did today, at this stage of the tournament,” Djokovic said, “again, knowing that Marin carried that injury for last couple of matches. I didn’t allow that fact to distract me too much.”&lt;/p&gt;
  889. &lt;p&gt;
  890. Cilic could only echo Djokovic’s self-assessment.&lt;/p&gt;
  891. &lt;p&gt;
  892. “Novak was extremely focused today,” Cilic said. “He played great.”&lt;/p&gt;
  893. &lt;p&gt;
  894. Coming from a guy who has lost all 13 of his matches to you, that’s a compliment.&lt;/p&gt;
  895. &lt;p&gt;
  896. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  897. &lt;p&gt;
  898. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Federer_20150911_0037.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  899. &lt;p&gt;
  900. &lt;strong&gt;“It’s got to be the right point,” Roger Federer said after his 92-minute, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win over Stan Wawrinka, “right frame of mind, the right place to do it.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  901. &lt;p&gt;
  902. Federer was talking about his now-famous SABR return, where he sprints forward as his opponent tosses the ball for a second serve and hits a half-volley from just behind the service line. Federer certainly chose the right point, place, and frame of mind to do it against Wawrinka. This was the match where the play went from gimmick to tactic.&lt;/p&gt;
  903. &lt;p&gt;
  904. The last time these two played in a Grand Slam, at the French Open, Wawrinka pounded Federer from both sides in a straight-set win. This match started with something of the same feel; Stan was thumping the ball early. So Federer went to the SABR right away, trying it three times when Wawrinka served at 1-1. While he didn’t win all three of those points, the move rattled Wawrinka. Federer broke his serve, and more important, broke Stan's rhythm. He never trailed.&lt;/p&gt;
  905. &lt;p&gt;
  906. “Him,” Wawrinka said of Federer when he was asked what had made the match so difficult, “the way he’s playing.&lt;/p&gt;
  907. &lt;p&gt;
  908. “He’s moving really well, for sure,” Wawrinka continued. “He’s reading well the game, and so he’s trying really to stay on the [baseline], not to go back. He’s also serving better than I’ve ever seen him serve.”&lt;/p&gt;
  909. &lt;p&gt;
  910. Federer has been in &quot;vintage&quot; mode since his wins over Djokovic and Andy Murray in Cincinnati, and he stayed there on Friday. He wasn’t broken, he hit 29 winners, was 13 of 17 on serve-and-volley points and 22 of 28 at the net overall, and was moving like it was 2009, if not 1999. Federer was especially good at running around his backhand, hitting as many forehands as possible, and getting them to penetrate. &lt;/p&gt;
  911. &lt;p&gt;
  912. One residual benefit of Federer’s SABR-rattling may be that his reactions on normal service returns will quicken a bit. He took one Wawrinka first serve out wide in the deuce court and flicked it down the line to set up a winner. If his return &lt;em&gt;has&lt;/em&gt; improved, it could prove crucial in the final, whether he actually uses the SABR or not. Djokovic has feasted on service winners in each of their last two Grand Slam title matches, both at Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  913. &lt;p&gt;
  914. Call it one more trick in a matchup that doesn’t, according to Federer, need any tricks.&lt;/p&gt;
  915. &lt;p&gt;
  916. “I don’t know how it is for him,” Federer said of playing Djokovic, “but I feel like he doesn’t need to adjust his game as much, either. I think it’s a straight shootout, and I think that’s the cool thing about our rivalry.”&lt;/p&gt;
  917. &lt;p&gt;
  918. Judging by the way Federer and Djokovic played their semifinals, it will be a straight shootout to watch on Sunday. &lt;/p&gt;
  919. &lt;p&gt;
  920. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Federer_20150912_0075.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/QXeH9UTRM3k&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  921.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/cruising-shadows/56297/</guid>
  922.         <pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2015 03:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
  923.      </item>
  924.      <item>
  925.         <title>Vincanity</title>
  926.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/Zg9iy9KCPiU/</link>
  927.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  928. NEW YORK—A few minutes after Roberta Vinci beat Serena Williams 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the U.S. Open semifinals on Friday, she was asked if she had believed, when she woke up that morning, whether she had any chance of winning. Vinci didn’t hesitate with her answer.&lt;/p&gt;
  929. &lt;p&gt;
  930. “&lt;em&gt;No!&lt;/em&gt;” the Italian cried as she wiggled her head back and forth.&lt;/p&gt;
  931. &lt;p&gt;
  932. How about after she had pushed Serena to a third set? &lt;/p&gt;
  933. &lt;p&gt;
  934. “&lt;em&gt;Never&lt;/em&gt;,” Vinci said with a laugh. &lt;/p&gt;
  935. &lt;p&gt;
  936. What about when she broke Serena at 3-3 in the third and served for the match at 5-4?&lt;/p&gt;
  937. &lt;p&gt;
  938. “When I serve,” said Vinci, while pretending to shake all over, “I think, ‘&lt;em&gt;It’s&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;impossible&lt;/em&gt;.’”&lt;/p&gt;
  939. &lt;p&gt;
  940. On Thursday night, the world No. 43 had even gone so far as to call her travel agent and say, “‘OK, book me a flight, because, you know...”&lt;/p&gt;
  941. &lt;p&gt;
  942. So how did, at age 32 and playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, did the 132-pound Vinci pull off what may have been the biggest upset in tennis history? How did she win a match in which she was a 300-1 underdog?&lt;/p&gt;
  943. &lt;p&gt;
  944. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0048.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  945. &lt;p&gt;
  946. She played exceptionally well, of course; “the best match of my life,” Vinci called it. When it was over, she pointed upward and said, “I can maybe touch the sky with my finger.” &lt;/p&gt;
  947. &lt;p&gt;
  948. More important, though, was the fact that Vinci played &lt;em&gt;her&lt;/em&gt; game. As someone who turned pro way back in 1999, she remembers how tennis was played in the last century, and as someone who was ranked No. 11 as recently as two years ago, she knows it can be effective today. She’s one of just two players in the WTA’s Top 50 who still uses a one-handed backhand.&lt;/p&gt;
  949. &lt;p&gt;
  950. So Vinci set about doing what she and very few others can do these days. She sliced her one-hander low and forced Serena to hit up on the ball, which kept her off-balance. Vinci also used the shot to move into the net, where she won 18 of 25 points.&lt;/p&gt;
  951. &lt;p&gt;
  952. But while her backhand was distinctive, it was her forehand that was the revelation. Vinci smacked the shot with a loose, free-flowing motion, and the flat pace she generated with it seemed to catch Serena by surprise. Vinci hit just 10 winners from that side, but more significant is the fact that she made just nine mistakes with it. Vinci was aggressive but measured in her attack, and she forced nearly as many errors from Serena’s racquet as Serena did from hers. &lt;/p&gt;
  953. &lt;p&gt;
  954. While Vinci said her serve was a “little bit up and down,” she did a good job mixing it up, and again keeping Serena from ever locking in. Rather than try to end points outright, Vinci played old-fashioned, high-percentage, move-the-other-player-out-of-position, cause-and-effect tennis. The style was by the book, but the effect was stunning.&lt;/p&gt;
  955. &lt;p&gt;
  956. “On my second serve,” Vinci said, “I have a lot of problems, because I saw her really, at the net, really. So I said, ‘OK, if I don’t make a good second serve, she always push me a lot. So was tough. But sometimes I change. Not always a kick, but sometimes slice on her forehand. Was not easy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  957. &lt;p&gt;
  958. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0004.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  959. &lt;p&gt;
  960. From a distance, you might think that Serena was overconfident, or that after beating Madison Keys in the fourth round and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/love-game/56245/#.VfNvXrSLWEd&quot;&gt;her sister in the quarterfinals&lt;/a&gt;, that she suffered a letdown in this one. And she did to a degree. From the start, this was the unsure Serena we had seen at various points this season, rather than the high-alert, razor-sharp Serena we had seen in the last two rounds. Yet she also knew exactly what she was in for against Vinci, and she knew it wouldn’t be easy.&lt;/p&gt;
  961. &lt;p&gt;
  962. “I played her in Canada,” Serena said earlier this week, referring to her semifinal win over Vinci in Toronto last month, which had been trickier than the 6-4, 6-3 scores indicated. “She played me really tough, and I didn’t expect that...I think it was great that I played her because I kind of know what to expect, and I’ll be more ready for it this time.”&lt;/p&gt;
  963. &lt;p&gt;
  964. “She has that mean slice backhand, too.”&lt;/p&gt;
  965. &lt;p&gt;
  966. Serena knew what to expect from Vinci, and after she won the first set 6-2, it looked like she knew what to do about it. But Vinci kept mixing her soft slice backhand with her hard flat forehand, and in a season where very little has been straightforward for Serena, it was enough to keep the American on edge and unable to swing freely.&lt;/p&gt;
  967. &lt;p&gt;
  968. The two players disagreed later about how nervous Serena was.&lt;/p&gt;
  969. &lt;p&gt;
  970. “A lot,” said Vinci, who claimed that she took heart when Serena slammed her racquet at the end of the second set.&lt;/p&gt;
  971. &lt;p&gt;
  972. Serena, naturally, had a different take: “I mean, I made a couple of tight shots,&quot; she said, &quot;but maybe just about two.”&lt;/p&gt;
  973. &lt;p&gt;
  974. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0002.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;I don’t know which two shots Serena meant, but one possibility stays in my mind. With Vinci serving up 4-3 in the second set, Serena made her expected surge, and Vinci seemed on the verge of making her expected collapse. Serena reached break point, and had a look at a very makable forehand pass on the run—the crosscourt was wide open. But after getting her feet tangled up during the point, she shanked the ball well wide. &lt;/p&gt;
  975. &lt;p&gt;
  976. All year, Serena has faced turning points like this, and all year she has made them turn her way. After winning 26 straight matches at the Slams this year, many of them in three sets, she fell two games short in the 27th. A game short, but not a point—Serena actually won 93 points in this match to Vinci’s 85.&lt;/p&gt;
  977. &lt;p&gt;
  978. “I don’t want to talk about how disappointing it was for me,” Serena said. She wanted to get out of the interview room as quickly as possible, and she even called for “last questions,” something that’s generally not part of the player’s purview.&lt;/p&gt;
  979. &lt;p&gt;
  980. Still, Serena had the right perspective. She has said all along that winning Grand Slams is her goal, but that winning the calendar-year Grand Slam wasn’t. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have celebrated the accomplishment to the fullest if she had pulled it off, the way she did when she won the Serena Slam at Wimbledon. But it wasn’t something she was going to let hang over head. She knows there’s pressure enough trying to win any major. &lt;/p&gt;
  981. &lt;p&gt;
  982. “I did win three Grand Slams this year,” Serena said. “Yeah, I won four in a row. It’s pretty good.”&lt;/p&gt;
  983. &lt;p&gt;
  984. Serena can’t be pleased to have lost her chance at a seventh Open, a 22nd major, and a calendar Slam to the world No. 43. But it’s difficult to say that a tennis player should be “disappointed” not to have won five straight majors. Who imagines they could do that in the first place? Serena alone: In the last 25 years, she’s the only player to have won four Slams in a row, and she’s done it twice. That's more than, as Serena says, pretty good.&lt;/p&gt;
  985. &lt;p&gt;
  986. “I thought she played the best tennis in her career,” Serena said of Vinci. “...I don’t think I played that bad.”&lt;/p&gt;
  987. &lt;p&gt;
  988. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0027.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  989. &lt;p&gt;
  990. In the end, the reason Vinci did what no other woman has done at a Slam this year wasn’t because she sliced her backhand or flattened out her forehand. She won because she had the guts and the game to close it out; she even had the guts to demand that the U.S. crowd give her some love after an especially brilliant point. Afterward, Serena understood this as well as anyone.&lt;/p&gt;
  991. &lt;p&gt;
  992. “She did not want to lose today,” Serena said.&lt;/p&gt;
  993. &lt;p&gt;
  994. Unlike Elina Svitolina and Garbine Muguruza in Australia; unlike four different players who won the first set against her at the French Open; unlike Heather Watson and Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon; and unlike Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the U.S. Open, once Vinci had the lead, she didn’t give it back. &lt;/p&gt;
  995. &lt;p&gt;
  996. In fact, she saved her best tennis for last. Serving at 5-4, shaking life a leaf and still believing it was “impossible,” Vinci carved under a gorgeous slice approach and followed it with a half-volley winner. On match point, she moved Serena across the baseline and seemed to have the rally won with a forehand. But Serena being Serena, she stretched herself out as far as she could and forced Vinci to make &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/whats-roberta-vincis-match-winning-ball-worth-someone-1500/56288/#.VfNwVLSLWEc&quot;&gt;one more ball&lt;/a&gt;. Vinci did.&lt;/p&gt;
  997. &lt;p&gt;
  998. Vinci was asked what her reaction was, when the impossible had finally happened.&lt;/p&gt;
  999. &lt;p&gt;
  1000. She dragged her finger across her forehand and let out a long “&lt;em&gt;Whhhhheeeeeewwwww&lt;/em&gt;” of relief.&lt;/p&gt;
  1001. &lt;p&gt;
  1002. When it comes to beating Serena this year, only seeing is believing.&lt;/p&gt;
  1003. &lt;p&gt;
  1004. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/11/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day12_Serena_RV_20150911_0061.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/Zg9iy9KCPiU&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1005.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/vincanity/56295/</guid>
  1006.         <pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2015 23:48:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1007.      </item>
  1008.      <item>
  1009.         <title>2015 U.S. Open Men's Semifinal Previews</title>
  1010.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/J8-b_wWOPpA/</link>
  1011.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  1012. &lt;strong&gt;Novak Djokovic [1] vs. Marin Cilic [9]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1013. &lt;p&gt;
  1014. “Novak didn’t give me much to play with today,” Cilic told the press after his ultra-routine 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Djokovic this year at Wimbledon. That’s how it’s always been between these two: They've played 13 times, and Djokovic has won them all. Occasionally the matches have been competitive: A five-setter at Wimbledon last year, a close four-setter at the U.S. Open in 2008, and a 6-1 blowout first set for Cilic at Indian Wells in 2014. But mostly they've been routine, and Cilic hasn’t won more than four games in any of their last seven sets. Basically, aside from hitting aces, Djokovic does everything Cilic does but significantly better. His ground strokes are sharper and more varied, and most important, the 6’2” Serb is a much better mover than the 6’6” Croat.&lt;/p&gt;
  1015. &lt;p&gt;
  1016. Of course, all of that could have been said before Cilic’s match with Roger Federer in the semis here last year, and it was Cilic who came away the straight-set winner. This year he has shown flashes of the serving prowess that won him the Open title in 2014, but he’ll need more than flashes to take three sets from Djokovic. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: Djokovic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1017. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  1018. &lt;strong&gt;Roger Federer [2] vs. Stan Wawrinka [5]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1019. &lt;p&gt;
  1020. Federer has had his way with the competition so far, but he often does through the first four, five, even six rounds at a major. That doesn’t mean he’s going to do the same thing when the competition gets tougher at the end. And if he’s going to win Slam No. 18, he’s probably going to have to go through the toughest competition of all in Wawrinka and Djokovic, the men who eliminated him from the last two majors.&lt;/p&gt;
  1021. &lt;p&gt;
  1022. Stan, who knocked Federer out of the French Open in straight sets, is up first. After what I thought was a subpar performance against Donald Young in the fourth round, Wawrinka looked re-energized against Kevin Anderson in the quarters as he raced to beat the rain on Wednesday night. The fact that Wawrinka has finally beaten Federer at a major should work in his favor in two ways: He should have the confidence he can do it again, and Federer won’t be quite so sure of victory even if he comes out of the gates fast and gains an early lead. Still, Federer leads their head-to-head 16-3, and has never lost to Wawrinka on hard courts. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: Federer&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/J8-b_wWOPpA&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1023.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/2015-us-open-mens-semifinal-previews/56275/</guid>
  1024.         <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2015 22:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1025.      </item>
  1026.      <item>
  1027.         <title>1991: Jimmy Connors' gripping U.S. Open run at age 39</title>
  1028.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/zaZ9iS1fyAY/</link>
  1029.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1030. &lt;em&gt;This year marks the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine's founding in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, we'll look back each Thursday at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/50th-anniversary-moments/&quot;&gt;one of the 50 moments&lt;/a&gt; that have defined the last half-century in our sport.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1031. &lt;hr/&gt;
  1032. &lt;p&gt;
  1033. In August of 1990, Jimmy Connors left the grounds of the U.S. Open without having played a match, something that had never happened in his 20 years at the tournament. But there was no way around it this time: The five-time champ, who at 37 was well into the sunset years of his career, was suffering from a wrist injury that just wouldn’t let up.&lt;/p&gt;
  1034. &lt;p&gt;
  1035. Jimbo, of course, wasn’t quite ready to sail off into the sunset just yet. According to tennis writer Joel Drucker, as he rode out of the National Tennis Center in a taxi, Connors turned back to look at Louis Armstrong Stadium and told the crew of cronies that surrounded him, “If I ever get back there, that place is going to rock and roll.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1036. &lt;p&gt;
  1037. By August of ’91, ‘if” had turned to “when.” Connors, despite being one year closer to 40, had reached the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, and had been serenaded off the court by packed houses in both places. To him, though, those were just the warm-up acts before the main event. “I had only one goal in mind: New York,” Connors said.&lt;/p&gt;
  1038. &lt;p&gt;
  1039. Since winning the inaugural Open at Flushing Meadows in 1978, the Big Apple had been “my stage and the crowd my people,” he said. In ’91, he believed a deep run there was still possible. “If I can win a match or two,” he told himself as he trained and carbo-loaded like a man half his age, “I know the crowd will do the rest for me.” &lt;/p&gt;
  1040. &lt;p&gt;
  1041. Two sets into his opening match at the ’91 Open, though, all of his work seemed to have gone for nought. The truth was out: Even James Scott Connors, the warrior's warrior, was no match for father time. That night a packed crowd had arrived on time, but Connors’ game hadn’t. Uncharacteristically nervous, he went down two quick sets and a break in the third to Patrick McEnroe. Rather than serenading him off, the fans in the corporate boxes were bolting early; even Jimbo’s old friends Jose Luis Clerc and Ilie Nastase deserted him.&lt;/p&gt;
  1042. &lt;p&gt;
  1043. A few hours later, around 1:00 in the morning, Nastase arrived home and said to his wife, “What a shame it was about Jimmy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1044. &lt;p&gt;
  1045. “About what?” she asked. “Look at the TV. He’s serving for the match right now.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1046. &lt;p&gt;
  1047. How did Jimbo turn it around? As he said, this was his house. &lt;/p&gt;
  1048. &lt;p&gt;
  1049. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/10/959207.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:409px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;“I’m two sets down, 0-3, 0-40,” Connors wrote in his autobiography, &lt;em&gt;The Outsider,&lt;/em&gt; “when that feeling returns. F--- this, I’m not letting Patrick McEnroe beat me in my own backyard. I’m not ready to say good-bye.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1050. &lt;p&gt;
  1051. All it takes is one hold of serve, and the crowd, desperate for any kind of positive energy from their man, goes berserk. &lt;/p&gt;
  1052. &lt;p&gt;
  1053. “Now I can’t miss,” Connors remembered. “Nothing Patrick throws at me is good enough. The fans are giving me everything they have, and they’re demanding everything I have. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I doubt I ever will again.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1054. &lt;p&gt;
  1055. Connors closed out the match at 1:35 A.M. Swept up by “that insane New York energy,” he found himself pointing his index finger at each corner of the stadium. He'd been right: The Open audience, &lt;em&gt;his&lt;/em&gt; audience, had brought him through. But Connors was wrong to doubt that he would ever experience anything like the McEnroe match again. It turned out that he was just getting started on the ride of his life. His magical, sentimental, finger-pointing final hurrah wouldn’t end until the semifinals.&lt;/p&gt;
  1056. &lt;p&gt;
  1057. It was a run that would be capped by what has since become the all-time piece of rain-delay filler in U.S. Open broadcast history: His five-set, fourth-round win over Aaron Krickstein. The match was played on Jimbo’s 39th birthday, in front of a capacity crowd and millions more on TV over Labor Day weekend. Tennis has never thrown a party quite like it.&lt;/p&gt;
  1058. &lt;p&gt;
  1059. There’s a reason that, nearly 25 years later, broadcasters can’t let go of Connors vs. Krickstein. It had everything and then some. From start to finish, Jimbo revved up the crowd—“the intensity of noise in the stadium was overwhelming,” he said—while battling tooth and nail with his younger opponent and chair umpire David Littlefield, who didn’t seem to get the memo that this was supposed to be Jimbo’s day. &lt;/p&gt;
  1060. &lt;p&gt;
  1061. The five sets seesawed with Connors’ energy levels. After barely hanging on to win a second-set tiebreaker 10-8, he gave away the third set, 6-1, before roaring back to take the fourth. Again, though, as in the McEnroe match, it appeared that Connors had come to the end of his road when he went down 2-5 in the fifth. Again, he wasn’t ready to say good-bye.&lt;/p&gt;
  1062. &lt;p&gt;
  1063. “They’re demanding more drama,” Connors said, “and I’m going to give it to them.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1064. &lt;p&gt;
  1065. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/10/Connors Krickstein Reunion Tennis-5.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:452px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1066. &lt;p&gt;
  1067. Connors was as good as his word. Attacking relentlessly—and taking his sweet time toweling off between points—the 39-year-old forced a final-set tiebreaker. Just before it began, he sat down in the corner of Armstrong Stadium and spoke into the CBS camera that was stationed there. He had a message for his old friend Vitas Gerulaitis, who was in the broadcast booth that day.&lt;/p&gt;
  1068. &lt;p&gt;
  1069. “This is what they paid for. This is what they want,” a nearly exhausted Connors said. As his crowd rose one more time, he walked slowly toward the baseline, milking the moment for all it was worth.&lt;/p&gt;
  1070. &lt;p&gt;
  1071. And that’s one more reason that tennis can’t let go of this match. The crowd that day was rising for Connors, but it was also rising for the now-bygone era that he represented, the wild west days of the 1970s and early '80s, when so many of these fans were drawn to the sport’s larger-than-life personalities. No one had represented that era as thoroughly as Connors, the first full-fledged product of the professional game. He had played the sport for love and money, and always given the fans full value for their dollar. On this day, as he had predicted, he had made the U.S. Open rock and roll again.&lt;/p&gt;
  1072. &lt;p&gt;
  1073. Now, his shoulders a little slumped but his competitive juices still flowing, he would give them what they wanted one more time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/zaZ9iS1fyAY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1074.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/1991-jimmy-connors-gripping-us-open-run-age-39/55427/</guid>
  1075.         <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1076.      </item>
  1077.      <item>
  1078.         <title>Power Grab</title>
  1079.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/B3Z18QhdrjM/</link>
  1080.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1081. NEW YORK—“I don’t know how I had the power to win this match,” Simona Halep said a few seconds after her 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory in a mesmerizing tug of war with Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday.&lt;/p&gt;
  1082. &lt;p&gt;
  1083. Halep’s most famous catchphrase is “&lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/fighter-girl/56218/#.VfGp3rSLWEc&quot;&gt;fighter girl,&lt;/a&gt;” which is how likes to describe herself. But “power” is another common theme, and her focus on it is understandable. She’s just 5’6” (max) and 132 pounds, smaller than the WTA norm, and against the top players she often looks like she’s playing uphill. Halep has the speed, the timing, and the ball-striking down pat, but a little extra &lt;em&gt;oomph&lt;/em&gt; would be nice now and then. &lt;/p&gt;
  1084. &lt;p&gt;
  1085. Halep normally finds something extra in the support of the Romanian fans who gather to chant her name wherever she goes. This week a very special Romanian, Nadia Comineci, has also lent her voice to the chorus at Flushing Meadows.&lt;/p&gt;
  1086. &lt;p&gt;
  1087. “I mean, she had perfect 10, first 10,” Halep said, a little breathlessly, of the Olympic gymnastics legend. “You know to have a great champion in your box, it give you power, that she appreciates what I’m doing.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1088. &lt;p&gt;
  1089. If you’re going to get a transfer of energy from a fellow athlete, you could do much worse than Nadia.&lt;/p&gt;
  1090. &lt;p&gt;
  1091. When Halep says power, though, she also means the kind that comes from within.&lt;/p&gt;
  1092. &lt;p&gt;
  1093. “I don’t have big muscles,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I’m not tall. I have inside power. Always it’s like big challenge for me. Every point is a big challenge. So I do everything I can.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1094. &lt;p&gt;
  1095. “It’s natural. It’s coming from inside...Maybe my parents gave me this.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1096. &lt;p&gt;
  1097. Halep talked about how aggressively she hit the ball today, how far she ran, how long she fought, and how much she has believed in herself at the Open so far. Simona moved fast, and hit faster.&lt;/p&gt;
  1098. &lt;p&gt;
  1099. “I was a little bit surprised by the pace of her ball, to be honest,” Azarenka said. The fact that Azarenka works with Halep’s former coach, Wim Fissette, shows that the Romanian was determined to bring more of the heat than normal today.&lt;/p&gt;
  1100. &lt;p&gt;
  1101. &lt;strike&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/10/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day10_20150909_0610.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strike&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1102. &lt;p&gt;
  1103. To me, though, what was most impressive—powerful, that is—about Halep’s game was how slowly she played it. It has been noted many times here that Halep loses patience with herself quickly and rushes when things don’t go her way. On Monday I wrote that Halep has a perfectionist streak, which is not uncommon; the difference with her is that she really does have the ability to play seemingly perfect tennis. When Halep comes down from the clouds and doesn’t live up to her sky-high expectations, she gets angry—racquet-banging angry—fast. But there was none of that against Azarenka. &lt;/p&gt;
  1104. &lt;p&gt;
  1105. It’s true that Halep was on her game from the start. She hit more winners—40—than the taller and stronger Azarenka, and she hit them in interesting ways. She wrong-footed the speedy Vika with her down-the-line backhand. She hustled forward in time to hit inside-in forehands, a shot that’s not part of her regular arsenal. And rather than let Azarenka dictate, as expected, Halep took the initiative in rallies with her forehand. Best was her backhand; half a dozen times she painted the sideline with it and left Azarenka staring at the mark, shaking her head.&lt;/p&gt;
  1106. &lt;p&gt;
  1107. “In the first set I played my best tennis,” Halep said, “and I knew that I have the game to win this match. But I also know that she’s very strong, and that she doesn’t give up in matches.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1108. &lt;p&gt;
  1109. Azarenka didn’t give up in this one, despite some shaky early form. The match was essentially a fight between Vika’s superior physical force and Halep’s superior timing and creative shotmaking. In today’s game, it’s usually force, rather than pure ball-striking, that wins out, and it may have in this one if it hadn’t been for a storm that delayed play at the start of the third set. That also happened to be the point where Azarenka had wrested control of the rallies and taken the lead for the first time. &lt;/p&gt;
  1110. &lt;p&gt;
  1111. When the rain stopped, Halep returned to the court with her power restored. She said that after taking a step back in the court in the second set, she and her coach, Darren Cahill, decided that she needed to move up again in the third. &lt;/p&gt;
  1112. &lt;p&gt;
  1113. “Thank god for raining,” Halep said afterward.&lt;/p&gt;
  1114. &lt;p&gt;
  1115. But while Halep failed to close out the match in the second set, she never rushed. She never bowed her head or looked disgusted with herself. She never took the ball from the ball kid and went straight into her next serve. She met every Azarenka advance with a counter-advance of her own, and instead of caving in when she lost the second set, the way she did in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year, she switched tactics. Halep had a sense early that she was hitting the ball too well to lose this match, and that sense never left her.&lt;/p&gt;
  1116. &lt;p&gt;
  1117. “I just have to go do everything I did in the first [set] and get this one,” Halep told herself at the start of the third set, &quot;because it’s made for me.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1118. &lt;p&gt;
  1119. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/10/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day10_20150909_0593.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1120. &lt;p&gt;
  1121. For Azarenka, it was another opportunity not taken, and her fourth three-set defeat at the majors this year. If that’s a disappointment, at least Vika can say that she has given the fans their money's worth at the Slam in 2015. Her loss to Dominika Cibulkova was one of the best matches at the Australian Open. Her losses to Serena at the French Open and Wimbledon were two of the best matches of those tournaments. After beating Angelique Kerber at the Open this weekend, it seemed that Vika would finally walk away a winner in a Slam classic. Unfortunately, her loss to Halep was even more memorable. &lt;/p&gt;
  1122. &lt;p&gt;
  1123. But Azarenka, despite all of those heartbreakers, remained undaunted. She had, after all, shaken off a bad start and nearly stolen a match that seemed to belong to her opponent.&lt;/p&gt;
  1124. &lt;p&gt;
  1125. “I have no doubt in my abilities,” Azarenka said. “This tournament is just another step forward.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1126. &lt;p&gt;
  1127. Vika has been saying something similar all year, yet there’s little reason to think she won’t return to the top of the sport at some point. That’s the appeal of Vika, and all of the glowering, frowning, but ultimately positive energy that she brings—you know she cares. It was almost enough on Wednesday.&lt;/p&gt;
  1128. &lt;p&gt;
  1129. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/10/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day10_20150909_0906.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;But this one rightfully belonged to the Romanian. When it was over and she pointed out Comenici in the crowd, Halep made sure to remind Pam Shriver of Nadia’s greatest accomplishment.&lt;/p&gt;
  1130. &lt;p&gt;
  1131. “You forgot something,” Halep said, “the perfect 10!”&lt;/p&gt;
  1132. &lt;p&gt;
  1133. It takes a perfectionist to known one, I guess. On Wednesday, though, Halep found out that even when things aren't going perfectly, she can still adjust—find the power inside—and win. As fast as she wants to run and hit the ball, she’s better when she takes it slow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/B3Z18QhdrjM&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1134.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/simona-halep-victoria-azarenka-2015-us-open-quarterfinal/56267/</guid>
  1135.         <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2015 01:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1136.      </item>
  1137.      <item>
  1138.         <title>2015 U.S. Open Women's Semifinal Previews</title>
  1139.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/pSj8pSZ4RJY/</link>
  1140.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  1141. &lt;strong&gt;Serena Williams [1] vs. Roberta Vinci&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1142. &lt;p&gt;
  1143. At first, second, third, and even fourth glance, this is a mismatch and a blowout in the making. Serena is 4-0 against the 43rd-ranked, 32-year-old Vinci, and the eight sets they’ve played have gone like this: 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. In the past, Serena has had too much power for the finesse-oriented Italian. Should that be the end of the conversation? Probably. But as we know, strange things can always happen in sports. Despite the straight-set scoreline, Vinci played a quality match against Serena in Toronto last month, and gave her some trouble with her one-handed slice backhand and unusual soft-ball style. Serena hasn’t forgotten. “She played me really tough, and I didn’t expect that,” Serena said on Tuesday. “...so I’m not going to underestimate her. She played really well. She’s not in the semifinals of a Grand Slam for no reason.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1144. &lt;p&gt;
  1145. So Serena, as she usually is by this time in a major, is staying alert. After facing two big hitters in Madison Keys and her sister Venus, she knows she’ll have to shift gears against the light-hitting Vinci. And after maintaining a laser focus the last two rounds, it’s possible she could become frustrated if she starts to miss in this match. But she’ll win anyway. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: S. Williams&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1146. &lt;h3 style=&quot;color:red;&quot;&gt;
  1147. &lt;strong&gt;Simona Halep [2] vs. Flavia Pennetta [26]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1148. &lt;p&gt;
  1149. Tennis players need to have short memories, they say, and Halep demonstrated just that after her quarterfinal win on Wednesday. When she was asked for her thoughts on her semifinal opponent, Pennetta, Halep was happy to volunteer that she had played her earlier this year. It’s true, they faced off in Miami in April, with Halep winning in straight sets. What she didn’t mention was that this was her first win in four tries against the Italian. Two years ago, Pennetta eliminated Halep from the Open in the round of 16.&lt;/p&gt;
  1150. &lt;p&gt;
  1151. Despite her 1-3 head-to-head record, Halep is the favorite this time around. She’s ranked No. 2; Pennetta is No. 26. Halep is 23 years old; Pennetta is 33. Halep has been to a Grand Slam final, at the French Open last year, while Pennetta hasn’t. Halep has also had an excellent summer, and is coming off what may have been the most impressive mix of playing and competing of her career, in her three-set win over Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. But this match still feels like it could go either way. Halep is prone to ups and downs, and Pennetta, who saves her best tennis for New York, is nothing if not experienced. Both women will be playing without a rest day; if Halep is tired from her back-to-back three-setters, or looking ahead to a date with Serena Williams in the final, Flavia could steal it. &lt;strong&gt;Winner: Halep&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/pSj8pSZ4RJY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1152.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/2015-us-open-womens-semifinal-previews/56262/</guid>
  1153.         <pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2015 23:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1154.      </item>
  1155.      <item>
  1156.         <title>Love Game</title>
  1157.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~3/mORgXFIiRrk/</link>
  1158.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1159. NEW YORK—Matches between Venus and Serena Williams have traditionally been described as “awkward.” As their 27th meeting began, though, it had the air of a high-end celebration. A sellout crowd jammed the trains from Manhattan and swarmed across the grounds at Flushing Meadows, waiting for the gates in front of Arthur Ashe Stadium to open. Inside, it seemed that every other luxury suite contained a celebrity. While Venus and Serena warmed up, the big screens at the top of the stadium flashed images of Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump, and Aziz Ansari in rapid succession (only Ansari's was greeted with applause).&lt;/p&gt;
  1160. &lt;p&gt;
  1161. “It was more unique, definitely,” Venus said of the see-and-be-seen vibe in Ashe. “Serena is going for the Grand Slam, and I think everybody is interested because she has to play her sister to get to that. People want to see, you know, how that’s going to come out.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1162. &lt;p&gt;
  1163. But as parties often do, this one soon turned a little, well, awkward. Venus came out with guns—i.e., serves and forehands—blazing, but that only put her sister on immediate high alert. Serena responded with some of her best tennis of the tournament, hammering down serves and pouncing on her returns with preemptive ferocity. &lt;/p&gt;
  1164. &lt;p&gt;
  1165. Through the 6-2 first set, in which she hit 15 winners and made just two errors, there wasn’t a hint of wasted motion, or emotion, in Serena's game. There was also, as the set progressed, barely a hint of a sound in all of Arthur Ashe Stadium. As &lt;em&gt;New York Times&lt;/em&gt; tennis writer Chris Clarey said after the first set was over, “I’ve heard more noise at a piano recital.” People had come to see Serena play her older sister, not give her a drubbing in front of the nation.&lt;/p&gt;
  1166. &lt;p&gt;
  1167. According to Venus and Serena, though, it was all par for the course for them as tennis pros—nothing personal. Last night each of them said that the fact that they’re sisters fades from their minds as the match starts and the normal reactions to competition take over.&lt;/p&gt;
  1168. &lt;p&gt;
  1169. “When you go on the court,” Serena said, “you don’t really think about it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1170. &lt;p&gt;
  1171. “There’s lot of things going on in my mind, but nothing different from when I’m playing anyone else.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1172. &lt;p&gt;
  1173. As for Venus, she said, “My main goal when I go out there is to hold serve. I think that’s her main goal, too. Then you have to look for a break. That’s what I’m looking at when I’m out there. That’s kind of a peek into my mind.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1174. &lt;p&gt;
  1175. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/09/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day9_20150908_1157.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1176. &lt;p&gt;
  1177. The awkwardness comes from their relationship, yes, but it also comes from the much simpler fact that they've played the game together for so long. They know each other’s styles and tendencies so well, and they’re both so strong on offense and defense, that at times it seems as if neither can &lt;em&gt;let&lt;/em&gt; the other play well. Balls that are normally winners against other women come back across the net; serves that normally go for aces are met with stinging returns. Who could ever be better at reading, reaching, and returning Serena’s serve than the long-limbed, pace-loving Venus?&lt;/p&gt;
  1178. &lt;p&gt;
  1179. As Serena said afterward, “I’ve played a lot of great players like Lindsay [Davenport] and Jennifer [Capriati] and Martina [Hingis] and Kim [Clijsters] and Justine [Henin]...They just didn’t have, I think, the pressure—they didn’t know my game, and they just didn’t beat me as many times as Venus has.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1180. &lt;p&gt;
  1181. In the second set, Venus began to apply that pressure. For the first time, she got under Serena's skin and roused the crowd. With Serena serving at 1-2, Venus reared back and drilled a forehand winner that not only won her the point, but took the wind out of Serena’s sails as well. Serena showed her first sign of nerves on the next point, when she pulled up on a forehand and dropped it in the bottom of the net. She showed a second, and much bigger, sign when she double-faulted and was broken. From there, Venus was home free in the second set.&lt;/p&gt;
  1182. &lt;p&gt;
  1183. Serena said before the match that she expected her toughest test to come from Venus, and she may not be far off. Again, though, Serena rose to that test. In the third set, she did what she has done against all of her opponents this season, whether they’re family members or not: She gathered herself and left her nerves and errors behind. It began as it often does for Serena, with a pair of aces, this time in the opening game of the third set. Now it was Venus who had the wind taken out of her sails.&lt;/p&gt;
  1184. &lt;p&gt;
  1185. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/09/09/Aguilar_USOPEN_Day9_20150909_1495-2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:413px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1186. &lt;p&gt;
  1187. As far as Serena was concerned, if her sister was going to return her normal serves, than she was going to make them &lt;em&gt;better&lt;/em&gt; than normal. In the final set, she closed each of her service games with an ace. As both sisters learned from their early idol Pete Sampras, if your opponent is doing good things with a racquet, the best solution is to take the racquet out of her hands.&lt;/p&gt;
  1188. &lt;p&gt;
  1189. When the 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 match was over, it made sense that Serena's sister, the woman who knows better than anyone why she has a chance to win the calendar-year Grand Slam, would sum up her game more concisely than anyone else.&lt;/p&gt;
  1190. &lt;p&gt;
  1191. “She has of course a wonderful mental game,” Venus said of Serena, “but she also has the ability to come up with a great shot when she needs it. That’s just been the hallmark of her game.” Unfortunately for Venus, finding the big shot when she needed it was the hallmark of Serena’s game again tonight.&lt;/p&gt;
  1192. &lt;p&gt;
  1193. It was only when the last of those big shots was hit, and Serena had unclenched her first and come out of her victory crouch, that they could be family again. Venus smiled and gave her younger sister, the one she had always looked out for, a long hug.&lt;/p&gt;
  1194. &lt;p&gt;
  1195. &quot;I just said, 'I'm so happy for you,'&quot; Venus said later.&lt;/p&gt;
  1196. &lt;p&gt;
  1197. &quot;I'll look back on it fondly,&quot; Serena said, in a rare show of sentimentality. &quot;It means a lot to me. Obviously we are very, very tough competitors on the court, but once the match is over and the second it's done, you know, we're sisters.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
  1198. &lt;p&gt;
  1199. As Venus and Serena embraced, the crowd stood and made it first full-throated roar of the evening. There was nothing awkward about it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/concrete-elbow-tignor/~4/mORgXFIiRrk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1200.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/love-game/56245/</guid>
  1201.         <pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2015 04:26:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1202.      </item>
  1203.      <item>
  1204.         <title>Does Better Start Now?</title>
  1205.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/wR-H-Ti4gbE/</link>
  1206.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1207. Tennis is not just the sport of a lifetime, it’s also the sport of swank watch commercials. So if you’ve tired of watching Roger Federer, dressed in a suit that costs more than your car, gazing at giant, museum-grade pictures of himself &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCZ5aoJEJjA&quot;&gt;in an ad for Rolex&lt;/a&gt;, you can now see Victoria Azarenka in &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKm4uockJr0&quot;&gt;heavy rotation for her watch sponsor, Citizen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  1208. &lt;p&gt;
  1209. In that ad, as Azarenka she prepares to walk out onto a stadium court, she tells the viewer, &lt;em&gt;“At this moment all my past accomplishments mean nothing. Better starts now.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1210. &lt;p&gt;
  1211. Those are ironic words, given the extent to which Azarenka has been spinning her wheels since she last won a Grand Slam title and held the No. 1 ranking (both in February 2013). Once seen as the successor to Serena Williams, Azarenka has become the leading enigma of women’s tennis.&lt;/p&gt;
  1212. &lt;p&gt;
  1213. Now 26, Azarenka remains stuck at two Grand Slam titles, the pair of Australian Opens she won in 2012 in ’13. She assumed the top ranking after the first of those triumphs and held it until just after her successful defense. It was part of a 15-match win streak that lasted up to the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, a run that included a poised, impressive three-set win in the Doha final over Serena Williams.&lt;/p&gt;
  1214. &lt;p&gt;
  1215. An ankle injury forced Azarenka to issue a walkover to Caroline Wozniacki at Indian Wells, introducing a major theme of her career: Surprising fragility for such a sturdily built woman.&lt;/p&gt;
  1216. &lt;p&gt;
  1217. With Azarenka out of the tournament, Sharapova snatched away the top ranking. Azarenka hasn’t held it since.&lt;/p&gt;
  1218. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1219. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:70.033670% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1220. &lt;/div&gt;
  1221. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1222.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1223. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1224. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/163688555&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1225. &lt;/div&gt;
  1226. &lt;p&gt;
  1227. Continued physical problems tell part of Azarenka’s story. She was forced out of Wimbledon with a serious knee injury later that summer, ending her streak of semifinals (or better) at four consecutive majors. When she returned in the summer, a bad back led her to back out of the Rogers Cup.&lt;/p&gt;
  1228. &lt;p&gt;
  1229. What followed was what continues to tantalize us about Azarenka’s game: She went on to win Cincinnati, beating Serena in the final, and took the world No. 1 to three sets in the U.S. Open final for the second consecutive year. But more injuries followed. In 2014, a left foot injury caused Azarenka to miss four-and-a-half months ending in mid-June, and she was so dissatisfied with her post-U.S. Open progress that she pulled the plug on her year in September, finishing up ranked No. 32.&lt;/p&gt;
  1230. &lt;p&gt;
  1231. Azarenka has made some progress since then, climbing back to No. 20. But at Cincinnati, where she trounced Lauren Davis and then impressively did the same to No. 5 seed Caroline Wozniacki (6-0, 6-4), she retired against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, citing a bad leg.&lt;/p&gt;
  1232. &lt;p&gt;
  1233. &quot;I managed to play through and kind of adjust (to the injury), but today I started to feel like getting a little bit worse,” Azarenka told the press. “You know, such a short period of time before the U.S. Open—it’s a little bit dangerous. I had to unfortunately make that decision.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
  1234. &lt;p&gt;
  1235. The suggestion is that the retirement was a preventative measure, so it’s hard to say what effect it might have on Azarenka’s fortunes in Flushing Meadows. But the move added yet another layer of mystery to an already puzzling tennis biography shaped by many elements, not all of them happy ones.&lt;/p&gt;
  1236. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1237. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:66.666667% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1238. &lt;/div&gt;
  1239. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1240.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1241. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1242. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/484528506&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1243. &lt;/div&gt;
  1244. &lt;p&gt;
  1245. For one, there was the raging perfectionism and the anger issues that held young Azarenka back despite her copious talent. She made her professional breakthrough in 2009, following a return to her native Belarus and a heart-to-heart chat with a beloved grandmother. The matriarch essentially advised “Vika” to set aside her anger, get in touch with her love for the game, and pursue happiness. She listened, and began her ascent to the very top almost immediately by winning Miami, one of the sport’s top non-major events.&lt;/p&gt;
  1246. &lt;p&gt;
  1247. Years later, Azarenka, an enthusiastic pop-music fan and aspiring hipster, struck up a relationship with singer Stefan Gordy, aka Redfoo. The pair were a high-profile couple, but the relationship ended late in Azarenka’s difficult 2014. In a widely-quoted story from the &lt;em&gt;New York Times&lt;/em&gt;, Azarenka told Chris Clarey that she experienced a period of depression after Gordy broke things off. “I did get my heart broken,” she told Clarey, “I really did. I’m over it now, but it was broken. And I’m not afraid to admit it was, but that’s life.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1248. &lt;p&gt;
  1249. Then, just as Azarenka was beginning to establish some momentum earlier this year, her coach of five years &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/sumyk-azarenka-discuss-coaching-relationship-and-split/54129/#.VdzTmrTjN8M&quot;&gt;up and quit on her&lt;/a&gt;. Sam Sumyk informed Azarenka of his decision the day after she lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Dominika Cibulkova. Up to then, many singled out the relationship between Azarenka and her coach as one of the closest—as well one of the most successful—in tennis.&lt;/p&gt;
  1250. &lt;p&gt;
  1251. If timing is everything, then the timing here suggests a deep lack of consideration for Azarenka. She took the high road, denying that she felt betrayed or angry, but professed surprise and said she felt “sadness.” Just days later, Sumyk was coaching Eugenie Bouchard (that relationship quickly failed), while Azarenka moved on and has been working with Wim Fissette.&lt;/p&gt;
  1252. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1253. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:70.707071% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1254. &lt;/div&gt;
  1255. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1256.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1257. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1258. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/454081416&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1259. &lt;/div&gt;
  1260. &lt;p&gt;
  1261. Azarenka has yet to win a title this year, but she may still be the greatest obstacle looming in Serena Williams’ path to a calendar-year Grand Slam. Because of her relatively low ranking and, now, the renewed specter of injury, Azarenka is flying so far below the radar that she’ll be hitting some of those famous New York potholes.&lt;/p&gt;
  1262. &lt;p&gt;
  1263. But don’t be fooled. This is the same player who beat Venus Williams in Madrid this year and then had three match points against Serena two rounds later—only to lose in heartbreak.&lt;/p&gt;
  1264. &lt;p&gt;
  1265. A few weeks later, Azarenka had Serena on the ropes again at Roland Garros, where she was two service holds from a win, but failed again. Keep in mind, though, that Azarenka vastly prefers hard courts to clay, a prejudice manifest in her record against Serena at the U.S. Open. The two played back-to-back three-set finals at the end of Azarenka’s peak years of 2012 and ‘13. Serena won them both, but each of them was a knock-down, drag-out affair. One thing Azarenka is not when it comes to Williams is intimidated.&lt;/p&gt;
  1266. &lt;p&gt;
  1267. The first of those two matches was closer, with Williams a 7-5 in-the-third thriller. Then in 2013, Williams was a set and 4-1 up when Azarenka mounted a furious charge. Williams served for the title on two occasions and was broken both times. Azarenka forced a tiebreaker, won it, but her game sputtered in the third set, which Williams surged back to win 6-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  1268. &lt;p&gt;
  1269. In her post-match presser, Azarenka said, “She’s a champion. . . She knows what it takes to get there. I know that feeling, too, so when two people who want it so bad meet, it’s like a clash.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1270. &lt;p&gt;
  1271. Does Azarenka still want it “so bad?” That’s a good question, with no easy answer. She’s seeded at the U.S. Open, but low enough (No. 20) that she &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/bracket_stage/837471/&quot;&gt;could face some top-tier opponents early on&lt;/a&gt; (No. 11 Angelique Kerber in the third round, No. 6 Lucie Safarova in the fourth round, No. 2 Simona Halep in the quarterfinals).&lt;/p&gt;
  1272. &lt;p&gt;
  1273. If, as Azarenka says in the commercial, &quot;better starts now,&quot; Serena will have plenty to worry about should they meet in the final at Flushing Meadows.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/wR-H-Ti4gbE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1274.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/08/does-better-start-now/56022/</guid>
  1275.         <pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2015 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1276.      </item>
  1277.      <item>
  1278.         <title>Why Not?</title>
  1279.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/iXRlvxJ5S00/</link>
  1280.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1281. Shortly after Roger Federer dispatched Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, he sat with ESPN’s commentators, talking about the audacious way he had just attacked and overcome one of the better attackers in game.&lt;/p&gt;
  1282. &lt;p&gt;
  1283. At 34 years of age and fresh off a match in which he had been lunging and darting like a teenager, you might have expected Federer to be icing a wrist or elbow, to wince as he shifted position, or at least to still show beads of perspiration across his forehead.&lt;/p&gt;
  1284. &lt;p&gt;
  1285. Instead, the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion looked fresh, his hair lustrous and neatly combed. He was animated and jolly. His cheeks, usually smooth as a baby’s bum, showed a few days of growth—was Federer suddenly trying to look roguish, in concert with the daring game he had been playing?&lt;/p&gt;
  1286. &lt;p&gt;
  1287. The commentators, as amazed as any spectators by the bold, aggressive nature of Federer’s game, quizzed him about his seemingly suicidal net forays, his ventures to take second serves from Lopez on the half-volley at the service line, approaches a teenaged Federer had once called “cheese slicers” that he followed forward to flick away volleys.&lt;/p&gt;
  1288. &lt;p&gt;
  1289. Did Federer really believe he could get away with that old-school, serve-and-volley legerdemain in the next round, when he faced the heavy baseline artillery of brilliant counterpuncher and defender, Andy Murray?&lt;/p&gt;
  1290. &lt;p&gt;
  1291. Federer laughed, “Why not?”&lt;/p&gt;
  1292. &lt;p&gt;
  1293. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/25/201508231418514946847-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:308px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Those two words spoke volumes about present-day Federer, a player whose fortunes in his third decade on tour have been substantially—perhaps startlingly—improved by his ability to ask and act upon that question in a way no other player in recent memory has.&lt;/p&gt;
  1294. &lt;p&gt;
  1295. Why not, indeed.&lt;/p&gt;
  1296. &lt;p&gt;
  1297. Making good on his word, Federer continued to pursue his piratical game, eliminating Murray—who, coincidentally, had displaced Federer at No. 2 in the rankings just days earlier. Jolly Roger then met top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the final, and wrote a happy ending to this improbable saga that began when Federer was goofing around in practice before the Cincinnati event started.&lt;/p&gt;
  1298. &lt;p&gt;
  1299. “I did it in practice more as a joke, and I tried it again and again and again, and it just seems like it's not that hard for me to do,” &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/photos-video/2015/08/federer-stunning-half-volley-return-started-more-joke-video/56011/&quot;&gt;Federer said about his half-volley returns&lt;/a&gt; after deploying them against Murray.&lt;/p&gt;
  1300. &lt;p&gt;
  1301. To make things more interesting in training, Federer began to experiment with various chip-and-charge tactics and applications. It felt so natural and seemed to work so well that he incorporated them into his earliest matches—and they bore fruit. By the end of the exercise, Federer had won a tournament that deserves as prominent a niche on a fan’s video bookshelf as any he has ever played.&lt;/p&gt;
  1302. &lt;blockquote class=&quot;twitter-tweet&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  1303. &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  1304. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://twitter.com/hashtag/Video?src=hash&quot;&gt;#Video&lt;/a&gt; Roger Federer, súper ofensivo, se mete de ¡manera increíble! en la cancha para devolver el saque de Anderson &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://t.co/VyI7EhqnEI&quot;&gt;http://t.co/VyI7EhqnEI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1305. — ESPN Tenis (@ESPNtenis) &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://twitter.com/ESPNtenis/status/634799338636443648&quot;&gt;August 21, 2015&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1307. &lt;p&gt;
  1308. This was Federer’s seventh singles title at Cincinnati and his 24th Masters tournament win. It was also the first time in his career that he had toppled the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the rankings in consecutive matches leading to a title.&lt;/p&gt;
  1309. &lt;p&gt;
  1310. Clearly, whatever lingering disappointment Federer might have felt after he lost the four-set Wimbledon final to Djokovic back in mid-July had long dissipated. Federer had also played more aggressively than before in that match, yet his game failed him at a few critical moments.&lt;/p&gt;
  1311. &lt;p&gt;
  1312. Federer never did watch a replay of that Wimbledon final to figure out where he might have gone wrong after playing as well as he ever had through six rounds at the All England Club. But his refusal had nothing to do with the bitterness of defeat, nor a loss of faith in his aggressive game plan. It certainly wasn’t a prideful act, either.&lt;/p&gt;
  1313. &lt;p&gt;
  1314. “I used to watch many more replays when I was younger,” Federer said. “Now I know the game better, I don’t want to sit through three, four hours of that. I don’t even know if I can do that anymore.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1315. &lt;p&gt;
  1316. The question left hanging after this last win is the same one that has haunted dramatists and theatrical producers for ages: Sure, it worked in Cincinnati, but will it play as well on Broadway in New York?&lt;/p&gt;
  1317. &lt;p&gt;
  1318. A Federer fanatic or serve-and-volley romantic might answer: Why not?&lt;/p&gt;
  1319. &lt;p&gt;
  1320. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/25/1409061735633539147_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:404px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Well, there are a few reasons. The hard courts in Cincinnati are tailor-made for Federer’s game. They are smooth and slick, and the sunny, relatively dry weather at this year’s tournament certainly helped Federer, and all other offensive-minded players, in the last big U.S. Open tune-up.&lt;/p&gt;
  1321. &lt;p&gt;
  1322. “You always adapt to the surface,” Federer said. “Here, your shots can go through an opponent (come upon him quickly, and relatively low).”&lt;/p&gt;
  1323. &lt;p&gt;
  1324. Still, how many players would have connected the dots the way Federer did? Tennis players are a stubborn bunch, and in truth, Federer himself has been less rebel than reactionary through most of his career. He was was averse to change during his peak years at No. 1, even when Rafael Nadal was busy proving that Federer simply didn’t have the game to beat him on anything but a fast indoor court. Meanwhile, Djokovic and Murray were also peppering him with difficult questions from the baseline.&lt;/p&gt;
  1325. &lt;p&gt;
  1326. “I’ve played the transition game so much,” Federer told Patrick McEnroe last week. “Now playing more offense is different, and a lot of fun.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1327. &lt;p&gt;
  1328. Of course, there is offense and there is Offense, something easily forgotten in this era of four- and five-hour baseline battles featuring nuclear-grade forehand and backhand exchanges. Among other things, Federer’s demonstrations last week served to remind aficionados just how agreeable it can be to witness a crisp, 90-minute tussle featuring a dazzling array of shots hit from every quadrant on the court.&lt;/p&gt;
  1329. &lt;p&gt;
  1330. And it isn’t like the courts in Cincinnati were off the normal spectrum. By broad, historical standards, they probably fall somewhere in the medium-fast category. The reality is that nobody was performing above his pay grade despite the court speed; Lopez was the only quarterfinalist in Cincinnati who has an appetite for serve-and-volley tennis. Is it possible that somewhere along the line, other promoters will appreciate the value of speeding up the game the way they once flocked to slow it down?&lt;/p&gt;
  1331. &lt;p&gt;
  1332. It’s an interesting subject for conversation, but let’s remember that it wouldn’t even be taking place if it weren’t for Federer’s antics last week—or, perhaps, if Nadal were not in such straits. Federer has now nosed ahead of Djokovic in their head-to-head battle (21-20), but he still trails Nadal by wide margin of 10-23. They could play their next 10 Masters matches on ice and Federer still might not get the chance to even the score. But with Nadal less of a factor, attacking tennis might begin to look more viable.&lt;/p&gt;
  1333. &lt;p&gt;
  1334. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/25/1408291653608071655_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:415px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;One important difference will curb Federer’s appetite for attacking tennis come the U.S. Open: The Wilson balls used in Flushing Meadows play slower than relatively rigid Penn balls used in Cincinnati. As Djokovic said after the final, in which he didn’t have a break point and allowed Federer to complete the tournament without losing his serve once in 49 tries: “I think [Federer] is more aggressive here than in any other tournament because the surface and conditions allow him to play very fast. . . He likes this rhythm; I don’t too much. It was right tactics for him.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1335. &lt;p&gt;
  1336. Federer has no illusions about how difficult it will be to get into that “rhythm” at Flushing Meadows. He acknowledged in Cincinnati that the grittier surface and the different tennis balls in New York will make it harder to attack. On the other hand, the confidence dividend he reaped in Cincinnati is considerable. He’s spent over three years looking for another major title, and he’s been so close he can almost taste it.&lt;/p&gt;
  1337. &lt;p&gt;
  1338. &quot;Now I've got the confidence,” Federer declared on Sunday. “I've got the matches, and I'm actually still feeling really fresh even after this week, because the matches have been rather short. I think I moved well. I was explosive moving forward.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1339. &lt;p&gt;
  1340. Will the milestone win provide Federer with enough of a boost to finally get him over the finish line at a major after two consecutive years as a bridesmaid at Wimbledon?&lt;/p&gt;
  1341. &lt;p&gt;
  1342. His own answer is the best one of all: Why not?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/iXRlvxJ5S00&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1343.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/08/why-not/56021/</guid>
  1344.         <pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1345.      </item>
  1346.      <item>
  1347.         <title>Murray's Summer Vacation</title>
  1348.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/Xd2GtiD3Klc/</link>
  1349.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1350. Now that Novak Djokovic appears to have silenced any speculation about who might finish No. 1 in 2015 (before that conversation has even taken wing), maybe we should look at the next most logical question: Who is going to end up No. 2?&lt;/p&gt;
  1351. &lt;p&gt;
  1352. Alright, it doesn’t have quite the same ring. Still, three men with hard-court chops aplenty are in the hunt and could conceivably bump Roger Federer (9,665 ranking points) from his lofty perch right behind Djokovic (13,845 points): No. 3 Andy Murray (7,840 points), No. 4 Stan Wawrinka (5,790 points), and No. 5 Kei Nishikori (5,525 points). Murray and Wawrinka have won Grand Slam titles on hard courts, while Nishikori was a finalist at last year’s U.S. Open and counts outdoor hard his best surface.&lt;/p&gt;
  1353. &lt;p&gt;
  1354. Realistically, though, unless Federer decides to chuck it all and open a bait-and-beer store on the shores of Lake Geneva, the only player likely to sneak in ahead of him by year’s end is Murray. If he can pull that off, Murray would finish a season at No. 2 for the first time in his career (he reached the second spot on the ladder briefly in 2009, and again in 2013) and cap what is shaping up as yet another resurgence for a man whose career has had more peaks and valleys than the Scottish Highlands.&lt;/p&gt;
  1355. &lt;p&gt;
  1356. But while this latest comeback has been perhaps his most persuasive thus far, as evidenced by his unprecedented success on clay, it has also attracted relatively little attention. Even the British, who count Murray as one of their own, seem to have been focused elsewhere this year—bewitched by the legerdemain of Federer, the commanding expertise of Djokovic, and the woeful saga of struggling Rafael Nadal.&lt;/p&gt;
  1357. &lt;p&gt;
  1358. Sure, there’s this whole Big Four thing. But sometimes that seems more like the old gag about the WCT Tour’s original “Handsome Eight” really being “The Handsome Seven and Tony Roche.” Here, it’s the “Big Three and Andy Murray.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1359. &lt;p&gt;
  1360. There’s some truth in that slight. After all, Murray’s cumulative record against the trio he’s lumped together with is 25-47. More to the point, he’s lost four straight matches to Federer, his last eight to Djokovic, and he’s 3-3 in his last six against floundering Nadal.&lt;/p&gt;
  1361. &lt;p&gt;
  1362. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/04/201508031253463900189-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:416px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;But that’s also where flying under the radar, the way Murray has been doing most of this year, can be an advantage. It eases the pressure, and now, as the temperature and humidity index rises, Murray seems ready to make a run. Don’t think he isn’t thinking along those lines, either.&lt;/p&gt;
  1363. &lt;p&gt;
  1364. This week, Murray showed up in Washington D.C. almost a full week early to prepare for his first summer tournament—and not only to check that &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/08/advance-washington-event-murray-given-tour-white-house/55823/#.VcEOiXjjN8M&quot;&gt;White House tour&lt;/a&gt; off his bucket list.&lt;/p&gt;
  1365. &lt;p&gt;
  1366. “I haven’t hit a ball on a hard court since Miami. That’s in March, so it’s been four or five months,” Murray &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/washington-2015-preview-murray&quot;&gt;told the ATP media staff&lt;/a&gt; last week. “The conditions are humid (in D.C.). It takes a long time to get used to it, which is why I arrived on Tuesday. It’s the earliest I’ve arrived for any event the whole year.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1367. &lt;p&gt;
  1368. While the early bird was preparing to pull 500 ranking points from the D.C. worm hole, Federer decided &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/07/roger-federer-pulls-out-of-montreal-tournament/55783/#.VcEOt3jjN8N&quot;&gt;to take a pass on the first summer Masters event&lt;/a&gt;, the Rogers Cup in Montreal, and will sacrifice the 600 runner-up points he earned as the tournament runner-up last year.&lt;/p&gt;
  1369. &lt;p&gt;
  1370. Presently, Murray trails Federer by just 1,825 points. In addition to his Canada points, Federer is defending a title in Cincinnati and a U.S. Open semifinal. Murray, by contrast, is defending quarterfinal finishes at those three events. He can gain substantial ground on Federer, and he’s designed for the conditions he’ll find in the coming weeks.&lt;/p&gt;
  1371. &lt;p&gt;
  1372. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/04/201507101349497795542-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:430px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Murray seems a bit of a masochist; it’s evident in the way he berates himself (perfectionism is a great enabler for self-punishment). He also seems to have a deep-rooted need to put himself into precarious situations, only to work himself back out—unless he cannot. It’s hard slogging being a Murray fan, because you never know when he’s going to run off the rails and plunge right into Meltdown Creek.&lt;/p&gt;
  1373. &lt;p&gt;
  1374. You wouldn’t think a player with that kind of profile would do well under the tough, sometimes suffocating conditions of the summer hard-court circuit, but perhaps that’s where Murray’s masochistic streak is an asset. Whatever the reason, summertime is Murray time. Come August, and he’s Big Four material all the way, having won Cincinnati and Canada two times apiece.&lt;/p&gt;
  1375. &lt;p&gt;
  1376. The key to understanding why Murray habitually plays so well in the second half of the season may well lie in the end of the first half, at Wimbledon. Given his relationship to that tournament, it’s impossible to imagine that Murray’s life doesn’t change dramatically every year when it’s finally over. It isn’t often remarked upon, but from day one, Murray has handled the pressure of being the great British hope with tremendous aplomb, as well as all the success a reasonable person can ask.&lt;/p&gt;
  1377. &lt;p&gt;
  1378. Yet, perhaps because Murray is a phlegmatic fellow outside the crucible of competition, you don’t hear much about how liberated he must feel once Wimbledon is finally over. Besides, summer is vacation time anyway. So who knows who buoyant Murray feels as he leaves behind the annual Wimbledon experience and all it entails? Sure, it’s a working vacation for him in North America, but he’s known a lot of success there and that can’t hurt, especially in years when Wimbledon has been disappointing.&lt;/p&gt;
  1379. &lt;p&gt;
  1380. This year at Wimbledon, Murray was thumped in straight sets in the semifinals by Federer. It was The Mighty Fed, but straight sets is never fun. So bring on Montreal; let’s have a ball in Cincy again. Hello, U.S. Open.&lt;/p&gt;
  1381. &lt;p&gt;
  1382. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/08/04/1410261405507039320_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:460px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;And then there’s the fall. Federer played all of three events last year, not including the ATP World Tour Finals. Murray, by contrast, played like his hair was on fire. He logged seven events in a frantic, successful effort to make the season-ending championships—where Federer humiliated him in the round-robin stage, 6-0, 6-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  1383. &lt;p&gt;
  1384. Murray had his reasons for undertaking that brutal death march to London, and it’s unlikely he’ll need, never mind want, to reprise it this year. But he’s still likely to be a formidable presence in the fall, the segment of the season during which he’s won nine of his 34 singles titles.&lt;/p&gt;
  1385. &lt;p&gt;
  1386. In the big picture, Federer may have no great reason to panic—No. 2, No. 3, what’s the difference, if you’re not No. 1? &lt;em&gt;Been there, done that.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1387. &lt;p&gt;
  1388. But for Murray, reaching No. 2 would constitute a career high, renewed validation of his place among the Big Four, and it would position him for the same mission that must be on every ATP pro’s mind—making a run at Djokovic’s top ranking in 2016.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/Xd2GtiD3Klc&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1389.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/08/murrays-summer-vacation/55841/</guid>
  1390.         <pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2015 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1391.      </item>
  1392.      <item>
  1393.         <title>Summer of Slam</title>
  1394.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/khXZnEwALtk/</link>
  1395.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1396. Three years ago, Roger Federer established a new record for Grand Slam singles titles. Just a few weeks ago, Serena Williams moved within one Grand Slam singles title of Steffi Graf, who finished her career with 22.&lt;/p&gt;
  1397. &lt;p&gt;
  1398. Going into this year, Rafael Nadal was 66-1 at the French Open—the major many pundits consider the most demanding—with a preposterous nine titles in 10 years.&lt;/p&gt;
  1399. &lt;p&gt;
  1400. Then there’s Novak Djokovic. Were it not for Stan Wawrinka playing the match of his life at the moment of his life, Djokovic would share the spotlight with Williams, the pair marching toward the U.S. Open in lockstep as the sporting world contemplated the outlandish prospect of two players completing a calendar-year Grand Slam at the same time. Only five players, two men and three women, have accomplished that in a century’s worth of tennis.&lt;/p&gt;
  1401. &lt;p&gt;
  1402. Are these insane times, or what?&lt;/p&gt;
  1403. &lt;p&gt;
  1404. In fact, only one man has completed a Grand Slam since the dawn of the Open era in 1968. It was Rod Laver, who swept all four majors in 1969. Only two women have pulled off the feat—Margaret Court in 1970, and Graf in 1988.&lt;/p&gt;
  1405. &lt;p&gt;
  1406. Graf achieved something Williams may have only one more chance to emulate in her entire career, the sport’s only “Golden Slam.” In ’88, Graf not only won all four majors, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/07/1988-steffi-graf-wins-golden-slam/55786/#.Vboo0njjN8M&quot;&gt;she also won the singles gold medal&lt;/a&gt; at the Olympic Games in Seoul.&lt;/p&gt;
  1407. &lt;p&gt;
  1408. Williams will have a chance to match that next year, when the Games head to Rio, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For when it comes to degree of difficulty, the four majors are by no means equal when a calendar-year Grand Slam is at stake. The U.S. Open, the final segment of the puzzle, is sure to be the one most daunting to snap into place. Williams will learn that firsthand in the weeks ahead, although she had a preview of what she will face at Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  1409. &lt;p&gt;
  1410. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/07/30/201507110905327009426-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:426px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;This being Serena Williams, she’s actually been working on two Slams this year. There was the matter of her second “Serena Slam,” which she wrapped up at Wimbledon. During the fortnight, Williams was asked repeatedly about her dual efforts. After a very tight third-round clash with Heather Watson, she abruptly declared: “I’m not answering any more questions about the Grand Slam—or the alleged Serena Slam.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1411. &lt;p&gt;
  1412. The pressure was getting to her, it was obvious. A loss at Wimbledon and a pair of dreams would be ruined.&lt;/p&gt;
  1413. &lt;p&gt;
  1414. The press was somewhat respectful of Williams’ desire to avoid the subject for the remainder of the tournament, although by the end, “New York” had become code for something else, like when she was asked: “When you were dancing around Centre Court after you won, you thought of New York? What were you thinking?”&lt;/p&gt;
  1415. &lt;p&gt;
  1416. Of course, this kind of stuff comes with the territory when you’re trying to achieve something so rare, and it’s only going to ramp up as the final major of the year approaches. Williams must acknowledge and perhaps even embrace that, keeping in mind that priceless line uttered by Eugenie Bouchard: “If I didn’t want attention I would have been a librarian.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1417. &lt;p&gt;
  1418. But it’s difficult to quantify just how much more meaningful this edition of the U.S. Open will be for Williams. It’s her home major, a detail that could be a liability or an advantage in same way as being the host nation in Davis/Fed Cup. Certainly there will be more support. There will also be more motivation for Williams, who has the patriotic gene. But that can also create a greater desire to perform at the highest level, and the pressure that accompanies it.&lt;/p&gt;
  1419. &lt;p&gt;
  1420. Of course, athletes deal with this issue throughout their lives. But there’s simply a greater order of magnitude involved here. Some of the finest and most experienced professionals never find themselves playing for the highest of stakes under conditions so favorable that they threaten to become onerous.&lt;/p&gt;
  1421. &lt;p&gt;
  1422. Williams appears to know what she’s up against. Yet for all of her accomplishments, this is the first time in her life that she’s in a position to complete a proper Grand Slam. She’s a bit like someone fumbling around in a dark room trying to feel along the walls and moldings, looking for the light switch. Can you imagine her talking about the upcoming U.S. Open in the following manner if she weren’t on the cusp of completing a Grand Slam?&lt;/p&gt;
  1423. &lt;p&gt;
  1424. “Actually I didn't think about it (the Grand Slam) till the (BBC television) interview. Then I just thought, ‘Oh, man, I've won New York three times in a row. I hope this isn't the year that I go down.’ I want to do well there. We'll see. . . I mean, I've won three, so that's not bad.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1425. &lt;p&gt;
  1426. &lt;/p&gt;
  1427. &lt;p&gt;
  1428. Is there a hint of trepidation in those words?&lt;/p&gt;
  1429. &lt;p&gt;
  1430. But apprehension isn’t a bad place to start the final leg of this journey. It also points to a more interesting question: Where does Williams go from here?&lt;/p&gt;
  1431. &lt;p&gt;
  1432. She is scheduled to play in Stanford, Canada, and Cincinnati, just as she did last year. That worked out well—she won two of the three events, losing only to sister Venus in the semis at Montreal. It set Serena up nicely for her win at the U.S. Open.&lt;/p&gt;
  1433. &lt;p&gt;
  1434. But then, this isn’t 2014. For one thing, an elbow injury forced Williams to issue a walkover before her second-round match in Bastad, Sweden; she also canceled her World Team Tennis obligations. For another, the Grand Slam question will follow and pop up wherever she goes.&lt;/p&gt;
  1435. &lt;p&gt;
  1436. Still, Williams has shown that she doesn’t need a great deal of match play to find her A-game.&lt;/p&gt;
  1437. &lt;p&gt;
  1438. Williams went into this year’s Australian Open without having played a tournament match in over two-and-a-half months—and she didn’t lose a set in the quarters, semis, or final. She clearly has options if she wants to lay low and prepare for this very different U.S. Open in way tailored to her present situation.&lt;/p&gt;
  1439. &lt;p&gt;
  1440. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/07/30/201507111256466120790-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:367px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;But there also will be a little voice counseling Williams and her advisers not to overthink or obsess about this mission. The voice will tell Serena: &lt;em&gt;You’ve won this tournament three times in a row, just do what you did every other time and the rest will take care of itself. As for this Grand Slam business, don’t prepare to complete a Grand Slam; just prepare to win the U.S. Open.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1441. &lt;p&gt;
  1442. The just-completed Serena Slam has been relegated to the shadows by the task ahead, but in one critical way it may play a pivotal role in Williams’ quest. Having completed Part A of her mission, Part B may actually be easier. As she said at Wimbledon:&lt;/p&gt;
  1443. &lt;p&gt;
  1444. “I've been trying to win four in a row for 12 years, and it hasn't happened,” Williams said, reminding skeptics just how much this second Serena Slam meant to her. “I've had a couple injuries. You know, it's been an up‑and‑down process. I honestly can't say that last year, or two years ago, or even five years ago I would have thought that I would have won four in a row. So just starting this journey, having all four trophies at home, is incredible.&lt;/p&gt;
  1445. &lt;p&gt;
  1446. “I feel like if I can do the Serena Slam, I will be okay heading into the Grand Slam. Like I always say, ‘There's 127 other people that don't want to see me win.’ Nothing personal, they just want to win.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1447. &lt;p&gt;
  1448. There’s that, too.&lt;/p&gt;
  1449. &lt;p&gt;
  1450. So far this year, Williams has kept those legions at bay. We’ll see if she can do it one more time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/khXZnEwALtk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1451.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/07/summer-slam/55785/</guid>
  1452.         <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1453.      </item>
  1454.      <item>
  1455.         <title>Book Club: Ashe vs. Connors</title>
  1456.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/OPOZm1glHzY/</link>
  1457.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1458. &lt;em&gt;After an extended hiatus, the Book Club returns. Today my TENNIS.com colleague Peter Bodo and I discuss his new book about the epochal 1975 Wimbledon final, &quot;&lt;/em&gt;Ashe vs. Connors&lt;em&gt;,&quot; which can be purchased at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Ashe-Connors-Wimbledon-Tennis-beyond/dp/1781313954&quot;&gt;Amazon.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1459. &lt;hr/&gt;
  1460. &lt;p&gt;
  1461. &lt;strong&gt;Pete,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1462. &lt;p&gt;
  1463. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Ashe-Connors-Wimbledon-Tennis-beyond/dp/1781313954&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/06/24/c1_.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:501px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;It's easy to see why the 1975 Wimbledon final between Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors deserves book-length treatment. It stands alone among Open era tennis matches. It was a battle that broke down along racial and generational lines, it was a stunning upset, and, in the dignified 32-year-old’s victory over the young ruffian, it provided one of the great feel-good stories in tennis history. The match wasn't the greatest ever, but it included a one-of-a-kind performance from Ashe. &lt;/p&gt;
  1464. &lt;p&gt;
  1465. I have a vague recollection of either following the match on TV (I was six years old in '75), or hearing the scores and understanding that the result was a shock—I may be retrospectively creating memories here, because as far as I know Wimbledon was only shown on tape delay in the U.S. in those days. But I wanted to start by asking you whether you were at Wimbledon that year, and also to talk a little about your personal relationships with Ashe and Connors.&lt;/p&gt;
  1466. &lt;p&gt;
  1467. And how did the match measure up when you looked back at it 40 years later? When I watch the YouTube clips, the most amazing thing to me is how fast they played—and Connors was famous for being slow! I know it's heresy, but it may even be a little too fast for my 21st century tastes. &lt;/p&gt;
  1468. &lt;p&gt;
  1469. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  1470. &lt;p&gt;
  1471. &lt;strong&gt;Steve,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1472. &lt;p&gt;
  1473. Contrary to what many readers might think, I was not born with a press credential dangling from my neck. I was not present at that historic final, as I was just embarking on the long road of my career and still fighting to get assigned to cover glamorous events like, oh, the U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia in the middle of February, never mind Grand Slam events on foreign shores.&lt;/p&gt;
  1474. &lt;p&gt;
  1475. But being slightly older (*clears throat*) than you, I do have vivid memories of that match, and perhaps that helped motivate me to write this book. As a fellow mangler of words, you know how exploring something that remains somewhat unclear or unresolved in the imagination is far more tantalizing than the re-telling of an experience we know stone cold. I think you pretty much nail the importance of that match in your first paragraph, but of course we could not know just how resonant it would become at the time at happened. Who knew the degree to which each man would become a kind of larger version of that 1975 self in ways predictable as well as unexpected as the years and decades went on?&lt;/p&gt;
  1476. &lt;p&gt;
  1477. At the time of the match I had enjoyed very few interactions with either man, but over time I got to know both of them about as well as our respective roles in the sport allow. The thing to remember is that even though it was possible at the time for a journalist (at least a magazine or opinion journalist like myself) to cultivate authentic relationships with players in a way that is no longer feasible due to the growth of the game, even then, there was a kind of transaction at the heart of the interaction.&lt;/p&gt;
  1478. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1479. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:71.380471% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1480. &lt;/div&gt;
  1481. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1482.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1483. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1484. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/452920052&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1485. &lt;/div&gt;
  1486. &lt;p&gt;
  1487. Ironically, it was less true with Ashe than Connors, but I believe that was a generational thing as well as a personal thing. Ashe, being a well-educated, curious, sophisticated man, had neither fear of nor narrow-minded contempt for journalists. It certainly helped that most of them appreciated him and his journey in tennis. For a long period Arthur was a playing editor for TENNIS Magazine. We sometimes drove up to Connecticut from New York for editorial meetings, and I enjoyed those trips because we talked about fishing and hunting, something we both enjoyed. Arthur often seemed remote, but he was never really cold—the word that most frequently comes to mind is &quot;laconic,&quot; followed by &quot;ironic.&quot; He was a very easy guy to be with, easy to share silence with.&lt;/p&gt;
  1488. &lt;p&gt;
  1489. Jimmy, for better or worse, was a different breed of cat, and everything in his background, from the role his mother played in his development to his vulgarity and &quot;proud to be stupid&quot; attitude, set him up as both a natural mark and scourge of journalists. For many years, though, I had an excellent relationship with Connors. I spoke on the phone at intervals with his mother Gloria, who in her simple way thought I was part of their &quot;team&quot; because I wrote positively about Connors's talents. I cut Connors slack where others of my ilk did not. I tried to see his point of view and represent it to the public. I had a soft spot for the rebel in him.&lt;/p&gt;
  1490. &lt;p&gt;
  1491. Ultimately, though, the relationship went south when he somehow became convinced—erroneously—that I wrote something slanderous about him. Jimmy being Jimmy, he was not going to change his mind and I certainly wasn't going to bend over backwards to change it. So we no longer speak. It was never that easy to speak with him anyway, because the thing with Jimmy is that he was a very uptight guy; you could sense his insecurity, like he was never sure what to say if the conversation strayed away from him and his tennis. It was work to have a conversation with him. It was just another of the ways in which he was the opposite of Arthur, who for all his good manners and education could have a conversation with anyone, and on anyone's level.&lt;/p&gt;
  1492. &lt;p&gt;
  1493. My experience of these two men was one of the reasons I wanted to write this book. I just felt like I had a good grasp of their personalities and issues, I knew where the bodies were buried, I saw where their careers arced. I thought it would be interesting to just take their two lives more or less from day one and weave them together and end it with this spectacular upset, which to me was a very fitting commentary on who each man was, and what each man represented. And it may seem like Connors got the short end of the stick, but if you look at how life turned out for both of them, that's a pretty myopic view. Connors got more than his share of the glory, and we won't even get into the issue of mortality.&lt;/p&gt;
  1494. &lt;p&gt;
  1495. I know what you mean about how fast they played; it's funny when you compare it to today's players, isn't it? But I'll tell you this, watching that match once again reminded me of the gap between live tennis and canned, broadcast, or streamed tennis. Ashe had an economy of motion that you had to witness to truly appreciate. There was a kind of grandeur to his game, at least when he was making his shots. He was explosive, but not in that burly, Stan Wawrinka way. And Connors, well, he was the most mobile player i've ever seen. I'm not sure he ever did get out of his crouch. You don't hear it said often, but I really think Jimmy was about as different from your &quot;typical&quot; tennis player as you can get. I really can’t think of anyone who's anything like him. When I try, I come up with the names of guys who never accomplished anything close to what Jimmy did. &lt;/p&gt;
  1496. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1497. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:72.053872% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1498. &lt;/div&gt;
  1499. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1500.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1501. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1502. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/452916926&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1503. &lt;/div&gt;
  1504. &lt;p&gt;
  1505. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  1506. &lt;p&gt;
  1507. &lt;strong&gt;Pete,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1508. &lt;p&gt;
  1509. I've always thought Ashe vs. Connors made for a perfect &lt;em&gt;Levels of the Game&lt;/em&gt;-type treatment, where a writer uses a match as a forum for talking about the competitors' lives and what they represented. It also makes sense, of course, because &lt;em&gt;Levels of the Game &lt;/em&gt;itself was about another Ashe match, against Clark Graebner at the 1968 U.S. Open. As you wrote in your book, in the tennis world, Ashe was automatically a figure of interest and contrast throughout his life.&lt;/p&gt;
  1510. &lt;p&gt;
  1511. We get a full picture of both men here, and your conversations with Ashe's friend Charlie Pasarell adds a lot to his story. I also liked that you were able to complicate the way we see each player a little. Most of us know all about Jimbo's status as a self-proclaimed outsider, and Ashe's pioneering wins on court and humanitarian efforts off it, so it made sense to show a slightly different side of each of them. &lt;/p&gt;
  1512. &lt;p&gt;
  1513. Here we see Ashe caught in between worlds, &quot;too black&quot; when he's young, and then criticized as &quot;too white&quot; when he's older. Sometimes the victim of racism, other times &quot;the beneficiary of touching acts of support.&quot; &lt;/p&gt;
  1514. &lt;p&gt;
  1515. And here we see Jimbo as perhaps not quite so far &quot;outside&quot; the tennis world as he and his mother wanted us to believe. I had never thought of it before, but it's true that Gloria Connors and her mother, Bertha, had been deeply enmeshed in amateur tennis for decades—it was their lives. Maybe we can see now that Gloria's &quot;us vs. them&quot; worldview was partly a strategy, one that worked to perfection with her son.&lt;/p&gt;
  1516. &lt;p&gt;
  1517. It's also interesting how small the world of tennis was at the time, small enough that it could unite these two men who had such different beginnings. Ashe and Connors followed strikingly similar paths, and their lives overlapped in surprising ways. Connors was born near St. Louis; Ashe moved to that city and practiced on the same indoor courts as Jimmy would. Each gravitated to Los Angeles, Ashe at the start of the 60s and Connors at the end of that decade. Each was mentored by the two Panchos, Gonzalez and Segura, and each won the NCAA singles title while playing for UCLA. Their differences were almost as much generational—Ashe was from the buttoned-down &quot;Mad Men&quot; era; Jimbo from the freewheeling late-'60s—as they were racial. I was struck as I read the book about the power of a sport to bring two people closer together than their nation could.&lt;/p&gt;
  1518. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1519. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:71.043771% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1520. &lt;/div&gt;
  1521. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1522.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1523. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1524. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/51894744&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1525. &lt;/div&gt;
  1526. &lt;p&gt;
  1527. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  1528. &lt;p&gt;
  1529. &lt;strong&gt;Steve,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1530. &lt;p&gt;
  1531. That's an astute point you make at the end there, about the power of sport bringing Ashe and Connors closer together than &quot;their nation&quot; had. Sport provides engagement; it's a natural byproduct of what sports are. We're lucky that way. Yes, Ashe is the king of the &lt;em&gt;Levels&lt;/em&gt; genre for sure, and one of the things I enjoyed about doing this project was that so much of the research was pre-existent. I could just really sift and weigh and pick the bits I wanted to use in my main mission, which as you surmised was not only to shine a light on the contrasts between the men (which seem somewhat obvious) but also on the similarities. &lt;/p&gt;
  1532. &lt;p&gt;
  1533. Ashe and Connors were very different men, but in the dominant area of their lives, one which shaped much of what they did and thought, they were similar—they were tennis players. Both liked the Playboy club (some Ashe fans might be mortified). Both were catered to, almost everywhere they went; that will have a somewhat ruinous effect on anyone, including a wonderful and decent man like Ashe. They also traveled in the same circles, toted the same man purses, shopped in the same expensive boutiques, looked upon women in a similar way even if their needs and desires were somewhat different—as people who had specific, limited roles to play. &lt;/p&gt;
  1534. &lt;p&gt;
  1535. One of my &quot;favorite&quot; glimpses into the less-than-entirely-noble side of Ashe is that little anecdote first conveyed in his book, &lt;em&gt;Portrait in Motion&lt;/em&gt;, about his break-up with a steady girlfriend who had traveled extensively with him during the year he wrote the diary. I believe they were up in Birmingham when Arthur got up one morning and more or less said to this Canadian lady, &quot;That's it, it's over&quot; and took her to the train station. That's pretty cold. They seemed pretty close, he wrote quite a bit about her, and I believe at one point he even met her parents. Perhaps there was a lot more to their bust up, and he was just trying to be discreet. I don't think so, though. He could have made it clear if that was the case. I think he just decided to dump her, offered not much explanation, and found himself footloose and fancy free again an hour or two later. Maybe it's better that way, but it struck me as kind of strange. Then again, Ashe was a good communicator of ideas, perhaps less so of feelings.&lt;/p&gt;
  1536. &lt;p&gt;
  1537. Conversely, for all the heat Connors took about his mother, there was something touching and more than a little sad about his devotion to her. It was absolute, like something out of a Tennessee Williams play. Can you imagine talking to your mother on a daily basis? Four, five times on some days? That’s something.&lt;/p&gt;
  1538. &lt;p&gt;
  1539. One of the things I wanted to stress was what a small world all these folks inhabited, which you picked up on and I think really comes through in the account of Gloria's early years, and then in that seam period where Jimmy is with Segura in Los Angeles, and Arthur is just about to graduate from UCLA. That whole camp thing they were doing up in Pasadena, with Stan Smith, Ralston, Billie Jean, Pasarell, Osborne, van Dillen, Lutz—what times they must have been for a player!&lt;/p&gt;
  1540. &lt;p&gt;
  1541. Pancho Segura liked both Connors and Ashe, and were he not coaching Connors he would gladly have told Ashe how to beat him. After all, as much as he ingratiated himself with the Hollywood set, Segura always remembered that he was one of the &quot;brown people.&quot; But all of these guys had an attitude and a set of values that transcended race, creed and religion. They had a code, a &quot;survival of the fittest&quot; ethic. If you couldn't beat a guy, you shut up. You didn't whine that your ex-coach helped the guy, or your buddy told him your forehand broke down under pressure and therefore he beat you. They were all in it for the action. Kind of like gamblers. You got your butt kicked by some kid and they all laughed at you instead of running the kid out of town. There were big dogs and little dogs and all different kinds of dogs in between. Nobody got anything he didn't earn. It was a great period for American tennis.&lt;/p&gt;
  1542. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1543. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:74.074074% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1544. &lt;/div&gt;
  1545. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1546.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1547. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1548. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/545279777&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1549. &lt;/div&gt;
  1550. &lt;p&gt;
  1551. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  1552. &lt;p&gt;
  1553. &lt;strong&gt;Pete,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1554. &lt;p&gt;
  1555. When I watch clips of Ashe and Connors at Wimbledon, sometimes I find myself thinking, &quot;I wonder what the British crowd thought of watching two Americans play in their final.&quot; We don't see many, or any, all-American Grand Slam finals anymore, but it was a fairly common occurrence over the last quarter of the 20th century. If nothing else, Ashe and Connors showed the world the variety of personality types that this country can produce. &lt;/p&gt;
  1556. &lt;p&gt;
  1557. Speaking of the U.S. game, I'm glad you mentioned—and unearthed in your book—that fertile, and fairly unknown, period of time for tennis in late-’60s Los Angeles. We've probably both read our share about the L.A. Tennis Club of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s, and how Perry Jones helped develop Jack Kramer, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzalez there. But I didn't know much about the next-generation, &quot;Mod Squad&quot; version of that scene, when Gonzalez and Segura were the teachers, and Ashe, Smith, Pasarell, Ralston, Lutz, Billie Jean, and then Jimbo were the students learning from them and from each other.&lt;/p&gt;
  1558. &lt;p&gt;
  1559. I wonder, as the U.S. continues its long search for its next champion, if there's anything to be learned from how the sport was passed down and passed around then. The L.A. scene wasn't a tennis factory, exactly, though the players all competed with each other. With Gonzalez and Segura involved, it reminds me a little of what we're seeing among the top players today. They've found that they have a lot to learn from the experience and tactical wisdom of former champions like Lendl, Edberg, Becker, Ivanisevic, Chang, Davenport, and Mauresmo. I had never heard the story of how Gonzalez soft-balled Connors to death in the early 70s, and how Pasarell passed that information on to Ashe at Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  1560. &lt;p&gt;
  1561. You write one book, dig things up from the past, and more possible books and stories emerge. Thanks for writing this one, Pete.&lt;/p&gt;
  1562. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1563. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:78.451178% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1564. &lt;/div&gt;
  1565. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1566.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1567. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1568. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/79662326&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1569. &lt;/div&gt;
  1570. &lt;p&gt;
  1571. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  1572. &lt;p&gt;
  1573. &lt;strong&gt;Steve,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1574. &lt;p&gt;
  1575. Interesting that you mention that this was an all-American final. The funny thing is that it was the first such final at Wimbledon since 1947, when Jack Kramer beat Tom P. Brown, the son of an ink-stained wretch like us, in the final. Crazy, huh? So we've had some rough times as a tennis nation before, at least at certain tournaments, like Wimbledon and Roland Garros.&lt;/p&gt;
  1576. &lt;p&gt;
  1577. As for the personality types, Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi may have come close to rivaling the contrast between Ashe and Connors at a very basic level (introvert vs. extrovert,  conservative vs. flamboyant). But they didn't measure up to the same degree at the level having to do with what I would call the internal life of either man. Have two men ever been as different, intellectually and emotionally, as &quot;Artie&quot; and “Jimbo”?&lt;/p&gt;
  1578. &lt;p&gt;
  1579. I think Southern California became such a hotbed because the game was already trembling at the brink of explosion into the Open era—note that while Ashe, Connors, Smith, Ralston, Lutz et al were “Open” players, they were basically on track to be stars well before the game went Open in 1968. But it wasn't quite there, yet, so there as nowhere else to go. Being Americans, these players were hungry for competition, and willing to uproot. Members of a relatively wealthy, mobile society, they sought out each other, and the best coaching. Thus, the game in the U.S. became extremely centralized and it reached critical mass. &lt;/p&gt;
  1580. &lt;p&gt;
  1581. If you wanted to become a great player back then, you had two not entirely unrelated courses: You could head west (which became more appealing as more players embraced the choice), or attend a university with a great tennis program (preferably in the west). The college option may be the only thing that actually kept some players down in Texas at Trinity, or in Florida, or back East. Were Ashe a young man in Richmond today, he might have elected to go down to Bollettieri’s academy in Florida, or to board at the Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md. Perhaps he would be putting in time at Harvard while getting high-quality boutique coaching from the USTA or some other interested, powerful party. There was life elsewhere on planet tennis in the late 1960s, albeit not a hell of a lot of it.&lt;/p&gt;
  1582. &lt;p&gt;
  1583. People sometimes ask me whatever happened to Southern California tennis. I don't think anything happened, at least not anything negative. One of the major changes wrought by Open tennis was the swift decentralization of the game, accompanied over time by the rapid growth of the game in Europe, South America, and Asia.&lt;/p&gt;
  1584. &lt;p&gt;
  1585. Those days you mention were really the last great days of amateur tennis. it may not stand out in the book, but this image of Ashe and Pasarell driving up to Pasadena early on Saturday mornings to help teach in those clinics always brings a smile to my face. They got paid, Charlie said, just about enough to buy a sandwich for lunch and maybe go to a movie in the afternoon. Yet they already were two of the best young players in the world, destined to be champions and men of great influence in and out of tennis. That kind of innocence is long gone, of course. Much has been gained; much also has been lost.&lt;/p&gt;
  1586. &lt;hr/&gt;
  1587. &lt;p&gt;
  1588. You can purchase &lt;em&gt;Ashe vs. Connors&lt;/em&gt; at &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Ashe-Connors-Wimbledon-Tennis-beyond/dp/1781313954&quot;&gt;Amazon.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/OPOZm1glHzY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1589.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/06/book-club-ashe-vs-connors/55359/</guid>
  1590.         <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1591.      </item>
  1592.      <item>
  1593.         <title>Teen Angels</title>
  1594.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/u1mUe_klgm0/</link>
  1595.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1596. Prodigy is so, like, 1970. Fans once fell all over themselves for the likes of Chris Evert, Bjorn Borg, and others in the long line of youthful overachievers. But in the new millennium, the public has flung its collective arms around battle-scarred veterans and players of a certain age, including that pair of beloved 33-year olds, Roger Federer and Serena Williams.&lt;/p&gt;
  1597. &lt;p&gt;
  1598. If that’s going to change, Wimbledon is the place it may happen—there’s quite a history of youthful insurgency at the All England Club, as I’ll get into. And it if happens this year, 17-year-old Ana Konjuh may be the latest player fans fawn over.&lt;/p&gt;
  1599. &lt;p&gt;
  1600. Konjuh is a 5’9” right-hander with a strong build—her listed weight is 143 lbs—and the talent for getting it behind her clean, precise, relatively flat shots. She used those fusillades, and more, to &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/06/croatian-teen-konjuh-wins-first-wta-tour-title-in-nottingham/55263/#.VX8kNmDjPUk&quot;&gt;win her first tour title a few days ago in Nottingham&lt;/a&gt;, the grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon, in an impressive display of stamina as well as skill, leavened with a good dose of intelligence. In doing so, the Croat became the the youngest WTA player to win a title since Tamira Paszek in 2006.&lt;/p&gt;
  1601. &lt;p&gt;
  1602. Because of rain, Konjuh was obliged to play her quarterfinal and semifinal on Sunday, and then face tricky Monica Niculescu in a Monday final. It was a lot to ask, but then this was the same youth who rose to prominence in juniors three years ago, after playing 17 singles and doubles matches in 14 days to win a pair of prestigious 18-and under titles, including the Orange Bowl. Later, Konjuh would go on to win the junior Grand Slam titles at the 2013 Australian and U.S. Opens.&lt;/p&gt;
  1603. &lt;p&gt;
  1604. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/06/17/1406270719263775373_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:398px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;In Nottingham, Konjuh struggled through the first set to cope with Niculescu’s slice-and-dice tactics. “She’s an uncomfortable player to play against,” Konjuh said afterward. “Especially on grass, with that many slices. It's so frustrating. But she has that experience and she took the first set because I wasn't ready for it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1605. &lt;p&gt;
  1606. But Konjuh soon found her rhythm and rolled out her big guns, smacking heavy drives at precise angles. She took advantage of those openings by coming forward and volleying with composure and impressive touch. Off the ground, Konjuh is reminiscent of a young Lindsay Davenport, but she already seems to have a more well-developed sense of the all-court game than the American did at a comparable age.&lt;/p&gt;
  1607. &lt;p&gt;
  1608. As a result of her win, Konjuh is up to No. 55 in the WTA rankings, making her the top-ranked 17-year-old by a country mile. The next closest is No. 160 Katerina Stewart. In fact, Konjuh is already ranked second among the entire under 20-set, trailing only 18-year-old Belinda Bencic, ranked No. 31.&lt;/p&gt;
  1609. &lt;p&gt;
  1610. Either of those young women could emerge as the latest in a long line of 18-or-under prodigies who have made stunning breakthroughs at Wimbledon:&lt;/p&gt;
  1611. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1612. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:71.380471% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1613. &lt;/div&gt;
  1614. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1615.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1616. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1617. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/85789903&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1618. &lt;/div&gt;
  1619. &lt;p&gt;
  1620. —In 1979, Tracy Austin was a Wimbledon semifinalist at age 16. But top-seeded Martina Navratilova proved too strong for her in the final four. Austin never did win Wimbledon, but she won the U.S. Open twice, and was ranked No. 1 in 1980.&lt;/p&gt;
  1621. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1622. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:73.400673% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1623. &lt;/div&gt;
  1624. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1625.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1626. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1627. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86043431&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1628. &lt;/div&gt;
  1629. &lt;p&gt;
  1630. —Andrea Jaeger, a 17-year old finalist at Wimbledon in 1983, was not so fortunate. A terrific athlete and one of the most combative players ever to prowl a court, Jaeger struggled with injuries and the emotional demands of the game. In ‘83, she ripped through Billie Jean King in the semis, 6-1, 6-1, but Navratilova proved too strong for her in the final. Jaeger, who never won a major but was ranked as high as No. 2, was a victim of burnout, gone from tennis by 1985.&lt;/p&gt;
  1631. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1632. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:66.666667% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1633. &lt;/div&gt;
  1634. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1635.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1636. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1637. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/243491&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1638. &lt;/div&gt;
  1639. &lt;p&gt;
  1640. —It’s hard to imagine, but Jennifer Capriati is still only 39 years old. Harder still to envision: Capriati was a Wimbledon semifinalist at age 15. And even more mind-bending: Capriati advanced to the that stage via a neat, 6-4, 6-4 win over local icon and No. 3 seed Navratilova. But Capriati fell short in the semis, losing 8-6 in the third to Gabriela Sabatini.&lt;/p&gt;
  1641. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1642. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:67.508418% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1643. &lt;/div&gt;
  1644. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1645.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1646. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1647. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1231507&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1648. &lt;/div&gt;
  1649. &lt;p&gt;
  1650. —Monica Seles was a Wimbledon semifinalist at 18. She won a tight, tense three-setter over Navratilova, but she was blitzed by rival Steffi Graf in the final. It was the last time she’d reach the final at SW19.&lt;/p&gt;
  1651. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1652. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:68.013468% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1653. &lt;/div&gt;
  1654. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1655.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1656. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1657. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1623893&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1658. &lt;/div&gt;
  1659. &lt;p&gt;
  1660. —It was an astonishing year for prodigies at Wimbledon in 1997, when a pair of 16-year-olds met in the semis: Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova. It was a wonderful opportunity for both girls, as the winner would get an equally unlikely finalist in either nervous nelly Jana Novotna or clay-court specialist Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.&lt;/p&gt;
  1661. &lt;p&gt;
  1662. Hingis handled her Russian opponent with relative ease, 6-3, 6-2, then won her second Grand Slam title over Novotna in three sets. Hingis would come within one match of completing the calendar-year Grand Slam that year, losing only the French Open final.&lt;/p&gt;
  1663. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1664. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:66.329966% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1665. &lt;/div&gt;
  1666. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1667.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1668. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1669. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1916841&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1670. &lt;/div&gt;
  1671. &lt;p&gt;
  1672. Kournikova never did win a WTA title, but that was something of an aberration, for the was ranked as high as No. 8 and did win two Grand Slam doubles titles. Off the court, she would go on to become an Internet sensation thanks to her good looks and an ability—and willingness—to market them.&lt;/p&gt;
  1673. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1674. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:65.151515% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1675. &lt;/div&gt;
  1676. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1677.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1678. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1679. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/52852292&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1680. &lt;/div&gt;
  1681. &lt;p&gt;
  1682. —In 1999, Wimbledon produced another 17-year old teenage sensation, Croatian Mirjana Lucic. She put up impressive resistance to No. 2 seed Steffi Graf in the semifinals, winning the first-set tiebreaker before the experienced veteran reeled her in. Lucic rose to No. 32, then struggled mightily and disappeared for nearly a decade. She re-emerged in the spotlight last summer using her married name, Lucic-Baroni, when she upset Simona Halep at the U.S. Open. Just a few weeks ago at the French Open, she defeated the highly ranked Halep again. Lucic-Baroni ought to be sponsored by the Grateful Dead: Oh, what a long, strange trip it’s been.&lt;/p&gt;
  1683. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1684. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:65.319865% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1685. &lt;/div&gt;
  1686. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1687.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1688. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1689. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1043046&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1690. &lt;/div&gt;
  1691. &lt;p&gt;
  1692. —Jelena Dokic also was 17 when she rocketed to the Wimbledon semifinals in 2000. Davenport had too much firepower for her in that round, and Dokic’s overnight success seemed to create as many problems as opportunities for the Croatian teen and her heavily involved, controversial father and coach, Damir. But despite the numerous ups and downs, Dokic did make it as high as No. 4 in the rankings, and she won six WTA titles. She’s one of the few players who have won main-tour titles on all four major surfaces: Clay, hard, carpet, and grass.&lt;/p&gt;
  1693. &lt;div class=&quot;getty embed image&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;&quot;&gt;
  1694. &lt;div style=&quot;overflow:hidden;height:0;padding:56.228956% 0 0 0;width:100%;&quot;&gt;
  1695. &lt;/div&gt;
  1696. &lt;p style=&quot;margin:0;&quot;&gt;
  1697.  &lt;/p&gt;
  1698. &lt;div style=&quot;padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;&quot;&gt;
  1699. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/477223038&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;View image&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.gettyimages.com&quot; style=&quot;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;border:none;display:inline-block;&quot;&gt;gettyimages.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1700. &lt;/div&gt;
  1701. &lt;p&gt;
  1702. Like many prodigies before her, Konjuh has figured out a lot at an early age, and her recent success on grass makes her upcoming Wimbledon journey an interesting one to follow. But it will take more than forehands and backhands to sustain success on tour, for not every player who burst forth like a supernova at the All England Club has gone on to light up the skies over Paris, Melbourne, and New York, as her sensational breakout might have suggested. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/u1mUe_klgm0&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1703.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/06/ana-konjuh-wimbledon-2015/55295/</guid>
  1704.         <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 23:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1705.      </item>
  1706.      <item>
  1707.         <title>Blues on Red Clay</title>
  1708.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/kotzN8KLM2M/</link>
  1709.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1710. Has any tennis player ever faced a challenge as complex and fundamentally bizarre as the one staring Rafael Nadal in the face right now? Has anyone ever stood gazing at a mountain that has been as familiar, friendly, and tractable, yet in what seems like an instant turned so forbidding, towering, and shrouded in mist?&lt;/p&gt;
  1711. &lt;p&gt;
  1712. What is sure to be the most riveting of Rafael Nadal’s 11 French Open campaigns begins this week. The nine-time champion is seeded a lowly No. 6, with tournament officials having decided that despite his numerous feats of derring-do in the 16th arrondissement, the Spaniard’s seeding would not be elevated.&lt;/p&gt;
  1713. &lt;p&gt;
  1714. Had Nadal’s decline been due to injury or some other act of God, those officials might have considered moving him up out of deference to his status as not just the defending champion, but the most prolific tennis player the red clay of court Philippe Chatrier has ever hosted. But a drastic loss of form is a cardinal offense in tennis. Nothing short of tanking matches is as disappointing to those watching as an inexplicable slump. Nadal is a sinner in the hands of an angry seedings committee.&lt;/p&gt;
  1715. &lt;p&gt;
  1716. I don’t want to be a cynic here, but does anyone else get the feeling that perhaps some of those French aesthetes were also getting a little bit sick of watching Nadal, with his roughneck game, sinking his teeth into their precious Coupe de Mousquetaires year after blessed year? If that was the case, things could not have worked out much better for that disgruntled contingent. For the draw has matched Nadal in the quarterfinals with his nemesis, and runaway world No. 1, Novak Djokovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  1717. &lt;p&gt;
  1718. The amazing thing about this tournament, most poignantly for Nadal himself, is that nobody can imagine him winning this year—yet nobody in his right mind can imagine him losing, either. Nadal is 66-1 at Roland Garros, has won this tournament nine of the last 10 years, and the last five years running. That means something. It suggests that Nadal just might be able to win this tournament even if Boris Becker and Severin Luthi kidnapped him and sawed his right leg off just above the knee on the night before his first match.&lt;/p&gt;
  1719. &lt;p&gt;
  1720. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/22/201505220557214613256-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1721. &lt;p&gt;
  1722. Nadal is playing some of the worst tennis of his life. There’s no question about that, even if we wipe his slow start on U.S. hard courts off the hard drive. The spring Euro-clay season has always provided Nadal an opportunity to be born again, but in Monte Carlo, he unexpectedly showed up for his first day at work with a new racquet. It was provided by his regular manufacturer, Babolat, and the frame was supposed to give him more power and spin—things Nadal has needed in roughly the same measure that Kanye West needs more mouth.&lt;/p&gt;
  1723. &lt;p&gt;
  1724. Furthermore, some of Nadal’s earliest comments on the change were, at best, puzzling: “It is true that with this new racquet probably I have less control. In theory, I get more power and topspin,” he said. “There are always risks when you change things.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1725. &lt;p&gt;
  1726. That hardly sounded like a ringing endorsement, but Nadal probably wasn’t the first man in tennis history to think he could hit his way out of what he himself had declared a slump. And if that was not his intent, what was he doing monkeying around with a new racquet while he was mired in a funk?&lt;/p&gt;
  1727. &lt;p&gt;
  1728. Either way, the idea that he could solve his problems by changing his equipment proved to be wishful thinking. He should have known better—but on the other hand, why not take a shot? It’s not like his life would be incomplete without a ninth Monte Carlo trophy. But when Nadal lost to Djokovic in the semis, and then took a loss to Fabio Fognini in Barcelona the following week, he decided enough was enough. He picked up his old racquet for the Masters event in Madrid.&lt;/p&gt;
  1729. &lt;p&gt;
  1730. The weird thing is that the old racquet appeared to react as if it actually had feelings, as if it had caught Nadal stepping out. Not only did Nadal lose the real or illusory extra power and spin that’s defined his game, he never recovered his consistency, not even on his formerly bulletproof forehand.&lt;/p&gt;
  1731. &lt;p&gt;
  1732. Still, Nadal had a decent tournament in Madrid—until Andy Murray knocked him out in straight sets in the final.&lt;/p&gt;
  1733. &lt;p&gt;
  1734. King of Clay? In that match Nadal looked more like a nervous subject, petitioning to win a point here, a point there, as his lord and master controlled the rallies and dictated from the baseline to win the title.&lt;/p&gt;
  1735. &lt;p&gt;
  1736. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/22/201505151719623827622-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:369px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;In Rome, Nadal had one more chance to win before Paris. And for a while, Nadal looked as if he might pull himself together and secure a confidence-boosting title that could put his rivals on notice on the eve of Roland Garros. But, as in the Madrid final, he produced an epic failure, this time in the quarterfinals against Stan Wawrinka.&lt;/p&gt;
  1737. &lt;p&gt;
  1738. Nadal is not a particularly creative player, but he found a way to lose a tiebreaker on clay from 6-2 up, and wound up surrendering the match to Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 6-2. You can’t get much more creative than that.&lt;/p&gt;
  1739. &lt;p&gt;
  1740. So there it is. A recent history of poor choices. Baffling breakdowns. Matches in which Nadal’s groundstrokes have been falling short and his serves haven’t been finding their mark. To top it all off, even the forehand that has been the foundation of Nadal’s game has been inconstant.&lt;/p&gt;
  1741. &lt;p&gt;
  1742. The net result is that Nadal has routinely been forced to play more defensively than he likes, which has put even more strain on his already loaded nerves. After all, once you’re past the age when it’s fun just to run around for the heck of it, dashing around having to put out one small fire after another is a pretty good way to feed your anxiety, or the sense that someone is out to get you.&lt;/p&gt;
  1743. &lt;p&gt;
  1744. In the literal sense, we know just who that someone is, and the tournament is teeing Nadal up for him in the quarterfinals. What a story it would be if Djokovic, on his way to completing the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros, disposed of the King of Clay. The relevant question in that regard is: Who will it benefit that the match-up occurs so early in the tournament? It’s &lt;em&gt;terra incognita&lt;/em&gt;; the two have never met in a single-elimination tournament before the quarterfinals. But the answer seems obvious to me: Nadal.&lt;/p&gt;
  1745. &lt;p&gt;
  1746. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/22/201505210832307580861-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:403px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Djokovic is, within reason, professionally obsessed with winning the French Open. And he’s always tried to do so, and thus imagined doing so, under the obvious, heroic conditions. The idea of having to meet Nadal in the quarterfinals on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon—and then God knows who else later on—must be difficult for Djokovic deal with. How does he pace himself? How does he peak, mentally and emotionally? How does he not get too high before, during and after?&lt;/p&gt;
  1747. &lt;p&gt;
  1748. Let’s also remember that as well as Djokovic is playing, it isn’t like Nadal has gone around the bend and ventured into Gulbisland. He’s still 15-5 on clay this year, with one title; 10-4 during the European swing, with a Masters final and semifinal under his belt. Nadal is healthy—which may be the most important point of all—he’s played some excellent matches this year, and he’s accomplished so much on Court Philippe Chatrier that he’s entitled to feel like he’s got nothing to prove.&lt;/p&gt;
  1749. &lt;p&gt;
  1750. Of course, there’s a long way to go until both men get to that quarterfinal juncture. And in the end, every man’s ascent of a Grand Slam mountain is via a different route, and none of them is particularly easy—especially not the one Nadal must take in this, his most trying year.&lt;/p&gt;
  1751. &lt;div&gt;
  1752. &lt;hr/&gt;
  1753. &lt;p&gt;
  1754. &lt;strong&gt;For more 2015 French Open coverage, go to our &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/special/2015-french-open/&quot;&gt;tournament page&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1755. &lt;p&gt;
  1756. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/special/2015-french-open/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/23/banner.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:620px;height:165px;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1757. &lt;/div&gt;
  1758. &lt;p&gt;
  1759.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/kotzN8KLM2M&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1760.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/05/blues-red-clay/54984/</guid>
  1761.         <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2015 21:34:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1762.      </item>
  1763.      <item>
  1764.         <title>Andy's World</title>
  1765.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/Dte95ugpEXE/</link>
  1766.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1767. Andy Murray won the first ATP clay-court title of his career &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/05/murray-wins-bmw-open-for-1st-clay-court-title/54819/#.VUvQNc7jPUk&quot;&gt;a few days ago in Munich&lt;/a&gt;. Just why it took Murray so long to sharpen up his game on clay is an interesting issue that’s difficult to resolve, but the very question supports the idea that the 27-year-old, recently married Scot is a complex man with a complicated tennis game.&lt;/p&gt;
  1768. &lt;p&gt;
  1769. That’s quite a combination.&lt;/p&gt;
  1770. &lt;p&gt;
  1771. This calls for a little backstory: Murray left Scotland for Barcelona, Spain, at age 15. He subsequently trained on the red clay courts at the Sanchez-Casal Academy, often under the watchful eye of a versatile all-around master of dirt ball, Emilio Sanchez.&lt;/p&gt;
  1772. &lt;p&gt;
  1773. The game Murray developed is long on defense, and on the kind of athleticism and retrieving skill that comes in handy on slower surfaces. Murray’s game is like jazz; it’s improvisational. It’s flush with the kind of creativity that is permitted on a clay court. That game can bring a crowd to its feet.&lt;/p&gt;
  1774. &lt;p&gt;
  1775. Murray has shown time and again that he isn’t at all shy about throwing in a drop shot when it’s least expected, or finding an acute, unexpected angle with a passing shot. In other words, Murray’s game has all the earmarks of clay-court expertise, right down to his self-injurious reluctance to approach the net.&lt;/p&gt;
  1776. &lt;p&gt;
  1777. Yet that game has always worked better—much better—on hard courts. Until Munich, Murray hadn’t even been to a clay-court final.&lt;/p&gt;
  1778. &lt;p&gt;
  1779. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/07/201505020444170504539-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:298px;height:512px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;And then there’s this: Between the beginning of 2012 and March 2014, the period during which Murray has enjoyed his greatest success, he was coached by one of the superb clay-courters of the Open era, Ivan Lendl. Murray never made it past the quarterfinals at a clay event under Lendl’s tutelage, yet mere weeks after they parted company, Murray slashed his way to the French Open semifinals, where he managed to fade, consistently and woefully, to eventual champ Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  1780. &lt;p&gt;
  1781. That Murray frittered away a two-sets-to-love lead against Gael Monfils in the previous round and was forced to go the five leg-wearying sets before prevailing over the Frenchman may have had something to do with that. But no matter how you cut it, Murray was beaten by Nadal as if he were a journeyman.&lt;/p&gt;
  1782. &lt;p&gt;
  1783. By that time, Murray was already pondering an unexpected and, to some, radical move—hiring former WTA No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach. It was heralded as a “historic decision,” in that Mauresmo thereby became the first woman to become the traveling coach of a top male pro. Though other women have had powerful, shaping influences on the games of many great men, including Lendl himself (by his mother) and Novak Djokovic (by coach Jelena Gencic), this was an unprecedented union.&lt;/p&gt;
  1784. &lt;p&gt;
  1785. Murray won three titles with Mauresmo at his side in 2014 (none greater than an ATP 500), but the cost of his new arrangement with someone who was essentially a part-timer was high. He allegedly had not consulted on the Mauresmo hire with neither his long-time friend, hitting partner, and unofficial coach of five years, Dani Vallverdu, nor his physical trainer Jez Green, who had been with Murray for seven years. The two men reportedly grew increasingly disillusioned as Murray’s year went on.&lt;/p&gt;
  1786. &lt;p&gt;
  1787. Mauresmo’s relatively low-key coaching style and her unwillingness to fling heart and soul into the job also raised eyebrows in some quarters. She never did want her position to be full-time—they agreed on 25 weeks—which further alienated Vallverdu and Green. The longstanding Murray team broke up last November, leaving bitter feelings all around, and Mauresmo the last woman standing.&lt;/p&gt;
  1788. &lt;p&gt;
  1789. The Murray-Mauresmo team has achieved two big finals thus far in 2015, at the Australian Open and Miami (both losses to nemesis Djokovic). But Mauresmo revealed in April that she would be quitting her post after Wimbledon because she is expecting her first child.&lt;/p&gt;
  1790. &lt;p&gt;
  1791. “I’ll see what happens with Amélie because I don’t know, and I don’t think she knows, what her priorities are going to be and how she wants to deal with things,” &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/26/andy-murray-jonas-bjorkman-coach&quot;&gt;Murray told &lt;em&gt;The Guardian&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  1792. &lt;p&gt;
  1793. That news might have sent alarm bells ringing in the minds of some Murray fans—unnecessarily, it appears. For he was already contemplating the addition of retired Swedish pro Jonas Bjorkman to his team; Mauresmo’s announcement merely forced Murray to make a decision sooner than he had planned.&lt;/p&gt;
  1794. &lt;p&gt;
  1795. “I was obviously looking for someone to help anyway, but then it became maybe more urgent and maybe a bigger job,” &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/andy-murray-tells-how-coach-amlie-mauresmo-revealed-her-pregnancy-10205573.html&quot;&gt;Murray told &lt;em&gt;The Independent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; at the end of April. He began hitting with Bjorkman a few days before the start of Munich.&lt;/p&gt;
  1796. &lt;p&gt;
  1797. Given the way things work in Murray’s world, can anyone truly be truly surprised that he won the tournament?&lt;/p&gt;
  1798. &lt;p&gt;
  1799. It was no cakewalk for Murray in Munich, either. Because of rain, he was forced to play two singles matches on Saturday, and his final opponent was Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, a two-time Munich champion who had stretched Murray to 12-10 in the fifth set in the third round of the 2014 French Open. Once again, Murray barely beat the versatile Kohlschreiber: 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (4).&lt;/p&gt;
  1800. &lt;p&gt;
  1801. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/05/07/1501302301828993698_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:356px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Yet here Murray is, a clay-court champion at last—and at a time when his coaching situation has never been in greater turmoil. The details of Murray’s coaching adventures suggest that his mind is as complicated as his game; they may even imply that his thinking is so asymmetrical when it comes to his needs that it’s impossible to tell what bits of coaching advice actually make it through the maze to manifest in his game. He may be choosing his coaches for reasons that don’t, in the end, have a whole lot to do with his game. And who’s to say there’s anything wrong with that?&lt;/p&gt;
  1802. &lt;p&gt;
  1803. The “progressive” implications of Murray’s decision to hire Mauresmo were right at the forefront of the news stories when he first made the announcement. It’s hard to imagine that Murray was unaware—or, for that matter, concerned—that would happen. Some were more inclined to focus on the psychological factors that may have shaped his decision: His mother Judy was the person who developed his game, therefore his comfort level with a female coach was sure to be high. It’s always been that way for Murray.&lt;/p&gt;
  1804. &lt;p&gt;
  1805. On the other hand, when Murray hired Lendl, some observers couldn’t help but notice that the boy whose own parents broke up when he was a stripling of 10 had chosen a tough man to lead him—a kind of ultimate authority figure. Murray has said that even before his parents officially divorced, they fought, often to a standstill. “I would get stuck in the middle of their arguments,” &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1550734/Murray-Parents-divorce-fuels-my-aggression.html&quot;&gt;Murray once told Britain’s &lt;em&gt;Daily Telegraph&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. “I would get really upset.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1806. &lt;p&gt;
  1807. Thinking too much about such things invariably becomes hopelessly confusing. But there’s a reason we’re drawn to such speculations, just like there’s a reason so many aficionados are attracted to Murray’s sometimes sublime, sometimes infuriating game.&lt;/p&gt;
  1808. &lt;p&gt;
  1809. In the coming weeks, we’ll see if Murray will find a way to transform an apparent negative—Mauresmo’s departure—into a positive. Whatever the case, we’ll be left wondering just how much Bjorkman has to do with it all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/Dte95ugpEXE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1810.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/05/andys-world/54844/</guid>
  1811.         <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2015 20:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
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  1813.      <item>
  1814.         <title>Simania</title>
  1815.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/aEB6-Owk_jE/</link>
  1816.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1817. Occasionally, sports coughs up an athlete who becomes famous, even beloved, less for his or her athletic accomplishments or prowess than some mysterious quality of personality, or of the public’s unspoken need. For an extreme example, look at Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/whatever-happened-to-eddie-eagle-britains-most-lovable-ski-jumper-180949438/?no-ist&quot;&gt;whose heroic failure as a Britain’s first ski jumper&lt;/a&gt; in 1988 endeared him to a worldwide audience.&lt;/p&gt;
  1818. &lt;p&gt;
  1819. And consider the author of “Linsanity,” New York City’s wild if short-lived love affair with Jeremy Lin, a point guard for the NBA’s New York Knicks. A modest, unassuming, undrafted former Harvard student, Lin was promoted to starting guard and led an astonishing turnaround by the struggling team in the winter of 2012—until reality caught up. By the time the bubble burst, journeyman Lin was a household name from Orchard Street in Manhattan to Grand Concourse in The Bronx.&lt;/p&gt;
  1820. &lt;p&gt;
  1821. Something similar seems to be happening with Simona Halep, although to be fair, she’s already achieved greater status in her own sphere than either of those two men ever did.&lt;/p&gt;
  1822. &lt;p&gt;
  1823. Wherever Halep goes, whomever she plays, the chant is likely to begin early and continue until the conclusion of the match: &lt;em&gt;Si-Moe-Na. . . Si-Moe-Na. . . Si. . .Moe. . .Na. &lt;/em&gt;Sure, many of those fans are also waving Romanian flags. But the entire body of spectators tends to get drawn into “Simania” as her matches progress. It happens time and again.&lt;/p&gt;
  1824. &lt;p&gt;
  1825. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/21/1502211159431590475_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:407px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;“They are coming everywhere I play, so that's amazing,” Halep said in Miami a few weeks ago, where a packed house at Crandon Park tried to pull her through what might have been the best match of the entire women’s tournament, a 7-5 in-the-third semifinal loss to top-seeded Serena Williams—notionally the hometown favorite. “There are many, many people in the crowd, so it's just amazing. It's really nice to hear your name during the points, between the points. It's nice to have people supporting you everywhere.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1826. &lt;p&gt;
  1827. There was nothing special about that occasion, either. It’s been like that in many places all over the world for the 23-year-old with the chipmunk cheeks and happy feet. No less an authority than Serena can shed light on why Halep is so popular. Describing herself as a “fan” of Halep, Williams said after her win in Miami: “I like her attitude. I like how she gets pumped up. I like how she fights. I like how she plays. I think it’s fun to watch, and different. It’s a refreshing type of game.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1828. &lt;p&gt;
  1829. It’s good word, “refreshing.” Halep’s seemingly boundless energy, her talent for making spectacular retrieves that often force opponents onto a back foot, and her ability to redirect her opponents’ shots are not just appealing, they combine to make her game resemble an exuberant, almost wanton exercise in athleticism.&lt;/p&gt;
  1830. &lt;p&gt;
  1831. Halep, who hammered Serena Williams by the nearly unheard of score of 6-0, 6-2 in the round-robin stage of last year’s WTA Finals (Williams exacted revenge for that loss with an equally convincing 6-3, 6-0 win in the final), won the biggest title of her career thus far in March, at Indian Wells. Perhaps fittingly, she defeated one of the few women who bear comparison with Halep as an athlete, Jelena Jankovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  1832. &lt;p&gt;
  1833. Afterward, Jankovic summed up why the vast majority of women find it so hard to beat Halep. “She just is going to run all these balls down. She's very solid. She's very consistent. She's going to fight like crazy. She's not giving you anything. If you're gonna win, you have to take everything in your control and risk and execute and go after your shots.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1834. &lt;p&gt;
  1835. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/21/1502201304470906640_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:446px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1836. &lt;p&gt;
  1837. In other words, Halep forces players who like to take their chances with the rally game out of their comfort zone. She asks more of them than they can deliver, or can produce over the course of a long match. Which is just the kind of match Halep likes to play. Over the month encompassing Indian Wells and Miami, six of her 10 matches were three-setters.&lt;/p&gt;
  1838. &lt;p&gt;
  1839. That excellent record in close matches also marked a step forward in what appears to be Halep’s inevitable march toward a Grand Slam title. Earlier in her big push to the top, which started roughly 36 months ago, she still had a tendency to throw the towel in when she was playing badly, or when she felt tired.&lt;/p&gt;
  1840. &lt;p&gt;
  1841. “If you win a title, it's really tough to play next week again, to start another tournament,” she said after playing her heart out against Williams in Miami. “But, you know, I did important step in my career (this week). Last year when I won a title, I withdraw. I was (too) tired, or I was (too) injured, to play in the next tournament. Now is different.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1842. &lt;p&gt;
  1843. Halep had the road to Damascus experience at the Australian Open, where, seeded third, she was beaten in the quarterfinals to No. 10 seed Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 6-0. She offered only token resistance in the second set, and admitted that she threw in the towel. “I was very disappointed by myself after that match,” Halep said. “I said I will fight to the end—always—and that was the last match where I didn’t fight.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1844. &lt;p&gt;
  1845. A large part of Halep’s appeal lies in the fact that she’s the quintessential “small woman” making her mark in a game dominated by bigger, stronger athletes. But there’s more to Simania than her tennis. It’s her personality, in a quiet but real way. Halep isn’t as vivacious as Caroline Wozniacki, or as intellectually stimulating as Andrea Petkovic. She doesn’t have the droll humor of Maria Sharapova, nor the sunny disposition of that human smiley-face emoji, Ana Ivanovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  1846. &lt;p&gt;
  1847. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/21/201503221607580319135-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Halep’s most alluring quality is her modesty, which is comprehensive. As her manager, former Roland Garros champion Virginia Ruzici, told me in Paris last year: “At home Romanians see her as a modest person, a humble person. And for this she has become very much loved and famous.”&lt;br/&gt;
  1848. &lt;br/&gt;
  1849. In many ways, Halep is the perfect underdog. Yet here she is, No. 3 in the world rankings. She probably needs far less emotional propping up than almost anyone she finds herself playing, but fans love her, and chant her name, over and over. It must be nice to be Simona Halep. She certainly thinks it is.&lt;/p&gt;
  1850. &lt;p&gt;
  1851. “I have many fans everywhere I go,” she acknowledged a few weeks ago. “It's very important for me to have fans. Tennis is nice. I love it. Now I have more pleasure on court when I see that people are coming especially for me.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1852. &lt;p&gt;
  1853. Eddie the Eagle should have had it so good.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/aEB6-Owk_jE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1854.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/04/simania/54708/</guid>
  1855.         <pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2015 02:16:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1856.      </item>
  1857.      <item>
  1858.         <title>Looking Down Both Barrels</title>
  1859.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/2YiQChUGb_k/</link>
  1860.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1861. Is there a way to be confidently un-confident?&lt;/p&gt;
  1862. &lt;p&gt;
  1863. That’s the question hovering over the head of Rafael Nadal as the European clay-court season begins. For most players, it will be a long and leisurely journey to the grand finale in Paris. For the five-time defending French Open champion, it may also be a perilous adventure.&lt;/p&gt;
  1864. &lt;p&gt;
  1865. All eyes will be on Nadal in the weeks to come as he struggles with a double-barreled problem. First, the anxiety that has haunted him thus far this year, persistent and well-hidden as a pebble in his shoe. And then there’s Novak Djokovic, the ultra-dedicated player who has &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/04/novak-djokovic-moves-ahead-rafael-nadal-142-weeks-no-1/54611/#.VS799ly5LUk&quot;&gt;just vaulted Nadal&lt;/a&gt; on the list of legendary players who have spent the greatest number of weeks ranked No. 1 on the ATP computer.&lt;/p&gt;
  1866. &lt;p&gt;
  1867. Small wonder that Nadal has been, well, anxious.&lt;/p&gt;
  1868. &lt;p&gt;
  1869. The Spaniard was upset in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year by rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios. A wrist injury kept him off the court for the ensuing three months, and when he returned he developed appendicitis. He floundered through the remainder of 2014, winning a grand total of four matches in the three tournaments he played after Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  1870. &lt;p&gt;
  1871. Nadal seemed primed to make a comeback this year, but he’s taken painful, unexpected losses—the most recent inflicted by Fernando Verdasco in the third round of the Miami Masters. Verdasco had lost 13 consecutive losses to Nadal, dating back to their first meeting in 2005, but now has two consecutive wins over Rafa, both in boldface Masters 1000 events. After that loss, Nadal was sanguine about the state of his game, if not the condition of his nerves.&lt;/p&gt;
  1872. &lt;p&gt;
  1873. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/15/1501270033019992297_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:405px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;“It's not the question of tennis,” he insisted. “The thing is the question of being enough relaxed to play well on court. . . One month ago, or one month and a half ago, didn't have the game. Today my game in general improved since a month and a half. But at the same time, (I’m) still playing with too much nerves for a lot of moments, in important moments, still playing with a little bit of anxious on that moments.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1874. &lt;p&gt;
  1875. Nadal is nothing if not realistic, and his humility is so striking that anyone predisposed to harbor a grudge against him tends to interpret his sincerity as feigned. If it is, Nadal is a better actor than he is a clay-court player, and that’s just to out there to even consider. Besides, Nadal’s humility is such that it may even snowball into an advantage as the season rolls on, or at least jump-start his rehabilitation. By embracing his problems, Nadal is off to a flying start on a solution. The rewards of true humility are seldom cataloged because it would be, well, un-humble to tout them.&lt;/p&gt;
  1876. &lt;p&gt;
  1877. Nadal has said that during his career, he’s been able to control his emotions during a match something like 90, 95 percent of the time. He’s had trouble hitting that number thus far this year, and admitted that “It is being tougher to be under self-control.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1878. &lt;p&gt;
  1879. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he added, “But I gonna fix it. I don't know if in one week, in six months, or in one year, but I gonna do it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1880. &lt;p&gt;
  1881. Those don’t sound like the words of a beaten or deeply confused man. They sound like the tennis player’s equivalent of General Douglas MacArthur’s famous prediction to the people of the Philippines when he was driven out by the Japanese army. “I shall return,” he promised.&lt;/p&gt;
  1882. &lt;p&gt;
  1883. MacArthur was good for his words. Will Nadal be as well?&lt;/p&gt;
  1884. &lt;p&gt;
  1885. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/15/201504150625231471909-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:431px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;The odds are good, but we ought to keep a few things in mind as we await his move. For one thing, Nadal generally gets back to 95 percent relatively quickly; that golden last five percent tends to take quite a bit longer. Just look at 2009, the year his aching, tendinitis-plagued knees prevented Nadal from defending his Wimbledon title.&lt;/p&gt;
  1886. &lt;p&gt;
  1887. Nadal took about 10 weeks off after Robin Soderling, in one of the all-time upsets, knocked him out in the fourth round of the French Open. In four of his next five tournaments, he lost in the semifinals; the other defeat came in a final. In those, he lost to quality players in Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro, but he also lost to a still-developing Marin Cilic and Nikolay Davydenko. At the U.S. Open, Nadal dealt with an abdominal muscle issue, but the injury factor is impossible to assess.&lt;/p&gt;
  1888. &lt;p&gt;
  1889. At the start of 2010, Nadal took a quarterfinal loss in the Australian Open, leading to increased rumors of his demise. But he went on to have a career year, winning the remaining three majors to complete the career Slam.&lt;/p&gt;
  1890. &lt;p&gt;
  1891. Nadal was also out for an extended period in 2012. He missed the entire second half with a bad left knee after absorbing a second-round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon. Nadal recovered from that setback more effectively, winning three straight tournaments after coming up short to Horacio Zeballas in his first outing back at Vina del Mar.&lt;/p&gt;
  1892. &lt;p&gt;
  1893. One thing about Nadal today: He has a deep fund of experience when it comes to making comebacks. His grip on the tiller of career is much firmer than the one momentarily on the handle of his racquet.&lt;/p&gt;
  1894. &lt;p&gt;
  1895. “For me, the most important is the mental part, because I don't think I forgot how to play tennis,” he told reporters shortly before the start of Monte Carlo. “From playing bad to playing well, there is not a very big difference. It's just small things that make big changes. If I'm well mentally, if I can play with a little bit more confidence, it will be easier to hit better shots.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1896. &lt;p&gt;
  1897. Those better shots began to flow from Nadal’s racquet in his first match on red clay this year. The relief he felt after putting the hammer down on French wild card Lucas Pouille was almost palpable. “I will go back to the hotel with [a] fantastic feeling, because I played probably the best match of the year for me,” Nadal told the press. “I played with the right mentality [and] the right concentration.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1898. &lt;p&gt;
  1899. Given how swiftly we forget recent history, it’s also instructive to review Nadal’s spring just a year ago. After losing the Miami final to Djokovic, Nadal was beaten in back-to-back quarterfinals at Monte Carlo and Barcelona by, respectively, David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro. He took the Madrid Masters title when Kei Nishikori had to retire, mid-match, and then lost to Djokovic in the Rome Masters.&lt;/p&gt;
  1900. &lt;p&gt;
  1901. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/04/15/1406081213440163117_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;margin:10px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;float:right;&quot;/&gt;But Nadal killed that latest version of the “What’s Wrong With Rafa?” narrative with a win over Djokovic when it mattered most, in the French Open final. It was a triumph made all the hand-wringing seem for naught, and all was well in Nadalville. But to get a good handle on Nadal’s situation, just imagine what the buzz might have been like last June had he lost that Roland Garros final to Djokovic.&lt;/p&gt;
  1902. &lt;p&gt;
  1903. That, of course, is the second barrel of Nadal’s current dilemma: Djokovic won’t get off his tail. The guy keeps hounding him. He seems determined to win the French Open, but what that really means is that he’s dead set on stripping Nadal of the one thing he can count on, the still point around which his entire world turns. Nadal himself may not fully comprehend how much having that home base of Roland Garros really means to him, which is why it seems so important that Nadal get his game together this spring. The way Djokovic is playing, he’s not going to take “no” for an answer again—at least not without asking every question in the book.&lt;/p&gt;
  1904. &lt;p&gt;
  1905. Tennis is a game brimming with opportunities for redemption. There’s a fresh start nearly every week, and Nadal has taken advantage of that a number of times thanks to his proficiency on clay. It looks and sounds as if he’s bent on doing it again.&lt;/p&gt;
  1906. &lt;p&gt;
  1907. Djokovic looms on his horizon, growing larger by the minute, but this isn’t a good time to be distracted by that. Nadal can only solve his problems one barrel at a time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/2YiQChUGb_k&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1908.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/04/looking-down-both-barrels/54637/</guid>
  1909.         <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2015 00:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1910.      </item>
  1911.      <item>
  1912.         <title>Women's Quarterly Report</title>
  1913.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/lwTWjJb0kTI/</link>
  1914.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/lwTWjJb0kTI&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1915.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/womens-quarterly-report/54476/</guid>
  1916.         <pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1917.      </item>
  1918.      <item>
  1919.         <title>Men's Quarterly Report</title>
  1920.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/sHNzwHhzEEg/</link>
  1921.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/sHNzwHhzEEg&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1922.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/mens-quarterly-report/54477/</guid>
  1923.         <pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1924.      </item>
  1925.      <item>
  1926.         <title>Think Tank</title>
  1927.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/TtFAtXJaVSU/</link>
  1928.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1929. For long stretches over the past few years, Australian Bernard Tomic seemed bent on turning his career into a train wreck. After Tomic appeared to go into the tank in a second-round match with Andy Roddick at the 2012 U.S. Open, a fellow Aussie hung him with the nickname, “Tomic the Tank Engine” (a reference to the wildly popular children’s stories).&lt;/p&gt;
  1930. &lt;p&gt;
  1931. Ranking members of the Australian tennis establishment—men like Tony Roche, Pat Rafter, John Newcombe—as well as pundits and diehard fans vacillated between two poles, sometimes simultaneously. They felt a measure of sympathy for the gifted but seemingly confused, self-sabotaging youngster with the abusive, omnipresent father. They frequently experienced a comparable degree of disgust with his antics.&lt;/p&gt;
  1932. &lt;p&gt;
  1933. “Bernie” showed flashes of creative genius on the court, but his commitment was questionable, his motivations suspect, and he appeared to be doing his level best to impersonate a horse’s derriere off the court as well as on it. The youngster always seemed to find his way into the papers. The question that hovered on everyone’s lips: What would it take to get Tomic to man up?&lt;/p&gt;
  1934. &lt;p&gt;
  1935. The answer, it seems, was right in front of their noses. And it was something nobody could really engineer or bring to pass. What Tomic needed was for a couple of young Australians to pop onto the radar and play well enough for most Aussies to give up the fantasy that Tomic is the second coming of Rod Laver— a hope that only fueled Tomic’s ego. Two kids who could make everyone shrug and ask, “Bernie who?”&lt;/p&gt;
  1936. &lt;p&gt;
  1937. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/03/27/1501270416153802457_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:409px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;The best thing that has happened to Tomic has been the swift, almost overnight emergence of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis as potential impact players. By birthright, they are also Tomic’s rivals to the bragging rights to Australia. It may be the simplest of all forms of motivation.&lt;/p&gt;
  1938. &lt;p&gt;
  1939. It takes a lot to hurt a talented young guy with a whopping sense of entitlement, but Tomic certainly has been stung. At 22, he’s the oldest player in this gifted trio—and of sufficient age and seasoning to read the handwriting on the wall. Could anyone blame him for fidgeting? He’s also the Aussie youth who’s wasted the most time, and now has the most to prove, and the most to lose.&lt;/p&gt;
  1940. &lt;p&gt;
  1941. That was but one set of reasons why Tomic’s recent clash with Kokkinakis at Indian Wells loomed with such significance and motivated him to play with uncharacteristic ferocity and determination. Tomic, yelling and fist pumping all the way, won that fourth-round match in three tough sets. His comments afterward carried an interesting undercurrent of self-pity, as well a familiar vein of defiance.&lt;/p&gt;
  1942. &lt;p&gt;
  1943. “Obviously, playing someone younger is not easy,” Tomic told reporters. “There were a lot of expectations tonight. Was not easy out there. Conditions were suiting him. He was going for it and playing with nothing to lose. Looking back to the way I was playing when I was 18, 19, I was playing like that. . .I was happy I won. You know, I didn't play the way I should have maybe in that second to get up, but he was playing good.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1944. &lt;p&gt;
  1945. People, including their fellow players, have noticed how Kyrgios and Kokkanikis have Tomic rattled.&lt;/p&gt;
  1946. &lt;p&gt;
  1947. “He’s getting mentally more confident, more comfortable on the court,” Novak Djokovic said of Tomic before a quarterfinal showdown at Indian Wells (a match that never happened because a bad back and aching wisdom tooth caused Tomic to issue a walkover). “He has started to believe even more (in himself). Perhaps also the success of Kokkinakis and [Nick] Kyrgios motivated him to really get serious and work. The talent is there, the touch is there, he’s got a (tough) game.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1948. &lt;p&gt;
  1949. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/03/27/1502131446531978257_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:394px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;The game Tomic is inflicting on his opponents is a maddening one; if Djokovic runs you into exhaustion, Rafael Nadal bludgeons you into senselessness, and Roger Federer simply makes you go blind with his dazzling versatility, Tomic at his best uses razor sharp if by no means overpowering weapons to inflict so many small wounds his opponent slowly bleeds to death.&lt;/p&gt;
  1950. &lt;p&gt;
  1951. Although he’s a long and lean 6’5” with plenty of elasticity, Tomic relies far less on power than feel and improvisation. He’s expert at teasing errors out of opponents eager to jump on his slow-moving shots. His game is odd, almost eccentric, which is one of the reasons he attracted so much attention from such a young age. His style is more interesting than pretty, but on too many occasions Tomic’s indifference or foul mood has made his tennis appear simply ugly.&lt;/p&gt;
  1952. &lt;p&gt;
  1953. Tomic’s struggle with motivation has been career-defining. He isn’t overly imbued with what commonly passes for fighting spirit. He first signaled to the world at large that he might be a head case, or simply a troublesome character, in 2007. He was 15 at the time, “competing” in the French Open juniors. He put forth so poor an effort in a second-round loss at Roland Garros that furious Tennis Australia officials cut off his funding. He was obliged to return home and he was unable to return to play at Wimbledon.&lt;/p&gt;
  1954. &lt;p&gt;
  1955. Later, in 2009, Tomic also was suspended by the ITF for walking off the court in Perth during a Futures tournament match. Still later that year, he infuriated members of Aussie icon Lleyton Hewitt’s camp by blowing off a practice session because he felt the role model “wasn’t good enough.” And did you hear about the time Tomic was busted for illegally and recklessly driving his bright orange BMW M3 through the Gold Coast byways? Stopped three times in the same day, he uttered those six magical words that define celebrity noxiousness: “Do you know who I am?”&lt;/p&gt;
  1956. &lt;p&gt;
  1957. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/03/27/1502131547568738432_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:435px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;But the worst of it, and perhaps the only reason some apologists continued to support Tomic and plead for understanding, was Bernie’s relationship with his abusive father and coach, John. At the Miami Masters in 2012, Bernie asked the chair umpire to remove John—his own father—from the stadium. Bernie claimed John was “irritating” and distracting him.&lt;/p&gt;
  1958. &lt;p&gt;
  1959. Things went from bad to worse by May of 2013, at which time John Tomic attacked Bernie’s hitting partner, Thomas Drouet, leaving the Frenchman with stitches in a cut over an eye and a broken nose. During the subsequent news cycle, Drouet said that he had witnessed John Tomic striking his son during a practice session in Monte Carlo. As a result, John Tomic was then banned from ATP and ITF events for a year.&lt;/p&gt;
  1960. &lt;p&gt;
  1961. All the while, Tomic’s rankings fluctuated, sometimes wildly. He made his big breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2011, and by November of that year his ranking had climbed to No. 27. Since then, he’s been as low as No. 124 and as high as his present No. 29.&lt;/p&gt;
  1962. &lt;p&gt;
  1963. Tomic told reporters at Indian Wells that he’s fitter than ever but humbly added that he “still has a long way to go.” Since he suddenly found religion, Tomic enthusiastically declared that he still has “a lot of areas that I can work on.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1964. &lt;p&gt;
  1965. A skeptic might be moved to ask, “Can this last?”&lt;/p&gt;
  1966. &lt;p&gt;
  1967. In that regard, the Davis Cup situation may be germane. Australian fans and pundits hold the competition in the highest regard; playing in it is a national obligation. Hewitt, Rafter, and other Aussie Davis Cup stalwarts have worked hard to instill the trademark, gung-ho Australian Davis Cup spirit in Tomic. All three young men (Kyrgios, Kokkinakis, Tomic) will be under a lot of pressure to behave like true-blue Aussies.&lt;/p&gt;
  1968. &lt;p&gt;
  1969. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/03/27/201503061325483150212-p2.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:417px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;“Obviously we have good futures, all of us,” Kokkinakis said at Indian Wells. “We have definitely a real positive Davis Cup team to build around in the future. Yeah, we are all real different people. We are very different, I would say, all of us, and we will keep working hard and see how good we can be.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1970. &lt;p&gt;
  1971. The operative word in Kokkinakis’ comments is “different.” Tomic has a long history as a self-absorbed lone wolf; it will be interesting to see how he handles those differences, especially if his young friends and rivals make better use of their next two or three years than Tomic did with last four or five.&lt;/p&gt;
  1972. &lt;p&gt;
  1973. Right now, Tomic is saying all the right things.&lt;/p&gt;
  1974. &lt;p&gt;
  1975. “You work so hard being a tennis player and wanting to achieve a lot of things, and I realized in the last sort of year that I have to use these next six, seven years and achieve as much as I can. I feel very good on court and I feel like I can match these guys (Djokovic et al), but maybe at times I wasn't putting in the right concentration. Now this year has been amazing for me, and I'm going to keep going.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1976. &lt;p&gt;
  1977. And even if Tomic is seized by a desire to let it all go, like he’s often done in the past, he now has two other reasons not to chuck it all and go hang around the nightclubs of Gold Coast. I think he knows as well as we do what those two reasons are.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/TtFAtXJaVSU&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  1978.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/think-tank/54444/</guid>
  1979.         <pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2015 12:38:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1980.      </item>
  1981.      <item>
  1982.         <title>Timeless</title>
  1983.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/WEiEIfI-RNw/</link>
  1984.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1985. Age. It's the bane of every athlete's existence, the true Grim Reaper for the body of people who make a living running and jumping, swinging bats and racquets. If you're lucky, you still have half a life (or more) to live when it gets you, but it probably won't be a life as poignant, bittersweet, challenging, or rewarding as your first.&lt;/p&gt;
  1986. &lt;p&gt;
  1987. Lately, tennis players have been winning the war with age. Roger Federer, 17-time major champion, is still spry and competitive at age 33. A few weeks ago, 33-year-old Serena Williams surpassed Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with her 19th Grand Slam singles title and became the second oldest woman, after Navratilova, to win a major. She continues to be the oldest woman to hold the No. 1 ranking.&lt;/p&gt;
  1988. &lt;p&gt;
  1989. Ivo Karlovic won Delray Beach last week at age 35. Tommy Haas is 36 and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://issues.tennistuesday.net/02-24-2015/p/1&quot;&gt;preparing for yet another comeback&lt;/a&gt;. Flavia Pennetta just celebrated her 33rd birthday and remains in the Top 20, while 44-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm, ranked No. 106, remains on the cusp of direct acceptance at Slams.&lt;/p&gt;
  1990. &lt;p&gt;
  1991. But perhaps nobody has cheated age quite as resourcefully as a 34-year-old who ranks second on her family tennis ladder, Venus Williams. She's in the throes of a late-career renaissance that, come July, could conceivably net her a sixth Wimbledon title, seven years after she won her last.&lt;/p&gt;
  1992. &lt;p&gt;
  1993. That's a highly speculative suggestion, of course, not least because Venus was pretty much written off by all but her most diehard partisans when she was diagnosed in the summer of 2011 with the auto-immune disease Sjogren's Syndrome. The symptoms of Sjogren's include joint pain and increased vulnerability to fatigue—not exactly the most manageable of burdens for a professional tennis player.&lt;/p&gt;
  1994. &lt;p&gt;
  1995. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/25/1501260439167630457_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:413px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Yet here she is, at age 34, off to a terrific and largely unanticipated start in 2015. Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and former No. 1, was ranked No. 11 last week, after having fallen to No. 103 at the end of 2011. She won her first title in about 10 months at Auckland in January, and she lost an agonizingly close quarterfinal match to Madison Keys at the Australian Open. As incredulous reporters once again flocked to her press conferences to ask if she had envisioned ever playing so well again, she soft-pedaled the disappointment that she felt so often in the wake of her summer of 2011:&lt;/p&gt;
  1996. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  1997. &lt;em&gt;“I feel like, yeah, I have that potential. [But] when you step out time and time again and you can't reach that, it's definitely challenging and it definitely makes you feel . . . some type of way. That's all I can say about that.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1998. &lt;p&gt;
  1999. It was a fairly typical comment from Williams, one very proud woman. She's never been a complainer, nor a great rationalizer of either her triumphs or disasters. We often see the softer side of Serena, but there's an obdurate quality to Venus, as well as an emotional opacity. It's hard to know what she's really thinking, but what she was thinking in recent weeks, at least when prodded by the press, has been that her wealth of experience trumps the disadvantages of advancing age. It also helps mitigate the punishments doled out by her disease.&lt;/p&gt;
  2000. &lt;p&gt;
  2001. “I think at this level the younger body doesn't help, per se,” Williams said in Australia. “Everybody out here is ready to go. If you're here and you're playing this deep, it means that you've done the work and you're fit. . . It doesn't matter, any of these variables. That's what they are: Variables. I don't think that enters our mind out there. ”&lt;/p&gt;
  2002. &lt;p&gt;
  2003. She added, “I'm just really focused and poised right now. I feel like I've been here before, so it's not like I'm jumping up and down for joy, 'Oh, shoot, what is this? I've never done this.' Yes, I've done this. This is what I'm always going into each tournament thinking I want to do, even when I fall short. I want to win.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2004. &lt;p&gt;
  2005. It would be rash to read too much into the kind of month Venus had in January, no matter how tempting. Even players successfully managing age and injury occasionally go on a run, only to be hunted and brought to ground by their handicaps—never mind reinvigorated rivals. But you can't help but look ahead to July when it comes to Venus' case. She is, after all, a five-time Wimbledon champion, and one of the best half-dozen players in the tournament’s history. In one span, she won the grass-court major three out of four years (2005, '07, '08).&lt;/p&gt;
  2006. &lt;p&gt;
  2007. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/25/1406271136417836001_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:436px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;That run began with one of the greatest performances any woman ever turned in at SW19: Williams’ win over Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 title match. It's certainly my favorite women’s final ever played at Wimbledon. The score was 4-6, 7-6 (4), 9-7, and the firepower on display on either side of the net throughout the longest women’s final in Wimbledon history, at 2:45, was spectacular. Davenport even had a match point following an errant Williams serve at 4-5 in the final set. But Williams put in a first serve and ended the ensuing fierce rally with a backhand down-the-line winner.&lt;/p&gt;
  2008. &lt;p&gt;
  2009. “Every time I thought I had her,” Davenport once told me, referring to that match, “She just elevated her game. She took it out of my hands.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2010. &lt;p&gt;
  2011. Granted, that was then, and this is now. Venus is a decade older and physically compromised. But she demonstrated last month that hard work abetted by a rigorous diet and experience managing her condition have paid dividends.&lt;/p&gt;
  2012. &lt;p&gt;
  2013. Moreover—and this may be the most relevant detail of all—Venus, though just 25 at time of that final, wasn't in the greatest of shape. She was on the rebound from injury. She was error-prone and her stroke production often looked undisciplined. She was well off the pace set by the contenders, and winless in the Grand Slam title hunt for nearly four full years.&lt;/p&gt;
  2014. &lt;p&gt;
  2015. Given the speed of the grass and the power, athleticism, and range of Venus, combined with the dearth of possible opponents who play effective, attacking tennis on grass, is it really far-fetched to imagine a Williams not named Serena winning in a few months’ time in London?&lt;/p&gt;
  2016. &lt;p&gt;
  2017. Venus’ history also suggests that she's a player fueled by inspiration. She doesn't appear ever to have needed to dominate; how could she, with an insistent younger sibling who wanted to do precisely that? That makes it easy to write her off when her results point toward a lack of motivation.&lt;/p&gt;
  2018. &lt;p&gt;
  2019. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/25/1408272046747877880_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Beyond that, Venus is a player who keeps her own counsel. She's observant and diligent. As deeply as she craves winning, she doesn't appear addicted to her celebrity. You don't exactly get the sense that she avoids the limelight; you might be more inclined to think she doesn't really care about the fluffy stuff, one way or the other. So long as it doesn't interfere with what she is trying to accomplish.&lt;/p&gt;
  2020. &lt;p&gt;
  2021. We never really know just what Venus Williams is thinking, although she does indulge in moments of crystal-clear communication. After she survived that final against Davenport, the press asked if she felt at any point that she was destined not to win another major during her four-year drought. She answered:&lt;/p&gt;
  2022. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  2023. &lt;em&gt;“Oh, no. I knew my destiny was to be in the winner's circle. There were times along the way where I didn't make it there. But I felt my destiny was definitely to win big titles, win lots of titles.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2024. &lt;p&gt;
  2025. And after losing in the quarterfinals in Melbourne to young Keys, Venus offered this:&lt;/p&gt;
  2026. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  2027. &lt;em&gt;“I was 19 once. I beat players who were more experienced. But at the end of the day if you can hit the ball in the court enough times and get enough points on your side, that will be who wins—no matter what the other numbers are.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2028. &lt;p&gt;
  2029. Venus may appear ageless, but perhaps the word that better describes her is the one often used to describe Wimbledon: &lt;em&gt;Timeless&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/WEiEIfI-RNw&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2030.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/timeless-venus-williams/54175/</guid>
  2031.         <pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2032.      </item>
  2033.      <item>
  2034.         <title>Nole More Questions</title>
  2035.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/HlxZecWIptA/</link>
  2036.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2037. Bitterly disappointed a few weeks ago after having lost yet another Australian Open final—the fourth of his career—Andy Murray implied that Novak Djokovic had engaged in a bit of distracting gamesmanship during their clash for the championship. After the two split a pair of tiebreakers, Djokovic looked physically wobbly, but he rebounded magnificently to win the third set, and he pulled away impressively to sweep 12 of the final 13 games in a four-set victory.&lt;/p&gt;
  2038. &lt;p&gt;
  2039. When Murray was asked if he thought Djokovic was deliberately misrepresenting his state, the Scot told the reporters assembled for his post-final press conference: “I don’t know. I don’t know. I have no idea. . . I hope that wouldn’t be the case.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2040. &lt;p&gt;
  2041. “I don’t know” is very different from “I doubt it.” Or from “I don’t think so.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2042. &lt;p&gt;
  2043. It was a surprising reaction, considering how close these two men were as junior players, and even as full-fledged pros: At least until Djokovic’s glorious 2011 season, he and Murray were considered a kind of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid operating in the world where the law was in the hands of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. &lt;/p&gt;
  2044. &lt;p&gt;
  2045. Thus, Murray’s reaction laid the foundation for a potential controversy. But when Djokovic was asked in the same room later if gamesmanship ought to be an issue between friends, he took the high road: “I'm not going to talk bad things about him in the press or find any excuses or something like this. In the match like this a lot of emotions go through, a lot of tension. It's not easy to keep the concentration 100 percent all the way through.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2046. &lt;p&gt;
  2047. Never mind this turning of the other cheek, or the even-handed dismissal of so unpleasant a charge. Djokovic actually ends up making an excuse for Murray’s loss of form and subsequent veiled accusation—how else can you interpret the Serb’s remark about the challenge of remaining fully focused? &lt;/p&gt;
  2048. &lt;p&gt;
  2049. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2050. &lt;p&gt;
  2051. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/11/1501280451174825047_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:385px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;This anecdote opens a nice little window on the personality of Djokovic, and just how far it has developed by the end of his first decade as a pro. He once was a callow youth, famous for making outlandish, unsubstantiated claims of superiority—never mind that he would later be vindicated. He was once accused of harboring flight and fight reactions in near equal measures, hence his once common claim of physical disability ailments. At best, Djokovic seemed a borderline hypochondriac. At times, he also seemed rough-edged and arrogant.&lt;/p&gt;
  2052. &lt;p&gt;
  2053. Things certainly are different now. &lt;/p&gt;
  2054. &lt;p&gt;
  2055. Beginning with his watershed year of 2011, Djokovic has shown that it isn’t just on the tennis court that he’s become the equal, on any given day, of Federer or Nadal. Time, success, experience, and marriage have smoothed many of the burrs in his personality. Always a man of convictions, he’s now a little less definitive and a little less aggressive about expressing them. He’s always liked to talk, but now he’s a better listener. Djokovic conquered the world four years ago, winning three Grand Slam titles and hardly losing a match, but he’s also learned from it, and become a man of it. And now that he’s a husband and father as well, he seems to have found his ultimate niche.&lt;/p&gt;
  2056. &lt;p&gt;
  2057. “As my life progresses, there are circumstances, situations, events that define these beautiful moments,” Djokovic said after winning his fifth Australian Open, trying to explain why this most recent Grand Slam triumph seems to have “deeper meaning” and more “intrinsic value.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2058. &lt;p&gt;
  2059. “Getting married and becoming a father in the last six months was definitely something that gave me a new energy, something that I never felt before. And right now everything has been going in such a positive direction in my life. I'm so grateful for that. So I try to live these moments with, you know, all my heart.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2060. &lt;p&gt;
  2061. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2062. &lt;p&gt;
  2063. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/11/533px-Djokovic.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:337px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;It isn’t always easy for an elite player to navigate the process of growing up. Nobody knows that better than Djokovic, who was floundering for a period after he won his first major in Melbourne in January 2008.&lt;/p&gt;
  2064. &lt;p&gt;
  2065. Djokovic played 11 Grand Slam tournaments after that breakthrough without winning another. He always seemed to be in the hunt, but he always came up short. Yet he was marvelously consistent, making four semifinals and a final in that stretch. He cracked the Top 10 at No. 6 in April 2007, and he hasn’t been ranked lower since. At times, though, Djokovic seemed satisfied with that output, more interested in winning the public’s affection than the big titles. He became famous for his impersonation of rivals, while Federer and Nadal became famous for winning Slams.&lt;/p&gt;
  2066. &lt;p&gt;
  2067. Djokovic in those days acted and often played as if there he were in no particular hurry to become great. As if he had all the time in the world. As if he could waste chances. And waste them he did. There was no better example than in the 2007 Wimbledon quarterfinals, in which he took his foot off the gas, began to shilly-shally, and allowed Marcos Baghdatis to wipe out a two-set deficit before closing the Cypriot out, 7-5 in the third. Djokovic would then default to Nadal in the semifinals, citing a blister on his toe. He’d wasted a lot of energy in the Baghdatis match; more so, he wasted an opportunity.&lt;/p&gt;
  2068. &lt;p&gt;
  2069. Things changed in 2011, although it’s more accurate to set Djokovic’s epiphany in late 2010, when he led Serbia to its first Davis Cup victory. The accomplishment turned him from a national celebrity into a national hero in a war-torn nation yearning for one. It also appeared to provide the unquantifiable missing ingredient that kept Djokovic from realizing his full potential. From that point on, he was a different player.&lt;/p&gt;
  2070. &lt;p&gt;
  2071. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2072. &lt;p&gt;
  2073. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2015/02/11/1501180100036355390_o.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:409px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Making a new, heightened commitment to fitness and nutrition, Djokovic arced through 2011. He compiled a 41-match winning streak and by the end of the U.S. Open was 64-2. Fatigue and injuries caught up with him in the fall, but he still finished the season 70-6 with titles at three of the four Grand Slams (he was beaten in the semifinals of the French Open by Federer). He also bagged a five Masters 1000 tournaments.&lt;/p&gt;
  2074. &lt;p&gt;
  2075. In the 16 Grand Slam tournaments following the aforementioned 11 failed attempts (a losing streak that ended at the 2011 Australian Open), Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles. He was also a runner-up five times and a losing semifinalist on three other occasions. He hasn’t been outside of the Top 3 since October 2009.&lt;/p&gt;
  2076. &lt;p&gt;
  2077. Yet Djokovic was just 7-7 in major finals at the end of last year, which indicated that the 2015 Australian Open might prove to be a turning point—one for the better, it turned out. The win implies that Djokovic has a legitimate shot at closing a still significant gap with Nadal, who has 14 Grand Slam singles titles, and Federer, who owns 17.&lt;/p&gt;
  2078. &lt;p&gt;
  2079. Djokovic is 27, just one year younger than Nadal. But the effortful nature of Nadal’s game is beginning to tell on him, while Djokovic has remained largely injury-free. As he said, “I'm not injured and I have no major concerns for my body, so I don't think I'm paying the price for a lot of tennis.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2080. &lt;p&gt;
  2081. Federer is 33, and his age is becoming an ever larger factor. Murray is Djokovic’s true rival, but Djokovic holds a comfortable 16-8 lead in that rivalry (5-2 in majors). These details, along with the way Djokovic has handled the various transitions in his career, suggests that the Serbian star stands on the threshold of a personal golden age.&lt;/p&gt;
  2082. &lt;p&gt;
  2083. After the final in Melbourne, Djokovic mused: “I believe in the healthy lifestyle that I had in the last couple years, for which I had to make a lot of sacrifice. . . in terms of my free time, in terms of some delicious meals (Djokovic subscribes to a gluten-free diet). But still I enjoy what I eat; I enjoy what I drink; I enjoy the life that I have. It's my choice. So I can't sit here and complain about my life where I'm actually saying it's the best life I can have. As everybody else, I'm trying to be the best that I can be. That's why I pay so much attention to it.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2084. &lt;p&gt;
  2085. The way Djokovic spoke suggests that the best is yet to come. More important, the way he’s played and handled himself sends the same message.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/HlxZecWIptA&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2086.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/nole-more-questions/54026/</guid>
  2087.         <pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2015 16:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2088.      </item>
  2089.      <item>
  2090.         <title>2015's Burning Questions</title>
  2091.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/TRruSkX3zyo/</link>
  2092.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/TRruSkX3zyo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2093.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/2015s-burning-questions/53667/</guid>
  2094.         <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2015 21:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2095.      </item>
  2096.      <item>
  2097.         <title>PODCAST: Australian Open Finals Previews</title>
  2098.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/m3UbITzSsGc/</link>
  2099.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/m3UbITzSsGc&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2100.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/01/federers-loss-first-five-days/53788/</guid>
  2101.         <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2015 06:29:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2102.      </item>
  2103.      <item>
  2104.         <title>Into Oz</title>
  2105.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~3/fq424n-zgKs/</link>
  2106.         <description>&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tennisworld-bodo/~4/fq424n-zgKs&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2107.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/01/oz/53695/</guid>
  2108.         <pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:07:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2109.      </item>
  2110.      <item>
  2111.         <title>ATP World Tour Finals: Federer d. Murray</title>
  2112.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/3sV6s6PLP_A/</link>
  2113.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2114. You would think that, after four nights of uncompetitive singles tennis at the ATP World Tour Finals, the London crowd would not take kindly to another round-robin rout. Yet applause cascaded from the heights of the O2 Arena, and not a boo or whistle was audible, as Great Britain’s own Andy Murray lost the first set of his final round-robin match—along with any chance at reaching the semifinals—6-0 to Roger Federer.&lt;/p&gt;
  2115. &lt;p&gt;
  2116. The power of Fed is something to behold.&lt;/p&gt;
  2117. &lt;p&gt;
  2118. But even the Brits have their limits. When Murray dropped another three games on the trot, then struck a woeful double fault, their frustration could be felt—to say nothing of Murray’s own. But we didn’t see Murray’s caustic side, a staple when he isn’t playing well. In fact, we saw almost nothing resembling Andy Murray at all. In one of the most lopsided matches pitting a member of the Big Four against another, Murray avoided the double-bagel at the last possible moment before it mercifully ended 6-0, 6-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  2119. &lt;p&gt;
  2120. “I knew I was qualified [for the semifinals], so maybe I went into the match maybe a bit more relaxed,” said Federer after his 56-minute mauling. “It’s not the way I thought it was going to go, but there’s always next year for Andy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2121. &lt;p&gt;
  2122. Murray was dreadful in this one, there’s no other way to put it. At one point, Federer had won eight games, and Murray had won 11 points. The Scot’s shots had no authority to them, he played deep into the blue river beyond the baseline, and his always-shaky second serve was exposed. Murray had to win this match in straight sets to reach the weekend. He pretty much did the exact opposite.&lt;/p&gt;
  2123. &lt;p&gt;
  2124. “I think i just really picked apart his game,” admitted Federer. “I didn’t even really serve that well, but from the baseline I had the upper hand.”&lt;/p&gt;
  2125. &lt;p&gt;
  2126. But it was also a vintage performance from the veteran, recalling some of his finest displays at season-ending championships past. With Murray his foil, Federer still managed to make a near-shutout worth watching. His forehand commanded Murray to any area of the court he decreed—and if Murray got it back, well, he’d just hit another one. Federer was ruthlessly efficient on serve, starting nearly every game 30-0, and took similar advantages in return games thanks to Murray’s lapses. He defied age, yet again, and the prevailing opinion that Murray would come out with more to prove.&lt;/p&gt;
  2127. &lt;p&gt;
  2128. It was so impressive that, in an odd way, the crowd might have gotten its money’s worth.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/3sV6s6PLP_A&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2129.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/11/atp-world-tour-finals-federer-d-murray/53271/</guid>
  2130.         <pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2131.      </item>
  2132.      <item>
  2133.         <title>Tokyo: Kvitova d. V. Williams</title>
  2134.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/2BgG3bCcF-U/</link>
  2135.         <description>&lt;html&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2136. They’re both six-footers, Wimbledon champs, and powerful, erratic ball-strikers, so it made sense that the semifinal between Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams wasn't decided until the last possible moment. The American started fast, the Czech adjusted in the second set, and the two of them fought tooth and nail, serve and return, forehand and backhand, through an excellent third. Finally, in the tiebreaker that closed it, Venus’s famous weakness, her forehand, let her down and Kvitova survived 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in 2 hours and 24 minutes.&lt;/p&gt;
  2137. &lt;p&gt;
  2138. The knock on Kvitova has always been her radical, whiplash-inducing inconsistency; a blazingly good set will often be followed by an utter fizzle in the next one. But the upside for Petra is that even when she’s playing horribly, she knows she might just be a few moments, a few winners, from playing brilliantly again. It’s not surprising that she plays a lot of three-setters, or that she has a knack for coming back and winning matches after losing the first set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2139. &lt;p&gt;
  2140. That’s what happened today, but it wasn’t just that Kvitova suddenly went from missing everything to missing nothing. She made adjustments: She mixed her serve up and went to Venus’s forehand side effectively; she used her backhand slice to make her bend; she hit deep and down the middle rather than going for the lines; and she wrong-footed Venus with her backhand down the line on a number of big points. To close it out, though, Kvitova stuck with the basics. When she saw Venus’s forehand breaking down in the tiebreaker, she was happy to keep feeding it.&lt;/p&gt;
  2141. &lt;p&gt;
  2142. Williams also adjusted, and that’s what made the third set a compelling struggle. She began to read Kvitova’s serves to her forehand, and she used her own serve, both flat and slice, to get out of trouble. Venus had her chances: She created 13 break point opportunities, but cashed in on just two of them. The biggest of those 11 misses came with Kvitova serving at 2-3 in the third set, 30-40. Venus had a very makeable mid-court forehand that she didn’t quite get all the way up to, and put into the net.&lt;/p&gt;
  2143. &lt;p&gt;
  2144. It might have been fatigue; the 33-year-old was coming off a couple of long three-setters, and she wasn’t moving forward quite as quickly as she usually does. But this was still a stellar week for Venus. And the signs are good for Kvitova, who has dropped out of the Top 10, as well. She played within herself today, and she’ll need to do the same in the final, against the German wallboard Angelique Kerber.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/2BgG3bCcF-U&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2145.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/09/tokyo-kvitova-d-v-williams/49293/</guid>
  2146.         <pubDate>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 11:46:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2147.      </item>
  2148.      <item>
  2149.         <title>Davis Cup: Tipsarevic d. Pospisil</title>
  2150.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/AzkthKuPmD4/</link>
  2151.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2152. Janko Tipsarevic watched Vasek Pospisil fight off four match points, but wasn&amp;rsquo;t about to let the finish line dissipate in a cloud of red dust. So when Pospisil pulled off a serve-and-dive drop volley that looked like it came straight out of a Cirque du Soleil routine, Tipsarevic took appropriate action: He hurled himself at the whirling yellow ball.&lt;/p&gt;
  2153. &lt;p&gt;
  2154. Launching himself across the court, Tipsarevic dug out a full-stretch winner to close a spirited 7-6 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory on an acrobatic fifth match point. That pulsating shot sealed Serbia&amp;#39;s 3-2 victory over Canada and sent the host into the Davis Cup final for the second time in four years.&lt;/p&gt;
  2155. &lt;p&gt;
  2156. Twenty-four hours earlier, Pospisil and veteran Daniel Nestor edged Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac in a five-set doubles thriller that spanned four hours, 21 minutes and put Canada on the brink of its first Davis Cup final. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Canadian No. 1 Milos Raonic, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2, to level the semifinal and set the stage for the decisive fifth rubber.&lt;/p&gt;
  2157. &lt;p&gt;
  2158. Tipsarevic, who suffered a gut-wrenching 10-8 in the fifth-set loss to Raonic on Friday, played with the poise of a man who had already plotted points out in his head, displaying shrewd court sense and clarity at crunch time. The 23rd-ranked Serbian tried to take the first strike on key points and jerk the Canadian corner to corner.&lt;/p&gt;
  2159. &lt;p&gt;
  2160. Eighteen minutes into the match, Pospisil winced in pain striking a shot and took an injury timeout for an apparent elbow injury. Pospisil had to be physically depleted and mentally drained playing his third best-of-five set match in three days, but powered either by an adrenaline rush, the elasticity of his 23-year-old legs or his skill at the physical bluff, he bounced around the court with exuberance, fighting off three break points in the third game and working out of a 15-30 hole in the 12&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; game to force the tiebreaker.&lt;/p&gt;
  2161. &lt;p&gt;
  2162. Tipsarevic beat Pospisil in forehand exchanges and changed direction more effectively in the breaker. Pospisil sometimes alternated between flying into his forehand and falling off it. Pulling off that shot, he dragged a forehand into net treating Tipsarevic to a mini break to open. Vasek tipped his hand too early on a forehand drop shot, Janko sped up to the ball and knifed a beautifully-controlled one-handed backhand pass, creating such a sharp crosscourt angle that Pospisil toppled to the clay trying to catch up to the ball, falling into a 4-0 hole.&lt;/p&gt;
  2163. &lt;p&gt;
  2164. Drawing energy from a small, but spirited Canadian contingent clad in red and collectively bouncing up and down while bellowing &amp;ldquo;Let&amp;rsquo;s Go Vasek!&amp;rdquo;, Pospisil responded with a slick backhand volley winner inside the sideline, a clever drop shot and an ace, closing to 3-5. But when he tried angling off another backhand volley, Tipsarevic was onto it, scraping out a running winner for set point and closing the 78-minute set when Pospisil put a backhand into net.&lt;/p&gt;
  2165. &lt;p&gt;
  2166. The Tipsarevic serve and down the line drives were the key strokes in the second set. He broke for a 2-0 second-set lead with a backhand down the line, won 16 of 21 points played on his serve and did not face a break point in taking the second set in 35 minutes.&lt;/p&gt;
  2167. &lt;p&gt;
  2168. When the tattooed Tipsarevic built a 5-2 third-set lead, the end seemed imminent. Credit Pospisil for his unwavering competitive spirit &amp;mdash; and a willingness to throw every bit of energy and every shot of creativity he had left &amp;mdash; as he scored his first break for 4-5 and backed it up convincingly for 5-all.&lt;/p&gt;
  2169. &lt;p&gt;
  2170. The Belgrade faithful erupted as Tipsarevic blasted a backhand winner down the line for a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker, the entire Serbian squad sprung from their seats in unison, but closure was complicated as Tipsarevic committed errors on the first two match points, a Pospisil forehand splattered into the tape and plopped over the net on the third and the Canadian erased the fourth with a declarative smash and defiant fist.&lt;/p&gt;
  2171. &lt;p&gt;
  2172. The end came like a double knockdown in a heavyweight fight: Both men laid it out tasting dirt as Pospisil appeared to injure his ankle crashing to the clay. Tipsarevic, who climbed off the court into the arms of his joyous teammates, showed his sportsmanship, breaking free from the swarm to hurdle the net and check on his fallen opponent.&lt;/p&gt;
  2173. &lt;p&gt;
  2174. The victory vaulted 2010 Davis Cup champion Serbia into the November 15-17th final where it will host defending champion Czech Republic in Belgrade in what could be a combustible clash&amp;mdash;and intriguing post-match hand shake&amp;mdash;given Tipsarevic&amp;#39;s last &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2012/12/12-12-feuds-year/45579/#.UjYKvz8hU4M&quot;&gt;Davis Cup encounter with Czech No. 2 Radek Stepanek&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  2175. &lt;p&gt;
  2176. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/AzkthKuPmD4&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2177.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/09/davis-cup-tipsarevic-d-pospisil/49163/</guid>
  2178.         <pubDate>Sun, 15 Sep 2013 14:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2179.      </item>
  2180.      <item>
  2181.         <title>Toronto: S. Williams d. Cirstea</title>
  2182.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/c8JiCYk0ikw/</link>
  2183.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2184. Televised on-court coaching in WTA matches has been, at best, a marginally interesting experiment. But when Darren Cahill, who&amp;rsquo;s more family friend than formal coach to Sorana Cirstea, joined her on court on the changeover after she fell behind 2-6, 0-3 in the Rogers Cup final, the monologue he delivered was excellent and inspirational theater.&lt;/p&gt;
  2185. &lt;p&gt;
  2186. Of course, Cahill has become a staple in the ESPN commentary line-up, but I don&amp;rsquo;t believe he cared a whit whether or not this coaching interlude was broadcast. Cahill didn&amp;rsquo;t have a single word of technical advice for Cirstea, who was being out-hit, out-thought, and out-competed by Serena Williams about as fully as the score indicated. But he delivered one of the most impassioned and concise of calls to self-respect and pride that I&amp;rsquo;ve heard coming from the mouth of a tennis coach in a long time.&lt;/p&gt;
  2187. &lt;p&gt;
  2188. As Cirstea sat with head bowed, fighting back tears, Cahill spontaneously and forcefully beseeched her to continue to play with pride. He said all the right things about how anything could happen going forward. That it sure would be tough to get back into, given how Williams had lifted her game starting in the late stages of the first set. He acknowledged that the mission looked nearly impossible, the operative world being &amp;ldquo;nearly.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2189. &lt;p&gt;
  2190. While being realistic and refusing to sugar coat the situation, Cahill also reminded Cirstea how well she had played all week in crafting a series of praiseworthy upsets culminating with her semifinal win over Li Na.&lt;/p&gt;
  2191. &lt;p&gt;
  2192. &amp;ldquo;You made everyone believers,&amp;rdquo; he reminded her, suggesting that she muster the pride not to leave them thinking their support was misplaced or wasted. He basically reminded her that, whatever the final judgment of the scoreboard, she could finish the match, and the tournament, giving her all and taking pride in the effort.&lt;/p&gt;
  2193. &lt;p&gt;
  2194. In a young-adult novel, Cirstea might have bounced back to reel off six straight games, then win the match in a third-set tiebreaker. In reality, Williams continued to beat on her and finished her off, 6-2, 6-0. But while Cirstea clearly was overcome with emotion and fighting tears in the final moments of the match, she finished with her chin up and thus ended one of the best efforts a player ranked outside the Top 10 has mounted at a tournament this year.&lt;/p&gt;
  2195. &lt;p&gt;
  2196. For a while at the start, it looked like Cirstea might do even better than that. She had won no more than two games in any given set in her two previous meetings with the younger Williams sister, and had most recently been beaten by her at Roland Garros, 6-0, 6-2.&amp;nbsp; But her go-for-broke style, which makes her more dangerous on faster surfaces, had been working all week. Give her credit to sticking to her guns instead of conceding that what worked against everyone else would not work against Williams.&lt;/p&gt;
  2197. &lt;p&gt;
  2198. That it generally does not work against Williams is one of the main reasons Williams has won 16 Grand Slam titles, and that only added to the woes of a young lady (Cirstea is just 23) playing in her first Premier-grade tournament.&amp;nbsp; When she double-faulted twice to surrender the first game of the match, and lost the third game as well after a Williams hold, it was clear that while Williams was not playing her best tennis Cirstea was both in over her head and, simply, over-matched.&lt;/p&gt;
  2199. &lt;p&gt;
  2200. A ray of hope broke over the court for her fans when Cirstea broke Williams in the fourth game with a spectacular inside-out backhand winner and then held serve, but Williams put a stop to her drive with a hold and another break that produced a 5-2 lead. She held easily in the next game and it spelled the end of any threat Cirstea would mount.&lt;/p&gt;
  2201. &lt;p&gt;
  2202. Cirstea&amp;rsquo;s robust swings and willingness to trade rockets with Williams provided entertaining moments in the second set, but by the time Williams got that break for 3-love it was clear that Cirstea&amp;rsquo;s bravado, while not false, was threatened by her emotions. That&amp;rsquo;s when Cahill stepped in to provide what proved to be the most interesting moments of the match.&lt;/p&gt;
  2203. &lt;p&gt;
  2204. &lt;strong&gt;Stat of the match:&lt;/strong&gt; Cirstea saved just three of the nine break points Williams had in the match.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/c8JiCYk0ikw&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2205.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/serena-crushes-cirstea-win-toronto/48710/</guid>
  2206.         <pubDate>Sun, 11 Aug 2013 22:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2207.      </item>
  2208.      <item>
  2209.         <title>Montreal: Nadal d. Raonic</title>
  2210.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/r1lZsydERz4/</link>
  2211.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2212. Much as pretty much everyone predicted, the final of the Montreal Masters 1000 was to a great degree determined by the serve. Only it wasn&amp;rsquo;t surprise finalist Milos Ranoic&amp;rsquo;s serve that dominated the match on this historic day in Canadian tennis; it was the tricky, slippery, left-handed serve of Rafael Nadal.&lt;/p&gt;
  2213. &lt;p&gt;
  2214. Nadal rode that serve, and the additional pressure felt by first-time Masters 1000 finalist Raonic, to an easy 6-2, 6-2 win in just 68 minutes. The relative ease of his win helped dampen the joy Canadians felt at seeing one of their countrymen in a Masters final &amp;mdash; a run that ensured that Raonic would become the first Canadian male to crack the top 10 in the history through 40 years of ATP computer rankings.&lt;/p&gt;
  2215. &lt;p&gt;
  2216. For years now, Nadal has served as a kind of poster boy for the threat represented by strapping lads with atomic serves. It isn&amp;rsquo;t like he routinely lost to players like John Isner, Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic, Kevin Anderson, or even Raonic. It was more the trepidation he&amp;rsquo;s freely expressed before matches against such men, coupled with his reputation as the ultimate race horse of the ATP.&lt;/p&gt;
  2217. &lt;p&gt;
  2218. When a horse that clearly loves to run is hobbled, and in his case unable to pound forehands and backhands, he easily gets anxious and skittish. And a few demonstrations of that principle obviously goes a long way in a pundit&amp;rsquo;s imagination.&lt;/p&gt;
  2219. &lt;p&gt;
  2220. So it was only appropriate that Nadal would deliver the message learned by so many big servers at Wimbledon: That you can&amp;rsquo;t just serve your way to a title, and even the biggest of servers needs to be able to return a little in order to oppress and bamboozle an opponent. Raonic was unable to meet that mandate, and it highlighted a generally underestimated aspect of Nadal&amp;rsquo;s game. When he&amp;rsquo;s serving well, only one of his true peers can trouble him.&lt;/p&gt;
  2221. &lt;p&gt;
  2222. Some of the details were ugly; if you didn&amp;rsquo;t know who was who and just heard that &amp;ldquo;he won just one point against the other guy&amp;rsquo;s serve in the entire set&amp;rdquo; you&amp;rsquo;d probably guess that was a reference to Nadal, and that Raonic was having the outstanding serving day he fervently hoped for. Not so. It was the other way around.&lt;/p&gt;
  2223. &lt;p&gt;
  2224. Nadal broke Raonic in the third game (thereby escaping any pressure to hold his own serve as the set wore on) as well as the fifth to start things off, and that explains why the Montreal crowd was stunned and chastised for most of the match. Nadal just sliced through Raonic like a knife through butter to win the first set, and then broke again when Raonic tossed in a brace of double faults in the first game of the second set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2225. &lt;p&gt;
  2226. Raonic had exactly one chance to get back into the match in the second set. That was when he parlayed his best backhand placement of the day and an unreturnable forehand volley into three break points with Nadal serving at 2-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  2227. &lt;p&gt;
  2228. Break point 1: A Nadal ace (hit in response to a time violation call by the chair umpire).&lt;/p&gt;
  2229. &lt;p&gt;
  2230. Break point 2: After a rally, Ranoic buried a forehand in the net.&lt;/p&gt;
  2231. &lt;p&gt;
  2232. Break point 3: Raonic hit a so-so approach shot and watched as Nadal whistled a backhand cross-court pass by his outstretched racquet.&lt;/p&gt;
  2233. &lt;p&gt;
  2234. Nadal then won his fourth and fifth successive point to hold, and he wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be anywhere near trouble again the rest of the way.&lt;/p&gt;
  2235. &lt;p&gt;
  2236. In all fairness to Raonic, he had a poor day at the service notch, converting just 50 percent of his first serves (compared to Nadal&amp;rsquo;s excellent 70 percent). But the real takeaway is that Raonic was the one who felt pressure to hold because of the other guy&amp;rsquo;s serving prowess. Nadal&amp;rsquo;s own serve was very quietly effective and so he was able to turn the conventional wisdom upside-down.&lt;/p&gt;
  2237. &lt;p&gt;
  2238. &lt;strong&gt;Stat of the match:&lt;/strong&gt; Nadal won 78 percent of his first-serve points, while Raonic converted just 60 percent of the ones that he managed to land in the box on the first try.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/r1lZsydERz4&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2239.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/montreal-nadal-d-raonic/48714/</guid>
  2240.         <pubDate>Sun, 11 Aug 2013 17:24:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2241.      </item>
  2242.      <item>
  2243.         <title>Toronto: S. Williams d. Radwanska</title>
  2244.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/l6qWIr_VfCo/</link>
  2245.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2246. It&amp;rsquo;s hard to imagine two top players whose styles contrast more than Serena Williams&amp;#39; and Agnieszka Radwanska&amp;#39;s. It&amp;rsquo;s almost as if the world No. 1 and No. 4 play different sports&amp;mdash;one is all-powerful, the other all-finesse. Which can make their match-ups a little strange; points between them can be interesting and ugly at the same time.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  2247. &lt;p&gt;
  2248. There was plenty of both&amp;mdash;interest and ugliness&amp;mdash;in Williams&amp;rsquo; 7-6 (3), 6-4 win in their Toronto semi on Saturday night. Points and games were often long and complicated, with Serena dictating and Radwanska scrambling. Between Aga&amp;rsquo;s drops and lobs, both women found themselves running to all four corners of the court, sometimes in the same rally. But as expected, most of those rallies were decided on Serena&amp;rsquo;s racquet. As she went, so went the quality of the match, and that quality was decidedly up and down. On the up side, Serena finished with 43 winners and was 25 of 30 at the net; on the down, she committed 47 errors and made just 54 percent of her first serves.&lt;/p&gt;
  2249. &lt;p&gt;
  2250. Serena wasn&amp;rsquo;t feeling well, physically or mentally. For the most part, she was tense, uptight, and pressing; she may have set the record for the most number of sighs and eye-rolls in a winning effort. But it wasn&amp;rsquo;t just her game that was off; her body was as well. Serena took some pills at the end of the first set, and by the end of the second, as the points &amp;nbsp;became more demanding, she looked like she might hyperventilate. But she never lost control of the match, and she dug in when it mattered. Serena attacked her way to a 7-3 win in the first set tiebreaker, broke back with a smash and a holler at 2-3 in the second, and gritted her teeth through a critical 10-minute game to hold at 4-4 later in that set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2251. &lt;p&gt;
  2252. For Radwanska, who had lost her last two matches to Serena 6-2, 6-1, and 6-0, 6-3, this must count as progress. She hit 34 fewer winners than Williams, and her second serve sat up begging to be smacked. But she made Serena work and fret, and she came up with her share of strong first serves herself. It goes without saying that Aga also threw in more than a few no-look reflex winners, perfect defensive lobs, and ghost-in volleys that wrong-footed her opponent.&lt;/p&gt;
  2253. &lt;p&gt;
  2254. But finesse finally &amp;nbsp;fell to power. In the last game, Radwanska double faulted at 15-15. Serena, sensing her chance, pounced with two quick winners&amp;mdash;this long and involved contest was over with stunning speed. On Sunday, Serena will try to win her eighth title of 2013, against Sorana Cirstea.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/l6qWIr_VfCo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2255.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/toronto-s-williams-d-radwanska/48705/</guid>
  2256.         <pubDate>Sat, 10 Aug 2013 21:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2257.      </item>
  2258.      <item>
  2259.         <title>Montreal: Raonic d. Pospisil</title>
  2260.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/6uB0j0Ginjs/</link>
  2261.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2262. The Canadian flag flapped wildly in the bluster atop the stadium, while tiebreak tension knotted the arms of the nation&amp;#39;s best on the court below.&lt;/p&gt;
  2263. &lt;p&gt;
  2264. Immobilized by nerves during some points, Milos Raonic was inspired on match point. Raonic stabbed a defensive backhand to prolong the point and ripped a running forehand to complete a tense 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) triumph over Vasek Pospisil in the first all-Canadian Masters semifinal.&lt;/p&gt;
  2265. &lt;p&gt;
  2266. Bouncing off the blue court with exuberance, Raonic landed as the first Canadian to reach the final since 1958 in a result that reverberates beyond Montreal. The 22-year-old Raonic will become the first Canadian man to crack the Top 10 when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday.&lt;/p&gt;
  2267. &lt;p&gt;
  2268. An unpredictable bluster, familiarity between one-time doubles partners born six months apart and raw nerves exposed by the pressure of a milestone match conspired to create some ragged play. The Davis Cup teammates delivered 90 aces en route to the semifinals, but combined for seven break points in the first five games. Pressure provoked different reactions: At times it left Pospisil frantic and Raonic frozen.&lt;/p&gt;
  2269. &lt;p&gt;
  2270. An over-anxious Pospisil framed a forehand and Raonic landed a return on the baseline to break for 3-2. Serving for the set, Raonic, wishing a return would float long, was fooled by the shot&amp;#39;s spin and unprepared when the ball dropped inside the baseline. He shrugged off the lapse, slamming his fifth ace to snatch a first set in which Pospisil committed 17 unforced errors to 14 for Raonic.&lt;/p&gt;
  2271. &lt;p&gt;
  2272. Putting more balls in play, Pospisil pressured at the start of the second set. A double fault and errant forehand gave the world No. 71 his first break and a 2-0 lead. Raonic&amp;#39;s sledgehammer serve was the most explosive weapon on court, but the rangy Pospisil is the quicker mover and was often the better player during rallies. Curling a crosscourt forehand pass that eluded a stumbling Raonic, the wild card launched into a spinning leap after leveling. Raonic, who only surrendered serve six times in reaching the semifinals, dropped serve twice and did not hit an ace in a sluggish second set, while Pospisil looked energized.&lt;/p&gt;
  2273. &lt;p&gt;
  2274. Seeking stress relief, Raonic embarked on a seven-minute bathroom break, returning to crack two aces to open the decider. Tension ratcheted with Raonic serving at 3-all, 30-30 as Pospisil attacked net and had a good look at the open court for a break point, but pushed a shaky forehand volley wide as Raonic worked through the deuce game to hold.&lt;/p&gt;
  2275. &lt;p&gt;
  2276. The crowd greeted both men with a standing ovation to start the tie breaker and given the stakes, you can understand why both guys were gagging in the breaker. Raonic hit a backhand pass for his second mini-break and a 3-0 lead only to see his right arm stiffen like a frozen rope. He dumped a double fault and saw Pospisil punish his 82 MPH second serve for 3-all. Raonic hit about a dozen serves in excess of 140 MPH in the match, but tightened amid tie break turbulence spinning a couple of sub-85 MPH second serves.&lt;/p&gt;
  2277. &lt;p&gt;
  2278. At 4-3, Raonic danced to his left and lashed an inside-out forehand winner. Match point escalated into one of the longest rallies of the match culminating with Raonic stabbing a backhand to stay alive then running to his right and zapping a forehand that a lunging Pospisil could not control; his volley died in the net.&lt;/p&gt;
  2279. &lt;p&gt;
  2280. Projected to rise to about No. 40, Pospisil&amp;#39;s upside will be even higher if he can manage his nerve and sharpen his shot selection. He hit more aces (14 to 9), earned more break points, defended his second serve a bit better and was more dangerous on the move. But credit Raonic for withstanding the pressure and a determined opponent, who had won three of their prior four meetings. The pair will reunite next month when they try to lead Canada into the Davis Cup final.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/6uB0j0Ginjs&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2281.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/montreal-raonic-d-pospisil/48703/</guid>
  2282.         <pubDate>Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2283.      </item>
  2284.      <item>
  2285.         <title>Atlanta: Isner d. Anderson</title>
  2286.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/U-eINclECbI/</link>
  2287.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2288. The tallest ATP final in history escalated into the longest three-set final of the year.&lt;/p&gt;
  2289. &lt;p&gt;
  2290. Managing the minute margins &amp;mdash; and crucial moments &amp;nbsp;&amp;mdash; with more clarity, a defiant John Isner fought off 11 break points, including two match points to force the final tiebreaker, trimming Kevin Anderson, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in today&amp;#39;s Atlanta final.&lt;/p&gt;
  2291. &lt;p&gt;
  2292. It was billed as a battle of big servers and did not disappoint as the 6-foor-10 Isner delivered 24 aces and the 6&amp;#39;8 Anderson countered with 21 aces in producing the first ATP final without a service break since Milos Raonic beat Janko Tipsarevic in the Chennai final in January of 2012.&lt;/p&gt;
  2293. &lt;p&gt;
  2294. Isner generates more juice on his electric serve, but Anderson&amp;#39;s return game is more dependable, his two-handed backhand a bigger weapon and he leaned on it in the first-set tie breaker.&lt;/p&gt;
  2295. &lt;p&gt;
  2296. Isner sailed a forehand down the line beyond the baseline to give Anderson the mini-break and a 4-3 lead. The South African blasted a backhand winner crosscourt &amp;mdash; his 17th winner of the set &amp;mdash; then attacked behind a body serve, drawing a netted response to earn his third set point at 6-3.&amp;nbsp; Greeting a 129 MPH serve with bad intentions, Anderson cracked a return right back at Isner&amp;#39;s feet. The big man danced backward while scattering a forehand wide as Anderson grabbed the opening set in 52 minutes, snapping Isner&amp;#39;s streak of 12 consecutive tie break victories.&lt;/p&gt;
  2297. &lt;p&gt;
  2298. Both men erased break points with aces in the second and third games of the second set. Isner&amp;#39;s forehand is his best groundstroke, but it failed him at a couple of critical moments in the second. At 4-3, 30-all, Isner had a good look at a mid-court forehand, he gave it a ride but missed it wide down the line and Anderson&amp;#39;s ace leveled at 4-all. Predictably, it took the tiebreak to create separation as Anderson cracked, wailing a wild backhand deep then netting a crosscourt backhand as Isner earned a 5-2 lead before scooping a running forehand pass up the line for set point before closing. It was the 20th set the two old college rivals had played in their pro careers and 11 of them had been decided in breakers.&lt;/p&gt;
  2299. &lt;p&gt;
  2300. In the second game of the finale, Anderson earned triple break point and had looks at two second serves. On the first he netted a backhand return, punctuating the miss barking an anguished &amp;quot;No!&amp;quot; before steering a backhand pass up the line that landed wide. Isner fended off the third break point with an ace and saved a fourth with an ace, eventually holding for 1-all.&lt;/p&gt;
  2301. &lt;p&gt;
  2302. Neither man could drag the other to deuce on serve in the decider until Isner faced match point serving at 5-6. Fueled by adrenaline, Isner super-sized his serve, blasting a 143 MPH ace to erase it. Successive probing forehands from Anderson earned a second match point, this time on a second serve, but Anderson, whose two-hander was so solid throughout the match, blinked and sent a backhand long as Isner silenced the threat. The final tie breaker proved to be a heart-breaker for Anderson, who couldn&amp;#39;t shake off lost opportunities and had to face the ATP&amp;#39;s most imposing tie break player with the title on the line.&lt;/p&gt;
  2303. &lt;p&gt;
  2304. Energized, Isner ran around his backhand return while Anderson&amp;#39;s toss was in the air and cracked a forehand return down the line to gain the mini-break and followed with an ace for a 2-0 lead. Isner never looked back, raising his tiebreak record to an ATP-best 26-7 in capturing his seventh career title in a win that will propel the 22nd-ranked American back inside the Top 20 tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/U-eINclECbI&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2305.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/07/atlanta-isner-d-anderson/48549/</guid>
  2306.         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jul 2013 18:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2307.      </item>
  2308.      <item>
  2309.         <title>Atlanta: Isner d. Hewitt</title>
  2310.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/HB1vywHn8NA/</link>
  2311.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2312. The crocodile on his shirt was swimming in sweat and John Isner looked like a man treading water on the blue court in Atlanta.&lt;/p&gt;
  2313. &lt;p&gt;
  2314. Facing triple break point against nemesis Lleyton Hewitt in the seventh game of the final set, Isner unloaded three massive serves to hold and denied another break point in his next service game, eventually finding his comfort zone in the tie breaker.&lt;/p&gt;
  2315. &lt;p&gt;
  2316. The top-seeded Isner smacked 21 aces to squeeze out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory and reach his third Atlanta final after a two hour, 23-minute test.&lt;/p&gt;
  2317. &lt;p&gt;
  2318. Serving in the ninth game, Isner dug out of a 15-30 hole with a pair of 130 MPH aces out wide &amp;mdash;his ninth and 10th aces of the set &amp;mdash;followed by a forcing forehand to hold for 5-4.&lt;/p&gt;
  2319. &lt;p&gt;
  2320. Isner imposed his forehand in the following game, hammering a deep forehand that skidded off the baseline followed by a short-angle inside-out forehand winner for set point. Another inside-out forehand drew an error from a lunging Hewitt, whose squealing sneakers amplified his effort while he stretched for the ball, &amp;nbsp;as Isner trotted to his seat with a clenched first and one-set lead.&lt;/p&gt;
  2321. &lt;p&gt;
  2322. Former U.S. Open champion Hewitt still looks at home on hard courts, but he hasn&amp;#39;t reached a hard-court final since winning the 2007 Las Vegas title and competed with the driven demeanor of a man willing to do whatever was required to reach the finish line. Hewitt rallied from a set down to beat Isner at Indian Wells in March, repeated the feat two weeks ago in the Newport semifinals, snapping Isner&amp;#39;s 13-match winning streak on the Newport grass in the process, and put more returns in play as the match progressed.&lt;/p&gt;
  2323. &lt;p&gt;
  2324. The feisty Aussie stands 5-foot-11, nearly a foot shorter than the towering American, but Hewitt used his anticipation and expansive reach to poke back returns that Isner usually sees bounding off the back wall. Stabbing a return back, Hewitt earned break point when Isner pushed a forehand volley to the net and broke for 4-3 when Isner, who tends to take one loping stride rather than short preparation steps on his volley, nudged another forehand volley into net.&amp;nbsp; A lethargic-looking Isner netted a slice backhand for set point and Hewitt hammered an ace down the middle to seal the set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2325. &lt;p&gt;
  2326. Isner took a near seven-minute break after the second set, returning to run off five consecutive points to open the finale. The 32-year-old Hewitt, contesting his third semifinal in his last four tournaments, hit a high backhand volley to earn triple break point at 3-all, but Isner&amp;#39;s serves screamed defiance. He blasted a 137 MPH serve wide to save the first. On the second, Hewitt&amp;#39;s blocked return teetered on top of the net &amp;mdash; momentarily &amp;mdash; before plopping back on his side of the court. Hewitt got a look at a second serve on the third break point, but Isner hit a wicked kicker wide to erase it. Another hellacious kick serve out wide helped him hold for 4-3.&lt;/p&gt;
  2327. &lt;p&gt;
  2328. Former No. 1 Hewitt doesn&amp;#39;t hit nearly as hard, but his slice serve has plenty of sidespin and stays low and he tormented the big man, hitting 12 aces and winning 76 percent of his first-serve points. Isner is the ATP&amp;#39;s most imposing tiebreak player and built a 4-1 lead only to see Hewitt battle back to level at 5-all. Attacking behind a forehand down the line, Isner stuck a slick angled backhand volley winner for match point then whipped a second serve that rattled Hewitt&amp;#39;s racquet to end it.&lt;/p&gt;
  2329. &lt;p&gt;
  2330. Isner, who raised his ATP-best tie breaker record to 24-6 on the season, will face either second-seeded Kevin Anderson or 21-year-old American Ryan Harrison in Sunday&amp;#39;s 3 p.m. final televised nationally by ESPN2.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/HB1vywHn8NA&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2331.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/07/atlanta-isner-d-hewitt/48541/</guid>
  2332.         <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2013 19:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2333.      </item>
  2334.      <item>
  2335.         <title>Hamburg: Fognini d. Delbonis</title>
  2336.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/UKxqQYzKaWo/</link>
  2337.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2338. A raging Fabio Fognini didn&amp;#39;t exactly look like a man with his mind on his work as he repeatedly slammed his blue Babolat to the red clay, snapped three strings in a four-game span, picked away at a festering blister on his index finger and railed at both chair umpire Cedric Maurier and tournament referee Lars Graff after being hit with a time violation warning and subsequently losing his serve.&lt;/p&gt;
  2339. &lt;p&gt;
  2340. All that activity was prelude to Fognini&amp;#39;s most important eruption.&lt;/p&gt;
  2341. &lt;p&gt;
  2342. Facing a 4-6, 1-4 deficit, Fognini re-focused, fought off three championship points in a topsy-turvy tie breaker and roared through the decider to pull off a wild 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-2 victory over qualifier Federico Delbonis in the Hamburg final.&lt;/p&gt;
  2343. &lt;p&gt;
  2344. It was Fognini&amp;#39;s 10th consecutive victory and his second title in an eight-day span following his maiden ATP title in Stuttgart last week.&lt;/p&gt;
  2345. &lt;p&gt;
  2346. The 26-year-old Italian can compete with operatic passion &amp;mdash; he gives you some soaring passages, moments of drama and emotional carnage &amp;mdash; but can sometimes sabotage the performance with self-indulgent shotmaking and temperamental explosions.&lt;/p&gt;
  2347. &lt;p&gt;
  2348. The 114th-ranked Delbonis &amp;mdash; who saved two two match points in a three hour, 15-minute quarterfinal win over Fernando Verdasco then beat top-seeded Roger Federer to reach his first ATP final &amp;mdash; showed no signs of nerves at the outset. Firing his heavy lefty forehand crosscourt, Delbonis fought off five break points in an epic fifth game as Fognini botched a backhand volley from point-blank range on the second break point. On the third, Fognini ran down a drop shot, but pushed his reply long, punctuating that painful miss by slamming his stick to the court in frustration.&amp;nbsp; The speedy Fognini made two of the most electrifying gets you&amp;#39;ll see on a clay court in a successive sideline to sideline sprints to extend the game (almost crashing into the court-side clock in the process), but Delbonis stood tall and held. The Argentine converted his lone break point of the opener to take the 45-minute first set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2349. &lt;p&gt;
  2350. Fognini may want to talk to his stringer after breaking a string for the third time in a four-game span at deuce in the second set. Hit with a time violation warning as he walked over to fetch a new stick, Fognini erupted imploring Graff to intercede. After the requisite whistling and jeering from fans eager for more tennis, Fognini went back to face break point and predictably framed a forehand to drop serve for 1-all. The woman in the front row who spent much of the first set waving a &amp;quot;Forza Fognini&amp;quot; sign now clung to it wearing a forlorn expression of resignation.&lt;/p&gt;
  2351. &lt;p&gt;
  2352. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s your fault Lars. It&amp;#39;s your fault because you are here&amp;mdash;you do nothing!&amp;quot; Fognini hissed during the changeover while taking treatment for his finger. Unable to shake consuming anger, Fognini looked lost, missing by wide margins in dropping nine straight points. Delbonis rolled to a 6-4, 4-1 lead and the outcome appeared a formality. But Fognini was just getting warmed up: He broke at love then hit a pair of gorgeous drop shot winners to dig out of a 0-30 hole, holding for 4-all. Three consecutive love holds set up the dramatic tie breaker.&lt;/p&gt;
  2353. &lt;p&gt;
  2354. On his first championship point, Delbonis delivered a brilliant wide serve on a surprise serve-and-volley play that swept Fognini completely off the court. All the lanky Argentine had to do was clear the net to take the title and complete a feel-good finale, but he nudged his backhand volley into the top of the tape, eliciting a collective gasp from the crowd, for 6-all. Fognini saved the second championship point with a smooth forehand volley. On the third, Delbonis had a good look at an opening and took his shot, but his inside-out forehand tripped off the top of the tape and staggered wide for 8-all. An re-energized Fognini won the final two points of the breaker on attrition to seize the 62-minute second set despite serving 44 percent and fighting a battle on multiple fronts.&lt;/p&gt;
  2355. &lt;p&gt;
  2356. Trying to overcome the angst of missed match points and looking a half-step slower to the ball, Delbonis cracked in his first service game of the decider, slapping a forehand into the middle of the net to gift a fist-pumping Fognini the break and a 2-0 lead. Forty-five minutes earlier, Fognini looked like a man more interested in waging a grudge match against Maurier and Graff, but when the Italian zapped a backhand winner down the line to conclude a love hold he was in complete command with a 3-0 advantage. Fognini held at 15 for 4-1 then got back to work grinding out another break for 5-1.&lt;/p&gt;
  2357. &lt;p&gt;
  2358. Credit Delbonis for displaying class in the aftermath of a gut-wrenching defeat that will surely haunt him, but he will rise to a career-high rank of around No. 62 and if he can translate his game to faster surfaces he has a future that will be fun to follow.&lt;/p&gt;
  2359. &lt;p&gt;
  2360. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s unfortunate today, but it&amp;#39;s tennis, you know?&amp;quot; Delbonis told the appreciative crowd, squeezing out a smile that revealed braces.&lt;/p&gt;
  2361. &lt;p&gt;
  2362. Fognini will wake up on Monday as the top-ranked Italian man, cracking the Top 20 for the first time after thriving in a thrill-ride of a final. He has 25 clay-court wins this season, second only to Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, and spoke like a grateful champion.&lt;/p&gt;
  2363. &lt;p&gt;
  2364. &amp;quot;I was a little bit lucky today; you were unbelievable today,&amp;quot; Fognini told Delbonis. &amp;quot;Congratulations to you...Today I was a little bit nervous in the beginning... I was lucky, but this is the sport and you have to accept that.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/UKxqQYzKaWo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2365.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/07/hamburg-fognini-d-delbonis/48447/</guid>
  2366.         <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jul 2013 12:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2367.      </item>
  2368.      <item>
  2369.         <title>Racquet Guide 2013</title>
  2370.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/C9AXu1gdx2Y/</link>
  2371.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2372.    &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/24/tab2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:273px;height:226px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;The challenge to today&amp;rsquo;s racquet consumer isn&amp;rsquo;t that there are too few choices; it&amp;rsquo;s that there are so many. Go to Web sites of major retailers, and you can choose from more than 300 recent models, each with its own mix of specifications&amp;mdash;from head size, shape, length and weight to balance, beam width and string pattern. Add in other key variables that affect performance and feel, such as string (according to the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association, there are more than 800 strings on the market) and tension, and the permutations are seemingly endless.&lt;/p&gt;
  2373. &lt;p&gt;
  2374.    And that&amp;rsquo;s not even starting to consider the plethora of manufacturer technologies, which can alter racquets&amp;rsquo; playability even further. While most companies this year are integrating existing developments into new makes and models, several racquet makers are unveiling new innovations in 2013. Head, for example, has re-engineered its latest performance racquets with a cutting-edge material called Graphene, whose lightweight, super-strong properties, the company says, allows for optimal weight redistribution and enhanced power and maneuverability. Wilson, meanwhile, as part of its Steam line, has debuted Spin Effect, an unorthodox 16x15 string pattern that, when paired with a monofilament, increases string movement and spin. And Tecnifibre says they&amp;rsquo;ve brought their T-Fights up to the standards of the ATP World Tour, namely by tightening manufacturing variances and injecting the racquets&amp;rsquo; handles with vibration-damping silicone.&lt;/p&gt;
  2375. &lt;p&gt;
  2376.    Indeed, navigating so much information makes hunting for new sticks daunting. Thankfully, this year&amp;rsquo;s racquet guide gets a handle on all this wealth of excess. That said, don&amp;rsquo;t purchase a racquet solely on the basis of our recommendation&amp;mdash;treat the reviews as guidelines of racquets&amp;rsquo; strengths and weaknesses, and demo those that are appropriate. If you&amp;rsquo;re in the market for a new stick, we suggest that you sample at least a half dozen potential candidates, then elect the frame that plays best. The notion of a &amp;ldquo;perfect&amp;rdquo; racquet is illusory. Even so, racquets are all different; some will undoubtedly mesh better with your game than others.&lt;/p&gt;
  2377. &lt;p&gt;
  2378.    Finally, don&amp;rsquo;t underestimate how much string can affect a racquet&amp;rsquo;s playability. Beginners and others who hardly ever break strings would do best to use a soft, high-quality multifilament or, ideally, natural gut, both of which can go a long way toward improving comfort, reducing the likelihood of arm injury and maximizing shots&amp;rsquo; power and depth. Fast-swinging players with Western grips looking for additional topspin might consider stringing with a monofilament (i.e., polyester) at low tensions (high 40s to low 50s in pounds). Compared to gut or multifilaments, monofilaments are generally harder on the arm&amp;mdash;and so caution is warranted for players with a history of injury&amp;mdash;but the increase in spin can be considerable. Talk to a knowledgeable tennis professional; he or she will be able to help select the string that&amp;rsquo;s right for you.&lt;/p&gt;
  2379. &lt;p&gt;
  2380.    Happy hitting.&lt;/p&gt;
  2381. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2382. &lt;p&gt;
  2383.    &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/2013-racquet-reviews/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CLICK HERE FOR THIS YEAR&amp;#39;S REVIEWS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2384. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2385. &lt;p&gt;
  2386.    &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/24/tab.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:266px;height:266px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How We Test&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2387. &lt;p&gt;
  2388.    We requested at least four samples of every racquet reviewed. Each model was strung with the manufacturer&amp;rsquo;s recommended string and tension to optimize the frame&amp;rsquo;s playing characteristics. Racquets were then distributed to playtesters based on their level of play. Tennis editors and recreational players participated in our evaluations, with &lt;em&gt;Tennis&lt;/em&gt;&amp;rsquo; racquet advisor Bruce Levine, manager of Courtside Racquet Club, in Lebanon, NJ, lending court time and expertise throughout the process. &lt;u&gt;We also compiled quantitative data, such as racquet length, weight, head size, balance and beam width.&lt;/u&gt; That way, players can compare the frames&amp;rsquo; specifications. (All relevant measurements correspond to strung racquets.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2389. &lt;p&gt;
  2390.    We tested the racquets thoroughly, identifying possible matches for a variety of player types, ability levels and stroke styles&amp;mdash;from short-swinging beginners who specialize in doubles, to intermediate power baseliners and advanced all-courters. Racquets were evaluated using a number of criteria, including power, control, comfort, maneuverability and overall playability. Each tester was encouraged to try a racquet for as long as it took to get a feel for its particular playing characteristics. In many cases, testers returned to a frame a week after they first hit with it just to be sure that they liked it.&lt;/p&gt;
  2391. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2392. &lt;p&gt;
  2393.    &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/2013-racquet-reviews/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CLICK HERE FOR THIS YEAR&amp;#39;S REVIEWS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2394. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2395. &lt;p&gt;
  2396.    &lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Specs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2397. &lt;p&gt;
  2398.    &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/24/specs.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/24/specsz.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:311px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;To make it easier to compare racquets, we&amp;rsquo;ve filled &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/24/specs.jpg&quot;&gt;this chart&lt;/a&gt; with all of the pertinent technical information. &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Head size&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; is the area of the racquet head in square inches. The bigger the head, the bigger the sweet spot. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Length &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;is from the cap of the handle to the top of the head. Longer racquets provide more leverage on serves and greater reach on volleys and groundstrokes; shorter racquets are more maneuverable. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Stationary weight &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;is how much the racquet weighs when strung. A light racquet will be more maneuverable, a heavy frame more stable. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Swingweight &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;is a guage of how heavy the racquet feels when you swing it as measured by a Racquet Diagnostic Center; the lower the number, the greater the maneuverability. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;refers to the extent to which the racquet flexes on impact. A flexible frame bends more and gives you additional control and feel, while stiffer beams offer more power but less control. By taking into consideration both RA measurements and playtesting experiences, we categorized frames as flexible, firm, stiff and very stiff. In the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Balance &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;column, HH stands for head heavy and HL for head light. Pt. stands for 1 point, which represents a 1/8th inch difference between the racquet&amp;rsquo;s balance and its midpoint.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; Beam width&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; is a measure of the thickness of a racquet&amp;rsquo;s sidewalls. Some frames have a constant width (one number), while others taper from one width at the top of the head to another at the base of the head (listed as two or three numbers). Thick racquets are usually stiffer and more powerful, while thin frames tend toward greater flexibility and richer feedback. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;String pattern&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; lists the number of main strings (up and down) first and crosses (side to side) second. The tighter a string pattern, the stiffer and more control-oriented the string bed is; the more open the string pattern, the looser and more powerful the string bed. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ideal swing&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; is the type of swing for which the racquet is best suited. Typically, beginners have more compact, slower strokes and advanced players have longer, faster strokes. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;NTRP&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; recommendations will help you target racquets that are appropriate for your skill level.&lt;/p&gt;
  2399. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2400. &lt;p&gt;
  2401.    &lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bonus: Which Racquet is Right for Me?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2402. &lt;p&gt;
  2403.    This useful &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/05/08/chart.jpg&quot;&gt;chart&lt;/a&gt; can point you to the frame best suited for your game.&lt;/p&gt;
  2404. &lt;hr /&gt;
  2405. &lt;p&gt;
  2406.    &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/2013-racquet-reviews/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CLICK HERE FOR THIS YEAR&amp;#39;S REVIEWS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/C9AXu1gdx2Y&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2407.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/racquet-guide-2013/46576/</guid>
  2408.         <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2409.      </item>
  2410.      <item>
  2411.         <title>Question of the Day: Tensioning Outermost Strings</title>
  2412.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/zs9c67lBIwE/</link>
  2413.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2414. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2415. &lt;p&gt;
  2416. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2417. &lt;p&gt;
  2418. &lt;strong&gt;Your recent piece about how to tie stringing &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-basic-stringing-knots/47103/#.UXBwN4Ljf0Q&quot;&gt;knots&lt;/a&gt; was helpful, but it left me wondering how to tension final mains and crosses. For example, when pulling the last cross of a one-piece stringing job, right before clamping and tying off the knot, do you advise increasing the reference tension (in order compensate for potential knot-related tension losses)? Or should last strings be pulled at the same tension as all the others?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Bill V.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2419. &lt;p&gt;
  2420. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2421. &lt;p&gt;
  2422. On this question, Bill, I&amp;rsquo;ve seen stringers go both ways. Some will pull an extra few pounds of tension on those strings immediately preceding knots&amp;mdash;so as to make up for lost tension when that knot is tied and the clamps are released&amp;mdash;while others keep the tension consistent with the rest of the stringbed. Often, the stringer&amp;rsquo;s technique depends on the preference of the player he or she&amp;rsquo;s stringing for; many players don&amp;rsquo;t like their outermost mains and/or crosses to move, in which case a stringer will crank up the tension on those strings to keep them in place.&lt;/p&gt;
  2423. &lt;p&gt;
  2424. That said, the smartest approach to this question is, most likely, to not pull that extra tension. As the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.racquettech.com/&quot;&gt;U.S. Racquet Stringing Association&lt;/a&gt; argues, with a good deal of persuasion in their &lt;em&gt;Techniques Manual&lt;/em&gt;, &amp;ldquo;[We do] not recommend this procedure because shorter outside mains [and crosses] don&amp;rsquo;t require as much pull-tension to be as tight as longer, center [ones]&amp;hellip;In short, we suggest normal tensions on tie-offs, which may result in some tension loss on the outermost main (or cross). If customers complain about this string being too loose, you can explain that these strings are far away from the racquet&amp;rsquo;s sweetspot. Also, mis-hits will actually be less jarring if outer mains are not tensioned as high as the center mains. Stringers who are intent on increasing tension on tie-offs should not go higher than 5 pounds above normal tension.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2425. &lt;p&gt;
  2426. In my opinion, it&amp;rsquo;s this last bit&amp;mdash;on the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-reducing-jarring-mishits/47117/#.UXBwGILjf0Q&quot;&gt;positive correlation&lt;/a&gt; between high tensions and jarring mishits&amp;mdash;that&amp;rsquo;s the most compelling reason not to overtighten outside strings. So keep your tension in a normal (i.e., consistently low) range. The next time you frame a shot, your arm will thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/zs9c67lBIwE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2427.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-tensioning-outermost-strings/47135/</guid>
  2428.         <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:24:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2429.      </item>
  2430.      <item>
  2431.         <title>Question of Day: Tennis in the Elements</title>
  2432.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/wsVIdJ1i7zY/</link>
  2433.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2434. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2435. &lt;p&gt;
  2436. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2437. &lt;p&gt;
  2438. &lt;strong&gt;I&amp;rsquo;ve always been interested in weather phenomena surrounding sports, especially their effects on competitions. What comes to mind when you think about this in tennis?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Tom B.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2439. &lt;p&gt;
  2440. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2441. &lt;p&gt;
  2442. Interesting, Tom. No doubt you&amp;rsquo;d agree that weather is the ultimate x factor in sports. It&amp;rsquo;s a variable that acts indiscriminately, playing favorites only in the sense that it reveals those athletes with, or exposes those without, the wherewithal to make adjustments. You only have to think back to last year&amp;rsquo;s blustery U.S. Open semifinal between Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray. After a morning full of rain, the wind picked up, and Berdych, as he admitted &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=83000&quot;&gt;afterwards&lt;/a&gt;, couldn&amp;rsquo;t cope. His high toss became a liability, both technically and psychically.&lt;/p&gt;
  2443. &lt;p&gt;
  2444. Then there&amp;rsquo;s just the weird. I imagine most sports fans carry, somewhere in our minds, a repository of bizarre sports-weather lore. Most of mine grows out of stories told to me by my father, a Philadelphia native. I think about Eagles fans, in 1968, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWvza6en5Rg&quot;&gt;pelting&lt;/a&gt; Santa Claus with snowballs at half time. Also the Flyers losing their arena, in 1978, when high winds &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=35035&quot;&gt;took apart&lt;/a&gt; the roof of the Spectrum. And finally, on an extremely windy day in 1976, there&amp;rsquo;s Mark Edmondson, ranked just No. 212 in the world, upsetting defending champion John Newcombe for the Aussie Open title.&lt;/p&gt;
  2445. &lt;p&gt;
  2446. For many, Edmondson&amp;rsquo;s victory remains the biggest upset since the inception of the ATP rankings, in 1973. (Edmondson was ranked so low, the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/sports/tennis/14aussie.html?_r=0&quot;&gt;story&lt;/a&gt; goes, that he had only months earlier taken a job as a janitor to fund his travels.) But surely, Ed. v. Newk. is also up there in terms of adverse weather conditions. As Randy Walker tells it, in his book &lt;em&gt;On This Day in Tennis History&lt;/em&gt;, the players couldn&amp;rsquo;t take the court until half an hour after the scheduled start time, because of &amp;ldquo;45 mile-per-hour wind gusts and a temperature drop &amp;lsquo;from 104 degrees to 79 in five minutes.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo; High winds persisted throughout the match until Edmondson sealed the win, becoming, to this day, the last Australian to win his native tournament.&lt;/p&gt;
  2447. &lt;p&gt;
  2448. Any weather-related memories of your own? Draft out a comment, and share them with us below.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/wsVIdJ1i7zY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2449.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-tennis-elements/47136/</guid>
  2450.         <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2451.      </item>
  2452.      <item>
  2453.         <title>Question of the Day: Cooked Racquets</title>
  2454.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/8d8IDxChiTk/</link>
  2455.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2456. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2457. &lt;p&gt;
  2458. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2459. &lt;p&gt;
  2460. &lt;strong&gt;I tend to stow my racquet bag in the trunk or backseat of my car while I&amp;rsquo;m at work. But as it&amp;rsquo;s getting hotter down here in the South&amp;mdash;and even hotter in parked cars&amp;mdash;should I be worried about the heat affecting my racquets&amp;rsquo; and strings&amp;rsquo; playability? Or is this not too big of a deal?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Peter J.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2461. &lt;p&gt;
  2462. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2463. &lt;p&gt;
  2464. This is common but important question, Peter, to which the answer is pretty straightforward: For the health of your racquets and strings, you should never stow your racquets in a car on a scorching day. Nor should you, for the same reason, check your racquets with an airline when flying. As the authors of &lt;em&gt;Technical Tennis&lt;/em&gt; explain, &amp;ldquo;Ten minutes in a really hot car will drop the string tension by at least a few pounds, permanently. The string tension will rise a fraction in winter, or in a fridge, but it won&amp;rsquo;t rise back to the tension before you cooked the strings. If you travel overseas with your racquet, take it on board the plane with you (if you are allowed). Ten minutes on the tarmac will ruin your string tension, and it might even soften the frame.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2465. &lt;p&gt;
  2466. &amp;ldquo;In some of these cars,&amp;rdquo; says Hunter Hines, Dunlop&amp;rsquo;s Director of Product Development, &amp;ldquo;it can get to be over 150 degrees in the summertime, sometimes even hotter. It depends on the material and so forth, but as it gets hotter, it&amp;rsquo;s going to change the tension maintenance and elasticity properties of a given string. The other thing is, when you&amp;rsquo;ve got a racquet in a hot trunk, and there are strings in it under tension, those strings may loosen differently at different times. As a result, the frame can bend out of shape, compromising its structural integrity.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/8d8IDxChiTk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2467.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-cooked-racquets/47129/</guid>
  2468.         <pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2469.      </item>
  2470.      <item>
  2471.         <title>Question of the Day: Reducing Jarring Mishits</title>
  2472.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/xf-60-XyI9Y/</link>
  2473.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2474. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2475. &lt;p&gt;
  2476. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2477. &lt;p&gt;
  2478. &lt;strong&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m a club-level player, 3.5 or thereabouts. I want to know how I can stop my racquet from stinging my hand on mishits. Not that I mishit all the time, but when I do, it is not a comfortable feeling. I currently use a Babolat Pure Drive strung with RPM Blast at 60 pounds.&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Bert C.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2479. &lt;p&gt;
  2480. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2481. &lt;p&gt;
  2482. It&amp;rsquo;s never a fun day, Bert, when you&amp;rsquo;re mishitting the ball badly; not only do the resulting shots go awry and take on undesired trajectories, the impacts themselves can really jar the hand. It goes without saying that the best way to do away with this feeling is to improve your technique; learn to hit the ball on center, and the jarring will cease. As we all know, however, that&amp;rsquo;s easier said than done. So what&amp;rsquo;s there to do?&lt;/p&gt;
  2483. &lt;p&gt;
  2484. Consider the following: Lower your tensions. Physicists have established that, for a variety of reasons, stiffer (i.e., tighter) strings play a sizable part in intensifying &amp;ldquo;bad vibrations,&amp;rdquo; especially at the edges of the stringbed, where, due to the shorter lengths of the strings, tension can register even higher. Indeed, according to physicist Rodd Cross, in &lt;em&gt;The Physics and Technology of Tennis&lt;/em&gt;, mishitting the ball with stiffer strings &amp;ldquo;cause[s] the handle to vibrate more and to slam into the hand at a higher speed,&amp;rdquo; in part because, compared to softer stringbeds, the ball rebounds more quickly.&lt;/p&gt;
  2485. &lt;p&gt;
  2486. What&amp;rsquo;s that have to do with anything? As Cross explains, when a tennis ball dwells on a stringbed for a longer period of time, it&amp;rsquo;s able to function as a gigantic vibration dampener, not just of string vibrations but frame vibrations as well. This is especially the case for stiffer racquets, like your Babolat Pure Drive.&lt;/p&gt;
  2487. &lt;p&gt;
  2488. Long story short: Try lowering your tension 10 to 15 percent. You may even want to experiment with natural gut or a high-grade multifilament string, as these tend to play much softer (i.e., less jarring) than poly blends like RPM Blast. Good luck.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/xf-60-XyI9Y&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2489.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-reducing-jarring-mishits/47117/</guid>
  2490.         <pubDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2491.      </item>
  2492.      <item>
  2493.         <title>Question of the Day: Basic Stringing Knots</title>
  2494.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/u7O8m5Pe5IA/</link>
  2495.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2496. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2497. &lt;p&gt;
  2498. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2499. &lt;p&gt;
  2500. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/16/knots.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:250px;height:1002px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m currently learning how to string. One topic I don&amp;rsquo;t quite understand is knots. What&amp;rsquo;s the best way to make a tie-off knot? If you&amp;rsquo;re stringing in two pieces, how do you recommend tying a knot that starts the crosses?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Peter S.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2501. &lt;p&gt;
  2502. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2503. &lt;p&gt;
  2504. These are important questions, Peter. Knots are a crucial endpoint when stringing. Incorrect technique can compromise a string job by causing it to lose tension. Moreover, in worst case scenarios, bad knots can even cause a stringbed to fall apart completely&amp;mdash;not something you want to happen when you&amp;rsquo;re in the middle of a match.&lt;/p&gt;
  2505. &lt;p&gt;
  2506. So let&amp;rsquo;s start with your first question: Tie-off knots. For most stringers, these knots, which secure the ends of main strings and/or crosses downstream of tension, are best tied using a double half hitch. As the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association makes clear, &amp;ldquo;To tie a half hitch, remember the word &amp;lsquo;OUT.&amp;rsquo; Thread the string Over, Under and then Through&amp;mdash;then repeat the procedure again and you&amp;rsquo;ve completed the knot.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2507. &lt;p&gt;
  2508. Indeed, doubling up on the half hitch is important, as single hitch knot is liable to come unfastened or sink deep into the grommet, due to its simple configuration and small size. When installing a very thin string, like an 18 or 19 gauge, it may even be advisable to tie a triple half hitch&amp;mdash;that is, three consecutive half hitches&amp;mdash;just to make sure that the knot doesn&amp;rsquo;t slide down into the grommet hole.&lt;/p&gt;
  2509. &lt;p&gt;
  2510. Also remember, after tensioning the last main or cross, to leave yourself at least 10 to 12 inches of string to tie-off with. There&amp;rsquo;s nothing more frustrating than being unable to finish the knot, because you&amp;rsquo;ve clipped the string too short or measured the entire length of string incorrectly. To tighten the knot, the best approach is to use hand-held pliers. While some use the stringing machine to tension knots, if not done with care, the tensioner can place too much pressure on the knot, causing it to break. Finally, after the knot has been secured, clip the tail down below the racquet&amp;rsquo;s sidewall, so that it&amp;rsquo;s about 1/8th to 1/4th an inch long. Cut the length too long and leave it above the sidewall, and the tail may cut the player; cut it too short, and the knot may slip out of place.&lt;/p&gt;
  2511. &lt;p&gt;
  2512. As to your second question: A different knot, apart from the half hitch, is required when tying knots at the start of crosses. (These knots are only necessary, as you note, when working with two pieces of string.) Starting knots, unlike tie-offs, are designed to be larger to, again, prevent against slipping down into the grommet hole, as well as resist breakage upon first tensioning the string. (&amp;ldquo;A starting knot,&amp;rdquo; the USRSA explains, &amp;ldquo;does not place pressure on the anchor string.&amp;rdquo;)&lt;/p&gt;
  2513. &lt;p&gt;
  2514. Stringers, over the years, have devised a number of different starting knots. The &amp;ldquo;figure-eight&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;fishing&amp;rdquo; knots are two that are commonly used; the former is among the bulkiest, and is good for stringing racquets with big grommets, while the latter has the advantage of being, in USRSA terms, &amp;ldquo;free floating,&amp;rdquo; meaning that &amp;ldquo;it can be pulled against the frame without tying the knot to an anchor string [as] you&amp;rsquo;re tying it against itself.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2515. &lt;p&gt;
  2516. For diagrams of the standard tie-off knot, a.k.a. the double half hitch, as well as three viable starting knots, see the above diagrams, excerpted from the USRSA&amp;rsquo;s &lt;em&gt;Racquet Service Techniques Manual.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/u7O8m5Pe5IA&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2517.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-basic-stringing-knots/47103/</guid>
  2518.         <pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2519.      </item>
  2520.      <item>
  2521.         <title>Question of the Day: Posture Shirts</title>
  2522.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/NdBZ8e_IbiQ/</link>
  2523.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2524. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2525. &lt;p&gt;
  2526. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2527. &lt;p&gt;
  2528. &lt;strong&gt;I recently have been suffering from some upper back and shoulder pain, which I think is affecting my tennis. In particular, I feel a bit hunched over when I serve, and have been losing velocity on that shot. I think this may be a result of extended time sitting in front of the computer at work. What are your recommendations?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Albert C.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2529. &lt;p&gt;
  2530. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2531. &lt;p&gt;
  2532. This is a complex question, Albert. Make sure that you meet with a licensed physician and/or physiotherapist. Understanding the etiology of your pain and how to treat it&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;including, but not limited to, practicing specific exercises that target the upper back and shoulders&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;should be some of the first steps you take. It also might be a good idea to cease tennis activity and rest your body for some time.&lt;/p&gt;
  2533. &lt;p&gt;
  2534. Having said that, one idea to consider implementing is a posture shirt. According to Todd Ellenbecker, a physiotherapist who works with the ATP Tour, hunching of the back or shoulders can be markers of scapular dysfunction and/or general shoulder debility. Interestingly, many physiotherapists believe that, in addition to daily shoulder exercises&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;posture shirts can help the upper body assume a healthier position, namely by forcing the shoulder blades back. (For more information about exercise and injury prevention for tennis, visit the USTA&amp;#39;s Strength and Conditioning page &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Game/Sport-Science/114682_Strength__Conditioning_Home/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2535. &lt;p&gt;
  2536. As Ellenbecker described the shirts, in a &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/11/gear-talk-todd-ellenbecker/39983/&quot;&gt;conversation&lt;/a&gt; last fall, &amp;ldquo;Going on a diagonal from your shoulder back along to the middle of your spine, right over the top of the shoulder blade, there are these re-enforced, thicker fabrics. They&amp;rsquo;re relatively tight. So when you put the shirt on, they actually pull you back. If you&amp;rsquo;re sitting on a computer right now, chances are that you&amp;rsquo;re sitting in a slumped posture. Imagine putting on a tight shirt that makes you sit up straight and squeeze your shoulder blades together...Dr. James Andrews, in Birmingham, Alabama, actually did a research study that found that Little League throwing athletes who wore posture shirts increased their velocity by 1 M.P.H.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2537. &lt;p&gt;
  2538. One example of a posture shirt is the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.adidas.com/us/product/mens-training-techfit-powerweb-short-sleeve-tee/TB620&quot;&gt;adidas Techfit Powerweb&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;(MSRP $55; see above photo)&lt;/em&gt;, a nylon and elastane compression top that, according to the company, is fortified over the scalpular for better posture and form.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/NdBZ8e_IbiQ&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2539.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-posture-shirts/47093/</guid>
  2540.         <pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2541.      </item>
  2542.      <item>
  2543.         <title>Question of the Day: What is &quot;Construction&quot;?</title>
  2544.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/E_PNO0waelk/</link>
  2545.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2546. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2547. &lt;p&gt;
  2548. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2549. &lt;p&gt;
  2550. &lt;strong&gt;In your articles, you talk a lot about racquets&amp;rsquo; &amp;ldquo;construction.&amp;rdquo; What are you referring to?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Albert B.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2551. &lt;p&gt;
  2552. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2553. &lt;p&gt;
  2554. A racquet&amp;rsquo;s construction, Albert, is often used as a synonym for its flexibility, i.e., the extent of the frame&amp;rsquo;s rigidity&amp;mdash;specifically, how far (and how fast) the frame bends and then springs back (or beyond) its original position on impact with the ball. In general, rigidity corresponds to beam width. Racquets with thinner beams (~19mm to 23mm) are more flexible; racquets with wider beams (~24mm to 30mm) are stiffer.&lt;/p&gt;
  2555. &lt;p&gt;
  2556. While there are exceptions to the rule, by and large, manufacturers tend to design flexible racquets for more advanced players and stiffer racquets for beginner- to intermediate-level players. Accordingly, compared to stiffer racquets, flexible racquets tend to be heavier, balanced more head-light, and have smaller heads, all of which make them, overall, less powerful and forgiving on off-center hits and harder to swing.&lt;/p&gt;
  2557. &lt;p&gt;
  2558. (Of course, in recent years, these categories have started to blur, as many touring professionals have taken a liking to racquets with thicker, stiffer beams. See, for example, Victoria Azarenka with the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/03/racquet-review-wilson-juice-100108-blx/38630/&quot;&gt;Wilson Juice&lt;/a&gt;, or Rafael Nadal with the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/02/racquet-review-babolat-aeropro-drive/46484/&quot;&gt;Babolat Aeropro Drive&lt;/a&gt;, both very stiff frames.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/E_PNO0waelk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2559.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-defining-construction/47051/</guid>
  2560.         <pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:39:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2561.      </item>
  2562.      <item>
  2563.         <title>Product Profile: Lock Laces</title>
  2564.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/dIoX8f76KZo/</link>
  2565.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2566. &lt;strong&gt;MSRP: &lt;/strong&gt;$7.99, pair; $19.99, three pairs&lt;/p&gt;
  2567. &lt;p&gt;
  2568. &lt;strong&gt;Website: &lt;/strong&gt;locklaces.com&lt;/p&gt;
  2569. &lt;p&gt;
  2570. &lt;strong&gt;Facts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2571. Made from the same elastic material as bungee cords, Lock Laces are water-resistant, long-lasting shoelaces designed to provide a secure and comfortable fit beyond that offered by typical cotton or nylon laces. The company claims that, due to its spring-loaded, easy-to-adjust drawstring construction, Lock Laces do not come loose during competition, training, and/or everyday wear, reducing the chances of lace-induced spills. Lock Laces also provide sustained compression across the foot, increasing oxygen flow and athletic endurance, according to the company. Of use to runners as well as tennis players, the laces come in 13 different colors, from black and brown to cool gray, hot pink, and orange creamsicle. Each retails for $7.99 per pair.&lt;/p&gt;
  2572. &lt;p&gt;
  2573. &lt;strong&gt;Impressions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2574. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/10/f.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:296px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Lock Laces, for all intents and purposes, look to be comfortable and convenient on and off the court, blending the easy appeal of slip-on shoes with the additional security of conventional laces. They&amp;rsquo;re also easy to install: Thread them through your shoes, pull through a cord lock, adjust with scissors and snap a clip on the end, and &lt;em&gt;voila&lt;/em&gt;&amp;mdash;you&amp;rsquo;ll never have to tie that pair of shoes again. What&amp;rsquo;s more, the wide spectrum of 13 colors makes it easy and fun to complement the colors of your shoe collection. While great for high-performance athletics, L.L.s are also a good fit for kids, seniors, and individuals with limited dexterity and/or special needs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/dIoX8f76KZo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2575.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/product-profile-lock-laces/47043/</guid>
  2576.         <pubDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2577.      </item>
  2578.      <item>
  2579.         <title>Question of the Day: Illegal Racquets</title>
  2580.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/WHlKprE05OI/</link>
  2581.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2582. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2583. &lt;p&gt;
  2584. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2585. &lt;p&gt;
  2586. &lt;strong&gt;I was reading your piece about &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/02/question-day-anomalous-racquets/46392/#.UVoQ2xmbewo&quot;&gt;illegal racquets&lt;/a&gt;. I&amp;rsquo;m curious how this applies to tournament match play. For example, say we played a sanctioned league match, you won, but I found out afterwards that you&amp;rsquo;d used an outlawed racquet&amp;mdash;like the liquid-filled Dynaspot&amp;mdash;would you have to forfeit?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Jeremy B.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2587. &lt;p&gt;
  2588. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2589. &lt;p&gt;
  2590. Although it&amp;rsquo;d be in bad taste, Jeremy, given you discovered the illegality after our hypothetical match concluded, I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be required to forfeit the win. See Comment 4.1, in the USTA&amp;rsquo;s rulebook, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/2012 FRIEND AT COURT.pdf&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Friend at Court&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. As it reads:&lt;/p&gt;
  2591. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  2592. &lt;em&gt;What happens if it is discovered after play has begun that a player has been using an illegal racket or an illegally strung racket?&lt;/em&gt; All points played stand. The player must find another racket before continuing play. A player is subject to code violations for delay under the Point Penalty System. If the discovery occurs after the match is over, the match still counts.&lt;/p&gt;
  2593. &lt;p&gt;
  2594. This is in keeping with one of the central tenets of tennis, namely that &lt;em&gt;all points played in good faith stand&lt;/em&gt;. Technically speaking, it&amp;rsquo;s illegal to dole out penalties to a player who used illegal equipment post hoc.&lt;/p&gt;
  2595. &lt;p&gt;
  2596. Note, however, that the above shouldn&amp;rsquo;t be read as encouraging the use of illegal racquets. It wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be in good taste, or good faith!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/WHlKprE05OI&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2597.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-question-day-illegal-racquets/47052/</guid>
  2598.         <pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2599.      </item>
  2600.      <item>
  2601.         <title>Overture in Carolina</title>
  2602.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/g-UEVilja_I/</link>
  2603.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2604. CHARLESTON, S.C.&amp;mdash;The breeze blows, and the air is tinged with salt. You can just taste it, stinging the tongue, the balmy off-gas of mud and silt, which run in rich brown striations across the brackish waters of the Cooper River, tidal feeder to Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic out and beyond. The breeze pushes north in saline currents, hopping up above the shore, skipping against auto windshields and along the rainbow bends of I-526, now finding its way toward these very confines, here, on Daniel Island, flowing above mazes of parked cars and clustered sponsor demos, tussling with flaps and sleeves and masses of hair, swirling lazily around the madeleine-shaped tops of corporate entertainment tents, and right now cascading over the stadium&amp;#39;s tiers, permeating Billie Jean King Court, where it undulates in soft sighs the skirt of Serena Williams, defending champion, who&amp;rsquo;s just walked through the stadium&amp;rsquo;s tunnel into the applause of 7,000-odd people. She&amp;rsquo;s standing on the court&amp;rsquo;s periphery, along with Jelena Jankovic, her Serbian opponent, waiting for ESPN&amp;rsquo;s signal to crunch across the ground&amp;rsquo;s pulverized, green-marine stone toward her chair, to contest the final of South Carolina&amp;rsquo;s premier WTA tournament, the Family Circle Cup.&lt;/p&gt;
  2605. &lt;p&gt;
  2606. Look up, and the sun is beating down in the mid 70s, through a bright blue sky that&amp;rsquo;s just barely smudged, here and there, by a few wispy, cotton-lint clouds. The temperature isn&amp;#39;t disagreeable, but the sun is patently Southern, the light like someone&amp;rsquo;s turned the contrast knob way up, taken the grey monochromatism of the Northeast winter and bathed it in a palette of glistering orange. The light&amp;rsquo;s so incredibly bright practically everyone in the stadium, excepting the players, has given up trying to see it. Its solar intensity, unmediated, wastes unprotected ciliary muscles and sends eyelids into squint-induced seizures.&lt;/p&gt;
  2607. &lt;p&gt;
  2608. I&amp;rsquo;m sitting down courtside&amp;mdash;in Box 39, in front of a small placard, named for the presently absent &amp;ldquo;Pink Panthers&amp;rdquo;&amp;mdash;just completely immersed in a sea of white folk, hats everywhere. There are caps that say Gamecocks and Prudential and College of Charleston&amp;mdash;the patrons&amp;rsquo; tickets stuck to the brims&amp;mdash;visors in green camouflage embroidered with Bass Pro Shop, up-side-down baskets with big straw brims fit for golfing at Augusta National, and women in sun hats all over. They expand into geriatric fields, these sun hats, their circumference and floppiness seeming to correlate positively with the wearers&amp;rsquo; age and lowcountry allegiance.&lt;/p&gt;
  2609. &lt;p&gt;
  2610. It&amp;rsquo;s just now past 1 p.m. Back on the rubico court, the contenders are still standing by the player tunnel, taking turns telling an ESPN anchorwoman that she plans to &amp;ldquo;just go out there and play my game.&amp;rdquo; Both stand very still. They stare out at nothing, stoic, like veteran runners before a long race, anticipating trial and pain. Finally, the TV people give the signal, and the players receive another loud but polite applause as they start the march toward their chairs&amp;mdash;actually, plush sky-blue couches&amp;mdash;built from a sturdy-looking,&amp;nbsp; mahogany-colored wood.&lt;/p&gt;
  2611. &lt;p&gt;
  2612. Upon each step, the players&amp;#39; quads contract into taut, thewy rectangles. Alongside them walks a hairy man of average height, shouldering a camera and trailing an assistant with lengths of cord. The man films mere feet from the faces of Williams and Jankovic, which remain natural and expressionless and afford these men the gravity of gnats. Photographers, facing the players from the chair&amp;rsquo;s far side, snap shutters through lens attachments the size of traffic lights, generally forming what looks to be a series of ginormous periods, as we all shift glutes in our seats and reach into pockets for camera phones.&lt;/p&gt;
  2613. &lt;p&gt;
  2614. The players finally arrive at their chairs, then drape towels over and sink back into their cushions. They root through their bags with a kind of efficient nonchalance, futzing with waters and plastic bags and racquets wrapped in plastic bags, putting straw around their little courtside nests. Another set of cameramen, their long, telescopic Canon DigiSupers not shoulder but swivel-mounted, work on the outer wings of each player&amp;rsquo;s nest, filming the futzing. These men sit in black-leather office chairs, typical fare from Staples, which they kick around in tight semi-circles like a 10-year-old kid in daddy&amp;rsquo;s office. The one closest to me, a white-bearded Jerry Garcia look-alike, wears call-center headphones and one those safari, neck-flap hats, color tan. He looks Cyborgian, hands and eyes conjoined to the machine. He never steals a glance outside its view.&lt;/p&gt;
  2615. &lt;p&gt;
  2616. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/10/201304071543566181203-p2@stats.com.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:421px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Jankovic and Williams now meet across the net for proceedings with Kader Nouni, today&amp;rsquo;s chair umpire. A coin flips. Williams wins the toss, elects to serve. They about face toward the baseline, handbags at dawn, and begin the warm-up. It&amp;rsquo;s striking, Serena&amp;rsquo;s expression: It&amp;rsquo;s somewhere between indifference and boredom, formed downstream of zen-like concentration, or perhaps calculated intimidation, or maybe even a certain competitive hatred. I can only guess. She wears a neon orange top with elbow-length sleeves that pops in the sun and clings tight to her chest and bra, as well as a dark blue skirt that covers most of her bum, while still. Her brown hair, headband-secured, frizzes out toward her shoulders like overhanging Spanish moss. Jelena is in a peony pink dress, her own hair drawn back ghastly tight into a ponytail. It&amp;#39;s like her hair&amp;rsquo;s painted onto her forehead, it&amp;rsquo;s so tight, exacerbating the atypical longness of her face. In between rallies, she fiddles her strings and exhales from little mashed-potato cheeks.&lt;/p&gt;
  2617. &lt;p&gt;
  2618. Ball girls become mechanical pitching arms, bouncing balls to the players, and soon they&amp;rsquo;re rallying, jumping rope with their feet. Their shots&amp;rsquo; speed and trajectory are similar, but not their strokes. Serena&amp;rsquo;s groundies proceed in stages&amp;mdash;her racquet, a Wilson Blade 104, prepares early and pauses a moment at the motion&amp;rsquo;s apex, before sweeping through the ball&amp;mdash;while Jelena&amp;rsquo;s, while not exactly more fluid, are more continuous; her Prince, in blacked-out cosmetics, traces uninterrupted circles through the air. Both hold their racquets with Western forehand grips and employ two-handed backhands, the present custom on tour, but Serena&amp;rsquo;s strings ping a few decibels higher on impact than J.J.&amp;rsquo;s, marking differences in tension.&lt;/p&gt;
  2619. &lt;p&gt;
  2620. Nouni, donning 80s-style stunner shades and a short-cut Afro, sits up in the chair&amp;mdash;a kind of children&amp;rsquo;s car seat, made from white plastic&amp;mdash;and calls &amp;ldquo;time.&amp;rdquo; His voice is deep and gravid with occasion; it&amp;rsquo;s James Earl Jones with a French accent, that&amp;rsquo;s his timbre. The players thump the backstop with a few more serves, and then futz around some more with various implements at the chair. Soon after, they&amp;rsquo;re back out on court, ready to &amp;ldquo;play.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2621. &lt;p&gt;
  2622. Wizened ushers rush to rope off entrances, as Jankovic positions herself behind the baseline, smoothing out the clay like an infielder before the first pitch. Williams receives balls from various feeders and sashays back to the line. The crowd grows susurrus. Jankovic bounces in place, her hair swinging back and forth like a clock pendulum on speed. Williams, palm down, now dribbles the ball with her racquet, loses it, and then starts dribbling another.&lt;/p&gt;
  2623. &lt;p&gt;
  2624. It&amp;rsquo;s 1:13 p.m. Jankovic is crouching forward, Williams too, tights exposed. Williams sets herself to serve, waits a moment, and then lifts the ball in the air, a spin-less yellow glob. A heartbeat later, and the ball&amp;#39;s gone, at its peak velocity this point, smacked into play. In its place appears a poof of stone, which soon dissolves from view, scattered by the wind until settling back into the grit below.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/g-UEVilja_I&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2625.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/04/overture-carolina/47042/</guid>
  2626.         <pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2627.      </item>
  2628.      <item>
  2629.         <title>Question of the Day: Managing Pain with Cold Therapy</title>
  2630.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/6jNgXu4sQEE/</link>
  2631.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2632. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2633. &lt;p&gt;
  2634. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2635. &lt;p&gt;
  2636. &lt;strong&gt;What are your thoughts on managing pain, particularly knee pain? I&amp;rsquo;ve had reoccurring pain on my right patella during and after matches, but I&amp;rsquo;m reticent to start relying on anti-inflammatory medications. (I&amp;rsquo;m visiting the doctor soon.) Do you have any ideas that I could implement immediately?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Jerry L.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2637. &lt;p&gt;
  2638. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2639. &lt;p&gt;
  2640. Before considering my advice, Jerry, ensure that you meet with a licensed physician or physiotherapist. Professional consultation, to understand the etiology of your pain and how to treat it, should be the first step that you take. Further, assuming you&amp;rsquo;re still playing, and depending on the pain&amp;rsquo;s severity, common sense dictates that you should hold off on tennis for some time and rest your body.&lt;/p&gt;
  2641. &lt;p&gt;
  2642. That said, if you&amp;rsquo;re adamant on continuing to play, you should consider adopting cold therapy&amp;mdash;i.e., icing. Consult any medical professional, and he or she will relay to you one of the truisms of injury prevention and treatment: RICE, an acronym that instructs players to Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate the affected areas. As Todd Ellenbecker, a physiotherapist with the ATP Tour, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/11/gear-talk-todd-ellenbecker/39983/#.UV3fPRmbewo&quot;&gt;explained&lt;/a&gt; to me last fall, applying ice and compression to an injury doesn&amp;rsquo;t just reduce swelling; by reducing tissue temperatures, it increases local oxygen and blood flow, which is key to decreasing inflammation and acceleration recovery. The most effective time to ice a problem area is immediately following competition, for at least 20 minutes. But it also can help to ice at various times throughout the day, especially when the pain starts to become more apparent.&lt;/p&gt;
  2643. &lt;p&gt;
  2644. The traditional, cheap way to RICE is familiar to most athletes: Find a plastic bag, fill it with crushed ice, and place it on the injured area, preferably using some type of plastic wrap for compression. (Another route, albeit a nearly unbearable one, is to immerse your entire leg, up past the knee, in a bucket of cold ice water.) However, today, there are a number of products on the market that claim to provide an even easier and more effective way to RICE.&lt;/p&gt;
  2645. &lt;p&gt;
  2646. One such product is &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.hyperice.com/products/&quot;&gt;Hyperice&lt;/a&gt;, a high-tech ice pouch that allegedly works much better than the freezy packs or the ol&amp;rsquo; plastic bag. According to the company, Hyperice prevents air pockets from building up between the ice and the affected extremity, maintaining compression and increasing the effectiveness of the treatment. The company says the product is currently being used by a number of players on tour, such as John Isner, Agnieszka Radwanska, Kevin Anderson, and Serena Williams. There are Hyperice wraps for multiple body parts&amp;mdash;including the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.hyperice.com/products/show#knee&quot;&gt;knee&lt;/a&gt;, as well as the elbow, hand, shoulder, and back.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/6jNgXu4sQEE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2647.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/your-game/2013/04/question-day-managing-pain-cold-therapy/47030/</guid>
  2648.         <pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2649.      </item>
  2650.      <item>
  2651.         <title>Question of the Day: Switching Grip Sizes</title>
  2652.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/F4397rA7QFw/</link>
  2653.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2654. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2655. &lt;p&gt;
  2656. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2657. &lt;p&gt;
  2658. &lt;strong&gt;I have two racquets with different grip sizes. One is a 4 and 1/8th, another is 4 and 3/8ths. Is there any harm in playing with different grip sizes (tennis elbow, etc.)? Also, if I just added an extra replacement grip to the 1/8th, to build it up toward a 3/8ths, would I lose any feel with that racquet?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Anthony&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2659. &lt;p&gt;
  2660. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2661. &lt;p&gt;
  2662. There shouldn&amp;rsquo;t be any physical harm in switching between racquets with different grip sizes, per se. (Other than possible harm to your match play, due to the jarring change in feel that a broken string in one racquet and the transition to another might occasion.) That said, it is generally acknowledged that smaller grip sizes, all else being equal, can present additional risks for injury. Interestingly enough, they can also present unique performance benefits.&lt;/p&gt;
  2663. &lt;p&gt;
  2664. As I &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/08/question-of-the-day-performance-enhancing-grip-sizes/38542/#.UVtS4Rmbewo&quot;&gt;wrote&lt;/a&gt; last year, on the advantages and disadvantages of different grip sizes, a smaller grip allows a player&amp;rsquo;s wrist greater range of motion during her swing. This can be positive, especially for skilled players with Western-style games; extra wrist flexion, coupled with good technique, can translate into accelerated racquet pronation while serving and a faster, freer wrist on groundstrokes, both of which can increase pace and spin. It&amp;rsquo;s no wonder that many top players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal included, choose to play with grips that are narrower than the standard, 3/8ths circumference.&lt;/p&gt;
  2665. &lt;p&gt;
  2666. However, at the same time, tiny palettes like your 4 and 1/8, by allowing the wrist all that extra movement, can stress the wrist and other tendons throughout the arm, including those that contribute to tennis elbow. This is why racquet technicians instruct sufferers of tennis elbow, along with &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/10/question-day-tackling-tennis-elbow/39890/#.UVtSwxmbewp&quot;&gt;other advice&lt;/a&gt;, to use a thicker, softer grip.&lt;/p&gt;
  2667. &lt;p&gt;
  2668. As for whether building up the 1/8th to a 3/8ths with extra grip will cost you &amp;ldquo;feel,&amp;rdquo; it really depends on how you understand the term. If feel, as tennis physicists Rod Cross and Crawford Lindsey define it, is the &amp;ldquo;combined effect of the shock force on the arm plus vibrations of the racquet frame,&amp;rdquo; then, yes, a thicker grip will reduce feel, as it dampens the sensation of impact. (In this sense, leather grips, as I&amp;rsquo;ve &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/08/question-of-the-day-leather-grips/38886/#.UVtSghmbewo&quot;&gt;written&lt;/a&gt;, heighten feel, because they allow vibrations to pass relatively unimpeded from the racquet through the grip and into the hand.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2669. &lt;p&gt;
  2670. But on the other hand, if your sense of &amp;ldquo;good feel&amp;rdquo; is playing with a bigger, rounder grip, then logically the change will be for the better. Personally, I think of good feel as my ability to discern the handle&amp;rsquo;s bevels, or edges; in my experience, playing with additional replacement grips and/or overgrips is a bad recipe for good feeling, as a thicker grip mutes those edges. But that&amp;rsquo;s just me.&lt;/p&gt;
  2671. &lt;p&gt;
  2672. As you decide on your grip size, don&amp;rsquo;t forget the obvious: A grip should be comfortable, and it should fit your hand. If you have gigantic, Ivo Karlovic-type hands, obviously you&amp;rsquo;re going to need to bump up the grip size. Conversely, players with petite digits shouldn&amp;rsquo;t struggle to hold onto an oversized grip for fear of injury. (For more information on finding the correct grip size, click &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennis.about.com/od/racquetsballsstringing/a/findgripsize.htm&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2673. &lt;p&gt;
  2674. My final recommendation would be to consult a knowledgeable &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.racquettech.com/top/stringer_search.html&quot;&gt;racquet technician in your area&lt;/a&gt;. He or she should be equipped to effectively build-up your grip, whether with extra grips or a heat-shrink sleeve. Depending on the racquet and the technician&amp;rsquo;s competency, it may even be possible to &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/07/question-of-the-day-wilson-grips-on-head-sticks/38557/#.UVtP9Bmbewo&quot;&gt;switch out the handle&lt;/a&gt; for another that&amp;rsquo;s more to your liking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/F4397rA7QFw&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2675.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-switching-grip-sizes/47026/</guid>
  2676.         <pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:07:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2677.      </item>
  2678.      <item>
  2679.         <title>Question of the Day: Lightweight, Flexible Racquets</title>
  2680.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/aW6qk2AoGfE/</link>
  2681.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2682. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2683. &lt;p&gt;
  2684. ****&lt;strong&gt;*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2685. &lt;p&gt;
  2686. &lt;strong&gt;Does anyone make &amp;quot;women&amp;#39;s racquets&amp;rdquo; anymore? By this I mean a lighter racquet with a flexible frame. Currently, I use a Head Microgel Extreme Team strung with Wilson NXT Tour at 55 lbs.&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Penny Maag&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2687. &lt;p&gt;
  2688. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2689. &lt;p&gt;
  2690. While I understand the thrust of the question, Penny, I have trouble conceptualizing what &amp;ldquo;women&amp;rsquo;s racquets&amp;rdquo; would really feel and play like. Among women, just as there are a number of different playing styles and ability levels, so too are there a number of diverse racquet preferences. Yes, women, as a whole, do tend to use lighter racquets than men, recreationally and on tour. But doubtless, not all women enjoy flexible constructions; the popularity of certain stiffer, game-improvement frames attests to this.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  2691. &lt;p&gt;
  2692. That said, you&amp;rsquo;re right that lightweight, flexible racquets are a minority in today&amp;rsquo;s market. This is due to the fact that, for the most part, manufacturers make lighter sticks stiffer. Why? In part because, on off-center hits, light frames vibrate more than heavy frames, and stiff constructions are better than flexible ones at muting those vibrations, as the former bends less on impact. (Note, however, that flexible frames, &lt;em&gt;not &lt;/em&gt;stiff frames, are superior at decreasing excess shock, which bears more responsibility for arm injuries than excess vibration.) If you&amp;rsquo;ve played tennis enough, you know that an awful mishit can really sting the hand; the culprit here is bad vibes. Filtered down through a stiffer racquet, that &lt;em&gt;sting &lt;/em&gt;feels more like a &lt;em&gt;bump&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  2693. &lt;p&gt;
  2694. (Of course, the best way to increase power, maximize comfort, and reduce the likelihood of injury is to regularly hit the sweet spot. As tennis physicists Rod Cross and Crawford Lindsey explain, in &lt;em&gt;Technical Tennis&lt;/em&gt;, &amp;ldquo;The ball speed off the middle of the strings doesn&amp;rsquo;t depend on racquet stiffness because frame vibrations are not generated for such an impact. Thus, when you hit in the middle of the strings, there is no difference in power between a stiff or a flexible racquet.&amp;rdquo;)&lt;/p&gt;
  2695. &lt;p&gt;
  2696. Nonetheless, if you&amp;rsquo;re partial to a flexible response, and are looking to replace the Extreme Team with a frame from the same neighborhood, demo the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/02/racquet-review-head-youtek-graphene-speed-rev/46500/#.UVSl2xmbewo&quot;&gt;Head YouTek Graphene Speed Rev&lt;/a&gt;. The Rev&amp;mdash;though half an ounce lighter and a few points more head heavy than your current spec.&amp;mdash;plays with a great deal of &amp;ldquo;give&amp;rdquo; in the hoop, which you should enjoy. (If the spec. difference is a problem, you or a racquet technician could easily add lead tape to the Rev&amp;rsquo;s handle, which would increase its weight and balance it more head light.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2697. &lt;p&gt;
  2698. However, if head size is an issue&amp;mdash;the Team and Rev are 107 and 100 square inches, respectively&amp;mdash;consider the &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.pacific.com/cms/front_content.php?idart=774&amp;amp;idcat=160&quot;&gt;Pacific X Force Comp&lt;/a&gt;, which measures 105 sq. in., is flexible, and weighs in below eleven ounces.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/aW6qk2AoGfE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2699.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-lightweight-flexible-racquets/46993/</guid>
  2700.         <pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:02:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2701.      </item>
  2702.      <item>
  2703.         <title>Question of the Day: Preventing Late-Match Burnout</title>
  2704.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/eOxW9OMsWR4/</link>
  2705.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2706. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2707. &lt;p&gt;
  2708. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2709. &lt;p&gt;
  2710. &lt;strong&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m a 3.5 player, baseliner, lots of topspin. I&amp;rsquo;m comfortable in practice, but playing a USTA match has always been a challenge. I usually start relatively strong, but my play fizzles at the tail ends of matches. Because of this, I have trouble closing out opponents. It&amp;rsquo;s like I get slightly tighter and out of sync as the match progresses. Any insight into how to stop this trend?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Bill S.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2711. &lt;p&gt;
  2712. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2713. &lt;p&gt;
  2714. Without a doubt, Bill, learning how to adjust mental and emotional states during the heat of battle is no simple matter. Not only does mental-skill development require practice; it requires strategies. In past columns, I&amp;rsquo;ve offered two different tacks to improving match focus: &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/09/question-day-tools-mental-focus/39555/#.UVBrqBmbewo&quot;&gt;One&lt;/a&gt;, on the performance benefits of journaling regularly, and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/your-game/2013/02/quelling-nerves-mental-rehearsal/46413/#.UVBrNhmbewo&quot;&gt;another&lt;/a&gt; detailing on how mental imagery practice can help curb on-court anxiety. Consider these approaches.&lt;/p&gt;
  2715. &lt;p&gt;
  2716. But for the sake of interest, let me offer a third, and perhaps more apt, approach to your late-match nerves: Physiological awareness.&lt;/p&gt;
  2717. &lt;p&gt;
  2718. In &lt;em&gt;Mental Training for Peak Performance&lt;/em&gt;, author Steven Ungerleider, through a chapter on tennis, interviews Dr. Jim Loehr, a sports psychologist who&amp;rsquo;s coached Pete Sampras, Gabriella Sabatini, and a slew of other touring pros. One of Dr. Loehr&amp;rsquo;s major points is that, to maintain a positive mental and emotional approach over the course of a match&amp;mdash;and by extension, high-level play&amp;mdash;a player must allow his or her mind and body to recover not just during changeovers, but between each and every point. Intuitively enough, the primary marker for this recovery is heart rate. As Ungerleider explains,&lt;/p&gt;
  2719. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  2720. Dr. Loehr says that if the heart rate stays high between points (during the resting and recovery zone), then the player is overstressed and headed for early burnout in the match. &amp;ldquo;The optimal condition between points is a stress/recovery balance, such that the heart rate is typically falling between points, the player is relaxed biomechanically, and breathing returns to normalcy,&amp;rdquo; he says. &amp;ldquo;Otherwise, if the EKG is up, the body will be tense, and that translates into tight muscle-reflex action and some bad tennis.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2721. &lt;p&gt;
  2722. Indeed, Bill, this kind of stress may be at the root of the problem: By remaining &amp;ldquo;hyped-up&amp;rdquo; between points and not getting adequate intervals of rest, you may be tiring mentally, emotionally, and physically as the match progresses, worsening your play.&lt;/p&gt;
  2723. &lt;p&gt;
  2724. Which raises the obvious question: How to relax? How to allow yourself a proper between-point recovery? The first step is simple awareness. When the point ends, notice your heart rate, and take deep breaths with the intent of slowing it. Additionally, re-instill belief in your abilities through positive self-talk and relaxed, confident body language. Between points, &amp;ldquo;[if] you hold the [racquet] too tightly or your jaw is clenched and you are ruminating about the last point that you messed up,&amp;rdquo; as Ungerleider notes, &amp;ldquo;then your muscles and emotional memory will contaminate the next series of points,&amp;rdquo; preventing your heart rate from dropping into that critical resting zone.&lt;/p&gt;
  2725. &lt;p&gt;
  2726. (One cool idea: To increase awareness of your match behavior, have someone video tape your actions between points. Says Dr. Loehr, &amp;ldquo;I want my young, old, amateur, and pro tennis players to see this sequence so that they can experience firsthand their emotions during this in-between-point period&amp;hellip;If we can get them to rid themselves of those 3 1/2 seconds of negativity, hold their heads high, achieve new self-confidence, and prepare for the next point with a clean physiological and emotional slate, then we have done good work in our training.&amp;rdquo;)&lt;/p&gt;
  2727. &lt;p&gt;
  2728. All that said, as you put this training into practice, don&amp;rsquo;t neglect to exert yourself &lt;em&gt;during &lt;/em&gt;points. Achieving this balance is tricky, but relaxing when the point ends doesn&amp;rsquo;t preclude playing hard when it begins. Good luck.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/eOxW9OMsWR4&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2729.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-preventing-late-match-burnout/46972/</guid>
  2730.         <pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2731.      </item>
  2732.      <item>
  2733.         <title>Child’s Play</title>
  2734.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/HXRNOJwBQzk/</link>
  2735.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2736. These five junior racquets are light, forgiving, and appropriately sized. Designed to allow the games of young players to develop and flourish, each measures 25 inches, the maximum legal length for USTA ten-and-under tournaments. (For more information about selecting the right racquet for your kids, click &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/02/ask-pro-shop-sticks-kids/46459/#.UVtGYBmbewo&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2737. &lt;p&gt;
  2738. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2739. &lt;p&gt;
  2740. &lt;strong&gt;Babolat Pure Drive Junior 25&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2741. &lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/02/babolat2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:400px;height:145px;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Price: $69&lt;br /&gt;
  2742. Length: 25 in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2743. Head size: 100 sq. in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2744. Weight: 8.1 oz. (strung)&lt;br /&gt;
  2745. String Pattern: 16 x 20&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2746. &lt;p&gt;
  2747. The Babolat Pure Drive Junior features the same cosmetic as the adult Pure Drive. With its light weight and mid-plus head size, the P.D. Junior is a good choice for eight to ten year olds (50&amp;rdquo; to 55&amp;rdquo; tall) who are just getting into the game, but are nevertheless serious about developing their swings. The racquet is also available in a 23-inch length&amp;mdash;for children six to eight years old (45&amp;rdquo; to 49&amp;rdquo; tall)&amp;mdash;as well as a pink cosmetic.&lt;/p&gt;
  2748. &lt;p&gt;
  2749. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2750. &lt;p&gt;
  2751. &lt;strong&gt;Dunlop M3.0 Junior 25&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2752. &lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/02/dunlop2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:400px;height:145px;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Price: $79&lt;br /&gt;
  2753. Length: 25 in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2754. Head size: 98 sq. in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2755. Weight: 8.6 oz. (strung)&lt;br /&gt;
  2756. String Pattern: 16 x 19&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2757. &lt;p&gt;
  2758. The Dunlop M3.0 Junior is a good fit for children aged eight to ten. Like its adult-sized, 27-inch iteration, the M3.0 features a graphite construction, which, relative to aluminum frames, offers superior performance and feel. What&amp;rsquo;s more, the stick is available in a 26-inch length, which, while not compliant with USTA 10 &amp;amp; Under regulations, suits children aged 11 and up who are not quite ready for an adult-sized frame.&lt;/p&gt;
  2759. &lt;p&gt;
  2760. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2761. &lt;p&gt;
  2762. &lt;strong&gt;Head Speed 25 Comp&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2763. &lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/02/head2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:400px;height:177px;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Price: $50&lt;br /&gt;
  2764. Length: 25 in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2765. Head size: 102 sq. in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2766. Weight: 8.5 oz. (unstrung)&lt;br /&gt;
  2767. String Pattern: 16 x 19&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2768. &lt;p&gt;
  2769. Head&amp;rsquo;s offering for eight through 10-year-olds is the Speed 25 Comp. Also legal for tournament play, the graphite stick is light and agile, and features a sharp black-on-white graphic. It&amp;rsquo;s also sold in a 23-inch length for kids six and seven years old.&lt;/p&gt;
  2770. &lt;p&gt;
  2771. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2772. &lt;p&gt;
  2773. &lt;strong&gt;V&amp;ouml;lkl Junior Organix 6&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2774. &lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/02/volkl2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:400px;height:177px;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Price: $60&lt;br /&gt;
  2775. Length: 25 in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2776. Head size: 100 sq. in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2777. Weight: 8.3 oz. (strung)&lt;br /&gt;
  2778. String Pattern: 16 x 19&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2779. &lt;p&gt;
  2780. USTA eligible, the V&amp;ouml;lkl Junior Organix 6 is designed to jell well with green juniors in the midst of skill development. V&amp;ouml;lkl says the 6 features a graphite construction, lending the stick additional stability, as well as the Optispot vision system&amp;mdash;highlights in the three and nine o&amp;rsquo;clock positions that provide points of reference to the sweet spot, thus helping players connect with it.&lt;/p&gt;
  2781. &lt;p&gt;
  2782. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2783. &lt;p&gt;
  2784. &lt;strong&gt;Wilson Steam Junior 25&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2785. &lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/04/02/wilson2.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:400px;height:145px;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Price: $109.99&lt;br /&gt;
  2786. Length: 25 in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2787. Head size: 98 sq. in.&lt;br /&gt;
  2788. Weight: 8.3 oz. (strung)&lt;br /&gt;
  2789. String Pattern: 16 x 16&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2790. &lt;p&gt;
  2791. The new Steam Junior features a lightweight, maneuverable design, as well as a unique, 16 by 16 string pattern. According to Wilson, this symmetrical string pattern offers additional spin potential and power, much like the 16 by 15 patterns built into the adult-sized, Steam 99S and 105S models. The Steam Junior also comes in 21-inch and 23-inch models for smaller children.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/HXRNOJwBQzk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2792.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/childs-play/46962/</guid>
  2793.         <pubDate>Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2794.      </item>
  2795.      <item>
  2796.         <title>Question of the Day: Flared-Out Grips</title>
  2797.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/4uHeTYJqHRE/</link>
  2798.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2799. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2800. &lt;p&gt;
  2801. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2802. &lt;p&gt;
  2803. &lt;strong&gt;I&amp;#39;ve read that some touring pros like Stanislas Wawrinka, Robin Soderling, and Michael Russell prefer a grip with a built-up, flared butt cap. What would the benefits of a larger, more flared butt cap offer versus a smaller, more tapered one?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;James&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2804. &lt;p&gt;
  2805. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2806. &lt;p&gt;
  2807. Good observation, James. A number of touring pros, like the three you mentioned, custom build their grips to &amp;ldquo;flare out&amp;rdquo; at the very bottom, lending the handle a kind of bell-like shape. (For a photo of Soderling&amp;rsquo;s racquet, click &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.hdtennis.com/grs/pro_racquet_specs/200903soderling_head.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. Also see Richard Gasquet&amp;rsquo;s flared palette &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=441734&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.) Today, there are even a few stock frames that employ the effect, like the Wilson Juice, though the level of flare is much less obvious.&lt;/p&gt;
  2808. &lt;p&gt;
  2809. So what&amp;rsquo;s the point? Why not just stick to a standard circumference? I had the chance to ask Russell this very question during an &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/08/gear-talk-michael-russell-part-two/39161/#.UU4pIRmbewo&quot;&gt;interview&lt;/a&gt; last fall at the U.S. Open. In Russell&amp;rsquo;s mind, the flared-out grip offers extra leverage, as well as security against slippage, especially when hanging the hitting hand off the edge of the butt cap. As he told me then,&lt;/p&gt;
  2810. &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:40px;&quot;&gt;
  2811. I do build up the butt cap a little bit with athletic tape [before the grip goes on]&amp;hellip;It&amp;rsquo;s kind of like a hockey stick, you know, kind of like that nub on the bottom. I hold the racquet quite low on the handle, and I pull against it on my serve and my forehand. If I didn&amp;rsquo;t have the athletic tape, then my racquet would probably go flying half the time. Because I also sweat, like, ridiculous.&lt;/p&gt;
  2812. &lt;p&gt;
  2813. Stability, tact, leverage: Those seem to be the objective reasons for a flared-out grip. But as with any equipment preference, there&amp;rsquo;s also a more subjective component, i.e., &amp;ldquo;feel.&amp;rdquo; In the past, I&amp;rsquo;ve tried a few sticks with hockey-like palettes; and without a doubt, that shape changes how the grip rests against the palm of the hand. (I wasn&amp;rsquo;t too thrilled about the feeling, personally.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2814. &lt;p&gt;
  2815. Still, I&amp;rsquo;d encourage you to experiment with the style, not so much because reputable pros use it, but just for your own sense of feel. There&amp;rsquo;s undeniably an element of mystery to why certain racquets, strings, and grips are comfortable to some players but not to others. And while this can be frustrating to those of us who want to uncover universal truths about taste, it&amp;rsquo;s also one of the more interesting facets of the game&amp;mdash;as a player, you continually define your own sense of feel. Regardless of your ability level, through enough trial and error, you&amp;rsquo;ll have that &lt;em&gt;aha!&lt;/em&gt; moment, when suddenly you think to yourself, &lt;em&gt;This feels really good. From now on, I&amp;rsquo;m playing this way.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/4uHeTYJqHRE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2816.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/04/question-day-flared-out-grips/46952/</guid>
  2817.         <pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2818.      </item>
  2819.      <item>
  2820.         <title>Question of the Day: Wood’s Last Gasp?</title>
  2821.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/evhstzaGZzk/</link>
  2822.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2823. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2824. &lt;p&gt;
  2825. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2826. &lt;p&gt;
  2827. &lt;strong&gt;Who was the last pro player to win a tournament with a wood racquet? I know wooden racquets were viable in the early 80s, but did anyone win anything with one in the &amp;lsquo;90s?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;John M.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2828. &lt;p&gt;
  2829. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2830. &lt;p&gt;
  2831. Nobody ever won big with wood in the &amp;lsquo;90s, John. But Slovakian player Miloslav Mecir&amp;mdash;coolest nickname ever: The Conjuror&amp;mdash;came close twenty years ago, in 1989, at Indian Wells. According to Randy Walker&amp;rsquo;s &lt;em&gt;On This Day in Tennis History&lt;/em&gt;, Mecir was &amp;ldquo;the last player to win an ATP tour event with a wooden racquet when he [defeated] Yannick Noah 3-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in the men&amp;rsquo;s singles final at the Newsweek Champions Cup.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2832. &lt;p&gt;
  2833. More specifically, Mecir took home the title with a Snauwert composite, which combined a graphite laminate with a wooden interior. Composites, because they included wood, generally were heavier and less powerful than full-on graphite frames, which had pretty much come to dominate the tour by the end of the 1980s. That said, composite racquets were supposed to offer a more &amp;quot;traditional&amp;quot; feel, retaining a feedback profile similar to old-fashioned wood.&lt;/p&gt;
  2834. &lt;p&gt;
  2835. Any readers who onced played with a composite? Please comment. I&amp;#39;ve never played with one, and would be curious to know more about the experience.&lt;/p&gt;
  2836. &lt;p&gt;
  2837. Also, to those interested in the IW match, take a look below.&lt;/p&gt;
  2838. &lt;p&gt;
  2839. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/evhstzaGZzk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2840.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/03/question-day-woods-last-gasp/46852/</guid>
  2841.         <pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:02:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2842.      </item>
  2843.      <item>
  2844.         <title>Question of the Day: Tennis Shoes for Extra-Wide Feet</title>
  2845.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/eDVeEIMTV-U/</link>
  2846.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2847. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2848. &lt;p&gt;
  2849. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2850. &lt;p&gt;
  2851. &lt;strong&gt;Do any companies other than New Balance manufacture tennis shoes for wide feet? I have a very wide foot type, and finding appropriate shoes has gotten to be a problem.&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Krueger&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2852. &lt;p&gt;
  2853. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2854. &lt;p&gt;
  2855. Unfortunately, Krueger, New Balance is the only brand we&amp;rsquo;re aware of that offers men&amp;rsquo;s and women&amp;rsquo;s tennis shoes, in the U.S., specially for extra-wide feet&amp;mdash;specifically, in 2E and 4E sizes. All other brands only offer shoes in the standard D-size width.&lt;/p&gt;
  2856. &lt;p&gt;
  2857. Still, if you haven&amp;rsquo;t already, give a pair of New Balances a try. One shoe I&amp;rsquo;d recommend you demo is the New Balance 996. (Read our profile of the 996 &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/10/product-profile-new-balance-996/39867/#.UUuK3Rmbewo&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.) Unlike many of the company&amp;rsquo;s more conservative, club-level shoes, which they&amp;rsquo;re known for, the 996 is built for light-weight performance. The men&amp;rsquo;s version weighs in at 12.5 ounces (in a size 9.5), the women&amp;rsquo;s 10 oz (in a size 7), and both feature Probank technology, support near the front of the shoe that New Balance says increases lateral stability. Further, the 996 has a 12-month outsole guarantee&amp;mdash;among the longest in the business.&lt;/p&gt;
  2858. &lt;p&gt;
  2859. Because we&amp;rsquo;re still putting the 996 through our weartesting process, I can&amp;rsquo;t render any judgments about the shoe as of yet. (A review of the New Balance 996 will appear in &lt;em&gt;Tennis Magazine&lt;/em&gt;&amp;rsquo;s 2013 Shoe Guide, in the May/June issue.) That said, there are two other, albeit older, New Balance models you might want to consider: the 1005 and the 1187, both of which we reviewed in the 2012 Shoe Guide. (Read complete reviews of 1005 and 1187, respectively, &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://blogs.tennis.com/the_pro_shop/2012/04/shoe-review-new-balance-1005.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://legacy.tennis.com/gear/shoe_specs.aspx?id=607&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2860. &lt;p&gt;
  2861. As I &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/gear/2012/06/monday-mailbag-dampeners-guts-relevance-wide-feet/38584/&quot;&gt;wrote&lt;/a&gt; in a blog post last year, &amp;ldquo;At 12.6 ounces in a men&amp;rsquo;s size 9, the 1005 is relatively lightweight, but is only appropriate for neutral foot types; the 1187, on the other hand, is appropriate for all foot types, but is almost two ounces heavier than the 1005.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  2862. &lt;p&gt;
  2863. (To access our 2012 Shoe Reviews, click &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/shop/2012/04/2012-gear-guide-shoe-reviews/35500/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/eDVeEIMTV-U&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2864.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/03/question-day-tennis-shoes-extra-wide-feet/46869/</guid>
  2865.         <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:19:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2866.      </item>
  2867.      <item>
  2868.         <title>Question of the Day: Sourcing Racquet Specifications</title>
  2869.         <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~3/VJW808rYonM/</link>
  2870.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2871. &lt;em&gt;TENNIS.com gear editor Justin diFeliciantonio and his technical advisers answer your equipment questions each day. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_pro_shop/contact.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to send in a question of your own.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2872. &lt;p&gt;
  2873. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2874. &lt;p&gt;
  2875. &lt;strong&gt;I want to know, with respect to your racquet reviews, where do all the specifications come from? Do companies provide them to you? Or do you take the measurements yourself?&lt;em&gt;&amp;mdash;Jim S.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  2876. &lt;p&gt;
  2877. *****&lt;/p&gt;
  2878. &lt;p&gt;
  2879. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/03/20/reviews.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:329px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;In our &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/tags/2013-racquet-reviews/&quot;&gt;reviews&lt;/a&gt;, published on TENNIS.com and in &lt;em&gt;Tennis Magazine&lt;/em&gt;, we source racquets&amp;rsquo; specifications directly from manufacturers, specifically asking them to provide us with strung measurements. (Compared to its unstrung state, a racquet with string, for obvious reasons, tends to be heavier, have a higher swingweight, and be balanced more head heavy.)&lt;/p&gt;
  2880. &lt;p&gt;
  2881. In short, the reason we list manufacturer&amp;rsquo;s specs. instead of taking our own measurements is so that we can best account for variances in each racquet&amp;rsquo;s production. One thing you should know is that, when a new batch of certain model ships from the factory, the racquets aren&amp;rsquo;t all&amp;nbsp; the same; within a certain quality-control range, set by each company, some of the sticks will be lighter or heavier, others will be balanced more or less head light. So when it comes time to write reviews, we list each frame&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ldquo;official&amp;rdquo; median specifications; because we generally receive no more than six of each model for testing, our sample size just isn&amp;rsquo;t large enough for us to take measurements and say, with complete confidence, that &lt;em&gt;x&lt;/em&gt; spec. is at the center of &lt;em&gt;y &lt;/em&gt;manufacturer&amp;rsquo;s factory variance.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/pro-shop-gray/~4/VJW808rYonM&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2882.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/03/question-day-sourcing-racquet-specifications/46845/</guid>
  2883.         <pubDate>Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2884.      </item>
  2885.      <item>
  2886.         <title>Delray Beach: Gulbis d. Roger-Vasselin</title>
  2887.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/1lSbWcsT4DE/</link>
  2888.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2889. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/03/03/Gulbisinside.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:363px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;The red Porsche parked in the corner of the court hadn&amp;#39;t cut him off at the baseline, but Ernests Gulbis glared like a man on the verge of road rage staring down set point at 4-5&amp;nbsp; in the Delray Beach final.&lt;/p&gt;
  2890. &lt;p&gt;
  2891. Gulbis downshifted his anger into action. Stepping up toward the baseline, he ended a crackling 12-shot rally slamming a backhand winner down the line to save set point and spark a surge of seven straight points.&lt;/p&gt;
  2892. &lt;p&gt;
  2893. In a match that tested his mind as much as his reconstructed forehand, Gulbis tamed whipping winds, a tricky opponent and tempestuous emotions to score a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Edouard Roger-Vasselin and capture his third career title in as many finals. The 109th-ranked qualifier won his second Delray Beach title in the last four years.&lt;/p&gt;
  2894. &lt;p&gt;
  2895. The talented and sometimes volatile Latvian craves the rush of driving fast, but grinded through an arduous course to take the title. Gulbis fought back from an 0-4 third-set hole to topple third-seeded Sam Querrey, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), and saved eight of 10 break points in beating second-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals.&lt;/p&gt;
  2896. &lt;p&gt;
  2897. Flapping flags smacked around by the wind, which actually knocked one flag completely off its perch, could be heard on the court below as Gulbis broke for a 2-0 lead. Roger-Vasselin stood his ground in a rapid-fire net exchange, punching a forehand volley winner to break back for 1-2.&lt;/p&gt;
  2898. &lt;p&gt;
  2899. The son of 1983 Roland Garros semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin, the 29-year-old Frenchman can do a little bit of everything. He showed his guile in downsizing mammoth servers Ivo Karlovic and John Isner en route to his first final. Roger-Vasselin is light on his feet, but doesn&amp;#39;t hit as hard as the explosive Gulbis, who sailed a double fault deep to donate the break and fall into a 4-5 hole.&lt;/p&gt;
  2900. &lt;p&gt;
  2901. Serving for the set, Roger-Vasselin saved a second break point with a stinging ace down the middle before earning set point on the strength of a solid backhand approach. Before Roger-Vasselin served the set point, Gulbis stopped and briefly complained about sounds during play &amp;mdash; it was unclear if he was talking to his opponent or chair umpire Fergus Murphy &amp;mdash; before declaring &amp;quot;Come on!&amp;quot; and smacking his Wilson racquet against the soles of his shoes to punctuate his point.&lt;/p&gt;
  2902. &lt;p&gt;
  2903. Festering anger has erupted into rage and consumed Gulbis in the past; this time he channeled it with that match-changing backhand winner that reverberated in the minds of both men.&lt;/p&gt;
  2904. &lt;p&gt;
  2905. &amp;quot;I had a set point, but he hit an unbelievable backhand winner,&amp;quot; Roger-Vasselin said afterward.&lt;/p&gt;
  2906. &lt;p&gt;
  2907. Gulbis&amp;#39;s compact two-handed backhand and his roaring serve are his signature shots; he&amp;#39;s fiddled with his forehand for a while and currently starts that stroke by extending both arms, like a surfer seeking balance as he rises on the board. Though it looks cumbersome compared to his taut two-hander, Gulbis made it work in the breaker. He smacked two forehand winners and a forehand down the lien to set up a forehand volley winner for 3-1. Serving at 4-3, Gulbis crunched a forehand winner crosscourt followed by a blistering serve into the hip for set point, closing when Roger-Vasselin spread a slice backhand wide.&lt;/p&gt;
  2908. &lt;p&gt;
  2909. Though he can blow up points with sheer power, Gulbis scored the key break of the second set with exquisite subtlety, guiding a sharp-angled drop shot that landed about two feet over the net as he broke for 4-3. Gulbis won eight matches in all and is projected to roar up to No. 52 when the new ATP rankings are released tomorrow, but he was still thinking about the road ahead after the match.&lt;/p&gt;
  2910. &lt;p&gt;
  2911. &amp;quot;I hope I get the Porsche this year,&amp;quot; Gulbis joked to organizers. &amp;quot;I didn&amp;#39;t get it last time.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
  2912. &lt;p&gt;
  2913. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  2914. &lt;p&gt;
  2915. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/1lSbWcsT4DE&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2916.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/delray-beach-gulbis-d-roger-vasselin/46672/</guid>
  2917.         <pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2918.      </item>
  2919.      <item>
  2920.         <title>Dubai: Djokovic d. Berdych</title>
  2921.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/Di-Wz4k8gyg/</link>
  2922.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2923. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/03/02/Djoker.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:419px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Organizers rolled out the red carpet before the trophy ceremony in Dubai; center court must look like a welcome mat to Novak Djokovic at this point.&lt;/p&gt;
  2924. &lt;p&gt;
  2925. Covering the court with the exuberance of a man completing a homecoming, Djokovic won 11 of the final 15 games to defuse big-hitting Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 6-3 and capture his fourth Dubai championship in the last five years. Fans serenaded the world No. 1 with a celebratory chant of &amp;quot;Nole! Nole!&amp;quot; as multi-colored confetti showered the court. It was the 18th consecutive victory for Djokovic, who raised his record to 13-0 on the season, continuing his career-long mastery of Berdych by collecting his 13th win in their 14 meetings.&lt;/p&gt;
  2926. &lt;p&gt;
  2927. Big Berd rarely looks up to opponents&amp;mdash;only a handful of men in the Top 100 are taller than the 6&amp;rsquo;5&amp;rdquo; Czech&amp;mdash;but he can&amp;#39;t seem to shirk Djokovic&amp;#39;s sizable shadow. A day after fighting off three match points in an electric three-set semifinal win over five-time champion Roger Federer, Berdych drew first blood in the final.&lt;/p&gt;
  2928. &lt;p&gt;
  2929. Stretched wide, the third seed extended the point with a one-handed slice backhand, streaked to the opposite sideline then lifted a running forehand pass crosscourt that eluded a lunging Djokovic as the fist-pumping Czech broke for a 3-2 lead. In the sixth game, the weight of a Berdych forehand drive nearly knocked Djokovic backward, like a man whose rib-cage was rattled by a medicine ball hurled into his mid-section. A slashing inside-out forehand from Berdych helped him consolidate for a 4-2 advantage.&lt;/p&gt;
  2930. &lt;p&gt;
  2931. Two penetrating shots &amp;mdash; a thunderous first serve and his bold two-handed backhand down the line &amp;mdash; helped power Berdych to the lead, but Djokovic never blinked. He&amp;#39;s seen this script before and has a clear idea of how the story ends.&lt;/p&gt;
  2932. &lt;p&gt;
  2933. This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he&amp;#39;s the more agile athlete, he&amp;#39;s quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can&amp;#39;t consistently produce. &amp;nbsp;Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation.&lt;/p&gt;
  2934. &lt;p&gt;
  2935. Djokovic stumbled after a return blast from Berdych, banging up his right toe in the process, but couldn&amp;#39;t catch up to the blistering shot facing a third break point in the ninth game. An effective slice serve out wide set up a crackling two-hander crosscourt as Djokovic denied the break point, eventually holding for 5-4 after 41 minutes of often explosive play.&lt;/p&gt;
  2936. &lt;p&gt;
  2937. The Berdych backhand that was so vital in erecting the lead proved critical in eradicating it. Sailing a pair of backhands beyond the baseline, Berdych fell into a double-set point deficit and succumbed to the pressure, double-faulting deep. Djokovic won eight of the final nine points in seizing the first set in 51 minutes.&lt;/p&gt;
  2938. &lt;p&gt;
  2939. Snapping off successive aces, Djokovic held at 30 to open the second set; Berdych responded with a three-ace game for 1-all. Digging out of a 0-30 hole in the seventh game and exploiting his advantage in running rallies, Djokovic worked over the Berdych backhand diligently drawing errors and winning four straight points to hold for 4-3.&lt;/p&gt;
  2940. &lt;p&gt;
  2941. Pressure-induced cracks in the eight game expanded into a full-blown break when Berdych mis-hit a forehand long to face a break point. Djokovic curled a clever lob into the corner that forced Berdych to wait for the ball to bounce, he slid an overhead wide handing Djokovic the crucial break and a 5-3 second-set lead. The top seed played the pivotal points with more care: Djokovic converted three of four break-point chances; Berdych was one of five on break-point opportunities.&lt;/p&gt;
  2942. &lt;p&gt;
  2943. Towering flat-ball hitters have learned that trying to hit through Djokovic is as effective as slamming your head against a sand castle wall. Djokovic is a combined 27-4 against three of the hardest hitters of recent years &amp;mdash; Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro, whom he swept in the semis, and Robin Soderling.&lt;/p&gt;
  2944. &lt;p&gt;
  2945. The world No. 1 whipped an inside-out forehand to convert his second match point and wrap up an impressive one hour, 34-minute conquest. Realizing his latest red-carpet moment with some timely trips to net and an enduring sense of calm, Djokovic rolled to his 36th career title without surrendering a set.&lt;/p&gt;
  2946. &lt;p&gt;
  2947. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  2948. &lt;p&gt;
  2949. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  2950. &lt;p&gt;
  2951. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/Di-Wz4k8gyg&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2952.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/</guid>
  2953.         <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2954.      </item>
  2955.      <item>
  2956.         <title>Marseille: Berdych d. Gulbis</title>
  2957.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/JsI00cHTqsM/</link>
  2958.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2959. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/20/Berdinside.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:414px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;It doesn&amp;rsquo;t take much to make people hopeful about Ernests Gulbis again, does it? Coming into Rotterdam last week, everyone&amp;rsquo;s favorite lackadaisical Latvian was ranked firmly in the triple digits and had just one victory on the year. Brandishing a strange new forehand, though, Gulbis emerged from qualifying to reach the round of 16 and gave eventual champ Juan Martin del Potro a decent run for his money there. Even better, Gulbis claimed that he was going to cut back on the drinking and smoking. Fans wondered, not for the first, second, or even the third time: Was the 24-year-old Ernie, who has beaten Roger Federer and challenged Rafael Nadal on clay, and who is still the owner of a world-class serve, ready to turn things around at last?&lt;br /&gt;
  2960. &lt;br /&gt;
  2961. We got our next piece of evidence today, when the 118th-ranked Gulbis faced top seed Tomas Berdych in Marseille. While Gulbis lost 6-4, 6-7 (10), 6-4, and that strange forehand failed him many, many times, this wasn&amp;rsquo;t a match that should make anyone write him off again just yet. Gulbis had upset Berdych in the first round at Wimbledon last year, and the Czech admitted today that he doesn&amp;rsquo;t like to play him: &amp;lsquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t know what&amp;rsquo;s going to happen,&amp;rdquo; Berdych said. Gulbis has the ability to take the racquet of a player&amp;rsquo;s hand, and Berdych, a power player himself, isn&amp;rsquo;t used to that.&lt;br /&gt;
  2962. &lt;br /&gt;
  2963. What happened in the first set of this match, though, was fairly predictable. Gulbis earned two break points at 2-2, went for big forehand returns, and missed both of them. The two players then held until Gulbis was serving at 4-5. At 30-30 in that game, Gulbis drilled a backhand into the net. Down set point, he drilled a forehand into the net. What had been a close set was suddenly over.&lt;br /&gt;
  2964. &lt;br /&gt;
  2965. The real surprise in this match wasn&amp;rsquo;t from the Gulbis side of the net; it was the fact that Berdych couldn&amp;rsquo;t close out the second set, and never looked comfortable on the court. After trading breaks in the middle of the set, the two went to a tiebreaker. Berdych saved two set points, only to squander three match points, one with a shank on a makeable forehand volley. Worse, he dumped a tentative forehand into the net at 10-10, and lost the set on a Gulbis forehand winner on the next point. Berdych really doesn&amp;rsquo;t like to play Gulbis; the Czech looked as tight trying to close out No. 118 as he does when he&amp;rsquo;s trying to close out one of the Big 4.&lt;br /&gt;
  2966. &lt;br /&gt;
  2967. But he wasn&amp;rsquo;t tight enough to lose it. Berdych broke at 2-2 in the third, when Gulbis double-faulted and missed a forehand badly at break point. From there, Berdych held out, but it still wasn&amp;rsquo;t easy. He lost two more match points at 5-4, before kicking a nasty second serve into Gulbis&amp;rsquo;s body for the win, on his sixth match point.&lt;br /&gt;
  2968. &lt;br /&gt;
  2969. Berdych advances to play the winner of Julien Benneteau and Jerzy Janowicz, and could be a tough out after surviving this one. As for Gulbis, I can&amp;rsquo;t say I like the new forehand. It involves a huge swooping motion with his left arm; by the time he gets around to swinging, he&amp;rsquo;s often on his back foot, and can look something like a tilting scarecrow as he hits.&lt;br /&gt;
  2970. &lt;br /&gt;
  2971. If there&amp;rsquo;s going to be a Gulbis resurrection, it won&amp;rsquo;t be his forehand technique that leads the way. It will be, as it is for every player, how he deals with the psychological ebbs and flows of a match. Today he hung in when he was behind, saving five match points. But he didn&amp;rsquo;t deal with success all that well. He squandered his own break points, and when he finally broke Berdych at 3-3 in the second, he immediately gave his serve back. Gulbis seemed bothered by having the lead, slamming a towel to the ground and jawing with his father in the stands.&lt;br /&gt;
  2972. &lt;br /&gt;
  2973. That was nothing compared to what Gulbis did with his racquet in the third set. Down a break at 3-4, he threw it to the court, watched it bounce high in the air above him, then threw it down again and shattered it. The sound was loud enough to force chair umpire Cedric Mourier to cover his ears. When Gulbis saw him do that, the two shared a laugh, a laugh that continued even as Mourier gave him a warning for racquet abuse.&lt;br /&gt;
  2974. &lt;br /&gt;
  2975. Hey, maybe it&amp;rsquo;s a sign of progress: At least Gulbis cares enough these days to crush his racquet. The smash and the laugh, after all, are part of what fans like about Ernie, and why they get their hopes up about him so easily.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/JsI00cHTqsM&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  2976.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/02/marseille-berdych-d-gulbis/46528/</guid>
  2977.         <pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2978.      </item>
  2979.      <item>
  2980.         <title>Viña del Mar: Zeballos d. Nadal</title>
  2981.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/jORCIfr4-TY/</link>
  2982.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  2983. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/02/10/Horacio.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:461px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Rafael Nadal arrived in Vi&amp;ntilde;a del Mar seeking to shake off the rust from his injury-induced seven-month absence from the sport. But as the copper-colored clay swirled around in Sunday&amp;#39;s final, Nadal couldn&amp;#39;t create separation from Horacio Zeballos and his dust-busting forehand.&lt;/p&gt;
  2984. &lt;p&gt;
  2985. Stepping into the court to smack his forehand with ambition, the 73&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt;-ranked Argentine delivered a stunning, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-4 upset of the seven-time French Open champion to capture his first career ATP title and spoil the fifth-ranked Spaniard&amp;rsquo;s comeback tournament.&lt;/p&gt;
  2986. &lt;p&gt;
  2987. Nadal carried a 15-match clay-court winning streak and commanding 36-4 record in clay-court finals&amp;mdash;only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had beaten Rafa at that stage&amp;mdash;into the title match against Zeballos, who was contesting his second ATP tour-level final. All this, combined with the fact that Nadal had not surrendered a set in the tournament&amp;mdash;and the reminder than he permitted just seven games to Zeballos in their lone prior meeting at the 2010 French Open&amp;mdash;combined to create an atmosphere of impending coronation among fans, many of whom waved and wore the Spanish flag.&lt;/p&gt;
  2988. &lt;p&gt;
  2989. None of that mattered much to the 27-year-old underdog, who opened the year winning the Sao Paulo Challenger and looked poised playing the role of party crasher. Zeballos played boldly at crunch time, winning eight straight points to close an improbable victory.&lt;/p&gt;
  2990. &lt;p&gt;
  2991. The first ATP all-lefty final since the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters saw both men attack with their forehands throughout a tight opening set. Nadal opened a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreaker and struck an inside-out forehand winner for set point. Anticipating Zeballos&amp;rsquo; wide serve, Nadal was off the doubles alley when he blasted a backhand return winner down the line to snatch the set with a fist-pumping flourish that brought the crowd to its feet.&lt;/p&gt;
  2992. &lt;p&gt;
  2993. Zeballos packs his pony-tail in a bun beneath his baseball cap, reminiscent of compatriot Gaston Gaudio, and unloads a sweeping swing on his forehand that recalls fellow Argentine left-handers Guillermo Vilas and Franco Squillari. Though Zeballos has 10 Challenger titles to his credit, consistency has been a challenge: He did not surpass the second round of an ATP event last year. Zeballos saved the only two break points in a second set that escalated into another tiebreaker.&lt;/p&gt;
  2994. &lt;p&gt;
  2995. Zeballos&amp;rsquo; forcing forehand and a biting serve brought the Argentine to set point at 6-4 in the breaker. Then, after fending off a barrage of heavy forehands, Nadal short-circuited a crackling rally with an angled backhand drop shot. Grunting himself into gear, Zeballos ran it down, but flicked a full-stretch forehand out, then proceeded to press a ball against his temple like a man pained by a bruise&amp;mdash;and worried into might swell into something much worse. When a backhand of sailed wide on the next point, it was six-all.&lt;/p&gt;
  2996. &lt;p&gt;
  2997. But this time, with Nadal serving, Zeballos sat on the backhand return and slammed his one-hander down the line&amp;mdash;a master strike that recalled Rafa&amp;rsquo;s backhand return winner in the first set breaker. It earned Zeballos another set point, and this time he didn&amp;#39;t blink. Opening the court with a punishing inside-out forehand, Zeballos waited for Nadal to make his move, then struck a sweeping forehand behind him to force a third set. It was the third tiebreaker Zeballos won this week&amp;mdash;he beat Albert Ramos, 7-6 (6), in the third set of the quarterfinals, and defeated Carlos Berlocq, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in the semifinals.&lt;/p&gt;
  2998. &lt;p&gt;
  2999. When Nadal broke at love to open the third set, it appeared order had been restored. But the former No. 1 did not consistently produce the depth on his groundstrokes and paid the price. Nadal saved two break points in the very next game, but blocked a forehand drop volley into the top of the net to immediately drop serve.&lt;/p&gt;
  3000. &lt;p&gt;
  3001. A brilliant backhand stab volley from Nadal helped him erase a break point and gut out a hold for 4-4. But rather than rue that lost opportunity, Zeballos was strengthened by the struggle. He slammed an ace wide to hold at love for 5-4 and ratchet up the pressure on Nadal, who was drifting a bit too far behind the baseline in prevent-defense mode.&lt;/p&gt;
  3002. &lt;p&gt;
  3003. Zeballos exploited Nadal&amp;#39;s court positioning with a forehand drop shot winner, then curled a gorgeous running forehand cross-court to shockingly earn triple match point. When Nadal found the net to end the two hour, 46-minute struggle, Zeballos fell flat on his back, collapsing to the court in a combination of exhilaration, relief, and disbelief. Some members of the crowd looked so astonished by the result that the initial reaction was a bit more muted than one might expect, but when Zeballos rose, his white Fila shirt caked in crushed red brick, the realization of the win struck all.&lt;/p&gt;
  3004. &lt;p&gt;
  3005. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;#39;s a dream for me,&amp;rdquo; said Zeballos afterward. &amp;ldquo;To be able to play a final against Nadal was already good enough for me. It&amp;#39;s a moment that will stay in my memory for the rest of my life.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
  3006. &lt;p&gt;
  3007. Zeballos never shook the clay that streaked his shirt or the smile plastered across his face, while Nadal must know the bulls-eye on his back grows larger after a stunning loss like this. Still, his game will grow sharper with each match.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/jORCIfr4-TY&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3008.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/02/vina-del-mar-zeballos-d-nadal/46375/</guid>
  3009.         <pubDate>Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3010.      </item>
  3011.      <item>
  3012.         <title>Doha: Gasquet d. Davydenko</title>
  3013.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/m6UHitjX3hs/</link>
  3014.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  3015. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/01/05/rg.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-top-style:solid;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;margin-left:10px;margin-right:10px;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;float:right;width:312px;height:512px;&quot;/&gt;When he stepped to the line to serve at 4-3 in the second set against Richard Gasquet today, Nikolay Davydenko had not been broken in Doha all week. He&amp;rsquo;d held 43 consecutive times. Two more and he would have his 22nd career title. He didn&amp;rsquo;t hold.&lt;/p&gt;
  3016. &lt;div&gt;
  3017. To that point, a Davydenko win had looked like a foregone conclusion. As he had &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.tennis.com/news/2013/01/doha-davydenko-d-ferrer/45861/&quot;&gt;the previous day&lt;/a&gt; in his demolition of top seed David Ferrer, the Russian had controlled the action against Gasquet. He had broken in the second game of the match, taken a 3-0 lead, and with little trouble had held out for the set, 6-3. Davydenko was standing on top of the baseline and punishing Gasquet with his customary lasers to the corners. After all of that offense, the Russian had closed the set with a sparkling bit of defense. Facing a break point at 5-3, Davydenko tracked down a brilliant Gasquet forehand and shot back a surprisingly hard slice that handcuffed him.&lt;/div&gt;
  3018. &lt;div&gt;
  3019. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3020. &lt;div&gt;
  3021. As for the Frenchman, after an early flurry of promising play at the net, he had been unable to fight his away anywhere near the baseline during most rallies. He settled for heavy topspin from deep in the court, and when he did have an opportunity, he became even more passive. Gasquet earned a break point in the second game of the second set, only to step back and let Davydenko connect on an easy forehand winner. When Davydenko held, and then broke Gasquet at 2-2 on an ill-advised serve and volley foray from the Frenchman, this one looked done and dusted.&lt;/div&gt;
  3022. &lt;div&gt;
  3023. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3024. &lt;div&gt;
  3025. It looked even more so one game later, when Davydenko earned two break points for a chance to go up 5-2 and serve for the title. This is when Davydenko, after being so dominant all week, finally lost that laser-like accuracy. He hit a backhand long on one breaker, and an easy forehand into the net on the next. Gasquet escaped and, in the next game, broke serve for the first time to level the set at 4-4.&lt;/div&gt;
  3026. &lt;div&gt;
  3027. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3028. &lt;div&gt;
  3029. Gasquet and his coach, Riccardo Piatti, had talked this week about his improved fitness, and that&amp;rsquo;s a big part of what won him this match. Yes, he spent much of his time deep in the court, but he eventually made that tactic, such as it was, work for him. He improved the depth and height on his shots as the match progressed, and watched as Davydenko imploded with 21 unforced errors in the second set, and 57 for the day.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3030. &lt;div&gt;
  3031. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3032. &lt;div&gt;
  3033. If the body is willing, the mind will often follow, and that&amp;rsquo;s the way it was for Gasquet, who was grittier than normal this week. At 4-4, 30-30 in the second set, he hit a an ace and a forehand winner to hold. He served well in taking the second-set tiebreaker and closed it with a confident smash. He managed to keep his head after Davydenko took a nine-minute injury timeout at the start of the third set after tweaking his hip. And he did what Davydenko couldn&amp;rsquo;t do in the second set, secure an insurance break, with a dynamic scrambling pass. After a nervous hiccup trying to serve it out at 5-2, Gasquet secured the win after one last backhand error from Davydenko, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.&lt;/div&gt;
  3034. &lt;div&gt;
  3035. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3036. &lt;div&gt;
  3037. A winding, tiring, and ultimately surprising Doha final ended with Gasquet&amp;rsquo;s eighth title, rather than Davydenko&amp;rsquo;s 22nd. Both will be players to watch in Melbourne.&lt;/div&gt;
  3038. &lt;div&gt;
  3039. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3040. &lt;div&gt;
  3041. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/m6UHitjX3hs&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3042.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/01/doha-gasquet-d-davydenko/45878/</guid>
  3043.         <pubDate>Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3044.      </item>
  3045.      <item>
  3046.         <title>Brisbane: S. Williams d. Pavlyuchenkova</title>
  3047.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/InWJQEScx_k/</link>
  3048.         <description>&lt;div&gt;
  3049. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/01/05/sw_.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:402px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;For four games, it looked like a match, potentially a very good match. It&amp;rsquo;s hard to remember now, but both Serena Williams and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova came out firing the ball in their final in Brisbane today. They split the first four points, all on winners, and each of them closed out their service games with aces. Williams powered through all of her strokes as expected, but Pavlyuchenkova stood her ground at the other baseline and powered them right back. At one point, she even forced Serena to go to her left hand, Sharapova-style, to retrieve a ball. It all looked a little improbable from the Russian&amp;rsquo;s perspective. She&amp;rsquo;s talented, but were her hands really that fast?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3050. &lt;div&gt;
  3051. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3052. &lt;div&gt;
  3053. They weren&amp;rsquo;t, it turned out. The first cracks in Pavs&amp;rsquo; armor showed at 2-3, and they only grew wider from there. In that game, Williams hit three solid forehand returns, and the Russian threw in a double fault. Serena had her break, and Anastasia never got close to breaking her back&amp;mdash;Williams lost just eight points on her serve over the course of what would be a 51-minute, 6-2, 6-1 win for her 47th career title, and first of what could be many more this season. Serena hit aces to each corner and winners with ease. To say it was &amp;ldquo;convincing&amp;rdquo; would be the understatement of the season thus far.&lt;/div&gt;
  3054. &lt;div&gt;
  3055. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3056. &lt;div&gt;
  3057. Pavlyuchenkova&amp;rsquo;s last and only chance came when she saved two break points at 0-1 in the second set. Serena looked a little tight on a netted forehand, but she came right back to win the game with a nicely anticipated forehand angle volley&amp;mdash;even Serena looked impressed with herself after that one. In the next game, Pavlyuchenkova came back from 30-0 down to 30-30 on Williams&amp;rsquo;s serve, but she shanked an easy backhand off a second ball and was never in the match again. She&amp;rsquo;s now 0-4 against Serena. It&amp;#39;s better to be able to move, rather than just hit, when you face the American. Pavs will always be a hitter first.&lt;/div&gt;
  3058. &lt;div&gt;
  3059. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3060. &lt;div&gt;
  3061. Still, with her wins over Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova, this was a strong week for Pavlyuchenkova, a former No. 1 junior with a big game who has struggled mightily to live up to her potential. She looks fitter, and her consistency has improved, but there wasn&amp;rsquo;t a whole lot she could have done tonight. Williams hit winners seemingly without risk, and was lethal and efficient in equal measures. But the most interesting stat to me was her first serve percentage: 55. That&amp;rsquo;s not even that great.&lt;/div&gt;
  3062. &lt;div&gt;
  3063. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3064. &lt;div&gt;
  3065. &amp;quot;Not even that great&amp;quot;: You never would have known it from watching.&lt;/div&gt;
  3066. &lt;div&gt;
  3067. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  3068. &lt;div&gt;
  3069. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/InWJQEScx_k&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3070.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/01/brisbane-s-williams-d-pavlyuchenkova/45866/</guid>
  3071.         <pubDate>Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3072.      </item>
  3073.      <item>
  3074.         <title>Doha: Davydenko d. Ferrer</title>
  3075.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/lo9kLwDw-Rw/</link>
  3076.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  3077. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/01/04/201301020804290560932-p2@stats.com.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:390px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;If today in Doha is any indication, you can forget that Rafael Nadal is on sick leave and focus on a Big Four consisting of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and ... Nikolay Davydenko.&lt;br /&gt;
  3078. &lt;br /&gt;
  3079. Alright, so Davydenko is ranked a modest No. 44. He&amp;rsquo;s 31, and has won just two titles in the last three years. Last year, he never even made a final. But if you saw the way he demolished world No. 5 David Ferrer in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-3, you might be more inclined to pencil him in over the Spaniard as next in line for that No. 4 ranking that Nadal is about to surrender.&lt;br /&gt;
  3080. &lt;br /&gt;
  3081. Davydenko routed one of the most combative, gritty, and consistent players of the past decade in a match that barely lasted an hour (officially, it was 1:04). Ferrer didn&amp;rsquo;t see a single break point, and he made 26 unforced errors to Davydenko&amp;rsquo;s 17. He also hit just six winners compared to the Russian&amp;rsquo;s 18.&lt;br /&gt;
  3082. &lt;br /&gt;
  3083. The word we&amp;rsquo;re looking for is one very rarely associated with anything Ferrer: &amp;ldquo;Blowout!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
  3084. &lt;br /&gt;
  3085. The most notable feature of the match was Davydenko&amp;rsquo;s ability to take care of his serve. It&amp;rsquo;s been a theme for him all week in Doha. It may be hard to believe, but the 5&amp;rsquo;10&amp;rdquo; veteran hasn&amp;rsquo;t dropped serve yet, and the book on him has always been that you can get into his service games and undermine his confidence.&lt;br /&gt;
  3086. &lt;br /&gt;
  3087. But truth be told, both of these baseliners turned the conventional wisdom on its ear today, relying on their serves as if they were natural-born attackers rather than defenders. Davydenko scored the first break with a one-two combination of a pretty backhand down-the-line winner followed by a tricky backhand that pulled Ferrer up to the net; it forced a volley error. That led to a 3-1 Davydenko lead, which threatened to become a two-break edge when Ferrer next served and fell behind 0-40. But Ferrer hit his way out of trouble, delivering three consecutive service winners to hold for 2-3.&lt;br /&gt;
  3088. &lt;br /&gt;
  3089. Davydenko followed with an impressive serving display of his own to hold quickly, and Ferrer wandered into danger again in the next game. Once again, he fell behind 0-40 as Davydenko unloaded a dazzling array of relatively flat and lethally angled groundstrokes to keep Ferrer on the run. Ferrer gamely fought off the first two break points but succumbed to the third following a nifty combination of groundies that brought Davydenko up to the net to claim the break with a volley winner. He then held with ease to take the first set in 28 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;
  3090. &lt;br /&gt;
  3091. You could be forgiven for groaning at that point and thinking, &amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;re in for a long one...&amp;rdquo; But Ferrer, now in panic mode, began a campaign to break Davydenko&amp;rsquo;s momentum by playing a lot of slice. That didn&amp;rsquo;t work out so well&amp;mdash;he had to save two break points just to survive the first game of the next set. The next five games rolled by quickly; the way Davydenko was clubbing the ball, it was clear we weren&amp;rsquo;t going to be watching a lot of long rallies. That, by the way, offers a clue to the question, &amp;ldquo;How do you beat Ferrer?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
  3092. &lt;br /&gt;
  3093. Davydenko made his final, critical breakthrough in the seventh game, once again rolling to a 0-40 lead on Ferrer&amp;rsquo;s serve. He didn&amp;rsquo;t allow Ferrer to sneak back into this one, though, slamming the door with a Nole-worthy inside-out forehand winner. Did Davydenko, ordinarily a shy and self-effacing type, really puff out chest and glare at the spot where the ball landed with that &amp;ldquo;Who&amp;rsquo;s the man?&amp;rdquo; glint in his eyes?&lt;br /&gt;
  3094. &lt;br /&gt;
  3095. All Davydenko had to do then was keep his nerve. He accomplished that with ease as a dispirited Ferrer allowed yet another hold, then fell behind 30-40 on serve. Davydenko converted the match point when he ended a rally with yet another, final, backhand winner.&lt;br /&gt;
  3096. &lt;br /&gt;
  3097. I&amp;rsquo;ve always like Davydenko&amp;rsquo;s game better than that of Ferrer, and this match demonstrated why. When you can take the ball early, hit relatively flat, scamper around the court nimbly and pick your angles, even a grinder extraordinaire like Ferrer can be rendered powerless.&lt;br /&gt;
  3098. &lt;br /&gt;
  3099. Now let&amp;rsquo;s see you do it again, Kolya.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/lo9kLwDw-Rw&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3100.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/01/doha-davydenko-d-ferrer/45861/</guid>
  3101.         <pubDate>Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3102.      </item>
  3103.      <item>
  3104.         <title>Brisbane: S. Williams d. Stephens</title>
  3105.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/t8VEbbie4vk/</link>
  3106.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  3107. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2013/01/03/201301030408149193449-p2@stats.com.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:470px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;There is a tendency to compare Sloane Stephens to Serena Williams, and it&amp;rsquo;s understandable: Both African-Americans have enjoyed success in the pros at a young age and can overpower opponents with blistering shots. The two are close off the court as well, with Serena serving as a mentor to her Fed Cup teammate.&lt;br /&gt;
  3108. &lt;br /&gt;
  3109. But the comparison falls short in one respect: The way the two express themselves on court. There&amp;rsquo;s no guesswork needed to figure out how Serena&amp;rsquo;s feeling&amp;mdash;just watch her facial reactions, listen to her points, and take note of how hard she&amp;rsquo;s hitting her returns. Stephens, on the other hand, exhibits a quiet confidence, all the way down to the way she strikes her shots, which have more spin than splat. It served her very well today in Brisbane, even in defeat. For although Serena prevailed, 6-4, 6-3, Stephens&amp;rsquo; demeanor and determination made this quarterfinal into a memorable, high-quality contest that often brought out the best in both women.&lt;br /&gt;
  3110. &lt;br /&gt;
  3111. Stephens did a little tightrope-walking early on, despite matching Serena&amp;rsquo;s service holds through eight games. The 19-year-old got away with some soft second serves&amp;mdash;once paying homage to Agnieszka Radwanska with a &amp;ldquo;squat shot&amp;rdquo; winner&amp;mdash;and managed to snag points she was seemingly out of. But although some of this could be chalked up to Serena errors, Stephens&amp;rsquo; poise must be commended. She can reset rallies with looping, accurate groundstrokes, then use those shots to create advantageous angles. Many of Serena&amp;rsquo;s errors came when she was on the run, but it was Stephens who forced that movement. That put the elder countrywoman into some pressure-filled situations, including facing a break point at 3-3. Serena wiped it away with an ace.&lt;br /&gt;
  3112. &lt;br /&gt;
  3113. Like her attitude, Serena&amp;rsquo;s serve can sometimes come across as cavalier, but no matter what you think about it, it&amp;rsquo;s the biggest difference between herself and her opponents, and Stephens was no exception. The most powerful shot in the WTA made life difficult for Stephens as she returned&amp;mdash;though Serena rarely got through service games unscathed&amp;mdash;and put added importance on the teenager&amp;rsquo;s own service games. Up 40-15 while serving to stay in the first set at 5-4, Stephens made the cardinal sin of not finishing off Serena when she could. Four points later, the set was over. Serena made it so with smart second-serve returns, eschewing power for placement.&lt;br /&gt;
  3114. &lt;br /&gt;
  3115. Power was never far from reach, though, for both women, and Stephens&amp;rsquo; continuous improvement in the first set suggested that she wouldn&amp;rsquo;t fade away. And had she converted a break point in the opening game of the second set&amp;mdash;earned with a clean forehand winner up the line&amp;mdash;Stephens might still be out on the court as I type this. But as we&amp;rsquo;ve seen so many times, both today and in matches past, Serena&amp;rsquo;s serve came to the rescue, and it was 1-0 with a hold. The pattern was established once again.&lt;br /&gt;
  3116. &lt;br /&gt;
  3117. Serena was hardly automatic in this match, but she methodically built up her score with more powerful shots, while Stephens countered with an astute performance that belies her young age. Her quiet confidence was evident in the second set, perhaps her best of the two despite winning one less game. You saw it on Stephens&amp;#39; face, how she carried herself, and even when she challenged a fault call on her first serve&amp;mdash;naturally, it was reversed.&lt;br /&gt;
  3118. &lt;br /&gt;
  3119. But the pattern from the first set did not disappear, and after a light first serve in the eighth game, Serena earned a break point, which she won at net for a 5-3 lead. A big &amp;ldquo;Come on!&amp;rdquo; cry followed the winner, just as it did at one instance in the first set, something &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.changeovertennis.com/video-sloane-stephens-calls-serena-williams-come-ons-disrespectful/&quot;&gt;Stephens called &amp;ldquo;disrespectful&amp;rdquo;&lt;/a&gt; during a chat with her coach. It was another illustration of the difference between the two, but in Serena&amp;rsquo;s mind, Stephens and her will have another similarity soon enough: After Williams held serve for the win, the former No. 1 declared that Stephens &amp;ldquo;can be the best in the world one day.&amp;rdquo; That&amp;rsquo;s a pretty confident statement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/t8VEbbie4vk&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3120.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/01/brisbane-s-williams-d-stephens/45840/</guid>
  3121.         <pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3122.      </item>
  3123.      <item>
  3124.         <title>Davis Cup Final: Stepanek d. Almagro</title>
  3125.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/aWidLHCXCss/</link>
  3126.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  3127. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  3128. &lt;p&gt;
  3129. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2012/11/18/2012_11_18_StepsRRinside.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:497px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;Could Czech fans have felt confident about their team&amp;rsquo;s Davis Cup fate resting with Radek Stepanek? The 33-year-old is best known for the belly-flopping post-match celebrations he once offered up, not that he ever got to show off The Worm all that often. He&amp;rsquo;s won only five singles titles in his long career, all at minor tournaments. One of the reasons for this limited success is obvious enough: Stepanek is the player that time forgot; he&amp;rsquo;s held onto a flying, whack-and-attack style that went out of fashion with the mullet.&lt;br /&gt;
  3130. &lt;br /&gt;
  3131. But Spanish fans probably didn&amp;rsquo;t feel any better about having to rely on Nicolas Almagro. The 27-year-old Spaniard, ranked 11th in the world, has loads of talent but has never known quite what to do with it, especially in big matches. He&amp;rsquo;s reached just three major quarterfinals in his career, all at the French Open.&lt;br /&gt;
  3132. &lt;br /&gt;
  3133. Old Man Stepanek, with his Mick Jagger lips and rock &amp;rsquo;n&amp;rsquo; roll showmanship, had to be considered the favorite coming into the match, for Almagro is a claycourt guy to his core and Prague&amp;rsquo;s O2 Arena has been playing like a bowling alley.&amp;nbsp; Stepanek delivered in the decider, scoring a 6-4, 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3 victory to clinch the Davis Cup for the Czech Republic.&lt;br /&gt;
  3134. &lt;br /&gt;
  3135. Of course, Davis Cup is as much about emotions and guts as it is about match ups. So it was no surprise that both players were tense and nervy early on. Stepanek clanked his groundstrokes repeatedly in his first service game. Almagro gave up two doubles faults in his. But both men held and settled in for the long haul.&lt;br /&gt;
  3136. &lt;br /&gt;
  3137. Stepanek made the first move, going for outlandish winners from the baseline and picking volleys off his shoes. He earned the first set point at 4-5 with a brilliant series of checkerboard moves, sending Almagro sprinting to and fro at oblique angles until the Spaniard simply ran out of court. The Czech then nailed down the set with a thumping backhand service return that Almagro couldn&amp;rsquo;t handle. Stepanek marched off the court, fist held high, biceps and lips plumped to the bursting point.&lt;br /&gt;
  3138. &lt;br /&gt;
  3139. It was clear how much this meant to the combatants: two second-tier players in the deciding rubber of a Davis Cup final. They both recognized that this match could be key to how they&amp;rsquo;ll be remembered in their sport -- or if they&amp;rsquo;ll be remembered.&lt;br /&gt;
  3140. &lt;br /&gt;
  3141. True to the stakes, the match immediately proved highly entertaining, far more so than the David Ferrer-Tomas Berdych match that set it up. The difference early on was Stepanek&amp;rsquo;s variety: on a good day and up against a player outside the Top 10, he can make you believe serve-and-volley tennis really does still have a place in professional tennis. But most of all, he moved exceptionally well, hitting his forehand on the dead run with a muscular flick of the wrist, and scrambling for every shot. Almagro, on the other hand, sometimes looked like he was on Heathrow&amp;rsquo;s moving walkway, easing toward the ball with an odd, glassy-eyed detachment.&lt;br /&gt;
  3142. &lt;br /&gt;
  3143. To be sure, Almagro&amp;rsquo;s sleepy countenance can be deceiving. After struggling to hold serve early in the second set, the Spaniard came alive with a whiplash down-the-line backhand winner. He turned the momentum by breaking Stepanek and then quickly holding for a 4-2 lead. Just like that, it no longer felt like a fair fight. Watching Almagro bang down huge serves and unleash that wicked one-handed backhand, you can only wonder why he hasn&amp;rsquo;t had more success on hard courts.&lt;br /&gt;
  3144. &lt;br /&gt;
  3145. The thing is, as soon as anyone starts thinking such thoughts about Almagro, he starts missing shots by half a foot. Stepanek cleverly drew the Spaniard forward on a break point and then used a he-man forehand-backhand combination to level the match at 4-all.&lt;br /&gt;
  3146. &lt;br /&gt;
  3147. The battle raged on into a tiebreak, but Stepanek was willing to leave more of himself out there, including skin and blood after diving for a volley. The Czech hit hard, flat groundstrokes that often skipped the net, and he carved angled volleys to within a breath of the lines. The intensity from across the net proved too much for Almagro. The Spaniard stepped back onto the moving walkway and watched the tiebreak pass him by, 7-0.&lt;br /&gt;
  3148. &lt;br /&gt;
  3149. That should have been the end of Almagro. In any of the majors, it would have been the end of him. But this was Davis Cup, and Stepanek was playing his third best-of-five match in as many days. In the third set, Almagro hardly looked like a man on the ropes. He served big and hit out when he had to, and Stepanek let him do it. The set quickly went to the Spaniard, 6-3. Was Stepanek, looking increasingly bedraggled, suddenly in trouble?&lt;br /&gt;
  3150. &lt;br /&gt;
  3151. Nope. He just wanted to make things a little more interesting. After scoring an early break, he continued to swoop forward, knocking off volleys straight out of a dog-eared copy of Rod Laver&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ldquo;228 Tennis Tips.&amp;rdquo; The Big Game is still a beautiful thing, and it can still rattle an opponent &amp;mdash; especially a claycourt specialist on an indoor hard court. The mood became a little testy in the 4-2 game when partisans in the crowd decided to get into the line-calling business and Stepanek&amp;rsquo;s forehand started looking a little tight. But the Czech veteran held, pushing Almagro&amp;rsquo;s back right up against the wall. In Stepanek&amp;rsquo;s next service game, he smacked two big serves to reach match point. The end came with Almagro dropping a backhand into the net, giving the Czech Republic its first Davis Cup title as an independent country and Stepanek a secure place in tennis history books.&lt;/p&gt;
  3152. &lt;div style=&quot;width:620px;height:429px;margin:0 auto;&quot;&gt;
  3153. &lt;div id=&quot;perf167w9bfu7l27s1aq4njlck6ebi-1b0u4d9ubxcs012mziuu8rx1lm&quot;&gt;
  3154. &lt;a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Get Adobe Flash player&quot; src=&quot;http://images.eplayer.performgroup.com/namedImage/12637/install_flash.gif&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  3155. &lt;/div&gt;
  3156. &lt;p&gt;
  3157. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/aWidLHCXCss&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
  3158.         <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2012/11/davis-cup-final-stepanek-d-almagro/40162/</guid>
  3159.         <pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3160.      </item>
  3161.      <item>
  3162.         <title>Davis Cup Final: Ferrer d. Berdych</title>
  3163.         <link>http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~3/bhNU24GBPdo/</link>
  3164.         <description>&lt;p&gt;
  3165. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn.tennis.com/uploads/wysiwyg/2012/11/18/201211180735273145625-p2@stats.com.jpg&quot; style=&quot;width:300px;height:450px;border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:10px;float:right;&quot;/&gt;We all knew from the start that Tomas Berdych was primed to be the hero of this Davis Cup final. Eleven-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who bested Berdych in the 2010 Wimbledon final, decided to stay home to rest his knees a while longer. And the tie was being played in Prague on what Spanish captain Alex Corretja called &amp;ldquo;the fastest surface of the year.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
  3166. &lt;br /&gt;
  3167. But high expectations at home can be rough in this competition. Just ask Ilie Nastase, who famously called his team a &amp;ldquo;10:1 favorite&amp;rdquo; when Romania had home-court advantage against the U.S. in 1972. Or Juan Martin del Potro, whose Argentinian team faced Spain in Mar del Plata four years ago. Romania and Argentina still haven&amp;rsquo;t won the sterling silver trophy.&lt;br /&gt;
  3168. &lt;br /&gt;
  3169. Sure enough, Berdych struggled against Nicolas Almagro on Friday, needing five sets to beat a player who&amp;rsquo;s never reached a tournament final on anything but clay. After that rubber, which leveled the tie at 1-all, Corretja floated the idea that Almagro&amp;rsquo;s four-hour loss was all part of the plan, that Spain was using the rope-a-dope on Berdych. Let the 6&amp;rsquo;5&amp;rdquo; Czech punch himself out in the first two days (he and Radek Stepanek beat Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers in four sets yesterday in doubles), so on the last day diminutive David Ferrer could score a knockout against the Czech Republic&amp;rsquo;s number-one player and spark a comeback for the visitors. Which he did, to the score of 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.&lt;br /&gt;
  3170. &lt;br /&gt;
  3171. Nerves and fatigue certainly appeared to be a factor right from the start as Berdych, after drifting three feet behind the baseline, lofted a backhand long to give Ferrer a break in the second game. The &amp;ldquo;ice rink&amp;rdquo; court at Prague&amp;rsquo;s O2 Arena started to look like a bad choice for the Czech Republic, which was going for its first Davis Cup as an independent nation. (Ivan Lendl, in the arena today, led Czechoslovakia to the crown back in 1980.) Spain might be a clay-loving country, but Ferrer had beaten Berdych more than once on fast, hard surfaces. And here he was, cranking inside-out forehands and down-the-line backhands, crouching into each stroke as if taking a gut shot at close range. He went up 3-0 in a matter of minutes and cruised to a 6-2 first set.&lt;br /&gt;
  3172. &lt;br /&gt;
  3173. The match remained utterly without tension in the second set, with the only question being whether Ferrer would run away with the match. Horns blared and cheers erupted with every Berdych point, but the crowd didn&amp;rsquo;t really seem up for willing their man to victory. This couldn&amp;rsquo;t have been a surprise to any serious tennis fan. Like Lendl before him, Berdych has never been all that lovable. Defensive about being kept just outside the Grand Slam winner&amp;rsquo;s circle year after year, the glowering, big-hitting 27-year-old often comes across as self-satisfied and harried at the same time, like Harry Lime up on that Vienna Ferris wheel.&lt;br /&gt;
  3174. &lt;br /&gt;
  3175. Ferrer has handled his own perennial bridesmaid status much better. Undersized and floppy-haired, the 30-year-old Spaniard is a natural underdog and uses it to his advantage. The small Spanish contingent in the crowd was behind him, and the Czech fans, though certainly not for him, weren&amp;rsquo;t against him. That was enough for the world&amp;rsquo;s fifth ranked player. Whereas Berdych was sluggish and out of synch, Ferrer was an unwavering electric current. When he dug out a beautifully angled inside-out forehand from Berdych and followed it with a forehand winner to break early in the second set, no one had any doubt about the outcome of the match. Ferrer easily took the set 6-3, offering up only four unforced errors.&lt;br /&gt;
  3176. &lt;br /&gt;
  3177. The third set offered more of the same. Berdych fought on for hearth and home, even earning back a break for 4-all, but it was just for show. Ferrer broke again and served at 6-5. When Berdych dumped a forehand in the net to send the tie to a fifth and deciding rubber, Ferrer dropped to his knees in joy. His opponent, meanwhile, stared vacantly into the mists as he headed to the sidelines.&lt;br /&gt;
  3178. &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
  3179. Berdych won two rubbers at this Davis Cup Final, but he wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be the final-day hero.&lt;/p&gt;
  3180. &lt;div style=&quot;width:620px;height:429px;margin:0 auto;&quot;&gt;
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  3183. &lt;/div&gt;
  3184. &lt;p&gt;
  3185. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/racquet-reaction/~4/bhNU24GBPdo&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;/&gt;</description>
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  3187.         <pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
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  3191. <!-- fe2.yql.bf1.yahoo.com compressed/chunked Thu Oct  1 23:32:19 UTC 2015 -->
  3192.  

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

  1. Download the "valid RSS" banner.

  2. Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)

  3. Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//feeds.tennis.com/tenniscom-all-blogs%3Fformat%3Dxml

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