Category Archives: Grand Slams
Sometimes The Moment Gets You
Australian Open, First Round (Day One) Tomic d. (22) Verdasco, 4/6 6/7 6/4 6/2 7/5 (13) Dolgopolov d. Jones, 1/6 4/6 6/2 6/2 6/2 “Is that Greg Jones? The one with the ponytail?†asked the sun-pinked lady behind me in … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Luck of the Draw: Australian Open 2012
For those men currently battling the elements and, sporadically, each other in the Australian Open qualifying tournament, the news that two of their number have drawn Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the main draw must … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Total Saturation
Australian Open Qualifying, Day Two To live in Australia is to be never entirely free of sport, unless you are maniacally bent on avoiding it. This is especially true of Melbourne, which rightly prides itself on being the sporting capital … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
The Elementalists
Australian Open Qualifying, Day One Kooyong, Day One Like the scarred face of a basalt cliff, tennis in Melbourne today was destined to be shaped indelibly by the vast frictions of air and water. The forecast was for strong winds … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
The Match of the Year 2011
Here are my top ten matches for the 2011 season, as I saw them. Lists such as this are inevitably skewed towards the top players, for reasons that should be more or less self-evident. First, the top players are at … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour, Davis Cup, Grand Slams, Players
The Right of Might
The last major of 2011 is done with, which for a vast proportion of tennis fans ostensibly concludes the tennis season itself. The truly committed – or those merely facing committal – of course know otherwise, since the Asian swing … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Never In Doubt
US Open, Final (1) Djokovic d. (2) Nadal, 6/2 6/4 6/7 6/1 When Rafael Nadal opened today’s US Open final by breaking Novak Djokovic with the utmost belligerence and moving to a two games to nothing lead, the writing was … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Wholly Sam Stosur
US Open, Women’s Final (9) Stosur d. (28) S. Williams, 6/2 6/3 I don’t usually post about women’s tennis – entirely because I don’t know enough about the players, and it always pays to limit your scope – but I … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Favouring The Brave
US Open, Semifinals (1) Djokovic d. (3) Federer, 6/7 4/6 6/3 6/2 7/5 Roger Federer was defeated in the US Open semifinals after leading two sets to love, the second time he has lost from that position in as many … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Divertimento
US Open, Quarterfinals For the third time in a major, the Big Four make up the final four, an outcome that was apparently so unlikely as to be unforeseeable, even if the odds on it were reasonable. Now that it … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams