Tag Archives: del Potro
Those Masters Of Bright Shadow
Basel, Final (2) del Potro d. (1) Federer, 6/4 6/7 7/6 Despite some less than divine form, Roger Federer had reached a seventh consecutive final at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. There he was fated to face Juan Martin del … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Hearts of Gold
Vienna, Stockholm, Moscow, Finals There were three ATP finals played almost concurrently last night, or yesterday depending on your time zone of preference. All of them took place in continental Europe, and each of them was played under a roof. … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Extraordinary Rendition
US Open, Quarterfinals I have a colleague at my workplace – that place I periodically adjourn to in order to recover from the rigours of unremunerated tennis blather – who to my knowledge cannot enjoy a meal without first drenching … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Twenty-Eight Days Later
Olympic Games, Gold Medal Match (3) Murray d. (1) Federer, 6/2 6/1 6/4 As Andy Murray’s fifth and final ace punched vigorously into Centre Court’s temporarily hideous back hoarding, and the fact that he’d now won the Olympic gold medal … Continue reading
Filed under ITF
The Stories We Tell
Olympic Games, Day Seven (1) Federer d. del Potro, 3/6 7/6 19/17 My long Friday night was already repurposing itself into a never-ending Saturday morning when Roger Federer commenced the rambling sequence of holds that would ensure his ultimate victory … Continue reading
Filed under ITF
Fancy Chances
Olympic Games, Day Six The four semifinalists of the Olympic tennis event have been decided, following a day of men’s quarterfinals almost entirely devoid of drama. None of the four matches extended into a third hour, or a deciding set, … Continue reading
Filed under ITF
Temazepam Tuesday
Wimbledon, Day Eight (7) Ferrer d. (9) del Potro, 6/3 6/2 6/3 Less than twenty-four hours after Mikhail Youzhny realised his secret lifelong goal of reaching the quarterfinal stage at all four majors – the fact that he has previously … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Les Particules élémentaires
French Open, Day Ten Much like other radioactive substances, the tournament draw at the 2012 French Open cleaves to a more or less fixed rate of exponential decay, weather permitting. After a slow start, the event discards precisely half its … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
The Drama Category
Rome Masters, Third Round Seppi d. Wawrinka, 6/7 7/6 7/6 The question of why Rome is my favourite Masters tournament was addressed with devastating intensity by Andreas Seppi and Stanislas Wawrinka on Court Nicola Pietrangeli today, ably supported by a … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Lavish Set Dressing
Rome Masters, Second Round Of the nine Masters Series events that liberally pepper each tennis season, Rome’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia is my favourite. I was recently asked to explain this preference, and came up with, in no particular order: the … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour