The greatest tennis matches, the mano-a-mano duels that echo through the pages of time, manage to connect the sport’s fans with a proud and storied past. Friday night in Melbourne, Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco created a consummate classic that will age gracefully in the longer run of history. Less than seven months after his [...]

This time, Serena Williams did not blink. Having been fortunate to escape her quarterfinal match against Russian Svetiana Kuznetsova and having lost to semifinal opponent Elena Dementieva the last three times they played, Serena Williams arrived at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne with icy resolve. Displaying a power game, Serena took Elena’s best shots [...]

Watching Roger Federer play tennis is like watching truly gifted performers in any theater. In business, sport, politics and life, the great performers know how to take their talents to the next level. In the game of tennis, the greatest performer of all time is unquestionably Switzerland’s 28 year old tennis magician and maestro Roger [...]

Based on the way she had been playing in the 2009 Australian Open, Dinara Safina figured to have a long day at the office in Thursday’s semifinal match against Vera Zvonareva. The younger sister of Marat Safin–who, like her brother, is similarly prone to pronounced fluctuations in both temperament and on-court quality–didn’t look like the [...]

Before the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his ascendant career, Gilles Simon told a pool of reporters that he’d need to run for five hours in order to beat Rafael Nadal. “I have no choice,” Simon said. The press corps laughed at the Frenchman’s comment, but any knowledgeable tennis analyst had to realize how true [...]