Can Federer dent Nadal’s dominance?
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer will compete on Friday at Roland Garros. They are the two best players, without a doubt, and maybe someone else will pass them. But not now, because not only are they so intelligent, on court, they are also brilliant when they decide which way they will go. They both have […]
Ash Barty always improving, to face Madison Keys
Many years ago, the Australian Evonne Goolagong won the French Open in 1971, which was a little bit surprising. She did win the Australian Open five times, and she also won Wimbledon, twice. That was on the hardcourts and the grass. But at Roland Garros, it was on clay, so it was difficult, to slide […]
The creative Djokovic wins Madrid, now playing Rome
Years ago, the No. 1 Novak Djokovic could not figure out on clay, he was pretty decent, but not fantastic. But now, the Serbian more or less knows how to construct his points. On Sunday, Djokovic won Madrid, beating the young but tired Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4. He has won 14 Grand Slams, and he […]
Who’s the favorite the French Open?
“Who’s the favorite for fabulous France? There are a lot, which is another way of saying there isn’t one at all. One day, the two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova might actually become No. 1 — she has been so close over the previous 10 years — and it could be on the clay courts. […]
Guess what? Federer and Barty wins Miami
Roger Federer was dominant again. In Miami, he was darn good, almost every match, crushing with his hard-to-read serve, his spinning backhand, his massive forehand, and he was intelligent at the net. He is 37-year-old now, but he really isn’t aging on court. He is not slow, and he can slip to catch it. He […]
Preposterous? Nadal and Barty win Roland Garros
OK, Roland Garros is over. Finished. Done. It is on the grass now, most of it is in England. There is almost clay throughout the year, and the same thing goes with the hardcourts. But before thinking about the famous Wimbledon, there are a few thoughts about the French Open champions Rafa Nadal and Ash […]
Nadal, Federer cruising in Paris
In is possible that Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer will meet in the semis at Roland Garros. They have a long way to go, three more matches to win, and for sure, whomever they play, they will be the favorites. However, anytime, any day, they can break down. With Nadal and Federer, that has been […]
Halep can actually win Roland Garros again
It must have rained on Monday in Paris, a beautiful, fascinating place. Last year, at Roland Garros, the now defending champion Simona Halep was in the third set, in the final. She did not back off, as she had in 2014 against Maria Sharapova. Five years ago she was in her first Slam final and […]
Ole Madrid: Who can take on Nadal?
Rafa Nadal loves clay. The Spaniard has won it everything, at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. But, over the last couple weeks, he lost to Fabio Fognini in the semis in France, and then he went down in Spain against Dominic Thiem. In mid-March, at Indian Wells on hardcourts, he pulled out […]
The fantastic Mr. Federer, back on clay
The last time that the fantastic Roger Federer played at Roland Garros was in 2015. He went down in the quarterfinals and he seemed done at this event. He could certainly still win on grass, or on the hardcourts, but on clay, in Paris, the 20-time Grand Slam champion has only won it once during […]