Year after year, experts repeat the same mantra about the Australian Open: expect upsets. “Tennis’s annual surprise party,” read one headline years ago about the first Grand Slam of the tennis year. But in the past decade, compared to the other majors, the Happy Slam has resembled more of a Somber Slam for underdogs. Despite […]
For the first time since 1945, there will be no Wimbledon this year. And there’s no guarantee that the coronavirus pandemic won’t yet cancel the U.S. Open, scheduled to start in late August, and the French Open, which was postponed from May to September. If the rest of the 2020 tennis season is abandoned altogether, […]
The match was riveting and intense, lasting 3 hours and 59 minutes. But in the end, the result was what we’ve come to expect: The old men of tennis still rule. Novak Djokovic beat Dominic Thiem on Sunday in a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 final at the Australian Open. The win gave Djokovic his […]
It’s not quite a first serve. It’s certainly not a typical second serve. Then what is it? It’s a hybrid of the two, and Novak Djokovic has brought it out to play in 2020. The 16-time Grand Slam champion has added an eye-catching 6 mph this year to his average second serve speed. Through the […]
When the Australian Open begins Monday in Melbourne, there’s one clear reason to watch: Serena Williams, after two years of falling just short, could finally win her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie her with Margaret Court for the most all-time. Williams won the ASB Classic last week in New Zealand — the […]