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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Stan Wawrinka Breaks Through the Big 4, Beats Rafael Nadal....
Stan Wawrinka wins the Australian Open Sunday The message of Stan Wawrinka and his incredible win at the Australian Open Sunday over Rafael Nadal, a few days after his incredible win over Novak...
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: From Valedictorians to Class Clowns, Here are Grades for the...
Maria Sharapova icing down during a match Stan Wawrinka, next banner up Genie Bouchard. Next. We got an inspirational new champion, a re-invented former champion, a few possible future champions and...
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Maui Vacation Refreshing. Davis Cup, Fed Cup Stale
This is where I live, in Chicagoland: So this is where I went for a while, to Maui: I can’t tell you how bad I feel that this is what I missed: Yes, Serena Williams...
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Tennis Finally Wakes up, Accepts Gate-Crasher Bollettieri into Party
Nick Bollettieri and Andre Agassi in the early days At Wimbledon last year, I met with Nick Bollettieri and we talked about his two favorite subjects: tennis and, well, Nick Bollettieri. I told him...
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FRENCH OPEN: Massive Reporting Blunder Dominates…Uh, Little Mistake Goes Viral
This was embarrassing. The big early story at the French Open, the thing that had gotten attention in the U.S. more than Venus or Serena or Rafa or Roger or Novak, was this: “Reporter makes absolute...
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FRENCH OPEN Dominance Done: Serena Williams Loses More than a Match
This one mattered. You try not to make too much out of one tennis match, but Serena Williams’ blowout loss to Garbine Muguruza in the second round of the French Open really seemed to have a lasting...
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FRENCH OPEN Ten Years of Donald Young. Time for Another Look?
Donald Young celebrates during French Open win over Feliciano Lopez If we have learned anything from Donald Young over the years, it’s that the time to talk about his emergence is now. Today. As in,...
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FRENCH OPEN: Federer Modernizes Racquet, Not Game. Needs New Math to Become...
Roger Federer Loses to Ernests Gulbis It took years to talk Roger Federer into switching to a modern racquet, even though the need for it was so obvious. Now, it’s apparently going to take a while to...
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FRENCH OPEN: Old Lady Sharapova, Erases Generation, Becomes Queen of Clay
In the end, this French Open will be remembered for the Old Lady, I guess. If that’s what we can call Maria Sharapova. She’s just 27, but she single-handedly wiped out a moment that was all about the...
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WIMBLEDON: Retaliation for Crip Walk? Lisicki Gets Honors over Serena Williams
Sabine Lisicki reached the Wimbledon final last year. Officially, that’s why she was selected to play the opening women’s singles match Tuesday at the All England Club. I wish I believed that’s the...
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WIMBLEDON: Sloane Stephens Loses in 1st Round. Hype was Wrong, Unfair
Sloane Stephens isn’t living up to expectations. First there was the loss to Simona Halep in the battle of Generation We-Got-Next at the French Open, and on Monday she lost to Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 7-6...
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WIMBLEDON: One Player Still Scared of Serena Williams: It’s Serena Williams
Serena Williams’ fear factor isn’t gone. It has just found a new victim. She isn’t scaring other players anymore. Instead, she’s scaring herself. It happens. Your name, your history, your age, your...
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WIMBLEDON: Rafael Nadal Losing to Nick Kyrgios not as Shocking as it Looks....
Nick Kyrgios is just 19 years old. He isn’t ranked in the top 140. As of a week ago, he’d won just one match this year above tennis’ minor leagues. He didn’t earn his way into Wimbledon, but instead...
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WIMBLEDON: Serena Fumbling Around. Question, but Don’t Assume Worst
Questions are fair. Assumptions are not. And I think people are crossing the line on Serena Williams’ bizarre actions the other day, when she couldn’t catch the ball, couldn’t hold the ball, couldn’t...
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WIMBLEDON: Genie Bouchard Goes from Tennis’ Next Big Thing to its Biggest...
The theme of the match was Genie Bouchard, her emergence. That’s what the moment was about. Tennis has a new superstar, one who is young, fresh, and tough as nails with marketers already drooling...
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WIMBLEDON: Novak Djokovic Beats Roger Federer, Wins Title, Ends Career, Um,...
When Novak Djokovic was younger and still on the outskirts of greatness, he was always known for his melodrama. It was one overplayed ailment after another. And the crowd in New York booed him, and...
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WIMBLEDON: That Wasn’t an End for Roger Federer. It was the Start of his...
We are too fast to bring in the next generation, and now, in the case of Roger Federer, too quick to kick out the old. So many people have characterized Federer’s five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in...
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: The Myth of Sloane and ESPN’s Role in It
Sloane Stephens’ arrival was always a myth. That’s the cold truth. American tennis is so desperate for something to hold on to that Stephens was promoted from prospect to arrival to star even...
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Tennis has Smyczek’s Moment of Sportsmanship, NFL has...
Four hours into the fight Wednesday, Tim Smyczek, Packers fan from Milwaukee, was sticking with Rafael Nadal, greatest player of all time, at the Australian Open. It was one of those moments when you...
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Roger Federer Falls Flat. Age Doesn’t Have to Look Like This...
Forgive Roger Federer for getting old. It happens, and at this point he can still deal with it. But does that mean he has to be scared and stupid, too? Federer lost to Andreas Seppi 6-4, 7-6 (7-5),...
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