Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had never played Nicolas Almagro. It almost didn't seem like a fair fight. Almagro, after all, had a broken wrist. But fortunately, it was his left wrist that was broken, and he's a righty with a one-handed backhand. Almagro's known for his big serve and power hitting, but Tsonga is the flash Frenchman.
For those who don't know Nikolay Davydenko's record against Fernando Verdasco, they might think the flashy Spaniard would have a good shot beating Davydenko. And yet, the head-to-head record is 6-1 to Davydenko. Historically, Davydenko's ability to take the ball off the rise has neutralized the big-hitting Verdasco. Still, Verdasco is in the top 10,
Sometime in the 1990s, Mary Carillo, she of the flowery phrases, coined a term "big babe tennis". Carillo was already observing a trend in women's tennis. Dainty, petite players like Chris Evert and Tracy Austin were being supplanted by big women. Big often implied two things. "Big babes" were tall, often around 6 feet tall
They say the second week of any Slam is where the big boys come to play. Nowhere is this more literal than Day 7 of the Australian Open. Today, the tallest men left in the draw were all on tap. First up, John Isner. John Isner stands 6'9" with some claiming he's taller than that.
Day 6 saw the top men in a game of one-ups-manship. Anything you can do, I can do better. Roger Federer played 31st seed Albert Montanes. Montanes is a veteran of the tour having played for a little over 10 years. Perhaps like Ivo Karlovic, Montanes is playing some of his best tennis ever. Sure,
Looking through the draw of any Slam, you're likely to notice a lot of Spaniards. And a lot of Frenchman. Who knew the Pyrenees would divide two prolific tennis playing countries? You wouldn't see a lot of Americans, certainly, not many top 50 Americans, and it might lead you to ask "What happened to all
John Isner. Gael Monfils. The average tennis fan has probably heard of one, but not the other, and possibly neither. Monfils, the talented and athletic Frenchman, would seem like the shoo-in favorite to beat John Isner. Yet, if you looked at their head-to-head, it's Isner who leads 2-1, and all 3 meetings have been closer.
Perhaps it's because he lacks the youthful appearance of Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Or the moody dysfunction of Marat Safin. Or that he's never reached the finals of any Slam. Nikolay Davydenko doesn't get much respect. Like Kafelnikov, he's a player that doesn't mind playing a few more tournaments to make up for the lack of big
Novak Djokovic, sporting his new Sergio Tacchini clothing (once worn by John McEnroe), had a weird match against Marco Chiudinelli, the 3rd best Swiss player and a friend and comtemporary of Roger Federer. Djokovic looked pretty lackluster, missing easy shots and seemingly distracted losing the first set. Fortunately, Djokovic woke up taking the next two
This is not a great period in American tennis. We're not in the heyday where players like Sampras and Agassi were vying for number 1, or McEnroe and Connors were the bad boys of tennis. Andy Roddick has to wonder how he lived through this era. Perhaps had he played 10 years ago, he'd be
