The dinner was called for 8 p.m. The hosts were casually dressed, as was the help. One guest, a young man, who didn't know the hosts, arrived in what could only be described as hot pants. He sat down and put his BlackBerry on the well-set dinner table as if he were at a Starbucks. Read More
It's been a long time since any of us saw a tennis match that dramatic. Two old time vets showed up in Queens this evening, and they show a lot of guts (and lot of nerves!), but it's Kim Clijsters who walks away with the win and the final's appearance defeating Venus Williams 4-6, 7-6, Read More
Venus Williams gets her test today.
It's the only time this U.S. Open--whether she wins or loses--that she'll have to play a fellow two time+ Grand Slam champion. Neither Venus nor Clijsters are playing their best tennis--Clijsters got through her quarterfinals match by seemingly losing less than Stosur--but we're hoping they put on a show today. Read More
For the first time since 2007, Venus Williams is going to the semifinals at the U.S. Open.
Venus basically hadn't been tested at this tournament until tonight, and she handled it beautifully. She defeated Francesca Schiavone 7-6, 6-4 in a 1 hour, 54 minute match. All credit in the world to French Open champ Schiavone who Read More
The first week of the Open is a challenge for reporters to develop a big-picture narrative when there isn't much of a story yet--unless there's a major upset, not much to report. Nevertheless, I was confused to see Melanie Oudin get such big play on Tuesday morning after her first round victory. Yes, she was Read More
What's the secret to great romance?
Let's ask three former U.S. Open champions--two men, one lady--about love and tennis.
THE SINGLE MAN: MARAT SAFIN, 30
The 2000 U.S. Open champion, who retired last year, did an interview with Russian Hello! in which a revealed a pragmatic, if slightly bleak, view of relationships.
"To have fun together – this Read More
Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion and ex-fiance to Kim Clijsters, lost in the opening round last night in a five-set match to the Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. It finishes a rough Grand Slam year for Hewitt who did no better than the fourth round at a Slam. Time to think about retirement?
Ana Ivanovic, who Read More
Since around the time Kim Clijsters retired in 2007, the women's game has been in rapid decline. Look no further than this past week for an example: top-seeded players have dropped left and right in the opening rounds.
With Melanie Oudin's gorgeous upset of Maria Sharapova yesterday and Clijsters' victory over Venus Williams this afternoon, Read More
Rub the sleep out of your eyes, kids! Yesterday was one of the nuttiest days we've ever seen at the Open, but nine hours after it all ended, it's time to get back to tennis.
Later this afternoon, Venus Williams will take on Kim Clijsters, an absurdly intriguing fourth round match. We're giddy just thinking about Read More
It was everything that night tennis at the U.S. Open should be, and the most stirring moment of the tournament thus far. After prevailing in a tense fifth-set tiebreaker, Taylor Dent squatted and screamed, releasing in one triumphant moment all of the joy and frustration of a long, difficult match against Ivan Navarro, which Dent Read More
The entire media center--including us!--was writing Venus Williams' obituary. Down 4-5 in the second set against 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina, three points away from a stunning upset, Venus managed to turn it around and avoid her first-ever exit during the Open's first week. But not without more twists: up 4-0 in the third, she let Dushevina Read More
Serena Williams only need an hour-and-a-half to defeat Dinara Safina in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. Williams really just let Safina implode: the Russian had 41 unforced errors, and won only 29 percent of points off her second serve.
After the match, Venus Williams was waiting for her kid sister outside the women's locker room with Hank Read More
A lot is being made today of Venus' "uncharacteristic" play last night: she made 45 unforced errors, and blew 10 set point opportunites. But really, this is the Venus Williams we've seen over the last couple years at the Open.
Last year, when she played Jelena Jankovic in the quarters, she commited 56 unforced errors, and Read More
The Women's Tennis Association is clearly troubled by the injuries and disaffection that have plagued the tour in the last few years, and yesterday they announced a plan to do something about it.
In a "roadmap," the WTA announced that the amount of required tournaments will be scaled back from 12 to 10 (in addition to the four Grand Slams), and if Read More
Serena's been talking all year now about how much she wants to up her ranking, and how much she wants to be feared (and respected) again.
She's moving closer toward that goal. Even though her sister blew 10 set points last night, Serena showed a focused intesnity that we haven't seen since the days she dominated Read More
