January 29, 2017
Roger Federer dropped down on one knee, hardly knowing whether to laugh or cry, realising his remarkable comeback was complete. No one in their right mind would have predicted it at the start of the year, but that’s the funny thing about sport. The more you want glory, the harder it is to get your […]
January 28, 2017
As she served on match point it looked as though she could hardly breathe with all the excitement. Yet Serena Williams steadied herself and moments later she had sealed her place as the greatest tennis player of the Open era, defeating her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the Melbourne final. She moved ahead of Steffi […]
January 27, 2017
The dream final, the one the world wanted, is on. Rafael Nadal will play Roger Federer on Sunday to roll back the years and bring us thrills beyond measure. Memories of Wimbledon in the dark, Rafa triumphant and Roger in tears after quite possibly the most dramatic tennis match of all time. So many more […]
January 26, 2017
A disbelieving Roger Federer almost had to pinch himself after he survived a superb Stan Wawrinka fightback to book a place in his 28th Grand Slam final – and his sixth in Australia. He will play either Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov. But the entire world, apart from fans of the enigmatic Bulgarian, seems to […]
January 25, 2017
Who can stop Serena Williams from making history now? Can anyone seriously stand in her way? After Serena disposed of the in-form Brit, Johanna Konta with relative ease, it seems likely that the younger Williams sister will edge ahead of the great Steffi Graf within days. She looks set to become the most decorated Grand […]
January 24, 2017
Roger Federer’s dream comeback continues, after he took just 92 minutes to defeat Mischa Zverev 6-1, 7-5, 6-2. That leaves the 35-year-old plenty of fuel left in the tank to face his younger compatriot, Stan Wawrinka. Federer has won five of their last six meetings, and yet Wawrinka is fancied by many to win the […]
January 23, 2017
Rafael Nadal has reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014. Now he faces Milos Raonic, who beat him only a few weeks ago. Gael Monfils provided sparkling entertainment as always. And he probably should have taken Nadal to a fifth set, at which point anything could have happened. But […]
January 22, 2017
Roger Federer jumped for joy after reaching his 49th Grand Slam quarter-final with yet another scintillating display. And that spontaneous demonstration of child-like delight told an important story. For it is Federer’s boyish enthusiasm for the game that has driven him to fresh heights, just when we thought he was almost ready to call it […]
Andy Murray has squandered his best ever chance of winning the Australian Open. ‘It’s a tough one to lose,’ he admitted. ‘I wanted to go so far.’ The Brit became the first world number one to be dumped out of the tournament at such an early stage since Lleyton Hewitt fouteen years ago. Tennis legend […]
January 21, 2017
Rafael Nadal dug deep to win an extraordinary war of attrition against Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, the 19-year old German described by Rafa himself as ‘the future of tennis.’ The entire match revolved around a 37-shot rally in the fifth game of the fifth set. The crowd gasped and murmured in disbelief, even as the brutal […]