Sports Then and Now

Serena Williams fell to Victoria Azarenka at the Sony Ericsson Open, but still had four of the top nine performances of 2009.

Return with us now to those thrilling ladies matches of yesterday when the heroine overcame an inspired opponent to win against overwhelming odds. Who gave the best performance by a female tennis player in 2009?

This list awaits you arranged somewhat in chronological order. You read, you judge, and then you vote to determine the best.

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Contributors in alphabetical order are: JA Allen, Marianne Bevis, Claudia Celestial Girl, and Shye Sentinele. Read the rest of this entry →

Seven of Steffi Graf's 22 career Grand Slam titles came at Wimbledon.

“Will you marry me?” someone called from the stands.

“How much money do you have?” was Steffi’s gravely delivered response, eyes fixed upon her opponent across the net.

The crowd erupted in laughter.  It was Wimbledon, and a crowd, and player, not given to much jocularity.  She’d been dating race car driver, Michael Bartels, for years, with no indication that anything more serious was coming out of it.  It was an impertinent question, an improbable response, and so hugely funny at the time.

For me as a casual spectator (watching it on TV, from the horizontal position on the couch, no less), it was the first indication that the serious, un-smiling, un-’gamine,’ Steffi Graf might be  interested in more than crushing  opponents with hard-core resolve; be more than merely stoic in demeanor.

Stefanie Marie Graf.  Born June 14, 1969.  One of a few well-beloved living legends of this, or any, sport.  Arguably the greatest woman’s champion of all time.  She turned pro at age 13, at age 19 she completed one of the feats of all sports, a Golden Slam – a calendar year Grand Slam of tennis majors and an Olympic Gold medal (1988 – Sydney), that is only a part of her legend.

She retired in 1999, after almost 17 years in the sport, with a total of 22 major titles, second only in history to Margaret Court’s astounding 24.

What distinguished her (see summary at the end of the article), was ability on all surfaces.  Some tennis players are grass court specialists (with a minor on hardcourts), for example. Not Steffi.  She had terrific ability on all surfaces.

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Sererna Williams began 2009 by winning her fourth Australian Open title.

The Serena Slam took place in long ago 2002-2003 (leading to major titles No. 2-7; a win of five major titles in six Grand Slam events).

Then came injury, a sister’s murder, a notorious match of atrocious line calling that knocked her out of the USO in 2004, and a slip to No. 81 ranking. Poor performances. Criticism for being AWOL from segments of the tour.

Then, a triumph. A Grand Slam win in the Australian Open in 2007 (major title No. eight) that saw Serena hit a resurgence in her career. In 2008, the retirement of a major rival; the finals of Wimbledon; a win at the USO (major title No. nine), (not to mention continuing doubles’ titles including yet another Olympic gold medal) led to a simmering argument over who is the “real” world No. 1 on the Women’s Tour.

2009

Coming into the Australian Open, the usual criticisms abounded. Serena didn’t look very good in Sydney in January (losing to Dementieva 6-3 6-1). In fact, Serena looked “fat”—like she could bench press a dump truck (paraphrasing humorous remarks by Andy Roddick exchanged on camera because Serena claimed she had beaten Andy when he was 12 years old), and the press pestered her about being out of shape, overweight, and not ready for the majors. These (very funny remarks) can be seen here.

The top ladies in the draw included photogenic and personable stars: Jancovic, Ivanovic, Dementieva, also Kuznetsova, and Safina. Super-photogenic and telegenic star Maria Sharapova was still nursing the shoulder injury that would keep her out of the tour for about eight months.

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In 1968 Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open and became the first African American to hold the number one ranking in men's tennis.

(On the 41st anniversary of him becoming the first African American to hold the number one ranking in men’s tennis, we remember and recognize the legacy of Arthur Ashe)

It is really a shame that so many people remember Arthur Ashe as “the black tennis player that died from AIDS.”

To say that the man was so much more would simply be an understatement.

Early Life

Most biographies of famous players always seem to start out with where the person was born, who their parents were, etc. That is in large part due to the significance of those facts in shaping a person’s life.

This article is no different.

Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was born to Arthur Sr. and Mattie Ashe in 1943. The family lived in Richmond, Va., and Ashe’s father’s job as “Superintendent” provided him with a Caretaker’s Cottage in Brook Park, a “blacks only” area that coincidentally included tennis courts. Read the rest of this entry →

Stefan Edberg and Patrick Rafter brought back old memories with their meeting in London.

Stefan Edberg, still golden, still polite, still with a touch at the net like a feather, stood at one end of the court.

Pat Rafter, exuding bonhomie, hair cropped short with that tiny white flash on the crown, still the most nimble of volleyers, stood at the other.

It was a match made in heaven.

They had met just three times before, almost 15 years ago. Edberg was about to retire while Rafter was just coming of age on the Tour. Edberg won all three matches.

So this week’s rematch, their first since those brief encounters, promised to be special.

That they were contending for the final tennis trophy of the year at the Aegon Masters in the picturesque oval elegance of London’s Royal Albert Hall added still more luster to the event.

What better way to end the 2009 tennis season than with two of the most renowned exponents of the serve-and-volley game in the Open era?

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Andy Murray struggled to live up to the hype and promise in 2009

(This is the first in a series of articles looking at how some of the top tennis players in the world fared in 2009)

Andy Murray ATP World Rank No. 4

There appears to be no middle ground for the surly Scotsman Andy Murray. He is either riding high buoyed by success and self-confidence or he is dog paddling in the inky depths of impatience.

This week the headlines screamed that his girlfriend dumped him because he became addicted to gaming on his PlayStation 3, preferring it to her. Murray, it seems, is in a real funk—“Stuck in Neutral.”

With Juan Martin del Potro nipping at his heels only 245 ATP points behind, Murray hangs onto his No. 4 ranking by a thread—while trailing Novak Djokovic, the third-ranked player by 1,280 points.

His name forever linked with expectation, Murray began 2009 with much hype and promise. The Scot had defeated his nemesis Roger Federer in Shanghai at the year-end ATP 2008 Masters Championships during a hard-fought round-robin contest—bumping the Swiss out of the semifinals.

Murray was so exhausted by his victory that he lost the next day to Nikolay Davydenko. Read the rest of this entry →