tennis Page 39 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Roger Federer's Back On Offense, Winning Everything That Matters
“He’s laughing, he’s an asshole,” said Stan Wawrinka, clutching a runner-up trophy, crying, and looking at Roger Federer, who was, yes, laughing. That’s a playful jab between guys who go way back, ever since Federer came to hit with teenage Stan at the national tennis center in their native Switzerl...
Nick Kyrgios Won't Play Roger Federer, Cites Food Poisoning
If you were looking forward to the heady mix of Nick Kyrgios, tennis’s Four Loko, and Roger Federer, aging like a fine wine, my condolences. Indian Wells will stay dry tonight, since Kyrgios just pulled out of this anticipated quarterfinal due to an unspecified illness....
Don't Call This Vintage Federer, He's Got A Brand-New Weapon
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Forget any bluster about age, resilience, rehabilitation: The story here is that Roger Federer may have solved Rafael Nadal. It’s never too late to iron out your flaws, especially if you have only one to speak of....
The Quarter Of Death Is Shaping Up At Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Juan Martin del Potro is a teddy bear with a heavy brow and a shotgun forehand, and when he gets mad in public, apparently, he hugs whoever happens to be around. Because he is a professional tennis player that person is usually a line judge. That’s what he did in a fit of rage t...
Nick Kyrgios Is Hitting Tweeners And Talking Shit, As Usual
Nick Kyrgios was up 5-3 in the first set against Alexander Zverev, fellow member of men’s tennis’s new guard, when the sport’s favorite hothead hit an unusual, in-character approach shot....
Size Isn't Everything As Long As You've Got A Reliable Backhand
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.— The little guy had a problem, and knew it, running a hand through his sweat-damp sienna hair. All of 21 years old Yoshihito Nishioka is listed at 5-foot-7 and 141 pounds, straining credibility on both counts, and on Monday a heavy bandage swaddled something hurt under his right...
Gael Monfils Is Half Tennis Genius, Half Slapstick Comedian
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Last night Gael Monfils had the whole arena in his palm, and he had his neon soles skidding across the whole arena. I can’t explain how how he does that on hardcourt baked dry in the desert sun—someone study his ankles and whatever they’re made of—but skidding was surely the pre...
The Best (Of Who's Left) At Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—When you touch down in the desert in the middle of March, they pretty much know why you’re there. They plant a big-ass screen right at the arrivals gate and the tennis players loom nearly life-sized. That’s how it was possible to know, within 15 minutes of landing, that Andy Mur...
Nick Kyrgios In Sun And Shade
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—The camera strips so much from tennis. We know this, clearly, since we pay good money and haul our bodies into discomfort just to see it up close. Part of what it removes is all the little interstitial, untelevised moments that might give flesh to the personalities on court. Mom...
Andy Murray Will Just Relax And Giggle While His Rivals Tear Each Other Apart
Andy Murray is a lucky dude at Indian Wells, and he knows it. While all his foes try to slit each others’ throats in the bottom quarter of the draw—home to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro, and Nick Kyrgios—the top seed plans to enjoy the gladiator games from his re...
The Tennis Dogs Are Snatching Balls And Dropping Dung
The Brazil Open brought rescue dogs on court to retrieve tennis balls, in an effort to promote local animal shelters in Sao Paulo. Just like last year, the practice—like the dogs—was very good. This year’s crop of pups: Cindy, Nanda, Pretinha, Mia, Arlete and Ovelha. I couldn’t tell you which one of...
The Indian Wells Men's Draw Is One Big Clusterfuck
Today, out in the Coachella Valley, the Indian Wells Masters will begin. It’s the highest-profile tennis tournament in the world after the four Grand Slams, dropping a fat bounty of 1000 ranking points on its winners. Everyone in the tennis universe should be excited, except for Serena Williams and ...
Will Serena Williams Be Ready For The French Open?<em></em>
It’s only March and the French Open isn’t until the end of May, but there’s reason to wonder (or in my case, as a devoted Serena disciple, worry) if Serena Williams will be ready to win the next grand slam of the year. She hasn’t played a competitive match since her Australian Open win and she annou...
Tennis Player Serves Underhand, Wins Tournament
Pablo Cuevas, a clay court specialist ranked No. 30 in the world, claimed his third-straight Brazil Open title yesterday by resorting to some underhanded tactics. With his fourth match point lined up, he hit this dinky second serve, which forced No. 24 Albert Ramos Viñolas to scurry up from the base...
When Nick Kyrgios Gives A Shit, He's The Future Of Tennis
Bless Nick Kyrgios for doing so much without ever really seeming to care. I’m not referring to those especially dumb, fringe cases—the forehands sliced for no reason, or the shameless tweeners during high-tension rallies—although he does plenty of that. I just mean just the way he hits the average ...
Andy Murray Saved His Ass With The Best, Dumbest Drop Shot
Today in poor decisions: Andy Murray, down match point at the Dubai Championships, went for this comically risky drop shot against Philipp Kohlschreiber....
Novak Djokovic Gets The Best Of Juan Martin Del Potro, Who's Still Missing Something
The last time these two matched up, last August at the Rio Olympics, they delivered the best tennis storyline of 2016: Juan Martin del Potro, rising from the dead after two years of surgeries to both wrists, upsets a Novak Djokovic who’d then had a vice grip on the No. 1 spot for two whole years. Th...
Roger Federer Suffered "Stunning Loss To Donkey" In Dubai Championship
Roger Federer had a bad day. In his three-set loss to Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, he blew three match points in the second set, was up 5-2 in the third, somehow let Donskoy tie the set at six games apiece, was up 5-1 in the tiebreak, and th...
Frances Tiafoe, America's Best Young Prospect, Is Getting Closer To Stardom
Frances Tiafoe, the best American teen in the men’s game, hasn’t taken down any giants yet, but every few months he gets quite close. Back at the U.S. Open, he took literal giant John Isner to a fifth-set tiebreak, and last night in Acapulco, the 19-year-old took Juan Martin del Potro to a third-set...
Taylor Fritz Struggles To Get Moth Off Court; Ball Girl Finds The Solution On The Bottom Of Her Foot
Taylor Fritz’s match against Adrian Mannarino tonight in Acapulco suffered a brief delay as the 112th-ranked American tried to humanely shoo a bothersome moth from the court during a second-set tiebreaker. A nearby ball girl took matters into her own hands...er, feet. Er, foot....