US Open: One Last Walk in a Hewitt Wonderland
By Bill Simons Lleyton Hewitt‘s first great win was in his hometown of Perth, Australia. His last great American loss was on the US Open’s fabled Grandstand Court. Lleyton’s nickname is “Rusty,” and...
View ArticleAfter Inside Tennis Interview, Blake Assaulted by Policemen
Today James Blake, who had flown into New York on a red-eye flight from his home in San Diego, finished an interview with Inside Tennis’ Lucia Hoffman and was waiting in front of the Grand Hyatt hotel...
View ArticleBlake Spoke to Inside Tennis Just Prior to Attack
Just before he was tackled by New York policemen, James Blake spoke with Lucia Hoffman of Inside Tennis. In their interview, the former No. 4 player in the world and the most successful...
View ArticleRACE AND TENNIS – FROM TRIUMPH TO TEARS
By Bill Simons How wonderful! Twice this year there have been stunning moments for African-Americans in tennis. In March, Serena Williams ended her 14-year boycott of Indian Wells. It was a poignant...
View ArticleWalking in a Hewitt Wonderland
By Bill Simons Lleyton Hewitt emerged straight from central casting. Not since Jimmy Connors has tennis seen such a fierce “me against the world” force of nature. He popped “out of the womb fired up,”...
View ArticleUS OPEN: Mama Serena and Auntie Venus – Quips, Comments & Conversations
MOTHER SERENA GIVES BIRTH – IT’S A GIRL Life can kick you in the butt, but then it tends to pick you up again. At Wimbledon, Venus Williams, the grande dame of tennis, seemed crushed. A car accident...
View ArticleBNP PARIBAS OPEN BUZZ: Hail South Korea (and One-in-a-Million Sam)
HAIL KOREA’S UNIQUE PROS: Two of South Korea’s fine ATP players have overcome major obstacles. Duck-hee Lee was born deaf. Hyeon Chung was visually impaired as a kid and that’s why he started playing...
View ArticleTHE BUZZ: The Federer File – Plus Quotebook
UNBURDENED BY GREATNESS – THE FEDERER FILE • We think of Federer as a flowing virtuoso. But he’s also a gritty, street-fighting man. Like a charismatic politician who wins despite what the polls...
View ArticleUS OPEN 50TH ANNIVERSARY – PART ONE
MR. US OPEN: 1968-1991 – Connors or McEnroe; 1992-2018 – Sampras or Federer. MS. US OPEN: 1968-1983 – Chris Evert; 1988-1996 Steffi Graf; 1998–2018 – Serena. BEST PLAYERS TO WIN THE OPEN: Serena and...
View ArticleUS OPEN 50TH ANNIVERSARY – Part 2
AURA-VILLE: Lloyd Carroll contended that “the aura of Federer is hovering over the Open.” Long before Donald Trump became president, S.L. Scott noticed him peering down from his suite and claimed it...
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