Qatar Open winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga blamed fatigue and a troublesome wind for his straight sets defeat by Jurgen Melzer in the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Wednesday.
In the 1920s and 30s, four French tennis players dominated the game, today a new crop of four French players reside in the top 15.
Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer have put Spain on the brink of reaching the Davis Cup final after winning their opening two singles rubbers against France in convincing fashion.
Shortly before the start of the men's final at Indian Wells, ABC's Chris Fowler dropped an annoying bit of information. A rumor, actually. There was a patch of blue tape on Novak Djokovic's left knee, and Fowler hinted at insiders' concern that he might be developing a case of tendinitis.
Hey everyone. From the full disclosure department, I'm back in New York. But we've gotten lots of mail, links and tidbits, so we'll try and do brief baguettes...
We'll start this week with two open calls. I received my ballot for the 2010 inductions to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Doubles is the theme this year and the nominees are Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva (as a team), Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (as a team), and Anders Jarryd (individually).
While the 16 remaining players in the men's draw competed at Wimbledon on June 29, Richard Gasquet was a few miles from the All England Club, fighting for his career at a tribunal hearing. Three months earlier, the French player had tested positive for cocaine, triggering a two-year ban under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. In a sport with no guaranteed contracts and a short career shelf life, this was, potentially, akin to a professional death sentence.
So, somewhat inebriated conversation with a friend: "Top 5 All Time On-Court Headcases (Men), Sans McEnroe." In no particular order, and somewhat relegated to our generational recollection: Nastase, Youzhny, Slobodan Zivojinovic, Ivanisevic, Safin (others in consideration --Gasquet, Noah). Is it just us, or is there really an European slant to this? Who'd we miss? -- Anirban Mukherjee, Durham, N.C.
Cleaning out the Wimbledon notebook while still in awe of that final.
I don't know why the online tennis media seemed to ignore a 20-year-old American beating a former French Open Champion and No. 14 in the world -- on clay. It just happened Monday. Sam Querrey defeated Carlos Moyà 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. What is there not to like about Querrey? Does his unassuming manner not make for good headlines? -- Chris, Menlo Park, Calif.
Is John Isner good for tennis? I remember when Mark Philippoussis came around and he had the huge serve but he also had bombs on his forehand. Isner, in my opinion, only has a serve. If you look at his last 10 matches or so, there are a lot of sets that were won at 7-6 indicating that this guy can only hold serve and that is it. What are your thoughts on the rest of his game? -- Mark, Ottawa
OK, so after Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are your next five best men's players? -- Daniel, Los Angeles
WIMBLEDON, England -- Five things we learned during a memorable day of tennis on Friday:
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