The best brother and sister combinations in the history of tennis – Dinara Safina and Marat Safin of Russia and Nancy and Cliff Richey of San Angelo, Texas – are all in attendance at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Filed under Featured Columns · Tagged with atp rankings, Bud Collins, clay court championships, collins history, Dinara Safina, history of tennis, international tennis hall, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Jurgen Melzer, Marat Safin, Margaret Court, Nancy Richey, open singles, professional points, Roger Federer, san angelo texas, singles title, sister brother, sister pair
NEW YORK, N.Y., August 24, 2009 – New Chapter Press today announced that in the 40th anniversary year of Rod Laver’s second Grand Slam, it will publish the Australian’s memoir of his historic 1969 achievement – THE EDUCATION OF A TENNIS PLAYER.
Filed under Featured Columns, Lead Story · Tagged with 40th anniversary, book retailers, Bud Collins, features descriptions, Grand Slam, Ken Rosewall, kingdom canada, Lew Hoad, memorable portraits, Pancho Gonzalez, paperback copies, press today, Rod Laver, tennis association, tennis court, tennis fans, tennis player, Tennis Warehouse, Tony Roche, unparalleled success
The Swiss star played up to his No. 1 ranking Sunday, beating Novak Djokovic 6-1, 7-5 for the Cincinnati Masters title and plenty of confidence heading into the Open, which he has won each of the last five years.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Bjorn Borg, Bud Collins, career title, cincinnati masters, collins history, french open championship, grand slam title, Guillermo Vilas, history of tennis, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, masters title, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras, place trophy, Roger Federer, stellar season, swiss star
Posted by Randy Walker on August 22, 2009 · 4 Comments
Even after winning his sixth Wimbledon title, his record-breaking 15th major singles title and completing the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open, people are still writing off Roger Federer.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Bjorn Borg, Bud Collins, career grand slam, career head, collins history, girls post, Guillermo Vilas, history of tennis, international tennis hall, International Tennis Hall of Fame, lack of motivation, racquet strings, singles title, twin girls, wimbledon title
President Obama gaffed at Wednesday’s Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony honoring 16 global citizens, including tennis legend Billie Jean King. In describing King’s illustrious playing career, Obama talked of King’s “12 Grand Slam titles, 101 doubles titles and 67 singles titles.” King’s total number of “major” titles actually stand at 39, including a record 20 at Wimbledon.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Andrea Jaeger, Art Larsen, Battle of the Sexes, Betty Stove, Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, Bud Collins, Elton John, Evonne Goolagong, Flushing Meadows, Francoise Durr, Gigi Fernandez, Gladys Heldman, Grand Slam, grand slam tournament, Grand Slam tournaments, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, Lesley Turner, Lindsay Davenport, Mary Joe Fernandez, Monica Seles, NBC, Owen Davidson, Pam Shriver, Rosie Casals, Serena Williams, Suzanne Lenglen, The Bud Collins History of Tennis, The Open Era, Tony Trabert, USA, USTA, Venus and Serena Williams, Wendy Turnbull, Wimbledon, World Team Tennis
Posted by Randy Walker on July 31, 2009 · 1 Comment
The second year of Open tennis was one of continued progress but lingering confusion on the political front—and towering on-court performances by Margaret Smith Court and most notably Rod Laver, who netted an unprecedented second Grand Slam.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Althea Gibson, Andres Gimeno, Ann Haydon Jones, Arthur Ashe, Australian Open, Bill Bowrey, Bill Talbert, Billie Jean King, Bob Lutz, Bud Collins, Butch Buchholz, Charlie Pasarell, Cliff Drysdale, Cliff Richey, Darlene Hard, Davis Cup, Dennis Ralston, Dick Crealy, Donald Dell, Federation Cup, Francoise Durr, Fred Perry, French Open, Grand Slam, Harry Hopman, Ilie Nastase, International Lawn Tennis Federation, Ion Tiriac, John Newcombe, Karen Krantzcke, Ken Rosewall, Lawn Tennis Association, Lesley Turner, Los Angeles, Madison Square Garden, Margaret Smith Court, Marty Riessen, Nancy Richey, Pancho Gonzalez, Rafael Osuna, Ray Moore, Ray Ruffels, Richard Sears, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Stan Smith, The Open Era, Tom Okker, Tony Roche, United States, USLTA, Virginia Wade, Wimbledon
Posted by Randy Walker on July 28, 2009 · 1 Comment
Ten years ago this week, Patrick Rafter was on top of the world. On July 26, 1999 the Aussie hunk and two-time U.S. Open champion reached the career pinnacle by earning the No. 1 ranking on the ATP computer. Rafter’s reign, however, last only one week and he never again attained the top spot in the computer rankings, marking the shortest ever reign as a world’s top ranked player.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Andre Agassi, Andrei Chesnokov, Andy Roddick, Bill Tilden, Bob and Mike Bryan, Bud Collins, Carlos Moya, Chris Evert, Davis Cup, Evonne Goolagong, Federation Cup, Gilles Muller, Hana Mandlikova, Jan-Michael Gambill, Jaroslav Drobny, Jean Borotra, Jimmy Connors, John Feinstein, John Newcombe, Lawn Tennis Association, Leander Paes, Mariano Puerta, Martina Navratilova, Mercedes-Benz, Michael Chang, Mike Bryan, Nancy Richey, Olympic Games, Pauline Betz, Pete Sampras, Petr Korda, Rafael Nadal, Slovak, Stade Roland Garros, Tennis History, Tim Mayotte, UCLA, USLTA, Washington Post, Wayne Ferreira, Wilmer Allison, Wimbledon, WTA, Yannick Noah
Posted by Randy Walker on July 11, 2009 · 2 Comments
Monica is “head of the class” of the 2009 group of inductees in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She won nine major singles titles in her career – including four titles at the Australian Open.
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Andres Gimeno, Arantxa Sanchez, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Australian Open, Bud Collins, Chanda Rubin, Donald Dell, French Open, Grand Slam, HEAD, injuries, Jana Novotna, Martina Navratilov, Martina Navratilova, Maureen Connolly, Monica Seles, Nick Bollettieri, retire, Roland Garros, Tennis, The Bud Collins History of Tennis, The International Tennis Hall of Fame, WTA
Posted by Randy Walker on July 9, 2009 · 2 Comments
What happened the last time the U.S. Davis Cup team traveled to Croatia? Ironically, Andy Roddick was not in the U.S. line-up due to exhaustion and injury following a marathon match at a Grand Slam tournament – as is the case this week following his 16-14 fifth-set loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final on Sunday
Filed under Lead Story, Randy "Sky" Walker · Tagged with Alan Schwartz, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Arlen Kantarian, Arthur Ashe, ATP, Australian Open, Bill Dwyre, Bud Collins, Davis Cup, davis cup team, Dennis Ralston, Frank Sedgman, Guillermo Canas, Henri Cochet, James Blake, Jim Courier, Laurie Doherty, Manuel Santana, Mardy Fish, Mario Ancic, Michael Chang, Neale Fraser, Nicola Pietrangeli, Niki Pilic, Patrick McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Rainer Schuettler, Raul Ramirez, Robby Ginepri, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Taylor Dent, USTA, Wimbledon, Younes El Aynaoui
Following his epic Wimbledon final victory over Andy Roddick, Roger Federer said he knew exactly how many aces he needed to also add his name in the tennis record books for serving the most aces in the match at Wimbledon.
