If you are a tennis purist, someone who enjoys serve and volleys and long rallys, then Thursday’s Qatar Open quarterfinal match between world number one Novak Djokovic and seventh-seeded Ivo Karlovic was not for you. The big-serving Croat Karlovic used his dominant serve to take away Djokovic’s excellent return and baseline game, resulting in a…
Roger Federer made his 2015 debut on Thursday and got everything that he could handle from 153rd ranked Australian John Millman. The Swiss had to battle back from a set down to move past Millman 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the Brisbane International quarterfinals. “I thought I got quite lucky,” said Federer after the match….
World number one Novak Djokovic has not missed a beat since his outstanding play in the second-half of last year, and early on in 2015 he seems to still be the cream of the crop on the men’s tour. Djokovic routed Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 6-1 in the second-round of the ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday,…
The USTA has announced that the 36th season of the USTA Pro Circuit launches this week with two men’s events in Florida and California—the $10,000 clay-court men’s Futures in Plantation, Fla., and the new $15,000 hard-court men’s Futures in Los Angeles. Next week, the women’s season begins with a $25,000 event in Plantation. The USTA…
In what was supposed to be a bounce back season for American Sloane Stephens, 2015 has not started exactly how the 21-year-old would have liked. After cruising in her first-round opener, she was eliminated in the second-round of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand by fellow American Lauren Davis. Davis fought back from a…
University of Virginia junior Julia Elbaba from Oyster Bay, N.Y. is the number one ranked player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Women's National Singles Rankings and University of Louisville senior Sebastian Stiefelmeyer is the top-ranked man in the ITA Division I Men's National Singles Rankings. Both players won national singles championships in the fall; Stiefelmeyer won…
Playing in neighboring countries, both Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki began their 2015 seasons on Tuesday. Although one was in Brisbane, Australia and the other was in Auckland, New Zealand, both rolled over their respective opponents with convincing straight-set victories. Sharapova is the top seed at the Brisbane International this week, and started her run…
James McGee is finding his way in the world of professional tennis. With recent success on the Challenger Circuit, which acts as a second tier for those trying to either break onto the big stage or cling to a career, he has risen to a career high in the rankings, breaking into the top-200 in…
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka started her 2015 campaign in disappointing fashion on Monday, falling to the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-7(7), 4-6 in the first-round of the Brisbane International. A two-time champion at the Australian Open, Azarenka has had much success in the country to start her season in years past. However,…
It was not the start that Serena Williams had envisioned when she took the court at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia on Monday. The top-ranked American, who is teaming up with John Isner at the international mixed team tournament, threw up a bagel in the first set against Flavia Pannetta, but rallied back in the…