This marks the fifth installment in the series “Secrets of the Tennis Greats.” I have sought to uncover the one distinctive and overriding character trait that determined the greatness of the top players in the world. Yes, all of the tennis greats have much in common, including natural talent and the ability to work hard,…
World number one junior CiCi Bellis of Atherton, Calif., who made international headlines with her upset of Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the 2014 U.S. Open, and top-15 junior Michael Mmoh of Temple Hills, Md. will lead the United States in the Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup by…
In a matchup of former world number ones, Ana Ivanovic defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday. In her first match play since an early exit at the US Open, the Serbian took advantage of nine-double faults by Azarenka to notch her…
Agnieszka Radwanska moved one step closer to defending her title at the Kia Korea Open early Wednesday as she pitched a shutout in a 6-0, 6-0 rout of South African Chanelle Scheepers. The top-seeded Pole needed just 49 minutes to dispose of Scheepers and advance into the quarterfinals. Scheepers had a chance to grab momentum…
At the time this issue went to print, some of the 18 & Over League playoffs were still in progress and the 55 & Over League was still playing its local season matches. The winning teams in the 40 & Over League are as follows: ►​Women’s 3.0: Sportime Massapequa (Captains Debbie Trimboli & Kelly Walther)…
Simona Halep became the third player to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore, the WTA announced Monday. The second-ranked player in the world has enjoyed a breakout year in 2014, and has shot up to No. 2 in the world rankings. “Simona Halep’s ascent over the last couple of years has been…
Manhasset traveled to Port Washington on Monday afternoon in a rematch of last year’s Nassau County championship, setting up an exciting match in Conference I early on in the season. The two squads didn’t disappoint, and played a tightly-contested match that came down to the fourth doubles contest. Port Washington’s Blake Dolin and Maddie Rosenbaum…
In the July/August 2014 issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine, I published “The Pink Elephant on the Court.” Since it appeared in the pages of this magazine, I have received an overflow of comments from kids who said “OMG, how did you know what I was thinking? This is exactly what I want to tell…
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni continued her resurgent 2014 season as she cruised past top-seeded Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 in the Coupe Banque Nationale final from Quebec City on Sunday afternoon. The win gave the Croat her first WTA title in over 16 years, a record for the longest time in between title wins. Her last title came…
John Isner and Sam Querrey each won their “dead” singles matches on Sunday against Slovakia, giving the United States its first 5-0 Davis Cup victory at home since 2004 and a swing of momentum heading into 2015. Bob & Mike Bryan clinched the victory for the U.S. with their doubles triumph on Saturday, but Isner beat Lukas…