The long, winding, scattered, sometimes-pointless pro tennis schedule does offer at least one consolation: the fresh start. These come every month or so, as the tours take up temporary residence in a new part of the world. With the shift comes a new setting, a new surface, a new style

While the older cats have been away this month, the young ones have continued to play—quite well, for the most part. They’ve also continued to establish, and in some cases re-establish, themselves on tour. That’s how it went again this weekend, when an 18-year-old Canadian reached his first ATP final;

I know I said I’d be back Saturday with my French Open predictions, but, well, the weather was nice. Which means that, having TiVo’d my way through the first two days of the event—in which Dick Enberg gave art-history lessons on air and Guillermo Vilas kept a close eye on

Every morning I get a wake-up call at my hotel. Every morning a woman's voice comes over the line and states the same facts in the same moderately cheery tone: "Good morning, today it will be 72 degrees and sunny. Enjoy your day." Is she real, or a recording? I

We had seen a lot of celebrations from Maria Sharapova over the last 12 months, a lot of fists clenched, hands thrust high in the air, and kisses blown to the audience. But we hadn’t seen her look the way she looked after beating Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in Stuttgart

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND—How do you know a men’s final on Centre Court here will be remembered forever? It must first involve a furious, back-to-the-wall, match-point-saving comeback in the fourth set, one that everyone watching assumes has ripped the heart out of the player who let the championship slip through his fingers.

At this time of year, a fan following the pro game might start to believe that there's a clay tennis court around every street corner in Europe. Across much of the United States, though, the surface is a rare, and rarified, phenomenon. You don’t see clay often as you travel

With not much happening on the court, but a lot happening in the news, this seems like a good week to keep up with the tabs, as well as their more respected colleagues in the sports media. Here’s a rundown of who’s saying what in the press.

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open (all times local): ___ 10:55 p.m. Serena Williams is a winner in the first scheduled night session in French Open history. She overcome two set points to beat Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (6), 6-2 under the lights in the first round. Matches

By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan Last Week's & This Week's Tournament Sony Ericsson Open (ATP & WTA - Outdoor Hard - Miami, United States) - Men's Singles Bracket - Men's Doubles Bracket - Women's Singles & Doubles Bracket - Television Schedule - Website By the Letter T...our awards were

Peter Bodo concludes his year-end awards—12 in all, for 2012—with the Stories of the Year. You can see all of his prior selections at the end of this article.

by Pete Bodo Yesterday, we pondered Serena Williams' future in tennis, so why not take a look today at the anti-Serena (even though the two women are friendly), Caroline Wozniacki? You know, the blonde, happy-go-lucky Dane who's been threatening to replace Kim Clijsters as the ranking "nice girl" of the

*88775989 by Pete Bodo Tommy Haas upset No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon today, and will meet Roger Federer - whom Haas almost put out of the recent French Open, and against whom he is 2-9 - in the semifinals. In the post-match presser, a reporter asked Haas which

Peter Bodo continues his year-end awards—12 in all, for 2012—with the year's Biggest Disappointments. You can see rest of his selections as well as the upcoming awards at the end of this article.

Woz by Pete Bodo William Shakespeare's famous, opening lines to the third act of Richard III forever linked discontent and despair to winter (Now is the winter of our discontent. . .), but there's plenty of misery to go around in the summer, too, as Caroline Wozniacki has learned. The

I had been hearing a lot about this quantum leap Donald Young has taken in his game, so I went to have a look for myself yesterday. Donald was up against Feliciano Lopez on Louis Armstrong, which became a great little stadium when they chopped the top off. As much

The year’s second major, the French Open, begins Sunday. Who’s hot? Who’s not? This month’s Top 25 features players in both categories, with Novak Djokovic once again the star performer. 1. Novak Djokovic (Previous: 1) No one can stop Nole at present. Physically and mentally, he has much left in

PARIS (AP) The Latest from the French Open: 9:18 p.m. Gael Monfils likes doing things the hard way at the French Open, where five-setters are becoming his trademark. The 13th-seeded Frenchman trailed Pablo Cuevas 2-1 in sets on Suzanne Lenglen court, before rallying to win 4-6, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4,

LONDON (AP) The Latest on Wimbledon (all times local): 8:40 p.m. Roger Federer is back in Grand Slam action - and back to his winning ways. The owner of seven Wimbledon titles and 17 major championships overall did not exactly have an easy time of things but did beat 52nd-ranked

The death of American tennis standout Ken Flach about 18 months ago left his many friends and admirers stunned, saddened and dismayed. The former world No. 1 in doubles passed away suddenly at the age of 54, losing a brief battle with sepsis, a “potentially life threatening condition” brought about