Ryan Harrison wanted to talk, judging by the protracted nature of his phrases. And boy, can he ever talk. Our interview, conducted over the phone just hours before his first qualifying match in Acapulco, exceeded 40 minutes. That from merely 11 questions. His first response alone lasted an uninterrupted eight

Today, we had Marat Safin and Rafael Nadal back-to-back in the interview room, the deep-ice blue torture chamber where players have to answer questions – and faux questions – like, in Safin’s case, “What memories do you have from 2000, when you won here?”, or for Jet Boy Nadal, “I

If a color exists that Venus Williams doesn't look good in, we haven't seen it yet. Case in point: her pretty, deep-rouge dress at a Miami luxury hotel's opening party on November 17. It's typically Serena Williams who the world sees gallivanting the globe and hobnobbing at parties, as Venus

A number of notable juniors committed to colleges on National Signing Day. The USTA reports that reigning Easter Bowl Champion Kyle McPhillips has signed with UCLA; USTA International Spring champion Krista Hardebeck will attend Stanford; and 2011 USTA Girls’ 18s National Spring runner-up Catherine Harrison will play at Georgia Tech.

1 Caroline Wozniacki took to the seas for a Hamptons magazine cover shoot.

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—Should Ernests Gulbis be a poster boy for the next big anti-smoking campaign? Cancer activists could do worse. Three years ago, everyone’s favorite loquacious, lackadaisical Latvian said that what he hated most about the United States were all of our "stupid rules." For instance: Even though “people all

NEW YORK (AP)—Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake will receive wild cards into the U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association announced its eight men's wild cards Tuesday. Hewitt is a two-time major champion, winning the 2001 U.S. Open, but at age 31 the Australian has fallen to 134th in the world.

Not for lack of effort, Alexander Zverev fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Shanghai, almost quite literally. The 19-year-old survived the incident with the chair and wall, though he needed a medical time out (while seated on the offending bench). Zverev would actually lead 4-1 in the final set before Tsonga

NEW YORK—A sweat-soaked Steve Darcis stepped off Court 9 after winning his U.S. Open qualifying match today, turned left, and walked right into his career crest. Wrapping up a 6-0, 7-6 (5) win over Inigo Cervantes, Darcis stopped to sign autographs when one young boy in a blue baseball cap

It may be the off-season for tennis, but hey, there's still regalia to wave and banners to wear! Wait... As is traditional, I'll leave this one as a guessing game for you, but I think if you've been following any of the OT banter around here, the football allegiances will

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Latest at the Australian Open on Saturday (all times local): 8:20 p.m. Ash Barty has won the first set in the Australian Open final against Danielle Collins and is potentially one more set away from ending a 44-year drought for Australian women at their home

PARIS (AP) -- Russians Andrey Rublev and Darya Kasatkina won the the junior titles at the French Open on Saturday. Kasatkina rallied past top-seeded Ivana Jorovic of Serbia 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 in the girls' final, while the fourth-seeded Rublev beat Jaume Antoni Munar Clar of Spain 6-2, 7-5 in

BASEL, Switzerland (AP)—Roger Federer says he will play at the Swiss Indoors in October, ending speculation he'd skip his hometown tournament because of a contractual dispute. Federer tells Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger that "everyone knows how much this tournament means to me and that is still true." The five-time champion

At Wimbledon, the biggest stars aren't just found on the tennis court. Spotting A-list attendees in Centre Court's Royal Box and elsewhere is something of a spectator sport all its own. Check out some of the famous faces who took in the quarterfinals at the All England Club this year,

NEW YORK (AP) American teenager Jack Sock earned his first Grand Slam victory, beating the oldest player in the draw at the U.S. Open. The 18-year-old from Lincoln, Neb., defeated Marc Gicquel of France 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 on Wednesday. At 34, the 96th-ranked Gicquel is 15 1/2 years older.

Dinara by Pete Bodo Today, Dinara Safina moved one step closer to completing one of the more remarkable transformations we've seen in tennis in recent years - her metamorphosis from unpredictable head case (every family ought to have one of each - boy and girl) into reliable, takes-a-licking-but-keeps-on-ticking champion, lacking