Every day starting Tuesday at this week’s Rolex Paris Masters could be crucial, as 11 different players battle it out for the last two spots in the eight-man field at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Six players—Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer (who withdrew from the Paris event), Daniil

Ed. Note: Peter Bodo is on vacation until the 16th. In his place, we are proud to present a series of guest contributions.At what point does a tennis player realize that his talent has become de rigueur? That thought, alone, could easily cause fear to flood the brain and

Actually, I'm kidding about that. So if you've been lounging around on your sofa with a bad Cava hangover, watching absurb bowl games, still fence-sitting about who to nominate for the TennisWorldPoster-of-the-Year Award, or for TW Poet Laureate, you're a day late and a dollar short. And as I'm pretty

You can’t ever overestimate the value of attitude in tennis, a truism that was strikingly evident in today’s third-round encounter between Sabine Lisicki and No. 14 seed Sam Stosur. Lisicki is ranked No. 24 (although she’s been as high as No. 12) and has struggled with injuries, while the fit

Cover.HardcourtConfidential On the eve of Wimbledon, I thought it might be a nice idea to re-visit the epic Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal final of 2008, just to remind us how hard to wish for a reprise of that battle. But let's look at it through the eyes of Patrick

MIAMI, Fla.—The contrast between Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuzentsova tonight was striking. Ivanovic, a former No. 1, projects a remarkable air of discipline and economy. Kuznetsova, the free-spirited two-time Grand Slam champion, seems to be all over the place—capable of astonishing you one moment and making you cringe the next.

NEW YORK -- After waiting his entire career to get the chance to defend a Grand Slam title, Andy Murray had to wait a little more. And he was hardly pleased with the way the scheduling was handled. Once the 2012 champion finally did get on court at the U.S.

NEW YORK—Donald Young pressed his palms against the blue back wall of the Grandstand court as if trying to shove away an obstacle occupying his personal space. Young kept pushing, but an unwielding Florian Mayer wouldn't budge. The 47th-ranked German saved two set points in the opening set and played

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Li Na had one simple request before answering questions in her on-court, post-match interview following a 2½-hour battle in the brutal heat at the Australian Open on Friday: "Can we stand in the shadow?" The Chinese star certainly earned the courtesy. She saved a match point before

Squinting into sun glare, Karin Knapp caught several tosses and tried relocating her release to a spot where she could see the ball clearly. No matter how much she shifted sight lines, the 49th-ranked Italian couldn’t escape her serve struggles — or Taylor Townsend’s brand of heat stroke. The 17-year-old

CHARLESTON, S.C.—Andrea Petkovic remembered why she started playing tennis and along the way gave everyone else a reminder about how talented she is when she's at her best. The 26-year-old from Germany, who fell from ninth in the world in 2011 to 177th two years later, capped a stunning run

LONDON -- All of a sudden, Serena Williams is failing to stick around for long at Grand Slam tournaments. Betrayed by her backhand and, more surprisingly, her usually dangerous serve, five-time Wimbledon champion Williams lost to 25th-seeded Alize Cornet of France 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday in the third round at

NEW YORK -- Caroline Wozniacki trusts her stamina so much that she plans to return to New York in two months to run a marathon. Maria Sharapova, usually the one wearing down opponents in the third set, sure couldn't keep up on a steamy Sunday at the U.S. Open. Wozniacki

LONDON (AP) Even as Serena Williams piled up aces and groundstroke winners from all angles, even as she stormed through seven games in a row and 10 of the last 13 in yet another comeback, her Wimbledon quarterfinal against Victoria Azarenka never felt like a runaway. That's because Azarenka, a

NEW YORK (AP) Before they stepped on court, there was nothing to suggest Andy Murray would have any trouble against Adrian Mannarino in the U.S. Open's second round. Murray, after all, is seeded No. 3, owns two major championships including at Flushing Meadows in 2012, and had reached at least

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) Serena Williams withdrew before her semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday night with a sprained right knee, 14 years after her sister Venus did the same thing and triggered an angry reaction from fans that drove Serena to boycott the tournament. The world's top-ranked

NEW YORK (AP) Nick Kyrgios does what he wants and says what he wants on a tennis court, seemingly no matter the ramifications, and amid all the near-napping, cursing and racket smashing, he troubled Andy Murray for moments at the U.S. Open. Only for brief moments, though. In the tournament's

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Angelique Kerber didn't really like playing on clay. That's changed in a big way Sunday when the fifth-seeded German rallied past American Madison Keys to win the Family Circle Cup. The 27-year-old Kerber trailed 4-1 in the final set, yet took six of the last seven games

GHENT, Belgium (AP) With one perfect lob, Andy Murray ended eight decades of Davis Cup frustration for Britain. By beating David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday, Murray secured Britain's 3-1 victory over Belgium in the Davis Cup final and ended a drought for the country dating back to 1936.

PARIS (AP) Maybe it's because Novak Djokovic was only 19 at the time, young and full of bravado. Or perhaps it's because he simply was saying aloud what he certainly hoped, but couldn't be absolutely positive, was true. Then again, there's also the possibility that Djokovic knew he had conjured