The evening was universally labeled a “blockbuster” in the Melbourne papers, and flashbulbs popped all over Rod Laver Arena for much of it. From my perspective the tennis lived up to the billing, but it’s unlikely that most of the other spectators in the house agreed. "Lefties over locals" was

MADRID (AP) — At the halfway point, the revamped Davis Cup Finals are drawing praise and criticism. On the one hand, matches have excited and the crowds thrilled. On the other, late night finishes and exploited loopholes in the rules have annoyed the players. After nearly 120 years of playing

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—When John Isner finally won the longest match in tennis history, he collapsed on the Wimbledon grass and then summoned one last burst of energy, springing to his feet to give his opponent a bear hug. Isner hit a backhand up the line Thursday to win the last

NEW YORK (AP) The Latest on the U.S. Open (all times local): 1:05 a.m. Novak Djokovic has reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the ninth consecutive year, beating 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2). The match began after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, and finished a

“I’m going to try even harder next time,” a brave-faced Daniil Medvedev said as he finished his runner-up speech after losing 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final on Sunday night. Is it possible for him to do more than he did? Medvedev tried

NEW YORK—When the Bryan brothers hand over their résumés during their perfunctory interview for the greatest doubles team of all time, an honor the 15-time major champions earned long ago, the Lords of Tennis will still be able to ask them one question: Can you explain what happened when you

PARIS (AP)—His dramatic and delightful French Open semifinal was 4 1/2 hours old — and 14 games into the fifth set — when Rafael Nadal raced from the net to the baseline to retrieve Novak Djokovic's seemingly unreachable lob. Many players wouldn't have bothered to give chase, let alone attempt

WIMBLEDON, England(AP) Serena Williams walked onto Court 2 for her match Friday six minutes late. Otherwise she remained right on schedule at Wimbledon. The two-time champion became the first player to earn a spot in the second week of the tournament when she beat Roberta Vinci in the third round,

Lopezvmuller_2By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan Note: Please treat this post as an Australian Open Crisis Centre. Regarding comments, please try and keep them on topic, and tennis-related -- thanks. Last Week's Tournaments Heineken Open (ATP - Outdoor Hard - Auckland, New Zealand) Singles: Juan Martin del Potro def. Sam

The name of the game this time of year in pro tennis is to find the quality level that will help you thrive at the upcoming US Open. With that in mind, Simona Halep and Beatriz Haddad Maia both leave Toronto feeling hopeful. In a physically grueling match that lasted

Borna Coric, it seemed, had finally done it. After playing for three sets and more than two hours against Roger Federer in Rome on Thursday, he had finally made a crucial shot, the shot he hadn’t been able to make all afternoon. Serving at 5-4 in the third-set tiebreaker, Coric

PARIS(AP) Serena Williams looked ill, and not only because she had lost five games in a row at the French Open. A trainer paid Williams a visit during a changeover, checked her temperature and gave her pills. Then came a third-set surge, and Williams beat 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on

With Rafael Nadal down a set to David Ferrer and serving at 5-6 in the second, I started to compose a Racquet Reaction in my head. It went, roughly, like this: “For once, it had been Ferrer who had been a step ahead of Nadal, who had opened up the

MIAMI, Fla.—The ball buzzed past Serena Williams so quickly at net that she barely had time to blink before taking appropriate action: She applauded. Trailing 1-4 at the outset of today's Sony Open semifinal, Williams showed respect for Maria Sharapova's passing shot by giving her rival a hand. The world

LONDON (AP) - Down a break at 3-1 in the first set, defending champion Novak Djokovic kept his cool on the hottest day in Wimbledon history. Running off 13 points in a row, Djokovic seized command and stayed in front the rest of the way on Centre Court as he

Taylor Fritz has reached the final of the ATP Finals for the first time in his career after a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the season-ending event on Saturday. And with the victory, he achieved a number of things. Most notably, he’s the

by Pete Bodo We aren't even into the third week of December yet, and I've already had it with "best of" lists for 2011. Do I give a rip about some movie critic's list of the 10 best movies of the year, especially when I know nothing can touch Puss

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Heather Watson has been through a lot at Wimbledon, and now she's made it through the third round for the first time. The 121st-ranked Watson, making her 12th appearance at the All England Club, advanced to the fourth round on Friday by beating Kaja Juvan 7-6

On Friday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, WTA and ATP players stepped on court with the hope of advancing to the quarterfinals. We highlight a few storylines from the busy day of action in Rome. With four wins under her belt this week, including two in qualifying, Daria Kasatkina looked

PARIS (AP)—Venus Williams was beaten in the fourth round of the French Open by Russia’s Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday, while Roger Federer easily advanced into the quarterfinals on the men’s side. Williams came into the tournament seeded No. 2 behind her sister Serena, but Petrova spoiled the possibility