ROME – Just when you thought it was against the rules of women’s tennis to serve and charge the net, a who-she? senorita with a boxcar length name landed amid the pines at Il Foro Italico to smack holes in the accepted wisdom. Apparently nobody told Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez out of Barcelona that the first commandment of the women’s game is: Thou shalt not volley. Is … [Read more...] about THOU SHALT VOLLEY AND DROP SHOT
Rome Masters
POVERINA ITALIA – LIKE THE GUYS’ OPEN, THE DOLLS MARRED BY DEFAULTS
ROME – You can find anything in this ancient city. But diligent searchers had an almost impossible task in trying to uncover semifinals of the Italian Open. Four is the normal quota. At last, on a muggy Saturday afternoon, one did pop up: long shot Alize Cornet – she of the lovely name meaning ocean breeze — overcame No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, as a slim crowd … [Read more...] about POVERINA ITALIA – LIKE THE GUYS’ OPEN, THE DOLLS MARRED BY DEFAULTS
A BOSTONIAN FINDS SPRING AGAIN IN ROME – AND A WEIRD ITALIAN OPEN
ROME — For 35 years, a remedy to Boston’s erratic, pseudo spring has seemed to be a flight to the Italian Open and almost guaranteed sunshine. Rome sweet Rome has been the annual escape for me since 1973, a discovery of Il Foro Italico, the playpen whose earthen courts have been such a frustrating mystery for American guys. Originally named Il Foro Mussolini for the dictator … [Read more...] about A BOSTONIAN FINDS SPRING AGAIN IN ROME – AND A WEIRD ITALIAN OPEN