“I’ve been fortunate in being whisked across the globe for decades by this game, and I’ll be sharing some of the fascinating experiences and destinations.
Meanwhile, keep on hacking. While your own game may not take you to Wimbledon, it’s more important than Nadal or Federer’s because it keeps you moving (in whatever manner) and, for a valuable while, rescues you from the cares of the day.”
LONDON – When Novak Djokovic – certainly the first citizen of Serbia now – was but a 12-year old, he was more concerned about the bombing of his hometown than what happened on its few scruffy tennis courts. “But I had this dream about a place called Wimbledon. And hoped. The [NATO] planes usually bombed…
LONDON – Maria Sharopova, the Siberian Siren, has been giving the cold shoulder to those who would beat her during this 125th Wimbledon. For two weeks she was pitching shutouts, along with her warbling, shrieking, ungenerously refusing to give up even one set. Twelve sets played; 12 sets won. Maria had a 7-year itch,…
LONDON – The centuries old tale of St George and the Dragon is a popular item in this town. After all, the heroic George is the patron saint of England, and dragons keep their distance. Anyway, yesterday seemed perfect for an updated re-run. The local tennis Cathedral called Wimbledon was jammed with 14,979 parishioners, and…
LONDON – “Where are those Williams sisters?” a Wimbledon ticket-holder asked me yesterday. They lost in the fourth round, I replied. “So what?” the guy, an American, persisted. “They’re as much a part of this place as strawberries, ivy and the Pimm’s Cups. It should be like our baseball with designated hitters. Just insert them…
Paris – Don’t stand too close to a lion. You might get bit. A nice young woman a long way from home, Aussie Samantha Stosur, found that out Saturday as 14,845 tennis devotees shrieked, clapped, howled and flapped the flags of Italy and Australia in wild disbelief while the new champion of France was sharpening her…
PARIS – When Roger Federer walked onto the umber-toned earthen tennis court at Roland Garros yesterday, he looked at the man accompanying him to the final and was pleased. The guy was not Rafael Nadal, who had beaten him here the last four years. Instead he was Roger’s benefactor, the man who had removed Nadal…
PARIS — Dinara Safina wore the face of a woman who had just watched her home burn down. And she had forgotten to insure it. Or maybe she let the kids play with matches. Well, a tennis court is pretty much Dinara’s home, and none is more desirable to a European than Roland Garros’s primary…
PARIS — A shotmaking frenzy! What else could you call the two firefights — aka semifinals — that lit up Roland Garros Saturday, leaving Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Martin Del Potro biting the swirling salmon-toned dust. Hail to them. Though defeated, they made a showdown such as this old ball park hasn’t seen in…
MELBOURNE — Dire musings from the tennis parlor called Melbourne Park: Has Australian tennis civilization gone the way of the Etruscans and the Aztecs? Are the Aussies emulating the ancient Romans in playing bad defense against the Barbarians at the gates? Can Australians masquerade as phoenixes and rise from the ashes? (Not…
MELBOURNE — Call it Woeful Wednesday. It was the day the Australian Open lost its leading man very unexpectedly – Rafa Nadal. And professional tennis lost one of its most appealing champions. For good, this time – Justine Henin. Put them together and it was a huge, staggering hit for the game. There would be…
MELBOURNE – The star of the show did not win. Yes, she won the crowd of 15,000 at the Australian Open. And she won the praise of her colleagues, foremost among them No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. But it was time to go home for the Italian pixie, Francesca Schiavone, the end of one of the…
MELBOURNE – A couple of very nice young ladies went out to play a game of tennis at Melbourne Park Sunday. They’d done it before. Twelve times over eight years. But they weren’t ready for what happened – something that had never happened in the history of the Australian Open. They would play, and play,…
NEW YORK – So you retire. Goodbye, good luck. Somebody sent flowers. Old colleagues send cigars and J&B. Speeches are made, lauding a loyal employee’s efforts on behalf of the old company for over a decade. Farewell. You will be remembered, but – what’s this? – you show up at the…
NEW YORK — If you’re a British reporter covering the U.S. Open, you don’t have much to do besides admiring the Autumnal landscape. Always nice to visit America in early September. You might even bring a racket to swat a few balls in Central Park. But the tennis at Flushing Meadows, where the big boys…
While the Republicans and Democrats were slinging lies and insults at each other in the name of freedom, another quaint American custom was getting under way in a New York Meadow called Flushing. This exercise features men and women swinging clubs at each other and hitting yellow balls at their feet. It is called the…
Never mind Federer. Forget about Azarenka. The big news from the United States Open is that Bud Collins is coming back. Bud’s gaudy slacks have not been seen – and his gaudy prose has not been read or heard – since he ruptured a tendon in his left quad during the 2011 Open. It has…
NEW YORK – An abrupt end to our US Open – Bud had a small fall Sunday, suffering a complete rupture of his quad tendon. After being cared for attentively by the medical team at the US Open, headed by Brian Hainline, it was determined that he needed surgery as soon as possible. And so we…
NEWPORT, Rhode Island — They threw a “You are there!” birthday bash on the grounds of the Grand Old Lady of Bellevue Avenue the other day at the Hall of Fame. She, of course, being the Newport Casino, sturdy of timbers and rich in history, justifyingly proud of her role as the elder housemother of…
NEWPORT, R.I. – From punk to paragon… I wrote those words about him some time ago, and Andre Agassi didn’t like it. “I’ve never been a punk or a paragon,” he countered. OK, maybe not a punk in his childish days – but certainly he’s plenty admirable now, and has been, in his inspirational role…
Yannick Noah, the charismatic Frenchmen whose win at the 1983 French Open will be replayed ad-nauseum over the next three weeks, is 50 years old. The dread-locked swash-buckler was born May 18, 1960 in Sedan, France. The following is his biography as it appears in THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press,…
Wasn’t it just yesterday when Gabriela Sabatini was 14 years old, playing in the nationally-televised Family Circle Cup final on NBC against Chris Evert in 1985. Well, she’s all grown up now and is 40 years old (Sunday, May 16, 2010). Here’s her bio as it appears in my book THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF…
Richard “Pancho” Gonzalez would have been 82 years old on Sunday, May 9, if he was still with us. Here’s his biography as it appears in my book THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com) Very much his own man, a loner and an acerbic competitor, Richard “Pancho” Alonzo Gonzalez was…
Birthday huzzahs to Andre Agassi, who turns 40 on Thursday, April 29, 2010. Here’s my summary of his life and career in this excerpt from my book “THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS” ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com) A player of irresistible flair, appeal and shot-making ability since appearing on the professional landscape as a…
All right, so it’s time again to look backwards. This happens every 10 years as selections of the best matches (best- remembered anyway) of the decade crop up. I’ve decided on a selection of men’s and women’s matches – only ones I’ve attended. Whatever the reasons, they splash about in my neural mush. …
On May 14, 2008, Justine Henin stunningly announced her retirement from professional tennis at age 25. She was the first current No. 1 player to ever walk away from the game. Now, she is back. After a year away from the game, and perhaps inspired by her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters successful comeback to tennis…
Christine Marie Evert turns 55 on December 21, 2009. Upon turning 18 years old in 1972, she officially turned professional, saying “I’ll miss the senior prom, but it will be worth it. I think I am ready to play tennis for money….I’m eager not only to become a pro, but to get out of school.”…
The Barcelona Bumblebee – Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain – turns 38 years old on December 18, 2009. Does it not seem just yesterday that she was an effervescent 17-year-old who shocked Steffi Graf to win the 1989 French Open? Arantxa’s career is outlined below in this excerpt from my book THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY…
December 14 marks the birthday of two of the greatest tennis player of all time Henri Cochet and Stan Smith. The biographies of both Wimbledon champions and members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame are documented below from my book THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com). Enjoy! Henri…
