“Hello” and “Goodbye” with not much time in between. Hardly the way to visit Melbourne, a beautiful city. Maybe a latte, perhaps a bagel. Work up a sweat for nearly 3 ½ hours, then head for the airport, and cross off Melbourne for another year. Was that any way to blow town, a town that she had owned only two years ago. Then she stuck around for two weeks, long … [Read more...] about IN A BATTLE OF MARIA’S, KIRILENKO SENDS SHARAPOVA HOME TOO SOON
Australian Open
ROGER HAS A GREAT IDEA AIMED IN THE DIRECTION OF STRICKEN HAITI
How do you sell out a tournament that doesn’t exist? It takes a little imagination and a big heart belonging to a guy named Federer. So the Australian Open which hadn’t opened its doors was nevertheless overflowing Sunday with thousands of witnesses to a non-event. Maybe you could call it Opengate, or a sudden Love-Haiti rush. Whatever the definition, 15,000 seat Rod … [Read more...] about ROGER HAS A GREAT IDEA AIMED IN THE DIRECTION OF STRICKEN HAITI
TO CLOSE OR NOT TO CLOSE? WHAT WOULD HAMLET HAVE SAID?
”We’re havin’ a heat wave – a tropical heat wave…” An old Broadway show tune that some deejay here in Melbourne should have draged out. But probably never heard of. You expect Australian summer to be toasty. But we felt like slices of Wonder Bread slipped into the toaster. It’s was an historic monsoon of Hadean heat according to the Melbourne weather bureau, the … [Read more...] about TO CLOSE OR NOT TO CLOSE? WHAT WOULD HAMLET HAVE SAID?
AUSSIE ENDS WITH A LALAPALOOZA – ROUNDHOUSE RAFA CONNECTS
Pete Sampras couldn’t defend himself. But a friend in need turned out to be a young Spanish guy who responded when Sampras screamed, “Stop thief!” The prospective thief, named Roger Federer, had his eyes and grasping hands on Sampras’s treasure, the record 14 major singles championships he earned over 13 years of roaming the world with a dominating tennis racket. Federer … [Read more...] about AUSSIE ENDS WITH A LALAPALOOZA – ROUNDHOUSE RAFA CONNECTS
SISTER SERENA PROVES IT: SHE’S THE WORLD BEST IN ONE OF WORST FINALS
It’s not Serena’s fault that Dinara Safin contracted stagefright. Or maybe it is. Looking across the net at destructive Sister Serena is not one of the great views. Nothing scenic about it. It’s like peering over the edge of a cliff and losing your balance. It was the tennis version of falling into the Grand Canyon, and in this battle for the No. 1 ranking, No. 3 Dinara … [Read more...] about SISTER SERENA PROVES IT: SHE’S THE WORLD BEST IN ONE OF WORST FINALS