Craig Hickman's Tennis BlogCraig Hickman's Tennis BlogIrrevent musings of a tennis fanatic. ATP, WTA, ITF. On the court. Off the court. Articles
Stop the Presses: Querrey Upsets Gasquet!
2008-04-24 18:23:00 Sam Querrey rallied to defeat Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Monte-Carlo. Third claycourt match of 2008, third upset for the tall, spindly American with the big serve and forehand. But there's more. The game Sam brought to Melbourne and Las Vegas earlier this year led me to believe he'd perform better on clay than one might expect. That he's defeated Carlos Moya and Andreas Seppi and now More About: Stop
Upset Special?
2008-04-21 17:31:00 I just picked my jaw up from the floor. American Sam Querrey beat Spaniard and former Roland Garros and Monte-Carlo champion Carlos Moyá today in Monte-Carlo? Is that a typo on my own scoreboard? Just asking. More About: Special , Upset
She Did It
2008-04-20 23:32:00 She wanted it so badly, she almost let it slip away. But Serena Williams recovered from her lapses and took her first Family Circle Cup title over Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a well-fought, high-quality battle. For the Russian's part, her world-class ground strokes and superb court coverage put her right with Serena for the entire match. Had she controlled her nerves a bit better, either
Finally
2008-04-19 23:58:00 It's the third week of April and Roger Federer rallied from a set down and two games from defeat to advance to his first final of the season on his worst surface: the red clay of Europe. Who'd have thunk it? If such irony continues, he'll win Roland Garros at the beginning of June. Meantime, he'll want to beat the Russian with the new magic racquet in the Estoril Open final tomorrow. Does More About: Finally
Serena Overcomes Maria
2008-04-19 01:26:00 First let me just say how nice it is to be watching tennis on ESPN again. Not because of the snarky, gossipy, silly and Maria -worshipping commentary by Pam Shriver, Cliff Drysdale, and Mary Jo Fernandez. But because if tennis is to ever regain any popularity in the United States, superstar rivalries such as the one between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova need to be broadcast widely. It was
Serena Survives in Charleston
2008-04-18 00:43:00 She's never won the Family Circle Cup. Runner-up to her nemesis in 2003, a mere weeks before that same player became infamous for The Hand in Paris. Serena Willliams wants to win the green clay Tier 1 event and she wants to win it badly. After she'd fallen on the slippery stuff and dropped the first set, she got up and played some of her best tennis against an equally-matched-on-the-day More About: Charleston
Davis Cup Photos
2008-04-16 10:23:00 Instead of posting them all on the blog and making the page load slowly, you can see a photo album here. More About: Photos , Davis
Davis Cup Postscript
2008-04-15 01:00:00 First, thank you to Savannah for filling in yesterday. I had technical issues over the weekend. I did recover from my migraine, but it left me rather lethargic. I guess it was good there were no big celebrations on Saturday night. I wouldn't have had the energy to snoop them out. You all already know what happened. And I don't have any great pictures to show you. That was one part of the More About: Davis
See You In September
2008-04-14 14:06:00 by Savannah The Davis Cup Semi Finalists 2008 Argentina Russia Spain United States In other news: Maria Sharapova won the WTA tournament at Amelia Island Doubles Bethanie Mattek and Vladimira Uhlirova Doubles Champions Amelia Island 2008 More About: September
Blake's Heroics Put US in the Lead
2008-04-12 03:04:00 James Blake is the hero yet again. His gutsy victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 put the United States ahead of France 2-0 going into tomorrow's crucial doubles rubber. And his teammates were thrilled. Despite a terrible migraine that caused me to leave the live action after the first set of second rubber, I followed the match on the Internet at the hotel. Imagine More About: Lead
Live From North Carolina
2008-04-10 22:53:00 They clean up well, don't they? Bob Bryan (or is that Mike?), Andy Roddick, James Blake, Mike Bryan (or is that Bob?), and captain Patrick McEnroe will take another step to defend the Cup against France in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Winston-Salem this weekend. I was looking forward to the blockbuster match-ups Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but alas, both are out with injury. Andy More About: North Carolina , North , Live , Carolina
Venus Takes Indefinite Hiatus
2008-04-09 02:36:00 Associated Press AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. Six-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will be sidelined indefinitely, though she did not say why she will be out of action. "I've just been having some issues that I need to resolve, so I'm working on that at the moment and I'm hoping to be back playing as soon as possible," Williams said Tuesday at the Bausch & Lomb Championships. "I'm not going to More About: Hiatus , Indefinite
Queen of Miami
2008-04-05 22:18:00 She did it. For the first time since 2004, Serena Williams defended a title. With her fifth Sony Ericsson Championship, Serena ties Steffi Graf in all-time wins in Miami by a WTA player. Graf's husband, Andre Agassi, holds the all-time record with six championships. It wasn't easy. Or it was. That would depend which part of the match you watched. Jelena Jankovic had no answers for Serena in More About: Queen
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2008-04-04 22:50:00 Politics. History. Justice. Equality. Civil rights. It's off topic, but it's important, today of all days, 40 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King , Jr. To honor him, I'm posting this YouTube video. The content speaks for itself.
Yes He Can!
2008-04-04 03:18:00 Today, I buried my horse and my dog cried. Today, Serena Williams overcame herself and a valiant opponent in Svetlana Kuznetsova and won a brilliant and thrilling three-set match to put herself in a position to tie Steffi Graf's record of five Sony Ericsson Open titles. Today, Andy Roddick defeated world No. 1 and perennial monkey-on-his-back Roger Federer in a brilliant and thrilling three-set
Order Restored: Serena Slams Justine
2008-04-01 21:12:00 It was a good old-fashioned mugging. Defending champion Serena Williams jumped world No. 1 and last year's runner-up Justine Henin and never let her get up. The champion surrendered a mere two games, ushered her nemesis out of the tournament with a hot steamy bagel, and held her arms aloft. It was the kind of performance that elicits applause from Serena's biggest fans and strongest critics More About: Order
Andy Roddick To Marry Brooklyn Decker
2008-04-01 15:23:00 It's official. Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker are engaged. I saw them together in Portland, Oregon, last December at the Davis Cup celebration and they seemed, well, quite into each other. And if the gargantuan rock she's wearing is any indication... The happy couple met in New York City last year and have been dating since. Andy proposed earlier this month. With their hectic travel More About: Marry
Vintage Davenport Dismantles Ivanovic
2008-03-31 04:05:00 In a display of clean, powerful ball striking - the stuff of Lindsay Davenport's A-game - the American comeback mother crushed Indian Wells champion Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2. And it wasn't as close as the scoreline. Since her rise to the top echelon of women's tennis, Ivanovic has had trouble with the Big Babes of tennis. She's also been compared to Davenport in ball striking and style of play, More About: Vintage
What's Up With Vaidisova?
2008-03-30 16:09:00 In the last two events, the future champion, as Nicole Vaidisova's been called, as lost in her first two matches, including eating a second-set bagel at the Sony Ericsson Open yesterday. NikkiV has yet to make a final this year. In fact, she has yet to make a final in a Tier II event or above in her entire career. Does that sound like a future champion to you? What do her fans think?
Qualifier Beats Djokovic
2008-03-29 15:41:00 South African qualifier Kevin Anderson beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 in the defending champion's first match. If you recall, Anderson was the runner up at the Tennis Channel Open earlier this year. Djoke is off to a great start this year, but the first big title he has to defend he bombs in his first match. To a qualifier. Interesting. More About: Beats
Davydenko Expects To Be Cleared
2008-03-28 16:36:00 Nikolay Davydenko will be cleared of all match-fixing charges imminently, according to the Russian's lawyer. Irregular betting patterns surrounding Davydenko's defeat by Martin Vassallo Arguello at last August's Sopot Open prompted the ATP to launch an inquiry. But Frank Immenga told BBC Sport: "They should clear him any moment now." And that may prompt retributive action from the 27-
2007 WTA Tour Player Awards
2008-03-28 03:09:00 Player of the Year – Justine Henin (Fine) Doubles Team of the Year – Cara Black and Liezel Huber (Of Course) Most Improved Player – Ana Ivanovic (Understandable) Comeback Player of the Year – Lindsay Davenport (I Like Lindsay But That's Just Wrong) Newcomer of the Year – Agnes Szavay (Yup) Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award – Ana Ivanovic (Spread The Wealth, Will Ya?) Player Service More About: Awards , Player , Tour
What's Up With Marat Safin?
2008-03-28 02:12:00 No offense to American Bobby Reynolds, but the journeyman qualifier had no business ousting Marat Safin in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in a third set breaker. Marat is beloved by virtually everybody. But I think it's time he become a bona fide celebrity and give up tennis. If he wants to have a decent legacy, that is. Some say he's the most naturally gifted tennis player in the
The Sony Ericsson Open
2008-03-27 01:56:00 It started today and I barely noticed. I know I'm knee-deep in politics and all that, but this is the Fifth Slam, and this is my tennis blog. Woah. Am I losing interest in the sport I so love? Am I slacking? I can't say that I know the answer. I just peeped at the draws. Meh. Andy Roddick is again, as in Indian Wells, in Roger Federer's quarter. Will either of them be dismissed before that More About: Sony Ericsson , Sony , Open , Ericsson
2007 ATP Award Winners
2008-03-26 01:34:00 Player of the Year - Roger Federer (Fine) Doubles Team of the Year Presented by Stanford - Mike and Bob Bryan (Yup) Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Presented by Stanford - Roger Federer (Um. Okay) Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year - Ivan Ljubicic (Yeah. Right) ATPtennis.com Fans’ Favorite (Singles) Presented by RICOH - Roger Federer (Fine) ATPtennis.com Fans’ Favorite (Doubles) - Mike and Bob More About: Winners , Award
Meet Andy Roddick Tonight In New York
2008-03-24 16:53:00 (Getty Images) New York ers can start next week celebrating an anniversary with Andy Roddick and contributing to his cause in the process. The former U.S. Open champion will celebrate Lacoste's 75th anniversary with an in-store appearance at Bloomingdale's on 59th Street in Manhattan on Monday night. Roddick will appear in the men's store on the first floor of Bloomingdale's from 6-8 p.m. on More About: Meet , Tonight
Serbian Spring
2008-03-24 03:36:00 Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic 2008 Pacific Life Open champions I can't say I've ever seen Ana play so well. I didn't recognize the deft ball striker in the reddish dress who's matured into an athlete. Svetlana Kuznetsova couldn't stand the heat. Ana has been in the finals of the two biggest events on the calendar this year, and she won this one. Djoke ended Mardy Fish's improbable run More About: Spring , Serbian
Mardy Fish Routs Roger Federer
2008-03-23 03:15:00 If somebody had told me that Mardy Fish would be the next American to defeat Roger Federer anywhere in the world since Andy Roddick nearly 5 years ago, I'd have told them they were out of their frickin mind. But that's exactly what the record books will record. 6-3, 6-2. Woah. The fewest games Raja has won in defeat since he became No. 1 just over five years ago. And Mardy did it on home soil.
Last American Standing
More articles from this author:2008-03-22 17:27:00 Mardy Fish upset David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) to advance to his first Masters semifinal since 2003, where in his quarterfinal match he happened to beat none other than David Nalbandian. He gets a shot at the well-rested Roger Federer, who got yet another walkover at a big event from Tommy Haas. Wonder what's going on between those two... It's a great result for Mardy who has struggled More About: American , Standing 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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