I allow myself to briefly occupy the mythical Commissioner of Tennis Chair that John McEnroe publicly campaigns for now and again. Johnny Mac campaigned long and hard to be the U.S. Davis Cup captain only to quit after one year, but when should reality ever hurt speculation and offering advice? Here are my [...]

“There is a burning desire in Roger to break my record, and when he does it I would like to be there,” Sampras told the BlackRock Tour of Champions. “I told Roger to just make sure it’s in New York or London! Australia is a long way to go! If it worked out like that, I would fly there. I would just let him enjoy it as it’s his moment but (I would want to be there) just to respect the record and what he was able to do and to just say ‘congratulations.’”

In January Roger Federer’s remarkable all-time streak of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals came to an end. Reaching the equivalent of 2 ½ years of Grand Slam finals is an insane number. Federer continued a second streak by reaching his 16th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday June 4. Such a streak amounts to reaching the Final Four at 4 years of Grand Slam events. Putting those numbers into perspective in the world of sport is difficult.

During the French fortnight, Wilander asserted, “What I understand because my career is over and what Federer doesn’t understand because his isn’t, is that the day he beats Nadal on clay is the day he will never lose to Rafael Nadal again.” That scenario wasn’t plausible then, and it’s impossible now. As John McEnroe remarked, “Federer now seems farther away than ever from winning this.” Mary Carillo posed and answered the real question: “What’s to stop Nadal from carrying all this confidence into Wimbledon in a couple weeks?” And can Federer, who barely staved off rampaging Nadal in the 2007 Big W final, stop him and Djokovic there?

Can you imagine Andy Roddick coming into Rafael Nadal’s house at Roland Garros and stealing a match? That is exactly what Nadal did at Queen’s, beating the four-time winner and defending champion in straight sets, as well as toppling the serving machine Ivo Karlovic in three consecutive tiebreaks during the week.

“I had obviously a strategy in mind, but I couldn’t do it because of Rafa’s play,” Federer said. “He’s so hard to stop once he’s on top of you. The moment I step off this court I will think of grass — I’m looking forward to the grass, that’s for sure.”

Hey NBC, thanks for keeping tennis on the always-tape-delayed down-low in the U.S., and you in on some conspiracy to kill tennis?

Ivanovic v Safina in First-Time-Winner French Open Final
The players with the most heart won out Thursday in the French Open semifinals, where Serb Ana Ivanovic and Russian Dinara Safina set up a meeting to see which will walk away with their first Grand Slam title.
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Ivanovic outlasted her Serbiajn compatriot Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in [...]

Kuzy, Safina Advance to All-Russian French Open Semifinal
Down a set and 2-5 in the second, Russian Dinara Safina staged another gutsy comeback Wednesday at the French Open, defeating countrywoman Elena Dementieva 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 to advance into her first semifinal at Roland Garros.
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Dementieva, the former French Open runner-up and a doormat for more mentally-stronger opponents [...]

“I tried to play it at the beginning, but I did not expect such results…He starts playing and his balls bounce up six meters high,” Almagro told reporters. “These are things I’m not used to. I’m not used to that on the tour, to have such heavy balls, such pace, such rhythm. His level is very high. It’s very difficult to play equal.”