I doubt most readers of this blog have been to an American dog track, where greyhounds run a frantic loop chasing an electronic rabbit that scoots along the rail.  In Sarasota, Fla., the announcer starts each race with a fevered, “Here comes lucky!” the dogs take off, and hundreds if not thousands of fans hold their [...]

I feel like I’ve been watching James Blake lose tough matches all of my life, from the  five-set defeat to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2001 U.S. Open to the brilliant fifth-set tiebreaker agaisnt Agassi in 2005 to his defeat to Fernando Gonzalez in Bejing that cost him an 2008 Olympic medal to early this morning in [...]

I’ll never forget watching Michael Russell against then No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round of the 2001 French Open.  Russell, a qualifer then ranked 122 in the world, won the first two sets and was up 5-2, and held a match point but couldn’t close it out.  He lost in five sets, and [...]

If you are one of the rare men’s tennis fans who care about those outside of the Big Four and believe that tennis is about more than selling Rolex watches, the weeks leading up to the first round of the U.S. Open hold serious intrigue.  For the first time in about seven years, the NCAA college [...]

Andy Roddick lost to Juan Martin Del Potro for the second time in six days, but still leaves Montreal with a strong showing, and promising play going toward the U.S. Open.  I was there when Roddick beat Verdasco on Thursday, and also saw Nadal’s return this week, as well as Andy Murray and Del Potro in action. [...]

The draw is up for the Lukoil Open, and the years and statistics are against me.  I play Samuel Sherrill from Southborough, Mass., a recent number one player for Roanoke College in Salem, Va., in the first round at 3 p.m. Friday.   So I’m giving away about twenty years, but will give it a shot.  He could always [...]

Some readers of this blog probably wonder, “Who in the hell is this idiot, and why does he think he can write about pro tennis? I bet he couldn’t win two points against a pro.”  I feel like I might be able to win two points against Roger Federer if we played three out of five [...]

I have at times poked a little fun at Andy Roddick here on these pages, and one of Topspinblog.com’s most popular posts remains the time I compared his April 2008 “faux-hawk” to the mohawk of Travis Bickle, Robert DeNiro’s deranged character in the movie Taxi Driver.  In casual discussions with tennis friends, I’ve been critical of his volleys, [...]

I’m sick of seeing the Fed in every advertisement during changeovers, and I am embarking on a boycott of Federer-advertised products.  I refuse to buy a NetJet or a Rolex watch.  At this rate, Federer’s agent might be trying to sell naming rights to his and Mirka’s forthcoming baby: Tiffany or Lexus if it’s a girl, or Mac, Nike or [...]

Has anyone noticed how much the roof over Centre Court resembles both the old and new stadiums of the Dallas Cowboys?  I have four suggestions they can implement since they are following the lead of the self-proclaimed America’s team:  1) The grass in Southwest London is already looking brown on day five, so they should put [...]