On Monday I was back and forth between the Grandstand and Armstrong courts, looking for the Rocky of tennis.  But something occurred to me as I watched the underdogs go down:  In boxing, you always hear about a puncher’s chance.  But in tennis, one great punch is only one point, and to win a best-of-five [...]

Most every  article or broadcast preview of the U.S. Open I’ve seen focuses on the obvious questions, as though most tennis journalists are sharing notes– will Nadal win his first Open?  Can Federer reclaim another title?  Is Murray going to cash the U.S. Open Series bonus check for obscene millions and go to Disney World [...]

It’s not alway easy writing a blog about American men’s tennis (remember those Wimbledon predictions?) but the past two weeks have produced plenty of fodder, especially this weekend.  Sam Querrey wins his fifth title of the year, coming back on no less than Andy Murray.  The Bryan brothers set the all time record for doubles [...]

After Andy Roddick’s heartbreaking loss last year to Roger Federer at Wimbledon, an anxious U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe visited the London house where Roddick’s camp mourned.  He asked Roddick about playing in the U.S. team’s quarterfinal match with Croatia the next weekend, a grueling task on red clay. Roddick, “hemmed and hawed,” and McEnroe knew [...]

Jim Courier often does not get his due when American tennis players are discussed, but  he is the only one to win two French Opens (‘91, ‘92) since pros started playing Grand Slams 42 years ago.  And he is one of only three Americans in history to win the tournament twice (the others being Frank [...]

This year thus far has been the breakout year for John Isner – winning his first ATP title, reaching the round of 16 in Australia, and making a heroic Davis Cup debut this weekend in which he played all three days, including a great effort as a last-minute sub in the doubles and a valiant five-set [...]

Sam Cissell, recently named by the USTA as Alabama’s junior player of the year, also has the distinction of having been across the net from three-fourths of the U.S. Davis Cup team that plays in Serbia later this week.   The 16-year-old Cissell and friend Andrew Crumm last year won a doubles tournament that gave them the opportunity to [...]

Lost in much of the coverage of Federer the Great and Serena’s win in singles in the Australian Open were the feats by two sets of American siblings:  twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their eighth Grand Slam title, and Serena and Venus Williams won their 11th.  Americans may not win many singles titles these days, but [...]

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 [...]

If you think American tennis has had a long Grand Slam drought, consider Poland.  Stefan Dombrowski has the story here.