In light of Novak Djokovic’s hard-fought 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 12-10 victory over the 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday, I’ve decided to rank the most epic tennis Grand Slam matches of the last five years. Tennis fans have been treated to some incredibly intense matches in a very short amount of time, so let’s count them down. 9) Lukas Rosol def. Rafael Nada ...

His play is electrifying, with a grace and fluidity matched by few in the game today. Three years ago he was almost unarguably the best player in the game, superior to Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.  Today, however, that must be questioned. On Friday, Rafael Nadal announced that, due to a stomach virus, he won’t be partaking in the Australian Open this year, which starts on January 14th. Th ...

Since the US Open, there have been some subtle shifts in the tennis landscape, but none nearly as noteworthy as Andy Murray’s breakthrough championship at Flushing Meadows. The budding rivalry between Murray and Djokovic has continued to materialize though: the Scot and the Serb met in another epic final in Shanghai last Sunday. Post- US Open tennis though is not usually a time for the big four to showcase ...

Doppleganger professional athletes are very hard to come by. While watching the USA vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Roger Federer plays soccer?!” Of course, the man I was watching run the right flank was not Feds, but turned out to be Graham Zusi, one of the newest members of the US National Team. Zusi played well in his first USMNT start, and as both ...

The 2012 US Open could make a case for being the most memorable Grand Slam event of 2012. Andy Roddick retiring, Federer bowing out early, a new champion in Andy Murray and just flat-out great tennis has made this Open a pleasure to watch. Here are some final thoughts on a few of the many noteworthy story lines at Flushing Meadows this year. [caption id="attachment_8851" align="aligncenter" width="498" capt ...

The fourth grand slam of the year is finally upon us. After such a hectic post-Wimbledon tour schedule, the ATP’s best are seasoned, grizzled, and ready to give it one last go. Rafael Nadal’s arthritic knees have created a gaping hole in the draw, with one semifinalist guaranteed to not be a part of the big four. All four sections of the draw have some promising early round match-ups, and we should be prepa ...

[caption id="attachment_8332" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo credit: www.tumblr.com"][/caption] I’m a little late to the Andy Murray victory party, but honestly I feel shocked that his redemption seems to have happened so fast. Against tennis’ greatest player of all time, exactly four weeks after losing a heartbreaking final at the same hallowed grounds of the All England Club, the tortured ...