Laurie's Tennis articles

  The tennis season is over and 2022 is around the corner. The WTA Tour was, as usual, full of flux and drama this year. Here’s a look back at five of the most surprising and shocking moments of the season: https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2021/12/22/five-crazy-wta-moments-2021/

  There were some fantastic matches during the 2021 US Open. One of the stars of the tournament was Leylah Fernandez , who wowed crowds with her crafty game and competitive spirit.  Every match Fernandez was involved in had drama, including the final. The quarterfinal match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina caught my eye. However, not for reasons I imagined. Fernandez’s running crosscourt forehand in particular left me thinking, the shot reminds me of another player. Then it dawned, Leylah Fernandez ’s crosscourt forehand reminded me of Pete Sampras ’ crosscourt forehand! https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2021/10/06/pete-sampras-the-right-hander-who-played-like-a-left-hander/

  It has been a strange week for Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open.  In three rounds of tennis, Tsitsipas played two five-set blockbusters lasting over four hours each, sandwiched by a four setter. The way those matches played out and ultimate defeat to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz leaves Tsitsipas at an undoubted crossroads. Read on.... https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2021/09/05/crossroads-for-stefanos-tsitsipas/

This was a momentous weekend in the history of women’s tennis. 19 year old Canadian Leylah Fernandez played 18 year old Brit Emma Raducanu for the US Open championship match. Raducanu is the first qualifier to win a major title in the history of the sport, without dropping a set. Meanwhile Fernandez defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka, 2016 champion Angelique Kerber, 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina and world number 2 Irina Sabalenka en route to the final.  It was a high quality match and inspires me to take a look at the last teenage final in the US Open championships. That final in 1999 between Serena Williams and Martina Hingis took place in vastly different circumstances. This was an era where it was almost normal for teenagers to win major titles and dominate the sport.  In fact, 18 year old Hingis had been number 1 in the world since 1997! with five major titles under her belt. 17 year old Serena Williams was seen as the next big player coming through. Father Rich...

Daniil Medvedev is a player on the rise, a member of the “next gen”, Daniil won his biggest tournament to date at the season ending World Tour finals in London, defeating Dominic Thiem in an entertaining three set match.   Daniil showed resilience in coming from a set down to win convincingly, taking advantage of Thiem’s mental and physical tiredness in the third set.   Daniil also got revenge on Thiem, who defeated him in straight sets in the US Open semi-final earlier this autumn.   Daniil also became the first player to defeat the top 3 seeds to win an event on the ATP tour and should be congratulated for that achievement.   Daniil has an unorthodox and intriguing game style which is definitely worth looking at in some depth. Daniil’s Serve Daniil is the latest in a long line of very tall professional tennis players. Since the start of the 1990s, players 6 ft 4 plus (1 metre 95) include Todd Martin, Michael Stich, Mark Rosset, Alexander Popp, Mark Philippous...

This year’s US Open final between Alexander (Sasha) Zverev and Dominic Thiem would usually be the final major tournament of 2020. Despite the strange situation of one more major tournament to be played at the French Open due to coronavirus, it does not stop us from assessing how the “next gen” performed at the US Open in the absence of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and the unfortunate disqualification of Novak Djokovic during the tournament.   This gave the US Open an impetus and sense of urgency we have not seen at a major tournament for years, probably since 2001 Wimbledon when Federer knocked Pete Sampras out of Wimbledon and all of the remaining players suddenly realised it was their big opportunity.   So, how did the “next gen” do at the US Open and what are the implications for the future of men’s tennis going forward?   What we saw was a mixed bag of performances by the stars of tomorrow which left more questions than answers, and that includes the final itself...

The 2000s was the most competitive decade for women’s tennis. An era where a number of talented players came through together, culminating in a plethora of serious rivalries; similar to the 1980s men’s tour when Lendl, McEnroe, Connors, Edberg, Becker and Wilander all fought it out for top spot and major titles.    Let’s take a look at the great players and the legacy they have left, in the order of the players with the most weeks at number 1 throughout the decade. NB : For the purpose of this article, I will refer to legacy Tier 1, Primary Mandatory and Primary 5 as Tier 1 titles.    Justine Henin Justine Henin is the first player to feature, the premiere player in the mid-2000s, Justine spent a total of 117 weeks as number 1 in the world.   Once described as “the female Federer” by John McEnroe, Justine won seven major titles including four French Opens, two US Opens and one the Australian Open in 2004. Justine never won Wimbledon but made ...