Laurie's Tennis articles

The French Open is over for another year. A familiar winner was crowned in Rafael Nadal and now all eyes turn to Wimbledon. This year, Russian and Belarusian players are banned from Wimbledon, with the ITF, ATP and WTA removing ranking points from the event as a result. This puts Wimbledon in new territory, leaving players to play for prize money and prestige, but not the all-important ranking points. But, unsurprisingly, the field will still be very strong. Here’s a look at some of the leading contenders. https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2022/06/14/2022-wimbledon-contenders/

                It’s that time of year again. Spring is here, COVID restrictions are loosening, and the 2022 French Open is almost upon us! A perfect time to take a look at the contenders.   https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2022/05/21/the-2022-french-open-contenders/

  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...