Normalcy is not a part of the tennis world this week.  Continuing on from yesterday’s astounding results, Federer lost to Stepanek, and Serena Williams saw her 17-match winning streak halted by Safina.  Anyway, without further ado, here are some of the best articles from the world of tennis this week:

ESPN considers Pete Sampras to be the greatest living tennis legend.

Amidst controversy, Madrid will be the site for the US vs. Spain Davis Cup Semifinal.

Peter Bodo weighs in on clay court tennis, from Rome.

Looks like the US Open will be moving to ESPN.

Probably in an effort to elevate Tennis’ popularity, ESPN360 is launching online coverage.

Latest mailbag from Jon Wertheim.  And his latest AD In/ AD Out Feature.

This is the first I’ve heard of this…Aussie doubles player Paul Hanley is involved in rape allegations.

In honor of Blake having a nice little run in Rome, here is possibly his best point ever.

So, Rafael Nadal has lost to someone he shouldn’t have, on clay, in the second round (his first match) at the Italian Open.  Not only did Rafael Nadal to former number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, he lost to him badly, 7-5, 6-1.  Nadal did complain after the match of a sore foot that began affecting him in his Barcelona final, and almost caused him to pull out against Ferrero before the match started.  That being said, I watched most of this match, and Juan Carlos played like it was 2001.  Ferrero was doing to Nadal what Nadal does to most of his opponents, keeping him on the defensive with penetrating, heavy balls, playing tremendous defensive shots, and attacking when necessary.  Nadal has had some choice words regarding the strenuous ATP Calendar in the month leading up to the French Open, and the fact that he had to play Ferrero about 72 hours after winning Barcelona (which came a week after winning Monte Carlo) certainly adds to his argument.

What’s even stranger than that? Two American’s have lasted longer than Nadal at a major clay-court event.  Both James Blake and Andy Roddick have made it to the quarterfinals in Rome.  A bit unexpected, given that this is Roddick’s first clay-court event of 2008, and that Blake got destroyed by unknown German Dennis Gremelmyr last week in Barcelona in his first match.  Blake got a bit lucky, as he was scheduled to play Nadal in the quarters, now gets to face Wawrinka (who beat Ferrero today) instead.   Roddick will face the winner of Roberedo/Davydenko.

Now, for perhaps the most shocking tennis news of the week, let’s turn our attention to the WTA.  Justine Henin, in her second match since getting decimated 6-2, 6-0 by Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open, lost to 17th ranked Dinara Safina today, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.  Truthfully, even though it went three sets, besides a five game stretch in the first set, Henin was thoroughly dominated.   In addition to that upset, Kuznetsova was upended by Alona Bondarenko 6-2 in the third.  With the second slam of the year looming, both of these gals will be looking to regain some confidence next week in Rome.

Latest mailbag from Jon Wertheim.

Great article on Sampras and his personal battles on clay from the SI archives. 

Winning Wimbledon just because a bit more profitable.

Peter Bodo’s thoughts on most recent Djokovic retirement.

Fifteen Years ago today the sportsworld suffered a tragic event.

Bonnie Ford writes on Monte Carlo and beyond…

Bjorn Borg has laid down some big expectations for Nadal.

Tennis Week interview with Max Miryni.

Sampras makes his Outback Tour debut this week, and in doing so will look to defend his Boston title from 2007.

Well, I guess my research needs a little work when it comes to Fed Cup.  Even though I was pretty sure China would come out on top in their matchup, at home no less, against what seemed like a weaker Spanish team, I was proved extremely wrong.  Spain came out and flat-out dominated China, winning the first three matches to clinch a spot in the Finals, before China’s Jie Zheng finally won a rubber.  And, so much for my comment on China having “the much stronger doubles pairings,” as they were dominated 6-2, 6-1 to finalize Spain’s 4-1 victory. Read the rest of this entry »

Last summer, in the beautiful green mountains of Stowe, Vermont, the USA battled the Russians and gave the eventually champions all they could handle, before falling 3-2 after an epic doubles match as thunderstorms threatened.  When they meet again this weekend, in Moscow, it will not be nearly as exciting.  The reason is simple, player participation.  For the Russians, they will yet again be featuring their two best players, both ranked top 10 in the world, Anna Chakvatadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova.  The USA on the other hand, will not have Venus Williams to do battle against the Russians.  Instead, Team USA will feature a few bright, young players such as Vania King, Ahsha Rolle and Madison Brengle.  In addition, the top ranked doubles player in the world, Liezel Huber, will join Team USA for the first time (she is a former South African who has recently gained US citizenship).   While it will be a nice chance for the future stars of US Women’s tennis to show what they can do on the international stage, it’s a shame players such as Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport or Jill Craybas will not be competiting, because as it stands, Team USA does not stand a chance…but hey, at least I am not running the VIP transportation. Read the rest of this entry »