I’ll be the first to admit that I have always been a proponent of shortening the tennis season.  However, lately I’ve come around a bit and have started to realize the benefits of basically holding tournaments ten of the twelve months.  And in fact, for the many players who qualify for the season ending championships, that time period is even longer.  On the one hand people argue that the season is way too long, players get injured, no one cares, it makes no sense to hold tournaments after the biggest (US Open) of the year, etc. etc.  (more…)

I could write a plethora of irrelevant musings on the goings on in the tennis world (to date, that phrase contained the most 8th grade vocab words I’ve ever used), but considering the only thing I can think about is Josh Beckett striking out 18 batters tonight, I’ll just provide some links.

Justine Henin is almost as hot as the Rockies.

Roddick takes someone on with a frying pan.

Coria attempted his first comeback in awhile, it didn’t go well, points out Tennis.com’s Newsticker.

Tennis Australia does not like match fixers.

Chakvetadze qualifies for Madrid.

Latest Jon Wertheim mailbag.

Agassi making headlines, but not for his tennis game.

A preview of some upcoming charity events.

Red Sox over the Rockies in 6 games.

Glad the Sox won, although listening to Tim McCarver for another week may force me to dig out my own eardrums.  Ok, here comes an epic bridge from Red Sox baseball to professional tennis…The Red Sox proved over the past few days to be incredibly clutch, unlike say, pretty much every male still trying to qualify for the season ending ATP Tour Championships in Shanghai.  Five men have already qualified - Federer, Nadal, Djokavic, Davydenko and Roddick, leaving three spots open.  The following players are the viable candidates: Gonzalez, Blake, Ferrer, Robredo, Berdych, Gasquet, Haas, Moya & Ljubicic.  (more…)

The Red Sox bullpen has pretty much drained the creativity from my brain.  Actually, I take that back, listening to Tim McCarver tell me interesting tidbits like “innings started by homeruns lead to more runs than innings started with walks” has definitely drained the creativity from my brain.  For you tennis fans reading who know nothing about baseball, that would be like John McEnroe saying, “Losing the first game in a set leads to more sets lost than losing the first point.”  No, in all seriousness, thank you FOX for making a bad series even worse.  Or maybe I’m just pissed that the Red Sox are losing.

Anyway, some links:

Against Canas, third time is a charm for Federer.

Federer will have to win three of four Grand Slams for the third year in a row to break the all time mark held by Sampras.  Even he is admitting that will be tough.

Gimelstob discuss the bright, although USA-less, future of the WTA.

Mario Ancic has traveled a long way down the road of recovery, some of the distance at the expense of James Blake.

Safin quits 2007, again.

Kid is five years old.

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the information that is out there regarding the possible gambling problem tennis seems to have, but I simply can’t wrap my head around it.  I have finally figured out why - it’s simply another form of cheating that has plagued ALL sports for generations, and will continue to do so for generations to come.  From the 1919 Chicago Black Sox to Renee Richards to Barry Bonds using the cream and the clear, time has proven that people will cheat. (more…)