AUSSIE OPEN BUZZ: Of Shot Puts and Shot Poets and the First Teenage Dad in...
YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN MELBOURNE WHEN…They play cricket in the huge 102,000-seat stadium right by the tennis arena…On changeovers they play “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”…People emanate a certain athleticism…The...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN: Nick Kyrgios Commits Cardinal Sin
Nick Kyrgios is a sublime talent. Winners explode from his Yonex racket. He shows us power serves, flicky forehands and compact backhands that amaze. His return of serve is a mean wonder. You’re...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN: Istomin is the Man
Bill Simons MELBOURNE: Dennis Istomin may come from a tennis outback – Uzbekistan. He may be coached by his mom. But so what? Remember Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Jimmy Connors all had their games...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN: Serena’s Most Incredible Press Conference Ever
Bill Simons No other tennis player has given such a wide range of press conferences as Serena. Some have been insightful. Others have been boring or perfunctory. Many have had an edge – sometimes...
View ArticleTHE BOSS TALKS: ITF Chief Dave Haggerty on Changing Tennis, the Davis Cup,...
Bill Simons MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—I knew ITF Executive Director Dave Haggerty when he headed Prince, then Head, and then became the President of the USTA. His quiet authority, his fine serve and...
View ArticleThe Most Beautiful Tennis Match Ever Played
ROGER’S MELBOURNE MAGIC – A MATCH FOR THE AGES Bill Simons MELBOURNE—Half-volley winners while twisting backwards from the baseline, leaping backhand overheads, spontaneous flicks that astound, laser...
View ArticleAUSSIE OPEN BUZZ: Fed’s Coach On the Man, Plus: Venus’ Serenity and the...
MELBOURNE MADNESS: When you come to Melbourne, one thing strikes you: It’s so civil and user-friendly. You wind up saying to yourself, “These folks know how to live.” Then a guy (and it always seems to...
View ArticleMary On the Man Who Bends Time: A Pop-Up Interview with Carillo
It was one of those moments. You had to be there. For some reason broadcast commentator Mary Carillo showed up in the first row of the Australian Open’s print interview room for the Jo Konta presser....
View ArticleWhen You Mischa Upon a Star
Bill Simons MELBOURNE The talk Down Under was over the top. With Andy Murray’s great nemesis, Novak Djokovic, knocked out of the Australian Open, the title was Murray’s to lose. And with the tides of...
View ArticleTALES OF THE SERENA SELFIE MAN
Things had been getting far too heavy around Inside Tennis. When not coming up with deep-think reflections on Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, we were quoting philosophers – or resolving the problems of...
View ArticleTHE END OF AN ERA – SATURDAY MORNING LIVE WITH THE BRYANS IS NO MORE
Bill Simons In Texas football there’s Friday Night Lights. In the NFL there’s Monday Night Football. In Davis Cup tennis, there’s Saturday Morning Live with the Bryans. For 14 sweet years, Bob and...
View ArticleBLUR-BABY-BLUR: The Considerable Life and Times of America’s Andy – Andy Roddick
Bill Simons MELBOURNE – When Andy Roddick – a raw prairie kid with tons of swagger – powered his way to the 2003 US Open title, it was a big deal. “Whiz kid wins America’s Grand Slam” – now there’s a...
View ArticleWomen’s Tennis’ Future First Spouse Speaks Out on Serena – The Alexis Ohanian...
He’s everything Bill Clinton aspired to be. The former American President hoped again be in the White House. But Donald Trump stepped up and said – “Sorry, Bill, you’re not going to be the first...
View ArticleAUSSIE OPEN BUZZ: ‘Hold Onto Your Tickets Ladies, and Stick ‘Em Down Your Bras’
AUSSIE OPEN BUZZ: ‘Hold Onto Your Tickets Ladies, and Stick ‘Em Down Your Bras’ IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AT WIMBLEDON: A jaunty Australian Open usher told fans exiting during a changeover, “Hold onto your...
View ArticleVENUS AND SERENA – ‘The Greatest Sports Story’
Bill Simons MELBOURNE The ecstasy overwhelmed her. The moment arrived. On Venus Williams’ second match point, her foe’s forehand whizzed long. The Australian Open semifinal was hers. She could not...
View ArticleTHE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE WATCHING – Rafa, Roger, Serena and Venus Headline the...
MELBOURNE – Bill Simons Two big men gathered on a small island in October. Roger Federer went to Majorca to help his great friend and rival open his junior tennis academy. Distant from the glare, the...
View ArticleA TALE OF TWO SISTERS – Serena Gets Her 23rd
Bill Simons MELBOURNE – One is a giddy extrovert, fun-loving and silly. The other is an elusive introvert with a hint of zen. Her mantra is in-the-moment. One has vast rounded shoulders, such...
View ArticleROGER THAT! The Athletic Poetry of Roger Federer
Melbourne – Bill Simons The rivalry captures so much. It evokes so much: the dreamy, immaculate dancer Fred Astaire floating and free vs. the bounding, energetic hoofer Gene Kelly. Poet pugilist...
View ArticleROGER FEDERER – THE MAN WHO BENDS TIME
• A GENIUS WHO INSISTS ON CREATING: Half-volley winners while twisting backward from the baseline, wrist snaps that astound, laser forehands, unreadable serves, leaping backhand overheads – Roger...
View ArticleFAREWELL MR. MAC: Patrick McEnroe Sr. – The First Father of American Tennis
By Bill Simons John McEnroe’s dad was elated. The young John Patrick McEnroe Sr., who they called JP, had just received the fabulous news. Among all the hundreds of fiercely competitive,...
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