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Almost unnoticed except by the sport’s most fervent followers, four tournaments came and went this week even while most of us recharged our batteries after the drama in Indian Wells and Miami. Scraping off the rust that accumulated during an extended paternity leave, Stanislas Wawrinka claimed the not very Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, which provided an opportunity for the Olympics gold medallist (see above) to…

Pressure may have been a privilege for Billie Jean King, but for China’s Li Na it is an inescapable fact of life. Long burdened with the towering expectations of her compatriots, Li nevertheless has brilliantly represented Chinese tennis on the biggest stages in the sport. Not just personal achivements, her successes have proved vital in sparking a wave of talented compatriots to follow in her footsteps–an influence that few players can…

With her first round loss to Maria Kirilenko at the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova’s comeback is still slowly getting back on track in 2010. Though in her press conference Sharapova confidently said “I’ll

be back on a second Saturday. You’ll see.”, her “second career” is not just about hitting tennis balls.

With her reported new deal with Nike worth $70 million dollars over eight years, Sharapova is still the highest paid female athlete.…

Inactive during the past fortnight, Sharapova dropped two places in the rankings to #14 as a result of some excellent performances by the players just below her. While she caresses her strings above, we’ll recap some of the big winners and losers from both the WTA and the ATP.

ATP:

Murray (4): The 2009 champion failed to win a set…

Serena, at 28, may have a few years left in professional tennis but according to former superstar Monica Seles, Williams is quite capable of surpassing Margaret Smith Court's all-time record.

Former tennis Queen Monica Seles, who shook the tennis world with his explosive play and a series of records and achievements, believes that current world number one Serena Williams can become the Greatest Tennis player of all times.

In a statement issued after…

2010 Sony Ericsson Open Andy Roddick drew inspiration from fellow tour star Fernando Gonzalez which led to the birth of a humane idea called 'Champions for Chile' that became a huge success, raising a whopping US$ 125,000 plus for the earthquake relief victims.

Gonzalez missed the year's first Masters series event in Indian Wells due to thedevastating earthquake that hit his homeland in the Maule Region, leaving about 400 dead among an anticipated $ 30 billion in damage. The Chilean…

As the players pack their passports and clay-court shoes for the annual trip to Europe, we'll take a moment to commemorate the events of a captivating fortnight in Miami. Since our last tournament wrap used the Ad-in, Ad-out format once beloved of SI, we'll switch to the report card model for this edition. Not everyone is included, of course; we targeted those players who especially stood out and those who especially...stood out in a…

With his recent superb performance, American Andy Roddick has announced his full-fledged return to top form. Czech Tomas Berdych, a giant killer in the draw, too is looking determined to end up with the crystalware. Who will walk away with the big prize? Find out with us...!

Czech Tomas Berdych is considered by many as the 'dark-horse' of the tennis fraternity. Almost five years ago, the Czech star stunned all with his................…

A fortnight ago, Andy Roddick came up just short against the startlingly resurgent Ivan Ljubicic in the Indian Wells final, a match that the top-ranked American entered as the distinct favorite. After a sparkling semifinal triumph over Rafael Nadal, Roddick now has the opportunity to expunge his desert disappointment by capturing the Miami title. Yet his opponent has hurtled into the final Sunday on a Ljubicic-worthy run, during which he…

The 2009 Miami final represented a dramatic breakthrough for Victoria Azarenka, who defeated five-time champion Serena Williams to claim what thus far has been the most significant title of her budding career. Arrayed on opposite sides of this net this year, in contrast, are two players who have combined to claim no fewer than 79 WTA singles titles (ranked first and third among active players on this list). Who will add to their sprawling…

As predicted by almost all the tennis pundits, Venus Williams is in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open, once again. Her opponent too , isn't unaware of the feeling of holding the crystalware in Crandon Park. Who will emerge victorious in the battle of tour superstars, Venus or Kim? Let's find out..!

Venus Williams is fast progressing towards an age bracket where most players think of retirement or perhaps other avenues for success. Things however are different with this…

As I sat behind my desk on a rainy December day and looked out I was really bummed that I could not play tennis. Day after day, rain and more rain. I decided to glue two balls together and made a snowman. Here is when I began my new creation a little tennis ball snowman. I called it Tennis Budee...Tennis Budeez (TM) for

plural...more…