Van Sias's Articles

I Like Davis Cup. Why Doesn't Roger Federer?

I'm sure we've all heard the news by now: Roger Federer's fitness coach Pierre Paganini says he's not injured in the regular sense, but rather taking the time to train after bailing on Dubai and Davis Cup citing a back injury.

First, I'm a little surprised at Federer letting someone in his camp contradict what he said. But maybe Paganini just didn't know any better.

More importantly, though, I think this makes it official: Davis Cup doesn't mean much to Roger Federer at… Continue

Added by Van Sias on February 26, 2009 at 12:52pm — 2 Comments

Coming Out on Top (Australian Open Predictions: Women's Edition)

To quote the famous "Domestic Diva" Martha Stewart: "It's a good thing."

I'm not referring to any particular recipe or coat-sewing technique, but rather the depth in women's tennis occurring right now. Remember when it used to be only two to four players capable of winning a Major? Now, I'd say there's at least 12 to 15 that can pull it off. A good thing, indeed.

That makes it harder to call than ever, but for my money, I'm going with Venus Williams. I think winning the… Continue

Added by Van Sias on January 18, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

The Over and Under Down Under (Australian Open Predictions: Men's Edition)

A story that's made the rounds the past few days heading into the Australian Open is Roger Federer being shocked that Andy Murray's the favorite to win in the eyes of the bookies in London. I see where Federer's coming from: Murray's never won a Slam, while he and Rafael Nadal have been racking them up over the years.

And speaking of Nadal, I'm about to do something that I've never done at my blog, Tennis Talk, Anyone?: Pick him to win a… Continue

Added by Van Sias on January 18, 2009 at 12:30am — 1 Comment

What's Wrong With U.S. Women's Professional Tennis?

Where's the U.S. version of Dominika Cibulkova or Sabine Lisicki?

If anything, this year's edition of the Hopman Cup has shown that there really isn't any player around their age or of their caliber reppin' the red, white and blue coming any time soon. I mean, why else would Meghann Shaughnessy be tapped to replace Serena Williams on the U.S. squad despite only playing a handful of matches last year due to injury? The sad thing about the state of the pro game is that if you were to… Continue

Added by Van Sias on January 7, 2009 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

All Good (and Bad) Things Must Come to an End (From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, Part 3)

So this is the final chapter of the Tennis Talk, Anyone? year in review. Gee, I'm getting all misty-eyed with this reminiscing! This one won't be as long as the others because all my picks were so awesome (yeah, right!).

Anyway, on to the last part of the trilogy:

SEPTEMBER

The Good and the Bad

• "I bet this is the ONLY place you'll find the following statement: The U.S. team can, and will, pull off… Continue

Added by Van Sias on December 17, 2008 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Sharapova? For the French? (From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, Part 2)

Oh, what memories!

Digging through the Tennis Talk, Anyone? archives for the second part of my Year in Review brought one question to mind:

"Dude, what were you thinking?"

That being said, let me kick off the May to August review:

MAY

The Good

• "Day 1 of the post-Henin era sees Maria Sharapova take over the number-one spot on the WTA rankings, but can she hold on to it? That's… Continue

Added by Van Sias on December 13, 2008 at 3:00pm — No Comments

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous (A Different Type of Year in Review, Part 1)

I was thinking of writing a "Year in Review"-type post, but after reading so many others out there that have everything wrapped up in great, concise packages, I held back. However, I can't just let the past season go, so I'm going to do something a little different.

One of my favorite things to do in life and on my blog, Tennis Talk, Anyone?, is to look at the draw of a tournament and make predictions on how things are going to shake… Continue

Added by Van Sias on December 11, 2008 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

Shoot That Poison Arrow Through My Heart

Like millions of New Yorkers, I like to read the newspaper on the way to work while riding the subway.

This morning, I saw something in the sports section that shocked me, confused me, disgusted me, intrigued me—nearly every verb you can think of but make me happy: A loonng story on the U.S. archery team deciding to stand by its embattled coach. The coach, Kisik Lee, is under fire for the team not winning a medal in Beijing and his controversial takes on training and his religious… Continue

Added by Van Sias on November 19, 2008 at 6:38pm — 3 Comments

Headbangers' Ball (The Five Most-Frustrating Players on the ATP Tour)

Over on my blog, Tennis Talk, Anyone?, I recently wrote a posting about the players who drive me up the wall sometimes with their results. In the wake of talk of that most-frustrating player of all, Marat Safin, retiring after his latest dismal loss, I thought I'd post the list here, too.

So here's the five that make me want to just bang my head against the wall when I hear their latest results. Any guesses as to who will top the… Continue

Added by Van Sias on October 30, 2008 at 1:25pm — 1 Comment

Rating BG (Gilbert's Impact on Andre and the two Andys)

Andy Roddick lost his quarterfinal match in Lyon and Andy Murray went on to win the whole shebang in St. Petersburg.

Murray's had a dream season this year (a couple of Masters shields, a Slam final) and Roddick's hasn't been that bad really, when you think about it: three titles, wins over each of the big three. But for all they've done so far, I can't help but think of one question:

What if they would've stayed working with Brad Gilbert for a longer period of… Continue

Added by Van Sias on October 27, 2008 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

Is Venus Done Rising?

For some reason, Venus Williams' loss to Flavia Panetta really kind of bothers me.

I'm trying to figure it out: Granted, Panetta's been playing her butt off this year (a couple of titles, some finals, a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open). But come on! We're talking about Venus Williams! A walking legend in the game and one of the greatest fast-court players of all time. Why does Panetta seemingly have her number with a 3-1 lead in head-to-heads?

I think why this bugs me is… Continue

Added by Van Sias on October 8, 2008 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

If I Had to Do It All Over Again ...

I'd still pick the U.S. for the upset over Spain!

I mean, ya gotta believe, right? Isn't that how the saying goes? I believe in the points I made about the keys to the team winning, but I guess execution is always key!

Anyway, I'd like to say congratulations to the Spanish Davis Cup team, which made it to the finals by beating the U.S. squad 4-1. Despite the scoreline, I don't think… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 22, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Sinking the Spanish Armada

Here's probably one of the craziest statements you'll read tennis-wise for a while:

The U.S. team can, and will, pull off the upset this weekend in Davis Cup! (You can exercise your right to vote here if you agree or disagree.)

I know, I know: A rookie's on the squad and one-half of one of the greatest doubles ever is out. The other team is led by a 22-year-old, who's already a legend. Plus, the hosts are playing on their… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 16, 2008 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

All Bets Are Off

Well, it looks like things have finally come to a wrap on the whole Nikolay Davydenko gambling fiasco as the ATP has announced that he's in the clear.

It's been dragging on forever, but what a wild ride it was! Chair umpires accusing Nik of tanking, journeymen galore getting busted for betting on matches, players saying they were offered money but… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 12, 2008 at 7:56pm — No Comments

The Times Is Not Right

So here's a kind-of U.S. Open-related post that also deals with a little pet peeve of mine.

First, if you couldn't tell by now, I'm a big tennis geek! What can I say? Following career stats of players is kind of a hobby. Aside from that, in my alter ego, I work as a professional copy editor for a magazine (I'm managing editor for HFN, plus I do freelance copy editing for a newspaper, The Journal News). I like to think that I can spot… Continue

Added by Van Sias on August 27, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Breaking on Through to the Other Side

You know what's the best thing to do if you live in New York the week before the U.S. Open and you're a tennis fan? Hint: It's not going out and playing.

It's watching the pros play—and for free, no less!

The qualifying tournament to try to get in the main draw at the Open kicked off Tuesday, and let me tell you, it's a great thing to get out and catch. If you're in the area and you're reading this, then stop reading it and get out there! I'm tempted to tell go up to my… Continue

Added by Van Sias on August 21, 2008 at 10:50am — 2 Comments

The Lady Killers (The Tennis Talk, Anyone? Top 10: Women's Edition)

If you aren't among this group of elite players, then there's a nine out of 10 chance you'll be packing your bags before you know it if you have to go against one of them.

Or at least that's how it should be!

I'm taking the criteria I put together for my previous post and bringing it over to the WTA Tour to create the Tennis Talk, Anyone? Women's Top 10 list. And remember the rules: I'm throwing out the vast amount of… Continue

Added by Van Sias on August 5, 2008 at 2:09pm — No Comments

In a Perfect World: The Tennis Talk, Anyone? Top 10 (Men's Edition)

Just imagine a world where flakiness didn't exist, where injuries didn't derail progress and your talent reflects where you should be in the rankings. Determination also pays off for any technical shortcomings you might have to help you climb up the rankings.

Well, that's what I'm doing at Tennis Talk, Anyone?: imagining!

Andy Murray's great win in the Cincy Masters yesterday got me thinking: If you were really to look at… Continue

Added by Van Sias on August 4, 2008 at 4:00pm — 8 Comments

How About 'None of the Above?'

So, I've had this poll going on at my blog, Tennis Talk, Anyone? for the past few days on who deserves to be number 1 on the WTA tour and I'm wondering after last night's matches at the Rogers Cup if those four should be considered.

Maria Sharapova going three I understand: Her arm's about to fall off, which is sad because it's going to be tough to navigate around that as her career goes on. She just pulled out of the Olympics and is… Continue

Added by Van Sias on July 31, 2008 at 4:06pm — 2 Comments

'Bite Me, Van! What Do You Know?'

You know, if he knew me or read my blog, Tennis Talk, Anyone? sometimes, Rafael Nadal could easily say that to me!

Over the course of the past couple of years, I haven't given him much credit for what he's done:

• He's won four French Opens in a row? "Big deal, there's always been clay-court specialists," I've thought before. "He just happens to be a really good one."

• He's won Wimbledon: "So? No way he… Continue

Added by Van Sias on July 29, 2008 at 6:00am — No Comments

Van Sias's Articles (102)