Mardy Fish Joins Criticism of Slow Tennis Courts

After going out of the Sony Ericsson / Miami Open rather ungloriously to Juan Monaco, Mardy Fish joined the growing chorus of complaints about the prevalance of extremely-slow courts on the ATP tour. 

Rafael Nadal Withdraws with Knee Injury

Sadly, Rafael Nadal withdrew shortly before his scheduled semifinal match with Andy Murray at the Miami Open, citing pain in his right knee.

Bartoli Downs Azarenka

Congratulations to France's Marion Bartoli for downing world number one, and previouslyl undefeated in 2012, Vika Azarenka last night in Miami. 

Tomic Asks Chair to Throw his Father Out

Bernard Tomic, the 19-year old Australian tennis player with tremendous potential, appears to be yet another tennis prodigy with progeny problems. 

Is Rowling Redefining eBooks?

J.K. Rowling's Pottermore web site is in beta, and at a quick look she is attempting to redefine ebook distribution models. 

Who is this man?

... and why is he holding a bowl of oranges?

Mystery blond

Trivia: What Vajda-Coached Player Beat Fed and Rafa?

Before Marian Vajda coached Novak Djokovic, Vajda coached another ATP player that beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Q: Who is that player?

One-Handed Backhands, For Sheer Velocity

In the competition between two-handed- and one-handed-backhands, the dual flavor is in ascendancy, largely because the combination of extremely high-bouncing courts plus topspin aided by co-poly strings such as Luxilon and Babolat RPM are forcing players to strike more balls above their shoulders, where the outside left-hand (for righties) helps you get strength and weight above high balls. 

Why Djokovic Bounces the Ball So Much

Excerpt from his 60 minutes interview. "My record is 38 from Davis Cup." Followed by full interview

BNP Indian Wells' Professionalism Shames Grand Slam Tournaments

Why is it that the BNP Indian Wells tennis tournament, essentially a second-tier tournament behind the four grand slams, is better run that those huge, multi-centi-million-dollar events?