Search Results

By Line search: By HOWARD FENDRICH

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — There was a time — a year ago; six months ago, even — that Ons Jabeur might not have recovered from the deficit she found herself in during the Wimbledon semifinals. Down a set. Down a break in the second set. So close to being...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — The last time Elina Svitolina was Grand Slam semifinalist — twice, actually, in 2019 — she was pursuing the usual trappings of success in professional sports: trophies, money, fame, etc.Now Svitolina plays for more important...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — Until about a week ago, even Chris Eubanks did not really believe he was capable of this sort of thing — of beating the world’s best tennis players at Wimbledon, of reaching the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, of...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic is a bit tired of not getting on Centre Court at Wimbledon until nearly 9 p.m. The waiting. The uncertainty. The rushing to try to finish matches by the 11 p.m. local curfew — or the annoyance at having to stop...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — Twice, Iga Swiatek was a single point from exiting Wimbledon on Sunday, a single point from the sort of confounding defeat at the place that gives her so much more trouble than any of the other Grand Slam tournaments.Down a set...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — The developments at Wimbledon on Wednesday included Novak Djokovic joining Roger Federer and Serena Williams as the only players in tennis history to win 350 Grand Slam matches; a runner-up two years ago, Karolina Pliskova,...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — On a day filled with far more rain drops than drop shots at Wimbledon — light, but persistent, showers prevented the completion, or even start, of dozens of matches — Roger Federer and Andy Murray provided the highlights.The...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — As Venus Williams entered Centre Court for her 24th Wimbledon appearance at age 43, greeted by a standing ovation, she held a green exercise band overhead with both hands and stretched it while striding to her sideline seat.Once...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WIMBLEDON, England — Listen to Novak Djokovic’s opponents explain why he is as successful as he is — why he will begin his pursuit of a fifth consecutive and eighth overall Wimbledon championship on Monday; why he also will be attempting to claim an...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — As it is, Karolina Muchova was the unseeded, unexpected participant in the French Open semifinals.And then, dealing with cramping legs nearly three hours into the match, she was just one point from losing to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who entered...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — Novak Djokovic, in his words, felt “quite sluggish, quite slow” for nearly two full sets against Karen Khachanov in the the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday. Afterward, Djokovic called it his worst stretch of the tournament, a fair...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — Some friendly advice, sports fans: If Carlos Alcaraz is playing, do not look away. Even for a moment. Because it’s likely he’ll conjure up some sort of highlight-worthy mix of ability, athleticism and awareness that drops the jaw.Anyone who’s...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — Mirra Andreeva is the latest teen sensation in tennis, a 16-year-old Russian who is the youngest player to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open since 2005.Do the math: That’s before she was born.The 143rd-ranked Andreeva...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — Like many a kid, Peyton Stearns enjoyed participating in sports and tried her hand at plenty.“Soccer, gymnastics, basketball, tennis, whatever,” the 21-year-old American said Wednesday at the French Open after eliminating 2017 champion Jelena...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

PARIS — Pretty much everyone expects to see, and likely wants to see, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic face each other in the French Open semifinals. There’s work to be done first, of course, and both began their journeys at Roland Garros with...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

There’s a reason a statue of Rafael Nadal stands outside Court Philippe Chatrier on the southwest outskirts of Paris.No player ever lorded over any Grand Slam tennis tournament the way Nadal has ruled the French Open, winning it year after year after...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WASHINGTON — Ed Cooley is the new men’s basketball coach at Georgetown, hired away from Big East rival Providence in the hopes of rebuilding a once-proud program that dropped to new lows under former star player Patrick Ewing.Georgetown announced the...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic climbed into the Rod Laver Arena stands to celebrate his 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title Sunday and, after jumping and pumping his fists with his team, he collapsed onto...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

MELBOURNE, Australia — Of all of his considerable talents, Novak Djokovic’s ability to cast aside whatever appears to stand in his way might be the most valuable.So forget about the potential distraction of his father’s decision to stay away from Rod...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

MELBOURNE, Australia — What all seemed so different, so daunting, even, about trying to win a Grand Slam title to Elena Rybakina a little more than six months ago is now coming rather naturally.And if she can win one more match, she will add a...

By HOWARD FENDRICH

MELBOURNE, Australia — Tommy Paul received a lot less attention than his younger, less-experienced, opponent, Ben Shelton, heading into their all-American quarterfinal at the Australian Open.Perhaps that was a product of the fascination with the...