Author: Michael Dickens

Estoril Open Final Will Match Battle of Lefties

ESTORIL/WASHINGTON, May 1, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie has been enjoying a red clay high the past two weeks. After a surprising quarterfinal run last week in Barcelona, Norrie has strung together four quality wins to reach […]

A Clash Of Paris Champions Booked For Madrid

MADRID/WASHINGTON, May 1, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) Reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek, playing on clay for the first time since her crowning moment last fall at Roland Garros, ran her winning streak on red dirt to nine with her […]

Three Seeds Remain In Estoril Open Contention

ESTORIL/WASHINGTON, May 1, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) As Saturday’s semifinal round of the ATP 250 Millennium Estoril Open arrives in the Portuguese Riviera town near Lisbon, there are three seeds remaining in competition for the clay-court title leading into next […]

Osaka Wins First Match On Clay Since 2019

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 30, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) With her 23-match winning streak snapped last month in Miami, World No. 2 Naomi Osaka decided to chill for a few weeks and reset for the European clay swing. While three weeks away […]

Moutet Wins Battle Of Estoril Open Rappers

ESTORIL/WASHINGTON, April 30, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) Tennis stars-turned-rappers Denis Shapovalov and Corentin Moutet, who collaborated on the rap song “Drip,” squared off in the ATP 250 Millennium Estoril Open Thursday on red clay in this Portuguese Riviera town near […]

Teichmann Ousts Svitolina In Madrid

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 29, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) The 12th edition of the WTA Mutua Madrid Open began Thursday amid rain, which closed the roofs of the three biggest show courts at La Caja Mágica so the show could go on, […]

Djokovic Opts Out Of Mutua Madrid Open

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) On Wednesday, the Mutua Madrid Open confirmed what Spanish-language Marca reported on Tuesday: men’s World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will not play in this year’s ATP Masters 1000 Mutua Madrid Open. In a tweet […]

Wimbledon Adds Middle Sunday Starting In 2022

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) During its spring press conference to formally announce the return of The Championships in 2021, whose main draw begins June 28 and continues through July 11, Wimbledon announced plans to add play on […]

WTA Mutua Madrid Open: Plenty Of Star Power

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 27, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) The WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open draw was revealed Tuesday afternoon at La Caja Mágica in Madrid and – top to bottom – it’s en fuego. With seven of the Top 10 players […]

Romanian Women Enjoying Good Run Of Form

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2021 (by Michael Dickens) Lost in the shuffle of the weekend tennis headlines being made in Stuttgart, Barcelona and elsewhere was the good run of form being enjoyed by Romanian women’s players. There are currently four ranked […]