Author: Michael Dickens

Osaka, Azarenka To Play For US Open Women’s Title

WASHINGTON, September 11, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Both of Thursday’s US Open women’s semifinal matches, played with the roof closed on Arthur Ashe Stadium thanks to a rainy New York City evening, were characterized by toughness, tenacity and competitiveness. In the first […]

Bouchard Channels ‘Calm Anger’ Into Winning At Istanbul

WASHINGTON, September 10, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova made her long-awaited return to the WTA Tour at the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championships Istanbul in Turkey on Thursday. The 34th-ranked native of St. Petersburg, Russia, faced 272nd-ranked qualifier […]

Level-Headed, Carreño Busta Into US Open Semifinals

WASHINGTON, September 10, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Pablo Carreño Busta overcame back pain, 76 winners and the never-say-die spirit of No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov, and somehow after four hours and nine minutes managed to emerge from his Tuesday night […]

US Open: Williams Wins Battle Of Moms With Pironkova

WASHINGTON, September 10, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Three mothers – Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Tsvetana Pironkova– all enjoyed center stage on Arthur Ashe Stadium, each bidding for a semifinal berth at the US Open on Wednesday. Six-time US Open champion […]

Caroline Garcia: One Week You’re A Headliner, The Next …

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) A week ago, France’s Caroline Garcia was seen slaying US Open No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova on Louis Armstrong Stadium, winning convincingly in straight sets 6-1, 7-6 (2), and garnering major headlines for her […]

Djokovic Urges Trolls To Stop Threatening Line Judge

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was defaulted from his fourth-round US Open match after he unintentionally struck a ball that hit a line judge in the throat on Sunday, took to social […]

Zverev First German Into US Open Semifinals Since Becker

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) German fortunes in the US Open has been lean for many years. Now, with Alexander Zverev‘s run to the men’s singles semifinals, that’s about to change. On Tuesday afternoon, the fifth seed Zverev […]

Quiet, Shy Schmiedlova Turns Outgoing In Istanbul Victory

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Anna Karolina Schmiedlova describes herself in her WTA biography as quiet and shy. On the court, however, it’s another matter, where she allows herself to be a bit more outgoing. On Tuesday, the 25-year-old […]

Restoring Calm After Sunday’s Storm …

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) There’s been plenty of bizarre things that have happened in the storied 140-year history of the US Open. In recent years, one need only look back to the contentious women’s singles final of […]

Barty Will Forgo Defense Of French Open Championship

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) World No. 1 and reigning French Open champion Ashleigh Barty of Australia announced Tuesday morning she will forgo the defense of her only Grand Slam title later this month in Paris. Barty, 24, […]