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Latest blog posts from ATP Backspin

ATP February Awards: While the Cats Were Away
Old ones. Young ones. They all feasted in February.With the "big cat" (hey, is that a sly Miloslav Mecir reference?) likes of Roger and Rafa out of commission after the Australian Open, February was a time for the mice to inherit the ATP earth: a veteran and former #1 emerged from the shadows,...
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Published 3 weeks ago

ATP January Awards: He is Risen... again.
As 2010 began, everyone gathered Down Under and wondered if a member of the ATP's talented corps of young would-be champions, in the wake of Juan Martin del Potro's U.S. Open victory last September, was ready to rise up and claim a second straight slam, thereby officially ushering the tour into a...
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Published a month ago

Australian Open Final: What a Difference a Year Makes
One year ago, Roger Federer was standing in a puddle of tears on Rod Laver Arena after have been bested once again by Rafael Nadal. With his throne of power having been chiseled away over time by the Spaniard, it was easy to write King Roger's epitaph -- at least in pencil -- as the lead actor in...
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Published 2 months ago

Australian Open Preview: Once More, with Feeling?
The men's side of the Australian Open competition finds itself in a somewhat unfamiliar position this year -- it's most decidedly the "undercard" of the first slam of 2010, with the women's field being the must-see main event.With the return of the likes of Henin and Sharapova, Clijsters seeking...
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Published 2 months ago

Dead Canary in a Cage?: 2010 ATP Top 10 Predictions
Was the 2009 season the men's tennis version of the canary in the coal mine?While this past year saw some semblence of a "return to order," as Roger Federer reclaimed the #1 ranking and a bit of his old aura during the European summer, it also was loaded with the sort of signposts that point to...
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Published 3 months ago

U.S. Open Final: Six-foot-Six ≠ 6
We used to be able to take some things for granted when it came to Roger Federer. But this U.S. Open had one final dramatic event left to imprint on the tennis world's collective memory... and it starred Juan Martin del Potro.In the past, when the all-time slam champ grabbed the opening set...
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Published 6 months ago

U.S. Open Preview: The Joy of Six?
Here I was ready to throw Roger Federer off the Statue of Liberty (ah, another good thing about the re-opening of Lady Liberty's crown to visitors for the first time in eight years -- a whole new batch of "homicidal" metaphors).Can you say, "stupid?"Earlier this year, Federer left Australia with...
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Published 7 months ago

Wimbledon Final: Mr. European Cool vs. Yankee Doodle Dandy (or, "An English Classic, Pt.II")
Apparently, there's a new tennis law that says that anytime Roger Federer plays in a slam final, one of the competitors has to shed tears when it's all over.But let's not get ahead of ourselves.The 2009 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was expected to be something of a coronation ceremony,...
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Published 8 months ago

Wimbledon Day 11: Everything Old is New Again
So, the Federer vs. Murray final that so many Brits were hoping for won't come off after all. Honestly, I'm really not at all broken up about it.Displaying a more varied game than he ever has in all his years of play at Wimbledon, Andy Roddick took out Andy Murray in four close sets on Day 11,...
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Published 9 months ago

Wimbledon Preview: Back to the Federer
All right, everybody into the De Lorean. We're about to take a trip... back to the future.With defending champion Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the Wimbledon draw, the entire landscape of the happenings at the All-England Club changes. Why, it's going to be like we've jumped into a time...
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Published 9 months ago

The People's Champion
After so many years of placing Roger Federer upon a high pedestal, the past year has been particularly disconcerting. Federer went from being called "The Greatest of All Time" to being considered possibly the SECOND-best of his GENERATION in the blink of an eye.Over a twelve-month span, wrapped...
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Published 9 months ago

RG.9- Five Points from Oblivion
The House of Federer very nearly imploded on Court Chatrier today.With neither Rafa Nadal nor Novak Djokovic around anymore, Roger Federer came into his Day 9 Round of 16 match against Tommy Haas as the player under a magnifying glass. As the new "favorite" to win Roland Garros, even he had to...
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Published 10 months ago