Tennis is big business

Jake “Cobba” Stevens looks at sponsorship in men’s tennis and finds some surprising results.

Australian Open Tennis: Head v Heart

John Harms is letting his heart rule when looking for the winners at the tennis. He’s followed a few out of loyalty over the years – and not just tennis players.

Tennis: Grunting

Cheryl Critchley just doesn’t get tennis grunting.

Understanding the decline of Australian tennis

John Harms explains the root cause of the decline of Australian tennis.

Australian Open: The contenders

Jake “Cobba” Stevens brings you all you need to know about the main contenders in this year’s men’s singles of the Australian Open with an infographic.

Middle Australia Report: Tomic the Tank Engine II

Enough is enough. Bernard Tomic should no longer be allowed to play for Australia in Davis Cup or even be supported by Tennis Australia after his appalling display in last weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Germany. We commented on what a dud he was at the US Open when he didn’t try in his match [Read more]

So where should I go this week?

by Joey Agerholm As a kid I expected to grow up and play sport for a living, now I’d be happy enough just being able to watch it full time. This morning I lay on the couch and imagined myself as a fairly successful sportswriter who gets to pick and choose events to visit and [Read more]

Come on Jimmy, come on!

    by Steve Alomes I had been on what might have been a busman’s holiday. You can now travel the world by sporting big events, or even as a casual participant player (have golf clubs, will travel). My journey was a little different. It involved different cities, other activities, a little dutiful art gallery [Read more]

Sports of All Sorts

                                                              Sports of all sorts                                                      By Anastasia Dimitriadis                                                                   Grade 6   As a little child, sport has always and still [Read more]

Never too far away

by Pamela Sherpa Towards the end of last football season, my daughter, Tashi, feared that stress was adversely affecting me. She suggested that I should go on a relaxing holiday and get away from the frustration of sport.  What a good idea ! We planned to meet in Cambodia in January after she had been [Read more]

Bonding with Rafa

  by Joey Agerholm Do yourself a favour and Google the following words…. “Federer as Religion Experience by David Foster Wallace” and then read the essay that shows up in the search results. It’s a much better read than this piece will be. He argues a good case, and I’m persuaded, but if watching Roger [Read more]

Hit Me Again: Djokovic vs. Nadal

  Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, the tennis served as an eminently companionable side show to my flannel-centric summers. I fondly remember Kooyong and White City grass courts. Newk, Muscles, Eddo, Phil Dent and, yes, even JA, were a welcome support cast filling in the gaps between test matches. The tennis was as [Read more]

In Hirsute of Greatness

  by Craig Little “C’mon Raffa! Take your top off!” I could attribute the opening quote to any number of female friends on Facebook. Setting aside the clear double-standard – I would have significantly fewer female friends on Facebook if I posted “Hey Sharapova, show us your tits” – it reminded me how pervasive the [Read more]

2012 Australian Open: Day 2

It’s that time again to get the racquet out of the wardrobe and dream about how good you were in your youth. The Australian Open is here again in all its glory, and after a  previous week of winter weather  a ferocious sun is out, ready to burn spectators and players to a crisp.  I [Read more]

GIGSTUFF 66: Australian Open Special

  by Andrew Gigacz   A SPANIARD FOR EVERY RUSSIAN AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN Ever had the feeling that Russian women are just like Spanish men? Or vice versa? Well, actually, neither had I, at least not until the seedings for the 2012 Australian Open were published in last Tuesday’s Age. It was then that [Read more]

Standing on the outside lookin’ in

January is an odd month for sport in Melbourne. Post Boxing Day test, there are a sprinkling of fillers leading up to the Australia Open but nothing to really get the pulse racing. The Big Bash has continued to provide some fun to those with short attention spans and there seems have been an increased [Read more]

US Open ’11

By Joey Agerholm Goran Ivanisevic once said “As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don’t find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore.” I’ve got no idea in what context it was said. I just came across it on [Read more]

What I Think About When I Think About Running – Belgian Tennis Players of the mid-to-late 90s

My Sunday morning avoidance of the sports pages was made easier this week by getting out of bed at 5.45am for the Run Melbourne Half Marathon. About a year ago I stopped using an iPod during my runs. Initially I provided my own soundtrack through songs that slipped through my consciousness. I say initially as [Read more]

Wimbledon 2011: Reasons to be cheerful

  by Peter Baulderstone There is always much to complain about in sport and in life.  The art critic and social observer, Robert Hughes, wrote a book about it some years ago called ‘Culture of Complaint’.  I suspect that the Dalai Lama’s relentless cheerfulness in one of the main reasons why he has become so [Read more]

Suddenly im craving Lindt…

So Roger Federer didn’t make it to the Wimbledon final, but after watching this video it’s a wonder he can even make it through air port security! In this advertisement Roger took his love as ambassador for Lindt chocolate to a very yummy level. (link to vid below)