Items by By BEN ROTHENBERG
NYT > Sports
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2012 London Olympics Blog: Lepchenko Run Threatens Venus Williams's Olympic Status
Posted: May 11th, 2012, 3:48pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Varvara Lepchenko's surprising week at the Madrid Open has pushed her ahead of Venus Williams as the fourth-highest ranked American, which could push Williams out of Olympic contention. -
2012 London Olympics Blog: Fish Skipping Olympics to Play in Washington
Posted: May 3rd, 2012, 4:35pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Though Mardy Fish won a silver medal at the Athens Games in 2004, he has not returned to Olympic competition.
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John Isner Keeps Smiling as He Ascends the Ranks
Posted: March 25th, 2012, 1:37am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The American John Isner is the only man outside the top four (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray) to have two wins over members of that group in 2012.
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Venus Williams Wins in Return to Tour
Posted: March 22nd, 2012, 6:58pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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After battling serious illnesses, Venus Williams and Alisa Kleybanova won their first-round matches at the Sony Ericsson Open.
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Isner Beats Djokovic at Indian Wells, Guaranteeing Spot in Top 10
Posted: March 18th, 2012, 1:40am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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With his semifinal win at the BNP Paribas Open, John Isner became the first American to beat a No. 1-ranked player since 2008, ensuring a move into the top 10 in next week’s rankings.
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At the BNP Paribas Open, Larry Ellison Puts His Money Where His Forehand Is
Posted: March 18th, 2012, 1:39am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The Oracle chief executive, Larry Ellison, bought the BNP Paribas Open in 2010 and has dreams of turning it into the Fifth Grand Slam event.
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Straight Sets: Vengeful Streak Puts Ana Ivanovic on a Winning Streak
Posted: March 16th, 2012, 11:06am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Ana Ivanovic advanced to the semifinals at Indian Wells with recent victories over Caroline Wozniacki, who beat her in February, and Marion Bartoli.
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Straight Sets: Target of Llodra's Racial Slur Says Fine Is Not Enough
Posted: March 13th, 2012, 11:31pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The tennis fan on the receiving end of Michael Llodra's racial slurs said, "Just issuing a fine is not going to do it - it's not going to stop him or anybody else."
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Straight Sets: Isner Stuns Federer in Four Sets
Posted: February 10th, 2012, 6:00pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Victories by Mardy Fish and John Isner put the United States up over Switzerland in the Davis Cup.
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Venus Williams Helps Finish Fed Cup Shutout of Belarus
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 11:45pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Playing with Liezel Huber, Venus Williams helped complete a 5-0 shutout of Belarus in the Fed Cup, her first competitive match since withdrawing from the United States Open.
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Fed Cup: Victoria Azarenka Pulls Out With Back Injury
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 12:14am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew from her Fed Cup match against the United States.
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Straight Sets: McHale and Williams Give U.S. 2-0 Fed Cup Lead
Posted: February 4th, 2012, 9:10pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Straight-sets victories by Christina McHale and Serena Williams eased the United States to a 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup World Group II tie against Belarus.
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Straight Sets: Azarenka Withdraws from Fed Cup Match
Posted: February 4th, 2012, 12:48pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Victoria Azarenka, winner of the Australian Open, has withdrawn from her Fed Cup opening match against Christina McHale because of a lower back injury.
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Straight Sets: For Mattek-Sands, a Loss Turns Into a Win
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 11:33pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Few players win their first Grand Slam title because they lost on the first day of the tournament, but that's exactly what happened to the Minnesota-born Arizona resident Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
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Straight Sets: Towels Become Treasured Souvenirs
Posted: January 28th, 2012, 5:21pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Players who appear on the show courts are welcome to take the Grand Slam commemorative towels. The outer courts, meanwhile, are stocked with the plain white variety.
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Australian Open — Mixed Doubles Remains an Afterthought
Posted: January 28th, 2012, 2:38pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Despite being reintroduced as an Olympic event for 2012 for the first time since 1924, mixed doubles remains a clear afterthought in tennis.
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Straight Sets: Atlanta Teenager Wins Singles Title in Australia
Posted: January 28th, 2012, 11:15am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Taylor Townsend became the first American to win the girls' singles title at the Australian Open since 1989.
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Women’s Tennis Tries to Get the Grunting Under Control
Posted: January 26th, 2012, 12:29am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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With grunting habits deeply engrained by the time a player reaches professional age, WTA officials are looking at trying to curtail the habit at the junior level.
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Straight Sets: Navratilova Backs Kvitova; Criticizes Ranking System
Posted: January 23rd, 2012, 3:13am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Martina Navratilova criticized the play of Caroline Wozniacki and the ranking system that places her No. 1. Wozniacki is the only player ranked ahead of Petra Kvitova.
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Straight Sets: Hewitt Flashes Old Self in Upset Victory Over Raonic
Posted: January 21st, 2012, 12:04pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Lleyton Hewitt reached the second week of the 2012 Australian Open with a surprising four-set win over the Canadian Milos Raonic.
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Straight Sets: Nalbandian Is Fined Following Overrule Controversy
Posted: January 20th, 2012, 12:52pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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David Nalbandian was fined $8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following his five-set loss to John Isner this week, the largest fine so far issued at this year's Australian Open.
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Roddick Quits Australian Open With Hamstring Injury
Posted: January 19th, 2012, 1:52pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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After winning his first four sets at the Australian Open in convincing fashion, Andy Roddick retired because of an injury in his second-round match against Lleyton Hewitt.
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Straight Sets: Bogomolov Switches Flags in a Boost For Russia
Posted: January 19th, 2012, 6:27am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Alex Bogomolov, Jr. said his 2-year-old son helped influence his decision to switch from playing for the United States to Russia.
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Samantha Stosur, U.S. Open Champion, Is Upset
Posted: January 17th, 2012, 9:34am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Samantha Stosur, playing in her home country, lost her first-round match to Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 7-6 (2), 6-3, before a stunned partisan crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
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Straight Sets: Serena Williams Finds New Doubles Partner in Roddick
Posted: January 15th, 2012, 11:27pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Serena Williams has not played competitive mixed doubles since the Hopman Cup in 2008, and Andy Roddick has not played doubles of any kind at a Grand Slam event since Wimbledon in 2001.
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Australian Open — Caroline Wozniacki Is No. 1 Everywhere but the Majors
Posted: January 14th, 2012, 11:24pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Caroline Wozniacki is the most recent in an established trend of elite players in women’s tennis who reached the No. 1 ranking before breaking through for a Grand Slam title.
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Straight Sets: Victories for American Women and Men
Posted: January 13th, 2012, 2:54pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Second-round qualifying action from Melbourne Park saw more Americans find success in the continually brisk and breezy conditions.
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Straight Sets: At Australian Open, a Busy Qualifying Day
Posted: January 11th, 2012, 11:32pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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On the first day of men's singles qualifying at the Australian Open, Denis Kudla prevailed and fellow Americans Michael Yani and Rajeev Ram fell.
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Straight Sets: Czechs Sweep Singles to Win Hopman Cup
Posted: January 9th, 2012, 11:01am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Petra Kvitova and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic swept through Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet of France, taking both singles matches to win the Hopman Cup final.
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Straight Sets: Federer Forced Into Rare Withdrawal Due to Back Spasms
Posted: January 7th, 2012, 11:30am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Roger Federer is the latest top player to have his Australian Open forecast clouded by injuries, withdrawing from the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
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Straight Sets: Tensions Run High in Australia
Posted: January 7th, 2012, 11:00am EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Tempers flared repeatedly Friday in singles and mixed doubles matches at the Hyundai Hopman Cup between top-ranked American Mardy Fish and the 20-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
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Straight Sets: At Hopman, Americans Are Eliminated Early
Posted: January 6th, 2012, 12:36pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Mardy Fish fall out of contention for the title at the Hopman Cup.
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Straight Sets: A Sputtering Djokovic Loses to Tipsarevic
Posted: November 25th, 2011, 12:47pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Novak Djokovic, dropping a match at the ATP World Tour Finals to Janko Tipsarevic, has now lost as many times in this tournament as he did all year.
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Straight Sets: Federer, Quite Quickly, Defeats Nadal
Posted: November 22nd, 2011, 6:48pm EST by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the ATP Tour Finals was not competitive but it was memorable.
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Straight Sets: Andy Murray Completes Rare Double in Tokyo
Posted: October 10th, 2011, 3:25pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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In Tokyo, Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal in singles, and then teams with his brother Jamie to win the doubles title.
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Straight Sets: They Didn't Win, but They Deserve Some Applause
Posted: September 14th, 2011, 7:00am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Golubev, Monfils, Haas, Young, and Isner left fans with reasons to cheer.
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Straight Sets: Pavlyuchenkova Defeats Jankovic
Posted: September 3rd, 2011, 4:40pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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The No. 17 seed beats No. 11 at the U.S. Open.
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Straight Sets: Lisicki Ends Falconi's Run
Posted: September 2nd, 2011, 5:56pm EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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Zvonareva is next for the 22nd seed.
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Straight Sets: Glory Fades Quickly for First Round Upsets
Posted: September 1st, 2011, 8:00am EDT by By BEN ROTHENBERG
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In the last 10 years of the U.S. Open, seven of the eight players who scored a first-round upset of a top-eight seed lost in the second round to an unseeded opponent.