L.A. Times - Tennis

Andy Roddick and Roger Federer's Shakespearean saga of a match

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 20:49:00 -0700

Roddick made the magic happen in a dramatic, merciless Wimbledon men's final that went on and on and on. But it's still Federer's time.

For tennis fans, for sports fans, for fans of drama and skill and guts, what great luck that the Taj Mahal of tennis would produce a second straight match-for-the-ages in the men's final at the All England Club.

Roger Federer makes history, but Andy Roddick makes it epic

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:59:00 -0700

Federer wins his sixth Wimbledon and passes Sampras with his record 15th Grand Slam title, outlasting Roddick in the longest Slam final ever, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14.

As a deathless fifth set bloated to 6-6 and to 10-10 and to an inconceivable 14-14, as it elongated to 95 minutes and left the corner scoreboard chockablock with numerals, this latest masterpiece of a Wimbledon final seemed to heave with the audacious aim of rivaling its hallowed predecessor.

Serena Williams remains No. 2 in women's tennis

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Despite winning Wimbledon and holding three of the four Grand Slam titles, Williams is second behind Dinara Safina, according to computer ranking systems.

The eternal wrangling between aloof, know-it-all computers and the noble human species that created them has found its latest hearing in the case of Serena Williams, the alleged No. 2 women's tennis player in the world.

Andy Roddick can thank Tom Stow for this finals run

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

There's direct lineage from the 1920s player turned exacting coach to Roddick's recent improvement.

In the well-worn form of Andy Roddick, a good bit of 1930s great Don Budge and his irreverent, long-deceased tennis coach have found their way to the regal grounds of Wimbledon.

Andy Roddick to face Roger Federer in men's final

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The No. 6-ranked Roddick will play the No. 2 Federer, whose achievements include 14 career Grand Slam titles and five Wimbledon titles.

Wimbledon at a glance TODAY'S FEATURED MATCH MEN'S FINAL (World rankings in parentheses.)

Serena Williams wins Wimbledon

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 08:55:00 -0700

Williams beats her defending champion sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 to win her first singles Wimbledon title in six years.

Heightening a second, separate phase of Grand Slam dominance in a long and still-burgeoning career, Serena Williams won Wimbledon today and completed a Serena Near-Slam.

Andy Roddick comes in from cold to reach Wimbledon final

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Armed with a new coach, leaner body and a game featuring more frequent and purposeful net approaches, he upsets Andy Murray to reach first Slam final since 2006. He'll face Roger Federer.

The Austin, Texas, airport and Centre Court at the All England Club seldom turn up in the same sentence or even paragraph, but the heady recent plight of Andy Roddick has melded them as evocative benchmarks.

Americans taking Wimbledon by storm

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

With Andy Roddick, Venus and Serena Williams, and Bob and Mike Bryan doing the heavy lifting, U.S. men and women earn seven of 12 spots in singles and doubles finals.

Wimbledon at a glance TODAY'S FEATURED MATCHES World rankings in parentheses.

For the Williams sisters, things remain the same

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:40:00 -0700

Venus and Serena Williams say they do not change their routines when facing each other in singles matches.

By the time Venus and Serena Williams prepared for another Wimbledon final, they'd grown weary of people asking them how they prepared for another Wimbledon final.

Williams sisters take opposite routes to Wimbledon final rematch

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:08:00 -0700

Serena outlasts Elena Dementieva in a three-set marathon, and Venus sprints past No. 1 Dinara Safina. The sisters will meet for the fourth time in a Wimbledon final Saturday.

Venus and Serena Williams have stormed into another Wimbledon final by showing, respectively, uncommon precision and the uncommon capacity to overcome imprecision.