Tennis Trivia

Longest Tennis Match

2010-06-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

The first round match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner in Wimbledon 2010 is the longest on record. The fifth set was played over three days, in more than 7 hours, and total match time is more than 11 hours. The score was 59-59 before it was halted on the second day due to darkness.

Isner won 70-68. He had a total of 112 aces, while the Frenchman had 103.

Previous Records:

The previous record was set in Roland Garros 2004 when Fabrice Santoro beat Arnaud Clement in six hours 33 minutes.

The previous longest fifth set at a Grand Slam was between Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui in 2003 Australian Open, at 21-19.

Nothing is Impossible

2010-06-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

By defeating Sam Stosur in the Roland Garros women's singles final, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event, and the first Italian to win one since Aderiano Panatta won the French Open in 1976.

The 29-year old Italian never progressed beyond the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event, and only won 3 minor singles title before her breakthrough at the Paris clay. She is the second oldest woman since 1968 to win her first Grand Slam title.

As the 17th-seed, Schiavone was also the first since 1933 to win the title by someone who is not in the Top 10 ranking.

First Wildcard in US Open Final

2009-09-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

By beating a foot-faulting, whining Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters became the first wild card - man or woman - to reach the US Open final.

Kim is also the first mom since Evonne Goolagong to do so.

Juan Carlos' First Title in 6 Years

2009-04-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Former world no.1 and 2003 French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero won his first title since 2003 in Casablanca. He defeated Florent Serra for the title.

New No. 1

2009-04-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Women's Tour will have a new No. 1 this Tuesday - Dinara Safina, sister of Marat Safin, who was a former No. 1 himself.

Safina, who was a finalist in 2008 Roland Garros and 2009 Australian Open, will replace Serena Williams, who lost in the first round in a tournament in Andalucia, Spain this week.

Marat and Dinara is the first brother-sister duo to become No. 1

Retirement Slam

2009-02-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

Novak Djokovic needs to retire in the US Open tournament to complete the "retirement Slam".

He retired in 2007 Wimbledon semi-finals vs. Nadal, 2009 Australian Open QF vs. Andy Roddick, and in 2006 Roland Garros QF vs Nadal. He also retired in 2005 Roland Garros R64 vs Guillermo Coria.

Other notable Djokovic retirements:

2008 Monte Carlo SF vs Federer
2008 Davis Cup singles vs Davydenko

First 5-setter AO Final Since 1988

2009-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

The Sunday's final of Federer vs. Nadal at the Australian Open is the first five-setter final in the tournament since 1988, between Mats Wilander and Pat Cash.

This is also the first time I saw Roger Federer break down after a defeat. Felt sorry for him, actually.

Roger's 13th

2008-09-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer won his 13th Grand Slam by defeating Andy Murray in US Open last Monday, one short of Pete Sampras' record.

Federer is the first player to win five straight US Open singles titles.

Jankovic's First Slam Final

2008-09-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

By defeating Elena Dementieva in the 2008 US Open semis, Jelena Jankovic reached her first ever Grand Slam final.

Ending Federer's Reign

2008-08-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

Rafael Nadal ascended the No. 1 ranking this week, ending Roger Federer's record 237 weeks at the top spot.

Nadal, who won Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the singles gold in Beijing Olympics this year, was Federer's No. 2 for more than 160 weeks.

Rafa in the Stars

2008-08-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

The International Astronomical Union approved last July the request of The Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca to rename an asteroid after tennis great Rafael Nadal, who recently won Wimbledon.

The asteroid, previously been known as 128036, is 4 kilometers in diameter and travels through space at a speed of 20 km per second. It was discovered in 2003.

more here

Unconventional No. 1

2008-08-07T04:52:00.000-07:00

On August 11, Jelena Jankovic will become the 18th player to top the rankings since 1975 , and the first one who never won a Grand Slam event. Jankovic, who has 6 career WTA titles, will replace Ana Ivanovic from the top spot, by virtue of having 8 more points than the latter.

Correction: Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters also did not win a Slam when both ascended the No. 1, Kim in 2003 (she won the US Open in 2005) and Amelie in 2004. Jankovic though, was the first No. 1 to never even reached a Grand Slam final

Greatest Wimbledon Final

2008-07-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

The final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon men's singles is considered by many pundits, among them John McEnroe, to be the greatest ever.

Nadal won the Championships in five sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7, denying Federer the chance to win Wimbledon sixth in a row. By winning, Nadal became the first player since Bjorn Borg to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back.

Fed Express

2007-09-10T02:15:00.000-07:00

With his win at the 2007 US Open, Federer has now 12 major titles, two less than Pete Sampras' record and putting him ahead of Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver's.

Federer is also the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the US Open four straight times. He also won Wimbledon five straight times.

Justine's Win vs Williams sisters

2007-09-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Justine Henin is the second woman to defeat the Williams sisters back to back in a major. Henin defeated Serena in the quarterfinals of the 2007 US Open then vanquished Venus in the semifinals. She then went on to win the final, too, beating Kuznetsova in straight sets.

Martina Hingis was the first to do the feat in 2001 Australian Open, where she defeated Serena in the QF and handed Venus her worst loss with a 6-1, 6-1 blowout in the semis.

Francesca's First

2007-07-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

Italy's Francesca Schiavone shed the label "best player who never won a title" by winning her first WTA title in Gastein Ladies tournament in Austria this week.

Schiavone, who beat Yvonne Meusburger in the final, previously lost eight finals on the tour.

Fifth's a Charm

2007-07-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

By winning the Wimbledon again this year, Roger Federer equaled Bjorn Borg's record of five straight Wimbledon crown.

The Swiss also extended his winning streak in the tournament to 34 matches, and his grip in the No. 1 ranking to 180 weeks. He now has 11 Grand Slam titles, three short of Sampras's record of 14.

Rafael Nadal, whom Federer defeated in the final, aimed to be the first man since Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back in the same year, but failed in five epic sets.

Nadal in Monte Carlo

2007-04-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

Rafael Nadal of Spain is the first man since Illie Nastase of Romania to win the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters tournament three years in a row. Nadal defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer for his 3rd straight Monte Carlo trophy, and 19th overall.

Hingis First Title Since Comeback

2007-04-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Martina Hingis won the 2006 Italian Open - her first singles titles since her comeback. Hingis defeated Dinara Safina in two sets, 6-2, 7-5. The Rome victory is Martina's 41st singles title.

Youngest Women's Winner in Miami

2007-03-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Monica Seles is the youngest woman winner at the WTA Tier 1 event in Miami (currently called Sony Ericsson Open). Seles was 16 years 111 days old when she won the singles event in 1990.

Lucky Loser

2007-03-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Guillermo Cañas is the first lucky loser to defeat the world no. 1 in a tournament since Sandon Stolle's defeat of No. 1 Thomas Muster in a tournament in Dubai in 1996. Cañas recently defeated Roger Federer in the 2nd round of the Pacific Life Open tournament in Indian Wells, 7-5, 6-2.

Fastest Serve

2007-03-08T05:32:00.000-08:00

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy set the fastest serve in women's tennis. Schultz-McCarthy, who came back to the tour in 2006 after almost 6-year absence, served at 130 miles/hour at a tournament in Cincinnati in July 2006, erasing the previous record of 127 mph set by Venus Williams.

Schultz-McCarthy was also the fastest server on the tour from 1990-1997, with a previous personal best of 123 mph.

Hingis vs. the Rest

2007-02-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

Martina Hingis' head-to-head against her competitors:
15-5 vs. Monica Seles
3-7 vs. Steffi Graf
6-7 vs. Serena Wiliams
11-14 vs. Lindsay Davenport
11-10 vs. Venus Williams
4-5 vs. Kim Clijsters
2-2 vs. Justine Henin
7-7 vs. Amelie Mauresmo
11-1 vs. Anna Kournikova
1-2 vs. Maria Sharapova
18-2 vs. A. Sanchez-Vicario

Best Rivalry

2007-02-19T03:52:00.000-08:00

The best rivalry in women's tennis is probably between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. The two have 82 head-to-head matches, with the favor tipping towards Navratilova, winning 44.

Source

Roger Federer's 160 weeks at no.1

2007-02-19T03:37:00.000-08:00

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer has now equalled Jim Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as world No. 1.

Federer also has the potential of becoming the longest top ranked player. The only other players with longer records than his as No. 1 (but not consecutively) are John McEnroe (170 weeks), Ivan Lendl (268 weeks), Connors (268 weeks) and Pete Sampras (270 weeks).

Sania's First Titles

2007-02-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza's first singles and doubles titles were both won in Manila, Philippines in 2002 - both in the ITF circuit.

Mirza is also the first Indian to win a WTA title, which she won in Hyderabad in 2005. She is also the first from the subcontinent to crack the Top 50 in the WTA rankings.

Hingis, Youngest No. 1

2007-02-13T00:19:00.000-08:00

Martina Hingis became the youngest world no. 1 in singles on March 31, 1997, at age 16 years 6 months and 1 day. She broke the previous record held by Monica Seles, who became the youngest no. 1 in 1991, at age 17 years 3 months and 9 days.

Golden Slam

2007-02-12T23:53:00.000-08:00

Steffi Graf was the only player in women's tour able to achieve the so-called Golden Slam, winning an Olympic gold medal in singles and all of the calendar-year grand slam events. Graf achieved the feat in 1988, winning a gold in Seoul Olympics and winning all of the majors that year.

Steffi Graf's Rank

2007-02-12T23:51:00.000-08:00

Steffi Graf was never ranked lower than No.2 between March 1987, and June 1997.

All Time WTA Career Singles Titles

2007-02-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

1. Martina Navratilova, 167
2. Chris Evert, 154
3. Steffi Graf, 107
4. Margaret Court, 92
5. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 68
6. Billie Jean King, 67
7. Virginia Wade, 55
8. Monica Seles, 53
9. Lindsay Davenport, 51
10. Martina Hingis, 43

Notables:
12. Kim Clijsters, 34
13. Venus Williams, 33
15. Tracy Austin, 30
16. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 29
16. Justine Henin, 29
18. Serena Williams, 27

Monica Seles

2007-02-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

Monica Seles reached the Top 10 in the women's tour on her first year on tour, in 1989.

Graf's 45-0 Season Start

2007-02-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

Steffi Graf's 45-0 streak in 1987 is the best season start for the women's tour. Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova followed with second-best 37-0 starts, in 1997 and 1978, respectively.

Martina Hingis's Golden Tokyo Record

2007-02-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

Martina Hingis won her record fifth Pan Pacific Open title last February 4, 2007 in Tokyo, defeating Serbian Ana Ivanovic in two sets.

Hingis also appeared eight times in the finals of the said Tier 1 tennis event during her 10-year career.