Rome Masters 2013: Injured Andy Murray’s French Open bid in doubt
The day he turned 24, Andy Murray had just played one of his finest ever clay matches. It was 2011 and the calendar had just…
Marianne Bevis Archives: 05/2013
WTA Rome 2013: Serena ends Robson run but predicts great things
The day that Laura Robson put out Venus Williams in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the younger Williams sister Serena had some…
Rome Masters 2013: Federer and Gasquet use right-arm tactics
On the day when the big guns fired up at the Foro Italico, the quarter that might be titled ‘single-handed backhand corner’ put on a…
Rome Masters 2013: News, quotes & images: Federer, Djokovic & Serena
Rome is the last major stop on the way to the clay-season climax at Roland Garros in around 10 days’ time. The sun-drenched, marble-white Foro…
WTA Rome 2013: Laura Robson lives the dream by beating Venus Williams
There could be few more daunting prospects for any player than taking on not one but two Williams sisters on a tennis court. Yet that…
WTA Rome 2013 preview: Williams and Sharapova are ‘the two’ to beat
The men’s tour has grown used to the ‘big four’ leading the way at almost every big tournament: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and…
Madrid Masters 2013: Rafael Nadal revels in ‘special’ victory
Rafael Nadal reflected on a “special” victory after the Spaniard swept past Stanislas Wawrinka to win the Madrid Masters for the third time. The world…
Rome Masters 2013 preview: Can Federer or Djokovic deny Nadal?
When Rafael Nadal comes to Rome, the third and final clay-court Masters in this most glamorous of seasons, he will begin a campaign that could…
Madrid Masters 2013: Federer’s loss to Nishikori hands No2 to Murray
This year’s Madrid Masters is certainly working hard to outdo its 2012 cousin that was held on the controversial electric blue clay. Last year, the…
Madrid Open 2013: Laura Robson beaten by Ana Ivanovic
After a famous victory over world No4 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round of the Madrid Premier this week, Laura Robson was unable to produce…
Madrid Masters 2013: Nadal, Berdych and Haas reach third round
This is a tournament of strong contrasts, of cool grey metal married with hot orange dust, of modern line and angle overlooking the crescent shaped…
Madrid Masters 2013: Spell-binding Dimitrov downs Djokovic
It was the day that the top three men in tennis—Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray—opened their campaigns on Madrid’s startling orange show court…
Can Haas and Wawrinka single-handedly shake up clay Masters?
For a shot that is, time and again, dismissed as a dying art, there have been an awful lot of single-handed backhands to admire on…
Madrid Masters 2013 preview: Will Nadal and Djokovic deny Federer?
While the history of the tennis fiesta that opens in Madrid this weekend may be short, it has certainly been packed with incident. The Mutua…
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova vie for No1 in Madrid
While just three men have held sway over the men’s No1 ranking since 2004—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—it has been an entirely different…
Of Roger Federer, Basel and the call of home
Basel is a city that feels no need to shout about itself. Sitting astride the Rhine, it rubs shoulders with the French and German borders,…