Newsday (N.Y.): Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova upset at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — For 9 1/2 years, 36 consecutive events, Roger Federer had never failed to reach the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam tennis tournament. But this Wimbledon he couldn't get past the second round.

A 27-year-old from the Ukraine, Sergiy Stakhovsky, 116th in the world rankings, defeated Federer, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5), a stunning conclusion to a long Wednesday afternoon of upsets, upset competitors and withdrawals.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2013 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Los Angeles Times: Rafael Nadal makes fast, and stunning, Wimbledon exit

By Art Spander
For the Los Angeles Times

LONDON — When Steve Darcis, a Belgian whose basic language is French, saw last Friday that he would be playing Rafael Nadal in the first round of Wimbledon, his response was an English vulgarity. Four letters, and that's about as far as it goes.

Nadal, a Spaniard, may be echoing Darcis' reaction today, because in this 127th Wimbledon, the world's fifth-ranked player and recent French Open champion already has gone as far as he can go. Nowhere.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times

Newsday (N.Y.): Wimbledon shocker: Rafael Nadal falls to Steve Darcis in first round

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — Rafael Nadal said he had no excuses. Neither did he have any way to halt a rapid, early tumble out of the All England championships a second consecutive year.

In 2012 it was in the second round to the 100th player in the men's rankings, Lukas Rosol. On Monday, in the first round of the 127th Wimbledon, Nadal was beaten by No. 135th-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2013 Newsday. All rights reserved.  

Newsday (N.Y.): Maria Sharapova takes shot at Serena Williams over comments

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — Another Wimbledon begins Monday on the lawns of the All England Club, and what's Wimbledon without rain and wind — both made an appearance Saturday — and without a controversy?

Maria Sharapova took a huge shot at Serena Williams Saturday, lashing back at her when asked about a Williams comment — the author assumed it to be about Sharapova — in Rolling Stone magazine.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2013 Newsday. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: There's Crying in Tennis, Rain in London

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

LONDON – The tears apparently have dried, but unfortunately the streets haven’t. The Sunday Times had a front-page story on something other than the overdone hopes of Andy Murray, and it was about the weather for the upcoming Olympics.

In a word, like England’s results in soccer, grim.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2012