Newsday (N.Y.): Rafael Nadal stunned by 100th-ranked Rosol at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England -- All Lukas Rosol wanted was to play respectably. "So I don't lose 3-0,'' he said. He played spectacularly. He played Rafael Nadal right out of Wimbledon in an upset of enormous proportions.

Rosol, 26, is ranked 100th in the world. Nadal, 26, an 11-time Grand Slam winner, is No. 2 and was trying for his third Wimbledon title.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved

RealClearSports: For Roddick, It's Not Gender, It's Leverage

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England — It always comes down to money, doesn't it? Whether you're A-Rod or some kid just drafted into the NBA or a relatively successful and - herein lies the issue - relatively unknown tennis player named Gilles Simon.

Fame usually brings wealth. Wealth often brings fame. Everybody wants more of both, which is the reason there are holdouts and lockouts and player strikes in team sports, and there is jealousy in individual sports, such as tennis.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2012

SF Examiner: Optimism rises in S.F., pessimism reigns overseas

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

In only a few days, the season has improved dramatically for the Giants. Baseball joyfully provides for such rapid swings of success and emotion.

As opposed to the sport that matters most here in England, soccer, or as they call it, football.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2012 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Overcoming the Hurt at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England — There’s no DL, disabled list, in tennis. As Venus Williams said once, if you’re play you’re not hurt, if you’re hurt don’t play. But what if you want to play and you’re unable?

Any athlete is beholden to his or her body, and so always there are worries and fears. And pain.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2012

RealClearSports: 'Tough-as-Nails' Venus Out in 1st Round

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England — The response was a fusion of philosophy and defiance. A champion never concedes, which is why she is a champion. For a decade, Venus Williams, a queen here in a land of royalty, unquestionably was a champion of grace and grandeur.

Now, in one of those awful twists of fate, Venus has been stricken by an autoimmune disease named Sjogren's Syndrome, which has sapped her strength and stolen her brilliance.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2012