Grand Slam

On May 1st, 1960, the 24th deep-penetration U-2 overflight of the Soviet Union was scheduled, code-named Operation Grand Slam. Operation Grand Slam was piloted by Francis Gary Powers, the most experienced U-2 pilot from CIA. After airborne from Peshawar, Pakistan, Powers guided the aircraft towards Soviet-Afghan border and later Tyurantam Missile Test Range, his first target. The planned route would take him over Chelyabinsk, Kyshtym, Sverdlovsk, northwest to Kirov, north over Yur’ya and Plesetsk, then to Severodvinsk, northwest to Kandalaksha, north to Murmansk, and finally his destination Bodo, Norway. Grand Slam was planned to spend 9 hours in air to cover more than 3,800 miles in distance, with 2,900 miles of unauthorized transgressing the Soviet airspace. The core mission was to photograph Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile sites that were currently in operation and plutonium-production facilities and shipyards where nuclear submarines were being…

Is Roger Federer the best tennis player in history? He is currently number nine in the world, but he is one of the best tennis players of the history. He has a lot of titles on his career, including Grand Slams. He also is a good person and a positive player. He has played tennis all his life and he always had shown that he is the best. Roger is one of the best players of all time because of his game statistics and his personality. Federer is the player with more Grand Slams in history. Grand…

Over the weekend, Andy Murray won his third Grand Slam and second Wimbledon title, defeating next generation of tennis member Milos Raonic. The match was a fairly routine three-set victory (6-4, 7-6, 7-6) for Murray, who never seemed in jeopardy of losing the meeting. Raonic entered Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final playing at a tremendously high level, fresh off the greatest win of his career, a five-set victory over arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer. In the semifinal…

In 1999 Serena Williams won a singles victory at the U.S. Open, which made her the second black woman to win a Grand Slam title. The first being Althea Gibson. As an african american tennis player Serena has overcome and dealt with many difficulties. She has been told that she and her sister Venus (also a tennis player) are arrogant and unfriendly to others on the court and off the court. Serena is well known for her tennis skill and all the events that she has won at a young age. She also…

sister, she holds the record for the fastest serve ever delivered by a woman, at a shocking 130 miles per hour (Advarsity Sports). The expert player is comfortable all around the court, unlike her sibling who is mainly comfortable on the baseline. Another difference between the two is that Venus is more comfortable playing on grass courts while Serena says she likes to play on any terrain, such as grass, carpet, hard, and clay courts. The last major difference between the two are their…

ranking has no effect on what she should be. She should be ranked higher. She just has a super, super game to play well on grass." At the U.S. Open, Williams made a strong showing. Williams clinched her third straight and sixth overall U.S. Open singles title in 2014 by defeating her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. At the French Open in June, Williams managed to overcome illness to win the tournament for the third time and claim her 20th Grand Slam singles title, good for third place all-time.…

Although Murray has been in numerous finals, he has only won a single Grand Slam title- Wimbledon 2013. He was able to come back in this match, but he seems to struggle in the five set matches when he starts to lose a few games. Most recently against Novak Djokovic in the French Open final, Murray won the first set, but lost the next three after Djokovic broke Murray several times in the second set. Djokovic is arguably the best player in recent history, but as Murray is the second best player,…

Serena Williams Serena Williams was born September 26, 1981, in Saginaw Michigan. At the age of four she started playing tennis, and quickly was found by the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who polished their natural skills and talent. By 1991 she was ranked 1st in the 10 and under division, at the tennis association junior tour. Serena started playing professional in 1995, one year after her sister started playing professional. Four years later she completed her career grand slam in 1999.…

Selecting the best of the best in such a competitive sport like women's tennis is difficult to say the least. Yet again, there are those names that always come to mind when you think of this sport. They are the players that resisted the test of time in remaining at the top. The combination of good defense and offense positioned them at the highest in their times and helped them remain there for decades to come. Grand Slam titles There are four Grand Slams over the year: the Australian Open, the…

Then when he was fourteen, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. His family turned down the request because they were afraid it would affect his education and also because his father believed that he didn’t need to travel to be a good athlete; he could do it from home. Nadal’s father was right and under the training of his uncle, Rafa turned pro when he was fifteen. At the age of seventeen he beat Roger Federer to…