A late-game scuffle against the Eagles showed more fire than the Washington Commanders have displayed for much of their 4–11 season, but it did nothing to change a 29–18 loss that clinched Philadelphia’s second straight NFC East title. Despite a competitive first half and brief sparks of intensity, Washington’s familiar issues—defensive breakdowns, injuries and inconsistency—resurfaced as the Eagles pulled away in the second half.
Author Archives: Howard Fendrich
AP Tennis Writer
Posted inNational Sports
Naomi Osaka defeats Coco Gauff at the US Open to reach her first major quarterfinal since 2021
Naomi Osaka beat Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 at the U.S. Open to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2021, showing a return to championship form after maternity leave. She next faces Karolina Muchova.
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Venus Williams is back and she is not done
Venus Williams celebrates her win over Peyton Stearns during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament.
Posted inNational Sports
Venus Williams makes surprise return to tennis — and hopes Serena joins the fun
Venus Williams is returning to professional tennis after more than a year away, making a surprise comeback at the DC Open. While focused on enjoying the game and staying in the moment, Venus admits she misses playing alongside her sister Serena, who retired in 2022, and would love to see her return too.
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Analysis: Let Serena define her legacy as she leaves tennis
By Howard Fendrich, Tennis Writer After all of the many tributes to Serena Williams were done, the celebratory words and the video montages, the standing ovations and the shouts of her name, it seemed appropriate that she herself would provide the defining look at her legacy. So the last question at the news conference on […]
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Osaka: ‘Best thing’ for French Open would be her withdrawal
Japan’s Naomi Osaka returns the ball to Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig during their first round match of the French open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, in this Sunday, May 30, 2021, file photo. Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday, May 31, and wrote on Twitter that she would […]
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Activist, champion: Naomi Osaka is AP Female Athlete of Year
In this combo of 2020 file photos, Naomi Osaka, of Japan, wears face masks bearing the names of Black victims of police violence and racial profiling during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York Osaka has been selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Year. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, top, […]
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Youth Served: Gauff Wins, Serena Loses at Australian Open
By Howard Fendrich AP Tennis Writer Perhaps Serena Williams, now 38, will win a 24th Grand Slam title someday. And maybe Coco Gauff, still just 15, never will earn her first major championship. Sure felt, though, as if a generational shift was being signaled Jan. 24 at the Australian Open, with a pair of monumentally […]
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Serena Turns Ankle in US Open Win
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams was in pain — “acceptable” pain, her coach called it — after rolling her right ankle during the second set of a U.S. Open victory. That was the bad news. On a day that defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of his […]
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Back at US Open, Serena Beats Sharapova for 19th Time in Row
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams was not about to let Maria Sharapova make a match of this. So facing a break point early in the second set, Williams conjured up a backhand passing shot so good, so powerful, so precise, that Sharapova had no chance to reach it. […]
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Call Coco the Comeback Kid: Gauff Wins US Open Debut at 15
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff is quickly becoming the Comeback Kid. Just 15, she doesn’t seem to find any deficit too daunting. She demonstrated that in her U.S. Open debut Tuesday night, much like she did at Wimbledon last month. With her parents jumping out of their front-row […]
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Serena Williams Loses Her 3rd Consecutive Grand Slam Final
By Howard Fendrich, AP Tennis Writer The Centre Court crowd kept roaring whenever Serena Williams would win a point in the Wimbledon final, seemingly trying to will her to make things interesting against Simona Halep. Never happened. Instead of earning an eighth title at Wimbledon and record-equaling 24th overall at Grand Slam tournaments, Williams fell one […]