What's your tennis IQ? Take your 2008 holiday quiz
Sure, you remember who won the Grand Slams and finished No. 1 this year. But how closely did you really follow tennis in 2008? Take our holiday quiz and see -- then test your friends and family.
Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty ImagesVenus Williams failed to attain a significant mark that a few other players reached in 2008.1. When Rafael Nadal became No. 1 on Aug. 18, 2008, it was after being No. 2 for how many straight weeks?
A. 60 weeks
B. 160 weeks (Nadal was No. 2 for a record 160 consecutive weeks.)
C. 200 weeks
2. Roger Federer won just four titles in 2008, his fewest since which year?
A. 2006
B. 2005
C. 2004
D. 2003
E. 2002 (Federer's titles by year: 2008 (4), 2007 (8), 2006 (12), 2005 (11), 2004 (11), 2003 (7), 2002 (3), 2001 (1)
3. Lleyton Hewitt's five-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis at the Australian Open set a record for the latest finish in Grand Slam history. What time did the match end?
A. 12.25 a.m.
B. 2:05 a.m.
C. 4:34 a.m. (The others are the times play finished the previous two nights.)
4. That wasn't the only overtime finish in 2008. The Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer final at Wimbledon was not only one of the greatest matches in tennis history, but also the latest end to a Wimbledon final in history. The match finished in near darkness at what hour?
A. 8:16 p.m.
B. 9:16 p.m.
C. 10:16 p.m.
5. The media, fans and many players rhapsodized about this year's classic Wimbledon final, but which ATP pro's reaction was, "I don't care whatsoever"?
A. Novak Djokovic
B. Andy Murray
C. Nikolay Davydenko
D. Marat Safin
6. Which WTA player got a ride from Rafael Nadal in a rented private jet from Indian Wells to Miami?
A. Dinara Safina
B. Ana Ivanovic (When Ivanovic had trouble booking a last-minute flight to Florida following her Indian Wells victory, Nadal offered her a ride.)
C. Maria Sharapova
D. Virginia Ruano Pascual
7. When Bob Bryan had to pull out of the U.S.'s Davis Cup semifinal against Spain with a shoulder injury, it was the first time twin brother Mike partnered someone else in a doubles match since:
A. 2005
B. 2002 (Mike Bryan played with Mahesh Bhupathi at Long Island in August 2002, one of the very few times the Bryan twins have played with anyone but each other.)
C. 1995
D. The two have never played with anyone else
8. What title did Novak Djokovic fictitiously claim for his girlfriend this fall?
A. Nobel prize winner
B. Miss Universe
C. Olympic silver medalist
D. Rhodes scholar
9. The top six split all this season's Grand Slams or ATP Masters Series events amongst themselves. Which three managed to win more than one of those titles?
A. Rafael Nadal
B. Roger Federer
C. Novak Djokovic
D. Andy Murray
E. Nikolay Davydenko
F. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
10. Of the four youngest ATP players in the top 100, who was the only one not to win a title this year?
A. Juan Martin del Potro
B. Kei Nishikori
C. Ernests Gulbis
D. Marin Cilic
11. Which of the following players changed coaches most frequently this season?
A. David Nalbandian
B. Gael Monfils
C. Marcos Baghdatis
D. Andy Roddick (Nalbandian parted ways with his coach at the end of the season. Monfils is on his second coach of the year, Baghdatis his third. But Roddick topped them all with four -- Jimmy Connors, John Roddick, Patrick McEnroe and now Larry Stefanki.)
12. Five different players were ranked No. 1 on the Sony Ericsson WTA computer this year. Who wasn't among them?
A. Jelena Jankovic
B. Serena Williams
C. Venus Williams (The highest the elder Williams got this year was No. 6.)
D. Ana Ivanovic
E. Maria Sharapova
F. Justine Henin
13. Collectively, who won the most titles in 2008 -- the Williams sisters, or the "Serbian sisters," Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic?
A. The Williamses
B. The Serbs
C. The same (Both pairs won seven singles titles this year.)
14. A shoulder injury ended Maria Sharapova's season early, but how many consecutive matches did she win to start the year?
A. 12
B. 14
C. 16
D. 18 (The streak included the Australian Open, Fed Cup, Doha and the final of Indian Wells.)
15. Four top-20 players failed to win a WTA title this year. Who was not among them?
A. Svetlana Kuznetsova
B. Victoria Azarenka
C. Marion Bartoli
D. Anna Chakvetadze (Chakvetadze won the Paris Indoors in February.)
E. Katarina Srebotnik
16. Who was the last player to face Justine Henin before the Belgian announced her retirement?
A. Ana Ivanovic
B. Amelie Mauresmo
C. Dinara Safina (Safina defeated Henin in the Berlin semifinals a few days before Henin's shocking announcement.)
D. Serena Williams
17. What did Ana Ivanovic's defeats to Zheng Jie at Wimbledon and Julie Coin at the U.S. Open have in common?
A. Both were the first time qualifiers had defeated the top women's seed
B. Both winners were college graduates
C. Both marked records for the lowest-ranked players ever to defeat the WTA No. 1 (Ivanovic's defeat to No. 133-ranked wild card Zheng tied the previous record for the lowest-ranked player ever to defeat the reigning No. 1, which was then broken by No. 188-ranked qualifier Julie Coin's win over Ivanovic a few weeks later.)
18. Serena Williams skipped the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. What reason did she give?
A. It was past her bedtime
B. She had already attended the opening ceremony at Sydney eight years ago
C. She was in a foul mood
D. All of the above ("I like to go to sleep really early. And then I've been to opening ceremonies, in Sydney. I was in a foul mood by the time 5:00 p.m. came around, so it just wasn't worth it," said Serena.)
19. Which nation won the Fed Cup this year?
A. Russia
B. U.S.
C. Spain
D. Serbia
20. Which one of the following top 20 teens does not list shopping as one of her favorite hobbies?
A. Agnieszka Radwanska
B. Caroline Wozniacki
C. Victoria Azarenka
D. Alize Cornet (Cornet likes reading, playing the piano and watching TV.)
E. Dominika Cibulkova
21. Four different women's doubles teams won each of the four Grand Slam events this year. Players from which team(s) also finished in the top 10 of the doubles rankings?
A. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko -- Australian Open champions
B. Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual -- French Open champions
C. Serena and Venus Williams -- Wimbledon (and Olympic) champions
D. Cara Black and Liezel Huber -- U.S. Open champions
E. The two sister teams
F. The two non-sister teams
22. A documentary about Jelena Jankovic by Serbian filmmaker Tanja Brzakoviae opened in Belgrade in November. What was the title?
A. "Jelena's World"
B. "Jelena Hospital"
C. "Jelena's Place"
D. "Days of Jelena's Life"
23. This year marked the 25th anniversary of Yannick Noah winning the French Open, the last Frenchman to do so. Which Grand Slam nation has had a longer drought of homegrown men's singles champions?
A. Australia
B. Great Britain (The last British Wimbledon champion was Fred Perry in 1936. Mark Edmondson was the last Aussie to win the Australian Open (1976), and Andy Roddick was the last American to win the U.S. Open (2003).
C. U.S.
24. Which Grand Slam nation has had the longest drought of homegrown singles champions on the women's side?
A. Australia
B. France
C. Great Britain (Virginia Wade in 1977 was the last British player to win Wimbledon. Christine O'Neil in 1978 was the last Australian to win Down Under, and Mary Pierce gave the French a national champion in 2000. American Serena Williams won the U.S. Open this year.)
D. U.S.
25. Only two of the following WTA/ATP couples managed at least one title each in 2008. Who were they?
A. Ana Ivanovic/Fernando Verdasco
B. Nicole Vaidisova /Radek Stepanek
C. Dominika Cibulkova /Jurgen Melzer
D. Maria Kirilenko/Igor Andreev
E. Gisela Dulko/Fernando Gonzalez
Kamakshi Tandon is a freelance tennis writer for ESPN.com.
