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Aleksandra Wozniak

Tennis Canada nominates olympic representatives for London

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By Melissa Boyd

Tennis Canada has announced the four players nominated for selection to the Canadian Olympic Team for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Daniel Nestor, Vasek Pospisil, Milos Raonic, and Aleksandra Wozniak will represent Canada in London. Raonic and Wozniak will play singles while Nestor and Pospisil will team up for doubles.

Milos Raonic & Daniel Nestor will represent Canada in London

In singles, the Top 56 players in the world as of the June 11 rankings deadline receive direct entry into the tennis event provided they meet all other requirements set out for qualification. Raonic sits at No. 21 in the world while Wozniak’s third round appearance at the French Open lifted her to the exact cut-off point of No. 56. It will be the first Olympic Games for both.
“It’s something I’ve been dreaming since I’m a little girl, and my dream came true today,” Wozniak said. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere than playing in the Grand Slams and on the WTA Tour, something where you’ll be with the best athletes around the world in all different sports”.
For the doubles event, each of the Top 10 players receives direct entry with a compatriot of their choice. As the No. 1 doubles player in the world, Nestor has elected to play with first-time Olympic hopeful Pospisil. The duo holds a 2-0 Davis Cup record, including a pivotal win against Grand Slam champions Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram during Canada’s World Group play-off versus Israel last September.
London will represent the fifth consecutive time Nestor has represented Canada at the Olympic Games. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, he won gold with partner Sebastien Lareau marking the first, and only, tennis medal in Canadian history.
“I’m very proud to be in a position where I can represent my country and hopefully bring back another medal,” said Nestor. “It was quite a special feat winning Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000 and with the growth of tennis in our country, we all can have a chance to make Canada proud.”
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will announce the full official list of entries on June 28 which will include the ITF places in singles and doubles. Additional nominations for players who did not make the rankings cut-off can be submitted to the ITF to be considered for ITF places.
“Congratulations to these four tennis players on joining the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team,” said 2012 Team Chef de Mission Mark Tewksbury. “I know you will give your everything to make Canadian fans proud in London.”

WTA Strasbourg day 2 roundup and photos

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By Romana Cvitkovic

Tennis Grandstand photographer Rick Gleijm is in Strasbourg, France covering the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament live all week. Main draw action continued today and saw several more seeds fall including Maria Kirilenko, Mona Barthel and Marina Erakovic, while number two seed Francesca Schiavone eased through.
2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone may not have had her best serving day, but she converted enough break points to give her a solid win over Romanian Alexandra Cadantu, 6-1, 6-2, and was the only seed to survive the day. Number three seed Maria Kirilenko retired with an ankle injury giving American Sloane Stephens a pass to the next round after splitting the first two sets, 6-3, 5-7. Number five seed and newest WTA Tour breakout player, Germany’s Mona Barthel went down to Russian qualifier Alexandra Panova 3-6, 6-7(7). Barthel double faulted ten times, struggled to hold her second serve and faced 18 break points, while only converting on three. Shahar Peer refueled in the second set against Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak, handing her a bagel to seal the win, 7-5, 6-0. Japan’s Ayumi Morita sent the day’s last seed, number six Marina Erakovic, home in commanding form, 6-1, 6-3.
Other notable wins include Mirjana Lucic’s handling of Anne Keothavong. After easily winning the first set, Keothavong served for the match at 5-3, before Lucic fought back to win the next four games and force a third set which she won with a final score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Johanna Larsson of Sweden sent American qualifier Lauren Davis home in three hotly contested sets that lasted just under three hours, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Timea Babos, a former junior doubles champion at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, moved onto the next round when Anastasija Sevastova retired just three games into the match. 2009 Strasbourg runner up, Lucie Hradecka moved on as did French wildcards Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano.
Check back each day to catch all new action direct from the courts by our photographer Rick Gleijm! Scroll down for the full gallery below.
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Rejuvenated Wozniak is Dreaming Olympic Big

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Aleksandra Wozniak is back in the mix

Following a tumultuous two seasons that were mired by injuries and coaching uncertainty, former world no.21 Aleksandra Wozniak has shown Top 25 form this season and is making her way back up the rankings with a renewed passion for her sport.
Wozniak became the first Canadian in 20 years to win a WTA singles title when she was crowned champion at Stanford in 2008 and appeared to destined to contend for titles for many years to come. Now 24 years old and with her hardships a thing of the past, the Wozniak hitting the court is definitely the 2.0 version. After finishing the 2011 season ranked outside the Top 100, she came into the off-season  100 percent healthy for the first time in a while. Wozniak took up boxing to improve her strength and agility. Her hard work is paying dividends so far in 2012.
Wozniak has also brought her father, Antoni back in the fold as her full-time coach. He introduced her to tennis when she was three years old and is the master technician behind her smooth strokes. Wozniak appreciates having her recently retired Dad around every day to work on the little things.
“ I am able to take my Dad on the road with me which is tremendous and makes a big difference because he can always keep improving my game,” Wozniak said. “He sees things right away and those little details make a big difference in my game. I think I’m pretty close to where I was, but I think I am coming back differently and stronger than before.”
Wozniak has improved her ranking by more than 50 places since the start of the season and finds herself ranked firmly inside the Top 60 again. Perhaps most impressive though is the kind of matches she is winning, the long, exhausting type. Matches she would have never been able to win earlier in her career. Wozniak has also played the top players very tough, losing 7-5 in the third to Agnieszka Radwanska in Dubai and dropping a third set tiebreak to Venus Williams in Miami after holding a match point.
She is battling and fighting harder than ever with one lifelong dream motivating her every move, representing Canada at this summer’s Olympic Games in London. At no. 56 on the world rankings and with few points to defend until Roland-Garros, Wozniak has put herself in a good position to earn an Olympic berth.
“As an athlete, to know you made it to the Olympics, I can’t even describe it,” Wozniak added. “For me it’s very important to represent my country the best that I can. It’s a big privilege to represent Canada at the  greatest sporting event in the world. For any athlete it is very special and it would be really exciting.”
Not only is Wozniak a transformed player, but she’s also a different person. Physically, she looks better than  ever and her renewed confidence is evident in the way she carries herself. Her likeable, radiant personality makes it easy to root for the talent Canadian and  It will be fun to watch her rise back to the upper echelon of the women’s game. Wozniak is certainly not a name any player will want to see opposite their own in the draw, especially on Wozniak’s favourite surface during the clay court season.

Wozniak Shows Winning Attitude in Loss to Venus at Miami

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Aleksandra Wozniak played Venus Williams tough in Miami

Aleksandra Wozniak was a forehand away from scoring one of the biggest wins of her career in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. The 24-year-old Canadian held match point against seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, but couldn’t close the deal, falling 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)in a two-hour, 53 minute match that had more ups and downs than a roller coaster.
Wozniak showed flashes of her Top 20 form from two years ago against the inspirational Williams who is playing her first tournament since being diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome at last year’s U.S. Open. After getting through her first two matches, Williams appeared sluggish and Wozniak took full advantage, playing deep, penetrating shots to keep her opponent on her heels.
Still, every time it looked like Wozniak was going to knock out the tournament sentimental favourite, either nerves or Williams’ champion’s mentality got her in the way. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Wozniak survived two wild double faults to earn a match point which she wasted by putting a sitting forehand into the net. The Canadian didn’t go away though as she rebounded to force a third set tiebreak which, like the rest of the match, went back and forth until Williams converted her second match point with a service winner. Despite the pain of the circumstances, Wozniak showed a lot of class staying to sign autographs on court after shaking hands and chose to focus on the positives in her post-match comments.
“It would have been a big victory for me. It hurts and it is disappointing, but the important thing is that I’m healthy and progressing,” Wozniak said. “One thing is for sure, I am going to keep fighting.”
Wozniak is no stranger to coming up short in tight matches against top players. In 2010 she lost a pair of matches 6-4 in the third to Elena Dementieva at Roland-Garros and Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon. A few weeks ago in Dubai she lost 7-5 in the third to Agnieszka Radwanska. While all of the attention has been about the Williams comeback, Wozniak is also climbing the ranks again following a series of personal and physical setbacks that kept her off the court for significant chunks of time over the past two seasons. She won her maiden WTA title four years ago at Stanford, defeating Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams and Marion Bartoli en route. Wozniak reached a career-high ranking of no. 21 in June of 2009 and Williams was the first to acknowledge that a formidable player was across the net from her on Centre Court in Key Biscayne.
“It was tough out there. It was made even tougher because she played well, Williams said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her play as well as she did. She was close to the Top 20, so she has that tennis in her. I have to give her a lot of credit.”
With her third round performance in Miami, Wozniak will move close to Top 60 on the WTA rankings after a fruitful March that also saw her win the Nassau Challenger in the Bahamas. She is once again the top-ranked Canadian and is making a strong push towards her season goal of representing Canada at the Olympics in London. With her free-flowing all around game and genuine personality, Wozniak will come through in her fair share matches in 2012, and win over a lot of new fans in the process.

Hopes are High for Canadians Down Under

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Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic leads the Canadian charge in Oz

Four Canadians will be part of the main draw of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Not only are they competing in the first Grand Slam of the new tennis season, but they also have aspirations of winning a few rounds and ultimately getting a shot at a spot in the second week Down Under.
After reaching the Round of 16 at the Australian Open last year, his best Grand Slam result, world no. 25 Milos Raonic is being labelled a dark horse by the experts for the title in 2012. Fresh off his second ATP World Tour title in Chennai two weeks ago, a run which included two Top 10 wins over Nicolas Almagro and Janko Tipsarevic, Raonic is poised to make another splash in Melbourne. His draw did him no favours however, as he finds himself on a potential collision course with Andy Roddick in the third round and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. Raonic will begin his Australian Open campaign on Tuesday against crafty lefty Filippo Volandri. It will be the first meeting between the two players.
On the ladies side, one year removed from a heartbreaking loss in the second round to Francesca Schiavone that finished 9-7 in the third set, Rebecca Marino returns to Melbourne a different player and ready to overcome that second round hurdle this time around. The 21-year-old will start on Tuesday against Hungarian Greta Arn. Should Marino get through that match, she would face a tough test going up against either seventeenth seed Dominika Cibulkova or Magdalena Rybarikova, who defeated her in the final at Memphis last March.
Stéphanie Dubois is back after a stress fracture in her foot put a premature end to her 2011 season. She is appearing in her fourth consecutive Australian Open main draw and is hoping to pick up her first victory when she meets Russia’s Elena Vesnina in the opening round on Tuesday. Aleksandra Wozniak rounds out the Canadian singles contingent Down Under. 2012 is a big year for Wozniak as she tries to regain her 2009 form when she reached a career-high of no. 21 on the WTA rankings. She earned a spot in the main draw following the withdrawal of Timea Bacsinszky and surprisingly, is still winless in main draw matches in Melbourne. Just getting over a bout with bronchitis, Wozniak will open on Tuesday against Shuai Zhang of China.
Australia has not been very kind to Canadians in recent years in terms of tennis results, but be on the lookout for some Canadian flags on the scoreboard during the later rounds, they certainly won’t be there by chance.

Mondays With Bob Greene: I'm going to Shanghai really to represent France and all my family and my friends.

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STARS
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat David Nalbandian 6-3 4-6 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, France
Nadia Petrova won the Bell Challenge, beating Bethanie Mattek 4-6 6-4 6-1 in Quebec City, Canada
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won the Ritro Slovak Open in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, beating Michaella Krajicek 6-3 6-1
David Koellerer beat Pau Capdeville 6-4 6-3 to win the Bancolombia Open 2008 in Cali, Colombia
Ivo Minar beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1 2-0 retired to win the Flea Market Cup Busan Challenger in Busan, Korea
SAYINGS
“I’m going to go (to Shanghai) really to represent France and all my family and my friends. That’s it. I’m going to represent everyone and I’m going to give my best.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after winning the Paris Masters and qualifying for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.
“I didn’t play bad, but I didn’t play like the other days.” – David Nalbandian, after losing to Tsonga in the final at Paris and a chance to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup.
“If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over. For the moment, I just need to rest.” – Marat Safin, former world number one player on whether or not he will retire from tennis.
“Now I have a long journey ahead of me to Doha, but it’ll definitely be worth it. And then it’ll be really nice to put the racquets aside for a few weeks.” – Nadia Petrova, after winning the Bell Challenge.
“I saw him in the locker room five minutes before my match and he told me he had a pain in the back. I said, maybe we are both going to be going home tonight.” – Rafael Nadal, talking about Roger Federer after both withdrew from the Paris Masters with injuries.
“It wasn’t going to do me any good to play patty-cake back and forth with him. I’m not as quick as he is and I’m not as consistent as he is. It actually made for a pretty simple game plan.” – Andy Roddick, after his victory over Gilles Simon in Paris.
“I think with this calendar it’s very difficult to play a lot of years in a row. I think the ATP and everybody have to think about these things happening at the end of the season.” – Rafael Nadal, on the injuries to him and Federer.
“For him, it can’t all be serious. Off the court he is just a kid.” – Agent Tony Godsick, talking about his client, Roger Federer.
“We have now accomplished all that we set out to do at the USTA. The best time to move on is when the business is at an all-time high and a solid foundation has been built for the future.” – Arlen Kantarian, who is quitting at the end of the year as the USTA’s CEO for professional tennis.
SUSPENSEFUL
The world’s top two players turned up injured on the same day. First, second-ranked Roger Federer pulled out of his quarterfinal match at the BNP Paribas Masters with back pain. Then top-seeded Rafael Nadal dropped the first set before retiring from his match against Nikolay Davydenko with a knee injury. By his standards, Federer has had a down year, winning his fifth straight US Open title but losing in the final at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and also losing his world number one ranking. This is the first time since 2003 that Federer has gone the entire season without a Masters Series trophy, and his four titles this year are his fewest since 2002. Nadal, who had a trainer work on his right knee and thigh before he retired, said he had never had this kind of injury before.
SHANGHAI BOUND
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was instrumental in completing the field for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina earned a spot in the elite field when Tsonga beat American James Blake in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Masters. Then Tsonga clinched the final berth for himself when he beat David Nalbandian in the final in Paris. Earlier in the week, American Andy Roddick secured a spot in the Shanghai tournament by beating France’s Gilles Simon in a third-round match. Completing the singles field for the November 9-16 tournament are Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Swiss Roger Federer, Serb Novak Djokovic, Briton Andy Murray and Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko.
STRONG TEAMS
The final two teams to qualify for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, are Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs, along with Katherina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama. Previously qualified for the four-team field were Cara Black and Liezel Huber as well as Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual. The Peschke-Stubbs duo is making its second consecutive appearance as a team at the season finale.
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STEPPING DOWN
Arlen Kantarian is leaving his post as the US Tennis Association’s chief executive officer for professional tennis. A former National Football League executive, Kantarian joined the USTA in March 2000 and is credited with turning the year’s final Grand Slam tournament into an entertainment spectacular. During his tenure, the US Open revenues jumped 80 percent as the tournament set annual records for attendance and revenue. He is credited with developing the instant replay and challenge format, moving the women’s final to Saturday night and securing television deals to boost the tournament’s profile and income.
STANDOUT
The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum will pay tribute to Jane Brown Grimes at a dinner in New York City in December. Grimes began a two-year stint as president of the United States Tennis Association in January 2007 and has been a member of the USTA Board for Directors for the past seven years. She represents the United States on the International Tennis Federation Fed Cup and Grand Slam Committees. She served as the Hall of Fame’s president and chief executive officer from 1991 until 2000, overseeing a major reconstruction of the historic buildings and grounds of the Hall of Fame’s headquarters in Newport, Rhode Island.
STOPPED SHORT
Aleksandra Wozniak’s bid to become the first Canadian to reach the final of the Bell Challenge women’s tournament ended when she fell to American Bethanie Mattek in the semifinals at Quebec City. A native of Blaineville, Quebec, the 21-year-old Wozniak won a tournament in Stanford, Connecticut, just before the US open, making her the first Canadian in 20 years to win a WTA title. Mattek fell in the title match to top-seeded Nadia Petrova.
SWISS STAR
When the United States plays Switzerland in the opening round of Davis Cup next year, the Americans will be facing Roger Federer again. The last time Federer played a first-round Davis Cup tie was in 2004, when he led the Swiss to victory over Romania. The United States and Switzerland have met only twice in Davis Cup play, with the countries splitting their two meetings. The Americans won the 1992 final at Fort Worth, Texas. The last time they played, Federer had a hand in all three points as the Swiss beat the United States in Basel, Switzerland, in a first-round match in 2001.
STEP IN STEP
Serena Williams and James Blake will team up for the Hopman Cup in January. Serena and Mardy Fish won the mixed teams title a year ago, the second time Williams has won the event. Blake also has won the Hopman Cup twice, joining with Serena in 2003 and with Lindsay Davenport in 2004. Tournament director Pal McNamee said the Americans will be the top-seeded team. Others who are scheduled to be in the field include Dinara Safina and her brother Marat Safin – if he decides to continue his career, Germans Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Kiefer, and the Slovak duo of Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty.
SPOTLIGHTED
The season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships will be shown in the United States on the Tennis Channel and ESPN2. More than 30 live hours are planned from the prestigious women’s event being held this week in Doha, Qatar, almost all of which will be telecast in high definition. Combined with taped segments, the networks plan to televise close to 70 hours of high definition match coverage during the six-day tournament that features the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams.
SINGLES HISTORY
History was made at a USD $10,000 International Tennis Federation women’s tournament in Vila Real De Santo Antonio, Portugal, when two Moroccan Fed Cup teammates met in the final. It was the first all-Moroccan singles final on the ITF Women’s Circuit. Nadia Lalami, playing in her first career singles final, won the tournament when Lamia Essaadi retired from the match while trailing 2-1 in the opening set. Lalami also teamed up with her regular Fed Cup doubles partner Fatima El Allami to win the doubles. Prior to 2008, Bahia Mouhtassine was the only Moroccan woman to win a singles title, and she finished her career with eleven singles titles. This year, however, has been a banner one for Moroccan women’s tennis as Essaadi won a tournament in July and El Allami won a title in August.
SAFIN THROUGH?
Marat Safin is not sure he wants to continue playing tennis. After the 28-year-old Russian suffered a first-round loss at the Paris Masters, he said: “I need to enjoy my life without tennis. I will see if I continue.” Safin won the US Open in 2000 and was ranked number one in the world. He also won the Australian Open in 2005, the last of his 15 titles. Many times he has self-destructed in matches, and his latest defeat was no exception. After losing the opening set, Safin began the second set with four double faults. His career has been hampered by his volatile temper and, more recently, injuries.
SERVING THE GAME
Harold Mitchell is one of four new directors on the Tennis Australia board. The others are former Fed Cup player Janet Young, Stephen Healy and Graeme Holloway. Mitchell is a media buyer. Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard was re-elected to the job he has held since 1989.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Paris: Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett beat Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie 6-2 6-2
Quebec City: Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King beat Jill Craybas and Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-6 (3) 6-4
Cali: Daniel Koellerer and Boris Pashanski beat Diego Junqueira and Peter Luczak 6-7 (4) 6-4 10-4 (match tiebreak)
Bratislava: Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka beat Akgul Amanmuradova and Monica Niculescu 7-6 (1) 6-1
Busan: Rik De Voest and Ashley Fisher beat Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-2 2-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
SITES TO SURF
Doha: www.Sonyericsson-championships.com
Sunrise: www.championsseriestennis.com/arizona2008/
Bratislava: www.stz.sk
Dnepropetrovsk: www.peoplenetcup.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
WTA TOUR
$4,450,000 Sony Ericsson Championships, Doha, Qatar, hard
$100,000 ITF women’s event, Krakow, Poland, hard
ATP
$106,500 Tatra Banka Open, Bratislava, Slovakia, hard
SENIORS
Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships at Surprise, Surprise, Arizona
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$3,700,000 Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, China, carpet
$125,000 PEOPLEnet Cup, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, hard

Mondays With Bob Greene: US Olympic Team Struggles

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STARS
Juan Martin del Potro won the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria, by beating Jurgen Melzer 6-2 6-1
Gilles Simon beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 6-4 to win the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana
Fernando Verdasco captured the ATP Studena Croatia Open by beating Igor Andreev 3-6 6-4 7-6 (4) in Umag, Croatia
Albert Montanes downed Steve Darcis 1-6 7-5 6-3 to win the Dutch Open Tennis in Amersfoort, Netherlands
Aleksandra Wozniak beat Marion Bartoli 7-5 6-3 and won the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California
Pauline Parmentier won the Gastein Ladies 08, beating Lucie Hradecka 6-4 6-4 in Bad Gastein, Austria
Goran Ivanisevic won the inaugural Turkcell Legends Cup in Istanbul, Turkey, defeating Fernando Meligeni 6-4 6-4
Mara Santangelo beat Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-3 6-1 to win the Circolo Tennis Biella in Biella, Italy
DAVIS CUP
Americas Zone
Group IV: Costa Rica and Haiti are promoted to America Zone Group III in 2009
Europe/Africa Zone
Group II Playoffs: Finland beat Luxembourg 3-2; Hungary beat Greece 5-0; Egypt beat Morocco 3-2; Slovenia beat Tunisia 4-1 (winners promoted to Group I in 2009)
Group II: South Africa beat Denmark 5-0; Monaco beat Algeria 5-0; Portugal beat Cyprus 5-0; Ukraine beat Ireland 3-1 (winners meet September 19-21)
SAYINGS
“It’s another dream for me. In two weeks I played ten matches and won all of them. This week I didn’t lose a set.” – Juan Martin del Potro, after winning his second straight tournament.
“I’ve always dreamt about winning an ATP title. This moment is very special for me.” – Albert Montanes, who snapped a nine-year drought by capturing his first ATP tournament title in Amersfoort, Netherlands.
“I don’t know what’s happening. I guess I make them run too much or something.” – Aleksandra Wozniak, a qualifier from Canada who won the Bank of the West Classic. Her semifinal opponent, Serena Williams, retired in the second set with a knee injury, while her opponent in the final, Marion Bartoli, had a sore left hip and was limping badly late in the match.
“It was hurting in practice … and during the match it was getting worse. After I got off the court it was really swollen. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to heal.” – Serena Williams, who retired from her semifinal match at the Bank of the West Classic with a left knee injury.
“It’s really disappointing for me. I was able to play some really great tennis to be able to be in the final.” – Marion Bartoli, after a sore left hip hampered her play in the Bank of the West Classic final.
“It was a perfect week. It was a very difficult week because of all the rain, but when you have a tougher week like this, the victory is much bigger.” – Pauline Parmentier, who won the Gastein Ladies, her second WTA Tour singles title.
“It makes me feel old. But it is great to come back so many years and establish a consecutive run I can be proud of. It’s fun to be part of such a great sport for so long.” – Patty Schnyder, who will be competing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament at this year’s U.S. Open.
“Serena is an athlete who transcends the sport a little bit. She has world-wide popularity. She’s the Williams sister I can beat. I didn’t want to play Venus.” – Patty Schnyder, who is 3-7 against Serena Williams and 0-9 against Venus.
“We were unlucky at the French Open and unlucky at Wimbledon, but we’re going to learn from those losses. The Slams are what we play for.” – Liezel Huber, after she and Cara Black won their sixth doubles title of the year at the Bank of the West Classic.
“She is Serena Williams. I didn’t have much to lose. I pretty much gave it all. I don’t think she really expected me to play that well.” – Michelle Larcher de Brito, a 15-year-old who won the first set before Williams won the match 4-6 6-3 6-2.
“I just tried to put the ball inside. Nothing more. I don’t know why I lost the second set and won the third set 6-love.” – Gilles Simon, after beating Benjamin Becker 7-5 3-6 6-0.
“In tennis anyone can win a match. Last year everyone here thought it would be (James) Blake and (Andy) Roddick in the final. Instead it was me and (Canadian) Frank Dancevic.” – Dmitry Tursunov, at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, where he lost in this year’s final to Gilles Simon.
“I blew it. I feel bad for the team because we were winning so big.” – John McEnroe, who lost in both singles and doubles and his New York Sportimes World Team Tennis squad fell to the Washington Kastles 18-17 in overtime.
“I heard you wanted me to play doubles here, but you never asked me. I would have, so that’s your bad.” – Brad Gilbert, to Seascape head tennis pro Rick Kepler about playing in the Comerica Challenger in Aptos, California.
“She’s going to get a taste of what green grass is like on the golf course rather than at Wimbledon.” – Greg Norman, talking about his new wife, Chris Evert, as he prepared to play in the British Open golf championships, where he finished tied for third.
STILL STANDING
Aleksandra Wozniak was still standing when the rest of the field limped off the court at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. “I just keep playing aggressive and doing what I needed to do to win,” said Wozniak, who became the first Canadian to win a WTA Tour singles title in 20 years by beating Marion Bartoli 7-5 6-3 in the final. Wozniak, a qualifier, won her semifinal when top-seeded Serena Williams pulled out with a knee injury while trailing in the second set. In the final, Bartoli was slowed by a sore left hip and was limping badly late in the match. The last Canadian to win a WTA title was Carling Bassett in 1987. Wozniak became the third qualifier to win a tournament this year and the first to do it in a Tier II tournament, one with more than USD $600,000 in prize money.
STRUGGLING
The United States women’s Olympic tennis team will go hobbling into Beijing. Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport both withdrew from the East West Bank Classic with right knee injuries, and Serena Williams retired from her semifinal match at the Bank of the West Classic with a swollen right knee. Venus hasn’t played a tournament since defeating sister Serena and winning her fifth Wimbledon title earlier this month. Davenport’s injury has caused her to withdraw from four tournaments in seven weeks. All three say they plan on playing in Beijing.
SKIPPING THE OLYMPICS
Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Stefan Koubek of Austria and Karin Knapp of Italy are among the latest withdrawals from the Beijing Olympics because of injuries. Tsonga will be replaced by Michael Llodra, Chris Guccione of Australia will take Koubek’s place, and Mara Santangelo will replace her Italian teammate in the women’s singles at Beijing.
SET FOR FLUSHING
When Roger Federer begins the drive for his fifth consecutive US Open men’s singles title, Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal will also be in the chase. The field will include three other former US Open champions: Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin. Federer is attempting to become the first player in the Open Era to win five straight US Opens and become the first to win that many in a row since Bill Tilden won six US Championships from 1920-25.
Five past champions have entered the US Open women’s singles – Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova. The reigning French Open champion, Ana Ivanovic, heads a group that includes 99 of the top 100 women. Only Akiko Morigami of Japan, who is ranked number 98 in the world, did not enter the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Morigami recently underwent knee surgery.
SECOND STRAIGHT
Juan Martin del Potro liked his first ATP title so much he went right out and won a second. The 19-year-old Argentine won his first career tournament at Stuttgart, Germany, beating Richard Gasquet in the final. Then he zipped through the field at Kitzbuhel, Austria, downing local favorite Jurgen Melzer 6-2 6-1 in the title match of the Austrian Open. Del Potro becomes just the second player this year to win ATP tournaments in consecutive weeks. Rafael Nadal has done it twice. Melzer was the first Austrian to reach the Kitzbuhel final since Thomas Muster was runner-up to Albert Costa in 1995.
SUCCESS, FINALLY
When Albert Montanes beat defending champion Steve Darcis 1-6 7-5 6-3 at Amersfoort, Netherlands, it was the first time the Spaniard had won an ATP tournament in nine years on the tour. Ranked 63rd in the world, Montanes was in his fourth career final, all coming on clay courts.
STAYING PUT
Rogers Communications Inc. will continue to be the title sponsor for the Rogers Cup in both Toronto and Montreal at least through 2011. Tennis Canada and Rogers Communications announced a three-year renewal of the title sponsorship, which began in 2000 with the WTA Tour event. Rogers Cup is now the name for both the men’s and women’s events in Canada, with the two rotating between Toronto and Montreal annually. This year the men are in Toronto and the women in Montreal. Rogers Communication is also involved in grassroots tennis in Canada.
SUPER TEEN
Alexandra Krunic of Serbia made her debut in professional tennis a winning one. The 15-year-old entered the USD $10,000 International Tennis Federation Women’s Circuit event in Prokuplje, Serbia, as a wild-card entry. She completed the week by defeating qualifier Tanya Germanlieva of Bulgaria 6-4 6-1 in the final to claim the title, having dropped just one set in the tournament.
SET FOR BEIJING
Devin Mullings has been playing tennis for Ohio State, where he just finished his junior year. At the Beijing Olympics, he will be representing his country, the Bahamas, where he will be playing doubles with one of the top doubles players in the world, Mark Knowles. “He’s won the French Open and the U.S. Open in doubles. And he’s been to the Olympics, so that’s a huge thing for me to be able to use his experience during the matches,” Mullings said of Knowles. “I just want to compete well. It would be great to win a few rounds or get to the medal stages.”
SUSPENDED
The NCAA suspended Texas Southern University’s tennis program and placed the school’s athletic programs on probation for four years. The school got a jump on the NCAA by dropping its tennis program and firing tennis coach Alberto Rojo Jimenez, the 2006 Southwestern Athletic Coach of the Year, and athletic director Alois Blackwell. The NCAA report said that TSU’s tennis team was struggling until Jimenez started recruiting international players, many whom he promised full scholarships. According to the NCAA, Jimenez knowingly provided USD $19,000 in impermissible aid to 22 players to help cover their tuition, fees and other expenses.
SELECTED
Jane Brown Grimes, the current United States Tennis Association (USTA) president and chairman of the board, heads a class of six inductees into the USTA Middle States Hall of Fame. The inductees’ contributions to the sport of tennis will be celebrated at the 2008 Hall of Fame Induction dinner and auction set for October 24 in Mendenhall, Pennsylvania. Besides Brown, who represents the USTA on the Grand Slam Committee and on the International Tennis Federation’s Fed Cup Committee, other inductees are Edward D. McQuillin, Rose Weinstein, George K. Wills, Ann Paley Hoffmann and Wallace F. Johnson. Hoffmann and Johnson are being inducted posthumously.
SIGHTS ON BEIJING
Seven of the top ten singles players signed up to play doubles at the Rogers Masters in Toronto. With the Beijing Olympics close at hand, Roger Federer will team up with fellow Swiss Stanslas Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal will join forces with fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, Nikolay Davydenko and fellow Russian Igor Andreev will pair up, as will Great Britain brothers Andy and Jamie Murray. The doubles draw in Toronto will also include the top five ATP doubles teams.
SENIOR VEEP
Peter Johnston has landed on his feet. Just three months after his 15-year career at Tennis Australia ended, Johnston has taken a senior management position with the WTA Tour. He will be the women’s tour’s senior vice president of competition and member relations and will be based in Florida.
SERVE CHAMPION
Jerica Coley, who just finished the 10th grade in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the first female winner of the First Serve National Student Athlete Competition. Academic grades and results at junior tennis tournaments were tabulated to come up with the top male and female First Serve Student Athletes of the Year, with each receiving USD $5,000 scholarships and a trip to the US Open to meet their favorite players. Julian Haerie of St. Petersburg, was the top male in the first year of competition. Coley’s scholarship funds were a gift from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
SCHEDULE READY
Davis Cup in 2009 will be played March 6-8, with the World Cup quarterfinals set for July 10-12, the semifinals September 18-20 and the final on December 4-6. The 2009 Fed Cup competition begins February 7-8 with the semifinals April 25-26. The final of the women’s competition will be held November 7-8. The International Tennis Federation will hold the draw for the 2009 first-round pairings September 23 in Madrid, Spain.
SEARCHING FOR DOLLARS
James Blake has begun the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund to support cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. Blake said his goal was the raise USD $1 million in the next year through various fundraising initiatives, including a charity tennis exhibition, the J-Block merchandise program and individual and corporate contributions. The fund is named in memory of the player’s father, Thomas Blake Sr., who died of gastric cancer in 2004. To date, the fund has raised more than USD $500,000.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Kitzbuhel: Victor Hanescu and James Cerretani beat Lukas Arnold Ker and Olivier Rochus 6-3 7-5
Indianapolis: Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips beat Scott Lipsky and David Martin 3-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Amersfoort: Frantisek Cermak and Rogier Wassen beat Jesse Huta Galung and Igor Sijsling 7-5 7-5
Umag: Michal Mertinak and Petr Pala beat Carlos Berlocq and Fabic Fognini 2-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Stanford: Cara Black and Liezel Huber beat Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 6-4 6-3
Bad Gastein: Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka beat Sesil Karatantcheva and Natasa Zoric 6-3 6-3
SITES TO SURF
Toronto: www.rogerscupmen.com
Poznan: www.porscheopen.pl
San Marino: www.atpsanmarino.com
Los Angeles: www.eastwestbankclassic.com
Portoroz: www.sloveniaopen.sl
Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com
Cordenons: www.euro-sporting.it/challenger
Vancouver: www.vanopen.com
Montreal: www.rogerscup.com
Stockholm: www.nordiclightopen.com
Graz: www.stennismasters.at
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$2,615,000 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada, hard
$100,000 Porsche Open, Poznan, Poland, clay
$100,000 San Marino CEPU Open, San Marino, clay
WTA Tour
$600,000 East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife, Los Angeles, California, hard
$145,000 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, Portoroz, Slovenia, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$2,615,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, Ohio, hard
$135,000 Internazionali del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Cordenons, Italy, clay
$100,000 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Vancouver, Canada, hard
WTA TOUR
$1,340,000 Rogers Cup, Montreal Canada, hard
$145,000 Nordea Nordic Light Open, Stockholm, Sweden, hard
SENIORS
s Tennis Masters, Graz, Austria, clay

Starace Lives Up to Top Billing; Baltacha Breaks Through

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The challengers circuit was graced with the presence of a top 50 player on the men’s side who hoped to get an early start to the clay court season, while several women followed up their victories on the challenger circuit last week with repeats this week.
The clay court season is about to get underway next week, but two players have already shown their intentions to leave a mark on it this season. At the $100,000 event in Napoli, Italy, Potito Starace won a nail-biting final in front of his local fans by beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6-4 4-6 7-6. Daniel was coming of a win at the $125,000 tournament in Bogota, Colombia last month, and came within two points of the biggest win of his career against the 36th ranked Starace. However, Starace fought back from 5-6 down in the final set and won the last three points of the tiebreak to win his first title of the year. Two other prominent players, French Open finalist Gullermo Coria and Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu, took part in the tournament, but failed to get past the first round.
At the $35,000 tournament in St. Brieuc, France, Christophe Rochus of Belgium took the title with a 6-2 4-6 6-1 over Marcel Granollers of Spain. Granollers has had a fine start on the clay this year by winning a challenger event in Morocco and reaching the quarterfinals at the ATP event in Acapulco, Mexico, but ran out of gas in the end against the experienced Belgian. Rochus is a long way from his career high ranking of #38, but winning his first title in three years is certainly a step back in the right direction.
There inevitably comes a time for any good player to graduate from the futures circuit, and it seems that Rui Machado of Portugal has more than worn out his welcome at this level. His win at the $15,000 event in Loja, Spain, is his fifth futures title of 2008.
On the women’s side, British tennis has been in dire straits for almost two decades now. The last woman to be in the top 100 was Samantha Smith in 1999. However, Elena Baltacha demonstrated this week that she might be ready to finally break through at the level. She won her second challenger title in a row, and the biggest of her career, at the $75,000 event in Torhout, Belgium, with a 6-7 6-1 6-4 over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic. Benesova has also been a hot streak as of late, having won the $50,000 event in Latina, Italy last week. Her characteristically fragile nerves got the better of her though as she was broken in the final set at 4-4, allowing Baltacha to serve out the win.
Magdalena Rybarikova also won her second title in a row at the $50,000 tournament in Patras, Greece, defeating Great Britain’s Anne Keothavong 6-3 7-5 in the final. The win puts her inside of the top 150 for the first time in her career, and with minimal points to defend until late this fall, she looks poised to break through into the top 100 by then.
After struggling with injuries and poor form through 2007, Kristina Barrois of Germany has finally turned her game around. She won her second title in a row at the $25,000 event in Hamburg, Germany, taking the title when Ana Vrljic of Croatia retired with a leg injury after losing the first set 6-2. The win puts Barrois back in the top 200 and guarantees her spot in the qualifying for Roland Garros this spring.
In other challenger news, Betima Jozami of Argentina won the $25,000 event in Civatechia, Italy, and Raquel Kops-Jones of the United States won the $25,000 event in Pelham, Alabama.
The spotlight turns over to the women at the $75,000 event in Monzon, Spain, where American Lilia Osterloh is the top seed. Martina Muller of Germany is the top seed at the $25,000 tournament in Biarritz, France, while Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada hopes to continue her strong form as the top seed at the $25,000 event in Jackson, Mississippi. On the men’s side, professional tennis finally returns to Puerto Rico with former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuttler playing top seed at the $50,000 event in Humacao. Albert Montanes of Spain is also the top seed at the $35,000 event in Monza, Italy.