NEW YORK – Aided by a passel of errors by her sister, Serena Williams roared from behind in both sets Wednesday night to edge Venus Williams and grab a spot in the semifinals of the US Open.
Serena’s 7-6 (6) 7-6 (7) victory puts her in the semis at America’s premier tennis tournament for the first since she won the hard court title in 2002. She beat her sister Venus then, too.
And it was a reversal of their Wimbledon final outcome this summer where Venus, the older of the two, captured the grass court title.
“I just hit another error. It was over,” Venus Williams said. “Maybe in the first set I got a little tight, but not in the second. I just missed some shots, probably went for too much.”
Serena next will take on sixth-seeded Dinara Safina, a 6-2 6-3 winner over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta. Friday’s other semifinal will pit second-seeded Jelena Jankovic against fifth-ranked Elena Dementieva, the Olympic gold medalist.
Venus smiled wanly when she shook hands with her beaming baby sister at the net following their match. She knew she had the victory on her own racquet – failing on all 10 set points she had during the 2-hour, 25-minute battle in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Serena didn’t make the same mistake.
“It boiled down to one point here or there. It could have gone either way,” Serena said.
Venus took the early lead by breaking Serena in the third game. The younger Williams double-faulted to 30-all, then buried a backhand into the net, giving Venus a break point. A little luck never hurt, and that’s what happened for Venus when her backhand struck the net and trickled over, giving her a 2-1 lead.
The older sister appeared ready to give the break right back, double-faulting twice to begin the fourth game. Twice the sisters went to deuce before Venus held, the final point coming on her second of eight aces on the night.
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Serena, who had looked sluggish at the beginning of the match, raised the level of her game, began striking the ball more cleanly and playing more aggressively. She took the net at every chance, forcing her will on every point. It paid off as Serena leveled the match at 5-5, breaking Venus at 15 when she jumped all over a second serve and ripped a forehand down the line.
The quality of play picked up tremendously as the match progressed. Both pounded their ground strokes deep, ran down and returned almost every shot and blistered their serves. Serena finished with seven aces.
When Serena just missed wide on a backhand down the line in the first-set tiebreak, Venus had double set point at 6-4. But Serena reeled off the next four points to win the set.
It was all Venus in the second set – or at least it was until she served to level the match. Leading 5-3, 40-love, reaching set point on her seventh ace, she sailed a forehand long. She did it again to make it 40-30. The third set point vanished when her backhand down the line was wide.
Two more errors off the racquet of Venus gave Serena the break and the sisters were back on serve.
The second set tiebreak was somewhat of a repeat of the first. The Wimbledon champion won the first three points and took a 6-3 lead – triple set point.
At 6-5, Venus had what looked like an easy overhead to win the set. But she angled the smash a little too much and it went wide. She had another set point at 7-6, but Serena wiped that one out when she cut off a forehand passing shot and punched a backhand volley winner.
Two points later, Serena had a spot in the semifinals against Safina.
For the night, Venus had 36 winners, but negated her big-hitting night with 45 unforced errors. Serena had 24 winners and 28 unforced errors.
Unlike the Williams match, there was no doubt about Safina’s victory as she continued her hot summer.
“I think today maybe I can say finally I’m happy with myself, the way I played, because really I did what I had to do,” said Safina, who is trying to match her brother Marat Safin and win the U.S. Open. “I was aggressive on the court. I was following the balls every time. I think it was today finally I played my game.”
In the day’s first men’s singles quarterfinals, sixth-seeded Andy Murray ended Juan Martin del Potro’s remarkable summer run 7-6 (2) 7-6 (1) 4-6 7-5. Coming into the US Open, Del Potro had won 23 consecutive matches and four straight tournaments.
Jelena Jankovic
US Open – Day 7: Roger Federer Has The Invincibility Factor Again
NEW YORK – If Roger Federer were to increase his Grand Slam tournament singles titles to 13, he will have to come up with the type of game he put on display on Sunday.
That was when the Swiss right-hander easily crushed Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3 6-2 to advance to the fourth round of the US Open Tennis Championships.
“If I were to win a big tournament, you know, again, one of those Slams, whatever, right away I have the invincibility factor again, which is great for me,” Federer said. “That’s what I’m working for.
“I was that close in Wimbledon, so I hope to go a step further and win it this time.”
Federer has been stuck at 12 major titles since he collected his fourth consecutive US Open crown a year ago. Not only did he not win his third straight Australian Open championship, he failed in a five-set thriller to capture Wimbledon for the fifth straight year.
“I’m playing well and moving on in the draw,” he said. “At the end of the day what counts is winning the tournament. And anyway, you forget who you beat, how you won. You forget all the unforced errors you made, and all anybody’s going to talk about is the finals.”
There was one surprise in the men’s singles in the afternoon matches Sunday. Qualifier Gilles Muller of Luxembourg knocked off 18th-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-7 (3) 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (6) 7-5 in a battle that last six minutes under four hours.
“I got only one break in the whole match,” said Muller, who is in the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career. Muller is playing in his first major tournament since the 2007 Wimbledon, having failed to qualify for last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Other early finishers to reach the fourth round were Andy Roddick, a 6-2, 7-5 7-6 (4) winner over Italy’s Andreas Seppi; fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who beat fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-2 7-6 (3) 6-3; and Igor Andreev of Russia, a 6-2 6-4 6-4 winner over 13th-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic, with the loss of top-ranked Ana Ivanovic the top seed left in the women’s field, grabbed a spot in the quarterfinals by beating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 3-6 6-2 6-1. Jankovic’s next opponent will be Sybille Bammer of Austria, who eliminated 12th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 7-6 (3) 0-6 6-4.
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It has been a horrendous year for Federer, although almost every other player except top-seeded Rafael Nadal would love to be able to have his record. Federer lost to Nadal in the final at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and fell in the semifinals of the Australian Open to eventual winner Novak Djokovic.
After four years as the world’s top-ranked player, Federer has ceded that distinction to Nadal and is seeded second here on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
“I think I returned well, especially in the second serve,” Federer said. “I was good off the baseline. I think I moved well today and really hit some great shots when I needed them. I think all in all I’m really happy.”
Which should make the rest of the field more than a little sad.
In order to get to the final, however, Federer may have to face either Djokovic, last year’s finalist here, or 2003 champion Roddick. In fact, Roddick was the last winner of the US Open not named Roger Federer.
“I’m very proud and happy about my run at the majors, and it’s always nice to be a part of the final group, either the final four or the final two,” Federer said. “I feel like it could happen here again.”
Muller has had a few good wins in his career, but has been unable to string together several in a row.
“I guess everything is in the head. Everything is confidence,” Muller said. “I guess I lost a lot of it through the last two, three years, because I was playing pretty good in ’05 when I beat Nadal and then Andy here in the US Open.
“But then I had a tough time after that. … I started to play challengers again and I was losing matches there. I lost a lot of confidence. There were even moments where I thought, `Should I still keep playing?’
“It was a rough time, but I’m glad I didn’t stop.”
US Open Day 3: Jelena Jankovic Struggles To Reach The Next
NEW YORK – One has been number one in the world. The other has a Grand Slam tournament title. On Wednesday, the two Serbians posted three-set victories on the hard courts of the US Open.
Despite twisting an ankle during his first-round match, Novak Djokovic had little problem disposing of Frenchman Arnaud Clement in straight sets, 6-3 6-3 6-4.
The same wasn’t true for Jelena Jankovic, who not only struggled in her battle with Sofia Arvidsson, but after racing in unsuccessfully to catch up with a drop shop, Jankovic dropped to the court and stayed there for about 30 seconds.
“I was just tired and I couldn’t get up,” Jankovic said. “I was so exhausted at that moment. I was breathing hard and I didn’t have the energy to get up.”
Pushed to the limit, the admittedly out-of-shape Jankovic eventually outlasted her Swedish opponent and captured the 2-hour, 44-minute marathon 6-3 6-7 (5) 7-5.
“I would have loved to, you know, take a nap on court, because I was really exhausted,” said Jankovic. “But, you know, the rules are the rules. I had to keep going.”
Djokovic, ranked third in the world behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, had more problems with the court than with his opponent. There were moments of anxiety when he hyper extended his left ankle in the fourth game of the final set.
“It’s OK,” Djokovic said. “It’s going to be good in two days, I’m sure. After that happened, I was thinking more of it than I was really actually feeling the pain, so it’s not really a big deal.
“But in that certain moment, I felt big pain, so I just had to tape the ankle.”
This was the first match the 21-year-old Serb has played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center since losing to Roger Federer in the championship match a year ago.
“Last year’s final was remarkable and unexplainable,” Djokovic said. “The moment we got onto the court, 23,000 people stood up. Some moments in your life you can’t forget. … That was kind of a turning point in my career.”
He won his first Grand Slam tournament title in January, the Australian Open, and is one of the favorites to end Federer’s bid for a fifth consecutive US Open title. If he and Federer do meet this year, it will be in the semifinals since both are in the bottom half of the draw.
“I started believing after the finals that I really can win,” Djokovic said. “I knew it was a matter of time. I just needed to work and really dedicate myself to it, so that’s what I did … and it paid off.”
In her match, Jankovic several times hunched over and leaned on her racket, trying to catch her breath. She has been battling injuries this summer, including hurting her knee at Wimbledon, and is not in the best shape.
Twice she served for the match in the second set before Arvidsson rallied to level the match at set apiece, erasing a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak by her highly ranked foe.
Jankovic also won the first three games to begin the final set, only to continue her barrage of errors – she finished with 54 unforced errors, seven more than her opponent, to go along with 48 winners, eight more than Arvidsson. Then it was a series of service breaks until Jankovic finally held to gain a spot in the third round.
Her next opponent will be Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who advanced Wednesday with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain. Zheng whipped through the first set, then had trouble finding the court with her ground strokes as she fell behind 1-4 in the second set. But the Chinese right-hander reeled off the next five games to move into the next round.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, one of the six Russian ranked in the top ten in the world, also had some tense moments before prevailing in her second-round match. After a shaky start, the 2004 US Open winner defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania 7-6 (3) 6-1.
Tatiana Perebiynis of the Ukraine pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, eliminating eighth-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-3 6-3. The Russian committed 30 unforced errors and never was able to compete with Perebiynis, who has reached the third round of a major for the first time since Wimbledon four years ago.
Another former champion, Lindsay Davenport, posted a 7-5 6-3 win over Russian Alisa Kleybanova.
“I didn’t play quite as well as I did the other day,” said Davenport, who won America’s premier tennis tournament in 1998. “I didn’t find my rhythm, but sometimes you just have to get through these matches.
“I’m ecstatic to be in the third round.”
US Open Day 2: Another Sister Act For Serena Williams
NEW YORK – It was another sister act for Serena Williams, just not with her older sibling Venus this time.
Serena needed only 57 minutes to brush aside Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1 6-4 in an opening-round US Open match Tuesday and begin her bid to return to the top of number one ranking in women’s tennis.
With help from the scheduler, both Williams sisters and both Bondarenko sisters were in action on the second day of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Venus Williams eliminated Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-3 in a night match, while Alona Bondarenko, the older of the sisters from the Ukraine, advanced with a hard-fought 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory over American Jamea Jackson.
Currently ranked third in the world, Serena Williams could take over the top spot if she wins this two-week extravaganza on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The winner of eight Grand Slam tournaments, Williams has not been ranked number one since August 10, 2003. Two years ago her ranking dropped to 140th in the world.
But against Bondarenko, Williams showed the form that made her a champion here at Arthur Ashe Stadium in both 1999 and 2002.
“I am just taking it one match at a time,” said Williams, who admitted she played very well, especially in the opening set. “I’m just happy to have this one over with.”
Williams whipped through the first set in 20 minutes, allowing Bondarenko to hold at 15 only in the fifth game. She didn’t drop a point on her serve until the second set.
Bondarenko, currently ranked 46th in the world, had a lot more success in the second set, but Williams always appeared to be in complete control, ready to close it out on her terms. Serena even put an exclamation on the final point of the penultimate game when she held serve with a perfectly executed forehand lob.
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“I was surprised I made it,” she admitted. “I typically don’t make forehand lobs and I never practiced them in five years. I don’t even know why I hit that shot. … That was just the wind, I guess.”
She then broke Bondarenko to close out the victory.
Serena has been displaying the game that once had her dominating women’s tennis. At one stretch, in 2002-03, she won four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments – she called it the “Serena Slam.” Then injuries hampered her play and outside interests occupied her time as she struggled on the court.
Yet she and her sister Venus have always been a threat in any tournament in which they have played. Serena showed that in 2007 when, as an unseeded entry ranked 81st in the world, she powered her way to the title, crushing Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-2 in the final. This year her resurgence has continued as she won three consecutive titles, including the Sony Ericsson Championships in Miami, where she dominated top-ranked Justine Henin in the quarterfinals and beat Jelena Jankovic, currently ranked number two in the world, in the title match.
Another injury, this time to her back, forced her to withdraw from her quarterfinal match at Rome. Yet when Wimbledon rolled around, she stormed into the final without dropping a set before falling to her sister in what arguably was their best head-to-head battle.
Serena reached the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics before being ousted by eventual singles champion Elena Dementieva. But she then teamed with sister Venus to win the gold medal in doubles.
“It’s confidence I can take, and I think I did from that because I was really returning and volleying well and I was doing a lot of the things well at the Olympics,” Serena said Tuesday. “I was really confident coming in here.”
Just ask Kateryna Bondarenko.
Alona Bondarenko, at 24 two years older than Kateryna, almost joined her sister on the sideline. But she rallied to win the second set from a hard-hitting Jackson who all of a sudden began spraying her shots everywhere but inside the lines.
In the final set, Jackson and Bondarenko traded service breaks in four straight games before Jackson called for a trainer, who worked on her right leg, an injury that appeared to hamper her movement as she several times just stood on the baseline and watched Bondarenko’s ground strokes sail past her for winners.
Venus Williams had only a few problems in advancing to the second round against Stosur, who is best known for her doubles play. Williams’ powerful strokes for the most part overwhelmed her Australian opponent, and her long legs and arms enabled her to stay in rallies until she either could construct a winner or Stosur made an error.
The Williams sisters met for the US Open title in 2002, a match Serena won. That won’t happen this year. Because of the draw – Serena is seeded fourth, Venus is seventh – if the two do meet it will be in the quarterfinals.
World No.1's Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic Named 2008 US Open Top Seeds
FLUSHING, N.Y., August 19, 2008 – The USTA today announced that reigning Frech Open and Wimbledon champion and new world No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain and reigning French Open champion and world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will be the top seeds at the 2008 US Open in men’s and women’s singles, respectively. The 2008 US Open will be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., August 25 – September 7.
Nadal, the Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles in Beijing, is the No. 1 seed at the US Open for the first time. He will be followed by No. 2 Roger Federer of Switzerland, the four-time defending US Open champion; No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the reigning Australian Open champion; No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain; and No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. Americans Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas, and James Blake of Tampa, Fla., are seeded 8 and 9, respectively.
Ivanovic, who won her first Grand Slam title at this year’s French Open, is followed by No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia; No. 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, the 2004 US Open champion; No. 4 seed Serena Williams of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a two-time US Open champion and winner of eight Grand Slam singles titles overall; and No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, the Olympic gold medalist in women’s singles. American Venus Williams of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is seeded 7.
No. 6 seed Dinara Safina of Russia clinched the 2008 Olympus US Open Series Bonus women’s title, and will play for a potential $1 million in bonus prize money at the US Open. The men’s winner will be crowned following this week’s Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Conn.
Nadal, 22, has won eight titles this year including the 30th of his career at the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati. He will attempt to become the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. On Monday, the five-time Grand Slam champion took over the No. 1 world ranking after holding the No. 2 ranking for a record 160 weeks.
Ivanovic, 20, has won two titles this year, including her first Gland Slam at Roland Garros. She also reached the final of the 2008 Australian Open and the 2007 French Open.
For 2008, the US Open followed the ATP and WTA Tour rankings to determine the men’s and women’s singles seeds. This is the seventh consecutive year that the US Open has seeded 32 players in both singles events.
The singles draws for the 2008 US Open will be conducted Thursday, August 21 at 11 a.m. at the TimesCenter in New York City.
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2008 US Open Women’s and Men’s Singles Seeds
| Women | Men |
| 1. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia | 1. Rafael Nadal, Spain |
| 2. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia | 2. Roger Federer, Switzerland |
| 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia | 3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia |
| 4. Serena Williams, United States | 4. David Ferrer, Spain |
| 5. Elena Dementieva, Russia | 5. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia |
| 6. Dinara Safina, Russia | 6. Andy Murray, Great Britain |
| 7. Venus Williams, United States | 7. David Nalbandian, Argentina |
| 8. Vera Zvonareva, Russia | 8. Andy Roddick, United States |
| 9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland | 9. James Blake, United States |
| 10. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia | 10. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland |
| 11. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak Republic | 11. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile |
| 12. Marion Bartoli, France | 12. Richard Gasquet, France |
| 13. Agnes Szavay, Hungary | 13. Fernando Verdasco, Spain |
| 14. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus | 14. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia |
| 15. Patty Schnyder, Switzerland | 15. Tommy Robredo, Spain |
| 16. Flavia Pennetta, Italy | 16. Gilles Simon, France |
| 17. Alize Cornet, France | 17. Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina |
| 18. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovak Republic | 18. Nicolas Almagro, Spain |
| 19. Nadia Petrova, Russia | 19. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France |
| 20. Nicole Vaidisova, Czech Republic | 20. Nicolas Kiefer, Germany |
| 21. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark | 21. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia |
| 22. Maria Kirilenko, Russia | 22. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic |
| 23. Lindsay Davenport, United States | 23. Igor Andreev, Russia |
| 24. Shahar Peer, Israel | 24. Paul-Henri Mathieu |
| 25. Francesca Schiavone, Italy | 25. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany |
| 26. Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain | 26. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia |
| 27. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine | 27. Feliciano Lopez, Spain |
| 28. Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia | 28. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic |
| 29. Sybille Bammer, Austria | 29. Juan Monaco, Argentina |
| 30. Ai Sugiyama, Japan | 30. Marin Cilic, Croatia |
| 31. Virginie Razzano, France | 31. Andreas Seppi, Italy |
| 32. Amelie Mauresmo, France | 32. Gael Monfils, France |
# # #
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization with 725,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
Mondays With Bob Greene: All That Glitter Is Gold
STARS
(Beijing Olympics)
Men’s Singles
Gold: Rafael Nadal, Spain
Silver: Fernando Gonzalez, Chile
Bronze: Novak Djokovic, Serbia
Women’s Singles
Gold: Elena Dementieva, Russia
Silver: Dinara Safina, Russia
Bronze: Vera Zvonareva, Russia
Men’s Doubles
Gold: Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland
Silver: Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson, Sweden
Bronze: Bob and Mike Bryan, United States
Women’s Doubles
Gold: Venus and Serena Williams, United States
Silver: Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain
Bronze: Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, China
(Other tournaments)
Juan Martin Del Potro beat Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-3 to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.
Nadia Petrova won the Western and Southern Financial Groups Women’s Open in Mason, Ohio, by defeating Nathalie Dechy 6-2 6-1
Pat Cash beat Jim Courier 6-3 6-4 to win the Hall of Fame Champions Cup title in Newport, Rhode Island
Frederico Gil beat Benedikt Dorsch 6-4 1-6 6-3 to win the Ted Open Challenger in Istanbul, Turkey
SAYINGS
“Nowhere in my best dreams I can imagine something like what I did this year. I know how difficult it is to win these things, and especially here, because you only have one chance every four years.” – Rafael Nadal, after adding Olympic gold to his victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“I never expected a medal – gold, silver or bronze. It’s unbelievable. For me this is the best moment in my career.” – Elena Dementieva, after winning the women’s singles title.
“It does mean more for me to win it with Serena, to share this kind of moment with your sister. I mean, we are practically joined at the hip.” – Venus Williams, who with sister Serena won the women’s doubles.
“Sort of a dream-come-true moment. Maybe it comes around once in a lifetime. It’s almost disbelief, to some degree.” – Roger Federer, after he teamed with Stanislas Wawrinka to win the men’s doubles gold medal.
“We’re leaving China on a high. We were obviously disappointed that we couldn’t make the gold medal match, but it’s going to be something really special to us to have that medal back at home.” – Mike Bryan, after teaming with brother Bob to win the bronze medal in men’s doubles.
“To win any medal in the Olympics is a huge achievement. Not many of the athletes get a chance to win a medal.” – Novak Djokovic, who beat James Blake 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the third-place bronze medal.
“I felt like I competed hard. I have to take something positive from the way I was playing this week.” – James Blake, who upset Roger Federer, then lost the next two matches at the Beijing Olympics.
“I’m the most consistent player, so that’s why I became number one in the world. And my time will come. I’m only 23 years old. It’s not like I’m at the end of my career.” – Jelena Jankovic, defending her rise to the top of the women’s rankings without having reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament.
“I came here to win an Olympic medal and realistically I was only ever going to win one in either singles or doubles. If I had to pick one, I’d like to win it with my brother.” – Andy Murray, following his upset singles loss to Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan at the Olympics. Andy and brother Jamie Murray then lost in the second round of doubles to Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 6-1 6-3.
“The crowd cheered me with so much passion and many of them used my hometown dialect. It was great to play in front of them.” – Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie after her first-round victory at the Olympics. She wound up teaming with Yan Zi for the bronze medal in doubles.
“You know the feeling when you remember something and smile in the darkness? I had this kind of smile on my face that night.” – Akgul Amanmuradov of Uzbekistan, in her blog about the Olympics opening ceremony.
“He can’t win all the time. It is not humanly possible. I think now the pressure is off, so watch out.” – Tomas Berdych, after losing to Roger Federer, saying the Swiss star just has had too much pressure.
“Rafa played great to get it. That’s what I expected and hoped for many years ago when I got to number one – that if ever somebody were to take it away from me, he would have to play an incredible tennis schedule, win the biggest tournaments, dominate the game basically. I think Rafa totally deserves it.” – Roger Federer, on Rafael Nadal taking over the number one ranking.
“This is definitely not the way I wanted to go out, but I am looking forward to getting a week on court to focus on things not in a match situation.” – Andy Roddick, after being upset in Washington, D.C., by Viktor Troicki.
“Roger has been dominating everyone for four years and now Nadal is beating everyone. For me, there are two number ones.” – Italy’s Potito Starace.
“She served really well. She kept it deep, and I was always under pressure. My serve wasn’t that good, and she has one of the best on the tour, so there was a huge gap.” – Nathalie Dechy, after losing to Nadia Petrova in the final at Mason, Ohio.
“I wouldn’t mind playing Roger or Rafa. I just think it would be fun to play on a big court and get that experience, but whoever I play is fine. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity.” – Austin Krajicek, who earned a wild card entry into the U.S. Open by winning the U.S. National Boys’ 18 championship.
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SHOCKING THURSDAY
Thursday at the Olympics was a rough day for the favorites. It was capped by Li Na’s 7-5 7-5 victory over Venus Williams, but earlier the same day Serena Williams was sidelined by eventual champion Elena Dementieva 3-6 6-4 6-3, and James Blake shocked top-seeded Roger Federer 6-4 7-6 (2). The losers ended up winners, however, as sisters Venus and Serena won the women’s doubles title while Federer teamed with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to capture the men’s doubles gold.
SPANISH ORO
Rafael Nadal continued his torrid summer by adding Olympic gold to his trophy case. It was the first gold medal for Spain in tennis as Nadal became the first player ranked in the top five in the world to win the men’s singles at the Olympics, never losing serve in his 6-3 7-6 (2) 6-3 victory over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Nadal also moves up to number one in the world this week, finally supplanting Roger Federer. Nadal has won 38 of his last 39 matches, including victories over Federer in the finals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Gonzalez is the first man since 1920 to medal in men’s singles in two successive Olympic Games.
SWISS GOLD
Roger Federer finally won Olympic gold. He teamed with Stanislas Wawrinka to capture the men’s doubles for Switzerland, beating Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-3 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-3 for the title. It was one of the few bright spots this year for Federer, who has not won a Grand Slam tournament since last September and has seen his 4½ -year reign atop the rankings end when Rafael Nadal became number one in the world. It is Federer’s first medal in his three Olympics.
SWEEP
Russia swept all three medals in the women’s singles, with Elena Dementieva gaining the gold, Dinara Safina the silver and Vera Zvonareva the bronze. It was the first time a country has swept all three medals in one tennis event since Great Britain did it in the women’s singles in 1908. Dementieva beat Safina 3-6 7-5 63 for the gold medal, while Zvonareva stopped Li Na of China 6-0 7-5 in the bronze-medal match. Zvonareva was inserted in the singles draw only after fellow Russian Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Olympics with a shoulder injury. It was the second Olympic medal for Dementieva, who won silver in 2000.
SIBLING SUCCESS
Venus and Serena gave the United States a gold medal in women’s doubles by beating Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2 6-0. With the win, the Williams sisters improved their lifetime Olympic doubles record to 10-0. They won the doubles gold at Sydney but didn’t play in Athens four years ago because Serena was hurt. In the men’s doubles, brothers Mike and Bob Bryan won a bronze for the United States by beating Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement of France 3-6 6-3 6-4. The medal is the first for the Bryan twins.
SERBIAN STAR
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the bronze in men’s singles when he defeated American James Blake 6-3 7-6 (4). Djokovic, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, followed his medal-winning victory by ripping off his shirt and throwing it to the cheering crowd along with two rackets. He then circled the court waving a Serbian flag. Blake had upset top-seeded Roger Federer in the quarterfinals before losing his next two matches.
STREAKING
Rafael Nadal isn’t the only ATP player having a grand summer. Juan Martin del Potro won his fourth straight tournament by routing Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-3 in the final of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. The 19-year-old Argentine ran his winning streak to 19 matches and has won 38 of his last 40 sets. In his last four tournaments, he has win titles in Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and now Washington, D.C. Troicki, a 22-year-old from Serbia, was playing in his first ATP final.
SUITE ROGER
There apparently were so many fans of Roger Federer living in the Olympic village that the Swiss tennis star instead stayed in a Beijing hotel. Every time Federer showed up at the Olympic village his fellow athletes swamped him with requests for autographs. “It is impossible, really, there are so many athletes asking for photos and so on. It is not ideal to prepare,” Federer said. He stayed in the village at the last two Olympics and even met his girlfriend there during the Sydney Games.
SISTERLY ANGST
When the Gumulya sisters finally met on a tennis court when it counted, a tournament title was on the line and 22-year-old Sandy was the top seed. But it was 17-year-old Beatrice Gumulya who came away with her first career singles title, capturing the USD $10,000 ITF event in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sandy Gumulya may be Indonesia’s top female player, but she was routed by her younger sister 6-2 6-1. The Gumulya sisters rarely play in the same tournament, and it has usually been Sandy who has toted home the trophies.
STANDING TALL
Jelena Jankovic showed how much a champion she is when she participated in a gala event in Beijing called Champions For Children. Jankovic took time out before the Olympic tennis competition got underway to support UNICEF in her role as National Ambassador for Serbia, and she also chatted with 14-year-old Chinese tennis champion Liu Yingchong. At the event, which focused on the most vulnerable children, Jankovic advocated for equality for girls. Other celebrities at Champions For Children included movie star Jackie Chan and classical pianist Lang Lang.
SAME OLD MAC
Even with age, rage is still there for John McEnroe. The left-hander was tossed from his opening round-robin match at the Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Newport, Rhode Island, for a new kind of triple fault: cursing, arguing with the chair umpire and making an obscene gesture at fans. While arguing a line call, the 49-year-old McEnroe was given a code violation warning for uttering an obscenity. When he kept up his tirade against chair umpire Ray Brodeur, he drew two abuse of official penalties. As the argument progressed, fans started yelling at McEnroe to resume play. McEnroe responded with his obscene gesture and was ejected, the first time McEnroe has been defaulted from a match on the Outback Champions Series, a circuit for stars over 30.
SWITCH AT THE TOP
In the maddening world of tennis rankings, Ana Ivanovic has regained the number one spot from her Serbian compatriot Jelana Jankovic, even though she withdrew from the Olympics with a thumb injury. Jankovic played – which could have been her downfall – but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by silver medalist Dinara Safina. If she had won the gold, Jankovic would have retained the number one ranking. Svetlana Kuznetsova also could have become number one if she had won the Olympic gold. Instead, the Russian lost in the first round.
STRIPPER
When her shirt was soaked with sweat, Australia’s Casey Dellacqua changed at her courtside chair by stripping down to her sports bra during her 6-2 6-0 loss to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the Olympics. Dellacqua was furious when chair umpire Ali Katebi and then tournament supervisor Donna Kelso refused to allow her to go to the dressing room to change her shirt without having to take an authorized toilet break. “In this humidity, you should be able to change a shirt,” Dellacqua said. “I could literally feel water dripping down my legs. But he wouldn’t let me go off the court … So I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ll strip’.'” That, she did.
SET TO WED
A German newspaper says former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker plans to marry his late manager’s daughter. According to Bild, Sandy Meyer-Woelden, 24, will marry the 40-year-old Becker. The bride-to-be is the daughter of former Becker manager Axel Meyer-Woelden, who died in 1997. Becker is divorced from his first wife, Barbara Becker, with whom he has two children. He also has a daughter with London-based model Angela Ermakova. Meyer-Woelden is a jewelry designer and for several years dated German tennis star Tommy Haas.
SENIOR SHUFFLE
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been added to the Outback Champions Series for 2009. The Rio Champions Cup will be held March 12-15, 2009, on an indoor hard court at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro and will be the first stop for the senior tour in South America for champion tennis players age 30 and over. Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic are the first three players to commit to play in the eight-player round-robin event.
SHOWING IT AGAIN
The 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, considered by many as one of the greatest tennis matches ever, will be shown in the United States again on ESPN Classic on Sunday, August 24,. The five-time defending champ Federer came back from two sets down and saved two championship points in the fourth-set tiebreak before falling 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-7 (8) 9-7 as Nadal won his first Wimbledon title. The rain-delayed match ended in near darkness after 4 hours, 48 minutes of play, making it the longest (in terms of elapsed time) men’s final in Wimbledon recorded history, and ending 7 hours, 15 minutes after its scheduled start. The defeat also brought to an end Federer’s 65-match winning streak on grass.
SINGLES ENTRIES
Severine Bremond will play in her 19th consecutive Grand Slam tournament singles draw. The Frenchwoman, who turned 29 the past week, received a wild card into the U.S. Open, which begins August 25. Once ranked as high as 34 in the world, Bremond reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon two years ago. Others receiving wild cards into the main women’s singles draw are U.S. Girls’ 18s national champion Gail Brodsky, American Fed Cup players Jamea Jackson and Ahsha Rolle, and American teenagers Asia Muhammad, Melanie Oudin and Coco Vandeweghe. The United States Tennis Associated said an eighth wild card will be given to an Australian player not yet named.
Awarded wild cards into the men’s singles draw are Americans Amer Delic, a former NCAA singles champion; Brendan Evans, Scoville Jenkins, Austin Krajicek, Jesse Levine, and Sam Warburg, along with Carsten Ball of Australia and Laurent Recouderc of France. Krajicek, a distant relative of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, earned his wild card by capturing the USTA Boys’ 18 singles national championship, defeating Ryan Thacher 2-6 6-2 6-2 6-0 in the first battle of left-handers in the tournament’s finals history.
SHARING TITLES
The United States boys’ and girls’ teams pulled off a historic feat at the World Junior Tennis Finals, each winning the 14-and-under version of Fed Cup and Davis Cup in Prostejov, Czech Republic. It is the first time in the history of the event that one country has captured both titles. The girls’ team successfully defended its 2007 title, while the boys’ team won the championship for the first time since 2003.
SAWGRASS BOUND
Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, will be the site next year for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event that has been held at Amelia Island Plantation just outside Jacksonville, Florida. The tournament, which had been known as Bausch & Lomb, will also get new sponsorship and be known as The MPS Group Championships.
SWITCHING SPORTS
Kelsey Anonsen is giving up her tennis scholarship at the University of Washington to switch to the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, and that school’s women’s basketball team. In high school, the 5-foot-9 (1.7m) guard led her team to a provincial basketball title and was a tournament all-star. In tennis, she was ranked sixth in the Canadian province.
SETS NEW ANTI-DOPING CODE
The International Tennis Federation has ratified a new anti-doping code which will allow more flexibility in determining sanctions. The changes, which will allow the circumstances of a case to be taken into account to a greater extent, go into effect on January 1.
SUIT
Tennis great Tracy Austin is the latest sports figure to accuse a prominent Los Angeles investment broker of fraud. Austin and her husband Scott Holt filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that Gary R. Fournier charged excessive commissions on bond trades and “churned” their accounts to generate fees from unnecessary transactions. The couple claims damages “in excess of USD $500,000” on the trades, which allegedly occurred from 1994 to 2002, while Fournier worked for Salomon Smith Barney Inc. Its successor firm, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., also is named as a defendant. Fournier has denied wrongdoing. Others who have filed charges against Fournier include former basketball players Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak, B.J. Armstrong and Stacey Augmon; and former major league baseball players Sean Douglass and Rex Hudler.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Washington: Marc Gicquel and Robert Lindstedt beat Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett 7-6 (6) 6-3
Mason: Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 4-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Istanbul: Michael Kohlman and Frank Moser beat David Skoch and Igor Zelenay 7-6 (4) 6-4
SITES TO SURF
New Haven: www.pilotpentennis.com
Forest Hills: www.foresthillstennis.com
US Open: www.usopen.org
Jelena Jankovic: www.jj-jelenajankovic.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, hard
WTA TOUR
$600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, hard
$74,800 Forest Hills Tennis Classic, Forest Hills, New York, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP and WTA TOUR
U.S. Open, Flushing Meadows, New York, hard
Mondays With Bob Greene: For Me An Olympics Gold Medal Ranks High
STARS
Juan Martin Del Porto beat Andy Roddick 6-1 7-6 (2) to win the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California
Sergiy Stakhovsky won the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain, defeating Rhiago Alves 7-5 7-6 (4)
Jim Courier beat John McEnroe 7-5 7-6 (3) to win the Countrywide Classic Legends title in Los Angeles, California
Marcelo Rios won the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD in Algarve, Portugal, when Goran Ivanisevic retired after losing the first set 6-4
Yaroslava Shvedova beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-1 to win an ITF women’s event in Monterrey, Mexico
SAYINGS
“I feel good considering the calendar this year, which was terrorizing. It’s been a good year, but a difficult one.” – Rafael Nadal, who replaces Roger Federer as the world’s top player on August 18.
“If maybe I am a player who doesn’t have any Grand Slams, maybe a Grand Slam would still do more for my own career. But because I have 12 already, for me an Olympic gold ranks high.” – Roger Federer.
“Honestly, my Olympic gold, even though it was in doubles, is my favorite trophy I have.” – Serena Williams.
“It has been beyond my dreams to play the Olympics. It takes awhile to set in. A few years after you win you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, this is my gold. Oh, my gosh, yes.'” – Venus Williams.
“I’ve obviously experienced a lot in my 16-year career and I have to say (Friday) night was probably the greatest night I’ve had professionally in my whole career.” – Lindsay Davenport, commenting on the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics.
“Talk about being in the right place at the right time. It was like – wow!” -Devin Mullings of the Bahamas, who was in Beijing to play doubles and got called up as a last-minute replacement in the singles competition.
“It’s great to play in a final against Goran, but it’s unfortunate it had to end on an injury. It’s better for him to take care of his knee.” – Marcelo Rios, after winning the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD senior tournament for the second time in three years.
“I always get injured at the wrong time. I’m getting older, so I have to be careful now.” – Goran Ivanisevic, after retiring with a knee injury in the final at Algarve, Portugal.
“We had one intent, and that is to build the event.” – Paul Floury, tournament chairman, on the U.S. Tennis Association becoming the major owner of the men’s tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“If I continue in this way, I have a chance to be in the top 10. I don’t know when – if I am still beating (Andy) Roddick and top-10 players, for sure I will be, but you never know what may happen.” – Juan Martin Del Potro, who beat Roddick in the final of the Countrywide Classic.
“He certainly has the weapons; it depends on how he builds on it.” – Andy Roddick, about Juan Martin Del Potro.
STREAK TO 14
Teenager Juan Martin Del Potro hasn’t lost since the second round at Wimbledon, and his 14-match winning streak has raised the Argentine right-hander’s ranking to number 17 in the world. The 19-year-old, who won on clay in Stuttgart, Germany, and Kitzbuhel, Austria, upset top-seeded Andy Roddick in the final of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California, 6-1 7-6 (2). He becomes the first teenager to win the Los Angeles tournament since Pete Sampras did it in 1991 at the age of 19. “I think I am playing very good and my confidence is very, very high,” Del Potro said. Roddick didn’t dispute the statement.
SWINGING DOOR
Who’s playing who was a difficult question when the Beijing Olympics tennis competition finally got underway, thanks to a slew of withdrawals at the last moment. Among the last to pull out were top-seeded Ana Ivanovic, Tatiana Golovin, Ivo Karlovic, Ivan Ljubicic and Marcos Baghdatis. Even Lindsay Davenport withdrew from the singles competition, but remained in the doubles where she is teaming with Liezel Huber. Ivanovic, the French Open champion, has failed to recover from an injured right thumb. Karlovic is out because of a stomach illness, while Ljubicic withdrew from the singles with back trouble, although he still plans to play doubles.
SUCCESSFUL WEEK
Although he was not happy with the way he won the tournament, Marcelo Rios was delighted with the fact that his victory moved him to the top of the South African Airways Rankings. Rios won the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD title when Goran Ivanisevic was forced to retire with a left knee injury. Rios broke Ivanisevic’s serve in the tenth game of the opening set before the Croat retired. It was the second time in three years that Rios has won the Algarve, Portugal, tournament, joining John McEnroe as the only players to twice win in Algarve.
SAFINA’S TOP
Dinara Safina has set herself up for one of the biggest paydays in tennis. By winning the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, Safina clinched the 2008 Olympus US Open Series women’s title. If the Roland Garros runner-up should win the U.S. Open, she would receive not only the winner’s check of USD $2.5 million, but also a USD $1 million bonus. Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Spain’s Rafael Nadal are tied for the men’s lead with 145 points each.
STEPPING IN
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the new owner of the Western & Southern Masters tournament in Cincinnati. Paul Flory, the tournament chairman, will retain a minority interest and continue to play a major role in the event. The USTA acquired only the men’s tournament from the nonprofit Tennis for Charity, which will continue to own the women’s event played at the same venue. The deal does not include the tennis center facility, which is located near the Kings Island theme park north of Cincinnati.
SONY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The world’s top two women players – Jelena Jakovic and Ana Ivanovic – are the first to qualify for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, which will be held November 4-9 in Doha, Qatar. The women’s tournament will feature the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams. The two Serbs are currently in first and second place in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships.
SIDELINED AGAIN
Mario Ancic will miss his second straight U.S. Open. Ranked number 25 in the world, Ancic withdrew from this year’s final Grand Slam tournament because of a recurrence of mononucleosis. The former Wimbledon semifinalist was slowed throughout the 2007 season with the same illness. Ancic is best known as the last player to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon until Rafael Nadal did it this year. The native of Croatia beat Federer in the first round at Wimbledon in 2002.
SENIORS TO LOS CABOS
The senior players are moving south of the border, down Mexico way. Tos Cabos, Mexico, will be the site of an event on the Outback Champions Series calendar beginning next year. The Del Mar Development Champions Cup will be held March 18-22 at the Palmilla Tennis Club and will be the first tour stop in Central America on the Outback Champions Series, a circuit for champion players 30 years old and over. Players competing on the Outback Champions Series include Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Michael Chang and Todd Martin.
SUING ATP
A Wilmington, Delaware, jury has decided that the ATP can restructure its calendar the way it wants. But the German tennis federation (DTB) is considering appealing the decision. The governing body of men’s tennis plans to downgrade the Masters tournament in Hamburg, Germany, and move it from May to July. The DTB went to court and argued that the ATP’s plans violated American anti-trust laws. But after nine hours of deliberation, the jurors agreed with the ATP and rejected the suit. Before the case went to the jury, United States District Court Judge Gregory Sleet dismissed several ATP officials as defendants. He also dismissed breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims against the ATP, but kept intact the main antitrust claims.
SCHUETTLER IN
Germany’s Rainer Schuettler is in the Beijing Olympics, much to the chagrin of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Schuettler sought a spot in the men’s singles draw in Beijing by going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where he was successful. He then wrote an open letter to ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti demanding an apology over the ITF’s reaction to the successful challenge. “I find the statement shocking, harming and damaging to my reputation due to the inaccuracy of its content,” Schuettler wrote. The ITF, which originally said it deplored the CAS decision, countered with another statement, saying: “There are so many inaccuracies in Mr. Schuettler’s open letter that it would be impossible for us to respond to each of his allegations.” The German Olympic Committee supported Schuettler’s petition and failed to nominate either Denis Gremelmayr or Michael Berrer, both of whom were ranked higher than Schuettler on the June 9 deadline for entries.
SPORTING BLEMISH
Mathieu Montcourt of France has been banned from the men’s tour for two months and fined USD $12,000 for betting on tennis matches. The ATP said that while Montcourt bet on matches between June and September 2005, it found no evidence that he had tried to affect the outcomes of the matches. The Frenchman did not bet on his own matches. A winner of two Challenger titles this year, Montcourt will be able to return to the tour in October.
SPLIT FOR SHRIVER
Citing irreconcilable differences, Pam Shriver has filed for divorce from her husband of six years, actor George Lazenby. The former tennis star is seeking custody of the couple’s three children, including twins born in 2005, with supervised visits for Lazenby. The winner of 22 Grand Slam doubles titles, Shriver has served as a tennis commentator since retiring. Lazenby, who is best known for his role as James Bond in the film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” said he will seek sole legal and physical custody of the children.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Los Angeles: Rohan Bopanna and Eric Butorac beat Travis Parrott and Dusan Vemic 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5)
Segovia: Ross Hutchins and Jim Thomas beat Jaroslav Levinsky and Filip Polasek 7-6 (3) 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Monterrey: Jelena Pandzic and Magdalena Rybarikova beat Monique Adamczak and Melanie South 4-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)
SITES TO SURF
Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com
Olympics: http://en.beijing2008.cn/
Olympics: www.Itftennis.com/Olympics/
Washington: www.leggmasontennisclassic.com
Newport: www.championsseriestennis.com/newport2008/
New Haven: www.pilotpentennis.com
Istanbul: www.tedopen.org/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
Olympics, Beijing, China, hard
$483,000 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington, DC, hard
$100,000 TED Open Challenger, Istanbul, Turkey, hard
WTA TOUR
Olympics, Beijing, China, hard
$175,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, hard
WTA TOUR
$600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, hard
Mondays With Bob Greene: Andy Murray edges Novak Djokovic
STARS
Andy Murray edged Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) to win the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at Cincinnati, Ohio
Dinara Safina won the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-1
Caroline Wozniacki beat Vera Dushevina 6-0 6-2 to win the Nordic Light Open in Stockholm, Sweden
Filippo Volandri beat Oscar Hernandez 6-3 7-5 to win the Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup in Cordenons, Italy
Dudi Sela defeated Kevin Kim 6-3 6-0 in Vancouver, Canada, to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open men’s singles
Urszula Radwanska won the women’s singles at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open by beating Julie Coin 2-6 6-3 7-5
Patrick Rafter beat Michael Stich 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the s-Tennis Masters in Graz, Austria
SAYINGS
“Since I was a young girl it has been my dream to become number one in the world. When you get older, at least one day you can say you were number one and no one can take that away from you. You are in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history books, and it’s a great achievement.” – Jelena Jankovic, who will take over the number one spot on August 11.
“Right now I know I’m going to be number one and I’m very, very happy to be number one. It’s a present for a lot of work in the past.” – Rafael Nadal, who will replace Roger Federer as number one on August 18.
“I secured the world number one ranking spot. I’ve never been number one in the world before, so finally I made that.” – Michael Stich, who replaced Goran Ivanisevic atop the BlackRock Tour of Champions rankings.
“It’s huge to win your first sort of major tournament, and to do it in a match like today makes it more special … I put in a lot of work off the court to be able to win these sort of tournaments, and it makes it all worthwhile.” – Andy Murray, after beating Novak Djokovic to capture the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati.
“He was playing a lot of slice and changing pace to my forehand. I just lost the rhythm. Overall I wasn’t really happy with the way I played today. I could have played better.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing to Andy Murray.
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve won back-to-back tournaments. I used to win a tournament then lose first round the next week. But now I’m always just taking it one match at a time. It’s a new experience for me and really just amazing.” – Dinara Safina, after winning the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
“This was a great experience. Every round I beat a better player than me. I played really well in this tournament. Hopefully in my next final I will be more relaxed and not be scared about it.” – Dominika Cibulkova, after losing to Dinara Safina in Montreal.
“It’s been a fantastic week. But it wasn’t as easy as it looked. I was a little bit nervous in the second set when she came back.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after winning her first WTA Tour title, the Nordic Light Open, in Stockholm, Sweden.
“We’re going into the Olympics playing, I think, the best we have all year. To beat a great team like Andy (Ram) and Jonathan (Erlich), who have had a tremendous year, it bodes well.” – Mike Bryan, after he and his brother Bob won the doubles title in Cincinnati.
“It hurts me so much to miss the Olympics and the U.S. Open, you have no idea.” – Maria Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam tournament winner who has been sidelined by a shoulder injury.
“Rainer Schuettler claims that he should be allowed to compete in the Games, considering that he has been entered by the German NOC [National Olympic Committee] and that he is eligible as a result of his position in the ITF computer ranking, due to the withdrawal of some players who were qualified for the Olympic tournament.” – Court of Arbitration for Sport, in a statement.
SET FOR NUMBER ONE – 1
Even though his match win streak was ended, Rafael Nadal will replace Roger Federer on top of the ATP rankings. He just has to wait a little bit for his crown. Nadal, who spent a record 158 weeks as the world’s number two player, assured himself of the top ranking when he beat Nicolas Lapentti in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters. But because he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Nadal won’t move ahead of Federer until August 18, the day after the Beijing Olympic tennis ends. Federer has been ranked number one in the world for a record 235 consecutive weeks. Nadal’s loss to Djokovic snapped his 32-match winning streak, but he will become the 24th player in the history of the ATP rankings to hold the number one spot. He also will be the third Spaniard to be number one, joining Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003).
SET FOR NUMBER ONE – 2
Jelena Jankovic will take over the number one ranking in women’s tennis, replacing countrywoman Ana Ivanovic. The switch will occur on August 11 when Jankovic will have 3,620 points – eight more than Ivanovic, the French Open champion. Ivanovic was the first player from Serbia to be ranked number one. Now Serbia will have back-to-back number one players. While Jankovic will become the 18th player to be ranked number one in women’s tennis, she will be the first to reach the top without ever having played in a Grand Slam tournament final. Besides Jankovic and Ivanovic, others to be ranked number one are Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Jennifer Capriati, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Monica Seles, Amelie Mauresmo, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova.
SWEDE ENDING
Caroline Wozniacki needed two victories on the final day to capture her first WTA Tour title. Because rain washed out the semifinals on Saturday, the fourth-seeded Dane began Sunday in Stockholm, Sweden, by upsetting top-seeded and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-1. Wozniacki then completed the best week of her career by crushing Vera Dushevina 6-0 6-2 to win the Nordic Light Open. Wozniacki didn’t lose a set in her five matches as she became the first Danish player to win a WTA Tour singles title. Tine Scheuer-Larsen of Denmark won seven doubles titles in the 1980s and 1990s.
SHOULDER PROBLEM
Maria Sharapova will miss both the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. Open because of two small tears in her right shoulder muscle. An MRI revealed the tears after she withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Doctors said time would heal the injury. The Russian righthander won the U.S. Open two years ago and was ranked number one in the world going into the French Open in May. She has since dropped to number three in the rankings. Sharapova has played in each of the past 23 major championships, winning
Wimbledon in 2004 and the Australian Open in January as well as the U.S. Open.
SITTING HOME
Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina and Stephanie Vogt of Liechtenstein are the latest withdrawals from the Olympic tennis tournament because of injuries. Chela was replaced by countryman Agustin Calleri, while Vogt was replaced in the women’s singles by Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.
SPOT FOR SCHUETTLER?
Rainer Schuettler wants to participate in the tennis competition at the Beijing Olympics. Ranked number 33 in the world, the German has asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to order the International Tennis Federation to enter him in the men’s singles competition at the Beijing Games. The ITF used the ATP and WTA rankings as a guide to determine who gets the 56 direct spots in the men’s and women’s singles competitions. Six of the remaining eight spots in each tournament were given out by the ITF’s Olympic Committee. Each country, however, is limited to a maximum of six players in each tournament, with up to four competing in singles and up to two teams in doubles.
SMASHING FOR CHARITY
Andre Agassi, Lindsay Davenport and James Blake will be among those playing at a charity event hosted by America’s top doubles team. The Bryan Brothers’ All-Star Tennis Smash will be held in Los Angeles on September 27 and will benefit local and national charities. “We were thrilled when Andre committed to play at our event,” Bob Bryan said. “On the court, he’s of course long been a hero of ours. Off the court, he’s been a mentor to us as we’ve watched him build the Andre Agassi Foundation.”
SHARING SPACE
Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg will team up for a special doubles event on November 20 in Macau. The two five-time Wimbledon winners will face John McEnroe and either Rafael Nadal or James Blake at The Venetian Macau Tennis Showdown in a Tour of Champions event. McEnroe’s partner will come from the country that loses the Davis Cup semifinal between the United States and Spain in September. The Showdown will also feature two singles matches – a one-set match between Borg and McEnroe, followed by a best-of-three sets between Federer and either Nadal or Blake.
SAFINA STREAK
Dinara Safina just keeps winning. The Russian right-hander won her third tournament title in her last six events by crushing Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-1 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Safina, the sister of two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Marat Safin, improved her record to 27-3 since the start of May. Nine of those victories have come against top ten players, including handing Justine Henin her career-ending loss.
SHOULDER WOES
With the key part of the hard court season beginning, Andy Roddick has been felled by a shoulder injury. Roddick was forced out of the Cincinnati Masters because of the injury, which he said he got from sleeping in the wrong position. The American decided to skip the Beijing Olympics so he could prepare for the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open. But Roddick has suffered a series of disappointing results this summer, including a second-round loss at Wimbledon.
STICH-ED
His match interrupted at times by torrential rain and lightning storms, Pat Rafter nevertheless captured his first BlackRock Tour of Champions title in Graz, Austria. The Australian produced some impressive serve-and-volley tennis to beat Michael Stich 6-4 7-6 (4). Despite the loss, Stich, by reaching the final, moved to the top of the South African Airways rankings, replacing Goran Ivanisevic as number one.
STILL WINNING
Kimiko Date-Krumm ran her winning streak to three straight tournaments when she captured a $25,000 International Tennis Federation tournament in Obihiro, Japan, beating Suchanun Viratprasert of Thailand 6-3 7-6 (5) in the final. The 37-year-old Date-Krumm also won two other titles in Japan in recent weeks, in Myazaki and Tokyo.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Cincinnati: Bob and Mike Bryan beat Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 4-6 7-6 (2) 10-7 (match tiebreak)
Montreal: Cara Black and Liezel Huber beat Maria Kirilenko and Flavia Pennetta 6-1 6-1
Stockholm: Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova beat Petra Cetkovska and Lucie Safarova 7-5 6-4
Cordenons: Marco Crugnola and Alessic Di Mauro beat David Skoch and Igor Zelenay 1-6 6-4 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Vancouver: Eric Butorac and Travis Parrott beat Rik De Voest and Ashley Fisher 6-4 7-6 (3)
Vancouver: Carley Gullickson and Nicole Kriz beat Christina Fusano and Junri Namigata 6-7 (4) 6-1 10-5 (match tiebreak)
SITES TO SURF
Los Angeles: www.countrywideclassic.com
Segovia: www.teniselespinar.com
Vale do Lobo: www.grandchampions.org
Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com
Olympics: http://en.beijing2008.cn/
Olympics: www. Itftennis.com/Olympics/
Washington: www.leggmasontennisclassic.com
Bryan brothers: www.bryanbrosfoundation.org/invite/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$525,000 Countrywide Classic, Los Angeles, California, hard
$125,000 Open Castilla y Leon, Segovia, Spain, hard
WOMEN
$100,000 ITF event, Monterrey, Mexico, hard
SENIORS
Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, Vale do Lobo, Portugal, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
Olympics, Beijing, China, hard
$483,000 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington, DC, hard
$100,000 ATP Challenger, Istanbul, Turkey, hard
WTA TOUR
Olympics, Beijing, China, hard
$175,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, hard
Momma's Got A Brand New Bag
Prince plans to release new lines of racquet bags in conjunction with this year’s U.S. Open.
Inspired by Maria Sharapova herself, the new Sharapova Collection will showcase the Russian’s classic elegance through a striking, clean, all-white bag with black Prince logo and accents. Available in a triple and six-pack, both bags in the collection will also feature the iconic Sharapova seal embroidered into the side of the bag.
“The U.S Open is tennis’ biggest stage. The City comes even more alive for those two weeks, with all eyes fixated on Flushing Meadows so it is the perfect place for us to introduce the world to the new collection,” said Maria. “It is always fun to sit with the expert team at Prince and put our heads together to plan, develop and execute new products.”
“Of course my new racquet bag is coordinated with what I will wear on court at the Open, but because of its classic color scheme and clean, simple lines, it looks amazing with nearly every tennis outfit — giving female players a chic looking bag with incredible function.”
The rest of the Prince stable also gets some attention with a new Pro Team 100 line being produced for the Open. Each bag in the line will be made available in two distinct color options — black and green and black and white. While both will have a sleek, classic black base color, one version will feature — for the first time ever — the Prince logo in its updated green colorway accented by silver paneling.
The other version will feature a classic white Prince logo with white accents on the straps and underside. The Pro Team 100 collection comes in a triple, six, and twelve-pack racquet bag; plus a locker bag, wheeled duffle, and a backpack. Both the six and twelve-pack contain a thermal foil lining crucial for increased protection and temperature control.
Who gets what: The racquet each Prince player uses will dictate which version of the bag he or she carries. Those playing the O3 Speedport Black, O3 Speedport White, O3 Speedport Pro White or O3 White will carry the black/white version, while those playing the Ozone Tour, Ozone Pro Tour, O3 Hybrid Tour, and all other O3 models will carry the green/black version.
Players like Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam Querrey, Mike and Bob Bryan, and Jelena Jankovic will all carry their Pro Team 100 bags in events prior to New York.
Jankovic, who plays with the O3 Speedport Pro White, and currently sits at the doorstep of the world’s #1 ranking, will be the first woman on tour to sport the black/white bag.
“My life is pretty much packed into my racquet bag — it is my most valuable piece of luggage,” said Jankovic. “Whether in my hotel room, heading to an early morning workout or in the middle of a night match at the U.S Open, wherever I am, my racquet bag is usually with me so it has to be able to withstand what tennis players put it through, but also look great on court. I love the look and design of this bag line — and am proud and excited to be one of the first to carry the black/white version on tour.”
Buy: Pro Team 100 line and the new Sharapova Collection bags will be in stores starting September 15, 2008; black and white Pro Team version will drop on November 15, 2008. More info about pricing here.
Mondays With Bob Greene: They Should Have Picked Me In The First Place
STARS
Rafael Nadal beat Nicolas Kiefer 6-3 6-2 in Toronto, Canada, to win the Rogers Cup
Dinara Safina won the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, California, by beating Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2
Nicolas Devilder beat Bjorn Phau 7-5 6-0 to win the Porsche Open in Poznan, Poland
Sara Errani won the Banka Koper Slovenia Open, defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3 6-3 in Portoroz, Slovenia
Filippo Volandri beat Potito Starace 5-7 6-4 6-1 to win the San Marino Cepu Open in San Marino
SAYINGS
“I win on every surface, no? I win on grass, on hard, on indoor, and on clay, too. So if I am playing my best tennis I can win on every surface, no?” – Rafael Nadal, after beating Nicolas Kiefer to win the Rogers Cup.
“I haven’t changed anything this year. I just try to practice hard every day and the results are starting to come.” – Sara Errani, who won the Slovenia Open for her second title in three weeks.
“The hard court season just started so it is not the end of the world, but I wish I could have started better. I’ve got to regroup and look forward.” – Roger Federer, after losing his opening Roger Cup match to Gilles Simon.
“I was playing like I was in a dream. I just saw the ball and hit it as hard as possible.” – Gilles Simon, after beating Roger Federer 2-6 7-5 6-4 in Toronto.
“Some points were very close and I didn’t make them. I think I shouldn’t look only at my game today, I should see the whole week in general. I think this was a big step forward for me. This is how I have to look at it.” – Nicolas Kiefer, after losing to Nadal in Toronto.
“In one of those super tiebreakers, it’s pretty much anyone ballgame.” – Mike Bryan, who with his brother Bob led the match tiebreaker 6-3 before losing the Toronto final to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 4-6 10-6.
“Hopefully my time will come. It’s not the end of the world.” – Jelena Jankovic, whose semifinal loss kept her from gaining the world number one ranking.
“It was a perfect match. I have nothing bad to say. My coach said it was the best match I ever played.” – Dinara Safina, after crushing Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-1 in a quarterfinal match at Los Angeles.
“Before it was all golf, golf, golf. I probably practice more tennis than golf now.” – Greg Norman, who finished third in the British Open shortly after marrying tennis legend Chris Evert.
“It’s been suspended. The Tour will evaluate the results of the testing period and make a decision as to whether to adopt on-court coaching or not.” – WTA Tour spokesman Andrew Walker.
“I’m for it but they wanted more opinions. The results weren’t convincing enough and some of the younger players don’t know what they want, so we need more time to see how they feel.” – Player Council representative Patty Schnyder on the WTA Tour suspending on-court coaching.
“It’s a little distracting when you have coaches walking on court and most of them are parents. That’s what I didn’t like about it. On the other hand, it worked perfectly for me.” – Nadia Petrova, about the on-court coaching.
STUNNED
Bob and Mike Bryan led 6-3 in the match tiebreak at the Rogers Cup before Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the final seven points to capture their third straight doubles title. It was the third time this season the top two doubles teams have clashed, the Bryan brothers winning the Masters Series Rome, with the Canadian/Serbian team capturing the Masters Series Hamburg. It was the first time Nestor had won the Canadian title since 2000. Simonjic’s best previous finish was the quarterfinals two years ago with Fabrice Santoro.
STOPPED
Jelena Jankovic’s bid to become number one in the world was derailed by Dinara Safina in the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic. If she had reached the final, Jankovic would have replaced fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic as the world’s top-ranked female player. Safina moved up one spot, from ninth to eighth, in the WTA Tour rankings.
STREAKING
No player has been hotter on the WTA Tour lately than Dinara Safina. She was down match point before beating qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva in the round of 16 at the East West Bank Classic. Then she lost a 4-2 opening set lead in the semifinals before winning five of the final six points in the tiebreaker and dominating the second set to knock off Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (3) 6-1. That victory put Safina in her fourth final in her last five tournaments, including the French Open, and she easily won that by beating Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2. The Russian moved up in the rankings from number nine to number eight, and she improved her match record to 22-3 since the start of May. Eight of her 22 wins have come against top-ten players.
SHAKY START
Gilles Simon was the latest stumbling block for Roger Federer. The Frenchman upset the world’s top-ranked player 2-6 7-5 6-4 to hand the Swiss player his second straight defeat. It was Federer’s first match since his five-set loss to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. Federer appeared to be in great shape, winning the first four games of the match before losing to Simon. Then Federer and fellow Swiss Stanislav Wawrinka, preparing for the Beijing Olympics, lost their second-round doubles match to Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-4 6-4.
SWISS CHEESE
With his victory in Toronto, Rafael Nadal is ready to overtake Roger Federer for the world number one ranking. Federer has held the top ranking for a record 234 weeks, but his commanding 1,445-point cushion at the start of this year is now less than 300 points. “Every player wants to be number one,” Nadal said. “I would love to be number one, but I am number two right now. I’m very happy to be number two, because with my titles, with my points, in a normal situation I would have been number one before. … Because if I am number two, it’s because in front of me there is amazing player like Roger.”
STEPPING IN
John McEnroe has come to the rescue of the United States Tennis Association. In March, the USTA prepared a series of commercials to promote the 10-tournament summer season known as the U.S. Open Series. The commercials featured the world’s top players and former player Justin Gimelstob. But Gimelstob unleashed a tirade against former WTA Tour player and model Anna Kournikova, and although he has since apologized, the USTA decided to kill the ads. Along came McEnroe, who shot new footage that was inserted into the existing ads. “They should have asked me in the first place,” McEnroe said. “The U.S. Open has always been close to my heart. I grew up in Queens.”
STRANGE PAIRING
Fans at the Tanga Cement tennis championships in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, complained about one first-round match, charging unfair pairings. Sebastian Mtupili, who is more than 30 years old, beat ten-year-old John Njau 6-0 6-0. Players from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Tanzania competed in men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and veterans, but there was no lower age limit for those entering the tournament. The singles winners each received USD $1,000.
SIDELINED
A knee injury is keeping Venus Williams on the sidelines this week. The Wimbledon champion withdrew from the Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada, because she did not want to risk aggravating the tendinitis in her knee ahead of the Beijing Olympics, according to tournament director Eugene Lapierre. Also pulling out of the tournament was Tatiana Golovin, who has been sidelined since injuring her back at a tournament in Germany in May.
Serena Williams pulled out of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, California, because of her left knee. That came a few days after she withdrew from the semifinals at Stanford, California, with the same injury. “I’m working hard to be ready for the Olympics and U.S. Open,” Serena said.
SWITCHING SPOTS
Who will be seeking gold in tennis at the Beijing Olympics is a work in flux. Mary Pierce withdrew because of injury and was replaced by Amelie Mauresmo, who also withdrew. So Pauline Parmentier will play both singles and doubles for France. Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine will replace the injured Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands.
STRONG COMEBACK
Chung Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung had to rally to win their seventh WTA Tour doubles title. The Taiwanese pair trailed 6-2 4-2 in the final of the East West Bank Classic before fighting back to defeat Eva Hrdinova and Vladimira Uhlrova 2-6 7-5 10-4 (match tiebreak). The top seeded team in the tournament, Chan and Chuang have now won two titles at the Tier II level or above. Their first five titles came at the Tier III and IV level. They won a Tier I event at Rome earlier this year.
SANCHEZ VICARIO TO WAIT
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario will have to wait two years for her latest honor. The Spanish star had to miss her induction into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame when acute gastroenteritis forced her to cancel her plans to travel to Montreal and instead remain in Spain for treatment. Sanchez Vicario, who won the Canadian tournament in 1992 and 1994, retired as a player after the 2002 season and has since become a tennis analyst for Spanish television. She also is tournament director for a women’s event in Barcelona, Spain.
Boris Becker was on hand in Toronto where he was inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame during the men’s event. Becker won the tournament in 1986.
SIGNALS, PERHAPS
When an eight-year-old girl playing her first junior tennis tournament questioned a number of line calls, officials became suspicious. After they checked, Anastasiya Korzh was ejected from the tournament when she was found to be wearing a radio earpiece under her headband, linked by a cord to a receiver under her shirt. Korzh’s father said he was using the earpiece only to help his daughter keep score in the under-10 tournament.
SUSPENDED
No more on-court coaching for players on the WTA Tour. The controversial initiative, which was never used at the Grand Slam tournaments, has been suspended by the women’s tour, which will evaluate the results of the testing period and make a decision whether or not to bring it back.
SOUTHERN-BOUND
Carlista Mohammed of Trinidad and Tobago will be taking a lot of hardware with her when she travels to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she is on a full tennis scholarship. The 18-year-old Mohammed recently won the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles at the 2008 Evian National Tennis Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. She also won the singles titles at both the Citi-Tranquil and South Open Classifieds tournaments. “It feels really good to be leaving with everything,” said Mohammed, who will be majoring in linguistics with a minor in sports psychology at Southern University.
SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Eleven tennis players would love to celebrate their birthday with a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. The players who will turn a year older during the Beijing Games, and their birthdays, all in August, are: Roger Federer, Switzerland, Aug. 8; Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, 8; Pepa Martinez, Spain, 12; Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador, 13; Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, 13; Lu Yen-Hsun, Chinese Taipei, 14; Robin Soderling, Sweden, 14; Chan Yung-Jan, Chinese Taipei, 17; Liezel Huber, United States, 21; Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 21; and Olga Govortsova, Belarus, 23.
STILL GOING
Kimiko Date-Krumm has continued her amazing return to pro tennis by reaching the finals in singles and doubles at the USD $25,000 Miyazaki tournament in Japan. She won the singles, beating Kyung-Yee Chae of Korea 6-3 6-2, but lost the doubles in a match tiebreak 4-6 6-3 10-7.
Jelena Dokic also was a winner in her latest stop on the comeback trail. She captured a USD $25,000 ITF tournament in Darmstadt, Germany, beating Michelle Gerards of the Netherlands 6-0 6-0 in the final.
SANCTIONED
Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic and Michal Mertinak of Slovakia have been suspended and fined by the ATP for betting on tennis matches. Cermak was banned for 10 weeks and fined USD $15,000, while Mertinak received a two-week suspension and a $3,000 penalty. Both were doubles winners earlier this month. Cermak teamed with Roger Wassen to win in Amersfoort, Netherlands, while Mertinak won in Umag, Croatia, with Petr Pala. The ATP said neither player placed bets on his own matches, and the independent hearing officer found no evidence of any intent to affect the outcome of any matches wagered upon.
SAMPRAS SELLS
After dropping his asking price by USD $2 million, Pete Sampras sold his home in Beverly Hills, California. The former tennis star reportedly dropped the price from $25 million to $23 million for the two-story house that has five bedrooms and twelve bathrooms. There is a detached guesthouse, a separate gym and a tennis court. The main house includes a home theater and the master bedroom suite has his-and-hers bathrooms.
SEARCHING FOR DOLLARS
Georg von Waldenfels, head of the German Tennis Federation, told a court that the ATP Tour’s planned tournament restructuring would have a devastating effect on the annual men’s clay court event in Hamburg. The first witness in a federal trial held in Wilmington, Delaware, von Waldenfels said the ATP’s plan to move the Hamburg tournament from May to July and downgrade it to second-tier status would make it difficult to attract top players to Germany since a July date would come when the top players are gearing up for the North American hard court season that leads up to the U.S. Open. The German federation has filed suit claiming the ATP’s tournament restructuring violates antitrust laws by attempting to monopolize player commitments and tournament sanctions in men’s professional tennis.
SMELLY SPOT
The bird carcass causing a stink at a tennis tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be staying right where it is. The dead heron fledgling likely fell out of a nest in the tree and died, dangling several meters (yards) above a path between tennis courts at Stanley Park. City parks board chairwoman Korina Houghton said the bird won’t be removed because doing so could disturb the large colony of endangered great blue heron nesting in the trees above, one of the largest colonies in the Canadian province.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Toronto: Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob and Mike Bryan 6-2 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Poznan: Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer beat Santiago Giraldo and Alberto Martin 3-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)
San Marino: Yves Allegro and Horia Tecau beat Fabio Colangelo and Philipp Marx 7-5 7-5
Los Angeles: Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung beat Eva Hrdinova and Vladimira Uhlrova 2-6 7-5 10-4 (match tiebreak)
Portoroz: Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual beat Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-1
SITES TO SURF
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
Segovia: www.teniselespinar.com
Los Angeles: www.countrywideclassic.com
Vale do Lobo: www.grandchampions.org
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$2,450,000 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
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$525,000 Countrywide Classic, Los Angeles, California, hard
$125,000 Open Castilla y Leon, Segovia, Spain, hard
WOMEN
$100,000 ITF event, Monterrey, Mexico, hard
SENIORS
Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, Vale do Lobo, Portugal, hard