Our esteemed tennis photographer is currently at Melbourne Park and will be providing daily tennis galleries from the 2013 Australian Open. Make sure to check back each day for a new gallery and don’t miss the fun from down under!
January 12, 2013 — Our Tennis Grandstand photographer is back and today’s featured gallery includes Daria Gavrilova, Chanel Simmonds, Estrella Cabeza Candela, Julie Coin, and Johanna Konta.
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Julie Coin
Open GDF Suez Paris Photo Gallery with Bartoli, Mauresmo, Mattek-Sands
Follow professional tennis photographer Rick Gleijm as he covers the Open GDF Suez WTA Tour event in Paris this week. The gallery below includes the draw ceremony that features Amelie Mauresmo, Marion Bartoli and Mary Pierce, as well as day two qualifying matches featuring Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Julie Coin, Marta Domachowska, Varvara Lepchenko, Mona Barthel, and Naomi Broady among others. For full qualification results, go here.
Also make sure to check out Rick’s feature “Paris Tennis Diary: From the Photo Pit.”
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Mondays With Bob Greene: Naturally We Are Annoyed
STARS
Roger Federer won the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, beating David Nalbandian 6-3 6-4 in Basel, Switzerland
Andy Murray beat Andrey Golubev 6-1 6-1 to win the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia
Robin Soderling won the Grand Prix de Tennis De Lyon by beating Julien Benneteau 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-1 in Lyon, France
Ana Ivanovic beat Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-1 to win the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria
Elena Dementieva stopped Carolina Wozniacki 2-6 6-4 7-6 (4) to win the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Julie Coin 6-4 6-3 to win the Internationaux Feminins de la Vienne in Poitiers, France
Hyung-Taik Lee won the Samsung Securities Cup Challenger in Seoul, Korea, by beating Ivo Minar 6-4 6-0
Jim Courier beat Thomas Enqvist 3-6 6-4 10-8 (Champions tiebreak) to win the Stanford Championships in Dallas, Texas
SAYINGS
“There was a bit of disappointment but I gave a good fight for almost five years, so I’m proud of that, and I think Rafa deserves it this year because he’s played consistently well.” – Roger Federer, admitting he’s disappointed about not finishing the year as the number one player.
“This season has been hard, long and punishing. I will be very happy when I lose in Bercy.” – Richard Gasquet, after losing in Lyon, France, and talking about this week’s tournament in Paris.
“To see him give up mentally beforehand is quite simply abnormal. It is disrespectful vis-à-vis the public who he is counting on supporting him at Bercy. Naturally we are annoyed.” – Patrice Dominguez, national technical director of the French Tennis Federation, referring to Gasquet’s comment.
“This year has been a very positive year for me and I am looking forward to continued success in Doha.” – Venus Williams, after qualifying for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
“It has been awhile since I last played and it feels wonderful to be one of the best eight players of the regular Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season.” – Vera Zvonareva, who qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships.
“You could never forecast that he was going to miss that shot. If he lets it bounce, he could hit it with the butt cap and make it and I wouldn’t be there. That was as improbable as it gets, but that’s why we play sports. The whacky happens.” – Jim Courier, after Thomas Enqvist shanked an easy overhead on match point.
“I think I was just too casual. It’s what you tell an amateur when you play the pro-ams with them, that sometimes they do those mistakes. They take their eye off the ball. I think I did that.” – Thomas Enqvist.
“For the first set and a half we were completely outplayed. At 4-3 down in the second set Bopanna double-faulted at 40-40, and after that the momentum shifted our way.” – Travis Parrott, after teaming with Filip Polasek to win the doubles at St. Petersburg, Russia.
“I’m really disappointed with how I played today. I had no concentration at any stage of the match. Maybe today I finally paid for all of the traveling and the many matches I’ve played over the last several weeks.” – Vera Zvonareva, after losing to Ana Ivanovic in the title match of the Generali Ladies Linz.
“Rafael Nadal has donated the racquet he used to win the 2008 Wimbledon final, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi both donated tennis racquets, while Roger Federer gave us the shirt off his own back.” – Lleyton Hewitt, on items donated to help raise money for a charity, Cure Our Kids.
SET FOR DOHA
The final two spots in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships have been clinched by Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams. The women’s tour will wind up with world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams in Doha, Qatar, November 4-9. It will be the third time Venus Williams will compete in the season-ending event, but her first since 2002. Others in the field include Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
SIGN OF RESPECT
The new tennis center in Brisbane, Australia, has been named for two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter. The 5,500-seat Rafter Arena will open in January for the Brisbane International men’s and women’s hard court championships. The tournament is a warm-up for the Australian Open, which is held in Melbourne. Novak Djokovic, Marcos Baghdatis and Ana Ivanovic are confirmed for the event, the first international tennis tournament to be played in Brisbane since 1994.
SWEDE VICTORY
When Robin Soderling captured his second Lyon trophy, he became the first Swedish player to win an ATP title in almost three years. The last Swede to capture a tournament on the men’s tour was Thomas Johansson at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005. The victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau will move Soderling into the top 20 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time. At Lyon, Soderling beat two top-ten players, Andy Roddick and Gilles Simon.
SWISS STAR
Roger Federer won his third straight Davidoff Swiss Indoors crown in his native Basel, Switzerland. He also has been runner-up twice in his nine appearances in Basel. And his 57th career title moves Federer into a tie with Ilie Nastase on the ATP list. He is now three titles behind Andre Agassi. Basel was Federer’s fourth title of 2008, highlighted by his fifth consecutive US Open win. This one came over David Nalbandian, the 2002 Swiss Indoors winner and the tournament’s number two seed. It was the first time since 1993 that the two top seeds have reached the final at Basel.
SHORT DAY
Andy Murray needed only 56 minutes to successfully defend his St. Petersburg Open title by defeating qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-1 6-1. It was the shortest final on the ATP tour this year, and the second fewest games in a title match since Mikhail Youzhny crushed Rafael Nadal 6-0 6-1 at the Chennai Open in January. Now ranked fourth in the world, Murray becomes the first British player to win consecutive titles since Mark Cox did it in March 1975. The Scott has won five titles this year, second only to the eight captured by Nadal. Murray is on a 12-match winning streak and has won 18 of his last 19 matches since losing in the first round of the Beijing Olympics to Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun.
SHORT STAY
For the second straight year, Nikolay Davydenko made a brief appearance at the St. Petersburg Open. This time he injured his left wrist during a first-round victory over Chris Guccione, and then pulled out of the tournament. “I was able to finish the match, but today I felt a lot of pain and I just can’t play,” Davydenko said. Last year, the Russian was fined USD $2,000 by the ATP for not trying hard enough during his loss to qualifier Marin Cilic in a second-round match. The fine was overturned on appeal. Davydenko’s victory over Guccione was his 50th match win of the season, the fourth straight year he has won at least 50 matches.
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STAYING ON TOP
Despite what happens the rest of the way, Jelena Jankovic will end the season as the number one player in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings. Jankovic has a commanding points lead over Dinara Safina and will remain in the top spot regardless of the outcome of the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. She secured the year-ending ranking by winning 12 straight matches en route to three consecutive titles in Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow. She lost in the US Open final and reached the semifinals of two other Grand Slam tournaments.
SITTER MISSED
Holding match point at 9-8 in the Champions tiebreaker, Jim Courier sent a high defensive lob that just made it over the net in the final of the Stanford Championships in Dallas, Texas. But Thomas Enqvist, standing right on top of the net, elected not to let the ball bounce and shanked the overhead straight down off the frame of his racquet, giving Courier his sixth career Outback Champions Series title, 3-6 6-4 10-8 (Championships tiebreak). “I think I was too casual,” Enqvist said, while Courier said the missed overhead was “one of the nuttiest match points I’ve ever been a part of.”
SEASIDE TENNIS
Four top players will lead a five-day tennis “fantasy camp” on Maui, Hawaii, in November. Lindsay Davenport, Tom Gullikson, Robby Ginepri and Corina Morariu will participate in the four days of instruction and free play. Gullikson is the former US Davis Cup captain and Olympic coach, while Davenport was ranked number one in the world in both singles and doubles. She is one of only four women – joining Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert – to have been the year-ending number one at least four times. Ginepri is one of the top five American players currently on the ATP tour, while Morariu was ranked number one in the world in doubles before being diagnosed with leukemia. She made a complete recovery and was named Comeback Player of the Year on the WTA Tour. The “fantasy camp” is for adult tennis players ranging in skill from recreational to tournament-level.
STRIKING PAIR
Hall of Famer Michael Chang and women’s tennis pro Amber Liu are now husband and wife. Matthew Cronin reports the pair was married at Lake Hills Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, with the reception and dinner taking place at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point, California. Among those in attendance were Chang’s brother and coach, Carl; his cousin James Wan, who plays for Stanford University; John Austin, Anne Yelsey, Dick Gould, Lele Forood, Eliot Teltscher and Peanut Louis.
STRONG SALES
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships will have some people in the seats, if ticket sales are any indication. According to tournament officials, more than 95 percent of the premium seats have been sold for the season-ending event that features the world’s top eight women’s singles players and top four doubles teams. The Championships will be held November 4-9 at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar.
STANDING TALL
Lleyton Hewitt and his wife Bec have begun a month-long fundraising auction with proceeds going to Cure Our Kids, an organization which supports children with cancer and their families at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in New South Wales, Australia. The auction includes items donated by the Hewitts as well as from Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff, among others.
SAD NEWS
A former top-100 player from Italy, Federico Luzzi, is dead at the age of 28. Luzzi died at a hospital in Arezzo, Italy, of leukemia. He was hospitalized after retiring a few days earlier from an Italian league match, citing a high fever. He reached a career-high ranking of number 92 in 2002 before a shoulder injury plagued him the rest of his career. In February, Luzzi was suspended for 200 days and fined USD $50,000 by the ATP for betting on tennis. In 2001, he beat Ville Liukko of Finland 14-12 in the fifth set to complete a 4-hour, 35-minute victory, the longest Davis Cup match ever played by an Italian.
SO LONG
Bill Rusick, an All-American college player and later tennis coach and co-owner of a tennis club, has died at the age of 51. Rusick led Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville to two national championships and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame. He coached at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, and served as club pro and co-owner at St. Clair Tennis Club. He suffered from pancreatic cancer.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Basel: Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles beat Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-3
St. Petersburg: Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek beat Rohan Bopanna and Max Mirnyi 3-6 7-6 (4) 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Lyon: Michael Llodra and Andy Ram beat Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins 6-3 5-7 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Seoul: Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach beat Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana 7-5 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Linz: Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama beat Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4 7-5
Luxembourg: Sorana Cirstea and Marina Erakovic beat Vera Dushevina and Mariya Koryttseva 2-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Poitiers: Petra Cetkovska and Lucie Safarova beat Akgul Amanmuradova and Monica Niculescu 6-4 6-4
SITES TO SURF
Paris: www.fft.fr/bnpparibasmasters//
Quebec: www.challengebell.com
Bratislava: www.stz.sk
Busan: www.busanopen.org/
Cali: www.tennisegurobolivar.com/
Doha: www.Sonyericsson-championships.com
Sunrise: http://www.championsseriestennis.com/arizona2008/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$2,450,000 BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, France, carpet
$125,000 Seguros Bolivar Open, Cali, Colombia, clay
$100,000 Busan Open Challenger, Busan, South Korea, hard
WTA TOUR
$175,000 Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Quebec, hard
$100,000 Ritro Slovak Open, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
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
Mondays With Bob Greene: I'm me. I love to show my emotion.
STARS
(U.S. Open first week)
Julie Coin beat top-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-3 4-6 6-3
Katarina Srebotnik beat third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 7-6 (1) 6-3
Kei Nishikori beat fourth-seeded David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-5
Gael Monfils beat seventh-seeded David Nalbandian 6-3 6-4 6-2
Tatiana Perebiynis beat eighth-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-3 6-3
Mardy Fish beat ninth-seeded James Blake 6-3 6-3 7-6 (4)
Ekaterina Makarova beat tenth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze 1-6 6-2 6-3
SAYINGS
“I have the same goal. When I was number two, the goal was the same, was win the US Open. The goal wasn’t win the US Open to be number one. The goal is win US Open, no?” – Rafael Nadal, playing his first tournament as the world’s number one player.
“I don’t realize yet that I beat number one in the world. I don’t realize that I played at the big court. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.” – Julie Coin, after upsetting top-seeded Ana Ivanovic.
“I don’t really play any different on clay than I do on a hard court. It’s not like I’m changing anything when I go out there. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, I lose.” – Sam Querrey, asked if he changes his game plan for different surfaces.
“This is my, I think, fifth US Open, and this time I’m the happiest to be here, so I enjoy every moment of it. And first couple days when I had some afternoons off I went shopping and to Central Park. I really tried to get best out of it.” – Ana Ivanovic, on playing in the US Open as the top seed and before she was upset.
“I’m not going to hide and try to go around and say tennis is fun, it’s so easy, because people will understand it’s not true. … It’s difficult to practice every day.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, admitting it’s difficult to stay inspired to play and practice year-round.
“I guess they call it the yips on your serve. I don’t know where it came from. Probably came from all my years making fun of people that had it. That was my karma coming back.” – Lindsay Davenport, joking about starting a game with seven straight faults in her loss to Marion Bartoli.
“I think that definitely the Wimbledon win helped me a lot to change my mentality, to realize not everything had to be perfect all the time. … Now if I don’t have a perfect practice, I know I can play. I think that helps me to relax.” – Venus Williams.
“I don’t think I’d have as many because she motivated me, especially being young and watching her play. The mistakes she made, I made them with her. So when I actually played, I didn’t make the mistakes that she made. I was able to grow with her on the sidelines, so to say. … If anything, I think she definitely helped my career.” – Serena Williams, about big sister Venus Williams.
“There is nothing bigger. There is nothing more important than Olympic Games for an athlete, for a sports person.” – Elena Dementieva, who won the women’s singles at the Beijing Olympics.
“I always believe that the match is on my racquet. I think every time I lose is because of me, not because of the other person.” – Serena Williams.
“I’m me. I love to show my emotion. I love to do a show because when I was 9, 11, to play in front of a lot of people is for me something amazing. So I like to do it for me. It’s fun. You know, I have to show them I’m enjoying on the court, (that) I enjoy my sport. And then they show me emotion, so it’s great.” – Gael Monfils, after upsetting David Nalbandian.
“Right now I’m very happy. That’s the only word I can say right now. And I couldn’t give up in the fifth set. … I was tired and my legs was almost cramping. But I tried to think, I am playing David, he’s number four in the world, and (I’m) playing five sets with him. I felt kind of happy and more positive. That’s why I think I could fight through everything.” – Kei Nishikori, after upsetting fourth-seeded David Ferrer.
“I’m enjoying the city, the crowd. When you play here it’s a different atmosphere, and you just have so much fun being on the court. Even playing first at 11 (a.m.), it’s not so many people, but you feel special being on central court.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, before losing in the third round.
SINGLES CHAMPIONS
There have been 40 winners in the men’s and women’s singles in the 40 years of the Open Era – 21 men and 19 women. The 1968 champions – the late Arthur Ashe, who was represented by his wife and daughter, and Virginia Wade, led a parade of past champions onto the court on opening night to help the USTA celebrate the anniversary. Chris Evert won six US Opens, the most of any woman in the Open Era, while Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors led the men with five titles each.
SWAPPING PLACES
Serena Williams swapped places on the WTA Tour rankings with Svetlana Kuznetsova, moving up one spot to number three in the world behind the Serbian pair of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. Kuznetsova dropped to fourth, the best showing of the six Russians in the top ten: Maria Sharapova, Olympics gold medalist Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Anna Chakvetazde and Vera Zvonareva. Venus Williams is ranked eighth in the world.
SERVING YOUTH
James Blake presented a USD $10,000 check on behalf of Evian Natural Spring Water to USTA Serves and the Harlem Junior Tennis & Education program. USTA Serves is the USTA’s not-for-profit philanthropic entity dedicated to improving the quality of life among the nation’s youth, with a mission to support, monitor and promote programs that enhance the lives of disadvantaged children through the integration of tennis and education.
SO LATE
Spectators at the US Open for the night session have seats for only two matches, those beginning at 7 p.m. in Arthur Ashe Stadium. All other matches still being played elsewhere at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are considered day matches. That was true when Chuang Chia-Jung and Daniel Nestor played a mixed doubles match against Sloane Stephens and Robert Kendrick. Because Kendrick had played a singles match against Novak Djokovic earlier in the day, the mixed doubles “day match” was scheduled to start on an outside court “Not before 8 p.m.”
SELES TO HALL?
Monica Seles heads the list of candidates for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009. Seles won nine major singles titles and was ranked number one in the world. On the ballot in the Master Player category is Andres Gimeno, one of Spain’s most prominent players of the 1960s and the singles champion at Roland Garros, which he won in 1972. Others on the ballot in the Contributory category are Donald L. Dell, a lawyer, founder of ProServ and former Davis Cup captain; Dr. Robert “Whirlwind” Johnson, founder and director of the American Tennis Association (ATA); and Japan’s Eiichi Kawatei, for his leadership and dedication in the development and promotion of tennis in Asia.
SERVING BIG
Ivo Karlovic served 42 aces in his second-round victory over Florent Serra. The 6-foot-10 (2.08m) native of Zagreb, Croatia, has three of the top seven ace totals at the US Open since 1991. In his 11 career US Open matches, Karlovic has hit 330 aces, an average of 30 aces per match. In his 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) 6-2 third-round loss to 6-foot-6 (1.98m) Sam Querrey, Karlovic had 24 aces, matching the fewest total he has had in any match at the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. He wound up his US Open with a total of 94 aces in three matches. Surprisingly, Karlovic is not in the top ten in the serving speed at this year’s event, that honor going to Andy Roddick, who had a serve clocked at 147 mph (236 kph)
SIX FOR ONE
When the US Open began, six players had a chance to wind up number one in the world in the WTA Tour rankings at the end of the fortnight. The easiest scenario would have been if the two top seeds – Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic – wound up in the final; the winner of that match would take over the top spot, as would Serena Williams if she wins. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva also had a shot at number one when the tournament began, but with a dizzying array of options and outcomes needed. Kuznetsova was knocked out of the running for the top spot when Ivanovic won her opening round match.
STOPPED
Because of security reasons, the Bangalore Open, scheduled to start September 29, has been cancelled. The ATP said it has “accepted a petition from the Bangalore Open to suspend the 2008 event due to the local promoter’s security concerns.” The tournament has been held at Mumbai for the past two years. It was moved to Bangalore in May, but a series of bombs rocked the southern Indian city on July 25, killing one person. The ATP said the total prize money of USD $400,000 would go into the ATP player pension fund.
SUCCESS
Gilles Muller of Luxembourg worked overtime to get into the round of 16 for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. The last qualifier remaining in the draw at the U.S. Open, Muller defeated Laurent Recouderc 6-4 6-0 4-6 6-4 and Tommy Haas 2-6 2-6 7-6 6-3 6-3 in the first two rounds. The Haas victory was the first time he came back after trailing by two sets. He did it again when he beat 18th-seeded Nicolas Almagro in the third round on Sunday.
SHUZO FOLLOWER
When Kei Nishikori upset fourth-seeded David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-5, he became the first Japanese man to reach the final 16 at the US Open in the Open Era. The only Japanese man to go further in a Grand Slam tournament was Shuzo Matsuoka, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1995. At 18 years, 8 months, Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the last 16 at the US Open since Marat Safin in 1998.
SENT PACKING
When qualifier Julie Coin shocked Ana Ivanovic in a second-round match, it marked the earliest defeat by a number one-seeded woman at the US Open in the Open Era and the first time a number one seed has lost in the second round of the even since 1956, when top-seeded Billie Jean King lost to Australia’s Kerry Melville 6-4 6-4 in the US Championships. The previous record for the earliest loss in the Open Era came in 1973 when King retired in the third set of her third-round match against Julie Heldman. Only four number one seeds in the Open Era have lost prior to the semifinals: Justine Henin in the fourth round in 2004, Martina Navratilova in the quarterfinals in 1982, King in 1973 and Ivanovic this year. The last time a number one seed has lost in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament was in 2004 when Tathiana Garbin shocked Justine Henin at Roland Garros.
SONG FOR VENUS
Wyclef Jean has written and recorded a song inspired by tennis champion Venus Williams. The song, titled “Venus (I’m Ready),” is a musical fan letter to the 2008 Olympic doubles gold medalist and reigning Wimbledon singles and doubles champion. “Venus’ determination and mental strength inspires me,” said Wyclef Jean, a Grammy Award winner. “Much like Isis, her strength should be celebrated.”
SITE FOR SIGHT
The USTA is creating two USTA-branded channels on YouTube, one devoted to professional tennis and the other dedicated to recreational tennis. The US Open Channel includes daily updates from the US Open, including post-match player interviews. The website will also feature a daily Junior Report on the US Open juniors. The second channel (www.youtube.com/tennis) will be entirely devoted to recreational tennis and is scheduled to launch later this fall.
SWISS BANKER
He may be ranked number two in the world, but Roger Federer is still the top money winner in tennis by far. In the past 12 months Federer has earned USD $35 million, almost twice as much as Rafael Nadal, who has replaced the Swiss star atop the rankings. According to Forbes, the global appeal of tennis is the reason Federer rakes in more endorsement money than American sports stars Derek Jeter, Payton Manning and Dale Earnhardt. Federer, who is fluent in English, French and German, has won 55 tournaments in 17 countries and is a global brand. Forbes says another reason is that tennis players command the prime demographics. Sandwiched between Federer and Nadal is Maria Sharapova, the world’s highest-paid female athlete with earnings of USD $26 million. Tied for fourth is a trio of Americans at USD $15 million: Andy Roddick and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Four sets of siblings sought the doubles titles at this year’s US Open, and that doesn’t include Venus and Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon and the Beijing Olympics this year but decided to skip the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, an event they last won in 1999. American twins Bob and Mike Bryan were the number two seeds in the men’s doubles, which also included first-round losers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana of Thailand. The women’s doubles included Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska of Poland and Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine.
SITES TO SURF
US Open: www.usopen.org
Bucharest: www.bcropenromania.ro/
Bali: www.commbanktennis.com
Athens: www.vogueathensopen.com/
Serena Williams: www.serenawilliams.com
USOpen Channel: www.youtube.com/usopen
USTA YouTube: www.youtube.com/tennis
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP and WTA TOUR
U.S. Open, Flushing Meadows, New York, hard (second week)
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$416,000 BCR Open Romania, Bucharest, Romania, clay
WTA TOUR
$225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic, Bali, Indonesia, hard
$100,000 Vogue Athens Open 2008, Athens, Greece, clay
$100,000 ITF event, Kharkiv, Ukraine, hard
FED CUP
(September 13-14)
Russia vs. Spain at Madrid, Spain, final, clay
US Open Day 6: Sister Act Part II
New York – In a dominating performance, Venus Williams not only grabbed a spot in the fourth round of the US Open but also joined her sister Serena in polishing off a Bondarenko sister.
Even Venus Williams was pleased with her game after she pummeled Alona Bondarenko 6-2 6-1 Saturday and moved a step closer to a quarterfinal clash with her sister. In her first-round match, Serena beat Alona’s sister, Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-4.
“It always helps when I don’t make a lot of errors,” said Venus, who has been producing the same kind of tennis that took her to her fifth Wimbledon title earlier this summer. “I felt like I needed to be aggressive.”
“Little Sister” kept pace Saturday as Serena Williams swept past Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-2, 6-1.
Ninth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland eliminated Dominika Cibulkova of the Slovak Republic 6-0 6-3 and will next face Venus Williams. In their only other meeting, Radwanska upset the heavily-favored American.
Amelie Mauresmo ended the dreams of her French compatriot Julie Coin 6-4 6-4. Coin, a qualifier, reached the third round with a shocking upset over the world’s top-ranked player, Ana Ivanovic.
In a third-round men’s singles, Rafael Nadal, playing his first major tournament as the top seed, was pushed but not bothered in his 6-4 6-3 6-0 win over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki. The score doesn’t reflect the tightness of many of the games in the first two sets when Troicki matched Nadal’s supreme shot-making but came up with a few more errors.
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In another men’s match, American Sam Querrey upset 14th-seeded Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) 6-2 in a slugfest. Querrey finished with 20 aces, four fewer than the 6-foot-10 (2.08m) Karlovic. The Croat had 59 winners in his losing effort, while Querrey, at 6-6 (1.98m) the short one on the court, ended up with 45 winners and just 13 unforced errors.
The two sets of sisters – Williams and Bondarenko – are not strangers. On their way to the doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, Venus and Serena beat the Bondarenkas in the semifinals.
“I’ve had an unbelievable summer,” Venus said. “I couldn’t have asked for more, except probably another gold in Beijing.
“Obviously I tried to win the singles, too, but it didn’t work out. But I’d much rather share that triumph with a team member, and then with my sister, than anything else.”
Playing in her 10th US Open, a tournament she has won twice, Williams was impressive. She slammed nine aces and had 32 winners as she completely dominated Bondarenko, who kept the ball in play, running down shot after shot, but didn’t have enough firepower to hurt the elder Williams.
Seeded seventh in this, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, Williams feels her Wimbledon triumph this summer has helped her on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
“I think that definitely the Wimbledon win helped me a lot to change my mentality, to realize not every thing had to be perfect all the time. … Now if I don’t have a perfect practice, I know I can play. I think that helps me to relax.”
A relaxed Williams is in the third round, as is her sister Serena. If both win again, they will face each other for the first time since the Wimbledon final. It would also be their earliest meeting in a tournament since the 2005 US Open when they clashed in the fourth round.
“I would have loved if we could have met in the finals,” Venus said of her sister. “My biggest worry is she’s so good. I’m thinking about how I’m going to get past her.”
First, though, there’s the little matter of Agnieszka Radwanska.
Coin Makes US Open Her Coming Out Party
Earlier this summer, Julie Coin was so unhappy with the state of her tennis game that she considered hanging up her rackets at the end of the year.
It’s safe to say those thoughts have been removed from her mind.
In one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, the No. 188 ranked Coin shocked top seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round of the US Open. Prior to this week, the 25 year old Frenchwoman had never won a main draw match at the WTA Tour level and had yet to defeat a player ranked in the top 100.
“I haven’t realized that I’ve beaten the number one player in the world,” said Coin. “I’m just really enjoying this moment now. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”
Regularly hitting first serves at 110 MPH, Coin appeared unfazed by the large crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. On her fourth break point opportunity at 3-3 in the first set, she hit a forehand that forced an error from Ivanovic. Two games later, a backhand error from Ivanovic gave Coin the first set.
Both players held their serves until 4-3 in the second set, when Coin began to get tentative on her groundstokes and allowed Ivanovic back into the match. The 20 year old Serbian won the last three games off the match without the loss of a set.
At 2-2 in the final set, a forehand passing shot by Coin gave her the only break of the set. A double fault by Coin and forehand winner by Ivanovic erased Coin’s first two match points, but a forehand that landed long on the third match point moved Coin into a third round match up with No. 32 seed Amelie Mauresmo on Saturday.
“I’ve seen Amelie play before because she’s from my region,” said Coin. “She’s kind of an idol in France. Everybody loves her. She’s the one whose footsteps we want follow in a little bit.”
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Having turned pro in 2005 after an oustanding NCAA career at Clemson University, where she was a three time All-American ranked as high as No.2 in the country, Coin said she found it difficult to transfer her college success into solid professional results and struggled with life on tour.
Having won the majority of her matches in college, Coin found herself on the Challenger circuit, the equivalent of Triple A in baseball, regularly losing to unknown players in unglamorous locations.
“It’s really hard to compete at this (the challenger) level,” said Coin. “You have to do everything yourself and sometimes you compete in places which aren’t very nice. The level is tough too because everyone has to go through these tournaments before going on the WTA tour.”
Although she won four singles titles on the challenger circuit, Coin never managed to qualify for the main draw of a WTA event. The week before the US Open qualifying began, Coin lost in the first round of qualifying at a $50,000 challenger to Kelly Liggan, an Irish player ranked No. 423 in the world.
Despondent over her career, Coin said that results like these made her consider retiring from tennis and putting her mathematical sciences degree from Clemson to use.
“I was thinking, ‘Am I really made to play tennis?'” said Coin. “Am I going to be able to get into the top 100 one day? Because it’s not worth it unless you’re able to do that. I was thinking about maybe stopping at the end of this year.”
Through working with her mental coach at home, Coin was able to relieve herself of the doubts in her game. Regardless of what happens the rest of this tournament, Coin said she is satisfied with her performance at the US Open.
“Everybody was telling me to enjoy the moment,” said Coin. “It’s great when you win a point and everyone is getting all excited, after the match point everyone is screaming. I really don’t know how I did it. Today was just perfect.”
US Open Day 4: Ana Ivanovic Loss Is Biggest Upset In History Of Women's Tennis
NEW YORK – Maybe the number one ranking was too heavy. If so, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic doesn’t have to worry any more. Her US Open is over in what is being called the biggest upset in the history of women’s tennis.
Julie Coin of France, ranked 188th in the world and playing in her first WTA Tour event, calmly kept her poise as she overpowered Ivanovic 6-3 4-6 6-3 in a second-round match on the hard courts of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament.
It was the earliest exit for the top-seeded woman in US Open history since 1973 and the first time the number one seed has lost in the second round of a major tournament since Justine Henin fell to Tathiana Garbin at Roland Garros four years ago. It also was the worst loss by a top-ranked player since Ivanovic lost to 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie at Wimbledon earlier this summer.
While Ivanovic struggled in her first-round victory, Thursday’s loss came as a huge shock. After all, Coin had never played in a WTA Tour event before and had failed to even qualify at the other three Grand Slam tournaments this year: the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She didn’t do any better at the smaller tournaments, losing in qualifying at Estoril, Birmingham, Stanford and Los Angeles.
On Thursday, though, Coin was more than Ivanovic could handle.
“She made a lot of errors, so I got a lot of free points,” Coin said. “I thought maybe she was nervous, more than I was.”
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It wasn’t all errors, however.
Coin powered five aces and finished with 19 winners and only 27 unforced errors, seven fewer than her opponent. But it was her nerves – actually the lack of them – that carried the Clemson University graduate to victory.
“Today I felt nervous at the beginning. Then it went away,” Coin said. “I was just playing on the court in a normal match for me. At match point, it (the nerves) came back. To win the last point a lot of pressure came back.”
Ivanovic has been hobbled by injuries since winning the French Open and gaining the number one ranking earlier this year. A right thumb injury caused her to withdraw from the tennis event at the Beijing Olympics earlier this month and she was unable to practice until just before the Open began.
Time and again it was Coin coming out a winner on their baseline battles. The 25-year-old showed a quickness that was more than a match for the top seed, and a power game that produced winners throughout the battle.
Coin double-faulted on her first match point. Two points later, Ivanovic saved the next match point when her cross-court forehand skipped off the sideline. Victory was Coins when, on the third match point, Ivanovic sailed a forehand wide.
“Today was just, like, perfect,” Coin said.
Closer to perfection were the Williams sisters as they both grabbed spots in the third round. Venus routed Rossana De Los Rios 6-0 6-3 before Serena opened the night session with a 6-1 6-1 romp over Elena Vesnina.
Venus needed just 28 minutes to rip through the opening set, and she never faced a break point on her serve. In fact, she was taken to deuce just twice in the match, both times as she was serving out the victory.
“I think I just had a lot more power than she did today,” Venus said. “She plays a game where she hits a lot of high balls, which at my height doesn’t, you know – I think it would be effective against a lot of players, but with my height and my reach, it doesn’t phase me as much. I think that helped me.”
Serena also was much too powerful for her Russian opponent, who tried unsuccessfully to trade ground strokes with the two-time US Open winner. Serena pounded out six aces and won 57 points to just 32 for Vesnina.
“I was disappointed I lost my serve,” Serena said. It was the lone game Vesnina won in the second set.
Two other seeded players in the women’s draw were eliminated Thursday. Italy’s Tathiana Garbin upset 13th-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary 5-7 6-2 6-3, and Severine Bremond of France ousted 20th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 7-5 6-3.
In the men’s second round, American Mardy Fish upset 24th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-2 3-6 6-3 6-4. In the next round, Fish will play his best friend on the tour, ninth-seeded James Blake, who advanced when Belgium’s Steve Darcis retired while trailing 4-6 6-3 1-0.
None of the upsets had the impact of the one by Coin, a former college All-American.
“I was nervous going onto the court because I never saw her play before so I didn’t know what to expect,” Ivanovic said. “I thought I can slowly get into the match, and she played completely different than I expected. She was serving extremely well and hitting very powerful shots.
“I really struggled and made too many unforced errors, and my serve was not working really well. Obviously, it’s very frustrating, because I know I can play so much better.
“This was very, very disappointing loss for me.”
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