Tennis News, Articles, & Scores

Glaken · Dec 22, 2005

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The Australian Open is likely to introduce video technology to assist chair umpires at the 2006 championships according to Paul McNamee on Sunday. The Melbourne slams chief executive said the video should be on point-ending challenges only.

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</IMG> SERENA: "That ball was so in"
"It's only on the last point of the rally otherwise you would end up with no linesmen at all," McNamee said.
"You would have machines calling the lines and that is not where the sport wants to go - you don't want to remove the human element completely."
McNamee also said money already had been allocated for video reviews in next year's championship budget.

</IMG> Women's champion Serena Williams said players should only be able to challenge two or three calls a match.
The United States Tennis Association is investigating the technology and is hoping to introduce line-calling aids for umpires at the next U.S. Open.
"We're very encouraged by the initial testing," U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said earlier.
"There's a lot of steps to go, but our goal is to have some type of electric line calling aids for umpires at the 2005 U.S. Open."
2005 OPEN STAT ATTACK
The 2005 Australian Open championships broke the 500,000 attendance mark for the sixth year in a row, up more than 20,000 on last year.
It also saw the highest one-day attendance in history when 60,069 spectators came to Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Celebrity visitors included golfer Greg Norman, boxer Kostya Tszyu, former NBA coach Phil Jackson, singer Olivia Newton-John and actor Geoffrey Rush.
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Glaken · Jan 7, 2006

Williams Wounded, Hingis Halted, Americans Win Hopman Cup

<SMALL>Posted on January 07, 2006</SMALL>

Hingis Halted by Injury at WTA Gold Coast

Martina Hingis' WTA Tour comeback run was halted Friday at the WTA stop in Gold Coast where No. 4 seed Flavia Pennetta and a hip flexor strain defeated the Swiss 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.

Hingis ran out of gas in the third set after blowing a chance to close out the match serving at 6-1, 6-5, and suffering the minor injury.

"I don't want to take anything away from Pennetta, she played a great match," Hingis said. "I was able to compete with her and it was great tennis. I think everyone enjoyed it and so did I...You can't expect everything to be perfect with your body when you just haven't done that much in three years."
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On Saturday the 23-year-old Pennetta will be seeking her fourth career title when she faces unseeded 18-year-old Lucie Safarova, who ousted No. 3 seed Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 in her semifinal.

Safarova's upset run at Gold Coast has also included wins over No. 6 Ai Sugiyama and top-seeded Patty Schnyder.

It will be a career-first meeting between Safarova and Pennetta, while the doubles final will see (1) Black/Stubbs (d. (WC) Golovin/Hingis by walkover in the semifinals) square off against (2) Safina/Shaughnessy (d. (3) Medina Garrigues/Pennetta 7-6 in the third).

Petrova, Hantuchova Shocked in WTA Auckland Semis

The WTA stop in Auckland lost its top two seeds Friday when No. 8-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva rolled over weary No. 2 seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-2, and top-seeded Nadia Petrova was forced to retire with a left groin strain against No. 6 seed Marion Bartoli after trailing 1-2 in the third set.

"The conditions were very tough and Vera just dealt with it much better," said Hantuchova, who seemed bothered by the swirling winds and was recovering from a three-setter the previous day. "I think if she plays like this there's no reason she can't get back to the Top 10. She's got a great game because there's not much that can really go wrong as she's very solid from both sides."

Petrova's injury now adds her to the long list of doubtfuls for the Australian Open.

"It's not too bad but it could've been worse if I had continued to play," Petrova said.

Zvonareva will be the favorite in the final, beating Bartoli in all three of their career meetings without dropping a set.

The Saturday doubles final will see Zvonareva and Russian compatriot Elena Likhovtseva facing No. 4 seeds Emilie Loit and Barbora Strycova for the title.

Federer Houses Haas, Faces Monfils in ATP Doha Final

World No. 1 Roger Federer will face a test from the next generation after Friday advancing to the final at the ATP stop in Doha with a 6-3, 6-3 win over former No. 2-ranked German Tommy Haas.

"I didn't think too much about this match because I have a feeling that Tommy is a bit predictable...The conditions were slow today so it was difficult to make a lot of winners," Federer said. "I had to work hard to prepare the rallies correctly. It was another good match, I've had no complaints this week. The crowd was very much into the match and I really enjoyed that."

In the final the Swiss will be tested by the athletic French teen and No. 7 seed Gael Monfils, who defeated unseeded Italian Filippo Volandri 6-3, 6-4 to gain the final. Last year Monfils won his first career title at Sopot, and losing in championship matches at Metz and Lyon.

Federer is the defending champion at Doha, and will face Monfils for the first time.

"This is my fourth final and I just hope to enjoy myself and play my game," Monfils said. "Previously I haven't been able to do that in finals. It's great to meet the No. 1 player in the world, it will be a good experience for me."

The top-seeded pairing of Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi won the doubles title Friday, defeating Belgian's unseeded Rochus brothers, Christophe and Olivier 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the third-set match tiebreak.

Dominator, X-Man Roll into Semis at ATP Adelaide

2004 Adelaide champ Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty moved into the pole position Friday, with the No. 2-seeded Slovak sweeping into the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 win over unseeded Dane Kenneth Carlsen at the Australian Open warm-up.

"I'm very happy to be in the semifinals here again," said Hrbaty, who saved seven of eight break points against Carlsen in the first set before settling down in the second. "I played well from the baseline and served better as the match went on. It's great to play well at the start of the year because I think it is important to play well after a two month break."

The only other seed standing, No. 6-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, also advanced into the semis with a convincing straight-set win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The other two semifinal berths were grabbed by unseeded players with Florent Serra ousting No. 7 Jarkko Nieminen in three sets, and Belgian Xavier "X-Man" Malisse going mutant on Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-1.

"I'm really happy that I can play like this only two or three matches into the year," Malisse said. "I barely made a mistake in the first set and I was just a little tentative in the first game of the second set. I'm feeling fit and everything was going well and I'm definitely happy with the way the form is going. There are some days where everything just goes well and I'm quite happy that it is happening so early in the season."

Saturday's match-ups will be Serra vs. (2) Hrbaty, and (6) Berdych vs. Malisse.

Ljubicic, Moya Remain Favorites in ATP Chennai Semis

Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic turned a potentially tough match into a walkover Friday at the ATP stop in Chennai when he pasted dangerous lefty and No. 5 seed Gilles Muller, who defeated Andy Roddick at the US Open, 6-1, 6-3 to advance into the semifinals.

"It was a much easier game than I expected," Ljubicic said. "He missed a couple of balls in the beginning which he shouldn't have and basically never came back after that."

In the semis the Croat will face unseeded Belgian Kristof Vliegen, who ousted leg-injured No. 4 seed Paradorn Srichaphan 6-1, 6-2.

In the second semifinal on Saturday, No. 2 seed Radek Stepanek (d. Ascione in the quarters) faces two-time defending champ and No. 3 seed Carlos Moya (d. (7) Phau 6-1 in the third).

Glaken · Jan 12, 2006

Clijsters Injured, Federer Loses in Exo

<SMALL>Posted on January 12, 2006</SMALL>

Now Clijsters Added to Injured List at WTA Sydney

Kim Clijsters was added to the ever-growing pro tennis injury list Wednesday at the WTA stop in Sydney, with a problematic hip sidelining the Belgian while she was warming up for her quarterfinal encounter with Italy's Francesca Schiavone.

"It's not good," said Clijsters, who suffered from hip problems in 2005. "I could hardly walk up the stairs. It feels like it's really deep inside. I don't know what the injury is. I'll need to have some tests tomorrow...I hurt it warming up. I was hitting for about 20 minutes, just my groundstrokes, and I was feeling fine. Then all of a sudden I just started to do serves and as soon as I served I felt some really sharp pains. I tried to stretch it out a little bit and do some movements to loosen up my hip or and my back but it just kept getting worse and worse."
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Injury claimed another top player during the day when No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova handed a walkover to No. 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne, with the Russian unable to compete due to an adductor strain.

Joining walkover beneficiaries Henin-Hardenne and Schiavone in the semifinals were winners (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Ivanovic) and (8) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Hantuchova who retired in the second set with illness).

"The key was fighting, run every ball," said Kuznetsova, who trailed 4-5, 0-40 before capturing the first set. "I think here it was much harder to beat her because of the wind because it suits her game much more than mine because she plays flat."

If you're still counting that's three of the four quarterfinal matches determined by injury or illness.

"Injuries are a part of every sport," said WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott toward the end of 2005. "It is a bit of a fluke that so many players are injured at the same time, and I don't expect this to happen next summer."

On court Thursday are (5) Henin-Hardenne vs. (6) Kuznetsova (H-H leads head-to-head 7-1), and (7) Schiavone vs. (8) Vaidisova.

Americans 0-3 Wednesday at WTA Hobart

Americans (4) Amy Frazier (l. to (5) Benesova in two tiebreaks), (8) Jill Craybas (l. to Santangelo), and unseeded Laura Granville (l. to Kostanic in three) made for a U.S. exodus from the quarterfinals Wednesday at the WTA stop in Hobart.

"She made me move a lot but then I said to myself that I had to be more dominant," said Benesova in edging Frazier. "I started putting more power in my balls."

Frazier had won earlier in the day, defeating Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi in a rain make-up match, joined by the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko (d. (WC) Dellacqua) in the winner's circle.

Bondarenko then fell in quarterfinal play to Dutch teen Michaella Krajicek.

"I played a good match," said Krajicek who turned 17 on Monday. "My serve was going much better than yesterday and I didn't make a lot of mistakes."

Lining up for the Thursday semifinals in Hobart are Benesova vs. Santangelo (Santangelo leads career series 1-0), and Krajicek vs. Kostanic (first meeting).

Medina Bych-slaps Ekaterina at WTA Canberra

Top-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues navigated tricky winds Wednesday at the WTA stop in Canberra, defeating Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-3, 6-4 to advance into the semifinals.

"Today was a tough match," Medina Garrigues said. "It was very windy and it was difficult to control shots. I had to concentrate on keeping many balls in court and then taking my chances. It was a good win, because she is a tough player."

Medina Garrigues won her last title last July at Palermo, one of two in 2005.

Also into the semis Wednesday were (6) Catalina Castano (d. Schruff who retired with heat illness), (4) Shahar Peer (d. Nakamura 6-0 in the third), and unseeded Korean Yoon Jeong Cho (d. Czink from a set down).

"When it was the rain delay I talked to my coach and he told me to stop thinking about too many things and just go back out and play my tennis," Peer said of the three-hour break in the match. "This is a huge moment for me. I think it is a bit of breakthrough. There is always steps in tennis and now I am through the quarterfinal step."

Thursday's semifinal match-ups will be Medina Garrigues vs. Peer (first meeting) and Castano vs. Cho (first meeting).

Ancic Puts Out Brit Fire at ATP Auckland

No. 5 seed Mario Ancic put out the fire of hyped Brit-Scot Andy Murray Wednesday at the ATP stop in Auckland, defeating the teen 6-3, 7-6(4) to advance into the quarterfinals.

"I had a lot of chances," Murray said. "I gave myself chances to beat a player who's played well in Grand Slams and won the Davis Cup and I should have taken them. He's way more experienced than me but I've got to start winning these matches and I think that will happen soon."

Other seeded players into the quarters Wednesday were (1) Fernando Gonzalez (d. (Q) Minar), (2) Dave Ferrer (d. (Q) Sluiter), (6) Olivier Rochus (d. (Q) Hernych), and (7) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Goldstein), all in straights sets.

Unseeded Chilean Nicolas Massu (d. C.Rochus) joined his top-seeded countryman in the quarters, and was accompanied by fellow un-seeds Stan Wawrinka (d. A.Martin) of Switzerland, and Germany's Florian Mayer (d. Vik).

On tap for Thursday are Wawrinka vs. Mayer, (7) Nieminen vs. Massu, (1) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (5) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, and (6) O.Rochus vs. (2) Ferrer.

Hewitt Shrugs Off Illness for QF Berth at ATP Sydney

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt (d. Melzer) and No. 2 Nikolay Davydenko (d. Calleri) advanced into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins Wednesday at the ATP stop in Sydney, with the Aussie favorite seemingly shrugging off the effects of a virus that almost had him withdrawing from the tournament.

"I wouldn't say all gone just yet," said Hewitt of the virus. "But it was a big step in the right direction. I'm pretty pleased with the way I was able to go out there and focus on the job at hand and not worry about how I was feeling."

No. 8 seed James Blake received a free pass into the quarters when former No. 1 Carlos Moya withdrew before their match with a left hip injury.

Unseeded players into the quarters were Russians Igor Andreev (d. (WC) Luczak saving two match points) and Dmitry Tursunov (d. Serra), and qualifiers Andreas Seppi (d. (WC) Guccione) and Arnaud Clement (d. (LL) Monaco).

The match between Paradorn Srichaphan and qualifier Ivo Karlovic was postponed due to rain.

Matching up in the Thursday quarterfinals are Andreev vs. Tursunov in an all-Russian encounter, (1) Hewitt vs. (Q) Seppi, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan vs. (Q) "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, then (7) Srichaphan or (Q) Karlovic vs. (2) Davydenko, in doubles (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Damm/Paes, and (8) Blake vs. (Q) Clement.

Glaken · Jan 15, 2006

Posted on January 15, 2006

Blogging Blake Wins ATP Sydney Title

Apparently blogging has its merits for players on the ATP tour.

James Blake, who has been writing a blog of his exploits this week for the ATP website, collected the title Saturday in Sydney, with the No. 8 seed outlasting unseeded Russian Igor Andreev 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) in the brutal Australian summer heat.

It was the third title in the last seven events for the resurgent Blake, who in now apparently fully recovered from the header he took into a net pole at the French Open in 2004, breaking his neck.

"I'm just looking forward to playing with a lot of confidence, as I did today," said Blake in the last week before the start of the Australian Open. "Especially this was perfect, playing in the heat, get ready for three out of five. I don't know, would have been rough to play three out of five in this heat today, but both of us I'm sure would have found a way to get it done."

Croat Ivan Ljubicic blogged for the ATP website last week, subsequently winning the title in Chennai.
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Andreev failed to serve out the match against Blake leading 5-4 in the third.

"I'm really happy now to be in the final, especially my (lack of) preparation before the season, I couldn't maybe, you know, work lot of (training) because I had knee surgery," Andreev said. "Like first two weeks were just getting into the practice, you know, just to see little bit how it's going to respond, the knee. So here I think was perfect because like the work that I didn't do in the preparation, I done it here, you know, playing the long matches. So it's going to really help me a lot."

Blake is projected to move to No. 22 on the ATP Rankings, tying his career-high from 2003. It was the fourth career title for the American, with all coming on hardcourts.

In the doubles final, the new pairing of No. 4 seeds Santoro/Zimonjic rolled past unseeded Czechs Cermak/Friedl 6-1, 6-4.

"It's a great win, only the second tournament together," Santoro said. "Sydney was a pretty tough tournament as there were many tough teams playing."

Tight Ancic Hands Nieminen ATP Auckland Trophy

While he plowed through the field with the confidence of a player who roughly a month ago captured the first Davis Cup title for his country, Croatian Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic's championship-match yips returned Saturday in the final of the ATP stop in Auckland where he was easily dismissed 6-2, 6-2 in a mere 61 minutes by Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

"It's difficult to put my feelings and emotions into words," said Nieminen after becoming the first Finn to ever win an ATP title. "It really feels great to finally win a title. I've played well in many semifinals and finals but then haven't been able to finish it, but now I've finally won a title so it feels unbelievable...I made it very simple and it worked very well. I was solid and Mario made some unforced errors."

With the loss Ancic reinforces his reputation as a big-match choker, dropping to 1-4 in finals, with even a strong Croatian crowd contingent failing to steady his nerve.

"Jarkko was playing his game very solid today, he was the better player. This is sport, nothing really worked the way I wanted," Ancic said. "I'm really happy having played four matches extremely well with unbelievable tempo coming into the final. Today I was really flat but I have to take the positive away from the four good matches I played and focus for Melbourne."

In the end Ancic averaged approximately two unforced errors per game throughout the match.

"I was surprised how easy it was today," Nieminen said. "All of the time I expected Mario to come back. I noticed that if I moved him around, he was making some unforced errors. I had to concentrate and keep my game solid and simple and not to try anything special."

In the doubles final the Romanian/Dutch unseeded team of Andrei Pavel/Rogier Wassen used the ATP's new third-set match tiebreak system to shock the top-seeded team of Simon Aspelin/Todd Perry 6-3, 5-7, 10-4.

Glaken · Jan 26, 2006

Henin Wins, Nalbandian Chokes v Baghdatis at Australian Open

<SMALL>Posted on January 26, 2006</SMALL>

Henin, Mauresmo Advance to Aussie Open Final

Justine Henin-Hardenne did her part Thursday at the Australian Open, but an all-Belgian final was averted when Amelie Mauresmo advanced after Kim Clijsters sprained her right ankle and was forced to retire in their semifinal trailing 5-7, 6-2, 3-2.

"A very strange way, of course, to finish a match," said Mauresmo, whose only prior slam final appearance was at the 1999 Australian Open. "I just hope it's not too bad for her. I felt I was playing pretty well, and I felt that it was a very intense match, good quality, especially in the first set, I would say."

Clijsters injured her ankle after being broken in the third, with the sticky Rebound Ace surface claiming another victim, and after receiving treatment and some tape on the ankle retired after attempting to play further.

"I think it was going to be a close one," Clijsters said. "It's a shame it had to happen. I think Amelie played a really good second set. From the start, I felt that she was a little bit more aggressive on the second, third ball straight away...Yeah, very frustrating week."

In the other semifinal, Henin-Hardenne was a set down against Maria Sharapova before storming back for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win in approximately 2-1/2 hours.
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The diminutive Belgian mixed things up after dropping the first set, at times making the lanky Russian look unbalanced and gawky with a combination of slice and short angles.

"I was dominating the first set and then on my serve I lost a little bit of aggression," Henin-Hardenne said. "I was too far from my baseline, and she could take the first set. Then I tried to change that in the second set, so it made the big difference that I was just staying on my baseline, instead of being three meters behind my baseline. It was tough, very intense, even in the third set."

Sharapova was happy to raise her level after an ugly quarterfinal win over Russian countrywoman Nadia Petrova.

"For me to be able to go out there and to play the quality of tennis that I did today, I think it was great," Sharapova said. "And I know that probably tomorrow I'm gonna be seeing headlines, 'Maria can't get past the semis, Maria can't finish it off in the third.' But take all that away and just look at the tennis that we both played today. I think that shows a lot."

Henin-Hardenne will take a 4-3 career advantage against Mauresmo into the final, winning in three sets in their most recent encounter last year at Toronto.

The Friday doubles final will see top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur against the No. 12-seeded Chinese pair of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, with the American-Aussie combo going for their second consecutive slam win after the 2005 US Open.

Baghdatis Bags Australian Open Final

Unseeded 20-year-old Marcos Baghdatis capped a remarkable comeback from two sets down late Thursday at the Australian Open, defeating a throat-clutching Davis Nalbandian 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to gain the final against either Roger Federer or Nicolas Kiefer.

Nalbandian led a set and 5-1 before the Cypriot stormed back, only to lose 7-5 and find himself weary and up against a two-set deficit. In the third set Baghdatis, looking spent, nonetheless converted an early break and served out the set at 6-3, backed by his cheering contingent of blue-clad Greeks as the Argentine started to falter.

In the fourth set Nalbandian's tight play continued, and Baghdatis evened the match at two sets all. In the fifth the exhausted Cypriot went down an early break 2-4 but broke back twice, and was serving at 5-4 when rain caused a halt in play. When play resumed after 25 minutes, Baghdatis closed out the match on his second match point.

Baghdatis has never won an ATP title, and reached his only career final late last year at Basel.

Advancing into the doubles final Thursday were (1) the Bryan brothers (d. (4) Hanley/Ullyett), and (7) Damm/Paes (d. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski).

On tap for Friday is the second singles semifinal in (1) Federer vs. (21) Kiefer (Swiss leads career meetings 7-3, including the last six).

"I know I have to play much better, much better than the other days," said the racquet-tossing fine-magnet Kiefer. "I'm winning my matches here because I'm fighting unbelievable -- not by playing good tennis, but by fighting."

Glaken · Jan 28, 2006

Henin Quits Aussie Open Final to Hand Mauresmo Win

<SMALL>Posted on January 28, 2006</SMALL>

Mauresmo Breaks Slam Duck With Aussie Open Title

Amelie Mauresmo employed a brilliant strategy and an ultra-consistent baseline game in dismantling Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-1, 2-0, ret., in Saturday's Australian Open final, with the Belgian retiring mid-match after suffering a stomach ailment.

Mauresmo ended a long wait with her first Grand Slam title, executing a game plan of bouncing heavy topspin groundstrokes up around the diminutive Belgian's shoulders, with Henin-Hardenne pressing too much to dictate play.

"It's too bad, I'm sorry I can't go on," Henin-Hardenne said, looking at her coach in the crowd and walking toward the chair umpire after wincing while driving her last backhand into the net at 0-2 down.

Henin-Hardenne was left on the sidelines crying into a towel after the retirement, with Mauresmo weeping tears of joy.

The title was in the end bittersweet in terms of the record books, with Mauresmo also receiving an injury default in the semifinals against an opponent who has held a career edge over her in Kim Clijsters, who tore tendons in her ankle.

The Frenchwoman was again expected to star as Willy Wonka in her long-running Slam production of Charlie and the Choke-a-Lot Factory, but instead displayed a calm demeanor and steely determination in failing to produce unforced errors against the Belgian.
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For Mauresmo it was seven years between slam finals, making her last appearance in a slam championship match at the Australian Open in 1999.

"I've been waiting so long for this and really worked hard for this," Mauresmo said. "It's a really great achievement, so I think I deserve this."

Henin-Hardenne will likely now be dogged in 2006 for her decision to hang it up in a Slam final without suffering a major injury.

"It's been a few days I wasn't feeling well," Henin-Hardenne said. "My stomach was very upset. And then last night, I didn't sleep a lot because it got worst and worst. Two weeks now I had to take anti-inflammatories for my shoulder, and that killed me a little bit. Pretty sensitive. But I had to for my shoulder. Now I got on my stomach, and then I had no legs today. I couldn't move. When the stomach is so upset and so inflamed, you know, you just don't have any energy. And I felt it when I woke up, but I tried. I knew at the beginning of the match I couldn't win it. I just really tried to stay in the match, but there was no chance for me. If I would have keep playing and continue, maybe I would injure something else, so that was the best decision, even if it was very, very hard for me."

The Frenchwoman refused to comment on Henin-Hardenne failing to fight through to the end of the match.

"I don't know what happened exactly, but I was ready to die on the court today," Mauresmo said. "I probably would have reacted differently if the match went to the end but the joy is still there. No-one can take that away from me. I've also had some bad moments myself. It hasn't been easy."

Bryans Win Aussie Open in 3rd Straight Final

The third time was the charm Saturday at the Australian Open where the Bryan brothers won their first Aussie Open title in their third straight Melbourne final, defeating the Czech/Indian pair of Martin Damm and Leander Paes 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 for their third career Slam win.

They become the first Americans to win the Melbourne title since Jared Palmer and Richey Reneberg in 1995, and the first team to win the US Open and Aussie Open back-to-back since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in 1996-97.

"We were down break points pretty much every game in the third," said Bob Bryan. "It was just pure relief and happiness and excitement at the end."

Paes and Damm squandered two break point chances in the fourth game of the third set, allowing the American twins to turn around and break in the next game.

"I had every type of emotion, pissed off, jacked up, you know, just let it all hang out," said Mike Bryan. "By the end there, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it feels good to get this notch because over the last two years we have came up a little short. There's nothing more special than winning a slam with your brother. So this is going to feel good for a long time."

The Bryan brothers are now 3-5 in career Slam final appearances.

Glaken · Jan 31, 2006

Roddick Flakes in Delray, Sharapova Leads Russians in Tokyo

<SMALL>Posted on January 30, 2006</SMALL>

Agassi But No Roddick at ATP Delray Beach

One star amidst a weak field features this week at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships where top seed Andre Agassi will test the gimpy ankle that forced him to miss the Australian Open.

Local Florida resident Andy Roddick teased tournament officials and fans on Friday when it was announced by tournament staff that the world No. 3 would play the weekend qualifying after desiring a spot in the main draw, but finding all the wildcards had been handed out, reversed his decision on Friday night.

Joining Agassi, who has never captured the Delray Beach crown, among the seeds are Americans Robby Ginepri and Vince Spadea, defending champ Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, former No. 2-ranked Tommy Haas, South African net-charger and former Wimbledon doubles champ Weslie Moodie, German Florian Mayer and Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.

James Blake withdrew from the event to reportedly prepare for the U.S.'s upcoming Davis Cup match against Romania.

Wildcards for the event went to Agassi, Armenian Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian, and American Mardy Fish who continues his difficult return from multiple wrist surgeries.
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Few opening-round matches of interest await Monday and Tuesday play due to the shallow field, but later-round match-ups with crowd potential include (4) Haas vs. (7) Muller in the quarters, and (2) Ginepri vs. (WC) Fish in the second round, with the winner to face (8) Spadea. Ginepri opens against Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee, Fish against Germany's Simon Greul, and Spadea against Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang.

Agassi's road to the final is even smoother, with an opener against Brazil's 2004 Delray winner Ricardo Mello "Yello," then the winner of Bobby Reynolds "Wrap" and Ramon Delgado, with a potential quarterfinal against (5) Moodie and a semi against (3) Malisse.

In last year's final the No. 3-seeded Malisse upset No. 2 seed Jiri Novak in straight sets. Novak has yet to play an event in 2006, missing the Australian swing with a foot injury.

On court Monday are (1) Agassi vs. Mello, (WC) Fish vs. Greul, Gimelstob vs. Udomchoke, (Q) Widom vs. (5) Moodie, (8) Spadea vs. Wang, Phau vs. Garcia-Lopez, Berrer vs. (6) Mayer in an all-German, and Marach vs. Saulnier.

Top Seed Ljubicic v Murray in Opener at ATP Zagreb

Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic will test his Top 10 mettle against the fastest-rising player on the ATP tour when the Croatian faces Scotland's Andy Murray in his opener at the Zagreb Open this week.

Ousted by upstart Marcos Baghdatis last week at the Australian Open en route to the Cypriot reaching the final, Ljubicic will be out to regain his momentum against Murray in their first-time meeting.

Seeded players joining Ljubicic in Croatia are Spaniards David Ferrer and Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, French hope Richard Gasquet, Czech Radek Stepanek, homecountry favorite Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Finn Jarkko Nieminen and Russian Igor Andreev.

Wildcards for the event went to Murray, Gasquet and Croatian Marin Cilic.

Other opening-round matches of interest are (8) F-Lo vs. comeback Swede Robin Soderling, struggling Brit Tim Henman vs. fellow veteran Arnaud Clement, (6) Baby Goran vs. Russian Dmitry Tursunov, homecountry favorite "Dr." Ivo Karlovic vs. former Top 10er Rainer Schuettler, and (2) Ferrer vs. rising Swiss Stan Wawrinka.

The inaugural Croatian event will be held at the Dom Sportova Arena, which has hosted Croatian Davis Cup matches in the past and can accommodate up to 7,400 spectators on the center court.

On court Monday in Zagreb are Djokovic vs. Vik, (7) Andreev vs. (WC) Cilic, Clement vs. Henman, and Starace vs. (6) Nieminen.

Chileans Gonzo, Massu Head Dirt Field at ATP Vina del Mar

Seeds Carlos Berlocq and Boris Pashanski? Yikes.

Former French Open champ Gaston Gaudio heads the field this week in Chile at the Movistar Open in Vina del Mar where homegrown dirtballers Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu round out the seasoned competitors before the field quality drops off the ledge into challenger territory.

Also among the seeds joining the household names Berlocq and Pashanski, who have never been seeded at or are accustomed to gaining direct entry into tour events, are tour "C"-squader Argentines Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri, and Spaniard Al Montanes.

In last year's final Gaudio raised the trophy after dismissing Gonzalez in straight sets.

Past champions in the field are Gaudio (2005) and Gonzalez (2004,'02).

Three-time French Open champion and 2000 Vina del Mar champ Gustavo Kuerten was ready to make his 2006 debut at the event before twisting his ankle late last week and withdrawing.

"It was a pity this happened right now," Kuerten said. "I was ready to compete."

Scheduled for Monday are Vicente vs. (4) Calleri, (1) Gaudio vs. (WC) Parada, (5) Massu vs. Daniel, Monaco vs. (6) Montanes, Del Potro vs. Portas, (WC) Aguilar vs. (WC) Hormazabal in an all-Chilean, (Q) Cuadrado vs. Behrend, and (Q) Marcaccio vs. Horna.

Sharapova Leads Russian Charge at WTA Tokyo

Officially titled the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Maria Sharapova will be renaming this week's WTA stop in Tokyo the Russian Open as she leads fellow seeds Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva toward a title effort.

Non-Russians among the seeds in Tokyo are France's Nathalie Dechy, Czech Nicole Vaidisova, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, and Serb bombshell Ana Ivanovic.

Lindsay Davenport was forced to withdraw from the event after turning her ankle at the Australian Open, and Serena Williams backed out of the event saying she was "not ready."

Opening-round matches of interest include (6) Hantuchova vs. Serb Jelena Jankovic, four-time Tokyo winner (WC) Martina Hingis vs. homegrown talent Akiko Morigami, (8) Ivanovic vs. Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, and (7) Likhovtseva vs. homegirl Shinobu Asagoe.

In last year's final Sharapova beat the top-seeded Davenport 7-6 in the third.

Play begins on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Glaken · Feb 1, 2006

More ATP Doping Cases Emerge; Sampras Says Federer A Bit Like Me

<SMALL>Posted on January 31, 2006</SMALL>

Agassi Wins, Fish Flounders at ATP Delray Beach

Andre Agassi made his 2006 debut Monday night at the ATP stop in Delray Beach, Florida, punching the clock on the bad ankle that forced him to miss the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over former Delray Beach champion Ricardo Mello of Brazil.

"I anticipated the return would be difficult but I felt good," said Agassi who recorded 10 aces. "(My) ankle felt alright and stable. It felt good. It was pain-free."

Other seeded winners struggled on the tournaments opening day in No. 6 Florian Mayer (d. Berrer from a set down) and No. 8 Vince Spadea (d. Wang from a set down).

Unseeded players winning into the second round were Americans Justin Gimelstob (d. Udomchoke) and qualifier Todd Widom (d. (5) Moodie from a set down), Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (d. Phau), Austrian Oliver Marach (d. Saulnier who retired with injury), and German Simon Greul (d. (WC) Fish) who recorded his career-first ATP win in five matches.

"It wasn't the wrist, it was the rust," Fish said after his loss.
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On tap for Tuesday in Delray Beach are (3) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. (WC) Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian, H.-T. Lee vs. (2) Ginepri, Kunitsyn vs. (4) Haas, Bobby Reynolds "Wrap" vs. Delgado, (Q) Salzenstein vs. Sabau, (Q) Kendrick vs. K.Kim in an all-American, (7) Muller vs. (Q) Rehnquist, and Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience vs. Pavel.

Henman Wins Opener, Cilic Thrills at ATP Zagreb

An unseeded Brit and a wildcard Croatian advancing into the second round headlined the action on day one at the ATP stop in Zagreb, Croatia on Monday.

Britain's Tim Henman won an all-unseeded battle of veterans, defeating France's Arnaud Clement in straight sets, while homecountry wildcard Marin Cilic, who last year competed almost exclusively on the futures circuit, rode the crowd support to a three-set shocker over No. 7 seed Igor Andreev.

"Before the match, I only thought about trying not to go down immediately," said Cilic, last year's French Open junior champ. "I managed to do that and then just waited for my chance. I do not think Andreev underestimated me and I know this victory will travel the world."

Other winners Monday were No. 6 seed Jarkko Nieminen (d. Starace from a set down), and Serb 18-year-old Novak Djokovic (d. Vik).

On tap for Tuesday in Zagreb are (4) Stepanek vs. (Q) Cakl in an all-Czech, Wawrinka vs. (2) Ferrer, Seppi vs. (Q) Okun, (Q) Koubek vs. Minar, (5) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. Tursunov, Sanguinetti vs. (3) Gasquet, Bracciali vs. (Q) Bozoljac, and Hernych vs. Carlsen.

Gaudio Starts Hot at ATP Vina del Mar

Top-seeded Gaston Gaudio, who had the second-best claycourt record in 2005 behind French Open winner Rafael Nadal, picked up where he left off in his first round at the ATP dirt stop in Vina del Mar with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Chilean wildcard Felipe Parada.

Other seeded winners on the day were (5) Nicolas Massu (d. Daniel) and (6) Al Montanes (d. Monaco), both in straight sets.

Qualifiers were 2-0 on the day with winners Carlos Cuadrado of Spain (d. Behrend, bagel in the second) and Argentine Gustavo Marcaccio (d. Horna in three), joined in the second round by unseeded winners Juan Martin Del Potro (d. Portas), Spanish lucky loser Daniel Gimeno-Traver (d. (4) Calleri from a set down), and Chilean wildcard Jorge Aguilar (d. (WC) Hormazabal).

Scheduled for Tuesday on the dirt are Di Mauro vs. Garcia, Almagro vs. Ramirez Hidalgo in an all-Spanish, Armando vs. Marin, Capdeville vs. Ventura, Acasuso vs. Navarro Pastor, Berlocq vs. Friedl, Pashanski vs. Saretta, and Mazarakis vs. Gonzalez.

Sharapova Headlines WTA Tokyo Beginning Tuesday

Officially titled the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Maria Sharapova will be renaming this week's WTA stop in Tokyo the Russian Open as she leads fellow seeds Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva toward a title effort.

Non-Russians among the seeds in Tokyo are France's Nathalie Dechy, Czech Nicole Vaidisova, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, and Serb bombshell Ana Ivanovic.

Lindsay Davenport was forced to withdraw from the event after turning her ankle at the Australian Open, and Serena Williams backed out of the event saying she was "not ready."

Opening-round matches of interest include (6) Hantuchova vs. Serb Jelena Jankovic, four-time Tokyo winner (WC) Martina Hingis vs. homegrown talent Akiko Morigami, (8) Ivanovic vs. Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, and (7) Likhovtseva vs. homegirl Shinobu Asagoe.

In last year's final Sharapova beat the top-seeded Davenport 7-6 in the third.

Scheduled on the first day of play Tuesday in Tokyo are Vaidisova vs. Fujiwara, Jankovic vs. Hantuchova, Sugiyama vs. Ivanovic, Obata vs. Peschke, Craybas vs. Srebotnik, Kirilenko vs. Santangelo, and Bartoli vs. Golovin in an all-French match-up.

Glaken · Feb 2, 2006

Hingis on a Bagel Roll; Beck Awaits Doping Verdict

<SMALL>Posted on February 02, 2006</SMALL>

Agassi Outlasts Dirtballer at ATP Delray Beach

Paraguay's Ramon Delgado was in the driver's seat after one set against Andre Agassi Wednesday, but it was the American veteran who in the end blew out the claycourt specialist 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 to gain the quarterfinals at the ATP stop in Delray Beach.

Agassi faced two match points serving at 4-5 in the second set, fending off both by uncharacteristically attacking the net.

"I figured it's been 20 years -- I might as well try it," said Agassi on his net play. "I might as well come to the net besides for shaking hands. To a certain degree you have to ignore the score and make the guy execute. Obviously, you're aware that you're one point away from being out but you try to say, 'Well, I've got to take my shot. I can't just wait for something to happen here.' But I'm well aware I could have lost with one bad decision there."
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Agassi was 3-0 entering the match with Delgado, with all four of their career encounters now occurring on hardcourts.

Other winners into the quarters were defending champion (3) Xavier Malisse (d. Gimelstob), (6) Florian Mayer (d. Marach), and Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez (d. (Q) Widom).

Scheduled for Thursday in Delray are Greul vs. H.-T. Lee, (7) Muller vs. (Q) Salzenstein, (8) Spadea vs. (Q) Kendrick in an all-American, and Pavel vs. (4)Haas.

Ljubicic Edges Murray, Henman Wins at ATP Zagreb

Tim Henman, unseeded at events in 2006 after coming off a year of injury and slumping play, stunned No. 3 seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday to continue his domination over the young Frenchman at the ATP stop in Zagreb.

"I played really solid," Henman said. "I served very, very well in the first set and gave him few chances and, obviously, breaking him in the first game was a good start and gave me a confidence booster. It's a good win. He's a Top 20 player and I've beaten him twice this year. Hopefully I can keep building on this."

Fellow unseeded Brit/Scot Andy Murray was not so lucky, coming up short of the biggest upset of the week after winning the first set over No. 1 seed Ivan Ljubicic, falling to the Croat 6-3 in the third.

"I'm confident," Ljubicic said. "I think after a match like this one -- you win without playing well -- you kind of relax a little bit, and I hope it's going to be better tomorrow."

Other winners on the day were No. 8 seed Feliciano Lopez (d. Soderling 6-1 in the third), Austrian Stefan Koubek (d. Wawrinka), Russian Mikhail Youzhny (d. Zib 6-1 in the third), and homecountry favorite Ivo Karlovic (d. Schuettler).

Scheduled for Thursday in Zagreb are (4) Stepanek vs. Djokovic, (Q) Bozoljac vs. (8) Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, (5) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (1) Ljubicic vs. Carlsen, (WC) Cilic vs. Seppi, and Youzhny vs. (6) Nieminen.

Gaudio Ground Down on Clay at ATP Vina del Mar

Top-seeded Gaston Gaudio's claycourt season began with a whimper Wednesday when the Argentine was ousted 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of play at the ATP claycourt stop in Vina del Mar by unheralded Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

"Gaudio is a great player on clay and it was a hard match," said Ramirez-Hidalgo, looking forward to his next opponent. "I know (Al) Montanes well, we have played a lot, and I am sure he will be difficult, as are all rivals here."

Other winners Wednesday into the quarterfinals were homecountry favorite (5) Nicolas Massu (d. Marin), (6) Al Montanes (d. Ventura from a set down), and qualifier Carlos Cuadrado (d. (LL) Gimeno-Traver) reaching his career-first ATP quarterfinal.

On tap for Thursday on the red dirt are (3) Acasuso vs. (Q) Marcaccio in an all-Argentine, (WC) Aguilar vs. (Q) Friedl, the 17-year-old Del Potro vs. (2) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, and (8) Pashanski vs. Di Mauro.

Hingis Bakes Two Bagels in Win at WTA Tokyo

Unseeded wildcard Martina Hingis sent a message in her fourth event back after a three-year hiatus, Wednesday opening her foray at the WTA stop in Tokyo with a 6-0, 6-0 double-bageling of Korea's Yoon-Jeong Cho.

"It shows the potential is there and I'm improving every week," Hingis said. "I probably exceeded my expectations in Australia and that confidence showed."

Hingis is now 25-3 at the event, winning four times and reaching the final from 1997-2002.

No. 7 Elena Dementieva was the only seed in action, brushing by Japan's Shinobu Asagoe in straight sets.

Other unseeded players advancing Wednesday were Aussie San Stosur (d. (WC) Nakamura), American qualifier Lisa Raymond (d. countrywoman (Q) Tu), and Czech Klara "Kouky" Koukalova (d. Zheng).

On tap for Thursday in Tokyo are Kirilenko vs. Ivanovic, Dechy vs. Hingis, Sharapova vs. Raymond, Koukalova vs. Myskina, Likhovtseva vs. Bartoli, and Stosur vs. Hantuchova.

Glaken · Feb 3, 2006

Hingis v Sharapova Saturday; Clijsters, American Viewers Under Attack

<SMALL>Posted on February 03, 2006</SMALL>

Mouth-watering Hingis v Sharapova at WTA Tokyo

Since her comeback, Martina Hingis has been wondering aloud what is so special about Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova who climbed to the No. 1 ranking during the Swiss' three-year sabbatical from the tour.

On Saturday she will get a first-hand look in the semifinals of the WTA stop in Tokyo after the top-seeded Sharapova mowed past Aussie Sam Stosur 6-1, 6-4 in her quarterfinal match Friday, and Hingis stomped Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-1.

"Her biggest strength is she serves well and is mentally tough," Hingis said. "I've always said I wanted to play her and now I'll get my chance."

Sharapova said the key will be pounding the weak Hingis second serve.

"Obviously, I've never played her before so I'm really excited," said the 18-year-old Sharapova. "I'll try to attack her serve because I think that's one of her weaknesses. She reads the game so well so I'll try not to give her the time she needs."
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Also into the semis were comeback Russians (2) Elena Dementieva (d. (5) Vaidisova from a set down), and (4) Anastasia Myskina (d. (7) Likhovtseva from a set down).

Semifinal match-ups will be (1) Sharapova vs. Hingis (first meeting) and (2) Dementieva vs. (4) Myskina (Myskina leads career meetings 9-5).

Haas, Spadea Into Quarters at ATP Delray Beach

No. 4 seed Tommy Haas led the seeded quarterfinal charge Thursday at the ATP stop in Delray Beach, defeating Romanian Andrei Pavel from a set down 6-7(1), 6-1, 7-5 to gain his second quarterfinal of the young year.

Down 3-5 in the third set, Haas won four straight games to close out the match, double-faulting six times in the contest but converting six of seven break points.

"I've always had tough battles with Pavel," Haas said. "I got a break the second set and I thought he got a little frustrated. In the third set I felt like I picked my game up a notch at 4-5."

Other seeded winners Thursday were (7) Gilles Muller (d. (Q) Salzenstein) and (8) Vince Spadea (d. (Q) Kendrick), making a bad day for American qualifiers but a good one for the crowd-favorite Spadea.

"I had seven break points and felt I was playing well and I should have been up a break, but I found myself at 4-4," Spadea said. "After the rain delay I stepped up my shots and kept him off the baseline."

Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee beat Simon Greul from a set down in the only all-unseeded contest on the day.

Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are (8) Spadea vs. H.-T. Lee, (7) Muller vs. (4) Haas, (1) Agassi vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, and (3) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. (6) Mayer.

Ljubicic Survives as 4 Seeds Fall at ATP Zagreb

Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic turned away a challenge from left-hander Kenneth Carlsen, defeating the Dane 7-6(5), 6-4 to become the lone seed of five in action Thursday to advance into the quarterfinals at the ATP stop in Zagreb.

Unseeded players orchestrating upsets on the day were Serb Novak Djokovic (d. (4) Stepanek), Croatian homecountry favorite "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. countryman (5) Ancic in two tiebreaks), Russian Mikhail Youzhny (d. (6) Nieminen 7-6 in the third), and Serb qualifier Ilia Bozoljac (d. (8) F.Lopez).

The unseeded Serbs Djokovic and Bozoljac will meet each other on Friday, marking the first time that two Serbs have reached the quarterfinals in the same event.

"It's a great win for me," said the 18-year-old Djokovic after ousting Stepanek. "I'm pretty satisfied with my game. Actually, I'm very, very surprised and positive with how I played today. I was really focused from the first point to the last, so I think if I continue playing like this, I have really big chances to win also in the next round."

The 20-year-old Bozoljac, ranked No. 215, recorded only his third career ATP win in beating Lopez and looks forward to facing his countryman.

"Novak is a very good player. I think it will a very nice match," Bozoljac said. "I know which game I have to play against him and I think I have a pretty good chance to beat him. I lost one time to him, so I think this is the time for revenge."

In the only all-unseeded match-up Thursday, Italian Andreas Seppi moved into the quarters after coming back from a set down against Croat wildcard Marin Cilic.

Scheduled for the Friday quarterfinals are Djokovic vs. (Q) Bozoljac in the all-Serb match-up, Seppi vs. Henman, (1) Ljubicic vs. Youzhny, and "Dr." Ivo Karlovic vs. (Q) Koubek.

Gonzo, Surprise Friedl Into ATP Vina del Mar Quarters

No. 2 seed Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez was too strong for 17-year-old rising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro Thursday at the ATP stop in Vina del Mar, winning in front of the homecountry fans 6-3, 7-6(4) to move into the quarterfinals.

Gonzo won the title in 2002 and 2004, and was the runner-up in 2005. The 17-year-old del Potro was making his ATP debut, and rose 900 spots in the rankings in 2005 to be the youngest player in the Top 200.

Other winners into the quarters Thursday were (3) Jose Acasuso (d. Marcaccio), (8) Boris Pashanski (d. di Mauro, bagel in the third), and doubles specialist Leos Friedl (d. Aguilar) reaching his career-first ATP quarterfinal.

On tap for the Friday quarters are (3) Acasuso vs. (Q) Friedl, (5) Massu vs. (Q) Cuadrado, (8) Pashanski vs. (2) Gonzalez, and in an all-Spanish Ramirez Hidalgo vs. (6) Montanes.

Glaken · Feb 7, 2006

Hewitt, Federer Boycott Davis Cup, Miffed at Federations

<SMALL>Posted on February 07, 2006</SMALL>

Davis Cup RD 1 Begins Friday

This weekend features the first round of Davis Cup play for 2006, and each day this week Tennis-X will preview two of the eight first-round ties (Croatia at Austria, Sweden at Argentina, Spain at Belarus, Australia at Switzerland, France at Germany, Russia at Netherlands, Romania at USA, Slovak Republic at Chile) leading to the beginning of the first day of singles play on Friday:

Spain at Belarus
Site: Football Manege, Minsk, Belarus
Surface: Carpet (Taraflex) indoors
Ball: Wilson US Open Regular Duty

Spain is in a world of hurt with Rafael Nadal and former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero out with injuries, Carlos Moya taking a pass on representing his country, and Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez stuck with some combination of "B"-squaders Dave Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco on the icy indoor carpet.

While the Spaniards would prefer a slow red clay, the home court Belarussians have chosen a slick indoor surface worn slicker by years of play.

"Even though we have some players missing the team is still very competitive," said Sanchez, who opines the Belarus team has taken full advantage of their choice of surface. "The surface they have chosen doesn't allow you to play tennis. If it's new it's fine but if it's old...it is like ice. But it is natural for opponents to choose a surface that will make it as hard as possible for you."

Last year the Belarus tandem of Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov lost in the first round to Romania, but then beat Canada in the World Group qualifying to retain their spot in the elite group for 2006.
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The head-to-heads slightly favor the Spaniards as Mirnyi is 1-1 career vs. Ferrer, 1-2 vs. Robredo, 2-0 vs. Lopez, and 0-1 vs. Verdasco. Voltchkov has never faced Ferrer, is 1-0 vs. Robredo, has never faced Lopez, and is 0-2 vs. Verdasco.

Voltchkov is a bit of a Davis Cup anomaly in the World Group as his ranking allows him to play only Challenger-level events, unless he can qualify or manage a wildcard at the Tour level.

"Belarus have never lost at home and have beaten teams at a similar level to us like Germany and Argentina," Sanchez said. "It will be the players' desire to win that is fundamental to us making it through the tie."

Australia at Switzerland
Site: SEG Geneva Arena, Geneva, Switzerland
Surface: Red clay indoors
Ball: Pro Penn ATP

What a great tie this would be, if either of the top players involved wanted to play.

Lleyton Hewitt, usually an Aussie Davis Cup stalwart, is feigning injury this week after a row with Tennis Australia, who wouldn't speed up the tacky-slow Rebound Ace surface to suit him at the Australian Open. Likewise Swiss No. 1 Roger Federer has taken a pass, saying he's looking to rest up for the ATP Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami, and the lone slam title that has eluded him at Roland Garros. In reality, like Hewitt, Federer is also feuding and sending a message to his country's tennis federation.

"I'll face a lot of challenges this season and I need to manage my energy wisely if I want to meet them," said Federer, who has run hot and cold on the importance of Davis Cup. "I'll take advantage of this break to get ready for the next Masters tournaments and the French Open."

Hewitt says his ankle won't allow him to play, yet he will mysteriously, almost miraculously be ready a couple days later to play his opening match at the ATP stop in San Jose.

What we're left with are two countries stripped, neither of which can come up with even a solid No. 2 singles player.

Australia would usually front Mark Philippoussis in the No. 2 spot, but these days the big Aussie can't buy a tour singles win and to find his ranking you would need a diving bell. Now the Aussies will have to choose between the one-foot-in-retirement Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs and rookies Chris Guccione, Peter Luczak. Guccione and Luczak will likely handle the singles duties, with Arthurs-Paul Hanley in doubles.

"You love it when people say that you've got no chance," Luczak said. "All you want to do is go out to win and compete as hard as you can. It's almost nice knowing that just about everyone feels we don't have a chance."

Along with the home court advantage, the Swiss have a more seasoned "B"-squad with Stan Wawrinka who has been making noise lately at the tour level. The No. 2 Swiss spot will be real iffy between washed-up veteran George "I Beat Pete at Wimbledon" Bastl and Michael "The Whammer" Lammer.

Comprised of some singles and doubles line-ups you wouldn't see outside the Challenger circuit, this weekend tie won't be pretty, but Switzerland gets the slight nod and a glimmer of hope that Federer will return for their quarterfinal match where they would either host the Spaniards or travel to Belarus.

Defending Champ Safina Opens with Win at WTA Paris

No. 7 seed and defending champ Dinara Safina of Russia opened play Monday at the WTA stop in Paris, navigating a countrywoman vs. countrywoman match-up against Anna Chakvetadze that in the end was more difficult for Safina that the 6-2, 6-1 scoreline indicated.

"It was difficult, as it always is when I play against another Russian," Safina said. "And I also didn't feel too well before entering the court today. Once I was out there, I missed several easy shots. Eventually I did my best, and it worked today."

In the only other main draw matches on the day, both French wildcards advanced when Stephanie Foretz ousted No. 8 seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld in a see-saw 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 encounter, and Emilie Loit rolled over Italian Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-1.

The final round of qualifying was also completed, with four more into the main draw in Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL), Tathiana Garbin (ITA), Ivana Lisjak (CRO), and Sofia Arvidsson.

Scheduled for Tuesday in Paris are Razzano vs. Peschke, Safarova vs. Pironkova, Medina Garrigues vs. Garbin, Smashnova vs. Bremond, Golovin vs. Domachowska, Mirza vs. Pennetta, and Lisjak vs. Dushevina.

No. 2 Asagoe Ousted Monday at WTA Pattaya

Three of the four seeded players in action advanced Monday in (4) Shahar Peer (d. S.-J. Kim), (5) Nuria Llagostera Vives (d. Fujiwara), and (7) Aiko Nakamura (d. Kanepi from a set down), successfully advanced into the second round at the WTA stop in Pattaya, Thailand.

Unseeded players advancing Monday were Spaniards Lourdes Dominguez Lino (d. A.Bondarenko) and Maria Sanchez Lorenzo (d. Tanasugarn from a set down), Finland's Emma Laine (d. Z.Yan in three), and Italian Maria Elena Camerin who posted the upset of the day (d. (2) Asagoe).

"It was unbelievable," said Sanchez Lorenzo of her comeback after the homecountry favorite Tanasugarn did the throat-clutcher. "I was one set down, 1-3 and 0-40, so in my head I was out of the match. But after that game I don't know how I did it. I started to be a little bit more focused and started to play better. After winning the second set I felt much, much better. I was hitting the ball better and made less mistakes, and I saw she had less confidence than in the beginning."

On court Tuesday in Pattaya are Viratprasert vs. Bammer, Zvonareva vs. Suarez, Nagyova vs. Bychkova, Czink vs. Zheng, Rodionova vs. Castano, Sun vs. Kudryavtseva, Kostanic vs. K.Bondarenko, Wozniak vs. N.Li, and Santangelo vs. King.

Glaken · Feb 8, 2006

Roddick Fires Coach in Favor of Brother

<SMALL>Posted on February 08, 2006</SMALL>

Davis Cup RD 1 Begins Friday

This weekend features the first round of Davis Cup play for 2006, and each day this week Tennis-X will preview two of the eight first-round ties (Croatia at Austria, Sweden at Argentina, Spain at Belarus, Australia at Switzerland, France at Germany, Russia at Netherlands, Romania at USA, Slovak Republic at Chile) leading to the beginning of the first day of singles play on Friday:

France at Germany
Site: Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Germany
Surface: Hard (Rebound Ace) indoors
Ball: Wilson US Open Extra Duty

The premier first-round match-up this weekend features the two storied Davis Cup countries with completely different looks -- old Germany versus semi-old France.

The visiting Frenchmen could have had an entirely next-generation look if captain Guy Forget had elected the explosive Gael "Force" Monfils to support the artistic Richard Gasquet in singles, but Gasquet will instead likely be supported by old guard Sebastien Grosjean, with Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra taking on the doubles duties.

The home court Germans will lead with Tommy Haas, arguably playing some of the best tennis since he rose to No. 2 on the ATP Rankings in 2002 -- last month stretching Roger Federer to five sets at the Aussie Open and last week winning the title in Delray Beach. Germany's Nicolas Kiefer is also in a resurgent mode, but has been troubled by back problems in 2006.

The match-up between Grosjean and Kiefer has explosive possibilities following their recent five-set brush-up at the Australian Open, where in the fifth set Kiefer won a key point by throwing his racquet in front of Grosjean as the Frenchman was about to put away a "sitter." The distracted Grosjean missed the ball and Kiefer claiming the point without penalty.
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German captain Patrik Kuhnen will have a tough time picking the doubles team as Haas, Kiefer, and 2006 team members Rainer Schuettler and Alexander Waske all played doubles at some time during 2005.

The two teams have met only once in the Open Era, in 1996 when the French rolled over the Germans en route to winning the Cup.

Last year the French defeated Sweden before going out to the Russians in the quarterfinals, while the Germans are just happy to be back in the World Group after last year edging the Czech Republic 3-2 in the World Group Qualifying to climb out of lowly zonal play in the Europe/Africa Group I.

Forget also left his top doubles hope Fabrice Santoro off the squad when Santoro chose to play an exhibition rather than meet with the team for early preparation.

"I feel sad for Fabrice because I feel he regrets that he missed out on something," Forget said. "But on the other hand he is not a kid anymore -- he could have thought about it. There is no need to come and cry now."

Russia at Netherlands
Site: Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Surface: Carpet (Greenset) indoors
Ball: Dunlop Max TP KNLTB

Wasn't Richard Krajicek available to come out of retirement for this tie?

Even without former No. 1 Marat Safin who is still out with a bum knee, the visiting Russians will be the favorites in Amsterdam behind Top 10er Nikolay Davydenko and Davis Cup stalwart Mikhail Youzhny, with Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov providing back-up. Andreev could possibly sneak into the singles line-up on the weight of his fifth-rubber win last year over France.

Davydenko is 5-1 in Davis Cup singles over the last two years, while Youzhny has struggled with a 1-3 record, losing both his appearances in 2005. Last year the Russians reached the semifinals before being edged by the eventual-champion Croatians 3-2. Andreev is 3-2 in singles over the last two years.

Last year the Dutch beat the Roger Federer-less Swiss team in the first round before getting slammed 4-1 by the Slovaks.

Without former heroes such as Krajicek or Paul Haarhuis, and Sjeng Schalken out with injury, the Dutch will struggle ahead with Raemon Sluiter and Peter Wessels in singles, and probably John Van Lottum and Wessels in doubles.

Mirza Upends Seeded Pennetta at WTA Paris

France's Tatiana Golovin and Virginie Razzano kept the home flag flying Tuesday, while Indian princess Sania Mirza provided the upset of the day at the WTA stop in Paris.

The unseeded Mirza upended No. 6 seed Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, while Golovin baking a bagel 6-0, 7-5 against Poland's Marta Domachowska, and Razzano steamrolling Czech Kveta Peschke 6-1, 6-1 in opening-round play.

"She stared playing well in the second set and I had to work harder to stay focused and concentrated," Golovin said. "I am very happy with this win. I feel like I hit the ball well, but I wasn't very consistent in the second set. I've worked hard and I've done a lot of preparation for the event. It's so nice to play in front of a home crowd. The support really helps."

Other non-seeds into the second round Tuesday were Russian Vera Dushevina (d. (Q) Lisjak, bagel in the second), Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova (d. Safarova, bagel in the third), Israel's Anna Smashnova (d. Bremond), and Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues (d. (Q) Garbin in three).

On tap for Wednesday are Dementieva vs. Arvidsson, Foretz vs. Loit in an all-French, Bartoli vs. Dechy in an all-French, Razzano vs. Safina, and Medina Garrigues vs. Pierce.

Russians Get Hysterical in Meltdowns at WTA Pattaya

Top-seeded Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva had plenty to bawl about Tuesday at the WTA stop in Pattaya when the weeping Russian was steamrolled in her opener by Argentine singles wildcard and doubles specialist Paola Suarez 6-1, 6-3.

"I'm happy with the way I played," Suarez said. "I thought the best part of my game was my serve in the first set after I got used to the balls. They are so fast and flying a lot. But I had to be focused and just play my game."

Suarez had to not only hold her concentration through Zvonareva's on-court waterworks and racquet smashing (for which she received a penalty), but also the at-time hysterical screaming of another Russian, Anastassia Rodionova, who was having a meltdown on an adjacent court.

"It was a little bit difficult to play like this, with so much screaming and shouting," Suarez said.

Seeded winners on the day were No. 3 Catalina Castano (d. (LL) Rodionova from a set down) and No. 8 Mara Santangelo (d. (Q) King), while No. 6 Jie Zheng was shanghaied 6-0, 6-2 by Melinda "The Fifth Element" Czink.

"I think she's a good player, but the way that she stalled on almost every single point was too much," Castano said of the screaming Russian Rodionova. "It was difficult for the umpire too, because it's not easy for them to control a player like that. When you play a player like that you have to be focused all the time and not get involved. When I did talk to the umpire it was because it was too much, discussing the same point for too long."

Other winners into the second round Tuesday were Austrian Sybille "The Whammer" Bammer (d. (WC) Viratprasert), Croat Jelena Kostanic (d. (Q) K.Bondarenko), Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak (d. N.Li), Russian Ekaterina Bychkova (d. (WC) Nagyova), and China's Tiantian Sun (d. (Q) Kudryavtseva), all in straight sets.

Scheduled for Wednesday in Pattaya are Peer vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, Sun vs. Castano, Llagostera Vives vs. Wozniak, and Dominguez Lino vs. Nakamura.

Glaken · Feb 9, 2006

Roddick Website Pulls Firing; Special Olympics Apologizes to Hewitt

<SMALL>Posted on February 09, 2006</SMALL>

Davis Cup Begins One-Day Countdown to Friday

This weekend features the first round of Davis Cup play for 2006, and each day this week Tennis-X will preview two of the eight first-round ties (Croatia at Austria, Sweden at Argentina, Spain at Belarus, Australia at Switzerland, France at Germany, Russia at Netherlands, Romania at USA, Slovak Republic at Chile) leading to the beginning of the first day of singles play on Friday:

Romania at USA
Site: La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, CA, USA
Surface: Hard (Laykold Colorcoat Concentrate) outdoors
Ball: Wilson US Open Extra Duty

Vegas oddsmakers are putting Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers as a 92 percent favorite to beat Romania this weekend and advance to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup.

But what are they giving the Americans to raise the World Group title for the first time since a Pete Sampras-led team captured the Cup in 1995?

"We look pretty good. We've had a good couple days of practice," said U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe. "The guys are always really motivated to play, play well in Davis Cup. They always seem to play well. We expect a tough match."

Romania fronts Andrei Pavel and Victor Hanescu in singles, with low-level players Razvan Sabau and Horia-Vlad Tecau possibly playing a part in the doubles.

"Romania has a couple very tough players, good guys that are veterans," McEnroe said. "Pavel especially has played a lot of Davis Cup. Hanescu has had a very good last year especially. He's a tough player. We expect a tough match. We're certainly looking to be primed and ready to go."
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Pavel is ranked No. 82 after suffering injuries in 2005, and Hanescu comes into the tie at No. 40.

Anything can happen in Davis Cup, as Croatia showed last year by defeating the U.S. "Dream Team" of Roddick and Andre Agassi in singles, and the Bryan brothers in doubles. But Friday if either Roddick or Blake falter, captain Pac Mac can still sleep contentedly knowing that the Australian Open-winning Bryan brothers are on deck for Saturday as overwhelming favorites.

"When we went on to see Croatia won the whole thing, we realized how far we were, but how close we were in some ways," McEnroe said. "We were there the year before in the final (in Spain). That still stings. It certainly stings for me. I know it stings for the guys. It's motivation for us."

Roddick says ending the 11-year American drought is one of his top priorities in tennis.

"That's something that's a huge, huge goal for me personally and for us as a team," Roddick said. "It would be so tough not having accomplished that goal..."

Romanian captain Florin Segarceanu for one likes the fact that anything can happen in Davis Cup.

"You know, in Davis Cup you always get some surprises, like the one you had last year with Croatia," he said Tuesday. "You know, thinking that we are also a Balkanic country, maybe we can follow those guys."

Slovak Republic at Chile
Site: Medialuna de Rancagua, Rancagua, Chile
Surface: Red clay outdoors
Ball: Dunlop Fort All Court

The Chileans have the defending runner-up Slovaks on their home red dirt in front of the home fans, so you know what that means -- time to run some smack.

"Without [Dominik] Hrbaty, they have no team," said Chile's Fernando Gonzalez of the Slovak one-man band. "Hrbaty must win his three matches. He is the only useful member of their team."

Ouch.

Last year Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Karol Beck, the half-retired (now fully-retired) Karol Kucera, and the Challenger-level Michal Mertinak somehow clawed and scratched their way to the final by virtue of the Davis Cup's home-and-away system that let the Slovak's play all four of their matches in the Republic on their slick-as-ice indoor surface.

Beck played a large part in the singles effort in 2005, but now the Slovak sits on the sidelines awaiting the ITF's verdict after he tested positive for doping.

The No. 2 singles duties this weekend will go to Mertinak, who had a 2-1 Davis Cup singles record in 2005 without a live-rubber win, will attempt to fill the No. 2 singles spot on the red dirt. The Dominator, like Mertinak, prefers the faster surfaces, leaving the weekend in Rancagua in danger of being a 5-0 rout.

"Hrbaty is the only one who earns his team any points," said Nicolas Massu, inserting his pre-match smack. "On the first day, it will be very difficult for Mertinak to beat Gonzalez with only two days of getting used to the clay surface. So my match (against Hrbaty) will be very important."

The lone bright spot for the Slovaks is Massu, admittedly tired after coming off a runner-up effort at the ATP stop in Vina del Mar last week.

"Physically, I am a bit tired, but I have three days to prepare myself for the court," said Massu on Tuesday. "We are optimistic and we can't wait for Friday."

Pierce, Safina Into Quarters at WTA Paris

All three seeds in action at the WTA stop in Paris advanced in straight sets Wednesday in (2) Mary Pierce (d. Medina Garrigues), (5) Elena Dementieva (d. (Q) Arvidsson), and defending champ (7) Dinara Safina (d. Razzano).

"Not my best tennis, but it's a win," Pierce said. "There were moments where I can say I played well, I hit the ball hard and moved around well but I have a lot to work on for tomorrow. It was good to get out there, get a feel for the court and get the first match under my belt."

Unseeded winners on the day were Frenchwomen Nathalie Dechy (d. countrywoman Bartoli, bagel in the first) and wildcard Emilie Loit (d. (WC) Foretz, bagel in the first).

Battling for the final quarterfinal berths on Thursday in Paris are Pironkova vs. Schnyder, Petrova vs. Smashnova, Dementieva vs. Dechy, Mauresmo vs. Dushevina, and Golovin vs. Mirza.

Nakamura Knocked Out at WTA Pattaya

Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino orchestrated the lone upset Tuesday at the WTA stop in Pattaya, mauling No. 7 seed Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-2, 6-0 to gain the quarterfinals.

The other three winners were all seeded in (3) Catalina Castano (d. Sun), (4) Shahar Peer (d. Sanchez Lorenzo), and (5) Nuria Llagostera Vives (d. (Q) Wozniak).

Scheduled for Thursday are Santangelo vs. Laine, Suarez vs. Bammer, Kostanic vs. Camerin, and Bychkova vs. Czink.

Glaken · Feb 11, 2006

Roddick Sick in Loss; Germany, Spain Trail 0-2 in Davis Cup

<SMALL>Posted on February 11, 2006</SMALL>

Spain, Germany Among Davis Cup Teams in Trouble

After Day 1 of the first round of the 2006 Davis Cup World Group, former powerhouses Spain, Germany, and Sweden are one loss away from contending the World Group Qualifying round later this year. Here are the results from Friday, with doubles play up today:

Argentina leads Sweden 2-0
David Nalbandian recovered from dropping the first set against Swede Robin Soderling to give Argentina the lead with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory Friday on the red dirt, and D-Cup rookie Jose Acasuso made a successful debut with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 drubbing of Thomas Johansson to put the Argentines within a win of clinching the tie.

"I couldn't convert my games and I was completely stunned by Acasuso's game today," Johansson said. "There was nothing I could do. I believed that in the third set I could take the lead after breaking his serve however he never budged at that point and continued to play outstandingly well."

Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri are scheduled for the Saturday doubles, and will try to put a claycourt cap on it against Swedes Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman.
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Croatia leads Austria 2-0
The confidence Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic gained last year when he held his nerve to win the fifth and final rubber in the Davis Cup final showed through on Friday in Austria when the Croat, down 0-2 sets in front of a hostile crowd, turned the tables on Jurgen Melzer to put his squad up 1-0 with a five-set 6-7(2), 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win. Top 10er Ivan Ljubicic followed with an easy 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Stefan Koubek to put the Croats in the driver's seat.

It was the first win as Croatian team captain for Ljubicic, who took over after Niki Pilic resigned and Goran Ivanisevic, who lobbied hard for the post, suddenly refused to take it.

"Austrians may not know, but this is the ideal claycourt for me," Ljubicic said. "Slow, indoor court, the ball bounces high above the waist, like in Hamburg, and I played semis in Hamburg. If you serve well, claycourt is no problem. For me, everything was perfect."

The Ancic/Ljubicic pairing will attempt to wrap up the tie Saturday in the doubles against Austrian doubles specialists Julian Knowle and Alexander "I'll Make You" Peya.

Belarus leads Spain 2-0
The Spanish "B"-squad, sans top players Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero or Carlos Moya, were taken out back to the woodshed Friday on the slick indoor courts in Belarus where Max "The Beast" Mirnyi defeated Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, and Challenger-level player Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov steamrolled Top 10er Dave Ferrer 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Belarus has never lost a home tie in World Group play. The Beast/Vladiator tandem will attempt to seal the deal Saturday in the doubles against Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez and Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco.

Australia tied with Switzerland 1-1
Aussie Peter Luczak makes good on his claycourt-skills smack coming into the tie, rebounding from a slow start to eventually overwhelm Swiss No. 2 Michael Lammer 1-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 in Friday's opener. In the second singles, driven by an amped Swiss crowd, Stan Wawrinka evened the tie with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Aussie "B"-squader Chris "Penthouse" Guiccione.

The Saturday doubles will determine who takes the momentum into Sunday play, with Swiss doubles specialist Yves Allegro and George Bastl facing Aussies Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs and Paul Hanley.

Russia leads Netherlands 2-0
Dmitry Tursunov, making his first appearance in a live singles rubber for Russia, delivered from a set down in the opener Friday with a 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win over Raemon Sluiter, with Top 10er Nikolay Davydenko putting the Russians within one point of advancing with a 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-4 win over Melle Van Gemerden. Dutchman Peter Wessels withdrew from the singles for the Dutch with a chest-muscle injury on Thursday.

"He [Van Gemerden] started so fast, with so much power," Davydenko said of his tight conflict. "It was like Federer with his forehand, it was unbelievable, it was manic. I have never seen someone play like that before."

The Russians will look to clinch Saturday with Davydenko and Igor Andreev facing Sluiter and Dutch doubles specialist John Van Lottum.

France leads Germany 2-0
Sebastien Grosjean took it personally when he lost in five sets to Nicolas Kiefer at the Australian Open after the German's racquet-tossing escapades, and revenge was sweet on Friday when the Frenchman straight-setted Kiefer in the opening match 7-5, 7-6(7), 6-0 on the German's home court.

"Unfortunately, I didn't take my chances in the first two sets," Kiefer said. "In the first set I was maybe a little too passive and in the second I played more aggressively and took more risks."

And in the third set Kiefer was bageled.

In the second match Richard Gasquet stunned Tommy Haas and the whole of the German crowd by coming back after a rough first set to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3.

"Such was the indignation midway through the Haas-Gasquet match that the tie's referee Mike Morrissey called on Germany's captain Patrik Kuhnen to take the umpire's microphone and ask the angry spectators to keep their cool if Germany was not to be penalized under the Davis Cup 'partisan crowd' rule," wrote Davis Cup staff. "By saying 'I've been asked by the referee to warn you to keep quiet during rallies,' K?indirectly signalled his anger to the 10,000 spectators, and not surprisingly Morrissey and the umpire Adel Aref were jeered as they left the arena after Gasquet's three-hour 36-minute win."

Germany's long road back to avoiding the World Group Qualifying round for the second straight year begins Saturday with Haas and Alexander Waske scheduled against Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra before the reverse singles on Sunday.

Romania tied with USA 1-1
An intensely-dramatic opener saw Andy Roddick start puking after losing a tense third-set tiebreak that would have sewn up the match, and then Andrei Pavel hung around long enough where the ill Roddick gave up the match in five sets. In the late-goings Roddick seemed to get a second wind, coming back from 1-5 in the fifth set, but Pavel managed to close it out 6-4.

Roddick said he would definitely be available to play Sunday in the reverse singles, and wasn't sure what made him ill Friday, with nerves the likely cause.

"That was the worst I've felt after a match," Roddick said. "I've cramped before, but I still felt like I had energy. This time, I felt drained."

Pavel had his own problems in finishing off the American.

"I was really nervous," said Pavel, who displayed a painful inability to close out the match after saving a match point with a brilliant topspin lob. "If I didn't hold serve (at 5-4 in the fifth), I don't know what would have happened."

Pavel's 6-7(2), 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-4 win gave teammate Victor Hanescu a cushion in the second match, but the towering Romanian failed to make a dent against James Blake, losing 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-2 to level the tie at 1-1.

"We all pick each other up," said Roddick, who was hooked up to an I.V. drip after the match. "I've picked up James before and today he picked me up. That's why it's called a team...It's the worst I've felt after a match. I just went and laid down. Moving my leg or trying to get up off the floor felt like a mission. I've cramped before. But even while I'm cramping, I've still felt like I had energy. Today, I just felt drained."

Scheduled for the Saturday doubles are the American Bryan brothers vs. Hanescu/Pavel.

Chile leads Slovak Republic 2-0
Fernando Gonzalez defended the home turf in a tighter-than-expected match with a 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Michael Mertinak in the opener Friday on the dirt in Chile, then Nicolas Massu came back against Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) to put the Chileans in a commanding 2-0 position.

On Saturday the Chile will look to make it a quick-and-painless 3-0 win with Gonzalez/Massu scheduled to face The Dominator/Mertinak.

Three French Into Semis at WTA Paris

Three Frenchwomen thrilled the home crowd at the WTA stop in Paris Friday, with winners (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. defending champ (7) Safina), (2) Mary Pierce (d. countrywoman (WC) Loit in two tiebreaks), and unseeded Tatiana Golovin (d. (3) Petrova from a set down) moving into the semifinals.

"It was a tough match but I was well physically," said Mauresmo, who last faced Safina when she lost to the Russian in last year's Paris final. "I think that she was a bit tired by the end of the first set. I read her game easily and it helped me to a comfortable win."

Golovin saved a match point against Petrova in her comeback win.

Pierce edged her countrywoman Loit in three sets, still struggling to find her game but winning nonetheless.

"Like in the last match, I played well enough to win," Pierce said. "My level of game is not as good right now as it was last year. I'm not sure what the situation is, I guess you just go through moments like that. There were points during the match where I served well and moved well around the court, but I still have to fix things and keep working hard."

The only non-French into the semis was No. 4-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder, who ended the hot streak of No. 5-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-3.

On Saturday Pierce will face Schnyder, while Mauresmo faces Golovin.

"I know Patty well, she's a great player, very talented," Pierce said. "I hope to play even better tennis tomorrow and come away with the win. But it won't be an easy match."

Peer, Llagostera Only Seeds in WTA Pattaya Semis

Seeds (4) Shahar Peer (d. Dominguez Lino) and (5) Nuria Llagostera Vives (d. (3) Castano from a set down) were the only two seeds into the semifinals Friday at the WTA stop in Pattaya.

Un-seeds into the semis in all-unseeded match-ups were Austrian Sybille Bammer (d. Czink) and Croatian Jelena Kostanic (d. Laine in three after baking a bagel in the first).

"I'm not the player who can hit a winner in the first two strikes, so I need good fitness to have long rallies and wait for the short ball, and then attack," said Bammer upon reaching her first tour semifinal.

Match-ups in the Saturday semifinals are Bammer vs. (4) Peer, and (5) Llagostera vs. Kostanic.

Glaken · Feb 12, 2006

Mauresmo, Pierce in All-French Final; Spain, Germany Blanked

<SMALL>Posted on February 12, 2006</SMALL>

Davis Cup Powers Spain, Sweden, Germany, Slovaks Blanked 3-0

After Day 2 of the first round of the 2006 Davis Cup World Group, former powerhouses Spain, Germany, Sweden and the defending runner-up Slovaks, along with the struggling Austrians and Dutchmen have been blanked 3-0 and face relegation play in September to stay in the World Group.

Into the quarterfinals are Argentina which will play at Croatia in April, Belarus which will face the Australia/Switzerland winner, Russia which will travel to France, and Chile which will face the USA/Romania winner, with Andy Roddick looking to clinch for the Americans in the first match on Sunday.

Here are the nation-by-nation results after the Saturday doubles play for the first round of the 2006 Davis Cup:
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Argentina d. Sweden 3-0
David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri completed the home claycourt sweep over unhappy Swedes Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman 6-2, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 Sunday to advance to an April quarterfinal meeting at Croatia.

"This result doesn't come as a surprise," said Swedish captain Mats Wilander. "It could have gone any way. The next match [for Argentina] against Croatia will be very difficult because it will be played on a quick surface in Croatia."

Croatia d. Austria 3-0
The Austrian red clay did not confront the defending-champ Croatians this weekend, with Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic outlasting Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6 for a clean sweep into the April quarterfinals.

For the defeated Melzer it was the second two-set-to-love lead wasted in two days.

"It's tough to swallow," Melzer said. "It was the most disappointing Davis Cup weekend in my career. Twice, twice I was up two sets to love...Got to hold the head high, what does not kill you, can only make you stronger."

Austrian captain Thomas Muster didn't mince words in his assessment of the winless two days.

"Mistakes? If I had to do it all over again, I would choose the same team," Muster said. "But I'm disappointed with the performance of Stefan Koubek."

The Croatians next return home to host Argentina in April.

Belarus d. Spain 3-0
The 2004 champion Spaniards are ousted in the first round for the second consecutive year as Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov again show they are unbeatable at home, straight-setting Spaniards Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez and Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco 7-6(2), 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the tie in the Saturday doubles.

The Spaniards hope to have Rafael Nadal and Juan Carlos Ferrero back in contention when they try to stay alive in the World Group Qualifying round in September.

"It's incredibly important to remember that Mirnyi and Voltchkov played on their home surface," explained Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez in his not-so-sparkling debut. "Another thing they had as an advantage was invaluable experience of taking part in Davis Cup. For example both Verdasco and Lopez are young players who played their first rubber together today."

Meanwhile Belarus awaits the winner of Switzerland and Australia in the quarterfinals.

Australia lead Switzerland 2-1
Doubles specialists Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley put the Aussie squad up 2-1 in their tie against the home-court Swiss Saturday, avoiding a fifth and deciding set with a narrow 7-6(6), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) win over Yves Allegro and Stan Wawrinka on the red clay.

The deflated Swiss led 5-2 in the fourth-set breaker before folding to the formidable Aussies, with Allegro breaking down emotionally courtside after the match.

Both teams' top players are missing this tie amidst squabbling with their respective national tennis federations -- world No. 1 Roger Federer saying he needs a rest, and Lleyton Hewitt saying his foot is still injured, though the Aussie is scheduled to play the ATP stop in San Jose in a few days.

Wawrinka was a last-minute replacement in the doubles for George Bastl on the Swiss side. Now the Swiss must win two on Sunday to advance, with Wawrinka scheduled to face Aussie Peter Luczak, and Swiss Michael "The Whammer" Lammer against Chris "Penthouse" Guccione of Australia.

Russia d. Netherlands 3-0
Russia completed the Dutch sweep Saturday in Amsterdam, with Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev wearing down Dutchmen John van Lottum and Raemon Sluiter 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to move into the quarterfinals.

The Russian tandem were fresh after being left out of the singles on Friday.

"I played without pain today, which is nice for a change," said Youzhny, coming off injuries from late 2005. "And the level today was good, but I can't read too much into that. This is doubles and doubles is easy because you have only half a court to cover. I want to get back to the Top 20, but everyone tells me to take time to recover my usual level. Otherwise I may hurt my back again."

The Dutch were without former Top 20 player Sjeng Schalken who is getting ready to return to tour play after injury and illness, and former Roland Garros runner-up Martin Verkerk who has been out a year after shoulder surgery.

The Russians will travel to France for the quarterfinals the weekend of April 7.

France d. Germany 3-0
The French completed a shockingly-easy three-match sweep on German soil Saturday, with Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra beating Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske from a set down 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to advance to a home quarterfinal meeting with Russia.

At one-set all, the Germans led 4-3 before losing six straight games in a row, deflating their chances for a comeback and ending the contest by losing nine of the last 10 games.

Germany has not defeated France in Davis Cup play since 1938.

USA leads Romania 2-1
After Friday's fireworks with Andy Roddick getting sick and losing his singles due to nerves, and James Blake doing the heavy lifting to even the tie, Saturday's doubles in the USA vs. Romania tie left U.S. fans feeling flat, even though their team takes a 2-1 lead into Sunday play.

"This was about nerves and the occasion, which is why Davis Cup is so great," said commentator John McEnroe on the Roddick loss and the U.S. entering Saturday in a 1-1 deadlock.

On Saturday the Bryan brothers put the U.S. within one win of the quarterfinals when Romanian opponents Victor Hanescu and last-minute replacement for Andrei Pavel, Horia Tecau, retired after one set. After the loss of the first set 6-2, Hanescu alerted the chair umpire that he was finished, suffering pain from a left rib injury.

"I had a very sharp pain," said Hanescu, who had a planned trip to the hospital for an MRI scan. "At the beginning I thought it was something easier but it was very painful."

The Bryan brothers are now 7-1 in Davis Cup play, with their only loss last year to the championship-winning Croatian team of Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic.

"It was an unfortunate way for the match to end, but we'll take the win," U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said. "We look forward to seeing Andy back on the court tomorrow and we hope to close it out."

With Hanescu's injury, Romanian Davis Cup captain Florin Segarceanu will likely have to decide on a replacement to open against Roddick on Sunday, possibly going with No. 100+ ranked Razvan Sabau.

"We have to see how [Hanescu] feels tomorrow morning when he wakes up, but at this point it doesn't seem to be too many chances he will play," Segarceanu said. "At this moment, I'm hoping, I'm praying, he gets better tomorrow."

Chile d. Slovak Republic 3-0
Olympic gold medal doubles winners Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu completed the claycourt sweep Saturday in the doubles versus the 2005 runner-up Slovaks, defeating Lukas Lacko and Michal Mertinak 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals and a likely away match against the U.S.

The Slovak's lack of depth was apparent Saturday when No. 1 player Dominik Hrbaty was replaced in the doubles by Lacko, ranked No. 356 in singles and No. 1649 in doubles on the ATP Rankings. Hrbaty complained of pain in his hand in the Friday loss to Massu.

Mauresmo, Pierce in 1st All-French Final at WTA Paris

After 14 years of waiting, the WTA Open Gaz de Paris will host its first all-French final Sunday after Slam champions Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce advanced to the final in semifinal play on Saturday.

Mauresmo navigated a difficult all-French match-up in her semifinal, coming from a set down to beat countrywoman Tatiana Golovin 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2. The Aussie Open champ led 5-0 in the first set until the wheels came off, losing six of the next seven games, then the tiebreak.

In the second set Golovin held a match point serving at 5-4 but could not convert. Mauresmo broke for 4-2 in the third and ran out the set to victory.

"I think I struggled a little today," said the 26-year-old Mauresmo, who faced the 18-year-old Golovin for the first time. "The first two sets were close and could have gone either way. In the third set I was just trying to put the ball in and win. I tried to serve and volley a little more and change the rhythm and I think I got her with that. I'm going to have to recover quickly tonight. My body is hurting and tired right now. Unfortunately I've never been good at recovering quickly but my physio will work hard to get me ready for tomorrow."

Pierce's semifinal was a more straightforward affair, with the resurgent 31-year-old No. 2 seed rolling No. 4 Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-2 in 74 minutes.

"I'm very happy to be in the final, I love playing here," said Pierce, rebounding from an early loss at the Aussie Open. "I was slow to get into the match today but once I got my rhythm I felt good. I knew I had to up my level of play to beat her because she's such a good player. Patty hits the balls with a lot of spin and it's good for me because I love to return those. I hit a few key shots and she wasn't able to get them back."

Mauresmo leads her career meetings with Pierce 5-4.

"Mary and I have played great matches," Mauresmo said. "If all goes well, tomorrow should be a good battle. Mary is going to come out swinging, she wants to avenge her Tour Championships loss, but I'll do my best to win."

The doubles final will feature top seeds Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs against No. 3 seeds Emilie Loit and Kveta Peschke.

Peer in 1st Career Final at WTA Pattaya

No. 4-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer advanced to her career-first WTA final Saturday, defeating Austrian Sybille Bammer 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals at the WTA stop in Pattaya.

"I broke in the first game but didn't really find my game after that and she was playing a little bit better," said Peer, who came from a break down in the first. "But then I picked up my game and I'm happy for that."

In the final Peer will face unseeded Croat Jelena Kostanic, who ousted No. 5 seed Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 6-3.

It is the second career WTA final for Kostanic, losing in the championship match at Helsinki in 2003.

"I had to be consistent against her because she runs very good and is a very good player," said Kostanic on Llagostera Vives. "I said to myself that actually my first set was a lot tougher than the ones before, so I was trying to be more persistent in the second set and not go down as I did in my previous matches. So I was aware of it and tried not to do the same mistake again."

It will be a first-time meeting in the final between Peer and Kostanic.

The all-Chinese doubles final in Pattaya will pit Aussie Open champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie against 2004 Athens Olympic gold medal champions Li Ting and Sun TianTian. Li and Sun lead 8-6 in their career encounters.

Glaken · Feb 16, 2006

McEnroe Beats No 2 Seeds; Clijsters Wins Champagne Comeback

<SMALL>Posted on February 16, 2006</SMALL>

Hewitt Leads Aussies, McEnroe Wins at ATP San Jose

Three Aussies worked their way into the second round of play Wednesday at the ATP stop in San Jose in No. 3 seed Lleyton Hewitt (d. Goldstein), wildcard Mark Philippoussis (d. (4) Robredo from a set down), and serving machine Wayne Arthurs (d. Reynolds from a set down) who put on a show with 27 aces.

For Hewitt it was his first tour appearance since the Australian Open.

"I'm not quite 100 percent, so it's nice to get through," said Hewitt, who skipped last weekend's Davis Cup opening round citing a twisted ankle. "I felt like I moved a lot better in the past. It's a little bit of confidence with pushing off the ankle."
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Philippoussis evened his win-loss mark to 2-2 on the year after defeating Robredo.

"It definitely makes me feel very good, it's pretty much been the hard work I've been putting in and it's paying off," Philippoussis said. "Everything's starting to come now and I know that, so I just need to be patient and keep working at it. If I keep working the way I am then the results will come."

Other first-round winners Wednesday were No. 7 seed Dmitry Tursunov (d. Bjorkman from a set down), Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. Schuettler), and Dane Kenneth Carlsen (d. Dlouhy from a set down).

Unseeded Vince Spadea became the first player to gain a quarterfinal berth Wednesday after steamrolling American lucky loser Travis Rettenmaier 2-and-0.

In first-round doubles highlights, John McEnroe made a victorious return to play on the ATP tour, teaming with Swede Jonas Bjorkman to oust No. 2 seeds Arthurs and Wimbledon champ Stephen Huss 6-3, 6-3.

"The old dog wanted to teach the young guys new tricks," McEnroe told the crowd before a birthday cake was brought out and the fans sang "Happy Birthday" to the man who turned 47 Thursday.

"One day (down), hopefully three to go," said the former doubles No. 1 on his intent to take home the San Jose title.

For McEnroe it was his first appearance on a doubles court at a regular ATP event since 1994.

Lining up on Thursday in San Jose are Phau vs. (Q) B.Wilson, (Q) Gimelstob vs. Vliegen, (WC) Philippoussis vs. Soderling, (7) Tursunov vs. Arthurs, (Q) Querry vs. (3) Hewitt, (1) Roddick vs. Carlsen, and Murray vs. Y.-T. Wang.

Ljubicic Wins, Baghdatis Bagged by Baby Goran at ATP Marseille

No. 2 seed Ivan Ljubicic dropped 19 total aces to successfully navigate a tricky opener Wednesday at the ATP stop in Marseille, defeating unseeded former Top 10er Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 to advance into the second round.

"I started to serve less well in the second set and gave him too many second serves," Ljubicic said. "He picked his game up as well. It's tough to come here straight after Davis Cup. But it's an important time for me, and I know I have a good chance to win matches on this surface."

No. 6 Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic defended his seeding with a difficult 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-4 win over Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, while No. 8 Sebastien Grosjean likewise put the younger French generation in its place with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Gael "Force" Monfils.

Seeds shuttled out of the event early Wednesday were No. 4 Thomas Johansson, ousted by the hot-handed 33-year-old Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, and No. 5 Richard Gasquet, blitzed 6-0 in the third by wildcarded French countryman Arnaud Clement.

"It's a great feeling to get my 400th win, especially here in Marseille with my parents, sister and friends all watching," said Santoro, who couldn't recall who his first ATP win was over. "I don't know. I think maybe he's died by now, it was such a long time ago."

Gasquet said the effort against Clement was too much after coming off the Davis Cup weekend where he played one singles match.

"I did my best but just ran out of juice in the end," said the French teen. "I had nothing more to give. I'm extremely tired after the Davis Cup, both mentally and physically. It was tough to play against a friend, especially after being all together as part of a team over the weekend in the Davis Cup."

Other unseeded Frenchmen into the second round were Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. countryman (Q) Haehnel from a set down) and qualifier Jean-Christophe Faurel (d. F.Lopez).

Spain's Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco and Austria's Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer met in a battle of Davis cup first-round losers, with the Spaniard advancing in straight sets.

On Thursday's "B"-star-packed, French-heavy schedule in Marseille are Mathieu vs. (7) Stepanek, Andreev vs. (2) Ljubicic, Santoro vs. Rusedski, Verdasco vs. (WC) Clement, (6) Ancic vs. (Q) Faurel, (1) Nadal vs. (WC) Simon, (8) Grosjean vs. Youzhny, (LL) Korolev vs. (3) Davydenko in an all-Russian, and in doubles (3) Bhupathi/Santoro vs. Austrians Knowle/Melzer, and (1) Knowles/Nestor vs. Dent/Rusedski.

Moya Comeback, Coria Dropout Wednesday at ATP Buenos Aires

In a heavyweight claycourt meeting of two players who won their first career titles in Buenos Aires, former No. 1 Carlos Moya edged Nicolas Massu 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) Wednesday at the Copa Telmex to move into the quarterfinals.

"It's incredible," Moya said after the win. "[He] could have won just as easily. But things went my way and I had the luck of the tiebreak going in my favor."

Spanish lucky loser Raul Ramirez Hidalgo recorded the biggest win of his career with a surprisingly easy 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 2 seed and former Roland Garros runner-up Guillermo Coria.

"He really let loose and while it was a mistake not to take advantage of some of his serving errors, he really played a fine match," Coria said. "God willing, I'll be back next year and I'll be able to play better tennis."

Other players into the quarters Wednesday were No. 6 seed Filippo Volandri (d. Behrend 7-6 in the third) and Serb Boris Pashanski (d. A.Martin from a set down).

Also in first-round action, Costa Rican Juan Antonio Marin rolled past Romanian Razvan Sabau 1-and-1.

Vying for quarterfinal berths Thursday in B.A. will be (8) Chela vs. Starace, Saretta vs. (3) Ferrero, (4) Acasuso vs. (Q) Vassallo Arguello in an all-ARG, and Marin vs. Calleri.

Clijsters in Comeback Win Wednesday at WTA Antwerp

World No. 1 Kim Clijsters struggled Wednesday in her first match back from an ankle injury sustained in January at the Australian Open, coming from a set down to defeat France's Tatiana Golovin 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 to claim a spot in the quarterfinals at the WTA stop in Antwerp.

"The crowd was probably the difference in the end I think," Clijsters told Reuters. "The crowd certainly are a big help and support during the tiebreak and in close games and this was a very close game. My footwork was lacking and I was not in right position and missing forehands. I was waiting too long and using too much arm. I didn't make her play hard enough."

Clijsters retired in her semifinal match at the Australian Open after twisting her ankle and tearing ligaments.

After the match, tournament organizers and fans shared in an on-court presentation with video highlights celebrating Clijsters' return to the No. 1 ranking. The Belgian also treated the approximately 12,000 fans at the Sport Palace to a bottle of champagne each to celebrate the occasion.

Other players into the quarters Wednesday were No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova (d. Ivanovic), Russian Dinara Safina (d. Srebotnik), and Greece's Elena Daniilidou (d. Koukalova).

"I really wanted to win here tonight," Safina said. "In the quarterfinals I should be playing against Kim, and that means something to me. I've never been able to win against her and it might happen this time. However, I've seen her at a training session and I pretty much believe she's fit."

Winners in first-round unseeded play were Kveta Peschke (d. Sprem) and Olga Savchuk (d. Cohen-Aloro in three).

On tap for Thursday are Domachowska vs. Dementieva, Hantuchova vs. Savchuk, and Benesova vs. Mauresmo.

Event Sania-tized of Stars Wednesday at WTA Bangalore

If Bangalore tournament officials thought attendance this week at the WTA stop was a problem, they received a shock of low attendance to come on Wednesday when top seed Sania Mirza, cruising along after a 6-1 first set, suddenly tightened up and made a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 exit in the second round to unheralded Frenchwoman Camille Pin.

"She wasn't hitting the ball powerfully and I had to generate everything," Mirza complained after the match. "It was hard playing someone like that."

After a too-aggressive start, Pin popped the Indian No. 1's confidence bubble by playing a few feet back and letting the slap-happy Mirza self-destruct with unforced errors.

"Initially, I was trying to stand close to the baseline, and was making mistakes," Pin said. "Then I decided to step back and become more defensive. It worked, and I found my distance with the ball."

In first-round action No. 6 seed Jelena Kostanic edged Austrian qualifier Daniela Kix in three sets, while the tournament also lost its No. 2 seed when Shahar Peer was straight-setted by Italy's Maria Elena Camerin.

Other winners into the quarterfinals after second-round play Wednesday were the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko (d. Rodionova), American Vania King (d. Pratt 0-and-1), and Hungary's Melinda Czink (d. Koryttseva), all in straight sets.

Battling for the remaining quarterfinal spots on Thursday are Kudryavtseva vs. Camerin, Santangelo vs. Obziler, Kostanic vs. Kanepi, and Lakhani vs. Fedak.

Glaken · Feb 20, 2006

Murray, McEnroe Surprise at San Jose; Williams Pull Again

<SMALL>Posted on February 20, 2006</SMALL>

Nadal Withdrawal Highlights ATP Rotterdam Problems

Rafael Nadal pulled from Rotterdam Sunday, citing a leg strain, one in a long line of withdrawals from the ATP event.

"The upper part of my leg started to play up at the beginning of the third set," Nadal said of his loss over the weekend at Marseille. "I'd not played for four months because of an ankle injury, so the doctors advised me not to take any chances. I would love to have played here in Rotterdam, all the more so because I've not played for a long time. But I have to be completely fit first -- if I play, I want to give it all I have."

Nadal's withdrawal puts him on the sidelines with Roger Federer, Ivan Ljubicic, Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, Martin Verkerk, Dominik Hrbaty, Gael Monfils and Feliciano Lopez as players that have withdrawn from the event.
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Nikolay Davydenko and Dave Ferrer are Top 10 seeds, joined by fellow seeds Thomas Johansson of Sweden, Croatian Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Czechs Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych, and France's Sebastien Grosjean.

Davydenko (vs. Jan Hernych) has a tough opener, with other first rounders of nominal interest including (8) Berdych vs. Taylor Dent, (5) Baby Goran vs. Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu in an all-French, (4) Johansson vs. the back-addled Tim Henman, and (7) Grosjean vs. Russian Igor Andreev.

Other un-seeds to watch are Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis and Brit Greg Rusedski.

Ljubicic possibly pulled from the event with the sour memory of last year, narrowly edged by Roger Federer 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5) in the final.

Scheduled for Monday are Moodie vs. (Q) Simon, Vik vs. "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Hernych vs. (2) Davydenko, (WC) "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter vs. (Q) Meffert, and Dent vs. (8) Berdych.

Roddick v Fish in Opener at ATP Memphis

Andy Roddick will try and make a distant memory of his surprising loss to 18-year-old Andy Murray, the Brit-Scot that was ranked outside the Top 50 last week at San Jose, when he takes to the court as the top seed this week at the ATP stop in Memphis with the ridiculously-long sponsor name "The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup" (just call it TRMKCTCSC for short).

Roddick will open with a battle of former junior roomates when he faces wildcarded buddy Mardy Fish, who has struggled mightily in his effort to come back after two wrist surgeries.

Roddick is joined among the seeds by Germans Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas, Americans Robby Ginepri and James Blake, Spaniard Tommy Robredo, Belarus' Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, and Belgian Xavier "X-Man" Malisse.

Other opening-round matches to watch for are Russian Dmitry Tursunov trying to extend (4) Ginepri's poor start to the year, (5) Blake vs. underrated Belgian Kristof Vliegen, (WC) Scoville Jenkins vs. Paul Goldstein in an all-American, (7) The Beast vs. resurgent Swede Robin Soderling, Andy Murray vs. Rainer Schuettler, and (2) Kiefer vs. Jonas Bjorkman.

Mark Philippoussis pulled from the event with a bad back.

In last year's final the unseeded Kenneth Carlsen beat the No. 8-seeded Beast 7-5, 7-5.

Returning champs in this year's field are Carlsen (2005), Roddick (2002), and Haas (1999).

Scheduled for Monday are (Q) Capdeville vs. (3) Robredo, Phau vs. (8) Malisse, (LL) Luczak vs. Carlsen, and Garcia-Lopez vs. Saulnier.

French Open Champs Gaudio, Ferrero Headline ATP Brazil Open

Top-seeded former Roland Garros winners Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero will attempt to navigate a field of "B"-level claycourt specialists this week at the Brazil Open in Costa Do Sauipe.

Gaudio pulled out of Buenos Aires last week with a shoulder injury, while Ferrero lost to eventual champ Carlos Moya in the B.A. final.

Also seeded are Buenos Aires runner-up Filippo Volandri of Italy, Frenchman Florent Serra, Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, Reigning Olympic champion Nicolas Massu, Spaniard Al Martin, and Serb Boris Pashanski.

Brazilian hero Gustavo Kuerten is unseeded, while the three wildcards went to Brazilians Ricardo Mello, Andre Ghem and Andre Sa.

Gaudio opens against a qualifier, Ferrero against Brazil's Flavio Saretta, and Kuerten against countryman Ghem.

Absent from this year's field is 2005 champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated A.Martin 6-0, 6-7(2), 6-1 in the 2005 final. Guillermo Coria, Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri all pulled from the event before the Monday start, citing injury.

Kuerten (2004,'02) is the lone returning champ in the field.

Mauresmo Added, Williams Subtracted at WTA Dubai

Venus Williams barely hangs on at No. 10 on the WTA Rankings, while sister Serena's ranking is mired somewhere in the 40s, and don't look for that to change any time soon.

Both sisters withdrew from Antwerp last week, and the same this week at the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open where injuries will keep them from taking the court.

Venus withdrew citing a right arm strain, and Serena cited her ongoing knee problem.

"I don't want to compete until my knee feels completely better," said Serena, with speculation that the younger sister's weight problems are compounding the injury.

Nonetheless the late addition (and cash infusion to the Frenchwoman) of Amelie Mauresmo as the top seed compliments a strong field with additional seeds Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin-Hardenne making her first appearance since her controversial retirement in the Australian Open final, Nadia Petrova, Anastasia Myskina, Francesca Schiavone and Daniela Hantuchova.

The top four seeds receive byes, but early-round encounters of interest remain in (8) Hantuchova vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, (7) Schiavone vs. Virginie Razzano in an all-Italian opener, (6) Myskina vs. Chinese comer Jie Zheng, an all-unseeded meeting that will have all of India buzzing in Martina Hingis vs. spiraling Indian Sania Mirza, and (5) Petrova vs. Russian countrywoman Maria Kirilenko.

In last year's final the top-seeded Davenport outlasted Jelena Jankovic in three sets.

On court Monday are Likhovtseva vs. Jankovic, Sugiyama vs. Safarova, Myskina vs. Zheng, N.Li vs. Hantuchova, and Dushevina vs. Bartoli.

Vaidisova Top Seed at WTA Memphis

With the well-monied event in Dubai attracting all the top talent this week on the WTA Tour, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup this week in Memphis survives on the dregs of the tour, with no players ranked inside the Top 10.

Top-seeded Nicole Vaidisova is the only player in the Top 20 at Memphis, joined by seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, Swede Sofia Arvidsson, Americans Lisa Granville, Amy Frazier and Jill Craybas, Aussie Sam Stosur, and Poland's Marta Domachowska.

Wildcards in the main draw went to American Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson, Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.

First round match-ups of interest are (4) Granville vs. Meghann Shaughnessy in an all-American, (5) Stosur vs. Ashley Harkleroad, and (3) Arvidsson vs. (WC) Stevenson.

In last year's final top-seeded Vera Zvonareva beat the No. 3-seeded Shaughnessy 7-6(3), 6-2.

Winners from early Sunday play were (3) Sofia Arvidsson (d. (WC) Stevenson) and Martina Sucha (d. Panova), and final-round qualifying winners Yaroslava Shvedova (RUS), Angela Haynes (USA), Meng Yuan (CHN), and Lina Stanciute (LTU).

Scheduled for Monday are Frazier vs. Tu, Raymond vs. Stanciute, Shvedova vs. Jackson, Stosur vs. Harkleroad, Granville vs. Shaughnessy, Bychkova vs. Perry, Wozniacki vs. Brandi, Cho vs. Groenefeld, and Yuan vs. Lepchenko.

Pennetta Leads Low-Level Dirt Field at WTA Bogota

No Top 15 players in sight this week at the Tier III WTA claycourt stop in Bogota, where Italy's Flavia Pennetta heads a low-level field of players looking for some dirt points to augment their WTA Rankings.

Joining Pennetta among the seeded are Argentines Gisela Dulko and Mariana Diaz-Oliva, Colombian Catalina Castano, France's Emilie Loit, Spaniards Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Marta Sanchez Lorenzo, and Pennetta's countrywoman Antonella Serra Zanetti.

Wildcards for the event went to Mexican Daniela Munoz, and Spaniards Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Paula Garcia.

Pennetta is the defending champ in Bogota, last year defeating the Spanish qualifier Dominguez Lino in straight sets.

Scheduled for Monday in Bogota are Parra Santonja vs. Mattek, Szavay vs. Ant. Serra Zanetti, Argero vs. Loit, Gussoni vs. Gagliardi, and Diaz-Oliva vs. Birnerova.

Murray Stuns Hewitt for ATP San Jose Win

Brit-Scot Andy Murray, while his ranking may not reflect it, completed his ascension into the upper echelon of players on the ATP Sunday, following up his upset of former No. 1 Andy Roddick Saturday with a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) victory over former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt to claim his first ATP title at San Jose.

"This is the biggest moment of my life in tennis so far," Murray said. "The first two match points he hit two aces and I was getting a bit nervous, but I came through. This is perfect."

Murray balanced aggression with playing to Hewitt's weakness, taking pace off the ball with slice so the Aussie was forced to generate his own power, his Achilles' Heel.

The 18-year-old Murray will now move into the Top 50 for the first time on the ATP Rankings.

After splitting the first two sets, Murray broke early for a 2-0 then 4-2 lead in the third, but Hewitt levelled the match at 4-4. Murray held a match point with Hewitt serving 4-5 but the Aussie erased it with an ace. Murray jumped to a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak, then finalized with a cross-court backhand winner.

"I just wasn't getting any cheap points out there, but to his credit he was hardly missing too many returns," said Hewitt, who had serving problems with 11 double faults.

In the doubles final John McEnroe capped his tour pseudo-doubles comeback with partner Jonas Bjorkman, defeating unseeded Americans Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas 7-6, 4-6, 10-7 for his 78th career title, tying Tom Okker for No. 2 on the all-time list, now five titles behind Todd Woodbridge.

"The key to success is working together with your partner and picking a good partner. Not surprisingly it came down to the final tiebreaker and the right team won," said a smiling McEnroe.

Clement Strong, Ancic Folds in ATP Marseille Final

Arnaud Clement, given a wildcard this week at the Open 13 in Marseille when his ranking wasn't high enough to make the main draw, realized a dream Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic to claim his first title in three years.

"It's the event I wanted to win most," said Clement, from nearly Aix-en-Provence, who was the runner-up in 1999 to countryman Fabrice Santoro. "This was a dream week, one of the best in my whole career. It's good to win again after two tough years. It was quite a long time since I have played at such a level. I could not ask for anything else."

The No. 67-ranked Frenchman posted a huge three-set upset over Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Nadal, playing in his first event of the year after a foot injury, saw his play drop off in the semifinal against Clement as he was stung by a bee at the indoor event.

"Today he was simply overwhelming," said Ancic of Clement, with the Croatian who is frequently overwhelmed in finals seeing his career mark drop to 1-5 in championship matches. "There was nothing I could do. He was simply too strong for me."

Last month in Adelaide Ancic thumped Clement 6-0, 6-2.

In the doubles final No. 4-seeded Czechs Damm/Stepanek ousted top seeds Knowles/Nestor in a third-set match tiebreak 10-3 for their first team title of the year.

"I'm also lucky to have a great substitute because every time my regular partner [Leander Paes] is not available, Radek is ready to play with me," said Damm, who with Stepanek won what was a repeat of last year's final. "Obviously I have to play well as well. It's been a great week."

Moya Takes Clay Buenos Aires Title

Carlos Moya won his first title of the year in his second final Sunday, defeating Italy's Filippo Volandri 7-6(6), 6-4 in the claycourt final at the Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires.

It was also the third title in four Buenos Aires finals after winning in 2003 (d. Guillermo Coria) and 1995 (d. Felix Mantilla). In January of this year Moya reached the Chennai final before bowing out to Ivan Ljubicic.

"The beginning of the match was very difficult because he started off playing really well," said the 29-year-old Moya, who is now 10-2 on the season. "Once I broke back I started seeing that he was a bit tired and that helped me a lot...I am going to rest a few days here in Buenos Aires and I will get ready to play in Acapulco next week."

Top seeds Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl defended their doubles title in Buenos Aires Sunday, defeating Vasilis Mazarakis and Boris Pashanski 6-1, 6-2 for their first title of 2006 in their third final.

Mauresmo Wins 3rd Title in a Row at WTA Antwerp

It's hard to stay in aerobic shape when you're sidelined with an ankle injury, and it showed Sunday in the WTA final at Antwerp where Kim Clijsters' legs ran out of gas in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Amelie Mauresmo.

"I had the chance to do it, but I came a bit short and I felt it in my legs," Clijsters said.

It was the third consecutive tournament win for Mauresmo after the Australian Open and Paris, and brings her within striking distance this week of Kim Clijsters' No. 1 ranking.

"Kim played very well at the start and it took me a while to get into the game, to get back even," Mauresmo said. "We both gave it our maximum."

Clijsters was not expected to play at Antwerp, but came back early from an ankle injury early to star in her homecountry event.

It was the third consecutive win for Mauresmo over Clijsters, and the third consecutive match where Clijsters was suffering some additional drama that kept her from playing at 100 percent.

Mauresmo first ended seven defeats in a row at the hands of Clijsters at last year's Tour Championships, where Clijsters mysteriously flew in late from Belgium then gave a jetlagged, half-hearted effort throughout the event. The next meeting was the Australian Open where Clijsters retired with the foot injury, then again at Antwerp where the foot injury restricted her fitness level entering the event.

In the doubles final No. 2 seeds Safina/Srebotnik defeated Foretz/Krajicek 6-1, 6-1, for their first title of the year as a team.

Santangelo Wins Maiden Title at WTA Bangalore

Italian Mara Santangelo won her career-first WTA title Sunday, beating Croatian Jelena Kostanic 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the final of the WTA Bangalore Open.

The No. 3-seeded Santangelo was beaten from the baseline by the solid play of Kostanic before attacking the net to turn the momentum in the 2-1/2 hour match.

"I had never beaten her and I thought I was going to struggle," Santangelo said. "I really hate her game and her backhand slice. In the first set I was worried, I wasn't playing well and wasn't aggressive. In the second set, I got more aggressive, had more self belief and started hitting the ball harder. I was also positive -- I believed in this victory."

Kostanic had been fighting illness and fatigue in her second consecutive appearance in a WTA Tour final.

"I was tired out there," Kostanic said. "I've been sick all this week and I think it caught up with me in the second set. I couldn't make the shots I needed. My best tennis just wasn't there and I really needed it."

In the third set Santangelo raced to a 4-1 lead after Kostanic was plagued by forehand errors and a thigh strain which was treated by the on-court trainer.

In the doubles final, local hero Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber ousted No. 4-seeded Russians Anastassia Rodionova and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3 for their first title of the year as a team.

Glaken · Feb 21, 2006

Davenport, Sharapova Play in Snow; Roddick v Fish Today

<SMALL>Posted on February 21, 2006</SMALL>

Davydenko Fights Off Injury at ATP Rotterdam

Top 10er and No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko won through his first round Monday at the ATP stop in Rotterdam, defeating Czech Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-3, but a left foot injury may be a bigger obstacle in the second round than opponent Greg Rusedski.

The Russian took an injury timeout for a taping of his foot in the last game of the first set.

"After that kind of taping, you don't feel the pain, you just feel the tape," Davydenko said of the treatment that allowed him to pull through. "I expect to be ready for Wednesday. I'll be ready to play Rusedski."
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Rusedski advanced to his meeting with the Russian after a straight-set win over Czech Robin Vik.

"He returns so well," Rusedski said of Vik. "But at the beginning I just couldn't miss. I managed to stay on top, played some great tennis, and I'm very pleased with it. He played a little better in the second set but I though from about 4-4, I played some really good tennis and came up with the break."

Other winners into the second round Monday were qualifiers Gilles Simon of France (d. Moodie in three) and German Dominik Meffert (d. (WC) Sluiter who retired with a leg injury), and American Taylor Dent (d. (8) Berdych) with the lone upset on the day.

Thus far 14 players have pulled out of the maligned Rotterdam event.

On court Monday are Andreev vs. (Q) Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali, (LL) Parmar vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro vs. Mathieu in an all-French, (WC) Van Der Duim vs. (LL) Calatrava, (3) Ferrer vs. Minar, (LL) Lisnard vs. Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, Olivier "The Other Roach" Rochus vs. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, and (Q) Djokovic vs. Seppi.

Roddick v Fish Tuesday at ATP Memphis

Chilean qualifier Paul Capdeville continued Tommy Robredo's difficult February on Monday at the ATP stop in Memphis, ousting the No. 3-seeded Spaniard 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 to move into the second round.

Robredo was also ousted as a seed in the first round last week at San Jose by wildcard Mark Philippoussis.

"It is my best win because Robredo is ranked 14," Capdeville said. "Last year at the US Open I beat Mathieu, but this is different."

Other winners Monday were No. 8 seed Xavier Malisse (d. Phau), Frenchman Cyril Saulnier (d. (LL) Garcia-Lopez), and Dane Kenneth Carlsen (d. Luczak).

Scheduled for Tuesday are Blake vs. Vliegen, Ginepri vs. Tursunov, Roddick vs. Fish in an all-American, Mirnyi vs. Soderling, Karlovic vs. Pless, Benneteau vs. Wang, and Arthurs vs. Zib.

Mello Fellow Into 2nd Round at ATP Costa Do Sauipe

Brazilian wildcard entrant Ricardo Mello thrilled the homecountry fans Monday at the ATP claycourt stop in Costa Do Sauipe, grinding down Costa Rica's Juan Antonio Marin 6-0 in the third set.

"They had been some lost games in the estreia and this finishes provoking anxiety and tension," said Mello via the always-entertaining Google Translator. "To play in house, with support of the twisted one, is a chance that necessary to use to advantage to recoup the confidence."

Hard to be beat with the Twisted One on your side.

Other winners Monday were Czech Jiri Vanek (d. Montanes) and Spain's Fernando Vicente (d. Berlocq who retired with an ankle injury).

Scheduled for Tuesday on the dirt are (1) Gaudio vs. (LL) Portas, (WC) Ghem vs. Kuerten in an all-Brazilian, (6) Massu vs. Daniel, Saretta vs. (2) Ferrero, Monaco vs. (Q) Del Potro in an all-Argentine, (3) Volandri vs. K.Kim, (5) Chela vs. (Q) Gimeno-Traver, (Q) Almagro vs. (WC) Sa, Dlouhy vs. (4) Serra, Horna vs. (7) A.Martin, Behrend vs. (8) Pashanski, (LL) Navarro Pastor vs. Starace, and (Q) Patience vs. Sabau.

Harkleroad Upsets Stosur at WTA Memphis

Ashley "H-Road" Harkleroad orchestrated the upset of the day Monday at the WTA stop in Memphis, with the 20-year-old American ousting No. 5 seed Sam Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-3.

"I took some time off and I grew up," she Harkleroad, who spent most of last year at minor-league ITF events after injury. "I got some perspective on my life. I realized I can't worry about people's expectations, I've just got to go out and do my best."

Seeds successfully into the second round were (2) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Cho), (4) Laura Granville (d. countrywoman Shaughnessy), and (7) Amy Frazier (d. countrywoman Tu).

"Meilen didn't play as well as she normally does," said Frazier, recording her first win since a first-round loss at the Australian Open. "She normally doesn't miss that much. I'm not looking too far ahead this week -- I don't even know who I play in the next round."

Unseeded winners through to the second round were Americans Shenay Perry (d. Bychkova) and Lida Raymond (d. (Q) Stanciute), Russian qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova (d. Jackson), Dane wildcard Caroline Wozniacki (d. Brandi in three), and Chinese qualifier Meng Yuan (d. Lepchenko from a set down).

On court Tuesday are Perry vs. Groenfeld, Vaidisova vs. Azarenka, Osterloh vs. Laine, Haynes vs. Domachowska, Harkleroad vs. Wozniacki, Kloesel vs. Craybas, and Czink vs. Perebiynis.

Seeds Myskina, Hantuchova Tested at WTA Dubai

No. 6 seed Anastasia Myskina and No. 8 Daniela Hantuchova fought back three-set challenges Monday to advance into the second round at the WTA stop in Dubai.

The Russian Myskina split sets with Jie Zheng before rolling the Chinese player 6-1 in the third, while the Slovak Hantuchova edged another Chinese player, Na Li, 7-6 in the third.

"It was a little bit difficult to close the match today," Myskina said. "I've been playing indoors and it was different here, and I was a little bit nervous as well. But I'll settle down...Everything is getting better -- everything -- my life, my shoulder. I'm more happy right now. I want to play now. I want to do my best. Last year I didn't want to play any more. I was stepping on the court thinking when am I going to get off. Now it's different."

Un-seeds into the second round Monday were Russians Elena Likhovtseva (d. Jankovic) and Vera Dushevina (d. Bartoli), and Czech Lucie Safarova (d. Sugiyama), all in straight sets.

The final round of qualifying was also completed with four more poured into the oil-money-laden field in Kyra Nagy (HUN), Henrieta Nagyova (SVK), Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR), and Martina Muller (GER).

On tap for Tuesday in Dubai are Kuznetsova vs. Muller, Petrova vs. Kirilenko in an all-Russian, the spotlight match of the day in the former No. 1 Hingis vs. the slumping Indian Mirza, Zvonareva vs. Sfar, Razzano vs. Schiavone, in doubles Huber/M.Navratilova vs. Jankovic/N.Li, K.Bondarenko vs. Peschke, and Nagy vs. Nagyova.

Seeds Loit, Diaz-Oliva Through at WTA Bogota

The seeds went 2-for-0 Monday at the WTA claycourt stop in Bogota, with No. 4 Emilie Loit (d. Argero) and No. 5 Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. Birnerova who retired with illness) through to the second round.

Un-seeds into the second round were Argentine Natalia Gussoni (d. Gagliardi), American Bethanie Mattek (d. Parra Santonja in three), and Hungarian Agnes Szavay (d. (7) Ant. Serra Zanetti in three) with the lone upset on the day.

Four more players were added to the main draw with the completion of the qualifying in Valentina Sassi (ITA), Andrea Benitez (ARG), Sara Errani (ITA), and Neha Uberoi (USA).

Scheduled for Tuesday on the dirt are Pennetta vs. Bohmova, Castano vs. Munoz Gallegos, Sassi vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, Martinez Sanchez vs. Johansson, Dominguez Lino vs. Kanepi, Skavronskaia vs. Dulko, Pous Tio vs. Vierin, Yakimova vs. P.Garcia, Martinez Granados vs. Abramovic, N.Uberoi vs. Errani, and Benitez vs. Cervanova.

Glaken · Feb 22, 2006

Prince Unveils Ubertwins Campaign; Dubai Says Money Good

<SMALL>Posted on February 22, 2006</SMALL>

Fish Almost Catches Roddick at ATP Memphis

Mardy Fish's lack of match toughness left him a hair short of his biggest upset of the year Tuesday at the ATP stop in Memphis, falling to top seed and former junior roommate Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) in first-round play.

Fish delivered 17 aces during the contest, five more than Roddick, but played a poor third-set tiebreak to drop the match.

"He played better than I did for the majority of the match," Roddick said. "I thought he served pretty well and I didn't have much of a chance to break. He probably had more chances than I did. He just made a couple of sloppy errors in the third-set tiebreaker."

Fish, now 0-3 in 2006, is returning from two wrist surgeries.

"It's nice to play a good match against, obviously, a good player like Andy and for my wrist to hold up like that against a serve that big," Fish said. "It's very encouraging."
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Roddick survived where the other three seeds in action fell Tuesday, with upsets orchestrated by Russian Dmitry Tursunov (d. (4) Ginepri), Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. (5) Blake), and Swede Robin Soderling (d. (7) Mirnyi 0-and-1), all in straight sets.

It was the second consecutive first-round losses for the Americans Blake (after San Jose) and Ginepri (Delray Beach).

Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. Pless from a set down) led the remaining unseeded winners into the second round, joined by Frenchman Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau (d. Wang from a set down, saving a match point), and Aussie Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs (d. Zib) who will now square off against Roddick.

On tap for Wednesday in Memphis are San Jose winner Andy Murray vs. Schuettler, (Q) Gimelstob vs. (6) Haas, (1) Roddick vs. Arthurs, Bjorkman vs. (2) Kiefer, (WC) Jenkins vs. Goldstein in an all-American, and Spadea vs. Reynolds in an all-American.

Parmar Shocks Srichaphan at ATP Rotterdam

Oft-maligned Brit lucky loser Arvind Parmar, who only made the main draw after Rafael Nadal pulled out, caused the upset of the ATP event at Rotterdam Tuesday with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(7) win over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan.

The No. 230-ranked Parmar saved three match points in the third-set tiebreak, his first ATP win in two years.

"For any lucky loser to get into the tournament, you feel like you have a second chance, feel no pressure, and just go out to win," said Parmar who has over the years has gained notoriety for figuring in some historic Davis Cup losses for Britain. "I noticed that he wasn't playing to the best of his ability but I had to play my game still and control the rallies my side."

For Srichaphan it was his third loss in a row.

"He played well," Srichaphan said. "I started playing better in the third set but I wasn't able to win the important points. I needed to be more patient."

No. 3 Dave Ferrer was the lone seed in action Tuesday, straight-setting Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic.

Unseeded winners into the second round were the Rochus brothers Christophe (d. (LL) Lisnard from a set down) and Olivier (d. Melzer, saving four match points) of Belgium, French veteran Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro (d. countryman Mathieu), Serb qualifier Novak Djokovic (d. Seppi in three), Italian qualifier Daniele Bracciali (d. Andreev), and Spanish lucky loser Alex Calatrava (d. (WC) Van Der Duim).

"I was up 6-3, 3-0 and then he started to hit stronger and came back quickly," Santoro said of Mathieu. "I was in trouble at that point of the match but very happy to come through in straight sets. I thought I served particularly well today."

On court Wednesday in Rotterdam are (6) Stepanek vs. (LL) Michael "The Slammer" Lammer, Nieminen vs. (5) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. (2) Davydenko, in doubles (1) Knowles/Nestor vs. Israel's Erlich/Ram, Henman vs. (4) T.Johansson, Christophe "The Roach" Rochus vs. Dent, and (LL) Parmar vs. (Q) Meffert.

Ferrero, Kuerten Dusted at ATP Costa Do Sauipe

The ATP claycourt stop in Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil, lost two seeds Tuesday when homecountry favorite Flavio Saretta shocked former No. 1 and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-3, and Czech Lukas Dlouhy beat back French No. 4 seed Florent Serra 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Seeded winners into the second round Tuesday were (1) Gaston Gaudio (d. (LL) Portas in three), (3) Filippo Volandri (d. K.Kim 6-0 in the third), (5) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. (Q) Gimeno-Traver), (6) Nicolas Massu (d. Daniel), (7) Al Martin (d. Horna), and (8) Boris Pashanski (d. Behrend in three).

Unseeded winners into the second round were Argentina's Juan Monaco (d. countryman (Q) Del Potro), Brazilian wildcard Andre Ghem (d. three-time Roland Garros champ Kuerten from a set down), French qualifier Olivier Patience (d. Sabau), Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro (d. (WC) Sa), and Italian Potito Starace (d. (LL) Navarro Pastor in three).

Kuerten was playing his first match after multiple injuries since last year's US Open.

Set for Wednesday on the dirt are (1) Gaudio vs. (Q) Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience, (WC) Ghem vs. (7) A.Martin, (WC) Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. (8) Pashanski, (Q) Almagro vs. Saretta, (3) Volandri vs. Vanek, (6) Massu vs. Vicente, Juan "The Principality" Monaco vs. (4) Serra, and (5) Chela vs. "You Say" Potito Starace.

Hingis Wins, 5 Former No. 1s Feature Wednesday at WTA Dubai

Former No. 1 Martina Hingis continued to dazzle in her comeback Tuesday at the WTA stop in Dubai, while Russian comer Maria Kirilenko provided the upset of the day as first-round play continued at the $1 million event.

Hingis continued the troubles of late for Sania Mirza, sending the India star's win-loss for the year to a spiraling 3-5 in 2006 with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.

"I felt I had the game under control and whenever I needed it I was able to step it up," said Hingis, who was far from her best against Mirza, another poor indicator for the Indian No. 1 who received loud vocal support from the Dubai crowd. "It felt more like a soccer match out there. She is not very big built and when she hits that forehand, you think 'Whoa! Where did that come from?' But she needs to be more consistent."

Mirza said she was thrilled to face one of her idols, and felt pressure to strike first in the encounter.

"She's one of the best players who has ever played," Mirza said. "I felt like I was always trying to catch up and wasn't able to get out in front, but I stayed with her point for point for much of the match. She's a counter-puncher and I knew I could never win a battle at the baseline with her so I had to try something different."

Kirilenko, currently at her career-high of No. 23 on the WTA Rankings, posted her first win over Nadia Petrova in three career meetings on Tuesday, comprehensively defeating the No. 5 seed 6-4, 6-1.

"I have worked very hard on my service game, and have also made a conscious effort to reduce the number of mistakes on the court," Kirilenko said. "Also, I have much more experience now."

No. 7 Francesca Schiavone (d. Razzano) was the only seeded winner, joined by unseeded victors in Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. (Q) Muller, bagel in the second), Ukraine qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko (d. Peschke from a set down), Slovak qualifier Henrieta Nagyova (d. (Q) Nagy, bagel in the second), and Tunisia wildcard Selima Sfar (d. Zvonareva from a set down).

Five former No. 1 players feature on Wednesday's schedule: Likhovtseva vs. Davenport, Myskina vs. Hingis, Mauresmo vs. Nagyova, Dushevina vs. Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne vs. K.Bondarenko, with Kirilenko vs. Safarova, Kuznetsova vs. Hantuchova, and Sfar vs. Schiavone.

Vaidisova Among Top Two Exiting at WTA Memphis

The already-star-challenged WTA field in Memphis lost its top two seeds Tuesday when No. 1 Nicole Vaidisova was stopped by No. 138-ranked Victoria Azarenka 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, and No. 2 Anna-Lena Groenefeld was ousted 7-6(5), 6-2 by No. 134-ranked American Shenay Perry.

"You shouldn't ask what the problem was for me today," said Vaidisova, the 16-year-old Czech whose game features little more variety than blistering topspin groundstrokes. "The question is 'What was not the problem?' I just made so many mistakes today, so many stupid mistakes."

Seeded winners on the day were (6) Marta Domachowska (d. Haynes, bagel in the second), and (8) Jill Craybas (d. Kloesel).

Unseeded winners Tuesday were Dane wildcard Caroline Wozniacki (d. Harkleroad), American Lilia Osterloh (d. Laine), and the Ukraine's Tatiana Perebiynis (d. Czink form a set down).

"She's an incredibly good player," said Harkleroad of Wozniacki. "She's tall. She has the body of a woman, and she's only 15. I wish I looked like that, and I'm 20 years old. She'll be in the Top 50 by the end of the year -- if not higher."

Scheduled for Wednesday are Raymond vs. (3) Arvidsson, (WC) Azarenka vs. Osterloh, (7) Frazier vs. (Q) Shvedova, Sucha vs. (6) Domachowska, (4) Granville vs. Perebiynis, and (Q) Yuan vs. (8) Craybas.

Five Seeds Slide Through at WTA Bogota

All five seeds in play cruised into the second round in straight sets Tuesday on the red clay at the WTA stop in Bogota, with winners (1) Flavia Pennetta (d. Bohmova), (2) Gisela Dulko (d. Skavronskaia), (3) Catalina Castano (d. Munoz), (6) Lourdes Dominguez Lino (d. Kanepi), and (8) Maria Sanchez Lorenzo (d. Sassi).

Un-seeds into the second round were Spanish wildcard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (d. M.Johansson), Italian Nathalie Vierin (d. Pous Tio), Belarus' Anastasiya Yakimova (d. P.Garcia, bagel in the second), Croatian Ivana Abramovic (d. Martinez Granados), Italian qualifier Sara Errani (d. N.Uberoi), and Slovak Ludmilla Cervanova (d. Benitez).

Lining up Wednesday on the dirt are Errani vs. Dulko, Yakimova vs. Loit, Dominguez Lino vs. Martinez Sanchez, and Diaz-Oliva vs. Cervanova.

Glaken · Feb 23, 2006

Hingis Beats No 12 Myskina; Tennis Channel Debuts on Dish Network

<SMALL>Posted on February 23, 2006</SMALL>

Confident Hingis Beats Myskina at WTA Dubai

Since her comeback to the WTA Tour in 2006, Martina Hingis has beaten former No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, rising Indian star Sania Mirza, and was a finalist in Tokyo, losing to Russian Elena Dementieva in search of her first comeback title.

On Wednesday at the WTA stop in Dubai, the 25-year-old Swiss upped her battle with the new-generation Russians that have risen to prominence in her absence, defeating former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 6-3 to advance to a quarterfinal meeting against a revenge-seeking Sharapova.

Hingis, who ended a three-year retirement last month and has risen to a No. 50 ranking on the results of just four events says don't call it a comeback, she is again one of the WTA's top players.

"It is not a comeback anymore," Hingis said. "I am here now and this is my fifth tournament. I have shown that I can still play. I don't look at it as a comeback anymore. It is more like the second part of my career now."
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Myskina entered the match with a 1-1 career mark versus Hingis, beating the Swiss in their last encounter in 2002.

"It is difficult to play with her as you do not know how her shot would be," Myskina said. "She sometimes played high balls and in this hot condition, it is difficult to run."

Seeded winners through safely to the quarterfinals Wednesday were (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. Nagyova), (2) Lindsay Davenport (d. Likhovtseva 0-and-0), (3) Maria Sharapova (d. Dushevina 1-and-0), (4) Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. K.Bondarenko), and (7) Francesca Schiavone (d. Sfar).

"I took a little time to adjust out there after two weeks of playing indoors, but it felt good," said Mauresmo who has now won 16 matches in a row. "Ever since winning the Australian Open, I have no pressure and that has added to my confidence. I am not even thinking of a fourth straight title or the world No. 1 ranking."

Former No. 1s posted a perfect 5-0 record on the day.

"I played well and my body held up," said Davenport, coming off an ankle injury. "So I am thrilled. To win here, I need to play four days in a row. I am not getting any younger and I have to be fresh for my next match."

In the only all-unseeded match-up, Russian Maria Kirilenko followed her previous upset over Nadia Petrova with a straight-set win over rising Czech star Lucie Safarova.

Lining up for the Thursday quarterfinals in Dubai are Mauresmo vs. Kuznetsova, Henin-Hardenne vs. Schiavone, Hingis vs. Sharapova, and Kirilenko vs. Davenport.

"I do not have revenge on my mind, but I don't like losing to the same player twice in a row," Sharapova said. "Martina played some amazing tennis in Tokyo, but it is a different match tomorrow."

Frazier in Turn-Around Wednesday at WTA Memphis

All five seeds in action advanced unscathed into the quarterfinals Wednesday at the WTA stop in Memphis in (3) Sofia Arvidsson (d. Raymond), (4) Laura Granville (d. Perebiynis), (6) Marta Domachowska (d. Sucha), (7) Amy Frazier (d. Shvedova, bageling the last two sets), and (8) Jill Craybas (d. (Q) Yuan).

In her victory the American Frazier didn't win a point until down 0-5, 0-40 in the first set.

"I've lost sets 6-0 before, but I was definitely on the verge of not getting a point," said Frazier, who will next face Shenay Perry. "She was playing unbelievable. I couldn't get into a point. She had six or seven aces and hit six or seven winners off my serve. If I got the ball back to her, she hit a winner. Once I was able to get into the points, I was able to get going."

In the only all-unseeded meeting on the day, American Lilia Osterloh outlasted Belarus wildcard Victoria Azarenka in three sets.

Thursday's match-ups in Memphis are Frazier vs. Perry, Wozniacki vs. Arvidsson, Osterloh vs. Craybas, and Granville vs. Domachowska.

Cervanova Makes Case for 1st Title at WTA Bogota

Slovak Ludmilla Cervanova caused the lone upset of the day Wednesday at the WTA stop in Bogota, turning around a 1-6 beating in the first set to defeat No. 5 seed Mariana Diaz-Oliva 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance into the quarterfinals at the Copa Colsanitas Seguros Bolivar.

Other winners into the quarters on the red dirt were (2) Gisela Dulko (d. (Q) Errani), (4) Emilie Loit (d. Yakimova 0-and-1), and (6) Lourdes Dominguez Lino (d. Martinez Sanchez in three).

"After two days of heavy activity I finally felt much less affected by the altitude, and my game picked up," Dulko said.

On tap for Thursday on the red dirt are Pennetta vs. Abramovic, Castano vs. Gussoni, Vierin vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, and Mattek vs. Szavay.

Brit Rusedski Falls, Henman Wins at ATP Rotterdam

No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko didn't let a foot injury from his first round match slow him Wednesday at the ATP stop in Rotterdam, where the Top 10 Russian rolled over Britain's Greg Rusedski 6-4, 6-1. Maligned former Top 10er Tim Henman then saved one for Britain with a straight-set upset of No. 4 seed Thomas Johansson.

"Usually it's not easy to break Rusedski," Davydenko said. "But today he was struggling a bit with his serve and I tried to play some long rallies with a lot of top spin and slow down the speed."

Henman was please after suffering with back injuries in 2005-06.

"I played aggressively and took my chances," Henman said. "I guess most importantly I felt physically good out on court. I've had an ongoing back issue for quite some time, probably nearly 18 months, and it's sometimes a bit unpredictable. It was very bad in Marseille last week, I was there ready to play but my back thought otherwise, so I was still a little bit unsure whether I was going to play this week. I was pleased with the whole performance tonight."

No. 6 Radek Stepanek was another seeded winner, straight-setting Swiss Michael Lammer.

Finn Jarkko Nieminen had the upset of the day with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win over No. 5 Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, while Brit Arvind Parmar followed his upset over Paradorn Srichaphan with a straight-set dismissed of qualifier Dominik Meffert, and Belgian Christophe Rochus advanced when American Taylor "Acci-" Dent was forced to retire with a back injury after losing the first set.

"Obviously you don't like somebody's game if you lose to him three times in a row," said Ancic of Nieminen. "I had a very good week last week in Marseille, but today I wasn't playing very well. Against Nieminen you have to be a 100 percent ready, otherwise you don't have any chance to beat him."

In doubles highlights, Israel's Erlich/Ram took out top seeds Knowles/Nestor.

Jockeying for the final quarterfinal spots Thursday will be (Q) Bracciali vs. (LL) Calatrava, (6) Stepanek vs. Santoro, (3) Ferrer vs. O.Rochus, (Q) Djokovic vs. Henman, and (Q) Simon vs. Nieminen.

Roddick, Murray Advance in Thrillers at ATP Memphis

Top seed Andy Roddick again survived in a third-set tiebreak Wednesday at the ATP stop in Memphis, weathering 33 aces from Aussie Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs to advance 6-7(4), 7-6(9), 7-6(2) into the quarterfinals.

"I was lucky to get through," said Roddick, who in his first round edged Mardy Fish 7-6 in the third. "I didn't think anybody could serve better than Mardy did, but he did. He served huge. I didn't even feel like I had a chance on his service points. I guess there's something to be said for just hanging around and playing."

Arthurs said it was his best match of the year, with both players dropping serve only one in the contest.

"I had great rhythm on my serve," Arthurs said. "And I felt I was picking his serve pretty well. I've watched him enough to know where he goes on the big points."

No. 6 Tommy Haas was the only other seeded victor on the day (d. Gimelstob who retired in the first set with a back injury), joined in the winner's circle by Americans Paul Goldstein (d. countryman Jenkins) and Vince Spadea (d. countryman Reynolds 7-6 in the third), and Brit sensation Andy Murray (d. Schuettler in three).

"I have got a lot more confidence after winning against guys like Hewitt and Roddick and in the quarters I came back from a break and a set down against (Robin) Soderling, so I know how to get myself out of tough situations and today that was pretty important," Murray said. "Mentally I didn't feel like I was out of the match. I had a lot of chances in the second set to break him, I was 30-love up a couple of times, I had another couple of 30-all points and obviously my first break point at 5-4. I did feel like I was having a lot of chances but I was making a few too many mistakes and at 5-4, when it got to 30-30, that extra confidence that I got from San Jose helped me."

Murray and Schuettler had a heated exchange that lasted nearly a minute before chair umpire Norm Chryst intervened, with Murray complaining about the German's complaining on line calls the whole match.

"Basically, I hadn't said anything the whole match after the second game," Murray said. "He was complaining every single close call the whole match. In the third set...I was throwing the ball up to serve and he was still speaking (to Chryst) when I was in my motion. The umpire didn't say anything, and (Schuettler) thought I was saying something bad about him. I was just asking (Schuettler) when I throw the ball up if he could stop speaking."

South African lucky loser Rik De Voest, replacing ill No. 2 seed Nicolas Kiefer, defeated Jonas Bjorkman in straight sets.

On court Thursday are (Q) Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau vs. (8) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, Murray vs. (LL) De Voest, in doubles (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Belgians Malisse/Vliegen, Spadea vs. (6) Haas, Vliegen vs. Goldstein, Soderling vs. Carlsen, Tursunov vs. Saulnier, and "Dr." Ivo Karlovic vs. (Q) Capdeville.

Gaudio Loses Patience at ATP Costa Do Sauipe

It was Dead Wednesday for tournament organizers at the ATP claycourt stop in Costa Do Sauipe yesterday, with No. 1 seed Gaston Gaudio, No. 3 Filippo Volandri, and No. 4 Florent Serra bowing out before the quarterfinals.

Gaudio, who has been troubled in past weeks by a bad shoulder, managed only two games against French qualifier Olivier Patience, while Volandri was schooled 0-and-1 by Czech Jiri Vanek, and Serra managed only two games against Argentine Juan Monaco.

Seeded winners into the quarterfinals Wednesday were (5) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Starace), (6) Nicolas Massu (d. Vicente from a set down), (7) Al Martin (d. (WC) Ghem in three), and (8) Boris Pashanski (d. (WC) Mello).

In the only all-unseeded match-up, Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro disappointed the home crowd with a win over Brazilian Flavio Saretta in straight sets.

Lining up Thursday on the dirt are (5) Chela vs. Monaco in an all-Argentine, (6) Massu vs. (Q) Almagro, Vanek vs. (7) A.Martin, and (Q) Patience vs. (8) Pashanski.

Glaken · Feb 25, 2006

Roddick, Murray Fall; Sharapova Exacts Revenge Over Hingis

<SMALL>Posted on February 25, 2006</SMALL>

Sharapova, Henin to Clash in Final at WTA Dubai

Two former No. 1-ranked players hungry to again compete for the top spot won a grueling two matches in one day Friday at the WTA stop in Dubai, making up for a rained-out quarterfinals day on Thursday.

No. 4 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne was the first player to reach the final after a 6-2, 7-5 dismissal of another player looking to again reach Grand Slam heights, former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Henin-Hardenne was joined in the final later that night after an extended tussle between No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport and No. 3 Maria Sharapova, with the leggy Russian rebounding from a set deficit to deny the American 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
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In the quarterfinals earlier in the day, Sharapova exacted revenge over Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-4 to even their career meetings at 1-1; Kuznetsova ended top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo's three-tournament 16-match winning streak 7-6(11), 6-4; Davenport came from a set down to defeat unseeded Russian Maria Kirilenko 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; and Henin-Hardenne beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6(5).

"I was not patient enough, and my concentration was not good," said Hingis after the quarterfinal loss to Sharapova, longing for the days when she was seeded and received first-round byes. "It also helped that she was fresh after a first-round bye and an easy second-round match."

No one needed to ask Sharapova if revenge was sweet.

"I was fighting to get my revenge," Sharapova said. "It's important to be aggressive, especially against someone who takes the ball on the rise and wants to attack your balls. It's important for me to make sure I was playing my own game. I was trying to go for my shots and do my best. Even if they missed by a few centimeters, I was still trying to stay positive."

Mauresmo said her tank was on "E" after contending for a fourth straight title.

"She played very well, while I was running out of gas," said Mauresmo, who had won her last three events at the Australian Open, Paris and Antwerp. "I knew it would be tough to keep that going it was tough physically and mentally. Even at 3-0 up in the second set, I felt I was never in control. I am now looking forward to a couple of day's rest before my next tournament."

Henin-Hardenne has won three of her four career encounters against Sharapova, including last month at the Australian Open.

"I think tomorrow will be a very competitive match and I'm looking forward to it," Sharapova said. "We've both had very tough matches from the beginning here because it was such an incredible draw."

Domachowska v Arvidsson in WTA Memphis Final

No. 6 seed Marta Domachowska defeated No. 8 Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-0 late Friday night in the semifinals at the WTA Tour stop in Memphis, putting herself in position to win her first title in her third career final.

"It is my first final of the year so I am excited to be playing in it," Domachowska said. "I am looking forward to tomorrow. The result will help me in my confidence and my ranking."

The 31-year-old Craybas was hit off the court by the 20-year-old Pole who was not hesitant to take control of points.

"Today I just could not find my rhythm out there," said Craybas, playing in her second career tour semifinal. "She was making her shots which kept me from finding my game."

In the final Domachowska will face No. 3 seed Sofia Arvidsson, who threw down 10 aces in bullying American Amy Frazier 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.

"I am now starting to believe more in myself, and at this level you need to believe in yourself," Arvidsson said. "All this week I have been serving well and the rest of my game has been good."

It is the second career appearance in a WTA final for the Swede, who lost last year in the championship match at Quebec City to Frazier.

It will be the first career meeting between Domachowska and Arvidsson.

Defending Champ Pennetta Into Semis at WTA Bogota

Top seed and defending champ Flavia Pennetta won her eighth straight match in Bogota Friday, overwhelming American Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-1 on the red clay for a berth in the semifinals.

"I lost my concentration a little at 4-1 in the first set, but overall I am very happy because I played a good match," Pennetta. "It was a little easier than I expected, but I knew she was playing well. She had two important victories in her first two rounds, and I was mentally ready for a tough match."

All other matches Friday contained upsets, with Slovak Ludmila Cervanova ousting No. 2 seed Gisela Dulko in three sets, No. 8 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo outlasting No. 3 Catalina Castano 6-1 in the third, and No. 6 Lourdes Dominguez Lino straight-setting No. 4 Emilie Loit.

It is the first semifinal for Cervanova in a year, the first in two years for Sanchez Lorenzo, and the first in a year for Dom&#56231;uez Lino.

Matching up Saturday are Pennetta vs. Sanchez Lorenzo (Pennetta leads career series 3-0), and Dominguez Lino vs. Cervanova (Cervanova leads 1-0).

Davydenko Remains Favorite at ATP Rotterdam

No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko remained the favorite Friday at the ATP stop in Rotterdam, though showed fatigue in rolling past Italian qualifier Daniele Bracciali 6-4, 6-2 to gain the semifinals.

"The result was good but I wasn't satisfied about my play," Davydenko said. "I felt a bit tired, therefore it was hard to concentrate today. I know I have to improve my game for the semifinal."

No. 6 Radek Stepanek was the only other seed into the semis after edging Serb qualifier Novak Djokovic 7-6 in the third.

"This was a very even match, with both players serving well," Stepanek said. "I really wanted the revenge because I lost to him in Zagreb and I had to fight until the end to reach that goal. Djokovic was moving incredibly well."

Rounding out the semis were Belgium's Christophe Rochus (d. (LL) Parmar) and Finn Jarkko Nieminen (d. O.Rochus 7-6 in the third).

Matched up in the Saturday semifinals are (6) Stepanek vs. (2) Davydenko (Davydenko leads career meetings 3-2), and C.Rochus vs. Nieminen (Rochus leads 1-0).

Roddick, Murray Beaten at ATP Memphis

When his match with French qualifier Julien Benneteau went to a deciding third-set tiebreak Friday, top seed Andy Roddick looked to move through in 7-6 third-set fashion as he had done against Mardy Fish and Wayne Arthurs, but this time it was not to be as the American was edged 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals at the ATP stop in Memphis.

"It's just a little frustrating right now," said Roddick, who continued his habit of making faces at the chair umpire and linespeople, ranting over what he believed were some bad line calls during the match. "I felt like tonight I actually hit the ball better than I have over the last two weeks. I came off the court not really thinking I did a whole lot wrong. The guy was pretty much ripping winners from all angles."

Benneteau won the first point of the third-set tiebreak before Roddick nervously double faulted to go down 0-2, eventually losing 7-4.

Roddick previously beat Benneteau at this year's Australian Open, dropping only five games in three sets.

Now the favorite status for the title switches to the lone remaining seed of the four semifinalists, No. 6 Tommy Haas who rebounded from a set deficit and absorbed 14 aces to defeat Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4.

Also into the semis were Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. (Q) Capdeville from a set down), and hot-handed Swede Robin Soderling (d. Murray).

"I was a little bit tired mentally," Murray said after his five-game effort. "It's really difficult to keep a run going, especially after the week I had last week. I'm a little bit disappointed to lose but happy with the last couple of weeks."

Saturday's match-ups will be (6) Haas vs. (Q) Benneteau (first meeting), and Soderling vs. Vliegen (Swede won sole meeting).

The doubles semis will be (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. (WC) Blake/Fish, and (2) Aspelin/Perry vs. Haggard/"Dr." Ivo Karlovic.

Massu v Martin in ATP Costa Do Sauipe

No. 6 seed Nicolas Massu advanced to his second claycourt final of the year Friday at the ATP stop in Costa Do Sauipe, coming from a set down to edge Argentine Juan Monaco 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Massu, who reached the Vina del Mar final earlier this month, is still searching for his first title since Kitzbuhel in 2004.

"This match of the funny Latin American had always given luck to me in the career, but still it lacks a step more," said Massu as translated by the ever-entertaining Google Translator.

In the final he will face No. 7-seeded Spaniard Al Martin, who outlasted French qualifier Olivier Patience 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3).

Martin, who lost in last year's final to Rafael Nadal, saved three match points in the third set against Patience.

"It was a battle and any of the two could have earned," Martin said through the Google Translator. "After having saved three match points, I only spoke 'Still well.' Another thing was very tired to think any."

Massu will have his hands full against the Spaniard, who he has lost five of six meetings against.

Glaken · Feb 26, 2006

Henin, Massu, Arvidsson Win Titles; Roddick Pulls from Vegas

<SMALL>Posted on February 26, 2006</SMALL>

Henin Shows Championship Form Again with Dubai Title

After her controversial retirement in the Australian Open final, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne on Saturday again established herself as the biggest threat to the No. 1 spot in 2006 if she can stay healthy, wearing down the confidence of Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-2 for her second title of the year at the WTA stop in Dubai.

While entering the Dubai final ranked fifth behind Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport and Sharapova, the oft-injured Henin-Hardenne nonetheless has the best title-winning percentage of any player during the 2004-present span: winning 5 of nine events she contested in 2004, four of nine events contested in 2005, and now winning two her three played thus far in 2006.

That's only nine events in 2004, and nine events in 2005 for the Belgain, compared to the 19 alone played last year by Mauresmo who is set to re-take the No. 1 ranking from Clijsters next week in Doha.

Henin-Hardenne has now reached the final in all three of her events contested in 2006. In Dubai she navigated a field that in the quarterfinals featured five former No. 1-ranked players.
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"It's an amazing feeling," Henin-Hardenne said of her third Dubai title. "It's great, because I didn't know really what to expect before coming here after my health problems in Australia. It's been a tough week even though I won all my matches in two sets. It's been pretty hard with the rain and the waiting, and it's a great feeling to have two victories already this year, and that gives a lot of confidence."

Sharapova's title drought now stretches to June of 2005 at Birmingham where she won on grass.

Sharapova was broken at 5-5 in the first set, and at 2-2 in the second, dropping the last four games of the match.

"I played great tennis this week," said Sharapova who beat the former No. 1s Martina Hingis and Davenport. "It was a tremendous effort for me to be able to play two really tough matches yesterday and still play a high level of tennis today. In the first set it was just one or two balls didn't go my way I guess, and then after that I was physically tired from yesterday."

In the doubles final the unseeded Czech/Italian team of Kveta Peschke and Francesca Schiavone came from a set down to beat Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 for their first title of the year as a team.

Arvidsson Wins Maiden Title at WTA Memphis

Swede Sofia Arvidsson fought off Polish 20-year-old Marta Domachowska 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Saturday night in the final of the WTA stop in Memphis for her first career title.

"We both have the same styles of play and she played very good today but it was just my day," the 22-year-old Arvidsson said. "Marta is a nice girl and she wanted to win, but I also wanted to win today."

Domachowska fell to 0-3 in career singles finals.

"I had a lot of fun," Domachowska said. "This week was really good. I am happy that I made it to the final. My first final I only won two games then my second final I won seven games, now I make it to three sets, hopefully the next one will be a win for me."

In the doubles final, top seeds and reigning US Open champions Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur won their second title of the year with a 7-6(2), 6-3 win over wildcards Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki.

Pennetta Goes for 2 in Row in WTA Bogota Final

It was one thrice-named Spaniard down, one thrice-named Spaniard to go Saturday at the WTA claycourt stop in Bogota for defending champion Flavia Pennetta, who eased past No. 8 seed Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 6-1, 6-4 to gain the final.

"From the beginning I played really well, I made few mistakes while she was missing a lot," said Pennetta, who was presented with a birthday cake on court to celebrate her 24th birthday. "Mar&#55392;Antonia didn't come out strongly compared to other days. I recognized it and took advantage. My serve was incredible, as was my forehand. In general it was an encouraging match."

In the final awaits No. 6-seeded Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino, who stopped cold the unseeded run of Slovak Ludmila Cervanova 6-1, 6-3,

The final will be a rematch of last year's championship where the Italian beat the Spaniard in straight sets.

Pennetta also won the doubles title Saturday, teaming with Argentine Gisela Dulko as the top seeds to defeat No. 2 seeds Szavay/Woehr 7-6(1), 6-1.

Haas Hopes Hot Streak Continues in ATP Memphis Final

Delray Beach winner Tommy Haas proceeded into his second consecutive tour final Saturday at the ATP stop in Memphis, schooling French qualifier and Andy Roddick-conqueror Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-1 in under an hour.

"Once I really started to dictate and play well, I kind of got on a roll there and played some flawless tennis," Haas said. "Any time I saw an opening, I just went for it, and I think 95 percent of the time I made the shots and I was serving well."

In the final he will face hot-handed Swede Robin Solderling, who skipped the Australian Open while recovering from a knee injury, but has come back with a renewed confidence. Soderling beat Andy Murray decidedly in the quarterfinals, and in the Saturday semis edged Belgian Kristof Vliegen 7-6 in the third set.

Soderling, whose ranking has hovered around No. 100 after his return from injury, began his year by winning the Talheim (Germany) minor-league Challenger event.

"I think we both played amazing tennis," Soderling said. "He came up with some great shots on my match points, and all the important points he played really well. I'm really happy to get through this one."

The Swede improved his indoor semifinal record to a perfect 5-0 career, and his two ATP titles have come during the European indoor circuit, in Milan in 2004 and in Metz in 2005

Haas beat Soderling in three sets in their only previous meeting at the Masters Series-Cincinnati in 2004.

The doubles final will feature James Blake and Mardy Fish, who received a walkover in the semifinals against the No. 1-ranked Bryan brothers when Bob Bryan suffered a shoulder injury during a practice session, against unseeded Chris Haggard and "Dr." Ivo Karlovic who edged the No. 2-seeded team of Aspelin/Perry in a match tiebreak.

Stepanek Douses Davydenko Fire at ATP Rotterdam

No. 6 seed Radek Stepanek outlasted a weary No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 Saturday in the semifinals at the ATP stop in Rotterdam, delivering 14 aces and coming back from a 1-3 deficit in the final set, closing the match out with five straight games.

"I'm very happy, I got great support from the crowd today," Stepanek said. "In the beginning of the match I did a couple of easy mistakes, but then I hit a couple of incredible shots and I could turn the match around."

The Czech will have his best chance to date to turn around his 0-3 career mark in finals in the championship match, where he will face the diminutive unseeded Belgian Christophe Rochus, who breezed past Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-3.

Rochus is also looking for his first career title, losing his lone finalist appearance in 2003 at Valencia.

"If I look at all the great winners' names around the centre court, I want to see my name up there in the corner too," Stepanek said. "I know it will be a tough match. I'm very excited about it."

The two players have split their two career meetings, both in 2002.

The doubles final will be (2) Hanley/Ullyett (d. Knowle/Melzer in the semis in a match tiebreak) vs. Erlich/Ram (d. Berdych/Suk).

Massu Claims Title at ATP Costa Do Sauipe

No. 6 seed Nicolas Massu turned around a losing record against Alberto Martin Saturday in the claycourt final in Costa Do Sauipe, earning his first title since the gold at the 2004 Olympics with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Spaniard for the Brazil Open title.

Massu served for the match at 5-2 in the second set before finally closing it out 6-4.

"I did get nervous at the end of the match but thanks to God I managed to close it and win this very important title," Massu said. "I also want to congratulate Beto Martin for a great week. He is a great player and a great person. I also want to acknowledge his coach (Marcos Gorriz) for being also a great professional."

Martin had won five of his six meetings with the Chilean entering the final.

"I want to congratulate Nicolas for this title. He deserved to win today," Martin said. "This is a great tournament and this was my second final here. I hope I can come back many times and maybe win the title."

No. 4-seeded Czechs Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner took home the doubles title with a 10-3 match tiebreak win over No. 3 seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland.

Glaken · Feb 28, 2006

Haas, Stepanek, Dominguez Win Titles; Agassi to Skip Dirt Season

<SMALL>Posted on February 27, 2006</SMALL>

Federer Goes for 4 in a Row at ATP Dubai

No. 1 seed Roger Federer received more than an estimated half a million dollars just to show up for The Dubai Tennis Championships this coming week, approximately three times what he would earn for winning the event, and Dubai organizers see the Swiss as worth every penny of the appearance guarantee.

Organizers of Middle East events can afford to buy the best in professional tennis, as they're showing with their current effort to move the men's and women's Indian Wells event from the U.S. to the desert. Landing the Swiss this week, who is on the fast track to becoming the greatest player ever with what is seemingly a large guarantee sum, is nary a drop in the bucket for the oil-rich organizers.
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Last week Dubai hosted a WTA event that, though not even a lauded "Tier I" stop, nevertheless offered $1 million in prize money. This paled in comparison to the under-the-table guarantees to attract five former No. 1s among the star-studded field in winner Justine Henin-Hardenne, runner-up Maria Sharapova, semifinalist Lindsay Davenport, and quarterfinalists Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis.

Both Dubai and Doha businessmen aren't shy about -- when they're not busy building ski resorts inside malls or carting in sand to build giant man-made resort islands in the shape of palm trees, or even setting up ultra-modern sea-side hotels with makeshift tennis courts high above the city on helipads -- throwing wads of cash at players without hesitation.

"It is money well spent and a perfect return on investment for Dubai," Dubai Tournament Director Salah Tahlak told Gulf News last week. "Players like Agassi, Navratilova and Sharapova have this appeal. Therefore, we don't have problems paying them appearance money. The Top 10 players normally do (receive money). The payment is more like a Persian carpet, each one has a different pricing."

Setting up the helipad appearance with Federer and Agassi with the ATP's help last year set them back a measly $10 million, but as an investment in public relations turned out to be a shrewd investment.

"That stunt was valued at $9.5 million, while the marketing and public relations returns for the entire event was pinned at $24.5 million," Tahlak said. "This is sound return on the investments."

Federer will likely be another sound return for Dubai this week, with the Swiss at the top of his game seeking a fourth consecutive Dubai title, and looking to extend his Open Era-record 52-match winning streak on hardcourts.

Federer has made two appearances thus far in 2006, winning at Doha and then the Australian Open, then pulling out of a pair of events and the first round of the Davis Cup to rest, he said, for the back-to-back Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Agassi is also also eager to tap the Dubai guarantee flow, and speak of his past experiences in the playland for the super-wealthy.

"Dubai is something I would look forward to sharing with my wife and family," Agassi said. "It's an incredible place to see and to visit for so many reasons. To see what they've built here is really a reflection of a lot of vision, a lot of passion, not to mention the cultures that live peacefully together. It's the way the world is meant to be."

Federer and Agassi's weren't the only bank accounts receiving oil injections this week as the Dubai field also contains world No. 2 Rafal Nadal, Top 10 lesser personalities Nikolay Davydenko and David Ferrer, and features the 2006 debut of Marat Safin who returns from a knee injury.

Other seeds in Dubai are Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, and Czechs Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych.

Opening-round encounters of interest are (1) Federer vs. Swiss Davis Cup team member Stan Wawrinka, (2) Nadal vs. the hot-and-cold Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu who has played him tightly in the past, (8) Berdych vs. the hot-handed Belgian Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, (3) Davydenko vs. Safin in an all-Russian, (6) The Dominator vs. always-tough Russian Mikhail Youzhny, (5) Ferrer vs. former Top 10er Rainer Schuettler, and (4) Agassi vs. the big-serving "Grinning" Greg Rusedski.

Agassi is a big question mark coming into the event, in his appearance two weeks ago pulling from San Jose due to his chronic back problem before even hitting a ball in the first round. Look for Safin's 2006 debut to be an extremely short one, save for any choking from Davydenko, who should otherwise in short order show Safin why he is the No. 1-ranked Russian these days.

If Federer bypasses Wawrinka he will then face a snoozer against one of two Middle Eastern wildcards matching up in the first round, then a potentially interesting meeting with the No. 8 seed Berdych who beat him at the 2004 Olympics.

Tim Henman took a last-minute wildcard and faces Spaniard Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez. If successful Henman, who on Monday steps down as the No. 1-ranked Brit in favor of Andy Murray who is competing at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, could face No. 7 Berdych in the second round and No. 2 Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Last year Federer faced stiff resistance in the final from hot-burning Ivan Ljubicic, eventually dousing the Croatian's flame 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-3.

On court Monday in Dubai are (5) Ferrer vs. Schuettler, (WC) Henman vs. F.Lopez, Rusedski vs. (4) Agassi, (WC) Bahrouzyan vs. (WC) Al Ghareeb, Andreev vs. Seppi, O.Rochus vs. Santoro, in doubles (1) Knowles/Nestor vs. Allegro/Federer and Ferrer/Seppi vs. F.Lopez/Nadal, Vik vs. (Q) Tipsarevic, and (Q) Klec vs. Bracciali.

Hewitt Heads Field After Roddick Pull at ATP Las Vegas

On the minus side The Tennis Channel Open lost its top seed over the weekend when world No. 3 Andy Roddick, who has yet to reach a final this year in three events, pulled from the event citing fatigue.

On the plus side, tournament director and Tennis Channel President Steve Bellamy just saved a few hundred thousand in appearance fees.

"Andy felt bad about it, but he didn't think he had the energy to go the distance here," Bellamy said. "Would we love to have had Roddick? Absolutely. But there's going to be a lot of great tennis played by some amazing athletes."

With the rest of the tour's power players taking the big guarantee money in Dubai this week, stepping into the Vegas No. 1 void now is former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, with "B"-squad Americans James Blake and Robby Ginepri filling in the U.S. flavor.

Other seeded players are Germany's Nicolas Kiefer and the hot-handed Tommy Haas, Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, and French riser Gael "Force" Monfils.

Other players of note are Brit-Scot sensation Andy Murray who faces (3) Robredo in his opener, the Memphis runner-up Robin Soderling, Frenchman Julien Benneteau who ousted Roddick last week in Memphis, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi who faces Xavier "X-Man" Malisse in the first round, American Mardy Fish who received a wildcard and opens against a qualifier, and Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan who meets (5) Blake.

Additional wildcards went to Americans Bob Bryan and Sam Querrey.

Last year the event was held at Scottsdale where unseeded Aussie Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs beat Croatian Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic in straight sets, and the Bryan brothers claimed the doubles title.

Former champions in the field are Vince Spadea (2004) and Hewitt (2003,'00).

On court Monday are Kohlschreiber vs. (8) Verdasco, Mirnyi vs. Malisse, Monfils vs. Bjorkman, (1) Hewitt vs. Mayer, (4) Ginepri vs. Goldstein in an all-American, and Zib vs. Carlsen.

Coria, Gaudio, Moya Head ATP Acapulco Clay Field

Three players who have reached the French Open final or raised the trophy head the claycourt field this week in Acapulco in favorites Guillermo Coria, Gaston Gaudio and Carlos Moya.

Other seeds in Acapulco are Italian Filippo Volandri, Argentines Jose Acasuso and Juan Ignacio Chela, Frenchman Florent Serra and last week's Costa Do Sauipe winner Nicolas Massu.

Opening-round matches of interest are (7) Chela vs. countryman Juan Monaco, (4) Volandri vs. Costa Do Sauipe runner-up Al Martin, and (8) Massu vs. Argentine riser Carlos Berlocq.

In last year's final Rafael Nadal, only seeded No. 8 as he was yet to make his 11-tournament-title explosion in 2005, steamrolled Spaniard Al Montanes 6-1, 6-0 for his first title of the year.

On court Monday are (Q) Portas vs. (2) Gaudio, (3) Moya vs. (WC) Gallardo Valles, (6) Serra vs. (Q) Marin, Montanes vs. (WC) Del Potro, and Starace vs. Sabau, Behrend vs. Vanek, and K.Kim vs. Daniel.

Mauresmo, 2nd-Tier Russians Headline WTA Doha

Last week an exhausted Amelie Mauresmo, coming off three consecutive tour titles, fell in the quarterfinals at Dubai to struggling Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. But that hasn't stopped the tired Frenchwoman, now on the verge of taking Kim Clijsters' No. 1 ranking, from accepting several hundred thousand dollars in appearance money to go it again this week as the top seed at the Qatar Total Open in Doha.

Joining Mauresmo among the seeds is only one other Top 10 member in Russian Nadia Petrova, joined by Top 20-ranked Russians Anastasia Myskina, Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva, Italian Francesca Schiavone, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, and Serb Jelena Jankovic.

Also of note in the field are wildcard Martina Hingis facing American Mashona Washington in her opener, and China's riser Jie Zheng vs. (6) Kuznetsova, with the winner to likely face Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Potential semifinal meetings include (1) Mauresmo vs. Hingis, and (2) Petrova vs. (4) Myskina.

Last year's winner Maria Sharapova took a pass on defending her title, defeating currently-injured Aussie Alicia Molik in the 2005 final.

Pennetta Top Seed at WTA Acapulco

Defending champ Flavia Pennetta, a runner-up last week at Bogota, is the top seed this week at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis in Acapulco.

Other seeds are German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Czechs Klara Koukalova and Iveta Benesova, Argentine Gisela Dulko, Colombian Catalina Castano, Israel's Anna Smashnova, and Japan's Shinobu Asagoe.

In the second round Pennetta could face Lourdes Dominguez Lino who defeated her in the final last week at Bogota.

In last year's final the top-seeded Pennetta came from a set down to beat Slovak Ludmila Cervanova 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Haas Wins 2nd Straight Tour Title at ATP Memphis

No. 6 seed Tommy Haas won his second consecutive title after Delray Beach Sunday at the ATP stop in Memphis, defeating unseeded Swede Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2 to win his second Memphis title after his 1999 victory.

"I really played solid," Haas said. "I'm really happy to win this title again."

Now eight of the former No. 2-ranked German's nine career titles have come on hardcourt, with Haas dispatching of Soderling in under and hour.

Haas joins Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubicic as the only two-time title winners thus far in 2006.

In the doubles final the South African/Croatian combo of Chris Haggard and "Dr." Ivo Karlovic defeated American wildcards James Blake and Mardy Fish 0-6, 7-5, 10-5 in a third-set match tiebreak.

Blake and Fish, who received a wildcard entry into the event, won the 2004 San Jose title and the 2004 Houston crown.

Stepanek Cracks Title Barrier with 1st at ATP Rotterdam

Taking motivation from being called a "dark horse" by Tournament Director Richard Krajicek, No. 6 seed Radek Stepanek won his career-first title in his fourth final Sunday at the ATP stop in Rotterdam, delivering 17 aces in blowing unseeded Belgian Christophe Rochus off the court 6-0, 6-3.

"When you made me a dark horse, you gave me some extra motivation," Stepanek jibed Krajicek in a post-match conference.

Stepanek came into the final via a win over Top 10er Nikolay Davydenko, and even though he had a career 1-1 record with Rochus, in the final the Czech didn't let the diminutive Belgian play his game.

"I like to play long rallies, but he didn't allow me," Rochus said.

In the doubles final the No. 2-seeded pair of Australian Paul Hanley and South African Kevin Ullyett beat Israel's Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 7-6(4), 7-6(2) for their first team title of 2006.

Dominguez Lino Upsets Pennetta for WTA Bogota Title

In a switch on last year's final, No. 6-seeded Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino upset top seed Flavia Pennetta 7-6(3), 6-4 for her first career title Sunday at the WTA claycourt stop in Bogota.

"I had nothing to lose and I kept the pressure on her the whole time," Dominguez said.

The win avenged a loss in last year's final between the same contestants.

"She had me running all day," Pennetta said. "She played a smart game."

In the Saturday doubles final, Pennetta teaming with Argentine Gisela Dulko as the top seeds to defeat No. 2 seeds Szavay/Woehr 7-6(1), 6-1 for their first title of the year as a team.

X-CORRECT
Dubai officials announced that for 2007 they will raise the prize money for the WTA event to $1.5 million.

Glaken · Feb 28, 2006

Hingis, Hewitt, Agassi Winners Monday; Vegas Mayor Rips Roddick

<SMALL>Posted on February 28, 2006</SMALL>

Agassi Back with Win at ATP Dubai

Andre Agassi renewed a 14-year rivalry with Britain's Greg Rusedski Monday at the ATP stop in Dubai, with the American legend rebounding from a back injury in his previous outing and a tight first set to eventually run away with the match 7-6(4), 6-0.

"I made a few good shots at the right time early in the second set, I relaxed and maybe the edge came off his game too," Agassi told Reuters. "Obviously, when you can get up a break it helps you relax a little more. And he didn't serve as high a percentage of first serves and I was returning pretty well."

The two had previously met 10 times since 1992, with Rusedski winning only two encounters, both in San Jose in 1997 then in 2001.

In his last appearance on tour Agassi withdrew from the San Jose event after his chronic back injury flared up during a practice session before his opening-round match.
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The only other seed in action Monday, No. 5 Dave Ferrer, was outlasted in three sets by another former Top 10er in Germany's No. 98-ranked Rainer Schuettler.

Other unseeded players into the second round were wildcard Tim Henman (d. F.Lopez), Czech Robin Vik (d. (Q) Tipsarevic), Belgian Olivier Rochus (d. Santoro), Russian Igor Andreev (d. Seppi in three), Slovak qualifier Ivo Klec (d. Bracciali), and Kuwaiti wildcard Mohammed Al Ghareeb (d. (WC) Bahrouzyan).

"The first set I played very solidly but he was making so many unforced errors," Henman said. "Then I played one or two loose points on the 1-1 game in the second set and that gave him a lot of confidence. It was amazing how much better he played from then, from playing ordinary to playing some pretty good stuff."

In doubles highlights Monday, world No. 1 Roger Federer and Swiss Davis Cup partner Yves Allegro were edged 10-6 in a third-set match tiebreak by top seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, and Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Rafael Nadal advanced with a straight-set win over Ferrer/Seppi.

Scheduled for Tuesday in singles are (3) Davydenko vs. Safin in an all-Russian, Youzhny vs. (6) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, (1) Federer vs. Wawrinka in an all-Swiss, Mathieu vs. (2) Nadal, Moodie vs. (Q) El Aynaoui, (LL) Galimberti vs. Phau, Christophe "Coch-" Rochus vs. (8) Berdych, Rotterdam winner (7) Stepanek vs. (Q) Van Lottum, and in doubles highlights (3) Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro/Zimonjic vs. (WC) El Aynaoui/Safin, and Bhupathi/Moodie vs. (2) Hanley/Ullyett.

Hewitt Survives, 3 Seeds Exit at ATP Las Vegas

Andy Roddick was lost before the event began, but The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas almost lost its substitute top draw Monday when No. 1 seed Lleyton Hewitt was forced to battle back from a set down for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Germany's Florian Mayer.

Mayer ripped off three consecutive games after an hour-long rain delay to capture the first set. In the second set Hewitt went on a five-game tear, and in the third fought back from a break down.

"It was frustrating," Hewitt said. "With the weather, we could've been in for a long night or coming back tomorrow. You're in two different mind-sets, but it was tough for both of us."

Before Monday it had rained in Vegas on only two days in 2006, now there has been rain on Monday with a 60 percent chance of showers again Tuesday.

"I'm suing the city of Las Vegas," Tournament Director Steve Bellamy joked to the Las Vegas Journal-review during the delay.

The event lost another high-profile seed when Memphis winner Tommy Haas pulled Monday citing a shoulder injury.

No. 4 seed Robby Ginepri's match with fellow American Paul Goldstein was suspended due to rain at one-set all, while failing to escape upsets were No. 6 Gael "Force" Monfils, losing in straights to Jonas Bjorkman, and No. 8 Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, ousted in three sets by German Philipp Kolhschreiber.

Unseeded winners into the second round Monday were Dane Kenneth Carlsen (d. Zib) and Belgian Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. Mirnyi in three).

The final round of qualifying was also completed with the final four onto the main Vegas dance floor in Paul Capdeville (CHI), Prakash Amritraj (IND), Kristian Pless (DEN), and Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian (ARM).

Scheduled for Tuesday are (WC) B.Bryan vs. (WC) Querrey in an all-American, (Q) Sargsian vs. (2) Kiefer, (WC) Fish vs. (Q) P.Amritraj, (4) Ginepri vs. Goldstein (to finish), Murray vs. (3) Robredo, (5) Blake vs. Srichaphan, Tursunov vs. (LL) Luczak, (Q) Capdeville vs. Spadea, Soderling vs. Benneteau, Sanguinetti vs. Karlovic, and (Q) Pless vs. Hernych.

Gaudio, Moya Lead Dirt Winners at Acapulco

Former French Open champs Gaston Gaudio and Carlos Moya led the seeded winners into the second round of play Monday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, while the women's seeds posted a 3-1 record on opening day.

The No. 2-seeded Gaudio straight-setted Spanish qualifier Al Portas, while the No. 3 Moya was forced to battle from a set down against Mexican wildcard Miquel Gallardo Valles.

Un-seeds into the second round on the red clay were Puerto Rican qualifier Juan Antonio Marin (d. (6) Serra in three), German Tomas Behrend (d. Vanek in three), Spaniard Al Montanes (d. (WC) Del who retired with a wrist injury), Brazil's Marcos Daniel (d. K.Kim) and Romanian Razvan Sabau (d. Starace after getting bageled in the first).

Seeded winners struggling to victory on the women's side were (2) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Brandi 6-1 in the third), (5) Catalina Castano (d. Martinez Granados in three), and (6) Iveta Benesova (d. Kanepi from a set down).

Unseeded women into the second round Monday were Czech Katerina Bohmova (d. (8) Asagoe in three), Maret Ani (d. (WC) Torres Sandoval) and Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. Mattek, bagel in the third).

Scheduled Tuesday for the women are Munoz Gallegos vs. Smashnova, Pennetta vs. Serra Zanetti, Koukalova vs. Gubasci, Loit vs. Dulko, Tienne vs. Parra Santonja, Diaz-Oliva vs. Shaughnessy, Garbin vs. Dominguez Lino, Pous Tio vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, Sromova vs. Martinez Sanchez, and Gussoni vs. Ondraskova.

On tap Tuesday for the men on the red dirt are Monaco vs. (7) Chela in an all-Argentine, (1) Coria vs. (Q) Di Mauro, (WC) S.Gonzalez vs. (5) Acasuso, (8) Massu vs. Berlocq, Horna vs. Dlouhy, A.Martin vs. (4) Volandri, Calleri vs. N.Lapentti, Pashanski vs. Minar, and in an all-Spanish match-up (Q) Almagro vs. Vicente.

Seeds Lose, Hingis Wins at WTA Doha

The WTA stop in Doha lost its two lowest seeds right off the bat Monday when Italy's Roberta Vinci ousted No. 7 Elena Likhovtseva, and German Julia Schruff eased past No. 8 Jelena Jankovic, both in straight sets to advance into the second round.

Wildcarded former No. 1 Martina Hingis continued her impressive roll in the first round at Doha, dropping only three games against American Mashona Washington.

"I think I played quite well, except in the first game of the match, which I lost," Hingis said. "In the first set, I knew I could do anything I wanted, my passing shots were coming off well and my serves were good too. I played my shots with a lot of confidence."

Other un-seeds into the second round at the expense of Russians were China's Li Na (d. Zvonareva) and the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko (d. Dushevina).

The final round of qualifying was also completed Monday, with four additional on to the main draw in Eleni Daniilidou (GRE), Li Ting (CHN), Shikha Uberoi (IND), and sister Neha Uberoi (USA).

Scheduled for Tuesday in Dubai are Hantuchova vs. Peschke, S.Uberoi vs. Vento-Kabchi, Sugiyama vs. Sfar, Zheng vs. Kuznetsova, Kirilenko vs. T.Li, Daniilidou vs. Medina Garrigues, Schruff vs. A.Bondarenko, and N.Uberoi vs. Bartoli.

Glaken · Mar 1, 2006

Coria, Murray Lose, Safin Wins; Sampras Saves IW, WTT

<SMALL>Posted on March 01, 2006</SMALL>

Safin Returns with Upset at ATP Dubai

Playing his first match since August 2005 after a knee injury, former No. 1 Marat Safin immediately made an impression Tuesday at the ATP stop in Dubai with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 upset over No. 3 seed and Top 10 Russian countryman Nikolay Davydenko.

"I thought I had no chance when I saw the draw," said Safin, who has since fallen out of the Top 50 on the ATP Rankings. "Nikolay has been playing very well for 18 months, and at the start I couldn't really think I would make a set. I thought I would come out and play a few games -- I didn't expect to win the match. I was still a little bit scared."

Safin says his recovery isn't complete, with some movements still difficult, but the big Russian still displayed the brutal baseline game that garnered him two Grand Slam titles and the No. 1 ranking during his career.

"There were some balls I didn't want to run for, and some movements were hard to make," Safin said. "I still have a little bit of pain but it's not the same pain as it used to be and I can move without any problems. But I think it was harder psychologically than physically, and I am surprised I won. He is a good player to beat. But I still have to climb some mountains."
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World No. 1 Roger Federer (d. fellow Swiss Wawrinka) led the six seeds in action, joined in the winner's circle by (2) Rafael Nadal (d. Mathieu from a set down), (7) Radek Stepanek (d. Van Lottum) and (8) Tomas Berdych (d. C.Rochus).

"In the first set I had a lot of chances," Nadal said. "I had two 0-30s, one 15-40 and I played defensively and for that I lost the set. After, in the second and third set, I changed my approach. I played more aggressively, a more intense match. It was an important match for me because I lost the first set and came back with a very good physical performance. I ran very well to difficult balls and that's important because the foot is very good now."

Joining the No. 3 seed Davydenko on the sidelines was No. 6 Dominik Hrbaty, dominated 6-4 in the third set by unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Advancing in all-unseeded match-ups were Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui (d. Moodie), and German Bjorn Phau (d. Galimberti from a set down).

El Aynaoui then pulled out of the tournament citing "personal reasons."

Scheduled for Wednesday are Safin vs. O.Rochus, (1) Federer vs. (WC) Al Ghareeb, Phau vs. (4) Agassi, (7) Stepanek vs. (WC) Henman, Schuettler vs. (Q) Klec, an all-Russian in Andreev vs. Youzhny, and an all-Czech in Vik vs. (8) Berdych.

Kiefer, Blake Win, Murray Folds at ATP Las Vegas

No. 2 seed Nicolas Kiefer (d. (Q) Sargsian) led the winners Tuesday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, joined in the second round by fellow seeds (3) Tommy Robredo (d. Murray) and (5) James Blake (d. Srichaphan, bagel in the second).

Unseeded American Paul Goldstein recorded the upset of the day, taking out No. 4-seeded countryman Robby Ginepri 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1.

"I had confidence in how the points were going to get constructed and confidence that I could win points playing the style I am comfortable playing," Goldstein said.

Winners in all-unseeded matches were Americans (LL) Brian Vahaly (d. (WC) Querrey from a set down) who replaced Bob Bryan who pulled with a bad shoulder, Vince Spadea (d. (Q) Capdeville) and (WC) Mardy Fish (d. (Q) P.Amritraj), Aussie (LL) Peter Luczak (d. Tursunov), Frenchman Julien Benneteau (d. Soderling), Croat Ivo Karlovic (d. Sanguinetti), and Czech Jan Hernych (d. (Q) Pless).

Scheduled for Wednesday in Vegas are Bjorkman vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (1) Hewitt vs. Hernych, (3) Robredo vs. (WC) Fish, and Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau vs. Kohlschreiber.

Coria Misery Continues, Dulko Upset at ATP Acapulco

Top-seeded Guillermo Coria dropped his win-loss record to 3-3 on the year Tuesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, while on the women's side three of the four seeds in action safely advanced.

The Top 10-ranked Argentine Coria was easily dismissed by Italian qualifier Alessio Di Mauro 6-2, 6-4, and has yet to advance past the third round in an event this season.

"I'm playing badly. Not just in this game but all year," Coria said. "I thought I could change the situation today, but it was very difficult. The court is very fast and he took advantage of his opportunities."

Seeded winners at the Mexican Open were (5) Jose Acasuso (d. (WC) S.Gonzalez), (7) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Argentine countryman Monaco who retired in the third set with injury), and (8) Nicolas Massu (d. Berlocq).

No. 4 Filippo Volandri was another seeded casualty, getting bageled in the first set in a three-set loss to Spaniard Al Martin.

Winners in all-unseeded matches were Argentine Agustin Calleri (d. N.Lapentti), Serb Boris Pashanski (d. Minar from a set down), Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro (d. Vicente in three), and Peru's Luis Horna (d. Dlouhy).

In women's play Tuesday, three seeds advanced in (1) Flavia Pennetta (d. Ant. Serra Zanetti), (3) Klara Koukalova (d. Gubacsi), and (7) Anna Smashnova (d. Munoz Gallegos), while (4) Gisela Dulko was upset in straight sets by Frenchwoman Emilie Loit.

Unseeded winners on the day were Meghann Shaughnessy (d. Diaz-Olivia 1-and-0), Tathiana Garbin (d. Dominguez Lino), Natalia Gussoni (d. Ondraskova), Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (d. Sromova), Laura Pous Tio (d. Sanchez Lorenzo from a set down), and Carla Tiene (d. Parra Santonja, bagel in the second).

On tap Wednesday for the women are Koukalova vs. Pous Tio, Pennetta vs. Garbin, Gagliardi vs. Loit, Martinez Sanchez vs. Benesova, Castano vs. Shaughnessy, Bohmova vs. Gussoni, Tiene vs. Groenefeld, and Ani vs. Smashnova.

The men's schedule Wednesday on the dirt is (Q) Almagro vs. (5) Acasuso, Sabau vs. (2) Gaudio, (3) Moya vs. Montanes, (Q) Di Mauro vs. Pashanski, (8) Massu vs. Daniel, Calleri vs. A.Martin, Behrend vs. (7) Chela, and (Q) Marin vs. Horna.

Russians Romp Wednesday at WTA Doha

The Russians were 2-0 against the Chinese Tuesday at the WTA stop in Doha, with No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova slamming Jie Zheng 0-and-1, and riser Maria Kirilenko defeating qualifier Li Ting in straight sets.

No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova was the other seeded winner in action Tuesday, outlasting Czech Kveta Peschke 6-1 in the third.

"I made the second set very difficult for myself, but I managed to turn it around in the third," Hantuchova said. "That was the best part of my match."

Greece's Eleni Daniilidou was the only winning qualifier of the day (d. Medina Garrigues), joined in the second round by unseeded winners Marion Bartoli (d. (Q) N.Uberoi, bagel in the first), Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi (d. (Q) S.Uberoi 0-and-1), and Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama (d. (WC) Sfar).

In the only second-round match Tuesday, German Julia Schruff straight-setted the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko.

On court Wednesday are Sugiyama vs. Myskina, Schiavone vs. Hingis, Mauresmo vs. Bartoli in an all-French, Daniilidou vs. Petrova, Vento-Kabchi vs. Vinci, Hantuchova vs. N.Li, and Kirilenko vs. Kuznetsova.

Glaken · Mar 2, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=maintext><TABLE cellSpacing=10 cellPadding=0 width="99%" align=center bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Hingis Wins, Agassi Loses Shocker in Dubai

<SMALL>Posted on March 02, 2006</SMALL>

Tennis Channel Open Circus Rolls Dice in Vegas

It remains to be seen whether Tennis Channel President Steve Bellamy's "Tennispalooza" this week at the ATP stop in Las Vegas, encompassing everything from players competing in ping pong and air hockey to gymnastics exhibitions and fan-inclusive fast serve competitions, catches on at other events -- but the results are in, and it is anything but boring.

Wednesday was the final of the Fast Serve Championships, where four amateur finalists qualified. Kevin Jackson of Orange County, Calif. led the hopefuls after knocking down a 140 mph blast (that had to land inside the service box). With first place grand prizes of a giant Panasonic flat-screen TV, Jet Blue Travel Vouchers and a Murrey Pool Table on the line to the winner, Jackson looked to have the top prize sewn up.

Until Dr. Ivo made a house call on Stadium Court.
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The winning Fast Serve competitors needed to also beat the participating pros, which included Croatian giant "Dr." Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. Karlovic captured the top prize on his final serve, knocking down a gasp-inducing 142 mph bomb in front of the Stadium Court crowd after missing his first four deliveries.

Jackson took home the runner-up prize of a Stiga Ping Pong Table.

OPEN AIR, CLOSED AUTOGRAPH SESSION

The Tennis Channel Open is featuring an "open air" interview tent this week in Las Vegas, where one side of the outdoor tent is left open so fans can witness live player post-match interviews.

After Lleyton Hewitt's interview Wednesday, the throng of mostly octogenarians crowded around the Aussie with one woman shouting "Las Vegas loves you, thanks for coming!" But after Hewitt signed one autograph then bolted for the locker room, the same woman was heard to incredulously remark to her lady companions, "He only signed one autograph! Can you believe it?"

Welcome to Lleyton Land lady.

Earlier in the day, multiple players signed autographs for fans in The Tennis Channel booth.

DOUBLES, THEN MORE DOUBLES

History was made Wednesday night when The Tennis Channel Open became the first ATP event to run a doubles-only night session with three consecutive doubles matches on the feature Stadium Court: (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Fisher/Mayer, (WC) Fish/Ginepri vs. (2) Bjorkman/Mirnyi, and (WC) Blake/Blake vs. Coetzee/Wassen.

Blake and Fish usually play together, but the Blake brothers partnered since this is the elder Thomas' last ATP event. While Blake sports a bald head, his older, taller brother rocks the ever-popular "Sideshow Bob" look.

The Bryan brothers are particularly happy with doubles getting front-and-center attention in Las Vegas.

"The new doubles revolution is happening, with all the attention and focus from the ATP on doubles," Bob Bryan said. "(TTC Open Tournament Director) Steve Bellamy is a huge promoter of doubles. The fans received it well, this is going to be a highlight for doubles in Vegas, three matches on one night."

TENNISPALOOZA CONT.

Other activities Wednesday on the tournament grounds were Paddle Tennis Clinics & Demos and the draw party for the Paddle Tennis pro event, USTA Membership Appreciation Day, Wheelchair Tennis Clinics & Demos, the Murrey Parlor Games Championships where France's competitive Gael "Force" Monfils threatened to quit multiple times against his tour Ping Pong foes over disputed calls, and the Mirabella Gymnastics Show. And who could overlook the Singha Beer Garden, with those two rarely-seen-together words "beer" and "garden" that conjure such lovely visions?

Tennis-X is reporting live this week in Las Vegas for the Tennis Channel Open.

Hewitt into Quarters, Fish Sinks at ATP Las Vegas

Top-seed Lleyton Hewitt defended his turf Wednesday at the ATP stop in Las Vegas, The Tennis Channel Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Czech Jan Hernych to gain the quarterfinals.

"I was very wary of him going into the match," Hewitt said. "I felt comfortable, but he's the kind of guy that when you actually get up a break, he plays a lot better tennis...My focus is on winning this tournament. I'm trying to get points and get my ranking up a little bit."

The only other seed in action, No. 3 Tommy Robredo, fought off a big-serving challenge from American wildcard Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-4.

Other un-seeds into the quarterfinals were Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. Bjorkman from a set down) and German Philipp Kohlschreiber (d. Benneteau).

In doubles highlights, winners included (1) Bryan/Bryan (d. Fisher/Mayer), (2) Bjorkman/Mirnyi (d. (WC) Fish/Ginepri), and Coetzee/Wassen (d. (WC) Blake/Blake).

"I thought we were fairly sharp," said Mike Bryan. "We haven't been practicing too much this week because we've been resting...This bodes well for Indian Wells."

Lining up for Thursday are (2) Kiefer vs. Carlsen, Spadea vs. Goldstein in an all-American, Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. (LL) Luczak, and (5) Blake vs. (LL) Vahaly in another all-American.

Agassi Among 3 Ousted at ATP Dubai

Unheralded German Bjorn Phau handed No. 4 seed Andre Agassi his worst loss of the year Wednesday at the ATP stop in Dubai, with the No. 80-ranked player straight-setting the former No. 1-ranked American 7-5, 7-5 to advance into the quarterfinals.

"The ball was really flying tonight," Agassi told reporters after kicking in 31 unforced errors. "It feels like I was playing tennis with a golf ball and it was not a comfortable feeling at all."

The top two seeds advanced Wednesday when world No. 1 Roger Federer had a tougher-than-expected time with Kuwaiti wildcard Muhammed Al Ghareeb 7-6(5), 6-4, and No. 2 Rafael Nadal received a walkover against qualifier Younes El Aynaoui who withdrew from the tournament to return home for personal reasons.

"I hoped it would be easier obviously," Federer told reporters. "I was playing quite passively and got caught up in that. I guess my experience got me through."

British wildcard Tim Henman provided another upset by outlasting No. 7 seed Radek Stepanek 7-6 in the third, and was joined in the quarterfinals by upset-minded Czech Robin Vik who outlasted No. 8 Tomas Berdych 6-2 in the third.

"Stepanek was serving pretty aggressively and consistently so there is no point in trying to chip the ball back in when it is like that," Henman, who will next face Nadal, told reporters. "I'm looking forward to playing Rafa because there will be no pressure on me. I don't want too many baseline rallies because there will only be one winner, but I go in there as the underdog and I'm feeling in good shape."

Belgian Olivier Rochus made Marat Safin's comeback brief with a straight-set dismissal, with additional unseeded winners Mikhail Youzhny of Russia (d. countryman Andreev) and German Rainer Schuettler (d. (Q) Klec).

"It was a lack of matches," said Safin, who was back to his racquet-smashing self against Rochus, on the loss. "You need to get the rhythm back, it doesn't come straight away. There's still a long way to go and many things to work on. It's not like I was so bad but I never like to play him. He's a difficult opponent because he uses slice and changes his game a lot. He plays smart. I just need matches."

On tap for Thursday in Dubai are Olivier "The Roach" Rochus vs. Youzhny, (WC) Henman vs. (2) Nadal, (1) Federer vs. Vik, and Schuettler vs. Phau.

3 Mens, 3 Womens Seeds Fall at Acapulco

No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio made his way into the quarterfinals Wednesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, with the former French Open champ avoiding the slew of upsets that claimed three seeds on the men's side.

Seeded losers on the day were No. 3 Carlos Moya ousted by Spanish countryman Al Montanes, No. 5 Jose Acasuso retiring with injury against Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro, and Brazilian Marcos Daniel upsetting No. 8 Nicolas Massu.

No. 7 seed Juan Ignacio Chela also moved into the quarters with a three-set win over Tomas Behrend.

Unseeded winners Wednesday were Italian qualifier Alessio DiMauro (d. Pashanski from a set down), Agustin Calleri (d. A.Martin), and Luis Horna (d. (Q) Marin).

In women's play Wednesday, (1) Flavia Pennetta (d. Garbin in three) and (2) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Tiene) survived into the quarterfinals, while (3) Klara Koukalova (l. to Laura Pous Tio), (6) Iveta Benesova (l. to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez), and (7) Anna Smashnova (l. to Ani) didn't.

Unseeded winners were American Meghann Shaughnessy (d. Castano 1-and-0), Natalia Gussoni (d. Bohmova), and Emilie Loit (d. Gagliardi).

Scheduled for the women Thursday are Gussoni vs. Loit, Pennetta vs. Martinez Sanchez, Shaughnessy vs. Groenefeld, and Pous Tio vs. Ani.

Lining up on the men's side are Horna vs. Calleri, Daniel vs. (2) Gaudio, Montanes vs. (Q) Almagro in an all-ESP, and (Q) Di Mauro vs. (7) Chela.

Hingis Shines Again, Myskina Tripped at WTA Doha

No. 3 seed Francesca Schiavone was the latest victim of the Martina Hingis comeback Wednesday at the WTA stop in Doha, with the Swiss steamrolling the No. 11-ranked Italian 6-1, 6-2 to move into the quarerfinals.

Seeded winners Wednesday were (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. French countrywoman Bartoli, bagel in the first), (2) Nadia Petrova (d. (Q) Daniilidou), and (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. countrywoman Kirilenko 6-2 in the third).

"I am happy with the way I played," Mauresmo told reporters. "It wasn't a difficult match. I am fairly relaxed these days and I am enjoying the level of tennis I play nowadays."

Asia asserted itself in the upset department, with Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama outlasting No. 4 Anastasia Myskina in three, and China's Li Na coming from a set down to defeat No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 in the third.

In the only all-unseeded match-up, Italian Roberta Vinci straight-setted Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi.

Matching up for Thursday in the quarterfinals are Schruff vs. Sugiyama, N.Li vs. Petrova, Mauresmo vs. Vinci, and Hingis vs. Kuznetsova.
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Glaken · Mar 4, 2006

Federer v Nadal in Dubai, Mauresmo Ready to Reclaim No 1

<SMALL>Posted on March 04, 2006</SMALL>

Mother Nature v Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas

It began with intermittent sprinkles, and by nightfall featured a wind-chill in the 40s and winds approaching 30 miles an hour, making things difficult for night competitors the Bryan Brothers and James Blake, who both posted wins into the semifinals Friday at the weather-challenged Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas.

The Tennis Channel itself featured footage of the freaks and geeks featured in the World Air Hockey Championships Friday, highlighting "world-ranked players from the Major League Air Hockey Association," many of whom glanced knowingly into the camera during coverage of their sport, revelling in the international breakthrough and undoubted future sponsorship potential.

Thomas Blake, fellow ATP pro (now retired) with brother James, also finished second in the Wilson World Stringing Championships Friday, finishing 2 min., 31 sec. behind heat winner Scott Schneider.

Blake was rooted on by the UNLV cheerleading team standing behind him, with high fives to the entire squad after narrowing pulling out the second-place finish.
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In the Paddle Tennis Championships on-site, new paddle tennis star Gael "Force" Monfils of France followed up his win over the world No. 1-ranked player Thursday with a three-set comeback win (bagel win in the second set) on Friday over Dana Treister to reach the semifinals.

Monfils' coach, Thierry Champion, was happy to report that he had reached the paddle tennis mixed doubles semifinals, simultaneously notifying people that there was a paddle tennis mixed doubles.

The weather is forecasted to warm over the weekend, with reported snow on the horizon for next week in Vegas. Vegas baby -- bring a jacket.

Federer v Nadal Blockbuster in ATP Dubai Final

The well-monied ATP stop in Dubai got what it paid for on Friday when world No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal advanced to what will be their fourth career meeting Saturday at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Both players had few problems in the semis, with Federer dropping five games against unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny, and Nadal moving past unseeded German Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-2.

"It was by far my best match of the tournament," Federer told reporters. "It's always nice when you can turn it up for the big matches. The score didn't indicate how tough it was. It was quite a struggle for me. It was very windy. All in all, I'm quite pleased."

Federer is 1-2 career against the Spaniard, last losing in the semifinals of the 2005 French Open.

"I would enjoy playing Rafael," Federer told reporters. "It would be nice to see him back in the final after his injury."

Nadal says he is also looking forward to the confrontation.

"Tomorrow is going to be a very special match," Nadal said. "I am very happy to make it to the finals in only my second tournament after four months. Federer is a finals specialist, but I have won my last 10 finals too."

The doubles final will be (1) Knowles/Nestor (d. (3) Santoro/Zimonjic in a match tiebreak) vs. (2) Hanley/Ullyett (d. (4) Damm/Paes in a match tiebreak).

Hewitt, Blake Into Semis at ATP Las Vegas

Top-seed Lleyton Hewitt showed former-No. 1 form Friday at the blustery ATP stop in Las Vegas, rolling over German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-0 to gain the semifinals at The Tennis Channel Open.

In Blake's night match winds were at a gusty 29 mph, with the wind chill dipping into the low 40s, but that didn't stop the American from rolling over Dane Kenneth Carlsen 6-4, 6-4.

"It was tough conditions and I wanted to get it done early," said Blake who saved all four break points he faced. "Luckily I handled (the cold) pretty well tonight."

Blake will now face Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, who had a 7-6(4), 6-4 upset win over No. 3 seed Tommy Robredo.

"It is a satisfying win," said Karlovic after taking out the Top 20-ranked Spaniard. "It is difficult to play with the wind."

Xavier Malisse retired with a left Achilles injury down 6-3, 2-0 to American Paul Goldstein.

"You obviously hate to see a competitor cut short by injury," Goldstein said after the match. "Midway through the first you could tell he wasn't moving, he wasn't explosive, you hate to see that happen...These semifinal are few and far between for me so I am pretty happy."

Malisse said the injury was nothing serious and he was looking to the back-to-back Masters Series events coming up at Indian Wells and Miami.

"It's just a little pain in the Achilles, but you know it's tough to play when you're not 100 percent," Malisse said. "It doesn't feel good right now but you know I gotta look for it and look at Indian Wells and Miami, the bigger ones and try to get set for there."

Goldstein says his meeting with Hewitt will be about making the Australian work.

"We could be out there for three hours," Goldstein said. "And from a conditioning standpoint, I have no problem with that."

Saturday's semifinals will feature (1) Hewitt vs. Goldstein, (5) Blake vs. Karlovic, and in the doubles Aspelin/Perry vs. Levinsky/Lindstedt, and Bryan/Bryan vs. Coetzee/Wassen.

Chela, Horna in Final at ATP Acapulco

Peru's unseeded Luis Horna derailed an all-Argentine final Friday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, ousting shoulder-addled No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to gain the championship match at the Mexican Open.

In the final Horna will face No. 7 seed Juan Ignacio Chela, who eased past Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2.

"The result made it look like it was an easy game but on the court it didn't feel that way," Chela said. "Almagro started off making some errors but by the end of the second set he was playing very good tennis."

In women's play the final will be a No. 1 seed versus No. 2, with top-seeded Flavia Pennetta rolling past Maret Ani in the semis 6-3, 6-1, and No. 2 Anna-Lena Groenefeld likewise easing past Emilie Loit 6-2, 6-4.

It will be the first meeting between Pennetta and Groenefeld, while Chela leads his career meetings with Horna 3-1, including a win weeks ago at Buenos Aires.

No 1 Within Grasp for Mauresmo at WTA Doha

Tennis watchers claimed Amelie Mauresmo's run to No. 1 in 2004 without a slam title was a fluke. Now in 2006, after her inaugural win at the Australian Open and Friday steamrolling comeback queen Martina Hingis to reach the final at Doha, Mauresmo is ready to re-take the No. 1 ranking she feels is rightly hers.

Mauresmo defeated Hingis 6-2, 6-2 in under an hour Friday, a victory that puts her one win away from not only raising the Doha trophy but taking No. 1 ranking away from rival Kim Clijsters.

"I played a very consistent match," Mauresmo told reporters after the match. "On key moments I felt like I controlled the match. I think that the physical aspect of the game played a big part today."

Hingis still holds a 7-5 career advantage over Mauresmo but has now lost the last three.

"I played against a very solid player today," Hingis said. "She doesn't make too many errors. It was a good match, I'm happy because I stayed in the match. I have been progressing, I need to step it up to beat these type of players and I don't have the level yet. But overall, I'm pleased with my week here in Doha, I am making progress and that is positive."

In the final the Frenchwoman will face Nadia Petrova, with the No. 2 seed struggling to finish off Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 7-6(2).

"I was very motivated today," Petrova, who will move from No. 8 to No. 7 on the WTA Rankings, told reporters. "I dictated the match very well up until the second set where Ai was not missing any balls. I kept focused and used all my strength to pull it off and I managed by stepping it up in the tiebreak."

Mauresmo has won four of her five career meetings with Petrova, who plays the Frenchwoman tight but gets tight when it comes down to closing things out.

"I'm expecting a tough one," Mauresmo said. "She played very well this week and today against Ai. She has a strong game and I think that the key tomorrow is going to be the serve."

Mauresmo held the No. 1 ranking for five weeks in 2004.

The doubles final will be No. 3 seeds Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova against the unseeded Chinese pair of Li Ting and Sun TianTian.

Glaken · Mar 5, 2006

Nadal, Petrova, Horna, Groenefeld Win Titles

<SMALL>Posted on March 05, 2006</SMALL>

Air Hockey Athletes Rock Tennis Channel Open

The off-court "Tennispalooza" antics were cranked up Saturday at the ATP Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas with the culmination of the 2006 Tennis Channel Air Hockey Invitational championship round, with three-time USAA (don't ask) champion Jose "The Eagle" Mora from Caracas, Venezuela squaring off against American and world No. 2 Davis Lee "The Dragon" Huynh.

"This is the world's fastest table sport!" shouted out the enthusiastic M.C. while the 150-odd onlookers no doubt racked their brains for competing speed table sports: Chess? That game where you flick a paper football?
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Tennis Channel Open Tournament Director Steve Bellamy revelled in the circus energy on the tournament midway, where fans poured into after the Lleyton Hewitt win Saturday to view or participate in air hockey, table tennis, the World Stringing Championship, the Paddle Tennis Championships, Thai dancing, the Singha Beer Garden, Thai cooking exhibitions and a host of other activities.

"One of our goals was to create a spectacle," Bellamy said with a grin during the final as the M.C. shouted "He's going for a right wall bank!"

"If we provide bits and pieces of air hockey, paddle ball, the Thai dancers, Wally Green the table tennis star, the Wilson World Stringing Championships, etc., that's a fun ticket," Bellamy said as fans stood four-deep trying to get a look at "The Eagle" and "The Dragon," who were sweating profusely in front of the vocal crowd and rabble-rousing M.C.

So hyped-up were the proceedings that the ATP players on the stadium court sent word over to tone it down.

Brief chants of "USA! USA!" ensued as "The Dragon" swept "The Eagle" in the best-of-five competition, with his stock rising as a potential future world champ.

"I think the sport's growing," said Huynh in an interview with The Tennis Channel. "I think I'm doing the things I need to do to become a world champion."

And another international bar-sport superstar was born.

MONFILS ADVANCES TO PADDLE TENNIS FINAL

Gael "Force" Monfils, who made a first-round exit this week at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, nonetheless continued to embarrass the entire sport of professional paddle tennis Saturday, defeating Gary Klein 6-2, 6-2 to advance into the finals of the World Paddle Tennis Championships on-site at the ATP tournament.

"(It was) very fun, yes," said the grinning Monfils in halted English. "Today we had great conditions so it was fun to play today."

And the thought of winning his first professional paddle tennis title in his first outing?

"Amazing," Monfils said.

After his ATP semifinal win Saturday over "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, James Blake said, "I want to find out what Monfils is going to do in the finals of the paddle tennis tomorrow."

Other off-court activities Saturday at The Tennis Channel Open included Bobby Black and Clint Holmes singing the National Anthem, and Asian Performances and an Asian Cooking Demo in the Singha Beer Garden.

On tap for Sunday at TTC Open is the women's ITF challenger final, the paddle tennis finals, the Red Bull Moto Cross Exhibition featuring 75-foot jumps, the men's singles final, men's doubles final, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman presenting the key to the city to Tennis Channel circus manager Steve Bellamy.

Federer Stymied Again by Nadal in Dubai Final

Roger Federer went to bed Saturday night as the No. 1 player by a longshot, but his sleep had to be anything but restful.

On Saturday in the final at the ATP stop in Dubai, world No. 2 Rafael Nadal took the Swiss' best in the first set, then turned around the match for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win, his third in four career meetings with Federer.

"This in unbelievable, this is so special," an emotional Nadal told reporters. "To win in my second event back, I could have never dreamed it. Roger is a great champion, one of the best in history. This is a great victory. I don't have the words right now, I'm so happy."

It was the 10th consecutive win in a final for Nadal, who was playing in only his second tournament of the year after returning from a foot injury that caused him to miss the Australian Open.

The defeat ended for Federer a 16-match winning streak, an incredible 56-match winning streak on hardcourts alone, and a 29-match winning streak in the Middle East, the Swiss' favorite playground over the last four years.

The loss was particularly dispiriting considering Federer will likely have to beat Nadal on clay en route to the French Open title that has eluded him, while lately he can't even conquer the Spaniard on the favored hardcourts that suit his game.

Federer's sterling play in the first set included the final eight points to close it out.

In the second set the Swiss' level dropped, while Nadal became more aggressive to dictate play, breaking for a 5-4 lead before taking the set. In the third set Federer was broken in his opening service, and though the Swiss broke back for 2-2, Nadal again broke to go on to serve it out.

"I'm pleased with my run here in Dubai," Federer told reporters. "Rafa was just too good today. He was the better player. I'm still happy with my week here and the state of my game. I hope I can keep it up over the next weeks."

In the doubles final it was another No. 2 over No. 1 upset when Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett beat top seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 1-6, 6-2, 10-1 in a match tiebreak for their second title of the year.

"We got off to a shocking start," Ullyett said. "We started a bit flat. But with the new doubles format, all of a sudden the momentum can turn, and you just got to use it. That is what happened today. Our confidence after this victory is very high."

Hewitt v Blake in Final at ATP Las Vegas

The fan-friendly ATP "Tennispalooza" event, The Tennis Channel in Las Vegas, Saturday received its dream final when top seed Lleyton Hewitt turned around a dodgy start to roll past unseeded American Paul Goldstein 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, setting up a meeting with American James Blake.

"Paul came out and played extremely consistent," Hewitt said. "Early in the second set I tried to step it up a little more and dictate play."

In the final Hewitt will face the No. 5-seeded Blake, who subdued the giant serving of Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic 7-6(2), 6-1.

"His second serve bounces up so much," said Blake on handling the Karlovic delivery. "A lot of times I'm trying to take it early, or I stay back so I can catch it coming down."

Hewitt is 6-0 lifetime versus Blake, but the American hopes to turn things around as he will set a career-high ranking on Monday.

"He's got great returns, I'm going to have to serve really well and put some pressure on him," Blake said. "I'm going to have to win points two or three times, he doesn't let you get those free points, he doesn't let you get into certain types of patterns."

The doubles final will be (1) Bryan/Bryan (d. Coetzee/Wassen in the semis) vs. Levinsky/Lindstedt (d. (3) Aspelin/Perry).

Horna, Groenefeld Win 1st Titles at ATP Acapulco

Unseeded Peruvian Luis Horna upset No. 7 seed Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6(5), 6-4 Saturday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco for his first career title.

"Winning your first title is an important moment in your career, and winning it at such a great event as Acapulco is even better," Horna said. "No doubt that I will always remember this moment. The key in today's match was that I was fit, after the long match I had yesterday, and that I served really well. I also had a little luck in the important moments which helped me to close the points."

In the women's final No. 2 seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany handed top-seeded Flavia Pennetta her second consecutive loss in a final 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

The win was the first title for Groenefeld in her fourth career title. Groenefeld also won the doubles title, teaming with Meghann Shaughnessy as the top seeds to down No. 2 Asagoe/Loit 6-1, 6-3.

In the men's doubles final (1) Cermak/Friedl beat Starace/Volandri 7-5, 6-2 for their second title of the year.

Petrova Stops Mauresmo for WTA Doha Title

Amelie Mauresmo, on the cusp of re-taking the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2004, was stopped in straight sets Saturday in the final of the WTA stop in Doha, with the Russian stunning the Frenchwoman 6-3, 7-5.

Mauresmo entered the match with a 4-1 career advantage over Petrova.

A notorious choker in previous big matches, Petrova played confidently in breaking Mauresmo three times in the first set, then getting the critical break for a 6-5 lead in the second set.

"I am absolutely delighted with my effort," said Petrova after winning her first title of the year and the second for her career. "I played my best match here in Doha today against probably the best player of the tournament."

Mauresmo, who has played five weeks in a row now going into the Indian Wells-Miami swing, said she fatigued in the end.

"Nadia played a very solid match," Mauresmo told reporters. "She made it pretty difficult for me and I was running a bit of out gas after all these weeks. All the credit to her. I wasn't able to be as strong on my serve as I wanted to be. I have no regrets, I'm of course disappointed but happy at the same time. I just have to keep on working and do the same things I have been doing for the last months."

In the doubles final No. 3 seeds Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama won their first title of the year as a team with a 6-4, 6-4 win over China's 2004 Olympic doubles gold medalists Li Ting and Sun Tiantian.

Glaken · Mar 6, 2006

Blake Stops Hewitt in Vegas; Replay Challenge to Debut in Miami

<SMALL>Posted on March 06, 2006</SMALL>

Blake Breaks Hewitt Stranglehold at ATP Las Vegas

American James Blake took a giant stride toward a Top 10 ranking Sunday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, beating top seed Lleyton Hewitt for the first time in seven meetings 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 for his second title of the year after Sydney.

"It's not easy to play against him," Blake told reporters after breaking the Aussie four times in the final set. "I'm just happy to finally get a win against him. He's one of the best players of all-time."

The win elevated Blake to a career-best 14-4 start, and moved him from 21 to No. 14 on the ATP Rankings.
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Hewitt blew a break point late in the first set missing an open-court backhand after pulling Blake off court. The Aussie rolled through the second set, then the third began with three breaks of serve until Blake held to take command at 3-1.

The American flinched at 5-2 in the third, failing to serve out the match, but benefited from a bad call on the baseline that would have given Hewitt the break back in the third, eventually clinching the ninth game and the match.

"He made me earn it today," Blake said. "He's gotten me in so many close matches and beaten me up so many times."

For Hewitt it was his fourth straight loss in a final, extending a title draught that now spans 13 months.

"He's on a great run," Hewitt said. "Blake has come back as one of the best players out there."

In the doubles final the No. 1-ranked team of Bob and Mike Bryan beat Jaroslav Levinsky and Robert Lindstedt 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 14-1 on the year nd win their second title of the year.

X-CORRECT
Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian are the only Top 10 players with winning records with two or more matches against Roger Federer.

Glaken · Mar 7, 2006

Weak Womens Draw Unveiled at IW; Borg Says Not Broke

<SMALL>Posted on March 07, 2006</SMALL>

NO U.S. MEN'S SEMIFINAL COVERAGE AT INDIAN WELLS?
According to the Pacific Life Open/Indian Wells website, in the U.S. The Tennis Channel will show coverage on Sat., March 11, with ESPN2 taking over for second-week coverage. Coverage will be live everyday throughout the second week, but according to the schedule ESPN2 won't show either of the men's semifinals on Saturday, electing to show the women's final live Saturday, then on Sunday running a tape of the one "best" semifinal. The best-of-five final will be shown live Sunday at 11 a.m. (PST).

SAMPRAS RETURN THE BABY STEP?

Do you really see the uber-competitive Pete Sampras just playing World Team Tennis and a few exos every year and leaving it at that? "I miss the game, I miss the majors, I miss competing," said Sampras on his reasons for picking up a racquet again. "But to play at the level I used to play is a whole other animal. I've done that, and I know what it takes. Me playing a little tennis this year is something I can control. There isn't any pressure. I can relax and have a little fun." Yeah, until he's mowing down active pros in WTT matches. Then it's going to be Pete at home getting the wildcard invite and inquiring, 'Hey, ummm, honey -- what would you think about maybe a trip to Wimbledon for some vacation?' After all, Pete did promise he would be back (he didn't say when) to play at the All England Club.
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FEDERER NOT BETTERER IN 2006 FOR FRENCH OPEN RUN?

Not that you ever thought he would need to, but Roger Federer has gone into spin mode after his third loss to Rafael Nadal in four meetings after Dubai. "Rafa was just too good today. He was the better player," Federer said. "I'm still happy with my week here and the state of my game. I hope I can keep it up over the next weeks." Happy with playing out of his mind for one set, then struggling with too much aggressive play for the remaining two sets while watching Nadal eat his second serve for lunch? What hope does the Swiss have at Roland Garros for the almost-inevitable meeting with Nadal if he can't top the Spaniard on hardcourt? No, it's not like Federer is on the back end of a career slide after his first loss of the year, but with the Masters Series stops at Indian Wells and Miami looming, and an entire claycourt season awaiting before the French -- and the Swiss' constant problems with the Nadal jumping lefty spin -- a few more beatings could feature before Roland Garros. And this last win for Nadal was with the Spaniard just coming off a bum ankle. Next post-match question for Club Fed -- 'Just how deep in your head is Nadal?'

Pro Tennis (Finally) Gets Video Replay Challenge

The ATP and WTA tours, pro tennis' men's and women's governing bodies, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) have gotten together to sanction the use of an instant replay challenge system at the NADAQ-100 ATP event later this month in Miami, and at this year's US Open.

And the fan response? 'About ******* time!'

The parties have dragged their feet over the years due to issues with the accuracy of the technology (and the expense), but finally tennis is catching up to the NFL and other sports in integrating fan-friendly technology that adds excitement from both a fan and player perspective.

Under the new challenge system each player will receive two challenges per set to review line calls. If the player is correct, then the player retains the same number of challenges. If a player is wrong, then one of the player's challenges is lost. During a tiebreak in any set each player will receive one additional challenge. Challenges won't be carried over from one set to another.

The system will use the Hawk Eye officiating brand, the only technology that has been approved for use in professional tennis.

"We all feel that today's announcement represents a major breakthrough for the sport," said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive for Pro Tennis for the USTA, who was also the architect for the US Open Series, and is seemingly behind the scenes when any kind of cooperation happens between the tours or the subset of alphabet groups in pro tennis in the U.S. "I think it's an opportunity for us to help officials and players while hopefully creating a bit more excitement and intrigue for all of our fans."

Etienne de Villiers, also credited with fast-tracking many decisions that have benefited the men's tour during his brief period as the top dog (though don't use the term "CEO," as he was supposed to be the guy to find a new CEO), says this is something he has also been waiting for.

"To me it was always crazy that with modern GPS technology we could tell where a person is within to yard or a meter on planet earth, and yet we can't tell whether a tennis ball is in and out," de Villiers said. "So technology is going to help us do that. But technology is also the ultimate double edged sword. It is the great enabler, but it does make consumers and anyone that is aware of technology that much wiser and, therefore, the bar is set that much higher in expectations. So to me this is a very significant step for our sport, but it is also a significant step for the entertainment value of tennis."

The tours agreed to a limited number of challenges per set, and also for the necessity of giant video screens at the tournament venues so fans can see the replays.

"There's going to be two video boards on the center court that will be visible by the players, the chair umpire and all the spectators," said Gayle Bradshaw, ATP Doubles Commissioner. "Once a challenge is made, then the review official that's with the technicians, once he determines that the correct impact has been identified, gives the order to release the video to the boards. Then everybody will see the result at the same time. The entire process will take less than 10 seconds."

The replay will only be set up on the Stadium Court in Miami, and on the Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong courts at the US Open.

"I think it's highly likely we will use the system at the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships in Madrid," said WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott. "The system would not be used, it goes without saying, on clay."

The ATP says it will push for the 2006 US Open Series events to get involved, though the system costs an estimated $100,000 to set up.

Gamesmanship by players using the calls was a worry, but the ATP says previous tests at exhibitions such as the Hopman Cup returned positive results.

"In Perth, we were averaging around five seconds from challenge to display," Bradshaw said. "Some conversations I had with Taylor Dent, he noticed that this technology actually speeded up play rather than slowed play down. There was less reason or no reason to argue with the chair umpire.; The players, once they saw the call, just went back and played. The two incorrect challenge limit kind of is a built in safety net in case anybody tries to abuse the system. I think the concerns now for a player using it for gamesmanship is minimal."

Bradshaw contends the technology will be entertaining, and could surprise players and fans.

"(At the Hopman Cup) there was a call on a baseline against Thomas Johansson that he really didn't know about the call," Bradshaw said. "There was a quite expensive box of fans on that line that were encouraging him to challenge. He did so at their request and was quite wrong. It made for a good laugh around the audience, and he had a good laugh about it."

The system boasts 100 percent accuracy outside a margin of error of three millimeters, and while world No. 1 Roger Federer is not so happy with the introduction of the system as he says he has seen enough changes to the game of late, the ATP hopes once the system is in place it will change the minds of detractors.

"I met with Roger in Dubai," de Villiers said. "Roger believes where we've come out on the limited protocol is okay. I think he would prefer not to have it, but he understands that we need to make advances. He understands that rule changes need to be made. He kind of feels we've done enough now and would not like to see us do very much more. But he's very supportive of everything we're doing to date. He thinks beyond his own needs and thinks about what's best for the game. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but he's not fighting us on this one."

Yeah, as long as it's not a Rafael Nadal overrule on match point.

Glaken · Mar 9, 2006

Safin Slams Tennis Replay; Indian Wells Women Limp Along

<SMALL>Posted on March 09, 2006</SMALL>

ATP Indian Wells Preview: The Rog and Rafa Show

Since world No. 1 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal won almost all of the 2005 Masters Series events between them, except for the MS-Paris which neither of them played, who do you think are the favorites to reach the final of the first 2006 Masters Series event this week in Indian Wells?

Eighteen of the Top 20 on the ATP Rankings comprise the impressive men's field, lacking only Guillermo Coria who takes a break to stop his rankings slide by reportedly hiring veteran coach Jose Higueras, and Thomas Johansson who is out for a few months after getting smacked in the eye during a warm-up with Mario Ancic.

Here is a look at the four quarters of the Masters Series-Indian Wells:

Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Roger Federer, (6) Ivan Ljubicic, (11) Nicolas Kiefer, (16) Richard Gasquet, (19) Dominik Hrbaty, (21) Mario Ancic, (27) Gael Monfils, (30) Olivier Rochus
Floaters: Nicolas Massu, Greg Rusedski, Mikhail Youzhny
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Not the easiest of draws for the Swiss No. 1 in the top quarter, with a potential opener against Massu who he has lost to on hardcourts, then (16) Gasquet looming in the 4th round and nemesis (6) Ljubicic, who generally plays Federer very close, in the quarters. Ljubicic will likely have to contend with his countryman (21) Ancic or (11) Kiefer in his 4th round. Other potentially-tough openers for the seeds are (30) O.Rochus vs. "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, and Gasquet vs. the steady Russian Youzhny. With the "Eh...(shrug)" draws they have, Fed or Ljuby would both be disappointed not to make the quarterfinal meeting.

Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) David Nalbandian, (5) Nikolay Davydenko, (10) David Ferrer, (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero, (18) Robby Ginepri, (22) Jarkko Nieminen, (28) Carlos Moya, (29) Juan Ignacio Chela
Floaters: Marat Safin, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Paradorn Srichaphan, Vince Spadea, Mark Philippoussis, Feliciano Lopez

This would be a brutal quarter on clay between Ferrero, Moya, Nalbandian and Safin, if everyone were healthy. Instead it's Nalbandian coming off the ab injury, Safin the knee injury, and the Spaniards the brain injuries as they struggle to regain top-player status. Davydenko heads the quarter, with a potential opener against the hot-handed Brit-Scot teen Murray, and a 2nd match with either (28) Moya or his countryman Safin. Other likely tough openers are (4) Nalbandian vs. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez who regrettably has been off-form, (29) Chela vs. the Serb comer Djokovic, the struggling (18) Ginepri vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (14) Ferrero vs. Vince "Ain't Afraida Ya" Spadea, (22) Nieminen vs. (WC) Philippoussis, and (28) Moya vs. Safin. This section is a toss-up, so good luck to punters trying to ascertain who's not injured enough to make an impact and who will step up in the Masters Series atmosphere.

Third Quarter
Seeds: (3) Andy Roddick, (8) Andre Agassi, (12) James Blake, (13) Fernando Gonzalez, (17) Tommy Robredo, (24) Igor Andreev, (26) Tommy Haas, (32) Fernando Verdasco
Floaters: Taylor Dent, Arnaud Clement, Robin Soderling, Ivo Karlovic

The wacky "American Section" features a plethora of U.S. Davis Cup participants past and present in Roddick, Agassi, Blake and Dent, and the draws are tough. Roddick is looking at a second match with (32) Verdasco who has beaten him in their last two meetings, while Agassi is looking at a second match against (26) Haas who always gives him a close run, with the former No. 2-ranked German winning three of their nine career meetings. Blake will likely face Dent in the second round with the winner to face (17) Robredo. Other potential testers for the seeds in their opening round are (26) Haas vs. Clement, (13) Gonzalez vs. Soderling, and (32) Verdasco vs. the serving machine "Dr." Ivo Karlovic. American audiences will get a treat if Agassi, Blake or Dent get through to the quarterfinal to face Roddick, but watch out for Haas who is the hot player in the California kitchen.

Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Rafael Nadal, (7) Gaston Gaudio, (9) Lleyton Hewitt, (15) Radek Stepanek, (20) Sebastien Grosjean, (23) Tomas Berdych, (25) Marcos Baghdatis, (31) Filippo Volandri
Floaters: Tim Henman, Mardy Fish, Max Mirnyi, Rainer Schuettler, Xavier Malisse, Fabrice Santoro

The weakest quarter of the draw sees a soft road for Nadal, who will face either Robin Vik or Jan Hernych in his opener, then (31) Volandri or Mardy Fish, then a 4th rounder of little consequence before a potential meeting with (9) Hewitt, who isn't scaring anyone with his firepower of late. Lots of floaters will challenge the middling seeds, with potentially-tough openers in (7) Gaudio vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (23) Berdych vs. the winner of Henman and (WC) Donald Young, (9) Hewitt vs. the former Top 10er Schuettler, (15) Stepanek vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse or Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, and (31) Volandri vs. Fish. While the bottom half of this quarter should shake Nadal's way pretty easily, the top half will test Gaudio's troubled shoulder, Hewitt's 2005 runner-up-points-defending tenacity, and Baghdatis' ability to post a big result since his Aussie Open runner-up effort.

In last year's final the top-seeded Federer straight-setted the No. 2-seeded Hewitt 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in the best-of-five final. After an injury-laden start, Indian Wells will be the first event of the year featuring all Top 5 players on the men's side.

Returning champs in the field are Federer (2005-04), Hewitt (2003-02), Agassi (2001), and Philippoussis (1999).

WTA Indian Wells Arrives with a Whimper

The "Tier I" events on the WTA Tour are expected to be the best-of-the-best outside the slams, but don't remind Indian Wells Tournament Director Steve Simon or event owner Charlie Pasarell, who can't be happy that only nine of the Top 20 players are posting this week at their dual-gender event, the Pacific Life Open.

World No. 1 Kim Clijsters, and Australian Open winner Amelie Mauresmo who will take over No. 1 again in two Mondays' time, are only two of top cats choosing to nap during the week-and-half-event in the California desert, primarily due to the reason that the WTA this year made the NASDAQ-100 in Miami, which follows IW, a mandatory event for players. Thus Miami is going to look like the fifth slam in a couple weeks, while Indian Wells (only on the women's side, as the men's side is star-packed) resembles a Tier II stop at best.

Indian Wells has been in headlines since Pete Sampras and a cabal of investors had to sweep in to stop the tournament from being sold to wealthy buyers in the Middle East and China.

"I can tell you that I've had maybe one of the toughest years I've ever had in my life, just the anxiety of not being able to know whether we're going to be able to keep this event here," said Pasarell after the U.S. partnership swept in to buy out management firm IMG for the rights.

The rights battle subsequently took the fight out of attracting top players, with tournament organizers' fears realized as to how the WTA's mandatory Miami ruling would effect their draw power.

Clijsters for one showed where her priorities were when she returned too early from an ankle injury to play at her homecountry event in Antwerp, then announced she would take a pass on Indian Wells.

"I am very disappointed to have to withdraw from Indian Wells," Clijsters said in a statement at the time. "I re-aggravated the right ankle that I injured in Australia, and now require some time off to get back to 100 percent. Indian Wells has always been one of my favorite tournaments, and I am very much looking forward to playing there next year."

That's little consolation to tournament organizers and WTA officials, who now look to put a happy spin on things, already hyping Martina Hingis' participation, and that of three other former No. 1s in Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova. Unfortunately it's likely the first four rounds on the women's side will go by with a memorable-name match-up.

"They haven't said so publicly, but the women players involved here are known to feel that once the men start taking their cuts on Friday, the women are pretty much forgotten," says Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Not a problem this year. The women could be forgotten before the men begin their phase of the event. The circumstances relate as much to the compelling possibilities contained in the men's draw as to the lack of them on the women's side."

Play began Wednesday for the women, where the unseeded American hosts went 5-1 with winners Lisa Raymond (d. (Q) Bohmova 7-6 in the third), (WC) Ashley Harkleroad (d. Y.Zi), Jamea Jackson (d. (WC) Tatishvili), Mashona Washington (d. Sanchez Lorenzo in three), and Meghann Shaughnessy (d. Kanepi), with American wildcard teen Alexa Glatch getting stomped 0-and-1 by Slovak Martina Sucha.

Other winners on the seedless day of play were Russian Ekaterina Bychkova (d. Nagyova, bagel in the second), Estonia's Maret Ani (d. Ant. Serra Zanetti, bagel in the third), Austria's Sybille Bammer (d. Zheng in three), German Julia Schruff (d. Sun), Greek Eleni Daniilidou (d. (LL) Camerin in three), Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. Brandi), French qualifier Camille Pin (d. Obata), Aussie Sam Stosur (d. (Q) Fedak, bagel in the third), Chinese qualifier Yuan Meng (d. Morigami), and Italian Tathiana Garbin (d. A.Bondarenko).

Scheduled for Thursday are Pratt vs. Mattek, Kloesel vs. Kirkland, Diaz-Oliva vs. Perry, Sprem vs. Asagoe, Rodionova vs. King, Stevenson vs. Lisjak, Schultz-McCarthy vs. Nakamura, Bremond vs. Ondraskova, Peng vs. Foretz, N.Li vs. Kremer, Vento-Kabchi vs. Dominguez Lino, Cohen-Aloro vs. Parra Santonja, Pironkova vs. Ruano Pascual, Yakimova vs. Poutchek, Vesnina vs. Kutuzova, and Laine vs. Sromova.

Glaken · Mar 10, 2006

Hingis, Sharapova, Davenport On Today at Indian Wells

<SMALL>Posted on March 10, 2006</SMALL>

Federer, Nadal Out Front at ATP Indian Wells

World No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal were rather selfish in 2005, winning eight of the nine Masters Series events (neither played Paris) and three of the four Grand Slams.

Now Federer already has the Australian Open under his belt in 2006, and the pair's dominance is a continued good bet this week as play begins at the first of the Masters Series events, the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.

Also vying to go deep in the tournament are former No. 1s Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lleyton Hewitt, Carlos Moya, Marat Safin, and fellow Slam winner Gaston Gaudio.
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Brit-Scot teen Andy Murray is one player to watch after his results through the first two months of the year.

"I've already shown that my game is pretty good by beating Roddick and Hewitt, but this is a bigger tournament," Murray told reporters on Thursday. "I'd like to win a few matches, but I'm not expected to do great."

The main draw was completed Thursday with the final round of qualifying, with 12 more onto the dance floor in Kevin Kim (USA), Vasilis Mazarakis (GRE), Amer Delic (USA), Julien Benneteau (FRA), Lars Burgsmuller (GER), Glenn Weiner (USA), Janko Tipsarevic (SCG), Paul Capdeville (CHI), Jeff Salzenstein (USA), Giovanni Lapentti (ECU), Justin Gimelstob (USA), and Jeff Morrison (USA).

Friday's schedule on a seedless day of play is Mayer vs. (WC) Philippoussis, (Q) Delic vs. Safin, (WC) Young vs. Henman, Goldstein vs. A.Martin, (Q) G.Lapentti vs. (WC) Fish, Bjorkman vs. C. Rochus, (Q) K.Kim vs. Youzhny, (WC) Querrey vs. Reynolds in an all-American, (Q) Mazarakis vs. Murray, Mirnyi vs. Saulnier, (Q) Tipsarevic vs. (WC) Warburg, Tursunov vs. Behrend, Pashanski vs. Schuettler, Soderling vs. Melzer, Karlovic vs. Zib, (Q) Weiner vs. Clement, Calleri vs. Massu, Rusedski vs. Wawrinka, Carlsen vs. Muller, (Q) Salzenstein vs. Acasuso, Horna vs. Bracciali, Kohlschreiber vs. Serra, Vik vs. Hernych in an all-Czech, and Pavel vs. (Q) Morrison.

Unseeded Americans Thrive at WTA Indian Wells

On another all-unseeded day for the women at Indian Wells the qualifiers took center stage, with four advancing into the second round led by comeback Americans Jessica Kirkland (d. Klosel from a set down) and Bethanie Mattek (d. (Q) Pratt from a set down), joined by Croat Ivana Lisjak (d. (WC) Stevenson) and Belarus' Anastasiya Yakimova (d. (Q) Poutchek, bagel in the first set).

"I'm not going to give up," Stevenson told reporters, breaking down in tears over returning to the game and her shoulder injury which refuses to heal. "I love tennis."

American wildcards Vania King (d. (Q) Rodionova) and Shenay Perry (d. Diaz-Oliva) also gave U.S. fans reason to cheer, while wildcard Brenda Schultz-McCarthy's comeback was short-lived after managing six games off Japan's Aiko Nakamura in an opening-round loss.

Other players successfully into the second round Thursday were France's Stephanie Foretz (d. Peng from a set down), Severine Bremond (d. Ondraskova) and Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (d. Parra Santonja); China's Li Na (d. (Q) Kremer), the Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutuzova (d. Vesnina), Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino (d. Vento-Kabchi in three), Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova (d. Ruano Pascual), Japan's Shinobu Asagoe (d. Sprem in three), and Finland's Emma Laine (d. Sromova).

"I was lacking energy," Peng, still recovering from a foot injury, told reporters. "I kept trying to fight but it was my first match in a long time so I have to focus on getting better and better."

On Friday the women's seeds come out to play at Indian Wells in (WC) Harkleroad vs. (2) Davenport, Jamea "Action" Jackson vs. (3) Sharapova, (Q) Pin vs. (19) Hingis, (7) Groenefeld vs. Schruff in an all-German, (5) Myskina vs. Washington, (31) Granville vs. Garbin, Shaughnessy vs. (27) Domachowska, Ani vs. (9) Dechy, (15) Jankovic vs. Sybille "The Whammer" Bammer, (30) Loit vs. Raymond, Stosur vs. (10) Safina, (13) Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues vs. Daniilidou, Gagliardi vs. (21) Peer, (23) Castano vs. (Q) Yuan, Sucha vs. (26) Smashnova, and (20) Bartoli vs. Bychkova.

X-Stat Freak: ATP/WTA Indian Wells

ATP INDIAN WELLS MULTIPLE WINNERS
Indian Wells singles titles seem to come in pairs, with five players winning back-to-back titles in the history of the event, but this week Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt will attempt to join Michael Chang as the only three-time singles winners at IW. Boris Becker remains the only player to win multiple titles in singles and doubles, while the active team of Knowles/Nestor will try for their fourth win:

3--Michael Chang, USA (1997-96,'92)
3--Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, BAH/CAN (2005,'02,'97)
-----------------------------------------------------
2--Boris Becker, GER (1988-87)
2--Boris Becker/Guy Forget, GER/FRA (1990,'88)
2--Jim Courier, USA (1993,'91)
2--Roger Federer, SUI (2005-04)
2--Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov, RSA/RUS (2003,'01)
2--Lleyton Hewitt, AUS (2003-02)
2--Pete Sampras, USA (1995-94)

WTA INDIAN WELLS MULTIPLE WINNERS
Kim Clijsters' ankle injury prevents her from an attempt in 2006 to become the only player to win three Indian Wells singles titles. But with a shot at three singles titles will be six-time finalist Lindsay Davenport, the only player to win multiple titles in singles and doubles (twice in doubles). The two-time defending doubles champs Ruano Pascual/Suarez also have a shot at tying Davenport and Lisa Raymond's record:

3--Lindsay Davenport/Lisa Raymond, USA (2003,'95-94)
----------------------------------------------------
2--Kim Clijsters, BEL (2005,'03)
2--Lindsay Davenport, USA (2000,'97)
2--Lindsay Davenport/Natasha Zvereva, USA/RUS (1998-97)
2--Mary Joe Fernandez, USA (1995,'93)
2--Steffi Graf, GER (1996,'94)
2--Martina Navratilova, USA (1991-90)
2--Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG (2005-04)
2--Serena Williams, USA (2001,'99)

Glaken · Mar 11, 2006

Agassi Wants In for Davis Cup, McEnroe Cashed Out at Senior Event

<SMALL>Posted on March 11, 2006</SMALL>

Safin Wins, Flipper Sunk at ATP Indian Wells

Former No. 1 Marat Safin led the unseeded procession Friday on the opening day of men's play at the Masters Series-Indian Wells, turning back a challenge from American qualifier Amer Delic 6-3, 6-4 to safely move into the second round of play amidst a day of rain-cancelled matches at the Pacific Life Open.

"I'm still missing match play, and it's difficult with the rhythm," the No. 53-ranked Russian told AFP. "I'm just hoping to play the most tournaments that I can. I want to get my ranking back."

Other notable winners Friday were Brit-Scot teen Andy Murray (d. (Q) Mazarakis), Brit Tim Henman (d. (WC) Young, dropping four games), and American wildcard Mardy Fish (d. G.Lapentti from a set down).

"I played pretty consistently," Murray told reporters, with the British No. 1 next to face No. 5 seed Nikolay Davydenko. "I played pretty solid, used my slice and I made him go for it. When he did, he started to make mistakes."
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Notable losers in first-round play were Aussie wildcard Mark "Flipper" Philippoussis, straight-setted by German Florian Mayer, and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, beaten in a second-set tiebreak by France's Cyril Saulnier.

Other unseeded players into the second round were Swede Robin Soderling (d. Melzer), Americans (WC) Sam Querrey (d. countryman Reynolds) and Paul Goldstein (d. A.Martin from a set down), German Philipp Kohlschreiber (d. Serra from a set down), Russian Dmitry Tursunov (d. Behrend), Croatian serving machine "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. Zib), Czech Jan Hernych (d. countryman Vik), Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen (d. Muller in three), Frenchman Arnaud Clement (d. (Q) Weiner), and Argentina's Jose Acasuso (d. Salzenstein 6-1 in the third) who sets up a meeting with Andy Roddick.

Matches halted by rain were Rainer Schuettler leading Boris Pashanski 3-2 up a break, and Jonas Bjorkman leading Christophe Rochus 6-2, 3-6, 5-2 with "The Roach" serving.

On court Saturday are (WC) Querrey vs. Blake, Pashanski vs. Schuettler, Moya vs. Safin in a battle of former No. 1s, Acasuso vs. Roddick, Rusedski vs. Wawrinka, Moodie vs. Srichaphan, Bjorkman vs. C.Rochus, Seppi vs. Mathieu, Murray vs. Davydenko, (Q) Gimelstob vs. F.Lopez, Verdasco vs. Karlovic, (Q) K.Kim vs. Youzhny, Pavel vs. (Q) Morrison, Gonzalez vs. Soderling, Robredo vs. Carlsen, Spadea vs. Berlocq, Calleri vs. Massu, Malisse vs. Santoro, Horna vs. Bracciali, (Q) Capdeville vs. Sanguinetti, Tursunov vs. Andreev in an all-Russian, (Q) Tipsarevic vs. (WC) Warburg, (Q) Benneteau vs. Djokovic, and Vliegen vs. (Q) Burgsmuller.

Davenport Bakes Double Bagel at WTA Indian Wells

The seeds took to the court for the first time on Day Three Wednesday at the Pacific Life Open, with (2) Lindsay Davenport (d. (WC) Harkleroad 0-and-0), (3) Maria Sharapova (d. Jackson), (5) Anastasia Myskina (d. Washington), and (19) Martina Hingis (d. (Q) Pin) leading the marquis winners into the third round.

"It's fantastic when you're done, you're watching everyone else in the locker room sweat it out, but it's very tough when rain interrupts play," Davenport told reporters on the rain delay after her match, halting play for almost four hours. "A lot of time it can change the momentum. Players get stiff, you're always unsure of when it will stop. And I think certain players are personally unprepared for it at certain venues."

The attention-junkie Hingis says she loves the applause, but doesn't mind the non-pressure of being a lower seed in the third month of her 2006 comeback.

"Maybe I have this little underdog thing now, not being out there for three years and coming back," Hingis told reporters. "You've seen that in the past with some other athletes and it's nice to feel the same way."

Other seeded winners Friday were (7) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. German countrywoman Schruff 1-and-0), (10) Dinara Safina (d. Stosur), (21) Shahar Peer (d. Gagliardi in three), (27) Marta Domachowska (d. Shaughnessy in three), (30) Emilie Loit (d. Raymond from a set down), and (31) Laura Granville (d. Garbin).

Four seeds were humbled by the unseeded Friday in (9) Nathalie Dechy (l. to Ani), (13) Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues (l. to Daniilidou), (15) Jelena Jankovic (l. to Sylvia "The Whammer" Bammer), and (23) Catalina Castano (l. to (Q) M.Yuan).

Scheduled for Saturday are Dementieva vs. (Q) Yakimova, (1) Henin-Hardenne vs. Pironkova, (29) Frazier vs. (WC) Perry in an all-American, (Q) Mattek vs. (28) Mirza, Foretz vs. Sugiyama, (Q) Lisjak vs. (6) Pennetta, (20) Bartoli vs. Bychkova, Bremond vs. (8) Ivanovic, (12) Golovin vs. Dominguez Lino, Cohen-Aloro vs. (17) Dulko, (11) Kirilenko vs. Asagoe, (18) Safarova vs. (Q) Kirkland, Sucha vs. (26) Smashnova, (32) Craybas vs. Laine, Kutuzova vs. (22) Chakvetadze, (24) Benesova vs. N.Li, Nakamura vs. (25) Santangelo, and (WC) King vs. Koukalova.

Glaken · Mar 12, 2006

Achilles Injury Could End Changs Senior Career

<SMALL>Posted on March 12, 2006</SMALL>

Blake Survives Querrey Challenge at ATP Indian Wells

Six-foot-six American high school senior Sam Querrey gave No. 12 seed James Blake a scare Saturday in the cold and windy conditions at the Masters Series-Indian Wells, with Blake eventually finding his footing to outlast the explosive qualifier 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Querrey played almost flawless tennis in the opening set where Blake started sluggishly and failed to dictate play with his vaunted forehand. But up a set, Querrey became caught in the moment and his level dropped considerably in the second while Blake remembered his forehand stroke to keep the lanky American on the run, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before closing it out 6-1. The third set was more of the same as Querrey failed to serve with the authority or maintain the consistency in rallies he did in the first set.

"He was serving big," Blake told reporters. "I don't think he missed many forehands and his backhand was more solid than I'd expected after practicing with him a lot in December. He played a great (first) set."

Other Americans advancing in first-round play were Vince Spadea (d. Berlocq who retired with illness), qualifier Justin Gimelstob (d. F.Lopez), qualifier Kevin Kim (d. Youzhny), and Jeff Morrison (d. Pavel from a set down).
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Other unseeded winners beating the rain were Swiss Stan Wawrinka (d. Rusedski), Serb qualifier Janko Tipsarevic (d. (WC) Warburg), Italians Daniele Bracciali (d. Horna) and Davide Sanguinetti (d. (Q) Capdeville from a set down), Thai Paradorn Srichaphan (d. Moodie), Swede Jonas Bjorkman (d. C.Rochus in three), Frenchman Julien Benneteau (d. Djokovic), and Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu (d. Calleri 7-6 in the third).

Scheduled for the rain-backed-up Sunday is (2) Nadal vs. Hernych, (8) Agassi vs. Goldstein, (1) Federer vs. Massu, Acasuso vs. (3) Roddick, Murray vs. (5) Davydenko, (28) Moya vs. Safin in a battle of former No. 1s, (18) Ginepri vs. Srichaphan, (31) Volandri vs. (WC) Fish, (4) Nalbandian vs. (Q) Gimelstob, Bjorkman vs. (25) Baghdatis, Spadea vs. (14) Ferrero, Clement vs. (26) Haas, (Q) K.Kim vs. (16) Gasquet, Monfils vs. (Q) Morrison, (10) Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Malisse vs. Santoro, (7) Gaudio vs. Saulnier, Wawrinka vs. (30) O.Rochus, (32) Verdasco vs. Karlovic, Vliegen vs. (Q) Burgsmuller, (13) Gonzalez vs. Soderling, (19) Hrbaty vs. Bracciali, (Q) Tipsarevic vs. (6) Ljubicic, Mayer vs. (22) Nieminen, Seppi vs. Mathieu, Tursunov vs. Andreev in an all-Russian, (17) Robredo vs. Carlsen, Pashanski vs. Schuettler, and (Q) Benneteau vs. (29) Chela.

Dementieva Advances Amidst Rain at WTA Indian Wells

Only two women seeds saw action Saturday amid the rain, wind and cold at the Pacific Life Open, with No. 4-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva needing three sets to subdue Belarus' Anastasiya Yakimova, and No. 6 Flavia Pennetta cruising past Croatian qualifier Ivana Lisjak 6-1, 6-2.

"I always have problems playing my first rounds," Dementieva told reporters. "It's like, no matter how I play, I have to go through this one. I know if I can pass the first one, I play better and better. I think I lost my concentration in the second set, and then it was difficult to put everything together and start to fight again in the third set. I was trying to be positive, trying to be aggressive with her, but it was difficult because I had to go to the net, which is not my favorite thing to do."

American wildcard amateur Vania King moved into the third round with a straight-set win over Czech Klara Koukalova, with additional winners Na Li of China (d. Benesova 0-and-1), and Japan's Aiko Nakamura (d. Santangelo).

Scheduled on the rain-backed-up Sunday are (19) Hingis vs. Bammer, Raymond vs. (3) Sharapova, (1) Henin-Hardenne vs. Pironkova, (31) Granville vs. (2) Davenport in an all-American, (5) Myskina vs. (27) Domachowska, Bremond vs. (8) Ivanovic, (20) Bartoli vs. Bychkova, (Q) Yuan vs. (10) Safina, (11) Kirilenko vs. Asagoe, (Q) Mattek vs. (28) Mirza, (12) Golovin vs. Dominguez Lino, Daniilidou vs. (21) Peer, (29) Frazier vs. (WC) Perry in an all-American, Foretz vs. Sugiyama, Kutuzova vs. (22) Chakvetadze, Sucha vs. (26) Smashnova, (18) Safarova vs. (Q) Kirkland, (32) Craybas vs. Laine, and Cohen-Aloro vs. (17) Dulko.

Glaken · Mar 13, 2006

Hingis Talks Trash, Lines Up Davenport in IW

<SMALL>Posted on March 13, 2006</SMALL>

Martina Hingis has played only six full tournaments thus far in her 2006 comeback, two of them first-round losses, but the results are enough to vault her to No. 32 on the WTA Tour Rankings, and No. 5 on the 2006-only "race" standings.

Hingis says the women's tour, sans the brutal bashing of the Williams sisters which contributed to her early exit from the game, hasn't made a lot of progress in her absence.

"If all the girls were able to play like the Williamses, I would not have asked myself if I could play again, but they aren't," Hingis told reporters this week in Indian Wells. "The girls' game has not taken such a big jump forward. Most girls don't have time (to prepare) on the court. And there are a lot of technical deficiencies."
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While gangly bashers like Maria Sharapova and Nicole Vaidisova have had success in her absence, Hingis says most players in the topspin-bashing-only vein have their problems.

"A lot of them are big and strong, but they don't know how to move," Hingis said. "If you hit two different shots in succession, they lose their timing and rhythm. They don't know how to deal with slice. And on the courts today, which are mostly slow, they can't shoot me away."

The No. 19 seed in Indian Wells this week, Hingis' next test will come Tuesday in a meeting with another big and strong poor-mover, No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport, who she trails 10-14 in their 24 career meetings.

Top Seeds Advance; Ginepri, Gonzo Out at Indian Wells

World No. 1 Roger Federer (d. Massu), No. 2 Rafael Nadal (d. Hernych), No. 3 Andy Roddick (d. Acasuso, bagel in the second set), No. 8 Andre Agassi (d. American countryman Goldstein in three), and unseeded Marat Safin (d. (28) Moya from a set down) led the marquee top seeds Sunday with wins to advance in the early rounds at the Masters Series-Indian Wells.

Federer said he knew he was in for a difficult time against Massu, who has beaten him before on hardcourts.

"I knew beforehand it was going to be a tough match because he's been playing well," Federer told reporters. "He won the Olympics on a surface like this. I wasn't too pleased when I saw the draw because he beat me one time before. I know he's a tough competitor and I'm happy to be through. I'm always worried about crashing out in the early rounds and (having) to sit here and explain why."

Nadal survived an uncomfortable early-day encounter with swirling winds in his debut match after an opening-round bye.

"The first match always is very difficult," the 19-year-old Nadal told reporters after besting Hernych. "Very difficult to play like this, I didn't feel good...It's windy and the wind is not going to the right, to the left, in front, the wind goes like this (making circular motion) and it's very difficult to play."

Agassi was at his diva-like best upon being tested by Goldstein, smashing his racquet in aggravation in his inability to take the upper hand in rallies, and demanding play be stopped when rain sprinkles began in the third set, with the chair umpire refusing.

"I have a hard time playing on hardcourt when it's drizzling," Agassi told reporters. "I was just asking if we could wait just a few minutes. Then they stopped (after Goldstein fell) and we waited until the rain stopped, and then it was a lot easier to concentrate."

At one point Goldstein won six straight games but played tentatively with his lead.

"There were just a handful of shots I wish I had back now," the 29-year-old Goldstein told reporters. "I need to play more carefree. I need to hit some of those what-the-heck shots."

Other seeded victors Sunday were (4) David Nalbandian (d. (Q) Gimelstob), (5) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Murray in three), (6) Ivan Ljubicic (d. (Q) Tipsarevic), (7) Gaston Gaudio (d. Saulnier in three), (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Spadea 7-6 in the third), (16) Richard Gasquet (d. (Q) K.Kim), (17) Tommy Robredo (d. Carlsen), (19) Dominik Hrbaty (d. Bracciali), (22) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Mayer), (24) Igor Andreev (d. Russian countryman Tursunov from a set down), (25) Marcos Baghdatis (d. Bjorkman), (26) Tommy Haas (d. Clement in three), (27) Gael Monfils (d. (Q) Morrison in three), (30) Olivier Rochus (d. Wawrinka), and (32) Fernando Verdasco (d. Karlovic 7-6 in the third).

"He's one of those players who that will be around the top for a long time because he doesn't give away any cheap points," Murray told reporters, again going to the 'I'm only 18'-card after being outlasted by Davydenko. "I gave 100 percent, and I think that's all you can ask for. I said the other day, I'm not going to play consistently my best every week because I'm too young, but I fought pretty hard."

Orchestrating upsets on the day were German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who continued the 2006 misery of (10) David Ferrer with an easy 2-and-2 dismissal; hot-handed Swede Robin Soderling dismissing (13) Fernando Gonzalez with a second-set bagel; Thai Paradorn Srichaphan extending (18) Robby Ginepri's personal nightmare-of-a-slide in straight sets; and American wildcard Mardy Fish continuing his comeback from multiple wrist surgeries to oust (31) Filippo Volandri in straight sets.

Winners in all-unseeded match-ups were Frenchmen (Q) Julien Benneteau (d. Chela in three) and Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. Seppi 6-1 in the third), German Rainer Schuettler (d. Pashanski), Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. Santoro in three), and Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. (Q) Burgsmuller in three).

Some titanic matches are on tap for Monday in (9) Hewitt vs. the former Top 10er Schuettler, (3) Roddick vs. (32) Verdasco who beat the American in their last meeting, (8) Agassi vs. (26) Haas, (23) Berdych vs. Henman, (4) Nalbandian vs. (Q) Benneteau, Safin vs. (5) Davydenko in an all-Russian rematch from last week, (17) Robredo vs. (12) Blake, Srichaphan vs. (14) Ferrero, Vliegen vs. (20) Grosjean, (11) Kiefer vs. Mathieu, Sanguinetti vs. (21) Ancic, Soderling vs. Andreev, (15) Stepanek vs. X-Man, and Kohlschreiber vs. (22) Nieminen.

Favorites Henin, Davenport, Hingis Roll at Indian Wells

Top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. Pironkova), No. 2 Lindsay Davenport (d. American country Granville, bagel in the second), No. 3 Maria Sharapova (d. Raymond, bagel in the second), and (19) Martina Hingis (d. Bammer, bagel in the first) were marquis players leading the easy march of the top seeds through the early rounds Sunday at the WTA stop in Indian Wells, where the warm(er) and sunny weather returned after brutally-cold conditions on Saturday.

"I was very focused on what I had to do," Henin-Hardenne told reporters concerning the blustery winds early in the day. "The conditions were very difficult, but better than what we would have had yesterday."

Other seeded winners into the third round Sunday were (5) Anastasia Myskina (d. (27) Domachowska), (8) Ana Ivanovic (d. Bremond), (10) Dinara Safina (d. (Q) Yuan), (11) Maria Kirilenko (d. Asagoe), (12) Tatiana Golovin (d. Dominguez Lino, bagel in the second), (14) Ai Sugiyama (d. Foretz, bagel in the second), (17) Gisela Dulko (d. Cohen-Aloro), (18) Lucie Safarova (d. (Q) Kirkland from a set down), (20) Marion Bartoli (d. Ani in three), (21) Shahar Peer (d. (LL) Daniilidou from a set down), (22) Anna Chakvetadze (d. Kutuzova), (28) Sania Mirza (d. (Q) Mattek in three), and (29) Anna Smashnova (d. Sucha).

Seeds making exits Sunday were (32) Jill Craybas, ousted by Finland's Emma Laine, and (29) Amy Frazier, upset by American countrywoman Shenay Perry, both in straight sets.

Scheduled for Monday in Indian Wells are Dementieva vs. Mirza, Henin-Hardenne vs. Nakamura, (WC) Perry vs. Ivanovic, Golovin vs. Dulko, Kirilenko vs. Chakvetadze in an all-Russian, Groenefeld vs. Smashnova, Laine vs. Pennetta, Bartoli vs. Ani, Safarova vs. Sugiyama, and N.Li vs. (WC) King.

Glaken · Mar 14, 2006

Courier Takes Cash for Senior Crown at Naples

<SMALL>Posted on March 14, 2006</SMALL>

Jim Courier came back from 0-3 deficits in both sets Monday night to win the inaugural Outback Champions Cup-Naples senior tour event in South Florida, defeating Aussie Pat Cash 6-4, 7-6(6).

"I think my serve really bailed me out today, because Pat plays a pretty unique brand of tennis," Courier told reporters after the claycourt victory. "He doesn't give you a lot of pace, he slides the ball around the court and he plays down the line an awful lot, and it's something I'm not accustomed to."

John McEnroe won the third-place match, with the 47-year-old outlasting former Masters Cup-Canada winner Mikael Pernfors, 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

The only mar on the event came when Michael Chang, making his senior tour debut earlier this week, injured his Achilles tendon and had to withdraw from the event, possibly requiring surgery.

Courier says he may be announcing a fifth stop to the U.S. circuit run by his InsideOut Sports Entertainment company, speaking with Pete Sampras about the former No. 1 possibly making his senior tour debut later in 2006.
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Sampras Serious About April Exhibition Debut

Pete Sampras is preparing for his first public appearance since the final of the 2002 US Open when he beat Andre Agassi, switching retirement gears from the golf course to the practice court to take on either Taylor Dent of Robby Ginepri at the River Oaks International exhibition on April 3-9, 2006.

"I need to get serious about it again," Sampras told The Houston Chronicle. "I've got to get my body back into tennis shape, and my arm into shape for serving again. I've been hitting three, four times a week for the last few weeks. It's less about hitting the ball and more about getting used to the starting and stopping. I don't want to hurt myself straight away."

Sampras was expected to play against 16-year-old "prodigy" Donald Young, whose pro career has taken a hit with management company IMG's attempted fast-tracking of the youth, but those plans were apparently changed while the American dropped his career tour mark to 0-8 this week at Indian Wells. River Oaks organizers couldn't be too happy with the prospect of Sampras having to shift down a few gears just to keep Young in the match.

Which would be the worse lose-lose situation, Sampras thumping a 16-year-old who has never even won a Futures title, or losing to a 16-year-old who has failed to win an ATP-level match in eight attempts? No word on whether it was Sampras or exhibition organizers that pulled the plug on that once-promising match-up.

The River Oaks exhibition is a warm-up for the 34-year-old's World Team Tennis debut in July.

"This is more about just getting myself a little busier and focused on something I used to be good at," Sampras said. "It's time this year to do a little more. Last year, I was kind of floating along."

Jim Courier, who won the senior tour Outback Champions Cup-Naples Monday night, has been trying to recruit Sampras to make his senior tour debut in 2006.

"My feeling is Pete will really only play when he's good and ready," Courier said. "I don't think he wants to come out and test the waters and see how it is. I think he'll make a decision to do it or to not do it, and that will be his. We certainly respect that."

Sampras says don't expect too much as he is simply looking for an alternative to sitting on the couch watching TV or playing with the kids.

"Last year, I got a little bored," Sampras said, adding he wouldn't be interested in playing a number of senior events such as the comeback former No. 1 Marcelo Rios has planned later this year. "My competitive juices are flowing again. But I just want to have some fun on the court. This isn't a comeback. This is my 'I'm-still-retired' comeback."

Oldsters Agassi, Henman Exit at ATP Indian Wells

Former No. 2-ranked Tommy Haas continued his career-best start Monday at the ATP Masters Series-Indian Wells, with the No. 26 seed upending a nervous No. 8 Andre Agassi 7-5, 6-2 to move into the fourth round of play.

Agassi was serving at 5-4, 40-15 in the first set when he got the yips, failing to close things out against the German who would not go away during baseline rallies. It was the first time the two had faced each other since 2004. Agassi went into the match winning six of their nine career encounters.

"Yeah, it's frustrating. It's been a long time since I've felt good on the court. It's just getting tiring, that's all," Agassi told reporters. "It's never easy losing. It never feels good when you're losing often. To have a few good wins and have a good tournament would help me, remind me right now, why I'm doing this. But as of right now, it's hard to feel that thrilled about it."

No. 9 seed Lleyton Hewitt avoided an upset Monday with a laborious 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 win over former Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schuettler.

"He's extremely quick around the court. He moves really well," Hewitt told reporters. "I just had to hang out there, try and grind him down...It wasn't the prettiest tennis. Hopefully I can pick up on it."

Unseeded Russian Marat Safin continued his comeback run with a brutally hard-hitting three-set upset over countryman (5) Nikolay Davydenko, while Americans (3) Andy Roddick (d. (32) Verdasco) and (12) James Blake (d. (17) Robredo) posted impressively-easy straight-set victories.

"It's good," Roddick told reporters after weathering the giant forehand of Verdasco. "I feel like I played well two matches in a row here against pretty good players. I haven't done that probably since last fall."

Safin posted his second win of the year over Davydenko, who cemented his reputation as a top-level grinder but a big-match loser.

"Because he's No. 1 in Russia, he doesn't want to play against the guy who is out for seven months and basically he has nothing to lose, and he has to face it," Safin told reporters. "It's difficult to deal with the pressure for him."

Other seeds advancing were (4) David Nalbandian (d. (Q) Benneteau), (20) Sebastien Grosjean (d. Vliegen), (21) Mario Ancic (d. Sanguinetti), (22) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Kohlschreiber in three), (23) Tomas Berdych (d. Henman), and (24) Igor Andreev (d. Soderling from a set down, saving nine match points).

Other players on the upset tip were Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, outlasting (11) Nicolas Kiefer 6-2 in the third; Paradorn Srichaphan rolling over (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero 2-and-2; and Belgian Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, strumming (15) Radek Stepanek 1-and-1.

Scheduled for Tuesday at IW are Gaudio vs. Baghdatis, Federer vs. O.Rochus, Fish vs. Nadal, Berdych vs. Hewitt, Hrbaty vs. Gasquet, Monfils vs. Ljubicic, Mathieu vs. Ancic, Malisse vs. Grosjean, and in doubles highlights Bryan/Bryan vs. Bhupathi/Moodie.

Henin Bakes Double-Bagel at WTA Indian Wells

Lindsay Davenport served a double bagel last year at Indian Wells against Maria Sharapova, and again this year over Ashley Harkleroad earlier in the week. On Monday top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne followed by displaying the large gap between the upper echelon and the rank-and-file players on the WTA Tour, blowing away Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-0, 6-0 to advance into the fourth round at the Pacific Life Open.

"It's good to be quick," Henin-Hardenne told reporters after improving to 16-1 in 2006. "But in my first two matches, I've been very focused on every point and try to save my energy for my next match. I'm very happy about that."

Other seeded winners were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. (28) Mirza from a set down), (7) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. (26) Smashnova from a set down), (8) Ana Ivanovic (d. (WC) Perry), (14) Ai Sugiyama (d. (18) Safarova), and (17) Gisela Dulko (d. (12) Golovin 7-6 in the third).

Dementieva's win marked a return of the serving yips for the Russian, with 18 double faults and eight breaks on her serve. Mirza failed to close things out after the first set, even after winning almost 70 percent of Dementieva's second-serve points.

In upsets Finland's Emma Laine defeated (6) Flavia Pennetta when the Italian retired after one game with an ankle injury, Estonia's Maret ousted (20) Marion Bartoli, and (22) Anna Chakvetadze upended (11) Maria Kirilenko in straights.

In the only all-unseeded match, China's Na Li beat American wildcard Vania King in straight sets.

Highlights Tuesday in Indian Wells are Hingis vs. Davenport, Sharapova vs. Peer, Henin-Hardenne vs. Sugiyama, Myskina vs. Safina in an all-Russian, Groenefeld vs. Ani, Dementieva vs. N.Li, Chakvetadze vs. Ivanovic, and Dulko vs. Laine.

Glaken · Mar 15, 2006

Davenports Back Injured Again, Kuerten Pulls from Miami

<SMALL>Posted on March 15, 2006</SMALL>

Hingis Upends Davenport at WTA Indian Wells

Comeback kid Martina Hingis matched the walk with the talk Tuesday at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, following up on earlier remarks that her crafty and quick game was more than a match for today's powerful-but-slow players, defeating a back-addled No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals.

An Indian Wells champ in 1998, the Swiss was particularly on form in the third set when she made one lone unforced error. It was Hingis' second Top 5 victory since her comeback in January after defeating Maria Sharapova.
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"Beating Lindsay here under these circumstances on this occasion, it's definitely not easy for me to play her," said Hingis, who made only 14 total unforced errors during the three sets to Davenport's 42, speaking with reporters after the match. "But now I know that I have the potential to meld with the best, and that's very helpful (for my) confidence."

Davenport still leads the storied career head-to-head with Hingis 14-11.

"She really makes you go for a lot, and think about shots," Davenport told reporters. "Great mover, places the ball extremely well. I felt like I didn't play great, but I thought she played very smart, which is typical of her. That's what she does best. I mean, she's always going to be a good player and be dangerous to anybody."

Davenport noted a disc injury she has been suffering in her back, and said doctors have recommended she rest the injury.

"I have this tournament and then Miami," Davenport told reporters. "Then I think it's about four to six weeks off."

In the quarters the No. 19-seeded Swiss will face No. 10-seeded Russian Dinara Safina, who upset her No. 5-seeded compatriot Anastasia Myskina 6-1 6-3.

There were no other upsets on the day, with seeds safely into the quarters including (1) Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. (14) Sugiyama), (3) Maria Sharapova (d. (21) Peer), (4) Elena Dementieva (d. N.Li), (7) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Ani), (8) Ana Ivanovic (d. (22) Chakvetadze), and (17) Gisela Dulko (d. Laine), all in straight sets.

Scheduled for Wednesday in Indian Wells are (19) Hingis vs. (10) Safina (first career meeting), (3) Sharapova vs. (7) Groenefeld (Russian leads 2-0), and in doubles highlights (1) Raymond/Stosur vs. (8) Li/Sun.

Federer Stretched, Hewitt, Gaudio Exit at Indian Wells

World No. 1 Roger Federer hopes he got the bugs out of his game Tuesday at the Masters Series-Indian Wells, going to the can of roach spray to eliminate the scrambling Belgian Olivier "The Roach" Rochus 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to advance into the fourth round at the first Masters Series event of 2006.

"You can't be ready to win in straight sets, otherwise you're badly prepared," said Federer, who made a startling 59 unforced errors and needed the drama of a break in the final game to stop the Belgian's upset big. "I always expect a tough one and this one was. I never got my game going, and once you're down a set, you're not allowed to make any more mistakes. I'm relieved I'm through."

Federer improved to 18-1 on the season with the victory, and in the fourth round will face No. 16-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, one of only four players to beat him in 2005, with the teen straight-setting No. 19 Dominik Hrbaty.

Two Top 10 seeds exited the event Tuesday when No. 7 Gaston Gaudio failed to put away (25) Marcos Baghdatis after winning the first set, losing 6-2 in the third, and (9) Lleyton Hewitt's efforts to end a year-plus title drought took a hit when the Aussie was overpowered in straight sets by (23) Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

"He was serving big out there. I just felt like I couldn't dictate play," said last year's runner-up Hewitt, who will likely drop back out of the Top 10 again this year on the ATP Rankings. "He's got a lot of firepower and he moves extremely well for a big guy as well. I didn't serve as well as I needed to. That's something that I've got to try and work on, get the percentages up there and get the cheap points. That's when I play my best tennis."

Other winners were (2) Rafael Nadal (d. (WC) Fish giving up five games), (6) Ivan Ljubicic (d. (27) Monfils) setting up a fourth-round encounter with Croatian countryman (21) Mario Ancic (d. Mathieu), and (20) Sebastien Grosjean (d. Malisse in three).

Winning in third-set match tiebreaks Tuesday in doubles were (1) Bryan/Bryan (d. Bhupathi/Moodie), (2) Bjorkman/Mirnyi (d. Acasuso/Prieto), (6) Santoro/Zimonjic (d. Lindstedt/Nieminen, saving 4 match points), and (WC) Goldstein/Thomas (d. Safin/Wawrinka).

On the Wednesday schedule in IW are (3) Roddick vs. Andreev, (1) Federer vs. (16) Gasquet, (20) Grosjean vs. (2) Nadal, (26) Haas vs. Blake, (25) Baghdatis vs. (23) Berdych, (4) Nalbandian vs. Srichaphan, (21) Ancic vs. (6) Ljubicic in an all-Croatian, and (22) Nieminen vs. Safin.

Glaken · Mar 16, 2006

Roddick Meltdown Redux; Hingis Keeps Rolling

<SMALL>Posted on March 16, 2006</SMALL>

Unstoppable Hingis Into Semis at Indian Wells

A disguised lowly No. 19 seed advanced into the semifinals Wednesday at the Pacific Life Open when Martina Hingis followed her upset over No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 10 seed Dinara Safina.

"I'm very happy with the progress I'm making," Hingis said. "Today probably wasn't all the prettiest game, but it was effective at the end of the day. I'm happy to be through, in the semis again."

Hingis will next face new rival and No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova, who eased past No. 7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld in her quarterfinal 6-1, 6-3.
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Hingis overwhelmed Sharapova in their first-ever meeting in February at Tokyo, then later in the month the Russian returned the favor with a straight-set win at Dubai.

"Yeah, it's fun, I guess. That's all you can say," an unsure-sounding Sharapova told reporters on another match-up with the Swiss. "You know, third time playing against her, third consecutive tournament for me. It's going to be a good match, I guess. I'm hoping. I guess you never know. But I'm hoping to keep playing well and keep being aggressive and being patient at times where I need to be patient. In Dubai, I basically took my opportunities, you know, the ones that I had. In Tokyo, even when I felt like I could get back in the match, I didn't take my opportunities, made a few errors."

Quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday in Indian Wells are Dementieva vs. Ivanovic (first meeting), and Henin-Hardenne vs. Dulko (first meeting).

Roddick Mental Meltdown in Exit at Indian Wells

Andy Roddick's 2006 mishaps continued Wednesday at the Masters Series-Indian Wells where the No. 3-seeded American suffered an uncharacteristic third-set racquet-smashing mental meltdown in a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 loss to unheralded Russian Igor Andreev in the fourth round.

"I went on walkabout," Roddick told reporters after failing to convert on three straight break points on Andreev's first service game in the third set, then losing his serve at love. "It was just like a blur. You're out there for two hours, and I let it get away from me in five minutes."

The loss follows a defeat in his last event to qualifier Julien Benneteau in Memphis, and continues a difficult start with brother John as his coach after firing his former coach Dean Goldfine.

"I'm not going to sit here and put on my fun face," said Roddick, who was penalized for smashing his racquet in the third set. "I'm not happy. I'm mad with the way I played. It's just frustration. We've all been there, except I have people watching when I break something."

In the third set Andreev hit 11 winners to none for the American. It was another mental setback for Roddick, who earlier this week looked like he might be getting a handle on his expanding repertoire of on-court emotional histrionics displayed in 2006.

"For the most part I was fine today until I went mental at the end," said Roddick, who saw the finish line, and that it would be his opponent crossing it, in the sixth game of the third set. "That's 5-1, so it's not really going to matter. I could have reached Gandhi-like peace of mind and it wouldn't have mattered then, 5-1 down."

Other fourth-round upsets Wednesday were Paradorn Srichaphan ousting No. 4 David Nalbandian from a set down 6-2 in the third, and No. 25 Marcos Baghdatis beating No. 23 Tomas Berdych 4-and-1.

Seeded winners on the day were (1) Roger Federer (d. (16) Gasquet), (2) Rafael Nadal (d. (20) Grosjean), (6) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Croat compatriot (21) Ancic), (12) James Blake (d. (26) Haas who retired in the 2nd set with stomach illness), and (22) Jarko Nieminen (d. Safin), all in straight sets.

Thursday features two singles quarterfinals in (1) Federer vs. (6) Ljubicic (Fed leads meetings 8-3, including 5 straight) and (22) Nieminen vs. Srichaphan (Finn leads 3-1 including 3 straight), and doubles match-ups (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Frenchmen Gasquet/Grosjean, (6) Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro/Zimonjic vs. (2) Bjorkman/Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Russians Andreev/Davydenko vs. (3) Knowles/Nestor, and Aspelin/Perry vs. Austrians Knowle/Melzer.

Glaken · Mar 22, 2006

Davenport Pulls From Miami; Mens Preview

<SMALL>Posted on March 21, 2006</SMALL>

ATP Miami Preview: Video Replay Gets Top Seed

The strongest men's field of the year begins Wednesday at the Masters Series-Miami, the NASDAQ-100 Open, where technology rather than the players will take center stage.

For the first time in professional tennis, the Hawk-Eye line-calling technology will be employed on the stadium court where players will receive two challenges per set (and an extra challenge in the case of a tiebreak) to overrule the chair umpire's or a lineperson's call. A correct challenge and the player retains their previous number of challenges, an incorrect challenge and they lose one. The stadium's giant video screen will show the animated replay, which tournament organizers hope will get crowds into the match.

"It's 10 years overdue," said Gene Scott, publisher of Tennis Week magazine, speaking with Fox Sports on the video replay system tennis television commentators have been using for years. "It's amazing how TV forced the game's governors to do it."
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Veteran ESPN commentator and tennis icon Cliff Drysdale says not only will the Hawk-Eye technology be good for the game, but in big matches will change it.

"The scale between players is so easily tipped, that one call, one point does make a huge difference," said Drysdale speaking with Fox Sports. "And there are so many more beside those where replays would have made a huge difference. I absolutely think some big matches would have gone the other way."

Big matches will be on the mind of top seed Roger Federer, who is on a mission to pull away from No. 2 Rafael Nadal in Miami, last week winning a third consecutive Indian Wells title after claiming the first Slam of the year at the Australian Open.

Federer is no stranger to Miami this week as the defending champion, setting a seemingly untouchable pace in 2006 -- and it's only March.

Other "storylines" in Miami include the resurgence of Tommy Haas who could face Federer in the third round, the coming-out party for James Blake who is also in Club Fed's quarter, the ongoing struggles and unending IMG-supported wildcards to IMG clients Donald Young and the confidence-challenged Mark Philippoussis at the IMG-owned event, the ongoing one-man drama club that is Andy Roddick, injury-ravaged former-greats Marat Safin and Tim Henman squaring off in the first round, Guillermo Coria resurfacing with a new coach and hopefully some game after a poor 2006 start, new world No. 3 David Nalbandian trying to show he is fully recovered from an ab injury, Nadal trying to bounce back from shockingly being kept from a final last week at IW, and Americans Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri trying to show they have the mindset to compete, with a potential early-round meeting looming.

Lots going on at the "fifth slam," the last hardcourt stop before the all-dirt run-up to the French Open.

Here's the breakdown of the four quarters of the 2006 Masters Series-Miami:

Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Roger Federer, (8) Gaston Gaudio, (9) James Blake, (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero, (23) Jarkko Nieminen, (24) Igor Andreev, (27) Tommy Haas, (32) Juan Ignacio Chela

Floaters: Arnaud Clement, Mark Philippoussis, Greg Rusedski

A lot of land mines early on for world No. 1 Roger Federer in the top quarter at Miami, including the former No. 2 and on-task Haas, and Blake who had en early advantage over the Swiss in last Sunday's Indian Wells final.

After an opening-round bye Federer could open against the Frenchman Clement, who has beaten Nadal this year and owned the Swiss in his pre-No. 1 days, winning three of their first round encounters. Haas would be the Swiss' likely opponent in the 3rd round, and the formerly-fearsome No. 1 Ferrero or Andreev in the fourth.

With Gaudio a mess since his shoulder problem arose, tip Blake to meet Federer in the quarters if the American can bypass the upset-maker Nieminen in the 3rd round.

Philippoussis is a floater only in terms of watch him float out of this event early -- same with under-cooked wildcard "The" Donald Young, who opens against Argentine Carlos Berlocq, winner to face Blake.

Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Andy Roddick, (7) Guillermo Coria, (11) Dave Ferrer, (13) Lleyton Hewitt, (17) Dominik Hrbaty, (19) Sebastien Grosjean, (29) Olivier Rochus, (31) Fernando Verdasco

Floaters: Andrei Pavel, "Rappin'" Vince Spadea, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, Marat Safin, Tim Henman, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Novak Djokovic

Turn back the clock a few years and this is one rough section -- but this is 2006, when Roddick and Hewitt are struggling, and Coria was tapped to not even play Miami after bailing from Indian Wells to bond with new coach Jose Higueras after an awful start this year.

Roddick's opener could be a Davis Cup rematch against the Romanian Pavel, who beat the American in five sets when Andy shot his lunch into a courtside bucket mid-match.

Hewitt's opener couldn't be any rougher, meeting the winner of Safin and Henman in the floater-crazy second quarter of the draw. The fast-rising Serb Djokovic meets Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round, and either could take out the confidence-challenged Coria in the next meeting.

Look for something strange to come out of the bottom half of this quarter (Grosjean? Mirnyi? O.Rochus?) to meet either Roddick, Hewitt, or Safin for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Third Quarter
Seeds: (3) David Nalbandian, (5) Nikolay Davydenko, (12) Richard Gasquet, (15) Radek Stepanek, (21) Tommy Robredo, (22) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, (25) Marcos Baghdatis, (26) Tomas Berdych

Floaters: Paul Goldstein, Nicolas Massu, Xavier "X-Man" Malisse

Nalbandian should have his feet under him after his return at Indian Wells from an abdominal injury, and will be tested likely first by the pesky American Goldstein, then by the whaling power of Berdych in the 3rd round.

There are few holes in Masters Series draws, and Davydenko, the second-highest seed in the quarter, also doesn't have it easy with Baghdatis in the 3rd round then either Gasquet or Ancic.

Watch the seeds here as this is the floater-weak quarter of the draw. Lots of middling players like Stepanek, who has already won a title this year at Rotterdam, and Ancic and Berdych, who have run hot and cold, make this mostly personality-less Euro-section a coin flip beginning in the third round.

Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Rafael Nadal, (6) Ivan Ljubicic, (10) Andre Agassi, (16) Nicolas Kiefer, (18) Fernando Gonzalez, (20) Robby Ginepri, (28) Gael "Force" Monfils, (30) Filippo Volandri

Floaters: Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Carlos Moya

Throw A-Rod into this section and you could call it the "Confident-less American Quarter." Agassi and Ginepri have navigation-able openers, which would result in a third-round meeting.

How about Nadal vs. his former No. 1 countryman and mentor Carlos Moya in the second round for fans looking for some straight-out-of-the-box competition? You don't see much of that at the Slams.

Other tough openers for seeds are Gonzalez vs. the Murray-Wawrinka winner (don't underestimate Stan), and Kiefer vs. The Magician-Dr. Ivo winner.

Ljubicic has the easiest draw of the lot, and will need to merely hold his standard until fighting the U.S. partisan fans and likely navigating the video replay in a fourth-round encounter with Agassi or Ginepri.

Look for Nadal to grind through the tough draw of Moya, Monfils, and Kiefer or Gonzalez to face Ljubicic or Agassi for the quarterfinals berth.

Returning champs in the field are Federer (2005), Roddick (2004), and the six-time winner Agassi (2003-01,'96-95,'90). Jonas Bjorkman and The Beast won the 2005 doubles title.

Glaken · Mar 30, 2006

Federer v Blake in Miami; Rios Body-slams Muster in Senior Debut

<SMALL>Posted on March 30, 2006</SMALL>

Rios Slams Muster in Senior Tour Debut

In a battle of former No. 1s, Marcelo Rios put an exclamation on his senior tour debut with a 6-3, 6-1 beat-down on Austria's Thomas Muster in Doha.

"I thought I was going to feel a little bit worse, but I've been practicing for the last month so I'm feeling pretty good," Rios said. "I'll try to enjoy it and play a bit more relaxed, but I also think when you have been at the top you still like to win. Everybody that comes here wants to win the title. I'm just enjoying playing again, taking it match by match. If I can win, that would be great. It's exciting to be back and I'm looking forward to playing good and just enjoying tennis for a second time."

Other winners Wednesday were Richard Krajicek beating Carl-Uwe Steeb 7-5, 6-2, and Henri Leconte coming back for a 5-7, 6-3, 10-6 win over Pat Cash.
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The match between Cedric Pioline and Sergi Bruguera was halted by rain with Pioline leading 6-1, 1-1.

On Thursday in Doha are Bruguera vs. Pioline (to finish), Leconte vs. Rios, Bruguera vs. Krajicek, Pioline vs. Steeb, and Muster vs. Cash.

Roddick, Federer v Blake Thursday at Miami

No. 3 seed David Nalbandian overwhelmed No. 22 Mario Ancic Wednesday in the late match at the Masters Series-Miami, rolling over the big-serving Croat 6-2, 6-2 to move into the semifinals.

In the semis Nalbandian will face another Croat in No. 6 seed Ivan Ljubicic, who overpowered unseeded Argentine Agustin Calleri 7-6(4), 6-3.

Ljubicic used the video replay challenge to reverse a call to win the opening tiebreak, and ended with 14 aces and an amazing 36 of 37 first serve points won.

On court Thursday are (4) Andy Roddick vs. (11) David Ferrer, (1) Roger Federer vs. (9) James Blake, and in doubles (1) the Bryan brothers vs. Israel's (6) Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram, and (4) Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett vs. Croats Ljubicic/Ancic.

Sharapova, Golovin Set Meeting at WTA Miami

No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova stormed into the semifinals Wednesday night at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, overpowering Russian countrywoman and No. 10 seed Anastasia Myskina 6-3, 6-3.

Both players traded breaks to begin the match before Sharapova broke again for a 3-1 lead, repeatedly pounding the weak Myskina serve.

"I played a clean match," Sharapova said. "I made a lot of errors in my first two matches and knew I had to be patient since she gets a lot of balls back. I look forward to improving in the semis, and I will hope for the best."

In the semifinals Sharapova will face 18-year-old French-Russian-American No. 22 seed Tatiana Golovin, who came from a set down to outlast China's Zheng Jie 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

A resident of South Florida, Golovin is a Russian native who has French citizenship.

"It feels really nice to be driving your car to the courts, sleeping in your own bed, knowing everything around," Golovin told reporters. "I just know the courts so well, and I know the conditions and the wind."

It is the second semifinal of the year for Golovin after Paris where she lost to Amelie Mauresmo.

On court Thursday are (1) Mauresmo vs. (12) Svetlana Kuznetsova, and (4) Sharapova vs. (22) Golovin.