STARS
Roger Federer beat Mardy Fish 6-7 (5) 7-6 (1) 6-4 to win the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Cash 3-6 6-3 10-4 (match tiebreak) to win The Optima Open in Knokke, Belgium
SAYINGS
“It is with much frustration and deep sadness that I am having to pull out of the US Open.” – Serena Williams, in a statement released by her publicist.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it, but I do know the US Open is probably her favorite event, so obviously, if she’s this far out and is not going to play, it’s got to be something pretty serious, which is unfortunate, because there’s no doubt about who the top draw card is in New York City as far as the women’s side of the draw.” – Andy Roddick, commenting on Serena Williams not playing at the US Open.
“It’s something special to be the first seed at a grand slam. But it doesn’t really matter for me if I am first seed or second seed. It’s just a number when you’re on the court. I just want to beat every single one of the girls that are in my way. That will be my goal.” – Carolina Wozniacki, who will more than likely be the women’s number one seed at this year’s US Open.
“I’ve been playing well the last couple weeks, and today was just another proof that I’m playing really well. It’s nice knowing that the hard work already in the offseason after Wimbledon pays off right away.” – Roger Federer, after winning the Cincinnati Masters, his first tournament title since the Australian Open in January.
“I desperately want to sort of have my career maybe be remembered by a big tournament or something like that. So I’ve wanted badly to win a real big one. This would have been perfect.” – Mardy Fish, after losing to Roger Federer in the final at Cincinnati.
“I just played a very bad match. Every time I needed to play well, I made mistakes, especially on my forehand side. He was getting a lot of balls back – not doing anything special, just making me play extra shots.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing to Andy Roddick.
“My game can improve, that’s for sure. It must improve if I really want to have chances to have some opportunity in a week or so in New York.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Marcos Baghdatis at the Cincinnati Masters.
“They said that because (Mardy) Fish had to play doubles they wanted us to play early. But I’m not sure, the way the tennis works, I don’t think matches should be scheduled around the doubles because it’s the singles that’s on the TV.” – Andy Murray, upset about having to play in the heat of the day, after losing to Fish in the quarterfinals at Cincinnati.
“Don’t worry, there’s no doubt in my mind (I will be at the U.S. Open). Maybe I will have to take precautions, but a lot of girls these days play with tape to protect themselves. It doesn’t mean you can’t compete.” – Kim Clijsters, saying she will play despite tightness in her left hip she experienced at Montreal.
“I played so badly in the first set I should have broken all my racquets!” – Goran Ivanisevic, who once did exactly that in 2000, causing him having to retire from a match because he had “insufficient equipment.” This time Ivanisevic rallied to win a seniors tournament in Belgium.
“Everybody goes, ‘Oh, look at the state of women’s tennis in America,’ But really, you can safely say the Williams sisters have been the two dominant players in the last 10 years. Yes, there have been players that have won a Grand Slam here and there, but kudos to the United States for having Venus and Serena. When I played we didn’t have players from Croatia, we didn’t have really good Chinese players. It’s just unbelievable where these players are popping up from, and that sort of dilutes the Americans … it makes them look not as successful. It’s just that the rest of the world’s caught up.” – Chris Evert.
SOGGY WEEKEND
Rain Saturday and Sunday wiped out play at the USD $2,000,000 Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, although the doubles semifinals were played on an indoor court Sunday. That pushed the semifinals of the hard-court women’s event to Monday, followed by the singles final, then the doubles championship.
SERENA SHOCKER
Still recovering from surgery on her right foot, Serena Williams has withdrawn from the US Open where she was heavily favored to win her third Grand Slam tournament of the year. She becomes the first woman ranked number one in the world to miss the US Open since the rankings began in 1975. In last year’s Open, Serena was eliminated in the semifinals as she launched a tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call, an outburst that drew a record fine. The 28-year-old American reportedly was hurt by a broken glass at a restaurant in Munich, Germany. She underwent surgery in Los Angeles, California, USA, on July 15 and has pulled out of three hard court tournaments leading up to the US Open. Williams said doctors advised her not to play so her foot can heal. She said missing the US Open, which she has won three times, is “one of the most devastating moments of my career.”
STAYING HOME
Juan Martin del Potro won’t be defending his men’s singles title at the US Open. The Argentine becomes only the third US Open men’s champion in the 42-year Open era who has failed to defend the title. Unlike the withdrawal of Serena Williams, del Potro’s announcement wasn’t as big a shocker. The 6-foot-6 del Potro has not played since the Australian Open in January because of an injury to his right wrist. The 21-year-old right-hander underwent surgery in May and only recently began training. Last year del Potro upset Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Roger Federer in the final, ending Federer’s five-year run as champion. Since 1968 the only other men who didn’t defend their US Open titles were Ken Rosewall in 1971 and Pete Sampras in 2003. Sampras retired after winning the 2003 Open, making that the final match of his career.
Also missing from this year’s US Open will be two-time women’s champion Justin Henin of Belgium as well as two men: 10th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Tommy Haas of Germany.
Three other former women champions – Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters – have recently suffered injuries.
SERVING FOR ALL
John Alexander, who was ranked as high as eighth in the world as a tennis player, has been elected to Australia’s federal parliament. The 59-year-old Liberal Party member won the New South Wales seat of Bennelong. In unseating Labor’s Maxine McKew, Alexander reclaims for the Liberal party the seat one held by former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Alexander, who made his Davis Cup debut for Australia at the age of 17, has been a tennis commentator on Australia’s Channel Seven for many years. He says because of his being elected, he will put his media career on hold. “I won’t do anything that will detract from my efforts to represent the people of Bennelong,” he said.
SEASON OVER
It’s not just the US Open that Justine Henin will miss. The 28-year-old former number one player will miss the rest of this year as she recovers from an elbow injury. A seven-time Grand Slam tournament winner, Henin returned to tennis at the beginning of this season after 18 months in retirement. She reached the final in her first two tournaments, including the Australian Open, and won titles in Stuttgart, Germany, and Den Bosch, the Netherlands. But, facing fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Henin fell heavily in the first set and damaged her elbow ligaments. “I took several medical examinations and it is going in the right direction,” Henin said. “But it is still a slow recovery, so I need to be patient again until the end of 2010.”
STILL FUMING
It was very hot in Cincinnati during the Western & Southern Financial Masters, so Britain’s Andy Murray would have appreciated playing at least one match in cooler temperatures. Instead, tournament officials scheduled Murray to start three consecutive matches in the midday heat. “If you ask for a late match and you’re put on first, that’s not … that’s pretty …,” Murray said, hesitating and picking his words carefully. “I don’t ever request really when to play. I don’t make many demands at all during the tournaments.” Ranked fourth in the world, Murray was upset in the quarterfinals by Mardy Fish when the on-court temperature soared to more than 38 degrees Celsius (100 F). Murray won the opening set in a tiebreak before leaving the court to cool down in the locker room and receive medical attention. Fish won the match 6-7 (7) 6-1 7-6 (5).
SLEIGHT OF HAND
Did he or didn’t he? Roger Federer is refusing to say whether or not his “William Tell” trick is real or not. The YouTube video, posted by Federer’s sponsors Gillette, shows the tennis star, wearing a business suit, twice knocking a can off the head of a man with his serve. Asked if the clip showed a real serve, Federer smiled and said: “You know how it is with magicians. They don’t tell how their tricks work, you know.”
SAFINA SPIN OVER?
Dinara Safina is beginning to win matches again. Once ranked number one in the world, Safina has received a wild card entry into this week’s final tune-up for the US Open, the Pilot Pen in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The Russian appears to have recovered from a back injury that has plagued her for most of the past year. Others getting wild cards into the New Haven tournament were Americans Taylor Dent and Donald Young.
SHARAPOVA AT NUMBER ONE
When it comes to padding the bank account, it’s Maria Sharapova who is number one. According to Forbes Magazine, Sharapova earned USD $24.5 million n the past year, making her the highest-paid female athlete in the world. She collected USD $1 million in on-court earnings, with the rest of her money coming from endorsements and appearance fees. Serena Williams is the second-highest paid woman, having earned USD $20.2 million in the period from June 2009 through June 2010 as tennis players dominate the list, making up half the top 10. Venus Williams is third by earning USD $15.4 million over the past year. Fourth is auto racer Danica Patrick (USD $12 million), followed by figure skater KimYu-Na (USD $9.7 million).
SCOTT AWARD
Golfer Annika Sorenstam and Jeanne Moutossamy-Ashe, wife of the late Arthur Ashe, will present Martina Navratilova with the Eugene L. Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHoF) at the 30th annual Legends Ball next month. Polly Scott will also participate in the presentation of the award, which is given in honor of her late husband, Eugene, founder of Tennis Week magazine. The award honors an individual who embodies Scott’s commitment to communicating honestly and critically about the game and who has had a significant impact on the tennis world. Previous recipients of the award have been John McEnroe (2006), Andre Agassi (2007), Billie Jean King (2008), and Arthur Ashe and his wife, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (2009).
SENT PACKING
Austria’s Daniel Koellerer, who once was ranked in the top 60 in the world, and his manager Manfred Nareyka have been placed on probation for two years because the player’s personal website listed odds for matches and had links to sites for placing bets. The Tennis Integrity Unit, the sport’s anti-corruption group, said Koellerer and Nareyka admitted to breaking rules about facilitating betting. If the 27-year-old Austrian violates anti-corruption rules in the next two years, he would be fined about USD $19,000 and suspended for three months. Last year, Koellerer reached the third round at the US Open and was ranked 55th.
STRAIGHT IN
Americans James Blake, Ryan Sweeting, Bradley Klahn, Jack Sock, Tim Smyczek and Donald Young, along with Australia’s Carsten Ball and France’s Guillaume Rufin have received wild card entries into the US Open men’s singles main draw. Blake is a two-time quarterfinalist at the year’s final Grand Slam tournament and has been a mainstay of America’s Davis Cup team. Smyczek won the US Open Wild Card Playoff to earn his spot in the 128-man draw. Klahn, a sophomore at Stanford University, is the NCAA Division I champion, while Sock won the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships.
In addition, nine men have been awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, being held this week at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. They are Chase Buchanan, Jordan Cox, Andrea Collarini, Jarmere Jenkins, Steve Johnson, Greg Ouellette, Bob van Overbeek, Rhyne Williams and Blake Strode. Strode was the US Open National Playoffs men’s champion.
Given direct wild-card entry into the US Open women’s singles main draw were Americans Chelsey Gullickson, Jamie Hampton, Christina McHale, Shelby Rogers, Beatrice Capra and Coco Vandeweghe, along with Sophie Ferguson of Australia and Virginie Razzano of France. Gullickson, winner of the NCAA women’s singles, is the daughter of former New York Yankee pitcher Bill Gullickson, while Vandeweghe is the niece of Kiki Vandeweghe, former National Basketball Association standout and previous general manager and head coach of the New Jersey Nets. Rogers won the USTA Girl’s 18s and Capra the US Open Wild Card Playoff.
Gaining wild card entry into the women’s singles qualifying are Julia Boserup, Beatrice Capra, Irina Falconi, Nicole Gibbs, Alexa Glatch, Krista Hardebeck, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens and Alexandra Mueller. Mueller is the US Open National Playoffs women’s champion.
SWEET CHRISSY
Chris Evert is the newest inductee into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. Evert was on hand in Montreal, Canada, to mark the occasion. Her 154 trophies include three wins at what was then known as the Canadian Open. She was also runner-up twice: to Martina Navratilova and Tracy Austin. “What’s special about this tournament is that my dad won the Canadian Open, so it has always been kind of a family affair,” Evert said. “He had great experiences here, too. Canada has always had some of the best and most knowledgeable crowds, the best stadiums – whether it’s been here in Montreal or Toronto, they are beautiful – and the best hospitality. It’s a very popular tournament for the players.”
SPONSORSHIP WOES
After this week the Pilot Pen will be no more. Pilot Pen is dropping its USD $2 million sponsorship and name from the tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, after 14 years. The company cites the poor economy for its move. Tournament director Anne Worcester said she is talking to other possible sponsors, but notes there is a deadline of the end of September with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). “Our ultimate goal is to get a title sponsor, and we want to keep this as a combined event in New Haven,” said USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier. The Pilot Pen is sanctioned by both the men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour.
SERVICE AWARDS
The prestigious Chairman’s Award has been presented to Douglas R. Conant, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and to the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The Chairman’s Award recognizes outstanding service toward supporting the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHoF) in its mission of preserving the history of tennis, inspiring and encouraging junior tennis development, enshrining tennis heroes and providing a landmark for tennis enthusiasts. The award was presented by ITHoF Chairman Christopher E. Clouser.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Cincinnati: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-3 6-4
SITES TO SURF
Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com/
Montreal: www.rogerscup.com/
Knokke: www.optimaopen.be
New Haven: www.pilotpentennis.com/
Bronx: www.nyjtl.org
US Open: www.usopen.org
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
ATP
$663,750 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard
WTA
$600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard
$100,000 EmblemHealth Bronx Open, The Bronx, New York, USA, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP and WTA
US Open, New York, New York, USA, hard