STARS
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 4-6 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the men’s singles at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA
Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open women’s singles at Miami, Florida, USA
SAYING
“It’s the best four months in my life, but it’s only the start of the season. If I want to have that shot at the number one ranking I need to play consistently well throughout the whole year.” – Novak Djokovic.
“I don’t feel invincible. I don’t feel that I can’t lose on the court. What I feel is big confidence. What I feel is that I’m playing best tennis of my life.” – Novak Djokovic, after beating Mardy Fish in the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals.
“He is not losing games. He is crushing us. He’s so confident and he doesn’t give you much out there at all. When he does, he seems to erase it pretty well. He’s moving better than anyone right now, no doubt about it, on a hard court. It’s his playground right now.” – Mardy Fish, on Novak Djokovic.
“I didn’t win any of the big points. None of them. I left a lot of shots out there today. That’s what’s disappointing.” – Mardy Fish, after losing to Novak Djokovic.
“Always the key to playing against Roger is to play very well. Sometimes is not enough. Tonight was enough.” – Rafael Nadal, after beating Roger Federer in the semifinals at Miami.
“It’s still early for us. The season is broken down into four segments, and we’re coming to the end of the first segment. If we’re still number one after the US Open, then we’ll start getting excited.” – Mahesh Bhupathi, noting he and fellow countryman Leander Paes will be number one in doubles when the new rankings come out Monday.
“It was a great two weeks,” Hantuchova said” We had so much fun on and off the court. Aga is a great girl and we are great friends. That’s part of the reason why we play so well together.” – Daniela Hantuchova, after she and Agnieszka Radwanzka won the women’s doubles in Miami.
STREAK CONTINUES
Novak Djokovic has apparently forgotten how to lose. Not even the world’s top-ranked player, Rafael Nadal, could slow down the Serbian Express as Djokovic won the Sony Ericsson Open and remained unbeaten this year, running his record to 24-0, the best start to a season since Ivan Lendl won 25 straight at the start of 1986. Djokovic outlasted Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the final in Miami for his fourth title of the year, including the Australian Open. “It’s the best four months in my life, but it’s only the start of the season,” Djokovic said. It is the second time the Serb has won the Miami Masters. He captured the event in 2007, and he became only the fourth player – joining Federer, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras – as the only ones to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami – the three most important early season events – in the same year. Nadal, who is ranked number one in the world, lost in the final at Miami for the third time. He has never won the hard court tournament. “Maybe I was a little bit more nervous than other days,” Nadal said. “Maybe because I never won here, and this is the third chance.”
SQUEALING DUEL
All the spectators agreed it was a noisy match as Victoria Azarenka clobbered Maria Sharapova to win the Sony Ericsson Open women’s title and the war of shrieks. The finalists are two of the loudest, highest-pitched squealers in the sport. Azarenka, however, had a game to go along with the noise. She neutralized Sharapova’s power, took advantage of her mistakes and won the Miami tournament for the second time. The win capped a great week that saw Azarenka eliminate in straight sets second-ranked Kim Clijsters, third-seeded Vera Zvonareva and the ninth-seeded Sharapova. The victory also came less than two weeks after Azarenka retired from her quarterfinal match at Indian Wells with an injury. There was some debate as to whether she would be able to play the Sony Ericsson Open.
SET FOR FED CUP
Petra Kvitova will lead the Czech Republic Fed Cup team when it takes on Belgium in a semifinal April 16-17. Also on the team named by captain Petr Pala are Lucie Safarova, Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The tie will be played on an indoor hard court in Charleroi, Belgium. The Czechs are in their third straight Fed Cup semifinal, having lost to the United States in 2009 and Italy last year. The Belgians, who won the competition in 2001, reached their first semifinal since 2006.
Sony Ericsson Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic will lead Germany in its Fed Cup playoff against the United States April 16-17 in Stuttgart, Germany. Julia Goerges, Sabine Lisicki and Anna-Lena Groenefeld are also on the German team. Petkovic upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and former world number one Jelena Jankovic as she advanced to the semifinals of the Miami tournament where she lost to Maria Sharapova. The winner of the US-Germany tie will advance to the eight-team World Group for next year’s competition.
STAR POLISH
Serena Williams is set to release her own collection of nail polish with OPI in time for the French Open in May. The tennis star will introduce the Glam Slam! France collection, which will be comprised of four shades. Each color comes with a Shatter polish that provides a broken or shattered effect as it dries. Two years ago, Williams launched her debut clothing collection on television channel HSN and sold out within three hours, which she attributed to the price. Katy Perry and Justin Bieber have also released nail polish collections with OPI.
SPECIAL CITY
This year’s World TeamTennis (WTT) Finals will be held at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C., a community known as the “Best Tennis Town in America.” The WTT Finals Weekend, July 22-24, is the culmination of three weeks of intense coed team tennis competition featuring some of the biggest names in the sport playing in the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO. The three-day, season-ending event will include conference championship matches as well as the Finals. Last year, the Kansas City Explorers won their first championship and the King Trophy, which is named for WTT co-founder Billie Jean King. The 36th season of the WTT Pro League begins July 4, with the top two teams from each conference advancing to the WTT Finals Weekend.
SETBACK
Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada’s top female player, has suffered yet another setback. The tendinitis that scuttled the second half of her 2010 season has returned. This time it’s a little lower down on the forearm, closer to the wrist. The 23-year-old is on enforced rest and cannot train. There is no timetable for her return. “At this moment, it’s uncertain. She sees a doctor every week, has treatment. They did some strengthening exercises last week, and there was more inflammation. She just wasn’t ready,” Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau said of Wozniack. The tendinitis first appeared while Wozniack was playing in a hard court tournament in California last July.
STANDING TALL
India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes may have won the men’s doubles at the Sony Ericsson Open and ready to take over the number one spot in the rankings, but they know most sports fans back home will be celebrating something else. After all, India won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 28 years. “Cricket is a religion back home, and we won’t even get a mention in (Monday’s) press,” Bhupathi said after their 6-7 (5), 6-2, 10-5 (match tiebreak) win over Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi. Once ranked number one in the world, Paes and Bhupathi broke up their seven-year partnership and played with other partners for nine years. “There was too much pressure on the partnership and the friendship,” Paes said. “We needed a breather, some oxygen.” In November, they decided to reunite. “A lot of life is timing; a lot of life is about karma,” Paes said.
Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska won the Sony Ericsson Open women’s doubles, edging Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova 7-6 (5), 2-6, 10-8 (match tiebreak). “We tried to not think too much about who we were playing. They’re great doubles players,” Hantuchova said of her opponents. “We just tried to focus on what we were doing and it paid off. We stuck to our game, which was being aggressive. It was a close match, but we just kept fighting.” It was the ninth career doubles title for Hantuchova, but her first since Rome in May 2006. Radwanska won her second WTA doubles title.
SNICKERING
Andy Murray pulled off an April Fool’s prank by announcing he was employing his friend Ross Hutchins as his new coach. His Twitter feed had the media in a frenzy trying to verify the action. Murray got the last laugh, though, when he Twittered again, this time saying he picked Hutchins because he needed “another yes-man.”
SPECIAL FUNDRAISING
With Kim Clijsters, Robin Soderling, Vera Zvonareva and Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Kimiko Date-Krumm and Ayumi Morita leading the way, ATP and WTA players raised more than USD $300,000 during a “Tennis for Japan” exhibition during the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA. The money will go to the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami disasters. Players walked through the Stadium Court stands to collect donations from fans and encouraged the public to show support for the victims. Others – including Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Ai Sugiyama, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – also recorded video messages of hope supporting the victims. Organizations making contributions included the WTA, ATP, the Grand Slam tournaments, Sony Ericsson, ITF, IMG, SAP, Itau, Fila, adidas and Lagardere. “Tennis is a global sport, and when a tragedy strikes the entire tennis community comes together and responds,” said Miami tournament director Adam Barrett.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were among the players that took on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers professional soccer team during the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to raise money for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Andy Murray scored a goal for the ATP squad, that was also made up of Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, Jurgen Melzer and Marcos Baghdatis, who also scored a goal. The Strikers won the game 4-2. After the match, Djokovic teamed with GR8 Miami to hold a fund-raising dinner and after-party attended by more than 200 supporters. The high-ticket item of the night was a tennis hit with Djokovic, which alone went for more than $5,000.
SPOTLIGHTED
Tennis players Carmen Boland and Anzela Zguna were two of eight inductees into the 2011 Rollins College Sports Hall of Fame. As a member of the Rollins women’s tennis team, class of 1955, Boland was undefeated for four years. After graduation she turned pro and joined the WTA tour. Also honored with the Alumni Achievement Award was professional tennis umpire Lynn L. Welch, a 1978 graduate of Rollins.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Miami (men): Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes beat Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 6-7 (5) 6-2 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Miami (women): Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova 7-6 (5) 2-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Houston: www.mensclaycourt.com/
Charleston: www.familycirclecup.com/
Casablanca: www.frmt.ma/frmt/index.php
Marbella: www.andaluciatennis.com/
Monte Carlo: www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/
Athens: www.statusathensopen.gr/default.asp?pid=53&la=2
Johannesburg: www.satennis.co.za
Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$562,130 Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, clay
$442,520 US Men’s Clay Court Championships, Houston, Texas, USA, clay
WOMEN
$721,000 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, clay
$220,000 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$3,150,000 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay
$120,000 Status Athens Open, Athens, Greece, hard
$100,000 Soweto Open, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard
WOMEN
$100,000 Soweto Open, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard
FED CUP
World Group
Semifinals
Russia vs. Italy at Moscow, Russia, hard
Belgium vs. Czech Republic at Charleroi, Belgium, hard
World Group Playoffs
Germany vs. United States at Stuttgart, Germany, clay
Spain vs. France at Lleida, Spain, clay
Slovak Republic vs. Serbia at Bratislava, Slovak Republic, clay
Australia vs. Ukraine at Melbourne, Australia, clay
World Group II Playoffs
Belarus vs. Estonia at Minsk, Belarus, hard; Slovenia vs. Canada at Koper, Slovenia, clay; Switzerland vs. Sweden at Lugano, Switzerland, clay