STARS
Gilles Simon beat Nicolas Almagro 6-4 4-6 6-4 top win the bet-at-home Open German Tennis Championships in Hamburg, Germany
Mardy Fish beat John Isner 3-6 7-6 (6) 6-2 to win the Atlanta Tennis Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Vera Zvonareva beat Ksenia Pervak 6-1 6-4 to win the Baku Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan
Rui Machado beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-3 6-3 to win the Poznan Porsche Open in Poznan, Poland
Mathilde Johansson beat Petra Cetkovska 7-5 6-3 to win the ITF Roller Open in Petange, Luxembourg
Irina-Camelia Begu beat Laura Pous-Tio 6-3 7-5 to win the BCR Open Romania Ladies in Bucharest, Romania
SAYING
“In hindsight, I should have served and volleyed on the second serve. He got it in play and I went for too big of a backhand and missed it by a lot. He played the point well and the next two points he served two really good serves.” – John Isner, who had two match points in the second-set tiebreak before losing the Atlanta Tennis Championships final to Mardy Fish.
“When you’re in that position, it’s almost over. I was lucky to get out of it. I struck some returns and put some balls in play. I played some good points from then on.” – Mardy Fish, who won the last four points in second-set tiebreak, forcing a third set, which he won.
“I’ve lost five finals in my career – two to Mardy (Fish), two to Sam (Querrey) and one to Andy (Roddick), and arguably could have won every single match. This is the second where I’ve had match points and the other ones I’ve been one or two points away. I don’t know what it is. … I keep coming up a little short when I play a friend.” – John Isner.
“Every single opponent was tough. Right now women’s tennis is at a very high level and very competitive, and I know if I don’t have my full concentration or I don’t give my best there is no chance I will win a match.” – Vera Zvonareva, after winning the Baku Cup singles title.
“I’m so happy for this week. Finally some results came out for me and I’m very glad Tatiana and I did this title.” – Mariya Koryttseva, who teamed with Tatiana Poutchek to capture the doubles title at Baku, Azerbaijan.
“I feel very, very good. I had to win so many tough matches this week. Today, the final was really hard to win. I had to play my best tennis and I’m proud to win this tournament.” – Gilles Simon, after beating Nicolas Almagro in the final at Hamburg, Germany.
“I’m happy with my level of tennis on clay all year. I was champion at three tournaments and reached two finals. When you’re in a final, you want to win, but today was impossible because he was better than me in the important moments.” – Nicolas Almagro, after losing the Hamburg, Germany, final to Gilles Simon.
“When you’re in a final, you want to win, but today was impossible because he was better than me in the important moments.” – Nicolas Almagro, after losing in the final in Hamburg, Germany, to Gilles Simon.
“It’s a very good feeling (to win my first ATP World Tour title). I had five chances before, I missed them; so it’s definitely good to finally get the title. I hope it’s not going to be the last one. The whole week we played very solid, very good doubles.” – Alexander Peya, who teamed with Oliver Marach to win the doubles in Hamburg, Germany.
“This year my goal was to make it into the top 100, but I changed it now. I’m in the top 50 and I have to change it again!” – Irina-Camelia Begu, after winning an ITF event in her native Bucharest, Romania.
SCENE STEALER
John Isner camethisclose to beating Mardy Fish and winning the Atlanta Tennis Championships. But just like last year, Fish pulled out the victory, besting his fellow American 3-6 7-6 (6) 6-2. Isner was at double match point, 6-4 in the second set tiebreak. But Fish won the next four points, forcing a third set, which is then easily won. “I was lucky to get out of it,” said Fish, who beat Isner in the final a year ago. “It feels great to win here again and start off the summer like I did last year.” His sixth career title, it’s the first time Fish has successfully defended a championship. “I want to stay in the top 10 for as long as I can and keep bettering my career high ranking and do things I’ve never done before,” Fish said. “Today is one of them as I had never defending a title before, so it’s another milestone for me.” The defeat snapped Isner’s eight-match winning streak. “The match was in my hands,” he said. “I was up a set and a break. It’s as simple as that.”
SMOOTH SAILING
After a slight bump in the quarterfinals, Vera Zvonareva had little problem wrapping up her latest title. It was in the quarterfinals where Anna Tatishvili took the second set and battled the eventual champion for more than three hours before falling 7-5 6-7 (4) 6-2. After that, it was smooth sailing for Zvonareva, who captured her second WTA title of the year and the 12th of her career, beating Ksenia Pervak 6-1 6-4 in the final of the Baku Cup. Pervak was playing in her first WTA final. By reaching the title match, the left-hander will be in the top 50 in this week’s rankings. “Maybe I didn’t play my best tennis this week, but I still fought ever hard and played every match from the first point to the last,” Zvonareva said. “It’s a great feeling to win at the end of the day.”
SIMON SUCCESSFUL
It’s been a long time between French champions on the clay courts of Hamburg, Germany. When Gilles Simon won his second ATP World Tour title of the season, besting Spain’s Nicolas Almagro 6-4 4-6 6-4, he became the first Frenchman to win the title since Henry Leconte 25 years ago. “I feel very, very good. I had to win so many tough matches this week,” Simon said. It was the first clay-court title for the fifth-seeded Simon since he won at Bucharest, Romania, in 2008. The 26-year-old also won in Sydney, Australia, in January and now has captured nine ATP World Tour titles. Almagro was seeking his fourth clay-court title of the season. “I’m happy with my level of tennis on clay all year,” Almagro said. “I was champion at three tournaments and reached two finals.”
SPECIAL RANKING
She may be ranked 172nd in the world, but that’s not going to keep Serena Williams from competing at the US Open. A three-time winner of America’s top tennis tournament, Serena was granted direct entry into this year’s field by using her special injury-protected number one ranking. Because she was sidelined more than six months by a series of health issues, Serena had the right to use her special ranking to enter up to eight tournaments, including one Grand Slam event. Alona Bondarenko also gained entry via a special ranking.
With both Serena and her sister Venus Williams aboard, the United States Tennis Association announced the provisional US Open field will include 97 of the top 100 women, including two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters, Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and French Open champion Li Na. Other former champions in the women’s singles will be Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova. Misaki Doi of Japan, ranked 105th in the world, was the 104th and last player accepted directly into the women’s field of 128.
Novak Djokovic will be seeking his third Grand Slam men’s singles title of the year at the US Open, where the field includes defending US Open champion and French Open winner Rafael Nadal along with five-time US Open champion Roger Federer. Among the world’s top 101 men to receive direct entry includes former US Open winners Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro. Marc Gicquel of France, who is ranked 101st in the world, is the last player accepted directly into the men’s field of 128. Three men used protected rankings to gain direct entry: Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, Tommy Haas of Germany and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.
The 2011 US Open will be played August 29-September 11 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn USD $1.8 million with the ability to earn an additional USD $1 million in bonus prize money based on their performances in the Olympus US Open Series.
SMASHING PERFORMANCE
Irina-Camelia Begu believes in doubling up. And because of that, the 2011 BCR Open Romania trophy stays in Bucharest. A native of Bucharest, Begu defeated Laura Pous-Tio of Spain 6-3 7-5 to capture her second International Tennis Federation (ITF) USD $100,000 tournament. Then she teamed with fellow Romanian Elena Bogdan to win the doubles, just as she did when she won her first ITF tournament in Cali, Colombia, earlier this year. At Cali, she also stopped Pous-Tio in the singles final. “I think she was a little scared of me,” Begu said of Pous-Tio, whom she also beat in Budapest, Hungary, in a first-round meeting. “And the audience really helped me in this match.”
The doubles final was one of the most closely contested battles of the year. The teams split their first two sets in tiebreakers, Italy’s Maria-Elena Camerin and Turkey’s Ipek Senoglu winning the first 7-0. The Romanians then took the second tiebreak 7-4 before capturing the match tiebreak 16-14.
It was the third straight match tiebreak for the losers. Camerin and Senoglu beat Ioana-Raliuca Olaru and Erika Sema 10-7 in the match tiebreak in the quarterfinals, then topped Maria Kondratieva and Sophie Lefevre 10-4 in the semifinal match tiebreak.
STARS OF WTT
Two doubles stars – Leander Paes of the Washington Kastles and Liezel Huber of the St. Louis Aces – have been named the World TeamTennis Most Valuable Players. Arina Rodionova of the Kastles and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Aces were named WTT Rookies of the Year, while Murphy Jensen was named WTT Coach of the Year in his third season at the helm of the Kastles.
SAYS I DO
The 2000 Olympic gold medal winner and former world number three, Elena Dementieva, has a new title: Mrs. The retired Russian star married her long-time boyfriend, hockey pro Maxim Afinogenov, at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Moscow, Russia. The ceremony was held on the roof of the hotel and pigeons were released during the celebration. Fellow player Vera Dushevina caught the bride’s bouquet while other players at the wedding included Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Vesnina, Ekaterina Makarova, Maria Kirilenko, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Igor Andreev. The newly-weds received video messages from Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki.
SET FOR CARLSBAD
Three young German stars will battle for the title in the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open when it begins its one-week run July 30 at the La Costa Resort and Spa. “All three of these dynamic rapidly-rising players have a very entertaining style,” Mercury Insurance Open tournament director Raquel Giscfre said of Andrea Petkovic, Julia Goerges and Sabine Lisicki. “They are starting to make an impact in women’s professional tennis and are on the verge of achieving great things in the sport.” All three have won tournaments this year, and Lisicki reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. Petkovic is the highest ranked of the trio at 11th in the world. Two-time defending US Open champion Kim Clijsters and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova both withdrew from the Mercury Insurance Open because of injuries.
SAYONARA
The dream has ended for former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Mark Philippoussis. “I don’t really have any interest in returning to the ATP,” the Australian told the Boston Herald. “I’d love to play some events. I’m very interested in playing some events, but I’m very happy playing senior events.” After having success when he first joined the seniors, Philippoussis talked opening about rejoining the ATP tour. Now, at the age of 34, he’s decided his future lies with the senior tour. Only a few months ago he was again dropping hints that a return to the ATP would be right up his street. “I’m having a lot of fun. It’s a great group of guys,” he said. “It’s laid back. It’s got a great vibe, and I’m just really enjoying doing that. I’m not really into the traveling. I’ve done so much of it over the years. I’m not really happy traveling.” This month Philippoussis has been playing World TeamTennis with Boston.
SPLITTSVILLE BOUNCE
Just days after dumping his childhood sweetheart, reigning US Open golf champion
Rory McIlroy is dating the world’s top-ranked woman, Caroline Wozniacki. According to reports, the 22-year-old golf hooked up with the 21-year-old Wozniacki on the final day of the British Open golf championships. They reportedly were spotted kissing after an intimate dinner in London. The golfer’s management confirmed he had split from Holly Sweeney, saying the breakup was “amicable.” Sweeney, who had dated McIlroy for six years, said he had dumped her. McIlroy and Wozniacki met at the world heavyweight boxing title match between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on July 2.
SHE’S THE TOPS
It apparently doesn’t matter that Serena Williams has only played two tournaments in the past 12 months. The tennis star has been voted the most popular female sports star in a Harris interactive poll among American sports fans. The poll was taken in June, just about the time Williams played a WTA tour match for the first time in 11 months. Two other inactive tennis players made the top 10. Anna Kournikova finished sixth in the balloting and Martina Navratilova was seventh. Venus Williams was second behind her sister in the poll, while Maria Sharapova finished fourth, giving tennis players half of the 10 spots.
SORRY
The BBC has apologized for inadvertently airing an advertisement for the first time. The 30-second commercial was shown on BBC Two during last month’s coverage of Wimbledon. The advertisement urged viewers to “log on now and get your tickets today” for the ATP World Tour finals, the men’s season-ending tournament that will be held in London in November, and also contained numerous references to Barclays Bank. The private television network, ITV, reportedly complained to the BBC about the transmission, demanding to know whether the advertisement was part of a financial arrangement between the BBC and the ATP, a suggestion that the broadcaster vehemently denies. “It was broadcast once. It was a mistake and it should not have been broadcast,” a BBC spokeswoman said. “Steps were immediately taken to ensure it was not broadcast again. This was not part of any deal with Wimbledon, the ATP or the Lawn Tennis Association.”
SHE’S BACK
Martina Hingis will participate in a pro-am event August 1 held in conjunction with the Mercury Insurance Open, a WTA tournament in Carlsbad, California, USA. Now retired, Hingis won the Australian Open singles three straight years, 1997-1999, and also won Wimbledon and the US Open singles in 1997. She won nine Grand Slam tournament doubles titles, and in 1998 became just the fourth woman to win a calendar-year Grand Slam in doubles.
SPECIAL HONOR
Doubles star Leander Paes has been elected honorary life member of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA). Jai Singh Gill, CLTA president, said Paes was unanimously elected for the position and the tennis star has accepted. CLTA patron-in-chief Rajan Kashyap said Paes has a very long and fruitful association with the organization. “Leander had won his first ITF Junior tennis title in Chandigarh in 1989 here, and after that he did not look back. Paes went on to win the Junior Australian Open and Junior Wimbledon and other major titles,” Kashyap said. Currently, Paes is one of the top doubles players in the world.
SHOWING IT ALL
CBC Sports has agreed to a new five-year contract with Tennis Canada to carry the Rogers Cup. The new deal gives CBC exclusive English-language coverage of the semifinals and finals of both the men’s and women’s editions of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank. Multi-platform coverage of the tournaments, which take place during the same one-week period each summer in Montreal and Toronto, will be seen on CBC Television, digital channel bold and streaming online at CBCSports.ca. “The Rogers Cup brings the top tennis talent in the world to Canada year in and year out, and we are thrilled to be the home of this tournament for the next five years,” said Jeffrey Orridge, CBC’s executive director of sports properties.
SET TO CLASH
The Washington Kastles wrapped up an unbeaten regular season with a dazzling display of power, shot-making and teamwork Thursday, trouncing the Philadelphia Freedoms, 25-11, before a spirited capacity crowd that braved the sweltering heat.
The Kastles improved to 14-0, becoming only the second squad in the 36-year history of World Team Tennis to compile a perfect mark in regular season play. The other team to do so was the 1994 Newport Beach Breakers (then known as the Dukes).
SALUTED
Announcer Dick Enberg and the Campbell Soup Company, along with this year’s Tennis Hall of Fame inductees – Andre Agassi and Peachy Kellmeyer – will be honored at The Legends Ball in New York City on September 9. The Legends Ball is an annual social event and fund-raiser put on by the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. Enberg will be presented with the Eugene L. Scott Award, which 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 include John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and his wife Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, and Martina Navratilova. The Campbell Soup Company will be presented the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Award, which is given in honor of the man who served as president and chairman of the Hall of Fame from 1982-88, and was responsible for elevating the organization to worldwide recognition. The award recognizes a company that shares Cullman’s enthusiasm for tennis and has also made a significant contribution to society at large.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Atlanta: Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Matthew Ebden beat Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser 3-6 7-5 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Baku: Mariya Koryttseva and Tatiana Poutchek beat Monica Niculescu and Galina Voskoboeva 6-3 2-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Bucharest: Irina-Camelia Begu and Elena Bogdan beat Maria-Elena Camerin and Ipek Senoglu 6-7 (1) 7-6 (4) 16-14 (match tiebreak)
Hamburg: Oliver Marach and Alexander Peya beat Frantisek Cermak and Filip Polasek 6-4 6-1
Petange: Johanna Larsson and Jasmin Woehr beat Kristina Barrois and Anna Lena Groenefeld 7-6 (2) 6-4
Poznan: Olivier Charron and Stephane Robert beat Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa 6-2 6-3
SURFING
Astana: www.ktf.kz
Los Angeles: www.farmersclassic.com/
Gstaad: www.creditagricolesuisseopengstaad.ch/en/
Umag: www.croatiaopen.hr/tenis/home.aspx
Stanford: www.bankofthewestclassic.com/
Washington: www.midatlanticwtc.com/
Segovia: www.teniselespinar.com
Kitzbühel: www.bet-at-home-cup.com/de/
Washington: www.leggmasontennisclassic.com/
Vancouver: www.vanopen.com
Carlsbad: www.mercuryinsuranceopen.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$619,500 Farmers Classic, Los Angeles, California, USA, hard
$563,400 Crédit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad. Gstaad. Switzerland, clay
$563,400 ATP Studena Croatia, Umag, Croatia, clay
$125,000 President’s Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
WOMEN
$721,000 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, California, USA, hard
$220,000 Citi Open, Washington, DC, USA, hard
$100,000 President’s Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$1,165,500 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington, DC, USA, hard
$563,400 Bet-at-Home Cup, Kitzbühel, Kitzbühel, Austria, clay
$122,323 ATP Open Castiolla y Leon, Segovia, Spain, hard
$100,000 Odlum Brown Van Open Presented by Ivesco, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard
WOMEN
$721,00 Mercury Insurance Open, Carlsbad, California, USA, hard
$100,000 Odlum Brown Van Open Presented by Ivesco, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard