STARS
(US Open, First Round)
Flavia Pennetta beat third-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3 3-6 6-4
Serena Williams beat fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1 7-6 (5)
Alexandra Dulgheru beat fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova 7-6 (3) 6-3
Simona Halep beat sixth-seeded Li Na 6-2 7-5
Juan Carlos Ferrero beat seventh-seeded Gael Monfils 7-6 (5) 5-7 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4
Christina McHale beat eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli 7-6 (2) 6-2
Janko Tipsarevic beat ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4 5-0 retired
Julien Benneteau beat 10th-seeded Nicolas Almagro 6-2 6-4 6-3
SAYING
“I just have cramping in my leg. That’s all. I don’t know. There are no questions. I already finished my press conference in English. I talked half an hour. I just have cramping in front and behind. That’s why I was so painful. That’s all.” – Rafael Nadal, explaining his cramping and sliding out of his chair to the floor during the English portion of his post-match news conference following his third-round victory over David Nalbandian.
“First two sets were ideal. I could not play better. I mean, I was getting a lot of balls back, I was ending the points when I needed to, I was making a lot of winners, my serve was OK, return was great. I felt fantastic on the court. There is not much I can say when everything seems fun and when you’re playing such good tennis.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his second-round match 6-0 6-0 6-2.
“I hate losing. I’m the worst loser in the world. I’m still working on that. But, you know, that kinda keeps me motivated and keeps me going.” – Serena Williams, after losing just three games in her first two matches.
“You’re supposed to have a few nerves. If you don’t, you don’t care. So I do care a lot. That’s maybe why.” – Roger Federer, admitting he was a little nervous before his second-round win over Dudi Sela.
“Before I come to the court, I never think like I was Grand Slam champion. French Open is like three month already. I mean, is enough time to forget. Now is hard court season. You have to focus on hard court. You can’t only think about what you do on clay court. If you think about clay, you have to think about next year, not this year.” – Li Na, French Open champion, after losing her first-round match.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s a great experience for me to be in this position. I’m having a ton of fun with it. But sometimes I feel like I’m playing with house money a little bit just because I just would never have imagined two years ago, in 2009, not even having to come back here [following knee surgery], to be in this position. So it’s great. It’s just great.” – Mardy Fish, following his first-round victory, on playing the 2011 US Open as the top-ranked American.
“They can say what they want. I’m the type of player I am. I’ve won a lot of tournaments. I’m number one in the world, and of course I can still improve. There are a lot of things to my game I can still improve, but everyone can.” – Caroline Wozniacki, responding to critics who say she needs to develop a big shot to win a Grand Slam tournament.
“I think everyone’s light turns on at their own time. I’m starting to feel like mine is turning on. Not everybody does it when everybody expects it to be done. I wish it could have been earlier. It’s starting to come now and I’m excited about it.” – Donald Young, who is finally winning matches on the ATP Tour seven years after reaching the number one ranking in the juniors
SWISS MASTER
Switzerland’s Roger Federer continues to write his name in the record book. By reaching the fourth round, Federer increased his Grand Slam tournament match wins to 226, making him second in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors, who had 233. Federer is trying to set an Open Era record by winning his sixth US Open title. He currently shares the record of five with Connors and Pete Sampras. The Swiss master is bidding to become the first man to win six or more titles at two different Grand Slam tournaments, and to become the fourth man in history to win six or more US Championships or US Opens. Bill Larned, Richard Sears and Bill Tilden all won seven titles.
Federer has won at least one Grand Slam tournament title every year since winning his first at Wimbledon in 2003. This year, he lost to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open, was runner-up to winner Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and lost in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon.
In winning his five US Opens, his victims in the final were Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, Andre Agassi in 2005, Andy Roddick in 2006, Novak Djokovic in 2007 and Andy Murray in 2008. In those five victories combined, Federer lost just two sets.
SO GLOBAL
Sixty-seven countries have players in this year’s US Open, including Burundi, Netherlands Antilles, Bahamas and Guam, counting all of the competitors. The nation with the largest contingent in the men’s and women’s singles draw is, not surprisingly, the United States, with 29 players – 15 women and 14 men. But Russia has the largest group in women’s singles with 16. There are five men from Russia, giving the country a total of 21, the same size as France, which is represented by 14 men and seven women. Spain is next with 19 – 13 men and six women.
Burundi’s lone representative was Hassan Ndayishimiyo, who lost his first-round match in junior boys’ singles qualifying. Daniela Schippers, in the junior girls’ singles qualifying, also lost her first match. Other countries that had players only in the juniors include Mexico, Bolivia, Egypt, Philippines, Korea, Ecuador, Madagascar, Peru and Paraguay.
Among those countries with just one player in the competition were Denmark (who’s lone competitor was the world’s top-ranked woman, Caroline Wozniack), Cyprus, Finland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Tunisia, Georgia, Greece and New Zealand.
Conor Niland and Louk Sorensen qualified for the men’s singles, marking the first time in tennis history that Ireland had two players in the main draw at a Grand Slam tournament. Neither made it out of the first round. Niland retiring from his match against top-ranked Novak Djokovic because of food poisoning. Sorensen retired because of cramping during his first-round match against “lucky loser” Rogerio Dutra Da Silva of Brazil.
Jean-Rene Lisnard became the first player from Monaco to win a Grand Slam tournament match when he moved into the second round with a 7-6 (5) 6-2 6-4 win over Belgium’s Olivier Rochus. That was as far as he went.
Three Japanese were in men’s singles draw, the most from that country in a Grand Slam tournament since Roland Garros in 1974 and the first time at the US Open since 1972. All three – Kei Nishikori, Go Soeda and Tatsuma Ito – played only one match.
Three men from Colombia were also in the men’s singles, the first time since the 1977 Roland Garros that Colombia has had three men competing at a Grand Slam event and the first time at the US Open since 1976. Alejandro Falla was the only one to win his first-round match before losing to Tommy Haas in the second round.
SAY BYE-BYE
There were 14 retirements in the opening week of the US Open, a Grand Slam tournament Open Era record. And that doesn’t include the walkovers or lucky losers. Ten men retired from their matches in the first six days, with three complaining of injuries to their right shoulder. Two others – Nicolas Mahut and Marcel Granollers – pulled an abdominal muscle. Kei Nishikori complained of a sore lower back, Frank Dancevic said he had pulled a hamstring, Marinko Matosevic rolled his ankle, and Louk Sorensen had cramps.
Only four women retired in the first week – Japan’s Misaki Doi with cramps, Japan’s Ayumi Morita with an injured right shoulder, American Jamie Hampton with heat illness and Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer with lower back pain.
SEE YOU IN LONDON
Andy Murray and Roger Federer became the third and fourth players, respectively, to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, which will be held in London, Great Britain, November 20-27. The two join Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the elite eight-player singles field. The 30-year-old Federer will be making his 10th straight appearance in the season finale, where he is a five-time champion. He won successive titles in 2003-04 when the tournament was held in Houston, Texas, USA, and in 2006-07 in Shanghai, China. He is the third player to qualify for the season finale for 10 or more consecutive years, joining Ivan Lendl (12) and Pete Sampras (11). Murray will be making his fourth straight trip to the Finals. The top three teams in the 2011 ATP Doubles Team Rankings have also qualified for the year-end finale: Bob and Mike Bryan, Michael Llodra-Nenad Zimonjic and Max Mirnyi-Daniel Nestor. All six players are past champions in the season-ending tournament.
SITE TO SEE
The US Open has a new show court. Gone are old courts 17 and 18, which in the second week of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament were used primarily for practice. The new Court 17 is a sunken gem with full television capabilities, state-of-the-art video screens and will include the Chase Review electronic line calling system. While bench seating was installed so that it could be used this year, future plans call stadium-style seats. The court was built as an amphitheater and will seat more than 2,500, making it the fourth-largest court at the US Open.
SET FOR DELRAY BEACH
Two former world number ones – Andy Roddick and Ivan Lendl – will participate in the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. Roddick will join the ATP field, while Lendl will compete in the ATP Champions Tour field for the 2012 event, which runs February 24 to March 4 in Delray Beach, Florida, USA. Besides the ATP and seniors fields, the 20th anniversary of the event will also include a 10-and-under championships among other events. Joining Lendl in the seniors field will be Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, Michael Pernfors, Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Arias.
STAR TURN
Pancho Gonzalez, twice a winner of the US Nationals, is the 2011 inductee into the US Open Court of Champions. A tennis pioneer, Gonzalez was 12 years old when he taught himself how to play tennis. He won the US Championships in 1948-49 and also won two matches to help the United States defeat Australia to capture the 1949 Davis Cup title. When tennis became open in 1968, Gonzalez, then 40 years old, reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and the quarterfinals of the inaugural US Open. The following year, he played Charlie Pasarell at Wimbledon in a five-hour match that spanned two days and led to the advent of the tiebreak. He also became the oldest player to win a professional tournament when he captured the Des Moines Open just shy of his 44th birthday.
SELECTED
Rick Welts, president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix Suns, and the Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center of Boston, are the 2011 recipients of the USTA ICON Awards. The award honors individuals and organizations that have made a positive impact on diversity and inclusion in tennis and society, but also emphasize the United States Tennis Association’s commitment to fairness and equality. Previously known as the Breaking Barriers Awards, earlier honorees include Arthur Ashe, baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, former USTA president Judy Levering, and AT&T Mobility’s CEO Ralph de le Vega.
The USTA also paid tribute to the career of Billie Jean King by introducing the inaugural Billie Jean King Legacy Award. The first recipient of the award was David N. Dinkins, the former mayor of New York City.
SPONSOR
Novak Djokovic is the newest Brand Ambassador for Audemars Piguet watches. Djokovic, who is ranked number one in the world, joins a Brand Ambassador team that includes Michael Schumacher, Leo Messi, LeBron James, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and golfers Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy.
SURFING
New York: www.usopen.org/
Genova: www.atpgenova.com
Biella: www.federtennis.it
Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com/
Szczecin: www.pekaoopen.pl
Tashkent: www.tashkentopen.uz/
Quebec City: www.challengebell.com/
Ningbo: www.tennis.org.cn
Sofia: http://tclevski.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN and WOMEN
US Open (first week), New York, New York, USA, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
US Open (second week), New York, New York, USA, hard
$122,000 AON Challenger, Genova, Italy, clay
WOMEN
US Open (second week), New York, New York, USA, hard
$100,000 XII Torneo Internazionale Regione Piemonte, Biella, Italy, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$153,000 Pelkao Szczecin Open, Szczecin, Poland, clay
$100,000 Ted Open, Istanbul, Turkey, hard
WOMEN
$220,000 Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard
$220,000 Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, hard
$100,000 ITF Women’s International Challenge, Ningbo, China, hard
$100,000 Allianz Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria, clay
DAVIS CUP
(September 16-18)
World Group Semifinals
Serbia vs. Argentina at Belgrade, Serbia, hard
Spain vs. France at Cordoba, Spain, clay
World Group Playoffs
Romania vs. Czech Republic at Bucharest, Romania, clay; Russia vs. Brazil at Kazan, Russia, hard; Israel vs. Canada at Ramat Hasharon, Israel, hard; South Africa vs. Croatia at Potchefstroom, South Africa, hard; Chile vs. Italy at Santiago, Chile, hard; Japan vs. India at Tokyo, Japan, hard; Belgium vs. Austria at Antwerp, Belgium, hard; Australia vs. Switzerland at Sydney, Australia, grass
Group I
Americas 1st round playoffs: Ecuador vs. Mexico at Guayaquil, Ecuador; Asia/Oceania 2nd round playoffs: Philippines vs. Chinese Taipei at Lapu-Lapu, Philippines; Europe/Africa 2nd round playoffs: Finland vs. Poland at Espoo, Finland, hard; Slovak Republic vs. Ukraine at Bratislava, Slovak Republic, clay
Group II
Americas 3rd round: Paraguay vs. Peru at Asuncion, Paraguay, clay; Asia/Oceana 3rd round: Korea vs. Thailand at Gimcheon, Korea, hard; Europe/Africa 3rd round: Great Britain vs. Hungary at Glasgow, Scotland, Great Britain; Denmark vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina at Hillerod, Denmark, hard