Argentina stuns Serbia in Davis Cup

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US Open

Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-1

OTHER

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova beat Marina Erakovic 4-6 6-1 6-0 to win the Bell Challenge in Québec City, Québec, Canada

Ksenia Pervak beat Eva Birnerova 6-3 6-1 to win the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Denis Istomin beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (6) 6-4 to win the Ted Open in Istanbul, Turkey

Anastasia Yakimova beat Erika Sema 7-6 (3) 6-3 to win the ITF Women’s International Challenge-Ningbo in Ningbo, China

Silvia Soler-Espinosa beat Romina Oprandi 2-6 6-6 retired to win the Allianz Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria

DAVIS CUP

(September 16-18)

World Group Semifinals

Argentina beat Serbia 3-2 at Belgrade, Serbia

Spain beat France 4-1 at Cordoba, Spain

World Group Playoffs

Czech Republic beat Romania 5-0 at Bucharest, Romania; Russia beat Brazil 3-2 at Kazan, Russia; Canada beat Israel 3-2 at Ramat Hasharon, Israel; Croatia beat South Africa 4-1 at Potchefstroom, South Africa; Italy beat Chile 4-1 at Santiago, Chile; Japan beat India 4-1 at Tokyo, Japan; Austria beat Belgium 4-1 at Antwerp, Belgium; Switzerland beat Australia 3-2 at Sydney, Australia

Group I

Americas 1^st round playoffs: Ecuador vs. Mexico at Guayaquil, Ecuador; Asia/Oceania 2^nd round playoffs: Chinese Taipei beat Philippines 3-2 at Lapu-Lapu, Philippines; Europe/Africa 2^nd round playoffs: Finland beat Poland 3-2 at Espoo, Finland; Slovak Republic beat Ukraine 4-1 at Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Group II

Americas 3^rd round: Paraguay vs. Peru at Asuncion, Paraguay; Asia/Oceana 3^rd round: Korea beat Thailand 3-0 at Gimcheon, Korea; Europe/Africa 3^rd round: Great Britain beat Hungary 5-0 at Glasgow, Scotland, Great Britain; Denmark vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina at Hillerod, Denmark

SAYING

“It was a great match to play in front of his crowd, who were really fantastic. I really enjoyed playing here and we are going to Spain knowing that they are the favorites but hopeful that we can win finally the Davis Cup.” – Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Novak Djokovic to give Argentina the victory over the defending Davis Cup champions.

“I feel very disappointed to end the tie in this way. I tried although I was only 60 percent fit and I got into the match knowing there was a risk of aggravating the injury which I first felt at the US Open.”—Novak Djokovic, after retiring with an injury in his Davis Cup match against Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.

“Simply put, Rafa was just too good this weekend. He’s the best player ever on clay court, I think, he’s practically unbeatable on this surface and today we didn’t create the exception.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after losing to Rafael Nadal as Spain clinched its Davis Cup semifinal.

“Tennis has gotten more physical than in past generations, but as long as my body allows me to keep up with the other guys, I will keep playing.” – Radek Stepanek, dismissing any rumors that he is planning on retiring soon.

“I love my team, I love my boys, we are great friends. As captain I want to do a lot but, you know how it is, everyone has their own coach and we come together for two weeks of the year. Still, for the lower-ranked players it’s a great experience to play against a Top 10 guy, a Top 20 guy. They see that the difference only a little bit – but that little bit makes a big difference.” – Andrei Pavel, Romanian Davis Cup coach.

“It has been a long time since Japan played in the World Group. I can still remember when we played the United States 27 years ago. I was 20 years old then.” – Eiji Takeuchi, Japan’s Davis Cup coach.

“The way I look at it, it takes a lot of mental energy and physical energy to win against these guys, especially Rafa. He never gives up.” – Novak Djokovic, after beating Rafael Nadal in the US Open final.

“I like to fight; I want to enjoy this battle against him. Six straight losses, for sure that’s painful. But I’m going to work every day until that changes.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Djokovic.

“I haven’t played in front of a crowd in 10 or 12 years. The tennis is OK. I can play. But playing in front of a crowd, what they expect, what I expect of myself. That’s going to be interesting.” – Jimmy Connors.

“I am so happy to become the number one doubles player again. It’s even sweeter to win the US Open to get back to number one, and I couldn’t have done it without my partner, Lisa (Raymond).” – Liezel Huber, who regained the world number one doubles ranking after teaming with Raymond to win the US Open women’s doubles title.

“Once it got to the third set I was just in the zone. It felt like everything I hit was going in. I saw the ball so big, it was such a great feeling. I just knew I was going to win the match.” – Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, after winning her first WTA title, the Bell Challenge.

SUFFERING SERB

Back pain forced Novak Djokovic to retire during his match against Juan Martin del Potro, giving Argentina an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Serbia in the Davis Cup semifinals. Djokovic was the leader a year ago when Serbia won its first Davis Cup title. Argentina now advances against Spain, which beat France in the other semifinal. Djokovic had won the US Open on Monday, and then flew to Belgrade, Serbia, for the international team competition. He pulled out of the opening singles Friday because of back pain and was replaced by Viktor Troicki, who lost to Argentina’s David Nalbandian 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-3. Del Potro beat Janko Tipsarevic in his singles match before Serbia rebounded when Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic won the doubles. But del Potro’s victory over Djokovic clinched the tie for Argentina, although Tipsarevic won the final match when Juan Martin retired after losing the first set.

SPANISH ARMADA

Although he complained of fatigue, Rafael Nadal didn’t show any as he thrashed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-0 6-2 6-4 to clinch Spain’s Davis Cup semifinal victory over France. Spain, seeking its third title in four years, will take on Argentina in final on December 2-4. Spain won the tie 4-1 with France’s only point coming in the double, where Michael Llodra and Tsonga beat Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. Tsonga had replaced Gilles Simon for the reverse singles, but it made no difference as Nadal dominated play. “Simply put, Rafa was just too good this weekend,” Tsonga said. Nadal never faced a break point as he improved to 14-0 on clay and 18-1 in Davis Cup singles play. The left-hander has been a member of three of Spain’s four title-winning teams and leads it into its sixth final since 2000 and eighth overall. “You might think it gets easier to win but it doesn’t,” Nadal said. “Thanks to the excellent relations inside the team, the Spanish players have stayed united over the years to keep winning.”

SINGLE ACHIEVEMENT

Ksenia Pervak and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova shared a special achievement. They both joined the ranks of WTA singles champions. Pervak became a first-time winner when she downed Eva Birnerova 6-3 6-1 to win the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, while Zahlavova Strycova captured the Bell Challenge in Québec City, Canada, with a 4-6 6-1 6-0 victory over Marina Erakovic. The top seed in a tournament for the very first time, Pervak, a 20-year-old Russian, didn’t drop a set in her five matches. Birnerova was playing in her first WTA singles final, having never previously been past the quarterfinals in any tournament. A first-time winner was also guaranteed in Québec City since neither Zahlavova Strycova nor Erakovic had ever won a WTA title. From 1-1 in the second set, the 25-year-old Zahlavova Strycova won the next 11 games to complete the run-away victory.

STILL FUMING

Despite winning both of his singles matches to lead Spain past France and into the Davis Cup final, Rafael Nadal continued complaining about what he feels is an overcrowded tennis calendar. The reigning Roland Garros champion has not ruled out a strike over a schedule that saw him play the Davis Cup semifinal just four fours after losing the US Open men’s singles championship to Novak Djokovic. International Tennis Federation (ITF) chief Francesco Ricci Bitti said Nadal’s criticisms should be directed towards the ATP, which controls 90 percent of the calendar. “To say that the ITF turns a deaf ear, this really doesn’t hold water,” Ricci Bitti said. “We have always listened to the players. For example, I have always said that a September date for the Davis Cup wasn’t fair and that we wanted to change it.” The ITF head said, “The ATP’s problem is that their good will is not enough. As they represent not only the players but also the tournaments there is a lot of inertia to change things.”

SWISS COMFORT

Stanislas Wawrinka beat Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in the decisive fifth rubber to put Switzerland back in the Davis Cup World Group for 2012. The match had been halted Sunday night with Wawrinka only one game from victory. His teammates, including Roger Federer, began celebrating after Wawrinka won the last four points of the match, defeating Hewitt 4-6 6-4 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-3. On Sunday, Federer had leveled the World Group playoff tie by beating Australian Bernard Tomic 62 7-5 3-6 6-3. In that match, Federer hit 15 aces and had 61 winners. The Swiss had to win both of the reverse singles after Wawrinka and Federer, the Beijing Olympics gold medalist team, lost the doubles, giving Australia a 2-1 lead. On the first day, Wawrinka lost to Tomic and Federer beat Hewitt.

STAN’S THE MAN

Stan Smith, a US Open and Wimbledon champion, is the new president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. Smith, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987, is succeeding 1970 Hall of Famer Tony Trabert, who has served as Hall of Fame president since 2001. Trabert has been named a Life Trustee of the non-profit organization, which is dedicated to preserving the rich history of tennis. Other officers re-elected were Christopher E. Clouser as chairman, Donald L. Dell as vice chairman, Barbara A. Georgescu as vice chairman, Mark L. Stenning as chief executive officer, Nancy von Auersperg as treasurer, and Peggy H. Woolard as secretary.

Thirteen directors have been elected to the Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Jefferson T. Barnes, counsel at the law firm of Watts, Tice and Skoronek; Alan Hassenfeld, chairman of the executive committee of Hasbro, Inc.; Kay Koplovitz, founder of USA Network and chairman and CEO of Koplovitz & Co.; and Thomas A. James, chairman of Raymond James Financial, have been reelected to the board.

New members of the board include Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and CEO of Brooks Brothers; Guillaume de Ramel, director of FH Prince & Co.; Michael F. Goss, managing director and CEO of Bain Capital, LLC; Frew McMillan, a 1992 inductee into the Hall of Fame; Tim Phillips, former chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club; John J. Ross II, managing partner of Fidus Partners; Todd Traina, founder of Red Rover Films, and Gene Yoon, chairman and CEO of Fila Korea Ltd.

SENIOR BATTLE

Jimmy Connors, a five-time US Open champion, is returning to the tennis wars after a 10-year hiatus. Connors and John McEnroe will battle in the HSBC Tennis Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, in a competition that also includes two other former top-ranked players, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras. The four former Grand Slam champions will play a one-set semifinal, leading to the final which will be contested in an eight-game pro set. The event will raise money for USTA Serves, the charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Now 59, Connors trails the 52-year-old McEnroe 20-14 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP circuit. Connors won two of their last three meetings on the main tour, at the Canadian Open in 1987 and at Toulouse, France, in 1989. He lost to McEnroe in their final pro meeting at Basel, Switzerland, in 1991.

STOPPED BY INJURIES

India’s Davis Cup team was missing a key ingredient when it took on Japan in a World Group playoff tie, then was hampered by an injury to another key player. When it was all over, Japan had earned a spot in the World Group for 2012. Veteran star Leander Paes missed the three-day competition because he had not recovered from a back injury he suffered during the US Open. Paes’ spot in the doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi was taken by Rohan Bopanna, and they were able to win India’s lone point. India lost Somdev Devvarman with a shoulder strain and Bopanna, pressed into singles action, retired from the dead rubber with a toe problem. Vishnu Vardhan made his Davis Cup debut for India, but lost both of his singles matches.

SQUEAKERS

The top-seeded team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears had to work overtime to win the doubles at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City. The Americans captured the crown by edging American Jamie Hampton and Anna Tatishvili of Georgia 6-1 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak). But that was the easiest match of the week outside of their first-round blowout. In the quarterfinals the champions came from behind to nip Melinda Czink and Andrea Hlavackova 2-6 7-6 (4) 10-6 (match tiebreak). Then in the semifinal, Heather Watson of Great Britain and Kathrin Woerle of Germany held quadruple match point at 9-5 in the match tiebreak, then another match point at 10-9. Kops-Jones survived 4-6 6-3 13-11 (match tiebreak). The winners never faced a seeded team in their rocky march to the title.

SISTERS DOING IT

There are at least four pairs of sisters on the WTA Tour, but only one pair has both sisters ranked in the top 100 in singles. Quick, name the sisters. Agnieszks and Urzula Radwanska of Poland are both ranked in the top 100. Americans Serena and Venus Williams, Kateryna and Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine and Lyudmyla and Nadiya Kichenok of Ukraine can’t say the same. Because of lack of pay, Venus Williams has dropped into the 100s in the WTA rankings along with Alona Bondarenko. Neither one of the Kichenok sisters are in the top 100.

Lyudmyla and Nadiya Kichenok are 19-year-old twins who had their best week ever in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. They had played only two WTA doubles matches before Tashkent, and had lost them both. At the Tashkent Open, they reached the final where they lost to Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia. Daniilidou now has three doubles titles to her names, while the victory is the first WTA title of any kind for Diatchenko.

SKIP TO THE TOP

By teaming with Lisa Raymond to win the US Open women’s doubles title, Liezel Huber regained her number one world ranking. It is the third time in her career that Huber has been ranked number one in the world in doubles. She replaces the joint number one doubles team of Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, who held the top ranking for 10 weeks after winning Wimbledon in July. Only one of six players in WTA history to hold the number one doubles ranking for more than 100 weeks, Huber’s time at the top is eclipsed by only Martina Navratilova, who held the number one spot for 237 weeks, and Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, who was number one for 163 weeks. A native of South Africa who is now an American citizen, Huber has won 46 career doubles titles, including five Grand Slam tournament titles. A member of the American Fed Cup team that won consecutive finals in 2009-2010, Huber was awarded the WTA’s Humanitarian of the Year award in 2005 and 2007. She founded her own foundation, Liezel’s Cause, which provides everyday necessities and assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

SCRIBES

Eleven journalists are winners in the 2011 United States Tennis Writers Association (USTWA) writing contest. Doug Robson of USA Today took first and third places in the Feature Story (Pro Tennis) category, while Joshua Rey, writing in Florida Tennis, took second place. In Feature Story (Non-Pro Tennis) category, Dave Seminara of TENNIS.com was first, James LaRosa of TENNIS Magazine placed second and Paul Bauman of the Sacramento Bee was third. Greg Couch of AOL Fanhouse won the Game Story (Pro Tennis) award, with Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times taking second place and Joshua Rey’s article on USOpen.org finishing third. In Game Story (Non-Pro) category, Cindy Cantrell of TennisLife.com was first, with Joshua Rey’s articles finishing second and third. In Hard News/Enterprise category, Dwyre’s story in the Los Angeles Times on the theft of Pete Sampras’ trophies took first place, followed by pieces by Bill Simons in Inside Tennis and Douglas Robson in USA Today. The Column/Commentary category was won by Greg Couch on AOL Fanhouse, followed by Bryan Graham on SportsIllustrated.com and Couch. Paul Fein of TennisOne.com won the Service Story category and took second place with another article in Tennis Magazine (Australia). Cindy Cantrell took third with an article in USTA Championship Magazine.