STARS
Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 7-5 6-4 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
David Ferrer beat Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-2 to win the Abierto Mexicano Telcel men’s singles in Acapulco, Mexico
Kevin Anderson beat Marinko Matosevic 6-4 7-6 (2) to win the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Florida, USA
Sara Errani beat Flavia Pennetta 5-7 7-6 (2) 6-0 to win the Abierto Mexicano Telcel women’s singles in Acapulco, Mexico
Hsieh Su-Wei won the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when Petra Martic retired while trailing 2-6 7-5 4-1
Carlos Moya beat Ivan Lendl 6-4 6-4 to win the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships senior event in Delray Beach, Florida, USA
SAYING
“It’s great. There is no substitute to confidence. I’ve played great. It’s not just that I’ve taken my chances, I really thought I played a good tournament here. I played a great tournament in Rotterdam. The end of last year was exceptional, so it’s nice to also win a tournament outdoors now. That gives me hope that I can carry it over to Indian Wells and Miami.” – Roger Federer, after winning the Dubai title.
“I’m very happy but I’m very tired. I was just fighting off cramps. … In the humidity I just sweat a lot and cramp. I cramped after my match on Wednesday, too.” – Marinko Matosevic, after beating Dudi Sela to advance to the final at the Delray Beach International.
“He was leading in the first, second and the third, but I thought I played much better except for the important points. It was a matter of who was more lucky in this kind of match, and he was more lucky.” – Dudi Sela, after losing to Marinko Matosevic in the semifinals at Delray Beach, Florida, USA.
“It’s best that I don’t push myself. I’m playing for my country at the London Olympics and I want to stay fit for that. I don’t want to get injured.” – Hsieh Su-Wei, saying she will play only doubles in Indian Wells, California, USA, after winning the Malaysian Open singles.
“I’ve been training really hard. People have been telling me hard work pays off, and I guess in some small way a little bit paid off this week. Before the week if you told me that I’d make the final, I’d be the happiest guy in the world. Then when you get there and you play the match, I feel like I was just a few points from winning the match or turning the match, but I just couldn’t do it. It can only help me I guess.” – Marinko Matosevic, after losing the Delray Beach final.
“It was like an emotional rollercoaster really. We managed to come up with big points when we needed them today.” – Colin Fleming, after teaming with Ross Hutchins to win the Delray Beach doubles title.
“Colin always amazingly makes these shots and he keeps saying he’s lucky, but it’s not, and he did that again today.” – Ross Hutchins.
“I am very proud to have won in Acapulco for a third consecutive time. I don’t think too far ahead and take my schedule week by week. Now I have two important tournaments coming up in Indian Wells and Miami, with a few points to defend in Miami. It will be great if I manage to do well, but if not, it is not a big deal. I will keep on working hard.” – David Ferrer, after winning his third straight title at Acapulco.
“I want to apologize for having played so bad. I am extremely disappointed I wasn’t able to have the fight I was expecting to have. I just couldn’t keep the ball in the court today. It’s always tough to lose a final, but losing it that way hurts a lot more.” – Fernando Verdasco, following his loss to David Ferrer.
“It’s my first ATP (World Tour) 500 title. This is great, and obviously it’s great to play with Mahesh. All that 17 years of experience on court I think really helps in those close matches and these big moments. It’s a good opportunity for me to play with him, alongside him. I couldn’t have asked for anything better than winning this title.” – Rohan Bopanna, after teaming with Mahesh Bhupathi to win the doubles in Dubai.
“Ivan played really well. I hope to be as fit as he is at 52. He can really still play. He was away from tennis for like 16 years, so this is an amazing effort from him. And his forehand is still so good, particularly down the line. It’s still there. It was a little bit strange being across the net from him. Guys like him and McEnroe were my idols growing up, so it is a bit strange to see him across the net playing with me. It’s good, I love it, and it’s what I really enjoy about this Tour.” – Carlos Moya, who beat Ivan Lendl to win the seniors event in Delray Beach, Florida.
STRONG SHOWING
It’s way too early to write off Roger Federer. The super Swiss won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the fifth time, defeating Andy Murray in the title match. That came one day after Murray eliminated top-ranked Novak Djokovic, handing the Serb his first loss of the season. The 30-year-old Federer won his 72nd ATP Tour-level title and his second in three weeks. Since losing in the US Open semifinals last September, Federer has won 33 of his 35 matches. His only losses have come to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals and to John Isner in a first-round Davis Cup tie. Federer, who didn’t lose a set in the tournament, beat Murray in a close match that lasted one hour, 36 minutes. “The match was close, I think, in both sets,” Federer said. “I just gave myself more opportunities than Andy did overall.”
SINO SUCCESS
Playing in her first WTA tour final, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei became the first Asian to win the Malaysian Open when her exhausted opponent retired. Because of rain delays that plagued the tournament, Petra Martic had to play both her semifinal and final on the same day. In the semifinals, Martic upset second-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (5) 7-5 7-6 (5) in a match that lasted more than three hours. The Croatian had only a few hours to rest before taking on Hsieh for the title. Like Hsieh, the 21-year-old Martic was playing a WTA final for the first time. Hsieh is the second qualifier to win a WTA in 2012, and is the second player from Taiwan to win a WTA title. The other was Wang Shi-Ting. “I never expected to win this,” Hsieh said of her victory. “It wasn’t easy for me as I couldn’t sleep upon arriving and had to play the very next day. In a way I was lucky, but I will remember this for as long as I can remember. I tried so hard to win and it was good that I won. It has been a good week for Chinese Taipei here.” The Taiwanese pair of Chan Kai-Chen and Chuang Chia Jung won the doubles title.
SUPER EFFORT
Russian Alisa Kleybanova will be returning to WTA play at Key Biscayne, Florida, USA where she has received a wild card entry. The 22-year-old, once ranked 20th in the world, was diagnosed with cancer last year and had to withdraw from the circuit to undergo treatment. “I finished my treatments in December and a couple of weeks ago I did my last tests in Italy,” Kleybanova wrote on her WTA blog. “The treatments were successful, my doctors are happy with my health and I’m feeling great. I have started to train and right now I’m in Florida playing tennis again. It was physically really hard in the beginning, but it was so emotional that I didn’t want to get off the court. For me the best part of tennis is the competition and I’m really looking forward to my comeback.”
SLIP-UP
Andy Murray made sure Novak Djokovic won’t have the same torrid start in 2012 that he did last year when he won his first 41 matches. Murray knocked off the Serbian world number one in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships, reversing the outcome of their five-set, nearly five-hour marathon in the Australian Open semifinals. “It’s obviously great any time you beat the world number one,” Murray said after posting the 6-2 7-5 victory. “I just tried to do some of the same things I did in Australia. I was very close there against one of the greatest players ever, and today I did what I needed to – even though it nearly got away from me at the end.” Djokovic said he had simply lost to the better player on the day. “But generally I feel good, physically, mentally, you know. It’s just the start of the season.” Murray then lost to Roger Federer in the final.
STEADY SPANIARD
It’s becoming monotonous: David Ferrer wins in Acapulco. The top-seeded Spaniard won the Mexican tournament for the third straight time, defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in two easy sets. “As Fernando hits so hard, I knew I had to be solid and counter him, and I think I did it very well, especially at the beginning,” said Ferrer, who is ranked sixth in the world. “I also know Fernando didn’t play his best tennis today, but that’s tennis. You have good days and sometimes bad days.” It was Ferrer’s second clay-court title in two weeks and his third championship of the year. Ferrer has an 18-1 record this season, his only loss coming to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
SHORT LIST
Ten players have been named to a short list to receive the first four Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Heat Awards of 2012. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, American Christina McHale, Samantha Stosur of Australia and Roberta Vinci of Italy have been short-listed for the World Group/World Group II award. Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson and Elena Baltacha of Great Britain have been short-listed for Europe/Africa; Catalina Castano of Colombia and Florencia Molinero of Argentina for Americas; and Li Na of China and Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan for Asia/Oceania. The awards will be presented based on performances in the Fed Cup World Group and World Group II first-round ties, and the three Zone Group I events that were played at the beginning of February. The public will determine the winners by voting at FedCup.com and FedCup.com/es. Balloting runs until March 22. All four winners will receive a silver Baccarat bracelet and a check to be donated to their chosen charity.
SO TIRED
Marinko Matosevic had problems reaching the first ATP Tour final of his career. Playing in the semifinals of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, the 173rd-ranked Australian needed five match points to finally edge Dudi Sela of Israel in a battle that lasted six minutes short of three hours. “I’m very happy but I’m very tired,” Matosevic said. “”I was just fighting off cramps.” The eventual winner had two match points on his serve at 5-3 in the third set, but made four consecutive errors to lose the game. He had three more match points in the third-set tiebreaker, moving into the title match when Sela netted a backhand. It was the first time in four meetings that Matosevic had beaten Sela. And the Israeli was so upset he left the court immediately after the match without shaking the winner’s hand. Matosevic, who lost to Kevin Anderson in the final, said he and Sela are good friends and he wasn’t bothered that the Israeli fled the court without shaking hands.
SHARING THE SPOILS
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna won their first ATP World Tour doubles crown s a team when they captured the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Indian pair – who are preparing for the Summer Olympics in London – beat Poland’s Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. Bhupathi and Bopanna began playing as a team fulltime at the beginning of this year. Earlier this season they reached the semifinals at Chennai, India, and Marseille, France. It was the 50th tour-level doubles title for the 37year-old Bhupathi. Bopanna won his sixth ATP World Tour doubles crown.
SWISS FED CUP HEAD
Heinz Günthardt is the new captain of Switzerland’s Fed Cup team. The former coach of Steffi Graf replaces Christiane Jolissaint, who stepped down after a 4-1 loss to Australia in February. Swiss Tennis said Günthardt will take over when the Swiss take on Belarus in a World Group second-tier playoff on April 21-22. A former doubles specialist, Günthardt also has coached Ana Ivanovic and Andrea Petkovic.
SHANGHAI HONORED
Players on the ATP World Tour have selected the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the SkiStar Swedish Open as their favorite tournaments. The Shanghai Rolex Masters has been voted by the players as the top ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in each of its first three years. The Dubai tournament won the ATP World Tour 500 award for the eighth time in nine years. The SkiStar Swedish Open, held in Båstad, was the player’s favorite 250 category tournament for the 10th consecutive year.
SENIOR SHUFFLE
Carlos Moya is continuing to show he’s the best in senior tennis. The 35-year-old Moya defeated former world number one Ivan Lendl 6-4 6-4 to capture the ATP Champions Tour event in Delray Beach, Florida, USDA. It was the first time the two – who have a 17-year age difference – had faced each other. Lendl surprised his Spanish foe by charging the net at every opportunity. But Moya was able to break Lendl’s serve once in each set to walk away with his fifth trophy since joining the ATP Champions Tour a year ago. “It’s the competition and the adrenaline of matches like this with a massive crowd that I miss about the Tour,” Moya said. “It’s great that I still have a chance to feel that on nights like this, and it’s great that the Champions Tour can give me this feeling.”
SINGLES, DOUBLE COMBO
Italy’s Sara Errani has joined a select group. Errani became the first player in almost two years to capture both the singles and doubles titles at a WTA tournament. She pulled off the feat at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico, beating compatriot Flavia Pennetta in the singles final, then teaming with Roberta Vinci to down Spaniards Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-1 in just 51 minutes. Errani is the first player to sweep singles and doubles titles at the same WTA tournament since Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic did it at Fèz, Morocco, in April 2010. “It has been a great week for me,” Errani said. “To finish the week with the singles and doubles trophy is better than I could have hoped for.”
SOCCER CHARITY
Rafael Nadal will play a charity match to help celebrate the 110th anniversary of his favorite soccer club. Ranked second in the world, Nadal will play July 14 against an opponent yet to be decided. The match will be held in Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. All earnings from the event will go to fund charity efforts by the Real Madrid Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Acapulco (men): David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco beat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-3 6-4
Acapulco (women): Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-1
Delray Beach: Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins beat Michal Mertinak and Andre Sa 2-6 7-6 (5) 15-13 (match tiebreak)
Dubai: Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-4 3-6 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Kuala Lumpur: Chang Kai-Chen and Chuang Chia-Jung beat Chan Hao-Ching and Rika Fujiwara 7-5 6-4
SURFING
Indian Wells: www.bnpparibasopen.com/
Nassau: www.thebahamasopen.com
ITF: www.itftennis.com
ATP World Tour: www.atpworldtour.com
WTA: www.wtatennis.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$4,694,969 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (first week)
WOMEN
$5,536,664 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (first week)
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$4,694,969 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)
$100,000 Guadalajara Challenger, Guadalajara, Mexico, hard
WOMEN
$5,536,664 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)
$100,000 The Bahamas Open, Nassau, Bahamas, hard