STARS
Serena Williams beat Lucie Safarova 6-0 6-1 to win the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, USA
DAVIS CUP
WORLD GROUP
Quarterfinals
Spain beat Austria 4-1 at Castellón, Spain
United States beat France 3-2 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France
Czech Republic beat Serbia 4-1 at Prague, Czech Republic
Argentina beat Croatia 4-1 at Buenos Aires, Argentina
GROUP I
Second Round
Americas: Uruguay beat Chile 3-1 at Montevideo, Uruguay; Brazil beat Colombia 3-1 at São José do Rio Preto, Brazil
Asia/Oceania: Uzbekistan beat India 3-2 at Namangan, Uzbekistan; Australia beat Korea 5-0 at Brisbane, Australia
Europe/Africa: Israel beat Portugal 3-2 at Ramat HaSharon, Israel; Belgium beat Great Britain 4-1 at Glasgow, Great Britain; Netherlands beat Romania 5-0 at Amsterdam, Netherlands; South Africa beat Slovenia 4-1 at Johannesburg, South Africa
Playoffs
Asia/Oceania: China beat China Taipei 3-2 at Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
GROUP II
Second Round
Americas: Mexico beat Barbados 5-0 at Mexico City, Mexico; Venezuela beat Dominican Republic 3-1 at Valencia, Venezuela
Asia/Oceania: Philippines beat Pakistan 5-0 at Manila, Philippines; Indonesia beat Thailand 3-2 at Jakarta, Indonesia
Europe/Africa: Ukraine beat Cyprus 5-0 at Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine; Latvia beat Hungary 3-2 at Nyíregyháza, Hungary; Belarus beat Bosnia/Herzegovina 4-1 at Minsk, Belarus; Poland beat Estonia 4-1 at Inowroclaw, Poland
Playoffs
Asia/Oceania: Lebanon beat Pacific Ocean 4-1 at Journieh, Lebanon; Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong 3-2 at Hong Kong, China
Europe/Africa: Monaco beat Morocco 3-2 at Casablanca, Morocco; Moldova beat Turkey 3-2 at Istanbul, Turkey; Luxembourg beat Madagascar 4-1 at Antananarivo, Madagascar; Egypt and Ireland tied 2-2 at Cairo, Egypt
SAYING
“I definitely want to continue this. I’ve never played consistently at such a high level with low errors like this, and the scary thing is I could have served so much better.” – Serena Williams, after winning the Family Circle Cup singles title.
“She was amazing. She deserves to be the champion.” – Lucie Safarova, after losing the final to Serena Williams.
“I have to say this is probably the best match I’ve played in my career, either in a long time or it’s up there in the top five.” – Serena Williams, after crushing US Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-1 6-1 in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup.
“I think she was pretty happy with the way she played.” – Samantha Stosur, commenting on Serena Williams’ game after the American crushed the reigning US Open champion 6-1 6-1.
“It’s amazing. Nastia and I got our first wild card in Miami and made the quarters, and here we got our second wild card and won it. I like doubles. I really enjoy playing doubles and it seems we fit as partners.” – Lucie Safarova, after teaming with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win the Family Circle Cup doubles.
“I have come so far, so far from the U.S. Open … I’ve never been so happy to be 70th” in the world. – Venus Williams, who has risen about 60 spots in the rankings in the last month as she strives to qualify for the United States Olympic team.
“I never double fault that much, which is funny. My second serve is usually one of my biggest weapons.” – Ryan Harrison, who double-faulted 10 times in his Davis Cup loss to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“I get all the kudos, but the eight players here did just as much or sometimes more.” – Billie Jean King, remembering the beginning of women’s professional tennis when nine players signed contracts for USD one dollar each.
“We had no idea that this little dollar would turn into millions.” – Rosie Casals, another of the “Original 9” players.
“I love what I do. I love playing tennis, and I know that thing that ultimately wins me matches is the hard work I put on the court. When I have tough things in my life going on, when I go on court it’s like my oasis. You know, you forget about everything when you’re out there. I love that feeling.” – Maria Sharapova, on what’s behind her successful tennis career.
“This was one of my greatest wins. Playing for your country must rate right up there and winning an important tie for your country is just simply marvelous.” – Izak van der Merwe, who won both of his singles matches and teamed with Raven Klaasen to win the doubles as South Africa beat Slovenia in Davis Cup Group I competition.
SUPER SERENA
Scary thought. Serena Williams got better as the 40th annual Family Circle Cup tournament got closer to the end. Seeded fifth, Serena won her 40th career title as she crushed her last two opponents – slamming Samantha Stosur 6-1 6-1 in the semifinals and Lucie Safarova 6-0 6-1 in the title match. Serena is the 14th player in the Open Era to win at least 40 titles, and trails only her older sister Venus (who has 43) and Kim Clijsters (41) for most titles among active players. “It’s motivating for me to go home and work harder, because I know Lucie and Sam and everyone is going to work hard, too,” Serena said. “Now they know what to expect even more when they play me. This is a battle, and I want to continue to win.” Williams was dominant on her serves during the week, not losing her serve in her final four matches. The crowd exploded in cheers when Safarova held at love in the fourth game of the second set, the only mark she could make against Serena’s powerful game. With the win, Williams moves up to ninth in the world in the WTA rankings, but with nothing substantial to defend until the hard court season, she could make a run back towards where she once was. “I have nothing to defend,” Serena said. “June – Wimbledon, I didn’t do anything. Eastbourne, I won one match, so that doesn’t count. I did pretty well in the summer, but then I dropped off again until this tournament. So I really am like a floating bird.”
SMILING SAFAROVA
Although she lost the singles final, Lucie Safarova left Charleston, South Carolina, USA, feeling pretty good. Not only did she have the double bagel win of her career – blanking Polona Hercog 6-0 6-0 in the singles semifinals – Safarova teamed with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win their first doubles title together in their second tournament as a team. They reached the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open last month in Miami, Florida. It was Pavlyuchenkova’s third career doubles title and Safarova’s first. And it wasn’t easy. Their only straight-set win of the week came in the semifinals when they upset the top-seeded team of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.
SUPER ISNER
John Isner continued his dominating Davis Cup play against the world’s top players to lead the United States to the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas semifinals as the Americans shocked France 3-2. The victory sends the United States against Spain in the next round, which will be the third straight road tie for the Americans this year and the seventh time in their last eight matches that the United States has not played at home. Isner clinched the match by defeated sixth-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the reverse singles. In the first round, Isner led the Americans by upsetting second-ranked Roger Federer. The victory over France marked the first time the United States Davis Cup team has won two clay-court ties since 1995. The Americans have now won four straight matches on clay, their longest winning streak on dirt since they won nine consecutive matches from 1988 to 200.
SERBIAN CONQUEROR
It was as close as a three-set match could be, and when it was over Tomas Berdych had given the Czech Republic an unassailable 3-1 lead over Serbia. In a battle that indicated their ranking – Berdych is seventh in the world, Janko Tipsarevic is eighth – Berdych edged Tipsarevic 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6) 7-6 (7). Putting the win down to his greater experience, Berdych came from behind in two of the sets and all three tiebreaks. In the final set, he saved two set points and a further three in the tiebreak. He closed out the victory on his second match point.
STADIUM NAMED
The Family Circle Cup celebrated its 40th anniversary by honoring the nine players who began women’s professional tennis. And they did it in the newly named Billie Jean King Stadium. King and the other eight members of the “Original 9” were reunited for just the second time since they all retired. The nine players defied the tennis establishment in 1970 to form the first women’s tour and fight for better prize money. Rosie Casals won the first Family Circle Cup in 1973 when the tournament offered a then-unheard of USD $100,000 in total prize money. When Serena Williams won this year’s event, she pocketed USD $115,000. The nine players each signed USD one-dollar contracts with Gladys Heldman, publisher of World Tennis Magazine, to begin a series of women’s professional tournaments. Besides King and Casals, other members of the “Original 9” were Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss and Julie Heldman.
STAYING HOME
Romania didn’t offer much competition when it faced the Netherlands in a Davis Cup World Group I Europe/Africa Zone tie. That’s because the top five Romanian players – including Victor Hanescu, who is ranked 93rd in the world, and doubles star Horia Tecau – boycotted the second round competition after the Romanian captain Andrei Pavel was fired. Petru-Alexandru Luncanu, ranked 443rd in the world, and Andrei Daescu, ranked 680th, were Romania’s top players. “Throughout the weekend it was hard for my team to keep the concentration up, which partly had to do with the quality of the opponents,” Dutch captain Jan Siemerink said after the Netherlands swept the weekend play 5-0. “Now we have plenty of time to improve for September, in order to have a chance to qualify for the World Group.”
SINGLE DIGITS?
It was bad enough Serbia lost its Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic. The Serbs also accused Czech Radek Stepanek of giving the middle finger and swearing at Janko Tipsarevic in their marathon singles match on the opening day of the competition in Prague, Czech Republic. Tipsarevic won the five-hour, five-set match to level the quarterfinal at 1-1. After Tomas Berdych teamed with Stepanek to win the doubles, beating the Serb duo of Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic, Bozoljac refused to shake Stepanek’s hand. “I was afraid that he was going to give me the middle finger like he did yesterday to Janko,” Bozoljac said. “I was just protecting myself from the middle finger.” Zimonjic said he wasn’t surprised by the accusation against Stepanek. “I’ve been on the tour for quite a while and played many times against Stepanek, so he did something that you can expect to him,” Zimonjic said “I think he’s the least likable guy on the tour, especially on the court.” Stepanek denied the charges.
SIGNED ON
Two-time Grand Slam tournament winner Amelie Mauresmo has signed on as a consultant for Victoria Azarenka, the world’s top-ranked female player. Mauresmo, who once was number one in the world herself, will advise the Australian Open champion who is preparing for next month’s French Open. Mauresmo retired in 2009 after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon three years earlier. The 22-year-old Azarenka won the Australian Open in January.
SWINGING FOR PARIS
Junior girls from around the world will compete in a bid to earn a trip to Paris to play on the famous clay courts at Roland Garros and attend the French Open women’s final on June 9. Longines, the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open announced that 16 girls aged 12 and under from the United States will compete in a one-day Longines Future Tennis Aces – On the Road to the French Open. Other countries hosting junior girls’ tournaments include Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Longines said the event is part of the company’s global commitment to support and develop tennis’ superstars of tomorrow. The girls will be selected on two criteria: athletic performance and commitment to give back to the community. At the conclusion of play in Paris, Longines will present a check for USD $100,000 to the two foundations of its ambassadors: the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Stefanie Graf’s Children for Tomorrow.
SNIPPING THE COACH
Apparently turning her into a champion wasn’t enough. Three days after she won the Sony Ericsson Open, Agnieszka Radwanska fired her coach, Borna Vikic. The Croat has been coaching the fourth-ranked Radwanska and her sister Urzula since January on a trail basis. When asked why she let Vikic go, Radwanska said “he did not pass.”
STOPPED BY INJURY
Agnieszka Radwanska was supposed to be the top seed at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Instead, she withdrew from the clay court tournament because of a back injury. The withdrawal came shortly after Radwanska defeated Maria Sharapova to win the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA.
SICK CALL
When the United States took on France in a Davis Cup quarterfinal, each team was missing one of its top players. Mardy Fish suffered extreme fatigue and was told by doctors to rest. His spot was taken by Ryan Harrison. The French lost Gael Monfils because of a stomach injury. He was replaced by Gilles Simon. “We don’t want to get exactly into what the symptoms were. He didn’t feel normal. He said, `Hey, something’s wrong here.’ He was concerned about it,” Fish’s agent, John Tobias, said. “His body got out of whack, caused by a number of different variables … (but) they ruled out any potential long-term issues.”
SIGNED UP
Former world number one and two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Lleyton Hewitt has committed to play in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, which will be held July 9-15 on the historic grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It will be Hewitt’s second appearance in Newport, where he reached the second round in 1998. The Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is the only grass court tournament in North or South America. It begins the day after Wimbledon ends and precedes the London Olympics, which will also be played at Wimbledon.
SEEKS GRASS TITLE
Andy Roddick will be seeking his fifth AEGON Championships title when he plays at The Queen’s Club in June. The American won the grass-court title in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. Roddick was a finalist at Wimbledon three times – in 2004, 2005 and 2009. Playing in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, recently, Roddick scored an impressive win over Roger Federer. “It’s hard to believe I’ve won a tournament as strong as the AEGON Championships four times and I’d love to win it again,” said Roddick, who joins Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro as early entrants into the field.
SERVICES PROVIDED
The Hopman Cup tournament will receive services from Tennis Australia for two years under an agreement signed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Under the agreement, the Hopman Cup will be returned to the Australian Open Series ahead of next year’s Grand Slam tournament Down Under. “The return of Hopman Cup to the Australian Open Series is an important step towards maintaining the world-class status of the event and maximizing the opportunities which the new Perth Arena presents,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Charleston: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova 5-7 6-4 10-6 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Casablanca: www.frmt.ma/frmt/index.php
Houston: www.mensclaycourt.com/
Barcelona: www.barcelonaladiesopen.com/
Copenhagen: www.e-boksdanishopen.dk
Monte Carlo: www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com
Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$532,000 Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, clay
$442,500 US Men’s Clay Court Championships, Houston, Texas, USA, clay
WOMEN
$220,000 Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain, clay
$220,000 e-Boks Open, Copenhagen, Denmark, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$3,180,000 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay
$100,000 Sarasota Open, Sarasota, Florida, USA
FED CUP
World Group Semifinals
Russia vs. Serbia at Moscow, Russia, clay
Czech Republic vs. Italy at Ostrava, Czech Republic, hard
World Group Playoffs
Ukraine vs. United States at Kharkiv, Ukraine, clay
Japan vs. Belgium at Tokyo, Japan, hard
Spain vs. Slovak Republic at Marbella, Spain, clay
Germany vs. Australia at Stuttgart, Germany, clay
World Group II Playoffs
France vs. Slovenia at Besançon, France, hard
Switzerland vs. Belarus at Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, hard
Sweden vs. Great Britain at Borås, Sweden, hard
Argentina vs. China at Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay
Group II
Round-Robin
Europe/Africa at Cairo, Egypt, clay: Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro, Norway, South Africa, Turkey
Americas at Guadalajara, Mexico, clay: Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay
Group III
Round-Robin
Europe/Africa at Cairo, Egypt, clay: Algeria, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Ireland, Kenya, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia