STARS
Juan Monaco beat Tommy Haas 7-5 6-4 to win the bet-at-home Open – German Tennis Championships in Hamburg, Germany
Dominika Cibulkova beat Marion Bartoli 6-1 7-5 to win the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California, USA
Andy Roddick beat Gilles Muller 1-6 7-6 (2) 6-2 to win the BB&T Atlanta Open in Atlanta, Georgia
Thomaz Bellucci beat Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-2 to win the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open in Gstaad, Switzerland
Polona Hercog beat Mathilde Johansson 0-6 6-4 7-5 to win the Sony Swedish Open in Båstad, Sweden
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor beat Garbine Muguruza 6-3 4-6 6-4 to win the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania
SAYING
“I know by now the score of a set is irrelevant. Whether it’s 7-6 or 6-1, it still counts the same. With most other sports, you get way up in the first quarter and it actually means something in regards to the rest of the game. In tennis, it’s not really the case too often, with the exception of momentum. You just try to start over and put some holds together. I was able to (slide) out the second set and I think he might have gotten a little tired in the third.” – Andy Roddick, after winning the BB&T Atlanta Open.
“It’s amazing, it’s a dream come true. I will always remember this great week because it’s very important for me and my team. It was a big goal we had preseason when we were practicing very hard.” – Juan Monaco, after winning in Hamburg, Germany.
“He played a tremendous match. All credit to him. He performed really well, especially when it came down to the big points. I tried to play my best; I thought I played really well throughout the match. Having the crowd support really lifted me to another gear, but it just wasn’t enough today.” – Tommy Haas, after falling to Juan Monaco in the final in Hamburg.
“I didn’t think they were in. I didn’t need any challenges. I just needed that feeling of seeing where the ball was landing and how far I was missing in the court to help me get the range, because I wasn’t feeling how far I was missing it.” – Coco Vandeweghe, after using all of her challenges in a 6-2 7-6 (4) loss to Channelle Scheepers at the Mercury Insurance Open.
“It doesn’t matter if its singles, doubles, triples or whatever it is. If you win titles, you can always build off of it, so we’re really fired up.” – Ryan Harrison, who teamed with Matthew Ebden to win the doubles at the BB&T Atlanta Open.
“I’m so happy for this week, last week, for the year. It’s a pleasure to play with Fernando, who plays unbelievable singles and unbelievable doubles. I hope that we can continue like this and can play the Masters in London this year.” – David Marrero, who teamed with Fernando Verdasco to capture the doubles title at Hamburg.
SWISS MASTER
It’s old hat for Thomaz Bellucci to collect the winner’s trophy in Gstaad, Switzerland. The Brazilian won his first ATP World Tour title in Gstaad as a qualifier in 2009. He captured the title again on Sunday by upsetting top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-2. “Gstaad is very special for me because I won my first title here three years ago, which was a surprise and unexpected,” said Bellucci. “For me to win one more time here is very special. I feel very comfortable here, like I’m playing at home.” With the victory, Bellucci avenged his loss to Tipsarevic a week earlier in the semifinals at Stuttgart, Germany. “This was my first time in Gstaad and I honestly don’t know why,” Tipsarevic said. “I should have come and played here more often. It’s an amazing event and a great tournament. Even though I lost in the final, I had an incredible two weeks with the win in Stuttgart and the final here.”
SECOND TITLE OF 2012
Andy Roddick claimed his second title of 2012 and 32nd of his career when he beat Gilles Muller in the final at Atlanta, Georgia, USA. “I’ve won 32 times now and every one of them, I’ve never assumed I was going to win again. I’ve always appreciated it,” the American said. “I go through the process of playing, work hard, and hope that I can put myself in position enough times to create some success.” Against Muller, the fourth-seeded Roddick started slowly. And he needed treatment from a trainer on his right shoulder after he had been broken twice and lost the opening set 6-1. The treatment apparently helped as Roddick didn’t face a break point in the second set and finished the match with 18 aces, just two fewer than the left-hander from Luxembourg who was seeking his first career ATP crown. “I was able to pull out the second set and I think he might have gotten a little tired in the third,” Roddick said. Muller was playing in his first ATP final since 2005. “I played very well in the first two sets,” he said. “At the end of the second set, I got very tight. I felt like I was in a position to win that match. I was too nervous to close it and then Andy started to play better. He started to return my serves and put a lot of balls in the court. And I started to miss a lot. Maybe I lost the belief in myself.”
STOPPED BY INJURIES
Rafael Nadal won’t be defending his men’s singles gold medal at the London Games because of an injury. “I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics, so I will not be traveling as planned with the Spanish delegation to compete in them,” said Nadal, who has been recovering from a knee injury. The left-hander, who won the French Open earlier this summer, had been scheduled to carry Spain’s flag in the opening ceremonies.
Nadal won’t be the only tennis star that will be missing the Olympics. Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew from the Games with a right knee injury. And Estonian tennis star Kaia Kanepi pulled out of the women’s singles and doubles due to a heel injury.
SLOWED
Marion Bartoli ran out of steam at the wrong time. The top-seeded French woman was beaten by Dominika Cibulkova in the final at Carlsbad, California, USA. But Bartoli had a good excuse. Struggling with a sore hip during the week, Bartoli had a series of three-set matches. By the time they reached the final, Bartoli had spent a total of four more hours on court than her opponent. The fatigued Bartoli had six double faults in the final, with the last one giving Cibulkova three match points. “Today I played well all through the match,” said the winner. “In the past finals I was nervous. This was the first one where I just went for it. Everything went my way.”
SPREADING OUT
Wimbledon has finally listened to players and will move the grass-court Grand Slam tournament back a week in the schedule. That gives a three-week break between the clay courts of Roland Garros and the grass at the All England Club. “The best interests of tennis will be served by allowing the players more time to recuperate and to adjust from the clay of Roland Garros to the grass at Wimbledon,” said Philip Brook, chairman of the All England Club. “All our research indicates that there is widespread support within the game for extending the gap between the French Open and Wimbledon and, importantly, we think most players will welcome the prospect of a longer grass court season and spending more time on the softer surface of grass. In making this change from 2015, we recognize that there will be some important consequences for the overall tennis calendar and enough time needs to be given to allow us all to plan accordingly.”
SWEDISH SPECIAL
Sweden turns out to be the perfect place for Polona Hercog. The Slovenian won her second consecutive Swedish Open title, this time rallying to down Mathilde Johansson 06 6-4 7-5. Hercog took a 5-1 lead in the final set before losing her concentration. When her French opponent fought back to knot the set at 5-5, Hercog captured the next two games for the title. “Sometimes nerves kick in too much,” Hercog said. “But I’m really glad that I managed to calm myself down in the last two games.” Last year Hercog beat Johanna Larsson of Sweden in the championship match.
STARS OF THE PAST
Several Grand Slam tournament champions, including Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras, will play a series of matches in the United States this fall. Also competing in the four-player mini-tournaments to be held in October and November will be Patrick Rafter, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Mats Wilander and Todd Martin. Each event will feature one-set semifinals and a one-set title match. Formerly known as the Champions Series, the PowerShares Series will open October 13 in Surprise, Arizona, and wrap up November 30 in Anaheim, California. Other cities that will stage events include Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Tampa, Florida, Atlanta, San Jose, California, Las Vegas and Denver.
SWITCHING CAPTAINS
Once one of France’s top players, Amelie Mauresmo will try to lead her nation back to the top in Fed Cup. The French Tennis Federation announced the former world number one will take over from Nicolas Escude as Fed Cup team captain. The 33-year-old Mauresmo led France to the Fed Cup title as a player in 2003. She also won two Grand Slam tournament titles in 2006, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Mauresmo retired as a player in 2009. For the past few weeks, Mauresmo has been working with current Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who reclaimed the world number one spot after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon. France is currently in World Group II.
STUMBLE
Three years ago Melanie Oudin was the future of American women’s tennis. She had upset Maria Sharapova en route to a surprising US Open quarterfinal berth and starred on the American Fed Cup team. Now, her ranking has fallen so low that she won’t earn direct entry into this year’s US Open. Oudin is currently ranked 121st in the world. The top 102 women have automatically qualified for the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, with two others – Agnes Szavay and Timea Bacsinszky – using protected rankings to gain berths in the field. Oudin will probably receive one of the eight wild card entries the United States Tennis Association will hand out. Sixteen additional players will make it through qualifying.
SET FOR FLUSHING
World number one Roger Federer, defending champion Novak Djokovic and 2012 French Open champion Rafael Nadal lead the men’s singles field at this year’s US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. Two other former US Open champions – Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro – will also be in the field as each of the world’s top 101 men received direct entry into the two-week event. Federer is seeking his sixth US Open singles title. Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn USD $1.9 million and can earn an additional USD $1 million in bonus prize money for a potential payout of USD $2.9 million. Other American men who received direct entry into this year’s tournament include John Isner, 13 Mardy Fish, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Donald Young, Brian Baker, Jesse Levine and Michael Russell. The last player to receive direct entry into the men’s 128-player field was Rogerio Deutra Silva of Brazil, ranked 101st in the world. Sixteen more players will gain entry through qualifying, while the remaining eight spots will be filled by wild cards awarded by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
SENIORS TO SCOTLAND
The ATP Champions Tour will visit Scotland for the first time in 2013. An event is scheduled to be held in Edinburgh the week before Wimbledon. Tennis has become hugely popular in Scotland in recent years because of the success of brothers Andy and Jamie Murray, and WTA player Elena Baltacha.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Atlanta: Matthew Ebden and Ryan Harrison beat Xavier Malisse and Michael Russell 6-3 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Bucharest: Irina-Camelia Begu and Alize Cornet beat Elena Bogdan and Raluca Olaru 6-2 6-0
Båstad: Catalina Castaño and Mariana Duque-Mariño beat Eva Hrdinova and Mervana Jugic-Salkic 4-6 7-5 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Carlsbad: Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Vania King and Nadia Petrova 6-2 6-4
Gstaad: Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez beat Robert Fafrah and Santiago Giraldo 6-4 7-6 (9)
Hamburg: David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco beat Rogerio Dutra Silva and Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-4 6-3
SURFING
Kitzbühel: www.bet-at-home-cup.com/de/
Los Angeles: www.farmersclassic.com/
Baku: www.bakucup.az/
Astana: www.alau.info
Olomouc: www.itscup.cz
Olympic Games: www.london2012.com/tennis/
Washington: www.citiopentennis.com/
Vancouver: www.vanopen.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$557,550 Farmers Classic, Los Angeles, California, USA, hard
$451,250 bet-at-home Cup Kitzbühel, Kitzbühel, Austria, clay
$125,000 President’s Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
WOMEN
$220,000 Baku Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan, hard
$100,000 ITF Astana Women’s $100,000, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
$100,000 ITS Cup, Olomouc, Czech Republic, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
Olympic Games, Wimbledon, Great Britain, grass
$1,049,760 Citi Open, Washington, DC, USA, hard
$100,000 Odlum Brown Van Open, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard
WOMEN
Olympic Games, Wimbledon, Great Britain, grass
$220,000 Citi Open, Washington, DC, USA, hard
$100,000 Odlum Brown Van Open, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard