beat 3 Archives - World Tennis Magazine

STARS

Marin Cilic beat Michael Berrer 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-3 to win the PBZ Zagreb Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia

Feliciano Lopez won the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, South, Africa, defeating Stephane Robert 7-5 6-1

Thomaz Bellucci beat Juan Monaco 6-2 0-6 6-4 to win the Novistar Open in Santiago, Chile

FED CUP

First Round

World Group

Italy beat Ukraine 4-1

Czech Republic beat. Germany 3-2

Russia beat Serbia 3-2

United States beat France 4-1

World Group II

Australia beat. Spain 3-2; Belgium beat Poland 3-2; Estonia beat. Argentina 4-1; Slovak Republic beat. 3-2

Zonal Group I

(Winners advance to 2011 World Group II playoff)

Europe/Africa: Sweden beat Austria 3-0; Slovenia beat Switzerland 3-0

Americas: Canada beat Colombia 2-0

Asia/Oceania: Japan beat Chinese Taipei 2-1

SAYINGS

“I’ve played a lot of Fed Cup matches and I’m very happy with these ones from this weekend.” – Francesca Schiavone, who beat Kateryna Bondarenko to seal Italy’s Fed Cup victory over Ukraine;

“I’m so proud of my team. It’s all about the team chemistry and wanting to do well not just for yourself but for your teammates and your country. They get out there and work hard to be their best on a given day. The rankings aren’t always the most important factor when you play for your country.” – Mary Joe Fernandez, captain of the United States Fed Cup team.

“It was not easy to meet people’s expectations, but I’m proud with what I’ve done.” – Marin Cilic, after successfully defending his PBZ Zagreb Indoors title at Zagreb, Croatia, where he was the top-seeded player.

“I had been all my life playing what I call casino tennis, hitting crazy shots, gambling with big shots and closing my eyes just hoping the ball would go in. I never got any better than about 160th in the world rankings with that approach and last August, when I came back to tennis after the illness, I had a long chat with my coach, Ronan Lafaix, who persuaded me to do things differently. He urged me to start focusing on one thing at a time, to concentrate harder than ever before and develop a precision game instead of my unreliable casino tennis. It just shows you that because I’m nearly 30 years old doesn’t mean I’m over the hill.” – Stephane Robert, who reached the first ATP Tour final of his career in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he lost to Feliciano Lopez.

“Once again I handled my emotions poorly. Stress prevailed over everything. I was shaking almost throughout the first set. I felt sick with fear. As long as I’m not able to handle that, I won’t manage to earn my first Fed Cup win.” – Alize Cornet, who has never won in her six Fed Cup matches.

“Many famous people, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein, Monica Seles or Ivan Lendl, one of my greatest idols, have taken this step before me and now I’m finally a part of this group as well.” – Tommy Haas, after becoming a United States citizen.

“I think football players are the ultimate athlete. I think tennis players are too, but we’re not risking our lives out there.” – Venus Williams, who with sister Serena is a part-owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins.

SWEEP OF THE GAME

The South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings show just how global the sport of tennis has become. The top 10-ranked men players come from 10 different countries, the first time that has happened since May 1998. Switzerland’s Roger Federer is ranked number one in the world, followed, in order, by Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Andy Murray of Great Britain, Rafael Nadal of Spain, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, Andy Roddick of the United States, Robin Soderling of Sweden, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Marin Cilic of Croatia..

ATP computer guru Greg Sharko notes that on May 25, 1998, the rankings, in order, included Pete Sampras of the United States, Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, Marcelo Rios of Chile, Greg Rusedski of Great Britain, Patrick Rafter of Australia, Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, Karol Kucera of Slovakia, and Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands.

STARS FOR AUSTRALIA

Sam Stosur made sure Australia would defeat Spain in their World Group II Fed Cup competition. Stosur won both her singles matches – against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues – before teaming with Rennae Stubbs to capture the doubles. The pair defeated Spain’s Martinez Sanchez and Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-4 6-2, sending Australia into a playoff in April where winners will earn berths in the 2011 Fed Cup World Group. Australia, which has not been in the World Group since 2004, won for only the third time in 10 Fed Cup ties.

STAYING HOME

Citing a leg injury, Serena Williams has withdrawn from this week’s Paris Indoor Open. She said she hurt her leg during the Australian Open, which she won. The American is a two-time winner in five tries at Paris, beating France’s Amelie Mauresmo in the title match in both 1999 and 2003. For Mauresmo, this week’s Paris Indoor is her final tournament before retiring.

STRICKENED

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won’t be playing in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Frenchman pulled out of the event because of a stomach muscle injury. “The problem started in the fourth round of the Australian Open against Nicolas Almagro,” Tsonga said. “It bothered me in the quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic and in the semifinal against Roger Federer.”

SURPRISE

Dustin Brown is setting records for Jamaican tennis. Brown advanced to his first ATP quarterfinal with a chance to do something no Jamaican player has ever done: reach a tour-level semifinal. “I’m still a little overwhelmed,” Brown said after beating fourth-seeded Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland to reach the quarters. “I got lucky against Chiudinelli.” Brown lost his quarterfinal match against Stephane Robert.

SERENA VS KIM

The last time the two met on a tennis court, Serena Williams went ballistic and Kim Clijsters went on to win the US Open women’s singles championship. Now the two will play each other again, this time in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden on March 1. The semifinal of the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup will be just about 10 miles (15 kilometers) from their last meeting, which ended when Williams berated a line judge. Williams was fined a record USD $82,500 and placed on two years of probation at Grand Slam events for that infraction of the rules. In the other semifinal at Madison Square Garden, Venus Williams will take on French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The one-day event will feature one-set semifinals and a three-set final with USD $1.2 million in prize money.

SAY WHAT???

Sixteen years after he retired, Ivan Lendl will play an exhibition match. Organizers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, said Lendl will play Mats Wilander, while Andy Roddick will take on recently retired Marat Safin in the first Caesars Tennis Classic on April 10. A third match will be announced later. Caesars says it will donate equipment to Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis, which runs programs for 6,500 children in various cities, including Atlantic City, Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

STRONG RETURN

Although he lost to Feliciano Lopez in the final, Stephane Robert can rejoice in his play at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 29-year-old Frenchman played in the first ATP Tour final of his career, something that he couldn’t have even fathomed a year ago. Robert changed his style of play after he returned to tennis six months ago following a long bout of hepatitis that sidelined him for 15 months.

STAYING AWAY

Despite the success of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, Martina Hingis is not ready to come out of retirement and join them on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. “There’s a spark,” Hingis admitted to The Associated Press, but she ruled out a return to the tour primarily because of all the travel. Hingis will play tennis this year, competing in World TeamTennis. The Swiss star used World TeamTennis to help her prepare for her first comeback, and Clijsters played in the WTT last year as a warm-up to her return to the tour. “It’s great to see them dig deep and come back that well. I don’t know if I could handle it,” Hingis said.

STANDING TALL

Tommy Hass has become an American citizen. The German tennis star received his United States citizenship in a ceremony in Tampa, Florida, just a few days after he lost a third-round Australian Open match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 31-year-old Haas has lived in Florida for a long time, having moved to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, when he was 13 years old. However, Haas also retains his German citizenship and plans to represent Germany in Davis Cup if he’s asked.

STARRING IN BOLLYWOOD?

Indian tennis star Leander Paes will shortly make his Bollywood debut. The doubles specialist has already completed a month’s shooting on his first firm. The 36-year-old Paes took on the role in a psychological thriller after undergoing intensive coaching at a leading Mumbai acting school. Hiranmoy Chatterjee, president of the Bengal Tennis Association and a friend of Paes, said the film, to be made in both Hindi and Bengali languages, will be in theaters by the end of the year. Paes won the Australian Open mixed doubles title last month with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black. He now has won 11 Grand Slam tournament titles, all in doubles.

STRAIGHT IN

Justine Henin has been given a wild card entry into the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, USA, next month. Henin will be making her first appearance in Indian Wells since 2006. In her first two tournaments since she returned from a nearly two-year retirement, Henin reached the final at both, losing to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters at Brisbane, Australia, and to Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

SPECIAL PAIR

Little Jada Lynch and her mother, Kim Clijsters, are the newest models for Barbie dolls. After the tennis star was honored with a Barbie doll likeness, her daughter was immortalized with a mini-version of the world’s best-selling doll. “When I was a young girl I played with my Barbie dolls,” Clijsters said. “My family means everything to me, so I was really excited when I found out that Jada would also receive her very own ‘Jada Barbie’ doll.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Johannesburg: Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Karol Beck and Harel Levy 2-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Zagreb: Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner beat Arnaud Clement and Olivier Rochus 3-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Santiago: Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach beat Potito Starace and Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-0

SITES TO SURF

San Jose: www.sapopentennis.com/index2.html

Rotterdam: www.abnamrowtt.nl/

Costa do Sauipe: www2.uol.com.br/tenisbrasil/brasilopen/

Paris: www.opengdfsuez.com/

Pattaya City: www.pentanglepromotions.com/pattaya-open.html

Midland: www.dowcorningtennisclassic.com

Memphis: www.memphistennis.com/home