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denis istomin

David Goffin Captures First Title Since 2014 – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Caroline Garcia beat Ashleigh Barty 6-7 (3) 7-6 (4) 6-2 to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in Wuhan, China

Denis Istomin beat Marcus Baghdatis 3-2 retired to win the Chengdu Open in Chengdu, China

David Goffin beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-3 to win the Shenzhen Open in Shenzhen, China

Kateryna Bondarenko beat Timea Babos 6-4 6-4 to win the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Norbert Gombos beat Julien Benneteau 6-3 5-7 6-2 to win the Open D’Orleans in Orleans, France

Cameron Norrie beat Tennys Sandgren 6-2 6-3 to win the Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger in Tiburon, California, USA

 

SAYING

“A title is the best thing you can have in tennis, that’s why you fight all year long. I’m over the moon for sure.” – Caroline Garcia, after winning the Dongfeng Moor Wuhan Open.

“Disappointing to not come away with it in the end, but sometimes it crumbles that way.” – Ashleigh Barty, after losing the Wuhan Open final to Caroline Garcia.

“To come back from injury to qualify my country for the Davis Cup final and then to win my third trophy, it means a lot. I cannot be happier today.” – David Goffin, who snapped a losing streak of six straight finals to win the Shenzhen Open.

“I’ve had back issues before, but not like this.” – Marcos Baghdatis, who retired from the Chengdu Open final in the opening set with severe back spasms.

“Of course I want to win the title, but not this way. I hope he gets better and will be OK for the rest of the season.” – Denis Istomin, after winning the Chengdu Open when Marcos Baghdatis retired with back spasms five games into the final.

“I just beat number one and it’s amazing.” – Jelena Ostapenka, after beating top-ranked Garbiñe Muguruza in the Wuhan Open quarterfinals.

“Right now we feel like we are the team to beat, the hot team till the end. It’s a nice position to be in.” – Martina Hingis, after she and Chan Yung-Jan won the Wuhan Open doubles, their third consecutive title.

“Martina and I have been performing very well this year. We have won many matches. We have been through many difficult matches. We were very confident. Also, we have belief in each other. I’m very happy today that we won this match.” – Chan Yung-Jan.

“I’ve been here since Wednesday last week practicing, but never thought about the title. Today, when I was leading, I thought I had a realistic chance to win the title.” – Kateryna Bondarenko, following her victory over Timea Babos to win the Tashkent Open.

“It didn’t feel like it took long at all to gel. We kind of hit the ground running.” – Rajeev Ram, who with Alexander Peya won the first tournament they played as a team, the Shenzhen Open.

 

SEVENTH TIME WORKS

David Goffin snapped a string of disappointments by outlasting Alexandr Dolgopolov to win the Shenzhen Open. The title was Goffin’s first after losing in his last six finals, a string stretching back to 2014. “This one is really special because you know it’s always tough to come back from injuries,” said Goffin, who retired from the French Open and missed Wimbledon with an ankle injury. “I cannot be happier today.” After the two split the opening two sets – Goffin rallied from a 1-5 deficit to force a second-set tiebreak, only to lose – they held serve through the first seven games of the third set before Goffin broke Dolgopolov at love to take a 5-3 lead. Dolgopolov tried to return the favor, winning the first point as Goffin served for the match. But the Belgian lost only one more point as he won his third career title. “For sure I wanted to have an easier second set, but I had some issues and overall he played better, I think,” said Dolgopolov, who was playing in his third final of the year. “I had a good week.”

 

SECOND TITLE

It didn’t come easy, but Caroline Garcia of France finally won the biggest title of her career, the Wuhan Open, with a three-set victory over Australia’s Ashleigh Barty. “It was such a fight all the week, and especially today,” Garcia said. Twice Barty rallied from a break down in the opening set to force a tiebreak, which she then dominated. The Australian served for the match twice in the second set, but Garcia refused to fold. It was Garcia who won the second-set tiebreak before breaking away in the decider. “In the beginning of the second set I was a little bit down, I couldn’t get my focus again,” Garcia said. “I just kept going, fight until the end.” When Barty’s return found the net on match point, Garcia fell to her knees in celebration. During the week, Garcia beat former world number one Angelique Kerber and seventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova. The 21-year-old Barty, who began the year ranked outside the top 300, had a dream run to the final, knocking off former world number one Karolina Pliskova, ninth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, fifth-seeded Johanna Konta and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenka. “It was a hell of a week, probably the best week of my tennis career,” Barty said. It was the first time the two had played since Garcia beat Barty on her way to the 2011 US Open Junior Girls final.

 

STOPPED BY SPASMS

Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin was the last person standing at the Chengdu Open – literally. With Istomin leading 3-2 in the first set, Marcos Baghdatis collapsed onto the court with severe back spasms and was unable to continue. He retired, giving the title to Istomin, after being gingerly helped to his chair, where he buried his head in his towel. “I was feeling a bit of pain in my back during the week, but late after my match last night I felt some spasms,” the 32-year-old Cypriot said. “This morning I woke up a bit the same. After my warmup, it got worse.” Baghdatis said his back felt OK for the first few games of the final before the spasms came back with a vengeance. It was the second career title for Istomin.

 

STOPPING FOR YOM KIPPUR

Israel’s Dudi Sela was one set away from reaching the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open when he retired from his match because of the start of Yom Kippur. The 32-year-old Sela was playing in just his second quarterfinal of the yea. He had asked that his match start as early as possible to reduce his chances of having to stop because of the Jewish holiday. But his match against Alexandr Dolgopolov was scheduled as the second match on center court. Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland edged China’s Zhang Zhizhnen 6-4 3-6 6-2 in the first quarterfinal, which lasted two hours and 16 minutes. Sela then lost the first set 3-6 before winning the second 6-4. After Dolgopolov held serve to begin the third set, Sela approached the chair umpire and told him that he needed to retire. “Dudi isn’t a religious man and he doesn’t usually fast on Yom Kippur, and for the first time in his career he was forced to make this excruciating decision which affects his ATP ranking and cost him tens of thousands of dollars,” Sela’s brother, Ofer, wrote to The Jerusalem Post newspaper. “No one forced him to retire. He didn’t do it because he was afraid of anyone, or because he was asked to. He did it only because he respects Yom Kippur and country which he represents.”

The next day, after Yom Kippur ended, Sela and his partner, Andre Sa of Brazil, lost their doubles semifinals to the top-seeded team of Nikola Mektic and Nicholas Monroe 6-3 7-6 (4).

 

STUNNER

Kateryna Bondarenko won her first WTA title in nine years by stunning second-seeded Timea Babos in the Tashkent Open. The 31-year-old Ukrainian was ranked 81 spots higher than the 52nd-ranked Babos. Because of rain delays in the Uzbekistan tournament, Bondarenko played two singles matches and a doubles match the day before the final. “I was very tired after three matches yesterday,” she said, “but I told myself it’s the last day and I need to give it all I had. “

Bondarenko was leading her semifinal 7-6 (7) 4-1 when former world number two Vera Zvonareva retired from the match. A former Wimbledon and US Open finalist, Zvonareva returned to the WTA tour this year after two years away due to injuries and motherhood.

 

SINGAPORE BOUND

With Caroline Wozniacki clinching a spot in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, only two spots remain in the season-ending event. Wozniacki, who will make her fifth appearance in the elite field, joins Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams in the singles field. Wozniacki has been in seven WTA singles finals this season, winning her 26th career title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The top eight singles players and doubles teams will compete in Singapore October 22-29.

 

STAYING AROUND

Andre Agassi will be Novak Djokovic’s head coach when the Serbian star returns to cation next season. “We can confirm that Agassi remains the head coach while Italian Marco Panichi will take over as the fitness coach and Argentine Ulises Badio is the new physio,” Djokovic’s office said in a statement. “The only remaining issue is appointing a second coach, and that will complete the staff accompanying Djokovic in 2018.” An elbow injury forced Djokovic to retire from his Wimbledon quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych. He has not played since. Djokovic “is working hard to get started with tennis practice as soon as possible in order to meet his own expectations of making a comeback in Australia in 2018,” the statement added.

 

STRONG WOMEN

In a battle of Grand Slam tournament champions, French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko defeated Wimbledon winner Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open. Ostapenka ripped through the final five games to beat Muguruza for the first time, 1-6 6-3 6-2. With Ostapenko making 15 unforced errors, Muguruza made a blazing start. But in the second set, the Latvian broke Muguruza four times to build a 5-3 lead. After the Spaniard held serve, Ostapenko evened the match with a winner down the line. Although Muguruza took the early lead, Ostapenko got her game into high gear to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

 

STEPS UP

Martina Hingis sits atop the WTA doubles rankings. No surprise there. The 37-year-old Swiss star celebrated her return to the top of the rankings by teaming with China’s Chan Yung-Jan to win their third consecutive title, the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, by edging Shuko Aoyama and Yang Zhaoxuan in a match tiebreak. Her latest victory came on her 37th birthday. “It’s nice to celebrate (my birthday) with a victory, obviously, and with a great partner to do it with,” Hingis said. “It’s my third time obviously here in Wuhan. It’s even more special now with Leticia (Chan) because she kind of guided me through this week. It was nice.” Chan and Hingis have now won 14 consecutive matches and have qualified for the season-ending BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, which will be held later this month. Hingis replaced Lucie Safarova at number one in the WTA doubles rankings, while Chan moved to a career-high second. Hingis has now held the top ranking for 67 weeks, the first coming 19 years ago in June 1998.

 

SAFAROVA INJURED

Citing a wrist injury, Lucie Safarova pulled out of this week’s China Open. The 30-year-sold Czech had missed last week’s Wuhan Open. “I’m sad to announce I won’t be coming to Beijing for the China Open this year,” Safarova said. “My wrist injury still doesn’t allow me to come back on court.” While sidelined, Safarova lost her world number one spot in doubles, falling behind both Martina Hingis and her partner, Chan Yung-Jan. Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won at both Wuhan and Beijing last year. Mattek-Sands has been out since suffering a serious knee injury at Wimbledon.

 

SHOULD BE FIRED

Former tennis star James Blake says the New York City police officer who tackled him in a mistaken arrest should be fired. Blake said the police department should send a message to officers that they can’t use excessive force. The officer, James Frascatore, said he was told Blake was a suspect in a counterfeit credit card ring and may have been armed. The internal disciplinary trial is over, but the details of any punishment may never be known. City officials said that under state law officer disciplinary records are secret. Lawyers for the police watchdog group prosecuting the case recommended Frascatore forfeit 10 vacation days as punishment. Blake called for the mayor and police commissioner to fire the officer and make the decision public.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Chengdu: Jonathan Erlich and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 6-3 7-6 (3)

Orleans: Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni beat Jonathan Eysseric and Tristan Lamasine 6-3 6-7 (4) 13-11 (match tiebreak)

Shenzhen: Alexander Peya and Rajeev Ram beat Nikola Mektic and Nicholas Monroe 6-3 6-2

Tashkent: Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova beat Nao Hibino and Oksana Kalashnikova 7-5 6-4

Tiburon: Andre Goransson and Florian Lakat beat Marcelo Arevalo and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-4 6-4

Wuhan: Chan Yung-Jan and Martina Hingis beat Shuko Aoyana and Yang Zhaoxuan 7-6 (5) 3-6 10-4 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Beijing: www.chinaopen.com/

Tokyo: http//en.rakutenopen.com/

Kaohsiung: http://oecopen.com/

Monterrey: www.sierramadretennisclub.com/

Shanghai: http://en.shanghairolexmasters.com/

Tashkent: www.tennis.uz/

Hong Kong: www.hktennisopen.hk/en/

Linz: www.ladieslinz.at/

Tianjin: www.tianjinopen.com/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$4,280,460 China Open, Beijing, China, hard

$1,706,170 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan, hard

$125,000 Kaohsiung OEC Open, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, hard

$100,000 Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey, Mexico, hard

$100,000 Stockton Challenger, Stockton, California, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

$4,720,380 China Open, Beijing China, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$8,092,625 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Shanghai, China, hard

$150,000 Tashkent Challenger, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard

$100,000 Northbay Healthcare Men’s Pro Championship, Fairfield, California, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Hong Kong, hard

$226,750 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria, hard

$227,750 Tianjin Open, Tianjin, China, hard

 

David Goffin
David Goffin

Denis Istomin Further Validates Wild Card Events – From The Australian Open To USTA Vero Beach Futures

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By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher

Whether it is for the Australian Open or for the $15,000 USTA Futures event in Vero Beach, Florida, wild card events are becoming more and more a fabric of professional tennis.

Wild cards, or entries into professional tennis tournaments for players who do not qualify on ranking, were (and still are)  often only subjectively awarded to players by tournament directors, coaches and administrators from the tennis governing body for the respective nation. Sometimes wild cards are awarded to big-name players who do not previously enter the tournament, so as to enhance ticket sales and excitement in a tournament field. Controversy often follows wild card selections as players – and coaches, parents and observers – make arguments why someone should or should not have received this free tournament invitation.

Roger Federer, who has not needed a wild card into a tournament since he was a junior player, is still in touch with the complexities and sensitivities to wild card selections.

“It’s like at a wedding — where do you make the cut?” he said in 2015. “It’s like there shouldn’t be one, but unfortunately there has to be one. I feel like it’s similar. It’s just annoying, you know?”

To avoid controversies and to provide for additional competitive playing opportunities where players actually EARN their wild card positions, more and more tournaments are instituting wild card tournaments, where the winner will be awarded the wild card invitation to the event. This also prevents any argument as to whether one player or another is more deserving of a wild card selection – it is settled on the court!

The Australian Open hosts two wild card tournaments, one exclusively for Australian players and another for players from Asian nations (held in China) so as to more closely associate the tournament as the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific.

Curiously, one of the winners of these wild card tournaments, the Asian wild card tournament winner Denis Istomin, became the story of the tournament with his upset of No. 2 seed and six-time event champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. At the same time as Istomin’s upset, on the other end of the spectrum of the tennis world, 36 men competed in another wild card tournament on the other end of the planet in Key Biscayne, Florida. They, however, were fighting in another wild card tournament to earn a main-draw entry into the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit “Futures” level tournament, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, to be played April 21-30 in Vero Beach, Florida.

Junior Alexander Ore, a 24-year-old from Maryland and a former standout from Texas A&M University, rightly earned his right into the main draw of the Vero Beach Futures by defeating Brazil’s Felipe Frattni 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The Key Biscayne wild card tournament is the first four different wild card events for the Vero Beach Futures, for which I serve in the role as co-tournament director. We are allowed two main draw singles wild cards for Futures events and the second wild card event is tentatively scheduled for Vero Beach in late February – likely in between USTA Pro Circuit events in Orlando and Indian Harbor Beach, Florida. Even in doubles, the wild cards will be earned with a doubles wild card event being scheduled to be played simultaneously as the singles qualifying event April 21-24, using the FAST4 modified scoring system. Our final doubles wild card event will be determined in a popular local Vero Beach doubles tournament series called “King of the Hill.”

While these wild card events do provide players with the opportunity to earn their spots, providing extra competitive opportunities to test their physical and mental skills that will help serve them down the road, they also have other purposes. For the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, all the profits for the event benefit the non-profit foundation that benefit children in Indian River County, Florida. The wild card events become additional revenue streams for the Foundation as, under a deal struck with the wild card tournament directors, half of the entry fees go to the Foundation.

These wild events – whether it’s the Australian or U.S. Open or a USTA Pro Circuit Futures event – also provide opportunities to pre-promote an event for sponsors and fans. For the Australian Open, they can promote the Australian Open brand in China with their Asian wild card event. The USTA have a nationwide wild card event for the U.S. Open called the “U.S. Open National Playoffs” where the winners of 17 sectional tournaments throughout the year play in a wild card tournament to determine who will receive a wild card into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament.

For our Key Biscayne wild card event, we can take advantage of the larger player base in the Miami area to gain more tournament entries (36 players in this wild card event was the most we had had) and also to further expose the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation brand (www.MardyFishFoundation.com) to the South Florida audience.

In 2016, we hosted two singles wild card tournaments – one at the Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando and the other at Ballen Isles resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Disney event also featured a doubles wild card tournament, The wild card singles final at Disney featured one the greatest final of a wild card event ever played at any level as 18-year-old Adam Ambrozy of Florida beat former Colombian Davis Cup John Medina 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 in an incredible 3 hours, 20 minutes under the hot Florida on the slow clay center court that used to host the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships. Not only did Ambrozy rightfully earn his position in our 2016 draw, but gained an amazing, confidence-building experience in winning a grueling singles final against a seasoned veteran player.

 

Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin

Randy Walker: My Surprising Choice For Men’s ‘Match of the Year’ For 2015

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Some may say Stan Wawrinka’s win over Novak Djokovic in the French Open final may be the men’s match of the 2015 season. Others may nominate Djokovic’s wins over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon or U.S. Open finals. What men’s match do you think was the best match of the year? For me, I’d like to nominate a match that likely no one else will.

How about Denis Istomin vs. Steve Johnson in the Davis Cup Playoff Round in Tashkent, Uzbekistan?

As I wrote on my Facebook page after it happened “It wasn’t Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic under the NYC lights in the US Open final, but today’s Davis Cup match between Denis Istomin and Steve Johnson in Tashkent, Uzbekistan was raw competitive theatre – a Davis Cup classic, complete with unique drama in each set of the match, both players fighting off the strong play of their opponent, the unique pressure of Davis Cup, physical ailments and overcoming lost opportunities and fighting back from the brink.”

This match stayed with me for a lot of reasons. One being I was there in person, being contracted out for media work on behalf of the U.S. Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation, and I have an amazing love of Davis Cup, the most unpredictable forum for tennis. The match was played from 1 am to about 4:30 am eastern time in the USA on Tennis Channel, so it was not broadcast to a wide audience so perhaps we can label this match “The best match of 2015 that almost nobody saw.”

Let’s first set the stage a bit. The USA lost in the first round of the competition to Great Britain and was drawn to travel to Uzbekistan for the first time ever for its Playoff Round in a match that would determine if the U.S. would qualify for the elite 16-team Davis Cup World Group in 2016 and be eligible to win the Cup. The United States, the greatest nation in the history of the competition, has only been relegated once into zonal play – the nether rounds of Davis Cup – so there was a lot of national tennis pride at stake.

Uzbekistan was a rigorous trip – a nine-hour time difference from New York, where the U.S. team was flying in from at the end of the U.S. Open – with 14 hours of flight time (without a direct flight and long layovers in connecting cities). Uzbekistan is a land that not many Americans know about. It is an ancient land where Genghis Khan once ruled and Marco Polo once traveled. It is part of the ancient “Silk Road” of trade between the West and East. It is a former Soviet Republic and a Muslim country located just 400 miles from Afghanistan, not the most friendly environments these days for Americans. There were concerns about travel, security, food and the U.S. contingent were also advised to take Hepatitis A shots in advance of the trip. With that, the top American singles player and doubles team – John Isner and the Bryan Brothers – decided against making the trip – Isner choosing to rest up in a push to try and make the year-end ATP World Tour Finals and Bob Bryan awaiting the imminent birth of this third child. Instead Captain Jim Courier selected rookies Johnson and Jack Sock along with Sam Querrey and Donald Young. (see the Davis Cup draw ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnOQ6aY-n9I

There is a lot of uncertainty in Davis Cup – you see players rise to the occasion of playing for their country or fall under extra pressure it creates. You just don’t know how a player will react. You can throw rankings out the window. There was a lot of curiosity to see how Johnson and Sock would react to the Davis Cup pressure, being thrown in this cauldron for the first time. Johnson, the U.S. No. 2 player with an ATP ranking of No. 47, was drawn to face Istomin, the Uzbek No. 1 (ranked No. 62) in the opening rubber. Being the first match off in a series a rookie is a tough ask, especially playing against a seasoned Davis Cup veteran on his home court in front of his home crowd. The funny thing about this home crowd, however, was that it comprised almost entirely of school kids – about 2,000 of them all dressed in white tops and dark pants or blouses, sitting uniformly. There were posters all over Tashkent promoting the matches – and there was no price of admission – but there still was a challenge to get a crowd this this match, for whatever reason. So, bring in the students – which was an excellent idea that more sports teams should do here in the USA – to be seat fillers. (Watch the warm-up for the match here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GryEV9wzWhM)

It’s always fascinating to watch how players respond to making their Davis Cup debuts and Johnson’s play and reaction was worth paying close attention against Istomin, playing in his 60th career Davis Cup rubber. Courier, who is regarded as one of the greatest U.S. Davis Cup players ever, lost to lowly Luis Herrera of Mexico in his 1991 Davis Cup debut in Mexico City. Later that year, Pete Sampras failed famously in losing both of his live singles matches against Henri Leconte (ranked No. 159 at the time) and Guy Forget in the Davis Cup Final in Lyon, France.

It appeared that the Davis Cup pressure was too tough for Johnson to adjust to at the start as he managed to win only eight points against Istomin in losing the first set 6-1 in just 17 minutes. Istomin showed his experience and home-court swagger at the start of the match, breaking Johnson in the American’s first service game.

While it would not have been surprising to see Johnson go down in flames, meekly falling in straight sets and lap up his Davis Cup baptism, he remained determined and fought with all the fortitude within him. He began to settle down in the second set, showing more consistency, dictating points more with his powerful forehand and mixing in net attacks and drop shots. As Johnson’s form improved, Istomin’s high level of play from the first set dipped, missing the mark more off the ground. After holding for 4-3 in the second set, Johnson connected on two rocket forehands and benefitted from two unforced errors from Istomin to break serve. After showing some nerves by serving two double faults to fall down 15-30, Johnson fell down double-break point, but crawled back to deuce with another rocket forehand and an off-the-back foot backhand passing shot. Four points later, on his second set point opportunity, he drew even with a delicate forehand drop-shot winner, punctuated with a yell of “C’mon” to U.S. Captain Jim Courier. Johnson tied up the match at one set apiece.

Each player held serve six times in the third set, Johnson not able to convert on a double-break point opportunity at 15-40 at 5-5. Johnson won four points in a row to take a 4-2 lead in the third-set tie-breaker, but Istomin took advantage of two errors from Johnson and took the third set with winners on three of the last four points of the tiebreaker.

In the fourth set, Johnson blinked while serving at 5-5, netting a forehand volley on break point. He violently smashed his racket in disgust, knowing that he likely had just lost the match. Serving for the match at 6-5 in the next game, Istomin quickly jumped to 30-0 – two points from victory – but then froze. After missing a backhand volley, Istomin made consecutive nervy forehand errors wide and into the net and then double-faulted on break-point to force the fourth-set tie-breaker. Davis Cup jitters can also work both ways – and the pressure of closing out a significant win against the big, bad United States in front of the home crowd also seemed to creep into Istomin’s mind. Johnson still had vital signs. Istomin’s forehand continued to fail him in the tie-breaker, missing five of them in 10 points, and the re-energized Johnson forced the decisive fifth set with the 7-3 tie-breaker win. Just 15 minutes after smashing his racket, seemingly resigned to a loss, Johnson was now alive about to start a fifth-set. The unpredictability of Davis Cup was rearing its head.

Johnson rode his momentum and broke the tiring and jilted Istomin to take a 2-1 lead in the fifth set, but surrendered the break right back the very next game. Johnson then broke again to take a 3-2 lead. Leading 40-30 – a point from a 4-2 lead, Johnson awkwardly missed a forehand long and exclaimed “Not now” as he began to show signs of cramping. Istomin seized on Johnson’s compromised condition and broke back for 3-3. Going more for broke off his forehand side, Johnson then registered the fifth straight service break to take a 4-3 lead. Each point provided extra drama due to Johnson’s physical state. Could he hang on and win or would be crumble in pain and cramps at any moment?

Johnson incredibly fought out of a 0-40 hole in the eighth game of the final set, saving four break points in all, and held for 5-3. Johnson was on the cusp of an incredible victory in his Davis Cup debut, after winning just eight points in a 17-minute first set and just over 45 minutes after he smashed his racquet in disgust after seemingly losing the match after losing serve to give Istomin a chance to close out the match on his serve.

Johnson was two points from the match in the next game, hitting two forehand winners – one off a let-cord – reaching 15-30. Istomin, however, showed his resiliency and then served an ace and benefitted from two missed backhand returns from Johnson to hold for 5-4, forcing Johnson to serve for the match. Johnson took a quick 30-0 lead and was two points from the match for a second straight game.

“That’s the funny thing about tennis,” Johnson said later. “An hour before I was 5-4 30-0, he was up 6-5, 30-0. I found a way to get back. That’s tennis. It comes down to a matter of points here or there.”

Johnson then hit an unforced forehand long, a double-fault and made an unforced error on a backhand slice, giving Istomin his break point chance at 5-4, 30-40 that culminated in controversial fashion. After a short rally, Johnson believed Istomin’s cross court backhand to be wide and stopped play. Chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph of Spain, who had made several overrules throughout the match, got out of his chair and inspected the mark. He determined the ball to be good – to the shock of Johnson – giving Istomin the break and drawing the final set even at 5-5. It was a bit of a roll of the dice for Johnson to stop play and challenge the call, but he was justified in doing so several other times during the match. But it was a critical point in the match. It was another quirky moment in this frenzied piece of Davis Cup drama.

Istomin then easily held serve the next game for 6-5 and after Johnson led 30-0 in his next service game, the Uzbek star won five of the next six points to close out the electrifying and topsy-turvy 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5 win.

“This one stings,” said Johnson tersely after the match. “I’m not going to lie. It’s a tough lesson to learn. I left it all out there on the court. Hopefully, if I get another chance. I will get another chance to reverse that result.”

“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” Johnson continued. “I was lucky to get into a fifth set. It’s a tough lesson to learn but credit to him, he played well in the end. He played well at the end to break back a couple of times (in the fifth set) and sometimes you have to say ‘Too good.’”

“It was an incredible match and an incredible fight from both sides,” said Istomin. “It was up and down, both players fought hard.”

“It could have gone Uzbekistan’s way in the fourth set it could have gone the USA’s way in the fifth,” said U.S. Captain Jim Courier. “There were a lot of twists and turns in that match and credit obviously to Denis and his captain for sticking in there when he could have easily put the flippers on and gone way.”

With the U.S. down 0-1, Sock was next up where he tried to keep the U.S. from an near insurmountable 0-2 hole against Farrukh Dustov. After a tough first set, he drew the U.S. even with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Johnson gained his redemption the next day in doubles with Querrey, defeating Istomin and Dustov 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Sock then clinched the 3-1 win with a sometimes close 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Istomin.

Steve Johnson may never play another Davis Cup singles match. Representing the United States, the greatest tennis nation in the world, in Davis Cup just might be his career highlight when he stops playing professional tennis. He did learn some lessons from the loss and used them to reach his first ATP singles final in Vienna a month later. Denis Istomin has won an ATP singles title and played in two fourth-round matches at Grand Slams, but winning a dramatic match in your home town in the biggest Davis Cup match in your nation’s history is a hallmark achievement, despite your team eventually losing. This is part of why I want to call this my men’s match of the year for 2015.

Davis Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Davis Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Belinda Bencic, Denis Istomin Win First Titles – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Belinda Bencic beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 4-6 6-0 to win the Aegon International in Eastbourne, Great Britain

Denis Istomin beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (1) 7-6 (6) to win the Aegon Open in Nottingham, Great Britain

 

SAYING

“I feel so happy now. I hope it’s the first (title) and not the last one.” – Denis Istomin, after capturing his first ATP World Tour title.

“This is the biggest day of my career. This is a dream come true. I’m so happy to win my first title. I woke up very nervous this morning, and even in practice I was nervous. But once on the court I tried to fight for every point. I tried my best.” – Belinda Bencic, after winning her first career WTA title.

“He’s a tough player, he’s got a great serve. He hung in there today when it got tough.” – Sam Querrey, after losing the Nottingham final to Denis Istomin.

“I have nothing to prove at Wimbledon. I just want to play relaxed and be satisfied with my results.” – Belinda Bencic.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon because of an injury to my elbow.” – David Ferrer, the tournament’s eighth seed pulling out of the grass-court championships.

“Honestly, it was a great surprise for me because I didn’t remember that I was so close to this achievement. … I like it, though it means that time passes.” — Filippo Volandri, after becoming the third player in two months to capture his 300th career ATP Challenger match win.

“I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much. I don’t love it. It was crazy when I was 14. I was all for basketball and I made the decision to play tennis. I got pushed by my parents and to this day I can still say I don’t love the sport. It is just crazy how things go.” – Australian Nick Kyrgios.

“Doubles is all about communication and Leander (Paes) communicates better than anyone. He’s played the partner game well and his partners play better.” – Mike Bryan on Leader Paes having played with 100 different partners.

“He knows the psychology of doubles, to make his partner feel better. He’s always smiling, giving encouraging tips. He’s brought the best out of Lukas Dlouhy … with Leander they played amazing and won two Grand Slams. You got to give it to the guy. 100 partners is amazing.” – Bob Bryan, who has had only partner his entire career, his twin brother Mike.

“It’s unbelievable to hear that he is playing with his 100th partner because that is some achievement. It shows as a player how easily he can adapt and change with new partners, and it also shows that he has kept himself fit for so many years to achieve this goal. At the age of 42 he is Top 25, which is a great feat and gives an example to everyone that if you keep yourself fit, age is just a number.” – Rohan Bopanna, one of 10 fellow Indians Paes has partnered in doubles.

“Leander is as good as it gets. His desire to work hard and win is why he is one of the best doubles players of all time.” – Raven Klaasen, who was Paes’ partner No. 99.

“He’s undefeated with me.” – Sanam Singh, who won his lone match with Paes in Davis Cup in 2013.

“Leander was the first partner I played with for a whole year. We qualified at the end of the year in Shanghai and it was a very nice experience to be in the top eight teams in the world. … He can make some shots and points that nobody can and it was nice to experience that.” – Nenad Zimonjic.

“I’ve had partners who were shy and I had to give them the security to come out of their shell. I’ve had partners who were very boisterous and loud, but when they come on the court they completely go into their shell. … They are all different individuals and I’ve really loved working with each and every one of them.” – Leander Paes.

 

SWISS WINNER

Eighteen-year-old Belinda Bencic showed she’s for real. The Swiss teenager captured her first WTA title by crushing veteran Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 in the third set at Eastbourne, then gave credit to Hall of Famer Martina Hingis. Bencic is coached part-time by Hingis and Hingis’s mother, Melanie Molitor. “Martina gives me a lot of good advice, not just this week but all the time,” Bencic said. “Also I practice with her mom, so she’s my coach when I’m back at home. Of course they have been a big influence on my game.” At 18 years, 109 days, Bencic is the youngest player to win a Premier-level title since Caroline Wozniacki captured New Haven in 2008 at the age of 18 years, 43 days. Bencic benefited at Eastbourne when both Eugenie Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki retired with injuries while playing the Swiss. The second-youngest member of the WTA Top 100, Bencic improved her career grass-court record to 11-2. Close to tears at the trophy ceremony, Radwanska said: “It was a very tight match and I was just not there in the third set.”

 

SEIZING THE MOMENT

Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan took the long way to earn his first ATP World Tour title. He did it by beating American Sam Querrey in two tiebreak sets at Nottingham. Istomin lead 5-2 in the second set but serving for the match twice and losing both times. On a roll, Querrey grabbed a 4-1 lead in the second-set tiebreak and appeared on the verge of leveling the match. Istomin had other ideas, winning seven of the final eight points to capture the title. “In the (second set) tiebreak, I forgot about the score and I just tried to play and fight,” Istomin said. “In the end it worked … It would have been unprofessional from my side to lose from 5-2.” Istomin became the first ATP player this year to save a match point en route to a title. That happened in the quarterfinals when Leonard Mayer had a match point before losing to the eventual champion. “I worked for it,” Istomin said of the title. “I’m not coming here to win two rounds. I always come to try to win the tournament.”

 

STOPPED BY INJURY

An elbow injury has forced David Ferrer to pull out of Wimbledon. “It’s time to get better as quickly as possible,” the Spaniard said on his Twitter page. Ferrer had been seeded eighth, and was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Luca Vanni of Italy. Twice in his career Ferrer had reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. The 33-year-old had played in 50 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments since the 2003 Australian Open.

 

SIBLING RIVALRY

It was the worst possible draw for Austrian Jurgen Melzer. The 34-year-old veteran played his brother, Gerald, in the opening round of qualifying for a spot in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw. “It’s the worst feeling,” said Jurgen, who won the Wimbledon doubles title with Philipp Petzschner in 2010. “My coach was joking about it (before the draw). I hope it never happens again. Some people like to compete against family, and we do when we play cards or video games, but it’s not the same thing when it’s a tournament match.” Once ranked as high as eighth in the world, Jurgen beat 24-year-old Gerald 6-1 6-4 before losing in the second round of qualifying to Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands. “Neither of us were happy to see the draw,” said Gerald, who has never made the main Wimbledon draw. It was the first time the brothers had met in a professional tournament. Jurgen reached the French Open semifinals in 2010 and the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2010 and 2013.

 

SAYING BYE TO COACHES

Romanian Simona Halep, trying to get back on track after suffering a number of surprising losses this season, has dropped her coach, Victor Ionita, on the eve of Wimbledon. Ranked third in the world, Halep will work with Daniel Dobre and Darren Cahill during the year’s third Grand Slam tournament.

Saying the parting was “mutually agreed,” Australian Nick Kyrgios has split with coach Todd Larkham in the week before the start of Wimbledon. “It’s never an easy decision to end a coaching relationship … but I feel that this is the right decision for me at this time.” Kyrgios said he will work with Tennis Australia coaches through Wimbledon and will probably hire a new coach after the tournament ends. Larkham had worked with Kyrgios for seven years when he was a junior. He rejoined the team after Kyrgios’ surprising run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.

 

SUCCESS

Filippo Volandri became the third player in less than two months to reach the 300-match wins level on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 33-year-old Italian beat Oriol Roca Batalla in the opening round of the Aspria Tennis Cup in Milan, Italy, to reach the threshold. In May, Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan became the second player to win 300 matches on the Challenger circuit, joining Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. Ten days later, Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi posted his 300th match victory with a quarterfinal win in Eskisehir, Turkey.

 

SEEKING COMEBACK

Mark Philippoussis has twice reached the final of Grand Slam tournaments. But that was more than a decade ago. Now the Australian plants to return to the ATP World Tour as a wildcard entry in the qualifying draw for next month’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The 38-year-old Philippoussis will be returning to the scene of his final title. He won Newport in 2006, defeating Justin Gimelstob in the final. He retired later that year. Philippoussis reached the final at the US Open in 1998 and at Wimbledon in 2003.

 

SPANISH FEUD

The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) and the country’s top player are feuding over the appointment of a woman as Davis Cup captain. Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo were dismayed when the federation selected Gala Leon to replace Carlos Moya as Davis Cup captain. The spat has put the players’ participation in next month’s Group I second-round match against Russia in doubt. Spain needs to win the tie to secure a place in the playoffs for the elite World Group, the 16 nations who actually compete for the Cup. “The situation is terrible,” Nadal said. “All these things that are happening cause damage to tennis, to the desire sponsors might have to invest in our sport, to the excitement that kids might have in continuing to play.”

 

SICK CALL

Caroline Wozniacki played only 13 minutes before withdrawing from her semifinal match at Eastbourne because of back pains. Wozniacki called for the training after the third game in her match against eventual champion Belinda Bencic. Following consultations with the tournament doctor, the former world number one retired from the match. “This is definitely not the way I wanted to win, of course,” the 18-year-old Bencic said. “I’m also a little bit disappointed we couldn’t play a proper semifinal.” Bencic had won all three games played when Wozniacki called it quits. “I’ve had a slight back problem the whole week, basically,” Wozniacki said. “Today it stiffened up more, and I felt like I couldn’t move the way I wanted to and felt pain. I felt really bad for the crowd and everyone who had come out, but there’s nothing really I could do about it.”

 

SENIOR MOMENT

In 1996, Kimiko Date-Krumm reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. This year, she won’t even reach the women’s singles main draw of the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. The 44-year-old Japanese player lost in the first round of qualifying to Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-4 7-6 (3). When Date-Krumm first played Wimbledon in 1989, Govortsova had not even celebrated her first birthday.

 

SO SORRY

Great Britain’s Katy Dunne began crying on court after accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge during Wimbledon qualifying. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I dropped my racquet. I told the umpire I didn’t mean to and she said, ‘I know you didn’t, but I have to call the supervisors,’” said Dunne, who is ranked 335th in the world. “For three minutes we were sitting there waiting to hear if I could carry on or not.” It was ruled an accident and Dunne eventually won her first-round match, defeating Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-2. However, Dunne was eliminated in the next round, falling to Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands 6-2 7-5.

 

SUSPENDED

Spanish tennis federation (RFET) president Jose Luic Escanuela has been suspended for one month by the Spanish government’s disciplinary committee for sports (TAD). Escanuela was punished for failing to collaborate in a probe into RFET’s finances. Spain’s sports council (CSD) says it is attempting to track down what happened to at least 700,000 euros (USD $783,300) that the federation paid out to the Spanish Tennis Foundation and the Spanish Tennis Observatory. The Foundation was set up by RFET to help promote tennis is Spain, while the Observatory is a joint project with a university in Seville to study the sport.

 

STRAIGHT IN

Great Britain’s Laura Robson has been given a wildcard into the women’s singles main draw at Wimbledon. This comes just one week after Robson returned to the women’s tour after missing nearly 18 months because of a wrist injury. She made her comeback in the qualifying for the Aegon International in Eastbourne, Great Britain, falling in the first round to Daria Gavrilova of Russia. The loss was of little concern to Robson. “To be honest, I think in a way it was a victory to just finish a match and be back on court, back playing tournaments,” Robson said. “It wasn’t easy to be out, that’s for sure. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of patience, and I’ve had some great people helping me out the whole time in my coach and my team. I’m not expecting to play my best tennis right now. It’s going to take a while. It’s going to take a lot more matches and a lot more practice, and I’m willing to do that.” Robson reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2013, tying her best Grand Slam appearance, a fourth-round showing at the US Open in 2012 when she beat both Kim Clijsters and Li Na.

 

SO MANY TO THANK

Leander Paes has reached a unique milestone. He has played doubles with 100 different partners in his long career. “It’s nice to play with one of the best doubles players in the world and in history,” Marcel Granollers said after becoming the 100th partner of the 42-year-old Paes. While unique, the feat has been done before. Paes is actually the sixth active player to reach the 100-partners milestone, joining Frank Moser (144), Andre Sa (119), Oliver Marach (109), Carlos Berlocq (104) and James Cerretani (104). And while the former world number one doubles player is the 47th player to reach a century of doubles partners, he is the first member of the club to have won more than 50 titles and 700 match victories. He became just the eighth player to win 700 matches when he won his first-round match at Roland Garros last month. “It means I’ve had a very long career,” Paes commented on the number of partners he has played with. “It’s quite intriguing in an individual sport like tennis to have actually had that many doubles partners.”

 

STYLISH COMEBACK

How about a tennis ball signed by the last two Brits to win Wimbledon? Andy Murray and his wife Kim have provided just such a prize to a charity raffle. Auctioneers have been unable to put a price on it. The white tennis ball is one of three that was given to Murray by a tennis fan, Gail Sargent, who met Perry in 1994. A decade later she watched a young Andy Murray practicing and decided to give the signed balls to him. Sargent died in 2010 of ovarian cancer. Murray won Wimbledon in 2013, the first Brit to win the grass court championship since Perry in 1936. In Sargent’s memory, Murray decided to auction a ball for charity. He chose St. Peter & St. James Hospice where Sargent spent the last months of her life. Murray and his wife have also donated a ball to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and will keep the third ball. The raffle is open to all at www.raffleplayer.com/andymurray and will run through the end of the grass-court season.

 

SUPPORTER

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic has been named Ambassador for the Quercus Foundation, an organization that raises awareness and funds to improve the lives of children and young people living in extreme poverty. “I know how important it is for children to have a dream and I am inspired by the Quercus Foundation, which is working to make dreams possible for children in need in underprivileged area,” Ivanovic said. The Serbian star will support the foundation’s current project to raise funds for The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Eastbourne: Carolina Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik beat Yung-Jan Chan and Jie Zheng 7-6 (5) 6-2

Nottingham: Chris Guccione and Andre Sa beat Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero 6-2 7-5

 

SURFING

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/

International Tennis Federation: www.itftennis.com/home.aspx

ATP World Tour: www.atpworldtour.com/en/

WTA: www.wtatennis.com/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

 

MEN and WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (first week)

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)

$118,915 Sparkassen Open, Braunschweig, Germany, clay

 

WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)

$100,000 Lorraine Open 88, Contrexeville, France, clay

 

Belinda Bencic
Belinda Bencic

Canadian Pospisil makes first ATP 250 quarterfinal as Lopez, Benneteau and Davydenko post first round wins

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Singles draw kicks into high gear tomorrow as top four seeds Ferrer, Monaco, Nishikori and Dolgopolov start campaigns; Doubles top seeds move into quarters

Canadian number two and world No.122 Vasek Pospisil posted his first ever second round victory in an ATP 250 series tournament when he defeated qualifier Michael Yani of the USA 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 50 minutes on Centre Court to move into the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2012 held here at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Canadian Vasek Pospisil in Kuala Lumpur

Pospisil, who came into the tournament as the lowest ranked direct acceptance, is making the quarterfinal of an ATP 250 tournament for the first time, and will face the winner of the second round match between second seed world No. 11 Juan Monaco and wild card Jimmy Wang.

“It’s been a great tournament for me. I have had a few good matches and hopefully I can keep my level. I lost to Monaco in straight sets early this year but whomever I play, it will be tough and hopefully I play as well as I did today,” said the Canadian.

Fifth seed Feliciano Lopez also made it through to the second round after a hard fought 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Slovakian Lukas Lacko in one hour and 40 minutes on Centre Court.

Surprisingly, Lacko took an early lead and was up 3-0 in the first set before the world No. 32 Spaniard hit his stride and the Slovakian disintegrated to lose six straight games and the set.

In a tight second set, both men played at a very high level and with the excited crowd very much behind him, fifth seed Lopez held on to end the contest with an exquisite drop shot in the tenth point of the tie-break.

“I didn’t start very well and took some time to adjust. But after the third game I played better and better and took six games in a row. The second set was close as (Lacko) played well from the middle onwards,” said the 31-year-old, who celebrated his birthday last Thursday.

Lopez will meet Dutchman Igor Sijsling in tomorrow’s second round match, with the duo having never met before.

“I have not played him before but I am expecting another tough match because we have to accept that everyone plays very good at this level,” added Lopez.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Julien Benneteau served sweet revenge for his Indian Wells defeat earlier this year to Australia’s Matthew Ebden by winning 7-5, 6-2 in their second round singles encounter today that lasted one hour and 14 minutes.

Tournament seventh seed and world No.34 Benneteau is playing the tennis of his career and will pose a serious threat in the quarterfinal, where he will meet the winner of tomorrow’s encounter between fourth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov and Alejandro Falla.

The 2009 singles champ Nikolay Davydenko struggled a little in his first round match today against lucky loser Sanam Singh of India, but prevailed 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes on Centre Court.

There were times it felt the 31-year-old Russian was still getting used to the court as he struggled to return the tenacious world No. 373 Indian’s serve, but when it mattered, his class showed as he wrapped up victory in straight sets.

“The Centre Court is a bit slow and you need time to have preparation. I made a lot of mistakes in control. Sometimes I have a few good shots, and then I make mistakes and I don’t know why,” said the slightly frustrated Russian after the match.

Davydenko will meet Uzbek Denis Istomin in tomorrow’s second round match, with the former world No.3 having beaten Istomin earlier this year on the clay courts of Nice in May.

“We played in Nice and I played a little bit better there. If I play tomorrow like how I played today, I have no chance. I will need to play better and be fit,” said Davydenko, who made the semifinals of the ATP 250 Moselle Open just last week.

Istomin had booked his path to the second round by easily disposing of sixth seeded Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in just 73 minutes, marking his second victory in 2012 over the Spaniard after February’s win on the hard courts of the Apia International in Sydney.

Colombian Alejandro Falla moved into the second round when American Rajeev Ram pulled out with an injury as their Centre Court match was poised at 7-6 (7-4), 4-2 in favour of the Colombian. Falla will face number four seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in tomorrow’s second round match.

Meanwhile, in the day’s first match on Court 1, world No. 90 Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia defeated qualifier and doubles specialist Dominic Inglot of Great Britain 7-5, 6-3 in just 66 minutes.

“He’s got a good serve and he places it well, but I didn’t face a break point against him so that was good,” said 29-year-old Bogomolov, who made the tough decision of switching nationalities from American to Russian this year to fulfill his dreams of playing in the Olympics and Davis Cup.

He will now face top seed David Ferrer for a spot in the quarterfinal and said of the match: “I’ve played a lot of top ten players this year. It is good and bad. Bad because someone has to go out, but positive also because we see how we match up against the top guys.”

STARS DESCEND TO COURT IN SECOND ROUND OF MALAYSIAN OPEN, KUALA LUMPUR

Top seeds David Ferrer, Juan Monaco, Kei Nishikori and Alexandr Dolgopolov will all take to centre court for the second round of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2012 at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.

The first match on Centre Court scheduled for 1pm sees second seeded Argentinean world No. 11 Monaco make his long awaited Malaysian Open debut against wild card Jimmy Wang of Chinese Taipei.

Next up, in-form Denis Istomin, who beat sixth seed Pablo Andujar, takes on 2009 singles champion Russian Davydenko, who struggled a little with the pace of the Centre Court today, for a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Fourth seed world No. 20 Ukrainian Dolgopolov will take on Colombian Alejandro Falla in the third centre court match starting not before 3pm, with the latter confident of matching his higher ranked 23-year-old opponent.

“Dolgopolov is a favourite but I feel I can play well against him. It was a close match the last time and we both know each other’s games. I have to play my best to beat him,” said 28-year-old Falla.

Next, third time participant and third seed Kei Nishikori of Japan plays his much anticipated second round encounter with Spaniard Albert Ramos, who showed terrific form in beating qualifier Julian Knowle in the first round. The match is scheduled to start not before 6.30pm.

Top seed world No. 5 David Ferrer makes his 2012 tournament debut against Alex Bogomolov Jr. in the day’s final and most anticipated match on Centre Court starting not before 7.30pm.

TOP SEEDS THROUGH IN DOUBLES AS ALL QUARTERFINAL MATCHES SET TO BE CONTESTED TOMORROW

In the doubles draw today, top seeds and 2009 tournament champions Mariusz Frystenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland eased into the quarterfinals with a straightforward 6-1, 6-3 win over Malaysian doubles wild card pairing of Mohd Assri Merzuki and Syed Mohd Agil Syed Naguib.

The top seeds rarely got out of second gear and allowed their teenage debutants to warm to the challenge and put up a good show for the home crowd, especially at the start of the second set.

The Polish duo will face the Canadian-Indian surprise package of Vasek Pospisil and Sanam Singh in tomorrow’s quarterfinal match.

German pairing of Michael Kohlmann and Frank Moser also moved into the doubles quarterfinals after a come from behind super tie-breaker victory over the Philippine-Great Briton pairing of Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot, winning 5-7, 6-3 (11-9) in one hour and 29 minutes.

The result could be considered an upset as Huey and Inglot are ranked higher in the ATP doubles ranking and the German duo have only played as a pair three times before back in 2008. They will meet second seeded Italian-Brazilian pairing of Daniele Bracciali and Marcelo Melo in tomorrow’s last match on Court 1.

In the first of the four quarterfinal doubles matches played tomorrow, fourth seeds Julian Knowle of Austria and Slovakian partner Filip Polasek take to Court 1 against the Great Briton pairing of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins.

In the only other final quarterfinal, Nikolay Davydenko and Belgium partner Dick Norman will attempt to beat the odds as they face third seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Brazilian Bruno Soares.

Tickets for tomorrow are priced at RM15 (RM10 for students) for regular seating, RM20 for reserved seating and RM50 for VIP seats. Tickets can be purchased at the tournament official website www.malaysianopentennis.com.

The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia and Tourism Malaysia and sponsors that include Rado, CNN International, the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Wilson, 100 Plus, the Albukhary Foundation, Astro and the ATP World Tour’s Premier Partner Corona. The event is sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia.

Argentina stuns Serbia in Davis Cup

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STARS

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

Argentina celebrates win over Serbia

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

Group II

Americas 3rd round: Paraguay vs. Peru at Asuncion, Paraguay; Asia/Oceana 3rd round: Korea beat Thailand 3-0 at Gimcheon, Korea; Europe/Africa 3rd 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.

SHARED PERFORMANCE

Istanbul: Carsten Ball and Andre Begemann beat Gregoire Burquier and Yannick Mertens 6-2 6-4

Ningbo: Tetiana Luzhanska and Zheng Saisai beat Chan Chin-Wei and Han Xinyun 6-4 5-7 10-4 (match tiebreak)

Quebec: Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Jamie Hampton and Anna Tatishvili 6-1 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Sofia: Nina Bratchikova and Darija Jurak beat Alexandra Cadantu and Iona-Raluca Olaru 6-4 7-5

Szczecin: Marcin Gawron and Andriej Kapas beat Andrey Golubev and Yuri Schukin 6-4 6-3

Tashkent: Eleni Daniilidou and Vitalia Diatchenko beat Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiya Kichenok 6-4 6-3

SURFING

Metz: www.opendemoselle.com/

Bucharest: http://brd-nastase-tiriac-trophy.ro/

Saint Malo: www.opengdfsuez-bretagne.com/

Guangzhou: http://sports.21cn.com/2010gzopen/

Tashkent: www.tennis.uz/

Seoul: www.hansolopen.com/2011/

Bangkok: www.pttthailandopen.org

Tokyo: www.toray-ppo.co.jp/

Kuala Lumpur: www.malaysianopentennis.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$550,000 Open de Moselle, Metz, France, hard

$513,000 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy 2011, Bucharest, Romania, clay

$125,000 Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard

WOMEN

$220,000 WANLIMA Guangzhou International Women’s Open, Guangzhou, China, hard

$220,000 Hansol Korea Open, Seoul, Korea, hard

$100,000 Open GDF Suez de Bretagne, Saint Malo, France, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$850,000 Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hard

$551,000 PTT Thailand Open, Bangkok, Thailand, hard

WOMEN

$2,050,00 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan, hard

IT’S RODDICK VS VERDASCO IN SAN JOSE

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SAN JOSE, Calif. —Andy Roddick was outplayed for most of the night by Sam Querrey. But when the match got to the tiebreakers, Roddick took charge.

The top-seeded Roddick beat the seventh-seeded Querrey, 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), on Saturday night in a protracted semifinal at the SAP Open that featured a combined 53 aces.

Roddick reached the final of the event, which will be held on Sunday, for the fourth time. He will face Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, who reached his first final since October by beating Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 earlier in the day.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t fortunate or lucky,” Roddick said. “Sam pretty much outplayed me the entire match. When I’m not hitting the ball as well, I use my serve to get me some points. I figured if I get to the tiebreak in the second set it could turn real quick.”

Querrey, a San Francisco native, never faced a break point and had 32 aces.

“I played well the entire match,” Querrey said. “It was just a couple of loose errors in the tiebreaks. I just kind of sprayed a couple.”

Roddick held serve in 30 of 31 previous games, but was broken by Querrey twice in the first set. Querrey held serve in all but one game of the tournament.

“I was just sticking around,” said Roddick, who improved to 13-1 on the year and won his 11th tiebreaker in 13 chances. “It seemed like Sam aced me every other point. I need to get a better look at those shots.”

Roddick, who reached his 46th ATP World Tour final, has a seven-match winning streak against Verdasco and is 9-2 against him all-time.

The second-seeded Verdasco will attempt to become the first Spaniard to win a title in the Bay Area since Manuel Santana in 1964.

“I was not playing great in the first set, but I wasn’t missing,” Verdasco said. “We were both up and down and when it came to end of the match I tried to push harder, make good returns and send the ball deep. I hit two good forehands and he made a couple of mistakes. He’s playing well this year and he’s dangerous.”

Istomin, enjoying a breakout season, beat a pair of seeded players to reach his first career ATP Tour semifinal. He reached the third round of the Australian Open.

“I’ve started the season well and I hope that leads to a good year,” said the 23-year-old Istomin, who plays next in Marseille, France before playing in the Davis Cup. “Every match is an opportunity to improve. I can play with these guys. I can battle with these guys.”

Verdasco reached his 10th ATP World Tour final, and his second on American soil. He won his third tour title in New Haven, Conn., last August. He becomes the first left-hander to reach the finals here since Greg Rusedski beat Andre Agassi in the 2001 championship match.

“If I was going to be honest with myself I did not expect to get to the final,” Verdasco said. “After the Australian Open I took 10 days off to rest and only practiced three days in Los Angeles before coming up here.”

Santana remains a pivotal figure in Spanish tennis and is the tournament director of the Masters Series in Madrid. Verdasco invited him to Wimbledon two years ago as an adviser.

“I never saw him play but everybody tells me he had talent,” Verdasco said. “We’ve had a relationship for many years already.”

RODDICK, VERDASCO REACH SAP SEMIFINALS

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SAN JOSE, California — Top seeds Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco advanced into the semifinals of the SAP Open Friday with straight-set victories.

Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick

America’s Roddick, seeded No. 1 and seeking the fourth San Jose title of his career, defeated No. 5-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5). Second-seeded Verdasco defeated Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

Roddick and Berdych combined to hit 34 aces – 16 for Roddick and 18 for Berdych..

“He forced me to play well,” Roddick said. “I made no bones about the fact that I would have to work my way into this event. You don’t always have to feel comfortable to win a tennis match.”

He next faces seventh-seeded compatriot Sam Querrey, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Michael Russell.

Berankis, ranked No. 225 denied Verdasco a break chance in the second set.

But the 19-year-old, who was the first Lithuanian-born player to reach the ATP Tour quarterfinals, couldn’t hold off Verdasco in the tiebreaker.

The Spaniard said his sore right hamstring was improving.

“I’ve been getting treatment for it and that’s all I can do,” Verdasco said. “Since the first moment I played here it’s feeling pretty good and even more so now.”

Verdasco will have the advantage in experience over his semifinal opponent as well, when he takes on unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Istomin, who had beaten fourth-seeded German Tommy Haas in the second round, downed sixth-seeded German Philipp Kohlshreiber 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the first semifinal of his career.

“I’m so happy – the first time in my career I play a semi-final,” he said. “Today I played so well – I think it’s the best match I played of my life.”

STEPANEK UPSET, RODDICK WINS AT SAP OPEN

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By Chris Kane

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tour veteran Xavier Malisse produced some inspired tennis in ousting No. 3 seed and defending champion Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the SAP Open.

Stepanek, ranked no. 14 in the world, was never able to find a rhythm in the surprisingly one-sided affair that lasted only one hour and 10 minutes.

In the evening session, top-seed Andy Roddick fought off a second-set run by qualifier Ryler DeHeart, winning, 6-1, 7-6 (1). DeHeart lead 3-0 in the second set and served for the set at 5-3, but was unable to convert.

Stepanek became the first defending champion to lose in the SAP Open first round in 20 years. The Czech had started the year solidly by reaching the finals in an attempting to defend his title in Brisbane before losing to Roddick. He lost a tough five-set match in the Australian Open in a difficult first round match up with Ivo Karlovic.

Malisse, once ranked as high as 19th in the world after making the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2002 (where he lost to David Nalbandian), had slipped to No. 107 before stunning Stepanek. It was his first victory over a top 20 player since 2008 when he exacted revenge on Nalbandian in Miami. The 29-year-old Belgian will look to continue his run when he faces American
Michael Russell in the second round.

German Tommy Haas, the No. 4 seed, was also eliminated Wednesday, falling 7-6 6-2 to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin.