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Hawk-Eye Line-Calling Technology To Replace Linespeople At ’15 PowerShares Series

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InsideOut Sports and Entertainment, a leading live event, talent access, and content creation group and division of Horizon Media, today announced the 2015 PowerShares Series tennis circuit will be the first ever pro tennis event series to exclusively use electronic line-calling systems in place of linespeople throughout its 12-city tour starting March 24 in Salt Lake City.

The PowerShares Series, the North American tennis tour for champion tennis players over the age of 30, will now only employ a chair umpire for matches during its four-player nightly events and will have all line-calling responsibilities decided by the Hawk-Eye Officiating System. Players will be allowed unlimited challenges during the course of a match.

Players competing on the 2015 PowerShares Series are defending points champion John McEnroe, Hall of Famers Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang as well as Andy Roddick, James Blake and Mark Philippoussis.

“We are excited and quite a bit curious to see top level tennis officiated in this manner and believe this might be an interesting experiment for the future of the sport,” said Jon Venison, co-president at InsideOut Sports & Entertainment. “The Hawk-Eye tennis officiating system has been one of the great innovations in tennis in the last 100 years and we are look forward to using this technology to create a new dynamic for tennis.”

McEnroe, who is as well-known for his arguments of line-calls as he is for his championship results, supports the initiative.

“I never thought this day would come when I would play tournament tennis without linesmen,” said McEnroe. “I think this is a great move for the sport and I applaud InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and the PowerShares Series for making this bold decision. I think this can be a ground-breaking game-changer for the sport.”

Each PowerShares Series tournament is a one-night event that features two one-set semifinal matches, followed by a one-set championship match. Tickets and unique VIP fan experience packages are now on sale. Tickets start at $30 and all ticket and VIP information is available at www.PowerSharesSeries.com.

Hawk-Eye is one of the leading vision processing companies in sports. First used as a broadcast tool to analyze decisions in Cricket, Hawk-Eye has since revolutionized sports broadcasting, officiating and coaching across a variety of sports including tennis, snooker and Gaelic Hurling. The Hawk-Eye technology was first used in professional tennis at the modern-day Miami Open in 2005 and first used at a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 U.S. Open. The technology is now an integral part of the ATP, WTA and ITF tennis tours, featured at over 60 events in the sport, including all four Grand Slam tournaments. Players have access to three incorrect challengers per set, plus an additional one in the event of a tie-breaker. The system is able to display the outcome of any bounce within five seconds of the ball landing, with the result being displayed to the players, chair umpire, fans and television viewer simultaneously. For more information on Hawk-Eye, go to http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk

The full 2015 PowerShares Series schedule with event match-ups are as follows:

 

Tuesday, March 24: Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center) “Champions Shootout”

James Blake vs. Mark Philippoussis, Andre Agassi vs. Jim Courier

 

Wednesday, March 25: Los Angeles, Calif., (Galen Center at USC) “SoCal Honda Dealers Helpful Cup”

Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier, Andy Roddick vs. James Blake

 

Wednesday, April 1: Lincoln, Neb., (Pinnacle Bank Arena at Univ. of Nebraska) “Champions Cup Presented by Woods Park Tennis”

Andy Roddick vs. Jim Courier, James Blake vs. John McEnroe

 

Thursday, April 2: Chicago, Ill. (Sears Centre) “PowerShares QQQ Challenge”

John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier, Andy Roddick vs. James Blake

 

Thursday, April 16: Austin, Texas (Cedar Park Center) “Champions Shootout”

John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier, Andy Roddick vs. James Blake

 

Friday, April 17: Little Rock, Ark. (Jack Stephens Center at the UALR) “Champions Cup”

Andy Roddick vs. Jim Courier, John McEnroe vs. Mark Philippoussis

 

Saturday, April 18: Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum at SMU) “Champions Showdown”

John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier, Andy Roddick vs. Mark Philippoussis

 

Wednesday, April 22: Boston, Mass. (Agganis Arena at Boston University) “Champions Cup”

John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier, Andy Roddick vs. James Blake

 

Thursday, April 23: Richmond, Va., (Siegel Center at VCU) “Champions Challenge”

Jim Courier vs. Andy Roddick, John McEnroe vs. James Blake

 

Wednesday, April 29: Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Center) “Champions Shootout”

John McEnroe vs. James Blake, Andy Roddick vs. Michael Chang

 

Thursday, April 30: Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center at Xavier) “Champions Showdown”

Andy Roddick vs. James Blake, John McEnroe vs. Michael Chang

 

Saturday, May 2: Vancouver, Canada (Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC) “Champions Showdown”

Michael Chang vs. Mark Philippoussis, Pete Sampras vs. John McEnroe

 

In 2014, McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Champions Series tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte. McEnroe was followed in the points standings by Blake in second place and Roddick in third place.

ABOUT INSIDEOUT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT

InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Champions Series, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, The World Series of Beach Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has have raised over $4 million for charity. In 2014, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment merged with Horizon Media, the largest privately held media services agency in the world.  For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.powersharesseries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

ABOUT HORIZON MEDIA

Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world’s ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year. Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100 year history of the 4As, the marketing industry’s leading trade association.

The company’s mission is “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere.” By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $4.7 billion and over 1000 employees.

The company is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visit horizonmedia.com.

ABOUT INVESCO POWERSHARES

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is Leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® through its family of more than 140 domestic and international exchange-traded funds, providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets over $66.7 billion as of June 29, 2012, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at invescopowershares.com or follow us on Twitter @PowerShares.

ABOUT POWERSHARES QQQ

PowerShares QQQ™, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the NASDAQ-100 Index®, is one of the largest and most traded ETFs in the world. Under most circumstances, QQQ will consist of all of the stocks in the index which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization.

 

Hawk-Eye Line-Calling System
Hawk-Eye Line-Calling System

Service breaks commonplace in women’s tennis

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It’s one of those repetitive moments in tennis television broadcasting that seem, unfortunately, to persist in your memory.

Dick Enberg, who does an impeccable job on baseball but who, after all these years, has failed to grasp the nuances of tennis, virtually gasping over a break of service in a women’s match.

“Oh my!” he exclaimed for the 1,000th time in TV history, leaving viewers with the feeling that they had just witnessed one of the truly rare moments in tennis.

Sabine Lisicki

Those who watch and/or play the game regularly understand that a break in a women’s match seldom constitutes a seminal moment. But here is a chance to quantify just how commonplace a break is in the women’s game. Herewith, the numbers, which I’ve extracted after the first week of play at the U.S. Open.

And what better tournament at which to consider statistics, with the best players entered and trying, at least, to play their best tennis.

Of course you need a benchmark from which to judge breaks in women’s serving, so let’s start with the men, who, taken as a whole for the first seven days of the Open, were holding serve 76.5 percent of time — or about three out of every four games.

The women are holding serve 65.2 percent of the time. This means, as anyone who recalls their high school mathematics knows, that the men are breaking serve only 23.5 percent of the time while the women are being broken 34.8 percent of the time.

This means, on average, that if you have a 12-game set in a women’s match (either 7-5 or 6-6 leading to a tiebreak), there will be 4.2 service breaks. That’s a lot of Oh My moments.

But as long as we’re crunching numbers, let’s not stop there. There’s so much more to ponder in the heady world of statistics.

* Challenges: Neither men nor women have improved, or declined for that matter, when it comes to using the Hawk-eye system to question calls. After a week’s play, the men have been successful 29.55 percent of the time while the women are at 30.88 percent, and that’s not much different than when the system started up several years ago. What this means is hard to say. Some might argue the linespeople and/or chair umpires are right most of the time. Others would argue they’re not right often enough. But that’s why we have the system, isn’t it? Players challenge for various reasons. Sometimes they think the call is wrong. Sometimes they want to break an opponent’s rhythm with a sort of legal stalling tactic. One particularly good thing is happening. The players used to look to the chair umpire for an indication of whether a ball was out or good and the umps would give an opinion. Now, finally, they’re telling the players: “You’ve got challenges and you’re free to use them.” Men are challenging 5.5 times per match to 4.02 for the women, but the men are playing best-of-five while the women are playing best-of-three.

* Aces: Not surprisingly, 6-foot-11 Ivo Karlovic, who lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round, leads with 74 aces, or 24.7 per match. Big-serving lefty Gilles Muller is second at 21.7. Among the women, Serena Williams (who else?) leads with 26 aces in three matches, or 8.7 per match. Jelena Jankovic is No. 18 among acers for the women with 2.7 per match while the No. 18 man, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, averages 8.0.

* Serving speed: John Isner and Sergei (Son of Pole Vaulter) Bubka each have swatted a 141 mph shot and, for the record, they only count if the serve is in. Andy Roddick has a 140. On the women’s side, Venus Williams, who withdrew with illness after the first round, has a 126 mph, ahead of Sabine Lisicki (122), who is now out of the tournament.

* Winning points on first serve: Ivan Ljubicic is No. 1, having won 85 percent of his first-serve points, but, obviously, that wasn’t good enough to keep him from losing in the second round to David Nalbandian. Muller also is at 85 percent. For your point of reference, Roger Federer is No. 16 on the list at 77 percent. In the women’s tournament, Serena has won 81 percent of her first serves and has faced only five break points in three matches, successfully defending four of them.

* Winning points on second serve: This says a lot about the effectiveness of one’s second serve and, while Roddick is at 64 percent and that’s no surprise, he trails Kevin Anderson, who has ridden a great kick second serve to 70 percent. Anderson, however, went out in the third round to Mardy Fish. Serena, again, leads the women with 64 percent wins on second-serve points.

* Break-points converted: Very big category and the leader is Tomas Berdych, also out of the tournament with injury. He won 60 percent of his shots at a break, just ahead, so far, of Tsonga (58%). Keep a close watch on young Doglopogov, who went into the Monday matches with a tournament-leading 40 break-point opportunities, converting 55 percent of them. A young man with very happy feet, he gets a lot of balls back into play. Ana Ivanovic leads the women with 73 percent, but Angelique Kerber, a virtual unknown to American audiences, has had a tournament-best 32 break-point chances, converting 63 percent.

That’s quite a testament to Kerber’s game — good enough, in fact, to deserve an Oh My from Mr. Enberg.

Chris Evert to play mixed doubles with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg in US Open National Playoffs: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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Registrations now open for US Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments

On Tuesday, the USTA announced that registration opened for all 16 US Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments. Registration for each of the 16 sectional qualifying tournaments is available at www.usta.com/tennislink. The entry fee for each of the sectional qualifying tournaments is $125 for singles and $150 for each mixed doubles team ($75 per player). All players competing must have a current USTA membership valid through August 29, 2011. Players who are at least 14 years old can register for the singles competition and/or the mixed doubles event, which is brand new to the US Open National Playoffs in 2011. The deadline for each event varies by tournament. “The US Open National Playoffs provides a unique opportunity for tennis players to get closer to the US Open,” said Jon Vegosen, USTA Chairman of the Board and President. “Now in its second year, we expect to attract some of the top talent, including junior players, from communities across the country to compete for this one-of-a-kind experience.” Players may only enter one singles sectional qualifying event per year, but can also play one mixed doubles event. Players can opt to play singles and mixed doubles at different locations. The draw size at each sectional qualifying tournament will be a maximum of 256 for each singles event and a maximum of 128 teams for mixed doubles. Participants can be of any playing level, from aspiring novice to seasoned professional, giving everyone an equal opportunity to advance. The 16 men’s, women’s and mixed doubles champions from each sectional qualifying tournament will advance to the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles Championship. All three tournaments will be held in conjunction with the New Haven Open at Yale, an Olympus US Open Series event.  The US Open National Playoffs – Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles Championship will be held August 18-21. The US Open National Playoffs – Mixed Doubles Championship will be held August 24-27. The US Open National Playoffs mixed doubles champions will receive a main draw wild card into the 2011 US Open. The US Open National Playoffs men’s and women’s singles champions again earn a wild card into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, held the week prior to the US Open. As registration opened up on Tuesday morning, Mike Greenberg of ESPN2 and ESPNRadio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning sports talk show announced live on the air that he would be teaming up with former world No. 1 and 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert in the mixed doubles tournament. Evert also won three Grand Slam doubles titles. “I know Mike is a big tennis fan and loves the US Open,” said Evert of her mixed doubles partner. “The US Open was the first tournament that sort of started my career and I have great memories of it and I love to support it. We’ll just go out there and have some fun. That’s the main thing.”

Ana Ivanovic

Renée Richards documentary to be featured at Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival

Renée, a documentary exploring the story of Renée Richards, the first transgender tennis player to compete in the women’s draw at the US Open in New York, will be featured at the fifth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival in Lower Manhattan from April 20-May 1. The documentary will feature rare archival footage and interviews with close friends and family members, as well as tennis legends such as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and John McEnroe.

Ivanovic parts ways with trainer

Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic announced that she has split from her trainer Marija Lojanica, who is also a childhood friend from Serbia. Ivanovic made the decision within the last couple days while playing at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Lojanica has been on site in Indian Wells but was not seen in Ivanovic’s box during her win over Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday. “We are still friends, but it just was a little bit time for me to consider certain things because we had a little bit of different view of my stage and where I should be at,” said Ivanovic. “I just felt like I needed to get a little bit stronger. I was feeling very weak on the court and I had quite a few injuries. I just want to take a little bit different approach, and gain some more muscles, because my game is so powerful. I felt weak, and that caused a lot of stress on my body.” The 23-year-old Serbian, who won the French Open in 2008, is currently traveling to tournaments with just her hitting partner Olivier Morel and her manager.

Vandeweghe hires fitness trainer

American teenager Coco Vandeweghe has hired, Chuck Williams, as her full-time traveling fitness trainer. Williams has worked with several NBA players and was recommended to her by her Uncle Kiki, a former NBA all-star who most recently coached the New Jersey Nets. “A lot of people were telling me I was out of shape and that was tough for me because I’m a young girl and I was working so hard on and off the court,” said Vandeweghe. “When you are putting in four hours on court and then more off court and not getting results it makes you crazy in the mind. But it wasn’t a constant regimen I was getting and I needed it, especially at the tournaments. I wasn’t eating right and now I have a different workout plan. I’m feeling pretty quick and am staying in rallies longer.” Vandeweghe said she has already lost 10 pounds since she started working with Williams.

Miami main draw wildcards announced

Veteran James Blake, as well as 20-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic, Australian Bernard Tomic and American teenagers Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock have received main draw wildcards for the upcoming Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, which will be played at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park from March 21-April 3. Women’s main draw wildcards were awarded to Dinara Safina, Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki, Heather Watson, Coco Vandeweghe and Madison Keys.

Tennis players to unite next week in Miami to eliminate poverty in Latin America

In an effort to eliminate extreme poverty in Latin America, Un Techo Para Mi País (UTPMP) will host “Break Point: Let’s win the match against poverty”, an event that will help raise funds to help needy families throughout Latin America. The event will feature tennis stars that will be in Miami already playing in the Sony Ericsson Open. The players who are expected to make appearances include Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro. Break Point will be held at the Novecento Brickell on March 22 at 8:30 p.m. UTPMP is a nonprofit Latin American organization that started in Chile over a decade ago by a group of university students moved by the need to eradicate the extreme poverty conditions that affect millions of people in Latin America. They decided to take action by carrying out social inclusion plans and building transitional housing. Since then, UTPMP’s noble mission has reached many corners of Latin America. Today, UTPMP operates in 19 countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haití, Honduras, México, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. UTPMP has built over 70,000 transitional houses in 19 Latin American countries. The organization has over 300,000 mobilized young volunteers, who work shoulder to shoulder each year to transform the sad face of poverty.

Federer to play for Switzerland in Davis Cup tie against Portugal in July

World No. 2 Roger Federer announced on his official website that he plans to play for Switzerland against Portugal in his home country in Davis Cup in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round from July 8-10. The 16-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world No. 1 made his Swiss Davis Cup debut in 1999 and has since compiled a 37-11 record over 18 ties.

Roddick returning to Queen’s Club this summer with hopes of winning record fifth singles title

American Andy Roddick announced that he will return to Queen’s Club in London from June 6-12 to participate in the AEGON Championships, hoping to win a record fifth singles title at the famed tennis complex. Roddick, who won the singles title at Queen’s Club in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, could potentially face Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic en route to the title, both of whom have already committed to the tournament. “Over the years I’ve had a lot of success at The Queen’s Club, it has real tradition and I love the whole month in London,” said Roddick. “Queen’s has the best grass courts in the world, they play perfectly and so the AEGON Championships is a great way to prepare for Wimbledon.”

Fish to return to Newport in July to defend title

World No. 15 Mardy Fish announced that he will return to Newport, R.I., to defend his title at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships from July 4-10, which is played on the famous grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. Fish will be making his ninth appearance in Newport. “Newport was a great week for me last year. It was good to see all the work I’d put into training pay off with a title,” said Fish. “The Hall of Fame is a special place to compete and I look forward to returning to the tournament this summer.” In previous appearances in Newport, Fish reached the quarterfinals in 2000, 2002 and 2006, while capturing the doubles title in 2008 with John Isner. “Mardy has clearly worked very hard over the past year, and it’s been great to see his success continue following his Newport victory. He’s always been a strong competitor in Newport and we look forward to welcoming him back to defend his title this summer,” said Mark L. Stenning, CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Gonzalez to return to ATP World Tour at Belgrade event

Fernando Gonzalez, who has been sidelined from the ATP World Tour since injuring his hip at the 2010 US Open, will return to competition at the end of April at the ATP event in Belgrade. The Chilean and his new coach, Horacio Matta, will begin on-court training in the United States in March.

Kuerten honored during famous Rio de Janeiro carnival

Brazilian tennis legend Gustavo Kuerten, a former world No. 1 and three-time French Open singles champion, was recently honored at the famous Rio de Janeiro carnival to celebrate the ten year anniversary of his final Grand Slam title in Paris. As a part of the celebration in front of 75,000 people, Kuerten crossed Sapucaí Avenue on a float designed as the French Open trophy and hit several tennis balls into the crowd.

Nalbandian undergoes surgery for hernia problem and torn adductor muscle

Former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian underwent surgery last Thursday for a hernia problem and torn adductor muscle and will be sidelined for two months, according to a member of his team. The current world No. 19 re-injured himself during Argentina’s Davis Cup tie last weekend against Romania. Nalbandian is expected to return to the ATP World Tour in time to participate in the Masters 1000 event in Madrid or Rome followed by the French Open in Paris.

Völkl Tennis launches Organix Racquet Technology

Epic Sports International, Inc., a global sports brand management firm and worldwide licensee for Völkl Tennis and Boris Becker Tennis recently announced the launch of their Organix Racquet Technology, a revolutionary product line featuring combinations of high technology carbon nano tubes and organic materials and a cutting edge handle system, designed to enhance power and feel for all players. The Organix product line by Völkl, debuted on March 8th in specialty stores and pro shops worldwide with a suggested retail price between $230 – $250. “Organix is the next generation technology platform which gives Völkl customers a comprehensive, highly technical and superior performing racquet to fully connect the players’ mind, body and racquet,” said Brian Dillman, Vice President and General Manager of Epic Sports International. “We look forward to another year of fast growth and high-level consumer visibility with Völkl on track to be the fastest-growing tennis brand worldwide,” said Dillman.

Gamma Sports adds two new co-polyester strings

Gamma Sports (GAMMA) announced that they have released two new co-polyester strings, Zo Verve and Zo Black Ice, which are designed with a combination of materials that maintain tension and play more consistent than mono-polyester strings. GAMMA Zo Verve has a unique two-part construction consisting of a red high-energy co-polyester core and three diamond-shaped black filaments of high molecular weight polyester providing maximum spin and durability. The result is a string for hard-hitting players who want maximum power, greater spin and deeper more penetrating shots. GAMMA Zo Black Ice is a co-polyester string that offers tremendous ball bite for hard-hitting players looking for consistency, more spin and greater accuracy. “Zo Verve is a blend of stiff and soft materials so it strings tight, maintains tension and plays like a poly but gives the player more power, exceptional spin and control for deeper shots,” said Chuck Vietmeier, Product Manager.

Hawk-Eye to be used at Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties starting this year

The Hawk-Eye system will be used during the Davis Cup quarterfinal matches, as well as the Fed Cup semifinals starting this year according to the International Tennis Federation. The Hawk-Eye technology, which was first used for Davis Cup matches during the Russia vs. Argentina final in 2006, will only be used on hard courts and grass court matches. “The increased use of electronic review at ties reflects the importance of these competitions, and creates added interest and entertainment for spectators,” said Ricci Bitti, President of the International Tennis Federation.

Kazakhstan Davis Cup team robbed in Czech Republic

Despite winning their Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic 3-2 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the Kazakhstan team was robbed at their hotel by unknown thieves and had their laptops, cash and other items with a value of $25,000 stolen. The tennis players were not the only ones who were robbed, according to CTK news agency. Czech Tennis Federation officials were also victims to the thieves according to the news agency. Hotel management believes a foreign guest was responsible for the thefts.

Federer Pulls Another Excuse Out of his Pocket in Loss to Murray

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“That’s at the end what maybe cost me the match, potentially.”

Roger Federer is not beyond finding rationalizations or excuses for some of his losses, including claims of injury, but this one Sunday following his 6-3, 6-2 loss to Andy Murray (in one hour and 25 minutes) really left me scratching my head.

Federer had been victimized by an unfortunate bad call by the baseline linesman on Murray’s side — a call that was exorcised by the Hawk-eye replay challenge system that Federer passionately hates. But we’ll get into that later.

Let’s first set the stage for this semi-controversy.

Federer was serving at 30-40, trailing 3-6, 1-2 when he stroked a swinging forehand volley that, while nicking the baseline, left Murray a play on the ball. That was key. The linesman called out — not loudly, but he did make a call. A bad call.

Murray heard it because after he threw up a short lob off Federer’s swinging volley, he looked right at the linesman. Federer, however, apparently did not hear the call. He slammed Murray’s lob for a winner and thought he had gotten back to deuce.

Roger Federer

When it became clear to him that there was an out call, he dropped his racket in disgust and called for a challenge, which showed his swinging volley touching the back of the line.

Murray’s play on the ball was key because if he hadn’t had a play on it, Federer would have been awarded the point outright on the successful challenge.

And so, in this situation, he had to defend the break point again and lost the game. Afterward, he tried being gracious to Murray, calling him “a good player” and deserving of the title. But that little bit of irritation that seems to affect so many of his losses crept into the press conference.

“It was a classic bad mistake by the linesperson,” Federer said. “Kind of one of those moments you don’t want to happen so you don’t have to defend a break point twice. That’s at the end what maybe cost me the match, potentially.”

Cost him the match? Had he held serve, Murray would have been up 6-3, 2-2. How does this turn around the match completely?

Murray then came in for his press, and brought a little more common sense to this controversy.

“I felt that has happened to me a lot as well. I mean, if I was him, I would be annoyed, of course. But it didn’t. So, you know, you’ve just got to . . . I mean, as a player, you just have to kind of try to put it to the back of your mind.

“But that’s where the Hawk-eye system at least gave him a chance. Because, if not, it would have been called out and that would have been the game, done.”

The minor irony here is how often Federer has railed against Hawk-eye. While he didn’t hold serve, Hawk-eye gave him the opportunity to salvage that game.

So, was Federer so exasperated by the bad call that he lost his edge and, eventually, was broken to go down 3-1 in the second? We’re talking about one of the game’s finest players. He’s been in these situations before. Maybe it wasn’t a bad call. Maybe it was a net-flopper that left him at break point.

The great ones, as Murray said, put it behind them and move on. I have no doubt Federer refused to let himself be affected by the bad call. Why don’t we just give credit to Murray for eventually breaking (OK, with the help of Hawk-eye).

For you stat freaks, the 85-minute loss by Federer isn’t his quickest in a long time. He was taken down in 82 minutes on clay by Albert Montanes earlier this year.

FEDERER OUSTED IN KEY BISCAYNE; NO RAFA DREAM FINAL

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By Randy Walker

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Just as fans started to squirm about possibly scheduling Easter Sunday brunch plans around a renewal of the Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal rivalry and journalists began spicing up their preview stories about the greatest match-up in tennis today, Federer ensured that there would no “Roger vs. Rafa” dream Sunday final at the Sony Ericsson Open. The world No. 1 was upset in the fourth round Tuesday night, losing to Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (8-6) in a dramatic match that finished after midnight.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Federer appeared moody and irritated throughout the match, missing many routine ground strokes and volleys and hit an incredible 62 unforced errors in the three set match. For perspective, Federer hit 38 unforced errors in his extended five-set 2009 Wimbledon final last July, a 16-14 in the fifth-set win over Andy Roddick.

Federer held a match point serving at 6-5 in the third-set tie-breaker, but Berdych saved it with a strongly hit forehand winner. He won the next two points to clinch the match, Federer hitting his last unforced error – a forehand – on match point.

Federer admitted he is still struggling with his game, particularly his timing, following a lung infection that threatened his participation in the two premier hard court events in Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne.

“My game has issues at the moment,” said Federer post-match. “I’m definitely lacking timing.”

Federer trailed 4-2 in the third set, but rallied to win three straight games and was two points from the match holding a 0-30 advantage of Berdych’s serve at 4-5 in the third. With Berdych serving at 5-6, 30-30 in the final set, Federer had a match point opportunity taken away from him when Berdych hit a groundstroke that was called long, while the Hawk-eye replay system overruled the call, giving Berdych game point, which he executed to send the match into a final-set tie-breaker. Berdych had the match on his racquet, serving at 5-4 in the final-set tie-breaker, but Federer was able to play Houdini and escape to win the next two points, before faltering.

Berdych, who busted an eight-match losing streak to Federer after winning their first career meeting at the Olympic Games in 2004, will next face Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals with the winner facing either Mikhail Youzhny or Robin Soderling in the now wide open top half of the draw. Nadal, a 7-6 (5), 6-4 winner Tuesday over David Ferrer, faces Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Roddick plays Nicolas Almagro in the two quarterfinals in the bottom half of the draw.

Federer and Nadal have not faced each other since the Madrid final in May of last year, their second longest time period of not playing. They have played 20 times in their careers to date, Nadal holding the 13-7 series lead.

They will next be the same event together in Rome, starting April 25.