justine henin

DULKO TOPS AZARENKA IN ROLAND GARROS UPSET

May 23, 2010 by WTM

By Blair Henley

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the opening day of the 2010 French Open was Gisela Dulko’s 6-2, 6-1 dismantling of No. 10 seed Victoria Azarenka.

Dulko has had trouble on clay this season, losing in the first round of her last four tournaments, but she didn’t need much to out-steady Azarenka, who has struggled recently with her confidence as well as a left thigh injury.

Post-match, Dulko explained her game plan. “I had a very good strategy. I think she played very well. At the beginning I was trying to play a very good first serve and play on her forehand, because that’s her soft spot. I wanted to play well and to vary my game. I managed that.”

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez was another seeded casualty, losing to Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-4. Martinez Sanchez couldn’t follow up her stunning results in Rome earlier this month where she took out Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic en-route to the title.

Frenchwoman and No. 15 seed Aravane Rezai, who recently toppled Justine Henin, Jankovic and Venus Williams to win in Madrid, delighted her home crowd by easily dispatching Canadian qualifier Heidi El Tabakh 6-1, 6-1.

Also advancing in the women’s draw were No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 14 Flavia Pennetta, No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova and No. 30 Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko, a quarterfinalist at this year’s Australian Open, faced a tough opponent in hard-hitting Karolina Sprem, but pulled out a win 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Williams, playing in her 14^th straight French Open, had a few tight moments with former top 10 star Patty Schnyder, winning 6-3, 6-3.

Kuznetsova, the defending champion, started slowly, losing the first three games to Sorana Cirstea before reeling off 12 of the next 13 for a 6-3, 6-1 win.

“Definitely I was a little bit nervous in the start,” she admitted. “It was rough start for me, but I think I’m very happy about it.”

Kuznetsova also acknowledged her subpar results this season. The sixth seed came into the tournament with a 1-3 record on clay and 9-9 record overall – the worst of any top 10 women’s player.

“I was not showing as good results as I would like to, but I knew this moment has to pass, because I deserve better.”

Kuznetsova faces 22-year-old Bosnian Andrea Petkovic in the second round.

In an all-American matchup, Varvara Lepchenko beat Christina McHale 7-5, 6-3.

Top seed Serena Williams will be in action on day two along with No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, No.4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 7 Sam Stosur.

MONDAYS WITH BOB GREENE: NADAL WINS 5TH TITLE IN 6 YEARS IN RAINY ROME

May 3, 2010 by WTM

STARS

Rafael Nadal beat David Ferrer 7-5 6-2 to win the Internzionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy

Justine Henin beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 2-6 6-1 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany

Iveta Benesova beat Simona Halep 6-4 6-2 to win the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Fez, Morocco

Jose Acasuso beat Daniel Brands 6-3 6-4 to win the Tunis Open in Tunis, Tunisia

Kaia Kanepi beat Masa Zec-Peskiric 6-3 6-2 to win the Open GDF Suez de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Martimes 2010 in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France

Mark Philippoussis beat John McEnroe 6-3 4-6 10-5 (match tiebreak) to win the Staples Champions Cup in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

SAYINGS

“The important thing is that I won a very important tournament and finally I am very happy. … I played well, but not as well as Monte Carlo, but the important thing is winning.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning at Rome.

“I don’t have a word in English for it. It’s indescribable.” – Ernests Gulbis, after upsetting Roger Federer.

“Sometimes it takes a loss to wake up and shake you up for your approach the next week. When you always win, sometimes you forget how hard it is. That’s why today I don’t get too worried about this loss.” – Roger Federer, after losing to Ernests Gulbis.

“When I saw Roger Federer winning the French Open (in 2009), I had a lot of respect. That brought back the fire that wasn’t there any more. It’s been a lot of work to get back and it’s not over.” – Justine Henin, after winning her first title since returning from retirement.

“It’s getting pretty close now (to the Open Era record). Already four titles this year, so the next one’s going to be the big one. It’s going to be a big final, a lot of nerves. We’re hoping to tie it before we get out of Europe. We don’t want to get the monkey on our back and have to be thinking about it, so we want to do it as quick as possible.” – Mike Bryan, who with his twin brother Bob have moved within one victory of matching the men’s record for the most doubles titles in the Open Era.

“With all the great matches we had in the past, it’s always something special to see John’s face on the other side of the net. I think he feels the same way, too.” – Bjorn Borg, who played – and lost – to John McEnroe in a seniors tournament in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

“When I’m feeling rotten and no good at tennis, then I’ll say to myself, `Get out of here.’ But on this wave of wins there is no real need for me to think about quitting.” – Venus Williams.

SHE’S BACK

Justine Henin is back in the thick of the battle for the top spot in women’s tennis. Appearing in her third straight final in her third tournament back from retirement, the former world number one from Belgium captured the Porsche Grand Prix by defeating Samantha Stosur 6-4 2-6 6-1. “It means a lot to me on clay,” Henin said of her clay court win. Four of her seven Grand Slam tournament titles have come on the red shale of Roland Garros. Henin said Roger Federer’s French Open win last year inspired her to end her 18-month retirement. “It brought back the fire,” she said after capturing her first title in her return. Henin was runner-up in Brisbane, Australia, and at the Australian Open. “Getting to the final was really good, it’s been a great week,” Stosur said. “She just got very aggressive in the third set, she put me under a lot of pressure and broke my serve three straight times.”

SENOR CLAY

Rafael Nadal is almost unbeatable on clay. The Spaniard won his fifth Rome Masters title in six years, beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5 6-2. That improves Nadal’s clay court record to 10-0 this year, including capturing the Monte Carlo Masters to end an 11-month title drought. By winning the 17^th Masters Series title of his career, the 23-year-old Nadal tied Andre Agassi’s record. Agassi was 34 years old when he won his 17^th. The win snapped Nadal’s tie with Roger Federer, who was upset in a second-round match.

STAYING ON

Having already won two tournaments this year, Venus Williams sees no reason is calling it a career. Besides her two titles, Venus, who will turn 30 in June, reached the final at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Miami, Florida, and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January. “I guess it’s all a mental thing,” Venus said. “Everyone definitely plays better or plays worse mentally at the big tournaments and I have been blessed enough to play a great mental game and to bring my best tennis in at the toughest time, and I’m still trying to do this every day.” Since making her pro debut in 1994, Venus has won 43 singles titles, including seven Grand Slam tournament crowns – five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open.

SWISS CHEESE

Ernests Gulbis found a lot of holes in Roger Federer’s game. The Latvian stunned the world’s top-ranked player 2-6 6-1 7-5 in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. It was Federer’s first singles match in nearly a month and his first this year on clay. The Swiss star struggled with his serve, landing only 50 percent of his first attempts. The big-serving Gulbis put in 71 percent of his first serves. “My game was definitely not up to speed,” Federer said. “My serve was not working at all. On clay you can lose the feeling sometimes.” Gulbis fought off jitters at the end, winning on his seventh match point after double-faulting twice when within a point of victory. “I was shaking. I didn’t know what to do,” Gulbis said. “It was a terrible feeling.” The feeling was very good when he finally clinched the victory. The 21-year-old Gulbis began working with Hernan Gumy of Argentina in September and also hired a new fitness coach. “My team is perfect now,” Gulbis said. “It’s my coach, my fitness coach and my father.”

Roger Federer played doubles at Rome with fellow Swiss Yves Allegro and won two rounds before falling in the quarterfinals to finalists John Isner and Sam Querrey, two big-serving Americans.

SIGHT ON MARK

The Bryan brothers have the Woodies in their sight. Twins Bob and Mike Bryan beat fellow Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-2 6-3 at Rome to post their fourth title of the year and 60^th in their careers. Retired Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde – known as the Woodies – hold the ATP Tour record with 61 career titles and are being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, later this year. “It’s huge for us to be considered a great team like the Woodies,” Mike Bryan said. “Hopefully we don’t get stuck on 60 for a long time.” The Bryans plan on being in Newport when the Woodies are inducted into the tennis shrine. Then they want to chase the Woodies’ record of 11 Grand Slam tournament titles. The Bryans currently are at eight.

SENIOR CLASH

It was just like old times when John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg faced each on a tennis court. When the match was over, McEnroe had won the Champions Cup semifinals battle in Boston, just as he did the two times they met in the US Open final. This time Mac was on top 6-4 7-6 (3). “It’s something special, the rivalry we have in the past with all those great matches,” Borg said. “Every time we’ve played it’s produced great tennis. Even on the Champions Tour, it’s something special when me and John play. I feel it and John feels it. It’s a nice atmosphere.”

STRAIGHT IN

Two Americans – Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey – are in the main draw of the French Open. The two won three-round tournaments to earn wild card berths into the year’s second Grand Slam tournament. Two French players receive wild cards into the US Open. Sweeting and McHale will compete in the main draw at Roland Garros for the first time.

STAPLES CHAMPION

Mark Philippoussis saved his best for last. The Australian won his first career senior title on the Champions Series circuit, besting John McEnroe in the USD $150,000 Staples Champions Cup. The score was 6-3 4-6 10-5 (match tiebreak). The Champions Series circuit is for champion players age 30 and over. The 33-year-old Philippoussis won the first five games of the match before McEnroe made the game competitive. In the tiebreak, Philippoussis hit four aces and three groundstroke winners, capturing six of the last seven points. “I knew I had to play some good tennis today,” Philippoussis said. “I think once he got into the match it got dangerous for me.”

STRUCK DOWN AGAIN

An ankle injury is dogging Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki. The top seed said her ankle was still bothering her when she lost to Lucie Safarova 6-4 6-4 in the Dane’s first match in the Stuttgart Open. “I didn’t feel I could move 100 percent,” Wozniacki said. “She was making me run and that’s why she won. If you can’t move it’s difficult to win.” Wozniacki hurt her ankle when she fell during a match at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. She retired from that match.

SERIOUSLY

Ernests Gulbis has begun being more serious about his tennis career, and it has paid off. The 21-year-old Latvian pushed Rafael Nadal to three sets before losing the semifinal at Rome. And that came after Gulbis upset top-seeded Roger Federer in a second-round match. “I just started concentrating more on tennis, treating it more like my job,” Gulbis said of his improvement. “Last year I didn’t take it as a job. It was more like a hobby. I didn’t have a system. … I’m still not a big tennis freak … but I have a better system.” Nadal was impressed. “He was really difficult to play against,” the Spaniard said after a narrow 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over Gulbis. “All the time he was serving at 210, 215, 216, 217 (kph). A player with this serve can be top 10 for sure.” Of course, Gulbis isn’t going to go completely the other way. “I am flying back tonight,” Gulbis said after losing to Nadal. “It’s Saturday night in Latvia, so I’m going to go out.”

SEEKING HELP

Fernando Verdasco says he might be able to win the French Open because of Andre Agassi’s knowledge. The Spaniard is taking advice from former Roland Garros champion Agassi on how to dodge some of the pitfalls in tennis. “He was my idol, so it’s great to have your idol telling you all the things you should do and shouldn’t do, giving you some advice from all the things he did and maybe he did wrong,” Verdasco said. “He’s helping me be a better player. Having someone like Agassi, who was my idol when I was a kid, telling you things is so special.” Verdasco has been talking with Agassi ever since he started working with Agassi’s former coach Darren Cahill and fitness trainer Gil Reyes.

SKIPPED OVER

When Australian captain John Fitzgerald picked the Davis Cup squad to face Japan, he skipped over teen-ager Bernard Tomic. Instead, Fitzgerald selected a team of Lleyton Hewitt, Peter Luczak, Carsten Ball and doubles specialist Paul Hanley. The 17-year-old Tomic is widely viewed as Australia’s next big star. He became the country’s youngest Davis Cup player when he won two singles against Taiwan in March. The Australia-Japan winner advances to the World Group playoffs in September.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Mervana Jugic-Salkic and Darija Jurak beat Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Kristina Mladenovic 0-6 6-2 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Fes: Iveta Benesova and Anabel Medina Garrigues beat Lucie Hradecka and Renata Voracova 6-3 6-1

Rome: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-2 6-3

Stuttgart: Giselo Dulko and Flavia Pennetta beat Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 3-6 7-6 (3) 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Tunis: Jeff Coetzee and Kristof Vliegen beat James Corretani and Adil Shamasdin 7-6 (3) 6-3

SITES TO SURF

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.it/

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: www.opendecagnes.com/

Munich: www.bmwopen.de/

Belgrade: www.serbiaopen.rs/

Estoril: www.estorilopen.net/1/en/home/default.asp

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com/

Sao Paulo: www.grandchampionsbrasil.com.br

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$530,000 BMW Open, Munich, Germany, clay

$530,000 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay

$496,700 Serbia Open, Belgrade, Serbia, clay

$100,000 Israel Open, Ramat Hasharon, Israel, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Internazionali BNG d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$220,000 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay

DAVIS CUP

Africa Zone III, Marrakech, Morocco, clay (round robin, four groups): Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$3,775,000 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$113,000 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

WTA

$4,000,000 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

DAVIS CUP

Europe Zone III, Athens, Greece, hard (round-robin, two groups): Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, San Marino

SENIORS

Grand Champions Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil, hard

WIMBLEDON SINGLES CHAMPS TO EARN $1.54 MILLION: THIS WEEK IN TENNIS BUSINESS

April 21, 2010 by WTM

By: Justin Cohen

The winners of the men’s and women’s singles title at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships will each earn a record $1.54 million. The All England Club announced Tuesday that they are increasing the champion’s prize money by $231,348 to help offset the decrease in the value of the British pound against the dollar and euro. The total prize money for the 2010 tournament will be $21.1 million, which is an increase of 9.4 percent from last year.
The ATP World Tour has extended its sponsorship deal through 2012 with Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh. Bloomberg is reporting that under the new sponsorship deal, Ricoh will now sponsor six more tournaments. The six tournaments will be in Austria, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Ricoh has been a major sponsor of the ATP World Tour since 2005.
The Independent of London is reporting that the upcoming French Open will be televised in 3D in Europe. The newspaper says that Panasonic has teamed with Eurosport and Orange to broadcast matches on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, both former top-ranked players and Grand Slam singles champions, will play an exhibition match on July 8 in Brussels at the 40,000 seat King Baudouin Stadium. The attendance goal is to top the 30,492 that watched Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in Texas in 1973.
Serena Williams has announced that she will not participate in this weekend’s Fed Cup semifinal match against Russia in Birmingham, Ala. Venus has yet to decide if she will play, but is expected to let Captain Mary Joe Fernandez know her status by a Friday deadline. The roster can be changed up to one hour before Friday’s draw ceremony.
Sydney lawyer Stephen Healy, who is the Head of Tennis New South Wales, will become the new President of Tennis Australia after beating out former Australian Open Tournament Director Paul McNamee in voting.
James Blake will be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a knee injury and could be in doubt for the upcoming French Open. “I have been required to take a break from competition to treat pain that I have been experiencing in my right knee,” said Blake. “The good news is that I will not need surgery. However, the treatment will require me to take a six to eight week break. I look forward to a successful rehabilitation period and returning to competition on the ATP World Tour in the near future.”
David Nalbandian, who missed the majority of the 2009 season with a hip injury, has withdrawn from Barcelona and Rome, with a four-inch tear in his left hamstring.
Sabine Lisicki has withdrawn from Stuttgart and will not participate in Fed Cup because of an ankle injury.
Defending singles and doubles champion Rajeev Ram has committed to play in the 2010 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. Ram, who is currently ranked No. 85 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, will join Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent, who have already signed up to participate. “Rajeev really put on a tremendous performance for the New England tennis fans last summer,” said Mark Stenning, the CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “We look forward to welcoming him back this year as part of a strong field of top Americans.”
International Tennis Federation anti-doping manager Stuart Miller told the Associated Press that the organization will review their regulations that allowed American Wayne Odesnik to continue competing on the ATP World tour even after he pleaded guilty to importing human growth hormone (HGH) in Australia in January. “Our rules say if, and only if, we detect a prohibited substance in a sample provided by a player will we impose a provisional suspension,” said Miller. “Clearly, there’s a need to review that rule and there is no doubt that that will happen. I’m not going hide or run away from that, because clearly it is something that we need to look at.”
In a blog posting on TV2, World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki mentioned that the ankle injury she sustained in her semifinal loss to Vera Zvonareva at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston isn’t serious. “The doctor said that I might be ready soon,” Wozniacki wrote. “I just need to make sure the right treatment.” Wozniacki is scheduled to receive treatment soon in Barcelona.
In a recent blog posting by World No. 3 Dinara Safina, the Russian informed readers that an MRI revealed she had two stress fractures on her L5-S1 disk and a ruptured muscle. No timetable is set for Safina’s return, but she is currently in Croatia doing rehab with her physio, Tomislav Vrbnjak.
Sania Mirza announced on her Twitter account that she will continue to play for India despite marrying Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik. The couple plans to reside in Dubai.
Former pro tennis players Cliff and Nancy Richey will appear at the “Courtside for Katy” Fundraiser event on Thursday, April 22 from 10 am to 11:30 am at the Kingswood Country Club Tennis Courts in Kingswood, Texas. The fundraiser is to be held to help Katy Hayes, a Kingswood resident who is fighting for her life after all four limbs were amputated due to Streptococcal A Infection following child birth. The Las Vegas Longshots – Purple captured the 2010 World Team Tennis Recreation League National Qualifier in the Open Division Championships. Rob Kinas captained the winning team for the fourth consecutive year. The Las Vegas team included former ATP World Tour player Brian Wilson and former UNLV standout Elena Gantcheva. More than 530 players and 71 teams participated in the event, which is the most in the history of the league.

RODDICK SIGNS SPORTS DRINK ENDORSEMENT: THIS WEEK IN TENNIS BUSINESS

April 14, 2010 by WTM

By: Justin Cohen

Andy Roddick has signed an endorsement deal with Aquiss, which is a concentrated sports drink. Roddick, who has been using the drink since the Australian Open, will get shares in the company as a part of the deal.
Lagardere Unlimited, the Paris-based sports and media company, is currently in negotiations to buy Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST). Lagardere represents players such as Roddick, Justine Henin and Fernando Gonzalez, while BEST currently represents players such as Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Melanie Oudin, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Bob and Mike Bryan. BEST also owns the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, which is held each summer in Washington, D.C.
Novak Djokovic recently cut ties with coach Todd Martin on Monday, but will continue working with Marian Vajda. “I’m not working with Todd Martin anymore,” said Djokovic. “I’m full-time with Marian again and hopefully we can have a lot of success.”
Andy Roddick
World No. 1 Serena Williams has been awarded a wild card into the Italian Open in Rome. Williams, who has be sidelined with an injury since her title run at the Australian Open in January, originally didn’t sign up for the Italian Open, which starts on May 3.
According to sources, Venus Williams has informed USTA officials that she will not participate in the United States’ upcoming Fed Cup semifinal match against Russia in Birmingham, Ala.
Thirty-four-year-old Leon Smith, who coached Andy Murray during his teenager years, has been named Britain’s new Davis Cup Captain and the head of men’s tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association. “It’s a huge honor and an irresistible challenge for me,” said Smith. “I know the players, and I know that together we can get Britain back to winning ways in the Davis Cup.”
France has picked to play on an indoor hard court against Spain in their Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July. The tie will take place at the Grande Halle d’Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand.
Canada’s Carling Bassett-Seguso, a former US Open semifinalist in 1984, recently gave birth to daughter, Lennon Shy. Bassett and husband Robert Seguso, a former ATP doubles player, also have three other children together.
Indian press reports that Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on Monday, three days earlier than expected.
Bob and Mike Bryan won their 59th doubles title together over the weekend in Houston. The title now puts them just two titles away from tying Mark Woodforde and Tood Woodbridge’s record of 61 ATP doubles titles.
At an exhibition match in Atlantic City, Pete Sampras and Marat Safin both insisted that Andy Roddick has what it takes to win another Grand Slam singles title. Roddick’s lone Grand Slam singles title was at the 2003 US Open.
Thirty-five-year-old Mary Pierce told L’Equipe that she is healthy enough to play competitive tennis again, but a comeback on the WTA Tour is doubtful. “What I miss is playing on center court in front of a lot of people, experiencing something with the public,” said Pierce. “It’s the only thing that could motivate me.” Pierce mentioned that she would enjoy playing an exhibition match at Roland Garros to say goodbye to her fans.
According to Juan Martin del Potro’s physiotherapist Diego Rivas, the swelling on del Potro’s wrist has not yet subsided and his return to the ATP World Tour is uncertain.
The Swiss website A-Z.ch reports that Martina Hingis has broken off her engagement to lawyer Andreas Bieri.
Helen Zimman, the co-founder of H.O. Zimman Publishing, which has produced the US Open program for more than 50 years, passed away at the age of 91.
Frenchman Gilles Simon says he is most likely going to miss the French Open because of his knee injury that he has suffered from for the last year. The 25-year-old has lost in the opening round of his last four tournaments.
The Amanda and Stacy Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas, former site of the ATP World Tour Tennis Channel Open, has been named a USTA Certified Regional Training Center.
Emmy-Award winning Tennis Broadcaster and former French Open Mixed Doubles Champion Mary Carillo has been named the President for USTA Serves, which is a Foundation for Academics.

CLIJSTERS vs. HENIN: INCONSISTENCY RULED THIS CLASSIC

April 2, 2010 by WTM

By Charles Bricker

Kim Clijsters is into Saturday’s Sony Ericsson Open final against Venus Williams and here I am 20 minutes after this confounding 6-2, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) victory over her compatriot, Justine Henin, and I’m still not sure how she reached the championship match.

I imagine Henin about this time is sitting on a bench in the locker room also pondering how this one got away or, rather, how Clijsters could have won after all the points she donated.

* Clijsters: One ace and 10 double faults, including a few of the worst second serves you’ll ever see from a former No. 1 player in a crucial situation.

* Clijsters: 37 winners and 63 unforced errors, and the vast majority of those gaffes in the final two sets after she was just about impeccable in set number one.

* Clijsters: Serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, looking about as torpid as a slug.

* Clijsters: Up 6-3 in the third-set tiebreak and she (a) flaps a backhand cross-court five feet wide, (b) just misses on a forehand up the line and (c) slops a 70 mph Henin second serve into the net. Incredibly, Henin lost the final two points, and the match.

But, despite all the bad stuff coming off Clijsters’ racket, please note. She won, and I doubt she’s deeply interested in how.

The triumph came on her fourth match point, and then she cracked a broad smile as she took the obligatory winner’s bow on court. I wasn’t certain if the smile was relief or happiness because it was the first show of emotion in the two hours and 33 minutes it took to put a wrap on this less than classic semifinal.

There was some great shot-making out there, as you would expect with two of the best three players in women’s tennis opposing each other. But the sad fact is that far too much of this match was a confusing mix of great running forehands followed by blown overheads, spectacular defensive plays followed by double faults. Henin is not to be excused here. She had two aces, eight doubles and more inexplicable errors than I can recall her having in the recent past.

You could argue that with a couple of extremely aggressive hitters you’re going to get some uneven tennis — the sort you often get with Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams. But this didn’t have that sort of feel to it after the opening set. It just felt like a couple of champions who forgot how to string together a run of solid play.

This wasn’t even remotely close to the sensational final they played at Brisbane in early January.

I have a pretty good idea what happened to Henin out there tonight. A certain amount of fatigue set in and that dicey lower back of hers also might have flared up. Her backhand was horribly off much of the match.

Clijsters, however, is a mystery. She’s at her best when she’s sitting on the baseline dictating play and letting the smoothness of her stroking generate the pace, and that’s what she delivered in the opening set.

But then she has those moments when she feels like superwoman and tries to turn the volume up a couple notches, and things go off. For some time she looked OK in the second set, if not brilliant. She was up 2-0, then 3-1, but gave the break back on a double-fault into the net. Slowly, her consistency disintegrated.

In the tiebreak, Henin bolted out to 4-0 and won it when a Clijsters lob drifted wide.

Into the third set they went with Henin carrying the momentum. Clijsters tried to return to the sort of relaxed aggressiveness she displayed in the opening set, but by this time, with both players starting to drag, you could see they would both struggle to the finish line.

Give both players deserved credit for mental strength, though you would expect that from them. Both have played matches similar to this and they know there’s no reason to start pouting on court. You stay the course, put up with the errors and hope there’s just enough winners in your racket to bail you out.

Ultimately, Clijsters won this match with superior ground stroking, even if she had to hit two unforced errors to get one winner. Henin of course won’t be happy with this loss, but she’s only three months into her return and she’s doing everything but winning the big ones.

I think she’s still laboring a bit to find her identity on court. She wants to be an aggressive service-returner, but she’s not picking her spots well, often trying to crush a return from a difficult position wide of the sideline.

It will come. Her conditioning could be her only problem and probably accounts for her lack of rally consistency, especially off the backhand side. The mild fatigue also showed up in her serving. Her toss was a periodic problem throughout this match and, of the 32 combined service games, there were 12 breaks.

Did Venus Williams watch this match? Not likely. She’s played Clijsters 11 times, so she shouldn’t need much of a scouting report. Williams raced into the final earlier in the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marion Bartoli.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

CLIJSTERS NIPS HENIN IN EPIC SEMIFINAL: VENUS NEXT

April 2, 2010 by WTM

By Randy Walker

Kim Clijsters is now 2-0 in her head-to-head against top rival and fellow Belgian Justine Henin in her “second career” as the 2009 U.S. Open champion and super Mom defeated Henin 6-2, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) in a Thursday night epic to advance in to the women’s singles final at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

In Saturday’s final, Clijsters will face Venus Williams, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Marion Bartoli of France in Thursday’s day session semifinal.

Against Henin, Clijsters lead 6-2, 3-0 – and held a break point to go up 4-0 – but allowed Henin back in the match. After losing the second set tie-breaker, Henin took a 2-0 lead in the final set, but Cljisters won four straight games to take a 4-2 lead. Henin evened the score at 4-4, but Clijsters broke Henin for 5-4. However, she was unable to serve out the match, Henin drawing even again at 5-5. After each player held serve, Clijsters moved to a 6-3 lead in the final set tie-breaker – triple match point – but was unable to close out the match, Henin winning three points to draw even at 6-6. Clijsters finally was able to close out the match, winning the final point on a forehand winner. Clijsters was the more inconsistent of the two players, hitting 63 unforced errors against 37 winners on the night. Henin hit 44 unforced errors versus 19 winners.

Clijsters evened her career head-to-head with Henin at 12-12, but won her second match against Henin since both players returned to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour after hiatuses. Their final round match from January in Brisbane, Australia was also won by Clijsters by an 8-6 score in the final-set tie-breaker, Clijsters winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (6). Prior to both players leaving the game temporarily, Henin had won eight of the last 11 matches with Clijsters, including their last five meetings at major tournaments, including the French Open and US Open finals in 2003 and the Australian Open final in 2004.

Clijsters won the title in Key Biscayne back in 2005, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. Henin has never won in Key Biscayne, a glaring omission from her career resume along with her failure to capture a singles title at Wimbledon.

Williams will be seeking her fourth title in Miami to go with tournament victories in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Either she or her younger sister Serena have won in Key Biscayne eight of the last 12 years.

“I’m very pleased to be in the final, but it’s not enough,” said Williams, who is seeded No. 3 in the event. “I want to take the title.”

The win over Bartoli, a re-match of the 2007 Wimbledon final, also won by Williams, was her 15^th straight match victory. She will be seeking her 44^th career WTA Tour singles title and looking to move into sole possession of the No. 10 position on the all-time WTA Tour singles. Williams is currently tied with her early-career main rival Martina Hingis. Williams would then be nine titles shy of equaling Monica Seles in ninth place, but far away from Martina Navratilova’s record 167 WTA Tour singles titles. Serena Williams has won five Sony Ericsson Open titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008) and played in the last three finals in Key Biscayne. She is not in the field this year due to a knee injury.

Clijsters retired from tennis in May of 2007 and gave birth to daughter Jada on Feb. 27, 2008. She returned to the WTA Tour last summer and won the U.S. Open in only her third tournament of her comeback. In her fourth tournament of her comeback, she defeated Henin in the final of Brisbane, which marked Henin’s first WTA Tour event in 19 months. Henin announced her shock retirement from tennis as the No. 1 ranked player on May 14, 2008, only to return to the game a year-and-a-half later.

Friday’s men’s semifinals will feature Andy Roddick taking on Rafael Nadal in the day session, while Robin Soderling will take on Roger Federer-slayer Thomas Berdych in the evening semifinal.

SLAM REMATCHES IN SONY ERICSSON WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS

April 1, 2010 by WTM

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida — The women’s semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open will feature a pair of Grand Slam final rematches as Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will face off in one semifinal while Venus Williams will take on Marion Bartoli in the other.

Henin and Clijsters played in three Grand Slam finals – Henin winning the 2003 French Open, 2003 US Open and the 2004 Australian Open finals.

Williams and Bartoli played in the Wimbledon final in 2007, Williams winning 6-4, 6-1.

Henin is only four tournaments into her return from a 20-month retirement, yet there’s scant evidence of rust. She earned a berth in the semifinals by overtaking No. 2-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Wednesday, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

Clijsters retired, married and became a mother before returning to the tour last August. She advanced to the semifinals by beating No. 9 Sam Stosur of Australia 6-3, 7-5.

“Fun to see the two comebacks doing well,” Clijsters said.

Once roommates on school tennis trips, Clijsters and Henin became Grand Slam champions, claimed the No. 1 ranking and played each other nearly two dozen times before calling it a career.

“It has always been special, and it will always be special,” Henin said. “Because Kim and I grew up together; we arrived on the tour almost at the same time; we played good at the same time; we retired at the same time; and we came back at the same time.”

Henin leads her rivalry with Clijsters 12-11. They’ve met only once since 2006—at Brisbane in January, which marked Henin’s return to the tour. Clijsters saved two match points and won.

“That was one of the funnest, most exciting matches I think that I’ve played in my career,” Clijsters said. “Hopefully we can both play the same kind of match level and intensity.”

Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal advanced to a heavyweight semifinal match in the men’s field. Roddick advanced by beating No. 33-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-3, while Nadal eliminated No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal, seeded fourth, saved all eight break points he faced. Roddick, seeded sixth, committed only 10 unforced errors in 110 points, and he has yet to drop a set in four rounds.

“When you play a lot of matches and kind of play a high level, it feels like everything kind of slows down a little bit,” Roddick said. “Muscle memory takes over a little bit more. I think I’m at that stage right now. Unfortunately with tennis, you have to start over every day.”

World No. 1 Roger Federer lost to No. 16-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) in a fourth-round match that ended at 12:16 a.m. Wednesday. The upset could be a break for Roddick, who is 2-19 against Federer.

“Obviously you’re surprised any time he loses,” Roddick said. “But that’s tennis. That’s why you play.”

Roddick trails Nadal 5-2, but has split their four matches on hard courts.

Henin was ranked No. 1 when she quit the tour in May 2008. She announced her comeback last September, soon after Clijsters won the U.S. Open, her third tournament following more than two years in retirement.

Henin received a wild card to enter Key Biscayne, and she has negotiated a tough path to the semifinals, beating four seeded players in a row. That makes her 16-3 since coming back, and she’ll move back into the top 30 in next week’s rankings.

“I enjoy my game much more than in the past,” she said. “Every win has a very sweet taste at the moment.”

The latest was sweet because Henin had to rally. She received treatment for soreness in her back midway through the second set but said the injury wasn’t serious, and she summoned her best tennis down the stretch.

Henin lost only two of 22 service points in the final set, closing out the 2-hour, 45-minute match with a love game.

“I didn’t play for two years, so it’s good to be on the court a little bit longer,” she said with a smile.

Clijsters took less than half as long to win her quarterfinal, and she has yet to lose a set in the tournament. She improved to 7-2 against top 10 players since her return last August.

“I’m going to try to hopefully raise my game a little bit more, because I know that I have to play some of my best tennis if I want to beat Justine,” she said.

A two-time Grand Slam champion, Clijsters won Key Biscayne in 2005. Henin, the winner of seven major championships, seeks her first Key Biscayne title.

HENIN WINS TO SET UP DEMENTIEVA CLASH

March 25, 2010 by WTM

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Justine Henin, playing in her first tournament in almost two years with an official WTA Tour ranking, advanced to the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open Wednesday by beating Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-2.

Henin double-faulted five times Wednesday and struggled with inconsistent groundstrokes, but she saved seven of eight break points while converting five of six. Henin is ranked No. 33 on the WTA Tour computer after competing in her third tournament earlier in the year in Indian Wells, Calif., making her eligible for a ranking. She reached the finals of Brisbane and the Australian Open, losing to Kim Clijsters and Serena Willliams, respectively. She lost in the first round of Indian Wells to Gisela Dulko.

Henin, a former No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion, is mounting a comeback this year after a 20-month retirement. She’ll play fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the second round Friday.

Henin and Dementieva played an epic second round of the Australian Open earlier this year, won by Henin 7-5, 7-6 (5).

“I realize it’s gonna take a little bit of time to really be in the good rhythm and find myself again on the court, and I have to get used to different kind of things,” Henin said.

“I didn’t live this life for almost two years, so that takes a little bit of time.”

Henin will face a stiffer second-round test from Dementieva. Henin said she is looking forward to the match to find out where she is with her game.

“Now I’m going to have a tough round, tough match,” Henin said. “That’s what I want. So it’s going to be perfect to test myself.”

Seeded players had a first-round bye.

Making her first appearance in Miami since 1996, 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan earned a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Anna Chakvetadze of Russia.

Date Krumm, who retired from the tour in 1996 and started to play again in 2008, spent 2 hours, 32 minutes on the court in beating Chakvetadze.

Chakvetadze saved two match points she faced while serving at 2-5 in the third set and broke Date’s serve in the next game. The Russian lost the match, dropping her serve at love in the final game.

“In the beginning, everybody said (it was) impossible to come back on the tour,” said Date Krumm, who lost the 1995 final in Key Biscayne to Steffi Graf on March 25, 1995.

LACK OF PASSION FUELED VAIDISOVA RETIREMENT

March 19, 2010 by WTM

By Charles Bricker

Nicole Vaidisova had flung her racket into the red clay, covered her face with her hands in a sort of feigned disbelief, then danced around the Suzanne Lenglen court, blowing kisses to a full stadium — already a fully-grown woman at age 17, on the cusp of greatness and looking very much like someone in love with tennis.

It was only a quarterfinal, but this split-set win over Venus Wiliams at the 2006 French Open was a signature moment in her life, and the way I’d like to remember Vaidisova’s too-short tennis career.

Unfortunately, my sustaining memory of her probably is going to be an uncaring, passionless first-round loss in a $25,000 deep-bush league tournament, where she was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by No. 200-and-something Christina McHale just a couple months ago.

There were no grumpy Vaidisova racket bounces that afternoon and no crumpled Yonexes, and she certainly had destroyed a few of those over the years. There was simply a sense of, “What am I doing here and why am I playing tennis?” It’s a question she won’t have to contemplate any longer.

Her decision to quit the game and marry 31-year-old pro Radek Stepanek probably was made weeks ago, but announced only Tuesday, and I don’t think it’s going to be one of those temporary retirements. Unlike Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, it’s doubtful she’ll be back because there’s a salient difference among these three women.

Henin and Clijsters love tennis. It doesn’t take much moxie to figure out that whatever affection Nicole once had for playing the game is gone forever, and probably hasn’t been there since she dissolved her coaching relationship with stepfather Alex Kodat two years ago.

Was it one of those classic parent/child coaching disasters? Who can say, aside from Vaidisova and those closest to her, but I doubt it. Kodat is no Jim Pierce. He’s quiet, thoughtful and professorial. There is no doubt he is the one who put in the foundation of Vaidisova’s game and nurtured her to semifinal finishes at Roland Garros and at the 2007 Australian Open.

Their split came at the end of a mysterious slump in 2008 that sent Vaidisova into a rankings freefall, and if there was a defining moment that began this plunge, it was a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Ana Ivanovic in the second round at Dubai, right after Australia.

There followed opening-round losses to Casey Dellacqua at Indian Wells, to Alisa Kleybanova at Key Biscayne, to Gisela Dulko at Berlin, to Ekaterina Makarova at Rome and to Iveta Benesova at the French Open. She lost 10 of 18 matches the remainder of the year, including a first-rounder at the Olympics to Alize Cornet that must have left her particularly dejected.

Maybe, after years of grinding through training, signing autographs, meeting media demands and and being unable to enjoy a more “normal” teenaged life, she lost whatever lust she had for the game, even after banking more than $2.5 million.

Kodat brought her from their home in the Czech Republic to the famed Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Fla., when she was 11 and did most of the grooming. When Nicole turned professional at 14 she was well on her way to six-feet tall and with the kind of lower body strength that is essential in tennis. Though she was never going to be among the fastest players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, those long legs covered a lot of court quickly, and she was a devastating ground stroker off both sides.

As she progressed through the 2007 Aussie Open, on the way to the final four, there was no hint of future despair. “I’m definitely very, very happy and excited,” she said after a win. “It’s the first Grand Slam of the year and you don’t know how you’re going to come back from the off-season. But I’ve had a great start to the year and now I just have to keep improving.”

A year later, there were no more smiles in her press conference. She had once charmed reporters with her love of hockey and how she never learned to skate because she was “afraid of the ice.”

And in January, in her final court appearance in a Futures event just outside Tampa, Fla., she was in a deep funk. At one point in this final loss, McHale raced in for a drop shot and bunted it back. Did it bounce once or twice? Vaidisova watched the return on her side of the net and never made a move to play it, despite no “not up” call from the chair umpire.

There will be those who complain about her “wasted talent,” though that seems a bit unfair. You have to have passion to play this game and she no longer has any for tennis. That’s not wasted. It’s just not there.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

FEDERER CLEANS UP ATP AWARDS, DAVYDENKO’S DEALS: THIS WEEK IN TENNIS BUSINESS

March 17, 2010 by WTM

By: Justin Cohen

Following his opening round victory over Victor Hanescu at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Roger Federer was presented with trophies for 2009 ATP World Tour Player of the Year, ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite Player of the Year presented by RICOH, and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. “I’d like to thank the fans for voting for me,” Federer said to the crowd after receiving the Fan Favorite Award for a seventh straight year. “You guys are amazing. Thank you. As you know, you guys make this even more worthwhile traveling around the globe from January to November. I love coming back here, so it’s very nice to get presented the awards here.”John Isner, who climbed from No. 145 to a year-end career high ranking of No. 34, took home the ATP World Tour Most Improved Player of the Year award.
Roger Federer
Nikolay Davydenko, who withdrew from his third round match in Indian Wells, has a broken left wrist according to the MRI that was taken in California. Davydenko will need to wear a soft cast for the next month and could miss the entire clay court season. Davydenko also made headlines this week in California because he signed a racquet, clothing and accessories deal with Dunlop according to an announcement the company released. However, Prince quickly issued a statement saying Davydenko agreed in January to use Prince products throughout the year. Davydenko was seen wearing Dunlop clothing at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but playing with a Prince racquet.
The Hit for Haiti tennis exhibition at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs raised more than $1 million for the Red Cross’ relief effort. In the opening match, Justine Henin and Martina Navratilova defeated Steffi Grad and Lindsay Davenport, 8-6. In a fiery final match that saw former rivals Andre Agassi and Pete have some tension filled comments towards each other, Roger Federer and Sampras held of Rafael Nadal and Agassi, 8-6. At one point, Sampras mimicked Agassi’s pigeon-toed walk, while Agassi made fun of Sampras for being a lousy tipper. “It was out of line,” said Agassi during an interview with ESPN.com on Monday. “It was inappropriate. The night was on fire. We were all having fun. I was trying to be comedic. I only had a split second to make a decision. I went for it and it fell flat. I was trying to get past it, but Pete didn’t really let me get past it. He didn’t really roll with it. I’ve texted Pete to ask him if I can apologize in person.”
On Tuesday, the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 was named the Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year, as voted by the ATP World Tour players. Also on Tuesday, Rolex announced that it will increase its sponsorship to become the title sponsor of the tournament. This year’s tournament will now be known as the Shanghai Rolex Masters. “Being named Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year makes us all very proud, and to achieve such a distinction in our inaugural year is more than the icing on the cake,” said Tournament Directors Michael Luevano and Leon Sun.
Kim Clijsters won the Laureus Comeback Athlete of the Year Award, beating out Lance Armstrong. Serena Williams was named the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. Roger Federer was nominated for the World Sportsman of the Year but was beat out by Olympic track and field champion Usain Bolt.
Sources indicate that former Australian and French Open semifinalist Nicole Vaidisova has retired at the age of 20 and will marry ATP World Tour star Radek Stepanek. Vaidisova, who reached a career high ranking of No. 7 in 2007, said she was tired of losing and lacks the desire to climb her way back to the top of the women’s tennis rankings.
The USTA announced that the inaugural US Open National Playoffs will be held on the sites of the first men’s and women’s tournaments of the 2010 Olympus US Open Series. The men’s playoff will take place at the Atlanta Athletic Club during the ATP Atlanta Tennis Championships from July 22-25, while the women’s playoff will be held at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford University during the Bank of the West Classic from July 29-August 1. “We are thrilled to hold the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s and Women’s Championships in conjunction with the start of the 2010 Olympus US Open Series,” said Jim Curley, the Chief Professional Tournaments Officer and US Open Tournament Director.
Vera Zvonareva has split with coach Antonio Van Grichen, who only coached her for three months.
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic will coach Marin Cilic at tournaments in Miami and Madrid. “Bob (Brett) is still his coach but in Miami and Madrid I am going to be his replacement while he is not there,” Ivanisevic told the ATP Champions Tour. “I will be like a mentor to Marin.”
Tim Henman has ruled himself out as the next Davis Cup Captain for Great Britain. “It doesn’t feel like the right time. I’m enjoying my family and my golf, and not having any structure in my life,” Henman told The Sun.
Rafael Nadal has committed to play in the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in London in June. It will be Nadal’s first grass court action since defeating Roger Federer in five sets to capture his first Wimbledon title in 2008. US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has also committed early to play in the grass court tune-up for Wimbledon.
Lleyton Hewitt has committed to play in the Atlanta Tennis Championships from July 19-25. John Isner, James Blake and Robby Ginepri have already signed up.
Dinara Safina, who has been sidelined since the Australian Open with a back injury, has withdrawn from next week’s tournament in Miami.
Former Top 30 player Dmitry Tursunov is aiming to return to competition at Wimbledon, following two foot and ankle surgeries during the last six months.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld will be out of competition for six weeks due to a foot injury.
Following her opening round loss to Anastasija Sevastova in Indian Wells former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic will be ranked outside the Top 50 when the newest rankings are released on Monday.
By defeating Taylor Dent in straight sets in his opening round match in Indian Wells, American Ryan Harrison became the first 17-year-old to win a main draw match at the event since Rafael Nadal did so in 2004.
Fernando Gonzalez, who did not play in Indian Wells to help with earthquake relief efforts in Chile, has been touring hard struck areas this week. Gonzalez even held a tennis clinic for children in the town of Talcahuano.
A hearing by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) on Yanina Wickmayer’s suspension for violating anti-doping whereabouts requirements could be delayed for several years while the case is fought in Belgian court. Wickmayer was informed by the CAS that they won’t rule on the case until a decision by the Belgian courts is final.
Struggling Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu told L’Equipe that he has been watching old clips of his form on YouTube to help him analyze how he reached No. 12 in the rankings in 2008.
Beach Tennis USA will launch a two-day international open beach tennis tournament at the site of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. The event will take place on March 27 and 28.

MONDAYS WITH BOB GREENE: THE FIRST WEEK OF INDIAN WELLS

March 15, 2010 by WTM

STARS

Indian Wells (First Week)

Carla Suarez Navarro beat top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 4-6 6-1

Elena Baltacha beat seventh-seeded Li Na 7-6 (6) 2-6 7-6 (7)

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat ninth-seeded Marin Cilic 7-6 (1) 6-0

Zheng Jie beat 10^th-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3 2-6 6-3

Gisela Dulko beat Justine Henin 6-2 1-6 6-4

Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal beat third-seeded Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-4 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska beat fourth-seeded Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-4 4-6 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Igor Andreev and Evgeny Korolev beat fourth-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-4 6-4

OTHERS

Fernando Meligeni beat Mark Philippoussis 6-2 4-6 10-8 (match tiebreak) to win the Rio Champions Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Stefan Edberg beat Goran Ivanisevic 3-6 6-3 12-10 (match tiebreak) to win the BNP Paribas Zurich Open in Zurich, Switzerland

SAYINGS

“The tennis ball is perfect. I am not perfect.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top-seeded Russian after she lost to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro at Indian Wells, California.

“As the tiebreak started, she just came out with unbelievable stuff. I think she hit four backhand winners down the line. And I thought, ‘OK, yeah, that’s why you’re top 10. I understand.’ But then at 5-1 I went into the zone and I felt really strong and I just fought my heart out.” – Elena Baltacha, a qualifier from Great Britain who saved two match points en route to a 7-6 (6), 2-6 7-6 (7) upset win over China’s Li Na.

“This week is so special for me because last year this was the last match, and then I haven’t played for almost a year.” – Mario Ancic, winning his first ATP match in more than a year after recurrences of mononucleosis.

“I’m hitting the ball well and training well. But I can see I’m having trouble closing out matches. That’s not something you can practice for.” – Carlos Moya, after edging qualifier Tim Smyczek 7-6 (7) 7-6 (5) in the first round at Indian Wells California, USA

“To not defend my Wimbledon title last year was one of the toughest decisions in my career, but this is a new year and now I have the chance to go back to England and to compete on the grass again.” – Rafael Nadal, who won the last two grass-court tournaments he played, Queen’s Club and Wimbledon in 2008.

“Before the event started, I felt like a stranger among so many great champions. I was the only one that hadn’t reached the top 10, and here I am with this trophy.” – Fernando Meligeni, the surprise winner of the Rio Champions Cup, a senior event played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“John is a great fighter and a fantastic tennis player. He’s still got the fire and wants it badly. There’s only one John McEnroe, and so long as he keeps playing it’s good for tennis.” – Stefan Edberg, after edging McEnroe in a seniors tournament in Zurich, Switzerland.

“It’s too bad I blew it. Any time you’re up 5-0 in a tiebreak you should certainly win it.” – John McEnroe, after losing to Stefan Edberg.

“After 20 minutes of play I was dead. I had pain in my elbow, in my knee. I had blisters. It is tough not to play for four months and then try to play. I have to get used again to play at least a couple of times a week. This is new for me.” – Marat Safin, after losing his first Champions Series match just 17 weeks after retiring from the ATP World Tour.

“Marat’s game is based on the physical power, and as he is not in a competitive shape, it gave me an edge.” – Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, who stunned Marat Safin in the Russian’s Champions Series debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“What we guaranteed was at least a million dollars, but people are continuing to make contributions. With a little bit of luck, we’ll tally everything up and we’ll go over the million dollar target.” – Larry Ellison, owner of Indian Wells Tennis Garden, when he presented a check for USD $1 million to the American Red Cross Haiti relief and development fund.

STRICKENED

A broken left wrist has caused fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Davydenko first suffered the injury last month in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, but it was misdiagnosed. An MRI scan on Sunday showed the true injury. “He has a fracture in his left wrist and he will be in a split for the next four weeks,” an ATP Tour official said. The Russian hurt his wrist when he fell during a loss to Sweden’s Robin Soderling. In his next tournament, Davydenko retired with a wrist injury from a match with Michael Berrer.

SAYS BYE TO TIE

Following suicide bomb attacks in Lahore, Pakistan has given up hope of staging a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand in July. Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) president Dilawar Abbas said that while his country has asked the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to allow the tie to be played in Pakistan, “there is no doubt the situation has changed after the Lahore blasts.” Two suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore in the latest incidents. Several sporting events have been cancelled in the country since the Sri Lanka cricket team’s bus was ambushed last year. Since then the ITF has already moved Davis Cup ties against Oman and Hong Kong out of Pakistan when those nations refused to play in the country.

SPORTSWOMAN OF YEAR

Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters were among the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. Williams was named Sportswoman of the Year for the second time, while Clijsters earned Comeback of the Year honors. The 28-year-old Williams, who also won the award seven years ago, was crowned champion at the Australian Open and Wimbledon as well as the season-ending Tour Championships as she regained the number one ranking in 2009. Clijsters won the US Open last year after being absent from tennis for two years to get married and have a baby. Sprinter Usain Bolt won the Sportsman of the Year award for the second time. Former Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo was presented with the Sport for Good award, honored for his humanitarian work through the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation.

SHARING SKILLS

Goran Ivanisevic will continue to coach Marin Cilic on a part-time basis. Ivanisevic will travel with the Australian Open semifinalist to Key Biscayne, Florida, and Madrid, Spain, to continue the relationship the two began at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors tournament in February, an event Cilic won. The 21-year-old Cilic is coached on a full-time basis by Bob Brett, who also coached Ivanisevic. At Miami and Madrid, Brett will step back and let Ivanisevic take over. “I will be like a mentor to Marin,” Ivanisevic said. It was Ivanisevic who first brought Cilic, then 15 years old, to Brett’s attention. Cilic and Brett have worked together ever since at Brett’s academy in San Remo, Italy.

SPEED BUMP

Justine Henin ran into a speed bump on her comeback trail. Playing just her third tournament since ending a 19-month retirement, Henin lost to Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-2 1-6 6-4 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. The Belgian, who was ranked number one in the world when she retired in May 2008, had reached the finals at Brisbane, Australia, and the Australian Open in her previous two tournaments this year. Against Dulko, however, Henin struggled on serve, saving just two of eight break points, and never found consistency with her ground strokes. “It was a tough day today, I agree,” Henin said. “I wasn’t consistent enough. That’s very simple. It’s a bit of an off day and you have to deal with it.”

SUPER MATCH

When Stefan Edberg and John McEnroe clashed at the ATP Champions Tour event in Zurich, Switzerland, it was the fans that came away the winner. Edberg saved two match points and earned a standing ovation with his thrilling 6-4 4-6 13-11 (match tiebreak) victory. The 51-year-old McEnroe won the first five points of the tiebreak, only to see Edberg knot the score at 8-8. McEnroe surged again, setting up two match points, before Edberg rallied for the victory. “I was pretty lucky to come out of this one,” Edberg said. “I thought I had lost the match when I was 5-0 down in the tiebreak. John was serving well and you shouldn’t really win a match like that, but luckily I did.” The two players received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Saalsporthalle in Zurich.

Edberg rallied from two match points down again in the title match before defeating Goran Ivanisevic 3-6 6-3 12-10 (match tiebreak). This time, the match points came on Ivanisevic’s serve, one of the biggest in tennis.

SENIOR STUNNER

Being the youngest in the field and newly retired from the ATP Tour, Marat Safin probably thought it would be an easy run at the Banco Cruzeiro do Sul Rio Champions Cup, a senior event. He was so wrong. Safin was stunned by South African Wayne Ferreira 7-6 (4) 6-4 in the Russian’s Champions Series debut. The 30-year-old Safin played his last match on the ATP World Tour 17 weeks ago. The 38-year-old Ferreira last played a full season on the ATP Tour in 2004. It was his first win over Safin after losing all three previous meetings during their ATP careers.

SIGNED UP

Lleyton Hewitt is the latest star to enter the first Atlanta Tennis Championships, scheduled to be held July 19-25 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The hard-court tournament was moved to Atlanta from Indianapolis, Indiana, and serves as the kickoff to the 2010 Olympus US Open Series. Besides Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam tournament winner, others who have entered the Atlanta Tennis Championships include Americans John Isner, James Blake and Robby Ginepri.

STANDING TALL

As he promised, Fernando Gonzalez toured the area in Chile where a massive earthquake last month killed hundreds of people. During Chile’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Israel, Gonzalez promised the visit. “The people are very strong even though they’ve lost everything, and they are optimistic,” Gonzalez posted on Twitter during his visit. “I wish every one of us would have this fighting spirit to get through this moment and move forward.” Gonzalez visited a fishing village called El Morro, near Talcahuano, which was devastated by both the earthquake and a subsequent tsunami. The Olympic gold medalist played a tennis exhibition with children of the area. Talcahuano’s mayor, Gaston Saavedra, thanked Gonzalez for his visit, saying: “A national figure as Fernando Gonzalez helps people to clear their mind a little, especially the ones that have lost everything.”

STUMBLING

Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs won 32 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles titles together before they went their separate ways. Now they’re back together again, but the victories have yet to follow. Seeded fourth at the PNB Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, Raymond and Stubbs were upset by Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 4-6 10-3 (match tiebreak). Raymond had been seeking to become the first woman to win the doubles at Indian Wells seven times. Since reuniting at the start of this year, the team of Raymond and Stubbs has lost their opening match in three of their four Tour events.

STRAIGHT IN

The last time Rafael Nadal was at Queen’s Club, he came away with the grass-court tournament title. Now he’s returning, but not as the defending champion. Nadal missed the tournament last year because of a knee problem. In 2008, he became the first man to win the French Open, Queen’s Club and Wimbledon in the same year. “I always look forward to coming to England to play at The Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, but this year there is even more motivation because I could not defend my titles last year,” Nadal said. Also entered in this year’s Queen’s Club is US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

SEEKING ANSWERS

Talk about pressure. Now the House of Commons will take a look at the state of British tennis. The sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has asked a group of MPs and peers to examine whether the Lawn Tennis Association is putting its public money to the best use. It is believe to be the first time the government has been asked to scrutinize the perceived flaws and failings of British tennis. In addition to the £ 25 million-plus the LTA receives each year from Wimbledon, the governing body of British tennis is receiving £ 26.8 million of public money from Sport England spread over a four-year period from 2009 to 2013. At least two hearings are planned, and a number of LTA’s critics are expected to testify about where they think the current tennis administration has gone wrong. Sutcliffe said there was a possibility of cutting future funding for British tennis.

SERVING ALL

The Bud Collins Tennis Courts have opened for play at the Prince Royal’s College in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The courts, named for the famed tennis writer, were the scene of a small tournament as part of the opening festivities. Players aged 8 to 18 participated, with Collins himself awarding the trophies. Collins’ missionary grandparents founded the Prince Royal’s College in 1887. The writer’s father was the third of seven children, all born in Siam, then the name of the country now known as Thailand. The opening of the Bud Collins Tennis Courts is a continuation of the Collins legacy at the school.

SWISS RECIPIENT

Heinz Grimm of Switzerland is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Golden Achievement Award given by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Golden Achievement Award is presented annually to individuals who have made important contributions internationally to tennis in the fields of administration, promotion or education, and have devoted long and outstanding service to the sport. Grimm has been active as an administrator in the sport for more than five decades. He received the award at the Swiss Tennis Gala Night in Zurich from Sir James Harvie-Watt, a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Among his many activities, Grimm has been chairman of the Fed Cup Committee and in 2001 was named an honorary life vice president of the ITF. Before he became an administrator, Grimm played on Switzerland’s Davis Cup team in 1960 and served as a playing captain in 1961 and a non-playing captain from 1962 to 1974. Nominations for the Golden Achievement Award are submitted by tennis federations and individuals from the around the world, and then voted on by the Golden Achievement Award Selection Committee.

SOME HOME COOKING

Nothing like playing at home for Fernando Meligeni. Spurred on by a boisterous and supportive home crowd, the Brazilian was a surprise winner of the Banco Cruzerio do Sul Rio Champions Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Meligeni downed Australian Mark Philippoussis 6-2 4-6 10-8 (match tiebreak) in the final. His first title in the Champions Series for players 30 and over earned Meligeni USD $60,000. Before now, Meligeni’s best career performances were a semifinal appearance at the 1999 French Open and a fourth-place finish at the 1996 Olympic Games.

SLOANE SPECIAL

A 16-year-old native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, Sloan Stephens won her first WTA Tour match, defeating Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5) 7-6 (7). It wasn’t easy, however. Stephens led 5-2 in the second set and had match point on her serve in the ninth game. Then she had to rally from 3-6 down in the second-set tiebreaker. “I wasn’t getting nervous,” the young American admitted. “She started playing a lot more. Before, she was hitting a lot of balls off the court and I was waiting for the error. She made me play at the end.”

SIGNED UP 2

US Open finalists Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki have entered the grass-court tournament at Eastbourne, England. Clijsters celebrated her return to professional tennis following a two-year retirement by winning America’s premier tennis event by beating Wozniacki, who is the defending champion at Eastbourne. “I won it in 2005 and can’t wait to play there to come back to challenge for the title again,” Clijsters said. “It’s a really well-run tournament in a laid-back atmosphere providing the perfect preparation ahead of Wimbledon.”

SERENA VS. MARTINA

When World Team Tennis begins play in July, Martina Hingis will take on Serena Williams in a battle between two players who have been ran ked number one in the world. A five-time Grand Slam tournament singles champion and the youngest woman to be ranked number one, Hingis will play for the New York Buzz and face Serena on July 9. Hingis also will play Venus Williams of the Washington Kastles on July 7 and Kim Clijsters of the New York Sportimes on July 19.

STEALING THE LIMELIGHT

Martina Navratilova and Andre Agassi stole the limelight with their wit as well as their racquets while playing exhibition matches to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Navratilova and Justine Henin beat Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport 8-6 before Pete Sampras and Roger Federer stopped Agassi and Rafael Nadal by the same score. The men’s doubles match also added some controversy to the night. After Sampras did an impersonation of Agassi by walking pigeon-toed on the baseline, Agassi responded by pulling out both the pockets of his tennis shorts and saying he didn’t have any money. In his book “Open,” Agassi wrote that Sampras had a reputation for being a very bad tipper.

SERVING TENNIS CANADA

Marc Bibeau is the newest member of Tennis Canada’s board of directors. President of Beauward Shopping Centres Ltd., Bibeau has played tennis his entire life and is a volunteer director of Tennis Canada. “Tennis has always been my passion,” Bibeau said. He replaces Senator Francis Fox, who decided not to stand for re-election after four years on the board.

SITES TO SURF

Indian Wells: www.bnpparibasopen.org/

Marrakech: www.arryadia.com/mtt

Sunrise: www.sunrisetennis.com

Bogota: www.tennissegurosbolivar.com

Miami: www.sonyericssonopen.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$4,000,000 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)

$145,000 Morocco Tennis Tour, Marrakech, Morocco, clay

$125,000 BMW Tennis Championships, Sunrise, Florida, USA, hard

WTA

$4,000,000 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)

SENIORS

Seguros Bolivar Tennis Champions, Bogota, Colombia, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$4,000,000 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)

WTA

$4,000,000 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)

OUDIN SIGNS WITH VIRGIN MOBILE, SAP STAYS IN SAN JOSE: THIS WEEK IN TENNIS BUSINESS

March 10, 2010 by WTM

By Justin Cohen

Melanie Oudin has signed an endorsement deal with Virgin Mobile that will reportedly pay her between $500,000 and $2 million over four years. Virgin Mobile announced that they will donate $1 million to homeless youth organizations if Oudin wins the 2010 US Open in New York.

Sony Ericsson has reached a contract extension with the WTA Tour through 2012 but will no longer be the title sponsor of the women’s professional tour, as well as the year-end championships. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sony Ericsson’s current six-year, $88 million deal as the global title sponsor of the WTA Tour is set to expire at the end of 2010.
SAP, a German business software company, has renewed its title sponsorship with the ATP tournament in San Jose, Calif., for the next three years. Last month, Fernando Verdasco defeated Andy Roddick in three sets to capture the title in San Jose.
Champions Porsche has extended its sponsorship deal for another five years with the ATP World Tour Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
Pete Sampras recently listed his Los Angeles mansion on the market for $25 million, while Andy Roddick is selling his Austin, Texas, home for $4 million. Jennifer Capriati’s house in Wesley Chapel, Fla., is on the market for $2.1 million.
Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Justine Henin and Lindsay Davenport will take part in the second “Hit for Haiti” on March 12 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The match will follow the already set men’s exhibition match for Haiti featuring Roger Federer and Pete Sampras taking on Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi in a doubles match.
The World Economic Forum has named Roger Federer as one of its “Young Global Leaders for 2010.” Out of a list of 5,000 eligible candidates, only 197 were selected.
Tennis Channel Chairman and CEO Ken Solomon was sworn in as a member of President Barack Obama’s Committee of Arts and the Humanities in the U.S. Supreme Court. “It is extremely humbling to be named to this esteemed committee, but the highest honor will come in what we’re able to accomplish,” said Solomon, who has more than 25 years of television and multimedia experience. “Not only can we drive our nation’s economic growth via the arts and humanities, but through cultural diplomacy we seek to strengthen our relationship within the global family of nations as well. I welcome this service, the work ahead and the chance to advance the democratization of the arts through education.”
According to The London Telegraph, the Lawn Tennis Association might pursue Tim Henman as the next captain of Great Britain’s Davis Cup squad. Current captain John Lloyd acknowledged that his job might be in jeopardy following Great Britain’s loss to Lithuania last weekend.
According to the DPA, Serbian Davis Cup captain Bogdan Obradovic has requested that Serbia’s tie against host Croatia be played in Zagreb because the team is concerned it will attract a more rowdy and nationalistic crowd. Currently, Split is the front-runner city to host the Davis Cup quarterfinal match. Croatian newspaper Jutamji List has reportedly said the comment Obradovic said is “the start of psychological warfare already four months before.” World No. 2 and Serbian player Novak Djokovic insisted that, “I heard that my camp is complaining about Split as the host, but I think that the war years are far behind us and that we should not overreact.” Split was heavily bombed by Serbia during the Balkan Wars fought
Tennis Channel plans to carry 90 hours of television coverage of this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, following a couple years of scattered coverage by Fox Sports Net.
Martina Hingis recently told the Neue Luzemer Zeitung that she has gotten engaged to Zurich lawyer Andreas Bieri. “It’s true, Andreas made a marriage proposal to me,” said Hingis. “I was totally surprised. Naturally, I accepted.”
2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who has been sidelined with a wrist injury, has resumed training and hopes to return at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Russian WTA Tour star Elena Vesnina also plans to return in Miami having been sidelined recently due to a leg injury.
Sania Mirza will be sidelined for at least six weeks so she can rest her injured right wrist. Since leaping into the Top 30 in 2008, Mirza has been plagued with many injuries since and is now ranked No. 83. “I got some MRIs done yesterday,” said Mirza. “I have been struggling with this injury since the Fed Cup. But I played on with it a little bit, just to try out if I could. But right now I need six weeks off and then we will take a re-evaluation of the situation.”
Pop star Shakira’s music video, Gypsy, featuring Rafael Nadal as last week’s top Billboard music video.