STARS
Sony Ericsson Open
Men’s singles: Andy Roddick beat Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-4
Women’s singles: Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1
SAYINGS
“The last month has been real good for me. I’ve played well on the big moments. I’ve been able to have a game plan and execute it, regardless of what kind of shots it takes. So it’s all good. It’s all encouraging.” – Andy Roddick, who beat Tomas Berdych to win the Sony Ericsson Open.
“Venus is a great competitor, a great athlete, and one of the best women’s tennis has ever had. I knew I had to come out here and play well.” – Kim Clijsters, who beat Venus Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Open women’s singles.
“I think sometimes you have to be careful with practice, not to practice too long. I may have made a mistake with that a little bit. I know better, but ‘Eager V’ kind of burst through.” – Venus Williams, after losing to Kim Clijsters in the Sony Ericsson Open women’s final.
“Look, it’s no secret I’ve struggled the last, what is it, five matches I’ve played here in the states. It’s disappointing, I think, my performance overall, if I’ve got to analyze right now after the match but I fought as much as I could with my game having issues at the moment.” – Roger Federer, after losing to Tomas Berdych.
“To beat the number one player in the world, the best player so far is a great feeling. But still, it was not a final. There is another match waiting next day, another really tough opponent.” – Tomas Berdych, after beating Roger Federer.
“I think when we were younger we were quite close. I have a lot of good memories with Kim. And then when you arrive at the top, you want to win. But we never miss the respect to each other. Never, ever, ever. Even if people can talk about it, we never had any problems, Kim and I. Now the relationship is very good. We can feel the respect. We can feel that we’re more mature than in the past.” – Justine Henin, about her relationship with fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters.
“I was feeling like I had glue on my sneakers. I couldn’t jump, honestly. That’s why my serve was going into the net.” – Marion Bartoli, after losing to Venus Williams.
“She looked really amazing. I said to her, ‘It’s not fair you’re dressing up so nicely. I’m going to watch more what you’re wearing than the ball.’ … She had a red dress and some really, really, really high-heel shoes, maybe something like 14 inches.” – Marion Bartoli, talking about Serena Williams.
“Today was just a horrible day. I’ll delete it from my head.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, after losing to Marion Bartoli.
“My country will never forget this.” – Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, talking about a four-man exhibition doubles match to raise money for his earthquake-strickened homeland.
SONY ERICSSON KING
Looking like the Andy Roddick of old, the American stopped the incredible run of Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open for the second time. In his run to the final, Berdych upset three top-10 players: Roger Federer, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Soderling. Roddick, who knocked off Rafael Nadal on his way to the hard court title, said he was most pleased with how smart he played during the event. “I won in different ways. I changed it up against Rafa and today I was smart with chipping and mixing paces, which kept him guessing,” Roddick said. It was Roddick’s first Sony Ericsson Open title since 2004 and his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown since Cincinnati in 2006. It was Roddick’s second straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments final, having reached the title match two weeks ago in Indian Wells, California, USA. “Obviously it’s a big title for me,” Roddick said. “I felt a little bit of pressure to win this one because I had a pretty good opportunity in Indian Wells and didn’t come through there.”
SINGLE PARENT
Among the spectators watching Andy Roddick beat Rafael Nadal was Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, and their son Charlie. She sat under an awning in club seats near the players’ lounge at the Key Biscayne, Florida, facility, while Charlie stood on his mom’s lap. Nordegren was not wearing a wedding ring. Woods has been at the tournament in the past to root for his friend, Roger Federer. Nordegren and her son dined with Federer, his wife Mirka and their twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva. A witness said Nordegren entered the Key Biscayne tennis center with two bodyguards and that she had also watched a women’s match between Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
SCORCHING HOT
If she reaches the final, Kim Clijsters is taking home the big trophy. Since returning to tennis last summer, the 26-year-old Belgian is 3-0 in finals, winning the US Open last year, the Brisbane International in January and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA, on Sunday. Her latest win was a 6-2 6-1 trouncing of Venus Williams. Clijsters is now tied with Monica Seles for fourth-most hard-court women’s singles titles in the Open Era with 28, trailing only Steffi Graf (37), Lindsay Davenport (34) and Chris Evert (32). Williams had her 15-match winning streak snapped, having won her last two tournaments, at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Acapulco, Mexico. “I knew I had to come out here and play well,” Clijsters said. “My semifinal against Justine (Henin) was such an exciting match, I just tried to keep going from there and not lose a beat, especially playing against someone like Venus, a great competitor and a great athlete. She’s one of the best players women’s tennis has ever had.”
SHOULDER WOES
A right shoulder strain added to top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova’s woes as she lost to Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open. The Russian was leading 3-2 in the opening set before her French opponent ripped through the next 10 games to win the match 6-3 6-0. “When I was serving at 3-5 I felt a pull in my shoulder,” Kuznetsova said. “I still kept serving but it was so painful I almost had stars in my eyes. I probably should’ve pulled out earlier, but it was my choice to play. I’m not going to pull out at 4-0 in the second set. It would look ugly.”
STAYING HOME
Ana Ivanovic will miss Serbia’s Fed Cup World Group playoff tie against Slovakia because of poor form. Ranked number one in the world after she won the French Open in 2008, Ivanovic has plummeted to 58th in the rankings. “I spoke with captain Dejan Vranjes and the president of the (Serbian tennis) federation Slobodan Zivojinovic and together we decided that under these circumstances it’s not the right time for me to be part of the team,” Ivanovic wrote on her official website (www.anaivanovic.com). Despite my non-presence I believe we have a good team led by Jelena (Jankovic) and this is a great opportunity for one of the young upcoming players to play on the biggest stage.” Ivanovic has not won a tournament for 16 months.
SERENA OUT
Will she or won’t she? That is the question about Serena Williams and the Italian Open. The world’s top-ranked woman has not entered the Italian Open, although she reportedly has asked that a wild-card spot be kept open for her. Sidelined with a knee injury since winning the Australian Open in January, Williams in 2002 won Rome, a key clay-court warm-up for the French Open. That year – 2002 – was the only year Serena won Roland Garros. All of the other top 10 players, including sister Venus Williams, are entered in the Italian Open, according to tournament director Sergio Palmieri.
STEPANEK RESTING
Fatigue syndrome has benched Radek Stepanek for about two months. Karel Tejkal, a spokesman for the Czech Republic Davis Cup team, said the 31-year-old Stepanek could miss the French Open, which begins on May 23, and could even be in doubt for the Davis Cup quarterfinals in July in Chile. Since reaching the final of the Brisbane International in January, Stepanek has failed to get beyond the second round in any tournament this year. He currently is ranked 18th in the world.
SUPPORT FOR CHILE
Andy Roddick helped raise money for Chilean earthquake victims by playing two sets of celebrity doubles with Fernando Gonzalez of Chile and veteran Grand Slam tournament champions Jim Courier and Gustavo Kuerten. But leave it to Roddick to come up with the shot of the match. With his back to the net, Roddick flicked the ball through his legs and between his opponents for a winner. The charity event raised USD $125,000.
STADIUM IN WAITING
When the world’s top players show up for this year’s Italian Open, they will have a new 10,500-seat stadium to play in. The Italian Olympic Committee built the USD $38.4 million facility in Rome on the same site as the former stadium at the Foro Italico. The men will begin play in the Rome Masters on April 25, while the women will begin their one-week stay the following week. Tournament director Sergio Palmieri described it as “the premier tennis stadium in the world in terms of visibility for fans.”
SANIA TO WED
Sania Mirza of India reportedly is marrying Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Malik. In a two-page statement released to the media, Malik said Mirza would continue to play for India and he will represent Pakistan. The two will marry in Hyderabad, India, on April 15. “Definitely all my family members will be here for the wedding since both Sania and I have the blessings of everyone concerned,” said Malik, who refused to discuss his alleged earlier marriage with another Hyderabad woman, Ayesha Siddiqui. In Madurai, India, police arrest 20 protestors when they attempted to deface a portrait of Mirza. The protestors were carrying placards stating “Sania is an anti-national” for becoming engaged to the Pakistani athlete.
SINKING LOW
With the image of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) at an all-time low, politicians have entered the picture. The All-Party Parliamentary Tennis Group spent three weeks gathering evidence and sent a three-page report to Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. “Given the remarkable level of expenditure, in excess of 60 million pounds (USD $90 million) annually, it should be possible to deliver better outcomes than at present,” the report stated. The report questioned whether money was being spent in the right areas, namely grassroots tennis. Britain currently has one man and one woman in the top 100 in the world. No Brit has won the Wimbledon men’s singles since 1936 when Fred Perry captured his third consecutive title. Virginia Wade in 1977 was the last Brit to win the women’s singles at Wimbledon. The LTA is still reeling from Britain’s humiliating Davis Cup defeat by Lithuania.
SOCIAL MEDIA SITE
Fans can access the tweets by Maria Sharapova, the Williams sisters and other women tennis players. The WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson announced the launch of WTASuperFans.com, a social media site that provides an Internet hub for tour players. The site gathers content generated by players on Twitter and Facebook, including videos and photos. The tour says Sharapova is the most-followed female athlete in the world.
STEPPING UP
Since 1994 there have been 27 girls who have been number one in the world in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. Only three have reached the number one spot in the pros – Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic and Amelie Mauresmo. According to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, three has won Grand Slam tournament singles titles (Hingis, Mauresmo and Svetlana Kuznetsova), while both Cara Black and Anna Kournikova went on to be ranked number one in the world in doubles. Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska were the only sisters to both achieve junior world number one rankings since records have been kept. Neither Serena nor Venus Williams – both of whom have been ranked number one in the world – played junior tennis.
STRUGGLING
Cliff Richey, who led the United States to the Davis Cup title in 1970, says he has struggled with depression. In a new book, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match,” Richey describes his struggle with depression, which was not diagnosed until just before his 50th birthday. He has since become an advocate for mental health, speaking at events across the country. Richey wrote the book with his daughter Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, a college professor. He was ranked number one in the United States in 1970, the year he won eight tournaments, including the US Clay Courts.
SPONSOR
Longines, the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open, will offer junior players an opportunity to play at Roland Garros during the French Open. In conjunction with the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Eastern Region and Tennis Magazine, Longines will host a tournament this month in New York in which players will be selected on not only their on-court performance but also on their commitment to give back to their community. Each registered athlete had to submit a 300-word essay on philanthropy. The winner of the US girls event will receive an all-expense paid trip to Paris to compete against champions from Poland, China, Hong Kong, Russia, Germany, Singapore and Taiwan. Qualified junior male players will represent the United States, Australia, China, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Japan and Mexico. They will be paired by a draw and play mixed doubles matches at Roland Garros.
SAD NEWS
The photographer behind Tennis Girl, one of the world’s biggest-selling posters, is dead. Martin Elliott was 63. Elliot took the picture in 1976 of his then girlfriend, Fiona Butler, dressed in tennis gear, hitching her skirt to reveal a bare bottom. The poster has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Elliott died at his home in Truro, Cornwall, England, following a 10-year battle with cancer.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Sony Ericsson Open
Men: Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-2 7-5
Women: Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta beat Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur 6-3 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)
SITE TO SURF
Casablanca: www.frmt.ma/
Houston: www.mensclaycourt.com/
Marbella: www.andaluciatennis.com/
Ponte Vedra Beach: www.mpsgroupchamps.net/
Johannesburg: www.satennis.co.za
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
$532,000 Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, clay
$442,500 US Men’s Clay Court Championships, Houston, Texas, USA, clay
$125,000 ATP Challenger, Bogota, Colombia, clay
WTA
$220,000 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain, clay
$220,000 MPS Group Championships, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP
$3,000,000 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay
$100,000 Johannesburg ATP Challenger, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard
WTA
$700,000 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, clay
$220,000 Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain, clay
$100,000 Soweto Open, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard
DAVIS CUP
Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV at Amman, Jordan, hard (round robin): Bahrain, Brunei, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen