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John Isner Struggles, But Survives Tiebreakers — Mondays with Bob Greene

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STARS

 

Dominika Cibulkova beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, USA

 

John Isner beat Kevin Anderson 6-7 (3) 7-6 (2) 7-6 (2) to win the BB&T Atlanta Open in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

 

Mikhail Youzhny beat Robin Haase 6-3 6-4 to win the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open in Gstaad, Switzerland

 

Tommy Robredo beat Fabio Fognini 6-0 6-3 to win the Vegeta Croatia Open in Umag, Croatia

 

Elina Svitolina beat Shahar Peer 6-4 6-4 to win the Baku Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan

 

Dudi Sela beat Mikhail Kukushkin 5-7 6-2 7-6 (6) to win the President’s Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan

 

SAYING

 

“I lived on the edge all week, and seemed to come through for the good every time. It feels good to be on the right side.” – John Isner, after winning two of three tiebreakers to capture the Atlanta, Georgia, USA, tournament.

 

“He definitely played two better tiebreakers than me; there’s no question about that.” – Kevin Anderson, after losing to John Isner in the BB&T Atlanta Open final.

 

“In the long rallies I started to feel my breath and my legs. The last match point I was so dead, I was so tired, but I knew I could not give it up now. I knew I just had to make one, two more balls and the match is mine.” – Dominika Cibulkova, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.

 

“I didn’t use my chances when I was 4-2 up, and I paid the price.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, following her loss to Dominika Cibulkova.

 

“I’m more than happy. I’ve been a professional for nearly 15 years and this is my 12th title, so there have not been many times with trophies. I love the emotion.” – Tommy Robredo, following his victory at the Vegeta Croatia Open Umag.

 

“I’m very happy. When you win a tournament, it doesn’t matter how you’ve played or who you beat.” – Mikhail Youzhny, following his victory over Robin Haase in Gstaad, Switzerland

 

“I’m here as the runner-up and that’s great. I think that the altitude fits my game and that I can handle it well. It’s tough to play against Mikhail. He’s a great player and I never beat him.” – Robin Haase, who has lost to Youzhny in all five of their career meetings.

 

“We played a great match today again. We played two weeks in a row so now we know each other quite well. We’re very happy because we lost in the final last week and now we got the title.” – Edouard Roger-Vasselin, after he and Igor Sijsling won the BB&T Atlanta Open doubles title.

 

“I served well and put pressure on him from the very beginning. It helped that I already played him in Hamburg last week.” – Daniel Brands, after he upset Roger Federer at the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open in Gstaad.

 

“I got a few chances but finally couldn’t take advantage of them. I wasn’t consistent enough in the end. He was serving well and I couldn’t do enough with my return.” – Roger Federer, on why he lost to Daniel Brands.

 

“I’m happy that I was able to play because I’ve had problems for some time now, already in Hamburg. But it didn’t get worse during today’s match. I’m positive and I felt that it was getting better during the last few days.” – Roger Federer, discussing problems with his back.

 

SWITCHEROO

 

Dominika Cibulkova remembered the last time she played Agnieszka Radwanska – a 6-0 6-0 double-bagel to the world’s fourth-ranked player in the final at Sydney, Australia, in January. This time Cibulkova beat Radwanska in the Bank of the West Classic title match. “The difference between Sydney and today was that I made the first game,” Cibulkova said. “And after the first game I looked at my coach and was like, ‘Here we go. I’m out here, and it’s going to be good today.” It wasn’t all easy sailing for the Slovak, who lost her serve twice in the final set – both on double faults. But she won the final four games and fell to the ground in joy as her father, Milan, rushed out of the stands to hug her. “I was just so happy and he scared me,” Cibulkova laughed. “He gets emotional. I think that I have this after my parents – especially after my father – that I get into the matches sometimes so much and I just put my heart into it. And I think he did the same today.” It was Cibulkova’s third WTA title, having won in Carlsbad, California, USA, last year and in Moscow, Russia, in 2011.

 

SMASHING TIME

 

Perhaps John Isner doesn’t know how to play a short, quick match. In a battle of giants – Isner is 6-foot-9 (2.06m) and Kevin Anderson 6-8 (2.03m) – Isner outlasted his South African foe 6-7 (3) 7-6 (2) 7-6 (2) in the longest three-set ATP World Tour final this season: 2 hours, 54 minutes. “This is a tournament where I could have been out in my first match,” said Isner, a former University of Georgia star. He played at least one tiebreaker in all four of his matches – seven tiebreaks in all. Isner has played at least one tiebreaker in 11 of his last 13 matches prior to Atlanta and has an ATP-best tiebreaker record this season of 26-7. Against Anderson, Isner faced 11 service breaks – winning them all, often with aces. He missed his only chance to break Anderson’s serve. “I had a couple chances,” Anderson said. “He’s proven himself to serve well when it matters. He stepped it up well. Even if I was the better player in the majority of the match, he stays in there.” This was the first time in their eight career meetings that the winner of the first set did not win the match.

 

STUNNED AGAIN

 

It’s becoming habit-forming, Roger Federer being booted out of tournament by low-ranking opponents. In Gstaad at the Swiss Open, Federer fell in the second round to 55th-ranked Daniel Brands of Germany 6-3 6-4. Once the top player in the world, Federer has now lost to players ranked outside the top 50 in his last three tournaments, including Wimbledon, where he was beaten by Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, who was ranked 116th in the world. Last week Federer fell to Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis, the world number 114, in Hamburg, Germany. Federer, who never complains about injuries, said there was a reason behind the losses. “I’ve had serious problems with the back, I had to get some anti-inflammatories last week in Hamburg due to the back pain,” he said. “It was so tough to play and move out there today. I’ll just have to take treatment and see how it all goes.” The Swiss ace failed to reach a final in the first four months of this season before winning at the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, Germany. But his results in the Grand Slam tournaments have been atrocious: going out in the Australian Open semifinals, the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the second round at Wimbledon.

 

A day after Federer was ousted at the Swiss Open, Switzerland’s second-highest ranked player, Stanislas Wawrinka retired from his quarterfinal match at Gstaad with the same ailment: a bad back. Wawrinka stopped after requiring a medical timeout more than two hours into his match with Feliciano Lopez. The Spaniard was leading 6-4 2-6 4-3 when Wawrinka retired.

 

Federer and Wawrinka teamed in 2008 to win the doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.

 

STAYING HOME

 

The Spanish sport daily Marca reports that Rafael Nadal may skip the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, which is scheduled to begin on August 11. The reason is that Nadal’s left knee and left elbow may not hold up after he plays the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the week before. Both are hard court tournaments and lead to the year’s final Grand Slam event, the US Open, which is also played on hard courts. The newspaper also alleged that Nadal may not choose to play Cincinnati because “many players don’t like it because it’s geographically in the middle of nowhere.”

 

SHARAPOVA STILL OUT

 

Injuries suffered at Wimbledon are still being cited as the reason Maria Sharapova will not be playing the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The world’s second-ranked woman said she still hasn’t recovered from the injury sustained during a second-round loss to Michelle Larcher de Brito back in June. The Russian tumbled several times during the Wimbledon match, took a medical timeout and later said she thought she had strained a hip muscle. She also withdrew from the Bank of the West Classic played at Stanford, California, USA.

 

SUISSE CHAMPION

 

It has been 18 years since a Russian has captured the trophy in Gstaad, Switzerland. But Mikhail Youzhny did just that by beating Robin Haase in the final of the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open. “My last title was at the start of last year in Zagreb, so it’s been quite long.” Youzhny said. “I’m trying everything to try and play more consistently at a high level.” He did just that against Haase, needed 68 minutes and converting his third match point for the title. “When you see the score, it looks easy, but it wasn’t,” Youzhny said. “It was only one break in each set and I didn’t have many chances to break him again. The last game on my serve was also very close.” The last Russian to win at Gstaad was Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1995.

 

SHOULDER TROUBLES

 

Bob Bryan’s left shoulder injury has caused the world’s top-ranked doubles to pull out of the Citi Open in Washington, DC, USA. Bob and his twin brother Mike have not played since becoming the first doubles team in the Open Era to be the reigning champions in all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medalists. The Americans own a record 15 major championships and are seeking to become only the second men’s doubles team to win a calendar Grand Slam, matching the feat of Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman in 1951. The American twins are currently on a 24-match winning streak and have won a record 91 doubles titles as a team.

 

SENIOR CHAMPIONS

 

Tennis is apparently becoming an old man’s game – old being relative, of course. When Mikhail Youzhny captured the Suisse Open in Gstaad, it was the 12th time this year that a player aged 30 or over has won an ATP World Tour event. Now 31, it was Youzhny’s first title since he won the PBZ Zagreb Indoors in February 2012.

 

SWINGING AGAIN

 

Now that she’s been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Martina Hingis is spending her time back on the WTA Tour playing doubles. The 32-year-old Swiss star was inducted into the Newport, Rhode Island, USA, shrine earlier this month. Now she has two tournaments on her calendar, playing only doubles. She added the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to her schedule to go along with her return to the WTA Tour at the Southern California Open in Carlsbad, California, USA. Hingis asked for and received a wild card into the doubles in Toronto, but her partner has yet to be named. Hingis won the Rogers Cup singles in 1999 and 2000, as well as the doubles in 1998 and 2000. In her Hall of Fame career Hingis won five Grand Slam tournament singles titles and nine major doubles championships.

 

SVITOLINA WINS

 

Elina Svitolina won her first WTA title by beating Shahar Peer in the final of the Baku Cup. It was the first time the Ukrainian had reached a title match on the main women’s tour. At 18 years, 10 months and 18 days, Svitolina is the first teenager to win a WTA title in 2013 – and the first teenager to win since Timea Babos captured Monterrey in February 2012. Svitolina dominated her Israeli opponent, her power game just too much for the veteran Peer. On match point, Svitolina hit an ace out wide to wrap up the win. The champion had won a small International Tennis Federation tournament in Pune, India, last November, her only other title as a pro. She also won the French Open junior girls crown in 2010.

 

SAYS TESTED POSITIVE

 

According to media in Zagreb, Croatia, the country’s top player, Marin Cilic, failed a drug test in April. Quoting “reliable sources,” the Slobodna Dalmacija newspaper reported that Cilic failed the test only two weeks after passing a doping control at the Monte Carlo Masters. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is said to be probing the case and the 24-year-old Croatian, who is ranked 15th in the world, has sent his explanation to the world tennis body. The Jutarnji List newspaper reported that Cilic allegedly tested positive because of “incautious use of glucose.” Croatian newspapers said Cilic found out about the positive results during Wimbledon, adding that was the reason he withdrew from his match against Kenny de Schepper. At the time it was reported that Cilic withdrew because of a left knee injury.

 

SEEKS APPEAL

 

Serbia’s Victor Troicki is appealing his 18-month suspension for failing to provide a blood test to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “This was a clear mistake from the on-site doping control officer who was also a doctor, and the person in charge to decide,” Troicki said in a statement published on his website. “I am destroyed and exhausted. This is a real nightmare.” Ranked 53rd in the world, Troicki’s suspension last through January 24, 2015, meaning he will miss six Grand Slam tournaments. Troicki said he gave a urine sample after losing a match to Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, but declined to give blood because he felt ill and feared needles. Anti-doping rules require athletes selected for testing to comply with official requests. “The doctor in charge of the testing told me that I looked very pale and ill, and that I could skip the test if I wrote an explanation letter to ITF about it,” Troicki said. The player said he gave a blood sample the following morning to the doctor, Elena Gorodilova, and it was “negative, totally clean” like the initial urine test. The ITF tribunal said it found the 27-year-old Troicki a “confident and determined man” with “genuine belief” in the truth of what he was saying. “However, that does not mean that this account was in fact accurate,” the ruling said. “Mr. Troicki came across to us as someone prone to exaggeration in order to make his point.”

 

STEPPING DOWN

 

Once Britain’s top female player, Anne Keothavong has called it a career. The 29-year-old will join BT Sport’s tennis coverage team later this year. “I think I am leaving tennis in excellent shape with both Laura Robson and Heather Watson leading the way for Britain in the women’s game,” said Keothavong, who won 20 singles titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit, a stop below the WTA tour. She reached a career-high singles ranking of 48th in the world in 2009. She currently is ranked 285th. “I have given my decision a lot of thought and I believe this is the right time to move on to the next stage of my career,” she said.

 

SWITCHING COACHES

 

When Heather Watson takes to the court at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, USA, she will be working with a new coach. Britain’s number two player has parted company with coach Mauricio Hadad and will work with Jeremy Bates throughout the American hard-court season. The 21-year-old Watson has fallen to 78th in the world rankings after missing two months in the spring with glandular fever. Bates is the women’s lead coach for Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association. He will work with Watson in Toronto and Cincinnati before heading to the US Open in New York City. Watson has not played since losing a first-round Wimbledon match to American Madison Keys.

 

SOME CHANGES COMING

 

The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the US Open, will undergo a USD $500 million expansion. The New York City Council voted to accept a plan that allows the 46-acre tennis center to annex a small parcel of parkland in Flushing Meadows Park and in return receive more than USD $10 million for improvements to the park. Community groups that had pressured the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for concessions applauded the deal, which includes an annual job fair for local residents, allowing area high schools to hold their graduation ceremonies at the center and including tennis coaching programs for local children.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

 

Astana: Riccardo Ghedin and Claudio Grassi beat Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin 3-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

 

Atlanta: Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Igor Sijsling beat Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray 7-6 (6) 6-3

 

Baku: Irina Buryachok and Oksana Kalashnikova beat Eleni Daniilidou and Aleksandra Krunic 4-6 7-6 (3) 10-4 (match tiebreak)

 

Gstaad: Jamie Murray and John Peers beat Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-4

Stanford: Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Julia Goerges and Darija Jurak 6-2 7-6 (4)

 

Umag: Martin Klizan and David Marrero beat Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler 6-1 5-7 10-7 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Carlsbad: www.southerncaliforniaopen13.com/

Washington: www.citiopentennis.com/

Kitzbühel: www.bet-at-home-cup.com/de/

Vancouver: www.vanopen.com/

Montreal: www.rogerscup.com/men/english/

Toronto: www.rogerscup.com/women/english/

Aptos: http://seascapesportsclub.com/challenger/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

 

MEN

 

$1,295,790 Citi Open, Washington, DC, USA, hard

$539,000 bet-at-home Cup Kitzbühel, Kitzbühel, Austria, clay

$100,000 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard

 

WOMEN

 

$795,707 Southern California Open, Carlsbad, California, USA, hard

$235,000 Citi Open, Washington, DC, USA, hard

$100,000 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

 

$2,887,085 Coupe Rogers, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, hard

$100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger, Aptos, California, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

 

$2,369,000 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, hard

 

Radek Stepanek wins Legg Mason Tennis Classic while Radwanska wins Carlsbad – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

STARS

Radek Stepanek beat Gael Monfils 6-4 6-4 to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, USA

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Vera Zvonareva 6-3 6-4 to win the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California, USA

Robin Haase beat Albert Montanes 6-4 4-6 6-1 to win the Bet-at-Home Cup in Kitzbühel, Austria

Karol Beck beat Gregoire Burquier 6-4 7-6 (4) to win the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain

Aleksandra Wozniak beat Jamie Hampton 6-3 6-1 to win the Odlum Brown Van Open women’s singles in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

James Ward beat Robby Ginepri 7-5 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Van Open men’s singles in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Radek Stepanek

SAYING

“It’s my biggest win in my career so far and it’s coming in the later stage of my career, so it means so much to me that I’m capable even in this age to play such great tennis, beating the guys from the Top 10 and winning the title. It’s really an amazing feeling.” – Radek Stepanek, after beating Gael Monfils to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
“It’s a bit difficult the recovery (after Saturday’s late finish), it’s pretty quick and fast, but still I think Radek played a tough match today. He was pretty aggressive and didn’t miss a lot of balls, so I think he played better than me today.” – Gael Monfils, after losing to Radek Stepanek in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic final.
“We are like wine. The older we are getting, the better we are … Until my body falls apart I’ll be trying to stay competitive in this level. It’s very difficult because all the guys are great at this; they’re moving very fast and, as we all know, the speed is leaving slowly, we cannot compete with Mother Nature.” – Radek Stepanek.

“Everything was working. Even though I had two really tough matches in the quarters and semifinals, I played very well today. I really wanted to win this tournament so I was really focused from the beginning. Winning a tournament with a lot of great matches against top players is very special.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, after winning in Carlsbad, California

“He’s very talented, but it’s a tough world out there. You have to keep on working. You have to stay with your feet on the ground and keep on working hard and fighting.” – Marcos Baghdatis, talking about Donald Young, who beat him in the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“It’s my attitude towards playing. I feel like I actually can do it. I’m going out there with the thought in mind before the match that I can do it, not with the hope of, ‘Oh, if I play well, maybe I can.’ That’s a big change.” – Donald Young, explaining why he reached his first ATP Tour semifinal.

“He had me quite flustered. I couldn’t get set into the way I wanted to play. It wasn’t that I was nervous, but more so he took me out of my game.” – Donald Young, after losing in the semifinals to Radek Stepanek.

“It was one of the goals this year to make it into a semifinal or final, and maybe win it. I was close a few times when I played good but actually lost to good players. To win this match and beat good players this week was really great.” – Robin Haase, after winning the title in Kitzbühel, Austria

“It’s a pity. But I knew that it was going to be difficult because he was playing very well during the whole week. I played well too.” – Albert Montanes, after losing to Robin Haase in the final at Kitzbühel, Austria

“Is it more embarrassing running off the court like a maniac or throwing up on court and being on Sports Center for the next 25 years? Yeah, running off the court is better, so that’s what I did.” – Andrea Petkovic, who did just that in her semifinal loss to Agnieszka Radwanska.

“Serena (Williams) has really improved her level from Wimbledon and six weeks from now, she’ll be more than 10 percent better. Everything is just better, her serve, her movement, and she has now beaten quality players such as Maria Sharapova and Sabine Lisicki, who did well at Wimbledon. I would pick Serena as the US Open favorite considering how many times she won there.” – Marion Bartoli.
“It was never a goal of mine to be the number one American, Andy (Roddick) has always been the number one of our tennis generation. That won’t change regardless of any ranking. But I’ll admit that holding the position will be a nice thing to tell my kids someday and I’m very happy with how I’m playing right now.” – Mardy Fish, on being the highest-ranked American player.

STEPANEK TRIUMPHANT

His victory in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic has put Radek Stepanek in rarified company. With his triumph over Gael Monfils, the 32-year-old Stepanek became the oldest player to win the ATP stop in Washington, DC, since Jimmy Connors in 1988. “I still believe in myself,” the Czech said. “That’s why the emotion was there, winning a big tournament at this stage of my career. It will give me a bit of confidence, a great boost for the rest of the summer.” It was Stepanek’s first ATP title in 2½ years and the fifth of his career. “It’s a great satisfaction for me,” he said. “It’s great to still be able to compete with the young guns.” The oldest player in the world’s top 100, Stepanek became the ATP’s oldest champion since Fabrice Santoro of France won Newport, Rhode Island, USA, in 2008. “I wanted to be in control of the match, be the boss on the court, the one who is deciding what’s going on,” Stepanek said. “I was trying to come to the net because that was my game plan, to be aggressive, put as many returns to the court as much as I can, and when I have the chance to attack. My game plan was working perfectly, and I was aggressive from the first point to the last one.”

SMOOTH SAILING

Agnieszka Radwanska made it look easy as she dominated top-seeded Vera Zvonareva to capture her first title in three years. Playing the Carlsbad, California, event all week with a heavily taped right shoulder because of a nerve problem, the Polish right-hander needed 79 minutes to beat Zvonareva for the first time and snap the loser’s nine-match winning streak. Radwanska hadn’t reached a final since this tournament a year ago when she fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Zvonareva was able to stave off one match point, but that was only delaying the inevitable.

STRONG PARTNERS

Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik can’t lose for winning. The pair extended their winning streak to 14 consecutive matches with an easy 6-0 6-2 win over Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears to capture the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California. Peschke and Srebotnik won Eastbourne and Wimbledon and have been co-ranked number one in doubles in the world since July 4. Carlsbad is their first tournament – and first title – since their Wimbledon success. “We’re so happy we could follow our wins at Eastbourne and London with this title,” Peschke said. “It’s a great achievement. With each match we’re getting more confident.” The champions have won five titles this year in 14 events, running their match record to 42-9.

SIGHTED

Wayne Odesnik, who was banned after admitting he imported human growth hormone (HGH) into Australia, played in his first ATP World Tour match in 16 months. He gained a spot in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, when second-seeded Mardy Fish withdrew with a bruised right heel – and taking advantage of a bye didn’t play until the second round. Odesnik didn’t last long, falling to eventual champion Radek Stepanek 6-1 6-1 in a 57-minute second-round encounter. Odesnik was banned for two years in May 2010 after pleading guilty. His ban was backdated to December 2009, then the International Tennis Federation (ITF) cut Odesnik’s ban to one year after he cooperated with the group’s anti-doping program. In January 2011, Odesnik returned to low-level events. “In six months I have gone from nothing to 150th in the world. Keep working hard and it will come. I can’t lose sight of that,” Odesnik said. “I’m still young. In the long run, I think it’s going to help. I’m 25. I think there is a lot of tennis ahead of me.”

STOPPING AT THE TOP

Robin Haase of the Netherlands won his first career ATP title when he topped Spain’s Albert Montanes 6-4 4-6 6-1 at the Bet-at-Home Cup in Kitzbühel, Austria. In fact, it was the first time Haase has reached a final. The 53-ranked Haase became the first Dutch winner of an ATP tournament since Martin Verkerk won in Amersfoort, Netherlands, in 2004. Haase is the eighth player this season to become a first-time champion on the ATP tour. The winner missed most of the 2009 season after surgery on his right knee. It was the first time the 30-year-old Montanes reached the final in a tournament that was not played on clay.

STAYING HOME

A viral illness has caused Venus Williams to withdraw from the Rogers Cup. Saying she is “extremely disappointed” with being unable to play in Toronto, Canada, Williams said she wasn’t feeling well so went to see a doctor. She was diagnosed with a viral illness and told to rest. Lucky loser Lourdes Dominguez Lino got a spot in the draw.

The men’s portion of the Rogers Cup is being played in Montreal this week, and missing will be Andy Roddick. The American withdrew because the abdominal muscle he injured nearly a month ago is insufficiently healed for him to compete. Also skipping Montreal will be Sweden’s Robin Soderling, who is still troubled by a wrist; Austria’s Jurgen Melzer, who has a stomach muscle injury; Spain’s Guillermo Garcia Lopez, suffering from appendicitis; and Belgium’s Xavier Malisse, who withdrew because of personal issues.

SPANISH FIREPOWER

Rafael Nadal says he will play for Spain when it takes on France in the World Group Davis Cup semifinal. The international team competition will be held a week after the US Open completes its two-week run. Nadal skipped Spain’s last Davis Cup tie, when it beat the United States 3-1. The 25-year-old Nadal has only played one Davis Cup tie in nearly two years, winning both his singles matches when Spain dominated Belgium in March. Spanish Davis Cup captain Albert Costa said Nadal had sent him a three-word message – “I’ll be there” – concerning next month’s semifinal against France.

SEES OLYMPIC SENDOFF

Elena Baltacha believes the 2012 Olympic Games in London would be the perfect ending to her career. Britain’s top female player, Baltacha has suffered health and injury problems throughout her career. “I want to get to the Olympics and then maybe retire,” she said. “I’ve been playing tennis for such a long time now. I’m 28 this year, and sometimes I wake up and wonder how much more my body can take. If I’m struggling with injuries, then I’m not going to carry on.” She was diagnosed with a liver condition when she was 19, and in 2006 she underwent back surgery. While primarily a singles player, Baltacha said she would jump at the chance to partner Andy Murray in mixed doubles at the Games. “It would be unbelievable to play mixed doubles with Andy,” she sad. “It would be absolutely fantastic.” Baltacha played mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Ken Skupski and said, “I really enjoyed that. The one downside to plying doubles for me is that I always seem to get injured. That extra match for me means my back might stiffen up.”

SIGNS TO PLAY

Being sidelined with an abdominal muscle strain for most of the summer, Andy Roddick has asked for and received a wild card entry into a tournament the week before the US Open for the first time in his career. Roddick will compete at the Winston Salem Open, a new ATP event in North Carolina that ends on the Saturday before the year’s final Grand Slam tournament begins its two-week run in New York City. Roddick last saw action in Davis Cup against Spain right after Wimbledon. Others in the Winston Salem field include fellow Americans Mardy Fish, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Donald Young, along with Jurgen Melzer of Austria, Bernard Tomic of Australia and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

SWISS MISS NO?

Martina Hingis is leaning heavily toward not teaming with fellow Swiss star Roger Federer to play mixed doubles at the 2012 Olympic Games. “There are talks,” Hingis said, “however there are too many ifs at this point.” In order to compete at the London Games, Hingis would need to return to the WTA tour and be ranked close to the top 50 in the world in singles and in the top 10 in doubles. Besides, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) will only accept mixed doubles teams from players who are already on site in London, having qualified in singles or doubles. Hingis retired from the WTA in 2007 after testing positive for cocaine use. She has played World TeamTennis, and last month scored a victory over Serena Williams. “I always said I wasn’t coming back and I did, and after TeamTennis I felt good,” Hingis said. “Then with Serena winning Stanford it makes you think, ‘I played good against her and she beat (Maria) Sharapova 3 and 1.’ But I don’t think I would last a whole match now. TeamTennis is only to five games. To play with Roger in best-of-three sets you’d have to be playing great.”

$$$ FOR MARIA

For the seventh straight year, Maria Sharapova is the world’s highest paid woman in professional sports, according to Forbes Magazine. The Russian’s earnings, mostly from endorsements, are estimated at USD $25 million for the last year, more than twice as much as the current women’s world number one, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki. Racing driver Danica Patrick was third with USD $12 million, followed by tennis players Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams. Seven of the top nine female earners were tennis players, including China’s Li Na, who made USD $8 million last year. However, Li Na’s French Open victory is expected to make her the top earner this year. Since her win she has signed at least USD $43.35 million of sponsorship deals with companies like Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and Haagen Dazs. Terry Rhoads, former head of sports marketing at Nike, said that two years ago Li “could not buy a sponsor, but now she is the only person with a Nike deal who can wear patches from other sponsors on her clothes. As international brands try to chase the Chinese market, Li is in a seller’s market.”

SAYS ABOUT TIME

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has asked the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to allow the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group II to be held in Pakistan next year. Pakistan participated in Fed Cup this year for the first time in a decade. “We are taking inspiration from the Pakistan Football Federation,” Irshad Bhatti, PTF’s acting president, told a Pakistani newspaper. “FIFA approved Lahore as the venue for the World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, so we also requested the ITF allow us to host the Fed Cup.” Because of the fear of violence against visiting athletes, Pakistan has had to play all of its Davis Cup and Fed Cup matches in other countries.

SAFINA SITS OUT THE YEAR

Former world number one Dinara Safina is taking off the rest of this year. The Russian, who has not played since early May, is still suffering from persistent back pain. The 25-year-old topped the WTA world rankings for 26 weeks in 2009 and currently stands 65th in the world. “I’m sorry to report that my back is still acting up and I will not be able to play until at least the end of the year,” Safina said on her official website, www.dinarasafina.com. After losing to Kim Clijsters 6-0 6-0 in the opening round of the Australian Open in January, Safina contemplated quitting the sport. She failed to win a Grand Slam title, losing in the finals of the French Open in 2008 and 2009, and the Australian Open in 2009. She and her brother, Marat Safin, are the only brother-sister to each become number one in the world.

SEEKS LAW FIRM

Fighting a 12-month suspension, Robert Kendrick has signed on one of Maine’s largest law firms, Preti Flaherty, to file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS). The 31-year-old Kendrick was suspended after he tested positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine at the French Open. The player said he took a capsule called Zija XM3 in an attempt to combat the effects of jetlag, not realizing it contained the banned drug. The ITF said Kendrick failed to mention the Zija XM3 when he filled out a mandatory form given to all players who are drug tested. The form asks the players to mention any “medication or supplements, including vitamins or minerals, taken over the past seven days.”

SITE UNKNOWN

When Bojana Jovanovski arrived in Carlsbad looking for the Mercury Insurance Open tennis tournament, no one knew what she was talking about. The problem was the Serbian teenager flew from Washington, DC, to Dallas, Texas, on to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and finally to Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Mercury Insurance Open was played in Carlsbad, California, a difference of about 1,000 miles (1,600 km). After waiting unsuccessfully for tournament transport, Jovanovski called the tournament. Transport had been waiting at the California airport for the player to arrive. “Are you in Carlsbad in California or in New Mexico?” Jovanovski was asked. After spending the night in New Mexico, Jovanovski flew top the correct Carlsbad, arriving just 30 minutes before she was scheduled to take the court for her first-round match.

SALUTED

The ATP ACES for Charity program has awarded the Legg Mason Tennis Classic a USD $10,000 grand to further strengthen its support of the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF). The WTEF combines tennis and education in three main programs, including its flagship Arthur Ashe Children’s Program that serves 1,500 children annually. Other USD $10,000 grants were presented to brothers Bob and Mike Bryan and to Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Last month the ATP announced the 12 inaugural recipients of its ATP ACES for Charity grants program. Grants of USD $10,000 each are being awarded by the ATP on an annual basis to charitable causes nominated by ATP World Tour players and tournaments.

Qureshi donated his USD $10,000 grant to support the United Nations Development Program’s flood recovery activities in his native Pakistan. The doubles star made the donation on behalf of his own foundation and the ATP ACES for Charity program on a visit to Mazdoor Village in southern Pakistan. The village was completely destroyed by floods in 2010.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Carlsbad: Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik beat Raquel Kops-Jons and Abigail Spears 6-0 6-2

Kitzbühel: Daniele Bracciali and Santiago Gonzalez beat Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa 7-6 (1) 4-6 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Segovia: Johan Brunstrom and Frederik Nielsen beat Nicolas Mahut and Lovro Zovko 6-2 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Vancouver (men): Treat Huey and Travis Parrott beat Jordan Kerr and David Martin 6-2 1-6 16-14 (match tiebreak)

Vancouver (women): Karolina Pliskova and Kristyna Pliskova beat Jamie Hampton and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 5-7 6-2 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Washington: Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic beat Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau 6-7 (3) 7-6 (6) 10-7 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

San Marino: www.atpsanmarino.com

Montreal: www.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php

Toronto: www.rogerscup.com/women/english/home.php

Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com/

Cordenons: www.euro-sporting.it/challenger

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$2,430,000 Rogers Cup, Montreal, Canada, hard

$122,323 San Mario CEPU Open, San Marino, clay

WOMEN

$2,050,000 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$2,430,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

$122,323 Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup, Cordenons, Italy, clay

WOMEN

$2,050,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

Around The Corner: Brazil, Rotterdam and San Jose

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By Mike McIntyre

SAP Open, San Jose, California

Fernando Verdasco is the defending champion and number one seed this year in San Jose. He opens against journeyman American wildcard Rajeev Ram.

He will have a tough quarter-final opponent with the likes of Sam Querrey, Juan Martin Del Potro and veteran Lleyton Hewitt also in the top section of the draw. All are very capable hardcourt players who could walk away with the title. I don’t think Del P. has found his comfort level since returning from his wrist injury, while Querrey has yet to show the real consistency to make him a legitimate threat on tour. Hewitt looks fit to start the season despite having the bad luck of facing David Nalbandian in the opening round in Australia.

Andy Murray

James Blake makes his first appearance of the season and is in the bottom half where he will face a qualifier in the opening round. He would next face the winner of a very intriguing first match between Xavier Malisse and up and coming Canadian Milos Raonic.

Gael Monfils is the second seed and has a good chance of advancing deep in this draw as well.

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

More prize money and ranking points than anywhere else this week are available at the ATP World Tour level 500 tournament being held on indoor hard-courts in Rotterdam.

Sweden’s Robin Soderling comes in as the number one seed as well as the defending champion and opens against local hope Robin Haase. Soderling will have his hands full in the top half of the draw with tough opponents like Mikhail Youzhny, Jurgen Melzer and Australian Open semi-finalist David Ferrer. Marin Cilic is also in the mix and one has to imagine that he will have a break-out at some point after several months of lackluster results.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, and Andy Murray represent the top seeded threats in the bottom half of the draw. Lookout for unseeded talents like Nikolay Davydenko, Gilles Simon and Marcos Baghdatis to also create problems. All in all it is impossible to predict who we might see in the finals of this one.

It will be interesting to see how Murray handles himself after yet another Grand Slam final stinker in Melbourne. He opens against Baghdatis in what should be a great match for tennis fans to watch. Both players can relate to one another as they have both lost in the finals of the first major of the year at one point in their respective careers.

Brasil Open, Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil

It seems like a strange time of the year to be playing on clay courts, but this level 250 tournament offers those specialists a chance to earn more points than they would anywhere else at the tour.

Juan Carlos Ferrero is the defending champion and at almost 31 years of age can still perform quite well on this surface.

Other clay-court players like Albert Montanes, Tomaz Bellucci and Nicolas Almagro are also entered in the event.

Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov will be playing and despite his quarter-final result at the Aussie Open still considers clay as his favorite surface. Lookout for him to be one of the real break-out players of 2011. His showing in Melbourne was no fluke.

MONDAYS WITH BOB GREENE: NALBANDIAN & WOZNIACKI TAKE HOME THE CROWNS

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STARS

David Nalbandian beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 7-6 (4) to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, USA

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-7 (7) 6-3 to win the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, California, USA

Caroline Wozniacki beat Klara Zakopalova 6-2 7-6 (5) to win the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open in Copenhagen, Denmark

Robin Haase beat Flippo Volandri 6-2 7-6 (8) to win the San Marino CEPU Open in San Marino

Daniel Gimeno-Traver beat Adrian Mannarino 6-4 7-6 (2) to win the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain

Dudi Sela beat Ricardas Berankis 7-5 6-2 to win the Odlum Brown Vanopen in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

SAYINGS

“I felt I played good all week. I’d been practicing well, but I didn’t expect to win my first tournament back.” – David Nalbandian, who, playing in his first tournament since April, won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic with a victory over Marcos Baghdatis.

“I think I did choke for the very first time in my life. I never had this choke before. I don’t know why it happened. Here I couldn’t make a ball. My knees were shaking.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, who botched four match points, including two double-faults, before finally winning the Mercury Insurance Open.

“It’s always disappointing when it’s a long, very tough match. I think it’s much easier to lose 6-1 6-1 and have no chance. But if it’s a match like this, it hurts.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, who lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in San Diego, California, USA

“I was feeling like I was still sleeping. Maybe I’m not going to come next year. If you like the tournament, if you like the place, then you always want to come back. But if you get an experience like that, we will see.” – Tomas Berdych, after losing to Xavier Malisse. Berdych complained about having to play the first afternoon match after playing a late match the night before.

“Oh, boy, I’m looking forward to it. We had some great matches together, but it’s been a long time and he hasn’t played for more than 15 years so I think we need to discuss a few things, both on and off the court.” – John McEnroe, after being told Ivan Lendl will make his senior circuit debut in Paris in October.

Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki

“It’s a big thing to say, ‘Look, there’s no American in the top 10.’ That’s certainly not something I take lightly. But it’s not that surprising when you look at the way the game has changed and the global nature of the game.” – Patrick McEnroe, general manager of player development for the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

SUPER TEAM

In a rare pairing, the world’s top two men players will take to the court as a doubles team. Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and number two Novak Djokovic are teaming up at Toronto. The ATP said it believes this is the first time the men holding the top two spots in the ranking have partnered for doubles at a tournament since 1976 when number one Jimmy Connors paired with number two Arthur Ashe. The Connors-Ashe duo lost in the final at Washington, DC, in July 1976 and in the quarterfinals at North Conway, New Hampshire, USA, in August 1976. Nadal has won six career ATP doubles titles, including at Indian Wells, California, USA, in March, when he played with Marc Lopez. Djokovic has won one doubles crown, at Queen’s Club in London this past June, when he teamed with Jonathan Erlich.

SPECIAL MEETING

While twins Mike and Bob Bryan along with Sam Querrey were at the White House to play QuickStart tennis, they had an unexpected visitor – President Barack Obama. “These guys are the best doubles players in the world,” the president said of the Bryan brothers. “I read a great article about you in Sports Illustrated.” The president also talked briefly to Querrey. “I didn’t expect to meet the president today. We stayed a little longer and he showed up out of the blue,” Mike Bryan said. Querrey agreed. “It was very exciting to meet him. He thanked us for coming out and hitting with the kids. It was an honor to meet him and pretty exciting that he just popped in like that,” Querrey said. The stars hit with 100 local children as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign and the United States Tennis Association’s QuickStart program.

SCINTILLATING PERFORMANCE

Talk about pressure. Caroline Wozniacki is Denmark’s top player, and the inaugural e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wozniacki proved to be up to the task, capturing her second title of the year and eighth of her career by downing Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2 7-6 (5) in the final. The Dane needed five match points to win, but she closed out the victory in 78 minutes.

STRONG RETURN

After missing most of the past year, David Nalbandian needed a wild card to get into the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. He wound up the week with a title and the role of being a strong contender for the US Open crown. Ranked 117th in the world, Nalbandian became the first player ranked outside the top 100 to win an ATP title this year when he stopped Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 7-6 (4) to capture the Washington, DC, event. It was Nalbandian’s 11th career title, but his first in the United States. The Legg Mason was Nalbandian’s first tournament since April; He had been sidelined with a bad left hamstring. That injury came when he returned to the tour after undergoing hip surgery and missing nearly 10 months. The Argentine was ranked as high as number three in the world and was a Wimbledon finalist in 2002.

SIDELINED AGAIN

Knee pain is keeping Venus Williams from playing in the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. In a statement, Williams said she returned to her normal practice schedule and began to feel pain in her left knee. She said her medical advisers recommended she not play until she is pain free.

Samantha Stosur has also pulled out of the Cincinnati tournament, citing an arm injury that has bothered her since her first match at the Stanford Classic. After losing in the quarterfinals to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta at the San Diego Open, Stosur went to the hospital where she was advised to rest her arm. “It’s like a really strong, heavy ache when it starts and I can’t get rid of it until I get off the court,” Stosur said. “I can’t work out what’s going on.”

STRONG FIELD

The Hopman Cup is getting some heavy hitters. Tournament director Paul McNamee said reigning Australian Open champion Serena Williams and former number one Justine Henin will play in next January’s competition in Perth, Australia. Also signed for the 22-year-old tournament are Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and Frenchman Gael Monfils. It will be Henin’s first appearance in Perth, while Williams will be playing in the Hopman Cup for the third time, having won the event on both of her previous visits.

STREAK OVER

Never before has there been no American man ranked in the top ten in the world since the rankings began in 1973. That is until now as Andy Roddick has fallen from number nine in the world to number 12. The last four Americans playing in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, USA – Roddick, John Isner, Mardy Fish and Ryan Sweeting – all lost in the third round. Only four other Americans were in the draw, Sam Querrey being ousted in the second round and Rajeev Ram, Kevin Kim and James Blake all losing their opening matches. American men are in their longest Grand Slam title drought since the Open Era began in 1968. No American has won a men’s singles crown since Roddick captured the US Open in 2003. “I don’t think the US has anything to panic about. There are so many good players,” said Xavier Malisse of Belgium. “There are so many young kids knocking on the door, too, so it’s just a matter of time, I think, and good guidance.”

SUPER SENIOR

After spending 16 years away from tennis, former world number one Ivan Lendl will compete on the ATP Champions Tour. And he picked a special city for his senior circuit debut: the Jean Luc Lagardere Trophy in Paris on October 1-3. Now 50 years old, Lendl won his first Grand Slam tournament title at Roland Garros when he came from two sets down to defeat John McEnroe in 1984. He added two more French Open crowns before retiring in 1994. Besides Lendl and McEnroe, others who will compete in the senior event include two other former French Open champions, France’s Yannick Noah and Sweden’s Mats Wilander.

STRAIGHT IN

Proving that the US Open is really open to all players, Alexandra Mueller has earned a berth in the qualifying for the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Mueller beat Alina Jidkova 6-0 6-3 to best 372 other women and capture the inaugural US Open National Playoffs, good enough for a spot in the qualifying tournament. The 22-year-old Mueller, from Abington, Pennsylvania, received a wild card into the 2004 US Open qualifying and has won three United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit titles this year. This will be her first trip to Flushing Meadows since receiving a doubles wild card entry in 2007.

SPONSORSHIP REWARDED

The Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Award for ongoing contribution to tennis will be given to Mercedes-Benz at the 30th annual “Legends Ball” on September 10 in New York City. The Cullman Award honors an exceptional company that shares Joe Cullman’s enthusiasm for tennis and has made a significant contribution to society at large. Over the past 16 years Mercedes-Benz supported professional tennis with hundreds of tournaments around the world. “The wise investment that Mercedes-Benz has made in tennis has been integral to the growth of the sport around the world,” said Christopher E. Clouser, chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum (ITHF&M). “They have been and continue to be avid supporters of tennis. For that we are proud to honor them alongside the other great champions and legends of the game.” Others being honored at the “Legends Ball” will be Martina Navratilova and the Hall of Fame Class of 2010 – Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde, Gigi Fernandez, Natasha Zvereva, Owen Davidson, Brad Parks and Derek Hardwick. The “Legends Ball” has been held annually since 1980, bringing the tennis world together to celebrate the history of the game and honor some of the sport’s great contributors. The evening also raises money for the ITHF&M.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Copenhagen: Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld beat Vitalia Diatchenko and Tatiana Poutchek 6-4 6-4

San Diego: Maria Kirilenko and Zheng Jie beat Liza Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-4 6-4

San Marino: Daniele Bracciali and Lovro Zovko beat Yves Allegro and James Cerretani 2-6 6-2 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Segovia: Thiago Alves and Franco Ferreiro beat Brian Battistone and Harsh Mankad 6-2 5-7 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Vancouver: Trent Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot beat Ryan Harrison and Jesse Levine 6-4 7-5

Washington: Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles beat Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 4-6 7-6 (7) 10-7 (match tiebreak)

SITES TO SURF

Segovia: www.teniselespinar.com/

Toronto: www.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php

Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com/

Montreal: www.rogerscup.com/

Algarve: www.grandchampions.org

Knokke: www.optimaopen.be

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$2,430,000 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada, hard

$100,000 American Express TED Open, Istanbul, Turkey, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, hard

SENIORS

Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, Algarve, Portugal, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$2,430,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, Ohio, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, hard

SENIORS

The Optima Open, Knokke, Belgium, hard

WHY SODERLING WILL BEAT NADAL IN WIMBLEDON QUARTERFINALS

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By Charles Bricker

I’ve cautioned you from Day 1 to not lose sight of Robin Soderling and now you don’t have any choice. You’re going to have to look at the big-serving, big-stroking, big-bodied Swede because he’s now just one round removed from an absolute blockbuster quarterfinal next Wednesday against Rafael Nadal.

Soderling still has to get by the running machine, David Ferrer, on Monday, while Nadal plays Paul-Henri Mathieu in the round of 16. Despite Nadal’s recent shaky play, including Saturday’s five-set victory over Philip Petzschner Saturday, a Rafa-Robin quarter is probable.

If it happens, I’m giving Soderling a slight edge, and here’s why.

While Rafa has struggled from two sets to one down in his last two matches, really turning it on in the latter stages (and we’ll get to some significant numbers on that in a moment), Soderling hasn’t lost a set, hasn’t been pushed to a tiebreak and, most importantly, hasn’t been broken. He’s gone 43 games in a row at Wimbledon without losing serve.

For the second time in a row, Nadal has seen what a big serve can do to neutralize lesser ground-stroking talent. All Robin Haase had to do on Thursday and Petzschner Saturday was to just hang in there with Nadal by holding serve, no matter how much better Nadal looked overall.

If you’re going to whip Rafa on grass, you’ve got to have the serve. Haase clubbed 28 in his five-set loss and Petzschner 25. Meanwhile, Soderling has averaged 14 aces per match, but, remember, he’s played three three-setters, not five-setters. On average, he’s right there with Haase and Petzschner and, with Soderling, it’s not just about aces. He’s hitting more service winners, getting more unreturned serves.

Soderling is not going to give you 140 mph blasts off his racket, but he’s consistently around 125-130 when he isn’t taking pace off by slicing serves to the deep corner of the deuce court. And he may have the best second serve in tennis right. He’s averaging 126 mph on his firsts and 110 on his seconds.

He’s faced only five break points, three against Saturday’s victim, No. 24-ranked Tomaz Bellucci of Brazil, who is the first quality opponent Soderling has played. But, regardless of his opponent’s rankings (Robby Ginepri is No. 72, Marcel Granollers No. 87), you can see how well Soderling is playing and he’s working with very high confidence right now, having beaten Roger Federer at the French and reached the final against Nadal in Paris.

As for Nadal, I have no doubt that high on his agenda on his Sunday off is going to be focus on his clamping down harder in the first three sets. He can’t keep depending on his last-match fitness to bail himself out, because with Soderling there might not be a fourth set.

In the Haase match, there wasn’t a lot Rafa could do in the opening set, in which Haase looked like Pete Sampras, crashing 13 aces and looking untouchable. Leading two sets to one, Haase at that point had cashed in both his break-point opportunities. Nadal shut him down in the final two sets.

In the Haase match, Nadal had 27 winners and 9 unforced errors after three sets. In the last two, his numbers were 15 and 3.

Next, Saturday’s Petzschner match. Nadal had 36 winners and 14 errors in the first three sets before bearing down and going 20-4 in the last two sets.

Great finishes by Nadal to keep himself in the tournament, but he can’t be happy having to pull these matches out.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

THIS LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE WEIRDEST WIMBLEDONS…

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By Charles Bricker

That’s four days down and 10 to go in what looks like one of the weirdest of all Wimbledons, and even Rafa Nadal’s sweat-it-out five-setter Thursday against Robin Haase can’t top the 11-hour and 5-minute John Isner triumph over Nicolas Mahut.

Yes, it’s over. And I’m sure the Bryan brothers can’t be too happy following that act onto Court 18.

On his fifth match point, Big John slapped a backhand return that forced Mahut to half-volley, leaving Isner a nice long look at a backhand passing shot. He pumped it down the line for an easy winner, then fell over on his back on the grass if relief and joy.

When it was over, a little more than an hour after they restarted at 3:30 p.m. (Wimbledon time), the standing ovation went on and on. “It stinks that someone had to lose,” said Isner, and he directed the audience toward Mahut and began clapping his exhausted adversary.

The longest match ever played
From left to right: John Isner, Nicolas Mahut and Chair Umpire Mohamed Layhani

Wimbledon officials gave the two players, and chair umpire Mohammed Lahyani of Sweden, some sort of commemorative medal for participating in the longest, strangest match ever at the All England Club. One half-wondered if Lahyani also did not receive a month’s supply of Preparation H after having sat in that chair for seven hours in a row on Wednesday.

Isner rejoiced. Mahut sat in his chair, a towel over his head, looking emotionally crushed. Before they left the court, Lahyani and the players posed for photos in front of the scoreboard that read 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.

It will be days, I think, before people run out of anecdotes about this match.

Isner normally brings seven rackets to a Slam and goes to a fresh stick about every second ball change (18 games). He ran out of fresh long ago and it was just a matter of finding the racket that had lost the least tension.

Isner has to come back tomorrow to play his second-round singles against young Dutch Thiemo deBakker. Who knows how his body is going to react — all 6-foot-9 of it.

Of course, there will be those among the 2,500 on Court 18 who will claim to have watched every one of the 980 points. Right. Was there all three days. Never got up to go to the bathroom. Hung on every point. My guess is that Isner, Mahut and Lahyani were the only ones who saw every point.

Isner, by the way, joked about his coach, Craig Boynton, telling him during a training session in Tampa last week that he was so fit he could go 10 hours.

Check that, Craig. Make it 11.

Everything else at this tournament seems like an afterthought right now, though we might get back to normal on Friday.

Nadal was down two sets to one to Haase, who was serving like Pete Sampras for most of three sets. He clubbed 13 aces in the first set alone. But Rafa buckled down and won the last two sets 6-0 and 6-3, looking very happy to get off Centre Court.

Lost somewhere in all the talk about the Isner-Mahut match was Roger Federer’s dicey first two matches, needing five sets to beat Alejandro Falla and then losing the second set to No. 152 ranked Ilija Bozoljac of Serbia. And what about Taylor Dent’s record 148 mph serve in a losing effort. Between all that and Andy Murray carrying the British banner into the third round, the women’s tournament has come up very short on publicity.

One final note worth mentioning. Robin Soderling had another boffo performance to reach the third round. He’s on course to play Nadal in the quarters.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

CHARLIE BRICKER: LOW MARKS FOR SHRIVER, BLAKE FOR MID-MATCH EXCHANGE, BUT BLAKE DESERVES MORE SYMPATHY

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By Charles Bricker

What ARE the ESPN honchos going to do with Pam Shriver?

They thought they had the perfect spot for her, shipping her out as a sideline or roving reporter, looking for quirky interviews around the grounds. But even that isn’t working out after Shriver and James Blake got into an embarrassing on-court tete-a-tete Tuesday at Wimbledon.

Blake called Shriver “an ass” and Shriver, whose booming voice can easily be heard over crowd noise, remarked, loud enough for Blake to hear, that he has “rabbit ears.”

It’s a fair guess that sometime today they’re going to apologize to each other, but the damage is done and it’s ultimately going to be worse for Shriver than for Blake, who can be partially excused for his boorish outburst because he’s going through a particularly difficult time in his career right now.

His knee hurts. His ranking has dropped into the hundreds. And as gracious and eloquent as he often is in interviews, he can be extremely moody. As for Shriver, she doesn’t live in a cocoon. She undoubtedly knows how poorly things are going for Blake right now and there was no need to mock him.

In case you missed it, the exchange is at youtube.com. Here’s the brief on it: Blake was down a set and a break to Robin Haase on an outside court, where Shriver checked in during the opening set to add some commentary. She was not in an enclosed booth and, since the crowd hasn’t had much to cheer about, her voice was becoming an irritant to Blake.

James could have looked up at Shriver and, without saying a word, put his finger to his lips, as if to say, “Shhhh, please.” Instead, he cracked that Shriver should know better, having played the game for years.

Shriver didn’t let it slide. She then commentated that Blake had just told her to shut up. Now Blake wants to get in the last word. He turned around again and called Shriver “an ass.”

Some time after Blake went down in straight sets, he gave a sullen interview to reporters about how difficult his tennis life has become with the pain in his knee while Shriver was summoned to the central ESPN booth, where Hannah Storm, perhaps on orders from above, laid the story out for viewers who might have missed the on-court exchange. (Watch Storm, Cahill and Shriver discuss it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDU8J6fxRNw)

Shriver looked appropriately contrite, though she tried to excuse her loud voice by pointing to her earpiece. Yeah, yeah. We’ve all had that experience of talking too loudly to someone while listening to earphones, but Shriver has been doing this for years. She should have known better.

The aftermath: High marks to ESPN management, to Storm and to sidekick Darren Cahill for not burying the story. Low marks to Shriver for violating one of the prime rules of journalism, which is that the story is about what you’re reporting, not about you. Low marks to Blake for losing his cool, though I’m a lot more sympathetic with James than Pam.

Who knows what the executives at ESPN are thinking about Shriver after this set-to. She doesn’t seem to have much of a portfolio at the Grand Slams. On Day 1, she was out on Henman Hill, the little grassy rise near the practice courts where they’ve set up a giant TV screen so that customers without Centre Court tickets can watch key matches.

Up on the screen, Roger Federer looked as if he was going down to a shock loss to Alejandro Falla and Shriver had just corraled U.S. teenager Melanie Oudin, who was headed back to the locker room from the practice courts. Shriver began asking Oudin to analyze what Federer had to do to get back on top. It was one of the head-scratching moments of the 2010 Wimbledon.

Melanie Oudin, 18 years old, was supposed to give an on-air assessment of how Roger Federer could pull out this win? The kid looked slightly stunned.

On balance, Shriver has certainly not been awful over the years with a microphone in her hand, though she’s had some questionable moments.

On court after Caroline Wozniacki’s quarterfinal win at the U.S. Open, she informed the young Dane that she would be an “overwhelming favorite” against “Wickmayer of Belgium,” and she said it with a toss of her head that seemed to dismiss Yanina Wickmayer as lucky to be in the semis. Boos cascaded down from the Arthur Ashe Stadium audience, leaving Shriver to ask, “What did I say?”

It will be a long time before she has difficulty recalling what she said to James Blake.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com