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Hantuchova and Raonic Take Home Titles – Mondays with Bob Greene

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STARS

Robin Soderling beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Petra Kvitova beat Kim Clijsters 6-4 6-3 to win the Open Gaz de France Suez in Paris, France

Milos Raonic beat Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) to win the SAP Open in San Jose, California, USA

Nicolas Almagro beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6 () to win the Brasil Open in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil

Daniela Hantuchova beat Sara Errani 6-0 6-2 to win the PTT Pattaya Open in Pattaya City, Thailand

Lucie Hradecka beat Irina Falconi 6-4 6-4 to win the Dow Corning Tennis Classic in Midland, Michigan, USA

Irina-Camelia Begu beat Laura Pous-tio 6-3 7-6 (1) to win the Copa Bionaire in Cali, Colombia

SAYINGS

“I can’t stop smiling. I’m happy about it and I hope I can keep it going more than six weeks into the full year schedule and see where I am at the end of the year.” – Milos Raonic, after winning his first ATP tournament, the SAP Open.
“He has good potential and he has one of the best serves, and also on the baseline he plays so aggressive. The moments he needs to play solid, he plays solid, and I think that he can be a Top 20 player very soon. Now he’s going to be [ranked] 50-something, and it’s just the beginning of the year. He has all year to become a good player and I think he can do it.” – Fernando Verdasco, speaking about Milos Raonic.

“Matches start to build on each other. We’ve won a few in a row now. It’s always nice to play on Sunday, and it’s even better to win on Sunday, so we’re happy and hopefully we can keep it rolling for a little bit now.” – Rajeev Ram, who teamed with Scott Lipsky to win the SAP Open doubles title.
“I had many tough matches this week. I had to fight a lot for every match. I was lucky; I had the margins on my side. I think to win tournaments like this, you need to of course play well, but you need a little bit of luck as well.” – Robin Soderling, after winning the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
“I played a good match today. It was difficult of course because he played unbelievable, he didn’t miss many things. I had to play my best tennis to win some games and break him, so it was difficult. At the end he just played better than me.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost to Robin Soderling in Rotterdam, Netherlands

“We had a great week. We played four great matches in a row. We beat tough teams as well so I’m really happy about the win. (Next week) in Marseille we are the top seeds, so of course we’ll go there and try to get the title.” – Philipp Petzschner, who teamed with Jurgen Melzer to win the doubles title in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

“Winning the Fed Cup was definitely a highlight, and matches against the Williams sisters and Amelie (Mauresmo) herself also stand out. It was a childhood dream. It was a great experience. I will miss the people, the life. I have no regrets.” – Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, who announced her retirement from the WTA tour.

“It wasn’t a good day for me. There’s too much on my mind this week. I’m not just under pressure as defending champion here, it’s everything and I’m not focused on my game.” – Vera Zvonareva, who lost her semifinal match after refusing to play after being penalized for “abusive language.”

STOPPING FOR GOOD

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro announced her retirement after her last match at the Open Gaz de France Suez in Paris, France. In her final tournament, the Frenchwoman reached the second round in singles as a “lucky loser” and the semifinals in doubles. Her best results on the WTA tour were semifinal finishes at Estoril, Portugal, in 2004 and Barcelona, Spain, in 2008. She peaked at Number 61 in singles. In doubles, she reached on final, at Paris in 2003, when she teamed with Marion Bartoli. She was a member of the French team that won the Fed Cup in 2003. “It was a difficult decision but one I came to progressively,” the 27-year-old said. “My passion for tennis is still there, but my motivation has started to dip a little.”

Daniela Hantuchova

STEPPING UP

Kim Clijsters took over the top spot in the WTA ranking this week, supplanting Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. The Australian Open winner was assured of being number one after winner her quarterfinal match at the Open Gaz de France Suez tournament in Paris. Clijsters has won the last two Grand Slam tournaments. She topped the rankings in 2003 and again in 2006. She quit tennis in 2007, got married and gave birth to a daughter, then returned to the sport in 2009. She has won the last two US Opens.

SWEDE RETURN

Robin Soderling successfully defended his ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title, but it wasn’t easy. “I don’t know how I managed to beat you,” the Swede told Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the title match. “I think we both deserved to win this final.” Soderling became only the fourth player to successfully defend his title in Rotterdam, Netherlands, joining Arthur Ashe, Stefan Edberg and Nicolas Escude. Retaining a title for the first time in his career, the Swede has won eight career titles in 18 finals. He has twice been runner-up at the French Open . “I played well in the important moments,” Soderling said.

STAYING PUT

Roland Garros in Pari9s will remain the site of the French Open after the country’s tennis federation opted to upgrade the existing site rather than move the tournament outside the city. Three other communities had been bidding to stage the clay-court Grand Slam tournament beginning in 2016. Paris won 70 percent of the votes over Marne-la-Vallee in the final round. In earlier balloting Gonesse and Versailles were eliminated. The upgrade will cost USD $370 million, half of what would have been required to move the tournament.  The French Open has been played on the red clay courts of Roland Garros since 1928. Originally covering eight acres of land with five courts, Roland Garros now has 20 outside courts spread over 21 acres. Still, it remains the smallest of the four major tournaments. Wimbledon and Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open is played, each cover close to 50 acres, while the US Open has 34.5 acres of land at Flushing Meadows in New York.

STAR ASCENDING?

By knocking off defending champion Fernando Verdasco in the SAP Open final in San Jose, California, USA, Milos Raonic became the first Canadian to win an ATP tour title since 1995. The 20-year-old, playing in his first final, is the youngest tour winner since Marin Cilic won in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, in 2008 when he was 19. The last Canadian to win a tour title was Greg Rusedski in Seoul, South Korea, in April 1995. Raonic edged Verdasco 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) in a match that had no service breaks and only one break point. Raonic hit 13 aces and 20 service winners in the victory, hitting one serve at 149 mph. He has had a strong start this year, going through qualifying and winning three matches in the Australian Open. He has risen in the rankings from 156th at the end of last year to 59th this week. “It’s been quite a month and a half, but an amazing month and a half,” he said. “I just hope to keep this going.”

SIDELINED

Gael Monfils will miss France’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Austria next month. A left wrist injury caused Monfils to pull out of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, USA, after his quarterfinal victory over Tim Smyczek. A statement on the tournament website said Monfils “has also withdrawn from Memphis, Acapulco and Davis Cup. He will be out for four to six weeks and hopes to return for Indian Wells.” The agile, acrobatic Frenchman, who is ranked 12th in the world, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. “It’s been a month and a half that I’ve had this pain,” Monfils said on his website. “I can’t hit my backhand. I tried, but my backhand is very soft. I have a better backhand than I showed here – more powerful.” Monfils’ withdrawal advance Milos Raonic to the final, where he defeated defending champion Fernando Verdasco to win his first ATP title.

SHE SAID WHAT?

Vera Zvonareva was seeking her third straight Pattaya Open title when officiating caused her a lot of angst during her 7-6 (3) 6-4 semifinal loss to Daniela Hantuchova. Zvonareva received what she felt was a series of contentious lines calls, and the Russian spent much of the match mumbling angrily to herself or shouting and gesticulating at the umpire. When she lost her serve at 3-3 in the second set, she began smashing her racquet. She was later penalized for improper conduct, which gave Hantuchova a match point. Zvonareva refused to play and demanded the referee intervene after questioning the umpire, who said she had Zvonareva’s lips and detected abusive language. “I didn’t agree with that,” Zvonareva said. “I talked to myself in Russian. I don’t think she can understand that.”

SPOKESWOMAN

Billie Jean King has signed with the British orthopedics giant Smith & Nephew PLC to be the spokeswoman for the company’s Legion knee implants. King, who won six Wimbledon singles championships and four US Open titles, had double knee replacement surgery last year using the Legion implant. “For nearly four decades I was in a downward spiral of pain and compromise due to my knees,” King said in prepared remarks. “The mental and emotional shift my new knees have provided me has been tremendous. I feel like I’m 20 again, and I’m back on the courts
playing tennis.” In addition to her on-court exploits, King is the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Women’s Sports Foundation and Women’s Sports Magazine. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama in 2009.

SPECIAL PARTNER

Leander Paes believes it was karma that brought him Mahesh Bhupathi back together again as a doubles team following a nine-year separation. The two will continue to play as a team, at least through the French Open in May, Paes said. “We’ve just signed up to play three more tournaments together – the Dubai Open, Palm Springs and Miami. Of course there’s the Davis Cup,” Paes said. “I am sure we’ll play a lot more together. If we are winning and we are enjoying, we’ll take it from there. We’ve won the French Open twice before so it’ll be interesting to play there and see how it goes.” Paes claims reuniting with his former partner happened at the right time. “I think it was a good time to get back together, even though it may have taken nine years,” he said. In those nine years, Paes said the two tried to reunite at least five times. “A lot of my family, coaches and friends have been trying to get us together for years. In fact, a lot of people think we have never tried before. But really, we have. In the last nine years, there have been at least five times that we’ve tried,” he said. “Every time he would ask me to play, I’ve done well with a partner. If you are winning a Grand Slam with someone, it’s tough to break that team,” Paes said. “Every time I’ve asked him, he would be doing well with his partner. The timing in life is very important. Over the years, we’ve both matured a lot; we’ve both grown as individuals. I have to commend Mahesh for a great run at the Australian Open. Our coming together now is really karma. It’s like life coming a full circle.”

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

Rafael Nadal added to his trophy case when he was named Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus Sport Awards. The Spaniard, who won three Grand Slam tournaments in 2010 – Roland Garros,    Wimbledon and his first US Open – beat out Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, boxer Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Barcelona footballers Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi for the Sportsman of the Year honor. Olympic gold medalist skier Lindsey Vonn was named Sportswoman of the Year, beating out the likes of high jumper Blanka Vlasic and tennis players Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki. The awards were presented at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi. Spain’s World Cup-winning squad won Team of the Year, while the Spirit of Sport Award went to the European Ryder Cup team for their win at Celtic Manor. Winners are chosen by 46 sports stars that make up the Laureus sports academy.

SWEDE FUND

The Swedish newspaper Affarsvarlden reports that former world number one Stefan Edberg has launched a corporate bond fund. Edberg, who earned more than $20 million in career price money, is a part owner in Case Asset Management, the Stockholm-based boutique that will run the fund. The six-time Grand Slam tournament winner is one of the biggest seed investors in the fund. Edberg and Kristianstad Sparbank together have invested SEK50 million ($7.8 million). Edberg told Affarsvarlden that during the financial crisis he bought bonds from Nordic banks as he believed they would not collapse. The new fund, which launched at the beginning of January, is called Safe Play and targets returns of 5-7% per annum. Edberg’s company, Case Asset Management, was founded in 2004 by Edberg and some leading Swedish investors. 2009 was a good year for the firm as its balanced fund, Fair Play, returned 27 percent, and in 2010 the fund returned 10 percent.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Cali: Irina-Camelia Begu and Elena Bogdan beat Ekaterina Ivanova and Kathrin Woerle 2-6 7-6 (6) 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Costa do Sauipe: Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares beat Pablo Andujar and Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (4) 6-3

Midland: Jamie Hampton and Anna Tatishvili beat Irina Falconi and Alison Riske, walkover

Paris: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy beat Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-2

Pattaya: Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Sun Shengnan and Zheng Jie 3-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Rotterdam: Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner beat Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4 3-6 10-5 (match tiebreak)

San Jose: Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram beat A Falla and Xavier Malisse 6-4, 4-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

TO SURF

Memphis: www.memphistennis.com/splash

Marseille: www.open13.fr/

Buenos Aires: www.copaclaro.com/

Acapulco: http://abiertomextenis.com.mx/

Dubai: www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/

Bogota: www.copacolsanitas.com/

Delray Beach: www.yellowtennisball.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$1,226,500 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, hard

$782,400 Open 13, Marseille, France, hard

$544,330 Copa Claro, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay

WOMEN

$2,050,000 Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, Qatar, hard

$220,000 XIX Copa BBVA Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia, clay

$220,000 Cellular South Cup, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, hard

SENIORS

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, Delray Beach, Florida, USA, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$1,619,500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

$955,000 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, clay

$442,500 Delray Beach International Championships, Delray Beach, Florida, USA., hard

WOMEN

$721,000 Qatar Ladies Open 2011, Doha, Qatar, hard

$220,000 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, clay

Milos Raonic has Arrived

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By Mike McIntyre

Hello Canada and welcome back to the world of professional tennis.

Twenty year old Milos Raonic who resides in Thornhill, Ontario, won his first ever ATP World Tour title at the SAP Open in San Jose on Sunday against the ninth ranked player in the world, Fernando Verdasco. Fittingly, he won the event in a hockey arena that normally houses the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

Milos Raonic

“It’s nice to know a hockey arena isn’t new to me,” Raonic said after the win. “I’ve been in a few of these. This feels like home.”

A total unknown up until a month ago in all parts of the world except perhaps certain tennis circles in Canada and in Spain where he trained during the off-season, Raonic has now shot up the rankings from 150th in the world to a top-60 position he should assume when the new rankings are released this week.

Armed with a huge serve, a strong sense of timing at the net and the ability to surprise many with his deft ground-strokes, Raonic is the biggest young talent to emerge on the tour since Rafael Nadal in 2003. Nadal won the ATP’s newcomer of the year award that year as he rose from 203rd in the world to 48th by the year’s end. While Nadal was a couple of years younger at the time, I’m hard-pressed to remember any other player who has so quickly captivated the tennis community.

With his 7-6(6), 7-6(5) victory over Verdasco, Raonic has literally served notice that he is for real. He becomes the first male Canadian singles player to win a tournament on tour since Greg Rusedski sixteen years ago.

That comparison might make Canadian tennis fans a tad nervous as Rusedski jumped-ship in 1995 to the United Kingdom. While himself born in Canada, Rusedski’s mother was born overseas. For his part, Raonic was born in Montenegro and moved to Canada at the age of three with his parents.

Similar to Rusedski, Raonic is becoming known for his rocket serve. In an exhibition contest just a couple of days ago he out-served Croatian monster Ivo Karlovic in a serving competition held on court after they completed their match. Karlovic stands a ridiculous 6’10” and has been for several years considered the hardest serving player on tour. While Karlovic struggled to get almost any of his ten serves over 140mph, Raonic routinely eclipsed that mark and even clocked one at 151mph that just missed the service box.

Raonic will be hoping that his career unfolds more closely to that of his idol Pete Sampras, a 14 time Grand Slam champion, than that of Karlovic who is thought viewed as more of a circus act on the circuit.

Milos has already attained several meaningful results in his short time as a professional player. Last summer he and partner Vasek Pospisil defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a first round doubles match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. At the time Nadal and Djokovic were ranked one and two in the world in the singles rankings.

Raonic followed that up with a tough match against Nadal in singles play in Japan where the Spaniard won 6-4, 6-4. A respectable score no-doubt considering the nearly 200 ranking points that separated them at the time.

Off season training with coach and former professional Galo Blanco during the off-season clearly paid-off for Raonic. There he got plenty of practice with Spanish players like David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro – both top-twenty regulars.

Raonic started 2011 by narrowly missing the chance to qualify in Chennai, India but then had his break-out moment at the first Grand Slam of the season in Australia. He battled through three rounds of qualifying action before advancing all the way to the final sixteen players in the field. After knocking off top-ten player Mikhail Youzhny in the third round he was defeated by Ferrer in four sets.

Now with his first tournament victory under his belt and barely any ranking points to defend from a year ago, the potential for Raonic seems limitless.

On the official ATP World Tour website, Raonic lists his goal as becoming a, “consistent top-fifty player with top-ten aspirations.” If he continues his development at this pace, look for him to far surpass these now seemingly modest targets.

While Raonic now moves on to another tournament in Memphis, many will already begin talking about how a player of his size and abilities will fare when he gets to the largest tennis stage at Wimbledon later this year. Canadian tennis fans will be hoping it is not just a coincidence that the young man they call the Maple Leaf Missile grew up dreaming of becoming the next Pistol Pete.

VERDASCO TOPS RODDICK TO WIN SAP OPEN

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Fernando Verdasco defeated Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the SAP Open in San Jose, his first title in the United States and his four career ATP title.

Roddick, ranked No. 7 in the world, was looking to win fourth San Jose title, following his win earlier this year Brisbane and reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

He started strongly, mixing up his attack to break the Spaniard twice and win the first set. But Roddick failed to carry his domination into the second and after being broken early on he received a code violation for hitting a ball into the stands when he missed a passing shot.  He fought off two set points at 5-4 but left-hander Verdasco sealed the second set with an ace. Roddick failed to cope with Verdasco’s powerful first serves in the decider and the Spaniard broke to lead 5-4 after threading a low backhand pass, then served out the match with another ace.

“I served very well and I don’t think Andy served his best,” stated Verdasco, who notched 15 aces to Roddick’s 10. “I tried to be aggressive, change the rhythm and play with confidence.”

Verdasco’s wins ended 15-match losing streak for the Spaniard against top 10-ranked players.

“I know the top-10 guys are tough and last year I was really close in a lot of matches,” said Verdasco. “But of course this win will give me a lot of confidence. Beating Andy in his country, it’s special.”

Deadpanned Roddick when asked about Verdasco’s 15-match losing streak to top 10 players, “The top 10 players are good.”

IT’S RODDICK VS VERDASCO IN SAN JOSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RODDICK, VERDASCO REACH SAP SEMIFINALS

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

Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spaniard said his sore right hamstring was improving.

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

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

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

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

RODDICK, VERDASCO WIN AT SAP OPEN

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco each advanced into the quarterfinals of the SAP Open with victories Thursday.

The top-seeded Roddick defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-1, while Verdasco, the No. 2 seed, beat Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-2.

Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco

Roddick, seed No. 1 and seeking a fourth title in San Jose, said he continued to feel fine following a pinched nerve in his right shoulder, suffered at the Australian Open, where he lost to Marin Cilic in a five-set quarterfinal.

“Tonight it was just coming off a bit firmer and I was able to move the ball around a bit more that comes from getting a match in,” Roddick said. “This was a good match for me. I felt like he had big swings and I thought that forced him to play a bit more aggressively on the first ball of a point which in turn creates a little bit of a more hit or miss deal for him which I though caught with him tonight.”

Verdasco had trouble with Becker in the first set but was able to easily defeat him in the second set.

“I started playing well but he started playing unbelievable,” Verdasco said. “He wasn’t missing any balls. But I was able to break him at 5-4 in the first with a tough game and I got some confidence from that and maybe he lost some confidence. I was able to break him again and gained some more confidence and in the second set I played really good.”

Other winners Thursday include Sam Querrey, who defeated Taylor Dent 6-4, 6-4, Michael Russell, who defeated Xavier Malisse, 6-4, 7-5 and Ricardas Berankis, ranked 255th in the world, who defeated Bjorn Phau of Germany, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Friday’s quarterfinals will have Roddick facing Tomas Berdych, Verdasco playing Berankis, sixth-seeded Phillipp Kohlschreiber taking on Dennis Istomin and seventh-seeded Querrey facing Russell.

STEPANEK UPSET, RODDICK WINS AT SAP OPEN

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By Chris Kane

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

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

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

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

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

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

HAAS LEADS GERMAN RUN AT SAP OPEN

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By Chris Kane

Germany 4, Rest of the World 0.  The SAP Open in San Jose featured a clean German sweep Tuesday with Benjamin Becker, Bjorn Phau, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Tommy Haas each scoring first-round victories.

Becker, the 2004 NCAA Singles Champion while at Baylor University, beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-4, 6-2, while Phau produced the biggest upset of the tournament thus far by eliminating No. 8 seed Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-1.  Kohlschreiber recovered from a first set tiebreak loss to beat Rajeev Ram of the United States, 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-3.  Tommy Haas, although recently being granted US Citizenship, completed the German sweep with straight sets victory over American Devin Britton 6-4, 7-6 (3).

With its strong showing today, Germany now features four of the final 16 players in the tournament.  With Sam Querrey’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili in Tuesday’s late match, the United States will also send four players to the round of 16 despite starting with a total of 12 players to Germany’s five.  While it is unarguably a strong start, it may be a bit premature to start the celebration.  In the tournament’s 121 year history there has never been a German singles champion.

RICARDAS BERANKIS: A STAR BEING BORN?

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By Chris Kane

Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, the 2007 US Open Boy’s Champion, made a strong statement at the SAP Open Tuesday in San Jose, Calif., defeating former U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri of the United States in his opening match.

The 19-year-old qualifier who now resides in Brandenton, Fla., recovered from losing a first set tie breaker to win convincingly 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-3.

Despite being ranked No. 255 in the world and sporting only a 2-4 lifetime record at the ATP level, Berankis played a solid attacking game to defeat Ginepri, a former world No. 15, who lost to Andre Agassi in five sets in the 2005 U.S. Open semifinals.

Upon the conclusion of the match Berankis let loose a cry of jubilation underscoring the importance of the match. He will now face German Bjorn Phau who upset No. 8 seed Jeremy Chardy of France earlier in the day in straight sets.

Berankis’ U.S. Open junior tournament victory puts him in some exclusive company. Past winners include: Andy Murray (2004), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2003), Andy Roddick (2000), David Nalbandian (1998), Stefan Edberg (1983) and Pat Cash (1982).

SAMPRAS LOSES TO VERDASCO IN SAP OPEN EXHIBITION

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Former No. 1 Pete Sampras showed glimpses of his dominating best against a top player 12 years his junior in the second set of his 6-3, 7-6 (2) exhibition loss to Spain’s Fernando Verdasco at the SAP Open.

Sampras received a rousing standing ovation once the 56-minute match was over. He waved and hit three balls into the crowd before telling everybody he “felt a little old” out there.

It was first exhibition match for the 14-time Grand Slam champion since he beat long-time American rival Andre Agassi 3-6, 6-3, 10-8, decided on a match tiebreak at Macau in late October.

“It was a pretty rough night,” Sampras said. “I never really felt I could get into his service games. Playing defence is harder for me. That’s something I used to do a pretty good job at. It’s harder to move.”

The seven-time Wimbledon champion, who played his last tour match winning the 2002 U.S. Open, plays about a half-dozen exhibition events a year, as well as on the champions tour run by his friend and former rival Jim Courier. He uses a bigger racket now than his ATP Tour days to try to keep up with the hard-hitting youngsters on tour now – like the overpowering Verdasco.

Sampras hit back-to-back aces in the first game of the second set and a big first serve that Verdasco couldn’t return to capture that game. Sampras’s impressive scoop volley for a winner four games later drew a thumbs-up from Verdasco across the net.

Yet the very next game, Sampras sent a forehand long and shook his head and looked at his racket. When the chair umpire called another forehand by Sampras long on the next point and then corrected it, Sampras held his arms in the air and twirled his racket.

“I felt a little old,” he said. “I tried. At times it wasn’t all that competitive.”

THE SECOND-OLDEST U.S. TOURNAMENT, THE SAP OPEN, HAS STRONG FIELD FOR 2010

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By Chris Kane

On Monday, February 8, the second oldest American tournament, the SAP Open, gets underway at the HP Pavilion in San Jose with three-time winner Andy Roddick headlining the bill in the singles and world No. 1 and Australian Open champs, the Bryan Brothers, set to compete in the doubles.

Pete Sampras, a two time winner of the tournament himself, will also be playing an exhibition match for the third year in a row, taking on Spain’s Fernando Verdasco on Monday evening.  Last year Sampras was scheduled to play James Blake but instead played Tommy Haas for the second consecutive year as Blake was forced to withdraw with an injury.

Also returning is Radek Stepanek, the defending champion in both the singles and the doubles, Last year, the Czech made a surprising run, beating No. 1 seed Roddick in the semis on his way to claiming his fourth career title.

In one form or another the SAP Open has been around since 1889 when it was known as the Pacific Coast Championships, making the it second-oldest tournament in the United States  behind the precursor to what was to become the US Open.  The tournament pre-dates the Australian and French Opens as well making it one of the oldest on the professional tour.

This year’s lineup includes seven of the world’s top 30 ranked players and seven of the top nine U.S. players.  Included in that group of Americans is Mardy Fish, who had a spectacular run in last year’s tournament, beating Lleyton Hewitt, John Isner, Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake consecutively before succumbing to Stepanek in a tough three-set final.  Sam Querrey and Taylor Dent will also be competing and the fast surface of the indoor courts at the HP Pavilion is sure to make their brand of power tennis a formidable threat.
Roddick will once again be the top seed and the favorite but the lingering question from the Australian Open is how is his shoulder?  In his quarterfinal loss to Marin Cilic, Roddick suffered from a nerve issue in his shoulder, causing numbness in his fingers.  That match was played on January 26th so he will have rested for two weeks before taking the court in San Jose.