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2009 US Open finalists Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters named top women’s seeds at 2010 US Open

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FLUSHING, N.Y., August 24, 2010 – The USTA announced today that Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters – who met in the women’s singles final at the 2009 US Open – have been named the top seeds in women’s singles at the 2010 US Open.  The 2010 US Open will be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., August 30 – September 12.

Ranked No. 2 in the world, Wozniacki is the No. 1 seed at a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career and is seeking her first Grand Slam title.  She will be followed by Clijsters of Belgium, the defending US Open Champion.  Wozniacki and Clijsters lead the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year with three singles titles each.  Two-time US Open champion Venus Williams is seeded third and is the only American woman to be seeded in the event. Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, the 2008 US Open runner-up, is seeded fourth.  The world’s No. 1-ranked player, Serena Williams, was forced to withdraw from this year’s US Open due to injury.

Caroline Wozniacki

After a breakthrough season in 2009 in which she won three titles and reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open, Wozniacki, 20, has continued her strong play in 2010 with three more titles, including a victory yesterday at the Rogers Cup, an Olympus US Open Series event in Montreal.  She is also the No. 1 seed at this week’s Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Conn., where she is the two-time defending champion.

In addition to Clijsters and Venus Williams, former US Open champions seeded at this year’s tournament are No. 11 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 14 seed Maria Sharapova.  Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, is seeded sixth.

For 2010, the US Open followed the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings to determine the women’s singles seeds.  This is the ninth consecutive year that the US Open has seeded 32 players in both singles events.

The singles draws for the 2010 US Open will be revealed live on the US Open Draw Announcement Special on ESPN2, Thursday, Aug. 26, at 12 p.m. ET.  Chris McKendry will host the one-hour show from Bristol, Conn., along with U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez and Brad Gilbert.  U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe will lead the on-site coverage from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

2010 US Open Women’s Singles Seeds

  1. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark
  2. Kim Clijsters, Belgium
  3. Venus Williams, United States
  4. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
  5. Samantha Stosur, Australia
  6. Francesca Schiavone, Italy
  7. Vera Zvonareva, Russia
  8. Li Na, China
  9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland
  10. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus
  11. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia
  12. Elena Dementieva, Russia
  13. Marion Bartoli, France
  14. Maria Sharapova, Russia
  15. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium
  16. Shahar Peer, Israel
  17. Nadia Petrova, Russia
  18. Aravane Rezai, France
  19. Flavia Pennetta, Italy
  20. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia
  21. Zheng Jie, China
  22. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain
  23. Maria Kirilenko, Russia
  24. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak Republic
  25. Alexandra Dulgheru, Romania
  26. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic
  27. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
  28. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia
  29. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine
  30. Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan
  31. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia
  32. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria

2009 DAVIS CUP CHAMPION SPAIN CONTINUES QUEST FOR TITLE THIS WEEKEND ON TENNIS CHANNEL

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LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2010 – Tennis Channel will provide exclusive coverage of Spain and France’s Davis Cup quarterfinal competition in  Clermont-Ferrand, France, this weekend.  The meeting will consist of two singles matches on Friday, July 9, at 7 a.m. ET, followed by the doubles match Saturday, July 10, at 8 a.m. ET.  Tennis Channel’s coverage concludes with the remaining singles play Sunday, July 11, at 7 a.m. ET.  Each of the five matches is worth one point, with the team that wins at least three points advancing to the semifinals Sept. 17-19.  Each evening at 8 p.m. ET Tennis Channel will offer an encore presentation of the day’s Davis Cup action.

Coverage from Zenith – Grande Halle d’Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France (all times ET):

Friday, July 9:

7 a.m. – Live Singles #1

10 a.m. – Live Singles #2

{1 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}

{8 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}

{11 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #2}

Saturday, July 10:

8 a.m. – Live Doubles

{11 a.m. – Instant Encore Singles #2}

{2 p.m. – Instant Encore Doubles}

{8 p.m. – Instant Encore Doubles}

{11 p.m. – Instant Encore Doubles}

Sunday, July 11:

7 a.m. – Live Singles #1

10 a.m. – Live Singles #2

{1 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}

{8 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #1}

{11 p.m. – Instant Encore Singles #2}

Spain and France have faced each other six times in Davis Cup play, with Spain holding a 5-1 advantage.  The most recent competition was during the 2004 Davis Cup semifinals, when Spain won 4-1 in Alicante, Spain.  The Spaniards enter this weekend’s match after defeating Switzerland 4-1 in Logrono, Spain, to reach the Davis Cup quarterfinal for the fourth consecutive year.  Spain, the two-time defending champion, has dominated the past decade with Davis Cup championships in 2000, 2004, 2008 and, most recently, in 2009 when it defeated the Czech Republic 5-0 in Barcelona, Spain.

Spain is captained by former tennis star Albert Costa, who won the 2002 French Open singles title and played on Spain’s winning Davis Cup squad in 2000.  Rafael Nadal, World No. 1 and 2010 Wimbledon champion, will not play in the quarterfinals against France due to knee injury.  Rounding out Spain’s team are tennis stars Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Feliciano Lopez.

France enters this weekend’s match after defeating Germany 4-1 in Toulon, France.  The French team is captained by Guy Forget and features Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle.  A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community.  It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup.  Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.

It’s Del Potro In An Upset

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NEW YORK – The reign is over. Long live the king.

Juan Martin del Potro, appearing in his first Grand Slam tournament final, overpowered five-time defending champion Roger Federer to capture the US Open on Monday 3-6 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-2.

It’s Del Potro In An Upset
It’s Del Potro In An Upset

Riding a fearsome forehand that rocketed winners from way behind the baseline, del Potro became the second Argentine to win America’s premier tennis tournament. Guillermo Vilas won in 1977 when the US Open was played on clay at Forest Hills. Now, it’s on hard court, del Potro’s favorite surface, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

“When I would have a dream, it was to win the US Open, and the other one is to be like Roger,” del Potro said during the on-court ceremony where he collected a check for USD $1.85 million. “One is done.”

Then, addressing Federer directly, del Potro said: “I need to improve a lot to be like you. I’d like to congratulate you for fighting ‘til the last point.”

Federer was seeking his record-tying sixth straight US Open championship and his third consecutive Grand Slam tournament title this year, having captured his first French Open and his sixth Wimbledon earlier this summer. But del Potro had other ideas.

“A dream came true,” del Potro said. “I don’t have words to explain how I feel.”

Words weren’t needed. The tears of joy streaming down his face spoke volumes.

Del Potro, who turns 21 next week, snapped Federer’s 41-match unbeaten streak at Flushing Meadows as he completely dominated his Swiss opponent who has been called the greatest tennis player of all time.

“It’s difficult to explain this moment,” said del Potro. “You know, since young I dream of this and now I take the trophy with me. I did my dream, and it’s unbelievable moment. It’s amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect.”

Federer admitted del Potro was the better player on the final day of this rain-delayed tournament. But he felt it was still a great year despite the loss.

“Five was great, four was great, too,” said Federer, who came into the US Open having won a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. “Six would have been a dream, too. Can’t have them all. I’ve had an amazing summer and a great run.

“I’m not too disappointed just because I thought I played another wonderful tournament. Had chances today to win, but couldn’t take them. It was unfortunate.

It wasn’t a typical Federer match. A lot of that was because of the play of del Potro, who controlled their baseline rallies with his monster forehand, which he ripped deep into the far reaches of the court or down the line, shots that Federer for the most part only could wave at or watch the ball clip off his racquet.

The Swiss superstar came within two points of taking a two-set lead. But del Potro recovered, then won the tiebreak to level the match. Federer won the third set and was up 5-4 in the fourth, again two points from winning the title while leading 15-30 on del Potro’s serve. It was the last time Federer came close as del Potro held, then went on to win yet another tiebreak.

It was only the third time since he began his championship run that Federer has had to play a fifth set at the US Open. It was the first time he has lost.

“Got to give him all the credit because it’s not an easy thing to do, especially coming out against someone like me with so much experience,” Federer said. “Towards the end, of course, up 5 2 in the fifth. That was easy. But he had to live through some really tough moments earlier on in both breakers throughout those sets to come back. So his effort was fantastic.”

In the end, it was del Potro who dominated, the Argentine who rose to the occasion and won.

The reign is over. Long live the king.

Two days after she left the court amid a chorus of boos, Serena Williams returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium and with her sister Venus won the US Open women’s doubles title for the first time since 1999. It was the sister’s 10th Grand Slam tournament women’s doubles title, half as many as the record held by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.

The Williams sisters downed the top-seeded team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-3 6-2.