Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts

Federer Beats Haase to Secure Swiss Davis Cup Win

Amsterdam - Roger Federer beat Robin Haase 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to give Switzerland victory against the Netherlands in their Davis Cup World Group playoff on Sunday.

The world No. 1 was rarely troubled by 50th-ranked Haase on the temporary clay court in Amsterdam as he comfortably sealed victory and his team’s return to the World Group next year.

“I felt like I was always somewhat in control,” Federer said, in an understatement.

Federer and countryman Stanislas Wawrinka won their opening singles on Friday, and lost in doubles on Saturday to Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer.

Associated Press

Sharapova reaches Miami Masters final

Miami - Maria Sharapova fought back from one set down to reach the women's final at the WTA and ATP Masters hardcourt tournament on Thursday.

Third seed Roger Federer eased into the the men's semifinals thanks to French opponent Gilles Simon's retirement due to a stiff neck.

Sharapova, seeded 16th, overcame her slow start by winning 11 straight games en route to a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 semifinal victory over Germany's Andrea Petkovic.

Sharapova will be seeking her first title since May 2010, and her first in Miami, playing against the winner of Thursday night's semifinal between third-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva and 2009 Miami champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in Saturday's final.

Federer won 12 of the 15 points against Simon, who talked with a trainer during a changeover before conceding the match and shaking hands with Federer.

"He told me he woke up this morning with a stiff neck and couldn't move," Federer said. "It's obviously disappointing when it happens in front of an audience. You get booed off the court -- that's rough. It's not the way you want to move on, but look, I'll take those because they happen quite rarely."

Federer next faces either top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal or seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.

Federer beat Nadal for the title here in 2005, the last time they played each other in the United States.

Sharapova, who finished runner-up here in 2005 and 2006, missed the tournament from 2008-2010 because of injuries.

Santana says Nadal will be sporting great

Spanish tennis great Manuel Santana believes Rafael Nadal is not just the best athlete to come out of Spain but is on his way to being the greatest sportsman of all time.

Santana says Nadal is "without a doubt the best Spanish athlete but being o young he'll finish by being the best world athlete."

The 24-year-old Nadal became the seventh player to complete a career Grand Slam in September with his U.S. Open victory. That came after French Open and Wimbledon triumphs earlier in the summer.

Santana was previously Spain's most successful player with four Grand Slam titles. Nadal has won nine.

Federer downs Davydenko to claim Qatar title

World number two Roger Federer began his season in formidable fashion by defeating holder Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4 to win the Qatar Open on Saturday.

The 16-times grand slam champion proved too much for his Russian opponent, claiming a break of serve in each set to complete victory under the floodlights at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in central Doha.

Federer has improved throughout his five matches this week in Qatar, where he did not drop a set, and sealed victory in 79 minutes when Davydenko netted an attempted backhand pass to huge cheers from a capacity crowd.

It was a 67th career title for the 29-year-old, who hardly broke a sweat on another warm evening in the tiny Gulf emirate and celebrated victory with a brief smile amongst little celebration.

The Swiss served impeccably throughout, dropping just nine points on his serve as he demonstrated his solid form ahead of defending his title at the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on Jan. 17.

“I’m very happy to kick-off the season today this way I think I played an amazing match. It will give me a lot of confidence for the remainder of the season,” said Federer, who will head to Australia for a week of practice.

Davydenko, who brushed aside world number one Rafa Nadal in the previous round, struggled on the back foot during the first set as Federer moved him around the court at will with precision depth groundstrokes.

The Russian, ranked 22 in the world after slipping from a career high third, battled hard throughout, saving six break points in the first set and charging down every ball but was always under pressure on his own serve.

“He played very well for sure, today was tough, he gave me no chance on the return,” Davydenko told reporters.

“I don’t want to say I played badly today, I played okay but Federer didn’t give me a chance to realize my game. I don’t know if he can hold at this level for the whole year.”

The second set was on serve until the ninth game when Federer broke Davydenko to love before serving out with ease to claim his third Qatar Open title and collect the trophy, an elaborate golden eagle sat on a perch with a picture of the Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on the base. (Reuters/Jamal Saidi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.comJustify Full

Youzhny pulls out of Paris Masters

Paris - Russian tennis player Mikhail Youzhny will not appear on the last ATP tournament in London this month after failing to continue the match on her second round at Paris Masters tennis against Latvian Ernests Gulbis on Tuesday.

It requires ninth seed reached the final in Paris to be displayed on the season-ending ATP season, but he withdrew in the second set 0-3 when left behind after losing the first set 4-6.

Ranked 10th in the world before Youzhny back in the early second babgak at Valencia Open tournament last weekend because of back problems. (I015/Z002/S026)

Murray Crushes Federer to Take Shanghai and 2nd Title of the Year

Shanghai - Andy Murray buried remnants of his 2010 slump in indisputable fashion on Sunday with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Roger Federer to win a second Masters trophy of the season with victory in Shanghai.

It took less than 90 minutes for the fourth-ranked Murray to completely rewrite his 2010 scenario and earn his second title of the year — also recording his second consecutive defeat of the Swiss in a Masters final.

The loss prevented Federer from pulling even with Rafael Nadal for the most career Masters titles, at 18.

“It was obviously a very, very good week,” Murray said. “The match was, from my side, very solid. Roger had a couple chances to get back in the first set.

“It was obviously a great, great match for me. I made few mistakes, but as a tournament, overall I’m very happy with it,” said Murray, who was ill last week and lost in the Beijing quarterfinals. “I had to play great to have a chance against Roger. But I was able to do that today.”

Murray now has a solid 8-5 lifetime record against Federer, who will move back to second in the world on Monday, just behind Nadal thanks to his semifinal defeat of Novak Djokovic, which followed a hammering of two-time Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling.

But Federer’s form tapered away when it counted against Murray, who struck 20 winners, saved six break points and broke four times.

The performance is bound to restore the confidence of the prickly Scot, who was laughingly admonished during the trophy ceremony with pleas from the emcee to promise to smile more on his next visit.

Federer, with 30 unforced errors, saved a match point in the final game before Murray pulled through for victory under the open roof of the Qi Zhong center.

The defeat dropped Federer to 2-4 in 2010 finals, with Murray improving his overall season record to 41-14.

“I’ve played some of my best tennis against Roger,” he said.

In August, a fortnight before the start of the US Open, Murray lifted the Toronto trophy at Federer’s expense. The 23-year-old Scot lost the Australian Open final to the Swiss in January.

Federer acknowledged that he was outplayed on Sunday.

“I know how tough it is to win these Masters titles,” the Swiss star said. “He made me work hard. I couldn’t find many great shots; he was too good.”

Tennis

Agence France-Presse
It took Britain’s Andy Murray less than 90 minutes to deny Roger Federer his 18th Masters title.

Bali Women’s Tourney Trims Roster to Eight

Jakarta - The “Road to Bali” just grew narrower for the world’s top women players after organizers decided to reduce the number of players at this year’s Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.
Kevin Livesey, the tournament’s director, said the decision to cut down the roster from 12 players to eight — the same number as in the Doha championships a week before Bali — was made upon the request of the Women’s Tennis Association.
The association will announce the season’s rankings on Oct. 25, and six of the highest-ranked players who will not compete at the WTA Tour Championship in Doha will be eligible to compete at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua from Nov. 4-7.
The six players, along with two wild cards, must also have won an International Series event to qualify for the $600,000 extravaganza.
“The reason is that by the end of the year, lots of players are carrying injuries and feeling tired, so fewer players are available to play in Bali,” Livesey said on Tuesday.
“We want to get the right players playing in the right tournaments,” he said. Livesey said he was not worried that the tournament would fail to attract audiences, despite reducing the number of players.
Organizers are banking on wild cards Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to draw a crowd.
Ivanovic will be back after her 2006 debut, while Hantuchova will mark her fourth time at the Bali competition.
In 2008, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam at the French Open and ascended to the world No. 1 spot, although she had been struggling with a persistent knee injury since 2007.
Hantuchova has fond memories of the resort island after reaching the final of the Wismilak International in 2007 and the semifinal the following year.
The event promises to be more exciting since the round-robin format used last year has been replaced by a straight knockout.
Top players such as Li Na, Maria Sharapova and defending champion Aravane Rezai are among those who have qualified to compete in Bali.
But the remaining three International Series tournaments in Linz, Osaka and Luxembourg this month could still produce new qualifiers. (Ami Afriatni)

Nadal advances to Japan Open 2nd round

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal downed Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Japan Open on Tuesday.
Nadal, coming off a surprise loss in the semifinals of the Thailand Open on Saturday, had to work hard for the victory in his Japan debut.
"I started a few games love-30," said Nadal. "He played well. He was very aggressive. My serve was the worst it has been in the last 10 or 11 games and I was a little more tired than usual and not focused on every point."
In the Thailand Open, Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard and eventual champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Nadal next faces Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic in the second round. Raonic beat France's Florent Serra 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
"I lost against him in doubles in Toronto," Nadal said. "He can play very well from the baseline and has a good serve so I have to be aggressive against him."
Second-seeded Andy Roddick downed Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito 6-4, 6-3 to open his first tournament since the U.S. Open.
Roddick dominated Ito with a powerful serve and topped the match in Ariake Colosseum with his eighth ace.
"It felt like a match coming off a long layoff," Roddick said. "There were some good things, some inconsistent things. Since New York, I've been trying to get in physical shape and I've been able to do that."
Roddick will next face the winner between Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Elsewhere, Serbian Viktor Troicki defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2.

Asia’s Grand Slam Renaissance Put on Hold, Again

Asia’s wait for its first Grand Slam singles winner goes on.

As Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan walked off court after being hammered 6-1, 6-0 by top seed Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday, the continent’s interest in the final Grand Slam of the year dwindled.

Asia’s failure to get a single player into the fourth round of either the men’s or women’s draw at Flushing Meadows is a disappointing outlay bearing in mind the promise shown of late by a growing hotbed of tennis talent.

Asia looked set to break its Grand Slam record at January’s Australian Open when Chinese duo Li Na and Zheng Jie reached the semifinals.

But the rest of 2010 proved disappointing with just three more quarterfinalists in the subsequent Grand Slams, Li and Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan at Wimbledon and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova at the French Open.

Asia’s longest-lasting player at the current US Open, Chan Yung-Jan, is not overly concerned about the continent’s poor showing in New York.

“For our country it’s better for us — it’s the best result we’ve ever had,” said the world No. 77. “I know everyone’s out of the tournament from Asia but we are growing all the time and Asian tennis is getting better,” she said.

In all, there are six men in the world’s top 100 but the continent’s male contingent boasts just one Grand Slam quarterfinal spot in the last 15 years courtesy of Lu in London in July.

A first Asian Grand Slam winner looks far likelier to come from the current crop of women, who boast nine players in the top 100, including the 21-year-old Chan .

“You never know who’s going to make the breakthrough and when,” she said. “For the moment, everybody is working hard and you never know what’s going to happen next.” 

Reuters

Nadal overcomes Murray to reach Wimbledon final

London - Rafael Nadal torched Andy Murray`s Wimbledon dream for the second time in three years on Friday as the marauding Spaniard grounded rising British hopes to roar into his fourth final at the grand slam.

For all but a few minutes of a compelling two hour 22 minute Centre Court duel there was not a cigarette paper between the players but Nadal gobbled up the rare opportunities Murray offered to win 6-4 7-6 6-4 and move into Sunday`s showpiece against Czech Tomas Berdych who overpowered Novak Djokovic.

The 24-year-old Mallorcan has now won 13 consecutive matches at Wimbledon and is three sets from regaining the title he won in 2008 before injury kept him away last year.

"I never like comparisons," French open champion Nadal, said when asked if he was playing as well now as when he beat Roger Federer here two years ago in one of the best finals ever seen.

"Every year is completely different but for me this was an amazing day, a very important victory for me, one of the more difficult victories of my career."

Earlier in the tournament Murray played regally to entertain Queen Elizabeth but with David Beckham, England`s former soccer prince, watching on, he fell just short of becoming Britain`s first men`s singles finalist since 1938.

As he swished a forehand volley beyond the dusty baseline on Nadal`s first match point, the groan from the masses perched on Henman Hill peering at the large screen were probably audible all the way across to Buckingham Palace.

Home Hopes

Little blame could be attached to Murray, though, who had carried home hopes on his own since the first Tuesday by which time every other British player had gone out in the first round.

Even 2008 champion Nadal, one of the fiercest fighters the game has witnessed, seemed to feel the pain. "I wished him best of luck for the rest of the season, and sorry for today," Nadal said of his net exchange with a crestfallen Murray.

"I know it was an important match for him. I felt sorry for him because he`s a very nice person."

That would be scant consolation for Murray who again just failed when it mattered. The Scot began the year losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, as he did in the 2008 U.S.

Open final just a few months after being outplayed by Nadal in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Last year here it was an inspired Andy Roddick who ambushed him in the semis and the defeats get ever more painful.

"This is a little bit more disappointing than other grand slams because this one is the biggest one of the year for me.

It`s tough," a despondent Murray told a news conference minutes after walking off court.

"I haven`t seen the stats, but I would guess it was the difference of maybe five or six points in the match."

Actually it was seven, which illustrated just how tightly contested the match had been.

Resistance Crack

Only when Nadal broke back to level the third set at 4-4 did fourth seed Murray`s resistance finally crack and two games later the Spaniard was flat on his back in celebration.

Beckham`s arrival added to the huge sense of anticipation as the players walked out on court for their 11th career meeting and fifth in grand slam play.

Two years ago Murray was thrashed by Nadal but his performances here this time, together with a few dropped sets for Nadal and Roger Federer`s exit, elevated hopes to
fever-pitch proportions.

One poor game at 4-4 cost Murray the first set when a double fault and a fluffed forehand had the 23-year-old beating his fist into his arm in frustration.

Murray was the cleaner hitter in the second set and dropped just two points on his serve before the tiebreak on which the match was to hinge.

He had missed two break points when Nadal served at 3-4 in the set but as the tension became suffocating in the tiebreak he was gifted a set point when Nadal double-faulted at 5-5.

The Spaniard`s nerve was armour-plated as he produced a stunning drop volley to level at 6-6. He then got lucky when a fizzing backhand pass flicked off the net and jumped over Murray`s racket frame.

Nadal clinched the set with a pummelling forehand winner and Murray bounced his racket angrily into the turf.

There seemed hope when Murray started brightly in the third set, breaking Nadal to love to the delight of the partisan crowd but their joy did not last long as Nadal broke back in the eighth game and broke again to seal victory. (A008/C003/S026)

Nadal overcomes knee, deficit, umpire flap to win

Things got quite complicated for Rafael Nadal on Saturday.
His right knee was bothering him "a lot," something he later would say he's "a little bit scared about." His left elbow was briefly in pain, too, following one particular serve.

He got into a dispute wih the chair umpire over whether Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle, was coaching during the match, which is against the rules.

And then there was his most immediate concern Saturday: For the second consecutive round at Wimbledon, Nadal fell behind by two sets to one.

For the second consecutive round, though, he generally indefatigable Nadal came back and came through, this time pulling out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 victory over 33rd-seeded Philipp Petzschner of Germany to reach the second week.

"This match was very difficult for me," Nadal acknowledged. "Having a five-set match two days ago and one toda - that's tough. I'm happy to be in the fourth round. I'm going to try to be better for Monday."

That's when the grass-court Grand Slam tournament will resume after observing its traditional day of rest on the middle Sunday, all 32 players still in the event will be on the jam-packed schedule.

Nadalwill meet 66th-ranked Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, who beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4. In his previous outing, de Bakker eliminated John Isner, the lanky American who won the longest match in tennis history, 70-68 in the fifth set.

No. 18 Sam Querrey of the United tates won his own lengthy match, reaching Wimbledon's fourth round for the first time by defeating 2002 semifinalist Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 9-7. The final point was played at 9:23 p.m., and Querrey figured the match would have been susended and continued Monday if he hadn't won when he did.

Next up for Querrey, 22, is a Centre Court contest against No. 4 Andy Murray, trying to become Britain's first Wimbledon men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray, who hasn't dropped a set so far, beat No. 26 Gilles Simon of France 6-1, 6-, 6-4 Saturday.

Other fourth-round men's matches Monday will include two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden vs. No. 9 David Ferrer of Spain, and No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. No. 32 Julien Benneteau in an all-French pairing.

Neither of those is nearly as intriguing as the women's matcup between 12-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three-time major winner Maria Sharapova. It's a rematch of the 2004 Wimbledon final, which Sharapova won, but Williams leads their career series 5-2.

"I love going on the court and playing someone that's obviously the favorite," Sharapova said. She struggled at the start of her 7-5, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic. Defending champion Williams, in contrast, overwhelmed 46th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at the outset of what would become a 6-0, 7-5 victory. Williams hit 19 aces and afterward declared: "For the most part my serve works when I'm in trouble. At Wimbledon it works the whole match."

Other women's fourth-round matchups include No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark of vs. Czech Petra Kvitova; No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland vs. No. 9 Li Na of China; and Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi vs. Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.

None of the day's developments, however, was as significant as what happened while Nadal faced Petzschner, who lost in the first round at both of the year's first two major tournaments.

Nadal has won seven Grand Slam titles, including at the French Open this month, and never before has he won two five-setters en route to a major's fourth round. But the Spaniard went the distance against 151st-ranked Robin Haase of the Netherlands on Thursday, then did so again Saturday.

At four separate changeovers, Nadal was visited by a trainer, who mostly worked on the player's right knee. Tendinitis in both knees forced Nadal to pull out of Wimbledon a year ago instead of defending his 2008 title, and he disclosed for the first time Saturday that he's been dealing with knee issues this season.

Nadal said he received "new treatment" that helped his left knee after winning a clay-court title at Monte Carlo in April, but did not have time to get the same work done on the right side. Asked to describe the treatment, he said, "I can't explain (it) now, especially in English. Sorry."

He'll skip Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinal against France from July 9-11 so the same procedure can be carried out on his right knee, because he wants to be healthy in August for the U.S. Open, the only major title missing from his resume.

As for how the knee might effect him at Wimbledon, Nadal said: "I hope I'll be fine. I don't know. I'm going to check."

The left-hander was worried momentarily when he felt something in that elbow, but said that went away quickly and declared, "The arm is perfect."

Petzschner, playing his third five-setter in a row, sought help from a trainer for a recurring hip problem and faded late. He wondered aloud about how much medical help Nadal really needed Saturday, saying there didn't appear to be a difference in the No. 1-ranked man's movement before and after the trainer's visits.

"I only could say if I would be injured like this once, I would be happy. I don't know; maybe he had something. Maybe it was just ... clever ... to take a timeout there."

Nadal denied there was gamesmanship involved.
"I never call the physio when I don't have (anything wrong) - not one time in my career," he said. "If I (called) the physio today, it was because it was bothering me a lot, the knee."

Chair umpire Cedric Mourier warned Nadal during the fifth set about getting in-match coaching from his uncle, seated in the front row of the player guest box. Rafael Nadal pointed angrily at the umpire, spread his arms wide and shouted at him before returning to action.

Both Nadals said there was no coaching going on.
Instead, Toni Nadal explained, he was telling his nephew to stay positive.
"Nothing else," Toni Nadal said.

If anything, the admonishment from Mourier appeared to spur on the younger Nadal, who reeled off the final three games of the match. After starting only 1 for 11 on break points, he went 3 for 3 down the stretch - and in sports, of course, all's well that ends well.

"Very difficult," Toni Nadal said, echoing his charge's phrase. "But at least Rafael won the match. So all is OK."

Serena Williams into Wimbledon 4th round

Defending champion Serena Williams put on a serving clinic Saturday, hitting 20 aces in a straight-sets win over Dominika Cibulkova that sets up a possible fourth-round matchup with former champion Maria Sharapova.

The top-seeded American had at least two aces in each of her eight service games and overpowered the 46th-ranked Slovak 6-0, 7-5 in the day's first match on Centre Court.
Williams won 37 of 43 service points and held at love five times. She won 19 of her first 20 service points, with Cibulkova putting only four returns in play in that stretch.

The first set lasted just 18 minutes, with Williams winning 25 of 31 points, serving six aces and hitting 12 winners. She finished the match with 37 winners.

Cibulkova, a semifinalist at the French Open last year, finally got on the scoreboard when she held serve for 1-1 in the second set. From then on, she kept the match competitive by holding serve, although she couldn't cope with Williams' serves.

In the men’s competition, Sweden's Robin Soderling advanced to the fourth round after a straight-sets victory over Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci.

Sixth-seeded Soderling, a two-time French Open finalist, beat the 24th-ranked Bellucci 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in just under two hours.

After breezing through the first two sets, the Swede faced a stiffer challenge from the left-handed Brazilian in the third, when he saved three break points in the penultimate game of the match.

Soderling, who has reached the round of 16 for the second consecutive year at Wimbledon, is one of only three men yet to drop a set this tournament.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Serena Snags Sister’s Crown

Wimbledon, England. Serena Williams kept telling herself she was facing just another foe in the Wimbledon final, just another woman who hits the ball quite hard, just another player trying to deny her a Grand Slam title.

She wasn’t facing just anyone, of course. She was playing her older sister Venus. And when the latest all-Williams final finished, when Serena wrapped up a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory on Saturday for a third Wimbledon championship and 11th major title overall, she jogged to the net with her arm extended for a handshake. Venus pulled her close for a warm embrace, instead.

“I didn’t think about Venus at all today. I just saw her as an opponent,” said Serena, who also beat her sister in the 2002 and 2003 finals at the All England Club.

“At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like ‘Williams,’ ‘Williams.’ I couldn’t figure out which was which,” she added.

That was because she was facing the only woman who can equal her power and court coverage on grass courts. Monday’s rankings will say Serena is No. 2, and Venus No. 3 — behind No. 1 Dinara Safina, a 6-1, 6-0 loser to Venus in the semifinals — but it is clear who the best woman in the world is at the moment.

Serena has won three of the past four Grand Slam titles and even poked a little fun at Safina, who is 0-3 in major finals.

“If you hold three Grand Slam titles, maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour,” Serena said. Then, alluding sarcastically to two less-than-major events won by Safina, Serena said: “I see myself as No. 2. That’s where I am. Dinara did a great job to get to No. 1. She won Rome and Madrid,” then laughed.

Serena leads Venus in Grand Slam titles (11-7), in head-to-head matches (11-10), and in all-Williams major finals (6-2).

It was the 14th Grand Slam final for each Williams; no other active woman participated in more than four. Serena is 11-3 in such matches; Venus fell to 7-7, with all but one defeat coming against her sister.

Asked if it’s easier or harder losing to a sibling, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus said: “There’s no ‘easy’ to losing, especially when it’s so close to the crown.”

She was the two-time defending champion and had won 20 matches in a row at Wimbledon, the last 17 in straight sets. But Venus — at 29, she’s 15 months older than Serena — appeared a step slow, perhaps bothered by the left knee that’s been bandaged since the second round.

About 3 1/2 hours after their match ended, Serena and Venus returned to Center Court and capped their domination of the tournament by winning a second consecutive Wimbledon doubles championship. Slapping palms between points, the sisters beat Australians Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs 7-6 (4), 6-4 to collect their ninth women’s doubles Grand Slam title, fourth at Wimbledon.

“Nothing like winning a title with your sister,” Serena said.

Associated Press

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Federer faces Swiss pal Wawrinka at French Open

Roger Federer has been an adviser, friend and Olympic doubles partner for fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

Now, for the first time, Federer will be Wawrinka's Grand Slam opponent. They'll meet Sunday in the fourth round of the French Open.

"He's really a good friend," Wawrinka said. "We know each other so well, so it's never easy to play him, especially here in French Open. But then when you go on court, you try to do your job."

Wawrinka has reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time. With one more victory, he would earn his first berth in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

A win would also end Federer's record streak of reaching the semifinals in 23 consecutive major tournaments.

"All streaks come to an end," Wawrinka said. "Sooner or later in his career, he will lose before the semifinals. But writing history, that is not my main objective."

Seeded 20th, Wawrinka earned a chance to play Federer by beating Fabio Fognini on Friday, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Federer beat qualifier Julian Reister 6-4, 6-0, 6-4.

Also advancing were Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Venus and Serena Williams. Most of tennis' top players were in action because of a schedule backlog caused by rain earlier in the week.

Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was beaten by fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The No. 6-seeded Kuznetsova, who saved four match points in the second round, will fall out of the top 10 for the first time in four years.

"You cannot play all the time great,' Kuznetsova said. "It's up ands downs. I have not been playing well this clay-court season and this season, but it happens, you know. I'll be back. I have the game. It's fine. It's just matters of time."

Federer has yet to drop a set, but then so has Wawrinka, who considers clay his best surface. Federe is 4-1 in the friendly rivalry and easily won their most recent meeting in Madrid two weeks ago, but Wawrinka won at the Monte Carlo Masters on clay last year.

They'll face each other on a Grand Slam stage for the first time. They first met for a practice session when Wawrinka was 16 and Federer was alreay in the top 10.

"We played for two hours," Wawrinka said. "It was very tough. I was very nervous to begin with, but I had a lot of fun."

Federer has since built an unrivaled resume, with a record 16 major titles and - thanks to last year's victory at the French Open - a career Grand Slam. He has lso provided informal counsel to Wawrinka, Switzerland's second-best player.

"I'm not his coach, but at the beginning it's like giving tips and advice," Federer said. "I saw him growing. It's always very interesting to see how he can continue and make progress. He's no longer asking for tips, which is agood sign."

They've been doubles partners for the Swiss Davis Cup and Olympic teams, and they won together at Beijing in 2008.

"It's probably the best memory of my life," Wawrinka said. "Tennis is such an individual sport that you can hardly ever share something with somebody. And being able to she this victory with Roger on the courts was beautiful. Because of him, I have a gold medal in my house, so I'm very happy for that."

Wawrinka will be the toughest test so far in this year's French Open for Federer, whose first three opponents were ranked 71st, 70th and 165th.

"I haven't played top guys yet, but dangerous players who are skillful on this surface," Federer said. "With my own form, I'm very happy."

Wawrinka knows what he's up against.

"The greatest player ever," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Sharapova makes early exit, Dementieva advances

Indian Wells, California (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Former champion and 10th seed Maria Sharapova of Russia was knocked out of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Sunday, losing an error-strewn marathon to China`s Zheng Jie 6-3 2-6 6-3.

While Sharapova made a premature exit, her fourth-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva enjoyed a smooth passage by easing past Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4 6-2 in their third-round match.

Zheng, a surprise semi-finalist at the Australian Open in January, broke Sharapova three times in the final set before clinching victory in a little under three hours with a searing forehand winner that clipped the baseline.

The 26-year-old Chinese, seeded 18th, punched her right fist in delight after booking a place in the fourth round against Australian wildcard Alicia Molik, a 6-0 6-2 winner over
British qualifier Elena Baltacha.

"It was a tough match," a smiling Zheng told reporters. "It was good fighting in the final set. I was 2-3 down and I come back to 6-3. It`s not easy and I`m so tired.

"She played so hard... but I tried to serve to her body more, because she has long arms. If I serve too wide, it`s easy (for her) to hit winner. My serve always go to her body."

Zheng broke the former world number one three times to win the opening set but the 2006 champion followed suit in a protracted second set that lasted one hour eight minutes to level the match.

Early service breaks were traded in the third before Sharapova appeared to take control when she again broke the Chinese, forcing a baseline error by her opponent with a powerful forehand to lead 3-1.

Medical treatment
After taking a medical timeout for treatment on her right elbow, Sharapova was then broken in her next two service games and Zheng, a feisty counter-puncher, took advantage by holding her own serve to close out the match.

Sharapova, who had clinched her 21st WTA title in Memphis last month, piled up 62 unforced errors in the third-round encounter compared to 40 by Zheng.

"I`d have periods of good games, and then the problem is trying to keep them all together and not be so up-and-down," the 22-year-old Russian said. "It was just very inconsistent.

"She`s like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep. I should have done a much better job on her serve because that is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game."

Asked how much her problem elbow affected her in the final set, Sharapova replied: "Not in my game, but on my serve it was really blocked extending it.

"I just felt like I couldn`t really extend it all the way. It was a little stuck. I`m sure I`ll have a check-up on it."

Earlier, fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland swept aside 31st-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-1 6-0 and 11th seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli crushed American Jill Craybas 6-2 6-0. (Uu.SYS/A008/S026)

Source: Indian Wells, California (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Former champion and 10th seed Maria Sharapova of Russia was knocked out of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Sunday, losing an error-strewn marathon to China`s Zheng Jie 6-3 2-6 6-3.

While Sharapova made a premature exit, her fourth-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva enjoyed a smooth passage by easing past Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4 6-2 in their third-round match.

Zheng, a surprise semi-finalist at the Australian Open in January, broke Sharapova three times in the final set before clinching victory in a little under three hours with a searing forehand winner that clipped the baseline.

The 26-year-old Chinese, seeded 18th, punched her right fist in delight after booking a place in the fourth round against Australian wildcard Alicia Molik, a 6-0 6-2 winner over
British qualifier Elena Baltacha.

"It was a tough match," a smiling Zheng told reporters. "It was good fighting in the final set. I was 2-3 down and I come back to 6-3. It`s not easy and I`m so tired.

"She played so hard... but I tried to serve to her body more, because she has long arms. If I serve too wide, it`s easy (for her) to hit winner. My serve always go to her body."

Zheng broke the former world number one three times to win the opening set but the 2006 champion followed suit in a protracted second set that lasted one hour eight minutes to level the match.

Early service breaks were traded in the third before Sharapova appeared to take control when she again broke the Chinese, forcing a baseline error by her opponent with a powerful forehand to lead 3-1.

Medical treatment

After taking a medical timeout for treatment on her right elbow, Sharapova was then broken in her next two service games and Zheng, a feisty counter-puncher, took advantage by holding her own serve to close out the match.

Sharapova, who had clinched her 21st WTA title in Memphis last month, piled up 62 unforced errors in the third-round encounter compared to 40 by Zheng.

"I`d have periods of good games, and then the problem is trying to keep them all together and not be so up-and-down," the 22-year-old Russian said. "It was just very inconsistent.

"She`s like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep. I should have done a much better job on her serve because that is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game."

Asked how much her problem elbow affected her in the final set, Sharapova replied: "Not in my game, but on my serve it was really blocked extending it.

"I just felt like I couldn`t really extend it all the way. It was a little stuck. I`m sure I`ll have a check-up on it."

Earlier, fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland swept aside 31st-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-1 6-0 and 11th seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli crushed American Jill Craybas 6-2 6-0. (Uu.SYS/A008/S026)

Source: http://www.antara.co.id

Venus, Sharapova sign on for Thailand

Bangkok - Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova will warm-up for the Australian Open with a exhibition match in Thailand to mark the 100th anniversary of the Hua Hin seaside resort, according to organisers.

The tennis superstars will spend New Year's Eve in Hua Hin before their match on January 2, which will be followed by a mixed doubles clash alongside local heroes Paradorn Srichaphan and Danai Udomchoke.

"I am delighted to be able to spend my New Year in Hua Hin, Thailand," said Sharapova, who is battling to find her best form again after arthroscopic surgery a year ago to repair her right shoulder.

"I am sure it will be an exciting time and I am looking forward to competing in the Centennial Invitation."

Williams, who lost to sister Serena in the final of the season-ending WTA Championships this month, is also excited.

"I have very fond memories of my previous visits to Thailand and am really looking forward to returning for the Centennial Invitation match in Hua Hin," she said.

After their match, both players move to Hong Kong for the Tennis Classic team event, which features players representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific.

They then head to Australia for the opening Grand Slam of the season.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com

Kandath Takes Out No. 4 Seed Huang in First Round Action; U.S. Girls Have Banner Labor Day

©Colette Lewis 2009--
Flushing Meadows, NY--

It's a rare junior match that features no service breaks and winner after winner, but in today's first round contest between No. 4 seed Liang-Chi Huang of Chinese Taipei and Matt Kandath of the U.S., that's what the crowd gathered around court 10 witnessed. Kandath, who avoided qualifying by reaching the doubles final of the ITF Grade 1 in Canada last week, took a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) decision over the world's fourth ranked junior.

Neither player seemed to suffer any nerves even the tense moments, or if they did, they expressed it by hitting harder and closer to the lines. There were forced errors, but very few of the unforced variety and even more winners, at least in the half dozen games that I saw.

"I knew I was serving great, and that really helped my confidence," said Kandath, who had nine aces in the match to Huang's two. "It was a little frustrating not to be able to break him at all. I think we each had a few break points, but not too many, so I had to grind out all the way to the tiebreak."

Kandath admitted that he had probably never played better, and to do so against a top player in front of several hundred fans, most of them cheering for him, was especially gratifying.

"Usually I get a decent size crowd, just because I'm from New York and I know a lot of the Eastern section kids," said the 17-year-old from Albany. "But as the match went on, people started seeing it was really close, and it did help to have that big of a crowd supporting you and cheering you on, getting you through the tough points."

Huang was serving from behind throughout the second set, and at 4-5 30-40, Kandath earned his first match point. Huang saved it, painting the sideline with his forehand, and played aggressively in the next two points to even the match at 5-5. With both players blasting groundstrokes--Kandath with both hands on forehand and backhand--that landed within inches of the baseline or sideline, errors seemed inevitable, but they rarely came. After both held serve, the tiebreaker began with Kandath taking a 4-1 lead, and his returns, which landed within inches of the baseline that Huang hugged, helped Kandath take a 6-2 lead. Four match points are a great luxury, but a net cord that dropped wide and another near miss brought it to 6-4 brought some tension. It didn't last long however, as in a final scintillating rally typifying the match, Kandath forced a forehand error to secure the win.

Earlier in the day, which was again pleasantly cool and slightly overcast, Alex Domijan squeezed past Indian qualifier Sudanwa Sitaram 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Domijan was down 3-1 in the final set, but got the break back when Sitaram missed a volley serving at 4-3, 30-40. Domijan wasn't serving well and Sitaram kept up with him on the ground, until the last game. Sitaram was serving to get into a tiebreaker and with that pressure the errors began to mount. At 15-40, he saved one match point, but Domijan pounded a forehand that Sitaram couldn't handle, and the 6-foot-7 Floridian had set up a much-anticipated meeting with No. 3 seed Bernard Tomic of Australia.

"I didn't serve well from halfway through the second set to the end," Domijan said. "He was chipping a lot of my returns and I wasn't really making him pay for that enough, so I got broken a lot."

Kandath and Domijan were joined in the second round by wild card Raymond Sarmiento, who defeated Cheng Peng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei 7-5, 6-3, giving the U.S. seven first round boys winners with two others, Evan King and Dennis Novikov, playing first round matches on Tuesday.

If there's a competition between the U.S. boys and U.S. girls however, it's no contest, as the girls won six of seven matches on Monday, after winning four of seven on Sunday. Ester Goldfeld and Mallory Burdette will play their first round matches on Tuesday. Christina McHale, the No. 8 seed, withdrew with a thigh injury, and her place was taken in the draw by lucky loser Annika Beck of Germany, whose match was postponed until Tuesday.

Wild card Gail Brodsky got off to a slow start, trailing 5-2 in the opening set before winning six games in a row against Paraguay's Veronica Cepede Royg, and the 2008 girls 18s champion came through with a 7-5, 7-5 win. No. 16 Beatrice Capra defeated qualifier Anna Marenko of Russia 6-3, 6-2, and wild card Grace Min beat qualifier Ting-Fei Juan of Chinese Taipei 6-4, 6-2. Qualifer Courtney Dolehide won her first junior Grand Slam match, taking out Cristina Dinu of Romania 6-0, 4-6, 6-4, and No. 7 seed Lauren Embree eliminated qualifier Paula Kania of Poland 7-5, 6-2. The final singles match of the day saw Nicole Gibbs defeat Magda Linette of Poland 6-4, 6-1.


"I came out and got up 3-1, 40-15 and then had a rough patch through there," said Gibbs who found herself at 4-4 in the opening set. "She changed up her game and I was trying to hit the ball out of my strike zone. I was trying to take the ball early but it just took me a little time to get my timing, and I played really well after that."

After yet another ferocious comeback from Melanie Oudin earlier in the day, I asked Gibbs, who is a year and half younger than Oudin, how her achievement was seen by other U.S. junior girls.

"It's inspirational, watching her win today, watching the kind of emotion her family was showing after the match," Gibbs said. "It's hard not to feel really proud of your country and of Melanie. She's doing amazingly, and I think that means really good things for me as a 5-foot 5-inch tennis player," Gibbs said with a laugh. "You know there are still people who are doing some damage in the main draw at my height, so that's good to see."

Junior doubles action also began on Monday, and the top seeded girls doubles team of Kristina Mladenovic and Silvia Njiric of Croatia were defeated 5-7, 6-2, 10-5 by Jana Cepelova and Chantal Skamlova of Slovakia. For complete draws and results, as well as the order of play, see usopen.org.

Source: http://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com

Nadal's Year and Future Riding on U.S. Open

He won the Australian Open at the start of the season, continuing a magical run through the 2008 season, however that seems like a decade ago now (doesn't it?). Beyond the Australian Open and leading up to the French, Nadal was simply being "Nadal". Winning five titles out of ten tries, and making people wonder if Federer was ever going to get a beat back on the Spaniard.

Things changed drastically however one sunny afternoon in Madrid, when Federer looking more like his usual self drilled Nadal in the final 6-4, 6-3. The round before, Nadal in spectacular fashion barely managed to get through Djokovic in what will end up being one of the better 2009 non-slam matches of the year.

With that loss, Nadal walked into the French Open with reduced momentum, an apparent knee issue, and some personal family related issues. Of course, those personal issues didn't surface all of a sudden, but that is none of our business, and we'll leave it at that.

At Nadal's legendary backyard (Rolland Garros), people refused to believe that the master of clay could lose. Why? Because he hadn't lost at the French Open. He was virtually unbeatable going into the 2009 French Open, that is, until some Swedish rebel played the match of his life and dismantled the Spaniard in legendary fashion. It was the upset of all upsets at the French, and while we didn't witness "Roger-like tears" from Nadal, it had to of hurt...Badly.

Nadal then went into an injury time-out and only just returned to the competitive scene via the Montreal Masters. He went on to lose to Del Potro in the quarters, and then his #2 ranking to Andy Murray. No coincedence that he lost to a future top #3 player, and then his ranking to quite possibly the next #1 player in the world.

It has indeed been a difficult year for Nadal, however here he has an opportunity to fight like hell in a city where fighting like hell earns you respect and honor. New York will get behind the underdog and Rafa can use this to his advantage to slide through the first week and deep into the second. He is however not the #1 seed, or even the #2 seed here, he's #3. How the draw plays out for him will be revealed very shortly, and he may need some ol' "luck of the draw" on his side.

Anything shy of the semi-finals in my mind though is going to be tough for Rafa. He MUST play up to his seed in order to walk away here with anything positive. Yes, I know he is just returning from a significant injury, but this isn't Roger Federer. Nadal has a significantly smaller window of opportunity to haul majors because he plays like no other man out there, with sheer reckless abandon. His body won't survive into his 30's, he has maybe 3-4 years (if lucky) before either a) The body says good-night; or b) Del Potro, Murray and the rest of the upstarts take over tennis for good.

I also believe anything other than Rafa or Roger winning the U.S. Open will be an added hurdle for Rafael to overcome. Federer wins (no matter what happens to Nadal), and he has to feel some comfort that the universe that he knows still holds somewhat true. Throw in Murray, Tsonga, Del Potro, Roddick, or anyone else, and things change. The universe changes (again). More guys, with more confidence. Deeper draws, tighter rankings, and ultimately improved competition for Nadal to deal with.

The 2009 edition of the U.S. Open could truly be a legendary tournament with so many men legitimately having a shot here. The field is so deep these days, with so many story lines, so many characters.

It's getting close folks, if you are less than ten hours away from New York, you had better start planning the road trip now!

Cheers,
MarkOskar

Source: http://thetennisauthority.blogspot.com

China’s top players leave state-run system

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie is relishing her new freedom after being allowed to leave China’s rigid state-run sporting system and keep more of her earnings, local media said on Wednesday.

“Finally I can have my own schedule. I can control my time now,” the world number 25 told the China Daily.

The paper said Zheng can keep as much as 92 percent of her prize money, after formerly having to part with up to 65 percent, and could for the first time miss winter training camp to enjoy a holiday with parents.

Zheng, who in July became China’s first player to make the last four at Wimbledon, left the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) this month to become a free agent on the international tour along with compatriots Li Na, Peng Shuai and doubles partner Yan Zi.

With most athletes in China still required to join government-sponsored city and provincial teams to be eligible to join the national team and compete in international tournaments, the CTA’s release of its top players marks a watershed for professional Chinese sport.

The move followed several years of conflict between authorities keen to nurture their best talent and players frustrated at strict training regimes and smaller pay packets.

Zheng and her free agent compatriots can still be called up for national duty, according to CTA deputy director Gao Shenyang, and are welcome back in the state fold at any time.

“The players can ask for help any time they want,” the paper quoted Gao as saying. “If they don’t like the new format after trying it for a while, they are free to revert to the old system.”

The players will be giving up a group of 17 coaches, eight doctors, and a team of sports nutritionists, physicians, psychologists and trainers ready to give free consultations at any time, the paper said.

Zheng said she would not be far from the embrace of the state, however: “It is not appropriate to say ‘flying away’, because I never actually left the national team,” she said. (Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Alan Baldwin)

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

Ex-French Open champ Costa is Spain's new captain

BARCELONA, Spain -- Former French Open champion Albert Costa was named Spain's Davis Cup captain on Thursday, a month after the team beat Argentina for the 2008 title.

The 33-year-old Costa replaces Emilio Sanchez Vicario, who stepped down after leading Spain to its third Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over Argentina in Mar del Plata.

Costa was a member of Spain's first Davis Cup winning team in 2000. He also won 12 ATP singles titles during his playing career, including the 2002 French Open. He is currently coaching Feliciano Lopez.

"I accomplished a lot of my dreams as a player, winning at Roland Garros and now I've managed another one, becoming captain of our Davis Cup team," said Costa, who agreed to lead Spain for one year.

Costa's debut will be a first-round World Group match against Serbia at Benidorm from March 6 to March 8.

"We're very ambitious. We want to keep working really hard and we want to win the Davis Cup again," Costa said.

Sanchez Vicario, who led Spain for three full seasons after taking charge in October 2005, had publicly pushed for the Spanish tennis federation to pick Costa.

Sanchez Vicario announced his retirement after Spain's unlikely victory -- it came with top-ranked Rafael Nadal unavailable due to injury -- against the heavily favored Argentines.

"He did an incredible job and he's kind of left me in a bad spot. It'll be nearly impossible to better what he did," Costa said.

Costa had an 11-8 career record as a player in 13 Davis Cup series.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com

Archive