Venus Rolls, Wins Second Consecutive WTA Title

Posted on May 4, 2004

The resurgent Venus Williams beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 in the Warsaw final Sunday for her second straight WTA title and 11th consecutive victory.

"My win in Charleston was great for me, but it was so important for me to follow it up this week. I was playing strong and playing better each match," Williams said, shrugging off the specter of the pulled ab muscle suffered at Warsaw in 2003 that would plague her for the remainder of the year. "What happened here last year wasn't in my mind."

The win streak is Williams' longest since she won 19 straight matches in 2002. Venus says her movement is the key, and is a sign of returning to top form.

"I think I've been able to really get my movement back to the way it used to be before my injuries," Williams said. "I feel like I can get to any ball, and I know my opponent is feeling the pressure because I am getting to every ball."

In the doubles final, Italians (2)Farina Elia/Schiavone beat Argentines Dulko/Tarabini 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 for their first title as a team.

In the Budapest final Sunday, 19-year-old No. 8-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic defeated unseeded Martina Sucha 7-6(4), 6-3 to win her first title in her first career final. Sucha was looking to win her second title after Hobart in 2002. In the doubles final, (1)Mandula/Schett beat Hungary's V.Nemeth/Szavay 6-3, 6-2 for their first title as a team.

A solid "Tier I" field this week at Berlin lacks Serena Williams (knee), Justine Henin-Hardenne (virus) and Lindsay Davenport (skipping) among others, but still provides plenty of firepower in top seeds Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Venus Williams, Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova, Jennifer Capriati, Elena Dementieva, and Ai Sugiyama.

Tough first round match-ups abound in (15)Jelena Dokic vs. Meghann Shaughnessy, (8)Sugiyama vs. the winner of Mary Pierce-Elena Likhovtseva, (3)Venus vs. the winner of Eleni Daniilidou and French teen sensation Tatiana Golovin, (16)Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi vs. Maggie Maleeva, (12)Silvia Farina Elia vs. Dinara "Little Sis" Safina, (13)Patty Schnyder vs. Daniela "The Walking Stick" Hantuchova, and an all-Spanish in (14)Conchita Martinez vs. Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.

Former champions in the draw are Mauresmo (2001) and Martinez (2000,'98). In last year's final, No. 3-seeded Henin-Hardenne ousted top-seeded Kim Clijsters in three sets.

On court Monday in Berlin are Barna vs. Pratt, Maleeva vs. Smashnova-Pistolesi, Martinez vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, Schruff vs. Tu, Suarez vs. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, Kostanic vs. Pisnik, Gagliardi vs. Black, Gehrlein vs. Cohen-Aloro, Parra vs. Chladkova, Camerin vs. Marrero, and Yan "Can Cook" vs. Bovina.

ATP REVIEWS/PREVIEWS
Unseeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko won his first title of the year Sunday on the red dirt at Munich, ousting No. 4 seed Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk 6-4, 7-5.

"It was good for me that I didn't lose my serve in the match," said Davydenko, who cited consistency as the key. "I tried not to risk anything, just to keep the ball in play. He made mistakes on important points, which was crucial. It was tough because the one who wins gets the car. We both wanted to win, we were both fighting for every ball, every point."

Verkerk, the runner-up at Roland Garros last year, is finding his form again after falling off with the loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in last year's French final.

"(Davydenko) is so unbelievable fast and doesn't make any errors," said Verkerk, who can't be blamed for setting his sights too high in 2004. "I'd like to finish the year in the Top 50." Don't strain yourself.

In the doubles final the unseeded American pair of James Blake/Mark Merklein ousted No. 2-seeded Julian Knowle/Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-4 for their second title as a team, and first this year.

No. 8-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo outlasted No. 13-seeded Argentine Gason Gaudio Sunday in five grueling sets at Barcelona for his first title of the year. Robredo quickly turned his game around after a first-round loss the previous week at the Masters Series-Monte Carlo, displaying a tenacious baseline game in the 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win.

Robredo has been a member of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona since he was 14, and reveled in the hometown win.

"It has been a perfect week, one that I don't think I will ever forget," said Robredo, who won his first title of the year and celebrated his 22nd birthday on Saturday. "I am very happy to have won this title on my home ground."

In the doubles final, No. 2 seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor beat No. 7 Mariano Hood and Sebastien Prieto 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 for their second title of the year.

"It was a tough match, and they played great tennis," Knowles said. "With the rain, the conditions were slow. That suited their game we didn't really mind the slow conditions. We just tried to focus on the match."

ATP Rome Preview: Roddick Receives Brutal Draw

The field thinned considerably at the Masters Series-Rome even before the players took to the court with the withdrawals of defending French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero (still recovering from the after-effects of chickenpox), Guillermo Coria (mystery injury), Andre Agassi (disinterest), and three-time French Open champ Gustavo Kuerten (hip injury).

Top seed Roger Federer has been handed a nice draw, but for No. 2 Andy Roddick, who has yet to make an impact on the European red clay, this year's MS-Rome will be difficult. Argentine Guillermo Canas in his opener, then likely facing Spanish backboard David Sanchez in the second round, Lleyton Hewitt of Andrei Pavel in the third round, and on and on will make it slow going for the American.

Here is a look at how the four quarters of the MS-Rome draw break down:

Top Quarter
Seeds: (1)Roger Federer, (7)Sebastien Grosjean, (12)Jiri Novak, (14)Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk
Floaters: Al Costa, Luis "Me So" Horna, Todd Martin, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Agustin Calleri, Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez

Not an easy road for Club Fed, but not bad with Bjorkman who he has never lost to, the former French champ Costa who can not buy a win of late, then possibly a meeting with (14)Verkerk who is just finding his clay footing. Lots of floaters in this section, expect to see upsets. (7)Grosjean faces a tough opener against F-Lo, with (14)Berzerk against T.Martin, and (12)Novak vs. Blake. The big question mark in this section will be Federer's first steps during the European claycourt swing.

Second Quarter
Seeds: (3)Rainer Schuettler, (5)David Nalbandian, (11)Sjeng Schalken, (13)Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez
Floaters: Vince Spadea, Nikolay Davydenko, Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty

A nice draw for Nalbandian, with fast-court Swede Robin Soderling in his opener, then some low-powered claycourters until a possible meeting with (11)Schalken, who hasn't exactly been tearing it up of late, in the third round. Other seeds are not so fortunate, with (3)Schuettler vs. the resurgent Spadea, and (13)Gonzo vs. The Dominator in his opener. This section will be all about who can get over the early hurdles.

Third Quarter
Seeds: (4)Tim Henman, (8)Nicolas Massu, (10)Paradorn Srichaphan, (16)Juan Ignacio Chela
Floaters: Gaston Gaudio, Mariano Zabaleta, Marat Safin, Felix Mantilla, Goran Ivanisevic

(4)Henman and (8)Massu both face qualifiers in their openers, while (16)Chela has a tester against Zabaleta, and the clay-challenged (10)Srichaphan is a non-factor on the dirt. Gaston Gaudio, a runner-up at Barcelona last week, former No. 1 Marat Safin, and the explosive Goran Ivanisevic make this a dicey section. Watch (4)Henman, whose draw could open up nicely if he is on his dirt game.

Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2)Andy "A-Rod" Roddick, (6)Carlos Moya, (9)Mark "Flipper" Philippoussis, (15)Lleyton Hewitt
Floaters: Al Martin, Arnaud Clement, Ivan Ljubicic, Tommy Haas, Tommy Robredo, Andrei Pavel, David Sanchez, Guillermo Canas

As a player scanning the draw, this is the section you didn't want to see your name in. The seeds include three former No. 1s in Roddick, Roland Garros winner Moya, and Hewitt, then throw in the two-time slam runner-up Philippoussis. Add to this section eight unseeded players who could take out a top seed on a given day on dirt in Spaniards Robredo (winner at Barcelona Sunday), A.Martin and Sanchez, the Argentine Canas, Romania's Pavel, the Frenchman Clement, and the Croatian punisher Ljubicic. Potential juicy third-round matches include (6)Moya vs. Robredo, and (2)Roddick vs. (15)Hewitt, though expect to see one or more trip before then, especially the weary Robredo after the Barcelona win.

Former champions in this year's draw are Mantilla (2003) and Corretja (1997).

On court Monday in Rome are (3)Schuettler vs. Spadea, (Q)Mayer vs. (4)Henman, Stepanek vs. Ivanisevic, (WC)Di Mauro vs. (10)Srichaphan, Soderling vs. (5)Nalbandian, (6)Moya vs. A.Martin in an all-ESP, (Q)Ferrer vs. Sanguinetti, Haas vs. (Q)"Dr." Ivo Karlovic, The Dominator vs. (13)Gonzalez, (Q)Corretja vs. A.Costa in an all-ESP, N.Lapentti vs. Pavel, (16)Chela vs. Zabaleta in an all-Argentine, (11)Schalken vs. Arthurs in an all-wingspan, (Q)Ancic vs. Saretta, and (Q)Andreev vs. D.Sanchez.

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Bahamian Mark Merklein says he is enjoying playing doubles with James Blake when he gets the chance, with the pair winning the Munich title Sunday: "It's great playing alongside a guy that caliber. I thought like I played pretty good all week, it's exciting for me because I don't get to win many tournaments these days so that is great. It's funny how it works, I was having trouble winning matches in Challengers the last few months, so I am excited."...Mary Pierce and the back-from-retirement-to-play-the-Olympics Aranxta Sanchez Vicario were granted a doubles wildcard this week in Berlin...The WTA Tour says "Whirlpool Fantasy Tennis" is coming soon, way to finally jump on that bandwagon. What's next, perhaps fixing your antiquated computer system so fans can actually look up player activity on the website?...Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk is now 1-3 in career finals...Tommy Haas on escaping the hotel fire in Rome: "We didn't know where the fire was in the hotel. So I ran downstairs from the fifth floor. The smoke was getting stronger and stronger. I had a hard time breathing. Later, we realized that the fire was on the fourth floor. The air was getting better when I reached the third floor...I felt like I was in a bad movie."...Seen in Barcelona during the Open Seat Godo last week (not by us) were former players Andres Gimeno, Manuel Santana, Juan Gisbert, Luis Arilla, Jairo Velasco, Antonio Munoz, Angel Gimenez, Diego Perez, Javier Duarte, Sergio Casal, Emilio and Javier Sanchez with families, Jordi Burillo, Alberto Berasategui and family, Roberto Carretero, Luis and Sergi Bruguera, and Pedro Rebolledo and wife...Tommy Robredo rose to No. 18 with his Barcelona win...Fabrice Santoro won the Aix-En-Provence Challenger last week, beating Arnaud Clement in the final...Frenchman Nicolas Coutelot won the Rome Challenger...Marat Safin and Mark Philippoussis are playing doubles together this week at the MS-Rome...Justin Gimelstob (who is dating WTA player Corina Morariu) is scheduled to be back on court in approximately three weeks, recovering from a foot injury, and will hit the Challenger circuit to get back into form...Justine Henin-Hardenne's camp says she will not play an event before the French Open while recovering from her viral infection...What's Andre Agassi been up to? He's been seen hitting on the green clay in San Francisco this past weekend.