Serena Pulls From WTA Stanford as Reality Series Debuts
Posted on July 20, 2005
Roddick, Rusedski Through at ATP IndianapolisTop-seed Andy Roddick and No. 7 Greg Rusedski both survived triple tiebreaks Tuesday at the ATP stop in Indianapolis to advance into the third round.
Roddick lost the middle tiebreak and weathered 18 aces in edging Russian Dmitry Tursunov, while the veteran Brit shook off a match point, coming from a set down to defeat Wimbledon doubles champ Weslie Moodie.
"His placement and first serves surprised me," said Roddick, who was out-aced 18 to 17 by Tursunov. "It was do-or-die for him on every shot, and I was a little erratic on my forehand."
American Jan-Michael Gambill got a rare win, since on the other side of the net was 15-year-old tour punching bag Donald Young, who continues to receive ATP wildcards due to the pull of his management firm IMG.
"When you're losing, it is not fun," said the 15-year-old Young, now 0-6 in ATP play and not enjoying his trial by fire. "I assume by the time I get close to their age I should be able to beat them."
In another all-American match-up, Robby Ginepri ousted No. 8 seed Vince Spadea in straight sets.
Other un-seeds into the second round were Brit wildcard Andy Murray (d. (LL) Witten), Americans (WC) Rajeev Ram (d. Schalken), Paul Goldstein (d. Falla, bagel in the first) and Kevin Kim (d. Karlovic in three), Israel's Noam Okun (d. (Q) B.Evans), Swiss George Bastl (d. Morrison), Swede Jonas Bjorkman (d. Dlouhy), Ecuador's Giovanni Lapentti (d. (Q) Mas.Washington), German Bjorn Phau (d. Delic in three), and Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis (d. (Q) De Chaunac from a set down).
The 6-foot-4 serve-and-volleying wildcard Ram is from Indiana, and last week lost to Murray in the final of the Aptos Challenger.
"I've been working hard on my tennis," Ram said. "It feels good to have it pay off with good results. Definitely to get to the final of a tourney and come back two days later and win in Indianapolis is great."
On tap for Wednesday in Indy are (9) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan vs. Carraz, (WC) Murray vs. (16) Fish, Dupuis vs. (2) Kiefer, Gambill vs. (4) Taylor "Acci-" Dent in an all-American, (WC) R.Ram vs. (LL) Tomas "The Hen" Cakl, (6) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi vs. Goldstein, (3) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. Bastl, Okun vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, (10) K.Beck vs. Bjorkman, (14) H.-T. Lee vs. K.Kim, G.Lapentti vs. (11) Saulnier, (13) Hernych vs. Phau, and Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis vs. (12) Carlsen.
Kuerten, Monfils Exit at ATP Stuttgart
Former No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten and former No. 1-ranked junior Gael Monfils of France made high-profile exits Tuesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Stuttgart.
Though both unseeded, Kuerten was the odds-on favorite against American qualifier Hugo Armando before being blown out 6-4, 6-1. Monfils is also quite comfortable on the clay but was overwhelmed 6-2, 6-3 by the talented Italian comer Potito Starace.
Still battling in his return from hip surgery, Guga has won only three matches this year.
"It's not easy, but this match does not make me sad," Kuerten said. "This year I am only trying to get myself into shape, to play a few tournaments, to keep up my motivation and get ready for next year. I believe I still have a chance to play well and be successful at any tournament. That is the goal that keeps me going day-by-day."
Both seeds in action came out on the losing end, with No. 8 Filippo Volandri outlasted by Frenchman Gilles Simon in three, and No. 9 Olivier Rochus wasting a set lead against Argentine Mariano Zabaleta.
Other unseeded winners were Spaniards Fernando Verdasco (d. countryman Almagro, bagel in the second) and Al Costa (d. countryman (Q) Blanco), Germans Rainer Schuettler (d. (Q) Vicente) and (WC) Alexander Waske (d. Haehnel), Czech Tomas Zib (d. (Q) Greul, saving a match point), Fin Jarkko Nieminen (d. Burgsmuller from a set down), and Romanian Razvan Sabau (d. (Q) Berlocq).
Scheduled for Wednesday on the dirt are (13) Acasuso vs. (WC) Waske, Kohlschreiber vs. (11) Berdych, (7) Youzhny vs. Schuettler, (1) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. (Q) Armando, (WC) A.Beck vs. (3) Gaudio, (10) Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer vs. Nieminen, Ramirez Hidalgo vs. (2) Davydenko, (4) Robredo vs. "You Say" Potito Starace, Juan "The Principality" Monaco vs. (5) Ferrer, (16) Paul-Henri "The Human Heimlich Manuever" Mathieu vs. Costa, Sabau vs. (6) Novak, Seppi vs. (15) A.Martin, (12) Pavel vs. Zib, and in doubles highlights, (1) Bhupathi/Damm vs. Germans (WC) Burgsmuller/Mayer.
Horna Blows Match Points in Loss at ATP Amersfoort
Three seeds were in action Tuesday at the ATP dirt stop in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, with No. 3 seed Nicolas Massu straight-setting French qualifier Nicolas Thomann and No. 6 Victor Hanescu defeating Dutch wildcard Steven Korteling to advance into the second round.
No. 5 seed Luis Horna blew two match points in a three-set loss to homecountry favorite Raemon Sluiter.
Another Dutchman into the second round was Melle Van Gemerden, who was leading 6-0 when wildcard countryman Dennis Van Scheppingen retired with a wrist injury.
Other un-seeds into the second round were Costa Rican qualifier Juan Antonio Marin (d. Aldi), Argentine Agustin Calleri (d. (Q) Benneteau in three), Spaniard Alex Calatrava (d. (LL) Roitman from a set down), Italy's Daniele Bracciali (d. (Q) Zitko), and Czech Ivo Minar (d. Serra).
On tap for Wednesday at the 'foort are (1) Puerta vs. Tipsarevic, Vanek vs. (3) Massu, (4) C.Rochus vs. (WC) Van Gemerden, in doubles (1) Gonzalez/Massu vs. Sluiter/Wassen, Calleri vs. (6) Hanescu, and D.Sanchez vs. Calatrava in an all-Spanish.
Top Seed Farina Elia Retires With Injury at WTA Palermo
The WTA claycourt stop in Palermo lost its top seed Tuesday when Italy's own Silvia Farina Elia retired trailing 6-7(3), 0-2 against Bulgarian Tszvetana Pironkova, citing a shoulder injury.
Another seeded loser on the day was No. 8 Katerina Srebotnik, bowing to Argentina's Mariana Diaz-Oliva in straight sets.
Seeded winners advancing were (2) Flavia Pennetta (d. Ant. Serra Zanetti), (3) Anabel Medina Garrigues (d. Chaladkova), (4) Nuria Llagostera Vives (d. A.Bonderenko, bagel in the second), (5) Klara Koukalova (d. (Q) Yakimova), and (6) Marta Domachowska (d. Pastikova).
Other unseeded winners were Colombia's Catalina Castano (d. (Q) Oprandi), Estonian qualifier Maret Ani (d. (Q) Vesnina), Italian wildcard Nathalie Vierin (d. Sfar), Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. (LL) Flipkens in three), German lucky loser Martina Muller (d. Safarova from a set down), Spain's Conchita Martinez Granados (d. Sanchez Lorenzo in three), and Israel's Anna Smashnova (d. Parra Santonja).
On Wednesday's schedule are Medina Garrigues vs. Martinez Granados, Pironkova vs. Smashnova, Vinci vs. Kostanic, and Vierin vs. Domachowska.
Mirza, Mattek Provide Upsets at WTA Cincinnati
Unseeded Indian Sania Mirza displayed her continued promise Tuesday at the WTA stop in Cincinnati, upsetting No. 7 seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-4, 6-3.
"I was watching the other matches and there were hardly any people watching, and then I come out here and there are so many people," said Mirza on packing in the crowd. "It was really great, to have all that support in a country that you don't belong to."
Seeded players into the second round Tuesday were (1) Patty Schnyder (d. (WC) Wozniacki, bagel in the second), (2) Vera Zvonareva (d. Shaughnessy), (3) Jelena Jankovic (d. (Q) Salerni, bagel in the third), (4) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Osterloh), and (6) Ai Sugiyama (d. Lee-Waters).
"I'm playing awesome this year," Schnyder said. "I've had some great results and really want to keep it that way. I look forward to keep it going and we'll see how my ranking looks at the end of the year."
Other un-seeds advancing were Austrian qualifier Sybille Bammer (d. Benesova), Japan's Akiko Morigami (d. (Q) Avants), American qualifier Bethanie Mattek (d. (5) Bartoli 7-6 in the third), and France's Camille Pin (d. Kremer).
Scheduled for Wednesday in Cincy are Panova vs. Cho, Peer vs. Sugiyama, Rubin vs. Hantuchova, and Schnyder vs. Nakamura.
DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. Get the Tennis-X Daily Dish in your e-mail in-box, even before it's posted on the web, by signing up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The Swiss radio station "DRS 3" is founding an Official Roger Federer Fan Club, though it's hard to believe it has taken this long. "They called for volunteers to found a club," wrote Federer in his fan newsletter. "Many interested people applied, whereupon a president was promptly chosen. His name is Leonhard Sprecher, he'll be turning 36 this year and works as a marketing manager for Swiss Post...The actual launch is planned for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel." For more info visit www.fans4roger.ch to sign up...Lindsay Davenport on the US Open Series: "It was obviously a great honor and a great bonus last year to win the US Open Series. I think it was a great concept. Really excited about it again. Obviously, the chance to double your prize money is amazing. The chance to win $2 million, I think every player has been talking about it and is really excited about it. You know, it's a long summer. Hopefully the US Open Series really helps the United States tennis fans really get excited for the US Open and learn more about all the players. Just looking forward to when it starts." Davenport on her back injury: "When I went out to try to hit some this weekend, it kind of snuck up on me. I'm now back on about three to five days of rest and am hopeful, you know, that it will clear up hopefully later this week and hopefully won't be an issue for too much longer."...Lleyton Hewitt on hanging out with his buddies the Argentines: "There's a couple of guys that I definitely wouldn't go and have a beer with, that's for sure. That's just the way I see it. You know, they're obviously very fortunate that there's a lot of Argentinians on the tour as well and in the locker rooms that they can hang around with, a lot of their close mates out there. At the moment, the only English speaking guys are Andy Roddick, James Blake, a couple American guys, Tim Henman and myself. That's about it. We're outweighed in the actual speaking department in the locker room."...The World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) chief, porn-star-named Dick Pound, says top athletes in their sports need to speak out against athletes who are doping (coughargentinescough), such as swimmer Ian Thorpe did before last year's Olympics, when the International Swimming Federation told him to zip it. "When we hear someone like Ian Thorpe say this sport is not 100 percent clean, you should pay attention to that," Pound said. "That's one of the reasons we have formed an athletes' commission (to advise WADA). If someone is cheating the system, I do not know why athletes should not speak out about it." Pound also pounded the plea bargain in U.S. courts that will let Balco doping czar Victor Conte off with a minimal sentence for supplying drugs to athletes. "It's a disappointing outcome as far as I am concerned, that someone who systematically tried to destroy the entire basis of sport by helping athletes and coaches to cheat gets away with a four-month sentence, when an athlete who does the same thing gets two years," Pound said. "It's a mixed message...it ends with a whimper and a very light sentence that is not commensurate with the gravity of the offence."...Serena Williams has pulled from the WTA stop in Stanford, Calif. with the left ankle injury originally sustained at Amelia Island. "I took some time off after Wimbledon to try to get healthy again, which is what my doctors advised me to do, but that has not allowed me sufficient time to train and be fully prepared to compete at a high level next week. So, I am going to work hard the next several days to get ready for the remainder of the summer hardcourt season and ultimately the US Open." Elena Bovina also withdrew due to a right shoulder injury that also forced her to miss Wimbledon...Fines will be levied against Lleyton Hewitt and Guillermo Coria for their Davis Cup fracus when the ITF's Davis Cup Committee next meets. Meanwhile Hewitt offered a vanilla apology for his "poof" remark during the match: "I regret having said what I said in the heat of the match. I apologize for any offence I may have caused to any individual or groups."...Nice promotion effort by the USTA, but how bad are those player nicknames for the US Open Series commercials? Pretty generic: Lleyton "The Rebel" Hewitt, Venus "The Goddess" Williams, and Serena "The Fat One" Williams, they are...oh wait, that was the intern's nickname...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic withdrew from Indy with a bad back...It has been two years since an American male has won a Grand Slam title, the nation's longest drought in nearly 16 years...Matt Cronin on the American "B"-squad players: "Two years later, none of (Andy) Roddick's peers have panned out as big-time competitors. Not a single man in the group has even reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal. "It's pretty lopsided now with Andy being a great player and the other guys not really being on the cusp of anything special," (Vince) Spadea said. "There's talent in the group, but they've been sporadic. They haven't shown that drive to greatness. It's difficult to reach a high level of success in this sport and if you don't, there can be a lot of unfulfilled dreams, which can be disappointing." If history teaches us correctly, it's unlikely any of Roddick's sidekicks will ever break out in big way."...Anastasia Myskina has lost a court case against an American photographer for distributing topless pictures taken of her during a 2002 photo shoot. Myskina was trying to squeeze $8 million out of the photographer and GQ magazine, which incidentally didn't hold a gun to her head to take her top off...Is Serena faking the bad ankle, actually able to play Stanford but pulling from the event to promote her "reality show" that debuts tonight? For you punters, probably an 80 percent chance yes. From the Nashville City Paper: "Venus and Serena Williams are exceptional athletes and striking, charismatic individuals, prime examples of dogged and determined types who have triumphed in a sport (tennis) that doesn't exactly have an exemplary record in terms of inclusion or diversity. Unfortunately, the new reality show 'Venus & Serena: For Real,' which debuts tonight on the ABC Family Channel, tries so hard to be generic and uncontroversial, at least in the opening episode, that it ends up providing the audience with absolutely no insight into what makes the Williams sisters so special or their thoughts and views on any topics of substance...When an hour-long episode unfolds without one memorable incident or interesting (let alone provocative) comment being uttered, it really begs the question of why this show even made it on air."