Sharapova New No. 1; Russians Pull From WTA New Haven with Injuries
Posted on August 22, 2005
Federer Denies Roddick in ATP Cincinnati FinalFor world No. 1 Roger Federer it was business as usual Sunday in the final at the ATP Masters Series-Cincinnati, beating Andy Roddick for the 10th time in 11 career meetings 6-3, 7-5, with the end of the match marred by a toe injury to the American.
Roddick's nerves kicked in early when at 2-2 in the first set when the American spun a second serve long to give Federer the break. Roddick was broken again to end the set after the American got a little crazy with the Cheese Whiz on the serve-and-volley, making some ill-timed swinging volleys and rushed pop-ups that Federer subsequently crushed for passing shots.
In the second set Roddick got an early break, but immediately gave it back via his struggling net play, ending the game with an easy forehand volley into the net.
At 5-6 on serve Roddick took a time-out for an injury to his toe, receiving therapy without a lot of relief but electing to play on.
Roddick appeared gimpy in taking the court to serve at 5-6, immediately going down 0-30 then delivering two huge serves before making a final forehand error to give Federer his ninth title of 2005.
"This is a great comeback for me," said Federer, coming off a six-week layoff. "I'm really pleased that I could beat such a quality player like this in the finals. These are the big moments. This is how it's going to be at the US Open basically every match. It would be nice to win as many Masters Series as possible because they are for me very prestigious."
Federer became the first player in ATP Masters Series history to win four Masters Series titles in the same season, and is the third player to win all four North American ATP Masters Series events (Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati) in a career, joining Michael Chang and Andre Agassi.
"I think (Federer's) the guy that all of us are chasing," Roddick said. "He's the main guy and then there's probably four or five of us that are -- I don't know. Maybe we need to do just a tag team effort or something, join forces, you know, like Power Rangers or something."
Roddick remained upbeat on his foot healing before his first match next week at the US Open.
"I didn't hear anything click, I didn't hear anything snap," Roddick said. "I didn't hear anything like that, which is a good sign. The good thing is I don't have to play in three days, you know, I have a little bit of time. We can kind of treat it appropriately."
In the doubles final, No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi won their third Masters Series title of the year and fourth title overall, defeating No. 4 seeds Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 7-6(3), 6-2.
"You'd be surprised, but there are about 10 or 15 teams that are very competitive and play full-time (doubles) schedules," Mirnyi said. "Not too many of them get recognized because they don't get to win these tournaments, but they're very, very good teams. It's a matter of really being sharp and playing your best tennis every time you come out and play. But the Top 15 teams are very, very dangerous on any given day."
Bjorkman/Mirnyi overtake Bob and Mike Bryan as the No. 1 squad on the ATP Team Rankings.
Clijsters Downs Henin for WTA Toronto Title
Kim Clijsters won her sixth title of the year Sunday in the all-Belgian final at the WTA stop in Toronto, rolling Justine Henin-Hardenne 7-5, 6-1 to take the lead in their career head-to-head 10-9.
"It's always great to beat players that you've lost to a few times," Clijsters said. "Especially against her, I've lost to her some big matches already. It's great to win some as well."
Clijsters also clinched the US Open Series crown last week with the Toronto win.
"I think I stayed very focused and very patient throughout the whole match," Clijsters said. "Even when I was 4-1 up, I was playing really well at the start. I was moving around, just from side-to-side, opening up the court a lot."
With the loss Henin-Hardenne drops to 4-1 in finals this year, but maintains the tour's best winning percentage at 31-3.
"I think Kim played pretty solid, very consistent," Henin-Hardenne said. "But the conditions were difficult. It was real windy, and I never found a good rhythm. I was a little bit tired. I played three nights in a row and went to bed very late last two nights, so I was for sure tired and I wasn't moving well on the court...No excuses. She played better than me."
In the doubles final legend Martina Navratilova won her 175th career title, teaming with Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld to defeat No. 8-seeded Spaniards Conchita Martinez and Virginia Ruano Pascual 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 for their first title of the year as a team.
"It's wonderful, it's been a while," said Navratilova, winning for the first time since 2004 Vienna. "It's been a long time coming. Been in a few finals, but no wins. This one was sweet. It's always nice to win with a new partner. You feel like you get better together and work together. We've done a lot of practicing together. It's very rewarding to see that you get better as a team."
Davenport, 3 of Top 10 This Week at WTA New Haven
A strong field for the week before a grand slam kicks off Monday at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, featuring the return of Lindsay Davenport after a respite to heal a back injury.
Davenport fell to No. 2 on the WTA Tour Rankings Monday, with Russian Maria Sharapova ascending to the top spot for the first time in her career.
After last-minute weekend withdrawals by Svetlana Kuznetsova (back) and Anastasia Myskina (ankle), the Top 8 seeds joining Davenport are now Amelie Mauresmo, Russians Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova, Aussie Alicia Molik making her return from a lengthy sidelining ear infection, Swiss Patty Schnyder, France's Nathalie Dechy, and Serb Jelena Jankovic.
The Top 4 seeds receive byes in New Haven, with a number of early-round testers in (1) Davenport vs. French comer Tatiana Golovin in a potential second-rounder, (4) Dementieva vs. Vera Douchevina in a potential all-Russian second-rounder, and also potentially in the second round (2) Mauresmo vs. Top 20 Russian Elena Likhovtseva.
Play began Sunday in New Haven with winners (6) Schnyder (d. Raymond in three) and Gisela Dulko (d. (7) Molik).
The final round of qualifying was also completed with Shuai Peng (CHN), Kveta Peschke (CZE), Jelena Kostanic (CRO), and Jamea Jackson (USA).
Scheduled for Monday are Chakvetadze vs. Jankovic, Golovin vs. Peschke, Dechy vs. Shaughnessy, Bartoli vs. Likhovtseva, Maleeva vs. Jackson, Kirilenko vs. Farina Elia, Douchevina vs. Peng, and Medina Garrigues vs. Razzano.
Mirza, Shaughnessy Recognizable Names at WTA Forest Hills
Play starts Tuesday again at this year's "experimental" event in Forest Hills, featuring only a 16-draw field, no doubles and no qualifying.
The draw will be released Monday, and like last year will be virtually starless with journeywomen and up-and-coming players such as Japan's Akiko Morigami, American Meghann Shaughnessy, Sania Mirza and other competitors outside the Top 50.
The event is held at the West Side Tennis Club, the former home of the US Open.
In last year's inaugural final, Russia's Elena Likhovtseva defeated Czech Iveta Benesova.
Davydenko Heads Thin Pre-Open Field at ATP New Haven
With Russian Nikolay Davydenko the only Top 10 representative, the big dogs rest with seven days before the start of the US Open, while the 56-player draw at this week's Pilot Pen Tennis giving plenty of lower-ranked competitors some last-minute match play before heading to New York.
Joining Davydenko among the Top 8 of the 16 seeds are Chileans Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, Spaniards Dave Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, former No. 2-ranked German Tommy Haas, and Belgian Olivier "Coch" Rochus.
Stand-outs among the Bottom 8 seeds are Brit "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Austrian imploder Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, rappin' Vince Spadea, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, and French teen threat Gael "Force" Monfils.
Potential quarterfinal meetings include (1) Davydenko vs. (6) Haas or (WC) Blake, (9) Rusedski vs. (16) Monfils, (8) O.Rochus vs. (15) Srichaphan, and (2) Gonzo vs. (5) F-Lo or (12) Spadea.
Scheduled for Monday are (WC) Jenkins vs. Nieminen, (WC) Gimelstob vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, Sanguinetti vs K.Kim, Koubek vs. (WC) Reynolds, Tursunov vs. Seppi, Juan "The Principality" Monaco vs. Andreev, Hanescu vs. Luis "Me So" Horna, Wawrinka vs. Saulnier, Hernych vs. Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, and Muller vs. Zib.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer on the Andy Roddick volley: "It's the tough volleys he's not I would say good enough yet, quite like the best volleyers. This is what I had to hope for, that he's going to miss a few of them and give me some chances for passes."...From Charlie "Brick" Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The Lawn Tennis Association, which is Britain's national federation, wasn't happy with the USTA for not giving (Andy) Murray a wildcard into the main draw. On the day the wildcards were announced, Murray took a set from Marat Safin at Cincy, and wouldn't that have been a bit embarrassing if he'd beaten a former US Open winner and been passed over for a wildcard?"...Yikes, did Mirka eat her way through Dubai when Roger Federer recently took a five-week hiatus? Is a little Rog on the way?...Andy Roddick is 19-10 in career finals, while Roger Federer has won his last 22 straight...Brit-Scot Andy Murray may skip the US Open qualifying with a shoulder injury...From the Toronto Mirror-Guardian: "With 12 of the world's Top 20 tennis players having pulled out of the 2005 Rogers Cup, several women on tour are calling for changes to the Women's Tennis Association's gruelling schedule."...How odd that Maria Sharapova takes over No. 1 on the WTA Rankings for the first time and the WTA has nothing about it on its website (as of Monday morning)? Doh!...John McEnroe rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 10-6 (super tiebreak) victory Sunday over Aaron Krickstein in the final of the Champions Trophy senior exhibition...Ouch, from Reuters in Moscow the headline: "Maria an unpopular No. 1" -- "However, while Sharapova's good looks and determination have earned the Florida-based Russian million-dollar endorsements and made her a global phenomenon, she remains something of an enigma back home. Most Russians still perceive her as made-in-America rather than a home-grown heroine. Sharapova's foreign upbringing and reluctance to represent Russia in competition or even visit her native land have also contributed to her isolation...She has repeatedly turned down offers to play for Russia in the Fed Cup, saying her main goal this year was to become world number one rather than help her country win the most prestigious team competition. Fellow top Russian players, such as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina, have not embraced Sharapova as one of their own, giving her the cold shoulder in comments to the press. Last year, Sharapova was involved in a well-publicized feud with Myskina when the former French Open champion accused the new No. 1's father of being disrespectful to her during the season-ending WTA Tour championships."...Justin "Time" Gimelstob is going to blog for the Sports Illustrated website is the rumor?...Lindsay Davenport on losing the No. 1 ranking this week: "I don't follow it. Its such a cyclical thing. To be honest, I was surprised I was number one up until today."