Davenport-Mauresmo Final; Clijsters Lines Up Retirement Date
Posted on August 27, 2005
Blake, Spaniards Advance at ATP New HavenUnseeded James Blake kept the American flag flying Friday at the ATP stop in New Haven, with the wildcard and lone remaining U.S. representative outlasting Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 to move into the semifinals.
Also into the semis were two Spaniards in No. 3 seed Dave Ferrer (d. Andreev) and No. 5 Feliciano Lopez (d. countryman Verdasco in three), and unseeded Romanian Victor Hanescu who prevented a third Spaniard from reaching the semis with a grinding 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 4 Tommy Robredo.
"It's always difficult to play against a friend," Lopez said. "We know each other since many years and he knows my game. I know his game, so it's such a difficult match to play. I was lucky that I win."
Hanescu says his hardcourt feel is kicking in just in time for the US Open.
"Usually I am not playing too much on hardcourts because I am -- until now I wasn't used to play on hardcourts," Hanescu said. "We don't have in Romania courts like this, so we have only claycourts and I don't know, this year I start to play better and better on this kind of courts, so I am feeling confident now and I am looking forward for the next matches and also for the US Open."
Lining up for the Friday semis are (WC) Blake vs. Hanescu, and an all-Spanish in (3) Ferrer vs. (5) Lopez.
Mirza Ends 15-Year-Olds Run at WTA Forest Hills
No. 3-seeded Indian Sania Mirza put herself in position to win a second career WTA Tour title, Friday ending the Cinderella run of unseeded 15-year-old American Alexa Glatch 6-4, 6-4.
In the final Mirza will face Lucie Safarova, who won the all-Czech battle with Iveta Benesova 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The final will be the career-first meeting between Mirza and Safarova.
Davenport, Mauresmo in Heavyweight WTA New Haven Final
While the top players generally don't like to play the week before a slam, tennis fans will receive a treat Saturday in the WTA New Haven final when former No. 1s Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo face off.
Davenport defeated unseeded Russian teen Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-3, while Mauresmo struggled to a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues to advance to her fourth New Haven final.
"I always play great players in the final here," Davenport said. "Amelie and I played such a close match at Wimbledon, and I'm looking forward to playing her again."
Davenport is looking for extra match play after an extended absence from the tour durung a back injury, and Mauresmo after taking a five-week respite after Wimbledon.
The moniker "former No. 1" will end for Davenport on Monday with the newest release of the WTA Rankings which will show the American ending Maria Sharapova's reign at No. 1 at only one week.
Davenport will have confidence on her side with eight straight wins over the Frenchwoman, leading the total career encounters 9-3.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Andy Murray coach Mark Petchey speaking with Tennis-X on his ward getting passed over for a US Open wildcard and using the slight as motivation to qualify Friday: "I don't think the kid needs any more extra drive personally, he's a self-starter, he's totally focused beyond belief -- he's focused on becoming the best tennis player he possibly can...He was disappointed, you can't deny it, I felt like he had such a great summer for an 18-year-old, at the back of what happened at Wimbledon as a carry-on, he (then) won two Challengers, he won rounds in the Masters Series events." And on Murray's shoulder and ankle injuries: "It's not surprising with his 11th week in a row (of tennis), that's just the way things have gone and it's given him a great platform to build-on points-wise and everything else, and it's been an invaluable experience for us to spend a lot of time together because this is obviously a fresh player-coach relationship, and the icing on the cake is to qualify for a grand slam so it means a lot."...American Justin Gimel-"blog" blogging for SI.com from the US Open: "As dysfunctional as the men's tour is, the women's tour blows it away. For example, it's impossible for there to be enough practice courts for men and women to share without some kind of bickering. This is probably because of the fact that women have a bizarre refusal to practice with their fellow competitors. It's insane -- they literally would prefer to hit four on a court with their coach than two on a court with another player. They live in Bizarro World. However, one of the benefits of having the women around is the ever-increasing desire for each and every young sassy player trying to outdo -- or in this case, under-dress -- the next...But I'd like to recommend to players both female and male, and even coaches out on the practice courts: If you resemble a beached whale, keep your gear on! Another dynamic I find interesting is the players' lounges at joint events. In these player-exclusive hangouts, you'll find two groups of women: On one side you have the WTA players, many of whom are very attractive and in great shape. Unfortunately for them, they have to share the space with the most beautiful one percent of female creatures on the planet: men's players' girlfriends and wives."...From the English version of Russia's Pravda on crazy tennis dads: "Similar incidents occur in foreign states as well. The father of world-famous sisters, Venus and Serena Williams, Richard Williams, is known for his tough character. The man became known for his racist statements and views about vital preferences for his daughters. Serena and Venus suddenly disappeared from tennis courts in 2003, after a series of triumphant victories. It was rumored that Richard Williams was behind the decision. It is noteworthy that Serena Williams started suffering inexplicable nervous breakdowns during tennis matches afterwards." Huh? Perhaps a shaky Russian -> English translation there...New ATP Chairman Etienne de Villiers has just picked up another job, as independent chairman for the BBC's Commercial Holdings Board...Kim Clijsters has told a Belgian newspaper she can see herself quitting tennis in 2-3 years: "I think I will stop at the end of 2007," Clijsters told the Het Laatste Nieuws daily. "My body is already giving me a lot of problems. Maybe I will still play the Diamond Games (in Antwerp) in 2008, as a goodbye tournament, but that will be it."...From the needling Simon Kuper of the Financial Times: "When you get close to a great athlete, you usually feel like a troll. They are so healthy their skin glistens, they take afternoon naps and, whether male or female, they could beat you up if it came to it. Kim Clijsters is different. Passing the Belgian in a corridor recently, I initially took her for a chubby peasant girl from a Brueghel painting. The only thing that marked her out as a professional athlete was that she was writing a text message, which is generally their hobby."...Look for the bottom half of the draw at the US Open to begin play on Monday and Tuesday...ESPN's Outside the Lines will profile Roger Federer on Tuesday night...The USTA's Chris Widmeyer defending Mark Philippoussis as a wildcard choice for the US Open: "One of the things we look for in the wildcards is someone who can add prestige to the tournament and there is no question Mark fits that category. He is a popular player here and New Yorkers enjoy his style of muscular play."...From the Brisbane Courier-Mail: "A US Open source said last night Mark Philippoussis was given his Flushing Meadows wildcard last week after Tennis Australia guaranteed an American man would be granted a 2006 Australian Open wildcard."...Rafael Nadal speaking to SI.com on bettering his English: "I don't take classes very often because I'm always abroad. My English is not good right now, but I have the courage to speak and that is a big thing for me. English is not a hard language to learn. It's just a matter of practice. I also understand a bit of Portuguese and a bit of Italian but I don't speak them."...The U.S. post office will honor Arthur Ashe with a postage stamp...Qualifiers to the US Open main draw on the women's side were Tian Tian Sun (CHN), Sandra Kloesel (GER), Pauline Parmentier (FRA), Tiffany Dabek (USA), Yung-Jan Chan (TPE), Ivana Lisjak (CRO), Anne Kremer (LUX), Maria Emilia Salerni (ARG), Sybille Bammer (AUT), Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE), Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR), Emma Laine (FIN), Stephanie Foretz (FRA), Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP), Vania King (USA), and Martina Muller (GER), and on the men's side Robin Vik (CZE), Daniele Bracciali (ITA), Wesley Moodie (RSA), Glenn Weiner (USA), Peter Luczak (AUS), George Bastl (SUI), Noam Okun (ISR), Giorgio Galimberti (ITA), Paul Capdeville (CHI), Jonas Bjorkman (SWE), Tobias Summerer (GER), Andy Murray (GBR), Michael Lammer (SUI), Arnaud Clement (FRA), Gilles Elseneer (BEL), and Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA).