Spain Makes Comeback, Federer Back at ATP Bangkok

"I am sad that I did not win today but I had a good week," Groenefeld said. "I played three good matches to get here. Unfortunately I couldn't do it today. Maria played well and had some good points. I'm not quite sure what happened."

In the doubles final Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Vento-Kabchi won their first title as a team with a win over the Chinese duo of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-4.

Myskina Wins 1st 2005 Title at WTA Kolkata

Anastasia Myskina turned her embattled 2005 campaign around Sunday with the title at the WTA stop in Kolkata, steamrolling Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem 6-2, 6-2.

"It's very special to win this title because it's been nearly a year since I won a tournament," Myskina said. "It's only the start of the indoor season, and this is a time of year I normally play well, so it's good for me to win here. I really want to be in the Top 10 at the end of the year, so this will obviously be good for my ranking."

Sprem was forced to play catch-up right off the bat, going down 0-4 in the first set.

"I'm not disappointed because it was great for me to reach a final after so long," Sprem said. "I haven't had a very good year, so for me to do well here it gives me a lot of confidence and makes me believe I can get back to where I was in 2004."

In the doubles final Myskina teamed with countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva to win their first title as a team over Indians Neha and Shihka Uberoi 6-1, 6-0.

Koukalova Outlasts Srebonik for WTA Portoroz Title

Czech Klara Koukalova won her second career title Sunday at the WTA stop in Portoroz, outlasting homecountry favorite Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, raising her record in finals to 2-5.

Koukalova won her first title of the year earlier this year on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch, and is now 30-16 on the year.

Srebotnik was also the runner-up in the doubles final, with partner Jelena Kostanic losing to Anabel Medina Garrigues and Roberta Vinci 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Davis Cup World Group -- Semifinal Results

Croatia d. Russia 3-2

Ivan Ljubicic put Croatia in its first-ever Davis Cup final Sunday, defeating Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 7-6(6), 6-4.

Croatia will face the Slovak Republic in the final after the Slovaks defeated Argentina.

"It's going to be very interesting to see what they are going to chose for the surface because obviously for us our less favourite surface is clay, but its not even the favourite for them, so it's going to be very interesting what they do," Ljubicic said.

Croatian captain Nikolas Pilic says his team for the final may contain a surprise.

"I am telling you now for the first time -- about 10 or 12 days before there will be a one-off match at my tennis academy in Munich between Goran Ivanisevic and Sasa Tuksar and whoever wins that will be the fourth player for the final," Pilic said. "The match will be on a fast Rebound Ace and I think that will help Goran."

Slovak Republic d. Argentina 4-1

While many sports teams will shave their heads in solidarity before a sporting match, the four bald-headed Slovaks emerged to greet the press after Dominik Hrbaty had sealed the Slovak Republic's first Davis Cup final berth Sunday with a 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-3 win over Guillermo Coria.

Coria served for the first set at 5-4, but Hrbaty's level only continued to rise after breaking back and taking the first set in the tiebreak.

"It was the best atmosphere I've ever played in," Hrbaty said. "All the people were cheering for me, and I didn't want to disappoint them. I played really well right up to the last point, and I'm really happy for my teammates and all the people. It's one of the best moments for me and my teammates, and I'll always remember the atmosphere."

The Slovaks will now choose their home surface for the December final against Croatia.

Davis Cup World Group -- Qualifying Results

Austria d. Ecuador 4-1

Austria's Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer shut down any final-day heroics from Ecuador from the get-go on Sunday, sealing a place in the 2006 World Group with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 win over Nicolas Lapentti.

"Jurgen had a terrific weekend and deserved to beat me today," said Lapentti, who had beaten Melzer twice before. "Hopefully we can go a step further next year. The Davis Cup is a great competition and I raise my game playing for my country. It is important we get in to the World Group."

Belarus d. Canada 3-2

Belarus left the home-court Canadians holding the loser bag Sunday, coming back from 1-2 down in the tie to secure a place in the 2006 World Group when Max "The Beast" Mirnyi defeated Frank Dancevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, then Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov beat Frederic Niemeyer in four sets.

Chile d. Pakistan 5-0

Chile's "B"-team of Paul Capdeville and Adrian Garcia complete the sweep for the 2006 World Group qualifiers.

Germany d. Czech Republic 3-2

Czech Tomas Berdych evened the tie Sunday with an opening win over Nicolas Kiefer 7-5 in the fifth, but Tommy Haas filled the hero role for Germany with a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 win over Czech No. 2 Tomas Zib to put Germany back in the World Group.

"We are more than happy to be back in the World Group," said German captain Patrik Kuhnen. "I hope we have a lucky draw...Kiefer today played the best Davis Cup match of his career. It was hard to lose but Berdych played excellently and Tommy is just amazing. How he managed to get back in the match against Zib I don't know."

Haas, who lost a five-setter on Friday and played the Saturday doubles, looked exhausted after dropping the first set but somehow staged the unlikely comeback.

"I didn't think about his ranking," said Haas of the lower-ranked Zib. "I just tried to win the last point. Zib played great tennis for almost two sets. But now Germany is back where it belongs."

Spain d. Italy 3-2

The Italians had the Spaniards on the ropes entering Sunday, but Rafael Nadal defeated Italy's Andreas Seppi in four sets to set up Juan Carlos Ferrero for redemption, with the former No. 1 schooling Daniele Bracciali 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 to keep Spain in the World Group for 2006.

"I had confidence in Juan Carlos to get the result," said Spanish captain Jordi Arrese. "He was unlucky in his first match and Seppi deserves a lot of credit for that result, but Juan Carlos showed his quality and how ideal he is for this competition with that win. I had no doubts about him at all."

Sweden leads India 2-0

Thomas Johansson put Sweden one match from victory with a 7-6(3), 7-6(2), 7-6(4) win over Rohan Bopanna Sunday, but Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman were delayed from putting a cap on the tie when poor lighting stopped play for the day, with the Swedes leading Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi 6-3, 1-3.

Switzerland d. Britain 5-0

George Bastl bakes a bagel in a win over David Sherwood and Stan Wawrinka beats Alan Mackin for the 5-0 Switzerland humiliation of Britain.

U.S. d. Belgium 4-1

Andy Roddick's serve carried him through a brutal five-setter as the top American clinched a return to the 2006 World Group on Sunday with a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 win on red clay over Olivier Rochus.

"We're looking good for next year," U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said. "We hope we get a pretty decent draw and are able to play some at home. It gives us a boost to win away in a tough claycourt match. That gives us a lot of confidence for next year."

A controversial call in the fifth set went against Belgium and incensed the crowd and the Belgian team, muting the U.S. celebration after the match.

"To be honest, after what happened, it would have been unprofessional to go on and on," Roddick said on celebrating the win. "The team came on court, but I said, 'Let's get out of here.' It wouldn't be right (to celebrate on court), especially because you don't want that quality a match to end like that."

Federer Returns This Week at ATP Bangkok

World No. 1 Roger Federer and former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt head the field this week at the ATP stop in Bangkok, the Thailand Open.

Also among the seeds are Robby Ginepri, Tommy Haas, Robin Soderling, Jarkko Nieminen, Thailand's own Paradorn Srichaphan and Luis Horna.

Wildcards entries for the event went to Mark Philippoussis, Brit comer Andy Murray and Hewitt.

In last year's final Federer blew out Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-0.

On court Monday in Bangkok are (Q) Fruttero vs. Garcia-Lopez, D.Norman vs. (Q) Thomann, Karanusic vs. (Q) Gremelmayr, K.Kim vs. Y.Wang, and (5) Soderling vs. Vik.

First-Ever ATP Vietnam Event at Ho Chi Minh

The Vietnam Open draws a disparate cast of characters for the country's first-ever tennis tournament with tops seeds Mariano Puerta, Thomas Johansson, Radek Stepanek, Kenneth Carlsen, Cyril Saulnier, Juan Monaco, Lars Burgsmuller and Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Opening-round meetings of interest are (8) Kohlschreiber vs. Wimbledon doubles champ Weslie Moodie, (4) Carlsen vs. Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman, (3) Stepanek vs. Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee, and (2) T.Johansson vs. Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp.

Scheduled for Monday are Phau vs. (WC) M.Do, and Lu vs. Dupuis.

Spanish Aramda Head Field at ATP Palermo

Spaniards David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Juan Carlos Ferrero head the field this week at the Campionati Internazionali Di Sicilia, the ATP claycourt stop in Palermo.

Also among the seeds are Tomas Berdych, Fernando Verdasco, Filippo Volandri, Gael Monfils and Davide Sanguinetti.

First-round testers include (7) Monfils vs. Spanish grinder Al Martin, (4) Berdych vs. hot-handed Italian Andreas Seppi, (3) Ferrero vs. Germany's Florian Mayer, and (6) Volandri vs. Nicolas Massu.

In last year's final Berdych defeated Volandri for his first career title.

On court Monday in Palermo are Zabaleta vs. Sabau, and O.Hernandez vs. (WC) Naso.

Clijsters Top-Seeded This Week at WTA Luxembourg

US Open winner Kim Clijsters returns to play this week at the Fortis Championships, the WTA stop in Luxembourg.

Also among the seeds are Nadia Petrova, Patty Schnyder, Nathalie Dechy, Daniela Hantuchova, Francesca Schiavone, Dinara Safina and Silvia Farina Elia.

Skipping this year's event is Aussie Alicia Molik, who last year won the title with a win over Safina in the straight-set final.

On court Monday are Klaschka vs. Kloesel, Krajicek vs. Chladkova, Klepac vs. Tu, Raymond vs. Schiavone, Maleeva vs. Chakvetadze, and Gajdosova vs. Salerni.

Jankovic Heads Field at WTA Seoul

Serb Jelena Jankovic is the only Top 20 player in residence this week at the WTA stop in Seoul, joined by seeds Nicole Vaidisova, Tatiana Golovin, Gisela Dulko, Ai Sugiyama, Vera Douchevina, Shinobu Asagoe, and Marion Bartoli.

Wildcards went to Koreans Kyung-Mi Chang and So-Jung Kim.

Missing is world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who last year won the title with a 1-and-1 shellacking of Marta Domachowska in the final.

Scheduled for Monday is Bartoli vs. Tanasugarn, Spears vs. Douchevina, Shaughnessy vs. Panova, and Washington vs. Diaz-Oliva.

Zvonareva, Peng Lead Field at WTA GuangZhou

Another Chinese event, another week of watered-down competition on the WTA Tour as this week top seeds Vera Zvonareva, Shuai Peng, Na Li, Maria Kirilenko, Jie Zheng, Nuria Llagostera Vives, Marta Domachowska and Martina Sucha take the stage at the WTA stop in GuangZhou.

The Russian Zvonareva makes her return from an ankle injury, while Li defends the title she won last year as a qualifier.

Scheduled for Monday is the final round of the singles qualifying.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Jonas Bjorkman on the doubles players suing the ATP for mismanagement of the tour: "In this case, the ATP Players' Council voted 9-0 against the proposed changes at the meeting during Wimbledon. How can the ATP overrule such a mandate and announce the changes?...We are doing this to put pressure on the ATP...there needs to be a change in leadership. The vested interests of different tournament directors is also a factor...Most of them see the doubles event as an additional cost, they don't want to find ways to turn it into a profitable venture. I would definitely like to see all players take part in both singles and doubles regularly, as the ATP wants. The doubles specialists, at least, can play more singles. Too many guys are satisfied with what they are earning from doubles."...The Czech Republic loses its status as the only country to have been in the elite 16-nation Davis Cup World Group since its inception in 1981...From ESPN.com: "It wasn't a match the Americans were supposed to win. It was, after all, a Davis Cup match on clay. But Whit Sheppard writes that Andy Roddick and the U.S. Davis Cup team showed perseverance when they needed it most." Huh? Umm, pretty much everyone expected the U.S. to beat Belgium fellas, when they eventually got to see the matches on tape...Brit Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates says he hopes to come up with someone to replace Greg Rusedski so he can sit that person on the bench during ties: "We badly need somebody to step into Greg's shoes during the next couple of years. You have to hope one or two of the youngsters are inspired by Andy [Murray], and certainly they can relate to him because he is their age."...Charlie Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Andy Roddick's mojo run-in with the Belgians during the Davis Cup weekend: "The mojo issue began in the days before the US Open, when American Express, which has a contract with Roddick, plastered billboards all over New York -- on the street, in subways and on the boardwalk from the subway to the U.S. Tennis Center entrance. "Have You Seen Andy's Mojo?" the ads wanted to know. When Roddick was dunked in the first round of the Open by virtual unknown Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, there were several days of wisecracking answers to questions about the whereabouts of Roddick's mojo. Now it was [Belgian Davis Cup captain] Martens' turn to take a shot. "I guess you've been hearing about your mojo about 25,000 times," Martens was quoted by a member of the USTA staff as commenting at the podium during the dinner. "Yeah," Roddick replied icily from his table. "But not at this forum." Then, after a big point in the second set of the Rochus match Friday, Roddick turned toward Martens and screamed, "Keep talking." He was so upset by Martens' comments at the dinner, said a Davis Cup team spokesman, that when the team got back to the hotel in Brussels, Roddick went for a 20-minute cooling-down walk before going up to bed."...The pair of earrings worn by Serena Williams during her US Open matches raised $21,100 for Hurricane Katrina victims.