Davenport Wins Porsche; Safin Out, Maria a Maybe at Moscow
Posted on October 10, 2005
Ljubicic Bakes French Bagel at ATP MetzCroat Ivan Ljubicic won his first title of the year in his fifth 2005 final Sunday at the ATP stop in Metz, rolling homecountry favorite Gael "Force" Monfils of France 7-6(7), 6-0.
The No. 3-seeded Ljubicic had earlier this year lost in finals at Doha, Marseille, Rotterdam, and Dubai.
"It was a nervous start for me. For the first time this week, I lost my serve in the opening game," Ljubicic said. "I felt I was the favorite and I had to win. As I said, this first set was really nervous, it wasn't good tennis."
Monfils was attempting to win his second title of the year after his career-first in Sopot.
"I gave everything I had in the first set," said Monfils who crumbled after losing the tiebreak. "Physically I was tired and I think he knew as well. He made me run a lot. Losing the first set hurt me mentally."
In the doubles final, Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro drove one home for France with a 5-2, 3-5, 5-4(4) (ATP experimental scoring) win over Jose Acasuso and Sebastian Prieto for their second title of the year.
"It's a great win for us and it puts us in a good position for [the Masters Cup in] Shanghai which is our objective this year," Santoro said.
S.A.'s Moodie Wins 1st Career Title at ATP Tokyo
After saving match points in the semifinals, South African Wimbledon doubles champ Weslie Moodie repeated the feat Sunday in the final at the Japan Open in Tokyo, staging a remarkable comeback to defeat No. 5 seed Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 for his first career singles title.
"I felt I was going to get beat when I was down a set and a break," Moodie said. "But somehow I got into a third set, and picked up my standard of tennis."
Ancic was shooting for his second title after winning his career-first earlier in the year at 's-Hertogenbosch on grass, and drops to 1-3 in career finals.
"I think through the whole match I played a really high level," said Ancic, in the end reinforcing his reputation as a big-match choker. "I controlled the match early to get the first set and go up a break 3-2 in the second. He just played a couple of unbelievable points to break me back, then it was an open match."
In doubles, the Japanese wildcard team of Satoshi Iwabuchi and Takao Suzuki claimed their first career title with a 5-4(3), 5-4(13) (ATP experimental scoring) win over Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry, becoming the first all-Japanese team to win an ATP doubles title.
Davenport Tops Mauresmo for WTA Filderstadt Crown
Lindsay Davenport won the battle of former No. 1s Sunday at Filderstadt, logging her eighth consecutive win over Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-4 for her fifth title of the year and a landmark 50th for her career.
"I was really fired up to play well and I'm glad I did that," Davenport said. "I was in control of most of the match, dictating most of the rallies and played very well winning those four games in a row in the middle of the first set and again to finish the match."
Mauresmo led 4-2 in the second set but failed to hold onto her momentum, dropping the final four games.
"It was very tough today with the way she was serving," Mauresmo said. "The only chance I had was in the sixth game of the second set and she played perfect again after that. I was disappointed with how I served, especially in the first set, and she's too good at returning when she gets a lot of chances on the second."
For her troubles during the week in capturing a career-third Filderstadt title, Davenport was awarded $98,500 and a new cherry-red Porsche Cayman S.
"I am really excited to win over 50 titles," said Davenport, whose victory was a repeat of the 2004 Filderstadt championship. "That means a lot to me as not many players have won that. I was thinking about it after I won Bali and was glad to be able to do it here right off the bat."
In the doubles final the first-time all-rail-thin team of Daniela Hantuchova and Anastasia Myskina defeated Kveta Peschke and Francesca Schiavone 6-0, 3-6, 7-5.
Two Titles in 2 Weeks for Vaidisova at Tokyo
16-year-old Nicole Vaidisova followed up last week's Seoul title with a win Sunday at the WTA stop in Tokyo, defeating Tatiana Golovin when the French teen was forced to retire leading 7-6(4), 3-2 with an Achilles tendon injury.
"This is my first retirement and hopefully my last because you feel so bad, especially because you just want to keep playing," Golovin said. "It didn't feel that bad this morning and I thought that it would be okay. The last three days, I've been feeling it, but I think the adrenaline keeps you going and you sort of forget about it."
Vaidisova liked her chances, even while trailing by a set when Golovin said she couldn't go on.
"I thought it was a good match," Vaidisova said. "I hope that I would have won anyway, and I think I could have closed it out, but those are just 'maybes.' I thought she was moving really well and got to a lot of balls. I hope that we'll meet again in a final."
Vaidisova will now break into the Top 20 Monday on the WTA Rankings.
"I think I've been playing more steadily this year," Vaidisova said. "Last year, I would have a good week, then a bad one, but I think this year, I've improved my consistency. I know there is a lot to improve, but I'm happy with my progress so far."
In the doubles final played Saturday, No. 2 seeds Maria Kirilenko and Gisela Dulko upset top seeds Shinobu Asagoe and Maria Vento-Kabchi 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for their first title as a team.
Krajicek Wins 1st Title at WTA Tashkent
Michaella Krajicek beat local wildcard Akgul Amanmuradova in the all-rookie final Sunday at the WTA stop in Tashkent, posting a nerve-filled 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory for her first career title.
"I was really nervous in the third set," Krajicek said. "Both of us were nervous. At 3-2 in the final set, I told myself, 'Be calm, play normally.'"
Amanmuradova didn't see a game point on her own serve during the quick first set, while Krajicek let off the gas in the second set and double-faulted on her first match point in the third.
"It's the worst thing to lose in a final," Amanmuradova said. "I'd much rather lose in an earlier round. The way I played, I was not confident at all. When I hit the ball, I didn't know if it would go in or out."
In the Saturday doubles final, top seeds Maria Elena Camerin and Emilie Loit defeating unseeded Russians Galina Voskoboeva and Anastassia Rodionova for their first title of the year as a team.
Nalbandian Leads as Players Bail on ATP Vienna
Vienna tournament organizers were none too happy with the withdrawals of Top 10 stars Rafael Nadal and Guillermo Coria, and are this week left without any marquee names at the BA-CA Tennis Trophy, the ATP stop in Vienna.
David Nalbandian is now the default top seed, joined by fellow seeds Gaston Gaudio, Radek Stepanek, Ivan Ljubicic, Tommy Robredo, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, flagging former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, and fellow Spaniard Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.
Nalbandian will face a tester from the first round in French veteran Sebastien Grosjean, then the winner of two qualifiers. Other opening-round matches of note are (7) Ferrero vs. the Swiss riser Stan Wawrinka, (3) Stepanek vs. the underrated fastcourt player Luis Horna, (WC) Tim Henman back from injury vs. (Q) Anthony Dupuis, (6) Gonzalez vs. Tomas "I Beat Federer in 2004" Berdych, former No. 1 Carlos Moya lurking unseeded again Bjorn Phau, former No. 2-ranked Tommy Haas vs. Tomas Zib, and (2) Gaudio vs. the sporadic Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer.
Lopez is the defending champ, in last year's final defeating the now-doping-suspended Guillermo Canas in five sets.
Former champions in the field are Lopez (2004), Haas (2001) and Henman (2000).
On tap for Monday in Vienna are Novak vs. (WC) Marach, (6) Gonzalez vs. Berdych, (WC) Henman vs. (Q) Dupuis, (WC) Peya vs. (8) F.Lopez, (Q) Eitzinger vs. (Q) Almagro, and N.Lapentti vs. Seppi.
Johansson Looks to Defend Home Turf at ATP Stockholm
Defending champ Thomas Johansson heads his homecountry event this week at the if...Stockholm Open, joined by seeds David Ferrer, Taylor "Acci-" Dent, Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, James Blake, Jarkko Nieminen and Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco.
Johansson was handed a gift opener against Swedish wildcarded countryman Ervin Eleskovic, but a number of more interesting first-round match-ups await in (8) Hot Sauce vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (3) Dent vs. the hot-handed Italian Davide Sanguinetti, (7) Nieminen vs. last year's Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu, (5) O.Rochus vs. homecountry hope Robin Soderling, former champ (WC) Jonas Bjorkman vs. last week's Tokyo winner Wesley Moodie in an "I'm not a doubles specialist" match-up, (6) Blake vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, and (2) Ferrer vs. Al Martin in an all-Spanish confrontation.
In last year's final the unseeded Johansson shocked No. 1 seed Andre Agassi 7-6 in the third.
Returning champs in the field are Johansson (2004,'00), Srichaphan (2002), Thomas Enqvist (1999,'96-95), and Bjorkman (1997).
Scheduled for Monday are Chela vs. Spadea, A.Martin vs. (2) Ferrer, Srichaphan vs. (8) Verdasco, and (3) Dent vs. Sanguinetti.
No Safin, Davydenko Defends at ATP Moscow
With quote-machine Marat Safin on the sidelines with the knee injury he refuses to have surgically repaired, the personality-challenged Nikolay Davydenko will carry the Russian flag as the top seed this week in Moscow, joined by fellow seeds Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Nicholas Kiefer, Russian Igor Andreev, and Italy's Filippo Volandri.
Opening-round matches to watch for are Davydenko vs. break-out Italian Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali, (6) Kiefer vs. Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp in an all-German encounter, and two tricky French potential upsets in (5) Rusedski vs. Michael Llodra, and (2) Hrbaty vs. Cyril Saulnier.
Davydenko won the title last year as the No. 8 seed, coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat the unseeded Rusedski. Davydenko then teamed with countryman Andreev to oust top seeds Bhupathi/Bjorkman from a set down in the doubles final.
Returning champs in the field are Davydenko (2004) and Dent (2003).
Scheduled for Monday in Moscow are Kohlschreiber vs. (7) Andreev, (WC) Kirillov vs. (4) Mirnyi, Mayer vs. Burgsmuller, (6) Kiefer vs. Popp, Vik vs. Clement, and Hernych vs. Serra.
Russians Sharapova, Dementieva, Myskina Highlight WTA Moscow
The withdrawal of Venus Williams makes for no American participation this week at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where it remains to be seen whether Maria Sharapova's chest injury will let the top-seeded Russian participate.
Seeded along with Sharapova are Amelie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce, Russian Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, Russian Anastasia Myskina, Alicia Molik, and struggling Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The top four seeds receive byes in Moscow, leaving a potential Thursday start for the recuperating Sharapova, but a handful of early-round match-ups exist in (1) Sharapova vs. one of the young upstarts in German Anna-Lena Groenefeld or Serb Ana Ivanovic in the second round, (3) Pierce vs. countrywoman Nathalie Dechy in a potential second-rounder, Vera Douchevina vs. Elena Likhovtseva in a battle of Russian "B"-players, (5) Schnyder vs. Russian comer Anna Chakvetadze, (6) Myskina vs. (WC) Maggie Maleeva, (4) Dementieva vs. Jelena Jankovic in the second round, (8) Kuznetsova vs. countrywoman Maria Kirilenko or Vera Zvonareva in the second round, and (2) Mauresmo vs. Francesca Schiavone in a potential second-rounder.
Myskina is the defending champion, last year rolling past countrywoman Dementieva 7-5, 6-0.
Main draw matches Monday in Moscow are Douchevina vs. Likhovtseva, and Chakvetadze vs. Schnyder.
Petrova, Vaidisova Headline WTA Bangkok
Top 10-ranked Russian Nadia Petrova, and Czech teen Nicole Vaidisova who has won two titles in the last two weeks, provide the limited quality this week at the Thailand Open, the WTA stop in Bangkok.
Joining the two among the seeds are Gisela Dulko, Shinobu Asagoe, India's darling Sania Mirza, former Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez, Marion Bartoli and Shahar Peer.
Potential semifinal meetings are (1) Petrova vs. (4) Asagoe, and (2) Vaidisova vs. (6) Mirza.
The Thailand Open is a new event on the WTA calendar in 2005.
Scheduled for Monday are Fujiwara vs. Ruano Pascual, Bremond vs. Peer, Yuan vs. Nakamura, and Cho vs. Sucha.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Serena Williams has pulled from the remainder of her tournaments in 2005 citing ankle and knee injuries and will not qualify for the year-ending WTA Championships...The WTA Tokyo semifinals featuring Tatiana Golovin, Sania Mirza, Nicole Vaidisova and Maria Kirilenko was the first time four teenagers had reached the semifinals of the same tour event since 2001 's-Hertogenbosch when Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, Jelena Dokic and Iroda Tulyaganova reached the final four...Richard Gasquet says he is worried about his injured wrist which is not healing properly...Vienna tournament officials are not happy with Rafael Nadal pulling from the event, with the Spaniard announcing he injured his knee practicing: "This is the biggest affront in the history of this tournament," said angry tournament director Peter Feigl...American Graydon Oliver on the doubles scoring experiment the ATP is conducting, via Wayne Bryan, father of American doubles combo Bob and Mike: "I spoke with fans, ATP officials and tournament officials and directors in both Bangkok and Tokyo. The general opinion of all these parties was that these new scorings systems are a joke! They expressed their opinions: The matches are too short. The fans feel cheated. The fans do not understand the scoring system. Strange scores!"...The Masters Series-Madrid has ended their proposed lockout of ATP doubles players, bowing to the ATP after previously announcing they would not hold a doubles event...Brit-Scot Andy Murray looks to be out less than two weeks with a hamstring injury...Former Aussie player Scott Draper about making it on the pro golf tour, speaking with the Courier-Mail: "Sure, some people are going to see me as a novelty but I actually don't care about that stuff. That's the mediocrity of society. We judge and label 'not good enough' too quickly. Didn't the boss of the AFL label the Sydney Swans as not playing the type of footy that would win them a grand final? Well, look what happened. I'm the sort of person who thinks it's silly to put a limit on anything. You attack life and I'm passionate about golf."...From The Statesman: "A controversial new book, jointly written by former Swedish tennis star Magnus Norman and Swedish journalists Mr. Jonas Arnesen and Mr. Patrick Cederlund entitled Tennis off the Record claims that Andre Agassi could have perhaps figured among seven players, who tested positive in tests conducted between August 2002 and May 2003. However, the Association of Tennis Professionals pulled a curtain of silence over the tests in order to avoid a scandal of epic proportions and to protect a great tennis personage, the book claims...The authors will appear before an international sports conference in Copenhagen next month to put forth their controversial claims."...From the ATP: "The first week of a three-week trial at Challenger level begins this week in Barcelona and Quito. The format will be two sets to six games with a tiebreak at 6-6 and no-ad scoring. If required, a match tiebreak will be played in place of a third set. Testing will continue at the Kolding, Southampton and Seoul Challengers in the following two weeks."...The WTA Filderstadt tournament will move to Stuttgart for 2006.