Federer Says Looking Good for Masters Cup; Henman Pulls from Paris
Posted on October 31, 2005
Roddick Tops Monfils for ATP Lyon TitleTop seed Andy Roddick overcame his mirror-image Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-2 Sunday at the ATP stop in Lyon to claim his fifth title on the year -- not too shabby by top-player standards, but well behind the 11 titles held by both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2005.
"I've won five titles this year now, which isn't bad for a terrible year, as people keep saying," Roddick said. "Of course I would trade five titles for one Grand Slam but that's not the way it works. You have your ups and downs throughout the year in sport and you just have to be happy when you are playing well and try and have more ups than downs."
Roddick held serve in 51 of 51 service games during the week in France, and is now 5-2 in singles finals in 2005.
Monfils is now 1-2 in career finals.
"I think it's the third time I haven't really played that well in a final," Monfils said. "Once I get to the final, I'm thinking I've had a great week and I struggle to play to actually win. I think it was similar in Metz against [Ivan] Ljubicic, I wasn't very aggressive and had trouble playing my usual game. I need to work on this...Playing a final is like playing a Game 7. Maybe I'm so happy to get to a final that I forget that I actually have to win it."
In the doubles final, French top seeds Santoro/Llodra defeated Coetzee/Wassen 6-3, 6-1 for their third title of the year.
Gonzalez Stops Brand New Bag-hdatis for ATP Basel Title
Cypriot qualifier Marcos Baghdatis, touted as one of the future stars on the ATP, had his first-title aspirations put on hold Sunday at the Swiss Open in Basel when No. 4-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez came from a set down to douse the rookie flame 6-7(8), 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
"My tennis has been unbelievable," said Gonzalez, who keeps himself in the running as a qualifier for the year-end Masters Cup with his third title of the year.
Baghdatis rued his chances, playing it too safe after winning he first set.
"I had some pain throughout the week and today it came down to the knee," Baghdatis said. "But it wasn't why I lost. At times it was like he had me by the throat, so I just told myself to have fun and try to fight back. But in the end he managed to take his chances and I didn't."
After the singles final Gonzalez made it a double, teaming with Argentine Agustin Calleri to defeat No. 4 seeds Stephen Huss/Wesley Moodie 7-5, 7-5 for their first title as a team.
Johansson Breezes Past Kiefer for ATP St. Petersburg Crown
Former No. 7-ranked Swede Thomas Johansson took another step toward finishing 2005 in the Top 10 Sunday at the ATP stop in St. Petersburg, stopping another player looking to regain former Top 10 glory in German Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-2.
"I was disappointed with my game today," Kiefer said. "There was something wrong with it from the very beginning and I couldn't understand what it was."
It was Johansson's first title since Stockholm in 2004.
"I played very well today," Johansson said. "Kiefer is a tough opponent -- he is a talented player and never gives up."
The doubles title was won by unseeded Austrians Julian Knowle and Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer who shocked top seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
It was the first tour-level title of any kind for Melzer who was appearing in his fourth career doubles final.
Petrova Cracks Title Jinx for Linz Win
The fifth time was the charm Sunday at the WTA stop in Linz where Russian Nadia Petrova won her first career title in her fifth final, with the 23-year-old outlasting Swiss Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"This is a great step forward for me," Petrova said. "It gives me a lot of confidence for next year and allows me to aim for more finals and more titles. It was very important that this happened finally. I've now achieved everything I wanted to this year -- to play very consistently, to have good results in the Grand Slams, and now to win a title."
The results move both Schnyder and Petrova into the Top 8 in the WTA Porsche Race standings, but not yet clinching spots for the year-end championships.
Schnyder fell to 10-7 lifetime in singles finals, and 2-2 in 2005.
"I'm not too disappointed, because I've reached two finals in the past two weeks," Schnyder said. "I'm playing well and looking forward to competing in Los Angeles, should I qualify."
Petrova's first title came on a silver platter, with the Russian not facing a seed until the final, and Schnyder contesting the championship with a cut hand from a racquet-throwing mishap in the semifinals.
First-time team Gisela Dulko and Kveta Peschke won the doubles title, defeating No. 2 seeds Conchita Martinez and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-3, with Martinez battling an arm injury.
Clijsters Wins Tour-leading 9th Title at WTA Hasselt
Top-seeded Kim Clijsters won her tour-leading ninth title of the year Sunday at her homecountry WTA stop in Hasselt, Belgium, improving her career record to 8-0 over Italy's Francesca Schiavone with a 6-2, 6-3 drubbing.
Clijsters sees Lindsay Davenport as her top competition for the year-end No. 1 ranking at the WTA Championships, with in-the-running Maria Sharapova struggling with a pectoral muscle injury.
"I won't be the only one in shape there," Clijsters said. "Lindsay has been great, too. It is the last tournament for everyone in the top eight and they all will give it their best."
In the doubles final the No. 2-seeded French-Slovenian tandem of Loit/Srebotnik defeated the unseeded Dutch/Hungarian twosome of Krajicek/Szavay 6-3, 6-4 for their third title of the year as a team.
Roddick Heads Star-Challenged Field at MS-Paris
After an exodus due to injuries and pregnancy, Andy Roddick is the lone Top 6-ranked seed this week at the Masters Series-Paris.
Pull-outs from world No. 1 Roger Federer (ankle), Rafael Nadal (knee), Andre Agassi (back), Marat Safin (knee) and Lleyton Hewitt (baby) have left the elite Masters Series event light at the top but strong everywhere else, with Roddick joined by Top 8 seeds Guillermo Coria, Nikolay Davydenko, Mariano Puerta, David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic, Gaston Gaudio and Radek Stepanek.
The Top 16 seeds receive opening-round byes, but a slew of early-round matches abound in Taylor "Acci-" Dent vs. Sebastien Grosjean (winner to play (1) Roddick), (16) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. Gael "Force" Monfils in a potential second-rounder (PSR), (5) Nalbandian vs. former No. 2 Tommy Haas in a PSR, (14) Tommy Robredo vs. Nicolas Kiefer in a PSR, James Blake vs. Olivier Rochus again (winner to face (6) Ljubicic), Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez (winner to face (8) Stepanek), and (3) Davydenko vs. "Grinning" Greg Rusedski in a PSR.
Wildcards for the MS-Paris went to Arnaud Clement, Fabrice Santoro and Florent Serra.
Last year Safin beat the qualifier Stepanek in straight sets in the best-of-five final.
Scheduled for Monday in Paris are Rusedski vs. (Q) Seppi, F.Lopez vs. Malisse, (LL) Wawrinka vs. (WC) Serra, Pavel vs. Haas, Sanguinetti vs. Mathieu, O.Rochus vs. Blake, (Q) Vliegen vs. C.Rochus, Berdych vs. Novak, (Q) Djokovic vs. Hanescu, and (Q) Tursunov vs. Spadea.
The doubles draw in Paris will decide the final qualifying team for the Masters Cup, with a slew of teams hoping to join qualifiers Bob and Mike Bryan of the U.S., Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, Zimbabweans Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, former year-end No. 1s Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, Wimbledon winners Stephen Huss and Wesley Moodie, and newly-qualified teams Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjic, and Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro.
Teams in the running for the final spot are Aussies Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs and Paul Hanley, Israeli's Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, and Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry.
Davenport, Sharapova, Mauresmo Head WTA Philadelphia
The race for the year-end No. 1 ranking will come into clearer focus, and the last few remaining spots for the year-ending WTA Championships will be determined this week in Philadelphia.
With Kim Clijsters taking the week off, top seeds Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova have a chance to pick up points in the three-woman race for the year-ending top spot.
Also among the seeds are Amelie Mauresmo, Russians Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova, Swiss Patty Schnyder, Czech Nicole Vaidisova and Serb Jelena Jankovic.
Davenport could face Petrova in the quarters and Dementieva in the semis, while Sharapova could face Vaidisova in the quarters and Mauresmo in the semis.
In last year's final the top-seeded Mauremso defeated No. 6 seed Vera Zvonareva from a set down 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Scabs Battle at WTA Quebec City
Only three Top 50-ranked players are among the field this week at the Challenge Bell, the WTA stop in Quebec City, where France's Nathalie Dechy and Slovak Daniela Hantuchova are the favorites to take a title during the last week of regular-season play.
Also among the seeds are France's Marion Bartoli, Americans Laura Granville, Amy Frazier and Jamea Jackson, Italy's Antonella Serra Zanetti and Swede Sofia Arvidsson.
In last year's final unseeded Martina Sucha defeated qualifier Abigail Spears in three sets.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Why, why, why, why is the ATP putting out a Sunday release saying six players have clinched spots for the Masters Cup, including Marat Safin, with two remaining spots, when Safin announced he will not play in Shanghai?: "Six of the eight spots for singles at Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai now have been confirmed. Agassi joins Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Safin in the field. The final two spots as well as the alternate will be determined during the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris next week." In reality there are three spots open with an amazing nine players with a shot at qualifying this week in Paris: Guillermo Coria, Nikolay Davydenko, Ivan Ljubicic, Gaston Gaudio, David Nalbandian, Mariano Puerta, Fernando Gonzalez, Thomas Johansson and Dave Ferrer...Goran Ivanisevic defeated John McEnroe 6-3, 6-4 to win the Deichmann Champions Trophy ATP senior tour event in Essen, and reiterated his stance in deserving an active part in Croatia's effort in the Davis Cup final vs. the Slovak Republic: "I am playing much better tennis now than when I reached the third round at Wimbledon last year. I'm much more relaxed, my shoulder doesn't hurt, my serving rhythm is better and I'm practicing hard. If they pick me to play I will be ready. It's very tough to beat me when I play like this, even for guys on the regular tour."...When will the WTA change their joke four-team WTA Championships doubles format?...Tim Henman pulled from the MS-Paris Sunday with a rib injury: "The one positive thing is that the season is now over for me and mentally I can move on and look forward to next year. In terms of my back problem, the last few events have been better, which is why it's so frustrating to have suffered another setback. First, I have to recover from this, but once I do that my goal is to work as hard as possible so that I can start next year in the best possible shape. I'm very motivated and ready to start working hard to get off to the best possible start next year, when I plan to play a full schedule."...Roger Federer in Basel: "The foot is better. I'm walking without crutches. The countdown is running now with two weeks to go before the Masters Cup. I hope it works out. But if it doesn't, I'll definitely be here next year."