Monfils a Hit in Paddle Tennis; Borg Hocks Trophies

Monfils received a doubles wildcard into the Paddle Tennis Championships played on-site with coach Thierry Champion, but then became so enamored of the sport after playing an exhibition that he inquired about getting a wildcard into the singles.

Paddle tennis officials thought the late entry would be unfair to other competitors, so they offered him a spot in the singles qualifying event. So on Wednesday morning, Monfils found himself at an alternate site located 10 minutes away from the tournament grounds, playing a paddle tennis qualifying match.

Which he won.

The teen was then inserted into the main draw Wednesday opposite the "No. 1 player in the world" (though paddle tennis officials admitted there is no "official international governing body" for paddle tennis rankings), the man tournament officials referred to as "The Roger Federer of paddle tennis," world champion Scott Freedman.

"(He is) recognized as the world's finest all-around player in paddle tennis history," states Freedman's website, which for the uninitiated was emblazoned on his cap during play: ScottFreedmanPaddleTennis.com. "Scott has been the #1 Ranked player every year throughout his illustrious career. Scott has won the World's Men's Singles Championships 19 times, The World Men's Doubles Championships 16 times and the world Mixed Doubles Championships 14 times. Scott is the winningest player in the history of the sport with 185 professional Titles and is the only player in the sport's history to capture the "Grand Slam" of paddle tennis, to win the The World Championships in Men's Singles, Men's Doubles, and mixed doubles in the same calendar year."

A pretty heady meeting for a 19-year-old Frenchman who just picked up the game days earlier as a lark. In fact Monfils was beaten in a practice paddle tennis match earlier by Beth Bellamy, currently the No. 1-ranked woman in paddle tennis and wife of Tennis Channel Open Tournament Director Steve Bellamy.

Tennis Channel commentator Jimmy Arias had played with Monfils in an exhibition the day before, and prior to the match with the No. 1-ranked Freedman said Monfils had a chance.

"Obviously he's a competitor," said Arias, who played paddle tennis doubles with Monfils and some paddle-tour players in exhibition doubles. "I'd never played paddle tennis until yesterday and I did alright, it translates. I feel like (Monfils) has some serious talent. He has more jack on the ball than the pros out there."

While Monfils competed in his typical tennis attire, Freedman exhibited the questionable combination of no shirt and full-length black stretch pants, which drew the ire of one front-row paddle tennis insider sitting in the bleachers.

"He can't play without a shirt! That's against the rules!" said the woman. "That's Scotty though, always has to be the rebel."

The rebellious yet nervous Freedman was broken in the first game of the match by Monfils, who would take the American's underhand delivery and charge the net behind a two-handed backhand. The break of serve and the world No. 1's shocking 0-1 deficit brought murmurs from fans near the tournament table until it was explained by officials that in paddle tennis, players are expected to break their opponents serve, and lose their own serve due to the underhand nature of the service delivery.

The "Roger Federer of paddle tennis"'s reputation remained intact.

Freedman settled down some and ran out to a 3-1 lead in the beginning of the best-of-three set contest. Monfil's coach Champion stood outside the fence off to the side where his pupil would walk to during changeover for advice in French.

"We don't know what chance he has, he can win but he is playing a little bit tentative," Champion said of his charge in the first set.

"They are both tense, actually," said the laughing Champion, remarking on the ever-growing crowd as the Stadium announcer told fans of the event on Court 16. "I think this is good for the event. It is another game with a racquet like tennis, he just loves it, he is very competitive. For the promise to his game and the enjoyment, I think it will be good for everybody."

Someone it wasn't good for in the opening set was Freedman. Monfils got his break (or reverse-break) of serve back, and Freedman suddenly changed from "The Roger Federer of paddle tennis" to "The Lleyton Hewitt of paddle tennis," screaming "C'mon! Let's go!" after winning key points and shaking his fist in the direction of the bleachers.

Monfils friend Andy Murray joined the onlookers mid-set, finding a great deal of amusement in the Frenchman competing in front of the vociferous crowd against the shirtless man in the stretch pants.

After winning a big point that would lead to a first-set tiebreak, Freedman passionately shouted "Yes! C'mon God Dammit, close it!" which caused Murray to break up in laughter.

Monfils won the next point and a voice from the bleachers shouted "C'mon Scott, let's go!", causing Murray a second later to follow with a punchline-like delivery, shouting "Good shot, Gael!" before suppressing a laugh.

"He's actually doing pretty well," said Murray with amusement. "I've played this actually a lot when I was in Spain, but this is not proper paddle tennis. It's absolutely huge in Spain and it's played in a glass box outside on an artificial grasscourt with these bats, and they play with the normal tennis balls as well. There are more people watching this than the doubles on the stadium."

Which there weren't, but point taken as the crowd had grown to overflow the bleacher seats, with people now standing to watch four-deep on one side of the court and lining up on the other side as well.

As the first-set tiebreak approached, the stoic-if-not-flashy Monfils apparently grew tired of Freedman's histrionics and decided to show some emotion of his own, making an "Oooh!" face for the crowd after cutting off a passing shot with a short-angle volley, and again a few points later when at the net he absorbed an overhead from the No. 1-ranked American for a drop volley winner.

A scream of "Allez!" on a big point moments later from Monfils drew laughter from Murray and a roar from the crowd. Freedman responded later by trying to take Monfil's head off on a short running shot with the Frenchman and the net.

Monfils gave the American a questioning glance, and the game was on.

Monfils broke for a 5-4 lead and huddled with his coach on the sidelines, with a wide-eyed look reflecting the intensity of the competition and the cheering throng.

The crowd chanting "Ole! Ole, ole, ole!", and a pumped-up Monfils looking to his coach for encouragement after every point, with the French teen saved two set points to win the first-set tiebreak, celebrating with a Mick Jagger-like strut as the crowd erupted.

"He's tight as a drum," said Arias of Freedman.

In the second set Freedman regained his form to cruise to a 6-2 win before the third set again notched-up the drama.

Early in the third set Freedman started to cramp, allowing Monfils to run out a 4-1 lead. While Freedman received treatment courtside for cramps from his wife, a registered nurse, Monfils brought a howl from the crowd when, in reply, he started doing military-style push-ups on the court.

"These guys aren't necessarily used to this level of competition," said paddle tournament director Henry Borenstein. "It's not like they're training every day like these tennis players."

By now Monfils' corner included fellow French player Julien Benneteau and other French coaches, along with other players such as American Phillip Simmonds and competitors from the women's challenger.

The cramping "Roger Federer of paddle tennis" made a valiant effort in the last two games, but the superbly-athletic Monfils was not about to allow a comeback out of pity. Closing out the victory on his third match point, the teen celebrated with a spinning '80s-style breakdance on the court.

"Gael just played better than I did," Freedman said after the match in a joint interview with Monfils and The Tennis Channel's Mieke Buchan. "He came out and put a lot of pressure on me, he has good strokes and good feel for the game. No excuses, I came to play and Gael beat me."

Monfils had to return to the court approximately an hour later for his first-round doubles with coach Champion, where Freedman gained some revenge with partner Sol Hauptman, handing the French pair a loss.

Nonetheless, happy with his 'career-first win over a No. 1' breakthrough, Monfils says he is now looking at bringing home some hardware from Vegas in the form of a paddle tennis trophy.

"I am going to try to win this tournament," Monfils said. "I beat the No. 1, so why not?"

And Andy Murray?

"I definitely want to play this next year," Murray said.

TABLE TENNIS WIN TRANSLATES TO SINGLES SUCCESS FOR GOLDY

American Paul Goldstein upset countryman Vince Spadea Thursday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, but it was tough to tell whether he was more thrilled by his singles win, or the table tennis/air hockey win the previous day against fellow players.

"I'm still jazzed over the wins the other day with the table tennis and air hockey," Goldstein said. "My father was a national table tennis champion in the 18-and-unders so I had kind of an advantage."

Goldstein said he wouldn't mind if his win translated into a wildcard into the media (and others) ping pong tournament later in the week.

"I won a plasma TV and a ping pong table," Goldstein said of his winnings from the player tournament. "Heck yeah I would play that."

WHY IS HIS HEAD BOBBLING?

Former mob lawyer and current Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman was honored with a bobblehead doll in his likeness Wednesday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, with the controversial mayor lapping up the attention in front of the stadium crowd.

"He's a Vegas kind of guy," says Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Todd Dewey. "He's proud to say he has two martinis a day -- he received a little bit of flack when he went to speak to some elementary kids and they asked what item he would take if he were stranded on an island, and he said a bottle of gin...He seems to be at every event, he seems to be everywhere, he seems to enjoy the limelight...I think he's the perfect mayor for Las Vegas."

Federer, Nadal on Crash Course at ATP Dubai

World No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal came within one match of a dream final at the ATP stop in Dubai on Thursday, moving into the semifinals with the Swiss beating Czech Robin Vik 6-3, 6-2, and the muscular Spaniard turning away a tough first-set challenge from wildcard Tim Henman 7-6(1), 6-1.

"I'm not sure if I played much better than before, but it's just the feeling I have now, it's more relaxed," Federer told reporters, referring to his struggles in the previous round against a Kuwaiti wildcard. "I know how to play and the service motion, all of that, is coming together. It always takes a couple of matches to get that feeling back, and I think tonight that was the case."

Federer will next face Russian Mikhail Youzhny who overpowered diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-1 for his first semifinal of the year.

Although Henman led Nadal in both sets, the Spaniard ended up overpowering the 31-year-old Brit who exhausted his best effort at the net in the first-set tiebreak.

"The first set was tough," Nadal told reporters. "Henman played very aggressively. He's a very good player and it's difficult when he plays his slice. It's unbelievable and I had some problems. I also had some problems in some games with my serve...but I finished the match serving much better."

Keeping Nadal from a meeting with Federer will be unseeded German Rainer Schuettler, who defeated countryman Bjorn Phau 6-4, 6-1 after Phau came off a win over Andre Agassi.

Friday's singles semifinal match-ups are (1) Federer vs. Youzhny (Club Fed leads head-to-head 6-0), and (2) Nadal vs. Schuettler (tied 1-1).

Blake Through, Kiefer Pulls at ATP Las Vegas

After a rough start with No. 2 seed Nicolas Kiefer pulling right before his day opening-match with Dane Kenneth Carlsen due to a sinus issue, the quarterfinals were completed Thursday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas where No. 5 seed James Blake routed fellow American Brian Vahaly 6-1, 6-1.

"He beat me a few times in the juniors and it just give me confidence to get through to the next round," Blake said. "I played really well to execute at the start."

Other players into the quarters were Belgian Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. (LL) Luczak in three), and American Paul Goldstein (d. Spadea 2-and-1).

"I'm really pleased on being able to follow up a win over Robby (Ginepri)," Goldstein said.

With Spadea spraying balls, Goldstein said the key was dealing with the altitude.

"All of a sudden you get to 2,600 feet and the ball just flies on you," Goldstein said on-court after the final. "I take the approach I just have to impose my will with my feet the way I cover the court, its harder to hit winners in the altitude...I try to be the wall back there (on the baseline)."

Set for the Friday quarterfinals in Vegas are (1) Hewitt vs. Kohlschreiber, Malisse vs. Goldstein, (3) Robredo vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, and (5) Blake vs. Carlsen.

Gaudio, Chela Lead at Acapulco

Argentines Gaston Gaudio and Juan Ignacio Chela led the winners into the semifinals Thursday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, with the No. 2-seeded Gaudio outlasting Brazil's Marcos Daniel in three sets, and the No. 7-seeded Chela straight-setting Italian qualifier Alessio Di Mauro.

"It was a weird and nerve-racking moment that was probably more fun for the spectators than for us," Gaudio said.

Also into the semis was unseeded Peruvian Luis Horna (d. Calleri), and Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro (d. Montanes, bagel in the second).

Into the women's semifinals Thursday were (1) Flavia Pennetta (d. (Q) Martinez Sanchez 6-0 in the third), (2) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Shaughnessy), and two un-seeds in Frenchwoman Emilie Loit (d. (Q) Gussoni), and Spaniard Maret Ani (d. Pous Tio).

"When you get beat like that in the first set you know you have to give it everything you have to stay in the tournament," Pennetta said.

The women's Friday semifinals line up as (1) Pennetta vs. Ani (Pennetta leads career meetings 1-0), and (2) Groenefeld vs. Loit (first meeting).

The match-ups for the men will be (7) Chela vs. (Q) Almagro, and Horna vs. (2) Gaudio.

Hingis v Mauresmo in Semis at WTA Doha

Top seed Amelie Mauresmo and wildcard Martina Hingis set up a blockbuster semifinal meeting with wins Thursday at the WTA event in Doha, with Mauresmo overwhelming Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-0, and Hingis taking another top scalp in No. 6 seed and former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(7), 6-2.

"It was a pretty impressive win," Hingis told reporters of her first-ever clash with Kuznetsova. "The first set was a bit tough. I guess that was because we haven't played before. I didn't feel good at the beginning -- I guess today I won with my heart. I feel great to be in the semifinals."

On Friday Mauresmo will try and make it three wins in a row over the Swiss, who she trials in their total head-to-head meetings.

"She is playing really well at the moment," Mauresmo told reporters. "She played well at the Australian Open as well. It won't be an easy match for sure. I am looking forward to the match."
 
Also into the semis was No. 2-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova (d. L.Na) and Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama (d. Schruff), both in straight sets.

Friday's semifinals will be Sugiyama vs. (2) Petrova (Sugiyama leads career meetings 2-1), and (1) Mauresmo vs. (WC) Hingis (Swiss leads 7-4).

DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. A year's subscription costs less than a meal. Get the Tennis-X Daily Dish in your e-mail in-box, even before it's posted on the web, by signing up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The Tennis Channel website has crashed repeatedly this week under the weight of web hits during play at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...From TMCnet on former No. 1 Bjorn Borg being move-in-with-your-parents poor: "Bjorn Borg, the only person in the world to win five consecutive Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Championship titles, is to sell all of his trophies, London-based auction house Bonhams announced Thursday. "Obviously it is not easy to part with the trophies that symbolize all the tremendous effort, both physically and emotionally, that it took to win Wimbledon on five occasions," Borg said responding to the obvious question as to why he was initiating the sale. "However, I do need to have some long-term financial security for those close to me and now believe that the time is right for them to pass to either a tennis collector or a suitable institution where they can be appreciated by a wider number of people."...Gael Monfils received a standing ovation from the players upon walking into the players lounge after his paddle tennis win Thursday at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...James Blake, who is pretty much a lock for the U.S.' upcoming Davis Cup tie, on Mardy Fish who is returning from wrist surgery: "I would probably take him for the No. 2 player (for the U.S. Davis Cup against Chile) if he were 100 percent healthy, Mardy has a huge serve and a great game for grass. When you haven't played that many matches it is tough."...32-year-old Kenneth Carlsen on retiring: "I don't really have an answer for that. As long as the motivation is there and I am enjoying playing tennis and competing. We're really lucky to be doing what we're doing here and I really enjoy it."...From Peter Bodo writing for the TennisWorld blog: "I have it from pretty good sources that the upcoming NASDAQ-100 tournament in Miami is going to officially introduce Hawkeye-based instant replay. Right now, it looks like the ATP and WTA have agreed on using it in a discretionary rather than universal way. That is, neither the chair umpire nor any other officials will be monitoring every point and reversing bad calls. There will be a "challenge" system, much like the NFL uses. As I understand it, though, the WTA is fighting for unlimited challenges, while other constituents want to limit players to as few as three unsuccessful challenges per set. Challenges that are upheld will not count against a player."