Roddick, Americans Headline Houston; Rios Wins Again

Other tops seeds are Spaniards David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco, Russians Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov, and Italian Filippo Volandri.

Opening-round matches of interest include (5) Andreev vs. (WC) Marat Safin, and an all-Spanish affair in (7) Verdasco vs. Al Martin.

Other wildcards went to Spanish French Open champ Al Costa and Guillem Burniol.

In last year's final the No. 7-seeded Andreev outlasted the No. 5-seeded Ferrer 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Former champs in the field are Andreev (2005), Verdasco (2004) and Ferrero (2003).

Highlights of Monday play are the former French Open champ (WC) Costa vs. Pashanski, A.Martin vs. (7) Verdasco, and Sluiter vs. the former French champ (2) Gaudio.

Roddick, Blake, Ginepri Headline ATP Houston

Andy Roddick, not exactly known for his claycourt heroics (European at least), nonetheless returns this week to the site of his three career claycourt titles at the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championships in Houston.

James Blake, Robby Ginepri and Paul Goldstein join Roddick as seeded Americans, with fellow seeds Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, Germany's Tommy Haas, Peruvian Luis Horna, and Argentine rising star Juan Monaco.

Roddick opens with a continuation of last weekend's Davis cup match, facing Chile's Paul Capdeville, in addition to Baghdatis opening against American wildcard Jesse Witten, Monaco versus American wildcard Mardy Fish, Goldstein against dangerous Serb Janko Tipsarevic, Ginepri in a tough claycourt draw against Spaniard Al Montanes, and Blake opening against a qualifier.

Potential quarterfinal match-ups are (1) Roddick vs. (5) Haas, (4) Baghdatis vs. (8) Monaco, (7) Goldstein vs. (3) Ginepri, and (2) Blake vs. (6) Horna.

Roddick has won three titles in five finals at Houston.

In last year's final the top-seeded Roddick steamrolled No. 6 seed Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6-2.

Henin to Defend at Family Circle Cup Charleston

The WTA Tour U.S. leg of the 2006 claycourt swing continues to struggle this week in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup, which receives essentially the same no-marquee field as last week in Amelia Island, save for the addition of defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.

Charleston feels the brunt of the injury-ravaged WTA schedule, with both Williams sisters withdrawing after injury, Martina Hingis electing to take another week off, and many of the big names resting up for the first round of the Fed Cup competition next week.

Henin-Hardenne is joined among the Top 8 seeds by Russians Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova (if the former US Open champ doesn't pull with her leg injury) and Dinara Safina, Swiss Patty Schnyder, Czech teen Nicole Vaidisova, German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and France's Nathalie Dechy.

Wildcards for the event went to Georgian Anna Tatishvili, and Americans Shenay Perry, Neha Uberoi, and Meghann Shaughnessy.

In last year's final the unseeded Henin-Hardenne defeated No. 2-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4.

Davis Cup Round-up: US at Russia, Aussies at Argentina

The round-up from the weekend's David Cup World Group quarterfinals, where the U.S. advanced to a semifinal meeting at Russia, and Argentina edged Croatia to earn a home match hosting Australia:

Russia d. France 4-1

Unheralded Russian Dmitry Tursunov played hero and continued Richard Gasquet's weekend misery in the first singles Sunday, clinching the tie with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 win to put Russia in the Davis Cup semifinals.

It was Gasquet's second five-set loss of the weekend following his Friday defeat by Marat Safin.

Tursunov was a replacement for Nikolay Davydenko, who on Friday suffered from cramps during his singles win.

In the dead-rubber fifth singles, Mikhail Youzhny beat Michael Llodra 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3).

The Safin-led team, including the Top 10er Davydenko who last year reached the French Open semis, will be the favorites in the semifinals as they host the U.S., likely on an indoor claycourt in September.

U.S. d. Chile 3-2

After a slow start Andy Roddick clinched a spot in the Davis Cup semifinals for the U.S. Sunday, coming from a set down to defeat Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

"It's just being in the right place at the right time," said Roddick on never failing to clinch a tie for the U.S. "It's great competing with friends you love and respect."

The U.S. is now 4-0 over Chile in Davis Cup meetings.

In the final dead rubber, James Blake had insult added to further insult, going 0-2 in singles over the weekend when he lost 6-3, 6-4 to Paul Capdeville.

In the September semifinals the U.S. will travel to Russia, where they will be underdogs as the Russians are expected to lay down an indoor claycourt, historically the American's worst surface.

Argentina d. Croatia 3-2

Ivan Ljubicic did his part to extend the tie to a fifth and deciding singles Sunday, but without the injured Mario Ancic, the defending champion Croatians fell 3-2 to Argentina.

In the first singles Sunday the player/captain Ljubicic rolled past world No. 3 David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, but without Ancic the Croatians had no choice in the second singles but to go with No. 159-ranked Sasa Tuksar, who lost to Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).

"I am not disappointed, maybe a little sad," Ljubicic told reporters. "Tuksar played a great match and deserved at least the fifth set. He lost in four, and could have won the second, third and fourth. Without Mario, this was not a tie that we were supposed to win, but life goes on. This is a very good and very young team, and we can come back."

It was the first live rubber for Tuksar, and the first time that Croatia lost a home Davis Cup tie since 1999.

In the fourth set Chela started cramping, with Tuksar missing a golden opportunity to stretch the decider to a fifth set.

"First it was the right leg, then the left," Chela told reporters. "I was lucky to win the fourth set and finish the match there."

Argentina will now host Australia in the semifinals on its favored red clay for its first home semifinal in five years.

Australia d. Belarus 5-0

After the tie was already decided on Saturday, on Sunday the Aussies make it a sweep in the dead-rubber singles with Wayne Arthurs beating Serguei Tarasevitch 7-6(6), 6-2, and Chris Guccione rolling past Alexandr Zotov 6-1, 6-3.

The Aussie's reward for reaching the semifinals is an away match at Argentina, where they will be the heavy underdogs on the slow red clay, and Lleyton Hewitt has already announced the possibility of bailing on the Aussie squad.

Rios Wins 2nd Senior Title at Hong Kong

Marcelo Rios defeated Thomas Muster 6-3, 6-3 Sunday for his second Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions title in Hong Kong, and again challenged John McEnroe to meet him on what he is rapidly claiming as 'his' senior tour.

"I'm playing for the first time in two years and I feel pretty tired, but good. There is a bit more entertainment on this tour and I feel more relaxed -- you can see that on the court," said Rios, who has yet to face American big-hitters Jim Courier and John McEnroe. "I haven't played McEnroe before and he's the one I'm waiting for. It's going to be nice to play him. Just tell him to get ready, because he's going to have a tough, tough time against me."

Muster is now 0-2 against Rios in 2006.

"He's too good for us at the moment, but it's always good when younger players come on the tour because it means that all the guys have to move up another level, train more and stay in shape if we want to compete with him, and we will," Muster said.

Cedric Pioline beat Henri Leconte 6-3, 6-4, for a third-place finish.
 
The next Merrill Lynch event will be April 20-23 in Barcelona.

Rios' effort for the week breaks a tie with Jim Courier and gives him sole possession of No. 1 on the Tennis-X.com Combined Senior Rankings, while Pioline jumps to No. 2, knocking Courier to No. 3.

From the current point standings, Rios looks well on his way to his pre-season-voiced desire to finish No. 1 on the year-end senior tour rankings.

2006 TENNIS-X.COM TOP 10 COMBINED SENIOR RANKINGS
(Top 10, through April 9)

1. Marcelo Rios (800 pts.)
2. Cedric Pioline (450)
3. Jim Courier (400)
4. Pat Cash (390)
5. Thomas Muster (375)
6. Henri Leconte (205)
7T. Richard Krajicek (200)
7T. John McEnroe (200)
9. Mikael Pernfors (125)
10T. Sergi Bruguera (80)
10T. Aaron Krickstein (80)
10T. Mats Wilander (80)
10T. Mark Woodforde (80)

The Tennis-X.com Combined Senior Rankings is a cumulative ranking for senior tour players combining results from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Europe, and the Outback Champions Series in the U.S.

Petrova Wins WTA Amelia Island

23-year-old Russian Nadia Petrova beat Francesca Schiavone for the first time in five meetings 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the WTA Amelia Island title, her second title of the year.

"Every year, I've been doing better and better, playing more consistent and winning more matches," Petrova said. "I felt like she couldn't make huge winners against me on this surface."

It was her first career title on clay.

In the doubles final Asagoe/Srebotnik beat Huber/Mirza 6-2, 6-4.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the Houston Chronicle: "James Blake might be the second seed behind defending champion Andy Roddick in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at Westside Tennis Club next week, but he'll be first in the hearts of everyone associated with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Blake has decided to donate at least $25,000 to gastro-intestinal tract cancer research efforts -- and his gift could be as much as $52,000 if he wins the tournament -- in memory of his father, Thomas, who died of stomach cancer in 2004. Jim and Linda McIngvale, owners of Westside, followed suit by pledging all of the tournament's special-event income to the hospital's efforts to find a cure."...Ouch, temp-U.S. Davis Cup coach and former Andy Roddick coach Dean Goldfine showing why he is currently out of a job, with his assessment of the U.S.-Russia Davis Cup semifinal, which the Russians will surely put on clay and be overwhelming favorites: "I don't necessarily think that if we do play on clay that that is really their [Russians] best surface," Goldfine told reporters. "It's definitely, in my opinion, not Marat's [Safin's] best surface. Maybe some of the other guys, it might be. Even guys like [Mikhail] Youzhny, [Dmitry] Tursunov, all those guys, in my opinion, play better on a faster surface. If they go ahead and throw the match on clay, I don't think that's necessarily benefiting them." -- Hey Dean, Safin and Nikolay Davydenko have both reached the French semis. Barring injury, that will be their squad. Look up Andy and James' records on European clay, or in late-round D-Cup meetings on clay, and you'll get the picture...Miami semifinalist (l. to Roger Federer) David Ferrer blogging for the ATP website this week from Valencia: "After Miami I went straight to my home in Xavia, 120 kilometers south of Valencia and rested for a couple of days. I just rested and spent some time out with some friends and family in my town. It was nice since it was my birthday this week also. We ate a lot of paella! Last night, I watched Valencia (football) vs. Celta with some friends. Valencia won 1-0, which is great because they are second in the league. And tonight I'll be watching Barcelona vs. Santander. It is great to be back in Valencia; I really enjoy this tournament, I feel more relaxed and motivated with so many people I know around supporting me."...Mardy Fish won the Tallahassee (Florida) Challenger over the weekend...Rafael Nadal is missing the opening week of the claycourt season in his homecountry event at Valencia? Ouch, the foot injury that won't get better...India gets another ATP event as the troubled Ho Chi Minh tournament (so much for last year's trumpeted "Professional tennis in Vietnam!" where organizers charged citizens two months in wages for tickets) moves to Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, in September. Mahesh Bhupathi's company, Globosport India, will be responsible for the marketing, management and promotion of the event...Andy Roddick will attempt to reach his sixth consecutive final this week in Houston, which would put him with four other players who have reached six or more finals in a row at one event in Ivan Lendl (Masters, 9 finals), John McEnroe (London/Queen's, 7 finals), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Moscow, 6) and Balazs Taroczy (Hilversum, 6)...Davis Cup zonal losers round-up: The Brits lose to thr Serbs in Davis Cup zonal competition when Novak Djokovic beats Greg Rusedski in four sets in the first singles Sunday, losing out on a spot in the World Group playoffs. Also Leander Paes plays hero, with India beating Pakistan 3-2 when Paes tops Aqeel Khan 6-1 in the fifth in the fifth-rubber singles Sunday. The Marcos Baghdatis-led Cyprus squad loses to Bulgaria 3-2 when Fotos Kallias loses the decider for the Cypriots in a photo finish...Where is the world is Guillermo Coria during the opening of the claycourt season?...Status of tennis at SI.com: Still no tennis page, with the sport relegated to the "more" sports page, but at least Jon Wertheim's column is now right above the professional wrestling column, which boasts the tagline: "A blow-by-blow account from my four full days behind the scenes at WrestleMania 22."...Greg Rusedski speaking with reporters on Andy Murray's expletive-laden meltdown in their Davis Cup doubles loss: "You have to take into account he is 18 years old. He's made a mistake at the end of the match, which all of us have. I've sworn at Wimbledon, used every bad word you can possibly imagine on Centre Court. He is going to grow up and have ups and downs in his career, and that's what makes him interesting. He has already accomplished so much; he is going in the right direction but he's going to have a few difficult moments. He'll get over them and he learns from things. He is very mature in a lot of respects. It's another learning experience for him. Let's not be too critical of him; let him move on."...James Blake says he is looking forward to the September Davis Cup semifinals as he has never been to Russia...After helping Australia through to the Davis Cup semifinals, Lleyton Hewitt delivered the shocker that he might not be available for the September meeting at Argentina on red clay. "There's a lot of tennis to be played between now and then," Hewitt told reporters. "I'll sit down and evaluate it as we get a little bit closer. But it's been terrific being involved and it's great that we've got through to the semifinal." Yup, but unless you're Spain, going into Argentina is a lose-lose situation as Lleyton realizes -- with Hewitt the most hated player in Argentina after his contentious run-ins with David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria and Juan Ignacio Chela. Tennis Australia is going to have to pony-up some money to make that appearance happen...Lleyton Hewitt speaking with reporters on his 2006 claycourt campaign: "I didn't play this whole next 10 weeks last year with a cracked rib, so I'm looking forward to going out and getting some cheap points on the tour and hopefully getting my ranking up again. Last year was a tough year: to finish in the top four and only play eight events, you can't ask for much more than that, I guess, when you only finish eight tournaments. But it's going to be nice to build on that. Wimbledon's obviously the key in a couple of months' time, but it would be nice to go out there and be an underdog at the French Open and see what happens. Last time I played, I made a quarterfinal, lost to the eventual winner in Gaston Gaudio, so I've won some big matches at the French. It's probably going to be the toughest Grand Slam for me to win, but it's definitely not out of the question."