Davenport Pulls From Wimbledon; Baby Goran Almost BurpedPosted on June 20, 2006 Baby Goran Almost Burped at ATP Ordina OpenNo. 3 Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic was the lone seed in action Monday at the ATP stop in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, and faced down an unexpected challenge from No. 440-ranked Pakistan qualifier Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in a 7-6(3), 6-7(0), 7-5 win. "I expected a very tough match because I know Qureshi is a great grasscourt player," Ancic said. "I think (he) played extremely well. He served an unbelievable serve and volley game...You're much more used to guys playing from the back, but he did it extremely well." Unseeded players into the second round Monday were France's Julien Benneteau (d. (Q) Sirianni), Dutch wildcard Raemon Sluiter (d. Vik from a set down), Czech Jan Hernych (d. (Q) Ledovskikh, bagel in the first), and Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee (d. Clement). Highlights of Tuesday play are (1) Davydenko vs. Kohlschreiber, (2) Robredo vs. (Q) Cilic, and Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro vs. (5) Ginepri. Top Seed Johansson Bumped in Opener at ATP Nottingham Swede Thomas Johansson will have plenty of time for rest and relaxation before Wimbledon next week after his shock exit Monday from the ATP grasscourt stop in Nottingham, beaten 7-6(6), 6-7(11), 6-4 by Czech Jan Vacek, who lost in the tournament qualifying then gained main draw acceptance as a "lucky loser." Vacek, who blew two match points in the second-set tiebreak before eventually closing things out, had not won a tour-level match since this time last year. "Someone is going to get hurt on it in these conditions," said Johansson, a semifinalist last year at Wimbledon, unhappy with the Nottingham grasscourts. Seeded winners Monday were (2) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty (d. Wang, bagel in the first) and (7) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan (d. (Q) Udomchoke). Unseeded players into the second round were Frenchman Gilles Simon (d. (Q) Kunitsyn), Serb qualifier Janko Tipsarevic (d. (WC) Bloomfield in three), and Italian Andreas Seppi (d. Wawrinka in three). Highlights of Tuesday play are (5) Tursunov vs. (WC) Murray, Gasquet vs. (Q) Navarro Pastor, (WC) Bogdanovic vs. Mirnyi, and (6) Mathieu vs. Vanek. Three Seeds Exit Monday at WTA Ordina Open Three seeds were uprooted in play Monday at the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, with upsets orchestrated by Dutch teen Michaella Krajicek who defeated (3) Flavia Pennetta, Argentine qualifier Paola Suarez who surprised (4) Maria Kirilenko, and Poland's Marta Domachowska who outlasted (6) Anabel Medina Garrigues from a set down. "This is one of the best wins of my career," the 17-year-old Krajicek said. The lone seeded winner on the day was (7) Gisela Dulko, who straight-setted Argentine qualifier Mariana Diaz-Oliva. Unseeded players into the second round were Italian Maria Elena Camerin (d. (LL) Ani 6-0 in the third), Russian Elena Vesnina (d. Schruff), Greek Eleni Daniilidou (d. Jie), and Czech Klara Koukalova (d. (Q) Ruano Pascual). Scheduled for Tuesday in 's-Hertogenbosch are Camerin vs. Safina, Domachowska vs. Schultz-McCarthy, Boonstra vs. Jankovic, Dulko vs. Daniilidou, Kostanic vs. Suarez, and A.Bondarenko vs. N.Li. Hantuchova Ousted, Raymond Qualifies at WTA Eastbourne Russian Elena Likhovtseva posted the lone upset Monday at the WTA grasscourt stop in Eastbourne, upending (8) Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 7-6(3). Other winners with only four main draw matches played on the day were (6) Francesca Schiavone (d. (WC) O'Brien), Japan's Ai Sugiyama (d. Srebotnik who retired in the third with a thumb injury), and France's Nathalie Dechy (d. Peer). Four more gained access to the main draw with the completion of the qualifying in Jarmila Gajdosova (SVK), Shenay Perry (USA), Akiko Morigami (JPN), and Lisa Raymond (USA). On display Tuesday in Eastbourne are Keothavong vs. Dushevina, Gajdosova vs. Myskina, Kuznetsova vs. Sugiyama, Craybas vs. Arvidsson, Bartoli vs. Groenefeld, Chakvetadze vs. Zvonareva in an all-Russian, Santangelo vs. Peschke, Morigami vs. Raymond, and Castano vs. Perry. DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER Who cares if you need it or not, show your love for Tennis-X, contribute to the fund, only eight bucks for one year of daily tennis news! Pay as you go! Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get their heads around the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. A year's subscription costs less than a meal and a pint. 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 BARB Pulling out of Wimbledon Monday were Lindsay Davenport (back), Taylor Dent (back), Carlos Moya (shoulder) and Jose Acasuso (unknown)...For the second year, Roger Federer received a 20K check for his Roger Federer Foundation from Ralf Weber, tournament director of the Gerry Weber Open. "I am very grateful to the Gerry Weber Open for this generous contribution to my foundation. It's a considerable amount of money and it's something that I am not taking for granted. I will make sure that the money will be used in the best possible way for the children I am supporting in South Africa."...Patrick Rafter is the only player to win three consecutive titles at 's-Hertogenbosch, and the only player able to pronounce it correctly. Czechs Martin Damm and Cyril Suk won the doubles three times in a row, and four overall...Tour ace leader "Dr." Ivo Karlovic has 22 aces more than Ivan Ljubicic in 17 less matches played...Roger Federer has lost four sets in his last three Wimbledon title runs, equal to the four sets he lost last week in his Halle title run...Names in the news in the Wimbledon qualifying are top seed Kevin Kim, Brit Jonathan "No Relation/No Misspelling" Marray, Aussie Chris "Penthouse" Guccione, France's Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience, Dutchman Peter "Nuclear" Wessels, Swiss George "I Beat Pete at Wimbledon" Bastl, Aussie Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs, and Benjamin "No Relation" Becker...Max Mirnyi blogging for the ATP this week from Nottingham: "In the meantime, I am having a bit of a six-inch turkey breast Subway sandwich as this ended up being the only option for food at this time of night after our arrival to the town of Nottingham. The upside to this is that I and part of my family (wife Ksusha and daughter Melanie) who are joining me on this trip is already in Nottingham and don't have to hustle through busy London morning traffic to come here tomorrow. Our ride from London today was really easy. Splitting the price of a car with Jonas [Bjorkman], riding together to the discussions of our tennis game, life in general and the harsh world of business was a worthy time spent. About 2 hours from our hotel in London to our Nottingham "home." 0:14 my Nike watch shows and it's time for me to prepare my on-court bag for tomorrow as I like to do it the night before, brush my teeth, get in the shower and have a good night's sleep." -- Nice Nike plug...La Ni is the first Chinese player to crack the Top 30 on the WTA Rankings...Tomas Berdych pulled from the Ordina Open with a left leg injury...From The Australian: "British sports minister Tessa Jowell slammed the Wimbledon tennis championships overnight for deliberately keeping the prize money for women lower than for men. The minister for culture, media and sport blasted Wimbledon chiefs for "tarnishing" the tournament by refusing to follow the three other grand slams, which have all called time on unequal pay. The 2006 men's champion will receive ?655,000 ($1.65 million) while the women's champion will earn ?625,000 ($1.57 million) for winning the tournament which starts on June 26. In a letter to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC), which runs the championships, Jowell hailed Wimbledon as "the number one tennis tournament in the world" -- but said it was time to make it game, set and match in favour of equal pay. "I am deeply concerned at the ongoing disparity between the money paid to male and female players," Jowell wrote. "Women's tennis has made giant strides in recent years, becoming both highly competitive and extremely entertaining. Coupled with that, the media attention and levels of global sponsorship are now on a par with the men's game. I know your position on this but in my view it is anomalous that women receive less prize money than men and this fact is tarnishing the image of the championship. No other major tennis tournament pays its women's champion less than men," she wrote."...Lleyton Hewitt on electronic linecalling: "I've been a bit skeptical. I know (Roger) Federer and a few of the guys weren't the biggest fans right off. From just my experience in Miami, it felt a little bit Mickey Mouse a couple of times. I think a lot of players sort of exploit it at different times. If it's going to bring the crowds and viewing into it more, then that's a positive. But I don't think we should lose what we've got in the game and not try and turn it into a sideshow too much." -- Yes, let's be wary of making tennis more entertaining for fans...The Wimbledon seedings will be announced Wednesday and the draw on Friday...Justine Henin-Hardenne speaking with The Guardian: "I think people forget that I made it to the Wimbledon final in 2001 -- two years before the French. That match was supposed to be a big party in my life -- but everyone I knew in the stands looked very sad. I knew it couldn't be for my match because I took Venus Williams to three sets. I guessed something else was wrong and then they told me just after my press conference -- I had lost my grandfather that day. He was almost the last family member on my mother's side who had still been alive and so it was very painful. "He was 81 but he seemed in great shape and he drove to lots of my tournaments."...Much like his career at the moment, Marat Safin's website is down...Justine Henin-Hardenne says equal pay for women at Wimbledon is not a necessity, while Belgian countrymate Kim Clijsters says cough up the equal bread. And H-H blogging on her maybe/maybe-not participation in Belgium's upcoming Fed Cup match: "About Fed Cup. I do have the desire, and the will to play there, more than ever. After what I experienced in April at Liege I want to continue the adventure, but I cannot promise my presence right now. It will depend on my results in these next weeks. My physical condition after Wimbledon, and state that I finish it. Even if there are no problems, with my health there are still things which I must be careful with, in particular my knees. To play on grass then go directly onto hardcourt is difficult, and stressful on the body. So, I cannot guarantee Fed Cup."...Rafael Nadal, who pulled from Queen's with a shoulder injury, says he will be fit for Wimbledon...From Tennis Week: "Turn off the blaring bleat of your alarm clock and snap off the snooze button: ESPN2 will be delivering your daily Wimbledon wake-up call starting this month. ESPN2 plans to present 119 hours of coverage from the grass-court Grand Slam starting on Monday, June 26 and continuing daily through Sunday, July 9. Each weekday of the fortnight, the network's coverage will commence at 7 a.m. Eastern time with "Wake Up To Wimbledon", a one-hour show featuring highlights, player interviews, features and analysis of the day's early action. ESPN2 is promoting its Wimbledon coverage as daily "live coverage of matches", including all-day coverage the first week leading up to a live women's semifinals starting at 8 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, July 6 and a live men's semifinal starting at 8 a.m. Eastern on Friday, July 7. Daily coverage for the first 12 days of the tournament (June 26-July 7), culminates with at least two hours of highlights and a review of the days play on "Today At Wimbledon" hosted by Suzy Kolber and Luke Jensen. Chris Fowler will host "Wake Up to Wimbledon", scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Eastern Monday-Friday...Dick Enberg will work his 23rd Wimbledon to call matches, sharing the duty with [Cliff] Drysdale, who has been with ESPN since its first tennis telecast in 1979, and Tim Ryan. They will team with analysts Mary Carillo, Patrick McEnroe, Mary Joe Fernandez and Brad Gilbert."...From Expatica.com: "Thieves stole a replica of Belgium's famous Diamond Award tennis racket in Amsterdam on Sunday. The racket, studded with 1,700 diamonds, is the ultimate prize for the tennis player who wins the Diamond Games in Antwerp three times in five years. The original racket is valued at EUR 1 million. The replica is insured but it has not been announced how much it is worth. The replica, owned by Coster Diamonds, was displayed at a jewellery exhibition in Amsterdam at the weekend. Coster staff members were taking it from the Amstel Hotel to a waiting car when they were distracted by the thieves, news agency ANP reported. "Two men said that a woman was lying under a car," Director Kees Noomen of Coster Diamonds said on Monday. "When we went to look, another man went away with the racket," he said. The replica was lying under the back seat of the car." -- The old woman-under-a-car bit -- suckers! The classic racquet-stealing ruse. That happened to an X-staff member in juniors: "Hey, look at that woman under that car!" -- Then the racquet bag is gone...From Europastar.com: "Tennis player Roger Federer has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Rolex. Federer previously endorsed Rolex before signing with Maurice Lacroix in 2004. He paid a 'break-up fee' to Lacroix to end his deal with the company two years into a five-year contract."...From Richard Jago writing for The Guardian: "Two little stories indicate how important the next three weeks should be for Amelie Mauresmo, who starts her Wimbledon build-up amid the seagulls and clinking halyards today here in the Hastings Direct tournament. One of them involved a spiky dialogue with a critical American media man who had watched the world No1 fall to a surprisingly rapid defeat on the hard courts in Miami back in April, making possible her earlier than expected return to this side of the Atlantic. "It seems like, obviously, you're No. 1 in the world right now, and obviously in France they love you, and in Europe," he said with a dubious tone. "It seems that in the United States they don't really have a feel for you yet. When you came here today, maybe you could have shown [us] 'Hey, I am No. 1 in the world' by playing a really good match." Mauresmo, however, was not interested in displays of who rules the heap, the one in Miami or any other. "You love that here, huh?" she said, quietly but toughly. "Yeah, you love it." |
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