Davenport Lets Loose on WTA, Blake Blows 5 MPs in Loss

Posted on August 23, 2006

Blake Blows Match Points in Opener Loss at New Haven

Playing his first ATP-level hard court tournament since Miami 2004, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo stunned top seed and defending champion James Blake 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to reach the third round in New Haven Tuesday.

The Spaniard saved five match points.

Ramirez Hidalgo, who is just two places below his career-high INDESIT ATP Ranking of No. 57, had a career record of 0-7 on hard courts at ATP level before this week. He is making his first appearance of the US Open Series.

Ramirez Hidalgo saved two match points during the second set tie-break, two more when Blake served for the match at 5-3 40/15 in the third set and a fifth match point on his own serve at 5-6, 30/40.

Blake, who began the US Open Series by winning Indianapolis, converted just five on 18 break point opportunities. Since Indianapolis, Blake has not won consecutive matches, going 3-4 in his past four tournaments.

Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis survived two tie-breaks to defeat German qualifier Michael Berrer 7-6(5), 7-6(6). The Cypriot will next face Swede Robin Soderling, who stopped 18-year-old American Sam Querrey 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Second seed Nikolay Davydenko moved into the third round at New Haven with a comfortable win over Washington champion Arnaud Clement. The Russian won 95% of points on his first serve in a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Davydenko will next face the No.16 seed Paradorn Srichaphan who beat Stanislas Wawrinka, the Umag champion, in the second round. Srichaphan came through in three tight sets, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted 138 minutes.

The No.6 seed Jose Acasuso made it through his first match of the tournament against Nicolas Mahut of France. Acasuso was at 7-5 and 3-3 before Mahut retired with a left hip injury. Acasuso will now encounter fellow Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, after the 26-year-old dismissed Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes.

Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who is the No.7 seed in New Haven, also progressed to the third round with a 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph against Frenchman Julien Benneteau. Verdasco, who served nine aces on the way to victory, made this win his 28th on the circuit so far in 2006.

David Ferrer, the No.5 seed, advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) win over American Mardy Fish. Ferrer, who won the Stuttgart tournament last month, only won the half the number of points on his second serve during the 127-minute win. The Spaniard will line up against Agustin Calleri who ousted Cincinnati doubles champion Max Mirnyi 7-6(4), 6-3. Calleri was the third Argentine to make it through into the next round Tuesday.
-- ATP

Four Unseeded Slam Champs in US Open Draw

The USTA today announced that two-time defending US Open champion and world No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland and reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion and world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France will be seeded No. 1 at the 2006 US Open in men's and women's singles, respectively. The 2006 US Open will be played at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., August 28-September 10.

Federer, the reigning US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, will be followed by No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, the reigning French Open champion; No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia; No. 4 David Nalbandian of Argentina; and No. 5 James Blake of Fairfield, Conn.

Mauresmo, who is seeded No. 1 at the US Open for the first time, is followed by No. 2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, the 2003 US Open champion and reigning French Open champion; No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova of Russia, the 2004 Wimbledon champion; No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, the 2004 US Open runner-up; and No. 5 seed Nadia Petrova of Russia.

World No. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium, the reigning US Open champion, withdrew from the tournament on Sunday with a left wrist injury.

In addition, five former Grand Slam champions are unseeded in the men's and women's draws, including two-time US Open champions Andre Agassi (1994 and '99) and Serena Williams (1999 and '02), both of the U.S., 2000 US Open champion Marat Safin of Russia, 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya of Spain and 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden.

No. 9 seed Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas and No. 16 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia clinched the 2006 US Open Series men's and women's titles, and will both play for a potential $1 million in bonus prize money at the US Open.

Federer, 25, has won seven titles this year, including the ATP Masters Series events in Indian Wells, Miami and Toronto. Federer will attempt to join Ivan Lendl (1985-87) and John McEnroe (1979-81) as the only men to win three consecutive US Open men's singles titles in the Open Era. The eight-time Grand Slam champion has held the No. 1 world ranking since January 2004.

Mauresmo, 27, has won four titles this year, including her first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Mauresmo will attempt to become the first woman to win three Grand Slam titles in one year since Serena Williams in 2002. She has reached the quarterfinals or better at the US Open every year since 2001, reaching the semifinals in 2002.

For 2006, the US Open continued the practice of following the ATP and WTA Tour rankings to determine the men's and women's singles seeds. This is the fifth consecutive year that the US Open has seeded 32 players in both singles events.

The singles draws for the 2006 US Open will be conducted Wednesday, August 23 at 11 a.m. at the United Nations in New York City.
-- ATP

Davenport Wins; Mauresmo, H-H on Wednesday at New Haven

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA -- Lindsay Davenport started her Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Michelob Ultra title defense in fine fashion, defeating Katarina Srebotnik, 63 63, Tuesday in the first round. It was Davenport's first victory since March.

The former world No.1 missed most of the summer due to a persistent back injury and started practicing six weeks ago. She made her comeback earlier this month at Los Angeles but lost her opening match.

"I got off to a little bit of a slow start," Davenport said. "But I'm happy I've got my first match under my belt. This was really my target tournament so I'm happy with the goal of coming here and winning a match and playing better. I feel like I've learned a lot from this and hopefully will carry it with me."

Davenport made the final here in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and finally won last year, defeating Amelie Mauresmo in the final. Venus Williams stopped Davenport in her first three title attempts and Jennifer Capriati prevailed in 2003 after Davenport retired due to a left foot injury.

"I'm not expecting miracles this week but I hope I can play well," said Davenport, who will play Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday. "I don't know whether it will be this week, next week or maybe it takes a month for it all to come back together. I feel like this last week I've been practicing a lot better than the previous five weeks and I feel if I can keep making those kind of improvements, I'll be back to playing well."

No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and lucky loser Samantha Stosur were the first players to enter the quarterfinals of this $600,000, Tier II event. Kuznetsova won her second three set match of the tournament. After needing three sets to take down Jill Craybas on Monday, the Russian had another tough one Tuesday but prevailed, 60 26 64, against Tatiana Golovin. She will next face either Daniela Hantuchova or No.3 seed Elena Dementiva.

Stosur ousted Chinese qualifier Sun Tiantian, 46 61 62. Two weeks ago at Los Angeles, she notched her first career Top 10 victory against Davenport. Up next awaits either No.4 seed Nadia Petrova or Marion Bartoli.

Other Tuesday winners were Galina Voskoboeva, Mara Santangelo and Daniela Hantuchova.

On Wednesday, top seed Mauresmo, No.2 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No.3 Dementieva and No.4 Nadia Petrova make their debuts.
-- WTA

Shaughnessy Wins, Bremond Upsets at Forest Hills

FOREST HILLS, NY, USA -- Severine Bremond scored the upset of the day at the Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic Tuesday, eliminating No.2 seed Sofia Arvidsson, 63 75, in the first round. This Tier IV hardcourt event is a tune-up for the US Open next week.

Bremond is making her first appearance here at the $74,800 tournament. The 27-year-old Frenchwoman made her career breakthrough earlier this year at Wimbledon when she became the first qualifier in seven years to reach the quarterfinals. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the second round, saved five match points against Gisela Dulko and defeated Ai Sugiyama in the fourth round, saving nine set points in the first set. Only eventual runner-up Justine Henin-Hardenne could stop her in the quarters. Bremond then broke into the Top 70 for the first time. Her second round opponent here is Maria Elena Camerin.

Meghann Shaughnessy showed guts and endurance in her first round match. The unseeded American toughed out a 57 76(3) 75 victory over Marta Domachowska and will next play either top seed and defending champion Lucie Safarova or Elena Vesnina. Shaughnessy, who upset Henin-Hardenne earlier this year at Miami, reached the quarterfinals at Los Angeles two weeks ago, falling to Serena Williams.

Other Tuesday winners were Anna Smashnova and Camerin. Smashnova advanced when Julia Schruff retired due to a back strain and Camerin beat Emilie Loit, 61 63.

On Wednesday, Safarova takes on Vesnina, No.3 seed Sybille Bammer will face Martina Sucha and No.4 seed Lourdes Dom�uez Lino is taking on Iveta Benesova. Last year's finalist Sania Mirza looms as a dangerous threat in the top half.

This is the third staging of the Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic. Elena Likhovtseva won the first event here in 2004. The winner this year will take home $22,000, while the finalist will pocket $12,000.
-- WTA

Mauresmo, Henin Qualify for Year-end Championship

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida -- Justine Henin-Hardenne and Amelie Mauresmo, the two standout players of the 2006 season thus far, are the first women to qualify for the singles event at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, set to take place at Madrid Arena in the Spanish capital, November 7-12.

The Belgian and Frenchwoman are currently in first and second place respectively in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, having shared between them the first three Grand Slam events of 2006, won eight singles titles (four each) and amassed $5 million in prize money. Henin-Hardenne has accrued 2786 Race points, while Mauresmo has earned 2372, more than 300 points clear of surging third-placed Maria Sharapova (2027), recent winner of the Acura Classic in San Diego.

"Making it to the Sony Ericsson Championships is the dream of every player," said Henin-Hardenne. "I am so excited that our season-ending event is back in Europe and in such a great sporting city as Madrid. I can't think of a better place for the battle for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour No. 1 ranking to be decided."

"Winning the Sony Ericsson Championships in 2005 was really a turning point in my career," said Mauresmo. "That moment was so special for me, so making it back again is really thrilling. I know the competition is going to be as tough as ever, and we are all looking forward to showing Spanish tennis fans the best of women's tennis."

"It is fitting that the two players who have dominated 2006 are the first to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships," said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "Justine and Amelie are great champions on and off the court. The 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships is shaping up to have a stellar field."

"Sony Ericsson is committed to making the 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships the most fan interactive, innovative and entertaining season-ending event that women's tennis has ever witnessed," said Dee Dutta, CVP and Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "Sony Ericsson is proud to sponsor the event that brings the best of the best together, and to use the Sony Ericsson Championships as a platform for our technology and brand."

"I am thrilled to know that both Amelie and Justine have already qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid," said Spanish tennis legend and Sony Ericsson Championships tournament director Manolo Santana. "Amelie and Justine have had great seasons so far and they really deserve to be in Madrid. Having the best eight players of the year in Madrid is a great opportunity for tennis fans in Spain and in Europe. I am sure that the coming weeks will reveal some more stars of the Tour who will be joining these two players in Madrid."

Henin-Hardenne is the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to reach the finals of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season. In June, the 24-year-old collected her third Roland Garros title, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. She has also won titles at Sydney, Dubai and Eastbourne and finished runner-up at the Australian Open, Berlin and most recently at Wimbledon, putting together an impressive 44-6 record for the season. The former world No.1 carried a season-best 17-match win streak into the Wimbledon final.

World No.1 and reigning Sony Ericsson Championships titleholder Mauresmo, the woman who beat Henin-Hardenne in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, had a tremendous start to 2006, winning three of her first four events, including her first major in Melbourne (also Paris [Indoors] and Antwerp, compiling a 16-match win streak). After a lean couple of months thereafter -- reaching one final in her next six events -- Mauresmo rebounded to become the first Frenchwoman in 81 years to win the Wimbledon ladies' singles title.

Three days after her 27th birthday, Mauresmo had even more cause for celebration, coming from behind to beat Henin-Hardenne in a three-set Wimbledon final to become the 16th different champion at the All-England Club in the Open Era. With a 37-8 record for 2006, Mauresmo's 82.2% win-loss rate is second only to Henin-Hardenne's 88%.

The Sony Ericsson Championships will gather the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams from the regular 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season as they battle it out for the season-ending titles and a share of the $3-million prize purse. The defending champions are Mauresmo (singles) and Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur (doubles).

Roland Garros champions Raymond and Stosur currently lead the Doubles Race with 2997 points, with Australian Open and Wimbledon champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie not far behind. The Chinese pair is more than 800 points clear of the third-placed team of Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs.
-- WTA

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Radek Stepanek has pulled out of the US Open with a back injury...From X-blogger Sean Randall: "If the latest WTA Rankings are correct it's an historic week in women's tennis. With Lindsay Davenport dropping from 10 to No. 11 in the Monday rankings leaving exactly ZERO American women in the Top 10 for what I think -- and feel free to prove me wrong -- for the first time in the history of the WTA Rankings, which go all the way back to November of 1975. That's over 30 years and around 1,600 straight weeks that an American women had been ranked among the Top 10. Not no more. Nor is it a surprise either, with few of the top Americans even playing of late due to injury. Lindsay, who is back on court this week in New Haven, has battled back trouble, Serena's a knee and Venus a wrist I think. With the big three also on the verge of retirement -- Lindsay is rumored to be pulling the plug at the Open -- one has to wonder just who is on the rise. The men have a promising 18-year-old Sam Querrey and even Donald Young, but the women's charge is led by Alexa Glatch and who knows."...Amelie Mauresmo on no American women ranked in the Top 10: "That's tough for you guys. It is definitely maybe something wrong in the way, I don't know what is going on in the way of the USTA finding the next kid...You have basketball, baseball, you have a lot of other sports and tennis is suffering right now. We suffered in Europe a couple of years ago, it is much better now. It is difficult to produce champions decade after decade. You guys were lucky for 30 or 40 years."...From Eurosport: "Kim Clijsters has denied rumours that she will retire from tennis following her latest injury setback. Having announced last year that she intends to retire at the end of 2007, speculation has grown over the last few days that if the next scan on her wrist shows no improvement she will call it a day immediately. But a source close to Clijsters has said: "She has no intention of throwing in the towel. She had two scans on the wrist and it seems that the second scan indicates that the injury may not be as bad as first suspected." Clijsters -- who will have to wear a brace for six weeks -- is hoping to make her comeback at the Gaz de France in Hasselt on October 30th. The same source also confirmed that providing this comeback is successful, she intends to play in the WTA Championships a week later."...From PRNewswire.com: "Guppy Games, international mobile games developer and publisher is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Andy Roddick Tennis (http://roddicktennis.com ). In cooperation with Andy Roddick, Guppy Games plans to launch Andy Roddick Tennis to major carriers throughout the US and internationally around The US Open 2006. "Without the cooperation of Andy Roddick, we would have not have had this chance to create the most exciting tennis game on the market," said Guppy Games CEO, Alex Choe. "Andy Roddick is a powerful athlete and we are ecstatic to have him as a part of this venture." -- Yeah Alex, it probably goes without saying that without Andy you couldn't create a game with his name on it...From Liz Robbins writing for The New York Times: "Lindsay Davenport is enthusiastically approaching what may be the last United States Open in her 13-year career. Her smile, however, does not reflect the summer of calamity she has had nor the bitterness she feels toward the leadership of women's tennis. "It's tough to also enter the final stage of my career with such a bitter taste in my mouth about the Tour," Davenport said Sunday in New Haven, where she was preparing for the Pilot Pen tournament, which began yesterday. "It's a shame." For the first time, Davenport also described in detail the fall that left her with a concussion and contributed to her withdrawing from Wimbledon. She said she remembered getting out of bed one Friday morning at her home in the Los Angeles area. "The next thing I knew I was five feet from the bed, on the ground. I woke up, I was on my back, holding my head. I didn't know what had happened. I must have hit my head on the dresser." She awoke to find her Rottweiler, Scout, standing over her with a tennis ball in his mouth. Her husband, Jon Leach, was already at work. Her mother, Ann, rushed over. Davenport, 30, did not go to a hospital until Monday -- she even worked out Friday. During that weekend, however, the pain in her head was searing and the bruise on her right elbow from the fall turned blue and green. Doctors said she had sustained a concussion and whiplash in the fall. Her elbow had to be immobilized. Davenport anxiously went through a round of heart tests. She declined a brain scan because she is claustrophobic, but she agreed to a week of bed rest...She was cleared a week later to practice. But when Davenport sought to enter more tournaments to prepare for the United States Open, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, Larry Scott, denied her request. Scott said that she had not met the commitment requirements to be eligible for a wild card, and that he would not invoke a rule that would have given her an exemption...She has nothing scheduled beyond next year's Australian Open. Although she said she wanted to start a family, tennis remains paramount for now. "I'm just not ready for it to be gone yet," she said. "However many more tournaments I play or however much longer I play, I don't have anything to lose."...From Leo Schlink writing for The Telegraph: "Mark Philippoussis' volatile relationship with his father and career mentor Nick has fractured. Once inseparable, the pair is estranged as former world No. 8 Mark returns to Flushing Meadow, scene of next week's US Open, where he was a finalist in 1998. Former banker and taxi driver Nick Philippoussis has not been seen on the international circuit for months amid rumours of a dispute with his son over his relationship with US model Alexis Barbara. Nick Philippoussis remarried and is now based in the US where he has lived since divorcing his Italian-born wife Rosana."...Anastasia Myskina might pull from the US Open with a foot injury...Neil Amdur has been named the editor-in-chief of Tennis Week. Amdur was editor-in-chief of World Tennis magazine (1984-90) before working The New York Times sports section for 12 years. Tennis Week also adds that it is "the game's most influential publication, with power and presence in the tennis community far greater than raw readership. The magazine and web site have been regarded as the conscience of the game, offering independent, balanced and outspoken tennis news, never "playing it safe," while being swift, informative and responsible to readers and advertisers."...Patty Schnyder offering up the book on how to beat her after losing to Tiantian Sun: "Her backhand looks really weak. She plays with a lot of spin, slow to my backhand. That's really one of my weaker spots. I'm used to players who play really fast and attack more."...Shahar Peer (foot) and Dinara Safina (elbow) pulled from New Haven Monday...The WTA announced that Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne have qualified for the year-end championship...The WTA Tour has entered into a three-year agreement with Usana Health Sciences to provide players with nutritional supplements guaranteed to conform to the tour's anti-doping policy...From Lisa Raymond blogging for the WTA: "I took my usual walk down to Claire's for my coffee and paper. Now, the scary thing is that I had already had a cup of coffee before I even made it to Claire's. Actually, I had two! I LOVE my coffee. Sometimes I will wake up and I can't fall back asleep because I start thinking about coffee. The Omni Hotel (it's the official player hotel for the men and women this week) has coffee in the lobby starting at 6:30am. I usually get up, throw on some clothes and a hat, and head down to the lobby to get a cup (or two in my case this morning). I come back to the room, get online, check e-mails and enjoy drinking my first cup. THEN, I'll head out to Claire's and have breakfast, as well as more coffee. Do I have a problem?"

Also see:
U.S. Women Out of Top 10; Roddick Rocks Cincy
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2006-08-22/87.php