Rios Attempts 5-for-5; Davenport Advances at Bali

Posted on September 13, 2006

Unbeatable Rios Attempts 5th Title at Seniors Paris

The apparently unstoppable Marcelo Rios will attempt to continue his unbeaten streak in 2006 this Thursday when the Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere kicks off in Paris, France, part of the ATP Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions.

Rios has won titles at all four of the events he has participated in this year.

Those with the misfortune to be grouped with the Chilean in round robin play are Pat Cash, Richard Krajicek and Thomas Muster in Group B, while Group A is comprised of Goran Ivanisevic, Sergi Bruguera, and local heroes Cedric Pioline and Guy Forget.

The winner from each round robin group advances to the final, with Rios likely to face his biggest challenge on the red clay from group member and former French Open champ Muster, or from Bruguera in the final.

Kicking off play on Thursday will be Cash vs. Muster, Forget vs. Ivanisevic, Krajicek vs. Rios, and Bruguera vs. Pioline.

WORLD SENIOR RANKINGS presented by Tennis-X.com
(Top 15 through Sept. 11, 2006)

1. Marcelo Rios (1600 pts.)
2. John McEnroe (965)
3. Thomas Muster (750)
4. Sergi Bruguera (730)
5. Cedric Pioline (650)
6. Pat Cash (610)
7. Jim Courier (600)
8T. Renzo Furlan (400)
8T. Richard Krajicek (400)
8T. Todd Martin (400)
8T. Car-Uwe Steeb (400)
12. Henri Leconte (390)
13. Goran Ivanisevic (325)
14. Carlos Costa (250)
15. Mats Wilander (220)

The World Senior Rankings presented by Tennis-X.com 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.

Croats Ljubicic, Ancic, Karlovic Win at ATP Beijing
From ATP
Marcos Baghdatis provided the drama against Germany Denis Gremelmayr in the first round of the China Open on Tuesday.

Third-seeded Baghdatis recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to win 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) in two hours and 11 minutes. The Australian Open finalist, currently No. 9 in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race, was also 3-5 down in the tie-break.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic led a Croatian charge, joining compatriots Mario Ancic and Ivo Karlovic in the second round.

Ljubicic came through against 21-year-old Go Soeda of Japan 6-4, 6-2 for his 50th ATP-level win of the season. The winner of ATP titles in Chennai and Zagreb this year is ranked No. 5 in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race with 416 points and is a strong contender for one of the six remaining places at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Fourth-seeded Ancic, returning to the ATP circuit for the first time since Wimbledon, also continued his push in the race to Shanghai. He survived a tricky first test against Feliciano Lopez in their third career meeting.

Ancic, currently No. 10 in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race, beat Lopez 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 54 minutes to improve his season match record to 41-13 that includes one ATP title in 's-Hertogenbosch from three finals (Auckland, Marseille).

Seventh-seeded Karlovic, another member of Croatia's Davis Cup and ARAG ATP World Team Championship winning team, joined Ancic.

Karlovic won his first match since reaching the Roland Garros second round in May, firing down ten aces and broke Mikhail Ledovskikh's serve twice times for a 6-2, 7-6(2) win in one hour and 14 minutes.

Ledovskikh was playing only his third career ATP-level match and first since the 's-Hertogenbosch in June. Karlovic improves his season record to 17-19 and will now play Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in the second round.

Two qualifiers Satoshi Iwabuchi of Japan and Slovenian Luka Gregorc also won.

Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, writing a blog for ATPtennis.com this week, plays his first round match against Dane Kenneth Carlsen on Wednesday.
-- Courtesy ATPtennis.com

Moya Grinds to 3-Set Win in Dirt Opener at Bucharest
From ATP
Former World No. 1 Carlos Moya toughed out his 499th career victory at the BCR Open Romania Tuesday, breaking Luis Horna for the first time at 5-5 in the third set for a 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-5 victory in 2 hrs. 59 mins.

Moya, who has more career match wins than any other active player on the ATP circuit, did not drop serve during the match. The Spaniard was not forced to save any match points but did trail 0-3 in the second-set tie-break. He broke Horna for the first time on his eighth break point opportunity in the 11th game of the third set.

Moya is making his first appearance in Bucharest since he reached the final 10 years ago in 1996. He next faces Romanian Andrei Pavel, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Serb Boris Pashanski.

Top seed Dmitry Tursunov saved three match points en route to a 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 win over German Alexander Waske, earning just his fourth clay court match win of the season. The Russian, who is at a career-high No. 22 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings, is playing in Bucharest for the first time and next meets Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez.

Waske was left to rue his missed chances. He led a set and 5-2 and at 5-3 in the second set had 40/0 on his serve to close out the match. Tursunov served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but was broken, but broke back in the next game to secure the win.

Second seed and defending champion Florent Serra breezed into the second round with a crushing 6-1, 6-0 win over Argentine qualifier Juan-Martin Aranguren, who was making his ATP-level debut. Serra, who won his second career title in Adelaide in the first week of the season, improved to 19-21 on the year. His previous best record on a season was 10-10 in 2005.

Fifth-seeded Italian Filippo Volandri rallied from a set down to defeat countryman and qualifier Simone Vagnozzi 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Volandri, who did not win a match in two appearances during the US hard court swing, picked up his 25th match win of the year, but first since his semifinal showing in Sopot in early August.
-- Courtesy ATPtennis.com

Davenport Wins, Ivanovic, Hantuchova Upset at WTA Bali

BALI, Indonesia -- The second day of Wismilak International main draw competition featured several big upsets, as two Top 5 seeds were sent packing.

While No.3 seed Lindsay Davenport survived her match against Galina Voskoboeva, 75 61, No.4 Ana Ivanovic and No.5 Daniela Hantuchova crashed out of the $225,000 event. Ivanovic fell victim to Olga Poutchkova, 63 46 62, and Hantuchova lost, 75 62, to Melinda Czink.

World No.87 Voskoboeva took the fight up to Davenport in the first set, but once the defending champion secured a late break in the first set, she never looked back.

"I always say the first match of a tournament is very important," said Davenport, who won the Tier III event here last year without dropping a set. "It was a good test for me today. She's a good, young player, and I really had to put some good points together to take that first set."

Davenport was sidelined for four months this year due to a back injury but made a terrific comeback this summer by reaching the New Haven final and the US Open quarterfinals. Her next opponent here is Akiko Morigami, a 62 61 winner over Nathalie Grandin.

Ivanovic looked flat from the outset and committed plenty of unforced errors but still managed to win the second set. Poutchkova had Ivanovic under pressure with good serving and penetrating groundstrokes.

"I'm very disappointed with my game today," said Ivanovic, who won Montreal and the US Open Series this summer. "I played a lot of tennis the last couple of weeks, and coming here I didn't have time to adapt to the conditions.

"My serve, a couple of games it was working and then not so much. I'm disappointed with that. I still had my chances but everything I went for was a mishit or a mistake."

World No.97 Poutchkova was thrilled about her victory. The 18-year-old Russian, who made her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour main draw debut this year, will try to reach her first Tour quarterfinal against Slovenian qualifier Andreja Klepac.

"This was the first time I've ever played a Top 20 player," Poutchkova said. "So to have a win is unbelievable. I really played without nerves today, and I'm so happy to be in the second round."

Hantuchova led 5-2 and held three set points before Czink steadied her nerves and broke Hantuchova's serve four times in a row to take the first set and a commanding lead in the second. Hantuchova's form dropped and she struggled with her serve.

"It was a combination of me not playing so well and her playing a very good match," Hantuchova said. "It was just one of those days --- you can't expect to play well every match, but it's disappointing because I've really enjoyed being here in these beautiful surroundings, and I wished I could have stayed longer."

"I think I started the match a little nervous," said Czink, who scored the first Top 20 win of her career and will next play Indonesian wild card Angelique Widjaja. "But when I was down 4-1 in the first set I thought to myself 'You're playing the world No.19, you've got nothing to lose.' I started to play more freely and put more pressure on her. I think at that point she started to tighten up. It's a great win for me."

No.6 seed Marion Bartoli defeated qualifier Ayu Fani Damayanti, 61 60, and No.8 Severine Bremond swept aside qualifier Trudi Musgrave, 62 62. No.9 Aiko Nakamura ousted Suchanan Viratprasert, 76(2) 64.

Other Tuesday winners were Erika Takao, Hana Sromova and qualifier Sandy Gumulya.

On Wednesday, top seed and two-time champion Svetlana Kuznetsova makes her 2006 Bali debut, while Davenport will team up with Corina Morariu in doubles.
-- WTA

Mauresmo Nominated Sportswoman of the Year

NEW YORK, NY, USA -- Every year since 1980, the Women's Sports Foundation, which was founded by Billie Jean King, has honored excellence in women's sports through the Sportswoman of the Year Award. This year, the world's top-ranked female tennis player, Amé©e Mauresmo, is one of 10 individual women's sports standouts nominated to receive the coveted award.

The Sportswoman of the Year Award is presented annually to one individual and one team athlete whose performances during the preceding 12-month period have been exceptional. Criteria in the selection process include championships won, records set, and awards received. The 2006 awards consider achievements in the period between August 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006.

Among Mauresmo's stellar achievements during the aforementioned 12-month period are six Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles, the quickest million in women's tennis history and a return to the world No.1 ranking.

Between November of last year and February of this year, Mauresmo went on an impressive tear, winning five of the six events she contested, including the 2005 season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and a pair of indoor events in Paris and Antwerp. By virtue of reaching the semis in Antwerp, she became the fastest woman in tennis history to earn $1 million in a season, beating Justine Henin-Hardenne's 2004 record by a whole month. On March 20, the Frenchwoman reascended to the No.1 ranking she had originally held for five weeks late in 2004; she has stayed on top ever since.

In July, she won her second and perhaps most prestigious major at Wimbledon. After a semifinal run at the US Open, the Frenchwoman reflected on her season.

"I am very proud of what I did this year. I wouldn't have expected this kind of season before the beginning of the year so it makes me proud."

Mauresmo's competitors in the individual sports category are speedskating star Cindy Klassen, alpine skiers Janica Kostelic and Laurie Stephens, swimmer Jessica Long, gymnast Chellsie Memmel, sprinter Sanya Richards, golf legend Annika Sorenstam, snowboarding's Hanna Teter, and race car driver Melanie Troxel. 10 more individuals from team sports also fight for an award.

The winners will be announced to the public and the awards will be presented at the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner on Monday, October 16, 2006, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Former Sportswoman of the Year recipients from the tennis world are Tracy Austin (1980), Chris Evert (1981), Martina Navratilova (1982, 1983, 1984), Steffi Graf (1989) and the Williams sisters (as a team in 2000).

Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a charitable educational organization dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership programs are made possible by individual and corporate contributions. For more information, please visit its official Web site, at www.womenssportsfoundation.org.
-- WTA

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From USA Today: "Maria Sharapova's win against Justine Henin-Hardenne for the U.S. Open women's singles title Saturday night drew a 3.2 overnight, translating to 3.2% of households in the 56 urban TV markets for overnight ratings -- up 3% from last year's women's final. It was the highest overnight for the women's final since Venus and Serena Williams played in 2002, but that match drew 7.2%. With overnights for both men's semifinals off from last year, CBS' Open coverage -- despite a boost from Andre Agassi's finale -- is off 8% from last year."...Paradorn Srichaphan says Andy Roddick's resurgence is great, but he'd rather work with his father and not reach the Top 10: "My ability is different from that of Andy Roddick, who raised his level immediately after he changed his coach this year. He is the one that can enter top ten easily, but my level is not that high. Andy changed coach, and that helped. But for my case, I believe in my father rather than any other person. I'd like to work with my father, he is my coach since the very beginning."...Chinese Taipei's Wang Yeu-Tzuoo says the men need to catch up to the Chinese women by playing more out of country: "You have to compete against top players at top events if you want to cement your position on the tour. There is no other way. For sure it takes some time to move up the rankings or even win a singles match over your opponent, but that's a period that everybody has to go through. I think the reason for the difference is that I can make more decisions (than mainland players). Tennis is quite an individual sport. I make up my schedule for the year and try to compete in as many tournaments as I can that can raise my rank and give me experience." -- Tennis is an individual sport? He obviously didn't see the US Open women's final...From Nikolay Davydenko blogging for the ATP: "When the car took my girlfriend and I to the airport at 5:30am things were going well. Arriving early, with only a reservation form and no tickets I went straight to the check-in desk. Then things started to get difficult. At the desk the girl told me, "You lost your reservation yesterday. You do not have a flight." Undeterred, I responded, "No problem, give me something different." She said: "Okay, we have something for 11:30am." Having arrived at 7am I needed to wait four hours and finally got on a 16-hour flight to Tokyo. Unable to sleep, my eyes were red as I watched six different movies. Switching planes to Japan Airways, I slept throughout the four-hour journey. We finally arrived in Beijing at around 9pm last night and were surprised to see that my two bags of clothes had arrived safely. The organization was great as a car was waiting to pick us up and when we got to the hotel, we didn't need to check-in -- just like at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai last year."...The ITF has named the Davis Cup semifinal rosters -- Argentina: David Nalbandian, Agustin Calleri, Jose Acasuso, and Juan Ignacio Chela; Australia: Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Philippoussis, Wayne Arthurs, and Paul Hanley; Russia: Nikolay Davydenko, Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny and Marat Safin; and the U.S. in Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Mike and Bob Bryan...Jane Brown Grimes has succeeded Franklin L. Johnson as the new USTA president...Pete Sampras speaking to the Times Online: "I miss it badly and I want to come back. I just want to wait a little bit longer."...From SFGate.com: "[Jimmy] Connors couldn't be more ready. He was almost defiant in the players' lounge afterward, especially when he overheard Roddick say in the interview room, "I just want to keep doing it. If I lose to Roger in eight Grand Slam finals, that's fine." "No!" Connors said. "That's B.S., and you can quote me. Andy's a gentleman to say that, but there are three men in the mix now, make no mistake. I want to give Andy the attitude where he doesn't care who he plays. He's going to be winning Grand Slam titles in a year or two, and hang on for the ride! I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm going to."...From The Age: "Lleyton Hewitt's coach, Roger Rasheed, has been installed as captain John Fitzgerald's lieutenant for next week's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina in Buenos Aires, as officials hose down suggestions of a rift between Hewitt and Todd Woodbridge, Australia's coach for the past two ties. Woodbridge, who is in Bali on a corporate assignment at this week's WTA tournament, will commentate on the semi-final for Channel Seven as part of an expanded deal with the network. The former doubles champion indicated yesterday he was enthused by the offer of a more permanent television role, and aware of Tennis Australia's 2006 policy to decide the position of Davis Cup coach/assistant captain on a tie-by-tie basis. But it is believed that relations between Hewitt and Woodbridge have been strained in recent months, with the Australian No. 1 known to have been displeased with comments made by his former Davis Cup doubles partner in a pre-Wimbledon article in The Age discussing Hewitt's playing schedule."

Also see:
Nike, IMG Win Big with Federer, Sharapova and Woods at US Open
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2006-09-11/92.php