Nadal, Mathieu, Dulko Win Titles

Posted on April 30, 2007

TOURNAMENT WRAP

Open Seat 2007
Barcelona, Spain

Singles final:
(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. (12) Guillermo Canas (ARG) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles final:
(4) Pavel/Waske (ROM/GER) d. (WC) Nadal/Salva-Vidal (ESP) 6-3, 7-6(1)

Nadal tops Canas, becoming only the second player after Mats Wilander to win three straight Barcelona titles, extended his Open Era winning streak on clay to 72 matches, and improving to 15-0 in claycourt finals. Pavel/Waske win their first title as a team.

Grand Prix Hassan II
Casablanca, Morocco

Singles final:
(8) Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) d. Al Montanes (ESP) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles final:
Kerr/Skoch (AUS/CZE) d. (4) Kubot/Marach (POL/AUT) 7-6(4), 1-6, 10-4

Mathieu wins his third career ATP title, with the 25-year-old improving to 3-1 in career finals, boding well for the French Open.

Gaz de France Budapest Grand Prix
Budapest, Hungary

Singles final:
(6) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (Q) Sorana Cirstea (ROM) 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles final:
(4) Szavay/Uhlirova (HUN/CZE) d. Muller/G.Navratilova (GER/CZE) 7-5, 6-2

Dulko finally collects her first career title, topping the teenage qualifier. "In the end it was a really physical match," said Dulko, fighting back from a set down. "We both played long matches all week and were really tired, but I think I was just able to hang in there better at the end. It was a really tough match. This was a special week. It was very important for me to win my first title." It was a first career doubles title for both the 18-year-old Szavay and the 28-year-old Uhlirova.

THIS WEEK

Estoril Open
Estoril, Portugal

Seeds:
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Tommy Robredo (ESP)
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
Richard Gasquet (FRA)
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
Agustin Calleri (ARG)
Gael Monfils (FRA)

BMW Open
Munich, Germany

Seeds:
Tommy Haas (GER)
Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Guillermo Canas (ARG)
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

JandS Cup
Warsaw, Poland

Seeds:
Justine Henin (BEL)
Kim Clijsters (BEL)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
Nadia Petrova (RUS)
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
Elena Dementieva (RUS)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)

Estoril Open
Estoril, Portugal

Seeds:
Marion Bartoli (FRA)
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
Lucie Safarova (CZE)
Martina Muller (GER)
Olga Poutchkova (RUS)
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)
Emilie Loit (FRA)
Eleni Daniilidou (GRE)

TENNIS-X NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
On May 2 "The Battle of the Surfaces" will take place at the Palma Arena in Majorca where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet in an exhibition on a tennis court that is half grass and half clay...From the WTA Tour on the Nicole Vaidisova party thrown by Reebok: "The event was a complete success. Editors from over 30 key media outlets including Seventeen, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Tennis, Men's Fitness, Glamour, Rolling Stone, Tennis Week, the Associated Press, US Weekly, Allure and In Touch attended the big event, as did celebrities such as golfer Paula Creamer and pop group Gym Class Heroes, who performed live before DJ Kiss spun tracks throughout the night."...From the AP on the new sports super-charity: "It's a philanthropic Dream Team. Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong and Mia Hamm are among 12 founders of Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization that aims to pass on their passion for good works to athletes, fans and corporations. "We all probably regret the same thing in life, not starting our foundations earlier," Agassi said at a press conference. "Athletes have real short windows. Those windows need to be maximized. We have the heart and desire to give." It's the brainchild of the three stars, and they've joined forces with Muhammad Ali, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken Jr. The plan is to educate pro athletes about charity work through their leagues and rookie orientations."...From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Charlie Bricker: "And so it was that in Winston-Salem, N.C., a few weeks ago, at the usual formal dinner the day before the matches, that Donald Young rose to give a speech before the assembled American and Spanish Cup officials. Speaking in a large church, he had been informed by his Davis Cup teammates/jokers that he would have to work two words into whatever he said: locker room and organ. Of course, what he said had nothing to do with musical instruments often found in cathedrals, and after he used the key words in the same sentence, there was a numbing silence in the hall. Followed by a few titters. This did not go over well, and it might be the last time this little initiation will be played."...Andy Murray withdrew from Estoril citing a bad back...Pete Sampras beat Mardy Fish in straight sets in an exhibition in Tampa...Roger Federer was the cover story for the May issue of Men's Vogue magazine...The USTA Atlanta region has announced the creation of "The Ginepri Fund" which recognizes ATP Tour player and Atlanta resident Robby Ginepri for his support of their Atlanta Youth Tennis Foundation...Spaniard Felix Mantilla returned to ATP play in Barcelona after missing all of 2006 fighting skin cancer...Roger Federer after losing to Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo final, dropping to 0-5 career vs. the Spaniard on clay: "I'm not happy about the performance of my forehand. Rarely it happens to me, because it's my best shot in the game. I think I'm absolutely in the mix with him on clay, which is how I wanted to feel. It's always disappointing to lose, but I feel like I didn't play well and still it was close. That's a good thing." -- The ol' 'I-played-like-crap-and-almost-won-anyway speech, way to try to get into Rafa's head Rog...Tiger Woods on what he and pal Roger Federer talk about: "[We talk and text message] about the mind-set that it takes, the discipline. But a lot of the stuff is BS. We're just giving each other a lot of grief all the time."...If the judge on a recent episode of "Law and Order" looks a lot like Billie Jean King, there's a good reason -- it was Billie Jean King. King finally taped the episode of one of her favorite TV dramas after receiving the role as a 60th birthday gift from the Women's Sports Foundation three years ago...From the Thai News Agency: "It's love match, say the tennis fans, a marriage made in heaven -- and the glitter reached to the heavens as Thai tennis ace Paradorn Srichaphan and Canadian Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova announced their engagement here. Showers of diamonds, shooting stars it seemed, graced the Sukhothai Hotel as a stunning diamond necklace and matched earrings totaling 16 karats was the surprise gift from the Srichaphan family for the Canadian beauty queen. More than 300 reporters from all media swarmed into the ballroom of the Sukhothai Hotel to witness the very special moment when the tennis player graciously placed the sparkling diamond necklace around his fiancee's neck and earrings on her ears. A tired but happy Paradorn was visibly nervous -- he said he hadn't slept -- as he presented the jewels, revealed that he had proposed to the Russian-born Canadian beauty queen while they spent the Songkran holidays together in Bali, Indonesia." -- Now that's good reporting...Wimbledon is joining the 21st century in more ways that one. In addition to announcing equal prize money this year for men and women, construction continues on a new closable roof, and a new Court 2 that will raise the seating capacity to 4,000, with Court 3 to be expanded in the future. The stadium court roof is expected to be finished in 2009. This year Wimbledon will offer the equivalent of $22.56 million in prize money, riding on the back of the currently-strong pound sterling, currently at two to the dollar. "No tennis tournament has ever offered higher prize money than Wimbledon in 2007," said Wimbledon Chairman Tim Phillips, speaking to the dpa news service. "We want to reward the players appropriately for the talent, entertainment and drama they bring to the grass courts of Wimbledon."...From the Charleston Post and Courier: "The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is having to hit its bank account to compensate the Family Circle Cup for the sixth time in the tournament's seven years on Daniel Island for a failure to fulfill player commitment minimums. This time, the payoff is to the tune of $137,500, an eye-catching amount for the $1.34 million women's tournament. The WTA Tour confirmed the amount Tuesday to The Post and Courier. This month's tournament was especially hard hit by player withdrawals, as its top five players all pulled out due to injuries in the two weeks leading up to the Family Circle Cup...Even non-Family Circle Cup entry Kim Clijsters, who was ranked fourth in the world at the start of the Family Circle Cup, has been sidelined by an injury. That meant the top six players in the world all were sidelined at the same time."...Istanbul, Turkey is investing in the tennis craze in Europe with a 33-court, $35 million tennis complex for the site of their WTA Tour Istanbul Cup. Construction is to be completed in 2009 on the model based on Wimbledon. "A single event in the United States draws 20,000 tourists spending a total amount of $219 million," WTA Istanbul Cup Organization Chairman Coskun Erginer said. "Even if we assume that this number may not be possible for Turkey, we can attract many tourists that will spend a significant amount of money."