Federer Tops Nadal on Clay at Hamburg; Sampras Wins Greece
Posted on May 21, 2007
WEEKEND WRAP:
Masters Series-Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Singles final:
(1) Roger Federer (SUI) d. (2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles final:
(1) Bryan/Bryan (USA) d. (5) Hanley/Ullyett (AUS/ZIM) 6-3, 6-4
The world No. 1 Swiss throws a wrench in the claycourt season, rebounding from spotty play to dominate Nadal in the third set for his first claycourt win over the muscle-bound Spaniard, ending Nadal's record 81-match win streak on clay. Roger too good or Rafa too tired? In the doubles final the Bryans won their sixth title of the year, leaving only Indian Wells and Rome as Masters Series titles they have yet to claim.
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Rome, Italy
Singles final:
(3) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles final:
(7) Dechy/Santangelo (FRA/ITA) d. Garbin/Vinci (ITA) 6-4, 6-1
The Serb collects her fourth title of the year, and is now 4-5 in career finals, tying her with Justine Henin for most titles in 2007. Kuzy is now 8-11 in career finals, 0-4 this year, ouch.
Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
Fes, Morocco
Singles final:
Milagros Sequera (VEN) d. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles final:
(1) King/Mirza (USA/IND) d. (2) Ehritt-Vanc/Rodionova (ROU/RUS) 6-1, 6-2
Sequera become the first Venezuelan to win a WTA Tour title, and the American King wins her first doubles title with the Indian Mirza who collects her fourth.
Champions Cup Athens
Athens, Greece
Outback Champions Series
Final:
Pete Sampras (USA) d. Todd Martin (USA) 6-3, 1-6, 10-6
Third-place playoff:
Magnus Larsson (SWE) d. Wayne Ferreira (RSA) 6-4, 7-5
Sampras wins his second senior tour title in his second senior event, again beating Martin as he did in Boston.
Blackrock Tour of Champions-Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Blackrock Tour of Champions
Final:
Sergi Bruguera (ESP) d. Thomas Muster (AUT) 6-1, 6-4
Third-place playoff:
Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) d. Henri Leconte (FRA) 6-4, 6-4
Bruguera wins his third consecutive senior tour claycourt title -- where is Marcelo Rios hiding at?
THIS WEEK ON TOUR:
ATP World Team Championship
Dusseldorf, Germany
Germany, Belgium, the U.S. and Chile (Red Group) battle Argentina, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Spain (Blue Group) in the last warm-up before the French Open.
The Hypo Group Tennis International 2007
Poertschach, Austria
The tournament with the mouthful of a name benefits from players needing a little extra court time the week before the French Open -- namely Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and Lleyton Hewitt.
Internationaux de Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
Amelie Mauresmo and Jelena Jankovic lead the field of players hoping to get some claycourt practice before Roland Garros.
Istanbul Cup
Istanbul, Turkey
Maria Sharapova hopes to rebound from various injuries this week where the tiny Tier III Istanbul Cup sees an unusually strong field including Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, Venus Williams and Sania Mirza.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Andy Roddick is playing in Poertschach this week in an attempt to get some late claycourt time before the French, also teaming in doubles with former NCAA champion Amer Delic...Will Lleyton Hewitt hook up with available coach Tony Roche? Does anybody care? Does Hewitt even need a coach after his sterling effort in Hamburg?...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic has pulled from the French, still recovering from Mono...Tatiana Golovin might miss the French with an ankle injury...Paradorn Srichaphan and Nicolas Kiefer will both miss the French with wrist injuries...Gustavo Kuerten says his hip injury will keep him from competing at Roland Garros this year...The Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, Vt. will host the July Fed Cup semifinal between the U.S. and Russia, featuring the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova making her Fed Cup debut for Russia. It is the first time pro tennis returns to Stowe since the 1980s when stars such as Jimmy Connors, Ille Nastase and Ivan Lendl competed at the Head Classic men's tournament...Famous names at the NCAA tennis championships in Athens, Ga.: Florida's Dan Cash is the son of 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash; Hall of Famer Stan Smith's daughter, Austin, plays for North Carolina; and UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster is the sister of Pete Sampras...Senior tour player Wayne Ferreira on today's techno-charged game: "Due to technology, tennis is becoming more one-dimensional. It has definitely changed a lot since our era. For me, technology is making the sport less fun to watch. Tennis has changed incredibly in the last 4-5 years. Today there is no strategy and I honestly think that it has become worse. Perhaps one solution would be if everyone starts playing once again with wooden racquets. Maybe we should think about it. It would be interesting, because it would bring everybody to the same level."...Pat Cash after losing to Pete Sampras at the senior tour stop in Athens, Greece: "Pete plays with great power all the time and it was difficult for me to return the ball. I missed a couple of volleys too. So, I had to try to convince the referee to support me offering him some money, but this didn't work out, either. I always try to have fun with the crowd. One of the problems in tennis is the fact that there is not much interaction with the fans. Of course, under normal circumstances I would not have done all these, since they would suggest lack of respect toward my opponent. But, I think Pete took it nicely; he relaxed and enjoyed it."