Venus, U.S. Beaten in Fed Cup Decider
Posted on July 16, 2007
THIS WEEK
Mercedes Cup -- Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
Seeds:
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2. Tommy Robredo (ESP)
3. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
4. David Ferrer (ESP)
5. Guillermo Canas (ARG)
6. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
7. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
8. Juan Monaco (ARG)
First-round matches of note: (6) Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Gaston Gaudio in a battle of French Open champs, (7) Juan Ignacio Chela vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (2) Tommy Robredo vs. Gael "Force" Monfils.
Countrywide Classic
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Seeds:
1. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
2. James Blake (USA)
3. Marat Safin (RUS)
4. David Nalbandian (ARG)
5. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
6. Mardy Fish (USA)
7. Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR)
8. Amer Delic (USA)
First-round matches of note: (6) Mardy Fish vs. Sam Querrey in an all-American, (3) Marat Safin vs. Aussie serving machine Chris "Penthouse" Guccione.
Dutch Open Tennis
Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Seeds:
1. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
2. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
3. Carlos Moya (ESP)
4. Filippo Volandri (ITA)
5. Agustin Calleri (ARG)
6. Dominik Hrbaty (SVK)
7. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
8. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Seeds:
1. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
2. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
3. Sania Mirza (IND)
4. Meilen Tu (USA)
5. Aiko Nakamura (JPN)
6. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
7. Akiko Morigami (JPN)
8. Severine Bremond (FRA)
Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo
Palermo, Italy
Seeds:
1. Michaella Krajicek (NED)
2. Martina Muller (GER)
3. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4. Emilie Loit (FRA)
5. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
6. Aravane Rezai (FRA)
7. Kaia Kanepi (EST)
8. Agnes Szavay (HUN)
WEEKEND WRAP
Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
Newport, RI, USA
Singles Final:
(4) Fabrice Santoro (FRA) d. (5) Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Final:
Kerr/Thomas (AUS/USA) d. Healy/Kunitsyn (AUS/RUS) 6-3, 7-5
The veteran French magician Santoro beats countryman Mahut in their first meeting and claims the Newport title in his first appearance at the event. The 34-year-old Santoro had not collected a singles title in five years. "Every time you play a tournament you want to win," Santoro said. "But when you haven't won a tournament in five years, you think that's it for a career."
Catella Swedish Open
Bastad, Sweden
Singles Final:
(2) David Ferrer (ESP) d. Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Final:
(1) Aspelin/J.Knowle (SWE/AUT) d. (2) Garcia/Prieto (ARG) 6-2, 6-4
Ferrer closes on again assuming a Top 10 ranking, becoming the third straight Spaniard to win the Bastad title with a lashing of his countryman Almagro. Ferrer also won Auckland in January on hardcourts. "I warmed up with Nicolas before the match, but his coach didn't help me this week," said Ferrer on sharing his countryman's coach. "The rest of the week he helped me out but not today. My own coach watched the match on TV in Spain, and he was the first person I called. This is the first time I'm at a tournament without him, but he's on his way to Stuttgart." Aspelin-Knowle won their third title of the year.
Allianz Suisse Open
Gstaad, Switzerland
Singles Final:
(5) Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) d. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Final:
(1) Cermak/Vizner (CZE) d. Gicquel/Serra (FRA) 7-5, 5-7, 10-7
Seppi serves for the match at 5-3 in the third, choking a game lost at love, the first of four straight to lose the match. "Maybe I was a bit nervous playing in my first final and serving for the match," Seppi said. "I also think that Paul-Henri played very aggressively and solid during that game. At the end both of us could have won and I got pretty close."
Venus Loses Deciding Fed Cup Doubles
Without an impact player not named "Williams," the U.S. Fed cup team was eliminated in semifinal play Sunday at Stowe, Vt., by Russia who advanced into the final.
With Serena Williams sidelined with injury, older sister Venus was left to carry the load, but suffered a rare doubles loss when she and partner Lisa Raymond were beaten in the fifth and deciding doubles match 7-5, 7-6(1) by Russia's Nadia Petrova and Elena Vesnina.
In the first set of the doubles decider, Vesnina held serve to give the Russians a 6-5 lead, then the Russians broke Raymond to take the set. In the second-set tiebreaker Petrova double-faulted on the first point, but the Russians swept the next seven.
"They really got some lucky shots, I mean off my serve," Williams said of some Russian big returns in the tiebreak. "Normally, I'm never going to lose two points in the tiebreaker on my serve."
Prior to the deciding doubles, Venus Williams kept the U.S. in the tie with singles wins over Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze. American Vania King lost her singles to Chakvetadze, and Meilen Tu, the replacement for Serena Williams, lost to Petrova. Both were beaten handily.
The Russians were missing injured Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, but had a deep bench to draw from compared to the U.S., who are currently at a loss for serious talent outside of the Williams sisters.
Before the doubles finale, Venus Williams commented she had never heard of Vesnina.
"Now she heard about me -- now she knows me," Vesnina laughed when asked about the elder Williams sisters' comment.
Italy Into Fed Cup Final
Defending Fed Cup champs Italy narrowly defeated the Amelie Mauresmo-led French team 3-2 on Sunday to gain the September final.
Italy needed the deciding fifth-match doubles to edge France, with Francesca Schiavone and Roberta Vinci sealing the victory with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Severine Bremond and Nathalie Dechy.
On Saturday Tathiana Golovin put France out front with a three-set win over Italian namesake Tathiana Garbin, but Francesca Schiavone quickly tied things at 1-1 by defeating Amelie Mauresmo in straight sets.
"I don't know if it's the prettiest match I've played this year, but it's certainly the most useful one," Schiavone said after beating the former No. 1 Mauresmo. "The most important thing was to win."
The next day Mauresmo put France out front 2-1 with a thrilling 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-4 victory over Mara Santangelo, but Schiavone again played the hero, outlasting Golovin 7-5 in the fifth to force the deciding doubles.
In the doubles Schiavone stepped on court with Vinci, who has yet to lose a Fed Cup doubles match.
"Thanks to my physical fitness I can play two matches every day. I'm 27 but I can still do it," Schiavone said.
Back in the final, Italy will face Russia, ouster of the U.S., in September.
WTA Cincinnati Preview: Chakvetadze, Schnyder Lead
CINCINNATI, OH, USA -- Anna Chakvetadze and Patty Schnyder highlight the field this week at the $175,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, currently in its fourth year as a Tier III stop on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Chakvetadze, who turned 20 earlier this season, was once one of the most promising young stars around but has now certainly arrived in the game's elite, cracking the Top 10 earlier this year and during Wimbledon attaining a career-high ranking of No.7. Currently ranked No.8, she will be the No.1 seed in Cincinnati and will be looking for her third title of the season, having won at Hobart just before the Australian Open then at 's-Hertogenbosch just before Wimbledon. She is actually a perfect 4-0 in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour finals, having also won Guangzhou and Moscow last fall.
Chakvetadze makes her Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open debut with a first round encounter with Tatiana Poutchek. The two met for the first time just a few weeks ago at Wimbledon, with Chakvetadze prevailing, 62 61.
Schnyder will be making her third consecutive appearance at this event, having won the title in her 2005 debut. A year ago she reached the semifinals and held match point against Katarina Srebotnik before losing in a third set tie-break. But the Swiss, seeded No.2 here, is coming off some strong showings in Europe, winning 15 of her last 19 matches, earning wins over Martina Hingis and Serena Williams and getting to the round of 16 at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Her win here two years ago was her most recent of 10 career Tour singles titles.
Schnyder opens her Cincinnati campaign with a first round meeting against American veteran Jill Craybas, against whom she is 2-0 lifetime, winning in three sets at the 2000 US Open and in two at 2006 Stanford.
Rounding out the seeds are Sania Mirza (No.3), Meilen Tu (No.4), Aiko Nakamura (No.5), Elena Vesnina (No.6), Akiko Morigami (No.7) and Severine Bremond (No.8). A rejuvenated Morigami is perhaps the most dangerous of them at the moment, claiming her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title at Prague in May and pushing Venus Williams to the limits at Wimbledon, holding a 5-3 third set lead before falling. Also, she was a runner-up here two years ago to Schnyder.
Lindsay Davenport claimed the inaugural Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open title in 2004, beating Vera Zvonareva in the final. Schnyder beat Morigami in 2005 and Zvonareva won the title last year by beating Srebotnik.
Both Zvonareva and Srebotnik withdrew from this year's event, the Russian due to a left wrist injury and the Slovenian with back pain. Other withdrawals included Serena Williams (left thumb sprain) and Marion Bartoli (right wrist injury).
-- Courtesy WTA Tour
WTA Palermo Preview: Back to Clay
PALERMO, Italy -- Several of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's finest exponents of clay-court tennis will head to Sicily this week to compete for the 17th Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo. The $145,000, Tier IV event is one of the final opportunities for players to showcase their expertise on the red dirt before the summer hard court swing commences.
The in-form Dutch teenager Michaella Krajicek returns to the Sicilian capital for the second year in succession and this time she will top the seedings at the Country Time Club. The 18-year-old comes into the tournament fresh from a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon and currently sits at a career-high No.32 in the world rankings. 12 months ago Krajicek fell in the second round and she will be hoping for a longer stay this week, kicking off her campaign against world No.109 Eva Birnerova of the Czech Republic.
Martina Muller sits just one place below Krajicek in the world rankings and is seeded No.2 this week. After an impressive year on Tour in 2006 -- in which she rose more than 70 places in the rankings -- Muller has struggled this season, winning just 10 matches and failing to progress beyond the round of 16 in any tournament. In 2005 the 24-year-old German battled through three rounds of qualifying before making it all the way to the quarterfinals, but last year she fell at the first hurdle to lucky loser, Maria Jose Mart�z Sanchez.
A mere 21 ranking spots separate the top seed from the No.8 and consequently this week's tournament promises to be highly competitive. One of the Tour's brightest stars Agnieszka Radwanska will be making her debut in Palermo and after a promising season in which the 18-year-old has made quarterfinal runs at the clay-court events in Warsaw and Istanbul as well as rising to a career-best ranking of No.35 -- the No.3 seed will be hoping for a good showing on the Italian clay. Another player who has experienced success on the red dirt in 2007 is No.4 seed, Emilie Loit. The 28-year-old Frenchwoman won the Tier III title in Acapulco and made quarterfinal appearances at four other tournaments during the European clay court season.
Home hopes will firmly rest on the shoulders of Fed Cup hero Roberta Vinci, who made it all the way to the semifinals last year and is seeded No.5 this time around. The remaining seeds this week are comprised of the prodigiously gifted Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai (No.6), Estonia's Kaia Kanepi (No.7) and Hungarian teenage sensation Agnes Szavay (No.8). There are also several dangerous unseeded players lurking in the draw, including three-time clay court tournament winner Flavia Pennetta, 2006 Bogotᠣhampion Lourdes Dom�uez Lino and high-flying Danish 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki.
The Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo is in its 17th year as a Tour event, but one familiar name will not be returning to Sicily this year. Anabel Medina Garrigues has won the event for the past three years, but the Spaniard has elected not to defend her title this year. Medina Garrigues also triumphed in 2001 and other past champions include Dinara Safina (2003), Mariana Diaz-Oliva (2002), Henrieta Nagyova (2000) and Anastasia Myskina (1999). Irina Spirlea and Mary Pierce dominated the event in the 1990s, with both players winning back-to-back titles during the decade.
This year's winner will receive $21,140, while the runner-up will take home $11,395.
-- Courtesy WTA Tour
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Pete Sampras never played the ATP Newport event during his career...Tommy Haas has received an ATP Washington wildcard...Nicole Vaidisova pulled from Fed Cup over the weekend with glandular fever...Maria Sharapova received two ESPYs, "Best Female International Athlete" and "Best Female Tennis Player."...The USTA announced that the 2007 US Open purse will top $19.6 million, up a record one million dollars, the largest single year increase to US Open prize money in history...NBC Sports' coverage of the Wimbledon Gentlemen's Final earned a 3.2 overnight rating and a 9 share, the best for a Gentlemen's Final since 2004 (Federer-Andy Roddick) -- and an increase of 10 percent over last year (Federer-Nadal), according to the overnight ratings released by Nielsen Media Research...Bjorn Borg on Roger Federer: "He's such a complete player, so professional in what he is doing. He has both feet on the ground and no weaknesses. If he stays away from injuries and still has the motivation, he will be the greatest player ever. Records are made to be broken and it couldn't happen to a nicer player. Maybe he can win six, seven or eight times. If you are the No. 1 player, you have a little bit of an advantage when you walk on court because the players you're playing know they have to play your best game and maybe that will not be enough."...Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero is opening The Hotel Ferrero in the city of Bocairent, about 30 miles from Valencia. The 7 million Euros complex will feature 12 suites with private terrace and Jacuzzi, along with amenities such as spa, swimming pool, gym, restaurants and a convention facility...Marat Safin has dumped long-time coach Alexander Volkov: "I'm grateful to Sasha Volkov who in the last couple of years has always been there when I needed him, as a friend and coach," Safin said on his Web site. His new coach is former player Hernan Gumy of Argentina, former coach of Gustavo Kuerten, Guillermo Canas and Guillermo Coria...Pull-outs from Cincy this week: Serena Williams, Vera Zvonareva, Marian Bartoli, Katarina Srebotnik, Maria Kirilenko...David Nalbandian has hired Argentine Martin Jaite as his coach: "I believe I need the extra help and experience that Martin has to try to lift my tennis back to the levels I reached at one time."...Tennis writer Charlie Bricker says the women need to play best-of-five sets: "Now that women have equal pay with the men at all four Grand Slams, and I'm sure Venus Williams is delighted with her $1.4 million paycheck here, she and the rest of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour may soon be asked to perform at least some semblance of equal work. To wit, best-of-five set finals at the majors."