Roddick, Sharapova Win Titles; Federer-Nadal in Montreal
Posted on August 6, 2007
Roddick Tops Tired Rookie Isner for ATP Washington Title
Andy Roddick ended a tired John Isner's rookie dream run with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win Sunday in the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.
Isner, a towering 6-foot-9 graduate fresh out of the University of Georgia, only got into the draw via a wildcard and then won five consecutive matches in third-set tiebreaks to reach the final, defeating Tim Henman and Tommy Haas en route.
It was the second title of the year for Roddick, who also won the championship on grass at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon.
Isner was competing in only his second career ATP event after losing in the first round this year on grass at Newport. The American also beat Benjamin Becker and Gael Monfils en route to the final, and is expected to break the Top 200 on the ATP Rankings, with his eye-opening performance securing himself future ATP wildcards.
"That match against Monfils last night, playing under the lights and that atmosphere, and the fans going crazy, it was amazing," Isner said. "But I'll always remember competing against Andy Roddick in an ATP final. You can never take that away from me. This whole week has been amazing, a dream come true. Playing Andy, the biggest draw in American tennis, was just an unbelievable honor."
Roddick was all business in the final, and had the advantage of topping another towering big-server, Croatia's Ivo Karlovic, in the semifinals.
"The key to playing these guys is holding your own serve," Roddick said. "I felt like I was putting pressure on him on his serve. If he wasn't winning the point on his serve, I felt like I had a pretty good shot at the point. I knew it was his first final, the first time in front of that many people, so I wanted to make sure to put the pressure on him early...The guy is going to have a hard time not winning matches on the tour. When you can serve like it that it gives you a free pass on return games to be a little more aggressive. It's going to be hard for him not to have a good career."
Top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan claimed a career-best eighth title of the season when they defeated the No. 4-seeded Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 7-6(5), 3-6, 10-7 in the doubles final.
Robredo Tops Acasuso for 2nd Career ATP Sopot Title
Spaniard Tommy Robredo took advantage of one of the few remaining claycourt events on the ATP calendar on Sunday, scooping up ranking points with a 7-5, 6-0 win over unseeded Jose Acasuso to win the Orange Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland.
It was the first title of the year for the Top 10-ranked Robredo, who collected his second career Sopot title.
"It's my second title in Sopot and my fifth title overall -- hopefully it won't be my last," Robredo said. "It's the first time in my career I have won a tournament more than once and that's has been a goal. I'd like to be like [Carlos] Moya, who has won five titles in Umag."
While Robredo was dreaming of small-tournament antiquity, Acasuso dropped to 3-6 in career finals.
"I had a lot of chances in the first set with two set points," Acasuso said. "After the first set he played very good and I lost my focus. It's a great week for me and I hope in the future to play like this week and make more finals."
Sharapova Routs Schnyder in 3rd for WTA San Diego Crown
Maria Sharapova won her first title of the year Sunday, defeating Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 in the San Diego Acura Classic final.
It is the last year of the event which was sold to tournament organizers in Beijing.
"I know what happened last year when I won here and then went on to win the US Open, so this gives me a lot of confidence," Sharapova said.
Sharapova improved to a career 6-1 over Schnyder with the victory, and is still reportedly nursing a sore shoulder approaching the US Open.
"The beginning of the third she tried to be more aggressive," Schnyder said. "The first break I got, she hit three returns on the line, two on the baseline that were impossible to handle. She went for those shots and she got it. She really deserved to win."
Polish Teen Radwanska Captures 1st Title at WTA Stockholm
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska steamrolled Russian Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-1 Sunday to win the Nordic Light Open, her first WTA Tour title.
Both players were competing in their first tour final, and Dushevina was hampered by a blister on her toe during the match.
"I thought it would be a long and tough match, but I think she also was a little bit tired because she played such a long semifinal," Radwanska said.
The 18 year old, in her third year as a pro, is projected to climb into the Top 30 for the first time on the WTA Tour Rankings.
MS-Canada Preview: Americans Try and Disrupt Federer-Nadal Rivalry
Last week the Americans finally got involved in the US Open Series, the lead-up series of events prior to the US Open, when Andy Roddick beat break-out serving giant John Isner in the final at Washington.
The 6-foot-9 Isner's giant serving and sparkling touch at the net had fans of American men's tennis salivating for another potential Top 10er, though Isner's strengths cover for some glaring weaknesses in his game, namely his return of serve, general anticipation from the baseline, and a willingness to bunt his groundstrokes rather than be aggressive.
Roddick took out the giant, who is only months removed from college at Georgia, after Isner set an Open Era record by winning five straight matches 7-6 in the third, downing luminaries such as Tim Henman, Tommy Haas and Gael Monfils. Isner gets a much-needed and deserved rest this week as his ranking is far too low to gain entry to this week's Masters Series-Canada.
Now that an American has finally won a title three weeks into the series that bears their name, the test really begins this week in Montreal at the Masters Series-Canada where the frontrunners Roddick and James Blake go up against the two players who have opened a large gap between themselves and the rest of the tour -- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Federer and Nadal have won between them 18 of the last 20 Masters Series events they both participated in. Federer is making his first appearance since winning Wimbledon.
Federer will have a few testers on his way to the semifinals, after a bye opening against a big server in either "Dr." Ivo Karlovic or Max "The Beast" Mirnyi. Possibly looming in the third round is No. 13 seed Andy Murray, who has a potentially tricky opener against the slumping-of-late Robby Ginepri of the U.S.
In the quarters Federer could face Blake, who after an opener against Austria's Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer would face the winner of the battle of former No. 1s in Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In the second quarter, No. 4 Nikolay "All In" Davydenko and No. 6 seed Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez are the favorites to battle for a semifinal spot. Davydenko is slated to meet No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny in the third round, and Gonzo has No. 12 Tommy "I Can't Believe I Lost to That Giant American" Haas slated after a bye and an opener against either Radek "Mr. Hingis" Stepanek or Jonas Bjorkman.
No. 3 Novak Djokovic is the highest seed in the third quarter, where No. 5 Andy Roddick is the Serb's potential roadblock to a semifinal meeting with Nadal. Djokovic opens after a bye against either Dmitry Tursunov or Nicolas Kiefer. Roddick after a bye will square off against French veteran Arnaud Clement or Canadian wildcard Philip Bester. A Djokovic-Roddick quarterfinal meeting is no guarantee in the third quarter as floaters abound, including former No. 1 Carlos Moya vs. Marcos Baghdatis in a first-round meeting (winner to face No. 10 Tomas Berdych), and No. 16 David Ferrer against former year-end Masters Cup winner David Nalbandian in a potential second-round meeting.
Nadal is the favorite to come out of the bottom quarter -- after a likely quarterfinal meeting against No. 8 seed Richard "Baby Fed" Gasquet. The world No. 2 Spaniard also has a very difficult draw typical of a Masters Series event, opening against either the former No. 1 Marat Safin or the streaking Swede Robin Soderling, then facing in the third round one of a formidable trio in No. 16 seed Guillermo Canas, Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, or Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic who makes a long-awaited return from injury and illness.
Last year's final was a further coming-out party for Gasquet, who was defeated by Federer in three tough sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The world No. 1 Bryan brother are the defending doubles champions.
WTA Carson Preview: No Williams Sisters Leave U.S. Hurting
Four of the Top 10 on the WTA Tour are off the couch this week at the Tier II East West Bank Classic in Carson, Calif., the lone tour event this week.
Maria Sharapova leads the Top 10 participants, joined by Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova.
Conspicuously absent during this week are both Williams sisters, world No. 1 Justine Henin and former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo.
Without the Williams sisters, American hopes of bringing home a title range somewhere between zero and some negative number. No Americans are among the 16 seeds, with unseeded Americans in the field comprised of (WC) Madison Brengle, Jill Craybas, (WC) Jamea Jackson, Vania King and Meghann Shaughnessy (who face each other first round), and Laura Granville.
Sharapova, if her dodgy shoulder holds up after her title-run effort in San Diego last week, should have little resistance to the semifinals where she would likely face either Petrova or No. 7 seed Martina Hingis. Petrova and Hingis both receive first-round byes, with Petrova facing the winner or Alicia Molik and a qualifier, and Hingis against the winner of the hot-handed Sania Mirza and a qualifier.
In the bottom half of the draw, Ivanovic and No. 6 seed Marion Bartoli are the favorites to battle for one semifinal spot, and Jankovic and No. 8-seeded Russian Dinara Safin the favorites in the bottom quarter.
Bartoli after a bye will open against a Russian in either Maria Kirilenko or Elena Bovina. Ivanovic will be a favorite to go deep if she can get by a tricky potential meeting with No. 16 seed Lucie Safarova in the quarters.
In last year's final the No. 3-seeded Elena Dementieva (the No. 9 seed this year) outlasted the No. 16-seeded Jankovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the Times Online: "With organised crime syndicates believed to be behind the betting scams that have repeatedly tarnished the reputation of tennis, the ATP have employed the services of a convicted member of the American mafia to warn their leading players of the inherent dangers of allowing themselves to be lured into a web of corruption."...American John Isner has received a wildcard for Cincinnati...From the Houston Chronicle: "Westside Tennis and Fitness is...de-emphasizing the tennis part of its name. The final phase of that club's makeover is about to begin and, with the decision to drop both the ATP tournament and World Team Tennis, owner Linda McIngvale admits she's considering creative alternate uses for the Galleria Furniture Stadium Court. Nothing has gone beyond the brainstorming stage, but McIngvale says she's looking into the possibility of turning it into a giant waterslide park, with a deep pool where the court that once hosted two Masters Cups and seven U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships now sits...and...chasing the American dream, [Liezel Huber] and husband Tony are in the process of breaking ground on their new eight-court outdoor tennis facility in far northwest Houston."...Britain's Jamie Murray has had an "amicable" split with American doubles partner Eric Butorac, though it sounds like Murray did the dumping. From the BBC: "And Murray's agent Patricio Apey says while the split is amicable, the Scot is keen for a high-quality new partner. "True champions make these decisions when they are at the top of the game rather than the bottom," said Apey. "They've had some good open discussions and decided it was best to go on without each other. They have learned a lot together but it is time to move on." Apey added: "It is in the Murray genes to always strive for the best."...Nex-LvL Inc, based in Toronto, has been named the new North American licensee for HEAD Tennis and Golf sportswear. The company has their U.S. sales offices in Traverse City, Mich...The Sacramento Capitals defeated the New York Buzz 24-20 in overtime to win a record sixth World TeamTennis Championship. In the overtime men's doubles, Mark Knowles\Sam Warburg (Capitals) d. Rik de Voest\Ashley Fisher (Buzz) 1-0...Former No. 1s Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles will play an exhibition match on Sept. 14 at the New Orleans Arena in conjunction with the USTA $50,000 New Orleans Challenger...ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti on the ATP and the 2008 Olympics: "The ITF is still in negotiations with the ATP regarding ranking points for the men players for Beijing. The ATP awarded ranking points for the Olympic Tennis Event in 2000 and 2004 and we are hopeful that they will do the same for 2008."...Czech star-on-the-rise Nicole Vaidisova is the latest to lend her support to the 'Get Caught Reading' campaign which promotes reading to children, joining celebrities such as boxing legend George Foreman, Mary Kate and Ashley Olson, Hollywood stars Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams as well as Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees...Serena Williams and Daniela Hantuchova are the only Top 20 players not scheduled to compete at the WTA Tour Tier I stop in Toronto the week of Aug. 13...American women went 0-6 last week in qualifying attempts at the Acura Classic in San Diego. Swedish women went 0-5 in qualifying at the Nordic Light Open in Stockholm...Lindsay Davenport says she will play singles at the WTA Tour stop in Bali in September, her first singles appearance since unofficially retiring in late 2006 and having her first child earlier this year...Justine Henin and Jelena Jankovic are the first two players to qualify for the eight-woman WTA Tour year-end championship field...From SI.com's Jon Wertheim: "Here we are in week three of the U.S. Open Series and no Grand Slam champion from 2007 -- Federer, Nadal, Serena, Venus and Henin -- has played a match on U.S. soil this summer. Plus, Sharapova is injured, the Serbian comers are AWOL, Agassi is gone and James Blake is committed to playing but still struggling to win matches. All the snazzy logos and commercials in the world won't move the needle when Radek Stepanek and Anna Chakvetadze are your headliners."...Nikolay Davydenko retired in Sopot with a foot injury...Jennifer Capriati is reportedly looking at another shoulder and wrist operation, and still fighting depression...From Buzzle.com: "Betfair yesterday refused to settle its wagers after the top seed, Nikolay Davydenko, retired following irregular betting patterns on his tennis match at the Poland Open in Sopot. After winning his first set against the Argentinian Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-2, the Russian Davydenko lost the second 6-3 before withdrawing from the match with his opponent leading 2-1 in the third set. The story of the match, coupled with the apparently unusual betting, prompted Betfair's market-integrity investigators to launch an investigation into the match. Davydenko and Arguello were unavailable for comment last night. One punter who was following the match yesterday reported that, despite being the tournament favorite and No4 in the current ATP Tour rankings, Davydenko's pre-match odds drifted to 2.3, equivalent to an 11-8 against although he was set to face a player who stands 87th in the tour rankings. "Despite Davydenko winning the first set 6-2, Vassallo, an inferior player, was still favorite to win on the in-play Betfair market," said the punter. When the match was suspended, Betfair was showing that $7,310,429 (?3,590,595) of bets had been placed and accepted on its site; this compared with approximately $3m during another second-round match at the same tournament, involving Steve Darcis and Tommy Robredo."...You've got to think Tatiana Golovin can't wait for Mats Wilanders' coaching to kick in after getting a 6-0 beat-down at the hands of Maria Sharapova at San Diego...Serena Williams pulled from Carson, her fourth straight tournament withdrawal due to a thumb injury...Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy announced a new partnership between his Ski Channel and Rage Films, owned by Sky Pinnick. "It is really rewarding working with the uber talented," Bellamy said. "Sky is a guy who edited his latest movie on a houseboat in the middle of a lake with no cell phone. It is that kind of focus that makes his pictures so spectacular."...From a guest post on tennis writer Peter Bodo's blog: "ESPN and The Tennis Channel have screwed up even worse than usual. Unable to post correct schedules, airing delayed coverage, skipping the even bigger matches. Why would you show delayed coverage of Petrova v. Schnyder while live men's tennis is going on? I don't care how poorly Safin is playing -- it's Safin. Anyone would rather watch that than a women's match that is already finished. Then they show delayed coverage of Sharapova, and towards the end of the match, Roddick is starting his live match. That's okay I think, even though this isn't live tennis, they want to show the full match. They'll switch over to Roddick's match right after. Do they? No, they show coverage of last year's women's final. You guys are absolutely worthless."...Former Australian Open winner Thomas Johansson is the top seed this week at the Binghampton (NY) Challenger...U.S. sports broadcasters love putting their "Sports Desks" in front of a background of crowded fans for the "energy," but is it worth it for the distraction of "I'm on TV!" idiocy? As Patrick McEnroe and Cliff Drysdale opened the Washington coverage in front of fans packed right up to the back of the desk, most were looking at themselves, and waving to themselves, on a video screen they could see -- but the worst and most memorizing had to be the older woman with so much wrinkled skin flapping under her waving arm it looked like someone waving a skin-colored blanket. Maybe time to re-think the fan-backed sports desk -- we know tennis fans are there. Concentrate on not getting them to sit silently during matches...From Tennis Magazine Editor-in-Chief James Martin: "Larry Scott, the CEO of the WTA Tour, must feel like many parents out there trying to control their children -- helpless. And no amount of reprimands and time-outs are going to do the trick, because Scott's "kids," like so many others, know that dad is bluffing and basically do whatever they want. Like not playing in the Acura Classic in San Diego this week."