US Open Kicks Off

It was the second title of the year after Sydney for Blake, who is 2-3 in finals for 2007.

"I felt confident again. That's a great feeling going into the US Open," Blake said. "Feeling like you can win going into every match, no matter who you're against, you're going to put yourself in a position to win. I think we were both a little nervous at the start. We haven't played a match that actually counts for a couple of years, so this might be bragging rights for a while."

Both players live and train in Tampa, Florida.

"This is great preparation for the US Open," Fish said. "But on the other hand, it was a big tournament for me confidence-wise, because if I went into the US Open like I went into Wimbledon, I would have struggled probably. I feel great right now. I hadn't won two matches in a row in a while. Especially after starting the year so well and having that huge lull."

Kuznetsova Gets Injury Help in New Haven Title Win

Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova won her first title of the season Saturday at New Haven when Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay retired up a set and 0-3 down in the second with a back injury.

Kuznetsova was 0-4 in tournament finals this year entering the match.

"It's really strange, but the only thing I can say is I was winning those matches," said Kuznetsova of receiving three straight wins during the week from retirements. "Today was the closest one, but I was getting my game back and then she retired. I cannot change it. The only thing I can do is take it."

Szavay dropped to 1-1 career in tournament finals.

"Every point it was getting worse and it was just really painful," the Hungarian said. "I felt it when I started playing in the main draw, but at the beginning it was just a little muscle pain and nothing serious. Day by day, it just got worse and worse."

Dulko Captures Forest Hills Title

No. 3-seeded Gisela Dulko topped No. 1 seed Virginie Razzano 6-2, 6-2 to take home the WTA title Saturday at the Forest Hills Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Classic presented by Commerce Bank.

Dulko won her second WTA Tour singles title of the year and of her career.

"This is very important to me," said the Argentine after winning the smallest event on the WTA Tour. "My goal this year was to win one tournament, and I now have two, so it's a great feeling. And especially to do it in New York is wonderful -- I love this city. This club is special, too. The US Open was here and the stadium has a lot of history. Guillermo Vilas won here, and he was an idol in tennis in Argentina. So I'm really proud to win the title here at Forest Hills. I'm looking forward to the US Open. I hope to continue to play like this next week."

Razzano fell to 0-2 lifetime in tour singles finals.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Spain's three Hard Rock Cafes in Madrid, Barcelona and Grand Canaria showed the finals of the summer's two ATP Masters Series events (Canada, Cincinnati) and will televise live the US Open final on Sept. 9. Props to the ATP marketing team, now time to get other venues involved...American Robby Ginepri is being coached by Jose Higueras. Chile's Nicolas Massu is also back with former coach Patricio Rodriguez after splitting with Gabriel Markus...Former world No. 2 Magnus Norman is helping out fellow Swede Thomas Johansson in the coaching dept...From The Guardian's memorial to Tim Henman: "Throughout his professional career, Timothy Henry Henman has garnered the sort of faint praise normally reserved for amiable losers. His Wikipedia entry says he is "regarded as one of the best players not to win a Grand Slam". Martin Amis once called him "the first human being called Tim to achieve anything at all". But Henman was neither amiable nor a loser. He was an awkward, prickly winner, clearly uncomfortable shouldering the burden of the public's giddy expectations -- expectations he was neither able to fulfil or quite dispel...There is a question as to whether they will still keep calling the mound of grass Henman Hill after he retires, or whether they will call it Murray Mount or just name it after whoever is on the giant telly at the time. It is not much of a tribute for a man who was a better tennis player than Britain deserved, if not quite the hero it wanted."...From the Cincinnati Post on players contemplating the 2008 ATP calendar which contains the Beijing Olympics: "Wimbledon will run from June 23-July 6, and the top players who don't want to compete in Newport or Indianapolis will have two weeks off before the Canadian Masters. The next week is Cincinnati, and two weeks later, the Olympics await. Two weeks after that, the U.S. Open begins. That's five major tournaments in 10 weeks. "It looks like it's too much," Moya said. "For sure, I'm not going to play all. If I'm able to play Olympics, I'll see what I'm going to play, because it's too much on the body. You have to pick the right ones and pay attention to the warning that your body gives you." Federer has a different take, though. "I've been thinking what I'd like to do next year," he said. "We'll see how the beginning of the season goes, if I play well or not. But I still believe it's very possible to play both Masters Series and Beijing and come back for the Open. There is a week before the Olympics and a week after it, so it shouldn't really be a problem."...Wilson Racquet Sports announced the details of their new 'Green Initiative,' a program committed to developing and implementing environmentally responsible products. "We felt a growing obligation to elevate our environmental focus and take some necessary steps to make a positive impact in several product areas," said Jon Muir, GM of Wilson Racquet Sports. "We've been quietly working on implementing a number of important changes to our production and manufacturing processes over the past year, and we felt it was time to make both the industry and consumers aware of our Green Initiative." As an example, all PET Wilson tennis ball cans now contain a minimum of at least 25% post consumer recycled PET. For 2007 alone, Wilson anticipates this will result in a reduction of 330,000 pounds of landfill waste. Wilson will also change to environmentally-friendly packaging...Travelex has become the exclusive official International Payments Provider of the WTA Tour...Towering tour rookie John Isner is progressing quickly on tour after graduating from the University of Georgia, and making his base camp in Tampa where he can train with the likes of James Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryan brothers. The 6-foot-9 Isner has struck up fast friendships with his American counterparts, as was evident at the ATP stop in New Haven when, after beating German Benjamin Becker, Isner showed up at his post-match media conference in a James Blake t-shirt, the result of a lost bet. "I have to wear this after every match this week," Isner said. "It wasn't really a bet but he helped me out, to get into this tournament, so I said I would do anything I could. In the warm-up, I have to wear this Nike shirt that he autographed, and it's awful." Blake said for his part he was enjoying hanging out with the likeable rookie. "It's fun to be hazing someone who is about 10 inches taller than me," Blake said. "He's a great kid. He has got a ton of potential. In tennis years, he is very young, so the success he's having at this level is incredible."...We saw the ESPN headline "Chat with WTA pro Patty Schnyder" this week -- no thanks...Tim Henman has announced he will retire following the Britain vs. Croatia Davis Cup match in September...from the AP on Venus Williams: "Venus Williams wants to leave the U.S. Open crowd in stitches -- her own. When the Wimbledon winner steps onto the court Monday night, she'll be wearing an outfit and shoes from her new EleVen label. Right now, she's leaning toward a green dress with a white polo collar, dropped waist and pleated skirt."...Andy Roddick says the US Open might have gone from "worst to first" among the Slams after re-doing the locker rooms and weight room...US Open officials banned Italian qualifier Federico Luzzi from wearing a Playboy bunny logo on his shirt, saying it is not a "recognized tennis clothing company"...The US Open will be the first pro tournament for Jesse Levine, who will drop out of the University of Florida..."No, no, not at all, not the first time. I don't remember good." -- Serena Williams when asked if she had a recollection of her first memory of Althea Gibson...Barbara Schett and Josh Eagle recently got married.

BAD-ANDY RODDICK READY FOR OPEN CHALLENGE -- Goran Ivanisevic had his "Good Goran" and "Bad Goran" days. But where Bad Goran usually produced bad results, Andy Roddick, like his coach Jimmy Connors, has the ability to turn a bad attitude into a bad time for opponents. If Roddick's pre-US Open press meeting Sunday was any indication, Roddick is ready to take no prisoners at the US Open. Entering the press room, Roddick briefly spoke with a USTA official regarding the length of the conference, affirming "Oh, it's gonna be short.." but the assembled media was in the talking mood. Roddick was critical of reporters' questions that he found too vague and laughed at other questions, but also displayed his trademark snappy wit on numerous occasions, replying to a question regarding the Saturday ATP player meeting and the Davydenko gambling issue with "I don't know, I was playing rock-paper-scissors with another guy in the back" before going into a well-thought-out explanation on the ATP's process of dealing with the investigation. Roddick ended the conference by doing a one-on-one conference with Australian radio, then lambasting his ATP media handler, "You didn't tell me about this, and we've been arranging this *** all week!" Roddick will need some Bad-Andy-ness during the fortnight as he is defending runner-up ranking points, but is scheduled to meet world No. 1 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. I've spoken with other media members who feel Roddick may have been a little more effective years back when he pulled the trigger more on the forehand rather than trying to "work the point" while opponents key on his backhand. I asked Roddick if he was making more of a conscious effort to work the point. "I don't know," Roddick said. "You know, when I'm playing well, I feel like I can -- I have the ability to work the point a little bit more." He added that it's not as simple as "working the point" when facing a different opponent each day. "You know, it's all part of basic strategy," Roddick said. "Against some guys you're going to be able to be a little bit more patient, against some guys you're going to have to take some risks."

HOW TO BEAT ROGER FEDERER or THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND JUST LOOKING GOOD -- Serb Novak Djokovic knows how to beat Roger Federer -- and Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, as he displayed en route to the title at the Masters Series-Canada -- but he's not going to tell you (or can't). "Well, everybody's asking that," Djokovic says. "I cannot explain you by the words. You will have to play him on the court and then see how it looks. it's difficult to play him...I lost four times, but put away the negative thoughts and just got into the match thinking of winning. It was not the case in the last four matches. I was just trying to prove to the people that I'm playing good tennis, that I'm talented. In Montreal it was another thing, I tried to win." The "Djoker" also admitted me does a good impression of Federer when goofing off on the practice court. "I don't think he saw it," Djokovic said. "He has to come to one of my practices. Maybe if we practice together, I do a joke." While the media has been goading Federer to name Djokovic as the top contender, the Swiss won't bite: "At the moment you would have to probably say Djokovic and [Andy] Murray," Federer said of the young contenders. "At the same time I like [Richard] Gasquet's game better than those. It's my opinion. [Tomas] Berdych's got a huge game. [Marcos] Baghdatis has announced himself already a couple years ago with the finals at the Australian Open. Then there's other guys like maybe [Juan Martin] Del Potro who is going to come through. I think there's going to be a few very soon, a lot of them in the Top 10."

SERENA SANS CLOTHES -- Serena Williams in her pre-tournament press conference Saturday dodged questions about posing nude in Jane magazine, with only a strategically-placed flower hiding her rear view. Finally asked later if she was embarrassed by the photo, she said "No, not at all. I thought it was a great photo. It was for a great cause. I thought it was simply divine personally. I've gotten a lot of great compliments on it." Wearing skin-tight blue jeans on a frame looking a bit more ample than the Jane shoot (which went to charity), the younger Williams sister will be competing in her first match since Wimbledon where she sustained a thumb injury.

ANYONE HAVE A SHIRT I CAN WEAR -- Look for a current Top 10 player, unbeknownst to him, to get dumped by his clothing company when his contract runs out at the end of the year.

SERBIAN TENNIS LEAPS FORWARD -- Jelena Jankovic says it is on the move, and Novak Djokovic is mystified by it. Tennis in the formerly war-torn Serbia is exploding in popularity, driven by two women and one man in the Top 10. "Tennis has become very popular in Serbia," Jankovic said at the US Open. "Nowadays it's one of the most popular sports there. We were always successful in team sports. We didn't have much success in individual sport. But now that has changed. A lot of young kids are starting to play." Jankovic admits she is not close with contemporary Ana Ivanovic but refuses to let the media turn them into "rivals." "I don't really know her that well," Jankovic says of Ivanovic. "I know more or less the boys, especially [Janko] Tipsarevic. When we were young, we played juniors at the same time. He's just one year older than me. I also know Novak a little bit better as well. But Ana, I don't know so well because we never played the same time, when we were younger. We just met when we are playing at the professional level." Djokovic has no explanation for three Serbs in the Top 10. "It's really strange how we managed to do that only in two years of time. Looking at the history of Serbian tennis, we never had somebody really at the top."  BR>
HENMAN'S LAST US OPEN -- Tim Henman will be playing his last US Open after announcing his retirement after next month's Davis Cup, so to honor the Brit here is his most exciting quote: "   ." Never much for zingers, he did surprise world No. 1 Roger Federer by asking the Swiss if he wanted to practice "one last time" before Federer had learned of his announcement. "I didn't know that because I don't read the English papers, not every day," Federer said. "He asked me if I wanted to practice kind of one last time. I kind of told him like, 'What are you talking about? That's it or what?' So, yeah, it was kind of a different kind of a practice, I thought. Almost a bit sad to a point. It's one of our last times we're playing together. I think he was a wonderful player, a wonderful person. It's always a pity when somebody like him leaves tennis. He gave everything he had. In the end, the injuries got the better of him.  He's got a great family now, so he's looking forward to his future now."

HENIN SAYS IT'S ALL ABOUT ME -- World No. 1 Justine Henin doesn't want to speculate on other players or how they're playing or their positions in the draw or what they ate for breakfast -- it's all about her, and that apparently works for her (see: ranking). "I know what my ranking is, and that's the only thing I care about," said Henin when asked if she wished Serena Williams' ranking was higher so she wouldn't have to face the American in the US Open quarterfinals. Henin says a focus inward is what pays off on the court. "I don't care [about expectations of other players] because, what do I expect of myself? That's the most important thing. If I look too much about what the others are going to do, I'm probably going to forget myself which remains the most important thing now." While trying to remain focused on the US Open, Henin was also refreshingly honest about her loss to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon. "Sometimes you have to accept that you're a little bit weaker. That's normal. These kinds of moments did happen in the past and will happen in the future...The match against Serena had been very long, very tough at Wimbledon. That took me a lot of energy. Maybe the prospective of playing Venus in the final, I don't know." Can you imagine Serena or Venus saying they were "weaker" than an opponent after a loss? A little melting of Justine the Ice Queen, how nice.

TIM HENMAN MEDIA STATEMENT ON RETIREMENT -- "Thanks all for coming here this morning. I'd officially like to say that I am going to be retiring after the Davis Cup against Croatia at Wimbledon. I'd also like to say that I'm sorry I wasn't able to let you know sort of firsthand in person, but that was kind of taken out of my control. From a professional point of view, it's obviously something that I've been thinking about for some time. I think with the issues I've had with my back and sort of the knock-on effect that's had with my practice, the way I'm able to prepare for events, probably the way that it's affected my performance has obviously made my life a little bit harder, probably a little bit less enjoyable from that point of view. And obviously from a personal point of view, you know, with my third -- with our third child on the way, there's obviously an even bigger incentive to be at home. As I'm sure some of you know, it certainly gets harder and harder to be away from your family. I think that definitely has a bearing, you know, on my decision. It's also one that I'm very, very excited about. I feel that it's not necessarily the end of things for me; it's obviously a new beginning. I feel that I'd -- I'd like to feel that there's going to be a lot of different opportunities out there for me, you know, lots of different things to explore. I think in the short-term, I'm certainly looking forward to just sort of stepping away from things and enjoying some time at home. I'm sure, whether it's next year or the year after, I'll look at what's out there. I'm sure that will involve tennis. I definitely don't envisage myself stepping away from the game for good because it's been such a big part of my life. I look forward to, as I said, exploring those opportunities."

BALLS DELIVERED FROM ON HIGH -- Lleyton Hewitt was warming up Saturday with American John Isner, getting a look at some of the bombs he anticipates from first-round opponent Amer Delic. "It was good to hit with a big-server today, get a little bit of rhythm on my returns, which was good. My first-round opponent's got a pretty big serve, so it's important." Hewitt anticipates he will have to bet at his scrambling best to beat Delic, who earlier this year had his first Top 10 win over Nikolay Davydenko. "He's an attacking player with a big serve, got a big game," Hewitt said. "So it's a matter of trying to weather the storm a little bit." Hewitt also commented on new coach Tony Roche, who is anticipated to try and make the scrambling Hewitt a little more aggressive at the net, a transition other coaches have had difficulty pursuing. "He's got some ideas for my game that probably won't come out at the moment," Hewitt said. It's more probably six months, a year away, hopefully I'll be playing my best tennis. Hopefully I'm on the right track at the moment." Sounds real, uh, positive.