Roddick Chastises Youngsters: Tennis-X Notes

Andy Roddick says the younger American players need to up their work ethic: “There’s no substitute for hard work. To be honest with you, that’s one of the things that lacks when you see the young American players. It puts a different dynamic on things when you’re playing tennis to find a way out of the country as opposed to playing for fun.”…
ADHEREL
By getting as far as the semifinals, Delray Beach champion Kei Nishikori received a special exempt into the main draw at the ATP event in San Jose as he could not attend the weekend qualifying. “I am now happy to be going to play the main draw of San Jose. I love California. They have great Asian food.”…

Croat Ivan Ljubicic beat Thomas Johansson and Stefan Koubek en route to the title last weekend at the South African Open Challenger…

This week Shahar Peer wil become the player from Israel competed in a Persian Gulf state at the Qatar Total Open. According to Time magazine, one member of her entourage was told that Peer would be treated “like the Emir’s wife.”…

Visiting Israel in her first appearance for the Russian Fed Cup team in February apparently had an impact on Maria Sharapova, who has purchased a $2 million penthouse in Israel, according the Haaretz newspaper. The apartment is located in Ir Yamim, south of Netanya, offers a view of the Mediterranean Sea and has a large enough roof area for a swimming pool…

Nicole Vaidisova will blow off the Czech Republic’s April Fed Cup tie versus Israel to concentrate on her ranking. “Nicole was always proud to be playing for Czech Republic. But she has reached the point in her career when she wants to improve her rankings,” said her agent Olivier van Lindonk, speaking to Reuters. “It was a very tough decision for her.” There are no other WTA Tour events to play during Fed Cup for the Czech to raise her ranking, and the Prague Open in the Czech Republic follows the week after Fed Cup…

Marat Safin pulled from the SAP Open in San Jose and his scheduled exhibition match against Pete Sampras with a partial tear in the fibula ligament of his right leg…

Russian Anna Chakvetadze improved to 7-0 in WTA Tour finals after winning the Paris indoor title…

Ilie Nastase has resigned after eight years as head of the Romanian Tennis Federation. Nastase was criticized for spending too much money on the recent Davis Cup match against France which Romania lost 5-0. Nastase said he also resigned because he had failed to purchase a building and land for a tennis academy, one of his goals. “I have been defeated by the justice system and the press in Romania,” he told Realitatea TV…

More from Justine Henin on the throat-cutting motion from Maria Sharapova’s dad Yuri after the Russian defeated her at the Australian Open: “I was really annoyed and I telephoned Larry Scott (WTA president) to ask his opinion. He told me that he found the gesture unacceptable. You shouldn’t have to see this type of thing in a tennis stadium. It takes away from the image of women’s tennis and can open the door for all types of problems. I didn’t take the gesture personally but it shocked me for tennis.”…

Three men were ejected from the site of the WTA stop in Antwerp for betting on the internet during the event using laptops and wireless connections. “We spoke with the WTA. They had the chance to give up their computers or to leave — they left,” said a tournament official…