Serbia Advances, U.S. Beat by Spain in Davis Cup; Wrap & Previews

by Staff | July 10th, 2011, 6:54 pm
  • 28 Comments

DAVIS CUP WORLD GROUP QUARTERFINALS

Argentina d. Kazakhstan 5-0
The Argentines blast the opposition at home on red clay, where Juan Monaco and Juan Martin Del Potro fail to drop a set in the opening singles. Veteran Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank clinch it for Argentina in the doubles. In the semifinals Argentina will travel to Serbia.
ADHEREL
Serbia d. Sweden 4-1
An ailing Novak Djokovic (knee) couldn’t clinch the tie in the doubles with partner Nenad Zimonjic, but Janko Tipsarevic clinched in the first singles on Sunday over the Challenger-level Swedish team. Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki took both the opening singles on Friday. Sweden was doomed without Robin Soderling, who skipped the tie to “rest,” even though that rest ends this week when he plays the ATP event in Bastad.

France d. Germany 4-1
The German clay didn’t bother the visiting Frenchmen, who swept 3-0 behind the singles play of Richard Gasquet, who defeated German Florian Mayer from two sets down, and Gael Monfils, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in straights. In the doubles Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra clinched it in straight sets. France will travel to Spain for the semifinals.


Spain d. U.S. 3-1
Missed opportunities was the theme of the weekend for the U.S. as singles players Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick repeatedly failed to serve out sets in dropping both opening-day singles matches to Feliciano Lopez (five sets) and David Ferrer (three sets) respectively. The Bryan brothers put the U.S. on the board in doubles, but Fish failed to serve-out the first set in what was a four-set tie-clinching loss to Ferrer in the first Sunday singles.

Isner Towers Over Rochus to Win ATP Newport Title

Six-foot-9 American John Isner defeated 5-foot-6 Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-6(7) to capture the title on Sunday at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The win by the top-seeded Isner broke the Newport “Casino Curse,” where no top-seeded player had won the event since it began in 1976.

The 26-year-old Isner captured his first ATP title of the season and the second of his career, improving to 2-4 in career finals. The final also featured the biggest-ever height differential in an ATP championship match.

Last year Rochus also lost in the final to an American, Mardy Fish, and on Sunday fell to 2-7 in career finals. The difference-maker was Isner averaging almost two aces per service game, ending the day with a tally of 22.

Vinci Wins 3rd Title of the Year at WTA Budapest

Italy’s Roberta Vinci is putting together the year of her career, on Sunday defeating Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 for the Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix title in Hungary, her third title of 2011.

“I began well, but in the second set I felt tired and the heat made things more difficult. I didn’t play aggressively enough,” said Vinci, who trailed a break in the third. “I was still tired in the third but at 4-2 down I pushed myself and told myself, ‘Come on, come on.’ I started to play stronger on my forehand and managed to turn things around.”

The top-seeded Vinci was enjoying her first week ranked in the Top 25 at 28 years old. It was her sixth career title.

Hercog Captures Career 1st WTA Title as Bastad

Slovenia’s Polona Hercog defeated Swedish home favorite Johanna Larsson 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday for the title at the Collector Swedish Open in Bastad.

“It was tough with the crowd supporting her so much, but it’s normal,” Hercog said. “I was ready for it. I had a feeling in myself I could win the tournament. I never spoke about it, but through all my matches I thought I was really getting there, even when I was exhausted after my semifinal match.”

Hercog improved to 1-1 in career finals, while Larsson dropped to 0-2.

TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS

Skistar Swedish Open
Bastad, Sweden
Surface: clay

Seeds: Robin Soderling, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Nicolas Almagro, Tommy Robredo, Juan Monaco, Andrey Golubev, Potito Starace

Floaters: Igor Andreev, Filippo Volandri

Notes: Soderling leads the field after opting out of Sweden’s Davis Cup tie against Serbia, leaving his mates to get slaughtered in the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic and crew; Soderling after a bye will likely face a tough meeting against Andreev, and (5) Robredo vs. Volandri in a veteran match-up; none of the Top 8 seeds have losing records in Bastad, with Soderling 18-8 and Ferrer 11-4; returning champs in the field are Almagro (2010), Soderling (2009), Robredo (2008,’06), and Ferrer (2007); no player has won the Bastad title three years in a row, but four players have won back-to-back titles, including Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.

Mercedes Cup
Stuttgart, Germany
Surface: clay

Seeds: Gael “Force” Monfils, Jurgen “Tuna” Melzer, Mikhail Youzhny, Gilles Simon, Florian Mayer, Nikolay Davydenko, Andreas Seppi, Guillermo “G-Lo” Garcia-Lopez

Floaters: Philipp Petzschner, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Marcel Granollers, Al Montanes, Radek “The Worm” Stepanek

Notes: Tough openers include (3) Youzhny vs. homecountry favorite Petzschner, (7) Seppi vs. Granollers coming off Davis Cup win over the U.S., (4) Simon vs. Montanes, and (8) G-Lo vs. The Worm; Montanes won the title last year when Monfils twisted his ankle in the final; seeds Melzer and G-Lo have losing career records in Stuttgart; returning champs in the field are Montanes (2010), Jeremy Chardy (2009), and Youzhny (2002).

NURNBERGER Gastein Ladies
Bad Gastein, Austria
Surface: clay

Seeds: Julia Goerges, Jarmila Gajdosova, Lucie Hradecka, Iveta Benesova, Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Simona Halep, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Ksenia Pervak

Floaters: Alize Cornet, Carla Suarez Navarro

Notes: Tough openers for (8) Pervak vs. Cornet, and (7) Zahlavova Strycova vs. Suarez Navarro; Goerges (2010) is the lone returning singles champ in the field, and Hradecka is the four-time defending doubles champion.

XXIV SNAI Open — Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo
Palermo, Italy
Surface: clay

Seeds: Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Klara Zakopalova, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Tsvetana Pironkova, Polona Hercog, Petra Cetkovska

Floaters: Aravane Rezai

Notes: Returning former champs in the field are Pennetta (2009), Errani (2008), and Medina Garrigues (2006-04,01).


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28 Comments for Serbia Advances, U.S. Beat by Spain in Davis Cup; Wrap & Previews

jane Says:

Ummm…re: US-Spain tie. i thought I was watching the match live right now, 6 all 4th set tiebreak. You guys are psychic or my streaming sucks, or maybe both.


RZ Says:

The France-Spain semi should be good. If there’s one country with enough depth to knock off the Spain juggernaut, it’s France, assuming the injury prone (Tsonga, Monfils) stay healthy and that Gasquet can keep up the mental strides he’s made in recent months.


Kimmi Says:

“An ailing Novak Djokovic (knee) couldn’t clinch the tie in the doubles with partner Nenad Zimonjic, but Janko Tipsarevic clinched in the first singles on Sunday over the Challenger-level Swedish team.”

that djokovic knee does not sound good. I know he is been saying its only precaution but it has been a reason for pulling out of tournaments or not playing matches.

Monte carlo, queens and now davis cup. hope it is still precaution and that it does not become a serious injury. We need him healthy for american hardcourt season.


Dory Says:

I think the injury is a good enough and sensible reason to not overplay. Djokovic has also played and obviously won a large number of tournaments. He must take time off like this once in a while to remain mentally and physically fresh. I won’t be surprised if he directly plays in August now. His scheduling team is doing a very great job this year. Perfect choice of what tourneys to take part in and which ones to forego.


jane Says:

I agree Dory: for example, great decision not to play both Monte Carlo and Queens. But like Kimmi says, I hope the knee is nothing serious and that they are just being precautionary.


Patty Says:

LOL! Djokovic? Sounds very much like someone else!!!


scineram Says:

Big win for Richie, but it will end now in Spain. Too bad.


Brando Says:

LMAO, patty I was thinking the same. He’ll be fine four weeks off pre USO series then master series back to back, week off and then US open. Should not be an issue at all scheduling. Further, he has not been injured this year at all just taking precautionary rest, so I think all must be well. Life must be smooth sailing being novak djokovic on the ATP tour right now


Gibby Says:

Who knew Roddick was such a delicate flower? Per Courier, it’s too much of a let down for Andy to play those dead rubber matches. Boo hoo.

He likes everyone in his home town paying money to see him be a hero, but he doesn’t have the stones to play it out. Every other quarter final played all 5 matches. None of them had to. Guess they have more respect for their fans. I want Andy to send me a refund.


Seth Says:

Yeah, I’d hate to see Djokovic get injured and have to miss out on handing out beat-downs to Nadal. Sometimes schadenfraude tastes pretty sweet.


Kimmi Says:

seth – yeah, he is the only one that can beat rafa right now. if nole is not playing..it will be party time for rafa and his fans ha-ha! hmm, maybe not..as rafa is currently cooking some huge weapons to counter attack nole.

great times for tennis.


Kimberly Says:

there are no sporting events on tv tonight! The day before and after the all-star game. I may actually have to watch a movie or something, or re-runs on the tennis channel.


Kimmi Says:

kimberly – yeah, how boring it is. I am missing some big time tennis. There is two small tournament happening for men and women. Not getting too excited about them yet..

why clay tennis this time of the year?

Hope Julia Goerges does well, she has a big game but need to be consistent.

Soda pop playing at home. a decent field in sweden. almagro, berdy, ferrer. Lets see!


Lou Says:

Great Article on Agassi’s hall of fame induction:

Can You Be Like AGASSI In Your Life? http://t.co/jgtII38


Kimberly Says:

The Sweden one sounds ok. Atlanta next week?


skeezerweezer Says:

@K

And what about the Home Run Derby tonight? Hitting a 445′ Rope is sweet to see :). And the Padawans making diving spectaculary catches in the outfield. Ahhh to be there with a Hot Dog in hand and a Brewstkee ;)


steve-o Says:

Suarez Navarro is finally back? Yay! Now if she can only stay uninjured…


Humble Rafa Says:

“We need him healthy for american hardcourt season.”

We does not include me, just saying. I hate to see everyone healthy while I am putting screws in my knee very 2 months.


Seth Says:

Kimmi,

That is mostly true, though I still maintain that on a fast hard court like the U.S. Open, Federer beats Nadal seven times out of ten. Interestingly, they’ve barely ever played on the quick DecoTurf II surface. Indian Wells and Miami don’t really count, as they are by consensus about the slowest hard courts on the tour.


dari Says:

and i did forget to congratulate agassi.
i was always a pete girl, so i didn’t prefer him, but he is everyone’s return game idol and what he has done philanthropically (spell check) is outstanding. congrats to him!


Kimberly Says:

i thought i saw davydenko lost to someone ive never heard of, the downward spiral continues?


Kimmi Says:

yeah kimberly, davy lost to a german wildcard Stebe, ranked 197. Great for the young guy but davy is really lost it…


Kimberly Says:

Eeeesh, watching the all star game, national league is losing. Davy, cilic and verdasco slumps lasting about a year or more now? More noticeably cilic and davy?


Humble Rafa Says:

Did the Fed skip the last day of Davis cup and leave on vacation? Does anyone know?

Nice to see Yves Allgero in the stands.


dari Says:

The least Davydenko could do is retire with a winning h2h against rafa.not saying he should retire now, but nobody has a winning h2h over that guy!
I did hear Roger left after they clinched the tie w/ the doubles, H. Rafa. Too cool for school, that one. I thought you two were best buds, he didn’t tell you he was leaving?


jane Says:

Going to Whistler tomorrow…killing time till more tennis! Cheers cool fans. :)


Kimberly Says:

Have fun Dari!I on the other hand, will be going to Disney World, in the 100 + degree weather, lots of crowds, and of course, as always outrageous prices.

Another day of no sporting events. Skeeze, I forgot about the Home Run Derby. Very disappointed to have missed it!

I think next week there is Atlanta and Hamburg which should be a little better? Lets face it, the real fun starts in August with Montreal.


Skeezerweezer Says:

K,

Yeah actually the HR derby was a fun watch
I agree more tennis can’t come soon enough. I have to be in Tampa next week, I’d rather be in Disneyworld at 100 degrees :(. Have fun!

Jane,

Been to Whistler a few years back it to Ski. Awesome place. Have fun!

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