Tennis: Who Will Be #2?

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France's Tsonga Falls Flat

France's surprise Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a disappointing return to France today as he was beaten 7-5 7-6 in straight sets by Croatian Mario Ancic in the first round of the Marseille Open.

The 22-year-old seventh seed was never able to settle against Ancic, who has slipped from the top 10 to 135 in the world following a year of injury and suffering from glandular fever.

Tsonga, who was a top junior and broke into the world's top 50 for the first time last year, said he had been powerless in the face of Ancic's all round game.

"He (Ancic) played really well, served really well throughout and was very difficult to break," conceded Tsonga, who among other scalps claimed that of world number two Rafael Nadal in his run to the Australian Open final.

"However, I stuck to my game throughout.

"That is now two months I have been giving my all. It was my first tournament in France since the Australian Open and I really wanted to play well."

Tsonga did have a great chance to close out the first set when leading 5-4 and 30-0 on Ancic's serve, but the 23-year-old Croat - finalist here in 2006 - powered down a series of stunning serves to save the game.

Ancic - semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2004 - then broke Tsonga for good measure in the next game and closed out the set.

The second set followed almost the same pattern in being a battle of big servers, with Ancic sealing victory in the tie-break.

Tsonga was almost a lone example of a Frenchman losing on Wednesday as second seed Richard Gasquet, titleholder Gilles Simon and Michael Llodra progressed.

France's red letter day ended on a high as Nicolas Mahut ousted fifth seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 44th ranked Frenchman prevailing in a three set thriller, 5-7 6-4 7-6 in two-and-a-half-hours and became the first player to reach the third round.

"I am really happy," Mahut said.

"It is super important to win matches like that, as if you don't the disappointment is enormous. This really is hugely satisfying."

Top seed Novak Djokovic entered the fray in another evening match and showed no signs of the dizziness and nausea that plagued him in his Davis Cup rubber last Sunday, easing to a 6-1 6-4 win over Croatian qualifier and world ranked 296th Ivan Dodig.

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OPEN 13: Top Seeds Fall, Djokovic and Gasquet Disappoint

Qualifying for the quarterfinals : how it happened

Not the day for "Djoko"

The top seeded Novak Djokovic (CRO) was taken out by the defending "Open 13" champion Gilles Simon (FRA). After coming back from a match point for Simon in the 2nd set, it seemed that "Djoko" was on the run. Eventually that was insufficient as Simon looked less tired, and a 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3 victory over the world nr.3 for the Frenchman.

Murray stays tough

The fourth seeded world nr.11 Andy Murray, after being a set and a break down came back to take the second set in a tie-break, forcing the frustrated Wawrinka to crash his racket intentionally right after. The Scot defeated the Swiss 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-1 passing on to the quarters.

Youzhny "guards" well

The 3rd seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny went straight sets versus the Frenchman Julien Benneteau. After taking the 1st set the "Soldier" faced the score 15-40 in his first three service games, but managed to hold all of them and 7-5 6-3 victory for a place in the quarters.

After Djokovic, Gasquet

Another upset of the day was for the 2nd seeded Richard Gasquet who just like last year could not get over Robin Soderling (SWE). With the score 4-6 6-3 6-2 the Swede secured a place in the quarters.

The other quarterfinalists are Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), who beat Michael Llodra (FRA) 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5); Mario Ancic (CRO), who beat Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-3 6-2; and Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), who defeated Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 6-4.

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James Blake reaches 2nd round of Delray Beach tennis

February 13, 2008 DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- James Blake reached the second round of the Delray Beach International on Wednesday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Robert Kendrick on Tuesday night.

The 12th-ranked Blake had his the first set interrupted by rain and was down 2-3 and 3-4 in the second set.

"I was sweating a little bit when he was up a break twice in the second set," Blake said. "It was a tricky match, I was sitting around all day and there wasn't a lot of rhythm."

Donald Young fell apart after leading 5-0 in the first set and eventually lost to Amer Delic 7-6 (7), 6-3.

The 18-year-old Young, who served for the opening set at 5-1 and 5-3, had two set points on Delic's serve in the 10th game, then watched four set points go by the wayside in the tiebreaker. After losing the first set, he tossed his racket out of the stadium.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," said Young, when asked how he lost control of the match. "I've beaten him before and it shouldn't have gone to the tiebreaker in that first set. It did, he won it and all credit to him."

Delic, who won the opening set with a crisp backhand crosscourt winner, missed the racket throw, but sensed that Young's emotions were taking over.

"He did unravel," said Delic, who had received a warning himself early in the match for hitting a ball outside the stadium. "After first set, he chucked his racket but I didn't see it. But I heard the boos from the crowd."

Young started the second set with a 2-1 lead after breaking Delic's serve in the third game, but couldn't keep his composure.

ATP supervisor Mark Darby said that Young, who received a code violation warning for tossing his racket, could be in further trouble for the match, which will be reviewed.

No. 5 seed Florian Mayer of Germany retired with a left leg injury with Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori leading 6-0, 4-3.

In a match continued from Tuesday. Sam Querrey beat Yuri Schukin of Russia 6-1, 6-4. Vince Spadea took advantage of his 3-0 lead in his match from Tuesday to close out Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 6-3, 6-4.

Mardy Fish's match against Ivan Navarro of Spain and Robby Ginepri's match against Michael Russell, as well as two doubles matches, were postponed because of the weather.

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Simon Upsets Djokovic

(Updates after Gasquet defeat) By Eric Salliot

MARSEILLE, France, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic made a second-round exit from the Marseille Open when holder Gilles Simon of France knocked him out 6-2 6-7 6-3 on Thursday.

Top seed Djokovic, apparently still suffering from the flu symptoms that forced him to retire from a Davis Cup tie against Russia last weekend, looked a shadow of his brilliant best, accumulating unforced errors.

After a clumsy first set, the Serbian world number three hinted at a recovery by saving a match point before taking the second set tiebreak.

World number 30 Simon, however, was back on top in the decisive set, during which Djokovic had his blood pressure checked by the tournament's doctor.

Djokovic suggested afterwards it may have been better if he had not come to Marseille.

"I was not 100 percent fit," he told reporters. "I struggled in the long rallies and against a player as strong as Simon, that's not good enough.

"After the weekend in Moscow, the chances I would come here were not good but there was a lot of pressure for me to come. That will teach me a lesson."

Simon showed no mercy, saying: "I don't look for excuses when I lose so I don't find excuses for those I beat. He was sluggish and that suited me."

Simon next meets compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu, who survived 23 aces from fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra to pull off a 7-6 7-6 win.

MURRAY THROUGH

French number one Richard Gasquet, seeded second, was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-2 by Swede Robin Soderling in late action.

Gasquet started well, converting his only break opportunity in the first set, but then struggled with his serve and Soderling, who stopped the Frenchman in the quarter-finals here last year, took control.

British fourth seed Andy Murray had earlier recovered from a woeful spell to defeat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6 7-6 6-1.

World number 11 Murray opened up a 3-0 lead before collapsing as his opponent reeled off nine of the next 10 games to take the first set and go 3-1 up in the second.

The Scot, who beat Wawrinka in last month's Qatar Open final, hit back to level before snatching the tiebreak 7-5 with an ace and cruising through the deciding set.

"I felt fine at first but then I started to struggle to keep the ball in court," Murray said.

"Everybody knows Stan can get nervous when a match gets tight. I know him well because he's one of my best friends on the tour."

Murray was knocked out in the first round of last month's Australian Open before a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the Davis Cup tie with Argentina.

He goes on to meet Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The pair have met once before, last year in Indian Wells, and Murray won 6-1 6-3. (Writing by Patrick Vignal, editing by Alison Wildey)

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"Super Mario" upsets Baghdatis--Meets England #1, Murray, in Open 13 Final

MARSEILLE, France (AP) -- Mario Ancic of Croatia defeated Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-4, 6-2 Saturday to gain the Open 13 final against Andy Murray of Britain.

The fourth-seeded Murray cruised past No. 8 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-2, 6-2 in the first semifinal.

The 135th-ranked Ancic, who was a top-10 player before illness and a shoulder injury marred his 2007 season, broke the sixth-ranked Baghdatis once in the first set and twice in the second.

"I played an unbelievable match today against Marcos," Ancic said. "I've come a long way. It's nice to be here.

Ancic landed just 44 percent of his first serves in the second set, but Baghdatis wasted his three break points.

"I struggled a bit with my serve in the second set, but I played very well from behind," Ancic said.

Earlier, Murray won half of the points played on Mathieu's serve and every point on his own first serve to improve to 2-0 against the Frenchman.

"My return was unbelievable," Murray said. "I hope it can go on tomorrow."

Murray took Mathieu's serve in the opening game and again to lead 4-1 in the first set. The Briton also broke twice in the second set and converted his second match point on a netted backhand to close it out in 63 minutes.

"He played well. It was a non-match from me," said Mathieu, who had no break points.

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18-year-old Kei Nishikori reaches first ATP final at Delray Beach

February 16, 2008

AP - Feb 16, 6:10 pm EST

More Photos DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Teen qualifier Kei Nishikori of Japan reached his first ATP final by beating third-seeded Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) on Saturday at the International Tennis Championships.

Down 6-3 in the third-set tiebreaker, the 18-year-old Nishikori saved four match points before winning on his first chance to close out the match with Querrey serving at 7-8.

"I had confidence," Nishikori said. "I'm just so happy, but I got one more (match) tomorrow."

Nishikori will play either top seed James Blake or wild-card entry Robby Ginepri in the final. He is the first Japanese man to reach a tour final since Shuzo Matsuoka lost to Wayne Ferreira at Queens Club in June 1992.

Matsuoka, who coached Nishikori at times in his youth, was the last Japanese man to win a tour title he beat Australian Todd Woodbridge for the Seoul title in April 1992.

"He (Matsuoka) is the only one (player from Japan) to reach the top 50," said the 224th-ranked Nishikori, hoping to have a more successful career. "I want to pass him."

Nishikori has been training at the Nick Bollettieri Academy the past three years on a grant bestowed by Masaaki Morita, the CEO of Sony.

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looks like theres a new kid in town,this will give others hope when they next meet federer

Nishikori Stuns Blake to Take Delray Championship

AP - Feb 17, 5:13 pm EST

More Photos DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Qualifier Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man to win an ATP title in 16 years by upsetting top-seeded James Blake 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the International Tennis Championships final on Sunday.

"I still can't believe it that I beat James Blake," the 18-year-old Nishikori told the crowd, which included a dozen Japanese fans chanting "Nippon! Nippon!" high up in the stands. "I've only seen him on TV. This is my best tournament ever."

With the win, the 244th-ranked Nishikori is expected to move to a No. 122 ranking. He is the youngest player to win an ATP title since Lleyton Hewitt won Adelaide as a 16-year-old in 1998.

"Last night I couldn't imagine. I tried to imagine winning the final, but I couldn't do it," said Nishikori, whose parents watched the match on an Internet feed. "I was so nervous in the first set."

Shuzo Matsuoka was the last tournament champion from Japan. He won his lone career title at the Seoul tournament in April 1992.

Nishikori used deep ground strokes and a multifaceted game to win eight matches in the tournament, three in qualifying and five in the main draw. He saved four match points in his semifinal against third-seeded American Sam Querrey.

Blake, who appeared to emotionally fade at times in the match, was quick to credit Nishikori as a future star.

"Congratulations to Kei on winning his first ATP title," Blake said. "I'm sure it will be one of many. He's been impressive all week. He has a very bright future."

Blake, 10 years older than Nishikori and currently ranked 12th, has failed to capture the title in two consecutive final appearances at the ITC. Blake was the third top-seeded player to reach the final at this tournament since it began in 1993. None of the three captured the title.

"I can't seem to get that winner's title so I'll have to keep coming back and trying," Blake said.

Blake took control of the first set when he broke serve in the eighth game. From there, the match belonged to the Japanese teen, who took a 5-0 lead in the second set before Blake managed to get on the scoreboard.

In the third set, Nishikori saved three break points on his own serve in the second game. Blake then squandered two game points to have his serve broken at ad-out when Nishikori sent a backhand floater down the line.

"He was hitting cold winners at times that you wouldn't have expected," Blake said.

Nishikori, who has trained at the Nick Bollettieri Academy the past three years, earned $68,800. Blake won $37,350.

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Murray defeats Ancic to win Marseille

MARSEILLE, France (AP) - Fourth-seeded Andy Murray beat Mario Ancic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to win the Open 13 for his fifth career title. "It was really tough," Murray told Sport Plus television. "A lot of close games. Both of us got a little bit nervous at the end of the first set."

The 20-year-old Briton converted his second match point after Ancic netted a service return.

Ancic, ranked 135th, saved a match point at 5-3 to hold his serve after Murray had rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

"I served well in the more important points," Murray said. "In the second set, I returned really well. He tired a little bit."

Murray won by dominating exchanges from the baseline. He took Ancic's serve in the first set at 4-3 with a forehand winner down the line.

Ancic wasted five chances to break back in the next game to let Murray convert his fifth set point with an ace.

Murray had 11 aces and one double-fault overall.

Ancic, a former top 10 player before illness and a shoulder injury marred his 2007 season, got a wild card to play in the Marseille tournament.

Ancic lost the Open 13 final to Frenchman Arnaud Clement in 2006

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Nadal to Play Opening Day of ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

<h2 class="sIFR-replaced"></h2> Rafael Nadal is scheduled to play on the opening day of the 35th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Together with doubles partner Tommy Robredo, he faces fellow-Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco on Monday afternoon.

Exciting daytime programme for Monday

The opening match of the tournament, to be played on centre court, will be between fellow-Germans Michael Berrer and Matthias Bachinger. They will be followed by former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who faces Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili. The third match of the morning session is between the tallest and the shortest player in the draw, as Ivo Karlovic takes on Oliver Rochus. Karlovic caused quite a stir during the 2007 season by serving a staggering 1,318 aces, more than any other player on the ATP Tour. The final match of the afternoon session will see the debut appearance of Rafael Nadal. Together with Tommy Robredo, he is up against fellow-Spaniards Lopez and Verdasco.

Two doubles matches on court 1

The afternoon session on court 1 includes two doubles matches. The first, which is scheduled to start at noon, is between Christopher Glasshouse/Rogier Wassen and Tomas Berdych/Dmitry Tursunov. Their match will be followed by the first-round encounter between Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski and Jordan Kerr/David Skoch.

Defending champion Youzhny also to play on Monday

The evening session will kick off with what promises to be a tough match between defending champion Mikhail Youzhny and Janko Tipsarevic, who made life exceptionally difficult for Roger Federer during the third round of the Australian Open. The Swiss needed five sets to dispose of Tipsarevic, winning 10-8 in the fifth. The centre court match is scheduled to start at 19:30.

The final match of the day will see Mischa Zverev of Germany take on fellow-countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber.

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COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil -- Second-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain fought off a comeback attempt by countryman Carlos Moya to win the Brasil Open 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-5 on Sunday.

It took Almagro 2½ hours to defeat the top-seeded Moya in this seaside resort in northeastern Brazil and win a top prize of $77,300.

Almagro used a powerful backhand and several well-placed shots to beat the 31-year-old Moya, who appeared tired for much of the match. Moya's five matches in the tournament averaged two hours each.

The 23-year-old Almagro has now won three career ATP titles.

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Ivanovic ATP Top Tournament Seed for First Time

February 18, 2008 DOHA, QATAR (TICKER) -- For the first time her career, Ana Ivanovic is a top seed.

The Serb heads the field for the first Tier I tournament of the 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season, the $2.5-million Qatar Total Open, which began play on Monday.

Ivanovic has gotten off to a strong start this season, beginning with a semifinal finish at Sydney and a run to the final of the Australian Open, her second career major final.

After her runner-up finish in the season's first major, Ivanovic rose to a career-high of No. 2 in the world, behind only Belgium's Justine Henin, the defending champion of this event who is not entered this year.

In her first stint as a No. 1 seed, Ivanovic heads a strong field which includes eight of the world's top 10 players. All eight of those players, including Ivanovic, received first-round byes for the hardcourt event.

Ivanovic faces the winner of the first-round match between India's Sania Mirza and Olga Govortsova.

Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the runner-up here to Henin last year, is the second seed and opens against either China's Shuai Peng or France's Nathalie Dechy.

No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia opens against Russia's Yaroslava Shvedova, who outlasted China's Jie Zheng, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, during Monday's opening-round action.

Fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova arguably has had the best start to the season, winning her third career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, beating Ivanovic in the final. She hasn't even dropped a set this year, including two Fed Cup wins in Russia's first round tie with Israel.

The Russian opens play here against countrywoman Galina Voskoboeva who, beat Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), on Monday.

Four other top-10 players received byes, including No. 5 seed and recent Paris champion Anna Chakvetadze and sixth-seeded and reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. The seventh and eighth seeds are Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and France's Marion Bartoli.

Another threat is former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France, who posted a opened 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 first-round victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki.

The lone seeded player to fall on Monday was No. 10 Nadia Petrova who was leading Spain's Anabel Medina Garrgiues, 6-2, 1-2, before retiring with gastritis.

Also on Monday, No. 12 Shahar Peer of Israel advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Slovak Andreja Klepac. She now faces France's Virginie Razzano, who defeated China's Tiantian Sun, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

Austrian Sybille Bammer, the 15th seed, beat Japan's Aiko Nakamura, 6-1, 6-3, and next meets Romanian Monica Niculescu, who eliminated American Julie Ditty, 6-1, 6-4.

Also on Monday, No. 16 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Japan's Akiko Morigami, 7-5, 6-0, and Russian Vera Zvonareva beat countrywoman Anastasia Rodionova, 6-0, 6-3.

First prize is $414,000.

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Youzhny loses crown as Serb downs him

by Scott Williams 48 minutes ago

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - Russia's titleholder Mikael Youzhny lost his crown here on Monday as Serb Janko Tipsarevic upset him in the first round of the Rotterdam Open with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win.

The defeat was the third in the first round here for the Russian fourth seed who lifted the title a year ago. The defeat was even more of a susprise as Youzhny had started off the season in winning style when he won the Chennai Open.

Tipsarevic sealed his reputation as a tough competitor at the Australian Open, taking Roger Federer to five gruelling sets.

Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic played Goliath to the David of Olivier Rochus, firing a dozen aces in a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing.

The 2.08 metre Karlovic had no trouble with Belgium's battling little man, who stands 38 centimetres shorter.

Coming into the first-round contest, Rochus had the 2-0 career edge through cunning shotmaking in a pair of 2005 wins.

But Karlovic needed to show only some of the form which took him to three titles in 2007 as he advanced in 64 minutes with four breaks of serve.

Spanish 2004 finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero fell victim to food poisoning, losing 7-5, 6-1 to Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Ferrero looked pale and wan as he went through the motions on court at the Ahoy stadium where he lost the 2004 final to Lleyton Hewitt.

"I didn't play my best tennis from the beginning, I felt slow due to my stomach problems yesterday," said the Spaniard.

The seventh seed, ranked 20th after a run to the Auckland final last month and an Australian Open fourth round showing, just wanted to forget.

"It's the first bad match that I've played this year," said the 28-year-old who says his aim is to return to the Top ten.

"I played some good points, but I also made a lot of mistakes.

"I hope this match is just a one-off."

Ferrero managed to stay on court for 74 minutes as Gabashvili advanced into the second round at an event where Rafael Nadal is playing as top seed.

The Russian reached a career-first ATP quarter-final a year ago but also suffered 21 first round losses.

Spain's Tommy Robredo would have the chance to earn revenge for Ferrero in the next round if he can get past first-round opponent Nicolas Mahut of France.

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Kuerten the game's colorful grinder

It's quite a time to be a men's tennis fan. You've got a classy No. 1, a ferocious No. 2, and a Djoker at No. 3. Add to that a strong supporting cast of characters such as a petulant Scot, a brash American, an Ali look-alike, and a mental midget from Russian. But there's been one player sadly missing from this colorful mix, and he's about to take his final curtain call.

That's right, it's curtains for Kuerten. This week, the 31-year-old from Brazil began his last season on tour in front of his home fans in Costa do Sauipe, getting off to an inauspicious start by losing his first-round matches in both singles and doubles. "It's sad to see your career come to an end," he said. "But I can no longer play. I'm sorry, but I can't."

Guga, as he's been affectionately known almost since the time he turned pro in 1995, has been hampered by a chronic hip injury that required surgery in 2002 and 2004. Tennis' long-forgotten but much beloved surfer is scheduled to play just six tournaments this year, a farewell tour culminating with the major that solidified his place in the record books, Roland Garros.

Gustavo Kuerten, who will retire after the French Open this year, brought a splash of color and a lot of heart to the men's game.

© Jeff Gross/Getty Images As the International Tennis Hall of Fame continues to induct one-Slam wonders (not naming names, but suffice to say the latest inductee, who gets his props in July, did not receive my vote), Kuerten is a legitimate all-timer. He won three French Open titles (1997, 2000, and 2001), along with 17 other singles titles, reached No. 1 in 2000, and pocketed over $14 million in prize money. As of the end of last year, he had a 358-191 singles record. While Kuerten failed to get past the quarterfinals of the other three Grand Slams, he proved his hard-court prowess by winning Masters Series titles in Indian Wells and Miami.

It's a shame that Kuerten's best years didn't overlap those of the current crop of stars. Kuerten has a 2-1 record against Roger Federer – their last meeting, the 2004 French Open, Kuerten won in straight sets, and he also beat Federer in 2003 at Indian Wells. Guga never played Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic—and I hope he doesn't during his last few events, which could get ugly. These farewell tours are always a bit of a farce, if not downright sad, as former greats struggle to beat the Mardy Fishes of the world (no disrespect).

I prefer to remember Kuerten at the peak of his powers. It was a pretty dark time in tennis, when Pete Sampras was on his way out, and guys like Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian were competing for Wimbledon gold. The courts were fast, the rallies boring. Kuerten, his hairdo changing by the season, from military crew to crow's nest, stood out as a beacon, a compelling figure with a stylish attacking game that demanded your attention.

Back then, Kuerten cultivated the vibe of a laid-back surfer dude. Hardly the look of a world-beater, he had a pencil-thin body. When he walked, his arms and legs swung jerkily back and forth, and his head rocked side to side. He was the embodiment of a bobblehead.

Which made what happened next such a surprise. With his long, roundhouse strokes, Kuerten unleashed powerful shots that belied his almost comedic appearance. Indeed, Kuerten's relaxed demeanor was more image than reality. Larry Passos, his long-time coach who brought Guga to prominence, once said that while Kuerten brought his surfboard virtually everywhere he went, he rarely surfed. Unlike Brazilian soccer players, including Ronaldo, who are famous for their flair and infamous for their aversion to training and even running on the pitch during a game, Kuerten was a grinder.

Many fans will point to Kuerten's run to the French Open title in 2001 as his crowning achievement. After defeating Alex Corretja, Kuerten showed his appreciation for his fans by drawing a heart in the clay. The moment perfectly captured Guga's charisma—his winning smile and playful attitude. But it was another tournament that showed his mettle and sealed his fate as one of the best players of his generation.

In 2000, the year he won five titles, Kuerten qualified for the season-ending Tennis Master Cup in Lisbon. In front of rabidly supportive Portuguese fans, Kuerten, who almost pulled out early in the week with severe thigh spasms and back pain, played three amazing matches in the span of 48 hours. After beating Yevgeny Kafelnikov to advance to the semifinals, Kuerten out-aced No. 1 Pete Sampras, then recovered to defeat Andre Agassi in straight sets. No one had beaten Agassi and Sampras back-to-back in a decade (Stefan Edberg did it in 1990). The win, which came on a hard court, propelled Kuerten past Marat Safin to become the first South American to finish a year at No. 1.

For all that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have accomplished, each of them is still waiting for their gut-check moment where they are pushed to the brink with lots at stake. (Maybe Federer's came against Nadal in the Wimbledon final last year, but I suspect we'll see more from Federer as he chases Sampras's record.)

So as Kuerten takes his final bow, all smiles and bobbling head, remember that this isn't just some laid-back goofball. Lisbon proved that. It was the finest act in Kuerten's stellar 13-year-long career.

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Sampras Shows No Mercy to Haas

By JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer

February 19, 2008

AP - Feb 19, 1:09 am EST

More Photos SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Pete Sampras hit back-to-back aces to close out the second game of the second set and draw a plea from Tommy Haas.

"Show some mercy, Pete" Haas yelled across the court.

Sampras began to hand his racket over to a ball boy before taking it back. Just as he did so often during his brilliant career, Sampras closed out the match with ease, beating Haas 6-4, 6-2 in an exhibition at the SAP Open on Monday night.

"When I get in that arena, I still want to play great," Sampras said.

It was Sampras' second straight exhibition win against an active tour player, following November's straight-set victory over Roger Federer. Yet it's still not enough to bring Sampras back to the tour after retiring more than five years ago at age 31 with a record 14 Grand Slam titles.

Asked after the match whether he would reconsider his decision and mount a comeback, Sampras initially teased the fans saying he would come back before bringing a dose of reality to the proceedings. In the post-match news conference, Sampras detailed why he has no plans to return to the tour.

"There's no reason for me to come back," Sampras said. "I don't miss the limelight, I don't need the money. The tricky thing for me is I didn't stop for injury but for emotional reasons. I didn't have anything left in the tank. There has to be a reason to come back. There's a whole lot to lose and not much to gain. I don't want to come back for Wimbledon and win a couple of matches. What would that mean to me? I play to win."

Sampras was erratic at the start of his first match in nearly three months, hitting a forehand more than 10 feet long on the first point of the match and double-faulting to open his first service game. But he got sharper as the match went on, even hitting a pair of his signature jump-volley slams to win points. Those type of shots drew loud applause from an opening night record crowd of 8,812.

Sampras showed great touch and precision at the net, using the serve-and-volley game that made him so successful in his career and has become rare in today's game. He even had luck on his side, as one of his shots hit the net cord, bounced in the air, hit the net cord again before bouncing over for a point.

"I didn't know what to expect. I play so sparingly," he said. "I just kind of toss it up and kind of see what happens from there. It took me a little time to find my bearings and get a rhythm out there. The ball was flying a little bit. I hit some pretty good volleys. I returned OK. I think Tommy has more important things to worry about this week besides playing me."

Sampras got the only break of the first set, approaching the net on a second serve by Haas before putting away a forehand volley winner and following it with a forehand winner off a first serve to go up 4-3. Sampras then breezed through the second set, breaking Haas in the first game and again in the seventh before holding serve to win the match.

Haas, who is battling back from shoulder surgery, enjoyed the opportunity to play against Sampras and get used to the surroundings at the tournament.

"Just go out there, feel the ball a little bit, and see what the court is like," Haas said. "Obviously I wasn't too competitive tonight, just kind of enjoying the moment playing against one of the greatest ever and getting a feel for it."

Next up for Sampras is another exhibition against Federer on March 10 at Madison Square Garden. The two greats played three times in Asia in November, with Federer winning the first two matches in straight sets and Sampras winning the final one 7-6 (8), 6-4 on the fast indoor surface at the Venetian Macao arena.

In matches that counted on Monday, fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek beat Paul Capdeville 7-6 (2), 6-1, and eighth-seeded Kristof Vliegen beat Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer was upset by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6).

Also, fifth-seeded Lee Hyung-taik withdrew from the tournament with a back injury and was replaced by Wayne Odesnik, who lost in qualifying but entered the tournament as a lucky loser. Odesnik made the most of his chance, beating American Donald Young 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

In the final match of the night, American John Isner beat Florent Serra of France 7-6 (5), 6-4.

[mauiguy90]

Moya ousted in Buenos Aires February 19, 2008

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (TICKER) -- Carlos Moya's bid for a fourth title at the Copa Telmex tennis tournament came to an abrupt end.

Moya, the No. 3 seed, was ousted by Argentina's Jose Acasuso, 6-2, 6-4, in a first-round upset Tuesday.

It was a shocking loss for the 31-year-old Spaniard, who won here in 1995, 2003 and 2006 and was a finalist here in 2004. Moya entered Tuesday's match with a career record of 22-3 at this event.

But Acasuso needed only 79 minutes to dispatch Moya, who was coming off a loss to Spain's Nicolas Almagro in the Costa Do Sauipe final on Sunday.

It may have been a matter of the odds catching up to Moya, who went to three sets in all five of his matches last week. Acasuso converted 4-of-5 break points and lost his serve only once.

World No. 14 Juan Monaco should take nothing for granted as he begins defense of his title Tuesday.

The second-seeded Argentine opens play at the $466,000 claycourt event against countryman Agustin Calleri.

The 23-year-old Monaco, who defeated Italy's Alessio Di Mauro in the championship match here last season, may be ranked higher than Calleri, but that doesn't guarantee victory by any means.

Ranked 43rd in the world, the 31-year-old Calleri owns a 3-1 lead in the all-time series with Monaco, who claimed his lone victory during their most recent meeting at last year's U.S. Open.

Still, this is a special place for Monaco, who claimed his first career title here a year ago and went on to capture two more before the end of 2007.

Almagro is the No. 5 seed here and battled to a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2) opening-round victory against Martin Vassallo Arguello.

The runner-up to Moya here in 2006, eighth-seeded Filippo Volandri had fewer problems advancing with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Chile's Nicolas Massu.

Fourth seed Juan Ignacio Chela also is through on the heels of a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Santiago Ventura. In eight appearances at this event, the 28-year-old Argentine has reached the semifinals just once.

Others posting first-round wins Tuesday were No. 6 Igor Andreev, Fabio Fognini, Juan Pablo Brzezicki, Thomaz Bellucci, Sergio Roitman and Oscar Hernandez.

Fognini will face top-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian in the second round.

First prize is $74,000.

[mauiguy90]

Sharapova, Williams advance; Mauresmo upset by Tanasugarn

DOHA, Qatar -- Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 6 Venus Williams advanced to the third round at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

Sharapova beat Russian qualifier Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, and Williams defeated Karin Knapp of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in windy conditions due to a sandstorm that hit Doha early Wednesday.

"It was good to win in the desert," Williams said. "It was interesting to win like this. She is a pretty strong girl who hits deep shots, but I am happy I won."

Ivanovic beat Olga Govortsova 6-3, 6-1 but twisted her ankle toward the end of the match.

"It became a very tough match at the end because the pain in my leg was increasing," Ivanovic said. "However, I had my chances and I grabbed them. I was fairly determined to win my match and I am glad I was able to finish off quickly, because it is hard to focus when your mind is on the pain.

"I knew I had to go for my shots and I did that to stay in control. Hopefully, I will be OK."

In other matches, Li Na of China upset No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia defeated No. 9 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4, and No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Nathalie Dechy of France 7-5, 7-5.

"With such a strong breeze, it is never easy to control a shot," Kuznetsova said. "You have to actually create a shot when playing conditions become so tough. We have to constantly move our feet to be able to control our shots. You have to analyze your own shots because of the strong winds."

Also, Shahar Peer of Israel beat Virginie Razzano of France 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), Dinara Safina topped Yan Zi of China 6-2, 6-1, Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand upset former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (9-7), 7-5, and Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain rallied to beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

[mauiguy90]

Almagro Wins Ninth Straight Match

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)—Nicolas Almagro defeated fellow Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to reach the Copa Telmex quarterfinals Wednesday and match his longest ATP winning streak.

Almagro's ninth successive win, including the Costa do Sauipe title in Brazil on Sunday, equaled a string he achieved in 2006.

In their first ATP matchup, Hernandez could convert only two of 13 break chances against Almagro. Hernandez needed a medical timeout in the second set for apparent heat exhaustion. He resumed after an eight-minute delay.

"It was really hot and it looked like Oscar was suffering a lot," fifth-seeded Almagro said.

Seventh-seeded Potito Starace of Italy also advanced, defeating Juan Pablo Brzezicki of Argentina 6-3, 6-3 without allowing a break point in their second-round match.

[mauiguy90]

Del Ray Winner Nishikori to Face Roddick

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Japanese teen star Kei Nishikori won his 10th consecutive ATP Tour match Wednesday, beating Argentina's Diego Hartfield 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the SAP Open.

The 18-year-old Nishikori, 131st in the world rankings following his victory against James Blake on Sunday in Delray Beach, Fla., will face top-seeded Andy Roddick, a 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5) winner against Chris Guccione.

Nishikori, the first Japanese player to win an ATP Tour title since Shuzo Matsuoka in Seoul in 1992, was looking forward to a match against Roddick who was in the stands.

"I think I'm ready," Nishikori said. "I'll be facing another top 10 player. His serve is a big thing. He'll be the highest ranked player I've ever played."

Midway through the first set, Nishikori saw Roddick watching.

"When I was down 4-3, I saw him in the stands," Nishikori said. "I got really nervous. He was sitting next to my coach. I wanted to play Roddick. That's why I won."

"I saw him play a little bit last week," Roddick said of Nishikori. "I'd be lying if I said I knew a lot about him. I saw him play tonight. He looks like he's full of confidence and he has a lot of momentum going for him.

"I've begun asking around about him. I hope to talk to James (Blake) tomorrow about their match together last Sunday," Roddick said.

After winning the first set handily, Roddick struggled through the next two sets. For every point Roddick won on his serve, Guccione matched him.

Guccione turned Roddick's game of aces against him with a 20-9 edge in the match.

"I thought he passed really well tonight," Guccione said. "I thought the match was a good sign for me. It was against a top 10 player and it showed that I'm getting closer to them."

"I thought it came down to a couple points tonight," Roddick said. "I'm glad I had something to show for it at the end of the match."

Guccione won the second set when he ran together seven consecutive points in the 6-6 tiebreaker.

"I played a sloppy double fault," Roddick said. "And, then, he put together a little bit of a run of points on me. It was also the kind of match that you can play horribly and win and you can play well and lose."

Roddick has won twice at the SAP Open and owns a 21-4 record in San Jose.

In the other evening match, third-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany defeated Robert Kendrick, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

In other afternoon matches, fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic edged Bobby Reynolds 7-5, 7-6 (7-5); Robby Ginepri upset eighth-seeded Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-2, 6-3; and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

[mauiguy90]

Nadal Loses to Seppi in Rotterdam; Top Seeds Toppled

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (TICKER) —Andreas Seppi delivered the final blow on a disastrous day for seeded players at the AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

The unseeded Italian rallied to upset top-seeded Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Thursday to claim his first win in three meetings with the Spanish star.

"I played some of my best tennis today and against him you have to give 110 per cent," Seppi said. "I tried to take the ball earlier to put him under pressure."

Nadal was the only remaining seeded player in the draw after a bevy of upsets earlier Thursday as second seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 3 David Ferrer of Spain and No. 5 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic all lost to unseeded opponents.

Celebrating his 24th birthday in style, Seppi improved to 4-11 against top-10 opponents. The world No. 42, who also ousted 2004 champion Lleyton Hewitt on Wednesday, will play Sweden's Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals.

"I broke him (Nadal) in the first game but then was 4-1 down, so that wasn't the best start," Seppi added. "But I played more aggressively and served better in the end, which brought me a lot of points."

Soderling advanced Thursday with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco.

Ranked second in the world since July 2005, Nadal is 10-3 and has yet to win on tour this season, finishing as runner-up in Chennai and a semifinalist at the Australian Open.

Frenchman Michael Llodra sent Davydenko crashing out of the draw with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the world's fourth-ranked player. It was Llodra's first win over Davydenko in five attempts and just his third career victory in 21 matches against top-10 players.

The world No. 58, Llodra continued his strong start to the season, having won his second career title last month in Adelaide. The 27-year-old will face either Robin Haase of the Netherlands in the round of eight.

Croatia's Ivo Karlovic and German qualifier Mischa Zverev will meet in the quarterfinals after upsetting Berdych and Ferrer, respectively.

Karlovic used his blistering serve to claim a 6-4, 6-4 win over Berdych, firing 17 aces in the match.

The 20-year-old Zverev never had beaten a top-10 opponent prior to his 6-2, 7-5 win over Ferrer. The world No. 98, who also upset compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber in the opening round, came into this event with just 10 career victories on tour.

In a matchup of unseeded players, Haase ousted Germany's Michael Berrer, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

[mauiguy90]

Roddick Captures SAP Open

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—Andy Roddick arrived at the SAP Open this week not knowing where his game was because he had played so sparingly this season.

He left San Jose with this third title at this event and confidence that he can get on a roll following a 6-4, 7-5 victory in the tournament final Sunday.

"You want to build on this and use it," Roddick said. "If you get through a couple of tough matches like I did this week, it gives you an opportunity to go on a hot streak. I think maybe I got my foot in the door as far as that's concerned and now I need to build on that."

Roddick had played only four competitive matches since winning the Davis Cup late last season, losing in the third round of the Australian Open and winning his only match in this month's Davis Cup tie against Austria.

He was pushed to a third-set tiebreaker in the opening round here against lucky loser Chris Guccione before starting to find his groove. Roddick is stressing this stretch of the season and has accepted a wild-card entry to play in Memphis this upcoming week in order to get more work.

"It was important for me to come here and play well because I didn't have a good result in Australia and I hadn't really played much tennis this year so far," Roddick said. "This year might have been more important than other years."

The top-seeded Roddick never even faced a break point in the final as Stepanek had no answer for his booming serve. Roddick closed out each set with an ace to win his 24th career title.

There were only two service breaks in the entire match. The fourth-seeded Stepanek made three errors in the opening game and lost his serve at love to open the match. Then at 5-all in the third set, Roddick came up with the two big groundstrokes he needed to close out the match.

He hit a forehand down the line off the first serve that handcuffed Stepanek as he approached the net to earn a break point. Then he went up 6-5 with a topspin forehand passing shot.

After that, it was just a formality as Roddick started the next game with an ace and two service winners. Roddick made two errors before finishing it off with a 129 mph ace down the middle.

Then he tried to pull off a Michael Jackson-style dance move in his celebration, kicking his right leg up in the air, twisting his body and throwing out his left arm. It was his answer to Stepanek's signature post-match dance, "The Worm," which proved to be very popular this week.

"Everybody was asking me about 'The Worm,"' Roddick said. "All I hear is the 'The Worm.' So I wanted to find something as cheesy if not cheesier to go with, which was tough. I figured one bad leg kick and maybe I'd be on par."

Roddick finished with 13 aces and lost only 13 points in his 11 service games. He was only pushed to deuce once, at 5-4 in the opening set. With so many points ending quickly, Stepanek had a hard time finding his timing.

"It's just the way Andy played," Stepanek said. "When I played the guys before, a lot of balls were played. With Andy, the games sometimes go too quickly. Maybe you don't touch the ball or touch it twice but the ball ends up in the fence. Today there was no rhythm for me. Usually I'm taking the rhythm of the players but today I didn't get the chance to get mine."

The 29-year-old Stepanek was looking for his third career title. He became a fan favorite this week with his engaging personality.

He even came out before the match wearing a Joe Thornton Sharks jersey that he was given as a gift by the locker room attendants as long as he would wear it on the court. Stepanek, a New York Rangers fan, said he wanted to thank the Sharks for giving up their home arena this week. But that was probably a bad omen considering the Sharks have one of the worst home records in the NHL.

"Throughout the week I need to show the emotions, show the way I feel, show the way I am," he said. "I think that tennis is missing that a little bit but I'm not doing that because the tennis is missing it. It's me. That's my personality. That's the way I am."

In the doubles final, Americans Scott Lipsky and David Martin won their first career title, beating top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (4), 7-5 in a matchup of former Stanford stars.

Edited February 25, 2008 by mauiguy90

[mauiguy90]

Nalbandian Wins in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)—David Nalbandian earned his eighth career title, rallying to defeat Jose Acasuso 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 Sunday at the Copa Telmex final.

"I'm very happy to win at home," said the 11th-ranked Nalbandian. "It's beautiful to pull off something I could never do before here."

Former Argentina soccer captain Diego Maradona was in the crowd at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.

Acasuso won the first set by taking advantage of Nalbandian's errors on long rallies. The baseline play continued in the second set, but Nalbandian's serve improved and he broke for a 4-1 lead.

Acasuso broke back in the ninth game. Acasuso then saved two set points in the tiebreaker, but Nalbandian eventually forced the deciding set.

"I played some breaks badly and made mistakes," Nalbandian said. "But luckily I won the second set, and that was the key."

In the third, Acasuso double-faulted in the seventh game to give Nalbandian a 4-3 lead. Nalbandian then held serve the rest of the way for the win.

[mauiguy90]

Llodra Victorious in Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb 24 (Reuters) - France’s Michael Llodra beat Sweden’s Robin Soderling 6-7 6-3 7-6 to win the World Indoor Tournament on Sunday and take his second title of the year.

The 27-year-old, ranked 58th in the world, dropped his first set of the week but fought back to break Soderling twice in the second.

Both players dominated on their own service in the final set but Llodra’s serve and volley game earned him victory in the tiebreak.

“I came here this week and saw the draw and knew it would be difficult and so it is unbelievable I’m standing here with the trophy,” said Llodra, who is the third French winner of the tournament following Cedric Pioline and Nicolas Escude (twice).

For Llodra the victory in Rotterdam, after winning in Adelaide in January, was further proof that the doubles specialist’s decision last year to develop his singles game was paying off.

“This win gives confidence…at the end of February I won two titles already,” said Llodra.

“Also today, after losing the first set and surviving two break points in the opening game of the second one, I have the feeling I played one of my best matches on the tour.

“I knew that Robin might get a bit nervous when you put him under pressure and therefore I changed my game a bit during the match and pressurised his second serve and that finally gave me the win.”

Soderling, ranked 59th in the world, was happy with his performance in only his second tournament since he came back from a left wrist injury that had sidelined him for months. He reached the quarter-finals in Marseille last week.

“Michael (Llodra) really played well on the important points and therefore deserves the victory,” Soderling told reporters.

“It was different today as we only had three or four rallies while my previous four matches were all against baseliners. I played some poor service games in the second set but overall I am pretty much on the level I want to be.”

[mauiguy90]

Dubai Draws Dream Field

Filderstadt, it seems, is being reborn. That event was noteworthy for the fact that Top Twenty players ended up in qualifying. Well, it's happening again. The #1 qualifying seed at Dubai is Agnieszka Radwanska, currently #19.

Nearly the entire field from Doha has decided to play Dubai as well, and since it's only a 28-draw, that means that a lot of very highly-ranked players were pushed down into qualifying. It's not just Radwanska. Katarina Srebotnik and Anabel Medina Garrigues are others who ended up in qualifying. And, yes, Elena Likhovtseva actually decided to play in the qualifying - though she ended up retiring from her match with countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova.

The tournament features seven of the top ten, including every player from #1 to #6. Justine Henin is of course is #1. Svetlana Kuznetsova is #2 even though her ranking is now down to #3. Ana Ivanovic is the #3 seed and has the bad luck to be in Henin's half, plus she is playing on a bad ankle.

Jelena Jankovic got lucky; she is seeded #4 and is in Kuznetsova's half. #5 seed Maria Sharapova is in Kuznetsova's quarter; #6 Anna Chakvetadze is in Jankovic's quarter; #7 Marion Bartoli is in Henin's quarter, and #8 Elena Dementieva (the only seed who is not Top Ten) is in Ivanovic's quarter.

Odds are there will be no easy matches at all in this draw. Henin will have to open against Nadia Petrova (or a qualifier, who could of course be Radwanska or Srebotnik). Bartoli's first match is against Francesca Schiavone, with Sybille Bammer waiting. Ivanovic, assuming she can play, is likely to open against Nicole Vaidisova.

Dementieva, the lowest seed in the draw, is supposed to face Schnyder, the top unseeded player; the winner will face either Alona Bondarenko or Maria Kirilenko. Chakvetadze opens against a qualifier, but then will almost certainly face Dinara Safina. Jankovic will play her first match against Sania Mirza or a qualifier. Sharapova (who, at almost any event but this one, would have a first round bye) opens against Agnes Szavay, then perhaps Amelie Mauresmo if Mauresmo can shake off her funk. And Kuznetsova will have to face either red-hot Li Na or, just possibly, Lucie Safarova in her first round match. It's a draw that has "upsets" written all over it.

What really makes Dubai amazing is that it manages to be as strong as it is even though Venus Williams, Tatiana Golovin, and Shahar Peer are all playing Memphis. To be sure, they are the only Top Thirty players in the Tennessee event's field: Venus is the #1 seed, Golovin #2, and Peer #3. There is really only one other serious contender to win here, but she is serious indeed: Lindsay Davenport is the #4 seed, and she remains undefeated at Tier III events in her comeback.

There are only two other Top Fifty players in the draw (and only one of them was Top Fifty last week): #5 seed Olga Govortsova and #6 Caroline Wozniacki. Former champion Sofia Arvidsson is #7 (and playing quite well this year), with Laura Granville #8. Many of the other players with direct entry are ranked below #100; we'd consider only two (Milagros Sequera and Olga Poutchkova) to be of much note, and both are sliding in the rankings (Sequera because she is hurt so much and Poutchkova because she just is).

All that strength at Dubai and Memphis didn't leave much for Acapulco; they ended up with only a two-round qualifying draw, and even so they had to plug in some doubles specialists. As of this time, the Acapulco draw is not available, but the top player signed up is Flavia Pennetta, with Gisela Dulko the listed #2 -- though in fact the next-highest-ranked player on the entry list is Dominika Cibulkova, and if she isn't too jet lagged, she probably qualifies as the favorite.

The Rankings

Last week's event at Doha and this week's at Dubai have a curious history: they're always switching places in the calendar. Typically, as this year, the bigger one goes first. Last year, before Doha started buying up the tennis world, it was Dubai that came first. So what is coming off this week is Doha, which last year was a Tier II. Also coming off is Acapulco. (Note that we're adding three events and subtracting only two, so the total points "in the system" will increase.)

Last year, Justine Henin won Doha, with Svetlana Kuznetsova as the finalist, Daniela Hantuchova and Jelena Jankovic as semifinalists, and Patty Schnyder, Kateryna Bonarenko, Martina Hingis, and Francesca Schiavone as quarterfinalists. Of those eight, Hingis is retired, and Bondarenko and Hantuchova are not playing (the latter presumably due to injury). Acapulco was won by Emilie Loit, with Flavia Pennetta the finalist and Julia Schruff and Sara Errani semifinalists.

If we ranked weeks based on "likely to see a lot of movement," "likely to see a little movement," or "somewhere in between," this probably qualifies as "in between," with perhaps a slight tendency toward "a lot." The #1 ranking is of course not at stake; Henin will keep that. And Ivanovic looks safe at #2; Kuznetsova can get very close, but cannot overtake her. Kuznetsova, on the other hand, goes in with only a small lead over Jankovic, and with more to defend. Very likely the one who lasts longer will be #3. It is possible that the one who goes out sooner will fall to #5, with Maria Sharapova moving up to #4, though that probably required Sharapova to win both Doha and Dubai.

With Daniela Hantuchova not playing, Anna Chakvetade is sure to stay at #6. Hantuchova may well lose the #7 spot to Venus Williams. Marion Bartoli will stay #9. There is a chance, though, that Elena Dementieva will knock Serena Williams out of the Top Ten.

We note that every player from #11 to #24, except Vera Zvonareva, is in action at either Dubai or Memphis. That means that every spot between #11 and #25 is in play, and will be probably until quite late in the week. Lower down, it looks as if Kateryna Bonarenko will fall out of the Top Forty, and Flavia Pennetta may well fall out of the Top Thirty. It looks as if Emilie Loit may end up below #80.

[Heng]

Fed is greatness but he's already playing a later career Agassi type schedule (just focusing on the slams and master's series events). Hopefully he can squeeze out 2-3 more slams but as usual there's more and more younger talent coming up all the time. I think he'll be #1 until the end of this year and slide on out (he'll buck the trend with a slow slide as opposed to the quick fade away which is the norm nowadays). We'll see more out of character losses to top 50 under age 25 type players.

Too much wear and tear on the body in today's game to stay on top for long (it's already so unusual that he's done it for this long). Look at Djok... his body has failed him more than a few times now and he's only 20. I doubt if he'll even be around for another 5 years. Nadal has a slightly better chance but his game isn't something you can do too long either. Don't forget by the time we see these guys on TV, they've already been playing for 15 years since age 3-4.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Heng

[mauiguy90]

Fed is greatness but he's already playing a later career Agassi type schedule (just focusing on the slams and master's series events). Hopefully he can squeeze out 2-3 more slams but as usual there's more and more younger talent coming up all the time. I think he'll be #1 until the end of this year and slide on out (he'll buck the trend with a slow slide as opposed to the quick fade away which is the norm nowadays). We'll see more out of character losses to top 50 under age 25 type players.

Too much wear and tear on the body in today's game to stay on top for long (it's already so unusual that he's done it for this long). Look at Djok... his body has failed him more than a few times now and he's only 20. I doubt if he'll even be around for another 5 years. Nadal has a slightly better chance but his game isn't something you can do too long either. Don't forget by the time we see these guys on TV, they've already been playing for 15 years since age 3-4.

Have to agree that Fed's schedule is razor thin. He hasn't play a match since the Australian Open and hasn't played for over a month now. Would think that Fed would be eager to get some practice matches on clay so he can prepare for the French Open but it appears that he is gun shy for whatever reasons. Since Nadal is not playing great tennis now, it is a great opportunity for Fed to complete a career slam this year. If he choses not to prepare early for the French, then he can only blame himself should he lose in Paris again.

Edited February 26, 2008 by mauiguy90

[mauiguy90]

Henin Loses in Dubai; #3 Ivanovic upset by Dementieva

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Justine Henin lost in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, falling to Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) on Thursday.

"She played really well," Henin said. "She was hitting hard, coming to the net, slicing … really mixing it up. I had my chances but I did not take them, whereas she did. She was definitely a better player and deserved to win."

Schiavone's previous best finish in Dubai was a quarterfinal loss to Henin in 2006. She will play eighth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the semifinals on Friday. Dementieva beat third-seeded Ana Ivanovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

"I have beaten (Amelie) Mauresmo when she was world No. 1 in a Fed Cup match, but definitely this win against someone like Justine, who always plays at such a high level, is the biggest win of my career," Schiavone said.

Henin had won 17 straight matches in Dubai.

The top-ranked Henin, who won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award last week, earned her 41st career title and first of 2008 this month at the Diamond Games in her home country of Belgium.

The defending champion in Dubai, however, lost her chance to win the Golden Slam when she was eliminated in the Australian Open quarterfinals by eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

After playing in Melbourne, Henin had cortisone treatment on her right knee.

Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advanced to the semifinals at the Aviation Club by beating Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-1, 7-6 (4), and fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic moved on when Anna Chakvetadze of Russia retired because of a left thigh injury after losing the first set 6-1.

[mauiguy90]

Federer Draws Murray at Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Top-ranked Roger Federer was drawn to play the 12th-ranked Andy Murray of Britain in the opening round at the Dubai Championship.

Federer, a four-time champion, has lost only two matches since playing in Dubai for the first time in 2002 -- to Rainer Schuettler of Germany in the round-of-16 in 2002 and Rafael Nadal in the 2006 final.

Federer and Murray are 1-1 in head-to-head. The Briton won their last match, in the second round of the 2006 ATP Masters in Cincinnati.

The tournament starts Monday at the Aviation Club.

The second-ranked Nadal was drawn Saturday to play Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. If he wins, Nadal will then meet either UAE wild card Nader Mahmoud or a qualifier in the second round.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic opens against Marin Cilic of Croatia. The Serb could then play Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who lost to Federer in last year's final.

Sixth-seeded Andy Roddick will make his Dubai debut against former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The top six ranked players are all in the field of 32 with the winner collecting $US300,000.

[mauiguy90]

Roger Federer suffered a shocking defeat in his first match since the Australian Open, by the hands of Britain's #1 Andy Murray in 3 sets at Dubai. Murray lost the 1st set in a close tie breaker, but then fought back to take the next two sets and upset Federer. Murray, who sat out a large portion of last season due to a wrist injury, won 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. He now owns a career record of 2-1 vs. Federer.

[mauiguy90]

Federer Upset in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Roger Federer is on a losing streak for the second time in four months.

The top-ranked Federer, who won three Grand Slam titles last year but has struggled since the U.S. Open, lost to Andy Murray 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 on Monday in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

"My expectations are not sky-high at this point," said Federer, who was playing for the first time since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals Jan. 25. "Obviously, I haven't played much so you don't go in with any expectations, actually. You hope to get past the first round, no matter if it's a guy with no ranking or a guy ranked basically in the top 10."

After winning his 12th Grand Slam title at last year's U.S. Open, Federer lost to David Nalbandian in the Madrid Masters final. The Swiss star then won the Swiss Indoors, but lost to Nalbandian in the third round of the Paris Masters and followed that with a round robin loss to Fernando Gonzalez in his opening match at the ATP Masters Cup, which Federer eventually won.

On Monday, Federer said he felt rusty.

"Missing forehands by two or three meters—it's just not possible," Federer said. "I gave him the mistakes today."

Playing Murray, who is ranked 11th in the world and beat Federer at the Cincinnati Masters two years ago, in the first round didn't make things any easier on Federer.

"It was always going to be a tough draw. I knew that from the start," Federer said. "He's played many matches already this season whereas obviously I come in a little bit cold.

"Of course, I wish I would have maybe had a little bit easier draw, but under the circumstances I felt I played OK. It wasn't a bad match, which is the only positive thing out of tonight."

Murray has already won two ATP titles this season, and he now leads Federer 2-1 in his career.

"Anytime you get to play someone like Roger, it is an honor to be on the same court as him," Murray said. "Each time I play him I step my game up and play pretty well, and I played really well today and served great."

Federer, who won the Dubai tournament four times in the last five years, had not lost in the first round of a tournament since his defeat to Dominik Hrbaty in the 2004 Cincinnati Masters. Last year, Federer lost his opening match at the Pacific Life Open to Guillermo Canas after getting a bye into the second round.

"He's the best player in the world, there's no question," Murray said. "The most important thing is to believe that you can win the match."

Murray held serve throughout the match and broke Federer in the sixth game of the second set. He broke Federer's serve again to take a 3-2 lead in the third. The British player served out the match at love.

Fabrice Santoro of France also advanced, beating last year's finalist, Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-4. Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain advanced by beating Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-0, and seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet of France defeated Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

Edited March 4, 2008 by mauiguy90

[mauiguy90]

Federer presently has a 400 point lead over Nadal in the rankings. However, since he won the Dubai Open last year, and lost in the 1st round this year, he will lose 300 points. Consequently, if Nadal makes the finals this year he will gain the points necessary to become #1 in the year round rankings, leastwise until the next tournament. Of course, Nadal is seeded to meet Roddick in the quarters and Djokovic in the semis, so making the finals won't be easy. However, there is a fair chance that there will be a new #1 ranked player next week.

FYI, Nadal beat Kohlschreiber in the 1st round tonight in 3 sets.

Edited March 4, 2008 by mauiguy90