Sharapova Can Ascend to No 1 This Week; Hewitt Says Wimby Between Him and Federer
<SMALL>Posted on May 02, 2005</SMALL>
Masters Series-Rome: Tennis-X Draw Breakdown
While the grand slam events boast the majesty of professional tennis, the ATP Masters Series events truly bring the best-of-the-best together early and often, many times featuring opening-round match-ups you'd only otherwise see in tournament finals.
Most of the slam opening rounds are snoozers, while even the top-level WTA Tour events grant their seeds first-round byes, guaranteeing the first few days of the event are a parade of no-names, with the stars not coming out until Wednesday, or even Thursday.
This week at the Masters Series-Rome, how about matching top seed Andy Roddick vs. Greg Rusedski in the opening round? Or how about Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. the brutal baseline bashing of Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez? Or Tim Henman vs. the back-from-injury Roland Garros champ Gustavo Kuerten, or Marat Safin vs. Jiri Novak?
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Okay, so Jiri's not making anyone scramble for The Tennis Channel guide, but you get the picture. Right off the bat the top dogs are tested, especially on clay, this week at the MS-Rome.
The main "storyline," as the TV people love to brand it, is the absence of the top-most contenders, this week in world No. 1 Roger Federer (who withdrew with inflammation of the arches in both feet) and No. 2-ranked Lleyton Hewitt (recovering from toe surgery). Another Top 10 member, defending champion Carlos Moya, is now a question mark after injuring his shoulder and retiring in the Estoril semifinals on Saturday.
More free storylines: Can Andy Roddick prove his titles on the red clay in Houston aren't flukes against sub-par dirt competition, and proceed to win a big clay title in Europe?
Is Guillermo Coria actually a threat, or suddenly levels below Spanish goldenboy Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal?
Does Tim Henman actually have mystical claycourt skills, or was his semifinal run last year at Roland Garros the equivalent of Mikeal Pernfors willing the Masters Series-Canada? (How's that for obscure? Bam!)
Was Gustavo Kuerten's second hip surgery really successful, or is Guga now a non-factor?
Does the 35-year-old Andre Agassi still have enough in the tank to win six matches in seven days (including a best-of-five final) at Rome or Hamburg, much less win the French?
Could the man on the street tell Joachim Johansson from Thomas Johansson if they stood side by side?
Has Gaston Gaudio already done the math to see how far he will plunge after he doesn't reach the final in his Roland Garros title defense?
Has Nadal looked in the mirror lately at his orange and white Creamsicle (R) get-up (at least change the shirt color once in a while)?
Does Marat Safin have any goals in 2005 other than riding out his Australian Open win from January as a pick-up line in bars ('Hey baby -- I win Australian Open, can I buy you drink?')?
In a poor display of judgement by tournament officials, former No. 1 and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was denied a wildcard. Here is the breakdown of the four sections of the draw for the 2005 Masters Series-Rome, or the Italian Open, or the Telecom Italia Masters Roma, or whichever title strikes your fancy:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Andy Roddick, (8) David Nalbandian, (9) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, (14) Nikolay Davydenko
Floaters: "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Al Costa, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Tommy Haas, Fabrice "The Original Wizard" Santoro
Ouch, Roddick not only falls into the toughest section of the draw, but it's Floater Central. A-Rod isn't confronted by Rusedski in his opener, with the two facing off on clay for the first time in six meetings, but the going gets tougher beginning in the second round with former Roland Garros champ Al Costa. Likewise Nalbandian, coming off a long week at Munich, will need a lot of patience and fitness (which may not yet be there after a long layoff with illness) to get by Santoro in his opener. Gonzalez doesn't match up well in his opener against (9) Coria with an 0-4 career mark, though the two went three sets in their last meeting (on hardcourt). Another tough opener is Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer in an all-German (career series tied 2-2), with the winner to face the Coria-Gonzalez victor. Roddick will not survive this quarter, with the Argentines especially itching to give the American a red clay clinic free-of-charge. A-Rod can gain some Roland Garros cred with three wins before facing the wrath of Coria or Nalbandian in the quarterfinals, with the RG threats scheduled to meet in an all-Argentine clash in the third round.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Tim Henman, (6) Andre Agassi, (12) Ivan Ljubicic, (13) Tommy Robredo
Floaters: Gustavo Kuerten, Nicolas Massu, Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, Sebastien Grosjean
The easiest section of the draw to land in, as everyone seems to have outstanding problems except Agassi. Henman can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag between his back problems and flagging confidence; Ljubicic's game, save for the occasions when he can power through opponents, is not built for the dirt; Robredo would be a threat were he not coming from a long week in Estoril and coming off an injury; Kuerten has been unable to make an impact since his multiple hip surgeries; Massu is coming off a toe injury, Hrbaty is slumping, and Grosjean's game has been shaky since weathering with a string of injuries. Andre couldn't have a better draw if he fashioned it himself, with Italian wildcard Alessio Di Mauro in his opener, then the winner of the clay-impaired Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan and a qualifier, and then either Ljubicic, Rochus, or Grosjean to reach the quarterfinals. Opening-rounders to watch in the second quarter are (4) Henman vs. Guga, and (12) Ljubicic vs. The Roach (who beat the Croat weeks back at the MS-Monte Carlo). Agassi will be justifiably disappointed if he can't emerge from this motley group into the semifinals against Coria or Nalbandian.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (7) Carlos Moya, (3) Gaston Gaudio, (10) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (16) Thomas Johansson
Floaters: "You Say" Potito Starace, Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, David Ferrer
Really wanted to throw Rainer Schuettler and Mardy Fish amidst the floaters in this rapidly-declining section, but knew the X in-box would have crashed with e-mails titled "Hey, Dumb Ass..." Moya is a question mark with the injury, leaving Gaudio (who could be spent after Estoril) and the Spanish floater Ferrer to battle it out to see who will emerge into the semifinals. The Johanssons could struggle to a few wins, with Joachim opening against Italian wildcard Andreas Seppi and Thomas facing the fast-court loving F-Lo, while Moya would open against the talented Italian wildcard Starace (winner to face the victor of the unwatchable Schuettler-Fish match-up). Ferrer, who had a scorching April, opens against Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, winner to face T.Johansson or F-Lo. Whoever emerges from the Gaudio-Ferrer third-round confrontation will take it all the way to the semifinals, likely against Nadal.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Marat Safin, (5) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (11) Guillermo Canas, (15) Radek Stepanek
Floaters: Mikhail Youzhny, Andrei Pavel, Igor Andreev, Jiri Novak
Potentially tough openers for the top two seeds in the bottom quarter with Safin facing Novak, who has beaten him before and lost 7-6 in the third in their only meeting on clay, and Nadal facing the Russian Youzhny who stretched him to five sets at this year's Aussie Open. No. 11 Canas faces Pavel, who is coming off the final at Munich, while No. 15 Stepanek lines up against Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, who like his nickname-sake is a spray gun on clay. Other than that, generally a weak quarter, with a wait-and-see attitude as to who can stop the potential Safin-Nadal fourth-round meeting.
In last year's finals the No. 6-seeded Moya dismantled the No. 5-seeded Nalbandian 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the best-of-five final, while the Indian/Belarussian tandem of Mahesh Bhupathi and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi came from a set down to defeat Aussie Wayne Arthurs/Paul Hanley for the doubles title.
No. 1 Within Grasp This Week for Sharapova at WTA Berlin
Lots of storylines this week at the German Open in Berlin.
Front and center is this year's sad state of sponsorship: the locals call it the German Open, but the tournament is officially titled the Qatar Total German Open. Yes, Qatar, another "Oil Open" added to the calendar. And it is only a one-year reprieve for Berlin before the event gets carted off to Doha, added to the list of past German event failures such as Hamburg and Munich on the women's side, and Stuttgart on the men's.
Second storyline is the top-seeded Maria Sharapova. The Russian beauty has never reached so much as a semifinal on the red dirt, yet finds herself in the position of elevating to the No. 1 spot on the WTA Rankings if she can win this week in Berlin.
Third storyline: How come the No. 11 and 12 seeds are among the favored to win in Berlin? Both Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne have been tearing it up since returning to the tour from their respective injuries and illnesses, with H-H coming off her second consecutive 2005 claycourt title last week at Warsaw. Clijsters, stay tuned, may be hampered this week by a sore shoulder.
Fourth storyline: How about those Williams sisters? -- who aren't in Berlin this week, even with the German Open a major Roland Garros warm-up? Serena is reportedly still struggling with an ongoing ankle injury, while Venus is simply sick of losing and will likely sit out until the French. Nice preparation plan.
Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the event with an ongoing abdominal injury.
Sharapova is joined among the Top 8 seeds in Berlin by the Russian Revolution of Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Nadia Petrova and Elena Bovina, with a couple non-Russians thrown in for spice in Swiss Patty Schnyder and Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.
The Top 8 seeds receive opening-round byes in typical WTA early-round momentum-killing fashion, but a few openers of interest exist in Japan's (14) Ai Sugiyama vs. Chinese comer Shuai Peng, former mover-and-shaker (15) Daniela Hantuchova vs. Top 40 member Gisela Dulko, Dinara Safina vs. Ana Ivanovic in an all-teen all-future meeting, and (16) Karolina Sprem vs. confident French Top 40-ranked Virginie Razzano.
Sharapova's road to the final gets difficult early with fellow Russian Evgenia Linetskaya possibly in the second round, and Henin-Hardenne or Zvonareva in the quarterfinals if she can survive that long employing her one-dimensional baseline bashing.
In last year's final the No. 2-seeded Mauresmo received a walkover against the No. 3-seeded Venus who was unable to compete due to an ankle sprain.
Nalbandian Wins First Title in 3 Years at ATP Munich
David Nalbandian made his return from a virus a quick one Sunday at the ATP stop in Munich, defeating No. 5 seed Andrei Pavel 6-4, 6-1 for his first title since Basel in 2002.
In addition to the winner's check the 23-year-old Argentine drove home a new silver BMW Z4 convertible for collecting the BMW Open title, the third title of his career.
"I knew when I broke back to 3-4 in the first set it would be tough for him to keep playing at the level he did," Nalbandian said. "This year I started very good in Australia and I then got a virus. Right now I'm trying to get back to my best level. Rome and Hamburg are coming and then Roland Garros. It's nice to start off well on the clay courts by winning here."
Pavel led 4-1 in the first set before dropping 11 of the next 12 games.
"He showed that he is a Top 10 player right now," Pavel said. "I had to play fast against him because my body wasn't 100 percent after yesterday's semifinal and the problems with my stomach. I thought that he would give me some free points but that was not the fact."
In the doubles final Mario Ancic and Julian Knowle won their first title as a team, defeating the German team of Florian Mayer and Alexander Waske 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Gaudio Wins Third 2005 Title at ATP Estoril
No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio displayed his ability to dominate the lesser claycourt talents on the ATP tour Sunday in the final at Estoril, defeating No. 4 seed Tommy Robredo 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 in the lopsided championship.
Gaudio is now 20-3 on clay this year, with additional dirt titles at Vina del Mar and Buenos Aires. Gaudio faced only one other seeded player en route to the final, No. 8 Feliciano Lopez.
"I tried to step into the court more today and be more aggressive, because it occurred to me the other day that I was just standing at the back, doing a lot of running and it was doing anything," Gaudio said. "In the second set today, Robredo was the one hitting hard and making me run, so in the third set, I took the opportunity to be more aggressive and go for my shots, go for the lines, and that's what made the difference."
Robredo, celebrating his 23rd birthday Sunday, received a free pass into the final when countryman Carlos Moya retired during their semifinal with a shoulder injury.
"Although I lost today I'm really happy with my week," said Robredo, coming off an injury of his own. "I came to Estoril to play a lot of matches and I reached finals in singles and doubles, so I couldn't ask for anything more."
In the Saturday doubles final, (3) Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl defeated Juan Ignacio Chela/Robredo 6-3, 6-4 for their tour-leading fourth title of the year.
Henin Wins 2nd Straight Clay Title at WTA Warsaw
Former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne ran her win streak to 11 Sunday at the WTA stop in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova from a set down to capture her second consecutive claycourt title 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
It was the first meeting on clay in six previous match-ups for the two, with the Belgian winning five of six entering the Sunday encounter.
"It was a great battle at the end of the match," Henin-Hardenne said. "It's been only for her in the first set and only for me in the second, and finally in the third set we saw a good match, a good fight...She was hitting the ball very hard. She's very powerful, especially with her forehand, and I was really defensive."
The Belgian is quickly making up for lost time after missing the beginning of the year with a virus and knee injury, and won her previous event in Charleston. She is 14-1 this year since returning to play on the hardcourts at Miami.
"It's good that I've got a lot of matches, that was the main goal," Henin-Hardenne said. "Now I have a couple of matches on clay, and that gives me a lot of confidence before the French Open. And I hope next week in Berlin I will still have other matches."
WTA officials project Henin-Hardenne will move back into the Top 15 with the win.
Kuznetsova, who edged Kim Clijsters in three sets to reach the final, is still looking for her maiden title on the year.
"I'd like to know how it happened, that I lost it," said Kuznetsova, who went on to answer her own question. "At the end of the (second) set I pulled my leg and I wasn't moving so well...I couldn't stay with her on the same level."
In the doubles final the unseeded team of Tatiana Perebiynis and Barbora Strycova won their first title, defeating Poland's Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska 6-1, 6-4.
Qualifier Safarova Wins WTA Estoril Title
Eighteen-year-old Czech qualifier Lucie Safarova burst onto the tennis radar Sunday at the WTA stop in Estoril, defeating No. 4 seed Na Li from a set down 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 to win her first WTA title in her first final.
Safarova defeated two seeds en route to the title in No. 8 Virginie Ruano Pascual and No. 3 seed Gisela Dulko, and saved four match points against unseeded Michaella Krajicek.
"It's amazing," said Safarova, who got off to a nervous start in dropping the first set. "It's just great. My expectations coming into the tournament were to get into the main draw and I wouldn't have been mad with myself if I'd have just won one match. But every time I come into a match I try to win and I'm really happy."
Li led by a break 2-0 in the decider but Safarova reeled off four straight games en route to the victory.
In the Saturday doubles final, China's Ting Li and Tiantian Sun defeated Michaella Krajicek and Henrieta Nagyova 6-3, 6-1 for their first title of the year in their second final.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Get ready for the ATP to withdraw their crazy fine of Lleyton Hewitt for skipping Miami, even though he competed in the Indian Wells final with a toe injury that eventually required surgery. Writes the AP: "Lleyton Hewitt is appealing a $48,000 fine for withdrawing from last month's Nasdaq-100 Open, saying he should be excused because of a foot injury. "(ATP chief executive) Mark Miles is reviewing the case, and a decision should be made shortly," ATP spokesman Greg Sharko said Saturday.""...From The New Haven Registry on the wrestling match for the open week before the US Open on the ATP calendar: "Pilot Pen (New Haven) Tennis officials amended their proposal to the ATP board, matching the competing bid of Chicago for a 48-draw men's tennis tournament the week of Aug. 21-28. The original Pilot Pen bid called for a 32-draw event to be run simultaneous with the existing Pilot Pen women's tournament the week before the US Open in New York. Chicago's bid includes a 48 draw -- not a 56 draw as originally believed -- with a purse of $650,000. New Haven has offered a purse of $585,000 to match, but not exceed, the purse of the women's event."...According to the AP, Patrick Rafter once waited in a locker room after a match to beat Jeff Tarango's ass: "Two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter says he once waited in the locker room for American Jeff Tarango so the pair could have a fist fight after an angry on-court exchange. In an interview for the Australian Broadcasting Corp. television show 'Enough Rope' on Monday, the now-retired Rafter also said he often had a strained relationship with Pete Sampras. 'Sampras and I had our run-ins but we'd always talk,' Rafter said. Rafter said Tarango wanted to become 'the next John McEnroe. 'Once he (Tarango) said let's go for a fight after the match,' Rafter said. 'And I thought 'Well, this'd be a new one.' Anyway, so he wasn't there.' Rafter won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award on the ATP Tour in 1997, 1999 and 2000. He did not say when the incident took place, but the pair had an acrimonious exchange during a first-round match won by Rafter at the 1998 Australian Open." That would be a pay-per-view sell-out, no telling how many players would line up to see Tarango *****-slapped...Charlie "The Brick" Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on the injury-prone Amelie Mauresmo: "Back strains, leg bruises, knee inflammation, right rib, exhaustion and groin pull. Mauresmo is the most injury-prone player in women's tennis, way ahead of the Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport. When she quit in mid-match in the final against Davenport at Filderstadt last fall, it was the eighth time she has either retired or had a walkover during a tournament. And that doesn't include the several tournaments she has pulled out of in advance because she was physically unable to play. She missed two months after Indian Wells in 2000 and, later that year, three more months after Wimbledon; she had to withdraw from Eastbourne and Luxembourg in 2001; from the WTA Championships in 2002; from Wimbledon in 2003; from Charleston in 2004; and now Warsaw this past week. For many, Mauresmo will be remembered in retirement as one of the greatest players never to win a Grand Slam. But for me there is something larger that jumps out as you examine her injury-infested career. She's No. 3 in the world. After all the pain and rehabilitation, and the growing depression of dealing with constant injury, she remains near the top of the rankings and, in fact, has not been out of the Top 10 in the past five years."...Lleyton Hewitt: "I'm an outside chance at Roland Garros but my focus is really on Wimbledon where it is realistically between me and Roger Federer to win." Now that's news to...everyone.
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<SMALL>Posted on May 02, 2005</SMALL>
While the grand slam events boast the majesty of professional tennis, the ATP Masters Series events truly bring the best-of-the-best together early and often, many times featuring opening-round match-ups you'd only otherwise see in tournament finals.
Most of the slam opening rounds are snoozers, while even the top-level WTA Tour events grant their seeds first-round byes, guaranteeing the first few days of the event are a parade of no-names, with the stars not coming out until Wednesday, or even Thursday.
This week at the Masters Series-Rome, how about matching top seed Andy Roddick vs. Greg Rusedski in the opening round? Or how about Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. the brutal baseline bashing of Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez? Or Tim Henman vs. the back-from-injury Roland Garros champ Gustavo Kuerten, or Marat Safin vs. Jiri Novak?
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Okay, so Jiri's not making anyone scramble for The Tennis Channel guide, but you get the picture. Right off the bat the top dogs are tested, especially on clay, this week at the MS-Rome.
The main "storyline," as the TV people love to brand it, is the absence of the top-most contenders, this week in world No. 1 Roger Federer (who withdrew with inflammation of the arches in both feet) and No. 2-ranked Lleyton Hewitt (recovering from toe surgery). Another Top 10 member, defending champion Carlos Moya, is now a question mark after injuring his shoulder and retiring in the Estoril semifinals on Saturday.
More free storylines: Can Andy Roddick prove his titles on the red clay in Houston aren't flukes against sub-par dirt competition, and proceed to win a big clay title in Europe?
Is Guillermo Coria actually a threat, or suddenly levels below Spanish goldenboy Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal?
Does Tim Henman actually have mystical claycourt skills, or was his semifinal run last year at Roland Garros the equivalent of Mikeal Pernfors willing the Masters Series-Canada? (How's that for obscure? Bam!)
Was Gustavo Kuerten's second hip surgery really successful, or is Guga now a non-factor?
Does the 35-year-old Andre Agassi still have enough in the tank to win six matches in seven days (including a best-of-five final) at Rome or Hamburg, much less win the French?
Could the man on the street tell Joachim Johansson from Thomas Johansson if they stood side by side?
Has Gaston Gaudio already done the math to see how far he will plunge after he doesn't reach the final in his Roland Garros title defense?
Has Nadal looked in the mirror lately at his orange and white Creamsicle (R) get-up (at least change the shirt color once in a while)?
Does Marat Safin have any goals in 2005 other than riding out his Australian Open win from January as a pick-up line in bars ('Hey baby -- I win Australian Open, can I buy you drink?')?
In a poor display of judgement by tournament officials, former No. 1 and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was denied a wildcard. Here is the breakdown of the four sections of the draw for the 2005 Masters Series-Rome, or the Italian Open, or the Telecom Italia Masters Roma, or whichever title strikes your fancy:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Andy Roddick, (8) David Nalbandian, (9) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, (14) Nikolay Davydenko
Floaters: "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Al Costa, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Tommy Haas, Fabrice "The Original Wizard" Santoro
Ouch, Roddick not only falls into the toughest section of the draw, but it's Floater Central. A-Rod isn't confronted by Rusedski in his opener, with the two facing off on clay for the first time in six meetings, but the going gets tougher beginning in the second round with former Roland Garros champ Al Costa. Likewise Nalbandian, coming off a long week at Munich, will need a lot of patience and fitness (which may not yet be there after a long layoff with illness) to get by Santoro in his opener. Gonzalez doesn't match up well in his opener against (9) Coria with an 0-4 career mark, though the two went three sets in their last meeting (on hardcourt). Another tough opener is Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer in an all-German (career series tied 2-2), with the winner to face the Coria-Gonzalez victor. Roddick will not survive this quarter, with the Argentines especially itching to give the American a red clay clinic free-of-charge. A-Rod can gain some Roland Garros cred with three wins before facing the wrath of Coria or Nalbandian in the quarterfinals, with the RG threats scheduled to meet in an all-Argentine clash in the third round.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Tim Henman, (6) Andre Agassi, (12) Ivan Ljubicic, (13) Tommy Robredo
Floaters: Gustavo Kuerten, Nicolas Massu, Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, Sebastien Grosjean
The easiest section of the draw to land in, as everyone seems to have outstanding problems except Agassi. Henman can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag between his back problems and flagging confidence; Ljubicic's game, save for the occasions when he can power through opponents, is not built for the dirt; Robredo would be a threat were he not coming from a long week in Estoril and coming off an injury; Kuerten has been unable to make an impact since his multiple hip surgeries; Massu is coming off a toe injury, Hrbaty is slumping, and Grosjean's game has been shaky since weathering with a string of injuries. Andre couldn't have a better draw if he fashioned it himself, with Italian wildcard Alessio Di Mauro in his opener, then the winner of the clay-impaired Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan and a qualifier, and then either Ljubicic, Rochus, or Grosjean to reach the quarterfinals. Opening-rounders to watch in the second quarter are (4) Henman vs. Guga, and (12) Ljubicic vs. The Roach (who beat the Croat weeks back at the MS-Monte Carlo). Agassi will be justifiably disappointed if he can't emerge from this motley group into the semifinals against Coria or Nalbandian.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (7) Carlos Moya, (3) Gaston Gaudio, (10) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (16) Thomas Johansson
Floaters: "You Say" Potito Starace, Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, David Ferrer
Really wanted to throw Rainer Schuettler and Mardy Fish amidst the floaters in this rapidly-declining section, but knew the X in-box would have crashed with e-mails titled "Hey, Dumb Ass..." Moya is a question mark with the injury, leaving Gaudio (who could be spent after Estoril) and the Spanish floater Ferrer to battle it out to see who will emerge into the semifinals. The Johanssons could struggle to a few wins, with Joachim opening against Italian wildcard Andreas Seppi and Thomas facing the fast-court loving F-Lo, while Moya would open against the talented Italian wildcard Starace (winner to face the victor of the unwatchable Schuettler-Fish match-up). Ferrer, who had a scorching April, opens against Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, winner to face T.Johansson or F-Lo. Whoever emerges from the Gaudio-Ferrer third-round confrontation will take it all the way to the semifinals, likely against Nadal.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Marat Safin, (5) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (11) Guillermo Canas, (15) Radek Stepanek
Floaters: Mikhail Youzhny, Andrei Pavel, Igor Andreev, Jiri Novak
Potentially tough openers for the top two seeds in the bottom quarter with Safin facing Novak, who has beaten him before and lost 7-6 in the third in their only meeting on clay, and Nadal facing the Russian Youzhny who stretched him to five sets at this year's Aussie Open. No. 11 Canas faces Pavel, who is coming off the final at Munich, while No. 15 Stepanek lines up against Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, who like his nickname-sake is a spray gun on clay. Other than that, generally a weak quarter, with a wait-and-see attitude as to who can stop the potential Safin-Nadal fourth-round meeting.
In last year's finals the No. 6-seeded Moya dismantled the No. 5-seeded Nalbandian 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the best-of-five final, while the Indian/Belarussian tandem of Mahesh Bhupathi and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi came from a set down to defeat Aussie Wayne Arthurs/Paul Hanley for the doubles title.
No. 1 Within Grasp This Week for Sharapova at WTA Berlin
Lots of storylines this week at the German Open in Berlin.
Front and center is this year's sad state of sponsorship: the locals call it the German Open, but the tournament is officially titled the Qatar Total German Open. Yes, Qatar, another "Oil Open" added to the calendar. And it is only a one-year reprieve for Berlin before the event gets carted off to Doha, added to the list of past German event failures such as Hamburg and Munich on the women's side, and Stuttgart on the men's.
Second storyline is the top-seeded Maria Sharapova. The Russian beauty has never reached so much as a semifinal on the red dirt, yet finds herself in the position of elevating to the No. 1 spot on the WTA Rankings if she can win this week in Berlin.
Third storyline: How come the No. 11 and 12 seeds are among the favored to win in Berlin? Both Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne have been tearing it up since returning to the tour from their respective injuries and illnesses, with H-H coming off her second consecutive 2005 claycourt title last week at Warsaw. Clijsters, stay tuned, may be hampered this week by a sore shoulder.
Fourth storyline: How about those Williams sisters? -- who aren't in Berlin this week, even with the German Open a major Roland Garros warm-up? Serena is reportedly still struggling with an ongoing ankle injury, while Venus is simply sick of losing and will likely sit out until the French. Nice preparation plan.
Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the event with an ongoing abdominal injury.
Sharapova is joined among the Top 8 seeds in Berlin by the Russian Revolution of Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Nadia Petrova and Elena Bovina, with a couple non-Russians thrown in for spice in Swiss Patty Schnyder and Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.
The Top 8 seeds receive opening-round byes in typical WTA early-round momentum-killing fashion, but a few openers of interest exist in Japan's (14) Ai Sugiyama vs. Chinese comer Shuai Peng, former mover-and-shaker (15) Daniela Hantuchova vs. Top 40 member Gisela Dulko, Dinara Safina vs. Ana Ivanovic in an all-teen all-future meeting, and (16) Karolina Sprem vs. confident French Top 40-ranked Virginie Razzano.
Sharapova's road to the final gets difficult early with fellow Russian Evgenia Linetskaya possibly in the second round, and Henin-Hardenne or Zvonareva in the quarterfinals if she can survive that long employing her one-dimensional baseline bashing.
In last year's final the No. 2-seeded Mauresmo received a walkover against the No. 3-seeded Venus who was unable to compete due to an ankle sprain.
Nalbandian Wins First Title in 3 Years at ATP Munich
David Nalbandian made his return from a virus a quick one Sunday at the ATP stop in Munich, defeating No. 5 seed Andrei Pavel 6-4, 6-1 for his first title since Basel in 2002.
In addition to the winner's check the 23-year-old Argentine drove home a new silver BMW Z4 convertible for collecting the BMW Open title, the third title of his career.
"I knew when I broke back to 3-4 in the first set it would be tough for him to keep playing at the level he did," Nalbandian said. "This year I started very good in Australia and I then got a virus. Right now I'm trying to get back to my best level. Rome and Hamburg are coming and then Roland Garros. It's nice to start off well on the clay courts by winning here."
Pavel led 4-1 in the first set before dropping 11 of the next 12 games.
"He showed that he is a Top 10 player right now," Pavel said. "I had to play fast against him because my body wasn't 100 percent after yesterday's semifinal and the problems with my stomach. I thought that he would give me some free points but that was not the fact."
In the doubles final Mario Ancic and Julian Knowle won their first title as a team, defeating the German team of Florian Mayer and Alexander Waske 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Gaudio Wins Third 2005 Title at ATP Estoril
No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio displayed his ability to dominate the lesser claycourt talents on the ATP tour Sunday in the final at Estoril, defeating No. 4 seed Tommy Robredo 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 in the lopsided championship.
Gaudio is now 20-3 on clay this year, with additional dirt titles at Vina del Mar and Buenos Aires. Gaudio faced only one other seeded player en route to the final, No. 8 Feliciano Lopez.
"I tried to step into the court more today and be more aggressive, because it occurred to me the other day that I was just standing at the back, doing a lot of running and it was doing anything," Gaudio said. "In the second set today, Robredo was the one hitting hard and making me run, so in the third set, I took the opportunity to be more aggressive and go for my shots, go for the lines, and that's what made the difference."
Robredo, celebrating his 23rd birthday Sunday, received a free pass into the final when countryman Carlos Moya retired during their semifinal with a shoulder injury.
"Although I lost today I'm really happy with my week," said Robredo, coming off an injury of his own. "I came to Estoril to play a lot of matches and I reached finals in singles and doubles, so I couldn't ask for anything more."
In the Saturday doubles final, (3) Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl defeated Juan Ignacio Chela/Robredo 6-3, 6-4 for their tour-leading fourth title of the year.
Henin Wins 2nd Straight Clay Title at WTA Warsaw
Former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne ran her win streak to 11 Sunday at the WTA stop in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova from a set down to capture her second consecutive claycourt title 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
It was the first meeting on clay in six previous match-ups for the two, with the Belgian winning five of six entering the Sunday encounter.
"It was a great battle at the end of the match," Henin-Hardenne said. "It's been only for her in the first set and only for me in the second, and finally in the third set we saw a good match, a good fight...She was hitting the ball very hard. She's very powerful, especially with her forehand, and I was really defensive."
The Belgian is quickly making up for lost time after missing the beginning of the year with a virus and knee injury, and won her previous event in Charleston. She is 14-1 this year since returning to play on the hardcourts at Miami.
"It's good that I've got a lot of matches, that was the main goal," Henin-Hardenne said. "Now I have a couple of matches on clay, and that gives me a lot of confidence before the French Open. And I hope next week in Berlin I will still have other matches."
WTA officials project Henin-Hardenne will move back into the Top 15 with the win.
Kuznetsova, who edged Kim Clijsters in three sets to reach the final, is still looking for her maiden title on the year.
"I'd like to know how it happened, that I lost it," said Kuznetsova, who went on to answer her own question. "At the end of the (second) set I pulled my leg and I wasn't moving so well...I couldn't stay with her on the same level."
In the doubles final the unseeded team of Tatiana Perebiynis and Barbora Strycova won their first title, defeating Poland's Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska 6-1, 6-4.
Qualifier Safarova Wins WTA Estoril Title
Eighteen-year-old Czech qualifier Lucie Safarova burst onto the tennis radar Sunday at the WTA stop in Estoril, defeating No. 4 seed Na Li from a set down 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 to win her first WTA title in her first final.
Safarova defeated two seeds en route to the title in No. 8 Virginie Ruano Pascual and No. 3 seed Gisela Dulko, and saved four match points against unseeded Michaella Krajicek.
"It's amazing," said Safarova, who got off to a nervous start in dropping the first set. "It's just great. My expectations coming into the tournament were to get into the main draw and I wouldn't have been mad with myself if I'd have just won one match. But every time I come into a match I try to win and I'm really happy."
Li led by a break 2-0 in the decider but Safarova reeled off four straight games en route to the victory.
In the Saturday doubles final, China's Ting Li and Tiantian Sun defeated Michaella Krajicek and Henrieta Nagyova 6-3, 6-1 for their first title of the year in their second final.
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Get ready for the ATP to withdraw their crazy fine of Lleyton Hewitt for skipping Miami, even though he competed in the Indian Wells final with a toe injury that eventually required surgery. Writes the AP: "Lleyton Hewitt is appealing a $48,000 fine for withdrawing from last month's Nasdaq-100 Open, saying he should be excused because of a foot injury. "(ATP chief executive) Mark Miles is reviewing the case, and a decision should be made shortly," ATP spokesman Greg Sharko said Saturday.""...From The New Haven Registry on the wrestling match for the open week before the US Open on the ATP calendar: "Pilot Pen (New Haven) Tennis officials amended their proposal to the ATP board, matching the competing bid of Chicago for a 48-draw men's tennis tournament the week of Aug. 21-28. The original Pilot Pen bid called for a 32-draw event to be run simultaneous with the existing Pilot Pen women's tournament the week before the US Open in New York. Chicago's bid includes a 48 draw -- not a 56 draw as originally believed -- with a purse of $650,000. New Haven has offered a purse of $585,000 to match, but not exceed, the purse of the women's event."...According to the AP, Patrick Rafter once waited in a locker room after a match to beat Jeff Tarango's ass: "Two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter says he once waited in the locker room for American Jeff Tarango so the pair could have a fist fight after an angry on-court exchange. In an interview for the Australian Broadcasting Corp. television show 'Enough Rope' on Monday, the now-retired Rafter also said he often had a strained relationship with Pete Sampras. 'Sampras and I had our run-ins but we'd always talk,' Rafter said. Rafter said Tarango wanted to become 'the next John McEnroe. 'Once he (Tarango) said let's go for a fight after the match,' Rafter said. 'And I thought 'Well, this'd be a new one.' Anyway, so he wasn't there.' Rafter won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award on the ATP Tour in 1997, 1999 and 2000. He did not say when the incident took place, but the pair had an acrimonious exchange during a first-round match won by Rafter at the 1998 Australian Open." That would be a pay-per-view sell-out, no telling how many players would line up to see Tarango *****-slapped...Charlie "The Brick" Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on the injury-prone Amelie Mauresmo: "Back strains, leg bruises, knee inflammation, right rib, exhaustion and groin pull. Mauresmo is the most injury-prone player in women's tennis, way ahead of the Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport. When she quit in mid-match in the final against Davenport at Filderstadt last fall, it was the eighth time she has either retired or had a walkover during a tournament. And that doesn't include the several tournaments she has pulled out of in advance because she was physically unable to play. She missed two months after Indian Wells in 2000 and, later that year, three more months after Wimbledon; she had to withdraw from Eastbourne and Luxembourg in 2001; from the WTA Championships in 2002; from Wimbledon in 2003; from Charleston in 2004; and now Warsaw this past week. For many, Mauresmo will be remembered in retirement as one of the greatest players never to win a Grand Slam. But for me there is something larger that jumps out as you examine her injury-infested career. She's No. 3 in the world. After all the pain and rehabilitation, and the growing depression of dealing with constant injury, she remains near the top of the rankings and, in fact, has not been out of the Top 10 in the past five years."...Lleyton Hewitt: "I'm an outside chance at Roland Garros but my focus is really on Wimbledon where it is realistically between me and Roger Federer to win." Now that's news to...everyone.
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