Other Results
The Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup were also held over the weekend.
Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final
JAPAN (3) defeated CANADA (2) 2-0
Kazuma Kawachi (JPN) d. Edward Nguyen (CAN) 76(4) 61
Kaichi Uchida (JPN) d. Filip Peliwo (CAN) 62 63
Doubles not played
Bronze medal match
FRANCE (1) d. GREAT BRITAIN (4) 2-1
Evan Hoyt (GBR) d. Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 64 26 61
Mathias Bourgue (FRA) d. Luke Bambridge (GBR) 75 62
Gregoire Barrere/Mathias Bourgue (FRA) d. Luke Bambridge/Kyle Edmund (GBR) 63 16 63
Note: The American boys did not qualify
Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final
RUSSIA (2) defeated CHINA (1) 2-1
Ran Tian (CHN) d. Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) 46 63 75
Daria Gavrilova (RUS) d. Haochen Tang (CHN) 62 62
Daria Gavrilova/ Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) d. Ran Tian/Saisai Zheng (CHN) 75 64
Bronze medal match
UKRAINE (3) defeated USA (4) 2-0
Kateryna Kozlova (UKR)d. Kyle McPhillips (USA) 63 63
Elina Svitolina (UKR) d. Krista Hardebeck (USA) 63 06 63
Doubles not played
The ITF made sure to make people aware of this event this year with daily emails of the results. Good work by the folks there.
End Notes
I managed to stay awake for the first set of Vera Zvonareva vs Dinara Safina in Beijing, a match Bepa won 6-4, 7-6(6). Dinara has a new service motion that is somewhat similar to Elena Dementieva's new motion but without the hitch for want of a better term. Dinara was arguing with people just off camera but who I assume were in her box almost the entire match. At one point she stopped to fix her hair (which looks very good now by the way) while arguing with the unseen forces. There were numerous shots of Bepa's coach/hitting partner but not very many of the virtually empty stadium. I should mention that the stadium for the final in Tokyo was not full but was more full than the one in Beijing last night/early this morning.
TennisTV starts its coverage on October 7 of both the men's and women's events in Beijing.Meanwhile there are live streams from China from the usual sources available if you can manage to stay up late and watch.
I didn't mention the uproar in the Swiss press about their Davis Cup Team's relegation and the lack of play by one Mr. Roger Federer. It was quite harsh but I felt I'd read it all before. Pete Sampras, late in his career, didn't make Davis Cup a priority and I have to say I understand this.Sampras faced similar criticism in the American press, criticism Andy Roddick isn't going to face and rightly shouldn't. Roddick has been Mr. Davis Cup for years and while I doubt we'll see him playing the event again should be commended for the giving of his time and effort to the cause.
As I write this there has still not been an announcement as to who the new Unites States Davis Cup captain will be.
I swear I was going to let it go but the fact that Caroline Wozniacki is a heartbeat away from assuming the number one ranking in the WTA is a travesty. I've said it before so I won't bore you with the details as to why I feel that way. If she does claim that ranking she will join Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic from the recent past, and Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo from the more distant past. Commentators were noting that it took Clijsters a long time to finally win a Slam. Oh well, I'm sure the folks at the WTA will appreciate the new look at the top.
Speaking of JJ she hasn't been the same player since she "bulked up" and then "debulked" a couple of years ago. I was never a big fan of hers but she just seems to be going through the motions right now. Is it physical, mental, or a little of both with her?
Agnieszka Radwanska will be out for the rest of the year with a stress fracture in her foot. SOURCE
3 comments:
Hey Savannah. I watched the Dinara V Bepa match (one of the good things about the Asian swing at least is that we get live tennis at a good time in Australia for only the second time during the year) and I could have sworn it was a pretty good crowd. I thought Dinara looked pretty good for the most part (when not serving at least) but she was paranoid about what ball kid she was receiving the ball from and was lucky not to hit one of them with her racquet when she went to swing in frustration after a point. Ivanonvic also looked very sharp but let’s see if she can back it up.
Also saw the JJ match and she looks so lost right now. She doesn't have a clear game plan and she tries pulling the trigger way too early and as a result gets deeper in the hole she has dug.
As for Caro getting to number 1, I never really understood the fuss until I saw her match against Vika last week in Tokyo, easily one of the worst matches I have seen in a very long time. If someone like that can get to 1 in the world the WTA is doomed.
Oh and talking of crowds, the tennis at the Commonwealth Games is pretty bad too. But then again, with players coming out of years of retirement, playing without a world ranking and a guy from Uganda who only won $648 in his career I wouldn’t be exactly bursting down the gate to get in.
Wayne thank you for your reviews of the matches taking place in Asia. I think your comments re JJ are great and what I've been trying to think of how to say.
That Caro vs Vika in Tokyo has gone down as one of the worst ever played. Some are saying worse than the Moonball Match between Coetzer and Martinez back in the day. You're right. Anyone who wants to argue why a change needs to be made in how rankings are achieved should be forced to watch that match.
Please keep up the reviews. We get nothing here until Thursday.
The WTA is officially doomed with Caro literally just becoming world number 1 after her 3rd round win in Beijing. According to the British Eurosport commentators, it's a great thing for the tour and a real shining light. Umm how exactly? She is playing Ivanonvic in the 1/4 finals after Ana took out Elena in 2 tie breakers tonight in a really great match. Good to see Ana pulling through in pressure situations and not losing her nerve after being broken serving for the 1st set.
I'm really looking forward to the semi finals with the potential match between Bepa and Li Na, providing Bepa can keep it going against Schiavone in the next round. Bepa and Li are are the players of the tournament so far for me and should be a great match.
On other non Beijing news, great to see Sammy Stosur qualify for Doha. She has been really great for Australian tennis this year and hopefully she can have a much better Aussie summer next year as she is already being tipped as favourite for the AO in Melbourne. We all know how well she has handles pressure in the past so I'm hoping to god she doesn't turn to jello.
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