by Savannah

"This is the only week I'm not going to drop points. If I lose in the first round, I'll stay exactly the same, but it's a big mistake to think of defending points. You have to think of earning points. This is a 500 pointer, there are only three in the whole year, and Barcelona is the one that has most history and is of most importance."
Translated from marca.com by nou.amic
On the way to his champagne bath Rafael Nadal won the 500th match of his career making him number two to Bjorn Borg as the youngest man to attain this. By winning Barcelona Rafa, who did not play here last year won his sixth title at the historic site.

Julia Goerges win over top ranked Caroline Wozniacki on the fast indoor clay at Stuttgart wasn't that big a surprise if you had the chance to watch Goerges play during the week. She was one of four German women who made it to the quarterfinals and the only one left standing when final's day rolled around. Goerges doesn't have as high a profile as her countrywoman Andrea Petkovic but her solid aggressive play has put her on the list of the hunted for the time being. Wozniacki was the one missing and rushing shots as Goerges never let up on her. Goerges was not only firing away she was accurate and used the court to her advantage exposing the weakness of the Wozniacki forehand and net play. After the match Wozniacki's camp announced that they are pursuing Martina Navratilova to work with Caroline on a consulting basis.

This was one of the weeks where a fan had to choose which women's tournament to follow. TennisTV was featuring Stuttgart but Fes was not available in the States except via live stream. I didn't see any of it. Apparently Dinara Safina fought her way to a quarterfinal win only to come down with the flu and give Alberta Brianti of Italy a walkover into the final. The extra day of rest did Brianti well as she routined Simona Halep to win her first ever WTA main tour title.

Double Winners

There were surprise winners in the doubles at Barcelona. The new team of Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Scott Lipsky of the United States defeated Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 5-7, 6-2, 12-10.

Samantha Stosur and Sabine Lisicki paired to win the doubles crown at Stuttgart.

The Czech team of Andrea Hlavackova and Renata Voracova are the doubles champions at Fes.

The Once and Future Stars

by Savannah

It's going to be Spain vs the United States and one again the Battle Royale will take place on U.S. soil.

The Spanish team, anchored by Rafael Nadal, routed the Belgian team on its home turf in Charleroi 4-1 with Nadal playing what was essentially a dead rubber on Sunday.

The United States team, anchored by Andy Roddick was up against Chile on what else, red clay. It fell to Roddick to pull out the tie by defeating Paul Capdeville in reverse singles on Sunday. It was Roddick who took Team USA on his shoulders winning both of his singles matches. Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles making the final tally 4-1 United States.

Speculation has already begun as to where the United States will choose to play the tie scheduled for the week after Wimbledon ends in July. An on air report by Justin Gimelstob made it seem as if the choice would be Austin,Texas, Andy Roddick's home, on grass. That assertion was modified to include both San Antonio, Texas and Albany, New York.

The choice of a grass court would be interesting to say the least. Both teams have good grass court players so the surface would in effect be neutral. If grass is the ultimate choice the United States can't be accused of stacking the deck like it was when the last tie against Spain was played on a surface that may have been better suited for a hockey team.

Personally I think we're going to see a hard very fast surface no matter where the tie is played. I should mention that Albany is about 2 1/2 hours from New York City. I'm just saying.

The Weekend's Winners

I don't think anyone was rooting against Jelena Dokic yesterday. I for one have nothing against Lucie Safarova but seeing Jelena win her first title since 2002 left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I had wondered if she was serious about her return since it seemed that she would take one step forward and two steps back but in Kuala Lumpur, away from the pressure she has to feel playing in Australia or the States she was able to pull out a win. How she will do in the two big United States tournaments remains to be seen. It would be nice to see her playing Bali at the end of the year.

The other woman hoisting a trophy for the first time in awhile is Dinara Safina who along with doubles partner Galina Voskoboeva won the doubles crown in Malayasia. I'm glad to see Dinara not being too proud to work on her game by playing doubles instead of beating her head against the brick wall of major titles just now. Nice win for her.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova successfully defended her title in Monterrey, Mexico by defeating a listless Jelena Jankovic. Maybe listless isn't the right word. JJ's court sense seems to have deserted her. Her shot selection and ball placement was completely off and the match was always on Pavs' racquet. I am at a loss to explain JJ's decision to play here when she is defending her title at Indian Wells starting this week. Maybe she felt she needed to play on a hard court. Maybe they offered her enough cheese to make the trip worthwhile. Whatever the reason for playing she has certainly lowered expectations for Indian Wells. Then again that could be a good thing.

The doubles team of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova are the Monterrey doubles champions.

Davis Cup Results

Listed below are the Davis Cup Results sent out by the ITF late yesterday.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

SERBIA defeated INDIA 4-1

Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad, SRB (hard – indoors)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna (IND) 63 63 57 36 63

Somdev Devvarman (IND) d. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 75 75 76(3)

Ilija Bozoljac/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna/Somdev Devvarman (IND) 46 63 64 76(10)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 64 62 75

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. Karan Rastogi (IND) 60 61

SWEDEN defeated RUSSIA 3-2

Venue: Borashallen, Boras, SWE (hard – indoors)

Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Igor Andreev (RUS) 63 63 61

Joachim Johansson (SWE) d. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 76(4) 64

Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) d. Igor Kunitsyn/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 64 67(6) 76(6) 62

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) d. Simon Aspelin (SWE) 75 62

Igor Andreev (RUS) d. Joachim Johansson (SWE) 76(8) 64

KAZAKHSTAN defeated CZECH REPUBLIC 3-2

Venue: CZE Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoors)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 76(4) 67(3) 16 76(4) 63

Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 76(5) 63 62

Tomas Berdych/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) d. Evgeny Korolev/Yuriy Schukin (KAZ) 64 64 76(4)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 75 57 64 62

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 64 67(4) 76(8) 60

ARGENTINA defeated ROMANIA 4-1

Venue: Parque Roca, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoors)

David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Adrian Ungur (ROU) 63 62 57 64

Juan Monaco (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(5) 16 61 61

Juan Ignacio Chela/Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu/Horia Tecau (ROU) 62 76(8) 61

Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 76(3) 62

Adrian Ungur (ROU) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 64 26 63

USA defeated CHILE 4-1

Venue: Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoors)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 62 46 63 64

Paul Capdeville (CHI) d. John Isner (USA) 67(5) 67(2) 76(3) 76(5) 64

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Jorge Aguilar/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 63 63 76(4)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 36 76(2) 63 63

John Isner (USA) d. Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz (CHI) 63 67(4) 75

SPAIN defeated BELGIUM 4-1

Venue: Spiroudome, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoors)

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 64 63 61

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 62 64 62

Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 76(0) 64 63

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Olivier Rochus (BEL) 64 62

Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 67(4) 76(6) 76(3)

GERMANY defeated CROATIA 3-2

Venue: Dom Sportova, Zagreb, CRO (hard – indoors)

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Florian Mayer (GER) 46 60 46 63 61

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Ivan Dodig (CRO) 64 36 46 76(6) 64

Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivan Dodig/Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 63 36 57 63 64

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 63 76(6)

Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 64 76(3) 76(5)

FRANCE defeated AUSTRIA 3-2

Venue: Vienna Airport Hangar 3, Vienna, AUT (clay – indoors)

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 75 64 75

Gilles Simon (FRA) d. Stefan Koubek (AUT) 60 62 63

Oliver Marach/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) 64 36 63 64

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Gilles Simon (FRA) 76(7) 36 16 64 60

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Martin Fischer (AUT) 26 76(4) 63 63

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CANADA defeated MEXICO 4-1

Venue: Club Deportivo La Asuncion, Estado de Mexico, MEX (clay – outdoors)

Daniel Garza (MEX) d. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 26 46 62 63 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 62 62 61

Vasek Pospisil/Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Luis Diaz-Barriga/Miguel Angel Reyes Varela (MEX) 46 63 64 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Daniel Garza (MEX) 75 63 62

Peter Polansky (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 64 61

URUGUAY defeated COLOMBIA 3-1

Venue: Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club, Montevideo, URU (clay – outdoors)

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Alejandro Falla (COL) 26 61 62 64

Santiago Giraldo (COL) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) 62 60 62

Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Felder (URU) d. Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (COL) 16 76(6) 16 76(5) 62

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Santiago Giraldo (COL) 62 63 64

Martin Cuevas (URU) v Alejandro Falla (COL)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CHINA, P.R defeated CHINESE TAIPEI 3-2

Venue: Shanghai Xianxia Tennis Center, Shanghai, CHN (hard – indoors)

Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 57 61 76(5) 46 86

Di Wu (CHN) d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 64 36 36 75 97

Yen-Hsun Lu/Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong/Zhe Li (CHN) 75 64 67(3) 76(4)

Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) 61 62 62

Di Wu (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 63 62 26 60

JAPAN defeated PHILIPPINES 3-1

Venue: Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Lapu-Lapu City, PHI (clay – outdoors)

Tatsuma Ito (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 64 67(5) 63 67(3) 97

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Johnny Arcilla (PHI) 63 63 63

Treat Huey/Cecil Mamiit (PHI) d. Hiroki Kondo/Takao Suzuki (JPN) 61 76(5) 62

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 76(5) 62 36 63

Johnny Arcilla (PHI) v Tatsuma Ito (JPN) – NOT PLAYED

UZBEKISTAN defeated NEW ZEALAND 3-2

Venue: Sport Complex Pahlavon, Namangan, UZB (clay – indoors)

Farrukh Dustov (UZB) d. Artem Sitak (NZL) 60 63 61

Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Jose Statham (NZL) 62 63 63

Farrukh Dustov/Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Marcus Daniell/Michael Venus (NZL) 76(5) 63 64

Artem Sitak (NZL) d. Murad Inoyatov (UZB) 61 67(2) 63

Michael Venus (NZL) d. Vaja Uzakov (UZB) 63 60

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

SLOVENIA defeated FINLAND 3-2

Venue: Sportno Rekeacijski Center Tivoli, Ljubljana , SLO (clay – indoors)

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Grega Zemlja (SLO) 36 63 64 63

Blaz Kavcic (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara (FIN) 46 62 63 64

Luka Gregorc/Grega Zemlja (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 67(5) 64 64 75

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 63 64 46 64

Grega Zelmja (SLO) d. Micke Kontinen (FIN) 26 63 63 63

NETHERLANDS level with UKRAINE 2-2

Venue: Palace of Sports Lokomotiv, Kharkiv, UKR (hard – indoors)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Robin Haase (NED) 61 64 67(2) 46 62

Thiemo de Bakker (NED) d. Iliya Marchenko (UKR) 76(3) 76(6) 64

Thiemo de Bakker/Robin Haase (NED) d. Sergei Bubka/Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 76(6) 67(5) 64 76(9)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 61 64 36 67(4) 64

Iliya Marchenko (UKR) v Robin Haase (NED)

PORTUGAL defeated SLOVAK REPUBLIC 4-1

Venue: Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor, Cruz Quebrada, POR (clay – outdoors)

Frederico Gil (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 62 62 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 64 64 16 26 64

Michal Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK) d. Frederico Gil/Leonardo Tavares (POR) 63 64 16 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 64 36 64 60

Joao Sousa (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 62 41 ret.

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND

ISRAEL defeated POLAND 3-2

Venue: Canada Stadium, Ramat Hasharon, ISR (hard – outdoors)

Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Marcin Gawron (POL) 61 63 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) d. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 46 62 62 67(4) 63

Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) d. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL) 46 64 63 61

Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d. Dudi Sela (ISR) 76(5) 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) v Marcin Gawron (POL) - FORFEIT

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

PERU defeated NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 5-0

Venue: Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposicion, Lima, PER (clay – outdoors)

Ivan Miranda (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 60 60 61

Mauricio Echazu (PER) d. Alexander Blom (AHO) 62 63 75

Duilio Beretta/Sergio Galdos (PER) d. Alexander Blom/Martijn van Haasteren (AHO) 64 62 36 62

Sergio Galdos (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 61 62

Duilio Beretta (PER) d. Nick van Rosberg (AHO) 60 60

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC defeated EL SALVADOR 5-0

Venue: Maya Country Club, Santa Tecla, ESA (clay – outdoors)

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) 63 63 61

Victor Estrella (DOM) d. Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 26 76(3) 64 61

Victor Estrella/Jose R. Hernandez (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo/Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 64 64 46 64

Luis Delgado (DOM) d. Andres Weisskopff (ESA) 64 62

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Alberto Alvarado (ESA) 60 61

PARAGUAY defeated PUERTO RICO 4-1

Venue: Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PUR (hard – outdoors)

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Ricardo Gonzalez-Diaz (PUR) 62 62 64

Alex Llompart (PUR) d. Diego Galeano (PAR) 63 36 46 75 61

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia/Gustavo Ramirez (PAR) d. Chris Brandi/Alex Llompart (PUR) 46 63 61 46 75

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Alex Llompart (PUR) 63 60 64

Diego Galeano (PAR) d. Chris Brandi (PUR) 64 63

VENEZUELA level with HAITI 2-2

Venue: Centro Nacional de Tenis, Caracas, VEN (hard – outdoors)

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Luis David Martinez (VEN) 76(2) 63 36 64

Piero Luisi (VEN) d. Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI) 62 62 61

Piero Luisi/Roberto Maytin (VEN) d. Joel Allen/Olivier Sajous (HAI) 67(3) 36 76(0) 62 62

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Piero Luisi (VEN) 67(3) 64 64 06 64

Luis David Martinez (VEN) v Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

KOREA, P.R. defeated SYRIA 4-1

Venue: Changwon Municipal Tennis Courts, Changwon, KOR (hard – outdoors)

Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Marc Abdulnour (SYR) 63 61 61

Soong-Jae Cho (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 61 64 61

Soong-Jae Cho/Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Majdi Salim/Roman Radwan (SYR) 62 61 61

Marc Abdulnour (SYR) d. Suk-Young Jeong (KOR) 36 64 76(3)

Yong-Kyu Lim (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 62 62

PAKISTAN defeated HONG KONG, CHINA 3-1

Venue: Victoria Park, Hong Kong, HKG (hard – outdoors)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) d. Aisam Qureshi (PAK) 76(3) 46 67(2) 75 64

Aqeel Khan (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 75 75 64

Aqeel Khan/Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Jonathan Chu/Coenie van Wyk (HKG) 76(4) 64 64

Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 76(8) 63 76(4)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) v Aqeel Khan (PAK)

INDONESIA defeated IRAN 3-2

Venue: Shiroodi Sports Complex, Tehran, IRI (clay – indoors)

Anoosha Shahgholi (IRI) d. Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) 63 64 26 46 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Shahin Khaledan (IRI) 76(3) 61 63

Christopher Rungkat/Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) d. Anoosha Shahgholi/Omid Souri (IRI) 63 61 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Mohsen Hossein Zade (IRI) 63 63 60

Shahin Khaledan (IRI) d. Aditya Hari Sasongko (INA) 61 67(5) 63

THAILAND defeated PACIFIC OCEANIA 5-0

Venue: Hilton Tennis Club, Guam, POC (hard – outdoors)

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 60 62 63

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 63 63 60

Sonchat Ratiwatana/Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe/Leon So’onalole (POC) 64 75 62

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 64 60

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 62 62

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

GREAT BRITAIN defeated TUNISIA 4-1

Venue: Bolton Arena, Bolton, GBR (hard – indoors)

Malek Jaziri (TUN) d. Jamie Baker (GBR) 46 63 75 62

James Ward (GBR) d. Sami Ghorbel (TUN) 60 62 60

Colin Fleming/Jamie Murray (GBR) d. Slim Hamza/Malek Jaziri (TUN) 61 36 63 64

James Ward (GBR) d. Malek Jaziri (TUN) 36 63 36 63 86

Jamie Baker (GBR) d. Slim Hamza (TUN) 61 64

LUXEMBOURG defeated IRELAND 3-1

Venue: David Lloyd Riverview Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin, IRL (hard – indoors)

Conor Niland (IRL) d. Mike Vermeer (LUX) 61 60 62

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Barry King (IRL) 46 61 63 63

Laurent Bram/Gilles Muller (LUX) d. James Cluskey/James McGee (IRL) 76(4) 76(4) 64

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Conor Niland (IRL) 64 64 64

James McGee (IRL) v Mike Vermeer (LUX)

BELARUS defeated BULGARIA 4-1

Venue: Republic Olympic Training Center for Tennis, Minsk, BLR (hard – indoors)

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Todor Enev (BUL) 62 36 67(4) 62 62

Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) d. Siarhei Betau (BLR) 75 64 26 76(2)

Uladzimir Ignatik/Max Mirnyi (BLR) d. Valentin Dimov/Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 64 64

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) 36 62 61 64

Alexander Bury (BLR) d. Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 63

HUNGARY defeated CYPRUS 5-0

Venue: National Tennis Centre, Nicosia, CYP (hard – outdoors)

Adam Kellner (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean (CYP) 64 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 61 62 62

Attila Balazs/Kornel Bardoczky (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean/Christopher Koutrouzas (CYP) 61 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Sergis Kyratzis (CYP) 64 76(6)

Marton Fucsovics (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 64 63

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA defeated MOROCCO 3-2

Venue: Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech, Marrakech, MAR (clay – outdoors)

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Amer Delic (BIH) 62 76(4) 64

Aldin Setkic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 64 26 57 63 64

Amer Delic/Ismar Gorcic (BIH) d. Reda El Amrani/Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 63 62 16 64

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Aldin Setkic (BIH) 26 62 60 61

Amer Delic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 61 63 46 61

ESTONIA defeated LITHUANIA 3-2

Venue: Rocca al Mare Tennisekeskus, Tallinn, EST (hard – indoors)

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jaak Poldma (EST) 76(3) 62 63

Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) 45 ret.

Mait Kunnap/Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Richard Berankis/Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 62 63 36 63

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jurgen Zopp (EST) 16 46 64 63 119

Jaak Poldma (EST) d. Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 61 64 16 61

DENMARK defeated MONACO 3-2

Venue: Bramdrupdam Hallerne, Kolding, DEN (carpet – indoors)

Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) d. Martin Pedersen (DEN) 76(3) 46 64 26 62

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Thomas Oger (MON) 75 62 75

Thomas Kromann/Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Guillaume Couillard/Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 62 63 61

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 63 62 64

Benjamin Balleret (MON) d. Soren Wedege (DEN) 62 76(5)

LATVIA defeated GREECE 4-1

Venue: Thessaloniki Tennis Club, Thessaloniki, GRE (clay – outdoors)

Andis Juska (LAT) d. Theodoros Angelinos (GRE) 63 75 62

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 63 61 61

Andis Juska/Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Konstantinos Economidis/Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 64 63 63

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Paris Gemouchidis (GRE) 63 64

Konstantinos Economidis (GRE) d. Mikelis Libietis (LAT) 61 62

Happy New Year

by Savannah

It's January 4, 2011. I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. Our favorite sport is back with a vengeance and there is a lot to talk about already.

I watched Dinara Safina in her no name kit play Yanina Wickmayer in Auckland last night my time. I'm sorry to report that Dinara couldn't find the court even with a map. Her level of play has dropped to the point you wonder where the woman is who played big babe tennis a mere couple of years ago. She showed zero confidence and was not very emotional, at least through the first set and a half. Admittedly I was doing other things so maybe she did throw a hissy fit and throw her racquet while I was away but the player I saw looked like a player just coming up from the junior ranks.

I'm not a tennis coach. I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist. It's obvious to me that Dinara needs help and quickly. I know I dogged her as a slamless Number One and I feel I was justified in doing so. The year is young and there is still time for her to turn things around.

Meanwhile, in what I see as an attempt to take some pressure off her shoulders Caroline Wozniacki said at a presser in Hong Kong that winning a Slam is not a priority for her.

"I'm not very picky. If I win a Grand Slam in my career, I'll be happy. I don't set any deadlines," the 20-year-old told reporters in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament.

"Of course I would like to win a Grand Slam title. Is it going to be this year? No one knows if it's going to happen. But definitely I'm going to try. I'm going to be fighting hard for it. We're going to have to see."
(...)
"I feel pressure is when you are put in a spot where you don't feel like you belong. I feel like I belong where I am (in the number one ranking). I've had a great year (in 2010)," she said.

I'm sure this is her public stance and that her team hopes it will make the press back off. Good luck with that Team Sunshine.
Wozniacki is going into Melbourne as the top seed. Serena Williams isn't playing. Venus Williams and Melbourne simply don't get along. I don't think the talk will die down at all. Instead it's going to increase as the year goes on. If I'm Wozniacki I'm on the look out for Kim Clijsters who needs a Slam win outside of New York.

I saw Jarmila Groth play last year and came away unimpressed. I must have seen her on a bad day because she's been making a bit of noise lately. I have to say that I'm surprised that she defeated Samantha Stosur who has been generating a lot of talk going into Melbourne. I'm hoping to catch a live stream to see Groth's next match. As for Stosur the weight of the Australian tennis establishment is on her shoulders and right now she doesn't seem to be handling the pressure well. Again, it's early and top players will be looking to just be hitting their stride for the start of the Australian Open. We'll see.

The women are not the only ones with issues. Fernando Verdasco lost in straight sets, one a bagel, in Brisbane yesterday. Verdasco usually plays well at the beginning of the year so I'm sure he's upset at the form he exhibited in his first match of the year.

Meanwhile in Chennai highly touted junior Yuki Bhambri is having problems transitioning to the senior tour. His loss to Alexandre Kudryavtsev of Russia today in Chennai is already being called the worst match of the young year. It's hard to accept people saying this when you haven't seen the match but his forays onto the Main Tour have not turned out well so far.
As for Australian junior Bernard Tomic it seems that he's becoming more known for his bullshit than his tennis. He was given a Wild Card into Brisbane and went down to Florian Mayer of Germany 2 and 2.

The transition from the junior to the senior ranks is always a rough passage but it seems that lately it's been harder than usual for both girls and boys. Are ego's being pumped up too high in the junior ranks and the youngsters become so hardened and set in their ways that they can't play the top players? Are we going to see what has happened to the NBA and to a lesser extent the NFL in tennis where the quality goes down because the younger players are unwilling or unable to adjust to the rigorous demands, mental and physical, of their chosen sport?
This is why it's so hard to hear someone like Sunshine make the statements she made in Hong Kong. Why shouldn't she say she wants to win a Slam if that is what she really wants to do? Is there something in her psyche that says she can only stay on top by playing every tournament on the calendar? Is the new generation trying to make the Slams irrelevant?

The WTA ranking system is complicit in downplaying Slam results. The reason the ATP gets less flak than the WTA is because it's ranking system doesn't do that. I'm sure the WTA feels that a change now would be admitting that the "haters" as they see it are right and that would only harm their brand. I think it's more harmful to their brand to have their Number One say it doesn't matter if she wins a Slam. Can you imagine a baseball team manager saying he doesn't want to win a World Series? An NFL coach saying the Super Bowl doesn't matter? Any football team on the planet saying the World Cup is just another tournament? I can't and tennis shouldn't accept it's top players saying it either. Tennis is fighting hard to be taken seriously. Women's tennis is fighting very hard to not be considered a sport for the unfit and mentally lazy. I don't expect a public tongue lashing but I hope Ms Allaster speaks with her player in private and tells her to get her shit together.

Idle Chit Chat

Wayne Odesnik is playing this week.
Stanislas Wawrinka, according to Swiss press reports, came home after Davis Cup, packed his bags, left his wife and daughter and changed coaches all to rededicate himself to playing the best tennis he can while he still can. Good luck with that Stan. We're all rooting for you.
Nishikori Kei of Japan has hired Brad Gilbert as his traveling coach.
TennisTV has shown all of the men's singles matches from Doha, Qatar so far this week. All that have been played on Center Court that is. This includes the match between Ivo Karlovic and Lukas Rosol. Thanks guys.

Weekend Winners

by Savannah

The men rejoined the fray last week as the Asian swing gets underway. There are some faces in the winners circle we rarely ever see even in semi finals.

Gilles Simon hoisted the alien baby trophy Sunday after he won Metz. I wonder what deal the FFT struck with the aliens so that they can keep handing out this trophy.

Meanwhile the doubles winners Dustin Brown and Rogier Wassen took home trophies their wives/mothers/girlfriends/significant others can use as for flowers.

Meanwhile it was Alla Kudryatseva who donned the traditional winners head dress in Tashkent. I love the traditional wear the winners put on here.

Doubles winners Tatiana Poutchek and Alexandra Panova were draped in traditional robes for the awards ceremony.

Juan Ignacio Chela won the singles title in Bucharest, Romania. He is flanked by Ion Tiriac and Ilie Nastase on the left.

Chela had a great weekend. He also won the doubles crown playing with Lukasz Kubot.

Alisa Kleybanova proudly hoists the winners trophy in Seoul.

Julia Goerges and Polona Hercog won the doubles crown in Seoul.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Miscellany
Some early results from Tokyo.

Soon to be forty Wild Card Kimiko Date-Krumm defeated the #12 seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Dinara Safina lost to the above mentioned Julia Goerges 1-6, 7-5, 2-6.

In totally expected news Serena Williams, sporting a large scar on her foot, has not returned to the main tour. This means the top spot in the WTA rankings is up for grabs.

Paris In the Spring - RG Day 4

by Savannah

Why is anyone shocked that Taylor Dent served as a door mat for someone who can really play on clay? I'm stunned he even made it to the second round. The United States tennis establishment is determined to shove serve and volley down the throats of the rest of the world where it is rightly seen as a tactic during a match and not the sole strategy.

The announcer on ESPN3 calling the Aravane Rezai vs Angelique Kerber match said that the way Rezai plays reminds him of American trained female players. He's not totally wrong.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga complained bitterly during his post match presser today about his scheduling request not being granted.

Q. So you didn't want to play on Sunday? So you're surprised, I suppose. You're French No. 1, we're in France, this is a French tournament and an important one. Were you surprised? Did it get on your nerves to be imposed to play on a Sunday?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: I expected this question, to tell you what I think about this. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed because I was playing on a Sunday. I had asked not to play on a Sunday, absolutely, because I had practiced in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit.
But they imposed it on me. I had to play on a Sunday. I have to accept the rules. This is the game and this is it.
Now, if you're world No. 80 and you're not that important in the hierarchy, if I can say, loads of things are imposed on you in this case. What really bothered me is that, you know, if you look at Murray, if he decides on a day or hour at Wimbledon, nobody's going to impose anything on him.
For Federer in his country it's the same. In the U.S. I suppose it's the tame thing for the best American players. I think that Lleyton probably plays in the sun during the Australian Open because he loves the sun and other opponents don't like the sun. He wants to play in the sun.
Today we're in France. I'm French. I'm French No. 1. I would have thought it was legitimate for me to be listened to, that I would be given a choice. They should listen to me when I wanted to play or start.
But I accepted the rules, and that's all. I'm disappointed. That's true, because I expected a bit more from the organization and the rest, but this is the way it is. I mean, had I lost on Sunday because I was not feeling good, then many people would have been disappointed. This would have been a bit silly, I think.
But it wasn't the case, so I'm here, and I'm fit. I'm ready to play. This story will continue, and that's the end of the story.

Q. Is it a lesson for you? Will it not change your behavior vis a vis number of top managers to be firmer and to behave like someone who's got nerves?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: No, no, because I'm quite open, and organizer or not, my job is to play tennis. Sometimes there are unforeseen events, so we have to adapt. But what I expected from them is to listen to me a little.
But, you know, sometimes it's this thing here, that thing there. You know, during Davis Cups you don't necessarily play in the towns you would like to play in. I'm French No. 1. I can't really decide when I'm going to start the tournament, which is at home.
So, you know, all these little details which sometimes can be quite annoying, sometimes we complain because we don't have enough good French players, but sometimes we're not given the best conditions. I think it's a bit of a pity.

I read that one of the Russian women made a similar request to the FFT and her request was granted while Tsonga's, along with that of a tired Richard Gasquet's, were not. Bitch on Jo.

The following exchange happened during Dinara Safina's post match presser yesterday. It's being reported by the Russian press.

Q: For how long do you plan to work with your new coach?
A: When you go out with a girl for a few times do you also ask her for how long she plans to date you?

Q: Your today's opponent left tennis for 10 years and then returned. Now she is winning. Maybe you should do that too?
A: Stupid questions you have today... (and left the room)

I would've left after punching the reporter in the face. At least she didn't cut and run like Viktoria Azarenka.

Cat Fight

Rezai on Bartoli: "Marion is a difficult girl....She attacked me many times in the press. "I don't have the same education as the one she has...I have respect for players."

Matches of the Day

No one expects anything from Svetlana Kuznetsova this French Open. Not only is she not expected to compete she was relegated to Court 1 for her match today. Instead of succumbing to expectations Sveta gutted out a three set win over a game Andrea Petkovic who actually served for the match in the second set. Sveta has played two matches and had to come from behind in both of them. I'm not saying she'll repeat as champion but she's not going down without a fight.

There are matches still being played as I post this. It's now going on 9p in Paris. Tomorrow's schedule will be interesting.

“One of the most amazing sights that I could barely see.”
Patrick McEnroe

In the heat of battle men should not be asked to make a decision about whether to stop and continue at a later time. Too much adrenaline and too much testosterone are flowing in their bodies and the thought process is muddled at best.

This is the decision Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini were asked to make during the fifth set of their match. Monflls had been up two sets to none and looked to be cruising when Fognini woke up and leveled the match at two sets all. It was already late and as we all know Roland Garros has no lights. Figuring that common sense would prevail I figured they would stop play at 3-all. I was wrong. Instead an argument broke out and that guy named Drama who is always hanging out in the corner sipping scotch got up and took over. Both men wanted to continue. Fognini's camp was telling him to get off the court but he refused. Monfils was already walking back on court as if to say he was finished talking and it was time to play. Fognini got up in chair ump Carlos Bernardes face and next thing you know he penalized Fognini one point for delay. By this time it was pitch black and both players, pros that they are, were playing on instinct, knowing where the lines are and making sure they kept the ball away from them. For the most part that is. The only light was cast by the scoreboard and to say it was eerie was putting it mildly.

In the end, with the score at five all play was suspended. Monfils, who had been gung-ho to continue from the beginning was cramping and yet managed to play well. Fognini cursed his way off the court. Some are saying Carlos is not going to chair the conclusion of the match tomorrow because he gave Fognini the point penalty. The arguing had gone on for six minutes and it was time to crab or carry the basket. If he doesn't chair the conclusion I hope it's because he has another match to work.

If you're thinking this is a back to the future scenario it is. Last year it was Andy Roddick playing against Gael Monfils and the darkness.

It's going to be exciting to see how this all ends. Monfils was cramping at the end of play.

By the way matches featuring John Isner, Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Murray will also resume tomorrow.

In other news...

Husband and wife tennis players looking to be based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Late last year, soon after Australian husband-and-wife team Jarmila and Sam Groth lost their individual $150,000 scholarships at the Australian Institute of Sport, they received an offer they could not refuse. It was from Gavin Hopper, now involved with a new tennis academy in Turkey. Within months, the Groths, too, will be based in Istanbul.
(...)
Hopper is an experienced coach and trainer, whose clients before he served a 27-month jail term for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old student while a teacher at Wesley College in the 1980s, included Mark Philippoussis and Monica Seles. He also founded an academy on the Gold Coast with former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. More recently, he has been working for the Turkish Tennis Federation and living with his family in Istanbul for several years.

SOURCE

Paul Annacone will not have his contract renewed by the Lawn Tennis Association when it expires in November of this year.

Heard Around

by Savannah

Here's a follow up to Martina Navratilova's comments posted here yesterday.

It seems inconceivable that the Williams sisters, given their wide-ranging lifestyles and sporadic commitment, rank 1-2 in the world. Nothing says they can't combine to win the next four majors -- but that's not the point. Where's that traditional elite player, the Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf, who shows up every week and presents a relentless, dominant challenge? The talent is there -- Serena, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova -- but somebody's always hurt, or inconsistent, or struggling to regain form.

It's a tour without a clear identity, and this has to be a reason why Europe shrugs in indifference. Crowds were shockingly thin for most women's matches in the recent clay-court events. Jelena Jankovic took the court in Rome for a quarterfinal against Venus, and the atmosphere resembled a match for seventh place in a Division III collegiate tournament. Venus and Aravene Rezai began their Madrid final in a near-empty arena, filling up (to a degree) only as the match approached the one-hour mark.

Tennis needs stars, people to count on, which is why a packed house was buzzing well before Federer and Nadal even took the court. If someone is going to step up on the women's tour, she has yet to identify herself.

I'm not quite sure where this Bruce Jenkins has been for the last couple of years but the WTA has been playing to near empty stadiums - as chronicled in this space - for going on two years now. It doesn't matter if the tournament is in the States or overseas.

And lets get real here. If Martina and Steffi were just starting out now they would not be considered stars by the WTA tour. Not the right look or lifestyle would be the unwritten attitude towards the two women. Until the WTA starts marketing the tour not individual personalities the stands will remain empty for even their marquee players.

And I don't know where he gets this idea that no one has stepped up to the plate to carry the tour. Venus Williams and Serena Williams have shown they can indeed play top ranked tennis. All the others have shown is that they can take a decent picture. I consider this talk about the tour being a mess to be racist. There is no beating around the bush on this. There was no one in the stands when Dinara Safina was number one. Aside from drooling prepubescent boys the stands were pretty empty when Maria Sharapova was on the court. Neither Kim Clijsters nor Justine Henin are major draws except in the United States where the Cult of the Belgians seems to be strongest. Lets be clear. What is being said is that two American women of African descent are not draws. Bullshit. It's the WTA tour and it's head in the sand marketing approach that have caused the demise of fan interest in their product. Let's not blame the women who have carried the tour for that. The blame goes right to the top and should be focused there.

This article is an interesting insight into how the American tennis establishment thinks as well as how the so called tennis media simply regurgitates their opinions.

Jenkins does manage to get one valid point in though.

As for TC's setup in Madrid: The men's tour has an international network for the nine Masters events and year-end championships, complete with announcers on the scene. The WTA has no such deal, which explains why Katrina Adams and Brian Webber called all of the Madrid women's matches from a studio in Los Angeles.

Random Results
Tsvetana Pironkova defeated Elena Dementieva at Polsat 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. The match lasted three hours and saw Elena commit 59 unforced errors.

Olivier Rochus defeated Robin Soderling at Nice 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Maria Sharapova beat up on Dia Evtimova, a qualifier from Bulgaria 6-3 and 6-0. Her first serve percentage for the match was 96%.

The Week That Was

by Savannah

Now that Andre Agassi has admitted his use of meth went on for "a year or so" the ball is now firmly back in the ATP's court. When all is said and done it is the ATP that has to explain why it accepted the now admitted lie of drinking the wrong glass of soda or whatever and allowed Agassi to avoid drug testing that caused other - dare I say lesser - players to lose their source of income.

I really don't care about the hair or his jealousy because his then wife was doing her job. I refuse to be sidetracked by bullshit. What I do care about is the information given by players while this was all going on. I care what Nicolas Escude and Marcelo Rios said. I care what the ATP didn't say or do. I care about titles that may have been won while a player was "under the influence". I care that the "tennis press" (an oxymoron at this point) seems to have been an active participant in the cover up.

In the final analysis the sport of tennis has been damaged not because of a hair piece. It's been damaged because fans now know that anti drug testing was done on every Spanish player at some ungodly hour of the morning. We know that Belgian players were recently hauled before the anti drug administrators for missing drug tests. We know about Guillermo Canas and Guillermo Coria. We know about Volandri. And heaven knows we know about Richard Gasquet kissing the wrong girl and Mariano Puerta ingesting his wife's meds. And now we know that TPTB may have actively participated in covering up drug use by a man who was at that time one of it's star players. It was a secret only to the fans since players knew what was going on and spoke about it. Because the allegations were in the foreign press the US press could ignore it.

The last thing the ATP wants is for a completely independent look at just what was going on in men's tennis, specifically United States tennis, at that time. Who are the seven players who had positive tests that were ignored? At this time the only two players I'm willing to give a pass to are Pete Sampras and Michael Chang. Everyone else, Borg, Agassi, John McEnroe, is fair game.

The WTA YEC

It's been a strange week. The White Group, which consisted of "the future of women's tennis" has shown that they are really not ready for prime time. Between the tears, playacting, inability to handle the heat of the desert not to mention "fractured" backs that became "unfractured" and you have a soap opera. Meanwhile the "old biddies" of the Maroon Group seem to be doing just fine, nagging injuries and all. Almost all of the women in the Maroon group are pushing thirty and yet we've seen better tennis from them. If the future of women's tennis consists of drama taking the place physical and mental toughness we're in the deep end of the pool kiddies.

Miscellany

Anil John posted the following in the online edition of the Gulf Times.

Dinara Safina may be missing out on a large fan base because many in this part of the world are unaware she is a Muslim or simply don’t care. Both attitudes are based on some serious fault lines.
Now, I know all about keeping religion away from sport and that sports stars should be appreciated for what they do on the court and not on the basis of what faith they belong to. But in Safina’s case I don’t mind sticking my head out and ask some tough questions.

The lack of adulation for Safina is strange and incomprehensible for the simple reason that the Muslim world is so desperately short of women role models.

When Moroccan male tennis players such as Younes el-Aynaoui – a winner in Doha – and Hicham Arazi were regulars at the Qatar Open, fans packed the stands to cheer their every shot. But when Safina plays there’s hardly a ripple of excitement. It’s a question that demands serious answers. Is this because Safina is a woman, one is tempted to ask.

I find this a very odd time for an article like this to appear regarding Dinara Safina and tangentially her brother Marat Safin. With all the other pressure on Dinara right now does she really need a controversial issue like this on her shoulders? It's never really been a secret, their profiles on Wiki clearly state their religion, so my question is why now?

Anne Keothavong gets my "Heroine of the Week" award for asking why everyone is so surprised about Agassi. Once again those pesky foreigners seem to be much more informed than those of us on this side of the Atlantic.

There are actually three men's events taking place this week in Lyon, Wien, and St Petersburg. The results have been interesting to say the least. Add Horatio Zeballos to the top fifty after his performance this week after his breakthrough performance in St Petersburg.

Cara Black and Liezel Huber have secured the number one ranking in women's doubles for the third consecutive year. Congratulations ladies!

Not So Idle Chit Chat

by Savannah



A lot has come out since I last posted about the Agassi situation. It seems that a lot people spoke out in 2003/2004 about the drug situation in men's tennis. You have to give it to tennis fans. They know how to find the dirt.

7 Players Exonerated in 2004

ATP trainers provided electrolyte supplements

Seven top male tennis players who tested positive for nandrolone were exonerated by the ATP on "clearly unsustainable grounds", the World Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday.

WADA said in a statement that more positives had come to light despite the ruling body of men's tennis (ATP) withdrawing contaminated electrolyte supplements which it believed were the source of the banned anabolic steroid.

Testing of the suspect electrolytes failed to show up traces of nandrolone-related products, WADA said.

The ATP announced last July that players might have taken banned substances in supplements handed out by ATP trainers. It asked WADA to set up an investigation of the seven positive dope tests involving players between August 2002 and May 2003.

In its report WADA was scornful of the ATP's inconsistent disciplinary process covering the seven cases.

The allegation that an ATP-supplied electrolyte might be responsible for the positive test was made by just one of the players, the fifth charged, WADA said.

An ATP investigation "found through questioning ... that most of the 43 players with positive or elevated tests claimed (in retrospect) that they had used the electrolyte replacement product provided by trainers," WADA said.

WADA said the independent tribunals which exonerated the players made an "extraordinary series of findings" founded on two principles - shifting the onus of proof to the ATP to show it was not the source of the positive tests, and precluding the ATP from sanctioning players based on positive tests because it might have been responsible for those positives.

Briton Greg Rusedski was cleared of doping offences in March after an ATP-appointed tribunal found the ATP could have been responsible for his positive nandrolone test.

Rusedski admitted in January he had tested positive in a test taken in July 2003. The WADA review did not cover his case.

It should be noted that Guillermo Canas was banned for the same thing Rusedski was given a pass on.

Circling the Wagons - It Wasn't Me

Charles Bricker posts this in defense of the ATP.

If you're upset about the way the ATP handled the Andre Agassi drug case back in 1997, don't even try to hang this one on former CEO Mark Miles.

I just got off the phone with Mark and he explained that all decisions about drug violations is the 100 percent province of an independent, ITF-appointed panel of certified experts who have no direct connection whatever with the ATP, and that neither Miles nor any other ranking ATP executive has the power to override or amend that panel's decision. In any way.

That is a fact and it was reinforced today by a statement from the ATP, which reads:

“It has always been ATP policy not to comment on anti-doping test results unless and until an anti-doping violation has occurred. Under the tennis anti-doping program it is, and has always been, an independent panel that makes a decision on whether a doping violation has been found. The ATP has always followed this rule and no executive at the ATP has therefore had the authority or ability to decide the outcome of an anti-doping matter.”
Miles, who left the ATP in 2005 after 15 years as its No. 1 official, was as candid as he felt he could be, but he is honoring retroactive commitments not to comment on specific drug cases that came up during his tenure at the men's tour.

"I can't comment on any case. I can't even confirm that there was a case involving Andre. And I'm not going to comment on Andre's book. But I can amplify. I've seen the ATP statement and the statement is true. The ATP program was set up to ensure that any decision on any case was decided by a panel, a tribunal. And there were no exceptions to that.

"I don't know if Andre says anything in his book that is incongruous with that," he said, and then made what I thought was a very interesting remark. "Panels have made decisions that have left some people scratching their heads," said Miles.

Agassi in 2003...

World number two Andre Agassi has rejected claims by Australia's Andrew Ilie that illegal drug use is rife in professional tennis.
(...)
Ilie's claims cut little ice with Agassi, a strong supporter of drug testing.

"The one thing that I'd like to stick to is what we do know," said Agassi after his victory over South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik.

"What we know is, while there's been a minimal amount of players caught over the last 10 years, we are probably the leading sport in reference to how often we test, how professional our tests are and how strict our penalties are.

"The talk of who might be or might not be taking drugs is irresponsible," said Agassi.

The Gag Rule

Bill Simon and the Agassi book.

I had no choice. Word was out. Andre Agassi had a new autobiography that was about to hit and it promised to be a barnburner. After all, if any athlete could write a riveting, what’s-it-all-about volume, it was Andre.

But just to get an advance copy, I had to (for the first time in 29 years) sign a non-divulgence (”squeal and you die”) contract; a seven-clause gag rule saying I would not reveal the contents of the curiously titled book, “Open,” until early November. I agreed, and on Aug. 17, Andre’s four-pound 437-page baby arrived.

For weeks I devoured every detail. Then I waited and waited some more.

Certainly, the book’s explosive details would be leaked in the media. After all, deep within the book, Andre offers up the most explosive confession in sports history, candidly detailing his first experience with crystal meth.

Note: There are also Spanish language sources that provide more information. When I have the translations I'll post them.

In Other News...

L'Equipe reports that Richard Gasquet has withdrawn from Bercy to focus on his upcoming hearing before the CAS on November 10.

Serena Williams will be the year end WTA Number 1. Dinara Safina's withdrawal from Doha guarantees Serena will be ranked Number 1 until the end of December.

It is never easy to watch someone unravel in front of the world. Once again I'm writing about the system and how it affects players. If anyone needs a time out it's Dinara. I can only imagine the pressure put on this young woman by the powers that be. She looked absolutely terrified to take the court the last time I saw her. There are a lot of people calling on her to fire her coach. Dinara said in the past that he is the coach she needs, the one who understands her temperament. I'm just saying.

I finally have Tennis Channel. And I can finally hear Lindsay Davenport commentate. She raked the players over the coals for playing so much this year before someone reminded her that Roadkill is the reason players like Safina made the Asian swing regardless of their physical condition. When the players have no control over their schedules bad things happen. She is honest and straight forward in her commentary. Good times.

WTA YEC Draw

by Savannah

I double dare anyone to say this is balanced or that an agenda isn't being pursued here.

Doha Draw

WHITE GROUP

Dinara Safina

Caroline Wozniacki

Victoria Azarenka

Jelena Jankovic

ROUND ROBIN MATCHES - White Group

Dinara Safina (RUS) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

Dinara Safina (RUS) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Dinara Safina (RUS) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

MAROON GROUP

Serena Williams

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Elena Dementieva

Venus Williams

ROUND ROBIN MATCHES - Maroon Group

Serena Williams (USA) vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Serena Williams (USA) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Serena Williams (USA) vs Venus Williams (USA)

Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs Venus Williams (USA)

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs Venus Williams (USA)

We Told You So...And Double Standards

by Savannah

From the New York Times

September 22, 2009
Henin to Return to Competitive Tennis

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:44 p.m. ET

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Former world No. 1 Justine Henin is returning to competitive tennis, making the announcement barely a week after Kim Clijsters capped her comeback from retirement with a second U.S. Open title.

Henin had been retired for just over a year, but at 27 says she has the fire and physical strength to compete for an eighth Grand Slam title. Her announcement on VTM television capped an about-face that went from her ''definitive decision'' to retire last year, to weeks of no comment to a smiling admission Tuesday that she truly missed the game too much.

She wants to play two exhibition tournaments, in Charleroi, Belgium, and Dubai, to hone her skills ahead of a competitive return next year with plans to compete in the next Grand Slam, the Australian Open.

''The fire within burns again,'' Henin said. ''I want to come back in January.''

Henin officially retired on May 14, 2008, initially rejecting any thought of a comeback with a dogged determination that had come to mark her play throughout a decade-long career that yielded seven Grand Slam titles and one Olympic gold medal.

At 27, it certainly is not too late for a comeback. As Clijsters proved, breaking back into the top tier at short notice is far from impossible. She won the U.S. Open in her third tournament since announcing her return.

''Subconsciously, it might have had an impact,'' Henin said of Clijster's successful comeback. ''But it certainly was not the most important reason.''

Like Clijsters, Henin is still in her prime and has been able to rest her body for over a year. Throughout her retirement, during which she became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Henin looked fit enough to immediately step back onto a court.

As recently as May, she complained about the old injuries that still gave her pain in the mornings and the dreaded life of living in a bubble as she was shuttled around the world chasing victories.

''The last 15 months I've been able to recharge the batteries, emotionally as well,'' Henin said.

Henin said coming face to face with the world's misery on UNICEF trips to places like eastern Congo widened her horizons like tennis never could.

Henin has won nearly $20 million in prize money and had been ranked No. 1 for all but seven weeks since Nov. 13, 2006, until her retirement. When she retired after a string of early tournament exits just ahead of Roland Garros, she felt the fire no longer within and gave in.

It was the first time in a life totally centered around her prodigious talent for whipping backhands past hapless competitors. She became the first woman player to retire as No. 1.

Then, suddenly, this summer the craving came back.

Craig and I said from the beginning that Henin's sudden "retirement" was related to something other than "burn out" in the traditional sense. We both always said that she would be back after a certain period of time. And now she's back.

The WTA issued the following statement.

STATEMENT FROM STACEY ALLASTER, CHAIRMAN & CEO, SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR, IN RE JUSTINE HENIN ANNOUNCEMENT

Justine is one of the great champions in the history of women's tennis, and we, along with millions of her fans around the globe, are thrilled with her announcement today. Justine is that rare athlete who decided to step away from the game at the height of her powers, and no doubt she will be a force to be reckoned with from the get go. Her career was marked by so many amazing moments, and a new chapter begins today.

I could go on a rant about why the returns of both Clijsters and Henin have certain elements in tennis overjoyed but I won't because it would just mean rehashing everything that's been said about how TPTB really feel about having those Williams Women universally recognized as the best in the business. Henin has proven herself over the years to be a liar, a cheat and a person who exhibits unsportsmanlike conduct on a consistent basis. She is no different from Dinara Safina in her need for her coach to choreograph her every move on court.

The only thing I will give her is that she never had a cupcake draw handed to her. That is all I concede.

So now they've got what they want. Will Justine cherry pick her tournaments the way Kim has? Will she wait until the end of the year to enter a major or two? All this remains to be seen.

Now excuse me while I go do the "I told you so dance" in the corner.



The Agassi Incident

Just in case you were wondering what it is and why it's caused most of those calling for Serena Williams head to suddenly mute their calls here is an article from 2001 that describes what happened.

...it was flawed by moments when Agassi, who may never have another good chance of winning the title, could not contain his frustration and resentment.

The former champion complained so sulkily about one line decision that a section of the crowd booed him. On another occasion he swore loudly enough to upset a line judge, who came trotting dramatically all the way from her position at the back of the court to tell the umpire, which resulted in Agassi receiving a code violation warning. At the end he launched a ball into the back stop, nearly hitting the line judge who had made the tough call. He was lucky not to suffer further censure for that.

In the press conference the one-time king of glitz was caustic, embittered and almost unable to answer. Was the warning a little unfair? "Yeah, big time. I blame her husband for that," Agassi spat. What did he think about the quality of tennis? "I thought it sucked - really did."

For the entire article please go HERE

And lest we forget the new Belgian sensation Yanina Wickmayer sent a lineswoman to the hospital after throwing a ball at her in anger.

"Yanina displayed "Brat-Like" behavior throughout the tournament. Yanini had 5 code violations. She came close to hitting ball boys on 2 occasions. She launched balls over fences. For her final Code Violation and Disqualification Yanini hit a hard forehand to the back fence striking a defense-less 60 year old woman directly in the face causing a huge bruise. Yanini is dangerous and should seek anger management help."

I hope the ITF comes out with an official statement regarding the default. As Wickmayer was also in the doubles final, she voided the whole final day of play.

This is an eyewitness account that was posted on the fanboard Tennis Forum. Please take time to read the defenders of Wickmayer's actions and note that the ITF did absolutely nothing towards censuring her.

So the next time you hear some sanctimonious bullshit artist talking about "the image the kids will have of tennis" just hand them a nice steaming cup of my favorite joe.

Seen and Heard Around - US Open Day 7

by Savannah

Player Talk

Before all the hoopla of the day starts I'd like to post some statements made by players that may have gotten lost in the sauce over the last couple of days.

Let's start with Kim Clijsters interview after defeating Venus Williams. It should be noted that Kim, during her on court interview with Mary Jo Fernandez, when asked how it was juggling a child and a career said flat out that she has help so it's not so bad. Mary Jo didn't follow up on that. Wonder why?

Anywho here's what she said at the end of the interview posted on the official US Open Site

Q. You needed to measure yourself against some of the bigger names in tennis. Today you defeated Venus. How does this affect your confidence?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Well, you know, I know today that Venus wasn't playing her best tennis. In that sense it's hard to kind of compare anything in today's match. But there's a lot of other things personally that I'm taking out of this match. That's just the mental strength that I kept focusing on and just trying to although in that second set I wasn't hitting the ball, I was just trying to regroup.
Those kinds of things. Reading the game a little bit, adjusting my game a little bit to a couple of weaknesses that I had out there. That's a very positive thing for myself, where in the past I maybe could have just let it slip away a little bit.
Now I really felt comfortable at just getting back and just fighting through that match.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Nikolay Davydenko, you remember him don't you, was interviewed by the Russian press and made the following statement. Thanks to "Oddman" and "HelenW" for the quotes that were originally posted on vamosbrigade.com

Kolya Davydenko has just finished his interview to Russian TV. He wasn't exactly complaining, because he smiled nicely all the time, so let's call it "he described some problems". He said that regardless of what organizers stated, all the courts in the US Open played differently. And a player who is placed in one and the same court has an advantage. Kolya played three rounds in 3 courts: Nos.4, 7 and 11. So he played 3 matches on 3 different surfaces, and every match was like the 1st one for him in terms of feeling the surface.

When asked whether he preferred playing against Soderling or Querrey, he said that he'd rather play against Soderling whom he hated, than vs Querrey, because there's a very good chance that Sod's match will be placed in Court 11, while Querrey's match will be definitely placed in one of the bigger courts.

Then his smile broadened to its extremity, and he said: "You want somebody to lose? Relocate him to a different court. From Ashe to Armstrong, for example". The next question was: "Are you speaking about Dinara?". The answer was: "Is that what they did to her? No, I was thinking about last year semifinals".

No wonder the American press avoids him like the plague. By the way he'll be playing on Armstrong today.

The last statement is from Dinara Safina. I have to say that watching Dinara take the court the other night the look I saw on her face was one of sheer terror. At least I thought it was. Maybe she was just past pissed.

At any rate this is a verbatim report by Diane Pucin that was posted to the LA Times.

Safina said she wasn't asked. She was told by tournament officials. "They came to us at 9:10 p.m. and just told us to switch to Armstrong," she said. "Basically, that's it. It was very unfair. The best player in the world to put on Armstrong. Their answer was that they prefer a five-set match to a three-set woman match."

Turned out the men's match was three sets too, Blake went out without much fight and the men's match ended up 10 minutes after Safina's upset.

"That's it, they don't want to listen, just move to Armstrong," Safina said. "I keep asking why we're playing on Armstrong at 10. They tell us just play, go on, go on 10 on Armstrong."

After speaking about the match and about how she had a game plan to go on the court and make Kvitova move all around, she instead came on the court, stood still and let Kvitova dictate play. "It's my brain," she said.

But then she went back to the other subject.

"I'm No. 1 player in the world," she said. "Why move me? American Blake because they want five sets instead of three. I always look forward to play night session on Arthur Ashe, it's best thing in the U.S. Open."

Kvitova didn't complain at all. "Yeah, doesn't matter to me," the 20-year-old from the Czech Republic said. "I'm not a star."

The problem was that thousands of night session ticket holders had to stand outside until the Roddick match ended after nine.

Tournament officials said they didn't want to delay the Robredo-Blake match because the winner was slated to meet Roger Federer next. Federer had finished his match about 2 on Saturday.

U.S. Open spokesman Chris Widmaier said, "You've got to balance safety issues, a big crowd, but the No. 1 factor is competitive integrity," he said. "If we had not split matches, the women's match would have been started at about 10:30 and who knows what time Blake and Robredo would have finished?"

European players have had beef with the US Open since about 2003 when an exhausted Juan Carlos Ferrero played the final after playing several days straight while his opponent got favorable treatment. Look it up folks.

Bizzaro Tennis World


This is a shot of Vera Zvonareva's knees at some point during her match against Flavia Pennetta last night. I have to say at some point because the wrapping ended up in quite a different state later in the match as can be seen below.

There are good matches tennisheads talk about for years where the players play sublimely, the on court intensity is fierce, and the eventual winner looks like he or she has been through a war.
Then there are the matches that go into the "What the fuck was that" category. Unfortunately for Vera her match last evening will forever be in that category.

Vera was once known only for her emotional outbursts on court not her tennis. She had turned that image around recently playing very well and containing her emotion. Last night she played great for a set and a half. Then Flavia woke up and began to play tennis the way she had been coming into the Open. Forcing and then winning a second set tiebreak despite Vera having had multiple match points Flavia stood by watching as her opponent literally came apart at the seams.

It was not a pretty sight folks but like the proverbial train wreck you're horrified but can't look away. All Flavia did in the third set was keep the ball between the lines while Vera flailed around unable to let go of that second set melt down. Flavia served her a bagel.

My main criticism goes to the commentators though. Cathy Rinaldi had impressed me a couple of days ago with her work but last night I think she let her partner, not sure who he was, have run of things. I'm not a broadcast journalist let alone a commentator so I don't know the etiquette involved in who does what in the booth. I do know that Cathy was the professional last night and that at some point she should've done a Virginia Wade and just cut the idiot off. Most fans know about Vera and her towel. If you've never seen it before it's striking and a little off putting but you're being paid to commentate. Move on. It's not a running gag, especially when the player is in the middle of a complete meltdown. Is it too much to ask that the people commentating on tennis have some familiarity with the sport and its players? Like him or not Chris Fowler has come a long way from when he first started and he did it by asking questions. Mike Tirico came to work prepared and can talk with the egomaniacs of the ESPN booth as an equal. It seems that the people who are working the live streams aren't held to such a high standard. Shame since for those of us without Tennis Channel the online streams were all that was available.

Thoroughly Modern Tennis

I get it. I really do. Serve and volley tennis is the preferred style of play for Australians and Americans. Maybe the Brits get thrown in there too. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than when a commentator, seeing the style used as a tactic by modern era players goes on for twenty minutes about how wonderful it is to see it and if only more players would use it the game could be what it was in their youth.
Newsflash folks. It ain't coming back as the only way to play. It can be part of a players arsenal and should be, but no one is going to take the court and only play serve and volley. That's why it was painful to watch Taylor Dent last night. His story is compelling and you can't help but pull for him knowing that he didn't have a snowballs chance in hell with his anachronistic playing style.
Whichever Jensen that was doing commentary last night was flogging that dead horse to no end however and in the end I turned the sound off because of his cheerleading. Once again his partner let him run with it. The commentary was less about the match and all about Taylor, his parents, who he came on the scene with and serve and volley.
If Dent is going to try and make a go of it in the modern world of tennis he's going to have to learn to use serve and volley as a tactic. This is what some of the old warhorses don't want to discuss. They want to ignore the technology that has changed the game, some even started a push to go back to wooden racquets awhile back, but time waits for no one. Taylor has talent. He's going to have to do what Andy Roddick has done and embrace the modern.

Order of Play Day 8 (Singles Only)

Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)
2. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Melanie Oudin (USA) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[13]
Not Before:14:30
3. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Tommy Robredo (ESP)[14]
Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[9] v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[6]
2. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4] v. Radek Stepanek (CZE)[15]

Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Robin Soderling (SWE)[12] v. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[8]
2. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Petra Kvitova (CZE) v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)
Not Before:15:00
3. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[10] v. John Isner (USA)

End Notes

American juniorAsia Muhammad wiped up the court with French number one Kristina Mladenovic yesterday. Major surprise.

Sloane Stephens also won her opening round match. Heather Watson of Great Britain and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn also won on the girls side.

As for the boys number one Yuki Bhambri won easily while Chase Buchanan needed three sets to move to the next round. Bernard Tomic won in straight sets.