Dutch Open Tennis (ATP - Clay - Amersfoort, The Netherlands)
- Singles Final: Albert Montanes def. Steve Darcis 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Steve Darcis def. Marc Gicquel 7-6, 3-6, 7-5.
- Singles Semifinal: Albert Montanes def. Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-3. - Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Frantisek Cermak/Rogier Wassen def. Jesse Huta Galung/Igor Sijsling 7-5, 7-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Frantisek Cermak/Rogier Wassen def. Jose Acasuso/David Marrero 3-6, 6-1, 10-8.
- Doubles Semifinal: Jesse Huta Galung/Igor Sijsling def. Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3. - Doubles Bracket
Indianapolis Tennis Championships (ATP - Hard - Indianpolis, United States)
- Singles Final: Gilles Simon def. Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Dmitry Tursunov def. James Blake 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Gilles Simon def. Sam Querrey 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. - Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Ashley Fisher/Tripp Phillips def. Scott Lipsky/David Martin 3-6, 6-3, 10-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Scott Lipsky/David Martin def. Harel Levy/Jim Thomas 7-6, 7-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Ashley Fisher/Tripp Phillips def. Rajeev Ram/Bobby Reynolds 6-4, 7-6. - Doubles Bracket
Studena Croatia Open (ATP - Clay - Umag, Croatia)
- Singles Final: Fernando Verdasco def. Igor Andreev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Fernando Verdasco def. Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Igor Andreev def. Maximo Gonzalez 6-2, 7-6. - Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Michal Mertinak/Petr Pala def. Carlos Berlocq/Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-3, 10-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Michal Mertinak/Petr Pala def. David Skoch/Lovro Zovko 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Carlos Berlocq/Fabio Fognini def. Jaroslav Levinsky/Filip Polasek 7-5, 6-2. - Doubles Bracket
Bank of the West Classic (WTA - Hard - Stanford, United States)
- Singles Final: Aleksandra Wozniak def. Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Aleksandra Wozniak def. Serena Williams 6-2, 3-1 (retired).
- Singles Semifinal: Marion Bartoli def. Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.
- Doubles Final: Cara Black/Liezel Huber def. Elena Vesnina/Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Cara Black/Liezel Huber def. Tatiana Poutchek/Anastasia Rodionova 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Elena Vesnina/Vera Zvonareva def. Alisa Kleybanova/Monica Niculescu 2-6, 6-3, 10-3.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
Gastien Ladies (WTA - Clay - Bad Gastien, Austria)
- Singles Final: Pauline Parmentier def. Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Pauline Parmentier def. Agnes Szavay 6-4, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Lucie Hradecka def. Mariya Koryttseva 6-3, 6-2.
- Doubles Final: Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka def. Sesil Karatantcheva/Natasa Zoric 6-3, 6-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Sesil Karatantcheva/Natasa Zoric def. Sarah Borwell/Courtney Nagle 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka def. Yi-Fan Xu/Shuai Zhang 7-6, 6-4.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
By the Letter
T...oronto takes precedence; no "letters" this week.
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Albert Montanes
Montanes won his first career ATP title after defeating last year's Dutch Open champion Steve Darcis in the final. After losing the first set badly (1-6), Montanes showed great resiliency and clawed his way to victory, winning 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. He also notched a very impressive 6-0, 6-2 win over clay lover Jose Acasuso in the quarterfinals.
WTA - Aleksandra Wozniak
A retirement from Serena Williams helped, but the main reason why Wozniak won her first career WTA Tour title was because of her solid play all week. She won eight matches in total, two of which came against Samantha Stosur (once in qualifying, and once in the main draw - Stosur got in as a 'lucky loser'). In the final against Marion Bartoli, the Canadian racked up winners against her fatigued opponent.
Tennis Theatre
In the spirit of this week's Canadian Open, here's a clip from the Andre Agassi/Rafael Nadal final in Montreal three years ago. Nadal won this match, but it was no cakewalk, ending 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. This match between generations showcased each man well - if you recall, both had great 2005 seasons.
This Week's Tournaments
Rogers Cup (ATP - Hard - Toronto, Canada)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
- Website
Banka Koper Slovenia Open (WTA - Hard - Portoroz, Slovenia)
East West Bank Classic (WTA - Hard - Los Angeles, United States)
Beyond the Bracket
When a bold-faced number to the left of a player’s name in a tournament bracket, you know that this is a seeded player who’s expected to do well.
When a is “Q” next to someone’s name, you know that this player has earned their stripes by advancing into the main draw through the qualifying rounds.
When a “WC” in this space, you don’t really know what to expect.
Wild cards truly live up to their title. A hodgepodge of players – commonly popular veterans that sell tickets (Gustavo Kuerten) and hyped youngsters with a local connection (Donald Young) – receive these free passes into the main draw at the discretion of tournament directors.
Of course, it’s worth noting that every wild card entrant didn’t earn their way into the tournament like everyone else (by having a high enough ranking, or going through qualifying). So it comes as no surprise when wild cards are gone within a round or two. But lately, there have been some wild card success stories on both tours.
Jie Zheng of China, who had fallen out of the Top 100 in the WTA rankings, was given a wild card into this year’s Wimbledon. She made the final four and took out three seeded players along the way, including top seed Ana Ivanovic. And wild card Prakash Amritaj nearly won in Newport the following week, if not for one last trick from “The Magician,” Fabrice Santoro.
It’s with these two cases in mind that I want to take a look at the four wild cards for the Rogers Cup in Toronto, which I’ll be attending this week. You already know what Marat Safin can do – look back at Wimbledon if you forgot – so I’ll focus on the three Canucks admitted into the main draw.
The most well-known of the trio is Frank Dancevic. The Niagara Falls native had his best year on tour in 2007, punctuated by his play in the summer months. He reached the Indianapolis final after upsetting Andy Roddick in the semis, and made the quarterfinals of the Canadian Masters the next week in Montreal (where he gamely lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets). He became the first Canadian to reach an ATP Tour final since Greg Rusedski in 1995.
After all was said and done, Dancevic reached a career high ranking of No. 65. But since then, Dancevic hasn’t been able to match this level of play, and he’s slipped to No. 83. There are encouraging signs of late, however. Dancevic excelled in recent grass court tournaments, winning the Surbiton Challenger and reaching the semifinals at Newport. I’m very interested to see if Frank’s play on grass translates to success on the quick Toronto hard courts this week.
After Dancevic, you need to look past the Top 200 to find the other two Canadian wild cards, Peter Polansky and Frederic Niemeyer. Each will get a rare opportunity to compete in a prestigious tournament this week.
I can only imagine the crowd’s reaction if either player were to make a run like Dancevic did last year. Both men have been wild cards here before, but have combined to win just one match in thirteen tries. Niemeyer, who's 32, accounts for most of that record with a 1-10 mark. If you’re hoping for a Cinderella performance, look to Polansky. The 20-year old won a Futures tournament earlier this year, and has reached the quarterfinals or better in six other Futures or Challenger events in 2008.
Canadians are a patriotic bunch – much more so the United States – and that’s what I love about traveling north. It was a joyous time in Canada when Mike Weir won The Masters in 2003, and if any Maple Leaf Olympians strike gold in Beijing, count on more celebration. And don’t forget their celebrated hockey teams. I’ll be in the stands for the first round matches of each of these wild cards, keeping an eye on the players and the crowd support. It will likely be their only match, but if it isn’t, you’ll hear about it.
if...
you had to guess, who wins more titles the rest of this year: Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, or Roddick? (Olympic medals don't count as titles.)