By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments
ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament (ATP - Hard - Rotterdam, Netherlands)
- Singles Final: Michael Llodra def. Robin Soderling 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Robin Soderling def. Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Michael Llodra def. Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 7-6.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Tomas Berdych/Dmitry Tursunov def. Philipp Kohlschreiber/Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Tomas Berdych/Dmitry Tursunov def. Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Philipp Kohlschreiber/Mikhail Youzhny def. Simon Aspelin/Julian Knowle 7-6, 7-5.
- Doubles Bracket
Copa Telmex (ATP - Clay - Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Singles Final: David Nalbandian def. Jose Acasuso 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: David Nalbandian def. Juan Ignacio Chela 6-1, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Jose Acasuso def. Fillippo Volandri 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Agustin Calleri/Luis Horna def. Werner Eschauer/Peter Luczak 6-0, 6-7, 10-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Werner Eschauer/Peter Luczak def. Albert Montanes/Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 4-6, 6-3, 12-10.
- Doubles Semifinal: Agustin Calleri/Luis Horna def. Jose Acasuso/Mariano Hood 6-3, 1-6, 10-8.
- Doubles Bracket
SAP Open (ATP - Hard - San Jose, United States)
- Singles Final: Andy Roddick def. Radek Stepanek 6-4, 7-5.
- Singles Semifinal: Andy Roddick def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Radek Stepanek def. Robby Ginepri 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Scott Lipsky/David Martin def. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 7-5, 7-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Steve Darcis/Kristof Vliegen 6-2, 7-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Scott Lipsky/David Martin def. Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana 7-6, 6-4.
- Doubles Bracket
Copa Colsanitas Santander (WTA - Clay - Bogota, Colombia)
- Singles Final: Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Maria Emilia Salerni 6-0, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Betina Jozami 6-2, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Maria Emilia Salerni def. Carla Suarez Navarro 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
- Doubles Final: Iveta Benesova/Bethanie Mattek def. Jelena Kostanic Tosic/Martina Muller 6-3, 6-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Iveta Benesova/Bethanie Mattek def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino/Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4, 1-6, 10-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Jelena Kostanic Tosic/Martina Muller def. Sara Errani/Frederica Piedade 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
Qatar Total Open (WTA - Hard - Doha, Qatar)
- Singles Final: Maria Sharapova def. Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 2-6, 6-0.
- Singles Semifinal: Maria Sharapova def. Agnieszka Radwankska 6-4, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Vera Zvonareva def. Na Li 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
- Doubles Final: Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs def. Cara Black/Liezel Huber 6-1, 5-7, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Cara Black/Liezel Huber def. Lucia Safarova/Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs def. Katarina Srebotnik/Ai Sugiyama 6-2, 6-0.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
By the Letter
T...hree qualifiers reached the semifinals of this week's Copa Colsanitas Santander in Bogota, Colombia. Betina Jozami (who defeated top seed Flavia Pennetta), Nuria Llagostera Vives (who won the title), and Carla Suarez Navarro all defied the odds by making the final four of the tournament.
E...ntering 2008, Michael Llodra had won only one career title on the ATP Tour ('s-Hertogenbosch in 2004). In just two months, he's now tripled that total after winning Adelaide in January, and Rotterdam this past week. In a closely contested final, Llodra defeated Robin Soderling in a third set tiebreaker.
N...ot far removed from winning Grand Slam titles, Amelie Mauresmo is now considering the possibility of retirement, following her loss in the second round of the Qatar Open to Tamarine Tanasugarn. "I sometimes ask myself what I am doing here, in front of half empty stands. It's typically the type of situation where you wish you were somewhere else," said Mauresmo.
N...eglected to mention this last week, which some of you astutely pointed out: Roger Federer, Justine Henin, and Esther Vergeer all won Laureus World Sports Awards.
I...talian Potito Starace found his way into the news this week for verbally threatening Argentinean soccer legend Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires. During Starace's match against David Nalbandian, the oft-vocal Maradona rained insults on the Italian from the stands throughout the match, prompting Starace to retaliate. Potito spoke to the umpire, saying that, "Either you throw him out or I'll go bash a racket in his teeth."
S...harapova Bangky tennis center may be built in Vietnam, after the Russian learned on a visit to the country that tennis facilities were non-existent there.
W...hether you love or hate Andy Murray, read this Guardian blog entry courtesty of Simon Hattenstone. Here's a few of his candid remarks: "He plays with his face frozen into a grimace."..."I interviewed him and he turned out to be one of the most charmless sportsmen I've met - believe me, the competition is tough out there."..."All Andy has at the moment is his petulance."
O...ne hundred days and $35,000 was the fine levied by the ATP against Giorgio Galimberti, who was found to have bet on multiple tennis matches between June 2003 and January 2006, including his own. Galimberti stated in an interview with ESPN that "I never bet on myself losing...That doesn't mean I didn't bet on me winning."
R...otterdam's seeded players did not live up to their billing, all losing before the quarterfinal stage. Some of the upsets included top seed Rafael Nadal losing to Andreas Seppi, No. 7 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero bowing out to qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili, and David Ferrer getting bounced in straight sets to Simone Bolelli. Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Nikolay Davydenko were also eliminated early on.
L...eander Paes has come under fire by his fellow Indian Davis Cup teammates, saying that they have lost confidence in his ability to lead the squad. Numerous players from the team signed a letter that was sent to the All India Tennis Association, asking Paes to be removed as team captain.
D...oubles dynamos Bob and Mike Bryan are now 0-3 in finals this year, after losing in San Jose to Scott Lipsky and David Martin. They were 11-4 in finals in 2007.
McGrogan's Heroes
!Argie ATP - A few months ago, no one was talking about Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Instead, the trendy name in men's tennis was David Nalbandian. The Argentine was fresh off winning back-to-back Masters Series titles in Madrid and Paris, which included wins against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Left for dead for most of 2007, Nalbandian nearly made up enough ground in these two weeks to qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. When the year ended, David was pegged as - at worst - a darkhorse at the Australian Open, with many pundits labeling him a favorite to win at Melbourne.
As it turned out, Nalbandian's Australian Open didn't live up to the hype. After dispatching two Aussies, Robert Smeets and Peter Luczak, in the first two rounds, he faced his first opponent of merit, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in round three. David was slain, crashing out of the tournament after a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 beating. It was back to the drawing board for Nalbandian after another head-scratching result.
Since Australia, Nalbandian has headed back to clay, his native surface, and has fared well. In Argentina's first round Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, he had no problems with Jamie Baker, winning in straight sets en route to an Argentina victory. This past week at the Copa Telmex, also held in Argentina, Nalbandian continued his winning ways, wrestling through a tough draw to win his eighth career title.
Nalbandian's toughest challenge in the tournament came in the final against countryman Jose Acasuso. A great dirtballer in his own right, Acasuso took the opening set 6-3, winning the crucial points from the baseline. The second set nearly went Acasuso's way as well, but in a tiebreaker, Nalbandian leveled the match. Thereafter, David won the third set after a break of serve in the seventh game, giving him the title, his first in Argentina. With high expectations heading into 2008, a positive start for Nalbandian is crucial, and while this doesn't atone for a stinker in Australia, it is an important win nonetheless.
!Spain WTA - Maria Sharapova's win at the Tier I Qatar Total Open was a mighty impressive accomplishment, upping her record in 2008 to a flawless 14-0. However, the quality of her victories in Doha were nothing like those that she had in Melbourne. Consider that in a tournament that boasted 16 seeds, Sharapova had to face only one seeded player in her five matches this week. For a player of Sharapova's talent, the odds on her advancing deep into the draw were quite good.
The same cannot be said of Nuria Llagostera Vives, a veteran Spaniard who had to win three more matches than Sharapova did this week to earn her title. Like Kei Nishikori did last week on the men's side, Llagostera Vives had to get through qualifying just to enter the main draw her tournament, the Copa Colsanitas Santander. She didn't drop a set during qualifying, and that trend would continue into the main draw.
Going ten-for-ten in sets and five-for-five in matches, Llagostera Vives met little resistance on her way to her second career WTA Tour title. It's her first championship since May of 2005, when she won in Rabat, Morocco. That year, Llagostera Vives achieved her highest world ranking of No. 35, after reaching the fourth round of the French Open; her best ever performance at a Grand Slam.
Since then, Llagostera Vives has largely struggled on tour. She finished 2005 ranked No. 49, but followed that up with year-end rankigns of 273 in 2006, and 145 at the end of last year. The top 50 seems like a long time ago for Llagostera Vives, but she's clawed her way back to No. 74 in the world with this victory.
Tennis Theatre
More Laureus love - this is Justine's acceptance conversation (do they do speeches for these?):
Next Week's Tournaments
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Abierto Mexicano Telcel (ATP - Clay - Acapulco, Mexico)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
PBZ Zagreb Indoors (ATP - Indoor Hard - Zagreb, Croatia)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
- Website
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships (ATP - Indoor Hard - Memphis, United States)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
Abierto Mexicano Telcel (WTA - Clay - Acapulco, Mexico)
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (WTA - Outdoor Hard - Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
- Website
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships (WTA - Indoor Hard - Memphis, United States)
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
Beyond the Bracket
Lately I've been feeling low
A remedy is what I'm seeking
- "Jimi Thing" byDave Matthews Band
You know what cheers me up when I'm feeling down? Qualifying brackets. No, I swear - there are some fascinating finds that you can uncover on a weekly basis if you take the time to look at these often overlooked draw sheets.
I was reminded of why I like to examine a tournament from its embryonic stage all the way to championship point after seeing what happened in this week's WTA Tour stop in Bogota. As mentioned above, three qualifiers reached the semifinals of the tournament; I don't have a stat guru like Greg Sharko at my disposal, but I highly doubt something like that has occurred before (if anyone knows, please post below).
The "Live Scores" link at the top of this page is an invaluable resource for tennis nuts like us, and it's even more useful because it shows results from qualifying tournaments. In fact, I've gotten so used to checking up on these matches that I've come up with an "All-Qualifying Team" for the ATP Tour - these are players who always seem to be battling in the qualifying stages; they are the undying gamers of the sport.
The side is captained by Olivier Patience, who not surprisingly is trying to qualify for this week's tournament in Acapulco. Olivier's last name is quite fitting, as any member of the All-Qualifying Team needs patience (as well as fortitude, determination, etc.) to keep up this weekly grind. Last year, one of my favorite matches featured Patience - it was his third rounder against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros. Patience nearly pulled off the upset to the delight of the French crowd, but Djokovic won it in five grueling sets.
Also on the team is Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who never seems to be far from a qualifying draw. This past week, his persistence was rewarded with a fine appearance in San Jose. At the SAP Open, he defeated Jurgen Melzer, Benjamin Becker, and John Isner before falling to Andy Roddick in the semifinals.
I want to acknowledge one more player on the team as well, and he is of Swiss descent. Before Roger Federer tore up the lawns at the All England Club, there was George Bastl, who shocked Pete Sampras at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. Coming into the tournament ranked 145 in the world, Bastl won the first two sets against Pete, and held on after a Sampras comeback to win in five, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4. It is the highlight of his career, and every time I see him trying to qualify for a tournament (which he did again this week in Zagreb) I can't help but think back to that match.
I can't pick out as many week-in, week-out qualifiers on the women's side, but I seem to stumble upon more surprises when I look at WTA qualifying brackets. One of the biggest shocks this week was when I saw the Dubai qualifying tournament. For all that Agnieszka Radwanska accomplished over this past year, even she had to go through Q-school to get into the main draw. Soon after, I remembered that Dubai is a money-dispensing event that caters to the WTA's elite (the last direct acceptance was world No. 26 Maria Kirilenko), but I was still taken aback when I saw Radwanska's name in the qualifying draw.
Another name that caught my eye this week was Lauren Albanese, the young American who is just starting to play at the professional level. She tried to qualify this week for Memphis, but drew top seed Sandra Kloesel. Albanese lost in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
At last year's U.S. Open, I watched Albanese play in the junior competition, where she reached the quarterfinals before falling to Urszula Radwankska, the sister of Agnieszka. Albanese's game was potent on the junior level, but she ran into an even better performer in Radwanska on this day, and fell victim to the hot weather as well, retiring in the match after losing the opening set.
For those of you who like to attend the opening days, or even the free qualifying days, of the U.S. Open in the fall, take this piece of advice: watch the qualifying brackets leading up to the U.S. Open. Many of the players you will see in these opening rounds will be on the qualifying circuit (in addition to playing Challenger tournaments) throughout the year. Pay attention to them now, and you'll know a little something more about their game than does the average fan who specializes in owl dialect, frequently asking: "Who?"
Because Grand Slams have 128 entrants, many lower-ranked players are given a big opportunity in their first round match, even if drawn against a top player on tour. And while they may get rolled in this match (Scoville Jenkins vs. Roger Federer at last year's U.S. Open, for example), they will continue to persevere in the Futures, Challengers, and qualifying brackets down the road. Don't overlook them, because some of these players will turn into great ones one day.
If...
Before this week's question, congratulations are in order to the winner of last week's challenge. I asked you to come up with a name for an EA Sports-created tennis game, if one was to ever come to life. Peter Bodo Tennis 2008 (courtesy of Jon), and Hawkeye Challenge Tennis '08 (the funniest answer, courtesy of ptenisnet) were some of my favorites, but the winner is Ruth, for her submission of "Love '08". I really like the simplicity of the name, and it definitely speaks to something unique about the sport. Sure, it's probably too elitist for a mainstream audience, and 95% of the video game purchasing public wouldn't know what the hell it means, but I would use that name if I could. Ruth, email me [edmcgrogan@hotmail.com] so I can send you your prize.
(Come to think of it, I bet people would buy it, because the name implies that the game is of the NC-17 variety. You laugh, but I guarantee some minds would think that...)
No prize this week, but I still expect a good response to this week's question:
if...you had to guess, does anyone besides Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic win Indian Wells? And if so, who?