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Last Week's Tournaments
Mercedes Cup (ATP - Clay - Stuttgart, Germany)
- Singles Final: Rafael Nadal def. Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5.
- Singles Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 7-5.
- Singles Semifinal: Stanislas Wawrinka def. Juan Ignacio Chela 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Fernando Verdasco def. Jose Acasuso/Juan Monaco 7-6, 6-7, 10-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl def. Andrei Pavel/Alexandre Waske 7-6, 6-4.
- Doubles Bracket
Countrywide Classic (ATP - Hard - Los Angeles, United States)
- Singles Final: Radek Stepanek def. James Blake 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Radek Stepanek def. Nicolas Kiefer (walkover).
- Singles Semifinal: James Blake def. Hyung-Taik Lee 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Scott Lipsky/David Martin 7-6, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Jeff Coetzee/Wesley Moodie 6-4, 7-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Scott Lipsky/David Martin def. Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana 4-6, 6-3, 10-3.
- Doubles Bracket
Dutch Open (ATP - Clay - Amersfoort, The Netherlands)
- Singles Final: Steve Darcis def. Werner Eschauer 6-1, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Werner Eschauer def. Robin Haase 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Steve Darcis def. Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 6-0, 7-5.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Juan Pablo Brzezicki/Juan Pablo Guzman def. Robin Haase/Rogier Wassen 6-2, 6-0.
- Doubles Semifinal: Juan Pablo Brzezicki/Juan Pablo Guzman def. Dominik Hrbaty/Michal Mertinak 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Robin Haase/Rogier Wassen def. Agustin Calleri/Nicolas Massu (walkover).
- Doubles Bracket
Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open (WTA - Hard - Cincinnati, United States)
- Singles Final: Anna Chakvetadze def. Akiko Morigami 6-1, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Anna Chakvetadze def. Sania Mirza 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Akiko Morigami def. Akgul Amanmuradova 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
- Doubles Final: Bethanie Mattek/Sania Mirza def. Alina Jidkova/Tatiana Poutchek 7-6, 7-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bethanie Mattek/Sania Mirza def. Liga Dekmeijere/Ipek Senoglu 2-6, 6-3, 10-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Alina Jidkova/Tatiana Poutchek def. Akiko Morigami/Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-1.
- Singles & Doubles Brackets
Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (WTA - Clay - Palmero, Italy)
- Singles Final: Agnes Szavay def. Martina Muller 6-0, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Agnes Szavay def. Sara Errani 7-6, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Martina Muller def. Karin Knapp 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
- Doubles Final: Mariya Koryttseva/Darya Kustava def. Alice Canepa/Karin Knapp 6-4, 6-1.
- Doubles Semifinal: Alice Canepa/Karin Knapp def. Klaudia Jans/Alicja Rosolska 6-3, 3-6, 12-10.
- Doubles Semifinal: Mariya Koryttseva/Darya Kustava def. Sophie Lefevre/Agnes Szatmari 6-7, 6-2, 10-6.
- Singles & Doubles Brackets
By the Letter
T...eammates last week on the Russian Fed Cup team, Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Vesnina were opponents this week in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals. Chakvetadze emerged victorious after Vesnina retired late in the third set.
E...ngland's most prestigious tennis tournament, Wimbledon, will now be broadcast in the United States by the Tennis Channel after agreeing to a six-year deal with the All England Club. The niche network, which will share coverage with NBC and ESPN, now has its hand in televising three of the four Grand Slams.
N...ew Haven's draw is often weaker than other events because the tournament is held only days before the U.S. Open starts, but the return of Lindsey Davenport will be a welcome addition for the Connecticut fans who attend.
N...o strangers to each other, Lleyton Hewitt has hired the services of fellow Aussie Tony Roche to be his coach. The two previously worked together in Davis Cup years ago when Hewitt was a teenager.
I...ndefatigable Akiko Morigami, Sania Mirza, and Karin Knapp all reached the semifinals in both the singles and doubles draws of their respective tournaments (Morigami and Mirza in Cincinnati, Knapp in Palermo).
S...wiss George Bastl, best known for being one of the only players to have ever defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, played in only his second ATP Tour tournament of the year in Los Angeles. He defeated Ilia Bozoljac in the first round before falling to Marat Safin in three sets.
W...in total in 2007 of Amersfoort finalists Werner Eschauer and Steve Darcis coming into this week? Three, all by Eschauer (ATP Tour wins only).
O...ne-time UCLA Bruin Zack Fleishman upset top seeded Fernando Gonzalez in the first round of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. There isn't really a "home court advantage" in professional tennis, per se, but this match may have been an exception to the rule.
R...eturning to his preferred clay before the upcoming hard court stretch, Rafael Nadal didn't drop a set en route to victory in Stuttgart. Rafa also continued his dominance of Swiss players on clay, although this time Stanislas Wawrinka was the victim, instead of Roger Federer.
L...osing all of their matches for the remainder of the year still wouldn't prevent Federer, Nadal, or the Bryan brothers from participating in the Tennis Masters Cup; they all clinched berths based on their impressive point totals so far.
D...efaulted this week: Anastasia Rodionova, who hit a ball towards fans in Cincinnati that were cheering for her opponent, Angelique Kerber. It's only the second time this has occurred in WTA Tour history.
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Of the three tournaments this past week, most would agree that the strongest field was in Stuttgart, where three French Open champions (Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Gaston Gaudio) and a host of other established players convened for the Mercedes Cup. On the contrary, the weakest draw was probably here in the U.S., where Amer Delic (as an eight seed!) and a host of fringe players made up the majority of the Countrywide Classic participants. In terms of field strength, the Dutch Open was somewhere in the middle, but no matter how strong you rate the draw in Amersfoort, it would be an injustice not to rate Steve Darcis' victory as the top men's performance of the week.
