By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments
Heineken Open (ATP - Outdoor Hard - Auckland, New Zealand)
- Singles Final: Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6, 7-5.
- Singles Semifinal: Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-1.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Luis Horna/Juan Monaco def. Xavier Malisse/Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Xavier Malisse/Jurgen Melzer def. Jeff Coetzee/Jaroslav Levinsky 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Luis Horna/Juan Monaco def. Nicolas Almagro/Sergio Roitman 6-2, 6-4.
- Doubles Bracket
Medibank International (ATP - Outdoor Hard - Sydney, Australia)
- Singles Final: Dmitry Tursunov def. Chris Guccione 7-6, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Dmitry Tursunov def. 6-3, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Chris Guccione def. Radek Stepanek 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Richard Gasquet/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 4-6, 6-4, 11-9.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Alun Jones/Joseph Sirianni 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Richard Gasquet/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski 3-6, 6-4, 10-4.
- Doubles Bracket
Medibank International (WTA - Outdoor Hard - Sydney, Australia)
- Singles Final: Justine Henin def. Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Justine Henin def. Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nicole Vaidisova 7-5, 7-6.
- Doubles Final: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng def. Tatiana Perebiynis/Tatiana Poutchek 6-4, 7-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng def. Nathalie Dechy/Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-1.
- Doubles Semifinal: Tatiana Perebiynis/Tatiana Poutchek def. Alicia Molik/Tiantian Sun 6-4, 2-6, 10-8.
- Singles & Doubles Brackets
Moorilla Hobart International (WTA - Outdoor Hard - Hobart, Australia)
- Singles Final: Eleni Daniilidou def. Vera Zvonareva (walkover).
- Singles Semifinal: Eleni Daniilidou def. Flavia Penneta 6-4, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Vera Zvonareva def. Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1.
- Doubles Final: Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Eleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr 6-2, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Eleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino/Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 6-1.
- Doubles Semifinal: Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Flavia Penneta/Ma. Emilia Salerni (walkover).
- Singles & Doubles Brackets
By the Letter
T...amarine Tanasugarn of Thailand terminated Jelena Dokic's hopes of competing in the Australian Open, after defeating the Serbian-turned-Aussie 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of qualifying.
E...leni Daniilidou won her fifth career title in Hobart, but did not strike a single ball in the final match. Just hours before the final, her opponent, Vera Zvonareva, injured her ankle while practicing. She could not recover in time to compete in the match, giving the title to Daniilidou via walkover.
N...ew Zealanders currently on the men's tour do not yet have an official ATP tournament win to their credit; the ignominious streak continued after Kiwis Daniel King-Turner, Jose (Rubin) Statham, and GD Jones all lost their first round matches in Auckland.
N...icole Vaidisova continued to build upon her solid 2007 season with impressive results in Sydney, defeating both No. 6 seed Daniela Hantuchova and No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic before bowing out to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.
I...ndian tennis star Sania Mirza was in the news this week not just for her quarterfinals appearance in Hobart, but also for an alleged controversy that she disrespected her country's flag.
S...ince winning the Madrid Masters in October 2003, Juan Carlos Ferrero has not won another title, and has gone 0 for 6 in finals appearances. Philipp Kohlschreiber played the role of executioner this past week in Auckland, defeating the Spaniard in straight sets. In these six losses, Ferrero has won only one of the fifteen sets played.
W...inning the pre-Australian Open exhibition in Kooyong has become a tradition for Andy Roddick, but it's one he'd gladly trade them all for a victory in Melbourne. "Is there a three-for-one special deal -- 3 AAMIs for an Aussie Open?", said Roddick after winning the event for the third consecutive year.
O...nly one seeded player in Sydney (fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych) "made their seed" by reaching the quarterfinals of the Medibank International. The tournament, laden with upsets, saw two-time defending champion James Blake crash out in the opening round to eventual semifinalist Fabrice Santoro.
R...iled to no end by the actions of the ATP Tour, Nikolay Davydenko has been vocal about his displeasure with how the match-fixing allegations have been handled. "I can't understand what they want from me. I have given them everything, all the information. When will this end? I do not have any trust in the ATP," said Davydenko.
L...indsay Davenport's play on the court after child birth inspired Serena Williams to call her "my ultimate role model", citing her recent resurgence as great motivation.
D...oubles draws were infiltrated by many highly-renowned singles players this week, most likely in an effort to get as much match play as possible before the Australian Open begins. In Sydney, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Tomas Berdych entered in the doubles competition (with the Frenchmen winning, in fact), while in Auckland, Juan Monaco, Xavier Malisse, Jurgen Melzer, and Nicolas Almagro were all spotted in partnerships.
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - For years, two of the most noticeable players on the ATP Tour - Tommy Haas and Roger Federer - have been the face of men's tennis in their respective Central European nations. In the minds of most casual sports fans, these two veterans "are" Germany and Switzerland, from a tennis point of view. "Stanislas Wawrinka? Never heard of him. Is he a Swiss chocolatier?" Of course, knowledgeable fans of the sport know that Wawrinka is no slouch. Yet while Stan is a solid, top-30 player who has been improving in recent years, it's highly unlikely that he'll be passing Roger in the rankings any time soon. Thus, expect Wawrinka's anonymity to continue.