By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments**
BMW Open (ATP - Clay - Munich, Germany)
- Singles Final: Fernando Gonzalez def. Simone Bolelli 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Simone Bolelli def. Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Fernando Gonzalez def. Younes El Aynaoui 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Michael Berrer/Rainer Schuettler def. Scott Lipsky/David Martin 7-5, 3-6, 10-8.
- Doubles Semifinal: Scott Lipsky/David Martin def. Yves Allegro/Stephen Huss 7-6, 3-6, 10-8.
- Doubles Semifinal: Michael Berrer/Rainer Schuettler def. Marc Gicquel/Kristof Vliegen 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.
- Doubles Bracket
Open Sabadell Atlantico (ATP - Clay - Barcelona, Spain)
- Singles Final: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0.
- Singles Semifinal: David Ferrer def. Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6, 6-3.
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Final: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski 6-3, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 7-6, 10-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski def. Simon Aspelin/Julian Knowle 6-1, 7-6.
- Doubles Bracket
ECM Prague Open (WTA - Clay - Prague, Czech Republic)
- Singles Final: Vera Zvonareva def. Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Vera Zvonareva def. Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Victoria Azarenka def. Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 6-2.
- Doubles Final: Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka def. Jill Craybas/Michaella Krajicek 1-6, 6-3, 10-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Jill Craybas/Michaella Krajicek def. Liga Dekmeijere/Ekaterina Dzehalevich 3-6, 7-5, 14-12.
- Doubles Semifinal: Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka def. Darya Kustova/Alicja Rosolska 6-1, 7-6.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (WTA - Clay - Fes, Morocco)
- Singles Final: Gisela Dulko def. Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-6, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Greta Arn 6-3, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Gisela Dulko def. Aravane Rezai 7-6, 6-3.
- Doubles Final: Sorana Cirstea/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Alisa Kleybanova/Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Sorana Cirstea/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Maria Kondratieva/Sophie Lefevre 4-6, 6-4, 16-14.
- Doubles Semifinal: Alisa Kleybanova/Ekaterina Makarova def. Johanna Larsson/Arina Rodionova 6-1, 6-3.
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
By the Letter
T...wo significant withdrawals from Berlin this week: Maria Sharapova and Daniela Hantuchova. Sharapova also withdrew from this event last year.
E...xcellent start: Kimiko Date, a former world No. 4 who is making a comeback at age 37, reached the finals of the Gifu $50k event in Japan. She lost the final to Tamarine Tanasigarn, but didn't go home empty handed after winning the doubles. Her partner? Sixteen-year-old Kurumi Nara, 21 years her junior.
N...early forgotten after being absent from the WTA Tour for over a year, Anastasia Myskina made the news this week - she gave birth to her first child.
N...umerous tennis collectibles will be up for auction during this week's Italian Open to help support Tennis for Africa, a non-profit organization aimed at helping the most poverty-stricken areas of the continent. New items will be posted each day.
I...nternet gambling at Roland Garros will continue, after three major betting companies won a ruling against the French Tennis Federation in Brussels.
S...cheduling of her mandated promotional shoot right before the start of the Italian Open created a stir on Sharapova's website, after she blasted the WTA Tour for their policies.
W...imbledon's middle Sunday will continue to remain a day of rest, announced the All England Club. After a rain-plagued tournament last year, there was some question as to whether this tradition would continue going forward.
O...ne hundred three wins, one loss: That's Rafael Nadal's record in his last 104 matches on clay, after winning Barcelona for the fourth consecutive year this past week.
R...einstated at the beginning of this year, Sesil Karatancheva, who was handed a two-year ban for a positive steroids test in 2005, won her first WTA match in 29 months at the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem. She defeated Elena Baltacha 7-5, 6-2 in the first round, before falling in three sets to top seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues in her next match.
L...leyton Hewitt will not be playing in Rome this week, and is also unsure of his status for Roland Garros.
D...espite Nadal's credentials on clay, and his dominant record against Roger Federer on the surface, the Swiss number one took something away from his most recent loss at Monte Carlo: "I reckon this defeat proves again that yes, I do have the game to beat him. I could have played six or seven sets if I had to and it is really a shame that the final is only a best-of-three."
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Younes El Aynaoui!Younes
With apologies to Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez, each a champion this week, there's a saying that says to respect your elders. Younes El Aynaoui definitely fits into that category. In tennis years, the 36-year-old Moroccan isn't just a veteran - he's ancient. But that fact made his run to the semifinals of the BMW Open all the more memorable.
El Aynaoui, probably best known for his marathon quarterfinal loss at the 2003 Australian Open to Andy Roddick (6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 19-21), has had little to celebrate since then. Hampered by injuries for most of the past five years, El Aynaoui had a seemingly unfathomable twelve-match losing that encompassed the entire 2004 season, and part of 2005.
In 2007, El Aynaoui played thirteen tournaments, mostlly Challengers and the majority of these outings was successful. He had a "home court" win in Marrakech (Morocco), reached the final in Napoli (Italy), and closed 2007 with two semifinal appearances at Graz (Austria) and Como (Italy).
This year, El Aynaoui's building on that record. He's now a stellar 15-2 so far in 2008. That includes a win at a Futures tournament (I don't know how a 36-year-old can qualify for a Futures tournament either), and a Challenger in Chiasso (Switzerland). But the most impressive victories of the year came this week in Munich.
El Aynaoui got by Alexandre Sidorenko in the opening round, and then started to turn heads by upending Steve Darcis - a title holder this year - in round two. The Moroccan then added to the recent misery of Juan Martin del Potro, beating a player nearly half his age in straight sets. The dream ended in the semis against the eventual champion Gonzalez, but not after taking the opening set (6-3, 4-6, 3-6). Munich '08 wasn't as compelling as Melbourne '03, but it may have been even more surprising.
WTA - Vera Zvonareva!Veraz
In the finals of the ECM Prague Open, something had to give. Top seed Vera Zvonareva had reached the finals of a tournament three times this season, but had come home empty-handed each time. Her opponent, third-seed Victoria Azarenka, had reached three finals in her young career, but also had been denied the winner's hardware on each occasion. In the end, it was the Zvonareva who wanted it more, winning 7-6, 6-2 over her younger adversary. (Victoria will have more chances to snap out of her drought though - she's just 18.)
Surprisingly, Zvonareva had gone nearly two years without winning a title. Her results have been strong; she's been the the year-end Top 25 two years in a row. But she hasn't been able to put the final nail in the runner-up coffin. She lost to Eleni Daniilidou in the finals of Hobart, and beaten in the championship match at Doha by Maria Sharapova. Then there was Serena Williams in Charleston. Tough opponents? Yes. But that probably was cold comfort for Zvonareva.
The Tier IV ECM Prague Open may have been just the medicine that Zvonareva needed. She breezed by her competition without losing a set. A walkover in the second round made her life easier, but she beat the No. 4 seed Katarina Srebotnik in straight sets in the semifinals (6-2, 6-4), and did the same to Azarenka one match later.
Zvonareva isn't competing in this week's German Open, but watch for her in Rome.
Tennis Theatre
With technological advances, I think it's only a matter of time before fans can upload the Roddick/El Aynaoui 2003 Australian Open match in its entirety. For now, here's a smidgen of the fifth seat (very early on, before it gets crazy):
Next Week's Tournaments
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Internazionali BNL D'Italia (ATP - Clay - Rome, Italy)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
- Website
Qatar Telcom German Open (WTA - Clay - Berlin, Germany)
- Singles & Doubles Brackets
- Website
Beyond the Bracket
The U.S. Open is my favorite tournament of the year, but in my opinion, it's going to lose a little bit of its luster after this year. According to reports, USA Network, which has broadcast the tournament since 1984, will not be renewing their coverage rights in 2009. ESPN will instead become the primary home of the season's final Grand Slam.
Since I can remember following tennis, I have always found the U.S. Open broadcasts on USA network to be the most enjoyable to watch. Once late August rolled around, the network practically renamed itself from "USA Network" to "U.S. Open Network." USA provided comprehensive coverage from day to night, and I always thought that the network and the tournament really worked well with each other. There was something unique about USA’s coverage of the U.S. Open, and I didn’t sense this in other tournaments on more expansive sports channels. The U.S. Open was the USA network's jewel (it's one of the few sports that it covered, period), and they polished that precious stone each year. It was done so well that whenever I annually tuned into USA for tennis, it was like seeing a good old friend for the first time in a great while.
I watch almost all sports on television, and I find that tennis usually has the best announcers. Why? Because they let the play to the talking. Now to some degree, this is inherent with the way the sport works - silence is mandated during play - but most hockey, football, and baseball commentators usually lay it on too thick for my taste. Tennis is different, and USA provided a forum for some of my favorite announcers to work their craft.
The tandem of Ted Robinson and John McEnroe is reviled by some, but don't count me in that lot. I find their analysis to be timely, insightful, and most importantly, appropriate. Sure, they share some stories from yesteryear during a match. But some matches last in upwards of 4-5 hours - so cut them some slack. I also found Jim Courier's recent work in the booth to be quite enjoyable.
As for ESPN - I have mixed feelings about this. In general, they do a good job producing a Grand Slam event. They seem to have shifted away from the tape-delay-a-thon that wrecked older Australian Open coverage years ago, although that had a lot to do broadcast hours and time zones. The greater concern for me is quantative: will they cover enough tennis? ESPN promotes itself as the "Grand Slam Network," but it also touts similar titles for many other sports, nearly all of which have a greater viewing audience then tennis and events that can fit into smaller broadcasting packages.
ESPN has other networks to which it can hand off coverage of the U.S. Open on line with multiple or lengthy story lines. Since I obviously can't evaluate them now, I'll just say this - I'll believe it when I see it. Tennis is way down on the totem pole in terms of ESPN's holdings. It was number one for USA Network. Yes, the Blake/Agassi '05 classic ran late - but we saw the end on CBS (at least where I was). And I've seen plenty of other great ones that ran into the night. Roddick/Sampras in 2002 was great. So was Martin/Ginepri in 2003. USA did these quality matches justice with a quality broadcast.
In an age where television coverage has shifted from a luxury to a demand, let's hope - if these reports are true - that ESPN keeps a great tradition going.
if...
you find streaming coverage of a tournament that is of poor quality (keeps buffering, is choppy), do you tough it out and stick with it?