Thursday, April 17
Last updated at Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:24:12 GMT
...Still, for Stevenson the week was an encouraging one. Just getting into the main draw was a big step for the daughter of NBA great Julius Erving. Before getting here, she had lost her last four matches.
"My shoulder's normal, finally," she said. "It's nice to be back, and to be able to practice twice a day."
But this time Blake anticipated the onslaught and safely weathered it after a tense interlude early in the second set, letting loose with a fearsome serve Wednesday night to close out the free-swinging Japanese phenom 6-4, 6-4.
Next up for the No. 1 seed in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks is a similar kind of adversary, except Ryan Harrison happens to be three years Nishikori's junior... "It's like I'm back in a junior tournament," he said. "I wasn't even winning national titles at 15, and he's out here hanging with the big boys on the pro tour. It's amazing this kid is 15 years old and won a round in a tour event."
Then I spoke with Jim Young. A former junior tennis player and writer for the Greensboro (N.C.) News-Record, Young had the brilliant idea to face Isner's serve before I did -- last spring, back when Isner was leading the University of Georgia to an NCAA team title.
Young's advice? "Have John tell you which serves are coming," he said. "It won't help you return the ball. But it will reduce your chance of injury."
Wait. Hold up. Chance of what? "I was in survival mode," Young explained. "I'd like to think I was sitting there in my stance, going, 'OK, it looks like he's opening up.' But no. I was just hoping to get my racket up. Otherwise I'd need reconstructive surgery."
Yet when I switch to Tennis Channel, they're in the middle of a commercial. Odd, but I stick with it. Then at 4-5 in the fifth, Tennis Channel airs a "Bag Check" segment with Rennae Stubbs. You love Rennae Stubbs, I love Rennae Stubbs. We all love Rennae Stubbs. And her bag. But how in the world does this segment pre-empt the critical games in the fifth set of a Davis Cup match?
Just when I'm done throwing crockery at my television, coverage returns to Davis Cup and Justin Gimelstob is interviewing a triumphant Blake, who, I'm left to assume, broke serve to win the match while I was watching Stubbs discuss the importance of sun block and extra socks.
Coming as this does on the heels of the Fox Sports Net debacle in Indian Wells and Miami, the sport has a real problem. For all the breathless press releases about record crowds and surging ball sales, if Joe Fan can't follow the sport on TV -- especially inexcusable in this era of DirecTV and specialized tiers and streaming Web casts -- we're in a world of hurt.
...But last September, while at the US Open, he let Federer know that he might be available and the Swiss, who hasn't won a tournament since November, came calling during Miami.... Higueras told Ginepri the news last week in Palm Springs and, apparently, Ginepri looked at the positive side – where Higueras might be around for a few tournaments and that he might to get to mix in some workouts with Federer ...When they worked together, Higueras finally told Sampras something that his loyalty to Courier had prevented him from revealing before. Higueras knew exactly what Sampras did, strategically, that allowed him to own Courier (the H2H is 16-4)... I'm guessing that Higueras is on-board for two reasons, Nadal and Djokovic. With all due respect to Tony Roche, I can't imagine how that grizzled Aussie serve-and-volley specialist from a bygone era could have had great insight into how to move Nadal out of his comfort zone on clay, even if he knew how to keep TMF in his own. Higueras, as a clay-court expert, has a much deeper bag of tricks in that regard. Djokovic may pose even be an even greater long-term concern for Federer, because his hard court game is so fully realized. And as a former coach of Chang, Courier and Sampras, Higueras has plenty of experience fine-tuning a hard court game.
The birds have fallen silent. The roses lashed to the trunks of the parasol pines surrounding the Foro Italico are still visible; each bloom stands out like a bright drop of blood against the gnarled bark.
Nice, nasty little bit of foreshadowing there. Pete’s even better describing the players. Here he is watching journeyman Mike Fishback (he had invented the outlawed spaghetti string racquet a year earlier).
...Here he watches Higueras play:
The Spaniard cannot match Panatta’s elegance; his service motion is studied and downright unathletic. He prepares for his forehand with a baroque, looping backswing; his style suggests that he is impersonating a world-class player, but his steadiness and accuracy are uncanny. All Higueras lacks is that vital spark of genius that the deity breathes into the most attractive players.
Who does that last line remind you of? Federer perhaps? Maybe they’ll make a good team on clay—Federer has the genius, he just needs a little more of the uncanny accuracy.
Ancic combined his sport and studies by presenting parts of his 68-page thesis "ATP Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," describing the "legal foundation and organization of the ATP Tour" to about 300 students and professors from the law program.
Lloyd has the cushion of a contract with the BBC to fall back on, although how much of the sport there will be to commentate on besides the Wimbledon Championships in years to come is a matter that is occupying minds at the LTA. The Times has learnt that the BBC is “taking a fresh look” at its tennis portfolio.
...More errors occur on the base and service lines, which run horizontally across the court, than on the side or centre lines. The reason, Dr Mather says, is that the judges on the base and service lines sit side-on to the court, and the ball flashes past them in a blur. “For the players, it is certainly worth thinking harder about challenging calls made on the cross-court lines. However, they should bear in mind that they are also more likely to get these wrong themselves.”
The research found that 94 per cent of challenges featured balls that bounced within 100mm of a line — less than twice the diameter of the ball itself. ...They once reached a doubles final in Bangkok and if Andy is furious on court, Jamie does not take it personally. "That's because he tries too hard to do well for me," he says. "Doubles is my career and he tries to help me with that. He puts pressure on himself and then he doesn't play as well as he could.
...Not being so embroiled in fame and the pursuit of a singles ranking, Jamie has had time to support Hibs, play golf and, drink more than Coke occasionally, and that makes him a visibly different beast from his brother.
"Andy's not like that. He's pretty one-tracked. Which is a good thing. I don't have to worry about him going out and getting himself into trouble or distracting himself from tennis. I know he would rather I sat at home with him than going out with some of my friends and having a few drinks. But I can't do that.
What he didn't tell Collins was that he would drive through countless back roads, spend the first night in his rental car and endure several rainy days.
..."In 1973, the women's tour was very young and uncertain, so I think this event was a real shot of adrenaline in the arm for women's tennis," Collins said. "I think it's been a much bigger success than anyone believed it would be."
Bimes said Gasquet, who was left out of Friday's opening singles, had promised him and Forget that they could rely on him on the Sunday if needed.
"Guy Forget did what he could but next time, we'll have to thump the table to make ourselves clear," Bimes said.
..."I'd probably never beaten anybody ranked above 500 before," Harrison admitted.
..."Everybody watches his game and thinks he's best suited for hard courts, but he's won national championships on clay," said his dad, who coaches him at John Newcombe's Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, where he's on the teaching staff. "My thinking was that he hadn't played on clay in a number of months. That why I wanted him to go to Little Rock."
Harrison's net-rushing plan of attack was most effective, although it raised a few eyebrows at the outset. Hadn't he noticed what was under his feet? Fact is, Harrison had done his homework, deciding the last thing he needed to do, he said, was to get locked up in an endless series of "10- and 20-shot rallies with a guy like (Cuevas), who was trained to play that way."
"I thought she was in the tournament until you told me that," Williams said. "I'll play anybody with the exception of (Rafael) Nadal, (Roger) Federer and (Fabrice) Santoro. Other than that, I'm open for anybody."
Anybody could be No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, if both she and Williams reach the quarterfinals, a pairing worthy of the championship round in most tournaments.
And Stevenson isn't complaining about her second Family Circle main draw victory, and first since 2001.
Tennis Center for practice, there was no ignoring the giant poster of the 2007 tournament champ preparing to pounce with a forehand volley. The 47-foot by 40-foot photo is attached to the side of the stadium.
"It's quite cool to see myself as a poster girl," said Jankovic, who will start defending her title with a match on Wednesday. "When you go to the court and see yourself up there, it's just a good feeling knowing I played so great and won the title and this year I'm coming back as the defending champion. I have such great memories of last year.
"I remember last year going to play the final and people were like 'Is she going to be the next poster girl?' It was 'poster girl' talk the whole time so I was like, 'OK, I'm going to be the poster girl' and I love to see myself up there."
"I've played lots of matches, so I've been a little bit tired," said Zvonareva, who is 22-6 this year in singles. "But I felt pretty good today. I had a few days off after Miami and didn't go to Amelia Island because my hamstring was bothering me, but otherwise I feel pretty good right now."
"It's a similar arrangement like it was with Tony Roche – but first we have to get through this week and see how it goes from there."
...After reaching the Australian Open semifinals while recovering from what turned out to be mononucleosis, the No. 1 remains surprised that he did so well under the conditions. "I disagree with those who say I'm playing bad. I'm definitely not playing bad. I'm on the verge of playing great again, that's what I'm looking at.
"We're now in a different part of the season, it's back to zero for everybody."
One of them, unhappily his best player, might have cracked. Richard Gasquet, the French No. 1, had unwittingly given his captain one of the most complicated and unnerving weekends of his long and distinguished tenure in the job.
"I had to try and work out whether Richard was fit mentally and physically to play," said Forget afterwards. "He had suffered from just about everything before the tie — a blister, a bad knee, a bad thigh — and all that got into his head as well. I had to see how he felt. I had the other option of Arnaud Clement but his form for the last month (in singles) has been so poor that I did not feel I could go that route. Then I heard from some French journalists that Richard had said he was only prepared to play the fifth match. When I spoke to him he told me that was true. He said he thought he had no chance again Roddick. So Mathieu was my choice. Paul-Henri showed me signs that he wanted to play; showed a lot of confidence. Of course I am disappointed that Richard was not fit to play, he was not mentally confident.
Pragmatic act or wimpy calculation? Given the questions posed by the French media afterwards, it seems clear that the judgment in Gasquet's native country will be somewhat harsh. His own teammates were puzzled, to say the least. After Roddick blew Mathieu off the court, Mathieu was asked if he felt he'd had a choice about playing. The emotional 26-year-old paused for an unusually long time before answering. "No," he said. "I felt that Guy had confidence in me. Apparently, Guy didn't have a choice."
Mathieu appeared taken aback when reporters told him that Gasquet had turned down the Roddick match but offered himself up for the later match. He shrugged incredulously. "He makes his decisions, and I make mine,'' Mathieu said. "I would have liked him to come to me and say why. It was as if I was tired, so I got sent to the slaughterhouse and he didn't.
"I hope he'll come see me and explain. If he had valid reasons, then there's no problem." But this is a different U.S. team now — more experienced, mature and sporting improved weaponry. Neither Roddick nor Blake are comfortable on dirt, but at least Roddick has scored a couple of notable wins on clay over the past year and he seems to be relishing the opportunity of standing toe to toe with the Spaniards.
...But first things first for the U.S. team, which includes a long post-U.S. Open plane ride to Spain where dreams of turning matches into fast-paced rumbles will surely dance in their heads. Last year, the Americans elbowed Spain on a fast indoor court in Winston Salem. This year, Nadal and Co. will invite the five-hour marathon.
"We're going to have to get dirty out there," said Roddick. "Even if they put down a surface I don't like, I think I'll be there."
Playing at home, Argentina edged Sweden, 3-1, behind David Nalbandian, who survived a strident effort from Robin Soderling 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 9-7 in four hours and nine minutes. Argentina avenged last year's 4-1 defeat in Sweden. Like Roddick, Nalbandian has been a consummate Davis Cup hero at home, having never lost a Davis Cup rubber in Argentina. He also beat Thomas Johansson in Friday's opening rubber and partnered Guillermo Cañas in a huge doubles on Saturday. Argentina will host Russia, most assuredly on dirt.
While the US is enamored with its more diverse and tactically intelligent approach to matches... Spain is itching at the chance to get Americans back on dirt. Last year, the US scalded a Nadal-less Spanish team on the same fast indoor court in North Carolina. Coach Emilio Sanchez was thrilled that his team finally won a significant away match. Before last weekend, Spain had not won a World Group quarterfinal, semi or final outside its borders since 1987.
"We've got out of this habit of always losing away from home," Sanchez said. "We've now won twice away from home this year (including a 5-0 win over Peru in the first round) and we have the confidence to show what we can do anywhere. Our players are of outstanding quality and they have a lot of desire to play the Davis Cup. … We'd like to take on USA again, partly because we'll be at home for that one. We gave it everything we had against them last year and it didn't quite come off. We'll be eager to have another go at them."
When asked about this Forget was very frank. "I’m not begging him," Forget said. "If he doesn’t want to play he won’t go out. I’m not going to tell him 'You must go out' because I know he will probably just get mad at me or he will go out and say 'Well I didn’t want to play and I lost so you knew about it.' I don’t want that attitude. I expect the opposite. That’s one of the things we’ve talked about and we’ll talk more tonight.”
Gasquet’s attitude is baffling. He is exceptionally gifted with possibly the greatest backhand in the game but he appears mentally fragile to a ruinous degree. As a result, Forget may decide to stick with Mathieu, hardly a tower of mental strength, either, but certainly more willing to put himself on the line. Then there would be the other option – Clement. The person who beats Roddick, if anyone can, is going to have to return like a wizard. Few people return better than the man from the South of France and, as his compatriot Fabrice Santoro has proved time and again, size does not always matter in tennis.
"At UCLA (his alma mater) we played in front of some rowdy crowds. But this was college tennis times a thousand, " recalls Taino. "They just never quieted down. Not between points, not between serves, not even between matches."
...After their Davis Cup stints, both Taino and Mamiit go back to their day jobs. Taino has taken a position as a teaching pro at a club in Los Angeles, while Mamiit is still competing full time on the challenger circuit. Both are open to continue playing Davis Cup for some time and both would like to play in the Olympics later in the year.
...The tie [against Uzbekistan] will played in a tiny, 700-seat arena – "a sweatbox," Taino calls it – and on clay. "They call it clay, but it's actually a finely crushed sea-shell. Very slow."
...“I think Kei can overtake my ranking. I started teaching him when he was 11 years old and had sent him to Australian Open junior to get a taste of the highest level. After a three-year stint with me, he went to Nick Bollettieri Academy in the US.
“He definitely has the potential to be a top 10 player and can even win a Grand Slam. The coaches in the US too agree with me because they know about the quality of his tennis.”
...Matsuoka now runs a tennis-coaching centre in Tokyo where he grooms talented Japanese youngsters. “At one point of time, I was very upset to see that after me nobody was coming up in the nation. That’s why 10 years ago I came up with a coaching project. I select 16 talented players every year and train them four times in a year for a period of three years.”
Mahesh Bhupathi: You just can't go to the Olympics and expect to win like that. There has to be preparation, there has to be communication. So, a lot of things have to fall in place before that happens.
Rupha Ramani: What would you personally want to achieve for that?
Mahesh Bhupathi: Personally I would want to resolve a lot of these issues that have been lingering. I don't think results are just going to happen if these issues are still on the table.
Labadze's 4-6, 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3, 19-17 victory, the Georgians only win in a 3-1 loss, was the second highest number of total games in a match since the tiebreak was introduced in Davis Cup in 1989.
Dale Power of Toronto is still tied for the record for the longest set in Davis Cup history. He actually lost it 22-24 in a 6-4, 22-24, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Colombia's Alvaro Betancur during a 1976 tie in Montreal.
...David Nalbandian led the Argentines over Sweden, defeating Thomas Johansson in the opening singles and combining with Guillermo Canas for a three-set win over Jonas Bjorkman and Robert Lindstedt in Saturday's doubles, before being overcome with emotion yesterday after clinching the 3-1 victory with a 4-hour 9-minute 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 9-7 win over Robin Soderling. "What I lived today with my people was very exciting," Nalbandian said. "I gave it all, ran all the way to hell and back, and won. That's why I could not stop the tears [and] I expressed myself like that. I was not fully fit on one of my legs, but the people deserved the effort."
...Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer scored singles wins over Nicolas Kiefer and Philipp Kohlschreiber before Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco won a doubles marathon 6-7 (3), 7-6 (1), 6-4, 2-6, 12-10 over Kohlschreiber and Philipp Petzschner on Saturday to give the visitors a 3-0 win on an indoor hard court in Bremen, Germany.
...Blake had saved two match points in a five-set thriller against Paul-Henri Mathieu on Friday, but the Frenchman was no match for Roddick yesterday, going down 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Sharapova, the tournament's top seed, came to Amelia Island for the first time after pulling out of the mandatory Key Biscayne tournament with a shoulder injury. She joked on court after earning her $95,500 winner's check that she might skip it a few more times to return to Amelia Island.
...Unfortunately, Fernandez's advice couldn't prevent Davenport from catching her son's cold during the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Jagger has been sick all week, and Davenport developed a fever that forced her to withdraw before her semifinal Saturday against Maria Sharapova.
"When you have babies, that's another thing that happens," Fernandez said. "Once they're sick, you get sick."
Cruise Control
- Charleston Post and Courier
"I think I've gotten better every single year," said Sharapova who turns 21 on Saturday. "I feel like I'm growing into my body and I'm becoming stronger. I'm not slipping around on the court as much as I used to. I'm finally being able to play more matches on the clay. Last year I only played a couple weeks before the French. This year I'm really happy that I can start the preparation early and I'm in a much better place than I was last year. That gives me extra confidence that I'll be able to come into the French confident."
Jankovic opens her defense with a win
- Charleston Post and Courier
"My sparring partner was joking, 'I'm getting sick of you already,' " Jankovic said with a shy smile Wednesday.
>> A shy smile? That would be a first...
Blake handles Nishikori easily in rematch at clay courts
- Dale Robertson, Houston Chronicle
Kei Nishikori surprised James Blake with his tenacity the first time they played back in February. Expecting "a grinder," he got a gorilla instead and found himself sheepishly accepting the runners-up trophy in Delray Beach, Fla., as the 18-year-old Nishikori became the youngest player since Lleyton Hewitt in 1998 to win an ATP title.
I got served: Facing John Isner and a 140-mph tennis ball
- ESPN Page 2
I wasn't looking for trouble. Honest. When I first mentioned returning Isner's serve to my editor, we talked locations, logistics and tracking down one of those old-school Bjorn Borg headbands. We did not discuss body armor, and if the term insurance waiver ever came up, it was only in jest.
Mailbag: Anyone dreaming of a career Slam?
- Jon Wetheim, SI.com
Blake and Paul-Henri Mathieu are deep in the fifth set of their Davis Cup match. And, at least in New York, the Versus network switches over to the NHL playoffs. Not ideal, but I figure that a) Versus has branded itself as the hockey network. b) The matches went longer than expected. c) Versus had the good sense to hire Ted Robinson, so that's worth some goodwill right there. d) The match coverage is being continued on the Tennis Channel. Again, not ideal. But not tragic either.
Davenport bails from Fed Cup
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net partial link only
Sources told TennisReporters.net Davenport decided to takeherself out of the competition after Serena Williams told her in Miami that she wouldn’t be competing.
Higueras looks to work magic with Federer
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net partial link only
A source told TennisReporters.net that Higueras will work with Federer in Estoril this week, at Monte Carlo next week and, hopefully for the Californian-based coach's other main client, Robby Ginepri, he will then head to Barcelona to work with the American. Then Federer might ask him to go to Rome.
The Reluctances
- Peter Bodo, TennisWorld
The most striking thing to me is that it's based to some degree on reluctances: Federer's antipathy toward having a coach sitting across the table from him every morning at breakfast, drawing diagrams on napkins, and Higueras's well-documented aversion to making the emotional investment, and all that entails, in a protege. It's also hard to imagine him spending weeks in Dubai. In some ways, the reluctances dovetail, and they may allow either man to function in his comfort zone.
Book Club: Higueras Unhinged
- Steve Tignor, Tennis.com
Here’s Pete on the first page of the book, talking about the end of opening day at the Foro:
Berdych Out With Ankle Injury
- Tennis Week
"One ligament is slightly strained but the others are okay, so it does not have to be in plaster. I will start rehabilitation in a week," Berdych told the CTK agency in comments published by AFP. "I hope [the French Open] is far enough away. If I could get in another tournament before that would be good."
Attorney Ancic
- Tennis Week
Less than 24 hours after his inspired Davis Cup effort the 24-year-old Ancic received his law degree from the University of Split in his hometown of Split, Croatia. His graduated completes a near five-year study program; Ancic entered the law program at the end of the 2002 season.
Tennis Ace Federer Calls Out Ronaldo
- Goal.com
"He is among the top five players, no doubt," said Federer, who is a renown football fan and will certainly be a frequent guest of honour when the Euro 2008 tournament is co-hosted by his home country this June.
Andy Murray returns to fray for Davis Cup
- Neil Harman, The Times
It will be a welcome boost for Lloyd, who is recuperating at his home in Los Angeles after knee surgery and has agreed to lead the team until 2011.
Hawk-Eye proves tennis umpires and linesmen have better eyesight than players
- The Times
Dr Mather used information from 1,473 Hawk-Eye challenges made by 246 players or doubles pairings during 15 tournaments in 2006 and 2007. Of those, 39.3 per cent were successful, indicating that line judges can make mistakes too.
David Felgate accepts fresh challenge to coach Nicole Vaidisova
- Neil Harman, The Times
Andy Murray to play Austria in Davis Cup 'if fit'
- The Telegraph
Jamie Murray: I don't have Andy's rage
- Sue Mott, The Telegraph
"We just kind of bumped into each other. He said: "Hi, Jamie", I said: "Hi Andy," and that was pretty much it," Murray senior says. "There wasn't a whole lot else to be honest. We didn't even mention Argentina. Water under the bridge, I guess."
Murray up for Davis Cup tie
- Eleanor Preston, The Guardian
John Lloyd, whose contract as Great Britain captain has been renewed until 2011, and the newly appointed Davis Cup coach, Paul Annacone, will spend the next few weeks trying to ensure the 20-year-old will play. "We'll take into account his needs and the needs of the rest of the team," said Annacone. "Hopefully Andy is going to be able to sort out his schedule and I hope he's available to play. It's a very winnable match."
But seriously, McEnroe may have been right
- The Guardian
The day women's tennis changed forever
- Jon Wertheim, The Observer
McEnroe was right on that call? You cannot be serious!
- The Independent
Capital gain as Sampras shakes off the cobwebs
- Paul Newman. The Independent
Collins has seen Family Circle grow from its infancy
- Hilton Head Island Packet
"I said, 'Where the heck is Hilton Head Island?' " Collins recalled with a laugh. "Back then, they didn't have an airport, so I asked my producer how I would get there. He said, 'You fly to Savannah, then rent a car and good luck after that.' "
French chief slams Gasquet after Davis Cup exit
- Reuters
"You have to make the players understand that they need to fight, to make sacrifices, even if they are undermined by an injury," Bimes said.
'One plastic bag less' campaign launched
- Jerusalem Post
Tennis star Shahar Pe'er has also donated her time to the campaign, starring in a TV ad that has started running on Channel 10 recently. Youth is served at River Oaks
- Dale Robstonson, Houston Chronicle
Pat Harrison somewhat sheepishly admitted he had tried to persuade his 15-year-old son, Ryan, to enter a $10,000 Futures tournament in Little Rock this week. But the confident, headstrong young man with a rapidly maturing physique — a recent growth spurt added 6 inches to his now solid, 6-foot frame — and tennis game had a different plan, insisting upon coming to Houston to attempt to qualify for the Clay Courts instead.
Clay Courts notes: River Oaks booked full of events
- Dale Robertson, Houston Chronicle
Serena has no problem with whom she plays
- Charleston Post and Courier
Serena Williams doesn't worry about the competition, and that was evident Monday when she arrived at the Family Circle Cup unaware that Justine Henin had withdrawn from this week's tournament.
Charleston is being well represented
- Charleston Post and Courier
Eskridge is serving as Stevenson's on-court coach during this year's Family Circle Cup.
Defending FCC champion always brings a smile
- Charleston Post and Courier
As she walked into the Family Circle
Zvonareva cruises past Chuang
- Charleston Post and Courier
Zvonareva withdrew from last week's tournament at Amelia Island because of a hamstring injury, but said she's in better health this week.
Coach Class: Federer begins Higueras trial
- Tennis.com
"We'll have to see how this arrangement goes. It's pretty open at the moment. But he won't to 30-40 weeks a year. That's not what he really wants.
The Evans Report: The Eliminator And The Enigma
- Richard Evans, Tennis Week
Want to know what it’s like to be a Davis Cup captain? Tony Trabert used to say you need to be a coach, psychologist, baby-sitter, father-confessor and sergeant-major. Or something like that. After this tie between the USA and France in Winston Salem poor Guy Forget felt he had fulfilled most of those roles although he obviously balked at ordering his troops onto the parade ground.
Roddick blows Mathieu off the court to clinch Davis Cup tie
- Bonnie D. Ford, ESPN
Mathieu, though still psychologically and physically depleted from Friday's five-set loss to James Blake in which he saw two match points sift through his strings like sand in an egg timer, gave an automatic Oui. Gasquet said Non, merci. His knee hurt, he hadn't played in two weeks, and most interestingly, he assessed Mathieu's chances against Roddick as better than his own. Yet Gasquet also told Forget he was willing to play the fifth match, whether it was pressure-packed and live or meaningless and dead. "When you play against Roddick, you have to be ready," Gasquet said. "I wasn't really ready. But at 2-2, I could try something for sure. I wanted to go on the court. But I am a little bit injured, so it's not good to play Roddick."
Roddick, Blake relish underdog role against Spain
- Matthew Cronin, Foxsports
The only place the U.S. will have an advantage is in doubles, as the Bryans — out-thought by France's Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement in North Carolina for only their second loss in 16 Davis Cup matches — have won the French Open before and are clearly a better team that any Spain can trot out. Plus, the last time that the U.S. visited Spain (in the 2004 final) the Bryans were the only men to score a live point, as Roddick lost both his matches to Nadal and Moya, and the No. 2 singles player Mardy Fish also fell to Moya.
Davis Cup: Power nations pull through
- Matthew Cronin, tennisreporters.net
I really felt I had a chance today, especially here in Russia," Berdych said. "I couldn't even walk. If I move my leg, it's not good at all."
The Evans Report: Sleeping On A Singles Solution
- Richard Evans, Tennis Week
Forget has Gasquet, the French No. 1 on the bench and, apparently this enigmatic player is now ready to step in although he seemed to need another long talking to from his captain in the corridor outside the French locker room last night.
The Wilds of Davis Cup: Taino, Mamiit carve a niche
- Tennis.com
When Taino and Mamiit arrived for their first tie, the Philippine team was stuck in Group III, perilously close to slipping to the bottom-of-the-barrel Group IV. Having played their share of high-stakes matches on tour, both men thought they knew what to expect. They had no idea.
‘Younger Indian tennis players lack stomach to fight’
- IANS
“Nobody from India is coming up in a big way in singles. When it comes to Davis Cup, they are very good players. Both Bopanna and Amritraj have the potential to be in the top 100, especially Amritraj, but he needs to have a little bit of hunger in his game,” Matsuoka, who is here as a part of Japanese television crew told IANS on the sidelines of India’s Davis Cup tie. “I think he needs to have that hunger like Paes who fought for his place in world tennis to get to the top. If both Bopanna and Amritraj break into top 100, it would be good for Asian Tennis,” he added.
Eurosport To Launch HD With Thomson
- Press release
Based on Thomson Grass Valley servers, the new high-definition channel will be on the air for the Tennis French Open Tournament of Roland Garros
Olympic win can't happen if issue not resolved: Bhupathi
- CNN-IBN
Rupha Ramani: Beijing Olympics is coming up. How do you see that going? Are you confident of India's show there?
Sharapova gets first clay-court win
- Tom Tebbutt, The Globe and Mail blog
STAT-OF-THE-WEEK: 19-17: That was the final set score in a victory by Irakli Labadze of Georgia in an opening match against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in a Davis Group One tie played at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava.
Superpowers stay strong at Davis Cup
- Tom Tebbutt, The Globe and Mail
Wildly unpredictable Marat Safin, just 1-5 in 2008, was a last-minute singles choice and he set the home side, playing on clay at the Luzhniki Arena in Moscow, on the winning track with a 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory on Friday over the Czech No. 1, similarly unpredictable (and crazily talented) Tomas Berdych.
Roddick Is Dominant Against France’s Second Choice
- New York Times
Sharapova soars in her debut
- Florida Times-Union
The Russian tennis superstar smacked a backhand crossing shot into the open court to defeat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-6 (7), 6-3 for her first clay-court title.
Davenport quits Bausch & Lomb
- Florida Times-Union
Team proves best from start
- Florida Times-Union
A working mom's plight
- Florida Times-Union
Lindsay Davenport is facing new challenges every day as a working mom on the WTA Tour. She said the person she turns to most for advice is former champion Mary Joe Fernandez.
Dominant Performance: Roddick wins in straight sets to clinch U.S. victory
- Winston-Salem Journal
This was Roddick’s 10th opportunity to play a clinching match in a Davis Cup tie. He has won all 10.
But he said that’s one statistic that’s overrated.
“I think everybody makes a big deal about the 10-0 thing,” he said. “But … I have to be up 2-1 in order to finish. So my teammates have put me in good positions a lot of times.”
Roddick, ranked No. 6 in the world, used his big serve and penetrating ground strokes to dominate Mathieu from the start. He served 17 aces, lost only 13 points on his serve and never faced a break point. For the second straight match, he did not lose his serve.
Next step for U.S. team will likely be a bit tougher
- Winston-Salem Journal
“It’s gonna be tough,” Roddick said. “I don’t know if it’s going to do any good to sit here and freak out about it for the next three or four months, whatever it is. I can assure you one thing. I know it’s not convenient for us. I know we’re not going to be the favorites. But we’re gonna go, and we’re gonna try. The thing about this team is we don’t play when it’s convenient. That’s probably different than some countries.”
Magazines this Month
April issue - Tennis (table of contents + web extras)
April issue - Australian Tennis (table of contents)
First Serve: The Bucket List - Bill Simons, Inside Tennis
The Buzz - Inside Tennis
Funny Folks
- Inside Tennis
Tennis' Top Ten Funniest - Inside Tennis
Who's Hot, Who's Not - Matthew Cronin, Inside Tennis
Serbian Wells - Inside Tennis
U.S. vs. France: No Fear of Les Blues - Inside Tennis
Tennis’ Political Endorsements - Inside Tennis
Inside Line - Tennis Week
Serbia's Tennis Mania - Tennis Week
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