Djokovic wins it all in Montréal
On Sunday at Uniprix Stadium, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia extended his extraordinary streak by winning the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
In a match that wavered far more than expected, he defeated world no.8 and 6th seed Mardy Fish of the US in three sets (6-2, 3-6, 6-4).
Djokovic racked up his 53rd win in 54 matches this year and fifth Masters 1000 trophy - a record.
To bank the 1000 ranking points and US$450 000 awarded to the winner, Djokovic had to overcome a few slowdowns and some improbable forehands from Fish.
In the first set, the battle was heated until the 6th game. Then, Djokovic won two consecutive games thanks to his perfect consistency from the backcourt. After 38 minutes, the set was over.
The winds change
A few scares were in store for the Serb in the second set. At 2-2, he was broken for the first time since his second round match against Nikolay Davydenko. Looking more erratic and nervous than he had earlier on, he lost his serve again in the 9th game, giving the set to Fish on a silver platter after 54 minutes of play.
Djokovic had to dig deep to regain control of the final set and secure the deciding break. He did so at 3-3 as Fish seemed to be tiring. With three championship points at 5-3 and under stress, the world no.1 let his rival come back to deuce before making his move.
The match ended after 2 hours, 23 minutes of intense rallies to the roar of the crowd.
Novak Djokovic beat Mardy Fish 6-2 3-6 6-4 to win the Rogers Cup men’s singles in Montreal, Canada
Serena Williams beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup women’s singles in Toronto, Canada
Potito Starace beat Martin Klizan 6-1 3-0 retired to win the San Marino CEPU Open in San Marino
SAYING
“I am human – I can definitely assure you of that. I guess it’s just all about having a positive attitude on the court every day, waking up every day wanting to improve, wanting to win, being determined, being professional. It’s that desire and motivation that keeps me going. Every match I play, I try to win, regardless which match is it or whoever is across the net.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his record fifth ATP Masters 1000 title of the year, the Rogers Cup in Montréal, Canada.
Novak Djokovic
“I’m so excited. I never expected to do this well. I’m just so happy to be playing again, let alone winning. It’s really cool. I’ve always wanted to hold up this particular trophy. It’s so cute.” – Serena Williams, after winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada
“I thought that we played really well as a team, which is very important against such a team like the Bryans because you cannot win only by individual skills. They’re great competitors. They have great hands. They help each other a lot. That’s what we had to do today.” – Nenad Zimonjic, who teamed with Michael Llodra to win the doubles, beating twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final.
“I don’t think I played bad but I can’t be happy because when you’re up 3-1 in the second set and 5-3 in the third, you should win the match.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing his first match at Montréal to Ivan Dodig 1-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5)
“I’m disappointed losing my match here, especially first round. Not many people enjoy that, I think. But I do put it in perspective. I think about where I was a year ago and how far I’ve come. I don’t want to sound egotistical when I say this, but I’m very proud of myself and how far I have come. I’m disappointed, but a long as I stay positive about it I can move forward and hopefully do better next year.” – Rebecca Marino, Canada’s top player, after losing in the first round at Toronto.
“It was one of those days where nothing was working.” – Marion Bartoli, after being upset by Galina Voskoboeva at Toronto.
“I would have liked to have won that one and especially after leading 5-1 in the second. It’s not fun to lose this, but there’s nothing really I can do about it now, just practice, and try to do better.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after her 6-4 7-5 second-round Rogers Cup loss to Roberta Vinci.
“But all the players keep improving… I believe that no player can be spared. Look at Rafa (Rafael Nadal) who lost, and (Andy) Murray. The only one remaining above everybody else is (Novak) Djokovic.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after upsetting Roger Federer at Montréal.
“It’s expected from them and from all of us top players to advance, you know, to the last stages of a tournament. But it happens. This is tennis. Both of their opponents have played great matches, and that’s it. You move on. You have to forget about what you’ve done, there is already next week another tournament.” – Novak Djokovic, commenting on the upsets of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
“It makes for an exciting story because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked or seeded, the reason we go out and play the matches is to know who’s going to be the winner on that day.” – Maria Sharapova, after losing to Galina Voskoboeva at Toronto.
“At the beginning of the match I was like – I didn’t even know what I should do on the court, not like during the clay court season. … I was feeling like a junior on the court.” – Li Na, who lost her first match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto to Samantha Stosur.
“It is sad for her. Always tough when you’re playing same-country player. We train together, we know much (about each other). Always tough.” – Li Na, after her second-round opponent, Shuai Peng, withdrew from the Rogers Cup with a left hip injury in what would have been a meeting between China’s top two players.
“I am not saying I am done after the Olympics, but that’s where so far I have set my schedule towards, and what I am building towards, and we’ll see what happens from there. I might choose to end in a smaller tournament just to have it a little more personal and where I can really enjoy it with my family, my friends and coaches.” – Kim Clijsters, backing off her earlier suggestion that she would end her career at the 2012 London Olympics.
“Our goal is to mark this very solemn occasion in a dignified and respectful manner. There’s a balance here that one wants to maintain. You don’t want to go over the top and you don’t want to be too understated, and I think we’re striking that balance.” – Jon Vegosen, chairman of the board and president of the United States Tennis Association, saying the US Open will paint “9-11-10” on the court for the men’s and women’s singles final to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers.
SETTING RECORDS
Novak Djokovic wants everyone to know he’s human. He’s just not playing that way. In capturing the Rogers Cup in Montréal, the world’s top-ranked player won his ninth tournament title of the year and record fifth in a season in an ATP Masters 1000 event. “History making, of course it’s special,” Djokovic said after beating Mardy Fish 6-2 3-6 6-4 in the final. “Of course it’s an honor and privilege to be part of the history of the sport that I love and that I play.” And play extremely well, it might be added. The 24-year-old Serb is 53-1 overall this year, having won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. “I am human. I can definitely assure you of that,” Djokovic said. The Serb was playing his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, while Fish has been the hottest player on hard courts this summer, reaching his third consecutive final. Fish was the only player to take a set off Djokovic in the tournament.
SMOOTH SAILING
Serena Williams was ranked number one in the world when she stepped on some glass and cut her foot right after she won Wimbledon in 2010. Her ranking dropped only because she didn’t play for 11 months, no so much because what had happened on a court. At Toronto, Serena won the 39th WTA singles title of her career and second since her return to the tour after nearly a year out with injury and illness. She also won at Stanford, California, USA, two weeks ago, in her third tournament back. It has been awhile since she lifted the trophy in Canada. Williams beat Jennifer Capriati in the 2001 final at Montréal. The 29-year-old Serena is now third among active players for singles titles behind her sister Venus Williams, who has 43, and Kim Clijsters, with 41.
SHOCKERS
What a week it was for upsets at the Rogers Cup in both Montréal and Toronto.
In Montréal, second-seeded Rafael Nadal was ousted by Ivan Dodig of Croatia, the first time Nadal had lost his first match in a tournament since the Italian Open in 2008. Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset third-seeded Roger Federer, just as he had at Wimbledon. And South African Kevin Anderson knocked out fourth-seeded Andy Murray, the defending Rogers Cup champion.
It wasn’t any better in Toronto at the women’s event.
Italy’s Roberta Vinci shocked top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki; second-seeded Kim Clijsters withdrew with a stomach injury while leading China’s Zheng Jie; and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska knocked off third-seeded Vera Zvonareva.
In the end, the two favorites – top-ranked Novak Djokovic in Montréal and unseeded Serena Williams in Toronto – came away with the titles.
STREAKING GALINA
Galina Voskoboeva is a 26-year-old from Kazakhstan who is ranked 135th in the world. She also was a one-person wrecking crew at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. A qualifier, Voskoboeva began her rampage through the draw by beating ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France. Then came a victory over Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta before Voskoboeva reached the quarterfinals by downing fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova. “Whether you’re number one in the world or you’re facing someone that’s 100 or so, you still have to go out and win. That’s what the sport is all about,” said Sharapova, who has 23 career singles titles. Voskoboeva finally was beaten in the quarters by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
SUCCESS FINALLY
It took awhile, but Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, for a long time two of the best doubles players in the world, have finally won a WTA title together. It was their 11th tournament as a team. Huber, who won the Rogers Cup in 2008 when she played with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, has now won 45 doubles titles. Raymond, a veteran who first played the Rogers Cup in 1993 but had never been past the quarterfinals until now, has won 71 doubles crowns.
SENIOR PROBLEM
John McEnroe hurt his hamstring during a Rogers Legends Cup match in Toronto and had to be helped off the court. McEnroe was playing Michael Chang when he stretched fir a shot late in the second set and collapsed to the ground in pain. Chang and two medical officials tended to the 52-year-old McEnroe as he lay on the court for nearly 10 minutes. They finally helped him to his feet and he left the court with his arms wrapped around the two medics.
SERENA TO PLAY FED CUP
Serena Williams says she will suit up for the United States Fed Cup team in two series next year, enough to qualify her to play in the 2012 London Olympic Games. “After being physically unable to participate in the last few ties, I am eager to compete in Fed Cup and help my country return to the World Group,” Serena said in a statement. The Americans will be at home for Belarus on February 4-5 at a site yet to be determined. That winner will advance to a playoff in April that gives the winner s spot in the top-level World Group and compete for the 2013 Fed Cup title. The loser will also play in April with that winner remaining in World Group II.
SHARAPOVA PHILOSOPHICAL
Just because she lost to Galina Voskoboeva in the third round in Toronto, Maria Sharapova isn’t panicking. “We have a pretty long summer, and it all starts in the clay season – you gear up for that,” Sharapova said. “Then it’s a pretty short turnaround from the French to Wimbledon. All of us give ourselves a bit of vacation after that. It takes a little bit of time to get the rust off again and to get going. Obviously we want to win every tournament, but we also have to be realistic. Sometimes it’s not going to go our way or we’re not going to feel great.” She said with another month of hard court tennis still to come, she is confident she can regain her game. “I guess you could say that (I lost) because I haven’t played too many matches since Wimbledon,” Sharapova said, “but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter.”
STEFFI AND ANDRE GIVE BACK
It will be interesting to see how much the winning bid is for the top prize at the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation’s live auction. The winner will get a three-day, two-night trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, staying at a hotel on the Vegas strip. And it also includes a one-hour private tennis lesson for one or two with Hall of Famers Steffi Graf and her husband Andre Agassi. The auction will be held during the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Gala Dinner on Monday, September 12, at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. The Gala includes a tennis pro-am at Deerwood Country Club on September 12 and a golf pro-am at Marsh Landing Country Club on September 13. The MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation provides after-school youth development programs in the urban core of Jacksonville, Florida, the closest big city to Ponte Vedra Beach.
STILL HURTING
The stomach injury that forced Kim Clijsters to withdraw from the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, is also keeping her out of this week’s Cincinnati Open. Clijsters won Cincinnati a year ago before going on to capture her third US Open title. The 28-year-old Belgian was leading Zheng Jie 6-3 1-2 in Toronto when a partial tear of her left stomach muscle caused her to stop play. Clijsters says it is too soon to know if she will be able to defend her US Open title. The year’s final Grand Slam tournament begins its two-week run on August 29 in New York City.
SET TO REMEMBER
The US Open winds up its two-week run on September 11 – 10 years to the day the Twin Towers came tumbling down from terrorist attacks. A white “9-11-01” will be painted next to the court for the men’s and women’s singles finals at America’s premier tennis event. “If you think about it, everybody knows where they were on 9-11,” said Jon Vegosen, the United States Tennis Association’s chairman of the board and president. “And by putting that … date, it’s going to trigger memories for each of us – personal memories – and that’s a factor that went into this. Rather than imposing what 9-11 means, it allows it to be a much more personal moment for people.” The display will be placed near the net across the court from where the chair umpire sits and players rest during changeovers. It will be added on the tournament’s second Friday night, when there are no matches scheduled to be played.
SEEKS BAN REDUCTION
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hear Robert Kendrick’s appeal of a 12-month sanction issued against him for doping. The 31-year-old American is seeking a reduction of the sentence to three months, which would allow him to play this year’s US Open. Kendrick tested positive for methylhexaneamine (MHA) at the French Open. He claimed he took a capsule called Zija XM3 to help his jetlag, not realizing it contained a banned substance. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) tribunal wrote in its summary it did not believe Kendrick took the drug as a performance enhancer. However, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, it is a player’s responsibility to ensure than no prohibited substance enters his body unless he holds a valid therapeutic use exemption. MHA is considered to be a stimulant that is sometimes used by body builders, among others. CAS recently reduced the length of Australian rugby player Kurt Foggo’s suspension for MHA from two years to six months.
STRAIGHT IN
Jack Sock and Lauren Davis won the USTA 18s, which gives them direct entry into the singles draws at the US Open. Sock successfully defended his USTA Boys’ 18s national title at Kalamazoo, Michigan, defeating second-seeded Mitchell frank 6-3 6-0 in the title match. Sock is the first back-to-back Boys’ 18s champion since Donald Young in 2005-06. Davis outlasted fourth-seeded Nicole Gibbs 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-4 to win the Girls’ 18s in San Diego, California. The USA Open will be her second appearance in a Grand Slam tournament main draw. She won a UST playoff in December to earn a wild card into the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to Samantha Stosur in the first round.
Sock teamed with Jackson Withrow to win the Boys’ 18s doubles, earning a main draw doubles wild card into the US Open, which begins August 29. Sock is the first player to sweep both the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 18s nationals since Young in 2006. Samantha Crawford and Madison Keys won the Girls’ 18s doubles to earn a US Open main draw doubles wild card.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Montreal: Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-7 (5) 10-5 (match tiebreak)
San Marino: James Cerretani and Philipp Marx beat Daniele Bracciali and Julian Knowle 6-3 6-4
Toronto: Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond beat Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko, walkover
(All money in USD)
MEN
$2,430,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard
$122,323 Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup, Cordenons, Italy, clay
WOMEN
$2,050,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard
SENIORS
The Optima Open, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$553,125 Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, hard
$100,000 Edizione A. Savoldi-Marco Co-Trofeo Dimmidisi, Manerbio, Italy, clay
WOMEN
$618,000 New Haven Open at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard
$220,000 Texas Tennis Open, Dallas, Texas, USA, hard
In a match that wavered far more than expected, he defeated world no.8 and 6th seed Mardy Fish of the US in three sets (6-2, 3-6, 6-4).
Djokovic racked up his 53rd win in 54 matches this year and fifth Masters 1000 trophy - a record.
To bank the 1000 ranking points and US$450 000 awarded to the winner, Djokovic had to overcome a few slowdowns and some improbable forehands from Fish.
In the first set, the battle was heated until the 6th game. Then, Djokovic won two consecutive games thanks to his perfect consistency from the backcourt. After 38 minutes, the set was over.
The winds change
A few scares were in store for the Serb in the second set. At 2-2, he was broken for the first time since his second round match against Nikolay Davydenko. Looking more erratic and nervous than he had earlier on, he lost his serve again in the 9th game, giving the set to Fish on a silver platter after 54 minutes of play.
Djokovic had to dig deep to regain control of the final set and secure the deciding break. He did so at 3-3 as Fish seemed to be tiring. With three championship points at 5-3 and under stress, the world no.1 let his rival come back to deuce before making his move.
The match ended after 2 hours, 23 minutes of intense rallies to the roar of the crowd.
Lifting the Rogers Cup, his ninth title in ten events this year, Djokovic reasserted his dominance at the top of the rankings.
STARS
Novak Djokovic beat Mardy Fish 6-2 3-6 6-4 to win the Rogers Cup men’s singles in Montreal, Canada
Serena Williams beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup women’s singles in Toronto, Canada
Potito Starace beat Martin Klizan 6-1 3-0 retired to win the San Marino CEPU Open in San Marino
SAYING
“I am human – I can definitely assure you of that. I guess it’s just all about having a positive attitude on the court every day, waking up every day wanting to improve, wanting to win, being determined, being professional. It’s that desire and motivation that keeps me going. Every match I play, I try to win, regardless which match is it or whoever is across the net.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his record fifth ATP Masters 1000 title of the year, the Rogers Cup in Montréal, Canada.
Novak Djokovic
“I’m so excited. I never expected to do this well. I’m just so happy to be playing again, let alone winning. It’s really cool. I’ve always wanted to hold up this particular trophy. It’s so cute.” – Serena Williams, after winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada
“I thought that we played really well as a team, which is very important against such a team like the Bryans because you cannot win only by individual skills. They’re great competitors. They have great hands. They help each other a lot. That’s what we had to do today.” – Nenad Zimonjic, who teamed with Michael Llodra to win the doubles, beating twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final.
“I don’t think I played bad but I can’t be happy because when you’re up 3-1 in the second set and 5-3 in the third, you should win the match.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing his first match at Montréal to Ivan Dodig 1-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5)
“I’m disappointed losing my match here, especially first round. Not many people enjoy that, I think. But I do put it in perspective. I think about where I was a year ago and how far I’ve come. I don’t want to sound egotistical when I say this, but I’m very proud of myself and how far I have come. I’m disappointed, but a long as I stay positive about it I can move forward and hopefully do better next year.” – Rebecca Marino, Canada’s top player, after losing in the first round at Toronto.
“It was one of those days where nothing was working.” – Marion Bartoli, after being upset by Galina Voskoboeva at Toronto.
“I would have liked to have won that one and especially after leading 5-1 in the second. It’s not fun to lose this, but there’s nothing really I can do about it now, just practice, and try to do better.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after her 6-4 7-5 second-round Rogers Cup loss to Roberta Vinci.
“But all the players keep improving… I believe that no player can be spared. Look at Rafa (Rafael Nadal) who lost, and (Andy) Murray. The only one remaining above everybody else is (Novak) Djokovic.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after upsetting Roger Federer at Montréal.
“It’s expected from them and from all of us top players to advance, you know, to the last stages of a tournament. But it happens. This is tennis. Both of their opponents have played great matches, and that’s it. You move on. You have to forget about what you’ve done, there is already next week another tournament.” – Novak Djokovic, commenting on the upsets of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
“It makes for an exciting story because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked or seeded, the reason we go out and play the matches is to know who’s going to be the winner on that day.” – Maria Sharapova, after losing to Galina Voskoboeva at Toronto.
“At the beginning of the match I was like – I didn’t even know what I should do on the court, not like during the clay court season. … I was feeling like a junior on the court.” – Li Na, who lost her first match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto to Samantha Stosur.
“It is sad for her. Always tough when you’re playing same-country player. We train together, we know much (about each other). Always tough.” – Li Na, after her second-round opponent, Shuai Peng, withdrew from the Rogers Cup with a left hip injury in what would have been a meeting between China’s top two players.
“I am not saying I am done after the Olympics, but that’s where so far I have set my schedule towards, and what I am building towards, and we’ll see what happens from there. I might choose to end in a smaller tournament just to have it a little more personal and where I can really enjoy it with my family, my friends and coaches.” – Kim Clijsters, backing off her earlier suggestion that she would end her career at the 2012 London Olympics.
“Our goal is to mark this very solemn occasion in a dignified and respectful manner. There’s a balance here that one wants to maintain. You don’t want to go over the top and you don’t want to be too understated, and I think we’re striking that balance.” – Jon Vegosen, chairman of the board and president of the United States Tennis Association, saying the US Open will paint “9-11-10” on the court for the men’s and women’s singles final to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers.
SETTING RECORDS
Novak Djokovic wants everyone to know he’s human. He’s just not playing that way. In capturing the Rogers Cup in Montréal, the world’s top-ranked player won his ninth tournament title of the year and record fifth in a season in an ATP Masters 1000 event. “History making, of course it’s special,” Djokovic said after beating Mardy Fish 6-2 3-6 6-4 in the final. “Of course it’s an honor and privilege to be part of the history of the sport that I love and that I play.” And play extremely well, it might be added. The 24-year-old Serb is 53-1 overall this year, having won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. “I am human. I can definitely assure you of that,” Djokovic said. The Serb was playing his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, while Fish has been the hottest player on hard courts this summer, reaching his third consecutive final. Fish was the only player to take a set off Djokovic in the tournament.
SMOOTH SAILING
Serena Williams was ranked number one in the world when she stepped on some glass and cut her foot right after she won Wimbledon in 2010. Her ranking dropped only because she didn’t play for 11 months, no so much because what had happened on a court. At Toronto, Serena won the 39th WTA singles title of her career and second since her return to the tour after nearly a year out with injury and illness. She also won at Stanford, California, USA, two weeks ago, in her third tournament back. It has been awhile since she lifted the trophy in Canada. Williams beat Jennifer Capriati in the 2001 final at Montréal. The 29-year-old Serena is now third among active players for singles titles behind her sister Venus Williams, who has 43, and Kim Clijsters, with 41.
SHOCKERS
What a week it was for upsets at the Rogers Cup in both Montréal and Toronto.
In Montréal, second-seeded Rafael Nadal was ousted by Ivan Dodig of Croatia, the first time Nadal had lost his first match in a tournament since the Italian Open in 2008. Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset third-seeded Roger Federer, just as he had at Wimbledon. And South African Kevin Anderson knocked out fourth-seeded Andy Murray, the defending Rogers Cup champion.
It wasn’t any better in Toronto at the women’s event.
Italy’s Roberta Vinci shocked top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki; second-seeded Kim Clijsters withdrew with a stomach injury while leading China’s Zheng Jie; and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska knocked off third-seeded Vera Zvonareva.
In the end, the two favorites – top-ranked Novak Djokovic in Montréal and unseeded Serena Williams in Toronto – came away with the titles.
STREAKING GALINA
Galina Voskoboeva is a 26-year-old from Kazakhstan who is ranked 135th in the world. She also was a one-person wrecking crew at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. A qualifier, Voskoboeva began her rampage through the draw by beating ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France. Then came a victory over Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta before Voskoboeva reached the quarterfinals by downing fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova. “Whether you’re number one in the world or you’re facing someone that’s 100 or so, you still have to go out and win. That’s what the sport is all about,” said Sharapova, who has 23 career singles titles. Voskoboeva finally was beaten in the quarters by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
SUCCESS FINALLY
It took awhile, but Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, for a long time two of the best doubles players in the world, have finally won a WTA title together. It was their 11th tournament as a team. Huber, who won the Rogers Cup in 2008 when she played with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, has now won 45 doubles titles. Raymond, a veteran who first played the Rogers Cup in 1993 but had never been past the quarterfinals until now, has won 71 doubles crowns.
SENIOR PROBLEM
John McEnroe hurt his hamstring during a Rogers Legends Cup match in Toronto and had to be helped off the court. McEnroe was playing Michael Chang when he stretched fir a shot late in the second set and collapsed to the ground in pain. Chang and two medical officials tended to the 52-year-old McEnroe as he lay on the court for nearly 10 minutes. They finally helped him to his feet and he left the court with his arms wrapped around the two medics.
SERENA TO PLAY FED CUP
Serena Williams says she will suit up for the United States Fed Cup team in two series next year, enough to qualify her to play in the 2012 London Olympic Games. “After being physically unable to participate in the last few ties, I am eager to compete in Fed Cup and help my country return to the World Group,” Serena said in a statement. The Americans will be at home for Belarus on February 4-5 at a site yet to be determined. That winner will advance to a playoff in April that gives the winner s spot in the top-level World Group and compete for the 2013 Fed Cup title. The loser will also play in April with that winner remaining in World Group II.
SHARAPOVA PHILOSOPHICAL
Just because she lost to Galina Voskoboeva in the third round in Toronto, Maria Sharapova isn’t panicking. “We have a pretty long summer, and it all starts in the clay season – you gear up for that,” Sharapova said. “Then it’s a pretty short turnaround from the French to Wimbledon. All of us give ourselves a bit of vacation after that. It takes a little bit of time to get the rust off again and to get going. Obviously we want to win every tournament, but we also have to be realistic. Sometimes it’s not going to go our way or we’re not going to feel great.” She said with another month of hard court tennis still to come, she is confident she can regain her game. “I guess you could say that (I lost) because I haven’t played too many matches since Wimbledon,” Sharapova said, “but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter.”
STEFFI AND ANDRE GIVE BACK
It will be interesting to see how much the winning bid is for the top prize at the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation’s live auction. The winner will get a three-day, two-night trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, staying at a hotel on the Vegas strip. And it also includes a one-hour private tennis lesson for one or two with Hall of Famers Steffi Graf and her husband Andre Agassi. The auction will be held during the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Gala Dinner on Monday, September 12, at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. The Gala includes a tennis pro-am at Deerwood Country Club on September 12 and a golf pro-am at Marsh Landing Country Club on September 13. The MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation provides after-school youth development programs in the urban core of Jacksonville, Florida, the closest big city to Ponte Vedra Beach.
STILL HURTING
The stomach injury that forced Kim Clijsters to withdraw from the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, is also keeping her out of this week’s Cincinnati Open. Clijsters won Cincinnati a year ago before going on to capture her third US Open title. The 28-year-old Belgian was leading Zheng Jie 6-3 1-2 in Toronto when a partial tear of her left stomach muscle caused her to stop play. Clijsters says it is too soon to know if she will be able to defend her US Open title. The year’s final Grand Slam tournament begins its two-week run on August 29 in New York City.
SET TO REMEMBER
The US Open winds up its two-week run on September 11 – 10 years to the day the Twin Towers came tumbling down from terrorist attacks. A white “9-11-01” will be painted next to the court for the men’s and women’s singles finals at America’s premier tennis event. “If you think about it, everybody knows where they were on 9-11,” said Jon Vegosen, the United States Tennis Association’s chairman of the board and president. “And by putting that … date, it’s going to trigger memories for each of us – personal memories – and that’s a factor that went into this. Rather than imposing what 9-11 means, it allows it to be a much more personal moment for people.” The display will be placed near the net across the court from where the chair umpire sits and players rest during changeovers. It will be added on the tournament’s second Friday night, when there are no matches scheduled to be played.
SEEKS BAN REDUCTION
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hear Robert Kendrick’s appeal of a 12-month sanction issued against him for doping. The 31-year-old American is seeking a reduction of the sentence to three months, which would allow him to play this year’s US Open. Kendrick tested positive for methylhexaneamine (MHA) at the French Open. He claimed he took a capsule called Zija XM3 to help his jetlag, not realizing it contained a banned substance. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) tribunal wrote in its summary it did not believe Kendrick took the drug as a performance enhancer. However, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, it is a player’s responsibility to ensure than no prohibited substance enters his body unless he holds a valid therapeutic use exemption. MHA is considered to be a stimulant that is sometimes used by body builders, among others. CAS recently reduced the length of Australian rugby player Kurt Foggo’s suspension for MHA from two years to six months.
STRAIGHT IN
Jack Sock and Lauren Davis won the USTA 18s, which gives them direct entry into the singles draws at the US Open. Sock successfully defended his USTA Boys’ 18s national title at Kalamazoo, Michigan, defeating second-seeded Mitchell frank 6-3 6-0 in the title match. Sock is the first back-to-back Boys’ 18s champion since Donald Young in 2005-06. Davis outlasted fourth-seeded Nicole Gibbs 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-4 to win the Girls’ 18s in San Diego, California. The USA Open will be her second appearance in a Grand Slam tournament main draw. She won a UST playoff in December to earn a wild card into the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to Samantha Stosur in the first round.
Sock teamed with Jackson Withrow to win the Boys’ 18s doubles, earning a main draw doubles wild card into the US Open, which begins August 29. Sock is the first player to sweep both the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 18s nationals since Young in 2006. Samantha Crawford and Madison Keys won the Girls’ 18s doubles to earn a US Open main draw doubles wild card.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Montreal: Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-7 (5) 10-5 (match tiebreak)
San Marino: James Cerretani and Philipp Marx beat Daniele Bracciali and Julian Knowle 6-3 6-4
Toronto: Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond beat Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko, walkover
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$2,430,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard
$122,323 Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup, Cordenons, Italy, clay
WOMEN
$2,050,000 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard
SENIORS
The Optima Open, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$553,125 Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, hard
$100,000 Edizione A. Savoldi-Marco Co-Trofeo Dimmidisi, Manerbio, Italy, clay
WOMEN
$618,000 New Haven Open at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard
$220,000 Texas Tennis Open, Dallas, Texas, USA, hard
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