Excerpt of ‘Tennis Goes Cross-Country’ from Tennis Served Fresh
Check out a recent post I wrote for the blog Tennis Served Fresh about Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s soccer game for Japan relief, Roger Federer’s recent loses and Dominika Cibulkova’s break into the world of reality television.
Bottom’s on top: It’s official! The classy poster of a woman scratching her derriere in flattering tennis whites has been posted as one of the all-time best-selling posters, according to a recent article in the Guardian. Model and poster will soon be reunited after 35 years for an upcoming event celebrating tennis art, writes Patrick Kingsley. Pictured above, Fiona Walker, now 52, tells all in a piece from the Telegraph. (ed. note: Meanwhile, how cute is Patrick??TSF is always looking for more freelancers… )
To read this story in its entirety, see here.
Hisense’s Dead Spot and Wozniacki’s Wacky Personality
It’s been an intense few days at the Australian Open with chaos and comedy abound. Agnieszka Radwanska’s racket snaps (see below), Kim Clijsters jokes about pregnancy with Tom Woodbridge, last year’s finalist Justine Henin bows out to Svetlana Kuznetsova in a straight sets upset, and much more.
To begin, a dead spot was found on Hisense Arena as Maria Sharapova and Julia Goerges got ready to start play. With tournament staff in a frenzy, the players retreated back to the locker room, awaiting a fix to the curious on-court dilemma. It all came across pretty comical as none of the ESPN commentators could quite figure out what to make of the ball, which — when dropped — died completely. In the end, however, workers drilled small holes, trapped air was released from the court, balls bounced once more, and play resumed.
See below for a clip of the ball being dropped, and not bouncing at all.
Wozniacki Wins in Toronto; New Haven Tournament Begins
Caroline Wozniacki, the number two player in the world, needed to win two matches in one day to take the title in Toronto. She did, quite easily. In the morning, she outplayed a recently resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3. Just a few hours later, Wozniacki took to the courts again, ousting an error-prone and emotional Vera Zvonareva. The Dane’s crisp strokes proved too much for the Wimbledon finalist — she won 6-3, 6-2, putting an end to a tournament re-scheduled due to rain.
The question becomes this: Can Wozniacki, who’s going to be seeded first at the US Open with Serena Williams’ withdrawal, take advantage of the field to win her maiden major title? Last year, she made the finals. This year, she’s on fire, winning three titles already. With numerous others hampered by injury, including Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, and possibly last year’s champion Kim Clijsters, the field currently looks like hers for the taking.
In New Haven, the Pilot Pen tournament got underway with a strong effort by the struggling Dinara Safina on the WTA tour. Safina ousted this year’s French Open winner, the third-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, as a wild card. Also victorious: Elena Dementieva over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and the lucky loser Dominika Cibulkova over fan favorite Melanie Oudin.
For the men, wild card James Blake, who’s been struggling on tour with injury this season, dominated Pere Riba 6-0, 6-1. Americans Donald Young and Taylor Dent also advanced: Young won with a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of Stephane Robert, while Dent needed three sets to beat Eduardo Schwank.
Headline Round-Up: Fish, Zvonareva, and Safina Win
After some exceptional American success last week, a string of big headlines are signaling the start of another busy seven days on the ATP and WTA tours. Here’s a round-up of the current events around the sport this week.
- Mardy Fish continues his winning streak, notching match number 11 over Viktor Troicki. The American has swept the field since a second round loss at Wimbledon. He won two titles in Newport and Atlanta and looks primed to continue his success after dropping 30 pounds.
- Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva beat Dominika Cibulkova in a tough 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 to get her first win since losing to Serena Williams. Zvonareva seems to have recovered from the mysterious ankle injury that forced her to retire from the Bank of the West Classic last week.
- Dinara Safina’s free-fall in the rankings and with her form finally picked up a little after she won a match — her first win in seven tries. The former world number one and three-time major finalist beat Alyona Bondarenko 6-1, 7-6 (2) in San Diego.
- Serena Williams and John Isner are set to take part in the Hopman Cup, an international tournament that serves as a warm-up for the Australian Open. As an Associated Press article writes, “Williams and Isner will join the Serbian pair of Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, Belgium’s Justine Henin, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and France’s Gael Monfils in the mixed teams tournament which runs Jan. 1-8.” Time will tell if the big-name players keep their commitments to this progressive event.
- James Blake continues his poor form, this time losing to the qualifier Ryan Sweeting 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Blake is now ranked 105th. At the same event, David Nalbandian is back after a hamstring injury, winning over Rajeev Ram 6-4, 6-0.
- Speaking of players recovering from injury, US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is back on the courts. Although he probably won’t make it back in time to defend his title, or at least be a threat to win the event, it’s good to see he’s back. Click here to see the picture he posted on his Twitter account, apparently proving his return.
- Back for more: Ivan Lendl will debut on the ATP Champions seniors’ tour in Paris this October.
- Ones to watch, maybe: 22-year old Alexandra Mueller, ranked 447th, received a wild card into the US Open qualifying after defeating Alina Jidkova in the USTA playoffs. She handily beat Jidkova 6-0, 6-3. The last time Mueller played at the qualifying, she was 16. Jelena Dokic also made news for winning her second straight title on the ITF tour.
Unseeded Kvitova Secures Big Win Over Azarenka
The twenty year old Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic has advanced over the Belarussian Victoria Azarenka in compelling fashion, winning 7-5, 6-0. Her year, which has been otherwise unspectacular, has taken a huge turn with the win. Kvitova is now in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the third time in her career. Her other best Grand Slam results include the fourth round at the French Open in 2008 and at the US Open in 2009.
With one career title to her name already, and these compelling results at the majors, I see Kvitova making a big run in the near future. She’s already taken out Jie Zheng of China, a player seeded 23rd and well known for the fantastic run to the Australian Open semifinals this year. Up next, she plays Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 7-5, 6-4, another up and coming young star.
In the fourth round match, I think Wozniacki’s defensive game and experience will prove a little too much for Kvitova. I see the number three seed edging out Kvitova in a tight third set.
As for Azarenka’s loss, it was a good effort as she’s been having a difficult year with injuries. Her play is improving, which is a great sign. I think she’ll be completley back in action for the US Open; don’t expect a loss before the second week.
Also posting wins include Serena Williams over Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska over Sara Errani, and Na Li over Anastasia Rodionova.
In doubles, the third-seeded team of Nadia Petrova and Sam Stosur beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Aravane Rezai. Vania King of the US and Yaroslava Shvedova defeated the 14th seed of Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer to make it to the sweet 16.
