Monthly Archives: July 2012

News from 29 week 2012 : 15 July 2012 to 21 July 2012

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Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller

ATLANTA —

Andy Roddick knows John Isner’s serve is one of the toughest to face on the ATP World Tour.

To have a chance to beat Isner, Roddick had to protect his own serve.

“I did what I was supposed to,” Roddick said. “You’re not going to beat John if you get broken a lot. I was able to fight off a little bit of trouble early in the first set. I just competed well tonight.”

Roddick, the No. 4 seed, beat top-seeded John Isner 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in the semifinals of the Atlanta Open on Saturday night.

Roddick will play Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, who knocked off No. 8 Go Soeda of Japan 6-4, 6-3, for his 32nd ATP World Tour title on Sunday.

Muller will play for his first tour title.

At 6-foot-4, Muller had 17 aces to Soeda’s two and finished the match in 1 hour, 13 minutes. Muller is 0-2 in career finals and last played for a title in 2005.

Muller advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday when Fish had to withdraw with a sprained right ankle. Fish, who was trying to win his third consecutive Atlanta title, led the match when he retired in the second set.

Against Soeda, Muller followed his usual plan for success. He had 17 aces, won 94 per cent of his first serves. Among tour leaders, Muller tied for second with 79 per cent of first-serve points won.

“I know if I put a high percentage of my first serve in, I’m getting a lot of free points,” Muller said. “I didn’t serve that well at the beginning of the week, but yesterday and today was very good.”

Marion Bartoli

CARLSBAD, Calif. —

Top-seeded Marion Bartoli rebounded from a poor first set for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over qualifier Chan Yung-Jan that sent her to the finals of the Mercury Insurance Open on Saturday night.

The Frenchwoman will face second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, a 7-6 (8), 6-1 winner over Russia’s Nadia Petrova in the other semifinal.

Cibulkova, looking for her first title of the season, broke Petrova’s serve to start the second set and ran out to a 4-0 lead for her third consecutive straight-set victory. Petrova won only 12 points in the second set.

“The key why I won the match was after she was up 4-0 (in the tiebreak), I just said to myself, ‘I don’t want to give it up. I just want to make it as tough as I can for her,”‘ Cibulkova said.

Feliciano Lopez

LONDON –

Feliciano Lopez has replaced the injured Rafael Nadal on Spain’s tennis team for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The No. 30-ranked Lopez was called in by Spain on Friday after Nadal was forced to pull out with an undisclosed injury.

Nadal, a record seven-time French Open champion, lost in the second round at Wimbledon last month and hasn’t played since.

Marc Lopez was selected to take Nadal’s place for doubles at the Olympics and will play with Marcel Granollers.

Nadal also was to be Spain’s flag bearer for next Friday’s opening ceremony at the London Games, but it wasn’t immediately clear who would carry the flag in his place.

The Olympic tennis tournament will be played at Wimbledon from July 28-Aug. 5.

News from 29 week 2012 : 15 July 2012 to 21 July 2012  

 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Bartoli goes three sets to reach finals at Carlsbad

Haas, Monaco advance to German Tennis Championships final

Defending champion Hercog advances to Swedish Open final

Top seed Isner reaches Atlanta Open semifinals

News from 28 week 2012 : 8 July 2012 to 14 July 2012

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ROGER’S RECORD REIGN AT NO. 1

FEDERER RISES ABOVE

London, U.K.

by James Buddell

Federer
© Getty Images
 
Roger Federer continues to rewrite history book, this time setting a milestone for most weeks at No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.

Roger Federer is a genius at winning matches, with aesthetic beauty, in the power era of tennis. Over the course of his career, he has left an indelible mark on the sport’s record books.

Today, he starts his 287th week at No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. It is another record-breaking milestone in a career of unrivalled achievement.

Federer first became World No. 1 on 2 February 2004, when the average age of the Top 10 was 24.8 years. For 237 consecutive weeks, until 18 August 2008, he was the man to beat, taking the sport to new levels and growing into his role as a global superstar.

His monogram, RF, which is embroidered onto his clothing, has become instantly recognisable by sports fans worldwide. More than 10 million people follow his Facebook feed, on the social networking site, while he has “the most impressive endorsements portfolio in sports” according to Forbes Magazine. He has also shown great leadership qualities as President of the ATP Player Council since June 2008.

In a golden era of men’s professional tennis, Federer and his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, have won 29 of the past 30 major championships. In that period, since May 2005, Federer, the classical player of his generation, has won 13 of his 17 Grand Slam championship titles from 20 finals.

When nine majors – since the 2010 Australian Open – passed by without a title and the tennis world began to ask questions, he admitted his confidence took a hit. Every champion hopes that their best form can be recaptured, however irrational it might seem. Federer was no exception.

Through hard work with his coach Paul Annacone, he kept putting himself in contention. Andre Agassi, who remains the oldest player to have been No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, at 33 years and 131 days in 2003, proved to be a great inspiration.

The sport’s greatest ambassador has picked up 75 tour-level titles over 12 consecutive seasons and extended his remarkable record of 33 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals.

Since losing to Djokovic in the 2011 US Open semi-finals, Federer has compiled an astonishing 63-6 mark, which includes his sixth title at theBarclays ATP World Tour Finals in November, his 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open in May, plus six other pieces of silverware.

Eight days ago, his hard work paid off. By equalling Pete Sampras’ record of seven Wimbledon titles, Federer once again became the World No. 1 just four weeks shy of his 31st birthday.

It was a source of great pride.

The status of being acknowledged as best in the world has always mattered to Federer. Even when he achieved the junior No. 1 ranking in 1998 and after he won his first Grand Slam championship in June 2003 at Wimbledon, getting to the top of the South African Airways ATP Rankings was of primary importance.

Federer continues to embody elegance and effortless style. By playing a light schedule and with luck in avoiding serious injury, he has managed to retain his speed and athleticism, his joy and expressiveness, to rank World No. 1 at a time when the average age of the Top 10 is 26.6 years.

Federer’s love for the sport is intense. He has indicated a desire to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, so the chances of further record-breaking and glory on the grandest of stages cannot be ruled out for, who many consider is, the greatest player of all-time. 

image and text credits : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/DEUCE-Tennis/Federer-No1/Federer-No1-Tribute.aspx

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Serena Williams wins another title in final Olympic tuneup

Isner defends Hall of Fame Tenns title with win over Hewitt

Cilic wins Croatia Open by beating Granollers in final

Top-seeded Errani cruises past Strycova to win Italiacom Open

Tipsarevic wins Mercedes Cup final for first title of year

Ferrer overcomes Almagro to claim second Swedish Open

STANFORD, Calif. — Serena Williams has spent most of her career matching — and often breaking — older sister Venus’ records. After tying Venus for the most WTA Tour titles among active players, there’s little left for her to equal.

Except Olympic gold.

Williams overcame a shaky start and two service breaks to beat lucky loser Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-3 Sunday for her second straight Bank of the West Classic title in a final tuneup before the London Olympics.

Serena and Venus won gold in doubles in 2000 and 2008 and will go for a third again this year when play begins July 28 on Wimbledon’s grass. While Venus took home gold in singles in 2000, Serena has never medaled on her own.

“It would mean a lot to me, but I can’t lay all my hopes and dreams on just that,” she said. “But it would mean a lot. I would like to try to get one.”

UMAG, Croatia — Marin Cilic became the first home player to win the Croatia Open in 22 years Sunday by beating Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

Cilic trailed 4-2 in the first set before winning nine games in a row to seize a commanding 5-0 lead in the second.

Cilic served for the match at 5-1, but Granollers broke and saved two match points before Cilic sealed the victory with a forehand winner.

Cilic is the first Croat to claim the title since Goran Prpic won the inaugural event in 1990. It was his second title of the year, after winning at Queen’s Club last month.

“This was a special week and a special victory for me,” Cilic told the crowd in Umag. “I played some great tennis.”

Granollers said Cilic “was a better player today.”

NEWPORT, R.I. — Top-seeded John Isner came into the week wondering what was wrong with his game and left with his second straight Hall of Fame Tennis Championships title.

The hard-serving Isner put on a performance similar to last year and defended his title by beating Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.

The 6-foot-9 American was not broken in the match to earn his fourth career ATP title. He held serve in 57 of 58 games in the tourney.

“I gained a lot of confidence from this week, just like I did last year,” said Isner, who entered the tournament fresh off a first-round loss at Wimbledon. “The first match was the toughest. I easily could have lost that match. I feel like I got better each and every match.”

News from 28 week 2012 : 8 July 2012 to 14 July 2012   

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Williams makes second straight final, advances at Stanford

Top seed Isner to face Hewitt for Hall of Fame title

Capriati headlines 2012 class for Tennis Hall of Fame

Cilic defeats Dolgopolov to reach Croatia Open final

Tipsarevic and Monaco reach Mercedes Cup final

Robson loses first ever semi to Zahlavova Strycova in Palermo

Top-seeded Ferrer advances to Swedish Open final

News from 26 and 27 week 2012 : 17 June 2012 to 7 July 2012

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WIMBLEDON, England — For Serena Williams, the low point came in early 2011, when she spent hours laying around her home, overwhelmed by a depressing series of health scares that sent her to the hospital repeatedly and kept her away from tennis for 10 months.

The high point came Saturday on Centre Court at Wimbledon, when Williams dropped down to the grass, hands covering her face. She was all the way back, a Grand Slam champion yet again.

WIMBLEDON, England — One Wimbledon title wasn’t enough for Serena Williams.

About five hours after Williams won her fifth singles title by beating Agnieszka Radwanska, she and sister Venus were back on Centre Court to beat Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5, 6-4 Saturday in the doubles final.

It was their fifth Wimbledon doubles title together, and came shortly after Venus watched her little sister win the singles final.

WIMBLEDON, England — Eugenie Bouchard made history Saturday by becoming Canada’s first Grand Slam singles winner when she beat the Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 in the junior girls’ final at Wimbledon.

Saturday, July 07, 2012

Williams sisters win fifth Wimbledon doubles title

Marray, Nielsen win men’s doubles title at Wimbledon

Canadian Bouchard wins first junior Grand Slam title

Serena beats Radwanska for her fifth Wimbledon title

Murray, Federer set for much anticipated final on TSN, TSN.ca

Azarenka to take over No. 1 ranking from Sharapova