SUNDAY, FEB. 28 - Novak Djokovic defended a
title for the first time in his career by winning the rain-delayed Dubai
final with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny, It was
the Serbian’s 17th career title and it didn’t come easy as
he had to also scored three set wins over Marcos Baghdatis, Ivan Ljubicic
and Victor Troicki.
But at least he toughed it out, which he has been unable to do at the
Slams over the past year and two months. “It means the whole world
to me,” the No. 2 said. “Of course there are always people
who are saying he can't do it. He can't do it. But I'm playing for myself,
and this is another success in my career that I wasn't able to make in
the last two years. But now, finally, I did it, and it's a big relief.
It's a big boost because I believe in myself. Even when I play bad, I
know I have the abilities.”
Play was abandoned Saturday night due to a heavy rainstorm when Djokovic
held a 7-5, 2-0 lead. But on Sunday, Youzhny broke immediately and then
again to secure a 5-4 lead. Djokovic himself broke back, but the Russian
ran off the next two games. In the third set, Djokovic broke Youzhny to
4-3 and then held on. “I was thinking about people who bought tickets
and want to stay a bit longer,” he said. “But, generally,
it took a lot of energy for me.
Acapulco had a fine week, with Spanish Davis Cup teammates David Ferrer
and Juan Carlos Ferrero squaring off for another title. This time, it
was Ferrer who came through 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, avenging his loss to his buddy
in Buenos Aires last week. “It was a hard fought match," said
Ferrer. "We were running a lot out there. The points were very intense
from the first game until the last. In the third set I think he started
feeling tired and I took advantage of that. I knew he was coming from
a sequence of tournaments so I kept pushing."
Ferrer won his eighth ATP World Tour title and the first since 2008. He
has now won 12 of his past 14 matches. Ferrero was attempting to become
the first player to win three titles during the four-week Latin American
swing following his back-to-back triumphs in Costa do Sauipe and Buenos
Aires. The former No. 1 came into the final riding a 14-match winning
streak. “It was a very physical match. The difference from last
week in Buenos Aires is that I was not being able to attack him,”
said Ferrero, who will head home with Ferrer and face the Swiss next weekend.
After a flat Aussie Open that saw her play passively in her loss to Na
Li, the enigmatic Venus Williams is back on track. The American did what
few can do, winning a red clay crown in Acapulco just a week after she
won a hard court crown in Dubai.
She had to take three consecutive three-setters to win the title, overcoming
Spanish qualifier Laura Pous Tio in the quarters, Edina Gallovits in the
semis and then first-time finalist Polona Hercog of Slovenia 2-6 6-2 6-3
in the final.
Williams leads all active players in career titles with 43, just two ahead
of Justine Henin. She’s now 10th on the all-time list, tied with
the retired Martina Hingis. "That's great!,” said Venus on
her WTA blog. “I guess I'll be passing her soon... I have the advantage
because I'm still playing :) I'll be working on getting further into the
Top 10.”
It took seemingly forever, but Latvia's Ernests Gulbis captured his first
ATP title on Sunday, taking a quick 6-2 6-3 over Ivo Karlovic in the final
of Delray Beach. Gulbis looked like he had top-10 potential as a teen,
but has sputtered the past two years. Yet the 21-year-old has made a strident
effort in the past few months and is carrying a newfound maturity to the
court. Taking out the big-serving Karlovic in one hour 20 minutes is no
easy feat.
“I felt comfortable,” Gulbis said. “I like being in
the final. I felt nobody’s giving me pressure. If I’m not
putting pressure on myself, then it’s fine. I was relaxed. My coach
told me before the match, ‘Just go on court. Enjoy, it’s your
first final. You’re a young guy. Enjoy it, play good tennis.’”
It took Gulbis 65 tournaments to reach his second career ATP semifinal
last week in Memphis, before he broke through this week and won a crown.
"This year is going to be his breakthrough," said Karlovic.
"Everything that he hit was in. He was very cool, calm. Nothing could
impress him." Gulbis is projected to return to the Top 50. He reached
a career-high No. 38 in August 2008.
At the Malaysian Open, the big and powerful Russian Alisa Kleybanova beat
Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-2 to claim her first WTA title The 20-year-old
pounded past Dementieva despite the fact that her elder Russian hadn’t
lost a set during the week. After a disappointing Aussie Open and a quick
loss to Jelena Jankovic in Fed Cup, Kleybanova righted her ship. "I've
been working and training hard these past few years and I'm happy I was
able to put a great game together today,” she said.
NOTES
Juan Martin Del Potro told the ATP that the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that
struck Chile early Saturday morning woke him up in Buenos Aires.
“I was sleeping when at approximately 3:30am I started feeling dizzy
and also hearing loud noises. The first thing I thought was that I had
left the windows open and the wind was making the noise when it hit against
the walls. I live on a high floor of an apartment building so I didn't
think this was out of the ordinary. The noise was quite loud and it woke
me up, so I decided to see what was happening. I was feeling very dizzy
and soon realized it wasn't the wind making all the noise. Everything
in my apartment was shaking and when I walked into my living room, the
curtains and the decorations on the walls were shaking as well. This went
on for 5-6 minutes.” Del Potro hasn’t played since the Aussie
Open and hopes to be ready for Indian Wells.
Up this week are the opening rounds of Davis Cup for the men and Monterrey,
Mexico for the women. Jelena Jankovic and Daniela Hantuchova are the top
two seeds of the B-level event. Aussie Jelena Dokic will kick off play
on Monday. Defending champ Marion Bartoli isn’t in the draw and
there were not wild cards given to Mexicans, as Jankovic and Dominika
Cibulkova of the SlovaK republic got them. Strange.
Quote of the Week goes to Venus when asked by a fan why she never seems
angry on court. “It helps on the court to think clearly, without
emotions. It's just harder with emotions. I have been emotional before...
but for the most part I'm a cucumber.”
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24 - Dubai got punched in the teeth when both Andy Murray
and Nikolay Davydenko went out. Murray took a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Janko
Tipsarevic in the second round, while Davydenko who was forced to retire
with a wrist injury against Michael Berrer.
Murray rallied from 5-2 down in the third set, but couldn’t hold
on in the breaker against the enigmatic Tipsarevic. “The first set
I played a very different game, trying to get forward and work on some
different things," said Murray. "I think it was a good learning
experience - if it was a Slam, my tactics would have been different. I
wasn't coming in as well prepared as I have done in previous tournaments."
Davydenko lost the first set 6-3 and then packed it in. "It started
yesterday afternoon," said Davydenko. "I was thinking: 'Okay
there's pain, but I will recover'. I warmed up (today) and the wrist was
feeling okay but the match was different and it started to get swollen."
Davydenko is now in question for Russia's Davis Cup tie against India
next week. Berrer will play Marcos Baghdatis in the quarters after the
Cypriot beat Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 6-3 3-6 6-1.
But not every seed went down, as Novak Djokovic overcame fellow Serbian
Viktor Troicki 3-6 6-4 6-2."He was the better player in the first
set and a half and I was struggling a lot," Djokovic said at the
side of the court. "He was serving well and the balls were going
very fast." Jurgen Melzer beat Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-5 to earn a clash
with Marin Cilic after the Croat scored a 6-2 7-6 victory over Stefan
Koubek.
In Malaysia, both Elena Dementieva and Alisa Kleybanova scored wins, but
Alla Kudryavtseva pushed Kleybanova hard in a 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 loss, "The
heat was tough for me and for everybody today," said Kleybanova.
Japanese teen Ayumi Morita also advanced over Chinese wildcard Yan Zi
6-2 6-1.
Top seed Venus Williams won in Acapulco but will face a tough opponent
on Wednesday night in the form of Kaia Kanepi. Gisela Dulko and Carla
Suárez also advanced. It’s interesting to see Fernando Verdasco
playing Acapulco when he decided not to play Davis Cup next week, allegedly
due to a sore back. On Tuesday, Fernando Gonzalez overcame Sam Querrey
7-6 in the third, not a bad result for Memphis champ Sam on red dirt.
John Isner fell 7-6(4) 7-5 to Germany’s Simon Greul, not a great
sign for Davis Cup. Other winners were Ferrer, Ferrero, Almagro, Monaco
and Montanes.
Delray Beach saw Mardy Fish and his sore knee get through when Christophe
Rochus retired in the third set, but Kei Nishikori’s comeback was
stopped cold by Benjamin Becker 6-3 1-6 6-0. I know the young Japanese
has been injured, but he’s almost fallen off the map. Project number
what? Three other results are worth noting: Ernests Gulbis beat US teen
Ryan Harrison 6-4 7-6(5), not a bad result for the American, while Daniel
Brands beat Seb Grosjean 3-6 6-3 6-2, a pretty decent indication that
the Frenchman’s comeback could be short lived. Santiago Giraldo
thumped wild card Vince Spadea 6-2 6-3 and it looks like the No. 361 Spadea’s
hopes of getting his ranking back to respectability could be dashed. At
the age of 35, just how long will he be willing to play Futures?
Davydenko, Tsonga Move Ahead
TUESDAY, FEB. 23 - With three of the world’s
top players not competing in Dubai, Nikolay Davydenko is
one of the tournament’s marquee players and overcame Florent Serra
6-7 6-4 6-1. "Too many mistakes from me," Davydenko said. "I
had so many chances (to) make a break in the second set and win maybe more
easily." The Russian will play Germany's Michael Berrer, who beat Sergiy
Stakhovsky 6-4 7-6. Marin Cilic had an easier time in the heat, besting French
veteran Arnaud Clement 6-2 6-4. Cilic, who has already won two ATP events
this year, will play Stefan Koubek. "He won't be easy, he can be dangerous
and I have to focus to serve good and try to play as aggressive as I can,"
said Cilic. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved on after Marseille
winner Michael Llodra pulled out with a hamstring injury after losing the
first set. Tsonga will meet Ivan Ljubicic.Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman
overcame Marco Chiudinelli 6-4 7-5 to set up a clash with Marcos Baghdatis.
Other winners were Mikhail Youzhny and Bjorn Phau.
The Davis Cup teams were announced, with Spain tabbing
Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers to
face the Federer-less Swiss, who will feature new dad Stanislas Wawrinka,
Chiudinelli, Michael Lammer and Yves Allegro. Obviously, Rafa Nadal isn’t
healthy yet but no one was sure whether San Jose winner Fernando Verdasco
would play with his bad back, and apparently, he’ll rest up in Las
Vegas before going to Indian Wells.
We already knew the US team that will head to Serbia’s indoor clay:
John Isner, Sam Querrey and Bob and Mike Bryan. The Serbs will field Novak
Djokovic, Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic. The thought
here is that the tie will go to a fifth rubber, clay or not.
The French will play Germany at home behind Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Llodra
and Julien Benneteau with the Germans featuring Philipp Kohlschreiber, Benjamin
Becker, Simon Greul and Christopher Kas. Why no Tommy Haas? Davydenko and
Youzhny lead Russia against India which has Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna, Leander
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
Sweden will play Argentina at home with Robin Soderling, Andreas Vinciguerra,
Simon Aspelin
and Robert Lindstedt against Juan Monaco, Horacio Zeballos, Leonardo Mayer
and Eduardo Schwank. Neither Juan Martin Del Potro nor David Nalbandian
will make the trip. Croatia, which is playing at home, is lead by Cilic
and Ivo Karlovic and will take on Ecuador’s never-say-retire Lapentti
brothers. Chile (Fernando Gonzalez, Nicolas Massu, Paul Capdeville and Jorge
Aguilar) will play at home on dirt against Israel (Dudi Sela, Harel Levy,
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram). Finally, playing at home, the Belgians (the
Rochus brothers, Xavier Malisse and Steve Darcis) will try to upset the
Czech Republic (Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy).
Outside of the World Group, Bernard Tomic was named to play for the Aussies,
no surprise given that Lleyton Hewitt is hurt.
Tommy Haas is in an awful slump and suffered another first-round upset,
this one to Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 7-5 on Monday at the Delray Beach. Wayne
Odesnik beat Rajeev Ram 6-3 6-2. Elena Dementieva must be getting paid a
hefty fee to be playing the Malaysian Open after already going Down Under
and back to Europe. Now she’s in Asia and then will head to Indian
Wells. She bested Ekaterina Bychkova 6-2, 6-1, while Tatjana Malek upset
Li Na 6-1, 5-7 6-2. Zheng Jie, Sybille Bammer and Magdalena Rybarikova all
won.
In Acapulco, Richard Gasquet knocked off Carlos Moya 6-3
6-4 on Monday. The 33-year-old and former No. 1 is having a difficult time
returning from foot and hip surgery, but plans to carry on as long as his
body holds up “At no time I have announced that this would be my last
year, although I realize that each tournament I can play might be my last,”
said Moya.” I want to be moving up and playing more tournaments.
Early Tuesday winners at the combined event were Nicolas Almagro, Albert
Montanes and Kaia Kanepi. On Monday, Alize Cornet bested Jill Craybas 6-2
6-2... The ATP and Corona Extra announced they have signed an agreement
for the beer to become the new global premier partner of the ATP World Tour.
The SBJ’s Dan Kaplan valued the deal at around $13M annually.
Murray Tries to Matter Again
Ivanovic Hires Gunthardt
MONDAY FEB. 22 - Talk about a score line not indicating the length of a
battle. Andy Murray bested Igor Kunitsyn 6-2, 6-3 in the
first round of Dubai, but the two engaged in a 24-minute second game, which
included 14 deuces. "It was really tough -- that was probably the longest
game I've ever played on the tour," Murray said. "I served well.
It's a pretty quick court compared to Australia and the balls are faster
too.”
It was reported that the game was the second longest in the Open Era, following
a 31-minute game of 37 deuces (80 points) between Anthony Fawcett of Rhodesia
and Keith Glass of Great Britain in the first round of Surrey in 1975. Who
could forget that classic when Keith spit shards of glass down the fawcett?
It was the Scot’s first match since going down to Roger Federer in
the Aussie Open final and now he’s five months from his next realistic
chance to win a major at Wimbledon. He needs to begin to regain his confidence
after his harrowing defeat to Federer, which means going deep in Dubai,
India Wells and Miami and possibly winning two out of three. By all appearances,
he has the stuff to be a Slam champ but his coaches should be advising him
to being playing more aggressively every time out this spring, even if that
means he’s going to take a few uncharacteristic losses in matches
that he might win playing more defensively, because his current style isn’t
going to get it done late at the majors.
The same goes with Dubai defending champion Novak Djokovic, who took a 6-4
6-4 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. He’ll face fellow Serb Victor
Troicki, who beat Rainer Schuettler 6-3 6-4. Marcos Baghdatis overcame Gilles
Simon 7-6 6-4. "I was concentrating on not throwing up on court,"
the Bag Man said. "I was suffering from food poisoning and had cramps
in my stomach."
Ana Ivanovic has made another coaching change, this time
from the adidas Player Development program to Switzerland’s Heinz
Gunthardt (Steffi Graf’s former coach). The word off court
is that Ivanovic “wanted and needed” a new full-time coach.
Gunthardt and the 23rd ranked Ivanovic have been working with each other
for the past four days and he will travel with her to Billie Jean King Cup
at Madison Square Garden on March 1, and then on to Indian Wells….At
Malaysian Open, Alisa Kleybanova beat Alica Molik 6-1, 6-4…Speaking
of former adidas PD players, Sorana Cirstea suffered another loss, this
time in Acapulco. She’s really skidding….Wayne Odesnik bested
Rajeev Ram in Delray Beach.
