Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:45:54 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/ Tennis Topbuzz http://tennis.topbuzz.com/images//themes/tennis/images/tennis-topbuzz.jpg http://tennis.topbuzz.com/ davidyee@yahoo.com http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-36.html Rafael Nadal is now chasing something else: the chance to become the greatest tennis player in history. Approaching perfection for stretches—he played more than 40 points in a row without making an unforced error—Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in a U.S. Open final Monday that was filled with fantastic shotmaking by both men and interrupted by a thunderstorm a day after it was postponed by rain. “For the first time in my career, I played a very, very good match in this tournament,” said Nadal, who never had been past the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. “That’s my feeling, no? I played my best match in the U.S. Open at the most important moment.” The Spaniard is already more than halfway to Federer’s career record of 16 Grand Slam titles, and already past Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi or Ivan Lendl. Nadal said “talk about if I am better or worse than Roger is stupid, because the titles say he’s much better than me.” Djokovic had no such hesitation. “He has the capabilities already now to become the best player ever,” said Djokovic, who lost the 2007 U.S. Open final to Federer, but upset him in Saturday’s semifinals. “(Nadal is) playing the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play on hard courts. He has improved his serve drastically—the speed, the accuracy. And, of course, his baseline (game) is as good as ever.” Nadal is a year younger than Federer was when he got to No. 9, and about 3 1/2 years younger than Federer was when he completed his career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open. Nadal is the seventh man in history with at least one title from each of tennis’ four most important tournaments. Bjorn Borg was the only other man to have nine major championships by 24. “It’s too far; 16, for me, is too far to think about right now,” Nadal said, with his typical humility. “My goal, all my life, was the same: keep improving.” His major improvement in this tournament came from his serve, thanks to a change in his grip. The added pace helps him earn some easy points—important given the way he hustles so much and hits so hard. He won 106 of 111 service games in the tournament. Nadal is first left-hander to win the U.S. Open since John McEnroe in 1984, and the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1975. The man from Mallorca burst onto the scene as the so-called King of Clay, compiling a record 81-match winning streak on that surface and starting his French Open career 31-0. His five titles at Roland Garros have earned him accolades as the best clay-court player in history, but now he has become so much more. He won on the grass at Wimbledon in 2007, edging Federer 9-7 in the fifth set as darkness descended, then again this year. He won on the hard courts at the Australian Open in 2009, again besting Federer in five sets. All that was left was the U.S. Open. After complaining of fatigue in 2008, coming off his gold medal from the Beijing Olympics, then dealing with bad knees and a torn abdominal muscle in 2009, he set out to make this trip different. He curtailed his schedule after Wimbledon, getting treatment on his knees and skipping the Davis Cup quarterfinals. It seemed to work. “Nadal … is just proving each day, each year, that he’s getting better. That’s what’s so frustrating, a little bit. He’s getting better each time you play him,” Djokovic said. “He’s so mentally strong and dedicated to this sport. He has all the capabilities, everything he needs, in order to be the biggest ever.” Nadal stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 21 matches by adding the U.S. Open to his titles at the French Open in June, then Wimbledon in July. No man had won those three tournaments in the same year since Rod Laver won a true Grand Slam in 1969. Now Nadal heads to the Australian Open in January with a chance to claim a Rafa Slam of four consecutive major championships—something that also hasn’t been done since Laver. He had only had one blip all tournament: the second set of the final when he fell behind 3-1 by making four mistakes, including a double-fault, to get broken at love. When Nadal pushed a backhand long to close a 19-shot point, 2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic screamed, “Come on!” It was part of a run of 11 consecutive points for the Serb, who went ahead 4-1. As quickly as Nadal lost his way, however, he gathered himself, to break back to 4-4, when there was a two-hour rain delay. After they resumed, Djokovic ended up taking the set—the only one Nadal lost all tournament. He came that close to being the first man in a half-century to win this tournament without dropping a set. Nadal was back to his relentless best in the third and fourth, hitting shots so well that Djokovic was moved to applaud on occasion. The Spaniard broke for 2-1 leads in each of those last two sets. When Djokovic hit a forehand wide to end it second later, Nadal fell backward onto the court with a shout. He rolled onto his front and placed his forehead on his arms, savoring the moment. Amid the celebration, mentor Toni Nadal was asked where his nephew stands in the tennis pantheon. “The best of all time: Federer, Borg, Laver. They’re the best. Rafael is very far away from those guys. Rafael is a good player. He’s a very good player,” Uncle Toni said. “But I don’t know if he’s part of that group.” Could he be, one day? “I don’t know,” came the reply. “Ask me in five or six years, and maybe I can say.” By then—if not sooner—maybe the rest of the world can, too. Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:45:54 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-35.html Kim Clijsters blitzed Vera Zvonareva in prime time for her third US Open title, continuing her love affair with Flushing Meadows and the city that never sleeps. Clijsters, the No.2 seed, had squeaked past No.3 seed Williams on Friday night, 46 76(2) 64, and on Saturday was completely in her prime against No.7 seed Zvonareva, avenging defeats in their last two meetings with a 62 61 triumph. She won seven consecutive games from 2-2 in the first set and barely looked back, ending it with her 17th winner - a ferocious crosscourt forehand. The win was Clijsters' 21st straight at the Open, the second-longest winning streak here in the Open Era, trailing only Chris Evert's 31. There was also another streak she extended: Clijsters has now won nine straight against Top 10 players, her last loss coming to Jelena Jankovic at Toronto last year. Zvonareva was in her second Grand Slam final, her first coming just two months ago at Wimbledon, where she won five games against Serena Williams. "It was a great honor to be in the finals of the US Open and play in front of the New York crowd," Zvonareva said. "Kim just played a very good match. She didn't give me chances to get into the match. I tried my best. I gave 100%." Clijsters consoled a visibly upset Zvonareva after receiving the winner's trophy. "You're a great player," she told the Russian in front of a sold-out crowd. "Keep it going. It'll happen. It took me six of seven finals until I got my first one." "Kim's a great champion, but also a great person. Because she said that, maybe I'm not so disappointed now," Zvonareva said about Clijsters' comments at her press conference. "Hopefully I'll have another chance. Hopefully I'll go far in another Grand Slam. Hopefully I will be more experienced." Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:07:13 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-34.html Rafael Nadal marked his victory with a celebratory somersault. That endless energy, and so many superb strokes, allowed the No. 2-seeded Nadal to outclass No. 12 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 Sunday for his second Wimbledon trophy and eighth Grand Slam title overall. A year ago, sidelined by painful knees, 2008 Wimbledon champion Nadal was planted on his couch at home in Spain and watched the final on television, only the fifth man in the history of a tournament that dates to 1877 who couldn’t defend his championship because of injury. “Now last year is past,” Nadal told The Associated Press as he leaned back in the gray leather seat of a courtesy car ferrying him away from the All England Club on Sunday night. “I know what happened one year ago, and how difficult it was for me, how much I had to work to be back at my best level.” He paused, tapping his chest with his left hand, and added: “That’s something special for me.” In 2009, his 31-match French Open winning streak ended, he missed Wimbledon, went more than eight months without a title anywhere, lost the No. 1 ranking, and, hardest of all, dealt with his parents’ separation. This year, he is 47-5 with five titles, both tour highs. He won 24 matches in a row in one stretch, regained his Roland Garros title and the No. 1 ranking last month, and managed the tricky transition from clay to grass by winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for the second time. There is no doubt he’s the best player in tennis today. “He’s showing in the last few months,” Berdych said, “that he’s really the champion.” Nadal won his 14th match in a row at Wimbledon, essentially, because he saved all four break points he faced and broke the big-serving Berdych four times. “The biggest difference between us,” Berdych explained, “was that when he (got) a chance, he just took it.” Give Nadal the tiniest opening, and the left-hander barges through. It’s no accident he has a silhouette of a bull’s horns stamped on the back of his left sneaker’s heel (the right one reads, “Rafa”). Still, Nadal acknowledged being “a little bit more nervous than usual” before facing Berdych. Asked why, Nadal said simply: “If you are not nervous in the final of Wimbledon, you are not human.” This was the first men’s final since 2002 at the All England Club that did not involve Roger Federer, the six-time champion upset by Berdych in the quarterfinals. The past three title matches went five sets: Federer beat Nadal in 2007, Nadal edged Federer 9-7 in 2008 in fading light, and Federer got past Andy Roddick 16-14 last year. Unlike those, Sunday’s contest was hardly a classic. More like a coronation — or, at the very least, confirmation that Nadal is elbowing his way into any conversation about the best players in tennis history. His eight titles at major tournaments pushes him past John McEnroe and ties Nadal with quite a heady group that includes Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. “I’m very proud to be alongside those great players,” Nadal said. “My career is much better than I could have imagined when I began playing.” That wasn’t very long ago: Nadal is only 24. “He was really strong today,” said Berdych, who never got past the Wimbledon quarterfinals before and played his first Grand Slam final against a man who was in his 10th, winning the last five. This one lasted barely more than two hours. Imagine how short the proceedings might have been if Nadal had brought his “A” game, because he was not at his very best Sunday. Perhaps affected by the constant breeze or those jitters he mentioned, Nadal finished with more unforced errors than Berdych, 21-17, and only two more winners, 29-27. “His game was not unbelievable,” said Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, “but it was enough.” This rout came a day after Serena Williams won a straight-set women’s final. Neither title match offered much in the way of intrigue, making this that rare Grand Slam tournament likely to be remembered mainly for its earlier happenings — particularly, of course, the 11-hour, 5-minute match that American John Isner won, 70-68, in the fifth set. Only a few puffs of clouds dotted an otherwise azure sky Sunday, an appropriate setting given that no singles matches were interrupted by rain throughout the first completely dry fortnight since 1995. That might have helped keep the footing clean for Nadal, who moves so well and goes from defense to offense faster than his stunned opponents can say, “How’d he get to that?!” After one point, Berdych looked up at his coach with his hands on his hips, then kicked the turf. Then there’s Nadal’s uppercut of a forehand, announced with an “Uhhh!” from deep in his gut and finished with a flourish, his racket dangling above his head. Nadal’s underrated backhand is pretty good, too, and he can generate power on that side because he hits it with both fists. (He’s naturally a righty, and he used that hand to sign autographs for fans Sunday afternoon, his latest trophy tucked under his bulging left biceps.) By the third game, Nadal was getting the measure of Berdych’s serve, returning one that clocked 134 mph. By the seventh game, Nadal edged ahead. Serving at 3-all, Berdych missed first serves on all but one point and sent a forehand wide, then a backhand long to make it love-30. On the next point, as he so often does, Nadal sprinted from an out-of-position place to reach a good approach shot by Berdych and whip a forehand passing winner. Nadal punched the air. Two points later, he hit a backhand return that Berdych barely touched, making it 4-3. After holding, Nadal broke again to end the set, part of a run of five straight games that shifted the balance irrevocably. The second set began with a 10-minute game as Berdych essentially made his last stand. The first Czech man in a Wimbledon final since Ivan Lendl in 1987 had three break points, but Nadal saved them all, with a forehand winner, a service winner and a forehand that forced a miscue by Berdych. The next break point was for Nadal at 6-5, and the second set ended when Berdych missed a forehand. By then, the outcome was a foregone conclusion, because Berdych never figured out how to stem Nadal’s aggression. “I don’t know if you can say (there are) weaker parts of him. (There’s) not many of them,” said Berdych, who pulled out of the Czech Republic’s Davis Cup quarterfinal at Chile, citing an injured abdominal muscle. He didn’t speak about the problem during Wimbledon, nor did he appear to be troubled while beating Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Nadal earlier said he wouldn’t be part of Spain’s Davis Cup team against France, because he needs to get treatment for his right knee, which flared up during consecutive, come-from-behind five-set wins in the second and third rounds. Nadal earned the nickname “King of Clay” by virtue of a record 81-match winning streak on that surface and five French Open titles. But that’s clearly too narrowly focused: The guy has twice won Wimbledon, along with the 2009 Australian Open on hard courts. Now, to complete a career Grand Slam, Nadal needs to add the U.S. Open, where he lost in the semifinals each of the last two years. Asked to look ahead to New York, where play begins in late August, Nadal smiled and said: “Right now, I’m very happy to win Wimbledon. We’re going to think about the U.S. Open in one month.” First things first. He’s busy making plans away from the tennis court. “Enjoy the beach, fishing, golf, friends, party, and Mallorca,” he said. Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:16:07 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-33.html Serena Williams swept Vera Zvonareva in straight sets Saturday to win her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship, extending the Williams family dominance at the All England Club. The top-ranked and defending champion American overwhelmed the 21st-seeded Russian 6-3, 6-2 in a one-sided final that lasted just 67 minutes and showed why Williams is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Williams served nine aces, broke three times and never faced a break point in nine service games. She finished the tournament without dropping a set. After converting an overhead smash to finish the match, Williams tossed her racket away, bent backward, looked to the sky, shook her fists and screamed. Williams, who improved her record to 13-3 in Grand Slam finals, added to the Wimbledon titles she won in 2002, 2003 and 2009. However, this was the first time she defeated someone other than her sister Venus in the final. The Williams sisters have now won nine of the last 11 Wimbledon titles. Venus beat Serena in 2008 for her fifth title here. “My dream was able to come true,” Serena said after accepting the Venus Rosewater Dish from the Duke of Kent with a curtsy. “Everyone’s dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard. This one is very special.” Serena, who has won five of the last eight Grand Slams, moved ahead of Billie Jean King into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list of women’s Grand Slam champions with 13, the most of any active woman player. Williams also has five Australian Opens, three U.S. Opens and one French Open. Williams turned to King, who was sitting in the Royal Box, and said: “Hey, Billie—I got you. This is No. 13 for me now. It’s just amazing to able to be among such great people.” King grinned and applauded. “That’s actually my lucky number,” Williams said of No. 13. Margaret Smith Court leads the Grand Slam list with 24 titles, followed by Steffi Graf with 22, Helen Wills Moody with 19 and Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with 18. “At the rate she’s going, she certainly may catch me and Chris and Helen Wills Moody and who knows, maybe even Steffi,” Navratilova said. “She’s just head and shoulders above everybody else, and those are pretty broad shoulders she’s got.” Williams graciously congratulated Zvonareva, who played in her first Grand Slam final and was the second-lowest ranked women’s finalist ever at Wimbledon. “Everyone should give her a big round of applause,” Williams said. “She defines what being a champion and never giving up means.” Zvonareva didn’t look intimidated and kept close early in the match, but the contest swung in Williams favor when she broke for 5-3. Williams squandered her first break point with a return error, but then hit a perfect backhand lob at deuce to set up another. This time, she ripped a running forehand passing shot down the line, and celebrated by dropping onto her right knee and pumping her left fist. Williams broke again to open the second set and again to go up 4-1 when Zvonareva double-faulted on the third break point of the game. “I think I’m a little bit disappointed at the moment,” Zvonareva said. “Maybe I was not able to show my best today, but I think Serena just didn’t allow me to show my best.” Despite the score, Zvonareva claimed Williams is beatable. “She’s a human being. She’s not a machine,” the Russian said. “It’s very difficult to beat her. You have to play your best. But if you do, you can do it.” As has been the case throughout the two weeks, Williams’ big serve was the dominant factor on Saturday. Williams won 31 of 33 points when her first serve was good. She hit her fastest serve—122 mph—for an ace in the final game. She finished the tournament with a record 89 aces. “I honestly never served like this,” Williams said. “At Wimbledon whenever I come on this grass and play on this amazing court I start serving well.” Williams also won all 14 points when she came to the net, and had 29 winners to only nine for Zvonareva. Posing for photographers, Serena held the trophy on the balcony above the club entrance, then walked through the entrance and twirled and skipped while still holding the trophy as military personnel stationed in the lobby applauded. The men’s final will be played Sunday, with No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal going for his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam overall against 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Nadal has won 13 straight matches here and 25 of 27, with the only losses coming against Roger Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals. Nadal beat Federer in the epic 2008 title match, but was unable to defend his crown last year because of tendinitis in his knees. Berdych upset six-time champion Federer in the quarterfinals. It will be Nadal’s 10th Grand Slam final; Berdych’s first. http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news?slug=ap-wimbledon Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:20:06 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-32.html Rafael Nadal won his fifth Roland Garros title, returned to No. 1 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings and became the first player to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, after defeating Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the final in Paris. At the age of 24 years and four days, Nadal became just the second man in history to win five or more Roland Garros titles. Bjorn Borg finished his esteemed career with six titles on the Parisian clay. The Spaniard will subsequently return to the No. 1 spot in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time since 22 June, 2009. "[It was a] very important victory for me. I think one of the most important victories in my career," said Nadal. "It was a difficult year for me the last year. I worked a lot to be here. I was very nervous during all the tournament, because I know before that I was ready to try to win another time, and I saw the chances there. But the very positive thing is today I was ready to play. I was ready to play with calm and to try my best and to enjoy the match. I did, and it was a very special day. "For me I was 11 months without winning a title, so a lot of tournaments going back to home without a victory. A lot of difficult moments, because in a few of these tournaments I had to retire for the problems. So is difficult moments to accept. It was personal goal to be back at my best. So I did. And for me, sure, the important thing is Roland Garros. But for me the biggest thing is the personal satisfaction to be here, to be here another time and to be at the top level." Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:13:15 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-31.html Francesca Schiavone defeated Samantha Stosur to win the 2010 French Open. Playing the red hot Samantha Stosur in the final, Schiavone was solid in every way, giving away almost zero free points and taking control of the rallies in many ways - loopy topspin groundies, creativity at the net, crafty retrieving. After breaking serve in the ninth game of the match and serving out the first set, Schiavone rallied from 4-1 down in the second set against the No.7-seeded Stosur, eventually playing a perfect tie-break to clinch one of the most unlikely Grand Slam title runs in the Open Era - and in tennis history, 64 76(2). "I didn't prepare anything, because whenever I prepare something for the future, it doesn't happen," Schiavone told the crowd during the trophy presentation. "I've watched every final of this tournament and I know what the big champions say. So I want to thank everybody. I felt amazing today. I'm really, really happy." Schiavone had a few words to add for Stosur, who, like herself, was in her first major final. "Congratulations Sam. I think you're a great, great person and a great athlete. You deserve to be here and you're young, so you'll do it too." Schiavone, who turns 30 years old this month, is the second-oldest player in the Open Era to win their first Grand Slam title (Ann Jones was 30 years, 8 months when she won Wimbledon in 1969). But she doesn't see things as other players her age may: "I can still improve," she told Italian reporters earlier in the week. "I can still be more explosive. I can still put more spin on my shots. I can still hit deeper. I can still improve my serve. I'm just beginning." "It doesn't matter what the age - if you've got that desire, anyone can do it," Stosur said. "It proves you don't have to be a teenage wonderkid superstar." Not only was Schiavone the first Italian woman ever to win a major, she was the first to reach a major final, and the first in the Open Era to reach a major semi. Stosur had been on fire throughout the tournament and the last few months. She has had more clay court wins and more overall wins than anyone else this year, and had beaten three No.1s en route to the final: Justine Henin in the fourth round, Serena Williams in the quarters and Jelena Jankovic in the semis. "I still don't think I played that badly. She just had her day. She went for it and everything came off," a gracious Stosur told the press. "It takes guts to do that. "I am disappointed, not just because I lost, but it has been a big journey and a great two weeks. I guess I wanted the full fairytale, but it didn't quite happen." Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:05:00 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-30.html Roger Federer collected his 16th major title with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11) win over No. 5 seed Andy Murray at the Australian Open on Sunday. The 28-year-old Swiss master, appearing in his 18th final from the past 19 Grand Slam events, notched his fifth win over Murray from 11 contests in the two-hour, 41-minute clash as he regained the title he lost to Rafael Nadal last year. It was a repeat of the 2008 US Open final (Murray's first in a major), which Federer also won in three straight sets. Federer becomes the fifth man to win at least four Australian Open titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010) and only the second to do so at Melbourne Park alongside Andre Agassi. It is his first Grand Slam title won as a father, with his wife Mirka giving birth to twin girls six months ago. "Coming here at the beginning of the year and playing so well, it's a beautiful feeling," said Federer, who edged ahead of Pete Sampras to win a record 15th major at Wimbledon last year. "I definitely had to play some of my best tennis tonight to come through. That was clearly the case." On a day during which the mercury reached 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit), stormy weather later in the day meant the roof on Rod Laver Arena was only partially open at the start of the match in case the rain returned. But as the skies cleared the roof was opened more, providing perfect conditions for the last match of the 2010 tournament. Federer broke Murray to love with winners off both wings to lead 2-0 in the first set but Murray returned the favour immediately, hitting some scorching winners to break back. While Murray continued to threaten Federer's serve he failed to hold another break point from 2-all first set until early in the third set as Federer broke in the eighth game of the first and third game of the second, which was enough for him to take a two-set lead. "I thought it was very physical at the beginning," Federer said. "We both wanted to win the long rallies, and the start was crucial because it was so intense." Federer had never lost a Grand Slam match after leading two sets to love, and while Murray appeared to pull up gingerly on his right leg at 2-2 his intensity increased while Federer's dipped slightly. At 2-3, Federer fell to 0-40 and though he saved two break points Murray won a quick-fire exchange at the net to lead 4-2 which fired up the Scot and the capacity crowd. A confident hold for 5-2 had Murray close to forcing a fourth set, but serving at 5-3 Murray allowed Federer his first break points of the set, and the top seed levelled proceedings. "There was no reason to panic," said Federer of his 5-2 third-set deficit. "I was still leading two sets to love, and Andy's such a great returner so it wasn't a big problem. I was still happy with the way things were going up to that point." Fittingly, the third set was decided on a tie-break with both men playing somewhat conservatively. Murray held the first set points at 6-4 but an unreturnable Federer forehand and a Murray forehand error erased both opportunities. Murray held three more set points but Federer's experience and bravery paid dividends as he held his first championship points 8-7 and 10-9. On the second, Murray chased down a drop volley and hit a backhand that Federer watched drop in, much to his disappointment. "I hesitated for a split second - I could've played the ball but I decided to let it go, and matches have been lost in the past this way. I'm always positive, but obviously that could have cost me the match and the tournament." After Murray netted a return on his fifth set point at 11-10, Federer took the next two points as a tired Murray backhand into the net gave Federer the title. “I always knew it was going to be a very intense match," said Federer. "I'm happy I was able to play so aggressively and patiently at the same time because that's what you got to be against Murray." "I don't feel great," Murray said. "I wanted to win the tournament. I think it was more the way the end of the match finished. Obviously it was pretty emotional end to the match." It certainly wasn't a painless path to the title for Federer, who come from behind to beat Russians Igor Andreev in the first round and Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals. Nonetheless, Federer has now won a Grand Slam singles title in each of the past eight years, a feat matched only by Bjorn Borg (1974-81) and Pete Sampras (1993-2000). Just as Federer fought back tears during last year's trophy presentation after his harrowing five-set loss to Nadal, Murray was overcome during his speech on-court. "I can cry like Roger; it's a shame I can't play like him," Murray joked. Much had been made of the fact that at age 22 and contesting his 17th Grand Slam event, Murray was at the exact point in his career as Federer was when he won his first major title. After his semi-final victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Federer had joked that it had been 150,000 years since a British man had won a major singles title. In fact Fred Perry's US Open victory came in 1936, now followed by six runner-up finishes. “The next one (Grand Slam final) is not going to get any easier [for Murray]," said Federer. "But his game is so good that I'm convinced he will win one. And I thought he did really well tonight because conditions were tough. I think I played a great match. So someone's got to win, and I'm happy it was me." "Tonight's match was a lot closer than the one at Flushing Meadows," said Murray, comparing his first and second major finals. "I had a chance at the beginning of the match, and I had chances at the end of the match. "I worked really, really hard to try to do it and give myself the opportunity; so far it's not been good enough. But I'm sure one day it will be. When it comes, maybe because of the two losses, it will be even better." The official attendance of 653,860 beats the previous record by nearly 50,000 spectators. It was also announced that approximately $687,000 was raised from the Hit For Haiti appeal launched by Federer on the eve of the tournament, aiding those affected by the recent earthquake. Federer takes home A$2.1 million for winning the men's singles title while Murray earned A$1.05 million. Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:09:36 -0600 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-29.html Serena Williams has won her second straight Australian Open championship, stopping Justine Henin’s hopes of a Grand Slam title in her return from retirement with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory Saturday. Serena Williams withstood a determined challenge from Henin before securing her fifth Australian Open title overall and 12th Grand Slam singles championship overall, tying Billie Jean King. King was at the stadium on Saturday night to take part in a pre-match ceremony to honor the 40-year anniversary of Margaret Court’s four Grand Slam tournament wins in 1970. “Billie, we are tied,” Williams said. “So I’ve reached my goal.” Williams’ five Australian titles is the most by any woman in the Open Era, since 1968, surpassing the four held by Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Court holds 11 Australian Open titles overall, most coming before 1968. Henin, who had most of the crowd support at Rod Laver Arena, couldn’t match her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters’ feat of winning in her Grand Slam comeback tournament. Clijsters won last year’s U.S. Open in her return from a two-year retirement after getting married and having a daughter. Williams won the last four games to clinch the championship in just over two hours, falling on her back in celebration after match point. “It was definitely a tough match mentally and physically,” Williams said. “We were both out there to prove something, and I think we did at the end of the day.” It was an impressive run by Henin. She lost in the final of the Brisbane International tournament to Clijsters two weeks ago. The unranked and unseeded Henin then beat four seeded players en route to the Australian Open final, including No. 5 and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva in the second round. “It’s been a very emotional two weeks for me,” said Henin, who put her hand on her heart as she thanked the crowd for support. “I thought it would never happen to me again. I’d like to congratulate Serena. She’s a real champion.” Later, Henin said there was a feeling of disappointment, but accomplishment. “It’s just more than what I could expect, I just have to remember that,” Henin said. “Even if it’s quite soon after the match now, I’m sure there will be a lot of positive things I can think about in a few days. It’s been almost perfect. Just the last step, I couldn’t make it.” And she’s certain now about her decision to come back on the tour. “I was curious about what my level would be and how I was going to deal with just the atmosphere on and off the court, how it would feel,” Henin said. “I felt I took the right decision, so it’s good enough for me already. I got the results also in the last four weeks—two finals. So I can be really happy about that.” Henin saved two break points to hold for 3-3 in a four-game run in the second set, winning 13 of the last 14 points in a dominant finish to the set. She maintained the superiority early in the deciding set, increasing that to 18 of 19 points before Williams held serve to even the third set at 1-1. Williams, with her right thigh and left knee heavily taped as it had been for much of the tournament broke Henin to go up 2-1. The two then traded breaks, with Williams going up 3-2, a lead she never relinquished. “I thought I was just giving it to her at that point,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to go out like that. I literally said to myself, ‘I need to man up and start playing better.”’ Williams used an ace on her second serve to hold for a 4-2 lead, then broke again to move within a game of the title. “It’s good to have her back, it’s exciting,” Williams said of Henin. “She can definitely be No. 1, especially with our ranking system, if she keeps doing well.” The American holds an 8-6 edge in career meetings between the pair, including a 6-2, 6-0 win in Miami in 2008. At the time, it equaled the worst loss for a reigning No. 1, and Henin quit tennis two months later. Henin won the Australian Open title in 2004. She quit during the 2006 final with stomach problems while trailing Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 2-0. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are Williams’ next goal, with 18 majors each. “Honestly, I’m just doing what I can. I obviously enjoy playing in Melbourne, clearly,” Williams said. “I never thought I could catch up with Martina, because she’s such an amazing champion.” the title here three of the past four years and were losing finalists the two previous years. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:33:24 -0600 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-28.html Always so cool, so consistent, so in control of his emotions and his matches, Roger Federer amazingly let the U.S. Open championship slip from his grasp. Two points from victory against inexperienced, unheralded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, two points from a sixth consecutive title at Flushing Meadows and a record-extending 16th Grand Slam title overall, Federer, quite simply, fell apart Monday. He railed at the chair umpire. His legs grew weary. His double-faults mounted. He could not figure out a way to stop the 6-foot-6 del Potro from pounding forehand after forehand past him. In a result as shocking for who lost as how it happened, the sixth-seeded del Potro came back to win his first Grand Slam title by upsetting the No. 1-seeded Federer 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2. “Maybe I look back and have some regrets about it,” said Federer, never before beaten by anyone other than Rafael Nadal in a major final. “But, you know, you can’t have them all and can’t always play your best.” He had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall. Del Potro? This was the 20-year-old’s first Grand Slam final, and he was 0-6 against Federer until now. But after handing Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer. “I would like to congratulate Juan Martin on an unbelievable tournament. I had a great one myself, too,” Federer said, “but he was the best.” That’s some compliment. Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history. The usually unflappable Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover, using a profanity and saying, “Don’t tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk.” He also got steamed while up a set and serving at 5-4 in the second. Del Potro tried a forehand passing shot that was called wide, but he challenged, and the replay system showed he was right. Federer kept glancing at the mark the shot left on the blue court, even into the next game, and del Potro wound up stealing the set. “That one cost me the match, eventually,” Federer said. Del Potro, meanwhile, managed to have the time of his young life, high-fiving front-row fans after winning one point, and reveling in the soccer-style serenades of “Ole!” ringing through the stadium. “When I would have a dream, it was to win the U.S. Open, and the other one is to be like Roger. One is done,” del Potro said during the on-court ceremony. Then, addressing Federer directly, del Potro added: “I need to improve a lot to be like you. I’d like to congratulate you for fighting ‘til the last point.” The 4-hour, 6-minute match was the first U.S. Open final to go five sets since 1999, and there were no early signs to indicate it would be this competitive—much less end with del Potro down on his back, chest heaving, tears welling, a Grand Slam trophy soon to be in his arms. He is the fifth-youngest U.S. Open champion and the first man from Argentina to win the event since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Vilas was in the stands Monday, sitting one row behind Jack Nicklaus. One simple indication of the difference in age and status of the two finalists: The 28-year-old Federer’s guest box was full, with pals such as rock-star couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale and Vogue editor Anna Wintour seated alongside Federer’s parents, wife and agent. Only three of the 15 available seats were occupied in del Potro’s box. Federer took a 3-0 lead in 15 minutes, winning one point by racing about 5 feet wide of the doubles alley for a defensive backhand, then sprinting the other way for a cross-court forehand passing winner that he celebrated by yelling and shaking his fists. He even took time to watch a replay on a stadium video screen. Not quite the “Did he really just do that?!” sort of trick shot Federer pulled off against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals—a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs, cross-court passing winner to get to match point—but pretty spectacular, nonetheless. But del Potro eventually got going, swinging more freely and taking full advantage of Federer’s serving woes: 11 double-faults and a first-serve percentage of only 50. Used to traveling without a full-time coach, Federer generally is quite adept at making mid-match adjustments and dealing with opponents’ switches in strategy. But it was del Potro who realized he needed to put full belief in the strength of his 100 mph forehands and not worry about too much else. That tactic worked, and Federer never found a way to counter it, losing leads in the second set and the fourth set. He was up 5-4 in the fourth, and at 15-30 on del Potro’s serve, Federer needed only two more points to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American Grand Slam tournament six years in a row. Del Potro held steady there, and Federer would never come that close again. While hardly a household name, del Potro was not an unknown in the tennis world. He burst onto the scene a year ago with a 23-match winning streak and four tournament titles in a row on hard courts, the surface used at Flushing Meadows. There also was a bit of a harbinger for this back when del Potro presented problems for Federer in the French Open semifinals in June, taking a 2-1 lead in sets before frittering that away. Federer went on to win the title at Roland Garros, his first there, to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras’ career record of 14 major championships. Federer then broke that mark by collecting No. 15 at Wimbledon. Thanks to del Potro, Federer will have to wait for No. 16. From mid-May until Monday, Federer had been 32-1 with four titles from five tournaments. Aside from the on-court success, Federer’s 2009 included getting married and becoming a father—of twins, no less. Quite a year. Still, one can’t help but ponder this: No man has won even three straight major tournaments in a season—much less all four—since Rod Laver’s true Grand Slam in 1969. Federer came close this year, his French Open and Wimbledon titles bookended by a five-set loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final and a five-set loss to del Potro in the U.S. Open final. This U.S. Open was Federer’s first Grand Slam event since his daughters were born, and he spoke proudly of quickly learning to change diapers and getting used to sleeping less. “Right now, I’m just tired,” he said after his loss. “I want to get a rest.” Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:51:01 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-27.html Kim Clijsters cradled the baby in one hand, the trophy in the other. The joy of motherhood. The joy of winning the U.S. Open. Clijsters made history Sunday night, capping a comeback from two years out of tennis to become the first unseeded woman to win the Open—and the first mom to win a major since 1980—with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki. When it was over, Clijsters collapsed to the ground and started crying— tears of joy, probably mixed in with a little bit of shock, too. Her 18-month-old daughter, Jada, watched from a suite with a pacifier in her mouth, but later came down to the court to take part in the celebration. Guess what mommy got for you, sweetie! A Grand Slam title. “It was not really our plan,” Clijsters said. “I just wanted to start these three tournaments and get back into the rhythm of playing tennis and get used to the surroundings again.” Talk about your quick transitions. It was all quite a different scene from the night before, when Clijsters’ semifinal win over Serena Williams was decided on a point penalty, and the 26-year-old Belgian stood behind the baseline, looking bewildered as Williams ran over to shake her hand. Williams’ tirade may have been the talk of the U.S. Open. But Clijsters was the winner. This was her second U.S. Open title, the other coming in 2005—her last appearance at Flushing Meadows and before a spate of nagging injuries eventually drove her out of the sport and led her to start a family. Some might have called this the mother of all upsets, but by the time she reached the final, against the resilient but still-learning 19-year-old from Denmark, it was hard to view it that way. Clijsters beat both Williams sisters and two players seeded in the teens. She matched Venus and Serena power shot for power shot and showed she could play Wozniacki’s patient game—and play it better. This one was nothing like the Williams match—before it turned sour—which was filled with short, hard-hitting rallies in which Clijsters moved one of tennis’ best players at will and made her hit shots from places she normally doesn’t. Instead, it was a waiting game, and when Clijsters fell behind 4-2 in the first set, she showed she was willing to play it. A 29-shot rally here, a 25-shot rally there. Drop shots and lobs. Clijsters did that. Went for more, too, and finished with two more winners than unforced errors (36-34)—a good ratio on any day—and 26 more winners than Wozniacki. After getting back on serve, Clijsters held off two break points at 5-5, then broke Wozniacki for the fourth time to win the first set. The second set was easier and before they knew it, Jada was on the court posing for photographers. Clijsters didn’t even have a ranking coming into this tournament because she hadn’t played enough tournaments to get on the list. She’ll come in at around No. 20 when the new rankings are released this week, but probably won’t try to improve on that right away. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world being a mother,” she said. “I just can’t wait to spend next the few weeks with her and have her routine schedule at home again.” Her victory came over the first Danish player to reach a Grand Slam final, though Wozniacki’s greater claim to fame is that she has won more matches on tour this year than anyone. She played like a winner over two weeks in Flushing Meadows, including that 6-2, 6-2 victory that ended the magical run of 17-year-old Melanie Oudin, whose rapid rise was the story of the tournament for the first 10 days. Oudin left, then the Williams imbroglio took over. Clijsters made her headlines, too. The mother-on-a-comeback story was a winner all the way. Beneath the surface of all these stories might also be a referendum on the state of women’s tennis. If an unseeded mother who has been away from the game for two years can beat five top-20 players and win the U.S. Open, maybe the talent pool isn’t so deep. In fact, stories circulated recently that former No. 1 Justine Henin might be making a comeback, too. Could Evonne Goolagong Cawley be far behind? She was the last mother to win one of these Grand Slams, back in 1980 at Wimbledon. Clijsters last major title isn’t that sort of ancient history. It was only four years ago that she climbed into the stands and tightrope-walked across the railings to celebrate her first U.S. Open title. Same scene this time but with a few new players. There was her husband, American Brian Lynch, with whom she shared a long, sweet kiss. Then there was Jada, clapping her hands with that binky in her mouth. “We tried to plan her nap time a little later today so she could be here,” Clijsters said. Looks like she’s getting the hang of that motherhood thing, too. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:35:59 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-26.html Roger Federer won his record 15th Grand Slam title Sunday, outlasting Andy Roddick for his sixth Wimbledon championship in a marathon match that went to 16-14 in the fifth set. Federer served a career-high 50 aces and overcame the resilient American 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 to break the record of major titles he shared with Pete Sampras and enhance his reputation as perhaps the greatest player in history. The match finally ended after more than four hours when Federer broke for the first time all day, with Roddick hitting an errant forehand. Federer jumped high in celebration, punched the air and whacked the net with his racket. Roddick tossed his racket to the side and the two men shared a hug at the net. Federer held up the trophy, kissed it and brought it close to his chest. Watching from the front row of the Royal Box was Sampras, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who flew in from California, his first appearance at the All England Club since playing on this court for the last time in 2002. Also on hand were Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver. “It’s not really one of those goals you set as a little boy, but man, it’s been quite a career and quite a month,” Federer said. “It feels amazing, but this is not why I’m playing tennis to break all sort of different records. But it’s definitely one of the greatest ones to have.” Turning to Sampras, Federer said: “Thanks very much for coming. I know it’s a long way, but you’re a member, man, we like to see you here. It’s such a pleasure to play in front of such greats legends.” Roddick said: “Sorry, Pete, I tried to hold him off.” Federer also reclaimed the No. 1 ranking he lost last year to Rafael Nadal, the man who beat him in the epic 2008 final but missed this year’s tournament because of knee problems. Federer is the third player to win six Wimbledon championships—Sampras and William Renshaw each won seven. This was the longest men’s Grand Slam final in history at 77 games— breaking the previous record of 71 from 1927 in Australia. It was also the longest fifth set in a men’s Grand Slam final in history, surpassing the 20 games from 1927 in France. “It was a crazy match with an unbelievable end and my head’s still spinning,” Federer said. “But it’s an unbelievable moment in my career.” Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:00:09 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-25.html Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia won their second straight Wimbledon men’s doubles title Saturday, beating top-seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3. “It’s a great accomplishment,” Nestor said. “One of the first things I noticed was our name on the board, on the big plaque. Now we get it twice. It’s obviously going to be special to come back next year and see that.” Nestor and Zimonjic were playing in their third Grand Slam final together. Besides winning the Wimbledon title last year, they lost in the 2008 French Open final. This year’s final was the first time that Nestor and Zimonjic have played the Bryan brothers in a Grand Slam tournament. “It’s great to be able to play them on a big stage and be able to beat them,” Nestor said. The Bryan brothers, who have won seven major titles together, entered the match on Centre Court without having dropped a set at the All England Club this year. Despite holding serve throughout the first three sets, the brothers were broken in the second game of the fourth set and Nestor and Zimonjic held the rest of the way. “I haven’t lost serve in doubles or mixed in probably 2 1/2 years,” Bob Bryan said. “I didn’t make my first serves and they made some good returns. But you can’t make any excuses.” The difference was the way Nestor and Zimonjic held serve, Bob Bryan said. “It’s a game of inches and when you’re playing two guys who are serving close to 130 (mph), and you’re not getting a lot of sniffs on your return, it’s a dice roll,” Bob Bryan said. “They were the better team today and I have to give them a lot of credit.” Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:45:58 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-24.html Serena Williams continued to add to her world's-best Grand Slam tally Saturday, beating Venus Williams in straight sets, 76(3) 62, in the Wimbledon final for the 11th major singles title of her career. The first set went completely on serve through the tie-break, with the No.3-seeded Venus the only one coming close to a break, holding double break point in No.2 seed Serena's fourth service game. In the tie-break it was Serena who came through though, racing out to a 6-2 lead and after barely missing a forehand winner on her first set point, pulling off a spectacular backhand lob winner on her second to tuck the opening set away, 7-3. The first four games of the second set went to the server too but from there an inspired Serena went on a tear while Venus seemed to lose her way, and the younger one reeled off four games in a row - including two breaks of serve, and an entertaining final game in which Venus saved three match points before succumbing - to win Grand Slam singles title No.11, her third Wimbledon. "It feels so amazing. I feel so blessed," Serena said to Sue Barker in her on-court interview. "I can't believe I'm holding this trophy. It's named for Venus. It hasn't settled in that I won yet. I'm so excited. Thanks to everyone for their support. I'm honored to be out here. I'm already looking forward to the doubles." "Today she was too good, she had an answer for everything. She played the best tennis today," Venus said. "I'm still smiling though, I don't think the loss has set in yet! I've had so many great times here. I love what I do and most of all I love playing these finals. I'll see you all again next year, of course." Serena becomes the first player in women's tennis history to save match point en route to a Grand Slam singles title three times, having done so at the 2003 Australian Open (against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals), the 2005 Australian Open (against Maria Sharapova in the semifinals) and right here at 2009 Wimbledon (saving a match point down 5-4 in the third set en route to a 67(4) 75 86 win over Elena Dementieva in the semifinals). Serena and Venus were both playing in their 14th Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena improving to 11-3 and Venus falling to 7-7. Venus had won 34 consecutive sets at Wimbledon, a stretch dating back to her 62 36 75 win over Japan's Akiko Morigami in the third round in 2007. Venus has won Wimbledon five times before, in 2000, 2001, 2005 and the last two years; Serena has the 2002, 2003 and 2009 titles. The only other players in the last 10 years to win here are Maria Sharapova (2004) and Amélie Mauresmo (2006). Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:40:04 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-23.html She was the only blemish in Dinara Safina's 20-1 record since her April 20 ascension to the world No.1 ranking, and on Saturday Svetlana Kuznetsova was a thorn in her side once more, except this time on a much, much bigger stage. Kuznetsova beat her Russian compatriot at Roland Garros in straight sets for her second Grand Slam singles title. In Safina's first tournament as No.1 in late April, she made the final of Stuttgart, only to be dispatched in straight sets by Kuznetsova. She went on a tear from there, winning 16 straight matches - the longest winning streak on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year, and including a revenge win over Kuznetsova in the final of Rome. But their back-and-forth wouldn't be over just yet. Kuznetsova was building her own momentum at Roland Garros. She powered through her first three foes in straight sets then beat a trio of fellow seeds - Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur - in three sets, each time dropping the middle set before coming back to win the third. In the final, a No.7-seeded Kuznetsova was just sharper than No.1 seed Safina, who hit seven double faults and lost her serve six times. Kuznetsova was cool, calm and collected, and after a tight first set and tight start to the second set, she burned through four games in a row to complete a 64 62 title victory. "I came on the court and just played the match. Whether it's first or last match, I just do my best," Kuznetsova said. "I definitely have a lot of emotions right now but I'm controlling them. But the most important thing happened - I finally won here. My favorite tournaments are the US Open and here. It's very big for me." Kuznetsova's first Grand Slam singles title came at the US Open in 2004. She also has runner-up finishes here in 2006 and at the US Open in 2007, both to the now-retired Justine Henin. Her win over Safina in the final was her sixth career win over a No.1, having done it twice over Amélie Mauresmo, twice over Henin and now twice over Safina. She has been as No.2 herself. "I put so much pressure on myself because I really wanted to win. And I just didn't handle it," said Safina, now 0-3 in Grand Slam singles finals. "I was a little desperate on the court. I didn't do the things I needed to do. I didn't stay tough mentally. Against Sveta you need to be aggressive but I was passive. I lost myself. But there are so many matches in life. This was just a bad match." "She's an amazing athlete. She works very hard. One day she'll make it here," Kuznetsova said on Safina. "I respect her a lot. But she plays with too much pressure. I play just to have fun and enjoy it. It was the same when I went on court at the US Open. I thought, 'Everything's great. I'm doing the thing I love. It's my passion. It's my job. This is it.'" Russia truly began its domination of women's tennis in 2004, when three of the four major titles went to Russians, and two had all-Russian finals (Anastasia Myskina beat Elena Dementieva at the French Open and Kuznetsova beat Dementieva at the US Open). This will be the third all-Russian Grand Slam final. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:22:00 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-22.html TP World Tour No. 2 Roger Federer ended his title drought in style on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over rival and reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament. Four-time former Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Champion Federer earned 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points towards his bid to qualify for the season finale for a seventh time, while Nadal – who is virtually assured of his participation at the O2 Arena in London - received 600 points and €270,000. The 27-year-old Federer clinched his first ATP World Tour title since winning his hometown title in Basel (d. Nalbandian) in October 2008. The Swiss was contesting his 80th tour-level final and improved to a 58-22 lifetime mark after capturing his 15th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. Andre Agassi holds the all-time record with 17 of the coveted shields, while Nadal is tied with Federer on 15. Federer will now turn his attention to winning a first Roland Garros title and believes the confidence from this win will give him an advantage going into the clay-court Grand Slam: “I am very happy that I remained positive and I got the win I needed badly because I have had some rather bad losses this year in terms of the way I played but I think that everything is falling into place and I felt it coming the last few weeks so it is the right time to get a victory like this.” Mon, 18 May 2009 01:26:15 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-21.html It seemed so far away a few days ago but after making it through the diffuclt times Anabel Medina Garrigues only picked up more steam, and on Saturday the Spaniard steamrolled Ekaterina Makarova in 60 minutes for the ninth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of her career. Medina Garrigues, seeded No.1 at the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, held on the red clay courts of Fès, Morocco, began her campaign quickly with a 61 61 first round win over Camille Pin, but was nearly sent packing in her second round match, as Klara Zakopalova held three match points while leading 61 65; Medina Garrigues would save them all and win, 16 76(1) 63, before recording a tight 76(5) 76(5) quarterfinal win over Lourdes Domínguez Lino. In the semifinals, she had won the first set, 6-0, when Melinda Czink retired with gastrointestinal illness, propelling her into the final. Makarova, seeded No.6, wasn't troubled much en route to her first career singles final on the Tour, being pushed past 6-4 in a set just once and rolling over No.2 seed Alisa Kleybanova in the semifinals, 62 61. But she met her match in the final; Medina Garrigues only let three games go to deuce and she won them all, a quick break of serve in the 11th game being the Russian's breadstick. Medina Garrigues' experience in Fès was a near-repeat of what happened last year, when she saved match point in the early rounds against the tricky Sesil Karatantcheva and eventually made it to the final. But last year she finished a runner-up, losing to Argentina's Gisela Dulko in an extremely close two-setter. Now she emerges with her ninth career singles title on the Tour, having claimed Palermo four times (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006), Strasbourg three times (2005, 2007, 2008) and Canberra once (2006). She is now 9-5 in finals. The Spaniard, who came into Fès ranked a career-high No.18 in the world, is projected to rise to a new career-high of No.16 with the result, flirting with the world's Top 15. Makarova's best results on the Tour before this week were quarterfinals at Eastbourne, Forest Hills and Seoul, all last year. Kleybanova also had her best finish, her best prior results also being three quarterfinals last year, at Antwerp, here in Fès and in Eastbourne. They continued their best-ever weeks by winning the doubles title, both taking away their first Tour titles of any kind. The No.2 seeds, they saved four match points during an 18-16 match tie-break quarterfinal win then went on to win another match tie-break in the final, beating No.1 seeds Sorana Cirstea and Maria Kirilenko for the title, 63 26 108. Sat, 02 May 2009 19:43:36 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-20.html Argentine Guillermo Coria, a former World No. 3 and Roland Garros finalist, has announced his retirement from professional tennis. "I don't have the same desire to play tennis. I am happy with my family,” the 27-year-old Coria told Argentina’s Radio Continental. “I made my best effort at tennis.” Coria finished in the Top 10 from 2003-05, but struggled to maintain his form in recent years. He dropped to No. 116 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings in 2006, and after missing the following season with a right shoulder problem, managed to post just two match wins upon his return in 2008. Coria made his sole appearance this season in March at the ATP Challenger tournament in Bangkok, resulting in a straight-sets loss to Israeli Harel Levy. “In 2005 I began to feel less and less like competing,” said Coria in a statement on the Argentine Tennis Association website. “My passion just wasn't the same and it's impossible to do things well when it's like that. In this sport, you have to be at 100 percent.” The Argentine won nine clay-court titles in 20 tour finals since turning pro in 2000, his last triumph coming in 2005 at Umag (d. Moya). He reached the finals at all three clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, highlighted by the title wins in 2003 at Hamburg (d. Calleri) and 2004 at Monte-Carlo (d. Schuettler). Shortly after seeing a career-best 31-match winning streak on clay come to an end against Roger Federer in the 2004 Hamburg final, Coria entered Roland Garros as the favourite to win the clay-court Slam. He held two match points against countryman Gaston Gaudio in the championship match before falling in an 8-6 fifth set. He peaked at No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings on May 3, 2004, and qualified for the elite eight-man Tennis Masters Cup from 2003-05. He joined countryman David Nalbandian as the first players from Argentina to finish in the Top 10 for three straight years since Jose-Luis Clerc accomplished the feat in the early ‘80s. “I’m very happy with the decision I’ve taken, since I have new projects and I will be able to spend more time with my family,” Coria said. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:01:03 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-19.html Maria Sharapova's reputation as one of the most glamorous women in sports has led the tennis superstar to a number of magazine covers and several product endorsements and ads. Now it's landed her in her own hour-long reality program, as she will be featured in ESPN's primetime news magazine E:60's Maria Sharapova & Matthew Stafford: Extreme Makeover. The program pairs Sharapova up with Matthew Stafford, the University of Georgia quarterback who was the No.1 pick in this weekend's NFL Draft. Over the course of the program, Sharapova is challanged to give Stafford a complete makeover ahead of his cover shoot for ESPN the Magazine. ESPN's E:60 correspondent Rachel Nichols went behind the scenes in Los Angeles for a humorous and candid report on the makeover, which includes Stafford arriving at the shoot looking more like a disheveled college student than a future pro quarterback set to earn millions of dollars. Maintaining that his hair is off-limits, Stafford's makeover at the hands of Sharapova turns out to be much more than he bargains for, as he receives a great deal of fashion advice from the Russian tennis star. ESPN's E:60 is a weekly investigative journalism newsmagazine show. Airing since October 2007, the show covers stories that relate to both American and international sports. E:60's Maria Sharapova & Matthew Stafford: Extreme Makeover will premeire on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 PM EST. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:29:05 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-18.html The All England Lawn Tennis Club unveiled its new retractable roof on Tuesday, ushering in a new era at The Championships that will allow for play to continue on Wimbledon’s famed Centre Court regardless of rain or poor lighting. Both played factors in last year’s Championship match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer that spanned more than seven hours including rain delays, and concluded at 9:15pm. The translucent roof takes up to 10 minutes to fully close, and another 20 minutes is needed for the air-management system to stabilise the internal environment to ensure proper playing conditions. The new floodlights further assist in recreating an ‘outdoor’ atmosphere, while making it possible for matches to continue into the night. An all-star line-up of Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Tim Henman will test the new roof and air-management system with live tennis in front of a capacity crowd of 15,000 at the Centre Court Celebration on May 17th. Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said: “The new Centre Court roof project has been a sophisticated engineering feat. Much of the testing is complete and we are now making final adjustments ahead of the Centre Court Celebration event on 17 May. That event is an important part of the testing procedure and will enable us to see how both the roof and air-management system actually perform under live conditions with a capacity crowd.” Also Tuesday, the All England Club announced an increase in its prize money levels for the 2009 Championships. The singles champion will earn £850,000, an increase of £100,000 from last year’s winner’s check. Total prize money for this year’s Championships, which begins June 22nd, has risen by 6.2 per cent to £12,550,000. 2009 Wimbledon Prize Money (in £) Singles Doubles Winner 850,000 230,000 Final 425,000 115,000 SF 212,500 57,500 QF 106,250 30,000 4th Rd. 53,250 -- 3rd Rd. 29,250 16,000 2nd Rd. 17,750 9,000 1st Rd. 10,750 5,520 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:57:34 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-17.html Not many would find inspiration in a loss, but on the Spanish red clay Roberta Vinci did just that, bouncing back from a tough quarterfinal defeat to Jelena Jankovic in Marbella to go all the way to the title in Barcelona this week, beating finals veteran Maria Kirilenko for her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title. Vinci, one of the few players on the Tour who consistently comes into the net but also a strong clay court player - her first title came on the red clay of Bogotá, Colombia two years ago - pushed Jankovic to the limit in Marbella, saving four match points and pushing the Serb to a tie-break in the third set before finally succumbing to her. In Barcelona, Vinci blew through her first three rounds in straight sets - including a 61 62 drubbing of the tournament's second seed Flavia Pennetta in the second round - then rallied from 60 42 down against Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals to reach the final. She had little trouble against No.6 seed Kirilenko, beating the defending champion in just an hour and 11 minutes, 60 64. "I am so happy!" Vinci said. "It's such a great feeling to win again. It has been a long time since I played well. I felt good after Marbella - I had a good match against Jankovic and it gave me confidence coming here to Barcelona." Vinci's win over Pennetta - ranked No.14 in the world - went down as her sixth career Top 20 victory. But seeing as she had won two of their previous four meetings, that feat may not have been as impressive as her win over Schiavone - she was 0-3 against her countrywoman going into their semifinal match. Since winning her last title in Seoul in the fall, Kirilenko had a rough go of things, winning just four of 14 matches - none consecutively - and seeing her ranking drop almost 10 places. But it almost came together for her once again, as she won four matches - including over two of Spain's best, María José Martínez Sánchez and Carla Suárez Navarro - before the run came to an Italian end. It was a week of surprises at the Barcelona Ladies Open, which was in its third year as a Tour event. None of the Top 4 seeds made it to their quarterfinal slots, with No.3 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues withdrawing before her first match due to an abdominal strain, No.1 and No.4 seeds Alizé Cornet and Kaia Kanepi falling first round and No.2 seed Pennetta losing in the second round. No.7 and No.8 seeds Sara Errani and Sorana Cirstea lost before the quarterfinals too. In the doubles, Nuria Llagostera Vives and Martínez Sánchez fulfilled their expectations as top seeds nicely, beating all comers - including the unseeded pairing of Cirstea and Andreja Klepac in the final - to take home their third title of the year, their fourth overall. They have won titles at Bogotá once (2009) and Acapulco twice (2008, 2009). They now each have eight Tour doubles titles. Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:40:29 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-16.html Reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal captured his fifth straight Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title on Sunday with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory over third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia in two hours and 44 minutes to extend his winning streak to 27 matches at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament. The top-seeded Spaniard won his third ATP World Tour title of the 2009 ATP World Tour season and is the first player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament five consecutive years and at 22 years of age he joins Roger Federer with 14 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, second only to Andre Agassi’s record haul of 17. Nadal is also the first ATP World Tour No. 1 to win the Monte-Carlo title since Ivan Lendl in 1988 (d. Jaite) and received €434,000 in prize money and 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points for his fifth straight triumph. Nadal, who was appearing in his 43rd ATP World Tour level final, has now won 34 trophies putting him alongside Michael Chang in a tie for No. 15 place on the Open Era title list. He is now 23-1 lifetime in clay-court finals, with his only loss coming at Hamburg in May 2007 to Swiss Roger Federer. He has also won 43 straight matches on clay in the month of April since 8 April 2005. In an eagerly-awaited encounter, the 16th between the ATP World Tour No. 1 and No. 3-ranked players, Djokovic made three groundstroke errors in the first game that Nadal took advantage of by gaining a service break with a cross-court backhand winner on approach to the net. Djokovic responded by rushing Nadal into two forehand and one backhand error to get back on level terms at 1-1. Appearing in his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, Djokovic secured the first service hold of the match with a smash winner and well-placed ace down the middle for the third game. Nadal fought off one break point at 1-2, 30-40 as Djokovic hit a crosscourt forehand into the net off a short rally, but could not conjure up a suitable response to a Djokovic drop shot on the Serbian’s second break point opportunity. Nadal then reeled off five straight games with service breaks in the fifth, seventh and ninth games to take the opening set in 63 minutes. Djokovic received treatment for a lower back injury after saving four of five break points in the seventh game. Djokovic highlighted just why he is returning to top form by resisting a barrage of powerful groundstrokes from Nadal in the first game of the second set to secure a service break after a lengthy rally ended with a smash winner from Djokovic. The 21-year-old Serbian went on to extend his lead to 4-1 courtesy of a second service break with a backhand volley winner on approach to the net. Nadal kept battling hard but conceded his first set since his 2006 final win against Federer, when Djokovic hit two consecutive aces to wrap up the 42-minute second set. In a key first game of the third set, Nadal first recovered from a 0-30 deficit and then saved three break points – completing a 16-minute opening game with a forehand crosscourt winner. Djokovic opened up a 40-15 lead on serve in the second game, but saw that cut back by a forehand hit long and a double fault. Two further game points came and went before Nadal claimed a 2-0 lead when a Djokovic forehand hit the net tape and landed wide. Djokovic immediately hit a tennis ball out of the Monte-Carlo Country Club grounds, as a result he received a code violation from the chair umpire. The World No. 3 regained his composure and won the third game after Nadal hit two groundstrokes out on successive points. After 41 minutes of play in the third set Nadal flexed his muscles and won four straight games – dropping just three points – to wrap up victory in two hours and 44 minutes. Nadal is now just one Monte-Carlo title away from equalling England’s Reggie Doherty’s six titles (1897-99, 1902-04) at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, won at the dawn of the 103-year-old championship. The Spaniard has a 29-1 career record at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament, with his only loss coming in 2003 to Guillermo Coria. The Mallorcan, who has ranked No. 1 since 18 August 2008, improved to 29-3 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season with other championship successes coming at the Australian Open (d. Federer) in January and at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Murray) in March. Djokovic was appearing in his first Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final, having retired due to dizziness in the second set of his 2008 semi-final against Federer. The Monte-Carlo has a 8-4 tournament record. He was awarded €203,000 as runner-up and received 600 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points. “I think I've played a very good match, actually one of the best I have played against him on this surface,” said Djokovic. “It's really unfortunate that in certain moments I didn't play the way I was supposed to play, with a little bit more patience. I went for too much. He used his strength and his experience playing in the big matches and just waited wisely for his chances, then he used them.” Djokovic dropped to 26-9 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season after he appeared in his 20th ATP World Tour final (12-8). This year he won his 12th ATP World Tour title at Dubai (d. Ferrer) and also finished runner-up at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Murray). “We are coming back again to the story of believing in yourself,” said Djokovic of believing he could beat Nadal. “I think there is where the key of playing him. You just have to be focused every single point because you have a player on the other side of the net that doesn't really give you any points. I mean, you could see him [at] 5-1 in the third set, he played like it’s 5-all. He really doesn't care about the result. He just wants to give his best every single point. That's why he's very unique and that's why he's the best now.” His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco attended the 103rd edition of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, which had a record attendance of 123,00 spectators during the week. Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:26:18 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-15.html Second-seeded Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska of Poland won the doubles title at the inaugural Andalucía Tennis Experience, taking out top-seeded Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in the final, 63 63. Jans collected her first Tour title of any kind; Rosolska had won one Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title before, also in doubles, with Latvia's Liga Dekmeijere last season at another clay court event in Viña del Mar. Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual are one of the top doubles teams around: among their four titles together is last year's Roland Garros crown. "I'm very happy with today's result. This was my fifth final and my second final of the year but I never won a doubles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, so today was a dream come true," Jans beamed. "We knew it would be tough to beat the Spanish team. They are a very good team but somehow we were quite confident. Our game has been improving and we knew we can do it." "This is the biggest success for us as a team," Rosolska said. "It is the first final we won together. We have been in a few finals before but this feels great. We came on the court knowing we had nothing to lose and we stayed focused the entire match. We played well and we did it!" PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL, USA - The unseeded pairing of Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chia-Jung and India's Sania Mirza were victorious in the doubles at The MPS Group Championships, upsetting No.1 seeds Kveta Peschke and Lisa Raymond in a competitive match tie-break final, 63 46 107. Both Chuang and Mirza had captured doubles titles on the Tour with other partners previously but this was the Asian pairing's first triumph together. "This was our second tournament together, so we have had a lot more match practice together," Mirza said. "Kveta and Lisa have been playing for a long time and they're really experienced, and we're really happy to have beaten them. We just played the big points better at the end. I think that was the difference." On their way to the title, Chuang and Mirza also upset fourth-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in the second round. Chuang now has 11 Tour doubles titles to her name; Mirza has eight. The second seeds, Peng Shuai and Yan Zi, were bounced in the quarters by Dekmeijere and Angela Haynes. Third-seeded Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko withdrew before their quarterfinal match because of a right forearm strain that Kateryna suffered in singles action. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:22:34 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-14.html It didn't come easy but Jelena Jankovic won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of the season at the inaugural Andalucía Tennis Experience, surviving a marathon in the quarterfinals and taking out Spain's Top 2 in the semis and final to wrap up the glorious return-to-form week. Jankovic, who was the second seed behind Serena Williams at the event, was coming off a disappointing start to the season, including losing her No.1 ranking after an early loss at the Australian Open and dropping her opening matches at Indian Wells and Miami. On the red clay of Marbella she turned things around, cruising through her first two matches of the week then winning three straight marathons to take the title, battling for over two hours to beat Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, 36 63 76(6), and Spanish No.1 Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semifinals, 75 62. Carla Suárez Navarro, Spain's No.2, had made her way into her first Tour final on the other half of the draw, beating Williams' conqueror - Czech Klara Zakopalova - along the way. She gave Jankovic mighty resistance with her gritty slow court game, extending rallies with her glamorous groundstrokes and tireless retrieving. But the world No.4 wouldn't lose her cool, even after going down a break early in the third set, taking the match - and the title - by a see-saw 63 36 63 scoreline. This was Jankovic's 10th career singles title on the Tour, and half of those have come on clay, beginning with her first ever title at Budapest in 2004. She has also collected large titles on the dirt at Charleston (2007) and Rome (2007 and 2008). Suárez Navarro continued to show the kind of promise she displayed in surprise runs to the quarterfinals of two of her first four Grand Slam events played, at Roland Garros last year (where she fell to Jankovic) and the Australian Open earlier this year (where she shocked Venus Williams in the early rounds). World No.1 Serena Williams' defeat to the No.95-ranked Zakopalova was a tough encore to her loss to Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami a few days earlier, where she was also hindered by a nagging leg injury. Zakopalova got her second and best career Top 10 win, having beaten a No.7-ranked Monica Seles in the early rounds of the Australian Open in 2003. Another player making noise was Sorana Cirstea, who was 0-6 on the season before Marbella, but made it all the way to the semifinals as the No.7 seed before falling to Suárez Navarro in three sets. The Romanian rising star upset No.3 seed Kaia Kanepi in a nail-biter in the quarterfinals, 7-5 in the third set. Poland's Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska won the doubles title, going against their No.2 seeding and taking out No.1 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in the final, 63 63. Jans collected her first Tour title of any kind; Rosolska had won one Tour title before, also in doubles, with Latvia's Liga Dekmeijere last season at another clay court event in Viña del Mar. Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual are one of the top doubles teams around: among their four titles together is last year's Roland Garros crown. "I'm very happy with today's result. This was my fifth final and my second final of the year but I never won a doubles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, so today was a dream come true," Jans beamed. "We knew it would be tough to beat the Spanish team. They are a very good team but somehow we were quite confident. Our game has been improving and we knew we can do it." "This is the biggest success for us as a team," Rosolska said. "It is the first final we won together. We have been in a few finals before but this feels great. We came on the court knowing we had nothing to lose and we stayed focused the entire match. We played well and we did it!" Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:41:57 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-13.html Victoria Azarenka capped an unforgettable fortnight on Saturday, surprising Serena Williams to win her third and by far biggest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at the Sony Ericsson Open. Azarenka, who won her first two singles titles on the Tour earlier this season at International-level events in Brisbane and Memphis, cracked the world's Top 10 after making the semifinals of the equally-big BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells two weeks ago, although the seeds were already made for Miami, and she weighed in at No.11. That No.11 seeding didn't stop her from going all the way to her biggest career final, however, as she lost a total of only 16 games to her first four opponents then defeated No.8 seed and former Sony Ericsson Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in a marathon two-hour, 41-minute semifinal, 63 26 75. On the other side of the draw, Williams - ranked and seeded No.1, and a five-time champion at the prestigious tournament - was struggling, winning tight three-setters against Chinese stars Zheng Jie and Li Na in the fourth round and quarterfinals, then edging a No.5-seeded Venus Williams in a much-anticipated semifinal, 64 36 63. And although the American had a 2-0 record against Azarenka it was somewhat misleading: in their most recent meeting, in the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier this year, Azarenka had won the first set before retiring due to dizziness and illness midway through the second set. The stars were in line for Azarenka on Saturday, as the Belarusian pounded her huge groundstrokes deep up the middle and into the corners, while Williams - who was nursing a leg injury - just couldn't keep up. The first set was tighter than the score indicated but the second set was a rout; Azarenka's racquet went flying and she screamed in surprise after completing a shock 63 61 championship win. "It was such an honor to play Serena, she's just the greatest player for me," Azarenka said in near-disbelief during the trophy presentation. "Serena's a great champion. I love the way she plays and the way she is. I really wanted another chance to play her because in Australia we unfortunately couldn't finish. "I was so nervous in the last game. I couldn't believe I had match point. I was thinking, 'If I win this point, I don't even know what would happen next.' And then I double faulted. I'm just happy I could close it out in the end." Check out on-court and off-court photos straight from the Sony Ericsson Open in the Photo Gallery presented by Dubai Duty Free. Azarenka becomes the sixth teenage champion in the Sony Ericsson Open's history, joining an impressive list that includes Tour legends Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Gabriela Sabatini. "This is really big. I would say it was the biggest moment in my career. I always wanted to get here, but I never thought I would. I guess my really wanting it made it happen. I've improved everything since last year. I just started believing in myself a little more, that I can win these matches and these tournaments." Williams was trying to become the first woman ever to win six singles titles in Miami. She is currently tied with Germany's Steffi Graf with five. "Even when I was down match point I thought I could still win; I didn't really know how, but I thought it was a possibility," Williams said. "I think she has really, really improved. I actually look forward to playing her again so I can do better. I'm not that bummed because I feel like there's next week and next year, then there's the year after and the year after. I definitely have it in me to try to tie that record, and then ultimately beat it." Like Indian Wells was two weeks earlier, Miami had its fair share of upsets, with the only Top 8 seeds reaching their expected quarterfinal slots being the Williams sisters and Kuznetsova. Jelena Jankovic lost in the second round to Gisela Dulko, while Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva and Ana Ivanovic all went out in the third round (to Samantha Stosur, Li and Agnes Szavay). Elena Dementieva was ousted in the fourth round by Caroline Wozniacki. Azarenka's win over Williams in the final, her first over a world No.1, was a fitting ending to the upset-filled fortnight. Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:16:15 -0500 http://tennis.topbuzz.com/a-12.html ATP World Tour No. 4 Andy Murray won his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 3 Novak Djokovic to become the first British champion at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Sunday. Victory for Murray earns the Scot 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points, boosting his chances of qualifying for the elite eight-man field at the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – to be held at London’s 02 Arena. The result also moves Murray to within 170 points of the third-ranked Djokovic going into the European clay-court circuit - where Murray will drop just 520 points between ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and Roland Garros, while Djokovic will lose 2,800 points in the same span. “I think any time you win a tournament, obviously it gives you confidence,” said Murray. “The Masters 1000s have always been after the slams, they're tough tournaments to win. Like all of your wins, it contributes to your confidence going into the slams.” Djokovic was looking to become the fifth player in the tournament’s 25-year history to win the Sony Ericsson Open title at least twice, after previously triumphing in 2007 with victory over qualifier Guillermo Canas. The Serb had earned his place in the final with a hard-fought three-set victory over World No. 2 Roger Federer in the semi-finals, while Murray had battled past Rafael Nadal’s conqueror – Juan Martin del Potro. In the two 21-year-olds' seventh meeting in Sunday’s final, Murray enjoyed a fast start to the match – immediately breaking his Serbian opponent to lead 1-0 as Djokovic miscued a forehand. With Djokovic struggling to settle into an early rhythm on his attacking play, Murray took full advantage of the Serb's unforced errors - while keeping his own game tight - and broke for a second time to lead 3-0 when Djokovic netted a drive volley. A love hold from Murray, who is just one week older than Djokovic, saw the Scot move into a 4-0 lead – reflecting a strong serving display that saw him drop just three points on serve in the first set. Djokovic served well to register on the scoreboard at 4-1, but Murray’s confidence continued to grow – as did his array of winners, including a slam dunk and an angled backhand pass off a powerful Djokovic forehand to move into a 5-1 lead. Djokovic saved one set point in the seventh game as he dug deep to hold for 2-5, before Murray confidently served out the set as he closed down the net to put away a forehand volley. Djokovic’s unforced error count continued to rise and the Serb was immediately under pressure at the start of the second set. Another backhand cross-court pass – a shot Murray used to great effect in the encounter – earned the Scot two break point chances at 15/40. Djokovic held on for deuce, and saved another break point chance later with a cutting forehand volley, but his hard work was undone as he double faulted to hand Murray a fourth opportunity. The Dunblane native took his chance as he rifled a forehand cross-court past the net-rushing Djokovic to lead 1-0. With the temperatures soaring on Stadium, a physically-struggling Djokovic consulted the trainer before stepping out to receive serve at 0-1. The Serb came out with more attacking impetus and a forehand winner earned him two break-back point chances at 15/40. A rare unforced error from Murray saw him net a forehand volley to bring Djokovic back level at 1-1 in the second set. In a complete role reversal from the first set, Murray’s standard of play dropped and the mounting unforced errors came from his racquet – while Djokovic made a marked improvement and reined in his errors. Three successive unforced errors from Murray saw Djokovic break to lead 3-1 and the Serb won his fourth straight game – after saving break point – as he held for 4-1. A lengthy sixth game saw Murray work hard for his second game of the set, saving two break points on the way. In a key ninth game, Djokovic served to level the match and an ace brought up set point for the right-hander at 40/30. Murray stepped up to the plate though with a well-hit backhand return to force the error from Djokovic. The Serb later squandered a second opportunity with a double fault and was made to pay the price as Murray went on to earn a break point chance, which he converted as Djokovic’s shot landed just wide of the sideline. A shift in momentum saw the fired-up Murray hold for 5-5 before creating three break point chances on Djokovic’s serve as he chased down a smash and his chopped forehand skimmed the net cord. A struggling Djokovic was then slow into the net and caught out by Murray’s passing shot at his feet to surrender his serve and trail 5-6. A 42nd unforced error from Djokovic saw Murray earn two match points at 40/15 in the next game and he secured victory as Djokovic placed a forehand volley long after one hour and 42 minutes. “Yet again, I was, I think, the biggest enemy to myself. I was struggling again and adjusting to the heat,” admitted Djokovic, who also struggled with the heat in his Australian Open title defense, when he was forced to retire ill against Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals. “I was really impatient at the start. Made a huge number of unforced errors, and he was just playing very solid and waiting for his chances and serving quite well, moving all over the court quite good. Then I managed to come back second set. I didn't play smart on the 5-3. I had two set points, and I could have served a bit better. He made some good returns on the first set point. On the other set point, double fault. Generally, I'm not really satisfied with the way I played today." Victory for Murray cut Djokovic’s head-to-head lead to 4-3, with the Scot now having won their past three encounters – including a straight-sets victory in the final of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati last season. Murray is the first player this season to win three ATP World Tour titles. He captured the Doha title (d. Federer in SF, Roddick in F) in the first week of the season and won his 10th title in Rotterdam the following month, when he defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Two weeks ago he finished runner-up to Nadal in the final of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells. The only blemish on the Scot’s record in 2009 is a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open where, as a pre-tournament favorite, he was ousted by eventual semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco in five sets. Murray has the joint-best match-wins record on the ATP World Tour this season with a 26-2 win-loss record. Andy Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer in the quarter-finals this week, stands at 26-5. Since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals (l. to Nadal) last July, Murray has compiled a sizzling 57-7 match record - the best mark on the ATP World Tour (Nadal is 50-7) in that stretch. He was contesting his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in the past five Masters 1000 tournaments and captured his first two titles at Cincinnati and Madrid (d. Simon). Murray attributed his great success to his improved fitness, saying: “Just gives you more confidence going into the matches knowing you're in good shape. I think just mentally it makes a difference. Even if you're struggling, you know your opponent is going to be feeling the same, as well, whereas before sometimes you could get tired and look over at the other side and the opponent seems fine. A match like today, there's obviously points - I mean, it was hot out there - a few long rallies and stuff I would be a little bit out of breath. I could look down the court and see him struggling, as well.” “I think physically he's moving much better all over the court,” said Djokovic of Murray’s improvement. “The balls he wasn't getting before he is now. The switch of defensive to offensive tennis in the points - he is really good, one of the best in the world. I think that makes him a much better player than he used to be.” Djokovic was bidding for his fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, and his second ATP World Tour crown of the season after winning his 12th career trophy at Dubai (d. Ferrer) last month. He dropped to a 12-7 lifetime mark in ATP World Tour finals. Having reached the quarter-finals or better at six straight events, Djokovic has compiled a 22-8 match record on the season. Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:12:46 -0500