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Rafael Nadal Monte-Carlo Champion Oncemore, Record 5 Times in-a-row
Posted by: David on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 01:26 PM
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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.
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Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska and Chuang Chia-Jung and India's Sania Mirza Win Doubles Titles
Posted by: David on Monday, April 13, 2009 - 01:22 PM
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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.
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Jelena Jankovic Wins First Title of Year in Marbella
Posted by: David on Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 02:41 PM
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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!"
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Victoria Azarenka Beats Serena, Wins Sony Ericsson Open
Posted by: David on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 03:16 PM
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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.
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Andy Murry Wins Sony Ericsson Open
Posted by: David on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 03:12 PM
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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.
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