SUNDAY, APRIL 25- Following up his fifth straight
title in Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal won another fifth
successive crown, this one at the Barcelona Open when he defeated fellow
Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2, 7-5. The remarkable Nadal will also go for
a fifth straight title at Roland Garros.
The 22-year-old Mallorcan clinched his 35th ATP World Tour title and his
24th on clay and extended his winning streak on dirt to 25 matches, with
his last loss coming to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of Rome
last year, a tournament which begins on Monday. Nadal will open that event
against the winner between Andreas Seppi and Sam Querrey.
Fed Cup: Glatch
Bullies Benasova, Italy up 2-0 over Russia; Nadal to meet Ferrer in Barcelona
Final
SATURDAY, APRIL 25- In one of the most impressive
performances by a young US women's player in recent memory, 19-year-old
Alexa Glatch stunned top Czech player Iveta Benesova
6-1, 6-2 to even up the semifinal Fed Cup tie at 1-1. After young Czech
lefty Petra Kvitova took down Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3,
7-6(2), it was up to the debutante Glatch to make sure that Mary
Joe Fernandez’s selection of her over Melanie Oudin was
a smart one, and she made the captain look very good, dominating with
her big serve, mixing up slice and two-handed backhand and keeping her
sometimes errant forehand under control. Now, it will be up to Czech captain
Petr Pala to make the next move, possibly subbing in Lucie Safarova for
Benasova, who couldn’t keep a ball in the court.
In a total stunner Castellaneta Marina, Flavia Pennetta and
Francesca Schiavone gave Italy a 2-0 lead over champions
Russia, when Pennetta crushed a slumping Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-0, and
Schiavone fought back to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. One would
have to think that Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev will sub Nadia Petrova
for Chakvetadze, who hasn’t scored a major victory all year.
In World Group playoffs, Serbia is up 2-0 on Spain, France
and the Slovak Republic are tied at 1-1, and Germany leads
China 2-0.
In Barcelona, Rafael Nadal beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-3,
6-2 and will play David Ferrer in the final, who defeated
Fernando Gonzalez 2-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Fed Cup Line-up Stunners: Glatch, Kvitova,
Schiavone, Chakvetadze In FRIDAY APRIL 24- Who would have thought that
every Fed Cup captain would pull a rabbit out of his/her hat heading into
this weekend’s semis? But they all did, when U.S. captain Mary Joe
Fernandez nominated debutante Alexa Glatch over Melanie Oudin, Czech chief
Petr Pala chose Petra Kvitova over Lucie Safarova, Russian captain Shamil
Tarpischev picked Anna Chakvetadze over Nadia Petrova, and Italian captain
Corrado Barazzutti tabbed Francesca Schiavone over Roberta Vinci.
After top US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands takes on Kvitova, Glatch will
make her debut against Czech No. 1 Iveta Benesova. “We’re
pretty fortunate that all of our players can play singles and we have
the No. 1 doubles player in Liezel [Huber] and she can pretty much play
with anybody,” Fernandez said. “So it was just a question
of figuring out what the best match-ups were, who is playing well on the
surface, and we went with what we think is best right now. We’re
looking forward to it, and everybody is ready to go.”
Kvitova went 2-0 in singles in the Czech Republic’s victory over
Spain in the quarters and has been battling an ankle injury, which makes
Pala’s choice odd, given that Safarova is more than capable of beating
Mattek on a good day in Brno.
Barazzutti’s pick of Schiavone wasn’t surprising given that
veteran was a Fed Cup heroine two years ago, but Vinci has yet to lose
in Fed Cup play and beat two of her teammates on her way last week to
claiming the singles title in Barcelona last week. Plus, Schiavone hasn’t
been heard from all season. “I am very happy that Roberta was playing
well and happy to have her in the team,” Barazzutti said. She is
a player in good shape but it is important we have other players who can
play well. Most important is that we have a good team.”
Tarpischev has rarely been predictable, but given that Chakvetadze has
been seriously struggling for nearly the past year, his choice of her
over Nadia Petrova raised eyebrows. She’ll face Flavia Pennetta
in the opener, with Schiavone going up against Svetlana Kuznetsova in
the second match.
In Barcelona, Nikolay Davydenko beat Radek Stepanek 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the
quarters to set up a clash against Rafael Nadal. Fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez
defeated No. 2 Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and will play David Ferrer,
who bested Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4.
Fernandez, US Fed Cup Team Have Good Shot
Against Czechs
THURSDAY, APRIL 23 - U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary
Joe Fernandez was fortunate in the first round when the US drew
a weak Argentine team at home and she was able to coax two wins out of
her inexperienced singles players and bring the tie to the doubles, where
the expert Liezel Huber let herself be known.
But now in her second tie as captain, Fernandez faces her first significant
challenge: can she cash in on the Czech Republic’s odd choice of
competing hardcourts in Brno and convince Bethanie Mattek-Sands
and Melanie Oudin that they are capable of beating a
talented yet enigmatic team which includes Iveta Benesova, Petra
Kvitova and Lucie Safarova and doubles specialist
Kveta Peschke?
“I think it is going to be a tough weekend for both teams. They
have a very solid team with a lot of experience and great singles and
doubles players,” Fernandez told USTA.com. “On paper they
are definitely the favorites, but Fed Cup is a unique competition and
this is where the nerves play a big part; who handles the moment better
and who takes advantage of the big points. We are going to do our best
and hopefully come out on top.”
If the tie were to be played on clay, the Czechs would have been much
bigger favorites, but Mattek and Oudin are capable of solid play on hardcourts,
and with the exception of the once promising Safarova, no one on the Czech
team has lit it up cement, including clay court lover Benesova, and the
talented yet mentally suspect Kvitova.
If Fernandez can manage to get Mattek cranking early, the U.S. team could
be in pretty good shape. The Arizonan is a dangerous momentum player,
but isn’t that mentally secure when asked to come from behind. Oudin
is quite scrappy and has reasonably impressive groundstrokes, but she’s
still largely unproven and has to be kept on an even keel.
New Fed Cup member Alexa Glatch isn’t expected
to play, and even though she hasn’t said it, Fernandez likely has
it as her goal to once again get to the doubles, where Huber and Mattek
(who just won the dubs title in Charleston with Nadai Petrova) can shut
the door.
If Fernandez does manage to get a win here, than maybe, just maybe, she
can convince one of the Williams sisters to play the final against either
Russia or Italy. And then who knows? The U.S. might win its first title
since 2000, but that’s a long way off.
Powerhouse Russia is no lock to reach the final, not when they are playing
Italy on clay, not with Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva missing the tie,
and not when Italy is countering with the ambitious Roberta Vinci,
as well as top 20 player Flavia Pennetta. Francesca
Schiavone is also an option in singles, although her level has
fallen way off during the past year.
Who knows who captain Shamil Tarpischev will play with
his options being the doubting Svetlana Kuznetsova, the
slow to return from illness Nadia Petrova, or the fast
fading Anna Chakvetadze. The captain has yet to choose
between Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
as a sub for Zvonareva. On clay, the baby teen Pavlyuchenkova looks like
a better pick. Rafael Nadal received some much needed rest when he earned
a free passage into the Barcelona semis when David Nalbandian
withdrew with a hip injury. Nadal, who won Monte Carlo on Sunday, crushed
Christophe Rochus 6-2, 6-0 before finding out that Nalbandian had aggravated
a right hip injury towards the end of his third-round win over Nicolas
Almagro. David Ferrer also reached the quarters with a 4-6, 7-5,
6-2 win over Potito Starace. He’ll meet Tommy Robredo,
who beat Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Fernando Verdasco
survived Tomas Berdych 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 and will play Fernando Gonzalez,
who advanced with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Juan Monaco. Radek Stepanek
overcame Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 and will meet Nikolay
Davydenko, who won another long match on this endless Thursday,
this one a 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-4 victory over Feliciano Lopez.
