Anne-Marie StarkNovak
was nullified by Rafa. SATURDAY, MAY 16 Spaniard Rafael
Nadal was there for the taking, but Novak Djokovic failed to
deliver a knockout blow. In a highly dramatic, brutal contest, Nadal saved
three match points in a tense final-set tiebreaker to down the Serbian
3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) in four hours and two minutes for a spot in the Madrid
final, which is believed to be the longest best-of-three sets singles
match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era.
Nadal will face his ultimate rival, Roger Federer, in
the final, who played freely and confidently in disposing of Juan Martin
del Potro 6-3, 6-4.
Trying to stop a four-match losing streak to the Spaniard, Djokovic was
both forceful and patient much of the day, using his sharp two-handed
backhand to his advantage and staying strong off his more erratic forehand
side. But pushed to the wall time and time again, Nadal responded, drilling
a number of forehands down the line that wrong footing the Serbian, and
crushing a series of impossible-to-reach backhands crosscourt.
But unlike in Monte Carlo and Rome when he lost his confidence late, Djokovic
dragged his sometimes-fragile mentality onto the tiebreaker and had three
opportunities to close it out. But it was there where he was little too
tentative on the first two points and just missed back line on the third.
Behind a match point at 6-5, Nadal nailed a forehand winner down the line
from a long rally. Down 7-6, Nadal stepped around iin the right hand corner
and nailed another forehand winner down the line where the Serbian was
left wanting on the other side of the court.
Nadal had his first match point at 8-7, but Djokovic crushed a forehand
winner and pumped his fist. Just before his third match point at 9-8,
Djokovic made the sign of the cross, but it didn't matter as his return
flew just long. On his second match point in front of a sold out crowd
chanting, "Rafa, Rafa," Nadal forced him into a forehand error.
It wasn’t a perfect match for the Spaniard, who might be a bit tired
for his contest with Federer, as he hit 31 winners and committed 50 unforced
errors, but it was good enough.
“Next time I'll probably take two rackets on the match point and
try to hit with both of them,” Djokovic said. “It's frustrating
that when you play so well you can't win. I'm taking positives from the
last couple of matches we played on this surface and the positives are
that I was one point away from the victory."
Nadal added, "It will definitely give him confidence for Roland Garros
and he's been having a spectacular clay season. He's a great player, he
always has been. It seems to me he's getting better with every game."
Nadal is 13-6 against Federer, and hasn’t lost to him since the
’07 Masters Cup. Their last contest was the ’09 Aussie Open
final, which Nadal won in a brilliant five sets. While Federer can’t
be expected to beat Nadal on Sunday, at least playing him tough on the
Spaniard’s beloved clay is important to his psyche.
On the women’s side, No. 1 Dinara Safina continued
her excellent play in dispatching Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-2. She’ll
face the now revived Caroline Wozniacki, who took a 7-6,
6-3 victory over Amelie Mauresmo.
"When you keep winning you don't even feel that you are tired,"
Safina said. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match and then I
can have a little rest before the French Open."
This year, Wozniacki won a Tier III at Ponte Vedra Beach and was runner-up
in Memphis and Charleston, but would love to grab a Tier I over the sport’s
top ranked player. Safina and Wozniacki will be playing each other for
the first time. "I want to become No. 1 in the world and win a Grand
Slam but I'm just taking one step at a time,” Wozniacki said. “I
know that I still need to improve some things and we'll see how far we
can go."
Ole Madrid: The Old and the New FRIDAY, MAY 15- If No.1 Dinara Safina
continues to play this well, she’ll secure her position
as the Roland Garros favorite, but the frequency of her victories could
also eventuallytake a toll on her body during the brutal two-week stretch.
Whatever the case, the ambitious and resilient Russian took out Alona
Bondarenko 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Madrid semis, where she will meet Patty
Schnyder, who upset the sputtering Jelena Jankovic 7-6 6-3.
"I wouldn't say I'm playing better now than at the beginning of the
year, it's more like something wasn't clicking. I just think that now
I have found my game,” said Safina, who won Rome last week and reached
the Stuttgart final the week prior.
At times during the past month, Jankovic has appeared to be regaining
her stride, but against Schnyder, who has also struggled this year, she
couldn’t get on top of the ball. "I had a lot of trouble with
the high balls. I have a good game but I just have to learn how to close
out those points at the net," Jankovic said. "I was unlucky
in the tiebreak and then it was all downhill. I want to analyze the match
and then quickly forget it."
The bottom half of the draw featured a fair sized surprise, when the beloved
Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo took down Agnes Szavay 5-7,
6-1, 6-1. She’ll face teen Caroline Wozniacki,
who blew out Vera Dushevina 6-0, 6-4.
"I'm very pleased with how I've done this week," said Mauresmo.
"I was tired after Fed Cup. I was still confident I could do better
in Madrid, but not really knowing how good, so it's definitely a good
week for me so far." Wozniacki and Mauresmo will play each other
for the first time.
THURSDAY, MAY 14 - For the second time in the past month, Rafael
Nadal was handed a walkover,. this time in Madrid when Philipp
Kohlschreiber was forced out with a left leg injury. Rafa will face Fernando
Verdasco, who beat Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-2. Roger Federer, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over James Blake, joined
Nadal in the quarters. Federer avenged his loss to Blake last year's Beijing
Olympics and will play Andy Roddick, who was also handed
a walkover when Nikolay Davydenko also withdrew with a left leg injury.
Federer is 15-2 v. Roddick.
New No. 3 Andy Murray beat Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1 Murray
will play Juan Martin Del Potro after the Argentine took
down Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-4. 6-4. Looking for his fifth straight
final appearance, Novak Djokovic, took a 6-4, 6-4 victory
over unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi and will face Ivan Ljubicic,
who upset Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-4. 6-3. "I wish I'd had a withdrawal,"
Djokovic said. "As it was I had to work very hard."
On the women’s side, Dinara Safina overcame Lucie
Safarova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 and will play the revived Alona Bondarenko,
who stopped Anna Chakvetadze 6-0, 2-6, 6-3. Jelena Jankovic scored a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Elena
Vesnina, and will play Patty Schnyder. Hungary’s
Agnes Szavay continued to show just why she was considered
a player to watch last year, when she upset Victoria Azarenka, 4-6, 6-2,
6-2 for her second Top 10 win of the year. Szavay will next face the in-form
vet. Amelie Mauresmo.Caroline Wozniacki
crunched Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-2 and by virtue of her win will be the
first Danish woman to reach the Top 10. She’ll play Vera
Dushevina.
Ole Madrid: Rankings Rancor, Nadal, Safina
Win' Dementieva, Sveta Gone WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 - Novak Djokovic
wants the ranking system changed, even though like everyone else, he benefits
from its quirks just like everyone else. After besting Oscar Hernandez
6-3, 6-3 at Madrid, Djokovic, who surrendered his No. 3 ranking to Andy
Murray this week, said that reaching the Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome finals,
as well as winning a 250 in Belgrade, it was strange that his number went
backward.
"Playing three Masters Series finals in a row and winning a 250 event
(in Belgrade) is incredible success and even then you are dropping a spot
down in the rankings," "That shows how cruel the ranking system
is in this sport. Federer or Nadal have been winning four or five grand
slams in a row and they haven't [added] a single point. I think this is
an issue we have to talk about."
Interestingly, but oddly, Nadal said he had talked to Djokovic about the
issue and agreed the system needs changing, to what appears to be a more
complicated one. "I think a ranking based on two years would be much
better in terms of being relaxed and, from my point of view, would allow
me to lengthen my career," said Nadal, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-1
victory over Austrian Jurgen Melzer
How would a chance to the ranking system allow the Spaniard to lengthen
a career, and who could possibly follow a two-year system and not get
bored?
The reality is that while Djokovic has played very well, so has Murray,
who by the way, is still carrying a zero-pointer in his 18 tournaments
fro putting out of Indianapolis last week. And, had Djokovic won just
one of the recent Masters Series, it would not even be an issue.
But Djokovic wasn’t getting on Murray's back, just the system. "I
think that I have played fantastic tennis and have had huge success on
both hard courts and clay courts so I will be very patient and I am sure
that if I continue this way I will get my spot back," said Djokovic.
"Andy absolutely deserves that place because he's been winning a
lot of matches lately and playing good tennis but it is still a long way
for him and for me."
For a spot in the quarters, Djokovic will face Andreas Seppi who
beat Sam Querrey 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Andy Roddick contested
his first match since his wedding and came back to beat Tommy Haas 1-6,
7-6(9), 6-4. Juan Martin del Potro advanced when Munich
champ Tomas Berdych retired due to a left-leg injury. Del Potro will meet
Stan Wawrinka, who knocked out Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-5.
Gilles Simon took a 6-3, 6-2 victory over qualifier Fabio
Fognini of Italy. Philipp Kohlschreiber ousted Marin
Cilic 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) and will play Nadal. James Blake's
good form continued in a 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Ivo Karlovic, earning
himself a clash with Roger Federer. Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Monaco
also won.
On the women's side, No. 1 Dinara Safina just isn't letting
down, battling to a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Li Na. But two other Russian
women with large French Open hopes fell, when Elena Dementieva slid to
a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to Amelie Mauresmo and Sveta Kuznetsova
took a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Alona Bondarenko. Patty
Schnyder beat a game Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-7. (2), 7-6(5), who
went to a third set breaker for the second straight match, while Vera
Dushevina scored a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Francesca Schiavone.
Victoria Azarenka beat Peng Shuai 6-4 6-1 and will play
Agnes Szavay.
Ole Madrid: Federer Wins,
Venus Goes Down
TUESDAY, MAY 12– All Roger Federer can do at this
point is try to play solid until he rediscovers his once ethereal form
and he played well enough in a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Robin Soderling in
Madrid, winning his record to 9-0 against the Swede.
Coming off his final round appearance in Estoril, James Blake
beat Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-4, while Fernando Verdasco took
an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero. But whether top-10er
Verdasco can become a top-five player is still questionable, as he has
yet to prove that he’s resourceful enough to compete with the big
4 week in, week out. Ivan Ljubicic took down Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-5,
while Andy Murray survived a tussle with Simone Bolelli
7-6, 6-4 and will play Tommy Robredo, who reeled in Mardy
Fish 3-6, 7-6. 6-2. Other winners were Nikolay Davydenko, Tomas Berdych,
Marin Cilic and Andreas Seppi (Italy) beat Eduardo Schwank (Argentina)
7-5 6-4 Venus Williams is a Roland Garros contender of sorts,
but not one that her fans can really count on. The American lost another
epic three-setter on clay, this time to the promising Alisa Kleybanova
6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Jelena Jankovic could really
use the Madrid title going into Paris and took a fine 7-5, 6-2 win over
Daniela Hantuchova, Caroline Wozniacki moved on with
a 6-3,6-1 stomping of American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko, while Amelie
Mauresmo took out Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-5, Agnes Szavay’s
form continues to improve as the Hungarian bested Aravane Rezai 2-6, 7-5,
6-2, while Francesca Schiavone beat Petra Kvitova 6-4,
6-2.
Forget to mention that last weekend that Americans Raquel Kops-Jones
and Abigail Spears won their first doubles title as a
team in Estoril Open, beating Sharon Fichman and Katalin Marosi 2-6, 6-3,
10-5. "We've been playing together for the last couple of years,
and while we've won smaller tournaments together, we've never won a Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour title as a team before," Kops-Jones said. "Our
game styles match up really well. We like coming to the net a lot. The
more we play together the better we can read each other's games. We're
also good friends, which helps!"
Rehabbed Sharapova to
Return in Warsaw
MONDAY, MAY 11 – After nearly 10 months, Maria Sharapova
will finally return to singles play in Warsaw next week. The
three-times Grand Slam champ has been rehabbing her surgically repaired
right shoulder since October and it’s said to have held up well
in practice matches during the past few weeks. Now the question is how
her body will feel after having to go through the emotional ups and downs
of matches.
Sharapova said the time off has made her a much stronger person and added
that her coach, Michael Joyce, as well as her family, friends and hardcore
fans were extremely supportive of her. “There are so many things
you learn while you are limited to something you love doing,” she
wrote on her web site. “One of those things is patience, not my
best virtue, but certainly one of my better ones now. Self-belief...it's
important to have a great team and family helping and encouraging you,
but unless you are the one believing, it will not happen…I know
it is going to take me a while to get back into the groove of playing
tournaments and matches, but I am so excited to be competing again.”
Ole Madrid: Serena Hurt Again,
Tsonga Bests Safin MONDAY, MAY 11 – Serena Williams’
chances of winning a second Roland Garros title seem to be rapidly disappearing.
The 10-time Slam champ had to retire from her first-round match against
Francesca Schiavone at the Madrid with a right knee injury.
"It's not going to stop me playing in Paris," Williams said.
"I didn't want to risk my chances to play Roland Garros. I don't
know how serious it is but I don't want it to get worse. I was just really
hindered. My movement was hindered as a result of an injury I've been
struggling with for some time," said Williams, who had complained
on Sunday that the tour is asking the players to compete too much, said
she had made too many commitments and was paying the price. However, it
was Serena’s decision to pick up a large check to play Marbella
right after losing in the Miami final to Victoria Azarenka, which is not
a mandatory event. Serena has now taken four straight losses, including
her loss in Marbella to Klara Zakopalova and in Rome to Patty Schnyder.
In second round matches Nadia Petrova survived Anna-Lena
Groenefeld, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), Schnyder beat Aleksandra Wozniak 6-2,
6-4, and Anna Chakvetadze came back from 4-1 down in
the third to edge Samantha Stosur 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(4). Other winners were
Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki, Amelie Mauresmo, Peng Shuai and
Daniela Hantuchova.
On the men’s side on a day when the ITF announced they had suspended
Richard Gasquet for 60 days pending a hearing due to the charge that he
tested positive for cocaine, his friend, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bested
Marat Safin 6-4, 7-5 to set up a second-round battle with Ivan Ljubicic.
David Ferrer wasted Guillermo Canas 6-2, 6-2, Stan
Wawrinka beat Marco Crugnola 6-2 6-0, Philipp Kohlschreiber
got past Nicolas Almagro, Tommy Haas dumped
the slumping Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 and American Mardy Fish
beat Janko Tipsarevic 7-6, 6-4.
