Tennis

[ninanina19]

Hey I missed Serena in the last two tournaments. Is she injured or something? What about Venus? It seems like they're always injured. Nice to see you like Anna C. too . I actually think that Mauresmo and Venus when they're on are the only ones that can defeat Serena when she's on.

Of course I like Anna C, hence my username!

Serena and Venus are constantly injured or at least they say they are. But Serena has never really played that many tournaments in a year because she just has to turn up and she'll probably win the thing. I don't think Venus could beat Serena right now. Mauresmo possibly but she has some terrible matches where she doesn't seem to turn up. Justine Henin had match points against Serena in Miami a few weeks ago. She could definitely beat Serena,

Holy crap I would've never thought to make the connection between Anna and your username. I think Venus is out of form but I think at her best she could beat Serena. She needs to get back in form. I remember Wimbledon 2005. I wish she would get back to that. Also Mauresmo if she were mentally on top of it maybe she could I mean she's done it in the past, she's athletic and isn't well intimidated by Serena. We;ll see about Justine. She'll def. prove a threat come French Open time.

[ninanina19]

The women's game has become much more interesting. I mean there's a series of tough strong players and each slam you know who'll make it to the quarters, but you never know who will take the title. With the men it's the opposite, you never know who will make it to the quarters but you know Federer or Nadal will win.

[ninanina19]

Gonzalez moves up to 5th and Djokovic slides down to 6th. Roddick slides down to 4th while Davydenko takes 3rd place.

[ninanina19]

results > singles > round 1

Monday, 14.05.2007

D. Ferrer (ESP) - J. Bjorkman (SWE) 6:4 3:6 6:2

L. Hewitt (AUS) - A. Calleri (ARG) 6:3 6:4

N. Almagro (ESP) - M. Verkerk (NED) 6:1 6:3

J. Chela (ARG) - G. Canas (ARG) 6:1 4:6 6:1

R. Soderling (SWE) - R. Ginepri (USA) 4:6 6:4 6:3

P. Mathieu (FRA) - O. Rochus (BEL) 6:1 7:6 (3)

J. Ferrero (ESP) - S. Wawrinka (SUI) 6:1 7:6 (5)

A. Clement (FRA) - R. Stepanek (CZE) 6:3 6:7 (4) 6:3

J. Monaco (ARG) - D. Hrbaty (SVK) 6:2 6:2

R. Gasquet (FRA) - G. Gaudio (ARG) 6:1 6:4

G. Simon (FRA) - M. Gicquel (FRA) 6:1 6:0

F. Serra (FRA) - S. Bolelli (ITA) 6:7 (3) 6:2 6:2

P. Kohlschreiber (GER) - M. Baghdatis (CYP) 7:5 6:3

I. Andreev (RUS) - D. Tursunov (RUS) 6:2 1:0

[Chaky]

Holy crap I would've never thought to make the connection between Anna and your username. I think Venus is out of form but I think at her best she could beat Serena. She needs to get back in form. I remember Wimbledon 2005. I wish she would get back to that. Also Mauresmo if she were mentally on top of it maybe she could I mean she's done it in the past, she's athletic and isn't well intimidated by Serena. We;ll see about Justine. She'll def. prove a threat come French Open time.

I was not expecting anyone to make the connection between Anna and my username - she is not that well-known yet - but Chaky was her nickname since school.

Venus has been plagued by too many injuries to compete with Serena. Venus was always my favorite of the two and I'd love to see her come back to full fitness but she's been struggling.

Justine is looking to become only the 4th woman in history to win Roland Garros three times in a row. She will be the favorite for the title but I agree with what you said about the women's game; I think this year's contest is a lot more open than last year. There's a whole bunch of players who could possibly win: Serena, Kuznetsova, Mauresmo (if her nerve holds), maybe someone younger like Vaidisova.

[ninanina19]

I agree there are so many possibilities. Ana and Jelena especially have potential as well.

[ninanina19]

Monday, May 14, 2007

Singles - First Round

(9) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 46 61 62

(10) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (WC) Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) 61 62

(11) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 60 20 ret. (right wrist strain)

Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) d. Emilie Loit (FRA) 63 62

Ai Sugiyama (JPN) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 64 57 75

Karolina Sprem (CRO) d. Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) 36 64 63

Alona Bondarenko (UKR) d. (Q) Sun Tiantian 67(6) 75 62

(LL) Michaella Krajicek (NED) d. Olga Poutchkova (RUS) 61 62

(Q) Galina Voskoboeva (RUS) d. (WC) Alberta Brianti (ITA) 62 63

(Q) Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Nicole Pratt (AUS) 67(1) 60 62

(Q) Catalina Castaño (COL) d. (WC) Karin Knapp (ITA) 61 75

[ninanina19]

Kirilenko lost.

[ninanina19]

Strong Field to Contest Masters Series Hamburg

© ATP

Philipp Kohlschreiber and Tommy Robredo promote the start of Hmaburg Masters Series Hamburg Preview At a Glance:

* STRONG FIELD -- This year's tournament features 9 of the Top 10 players in the ATP Rankings (except No. 3 Roddick) and 16 of the Top 20 overall. The nine players in the Top 10 is the most in Hamburg since 2002.

* THE STREAK CONTINUES -- World No. 2 Rafael Nadal is unbeaten in his last 77 clay court matches, an Open Era record. The 20-year-old Spaniard’s last loss came to Igor Andreev in the quarterfinals of Valencia on Apr. 8, 2005. During the streak, Nadal has won 13 titles. He is making his first appearance in Hamburg since a third round loss in 2003 at the age of 16.

No. of matches Streak Duration

Rafael Nadal 77 Apr. 2005-current

Guillermo Vilas 53 May-Sept. 1977

Bjorn Borg 46 Oct. 1977-May 1979

Thomas Muster 40 Feb.-June 1995

Muster 38 Aug. 1995-Apr. 1996

Ilie Nastase 38 May-Oct. 1973

STREAK SUMMARY – During Nadal’s 77-match winning streak, which began in Monte-Carlo in April 2005, he has defeated 50 different opponents from 21 different countries. The players he has beaten the most during the streak: Federer (5), Vliegen (3), Coria (3), Ferrer (3), Gaudio (3), Berdych (2), Bracciali (2), Canas (2), Djokovic (2), Ferrero (2), Gasquet (2), Gonzalez (2), Malisse (2), Monfils (2), Nieminen (2) Robredo (2), Seppi (2), Stepanek (2), Volandri (2) and Youzhny (2). He has defeated 71 right-handed opponents and six left-handed opponents. He also has a 10-5 record in tie-breaks during the streak.

Here's a look at the streak by matches:

Best of Three Set Matches (52)

Straight-set wins: 44

Three-set wins: 8

Best of Five Set Matches (25)

Straight-set wins: 13

Four-set wins: 10

Five-set wins: 2

Note: He has lost the first set 11 times during the streak

2005 (36-0)

=========

ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo (Apr. 11-17)

Barcelona (Apr. 18-24)

ATP Masters Series Rome (May 2-8)

Roland Garros (May 23-June 5)

Bastad (July 4-10)

Stuttgart (July 18-24)

Davis Cup vs. Italy (Sept. 23-25)

2006 (26-0)

==========

ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo (Apr. 17-23)

Barcelona (Apr. 24-30)

ATP Masters Series Rome (May 8-14)

Roland Garros (May 28-June 11)

Davis Cup vs. Italy (Sept. 22-24)

2007 (15-0)

=========

ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo (Apr. 15-22)

Barcelona (Apr. 23-29)

ATP Masters Series Rome (May 7-13)

* ROGER LOOKS FOR TITLE TURNAROUND -- World No. 1 and three-time Hamburg champion Roger Federer looks to break his four tournament title drought. It is the first time since Federer has ranked No. 1 (on Feb. 2, 2004) that he has played four tournaments without an ATP title. The last time this occurred was July-August 2003 when he played Gstaad, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open without a title. During his current four-tournament winless streak, he lost to Guillermo Canas in Indian Wells (2nd RD) and Miami (4th RD), Rafael Nadal in the Monte-Carlo final and Filippo Volandri in Rome (3rd RD). Of Federer's five career ATP clay court titles, four have come in Germany -- Hamburg in 2002, '04-05 and Munich in 2003. His other clay title came in Gstaad in 2004. Federer will also play in the tournament without a coach after he announced on Saturday that he and Tony Roche have mutually decided to end their 2 1/2 year long part time coaching arrangement. Federer said on his website, "I thank Tony very much for his efforts over these last years, during which I appreciated the 12-15 weeks per season we would work together. I am also grateful for the sacrifice he made, traveling so far from his home in Australia and leaving his family."

* FORMER CHAMPIONS -- Defending champion Tommy Robredo and three-time winner Roger Federer (2002, '04-05) are the former titlists in the draw. Federer is trying to become the first four-time Hamburg winner in the Open Era. Other players who have won three titles are Andrei Medvedev (1994-95, '97) and Eddie Dibbs (1973-74, '76). Federer has a 20-3 career record, including 20-1 in his last four appearances.

* LOCAL TITLE HOPES -- Michael Stich is the last German to capture the singles title in 1993 (d. Chesnokov). That was also the last time a German reached the Hamburg final. No. 1 German Tommy Haas withdrew due to a right shoulder injury but there are six other Germans in the main draw -- Benjamin Becker, Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Rainer Schuettler, Tobias Summerer, and Alexander Waske.

* DEFENDING DOUBLES CHAMPIONS -- No. 5 seeds and defending champions are Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett. They defeated Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in last year's final. Ullyett also captured the title three years ago (w/W. Black). Other former champions in the field are No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi (2005), Knowles and Nestor (1996, 2003). Bjorkman also won in 2001 (w/Woodbridge). Mahesh Bhupathi, who is playing with Radek Stepanek, earned the title in 2002 (w/Gambill).

* BRYANS TOP SEEDS -- The top seeds are Bob and Mike Bryan, who are coming off a runner-up in Rome (l. to Santoro-Zimonjic) for the second time in three years. The No. 1 team on the Stanford ATP Doubles Race are off to a career-best start (29-3) with five titles (Australian Open, Las Vegas, AMS Miami, Houston, AMS Monte-Carldeo). The Bryans reached the Hamburg final three years ago (l. to W. Black-Ullyett). They come in having won 17 of their last 18 matches since their first round loss at ATP Masters Series Indian Wells in March. Other seeds in the draw are: No. 2 Jonas Bjorkman-Max Mirnyi, the new pairing of No. 3 Martin Damm and Nenad Zimonjic, No. 4 Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, No. 5 Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, No. 6 Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, the new squad of No. 7 Todd Perry and Pavel Vizner, and No. 8 Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle.

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/news/news1.asp

[Dajana]

Federer to go without coach

Roger Federer will play both the French Open and Wimbledon without a coach, saying he would not replace Tony Roche any time soon.

"I'm definitely not going to take a coach for the French Open and Wimbledon because I know what it takes and I don't want anybody interfering with my preparation and with my tournaments," Federer said from the Hamburg Masters.

"Maybe down the road I'm going to look again for someone who's going to be able to help me out for practicing."

Federer surprisingly parted company with Roche after failing to win a fourth straight tournament at the Rome Masters due to a disappointing third-round loss to Filippo Volandri.

The Swiss world number one said that the move was actually a long time coming.

"It's something that's been inside myself for a few months," Federer said. "It was a decision that wasn't easy, of course, because we're good friends and get along very well and he's helped me a lot over the last couple of years.

"(But) in the end he was a part-time coach. We only were together for 15 weeks and distances were also not so easy ... I just thought the communication kind of changed and it was not going much further."

Federer hasn't won a tournament since the Dubai Open in March falling to Volandri, Rafael Nadal, and Guillermo Canas twice, but says that he is not concerned by the losses.

"In Monaco, I reached the finals," Federer said.

"I'm very happy the way I played there from the quarters on. Last week was obviously disappointing and I wasn't happy with my performance there."

"But it's basically one tournament, because at Indian Wells I had a bit of a blister and then in Miami I think I played well but ended up losing. So nothing really happened in my point of view."

[Dajana]

Safin - Massu 7-6, 6-3

[Chaky]

Federer to go without coach

Federer will be fine without Roche. He only really came to the Grand Slam tournaments with Roger anyway and Roger seems to do fine at most other tournys without him. What advice do you give someone when they are playing close to perfection? Well I hear Lleyton Hewitt is after Tony Roche now he's a free agent.

Andy Murray is trying to kickstart his clay season but he's drawn Federer's conquerer Filippo Volandri in round one.

[ninanina19]

I know.

[Chaky]

Kirilenko lost.

This was on TV today but I couldn't really pay attention because I had work to do. It seemed like a really tough match. Kirilenko's been in a long rough patch and can't quite seem to find her way out. Sugiyama is a very tenacious opponent so this was always gonna be hard.

Glad Daniela won. She hates clay and usually sucks on it but it would have been a disaster if she'd lost to the slumping Rezai.

[ninanina19]

You're so lucky it's being taped there. Nothing here. Plus whatever tournament Murray plays in is bound to be taped there. Sugiyama is pretty old though for a tennis player isn't she? She's like 31 or 32. Kirilenko is only 20.

[ninanina19]

Did Ai take out Hingis in Wimbledon or am I thinking some other tourney?

[Chaky]

Did Ai take out Hingis in Wimbledon or am I thinking some other tourney?

You're right. She beat Martina in three sets at Wimbledon last year. Sugi's a veteran, she'll be 32 this July!

Some news on Rome: Vaidisova and Ivanovic have withdrawn with injuries.

But big news: Murray has injured his wrist in Hamburg and will most likely miss Roland Garros. This is a clay season to forget for him.

[Chaky]

You're so lucky it's being taped there. Nothing here. Plus whatever tournament Murray plays in is bound to be taped there.

I have British Eurosport which shows some men's tournies and a lot of the women's tournies. All the Masters Series is on Sky Sports which is subscription only and I don't have access to it at the moment. Coverage of tennis in the UK is pretty good, probably better than most other places in the world. Shame we don't have more decent players.

[Chaky]

And now the word is that Martina Hingis will not play Roland Garros. She is suffering with a back injury which prevented her from defending her Rome title this week.

[Dajana]

Birthday injury woe for Murray

Andy Murray says he is a serous doubt for this month's French Open after suffering tendon damage to his right wrist during a first-round match at the Hamburg Masters on his 20th birthday.

Serving for the opening set at 5-1 in his first-round match with Italy's Filippo Volandri, the number one Briton dropped his racket and shrieked in pain gripping his right wrist after a routine forehand.

Continually holding onto the hand on the sidelines, Murray told the trainer that he felt as if "something was moving" in his wrist.

"I've obviously got quite a lot of pain in my wrist, I just hit one shot and really couldn't pick up my racket after that," Murray said after a scan at the hospital revealed there was no fracture.

"I was playing great, I kind of proved to myself today that my claycourt game is good," he added.

The world number ten attempted to play on after taping up the wrist, but again was forced to leave the court and bellow in pain after hitting another forehand two points later.

"Obviously you don't want to be getting injuries right before a slam, I'm not too confident about the French Open now, which is a bit disappointing," Murray said.

The French Open runs from May 27 to June 10 giving Murray less than two weeks to recover.

Murray has skipped much of the claycourt season after injuring his back in a doubles match with brother Jamie at the start of last month's Monte Carlo Masters.

"I've never really had any injuries that have kept me out for a long time," Murray said. "Hopefully in a few days my wrist will be feeling a lot better, and I can see what will happen from there."

The Scotsman was eliminated from his opening match in last week's Rome Masters, falling to Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1 1-6 6-3 in the first round.

Volandri, who beat world number one Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals in Rome, will next face Argentine Jose Acasuso.

Acasuso eased past Spanish qualifier Guillermo García-Lopez 6-3 6-4 to reach the second round in Hamburg.