Tennis

Roddick blows 5-2 lead, loses to Berdych

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:14:00 +0000

TOKYO - Andy Roddick was upset by Tomas Berdych 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (3) Saturday in the semifinals of the Japan Open, ending his bid for a second straight title in Asia. The ninth-seeded Berdych will face fifth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in Sunday’s final. Del Potro defeated No. 4 Richard Gasquet 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the other semifinal. Roddick, coming off a win at the China Open last

Petrova reaches Porsche GP final

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:14:00 +0000

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -Nadia Petrova moved to within one win of capturing her second Porsche Grand Prix and the sports car that goes with the title when she beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday's semifinals.In a match between two unseeded players, Petrova got early breaks in both sets against the 19-year-old Azarenka, who had upset Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in the

Venus Williams, Jankovic advance at Porsche GP

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:37:00 +0000

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -Venus Williams beat third-seeded Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 Friday to set up a semifinal showdown with the next No. 1, Jelena Jankovic.Safina has powerful groundstrokes but in Williams she met an opponent who can hit just as hard and who also had more precision. The two had never played before."I had to work very hard because she played at 200 percent,'' Williams said. "It's

Tursunov advances to Open de Moselle semifinals

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:37:00 +0000

METZ, France (AP) -Fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia advanced to the Open de Moselle semifinals Friday, beating Spain's Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-3.Tursunov had nine aces and converted three of his 10 break points.The Russian will face seventh-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Stepanek beat Argentina's Eduardo Schwank 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.In the other quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Paul-Henri

AIG Japan Open October 2 Results and October 3 Schedule

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:47:00 +0000

AIG Japan Open

Tokyo-JPN
$175,000 (Tier III)
Hard / Outdoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Thursday, October 2, 2008

Singles - Second Round
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (WC) Ayumi Morita (JPN) 62 61
Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (2) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 61 75
(8) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (Q) Ryoko Fuda (JPN) 61 61
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. Marta Domachowska (POL) 63 60
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) 62 64

Doubles - Quarterfinals
(2) King/Sun (USA/CHN) d. S.Uberoi/Washington (IND/USA) 63 64
Craybas/Erakovic (USA/NZL) d. Namigata/Yonemura (JPN/JPN) 46 76(5) 119 (Match TB)
Morita/Nakamura (JPN/JPN) d. (WC) Date Krumm/Fujiwara (JPN/JPN) 62 16 105 (Match TB)
Pavlyuchenkova/Wickmayer (RUS/BEL) d. Y.Chan/Santangelo (TPE/ITA) 67(4) 63 1513 (Match TB)

Order of Play - Friday, October 3, 2008

Center (from 10.00hrs)
1. Wozniacki vs. Tanasugarn
2. ATP: Ferrer vs. del Potro (NB 11.30hrs)
3. ATP: Gasquet vs. Schuettler
4. ATP: Troicki vs. Roddick
5. ATP: Berdych vs. González

Court 1 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Zakopalova vs. Gajdosova
2. ATP: Cerretani/Fisher vs. Kendrick/Nieminen (NB 13.00hrs)
3. ATP: Dlouhy/Paes vs. Petzschner/Peya
4. ATP: Parrott/Polasek vs. Kerr/Lindstedt
5. ATP: Youzhny/Zverev vs. Aspelin/Knowle (NB 16.30hrs)

Court 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Kanepi vs. Pavlyuchenkova
2. Wozniak vs. Stosur
3. Craybas/Erakovic vs. Pavlyuchenkova/Wickmayer
4. Morita/Nakamura vs. King/Sun

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the AIG Japan Open, please visit www.aigopen.jp.

Tashkent Open October 2 Results and October 3 Schedule

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Tashkent Open

Tashkent-UZB
$145,000 (Tier IV)
Hard / Outdoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Thursday, October 2, 2008

Singles - Second Round
(1) Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (Q) Arantxa Rus (NED) 61 75
(3) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. Anna Lapushchenkova (RUS) 61 64
(6) Monica Niculescu (ROU) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 63 34 ret. (illness)
Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) d. Tatiana Poutchek (BLR) 64 61

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Panova/Rybarikova (RUS/SVK) d. (1) Dzehalevich/Shvedova (BLR/KAZ) w/o (Shvedova)
Bratchikova/Woerle (RUS/GER) d. (3) Poutchek/Ar.Rodionova (BLR/RUS) 26 63 119 (Match TB)
Olaru/Savchuk (ROU/UKR) d. (4) Lapushchenkova/Niculescu (RUS/ROU) w/o (Lapushchenkova: illness)
Klepac/U.Radwanska (SLO/POL) d. Abduraimova/Hatamova (UZB/UZB) 62 62

Order of Play - Friday, October 3, 2008

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Lisicki vs. U.Radwanska
2. Peng vs. Niculescu
3. Bratchikova/Woerle vs. Klepac/U.Radwanska

Court 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Rybarikova vs. Olaru
2. Larcher de Brito vs. Cirstea
3. Panova/Rybarikova vs. Olaru/Savchuk

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the Tashkent Open, please visit www.tashkentopen.uz.

Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams move into Stuttgart quarters

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:12:00 +0000

Second seed Jelena Jankovic and sixth seed Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Williams served 12 aces on her way to a 6-4 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

Jelena Jankovic, who will regain the world number one spot from Serena Williams, beat Kateryna’s older sister Alona Bondarenko 6-2 6-0 to win her opening match in Stuttgart.

Other quarterfinalists in Stuttgart:

Third seed Dinara Safina, one of four Russian quarterfinalists at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1 7-6(6) to reach the last eight. She will next play Venus Williams.

Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva spoiled Marion Bartoli's 24th birthday beating her 6-2 6-0, while another Russian Nadia Petrova defeated Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-4 6-1. Zvonareva’s next opponent will be Jelena Jankovic, and Petrova’s Li Na of China.

There is one more quarterfinal pair, fourth seed Elena Dementieva will play Belorussian Victoria Azarenka. (photos: Getty Images)

Justine Henin never to play on WTA Tour again, for sure

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Justine Henin retired from professional tennis in May, confident she had made the right decision. In July the Belgian said that she wasn’t completely ruling out a comeback, but it was solely because she hates to say never. But practically, the former world No.1 is absolutely against returning to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

No, no competition is over for me. For me, it’s definitely over. When I took my decision I knew it was forever. So I don’t say I will never be back for an exhibition or for another event in the future. But for me (playing) on the Tour? Yeah, it’s in the past and I won’t come back. I made the right decision and I stick to my decision. I will never change my mind about that decision.

Justine officially launched the American branch of her 6th Sense Tennis Academy at Mission Inn Resort and Club just outside of Orlando, Florida on Saturday. (via Tennis Week, photo: Getty Images)

Tennis.com Named New Title Sponsor of Zurich Open

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:52:00 +0000

TENNIS.com has been named the new title sponsor of Switzerland’s Zurich Open.

Celebrating its 25th year in operation, the 2008 TENNIS.com Zurich Open will host the top players from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour at the Hallenstadion from October 11-19, 2008.

“We’re proud that one of Europe’s most important tournaments will operate under our name,” declared George Mackin, Director at The Tennis Company. “We decided to title sponsor the TENNIS.com Zurich Open based on its long and successful history and the outstanding player field they have this year.”

The Tennis Company, with headquarters in Santa Monica, California, is one of the world’s premier independent media companies focused entirely on the sport of tennis.

“We are delighted to be teaming up with Octagon to title-sponsor the TENNIS.com Zurich Open and hope that it will be the first of many future tennis event title sponsorships that we work on together, “ added Dave Morgan, Chairman of the Tennis Company.

The Tennis Company is also a managing partner in the tournament in Indian Wells, which is recognized worldwide along with the Grand Slams as a top tier ATP and WTA event.

“We are honored that the most important communications platform in tennis has selected us as a partner to still further strengthen its position in Europe. This really underlines the significance of the Zurich Open,” said Phil de Picciotto, President of Octagon. “We anticipate that this 25th Anniversary edition will be the best in the tournament’s history.”

Tickets remain for all sessions of the tournament, though only a limited number of tickets remain for the final three days.

For more information about the Tennis.com Zurich Open, please visit www.zurichopen.net.

Aces and Faults: Maria Sharapova Dating Charlie Ebersol

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Aces

Maria Sharapova reportedly has a new boyfriend: Charlie Ebersol, the son of NBC Sports & Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol. (International Business Times)

Diane at Women Who Serve takes a look at some of the recent comeback attempts on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. (Women Who Serve)

South Africa hopes to host a tournament in the future. (Zimbabwe Star)

The Brisbane International will offer ground passes for just $9.90 for each day of the 2009 event. (Tennis Australia)

Faults

None today!

Serena Williams upset by Li Na in Stuttgart, loses No.1 ranking

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:32:00 +0000

Serena Williams lost to China’s Li Na in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, and consequently Jelena Jankovic will take over her No.1 ranking next week.

American Williams was defeated in an intense three-setter 0-6 6-1 6-4.

Williams only took over the top spot when she beat Jankovic in the final of the US Open three weeks ago. Since Justine Henin retired in May, as much as four players have held the No.1 ranking: Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams – and we know Henin’s coach Carlos Rodriguez is not pleased with such a state of women’s tennis.

The world No.30 Li also beat Serena’s sister Venus Williams to reach the semifinals at the Beijing Olympics. (photo via Yahoo)

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix October 1 Results and October 2 Schedule

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:05:00 +0000

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Stuttgart-GER
$650,000 (Tier II)
Hard / Indoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Singles - Second Round
Li Na (CHN) d. (1) Serena Williams (USA) 06 61 64
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Sybille Bammer (AUT) 61 64
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 61 75

Singles - First Round
Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 46 75
(7) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 63 62

Doubles - First Round
(1) Peschke/Stubbs (CZE/AUS) d. Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL) 61 61
Kostanic Tosic/Perebiynis (CRO/UKR) d. (2) Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) 67(7) 61 108 (Match TB)
Voracova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Cibulkova/Petrova (SVK/RUS) 75 63

Order of Play - Thursday, October 2, 2008

Center Court (from 13.00hrs)
1. Zvonareva vs. Bartoli
2. Pironkova vs. Safina
3. V.Williams vs. K.Bondarenko (NB 17.00hrs)
4. A.Bondarenko vs. Jankovic
5. Williams/Williams vs. Hlavackova/Hradecka (NB 20.30hrs)

Court 1 (from 14.00hrs)
1. Petrova vs. Schnyder
2. Voracova/Zahlavova Strycova vs. Azarenka/A.Radwanska
3. Groenefeld/Schnyder vs. Kostanic Tosic/Perebiynis

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, please visit www.porsche-tennis.de.

AIG Japan Open October 1 Results and October 2 Schedule

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:03:00 +0000

AIG Japan Open

Tokyo-JPN
$175,000 (Tier III)
Hard / Outdoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Singles - Second Round
(5) Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 36 61 60
(LL) Jarmila Gajdosova (SVK) d. (6) Shahar Peer (ISR) 57 61 76(9)
(7) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) d. Camille Pin (FRA) 62 62

Singles - First Round
(2) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) d. Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 36 63 63
Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (Q) Vania King (USA) 62 ret. (right hamstring strain)

Doubles - First Round
Namigata/Yonemura (JPN/JPN) d. (1) Benesova/Peer (CZE/ISR) 61 46 105 (Match TB)
Pavlyuchenkova/Wickmayer (RUS/BEL) d. (4) Dulko/Kirilenko (ARG/RUS) w/o (Kirilenko: left hip injury)
Y.Chan/Santangelo (TPE/ITA) d. Kondratieva/Lefèvre (RUS/FRA) 61 76(4)
Craybas/Erakovic (USA/NZL) d. Dubois/Fusano (CAN/USA) 64 62
S.Uberoi/Washington (IND/USA) d. Domachowska/Zakopalova (POL/CZE) 64 64
(WC) Date Krumm/Fujiwara (JPN/JPN) d. Cetkovska/Safarova (CZE/CZE) 64 67(4) 107 (Match TB)

Order of Play - Thursday, October 2, 2008

Center (from 10.00hrs)
1. Wozniacki vs. Morita
2. ATP: Ferrer vs. Suzuki
3. ATP: Gasquet vs. Nishikori
4. ATP: Delic vs. González
5. ATP: Melzer vs. Roddick
6. ATP: Tsonga vs. Troicki

Court 1 (from 10.00hrs)
1. ATP: Bopanna/Butorac vs. Aspelin/Knowle
2. ATP: Robredo vs. Berdych (NB 11.30hrs)
3. ATP: Nieminen vs. del Potro
4. ATP: Ferrer/Robredo vs. Petzschner/Peya
5. ATP: Iwabuchi/Suzuki vs. Youzhny/Zverev
6. ATP: Dlouhy/Paes vs. García-López/Navarro

Court 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Fujiwara vs. Pavlyuchenkova
2. Wozniak vs. Fuda
3. Date Krumm/Fujiwara vs. Morita/Nakamura
4. S.Uberoi/Washington vs. King/Sun

Court 3 (from 10.00hrs)
1. ATP: Parrott/Polasek vs. Lipsky/Martin
2. ATP: Schuettler vs. Youzhny (NB 11.30hrs)
3. ATP: Cermak/Wassen vs. Cerretani/Fisher
4. ATP: Kohlmann/Schuettler vs. Kerr/Lindstedt
5. ATP: Kondo/Soeda vs. Kendrick/Nieminen

Court 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Zakopalova vs. Domachowska
2. Stosur vs. Medina Garrigues
3. Pavlyuchenkova/Wickmayer vs. Y.Chan/Santangelo
4. Namigata/Yonemura vs. Craybas/Erakovic

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the AIG Japan Open, please visit www.aigopen.jp.

Tashkent Open October 1 Results and October 2 Schedule

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:01:00 +0000

Tashkent Open

Tashkent-UZB
$145,000 (Tier IV)
Hard / Outdoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Singles - Second Round
(4) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (Q) Alexandra Panova (RUS) 75 61
(5) Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) d. Vesna Manasieva (RUS) 61 75
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. (Q) Ksenia Palkina (KGZ) 26 63 62
Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. Sofia Shapatava (GEO) 75 62

Singles - First Round
(Q) Arantxa Rus (NED) d. (WC) Vlada Ekshibarova (UZB) 36 62 61

Doubles - First Round
(1) Dzehalevich/Shvedova (BLR/KAZ) d. Manasieva/Yakimova (RUS/BLR) 46 63 105 (Match TB)
Klepac/U.Radwanska (SLO/POL) d. (2) Amanmuradova/Govortsova (UZB/BLR) 61 61
Panova/Rybarikova (RUS/SVK) d. Ekshibarova/Narzikulova (UZB/UZB) 62 61

Order of Play - Thursday, October 2, 2008

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Shvedova vs. Niculescu
2. Peng vs. Rus
3. Abduraimova/Hatamova vs. Klepac/U.Radwanska
4. Lapushchenkova/Niculescu vs. Olaru/Savchuk

Court 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Poutchek vs. Larcher de Brito
2. Lapushchenkova vs. Cirstea
3. Bratchikova/Woerle vs. Poutchek/Ar.Rodionova
4. Dzehalevich/Shvedova vs. Panova/Rybarikova

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the Tashkent Open, please visit www.tashkentopen.uz.

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix September 30 Results and October 1 Schedule

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:34:00 +0000

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Stuttgart-GER
$650,000 (Tier II)
Hard / Indoors
September 29 - October 5, 2008

Results - Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Singles - First Round
(6) Venus Williams (USA) d. (WC) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 61 62
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (Q) Sandra Zahlavova (CZE) 63 62
Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 63 61
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Agnes Szavay (HUN) 75 63
Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (Q) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 62 62
(Q) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 62 61
(Q) Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) d. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 46 62 61

Doubles - First Round
Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) d. Camerin/Pennetta (ITA/ITA) 63 63
(WC) Petkovic/Woehr (GER/GER) d. Birnerova/Uhlirova (CZE/CZE) 62 46 1210 (Match TB)

Order of Play - Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Center Court (from 13.00hrs)
1. Zvonareva vs. Hantuchova
2. Schnyder vs. Kuznetsova
3. Azarenka vs. A.Radwanska (NB 17.00hrs)
4. S.Williams vs. Li
5. Dementieva vs. Bammer (NB 20.30hrs)

Court 1 (from 14.00hrs)
1. Peschke/Stubbs vs. Jans/Rosolska
2. Kostanic Tosic/Perebiynis vs. Bondarenko/Bondarenko
3. Voracova/Zahlavova Strycova vs. Cibulkova/Petrova

An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.

For more information about the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, please visit www.porsche-tennis.de.