Week 10 & 11 Summary

Indian Wells (ATP World Tour Masters 1000)


It was another week of great display by Rafael Nadal. After coming back from the brink in the 4th round against David Nalbandian, Rafa smoothly captured his second title in Indian Wells by beating Andy Murray in the final.

The final, which probably involved current two best players in the world, was a windy spectacle, which from the start went in Nadal's favour. The Spanish left-hander produced some superb form in the California desert, dictating most of the rallies from the baseline before wrapping up 6/1 6/2 victory in 80 minutes.

"I think I accept a little bit better than him that conditions today." said Nadal. "I think I have good strategy and I played a really good match with those conditions, no? Probably Andy didn't play his best because of the conditions, but I think I played a really complete match, moving very well. I never stop the legs during all the match, and I think that was the key all today, no?" he added.

The major scare for Nadal appeared in the 4th round when he was 3/6 3/5 down against an inspired Nalbandian. Rafa saved 5 matchpoints in the second set before clinching a 3/6 7/6(5) 6/0 victory. Then he easilly beat Juan Martin Del Potro in the quaterfinal and Andy Roddick in the semifinal. After this tournament Nadal clinched wins over every TOP 10 player in this season.

It was a good tournament for A-Rod as he beat Novak Djokovic in his quarterfinal 6/3 6/2. He had also an interesting match in his first round against Daniel Koellerer. The match ended up with a little scandal as Andy shouted at Dani "Fuck you". You should be surprised that this was the only thing that Roddick said, because Koellerer insulted and provoked him for the whole match.

The best US player can be also proud about his doubles performence. Together with Mardy Fish, Roddick captured his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

The tournament also occured in another encounter between Murray and Federer. The Scot managed to beat Roger for the fourth time in a row. The Swiss completely broke mentally in the final set and lost the whole match 3/6 6/4 1/6.

There were not many surprises in this tournament as quaterfinals involved mostly top seeded players. The only one who wasn't really expecetd to get so far in Indian Wells was Ivan Ljubicic. The Croat, who seemed to be falling down in rankings recently, showed signs of his best form and managed to beat some good players such as Nishikori, Ancic, Simon and Andreev. He eventually lost to Murray in a match that included a Hawk-Eye scandal. Read more about it HERE.


Indian Wells (WTA Premier Mandatory)

Vera Zvonareva proved to the world she's a force to be reconned with as she won the biggest title of her career. In the final she beat the crowd favourite Ana Ivanovic 7/6(5) 6/2 on an extremely windy Sunday. And because winning is a damn' good feeling, Bepa took the doubles title as well with Victoria Azarenka.

"It's amazing. It's a great feeling to win such a big event. I'm still a little bit in the match." Zvonareva said.

"It was the toughest conditions I've ever played in. Today it was about who could handle it better and stay mentally tougher through it, and she did. She played really well, who was visibly bothered by the blustery conditions. I thought I had her in the first set a couple of times. I was very disappointed with the set points I didn't use. It was tough to come back in the second set." said Ivanovic.

"I'm a little bit disappointed I could be up there with Martina [Navratilova] winning it a couple of years in a row, but I enjoyed playing here," she added.

Two other players, who made the most headlines were Victoria Azarenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Both of them recorded their career best wins. Azarenka battled past world No.2 Dinara Safina winning 5 straight games after being 1/3 down in the third set. By virtue of beating Safina the Belarussian made it to the top ten in the world rankings. Prior to her semifinal loss to Zvonareva, she was 17-1 for the season. The only loss was a retirement against Serena Williams, when she was leading by a set. This year the teenager from Minsk either has won the title or lost to the eventual champion. Watch out for her as she's a number one in making!

Pavlyuchenkova showed also signs, she's a contender for the top spot. She stunned world No.3 Jelena Jankovic right at the start of the tournament and then just went from good to better notching up another top ten win against Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinal. The Russian admitted during the week, that backing up that great win over JJ was the most difficult thing to do.

Also having a breakthrough tournament was Urszula Radwańska. Agnieszka's little sister reached the 4th round having nothed up a win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in a nailbiter 6/2 4/6 6/3. In the last game of the match at deuce Ula twisted her ankle, but Kuzy came up with two errors to give the young Pole her second career top ten win.

Petra Cetkovska also made headlines as she produced the biggest shock of the tournament by upsetting Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva 7/6 2/6 6/1. The world No.4 was bitterly honest at her press conference admitting, she shouldn't have come to Indian Wells in first place as she felt tired, burnt out and with no motivation after playing so many matches this year.

Dinara Safina also can't be satisfied with her week as she once again missed her golden chance to be number one. She had to make the final, but she lost a match that seemed to be already won.

~shaw
~jachal

Week 9 Summary

Monterrey International (WTA, $220,000)

Marion Bartoli had to beat two Chinese girls in a row to win her first title in almost three years. In the final she defeated Na Li 6/4 6/3.

"I feel really good about how I played the whole week. I had some tough matches, not just today but also in the semifinals. They were both two sets but tough. I hit some great shots at the right moment. I'm happy about my level." Bartoli said.

"My first three titles came in 2006 when I was younger and not really expecting to win. So it's understandable why those ones were more emotional. But it's always nice to win titles, and this is a great one. Now I'm hoping to start winning bigger tournaments, and I hope I can keep playing like this in Indian Wells and Miami." said this week's champion.

Bartoli worked tremendously hard in the off season and all the hard work is paying off. She drasticly lost on weight and seems to be faster around the court than last year. It has been a great decision and the great results just underline it.

The tournament win wasn't the only thing the Frenchwoman managed to achieve this week. By defeating Jie Zheng in the semis, she notched up her 300th career win.

"It makes me feel old - 300 already, oh my gosh! I don't normally think about the wins but it's great. I focus on winning titles, not about how many matches I've win. But of course I'm happy about it!" said Bartoli.

It was a very disappointing week for the Radwanska sisters, as both girls lost to their Chinese rivals. Ula lost to Zheng. Agnieszka, the top seed and only player who was ranked in the top ten. lost 6/7 6/4 0/6 to resurgent Na Li. The Chinese missed out on the Australian summer, as she had to withdraw from Brisbane, Sydney and Australian Open due to a right knee injury. She's once again starting a comeback of her own and a final must have lifted her spirits. Li is known as always-injured bighitter, who on a given day can beat absolutely anybody. Her 12 career top ten wins are a proof of that. If she only could play a whole season without an injury...

It was also a week to remember for Iveta Benesova, who reached back to back semifinals in Mexico. This achievement has pushed the Czech to a career high of 29. This is the first time, she's in the top 30.

~jachal

Week 8 Summary

Dubai (ATP, 500)

Acapulco (ATP, 500)

Derley Beach (ATP, 250)

Acapulco (WTA, $220,000)

Week 7 Summary

Marseille (ATP 500)

In the second all French final of the season, it was once again Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who came on top. He defeated Michael Llodra in two tight sets 7/5 7/6 for the 4th title of his career.

"It was a great week for me. I played perhaps my best tennis since the start of the year and I'm really happy about that. Today I played really well, like yesterday. Against Michael it's different because you have to hit passing shots all the time and you're always under pressure." - said this week's champion.

Tsonga defeated the top seed Novak Djokovic in the semis. It was his 4th win over Nole. In fact, he only lost once against the Serbian, but the loss came in their most important match - in the final of last year's Australian Open.

Llodra, on the other hand, brushed off the tournament's second seed in him semifinal - Gilles Simon.

A lot of noise made the two promising youngsters - Grigor Dimitrov and Jerzy Janowicz. The Bulgarian was 5-3 in the third against Gilles Simon in the first round. The expirience paid off for the Frenchman there, as he managed to win the next four games.
Janowicz, a former US Open & French Open junior's runner-up, almost took out world No.36 Andreas Seppi, but after building a lead in the third set tiebreak - he also blew it.

Still, let's keep an eye on those two, cause it won't take long and they will get the necessary experience to win these kind of matches. Then they'll surely be very dangerous!


Memphis (ATP 500)

Andy Roddick may not have played the best tennis of his career this week, but it still was enough to capture his fitrst title of the year and 27th overall. In the final he beat Radek Stepanek, who was already looking for the third title of the season and second in a row.

The Roddick-Stepanek encounter was a repeat of last weeks match, which the Czech won in three sets. This time it was sweet revange time for the American.

"A week ago (in San Jose) I felt like I was in control of the match but he played better when it counted on the big points. I played better today on the big points. His serve is tough to read." - said this weeks champion.

"His game is based around his serve and he served really well when he had to. We had a great match and a lot of good rallies. The only difference was break points and I couldn't convert when I had chances. I am happy with the start of the year but not satisfied. I hope to keep playing well the rest of the season and I will continue to work hard." - Stepanek said.

It was also a good, but not satisfying week for Lleyton Hewitt. The Aussie reached the semis in which he played better than his conquerer Roddick, but it all counted for nothing, as he lost 6/2 6/7 4/6.

The qualifier Dudi Sela also had an outstanding week as he reached the semis, but came unstuck against Stepanek.


Buenos Aires (ATP, 250)

Tommy Robredo came from behind to win his second title in as many weeks. In a high-class claycourt display, the Spaniard out-edged hometown favourite Juan Monaco 7/5 2/6 7/6(5).

Robredo looked to be on the way for his 9th career title as he won the first set, but then came the rain break and after that the match began to turn in Monaco's favour. The Argentine won the second set easily and was up a break in the third (leading 4-2), but then the Spaniard found another gear.

"Coming back from the rain break I felt a bit tired. All of a sudden I wasn't moving as well. But in the third set I picked back up and played great tennis. Juan played very well and the truth is the match was decided by a few points. Anyone of us could have won the match. I am very happy for having won back-to-back titles for the first time in my career. It feels great." - Robredo told the press.

In order to get to the final Robredo had to face Jose Acasuso curiously for the third straight week in the semifinals.
"I'm upset for missing so many opportunities. I had the control in most of the points but he played better in the tie-break." - said the Runner-up.

Although Monaco didn't go all the way, he can surely be proud of his achievements this week. He upset in an epic match his top seeded countryman David Nalbandian 2/6 7/5 7/6. He was also responsible for the first double bagel of the year (more on that HERE).

Also producing the good this week were the two qualifiers - Brasilian Franco Ferreiro and Maximo Gonzalez from Argentina. Both of them reached the quarterfinals.


Dubai Premier (WTA, $2,000,000)

Venus Williams captured her first title of the season by beating France's surprise finalist Virginie Razzano 6/4 6/2 and although the players showed amazing performances on the way to the final, the media focus wasn't that much on tennis itself this week...

The tournament in Dubai up until now, has always been of the most important stops on the Tour. It is a Premier event with a lot of prize money at stake, which always gathered a great field. The same was supposed to happen this year, but unfortunately one name was missing - Shahar Peer. Her absence became a huge scandal, as the tournaments organizers didn't manage to get a Visa for the Israeli player (the whole story HERE). Now Dubai will have to face serious consequences (more on that HERE).

Now let us focus on what happened tennis-wise this week. The tournament kicked off with a sisters act and towards the end of it, it was once again a sister act, that kept the spectators off their seats. The first one was a huge surprise, as world No.121 Urszula Radwańska recorded her first Top 10 win, beating her sister Agnieszka in their first meeting at professional level 6/4 6/3. The result may not come as such a surprise to those, who knew, that the world No.10 was having a flu. She couldn't give up the match, cause she still wanted to compete in the doubles. And compete - she did. The older of the two Radwańska sisters, partnered by Maria Kirilenko, has reached her biggest doubles final of her career to date, where the two lost comprahensively to the top seeds Cara Black & Liezel Huber 3/6 3/6.

The second sisters act came, as mentioned, late in the tournament, but it really was worth waiting for. Venus and Serena went all the way in their semifinal, with the older of the two sisters - having the edge in the tiebreak, winning in the end by the scoreline 6/1 2/6 7/6.

The one thing, that strucked us, was the unevenness of the draw. The top half was filled with the reigning Australian Open champion (Serena Williams), French Open champion (Ana Ivanovic), Wimbledon champion (Venus Williams), US Open champion (Serena Williams), Olympic Gold Medalist (Elena Dementieva) and the YEC champion (Venus Williams). Together they had 18 Grand Slam titles between them, whereas the bottom half had only one (that one coming from Svetlana Kuznetsova). The difference was made even clearer after the quarterfinals, where in the top half all top woman managed to progress, but the bottom section was left with the likes of Vera Zvonareva, Virginie Razzano, Kaia Kanepi and Elena Vesnina. None of the ladies in the bottom part of the draw has even managed to win a Tier 2 title, not to mention only one of them made the semis of a Grand Slam (Zvonareva that is)

With the draw as it was, you still have to give credit to the woman for making the most of it and taking full advantage of their luck. They really earned it.

First of all, congratulations to Virginie Razzano, who beat two current top 5 players on the way to her first final of the year. The Frenchwoman really got emotional after her wins over Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva.

Also enoying herself on court was Kaia Kanepi, who was able to record her first career top 3 win, after running over Jelena Jankovic in the 3rd round. JJ told the press, she never before played such a bad match.

Another woman, who made headlines this week was Elena Vesnina. The Russian came through the qualification and scored three fantastic wins over bigger names - Na Li, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dominika Cibulkova. The win over Kuzzy was Vesnina's first career top 10 win.

A match worth noticing was also the meeting between Elena Dementieva and Sybille Bammer. The Russian won it 7/5 6/2 and with it scored her 500th win of her career (more on that HERE). Well done, Elena!


Memphis International (WTA, $220,000)

Victoria Azarenka has won it all this week. In the final she has beaten her doubles partner and top seed Caroline Wozniacki 6/1 6/3. The two won also the doubles competition.

The Belarus star is having an amazing year so far. She lost only one of the 14 matches she played in and that was on retirement, when she lead Serena Williams by a set at the Australian Open, but had to succumb with tears in her eyes to dizziness and illness. It's her second singles title after going 0-4 in finals before this year. She'll reach her career highest ranking of No.11 on Monday and will have a very good shot at reaching the Top 10 over the course of next month (trailing only 40 point to current world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska).

This was also a good week for Caroline Wozniacki, who was hoping to capture her 4th singles title, but left Memphis with her 2nd doubles crown.

"She was just playing great; I didn't feel I was playing badly. I felt like everything I hit just came back faster. I had beaten her before and I was hoping it would turn out that way again, but she just played a great match." - Wozniacki said.

Also having a good week were the two beaten semifinalist Anne Keothavong and Sabine Lisicki, but both ended their contention for the title in heartbreaking way. The Brit was dumped of the court 1/6 0/6, while the German No.6 seed lost a nailbiter to Azarenka 4/6 6/3 6/7.

Showing sings of a resurgence was Michaella Krajicek. The 20 year old former Wimbledon quarterfinalist came through the qualification and reached the quarters (losing to top seed Wozniacki in three sets). The Dutch has reached a career high of No.30, but after personal problems and severe loss of confidence, she dropped outside of the Top 200.


Bogota International (WTA, $220,000)

The week belonged to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez as she beat Gisela Dulko 6/3 6/2 for her first singles title and then added her 6th doubles title to her tally. Playing along side Nuria Llagostera Vives she once again beat Gisela Dulko, partnered by Flavia Pennetta.


"I really believe that doubles helps my singles. They are equally important to me. It also helps me improve a lot of my shots, so it gives me more confidence on the court when I'm playing singles matches." - Martínez Sánchez said.

It was also a good week for Patricia Mayr, who reached her first semifinal on the WTA Tour, before falling to the eventual champion.

Masa Zec Peskiric pulled off the upset of the tournament as she defeated top seed and world No.15 Flavia Pennetta in the 1st round 6/3 4/6 7/6. The Slovenian then went on to reach the quarterfinal.

~jachal

Week 6 Summary

Rotterdam (ATP, 500)

It was the dream final from the spectator's and organizers point of view. The tournaments highest seeded players met in the final. Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal for the Rotterdam crown 6/3 4/6 6/0. The second and third sets turned into a farse as the world No.1 player was injured and went for broke on every occasion.

From 2-1 in the 2nd set, the players showed a festival of breaks, you wouldn't imagine to ever see on an ultra fast and pacy indoor hardcourt from the world's No.1 and No.4 players. The 8 consecutive breaks of serve the spectators saw, will surely not be repeated very quickly on the ATP World Tour...

"Obviously it's not the way you want to win as I could see Rafa had an injury. I thought the first set was good quality and then at the start of the second, when I saw that he was injured, my concentration and level of play dipped. He made it difficult as he was hitting the ball so hard and being aggressive on every shot to try and keep the points short. It just shows how he good he is that he can beat me on one leg!" Murray said.

This was already the 10th title in the young Scotts career, who after his semifinal match has decieded to pull out of his next tournament. His withdrawal has been not only sensational, but more controversial as he manged to beat Mario Ancic 6/1 6/2 in the semis. There will surely be serious consequences for his absensce.

"It's been a great week here and I feel like I've played better as the week has progressed. After my ATP World Tour Masters 1000 wins, this has to count as one of my biggest victories. I've got a bit of a sore ankle so I'll get some rest this week before heading out to Dubai." Murray commentated.

His final opponent showed himself very mysterious about his injury, but at the same time was full of appreciation for his rival. Rafa, who had to play three three-set matches, admitted he wasn't ideally prepared for the tournament.

"I had a problem with the injury but I don't want to talk about that. Andy played very well today and he deserved to win the tournament. I am very happy with my performance this week. I came here without the best preparation after Australia, so it was a great result for me to get to the final here and I am very happy with that."

Worth mentioning was another comeback to form from Mario Ancic. The talented Croat surprised Gilles Simon in the 2nd round in three sets and backed that up with a solid win over Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters.

Also having a great week was the French armada: Gael Monfils, Julien Benneteau and Marc Giqcuel. Monfils reached the semis, before going to Rafa. He beat Benneteau in the quarers, who played a flawless match against Nikolay Davydenko in the 2nd round. Giqcuel also reached the quarters after solid wins over higher ranked players - Koroleev and Mathieu.


San Jose (ATP, 250)

While his girlfriend, Nicole Vaidisova, is still struggling big time, Radek Stepanek is having the time of hs life on court. He beat the home crowd favourite Mardy Fish 3/6 6/4 6/2 for the San Jose title.

"I started the season well in Brisbane, and I made two rounds at the Australian Open, so I came here with a lot of confidence with a lot of winning matches and it just paid off. I did very hard off-season practice. I believe in myself and I feel great physically. Now with five weeks in the bag, it’s definitely my best beginning to a year. This is great for me, and I’ll work hard to keep this level." said Stepanek.

The Czech must have found a new recipie for winning. He just lets the opponent win the first set and then he comes into play and wins the next two sets. This was the case in 4 out of his 5 matches this week. The strangest one came in the quarters against qualifier Todd Widom, when he produced the stunning scoreline 5/7 6/0 6/0. In the semis it was a more classical score against the tournament's top seed Andy Roddick 3/6 7/6(5) 6/4. Great effort from Radek!

Mardy Fish can also be happy of his achievements this week as he beat very good names on the way to the final - former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, the ace-tower John Isner, No.2 seed (king of smaller events) Juan Martin Del Potro and (the injured) No.3 seed James Blake.

"I played every set this week about as good as I could have against a lot of good players. [The third set] definitely was the worst set I played all week. Everything went – starting with my leg, my feet. You stop moving, you get a little tight. You get so close to winning this. To say it doesn’t creep in your mind that you remember some of those losses you have in all those finals – I have 10 losses in all those finals – that’s a lot." said Fish.


Costa do Sauipe (ATP, 250)

It's always a strange feeling to be playing on clay in February, but because Tommy Robredo is no stranger to clay, it didn't feel strange for him to win the title by beating a surprise finalist and hometown favourite Thomaz Bellucci 6/3 3/6 6/4. And because winning is such a fun feeling, the Spaniard also decieded to win the doubles title (together with Marcel Granollers).

"It's wonderful to play tennis when the public is excited about the match and behind one of the players. Obviously, as long as it's respectful, as the public was tonight. Naturally the public was backing Thomaz tonight, but I was able to concentrate on what I needed to do. Although Thomaz was nervous at the beginning, this turned into a great match. He is a great player and plays well. He had opportunities and made some great shots, but luckily I was able to win and I'm very happy about it. This was a great way to end a fantastic week here in Brazil. I hope to return many times to Costa do Sauipe." said Robredo.

The Spaniard literally cruised past his opponents. He had a tricky semifinal against Jose Acasuso, to whom he lost a week ago at the same stage. This time Robredo showed his best play polishing the Argentinian 6/2 6/1.

"It was very emotional and moving to feel the public support me to that degree; yelling my name and even some people crying at the end." said Bellucci.

The Brazilian was very lucky to get so far, as he had a very difficult 2nd round match against Poland's Łukasz Kubot, the Pole was 4/1 up in the third, but choked and didn't win another game. Bellucci then upped his game to beat former world No.1 Juan Caros Ferrero in the next round in three sets and Frederico Gil, who made a second semifinal in as many weeks.
His match against the No.1 seed and defending champion, Nicolas Almagro proved to be a scandalous filled one and the talking point of the week. More on the story behind that one - HERE.


Paris Premier (WTA, $700,000)

The indoor tournament in Paris was all about Amelie Mauresmo, as the Frenchwoman finally found her mojo again and beat three top ten players in a row to take the home crown. In the final she beat the in-form Elena Dementieva in what was surely the match of the tournament 7/6 2/6 6/4.
The tears Amelie shead after winning the final didn't wonder anyone in the crowd. Everyone knew, how much it meant to the former world No.1 to finally win a title and state a comeback of form. It took Amelie two long years to add a title to her previous 24. Doubts creeped into the mind of the 29 year old, as the reporeters were repeadietly asking her, if it's about time to hang up her racquet, but knew Mauresmo she still had it, 'cause you can not just lose the skill.

"I'm just happy it finally showed after a couple of years of struggling. During the last few months in practice I could see there were some great moments, but it was only showing in matches now and then. I didn't know when my consistency at this level was going to happen again, or if it would. When you look at the field and all the great players that were here in Paris, I'm very happy and very proud about this week."

Mauresmo began the week with a win over Sara Errani, who she had lost to in two sets two days earlier in a Fed Cup match. It was revange time for Amelie as she beat the Italian by the impressive score 6/2 6/0. Next up, she lost only three games to Monica Niculescu, but the major shock came in the quarters as she destroyed world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska 6/2 6/0. In the semis the Frenchwoman also impressed the crowd with a win over recent world No.1 Jelena Jankovic 6/2 0/6 6/1.

The final was a see-saw match, where Dementieva raced out to a 5/3 lead in the first set and held a set point in the tiebreak. After winning the first set Momo got an early break and seemed to be able to runaway with the match, but Dementieva is not a player who gives you anything for free. She's even more dangerous, when she's down. She won the second set 6/2. The Frenchwoman raced out to a 5/1. The Russian closed the gap to 5/4, but wasn't able to complete the little comeback, as Mauresmo confidently closed out the match to love on her second attempt denying the Russian her 500th win on Tour.

"The level of our match was just incredible. The whole week, Amélie was playing very solid. She really picked up her game and played her best, especially today. It was a really impressive win for her today. I'm just very glad for her. She has had some difficult times with all of those injuries, and it's really great to see her win here, especially since it's at home." Dementieva said.

The hosts can be generally very happy with their countryman's performances. The quarterfinals were an intriguing affair between the top 4 seeds and Frenchwomen and though only one emerged as a winner, it was the one who eventually captured the crown.

There were also some negative headlines this week, as the new world No.1 Serena Williams decieded to pull out of the tournament before her semifinal clash against Dementieva. The Australian Open champion cited an injured knee as the reason of her withdrawal.
"At the end of the match (against Emilie Loit) I felt pain and this morning it was bad. My left knee has already often been injured and here it's the right, that's the good news... I really think it's just a question of a few days of rest" Serena said.

The American had really dissapointed the crowd, who was expecting a great showdown between this year's two best players. One can question Serena's action as she immidietly made the trip to the bigger tournament in Dubai and will have only three days rest. It seems like Williams didn't take the tournament seriously at all, which is very sad and disappointing!


Pattaya International (WTA, $220,000)

Vera Zvonareva was the No.1 seed and the totally dominant player in Pattaya City, winning the title without losing a single set, but it was her final opponent, Sania Mirza, who made all the headlines and stole the Russian the show.

First things first - it was a fantastic week for Zvonareva, who just rolled over her opponents, not even having to contest a tiebreak. It seems Vera hasn't lost anything from her last year's spark. If anything, she has exelerated - reaching semis at the Australian Open, her best Grand Slam result, and now winning the title. We'll see, if she can keep this up...

The beaten finalist, Sania Mirza, must be very proud of what she achieved over the past month. In only her second event after a right wrist injury forced her out of the Tour for more than 4 months. She came back at the AO, where as the first Indian in history she captured the mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. More on that HERE.

"This is my second tournament this year after six months of injury last year. I couldn't ask for a better start by winning the mixed doubles in the Australian Open and making it to the final here in Pattaya City."

Also making headlines this week were the semifinalist - Magdalena Rybarikova from Slovakia and Israeli Shahar Peer.

Peer reached her first semifinal since Memphis, exactly a year ago.
Rybarikova, on the other hand has posted her career best win after dismanteling world No.12 and No.2 seed in Pattaya Caroline Wozniacki 6/4 6/1.

~jachal

Week 5 Summary

Johannesburg (ATP, 250)

In the first edition of SA Tennis Open in South Africa, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated first time finalist Jeremy Chardy 6/4 7/6(5) in an all-French final.

After capturing his first two titles in 2008 (Bangkok- ATP 250 and Paris- Masters 1000) Tsonga managed to win his third title on a different continent. His route to glory was rather easy as he didn't even lose one set.
“Every time I play finals now my level is going up and I play great, so it is good.
I think for the first edition it was just amazing. Everything was fine, I have nothing negative to say. The court was perfect.”- said the Frenchman afterwards.

Not only Tsonga can be happy about his performance. Jeremy Chardy reached his first ATP World Tour final after beating nr 2 seed David Ferrer in the semifinal. Chardy saved three matchpoints before claiming a great victory over the Spaniard 3/6 7/6(9) 7/6(4). The second semifinal included one big surprise as well. Frederico Gil from Portugal played a great tournament before falling to Tsonga 3/6 4/6.

It was a great begin of South Africa's adventure with tennis and we are looking forward to next year's edition.

Vina del Mar (ATP, 250)

In the battle of South American's Fernando Gonzalez from Chile needed just 55 minutes to beat Argentinian Jose Acasuso 6/1 6/3.

Top seed and defending champion Fernando Gonzalez clinched his fourth title at his home soil in Vina del Mar and eleventh overall. He had to beat three Argentinians in this tournament, but in fact none of them made Gonzalez fight really hard as he won all his matches in straight sets.
"Every player dreams to win a title in his home country in front of his crowd. I'm happy to have done it four times and I can only hope this wasn't the last time. It is always fantastic to feel the energy from the crowd. That's nothing better than this."- said Fernando.

The crowd saw a great comeback from Juan Ignacio Chela, who reached quaterfinals in his first tournament since French Open 2008. He played really great tennis before losing his match against nr 2 seed Tommy Robredo 6/0 3/6 4/6.

Worth noticing was also the run of a qualifier from Uruguay, Pablo Cuevas. Current world number 149 in the ATP ranking reached his second consecutive semifinal in Vina del Mar, being once again dismissed by Gonzalez 3/6 2/6.

Zagreb (ATP, 250)

It was Marin Cilic, who won the all Croat battle in the final of the Zagreb tournament. He defeated Mario Ancic 6/3 6/4 to earn his second title of the2009 season .

Cilic who moved today into his career highest ranking of 20, impressed the crowd throughout the whole tournament.
"Before the tournament I was wishing that I would make the final here, that wish came true and especially today I played really well. It’s a really nice feeling to win here at home. It was really special to play against my friend, Ancic. It was a really big feeling for both of us and the stadium was full. It was really nice to play and I had a little bit more adrenalin in me and I kept it going and really played well."- said the in-form Cilic.

There were a few surprises during this week as the number one seed Igor Andreev lost his first round match to a qualifier Ivan Dodig (ATP 342). The Croat managed then to outgun Ernest Gulbis in his second match.

Jan Hernych from Czech Republic is surely another player, who will be satisfied with his results last week. He reached the semifinal, where he had three matchpoints againt Ancic, but eventually lost 7/6(4) 3/6 6/7(9).

The tournament occured also in one strange incident that happened in the first round encounter between Guillermo Canas and wild card Antonio Veic. Veic was a heavy underdog before the match, but then became the odds-on favorite despite losing the first set. He went on to win 4/6 6/4 6/2. Betfair is now investigating this odd betting paterns durring that match.
Could we be in for another betting scandal like the famous one with Davydenko in Sopot 2007?

~shaw

Week 2 Summary

Sydney (ATP, 250)

All the young guns were there, but it was the 'old' man, who took it away from them. David Nalbandian captured his 10th title beating Jarkko Nieminen 6/3 6/7(9) 6/2.


Nalbandian one of the most dangerous players of those, who never won a Grand Slam, will be now looking to do some damage at the Australian Open.
"It was a very positive week, and I feel that I'm going to arrive to Melbourne with a lot of confidence. So that's good."

The Argentinian didn't lose a set coming into the final, having beaten such established names as Michael Llodra, Lleyton Hewitt and Richard Gasquet.

The story of the week was perhaps Novak Djokovic's chase for the number two ranking. In order to overtake Roger Federer in the standings, he had to advance to the final and after struggling last week, the Serb looked to have put that behind and seemed to be on his way to do so. Only a few believed that Nieminen could stop him, but the Fin likes playing down under and showed why you can never underestimate a lefty.

Meanwhile the French duo - No.2 seed Gilles Simon and No.3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had their own struggles. Simon still can't match his last year's form and was taken out pretty handily by fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6/4 6/4.
Tsonga instead, looked allright in his first match, but a back problem forced him to withdraw from the tournament and left him in doubt for the upcoming Australian Open.

"I decided this afternoon that my back was too much and I cannot play. I will stay in my bed and I hope I will be better after." he said. Tsonga, who has had disc problems before, said he would take two days off before coming back to action.


Auckland (ATP, 250)

It was a fantastic weekend for Argentinian tennis as Juan Martin Del Potro once again proved he's on his way to join 'The Great Four" capturing already his fifth title by outlasting Sam Querrey 6/4 6/4.

Last year's shooting star - Del Potro - started the tournament by losing a set to Ernests Gulbis (the one who kicked out Nole last week), but after that he didn't lose another throughout the whole tourney.

"All titles are special and this one is my first of the season. This is good for my future and I will try to win more. It’s a great to start the season, but next week I have another important tournament. I will try to do my best there in Melbourne." he said

The beaten finalist Sam Querrey was made to work harder in order to get to the final. He looked shaky in his 1st round match against New Zealand's wildcard Daniel King Turner, then he lost a set to the qualifier Gilles Muller and in his semifinal match ha had to come from two match points down against the No.2 seed David Ferrer.


Sydney Premier (WTA, $600,000)

It seems like the WTA Tour is now reigned by Elena Dementieva who won three of the last four tournaments she entered. The world No.4 has beaten fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the final 6/3 2/6 6/1 to lift the title.


The Olympic Gold medalist from Beijing came to Sydney on fire after winning in Auckland a week earlier. She managed to keep an unblamished record this year and beat 3 top ten players in a row (with whom she had negative head to head records) - Agnieszka Radwańska, Serena Williams and the aformentioned Safina.

After such a magnificent start to the season Dementieva will head to Melbourne as one of the top favourites (along the Williams sisters) to lift the Australian Open crown. Although she was never able to get past the 4th round there, the Russian relishes the challenge of being of the main title contenders.

"This is great, to have all this pressure after winning two titles. Coming to [Melbourne] with the pressure, I love it, I really do."

The only player, that has been able to steal the headlines from Elena Dementieva was Serena Williams. The world No.2 came to Sydney hoping to get some preperation for the year's first Grand Slam. Williams faced a tough opposition already in her first round as she had to come from 4 match points down to beat the home crowd favourite Samantha Stosur. After an easy 2nd round, the American once again found herself in trouble. In her quarterfinal match against the Dannish shooting star Caroline Wozniacki she had to save three more match points, eventually winning 6/7 6/3 7/6. The former world No.1 seemed not to have anything left in the tank as she went down 3/6 1/6 to Dementieva in the semis.

It was also a good week for Ai Sugiyama, who made only her second semifinal in the last two years. The Japanese veteran got to that stage with a little help from Svetlana Kuznetsova, who had to withdraw from the tournament before their quarterfinal clash with an abdominal muscle strain. This leaves Kuzy doubtful for the Australian Open.


Hobart International (WTA, $220,000)

The 18 year old Petra Kvitova won her first title in an all Czech final in Hobart against Iveta Benesova 7/5 6/1.

Kvitova, who made a name for herself after beating Venus Williams in Memphis last year, enjoyed a rollercoaster road to final. After handling a double bagel to Sally Peers in her first round and cruising past the 7th seed Alona Bondarenko 6/3 6/1, the Czech teenager had to come from behind big time against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian raced out to a comfortable 6/1 5/2 lead.

"It was very horrible for me, the first set and most of the second set. My legs weren't moving and she was playing well. But I didn't give up - I played every ball as well as I could, and I was able to come back. It was a very important match for me. But it wasn't the end, because of course I had two more matches, and I had to refocus."

After that she showed no mercy beating Virginie Razzano in the semis and her roommate Benesova in the final without losing a set.
"I'm very, very happy. I really like it here, so it's exciting for me to win my first title here."

Kvitova wasn't the only one making headlines this week. Hobart was shattered by seeds drop-out. There were none left in the quarterfinals.

Magdalena Rybarikova upset the top seed Flavia Pennetta in the 2nd round for a carrer best win. In her next round against Melinda Czink she had to save one matchpoint, eventually prevailing 6/0 1/6 7/6.
Tsvetana Pironkova took care of No.2 seed Patty Schnyder in the first round, Carla Suarez Navarro out-battled No.3 seed Anna Chakvetadze 7/6 1/6 7/5, while Gisela Dulko proved her good form she showed at the Hong Kong exhibition dispatching No.4 seed Jie Zheng 6/3 6/3.

The match of the tournament involved the No.5 seed Aleksandra Wozniak and Urszula Radwańska. The young Pole came through qualifications, where she surprisingly upset Francesca Schiavone (more on that HERE).
Radwańska, the Junior World Champion of 2007 saved 7 match points against the Canadian. In the third set she only lost two points behind her serve breaking last year's Stanford winner to win the encounter 3/6 7/6 7/5. In the next round Agnieszka's younger sister had to withdraw with back pain, although the real reason was she had to give it up, in order to make the Australian Open qualifications.
With the draw so wildly open Radwańska might soon regret she didn't stay in Hobart to fight for the title...

~jachal

Week 1 Summary

Hey guys,

The Argwus-Team decided, that with this new tennis year looming in, we want to try out some new stuff. From this moment on, every week we will present you a summary of the latest tournaments. This will be like a pill, that contains all that was worth noticing during the week on court. Hope U enjoy our ride across the world of tennis tournaments.
Ok, so let's start...

Doha (ATP, 250)

It was a battle of two Andy's in which the crowd could see a stunning performance of this younger one. Andy Murray managed to win his second stright title in Doha after beating Andy Roddick 6/4 6/2.

"The semi-final and final matches were very good against two top players so I am very pleased. It is great to start the season with a title. I have defended my title in three different tournaments now so I like to go back to the same places. I've always felt very comfortable in Doha." said Murray.

Throughout the whole week Andy showed great form and he is now considered to be a main title contender of the upcoming Australian Open. In the semifinal he won his third straight encounter against former world No.1 Roger Federer (6/7 6/2 6/2).

The tournament from the start seemed to be a game of the big four, so everybody expected great semifinals. One of them included Roger and Andy, but as an opositon to what everyone expected the second one lacked nr 1 seeded Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard unexpectly lost his quaterfinal to Gael Monfils (4/6 4/6) who impressed the crowd serving many aces and hitting the ball very hard into the corners.

Still, it wasn't enough to beat Andy Roddick in the semifinal. He lost a match of about 80 winners 6/7 6/3 3/6.

It is tough to say something more about the actual form of Roger and Rafa. Before Doha, Rafa hasn't played a single match since last October. What is easier to say, is that Andy Murray is definitely in great shape and we will see a lot from him through out this year.

The spectators on the side-courts could witness an amazing match between Slovakia's Karol Beck (coming back from his doping ban) and Poland's Michał Przysiężny (known as an unfulfilled talent with a top 20 potential). The Pole blew a 5/3 third set lead and lost an amazing chance to play World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the next round.


Brisbane (ATP,250)

Radek Stepanek won the battle of the WTA-beauties boyfriends in Brisbane's final as he was able to defeat Ana Ivanovic's love Fernando Verdasco, coming from a set down 3/6 6/3 6/4.


Stepanek had more luck this week than his fiancee Nicole Vaidisova, who fell in the second round in Auckland in straight sets.
“It’s my third title and my first tournament of the new season. I have the trophy, so I can’t find the words right now. I’m very happy with the way I played this week; I fought from the first point to the last point in every match. Three times I came back from a set down. I played very good tennis and here is the reward for it." Stepanek said.

Fernando Verdasco, who still was carried by the wave of his success, which he achieved in the Davis Cup final last Dercember winning the deciding point for Spain, could be very satisfied with his week in Brisbane.

The shock of the tournament came early, as the main title contender, world No.3 Novak Djokovic was ousted in the first round by Ernests Gulbis (you find his view on the win HERE). Djokovic, had he won one more match than Federer that week, he would have overcome the great man in the rankings for the second spot.

Brisbane's No.2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga didn't go deep into the tournament ever, as he lost in the quarters to fellow Frenchman - Richard Gasquet 6/1 4/6 2/6. Tsonga came up with an unbelievable win a round earlier as he came back from a first set drumming to beat Finland's best - Jarkko Nieminen 0/6 7/6 7/6.
Also worth noticing is the comeback of Taylor Dent, who won his first round match against Steve Darcis pretty easily before succombing to Richard Gasquet (blowing an amazing 5/2 lead in the first set)


Chennai (ATP, 250)

It was the 14th time India has held the ATP event in Chennai. 32 men were participating, but only one stood tall at the end - Marin Cilic, The Croat scored his second victory on the ATP World Tour by beating India's Somedev Devverman 6/4 7/6(3), having won the tournament in New Haven last year.


"It's great to start the year with a title win, I've been in training hard for the new season. I always enjoy coming back to Chennai. This was already my third time here and I always enjoy the passion of the crowd. Today it was a bit different of course since they supported Somdev and I'm glad that I managed to win in two sets. Somdev has been impressive this week and if he continues playing like this he can be in the Top 100 by the end of the year." said the winner

Devvarman himself somewhat overshadowed Cilic. The player ranked 202 in the world was a sensation, as is his story.
It was only last year that the Indian played at University level, where he won everything that there was to win. The Indian-born Devvarman has reached the NCAA singles championship three times, won two singles titles, and went undefeated his entire senior season. He studied History and Sociologists and now he turned pro and made his first ATP World Tour level final. He scored two fantastic wins - over former World No.1 Carlos Moya and the ace-king Ivo Karlovic.
"Losing is not fun, not converting the break points wasn't my best move." Devvarman said.

The tournament in Chennai begun with a major upset, when the Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla crushed world No.13 Stanislas Wawrinka 6/4 6/1. The two had already met last year at the US Open, but the Swiss was victorious, coming from two sets down to beat the feisty Italian.

This wasn't the only shock news. The tournament's top seed Nicolay Davydenko had to pull out with a left heel pain. This injury forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open, starting next Monday. More on that you can find HERE.


Brisbane International (WTA, $220,000)

It took her five attempts, but Victoria Azarenka the has finally made it. She won her maiden title by defeating France's Marion Bartoli 6/3 6/1.


"The way I was thinking on court was very different from before, I was playing every point, no matter what happened. I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was playing in a final. I was thinking it was a regular match, regular points. That helped me today. I don't really believe I've won yet. Everybody says the third time is the charm, but for me it's the fifth - I'm just glad I finally got it!"

The fast rising Belarus shooting star will now go into the Australian Open as some sort of a dark horse. She was an outstanding junior and in the soming months will be looking to crack the top 10.
But Azarenka wasn't the only one with a good week. Marion Bartoli made only her second final after reaching the Wimbledon title match.

"I'm just pleased to have been in the final. I want to keep some energy for Melbourne, which is the most important event right now."

The weeks action also saw the revival of Amelie Mauresmo. The former world No.1 reached the semifinal before having to retire because of a left thigh injury. Mauresmo made a clear statement she might be back, after easily defeating French Open champion Ana Ivanovic 6/3 6/2 in the quarters. The crowd was looking forward to this match after both girls had to save match points in their 2nd round matches in order to get there. Mauresmo faced 3 mp's against Julie Coin (5/7 6/2 7/6), Ivanovic saved 2 mp's against Roberta Vinci (6/7 7/5 6/1).

One of the tournament's stories was the comeback of Jelena Dokic. The former World No.4 hasn't had it easy the last couple of years, having to struggle on and off court. The Aussie didn't have much luck with the draw, as she had to face Amelie Mauresmo in the 1st round. Dokic lost 6/7 6/7 having wasted 5 set-points in the first set. On one hand she might be upset, she lost such a tight encounter, on the other she might take comfort in the way she went toe to toe with the two time Grand Slam champion.



Auckland International (WTA, $220,000)

The crowd in New Zealand could witness an all Russian final this year. In the battle of Elenas it was the more expirienced Dementieva who defeated Vesnina 6/4 6/1 for the title.


"It was a pleasure to come here and play this tournament. We all really felt at home here, it was very nice. And for the first time my mom isn't here with me, so I'm especially happy to take this trophy back home for her."

Dementieva was the top seed and made the most of it. After a rather sluggish start to the tournament (where she was 1/5 down against Yung-Jan Chan, but managed to reel of 9 straight games), the Olympic champion just cruised through the draw without losing a single set.
It is the 12th career title for Dementieva and for sure a great preparation before the Australian Open.

The losing finalist Elena Vesnina enjoyed a great week herself as she managed to reach a first final of a WTA event in her career (compared: Dementieva played her 25th) and score some great wins along the way.

"It was a great week for me. I'm really happy my first final happened here in Auckland. It's a very nice place to be - from the first match, I really fell in love with this city. I'd like to congratulate Elena for her great week - she played really well and deserved this title."

Worth noticing was the run to the semis by the British No.1 Anne Keothavong. The 25-year old iss only the second British player to make a WTA semi-final in 15 years, after Jo Durie in 1992 and Keothavong herself in 2007.

The week was overshadowed by a protest, that intention's was it to force the Isreali Shahar Peer out of the tournament. More about this HERE

Hopman Cup

It was a week full of surprises as a last seeded pair from Slovakia managed to beat Russia in a spectacular final. Dominik and Dominika beat Safin and Safina after two dramatic 3- setters.


Nobody expected rising star Dominika Cibulkova and her 11 years older friend Dominik Hrbaty to perform so effectively. In final match Dominika beat Dinara 6/7 6/1 6/4. In third set Cibulkova led 5/1 before losing three games in a row. Still, she was too strong for current nr 3.In the second match of the final two friends who have met on court 15 times before showed a awesome display of tennis. After 192 minutes it was Hrbaty who eventually prevailed leveling up their head to head 8-8. The glory was even sweater for Slovak two day later when he proposed to his girlfriend.
More on that you can find HERE.


DOUBLES WATCH

It wasn't the best start of the year from Rafael Nadal, but there was something what made him smile again. He prooved one more time, that he can play not only singles, but also doubles.

For the first time in his career he paired-up with Marc Lopez and they surspisingly won the title beating the best pair in the world Nestor/Zimonjic 4/6 6/4 10/8 in the final.

Marc, remember, no one bites trophies like Rafa ;)

In the same competition a Polish-Russian tandem Kubot/ Tursunov won their first round and then lost to number ones Nestor/ Zimonjic. Meanwhile one of the tournaments favourites Fyrstenberg/ Matkowski lost their oppenning match against Petzschner/ Peya. We are sure that the better form will come in their next event.

Another success worth mentioning is the great effort from Polish girls Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska. They destroyed the much favoured team of Hantuchova/ Sugiyama in the semifinal before losing the final against Groenefeld/ King 6/3 5/7 5/10.
Shame. They had opportunities in the second set when they led 5/3 and served for the match. Next time will be yours, girls - there's no doubt.

~jachal
~shaw