LTA NEED ANSWERS
What Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd would give for the kind of selection headache faced by counterparts Alberto Mancini and Emilio Sanchez as he prepares for life back in the wilds of the Euro-African Zone. While the respective captains of Argentina and Spain each had an embarrassment of riches at their disposal as they swept into November's final, Lloyd's embarrassment was of a more acute nature at the All England Club.
Left in the hands of the world number 163 Alex Bogdanovic, who had never previously won a live Davis Cup rubber and has proved spectacularly incapable time and time again on the big occasion, Britain's World Group hopes floundered. Lloyd may argue he was left with little choice but to hand yet another last chance to Bogdanovic, who duly went on to lose his two singles matches, because he is still, horrifyingly, ranked 41 places above the British number three, John Goodall.
Goodall shows plenty of promise but is hardly world-class material yet, and for such a sorry state of affairs the blame should not rest with the largely hamstrung Lloyd, but with the Lawn Tennis Association. Perhaps the LTA bigwigs should stop restructuring and spinning and pondering new initiatives for a while and check out the extent to which the current world ranking list makes such wretched reading. Perhaps they should consider, for starters, quite how far they have fallen behind the game's modern giants: Argentina boast no fewer than 18 players ranked higher than the British number two. Spain go one better at 19.
But it would be no excuse to say that two nations which have undoubtedly been inspired by the consistent success of totems like Guillermo Coria and Gaston Gaudio, and in Spain's case Rafael Nadal, help make that a skewed statistic. Okay, consider instead that 22 nations can rank at least two players inside the world's top 163. These include such traditional tennis bastions as Chile, Colombia and even Kazakhstan, who rub it in a bit more by having three.
The Kazakhs, of course, have achieved their strictly relative success without millions of pounds flooding their coffers every year from lavish sponsorship deals and staging one of the world's most prestigious tennis grand slam tournaments. According to the official website of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, their modest aims for the next five years include increasing the number of courts in the country to 300, and constructing a national tennis centre.
Such statistics ought to leave the LTA red-faced. Last week they were only too happy to spout on about their new GBP 25million, five-year sponsorship with AEGON, presumably providing the dosh for even more initiatives to follow. In the wake of the farce at the All England Club last weekend, the same officials and sometime spin doctors were notable only for their silence - a silence matched by the lack of noise in empty stands, due to outrageously high ticket prices.
Thank goodness for Andy Murray. Without him, Great Britain, the heavily-funded, so-called spiritual home of world tennis, would be plumbing deeper Davis Cup backwaters alongside the likes of Congo and, well, Kazakhstan. Murray was heavily criticised for refusing the gruelling trip to Argentina last year, but who can blame him for growing tired of carrying the load time and time again only for the likes of Bogdanovic to surrender so meekly?
Not for the first time British tennis and its layers of bureaucrats find themselves all dressed up with nowhere to go. They could do worse than splash out some of their GBP 25million bounty on a bunch of one-way tickets to Almaty.
2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd
She's No. 1 again: Serena Williams wins US Open
On the very first point of the match, Serena Williams hit a backhand so hard that her earring flew off. Turns out she was just getting warmed up. Williams kept pounding away, her shots and shouts getting louder with every stroke. And when she finished off Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 Sunday night for the U.S. Open championship and a ninth Grand Slam title, Williams really went wild.
She flung her racket high into the sky, hollering and hopping in a celebration that even she thought might've been over the top. "I'm sorry I got so excited," she told Jankovic when they met at the net.
Williams' father, Richard, jumped to his feet after the final point. He didn't seem to expect his daughter to do the same. "I never knew Serena to be very, very excited. I knew Serena to be very, very mean," he said after it was over. "I describe her as being a combination of a pit bull dog, a young Mike Tyson and an alligator."
The fourth-seeded Williams beat sister Venus in the quarterfinals and barreled through this tournament without losing a set. This win did more than earn Serena her third silver trophy at Flushing Meadows, it assured she will return to No. 1 in the rankings for the time since August 2003, the longest gap at the top for a woman. Pretty good for someone whose ranking once plummeted to No. 139.
"It's been so long," she said.
Given the way Roger Federer has played lately, it seems like it's been a while since he's been on top, too. Federer will try for his first Grand Slam win this season, and fifth straight U.S. Open championship, on Monday against Andy Murray, who beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 Sunday in the completion of a match interrupted by rain. The second-seeded Federer is aiming for his 13th major title, which would put him one shy of Pete Sampras' record. Murray, hoping to become the first British man to win a major tennis title since Fred Perry at the 1936 U.S. Open, is making his first appearance in a Tennis Grand Slam final.
"He's got loads of experience in these situations, and it's something new for me," Murray said. "I know I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning, but I've played well the last couple of weeks."
Plus this: Murray is 2-1 lifetime against Federer. Williams calmed down in time for the on-court trophy presentation, and smiled when she received the winner's check for USD 1.5 million. Still full of personality, Jankovic wondered aloud, "How much did I get?"
Jankovic earned USD 750,000 for her first showing in a Grand Slam final. This was the 13th straight time that the women's championship at the U.S. Open was decided in straight sets. The second-seeded Jankovic certainly had her chances, up 5-3 in the second set, she led 40-0 with Williams serving.
"I felt I had her. I had her, because she was really tired at the end of the second set," Jankovic said. "Who knows what would have happened if I had got into a third set? I probably would have had the upper hand. But who knows?"
Jankovic won over fans with more than her determined play and her penchant for doing the splits to reach shots. She's a crowd favorite, often talking to people in the stands and frequently watching herself on the giant video boards high above Arthur Ashe Stadium. At one point, she saw herself on the screen and promptly fixed her hair.
"They should turn it off, because I keep looking," she said. "You see your big face up there and you can't help but look up."
Venus Williams got ample air time, too. Sitting in the guest box, she cheered on the sister she teamed up with to win the Olympics doubles title. Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam championship since the 2007 Australian Open, and took over the No. 1 ranking Jankovic held last month for exactly one week. "I feel so young and I feel so energized," Williams said. "Sometimes, I'd wake up at 6 in the morning to go practice and it was too dark."
Williams and Jankovic originally were scheduled to play Saturday night, but rain from Tropical Storm Hanna delayed their match. The sixth-seeded Murray beat Nadal in the first two sets and was down 3-2 in the third when they were postponed Saturday afternoon. Nadal came out strong when they resumed, winning the third set and then going ahead 3-1. But Murray regained his momentum and nerve, and had Nadal on the run by the end.
"He beat me because he was better than me," Nadal said. "When he's playing aggressive, he can beat everybody."
Nadal won at Wimbledon, the French Open and the Olympics, but seemed drained by his 84th match of the year. He'd won 19 straight matches in majors, though he'd never reached the final at Flushing Meadows.
Murray beat Nadal for the first time in six career matches. Even when the 21-year-old Scotsman slipped toward the danger zone, he felt confident.
"I go on the court now without feeling like I have anything to worry about, because I've worked hard and practiced hard and given myself the best opportunity to play well," he said. "All I've got to do is play tennis, which is one of the few things that I'm good at."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Nadal and Ivanovic named top seeds for U.S. Open
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic, both ranked world number one, were named on Tuesday as the top seeds for the U.S. Open which begins at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
It is the first time that Spaniard Nadal, who replaced Roger Federer at the top of the men's rankings on Monday, has been the top seed at a grand-slam tournament.
Federer, who has won the U.S. Open in each of the past four years, is seeded second, the first time he has not been the top seed in a grand slam since the Australian Open of 2004.
Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion and runner-up to Federer last year in New York, is seeded third, with Spaniard David Ferrer fourth.
French Open champion Ivanovic, chasing her first U.S. Open title, heads the women's list for the first time, with fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic at number two.
Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is seeded three, ahead of American Serena Williams.
Olympic champion Elena Dementieva is seeded fifth, with French Open and Olympic Games runner-up Dinara Safina sixth and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams at seven.
The draws for the final grand-slam event of the year will be made on Thursday.
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
Haas advances to second round of Legg Mason
WASHINGTON -- John Isner only knows one way to win at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic -- in a third-set tiebreaker.
Last year, Isner won five matches with a third-set tiebreaker -- three against seeded players -- to reach the final, where he lost to top-seeded Andy Roddick. This year, he pulled an upset again in, yep, a third-set tiebreaker.
"I can't seem to win them any way else," Isner said. "It's the same story as last year."
Isner defeated eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1). It was one of two upsets against seeded players Monday evening -- Bobby Reynolds beat No. 7 seed Marc Gicquel 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4.
Isner won the first six points against Granollers in the tiebreaker, and clinched the victory when he returned Isner's 133 mph serve into the net. The match lasted two hours and eight minutes.
"It has to be this tournament," Isner said. "This is the only tournament I do this at time in and time out."
Fourth-seeded Tommy Haas, the highest-seeded player in action on the first full day of the tournament, defeated qualifier Rik De Voest 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to the second round.
"I just started converting on the big points much better," said Haas.
In the first Center Court match of the day, qualifier Somdev Devvarman earned his first ATP win 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-1 over Taylor Dent.
Devvarman is a two-time NCAA singles champion -- he won the 2007 title by defeating Isner, then a senior at Georgia. Devvarman joined the professional tour in June after graduating from Virginia but has played primarily in Futures and Challengers events.
"I was a little nervous out there, to be honest with you," Devvarman said. "But after the first few games, that wore off."
Devvarman lost in the first round of the Legg Mason tournament the past two years. In 2006 he was granted a wild-card entry into the field, and last year he qualified for a berth.
Dent, a wild-card entry in the tournament, was making his second appearance since two operations to repair broken vertebrae last year. He also lost in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I., in July. Dent won four ATP Tour events and reached No. 21 in the world in 2005 before his injuries.
In other matches, Dudi Sela defeated Vincent Spadea 7-6 (6), 6-3; Florent Serra defeated Uladzimir Ignatik 7-6 (3), 6-3 and Donald Young beat Luis Horna 6-3, 6-1.
Five of the top six seeds are in action Tuesday, including top-seeded Roddick and No. 2-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Roddick on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Nadal drawn against Italian Starace
BEIJING (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for an Olympic gold medal against Italian Potito Starace, while top seed Roger Federer faces a tough opener against Russia's Dmitry Tursonov after the draw for the tennis event on Thursday.
In the women's singles, top seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia meets Ukraine's Mariya Koryttseva. Compatriot and second seed Jelena Jankovic is up against Cara Black of Zimbabwe.
Wimbledon and French Open champion Nadal of Spain, who will overtake Federer as world number one on August 18, appears to have the tougher half of the 64-strong draw which also includes Serbian Novak Djokovic and in-form Andy Murray.
Third seed Djokovic plays Robby Ginepri of the U.S. Wimbledon champion Venus Williams plays Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland while sister Serena plays Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters Results
MASON, Ohio (AP) -Results Tuesday from the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a $2.615 million (?1.66 million) ATP Masters Series event on hardcourts at The Lindner Family Tennis Center (seedings in parentheses):
Singles
First Round
Richard Gasquet (11), France, def. Michael Llodra, France, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0, retired.
John Isner, United States, def. Andrea Stoppini, Italy, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Arnaud Clement, France, def. Thomas Johansson, Sweden, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Florent Serra, France, def. Benjamin Becker, Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
Carlos Moya, Spain, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Chris Guccione, Australia, def. Jesse Levine, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador, def. Marin Cilic, Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Fernando Verdasco (10), Spain, def. Victor Estrella, Dominican Republic, 6-3, 7-5.
Gilles Simon, France, def. Rajeev Ram, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Simone Bolelli, Italy, def. Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 6-3, 7-6 (1).
Second Round
Robin Soderling, Sweden, def. Tommy Robredo (12), Spain, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Robby Ginepri, United States, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-0.
Ivo Karlovic (16), Croatia, def. Jose Acasuso, Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Parmentier, Zakopalova win openers at Torneo Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -Fifth-seeded Pauline Parmentier of France ended a six-match losing streak since February when she beat Sanda Mamic of Croatia 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Torneo Barcelona on Monday.
Parmentier, whose last win on the main WTA Tour, was at Bogota, broke Mamic four times.
Seventh-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic outlasted Karolina Sprem of Croatia 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in 2 hours, 20 minutes, and the only other seed in action, tournament favorite Shahar Peer of Israel, fought back from 4-0 down to level Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 5-5 before darkness halted play.
Eloisa Compostizo de Andres, a 19-year-old from Spain, used to her wild card to win her first match on the main tour when she defeated Emilie Loit, a three-time winner on tour from France 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Other winners included Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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