Ana Ivanovic at the J&S Open

Check out this comment about Serbian Ana Ivanovic on the official Warsaw tournament website following her loss in the semifinals to Justine Henin-Hardenne.

"For someone so young Ana seems very composed and imperturbable.  It's as if she wasn't Balkan at all."

I haven't the foggiest idea what they're talking about, but I want to know who's writing for the J& S tournament site.  They've been entertainingly tongue-in-cheek and non-politically correct all week long. 

Saturday at the Estoril Open

Men's Singles - Semifinals
(4)(WC)T Robredo (ESP) d (1)C Moya (ESP) 63 30 ret. (right shoulder)
(2)G Gaudio (ARG) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 64 26 62

Men's Doubles - Final
(3)Cermak/Friedl d Chela/Robredo 63 64

Women's Singles - Semifinals
(4)N Li (CHN) d (2)D Safina (RUS) 61 61
(Q)L Safarova (CZE) d (3)G Dulko (ARG) 76(3) 60

Women's Doubles - Final
(3)Li/Sun d Krajicek/Nagyova 63 61

From Fox Sports Australia: Gaudio, Robredo for final

FRENCH Open champion Gaston Gaudio tightened his game in the face of a Spanish attack today to earn a place in the final of the 532,000 euro ($883,860) Estoril Open against Tommy Robredo.

Second-seed Gaudio saw off Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4 2-6 6-2, while Robredo, the Spanish fourth seed, reached the final when top seed Carlos Moya was forced out of their semi-final clash with a shoulder injury.

Moya was trailing 6-3 3-0 at the time.

Here's what Moya had to say about his shoulder injury.  It doesn't sound too encouraging but hopefully a few days off will make a difference:

"I'm worried right now about what my shoulder problem is. I go to Rome but I don't know if I will be able to play. It started at the end of the match against Ferrero. Yesterday it was bad but not too bad and it got a lot worse today.

I felt in the warm up that it was going to be tough to finish the match but I wanted to try. I had the problem in my mind the whole match. It was bothering me on the serve, and right now I don't know what to say.

It's a big issue. I've been having trouble with my shoulder for a long time, but not like it is right now. I'm going to get it checked by the doctor. I have to do something because if it's like this over the next days I won't be able to play. I think it's a tendon but you have to ask the trainer."

Saturday in Munich

Andrei Pavel d. Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4

David Nalbandian d. Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-0

From AFP: Romainian ace Pavel guns down Haas in epic semi

Romanian fifth seed Andrei Pavel reached the final of the 323,250 euro (419,754 dollar) BMW Open with an epic 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 victory over Germany's Tommy Haas.

"My arm is hurting so much and I don't know how I won the match," said Pavel. "I knew Tommy was a fighter and he had me running all over the place. I am just overjoyed to reach the final."

So the Germans don't get their wish of a German champion, but Pavel has lived in Germany since he was 16 so they shouldn't be too upset. 

Saturday in Warsaw

Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Kim Clijsters 2-6, 6-2, 6-3

Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 7-5

From Reuters: Kuznetsova, Henin-Hardenne reach Warsaw final

"Kim Clijsters' 17-match winning streak was ended by Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals of the Warsaw WTA claycourt event on Saturday.

Clijsters, who had won consecutive tournament titles at Indian Wells and Miami, lost 2-6 6-2 6-3.

Second-seeded Kuznetsova will face another Belgian in the final after Justine Henin-Hardenne withstood a strong challenge from 17-year old Serb Ana Ivanovic to win 6-4 7-5."

Federer Withdraws from Rome with Injury

In a surprise to everyone Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Masters Series event in Rome next week citing plantar fascitis in both feet which from what I can gather means inflammation in the the arches of both feet.  The medical basics on plantar fascitis can be found here.  If he's got a mild case he should be fine with a week or two off, but it can be a chronic problem so that's a little worrisome.

Hewitt Fined for Being Injured

I'll refrain from judgment until I hear the ATP's side of the story, but based on the Australian version this one makes no sense at all. 

Lleyton Hewitt has been fined $48,000 for missing the Nasdaq-100 in March with a foot injury.  Technically, $24,000 is for pulling out after the deadline passed and $24,000 is for pulling out as a seeded player. 

But Hewitt's foot injury is clearly the real thing as he had surgery on it and was seen hobbling around Australia on crutches for a while after that. 

And he couldn't have pulled out earlier because he was busy getting whipped by Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final, undergoing drug testing, doing mandatory post-match media stuff, and only then finding time to see the tournament doctor.

Details from Fox Sports Australia: Absent Hewitt fined $48,000

I don't even think they've settled the lawsuits yet from the last time the ATP fined Hewitt.  Maybe they can double up in court.

Friday at the Estoril Open

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
(2)G Gaudio (ARG) d (8)F Lopez (ESP) 62 62
(1)C Moya (ESP) d P Mathieu (FRA) 64 62
(4)(WC)T Robredo (ESP) d D Sanguinetti (ITA) 62 62
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d (LL)J Marin (CRC) 61 26 63

Men's Doubles - Semifinals
Chela/Robredo d Carlsen/Karlovic 75 64
(3)Cermak/Friedl d (1)Aspelin/Perry 76(3) 62

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
(3)G Dulko (ARG) d J Zheng (CHN) 62 61
(2)D Safina (RUS) d J Craybas (USA) 64 62
(4)N Li (CHN) d (6)D Randriantefy (MAD) 63 61
(Q)L Safarova (CZE) d M Diaz-Oliva (ARG) 62 46 61

Women's Doubles - Semifinals
(3)Li/Sun d Bondarenko/Bondarenko 60 26 62

From Fox Sports: Moya leads Spanish charge

Friday in Munich

Quarterfinals

David Nalbandian d. Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-4

Tommy Haas d. Wayne Arthurs 7-6(6), 7-6(5)

Andrei Pavel d. Raemon Sluiter 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen d. Michal Mertinak 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

CNN International story: Haas delights locals with victory

Friday in Warsaw

Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Silvia Faria Elia 6-3, 6-4

Ana Ivanovic d. Nathalie Dechy 7-6(2), 6-4

Kim Clijsters d. Elena Bovina 7-6(4), 6-3

Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Patty Schnyder 6-1, 6-2

Reuters story: Clijsters Struggles Past Bovina in Warsaw, Henin Through

No Wild Card for Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos Ferrero got a surprise when the list of wildcards for the Masters Series event in Rome next week was released yesterday - he' not on it.  The Italians were feeling particularly nationalistic and gave all four wildcards to Italian players - Potito Starace, Davide Sanguinetti, Alessio de Mauro, and Andreas Seppi.

Although his play has improved of late, Ferrero's ranking still hasn't recovered to the point where he can gain direct entry.  And to make matters worse, the Hamburg Masters Series event hasn't yet committed to giving him a wildcard either leaving Ferrero with the prospect of missing two key French Open tuneup events. 

"I thought they were going to give me wild cards in both (the Rome and Hamburg) tournaments but they didn't," he said.

"If I want to play in Hamburg, maybe I will have to do qualifying.  For sure it's not good for me to be missing two Masters events, but I haven't played qualifying for a long time. I don't know yet what I'm going to do."