The injury Andy Roddick sustained in LA has forced him out of the Legg Mason in DC, where he is defending champ. Sucks.
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July 31, 2006
More Bad News for Coria Fans
Guillermo Coria (News/Posts) had to retire from Sopot after aggravating his shoulder injury. Will we ever see the Guille of old again? I hope so. I've always liked his rascally, elastic game--and even the gamesmanship he brings on court.
Ana Ivanovic: A Star is Born
Nice piece on Ana Ivanovic's growing popularity (thanks for the tip, Tom!). Read 'Ivanovic hits hard and gets plenty of hits on Web'
July 30: This Week's Tournaments
The US Open Series is into its 2nd week with a few hiccups.
Washington DC: Legg Mason Classic (ATP)
By now you know that Andy Roddick had to withdraw from LA with muscle strain. Roddick has a wed. start, but it's still not certain that he'll play. Here's what he had to say on Saturday. Blake's the top seed, and Agassi, Murray, Safin, and Hewitt will also be there. Here's Tennis.com's preview; and here's the official site.
The Acura Classic in San Diego (WTA)
I'm also sure that many of you know that Venus, Serena and Lindsay Davenport pulled from San Diego on Friday. But the tournament will still have usual suspects Clijsters, Sharapova, Hingis, Dementieva, Kuznetsova and will be the venue for the return of defending champ Mary Pierce and Nadia Petrova. Here's Tennis.com's preview and the official site.
The Orange Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland (ATP)
Nikolai Davydenko and Tommy Robredo lead the field in this clay court tournament; and struggling Argentines Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria are also playing. Here's the official site.
Tennis Wives v. Football Wives
This article is pretty old (Wimbledon-era), but in the Alexis-Scud split aftermath is a sorta interesting popcorn read. Bits on Andy Murray's girlfriend, Robert Kendrick's lady friends, Hewitt's wife Bec Cartright, Steffi Graf, Alexis and more.
Choice quote: Caroline Burns, of Advocate Galleries, said: “She [Bec Cartwright] has been in a few times. She was into Rob Hefferan, sort of Romantic photo-realism.” Yes, but what was she wearing? A football WAG’s bikini, with high heels? “A vest top and trousers,” Mrs Burns said. “With flat shoes.”
Read 'Tennis ladies are on the ball - not dancing on the tables'.
For the Brits out there--WTF does WAG stand for?
Gilbert Redux: Roddick, Agassi, Murray
The Guardian has a fascinating article about Brad Gilbert, with juicy tidbits about his varied career: For example, an "ESPN insider" says Gilbert has "an ego the size of Centre Court"--which is amusing to me because ESPN seems littered with football field-sized egos.
Also, Agassi credits him for his career-defining French Open win:
In 1999 Agassi found himself two sets down to Andrei Medvedev in the French Open final when rain stopped play. He returned to the locker room for a pep talk with Gilbert and emerged a different player, going on to take the match in five sets to become one of only five men to win all four grand slams. "It was maybe the biggest win I ever had and I won it because of Brad. His advice during that rain delay was the difference," said Agassi. "He knows the right thing to say at the right time."
And the Guardian says in no uncertain terms what most of us already know about the Roddick relationship--but who knew it was this bad?:
Andy Roddick went from being a tactical dunce to having enough court sense to win the 2003 US Open and become world No1 under Gilbert's tutelage. When they split acrimoniously in December 2004, Roddick quickly reverted to type. He will not talk about Gilbert but their enmity remains, so much so that Roddick did not conduct interviews in ESPN's studio during the French Open and Wimbledon if Gilbert was on the premises.
Yikes. I'm really dying to know what their falling out was about; anyone have an idea?
Gilbert Pulls Strings, Murray to Hit with Agassi
Gilbert and Murray will begin working together this week, and Gilbert's already got a plan. He's got a fitness trainer lined up to attack Murray's notorious physical fitness issues, and he's got Agassi set to hit with his new charge.
Read Agassi template set for Murray / Coach enlists Agassi to make Murray work
Last Week's Wins
Pleased to say my picks were right on. Kim Clijsters easily over Patty Schnyder for her 4th Stanford title. She's undefeated in Stanford since 2002. (Does Kim's wild success on hard courts make her a hard court specialist? Hmmm.) Here's a nice wrap from the NY Times.
In LA, Tommy Haas in 3 sets over everyone's favorite ATP blogger Dmitri Tursunov for his 3rd title of the year. Here's a really good wrap from the LA Times.
Swiss Number 2 Stanislas Wawrinka over Novak Djokovic for his first ATP title in an astericked win at Umag--Novak had scary breathing problems--his father and a doctor ran out on court to check his pulse--and retired in the 1st set tiebreak. Here's a match review.
Argentine Agustin Calleri over countryman Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets (best of 5), for his 2nd ATP title; and in Budapest, veteran Anna Smashnova defended her title easily.
Philippoussis Wins Title, Dumps Fiancee
Mark Philippoussis has allegedly broken off his much publicized engagement to model/heiress/barely legal youngster Alexis Barbara. They got engaged in March 2005; Scud just won Newport two weeks ago--his first title in years.
July 30, 2006
Tournament Finals Sunday: Yawn.
Clijsters v. Schnyder in Stanford, Haas v. Tursunov in LA, Djokovic v. Swiss #2 Stan Wawrinka at the Croatian Open, and 2nd tier Argentines Agustin Calleri v. Juan Ignacio Chela at the Generali in Austria. Anna Smashnova's already won Budapest easily today--6-2 6-1 over Spaniard Lourdes Domingues Lino.
Clijsters (News/Posts) and Schnyder (News/Posts) surprisingly haven't played all that much (Kim leads their head-to-head 4-2, and Patty's most recent win was a retirement in the 2nd set of a very tight match), but I just can't imagine Clisters not winning against Schnyder on hardcourt. Here are some thoughts on the semis and the final from both of them.
Haas (News/Posts) seems to have finally found his old form, and I don't think Tursunov (News/Posts) has a chance if Haas plays as well as he did earlier this year. (Remember that tough 5-setter v. Federer at the Australian Open?). We'll see though; either outcome is sort of great--a resurgent Haas looking for his 3rd title of the year; the, ummm, mercurial, Russian chasing his first ATP title. Read 'Haas and Tursunov to Meet in LA Final.'
Novak Djokovic (News/Posts) is going for a 2nd straight title v. Wawrinka (Posts); and I'm on Team Stan. Why? I'd be tickled to see Wawrinka win his first ATP title today, and I fear that the rapidly expanding size of Djokovic's head might obstruct air traffic. Here's a match preview.
This is all very exciting and all, but bring on the Masters events! I'm in Fedal withdrawal.