McIntyre Tennis

Dementieva and Schiavone Advance at French Open

By Mike McIntyre

Elena Dementieva won an all-Russian quarter-final battle against Nadia Petrova today in Paris 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Dementieva improves to 8-7 against Petrova and will face Francesca Schiavone in the semi-finals. Schiavone advances to her first Slam semi-final after defeating third seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3.

Anyone starting to get the feeling that this could be Dementieva's tournament? I like her chances on clay against Serena Williams, who is the favorite to advance to the finals in the top-half of the women's draw. Williams has not won the French since 2002.

Sony Ericsson Round Two Update

By Mike McIntyre

The second round of play came to a conclusion at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday and while the women's draw seems to be unfolding according to plan, the upsets continued on the men's side.

A day after second seeded Novak Djokovic went down in defeat, the third seed, Andy Murray followed suit. Murray was dropped in straight sets by American veteran Mardy Fish, 6-4, 6-4. Since reaching the Aussie Open finals in January, Murray has looked listless on court failing to advance past the quarter-finals of any event he has played. While I'm sure that this is just a blip on the screen for Murray, it has to be concerning for his camp as the hard court swing is coming to an end - a time where Murray usually shines. As we progress to the red clay of Europe it will only become harder for the Scot to find his rhythm.

The men's draw now opens up considerably and gives the Roger and Rafa show a great chance to re-assert itself on the stage in Miami. The greatest tennis rivalry of the 21st Century has yet to hit the court in 2010 and is due for another riveting installment. Federer won their last encounter, in May 2009, at the Masters event in Madrid while Nadal had won the five battles prior to that.

Federer's draw looks like smooth sailing for the world number one player, with little opposition expected from Florent Serra in the third round. Tomas Berdych and a potential rematch with Marcos Baghdatis (who defeated Roger in Indian Wells last week) are on the horizon. Federer should have shaken off all of the post-Aussie Open rust by that point.

For Rafa, a tough third round tussle with David Nalbandian is on deck which should be a real treat to watch. Nalbandian has historically done well against Nadal - a feat that few players on tour can boast. The Argentine owns a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Rafa, all on hard courts. I give the edge to Nadal in this one due to the fact Nalbandian has only recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff. It should still make for great tennis, so catch it if you can.

American Andy Roddick has a favorable draw with the 18th seeded Tommy Robredo his highest ranked potential opponent between here and the semi-finals. Sweden's Robin Soderling also has a nice path now that Andy Murray has been taken out of the equation in his section.

As for the WTA Tour, number one seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova is defending her lead position in the draw and advanced to the fourth round with a victory over Agnes Szavay. I must admit that seeing Kuznetsova hold the top seed in a tournament of this depth is somewhat surprising. While she did win the French Open a year ago, her play in 2010 has been abysmal. A fourth round loss at the Aussie Open and first or second round losses in each of her other appearances does not bode well for her season. Of course now that I've said that look for Kuznetsova to make a real run in Miami. My Murray vs Djokovic final prediction has already blown up in my face.

One player I've got a great feeling about at this tournament and for her career in general is Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer. Since bursting onto the scene with her U.S. Open semi-final appearance in 2009 this kid has been on a real tear. She won her first tournament of 2010 and then had a strong run at the Aussie Open where she endured three tough qualifying matches and made it to the round of sixteen before bowing out in three tight sets against returning country-woman Justine Henin. She's had a bit of a tough go since then, but has a nice draw here to turn things around. At only twenty years old she represents a very bright future for women's tennis in Belgium - already brimming with talent due to the returns of Henin and Kim Clijsters.

Other notable results of late include Henin knocking off 5th seed Elena Dementieva while Vera Zvonareva schooled American youngster Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-2. I sure hope that kid is taking this all in stride because in the long haul I think she's going to be a great player.

Hope you're all enjoying the tennis if you have television access or are lucky enough to be in Miami for this great tournament. Keep checking back for more updates.

Sony Ericsson Round One Update

By Mike McIntyre

The first round of women's action at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami was completed on Wednesday without any upsets to speak of. With the top thirty-two players receiving byes through to the second round, there really weren't many opportunities for upsets though I suppose.

Of the notable names in action, veterans Patty Schyder and Kimiko Date Krumm advanced in three sets respectively. In a match between two players on the comeback trail, Australia's Alicia Molik thrashed returning mother Ashley Harkleroad of the United States 6-1, 6-1. Justine Henin got by Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-2 to move on to an exciting second round match against fifth seeded Elena Dementieva. Up and coming American Melanie Oudin defeated Michaella Krajicek 6-2, 6-4.

Qualifiers fared decently as they managed a 5-6 record against higher ranked players who already had a guaranteed spot in the draw. There really are some advantages to having already played two pre-tournament matches as is evidenced by that statistic.

Some interesting second round matches on deck include Oudin against eleventh seeded Vera Zvonareva. Oudin has typically played well against high-ranked Russian's and could really use the confidence boost of defeating a top level player after a so-so start to 2010. Meanwhile, the Daniela Hantuchova versus Patty Schyder match has three sets written all over it.

Noticeably missing from action here in Miami are Serena Williams (knee), Dinara Safina (back) and Maria Sharapova (elbow) which has contributed to a somewhat sparse opening round.

On the men's side, only the bottom half of the draw saw action on Wednesday and as with the women there were no shocking upsets to discuss.

Richard Gasquet losing to diminutive Oliver Rochus was surprising, while Mario Ancic losing to Jeremy Chardy reveals that the tall Croat still has a ways to go after returning from mono. One player who must have been happy to get the win was Argentine David Nalbandian who also recently returned to the tour.

Another nice sight was Taylor Dent defeating veteran qualifier Rainer Schuettler in straight sets. While I know that members of the media are supposed to stay unbiased, I really have a soft spot for the serve and volley style that Dent brings to the game. And how can you not root for a guy who thought his career was over due to a serious back injury?

A close first-round match saw another American, James Blake, narrowly defeat eighteen year old wildcard Filip Krajinovic from Serbia 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4. Something tells me we should be keeping an eye on this kid in the future. 

Keep checking back at Pro Tennis Fan for further updates and analysis as the Sony Ericsson Open continues in Miami.

Henin Drops Dementieva at Aussie Open

By Mike McIntyre

Justine Henin scored the first win of her comeback against a top-ten player on Wednesday by defeating 5th seeded Elena Dementieva 7-5, 7-6(6) in the second round of the Australian Open. 

"Well, it was a great match", Henin said after the match. "It was very emotional for me on the court at the end because there was so much intensity. To play this kind of match in the second round, for me, after two years off in a Grand Slam, it's just the kind of situation that I needed."

Henin's comeback is resembling the early success that fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters experienced last summer when she returned to the WTA Tour. The two players are on a collision course that could see them play each other in the quarter-finals in Melbourne. 

Henin will next face big-hitting Russian, Alisa Kleybanova in the third round.

Henin Interview Transcript

Dementieva Interview Transcript

Australian Open Day Three Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Featured Match: Elena Dementieva vs Justine Henin

Without the luxury of a seeding here in Australia, Justine Henin knew full-well that she may get a difficult draw in her first Grand Slam since emerging from retirement. She probably didn't expect it would be this difficult however, as she must now face the 5th seeded Dementieva.

Dementieva is one of the most talented players to never have won a Grand Slam tournament and is fresh off a victory in her first tournament of the year in Sydney a week ago where she defeated Serena Williams in the final.

Henin has also looked sharp since returning this year and fell to Kim Clijsters in her first tournament back in Brisbane two weeks ago. Along the way she defeated top players like Nadia Petrova and Ana Ivanovic, although neither of them have the consistency of Dementieva.

Henin has a 9-2 career head-to-head record again Dementieva which might help her mentally in approaching this match. Both players know they are in for a struggle that will likely last three sets.

Result: Henin is a special type of player and despite her year-and-a-half layoff I'm picking her to prevail in this one in three sets.

Upset of the Day: Andrey Golubev vs Ivan Ljubicic

I don't think we can call Henin over Dementieva an upset, so instead look to Andrey Golubev to defeat veteran and 24th seed, Ivan Ljubicic.

Golubev knocked off American Mardy Fish in the first round, while Ljubicic was fortunate to draw an Australian wildcard named Jason Kubler. Golubev has therefore already faced a tough opponent while Ljubicic has not.

Ljubicic is eight years older and has never performed well in the Slams. He started 2010 by appearing in the Kooyong Classic exhibition where he lost two of his three matches, only defeating Robin Soderling who had to retire from that match with injury. 

Result: Golubev in four.

Canadian Content: Aleksandra Wozniak vs Caroline Wozniacki

Aleksandraw Wozniak is the only real Canadian threat in singles play on either the ATP or WTA tour's at the moment and at the age of 22 she has still yet to reach her potential. She has a losing record (1-5) against Wozniacki but has played well against her in their recent encounters.

Wozniacki has been mediocre since her run to the finals of the U.S. Open, so Wozniak has a shot here. 

Result: Wozniacki in three.

One ticket to Ireland please: Louk Sorensen

Sorensen is the first tennis player from Ireland to win a main-draw match in the Open era on the ATP tour. The 25 year-old came through the qualifying draw before defeating Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round. It's a nice story, but Sorensen is going to get hammered by the power of John Isner tomorrow.

"I don't know what's going on right now," said Sorensen after his match against Lu, "I've suddenly got so many friend requests on Facebook." 

Result: Isner in three.

Other Matches of Interest:

Unseeded James Blake takes on 4th seed Juan Martin Del Potro in a great second round match. Blake has won their only previous encounter but that was over two years ago and he'll find Del Potro a much better player than he was back then. Should be a fun one to watch.

Result: Del Potro in four.

Women's 2010 Australian Open Preview

By Mike McIntyre

When was the last time the women's game had this much depth? I'm not knocking the WTA Tour, which in fact has had more depth in recent years than the men's Federer vs. Nadal show. When I look at the Australian Open draw though, I'm just floored with the amount of talent out there. This is a fantastic way to kick-off the 2010 Grand Slam calendar.

The Favorites:

Number one ranked Serena Williams has a pretty sweet ride to the quarter-finals from the looks of it. I don't expect her to drop a set for the first week that's for sure. There's simply nobody in her section of the draw that can keep up with her power, experience and winning-attitude. If she truly did tweak something against Elena Dementieva in Sydney, this draw gives her some time before she has to bring out her 'A' game. Williams will be the favorite to add to her existing collection of four Aussie Open titles, the most recent being a year ago.

A nice third round match-up in the top-half could include Vera Zvonareva against Ana Ivanovic. Either one of these players could use a good Grand Slam showing to correct their career progress after a disappointing 2009. Zvonareva started strong in 2009 with a semi-final showing in Australia, but after missing two months in the middle of the year with injury she never returned to top form. Ivanovic's season was a total disaster and it was hard to believe she was ever the number one ranked player in the world. One of these two should still be able to push through to the quarters.

U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki has a great path to perhaps a semi-final berth in Australia. Only Daniela Hantuchova may cause her some trouble before the quarters, although Hantuchova has not had a big win in quite some time.

Wozniacki may meet the winner of an intriguing fourth round match between Americans Venus Williams and Melanie Oudin. A Williams/Oudin match would give tennis fans a nice glimpse of the past, present and future of American tennis and perhaps that future is now. Oudin has some winnable matches early on while Venus has looked mediocre since Wimbledon and as she approaches thirty, is only a huge threat on grass.  

In the bottom-half don't get your hopes up for second-seeded Dinara Safina. The mentally fragile Russian attained the number one ranking for a period of time in 2009, but will most be remembered for tanking in two Slam finals in Australia and Paris, along with a brutal defeat in the semi's at Wimbledon. A back injury hampered the last portion of her season and was acting up again at the start of 2010 to keep her out of Brisbane. Safina does not have enough match-play under her belt to be considered a major threat here in Australia nor is her mental game ready to compete in this first Slam of the season.

There are plenty of other top-level players ready to contend for the title in the bottom section of the draw however, and the Belgians are leading the charge. 

Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer are all in the same quarter of the draw, which is unfortunate because they could all have easily advanced quite far given their play of late. Clijsters has the most favorable path and should get past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make the quarter-finals. A second-consecutive Slam is a distinct possibility for her.

Henin, entered as a wild card, is not going to enjoy the same Grand Slam return that Clijsters had at the U.S. Open. After a first round match with up and coming Sorana Cirstea, Henin will most definitely face fifth seeded Elena Dementieva - the same Dementieva who just won in Sydney defeating Serena in the finals. Henin leads their head-to-head battles 9-2, but will have to fight hard to beat the in-form Russian. I think Henin can beat Dementieva, but expecting her to have a similar Cinderella-run like Clijsters did in Flushing Meadows is unlikely.

The third Belgian, and the future of tennis in that country, Yanina Wickmayer, has already fought through three qualifying matches in order to secure entry into the tournament. Wickmayer was not allowed to take the 16th seeded spot that she is due because of the timing of her return from a mishandled doping violation. She may face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round and either Henin or Dementieva in the fourth round. Regardless of how she fares here in Australia, the twenty year old has a bright future ahead of her.

In the very last quarter of the draw we've got the unpredictable Jelena Jankovic. Fairing no better than the fourth round of any Slam in 2009, Jankovic has much to prove this year. She has a nice section of the draw and should stay untroubled until the quarter-finals. Don't expect her to move much farther than that however, as the Serbian is not the huge threat she used to be.

Do keep an eye on Maria Sharapova to have a big Aussie Open. The talented Russian has come back admirably from shoulder surgery last year and has the power game to defeat anyone on tour. If she can keep her serve consistent and free of double-digit double faults, then she is more than capable of winning this tourney. If she does come up against Safina in the round of sixteen, I see Sharapova advancing with ease. There are more Grand Slam titles within her and this could be the next one on her list. 

Anticipated First-Round Matches:

Kimiko Date-Krumm vs Yaroslava Shvedova: The 39 year old veteran Date-Krumm has been very impressive since returning to the tour in 2008 and has worked herself back into being a dangerous player to face. Her return is even more impressive given the fact she was away from the sport for twelve years. She'll face a difficult player in Shvedova, who impressed in the late stages of 2009 with victories over Daniela Hantuchova in Toronto and Jelena Jankovic at the U.S. Open.

Caroline Wozniacki vs Aleksandra Wozniak: It amazes me how often these two near-identical names get paired together in so many tournaments. Unfortunately for the Canadian Wozniak, it rarely ends up in her favor. The fourth seeded Wozniacki has won five of their six meetings although the pair have usually produced closely contested matches. Wozniak is ranked 34th in the world right now, so this is a fairly strong first rounder.

Jelena Dokic vs Alisa Kleybanova: While it was nice to watch Dokic have her fairy-tale run to the quarter-finals in last year's edition, the same fate will be difficult to duplicate. Dokic faces hard-hitting Russian Kleybanova whom she defeated here in the fourth round last year by a tight score of 7-5, 5-7, 8-6. Kleybanova's court movement is limited due to her stature, but she can really hit the ball and was able to defeat Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic (twice) in 2009.

 

 

U.S. Open Recap - The Tale of Two Tournaments

By Mike McIntyre

What a contrast of tournaments this is becoming between the men and the women in New York. On the men's side so far all the top ten men have advanced to the third round with ease. Federer, Djokovic, Roddick and Del Potro are all there in the top half and have done so without even dropping a set.

The women meanwhile are a completely different story. As far as entertainment value goes, tune into the women's draw for unparalleled surprises. Already having lost seeds such as Bartoli, Ivanovic, Mauresmo, Stosur and Radwanska earlier in the week, Thursday action took things to a whole other level with the shocking departures of Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic. The upsets continued today with Victoria Azarenka going out against veteran Italian Francesca Schiavone 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Azarenka has been inconsistent in the second half of the season so her loss wasn't on the same scale of upset as the Russian/Serb duo from Thursday. The Dementieva and Jankovic losses were both surprising, and while they share some similarities they overwhelmingly stem from completely different underlying reasons. Both players came up against opponents who were ready to dictate the play and take their chances. Yaroslava Shvedova and Melanie Oudin took control of their respective matches and rose to the occasion. And while both Dementieva and Jankovic have had great moments this summer, I chalk their losses up to separate factors. I feel like Dementieva simply had a bad day at the office while Jankovic's game is in a state of total crisis.

Dementieva has three titles this year and two Grand Slam semi-final appearances to look back on. While Jankovic has two titles of her own, her Grand Slam results have been atrocious. Her best results at the Slams all year was the fourth round in Australia and at Wimbledon. She seems hassled on the court and unsure of how to get herself out of tough moments like the late stages of her match against Shvedova. Jelena and her fellow serb Ana Ivanovic should think about either taking a bit of a break after the Open or somehow re-discovering their love for the game again because their current strategies and mental outlooks are not working at all.

Looking ahead it is clear that this tournament is now offering several women and excellent opportunity to make a name for themselves. In the top half of the draw, Safina has a clear path to the semis if she can play up to her number-one level. Maria Sharapova also has an excellent chance, but lookout for Caroline Wozniacki who I could also see making it through to the final four with her excellent play as of late. I'm also sticking with my darkhorse pick Kateryna Bondarenko to have her first Slam breakthrough and make an appearance in the quarters and possibly beyond.

The bottom half is much tougher, with a mouth-watering Kim Clijsters/Venus Williams match in the fourth round. Their match would have made a great final don't you think? Be sure to also check out Vera Zvonareva versus Flavia Pennetta which should also provide a great encounter. Serena Williams faces Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova whom she defeated at Wimbledon and will likely put away once again. Serena's matches will get substantially more difficult from here on through. 

Back to the men's draw and it might be another couple of rounds before we see any real fireworks. Hopefully the delay simply means that we are going to see some tight matches as the tournament progresses. Just like in Montreal I would not be surprised if the top eight seeds advanced to the quarters in New York.

One quick shout-out has to go to American Taylor Dent who defeated Ivan Navarro in the long-distance match of the men's tournament so far with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(1), 7-5, 7-6(9) on Friday night. It is really nice to see Dent having some solid results since he came back from a career-ending back injury late a year ago. His wins here at Flushing Meadows are his first at a Grand Slam tournament since this same tournament in 2005. His serve and volley game is a treat to watch and he is also a class act through and through. Back inside the top 200, his result here should give him a nice boost and the encouragement to stick with it.

While the men and women are choosing different paths as they progress through the tournament, hopefully we will be talking about both for weeks to come. This is a great time for tennis on both sides and it seems the sport is looking to leave a lasting impression at the last Slam of 2009. Enjoy the tennis everyone.

Dementieva Wins Rogers Cup Over Sharapova

Elena Dementieva won the all-Russian championship match on Sunday at the Rogers Cup in Toronto in straight set, 6-4, 6-3 over Maria Sharapova. The fourth seed was the far more consistent player on this day and wins her fourteenth career final in the process.

Speaking about the win today, Dementieva revealed it was a more physical match than she would have preferred.

"Yeah, I just feel I played a huge day. I was fighting for every point, so many long rallies. I mean, it was not the way I like to play. It was a more defensive game today. But against her, it's very hard to be aggressive because she put a lot of pressure on the first two shots, so you really need to work on the defense before you have your chances to approach or to go,  you know, with a good shot."

Despite the loss Sharapova has much reason to look back positively on her week in Toronto. It marks her first tour final since returning from injury and will help her ranking improve enough for a top-32 seed at the U.S. Open.

Sharapova handled the loss with stride, although she did elude to the fact she would have preferred a later start after her night match against Kleybanova went three sets yesterday.

"No, I think we should have played earlier. (laughter) Why not, right? What's two or three hours less of sleep going to do to you, right?"

With ten double faults in today's match, Sharapova is still struggling to find consistency on her serve.

"No, it's coming back from something that's a pretty serious injury with the shoulder, and when you use it so much and all your groundstrokes and your serve, and you know, my serve is, you know, one of my biggest weapons in the game, and then coming off the injury and kind of tweaking your motion a little bit, it takes a lot of time for adjustments when you do something, you know, for your whole career since you were young and you're used to doing it a certain way, when all of a sudden you have to change it at a very elite level."

For Dementieva the win is a nice confidence boost as she heads to Flushing Meadows still seeking her first ever Grand Slam title. Her performance at the Rogers Cup certainly makes her one of the favorites. After tough early round matches against Shahar Peer and Samantha Stosur that went three sets, she picked her game up when it mattered most with straight set victories over Serena Williams and Sharapova.

Dementieva Avenges Wimbledon Loss to Serena

By Mike McIntyre

Fans at the Rogers Cup were treated to a real heavyweight match-up Saturday afternoon in Toronto as second seed Serena Williams took on fourth seed Elena Dementieva. Unlike the other half of the draw, these two elite players lived up to their rankings to provide the most anticipated match of the day. But would this match be able to live up to their previous encounter at Wimbledon, where Serena prevailed 6-7(4) 7-5 8-6?

The first set was full of drama that included six breaks of serve. Dementieva was serving for the set at 6-5 and had two set points that Serena managed to hold off. Once in a tiebreak, Dementieva was far more consistent and won seven points to two. Dementieva's return game was far more solid that any previous opponent Serena has faced this week, as the American managed only one ace in the opening set.

Perhaps her lackluster performance in the tiebreak was still on her mind as the second set began, as Dementieva broke early and raced to a 3-0 lead. Serena's footwork worsened and her unforced errors count shot up. Dementieva broke again to go up 5-1 and her victory was all but assured. Serena squandered a break point in the next game which might have given her some momentum, and Dementieva closed out the match 7-6(2), 6-1 on her second match point opportunity when Serena's forehand went wide.

The Russian served at 73% on her first serve in the match, while Serena was only at 61%. Dementieva was more consistent with her groundstrokes as well, although this match was far from a classic. She hit 19 winners compared to 24 unforced errors, while Serena was at a deficit of 17 to 36. 

Dementieva revealed that the win was particularly satisfying given how close she came to winning in their semi-final match at Wimbledon in June.

"Yeah, I mean, I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon, because always very interesting to play against Serena, and especially looking for revenge after Wimbledon. I think I was very positive today on the court and just very satisfied the way I was playing."

Serena was elusive in her post-match press conference, and revealed little about what she takes from playing Dementieva today. When pushed for specific things she could have adjusted, she was not in a sharing mood.

"Well, I just learned how to play her, and I learned how to win. And had I played better, not made as many mistakes, I think I definitely could have won the first set. I was serving for it. I probably should have won, and I didn't."

Dementieva's win delivers the first all-Russian final at the Rogers Cup on Sunday. She moves on to the championship match where she will play Maria Sharapova who was a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 winner over Alisa Kleybanova in the evening match.

Dementieva Having a Better Open This Year

From The Herald Sun: Dream time for Russia's busy bee

IT IS nothing personal, but Russian Elena Dementieva is glad she hasn't seen much of Pat Rafter's former trainer Mark Waters this week.

Dementieva set herself up for a solid 2006 with punishing training sessions in Melbourne last January with Waters.

That was because she had plenty of free time after a "nightmare" first-round loss at the Australian Open to Germany's world No. 80 Julia Schruff.