2013/05/18

Sony Open Announces Opening Week Featured Matches Schedule

Sony Oprn Tennis

MIAMI, Fla. (www.SonyOpenTennis.com) – Wednesday’s day session features tennis from former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. The night session on Wednesday features matchup with former World No. 4 James Blake taking on fellow American Ryan Harrison.

On Thursday, March 21,  15-time major champion and World No. 1 Serena Williams opening her 2013 Sony Open during the day session along with former World No. 3 David Nalbandian making his tournament debut. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will take court during the evening session, as well as Christian Harrison, an emerging American star and younger brother of Ryan Harrison.

The day and night sessions on Friday, March 22 will feature World No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro, World No. 5 David Ferrer, and World No. 2 Maria Sharapova during the day. World No. 1 and two-time defending Sony Open champion Novak Djokovic will highlight the Friday evening session as he looks to win a record three consecutive Sony Open titles.

World No. 3 and last year’s U.S. Open Champion Andy Murray and World No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will headline the Saturday day sessions as they start-up their opening rounds. Murray, the 2009 Sony Open champion will attempt to avenge his finals loss in 2012 to Novak Djokovic.

Wednesday, March 20:
Day Session – Lleyton Hewitt vs. Joao Sousa
7:30 p.m. – James Blake vs. Ryan Harrison
Christina McHale vs. Anett Kontaveit

Thursday, March 21:
Day Session – Serena Williams vs. TBD
David Nalbandian vs. Jarkko Nieminen
7:30 p.m. – Venus Williams vs. TBD,
Christian Harrison vs. Thomas Bellucci

Friday, March 22:
Day Session – Juan Martin Del Potro vs. TBD
David Ferrer vs. TBD
Maria Sharapova vs. TBD
7:30 p.m. – Novak Djokovic vs. TBD

Saturday, March 23:
Day Session – Andy Murray vs. TBD
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. TBD

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BNP Paribas Open Names Wildcards – Includes Nalbandian, Blake and Date-Krumm

(February 27, 2013) INDIAN WELLS, Calif., – Former top-five players David Nalbandian, Tommy Robredo, James Blake and Kimiko Date-Krumm; Americans Tim Smyczek, Steve Johnson, Madison Keys, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Maria Sanchez, Melanie Oudin and Taylor Townsend; and Shahar Peer and Kristina Mladenovic were granted wildcards into the main draws of the BNP Paribas Open, to be held March 4 – 17 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, it was announced today by Steve Simon, tournament director.

David Nalbandian has won 11 ATP World Tour titles since turning professional in 2000 and reached the 2002 Wimbledon finals in his first appearance at the event. The Argentine and former World No. 3 will be making his tenth appearance at the BNP Paribas Open. Last year in Indian Wells, Nalbandian equaled his best result, reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in his career.

Former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo is continuing his comeback to the ATP World Tour after an injury derailed much of his 2012 season. The Spaniard has won 10 career titles and has reached five Grand Slam quarterfinals. American James Blake, former World No. 4, also has 10 career titles and defeated then-World No. 2 Rafael Nadal to reach the 2006 BNP Paribas Open finals. Kimiko Date-Krumm turned pro in 1989 and is currently the oldest player in the top 100 at 43 years old. The former World No. 4 has eight career singles titles and four doubles titles, including one in 2013 at Pattaya City.

In addition to Blake, seven other Americans have been granted wildcards into the main draws including two-time NCAA Champion from USC Steve Johnson, who reached the third round of the 2012 US Open; Milwaukee native Tim Smyczek, who is at a career-high ranking just outside the top 100 and pushed World No. 4 David Ferrer to four sets at the 2013 Australian Open; 19-year-old breakout star Madison Keys, who has already defeated five top-50 players in 2013 and cracked the top 80 earlier this month; WTA veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who won the 2012 Australian Open Mixed Doubles title; another USC standout – Maria Sanchez, who is at a career-high ranking after jumping 560 ranking places in 2012 – more than any other player in the WTA; Georgia native Melanie Oudin captured her first WTA title last year in Birmingham (UK); and 17-year-old Taylor Townsend, who turned professional in 2012 after reaching the top of the junior rankings earlier that year.

Two other international players receiving main draw wildcards are Israeli Shahar Peer, who was a BNP Paribas Open quarterfinalist in 2007 and 2011 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 and French teenager Kristina Mladenovic, who is at a career-high ranking after defeating three top-25 players to reach the Paris semifinals earlier this year.

“This year’s main draw wildcards span from seasoned veterans, to rising American and international stars to those returning from injury,” said Simon. “Awarding wildcards to players like David Nalbandian, James Blake, Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend add to the allure of early-round matches for fans and provide the potential for these deserving athletes to break through and make a move up their respective Tour’s rankings.

Qualifying wildcards were given to Americans Christian Harrison, Jack Sock, Rhyne Williams, Dennis Novikov, Grace Min, Jessica Pegula and Irina Falconi, German Andrea Petkovic and Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic.

Harrison, the 18-year-old younger brother of American No. 6 Ryan Harrison, reached the quarterfinals in doubles with his brother at the 2012 US Open and is making his debut to the BNP Paribas Open. Sock is at a career-high ranking after reaching his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal in Memphis earlier this month. Williams, a former University of Tennessee standout, is also at a career-high ranking after capturing the ATP Challenger tour title in Dallas. Novikov, who won the 2012 BNP Paribas Open pre-qualifying tournament, is now a sophomore playing at UCLA and won the 2012 USTA Boys Championships in Kalamazoo. Min won the 2011 US Open Junior Championship and three ITF titles in 2012. Pegula won two matches in the qualifying tournament to reach the 2012 BNP Paribas Open main draw. Falconi cracked the WTA top 100 in 2011 and has won 4 ITF singles titles.

Petkovic is a former World No. 9 and has reached the quarterfinals in every Grand Slam. She is returning to tennis after a series of injuries kept her from competing consistently for more than a year. Tomljanovic has three ITF singles and 3 ITF doubles titles.

In addition to the aforementioned qualifying wildcards, the winners of each pre-qualifying tournament, which takes place February 25 – March 2, will also be granted a berth into the 2013 BNP Paribas Open qualifying draw. Women’s qualifying starts March 4 and men’s qualifying begins March 5 at 10:00am.

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Nadal Wins His First Title Since Return From Injury

Rafael Nadal photo by Wagner Carmo/Inovafoto

Rafael Nadal photo by Wagner Carmo/Inovafoto

By Barbara Galiza

(February 17, 2013) São Paulo – Today marked an important day for Rafael Nadal. At São Paulo, the former number one took his first title since returning to the tour – after a seven-month injury-lay off. The Spaniard beat David Nalbandian in the final, 6-2, 6-3. This is the first trophy won by Nadal since Roland Garros, in June. Despite the win, Nadal, who looked rusty throughout the week, hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll play Indian Wells and Miami.

 

“My priority is celebrating today’s title, that was very important for me. I’ll think of Acapulco and nothing else”, said Nadal. The fifth player in the rankings returned to the court last week, at Viña Del Mar, and will play ATP 500 Acapulco next, starting on the 25th March.

 

“We are not in a position to think about the week ahead. We go day by day, week by week. We’ll see how the knee is responding in Acapulco and when we finish this clay season, we’ll see how things have passed in these three tournaments and decide if we’re prepared to face playing in Indian Wells.”

 

Since his return, Nadal hasn’t yet faced a player inside the top 30. However, the 11-time Slam champion assures he isn’t worried about possible rivals, but about his knee:

 

“It’s not a question about (stronger) rivals, it’s a question about the surface. It’s about the evolution of my knee. I have no problems to play better rivals, because I know I can lose and can win. To me, it’s not a problem to lose after not competing for so long.”

 

Barbara Galiza is a journalist from Rio de Janeiro and was the Brasil Open  as media in São Paulo for Tennis Panorama. She likes tennis and writing. Sometimes she blogs, most of the time she tweets. – @fiercetennis. Follow her São Paulo updates on @TennisNewsTPN.

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Nadal Says São Paulo Clay Courts are Much Faster Than U.S. Open and Australian Open

 

Nadal 2 16 2013 Brasil Open William Lucas Inovafoto

By Barbara Galiza

(February 16, 2013) São Paulo – Before this week, Martin Alund had never won an ATP-tour level match before, but today he managed to take a slow Rafael Nadal to a third set. The former number one took two hours to beat the Argentinean and advance to the São Paulo final. After his win, Nadal complained about the conditions, that are too fast for his taste.

 

“The conditions are not good for me and my game style. I don’t have the feeling of (ball) control or that I can attack. Today, my knee hurt more than it did in the other days”, said Nadal, who recently came back from a seven-month injury lay-off.

 

Since the beginning of the week, the Spaniard has been very critical of the balls used in the indoor clay tournament. After his win over Alund, Nadal said the conditions in São Paulo were too fast to be considered clay:

 

“The surface is here is much faster than any hardcourt. It’s much faster than the U.S. Open, much faster than the Australian Open. It’s a court that can’t be considered clay, that’s the truth. The altitude and specially the balls (make it very fast).” São Paulo’s average sea level height is of 760m.

 

In the final, the world number five will play another Argentinean, David Nalbandian. The two had paired together this week to play the doubles draw, before Nadal pulled out citing “knee overuse”.

 

“I am physically prepared for the match tomorrow, I don’t know if my knee is,” said Nadal, who he will be trying to win his 51st title.

 

Barbara Galiza is a journalist from Rio de Janeiro covering the Brasil Open  as media in São Paulo for Tennis Panorama. She likes tennis and writing. Sometimes she blogs, most of the time she tweets. – @fiercetennis. Follow her São Paulo updates on @TennisNewsTPN.

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Bellucci to Play Up-and-Coming Compatriot in São Paulo’s First Round

 

Thomaz Bellucci

Thomaz Bellucci

By Barbara Galiza

(February 11, 2013) São Paulo -Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil’s highest ranked player at number 35 in the world, will face a young compatriot in his first round match at ATP 250 São Paulo: Guilherme Clezar. Last year, Clezar made a splash on the tour, becoming the top player on the under-19 ATP rankings. At 20 years old, he is the youngest player in Brasil Open’s main draw.

“He must be confident at the moment and seems to be very solid from the baseline. I think he will be really strong, really wanting the victory,” said Bellucci ahead of their match-up. Clezar already has three wins under his belt in the Brasil Open, since he got through the qualifying rounds this afternoon.

On Tuesday the Brazilians will clash at 7 pm local time. Afterwards, Rafael Nadal will make his debut in the tournament, alongside David Nalbandian in the doubles.

Barbara Galiza is a journalist from Rio de Janeiro covering the Brasil Open in São Paulo for Tennis Panorama. She likes tennis and writing. Sometimes she blogs, most of the time she tweets. – @fiercetennis. Follow her São Paulo updates on @TennisNewsTPN.
RESULTS – MONDAY, 11 FEBRUARY, 2013

Singles – First Round
[7] P Andujar (ESP) d S Giraldo (COL) 64 76(5)
*[LL] M Alund (ARG) d [WC] R Mello (BRA) 64 64
S Bolelli (ITA) d [WC] T Robredo (ESP) 62 64

*[LL] M Alund (ARG) replaced L Mayer (ARG) – back

SCHEDULE – TUESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2013

COURT CENTRE start 12:00 noon
[6] F Fognini (ITA) vs G Pella (ARG)

Not Before 2:30 PM
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs [8] A Ramos (ESP)

Not Before 5:00 PM
D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs F Volandri (ITA)

Not Before 7:00 PM
[Q] G Clezar (BRA) vs [5] T Bellucci (BRA)
R Nadal (ESP) / D Nalbandian (ARG) vs P Andujar (ESP) / G Garcia-Lopez (ESP)

COURT 2 start 2:00 PM

Not Before 2:00 PM
A Kuznetsov (RUS) vs C Berlocq (ARG)
[3] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) vs [PR] L Arnold Ker (ARG) / J Monaco (ARG)
[PR] R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) vs [2] A Peya (AUT) / B Soares (BRA)
O Marach (AUT) / H Zeballos (ARG) vs [4] L Dlouhy (CZE) / A Sa (BRA)

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Nalbandian withdraws from US Open

Statement from US Open Tournament Referee Brian Earley

on David Nalbandian’s withdraw from the 2012 US Open in singles and doubles

 

“David Nalbandian has withdrawn from both singles and doubles at the 2012 US Open.  His place in the singles, scheduled as the third match in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday, will be taken a lucky loser determined at 10:30AM on Wednesday.

 

The doubles team of David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank will be replaced by an alternate team at the same time and will be scheduled to play on Wednesday as well.”

 

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Nalbandian and Harrison given Wild Cards into Winston-Salem Open

Ryan Harrison

Winston-Salem Open tournament director Bill Oakes announced on Friday morning that Ryan Harrison and David Nalbandian have joined the Winston-Salem Open field as the final wildcards.

 

Harrison, 20, is ranked No. 58 in the ATP World Tour rankings, after starting the year at No. 79. Harrison has been as high as No. 43 in July.

 

“Ryan is an exciting young player with a world of talent,” Oakes said. “Just as Winston-Salem tennis fans saw Andy Roddick and James Blake grow up before their very eyes when they played here in previous tournaments, we’re fortunate to be able to watch Ryan’s career unfold at the Winston-Salem Open.”

 

Harrison also came to the Winston-Salem Open last year as a wildcard. He beat Victor Hanescu in the first round but lost to Pierre-Ludovic Duclos in the second round.

 

Harrison, a native of Shreveport, La., came onto the scene at age 15 when he competed in the 2007 U.S. Clay Courts Championships in Houston. He beat Pablo Cuevas in the first round, making him one of only 10 players in tennis history to win an ATP World Tour match before his 16th birthday and the first since Rafael Nadal.

 

This year, he has reached the semifinals of three tournaments – San Jose, Eastbourne and Newport. He also won a match for the U.S. Davis Cup team in its first-round upset victory over Switzerland.

 

While Harrison is still looking for his first ATP World Tour singles title, he owns two doubles crowns. He teamed with Matthew Ebden to win at Atlanta earlier this summer and also won with Ebden at Newport last year.

 

Nalbandian, currently ranked No. 39 in the latest ATP rankings, replaces Gael Monfils, who initially took a wildcard but was forced to pull out on Thursday because of lingering knee problems. Nalbandian gives the tournament 24 players who are currently in the Top 50.

 

“We are very pleased to have David join what was already an outstanding field,” Oakes said. “David has been a Top Ten player for two extended periods in his career, and he has had some outstanding tournaments this year. He’s always a fun player to watch.”

 

The 30-year-old Argentine and 2002 Wimbledon runner-up reached as high as World No. 3 in 2006. He’s an all-court player who is considered to have one of the best returns of serve on the ATP World Tour.

 

He owns 11 career ATP World Tour singles titles, including two Masters series events, and has reached the finals of 12 other tournaments. Nalbandian’s first wins came in 2002 at Basel and Estoril, and his most recent title came in 2010 in Washington.  He has reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments at various points in his career.

 

Nalbandian reached the finals at London Queens Club earlier this year before losing to Marin Cilic in the finals. He also has reached the semifinals in Buenos Aires and Belgrade. His most-impressive performance, though, may have been in reaching the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, as he beat Cilic, Janko Tipsarevic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in succession before losing to Rafael Nadal.

 

Nalbandian and Harrison join James Blake and No. 7 Tomas Berdych as the tournament’s wildcard entries.

 

The Winston-Salem Open begins with qualifying on Saturday at the Wake Forest Tennis Center, with the 48-player Main Draw to start on Sunday.

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Notes and Quotes From Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open

Match of the day:

Tommy Haas defeated David Nalbandian 6-7(0), 7-6(4), 6-3 in 3 hours and 22 minutes.

Fun match facts:

- It is tied for the longest non-Olympic match in 2012 on the ATP World Tour with Denis Istomin’s 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 win over Juan Ignacio Chela in the Indian Wells second round.

- It is the second longest match at the Western & Southern Open since such a record keeping began in 1991. Last year Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco in a record 3 hours and 38 minutes, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 in the Round of 16.

 

42 Errors “Unprofessional”

Serena Williams defeated Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-3, 6-4 committing 42 unforced errors. Serena called all her errors “Unprofessional.”

 

Toronto win Important to Djokovic

Q. How important do you think Toronto is gonna be for you for the rest of the year considering that it’s been a few months since you won a previous title?

 

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it’s going to mean a lot to me. It means already a lot to me now because of the circumstances that I’ve had in last month and a half playing a lot matches, a lot tennis on grass courts, and then having the very emotional Olympic Games and coming in late to Toronto and trying to get used to the surface that I haven’t played on for four, five months. Then the time zone and all those things, which take time.

 

Obviously that’s something that I didn’t have. I had to get used to it in two days and play my first match. It turned out to be a great tournament for me, a tournament that’s going to give me a lot of confidence now.

You know, I love playing on hard courts. It’s my most preferred surface. Hopefully I can try to continue that run.

 

Venus Rises in 3

Venus Williams survived Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in 2 hours and 23 minutes.

On coping with her auto-immune disorder:

I’m learning to cope better. I’m trying different things all the time. I keep working with my doctors. You know, nothing can prevent bad days, but the bad days aren’t as bad as they used to be. I am learning it deal with it.

It’s a work in progress. My main goal is to be 100%, but it’s not like it goes a way. It’s still in my body trying to fight against me, but I’m fighting it as well.

I go to practice. I still go. Every day counts. This is my life, so I have to learn to play with it. I can’t say, I’m over it today. Even if it’s a hard day, even if every day is hard, I have to.

If I want to play professional tennis, I have to learn to deal with it.

 

On her expectations for the US Open:

Of course I’m excited about the Open. I’m still really focused on this event.

I know I can play great tennis. I need some more matches obviously, and I need to execute out there on the court and I need to feel halfway decent.

So there are a lot of things that have to fall in place for me maybe more than other players, but I’m up for the challenge. You know, if I can get more wins, they’re a lot sweeter for me.

Q. You’re saying you’re aiming at playing Rio, which is 2016, 22 years past your first match as a pro. That’s a long time.

VENUS WILLIAMS: That’s an awesome career. I figure I’m going to spend more time retired than pro, so while I’m here I’m going to go for it. If I’m on one leg and I get to Rio, that’s great, too.

That’s my whole goal: continue to work on my health and stay healthy as much as I can. I think if that happens, I can get to Rio.

 

Back Spasms for Roddick

Andy Roddick developed back spasms during his match against Jeremy Chardy falling to the Frenchman in straight sets.

“I felt fine early on, and then I had one lunge forehand and … you know, we have all had it. The back kind of goes out or spasms a little bit. It got progressively worse.”

Roddick mentioned that his back had been bothering him a few days ago.

 

First Pitch

Three-time Western & Southern Open champions and the Olympic doubles gold Bob and Mike Bryan threw out the first pitch prior to Tuesday  evening’s Cincinnati Reds game at Great American Ball Park.

 

Out of action 

Nadia Petrova retired from her match with Ekaterina Makarova with dizziness.

Tamira Paszek retired from her match with Sofia Arvidsson with a migraine.

Christina McHale retired with a gastrointestinal illness against Chanelle Scheepers trailing 6-3, 3-6, 0-3.

Gilles Simon pulled out prior to his match against Marcos Baghdatis with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by lucky loser Alejandro Falla.

 

Videos courtesy of Western & Southern Open‘s YouTube page

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Tommy Haas Rogers Cup News Conference on August 7, 2012

TORONTO – Excerpt from August 7, 2012 news conference with Tommy Haas after his win over David Nalbandian at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.Video by Jennifer Knapp.

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Nalbandian Falls in London final after hurting Line Judge

Marin Cilic

David Nalbandian was defaulted in the Queen’s Club final on Sunday, when he injured a line judge after kicking a small barrier surrounding the judge. A piece of the barrier hit the line judge in the shin and caused bleeding. Marin Cilic was awarded the match and the title on Sunday despite trailing the Argentine 6-7, 4-3.

Nalbandian said that he should not have been disqualified. “Sometimes you get very frustrated on court and it’s tough to control that, and sometimes I do a mistake. So it’s very tough to end a final like that. But sometimes we feel so much pressure from the ATP to play a lot of tournaments. They don’t do anything (for) us, and today I do a mistake and I have to pay like that.

“I agree I do a mistake but sometimes everybody do a mistake and I didn’t feel it had to end like that, especially in a final.”

“It’s an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, the spectators, the tournament, the sponsors, the players and the linesman,” said ATP executive chairman and president Brad Drewett in a statement. “David certainly did not mean for this to happen, however the rules are very clear in a situation like this and causing injury to someone is an automatic default for any player.”

“It’s definitely not the way I wanted to win it,” Cilic said. “The match was still open but I can’t change it. I’m sorry for the (spectators) that it had to end like this.

“We had some good rallies, and it’s hard to see the final end like this,” Clic said.

“I played well today and came here to play four, five matches. I won them pretty comfortably in those first two or three. I’m feeling really good and I think my form is on the spot where it should be.

“I think that the beginning of the second set was really good from my side; to break him and to keep a few holds to get to the later stages of the second set. I think I played the right way. The tennis was really good today. He was making really, really good returns and putting me under pressure a lot of times.”

“There is a lot of rules, and sometimes they (ATP officials) don’t do anything. The rule book is very big and I can tell you that the ATP do a lot of mistakes to the players and nothing happens,” Nalbandian said.

 

 

Singles – Final
[6] M Cilic (CRO) d [10] D Nalbandian (ARG) 67(3) 43 Defaulted (unsportsmanlike conduct)

Doubles – Final
[1] M Mirnyi (BLR) / D Nestor (CAN) d [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 63 64

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