Tennis News

Notable coach Nick Bollettieri was not elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Bradenton Herald-Tribune reports. Bollettieri whose name is on the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida, was nominated in the contributor category along with former men’s circuit administrator Mike Davies and Japan's Eiichi Kawatei, who has been active in all facets of the game.

"I don't question it. It is just the way it is,"  the 80-year-old Bollettieri said.

The official results of the voting has not been released yet. Jennifer Capriati, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten and three-time Paralympic medalist Randy Snow have been nominated in the Recent Player Category.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Serena Williams beat Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-0 on Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Belarus in the Fed Cup.

Christina McHale won in straight sets in the opening match before Williams put the Americans one win away from advancing in the best-of-five series in World Group II.

Belarus was playing without Australian Open champion and world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who was out with a lower back injury.

McHale capitalized by beating Azarenka’s replacement in straight sets, and Williams completed the U.S. sweep.

Williams won the first three games of the match, then struggled a little before holding serve for a 6-5 lead and breaking Govortsova, who double-faulted while already down love-40.

Govortsova seemed to have nothing left for the second set against Williams, who quickly ended it with her overpowering strokes.

McHale posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Anastasiya Yakimova, who was called upon Saturday morning to play for Azarenka.

Azarenka is eligible to play Sunday, when the teams play two more singles matches and one in doubles. Belarus would need victories in all three in order to win the series.

The winner advances to a playoff round and a shot at the Fed Cup top tier, which the U.S. team was bounced from last year.

Azarenka is scheduled to play Williams in Sunday’s opening match, but her status remained uncertain Saturday.

Williams improved to 5-0 in Fed Cup singles, which she hadn’t played since 2007. She was cheered on courtside by older sister Venus, who is listed on the U.S. doubles team for Sunday in what would be her first match since the opening round of the U.S. Open in August.

Venus Williams has been battling an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain, but hopes to return to competition this weekend.

By the time the doubles match comes Sunday afternoon, the Americans may not need the older Williams sister. Captain Mary Joe Fernandez also could play Venus Williams in he second singles match, but said as of Saturday it was still Serena Williams to play as the top American, followed by McHale and then the doubles team of Venus Williams and Liezel Huber, the world’s No. 1 doubles player.

The Belarus lineup is going to depend on how Azarenka is feeling. She said her back has been bothering her since the Australian Open and the long flight to the United States didn’t help.

McHale won the first 10 games of the opening match, then survived a scare in the second set when Yakimova rallied from 4-0 to tie it. Yakimova didn’t appear ready early, but pushed the young American in the second set before McHale closed it out. She broke Yakimova, then held serve after falling behind love-30.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario says in her forthcoming book "Arantxa, Vamos! Memoirs of a struggle, a life and a woman" that her parents stripped her of nearly all of her earnings and that she no longer speaks to them.

"My parents made me suffer a lot,” she is quoted by the magazine La Otra Conica as saying. She says has no relationships with anyone in her family, including her two former pro player brothers, Emilio and Javier. "My parents left me with nothing and now I am indebted to the [IRS} and I will not be quiet," she said.

Four-time Grand Slams champion Sanchez won $16.9 million dollars in prize money in her 17-year career but claims that overall (including endorsements) she took in about $59 million. "Today I am without resources,” said Sanchez, who has just taken over as Spain’s Fed Cup captain.

Sanchez also said that her mother Marisa — who was with her at nearly every tournament throughout her career — was super controlling. "My mother decided on my hair, my clothes ... When I bought something on my own, she rarely liked it," she said.

Sanchez's lawyers are still negotiating with the Spain’s IRS because she did not pay taxes for the years 1989-1993 when she claimed to have lived in the tax haven of Andorra.

 Sanchez also says that her family opposed her marriage to her current husband Jose "Pep" Santacana (she was briefly married once before to the broadcaster Juan Vehils).  — Matt Cronin

  


ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Lukas Lacko of Slovakia reached his first ATP final when he ousted 2007 champion Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the Zagreb Indoors semifinals on Saturday.

Lacko, playing on the main tour since 2007, will face third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, who is seeking his eighth title in his 18th career final.

Youzhny advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Michael Berrer of Germany.

Lacko has eliminated three seeded players in Zagreb.

He broke Baghdatis for 6-5, then easily closed the first set. Baghdatis responded aggressively and was two points away from a 5-1 lead in the second, but Lacko recovered to draw even, force a tiebreaker and win it.

“It seems my shape from Australia is still here,” said Lacko, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Australian Open. “I played well in Melbourne and I am satisfied with the level of my game here.

“You always hope you will gain a good result, never thinking that you will lose, but still this is a great result.”

Youzhny played well at crucial times against Berrer, who was a finalist here in 2010 and 2011. After winning the first set, Youzhny broke early in the second, but Berrer broke back. Youzhny broke again at 4-4 and went on to complete the victory.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Christina McHale beat Anastasiya Yakimova 6-0, 6-4 and gave the United States a 1-0 lead over Belarus on Saturday in the first round of the Fed Cup.

Yakimova was a late substitute for top-ranked Victoria Azarenka. The Australian Open champion withdrew earlier the day because of a sore lower back. Azarenka is eligible to play Sunday.

Serena Williams plays Olga Govortsova in Saturday’s second match of this best-of-five series in World Group II.

McHale won the first 10 games, then survived a scare in the second set when Yakimova rallied from 4-0 to tie it. Yakimova didn’t appear ready early, but pushed the young American in the second set before McHale closed it out. She broke Yakimova, then held serve after falling behind love-30 and then winning five straight points.

LONDON (AP)—Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova took more than two hours to put defending champion the Czech Republic in control of its Fed Cup tie with Germany, while Italy’s Francesca Schiavone surprisingly lost to give Ukraine a boost on Saturday.

The Czechs led 2-0 in Stuttgart, Russia led Spain by the same score in Moscow, Italy and Ukraine were 1-1 in Biella, and Belgium and Serbia were 1-1 in Charleroi.

Germany was without its best player, an injured Andrea Petkovic, but pushed the Czechs hard in both singles.

Iveta Benesova overcame Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, then Kvitova was, twice, two points from losing to Julia Goerges in the second set, but pulled through 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in 2 hours, 21 minutes.

Goerges, who beat Kvitova in their only previous match, hit some superb service returns and twice broke back in the final set to put the pressure back on the Czech star.

“It was really little difference between us,” said Kvitova, who won her 26th straight indoor match.

She can clinch the Czechs a spot in the semifinals in April by winning the first reverse singles on Sunday against Lisicki.

In Biella, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone lost a home Fed Cup match on clay for the first time in seven years when she was picked apart by unheralded Lesia Tsurenko from Kiev 6-1, 6-2.

Tsurenko, ranked 110 spots below Schiavone at 121st, dominated with a strong serve and accurate volleys in just her third tie.

She evened the tie after Australian Open quarterfinalist Sara Errani beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3.

In Moscow, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won their opening singles as expected and without trouble.

Sharapova accounted for Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1 and Kuznetsova put away Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-1.

Sharapova was nervous because she lost her opening singles of her last tie in Moscow, last year against France. But Soler-Espinosa wasn’t up to taking advantage of it. Sharapova can send Russia into a sixth successive semifinals in Sunday’s first match against Suarez Navarro.

Belgium or Serbia will face the Russia-Spain winner in the semis, and the tie in Charleroi was evenly poised after the first day.

Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic first put Serbia in front by saving two set points in a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, then Yanina Wickmayer hit back with 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Bojana Jovanovski, winning the last four games.

The minus-7 C temperature outside the Spiroudome almost overwhelmed the indoor heating, leaving the players and fans shivering. Jankovic joked she might turn out on Sunday in a coat and hat.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus has withdrawn from her Fed Cup match against the United States because of a lower back injury.

The Australian Open champion was scheduled to play Christina McHale in Saturday’s opening singles of the second-tier series. She was replaced by Anastasiya Yakimova but remains eligible to play Sunday in the best-of-five competition.

Azarenka says her lower back has been sore since the Australian Open. She says the long flight from Australia didn’t help her back and she has had little time for practice.

Azarenka took the No. 1 ranking after winning her first Grand Slam title last weekend.

"It has been a while and I have been trying to take [the injury] day by day. I had the pain since the Australian Open and was hoping to recover, but did not have enough time with all the flying I did," Azarenka said in a satement. "Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. It’s disappointing, but health is the most important thing. I am trying to do my best and over the last few days, I have got treatment and not so much practice. It is frustrating to sit out, but what I did in Australia was very physical, so the body needs a little break. We have a great team and the girls are ready to go."

World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka has pulled out of her first match in Fed Cup with a back injury. It is unclear whether she will be able to face Serena Williams on Sunday. . The Australian Open champion was scheduled to play the United States' Christina McHale in Saturday's opening match of  the Fed Cup World Group II tie in Worcester, Mass.

"It has been a while and I have been trying to take [the injury] day by day," Azarenka said in a statement. "I had the pain since the Australian Open and was hoping to recover, but did not have enough time with all the flying I did. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. It’s disappointing, but health is the most important thing. I am trying to do my best and over the last few days, I have got treatment and not so much practice. It is frustrating to sit out, but what I did in Australia was very physical, so the body needs a little break. We have a great team and the girls are ready to go."

Azarenka did not cite an injury during her maiden run to a Grand Slam title in Australia, where she beat Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova back to back. After winning the title, she flew to Los Angeles and appeared on the "Ellen Show" before heading to Massachusetts.  — Matt Cronin

MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Defending champion Gael Monfils saved a match point to edge second-seeded Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 and reach the Open Sud de France final on Saturday.

Monfils will meet top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4.

Simon rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final set, leveling at 4-4, but he dropped serve again to lose the all-French match.

“It’s not easy to outmaneuver Gilles,” Monfils told Sport Plus television. “I tried to be aggressive. I missed some shots in the beginning but that’s what made a bit of the difference in the end.”

Monfils whipped a forehand winner to break for a 2-1 lead in the first set, but Simon broke back in the sixth game with a backhand return winner.

Simon put Monfils under pressure at 5-4 and took the first set when Monfils sent a forehand into the net.

Monfils saved eight break points in the second set, including a match point at 6-5, to force a tiebreaker. He leveled at one set apiece on a forehand error from Simon.

Monfils will play in his second final this season after reaching the Qatar Open final last month.

Berdych broke Kohlschreiber once in each set and saved all five break points he faced.

The Czech clinched victory when Kohlschreiber netted a backhand.

Berdych will chase his first title since winning the China Open last October.

BIELLA, Italy (AP)—Lesia Tsurenko routed 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-2 Saturday, leaving Ukraine tied with Italy after their opening singles matches at the Fed Cup.

Earlier on the indoor red-clay court at the Lauretana Forum, Sara Errani followed her quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open by beating Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3.

Reverse singles and doubles in the first-round, best-of-five series is Sunday.

The 121st-ranked Tsurenko dominated with a big serve and accurate volleys, while Schiavone lacked her usual aggressiveness and fleet footwork.

Errani broke early in each set and was never really challenged by the 89th-ranked Bondarenko. The 34th-ranked Errani usually plays doubles for Italy, but captain Corrado Barazzutti decided to use her in singles because of her results in Australia and Flavia Pennetta’s back injury.

“It’s never easy to open in Fed Cup but it was a good match, very quick. She was hitting really hard,” said Errani. “For me, Fed Cup is the best thing all year.”

Errani was beaten by Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the Australian Open quarters. She also reached the doubles final in Melbourne, pairing with Vinci in a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Italy won the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010. But in its previous outing, it played without Schiavone and Pennetta and lost to Russia 5-0 in last year’s semfinals, ending its winning streak of eight series. Italy has won all three of its series with Ukraine.

CHARLEROI, Belgium (AP)—Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium won in straight sets Saturday, leaving this opening-round Fed Cup series tied after the first day.

Jankovic, once ranked No. 1, beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 7-5. Wickmayer then downed Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-4.

Kim Clijsters decided to sit out the opening round for Belgium in her farewell season. Serbia is without former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

Jankovic showed her experience late in the opening set, forcing a first break of serve against the 176th-ranked Flipkens. She went up 4-2 in the second but let Flipkens back in the match. Jankovic saved two set points before winning.

That put the pressure on Wickmayer in the best-of-five series. Wickmayer became Belgium’s highest-ranked player after Clijsters lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open title last week. Wickmayer is ranked No. 29 and had enough experience to edge Jovanovski, 76 places below her.

Wickmayer rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the second set but won the final four games.

STUTTGART, Germany (AP)—Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova rallied to outlast Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 Saturday, giving defending champ Czech Republic a 2-0 lead over Germany in the first round of the Fed Cup.

In the first match of the best-of-five series, Iveta Benesova also had to come from behind to beat Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Goerges was two points from winning, leading 5-4 and 30-0 before falling to the second-ranked Kvitova in 2 hours, 21 minutes. Kvitova is on a 26-0 run indoors.

Benesova served two aces to save two break points while trailing 3-2 in the second set and held serve.

“That was very important,” Benesova said. “It gave me a push and I stayed in the match.”

The series will be decided Sunday with two reverse singles and a doubles match at Porsche Arena. Germany’s 10th-ranked Andrea Petkovic was ruled out with a lower back injury.

This is the seventh meeting between the countries, with the Czechs leading 5-1. The series winner will play Ukraine or Italy in the semifinals April 21-22.

MOSCOW (AP)—Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won their opening singles matches Saturday to give Russia a commanding 2-0 lead over Spain in their Fed Cup first-round series.

Sharapova routed Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1 in the first match, while Kuznetsova downed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-1.

After an early exchange of breaks, Sharapova won four consecutive games in the first set and four more in the second. She closed the match on her first match point with a forehand that Fed Cup debutante Soler-Espinosa failed to return.

“I was a bit nervous before the beginning of the match as I failed to show my best tennis in my previous Fed Cup appearance in Moscow,” Sharapova said.

Sharapova is playing for Russia for the third time. The three-time Grand Slam champion won both of her singles matches against Israel in 2008. She lost in opening singles against France last year.

“It was very important to stay concentrated, to believe and prove that my tennis is better and to win the match. Luckily, I managed to do all that and now I’m really satisfied with my performance.”

Kuznetsova won four consecutive games before Suarez Navarro narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the first set. But the two-time major winner won five more games in a row to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. She converted her second match point with a service winner.

“From the scoreline, the match looked easy but in fact it was a bit difficult,” Kuznetsova said. “But I’ve played rather well today and I’m satisfied with my tennis.”

In Sunday’s reverse singles, Sharapova was drawn to play Suarez Navarro, while Kuznetsova will take on Soler-Espinosa. In the doubles match, the Russian pair of Nadia Petrova and Ekaterina Makarova will play the Spanish duo of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja.

Russia has won the Fed Cup title four times since 2004 and is 5-1 against Spain, which won the title five times between 1991 and 1998.

The winner of the series will play either Belgium or Serbia in the semifinals on April 21-22.

KOBE, Japan (AP)—Kimiko Date-Krumm and Ayumi Morita both won on Saturday to give Japan a 2-0 lead over Slovenia in a Fed Cup World Group II tie.

Date-Krumm beat Polona Hercog 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first match and Morita gave Japan a 2-0 lead with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Nastja Kolar.

Morita will face Hercog and Date-Krumm will take on Kolar on Sunday in reverse singles.

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP)—Top seed Juan Monaco of Argentina beath fifth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Vina Del Mar VTR Open.

Fellow countryman and No. 2 seed Juan Ignacio Chela defeated Joao Souza of Brazil 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Chela’s victory sets up a semifinal match up against countryman Carlos Berlocq, who defeated Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-4.

Monaco will face France’s Jeremy Chardy in the other semifinal on the red clay. He beat Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 7-6 (5).

 

Argentina’s Paola Suarez is coming out of retirement in order to play the Olympics with Gisela Dulko, the tennis web site Fuebuena reports. The 35-year-old Suarez was standout doubles player, winning seven Grand Slams with Spain’s Virginia Ruano-Pascal. She and Dulko have entered the upcoming tournaments in Bogota and Acapulco.

Dulko is not playing with her regular partner, Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, this year because Pennetta and her countrywoman Francesca Schiavone have decided to team up for the Olympics. If Dulko stays in the top 10, she will automatically be given a spot in the Olympics, but because Suarez has been retired since 2007 and has not played or made herself available to play Fed Cup (which is a requirement) in the past two years, she will likely have to ask for an exemption.

French captain Nicolas Escude and Aravane Rezai are in Fed Cup dispute that saw former top 15 player Rezai quit the team before this weekend’s tie against Slovakia in Bratislava. The French newspapers L’Equipe and Le Figaro report that Rezai claimed that she recanted, but Escude disputed that and said that the No. 123 ranked Rezai was incoherent. Rezai, who was not selected to the team,  said that she was asked to leave Bratislava and was not allowed to stay and cheer on her teammates. The French captain chose Pauline Parmentier, Virginie Razzano, Alize Cornet and Kristina Mladenovic for the team. Rezai apparently lost her wild card into next week’s Paris Indoors and now will be forced to play the qualifying.

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Lukas Lacko of Slovakia beat seventh-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 Friday to reach the Zagreb Indoors semifinals.

Lacko, who earlier ousted second-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr., will now face Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who defeated defending champion Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 7-5.

The sixth-seeded Baghdatis beat the fourth-seeded Dodig with little trouble, leaving the host country without representatives in the semifinals for the first time since 2006.

In another quarterfinal, third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia defeated eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (10), 3-6, 7-6 (6).

Germany’s Michael Berrer also advanced, defeating Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Berrer, a finalist in 2010 and 2011, rallied after failing to convert five break points in the first set.

“I just feel very comfortable here,” Berrer said. “I had lot of respect for Melzer. … I knew it would be difficult and that I had to be on the top of my game to beat him.”

MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon, defending champion Gael Monfils and Philipp Kohlschreiber reached the semifinals at the Open Sud de France.

Berdych, seeded first, finished off Nicolas Mahut of France with his 14th ace Friday, winning 6-3, 6-4. Simon, seeded second, edged wild card Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-2 in an all-French quarterfinal.

Simon will play another Frenchman in the semis when he faces third-seeded Monfils, who cruised past Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-3. Nieminen won the Sydney International last month.

Kohlschreiber, seeded seventh, served 18 aces in defeating fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The German will next play Berdych. This is Kohlschreiber’s second semifinal this season following last month’s Heineken Open in New Zealand.

Berdych outplayed Mahut in the first set, with the Czech making only two unforced errors. Mahut fought back in the second, but the Frenchman double-faulted to give the 2010 Wimbledon finalist a 4-3 lead.

Simon won when a backhand from Rufin sailed long. Rufin was hurt by his serve in the final set, double-faulting five times and making only 38 percent of his first attempts.

Simon took the first set tiebreaker on a forehand error from Rufin. Rufin hit two consecutive forehand winners to lead 6-2 in the second tiebreaker and evened the match at one set apiece when Simon netted a backhand.

Monfils broke serve twice to win the first set when Nieminen sent a backhand volley into the net. Nieminen hit a forehand wide to trail 3-1 in the second set. Monfils did not face a break point and won when Nieminen netted a backhand return.

Anna Kournikova has sold her 6,630-square-foot home in Miami Beach's exclusive Sunset Island for $7.4 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Former top 10 player Kournikova paid $5 million for the seven-bedroom waterfront home in 2000. The property has about 150 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and a coral-rock pool deck that surrounds a pool and Jacuzzi. Kournikova and her longtime partner, singer Enrique Iglesias, are building a new home in South Florida that is said to cost somewhere around $20 million.