Andy Roddick, coming out of retirement briefly, and Mardy Fish defeated Lu-Yen-hsun and Jonathan Marray 7-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in doubles at the BB&T Atlanta Open.
Mardy’s Last Run (with Roddick)
Mardy Fish announced his plans to retire after this year’s US Open. He lost in the first round in Atlanta, but plans to play in Cincinnati and New York. He is also playing in the doubles in Atlanta with none other than Andy Roddick, who is coming out of retirement to play with Fish.
U.S. Open Series Begins
Men’s Tournaments:
Atlanta, Washington D.C., Montreal, Cincinnati, Winston-Salem
Women’s Tournaments:
Stanford, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Tsurenko wins in Istanbul
Tsurenko defeated Ula Radwanska in the final of Istanbul to win her maiden WTA title.
Radwanska into Istanbul Finals
Ula Radwanska will face Lesia Tsurenko. Both will be vying for their first WTA title.
Another Radwanska makes a Semi
Urszula Radwanska, younger sister of the no. 7 ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, defeated Pironkova, the last seed in the draw, to make the semifinals in Istanbul. It was a quick start for Radwanska taking the first set 6-2. Pironkova came back to take the second set 6-3. The third set was topsy turvy with Pironkova leading 5-1, but Radwanska came back and leveled it sending the match to a third set tiebreak. Radwanska raced to a quick lead in the tiebreak with the score at 5-1 on the change of ends. She then went up 6-1, but lost the next four points. After a long rally she won with the winning shot being a net chord winner. It took some luck, but she made it though. Radwanska will play Magdalena Rybarikova.
The other semifinal will be contested by Lesia Tsurenko and Kirsten Flipkens.
Wimbledon Wrap-Up, Part 3: Gentlemen’s Edition
The semifinals featured three of the top four players but the draw did not go exactly to plan. There were several upsets in week one including Rafa Nadal’s loss in the second round. That was not entirely a big upset as he had lost to Dustin Brown before, and grass is his worst surface.
All the top rising stars saw very little success this year at Wimbledon with last years semifinalists Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic going out in the first week as well. Nishikori was forced to pull out due to a calf injury, but it begs the question if he will ever be able to get to the top with all of his injuries. This was not a tournament for the young guns.
This was a tournament for the seasoned veterans with Djokovic, Murray, Federer, and Gasquet making the semifinals. Wawrinka, who won Roland Garros just a few weeks before was downed by Gasquet in five sets in the quarter finals. Overall, the Big Four (plus Wawrinka, minus Nadal) was the story of the Gentlemen’s draw this year at The Championships.
Laura Robson Wins First Match in Granby
Laura Robson won the first match of her comeback in Granby, QC. She won 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 against Naomi Osaka. She was down a break in the first but came back to win 7-5 in the tiebreak. She was then down a break again in the second set and was able to tie it up to take it to a tiebreak, but lost 7-5. She then traded breaks with Osaka in the third set until she went up a break and held to close it out 6-3 in the third. Robson plays Ellie Halbauer (USA) not before noon tomorrow.
Istanbul Seeds Stunned
Five out of the Eight seeded players in Istanbul were defeated in the first round.
More to come.
Practice Makes Perfect: Must be a Monday
On the tennis tour, Monday usually signifies the official start of the tournament. The qualifying draw happens over the weekend beforehand and some tournaments such start on Sundays for scheduling purposes. Other than that, Monday signifies a new start for players on the tour. It is a chance to forget about their struggles of the last week, and focus on creating triumphs this week.
For players, Monday means the start of another week at the office. In their case, it is a tennis court. Some start match play, but most hit the practice courts. In order to be a professional athlete, you must put in the effort. Many of us wish we could be successful enough to play in the pros, but it is not for everyone.
Even at tournaments, players must practice to stay in shape. Of course, exercise and training are also important. It has been said by experts, such as Malcolm Gladwell, that you need at least 10,000 hours of practice in order to have mastered something. You also need to continue to practice so that you do not get bent out of shape.
Today is a new week in tennis. It must be a Monday.
Tennis at Love 