Clijsters dreaming of winning Wimbledon
CINCINNATI, Ohio (Reuters) - Kim Clijsters, making her comeback on Monday after a two-year absence, has the same dream as when she was world number one -- to win Wimbledon.
The 26-year-old Belgian quit the sport in May 2007, worn down by a series of injuries and many years of traveling the world and competing at the top.
In her time away from the tour, she got married and had a daughter, Jada, in February 2008. After deciding to return seven months ago, she has been working furiously to get herself into the best possible shape.
Her immediate aim is to assess where she is with her game and thanks to wildcards will play at the Cincinnati Open before heading to Toronto and then New York for the U.S. Open at the end of August.
Her longer-term aim is altogether more ambitious.
"It's always been Wimbledon," Clijsters told Reuters in an interview in Cincinnati.
"I've always had that feeling when I got there, like 'Oh my God, wow'. As a young girl when I played juniors there, that was one of my biggest dreams, and one that I was living, Wimbledon.
"I am very happy that I won the U.S. Open (in 2005) because I think my personality is something that suits the U.S. Open -- I love the interaction with the crowd and the noise and the music.
"But Wimbledon is definitely one that if you can have on your CV then that's the one," added Clijsters, who turned down the offer of a wildcard for this year's edition of the grasscourt grand slam.
HUNGER RETURNED
If the fitness took time to come back after pregnancy, the hunger returned immediately and Clijsters, who topped the world rankings for the first time in 2003, said she was enjoying every aspect of being back.
"You always have to push yourself," she said. "I was never happy with where I was, always wanted to do more, whether it was lifting some weights or doing a long-distance run.
"But I think I have a good group of people around me who know what you need for tennis and what you don't need for tennis, which is even more important.
"I have done a lot of things that I never really worked on when I was playing, and never even had a chance to, and I'm working with a group as motivated as I am.
"We're all learning -- it's not just everything based around me, I want everyone to be involved in the situation."
Clijsters said she would not be happy to be "hanging around the 100 spot in the world" and planned to extend her "second career" for a few more years.
Had Wimbledon not come calling, though -- asking her to join Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman in an exhibition event to test the new sliding roof over Center Court in May -- she might never have returned.
"I've even thought about that," she said.
"I would have got some offers from some exhibitions here and there so I don't know, but obviously when you hear Wimbledon and get invited to do that, I didn't want to disrespect them, to be on that court, be out of shape.
"I wasn't in the shape that I am now, but I was working toward something. You don't want to disrespect the Wimbledon name."
(c) Thomson Reuters 2009
Guccione exits LA Open
Australia's Chris Guccione has missed out on a quarter-finals berth at the LA Open after losing to No.2 seed Mardy Fish.
Guccione won the first set on a tiebreak but Fish levelled matters in the second set breaker and went on to win after an early break of serve in the final set put him on the way to a 6-7 7-6 6-4 success in two hours and 22 minutes.
Fish will tackle Leonardo Mayer for a place in the semis after the Argentinian knocked out fifth-seeded Russian Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 7-6 6-7 6-3.
Elsewhere in the second round, fourth seed Dudi Sela reached the last eight with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 win over American Robert Kendrick.
Next up for the Israeli is sixth seed Sam Querrey, who beat fellow American Ryan Sweeting 6-3 6-7 6-3.
Meanwhile, the Williams sisters remain on course for another meeting after booking their places in the quarter-finals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Wimbledon champion Serena took her winning streak to nine matches with a straight-sets defeat of Hungary's Melinda Czink.
The top seed won 6-3 7-6 to set up a clash against Austrian left-hander Samantha Stosur.
Second seed Venus, beaten by her sister in the final at SW19 earlier this month, reached the last eight with a 6-3 7-5 win over Russian qualifier Alla Kudryavseva.
Blocking her path to the semi-finals is former world No.1 Maria Sharapova.
Eighth-seed Marion Bartoli progressed with a 7-5 6-4 victory win over American qualifier Melanie Oudin.
Next up for the Frenchwoman is Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, as a result of the fourth seed's 2-6 6-2 6-4 defeat of Germany's Sabine Lisicki.
bigpondnews.com
Andy joins the county set
ANDY Murray may now be more used to playing in the latter stages of Grand Slam events but he got back to basics this week and surprised everyone by turning out for the North of Scotland team down in Eastbourne.
The Dunblane ace made an appearance at the County Week event in Eastbourne on Wednesday as the Scottish side took on Hertfordshire. It was a bit of a family affair all round as well, as his brother Jamie was also in action.
Andy teamed up with Owen Hadden while Jamie took to the court with Johnny Pankhurst but unfortunately their presence wasn't enough to secure a win for North of Scotland.
Andy and Hadden did win all three of their matches, perhaps unsurprisingly, but this wasn’t enough in the end as the Scottish team went down 5-4 overall.
The surprising run out for the British number one came as he prepares to head across the Atlantic again where he will start his preparations for the US Open, which gets underway in New York at the end of next month.
(c) 2009 Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited
Stich to play doubles in his own Hamburg tournamentFormer Wimbledon winner and current Hamburg tournament director Michael Stich will try to roll back the years as he teams in doubles at his own event next week.
The German will play alongside the younger, fitter legs of Davis Cup player Mischa Zverev, with the pair hoping to try their luck for a round or two.
Any excitement is welcome at the former Masters event now downgraded after an expensive court battle last summer to a 250 series on the orders of the ATP to conform with a massive calendar shake-up.
The event has already received a late financial blow when a court ruled that and online betting service will not be allowed to contribute a 250,000-euro sponsorship for the week. But that useful sum will be partly made up by 200,000 euros from the city of Hamburg.
"For about five years, I've trained in Hamburg, sometimes with Mischa", said Stich. "We've always had the idea, now it's time to see how it goes".
Zverev, a 21-year-old ranked 45th, said that as a youngster, he remembers Stich bringing tennis glory to Germany in the Boris Becker-Steffi Graf era. "As a child I admired Michael, and it was always a dream,to perhaps play doubles with him".
"I'm sure that we can go a few rounds this week in Hamburg".
Stich won Wimbledon over Becker in 1991 but his career was ended early by a shoulder injury. Stich was the last German to win Hamburg, in 1993.
tennistalk.com
Thanks Roger
The men's tennis final match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick was truly epic and magnificent. Both players played at their peak levels. The game was an absolute treat to watch.
Being a Federer fan, I was overjoyed with his victory, especially the 16-14 game in the last set.
I was also very sorry that Roddick lost! He played a very competent and professional game. And he is a true sportsman, for there was not a shade of bitterness at having lost, in his concluding remarks.
If Federer wins our hearts with his victories, modesty and humility, Roddick wins our respect through sheer professionalism. His serves in the final match were like hurricanes. Federer's winning streaks and personal qualities have won him the respect of his opponents. All those who lose to him, compliment him on his game. He is perhaps the first player in the world to whom players are beginning to love to lose! I can imagine, in the future, after the games, his losing opponents may start their speeches as: "It is such an honour to lose to Federer again....!
Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News
Roddick Advances to Wimbledon Finals, Regains Place Among Tennis EliteAmerica finally has a new men's tennis star.
Andy Roddick.
I know, he's been around forever. But now he's for real. Finally, he has a strategy and a coach and a brain and some actual footwork and speed. And even a backhand. Finally, he's not just a serve, not just a one-stroke gimmick with an empty head.
And finally, he is back in the Wimbledon finals. Roddick won the Battle of Andys Friday, beating Scotland's Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) in the Wimbledon semifinals, and crushing Great Britain's hopes for the first Brit champ since 1936.
Roddick dropped to his knees, put his hand on his head, clapped politely to the crowd, which, of course, was strongly for Murray, and then walked to his chair, sat down and buried his face in his hands.
"To be honest, the last couple of years, I didn't know if I'd get another chance to play for another grand slam title," he said. "Now, I do. It's just a dream."
This is the story of a guy who decided he was not done. That's all. He arrived at the end of tennis' mindless-power era, won a U.S. Open, reached a couple major finals, climbed to No. 1 in the rankings.
And then Roger Federer came in. And then Rafael Nadal. And Murray. And Novak Djokovic. And Roddick was just pushed down by people who dared to play with thoughts while his game became outdated.
For all his failings, he is the American tennis star, which actually, has served to condemn American tennis.
That's what American tennis is about?
Still, Roddick stayed in the top 10 and had a pretty good gig going overall, really, with his millions, his fame and his beautiful wife. But he went to coach Larry Stefanki, was willing to listen and to change. And he worked his way into the modern era of tennis.
"Throughout my career, I've had a lot of shortcomings," he said.
"But trying hard hasn't been one of them."
True enough.
But it wasn't just hustle that won it for him on Friday. Roddick played serve-and-volley at times, dinked at times, floated the ball at times. And having lost 15 pounds, he ran well, rather than his old plodding. Not to mention, he still has the big serve.
Does that mean he's going to beat Federer? I can't say that. But I can ask the question now without giggling.
Roddick has a chance now. He's on the top level now.
As for Murray, well, the guess is that the Queen won't show up for the finals now. She had written fan letters only to Murray. Fans were packed on the grounds on what was once called Henman Hill, where people sat and watched year after year as Brit Tim Henman failed to win. Murray is the new Brit hope, and the hill renamed Mount Murray.
And now, those poor Brits feel like, well, Cubs fans.
Wait till next year.
"To be fair, he had all the pressure on him, and I could come out and swing,'' Roddick said. "Make no mistake, he's been a much better player than I have over the past year, that's for sure. I was a little better today."
Murray has been the anti-Roddick, thinking too much and too hesitant to just let go. But in the past year, that has changed and he was adding just enough power. On Friday, he was too conservative again. And Roddick, now 26, was a mix of everything. Finally.
"I had to play my best tennis out there to win today," he said. "I can't say enough good things about Andy's game, but I can play some tennis sometimes. Not many people were giving me much of a chance at all."
Well, after his disaster at the French Open, why would anyone feel confident that this was a new Roddick? For the first time in his career, he reached the second week at the French. On the red clay, you have to play with care and strategy. But then when Roddick lost to Gael Monfils, he had one of his classic meltdowns, arguing with the chair umpire, lecturing him about the darkness, and complaining to other tournament officials between points.
But then at Wimbledon, on Wednesday, he finished off a five-set classic against Lleyton Hewitt, and it was clear something had changed. We didn't know how much, though, until Friday, beating one of the game's real stars.
So the same old guy is a new face of American tennis now. And this is something much more acceptable.
American tennis, which has seemed dead for so long, now has three of the four Wimbledon singles finalists. Venus Williams will play Serena Williams for the women's title on Saturday.
On top of that, American Melanie Oudin, a teenager, beat former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic at this Wimbledon, and American Jesse Levine emerged in the early rounds.
Friday's match was supposed to be about a guy named Andy carrying the hopes of a nation.
Turned out, it was.
(c) 2009 AOL LLC
Rafael Nadal out of Queen's and in doubt for WimbledonThe world No1, Rafael Nadal, has withdrawn from next week's Aegon Championships at Queen's and faces a battle to be fit for Wimbledon. The Spaniard, who suffered a surprise fourth-round defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling in the French Open this week, has been advised by doctors to rest because of ongoing knee problems.
"I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees, that's no secret, that have not allowed me to always compete at 100%," Nadal said.
"I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then. I am very disappointed to miss Queen's and not defend the title I won last year. I enjoy playing there in front of the very knowledgeable British crowds."
Toni Nadal, the player's uncle and coach, said on Spanish radio: "Wimbledon is up in the air at the moment."
Andy Murray will now be No1 seed at Queen's, as he begins his preparations for Wimbledon, which starts on 22 June.
Nadal, four times French Open champion, was beaten by Soderling having lost the Madrid Masters final to Roger Federer. On neither occasion did he complain of knee problems, though he has suffered from tendinitis for a couple of years. Until recently he has taped his knees above the joint. The general feeling is that Nadal has simply played too much tennis, having won his sixth grand slam title, and his first Australian Open, in January. After that there was talk that perhaps the Spaniard could achieve the calendar slam, which was last done by Rod Laver in 1969. Prior to the French Open, Nadal won clay-court Masters events in Monte Carlo and Rome and a tournament in Barcelona. Then came defeat by Soderling.
Nadal had not been at his best in this clay-court season. He had lost weight earlier in the year, in order to put less pressure on his knee joints, and the pink shirt he wore at Roland Garros tended to make him look less physically imposing. But nobody was expecting such an early defeat in the French Open.
His decision not to play at Queen's may be more to do with his current mental state, after losing the grand slam title that has always meant more to him than any other. It was his first-ever defeat at Roland Garros and his first loss in a five-set match on clay. Whatever the state of his knees, it was perhaps no surprise that he subsequently felt that he needed more time to regroup.
Two years ago Federer, having lost the second of two French Open finals against Nadal, pulled out of the pre-Wimbledon tournament in Halle and went on to win a fifth Wimbledon title. Nadal will have the opportunity to play in a couple of exhibition matches in the week before Wimbledon, assuming that the problem with his knees has not worsened to the point of preventing him playing. That would be terrible news for both Nadal and tennis as a whole.
(c) Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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