Tennis Sports News & Betting

Results Tuesday from the Forest Hills Classic. A $74,800 (?51,000) WTA Tour event on hardcourts at The West Side Tennis Club (seedings in parentheses):

Singles

First Round

Martina Muller, Germany, def. Petra Cetkovska, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3.

Vera Dushevina, Russia, def. Sofia Arvidsson, Sweden, 6-2, 6-2.

Iveta Benesova (3), Czech Republic, def. Elena Vesnina, Russia, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Gail Brodsky, United States, 7-5, 6-2.

—-

Amelie Mauresmo dominated at times and struggled at others in a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the first round of the Pilot Pen on Tuesday.

The former No. 1 is trying to round into form before next week’s U.S. Open after battling rib and muscle injuries that sidelined her for several weeks after losing to Serena Williams in the third round at Wimbledon.

Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, rolled through the first set but had trouble with her serve in dropping the second. She took control again in the deciding set, though she finished with 12 double faults after recording six in the second set.

“Overall it was a good fight,” said Mauresmo, the 2006 Wimbledon winner. “It is always good to go out of these kinds of matches with a win. I am happy physically because I am fine coming out of this match.”

The 29-year-old Mauresmo returned last week at Mason, Ohio, where she reached the semifinals. She said regaining rhythm and confidence was never easy after a long layoff.

“I am definitely thinking the body is not holding as well as it used to,” said Mauresmo, who has dropped to No. 33 in the world rankings after finishing last year at 17. “That’s a fact and it is pretty frustrating, but that is the way it is.”

Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France avoided an upset by rallying to beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.

Coming back from a strained abdominal muscle, Bartoli wasn’t sure she would play the Pilot Pen before getting medical clearance. She thought the court was the place to get ready for the U.S. Open.

“I practiced here first and felt I could play,” said Bartoli, ranked No. 13 in the world. “It is good to have matches before a Grand Slam.”

Fourth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungry defeated Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

On the men’s side, Germany’s Mischa Zverev upset fifth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-3 in a second-round match. Also, eighth-seeded Mardy Fish held off fellow American Wayne Odesnik 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, ninth-seeded Marc Gicquel of France defeated Albert Montanes of Spain 7-5, 6-3 and 16th-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania beat Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Second-seeded Ivo Karlovic defeated American John Isner 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 in the first meeting between two of the tallest players on the ATP tour. The 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Karlovic is ranked a career-best 14th in the world, while the 6-9 (2.06) Isner is at No. 124 after turning pro last year.

“I had never faced a serve like that before,” Isner said. “I needed to return better, and I didn’t. I didn’t make enough serves when I needed.”

American Robby Ginepri defeated 12th-seeded Agustin Calleri 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, ending a five-match losing streak against Argentines.

New No 1 Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic head the U S Open seedings for the first time.

The U.S. Open, starting on Monday, followed the rankings in announcing the seeds on Tuesday.

Nadal took over as the men’s top-ranked player on Monday, ending Roger Federer’s 237-week reign since February 2004. The Spaniard had been second to Federer since July 2005, a span of 160 consecutive weeks.

He beat Federer in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, and will try to become the first man to add the U.S. Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

He’s never been beyond the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows and lost in the fourth round last year.

Nadal won the Olympic singles on Sunday.

Federer, meanwhile, has won the last four U.S. Opens. He had been seeded No. 1 at every major since May 2004.

Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic was seeded No. 3.

The rest of the top 10 was David Ferrer of Spain, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, Andy Murray of Britain, David Nalbandian of Argentina, 2003 champion Andy Roddick of the United States, James Blake of the United States, and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who won the Olympic doubles with Federer.

Ivanovic won her maiden Grand Slam at the French Open, where she also vaulted to No. 1 for the first time.

Fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic became No. 1 last week but was replaced by Ivanovic this week.

Jankovic will be seeded No. 2 at the U.S. Open, followed by 2004 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, two-time champ Serena Williams, new Olympic champ Elena Dementieva of Russia, two-time champ Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, and Anna Chakvetadze of Russia.

The last two U.S. Open women’s champions are out of the upcoming tournament - Justine Henin retired and Maria Sharapova was injured.

The draw is on Thursday.

U S Open Qualifying Results.
Tuesday

At The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

New York

Surface: Hard-Outdoor

Singles

Men

First Round

Peter Polansky, Canada, def. Rajeev Ram, United States, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3).

Gianluca Naso, Italy, def. Benjamin Becker (3), Germany, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6).

Hugo Armando, United States, def. Adam Feeney, Australia, 7-6 (7), 6-4.

Robert Smeets (31), Australia, def. Mikhail Ledovskikh, Russia, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Robert Kendrick (4), United States, def. Dusan Vemic, Serbia, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2.

Caio Zampieri, Brazil, def. Travis Helgeson, United States, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-1.

Matwe Middelkoop, Netherlands, def. Jean-Christophe Faurel, France, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Ricardo Hocevar, Brazil, def. Chase Buchanan, United States, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Ryler De Heart, United States, def. Nicholas Monroe, United States, 6-1, 6-4.

Jan Hernych (8), Czech Republic, def. Chen Ti, Taiwan, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Simon Stadler (24), Germany, def. Jaroslav Pospisil, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2.

Diego Hartfield, Argentina, def. Alejandro Falla (7), Colombia, 6-4, 6-1.

Jun Woong-sun, South Korea, def. Joseph Sirianni (26), Australia, 6-3, 6-4.

Joshua Goodall, Britain, def. Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen, Spain, 6-3, 6-3.

Kristian Pless (13), Denmark, def. Adrian Ungur, Romania, 6-3, 6-3.

Ryan Sweeting, United States, def. Prakash Amritraj, India, 6-3, 6-4.

Leonardo Mayer (21), Argentina, def. Brydan Klein, Australia, 6-2, 6-2.

Alex Kuznetsov, United States, def. Go Soeda (14), Japan, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, def. Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistan, def. Ricardo Mello, Brazil, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.

Kevin Kim (23), United States, def. Colin Ebelthite, Australia, 6-4, 6-4.

Gilles Muller (15), Luxembourg, def. Lamine Ouahab, Algeria, 6-7 (9), 7-6 (6), 7-5.

Pablo Cuevas (17), Uruguay, def. Richard Bloomfield, Britain, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

Nicolas Coutelot, France, def. Alexander Peya, Austria, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Alexandre Sidorenko, France, def. Izak Van der Merwe, South Africa, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

Stephane Bohli (16), Switzerland, def. Martin Slanar, Austria, 6-3, 6-1.

Samuel Groth, Australia, def. Adrian Menendez, Spain, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Alexandre Kudryavtsev, Russia, def. Ivo Klec, Slovakia, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Tobias Kamke, Germany, def. Ilia Bozoljac (29), Serbia, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3.

Michal Przysiezny, Poland, def. Daniel Brands, Germany, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Adrian Mannarino, France, def. Zack Fleishman, United States, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Andrey Golubev (32), Kazakhstan, def. Joao Souza, Brazil, 6-2, 6-4.

Women

First Round

Kristie Haerim Ahn, United States, def. Yevgenia Savranska, Ukraine, 6-3, 6-2.

Mathilde Johansson (2), France, def. Raquel Kops-Jones, United States, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia, def. Ayumi Morita (28), Japan, 6-1, 7-5.

Kristina Kucova, Slovakia, def. Naomi Cavaday, Britain, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Jarmila Gajdosova, Australia, def. Maria Kondratieva, Russia, 6-1, 6-2.

Anne Schaefer, Germany, def. Oxana Lyubtsova, Ukraine, 6-4, 6-2.

Anna Lapushchenkova (4), Russia, def. Yuliana Fedak, Ukraine, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Stefanie Vogele, Switzerland, def. Greta Arn, Hungary, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-1.

Nathalie Grandin, South Africa, def. Ana Vrljic, Croatia, 6-3, 6-1.

Jelena Pandzic (31), Croatia, def. Akiko Yonemura, Japan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Neuza Silva, Portugal, def. Anastasiya Yakimova (9), Belarus, 6-3, 6-3.

Sloane Stephens, United States, def. Melinda Czink (7), Hungary, 6-3, 7-5.

Lauren Albanese, United States, def. Kimberly Couts, United States, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Lucie Hradecka (21), Czech Republic, def. Ekaterina Ivanova, Russia, 6-3, 6-1.

Soledad Esperon, Argentina, def. Sunitha Rao, India, 6-3, 6-4.

Ioana Raluca Olaru (15), Romania, def. Sandra Martinovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-4, 6-4.

Sandra Zahlavova, Czech Republic, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 6-3, 6-3.

Roberta Vinci, Italy, def. Estrella Cabeza Candela, Spain, 6-3, 6-3.

Urszula Radwanska (23), Poland, def. Masa Zec Peskiric, Slovenia, 6-0, 6-2.

Rika Fujiwara, Japan, def. Julie Ditty (3), United States, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Kirsten Flipkens (20), Belgium, def. Junri Namigata, Japan, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Marie-Eve Pelletier, Canada, def. Nika Ozegovic, Croatia, 6-2, 6-1.

Rossana de Los Rios (10), Paraguay, def. Liana Ungur, Romania, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3.

Tomoko Yonemura, Japan, def. Zuzana Kucova, Slovakia, 6-2, 6-4.

Ekaterina Dzehalevich, Belarus, def. Catalina Castano (32), Colombia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Michelle Larcher de Brito (22), Portugal, def. Angela Haynes, United States, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Abigail Spears, United States, def. Karolina Sprem, Croatia, 6-4, 6-4.

Zuzana Ondraskova, Czech Republic, def. Eva Birnerova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.

Mariana Duque Marino (16), Colombia, def. Kira Nagy, Hungary, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

Lilia Osterloh, United States, def. Anna Tatishvili, Georgia, 6-4, 6-1.

Maria Elena Camerin (24), Italy, def. Ksenia Palkina, Kyrgzystan, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-2.

Sanda Mamic, Croatia, def. Sophie Ferguson, Australia, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Leander Paes resigned Tuesday as India Davis Cup team captain for next month World Group playoff match against Romania.

Paes gave his decision to officials of the All India Tennis Association at the Beijing Olympics, AITA said in a statement.

In 1996 Paes won bronze in men’s singles tennis that ended India’s 16-year Olympic medal drought since the field hockey gold in 1980.

Earlier this year, Paes faced a revolt from other members of India’s Davis Cup team when his doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi and Prakash Amritraj sought his removal.

Also Tuesday, former Davis Cup player S.P. Misra was appointed the non-playing captain for the Sept. 19-21 match against Romania. Paes retained his place in the team with Bhupathi, Amritraj and Somdev Devvarman.

Lleyton Hewitt withdrew from next week U S Open after undergoing hip surgery.

Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, said in a statement published on his Web site Wednesday he is frustrated at not being able to play but had exhausted every possibility besides surgery

“Surgery was always the last resort, but unfortunately that’s what it came down to,” the former world No. 1 said. “I am also shattered that I can’t lead the Australian Davis Cup team in Chile in our bid to rejoin the world group, and hope that the boys can still come through with a great win.”

Australia’s world group playoff against Chile is scheduled to be played at Santiago in September.

Hewitt, also a U.S. Open finalist in 2004, was knocked out of the Olympic tennis tournament in the second round last week in Beijing by top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Hewitt said he will now focus on his rehabilitation for the Australian season.

“I am looking forward to playing again in January in my home country and using that as a springboard to compete at my best again on the world stage for at least a couple of more years,” he said.

Senior point guard Cedric Jackson may be the best player in the Horizon League.
A former role player at St. Johns, he proved to be a terrific playmaker in his first year for the Vikings last season after a transfer. Jackson was one of two players (the other was conference player of the year Mike Green of Butler) in the league to rank in the top 10 in scoring (eighth) and assists (second) and the top 20 in rebounding (15th). He also led the league with 2.6 steals per game, which tied for ninth nationally.

Jackson can take over games. He scored a career-high 27 points in a 69-66 upset of Florida State and had a near-triple double (18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists) in a 74-64 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But the coaching staff wants him to focus more on being a distributor, largely to take advantage of a large crop of promising young guards.

Sophomores Norris Cole and DAundray Brown appear ready to handle bigger roles after both contributing last season. Cole (whose cousin, Trent Cole, plays defensive end for the NFLs Philadelphia Eagles) came off the bench to score in double figures in four of the Vikings last six games. Brown started 11 games and proved to be a solid defender and rebounder.

Three freshmen also are expected to play. Three-star recruit Jeremy Montgomery, a left-handed point guard, received interest from a handful of high-major schools. Josh McCoys strength is outside shooting, an area in which the team needs to improve. The wild card is Trevon Harmon. Perhaps the most talented newcomer, Harmon will not become eligible until after the fall semester in mid-December.

FRONTCOURT

If Jackson isnt the best player in the Horizon League, it may be only because teammate JNathan Bullock returns for his senior season. He moved to small forward last season and put together the best year of his career, ranking sixth in the league in scoring and seventh in rebounding.

With more time on the perimeter, the 6-5, 240-pound Bullock - who has a powerful inside game - emerged as a solid 3-point shooter and in turn became an even more difficult matchup. In the Vikings 81-64 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay, he had a career-high 39 points.

Senior center George Tandy, who transferred from Eastern Illinois two years ago, is a solid shot blocker. However, he struggled to get involved on offense last season. Another senior center, Chris Moore (6-9, 240), who transferred from UC-Santa Barbara two years ago, is a solid backup who provides good size and experience off the bench.

OFFENSE

The Vikings utilize a variety of different looks on offense. Coach Gary Waters often will make changes from game to game based on the type of defense his team is facing.

DEFENSE

A traditional man-to-man was the staple last season. With a deeper and more experienced team, the Vikings expect to be more aggressive and mix in some full-court pressure.

SHOES TO FILL

G Joe Davis. Getting offense from the bench wasnt a problem last season thanks to sixth man Joe Davis. He averaged 8.4 points in only 18.4 minutes per game. His role will be a difficult one to fill.

MUST STEP UP

Tandy. Nobody expects Tandy to become a dominant low-post scorer, but if he can raise his scoring average into the 10-points per game range, the Vikings will be much tougher to defend. That would stop opposing defenses from focusing too much on Bullock and Jackson.

IMPACT NEWCOMER

Montgomery. Any of the three freshman guards could be the pick here, but expect Montgomery to contribute the most. Montgomery, from the Chicago area, has too much talent not to be part of the rotation. He received recruiting interest from Clemson, Florida and Illinois.

New Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean got the job security he wanted. Signing a 10-year contract worth at least $23.6 million.

The deal includes an annual base salary of $600,000 and additional payments for promotional work, school officials said Tuesday. He will receive $1.4 million this season from outside income, a total that will increase slightly each year of the contract.

“I left a very special situation at Marquette when Indiana offered me this opportunity,” Crean said in a statement. “I wanted to make sure that if I left, I would be going to a place that would be a destination for my family and allow me to build a program for the long haul with the same security.”

Crean could earn up to $685,000 in bonuses if he wins a national championship. He’d get $125,000 for a Big Ten regular-season title and $125,000 if the Hoosiers reach the Final Four.

His contract includes a provision that allows Indiana to fire him if he or his staff commit NCAA infractions.

The school also will pay for season tickets to men’s basketball and football games, travel costs for his wife and children to road games and the use of two cars.

When hired in April to replace the ousted Kelvin Sampson, Crean agreed to an eight-year contract, but the university added two more years last month.

Sampson and his assistants are accused of making more than 100 impermissible calls while Sampson was still under NCAA sanctions for a previous phone-call scandal at Oklahoma. Sampson was hired by Indiana in 2006. The NCAA has not ruled on the case.

Since February, the program has been revamped. Indiana bought out Sampson’s contract for $750,000, and athletic director Rick Greenspan, who hired Sampson, announced he would resign in December. All but two players from last season’s roster have either transferred or been kicked off the team.

“The process of restoring this great program is going to take a lot of time, more than probably any of us anticipated,” Crean said.

When looking for sleepers in the west, Marcus Ruppel might be one of the best. The 6-foot-7 forward from Deer Valley High School in Arizona fits the mold of someone that is lying under the radar.

Even after a successful junior campaign where he averaged 21.4 points and 9.8 rebounds a game and a strong performance at the Pangos All-American camp in June, Ruppel is still waiting to break out on the high-major scene.

I would like to think , Ruppel says. I havent been playing with the biggest club team out there so people havent really be able to see me this summer. When I see all of these big names going to all of these schools, I think I can play with them. But thats okay. Ill go and get my education somewhere at a mid-major and then do my thing there.

If one thing is for certain, Ruppel is a must-get guy for a number of quality mid-level programs.

He is claiming offers from Boise State, Lamar, San Diego, San Diego State, Oregon State, James Madison, George Mason, UC Riverside and UTEP. USC, Arizona State and UNLV are also in the mix, he said.

Ruppel will take the SAT for the first time on Sept. 13, he said. Shortly after taking the test, he will set up dates for his official visits. Ruppel said he does have a handful of schools that he would like to consider visiting.

The only four that I know for sure is UTEP, Lamar, Boise State and Oregon State, he said. UTEP has been on me really hard. They do a good job of staying on top of me.

Ruppel participated at San Diego over the summer, too. The plan, he says, is to sign early in November after taking his official visits.

I want to find somewhere on the West Coast and somewhere that I can play and get a good education, Ruppel said. After college, I will be set and be able to do whatever I want if I can find that.

North Carolina basketball player Ty Lawson has pleaded guilty to underage drinking and driving.

The 20-year-old Lawson appeared in court Tuesday after completing community service and other terms of his plea agreement. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of violating a noise ordinance and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Lawson said he had learned his lesson and promised it wouldn’t happen again.

Lawson was arrested in June during a traffic stop in Chapel Hill after registering a 0.03 blood-alcohol level. Although the legal limit for driving in North Carolina is 0.08, Lawson was arrested because he was under 21, the legal age for consuming alcohol.

Lawson is returning to school for his junior season after deciding not to stay in this year’s NBA draft.

Stephen Curry will lead Davidson against James Madison in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

The Wildcats are one of seven teams from last season’s NCAA tournament in the field of 16, which was announced Tuesday by the NIT Selection Committee.

Purdue and Oklahoma both reached the second round of the NCAA last season while Cornell, Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Georgia all lost first-round games.

Curry, a junior who averaged 25.9 points last season and is the nation’s leading returning scorer, carried the Wildcats into a regional final there they lost to eventual NCAA champion Kansas. Davidson will play James Madison in the South Regional at Norman, Okla., while Oklahoma faces Mississippi Valley State.

Boston College will host the East Regional and will play Loyola, Md., while Cornell faces St. John’s.

Purdue hosts the North Regional and will play Eastern Michigan. Georgia will play Loyola, Ill., in the region’s other game.

Arizona hosts the West Regional and will play Florida Atlantic, while Santa Clara faces UAB.

The first-round games will be Nov. 17, with the regional championship and third-place games on Nov. 18.

The four winners advance to Madison Square Garden with the semifinals on Nov. 26 and the championship game on Nov. 28.

The other 12 teams will play two more rounds of games on Nov. 24 and 25, at campus sites.

The tournament started as the Preseason NIT in 1985. It is sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods.