Tennis Sports News & Betting

Recovering Dementieva advances at Pilot Pen

CBSSports.com w Elena Dementieva of Russia moved into the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament with 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-4 win over Kateryna Bondarenko.

Dementieva says she rested for four weeks after tearing a left calf muscle during the French Open and is excited about getting in more matches before next weeks U.S. Open.

She will face Marion Bartoli, who defeated Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday. Flavia Pennetta also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

Alexandr Dolgopolov of Russia beat James Blake 6-4, 6-2.

Serena out, Wozniacki, Clijsters top Open seeds

CBSSpor Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time Tuesday, getting the top spot at the U.S. Open because Serena Williams pulled out with a foot injury.

Wozniacki, ranked No. 2 behind Williams by the WTA, was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows last year and is the first woman since 2003 to be seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open without already having won a major championship.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters was seeded No. 2 by the U.S. Tennis Association, which stuck strictly to the rankings in determining the seedings. Venus Williams, the 2000-01 U.S. Open champion, is No. 3, followed by 2008 runner-up Jelena Jankovic and French Open runner-up Sam Stosur.

Two other past U.S. Open champions who were seeded are No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 14 Maria Sharapova.

Serena Williams, Venus younger sister, withdrew last week, saying she still is recovering from surgery to repair cuts on her right foot.

The mens seedings were announced Monday, with Rafael Nadal at No. 1, and Roger Federer at No. 2. The 2009 mens champion, Juan Martin Del Potro, withdrew Saturday because he isnt ready to compete after having an operation on his right wrist in May.

The announcement of the womens seedings was delayed a day because Sundays final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal was rained out. Wozniacki wound up winning Mondays final for her third title of 2010.

The draw for the U.S. Open is Thursday, and play begins Monday.

Nadal top seed for U.S. Open, Federer second

CBSSpor Seeking to complete the career Grand Slam, Rafael Nadal will be the top-seeded man when the U.S. Open starts next week, while Roger Federer will come to Flushing Meadows seeded second.

Nadal, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, is seeded first at the U.S. Open for the second time in three years. He has never made it past the semifinals.

The womens seedings have been delayed one day because of a rainout of Sundays final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. On Monday, world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vera Zvonareva to win that tournament. It appears Wozniacki, who lost to Kim Clijsters in last years final, will get the top seed at the U.S. Open because Serena Williams, the worlds top-ranked player, has withdrawn while recovering from surgery to repair cuts on her right foot.

Also missing from New York will be defending mens champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who remains sidelined with a lingering wrist injury. Del Potro defeated Federer in last years final, ending his string of five straight U.S. Open titles. Federer, who won the Australian Open this year, is seeking his 17th Grand Slam tournament title.

Del Potro, meanwhile, is only the third U.S. Open mens champion in the 42-year Open era who wont be on hand to defend his title.

Seeded third for the men is Novak Djokovic, followed by Andy Murray at No. 4. Robin Soderling, Nikolay Davydenko, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco round out the top eight.

At No. 9, Andy Roddick is the highest seeded American man. With a trip to the semifinals in Cincinnati last weekend, Roddick jumped back into the worlds top 10. Earlier this month, Roddick fell to No. 12 and it marked the first time since the rankings began in 1973 that no American man was in the top 10.

The draws for the tournament come out Thursday.

Wozniacki routs Zvonareva in Rogers Cup final

CBSSpor Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark won the rain-delayed Rogers Cup on Monday, beating Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2.

Wozniacki is ranked second in the world and, with No. 1 Serena Williams out with an injury, likely will be the top seed when the U.S. Open starts Aug. 31. The 20-year-old is seeking her first Gra I just try to win every match,” she said. “Well have to see what happens. Right now, I want to enjoy winning this tournament. It gives me its a huge tournament.”

The Rogers Cup final was held a day late after a weekend of relentless rain.

Zvonareva, a Wimbledon finalist, was clearly off her game. The eighth-seeded Russian at times let out shrieks after misfiring on routine shots. Wozniackis groundstrokes, meanwhile, were hitting the lines with their usual sharpness.

She picked up her third title of the year, after wins at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and at her home tournament in Copenhagen.

“I did what I had to do,” said Wozniacki, a first-time Rogers Cup champion.

Leading 5-3 in the first set, Wozniacki fell behind 0-40. But she responded with five straight points to close the set.

After breaking serve for a 5-2 lead in the second, Wozniacki wrapped it up with four straight points on her serve, gave a little fist pump and walked up to shake hands with her opponent.

Wozniacki took the $350,000 winners prize while Zvonareva got $175,000.

The semifinals were played in the morning. Wozniacki beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3, and Zvonareva advanced when her opponent, 10th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, retired with a blister on her left foot. Zvonareva led 7-6, 1-0.

Trainers worked on Azarenkas foot for several minutes. She got up and tried to walk, but immediately sat back down.

She said the injury was not severe enough to keep her out of the U.S. Open.

“I dont see how I got a blister after sitting on my [rear end] for two days,” said Azarenka, who was in tears as she spoke to reporters after the match. “I tried to deal with it, but I couldnt continue.”

Wozniacki and the 11th-seeded Kuznetsova completed a semifinal that began Saturday and was stopped due to rain with Wozniacki leading 2-0, 0-15.

Zvonareva played her semifinal on the National Bank Court, a smaller venue adjacent to Centre Court, contributing to her problems in the final.

“It was a different court, different conditions,” she said. “It was difficult to keep my concentration. I was preparing to play Victoria for two days and they have absolutely different styles. In the final, I was still playing shots I would use in the semifinals. My head was not in the final.”

Federer holds off Fish, repeats in Cincinnati

CBSSports. Roger Federer ended his mini-vacation with another Masters title.

A well-rested Federer beat American Mardy Fish 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-4 Sunday, winning the Cincinnati Masters championship. He was barely on the court all week because his opponents got hurt and his game was so good.

For the first time, the worlds second-ranked player was pushed to the limit. Fish kept it as close as could be, dropping the final set after the matchs only service break.

Federer ended a streak of three straight losses in tournament finals, winning his first Masters event since Cincinnati last year. His 63rd career title tied Bjorn Borg for fifth place in the Open Era. Pete Sampras is fourth at 64, and Jimmy Connors holds the record with 109.

<p an eternity compared to how the rest of the week had gone.

Credit Fish for making him sweat one out.

The American had surgery on his left knee last September, then set about rebuilding his body. He changed his diet, lost 30 pounds and gained a lot of speed on the court.

This Fish can fly.

His agility allowed him to extend points and keep up with Federer, who was clearly fresher. Federer lost to Andy Murray in the title match at Toronto last Sunday, came to town and got a mini-break. He was on court for only 28 minutes in his opening match before Denis Istomin hurt his ankle. Federer didnt even have to leave the locker room to advance a day later. Philipp Kohlschreiber dropped out because of a sore shoulder.

Federer sailed through his next two matches, winning each in two tidy sets. Fish provided his first real test.

The 28-year-old American is on the best stretch of his career, going 17-2 since July with titles at Newport and Atlanta. Hed won five in a row against top-10 opponents, gaining confidence with each upset.

Three games into the title match, Federer knew this one wouldnt be easy.

With Fish and 24 points. Fish fought off a pair of break points before holding serve with an ace.

Fishs serve had been at its best all week. Hed served 70 aces and had won 85 percent of the points off his first serve, the best in the tournament. He struggled with it early but hung in there, extending a tiebreaker.

Fish is 18-5 in tiebreakers this season, showing a lot of confidence when it comes down to a few pressure points. Federer got up 5-4 in the tiebreaker and was serving the next two points with a chance to close it out.

Instead, Fish hit an overhead winner and Federer dumped a backhand into the net. Fish then finished it off with a 126 mph serve.

It was the first set that Federer lost dur as long as Federers semifinal match on Saturday night.

The second set was even tighter, with Federer fighting off the only break point. He was more aggressive in this tiebreaker, coming to the net to take control, then closing it out with a 122 mph ace.

Federer got the only service break of the match to go ahead 5-4 in the final set.

Rain postpones Pilot Pen matches to Monday

CBSSports.com w Rain has suspended play at the Pilot Pen tennis tournament, pushing Sundays scheduled matches to Monday.

Several qualifying matches began indoors at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center on the campus of Yale University after overnight rain, and another storm moved through in the afternoon, forcing the suspension of some first-round mens and womens matches and the postponement of others.

Play will commence Monday morning, but without two players. American Mardy Fish, who lost to Roger Federer in the final of the Cincinnati Masters earlier Sunday, withdrew citing fatigue.

Also withdrawing was Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, who was scheduled to face American Melanie Oudin in the first round of the womens tournament. Pavlyuchenkova cited a hip injury in her withdrawal.

U.S. Open: del Potro withdraws with wrist injury

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 21, 2010

Defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro withdrew from the U.S. Open on Saturday, saying he “cannot compete at the top level yet” after having an operation on his right wrist in May.

He becomes only the third U.S. Open mens champion in the 42-year Open era who didnt defend the title. And Del Potros announcement arrives a day after Serena Williams became the first No. 1 in the 35-year history of the womens rankings to miss the U.S. Open. She still is recovering from surgery for cuts on her right foot.

The 6-foot-6 Del Potro has not played on tour since the Australian Open in January because of an injury to his right, racket-swinging wrist. The 21-year-old Argentine had surgery in May, then recently began training in hopes of playing at Flushing Meadows, where he won his first major championship a year ago by upsetting Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Roger Federer in the final.

In a statement released by the ATP on Saturday, Del Potro said he is “extremely sad” about pulling out of the years last Grand Slam tournament, which starts Aug. 30.

“But I have only started practicing in the last two weeks and unfortunately I cannot compete at the top level yet,” he said. “I look forward to returning to New York in 2011 and wish all the best to the tournament organizers and my fellow players.”

Since 1968, the only other men who didnt defend U.S. Open titles were Ken Rosewall in 1971 and Pete Sampras in 2003. Sampras retired after winning the 2002 U.S. Open in his final match as a professional.

Del Potros right wrist has been a problem since last year; he retired in the second round of the Shanghai Masters in October because of tendinitis in the wrist. In January, he pulled out of an exhibition tournament just days before the start of the Australian Open, citing the wrist.

He lost in the fourth round at Melbourne, and hasnt entered a tournament since. Del Potro is No. 9 in this weeks rankings but will slide from there after the U.S. Open because he will lose the ATP points that came with his 2009 title.

“It would have been a pretty tall task for him to come back and [at] his first tournament be a major player,” 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick said. “Thats something thats built up over time.”

In late July, Del Potro was on the provisional entry list released by the USTA for the mens field at the 2010 U.S. Open. In a statement then, the USTA said Del Potro was “expected to return to Grand Slam competition” at the U.S. Open.

“It is unfortunate that Juan Martin has not recovered from wrist surgery in time to defend his U.S. Open title,” tournament director Jim Curley said Saturday. “We wish him all the best and look forward to his return to New York next year.”

Now Del Potros return to the tour could come at the Thailand Open, an indoor tournament that begins Sept. 24 in Bangkok. Del Potro said in July he planned to play in that even the three-time U.S. Open champion who cut the American Grand Slam tournament will be without two-time champion have been injured recently.

Two other men withdrew late Friday: No. 10-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and three-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist Tommy Haas.

Fish beats Roddick, advances to Cincinnati final

CBSSports. A seven-minute rain delay saved Mardy Fish.

Fish turned the brief break in the second set into a rallying point Saturday. Only one game away from a straight-set defeat, he pulled out 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over boyhood friend and high school teammate Andy Roddick in an all-American semifinal at the Cincinnati Masters.

Hell play second-ranked Roger Federer for the title. Federer beat unseeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-3 in an evening semifinal that lasted only 70 minutes.

Fish advanced by regrouping during the matchs third rain delay, one so brief that it shouldnt seem to matter. Roddick led 5-2 in the second set when the players slung their equipment bags over their shoulders and headed to the locker room, then got called right back.

“It wasnt long at all,” Fish said. “It was only a couple minutes that we were back there, so I just changed [outfits]. It was only a couple of minutes.”

Time enough to change everything.

The start of the match was delayed 50 minutes by heavy rain. Another cloudburst during the first set resulted in a 1-hour delay that knocked Fish off his game. Roddick was up 5-4 coming out of the delay. Fish developed trouble with his forehand, dumping three into the net while Roddick won the game and the set.

Fish trailed 5-2 in the second set when another shower forced that brief break that had the opposite effect.

“The first one really helped, the second one obviously didnt,” Roddick said. “Thats the thing with rain delays. The momentum can shift really fast.”

Fish knew he was in deep trouble when he came back on the court.

“You dont want to be in that spot at all,” Fish said. “I was just lucky to get out of it.”

This time, Fish was better when they got back. He broke Roddicks serve for the first time in the match to keep it going, then won the tiebreaker when Roddick began missing routine shots. Roddick fell behind 3-0 in the third set, becoming so upset with himself that he swatted a ball away and bounced his racket off the ground.

Roddick faded at the end, showing little emotion while Fish finished him off.

It was a good week overall for the two good buddies.

Roddick came to the $2.4 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters hoping to get in condition to contend for the U.S. Open title. He pulled out of Toronto last week, unsure why he was feeling sluggish this summer. A blood test found hed been fighting off a mild case of mononucleosis the last couple months.

The top-ranked American felt revived in Cincinnati. He considered it a “complete positive” to reach the semifinals and play his friend.

“I feel OK,” Roddick said. “You know, to be honest, I came here and I had no expectations. For me to get in five really tough matches is more than I couldve asked for going into the Open. Honestly, when I came here I was thinking maybe two matches and well see. I hadnt really put too much time in.”

Roddick and Fish know what the other is about to do on the court, a bond that goes back to their boyhood. Fish lived with Roddicks family in Boca Raton, Fla., in 1999. They went to the same high school, played on the tennis and basketball teams together, and practiced against one another nearly every day.

They remain close while competing agai he had a 9-2 advantage in their career series coming in, though Fish won the last one in Atlanta on July 24.

Fish has played some of his best tennis lately, winning back-to-back titles in Newport and Atlanta while putting together a 16-1 streak.

“Ive never felt better on the court and Ive never been more confident and Ive never played better,” Fish said. “So I kept that in the back of my head, that Ive won a lot of matches this summer.”

Federer was sharp in his semfinal win, never facing a break point. He broke Baghdatis to close out the first set, then again to go ahead 5-3 in the second. Federer will be trying to win the Cincinnati title for the fourth time - he also was the champion in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Foot laceration forces Serena to pull out of Open

CBSSpor Serena Williams withdrew from the U.S. Open on Friday, saying she still is recovering from surgery to repair cuts on her right foot.

The top-ranked Williams has won three titles at Flushing Meadows, part of her 13 Grand Slam singles championships, the most among active women. Last year, she lost in the U.S. Open semifinals after a tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call, an outburst that drew a record fine.

More on Serena Singles titles 13 Grand Slams Three U.S. Opens

“It is with much frustration and deep sadness that I am having to pull out of the U.S. Open,” Williams said in a statement released by her publicist.

Williams said doctors advised her not to play so her foot can heal, and she called missing the tournament “one of the most devastating moments of my career.”

The 28-year-old American reportedly was hurt by a broken glass a shortly after winning her fourth Wimbledon singles title on July 3, and before playing in an exhibition match against Kim Clijsters that drew a tennis-record crowd of 35,681 in Brussels on July 8.

Williams had surgery in Los Angeles on July 15. She already had pulled out of three hard-court tournaments she was scheduled to enter in preparation for the U.S. Open and also skipped playing World TeamTennis.

Williams withdrawal also means she wont team with older sister Venus to defend the doubles title they won in New York last year. Venus, who hasnt competed on tour since Wimbledon because of a bothersome left knee, is expected to play singles at Flushing Meadows.

Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, said Serena Williams absence is a “fairly big-sized hit for the tournament.”

“I havent had a chance to talk to her about it, but I do know the U.S. Open is probably her favorite event, so obviously, if shes this far out and is not going to play, its got to be something pretty serious, which is unfortunate,” Roddick said, “because theres no doubt about who the top draw card is in New York City as far as the womens side of the draw.”

Williams has participated in the last 16 major tournaments; the last one she missed was Wimbledon in 2006.

She won her first Grand Slam singles championship at the 1999 U.S. Open, and also took home the trophy from New York in 2002 and 2008.

But in 2009, Williams lashed out at a lineswoman during her semifinal against eventual U.S. Open champion Clijsters. It was a profanity-laced, finger-pointing, racket-brandishing display during which Williams approached the official with what tournament director Jim Curley called at the time “a threatening manner.”

About 2½ months later, Williams was fined $82,500 by the Grand Slam administrator and told she would be suspended from the U.S. Open if she has another “major offense” at any Grand Slam tournament in 2010 or 2011.

Both of Williams titles this season came at major championships: the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

If healthy, she would have been considered the favorite at the U.S. Open, where play starts Aug. 30.

“We regret that Serena Williams is unable to play the U.S. Open and wish her a speedy recovery,” Curley said Friday. “She will be missed, but the tournament is about the competition and the players on the court.”

Five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer said Williams withdrawal has “got to be disappointing for her and for the tournament. Im sure it hurts, especially with her being an American.”

Fish upsets Murray to gain Cincinnati semifinals

CBSSports. Andy Murray wasnt pleased with the start of hi and didnt like the finish, eit the exhausted 23-year-old Scot had enough left in the tank to force two tiebreakers, but not enough to finish the job. The fourth-seeded Murray fell to unseeded Mardy Fish 6-7 (7), 6-1, 7-6 (5 on a court where the temperature reached an even 100 degrees.

“In the third set, I wasnt really using my legs at all on my serve,” said Murray, who needed cooling treatment, including rubdowns on both legs, during many changeovers. “It was all arm. Every time there was a long point, I felt tired for two or three points afterward. When you get to the end of the match, you just try to finish as best you can.”

Murray asked tournament officials after his match on Thursday if he could play Fridays night match. He even volunteered to play on a secondary court. Instead, he and Fish were scheduled to play the first match.

“They said that, because Fish had to play doubles, they wanted us to play early, but Im not sure thats the way tennis works,” Murray said. “I dont think matches should be scheduled around the doubles, because its the singles thats on the TV.”

Fish will meet Andy Roddick in the tournaments first all-American semifinal since Roddick lost 7-5, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2) to Andre Agassi in 2004. The ninth-seeded Roddick eliminated No. 2-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 on Friday.

Defending-champion Roger Federer finally played a full match at the $2.4 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, knocking off sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-5. The third-seeded Federer, a three-time champion, played just seven games in his first match before Denis Istomin retired with an ankle injury. His next opponent, Philipp Kohlschreiber, withdrew with a shoulder injury before their round of 16 match.

Fish had little sympathy for Murray, suggesting that those circumstances usually even out.

“I usually like to play the first-up match, because you know exactly when youre going on,” he said. “Im sure there have been times when [Murray] was playing the night match and would like to be done and go to dinner. I can understand where hes coming from, but what can you do? It was bad luck for him today.

“Physically, it was hot, but nowhere near the humidity of, say, D.C. or Atlanta. It was every bit as hot as there. It feels great to win a match like that.”

Murray admitted that he considered retiring from the match.

“It does cross your mind a little bit when youre struggling like that, but the doctor and the physio did a good job with the ice and cooling me down a little bit,” he said.

Murray took a 4-2 lead in the second tiebreaker. Fish, a 2003 finalist, then won four straight points, the last when Murray sent a forehand passing shot wide and followed it by slamming a ball out of the stadium in frustration. his when the Scot smacked a forehand into the net. The American is the first unseeded player to reach the Cincinnati semifinals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2007 and the lowest-ranked player to get there since No. 58 Robby Ginepri in 2005.

“It could easily be 1-2,” said Fish, now 4-3 in his career against Murray. “Ive won two tiebreakers in the third [set]. Ive had a lot of trouble with him. He serves so well and returns so well that he usually gives aggressive players like me a lot of trouble.”

Fish, playing more aggressively than Murray, finished with 14 aces, 50 winners and 34 unforced errors. Murray had eight aces, 30 winners and 24 unforced errors.

Djokovic also was aggressive, hitting 28 winners to Roddicks 15, but the Serb also committed 29 unforced errors to Roddicks 15 while losing for the fourth straight time in their head-to-head meetings.

“I just played a very bad match,” Djokovic said. “Every time I needed to play well, I made mistakes, especially on my forehand side. He was getting a lot of balls back - not doing anything special, just making me play extra shots.”

The 13th-ranked American couldnt argue.

“Novak probably didnt play his best match,” Roddick said. “He was missing balls he normally wouldnt miss. I probably would expect him to play a little better.”

Federer squandered two match points in the 10th game of the second set and another in the 12th before moving into the semifinals. He was happy to finally have gotten on to the court.

“It was a bit scary,” he said. “Youre wondering, Do I have enough play on these courts? It was sort of a relief. That was a tough match for me, but I felt like I played really good, especially since I hadnt played. I tried to play offensively and mix it up - make it hard for him to get some rhythm.”