Tennis Sports News & Betting

WTA Tour Monterrey Open Results

Results Thursday from the Monterrey Open, a $220,000 WTA tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Sierra Madre Tennis Club.

Singles

Second Round

Agnes Szavay (5), Hungary, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-1.

Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia, def. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-2.

Dominika Cibulkova (4), Slovakia, def. Sara Errani, Italy, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Daniela Hantuchova (2), Slovakia, def. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 6-1, 6-3.

Soderling to open against Schwank in Davis Cup

Seventh-ranked Robin Soderling will face Eduardo Schwank in the opening singles match of the Davis Cup tie between Sweden and Argentina.

Thursdays draw lined up Joachim Johansson against Leonardo Mayer in the second singles match at Stockholms indoor hardcourt.

The doubles pairing of Soderling and Robert Lindstedt were drawn against Mayer and left-handed Horacio Zeballos on Saturday.

Things could change, however, when David Nalbandian joins the Argentina squad. Recently back from injury, Nalbandian could appear in the doubles or the reverse singles on Sunday.

Argentina is without injured top players Juan Martin Del Potro and Juan Monaco.

Monfils to open against Kohlschreiber in Davis Cup

Gael Monfils will face Philipp Kohlschreiber in the opening singles of the Davis Cup first-round tie between France and Germany on Friday.

Monfils leads Kohlschreiber 2-0 in their head-to-head but is still chasing his first victory in the Davis Cup.

We know Kohlschreibers ability to raise his game and beat the best players in the world, France captain Guy Forget said on Thursday. Gael knows it will be a tough match. He knows it will be painful.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Benjamin Becker in the second rubber on the indoor hardcourt of the Palais des Sports.

Tsonga has a perfect record in the event with six wins in six matches while Becker has lost his only two Davis Cup matches.

The French pairing of Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau was drawn to take on Kohlschreiber and Christopher Kas in doubles on Saturday.

France is the heavy favorite as Tsonga and Monfils are former top-10 players while Germany will miss its best player, Tommy Haas, who is recovering from hip surgery last week.

The French have come with the best team they have at the moment, Kohlschreiber said. In both (singles) matches theyre the favorite. Its going to be tough for us. But we have a good team spirit.

France has a 5-2 record against Germany in the Davis Cup. In their last meeting four years ago, France won 3-2 after leading 3-0.

France has won the title nine times compared to three times for Germany.

Monterrey Open Results

Results Wednesday from the Monterrey Open, a $220,000 WTA Tour tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Sierra Madre Tennis Club.

Singles

First Round

Daniela Hantuchova (2), Slovakia, def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Second Round

Vania King, United States, def. Julie Coin, France, 6-3, 6-3.

Klara Zakopalova, Czech Republic, def. Patricia Mayr, Austria, 6-4, 6-3.

Alize Cornet, France, def. Aleksandra Wozniak (7), Canada, 6-2, 6-3.

Serbia not underestimating US in Davis Cup

Serbia, led by Novak Djokovic, is looking to qualify for its first Davis Cup quarterfinal when it meets a weakened United States team in Belgrade this weekend.

This will be the first time since 2000 that neither Andy Roddick nor James Blake will be on the U.S. Davis Cup roster, a span of 25 ties. The Americans lead all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles, while Serbia has never progressed beyond the first round in the World Group.

The U.S. team to play on an indoor clay court at Belgrade Arena comprises John Isner, Sam Querrey and the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

Besides the worlds second-ranked player Djokovic, Serbia will have Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic in its team.

Even though the Americans did not come here with their best team, they shouldnt be underestimated, Djokovic said Wednesday. Isner is one of the best servers in the game, and Querrey moves real well on the court.

Djokovic called on boisterous Serbian fans to pack the 20,000-capacity arena, saying with their support we can get to the quarterfinals, which would be a great success for our national team.

Fresh off a title in Dubai, Djokovic said he felt confident.

Tipsarevic, who beat fourth-ranked Andy Murray in Dubai last week, said the Serbs were mild favorites against the Americans. He said the court choice could be to Serbias advantage.

We have the home advantage, and the clay certainly is not their favorite surface, Tipsarevic said.

Despite good form shown at the start of this year, both Isner and Querrey dropped out in the first round on clay in Acapulco last week. The doubles, played on Saturday, could be crucial for the outcome of the best-of-five series starting Friday.

Its going to be tough, its probably going to be the most hostile atmosphere weve ever played in, Mike Bryan said. We know that the doubles point is huge and it could be the swing point so were going to treat it like a Grand Slam final and try to win.

Malaysian Open Results

Results Sunday at the Malaysian Open, a $220,000 WTA Tour event on outdoor hard courts at Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort.

Singles

Final

Alisa Kleybanova (4), Russia, def. Elena Dementieva (1), Russia, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles

Final

Zheng Jie, China, and Chan Yung-Jan, Taiwan, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, and Arina Rodionova, Russia, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 10-7 (super tiebreaker).

Dubai Championships Results

Results Sunday at the Dubai Championships, a $2 million ATP World Tour tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club.

Singles

Final

Novak Djokovic (2), Serbia, def. Mikhail Youzhny (7), Russia, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

Mexican Open Results

Results Thursday from the Mexican Open, a $955,000 ATP World Tour event and a $220,000 WTA Tour event at the Fairmont Princess Hotel complex.

Singles

Men

Quarterfinals

David Ferrer (3), Spain, def. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, 7-5, 6-4.

Women

Quarterfinals

Carla Suarez Navarro (5), Spain, def. Gisela Dulko (3), Argentina, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Delray Beach International Championships Results

Results Thursday from the ATPs $500,000 Delray Beach International Championships played on outdoor hard courts at the Delray Beach Stadium Tennis Center.

Singles

Second Round

Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Evgeny Korolev (5), Kazakhstan, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.

Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, Russia, 6-1, 6-4.

Mardy Fish, United States, def. Mischa Zverev, Germany, 6-2, 6-4.

Jeremy Chardy (4), France, def. Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Benjamin Becker (3), Germany, def. Wayne Odesnik, United States, walkover.

James Blake (7), United States, def. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-1.

Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Daniel Brands, Germany, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (6).

Former No. 1 Ivanovic hires Grafs former coach

Former top-ranked player Ana Ivanovic has hired Steffi Grafs old coach, Heinz Gunthardt, to help end a lengthy slump.

Ivanovic said on her Web site Monday that Gunthardt, who helped Graf win 12 Grand Slam singles titles, will accompany her to the BNP Paribas Showdown in New York next week. Ivanovic has replaced the injured Serena Williams in the exhibition event.

Ivanovic has fallen from No. 1 in the rankings in 2008, when she won the French Open, to No. 23 and was knocked out in the second round of the Australian Open last month.