PETE ZIEBRON
Davydenko Sweeps Federer & Nadal for Qatar Crown
Nikolai Davydenko
continued his mastery on the tennis court to begin the 2010 campaign as he
defeated Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 in the ExxonMobil Qatar Open semis in Doha. Roger Federer’s failure to advance
prevented the first Federer-Nadal Final since the Masters 1000 tournament in
Madrid in May 2009. In the Final,
Davydenko then saved 2 match points in the Qatar Final, defeating Rafael Nadal
0-6 7-6 6-4.
Davydenko has now defeated Federer and Nadal in consecutive tournaments: the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and the 2010 Qatar tournament. With his victories in Doha, Davydenko improves to 2-12 lifetime against Federer and 5-4 versus Nadal.
Henin Back from Retirement, Nearly Defeats Clijsters in Brisbane Final
Justine Henin ended
her 19 month retirement from tennis with a run to the Brisbane International
Final. The effort nearly had a
perfect ending as Henin had two consecutive match points, which she failed to
convert, leading to a final set tiebreaker a few games later that Clijsters
won.
The women’s game looks drastically different than it did prior to August of last year, when Kim Clijsters returned to action in Cincinnati and then proceeded to win the US Open few weeks later. Now, 7-time Grand Slam Champion Justine Henin is back in action and advanced to a tournament Final in her initial effort. Although it may take some time for Henin to regain her Championship form, her backhand looks as smooth and sweet as ever.
Roddick Tops Radek for Brisbane Title
Andy Roddick withstood a valiant effort from the 2009 Brisbane Champion, Radek Stepanek to win the first men’s tournament in Australia in 2010, 7-6(2) 7-6(7). The victory was Roddick’s first title in Australia and 28th of his career.
Shakeup Apparent on US Davis Cup Squad
In August of 2009,
American Sam Querrey overtook James Blake in the rankings to become the #2
player in the United States. With
Blake advancing in age and struggling in Davis Cup ties, one had to wonder if
US Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe was considering making a change in his
lineup in 2010.
Ironically, Querrey and Blake drew each other in the first round of the Brisbane International, further adding to potential drama in the near future. Despite dropping the initial set, Blake steadied his game and defeated Querrey 4-6 6-3 6-4 to improve to 6-1 lifetime against his countryman. Blake went on to save 3 match points in the second round against Marc Gicquel before falling to Gael Monfils in the third round in three sets.
Andy Roddick
relieved Coach Patrick McEnroe of potentially having to make a difficult
decision in March when the US team travels to Serbia to face Novak Djokovic on
red clay in the first round of Davis Cup action. Roddick elected to not play Davis Cup in 2010 and a few days
later, Blake also decided not to play for the team this year. Most likely, Coach McEnroe will select
Sam Querrey and John Isner for Davis Cup action, joining doubles specialists
Bob and Mike Bryan.
Murray Falters in Hopman Cup Final
British fifteen
year-old Laura Robson played the biggest match of her life in the Final round
of the 2010 Hyundai Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, defeating world #26 Maria
Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain to stake Great Britain to a 1-0 lead. With world number four Andy Murray
taking on Tommy Robredo of Spain following the women’s singles match, victory
seemed certain for the Brits.
However Robredo roared back from a lopsided first set to win the match
1-6 6-4 6-3 setting the stage for the mixed doubles match to decide the Hopman
Cup.
Robredo and Martinez Sanchez fought on to win the Hopman Cup 7-6(8) 7-5, denying the British squad the gorgeous diamond encrusted trophy. However, Laura Robson, ranked #402 gained entry into the Australian Open qualifying tournament as a result of her efforts.
Australian Fans Pack Venues in Brisbane and Perth
The 2008 Australian
Open third round match between Marcos Baghdatis and Lleyton Hewitt lasted until
4:34 AM, local time in Melbourne, yet 90% of the spectators in the stands were
still in their seats at the conclusion of the match. Thus it is no surprise when television cameras panned the
audience at this week’s tournaments in Brisbane and Perth and every seat was
occupied by the best tennis aficionados on the planet, the good people of
Australia!
Roger Federer
coined the Australian Open the “Happy Slam” and it is no wonder why players
must enjoy competing in front of enthusiastic crowds each and every time they
take the court in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Cilic Wins Chennai & Wickmayer Wins Auckland
In addition to the
tennis action in Qatar and Australia, two other tournaments were being
contested in Chennai, India and Auckland, New Zealand. Marian Cilic topped Stanislaus Wawrinka
7-6(2) 7-6(3) to win the Aircel Chennai Open. Meanwhile, 2009 US Open Semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer returned
to action following her time on the sidelines as a result of a temporary ban to
win the ASB Classic in Auckland final over #1 seed Flavia Penetta 6-3 6-2.
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