Cavalcade of Tennis Intrigue in the Initial Week of 2010

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 28^th 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.