AUSSIE OPEN MEN’S QUALIFYING 2010
The 2010 Australian Open officially begins on Monday but important matches have already begun in the qualifying draw.
The 128-player draw will work its way down to a fortunate group of 16 players who will advance to the main draw of the tournament.
Seeded first in the qualifying draw is Xavier Malisse of Belgium who advanced to the second round of the qualies with a 6-2, 7-6(5) win against Alex Kuznetsov of the United States. Malisse is a talented but under-achieving veteran who reached a career-high of 19 in the world in 2002, the same year he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Currently ranked 92nd, Malisse does not necessarily have to win all of his qualifying matches to advance into the tournament. Should any player who is entered in the main draw withdraw from their opening match ahead of time, Malisse would become the first lucky-loser to fill-in due to his ranking.
Other names of interest in the qualifying draw include former American phenom Donald Young who won his first match 7-5, 6-0 against Marc Lopez of Spain. At only twenty years of age, the possibility of Young reaching his enormous potential still exists, although it seems his game is at a stand-still at the moment ranked 194th in the world.
Former NCAA champion Somdev Devvarman holds the 27th seed amongst qualifiers and won his first match easily 6-2, 6-1 against local Australian James Duckworth. Going to school at the University of Virginia, Devvarman won the NCAA title in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008. He defeated current top-fifty ATP played John Isner in the 2007 final so the kid certainly has skill. Perhaps this is the year he finally breaks out on tour.
Canadian youngster Peter Polansky fell in the opening round 1-6, 2-6 to Marsel Ilhan of Turkey. The 21 year old is my home country’s best hope for a top-fifty player in the future and is currently ranked 186th in the world. It is a tough break for Polansky, as he made the main draw in Australia a year ago and even pushed Igor Andreev to a fifth set in the first round before falling. Polanksy actually qualified for three Grand Slam tournaments in 2009, losing in the first round of each in five sets.
The main draw will be announced this Friday.
Murray Survives Scare To Advance In Cincinnati; Federer, Nadal Advance
Defending champion and No. 3 seed Andy Murray of Scotland rallied from a set and break down in the second set to edge past lucky loser Julien Benneteau of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and 11 minutes on Friday afternoon to advance to the semifinals at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
The 22-year-old Scot, who is the new No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after winning the title last week in Montreal, struggled to find his form after breaking to take a 3-2 lead. Following the service break, the 27-year-old Frenchman immediately broke Murray’s serve to level the match at 3-3 before winning three of the next four games to take the opening set, 6-4.
“I knew I had to be aggressive,” said Benneteau, who got in the main draw when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew after the draw was made.
Benneteau, who is currently ranked No. 55, secured an early break in the second set to go ahead 2-0 and looked to have a big edge on Murray, who looked out of sorts on all his shots.
The turning point occurred in the next game when Murray won a thrilling 53-shot rally and quickly broke back to get back on serve. The Scot, who has now won a record 53 matches this season, insisted the 53-shot rally changed the rest of the match.
“Oh, it made a big different,” said Murray, who has won five titles this year in Doha, Rotterdam, Miami, Queen’s Club and Montreal. “I think he was very tired after that rally. I managed to stay strong after that.”
The momentum shifted immediately and it was all Murray from that point on, dropping just two more games en route to victory.
“You know, he’s been around a long time and he’s very experienced and obviously made it very difficult today,” said Murray, who has reached five of the last nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals dating back to his victory in Cincinnati last August.
Murray, who earned his 72nd career win in a Masters 1000 event, smashed seven aces, won 70 percent of first serve points and broke Benneteau’s serve on six of 13 opportunities. Benneteau hit four aces, three double faults, won 59 percent of first serve points and was able to break Murray’s serve three times.
Murray’s semifinal opponent on Saturday afternoon will be world No. 1 Roger Federer, who eased past former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, 6-3, 6-4, in 70 minutes.
Federer, who earned his 200th career win at a Masters 1000 event, was in complete control from start to finish, breaking serve once in each set to win convincingly. Federer’s serve was superb, winning 24 of 27 first serve points, smashing 11 aces, while not facing a break point the entire match.
The 15-time Grand Slam singles champion insisted holding serve against Hewitt is an important thing to accomplish during a match with the fiery Aussie.
“I think that definitely helps against Lleyton, who once he gets his teeth into your serve it can get quite tricky,” said Federer, who improved to 9-1 in quarterfinal matches this season.
Hewitt, who reached the finals in Cincinnati in 2002 and 2004, only managed to hit two aces and win 69 percent of his first serve points.
Federer improved to 15-7 against Hewitt, winning the last 13 meetings.
“He’s beaten me so many times in the past that I didn’t expect myself to all of a sudden go on such a great run against him,” said Federer, whose loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last week in Montreal was his first loss since losing at the Masters 1000 in Madrid in May.
In the late match, No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain continued his impressive return from a knee tendinitis injury, dispatching Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-5, in one hour and 41 minutes.
Nadal, who has won six Grand Slam singles titles including four French Open titles, was impressive on serve throughout, hitting two aces and winning 35 of 41 first serve points. The 23-year-old Spaniard was also able to break serve twice on six opportunities.
The former world No. 1 will face No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic in the night match on Saturday. Djokovic won his quarterfinal match by defeating Frenchman Gilles Simon, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to his second straight semifinal in Cincinnati.
RAJEEV RAM WINS HIS FIRST CAREER ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE
NEWPORT, RI – Rajeev Ram became the 15th player in the history of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships to claim his first career ATP World Tour title on the grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. On Sunday, Ram won his maiden title with a 6-7(3) 7-5 6-3 win over fellow American Sam Querrey.
Ram is the first lucky loser to claim the Newport crown. Initially in the qualifying tournament, Ram entered the main draw when top seed Mardy Fish withdrew on Monday in order to replace Andy Roddick on the US Davis Cup team for a tie against Croatia. No lucky loser had ever advanced beyond the quarterfinals previously in Newport. Ram is the first lucky loser to win on the ATP circuit since Sergiy Stakhovsky won last year in Zagreb.
On the ATP World Tour, Ram is the third player to claim his first career title in 2009, joining Benjamin Becker (‘s-Hertogenbosch) and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Kitzbuhel). The most recent Newport champion to be claiming his first career title was Robby Ginepri in 2003.
Querrey, who fired a tournament record 80 aces during the week, was in search of his second career title. This is his second runner-up finish of 2009, having lost to Juan Martin del Potro in Auckland in January.
The all-American final was the ninth in Newport history and the first since 2002 when Taylor Dent defeated James Blake. It was the first all-American title match on the ATP since 2007 when Blake defeated Fish in the New Haven final.
Ram is the15th American champion in tournament history, and joins Roddick and Fish as the only American winners on the ATP World Tour in 2009.
Ram later teamed up with Jordan Kerr to defeat Michael Kohlman and Rogier Wassen 67(6) 76(7) 10-6. This was the first time either team was playing together on the ATP World Tour.
Ram is the third player in tournament history to claim both the singles and doubles titles in the same year while Kerr adds to his record haul of Newport trophies by winning the title for the fifth time.
Ram was the 15th player in tournament history to contest both the singles and doubles titles in the same year, and joins Dan Goldie (1987) and John Fitzgerald (1983) as the only three players to win both.
Kerr moves to 18-1 lifetime in Newport, having won the title in 2003 with David Macpherson as well as 2004, 2005 and 2007 with Jim Thomas. His five doubles titles are the most in tournament history, and it ties him with Vijay Amritraj for the most overall (Amritraj won three singles and two doubles titles).
The 2010 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships will take place July 5-11 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The next event at the venue is the 2009 Hall of Fame Champions Cup Aug. 20-23 featuring Pat Cash, Jim Courier, Wayne Ferreira, Todd Martin, Mikael Pernfors, Mark Philippoussis and Mats Wilander.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of tennis and its champions. For more information regarding the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, Tennis Tournaments, Events and Programs, please call 401-849-3990 or visit our website at www.tennisfame.com.
Levar’s Travels and Cause
It’s the year 2002, and for some reason I am having a lot of difficulty playing a tournament. It’s not the level of the tournament, injury, nor is it where the tournament is that is giving me trouble. This biggest problem I’m having is that I am not sure how I’m going to be able to get back if I get on a plane and go. Unfortunately, I can’t afford a roundtrip ticket. This is a story that a lot of tennis players go through but that story is rarely told. However, my struggles are directed at a tournament we all know…..Wimbledon.
I was a top international junior player, was a practice partner for Captain John McEnroe and the U.S. Davis Cup Team in 2000 and won the USTA National Junior Doubles Championships with Andy Roddick. I was also climbing the ranks as a young pro.
However, I find myself talking to a Merrill Lynch associate trying to convince her that I need a credit card so I can go play Wimbledon. Mind you, I am only playing qualifying but it is still THE most prestigious tennis event in the world. So the idea that I couldn’t find the money to go compete was very troubling to me but it was the reality I had to go through. I had success in my efforts to convince her that I was a tennis player and participating and that the prize money alone for losing first round would most likely cover most of my expenses. However since I was buying my plane ticket to London late, that cost went up and I had to pick a day early in the week to also keep that price down. Turns out that would come back to bite me……
So having gone through the stress of leveraging my savings and insurance just to get a credit card to go play Wimbledon, I arrive slightly relieved but not optimistic about my chances at playing well. I was praying for a relatively easy first round, possibly a Spaniard or South American (whom traditionally don’t do well on the grass surface). My prayers were not answered. I draw Nenad Zimonjic. A 6’4″ monster with a cannon serve and one of the worlds top doubles players. Not a good match up on grass for me being 5’9 counter-puncher and shot-maker.
I proceed to lose the first set and go down an early break in the second and it seems as if my trip just got real short. However, I manage to hold on and win the second set and take it to a third, where I managed to pull out a hard-fought match. Now back to how I mentioned my flights. Well since I was almost assuming to lose and trying to save money I had to book my flight early, well now I had to change it one day back. Costing me money I didn’t want to spend.
My next round is against a very similar opponent to myself. Amir Hadad, an Israeli with great hands and incredible shot-maker in his own right. I pull out another match with a 7-5 victory in the third. Again having to change my flight thinking or maybe hoping I would lose.
I am in the last round of the qualifying tournament and a glimpse of hope starts to set in. I have a real chance for the main draw where getting here was almost impossible. Standing in front of me on this day is Austrian Jurgen Melzer. He is a lefty, with a nice serve good returns and a very good record on grass. Against Melzer, it was not to be that nice finish to a strange story. I lost a tough four-set match. I played well but not well enough to get it.
Following the match loss, the real problems set in. I had to change my flight twice and pay for my hotel, not to mention stringing, food, etc. I tallied up a hefty bill. However, there is a rule in tennis known as Lucky Loser (not the most endearing term) where players that lose in the final round of qualifying can get into the tournament if a main draw player pulls out before the first round with an injury. My potential “lucky loser” status kept me around at the event for the entire week while getting a daily stipend from the tournament. It was one of those really wet first weeks at Wimbledon and that daily stipend allowed me to save up enough money to pay all my bills for the week, including my flight change fees and other ridiculous fees I incurred through that airline which will remain nameless…..
All being said, tennis is an expensive sport, and its costs are rarely offset in a players attempt to climb the rankings. At the time, I was a top U.S. prospect – and the second-highest ranked black player in the world behind James Blake – yet opportunities to finding money to help finance the “start-up costs” of my tennis career/business just weren’t there.
My experiences inspired me to co-found The Global Tennis Foundation (www.globaltennisfoundation.org) , a non-profit, 5-1c3 organization with a mission statement to “To redefine the way tennis is perceived and developed in America.” It is my goal – and the goal of the foundation, to help provide sponsorship support for talented athletes. We want no one to have to rely on ‘lucky loser” money just to get a plane flight back home.
Stay tuned for more updates from the world of professional tennis and updates from the athletes in our program and who are benefiting from our Foundation.
