Archives for Tennis

Doubles Team Makes Statement by Raising Racquet

September 3rd 2010 In Tennis | 
by Greg Couch

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NEW YORK -- They had barely won their first-round match at the U.S. Open, and they stayed and signed autographs for everyone of all sizes, shapes, colors. Everyone blended together.

Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi of Pakistan and his doubles partner Rohan Bopanna of India are friends and partners from places you don't see friends or partners. India and Pakistan are almost always at war with each other, are always in distrust. Nuclear tensions continue to rise, and Qureshi and Bopanna are out there, playing tennis.

What a simple thing to do to make a big statement. But have they had any negative responses from Pakistanis or Indians?

"None,'' Qureshi said, smiling as he left the court. "Did you see the crowd?''

Yes, but I couldn't tell which fans were from which country.

"Me neither,'' he said. "That's the point.''

 

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Sharapova gets upset-minded teen Capra (AP)

September 3rd 2010 In Tennis | 
They all want to be like Maria. They all want to beat Maria, too. Maria Sharapova's next match at the U.S. Open will come against yet another teenager who looks up to her -- 18-year-old Beatrice Capra, the 371st-ranked American who, with a win in that third-round match, would be one step closer to becoming the 2010 version of Melanie Oudin.

Beatrice Capra the latest darling of the U.S. Open

September 3rd 2010 In Tennis | 
NEW YORK - The average tennis fan might have been surprised to see 371st-ranked teenager Beatrice "Trice"...

US Open 2010: Maria Sharapova eases in to third round at Flushing Meadows

September 3rd 2010 In Sports News, Tennis | 
Maria Sharapova enjoys comfortbale straight sets victory over Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-2, at Flushing Meadows.

No. 3 seed Djokovic reaches 3rd round (AP)

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
Novak Djokovic reached the third round at the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over 52nd-ranked Philipp Petzschner of Germany on Thursday. Play was delayed in the eighth game while police escorted away three fans after a fight in the upper deck in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The No. 3-seeded Djokovic has made it at least this far all six times he's played at Flushing Meadows.

Beatrice Capra May Not be Tennis’ Latest Oudin, But She’s Loving the Ride

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
by Greg Couch

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NEW YORK -- She is cute and bubbly. She is overly polite, and even a little awkward about it. She's a teenager from small town America.

"Very small and dull,'' she said.
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Have you written any inspirational words on your shoes? "Not yet,'' she said.

Well then Beatrice Capra (pictured above) is not quite the next Melanie Oudin yet. But the machine is cranking up, getting ready.

Capra beat Aravane Rezai, the 18th seed, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round of the U.S. Open Thursday. She is in her first big-league tournament, and now she's in the final 32, facing Maria Sharapova next.

Tell us your life story, please.

That was the first question she faced from reporters afterward.

There is something wrong about this. Oudin was eliminated just one day earlier, and talked about feeling trapped and overwhelmed by the hype that came with the run to the quarterfinals last year, when she was the It Girl. Everywhere she went for the past year, people expected her to yell "Cmon!'' and chop down large Russian players, the way she did at Flushing Meadows last year.

 

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Stylish Sharapova cruises into 3rd round (AP)

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
Maria Sharapova has advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a stress-free 6-1, 6-2 victory over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic. The 14th-seeded Sharapova had as much trouble with the wind at Arthur Ashe Stadium as with her 68th-ranked opponent Thursday night. Sharapova is looking for her second U.S.

American teen Capra pulls off Open upset (AP)

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
A year ago at the U.S. Open, American teenager Melanie Oudin told the world to "BELIEVE," with her sneakers and her play. Among those she motivated: Beatrice Capra, an 18-year-old from Ellicott City, Md., and a wild-card entry who is following in Oudin's footsteps at Flushing Meadows, albeit without any mottos on her shoes.

Everyone Looks Bad After Victoria Azarenka’s Collapse

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
by Greg Couch

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NEW YORK -- She took a few steps to her right along the baseline, wobbled, started losing consciousness on the way down, and managed to sit hard on the court before keeling over and banging the back right side of her head onto the asphalt. Victoria Azarenka was lying there in a heap in the first set of her match at the U.S. Open Wednesday. She was taken off the court in a wheelchair, rushed to the hospital.

She is going to be OK. But one small point is worth mentioning: there is no way Azarenka should have been on that court in the first place.

I'm not sure where the failure comes in, whether it was the fault of the United States Tennis Association, the doctors, Azarenka and her handlers - I'll guess blame goes to all three -- but this deserves an investigation for the safety of the players going forward.

Red flags were up and waving in everyone's faces before the match even started. Azarenka later issued a statement saying that she had a mild concussion. But how bad could this have been, with a player losing consciousness on her feet while standing over a hard tennis court? "Victoria Azarenka retired from her match with headache-like symptoms," U.S. Open tournament referee Brian Earley said in a statement.

 

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With the Fairy Tale Over, Miracle Melanie Needs to Focus on Tennis

September 2nd 2010 In Tennis | 
by Greg Couch

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Melanie Oudin US openNEW YORK -- No Miracle Melanie. No fairy tale run. Melanie Oudin lost in the U.S. Open on Wednesday to Alona Bondarenko, the 29th seed. It was 6-2, 7-5, just the second round, and the crowd at Armstrong Stadium was pleading with her to let them live history again.

Not this time. She walked off the court, went to her coach and said: "I let everyone down.''

Funny thing is, her worst moment actually freed her. She has not built on her quarterfinal run last year, when she became the teen sensation. She wasn't good enough, honestly, to keep going up, up, up. She wasn't old enough to figure out how to handle instant celebrity, success, expectations, demands, love.

That U.S. Open run last year had become a burden to her.

"Now, it's like, over,'' she said. "I guess I'm a little tiny bit relieved now. I can kind of start over.''

It has not been a good year for Oudin. She has gone to tournaments around the world, always answering questions about her Open run, being introduced everywhere as a U.S. Open quarterfinalist. And then her play hasn't lived up to it.

In some ways, she was trapped by that run.

"People keep forgetting she's 18 years old,'' her coach, Brian de Villiers, said. "No 18-year-old kid has gotten themselves into a situation like that and known how to deal with it for a whole year.


"She is playing for everyone else. You could see it (Wednesday). She couldn't breathe, couldn't move.''

 

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