Serena clinches tie for U.S.; Venus wins in doubles
2012-02-05 16:10:00
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Venus Williams returned from a five-month layoff and Serena Williams and Christina McHale won singles matches Sunday, sending the United States past Belarus 5-0 in the first round of the Fed Cup. By blanking Belarus in World Group II, the Americans head to a playoff in April in hopes of playing their way back into the top tier of Fed Cup after getting bounced last year. Venus Williams and Liezel Huber completed the shutout with a doubles victory, defeating Darya Kustova and Anastasiya Yakimova 6-1, 6-2. This was Williams’ first sanctioned match since the opening round of the U.S. Open. She had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain and forced her to withdraw from the Open. McHale won in straight sets for the second consecutive day, beating Darya Kustova 6-0, 6-1 to put the U.S. up 4-0. Serena Williams had already guaranteed a U.S. victory earlier in the day by defeating Anastasiya Yakimova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Serena blew a 4-1 lead in the opening set and slammed her racket on the court after one point, then returned to form in the next two sets. She didn’t allow a point in two straight games of the final set, which she closed with an overhead slam. “That just goes to show you how frustrate I was out there today,” she said. “I haven’t done that in a match in a long time.” Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the Australian Open champion, sat out all four singles matches with a back injury. Venus Williams’ victory almost overshadowed the team victory, which the U.S. players celebrated with a quick parade around the court with the American flag. In the first round of World Group play, Russia beat visiting Spain 3-2; Serbia won 3-2 at Belgium; Italy downed visiting Ukraine 3-2; and the Czech Republic won 4-1 at Germany. Although a U.S. victory was assured after the first singles, most of the 2,279 fans at Worcester’s DCU Center stuck around through another round of singles to see Venus play. It was barely two hours before Super Bowl kickoff and for those fans, Venus’ comeback trumped seeing the start of the New England Patriots’ game against the New York Giants. Fans crowded the entrance to snap photos as she strolled onto the court. One fan shouted, “Welcome back, Venus!” after warmups. That was followed by a loud round of applause and some foot-stomping when she and Huber returned from the bench to open the match. Williams served first and after hitting her first attempt long, she delivered a winner on her second to start her comeback with a 15-0 lead. Williams faltered briefly the next time she served, falling behind love-40 then rallied with Huber to win the next four points then clinching the game with an ace. Belarus won the first two games of the second set, then Williams and Huber reeled off six straight, ending it with Williams holding serve.

Monaco tops compatriot Berlocq for fourth title
2012-02-05 15:10:00
VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP)—Juan Monaco beat Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-1 in an all-Argentina final at the Vina del Mar VTR Open on Sunday for his fourth ATP title.The top-seeded Monaco claimed his first title since winning three in 2007— and all have come on clay. The victory marked a breakthrough for the 27-year-old Monaco, who lost in the final at this tournament in 2008 and 2010.“The third time is lucky they say, so this time it’s true,” he said.It was the first ATP final for Berlocq, who advanced after defeating second-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela, another Argentine.Monaco started well and led 4-1 before going on to win the first set. He led 4-2 in the second and seemed headed for victory before Berlocq evened the match and won the tiebreak. Monaco returned to form in the third set and broke Berlocq twice.Berlocq, who turned 29 on Friday, dropped only one set during the week.The Chilean tournament is the start of a monthlong clay court swing across Latin America, with other events upcoming in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

Italy edges Ukraine 3-2 in Fed Cup quarterfinal
2012-02-05 11:45:00
BIELLA, Italy (AP)—Flavia Pennetta shook off a sore back and paired with Roberta Vinci to secure the decisive doubles point for Italy in a 3-2 win over Ukraine on Sunday that put the country in the Fed Cup semifinals. Pennetta missed the singles matches but looked sharp in a 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 win over Lesia Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk. Italy next faces the Czech Republic in the April 21-22 semifinals. Earlier Sunday, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone rallied to beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4, but Sara Errani retired midway through her match with Tsurenko to leave it tied at 2. Italy won the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

Serbia takes doubles point to eliminate Belgium
2012-02-05 10:19:00
CHARLEROI, Belgium (AP)—Serbia relied on its second-string players to come from behind to beat Belgium 3-2 on Sunday and reach the semifinals of the Fed Cup. Facing elimination, Bojana Jovanovski beat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-4 to level the score at 2-2. Jovanovski then teamed with Aleksandra Krunic to beat Yanina Wickmayer and Alison Van Uytvanck in the deciding doubles, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1. Serbia was without Ana Ivanovic coming into the Spiroudome this weekend and lost former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic with a left thigh injury after Saturday’s opening singles. Serbia next plays Russia in the semifinals. Belgium was without Kim Clijsters, who decided to sit out the tie in her farewell season.

Serena has plenty of Olympic mixed options
2012-02-05 08:27:00
Serena Williams says she has numerous options for her mixed doubles partner at the Olympics. 'A girl loves to have choices,' she told reporters at Fed Cup. 'Obviously the Bryans are like the world's best doubles players. Andy [Roddick] and I are super, super close. Personally I love John [Isner]. You're not going to break the guy. It's an automatic I-don't-know-how-many games. I think it's so hard to choose. I don't know if you just throw everyone's name in a hat and figure out what happens next. Regardless, we want to do really well and take home a medal for the country. That's what it's all about.'

Youzhny defeats Lacko in Zagreb Indoors final
2012-02-05 08:07:00
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Mikhail Youzhny beat Lukas Lacko 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Zagreb Indoors in his 18th career final. It was the first title for the 29-year-old Russian since St. Petersburg in 2010. Youzhny faced no break points and lost only 12 points on serve during the 68-minute match. After both players won opening service games, Youzhny won eight of nine games, winning the first set and three games in the second. Lacko then kept his serve until the end of the match but could not challenge Youzhny. “This was my best match of the tournament,” Youzhny said. “I gained some confidence here but I don’t want to think about whether I will be in the top 10 again or not.” Playing in his first final, Lacko admitted he was “dismissed badly.” Lacko reached the third round at the Australian Open as a qualifier, but was ousted by Spaniard Rafael Nadal. He had never previously advanced beyond the quarterfinals at an ATP event.

Kvitova downs Lisicki to put Czechs in final four
2012-02-05 06:51:00
STUTTGART, Germany (AP)—Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova rallied to beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and send defending champion Czech Republic into the semifinals of the Fed Cup after giving her country an insurmountable lead in the first round on Sunday. Angelique Kerber later beat Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-4 to salvage some pride for the hosts with the 24-year-old German’s first Fed Cup win. But Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova reaffirmed Czech dominance in the final game of the best-of-five series with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Julia Georges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the doubles. “We were a little unlucky to play the defending champs in the first round. It could have been the final, easily,” Lisicki said. Lisicki took the first set on a tie break, 7-6 (2), but No. 2-ranked Kvitova came from behind for the second time in two days to claim the second 6-4 before seeing out the decisive set 6-1. The No. 14-ranked Lisicki had won their only previous encounter in 2009, but the 22-year-old seemed to allow the pressure get to her in the second set when Kvitova turned the screw. “I had trouble with my return in the beginning, and it took a long time before I knew what to do—it was in the middle of the second set. Anyway, I’m happy that I got it,” the 21-year-old Kvitova said. Kvitova, who is on a 27-0 run indoors, had already prevailed over Julia Goerges after a long battle on Saturday, when Iveta Benesova also came from behind to beat Lisicki. “I don’t know what the key is to playing indoor, but I’m very comfortable playing indoor,” Kvitova said. It was the Czechs’ sixth win in seven meetings between the countries and they will next play Ukraine or Italy on April 21-22. Germany goes into a playoff to stay in the eight-nation World Group. “We have such a good team,” Lisicki said. “We’re really looking forward to playing again in April, and hopefully with a complete team.” Germany’s top player, 10th-ranked Andrea Petkovic, had been ruled out with a lower back injury.

Kuznetsova finishes off Spain; Russia into semis
2012-02-05 06:49:00
MOSCOW (AP)—Russia advanced to the Fed Cup World Group semifinals with a 3-2 win over Spain in the first-round series on Sunday. Svetlana Kuznetsova secured the host an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Spain, beating Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the second reverse singles. Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova easily won their opening singles on Saturday, but Carla Suarez Navarro narrowed the gap, routing Nadia Petrova 6-0, 6-3 in the first reverse singles on a hardcourt at the Olympic indoor stadium. The Spanish pair of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja set the final score at 3-2 for Russia when, a set down, the Russian duo of Kuznetsova and Petrova retired in the doubles match because of Kuznetsova’s fatigue. Russia will host either Belgium or Serbia in the semifinals on April 21-22. Kuznetsova won four consecutive games in the first set and continued with three more in the second. But she then lost concentration and Soler-Espinosa won the rest of the games in the second set to stay in the match. The Russian two-time major winner continued to struggle in the third set before Kuznetsova finally broke the Spaniard in the eighth game and served the match out. Kuznetsova said that support from the home crowd helped to win. “At such tough moments when you feel bad … nothing is going on on the court, you feel the support from the crowd,” Kuznetsova said. “You play for your country, it motivates you and it helps you to find strength for victory.” Making her Fed Cup debut, Soler-Espinosa said her main goal in the match was to make Kuznetsova move a lot on the court and got tired in doing so. “I felt no pressure though it was a decisive game for the Russians,” Soler-Espinosa said. “I tried to win till the very end but Kuznetsova was stronger. We came here to fight and we’ve proved it.” Suarez Navarro rallied from 40-love in the opening game and won the rest of the games to close the set in 22 minutes. After an exchange of breaks early in the second set, the Spaniard broke decisively in the sixth game and wrapped up the win on her first match point as Petrova netted a forehand “We were 2-0 down after the first day and I had to (take a) risk to win today,” Suarez Navarro. “Now we have one point. I hope Silvia will also play better today.” After easy victories on Saturday, Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev replaced Sharapova—the original draw, who felt pain in her right arm on Sunday morning — with Petrova. Suarez Navarro said she was surprised with the substitution and added that “it was much better for me.” Petrova, who is 10-5 in Fed Cup matches and last played for Russia in 2009, couldn’t find her rhythm through the entire match. She made 40 unforced mistakes and had only eight winners. “It’s tough to play at full strength when you are told to step on the court at the last minute,” said Petrova, who was scheduled to play in the doubles match. “Psychologically it’s easier to play when you are tuned for the match. I couldn’t feel my game today.” Russia has won the Fed Cup title four times since 2004 and is 5-1 against Spain, which won the title five times between 1991 and 1998.

Berdych beats Monfils for Montpellier title
2012-02-05 06:06:00
MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Tomas Berdych won his seventh career title by defeating defending champion Gael Monfils 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Open Sud de France final on Sunday. The top-seeded Czech broke for a 5-3 lead in the final set on a double fault from Monfils, clinching victory with his 12th ace. “It was very close in the end. I’m happy that I was able to do it,” Berdych told Canal Plus television. “Actually, it’s even more special to beat the home player, unfortunately for the crowd.” Berdych relied on a strong serve and deep groundstrokes to go a set up but made several unforced errors to drop the second set. “Tomas had a great match,” Monfils said. “He got off to a good start, so I had less maneuvering room. I tried my best. I tried to return better, I tried to play with a bit more aggression too.” The 2010 Wimbledon finalist broke Monfils for a 2-0 lead when the Frenchman sent a backhand long. Berdych then saved three break points to hold serve before hitting two consecutive return winners to take the first set. In the second set, Berdych double-faulted to give Monfils a break chance that the Frenchman converted for a 3-2 lead when the Czech’s backhand volley sailed long. Monfils erased three break points at 4-3 and leveled at one set each on a forehand error from Berdych. Berdych had won their only previous meeting four years ago in Dubai.

Bollettieri misses out on Hall of Fame induction
2012-02-04 11:12:00
Notable coach Nick Bollettieri was not elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Bradenton Herald-Tribune reports. Bollettieri whose name is on the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida, was nominated in the contributor category along with former men’s circuit administrator Mike Davies and Japan's Eiichi Kawatei, who has been active in all facets of the game.'I don't question it. It is just the way it is,'  the 80-year-old Bollettieri said. The official results of the voting has not been released yet. Jennifer Capriati, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten and three-time Paralympic medalist Randy Snow have been nominated in the Recent Player Category.

Serena Williams puts U.S. up 2-0 over Belarus
2012-02-04 11:07:00
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Serena Williams beat Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-0 on Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Belarus in the Fed Cup.Christina McHale won in straight sets in the opening match before Williams put the Americans one win away from advancing in the best-of-five series in World Group II.Belarus was playing without Australian Open champion and world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who was out with a lower back injury.McHale capitalized by beating Azarenka’s replacement in straight sets, and Williams completed the U.S. sweep.Williams won the first three games of the match, then struggled a little before holding serve for a 6-5 lead and breaking Govortsova, who double-faulted while already down love-40.Govortsova seemed to have nothing left for the second set against Williams, who quickly ended it with her overpowering strokes.McHale posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Anastasiya Yakimova, who was called upon Saturday morning to play for Azarenka.Azarenka is eligible to play Sunday, when the teams play two more singles matches and one in doubles. Belarus would need victories in all three in order to win the series.The winner advances to a playoff round and a shot at the Fed Cup top tier, which the U.S. team was bounced from last year.Azarenka is scheduled to play Williams in Sunday’s opening match, but her status remained uncertain Saturday.Williams improved to 5-0 in Fed Cup singles, which she hadn’t played since 2007. She was cheered on courtside by older sister Venus, who is listed on the U.S. doubles team for Sunday in what would be her first match since the opening round of the U.S. Open in August.Venus Williams has been battling an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain, but hopes to return to competition this weekend.By the time the doubles match comes Sunday afternoon, the Americans may not need the older Williams sister. Captain Mary Joe Fernandez also could play Venus Williams in he second singles match, but said as of Saturday it was still Serena Williams to play as the top American, followed by McHale and then the doubles team of Venus Williams and Liezel Huber, the world’s No. 1 doubles player.The Belarus lineup is going to depend on how Azarenka is feeling. She said her back has been bothering her since the Australian Open and the long flight to the United States didn’t help.McHale won the first 10 games of the opening match, then survived a scare in the second set when Yakimova rallied from 4-0 to tie it. Yakimova didn’t appear ready early, but pushed the young American in the second set before McHale closed it out. She broke Yakimova, then held serve after falling behind love-30.

Sanchez-Vicario says her parents left her broke
2012-02-04 10:34:00
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario says in her forthcoming book 'Arantxa, Vamos! Memoirs of a struggle, a life and a woman' that her parents stripped her of nearly all of her earnings and that she no longer speaks to them.'My parents made me suffer a lot,” she is quoted by the magazine La Otra Conica as saying. She says has no relationships with anyone in her family, including her two former pro player brothers, Emilio and Javier. 'My parents left me with nothing and now I am indebted to the [IRS} and I will not be quiet,' she said.Four-time Grand Slams champion Sanchez won .9 million dollars in prize money in her 17-year career but claims that overall (including endorsements) she took in about million. 'Today I am without resources,” said Sanchez, who has just taken over as Spain’s Fed Cup captain.Sanchez also said that her mother Marisa — who was with her at nearly every tournament throughout her career — was super controlling. 'My mother decided on my hair, my clothes ... When I bought something on my own, she rarely liked it,' she said.Sanchez's lawyers are still negotiating with the Spain’s IRS because she did not pay taxes for the years 1989-1993 when she claimed to have lived in the tax haven of Andorra.?? Sanchez also says that her family opposed her marriage to her current husband Jose 'Pep' Santacana (she was briefly married once before to the broadcaster Juan Vehils).  — Matt Cronin  ?

Youzhny to play Lacko in Zagreb Indoors final
2012-02-04 10:10:00
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Lukas Lacko of Slovakia reached his first ATP final when he ousted 2007 champion Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the Zagreb Indoors semifinals on Saturday.Lacko, playing on the main tour since 2007, will face third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, who is seeking his eighth title in his 18th career final.Youzhny advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Michael Berrer of Germany.Lacko has eliminated three seeded players in Zagreb.He broke Baghdatis for 6-5, then easily closed the first set. Baghdatis responded aggressively and was two points away from a 5-1 lead in the second, but Lacko recovered to draw even, force a tiebreaker and win it.“It seems my shape from Australia is still here,” said Lacko, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Australian Open. “I played well in Melbourne and I am satisfied with the level of my game here.“You always hope you will gain a good result, never thinking that you will lose, but still this is a great result.”Youzhny played well at crucial times against Berrer, who was a finalist here in 2010 and 2011. After winning the first set, Youzhny broke early in the second, but Berrer broke back. Youzhny broke again at 4-4 and went on to complete the victory.

McHale stakes U.S. to 1-0 lead in Fed Cup
2012-02-04 10:00:00
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Christina McHale beat Anastasiya Yakimova 6-0, 6-4 and gave the United States a 1-0 lead over Belarus on Saturday in the first round of the Fed Cup.Yakimova was a late substitute for top-ranked Victoria Azarenka. The Australian Open champion withdrew earlier the day because of a sore lower back. Azarenka is eligible to play Sunday.Serena Williams plays Olga Govortsova in Saturday’s second match of this best-of-five series in World Group II.McHale won the first 10 games, then survived a scare in the second set when Yakimova rallied from 4-0 to tie it. Yakimova didn’t appear ready early, but pushed the young American in the second set before McHale closed it out. She broke Yakimova, then held serve after falling behind love-30 and then winning five straight points.

Czechs, Russia lead 2-0 in Fed Cup first round
2012-02-04 09:00:00
LONDON (AP)—Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova took more than two hours to put defending champion the Czech Republic in control of its Fed Cup tie with Germany, while Italy’s Francesca Schiavone surprisingly lost to give Ukraine a boost on Saturday.The Czechs led 2-0 in Stuttgart, Russia led Spain by the same score in Moscow, Italy and Ukraine were 1-1 in Biella, and Belgium and Serbia were 1-1 in Charleroi.Germany was without its best player, an injured Andrea Petkovic, but pushed the Czechs hard in both singles.Iveta Benesova overcame Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, then Kvitova was, twice, two points from losing to Julia Goerges in the second set, but pulled through 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in 2 hours, 21 minutes.Goerges, who beat Kvitova in their only previous match, hit some superb service returns and twice broke back in the final set to put the pressure back on the Czech star.“It was really little difference between us,” said Kvitova, who won her 26th straight indoor match.She can clinch the Czechs a spot in the semifinals in April by winning the first reverse singles on Sunday against Lisicki.In Biella, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone lost a home Fed Cup match on clay for the first time in seven years when she was picked apart by unheralded Lesia Tsurenko from Kiev 6-1, 6-2.Tsurenko, ranked 110 spots below Schiavone at 121st, dominated with a strong serve and accurate volleys in just her third tie.She evened the tie after Australian Open quarterfinalist Sara Errani beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3.In Moscow, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won their opening singles as expected and without trouble.Sharapova accounted for Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1 and Kuznetsova put away Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-1.Sharapova was nervous because she lost her opening singles of her last tie in Moscow, last year against France. But Soler-Espinosa wasn’t up to taking advantage of it. Sharapova can send Russia into a sixth successive semifinals in Sunday’s first match against Suarez Navarro.Belgium or Serbia will face the Russia-Spain winner in the semis, and the tie in Charleroi was evenly poised after the first day.Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic first put Serbia in front by saving two set points in a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, then Yanina Wickmayer hit back with 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Bojana Jovanovski, winning the last four games.The minus-7 C temperature outside the Spiroudome almost overwhelmed the indoor heating, leaving the players and fans shivering. Jankovic joked she might turn out on Sunday in a coat and hat.