Marina Erakovic's involvement at the Australian Open has come to an end as she and her partner, Heather Watson, lost 6-4 6-0 to the ninth seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld from Germany and the Czech Republic's Kveta Peschke today.
Their first round doubles match out on court 11 lasted 1 hour 14 minutes and was played in 37 degree heat, which resulted in one ball kid fainting and having to be replaced just before the end.
The match started with three games going against the serve before Peschke was able to hold hers.
In the 10th game, with Groenefeld serving, there were three break points to the New Zealand/Guernsey combo before the opposition took the set and it all went rapidly downhill from there.
The second set can only be described as ugly.
From the moment Watson dropped serve in the first game, to when Erakovic framed a return over her head on match point, they were never in the contest, while playing without pressure Groenefeld and Peschke steamrolled through every game.
Erakovicwill play at the WTA tournament in Pattaya City the week before she plays in the Fed Cup, playing for New Zealand in Kazakhstan with Emily Fanning, Emma Hayman and Abigail Guthrie from February 4-10.
Agnieszka Radwanska won her 12th match in a row Friday to power into the Australian Open fourth round in her best ever start to a season, something she put down to a new-found confidence.
The world number four proved too strong for Britain's Heather Watson in a 6-3, 6-1 thumping and is yet to drop a set in 2013 as she searches for her first Grand Slam title.
"I think I've never won 12 matches in a row," the Pole said. "I never played two tournaments before the Australian Open. It was my first time I played Auckland and Sydney and it was a good start. I can't complain."
Radwanska is the form women's player after winning in Auckland and Sydney and next faces one of two former world number ones, Ana Ivanovic or Jelena Jankovic.
She said she changed nothing in her game during the off-season, but is feeling more confident about herself.
"Of course, I was practicing hard in the off-season, a lot of fitness," she said.
"But I'm just feeling good on court. I'm very confident from the beginning and just happy that I can play really my best tennis from the beginning of the year."
As well as her off-season training regime, Radwanska managed to fit in some study with the 23-year-old already thinking about life after tennis, studying tourism back home at a university in Krakow.
"I did my third semester in university, so I was studying for one month, it's like very, very hard to finish that," she said.
"It's good to know something more than just play forehand, backhand. Of course it was really tough studying and being a professional tennis player.
"I must say they really help me out and I can do my exam whenever I'm ready. So when I'm ready, I'm just calling them and I'm going to university and having exams."
On court, she started steadily against Watson, who was looking to mirror fellow Brit Laura Robson, who upset eighth seed Petra Kvitova on Rod Laver Arena in the early hours of Friday morning.
They both held serve until Radwanska got the break in the fifth game with a powerful forehand down the line and Watson was unable to fight back, handing the fourth seed the set.
Radwanska needed treatment on the little finger of her right hand early in the second set but it didn't hinder her and she got the break she needed on Watson's opening service game.
After a day of searing heat on Thursday, the weather changed and the players were forced to endure a short stoppage at 3-0 while the mechanical roof was closed when it started raining.
But it was plain sailing afterwards for the Pole, whose best Grand Slam was Wimbledon last year when she made the final and was beaten by Serena Williams.
"I really had a lot of good matches against top players this year, and I must say I'm really playing good and everything is working," she said.
"I just hope I keep going. Of course now it's going to be harder and harder, playing against seeded players."
Novak Djokovic absorbed plenty of pressure from Radek Stepanek before advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open, then unleashed some shots at Lance Armstrong after the long-expected confession from the doping-tainted cyclist.
Djokovic broke the 34-year-old, 34th-ranked Stepanek late in each set of a 6 -4, 6-3, 7-5 win Friday, extending his winning streak to 17 matches at the Australian Open.
But he was troubled at times against a wily veteran who mixed up the tempo with a lot of serve-and-volley and some unorthodox shot-making.
"Absolutely it was great. Great match and great fun," Djokovic said. "It's always tricky to play Radek. He's a talented player. Skillful player."
Told about the statistics - Stepanek won 36 of the 67 points he played at the net - Djokovic wasn't surprised at all.
"He's skillful on the net and he was not giving me a lot of rhythm - he was changing up the pace on the ball," Djokovic said. "Nowadays everything is based on the baseline. It's nice to see somebody coming to the net."
Stepanek had Djokovic smiling and acknowledging his winners on some points, frustrated him on others with his constant, stay-in-the-point defense, and even had chair umpire Carlos Bernardes grinning with his over-the-shoulder winner to save one match point near the end.
At Djokovic's post-match news conference, though, the questions quickly turned from tennis to Armstrong's confessions about doping in cycling during his television interview with Oprah Winfrey.
"I think it's a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this," said Djokovic, the No. 1-ranked man in tennis. "He cheated the sport. He cheated many people around the world with his career, with his life story. I think they should take all his titles away because it's not fair towards any sportsman, any athlete. I think he should suffer for his lies all these years."
Armstrong has already been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Djokovic, who has five Grand Slam titles, said the doping program in tennis was sufficient to catch the cheats, though he conceded he hasn't had a blood test that could detect illegal oxygen-boosting agents for six months. His next match will be against the winner of the third-round match between No. 15 Stanislas Wawrinka and No. 20 Sam Querrey.
Other men advancing Friday were South Africa's Kevin Anderson, who beat No. 22 Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, Japan's Kei Nishikori, No. 8-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and No. 10 Nicolas Almagro , who beat No. 24-Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1.
In women's matches, Angelique Kerber survived some nervous moments before fending off American teenager Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5 in their third-round match, then got to blow out the candles on a cake to celebrate her 25th birthday.
Local organizers brought a cake onto the court for Kerber immediately after the match and the crowd at Rod Laver Arena sang "Happy Birthday." She blew out the candles and said thank you to the crowd and to the 17-year-old Keys.
"Madison is a great young player and it was very tough," said Kerber, a semifinalist last year at Wimbledon. "So happy I won today on my birthday!"
Kerber will next play No. 19 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, who advanced after a tough 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 win over 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli. In the fourth round last year, Makarova beat Serena Williams and was the first of only four women to best the powerful American in 2012. Kerber was the last.
Fourth-seeded Angieszka Radwanska, meanwhile, won her 12th match in a row with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Britain's Heather Watson.
"I'm extremely happy to be playing my best tennis from the beginning of the year," said Radwanska, who won tournaments in Auckland and Sydney earlier this month. "Hopefully I'll play on the same level the rest of the tournament."
Radwanska will now meet 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, who beat Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-3 in a matchup featuring two Serbians who were both formerly ranked No. 1.
Sixth-seeded Li Na advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 27 Sorana Cirstea of Romania and will next play No. 18 Julia Goerges, who prevented an all-China fourth-round encounter by beating Zheng Jie 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 .
Li won the 2011 French Open just a few months after reaching the final at the Australian Open. Reigning French Open champion Maria Sharapova was playing seven-time major winner Venus Williams in a night match.
After soaring to 106 degrees on day four, the temperature dropped into the mid-70s on Friday, and light rain briefly interrupted play on some courts.
Djokovic wins at Aussie Open, then rips Lance - Tennis- NBC Sports
Despair not, 17-year-old tennis ace Nick Kyrgios has restored battered local pride at the Australian Open.
Not one of Australia's 16 main-draw singles entrants made the second week of the Open at Melbourne Park.
But on Monday Kyrgios will be elevated to world No.1 junior and favourite for the junior boys' championship.
Inspired by Roger Federer and modelling his game on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kyrgios backed up his success at last week's prestigious Open lead-up event at Traralgon with an ominous first-round win in Melbourne.
The powerhouse third seed crushed Turkey's Cem Ilkel 6-3 6-1 to lead several Australian juniors into the second round.
"Obviously there was a lot of expectation on my performance this week and I thought I started off well," Kyrgios said.
"There's a lot of pressure but going on last week I've got a lot of confidence and belief in my game now, so I'm really glad my form's there.
"I get the No.1 ranking tomorrow so possibly winning the whole thing would be my main goal now.
"But I'm just trying to not think about that yet, take it one match at a time, get through these early rounds first and, hopefully if I get far enough, then I can start thinking about that."
Kyrgios said reaching the summit was the reward for four years of hard work and devotion to the game.
"Obviously it's a great accomplishment. There's been some really good players that have been the No.1 junior," he said.
Kyrgios last year completed the French Open-Wimbledon junior doubles double with Victorian Andrew Harris.
"That's where my serve started to really kick on," he said.
"I've been getting a lot of confidence from that and my transitioning into the net has gotten a lot better in singles as well, not being so afraid at hitting the ball and coming to the net.
"I'm really confident coming to the net now."
Kyrgios, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of countryman Bernard Tomic (2009) and Luke Saville (2012) as an Open junior champion, said Federer and Tsonga were his heroes.
"Federer, he's an unbelievable role model," Kyrgios said.
"I mean, he's got a lot of expectations on him every match and he just goes out there every match and does what he has to do. Unbelievable.
"But my favourite player is probably Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I sort of model my game around his a bit - a really big serve and I try to dictate with my forehand."
Other Australian first-round junior winners included Kyrgios' latest doubles partner, Thanasi Kokkinakis, along with Marc Polmans, Akira Santillan, Oliver Anderson, Omar Jasika, Danielle Wagland and Olivia Tjandramulia.
Sara Tomic, the 14-year-old sister of Bernard, will play her second-round match on Monday.
Passports are an essential item for globetrotting tennis professionals. A biological passport could become an added carrying card.
Stuart Miller, who oversees tennis' anti-doping program for the International Tennis Federation, said Saturday such a program was "being considered seriously."
The so-called biological passport is a method of collecting and comparing biological data from athletes so that variances from normal biological levels or "markers" can be detected. Identifying those irregularities helps spot doping. The passport model is being used in cycling and track and field.
"Our aim would be to implement it, but implementation is reasonably complex," Miller said by phone from London.
He characterized discussions within the ITF as "ongoing" rather than advanced but said it could be "fully operational in the order of 12 months" once it was underway.
Miller did not rule out implementation as early as 2014.
Consideration of the passport program coincides with a growing unease and outspokenness in the wake of Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Armstrong admitted to using EPO, testosterone and blood doping to fuel his record seven Tour de France wins.
Players from Serena Williams to Roger Federer said they were surprised and dismayed.
None was harsher than two-time defending men's champion Novak Djokovic.
"I think it's a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this," the No. 1 Serb said of Armstrong. "He cheated the sport. He cheated many people around the world with his career, with his life story. ... I think he should suffer for his lies all these years."
Others expressed concern about the efficacy of tennis' current program, especially the amount of blood testing it conducts away from competition.
According to the ITF's posted figures for 2011, there were only 21 out-of-competition blood tests.
At the ATP World Tour Championship in London, Federer and Scotland's Andy Murray called for more blood testing in the sport.
Djokovic said this week that he had not had a blood test in six or seven months. Bob Bryan, the top seed in doubles with brother Mike Bryan, said he had never had an out-of-competition blood test.
ESPN commentator and coach Darren Cahill said on Twitter that the amount of blood testing was "inadequate" and had "gone backwards."
"It's a proactive thing, not a reactive thing," said Cahill Sunday, adding that he believes the sport is clean. "But more funding is needed."
Some players said they would welcome a passport program.
"I'd be definitely in favor of that," Bob Bryan said Sunday after a third-round win against Jeremy Chardy and Lukasz Kubot. "Anything to make it harder to cheat."
For some, however, the sport is not doing nearly enough.
Guy Forget, once a top-5 player and now France's Davis Cup captain, said he believed he competed against players who were doping — though he has no proof.
He called for individual tournaments to divert prize money and put it toward more testing.
He is also favors a passport program, harsher penalties and preservation of blood samples so they can be retested in later years with more sophisticated methods.
"Some sports like cycling are more exposed, but we know in our sport some players have been caught," Forget said. "It would be foolish to not be concerned by these problems especially since the game got more physical."
The ITF's Miller could not put a dollar figure on a passport program for tennis but said "cost is an issue across all of anti-doping."
The ITF's anti-doping program, which is funded by the ATP and WTA and four Grand Slams, has been reported to be around $1.6 million.
Besides funding and informing stakeholders in the sport, Miller said establishing a passport program would require a period of sample gathering and an expert panel to review results.
"It's not just go and collect samples," he said. "We have to get all the pieces together before we're fully operational."
For the time being, players will probably continue to look over their shoulders.
Asked if she thought the sport was clean Saturday, two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia wasn't sure.
"I'm confident of myself," she said. "I don't know about the rest."
Martina Navratilova backed Serena Williams to create history by sweeping to a calendar-year Grand Slam after she marched into the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The tennis legend described Williams as the greatest player of her generation - and said "if anyone can, Serena can" achieve the holy grail of winning all four major titles in the same year.
"We know that Serena at her best is better than anybody else out there, if for no other reason than her serve. It sets everything up," Navratilova said at Melbourne Park.
"She's strong and she's solid. She very confident and very focused right now. In the past there might have been times when you could catch her off-guard, but not these days.
"She's been very focused since she lost at the French last year.
She's very motivated. She's a dictator."
Steffi Graf was the last woman to win the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon in the same season, way back in 1988.
No man has claimed the Grand Slam in the Open era, with even Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all falling one short in their finest seasons. The last male to do it was Australia's Rod Laver in 1969.
Williams, riding one of the hottest streaks of her career, a 20-match unbeaten run, admitted at the Brisbane International a fortnight ago that the calendar-year slam was on her radar.
The closest she has come was in 2002-2003, when she held all four majors consecutively for the so-called 'Serena Slam'. Close, but not quite the feat that stands higher than any other in tennis.
Ahead of Williams' quarter-final against American teen Sloane Stephens, Navratilova said the Grand Slam was "definitely possible" this year - as long as luck is on her side.
"We have seen what can happen physically. She hurt her ankle in her first match. She hit herself in the face with her racquet," she said. "There is a lot of luck involved. You can eat some bad fish and next day, you can't walk.
"It's 28 straight matches you have to win but I do believe that if anybody can do it, it's Serena. The way she's playing now, she's capable of it."
Williams recovered from a first-round loss at the French Open last year to win Wimbledon and the US Open, leaving her with 15 major titles and within range of the 18 held by Navratilova and Chris Evert.
However, she remains some way off the 24 majors won by Margaret Court, followed by Graf on 22 and Helen Wills Moody on 19.
"In tennis terms, Serena is still very young," Navratilova said.
"At her age, I think I had played twice as many matches. She has young legs at 31, which should be helpful. The way she plays, not many of her matches are too physical or go too long.
"She is physically so imposing she can dominate matches. It does get harder after you reach 30 but Serena is Serena. She has power and she's taken tennis to another level. If she is fit and motivated, which she clearly is at the moment, it's hard to see anyone beating her all year."
Navratilova, 56, who has 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles majors along with her singles crowns, was described by another former world number one, Billie Jean King, as "the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."
That so, Williams is regarded as the finest female singles player in history. Her power-laden game and aggressive attitude blow most rivals off the court.
Navratilova, however, said she would have fancied her chances against Williams if they had played in the same era.
"People ask me if I think I could have beaten Serena," Navratilova said.
"I say to them, do you think I could have beaten Justine Henin? They say yes. I say well, Justine beat Serena, so there's your answer.
"I think I would be able to handle her pace. Serena has a harder time playing people who are fast, and I was pretty fast in my day. I think I would be able to neutralise her power.
"If she had an unbelievable serving day, nobody beats her. Without a great serving day, though, I think I might be in good shape."
Tennis: Navratilova backs Serena for historic Grand Slam
What was supposed to be a learning experience against one of the greatest tennis players in history turned into one of the biggest upsets in tennis history on Wednesday, when the 19-year-old Sloane Stephens introduced herself to a global audience by rallying to defeat her 31-year-old American elder Serena Williams, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, top, is the No. 1 player in the world and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is ranked 75th.
Williams is a 15-time Grand Slam singles champion, and was the No. 3 seed and heavy favorite here, but what made the result all the more surprising was that she has been as dominant of late as she has been in the past: sweeping to the Wimbledon, Olympic and United States Open titles last year and winning 20 straight matches coming into this quarterfinal.
But the streak and Williams's newfound tranquility on court came crashing to a halt on this cool, sunlit afternoon in Rod Laver Arena as Williams, limited and frustrated by a back problem and Stephens's precocious blend of offense and defense, smashed her racket to smithereens early in the third set.
As a result, there will be no rematch between Williams, seeded third, and world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals on Thursday. Instead it will be Azarenka versus Stephens, seeded 29th, who had never been past the fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament until this trip to Australia.
Though she has had other tennis role models besides Williams, including Kim Clijsters, Stephens once had a poster of Williams on her wall.
"This is so crazy, but oh my goodness," Stephens said, wiping away tears in her post-match interview. "I think I'll put a poster of myself now."
It was the first time that Williams, the best player of her generation, had been beaten by a younger American. Williams and Stephens only met recently but they have had considerable contact in the last year.
They were Fed Cup teammates last year and have spent time together in Los Angeles, where Stephens lives with her mother and younger brother and where Williams has a residence.
But they will now be rivals as well as teammates, and this defeat came less than a month after they played for the first time. Williams won that match in the quarterfinals in Brisbane in straight sets, but Stephens was surprisingly comfortable playing at Williams's torrid baseline pace.
Despite the much bigger occasion, she looked comfortable again on Wednesday, handling Williams's power and holding her opening service games before Williams, as expected, closed out the opening set.
Williams then led 2-0 in the second set but Stephens began to lift again. One of the fastest players in women's tennis, she tracked down groundstrokes that would have been winners against most, and managed to break Williams's serve for the first time to get back to 2-all.
But the match took another turn in the eighth game when Williams shouted in pain as she ran forward to get to a short ball. Grimacing, she was quickly broken again as Stephens took a 5-3 lead. Williams, limited in her movement, broke back in the next game and then called for a trainer on the changeover, eventually leaving the court for further treatment on her lower back.
"Well, a few days ago, it just got really tight, and I had no rotation on it," she said. "I just went for this drop shot in the second set, and it just locked up on me. I think I couldn't really rotate after that."
Williams's huge serve was considerably slower after she returned to the court but she still managed to hold at love to 5-all while serving changeups with Stephens visibly rattled. But the teenager fought off a break point in the next game with a forehand winner and then broke Williams for the third time in the set to even the match at one set apiece.
With Stephens up 2-1 in the third set, Williams reared back and smashed her racket twice on the blue hard court, destroying it, and then flinging it at her bench.
"It made me happy, unfortunately," Williams said later.
In earlier times and moods, Azarenka might have been the one to crack at the end of a rough-and-tumble first set full of momentum shifts and grueling rallies.
But she was simply too consistent, composed and relentless for Svetlana Kuznetsova as she wore down the powerful, experienced Russian and then pulled away, 7-5, 6-1.
"I'm glad I could produce my good tennis when it was needed," said Azarenka.
Azarenka, a 23-year-old from Belarus who won this title last year, remains the world's No. 1 player, at least for another few days. But her march through the draw has not been as statistically impressive as the likes of Maria Sharapova, who has dropped just nine games in five matches.
Azarenka was in trouble against the young American Jamie Hampton, dropping a set in the third round and she was in trouble once more early against Kuznetsova, falling behind by 1-4 in the opening set.
Kuznetsova is ranked just 75th and is still working her way back after a knee injury that spoiled most of her 2012 season. But in an era in which Williams, Azarenka and Sharapova have clearly separated themselves from the pack, the 27-year-old Kuznetsova remains one of the game's most dangerous outsiders: a two-time Grand Slam singles champion with an imposing physique and an unusually well-stocked tennis tool kit that includes — besides the requisite power — drop shots, sharp angles, crisp backhand slices and that increasingly rare thing, a reliable overhead.
"I know what kind of tennis she is capable to produce, so I was ready for it," Azarenka said. "At the beginning, it took a little bit of adjustment because she has such a different game, but I'm glad I could turn around, take control in my hands and really fight through."
At its best, which was the second half of the first set, this was a terrific match, full of velocity, variety and intensity as both women attacked second serves, solved conundrums posed by the other's strengths
Tennis classics come in all shapes and sizes. On Sunday Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, two pros from different countries and of similar ages, put each other through a supreme test of skill and stamina; their round-of-16 matchup was a five-hour exhibition of the sport at its finest. Compared to that, Sloane Stephens’ 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Serena Williams today was a very different type of epic. It wasn’t about excellence, and it won’t be remembered for its high quality of play. This match between fellow African-American women a decade apart in age was a psychological drama as only tennis can stage them.
It had been billed in the press as mentor vs. protégé. First we heard that Serena was Sloane’s idol growing up. Then we heard about the poster Stephens had of her on her wall, and the way that Serena had helped her, only to show her the back of her hand in their first match, two weeks ago in Brisbane. It took Chris Clarey of the New York Times to remind us today that Sloane hadn’t originally been inspired to pick up a racquet because of Serena, after all. A little later, Matt Cronin of TENNIS.com reported that the two had met for the first time only a year ago, for four minutes, and that Stephens didn’t think Serena had any idea who she was.
“I always love watching her play,” said Stephens, who couldn’t remember the first time she had seen Serena on TV, “but I never tried to copycat or anything like that.”
Stephens is the daughter of former New England Patriots running back John Stephens, who died in 2009.
“Honestly, I’ve never really given her advice,” Serena said.
On camera, their handshake at the end looked like a touching moment of respect; in the future it might even be described as a passing of the American tennis torch. But according to Stephens it wasn’t anything special. Asked what she said to Serena, Sloane shrugged and said, “Good match, well played. I say the same thing every time. She just said good match. I don’t even remember, honestly.”
Still, there really was a good story behind this match, and it involved more than these two women. A lot of tennis in recent years has been about young players not measuring up to the game’s stars. We saw it again this week when 31-year-old Roger Federer straight-setted Bernard Tomic and Milos Raonic, each a decade or so younger than him, in successive rounds. On both the men’s and women’s sides, we’ve wondered for a long time when the next generation would finally show up. While Serena was hurt today—she aggravated a back injury in the second set—19-year-old Sloane Stephens showed up, and measured up. We haven’t felt the shock of the new for a long time. It was nice to be reminded of what kind of buzz it can create. “Look dude, like, you can do this. Like, go out and play and do your best.”
That’s what Stephens, a California teen through and through, said she told herself this morning before the match. For a set and two games, though, it looked like she wasn’t going to do her best after all. She matched Serena in power, and held serve easily to 3-3. But soon she was backing up and letting her elder do the dictating. That’s how it went until Serena was up 6-3, 2-0.
To that point, Stephens had looked tentative and unsure of herself in Rod Laver Arena. After shanking a ball, she stared toward her players’ box in confusion. But something clicked at 0-2 in the second; she appeared to set the doubts aside. Stephens held and then put together her best attacking tennis of the match to break for 2-2. Now she was the one playing closer to the baseline, and Serena was doing the running.
“I went down 2-0,” Stephens said, “and I was like, Hmmm, this is not the way you want it to happen....From then on, I got aggressive, started coming to the net more, and just got a lot more comfortable.” t was all downhill from there for Serena. What had appeared to be another routine win was soon spinning out of her control. When Stephens began to play better in the second set, Serena became tentative. Things went from bad to much worse when she was serving at 3-4. Serena ran forward for a drop shot and let out a scream as she swung. “I totally locked up after that,” she said of her back.
As Serena’s body was locking up, though, so was Stephens’ mind. Faced with an injured opponent and a chance to beat a 15-time Grand Slam champ, she couldn’t put the ball in the court. Again, though, Sloane rescued herself just in time. Down break point at 5-5, she cracked an inside-out forehand winner, held, and won the next game for the set.
That theme, of Stephens appearing to falter before facing up to the moment, would play out in the third set as well. The two went back and forth, trading winners and errors and service breaks, until Stephens served at 4-4. Serena, still moving gingerly, threw caution to the wind and connected on two big winners to reach break point. It looked like the story had finally ended, in the way that we thought it would. But Stephens took the punch and threw one right back, with a forehand winner of her own.
It was Serena, it would turn out, who was out of answers. She was the one who collapsed at the end, losing her serve and the match with four listless errors in the final game.
“I don’t think my level was high,” Serena said later. This was her first loss since last August, and first at a major since the French Open. “I mean, you can tell. You each can say this is definitely not my best match in months.”
As for her assessment of Stephens, Serena thought she had played well, and she didn’t excuse the defeat by citing her injury. But there was a backhanded quality to the compliments she had for the teenager’s game. “She’s a good player,” Serena said. “She runs fast and she gets a lot of balls back. That’s always a plus to have in your career.” Serena's not quite ready to hand over the crown just yet. She's still a competitor, not a mentor.
One part of me wants to say that, whatever Serena’s
Andre Agassi spent his childhood doing nothing but hitting tennis balls, so he's happy to let his daughter dance, ride horses and even - on occasion - play tennis.
The eight-time grand slam winner, in New Zealand promoting his autobiography Open, shared a complex relationship with his father, Iranian-born Mike.
With resentment at his father's arduous training techniques conflicting with desire to please the man he loves, Agassi experienced a troubled adolescence as a tennis wild child before rising to the top of the sport.
Agassi, married to one of the greatest ever women's tennis players, Steffi Graf, hoped his son and daughter had none of that conflict to deal with and said he wanted Jaden, 11, and Jaz, nine, to do whatever made them happy.
Given they were made in a tennis super-laboratory, many fans may have dreamed of Agassi's offspring becoming the next wunderkind of the sport, but Agassi's own experiences led him to believe personal choice is the best thing he can provide his kids.
Speaking at a dinner in Auckland to promote his book last night, he said: "People always make the assumption that, with me and Steffi [as parents], of course they're going to be great tennis players. And I always say, 'it's a big gene pool, you haven't met the rest of our family'," he quipped.
"With that being said, I think the life that we've led would make us take a deep breath if they did have a passion for [tennis] because it's not an easy road."
That may seem a strange sentiment, but Agassi's own road was particularly difficult while growing up, with his book painting his father as a cross between a tennis coach and drill sergeant. Agassi insisted he gave and "honest and loving" portrayal of his dad, but was worried about how he might have reacted to the perceived criticisms.
Mike - who refused to help Agassi while writing the book and had no interest in reading it because he "lived this shit every day" - assured his son that, at 80 years old, he was past caring what people thought about him.
And Agassi told the dinner that his father, if he had a chance to do it all over again, would do it differently - a bombshell given his one-track mind resulted in his son's successful career.
"[Mike] said, 'I'm very clear that if I could do this all over again I would do it different'," Agassi divulged. "I asked him what he would do different and he said to me, 'I wouldn't let you play tennis'.
"I took a deep breath and asked why not. And he goes, 'baseball or golf'. I said, 'why baseball or golf?' And he said, 'because you can play longer and make more money'."
It was an exchange which Agassi clearly found amusing, and one which he referenced when asked which sports his children enjoyed
"My daughter plays [tennis] twice a week for fun. And my son plays baseball seven days a week."
His book, and his anecdotes while in this country, can paint an unflattering picture of his father, but Agassi said that wasn't his intention. He explained how everything in his life - his children, his wife, his charter school for at-risk children in Las Vegas - was a result of his dad.
"He achieved what he wanted to achieve and he gave me what it is he never had. He gave me that dream, he gave me that opportunity, he gave me that wealth and the trophies.
"If it wasn't for him all my world would look different."
Perhaps as different as the world of men's tennis now looks to a 42-year-old Agassi. When asked if he could still compete at the top of the sport, Agassi gave a blunt 'no' and admitted he would fall some way short of the 'big four'.
"Every now and then people come along and change the game - that's just what happens. The game sees these moments where somebody brings something new. Starting with [Roger] Federer, then [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic and now [Andy] Murray, they unquestionably changed the rules of engagement when it comes to tennis.
"I would have to work my arse off to be ranked about five in the world. You'd have to say Pete [Sampras], too, so maybe six."
Gardnar Mulloy could hardly believe his eyes. Watching the Australian Open semifinal between Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens on television, the 99-year-old Mulloy suddenly found himself screaming at what he described as “an atrocity, the worst thing I’ve ever seen” in a tennis match.
Mulloy, a former top 10 and Wimbledon doubles champion, was not alone. Regardless of what happened in the women’s singles final in Melbourne on Saturday, the controversy over Azarenka’s 10-minute injury timeout at a pivotal point in the Grand Slam match Thursday sent international shock waves.
“It certainly disgusted me on many levels,” Mulloy said by phone from his home in Miami on Friday. “In my day, you couldn’t even sit down on the changeovers. This match was a violation of an opponent’s rhythm. I don’t know if tennis is producing a different breed of player or half of what they do is fake. But it’s a different game out there now.”
Mulloy said he viewed Azarenka’s breach, which included six minutes off the court, as far more serious than Serena Williams’s smashed rackets or verbal tirades, John McEnroe’s temper tantrums with umpires or even the often amusing, deliberative antics of such other courtside hustlers as Bobby Riggs.
“McEnroe had his moments,” Mulloy said. “But he didn’t leave the court. He could and should have been penalized for some of his actions. But that’s different than having a 10-minute break. Like any sport, you don’t leave the field.”
Gamesmanship has always been an integral mental sideshow in sports, particularly in tennis singles. The smallest adjustment in behavior or rituals — from the number of times a server will bounce a ball before the toss to a receiver holding up a hand to interrupt a server’s flow to the decibel level of grunting on ground strokes — can be the difference in a break point that decides a match. In April 2012, a preliminary study of cheating in men’s tennis by the Max Planck Research School for Competition spanning seven years and 22,012 matches involving 1,022 players reported that “cheating in professional tennis is widespread in the opening rounds of non-Grand Slam tournaments.” The pressure is even greater in the four major championships. Multiply that factor by X if you are a world No. 1. Add the pressure of playing a young pro you are supposed to beat, then squander five match points, as the top-seeded Azarenka did in the second set against the 29th-seeded Stephens, and it is not hard to envision a panic attack.
Before the era of tiebreakers, in the best-of-five-set format adopted at Grand Slam tournaments, players were accorded a break after the third set that allowed them recovery time. No such breaks exist now, and the rules allow for medical treatments or bathroom emergencies. This has only heightened the notion that players are abusing the system to fit their needs and further tightening is necessary.
More powerful rackets and balls with less felt have also intensified the physical nature of the sport. Players routinely use topspin on ground strokes not only to confuse opponents but to keep their more powerful shots inside the baseline. The absence of consistent serve-and-volleyers turns most singles matches into grinding physical wars of attrition.
Dr. Jim Loehr, a sports psychologist, who has written extensively about the mental phase of tennis and counseled a number of pros, said he watched the meltdowns by Williams and Azarenka at the Australian Open with fascination and amazement.
“It speaks to the pressures of tennis, the scoring and the huge fish bowl that these players face,” Loehr said by phone from his tennis academy in Orlando, Fla. “You’re better than the other player. You know you should be winning. But for whatever reason, you can’t bring your game forward. You’re lost in yourself. You’re playing below your normal threshold. Frustration builds. You get tied up in knots. You’re telling yourself, ‘I feel like an idiot.’ You can’t produce the kind of response you’re accustomed to.”
Loehr added: “Azarenka was so far below her expectations. She was confused, disheartened, disappointing herself. You assume something physical because she’s been tested psychologically in the past. But once you open the door, there are so many opportunities to exploit. Momentum shifts so quickly. Nobody knows if you have chest pains or back problems. I have not seen anything like that in a long time at a Grand Slam event.”
World number one Novak Djokovic faces Andy Murray in the Australian Open final Sunday as they renew a rivalry that has become the premier matchup in men’s tennis.
Djokovic, the 2011 and 2012 champion, is bidding for the event’s first hat-trick of the professional era, while U.S. Open winner Murray can become the only player to open his Grand Slam account with back-to-back major titles.
The Serb and the Briton, both 25 and born only a week apart, have already met in two Grand Slam finals, with Djokovic dominating Murray in straight sets in Melbourne two years ago.
However, an increasingly athletic Murray outlasted Djokovic in five sets in the U.S. Open decider in September, when he finally landed a Grand Slam title after being runner-up four times.
The result broke a 76-year major drought for British men - and it gave Murray added belief that he can win at the highest level, after also beating Roger Federer in last year’s Olympic final.
Murray confirmed his new stature with a five-set defeat of Federer in Friday’s Melbourne semi-final, his first ever Grand Slam win against the Swiss, and goes into Sunday’s title match with his confidence high.
“I’ve been questioned for large parts of my career about physically would I be strong enough, mentally would I be strong enough, do I listen to my coaches, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. …Whatever it is, can I handle pressure,” Murray said.
“I think those years of having all of those questions and then finally to be able to answer them I think, yeah, it was all part of the process. So I hope on Sunday I can play a good match.” Murray is into his third straight Grand Slam final but he is rated by many observers as second-favourite to Djokovic, who has again shown his amazing resilience and played tennis of the highest order in Melbourne.
Djokovic, who outlasted Rafael Nadal in last year’s record five-hour, 53-minute final, won a punishing five-setter with Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round but showed no ill effects when he beat Tomas Berdych two days later.
In the semi-final, he made a mockery of what should have been a difficult test against David Ferrer as he routed the fourth seed in straight sets, sweeping him off the court in less than 90 minutes.
“It’s just the conditions in general that I like, especially on Rod Laver Arena. It’s my most successful Grand Slam,” Djokovic said.
“Being in a third consecutive final is an incredible feeling and achievement, I’m so very proud of it.”
Cool temperatures are forecast for the final, which gets under way at 7:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET) on Rod Laver Arena, centre court at the riverside Melbourne Park complex.
Andy Murray ran and ran until the skin on his feet came off and still it was not quite enough.
The Briton's hopes of winning his second successive grand slam title were ended by the resilience and defensive brilliance of world number one Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
The Serb's 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 victory on Sunday was Murray's fifth defeat in six grand slam finals but having broken his duck at the U.S. Open last September against Djokovic, the pain is unlikely to linger quite as long this time.
Having played a five-set semi-final against Roger Federer and with a day less to recover than the Serb, a calm-looking Murray did well to save five break points in the first set and then played a superb tiebreak to move ahead.
But his big chance came and went in the second game of the second set when he had 0-40 on the Djokovic serve and failed to convert. It was the turning point of the match.
"I was getting quite a few 0-15s, 15-30s, 0-30s and I couldn't quite capitalize on my chances on his serve," Murray told reporters. "That was a disappointing part.
"I played a good second set. I created quite a few chances and didn't quite get them. That was the difference."
The two 25-year-olds, born just a week apart, are separated by two places in the rankings but they showed again that when they face each other across the net, there is a hair's breadth between them.
Murray said he was a little stiff after his effort against Federer but of bigger concern was a nasty blister that appeared on his right foot.
His ability to stop and change direction was affected and when you have a weakness, the last person you want to play is Djokovic.
Having lifted his energy at the end of the second set to level the match, he ran Murray side to side, relentlessly, slowly increasing the pain.
Still it took until the eighth game of the third set, two hours and 51 minutes into the match, for the first break of serve as Murray netted a forehand.
The grueling rallies were beginning to take their toll and with Djokovic's tail up, Murray was broken in the third game of the fourth. That, pretty much, was that.
Murray denied that the blister had affected his chances and said he was more than happy with his efforts in reaching a third Australian Open final and his third straight grand slam final.
"The last few months have been the best tennis of my life," he said. "I made the Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, won the U.S. Open and I was close here as well. It was close.
"I know no one's ever won the immediate slam after winning their first one. It's not the easiest thing to do and I got extremely close.
"This is the first time I've beaten Roger in a slam over five sets. I think I dealt with the situations and the ebbs and flows in that match well.
"I felt much more comfortable on the court today than even I did at the U.S. Open, so that has to be a positive."
Valiant Murray run ragged by relentless Djokovic - Tennis- NBC Sports
Novak Djokovic's Australian Open victory over Andy Murray will not be remembered as one of the greatest Grand Slam finals.
But with backhands and blisters, forehands and feathers, it certainly had lots going for it.
The latest instalment of tennis's top-of-the-world rivalry delivered for more than two hours, full of fire and attrition, only to tail off during a low-key third set and one-sided fourth.
'Classic' status is therefore not warranted, but that's only based on the standards set recently by the top guys. It was still pretty decent!
And here's the point. So spoilt are we with the quality of play and quantity of sensational matches, sometimes a reminder that tennis is not immune from human fallibility and physical fragility is welcome. If every match is a classic we get complacent. We turn on, as a viewer and listener, and expect the best. When it doesn't happen, we sniff anti-climax and mope around like a kid with nine Christmas presents, disappointed not to receive a tenth.
Late on Sunday night, Murray looked a beaten man towards the end of the final, in the same way Federer faded in the semi-final. Expecting these guys not to suffer into the fourth hour of intense sporting combat is to suggest they are robotic.
Earlier, Murray had been distracted by the flight of a wispy feather. Locked in the second-set tie break, he paused between first and second serves, removed it, and double faulted.
Was this not a very human, half-expected, reaction to an inopportune disruption?
Frailty is an endearing quality and helps keep this golden era on a semi-believable level.
So after the strong start for Murray did the match flutter and turn with feather-gate, as many are suggesting? Not in my mind. Yes the double fault meant a point against serve in a crucial tie break he ultimately lost, but it would be ridiculous to suggest this single point, whatever the circumstances, cost Murray the match.
Nor would it be right to blame the gruesome blisters which received such close-up prime-time BBC1 coverage. Murray was going to call the trainer at the end of the second set regardless of the score. He's had worse and, while painful, the blisters didn't stop him running as usual. More relevant is the break of serve late in the third set which, remarkably, was the first of the match.
One of the curiosities of this final, involving the two best returners, was the domination of serve. Djokovic had the break points in set one but lost it, Murray had the break points in set two but lost it. So when the Serb finally broke in set three, it gave him the confidence-boosted power surge to pull clear in the match.
Winner for the fourth time in Australia - three in a row, an open era first - Djokovic is a worthy champion and remains the undisputed world number one. He was involved in the match of the tournament, the colossal battle with Stan Wawrinka on the middle weekend, and produced the devastating performance of the tournament, his ruthless demolition of David Ferrer in the semi-finals.
As for Murray, the progress he's made in the last six months is so glaringly obvious that there's no need for the mood to be anything other than upbeat. A first Wimbledon final, Olympic Gold, a first US Open title and a third Australian Final is a fine return for six months work. What amazing things he is doing! The abuse he continues to receive (in thankfully ever diminishing circles) sounds more and more embarrassing and misplaced.
Sitting in the press conference chair in the early hours of Monday, he judged this mood perfectly. Disappointed, for sure, but not despondent. Sometimes, on these occasions, we need to tip-toe around with our microphones, not really knowing what to say, but this was different.
He takes heart from Melbourne with a five set semi-final success over Federer, his first win over the Swiss Master at a Grand Slam, his immediate, positive response to losing the two tiebreaks in that match, and the fact he felt comfortable and relaxed on the big occasion - blatantly not the case in the past. Most international analysts suggest that Murray is now the second best player in the world. The rankings don't show it yet but it's surely only a matter of time before they do.
BBC Sport - Djokovic win over Murray proves tennis stars are only human
Double Paralympic champion Peter Norfolk has announced he will no longer play full-time wheelchair tennis.
The 52-year-old, who won gold in 2004 and 2008 and was the ParalympicsGB flagbearer at the London 2012 opening ceremony, is now unlikely to compete at the Rio Games in 2016.
Norfolk, nicknamed the Quadfather, has also left the Tennis Foundation's performance programme. "It is time to dedicate some of my time to other areas of my life," he said.
Norfolk, who took up wheelchair tennis after a motorcycle accident in 1979 left him with a spinal cord injury, will spend more time with his family and developing his business - a specialist mobility company.
He will still compete in some international tournaments, but is reducing his commitments following a 12-year career that has also seen him win the Australian Open five times and US Open twice.
"I have enjoyed some incredible moments in my career and I want to thank everyone who has been a part of that, especially those who have given up their time and efforts to help me get to the top," said Norfolk, who won doubles silver at London 2012.
"I look forward to staying involved with the Tennis Foundation and I hope I can inspire more disabled people in this country to take up tennis, as it's such a brilliant and fun sport to play."
BBC Sport - Paralympian Peter Norfolk quits full-time wheelchair tennis
Spaniard Rafa Nadal is keeping his expectations low ahead of his long-awaited return to competitive action in early February after seven months out of tennis with a knee injury.
The 26-year-old French Open champion has not played since losing to Czech Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon in June due to a partial tear of the patella tendon and inflammation in his left knee.
His planned return at the end of last year was delayed due to illness and he is scheduled to play on his favoured clay at three events next month, starting in Vina del Mar, Chile, on 4 February and taking in the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo from 11 February and the Mexico Open in Acapulco from 25 February.
“I am going to play [after] a long time in a tennis tournament, professional tennis tournament, after seven months,” Nadal said after training on his home island of Majorca yesterday.
“The motivation, the illusion is big, so very happy to be back in the competition but just you know, with patience to know how the knee will answer after a long time without the top level,” he added. “The most important thing for me is the knee, that I can support the pain of the knee and then if I am able to play these three tournaments in a row I think it will work very well for me because I will have three important weeks to prepare for the rest of the season.
“I know that the first three tournaments are going to be difficult in terms of results but I am going to try everything. I will need a few weeks to see how things improve.”
Nadal’s absence deprived tennis of one of the “big four” who have dominated the sport in recent years.
During his spell on the sidelines, Serbian world No 1 Novak Djokovic won the 2012 World Tour finals and the Australian Open, No 2 Roger Federer of Switzerland won Wimbledon and third-ranked Scot Andy Murray the US Open and Olympic gold.
In the latest ATP rankings published on Monday, Nadal, who won a record seventh Roland Garros crown in May, slipped below compatriot David Ferrer to No 5. Meanwhile, fifth seed Roberta Vinci was a second-round casualty at the Open GDF Suez in Paris after being knocked out by Mona Barthel.
Vinci needed just 52 minutes to sweep aside Simona Halep in her opening match yesterday and the Italian looked set to make further progress after winning the first set against Barthel.
However, the 22-year-old German hit back to claim victory 4-6 6-1 6-3 and she will now face third seed Marion Bartoli in the quarter-finals. French No 1 Bartoli saw off the challenge of American Christina McHale 7-5 6-1 in her second-round match.
In first-round action, sixth seed Lucie Safarova got off to a winning start but had to do it the hard way before securing a 2-6 6-1 6-1 triumph over Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino.
Other first-round victors were Yanina Wickmayer, Kiki Bertens and Magdalena Rybarikova, whose 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over fellow qualifier Virginie Razzano lasted 12 minutes short of three hours.
At the Pattaya Open, rain washed out play with defending champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia yet to play her first round match. Organisers have rescheduled the remaining three singles matches of the first round and all the eight second round matches for today.
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, whose first-round match against Ayumi Morita of Japan was suspended due to rain on Tuesday, will resume leading 6-3, 5-7, 2-1. Seventh-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia will also resume against Greek veteran Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 1-0. Two-time champion Hantuchova will take on Olga Puchkova of Russia to complete the first round.
Tennis: Rafa Nadal not setting goals for return - Tennis - Scotsman-com
Paul Flory will be remembered for a lifetime of accomplishments as a humanitarian and a Procter & Gamble executive, but his legacy will forever be tied to the Western & Southern Open.
The tennis world lost a great ambassador in Flory, 90, who died Thursday evening from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
Flory became tournament director of the then-called Western Tennis Championship in 1975 and, working as a full-time volunteer for the next 36 years, built Cincinnati’s tourney into one of the world’s grandest tennis events below Grand Slams.
He did it by making players and fans feel special.
“I think his focus was always on what was best for the event. It was just a very selfless thing,” his son, Bruce Flory, said. “He was proud for what the event did for Cincinnati, and he had an affinity toward everyone involved.”
The 2011 edition of the W&S Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason was the crowning achievement of professional tennis in Cincinnati. It united the top ATP World Tour and WTA players for nine days of simultaneous play, with ranking points and more than $5 million in prize money at stake.
The format put the tourney in elite company with Rome, Madrid, Indian Wells and Miami as the world’s only five tennis events featuring an ATP Masters 1000 event and top-level WTA Premier event in the same week. The 2012 event – the 111th year of professional tennis in Cincinnati – continued in the same fashion. Roger Federer won a tournament-record fifth title on the men’s side and Li Na was the women’s victor.
ATP World Tour CEO Brad Drewett said Flory’s vision and dedication have made the W&S Open “one of the great tournaments” on tour.
“Paul is a dear friend of the ATP and we will always be grateful for the contributions he made to the ATP and tennis,” Drewett said.
Elaine Bruening, Chief Executive Officer of Cincinnati Tennis LLC, began working with Flory in 1976. That year the tournament was played on Old Coney clay courts a week after Wimbledon, and she said it was difficult attracting players so soon after the Grand Slam.
If the Cincinnati tourney went to a hard surface and built a permanent structure, ATP officials said they would schedule it two weeks before the US Open. The tournament moved to Mason in 1979, construction of a permanent facility began in 1981, and the tournament grew in stature and size over ensuing decades.
The site now accommodates 200-plus players and thousands of fans, thanks to a $20 million, three-phase renovation financed by Cincinnati Tennis LLC and Tennis for Charity, Inc.
Flory, the namesake of the 52,000-square foot Paul Flory Player Center, played a significant role in the progression. The tournament blazed trails with a players’ pension fund in 1983 and outfitted entrants with cars and other amenities for the duration of competition. “People think tennis players lead glamorous lives and if you’re (Rafael) Nadal and Federer, you do maybe. But for many it’s a hard life,” Bruening said. “When they came to Cincinnati, (Flory) wanted them to be treated like family, to make their stay as easy as possible.”
In 2003, Cincinnati Tennis LLC reached a milestone by purchasing a Tier III women’s event. The WTA upgraded it to a prestigious Premier Five tournament in 2009, bringing to town standouts like Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters.
Because of the strides of Flory and his colleagues, many of the men’s greats – John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic – have also played in Cincinnati.
Flory was the sole tournament director from 1975 to 1997. He maintained a prominent role when Bruce Flory assumed director duties from 1998 to 2010 and Vince Cicero took over in 2011.
Paul Flory remained tournament chairman until his death.
Under his guidance, the tourney raised millions for local charities. Flory was always quick to credit those around him, from those at Cincinnati Tennis LLC to the tournament’s 1,400 volunteers.
His kindness easily won over those around him, Bruening said.
“He had the best combination of being forceful and leading people and directing people, and doing it with such a gentle hand. I always said you could go into a meeting with Paul and leave with 10 assignments, but you’d feel really good about them,” Bruening said.
Born in Stanfordville, N.Y. on May 31, 1922, Flory grew up in Dayton and moved to Georgetown, Ohio when he was in high school. He graduated from Higgensport High, where he was All-Brown County in basketball.
Flory spent a year at Ohio University before transferring to Yale and graduating from the university.
After marrying Carolyn Nelson in 1952 – the beginning of a 54-year union that lasted until her 2006 death – the one-time Naval navigator his wife had three children (Susan Dean, Ann Flory and Bruce Flory).
Flory is survived by his children, son-in-law Richard Dean, grandchildren Richie Dean (Elizabeth), Peter Dean (Kim), Emily Dean Kriz (Nick) and Blaire Elizabeth Flory, as well as great-grandchildren Jonathan and Susie Dean.
Flory was hired by Procter & Gamble in 1947 and worked closely with the dental field. He retired in 1986 but continued to propel the tennis tournament.
He just loved the sport, Bruce Flory said, in part because Paul’s older brother – also named Bruce – adored it, and Paul adored his brother. Although Paul Flory “wasn’t a great tennis player,” Bruce Flory said he enjoyed trying different strokes and analyzing the game.
And as the W&S Open evolved, Paul Flory never rested on his laurels.
“With him it was always the journey,” Bruce Flory said. “He loved it so much, it was never like, ‘Hey, we’re done.’ He wante
Australia on Saturday swept to an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Taiwan in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania zone tie in Kaohsiung.
The dominant combination of Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione humbled the Taiwanese to win the doubles rubber in straight sets.
The pair took their Cup record to 8-0 when they overcame the Taiwanese pair of Hsien Yin Peng and Hsin-Han Lee 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-2.
Australia took a 2-0 lead into the second day after singles wins by Hewitt and Matthew Ebden.
Davis Cup coach Pat Rafter said the doubles clash had been difficult at first with the Taiwan duo playing an unorthodox style.
''It took a while for our guys to find their game plan - also the courts are so quick,'' Rafter said.
''But once Lleyton and Gooch got in the match, they were too good and the other guys couldn't keep up for that period of time.
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''Our guys didn't actually face a break point in the whole match so that was great.''
Rafter said that despite being favourites, he was wary of the conditions and the opposition, who he expected to play above their world rankings of around 200.
''We were a bit nervous going in. You always get a bit tight going in because you're not sure how they're going to play.
''They can come out blasting because Davis Cup does different things to players.
''But our guys were right on and the others were outclassed which was what I was hoping for.''
Ebden and Marinko Matosevic will line up in the reverse singles on Sunday.
Matosevic is back in the team after being dropped for the tie last year against Germany due to disciplinary reasons.
''It is good for him - even though it's a dead rubber, he still has the pressure of representing your country,'' Rafter said.
''This will be another great stepping stone in his development.''
Aussies crush Taiwan in Davis Cup | Tennis | Fox Sports
The New Zealand Davis Cup team wrapped up its Asia/Oceania Group II first round tie versus Lebanon at the Albany Tennis Park, with only nine games in total against them on the scoreboard after the reverse singles took less than an hour each.
Played out with a 'blink and miss it' efficiency the two reverse singles by Dan King-Turner and Artem Sitak on the final day of the tie showed the disparity between travelling professionals and part-time players with Kiwi team captain Alistair Hunt praising his side for not losing their way when it would have been easy just to cruise.
"It was a nice quick day. I think it's just good for the boys that they stayed focussed and did what they had to do and the scoreline shows that sort of stuff and that's a positive from our point of view," said Hunt.
"They have worked well all week and made the most of the matches."
King-Turner beat Lebanon No. 3 Ibrahim Abou Chahine 6-0 6-1 in 45 minutes while Artem Sitak dispatched the Lebanon No. 2 Michael Massih 38 minutes 6-0 6-0 in what was a record for the least number of games conceded overall for the New Zealand team in a Davis Cup victory.
New Zealand will now play either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in April. The final of Group II will be held in September with Thailand or Philippines the likely team to come through in the bottom half of the draw.
"We've just got to sit down now when we find out when and where we're playing and who we're playing. And map out a good schedule for guys in the team and go from there see where everyone is," said Hunt.
"This next tie is all about winning and we've got to get the best team on the park and go from there. We'll just move on and try and go bigger and better for next time."
The United States was in trouble when Sam Querrey began his Davis Cup match against Thiago Alves of Brazil on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.
A few booming serves later, the U.S. team was headed for the quarterfinals.
Querrey beat Alves 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to give the United States a dramatic 3-2 victory over Brazil in the best-of-five, first-round competition. John Isner of the United States lost to Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-3 to force a deciding fifth match.
"I was very happy with the way I battled through (the match)," Querrey said. "I fought through the tough points and got breaks in the second, third and fourth sets."
It was the first time since 2000 a U.S. team needed to win the fifth match to advance. Querrey is ranked 20th in the world; Alves is No. 141.
The United States next will host Serbia — which features top-ranked player Novak Djokovic — from April 5 to April 7 in Boise, Idaho.
Meanwhile, Canada beat short-handed Spain 3-2 in Vancouver, B.C., to reach the Davis Cup quarterfinals for the first time. Five-time champion Spain didn't have several highly ranked players available because of injuries and/or fatigue.
Nadal cuts ties with IMG
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal, a winner of 11 major singles titles, let his contract with management agency IMG Worldwide expire Dec. 31.
Nadal, 26, "wanted to set up his own company," Fernando Soler, head of tennis at New York-based IMG, said. Nadal, recovering from an injury, is expected to return to action this week.
Olympic champion Andy Murray is demanding more blood testing in tennis to avoid the kind of damaging doping scandals that continue to plague cycling.
World number three Murray, runner-up at last month's Australian Open to Novak Djokovic, feels the sport's authorities need to invest more heavily in anti-doping programmes, even if it means siphoning funds from players' prize money.
"I've been asked a lot lately if tennis is clean or not but I don't know how you judge if a sport is clean," Murray told reporters on Monday at Queen's Club in west London.
"If one in 100 players is doping, in my eyes that isn't a clean sport. We need to do everything we can to ensure that everone competing at the highest level and below is clean.
"That comes with biologoical passports and more blood testing. I know the training that I do and I know what goes in and out of my body and I know from my side that I'm clean and I hope that's the same for all tennis players."
Doping in sport has come under close scrutiny following the Lance Armstrong scandal. The American cyclist was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles last year following an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Last month Armstrong admitted he had taken banned substances during all seven of his Tour wins.
Murray's comments come after 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer said last year that the number of out of competition blood tests carried out in tennis had declined. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) runs the doping programme in tennis but the 2013 budget of $2 million, paid for by the four grand slams, the ITF and the men's and women's Tours, is dwarfed by the prize money available to top players.
"There needs to be more blood testing," Murray said.
"Last year I got tested a lot especially during the French Open and Wimbledon and through to the US Open but I think a lot of that was due to the Olympics.
"The only way we can improve the testing procedures is to have more blood testing. We need to spend money to do that but in the long term I think it would be worth it because more would come to watch sport, rather than just reading about doping scandals or match fixing every week.
"I don't know how much the ITF and ATP put money into drug testing but if it comes down to cost, if it means taking some from the players' earnings then that's what we have to do.
"Tennis needs to look closely after what happened with the Lance Armstrong situation. We don't want that happening. For my sport that would be terrible."
Murray's concerns come after the latest statistics for anti-doping in tennis, for the 2011 season, found that of the 2,150 tests undertaken, only 131 were blood tests and only 21 were out of competition.
Their first round doubles match out on court 11 lasted 1 hour 14 minutes and was played in 37 degree heat, which resulted in one ball kid fainting and having to be replaced just before the end.
The match started with three games going against the serve before Peschke was able to hold hers.
In the 10th game, with Groenefeld serving, there were three break points to the New Zealand/Guernsey combo before the opposition took the set and it all went rapidly downhill from there.
The second set can only be described as ugly.
From the moment Watson dropped serve in the first game, to when Erakovic framed a return over her head on match point, they were never in the contest, while playing without pressure Groenefeld and Peschke steamrolled through every game.
Erakovicwill play at the WTA tournament in Pattaya City the week before she plays in the Fed Cup, playing for New Zealand in Kazakhstan with Emily Fanning, Emma Hayman and Abigail Guthrie from February 4-10.