Week gone by July 25th - Mardy Fish kicks off US Open series with title

The build up to the the year's final Grand Slam got off to a fairly quiet start this week with the first of the US Open series events in Atlanta, even as some of the ATP pros chose to play the now-downgraded Hamburg clay court event while the women had a stop in unheard-of Baku, Azerbaijan.

American Mardy Fish kicked off his summer campaign with his first title of the year in Atlanta. Fish saved two matchpoints to beat big serving John Isner 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 in a repeat of the 2010 Atlanta final which Fish had also won. The title was Fish’s sixth overall in 18 final appearances, and it’s the first time he’s successfully defended a championship - putting him as the leading American man to watch out for in New York.

Isner’s loss snapped his eight match winning streak – he won his second career title two weeks ago at the Campbell’s Hall Of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. Isner is now 2-5 in ATP World Tour finals; all of his losses have come to his American peers - Fish, Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey.

19 year old American teenager Ryan Harrison reached the semis in Atlanta and broke into the top 100 of the rankings for the first time while India's Somdev Devvarman won 2 matches and reached the quarter-finals before losing to Fish, earning enough points to reach a new career-high ranking of no. 62.

In Hamburg, once the home of a Masters series event but now only an ATP 500 tournament, France's Giles Simon won his second title of the year with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Almagro. Simon will rise to no. 11 in the rankings after beginning the year at no. 44.

On the women's tour, world no. 3 Vera Zvonareva beat 20 year old left handed Ksenia Pervak 6-1, 6-4 to win the inaugural Baku Cup - her second title of 2011 and the 12th of her career.

The US Open series continues this week with Fish, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marcos Baghdatis and Thomaz Bellucci playing in Los Angeles, while the women kick off their series with simultaneous events in Stanford and College Park. Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams headline the field in Stanford while Shahar Peer, Nadia Petrova, Jelena Dokic and Sania Mirza (up two spots to no. 62 in the new rankings although she was inactive last week) will be in College Park. There was also news of withdrawals by Kim Clijsters and Petra Kvitova from next week's event in San Deigo - continuing the frustrating wait for a fully fit WTA top echelon.

On the other hand, Almagro, Stanislas Wawrinka, Mikhail Youzhny, and Fernando Verdasco lead the field in Gstaad, preffering to play on the European clay rather than get to the American hardcourts earlier - continuing the frustrating wait for a more logical tennis calendar.

Week Gone by - 18th July

Here is the first of what will hopefully be a regular weekly recap of the major tennis stories in the last 7 days.

The big story this past week was the revelation from Russian tennis player Alisa Kleybanova that she is suffering from cancer - Stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Russian chose her 22nd birthday to make the news public. Currently ranked 28th in the world, Kleybanova was ranked as high as no. 20 earlier this year but has not played since May when she had complained of feeling lethargic. She is currently recuperating in Italy and in a statement released on the WTA site, Kleybanova said if her treatment goes well, there is a possibility she would return to tennis. The hard-hitting Russian, who has often been criticized for her large frame, can take inspiration from Corina Morariu. The American recovered from leukaemia to return to tennis and also reached the Australian Open doubles final in her comeback. Here is hoping Kleybanova a speedy recovery and all the best in the toughest match of her life yet.

On the court, former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero won his 16th career title at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Pablo Andujar. 31 year old Ferrero was playing only his third event of 2011 (and his first since May) and showed he is still capable of competing near the top.

In Bastad, world no. 5 Robin Soderling won the Swedish Open - his fourth title of the year - but the Swede desperately needs a strong performance at the US Open to salvage an otherwise disappointing Grand Slam season. And Feliciano Lopez, surprisingly choosing to play a Challenger event, won the ATP Challenger title in Bogota.

On the women's tour, with most of the top names on the sidelines, two Spanish veterans picked up clay court titles. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez won the title in Bad Gastein over local hope Patricia Mayr - her first in 2011 and fourth career title - while in Palermo, Anabel Medina Garrigues ended the 9 match-winning streak of Slovenia's Polona Hercog (a player to watch out for) for her 10th career clay court title - the most among active WTA players.

The US Open summer hardcourt stretch kicks off this week in Atlanta for the men and next week for the women as the countdown to the year's final major heats up. And finally, things have cooled off between Czech tennis couple Thomas Berdych and Lucie Safarova. In her blog, Swedish player Sofia Arvidsson wrote that Safarova told her the two are no longer together. That blog has since been pulled down from the world wide web. Just as I decide to put this one up.

India to play Japan in September for Davis Cup World Group spot

The draw for the Davis Cup World Group play-off ties were announced yesterday and while India avoided the dangerous Australians and Italians, they still face a tricky away encounter against long-time Asian rivals Japan in the 16th-18th September tie. The winner will qualify for the elite 16 nation World Group in 2012.

The Japanese are likely to choose a fast hardcourt surface (most likely indoors) for the tie and will be hoping to qualify for the elite World Group for the first time since 1985. Their chances look bright as the Japanese boast of 4 players in the top 200 world rankings. By contrast, India will rely heavily on 63rd ranked Somdev Devvarman. The next highest ranked Indian is Vishnu Vardhan, down at no. 320.

Assuming both are fit and available, the match between the top two ranked players, Kei Nishikori and Somdev Devvarman, will be the crucial one in determining the outcome of the tie. The two are good friends and also played doubles together at Wimbledon earlier this year.

21 year old Nishikori has been labelled a prodigious talent ever since he won his first ATP title in 2008 and is currently being coached by Bard Gilbert. After falling off the rankings due to surgery on his right elbow in August 2009, the Japanese player has risen back to the top 50 on the back of a runners-up finish in Houston and semi-finals in Delray Beach and Eastbourne in 2011.

On the other hand, Devvarman is having his most successful season yet, climbing from outside the top 100 in January to reaching no. 63 in the rankings last week. Both play a similar game, preferring to grind their opponents in a war of attrition from the back of the court but Nishikori does play a more powerful game than the Indian, which will hold him in good stead on the fast surface the Japanese choose.

Nishikori and Devvarman should be expected to win their singles matches against the respective no. 2 players of the opposing teams and India can be assured of the doubles point with the presence of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna - all ranked in the world's top 10 doubles rankings.

Should Nishikori win the crucial match against Devvarman, India might still have a chance to salvage the tie in the deciding fifth rubber between the no. 2 singles players of both nations.

Japan's no. 2 Tatsuma Ito is a 23 year old ranked no. 110 in the world who has been mostly playing the ATP Challenger circuit. India's no. 2 singles player is Vishnu Vardhan, ranked 320 but he is unlikely to get the calling with the Indians most likely to fall back on Rohan Bopanna as the second singles player.

Bofors, as he is nicknamed, is only a part time singles player and not even ranked among the top 500 in the world but his experience and big serve means he will have the advantage over Vardhan or the young but inconsistent Yuki Bhambri. Bopanna played a crucial role for the Indians in last year's relegation playoff tie against Brazil where he beat world no. 75 Ricardo Mello in five sets in the deciding fifth rubber.

India have won 18 of their 21 Davis Cup ties against Japan (18 of their last 19) but in Nishikori, the Japanese might finally have the necessary ingredient to a wining formula.

Michelle Obama cheers Leander Paes on in World Team Tennis

(Picture - First Lady Michelle Obama cheers Leander Paes on)

On Thursday, Serena Williams won her first match on US soil since 2009, leading the Washington Kastles to a 25-10 victory over the Boston Lobsters in World Team Tennis.

Former world No. 1 Williams, who partnered with Rennae Stubbs and Leander Paes during the tie, was participating in her first match in the U.S. since the 2009 U.S. Open.

Williams and Stubbs opened the first set with a 5-2 win over Coco Vandeweghe and Mashona Washington. In the second set, Paes and Bobby Reynolds beat Eric Butorac and Jan-Michael Gambill, 5-1.Reynolds then prevailed over Gambill, 5-2.

In the fourth set, Williams and Paes teamed up to take the win, 5-1, over Vandeweghe and Butorac. Williams wrapped up the tie by winning the women’s singles set, defeating Vandeweghe, 5-4, for a total of 25-10.

The victory marked the first for Williams on U.S. soil since 2009, when she lost to Kim Clijsters in the U.S. Open semifinals on a point penalty on match point.

A series of injuries had sidelined Williams for nearly a year, before she recently made her return to competition in Eastbourne, a Wimbledon warm-up event, and then reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Michelle Obama and her two daughters were in attendance at the match.

Source: www.10balls.com

Federer's strange Davis Cup quest

The Davis Cup was once the most prized trophy in all of tennis. In recent years, the top players have not supported the annual team competition whole-heartedly, diminishing its prestige in the tennis firmament.

The world's top two men ranked players, however, both hold the team competition close to their heart. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have made themselves available for Davis Cup duty at every opportunity over the past few years and both have experienced the thrill of winning the team competition in recent times.

For all the records that he holds and the titles that he has amassed, the one glaring absence in Roger Federer's resume is the lack of a Davis Cup title. Federer has often cited the demanding schedule of the Davis Cup as one of the reasons he has not played more often for Switzerland in the annual team competition - instead choosing to focus on individual Grand Slam glory.

With an able supporting member in Stanislaus Wawrinka, the Swiss could be a tough team to beat (Federer and Wawrinka are the reigning Olympic doubles champions) but Federer has not made himself available for Davis Cup duty when the Swiss have qualified for the World Group in recent years.

This weekend, Federer will play for his country in a relegation tie against Portugal. If the Swiss win, they will move into the World Group play-off tie in September - and if they win that, the Swiss will qualify for the elite 16 nation World Group in 2012.

But if the Swiss reach there, don't expect Federer to don the Swiss uniform in early 2012 (an Olympic year) for the first round of the World Group. The last time Federer played for Switzerland in a World Group tie was in 2004.

In 2005, Federer did not play in the World Group first round which the Swiss went on to lose. Federer then showed up for the relegation play off and helped the Swiss retain their place in the World Group.

The same pattern has been repeated every year since - except for 2010 where Federer did not play at all.

One has to wonder about Federer's logic of helping the Swiss qualify for the World Group but not helping them get further. Now at the age of 30 and being challenged to remain relevant in a season dominated by Djokovic and Nadal, Federer's best chance of winning the team competition maybe behind him.

For a man who loves tennis history, Federer's lack of reverence towards tennis' most historic event is surprising to say the least.

Picture - From www.daylife.com

Sania Mirza on the verge of doubles top 10 ranking

India's Sania Mirza has climbed to a new career-high ranking of no. 11 in the world doubles rankings, putting her one spot away from the top 10.

Mirza climbed three places to no. 11 in the rankings for the week of 4th July after reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon with Russian partner Elena Vesnina. Vesnina is currently ranked no. 10 in the doubles rankings.

The Mirza/ Vesnina are currently second in the team rankings, only behind newly crowned Wimbledon champions Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. The Indian only has a little over 300 doubles rankings points to defend until the US Open, where she lost in the first round in 2010. Barring any injury, she is almost certain to reach the top 10 in the next few weeks.

In the singles rankings, Mirza is down three spots to no. 63 in the rankings. Making a big move up the rankings is 18 year old Prerna Bhambri. The cousin of Yuki Bhambri jumps from no. 854 to no. 664 in the world rankings after points for winning the ITF title in New Delhi last weekend got added to her tally.

Prerna is now the fourth-highest ranked Indian woman in the WTA rankings - behing Mirza, Poojashree Venkatesha (current rank no. 615) and veteran Rushmi Chakravarti (current rank no. 634). Prerna needs only 8 more rankings points to get past Venkatesha and Chakravarti to become the second highest ranked Indian behind Sania.

Picture from www.daylife.com

Somdev climbs to a new career-high ranking

India's top-ranked men's singles player Somdev Devvarman reached another new career-high ranking of no. 63 in the latest ATP rankings after reaching the second round of Wimbledon for the first timein his career. Devvarman started 2011 outside the top 100 and has been scaling new peaks in the rankings on a monthly basis in 2011. In another notable move, 16 year olf Ramkumar Ramanathan who has been grinding his way on the European futures circuit is up 64 positions to no. 957 in the world.

Here is a look at the top 5 Indians in the ATP rankings for the week ending 4th July.



Rank-Name-Points-Position Moved-Tournaments Played
63-Devvarman, Somdev-764-5-28
316-Vardhan, Vishnu-137-3-19
347-Rastogi, Karan-118-(3)-9
407-Bhambri, Yuki-91-(4)-20
486-Gajjar, Rohan-64-(12)-14

In the individual ATP doublea rankings, Mahesh Bhupathi holds on to the no. 5 position, Leander Paes climbs three positions to no. 8, Aisam-Ul-Huq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna drop one spot to no. 9 and no. 10 respectively.

In the ATP doubles team rankings, Paes-Bhupathi are down one spot to no. 4 behind the Bryan brothers, Nestor/ Mirnyi and Llodra/ Ziminjic while Bopanna/ Qureshi drop one spot to no. 6.