Tennis

Top seed Vesna Dolonc was a surprise casualty as she crashed out in the first round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg in straight sets to Shelby Rogers.

Great Britain's Elena Baltacha made a winning return to the WTA Tour following injury as she reached the second round of the Brussels Open.

Before the start of today's Division I semifinals, I wanted to post on a few other items of interest. First of all, if you are interested in more on the tournament, the local newspaper, The... For the complete story, click on the title of the post to go to zootennis.com

Okay, so the men’s final in Rome was an avert-your-eyes blowout in which Rafael Nadal razed the game of Roger Federer. I’m still giving them a joint thumbs up because these two just don’t seem to quit, and no matter how often Nadal knocks out Federer (since 2008, the Spaniard leads 12-4), the Swiss all-time Grand Slam champion just keeps on getting up and coming back for more. Meanwhile, contenders and pretenders come and go, full of grand ambitions, good intentions, slick moves and—ultimately—excuses. Starting in 2015, ESPN will be taking tennis into a world that was idle fantasy as recently as 1998, the year Federer won the Orange Bowl junior title. That is, an environment where the sport is presented on multiple platforms (broadcast and digital), a promised land so long sought by fans in this remarkably diverse, global game—a place where you, Mr. or Ms. Fan, will be able to watch any singles match that takes place at the U.S. Open, live. This deal is a milestone not just for tennis, but mega-sporting events (e.g., the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, the Daytona 500) in general. And it doesn’t hurt that with a financial commitment of $770 million for an 11-year deal, the annual broadcast-rights income of the U.S. Open will basically double over the present payout. Ernests Gulbis is at it again. The wacky Latvian blew a big lead over Nadal in the quarterfinals of Rome, eventually losing, 6-4 in the third. Afterward, he once again uttered what is becoming a familiar lament: “I thought I was the better player in the match, and also in the second and third sets (which Nadal won). . . He is solid and he didn’t do anything special and I made mistakes so he won.” Nadal took the high road, as he usually does in such matters, although he did get it in a pretty good line without actually criticizing Gulbis: “If you hit as hard as you can, and hit every ball at 216 (kilometers per hour) or 220 and then that means being the best player then perhaps he was the best player.” Ernie: If you make mistakes, dude, the other guy wins. And that means he was the better player. Get it? The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s tennis team, which will play top-ranked UCLA today in the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, the Buckeyes shocked four-time defending champion USC—a reign that began when the Trojans beat the Buckeyes in the 2009 final. The hero on Saturday was Peter Kobelt, who clinched for OSU after having lost the decisive match in similar situations twice in the past. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the Buckeyes rushed onto court to swarm Koblet when he clinched, so excited that doubles player Devin ran out of his shoes—literally. I’m going to have to see if we have that on video. . . Serena Williams seems hellbent on dousing all this talk about Maria Sharapova having become the “Queen of Clay.” Last week she beat Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final in Madrid, with the No. 1 ranking as well as the title on the line. This week she beat world No. 3 Victoria Azarenka—her immediate predecessor at No. 1—6-1, 6-3 in the final in Rome. Wasn’t it mere weeks ago that everyone was taking pains to point out that Serena hadn’t won a title on red clay since Roland Garros in 2002? What difference does it make? Serena has been producing Nadal-like scores, while not exactly playing a Nadal-esque game. And that spells trouble for her rivals starting next week at the second Grand Slam of the year. Serena rides a 24-match win streak into Paris, and she’s 33-1 on clay since the start of last year—that one loss a shocking first-round upset inflicted on her at the French Open. “Last year I was feeling excellent on clay but didn't do that great at Roland Garros," she said. "This year I'm cautious and I want to work hard and stay focused and win every point I play, and not slack at all."

Wimbledon now Murray’s Priority Andy Murray will prioritise Wimbledon over the French Open after the world number two withdrew from Rome in agony just a fortnight before the start of the clay Slam. The Scot, celebrating his 26th birthday, drew level on sets with Marcel Granollers in his first match of the Italian Open but immediately withdrew following a successful tiebreak, citing back pains. According to mother, Judy, Murray is likely to switch his focus to the grass season now that clay is effectively over for him. “Obviously, the goal is to be in peak condition for Wimbledon,” said Judy. “Often you pick up niggles when you change surfaces. Each surface brings its own problems and challenges. This back issue has been rumbling for a week or so.” Indeed, the French Open is now too close to consider playing at full fitness and there is still no idea when Andy Murray will recover from this fresh hurt. Therefore, he would be wise to withdraw from Roland Garros altogether and instead channel his energies into Wimbledon. One of the early favourites in the Wimbledon betting, Murray has a tough road ahead if he is to go one better than last year’s final defeat and lift the famous trophy on Centre Court. First, he must recover sufficiently to start training on grass before a testing tournament at Queens Club. If this disastrous clay season has taught him anything, it is that switching surfaces takes time and the dedication Murray puts in to practising on hard over the winter does leave him vulnerable to softer conditions. If he does play Roland Garros, he may further strain his back for no real purpose. He has no chance of beating Rafael Nadal to the title while both David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic look likely to pose a threat in the semis, so Murray is better off leaving the clay courts and taking a rest before grass.

When it came to the rivalry with Nadal, Federer's saving statistic for years was his fast(ish)-court performance.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal sealed his seventh Rome Masters title on Sunday by routing Swiss superstar Roger Federer in dominating fashion – sealing the victory with a 6-1, 6-3 score. By winning the Rome Masters title, Nadal acquired his 24th career ATP Masters 1000 title, an all-time record (Federer comes in second place with 21). This The post Rafael Nadal clinches 24th ATP Masters title, beats Federer to win Rome title appeared first on Tennis Guru.

World number one Serena Williams has distanced herself from the rest of the field once again after sealing the prestigious Internazionali BNL d’Italia or Italian Open for the second time in her career on Sunday with an impressive win against number three Victoria Azarenka. This is the American’s 51st career WTA title. The top seed The post Serena Williams blasts past Azarenka to win Italian Open 2013 title appeared first on Tennis Guru.

Success on clay has remained a bit beyond Caroline Wozniacki’s reach so far. One Premier tournament and one International tournament complete the Road to Roland Garros within striking distance of Paris.  None of the women involved are in serious contention for the clay season’s ultimate prize, but the absence of those elite names could lead to some tightly contested matches in playing fields without clear favorites.  I forwent predictions this time because your guess is as good as mine.  (Feel free to opine in the comments, as always.) Brussels: Top half:  Seven of the Brussels seeds will receive seeds in Paris next week, a strong statement considering the tournament’s placement on the eve of Roland Garros.  In need of a strong statement herself is top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who took a wildcard into the tournament following opening-round losses in Madrid and Rome.  Wozniacki has struggled on clay for most of her career but should aim to halt her skid before dropping outside the top ten.  Unfortunately for her, recurrent nemesis Julia Goerges lurks in the quarterfinals.  This German notably defeated Wozniacki to win the Stuttgart clay title two years ago, and she has added two more victories over the Dane since then.  Since she has impressed hardly more than Wozniacki has recently, though, one can’t entirely discount Swiss clay specialist Romina Oprandi or the qualifiers who litter this section. None of the women in the second quarter has distinguished herself consistently on clay, although Arantxa Rus does own a Roland Garros victory over Kim Clijsters.  Having reached the second week of Roland Garros last year, the fourth-seeded Sloane Stephens looks to build upon her modestly encouraging effort in Rome.  There, Stephens won consecutive matches for the first time since defeating Serena Williams at the Australian Open.  Her depleted confidence resurfaced in a lopsided loss to Maria Sharapova, but a small tournament like Brussels offers a useful venue to rebuild that strength.  With fast-court specialists like Tsvetana Pironkova and Magdalena Rybarikova around her, Stephens might face her stiffest resistance from Peng Shuai.  The Chinese double-fister won their only previous meeting, also on clay, but Stephens has improved markedly in the two years since then. Bottom half:  By far the most intriguing first-round match of the draw pits third-seeded Dominika Cibulkova against Kaia Kanepi.  This battle of 2012 Roland Garros quarterfinalists will feature a contrast of styles between the compact, agile Slovak and the robust, heavy-hitting Estonian.  Never have they met on clay, while Kanepi has won two of three matches overall.  Of some lesser note is a potential second-round clash between Varvara Lepchenko and Stefanie Voegele.  The American upset Schiavone at Roland Garros last year and has continued the clay success atypical among her compatriots this year with two victories over Roberta Vinci.  For her part, Voegele reached the semifinals of Charleston on green clay, although she has won only one match on red clay.   Kanepi defeated Lepchenko last fall before the injuries that sidelined her for several months, so an upset of Cibulkova could open her draw. Probably disappointing many Belgian fans, their two leading women would meet as early as the second round in their home tournament.  Both have achieved more success on grass and hard courts than on clay, and both open against rising American stars.  Having upset Li Na in Madrid as a lucky loser, Madison Keys will aim to snuff out home hope Kirsten Flipkens in a match of baseline first strikes against all-court craft.  Belgian No. 2 Yanina Wickmayer faces a somewhat easier assignment in the form of Jamie Hampton, who has not won a match in a clay main draw this year.  Awaiting one of the Belgians in the quarterfinals is second-seeded Roberta Vinci, an artisan of traditional clay-court tennis.  Vinci has not found her best form for much of the spring but did win a small

"It didn't go how I hoped and I was missing too many easy forehands and crucial points," Federer said. "He does an incredible job returning from the back of the court and it is hard because he covers the court so well."