Shanghai Open Thread

Reuters

Nikolay Davydenko of Russia waits for the final result of his men's singles final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain after Nadal challenged the line man at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament October 18, 2009.

Sunday, October 17

Singles - Final
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [1] R Nadal (ESP) 76(3) 63

Doubles - Final
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d [6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 62 64

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Reuters

Feliciano Lopez of Spain reacts as he removes his sock to receive medical treatment before retiring from his semifinal match against compatriot Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament October 17, 2009.

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Never seen anything like this. A retirement a day keeps the trainers in play.

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Singles - Semifinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d F Lopez (ESP) 61 30 ret. (right ankle)
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 46 64 76(1)

Doubles - Semifinals
[6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) 61 64

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Reuters

Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia gets medical treatment during the second set of his quarterfinal match with Rafael Nadal of Spain at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai October 16, 2009. Ljubicic quit the match after the second set. Another day, another retirement.

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Singles - Quarterfinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d I Ljubicic (CRO) 36 63 ret. (left hip)
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [8] G Simon (FRA) 63 26 62
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [13] R Stepanek (CZE) 61 46 61
F Lopez (ESP) d [9] R Soderling (SWE) 76(4) 63

Doubles - Semifinals
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d [3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 76(2) 62

Doubles - Quarterfinals
J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) d [5] W Moodie (RSA) / D Norman (BEL) 46 76(6) 10-6

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AP

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland receives medical treatment during his singles third round match against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at Qizhong Stadium Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in Shanghai, China.

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Singles - Third Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [14] T Robredo (ESP) 61 64
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] R Schuettler (GER) 64 62
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d [5] J Tsonga (FRA) 63 63
[8] G Simon (FRA) d T Berdych (CZE) 63 64
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [10] F Gonzalez (CHI) 63 75
I Ljubicic (CRO) d [11] G Monfils (FRA) 62 30 ret. (back)
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d S Wawrinka (SUI) 36 76(5) 42 ret. (abdominal strain)
F Lopez (ESP) d J Melzer (AUT) 57 76(3) 61

Singles - Quarterfinals
[6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 61 57 10-8
[3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d [8] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) 46 63 10-5
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 36 64 10-7

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Getty

James Blake of the United States returns a shot to Rafael Nadal of Spain during the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 14, 2009 in Shanghai, China.

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Wednesday, October 14

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d J Blake (USA) 62 67(4) 64
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] F Fognini (ITA) 63 61
J Melzer (AUT) d [3] J Del Potro (ARG) 75 21 ret. (right wrist)
[5] J Tsonga (FRA) d [WC] S Zeng (CHN) 63 63
I Ljubicic (CRO) d [7] F Verdasco (ESP) 64 76(6)
[8] G Simon (FRA) d V Troicki (SRB) 63 64
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d N Almagro (ESP) 64 75
[11] G Monfils (FRA) d L Hewitt (AUS) 46 64 62
[14] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] F Mayer (GER) 46 76(10) 64 - Saved 3 M.P.
[Q] R Schuettler (GER) d [15] T Haas (GER) 64 ret. (right shoulder)
F Lopez (ESP) d [16] D Ferrer (ESP) 46 75 61
T Berdych (CZE) d [WC] M Safin (RUS) 36 64 64

Doubles - Second Round
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d [1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 64 64
[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) 63 62
[3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d T Parrott (USA) / F Polasek (SVK) 75 36 10-4
J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) d [4] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) 57 63 10-7
[5] W Moodie (RSA) / D Norman (BEL) d F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) walkover (Verdasco knee)
[6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Petzschner (GER) 62 76(3)
F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d [7] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 57 63 10-5
[8] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d B Becker (GER) / T Haas (GER) walkover (Haas - right shoulder)


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Getty

Paul-Henri Mathieu of France returns a shot to his compatriot Gael Monfils on day three of 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre in Shanghai.


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Tuesday, October 13

Singles - Second Round
S Wawrinka (SUI) d [4] A Roddick (USA) 34 Retired (left knee)
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d I Kunitsyn (RUS) 64 62
[10] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] T Bellucci (BRA) 63 64
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d A Beck (GER) 75 64

Singles - First Round
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d V Hanescu (ROU) 63 64
[11] G Monfils (FRA) d P Mathieu (FRA) 62 62
T Berdych (CZE) d [12] M Cilic (CRO) 76(8) 36 64
[15] T Haas (GER) d B Becker (GER) 76(5) 64
L Hewitt (AUS) d J Isner (USA) 62 64
I Ljubicic (CRO) d J Benneteau (FRA) 63 36 61
J Melzer (AUT) d J Chardy (FRA) 64 64
N Almagro (ESP) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 67(2) 61 76(6)
V Troicki (SRB) d J Monaco (ARG) 61 62

Doubles - First Round
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d M Llodra (FRA) / R Stepanek (CZE) 75 75
T Parrott (USA) / F Polasek (SVK) d J Blake (USA) / J Isner (USA) 75 62
J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) d [WC] W Gao (CHN) / X Yu (CHN) 63 63
L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Petzschner (GER) d T Berdych (CZE) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) walkover (Kohlschreiber - right shoulder)

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Getty

Marat Safin of Russia picks up his racket during his match against Mao-Xin Gong of China during day two of 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre in Shanghai.

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Monday, October 12

Singles - First Round
[10] F Gonzalez (CHI) d M Zverev (GER) 75 67(0) 22 ret. (right wrist)
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d J Ferrero (ESP) 63 60
[14] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] M Llodra (FRA) 61 64
[16] D Ferrer (ESP) d R Gasquet (FRA) 64 63
J Blake (USA) d I Karlovic (CRO) 36 76(4) 63
[WC] M Safin (RUS) d [WC] M Gong (CHN) 64 64
S Wawrinka (SUI) [Q] L Kubot (POL) 26 76(5) 76(3)
[Q] F Mayer (GER) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 62
[Q] R Schuettler (GER) d M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 64 36 76(2)
[Q] F Fognini (ITA) d [WC] E Gulbis (LAT) 76(3) 63
[Q] T Bellucci (BRA) d [Q] M Chiudinelli (SUI) 76(3) 64

Doubles - First Round
S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Coetzee (RSA) / S Huss (AUS) 46 63 11-9
F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d M Damm (CZE) / R Lindstedt (SWE) 46 76(4) 11-9
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d J Monaco (ARG) / T Robredo (ESP) 75 76(5)
B Becker (GER) / T Haas (GER) d [WC] Z Li (CHN) / Y Wang (CHN) 76(5) 60

Face Of The Day

Getty

Mirka Federer applauds her husband Roger Federer of Switzerland following his victory against Paul-Henri Mathieu of France on day seven of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2009 in Paris, France.

Face(s) Of The Day

Getty

Serbian fans look on as Novak Djokovic of Serbia leaves the court following his match against Paul-Henri Mathieu of France during the Sydney International tennis tournament on January 15, 2009. Djokovic won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

Day 4: Personal History

He'd never won a five-set match. Which means he'd never come back from two sets to love down. But Paul-Henri Mathieu, the Frenchman who ended Gustavo Kuerten's love affair with Paris, moved into the third round today with a gallant 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 comeback against Spain's Oscar Hernandez in a match that lasted more than four hours.

Bravo.

Serena Williams fought off a feisty effort from France's Mathilde Johansson to advance 6-2, 7-5. How she managed to lose seven games is beyond me. No it's not. She was gagging like a strangle victim in the second set. She better close out these early-round matches with less drama if she intends to make a run at the title here.

Maria Sharapova got all she could handle from the teenage backboard named Evgeniya Rodina. In the deciding set, the Russian upstart didn't face a break point through the first 12 games, while Maria saved three. Too bad the youngster didn't know about injury timeouts. Clearly inhibited by some physical ailments late in the third set, she never called for the trainer even though one was "on-call" at courtside. Showing incredible poise in her first Slam match, I'd venture a guess that she pulls off this upset if she'd gotten the rubdown she so desperately needed. Or maybe that's just my bias talking. The way Mary Jo Fernandez and Pam Shriver and Mary Carillo and Dick Endberg were licking Maria's nether regions throughout the ESPN re-broadcast, some balance is required. Justine Henin's retirement leaves this one at the top of the rankings.

Pitiful.

Rafael Nadal must be pissed. He had to wait yet again for his first-round match to be completed while the women's matches scheduled in front of him went on and on and on, including the one I just mentioned. But he was calm and focused and relentless, as usual. He has to play a talented Frenchman tomorrow. Could be a fun time in front of all those French fans.

Speaking of which, where the hell are the fans? There are a lot of empty seats on all the show courts, even when the Frenchies are on the court. What's up with that?

Oh, yeah. American Wayne Odesnik won that winnable match I spoke of day before yesterday. He's the first American male into the third round since...James Blake.

Go figure.

Blake's Heroics Put US in the Lead

James Blake is the hero yet again. His gutsy victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 put the United States ahead of France 2-0 going into tomorrow's crucial doubles rubber. And his teammates were thrilled.

Despite a terrible migraine that caused me to leave the live action after the first set of second rubber, I followed the match on the Internet at the hotel.

Imagine that. Local television didn't even carry the tie and Versus wasn't available on the slate of channels in my room.

Too bad for the local tennis fans who couldn't be in the coliseum because it was some match. Great tennis. High drama. Amazing atmosphere. A few late-match collapses/comebacks that tested the nerves of the players and spectators alike. Two match points saved.

And Blake wins another five-setter to boot.

In the first rubber, Andy Roddick beat Michael Llodra in three highly competitive sets 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

Team USA's leader got the crowd off their feet when he broke Michael's serve to take a 5-4 lead in the first set. With fierce returns, scrambling court coverage, and excellent passing shots, Andy was so hyped, he practically demanded that the crowd get up and stay up.

Too bad I couldn't stay for all the day's excitement.