Weekend Open Thread

Getty

Members of the Indian Army, Engineer Corp, who are flag bearers at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium watching local tennis star Sania Mirza on centre court ahead of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 1, 2010 in Delhi, India.

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Hello, everyone. Life, as you might imagine, for a person running for public office with an election coming in four weeks (or, right now, since people can vote early in Maine), is pure chaos. Safe to say, I've managed to retain most of my sanity, and still make time to farm, harvest, and prepare food for winter storage, but that's about all.

Tennis? What's tennis?

I don't know who's back from injury, or who's out. So please, drop those links, engage in civil debate, and tell me what I'm missing.

Faces Of The Day

Reuters

India's tennis player Sania Mirza and her fiancee Sohrab Mirza pose for a picture during their engagement ceremony at a hotel in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad July 10, 2009. Mirza has become engaged to a business scholar from her hometown of Hyderabad but has no plans to retire from competitive tennis, domestic media reported on May 29.

Face Of The Day

AFP

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza is seen here addressing a press conference in Hyderabad on February 3, upon her return from Melbourne where she won the Australian Open mixed doubles title. India's chances of reaching the next stage of the Federation Cup however have been dealt a major blow with the late withdrawal of Mirza who cited a tear in abdominal muscle as the reason for pull-out.

Champions' Homecoming

AP

Indian tennis players, Mahesh Bhupathi, center left, and Sania Mirza, center right, arrive at Mumbai international airport in Mumbai, India, Monday. Feb. 2, 2009. The Indian pair won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open tennis championship.



AP
Yuki Bhambri, left, is seen with his mother Indu Bhambri as he comes out of his residence to talk to journalists in New Delhi, India, Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. Bhambri returned after winning the final of the boy's singles at the Australian Open tennis championship.

Quote For The Day

"I think my first ambition as a kid was to be a doctor. I felt that way for quite a while. As I got better at tennis, it became difficult for me to devote as much time as I would’ve liked to my books. I had to make a choice, and it wasn’t easy because I enjoyed academics. I was good at it." --Sania Mirza, upon receiving an honorary doctorate from the Dr MGR University in Chennai

Hopman Cup Day 4: India d. Australia

Session 6 - India 2 d Australia 1
Sania Mirza d Alicia Molik 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Rohan Bopanna lost to Peter Luczak 6-7, 3-6
Mirza/Bopanna d Molik/Luczak 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(13/11)

After a tense battle, India has won the mixed doubles over Australia to kick off the New Year at the Hyundai Hopman Cup and keep its final hopes alive.

India’s Sania Mirza proved too good for Alicia Molik in the opening singles match of 2008, winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Peter Luczak then won his first Hyundai Hopman Cup match over Rohan Bopanna 7-6, 6-3 to force the tie into the mixed doubles.

The teams shared the opening two sets, before India prevailed 13 points to11 in an exciting match tie-break. The win keeps India alive in the race for the final, but only if Australia beats the United States on Thursday.

America can go straight through to the final if it beats the Aussies, but if Molik and Luczak prevail, and India beats the Czech Republic, all three will be tied on wins and it will be left to the mathematicians.

After a dominant display in her opening match against Lucie Safarova, Molik came out struggling against Mirza, losing the first set 2-6.

The second set followed the same script, but Molik and Mirza exchanged roles. Molik regained some of her form from the opening night to take it 6-2.

Mirza quickly turned around the disappointing second set and looked on the way to victory in the third set racing to a 5-1 lead. She had match points in the seventh game, but Molik fought through it and subsequently won four straight games to get the score to 4-5.

However, Mirza still had the advantage of a service break and held on to take the match.

Luczak and Bopanna were both after their first Hyundai Hopman Cup win and began with a tough first set that went to a tie-breaker. Luczak proved too good, though, winning seven points to two.

Luczak had less trouble in the second set, playing some strong tennis to comfortably win 6-3 and ensure a live mixed doubles.

The undefeated run of India in the mixed doubles at the Hyundai Hopman Cup looked to continue with 6-2 win in the opening set. After Australia won the opening match after a seven-minute battle, Mirza and Bopanna raced through the rest of the set in only 20 minutes.

After gaining a break, India looked on its way to victory 4-2 up in the second set, but then Molik and Luczak responded to go to a 5-4 lead, then broke Bopanna’s serve to force a deciding match tie-break set.

Australia took the early advantage in the race to 10 points, or a two-point advantage, but it was back level at 8-8. Both teams kept battling it out, before India had a 12-11 lead and won the deciding point off Mirza’s serve.

The teams have a day’s break now, before playing Thursday’s day sessions, which will see the Group B finalist decided.

Source

Hopman Cup Day 1: USA d. India

Session 2 - Australia 2 d Czech Republic 1
* Alicia Molik d Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-2
* Peter Luczak lost to Tomas Berdych 6-7(7/9), 4-6
* Molik/Luczak d Safarova/Berdych 7-5, 6-3

Session 1 - USA 2 d India 1
* Meghann Shaughnessy d Sania Mirza 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
* Mardy Fish d Rohan Bopanna 6-2, 6-4
* Shaughnessy/Fish lost to Mirza/Bopanna 4-6, 4-6

Meghann Shaughnessy has proved the ideal one-day substitute for Serena Williams, helping the United States to its opening tie win over India at Hyundai Hopman Cup XX.

Both Shaughnessy and Mardy Fish had good wins over Indian pair Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the singles with Williams set to take her place against the Czech Republic on Monday.

Shaughnessy made a superb start dominating to take the first set and an early break in the second, before Mirza fought back to win the second and lead 3-1 in the third. Cramp then slowed Mirza to allow Shaughnessy to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

The American raced to a 4-0 lead before Mirza got on the board by breaking serve. Shaughnessy still maintained the advantage, though, and took the opening set 6-3.

Shaughnessy broke serve to begin the second set and go to a 2-0 lead, but then Mirza found form to win the next three games. The Indian then continued with the new found confidence to take out the second set 6-4 to force it into a third.

Mirza continued to capitalise on a high number of unforced errors from Shaughnessy in the third set to race out to a 3-1 lead.

She looked set to give India a winning start, but dropped five straight games to lose after suffering leg cramps.

Fish was rarely troubled by Bopanna in the men’s singles to win 6-2, 6-4 to secure the win for America to set up their Hyundai Hopman Cup week when Williams arrives.

The men’s match started with a 13-minute first game, after the eight-minute opening for the women, with Bopanna eventually holding serve after nine deuces.

Fish then took full toll of his better all round game to close out the first set 6-2. Fish capitalised on a break in Bopanna’s opening service game of the second set to win it 6-4.

After going undefeated in the doubles last year, the Indians again showed its prowess by claiming the first set 6-4 over the Americans.

It was the same score in the second set as the Indians remained undefeated in the doubles. The United Stated ended up winning the tie 2-1.

The USA continues its Hyundai Hopman Cup campaign on Monday against the Czech Republic, while India faces Australia on Tuesday.

Source

Will Monica Seles Return?

Eurosport - Monica Seles has revealed she is considering a comeback to the WTA Tour after watching Lindsay Davenport make a successful return since giving birth to a son in June.

Seles has not played since the French Open in 2003 when she was struggling with back and foot injuries. But the 34-year-old, who still plays regularly with former world number ones Jennifer Carpriati and Martina Navratilova,has never formally retired and is now eyeing a possible return to action in Miami next March.

"I still love to play. That has never lessened," Seles told the LA Times. "What Lindsay did was just so cool.

"And what I know now, I wish I had known then. Like stretching more before and after matches. You go out and win 6-3 6-1 and say that was easy and you wouldn't stretch.

Seles, who was ranked as world number one in 1991 and 1992, won her first major at Roland Garros in 1990 before going on to win seven of the next 11 Slams, despite not competing at Wimbledon in 1991.

But shortly after winning her third Australian Open title in 1993, Seles was stabbed in the back by Guenter Parche, a spectator who came down from the stands during her quarter final clash with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg. Seles did not play again until August 1995 and won only one more Grand Slam, in Australia in 1996.

"I guess I kind of had two tennis careers," Seles continued. "And now perhaps a third. I certainly would not ever be able to do a full schedule again, because of the foot.

"But I'm thinking about the Slams and about some of the better tournaments that lead into them. I won't decide for sure until the beginning of the year and the Australian is certainly not possible. But Miami. Maybe."

Source

Say it isn't so. I'd love to see the original Queen of Grunting take the court in a professional match before she hangs up her racquet for good.

In other news, Sania Mirza was booked for trespass in a mosque where she shot a commercial without permission.

The USTA announced today that La Jolla, Calif. has been selected as the site for the 2008 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal between the United States and Germany, Feb. 2-3. The matches will be played at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, which was the site of the first round tie of the 2006 Davis Cup in which the U.S. defeated Romania in front of a sold-out crowd. For more information, click here.

Comment of the Week: Asian Tennis

From Tuesday Tirade: Where's the (Asian) Tennis?

rabbit said...

As an asian (Indian), I have to say I strongly disagree with injecting unqualified players into tournaments because of their race.

That being said, I have been very disappointed in the rise of Asian players in the ATP and WTA. I'll speak about India, because I don't know about other asian countries. When Sania started winning some matches circa 2005, the media was also gushing about the other upcoming stars: Rohan Boppana, Prakash (and Stephen) Amritraj and Shikha Uberoi. None of them has panned out or has even come close to making a significant run in the singles circuit. Sania is the lone player carrying the banner for India. I wish her the best, but her attitude of not caring about consistency is rather worrying.

Popular Indian support for tennis is also limited for some reason. Sania Mirza is on the face of many billboards and TV advertisements. But I feel her popularity has less to do with tennis than the fact that she is on international TV. There are many sports-knowledgeable fans in India, but most are concerned with cricket and, to a lesser extent, football (or soccer). What really shocked me recently was a report from a cousin of mine in Kolkata about the Sunfeast Open. Just so you know, Calcuttans are supposed to be rabid sports fans. There is no better way to start a conversation with a Bengali than to utter the word "Ronaldinho". Many of my relatives in Kolkata are big tennis fans. In any case, I thought that given the population in Kolkata and the general sports-knowledge level of people, the Sunfeast Open would be packed. According to my cousin, though, it was so empty that you could walk up to the first row! Hell, in Kolkata, even the grocery store is elbow-room only! Supposedly after Sania decided to bow out, the mostly Russian players who remained failed to attract the attention of many people.

I realize that tennis is an expensive sport and requires a lot of capital. But, there's a large number of people in India who can afford to set up sports centers to encourage tennis play and financially support aspiring players. With a billion people, surely we can churn out 3 good players :) Recently, there's been an initiative by the Indian tennis federation to create a grand slam winner by the year 2020. That looks a dream far from being realizable now...

Tuesday Tirade: Where's the (Asian) Tennis?

Players attend the player's party during day two of the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships on October 2, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. From left: Venus Williams, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Sania Mirza, Lleyton Hewitt.

It's the post-US Open who's-playing-where-and-who-really-cares-about-tennis time of the year. Most casual fans in the States don't know anything about the Asian swing, as they watch the baseball season get hot, the football season start to simmer, and maybe, just maybe, look forward to the first Slam of the 2008 season halfway around the world in Australia. What are the season ending championships to these fans? The Davis Cup finals? Surely you jest.

But tennisheads know that indoor tennis (with a few outdoor events thrown in) rules the Asia and parts of Europe. Players who want to qualify for their tours' All-Star games are burning the candle at both ends to rack up points, while those who've already qualified are resting in order to peak at the right time.

We've been told that tennis is beginning to boom in Asia. The Chinese players are looking forward to hosting Olympic tennis in Beijing. The Masters Cup will be played in Shanghai for another few years. Korea has just qualified for the Davis Cup World Group for the first time in decades.

But those of us Stateside that would like to see coverage of the China Open or the Thailand Open or this week's AIG Japan Open Championships, a joint ATP-WTA event with a decent field, will have to settle for buffering Internet feeds because we won't get any television coverage of events east of Moscow this fall. Not even on The Tennis Channel.

What's up with that? If US fans are going to be exposed to more players from the Far East, why can't the networks get on the ball and send some commentators to Asia to cover the sport? Surely we'll watch matches on tape delay if you don't think we'll stay up through the night to watch them live.

The tennis season isn't over. Let's get these Asian events on the tube. And let's not wait until Shanghai to do it.