USA Wins Sixth Hopman Cup

by Craig Hickman



I couldn't stay awake after Sister Beth gave Justine the first set.

THE United States remains well and truly the most successful Hyundai Hopman Cup nation with the team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner claiming their sixth victory inside Perth's Burswood Dome in front of a crowd of 8564 people.

The USA team came into Hyundai Hopman Cup XXIII unseeded but played outstanding tennis all week dominating Group B beating France's Kristina Mladenovic and Nicolas Mahut 3-0, Italy's Francesca Schiavone and Potito Starace 2-1 and Great Britain's Laura Robson and Andy Murray 3-0 [sic].

Mattek-Sands and Isner took on the Belgium team of Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans in the Final after they replaced the Serbian team of Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic when Ivanovic suffered a slight stomach tear.

Belgium had put together a strong week in their own right, though, bouncing back from losing to Australia's Alicia Molik and Lleyton Hewitt to beat Kazakhstan's Sesil Karatantcheva and Andrey Golubev 3-0 and then Serbia 2-1.

Henin, a winner of seven Grand Slam titles, gave Belgium a winning start by beating Mattek-Sands 7-6 (6), 6-3. Isner bounced back to even the Final at one rubber apiece after he downed Bemelmans 6-3, 6-4.

It was then the deciding mixed doubles to determine the Hyundai Hopman Cup XXIII winner and the USA dominated winning 6-3, 6-4. Mattek-Sands and Isner now join five other representatives for the United States to have won at the Hopman Cup.

The first victory came in 1997 with Chanda Rubin and Justin Gimelstob opening America's account. It took until 2003 for the next win when Serena Williams and James Blake were successful with Blake back the following year to win with Lindsay Davenport.

Lisa Raymond and Taylor Dent then teamed to win in 2006 and the fifth title came in 2008 when Williams returned to be victorious alongside Mardy Fish.

Mattek-Sands and Isner now join them after an outstanding week that has seen a total attendance figure of 78,242 attend. It is the biggest figure since the Cup has been an 11 Session event. Mattek-Sands was delighted in how the week in Perth unfolded.

''It’s been an amazing week. It’s my first time in Perth and I've really enjoyed myself. It’s funny, I saw this (diamond tennis ball trophy) actually when I first got here and I thought it was the best trophy in sports,'' Mattek-Sands said.

''This is one of the best run events of the WTA Tour of the year. It’s fantastic. There was a really strong field this year, there was great players; Ana, Justine, Djokovic, Hewitt. I hope everyone enjoyed watching some great tennis this week.''

Isner made his debut at last year's Hopman Cup and was delighted to return, and to partner Mattek-Sands to form a winning team. He was also happy to bounce back from a tough loss to Murray.

''I’ve got to thank Bethanie; her back’s got to be hurting from carrying me all week. She was rock solid all week long,'' Isner said.

''I kind of got a whooping yesterday (against Murray), but I regrouped and played very well today which is really, really encouraging. Also I want to say congrats to the Belgium team. It’s a great team we beat today.''

Read the rest....

Taylor Dent Retires

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Taylor Dent of USA plays a forehand during his match against Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia during day four of the Open Sud de France at the Arena on October 28, 2010 in Montpellier, France.

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This is understandable but too bad.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Former top-25 player Taylor Dent is retiring from professional tennis.

The 29-year-old American was one of a handful of current pros with a serve-and-volley style. Once ranked as high as 21st, Dent had three back operations in 2006 and 2007 that derailed his career, then made a comeback and climbed back into the top 100 in 2009.

In a statement released Monday by his agent, Dent says he wants to stay active in the sport and "explore opportunities ... that my full tournament scheduled never allowed."

Roland Garros 2010 Day 4 Open Thread

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Oracene Price watches Venus Williams and Serena Williams of the United States during their women's doubles first round match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand on day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 25, 2010 in Paris, France.

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The field has been halved. Venus Williams just dismissed Arantxa Parra Santonja in straight sets on Chartrier and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is playing compatriot Josselin Ouanna on Lenglen. Always a sight to see two Black players take the court at the same time. But then I had to look at the clock and see that whatever match preceded theirs must have gone quickly. I check the scores and Robin Söderling wiped the dirt with Taylor Dent to the loss of only two games.

I guess the Söd wasn't kidding when he said he felt good to be back in Paris.

Schedule for Day 4: Wednesday, 26 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) v. Venus Williams (USA)[2]
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Alejandro Falla (COL)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Fabio Fognini (ITA) v. Gael Monfils (FRA)[13]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Taylor Dent (USA) v. Robin Soderling (SWE)[5]
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Josselin Ouanna (FRA) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[8]
3. Women's Singles - Second Round
Aravane Rezai (FRA)[15] v. Angelique Kerber (GER)
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Tathiana Garbin (ITA) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[3]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) v. Julien Benneteau (FRA)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[6] v. Andrea Petkovic (GER)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[4] v. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA) v. Na Li (CHN)[11]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Marin Cilic (CRO)[10] v. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[14] v. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) v. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[15]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Sophie Ferguson (AUS)

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Agnes Szavay (HUN) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19]
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)[32] v. Thiemo De Bakker (NED)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Marcel Granollers (ESP) v. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)[25]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)[32]

Court 4 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - First Round
Vania King (USA)/Michaella Krajicek (NED) v. Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU)/Olga Savchuk (UKR)
2. Women's Doubles - First Round
Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/Alicia Molik (AUS) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[13]
3. Women's Doubles - First Round
Elena Baltacha (GBR)/Liga Dekmeijere (LAT) v. Dinara Safina (RUS)/Agnes Szavay (HUN)
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Lisa Raymond (USA)/Wesley Moodie (RSA)[7] v. Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER)

Court 5 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[26] v. Varvara Lepchenko (USA)
2. Women's Doubles - First Round
Vera Dushevina (RUS)/Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)[14] v. Tatiana Poutchek (BLR)/Ipek Senoglu (TUR)
3. Women's Doubles - First Round
Darija Jurak (CRO)/Petra Martic (CRO) v. Claire Feuerstein (FRA)/Stephanie Foretz (FRA)
4. Women's Doubles - First Round
Sara Errani (ITA)/Roberta Vinci (ITA) v. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)/Selima Sfar (TUN)

Court 6 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11] v. Lukas Lacko (SVK)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
John Isner (USA)[17] v. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Ross Hutchins (GBR)/Jordan Kerr (AUS) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]

Court 7 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Carsten Ball (AUS) v. Viktor Troicki (SRB)
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Olivier Rochus (BEL) v. Julian Reister (GER)
3. Women's Singles - Second Round
Polona Hercog (SLO) v. Lucie Safarova (CZE)[24]
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Johan Brunstrom (SWE)/Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO)

Court 8 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - First Round
Alicja Rosolska (POL)/Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) v. Lisa Raymond (USA)[7]/Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[7]
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Rik De Voest (RSA)/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK)[9]
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Jonathan Marray (GBR)/Jamie Murray (GBR) v. Simon Greul (GER)/Peter Luczak (AUS)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Santiago Ventura (ESP) v. Xavier Malisse (BEL)/Olivier Rochus (BEL)

Court 9 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - First Round
Sarah Borwell (GBR)/Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) v. Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12]
2. Women's Doubles - First Round
Edina Gallovits (ROU)/Melanie Oudin (USA) v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/Arina Rodionova (RUS)
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Sebastian Prieto (ARG)/Kristof Vliegen (BEL) v. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Dudi Sela (ISR)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Michael Kohlmann (GER)/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) v. Leonardo Mayer (ARG)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

Court 10 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Martin Damm (CZE)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v. Daniele Bracciali (ITA)/Potito Starace (ITA)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)/Gabriel Trifu (ROU) v. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr (UKR)/Denis Istomin (UZB)
3. Women's Doubles - First Round
Sybille Bammer (AUT)/Kristina Barrois (GER) v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Lucie Hradecka (CZE)[16]
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Mardy Fish (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[13] v. Carsten Ball (AUS)/Chris Guccione (AUS)

Court 11 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP) v. Jonathan Eysseric (FRA)/Benoit Paire (FRA)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Travis RettenMayer (USA) v. Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/Horia Tecau (ROU)[14]
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Benjamin Becker (GER)/Scott Lipsky (USA) v. Eric Butorac (USA)/Rajeev Ram (USA)[16]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA)

Court 14 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5] v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)/Philipp Petzschner (GER)
2. Women's Doubles - First Round
Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Sophie Lefevre (FRA)/Aurelie Vedy (FRA)
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10] v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Viktor Troicki (SRB)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Jeff Coetzee (RSA)/Andreas Seppi (ITA)

Court 16 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) v. Johanna Larsson (SWE)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU)[31] v. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
3. Women's Doubles - First Round
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Jie Zheng (CHN)[10]
4. Women's Doubles - First Round
Jill Craybas (USA)/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v. Alberta Brianti (ITA)/Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU)

Court 17 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Albert Montanes (ESP)[29] v. Tobias Kamke (GER)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[30]
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[20] v. Andreas Beck (GER)
4. Women's Doubles - First Round
Mathilde Johansson (FRA)/Camille Pin (FRA) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]

Roland Garros 2010 Day 2 Open Thread

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Taylor Dent of the United States receives serve during the men's singles first round match between against Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador at the French Open on day two of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 24, 2010 in Paris, France. Dent won the match, his first career victory in Paris.

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The top players in the world take the court today. Roger Federer begins his title defense and Serena Williams looks to remain undefeated in the first round of Slams, bringing her record to 42-0.

Schedule for Day 2: Monday, 24 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS) c. Caroline Wozniacki(DEN)[3]
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Roger Federer(SUI)[1] c. Peter Luczak(AUS)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Serena Williams(USA)[1] c. Stefanie Voegele(SUI)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Florian Mayer(GER) c. Gael Monfils(FRA)[13]

Court Suzanne Lenglen - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Kristina Mladenovic(FRA) c. Na Li(CHN)[11]
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Evgeny Korolev(KAZ) c. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3]
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Andy Murray(GBR)[4] c. Richard Gasquet(FRA)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Jelena Jankovic(SRB)[4] c. Alicia Molik(AUS)

Court 1 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Benoit Paire(FRA) c. Olivier Rochus(BEL)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Roberta Vinci(ITA) c. Virginie Razzano(FRA)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Kai-Chen Chang(TPE) c. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Michael Llodra(FRA) c. Thomaz Bellucci(BRA)[24]

Court 2 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Stanislas Wawrinka(SUI)[20] c. Jan Hajek(CZE)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Elena Dementieva(RUS)[5] c. Petra Martic(CRO)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Paul-Henri Mathieu(FRA) c. Marcel Granollers(ESP)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Kaia Kanepi(EST) c. Pauline Parmentier(FRA)

Court 3 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Nicolas Lapentti(ECU) c. Taylor Dent(USA)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Julie Coin(FRA) c. Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR)[32]
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Elena Baltacha(GBR) c. Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[8]
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Thiago Alves(BRA) c. Fernando Gonzalez(CHI)[12]

Court 4 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) c. Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Aleksandra Wozniak(CAN) c. Iveta Benesova(CZE)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Melinda Czink(HUN) c. Julia Goerges(GER)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Sofia Arvidsson(SWE) c. Magdalena Rybarikova(SVK)

Court 5 - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Arantxa Parra Santonja(ESP) c. Kurumi Nara(JPN)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Philipp Petzschner(GER) c. Carsten Ball(AUS)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Rajeev Ram(USA) c. Yuri Schukin(KAZ)

Court 6 - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Jelena Dokic(AUS) c. Lucie Safarova(CZE)[24]
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Misaki Doi(JPN) c. Polona Hercog(SLO)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Kei Nishikori(JPN) c. Santiago Giraldo(COL)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Ivan Ljubicic(CRO)[14] c. Yen-Hsun Lu(TPE)

Court 7 - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Stephanie Dubois(CAN) c. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro(FRA)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Jesse Witten(USA) c. Marcos Baghdatis(CYP)[25]
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Arnaud Clement(FRA) c. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr(UKR)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Simona Halep(ROU) c. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[7]

Court 8 - 11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Melanie Oudin(USA) c. A. Medina Garrigues(ESP)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Pablo Andujar(ESP) c. Simone Bolelli(ITA)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE) c. Rossana De Los Rios(PAR)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Victor Hanescu(ROU)[31] c. Oscar Hernandez(ESP)

Court 10 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Paolo Lorenzi(ITA) c. Andreas Beck(GER)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Leonardo Mayer(ARG) c. Sergiy Stakhocvsky(UKR)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Sara Errani(ITA) c. Yaroslava Shvedova(KAZ)

Court 11 -11:00 start
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Kristina Barrois(GER) c. Tathiana Garbin(ITA)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Timea Bacsinszky(SUI) c. Tatjana Malek(GER)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Alexandra Dulgheru(ROU)[31] c. Lucie Hradecka(CZE)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Michael Berrer(GER) c. Mardy Fish(USA)

Court 14 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
John Isner(USA)[17] c. Andrey Golubev(KAZ)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Petra Kvitova(CZE) c. Sophie Ferguson(AUS)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Kristof Vliegen(BEL) c. Steve Darcis(BEL)

Court 16 - 11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Julian Reister(GER) c. Feliciano Lopez(ESP)[27]
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[17] c. Regina Kulikova(RUS)
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[19] c. Robin Haase(NED)

Court 17 -11:00 start
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Jorge Aguilar(CHI) c. Tomas Berdych(CZE)[15]

Not Before 12:30
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Michael Yani(USA) leads Lukas Lacko(SVK) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 8-8 - To Finish
Simple Messieurs - 1er Tour
Viktor Troicki(SRB) c. Tommy Robredo(ESP)[21]
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Alisa Kleybanova(RUS)[28] c. Mariya Koryttseva(UKR)
Simple Dames - 1er Tour
Vera Dushevina(RUS) c. Alona Bondarenko(UKR)[27]

121 Winners

Reuters

That's how many Taylor Dent hit in his spectucular five-set victory over Ivan Navarro on the Grandstand last night. 121 winners our on 190 points won. Nearly 64%. Only 50 unforced errors.

For his part, Navarro, a veteran of the minor-leagues who'd never even won a main draw match at a Slam before being a point away from the third round, struck 70 winners and 22 unforced errors.

Match of the fortnight.

Not just for such alarming statistics, not just for the stories the unheralded players brought to bear in the match, but for the tennis.

This was throwback, baby. Brilliant serving. Not just bombs -- Dent was consistently over 140 mph topping out at 147 mph -- but excellent spot serving and change ups on the biggest points. Transition tennis and net play from both sides of the net that we haven't seen throughout an entire match since the early 80s. Navarro and Dent are big men, huge, in fact, but they moved fluidly around the court and dug up volley after volley from their toenails.

I watched the entire match from first ball to last on the Internet, except when ESPN decided to broadcast the crucial moments.

AP

Of course the crowd was rooting for the American. But the Spaniard (yes, a Spaniard who rushes the net at every opportunity) received his fair share of accolades. Not sure where he's been or why he hasn't had more success. Only his second five-set affair, the first of which he lost earlier this summer 12-10 in the fifth on the lawns of the All England Club. But this man is certainly in shape and definitely no choker. Dent had to beat him because he wasn't giving anything away.

It was thrilling, scintillating stuff and to have it end on a winner -- not a double fault or on some other knucklehead error, was the perfect explanation point to a perfect match.

After the players, realizing how special their battle, hugged at the net, Dent grabbed the microphone from the chair umpire to tell the crowd how much he loved them.

"I promise you, if I lose 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, I'll die fighting for every point," said Dent about playing Andy Murray in the next round. I believe him.

After his on-court interview, he took a victory lap and slapped the palms of all the outstretched hands from all the fans who made the atmosphere electric. Who lifted him over the finish line.

Lots of other stuff happened yesterday. A few more upsets here and there. One gargantuan choke. Some valiant efforts by some underdogs to knock off the favorites. But nothing was more remarkable or memorable than the clinic conducted by two tour veterans on the grandest of stages.

I'm still catching my breath.

Taylor Dent's Back...

AP

Has been the source of all sorts of woe and anguish for the veteran American who delights fans with his old school serve-and-volley game. But surgeries and metal plates and long recoveries never extinguished his desire to make another run of it. When he defeated Feliciano Lopez in four sets, Dent howled as though expelling all his disappointment in one sound. It's been four years since he one a main draw match at the US Open.

Welcome back.

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Speaking of woe and anguish, Dinara Safina is full of it. If not for the inexperience of her teenage opponent, this world No. 1 would be out of the tournament.

The fans were squarely behind Olivia Rogowska to put the world No. 1 (and themselves) out of her misery.

What I want to know is why ESPN showed so much of such a disgusting match. It was surely not the kind of performance that would attract any new fans to the sport.

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Indian history. From rabbit...

Also, Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza winning their opening matches marks the first time in history there's an Indian player in both the men's and women's sides in the second round of a slam.

Bravo. It's these far-off-the-radar factoids that impress me more often that the narratives the commentators spin. If not for our readership....

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Reuters

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reacts during her loss to Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 1, 2009.

Somebody stick a fork in Ana Ivanovic. Last year she fell in the second round after surviving in the first, this year, she wasn't so lucky.

Time for her to grow up.

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Americans did well with some unexpected victories from Shenay Perry (remember her?) and Jesse Witten, who upset No. 29 seed Igor Andreev in straight sets to the loss of six games with a middle-set bagel. The Russian isn't exactly a slouch. I wish I could have seen that one.

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There are 8 American women into the second round, most of whom I've never even heard of before. Impressive.

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Prime time action was blah. I didn't expect any upsets, but the Pit Bull had no bite and the Latvian confirmed his status as a waste of space. Miss 100% and the Scot did only what they needed to do, which wasn't much at all.

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At the end of WTA first-round action, my pretty youngster is still alive....

Faces Of The Day

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Li Na of China serves to Serena Williams during their match at the Bank of the West Classic Day Two at Stanford University.

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Bank Of The West Classic

Singles - First Round
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. Li Na (CHN) 63 76(6)
(2) Venus Williams (USA) d. (WC) Stéphanie Dubois (CAN) 62 63
(4) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (Q) Angela Haynes (USA) 63 61
Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (6) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 64 63
(8) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 76(6) 63
Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (Q) Lilia Osterloh (USA) 62 63
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 64 46 75
Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 64 57 76(5)
(Q) Melanie Oudin (USA) d. (WC) Hilary Barte (USA) 62 61
(Q) Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 61 76(5)

Doubles - First Round
(4) Cirstea/Kirilenko (ROU/RUS) d. Granville/Gullickson (USA/USA) 57 63 105
Kleybanova/Rodionova (RUS/RUS) d. Craybas/Hsieh (USA/TPE) 62 62
Coin/Pelletier (USA/CAN) d. Keothavong/Morita (GBR/JPN) 46 53 ret. (Keothavong: left knee injury)

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Getty

Taylor Dent returns a shot to Ryan Sweeting during the LA Tennis Open Day 2 at Los Angeles Tennis Center.

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LA Tennis Open

Singles - First Round
[5] I Kunitsyn (RUS) d [Q] S Devvarman (IND) 75 62
[6] S Querrey (USA) d D Istomin (UZB) 62 60
J Isner (USA) d [7] B Becker (GER) 76(8) 76(3)
[8] M Safin (RUS) d R Ginepri (USA) 36 63 64
E Gulbis (LAT) d Y Lu (TPE) 75 62
[Q] R Sweeting (USA) d [WC] T Dent (USA) 64 26 63
M Baghdatis (CYP) d F Dancevic (CAN) 76(3) 63
[Q] C Ball (AUS) d M Gicquel (FRA) 62 76(6)
L Mayer (ARG) d [Q] J Ouanna (FRA) 62 63

Doubles - First Round
Y Lu (TPE) / D Vemic (SRB) d [4] S Huss (AUS) / R Hutchins (GBR) 63 67(4) 10-6

It's Already Thursday

And the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, has just completed the first round.

It has rained in New England without relent.

Singles - First Round
[2] F Santoro (FRA) d F Cipolla (ITA) 63 75
[7] K Kim (USA) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 46 63 ret. (right shoulder)
[8] S Stakhovsky (UKR) d F Dancevic (CAN) 76(9) 26 75
[LL] R Ram (USA) d [Q] A Falla (COL) 64 75
[Q] S Groth (AUS) d [Q] R Mello (BRA) 75 36 63
O Rochus (BEL) d [Q] A Peya (AUT) 62 46 64

Doubles - First Round
S Prieto (ARG) / H Zeballos (ARG) d [1] R de Voest (RSA) / A Fisher (AUS) 76(2) 62
[2] P Petzschner (GER) / A Peya (AUT) d R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) / S Ventura (ESP) 75 62
[WC] J Gimelstob (USA) / J Levine (USA) d [WC] T Dent (USA) / D Martin (USA) 63 62
M Kohlmann (GER) / R Wassen (NED) d F Moser (GER) / A Qureshi (PAK) 76(6) 64
B Becker (GER) / D Brands (GER) d F Cipolla (ITA) / M Daniel (BRA) 61 64

::

From The Tournament

- The singles first round of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is now complete.

- Two-time defending champion Fabrice Santoro successfully began defense of his titles. The Frenchman, who is retiring at season’s end, is now 10-0 in Newport.

- All of the seeded players who were in action advanced, and in all, six of the seven seeds have reached the second round (Mardy Fish’s withdrawal dropped the total number of seeds in the draw to seven).

- Rajeev Ram, who replaced Fish in the draw, is the first lucky loser to reach the second round in Newport since 2007 when Nathan Healy did so.

- Eight Americans have reached the second round, the most at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships since 2002.

- Players will have to play twice on Friday in order to advance to the weekend. The second round matches will be spread over four courts beginning at 11 a.m. Following the completion of the second round, the quarterfinal matches will immediately follow.

- Friday will be busy with 21 matches on the schedule, 12 singles and nine doubles. If all those matches are completed, the tournament will be caught up and back on schedule in time for the weekend.

- Highlighting the Friday schedule is a meeting between two-time defending champion Fabrice Santoro and 2002 champion Taylor Dent. Those two, along with 2003 winner Robby Ginepri, are the only former champions left in the draw. This is the first time since 1999 that three former champions have reached this round. This is only the second time in tournament history that two former champions will face each other in the second round (Tim Gullikison vs. Hank Pfister 1983).

Quote For The Day

"I feel like serve-and-volleying off of first serves, if you have a big serve, is a huge advantage. Guys can't just block returns back in play. I volley well enough to back it up. Second serve I think is a bit rough, but I see these guys games all the time. I practice with them all the time and they don't see me. the nice thing is I feel like I can play a few different styles. So it will be an advantage as soon as I get my consistency up there."--Taylor Dent

Taylor Dent Plans Comeback

LOS ANGELES—Thirty days. If all goes well – and a lot still can go wrong – Taylor Dent will be back hitting tennis balls in a mere thirty days.

“I can’t wait,” Dent said, moments after completing his daily rehab routine. “I’m desperate to get back out there.”

Dent recently underwent his third back surgery since May 2006. Doctors are optimistic – so far, the back appears to be mending like it should, and Dent has been given the green light to begin his rehabilitation.

“The news from the doctor was good. Things are healing nicely. We’ve done a week of low-impact work and it’s going well,” said Dent, who now lives in Orange Country, Calif., with his wife, former pro Jenny Hopkins.

The American is more than ready for his second chance – like a race car, he’s revving his engines and waiting for the race to begin.

But he’s been there before, only to stall at the starting line. So while the 26-year-old wants to believe the nightmare is over, he’s still cautious.

Over the next couple of weeks, he’ll up the ante with more strenuous work – a bit of running, some light weights. If things continue to progress, Dent’s doctor will allow him back onto the tennis court, where he’s anxious to be.

“I can’t wait,” Dent repeated. “I’ve really missed it.”

Since his first, unsuccessful back surgery, Dent has tried to avoid reminders of the tour. Watching from the sidelines is painful. “Toughest time of the year for me is during the US Open. Especially this year, with the commentating that I did,” he said.

“I’d sit there and think, that should be me out there, competing, mixing it up. Watching up close the guys that I’d beaten, [seeing them] doing well… it was frustrating.”

Like many an injured player before him, he realized that the tour doesn’t slow down for the weak or invalid. Guys that Dent used to hang with – Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, the Bryan brothers – have all fallen out of touch. But Dent doesn’t reproach them.

“I was out there. I know how it is. You get a break and you want to just chill out. You reach the off-season and you want to hang with your family”

The one tour player Dent is still in close contact with is Jan-Michael Gambill, also suffering from his own chronic injury problems.

Read the Rest

Taylor has the kind of game the tour needs. Classic serve-and-volley with exquisite net instincts. I remember watching him and Lisa Raymond in Hopman Cup a few years back carve their opponents up in the forecourt. They won the title. With Tim Henman retired, Dent, who also possesses a cannon serve, can resurrect a style of play that has become extinct. His career could be characterized as one big Almost. Perhaps if he comes back, he can fulfill more of his potential.