DAVYDENKO CRUSHES NADAL

 

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko claimed the second Masters Series title of his career with victory over Rafael Nadal at the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida.

The 26-year-old went into the match as the underdog but dominated both on serve and return as he won 6-4 6-2.

Davydenko broke twice in each set to wrap up victory in one hour 30 minutes, adding the title to his Paris Masters win of 2006.

Nadal had been looking to win his first tournament since Stuttgart last July.

That fact had clearly been a motivation all week for Nadal, who had looked supremely focused on his way through the draw.

And having won both previous encounters between the pair, the world number two went into the match as the favourite.

But after they swapped early breaks, Davydenko went ahead again in game seven and confidently served out on his second set point.

Nadal, 21, was making more errors than usual as he faced one of the few players capable of matching his energy and consistency from the baseline.

Davydenko kept up the pressure with another break at the start of the second set, and when he extended that advantage to 4-1 it was all but over.

Nadal suffered a heartbreaking five-set defeat by Roger Federer in the final three years ago but the end came considerably quicker this time.

By the closing stages, Davydenko was totally dominant on serve and even coming into the net to finish off some points.

The world number four put Nadal out of his misery on the second match point for a win that solidifies his position among the game's elite.

MIAMI BEGINS

Russian Dmitry Tursunov was among Wednesday's first-round winners at the $3.77 million Sony Ericsson Open, the second of nine ATP Masters Series events this year.

Tursunov came from behind to beat fellow Russian Evgeny Korolev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Day 1 at Crandon Park.

American qualifier Sam Warburg defeated Italian Potito Starace 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, while Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro erased American wild card Jesse Levine 7-5, 6-1.

Additional opening-round wins came for Spaniard Albert Montanes, Italian Andreas Seppi, Croat Marin Cilic, Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and German qualifier Benjamin Becker.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic defeated gritty Argentine Guillermo Canas in last year's Miami finale. The high-flying Djokovic is also the reigning Australian Open champion and captured last week's Masters Series title at Indian Wells.

The top seeds at this 12-day, 96-player hardcourt tournament are two-time champion Roger Federer, French Open titlist Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

The 2008 winner here will claim $590,000.

HAAS OUT OF MIAMI

Germany's Tommy Haas pulled out of the ATP Masters Series hardcourt tournament because of a sinus infection, organizers announced on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old, ranked 36th on the ATP Tour, retired from a quarter-final match against Swiss world number one Roger Federer last week at Indian Wells, California, for the same reason.

The German standout, who looked to be returning to the sort of form that saw him rise as high as number two in the world when he beat Andy Roddick in Indian Wells, was replaced for a night match on Wednesday in the main draw by Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who will face Haas' compatriot Nicolas Kiefer in a first-round match.

Haas admitted earlier this month that he didn't think he would ever return to his peak because of undergoing a third shoulder operation and a series of poor results since then.

REVISED TSN SCHEDULE

MIAMI DRAW

World number one Roger Federer could have a tricky time at the ATP Masters Series event that begins here on Wednesday .

Swiss star Federer jumps back onto the court after an upset semi-final loss to American Mardy Fish last weekend at Indian Wells, California.

Federer, seeking his first title of 2008, has a first-round bye and will then face France's Gael Monfils or US wild card John Isner, whose serve power tested Federer in a 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 third-round victory on his way to last year's US Open crown.

Federer could meet Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round of the 3.7 million-dollar hardcourt event, American Andy Roddick or France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals and Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals.

Following Federer on the seed list are reigning French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain and reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who beat Fish in Sunday's Indian Wells final.

Nadal faces either Argentina's Sergio Roitman or a qualifier in his round two opener. Djokovic would meet a qualifier or Argentina's Agustin Calleri.

Next among the seeds are Davydenko, Spain's David Ferrer, Roddick at sixth, Argentina's David Nalbandian and France's Richard Gasquet.

MIAMI'S MEN'S DRAW

World No. 1 Roger Federer has both Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko on his side of the draw. On the other side of the men’s draw, defending Sony Ericsson Open champ Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and James Blake will battle it out for a spot in the finals.

MIAMI TV TIMES

DJOKOVIC DEFEATS FISH

Novak Djokovic has gotten off to a Roger Federer-like start this year. Meanwhile, Federer’s aura of invincibility seems to be fading.

Mardy Fish faced both in the Pacific Life Open. He breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Federer in the semifinals, then extended the final to three sets Sunday before No. 3 Djokovic pulled out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory.

ROGER HOOKED

Unseeded American Mardy Fish’s improbable run at the 2008 Pacific Life Open continued on Saturday in Indian Wells as he defeated World No. 1 Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2 to book his place in Sunday’s title match.

To hoist his first career ATP Masters Series title, Fish will need to defeat his fourth Top 10 player this fortnight – World No. 3 and last year’s runner-up, Novak Djokovic, who got by defending champion Rafael Nadal by the same score.

FISH vs FEDERER

Unseeded American Mardy Fish, prevailed in a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) nailbiter against World No. 7 David Nalbandian on Friday in Indian Wells to join the world’s top three players in the Pacific Life Open semifinals.

Fish’s reward for his win is a semifinal date with World No. 1 Roger Federer, who received a walkover earlier in the day when Tommy Haas withdrew prior to their quarterfinal match with a sinus infection.

BLAKE LOSES IT

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal finally solved the James Blake riddle, defeating the American for the first time in four career meetings on Thursday in Indian Wells to set up a semifinal clash with World No. 2 Novak Djokovic. Nadal defeated Djokovic last year in the youngest final in Indian Wells tournament history.

Nadal took the set lead when Blake made a risky decision in the first set. With the Spaniard holding a break point at 5-all, Blake stopped play in the middle of the point to challenge what he believed was a long return from the Spaniard. The video replay showed the ball had clipped the baseline – giving Nadal the break. Blake then saw his triple break point come to naught in the following game as Nadal reeled off five straight points.

Blake regrouped to take a 3-0 lead in the second set – enough to push the match to a third set as both players stayed on serve – and earned the first break point in the opening game of the third set, but failed to take advantage. Nadal, in contrast, converted on his second break point chance in the ninth game and then served out the win with an ace on match point, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

TOMMY HAAS

Haas has picked off both red-hot Andys over the past week, beating Roddick in the second round and now Murray to reach the quarterfinals. He's also posted wins over Julien Benneteau and Fernando Verdasco.

Haas has physically had a tough time.

He broke both his ankles at separate times as a teenager and has repeatedly been hit with ankle injuries, including a freak accident at Wimbledon in 2005 when he stepped on a ball during the warm-up before his first-round match. But it's his shoulder that's given him the most serious problems -- he had two surgeries on it in 2003 and one late last year.

When his personal life makes news it usually involves a glamorous girlfriend or celebrity pal, but things took a very serious turn in 2002 when his parents were badly hurt in a motorcycle accident.

Yet somehow the former No. 2 has battled back each time, slowly working his back up to the top 20 following every setback.

"For me, every day is just important to feel kind of healthy and going out there and hit my shots and hit my serves without feeling anything in my shoulder," he said. " I need to keep telling myself that that's really the most important thing for me."

But even if the runs ends here, he's proven he's no Haas-been. The comeback trail looks like it'll head back into the top 20 once more, even though this is likely to be his last trip up this road.

Haas turns 30 next month, so there won't really be another opportunity to start from scratch. It's all about riding this shoulder repair job as far as he can before it breaks down again.

QUARTERS

WEDNESDAY RESULTS

 

HAWKEYE

  Paul Hawkins, who introduced his invention to the Wimbledon commentary team in 2002, to explains how it works:

"There are five high-speed cameras high up in the roofs of Centre Court and Court One which accurately track the ball as it flies through the air," says Hawkins.

"A computer captures the image from each camera and works out where the ball is.

"By finding the ball in multiple cameras we can find out where the ball is in 3D space - where it is in the real world if you like.

"The computer then combines all this information and traces the trajectory of the ball in each rally.

"This information is then sent to the virtual reality machine which produces the graphic images that you see on the television.

"So Hawk-Eye is able to show where the ball landed in every point played."

"The bounce mark of the ball that Hawk-Eye shows is accurate to 3mm," explains Hawkins.

"We also take into account the amount the ball compresses and skids on the court.

HAWKEYE - 4 CHALLENGES

Players will be allowed up to four unsuccessful challenges per set at any tournament that uses electronic line calling systems, tennis officials said on Wednesday.

Since the arrival of electronic line-calling review systems -- using Hawkeye technology -- tournaments have been allowed to set their own rules for using the system.

While some allowed players to have an unlimited number of challenges in every match, other tournaments limited them to two or three unsuccessful challenges per set.

The governing bodies said players and teams would now be allowed a maximum of three unsuccessful challenges per set plus one more if the set reached a tiebreak.

Next week's Sony Ericsson Open in Miami will be the first tournament to use the unified challenge system.

Three of the four grand slams use the technology. The French Open is the only major not to use the system as the ball leaves a mark on the clay surface.

The attitude of the French Open baffles me!

I've seen videos [Mac cam, no less] of a serve hitting the line, deforming, skidding off and then reforming and leaving a mark clear of the line.

C'EST INCROYABLE!

FISH BEATS DAVYDENKO

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko became the highest seed to exit the Pacific Life Open but three-times champion Roger Federer barely broke sweat in reaching the fourth round on Tuesday.

Davydenko, the fourth seed and world number four, was swept aside by American Mardy Fish 6-3 6-2 in an evening match lasting 75 minutes on the showpiece Stadium Court.

ROGER INTO QUARTERS

The world number one has competed in only two tournaments this season after a bout of glandular fever, but he barely broke sweat in beating Mahut.

Federer hit nine aces and won 23 out of 24 points on his first serve and will now meet Croat Ivan Ljubicic.

Earlier Argentina's David Nalbandian came from two points from defeat to overcome Radek Stepanek.

Seventh seed Nalbandian recovered from winning only 10 points in the second set to come through 7-6 0-6 7-6.

Nalbandian was serving at 3-5, 0-30 in the third when he began his comeback and won on his fourth match point.

Federer suffered a surprise loss in the second round last year to Argentina's Guillermo Canas, having won at Indian Wells for three years in a row from 2004.

GATHERING STORM

Serb Novak Djokovic and Argentine Guillermo Canas will go head-to-head for a spot in the Pacific Life Open quarterfinals after the two players took different paths to victory in their third round matches, Monday evening in Indian Wells.

The third-seeded Djokovic needed just 69 minutes to defeat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, while No. 16 seed Canas battled to the 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-2 win against compatriot Juan Monaco in two hours and 39 minutes.

Both players made headlines last year in Indian Wells – Djokovic with his run to the final and Canas with his second round upset of three-time defending champion Roger Federer – and carried the momentum to Miami, where they faced off in the title match. Djokovic won that match in three sets to clinch his first ATP Masters Series shield.

The Djokovic-Canas match joins a blockbuster line-up of fourth round matches on tap at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, includes defending champion Rafael Nadal versus Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and World No. 8 Richard Gasquet versus No. 9 James Blake.

A BUCKET OF HATE

Richard Williams :

“Tennis is a prejudice game. Well, I’m black and I’m prejudiced, very prejudiced. I’ll be always prejudiced as the white man. The white man hated me all my life and I hate him. That’s no secret. I’m not even an American, it just so happens that I was born in America. People are prejudiced in tennis. I don’t think Venus or Serena was ever accepted by tennis. They never will be. But if you get some little white no-good trasher in America like Tracy Austin or Chris Evert who cannot hit the ball, they will claim this is great…I think [Venus and Serena] can easily be No. 1 in women’s tennis. They have speed, they have power. Right now, they are more interested in learning to develop more businesses.”…

ROGER OK!

Roger Federer, back in action after recovering from a recent viral problem, smiled broadly after easing through his opening match at the Pacific Life Open on Sunday.

The top seed crushed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-2 in a second-round encounter at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden where he was champion for three years in a row from 2004.

HAAS TAKES OUT RODDICK

Sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick became the first big name to make an early exit from the Pacific Life Open, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Germany's Tommy Haas in Sunday's second round.

Former U.S. Open champion Roddick, who won ATP titles earlier this season in San Jose and last week in Dubai, was swept aside in 85 minutes on the Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Haas, who had previously beaten the American six times in nine career meetings, broke in the ninth game to take the opening set.

He delivered successive backhand passes down the line to break Roddick again in the seventh game of the second set before serving out in the 10th to wrap up victory.

The 29-year-old Haas will next meet 30th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco or Victor Hanescu of Romania.

SUNDAY'S MATCHES

INDIAN WELLS ON TSN

THE ROAD AHEAD

Roger Federer is likely to stay No. 1 this month, but there's still a slight chance Rafael Nadal can take over the top spot. At the same time, Nadal has to keep an eye on his rear view mirror as Novak Djokovic tries to close in on No. 2.

        Ranking points available at Indian Wells and Miami

W 500 | F 350 | SF 225 | QF 125 | Round of16 - 75 | Round of 32 - 35 | Round of 64 - 20 | Round of 96 - 5

ROGER FEDERER

GOAL THIS MONTH    Try to secure No. 1 till Monte Carlo.

NEEDS TO GAIN    105 points. One quarterfinal will do it.

POSITION    Good. Federer lost his opening match at Indian Wells last year while Nadal won the event and Djokovic reached the final, so there's much to gain and not much to lose.

FORM    Unclear. He lost in the first round of Dubai to Andy Murray last week and revealed that he was suffering from mononucleosis earlier this year. He was cleared to resume normal training two weeks ago.

RAFAEL NADAL

GOAL THIS MONTH    A chance to become No. 1 at Miami.

NEEDS TO GAIN   895 points. That means winning both Indian Wells and Miami while Federer wins fewer than four matches overall.

POSITION    Tough. Nadal cannot gain ground in the next two weeks because he is defending the Indian Wells title while Federer lost in the first round last year. He also did better than Federer in Miami, but could improve on his quarterfinal there.

FORM   Mediocre. Nadal lost to a resurgent Andy Roddick in the Dubai quarterfinal last week, squandering an opportunity to take advantage of Federer's early loss. He's far from his aggressive hardcourt best, and he'll have to hope he can suddenly find his form in the California desert like he did last year.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

GOAL THIS MONTH  Get close to No. 2

NEEDS TO GAIN    1075 points. That means winning both Indian Wells and Miami for 1000 points and hoping Nadal doesn't win a match (10 points for two opening-match losses). That will leave him within 85 points of No. 2.

POSITION  Tough. Djokovic reached the Indian Wells final and won Miami last year - not much room for improvement.

FORM   Good but fragile. Djokovic started off the year with his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, but has been playing tired since. He lost to Andy Roddick in the semifinals of Dubai, but looked better than either Federer or Nadal.

A WORLD OF FEAR AND HATE

"Alone in his already decaying pleasure palace, aloof, seldom visited, never photographed ..." --  "Citizen Kane"

Like all relationships, no one will ever know  what factors triggered their breakup. Roddick's announcement that Connors had resigned, however, smacked of orchestration.

The conventional approach to coaching is to see the world through the player's eyes. Connors' approach  differed: You will see the world through my eyes.

And as Roddick implied the view was peculiar. 

The magma of emotions seething inside Connors during his time with Roddick will never be revealed.

The likes of McEnroe and Federer wield the racket like a paint brush.

How he hated Mcenroe!

For Connors, the racket was an ax, used to destroy, maim, and mutilate.

Connors has spent much of the past year in mourning. In January 2007, his mother Gloria died. She was not only the person who brought him into the world, but she was also his coach, confidante and, only true friend -- someone he talked to 10 times a day.

"They're all out to get you, Jimmy," she'd told him more than once. Paranoia and fanatical dedication and devotion had taken the two of them to the top of the tennis world.

With his anchor gone, Connors viewed tennis in a light that was more harsh, painful and lonely than ever.

Even if he liked Roddick, it was supremely difficult for Connors to acknowledge anyone else with a racket but himself.

In Connors' mind, no one more than he had paid the price.

Connors' dysfunctional outlook on tennis and life doomed him as Roddick's coach.

MSG - SPICE ENOUGH

Well, what was that all about?

Nostalgia, private air travel, Puerto Rican rum, fabled New York hair—Donald Trump’s and Anna Wintour’s, of course. Significant diamond rings, upturned collars, high heels, white wine, money trying hard to turn into excitement. Tennis immortality, severely

bending second serves, the supremacy of youth, mutual respect, two nice guys who were never meant to be performers, a lot of guaranteed cash, a lot of service winners, a very good third set, the eternal need for Star Wars. A touchingly disappointed loser.

This was the secret to tennis immortality, apparently. Underneath the night’s spectacle and show, the sport’s very best players remain normal guys—gentlemen, as they used to say in the game's amateur days. Neither needed the tirades of Mcenroe, nor the vile carnal acts of racquet abuse of  Connors.

That’s probably not going to get tennis back to the Garden anytime soon, but it's a fact worth celebrating nonetheless.

TSN BROADCAST TIMES

THE MOJAVE

The desert has a special place in my heart.

I spent a couple of years in the Mojave, in the early fifties, as a child and the memories are etched in my mind.

Driving into town, canvas water-bag hanging from the front bumper, the truck would rattle rhythmically as it hit the expansion joints of the concrete road and the desiccated carcases of the Jacks [rabbits] drawn to the headlights of the cars. The road ahead was a shimmering watery mirage.

Town, Twenty-Nine Palms, was a sneeze on the highway to L.A.

Summers were hot, 105 – 115 F, and air-conditioning the domain of the rich. Even in summer, on a clear cloudless night the temperature could plummet to freezing.

Most nights were clear.

Summer was a season to be survived. We would hide from the sun in shadows, under Stetsons and shirts and jeans and boots.

Spring was the season of life and renewal. A few days of rain, right about now, would thrust the desert into a frenzy. The cactus, cholla, ocotillo, prickly-pear, agave, yucca, Joshua tree and sage would bloom in hours – changing the desert into a pallette of colours.

Much has changed.

As a child, I could see forever – the mountains disappearing on the horizon. Now, smog is a constant cloak.

The Salton Sea was fresh water reserve. Now, a cesspool of human waste.

Across the Joshua Tree National Park lies Indian Wells.

It's spring in the desert.

Tennis-life is about to be renewed.