Errani defends Mexico Open crown

ESPN staff

March 3, 2013  
 

Sara Errani won her seventh WTA title © AP

  

 

World No. 8 Sara Errani defended her Mexico Open title on Saturday, beating Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets.
In a meeting of the tournament's top seeds, Errani lived up to her 'favourite' status with a 6-0 6-4 demolition job that was almost as lop-sided as Rafael Nadal's triumph in the men's final.
Errani has been in good form of late, reaching the final in Dubai last week, and victory marks her first WTA title win of the year - and seventh overall.
It was her ability to attack the first serve of Navarro that made the difference in Acapulco, winning 31 of 51 points on offer. That allowed her to break seven times in an impressive display.
Elsewhere, at the Brasil Tennis Cup world No. 75 Monica Niculescu clinched victory in a tight three-setter against Olga Puchkova. Niculescu needed two hours to see off her Russian rival, winning 6-2 4-6 6-4.
And in the Malaysian Open, Bethanie Mattek-Sands was defeated 1-6 7-5 6-3 by Karolina Pliskova. It was the world No. 127's maiden WTA title triumph.

 

Rafael Nadal to face David Ferrer in the final of the Mexico Open

• Associated Press
• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 2 March 2013 11.19 GMT

 

Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Nicolas Almagro in the semi-final of the Mexican Open. Photograph: Jose Mendez/EPA

 

 

 

Rafael Nadal advanced to the Mexican Open final with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Almagro on Friday, setting up a championship match against Spanish compatriot and three-time defending champion David Ferrer.
Nadal may be the former No.1, but coming back from a long-term knee injury, and playing an in-form rival with an intimidating record at this venue, he admitted that it would be tough to win on Sunday.
"I'm in no condition to be or even say that I'm the favorite because I'm facing one of the guys in the best shape on the circuit. Not only he's a great player, he's playing great."
"To win tomorrow I will have to play a perfect match or otherwise it would be impossible to win it. I don't think I'm to his level yet, but I'm ready to give it a try."
Nadal is using the Latin American clay-court tournaments to build up his match fitness as he makes a comeback from knee surgery and he has set his sights toward the French Open.
"I can't say that the knee is not bothering me, because it is, but that's normal," Nadal said. "It's not stopping me from doing what I want and that's the best thing, that should make me happy."
Nadal has not lost a clay-court semi-final since 2003, and on Sunday will be trying for his 38th career clay title.
He has a 16-4 record against Ferrer, with Ferrer's only win being in their first meeting back in 2004.

Rafael Nadal beats Leonardo Mayer to make Mexico semi-final

BBC Sports

1 March 2013 Last updated at 08:57 GMT

Rafael Nadal beat Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 6-1 7-5 to reach the Mexican Open semi-finals as he continues his comeback from a knee injury.

The Spaniard, 26, was playing his third tournament in four weeks since returning from a seven-month lay-off.

Nadal injury timeline

14 July 2012: Pulls out of an exhibition match with Novak Djokovic because of tendinitis
19 July: Withdraws from the Olympics with tendinitis in left knee
15 August: Withdraws from the US Open
3 September: Announces he has a partially torn patella tendon
25 December: Pulls out of the Abu Dhabi exhibition with a stomach virus
28 December: Withdraws from the Australian Open because of the virus
5 February 2013: Nadal returns alongside Juan Monaco in the Vina del Mar doubles before playing his first singles match 24 hours later

The 11-time Grand Slam champion was runner-up at the Chile Open before winning the Brazil Open two weeks ago.

"This was a very difficult match. Leonardo was playing really well in the second set," Nadal said.
"He began to play more aggressive and his serve was working well."
Nadal breezed through the opening set of the quarter-final but had to survive two break points in the third game of the second on his way to victory.
He next faces the toughest test of his comeback to date against compatriot and two-time Acapulco champion Nicolas Almagro, with top seed and world number four David Ferrer a potential final opponent.
Almagro, ranked 12th, beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3 6-4, while Ferrer saw off Italy's Paolo Lorenzi 6-3 6-1 to book a semi-final clash with Fabio Fognini.
"I don't feel like the favourite for tomorrow," said Nadal. "It's been seven months without competing and I will be facing a great clay player.
"I will do my best to play a great match to reach the final, it's that clear."
Despite continuing to experience pain in his knee, Nadal remains scheduled to play the upcoming hard court Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami, but will make a final judgement on that after Acapulco.
"So far I've played in three semi-finals and that's fantastic news, and it's even better because my three best games have been here," he said.
"Now I feel like I have nothing to lose no matter what happens tomorrow. Either I will go on to play the final or I will go happy to play in another tournament knowing that the knee is responding better."

And the race for No. 1 is on

 espn.com

While most of the world has been obsessing about Rafael Nadal's left knee, the WTA has put together a pretty attention-worthy little story of its own -- the battle for the No. 1 ranking, which is up for grabs this week in Doha, Qatar.

Three women embarked on the week with a shot at emerging with the top ranking, and not one of them has seen fit, or been forced, to bow out of the race. It's down to just three more matches now. Reigning No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, No. 2 Serena Williams and No. 3 Maria Sharapova, are all in the quarterfinals.

In fact, by the time you read this, Williams might have locked up the No. 1 ranking and therefore become the oldest No. 1 in WTA history. Chris Evert was 30 in 1985 when she lost the No. 1 ranking for good; Serena is already well into 31. This would be an amazing accomplishment for Serena, given that even ageless wonder Martina Navratilova was unable to lead the parade at Serena's age.

Let's handicap the terrific three who are in the hunt in the desert:

Azarenka is in the driver's seat, as she's been since the penultimate day in January of last year. She's had some trouble keeping the car between the white lines, and she's also been lucky. I say lucky because she hasn't played either of her main rivals this year, and there were moments during the Australian Open when it looked like even a lengthy medical timeout of the kind she took against surprise semifinalist Sloane Stephens wouldn't have helped her -- had it been Serena or even a dialed-in Maria across the net.

Greg Wood/AFP/Getty ImagesSerena Williams controls her own destiny in Qatar.

 

 

 

Azarenka has missed two dates with Williams this year, only one through her own fault. That was in Brisbane, where an infected big toe caused Azarenka to pull out of their semifinal. At the subsequent Australian Open, Serena lost to Stephens in the quarterfinals. Azarenka overcame significant obstacles (although there's no obstacle more significant than Serena) to win the title and retain her top ranking. Sharapova, meanwhile, had pulled out of warm-up events with injury, and she was upset by Li Na in the semis in Melbourne.

Vika is two matches away from retaining her top ranking, but her fate is not entirely in her own hands. She will be a heavy favorite in her quarterfinal with Sara Errani, but also against either of her potential semifinal opponents -- Agnieszka Radwanska or former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. But there's one significant problem for Azarenka, and it's a familiar one: Serena.

If Serena handles former Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova to reach the semis, this entire complicated mess would clear up. She would become No. 1 on Monday no matter what anyone else does. Her destiny is not just in her own hands, it's a hot potato. Juggle it for 90 minutes, beat Kvitova and presto -- you've made tennis history.

Chris Trotman/Getty ImageIt's a long shot, but Maria Sharapova could emerge with the top ranking.

 

 

The only problem with Serena's scenario is that she probably has the toughest, or at any rate the least predictable, quarterfinal. Kvitova, while erratic and still seemingly shell-shocked by her triumph in 2011 at Wimbledon, has fallen to No. 8 and is off to a terrible start this year. (She hasn't won two consecutive matches at a tournament.) But keep in mind that going into the Australian Open last year, Kvitova was a few swings of the racket from the No. 1 ranking. She's got a big game, loves the hard courts, and is just too explosive a player not to be a clear and ever-present danger -- especially if the pressure gets to Serena or Kvitova finds she likes the role of spoiler.

Sharapova is the long shot for No. 1; she can only get there if three things happen, two of which seem unlikely: Serena must lose to Kvitova, Azarenka must falter before the final and Sharapova must take the title. What's the over/under on something like that happening? And what if Serena loses to Kvitova, Azarenka bombs out in either of the next two rounds, and Radwanska beats Sharapova in the final -- as she did in Miami last April?

Esther Vergeer Retires: Wheelchair Tennis Star Says She's Retiring

By MIKE CORDER 02/12/13 01:04 PM ET EST

Esther Vergeer of Netherlands with her gold medal after defeating Aniek Van Koot of Netherlands in the final of the Women's singles match in the Wheelchair Tennis on day 9 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Eton Manor on September 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — After a 10-year winning streak in wheelchair tennis, Esther Vergeer felt she had nothing left to prove.

The 31-year-old Dutchwoman retired Tuesday, ending one of the most amazing careers in any sport.

"I'm hugely proud of my performances, my titles, and can look back on my career with a great feeling,"

Vergeer said at the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam. "Keeping going would not add anything."

Vergeer won the women's singles gold at four straight Paralympics starting in Sydney in 2000 and ending in London last year. She also won 21 Grand Slam singles titles, 23 Grand Slam doubles titles, three Paralympic doubles gold medals and a silver. Overall, she won 148 singles titles and 136 in doubles.

Vergeer took a break from the sport last year to consider the future after her Paralympic gold medal took her remarkable winning streak to 470 matches. In all those matches, she only faced one match point, in the final of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Vergeer's retirement means she will not surpass what is widely believed to be the longest run of consecutive wins in sport – 555 by Pakistani squash great Jahangir Khan from 1981-86.

Like Khan, she was in a class of her own.

In the last 10 years, she won 120 straight tournaments, beating 73 different opponents, winning 95 matches 6-0, 6-0 and dropping only 18 sets, the International Tennis Federation said.

Sitting on the couch at home in the snowy Netherlands last month and watching the Australian Open on television, she knew it was time to end her playing career and concentrate on her efforts to promote sport for people with disabilities through a foundation she set up.

"It felt great," she said, choking back tears.

In a measure of Vergeer's status in Dutch sport, soccer great Johan Cruyff attended her announcement and wrote a foreword in the book about her life and career that she also presented to the media.

Sportspeople like Vergeer, "should be an example to us all," Cruyff said.

Roger Federer paid tribute in another foreword in the book.

"She is an astonishing athlete, a huge personality and she has achieved one of the most amazing feats in our sport," Federer wrote.

Vergeer, who was 8 when she lost the use of her legs following surgery to repair blood vessels around her spine, started playing wheelchair basketball while she recovered. She was good enough to make the Netherlands national team before focusing on tennis.

She rose to No. 1 in the wheelchair rankings in 1999 and never relinquished the top spot.

"Esther Vergeer is a tremendous ambassador not only for tennis but also for disability sports. She is an inspiration to many," ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said. "Wheelchair tennis owes her a huge debt of gratitude for her professionalism and her quality as a player."

The last time she lost a match was to Daniele di Toro in Sydney on Jan. 30, 2003.

"To be honest, I don't really know or remember what it feels like losing in singles," Vergeer said. "I've lost a couple of times in doubles, so I know what it's like to lose.

"And I know what it's like to lose a Monopoly game and I don't like losing. But this doesn't feel like something I lose. This is not the same thing at all."

Don't rush Sloane Stephens

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When asked about reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal, the new future face of tennis, Sloane Stephens, said with that beautiful smile, "Whoa, it wasn't as hard as I thought." The new future face of tennis. Yes, that, among other things, is who Stephens has become over the past two weeks. Her run through the Australian Open has forced the media to dub her as not just tennis' future face, but as tennis' great American hope and next/new/torchbearer/replacement of Serena Williams. (And the race/color aspect of this cannot be ignored. A part of the fascination with Sloane and the rush to replace Serena with her is partially because of the racial connection they share and the fact that they are rarities in the sport. For the damage the pressure of something like that can do to a young African-American tennis player, I have only two words: Donald Young.) America: Slow your roll. The last thing Stephens needs is the outside pressure that historically has played a role in ruining a career before it even gets a true chance to start. The desire to find a savior for American tennis should not come at one player's expense. If we really care about the future of Sloane Stephens, then we need to change the recent direction of her narrative. But we can't, can we? It's not in us to do something like that. Because when it comes to athletics -- specifically in sports, where there's an absurd need to discover or manufacture the next great icon and identify the next level of greatness -- we all have a tendency to put (young) athletes into contexts where they have yet to belong. And in tennis, we got it bad. In tennis there's often a very fine line between the promise of a player's future and a player having a historic run during a tournament. Especially when it happens at a Grand Slam. When players go on runs like Stephens' in Australia, we lose perspective; we think what we are seeing from them in that moment is going to be the prequel to what we are about to see on an every-tournament basis. Especially when it happens during a Grand Slam. In 1978 it was Virginia Ruzici, who after she won the French Open never got past the quarterfinal in any other Slam; in 1997, 19-year-old Iva Majoli won the French Open but never lived up to the expectations placed on her at the time. Same with Anastasia Myskina in 2004 and Ana Ivanovic in 2008, and neither ever seemed to recover. Myskina never made it past a quarterfinal in any other Slam and hasn't played since 2007. Ivanovic is chasing her next title and is ranked No. 13 in the world. In 2011 it was Petra Kvitova. She was 21 and had already been on the tour for five years when she won Wimbledon. Because she was Czech, she was instantly dubbed the "next" Martina Navratilova. Not that she hasn't played well since (last year she did reach the semis of the Australian and the French Opens), but she has fallen from being ranked No. 2 in the world to her current No. 8. That's not ascension. Just three years ago tennis thought it had found another darling, the new "next." During the 2009 U.S. Open, Melanie Oudin did exactly what Stephens just did in Australia: came out of nowhere and shook up the world. The 17-year-old wild card took out Maria Sharapova (and Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova) during an improbable run to the Open quarterfinals. She got feature stories written about her in The New York Times and an appearance on "The Tonight Show." The world wasn't just an oyster to her; it had become a pearl Tiffany bracelet. Seventeen months ago Oudin returned to the U.S. Open with a 9-28 record for 2011, ranked 120 in the world (she finished 2011 ranked 139). Today she's scrambling to just qualify for Slams, sometimes relying on exemptions and losing early. Currently, Oudin's WTA singles ranking is 84 in the world. I write all of this only to say that the game doesn't discriminate, especially when it comes to fresh, young, untested talent that shows us a glimpse of what could be. The game knows we are fiends for what's new; the game knows we are forever and always in search of the new. What we tend to do is forget the role we play in providing prey for the game to prey on. Stephens could be the next great fill-in-the-blank, but we shouldn't make her the game's next victim. With all of the cool, calm, composure, control, discipline and poise she showed in the big moments in Melbourne, it's easy to imagine her playing in the semis in majors for years to come. We too can't be victims. Because just as we watched her upset the No. 3 seed in Serena and force the No. 1 seed (Victoria Azarenka) to indecorously use a 10-minute injury timeout -- which some experts argued was merely to compose herself and keep from choking away the second set -- we must remind ourselves for the sake of Stephens' career that this was the first time she had ever been seeded in a major. We must remember that she still was the 29th seed, that she caught Serena at the perfect time (Williams was playing on a severely bad ankle, she had lost a doubles match the day before in which she tweaked the ankle, her back locked up on her for eight games in the match against Stephens, etc.). And she did have 19 unforced errors in that 6-1 first-set loss to Azarenka. We need the reality check more than she does. There's a difference between a match or tournament that makes people aware of who you are, a match or tournament that says you've arrived and a match or tournament that says you are the next great hope for a sport. That you are the answer to a sport's prayer. We can't assist in making Sloane Stephens tennis' next unanswered prayer. She deserves better than that. We should learn from our past. A little over three and a half years ago, Caroline Wozniacki was where Stephens is now. The up, coming and here-to-stay star. That promising young tennis phenom who grabbed hold of the world of sports and held it captive for as long as she could. The new future face. I'm not saying that Wozniacki has not become a great player or is no longer the face of the women's game, but there's an incompleteness to her career that you wouldn't wish on anyone. We (and the WTA, which vaulted her in 2010 to No. 1, which she held for over a year without ever winning a major, something she still has yet to do) fell in love too soon, put too much pressure on her too soon, expected too much of her too soon. And we are already looking for the next her. Please don't let it be Sloane.