SuperDuper-Tennis Archive

Thursday, April 16, 2009

April 16 - Breaking News (Tennis.com)

Thursday, April 16, 2009 | Posted by SuperDuper | | Edit Post
Last updated on 4/15/2009
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by Kamakshi Tandon

The TickerMarat Safin exits Monte Carlo in dramatic and heartbreaking fashion, losing 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 to Nicolas Lapentti in the second round.

Safin held three match points in the third set, including two at 5-2, but proceeded to lose four games in a row, showing his growing frustration by hitting a ball into the stands and smashing his racquet to earn a point penalty. After saving three match points at 6-5, he came back from 5-1 in the third-set tiebreak before succumbing 8-6.

The TickerRichard Gasquet hopes to return to action next week in Barcelona after being sidelined during Miami and Monte Carlo with a shoulder injury.

"I had several MRIs. It's not hurting anymore. I get treated three or four times a day. I'm going to continue treatment during the whole week and I hope next week will be better," said Gasquet, who said he first felt the injury while going down in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2, 12-10 thriller against Fernando Gonzalez at the Australian Open. "That's when it really started. In Davis Cup it was painful, but I really wanted to play, so I forced it."

In 2002, Gasquet made his ATP debut at Monte Carlo as a 15-year-old after receiving a wildcard into qualifying. Three years later, he pulled off a memorable upset of Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Bizarrely, when asked by reporters on Tuesday about his memories at the tournament, he replied, "I don't have many."

The TickerMonte Carlo wildcard Ivan Ljubicic has knocked out fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in their second-round match.

Though both players had almost the same number of unforced errors, Ljubicic hit 51 winners to his opponent's 34 and produced a stronger serving performance in the third set. The Croat also won 22 of his 23 points at net, compared to 15 out of 24 for del Potro.

The TickerJie Zheng has signed an endorsement contract with ANTA, a Chinese clothing company that entered the tennis market at the beginning of this year by signing an apparel deal with Jelena Jankovic.

The TickerGreg Rusedski has extended his contract with the LTA for another three years. Rusedski works with British juniors in his role as a talent and performance ambassador for the federation.

The TickerRoger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka will meet in an all-Swiss matchup in Monte Carlo after winning their second-round matches on Wednesday. Federer defeated Andres Seppi while Wawrinka overcame Martin Vassallo Arguello 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

The TickerNa Li tells China Daily that she is happy with the increased freedom the Chinese government is now giving tennis players by allowing them to keep most of their own prize money and set their own schedule.

"I love what it is right now. In the past, national or the provincial sports administrators arranged everything for you and you had no options but to follow their arrangements," she said. "It is very important for us to have the right to choose. I really mean it... If I had an opportunity to choose what I wanted to do in childhood, I wouldn't have gone for tennis. It is a sport that I was always pushed to do, first by my parents, then provincial and national sports administrators."

The TickerMaria Sharapova and PepsiCo. have not renewed their endorsement contract, reports Bloomberg. The deal, which featured PepsiCo. beverages Gatorade and Tropicana, expired at the end of last year and was thought to be worth $1 million a year.

The TickerNovak Djokovic, on his recent promotional campaigns for Head: "Head brand is known [for] representing young players, which is really good. And the video, I don't know if you had a chance to see it, it was really fun. I made it in Miami. It was a day long shooting, but it was worth it. It's something new with all these animations and all these monsters attacking tennis players. You know, it's good. I think it's good for the sport because tennis needs it."

The TickerGael Monfils, who lost 6-3, 6-1 to Janko Tipsarevic in Monte Carlo, is struggling with tendinitis in both knees.

"They keep my knees [bandaged] very tight,," said Monfils, who is still hoping to play in Barcelona next week. "I have pain when I take them off. In fact, my knees hurt when I climb stairs. And on the left knee, I have a big bump."

The TickerWildcard Alexandra Stevenson, who lost her first-round match at Charleston 6-2, 6-4 to Akgul Amanmuradova, on dad and former NBA star Julius Erving watching her play in person for the first time: "He lives in Atlanta, so it's four hours... It's nice that I know him [now], and he’s supporting me out here, coming to watch me play... He can see how hard tennis is. It’s not like basketball where you have a whole team of support."

The TickerMonica Seles begins as host of a weekly radio show called "Monica Seles Challenge: 5 Weeks to Jump Start Your Life" on Sirius XM Stars. The series will air on Wednesdays from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm and run for five weeks.

The TickerRoger Federer's wedding last week and Andy Roddick's wedding this week put the two at No. 1 and No. 6, respectively, on SI.com's current 'pop culture hot list.'
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