SuperDuper-Tennis Archive

Sunday, May 03, 2009

May 02 - Breaking News (Tennis.com)

Sunday, May 03, 2009 | Posted by SuperDuper | | Edit Post
Last updated on 5/2/2009
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by Kamakshi Tandon

The TickerRafael Nadal on facing Novak Djokovic in the Rome final: "I know tomorrow is going to be a really tough match, and I will have to be playing at 100% to have a good chance to win.

"The important thing is, don't make a lot of mistakes.

“I have to play aggressive with my forehand and try to have control of the point with my forehand. If I don't do that, it’s going be really difficult, because if he is attacking me it’s really tough to play against Novak."

The TickerNovak Djokovic on facing Rafael Nadal in the Rome final: "He's going to be absolute favorite to win it again, but I have my chances, especially after the great performance in [the final of] Monte Carlo. I have no reason not to believe that I can win.

"I won a set against him in Monte Carlo, I played really good to start the third set, and learned that I have to really play every point against him, so that's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow. Physically to prepare, to be ready to play long rallies, because that's what’s happening when you play against him, and just wait for the chances."

The Ticker

Qualifying and challenger results from the week so far:
Men
- Dominik Hrbaty defeated wildcard Marko Djokovic, Novak's younger brother, 6-1, 6-0 in Belgrade qualifying
- Andreas Vinciguerra came from a set and a break down to defeat Adrian Menendez 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Estoril qualifying
- Gaston Gaudio is in the semifinals of the ($125K+H) Tunis challenger
- Joachim Johansson, playing with a protected ranking, lost 6-3, 7-6(5) to Amer Delic in the first round of the ($100K+H) Rhodes challenger
- Marcos Baghdatis lost 6-4, 6-1 to Lukasz Kubot in the first round of the ($50K) Ostava challenger
- Mariano Puerta is in the semifinals of the ($35K+H) Pereira challenger
Women
- Alexandra Stevenson lost 7-6, 5-7, 6-0 to Elena Bovina in Estoril qualifying
- Nicole Vaidisova lost 6-2, 7-5 to Yaroslava Shvedova in Rome qualifying
- Michaella Krajicek lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to Kristina Kucova in the quarterfinals of the ($100K +H) Johannesburg challenger
- Mirjana Lucic is in the quarterfinals of the ($50K) Charlottesville challenger
- Elena Baltacha lost 6-2, 6-4 to Ayumi Oka in the first round of the ($50K) Gifu challenger

The TickerDinara Safina rallies to defeat Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 and set up a final against Svetlana Kuznetsova in Stuttgart.

The TickerPost-match reaction from Roger Federer: "...a little pity that I didn't get the break to go 3-0 before the rain delay, but after that, actually I started okay. I thought he came through with a bit more energy after the rain delay -- before that he was pretty flat. All of a sudden it became a different match and he played better.

"Definitely had the win on my racquet today, so it's pretty disappointing. Miami was a difficult one just because I played pretty good in the first set then I completely lost control. This time around it was different. I was in the match obviously all the way through.

"It's bad but I still have some work to do on the clay. I think I'm playing better obviously than Monaco. The hard work has been paying off, but I’ve just got to fix my serve a little bit. I have the feeling that maybe since I had the back problem, my serve is just not working there where I want it to be."

The TickerRafael Nadal defeats Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of Rome, where he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Nadal has not lost on clay since falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero in his opening match in Rome last year and has now won 29 straight matches on the surface.

The TickerNovak Djokovic comes from 3-1 down in both the second and third sets against Roger Federer to defeat the Swiss 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and reach the final of Rome.

The match was interrupted by rain at 2-1 in the second set for Federer, with Djokovic having just saved break points to avoid going down a set and a double break.

The TickerSvetlana Kuznetsova drills Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Stuttgart final.
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