Monday Net Post

By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan

Last Week's Tournaments

Davis Cup World Group Semifinals (ITF - Various)

• Argentina 3, Russia 2
  - Tie Details
• Spain 3, United States 1 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details

Davis Cup World Group Playoffs (ITF - Various)

• Chile 3, Australia 1 (3-2)*
  - Tie Details
• Austria 3, Great Britain 2
  - Tie Details
• Switzerland 3, Belgium 0 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details
• Croatia 3, Brazil 1 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details
• Israel 3, Peru 1 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details
• Netherlands 3, Korea Republic 2
  - Tie Details
• Romania 3, India 1 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details
• Serbia 3, Slovak Republic 0 (4-1)*
  - Tie Details

* (This is the final score of the tie, including dead rubbers.  The preceding scores only include live rubbers.)

Toray Pan Pacific Open (WTA - Hard - Tokyo, Japan)

• Singles Final: Dinara Safina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3.
  - Singles Semifinal: Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Katarina Srebotnik 7-6, 6-2.
  - Singles Semifinal: Dinara Safina def. Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-0.

• Doubles Final: Vania King/Nadia Petrova def. Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Vania King/Nadia Petrova def. Chia-Jung Chuang/Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur def. Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-1.

• Singles & Doubles Draws

TOE Life Ceramics Guangzhou International Women's Open (WTA - Hard - Guangzhou, China)

• Singles Final: Vera Zvonareva def. Shuai Peng 6-7, 6-0, 6-2.
  - Singles Semifinal: Vera Zvonareva def. Jie Zheng 6-3, 7-5.
  - Singles Semifinal: Shaui Peng def. Camille Pin 6-2, 6-1.

• Doubles Final: Mariya Koryttseva/Tatiana Poutchek def. Tiantian Sun/Zi Yan 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Tiantian Sun/Zi Yan def. Akgul Amanmuradova/Anastasia Rodionova (walkover).
  - Doubles Semifinal: Mariya Koryttseva/Tatiana Poutchek def. Ekaterina Dzehalevich/Anastasia Pivovarova 6-4, 4-6, 10-2.

• Singles & Doubles Draws

By the Letter

T...ennisnews.com reports that Adidas will begin selling tennis racquets in the United States in February 2009.
E...lite player development at the USTA will now be overseen by well-traveled coach Jose Higueras, along with current general manager Patrick McEnroe.
N...ew Brisbane tournament, which replaces Adelaide next year on the ATP calendar, will feature some big names in their inaugural event.  More info here.
N...ikolay Davydenko is out of hot water with the ATP, but he may not be done with them.
I...mpending Davis Cup final between Argentina and Spain will be the first ever held on Argentinean soil, and will "likely be the first outdoor final in seven years."
S...erena Williams' memoir, set to be released next year, fetched at least $1.3 million from potential publishers in a bidding war.
W...inning doubles gold was critical to his success at the U.S. Open, confirmed Roger Federer.
O...lympic gold > Grand Slam glory?  Elena Dementieva says so.
R...anking < Grand Slam glory?  Ana Ivanovic says she'd rather win a Slam before becoming No. 1 in the world again.
L...aura Robson - the 14-year old British junior who won the Girls' Singles title at Wimbledon this year - won her first pro match at "the obscure $10,000 Gaz de France Open in Limoges."
D...irt expert Felix Mantilla will now work with Tennis Australia to help their players on clay.  "This is no part-time hobby for him," said Craig Tiley, Director of Tennis for Tennis Australia.

McGrogan's Heroes

ATP - Juan Martin del Potro

If "McGrogan's Heroes" has become like a television rerun you've seen far too many times, I apologize.  (You probably won't care for the WTA selection either.)  But for the third time in two months, the honor goes to Juan Martin del Potro, and deservedly so.  The Argentinean continued his summer surge in Davis Cup, rescuing his countrymen from extinction with two timely victories in Buenos Aires.

Both of del Potro's wins were in commanding fashion; most impressive because of the pressure he faced from his battle-tested opponents across the net, and from the bloodthirsty fans watching above.  On Friday, del Potro smothered world No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.  It was an astounding score considering that Davydenko would later force a fifth rubber (with Russia once trailing 0-2) by beating David Nalbandian 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0.

In that deciding rubber, del Potro didn't skip a beat, trouncing Igor Andreev by essentially the same score - 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.  Andreev gave Roger Federer all he could handle at the U.S. Open; against del Potro, he could muster only seven games.

Currently tenth in the ATP points race, del Potro still has some work to do if he's to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.  It will be a shame if he doesn't, because del Potro's rise has been one of the biggest stories this year in men's tennis.  Who would've thought we'd be talking more about him than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga back in January?

(Honorable Mention: Alexander Peya.  The Austrian was smoked by Andy Murray on Friday (4-6, 1-6, 3-6), but had a chance to atone for it in the decisive fifth rubber against Alex Bogdanovic.  Peya lost the first set 2-6, but stormed back to win the last three - on the hallowed lawn of Wimbledon, mind you - to boost Austria into the World Group next year.  Prior to the Bogdanovic match, Peya's last victory in a live singles rubber was five years ago against Jan-Frode Andersen of Norway.)

WTA - Dinara Safina

The only person who can match what del Potro has accomplished is Dinara Safina, speaking in "McGrogan's Heroes" awards, of course.  For the third time in two months, Safina is the leading lady for the week.  Like del Potro, she ousted top-flight competition this week with seeming ease.  It's Safina's fourth title this year, and her forty-first win in her last 46 matches.

The top two seeds in the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open were Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, but the tournament would turn into a mostly Russian affair with Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Nadia Petrova all reaching the final four.  Petrova bounced Ivanovic in three sets, and Kuznetsova did the same to Jankovic a round later in the quarterfinals.  While all this was going on, Safina defeated Dominika Cibulkova and Kaia Kanepi, and prepared to face a suddenly hot Petrova in the semifinals.

All of Petrova's heat was extinguished by Safina, who annihilated her fellow Russian 6-1, 6-0.  That's a score you might expect to see in the early rounds of a Tier IV tournament, not in the semis of a Tier I.

The final was more competitive - though what wouldn't be? - but not by much.  Kuznetsova is a skilled player who's had trouble sealing the deal in tournaments recently.  Safina was probably the last player Kuznetsova wanted to face in a final, and her woes persisted after a decisive 6-1, 6-3 beating.

The victory ensures Safina the No. 3 world ranking, passing Ivanovic in the process. And she's less than 150 ranking points behind Jankovic for second on the list.  It seems like just a matter of time before Safina asserts herself ahead of both Serbians in the WTA rankings, so while many pros can't wait for the year to end, Safina's probably one of the few who doesn't want it to stop.

Tennis Theatre

The tennis event at the 2012 Olympic Games will be held at the historic All England Club in Wimbledon.  I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that, but I know this: the Davis Cup looked completely out of place there.  There's patches of empty seats, vocal blocks of fans, and even pyrotechnics!  Wimbledon has undergone some cosmetic changes in recent years, but I hope it never turns into this:

This Week's Tournaments

China Open (ATP & WTA - Hard - Beijing, China)

• Men's Singles Draw
• Men's Doubles Draw
• Women's Singles & Doubles Draws
• Website

Thailand Open (ATP - Hard - Bangkok, Thailand)

• Singles Draw
• Doubles Draw
• Website

Hansol Korea Open (WTA - Hard - Seoul, Korea)

• Singles & Doubles Draws
• Website

(Click here for this week's TV schedule.)

Beyond the Bracket

There was an honorable mention for the men in the McGrogan's Heroes section, and there's one for the women as well.  That distinction goes not to Vera Zvonareva, winner of Guangzhou, but to Kamakshi Tandon, web editor-extraordinaire of Ontario.

Kamakshi's presence at TENNIS.com has been all-encompassing over the past two years.  She's authored countless feature stories that park on the home page, and has penned her entertaining Travelling Circus blog from the many tournaments she's covered.  But behind the scenes, she's also been the glue that's held this site together, tirelessly making TENNIS.com the finest source for tennis information on the Internet.  And she's done this all with such candor (or, candour, Kamakshi) and wit that writers across the land should take a page from.  Steve Tignor even called her a "professional wit," and that title works for me too.

Kamakshi's also taught me the inner workings of TENNIS.com, allowing me to assist in maintaining the site since the beginning of this year.  Now, I'll be taking on an even greater role here, as tomorrow, I will officially be stepping into the role of web editor.  I only hope that I can lead this site in the way Kamakshi has; they are big shoes to fill.  I think I speak for everyone associated with TENNIS.com when I say thank you for all you hard work, Kamakshi - it did not go unnoticed.

But it would be quite rude of me to not let her have the last words:

*Hi everyone,

Just a note to thank you all for frequenting and participating at Tennis.com while I've been here. I've really enjoyed being able to edit and report during such a golden period in the sport. After a very busy, challenging -- and rewarding -- two years, I'm taking a breather and today will be my last day at this post.

I'll still be keeping up with the tours, of course, and hopefully doing some writing here and there. Hope you've found the site to be a good destination and long may the great tennis continue,

Kamakshi*

if...

you're Patrick McEnroe, who do you use at second singles for Davis Cup next year?