Monday Net Post

Last Week's Tournaments

Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open (ATP - Hard - Mumbai, India)

- Singles Final: Richard Gasquet def. Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Richard Gasquet def. Fabrice Santoro 6-0, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Olivier Rochus def. Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 7-5.
- Singles Bracket

- Doubles Final: Robert Lindstedt/Jarkko Nieminen def. Rohan Bopana/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6, 7-6.
- Doubles Semifinal: Robert Lindstedt/Jarkko Nieminen def. Boris Pashanski/Viktor Troicki 6-1, 7-5.
- Doubles Semifinal: Rohan Bopana/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi def. Lars Burgsmuller/Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-3.
- Doubles Bracket

Thailand Open (ATP - Indoor Hard - Bangkok, Thailand)

- Singles Final: Dmitry Tursunov def. Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Benjamin Becker def. Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Dmitry Tursunov def. Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
- Singles Bracket

- Doubles Final: Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana def. Michael Llodra/Nicolas Mahut 3-6, 7-5, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Michael Llodra/Nicolas Mahut def. Vince Spadea/Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana def. Ashley Fisher/Jim Thomas 6-1, 6-1.
- Doubles Bracket

Fortis Championships Luxembourg (WTA - Indoor Hard - Luxembourg, Luxembourg)

- Singles Final: Ana Ivanovic def. Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Daniela Hantuchova def. Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Ana Ivanovic def. Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-2.

- Doubles Final: Iveta Benesova/Janette Husarova def. Victoria Azarenka/Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Victoria Azarenka/Shahar Peer def. Vera Dushevina/Tatiana Perebiynis 6-2, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Iveta Benesova/Janette Husarova def. Michaella Krajicek/Vladimira Uhlirova 2-6, 6-3, 10-7.

• Singles & Doubles Brackets

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

- Singles Final: Virginie Razzano def. Tzipora Obzilier 6-0, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Tzipora Obzilier def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 3-1 (retired).
- Singles Semifinal: Virginie Razzano def. Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

- Doubles Final: Shuai Peng/Zi Yan def. Vania King/Tiantian Sun 6-3, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Vania King/Tiantian Sun def. Jill Craybas/Jelena Kostanic Tosic 7-6, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Shuai Peng/Zi Yan def. Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-1.

• Singles & Doubles Brackets

Hansol Korean Open (WTA - Rebound Ace - Seoul, South Korea)

- Singles Final: Venus Williams def. Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Venus Williams def. Flavia Penneta 6-2, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Maria Kirilenko def. Eleni Daniilidou 7-5, 6-0.

- Doubles Final: Chia-Jung Chuang/Su-Wei Hsieh def. Eleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr 6-2, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Chia-Jung Chuang/Su-Wei Hsieh def. Ayumi Morita/Junri Namigata 5-7, 6-3, 10-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Eleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr def. Catalina Castano/Abigail Spears 6-2, 4-6, 10-1.

• Singles & Doubles Brackets

By the Letter

T...hird title of the year for Pete Sampras on the Outback Champions Series was on a clay court - Sampras's traditional kryptonite - against Todd Martin at The Palisades in Charlotte, North Carolina.
E...xclusive Asian professional tournament is being established this year by the Asian Tennis Federation.  The ATF has complained that while Asia hosts a number of ATP events, the low world rankings of the Asian players have prohibited many Asians from qualifying, and therefore cashing, at these lucrative tournaments.
N...ever-ending Davis Cup is already looking ahead to next year's season as the first round pairings were made ealier this week; Russia vs. Serbia seems the most tantalizing of the lot.
N...ow swinging a golf club instead of a tennis racquet, Michael Chang will be in tournament action this week at the California State Open Golf Championship.
I...TF has banned Marcelo Melo for two months, after the Brazilian failed a drug test that occured earlier this year.  The punishment will also force Melo to forfeit ranking points and prize money earned at Queen's Club and the U.S. Open
S...tar logo of Mercedes-Benz will no longer adorn the nets of the ATP Tour after 2008, as the German automaker has elected to end its sponsorship with the tour due to "revised brand positioning."
W...TA Tour Championships in Madrid will include Ana Ivanovic, who clinched a spot in the year-end finale by reaching the finals of Luxembourg this week.
O...regon's largest city, Portland, will host the Davis Cup final in late November.
R...ussian Dmitry Tursunov won his third career title in Bangkok, in the same week that he revealed in a report that he was offered bribes on multiple occasions in the past.
L...aughs for Andy Roddick fans (and non-fans): here.
D...efending Japan Open champion Roger Federer has pulled out of this year's event, citing a need for a full recovery after the U.S. Open and Davis Cup.

McGrogan's Heroes

ATP - Look up Richard Gasquet in the dictionary and you're likely to stumble upon a number of definitions: tennis prodigy, French hope, flashy shot maker.  One description that you won't find is "consistent".  Since arriving on the ATP Tour for good after his victory against Roger Federer in Monte Carlo '05, Gasquet's career has been a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, which has caused many observers to wonder what Richard could achieve if he could simply put it all together, physically and mentally.

Gasquet's 2005 coming out party was actually his most consistent season to date - after Monte Carlo, Gasquet again shined in a clay Masters Series event, reaching the finals of Hamburg.  Thereafter, he won his first career title at Nottingham, and reached the fourth round of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.  The following year, full of heightened expectations, Gasquet lost the first three matches of the year, and never got on track until June in Nottingham, where he defended his title.  He went on to win two more tournaments, and also made a surprising run to the finals of AMS Toronto.

This year, the inconsistent play of Gasquet surfaced again.  Besides a finals appearance in Estoril, Gasquet's first half of 2007 was filled with underachievement and missed opportunities.  An unexpected semifinal appearance at Wimbledon seemed to turn things around, but Gasquet instead laid an egg during the summer hard court season, which culminated with a retirement in the second round of the U.S. Open.  This week, Gasquet rose from the dead once again, winning Mumbai in utterly dominant fashion, never surrendering more than four games in any set.  The field may not have been star-studded, but this consistency through five matches was impressive nonetheless.

One other note about Gasquet's is that with this week's victory, the Frenchman has now won an event on all four major surfaces (grass, clay, hard court, and carpet).  For fans of Richard, it may be best to view his accomplishments in the scope of a career - where he has shown ability on all surfaces and at many different tournaments - instead of a single year, where every prestigious accolade seems to be followed by a bewildering dry spell.

WTA - Venus Williams breezed through the field in South Korea, but I'm going to give this week's honor to someone with substantially fewer titles than the resurgent American.  Virginie Razzano, the No. 2 seed in the Guangzhou International Women's Open, capped off her best week as a professional by hoisting a trophy for the first time in her WTA Tour career this week in southern China.

One of Razzano's toughest challenges came in the opening round against veteran American Jill Craybas, who took this seemingly innocuous match to three sets.  Virginie escaped 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, then played much better against her next two opponents.  Tiantian Sun was the victim of a double bagel (6-0, 6-0), while Virginia Ruano Pascual didn't fare much better, losing 6-3, 6-1.

Razanno's semifinal against fourth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova was another three-setter, but after prevailing, Virginie was rewarded with a far easier match in the final, coasting by Tzipora Obziler 6-0, 6-3.  Both Obziler and Razzano were looking for their first title, but youth prevailed as the 24 year-old outclassed the 34 year-old veteran.

Prior to last week, Razzano had reached two WTA Tour finals in her career.  In 2004, she lost to Nicole Vaidisova in Tashkent, and earlier this year, she fell hard to Gisela Dulko at Forest Hills by a 6-2, 6-2 score.  Virginie atoned for this performance this week, and with the win, moves to No. 33 in the world, her best career ranking.

Tennis Theatre

(Each week, I will post a video - an entertaining one, I hope - that pertains to something in the tennis world.  Subjects of the video could be specific players, tournaments, or other relevant tennis news.)

Richard Gasquet's win this week featured a number of his lovely patented backhands - here's a few breathtaking shots from his best match of the year, the Wimbledon quarterfinal against Andy Roddick (the best one is last).

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2cFAl65k-I(Will try to get this embedded correctly next week.)

AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships (ATP - Hard - Tokyo, Japan)

• Website
• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket

Television Coverage (Eastern Standard Time):

- Saturday: 12:00 am - 4:00 am (Tennis Channel - Semifinals; Live)*
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Semifinals; Delay)
11:00 pm - 1:00 am (Tennis Channel - Final; Live)
- Sunday: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Final; Delay)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Final; Delay)*

Open de Moselle (ATP - Indoor Hard - Metz, France)

• Website
• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket

Television Coverage: None

AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships (WTA - Hard - Tokyo, Japan)

• Website
• Singles & Doubles Bracket

Television Coverage: None

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA - Indoor Hard - Stuttgart, Germany)

• Website
• Singles & Doubles Bracket

Television Coverage (Eastern Standard Time):

- Saturday: 7:00 am - 11:00 am (Tennis Channel - Semifinals; Live)
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Semifinals; Delay)
- Sunday: 7:00 am - 9:00 am (Tennis Channel - Final; Live)
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Final; Delay)
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm (Tennis Channel - Final; Delay)
- Monday: 12:00 am - 2:00 am (Tennis Channel - Final; Delay)

Tashkent Open (WTA - Hard - Tashkent, Uzbekistan)

• Website
• Singles & Doubles Bracket

Television Coverage: None

Beyond the Bracket

I’m confident that a number of tennis fans outside of the United States were perplexed at this week’s announcement by the USTA that Portland, Oregon will host the Davis Cup final in late November.  After all, the last stage of this prestigious competition has previously been held at much more populated and renowned cities around the world; some venues in the last five years have included Moscow, Melbourne, and Paris.

There were a number of American metropolises that surely could have hosted the final, but the fact that the recipient was Portland – more boondocks than boom town in the eyes of many – should not only say something about the city, but also about its connection to tennis.  To find out what exactly makes Portland the tennis capital of the Pacific Northwest, I spoke to Brian Parrot, who spearheaded the city’s efforts to land this year’s Davis Cup final.

Parrot, a former tennis professional and father of current ATP doubles player Travis Parrot, has a wealth of experience in tennis marketing endeavors, even being dubbed a “tennis impresario” by the Portland Business Journal.  Parrot has coordinated a number of tennis tournaments during his time in Oregon, including the Oregon State Championship.  In 1981 and 1984, Portland hosted Davis Cup ties, also in great measure due to the efforts of Parrot.

During the 23-year hiatus between hosting the Davis Cup, Parrot hasn’t sat by idly.  “There were efforts to get the Davis Cup back to Oregon by the Pacific Northwest Tennis Association and the Oregon Sports Authority,” said Parrot, who worked closely with these organizations in this year’s success.  In addition, there were hopes of getting an ATP tournament to the Pacific Northwest.  “We were in discussions when the Scottsdale tournament was up for sale, but the Tennis Channel bought that [and moved it to Las Vegas].  It’s a good section of the country for tennis.  A logical thing to consider would be to get an event and alternate it between Seattle and Portland every other year,” said Parrot.

Perseverance and hard work paid off this year, however.  Parrot worked with Global Events Group, a Portland-based event promoter, during his marketing efforts, but worked just as much with the Portland community.  “It was a Pacific Northwest effort,” said Parrot.  Needing to raise $400,000 to attract the event, many Oregon businesses stepped in to help, including the former CEO of a worldwide empire with roots in Oregon - Nike.  “Please mention Phil Knight, as he stepped forward with a $100,000 contribution,” said Parrot.  Parrot mentioned that in the past, money was often the stumbling block for attracting additional pro tennis to the area, but that wasn't as big of an issue this year thanks to the support that Parrot generated.

Parrot also attributes this year’s achievement to the Portland community, which took an active role in the push for the Davis Cup.  “The community, led by the mayor with strong letters of support, was critical in getting the Davis Cup back in Portland.  The timing was right, and 23 years ago we had sellouts,” said Parrot.  Judging by his tone, he expects much the same crowd response this year.  “The building [Memorial Coliseum] is an excellent one, a very intimate setting – good for the home team.  It will be a loud one,” said Parrot.

Whether Portland’s hosting of the Davis Cup is successsful remains to be seen.  But it appears that the fan support and interest is there, and the three days should be a sellout – nearly assured by the fact that no single-day tickets are being sold (you must buy for all three days).  Not everyone is excited about the tournament's arrival, but early indications point to an arena filled with ravenous tennis fans, clad in red, white, and blue, hoping to witness the first Davis Cup victory for the U.S. since 1995.

Portland may not have the "wow" factor like New York or a court steeped in tradition like Houston, but Oregon should provide ample support for Roddick, Blake and the Bryan brothers, which will be critical against a tough opponent in Russia.

- Ed McGrogan