Posts Tagged ‘Australian Open’

Competitors yet afraid of Federer

Roger Federer can have misplaced his position at the top of the rankings but he stays a tremendously formidable adversary, his rivals said.

The Swiss star has not succeeded to win a tournament in this year and smashed a racquet in an out of character outburst in Miami.

The world number one Rafeal Nadal said, “He’s completed a Grand Slam final and two Master Series semis.”

And on the other hand world number two Djokovic said, “He gained it all for four years and now he loses and misses a few he’s not in crisis”.

I did detect it strange that he cracked his racquet at Miami, he who always keeps peaceful. But these things occur when you are disturbed on the court,” added the Serbian.

Federer, 27, has won 13 Grand Slam occasions but only one, last year’s US Open, out of the last six. Nadal exchanged Federer at the top of the rankings last August, and the Swiss player has never defeated him at a Grand Slam event outside of SW19.

The usually reserved Federer burst into tears after losing to Nadal in the Australian Open final in February, giving the critics with advance ammunition that the Swiss player’s game was in refuse. France’s Gilles Simon has crushed Federer on each of the two events they have met, but the Frenchman was similarly admiring as Nadal and Djokovic. “For me, on a good day, he still is the excellent player in the world,” he said.

Breaking ranks, Fernando Verdasco of Spain proposed Federer was struggling psychologically with having to accept he was no more as prevalent as he had once been.

Two years before he was winning and gaining everything. Now, since the start of the year, he has been crushed by Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray. Psychologically it is not easy to manage. Federer is due to start his clay court season in Monte Carlo against Italian Andreas Seppi on Wednesday.

Safina disappointed to prove the tennis significance

Russia’s tennis star Dinara Safina, who will put back Serena Williams as world top ranked later this month in spite of never having won a Grand Slam title, insists she will provide evidence she belongs on top of the rankings.

Dinara Safina, whose brother Marat was the men’s tennis top player in the world in 2000, will substitute Williams, who has been on top for 11 successive weeks, and 72 in all, on April 20.

Safina, who is the runner up to the American at the Australian Open year, said, “There’s no question that while I am very proud of my consequences over the past year, I would have wished to arrive at this achievement in an unusual way. I expect to demonstrate to everyone over the coming months that I deserve the honor of being world number one.

She further said by expressing her feelings, “It’s a big honor to get the top ranking and it is a dream that each girl who has ever wanted to play professional tennis shares. It is yet extra ordinary for me since my brother Marat was capable to obtain the number one ranking and I am excited and happy to share this triumph with him.”

Safina is the only second Russian woman, along with Maria Sharapova, to hold the top spot. Her elevation was declared just after Williams endured a shock 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 first round conquer against world number 95 Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic in Marbella.

Safina has gained four WTA Tour singles titles over the past year. Montreal, Los Angeles, Berlin and Tokyo and was runner-up five times, including the Australian Open and Roland Garros. She was also a silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics. Her constantly move up the rankings will symbolize the first time a brother and sister have been number one in the world.

In the Meanwhile, Williams fell off to beat in Marbella in her initial clay court outing of the season handing her Czech rival a first win over a top 10 player since 2003. Williams had been downed in the final of the Miami hard-court occasion on Sunday when her performance in opposition to Victoria Azarenka was harshly handicapped by a thigh injury which required serious strapping.

Williams who once more was wearing a bandage on her left leg said, “I am very disappointed about my defeat. She further said, “In face I wanted to play my excellent tennis and best performance but because of my injury I couldn’t perform well.”

Fighting champ Djokovic proceed at Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic set up his defence of the Indian Wells Masters succession title with a straight-sets conquest on Sunday, as world No.1 Rafael Nadal prepared to open his campaign. Serbia’s Djokovic seeded third behind Nadal and Swiss world No.2 Roger Federer in the $US5.4 million ($A8.2 million) occasion overcame 54th-ranked Argentinian Martin Vasallo Arguello 7-5 6-4 to achieve the third round.

Djokovic, who claimed his initial title of 2009 at Dubai two weeks ago, raised an early break in every set only to surrender his serve before breaking Vasallo Arguello once more. When the Argentinean sent a service return long, he precluded the match on a breezy stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on his second match point.

Spain’s Nadal the 2007 champion who has additional promoted his hard-court recommendations with his Australian Open triumph this year, was to play German qualifier Michael Berrer in a second-round match. Confronting China’s Peng Shuai in the third round, women’s top seed Dinara Safina of Russia was also in action.

Safina, who has a chance to supplant the absent Serena Williams atop the world rankings by reaching the final of this WTA event, will be trying to avoid the upset bug that saw 15 of 32 seeded women eliminated in the second round, including second-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, No.3 Elena Dementieva and No.6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, both of Russia.

In other early matches, last year’s surprise men’s finalist Mardy Fish, who surprised Federer in the semi-finals in 2008, was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1) by France’s Jeremy Chardy. Fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva prepared it securely into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic. Fish admitted that after last year’s heroics, it was deflating to lose his first match.

He said.”I will undoubtedly never forget last year, also never forget the semi-final match against Roger. Maybe it all evens itself out in the end,”

Now Chardy next faces Spain’s David Ferrer, runner-up to Djokovic in Dubai, who defeat US qualifier Todd Widom 6-4 7-5.