|
Williams embraced Obama's victory |
|
Tsonga King of Paris Paris, France. Tsonga, the 13th seed, displayed nerves of steel in his first Masters Series final by claiming a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory in front of his jubilant home crowd. The 23-year-old's serve was the key as he banged 25 aces past the eighth seed, whose game was nowhere near the dizzy heights it reached in his quarter-final win over Andy Murray and in patches of his semi-final triumph over Nikolay Davydenko. Tsonga is the man to finish seventh in the ATP Points Race and earn a direct passage to China. In claiming his second title of the year, he becomes the first French winner of the Bercy event since 2001, when Sebastien Grosjean picked up the title. He will move into the world's top 10 tomorrow and with three other Les Bleus - Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils - in the top 20, it is a booming time for French tennis. |
|
Federico Luzzi: 1980-2008 Federico Luzzi was born on January 3rd, 1980 in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, where he lived, practiced, and died. He turned pro in 1998 and reached his best ATP ranking 92 in February 2002. He got involved, together with other Italian players, in a betting affair, and last spring, the ATP banished him from the tour for 200 days. In September he returned playing challengers in Italy. Last sunday he started a match in Olbia for his Roman tennis club Parioli, when he had to retire after only a few points. He felt weak, went home to Arezzo and was recovered to the hospital there. He never left it alive. An acute leucemia destroyed his young life. Federico leaves his mother Paola, his father Maurizio and his older sister Francesca. "Chicco" was a funny and very social young man, popular with most part of the players on the tour. We all will miss him. Brigitte Urban |
|
Venus Williams: On-Court Cover Girl At a recent party for the European launch of leading fashion photographer Koto Bolofo's book, "Venus Williams," Mr. Bolofo signed copies for excited guests, including Venus herself. "Venus Williams" by Koto Bolofo launches in the US on July 21 and can be pre-ordered now on Amazon.com |
 |
Spain and Nadal await Argentina in Davis Cup final MADRID, Spain —Rafael Nadal isn’t too worried about having to play the Davis Cup final against Argentina on a fast indoor court, he swept Andy Roddick in straight sets on clay Sunday, sending Spain past the reigning champion United States 4-1 and into its sixth final and third in eight years. Argentina defeated Russia 3-2 in Buenos Aires in the other semifinal. It will host the Nov. 21-23 final at Orfeo arena in Cordoba, looking to offset the clay-court edge of Nadal and his teammates. “It’s not just the surface but the team that matters,” Nadal said. Argentina knows a faster surface may be the only way to beat Nadal, a four-time French Open champion who has lost only twice in his last 117 clay matches. “They’ll choose whatever works best for them. If they pick an indoor (stadium) we’ll go looking to be as competitive as possible,” Spain captain Emilio Sanchez. Argentina, whose team features David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro, reached its third final. |
 |
Serena Williams on top of the world Serena Williams was on top of the world after defeating Jelena Jankovic and says she has found a whole new enthusiasm for the sport after winning her third US Open title. 26-year-old Williams' victory against Jankovic gained her the top spot in the sport's rankings for the first time since 2003. Serena Williams said with a lot of confidence in her voice: "I feel like I have a new career. I feel so young and I feel so energised to play every week." Williams had beaten second seeded Jankovic with a 6-4 7-5 score in the final, which had been delayed because of the bad weather on the day before. Jankovic, who would have become world number one if she had won, had four set points in the second set and couldn't match Williams' performance. Williams has said she is sure she has been playing so well because of her new dedication to keeping really fit. |
 |
Etienne De Villiers steps down as ATP Executive Chairman "Dear all - I'm told by wiser souls that one makes very few decisions in life, that most things that happen are self evident or obvious and therefore happen naturally. I consider most things that have happened in my life to be just that; for example, getting married to Anita, having children, joining Disney and emigrating to England - all self evidently the right things to do. Decisions are the hard choices one makes when the alternatives are well balanced. I will leave with no regrets but with a sense that I have done what I set out to do. To those who want the sport to continue to grow and prosper, may the road rise up to meet you". Etienne de Villiers |
|
Will Monfils and Tsonga lead France to Davis Cup Title in 2009? Jo Wilfried Tsonga, who made international headlines by reaching the Australian Open final in 2008 and Gael Monflis who reached the semi finals at the French Open will be the main driving force behind France's Davis Cup dream team in 2009. There is no doubt that the French duo are both on the path of winning their first Grand Slam title and it would be a great way to end the year 2009 for the new "Musketeers". France is chasing its first Davis Cup win since 2001. |
|
Li Na, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie ready for a Grand Slam title? The performance of chinese players in recent gland slam tournaments has caused excitement in the world of tennis. Their success is being attributed to China's increasing investme nt in sports development and its ever growing middle class. Given the scale of their population and the scale of investment, there will be more tennis champions coming out of China. The communist nation is constantly developing, becoming more westernized, and is adopting a different approach to professional sports, in particular tennis. There will be a Chinese tennis champion of a grand slam event. It's just a question of when? |
 |
Nadal, Dementieva, Williams Sisters, Federer and Wawrinka win Gold at Olympics Beijing, China -- Rafael Nadal added the Olympic singles gold medal to a bulging list of achievements in what already counts as the Spaniard's finest year. Nadal beat Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.Russia swept the women's singles when two-time grand slam bridesmaid Elena Dementieva defeated sixth seed Dinara Safina 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the gold medal game and Vera Zvonareva beat China's Li Na 6-0, 7-5 for bronze. Federer associated in doubles with Wawrinka and the Williams sisters also win Gold. |
Spain wins 2008 Davis Cup
Spainlifted its third Davis Cup on Sunday, when Fernando Verdasco beat Argentine Jose Acasuso in five sets to secure a 3-1 win in the city of Mar del Plata, at the south of Buenos Aires. Verdasco, who is number 16 of the world ranking, overcame Acasuso (48) 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-3 and 6-1 in three hours and 56 minutes on the indoors court in the municipal sports center "Islas Malvinas."
Spain had won the "Silver Bowl" in 2000 and 2004, in both occasions as hosts, while Argentina has never won the tournament.
The Argentine team was forced to end an unbeatable streak for on home soil since its last defeat as host to Slovakia in 1998, after it won 13 series. Spanish team had to played without their world number one Rafael Nadal.
