Tennis

[donsaeid]

در آستانه مسابقات آزاد فرانسه

راجر فدرر مربي خود را كنار گذاشت


تنيسور شماره يك جهان در اقدامي عجيب و در آستانه 27 ماه مي يعني آغاز رقابت*هاي آزاد فرانسه، مربي خود را كنار گذاشت.



به نقل از يورواسپرت، اين اقدام راجر فدرر در حالي صورت مي*گيرد كه رافايل نادال قصد دارد هر طور شده، او را براي پنجمين بار در آزاد فرانسه شكست بدهد.

رقابت*هاي آزاد فرانسه تنها گرند اسلمي است كه فدرر تاكنون فتح نكرده است.

توني روچه، مربي فدرر از 2 سال و نيم پيش عهده*دار اين مسئوليت شد و با اين تنيسور مطرح به افتخارات بسياري دست پيدا كرد؛ اما به خاطر برخي مشكلات مالي يا شخصي، قادر به ادامه همكاري با اين قهرمان نيست.

فدرر گفت: "از توني متشكرم. او هر چه داشت، به من گفت و ديگر حرف جديدي براي گفتن نداشت."
وي افزود: "ديگر به مربي احتياج ندارم و خودم مي*توانم از پس مسابقات برآيم."

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Ana Ivanovic's right foot hurt so much she tried to hit winners and end the rallies quickly. After the match, she was still hobbling.

Ivanovic, however, preferred to think of more pleasant things than her pain: The 19-year-old Serbian was the German Open champion after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Sunday and was headed for a top-10 ranking.

"It's amazing to be in the top 10," said Ivanovic, who could move from No. 16 to as high as No. 8 when the rankings are released Monday. "It has been my goal for some time now."

Ivanovic's foot was taped during the second set against Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, at this key French Open warmup. Ivanovic, who expects to play in Rome next week, didn't feel herself get injured.

"It hurt really bad in the second set. It was so painful in the third set that I went for a lot quickly, trying to hit winners fast," Ivanovic said. "But I didn't expect to win when I came here. I just played match to match. So I just want to enjoy the moment."

Ivanovic pressured Kuznetsova into a long forehand to close the match before a crowd that was behind the Serb after a shaky first set.

This was Ivanovic's eighth victory against a top-10 player, a list that includes 2006 Australian and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo.

"I now have more expectations for the French Open, but I don't want to put pressure on myself," Ivanovic said. "But that's the great thing -- anybody can beat anybody."

Kuznetsova played for the second time Sunday and sometimes looked fatigued as the two hit hard and gambled on winners, producing few long rallies.

"I cannot say I was very fresh. The third set was tough," Kuznetsova said. "I couldn't play my game at all, but it was a very emotional day."

Two hours earlier, the Russian eliminated Justine Henin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a rain-delayed semifinal. That came after she lost 14 of 15 matches to the top-ranked Belgian, one coming at last year's French Open final.

"It's mental, so beating her was very important, I was very happy," Kuznetsova said. "The final was a minus, but there were more pluses. I played great matches against Justine and Nadia (Petrova)."

Rain stopped the match Saturday, when the top-seeded Henin played two opponents for the second straight day. Most matches at the German Open dragged on for hours because of repeated rain breaks.

"Today I was missing some energy, some legs on the court," Henin said. "This was the toughest week I ever had. It's been bizarre. It was very hard mentally, physically."

Henin, a three-time German Open winner, will take a two-week break before the French Open, which starts May 27.

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A day after setting a record for most victories on one surface, Rafael Nadal became the only player to win the Rome Masters three consecutive times.

Then consider this: He hasn't been feeling all that well.

Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-2 in the title match Sunday. But before reaching the final, the No. 2-ranked Spaniard had to overcome a dizzy spell and an apparent stomach problem that forced him to go to the hospital. He also spent nearly four hours on the court against Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals.

"I think I'm in the best moment of my career, playing better than ever, so I'm very happy for that," he said.

This was Nadal's fourth ATP title of the year. He also won in Indian Wells, Calif.; Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Barcelona, Spain. He has a 21-3 career record in finals.

Rome is a key clay-court warmup for the French Open, which begins May 27. Thomas Muster and Jaroslav Drobny -- a Czech player in the 1950s -- also won in Rome three times, but not in succession.

The last time Nadal lost on clay was to Igor Andreev in the quarterfinals in Valencia, Spain, in April 2005. Sunday's victory extended his winning streak on clay to 77 matches. By reaching the final, the 20-year-old Spaniard broke John McEnroe's record for most victories on one surface.

"This guy is unbelievable on this surface," McEnroe said shortly before the final. "He's like the (Bjorn) Borg of this era."

Going into the final, the No. 6-ranked Gonzalez held a 3-1 lifetime edge over Nadal, including a win in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January.

But Nadal took control with a break in the opening game and never relinquished his grip. Down one set and two breaks, Gonzalez managed to get one break back, but Nadal kept the lead and finished off his opponent with a forehand winner.

"To win here for a third time is like a dream," Nadal said. "I've had the good fortune of coming here for three years and winning for three years. ... It's an incredible sensation."

By the end of the match, Gonzalez had 31 unforced errors, including 18 with what is usually his more effective shot, a powerful forehand. Nadal, who combined solid ground strokes with uncharacteristic approaches to the net, had 14.

"When you go to the court in a final you don't think about a win 6-2, 6-2," Nadal said. "If Gonzalez takes control of a lot of points it's very difficult ... so I try to return the ball and be more aggressive."

"Fernando made way more errors than usual and I took advantage of it," Nadal added.

For Gonzalez, there was no mystery surrounding the loss.

"I think the reason was him," the 26-year-old Chilean said. "I tried to attack him all the time, tried to play very close to the baseline, tried to make my own opportunities and go to the net. But I couldn't do it."

"Sometimes he makes you play where you don't want to play," Gonzalez added. "It's tough because he's in good shape and he can be hours playing there."

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نادال قهرمان مسترز رم شد

تشكر رسمي پادشاه اسپانيا از قهرمان تنيس جهان


تنيسور اسپانيايي كه باوجود موفقيت*هاي مداوم در 3 سال گذشته، همچنان مرد شماره دوم جهان است، موفق به كسب عنوان قهرماني مسترز رم شد.


به نقل از رويترز، رافائل نادال مثل هميشه در زمان بالا بردن كاپ گريه كرد.

او در نشست خبري دليل اشك*هاي جديدش را نگاه كودكان آفريقايي توصيف كرد كه در ذهنش جولان مي*دهند.

بيشتر دولتمردان اسپانيا و پادشاه اين كشور در پيام*هايي جداگانه*، از وي تشكر كردند.

آس اسپانيا با عنوان "همه جاده*ها براي تو به سمت قهرماني باز هستند"، نادال را قهرمان ملي توصيف كرد.

نادال در ديدار پاياني اين رقابت*ها فرناندو گونسالس از شيلي را با نتايج مشابه 6 بر 2 شكست داد.
اين هفتاد و هفتمين پيروزي پشت سر هم نادال در جهان حرفه*اي تنيس بود.

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Pete Sampras relied on his still powerful serve to defeat Todd Martin 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 Sunday in the Athens Champions Cup final.

Sampras fired two aces in the opening game, and continued to serve and volley crisply while breaking Martin in the fourth game to go 3-1 up.

After a rain delay, Sampras held serve easily, and finished off the set with two aces.

Martin, an Australian and U.S. Open finalist, came back in the second set, breaking Sampras in the fourth and sixth games while holding at love two straight games to lead 5-1 before serving out.

In the seesaw tiebreaker -- used in Champions Series matches instead of a third set -- Martin fell behind 3-0 before winning the next four points. Sampras then served four straight aces to lead 7-4, followed by two crosscourt winners. Martin hit long to give Sampras the title.

"The second set I didn't think I played that poorly, he came up with some unbelievable returns," Sampras said. "He was sort of leaning and guessing in a certain way, and he was guessing right."

Sampras' victory was his second in two Outback Champions Series events this month -- his first competitive outings in nearly five years.

"I feel really good, I played quite well. I have a few things still left in the game," said Sampras, a 14-time major winner whose mother was born in Greece.

"It's special being here, seeing my heritage," said Sampras, "I plan on being back."

Sampras played twice Sunday because of bad weather that interrupted the tournament. He earlier beat Jim Courier 6-2, 6-4 in a postponed round-robin match, racing to a 4-0 lead before holding off his former Davis Cup teammate to win Group A.

Also Sunday, Magnus Larsson defeated Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 7-5 to take third place.

This was the first international event for the U.S.-based tour, now in its second season.

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Jelena Jankovic defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-1 Sunday to win the Italian Open and join Justine Henin as the only three-time winners on the women's tour this year.

Jankovic also won at Auckland, New Zealand, to open her season in January and took a clay-court title in Charleston, S.C., last month. This title -- also on clay -- established her as one of the favorites for the French Open, which begins next weekend.

"It's an unbelievable win for me," said Jankovic, who will rise to a career-high No. 4 in the next rankings. "I'm not putting any pressure on myself. I'm just playing and improving. Every week I'm getting better."

Jankovic became the first woman since Conchita Martinez 13 years ago to win this tournament without dropping a set.

"I didn't expect to win like that," Jankovic said. "She's one of the toughest players on clay. She's been in the final of the French Open. I play better on hard courts."

"It's an unbelievable win for me," Jankovic said.

Kuznetsova dropped to 0-4 in finals this year. She was also runner-up in Doha, Qatar; Indian Wells, Calif., and Berlin last week.

"It's just a bit sad because I felt like I was playing so well," said Kuznetsova, who hadn't lost a set in reaching the final. "I was fighting a lot against myself. I didn't play the game I could have played. I had so many balls and I didn't finish, that was the key."

Both players struggled to hold serve -- Jankovic because her serve deserted her for long stretches and Kuznetsova because she committed too many baseline errors once she put the ball in play.

Jankovic's foot-speed enabled her to make Kuznetsova play more balls than she may have wanted in several long rallies.

"That was the key, I got so many balls back. She's such a powerful player," Jankovic said. "Maybe she had in her head that she had to play amazing shots."

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Roger Federer had the perfect response to questions about his status as the world's top-ranked player -- he ended Rafael Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay.

Federer beat Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the Hamburg Masters on Sunday to win his first clay-court title in two years and snap out of a slump during which he failed to win a title in four events. It was his worst run since he became No. 1 in February 2004.

Federer also gave himself a major boost one week before the French Open, the second major of the year and the only Grand Slam he hasn't won.

"It was an incredible performance from my side," Federer said. "I had a great day, it's nice to be playing well again. It's my first title on clay in a couple of years."

Nadal, who had never lost to Federer on clay in five previous matches and leads the overall series 7-4, was impressed.

"He is unbelievable," the Spaniard said.

Nadal, ranked No. 2 in the world behind Federer, had been unbeaten on the surface since April 2005, a run that included 13 titles.

"If I have to lose against anyone, then he is the man," Nadal said. "I am not sad to lose to the best in the world."

Federer said he finally found the formula to play against Nadal on clay.

"I was dictating play," Federer said. "His streak was phenomenal -- 81 matches in a row on clay is fantastic."

At the start of the match, it didn't look like Nadal's streak would be ending.

He raced through the first set, with Federer making many errors and having trouble with his serve.

But the match turned completely when Federer broke serve for a 2-1 lead in the second, after fighting off two break points.

"I returned better and I served better and I was dictating play," Federer said.


AP - May 17, 10:50 am EDT
More Photos


Nadal, on the other hand, began to struggle with his shots and even his fierce forehand frequently began to go long or wide. The Spaniard, who won the Rome Masters series one week ago, appeared to be running out of steam.

Federer took advantage and won a set at love against Nadal for the second time since beating him in the final at Wimbledon last year.

"He can come back any time and I was making more mistakes than usual," Nadal said. "I lost a little bit of power after the first set and maybe I was mentally a little bit tired."

"Now I have to start another (streak)."

Federer has won in Hamburg in four of his last five visits and claimed his third title of the year after the Australian Open and Dubai.

"It's great to play here again and win again. I've fallen in love with this tournament," he said.

Federer earned $458,218 for his win, Nadal half of that.

Federer was playing his first tournament since splitting with coach Tony Roche. He has said he will go to the French Open and Wimbledon without a new coach.

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Nikolay Davydenko started his title defense with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo on Tuesday in the first round of the Hypo Group International.

Davydenko next will face Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, who defeated Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands.

"I don't know if I was playing well," Davydenko said. "I had too many unforced errors in the first set, and he didn't really fight for it in the second set. This was no real test for my current form."

Luis Horna of Peru upset third-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round. Fourth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt defeated Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

"I have been playing really well lately," Hewitt said. "A lot of people wrote me off after my first-round exit in Rome, but you can never write me off."

Juan Monaco of Argentina upset sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-1 in a match that finished just before rain interrupted play for more than an hour.

Melzer was thrown off his game by a line call while serving at 3-4 in the first set. After that, he won only one more game in the match.

"I got distracted by that decision, for sure," said Melzer, who split from long-term coach Karl-Heinz Wetter last week. "But in the end, I don't think it influenced the outcome of the match too much. Monaco was better and dictated the pace of the game."

Also through was Albert Montanes of Spain, who advanced to the quarterfinals after beating French qualifier Mathieu Montcourt 7-6 (6), 6-1.

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Bob and Mike Bryan clinched the United States' first victory in three years at the ATP World Team Championship on Tuesday, combining for a straight-set victory that toppled Argentina 2-1.

In another tie, Chile eliminated Sweden with a 2-0 victory, winning for the second time in as many days to lead the Red Group.

James Blake rallied to beat Agustin Calleri 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, before Jose Acasuso defeated Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-4 to even the U.S.-Argentina tie.

"It was a great feeling, closing out both sets the way I did, battling back from a tough first set where all the breaks seemed to always be going his way and he was playing great tennis," said Blake, who lost to Fernando Gonzalez in the United States' 2-1 loss to Chile on Monday. "That's something I'm proud of, to keep my head held high and go about my business and not completely panic."

The Bryans, coming off their victory at the Hamburg Masters Series last week, then defeated Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-1 to end the Americans' eight-match losing streak at the team event.

The United States is a four-time champion, but hasn't the event since 1993. It last won a World Team Championship tie in 2004 against Netherlands.

The eight-nation field is split into two groups, with the winners of each advancing to Saturday's final. Argentina, Chile, Sweden and the U.S. are in the Red Group, with Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany and Spain in the Blue Group.

Chile's Nicolas Massu lost only seven points in the final set to beat Jonas Bjorkman 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-0. Gonzalez clinched the win by beating Robin Soderling 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. A rain delay forced the meaningless doubles match to be postponed until Wednesday.

Chile improved to 2-0 while Sweden fell to the bottom with its second loss in as many ties. The Americans and Argentines are tied for second with a 1-1 record.

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Tatiana Golovin of France and Peng Shuai of China have pulled out of the French Open on Wednesday because of injuries.

Golovin, ranked 17th, has failed to recover from a right-foot injury picked up during Fed Cup play last month, and 32nd-ranked Peng has a left ankle injury, the French tennis federation said.

Golovin will be replaced in the main draw by a lucky loser, while Germany's Angelique Kerber steps in for Peng.

The French Open starts Sunday.

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Wimbledon will give players three chances per set to challenge line calls using video technology at this year's tournament -- one more than the U.S. and Australian Opens.

Wimbledon is introducing the Hawk-Eye system on Centre Court and Court No. 1 at the June 25-July 8 championship for the first time.

The existing cyclops technology will be moved to courts 2, 14 and 18. Cyclops, which has been used at Wimbledon since 1980, uses infrared beams to help determine if serves are in or out.

Wimbledon announced last month it would follow the lead of the U.S. and Australian Opens in introducing Hawk-Eye, but did not say how many challenges players would get. The French Open, which begins Sunday, will not use the system.

"The extra potential challenge recognizes both the importance of the service on a grass court and the fact that cyclops will not be deployed on the service line this year," All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said Wednesday.

"Statistics also show that players have been very sensible in their use of the technology so far, and it is right to grant them additional opportunities to use this highly accurate assistance."

Large screens will show line-call replays on the two courts at Wimbledon. Each player or doubles team is allowed a maximum of three incorrect challenges in a set. If the set goes to a tiebreaker, the players are given an additional challenge.

In the fifth set for men's singles and doubles, and the third set for all other events, the slate is reset if the score is tied 6-6, with each side able to make up to three incorrect challenges in the next 12 games.

Wimbledon said chair umpires can refuse "an electronic appeal" if they believe the challenge was not made quickly enough. The umpire can also request a replay if the line judge was unable to make a call on a point-ending shot.

Hawk-Eye will also be introduced at the Queen's Club grass-court warmup for Wimbledon. The tournament will adopt the same protocol as Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Fernando Gonzalez are among those entered.

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Andy Roddick defeated Kristian Pless of Denmark 6-4, 6-3 Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Hypo Group International.

The second-seeded American was in control of the match throughout, hitting six aces and dropping only nine points on his serve.

Lleyton Hewitt also advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Potito Starace of Italy. The fourth-seeded Hewitt needed five match points before closing out Starace.

Hewitt plays Diego Hartfield of Argentina. Hartfield defeated Vincent Spadea 6-4, 7-6 (5) in a match that was interrupted because of rain.

Defending champion Nikolay Davydenko moved on after beating Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-4, 6-2. Davydenko will face Juan Monaco of Argentina, who downed Michael Russell of the United States, 6-3, 6-1.

Roddick will face Gael Monfils of France in the quarterfinals. Monfils, who entered the tournament on a wild card, used a strong serve to defeat seventh-seeded Hyung-Taik Lee, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round.

Monfils beat Roddick in their last meeting on clay at the 2006 Masters Series in Rome.

Roddick got two break points at 5-4 in the first set, and converted the second as Pless missed a forehand.

The 81st-ranked Pless needed medical treatment on a neck muscle injury early in the second set, and then lost his serve.

"I am serving well, but I am not happy with my performance in return games," Roddick said. "I will have to improve that part of my game to be really successful at a clay surface."

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Venus Williams failed to reach the quarterfinals in her final tournament before the French Open, losing to Aravane Rezai 6-4, 6-4 at the Istanbul Cup on Wednesday.

The 62nd-ranked Rezai, from France, will play Meghann Shaughnessy in a quarterfinal match.

In other matches, second-seeded Elena Dementieva beat Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-3, 6-2, and Patty Schnyder beat Vania King 6-4, 6-1.

The French Open starts Sunday.

[donsaeid]

در پي شكست برابر فدرر

نادال:* قلمرو من تسخيرناپذير است


تنيسور مطرح اسپانيا كه به تازگي از فدرر شكست خورده است، گفت: قلمرو من در جهان تسخيرناپذير است.



به نقل از رويترز، رافايل نادال گفت: صاحب ركورد بالاترين پيروزي*هاي پشت سرهم هستم. پس از 5 بار شكست دادن فدرر، يك بار از او شكست خورده*ام. اتفاق خاصي رخ نداده و هرگز روحيه خود را از دست نداده*ام.

وي عنوان كرد: مطبوعات اسپانيا با همين يك شكست، آن هم پس از 86 پيروزي، پشت سرهم از من انتقاد كردند و اين اصلا درست نيست.

نادال افزود: آنها از من توقع بي*جايي دارند. نمي*شود تا ابد پيروز شوم چرا كه در قانون تنيس شكست هم تعريف خاص خودش را دارد.

[donsaeid]

با صعود به ديدار نهايي آزاد استانبول

يك ايراني، خانم تنيس جهان را مغلوب خود كرد


تنيسور ايراني مطرح تيم ملي فرانسه با شكست دادن ماريا شاراپوآ با نتايج 6 بر 2 و 6 بر 4، اين مدعي بزرگ را تحقير كرد.



به نقل از آسوشيتدپرس، آراوان (ارغوان)رضايي با اين پيروزي مقابل ماريا شاراپوآ، راهي ديدار نهايي رقابت*هاي آزاد استانبول شد.

وي كه در رتبه 62 جهان قرار دارد، بي*ترديد و در صورت قهرماني در اين جام بزرگ، رتبه*اي به مراتب بهتر به دست خواهد آورد.

وي در بازي پاياني آزاد استانبول به مصاف النا مسنينا از روسيه خواهد رفت.

شاراپوآ با اين شكست سهميه حضور در آزاد فرانسه را نيز از دست داد كه اتفاق مهمي به شمار مي*رود.