Jelena Jankovic downs Dinara Safina to win WTA Cincinnati Open

Jelena Jankovic has defeated world No.1 Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 to win the WTA Cincinnati Open.The No.5 seeded Serb needed an hour and 25 minutes to get past Russia's Safina, who was playing in her eighth final in 14 tournaments this year. Jankovic started the year ranked No.1 in the world, but has seen her ranking drop with a series of lacklustre results. However, she captured her second title of the year, to go with her victory in the claycourt tournament in Marbella in April.

Agence France-Presse

Rusedski Vs Edberg - Black Rock Vale do Lobo

Greg Rusedski will meet Stefan Edberg in a dream final at the Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD after both players came through the round-robin stages undefeated in the Algarve, Portugal.

Rusedski trounced an out-of-sorts Marcelo Rios 6-2, 6-4 as he looks to win his first ATP Champions Tour title, while Edberg overcame Fernando Meligeni 6-3, 6-2.

With the vast majority of the packed crowds in Portugal being British holiday-makers, a final between a British player and a two-time Wimbledon champion is ideal for organisers. Even better was the news that Edberg showed no ill-effects from the thigh strain he sustained the previous day.

Rusedski completed a miserable week for Rios, who has now lost his last six ATP Champions Tour matches. However, the Chilean’s exchange with the on-court post-match interviewer was worth the admission-price on its own. Interviewer: “Is there anything that you can take away from this week here in Portugal?”. Rios: “No.”

It means that Edberg and Rusedski will face each other in a competitive match for only the third time. Their only ATP World Tour encounter came at Wimbledon in 1993. Rusedski lost his serve once in a 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-6(5) defeat in the first round. He gained some measure of revenge at The Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in December last year, beating Edberg 7-6(7) 5-7,10-6 (Champions’ Tie Break).

Despite their lack of meetings over the years, the pair know each other well. Edberg lived in London for many years and they regularly practiced with each other. Rusedski is a big fan of the Swede.

“It’s always nice to see Stefan,” said Rusedski, who will become a father for the second time in October.

“I practiced with him for many years but he’s been living in Sweden the last few years so we haven’t had the chance. He’s a gentleman and a great player and I’m looking forward to playing him in the final.”

The third place play-off will see Meligeni take on Marc-Kevin Goellner, whose opponent Nuno Marques retired injured at 4-6, 4-1.

To be eligible to compete on the ATP Champions Tour, players must be either a former World Number One, a former Grand Slam champion or finalist, or a singles player on a Davis Cup-winning team. Each even can also invite two wild cards of its choice.

Author:

David Law, ATP Champions Tour

Kim Clijsters claims Svetlana Kuznetsova scalp as comeback gathers pace

Clijsters, playing her first tournament in two years, defeated the sixth-seeded Russian 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 and will play either top seeded Russian Dinara Safina or China's Peng Shuai.

"Physically I've been training harder than ever," the Belgian said. "I didn't doubt myself (in the third set).

"I have to say I feel really good. I don't feel tired or drained or anything. Just a few little aches and pains from getting back into playing matches."

Kuznetsova wasn't the only upset victim on Thursday, as Italian Flavia Pennetta ousted third-seeded Venus Williams 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

Williams had 38 unforced errors, including untimely forehands long in the first-set tiebreaker and a forehand over the baseline on match point.

"I wasn't able to get control of my ball today," Williams said. "After a while, it was obvious to see she was just keeping the ball in play and waiting for me to self-destruct."

Pennetta, fresh from a victory on Sunday in the tournament in Los Angeles, raised her arms in triumph as Williams' last forehand sailed long.

"I'm shaking," said the Italian, adding that such emotion was "very unusual" for her.

"Coming from Los Angeles, I didn't have many days to rest. I was playing like that yesterday, not my best tennis. I was tired. When everything comes together, the emotions go up."

Pennetta will play Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who advanced with a 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 victory over seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

A few hours later, Venus's younger sister Serena played on the same court and played even worse. She had 44 unforced errors during a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Austria's Sybille Bammer, who reached the quarterfinals of a tournament for only the third time this year.

Eighth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki also advanced as Hungary's Melinda Czink retired injured while trailing 3-0 in the opening set.

Meligeni: 'Edberg Could Beat Top 50 Players'

Fernando Meligeni will meet Stefan Edberg on Thursday for the right to meet Greg Rusedski in the final of the Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, and he is under no illusions about how difficult the task will be. The Brazilian saw off Henri Leconte 6-2, 7-5 and afterwards told ATPChampionsTour.com that he believes the 43-year-old Edberg could still beat players currently ranked inside the World’s Top 50. Rusedski earned his final place by beating Nuno Marques 7-6(9), 6-3. “I think, for sure, Stefan could beat a Top 50 player,” said Meligeni.
“He is in incredible shape and he ‘flies’ in the court. It looks too easy for him. When you attack him he slices the ball and keeps it safe. If you don’t, he hits the backhand and closes the net. He is unbelievable. It’s a pleasure to watch him. The key is to make good returns against him, otherwise it is too easy for him. If I can make returns against him I can enjoy the match, otherwise it is going to be tough.”

Leconte, who won a set against Edberg yesterday, believes that Meligeni has a chance. “I think he has the game to hurt Stefan,” said Leconte. “If he plays like he did today against me, he has a chance. Fernando can make the rallies last longer than I can and that will give him a better opportunity.”
As usual, Leconte entertained the crowds even when he wasn’t playing well in the first set. Halfway through his match with Meligeni, he took off his socks and shoes and dived into a nearby swimming pool to cool off in the searing temperatures.
Meligeni, who boasts more than 8,000 ‘followers’ on his Twitter page - http://www.twitter.com/meligeni, is currently in a fantastic mood after being informed that Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, loves watching his left-handed game. “It is a pleasure for me to hear this!” he said.
Later in the day, Rusedski needed to be at his best to save a set point against Marques in a first set Tie-Break. With the two left-handers throwing themselves into serves, ground-strokes and volleys, the quality was high throughout and Marques earned his set point at 9-8 in the Tie-Break with a flashing single-handed backhand. Rusedski hung in to break back, and ultimately won the Tie-Break 11-9, before sealing victory 6-3 in the second set. Stefan Edberg kept his 100% career-record against Thomas Muster in-tact with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win over the former World No.1.
Elsewhere, Marcelo Rios’ dismal form continued as he lost his fifth consecutive match on the ATP Champions Tour. The Chilean, who won the first six tournaments he contested when he joined the Tour in 2006, went down 6-2, 7-6 to Marc-Kevin Goellner. Rios lost all of his matches in Sao Paulo in May, he has lost two matches here in Algarve and will hope to arrest the decline against Rusedski in a dead rubber on Thursday.
To be eligible to compete on the ATP Champions Tour, players must be either a former World Number One, a former Grand Slam champion or finalist, or a singles player on a Davis Cup-winning team. Each even can also invite two wild cards of its choice.
To view the day's results and the rest of the week’s order of play in Algarve, click on Results. For the most up-to-the-minute scores, gossip and chat from behind the scenes, follow us on Twitter. Take an inside look at the ATP Champions Tour event in Algarve with our new Photo Gallery.
After Algarve, the ATP Champions Tour will move on to Paris, France for the Trophee Jean Luc Lagardere, 24-27 September.

Vale do Lobo Grand Champions, Rios Routed by Nuno Marques

Marcelo Rios' unbeaten streak in Portugal came to an abrupt and humbling end.
Until tonight, Rios had owned the Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD in the Algarve, Portugal. The Chilean had won the title in both of his previous appearances (2006 and 2008), winning all eight of the matches he had contested. Against wild card and home favorite Nuno Marques, that run ended emphatically as he went down 6-1, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.
A day of upsets continued when Sao Paulo finalist Fernando Meligeni defeated former World No.1 Thomas Muster 6-4, 4-6, 10-3 (Champions’ Tie Break).
Watching the left-handed Marques serve and volley his way to victory against Rios made one wonder how the Portuguese player had not broken into the Top 50 during his career. He regularly rendered Rios defenseless by pushing the Chilean off-balance, and then finishing points at the net.
For Rios, sporting a severe, spiky hair-do and a sleeveless shirt to show off the work he had been doing in the gym, nothing went right. The timing and angles for which he is famous were conspicuous by their absence, and his vanquisher wondered whether the Chilean was injured.
"It was a great win of course at a tournament that means so much to me but Marcelo wasn’t at his best," said Marques "He was having trouble moving and reaching difficult balls. I don’t think the result would have been like this if he had been at his best."
Rios would not have argued with that assessment, but he also refused to make any excuses. "I wasn’t injured. I just didn’t play well," he said.
For Marques, to play in the event is a dream-come-true.
"The event is in my country and it’s one of the very few opportunities to play these top guys. Some of them were my idols when I was younger — guys like Stefan Edberg. It’s a big honor to play this tournament," he said.

Elsewhere, Meligeni was in fine form to see off Muster, while Greg Rusedski made an impressive debut at the Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Marc-Kevin Goellner.
A cracking final match of the day saw Stefan Edberg, looking more 23 than 43, overcome Henri Leconte 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-3 (Champions’ Tie Break). Edberg still weighs the same as when he retired 13 years ago, and Leconte has recently lost nine kilos in weight. It showed.
All players in each group will play each other over a round-robin format, and after all round-robin matches are complete, the top player in each group will meet in the final. The runners-up in each group will play off for the third place position. Matches are played over the best of three sets with a Champions’ Tie Break (first to 10 points with a clear advantage of two) deciding the winner of matches that are tied at one-set-all.

After Algarve, the ATP Champions Tour will move on to Paris, France for the Trophee Jean Luc Lagardere, September 24-27.

Kim Clijsters beats Bartoli in comeback match

A tough first-round opponent who just won a big tournament, beating Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic along the way, awaited 26-year-old Kim Clijsters as she made her return to pro tennis Monday night.

And Clisters dismissed Marion Bartoli of France, a Wimbledon finalist two years ago, 6-4, 6-3 as though it was nothing at all.
It took an hour and 22 minutes. The statistics weren't too pretty. But Clijsters had 10 break points against her serve, and she saved eight of them. So much for needing to be "match tough" in the important moments.
No doubt Clijsters was running on sheer adrenaline in this first one back.
Her next match will be against another veteran Patty Schyder, a familiar face against whom she is 5-2, and always took routine care of on fast surfaces. She can't ask for much more.
And it looks like she's got a bitchin' tan, too.

Montreal Crisis Center, Day 2 (BY Peter Bodo)

Pete Bodo is away until 12th August. In the meantime please continue your tennis-related discussions here, saving any off-topic conversations until the day's matches are over.


Hi everyone. Today's tennis in Montreal begins shortly. I'm looking forward to the first match - Lleyton Hewitt up against Juan Carlos Ferrero; both former world number ones have been in good form lately. They haven't played each other much in recent years; the last time was in 2007, also in Montreal, on which occasion Hewitt won in straight sets. Simultaneously on the second show court, Nikolay Davydenko and Paul-Henri Mathieu will be reprising their recent final in Hamburg, followed by Feliciano Lopez and Fernado Verdasco, on opposite sides of the net for a change.
All of the top four are in action; Andy Murray takes on Jeremy Chardy second on Court Central, followed by Novak Djokovic and the Canadian player Peter Polansky. Roger Federer and another Canadian, Frederic Niemeyer, headline the evening session. After his first opponent is decided (between Viktor Troicki and David Ferrer), Rafael Nadal will also be appearing, in his second doubles match of the week.
Matches we won't even see (on Court 9) include encounters between Philipp Kolschreiber and Tomas Berdych, and Tommy Haas and Ivo Karlovic. With all this, and also wins yesterday by Gael Monfils (over Marat Safin - what's new? But at least it was a three-setter!) and Kim Clijsters (at the WTA event in Cincy, over Marion Bartoli) - and even the instantly-recognisable somewhat-missed voice of Mohamed Lahyani back in the chair - it feels as though the tour is back in full swing at last.
As for today's picture - well, how many more excuses will we have to feature Marat here?As usual, enjoy today's tennis.

Rosangel Valenti For Peter Bodo