Tennis FanHouse

Novak Djokovic Wins First Paris Masters

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:16:00 EST

Filed under: ATP

PARIS (AP) -- Third-seeded Novak Djokovic scrambled to a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) victory over local favorite Gael Monfils on Sunday to win the Paris Masters for the first time.

The victory gave Djokovic back-to-back ATP Tour titles after his win over top-ranked Roger Federer in the Swiss Indoors final last Sunday.

The third-ranked Djokovic also beat World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in Paris and will be a strong favorite when he'll try to defend his title at the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals from Nov. 22-29 in London.

Novak Djokovic Wins First Paris Masters originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Marat Safin Calls it a Career

FanHouse Newswire — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: ATP, ATP Rankings

PARIS (AP) -- Known for furious, racket-throwing rants, Marat Safin would rather be remembered for the hard work he put in during a 12-year career marked by two Grand Slam titles and a Davis Cup win.

The former No. 1 ended his career Wednesday after losing to Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

"A lot of people there really thought that I'm not a really hard worker," Safin said. "But you can ask all my coaches how I dedicated myself to tennis. They will tell you it's completely the opposite of what a lot of people think."

Greg Couch: Safin Bows Out His Way

Marat Safin Calls it a Career originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Andre Agassi Remorseful on '60 Minutes'

Chris Sesno — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:16:00 EST

by Chris Sesno

Filed under: ATP

A reflective Andre Agassi gave his first TV interview on CBS' 60 Minutes since the shocking excerpts from his autobiography were released to the public less than two weeks ago.

Katie Couric pressed Agassi on many of the revelations from his book, including the pressure he felt from his father, his secret sentiments toward the sport that made him famous and the admission that he frequently used crystal meth with his trainer in 1997.

"I have to call it like it is," Agassi said when asked about the motivations behind revealing his past. "And hating tennis was a deep part of my life for a long, long time."

Agassi was visibly emotional -- saying he was scared, isolated and "living a fraud" during his years in the tennis spotlight.

More: Couch: Shamefully, Agassi Fails the Trust Test
Mariotti: For Andre, Truth is Everything

Andre Agassi Remorseful on '60 Minutes' originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ITF Let Golden Star Serena Off Hook

Greg Couch — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:24:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

The International Tennis Federation has completed its two-month "investigation'' into Serena Williams' f-bomb-laced, threatening tirade toward a line judge on worldwide TV at the U.S. Open. Her "punishment'' should come Monday or Tuesday.

I would give just about anything to see the notes from this "investigation.'' The quote-marks show that this was just a theoretical thing, anyway. As in, it took two months to find "justice.''

This whole thing has been a sham. Will Williams be suspended from the next major, the Australian Open in January?

"I don't think [an Australian Open ban] would make much sense, because it would penalize the people handing out the punishment,'' ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti said. "For the grand slam committee to exclude her from a grand slam doesn't seem likely.

More From Couch: Serena Is No. 1, and Deserves It

ITF Let Golden Star Serena Off Hook originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Italy Shuts Out US In Fed Cup

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (AP) -- The Williams sisters were conspicuous by their absence on Sunday when Italy completed a shutout of the United States to win its second Fed Cup title in four years.

Yet the Americans who did play had no regrets and the victorious Italians felt there was no need to put an asterisk next to their victory.

"I wanted to come here. I wanted to play for my country. Other people choose different things," U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin said after her 7-5, 6-2 loss to Flavia Pennetta gave Italy an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

"Some people I guess didn't want to play as badly as I did. But I think that the team that we had here really wanted to be here," Oudin said. "You don't want people here that don't want to be here. Even if you lose, if you give it everything you have, then that's the best you can do."

Italy Shuts Out US In Fed Cup originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Serena Williams On Two Weeks' Notice

Chris Sesno — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:00 EST

by Chris Sesno

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

Serena Williams was just two points away from a semifinals exit from the U.S. Open back in September when she began her now infamous tirade at the lineswoman who helped make her departure a reality by calling a foot fault that sparked the meltdown.

Now, nearly two months later, the ITF has announced they will make a ruling on her further punishment within two weeks. She was originally fined $10,500 -- $10,000 maximum on-court fine allowed plus $500 for racquet abuse -- but potentially faces more fines and a possible suspension from the WTA.

"It's in the hands of the Grand Slam administrator, who I believe has now completed his investigation and will be making a ruling within the next two weeks," United States Tennis Association President Lucy Garvin told The Associated Press on Friday. "That's what we have been told -- that Serena would hear, we would hear."

Greg Couch: ITF Let Serena Off the Hook

Serena Williams On Two Weeks' Notice originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

WADA Crock: Making Wickmayer Pay for Agassi's Sin

Greg Couch — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: U.S. Open, ATP

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency acknowledged that it's too late to punish Andre Agassi for his failed drug test from 1997, darned statute of limitations. But WADA said it still wants some punishment, anyway. Maybe for Agassi's lies to doping officials, which he admits in his book? Maybe for perjury?

Doubtful. But I knew tennis would get its pound of flesh, anyway, as Agassi has embarrassed the sport's governing bodies. What I didn't know was how fast they would get that flesh.

Or that they would take it from Yanina Wickmayer.

She was banned Thursday for a year for a doping offense. It wasn't for failing a test, or apparently even for missing one, though details still aren't out. It was because she failed to report three times to doping officials over the past 18 months where she would be.

WADA Crock: Making Wickmayer Pay for Agassi's Sin originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Twilight 'Zona: Tennis Seniors Arrested

Greg Couch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Police Blotter

Here we go again. How many stories like this are we going to get?

Stories of senseless tennis violence. And what do you get when this happens?

Ray Moore and George Morell know. Moore was wrestled to the ground by a cop, a knee in his back while he was cuffed, apparently bleeding. Both were arrested, and spent the bulk of the day in jail.

"There were five cop cars there,'' said Donna Morell, George's wife. "Five. My husband and Ray were in different cells all day, in solitary.''

Surely, they deserved it.

"They're in their 80s, you know,'' she said.

Twilight 'Zona: Tennis Seniors Arrested originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Serena Tops Venus in Year-End Finals

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Serena Williams said she didn't arrive at the Sony Ericsson Championships expecting to win.

Plenty of other people did that for her.

Williams bested big sister Venus again Sunday, winning 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the season-ending tournament for her third victory of the season. Williams also won Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and clinched the year-end No. ranking earlier in the week.

"It feels great," said Serena, who also won the WTA Tour's season-ending event in 2001. "I totally didn't expect to come here and win."

Serena Tops Venus in Year-End Finals originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Serena Williams Is No. 1, and Deserves It

Greg Couch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

She threatened a player, didn't try most of the year, famously threatened a line judge and was thrown out of a match.

The other thing Serena Williams did in 2009 was this:

She won the year-end No. 1 ranking. It became official Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, at the WTA Championships when Dinara Safina, the current No. 1 Williams was trying to overcome, withdrew from the tournament with a bad back. It guaranteed that Williams would finish the year No. 1 for the first time since 2002.

Two more things: She deserves it.

And it's the best thing for tennis.

More Coverage: Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha

Serena Williams Is No. 1, and Deserves It originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha

Chris Sesno — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

by Chris Sesno

Filed under: WTA

Serena and Venus Williams have plenty of experience playing against each other. But you wouldn't have been able to tell that by the way the two played when they faced off for the 22nd career time on Wednesday in the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

It took Serena almost three hours and a full three sets (including a third set tiebreak) to top her older sister 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a somewhat sloppy match. They didn't play well at the same time until the last three games of the match, where the two finally seemed to put forth their best effort.

With Serena trailing 5-6 in the third, both players turned on the jets and provided the fans in Doha with a brief glimpse of what they were hoping to see throughout the match. Asked what changed for her late in the third, Serena said, "I just tried to relax. Whenever I relax, I play better." Seems simple enough.

Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Agassi's Admission Falls in Gray Zone

Greg Couch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:20:00 EST

Filed under: Media Watch

Image is everything. That what's Andre Agassi told us from the start. It has been the headline to his career, his life.

He went from the punk kid, all image and no substance, to the grown man philanthropist, creating, running and also raising funds for a charter school for disadvantaged kids.

He grew up so well, cleaned up so nicely, and won a humanitarian award in September at the U.S. Open. Now he comes back with this:

Agassi writes in his autobiography that he regularly used crystal meth on tour in 1997 when he was 27 years old. He failed the tennis tour's drug test, and then lied his way out of it by saying he had accidentally taken a drink from a glass of his assistant who, he said, used to spike his own drinks with the drug.

Why, Andre? Why did you do it? Why did you feel the need to say it? What happens to your image now?

Agassi's Admission Falls in Gray Zone originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Andre Agassi's New Book to Reportedly Reveal He Tried Crystal Meth

Will Brinson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:04:00 EST

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Media Watch, U.S. Open

Andre Agassi's new book, OPEN is due out in stores on Nov. 9. There's been relatively little fanfare about the book's release. That all changed Tuesday with a (now deleted) tweet from SI's Richard Deitsch, which was preserved by the good folks at The Sporting Blog.

In his tweet, Deitsch intimated that there would be an excerpt from OPEN released in the newest issue of Sports Illustrated and that said excerpt would contain an admission from Agassi that he tried crystal meth:

Andre Agassi's New Book to Reportedly Reveal He Tried Crystal Meth originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Women's No. 1 Spot Up for Grabs

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- After months of debate about who is more deserving of the No. 1 ranking, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina will settle the issue on the court at the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

Safina recaptured the top ranking from Williams on Monday, but the margin is so slim that the player who performs better at this week's tournament in Doha will end the year at No. 1.

Safina has held the top spot for 26 weeks this year, but the Russian has faced persistent questions about whether she's worthy of the title without having won a Grand Slam tournament. Williams won her 11th major title at Wimbledon this year, after also taking the Australian Open.

Women's No. 1 Spot Up for Grabs originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A Rivalry Revisited: Sampras Tops Agassi

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:13:00 EST

Filed under: ATP

MACAU (AP) -- Pete Sampras edged by Andre Agassi in three sets on Sunday as the two retired American tennis greats revisited one of the sport's greatest rivalries.

The 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win in this southern Chinese gambling enclave was the first time the two had played since Sampras won in the 2002 U.S. Open final for his then-record 14th Grand Slam.

The fast indoor surface at The Venetian Macao arena favored Sampras' attacking style, but it was Agassi who came out strong in the first set. He showed no signs of the bad back that required four injections during his final tournament, the 2006 U.S. Open.

A Rivalry Revisited: Sampras Tops Agassi originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Was the Fix in on Wozniacki's 'Injury'?

Greg Couch — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:04:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

In a sport that has had a serious gambling scandal involving suspicions of match-fixing, how are we supposed to take Caroline Wozniacki's match the other day?

I'm starting to wonder exactly how many tennis matches aren't really on the up-and-up. Wozniacki, who reached the U.S. Open final, led Anne Kremer 7-5, 5-0 Tuesday at the Luxembourg Open.

And that's when Wozniacki chose to retire from the match with an injury. No broken bones. No fall. She had won seven straight games and was four points from winning.

"The injury suddenly happened," she said.

No way.

Was the Fix in on Wozniacki's 'Injury'? originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Martina Hingis Fades From Game

Greg Couch — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

Some of the excuses from these athletes are just laughable. They thought they were just injecting vitamins in their behinds. They didn't know the ingredients in that medicine. They must have gotten it in their systems by kissing a woman who had been using the stuff at a bar.

Martina Hingis never made an excuse for failing a cocaine test. She said she never did the stuff and had no clue how it could have gotten into her system, if it really did.

So it's over for Hingis. She failed that test more than two years ago, and now her suspension is up, and it's the era of comebacks in women's tennis. I always figured she'd try again. A failed drug test was no way for a great athlete to end a career.

Martina Hingis Fades From Game originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two Tennis Players Detained in Sweden

FanHouse Newswire — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:19:00 EST

Filed under: Police Blotter, ATP

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish police say two tennis players are suspected of soliciting prostitutes before the Stockholm Open.

The two men were identified only as foreign citizens. Investigation leader Jonas Trolle told The Associated Press on Monday that they were detained as they entered a hotel in Stockholm early Sunday with their escorts. He said both players were set to compete in the tournament, which started Monday.

Two Tennis Players Detained in Sweden originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Serena, Lineswoman Won't Hug It Out

Greg Couch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST

Filed under: U.S. Open, WTA

Two days after threatening to shove a tennis ball down her throat, Serena Williams said she would like to give a U.S. Open line judge "a big ole hug."

Unfortunately, that happy -- heartfelt? -- reunion will have to wait. The Serena line judge, whose identity has remained a secret, will not be at the WTA Tour Championships next week in Doha, Qatar.

Serena, Lineswoman Won't Hug It Out originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.