TennisToday

Roger Federer Upset in 2nd Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Men's Second Round

Sergiy Stakhovsky d 3 Roger Federer - 67(5) 76(5) 75 76(5)

Roger likes his records so maybe he wanted to take worst loss ever too.

Debatable of course but he is the GOAT and GOAT on grass.

Not to mention 7-times champ including last year.

So yea, I think this eclipses both of Rafa's losses the last two years.

Sergiy post match: You're playing the guy and then you're playing his legend,

which is following him because he won it seven times. He's holding all

possible career records here, I think, winning matches and everything.

You're playing two of them. When you're beating one, you still have the

other one who is pressing you.

You're saying, ‘Am I about to beat him? Is it possible?

***

And Roger sounds a little crabby in his post: I still have plans to play for

many more years to come. It's normal that after all of a sudden losing

early after being in the quarters 36 times, people feel it's different.

You guys hyped it up so much: me playing Rafa, and we're both out.

So there's a letdown clearly. Maybe it's also somewhat a bit disrespectful

to the other opponents who are in the draw still. I think it sends a

message to you guys as well that maybe

you shouldn't do that so often next time around.

Rafael Nadal Upset in 1st Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Men's First Round

Steve Darcis d 5 Rafael Nadal - 76(4) 76(8) 64

Well, Rafa had to come back to earth at some point.

But crashing down this bad was not something anybody expected.

I mean, who throught he could actually LOSE points after this fortnght???

This is his first loss at a Slam in the 1st round.

This was only Rafa's 3rd loss this year AND Steve's 2nd 2013 match win.

This loss may have also hurt Rafa's shot at year-end #1.

It's tough to finish on top of the pile with no points from 2 Slams.

Was it the knee? He refused to mention it in his presser. So probably.

UGH.

Post match: Two weeks ago I was in a fantastic situation,

winning a fantastic tournament [at Roland Garros]. Two weeks later,

I lost here in the first round. That's the positive and the negative

thing about this sport. It is tough losing in the first round.

Albert Montanes Wins ATP Title at Nice

Nice ATP 250 - Men's Final

Albert Montanes d WC Gael Monfils - 60 76(3)

Not bad for someone not even planning to play this event.

He was a very lasy minute replacement for Berdych suffering fatique.

This is Albert's 6th title and 1st in nearly 2 years.

That over 30 crowd is still making noise. And it makes me goofy happy.

Post match: I was not supposed to play here in the first place.

I was in my home town, 200km from Barcelona, with friends when

I found out I was entering the main draw last Saturday night.

So it’s pretty incredible that I am here now with the Nice trophy.

No doubt the fact that I came here with no pressure, just happy to play,

taking it day-by-day and match-by-match, helped me win this week.

Pablo Andujar Gains Semifinal at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal

W/C Pablo Andujar d 14 Kei Nishikori - 63 75

Pablo's improbable run continued today.

He has only won 5 matches this year and none were back-to-back.

Here in Madrid he's on a 4 match winning streak!

His reward? He get Rafa in the Sf's tomorrow.

But Pablo is happy enough just to be there: I'm very happy.

Very happy for being able to reach my first [Masters 1000] semi-finals

in my career, especially here in Madrid. 

I think that I cannot ask for anything else.

Sure you can. How about the final?

Philipp Kohlschreiber Begins Title Defence at Munich

Munich ATP 250 - Men's 2nd Round

4 Philipp Kohlschreiber d Q Evgeny Korolev - 62 64

The defender is hoping for a 3rd title at Munich & 5th ATP title overall.

Remember, most of these players are use to losing every week.

Post match: I was a little bit nervous.

It’s an unusual feeling to be defending a title...

I feel comfortable on the centre court. I’ve won two times here,

and as we say in Germany, all good things come in threes,

so I’ll try my best to do it.

Shirtless/Sexy Andreas Seppi Finds a Way to Cool Off After 5 Set Match at Australian Open

Australian Open - Men's Second Round

21 Andreas Seppi d Denis Istomin - 76(4) 57 67(3) 76(3) 62

I am not mad at Seppi's idea of cooling off in that Aussie heat.

I hope others take his cue. Heeeeeeey.

Also, related to actual tennis...

This is his 8th time in the Aussie main draw and 1st time in the 3rd round.

He previously lost 3 other second round matches in Melbourne.

Andreas is in his 5th Slam 3rd round - he has only won 1 of those.

He'll next face 12 Marin Cilic. So, maybe...

Sam Groth Breaks Ace Speed Record

Groth recorded the faster recorded serve on the ATP at 163.4 MPH.

The previous record was hit by Ivo Karlovic at 156 MPH.

Groth, ranked #340, broke that record 3 times in this match.

A match he lost pretty handily - 4 & 3 - at the Busan, South Korea Challenger.

The ATP doesn't actually keep official ace speed records...

Owing to the array of equipment used at each tournament.

But still. Wow.

Fabio Fognini Tweets Awesome Runner-Up Photo

Fabio tweeted this after his loss. He didn't caption it either.

Didn't have to - his expression says it all.

He says he's not shaving again until he wins a title (challengers included).

This was his first ATP final.

Personally, I'm digging the scruff.

I had a brief encounter with Fabio a few years back at Indian Wells.

At the time I had no idea who he was cuz he really hadn't done anything yet.

I'm happy to report that he was very charming - and goofy.

I became an instant fan.

And am always happy to see him have a nice result.

Weekend Winners for April 15, 2012

ATP 250 Houston - Final

4 Juan Monaco d 2 John Isner - 62 36 63

Juan wins his 5th career title and 2nd of the 2012 season.

In the effort he has matched his ranking high of #14.

He is a clay court specialist with very few points to defend this clay swing.

If Juan plays his balls right he could quite well be a top 10 player by June.

That quest will begin this week at Monte-Carlo.

ATP 250 Casablanca - Final

3 Pablo Andujar d 7 Albert Ramos - 61 76(5)

Pablo wins his 2nd ATP title - both coming at Casablanca ('11).

The win propels him 19 spots to a ranking of #39 - one short of his high.

He will pop-over to Monte-Carlo this week where he's never played before.

He also has no matches to defend in Madrid and Rome.

If Pablo plays his balls right he could find himself seeded at Roland Garros.

WTA Copenhagen - Final

2 Angelique Kerber d 1 Caroline Wozniacki - 64 64

Ang wins her second WTA title - both coming this season.

She enjoys a rankings bump up to #14.

Ang prevented Caro from a hat-trick of titles at Copenhagen.

Caro seems to be, well... slipping.

She was #1 just a few months ago - she's currnetly ranked #6.

WTA Barcelona - Final

7 Sara Errani d 3 Dominika Cibulkova - 62 62

Sara wins her 4th WTA title and 2nd on the 2012 season.

As a result of her efforts she enjoys her highest ranking of #28.

She also took the doubles title yesterday with Roberta Vinci.

Michael Russell & Flavio Cipolla Reach First Ever ATP Event Semifinals

Michael Russell (above) has been out there banging balls since 1998.

Houston '12 marks his first trip to an ATP level tournament - 14 years later!

Major props man.

The qualifier will face the 4th seed Juan Monaco who leads their H2H 1-0.

***

And over at Casablanca Flavio Cipolla is thru to his 1st ATP Sf as well.

Flavio (below) has also been out there for awhile - he turned pro in 2003.

Major props man.

He will face the tournament's 3rd seed Pablo Andujar for the first time.

Currently ranked #85 Flavio has been a resident in the top 100 since Sept.

***

Both are literally little guys on the tour as both are listed at 5'8".

And as someone who also stands 5'8" I say: GO LITTLE GUYS!

***

Update: Both lost. But they'll get decents bumps in the rankings on Monday.

Andy Roddick Crumbles in Loss at Miami

ATP Masters Series 1000 Miami - Fourth Round

21 Juan Monaco d 31 Andy Roddick - 75 60

So you beat the GOAT on day and completely flame out the next?

With a bagel no less? Lord.

I could wrap my mind around this if it were on clay.

Andy. Andy. Andy.

Photo: Getty Images

Arnaud Clement Watch - 1st Round Winner at Miami

ATP Masters Series 1000 - Miami First Round

Q Arnaud Clement d Dudi Sela - 63 63

My boy is thru to the 2nd round at Miami for the 9th time!

Whoops: He's only won 2 of those 9 matches tho.

He will next face youngster (26) Milos Raonic.

But hey, winning 3 matches (2 in quallies) will give him a nice bump.

Arnaud is currently #153 - he'll jump into the 130's.

Allez old guy. Allez.

Photo: Getty Images

Andy Murray Loses Early at Indian Wells, Again

ATP Masters Series 1000 Indian Wells - 2nd Round

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d 4 Andy Murray - 64 62

Second straight year Andy's lost in the 2nd round - Donald Young last year.

Since finishing runner-up in '09 his W/L at IW is a dismal 3-3.

Interesting: He's off to Miami where he's lost back-to-back 2nd R'ers as well.

Hats-off: Garcia-Lopez played out-of-his-mind tennis.

That, and Murray couldn't keep very many balls between the lines.

Hmm, something about the California desert not agreeing with him?

Well, he still has doubles with his brother. So yea, there's that.

Photo: Reuters

Santiago Giraldo Hits Shot of the Week at Acapulco

This could easily end up on Tennis Channel's year-end review.

Giraldo won the match in 3 to move onto the Sf's to face top seed Ferrer.

Weekend Winners for February 5, 2012

Montpellier: 1 Tomas Berdych d 3 Gael Monfils - 62 46 63

Tomas wins his 7th ATP title - his 5th in Europe.

***

Zagreb: 3 Mikhail Youzhny d Lukas Lacko - 62 63

Mikhail wins his 8th ATP title - his W/L in finals is now 8-10.

He also won the doubles title with Baghdatis. He has 9 dubs titles.

***

Vina del Mar: 1 Juan Monaco d 7 Carlos Berlocq - 63 67(1) 61

Juan wins his 4th ATP title - and his first since July '07.

His W/L in finals is now 4-8. This win sure must've have felt good.

Photos: Reuters & Getty Images

ATP & WTA Weekend Winners for June 18, 2011

Eastbourne

ATP: Andreas Seppi d Janko Tipsarevic  - 76(5) 36 53 ret.

Andreas win his 1st title. Janko still in search of his.

Andreas: It's for sure a special moment for me.

I didn't expect to win my first title on grass...

but I really enjoy playing on this surface.

***

WTA: Marion Bartoli d Petra Kvitova - 61 46 75

Marion grabs her 1st grass court title and 6th of her WTA career.

Marion: We were seven out of the Top 10 players plus Venus and Serena...

So it was definitely a very hard task to win the tournament.

***

s-Hertogenbosch

APT: Dmitry Tursunov d 4 Ivan Dodig - 63 62

Dmitry wins his 7th ATP title & 1st in two years.

He will make a rankings jump to about #50 on Monday.

Dmitry: After being in tennis a long time now,

I understand one week can be terrible and one week can be great.

I happened to do all the right things at the right moments this week & I won.

***

WTA: 7 Roberta Vinci d Jelena Dokic - 67(7) 63 75

This was Roberta's 5th career WTA title & 2nd of the 2011 season.

Roberta: I'm tired and am playing on Monday at Wimbledon.

But I'm happy - I just won a tournament!

Photos: Reuters/Getty Images

Fabio Fognini into Quarters at Roland Garros

Roland Garros - Men's Fourth Round

Fabio Fognini d Alberto Montanes - 46 64 36 63 11-9

Fabio survived 2-5 down in the 5th, 5 MP's, cramos and a ton of foot faults.

But more than that he survived a highly controvercial injury timeout.

He is the first Italian to make the RG Qf's since 1995.

This is his 1st Slam Qf - he's never been past the 3rd round before.

The bad news: Fabio gets to be Novak's next victim.

Photo: Reuters

ATP & WTA Weekend Winners for April 10, 2011

The ATP saw Pablo Andujar & Ryan Sweeting win their 1st tour titles today.

***

Marbella WTA: 1 Victoria Azarenka d Q Irina-Camelia Gebu - 63 62

Vika makes it 2-in-a-row after winning at Miami last week.

Welcome to the top 5 girl!

Casablanca: Pablo Andujar d 5 Potito Starace - 61 62

Pablo is currently ranked #69. He is the 12th ranked Spaniard.

After today's win he should be up to #9 in Spain.

Charleston: 1 Caroline Wozniacki d Elena Vesnina - 62 63

This is Caro's 3rd title of 2011. And, yes, solidifies her #1 ranking.

Jet lag: She is playing an exo in Monte-Carlo tomorrow at 3. Phew.

Houston: WC Ryan Sweeting d 6 Kei Nishikori - 64 76(3)

Title #1 was accompanied with a jump in the River Oaks pool.

Ryan will see his ranking jump to just outside the top 50.

Quallies are gonna be a thing of the past.

Photos: AP/Reuters

Ivo Karlovic Hits the Fastest Serve in History Today

Dr. Ivo hit a serve clocked at 156 MPH on Davis Cup play today.

Topping Andy Roddick's previous record of 155.

He and partner Ivan Dodig lost their match to Germany's Cas/Petzschner.

It was a 5-set thriller: 63 36 57 63 64.

Ivo tweeted: So close... But 251 kmh record serve felt good.

Here is the video clip:

LOL Robin Haase, Just LOL!

Thiemo De Bakker tweeted this photo of Robin Haase today.

He captioned it: Fed Cup team is ready to go.

Thiemo and Robin are in Ukraine playing the Davis Cup playoffs.

Thiemo won his match today, Robin alas, lost.

Even still guys - LOL.