Kuznetsova dumps Azarenka on road to Rome finals

Rome, May 08: Svetlana Kuznetsova stormed into Rome finals on Saturday after beating teenager Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4.

It is the second consecutive final for the eighth-ranked Russian, who won the Porsche GP in Stuttgart, Germany, last week.

Kuznetsova broke Azarenka three times to capture the first set in 41 minutes.

In the second, the sixth-seeded Azarenka pushed ahead with a break but appeared to lose her concentration as she disputed a call by the umpire in the third game. She lost the next five games and surrendered on the fourth match point.

Kuznetsova will face either top-ranked Dinara Safina or Venus Williams.

Kuznetsova beat Safina in straight sets in Stuttgart, for her first title in almost two years.

Amritraj bows out of ATP Challenger event in Israel

New Delhi, May 07: Nursing a leg injury, Prakash Amritraj bowed out of the ATP Challenger event in Ramat Hasharon, Israel after giving a walkover to local Harel Levy.

Amritraj picked up the injury at last week's Challenger event in Greece.

The Indian had beaten Bulgarian wildcard Grigor Dimitrov in the first round of the tournament in Israel.

Kuznetsova ends Jankovic's reign in Italy

Rome, May 07: Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova ended Jelena Jankovic's two-year reign as Italian Open champion when she beat the Serbian 6-1 7-6 on Thursday to go through to the semi-finals.

Jankovic, who beat Kuznetsova in the 2007 final for the first of her two Rome titles, could find no answer to the venom in her seventh seeded opponent's forehands in the first set.

She fared better in the second set, twice pulling back dropped serves and forcing two break points on set points in the 12th game.

But former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova, in fine fettle after ending a title drought stretching back to 2007 at last week's Stuttgart Grand Prix, saved them both before sealing victory in the tiebreak.

World number one Dinara Safina meets Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and American fourth seed Venus Williams will battle with Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the last four later on Thursday.

Davydenko sees room for improvement

Estoril, May 06: Former champion Nikolay Davydenko ran away with the opening set but was made to work harder in the second to record a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory against Andrey Golubev of Kazakstan at the Estoril Open.

The second-seeded Russian who claimed the trophy in 2003 and lost last year's final to Roger Federer and the 2006 edition to David Nalbandian, feared a first-round exit after trailing 4-1 in the second set despite sweeping the first.

"I'm just happy to be out of the first round," said the player who missed several months this season with a heel injury and only returned to action in April. "I was afraid at 4-1 down.”

"I'm only just back on court and I'm not playing my game yet. My brother (coach) told me that I really need more training."

Davydenko, ranked 11th, has played in only five tournaments this year but won his eight 2009 match against four defeats through the narrow victory.

He next faces a second-round battle after improving his Estoril mark to 14-5 as he plays 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The Spanish veteran last month snapped a six-year pause between titles as he won in Casablanca.

"I'm not looking so far ahead," said title favourite Davydenko. "Only to the next round. After my injury I just need to play matches, the more the better.

Safina blasts organisers as Jankovic struggles through

Rome, May 06: World number one Dinara Safina blasted organisers for making her play on a treacherous court after she reached the third round of the WTA Rome International.

The Russian was initially made to work hard before coming through 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 against France's Virginie Razzano yesterday.

Double reigning champion Jelena Jankovic was pushed to the brink by Argentine Gisela Dulko before going through 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) after her match had been delayed for three and a half hours by a torrential downpour.

But Safina, whose match started after the rain, complained that the weather had made the courts too soft and dangerous as it was difficult to slide.

"I was just so angry because you can get injured," said Safina, who fell over twice during her match.

"I mean, it's not funny. They tell us go and play because they think the court is fine but they are not playing on that court. Thank God I didn't break anything but if I broke something, I mean, so many players get injured.”

"Then what should I say to the tournament? I (should) say thanks for pushing us to play? I mean, they would say: oh, we are sorry. But it's my career, it's three months off court (if you're injured). So they have to have a little bit of respect for us as players."

Safina struggled throughout the first set, dropping serve in the first and seventh games but breaking straight back on both occasions.

However, once she entered the tie-break it was a different matter as she took total command.

She sealed the tie-break 7-1 with a service winner and then romped through the second set for the loss of only one game.

The top seed will play Chinese 14th seed Zheng Jie in the 3rd round after she defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.

Third seed Jankovic was far from her best and was forced to stay on court for almost two hours by a dogged opponent who had been a first round loser here in four out of five previous appearances.

The Serbian, the world number four, ultimately gained revenge on Dulko, who beat her in the second round in Miami last month.

But Jankovic was disappointed she had not wrapped up the match earlier having been up a break in the second.

"I just let her come back into the match. I was angry at myself because I was thinking that I should have already finished this match," she said.

"It was very difficult for me because I let her come back and she almost won that second set because I made mistakes and I kind of stopped playing.

Clean sweep for China at World Table Tennis

Yokohama, May 05: China completed a clean sweep of all five titles at the World Table Tennis Championships Tuesday, with world number ones Wang Hao and Zhang Yining claiming the men's and women's singles events.

The Chinese team dominated the event -- held every two years -- for the third straight time, with all-Chinese finals in each discipline. China also notched a clean sweep at the Beijing Olympics.

Wang Hao, who won the men's doubles title with Chen Qi on Monday, made it a double victory with a 11-9, 13-11, 11-5, 11-9 win over three-time world champion Wang Liqin in the singles final.

Zhang, the Beijing Olympic gold medallist and the favourite here, stormed back from two games down for a 10-12, 3-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 victory over world number two Guo Yue.

Guo and Li Xiaoxia took the women's doubles title, while Li Ping and Cao Zhen clinched the mixed doubles title.

Wang Hao, who won silver in Beijing, said his mental toughness had made the difference here in Yokohama.

"I was very disappointed in the past championships and the two Olympic Games. But this time I prepared very well, since the Beijing Games. This is the result of that," said the 25-year-old champion.

"Of course, it's important to practice, but I learned that it's also important to prepare well mentally. I'm in pretty good form since 2007 and I won the World Cup as well. I'm very confident right now.”

"I'm very happy to become the singles world champion. My next goal, or dream, is to win the gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012," added Wang Hao, who improved his record against rival Wang Liqin to 10-11.

Wang Liqin said: "I hadn't expected that I would finish runner-up, so I'm quite happy with the result."

On the women's side, Zhang -- who lost to Guo in the 2007 championships -- stretched her head-to-head record against Guo to 10 wins and four defeats.

"When I won the Athens Olympic singles and doubles gold medals, I was more excited. I'm not so excited this time, but still I'm happy about it," said Zhang, 27.

"This is the first big tournament since the ITTF changed the rules and I didn't know how far I could reach with the speed of the ball reduced. I just tried to play my usual game and it was a big success to win the title.” "Guo Yue is young and she has good skills as well. She is a tough opponent to play against. When I was 3-6 down in the last game, I just tried to do my 100 percent until the end."

Meanwhile, Guo said: "I did my best. But sometimes I rushed too much. I tried to attack too quickly. She started to attack me in the third game and I was a bit late to cope with her attacks.

Yuki jumps 619 places in ATP rankings

New Delhi, May 05: India's tennis sensation Yuki Bhambri's maiden ITF title win last month has helped the teenager jump 619 places to a career best 839 in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings.

Yuki won back to back ITF tournaments and his first win was only taken in account for the rankings this week. He is expected to gain more ground when the next ATP rankings come out because his second ITF title's points will be considered.

"Winning two USD 15,000 tournaments at the age of 16 is a big achievement. I definitely feel that I have arrived on the scene. I have worked very hard and had been training a lot after my Australian Open win to iron out flaws. That gave me a lot of confidence in taking on the seniors in the two tournaments," Yuki said.

Amongst the other Indians, Somdev Dev Varman moved up one position to be ranked 146 in the singles and has 552 points in his kitty. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna also moved up. Amritraj jumped 12 places to 166 while Bopanna has gained 33 places to be ranked 293.

In doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi has moved up two places to be ninth with 5,560 points while Leander Paes remained static at fifth spot with 7,010 ranking points. Bopanna moved up two places to be at 68th.

In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 692 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.

Sania Mirza rises in WTA rankings

New Delhi, May 05: In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 69 2 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.

Whereas, Yuki Bhambri's maiden ITF title win last month has helped the teenager jump 619 places to a career best 839 .

Yuki won back to back ITF tournaments and his first win was only taken in account for the rankings this week. He is expected to gain more ground when the next ATP rankings come out because his second ITF title's points will be considered.

"Winning two $15,000 tournaments at the age of 16 is a big achievement. I definitely feel that I have arrived on the scene. I have worked very hard and had been training a lot after my Australian Open win to iron out flaws. That gave me a lot of confidence in taking on the seniors in the two tournaments," Yuki said.

Amongst the other Indians, Somdev moved up one position to be ranked 146 in the singles and has 552 points in his kitty. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna also moved up. Amritraj jumped 12 places to 166 while Bopanna has gained 33 places to be ranked 293.

In doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi has moved up two places to be ninth with 5,560 points while Leander Paes remained static at fifth spot with 7,010 ranking points. Bopanna moved up two places to be at 68th.

Jelena Dokic accuses father of abuse

Sydney, May 04: Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic said she left home nine years ago to escape the physical abuse meted out by her father, Damir.

The 26-year-old told reporters she was "pretty lucky to be here" after a tumultuous family life that saw her abandon Australia and then return after splitting with her father, a former boxer and Belgrade taxi driver.

"I've been through a lot worse than anyone on the tour," Dokic said. "When you go through stuff like that, playing a tennis match is a pretty easy thing to do."

Dokic, who is estranged from her father, represented Australia in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She left her adopted country the following year to return to Serbia with Damir.

Three years ago she was accepted back in Australia, and in January reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after being granted a wild-card entry.

Dokic, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2000, held the world no 4 ranking two years later.

She was at no 31 in the most recent rankings.

I'm the best despite the rankings, says Serena

Rome, May 04: Serena Williams still rates herself as the best player in the world even though she has been toppled from the top spot by Russia's Dinara Safina.

"We all know who the real number one is," Williams told a news conference at the Italian Open on Monday. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Second ranked Williams, who will face Swiss Patty Schnyder in her opening match in Rome, felt she could back up her claim because she owns 10 grand slam singles titles while Safina's tally stands at zero.

Asked which opponent she feared most, the American quipped: "Probably myself. I always beat myself."

The 27-year-old, who has already dabbled in fashion designing and action, said she was thinking about expanding her off-court interests.

"I've been writing, but I haven't been writing. In my mind I've been saying I want to write, but I haven't actually physically picked up a pencil and started writing," the US Open and Australian Open champion said.

"So that is my next challenge, to actually to sit down and do it. No (not my life story). A screenplay. Nothing is impossible

Venus makes winning start at Italian Open

Rome, May 04: Venus Williams battled past Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in her opening match Monday at the Italian Open.

Williams appeared in control of the match in the first set, firing eight aces and as many winners in 28 minutes. But as her service levels dropped and Safarova started playing her powerful groundstrokes deeper, Williams was broken in the third game of the second set and was unable to break back. Safarova served out the set for 6-4.

In the deciding set, the fourth-seeded Williams held serve in a crucial third game after saving four break points. She went on to break in the following game, as a forehand by the 22-year-old Czech player went wide, and then again to close out the match after 1 hour and 48 minutes.

It was a second-round match as the top eight seeds have first-round byes in this warm-up for the French Open, which begins in three weeks' time.

Nadal wins fourth Rome Masters after epic final

Rome, May 03: World number one Rafael Nadal won his fourth ATP Rome Masters title on Sunday beating reigning champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the final.

Nadal extended his winning run on clay to 30 matches in just over a year while Djokovic's failure to retain his title saw him lose the world number three spot to Briton Andy Murray.

Although the match ended in two sets it was a high quality and close run affair until the very end when Djokovic wilted and Nadal ran away with it.

Djokovic played brilliantly at times but the main difference was in unforced errors where he made 40 to just 22 from Nadal.

Kuznetsova downs Safina in final

Stuttgart, May 03: Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Russian compatriot and world number one Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the final to win Stuttgart's WTA tournament to bring an end to her losing streak in finals.

The fifth-seed needed just one hour and 19 minutes to beat the highest-ranked player in the world in straight sets to claim the winner's prize of a new Porsche sports car.

Having beaten Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in Saturday's semi-final, Kuznetsova finally broke her losing streak here having lost the last six finals she had reached on the WTA tour.

Kuznetsova changed both her coach and moved back to Moscow last year from Spain to train and the Stuttgart champion said the win here is proof she is on the right track.

"I changed so many things in the last year, pretty much everything you can change in your career, so this win is a good sign," she said.

"I love being in Moscow, I love being back home, my soul feels at home in Russia."

Pennetta knocks out Jankovic in Stuttgart

Stuttgart, May 02: Italian Flavia Pennetta caused an upset by beating third seed Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Stuttgart Grand Prix quarter-finals on Friday.

The unseeded Pennetta's reward is a last-four meeting with Dinara Safina after the world number one swept aside Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-2.

Russian Safina, who went to the top of the rankings last week, dominated the eighth seed with a series of thunderous ground strokes.

Second seed Elena Dementieva went through with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Marion Bartoli of France.

The Russian next meets countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova after the fifth seed overwhelmed Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2.

Dementieva and Bartoli traded early breaks before the world number three started going to the net more often as she clinched the first set in 31 minutes.

Bartoli produced some deft baseline play to break serve twice in the second.

However, there was no looking back for Dementieva after she raced into a 4-0 lead in the deciding set.

ITF ban on TA can end my Davis Cup career: Hewitt

Melbourne, May 02: An utterly disappointed Lleyton Hewitt says his Davis Cup career could be over if the Tennis Australia (TA) was banned from competing in the tournament

next year for boycotting the tie against India.

"Now, once again, we are in the hands of the ITF regarding any sanction they may impose on Tennis Australia and the Australian Davis Cup team," Hewitt said.

"That decision could have severe ramifications for me as a player, and could effectively end my Davis Cup career," he wrote on his blog.

"Whilst I have been a winning team member twice, I would be devastated if this was the way for my career playing for my country ended. As far as I'm concerned I still have unfinished business in Davis Cup, including getting Australia back into the World Group," he added.

The 28-tear-old said the ITF's failure to move the May 8-10 India tie from Chennai to a neutral venue was "possibly the most disappointing of all".

"I had made the commitment to forgo my French Open preparations to play in India even though I am trying to re-establish myself in the world rankings following an injury," Hewitt said.

"It's a bit like a red rag to a bull, risk wise, in my opinion, yet the ITF have showed a lack of protection and concern for the safety of the players," Hewitt said. The Australian tennis ace said he felt let down by the ITF for a few more decisions.

"However, I must say I feel very let down by the ITF with a few decisions lately relating to Davis Cup," he said.

"The first has been their awarding of ATP ranking points to the competition to try to attract certain players to take part in the competition.”

"The problem is they have only awarded them to the World Group section. In my opinion a player shouldn't require the incentive of ranking points to represent their country in a competition that has been running for more than 100 years."

Hewitt also criticised the scheduling of the zonal ties, a situation he said was "creating an uneven playing field for players and is completely lacking in consistency".

"By creating this new date in May, the ITF is forcing players in the zonal sections to choose between their own personal ranking and representing their country, again for no points," Hewitt said.

Champion Djokovic eases into Rome tennis semis

Rome, May 01: Reigning champion Novak Djokovic produced a classy display to defeat world number five Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Rome Masters claycourt tournament.

The 21-year-old world number three needs to retain his title or he will lose his ranking spot to number four Andy Murray, who was knocked out in the second round earlier this week.

But he looked every bit championship material with a commanding performance that lasted 1hr 38min under the baking sun at the Foro Italico.

The Serbian has yet to drop a set in three matches in this tournament and will face world number two Roger Federer in the semis if the Swiss 13-time Grand Slam winner defeats qualifier Mischa Zverev of Germany later on Friday.

Djokovic took command early on in the first set after a series of three breaks in a row. That allowed him to serve out the set 6-3, capping it with an ace on set point.

Del Potro came out with renewed determination in the second set and while he became increasingly dominant on his first serve, he also became more vulnerable on his second.

That gave Djokovic the initiative to break the Argentine fifth seed at 2-2 when Del Potro went long with a backhand at 15-40.

The match then went with serve until Del Potro had to save a match point at 3-5 with a big serve.

He saved two more match points at 4-5 when third seed Djokovic went wide with a backhand down the line and then netted a forehand.

But the Serbian claimed the victory on his fourth match point as Del Potro ran around his backhand but hit a cramped forehand into the net.

It was Djokovic's greater class that counted in the end as their statistics looked similar but for the Serbian hitting 20 winners to just eight from the Argentine.