ROANIC PAST FIRST TEST

Rising Canadian star Milos Raonic defeated Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday for his first career Masters 1000 victory.

Raonic, ranked No. 37 in the world, has been on quite a roll of late. He earned his first career ATP Tour victory before reaching another tournament final and last week led Canada to a Davis Cup victory over Mexico.

However, the 20-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., had some trouble closing out the win after allowing an early break in the second set to slip away. He ultimately had to end the match by winning a tiebreaker.

Raonic is competing in his first Masters event outside of Canada, where he lost at the Rogers Cup in 2009 and 2010. He moved into a second-round match against American Mardy Fish, the 13th seed who lost the 2008 final to Novak Djokovic.

The big-hitting Raonic was held to 10 aces by Ilhan, who is ranked No. 120 in the world and dropped his ninth match of the year between ATP and Challengers levels and is still looking for his first victory.

Raonic saved two of the three break points he faced while registering three breaks of his own in a match that lasted just under 90 minutes in blazing sunny conditions.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TSUNAMI SPEED

HAWK-EYE ON EVERY COURT

Hawk-Eye is the complex ball-tracking technology used in tennis to determine the accuracy of line calls, providing quick results so not to interrupt the flow of the matches.

"It's only a positive thing," said Ivan Ljubicic, the defending men's singles champion at Indian Wells and ranked No. 16 in the world. "Less you depend on the umpires, the better. You want to be the one who decides who is better and who is not."

Hawk-Eye performs at an average error of 3.6 millimeters, but Luke Aggas, the director of operations at Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd., said Hawk-Eye's accuracy was measured at 2.1 at the Australian Open. The average diameter of a tennis ball is 67 millimeters, so the accuracy is the equivalent of the fluff of the ball.

Since making its debut five years, Hawk-Eye has been embraced by fans. Players appreciate the accuracy of the technology, saying it gives them a peace of mind on the court.

Aggas, who is on site to oversee the running of Hawk-Eye on all eight courts, said both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open had Hawk-Eye on three courts last year, and Wimbledon is moving to expand to four this year.

"Hawk-Eye being on every court is revolutionary," said Raymond Moore, the president of PM Sports, which runs the tournament.

Tournament officials would not comment on the price of the technology, other than PM Sports CEO Charles Pasarell saying "there's a lot of zeros behind it."

Bob Kramer, the tournament director of the Farmer's Classic in Los Angeles, said the technology ran his tournament about $60,000-$70,000 for one court, with much of that cost going to installing the infrastructure.

The estimated cost for the eight courts at the BNP Paribas Open is in the $420,000 to $490,000 range, based on the Farmer's Classic.

Included in the cost is 10 cameras per court, with two video monitors to provide replay for fans, and as many as 14 computers for each court to record the data.

The Hawk-Eye system is part of a remodeling of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which has gone from 11 to 33 television monitors, and added seats. There are also three command centers to handle the replays, as well as video production.

Not only is the Hawk-Eye a huge expansion for the BNP Paribas Open, but for Hawk-Eye as well. Aggas anticipates several tournaments will send representatives to the tournament or at least watch on television to see how both tournament and Hawk-Eye handle the ambitious expansion.

"I don't like to use the word gamble, but it's an untried and untested idea, and it's very adventurous of (tournament director) Steve Simon and his crew here at Indian Wells to reach out to us," Aggas said. "It wasn't us pitching to them, 'Hey we can do eight courts.'

"At this time last year on one court, they didn't raise the question of going to eight courts, saying that, we're all in our comfort zone, nothing has been jeopardized or there is nothing we can't deal with already. The infrastructure around all the court is great. We have positions where our cameras are mounted. I can't remember many sites, even the Grand Slams, having so many seats on the grounds being erected."

Part of the expansion included adding 2,600 seats on the grounds, as well as adding approximately 64 miles of data cable, 25 miles of video cable and 57 miles of electrical cable to upgrade the infrastructure.

"It's a large investment, and we're fortunate we have an owner (Larry Ellison) who has the same mind-set as we do as far as wanting to make this the very best tournament in the world," Moore said.

The question now is who,if anyone, will add Hawk-Eye to all courts next? Hawk-Eye made its debut on the tour in March 2006 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. By that summer, all the US Open Series events, including the Open, had Hawk-Eye in place.

But one tennis official doesn't think other events will follow suit so quickly this time.

Franklin Johnson, who sits on the ITF board, which governs tennis' four majors, believes it's unlikely another tournament would institute Hawk-Eye on all courts, especially in an era where sponsorship dollars can be hard to come by.

"Its obviously a cost item, and it's not an insignificant cost," said Johnson, president of the U.S. Tennis Association from 2005-06. "I suppose as others join Indian Wells, it will bring pressure on the Slams to do it. I would think that would take a period of several years."

Aggas said, as of now, none of the bigger tournaments have looked into adding Hawk-Eye on all courts. The two tournaments that used three last year, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, were looking into expanding Hawk-Eye this year to four courts, he said.

"The bigger the tournament, the more red tape you have to go through. Wimbledon definitely won't be more than four. U.S. Open typically says they'll match whatever Wimbledon does, but that was assuming that would be the tournament to match," Aggas said. "Indian Wells has raised the bar."

Pasarell, who has sat on the ATP Tour board of directors, disagrees with Johnson and thinks other tournaments will jump on board sooner rather than later.

"Time will tell, but I do expect it won't take too long," Pasarell said. "I think the Slams will follow suit quickly and some of the Masters events."

However, one advantage for the BNP Paribas Open is Ellison, who Forbesmagazine ranks as the sixth-richest man in the world with a net worth of $28 billion.

The CEO of Oracle since founding the company in 1977, Ellison purchased the BNP Paribas Open in December 2009 for $100 million.

Since taking over, Ellison has had a goal of enhancing the tournament, and money doesn't appear to be a deterrent.

"There's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Larry Ellison, and he has loosened the purse strings," Moore said. "We have a blank canvas and he has allowed us to invest in the tournament and to invest in the infrastructure."

The time factor also complicates matters for bigger tournaments who might want to expand Hawk-Eye to all courts.

After Ellison purchased the BNP Paribas Open in December 2009, the tournament investigated added Hawk-Eye to its two other show courts to go with the stadium courts. However ,installing Hawk-Eye on multiple courts was too complex to complete before the 2010 tournament.

"To do it right, we knew we need a full year lead-up to put in the right infrastructure, and with Larry's guidance, take it to all courts," Simon said.

So after the 2010 tournament, the BNP executives resumed talks about expanding Hawk-Eye. That's when Ellison broached the idea of expanding Hawk-Eye to all eight courts.

"When he called and talked to us about expanding it, Steve went goo-goo eyed," Moore said. "It was the first time the purse strings have been relaxed like that and allowed Steve to really master plan the improvements that are going to be on show for 2011."

Leighton Ginn, The Desert Sun

INDIAN WELLS

SONY BUYS HAWK-EYE

LONDON (AP)—Electronics giant Sony has completed the purchase of Hawk-Eye, the British-based company that provides ball-tracking technology in tennis and cricket.

Financial details weren’t disclosed.

Hawk-Eye is also used in snooker, while soccer world governing body FIFA could utilize the tracking system as it looks to introduce technology to rule on goal-line decisions.

Paul Hawkins, inventor of Hawk-Eye, said Monday the takeover by Sony would create “immense opportunities for the sports industry.”

SPEEDING

Ivo Karlovic fired a 251 kmph (156mph) serve to break the fastest serve record during his country's Davis Cup tie against Germany in Zagreb on Saturday.

The record was previously held by American Andy Roddick who served at 249.4 kmph (155mph) in another Davis Cup match against Vladmir Voltchkov of Belarus in 2004. The new record has been ratified by the International Tennis Federation.

Karlovic, the tallest player on the tennis circuit at 6ft 10in sent down the serve while partnering Ivan Dodig in the doubles match against Philipp Petzschner and Christopher Kas of Germany. Karlovic and Dodig however, lost the game 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and Croatia eventually crashed to a 3-2 defeat to Germany.

Karlovic also shares the record for the third fastest serve - 153mph (246kph) - with Roddick and another American, Roscoe Tanner.

KINESIOLOGY TAPE

It may not win any fashion awards, but eye-catching kinesiology tape continues to grow in popularity with pro tennis players. Invented in the 1970s by Japanese chiropractor Dr. Kenzo Kase, the tape has many benefits, including management of a variety of injuries afflicting players, including shoulder, knee and even back complaints.

Novak Djokovic wore very conspicuous kinesiology tape around his left knee during his title run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last week, saying it was a ‘precaution’ only. Anyone who witnessed Djokovic’s outstanding play and exceptional court coverage could see one of the key benefits of the tape: Unlike regular tape, it does not impede movement - good movement, that is.

“The tape is very helpful to players, assisting with posture, decreasing pain, and improving range of motion," says ATP physiotherapist Clay Sniteman.

Kinesiology tape is ideal to use to support a knee which may not be tracking properly, because you can apply it to allow movement in one direction, but not the other. Other forms of tape, typically wrapped tight for compression, are more rigid and overly restrict a player’s movement. On the ATP World Tour, good movement is fundamental to success. How important is movement? As tennis fans know, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic aren’t just three of the best shotmakers in the game; they are three of the best movers. 

Kinesiology tape, which is tensioned and applied in a variety of patterns, is also well suited for shoulders. The tape can allow for movement in the direction the shoulder should move, but avoid improper movements that can cause or exacerbate injuries.

Applied firmly to clean, sweat-free and hair-free skin, the breathable and stretchable tape can stay in place for up to five days. It can also be used to treat swelling and for proprioception, to keep acute or chronic knee and shoulder problems in a pain-free range. The tape can be used on virtually all joints, although it is rarely applied to the hands and wrist, where players do not want to restrict motion.

The tape can be used to lift the skin, allowing fluid to drain. Following operations the tape can be used to decrease acute swelling and inflammation by improving circulation, and to reduce pain.

Kinesiology tape is widely available for purchase in sports stores and on the internet, with a 16 foot roll retailing for around $11.

ATP

MAIN DRAW, QUALIES, PRE-QUALIES, WILD CARDS - IT AIN'T EASY

Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Ryan Harrison, Bernard Tomic, Coco Vandeweghe, and Christina McHale were granted wild cards into the main draws, tournament director Steve Simon said. Veterans James Blake, Vania King, Jill Craybas and Sania Mirza were also given wild cards into the main draws.

Joining Vandeweghe and McHale on the women's side will be young Americans Lauren Davis, and Sloane Stephens. There is one remaining women's wild card to be granted.

Qualifying draw wild cards were given to four men, including 1999 BNP Paribas Open champion Mark Philippoussis, who is attempting a comeback; American Ryan Sweeting; Steve Johnson, the No. 1 singles and doubles player at USC; and Greg Ouellette, a former SEC player of the year at Florida with three titles on the ITF circuit.

Former top 30 German star Sabine Lisicki, three young Americans, Madison Keys, Madison Brengle and Maria Sanchez, and rising Puerto Rican junior Monica Puig, were granted wild cards into the women's qualifying draw.

There are two more qualifying draw wild cards to be distributed and will be given to the men's and women's winner of the BNP Paribas Open Pre-Qualifier, which begins tomorrow in Indian Wells and runs through March 6. Between the men and women, the Pre-Qualifier had a record 145 entries.

USA TODAY

ROGER'S BLACKLIST OF SPORTS

Roger Federer loves a variety of sports, but it seems that ping pong is the only one he allows himself to play due to risk of injury. Speaking after his quarter-final win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Federer said that skiing, soccer and squash were all on his banned list. Even the more pedestrian sport of golf is blacklisted.

“To be quite honest, I do miss [skiing]. I used to do it up until a few years ago," Federer said. "Last time I skied was in 2008 when I had mono. Came back after the Australian Open, went skiing, and next day I got ill again. So I was like, Okay, it's a sign for me. No more skiing. That's a pity, but okay, we'll do that.

“Soccer I haven't played much either. I remember when I had the groin issue in Wimbledon. Then I went to Gstaad and I really couldn't move well. I mean, I won the doubles with Safin and stuff. But I went to play soccer that whole week as well and couldn't move at the end. So it was just so silly of me. I did the same with squash as well.”

Federer said that he recently played a round of golf, but even that took its toll on his body. “I played a round of golf with my parents. It was my mom's birthday the other week here, and I went to play on the Emirates Golf Course. It was nice to do, but the same thing again. Next thing you know, your back hurts just a little bit.

“You just don't want to do it, because my body is accustomed to play tennis right now. Honestly, I can wait for many more years until I can do all those sports really well. I actually do miss it to do all those things a bit more often.  I can play ping pong. I can do that.  It's a pity [I can’t play the other sports] but, look, I'll be able to enjoy them much more when I'm done.”

ATP

NEW ZEALAND QUAKE

ITF has called off the senior’s tennis tournament in New Zealand, due to the earth quake which was happened in Christchurch. The Seniors Tennis Event which is scheduled to be held from February 21st-26th, 2011, has been called off.

ITF has canceled the senior tennis, which is equivalent to the Davis Cup, the men’s and women’s with the age groups from 35 to 55-plus are the top American amateurs, who will venture to New Zealand this year from Feb. 21-26.

The International tennis Federation organizers said that, we will make every effort to ensure that the competitors of the Seniors World Individual Championships will safely return to their homes.

Ricci Bitti Francesco, the President of ITF has said on Wednesday that, we are taking very effort to relive all the players, captains and officials who are there in Christchurch and we are aware of the loss of life and the large number of injuries due to the earthquake.

At least 75 people were killed on Tuesday, due to the earthquake at Christchurch and most of the tallest buildings have been topples and buses have been crushed off.

The Seniors World Team Championships in nearby Timaru and Ashburton will go ahead as scheduled.

LIVETENNISGUIDE

TV TENNIS TODAY THURSDAY TORONTO

 

On SN1 [Bell 418]:

Dubai 10 am [now] and 3 pm

Acapulco – 8 pm

GAME, SET, CAREER - ANCIC QUITS

By Sports Network

The Sports Network

Croatia's Mario Ancic has decided to retire from the ATP World Tour.

Plagued by injuries and illness during his tennis career, Ancic will now turn his focus to a career in law. He called it quits after 10 years.

"It was one of the toughest decisions I ever had to make," Ancic said. "I'm only 26, but my body said I would not be able to continue on a high level."

"I was advised to either undergo surgery or go through a conservative method, but I had no guarantee with either option."

In 2008, Ancic graduated from the University of Split with a degree in law.

The 6-foot-5 Croat made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2002, upsetting a seventh-seeded Roger Federer in the opening round. Federer didn't lose again at the All England Club until Rafael beat him in the final there six years later.

Ancic captured three titles and reached a career-high No. 7 in the world in 2006. His best-ever Grand Slam showing was a trip into the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2004.

The talented Ancic, who helped Croatia win its lone Davis Cup title in 2005, struggled with mononucleosis in 2007 and had most-recently been slowed by back and knee problems.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/23/2081207/ancic-retires-from-atp.html#ixzz1EoguRxYU

SUDDEN DEATH IN ACAPULCO

Tennis players have been warned about security ahead of the start of the Mexican Open in the troubled Pacific resort of Acapulco.

The professional men's tennis association, the ATP, cautioned against travelling outside hotels.

Players were advised to leave the city immediately after being eliminated from the tournament.

Mexico's government has assured the ATP that appropriate security measures have been put in place.

Several arrests have been made following a recent spate of drug-related violence in the city.

A weekend of attacks on taxis in the city left 12 drivers or passengers dead, the Associated Press news agency quotes local police as saying.

Dozens of cars have also been burned in recent days but the motives were not clear, AP reported.

In January, the bodies of 15 headless men were found outside a shopping centre in the resort.

RODDICK SQUEEZES BY RAONIC

by ATP Staff

20.02.2011

Top seed Andy Roddick ended Milos Raonic’s courageous run at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, prevailing 7-6(7), 6-7(11), 7-5 on Sunday to claim his 30th tour-level title and third in Memphis.

World No. 8 Roddick became the third active player on the ATP World Tour to win 30 or more career singles titles, joining Roger Federer (67) and Rafael Nadal (43). He also became the eighth American-born player to accomplish the feat.

Both players had their share of opportunities in the two tie-breaks. Roddick, who was playing in his 50th tour-level final, clinched the first set with his eighth ace of the match after saving two set points. In the second set, Raonic fought off elimination as he faced down three match points at 6-5, 8-7 and 10-9 and converted on his fourth set point of the tie-break.

Roddick had two chances to build a 5-1 lead in the third set, but Raonic rallied to hold and then capitalised on his fifth break point in the ensuing game to get back on serve. Raonic continued his fight, saving a fourth match point at 4-5, but was unable to come up with an answer on Roddick’s next opportunity.

On a dramatic match point, Raonic stretched Roddick wide to the ad court with a penetrating inside-out forehand and proceeded to the net. Roddick replied with a searching down-the-line back, which Raonic did well to cover and angled away a crisp forehand volley that looked good enough to get him back to deuce. But Roddick, desperate to avoid a third consecutive tie-break with the Canadian, hustled back to the deuce court and then lunged forward into a diving down-the-line forehand pass into the open court.

Roddick was left with with a grazed right forearm, but it was a small price to pay for the return. It was a dramatic end to a dramatic final, and most likely the best championship point the tournament has ever seen.

Roddick, 28, improved to a 35-7 record at this ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tournament. He also won the title in 2002 and ’09, and was runner-up in 2003 and ’07.

The top American has now won an ATP World Tour title for 11 straight years, best among active players along with Federer. Earlier this season, Roddick finished runner-up to Robin Soderling at the Brisbane International.

Raonic, who was making just his ninth tour-level main draw appearance, was contesting his second final in as many weeks. The 20-year-old Canadian had won the SAP Open title last Sunday with victory over World No. 9 Fernando Verdasco. He beat Verdasco again in the first round this week.

With a total of 32 aces in the final, Raonic set a new tournament record of 129 aces, surpassing Mark Philippoussis’ mark of 106 in 2001. He hit a career and tournament-high 38 aces in his win against Radek Stepanek on Thursday. He had reached the final by winning four straight three-set matches, including third set tie-break wins over Verdasco and Stepanek.

Despite his loss, Raonic is projected to climb to No. 37 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the highest-ranked Canadian man in ATP Rankings history. Greg Rusedski was No. 41 in June 1994.

MILOS RAONIC SERVE

MEMPHIS FINAL – RODDICK-RAONIC

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Top seed Andy Roddick advanced to the Memphis Championship final with a 6-3 6-4 win over Juan Martin Del Potro on Saturday and will face big-hitting Canadian Milos Raonic.

The 20-year-old Raonic, coming off his first tournament win last week at the San Jose Open, fired 23 aces in the earlier semi-final to beat American Mardy Fish 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Del Potro, who held serve en route to his second semi-final in two weeks, was broken by Roddick in the second game of the match as the American established a 3-0 lead in eight minutes.

Roddick, seeking the 30th title of his career, had lost his three previous matches against del Potro but held on for the victory in one hour and 34 minutes.

Raonic, who burst onto the scene by reaching the fourth round of last month's Australian Open, saved five of the six break points he faced and won 85 percent of points behind his powerful first serve to dismiss Fish in just under two hours.

The Canadian, who started the year ranked 159th and will break into the top 50 next week, said he is starting to tire after a trio of three-set wins in four days but will be ready to play in his second straight final.

"I am starting to feel the fatigue but I don't think it's anything I can't overcome," Raonic said in an interview posted on the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com).

"I've put in the hours and I've done the work for these kinds of moments so I look to relish off them and use all that effort I've put in and this is the time to shine."

ROANIC TOP 50!!

Fast-rising Canadian Milos Raonic will crack the Top 50 of the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings on Monday after reaching the semi-finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships Friday with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over American Robert Kendrick.

The 20-year-old Raonic has made the biggest jump in the Top 100 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings from the 2010 year-end standings, climbing from No. 156 to a career-high No. 59 this week after compiling an 11-2 record at the start of the season. He broke through as a qualifier at the Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round (l. to Ferrer) after beating World No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny, and last week won his maiden ATP World Tour title (d. Verdasco) in San Jose.

ATP

38 ACES IN 3 SETS

 

(AFP) MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Milos Raonic hammered a career-high 38 aces defeating Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/1) to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP/WTA Memphis event.

After dropping a marathon second set tiebreaker, Canada's Raonic needed a tiebreaker in the third to oust the Czech star and post his sixth consecutive victory.

He will next face American qualifier Robert Kendrick for a spot in the semi-finals.

FIRST ROUND, LAST ROUND

Associated Press

MEMPHIS -- Milos Raonic beat No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday night in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, his second victory over Verdasco in four days.

Raonic, a 20-year-old Canadian and the fastest rising young star on the ATP Tour, beat Verdasco on Sunday in the final of the SAP Open in San Jose for his first career title.

He has risen from 159 in the world to start the year to 59 this week.

"I'm happy with the outcome, but I think there are things I can improve on the match that I'll take time to think about," Raonic said. "But I can't be unsatisfied with this result."

He said beating Verdasco on Sunday did provide a confidence boost.

A frustrated Verdasco lamented having to play the hard-serving Raonic twice in conditions that favor his game and not Verdasco's. The points were quickly played.

"For me that's not a real match in tennis," Verdasco said. "I hope to play soon against him in clay court to show him what it is to play tennis, and play rallies, and run, and not only serve."

THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY

What the hell!

What got into the media moguls' heads when they cancelled greased-pig wrasslin to show this wimpy  tennis match!