HENIN RETIRES

 

Top-ranked Justine Henin will make a major announcement about her career Wednesday amid reports she will quit professional tennis.

The 25-year-old Belgian has always said she sought a long career and despite injuries and a divorce, she had a sterling 2007 with two Grand Slam victories and eight other tour titles.

However, after winning her home tournament in Antwerp in February, she has been on one of her worst skids of her career and failed to go beyond a quarterfinal since.

This year she lost to Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Italy's Francesca Schiavone, and some were lopsided. Last week she was ousted from the Berlin Open in the third round and this week she pulled out of the Italian Open.

Throughout her career, Henin has had to beat the odds.

She had to battled the giants in the game and with a superlative one-handed backhand, amazing speed and endless determination, she won seven Grand Slam titles and an Olympic title. The only major to escape her is Wimbledon.

She lost her mother to cancer when she was 12 and only reunited with her father and close family last year after almost a decade of separation. During that difficult youth, tennis gave her a sense of mission and it became all-encompassing.

At the outset of her productive 2007, she also divorced from Pierre-Yves Hardenne, a Belgian to whom she had been married for four years.

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DJOKOVIC AND BRYANS

Djokovic won the 10th title of his career Sunday, rallying to beat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters.

"I was aiming for Rome and Roland Garros as my two priorities on clay courts this season," Djokovic said. "Now I have more confidence approaching big events on clay, and other surfaces as well."

This tournament was an important warmup for the French Open, which begins in two weeks.

The third-ranked Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam tournament title, then captured the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.

Djokovic's third victory of 2008 will move him within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

Daniel Nestor and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic lost the Rome Masters doubles final after a lengthy tiebreaker Sunday, falling 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 to American twins Bob and Mike Bryan.

It was the second championship loss at the elite Masters level for the second seeds, who also lost in the Indian Wells final last March.

''We were playing well as a team, it was a couple of shots here and there in the final that made the difference,'' said Nestor.''We like our form now. We won some important matches this week which we would not have done a few weeks before.

''We had lost some tough three-setters and we won them this week. Things are turning around and hopefully we just need to build on them.''

Nestor and Zimonjic joined forces after the U.S. Open last year and took the first set with a late break. They failed to hold the momentum in the second as the Americans recovered with a break in the final game.

The tiebreaker third was a lottery.

Nestor and Zimonjic were unable to capitalize on a 4-1 lead, with the Bryans making up the gap and taking a 5-4 advantage. They rebounded to go up 8-7 only to lose the contest three points later when the top seeds converted their first match point.

The Bryans now look ready for the French Open after also winning a trophy in Barcelona last week on clay. They won their first Rome title after runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2007.

The teams next head to Hamburg for another Masters Series event, the last major tuneup before the May 25 start of the French Open.

Nestor and Zimonjic hadn't won a match since Indian Wells, falling in subsequent opening matches in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona before Rome.

''The difference was we had two double-faults and they had none,'' said Nestor. ''Other than that it was pretty even.

''Every point was close, it went back and forth. They're the best and  you have to go for it. Unfortunately it didn't work out.''

NESTOR IN ROME FINALS

Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic defeated Richard Gasquet and Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak in Saturday's action at the Rome Masters.

They will face American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in the final.

For Zimonjic, this is his second straight year in the Rome finals. At the 2007 event, Zimonjic won the title with French partner Fabrice Santoro. Nestor was a semifinalist with former court-mate Mark Knowles (Bahamas).

DJOKOVIC-WAWRINKA IN FINALS

Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek retired from semifinal matches at the Rome Masters on Saturday, setting up a final between Stanislas Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic.

Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling behind 3-0 in the first set against Wawrinka.

"I felt a little something last night in my back when I was getting treatment. Then, one wrong movement and I had a complete spasm," Roddick said. "I can't really move my left arm right now. You can't really play around that."

Stepanek stopped while trailing Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 with an apparent wrist injury and also looked affected by the heat. Stepanek called for a trainer after the first set, then retired one game later.

On Friday, Stepanek eliminated top-ranked Roger Federer in this clay-court tuneup for the French Open.

Roddick pulled up awkwardly after Wawrinka hit a forehand winner in the third game, then asked for a trainer on the changeover. He came back out and double-faulted, then quit.

Wawrinka reached his second final of the year. He is ranked a career-high 24th this week after reaching the semifinals of the Barcelona Open last weekend, and will move into the top 10 next week.

The Hamburg Masters begins Monday, and Roddick isn't sure how his back will react.

STEPANEK BEATS FED

FEDERER AND DJOKOVIC WIN

ARRIVEDECI ROMA: NADAL OUT

Rafael Nadal lost for only the second time in his last 105 matches on clay, falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 Wednesday in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Nadal, who won the past three French Open titles, was bothered by a blister on his right foot and called for the trainer late in the second set.

The blister began bothering Nadal on Sunday, when he won the Barcelona Open.

"Today when I woke up, I said it was impossible to play," Nadal said. "I spoke to the doctor today and yesterday, and they put special protection on it and cream, but it was still tough."

Nadal's last loss on clay came against No. 1 Roger Federer in the Hamburg Masters in May 2007. Before that, Nadal had won a record 81 consecutive matches on the slow, red surface, a streak that began in April 2005.

The second-ranked Nadal had never lost at the Foro Italico, winning the Rome tournament each of the previous three years. The 23rd-ranked Ferrero took the Rome title 2001, two years before he was the French Open champion.

Coming off an appearance in the Barcelona Open final, fifth-seeded David Ferrer lost to Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Spanish clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro upset seventh-seeded David Nalbandian 6-4, 7-5. Igor Andreev knocked off No. 13 Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Stanislas Wawrinka ousted No. 14 Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Croatian wild card Mario Ancic 6-2, 6-2; No. 8 James Blake held off Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1; and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez -- last year's runner-up -- defeated Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-2.

ROME AND HAMBURG SKEDS

FED AND CANAS

 

39 minutes is what Roger Federer needed to capture the first set versus his "dark horse" Guillermo Canas. The Swiss seemed extremely fit on the court.

6 aces and one break allowed for the Swiss an easy first set win. Which is exactly what he needed to get the confidence level needed when facing an opponent he does not like to face on a surface he doesn't necessarily like to play on.

In the second set, "Willy" held serve and picked up some momentum which he clearly lacked of in the 1st set. He even forced Roger to defend a break point when serving down 2-3. The Swiss however, defended successfully and squared the score at 3 all. Up 40-15 on his serve Canas saw himself comfortably moving up 4-3. Unfortunately, for him, that is when Federer decided to take control of things. He came back and broke Canas to go up 4-3 and serving. Despite some nice defense on behalf of the Argentine, it was all about "Rogde". Canas would not score another game as Federer goes through to the third round.

POT AND THE KETTLE

Andy Murray claims Juan Martin Del Potro insulted his mother during a first-round match at the Rome Masters.

"Someone saying something about your mother who is one of the nicest ladies you're ever going to meet? I don't think that's really that cool," Murray said after Del Potro retired while trailing 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 late Monday.

Judy Murray provided vocal support for her son from the stands during the match. Andy Murray did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged insults by Del Potro, an Argentine qualifier.

Tempers started to flare after Del Potro nearly hit Murray in the head with a ball in the second set.

"I played a serve-and-volley and hit a bad volley in the middle of the service box and he came in and hit a full-power backhand straight at my head," Murray said. "I would have thought it's normal to apologize for something like that, and not to get an apology was a little bit disappointing.

"After that, the next two or three points I was maybe shouting, 'Come on,' a little bit more than I usually do," Murray said.

The British player was warned at one point for bad language.

From whom did Murray get his well known nastiness?

ROGER BEATS CANAS IN ROME

6-3, 6-3

Even though most consider Canas to be a Roger-killer, two of his victories [2007 Indian Wells and 2007 Miami] were the result of Roger playing with a sprained ankle [known only to a few in Roger's entourage and , of course, your humble obedient servant, myself].

Mirka's insistence that he play those two tourneys, against the wishes of Tony Roche, his coach, led to Tony's resignation.

FED'S SUMMER

Federer, slowly but surely working his way back from mono, can't wait to tackle the next five months.

Who knows, maybe the lack of tennis early in the season will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Federer needs two more majors to tie Pete Sampras's men's record of 14 and is seeking that elusive Roland Garros crown.

"It's such an interesting time for me," Federer told England's Independent. "I'm chasing Olympic gold, my sixth Wimbledon, my fifth U.S. Open, my first French Open. If I win any of those, I'll be such a happy person. I believe I can do it all."

When it comes to his relationship with new coach Jose Higueras, Federer said things have started off brightly.

"Jose seems like a nice guy, and we get on well," he said. "We like talking."

CAMPIONATI D'ITALIA

Rafael Nadal's bid to win a record fourth consecutive Rome Masters title next week was boosted on Saturday when he drew an easier path to the final than world No. 1 Roger Federer.

If the higher seeds were to win out, Spain's world No. 2 seed Nadal will meet No. 8 seed James Blake in the quarterfinals and then face No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals.

Federer, in contrast, is lined up to face world No. 5 seed David Ferrer in the last eight and a possible semifinal showdown against Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic or Argentina's David Nalbandian.

Nadal's side of the draw also features Britain's Andy Murray and France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who stunned the Spaniard in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Nadal and Federer both have byes into the second round.

WIMBLEDON PRIZE MONEY

Prize money at Wimbledon is going up by 4.7 percent.

The All England Club announced Tuesday the total prize fund for this summer's championships will be $23.46 million. The men's and women's champions will each get $1.49 million, a 7.1 percent increase from last year.

This year's tournament takes place from June 23 to July 6.

RAFA: KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

 

The second-ranked Spaniard won 7-5, 7-5 Sunday, and improved his clay-court record over Federer to 7-1.

"Winning four times here is unimaginable," said Nadal, who earned his 24th career title. "Roger played a great match. We always have good finals."

Nadal has won 98 of his last 99 matches on clay, with a loss to Federer in the 2007 Hamburg final the only blip.

The Swiss star blew commanding leads in each set, breaking Nadal to lead 4-3 in the first and racing to a 4-0 lead in the second.

"Disappointing second set," Federer said. "After playing the right way against him and then letting him back into the match, it was disappointing. Maybe I didn't play my best."

Federer committed too many unforced errors, surprisingly on his forehand, and let Nadal back into the match.

"He deserves to win," Federer said. "I'm pushing Rafa today, having the feeling I can beat him if I play the right way. And I think that's the feeling I didn't have after [Monte Carlo] last year."

Nadal has won 22 consecutive matches at Monte Carlo since losing to Guillermo Coria in the third round in 2003. Federer was the last person to take a set from him in the 2006 final. Nadal missed 2004 with injury.

The three-time French Open champion is 19-1 in clay-court finals, while Federer dropped to 7-8 on his least favorite surface. The 12-time Grand Slam champion has never won the French Open, the only major title missing from his resume.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE NO. 1

And here we thought Novak Djokovic had solved his breathing problems.
They've certainly gotten better; he wouldn't be #3 in the world if they hadn't. But the weather here has been warm and dry enough that a certain amount of dust is flying, and Djokovic couldn't handle it.
That settles a lot of things. For starters, Roger (who now has benefited from retirements in two of his last five matches!) has clinched the #1 ranking through Roland Garros -- and, hence, the #1 French Open seed.

He still needs more to assure the #1 spot after Paris, but his odds are getting better.

NADAL'S LYCRA SHORTS

Please, Rafa, we endure your your obsessive-compulsive butt-face-ball [in that order] ritual in silence.

Well, maybe not in silence, but we endure.

[And, no, no, no one mentioned hygiene!]

Butt, now you burden us with

LYCRA TENNIS SHORTS!!!

If you must wear them, at least deal with those distracting panty lines.

Your Capri pants were barely acceptable.

BUTT LYCRA!!!!!

And, please, keep the rest of your costumes in the closet.

BIG BOYS IN FINAL

FEDERER vs NADAL

Federer d Djokovic 6-3, 3-2 [ret]

Nadal d Davydenko 6-3, 6-2

BATTLE FOR FIRST

Singles - Quarterfinal: (1) R Federer def. (6) D Nalbandian 5-7 6-2 6-2

This may be the best evidence yet that Roger Federer is at, or near, his full form, given how much David Nalbandian has tortured him over the years.

The loss leaves Nalbandian still stuck at #7, with a long way to go to catch Andy Roddick.

And it's big for Federer -- his magic number to stay #1 up to Roland Garros is now one. That is, any combination of one Federer win or one Nadal loss or withdrawal will assure Federer the #1 ranking through Roland Garros.

That means that Nadal will have to win 17 matches in the space of 23 days, and even then it won't do him any good unless Federer loses all his remaining matches.

 

Singles - Quarterfinal: (2) R Nadal def. (5) D Ferrer 6-1 7-5

Of course, if Rafael Nadal now has almost no chance of making #1 before Roland Garros, he could still become #1 after the French -- because Roger Federer has 700 points to defend in Paris.

Which means that Federer needs 740 more points through Roland Garros to stay #1 - - - - - - if Nadal wins Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg, and the French Open.

Assume Federer loses to Djokovic here. Grant him a final and a semifinal at Rome and Hamburg (it doesn't matter which). That's 575 points. A Roland Garros quarterfinal would give him 250 more, and clinch it.

So Federer needs roughly ten wins in his next three and a half events (counting Monte Carlo as half an event) to clinch #1 through Wimbledon.

Ferrer, since he loses ground on Nikolay Davydenko, is now almost out of the race for the #4 Roland Garros seed. He's 830 points behind Nikolay Davydenko with a maximum of 1300 still available to be earned.

FEDERER - NALBANDIAN

Roger Federer rallied from a set down to defeat David Nalbandian 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Federer leads 9-8 against the Argentine after losing their previous two meetings last year.

The top-ranked Swiss was shaky in the first set before dominating the next two and breaking Nalbandian five times in five chances, including the first match point.

Federer next plays either third-seeded Novak Djokovic or unseeded Sam Querrey in the semifinals. They played later Friday.

Also, fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated unseeded Igor Andreev 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 despite losing his serve seven times.

At 5-2 in the third set, Federer sent a superb forehand winner down the line, and a crisp backhand made it 0-40. Federer took the match with a crosscourt winner on the run that Nalbandian couldn't get near.

Nalbandian won the first match against Federer six years ago in the second round at Monte Carlo -- the first of five consecutive wins for Nalbandian.

Federer took eight of the next nine meetings, then Nalbandian beat Federer twice last year in the Madrid Masters final and the third round of the Paris Masters.