Arlen Kantarian, CEO of pro Tennis, is leaving his post after 9 years on the job. Don’t worry, there’s no allegations of wrongdoing or controversies or anything like that. He just decided to move on. Over his time in tennis, he has overseen a big expansion in the visibility of the sport. He has completed deals with major networks, like CBS and ESPN, to broadcast the sports biggest tournaments. He has helped the founding and growth of the Tennis Channel on satellite. He changed some tennis courts from green to blue, which has become more popular throughout the country since then. At a time when the sport is lacking major American stars, he has kept its image up and brought people out to the matches. Not an easy task. Good luck to him, whatever he decides to do next!
Elena Dementieva has won her 3rd title of the year in the FORTIS Championships. Previously, she had won in Dubai and at the Beijing Olympics this year. She out-dueled Carolina Wozniacki to take the title earlier today. The 27-year old was able to come back from being down early in order to take the match after a tie-breaker. Wozniacki was playing for her fourth title of the year, after wins in Stockholm, New Haven and Tokyo. The FORTIS Championship, played in Luxembourg, has kept Dementieva at the top of the standings in world women’s tennis. She also beat Wozniacki in the third round this summer at the Olympics Watch for her to keep playing well!
Aleksandra Wozniak from Quebec was honored today by the members of the Canadian National Assembly. The assembly was proud of her playing in the Bank of the West Classic this last summer: She defeated Marion Bartoli (15th) of France in the final and Serena Williams (5th) of the US in the semifinal. She is currently ranked 37th on the WTA tour, which is the highest ranking ever reached by someone from Quebec. This is definitely an impressive showing from the 20-year-old, and being so young, she’ll probably get even better over the next few years.
Andy Murray, the fourth ranked British tennis player, was crowned the Madrid Masters champion this weekend after defeating Giles Simon 6-4, 7-6 on Sunday. This was his fourth title in the season and he will be the first Briton to finish the year at number 4 since Fred Parry in 1936. Though Giles was hitting very well throughout the entire matchup, he was unable to handle many of Murray’s serves, giving up multiple easy points in the process. Find out more at tennis.com.
For the first time since their battle in the US Open Finals, Roger Federer and Andy Murray will meet again during the Madrid Masters semifinals. This time they will face each other in an indoor court setting. In their outdoor matchup at the US Open Finals, Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. Federer seems to be returning to his number one form that he had last year/earlier this year, but Murray looked extremely impressive and patient in his victory over Gael Monfils. Go to tennis.com for full coverage.
Number 11 seed James Blake failed to move past the first round of the Madrid Masters just recently when he lost to Gilles Simon of France. Simon was an unranked opponent not expected to outplay Blake but managed to save multiple break points to hang on and eventually win. Blake is now 0-5 in his Madrid Masters appearances and travels a weary road home. To keep up with all the Madrid Masters news, click here.
Rafael Nadal has his work cut out for him at the 2008 Davis Cup. Nadal will face stiff competition from the Argentinean group of tennis players. Plus there’s the overbearing history of Argentina winning 13 Davis Cup ties. In addition, Nadal will not have the choice over what type of court to play on. Aside from the court, Argentina also has Juan Martín Del Potro, a young tennis super start that may just upset Nadal’s reach for the Cup.
The future of US tennis stars is quite bleak. The United States is able to produce world-class talent in many sports. But when it comes to tennis, the US is falling short. Especially compared to other countries, whose players are synonymous with tennis. Just trying to list a few top US tennis players is hard without giving it much thought. In other words, the US tennis players are not being feared like tennis stars from abroad. This also means that there is growth for future US tennis players.
Roger Federer will be taking a much-needed break from playing. This tennis season has been tough on Federer’s health. He was diagnosed with glandular fever, but did not take the time to fully recover from it. Now Federer has made the decision to take time off to regain his strength so that he can come back and focus solely one regaining the number one ranking. With this news, Federer is going to miss out on the Stockholm Open. This may come as bad news to fans, but Federer needs all the rest that he can get.
