Tennis Capsules: U.S. Open quarterfinalist Oudin back in spotlight
REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy — Melanie Oudin has the bright lights on her again.
Oudin surged from nowhere to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in September. This weekend, with the Williams sisters skipping the Fed Cup final against Italy, she commands the stage.
Top-ranked Serena and Venus are skipping the best-of-five series on red clay at the Rocco Polimeni club. That left Oudin and Alexa Glatch the likely singles players for captain Mary Joe Fernandez.
"It’s definitely a little bit of pressure without the Williams sisters," Oudin said. "I thought that I might not even be playing, and definitely not No. 1 singles, but it’s a good feeling because I like representing our country and I’ve been on the team twice before. I’m really looking forward to playing and just fighting hard and having a good time again this weekend."
Oudin has struggled since knocking off four established players — including three-time major champion Maria Sharapova and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva — at the Open.
In her first tournament after her Flushing Meadows run, the 18-year-old player from Marietta, Ga., lost in qualifying in Tokyo, then dropped a three-setter to Glatch in her opening match in Beijing.
"Everyone expects me to win everything now after I did good in one tournament, and I’m still improving, I’m still learning about the game of tennis," she said.
"I’m working on a lot of different things in my game. Everyone has ups and downs. I happened to be up at the U.S. Open, and I played really, really well and I’m playing well again. I was not playing as well right after, and I got sick a little bit, but I’m ready again and I’m going to be ready for next year, and I’m ready for the Fed Cup this weekend."
Oudin won a key singles match in the opening round of this year’s Fed Cup against Argentina. She also came through qualifying to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
For her efforts, Oudin collected the inaugural Fed Cup Heart award from ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti on Thursday. She dedicated the $5,000 check to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.
"My little sister actually had an open heart surgery at the hospital when she was four years old, so it’s really close to my heart," Oudin said. "They did such a great job taking care of her."
At 33, Liezel Huber is 15 years Oudin’s senior and the Americans’ team leader. The top-ranked doubles player began her Fed Cup career representing South Africa in 1998. She became an American citizen in 2007 and is making her fourth consecutive Fed Cup appearance for the United States.
"I want to be here and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else," Huber said. "I chose to play for the U.S., so everything I do this week I shine through my country and my team. That’s why I think I’m the team leader. If they have a problem they can come to me this week. I’m a good listener."
Italy features two top-20 players in Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, both having had career seasons.
Pennetta won consecutive titles in Palermo, Sicily, and Los Angeles on her way to becoming the first female Italian player to reach the top 10. Schiavone won a $1 million title in Moscow and reached a final in Osaka, Japan, last month.
Huber is hoping the series comes down to the doubles match late Sunday, having won the decisive point in the Americans’ first two matchups this year.
"Every time we go into Fed Cup I wish it comes down to a 2-2 tie," she said. "It would be great if we had won it before, but it just happened to be the last two ties came down to 2-2 and that’s perfect for me. So I’m ready for Sunday, last match in the dark, under the lights, no sun. Hopefully the crowd will be there — that’s what I’m looking forward to."
U.S. Open semifinalist Wickmayer banned for 1 year
BRUSSELS — U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for one year by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal Thursday, accused of failing to report her whereabouts to drug-testing officials three times.
The Flemish regional tribunal called the punishment "reasonable." Tribunal spokesman Koen Uman said the suspension takes immediate effect, but Wickmayer can appeal the decision.
The 18th-ranked Belgian has denied any wrongdoing and said on her Web site she planned to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She is playing in a tournament in Bali this week.
Another Belgian tennis player, 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier Malisse, also was suspended by the tribunal for breaking the whereabouts rule.
Wickmayer’s suspension came as a surprise, because a prosecutor recommended she receive only a warning for missing three tests over 18 months. The tribunal said Wickmayer’s failure to live up to anti-doping rules required a suspension.
Wickmayer said last month she has had trouble with her password in the computerized system overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She also said registered mail at her home could not be signed off on because she was traveling to WTA tournaments.
She has insisted she never missed an anti-doping test and her samples were always negative.
Wickmayer has enjoyed a breakthrough year, including her run to the semifinals at the U.S. Open after never before moving past the second round at a Grand Slam tournament. She won her first two tour titles at Estoril in May and at Linz last month.
The International Tennis Federation, which oversees the sport’s doping program, said Thursday it would not comment until receiving official notification of the suspension.
The U.S. Tennis Association — which oversees the U.S. Open — declined comment, as did the WTA and ATP.
Agassi pleads for compassion on ‘60 Minutes’
NEW YORK — Andre Agassi responded to criticism of his crystal meth use with a plea for compassion, telling "60 Minutes" he needed help when he took the drug while depressed in 1997.
Discussing his new autobiography, Agassi became emotional when reacting to comments by Martina Navratilova, who compared him to Roger Clemens.
"It’s what you don’t want to hear," Agassi told interviewer Katie Couric. "I would hope along with that would come some compassion that maybe this person doesn’t need condemnation. Maybe this person could stand a little help. Because that was at a time in my life when I needed help.
"I had a problem, and there might be many other athletes out there that test positive for recreational drugs that have a problem. So I would ask for some compassion."
CBS released excerpts from the interview Thursday and will broadcast it Sunday night.
In his book "Open," which goes on sale Monday, the eight-time Grand Slam champion says he used crystal meth in 1997 and failed a drug test — a result he says was thrown out after he lied by saying he unwittingly took the substance.
In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Navratilova said she was shocked Agassi lied about the drug use. She compared him to Clemens, who repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, countering claims by his former personal trainer.
Agassi told "60 Minutes" he has no regrets about his disclosures.
"I had way more to lose by telling this story in its full transparency than I had to gain," he said. "The part that I worry and think more about is who this may help."
Djokovic beats Hernych 6-0, 6-0 at Swiss Indoors
BASEL, Switzerland — Novak Djokovic won 6-0, 6-0 for the first time at an elite event, blanking Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic at the Swiss Indoors on Thursday.
The third-ranked Serb won the second-round match in 53 minutes.
"To win against somebody (with a) double bagel, an opponent has to play really, really bad," Djokovic said. "He didn’t put a lot of effort in."
Djokovic has had a pair of 6-1, 6-0 wins in ATP Tour semifinals the past two seasons. He routed Andy Murray to reach the Miami Masters final in March 2007, and dispatched David Nalbandian in 48 minutes on grass at Queen’s Club in London last year.
Hernych, a 30-year-old player ranked 59th, had three break points in the first set. Djokovic saved them all and won all eight points on Hernych’s second serve in the opening set.
"It’s funny at the end with the crowd wanting him to win a game. It’s easy to understand that," said Djokovic, who converted his first match point. "We’re professionals and he’s my rival on the court."
Djokovic reached his 18th quarterfinal of the year. His one failure to reach the last eight since January was a third-round exit at the French Open.
On Friday, Djokovic will play sixth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who defeated Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
In other second-round matches, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic and Richard Gasquet saved match points before winning three-setters. Cilic needed more than three hours to oust Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 7-6 (7), 6-7 (8), 7-6 (6). The Croat next plays fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.
Gasquet’s 4-6, 7-6 (9), 6-2 win over John Isner swung on a second-set tiebreaker. The Frenchman saved the second of Isner’s two match points with one of his six aces to answer 22 from the 6-foot-9 American.
Gasquet earned a quarterfinal with Marco Chiudinelli, who edged Michael Lammer 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Swiss match. Evgeny Korolev of Russia beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 7-6 (1) and will play top-seeded Roger Federer on Friday.
-- Graham Dunbar
Rezai secures semifinal berth in Bali
NUSA DUA, Indonesia — Aravane Rezai defeated Melinda Czink 6-3, 7-5 Thursday to secure a berth in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.
Rezai, who upset fourth-seeded Sabine Lisicki in the opening match, advanced in Group D of the round-robin format.
In Group A, Shahar Peer routed Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-1, 7-6 (4), eliminating the Slovakian from the tournament.
Also Thursday, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated Agnes Szavay 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and Kimiko Date Krumm defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 6-3.
The tournament features winners of a WTA Tour event this season who didn’t qualify for the WTA championships in Doha, Qatar.
Murray, Davydenko advance in Valencia Open
VALENCIA, Spain — Top-seeded Andy Murray reached the Valencia Open quarterfinals, where a match with defending champion David Ferrer was averted when the Spaniard withdrew because of a hamstring injury.
Murray, making his return from a wrist injury, lost his serve twice but defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. On Friday he’ll face Albert Montanes of Spain, who was the beneficiary of Ferrer’s withdrawal.
Ferrer, seeded eighth, hurt his right hamstring during his first-round match with compatriot Nicolas Almagro, whom he beat in last year’s final. Ferrer said the medical team told him to rest for two weeks, which will mean missing next week’s Paris Masters.
Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, on course to qualify for this month’s ATP Tour finals in London, beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 7-5, and fourth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, the 2004 Valencia champ, downed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 6-3.
Verdasco will next play seventh-seeded Tommy Robredo, who outlasted Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Spanish match. Mikhail Youzhny topped Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 and will play fifth-seeded Gilles Simon of France on Friday.
