2007 Tennis Season

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Hingis wins Pan Pacific Open


Martina Hingis won her record fifth Pan Pacific Open title Sunday, beating 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2.

Hingis, who lost to Elena Dementieva in the final last year, relied on solid groundstrokes to beat the fifth-seeded Serb in just over an hour.

"It's twice as sweet to win the second time around," Hingis said of her return to competitive tennis in 2006. "It used to be so normal back in '97 and '98. This time around I feel like I really deserve it, I feel more proud to win now and it's more special."

Hingis, who won in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002, broke a tie with Lindsay Davenport for the most titles in the event.

Ivanovic advanced to the final when top-ranked Maria Sharapova was forced to retire during their semifinal match because of a hamstring injury.

Tied 4-4 in the first set, Hingis made 14 straight points to take control of the set and the match.











Baghdatis beats Ljubicic to win Zagreb Open



Marcos Baghdatis won his second career title Sunday by beating defending champion Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 at the Zagreb Open.

The second-seeded Cypriot saved four break points in the opening set -- one with an ace and two others with service winners.

In the tiebreaker, Baghdatis took a 5-1 lead, but Ljubicic rallied to close the gap to 5-4.

"Ljubicic is a tough player to break, but I was concentrated and served well when I needed to," Baghdatis said. "It's not easy to beat Ljubicic in front of his home crowd in Croatia."

Ljubicic, who lost in the first round of the Australian Open nine days after winning the Qatar Open, broke Baghdatis in the fifth game and won the second set.

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Federer ties Connors' record for consecutive weeks as top-ranked player


LONDON (AP) -- Roger Federer tied Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player in men's tennis Monday.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion has held the No. 1 ATP Tour ranking since Feb. 2, 2004. The Swiss star is assured of breaking the record next week.

"Breaking records and doing something that hasn't been done for a long time, it's really nice," Federer said recently.

Connors was No. 1 from July 1974 to August 1977. He is now coaching one of Federer's biggest rivals, Andy Roddick.

Federer, who has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles, hasn't played since beating Fernando Gonzalez in the Australian Open final on Jan. 28. He returns to action next week at the Dubai Open.

Federer has 8,120 points in the year-based rankings. Rafael Nadal, the man who beat Federer at the French Open last year, is second with 4,705 points. Nadal also beat Federer in the Dubai Open final last year.

The 25-year-old Federer has dominated tennis for the past three seasons, but is still trying to win a Grand Slam title on clay.

"That's the only way I can make this season a better one than last year," Federer has said. "Otherwise it won't be possible."

Last season, only Nadal and Andy Murray managed to beat Federer, who finished the season with 12 titles and 16 finals appearances in his 17 tournaments. He earned $8.34 million and also won the season-ending Masters Cup.

Federer couldn't be reached for comment Monday, but his mother was happy to hear that her son reached yet another milestone.

"Of course I'm proud. It's super that my son has been No. 1 for three years," Lynette Federer said.

Connors won eight Grand Slam titles in his career, which lasted more than 20 years. Although he also only failed to win the French Open, Connors did win the 1976 U.S. Open on clay.

The American is the only man to win the U.S. Open on all three surfaces -- grass, clay and hardcourt.

The ATP rankings began on Aug. 23, 1973.

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Henin beats Mauresmo for Dubai title



Justine Henin defeated second seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-4 7-5 on Saturday to win the Dubai Open for the fourth time in five years.

The top seeded Belgian captured her 30th career title after extending her unbeaten streak at the event to 16 matches.

For Mauresmo, winner here in 2002, the match proved to be one too many as she was seeking to claim back-to-back titles following her triumph in Antwerp last week.

Although she displayed flashes of brilliance, the Frenchwoman was reduced to playing catch-up after she was broken in the opening game thanks to a flowing backhand pass from Henin.

Mauresmo also floated too many balls that allowed Henin to secure numerous cheap points.

A heavy forehand winner gave Henin a second break for 4-1, but Mauresmo then began to compete more aggressively. She hit a forehand winner to pull one break back in the next game and had three break points to level at 4-4.

But Henin played her way out of trouble and, although she failed to convert a set point in the next game, the Belgian went on to serve out the set to love.

Mauresmo had another chance to slow Henin's march to the title when she held a break point to lead 2-0 in the second set. But Henin dug herself out of trouble with an exquisite low forehand, and then took advantage of an inexplicably poor game from Mauresmo at 5-5.

Mauresmo's sixth double-fault gave Henin the breakthrough and she finished the match by winning the last 12 points.


















Federer breaks Connors' record of consecutive weeks at No. 1



Roger Federer struggled to a first-round victory at the Dubai Open on Monday, the day he broke Jimmy Connors' streak of consecutive weeks at No. 1.

Federer, who broke Connors' 30-year-old mark with his 161st week at the top of the ATP rankings, defeated Kristian Pless 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3 in his first match since taking a month off after winning the Australian Open.

Federer's reign began more than three years ago, when he took over No. 1 on Feb. 2, 2004, after winning his second career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Federer said defeating Andy Roddick in the 2004 Wimbledon final was "a huge moment for me."

"Looking back, maybe that was the most important match for staying at No. 1," the Swiss star said during a conference call. "If he would have won that, I think he might have gotten it back."

Connors set his record from July 1974 to August 1977. Connors won eight Grand Slam titles in his 20-year career.

"I haven't heard anything from Jimmy," Federer said, laughing. "I don't know if he's going to talk about it. It's a great record to break, he's had it so long."

Connors now coaches Roddick, who won the first set against Federer in Shanghai in November and had three match points in the second set before falling 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4.

"That actually guaranteed me to break the record today," he said.

Federer has another connection to Connors.

When Federer was growing up in Switzerland, he was presented with a watch by Connors during a ceremony recognizing Federer as the best under-14 player in Basel, his hometown. Federer had been a ballboy for an exhibition between Connors and Mansour Bahrami.

"I walked on court, had a picture taken with both of them, and then walked off," Federer recalled. "I was so nervous. Whoever would have thought I would have broke the record? Looking back, it is quite an amazing story."

To commemorate the milestone, a Roger Federer stamp will be issued April 10 in his hometown.

Federer needed time to get up to speed against the 86th-ranked Pless, but extended his career-high winning streak to 37 matches.

"It's always rough here for some reason," said Federer, who won three straight Dubai Open titles before losing to Rafael Nadal in last year's final. "It can happen sometimes when you have not played for a long time."

In other matches, Tomas Berdych rallied to defeat Mohammed Al Ghareeb 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Fabrice Santoro beat Tommy Robredo 7-6 (6), 6-4.

The 25-year-old Federer considers Connors' 109 career titles an even bigger accomplishment. Federer has 47.

"He played until he was 40," Federer said. "That's an incredible effort. He definitely marked the game. He's one of the all-time great heroes for all of us."

Federer has been relatively injury-free during his consecutive weeks at No. 1, with only a twisted ankle in recent years. The 10-time Grand Slam champion takes a month off three times during the year -- at the end of the season and after the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

"Scheduling is a very important factor to my success," Federer said. "(The rest) helps me try to heal from injuries and mentally get away."

Federer was asked if he'd heard from his friend Tiger Woods since reaching the milestone.

"Not yet, I'm waiting," Federer said with a laugh.

Federer said he likes the debate about who is the more dominant athlete in their sport.

"He's got it easier, he's playing on grass all the time," Federer said.

Since taking over the No. 1 spot, Federer is 247-15 (.943) with 34 titles in 49 tournaments. He's won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles.

Connors played 61 tournaments during his streak to Federer's 49. During the run, the American won the most titles (12) in 1976, when he went 91-8. Federer won 12 titles in 2006, when he finished 92-5.

Federer is fifth on list of most overall weeks at No. 1. Pete Sampras leads with 286 weeks, followed by Ivan Lendl with 270, Connors with 268 and John McEnroe with 170.

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Roger Federer beat Tommy Haas in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 on Friday to reach his fifth straight Dubai Open final.

The top-ranked Federer, who dropped sets in earlier rounds against Kristian Pless and Novak Djokovic, never lost serve in defeating the fifth-seeded German.

It was the Swiss star's 40th straight victory. He is six wins away from Guillermo Vilas' all-time record of 46 consecutive wins, set in 1977.

Federer will next face Mikhail Youzhny, who reached his second straight tournament final by beating Sweden's Robin Soderling 7-5, 6-2.

Haas, who won last week's ATP tournament in Memphis without facing a break point, had an early chance to break Federer in the second game of the first set. He later had three break points in the fourth game of the second set.

But Federer played efficient if not spectacular tennis to hold off the challenge. He broke Haas in the third game of the first set and 11th game of the second.

The Federer-Youzhny final will be a repeat of last year's semifinals and 2005 quarterfinals. Federer won in straight sets both times.

Youzhny has never beaten Federer, winning only two sets in eight matches. They last met in the fourth round at this year's Australian Open, where Federer won his 10th Grand Slam title.

The unseeded Youzhny, who won last week's tournament in Rotterdam and upset defending champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals late Thursday, showed no signs of weariness against Soderling.

"I was tired after playing Rafael, but when you play well against the world No. 2, and beat him, you do not mind coming out early on the court," Youzhny said. "Maybe I was sleeping a little bit at the start of the match, but the fans were very vocal and supportive, and they made sure that I did not go to sleep on the court."

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Henin wins Qatar Open



Top-seeded Justine Henin of Belgium won the Qatar Open with a 6-4, 6- 2 win Saturday over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The second-ranked Henin won, who won the Dubai Open last week, broke a sequence of Russian domination in Qatar dating back to 2003 when Anastasia Myskina won the title. Myskina repeated her performance in 2004, while Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova took the title in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Henin showed no fatigue despite playing three sets against Patty Schnyder on Thursday and Jelena Jankovic on Friday.

"I like to win titles I have not won before," Henin said. "I like the Gulf. Dubai is like a home."

Kuznetsova lost to Henin for the second time in two weeks, and for the 14th time in 15 clashes.

"Maybe I have a mental block when I play Justine," said Kuznetsova, who has lost 14 of their 15 clashes. "She is just too tough mentally and I need to learn this from her."

Kuznetsova's only win against Henin came in the semifinals of the 2004 Qatar Open.

The Russian took a 4-2 lead in the first set with a break in the sixth game, but Henin broke back after Kuznetsova double-faulted twice. Henin held serve to tie, broke Kuznetsova again to take the lead, then served out the set.

"It was very windy today and Svetlana started pretty well. I had to change tactics and went to the net much more. I became pretty aggressive," Henin said. "I played very well in the important points. That's my biggest quality."

Afterward, she said she felt proud having come back so successfully after her divorce this year which forced her to miss the Australian Open.

"I never lost my tennis," she said. "All I needed was to get my confidence back and I am proud of the way I did that. I needed to move forward and know who I am."

It was Henin's 31st career title.














Federer beats Youzhny to win Dubai Open



Roger Federer won the Dubai Open for the fourth time in five years on Saturday, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Federer won his 41st straight match, tying Bjorn Borg for the fourth-longest streak in the Open era and leaving him five short of Guillermo Vilas' 1977 record. Ivan Lendl (44 in 1981-82) and John McEnroe (42 in 1984) also are in front of Federer.

"I am on a nice roll right now and I am playing in Indian Wells next," Federer said. "I have won there the last three years, so hopefully I can win again and beat Vilas' record there.

"Records are meant to be broken -- but if I don't, it's all right," he added. "I will start all over again."

Youzhny broke Federer in the first game with a crosscourt forehand and held serve to lead 2-0. But Federer broke in the fourth, eighth and 10th games to close out the first set.

"I must admit that Mikhail put a lot of pressure at the start of the match, and I really needed to step up my game," Federer said.

In the second set, Federer broke in the second and sixth games. He had six championship points at 5-2, but Youzhny saved them all in a marathon game before Federer served it out.

Federer has now won seven titles -- including the 2007 Australian Open -- since last year's U.S. Open. He extended his record over Youzhny to 9-0. Youzhny, who won in Rotterdam last week, defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Federer's last defeat was to Andy Murray in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters last August.

"It was a bit of a rough start for me this year, as it always happens with me in Dubai," Federer said. "But I am happy that I saved my best for the last."

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Federer puts streak on line at Indian Wells


There are 96 players in the men's draw of the Pacific Life Open. But only one matters - Roger Federer.

The irrepressible Federer takes a 41-match winning streak into the hardcourt event, where he may face a greater challenge from history rather than any opponent.

Federer's win in the Dubai final Saturday tied Bjorn Borg for the fourth-longest run of the Open Era. He needs one more win to tie John McEnroe and six to break the all-time record of 46 set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

Six more match wins would give Federer his fourth straight tournament title. The Swiss superstar has a first-round bye - as do all 32 seeded men - and initially will face the winner of the opening-round match between Czech Jan Hajek and a qualifier.

The men's draw begins Friday and has some interesting potential matchups.

Britain's Andy Murray - the last player to beat Federer in an ATP Tour match - is the 13th seed and could meet the world's top-ranked player in the semifinals.

To get there, however, he may have to work his way past No. 23 Marat Safin and No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, a pair of Russians. Murray beat Davydenko in straight sets in the Qatar semifinals earlier this year.

The loss to Murray is Federer's only setback since he dropped the 2006 French Open final to Rafael Nadal, the second-seeded Spaniard.

Nadal has not won a tournament since that triumph. He is coming off a quarterfinal loss at Dubai to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who is seeded 16th in this event and is a potential fourth-round foe.

Third-seeded Andy Roddick defeated Federer in a three-set exhibition match leading up to the Australian Open before losing to him in the semifinals of the season's first Grand Slam. He is coming off a loss to Tommy Haas of Germany in the final of the Cellular South Cup.

Roddick awaits the winner of the first-round meetings between Belgium's Olivier Rochus and Spain's Feliciano Lopez. In the quarterfinals, he could face eighth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

Davydenko's second-round match will be against Christophe Rochus or American wild card Sam Querrey. He could face No. 28 Agustin Calleri of Argentina or Tim Henman of Britain in the third round.

The diluted women's main draw began Wednesday, with the top 32 seeds also receiving byes and awaiting opponents. There were no seeds in action Thursday.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova will open against Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands. Krajicek topped Swede Sofia Arvidsson, 6-4, 6-3, on Wednesday to advance to the second round.

The ravishing Russian will be in action for the first time since February 3, when she strained her hamstring in the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Sharapova needs to reach the semifinals to maintain her top ranking.

Svetland Kuznetsova of Russia, the No. 2 seed, will open play against Italian Romina Oprandi, who defeated American Lilia Osterloh, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, on Thursday.

Third seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland, the 1998 champion who is 25-5 all-time in this event, will face Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.

A third Russian, Nadia Petrova, is seeded fourth and takes on Argentina's Gisela Dulko in her first match. Dulko beat Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-4, 6-3, on Thursday.

Among the other winners Thursday were Russian Elena Likhovtseva, a finalist at the 2005 French Open, and Americans Vania King, Bethanie Mattek and Ahsha Rolle.

Three of the top five players in the WTA rankings are not entered in this Tier I event - No. 2 Justine Henin of Belgium, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France and No. 5 Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Also absent is Australian Open champion Serena Williams.

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Federer's winning streak halted at Indian Wells



A lucky loser made a surprising loser of the world's top-ranked player.

Argentina's Guillermo Canas pulled off a stunning victory by beating No. 1 seed Roger Federer, 7-5, 6-2, on Sunday in the second round of the $5.385-million Pacific Life Open.

The shocking loss ended Federer's bid for immortality, snapping his 41-match winning streak, which had tied Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg for the fourth-longest run of the Open Era.

Federer had needed six more wins to break the all-time record of 46 set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Indian Wells seemed the perfect venue as the Swiss superstar was the three-time defending champion in this hardcourt event.

Dismissing the notion that he felt pressure in chasing the record, Federer said he saw it as a challenge.

"I'd rather face it, to be honest," Federer said. "You think it's pressure. It's no pressure at all because I take it match by match. And you guys think it takes a win to break the record. I'm concerned about winning my first-round match against a lucky loser. ... It just shows you how tough it is."

The defeat also denied Federer's bid for a record-tying eighth consecutive tournament victory. His last loss came in the second round of ATP Masters Series Cincinnati last summer, and it was his first defeat in an opening match since Cincinnati in 2004.

That the defeat came against claycourt specialist Canas was equally shocking.

The Argentine got into the main draw as a lucky loser, meaning he was the highest-ranked player to lose in the last round of qualifying.

Canas broke Federer twice in each set, capitalizing on a number of unforced errors. Federer never even had a break-point opportunity in the second set.

"Today was just a grind for me from the start," Federer said. "I was struggling, but it was tough. First-round match is always difficult, but I've had an incredible run, not losing in the first round for, I think, over two years. So I'm really happy about that. Sooner or later it had to happen, so it's OK. It's no problem."

Canas is the first lucky loser to beat the world's top-ranked player since Sandon Stolle defeated Thomas Muster at Dubai in 1996.

Canas was a semifinalist here in 2005, when he lost to Federer in straight sets. Soon afterward, he was banned from the tour for 15 months to serve a suspension for blood doping.

Ironically, Canas' most significant tournament championship, at the ATP Masters Series Canada in 2002, included a victory over the Swiss superstar.

"It's my first Masters Series after I start again, and to beat the No. 1 in the world, and to play like this is great for me," Canas said. "And it gives me a lot of confidence to finish this year with my goal: to finish in the top 20 in the ranking."

Canas next faces Spain's Carlos Moya.

Twenty-four of the 32 seeded men take the court Sunday, including 12 of the top 14. One to watch was 13th-seeded Andy Murray of Britain, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Wesley Moodie of Australia.

"I don't want to play too long and did my job well," said Murray, who overcame temperatures approaching triple digits. "Once I got my opportunities, I took them, and didn't let them back into the match."

Murray was the last man to beat Federer, stunning him in Cincinnati last August. He won at San Jose in February and also reached the final at Doha in January.

A couple of former No. 1-ranked players also went down to defeat.

Frenchman Nicolas Mahut upset Marat Safin, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, while Serb Janko Tipsarevic defeated two-time tournament champion Lleyton Hewitt, the 19th seed, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko rallied to defeat American Sam Querrery, 2-6, 7-6( 8-6), 6-2, and fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez was pushed to three sets in a 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 7-5 victory over Canadian Frank Dancevic.

James Blake of the United States advanced with a straights-sets triumph over Frenchman Florent Serra, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Ninth seed Tommy Haas of German also had an easy time with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over France's Michael Llodra.

Other seeded winners included No. 8 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, No. 10 David Nalbandian of Argentina, No. 14 David Ferrer of Spain, No. 26 Robin Soderling of Sweden and No. 30 Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

No. 7 Tommy Robredo of Spain followed Federer out of the tournament with a 6-7 (0-7), 6-3, 6-0 loss to France's Gilles Simon.

Seeds making early exits included No. 11 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, No. 20 Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, No. 21 Mardy Fish of the United States, No. 24 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia and No. 25 Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

In the diluted women's draw, top seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova of Russia rolled to a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Nathalie Dechy of France in a third-round match.

Sharapova has not lost a set in her first two matches. She is playing for the first time since suffering a hamstring strain in Tokyo on February 3.

Third-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland posted an easy victory over Yvonne Meusburger, 6-2, 6-4, while eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze dispatched 25th-seeded countrywoman Maria Kirilenko, 6-4, 6-1.

Seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia ousted 28th seed Martina Muller, 5-2, 6-4.

In other matches involving seeded players, No. 11 Shahar Peer of Israel eliminated No. 19 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; No. 12 Na Li of China rallied past No. 23 Alona Bondarenko of Russia, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2; and No. 14 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated No. 18 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

The women's draw is missing Serena Williams - who defeated Sharapova in the Australian Open final - and No. 2 Justine Henin, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 5 Kim Clijsters.

[BOILER]

When Pete Sampras was gone, Tennis means nothing to me.
When M. Shumacher was gone, F1 means nothing to me.

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When Pete Sampras was gone, Tennis means nothing to me.

i had the same feeling
but man Federer is by far a better player!

i agree about F1

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Haas, Murray advance; Hantuchova, Li gain semis


Andy Murray added to his strong start this season with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Nikolay Davydenko in Wednesday's fourth round of the Pacific Life Open.

Murray has won 18 of 21 matches in 2007, including successfully defending his title at San Jose.

On another 90-plus degree day at Indian Wells, No. 14 Murray had 10 aces, with his serve topping out at 136 mph, against his fourth-ranked foe from Russia.

"I served great," said Murray, a 19-year-old from Scotland. "I think it was about playing the big points better than the guy who's No. 4 in the world.

"It's about me playing a really good match and managing to come through."

Murray is continuing his steady climb up the rankings, jumping from No. 514 in 2004 to 65th in 2005 to 17th last season. His victory over Davydenko was his second in four meetings, the first coming in the semifinals at Doha in January.

Tommy Haas extended his match record this year to 20-3, the most wins on the tour, with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Haas had lost both his previous matches against Gonzalez, including a defeat in the Australian Open semifinals in January.

David Ferrer of Spain defeated countryman Carlos Moya 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in another fourth-round match.

In a night match, Daniela Hantuchova defeated Shahar Peer 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(5) in a 2 hour, 43-minute duel to move into the women's semifinals. Earlier, Li Na downed Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 7-5 in their quarterfinal.

No. 17 Li, China's best player ever, had defeated No. 9 Jelena Jankovic in straight sets a day earlier, and had her game going again against Zvonareva, keeping the Russian on the run with her accurate ground strokes.

Li bounced back to wrap up the victory after she was down set point twice in the 10th game of the second set.

The previous afternoon, No. 20 Zvonareva had knocked defending champion Maria Sharapova out of the tournament with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory that also will cost Sharapova her No. 1 spot when the rankings come out on Monday. Justine Henin will replace the Russian teenager at the top.

The 25-year-old Li, the first Chinese player to break into top 30 in the rankings, also is the first from her country to win a tour singles title, at Guangzhou in 2004 as a qualifier ranked 145th.

She's still looking for her second tour victory, with a quarterfinals appearance at Wimbledon in 2006 among her other highlights.