Month of April , 2008

Lindsay Davenport's fairytale comeback hit a bump on Monday when she lost 6-3 6-4 to Dinara Safina in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open.
 
It was a flat follow-up to Sunday's shock victory over second seed Ana Ivanovic, Davenport's biggest win since she returned to the women's tour last year after giving birth to a son.
 
Against Safina, Davenport totaled 34 unforced errors, including six double faults. She hit only 20 winners to 31 for 13th seed Safina.
 

There was a time when Marat Safin was Russia’s master of the on-court meltdown, berating himself for his failings when his A game deserted him and regularly smashing his rackets as a result.

However, having just seen what Mikhail Youzhny did in the Miami Masters Series on Monday, that mantle may have changed hands.

Aside from his amazing Davis Cup victory to clinch Russia’s first title back in 2002, the usually quiet and unassuming Youzhny has been overshadowed by his larger-than-life compatriot since he turned pro almost a decade ago.

Tennis greatness is measured in Grand Slam triumphs, but that doesn't make the game's best players immune to the lure of Olympic gold.
 
Top US player Andy Roddick has decided to skip the Beijing Games in August in order to prepare for a run at the US Open, but for most of the top players on the ATP and WTA tours, the Games remain a key event in the 2008 calendar.
 
Maria Sharapova, who captured the third Grand Slam title of her career at the Australian Open in January, is eager to soak up the Olympic atmosphere.
 

Spaniard Rafael Nadal hooked up Indian Wells winner Ana Ivanovic with three spare seats on a private jet so that the women's champion could get from the California to the Miami Masters tournaments on time.
 
Writing in his Miami magazine blog, Nadal revealed the good deed, which echoed the lift the Spaniard got from Roger Federer on another jet last summer from Montreal to Cincinnati, Ohio.
 

Serena Williams continued the defense of her Sony Ericsson Open title on Monday afternoon with a comfortable straight set win over Kaia Kanepi. Among those joining her in the quarterfinals of the $3.77-million, Tier I event are her sister, Venus Williams, top seed Justine Henin and 2006 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
 

China's top singles player Li Na will be sidelined for at least another three weeks due to a right knee injury, according to a senior Chinese tennis official.

The 25-year-old Li, who had a six-month absence from the WTA Tour last year due to a rib stress fracture, hasn't played since the Antwerp Open in February and her comeback date is still uncertain.

Following an early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo has taken a wildcard into the main draw of the Bausch and Lomb Championships, which begins April 7 in Amelia Island, Fla.

Indian Wells champ and world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic took your questions from the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami. Get more news and information about Ivanovic at her official website, www.anaivanovic.com.
 
 

Give No. 1 Justine Henin credit. She converted a wrenching loss to Serena Williams in the Sony Ericsson Open final last year into the confidence to beat her rival in three straight majors.
 
"It's a very good memory from last year, even if I had match points and I lost the match," Henin said. "It was a day that I understood that I could win against Serena and that I could do it in Grand Slams three times in the same year."
 

            Q. From People Magazine.
            ANDY RODDICK: Oh.
 
            Q. It's begun. It started.
            ANDY RODDICK: Thanks for breaking the news.  Appreciate it.
 

Nicolas Kiefer will return to the Davis Cup after an absence of more than two years when Germany play Spain in the quarter-finals from April 11-13, German captain Patrik Kuehnen announced on Tuesday.

Kiefer, who has not played in the competition since February 2006, will be joined in the singles by Philipp Kohlschreiber, currently Germany's top ranked player at number 27.

Philipp Petzschner and Michael Berrer make up the four-man squad for the tie to be played on a fast indoor court at the AWD Dome in Bremen.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Men's Singles: 4th Round and  Women's Singles: Quarterfinals
All times local. GMT is -5hrs
 Stadium: 11:00 AM Start

It was a day for the stars to come out and play. Strong winds; hot sun — not, perhaps, the easiest conditions as the Sony Ericsson Open headed into the final weekend but the big players know how to deal with all that and a litany of marquee names, headed by Roger Federer, Justine Henin, Venus and Serena Williams and Nikolay Davydenko (well, he is World No. 4) all progressed with ease. 
 

If there’s a winning ticket at a tennis tournament then today could be that day – it would be tough to think of two better women’s quarterfinal match-ups than what we have on the play card.

 World No.2 Rafael Nadal will play for Spain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals against Germany in Bremen from April 11-13, the Spanish Tennis Federation announced on Tuesday.

Nadal will be backed up by David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, team captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario said.

Germany will have to do without veteran Tommy Haas, but have recalled Nicolas Kiefer for the first time since March 2006.

Although the 2008 season is still in its relative infancy, there have been a number of players making names for themselves on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. One such individual is German teenage sensation Sabine Lisicki, who has been embarking upon a steady rise up the rankings and in her run to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open she added world No.6 Anna Chakvetadze to an already impressive list of scalps - containing among others Lindsay Davenport and Dinara Safina.
 

World number 10 Tomas Berdych will spearhead the Czech Republic side in their Davis Cup quarter-final against Russia in Moscow later this month, news agency CTK reported on Tuesday.

Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil named the same side that overcame Belgium 3-2 in February, with Radek Stepanek and doubles specialists Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner completing the team.

James Blake wobbled at the finish but became the first men’s quarterfinalist at the Sony Ericsson Open by beating Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 Tuesday.

The No. 9-seeded Blake needed six match points in the final game to close out the victory. He had trouble with his serve throughout but broke four times and won 13 points at the net.

By reaching the final eight, Blake matched his best showing at Key Biscayne. He has often struggled in the event, where his career record is only 11-6, including a loss in his opening match last year.

The Family Circle Cup's star-studded field got even brighter today when the WTA Tour announced that Maria Sharapova has entered the 35th anniversary event scheduled for April 12-20 on Daniel Island.
 

Holder Serena Williams thrashed world number one Justine Henin 6-2 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open.
 
The eighth seed repeated her success over Henin in last year's final but this time the American totally dominated the Belgian, having battled to a three-set win in 2007.
 
The top seed struggled with her service game throughout the 79-minute encounter and double-faulted five times - winning only five of 20 second serve points.