STARS
Lu Jia-Jing of China was a double winner at the USD $10,000 LIC-ITF women’s tennis championships in Pune, India. Ranked 504th in the world, Lu easily beat 316th-ranked Nicha Lertipitaksinchai of Thailand 6-3 6-2 to earn USD $1,568 along with 18 WTA points. Earlier in the tournament, the 22-year-old Jia-Jing teamed with her twin sister Lu Jia-Xiang to capture the doubles title, beating Tamara Curovic of Serbia and Anna Shkudun of Ukraine 6-7 (6) 6-1 10-5 (match tiebreak).
SAYING
“Starting with victory in last year’s Davis Cup Final, this has been an almost perfect 12 months for me. I have always dreamed about becoming the best in the world, and to have won three Grand Slam titles and finished the year as number one is very special.” – Novak Djokovic, on being named ITF World Champion.
“I will cherish this award, which is the cherry on top of a wonderful year in which I managed to win Wimbledon, the WTA Championships, and together with the Czech team the Fed Cup. It was a dream year and something I will never forget.” – Petra Kvitova, who was named the women’s ITF World Champion.
“I was just in the zone today. I was just wondering after the first set if I could really stay with it. I wasn’t expecting to come out like that. I know Robby’s fit and in shape, I just didn’t expect to come out like that and was wondering if I was going to be able to keep it up. Everything seemed to go my way and I was moving well and hitting the ball well all day. I’m back in the Big Show so it feels really good.”
“The things with men’s tennis is that it’s set up a bit differently and I feel it’s more relaxed. They just don’t seem to stress about the small things. That might also be a difference between guys and girls generally. Girls take everything so personally. Everything is more emotional for us.” – Ana Ivanovic, on the difference between the men’s and women’s tennis tours.
“I would really love to go (to the 2012 London Games). I think New Zealand would like to be represented in as many sports as it can at the Olympics, and at the moment I’m the only tennis one out there.” – Marina Erakovic, New Zealand’s highest-ranking tennis player.
SEIZING THE SPOILS
Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova were named 2011 International Tennis Federation World Champions for the first time. Djokovic, who won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, began the year with a 43-match winning record. He won a total of 10 titles in 2011, compiling a 70-6 overall win-loss record. Kvitova became the first Czech player to become a singles world champion since Ivan Lendl was named for the fourth time in 1990. Kvitova won Wimbledon and led the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title. She won six tournaments during the year, including the year-ending WTA Championships. The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner in Paris during the French Open.
STRAIGHT IN
Americans Madison Keys and Jesse Levine captured wild card entries into the main draw of next month’s Australian Open. The two won the 2011 Kia Motors USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff in Norcross, Georgia, USA. The 16-year-old Keys bested Gail Brodsky 6-3 6-4 before Levine surprised Robby Ginepri 6-0 6-2 6-1 in a match that lasted just one hour, 24 minutes. Both players had to win three matches in three days to grab the automatic berths in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
STEPS ASIDE
Former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek has stepped out of the race to become the next chief executive of the ATP. A Dutch newspaper reported that Krajicek took himself out of the running because he believed he didn’t have enough support from ATP board members. Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996 and is director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was in the running to take over for American Adam Helfant, who is stepping down this month after serving three years at the helm.
STEEP PAYCHECK
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic won’t be the next captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team. The Croatian tennis federation said Ivanisevic wanted USD $130,600 for a one-year contract and that was felt to be too expensive. Ivanisevic will lead Croatia against Japan on a one-time, unpaid basis when the two nations meeting in a first-round Davis Cup tie February 10-12. The Croatian squad had been captained by Goran Prpic before he unexpectedly resigned last month. The Croatian tennis federation also announced that their new Fed Cup captain will be former French Open champion Iva Majoli.
SIGNED
Martin Jaite has replaced Tito Vazquez as captain of Argentina’s Davis Cup team. Vazquez’s contract was not renewed after Argentina lost the Davis Cup final to Spain earlier this month. The Argentine Tennis Association said Jaite will be in charge for the next two years with Mariano Zabaleta as vice-captain. Argentina has never won the Davis Cup, but has been runner-up in 1981, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
SPANISH LEADER
After leading Spain to two Davis Cup titles in three years, Albert Costa has stepped down as captain of the champions. The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) announced Costa’s decision to take a new role as overseer of all the country’s national teams. “For the RFET it is a great satisfaction that we can continue working with a person with his great sporting experience,” federation president Jose Luis Escanuela said in a statement. “It is great news for Spanish tennis to know that Costa, after three exceptional years in the Davis Cup, is from now coordinating and working on the strategies of our men’s and women’s national teams.” The 36-year-old Costa, a former French Open champion, will head up a new structure overseeing the captains of the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and 2012 Olympic teams and act as an assessor in other areas of Spanish professional tennis. The federation did not say who will take Costa’s place as Davis Cup captain.
SINGAPORE WINNER
Italy’s Flavia Pennetta captured the inaugural Singapore Women’s Tennis Exhibition tournament by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-5. “I’m really happy because I didn’t expect to play that well,” Pennetta said. In an earlier match, Australian Samantha Stosur beat China’s Peng Shuai 2-6 6-4 6-4 for third place. There are plans to put Singapore on the regular WTA schedule, with the first regular tournament being played as early as November 2012 or January 2013.
SINO REVENGE
Avenging her Wimbledon defeat, China’s Li Na beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-3 7-6 (3) in an exhibition match in Wuhan, China. Lisicki won their Wimbledon meeting on the way to the semifinals of the grass court Grand Slam tournament. This time Li Na won the first five games of the match en route to the victory. Li Na then teamed with Pete Sampras to squeak out a 7-6 (4) one-set victory over Lisicki and Carlos Moya. A large enthusiastic crowd cheered the four players who participated in the Wuhan Tiandi 2011 Li Na and Friends, especially Li, who became the first native of Asia to win a Grand Slam tournament singles title when she captured the French Open. “It’s very important what Li Na did by winning Roland Garros this year,” said Moya, who won Roland Garros in 1998. “She took tennis to another level in China. There were good female players from China before, but they never won a slam. She proved a Chinese player can do that. For sure, now they want to play tennis. If they have a hero that is doing well in tennis, kids don’t only want to be football players, they also want to be tennis players. Tennis is much bigger now than it used to be a few years ago and it is very important to take advantage of that.”
SAYS “I DO”
Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has married British citizen Faha Akmal in a ceremony in Lahore, Pakistan. The tennis star wore a white sherwani and red turban, while his bride wore a conventional red ‘lehnga’ dress. Among the wedding guests was Qureshi’s Indian tennis partner Rohan Bopanna. According to the Express Tribune newspaper, Akmal recently earned a masters degree in psychotherapy from the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Akmal’s father, Dr. Muhammad Akmal Makhdum is the son of renowned educationist and former education secretary Prof. Muhammad Ajmal.
SELECTED FOR WILD CARD
Because of her recent play, Casey Dellacqua has been awarded a wild card entry into next month’s Australian Open. After reaching a career-high ranking 39 in 2008, Dellacqua suffered a series of serious shoulder and foot injuries. This year she won 30 consecutive matches and six tournaments in what is considered the sport’s minor leagues. After Dellacqua lost her opening match in the Australian Open wild-card playoffs to rising teenage star Ashleigh Barty, Tennis Australia (TA) officials felt Dellacqua had to enough to earn a wild-card spot in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The 26-year-old has also been awarded wild cards for the Australian Open lead-up events in Brisbane and Hobart. “It’s nice to know my summer is set and hopefully I will get a few more wins and gain even more confidence coming into the Australian Open,’” said Dellacqua, who is currently ranked 133rd in the world.
SUPER SERB
Novak Djokovic has been chosen Balkan Athlete of the year. The tennis star won out over Croatian skier Ivica Kostelic and Bulgarian marathon swimmer Petar Stoychev in a poll organized by 11 national news agencies from the region. The world’s top-ranked player, Djokovic won three Grand Slam tournaments this year. He received 91 votes in the poll, while Kostelic earned 61 and Stoychev 40.
SURFING
Ankara:
Tyumen:
ITF:
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
WOMEN
$50,000 Ankara Cup, Ankara, Turkey, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
WOMEN
$50,000 Siberia Cup, Tyumen, Russia, hard
