Martina Hingis/Lindsay Davenport win another Legends doubles at French Open

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WTA celebrates 40 years of independence

All the famous ladies past & present :)

PARIS — It was a good payday for Victoria Azarenka. She earned $496,725 (in Euros) as a losing semifinalist in the 2013 French Open women’s championships. Her paycheck symbolized the success of the women’s movement in tennis, an achievement that was celebrated immediately after her match on Thursday against Maria Sharapova.

More than a dozen women players from several decades walked onto Court Philippe Chatrier through a corridor of flowers held by ball boys and ball girls. As the crowd cheered and waved, they were handed thick bouquets of flowers and saluted by the French Tennis Federation. It was a celebration of 40 years of women’s independence in tennis.

Images flashed on two giant video screens of Billie Jean King and the dozen or more women, most of them Americans, who rebelled against tournament organizers in 1973 to form their own international tour, initially financed by a tobacco company. In that era, women still received much less prize money than men. Parity began to emerge only in recent years. Still, paychecks grew enormously for the top players.

In a broadcast booth above the stadium, Amelie Mauresmo of France smiled and waved back at the crowd as her image appeared on screen. Mauresmo won the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles and earned nearly $15 million in a 15-year playing career.

Downstairs, Azarenka said, “It’s an incredible thing, what happened 40 years ago to start something from scratch and look where we are here today, you know, with one of the biggest women’s sport in the world.”

Sharapova, who was guaranteed $993,450 for reaching the final, said, “I’m really proud to be part of it.”

Largely unrecognized by spectators, Selima Sfar, 36, a retired Tunisian player who lives in Paris, carried her bouquet off the court and told a reporter who apologized for asking her name, “No, you should not recognize me; I’m not that big.” Sfar earned more than $800,000 in prize money in 12 years, reaching 75th in the world in 2001, according to WTA records.

“In the other Arab countries, I hope this is going to be something new, something more for them to inspire them to play tennis and play at a good level,” she said.

As the second women’s semifinal got underway between Serena Williams and Sara Errani of Italy, Sfar was interviewed by French television. Afterward, she turned to a reporter and said: “I think it’s a huge thing what Billie Jean King has been doing for the women’s tennis, for WTA, equal prize money, Grand Slams, the big tournaments. It’s something nobody before thought was possible or feasible.”

Soon, after her semifinal victory, Williams praised the WTA and the sport. “I think tennis empowers women,” she said. “I think that’s the perfect way to say it. I think it’s a great sport. Honestly, it’s the best sport for a female to play and to be a part of.”

Boosted by increases adopted by the French Open organizers and the French Tennis Federation in recent months, the 64 first-round losers, men and women, earned $27,816 each. After Saturday’s women’s final and Sunday’s men’s final, the winners will receive $1,986,900 each and the losers $993,450 — big paydays for athletes of both genders.

nytimes.com

Tsonga ousts Roger Federer out of the quarters at French Open

PARIS — A point from losing the first set of his French Open quarter-final, Roger Federer shanked a routine forehand, sending the ball 10 feet beyond the opposite baseline.

The Court Philippe Chatrier crowd roared with approval, then loudly chanted the last name of Federer's opponent, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

That shot was a clear indication that Federer was hardly Federesque on this day. There were plenty of others: He argued with the chair umpire about a call. He dumped overhead smashes into the net. 

And in a truly rare ungraceful moment, he failed to put a racquet to — or get out of the way of — a backhand flip by a sliding Tsonga, instead getting hit on the back.

All in all, Federer looked lost out there Tuesday against the sixth-seeded Tsonga, who pounded his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion in a 1-hour, 51-minute mismatch remarkable for its lopsidedness and brevity.

"I struggled a little bit everywhere. To be honest, personally, I'm pretty sad about the match and the way I played. But that's how it goes. I tried to figure things out, but it was difficult. And Jo does a good job keeping the pressure on," Federer said.

"He was just ... better in all areas," continued Federer, whose lone French Open title, in 2009, allowed him to equal Pete Sampras' then-record of 14 major championships. "He returned better than I did. Served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm."

Federer hadn't lost in straight sets before the semifinals at any Grand Slam tournament since a third-round defeat against Gustavo Kuerten in the 2004 French Open.

Starting a month later, when he won Wimbledon, Federer began a stretch of nearly eight full years in which he was unbeaten in Grand Slam quarter-finals, reaching the semifinals at a record 23 major tournaments in a row. Since that run ended, though, quarter-final exits are becoming a regular occurrence: He has lost at that stage in five of the past 13 Slams, twice to Tsonga, who was the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open and is trying to give France its first men's champion at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah 30 years ago.

"Everybody's expecting a lot from me," Tsonga said.

The other quarter-final setback against Tsonga came at Wimbledon in 2011, when Federer lost for the first time in 179 matches after taking the opening two sets.

"He's got a big game. He takes time away from you," Federer said. "He can change defence to offence very quickly. Similar traits to what I have, I guess, really."

Quite a compliment.

This is someone who reached 10 straight Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight titles. He also appeared in eight major finals from 2008-10, winning four. But since that run ended, Federer has played in two of the last 13 Slam title matches, winning one, Wimbledon last year.

He actually began well Tuesday, leading 4-2. But that's where he got broken for the first of six times by Tsonga, who let four match points slip away in a quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2012.

"Give him credit: He's playing in his home Grand Slam, in the quarter-finals, against ... the all-time great, and was a break down at the start of the first set. And then was able to stick with it," said Roger Rasheed, who began coaching Tsonga last October.

Federer struggled in the fourth round Sunday against another Frenchman, 15th-seeded Gilles Simon, taking an awkward tumble and falling behind 2-1 in sets. But Federer said after Tuesday's loss he was fine physically.

His game was not fine, not at all, on this day. And Tsonga took full advantage.

Federer had won nine of their previous 12 matches. When they met at the net for a handshake after this one, Tsonga kiddingly thanked Federer for letting him win this time, and both men chuckled.

"Sports, it's beautiful, because you can always do something. Even if you play, you know, the best player in the world ... you have a chance," Tsonga said. "Because the guy in front of you (has) two legs, two arms, one head."

These days, Federer sure does seem more human on a tennis court than he used to.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/tennis/Roger+Federer+pretty+struggles+French+Open+loss+homer+hero/8476774/story.html#ixzz2VIwNpKKM

I think the article pretty much says it all, on to Wimbledon we go.

Roger Federer survives scare to reach another quarter-final at French Open

For a while, it looked as though Gilles Simon had not read the script on Sunday evening in Paris. But Roger Federer fought back from two-sets-to-one down to beat the Frenchman 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to record his 900th tour-level match win and set a Roland Garros quarter-final clash withJo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In becoming the fourth player in the Open Era to reach the 900 wins milestone, 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer reached his 36th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final. Federer has not lost prior to the quarter-finals of a major since 2004 Roland Garros, when he was beaten in the third round by Gustavo Kuerten.

Federer goes into the clash with Tsonga with a 9-3 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. He has won their past five meetings, but did lose to the Frenchman in the 2011 Wimbledonquarter-finals. The 31-year-old Federer is looking to lift the trophy atRoland Garros for the second time, following victory in 2009 (d. Soderling), when he completed the career Grand Slam.

For the first 40 minutes or so, Federer looked as though he would comfortably secure his fourth win in six meetings with Simon. The Swiss made a strong start to the match, racing to a 5-1 lead. He won a lengthy seventh game to clinch the opening set, but Simon was not cowed. The resilient Frenchman stayed with Federer in the early stages of the second set and made a significant breakthrough in the seventh game. Federer suffered a fall on the baseline, which appeared to rattle the Swiss as he lost his forehand rhythm. Simon capitalised for a 4-3 lead and went on to level the match.

Buoyed by his success, Simon maintained his high level and took advantage of an increasing number of uncharacteristic errors from Federer in the third set, breaking in the fifth and seventh games to take the lead in the match.

Federer fired himself up in the fourth set, reined in the errors, and broke through Simon’s defences in the sixth game, meeting with a roar of approval from the unpartisan Philippe Chatrier crowd. He continued to chip away at Simon and clinched the set with another service break in the eighth game.

Federer capitalised on his momentum and gained a crucial break of serve in the second game of the decider as Simon went long with a forehand. The Swiss then served out victory in the ninth game, not without one final piece of drama as he saved two break points, prevailing on his second match point in one minute shy of three hours.

Simon was bidding to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final and first at Roland Garros, having reached the last eight at the 2009 Australian Open (l. to Nadal). He had won two five-set matches to reach the round of 16, rallying from two sets down to beat Lleyton Hewitt in the first round and going the distance against Sam Querrey in the third round.

atpworldtour.com

Well it was his 900th win so of course it had to be dramatic!. These kinds of mini-heart attacks is what I love and hate about this sport.  

Perhaps Federer needed this little scare to prepare him for what's ahead. Tsonga will not be a walk in the park (and I really do hope Federer's ankle is not injured in any way).  

It only gets tougher from here, I would have preferred a much more comfortable win but this was a good test that will hopefully help him in the quarters.  Should be another nail biter for sure!.

Benneteau no problem for Roger Federer who moves into 4th round at French Open

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472434186167351.1073741826.238783242865781&type=3&uploaded=28

Roger Federer sealed a 6-3 6-4 7-5 win over Julien Benneteau to march on into round four of the French Open.

The record 17-time grand slam champion defeated an opponent who has caused him problems in previous encounters - with Benneteau beating Federer in Rotterdam earlier in the season and blowing a two-set lead at Wimbledon last year.

Federer was graceful on court and had a deft touch all round, but Benneteau played his part early on as it was the Frenchman who settled the quicker of the two. Benneteau won the first two games, but Federer quickly leveled at two each and began to fire.

The serve was working extremely well and three consecutive love service holds saw the Swiss move 4-3 in front.

A run of 11 consecutive points gave Federer the first set as the challenge of Benneteau started to fade. Federer, with 18 winners to his name, also secured the second set thanks to one break point conversion.

The Wimbledon champion answered Benneteau's question to serve to stay in the third set at 5-5, but when Federer put the pressure on in the 11th game Benneteau crumbled, and eight straight points saw Federer cross the finishing line with a flourish.

"I'm able to play quite aggressive at the moment," Federer said afterwards.

"I don't know if I can keep that up. But the important thing is to keep the errors somewhat low, because otherwise it's just silly aggressiveness. It has to be controlled aggression.

"I'm happy because I have not used much of my energy so far. I feel totally relaxed. Mentally I'm okay. I'm quite confident. I can feel it, which is what you need to be if you want to go deep and have good results here at Roland Garros."

Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/209903.html#cgTxx3PMVLYiKZW2.99 

I love seeing the confidence in Roger, that's exactly what he'll need if he's gonna beat Rafa or Djokovic (I must say Rafa is looking less and less impressive each match). 

My bold prediction?, Djokovic will knock him out.

Roger Federer easily through to 3rd round at French Open

Second seed Roger Federer will square off against a familar foe at a Grand Slam event after cruising through his second round match at Roland Garros Wednesday. 

In brushing aside qualifier Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, Federer set a third-round clash with 30th-seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau, the man who nearly eliminated the Swiss superstar in the round of 32 at Wimbledon just a year ago. 

Benneteau won the first two sets, but failed to close out the eventual champion, having been within two points of victory on six occasions. Federer then won a re-match in convincing fashion at the London 2012 Olympics, but Benneteau made the latest statement, ousting Federer in Rotterdam this year.

Against Devarrman, Federer broke the Indian to begin the match, and never looked back, capitalising on seven of his 14 break point opportunities. Federer was equally as effective on serve with a 74 per cent success rate. The World No. 3 finished off Devarrman in 82 minutes to improve to 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

With the win, Federer secured his 898th tour-level victory. Only three players in the Open Era have won 900 matches. The 31-year-old Federer is the only active player other than seven-time champion Rafael Nadal to triumph at the second major tournament of the season in Paris, having lifted the trophy in 2009 (d. Soderling). 

Benneteau blew a two-set lead against Tobias Kamke, but prevailed over the German 7-6(9), 7-5, 5-7, 0-6, 6-4 despite winning nine fewer points in the match. Benneteau reached the third round at his home major for the fifth time, with his best result coming in 2006 when he advanced to the quarter-finals. Federer has won four of their six meetings and took their fourth-round encounter at Roland Garros in 2008. 

atpworldtour.com

Could be the first real test for Federer. Already biting my nails.

Roger Federer off to a good start at French Open moves to 2nd round

Roger Federer cruised into the second round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Spanish qualifier Pablo Carreno-Busta.

Despite a blip in the first set, Federer never looked in any danger against a man tipped for great things in the future.

Carreno-Busta, 21, won seven consecutive Futures tournaments earlier this year, with clay his favourite surface. In that time his world ranking has jumped from 654 to 166.

He did manage to break the second seed in the first set to create some excitement on Court Philippe Chartrier.

But that was as good as it got, Federer never needing to find top gear and he wrapped up the match with a trademark backhand down the line winner after 80 minutes on court.

"I didn't know a great deal about my opponent. He played really well and has a great future," said Federer, who served 10 aces and hit 33 winners in his 55th victory at Roland Garros.

Federer, who is just two away from Wayne Ferreira's record of 56 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, will face Indian Somdev Devvarman in the second round.

Meanwhile, fourth seed David Ferrer was a straight-sets winner against Australia's Marinko Matosevic 6-4 6-3 6-4.

There were also wins for Milos Raonic, Kevin Anderson, Jeremy Chardy, Andreas Seppi and Sam Querrey.

skysports.com

Wimbledon & French Open to use Twitter Magic Mirror function at this year's championships

This year, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships is upping the ante by featuring Twitter’s ‘Magic Mirror’ at the tournament.  This will give fans exclusive access to live photos from within, powered by the Mirror. Tweets will be posted through Wimbledon’s official Twitter account, accompanied by the hashtags #TwitterMirror and #Wimbledon.

The Mirror first launched at the Oscars this year where celebrities could automatically tweet photos through the official Oscars Twitter account, simply by posing in front of the mirror. The Indian Premier League (IPL) then followed suit by featuring the Mirror throughout the entire tournament. The application travelled with teams across the country, giving fans exclusive snapshots of players through the @IPL account.

Now tennis fans can look forward to the same during the first few days of Wimbledon, which runs from June 24th to July 7th. The Mirror will be placed where only players can access it, assuring the best photos will make their way through, and give fans an exclusive look behind the scenes.

Alexandra Willis, who manages Wimbledon’s digital and social platforms, spoke about the campaign:

“We’re delighted to be working closely with Twitter and bringing the Twitter Mirror to Wimbledon. We hope the players will enjoy using it and giving an insight into their life at Wimbledon for their fans and ours.”

No other tennis tournaments have featured the Mirror so far, though it is expected to make an appearance at the French Open, which starts this weekend and runs to June 9th. It’s fantastic to see such close relationships emerging between Twitter and live sports events, where the content from these events is beautifully combined with the speed and reach of Twitter.

simplyzesty.com

Roger Federer's French Open dilemma

Jimmy Arias won the Italian Open. Cedric Pioline won in Monte Carlo. Roger Federer has won neither.

Sergi Bruguera won two French Opens, Federer just one.

This is a lesson in how little even the greatest player of all time can control. In short, you can't pick your contemporaries.

So will the Swiss' legacy be defined by his lopsided losing record against Rafael Nadal, now at 10-20 after his straight-set loss Sunday on the Foro Italico's clay?

Now there's a loaded question. There's no way to know how many more significant tournaments Federer would have won if Rafa had become a professional footballer like his uncle. Or if the Spaniard had come of age as a player in his early twenties, as has become the norm, rather than at 18.

We do know that even with his personal tennis Kryptonite rolling along behind him, Federer has managed to win more major titles than anyone else in the history of the game.

Without Nadal around, would Federer have 20 Grand Slam titles to his name instead of 17? Maybe 23?

Their rivalry is an important part of both men's legacies, but it's hard to say at this point just how important. Ivan Lendl earned a 21-15 record against John McEnroe, his chief rival. Yet is there anyone out there who believes Lendl was the better player or made the greater impact?

One of the great things about sports is that results are entirely merit-based. There are no legitimate excuses, no ifs, ands or buts. If you win, it's not because you knew someone in HR or because you're sleeping with the boss. It's because you performed better than the other guy.

But ... tennis is a funny game.

It's all about the individual match-ups, which at the elite level involve variables beyond the straightforward differentiations of talent and motivation. Federer has dominated everyone in his generation (Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, etc.), but Rafa -- the oldest of the next generation -- has always been a problem. Nadal's mongo left-handed spin against Federer's beautiful but increasingly out-of-date one-handed backhand -- it just doesn't seem fair. At least not if you're a Federer fan.

Every player has his problem opponent. The veteran Nikolay Davydenko consistently gives the 26-year-old Nadal trouble (6-5 career H2H for Davydenko). Federer, meanwhile, has owned the gloomy Russian (19-2 for Federer).

The problem for Federer is that Nadal, unlike Davydenko, is an all-time great. The Swiss' 0-3 record against Franco Squillari, who's only slightly older than Federer than Federer is older than Nadal, is an interesting historical curiosity, but nothing more than that. Because Squillari was a middle-of-the-road player.

When it came to the rivalry with Nadal, Federer's saving statistic for years was his fast(ish)-court performance. He was, after all, a fast-court player, while Nadal was primarily a clay-court player. But even that advantage has fallen away. 

After Nadal's thumping win over Federer at Indian Wells in March, their combined hard-court and grass-court record now stands at 8-7 for Federer. After spending his first few years on tour as an unabashed clay-court specialist, Nadal grew into a great player on all surfaces, without losing his supremacy on clay. And Nadal, no matter the surface or his physical condition, has never grown tired of beating Federer; he's never had any problem working up enthusiasm for the fight.

For much of Federer's career, observers of the game have been calling him the greatest that ever was. That call should be getting even louder now that he's in his thirties and still at the top of the game. 

But the Rafa problem, even with Nadal's ongoing knee issues, refuses to go away. Federer fans now must hope that their man gets another shot at Nadal, not at the soon-to-start French Open but on Wimbledon's grass later in the summer.

Federer, however, will be forgiven if he secretly hopes he doesn't see Nadal across the net ever again.

-- Douglas Perry

Oregonlive.com

Always holding on to the hope (with every passing year that hope gets squished a little bit more each time), as the article points out French Open is definitely not among the fave Grand Slams for any Federer fan.  

It's always an uphill battle, but one never knows.  One more week to go!.

French Tennis Federation denied expansion of Roland Garros

The French Tennis Federation has expressed its "astonishment" after plans to expand Roland Garros were scuppered by a tribunal.

Proposals for the French Open site, which included installing a Wimbledon-style roof, had been approved by the Parisian authorities two years ago, with work scheduled to start later this year.

But three local associations objected to the scheme on environmental grounds, with the expansion due to encroach into neighbouring botanical gardens.

In a statement, the FFT said: "The French Tennis Federation noted with

astonishment the decision of the administrative tribunal of Paris on the

agreement allowing it to bring the project to modernise Stade Roland Garros.

"Contesting the grounds for cancellation, and convinced that the project is

respectful of the site, it will appeal the decision and request a stay of

execution.

"The determination of the FFT to carry out this project remains intact. Its

realisation is indeed vital for the sustainability of the French Open, a major

French sporting heritage that contributes to the international influence of

France and gives French tennis the means to develop.

"The FFT will, on Monday, contact the Paris authorities to clarify what we

need to do to carry out this necessary modernisation."

skysports.com