Rasheed blasts second-best culture in tennis

Updated October 29, 2012 09:19:10

Australian coach Roger Rasheed, the former mentor of Lleyton Hewitt, blasted the also-rans of men's tennis on Sunday (AEDT), accusing players of giving up on chasing the sport's big four.

Rasheed, who has just become the coach of French world number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, insisted that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are regarded as virtually untouchable by the chasing pack.

"The culture that I see at the moment on the tour, with players who are not that bad, is playing to finish second, behind the guys in the top four," said 43-year-old Rasheed.

"I don't like that mentality and Jo is not like that. He shows it clearly."

Rasheed, who worked with former world number one Hewitt from 2003 until 2007 and then Frenchman Gael Monfils between 2008 and 2011, believes Tsonga can become a Grand Slam title winner and smash the dominance of the top four.

Tsonga, 27, got close to a major in 2008 when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and has twice been a Wimbledon semi-finalist.

"Of course he can win a Grand Slam tournament," said Rasheed. "A player has to believe in his capacity to do it. I'd be disappointed if he didn't have that conviction.

"Jo is one of the few players who are exciting to train. He has decided that he has to do everything possible to make the most of his potential. He has to be congratulated on that."

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, france, australia

First posted October 28, 2012 13:27:11

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Serena blasts her way into final

Updated July 06, 2012 06:57:40

Serena Williams produced another staggering display of power serving to reach her seventh Wimbledon singles final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Victoria Azarenka.

The 30-year-old American, contesting a 21st grand slam semi-final, fired down her 24th ace, a tournament record, to snuff out the challenge of the second-seeded Belarusian who clung on bravely to force a second-set tie break.

In doing so, the 30-year-old became the oldest woman to reach the final since Steffi Graf in 1999 and only Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska - who beat Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 - stands between her and a fifth All England Club title.

Azarenka saved one match point at 5-6 but Williams bounced back to seal the tie break 8-6, moving to the brink of her 14th grand slam singles title and first since overcoming career-threatening injuries and illness.

She crouched down and roared with delight before shaking hands with her opponent and jumping up and down on Centre Court in scenes of unbridled joy.

"It definitely is quite special," sixth-seeded Williams told a news conference. "I feel like just getting there and doing so well is pretty cool.

"I'm just trying to do the best that I can. I have so much appreciation for every moment on the court. I really take pride in playing in such amazing tournaments such as this.

Williams, who reached the doubles semi-finals with her sister Venus later on Thursday, said she was not aware she was serving so well.

"I honestly didn't feel great on my serve today," she said. "I thought my serve was off and clearly it wasn't.

"My game is pretty aggressive and I was just trying to play my game. My serve is mean and as I get older I rely on it a bit more."

Williams dominated the first set in the sunshine, barely conceding a point on her own serve and regularly threatening to break Azarenka.

The second set was much tighter, however, as Azarenka clawed her way into the match, finding the range on her dipping groundstrokes and breaking the Williams serve for the first time in the sixth game.

The Australian Open winner pushed the four-times Wimbledon champion into a tie-break and saved a match point when Williams lobbed long but the American took her next opportunity with yet another ace to seal victory in 96 minutes.

The American will play Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's final.

"My biggest challenge is Agnieszka is really, really good at everything," Williams said. "She has unbelievable hands. She's running every ball down.

"It's going to be challenging. She's already ranked ahead of me, so I think it will be a really good match."

Radwanska, who not only will contest her first grand slam final on Saturday but could also claim the number one ranking if she wins, may want to avoid watching a Williams DVD as she prepares for the biggest day of her career.

Williams hit more aces in one set on Thursday than the Pole has struck in the entire tournament.

The former Wimbledon junior champion, who has become the first Pole to reach a grand slam final since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska at the French Championships in 1939, is not known for a power game, more the accuracy and intelligence that proved too much for Germany's Kerber.

The third seed slipped 3-1 behind in a nervy start to her first grand slam semi-final but soon had Kerber on the run with her superior court craft.

After sealing the first set with an ace, Radwanska broke again early in the second and never remotely looked like relinquishing her lead.

"I'm the first (Polish) player to win in a semi-final for many years, so I think this is already a big success," Radwanska, who lifted the junior title in 2005, said.

"And now here in the final, it's even bigger. This tournament is already one of the big part of tennis history in Poland. I'm happy to be part of that."

Reuters

Tags: sport, tennis, united-kingdom

First posted July 06, 2012 06:10:32

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Li blasts past first-round opponent

Updated June 25, 2012 22:28:33

China's Li Na took the express route into the second round at Wimbledon with an emphatic straight-sets victory over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan on Monday.

After a frustrating clay-court campaign, which included a disappointing fourth round defeat at the French Open, Li looked right at home on the lush lawns of the All England Club in the 6-3, 6-1 win.

She was far too strong for Pervak and brushed aside the 21-year-old in little more than an hour to set up a second-round meeting with either Romania's Sorana Cirstea or France's Pauline Parmentier.

Just 12 months ago, Li arrived at Wimbledon on the crest of a wave after winning the French Open to become the first Asian to hold a grand slam singles title.

But that triumph at Roland Garros has proved something of a burden for Li, who has struggled to cope with the significantly increased expectations and demands on her time that come with such a landmark victory.

Her form has suffered as a result and the world number 11 has not got past the fourth round of a major since winning in Paris.

But Li admitted last week that the one upside to her slump has been a return to relative anonymity.

With that in mind, the 30-year-old must have been delighted to be scheduled to face Pervak far from the spotlight out on Court 12.

There was certainly a spring in Li's step as she made a fast start, breaking for a 2-0 lead.

Russian-born Pervak, who changed her nationality to Kazakhstan at the end of 2011, reached the last 16 on her Wimbledon debut last year.

But Li's combination of experience and power proved far too much for the world number 41.

After a brief stumble when she dropped serve in the third game, Li made the decisive break for a 5-3 advantage before serving out the set.

The Chinese star quickly took control of the second set with a break to move 2-1 ahead and romped to victory with two more breaks.

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, england, united-kingdom

First posted June 25, 2012 22:28:33

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Madrid boss blasts ATP over blue clay ban

Updated June 26, 2012 23:00:51

Madrid Masters supremo Ion Tiriac blasted the ATP on Tuesday for slapping a ban on the controversial blue clay used at his tournament, insisting that the "future is blue".

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both said that they would not return to the Spanish capital in 2013 if the surface did not revert to traditional red clay at the event, a key warm-up for the French Open.

"I am very disappointed by the decision taken by the ATP," Tiriac said.

"The blue colour is one thing and the quality of the court in 2012 in the Caja Magica is a different one.

"Due to the fact that for the past three years our contract stipulated we could only arrange the courts six weeks before the event, it was impossible for the organiser to do a proper court."

Tiriac insists that television chiefs preferred the blue surface, pointing to the colour of the hard courts used by the Australian and US Opens.

"The various studies and feedback from broadcasters show that between the blue colour and the yellow ball the contrast is greater than any other combination," he said.

"I believe the field hockey at the Olympic Games in London is going to be played on blue grass (artificial). Then why not blue clay? In my opinion the future is blue, but for this the players have to be convinced and the governing bodies of our sport as well."

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, spain

First posted June 26, 2012 23:00:51

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