Posts tagged Crown
Ivanovic thumps Schnyder for Linz crown
Oct 17th
Linz, Austria (Sports Network) – Ana Ivanovic resembled the No. 1 player she once was with a straight-set romp over Patty Schnyder to capture the Generali Ladies Linz tennis title.
Ivanovic needed just 48 minutes to post a 6-1, 6-2 rout in Sunday’s final, winning this event for the second time. Her last WTA crown came at this tournament in 2008 and Sunday’s win gave the Serb her ninth career singles title.
Currently ranked 29th, Ivanovic was No. 1 for 12 weeks during the 2008 season, when she also won her lone Grand Slam title at the French Open. Sunday’s final was her first since a loss to Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in March of 2009.
Schnyder finished as the runner-up at this event for the third time. She also lost to Nadia Petrova in the 2005 final and fell to Daniela Hantuchova in the 2007 title match.
The 31-year-old Swiss veteran fell to 11-16 in WTA Tour title matches, including two losses this year. In addition to Sunday’s setback, Schnyder was also beaten by Agnes Szavay for the Budapest title in July. She hasn’t won a tournament since 2008 in Bali.
Ivanovic beat Schnyder for the fifth straight time and improved to 5-4 in the all-time series. This was their first meeting since the 2008 French Open quarterfinals. Schnyder’s last win against Ivanovic came in the 2005 Linz semifinals.
The 22-year-old Ivanovic improved to 9-4 all-time in WTA finals and earned a first prize of $37,000.
Carmel boys cruise to crown
Oct 17th
The Carmel High School boys tennis players figured they might be hoisting the state championship trophy a year ago.
They figured wrong as the then top-ranked Greyhounds lost to No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern in the 2009 sectional opener.
Saturday, the top-ranked Greyhounds completed their state title mission with a 4-1 victory over No. 3 Brebeuf Jesuit in the state team championship at North Central High School.
“Adversity builds character,” Carmel coach Mike Bostic said. “We had to go through those tough times to show us how badly we wanted it and how we had to work to get it. They stayed focused on that all year long.
“They are everything you can ask for in a state championship. They are great players and great people.”
Senior No. 3 singles player Conor Cunningham said winning it after what happened last year makes it even sweeter.
“I don’t know if a team has ever lost the first round of sectional one year and then come back to win the whole thing,” Cunningham said.
IHSAA records aren’t that extensive, but the turnaround was impressive.
“That (2009 sectional loss) was a big motivator,” said Cunningham, who topped the Braves’ Mark Kite in three sets. “We learned you have to focus on every match one at a time.
“You don’t get ahead of yourself. You focus on what is in front of us, and that’s what we’ve done all this season.”
En route to the title, the Greyhounds got their revenge on No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern with a 5-0 victory in the sectional final.
The Greyhounds (21-0) advanced to the final with a 5-0 triumph over No. 8 Munster in Saturday morning semifinals. Brebeuf advanced by beating No. 14 Jeffersonville 4-1.
Carmel dropped its first point in the postseason and only the second of the season in dual matches in the final.
Brebeuf senior Dougie Barnard rallied to top junior Mihir Kumar at No. 1 singles 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
The loss eliminated Kumar (23-1) from the state singles title competition. Barnard, who will try for his second consecutive singles title next weekend, had lost twice to Kumar this season.
“Dougie played amazing. He earned it,” Kumar said. “He was volleying so well and playing aggressive.
“It’s bittersweet, but what this team has accomplished this year has been incredible. I think that comes first.”
Barnard trailed 4-2 in the second-set tiebreaker.
“I really felt I was in a hole and I wasn’t sure if I was going to come out on top or not,” Barnard said. “I just dug deep and focused on every single point as hard as I could. Fortunately, he made a couple of mistakes and I was able to take the second set. Then the third set, I just played great tennis.”
So did Carmel junior Elliott Yee, who topped Peter Ciaccia 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Yee (25-0) didn’t lose a set all season.
“The whole high school tennis season I was playing phenomenal,” Yee said.
Carmel seniors Chris Bertolini and Pat O’Neill (24-1) advanced in the state doubles tournament with their 6-4, 6-4 victory over Rico Lumanlan and Seth Gochnauer at No. 1 doubles.
“They were awesome,” Bostic said. “They didn’t get their serves broken once the entire match.”
Carmel juniors Connor Dunn and Alex McMahan finished 25-0 at No. 2 doubles.
Men’s Tennis Grabs Doubles Crown
Sep 26th
Sept. 26, 2010
Complete Results
WACO, Texas - For the fifth time in the 10-year history of the HEB Baylor Men’s Invitational, a pair of Bears claimed the doubles tournament title on Sunday at the Baylor Tennis Center.
Roberto Maytin and John Peers, ranked 57th and seeded sixth in the tournament, got to the top of the podium by making quick work of eighth-seeded Aleksey Bessonov and Rifat Biktyakov of Oklahoma State, 8-3, to run away with the main draw doubles final.
“Roberto and John are playing with a lot of confidence,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “Both guys have good doubles skills and they are communicating well. For the start of the year that is a great effort from those guys.”
The tandem, which had never played together in competition before this weekend joined Jordan Rux and Maros Horny in 2009, Lars Poerschke and Jon Reckewey in 2005, Benedikt Dorsch and Ivor Lovrak in 2003 and Reiner Neurohr and Markus Hornung in 2001 as Baylor tournament doubles champions.
Earlier in the morning, Maytin was knocked out of the men’s singles A draw by Arthur Surreaux of New Mexico State 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Maytin battled back after falling behind 2-0 in the first to take the set, but then the sophomore’s serve left him and Surreaux took control of the match. Maytin went 4-1 in singles action on the weekend, but his loss meant that a Baylor player would not be in the tournament’s singles final for only the fourth time in 10 years.
In consolation play, Sergio Ramirez fell to Niall Angus of Texas A&M 7-5, 3-6, 10-8 in semifinal action. The senior finishes the weekend with a 3-2 record.
“I think both Roberto and Sergio have a long way to go,” Knoll said. “They didn’t play this summer and now every match is kind of a different puzzle. They are just going to have to do better. Getting more matches is going to help them.”
For complete draws and results visit the tournament’s web site.
Baylor will back in action next weekend as select players participate in the ITA/D’Novo Men’s All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
HEB Baylor Men’s Invitational
Sep 26, 2010 at Waco, Texas (Baylor Tennis Center)
Singles
sf Arthur Surreaux (New Mexico State University) def. Roberto Maytin (Baylor) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
csf Niall Angus (Texas A&M) def. Sergio Ramirez (Baylor) 7-5, 6-3, 10-8
Doubles
f #57 Roberto Maytin/John Peers (Baylor) def. Rifat Biktyakov/Aleksey Bessonov (Oklahoma State) 8-3
Valley tennis standout eyes WPIAL crown
Sep 23rd
Valley’s Courtney Brennan has had plenty of success during the regular season in singles, winning three straight Section 4-AA titles, becoming the first Valley player to do so.
But what the junior really wants is to make her mark in the WPIAL postseason.
The Class AA singles championship begins today at Shady Side Academy, and Brennan has hopes of moving past the first round for the first time in three tries.
No Valley girl has ever won a WPIAL tennis title.
“I want to make a good showing,” she said. “I feel like I have a big advantage because I’m healthy. Last year, I had a cracked bone in my foot and played with it taped.
“I worked very hard to get healthy and build it back up. I just want to take it one opponent at a time.”
As a freshman, Brennan made the WPIAL semifinals in doubles with Corie Ravotti. Last year, she advanced to the quarterfinals with Katie Pallone, who also has qualified for today’s singles tournament after finishing runner-up to Brennan in the section.
“Courtney has trained diligently for this specific juncture of her varsity tennis career,” Valley coach Rachael Link said. “The equation of her game on the courts has evolved with her experience in competitive play.”
Brennan believes she is playing well enough to advance in the tournament.
“I am really excited to be playing, but there’s a very talented group of girls (in the tournament),” said Brennan, a 4.0 student. “I have matured in my game, and I’m excited to see where I’ll fall.”
Link said Brennan may be able to outthink some opponents.
“Courtney is extremely intelligent during her matches, constantly evaluating and reconfiguring her strategies based upon her observations of her opponent,” Link said. “She is incredible to witness on the courts as her eyes are completely focused. You can honestly see her contemplating her strokes.”
Crown Point tennis players defend tournament championship
Aug 22nd
CROWN POINT | Times No. 6 Crown Point began its 2010 tennis season with an exclamation point, capturing a second straight Crown Point Invitational title with a pair of 5-0 wins over Griffith and Rensselaer.
The tournament was reduced from four teams to three when Kankakee Valley dropped out midway through the week. Crown Point coach Chris Korzeniewski modified the format to make it a three-team round-robin affair.
Griffith defeated Rensselaer 3-2 in the first round. The Panthers (1-3) got past the Bombers (0-3) when sophomore Jordan Long brought home the winning point with a three-set win at No. 3 singles over Alex Gumz.
“It’s really great to play teams that we don’t see during our regular season,” Griffith’s Garrett Litke said. “It gives us a chance to work on our game before we get into (Northwest Crossroads) conference matches.”
Litke’s game was a little rusty, as he spent the spring and early summer playing varsity baseball for the Panthers.
“But a little better each time out,” he added. “Two or three more and I should be good to go.”
The Bulldogs then defeated both the Bombers via shutout.
Paul Kendall, playing his first-ever varsity match for Crown Point, got the first Bulldogs point of the season with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles.
“I’m really happy for both myself and for the team,” Kendall said afterward. “We lost several seniors to graduation, and most people don’t think we’ll be tough this season. But we have a very good team and we want to show everyone we’ll be right in the thick of the (Duneland) conference race.”
Junior Jordan Steinner played No. 1 doubles for the Bombers after splitting practice time this summer at both singles and doubles.
“I’m still getting used to the position,” Steinner said. “I played No. 3 singles last year, so the doubles game is still really new to me. I have a few things to work on before we get into (Hoosier) conference matches. As a team, we’re playing pretty well, considering how young we are. We have a lot of guys at new positions this year, so there is still a lot of learning going on.”
Sam Querrey Rallies in Attempt to Defend Farmers Classic Crown
Jul 29th
Defending champion and second-seeded Sam Querrey rallied in impressive fashion on Wednesday night at the Farmers Classic to defeat Kevin Anderson in second-round action 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-0.
The 20th-ranked American who was born in San Francisco is a hometown favorite at the California-based ATP 250 hard-court event. It is Querrey’s first tournament on the surface since completing the grass-court season. As a result of his second seed, Querrey received a bye into the second round to play Anderson.
Querrey had to battle back in the first set, and lost the second set, but persevered to dominate the hard-serving South African in the third set. Anderson did not win one game in the third and decisive set. Querrey’s second serve was strong throughout the match. On the other hand, Anderson double-faulted 12 times and only won 26 percent of his second-serve points. Querrey’s ground strokes gained power as the match progressed and his fitness level seemed far superb to Anderson’s. Anderson was also coming off a short week as he participated in last week’s sweltering ATP event in Atlanta.
Querrey advances to the quarterfinals in Los Angeles where he will face Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
The 22-year-old Querrey has already won three titles this year, on three different surfaces. He won on hard court in Memphis, on clay in Belgrade and on the grass at The Queen’s Club — Wimbledon’s premier tuneup tournament.
Querrey has been spectacular on the hard court throughout his career. He came into the Farmers Classic with a career record of 85-60 on the surface, with three career titles — far better than his results on clay and grass. He made a name for himself and soared up the rankings last year during the hard-court tuneup season, and claimed the 2009 U.S. Open Series heading into the Open.
He hopes to surpass his career-high ATP ranking of No. 19 this summer with strong showings on the hard court.
