Tennis
Raonic sweeps Harrison to reach San Jose final
The 6-foot-5 Canadian piled up 20 aces behind a powerful serve that reached 150 mph in the comfortable conditions of the indoor arena. Raonic relied on his serve to force a first-set tiebreaker and cruise past the 19-year-old Harrison after a break in the second set gave him a 3-1 lead.
Harrison is still searching for his first ATP Tour final. He has lost three times in the semifinals on tour, including twice last year to Mardy Fish in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Raonic will play the winner of Saturday night’s semifinal between Uzbekistan’s Denin Istomin and Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
Federer to face del Potro in Rotterdam final
Davydenko made a strong start, breaking Federer in the ninth game before holding his serve to claim the first set.
The Russian forced another break in the third game of the second set but Federer broke back at 2-3 to take control.
Federer still had to overcome three break points while trailing Davydenko 4-3 in the final set.
“It’s good to see Davydenko back at this playing level,” Federer said. “Fortunately for me, he wasn’t good enough to knock me out.”
Federer, who is back in Rotterdam for the first time since clinching the 2005 title, will play third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who dismissed second-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-1 to advance.
Del Potro broke the Czech in the opening game before earning another break at 5-3 to claim the first set.
The second was one-sided as the Argentine took a 5-0 lead, then surrendered a game but completed the rout on his ninth ace of the contest.
Del Potro, making his first Rotterdam appearance, will be seeking his first title since last May at Estoril.
He has beaten Federer only twice in 10 matches, and lost to the Swiss star in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Almagro to play Volandri in Brazil Open final
The top-seeded Almargo will play for the title Sunday against Italy’s Filippo Volandri, who eliminated fourth-seeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.
Almagro, the winner in Brazil in 2008 and 2011, broke the eighth-seeded Ramos once in each set at the Ibirapuera sporting complex.
Trying to win his 11th ATP Tour title, Almagro needed a wild card to play the indoor clay-court event. He wasn’t sure at first he could commit to the tournament because of his Davis Cup duties with Spain.
“Ramos is a great player, he knows how to defend well,” Almagro said. “He has a great serve, but gladly I’ve been serving well too recently.”
Almagro has a chance to become the most successful player in Brazil with three titles. It would be his 11th ATP Tour title.
He needed a wild card to play the indoor clay-court event in Brazil because he initially wasn’t certain if he would make the tournament because of his Davis Cup duties with Spain. He also reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
It is the eighth straight time a Spaniard has made it to the Brazil Open final, and they have five wins.
Fourth-seeded Bellucci won the first set against Volandri but couldn’t keep up with the Italian at the end despite the support from the crowd in South America’s biggest city. Volandri had 18 break opportunities, converting on six of them.
The match was even until Volandri broke Bellucci at 2-2 in the third set, taking control from then on as the Brazilian became exhausted.
“I was very tired, I couldn’t even see the ball during some points,” Bellucci said. “I had pain in my entire body. I kept telling myself not to give up and keep fighting until the end, but I couldn’t do it today.”
The match lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes, just three minutes less than Bellucci’s quarterfinal against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina on Friday.
“(Friday’s) match was very tough and I couldn’t recover for today,” Bellucci said.
It is the seventh ATP final for Volandri, who will be trying to win his third singles title, the first since 2006.
Sao Paulo is hosting the event for the first time after 11 editions in the northeastern city of Costa do Sauipe. The tournament moved indoors because of the rainy weather in Sao Paulo this time of the year.
Top seed Azarenka to meet Stosur in Doha final
Azarenka expects to be OK when she plays for the title Sunday against Sam Stosur. The U.S. Open champion advanced from her semifinal after Marion Bartoli retired with a right calf injury after losing the first set 6-3.
Azarenka has won 16 matches in a row, the most to start a WTA season in four years.
“I’m so proud I’m standing here,” said Azarenka, appearing close to tears. “I’m just happy it’s over.”
This will be the first time Azarenka plays in a final since she ascended to No. 1. She has won all five previous matches against the fifth-ranked Stosur, most recently in November at the year-ending WTA Championships.
The Australian Open champion from Belarus easily won the first set against Radwanska. She broke the fourth-seeded Radwanska to go up 1-0 in the second set but then fell and twisted her right ankle trying to chase a drop shot. She limped off the court and a trainer wrapped the ankle.
Radwanska broke to go up 2-1 but Azarenka persevered, using her powerful groundstrokes and a great return game to regain control. While her mobility was clearly limited, she still managed to return everything Radwanska hit to win the next four games, including a forehand winner that made it 5-2.
Radwanska saved one match point to make it 5-3 and won the next game to raise the possibility of a third set. But Azarenka wasn’t having any of it, hitting a forehand winner down the line.
“Before my fall I was really playing very good tennis, in control and was really putting a lot of pressure on her and the way I wanted to play today,” Azarenka said.
“After the fall, I mean, I had to adjust. And it was a little bit unfortunate, but I just tried to stay, you know, mentally tough and just tried to play one at a time. It was difficult but I just didn’t want to panic too much in the situation. … I’m proud that I could manage to adjust in a very, very difficult situation.”
Stosur won the first set against Bartoli and had two break-point opportunities in the first game of the second set when Bartoli sought help from the trainer and then withdrew.
“You always want to win a match playing the full match out and winning match point,” Stosur said. “So any player will always take it if you play a set or two sets. But, of course, in the nature of the sport, you want to be able to finish it.”
The win was the fourth in a row for Stosur, who was coming off a dismal run in her native Australia where she was knocked out in the first rounds in Sydney and the Australia Open. She attributed her troubles in Australia to the pressure of expectations.
“This week I’ve tried to stay relaxed, be a lot more loose,” Stosur said. “When I’m able to be like that, my tennis just flows. And then I want to hit a forehand, I can get out there and whack it. My feet move better, and everything about my tennis is just better. So, no doubt, the way you’re feeling about your game can play a huge part in the results that you get.”
Bartoli said she started feeling the strain in her calf during the third set of her quarterfinal win Friday against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. She was unsure whether she will play in Dubai next week, but was convinced she made the right decision to stop playing.
“I knew I was not 100 percent going into the match,” Bartoli said. “I couldn’t put any weight on it, so it really was hurting me on my serve and on every movement when I was having to change direction and push from the feet. So I think it was really good decision to take because the more I was playing, the tighter it was getting.”
Querrey splits with coach, hires Gilbert
Gilbert told TENNIS.com that being an ESPN analyst will still be his main job, and that his position with Querrey will be part-time and will be on a week to week basis.
Gilbert is unsure as to how many tournaments he will work with Querrey as the relationship is still in a trial period. He will travel with his fellow Amercian to next week's tournament in Memphis.
Gilbert has coached a slew of notable players, including Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Japan's Kei Nishikori, whom he consulted with on a part time basis. Gilbert and Nishikori decided not to renew their contract at the end of last season.
A source told TENNIS.com that Querrey and Nainkin sat down a couple of weeks ago and that Querrey made the call himself to move in another direction.
Former top 20 player Querrey has fallen to No. 85 in the rankings, partly due to undergoing elbow surgery last June. Querrey may decide with Gilbert to hire a traveling coach. He might also use a coach from USTA Player Development. Zootennis' Colette Lewis first noted the Gilbert hiring. — Matt Cronin
Serena Williams pulls out of Monterey
Serena first injured her ankle during the tournament in Brisbane. but did manage to play at the Australian Open, although she was clearly hobbled.
ESPN Deportes reports that she re-injured her ankle in her last practice in Los Angeles prior to Monterey. The tournament's posters feature Serena and 60 percent of the tickets have been sold.
"People in Serena's camp called my daughter Daniela and they said that they didnt' even dare to call Serena after this happened," tournament director Hernan Garza said.
Her next scheduled tournament is in Miami, which begins the third week of March.
Stosur reaches Doha final when Bartoli retires
Stosur won the first set 6-3 and had two break point opportunities in the first game of the second set. Bartoli hit a backhand and appeared to wince. She then sought help from the trainer, who examined her calf. Tournament organizers said they were yet to receive word on the exact nature of her injury.
Stosur will face either Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka or Agenieszka Radwanska.
“You always want to win a match playing the full match out and winning match point,” Stosur said. “So any player will always take it if you play a set or two sets, but of course in the nature of the sport, you want to be able to finish it.”
Bartoli broke Stosur to go up 3-2 but Stosur paid the Frenchwoman in the next game. Stosur hit a powerful forehand into the corner to break for 5-3 and hit an ace to close out the set.
The win was the fourth in a row for the fifth-ranked Stosur, who was coming off a dismal run in her Australia homeland where she was knocked out in the first rounds in Sydney and the Australia Open.
Bartoli said she started feeling the strain in her calf during the third set of her quarterfinal win on Friday against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. She was unsure whether she will play in Dubai next week.
“I knew I was not 100 percent going into the match,” Bartoli said. “I couldn’t put any weight on it, so it really was hurting me on my serve and on every movement when I was having to change direction and push from the feet. So I think it was really good decision to take (to retire), because the more I was playing, the tighter it was getting.”
Del Potro routs Berdych to reach Rotterdam final
Del Potro broke his Czech opponent in the opening game before breaking again at 5-3 to take the first set. The second set was one-sided, with the Argentine jumping to a 5-0 lead. Del Potro then lost a game but completed the rout on an ace, his ninth of the match.
Del Potro is making his first Rotterdam appearance. He will play for the title against the winner of the semifinal between Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko.
Azarenka back from brink to world No. 1
She was beaten in the first round by the Slovakian at the Qatar Open a year ago, causing a crisis of confidence in the 22-year-old Belarusian. She rushed home, ready to tell her family that she wanted to quit the sport she had grown to despise.
“It was just not fun for me to do, because I’m the type of player that plays with a lot of passion, a lot of desire,” Azarenka said.
“Every time I was stepping on the court, it was like a misery to me, so I just told my mom, I don’t want to play anymore because it’s not fun. She’s like, ‘You know what? I think maybe you’re tired, you’re burned out. Just come home and see what happens.”’
Rather than quitting, Azarenka took a brief break and it did her wonders.
She had best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No. 3. She returned in 2012, winning the Australian Open and becoming No. 1 for the first time in her career. Ahead of a Qatar Open semifinal against Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday, she is on a 15-match winning streak.
Azarenka credits her transformation to a greater maturity on the court instilled by her coach Sam Sumyk and improved fitness which has helped cut down on injuries and given her greater stamina. Hindered in the past by her emotions, Azarenka no longer has midcourt meltdowns, muttering to herself or even dissolving in tears when she starts losing control of a match.
“Last year by this time I was a little bit of a mess. I couldn’t control any of my emotions, and I didn’t really enjoy any part playing tennis,” she said. “But when I came back after Doha to Indian Wells I had to change, my mentality on court, the way I approached the match, the way I approached the tough moment.”
Azarenka said the key has been not taking every point to heart.
“I don’t try to think why is it happening to me,” she continued. “I just try to accept and deal with it deal with the situation. Every opponent is going to try to beat me, beat the other players. I just try to stay really focused on each moment because I know it doesn’t matter what the score is. You always have a chance until the match is done.”
Azarenka has shown this week in Doha why she now is considered the best player on the tour.
The lanky, 6-foot Azarenka has dropped only nine games in three one-sided victories—all peppered with her trademark whoops that have been the talk of the tour for some time.
Her improved play has won accolades from tennis legend Martina Navratilova who has suggested she and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova have the talent and personality for a great rivalry. Competitors like U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, whom she could face in the final in Qatar, also have taken notice.
“I think one huge thing is that now she’s got this confidence and this belief in her own game,” Stosur said.
“She’s always been very consistent throughout the year, but hadn’t made that breakthrough from quarters or semis at Grand Slams, and then last year she made semis at Wimby, and then she comes out and wins the Aussie Open,” she said. “I think it’s one of those things where, as a player gets a little more mature, maybe just all around gets a little bit better. Once you’ve got that confidence, it doesn’t matter how you play. If you’ve got that, it can definitely be a winning formula.”
WTA President Stacey Allaster also welcome Azarenka’s ascension to the top, replacing Caroline Wozniacki who was long criticized during her reign for being No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam.
“It has been great to watch Vika over the last few years develop both as a player and as a person,” Allaster said in an email statement. “It’s terrific to see her put all of the elements together needed to get to the very top of our sport and it’s really her immense talent, perseverance and determination that have gotten her to this point
“It’s great to have her as one of the ambassadors of our sport.”
Azarenka clearly seems to be having much more fun as the No. 1.
She fills every news conference with jokes—asked about baggage of being No. 1, she joked she always travels with lots of bags. She is more open and talkative than ever before, sharing her new love for photography and recalling stories about her grandmother whom she has called “one of the most optimistic people on the planet.”
Azarenka insists she remains the same “hard working tennis player” she was before Australia, though she admits her celebrity status is on the rise and more players are motivated to beat her. After she won the Australian Open, she traveled to Los Angeles to watch the Los Angeles Lakers and appeared on the Ellen show.
“Of course it’s a great thing to win the major, but as I mentioned before, I want to keep going the same way, and I am just hungry for the new ones to come,” she said of her desire to win Olympic gold this year along with more Grand Slams. “I mean, it’s a great feeling to have that, but it’s time to move on and work harder to get another one.”
Raonic, Harrison to meet in San Jose semifinals
SAN JOSE, California (AP)—Ryan Harrison moved closer to his first ATP Tour title, advancing to the SAP Open semifinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Bulgarian qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky on Friday.
Fresh off his Davis Cup debut last weekend that helped the Americans sweep Switzerland, the 19-year-old Harrison blew past Kutrovsky in 62 minutes. Harrison came from 2-0 down in the second set and took advantage of two calls overturned by replay to break the Bulgarian’s serve for the final time.
“To get out there today and have a match that lasted about an hour, it was a very good thing for me,” said Harrison, who has played three straight days since an journey from Switzerland to the Bay Area.
Harrison will face defending tournament champion Milos Raonic on Saturday. The hard-serving Canadian defeated Kevin Anderson 7-5, 7-6 (3).
On the other side of the draw, Andy Roddick was scheduled to face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan later Friday, and Julien Benneteau of France was matched against Belgium’s Steve Darcis.
This is Harrison’s third career semifinal at an ATP event—he lost to Mardy Fish both times last year in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He’s also the first teenager to reach the semifinals at San Jose since eventual champion Andy Murray in 2006 and 2007, and Harrison’s doing it all despite a body clock that’s out of whack.
Harrison arrived in the Bay Area this week after a flight through nine time zones. The jet-lagged right-hander, whose straight sets victory over Michael Lammer gave the U.S. its fourth victory in a 5-0 sweep of Switzerland, also had to adjust from clay to indoor courts and a ball that doesn’t have quite the same pop.
A night after outlasting Robbie Ginepri in a third-set tiebreaker, Harrison had the first afternoon match Friday but was thankful for the day-time start.
Harrison has been going to sleep about 8 p.m. and waking up at 5 a.m. local time. When the Ginepri match went to a third set, he was so tired he drank a soda for a caffeine boost.
“I was about to fall asleep out there I was so tired,” Harrison said.
Harrison connected on 73 percent of his first serves and pushed the pace against the two-handed Kutrovsky, a qualifier who tried every trick he could for an upset. With Kutrovky up 2-0 in the second set, Harrison noticed his opponent moving in from the baseline and shuffling his feet before Harrison served.
“My mind ticks in a very competitive way on court,” Harrison said. “So when I see something like that, it’s kind of like, `OK, you’re going to do that? You’re not winning.”’
Kutrovsky served an ace at 4-all, 30-all, and Harrison challenged. The shot was overruled out, Harrison won a long rally and then challenged a passing shot by Kutrovsky on the following point that the line judge missed. The replay revealed the ball sailed wide left, Harrison earned the break and cruised to victory on his service game.
Harrison: Some teach grunting to distract
Ryan Harrison told reporters at the SAP Open in San Jose said that some kids at the Nick Bollettieri Academy, where he occasionally trains, are "a lot more [noisy] than they need to be. If you have a 7-year-old girl grunting louder than I can scream in my entire life, that’s not really necessary. If you make some sort of exhaling noise, that’s fine, but whenever you hear a loud scream, I don’t know if it’s necessary at all times. There are some women pros who can’t stop because they have been doing it for so long, if you tell them to stop if will mess with their game. At that point they’ve gotten in rhythm and they are in their comfort zone. You can’t tell someone like Maria Sharapova to stop grunting because she's been doing it since she started playing. For her it’s not a distraction technique for her opponent, that’s just what she always done."
Harrison added that some coaches are culpable. "There are younger kids at academies like Bollettieri's that are taught to do things like that to mess with their opponents. My dad is OK with some sort of exhaling or some sort of noise, but if he starts getting the feeling some distraction for an opponent… The guy I was playing today [Dimitar Kutrovsky] was trying to dance around during my second serve and I’ve never been one to do anything, from bathroom breaks to grunting to trying to dance during someone’s service motion to try to mess up another player. Anything I’ve ever done is to try to control my side of the court. That’s how I was brought up. My dad never taught me to take bathroom breaks like you see other coaches trying to tell people to do that to try and disrupt rhythm. I always have had the approach that my game is better than yours and I don’t need to disrupt yours because I’m going to do what I can do and that’s going to be good enough."—Matt Cronin
Sharapova in favor of 10-and-under changes
"I think that it is an advantage from the beginning because it is much easier to have the lighter balls, and much easier to have a smaller court and I think it gives them a better sense of the game in a way," said Sharapova, who will play the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden on March 5 with Caroline Wozniacki, Roger Federer, and Andy Roddick. "Whereas you are coming onto the tennis courts, for the first time and since it is one-on-one sport it can be quiet overwhelming. So for a young player that is trying it out, I think it is a wonderful opportunity, but then on the other hand if you do that for a very long time, you also have to realize that the reality of the sport this is not how you are going to play if you are thinking about taking it to another level and thinking of progressing into a serious stage of the game. It will also be an adjustment, so it’s a very thin line because you obviously want to encourage young children to start playing, but you also have to understand at a certain point the balls are going to be a little bit heavier and the court is going to be much bigger. So those fun elements that you learned in the beginning will be taken away. It is just a matter of how will they react to that."
Davydenko tops Gasquet in Holland
He was referring to Davydenko, of course, who had begun the match looking all of his 30 years and maybe a few more. The Russian went down 0-2 quickly, and without a little help from his opponent, it easily could have been 0-4. For much of the first set, he missed just about everything you can miss: Routine forehands into the net, routine volleys into the net, and a routine backhand he pulled wide to be broken for 2-4. By the end of the next game, Davydenko was even wilder. Down 2-5, he missed a forehand badly over the baseline; it looked like the second set was coming up soon, and that this former world No. 4 now ranked 49th was going down to his second straight-set defeat to Gasquet this month (the Frenchman beat him 6-3, 6-4 in Montpellier).
The thing was, even as he was missing, Davydenko was still winning the battle of court position. He was the one on top of the baseline, the one taking the ball on the rise, the one following his shots to the net. All he needed to do was find his range, which he did over the next three games. At 3-5, Davydenko reached 15-30 on Gasquet’s serve with an aggressive backhand. Then he watched as Gasquet missed a go-for-broke forehand from behind the baseline and double faulted to be broken.
From that point, the pattern was set and the match turned completely. Davydenko controlled the rallies, while Gasquet, giving up progressively more court position to accommodate his loopy strokes, scrambled. The Frenchman lives and dies on a risky, short-term strategy: his ability to create from a defensive position. In the second set, Davydenko, his winner count soaring, never gave him that chance. Gasquet spent his time between points throwing his hands up and asking his coach what he could possibly do. With good reason: Even the gods appeared to be against him. With Davydenko serving for the first set at 6-5, 30-30, Gasquet broke a string in the middle of a long rally. On the next point, Davydenko won the set with his first ace of the day.
In the end, it looked like the Gasquet we’ve come to know too well. He started promisingly, had moments when he seemed about to go microwave, but he couldn’t keep it up and quickly became deflated.
In the end, it looked like the Davydenko we used to know so well. He fired into the corners with precision and changed directions with ease. Next up for him, Roger Federer. We’ll see which of these 30-somethings can reel in more of the years tomorrow.
—Steve Tignor
Azarenka: Don't be hard on Slam-less No. 1s
"Well, you know, I think you guys, it’s your job to say that, to evaluate, to give grades," she said. "Our job is to play and win matches. Whatever people say, I mean, I appreciate if I’m a legit No. 1, but I think they shouldn’t be too hard on the other girls, as well."
Top seed Almagro in Sao Paulo semis
SAO PAULO (AP)—Top-seeded defending champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Brazil Open.
The 11th-ranked Almagro dominated the match at the Ibirapuera sporting complex, allowing only one break opportunity to the fifth-seeded Berlocq.
Almagro converted three of his 11 break points and took advantage of his six aces to overcome the Argentine in 1 hour, 30 minutes in South America’s biggest city.
“I played great today,” Almagro said. “Now it’s about resting and start thinking about the semifinals.”
Almagro will play countryman Albert Ramos, who upset third-seeded Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (5), 6-3. The eighth-seeded Ramos won 79 percent of his first serve points, breaking Verdasco once in the second set to win the match between left-handers in the indoor clay-court tournament.
Almagro needed a wild card to try to defend his title because he initially wasn’t certain if he would make the tournament because of his Davis Cup duties with Spain. He also won the Brazil Open in 2008.
Stosur, Azarenka reach Doha semifinals
DOHA, Qatar (AP)—U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur reached her first semifinal of the year, defeating Monica Niculescu 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Friday at the Qatar Open.
In another quarterfinal, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka swept aside Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-0, 6-4 for her 15th straight win. Azarenka next plays Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who beat American Christina McHale 6-1, 6-1.
After losing in the first round of her home Australian Open, Stosur has won three straight matches in Doha. Her latest victory came against a Romanian opponent who uses lots of spin and hits a two-handed backhand and forehand.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Stosur said. “I guess it’s still only February, so to bounce back relatively quickly is always pleasing. Yeah, it’s definitely nice to be on the winning side than not.”
Stosur jumped to 5-0 en route to winning the first set. But Niculescu responded in the second, breaking Stosur twice to go up 4-1 to even the match.
Stosur regained the momentum in the third, leading 3-0 only to see Niculescu take advantage of errors to make it 3-3. But with Stosur serving at love-30 in the seventh game, Niculescu failed to capitalize. She missed an easy volley to let Stosur back in the game, and Stosur then hit a forehand in the corner to go up 4-3. She ran off the final two games.
Stosur will face fifth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, who ended the strong run of Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
“For sure, I got off to a really good start and wasn’t, you know, under too much pressure at all,” Stosur said. “Then early in that second set, I feel like I missed some of those opportunities. I think it’s one of those matches where, when you are in control, you have to keep going and keep going and keep going.”
Azarenka said she played a “perfect set” to go up 6-0, but the second set was much more competitive. The two players traded breaks throughout until 4-4. The Belarusian then ran off the last two games, winning a love service game to close out the match.
“Second set, I had opportunities in every single game. I just couldn’t really convert them,” Azarenka said. “But, you know, it’s important the way I finished the second set. It was the same way I started the match.”
Del Potro, Berdych cruise to wins in Rotterdam
The Rotterdam debutant won the first eight games before surrendering one to his Serbian opponent, completing the victory in just under an hour.
Del Potro will play second-seeded Thomas Berdych, who ousted Italian Viktor Seppi 6-3, 6-4 to book his place in the semis.
Top-seeded Roger Federer was due to play Jarko Nieminen while Nikolay Davydenko played Richard Gasquet in the other quarterfinals later Friday.
Kvitova, Stepanek to play Olympic mixed doubles
Kvitova also considered Tomas Berdych as a partner before making her announcement Friday.
Stepanek won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open when he and Leander Paes of India took the doubles final.
Kvitova says, “As an experienced doubles player, Radek will be the leader.”
Kvitova and Berdych played together in January to give the Czech Republic its second Hopman Cup title.
Berdych has already announced he will play doubles with Stepanek at the London Games.
Isner feels he's peaking with Top 10 in sight
Harrison outlasts Ginepri in San Jose; Strode loses
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—Ryan Harrison advanced to the quarterfinals of the SAP Open, closing with a flourish to beat Robby Ginepri 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night.
Harrison, who had 27 aces in his previous match, finished with only five this time but won the final 10 points—including a 7-0 whitewash in the tiebreaker. The 19-year-old American will play qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky of Bulgaria in the next round. It will be Harrison’s fourth quarterfinal appearance in an ATP event.
Harrison, ranked 94th in the world, got off to a fast start but had to outlast Ginepri in a tight third set.
“He started a little slow,” Harrison said. “But in the second set I had a little mental lapse and he got into a rhythm.”
Ginepri, attempting a comeback after missing almost two years following a mountain-bike accident that broke his left elbow, led 5-4 in the third set before Harrison tied it. Ginepri, ranked 235th in the world, went up 6-5 before Harrison took over.
“His ranking is very deceiving right now,” Harrison said. “He’s a far better player than that.”
In the tiebreaker, Harrison whipped a 122 mph ace to close it out.
“I was glad to get it back in the third,” Harrison said. “Throughout the tiebreaker I was able to come up with some good stuff.”
A week ago, Harrison won an emotional match that helped the U.S. beat Switzerland in the Davis Cup.
In the final match of the night, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan beat American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-2. Istomin will face tournament favorite Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Roddick is playing with a slight tear in his right hamstring sustained during the Australian Open. He also twisted his right ankle Wednesday during his match against Denis Kurda.
Earlier in the day, Steve Darcis upset 2009 champion and fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek 7-6 (7), 7-6 (7) in the second round.
Stepanek, from the Czech Republic, is ranked 29th in the world. Darcis is No. 72 and is seeded 22nd in the tournament. It was their first meeting since 2008, when they split two matches.
Fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France defeated Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-4 and will face Darcis in the quarterfinals. It was the first meeting between the two since 2005, when Mueller defeated Benneteau on grass.
Benneteau is ranked 34th in the world, while Muller is 70th.
Sixth-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky of Bulgaria also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Anderson, ranked 35th in the world, took advantage of two days’ rest when he beat a tired Mark Ebden of Australia, 6-1, 6-2. Ebden played a match that lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes on Wednesday night to advance to the second round.
Kutrovsky, ranked 435th in the world, beat Blake Strode 7-5, 6-3.
Strode, playing in his first ATP main draw match, was a last-minute substitution for defending champion Gael Monfils, who withdrew from the tournament with an inflamed tendon on Wednesday night. The United States-born Strode is ranked 393rd in the world.