Monday, 31 December 2012

Stosur, Wozniacki upset in first round of Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia -- Caroline Wozniacki's first trip to the Brisbane International ended in a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) first-round loss to Kazakhstan qualifier Ksenia Pervak on Monday. She quickly followed up by dismissing speculation about an engagement to golf No. 1 Rory McIlroy.

Wozniacki, who held the year-end No. 1 ranking in 2010 and 2011 but is yet to win a major title, had high-profile support from McIlroy in the crowd and there was a buzz around Pat Rafter Arena amid rumors the pair had become engaged in the off-season.

The 22-year-old Danish player was photographed with a new ring on her left hand as she arrived in Australia last week, sparking speculation of pending nuptials. She explained Monday that the ring was a gift.

"It was a Christmas present and it fit on this finger and I put it on, and all of a sudden I hear that I'm engaged. But I'm not," she said. "So, yeah, it's already twice we've had to shut down engagement rumors. Don't worry, we will let you know if that time happens!"

On the court, Wozniacki raced to a 4-1 lead before finishing off the first set within a half hour. She started to struggle with her serve as she lost the second set and then had difficulty in the third countering powerful groundstrokes from the left-handed Pervak in the first upset result of the tournament.

No. 9-ranked Samantha Stosur was also upset in a night match, losing 7-6 (4), 7-5 to No. 41 Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden to continue her run of poor form in her native Australia since winning the 2011 U.S. Open. Stosur lost her second match at the Brisbane tournament last year, then had back-to-back first-round losses at the Sydney International and the Australian Open.

With eight of the top 10 women in the draw, the Brisbane tournament was expected to provide a good chance to fine-tune for the Australian Open starting Jan. 14. Now Wozniacki and Stosur will head to Sydney hoping for some decent match practice.

"I fought until the end. Maybe didn't play my best tennis today, but it's tough to expect that from yourself in your first match back," Wozniacki said. "Now I just have to play some practice matches with some of the other girls here and then go to Sydney and hopefully get a couple more there."

In other first-round matches, fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany opened with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Anna Tatishvili of Georgia, French Open finalist Sara Errani beat Russia's Olga Puchkova 6-1, 6-3 and American Sloane Stephens beat Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-3.

Alize Cornet of France advanced to a second-round match against third-seeded Serena Williams with an opening 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Australian qualifier Bojana Bobusic, and Germany's Sabine Lisicki opened with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic to set up a second-round match against top-ranked Victoria Azarenka.

The 103-ranked Pervak, who lost in the first round at 14 tournaments last year, including Brisbane, will play Urzula Radwanska of Poland on Tuesday. Pervak started to hit the lines in the second set against Wozniacki, showing match sharpness honed by playing in the qualifying tournament.

She was two points from victory, serving for the match at 5-3 and 30-15, but made a series of unforced errors to get broken and let the 10th-ranked Wozniacki get back into it.

Wozniacki held serve at love in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker but Pervak dominated from there, winning the first five points and securing the win with the first of her five match points when her rival missed with a timid forehand service return.

Stosur made 48 unforced errors and never settled into her rhythm after only two weeks of practice due to minor ankle surgery last month.

"Part of it can be put down to being a bit rusty and it's the first match of the year," she said. "I think a big part of it is that I haven't done enough."

In the men's draw, fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Australia's Marinko Matosevic 7-5, 6-2; sixth-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen of Finland had a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win over Julien Benneteau of France; and Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open finalist, defeated Australian wildcard entry Ben Mitchell 6-4, 6-4.


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Kuznetsova, McHale ousted in Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to unseeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6 (6), 6-2, 7-5 in swirling wind Monday in the first round of the ASB Tennis Classic.

Kuznetsova, once ranked as high as No. 2, is a two-time Grand Slam winner. She lost to a player whose ranking climbed 120 places to 63 in 2012.

The wind on center court at the Auckland Tennis Center contributed to more than 100 unforced errors. But Bertens kept her composure in recording one of her best victories.

Kuznetsova took an extended break after dropping the second set to receive treatment for a foot injury.

Earlier, Pauline Parmentier of France ousted seventh-seeded Christina McHale of the U.S. 6-4, 6-1.


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Bartoli, Cohen advance at Shenzhen Open

SHENZHEN, China -- Second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France sailed into the second round of the Shenzhen Open on Monday with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Hong Kong's Chan Wing-yau.

Bartoli will next play Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele, who beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-4, 7-5.

Julia Cohen of United States also advanced, recovering to beat 80th-ranked Nina Bratchikova of Russia 0-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.

In other first-round matches, fifth-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic defeated her fellow countrywoman Andrea Hlavackova 6-1, 6-1 while No. 6 Peng Shuai of China beat Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-4, 6-0.

Eighth-seeded Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia also earned a second-round berth with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexandra Cadantu of Romania.


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Haase, Soeda advance at Chennai Open

tennis.com - Haase, Soeda advance at Chennai Open var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "13557489" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=250447308406315";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Tennis.com facebooktwitter Live ScoresTournamentsUS OpenAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledon Schedule On TVBracketsAgassi, McEnroe to Challenge Courier For No. 1 Ranking in Final Two WeeksAgassi claims hometown title in Las Vegas Players & Rankings Players Stats Rankings Money Leaders Features What's Next? 12 for '12 Tennis LifestyleImprove Your GameTraining & WellnessTravel Camps & ClinicsPowerShares SeriesThe Ice Man Coacheth: Ivan Lendl, Teacher of the YearCourt of Appeals: Clean Your Court! News & Analysis Breaking News Celebrities & Gossip Peter Bodo Steve Tignor Racquet Reaction PodcastsTENNIS.comHaase, Soeda advance at Chennai OpenAP PhotoOpening Bells GearClassifieds Travel Deals Asics Product Profile: Asics Court Diva Backpack Avex Product Profile: Avex Autoseal Water Bottle Photos & Video Photo Galleries Photo Wire Video Video: Travelling Series, Part 4: Travelling Drill Community Forums Newsletters Get SocialTwitter Facebook News & AnalysisHaase, Soeda advance at Chennai OpenAPMonday, December 31, 2012 PRINT THIS PAGE

CHENNAI, India -- Sixth-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands and eighth-seeded Go Soeda of Japan reached the second round of the Chennai Open with straight-set victories Monday.

Haase beat local wild card Yuki Bhambri 7-5, 6-3. Soeda, last year's semifinalist, defeated Evegeny Donskoy of Russia 6-1, 6-2.

Eduardo Roger-Vasselin of France downed Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 6-3, 6-4, and Aljaze Bedene of Slovenia knocked out Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-2.

The four qualifiers advancing to the main draw were Rajeev Ram of the U.S., Rubens Bemmelmans of Belgium, Cedrik-Marcel Steebe of Germany and Prakash Amritraj of India.

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Djokovic, Ivanovic team for Hopman Cup victory

PERTH, Australia -- Novak Djokovic shook off jetlag to beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to help Serbia beat Italy 2-1 at the Hopman Cup then avoided injury after the match when a courtside barrier collapsed while signing autographs.

Djokovic was signing autographs when the divider fell. It hit the Serb on his legs as it crashed and several fans went tumbling to the ground. Djokovic briefly squatted in discomfort but later took to the court for the mixed doubles, won by Italy 7-6 (4), 6-4.

"It was a bit of a shock and I'm glad that the children involved are OK. I am fine," said Djokovic, who was more concerned about his condition pre-match because of fatigue from jetlag.

Djokovic arrived in Perth less than 24 hours before he stepped on court, but still had a straight-sets win to add to Ana Ivanovic's 6-0, 6-4 victory over Francesca Schiavone, giving Serbia a win in the group-stage of the mixed teams event.

"I arrived quite late last night and didn't get long hours of sleep and felt this morning like I'm dream-walking," Djokovic said. "But as the match went on I was managing to get my rhythm. I broke the ice after the first set and felt a little bit better."

Djokovic got off to a good starting jumping out 2-0, but he later struggled to hold for 5-2. In the second set a double-fault gave Djokovic a break to lead 3-2, but he again struggled to maintain his lead and had to fight off four break points at 4-3 before completing his victory.

Earlier, Ivanovic faced the challenge of two break points in the opening game and it took her five break points to establish a 2-0 lead, but then she looked aggressive and confident as she swept through the remainder of the first set.

Schiavone took 36 minutes to win her first game and hold for 1-1 in the second set, and the Italian then offered a stronger challenge.

"It's been an amazing start (to the season)," Ivanovic said. "That first game was a bit crucial but I managed to hold after saving a few break points and then I really got into the momentum and didn't do too much wrong in that first set.

"The second set got tougher. She started playing better, Ivanovic added. "I still tried to be aggressive and I'm really happy I managed to win today."

On Tuesday, The American team of John Isner and Venus Williams will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mathilde Johansson of France.


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Sunday, 30 December 2012

Rodriguez and Li to continue partnership

tennis.com - Rodriguez and Li to continue partnership var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "13557489" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=250447308406315";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Tennis.com facebooktwitter Live ScoresTournamentsUS OpenAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledon Schedule On TVBracketsAgassi, McEnroe to Challenge Courier For No. 1 Ranking in Final Two WeeksAgassi claims hometown title in Las Vegas Players & Rankings Players Stats Rankings Money Leaders Features What's Next? 12 for '12 Tennis LifestyleImprove Your GameTraining & WellnessTravel Camps & ClinicsPowerShares SeriesThe Ice Man Coacheth: Ivan Lendl, Teacher of the YearCourt of Appeals: Clean Your Court! News & Analysis Breaking News Celebrities & Gossip Peter Bodo Steve Tignor Racquet Reaction PodcastsTENNIS.comHsieh, Robson prevail in Shenzhen OpenTENNIS.comRodriguez and Li to continue partnership GearClassifieds Travel Deals Asics Product Profile: Asics Court Diva Backpack Avex Product Profile: Avex Autoseal Water Bottle Photos & Video Photo Galleries Photo Wire Video Video: Travelling Series, Part 4: Travelling Drill Community Forums Newsletters Get SocialTwitter Facebook News & AnalysisRodriguez and Li to continue partnershipMatt CroninSunday, December 30, 2012 PRINT THIS PAGE

Coach Carlos Rodriguez tells Titan Sports that he will continue to work with Li Na in 2013. Rodriguez, who once coached seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin, began to work with Li in August.

“We are going to play about 18 tournaments this season and Shenzhen is an ideal event to kick it off,” Rodriguez said.

Under Rodriguez, Li reached the final of Montreal, won Cincinnati, reached the semis at the China Open, and qualified for the year-end WTA Championships. The world No. 7 will begin her 2013 season at the new WTA tournament in Shenzhen.

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Cash wants to help coach Tomic

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash tells the Courier-Mail that he has offered to help coach fellow Aussie Bernard Tomic during the Australian summer. The 19-year-old was plagued by off-court controversies in 2012 and also saw his ranking slip to No. 52.

“The kid needs support and we’re not talking about financial support,” Cash said. “I’ve had a chat with his dad, John, and I’d like to help him and I said I can help him during the Australian summer. His dad wants to take a step back and I think that is crucial for Bernard’s overall well being. I know Bernard’s looking for coaches and he needs someone with his best interests at heart.”

Cash, who once coached Mark Philippoussis, said that Tomic’s attitude in 2012 troubled him.

“He tanked at the French Open and he tanked at the U.S. Open,” Cash said. “He’s way more talented than that. I don’t know why it happened, but it did. … Bernard needs support. He needs another type of father figure. He’s now got to the stage where this is a situation where it’s finely balanced for his career and it’s clear he needs support. He’s a Top 10 player, but at this stage he’ll be very lucky to get to the Top 10 the way he’s going. He needs to decide work harder.”


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Stosur discusses recent ankle surgery

Samantha Stosur says she underwent ankle surgery five weeks ago to repair a bone spur that had been bothering her the last few months of 2012.

“There’s not good time to do it, but obviously it had to be done,” she told the Australian media. “Everything has gone well but I probably haven’t been able to do enough of what I wanted to so we’ll see how it goes. I haven’t done any running yet - it was three weeks until I could hit. I’ve been back on court a week to 10 days now doing pretty much my normal training.”

The world No. 9 added that she was taking painkillers daily for the last two months of the season.

Stosur, who only won one of her four matches during the 2012 Australian summer, doesn’t think the operation will affect her at the 2013 Australian Open.

“I don’t think so,” she said from the Brisbane tournament. “Lots of players go through their injury periods and all that. I’m trying to play and do as best I can. These first couple of weeks are going to be a great test before Melbourne.”


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Hsieh, Robson prevail in Shenzhen Open

tennis.com - Hsieh, Robson prevail in Shenzhen Open var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "13557489" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=250447308406315";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Tennis.com facebooktwitter Live ScoresTournamentsUS OpenAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledon Schedule On TVBracketsAgassi, McEnroe to Challenge Courier For No. 1 Ranking in Final Two WeeksAgassi claims hometown title in Las Vegas Players & Rankings Players Stats Rankings Money Leaders Features What's Next? 12 for '12 Tennis LifestyleImprove Your GameTraining & WellnessTravel Camps & ClinicsPowerShares SeriesThe Ice Man Coacheth: Ivan Lendl, Teacher of the YearCourt of Appeals: Clean Your Court! News & Analysis Breaking News Celebrities & Gossip Peter Bodo Steve Tignor Racquet Reaction PodcastsTENNIS.comHsieh, Robson prevail in Shenzhen OpenTENNIS.comRodriguez and Li to continue partnership GearClassifieds Travel Deals Asics Product Profile: Asics Court Diva Backpack Avex Product Profile: Avex Autoseal Water Bottle Photos & Video Photo Galleries Photo Wire Video Video: Travelling Series, Part 4: Travelling Drill Community Forums Newsletters Get SocialTwitter Facebook News & AnalysisHsieh, Robson prevail in Shenzhen OpenAPSunday, December 30, 2012 PRINT THIS PAGE

SHENZHEN, China -- Fourth-seeded Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and seventh-seeded Laura Robson of Britain won easily Sunday to reach the second round of the Shenzhen Open.

Hsieh beat Melina Czhink of Hungary 6-3, 6-2, breaking her opponent twice in the first set and four times in the second.

Robson defeated Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania 6-2, 6-1 in her first match of the season. The 17-year-old Briton won 80 percent of points on her first serve. Her 107th-ranked opponent double-faulted eight times.

Annika Beck of Germany beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-4, and Monica Niculescu of Romania ousted Chinese wild-card entry Saisai Zheng 6-4, 7-5.

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Four men in Top 20 to play Chennai Open

CHENNAI, India -- Sixth-ranked Czech player Tomas Berdych heads a strong field that includes four top-20 players in the Chennai Open that starts on Monday.

World No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia and former champions Marin Cilic of Croatia (15) and Stanislas Wawrinka (17) of Switzerland are the other big names in the field.

Also in the field are Frenchman Benoit Paire, who showed good form in 2012 and has risen to 47 in the ATP rankings, Dutchman Robin Haase, Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu, and Japan's Go Soeda.

Berdych defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of this year's US Open. He is returning to Chennai after missing the previous year.

Berdych lost to Wawrinka in the semifinals of the 2011 tournament, but is among the favorites because of his liking for hard courts. Among his biggest threats would be Tipsarevic, who lost a marathon final to Milos Raonic last year.

"It's a great event," Tipsarevic said. "You've been seeing a lot of me in the last few years, and every year I am playing better and better as you can see and I really want to win the whole thing this year."

Two-time champion Cilic said the tournament was good preparation for the Australian Open starting Jan. 14.

"I'm delighted to be back in Chennai, especially since I could not participate in last year's event due to an injury. I have chosen to start my five previous seasons here and have had great success as a lead up to the Australian Open," Cilic said.


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Djokovic tops Almagro in three for Abu Dhabi title

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Novak Djokovic retained his title at the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Saturday by rallying past Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4.

The top-ranked Serb swept past David Ferrer in straight sets to reach the final, but he got a tough test from the 11th-ranked Almagro.

Almagro, a late replacement at the tournament for Rafael Nadal, rallied from 3-1 down in the tiebreaker to take the first set.

"It is amazing, him coming here only a few days ago and having a late entrance to the tournament and performing this well yesterday and today," Djokovic said.

Djokovic broke to lead 3-1 in the second set on his way to evening the match. The third set was much tighter, with both players holding serve after eight games until Djokovic went up 5-4 and then broke Almagro to clinch the victory.

Both players had 12 aces, but Almagro was able to convert only one of six break points. He won just 34 percent of points on returns.


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Serena, Lepchenko to meet in first round of Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia -- Serena Williams will face fellow American Varvara Lepchenko in the first round of the Brisbane International and could play local hope Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals.

Saturday's draw pitted Stosur, who said she had left ankle surgery three weeks ago to remove a bone spur, against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson in the opening round.

Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka and second-seeded Maria Sharapova have first-round byes. Eighth-seeded and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has drawn a qualifier.

In the men's draw, Lleyton Hewitt drew inaugural Brisbane champion Radek Stepanek. Top-seeded Andy Murray and second-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada have first-round byes.

The tournament begins Sunday.


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Li defeats Azarenka in Hua Hin exhibition

HUA HIN, Thailand -- Li Na of China won the annual Hua Hin exhibition event on Saturday by beating top-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 after a Champions tiebreaker.

The seventh-ranked Li benefited from a slew of unforced errors by Azarenka in the first set and then broke to lead 2-1 in the second. But the defending champion from Belarus won five straight games to level the match before coming up just short in the decider.

Azarenka was accompanied to Thailand by American rapper Redfoo of LMFAO. She will start her WTA season by playing in the Brisbane International next week. She said "I was surprised by the court. It was my first match, I should have practiced a bit more. But Li Na played so well."

Li will next play in the Shenzhen Open in China.


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Petkovic retires with knee injury in Hopman Cup

PERTH, Australia -- Australia beat Germany 2-0 in the Hopman Cup mixed team competition on Saturday after Andrea Petkovic had to retire from her singles match with a right knee injury.

Bernard Tomic had given Australia a 1-0 lead with by beating Tommy Haas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-5, but Petkovic looked likely to force the series into a decisive mixed doubles when she won the first set 6-4 against 16-year old Ashleigh Barty. However, she called for treatment and was in tears as her right knee was bandaged.

Spain clinched a 2-1 victory over South Africa after winning the mixed doubles 6-4, 6-7 (3), 10-8.

Kevin Anderson had given South Africa the lead by beating Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (5), 6-4, before Annabel Medina Garrigues evened the contest with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Chanelle Scheepers. The Spanish duo then outlasted the South Africans in the Champions tiebreaker of the doubles match.

Earlier, Tomic hit 14 aces to overcome his more experienced opponent. Haas led the first set tiebreaker 6-1 before Tomic swept the next seven points. A forehand error at 4-3 gave Haas the only break of the second set, and the German broke again early in the third. But Tomic leveled at 5-5 and broke again before clinching the win on his third match point.

"It was a very tough first set and my first to play for a few months," Tomic said after claiming his first victory since September. "It was difficult to play Tommy. He played really well at the beginning of the tiebreak and I don't know how I got out of that."

South Africa's Anderson held two set points at 5-4 in his the first set of his singles match but made errors on both before winning the tiebreaker. The South African then broke at 4-4 in the second before serving out the match.

Scheepers maintained the pressure in the second set as Medina Garrigues faced eight break points. However, the Spaniard broke for 3-1, fought off five break points to hold for 5-2 and broke serve again when she converted her second match point.

"I was a little bit lucky," Medina Garrigues said. "The doubles was also tough, one and a half hours, but Fernando was playing good and now we have to recover (to face France) tomorrow."


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Nadal pulls out of Aussie Open with stomach virus

The Australian Open announced that 2009 champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from this year's tournament with a stomach virus.

"I am sorry and very sad to announce that I will not play in the Australian Open," Nadal said in a statement. "My knee is coming along okay, but a stomach virus has left me unable to get ready in time to tackle the rigours of a Grand Slam.

"Because of the virus, I have been unable to get any match practice and simply would not be doing myself or my friends in Australia justice if I went down there so unprepared. You need your body to be at its best for the Australian Open.

"It was a difficult decision and I am extremely disappointed to be missing such a great event. I love coming to Melbourne and playing on Rod Laver Arena before the Australian crowds. It brings out the best in me. It hurts to have to wait another 12 months before I get another chance. In the meantime, the focus is now on desperately trying to get back on the tour."

Nadal previously withdrew from this week's exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi with a stomach virus, and has also pulled out of Doha, where he was scheduled to compete next week.

Doctors have advised that Nadal take a week-long period of rest without training, beginning today. He will then be examined and have an x-ray in four to five days.

“Rafa suffered last week a viral process that provoked a gastroenteritis with high fever for four to five days,” said Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, who heads Nadal’s medical team and is the director of the Mapfre Center for Tennis Medicine. “Starting next week he won’t be in sufficient physical conditions to continue with his rehabilitation process.”

Rafa’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, added that there wouldn't be enough time for Rafael to properly prepare for the Australian Open.

“It is simply not conceivable that his first event is a best of five sets event, he wouldn’t be ready for that,” Toni Nadal said. "It is true we have been quite unlucky with this but there is nothing we can do. After all this time it is better to do things well and the most professional thing to do is to start when we are ready.”

At the Abu Dhabi exhibition, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic told reporters he was surprised at the news, as he and Nadal had been lining up practice sessions.

“Obviously for his situation right now that is quite specific,” said Djokovic. “You can’t compare it to any other player because he’s been off the tour for six months, so I’m sure he lacks matches and confidence and sharpness. I really don’t know what’s happening because no one has seen him six months. I really wish him a fast recovery because he is someone that brings a lot to tennis with his success, his athleticism, his competitiveness, and also he’s a recognized athlete worldwide. It’s not good news definitely.”

Nadal's countryman Nicolas Almagro was also surprised.

“We were talking with him and I talked in the players’ lounge with David [Ferrer] and he told me that Rafa isn’t 100 percent right now,” said Almagro. “He wants to wait a little bit and he doesn’t want to start in Melbourne because it’s five sets and his knees are not ready for that. We are waiting for him and we need to wait until South America. It’s one month and maybe he will be ready.”

In an interview with the London Times last week, Rafael Nadal said that his knee “is still not perfect. The doctors say that the images are very good, so that is a big calm for me, but I still feel something. I need to be careful. I need to be focused on how the knee is getting better or worse every day, and don’t make a mistake that can be negative for my future.

“What will not be important for me is the first point in Abu Dhabi [where he was scheduled to play]. It will be when I feel that my knee is ready. It is not the right time yet to feel these kinds of things. I will have these feelings hopefully at the end of February and the beginning of March—that is when I’m going to be 100 percent fit and when I really start the season and feel ‘Let’s start to win now’.”

Nadal has not played on tour since losing in the second round of Wimbledon to Lukas Rosol. He is targeting the clay-court tournament in Acapulco, in late February, as a return date.


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Ferrer won’t play Davis Cup against Canada

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David Ferrer will not play Spain’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Canada, and Nicolas Almagro also may opt out. Spain, which reached the 2012 final, will face Canada in Vancouver on February 1-3. Rafael Nadal is also doubtful after pulling out of the Australian Open, saying that he aims to return in Acapulco, which begins at the end of February. However, Nadal did add that he may be available for the tournament before then.

“This year I will play in Doha,” Ferrer told Sport 360 at the exhibition in Abu Dhabi. “So Doha, Auckland and Melbourne, because I will not play the first tie of Davis Cup. I can’t play everything and I need to rest after the Australian Open. We have to play best of five sets there and after that I would like to rest.”

Almagro said he was unsure of his availability. “I need to think because I had many problems last year with my shoulder and it was really tough. I had eight infiltrations in my shoulder during the year and I don’t want to play like this again. I want to be ready to fight all the matches, all the weeks. But Davis Cup is special, Davis Cup is another emotions, many great moments and we’ll see.”

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