Despite new rules, Williams says she won’t return to Indian Wells
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -Serena Williams says her boycott of the Indian Wells tournament will continue, despite new WTA Tour rules making participation mandatory.
Williams and her sister Venus last played in the California tournament in 2001, when the family was booed after Venus withdrew just before a semifinal match against Serena. Their father, Richard, said the jeers were racially motivated.
``I can guarantee you the chances of getting me to Indian Wells are slim to none, unless - I'm not going to go back. I have no interest in going. It's just how I feel. And I think anyone that went through what I went through would feel a similar position,'' Serena Williams said Wednesday after winning her quarterfinal match at the Sony Ericsson Open.
The new WTA Tour rules were announced Tuesday and take effect in 2009. They require players to participate in four events - Indian Wells, Key Biscayne and new tournaments in Madrid and Beijing. Top-10 players who miss mandatory tournaments will be subject to suspensions and larger fines than in the past.
When the new rules were announced by Larry Scott, chief executive officer of the WTA Tour, he said there would be no exceptions.
``This is a system that's designed for the future and hopefully long into the future, and it won't be designed around any individual player,'' Scott said.
``I'm very sensitive to some of the concerns that Venus and Serena have had with Indian Wells. I've discussed this with both of them, and I think they understand that we can't design a system around individual issues that players have.''
Serena Williams said she needed to ``have a sit-down and powwow with Larry Scott, because we haven't had a chance to talk about it.''
Injury ends Roddick’s title bid at Key Biscayne
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -As the shot sailed past Andy Roddick, he grimaced in pain and didn't even try for the ball. Instead, he limped toward Andy Murray at the net and extended his hand.
Eight games into their match Wednesday, Roddick had decided it was time to quit.
He retired with a strained left hamstring, allowing Murray to advance to the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Three-time champion Serena Williams also reached the semifinals, beating No. 8-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4.
Williams will play for the fourth day in a row Thursday night when she faces No. 14 Shahar Peer. A 19-year-old corporal in the Israeli Army, Peer nearly upset Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, losing the third set 8-6.
Roddick failed to make it through his first set. He said the injury occurred while lunging for a shot in the fifth game, and he called it quits trailing 5-3.
``I just kind of jarred something at first,'' he said. ``More and more it started becoming like a sharp pain, and then I started feeling it even when I was just kind of cruising around the court, not even in points. It was steadily getting worse, which isn't a good sign.''
An MRI exam revealed a grade-one strain - the least severe kind, with grade three the worst. Still, the injury leaves in doubt Roddick's availability for the U.S. Davis Cup team's match April 6-8 against Spain.
``It's a hamstring - it could take three days, or three weeks,'' U.S. captain Pat McEnroe said. ``We're going to do everything we can to get him ready. There's no tear, that's the main thing.''
Roddick said he thought of Davis Cup the moment he hurt himself.
``It's disappointing,'' he said. ``Right now I just want to focus on getting better.''
Roddick failed to react to several of Murray's shots, took a medical timeout at 4-3 and left the court for a hamstring massage.
``It's hard to concentrate, because you don't know how bad the injury is,'' Murray said. ``You just have to try to get the ball back and make them play.''
Roddick returned to play six more points but appeared hobbled. On the final rally, he hit a half-volley at the net. When Murray pulled a backhand crosscourt for a winner, Roddick didn't move - or even look at the ball.
He then conceded with a handshake.
``Anybody would rather get off the court quicker than longer,'' Murray said. ``But I wish it was in normal circumstances.''
Roddick's chances of winning his second Key Biscayne title seemed good when chief nemesis Roger Federer lost Tuesday to Guillermo Canas. Instead, Roddick retired from the tournament for the second time in three years.
A wrist injury forced him to quit in his opening match in 2005.
Murray became the first Brit to reach the Key Biscayne semifinals since Tim Henman in 1998. The Scotsman is ranked a career-high 12th and leads the men's tour this year with 23 wins - two against Roddick - in 27 matches.
Murray's opponent Friday will be the winner of the match Wednesday night between second-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 10 Novak Djokovic.
One day after routing Maria Sharapova, Williams won her first set in 25 minutes but struggled through much of the second. She trailed Vaidisova 3-4, love-40, then won 13 of the final 14 points, including aces on the final two points.
``I just went erratic,'' Williams said. ``I started missing shots and made a lot of unforced errors. My ball started flying. There are no excuses. I just starting playing crazy.''
The victory means Williams will climb into the top 15 in next week's rankings. She started the year 95th.
Peer advanced to the semifinals by winning the first nine games and beating No. 24 Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-3.
Peer is 0-2 against Williams, but was two points from victory when they met in Melbourne.
``What a match I had down there with her,'' Williams said. ``She has made a lot of great progress.''
The other women's semifinal Thursday will be between top-ranked Justine Henin and Anna Chakvetadze. With second-ranked Sharapova's loss Tuesday, Henin is assured of remaining No. 1 next week.
Eight games into their match Wednesday, Roddick had decided it was time to quit.He retired with a strained left hamstring, allowing Murray to advance to the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Three-time champion Serena Williams also reached the semifinals, beating No. 8-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4.
Williams will play for the fourth day in a row Thursday night when she faces No. 14 Shahar Peer. A 19-year-old corporal in the Israeli Army, Peer nearly upset Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, losing the third set 8-6.
Roddick failed to make it through his first set. He said the injury occurred while lunging for a shot in the fifth game, and he called it quits trailing 5-3.
``I just kind of jarred something at first,'' he said. ``More and more it started becoming like a sharp pain, and then I started feeling it even when I was just kind of cruising around the court, not even in points. It was steadily getting worse, which isn't a good sign.''
An MRI exam revealed a grade-one strain - the least severe kind, with grade three the worst. Still, the injury leaves in doubt Roddick's availability for the U.S. Davis Cup team's match April 6-8 against Spain.
``It's a hamstring - it could take three days, or three weeks,'' U.S. captain Pat McEnroe said. ``We're going to do everything we can to get him ready. There's no tear, that's the main thing.''
Roddick said he thought of Davis Cup the moment he hurt himself.
``It's disappointing,'' he said. ``Right now I just want to focus on getting better.''
Roddick failed to react to several of Murray's shots, took a medical timeout at 4-3 and left the court for a hamstring massage.
``It's hard to concentrate, because you don't know how bad the injury is,'' Murray said. ``You just have to try to get the ball back and make them play.''
Roddick returned to play six more points but appeared hobbled. On the final rally, he hit a half-volley at the net. When Murray pulled a backhand crosscourt for a winner, Roddick didn't move - or even look at the ball.
He then conceded with a handshake.
``Anybody would rather get off the court quicker than longer,'' Murray said. ``But I wish it was in normal circumstances.''
Roddick's chances of winning his second Key Biscayne title seemed good when chief nemesis Roger Federer lost Tuesday to Guillermo Canas. Instead, Roddick retired from the tournament for the second time in three years.
A wrist injury forced him to quit in his opening match in 2005.
Murray became the first Brit to reach the Key Biscayne semifinals since Tim Henman in 1998. The Scotsman is ranked a career-high 12th and leads the men's tour this year with 23 wins - two against Roddick - in 27 matches.
Murray's opponent Friday will be the winner of the match Wednesday night between second-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 10 Novak Djokovic.
One day after routing Maria Sharapova, Williams won her first set in 25 minutes but struggled through much of the second. She trailed Vaidisova 3-4, love-40, then won 13 of the final 14 points, including aces on the final two points.
``I just went erratic,'' Williams said. ``I started missing shots and made a lot of unforced errors. My ball started flying. There are no excuses. I just starting playing crazy.''
The victory means Williams will climb into the top 15 in next week's rankings. She started the year 95th.
Peer advanced to the semifinals by winning the first nine games and beating No. 24 Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-3.
Peer is 0-2 against Williams, but was two points from victory when they met in Melbourne.
``What a match I had down there with her,'' Williams said. ``She has made a lot of great progress.''
The other women's semifinal Thursday will be between top-ranked Justine Henin and Anna Chakvetadze. With second-ranked Sharapova's loss Tuesday, Henin is assured of remaining No. 1 next week.
Murray advances when Roddick retires at Key Biscayne
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -Andy Roddick retired with a strained left hamstring in the first set Wednesday, allowing Andy Murray to advance to the semifinals of the Ericsson Open.
Roddick said the injury occurred in the fifth game lunging at a shot. He called it quits trailing 5-3.
``I just kind of jarred something at first,'' he said. ``More and more it started becoming like a sharp pain, and then I started feeling it even when I was just kind of cruising around the court, not even in points. It was steadily getting worse, which isn't a good sign.''
An MRI exam was scheduled. The injury leaves in doubt Roddick's availability for the U.S. Davis Cup team's match against Spain on April 6-8. Roddick said he thought of Davis Cup the moment he hurt himself. ``It's disappointing,'' he said. ``Right now I just want to focus on getting better.'' Roddick failed to react to several of Murray's shots, took a medical timeout at 4-3 and left the court. ``It's hard to concentrate, because you don't know how bad the injury is,'' Murray said. ``You just have to try to get the ball back and make them play.'' Roddick returned to play six more points but appeared hobbled. On the final rally, he hit a half-volley at the net, and when Murray pulled a backhand crosscourt for a winner, Roddick didn't try for the ball. Roddick then conceded by shaking hands with Murray. ``Anybody would rather get off the court quicker than longer,'' Murray said. ``But I wish it was in normal circumstances.'' Roddick retired with a wrist injury in his opening match at the 2005 tournament. He won the title in 2004. Murray became the first Brit to reach the Key Biscayne semifinals since Tim Henman in 1998. The Scotsman is ranked a career-high 12th and leads the men's tour with 23 wins - two against Roddick - in 27 matches.
Murray's opponent Friday will be the winner of the match Wednesday night between second-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 10 Novak Djokovic. No. 14 Shahar Peer advanced to the women's semifinals, winning the first nine games and beating No. 24 Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-3. Peer's opponent Thursday will be the winner of the match Wednesday night between three-time champion Serena Williams and No. 8-seeded Nicole Vaidisova. Peer nearly pulled off an upset against Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, losing the third set 8-6.
Peer, a 19-year-old corporal in the Israeli Army, has a 20-6 record this year and is ranked 16th. She won 31 of 55 points on Garbin's serve and broke five times. The other women's semifinal Thursday will be between top-ranked Justine Henin and Anna Chakvetadze. With second-ranked Maria Sharapova's loss Wednesday to Williams, Henin is assured of remaining No. 1 next week.
Top-seeded Federer, Sharapova beaten at Key Biscayne
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -Rematches became repeats Tuesday for Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova.
Both lost. Guillermo Canas upset the top-ranked Federer for the second time this month, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a fourth-round epic at the Sony Ericsson Open. Serena Williams beat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1, in a rout reminiscent of their Australian Open final two months ago. With that, Key Biscayne's two No. 1-seeded players were eliminated.
Two weeks ago, Canas ended Federer's 41-match winning streak at Indian Wells. The Argentine showed the victory was no fluke, extending points by repeatedly chasing down shots and forcing a frustrated Federer into 51 unforced errors.
The upset ended Federer's bid for a third successive Key Biscayne title, while Canas improved to 3-0 this year against top-10 players. He was ranked as high as No. 8 before serving a 15-month doping suspension, and he had to qualify for the Key Biscayne draw.Williams, who defeated Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open final, this time won even more easily. She bristled when asked if she expected such an easy rematch. ``Haven't you learned that I expect the best of myself?'' she said. ``If I'm playing well, then anything can happen. I believe there could be a similar score if I'm playing well.''
Ranked No. 1 in 2002-03, Williams has played only six tournaments in the past 18 months and has slipped to 18th. But when she hit a forehand winner on match point, she raised her index finger and shouted ``No. 1'' to the cheering crowd.
After shaking hands with Sharapova, a jubilant Williams raised her finger again.``Every time I do that I win, so I'm a little superstitious,'' she said. ``I'm working toward getting to be the best. It's an uphill battle.'' Seeking her fourth Key Biscayne title, No. 13-seeded Williams will play No. 8 Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Sharapova, who lost the No. 1 ranking last week to Justine Henin, has yet to win a tournament this year. Her biggest problem is Williams, who has won 24 of the 29 sets they've played in 2006.
``Once she gets up in the set or in the match, she seems to steamroll,'' Sharapova said.While Sharapova and Federer lost, Andy Roddick won his rematch against David Ferrer. The Spaniard was an upset winner when they played at Key Biscayne a year ago, but this time the third-seeded Roddick won 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. No. 12 Andy Murray overcame two match points to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze became the first women's semifinalist by beating No. 15 Li Na 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Sharapova beat Venus Williams in the third round Sunday but lasted only 58 minutes against the younger sister. As was the case in Melbourne, the tall Russian struggled with her serve, once a strength. Hitting aggressively, she double-faulted eight times and won only four of 16 points on her second serve. ``When you feel that you need to hold serve against someone like her, and someone that's serving so well, I think that puts a little bit of extra pressure on your serve,'' Sharapova said. Playing like the Slammin' Serena of old, Williams went for a winner on most of her shots, yet still committed only 15 unforced errors. She won the final five games of the first set and the last six games of the match.
Even after dominating the opening set, she signaled for her father and coach, Richard, to come onto the court for a consultation. His advice: Approach the second set as if it were practice, to make the most of the court time.
``I told her, `You don't want to get into a hitting battle with Sharapova, because it would be uneven for Sharapova, because Sharapova only has one good side and that's her backhand,''' Richard Williams said. ``'You don't want to get into that for the simple reason you would win. So try to hit some balls to her strong side, to her backhand, and that would help you with your match for tomorrow.''' The strategy failed, and Sharapova seemed increasingly frustrated. When she double-faulted on consecutive points, she waved her arms, shook her head and looked at her father in the stands for help. The match became only more lopsided, with Williams winning 22 of the final 28 points.
There was no repeat of the heckling Williams endured from a fan during her match Monday, including a racist remark. The fan was ejected and banned from the site for the rest of the tournament, and Williams said she had no concerns about security. ``I have an orange belt in taekwondo, just in case,'' she said with a laugh
Nadal says his sore foot needs rest
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -Rafael Nadal said he's skipping Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinal match against the United States next month because he needs to rest his injured foot. Nadal said his foot has been bothering him for the past month. Despite the injury, Nadal planned to play in the quarterfinals Wednesday night at Key Biscayne against Novak Djokovic.
``Although I've been playing very well, I'm playing with some pain in my foot,'' Nadal said. ``I am trying to finish this tournament in Miami and go back to Spain and have some rest for my foot. I have to rest right now because I feel pain.'' The absence of the second-ranked Nadal will make the U.S. team a strong favorite for the match April 6-8 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
``I'm very disappointed about not being able to play Davis Cup,'' Nadal said. ``This time is the first time when I can't go to Davis Cup, so I will support my team from Mallorca.
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