A PERSON
The main success of Mikhail Youzhny, many still consider victory over the Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the 2002 Davis Cup final. After that match, there was success at the tournament in St. Petersburg in 2004, and a repeat of the triumph in the Davis Cup, but the five-set match in the Parisian “Bercy” is still valued above other victories. Youzhny himself has repeatedly admitted that he puts high on that success, but wants to eclipse it new as quickly as possible. It is possible that the first place in the representative tournament in Rotterdam, where Mikhail defeated the Croatian Ivan Lyubichich in the final - 6: 2, 6: 4, will add strength to the tennis player for new, more high-profile achievements.
MATCH
The confrontation between American Andy Roddick and Briton Andy Murray in the semifinals of the tournament in Memphis was the second in the last two weeks. Earlier in San Jose, Nick Bolletieri Murray's favorite turned out to be stronger, having outplayed his opponent in two sets. The American press wrote that Roddick’s coach, the legendary Jimmy Connors, made Andy a real thrashing after the match for self-restraint and frivolity on the court: “Where were your thoughts during the match, in which of the nightclubs did you leave them ?! Another such match - and our cooperation will end. ”
Roddick took the chance to improve quite quickly. Already the first set, confidently won by the American - 6: 3, showed that his thoughts are where necessary. In the second set, Murray played on the weaknesses of the enemy, forcing him to often go to the net, and led 5: 3. But Roddick nevertheless pushed the game to the back line and brought the set to a tie-break, which developed practically according to the same scenario as the second game. The score was 4: 1 in favor of Murray, but Roddick, remembering in time about his most powerful serve, won six points in a row. After winning the match, Andy caught the eye of Connors sitting on the podium and, smiling broadly, showed him the thumb.
RETURN
Before the fans had time to move away from the enchanting return to the court, the youngest of the Williams sisters - Serena, who, having missed more than six months due to an injury, won the Australian Open, as her older sister Venus also reminded herself. The ex-first racket of the world, which has not been on the court since last October due to an injury, won the tournament in Memphis, defeating the 16th racket of the world in the final against Israeli Shahar Piir - 6: 1, 6: 1. This triumph was for the 26-year-old Venus Williams the first after winning the Wimbledon courts in 2005.
THE WORDS
“After returning to the hotel after playing, I was surprised to find that more than half of my wardrobe was missing in my bag. Several favorite underwear items from Kelvin Klein, as well as sports T-shirts, in which I go to the court. It did not take a long time to search for the suspect, because all the evidence pointed to only one person - myself. The fact is that after the victory, I often throw my clothes into the stands for the fans - in gratitude for the support. And overdone again. From now on, you will have to be more restrained, otherwise there will simply be nothing to play. And already I will have to ask the fans to share their clothes, ”German Tommy Haas spoke about the costs of his own gratitude in his blog.
VIDEO
Andy Roddick has not yet managed to win at least one tournament in the new season. So last week, Andy, speaking in his homeland in Memphis, unexpectedly lost to the German Tommy Haas in the final - 3: 6, 2: 6. And so upset that in less than one minute he broke two rackets. Achievement that even Marat Safin will not be able to surpass soon.
NUMERAL
For 161 weeks Roger Federer remained on the first line of the ATP rating - and broke the record of an American Jimmy Connors 30 years ago. Connors showed off on the top of the rating from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977, and Federer leads since February 2, 2004. Now Roger is on the horizon with a new record - to become the first in the total number of weeks in the first position (Federer indicator - 161 weeks). Here are some of the legends of the past to compete with the Swiss: 1. Pete Sampras (USA) - 286 weeks. 2. Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic) - 270. 3. Jimmy Connors (USA) - 268. 4. John McEnroe (USA) - 170.
Andrey IVANTSOV