Chuck Powell of 98.7 The Peak joins me for the Thursday edition of the “Show To Be Named Later” on Fanster.com. On the discussion docket today:
Game 1 of the World Series, and the Phillies’ convincing 6-1 win over the Yankees.
The Suns season-opening win over the Clippers and the “resurfacing” of disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy.
Andre Agassi giving us a reminder for the way we live our lives…don’t admit to anything!
STBNL Thursday - Cliff Lee is not human
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Last year, in the inaugural Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex, Todd Martin fell to John McEnroe in the final.
And what did that get Martin? Not an invitation to this year’s event in Surprise. “It’s an invitation tour. I didn’t get my invitation until just a couple of weeks ago,” Martin joked. Mats Wilander was originally part of the 8-man draw, but had to pull out because of a scheduling conflict, opening the door for Martin.
Martin made the most of his late invite, beating Andre Agassi 6-3, 7-5 in Sunday’s final, winning $60,000 for his efforts.
Martin relied on a strong serve, uncorking 8 aces in the first set, and held serve at love twice in winning the first 6-3.
The second set was more of the same, with Martin holding serve by closing out the first game with back-to-back aces. Martin then broke Agassi’s serve to go up 2-0, winning the 2nd game with a backhand service return down the line.
Andre Agassi serves to Todd Martin in the 2nd set of the CTCA Tennis Championships in Surprise on Sunday. (Photo: Fanster.com)
Martin’s 2nd set lead grew to 4-1, but Agassi charged back, pulling even at 5-5. Martin then held serve, and broke Agassi’s serve for the 5th time in the match.
The win was the first for Martin on this year’s Outback Champions Series. Agassi was making his first appearance on the tour.
Earlier on Sunday, Aaron Krickstein defeated Wayne Ferreira in the 3rd place match, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. Krickstein, making his first appearance in Surprise, couldn’t have been more impressed. “I’ve been to a lot of Outback Champions Tour events, but this is the best crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Krickstein told an appreciative audience.
Andre Agassi Post-match press conference
Todd Martin Post-match press conference
2009 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships
First Round
Wayne Ferreira def. Mark Philippoussis 6-3, 6-2
Aaron Krickstein def. Jim Courier 7-6, 2-6, 10-5
Todd Martin def. Jimmy Arias 6-1, 6-4
Andre Agassi def. Mikael Pernfors 6-2, 7-5
Semifinals
Andre Agassi def. Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-3
Todd Martin def. Aaron Krickstein 7-6, 6-3
Third Place
Aaron Krickstein def. Wayne Ferreira 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Championship
Todd Martin def. Andre Agassi 6-3, 7-5
The 2nd Annual Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships got underway with two matches Thursday night at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.
In the first match, South African Wayne Ferreira defeated Mark Philippoussis 6-3, 6-2. The first set remained on serve until Philippoussis double faulted on game point, allowing Ferreira to go up 5-3. Then, serving for the set, Ferreira fell behind 0-40, before rallying to hold serve and win a game that went to deuce 4 times.
Wayne Ferreira prepares for a serve from Mark Philippoussis in first round action at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships Thursday in Surprise. (Photo: Fanster.com)
Ferreira then broke Philippoussis’ serve twice in the 2nd to claim a relatively easy victory.
The shocker of the night came in the second match when Aaron Krickstein, who was playing only his second match of the season on the Outback Champions Series, stunned top-ranked Jim Courier 7-6, 2-6, 10-5 (champions tie-breaker) to move on to the second round.
Ferreira will play the winner of the Andre Agassi-Mikael Pernfors match, while Krickstein will take on the winner of the Todd Martin-Jimmy Arias match. The semifinals are set for Saturday in the $150,000 event in Surprise.
It seems like just yesterday, Andre Agassi was waving to the crowd for the final time at the National Tennis Center in New York after being ousted in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open by Germany’s Benjamin Becker.
It’s hard to believe that it was actually three years ago.
With a sterling career on the ATP Tour behind him, the 8-time Grand Slam winner is opening up a new chapter in his tennis career.
Agassi is headlining an 8-man field at the 2nd Annual Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. The single-elimination tournament will run October 8th through October 11th. It will be Agassi’s first appearance on the Outback Champions Tour.
According to Mark Coronado, the Director of Community and Recreation Services for the City of Surprise, ticket sales are well ahead of last year’s schedule.
Tournament director John Austin unveils the draw for the 2nd Annual CTCA Tennis Championships at Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. (Photo: Doug Tolf/City of Surprise)
“Well, if ticket sales are going well, don’t tell anyone that I don’t know how to play tennis anymore,” Agassi quipped during a conference call in Surprise on Tuesday.
No, he hasn’t played on the ATP Tour in three years, but Agassi has stayed close to the sport, and actually played in a couple of matches for the Philadelphia Freedoms in World TeamTennis over the summer.
Agassi will play against Mikael Pernfors of Sweden on Friday, October 9th, in the 2nd match of Session 2, which begins at 7:00 p.m.
Here’s the entire field for the 2nd Annual CTCA Tennis Championships in Surprise…
Andre Agassi is the only player in the world to have achieved the Golden Slam, which is winning singles titles in all four Grand Slam events, plus an Olympic Singles Gold Medal.
Jim Courier is currently the top-ranked player on the Outback Champions Series and has four Grand Slam titles to his credit.
Wayne Ferreira has 26 career titles on the ATP Tour and holds the men’s record for most consecutive Grand Slam appearances.
Todd Martin has 13 career titles on his resume, and was the runner-up in last year’s CTCA Tennis Championships in Surprise.
Mark Philippoussis, the Australian has 8 career ATP Tour titles, and played in the final at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Jimmy Arias reached a number 5 world ranking, and has 5 ATP Tour wins to his credit, and won the French Open mixed doubles championship while playing with Andrea Jaeger in 1982.
Aaron Krickstein has 9 career titles to his credit, and advanced to the semifinals of both the Australian Open and the U.S. Open during his playing career.
Mikael Pernfors has 3 career titles, and played in the Men’s Final at the 1986 French Open.
Tournament Schedule
Session 1 - Thursday, October 8 - 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinal Match A: Mark Philippoussis vs. Wayne Ferreira
Quarterfinal Match B: Jim Courier vs. Aaron Krickstein
Session 2 - Friday, October 9 - 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinal Match C: Todd Martin vs. Jimmy Arias
Quarterfinal Match D: Andre Agassi vs. Mikael Pernfors
Session 3 - Saturday, October 10 - 12:00 p.m.
Men’s Doubles (featuring losers of quarterfinal matches)
Semifinal Match A: Winner of Agassi/Pernfors vs. Winner of Philippoussis/Ferreira
Session 4 - Saturday, October 10 - 5:00 p.m.
Men’s Doubles
Semifinal Match B: Winner of Martin/Arias vs. Winner of Courier/Krickstein
Session 5 - Sunday, October 11 - 12:00 p.m.
3rd Place Match
Championship Match : Winner of Semifinal Match A vs. Winner of Semifinal Match B
Tickets are on sale now at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex located at 14469 W. Paradise Lane in Surprise. Tickets may also be purchased online through Ticketmaster, or over the phone through Ticketmaster at (800)745-3000. For questions or more information on the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships, please call (623)222-2222 or visit the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex website.
Tempe, Arizona has been named as one of ten finalists for the title of “Best Tennis Town” by the United States Tennis Association.
Voting is now open on Besttennistown.com, and closes on July 26th. The top three vote-getters will be revealed on July 27th, and the Grand Prize winner will be announced at the 2009 U.S. Open in New York in September.
The winning city will receive the title of 2009 Best Tennis Town and a trophy and $100,000 to be used for community wide programming and facility enhancements.
Top Ten Finalists for USTA Best Tennis Town 2009
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Cary, North Carolina
Las Vegas, Nevada
Independence, Kansas,
Ojai, California
Hickory, North Carolina
Grand Junction, Colorado,
Midland, Michigan
Springfield, Missouri Tempe, Arizona
Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi has joined the Outback Champions Series, and is slated to play in the 2nd annual Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships held at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. The tournament will be held October 8th through 11th.
Agassi hasn’t played competitive tennis since the 2006 U.S. Open.
John McEnroe defeated Todd Martin 3-6, 7-6, 10-9 in blustery conditions in the final at the first CTCA Tennis Championships in Surprise last November.
Agassi joins McEnroe, Martin, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and fellow tour newcomer Patrick Rafter on the Outback Champions Series, which has 8 events on their 2009 schedule. Agassi is the first player to commit to playing in Surprise.
Qualifier Julia Vakulenko (UKR) was forced to retire in the third set handing top seed Yanina Wickmayer a 6-7(0), 6-3, 4-3 victory at the Sanderson Volvo Future Stars Women’s 25K at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
Once the announcement from the chair umpire was made that the 25-year old, 6′ Ukranian would be unable to continue, a hush fell over the crowd. The tennis fans in attendance were deprived of an exciting finish to a great match.
Wickmayer started strong jumping out to a 5-2 first set lead. At this point things started to change in the match. Vakulenko had called for the trainer and was granted a medical timeout. It appeared she was suffering from a cramp or spasms in the thigh area. Vakulenko rallied to win the next three games to tie the set at 5-5. The set would go to a tiebreak which Vakulenko dominated 7-0.
The second set started with the top seed Wickmayer come out attacking and gain a 3-0 lead. Once again, Vakulenko was granted a medical timeout. I could see the trainer cutting the tape from Julia’s left foot. Not sure if blisters were the problem. Her foot got taped back up and play would continue.
A second medical timeout in the match wouldn’t deter the 6′, 19-year old Belgian this time. She would go on to win the second set 6-3. Wickmayer had two strong service games to take 4-2 and 5-3 leads in the set. Two double faults from Vakulenko in the ninth game contributed to her downfall in the middle set.
Anticipation for a third and deciding set thrilled the enthusiastic gathering in Surprise. Wickmayer held serve go up 1-0 the lost the next two game trailing 1-2. Vakulenko would break in the third game with a beautiful backhand lob over her opponent. Wickmeyer would regain the lead 3-2 then 4-3. At this point, Vakulenko retired giving Wickmayer the championship.
At the conclusion, there was no smile on the face of Yanina Wickmayer. She knew she was in a battle and was fortunate to come out the winner.
After 2 1/2 hours of spirited tennis, both were deserving of the championship but only one could win.
Analysis
Julia Vakulenko (right-handed) is best when attacking the baseline and moving forward. She had 24 winners with a mixture of both forehand and backhand.
Vakulenko achieved her career high ranking of No. 31 on January 14, 2008. No reason Julia can’t retain that same ranking when healthy. Her victory at Rancho Mirage, CA two weeks ago along with Sunday’s final gives Julia a strong start to 2009.
Yanina Wickmayer also has a bright future. I believe for her to compete with the top WTA players, she’ll need to improve her service game. One ace and six double faults in the match says it all. Even with well-placed serves, she had to work too hard to win points. Getting that first serve in is very important to Wickmayer’s game. I feel a little more upper body strength will benefit Wickmayer in years to come.
Doubles Final
All I have to say is WOW! The second seeded team of Jorgelina Cravero (ARG) and Ekaterina Ivanova ( RUS) put on a doubles clinic and DESTROYED tournament winner Wickmayer and Ahsha Rolle (USA) 6-1,6-1. The Cravero/Ivanova duo was a fine-tuned machine, while Rolle/Wickmayer struggled and never had a chance.
Final Note
In an email, I asked Tournament Director John Austin his thoughts on the tournament and its future:
” I think the tournament has been great. The level of play has been extremely high and all the fans that have come out have been impressed and enjoyed watching. The pro circuit is for up and coming players or players that have been highly ranked and getting back into after injury.” Austin also says, ” For next year we will need to find new sponsors to keep us going. It is my hope that this becomes a community event that the locals ‘wrap’ their arms around and support. I am hopeful to keep this an on going tournament for years to come.”
Not long after Team USA defeated Argentina 3-2 in the opening round of the 2009 Fed Cup; Valley tennis fans are blessed with a USTA/ITF Pro Circuit Women’s event at the beautiful Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
The Sanderson Volvo Future Stars Women’s 25K features some of the best up and coming talent hoping someday to reach permanent status on the WTA tour. One of those players, top seeded Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) advanced to the singles Quarterfinal with a convincing 6-4 6-2 victory over Heidi El Tabakh (CAN).
It was a joy watching Yanina play on Stadium Court. She doesn’t hold back her feelings when committing unforced errors and giving the chair umpire a few ‘kind words’ of advice.
The right handed hitting 19-year old Wickmayer turned pro in 2004. Her achievements include 8 ITF singles and 7 ITF doubles titles.
Born in Lier, Belgium, the 6′ Wickmayer looks to get her 2009 season on track. She was handed 1st round defeats in January at Brisbane, Hobart (Australia) and the Australian Open. Wickmayer also suffered losses in Fed Cup play to Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantukova of Slovakia. Her WTA ranking is 74 and a singles title in Surprise this weekend would only help obtain a first time top 50.
According to her WTA profile, Yanina Wickmayer’s most admired person is fellow Belgium Kim Clijsters. Not a bad person in women’s tennis to look up to.
Besides her singles win Thursday, Wickmayer teamed with Ahsha Rolle (USA) later in the afternoon defeating El Tabakh and Michelle Gerards 7-5 7-6(3). Wickmayer and Rolle will play on Friday in the doubles Semi-final.
For information on the remaining pairings and weekend schedule, please go to www.usta.com/protennis/ustaprocircuit.aspx.
Admission at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex for all the weekend matches is $6. For directions go to: www.surpriseaz.com/tennis.
NOTES:
Three Qualifiers still remain heading into the Quarterfinals on Friday:
Olga Boulytheva (RUS)…Julia Glushko (ISR)…Julia Vakulenko (UKR)
I watched Vakulenko defeat 5th seed Madison Brengle (USA) 6-3 6-2. She played a solid match against the baseliner Brengle with an upset this weekend not out of the question.
No American players made it past the second round in singles this year.
Sitting in the stands on Sunday at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex was quite an experience. The wind was howling in a SE direction while the threat of rain hovered above. Fans were bundled up as if they were at a football game in Green Bay during December. Still, this wouldn’t prevent this crowd of tennis enthusiasts from expressing their emotions with chants of “USA,USA!” throughout the day.
This was my first tournament at the Surprise facility. Having attended tournaments in prior years at the Princess Resort in Scottsdale, I felt Surprise was more intimate for the fans. The scoreboards were easily visible though no MPH data was posted to my knowledge. Every seat had a superb view of the court. The facility in general is tremendous and I strongly recommend any tennis player or fan to attend. The website for more information is: www.surpriseaz.com/tennis.
Although the American team of Liezel Huber and Julie Ditty clinched the Fed Cup against Gisela Dulko and Betina Jozami of Argentina, the star of the day was first time Team USA Fed Cup participant Melanie Oudin. This 17 year old from Marietta, Georgia showed me a lot on the court. Her team was trailing Argentina 2-1 and a loss would mean elimination for the Americans.
Oudin lost the first first set to the tall, lanky Jozami from Argentina 6-2. Jozami had used a mixture of drop shots and volleys to keep Oudin off balance. At this point, Team USA hadn’t won a set or broken serve versus Argentina. Once the second set started, I started to notice a change with Melanie Oudin. She started to attack the baseline forcing her opponent into more unforced errors. Melanie won the first game then broke Jozami in the second with chants of “BREAK,BREAK!” filling the stadium. Her bulldog mentality was evident with many fist pumps. There was a sense of momentum that had shifted to the USA, and Oudin went on to win the 2nd set 6-1 and the deciding 3rd set 6-2.
Team USA Captain Mary Jo Fernandez described Oudin’s victory best (as reported by Doug Baun of AP), “She really dug deep,” Fernandez said. For someone so young playing in their first Fed Cup when it’s all on the line- she had to win to stay in it- she really came through.”
The doubles victory wouldn’t have mattered if not for a young, determined girl who stepped up and for one day became an American tennis hero.
NOTES:
The Sanderson Volvo Future Stars Women’s $25,000 Tournament presented by the city of Surprise Community and Recreation Services Department will be held at the Surprise Tennis & Raquet Complex Feb. 15-22. For more information please go to www.surpriseaz.com/tennis.
Bethanie Mattek, ranked 40th in the WTA singles rankings, and a Phoenix resident, will not be on the court this weekend in United States quarterfinal Fed Cup matchup at the Suprise Tennis and Racquet Complex against Argentina.
Mattek is still suffering from a hip injury, which also kept her out of the Australian Open.
Mattek will be replaced by 30-year old Julie Ditty. Ditty hails from Ashland, Kentucky, and is currently ranked 105th in the world in singles.
The Fed Cup in Surprise gets underway on Saturday, and will conclude on Sunday. The winner of the U.S.-Argentina matchup will advance to play April 25th against the winner of the Czech Republic-Spain tie.
Your Views...Blog 'em
Got a Photo...Share it
Record it? Upload Video
Daily Email
Subscribe
.jpg "tennis (1).jpg")
.jpg "tennis (2).jpg")
Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi has joined the Outback Champions Series, and is slated to play in the 2nd annual Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships held at the 
Photo: Getty Images
RSS Feeds
