TENNIS in DEPTH.

Reigning champion Marin Cilic of Croatia retained the ATP Chennai Open title with his first-ever win over Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on Sunday.

Cilic, who had lost all four previous meetings against Wawrinka, finally broke the jinx to carve out a hard-fought 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3) win in a final that lasted two hours and 40 minutes.

The second-seeded Cilic became the first player after Spanish veteran Carlos Moya’s victories in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back crowns in South Asia’s only ATP event.

The world number 14 earned 68,450 dollars and 250 ranking points for his morale-boosting effort ahead of the season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 18.

The 21st-ranked Wawrinka, seeded third here behind Roger Soderling and Cilic, picked up 35,980 dollars and 150 ranking points.

Cilic dropped just one set in five matches in the 400,000-dollar event at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium to clinch his fourth career title in six ATP finals.

Wawrinka secured the first break of the match in the eight game, but Cilic broke back immediately in the ninth to force the set into the tie-breaker, which the Croatian won easily.

The Swiss star, who called for the trainer in the first set for a neck strain, lost his serve in the second game of the second set, but broke back in the third to draw level.

Cilic wasted two break points for a 5-3 lead as Wawrinka fought back to take the match into a second tie-breaker, which the tall Croatian dominated once again.

Related Posts:

• Swiss pair move on to the QF.
• …and now Cilic is out of Dubai….
• Cilic captures his 2nd. title of 2010.

Bookmark It

Stanislas Wawrinka, was given a stern test by a rejuvenated Ivan Ljubicic before eventually prevailing 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-4. Ljubicic is back in the world’s top 25 after winning in Lyon last week but, having battled for more than two hours, came up just short against the sixth seed.

Roger Federer eased into the quarter-finals of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his home town of Basle on Wednesday evening.

The world number one, who has won the title for the last three years, defeated Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-3 to extend his winning streak at the tournament to 17 matches.

Marin Cilic, the runner-up in Vienna last week, maintained his late challenge for a place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London later this month by reaching the second round.

The Croatian fourth seed defeated Philipp Petzschner 6-4 6-4 but seventh seed James Blake was ousted 7-6 (7/4) 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 by France’s Jeremy Chardy.

Fifth seed Radek Stepanek was involved in the day’s longest match, the Czech needing two hours and 20 minutes to see off Florent Serra 3-6 7-6 (7/1) 7-6 (7/1).

Horacio Zeballos reached his first main tour final at the St Petersburg Open last weekend but there will be no repeat this week after he was beaten 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 by Richard Gasquet.

Related Posts:

• Cilic retains his Chennai Open title.
• Federer might play against Italy in the Davis Cup.
• Stop whining and play tennis…..

Bookmark It

Gael Monfils of France and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland joined the long list of injury withdrawals from the Shanghai Masters, pulling out of their matches Thursday.

Monfils, seeded 11th, withdrew with a back injury while trailing unseeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 3-0.

Wawrinka was treated on court for stomach pain and trailed 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-2 against Czech Radek Stepanek when he retired.

Five other players have retired from matches with assorted injuries at Shanghai this week: reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, Jose Acasuso and Mischa Zverev.

Sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who himself withdrew from two tournaments earlier in the year with a heel injury, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez on Thursday.

Davydenko, who pressured the Chilean with his return game, has won 12 of the 13 sets he’s played against Gonzalez in their six career meetings.

Davydenko will play Stepanek in the quarterfinals, while Ljubicic will face either top-seeded Rafael Nadal or Tommy Robredo in the last eight.

Related Posts:

• Last eight taking shape in Rotterdam.
• Both top seeds lose in SA.
• Monfils out of Medibank, doubtful for Aussie Open.

Bookmark It

Swiss No.2 Stanislas Wawrinka has announced that he will become a father early next year. Trying to keep up with his famous Swiss doubles partner and joint holder of the Olympic Gold medal, Wawrinka says it’s too early to know if it will be a multiple birth.

The world No.22 and girlfriend Ilham Vuilloud are expecting a child next February, the star confirmed on his persional website, www.stanwawrinka.com.

Wawrinka, 24, is ten years younger than Vuilloud, a TV presenter in their native Switzerland and a former model.

The couple have been together for four years and live in the village of Saint Barthélemy, ten miles from Lausanne.

Wawrinka shot to fame in the UK in June when he pushed Andy Murray to five sets in an epic fourth-round contest under Wimbledon’s new Centre Court roof.

Related Posts:

• Cilic retains his Chennai Open title.
• Swiss pair move on to the QF.
• HELP!!…..injuries are reaching epidemic proportions!

Bookmark It

Top seed and home favourite Stanislas Wawrinka suffered a shock straight sets defeat to Brazilian qualifier Thomaz Bellucci in the second round of the Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad.

World number 119 Bellucci took just 75 minutes to polish off Wawrinka, ranked 24th, and claim a quarter-final tie against German veteran Nicolas Kiefer, who beat Spain’s Ivan Navarro 6-3 6-7 (3) 6-2.

On a fine day for Brazil, Bellucci’s compatriot Marcos Daniel also advanced to the last eight with a 6-3 7-6 (8) win over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

Daniel will next play Frenchman Florent Serra, who took the first set over fourth seed Victor Hanescu before the Romanian retired from the tie due to an upset stomach

Related Posts:

• Cilic retains his Chennai Open title.
• Swiss pair move on to the QF.
• HELP!!…..injuries are reaching epidemic proportions!

Bookmark It

Roger Federer reportedly wants to play in Switzerland’s Davis Cup playoff against Italy in September.

Severin Luethi, part of Federer’s coaching team, said the top-ranked player told him in May and again at Wimbledon that he intended to play in Italy.

“Nothing is definite yet, but there’s a good chance that our best players will be there,” said Luethi in Wednesday’s edition of Lausanne-based daily Le Matin. “I have to talk with him at the end of the week.”

In March, Federer sat out Switzerland’s 4-1 loss to the United States in the first round of the World Group because of a back injury.

The Swiss face Italy in a playoff at Genoa on Sept. 18-20 to stay in the elite 16-team group that has a chance to win the 2010 title.

Federer will be 29 when next year’s final is played, with few chances left to fulfill his ambition of winning a first Davis Cup title for Switzerland.

“Even if we haven’t been given an easy opponent, Federer was happy he didn’t have to play at the other end of the world,” said Luethi, the team captain.

Federer is taking a break after his wife Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose, last week. “If the twins are in good health, I don’t see any problem,” Luethi said of Federer playing against Italy.

The best-of-five series against Italy is to be played on outdoor clay courts. It begins five days after the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open, where Federer is the five-time defending champion.

Federer would likely team up with the 24th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka to play singles and doubles against the Italians.

Related Posts:

• Swiss pair move on to the QF.
• Federer to play 3 times for Swiss team.
• Good news and bad news for US davis cup hopes.

Bookmark It

With one of the most spectacular backdrops of any ATP World Tour tournaments, the Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad is situated in south-western Switzerland, near the border with France. Swiss hero Roger Federer was presented with a cow during a homecoming celebration in 2003 after winning his first Wimbledon title. Federer fell in the final that year to Jiri Novak but won the title in 2004.

There will be a new Swiss Open champion this year, as the defending champion is otherwise engaged. He is learning a variety of new techniques in the art of diaper changing, and is unavailable to come out and play with his friends.

Stanislas Wawrinka is the #1 seed, and he may continue the tradition of having a Swiss as the champion of this hometown tournament played in one of the most picturesque locales on the ATP tour.

Related Posts:

• Cilic retains his Chennai Open title.
• Swiss pair move on to the QF.
• HELP!!…..injuries are reaching epidemic proportions!

Bookmark It