ITF says Odesnik accepts voluntary suspension
LONDON -- American tennis player Wayne Odesnik has accepted "a voluntary provisional suspension" from all events, including the Grand Slam tournaments and other ATP-sanctioned competitions.
The International Tennis Federation said in a statement Monday that the suspension started last Friday. Because it is a voluntary suspension, Odesnik could decide to play again at any time.
Odesnik, who pleaded guilty last month to importing human growth hormone into Australia before a tournament ahead of the Australian Open, has not tested positive for a banned substance. He will face an independent tribunal in the next two months, according to ITF rules.
"How long that suspension will remain in place will be at the discretion of the player, but we would normally expect it to continue through to the point at which a tribunal renders a decision on the case," said Stuart Miller, the head of the ITF's anti-doping program. "Technically, the length of any withdrawal is his choice."
The 24-year-old Odesnik was stopped by customs officers on Jan. 2 when he arrived in Australia ahead of the Brisbane International, a warmup for the year's first Grand Slam event. Eight vials, each containing 6 milligrams of the performance-enhancing substance, were found in his baggage.
He was fined more than $7,000.
"Wayne Odesnik has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension from all events covered under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program," the ITF said in a statement. "In accordance with normal policy, the ITF does not intend to make further comment on this matter until its resolution."
Odesnik has denied taking the banned substance, and despite his plea and subsequent fine, continued to play on the ATP tour. He reached the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships this month.
By agreeing to a voluntary suspension, Odesnik will be able to accumulate credit against any suspension brought down by a tribunal. But he must not play in any ATP or ITF events.
"If he decides to return to competition in advance of the decision that is imposed in this case, then he would lose that credit," Miller said.
On Thursday, the ITF said it would review the rules that had prevented it from suspending Odesnik.
Under current rules, the governing body of tennis can only provisionally suspend players who are being investigated for a failed doping test. But players cannot be prevented from playing while they are investigated for other suspected doping violations, such as possessing a banned substance.
Copyright (c) 2010 The Associated Press
Malisse beats Isner, Gonzalez advances at Houston
HOUSTON - Xavier Malisse of Belgium beat second-seeded John Isner of the United States, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3) in the second round of the U.S. Clay Court Championships on Thursday night.
Malisse overcame the 6-foot-9 Isner's big serve, setting the tone in the third-set tiebreaker when he returned Isner's booming serve sharply for a winner.
In the midst of the fourth point of the tiebreaker, Malisse broke a string and still managed to win the point. He hit a drop shot across the net and Isner dribbled it into the net. Isner served an ace on the next point but he won only one more point the rest of the tiebreaker.
"It was close," Malisse said. "He served well just except one game at 5-2. It could have been 6-3, 6-2 if he'd kept his serve but I played well and had a a good tie breaker in the third."
Malisse served an ace at the second match point for the victory.
"It was kind of ugly out there," Isner said. "I didn't feel much pressure, I just wish I'd won."
Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile beat qualifier Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Gonzalez finally got the edge when he broke Anderson in fifth game of the final set.
After Anderson went up 30-0 in the game, Gonzalez hit a forehand winner and a backhand cross-court return and Anderson followed with two errors, including a double-fault at break point.
"I think I can play better in the next round, the conditions were slow tonight," Gonzalez said. "I'm going to be better for the next match. I have to play better tennis than today.
"I don't have the good feeling of the ball. You have to keep playing and it will come."
Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia held off lucky loser Somdev Devvarman of India 1-6, 6-0, 7-6 (2) in his first singles match since undergoing hip surgery on Jan. 29.
Hewitt showed rust in a ragged first set filled with unforced errors, allowed Devvarman only two points in the second set and almost faded before finally put his younger opponent away in the tiebreaker.
"It's going to take a few weeks to get my movement back to where I want it to be," Hewitt said. "I felt going into the Australian Open I was moving as well as I ever have. So to get back to that we have a little bit of work ahead of us but we're on the right track and hopefully things continue improving."
Devvarman got into the tournament when Mardy Fish withdrew with a groin injury. He forced the third-set tiebreaker and had a 2-1 lead when Hewitt ran off six straight points and ended it at the first match point with a service winner.
Hewitt was erratic in the opening set but found his range in a 20-minute second set. He won five love games and allowed Devvarman only two points in the fourth game.
"It was hard to know what to expect," Hewitt said. "He doesn't hit a lot of winners but he gets a lot of balls back. In the second set, I served better. I tried to move him around and pick the right balls to come in on and put pressure on him.
"In the first set, I was a little bit too eager to go out and start hitting winners straight from the start.
Hewitt was leading 5-3 and serving for the match in the third set but Devvarman didn't wilt. He broke Hewitt in the ninth and 11th games and had several entertaining points.
"I think I let the match get away," Devvarman said. "He is where he is because he's been in that situation so many times, but it is disappointing to me right now.
Sixth seeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, the 2009 ATP Newcomer of the Year, made quick work of Israel's Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-2.
Zeballos broke Sela in the first game of the second set and cruised the rest of the match. Sela held in the third and fifth games but won only two more points the rest of the match.
Zeballos served a love eighth game, including an ace at match point.
Wayne Odesnik of the United States, last year's runnerup, defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-5 and third-seeded Sam Guerry of the United States beat Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia, 6-2, 6-1.
(c)2010 NBC Universal
Murray to play Monte Carlo on wild card
Monte Carlo - Andy Murray will begin earlier than planned on clay as the Scot tries to rescue his tennis, beginning in just over a week at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Murray was stung by his second-round loss last week in his opening match in Miami against journeyman Mardy Fish, and his re-scheduling re-think reflects his team's concern with form which has slid since losing a dis-heartening Australian Open final two months ago to Roger Federer.
The Swiss will be absent from the principality, with Monte Carlo no longer a required event on the ATP.
But clay king Rafael Nadal will be there with a bid for a sixth consecutive title with the Spaniard looking for his first trophy since May 2009 in Rome.
Murray reached the Monte Carlo semi-finals a year ago against the Spaniard, the Scot's best big-match showing on clay.
Murray's clay schedule is set to include the Rome Masters from April 25 and the Madrid event from May 9. That will be the total of his match preparation for Roland Garros, where he lost in the quarter-finals a year ago to Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.
(c)2010 www.earthtimes.org
Champion Murray battered by Fish in another Miami upsetDefending champion Andy Murray crashed to a shock defeat by American Mardy Fish in his opening match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Fish, who is 98 places below Murray at 101 in the world tennis rankings, triumphed 6-4 6-4 to delight a supportive home crowd and set up a third-round clash with Spanish 29th seed Feliciano Lopez.
Australian Open finalist Murray continued a poor run of form which has seen him lose to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and to world No. 39 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in his second match in Dubai.
Britain's top player followed world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in making an early exit after the Serbian was shocked by unseeded Belgian Olivier Rochus on Friday.
Later on Saturday, world No. 1 Roger Federer begins his bid for a record-equaling 17th Masters 1000 tournament victory against Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, who made it into the main draw as a lucky loser in qualifying.
Fish fired 10 aces and won 82 percent of his first serves to clinch his first win against Murray since 2005, ending a run of three defeats.
"He's a Grand Slam finalist this year already and his results speak for themselves," Fish told the ATP Tour's Web site. "It's a great win. I certainly had to serve well, and I did when I needed to.
"It got me out of some jams there late in the match. I had, I think, three break-points against, and hit aces on every one of them or unreturnables on every one of them."
Murray had made a strong start, leading 3-1 and 40-0 in the first set before his game fell apart.
"Mardy served well when he needed to, especially the second set. But I just wasn't very good today, and I'm gonna need to get a lot better," he told the ATP Web site.
"If you leave the ball short in the middle of the court, it's very easy for guys to attack and be aggressive. You don't get away with playing that way against guys that can serve well, that are difficult to break and play very aggressive on the return."
Fifth seed Soderling moved into the third round with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 win over Australia's Peter Luczak. The Swede will next play Germany's Philip Petzschner, who upset 31st seed Tipsarevic 6-4 6-0.
In the women's tournament, American third seed Venus Williams cruised into the fourth round with a 6-1 6-4 romp over Italy's Roberta Vinci.
The three-time champion, who is unbeaten in 12 matches after winning two successive tournaments, will next face either Russian 16th seed Nadia Petrova or Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.
Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 7-5 7-5 to set up a clash with Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova.
(c)2010 Cable News Network
Roddick advances to Indian Wells final
Three times in the past five years Andy Roddick has made it to the semifinals of this ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells - and no further.
But the veteran, never-say-die American broke through that invisible barrier Saturday with a hard-earned victory over the Swedish powerhouse Robin Soderling, who had ripped through Andy Murray's game on Friday. The score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and it was actually closer than that. Both players won 79 points.
It was Roddick's first victory over Soderling in three attempts, and he was jubilant afterward.
"I was a little bit banged up after San Jose/Memphis, and I didn't feel I was playing that well," he said. "But I kind of went home and got back to neutral and put in some work. For a bigger result to come this week - I think I needed it. I think it was good timing, and I'd love to see it go one further."
And, on paper at least, Roddick's chances of getting his hands on his fifth Masters Series title - and his first since Cincinnati in 2006 - look a little brighter following the unexpected result from the day's first semifinal at this BNP Paribas Open, when Ivan Ljubicic outplayed the defending champion Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.
It was a magnificent performance from the Croat, who turned 31 this week and is now playing the kind of tennis that took him to No. 3 in the world in May 2006. After fighting his way back into the match with some great serving and solid returns, Ljubicic reserved his best till last as he swept through the tiebreak, 7-1, going ahead 2-1 with a 138 mph ace and grabbing the first mini-break with a terrific backhand winner.
Ljubicic is nothing if not a thoughtful player, and it is always good listening to him dissect a match afterward.
"I was thinking yesterday about how to use my serve," he said. "I was not going for the biggest (first) serves all the time. I knew that slow serve to his backhand would give him a lot of trouble. But on second serve, yeah, I had to go for it really aggressively because if I just put it in the box, he just rips it and you are on the back foot right from the beginning."
If the Croat's 17 aces played a big part in his victory, it was that second serve - which kicked and swerved high above Nadal's head - that probably had the decisive effect on the match.
Ljubicic felt getting the ball high was the key but was aware of what Nadal can do to your game if you are not tactically prepared. "His kind of tennis is taking one shot away from me," he explained. "It is the backhand slice. I can't use it against him. He's just going all over you if you slice it."
Probably the most satisfying aspect of this exceptional result for Ljubicic was the fact that Nadal did not play badly and actually won more points overall - 98-92. But Ljubicic is a canny customer and knew when to turn the screw. Big points win tennis matches, and Ljubicic came up with them today.
Roddick, in some ways, had a rockier ride against Soderling because he gave away service breaks early in both the second and third sets. "I knew I was returning real well, so I thought this might be the rare occasion when that would be the thing that won it for me. I don't normally need two breaks to win a set but today I did."
The first lapse cost him because the French Open finalist came roaring back into the match with some of those howitzer returns off both flanks that had undone Murray.
But Roddick kept battering away with his own heavily top spun groundies and, in the sixth game of the final set, forced three errors out of his opponent - two backhands long and one forehand wide. They proved fatal for the Swedish cause.
But it is no longer accurate to talk about Roddick as just a battering ram on a tennis court. That magnificent Wimbledon final against Roger Federer last year elevated him in the eyes of many observers and rightly so.
He can do more things than hit a hard ball now, and we saw several instances of that Saturday. And the point at 30-15 when he was serving for the match epitomized it. Moving forward to slip a lovely backhand up the line, Roddick then undercut the return with an angled backhand volley that brought gasps of appreciation from the crowd. It was a great way to reach double match point.
(c) 2010 FOX News Network, LLC
Nadal returns to tennis with win over Schuettler
INDIAN WELLS, California - Rafael Nadal, playing his first match since retiring injured from the Australian Open, launched his Indian Wells title defence Saturday with a straight-set win over Rainer Schuettler.
Nadal, seeded third, downed the German qualifier 6-4, 6-4.
It was the 23-year-old Spaniard's first match since a right knee injury forced him to retire from his Australian Open quarter-final while trailing Andy Murray by two sets.
He needed one hour and 34 minutes to dispatch Schuettler, a former world number five who is now ranked 90th in the world.
In the third round, Nadal will face Croatian Mario Ancic, a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 winner over France's Julien Benneteau.
Ancic, who was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2004, missed most of last year after being diagnosed with mononucleosis that had first been diagnosed as a bad flu in 2008.
Serbian Novak Djokovic, seeded second behind Roger Federer in the first Masters 1000 tournament of 2010, was due to open his campaign in the night's finale against American Mardy Fish -- the man Djokovic beat in the final here in 2008.
Among other seeded men advancing to the third round Saturday after all 32 enjoyed first-round byes, fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-4.
The world number six from Russia needed one hour and 34 minutes to reach the third round with the win over Gulbis, the young Latvian who notched his first career ATP title last month at Delray Beach.
In the third round, the 28-year-old Davydenko will take on Serbian Viktor Troicki, who advanced when Pablo Cuevas retired with a back injury after one game.
Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ousted eighth-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/1), 6-0, but Spanish 10th seed Fernando Verdasco made it safely through.
Verdasco, who won his fourth career ATP title last month in San Jose, booked his third-round berth with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Paraguayan qualifier Ramon Delgado.
On the women's side, top-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova fell at her first hurdle as Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro downed the world number three 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
It was the second straight year that Kuznetsova lost in the second round at Indian Wells, a tournament where she has had two runner-up finishes but never won.
Suarez Navarro, ranked 42nd in the world, called her 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 triumph over the world number three "one of the most important matches of my life," but it was clear Kuznetsova was well off the form that saw her capture the French Open last year.
"It's frustrating, because I know I have the game," said Kuznetsova, who has struggled to get her 2010 season rolling. "I feel great. I do practice, play unbelievable, and then get to the match and I don't do much."
Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus made it safely through, beating Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-1, 7-5
Belgian Kim Clijsters booked a third-round berth with a brisk 6-2, 6-1 victory over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
It was Clijsters' first WTA match since an embarrassing 6-0, 6-1 defeat to Nadia Petrova in the third round of the Australian Open.
Copyright (c) 2010 AFP
Federer continues to dominate ATP rankings
With Davis Cup dominating the tennis headlines last week, the ATP Top 10 released on Monday remained unchanged.
Roger Federer of Switzerland, who sat out his side's Davis Cup defeat against Spain, continues to head the rankings with 11,350 points, followed by Dubai winner Novak Djokovic (8,310) and Rafael Nadal (7,520).
ATP top 10 as of March 8 (previous ranking in parenthesis): 1. (1) Roger Federer, Switzerland, 11,350 points 2. (2) Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 8,310 3. (3) Rafael Nadal, Spain, 7,440 4. (4) Andy Murray, Britain, 7,255 5. (5) Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 6,275 6. (6) Nikolay Davydenko, Russia, 5,290 7. (7) Robin Soderling, Sweden, 3,905 8. (8) Andy Roddick, United States, 3,720 9. (9) Marin Cilic, Croatia, 2,970 10. (10) Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, 2,890.
Copyright (c) 2009, The Hindu
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