Busy Month for CAPS Players

CAPS Recap

With less than a week until the July 3rd season opener, CAPS players should be ready, as they have been everywhere in June.  From NorCal to Wimbledon, here's a look at what the players have been up to.

DADDY!

On Friday, June 20, Dawn Knowles, wife of CAPS veteran Mark, welcomed the couple's second child!  At 9.5 pounds and 22 inches tall, not-so-little Brody required a C-section, but the Knowles family is happy to report everything went smoothly.  Brody joins older brother Graham, who you may have seen atop dad's shoulders at past CAPS matches, testing Dawn's nerves every time (Graham will be 3 in September). I don't think one kid on each shoulder is going to work, so Knowlsey may have to find a new system to bring his family out on court.  

Check out the link below for more on the birth of Brody:

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/knowles_baby.asp

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE KNOWLES FAMILY!

Warburg Strong at Yuba City; Has Tough Time on Grass

Early this month Sam Warburg was seeded second in the Yuba City Challenger.  After reaching the semis in doubles, Sam lived up to that seeding by reaching the final, but came up just short in a three setter.  

Warburg then took off to WImbledon, where he was seeded No. 11 in the qualifying tournament.  Unfortunately, Alexander Peya of Austria was ready for him, and the local CAP's star went out in the first round, 6-2, 6-4.  He also had a tough first round loss in the doubles.

However, I have seen Sam compete since he was 12, and he's never been a fan of losing.  If anything, it fuels him, so look for the fiery Warburg to come out strong for the CAPS come July 3!   

Tracking Tammy 

CAPS rookie Tammy Hendler had to miss the French Open due to injury, opting to return to action at the Tradition-ICAP Liverpool International Tournament.  Although she got just one win in four matches, the round robin format was a great way for Hendler to gain valuable match experience after missing over a month.  

"The Belgian Babe" followed up her performance in Liverpool with an impressive result at an ITF event in Sweden.  Tammy took out the top seed and reached the quarterfinals of the clay court tournament.

The injury-free Hendler is the No. 11 seed in the Wimbledon Juniors and said she can't wait to show Sacramento what she can do!

Dmitry Gets DQd

CAPS 2008 Marquee player Dmitry Tursunov was recently disqualified from the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Nottingham.  The No. 31 player in the world disagreed with a line call in his doubles match and stormed off the court.   Apparently his outburst was enough for the tournament director to disqualify Tursunov from the singles event as well.  

In no way do I condone Tursunov's behavior in, but it just seems those traditionalists in England could lighten up once in a while.

Dmitry will appear at Allstate Stadium in Roseville on July 11.

Wimbledon

CAPS players have been hot at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.  Let's start with Eric Butorac, who won a grueling first round match in five sets!  The first-year CAP and partner Ashley Fisher took more than three hours to advance, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5.   "It was a war," Butorac said.  "I had no idea how long a five-setter felt until this one."  Make sure you give "Booty" a warm welcome next week at Allstate Stadium.  

We have to mention former CAPS youngster Anastassia Pavlyuchenkova, who got her first Grand Slam win at the French Open.  The 16-year old's tremendous confidence boosted her to two more wins, as she upset No. 17 Alice Cornet in a close first round, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), and then breezed by Li Na of China before meeting her match -- Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.

As noted earlier, Mark Knowles has plenty on his mind these days, like his newborn baby boy.  Perhaps that played a role in he and Mahesh Bhupati's first round loss at the All-England Club, and I don't blame him.  Thoughts of the beach (his home in the Bahamas), the family, and little Brody likely were stronger than focusing on hitting a little yellow fuzzy thing.  Knowles said he will likely take some time off to be with his family.  You never know, maybe he'll make an appearance this year for the CAPS.  We'll have to wait and see...

Dmitry Tursunov had a great draw at the French Open, but was upset in the third round.  Now at Wimbledon, the door was left wide open once again.  His half of the draw was loaded with talent, but with Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, and James Blake all losing early, Dmitry had a great shot to go deep into the second week.  After squeaking out a five setter in the opening round, he looked more composed in round, beating Britain's Chris Eaton in straight sets.  

With Dmitry's aggressive game being especially suited for grass, I thought he had a great shot at the semis, where he would have faced Rafa Nadal.  My only concern was Janko Tipsarevic, and despite Tursunov being the favorite, he was not able to hold off the Serbian. 

Phew!  What a month.  At least in July, you'll know where to find your favorite CAP.  

All matches are held at Allstate Stadium in Roseville and begin at 7:30 p.m.

Roland Garros Wrap-up

Double Take at Roland Garros 

Mark Knowles was probably the CAPS best hope to do well in Paris, but he and Mahesh Bhupati had a tough go, losing in the first round.  The No. 4 seeds just didn't have the typical energy and spark they had played with most of the season.  

However, the 2008 CAPS Male Marquee Player Dmitry Tursunov had a surprising run, reaching the semifinal with fellow Russian Igor Kunitsyn.  Known mostly for his singles play throughout his career, Tursunov's aggressive game proved strong enough to catapult he and Kunitsyn through their early rounds, before losing to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, seedes No. 2, in the semifinal.  At least Knowlsey still has a shot to beat Nestor as the first to win a grand slam with a different partner.  Since their split last season, neither man has won a major.  But guess who  has?  The 2008 French Open Doubles Champs are.... no, not the Bryan Brothers, but Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna!  Go figure...

CAPS Coach Wayne Bryan has even more to be proud of.  Although his twin sons, the top doubles team in the world, did not win the French this year, Bob did take home the mixed doubles title with Victoria Azarenka.  To play the mixed event was a last second decision for Bob.  "We weren’t even signed up," Bryan said. “I was at the practice court. I rushed over (to the referee’s office). Made it with two minutes to go.”  Good thing, as the first time pair played like they had been partners before, winning the final in straight sets. 

Singled Out 

Dmitry Tursunov had a great draw to get back on track in singles and perhaps get back into the top 25 for the first time in months.  He started off strong, winning his first two rounds without dropping a set.  But in the third, he failed to win one against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.  Two more wins and Dmitry, now ranked No. 30, would've had a showdown with Rafael Nadal.  Ya never know... 

After qualifying for her first grand slam, former CAP Anastassia Pavlyuchenkova got her first main draw win.  She took out Argentine Maria Emilia-Salerni 6-1, 6-1, and looked to continue a surprise run when she won the first set of her second round match with No. 26 seed Flavia Penneta.  However, the Italian came back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.  

"Booty" in Paris

Eric Butorac was also in the main draw doubles with longtime partner Ashley Fisher.  The duo had a chance to knock off the No. 8 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in the first round, but came up just short 7-6(8), 1-6, 7-6(2).  That's about as close as it can get.  

"Booty" was nice enough to give us a little insight into life as a "journeyman" on tour during the European clay court season. 

"This week the French Open starts up, marking the end of the clay court season.  For me, like most Americans, this can be a bit of a struggle.  Each year, I start up with high aspirations and am motivated to improve and get some big wins on the dirt and this year, like the last 2, I just barely survived a few matches here and there, losing a couple heartbreaking super tie-breakers and getting beat around by some South American teams who hammer the ball from the baseline.  So, with one tournament left, I'm looking to my former home (I was based in France for almost 2 yrs) to bring me some luck and put a cap on my clay season.  

A couple highlights/lowlights from the clay season....
* Kicking off the season in Houston with a 11-9 loss to Sergio Roitman and Marcos Daniel.  FYI....when you look at your draw in a clay court event, Sergio and Marcos are two names you don't really want to see....I'd add them to the list of names like Garcia, Gonzalez or Lopez.  All spell trouble.  

* A trip to Bermuda with plenty of time to see the sights due to a first round loss
* The players party in Munich at the BMW Open.  These Germans not only know how to run a tournament, but they throw a great party as well.  
* Did I mention parties?  Well, the following week a good friend of mine, doubles player Christopher Kas, took me out in Dresden, Germany.  The party we attended was some sort of local horse jumping tournament party.  Standing in a freezing cold barn with the smell of horses all around, I was suddenly wishing I was back in Munich!  
* A 7 hour car journey on the German Autobahn from a challenger in Dresden, Germany to Aarhus, Denmark.  Yeah, that's right, those are actually locations hosting pro tennis tournaments.  I also think that is the fastest I've ever gone in a car.  
* Paying $7 for a coke in Denmark.  I knew the dollar was plummeting, but I had no idea the Danish Kroner was so strong!  
* Panicking cause I was so out of breath in our first practice in Austria, thinking I was out of shape, then realizing, the city is located at over 3,000 feet.  

There it is, the ups and downs of another clay court season.  I survived those six tournaments and am ready to take on Paris!  

Allez!
- Booty

Now that is good stuff!  If you ever wondered what life was like on tour for those not named Federer, Nadal, or Roddick, there you have it!  Thanks Booty for the great, very entertaining, info!

Final Word 

On the women's side, we had two women who believed in themselves.  What a run it was for Dinara Safina!  Twice down a set and 5-2, she came back to win (and for Maria Sharapova, there's just no excuse).  Maria lost the No. 1 ranking due to her meltdown against Safina, as Ana Ivanovic took over the top spot, and then took the French Open Championship. 

Rafael Nadal proved once again that he is the king of clay.  I know Bjorn Borg won four straight titles at Roland Garros, but I'm not sure anyone has been as dominant as Nadal.  Rafa's 2008 performance left little doubt that he could win this title every year for as long as he wants without even being challenged.  He simply made it look easy.  

As for Roger, I was pulling for him to get the job done, to complete the career grand slam, to finally overcome his rival on clay.  But I have to wonder if even he was awed by Nadal's play on the dirt.  In the final, he seemingly had little belief that he could win.  It was the worst Fed has looked in a long time, and as much as fans may want to give Nadal the credit for taking it to him, the truth is it was mental.  Perhaps the best player we have ever seen doubted his abilities, and it proved disastrous.   

Roland Garros is probably the best tournament to watch as a fan of the game, as the rallies are long, strategies are more apparent and necessary, and fitness is key.  It's a true test, both mentally and physically, and rarely disappoints. 

My Picks:

Most Heart:  Dinara Safina -- her comebacks were amazing!  She deserved to be in the final.

Biggest Surprise:  Tie:  Gael Monfils -- semifinal run was fun to watch (hopefully he can stay healthy now).                 Roger Federer -- Failure to show up in the final was shocking!

Best Storyline:  Ana Ivanovic -- Becomes No. 1 and wins her first grand slam.  What a week!

Player of the Tournament:  Rafael Nadal -- Wow!  Need I say more?