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.