Mesh Tennis

Looks like he finally took a break from the ladies…

Meanwhile, Hewitt’s Davis Cup teammate Mark Philippoussis has resumed training after knee surgery. The former world No.8 has returned to Las Vegas, where he is working with Andre Agassi’s fitness trainer Gil Reyes.

Philippoussis was struck down by a knee injury for the fourth time while representing Australia in Perth at the Hopman Cup last month.

The 30 year old is desperate to rebuild his career after recovering from surgery.

Philippoussis was forced out of the Australian Open because of the injury, costing him vital opportunities to boost his ranking. The Australian

“I want to keep my private life with the name I give it — it’s private. I am sure a lot of people understand that. You always have a lot of people who are very curious and they want to know why and who — and who cares? That’s my life. Everyone has to respect it because we all have the same rights. We can talk about tennis and I know I am a public person. I understand that perfectly.

“But as soon as I am not on a tennis court, and as soon as something touches my private life, I think I can keep it for myself, and it is a little bit like my secret garden — and I am sure people can accept that. Why would I be different, because I am a famous tennis player? I am human. And I am a person before I am a tennis player.”

Henin, who lost her top spot to Maria Sharapova after missing the Australian Open whole sorting out her affairs, won only two matches in her comeback tournament, the Open Gaz de France in Paris two weeks ago. She was beaten by Lucie Safarova, a young Czech who has yet to break the top 20. But she still believed it had been the right decision to play there.

“I think it was a brave decision and I have no regrets about that,” Henin said. “I played a few matches, to be back on the Tour, to try to find my motivation, some rhythm, and the atmosphere on the tour and that was very important for me. And Dubai is very far away after the Australian Open and so I thought ‘let’s go and face it now,’ and I already feel better about that. I have to take it step by step, it takes a little bit of time. It has been a difficult period in my life for sure but I will try to come back strongly with my tennis, and I need to accept that it will take a little bit of time.

“And I didn’t forget how to play tennis. I just have to control my emotions a little bit,” added Henin, who managed to achieve that in an hour-long ordeal with the media, despite having moments when she looked tense. I have never used tennis as a way of forgetting something else: I have just tried to face reality,” she concluded. “And now I have to try to build myself again like I did many times in my life.” DNA

I wonder why?

Martina Hingis is happy Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are not present at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open.

“I am so glad they did not come,” Hingis beamed after being asked to comment on the late withdrawal of the top two players.

“Top players pulling out always affects the tournament. It is disappointing for the fans, but we still have a great field here with Mauresmo, Henin and Kuznetsova. Then there are younger players like Jelena (Jankovic),” she said. gulfnews.com

Venus Williams overcame struggles with her serve after a four-month layoff to defeat Akiko Morigami of Japan 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 Monday night in the opening round of the Cellular South Cup, a Tier III tournament.

She will face Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Tuesday night. The 16-year-old Wozniacki took three sets to beat Stephanie Foretz of France 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 earlier Monday.

“I definitely was a little rusty, and the first set went so quick it was fairly easy,” Williams said. “In the second set, I started to think and I made a few errors. It seemed like I couldn’t stop the errors. It was like a windfall of errors.” WKRN

He was set to play his first match tomorrow.

“It is obviously extremely disappointing for me,'’ Hewitt said. “I was coming here for my first trip since 2004, when I won the tournament.'’

Hewitt said he had been having treatment on the injury three times a day.

“It’s improving, but it’s improving slowly,'’ Hewitt said. MSNBC

Israeli Shahar Peer is the top seed while Tatiana Golovin, who was going to be the No. 2 seed, from France was forced to withdraw after an upper respiratory infection.

France’s Marion Bartoli moves up to the second seed while Samantha Stosur and Nicole Pratt from Australia and American Shenay Perry round out the top five seeds.

American Venus Williams is the sixth-seed and will meet Akiko Morigami from Japan in the first round. Seattle PI

Defending champion Andy Murray won his second career title, neutralizing Ivo Karlovic’s big serve to win a thrilling SAP Open final 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Sunday.

Murray proved to be the only player who had an answer for the difficult serve of the 6-foot-10 Karlovic, who lost his serve only once in 51 games and had a tournament-record 87 aces heading into the final. MSNBC

Venus Williams doesn’t exactly know how her injured left wrist will respond in her return to competitive tennis. She just knows it’s time.

“I’ve been working fairly hard, but obviously with match play, the stamina gets tested,” Williams said. “(Match play) is nothing like practice. It’s definitely not the same. It definitely will be a test, but it’s a test I’ve practiced for.”

Williams, who has played in only two matches since July and has been completely off the tennis circuit since October, returns this week as the seventh seed in the Cellular South Cup, a Tier III event in Memphis.

“I think there’s always a difference in practice and a match,” Williams said. “Actually, I usually play better than in practice. With a match, it’s a different kind of pressure.”

The 26-year-old Williams faces Akiko Morigami of Japan in her opening match Monday. Shahar Peer of Israel is the tournament’s top seed.

Williams is ranked No. 53 in the WTA rankings because of her inactivity since the injury. The wrist bothered her enough that she not only avoided competitive tennis, but had trouble with everyday tasks such as typing. Seattle PI

Yaraslova Shvedova of Russia won her first WTA Tour title by stunning top-seeded defending champion Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-4, 6-4 at the Sony Ericsson International on Sunday.

Shvedova, ranked 143rd in the world, again showed the outstanding form she displayed all week to overcome the 36th-ranked Santangelo.

“It’s been a wonderful week, winning one’s first title surely is a very special moment,'’ said an excited Shvedova.

“Playing my first final, I took one game at a time and tried to keep things simple,'’ said Shvedova, who had the spectators rooting for her in this southern Indian city.

Santangelo committed too many unforced errors.

“I played well to reach the final, but she played better than me today,'’ Santangelo said. MSNBC

Gilles Simon of France won his first career title, beating seventh-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 7-6 (3) at the Open 13 on Sunday.

Baghdatis, who won the Zagreb Open two weeks ago, was playing in his second straight ATP final. But Simon controlled much the match and the Cypriot missed out on a third career title.

“All the pressure, the tension, flies away,'’ Simon said. “This victory is good for me. I am relieved. I will try and remember what I have done this week for the future. If I do what I need to, I can really improve and climb back up the rankings.'’

Baghdatis said he didn’t play particularly well.

“I didn’t have the desire of yesterday (Saturday) and that’s what made the difference,'’ Baghdatis said. “I also had a lot of chances on his serve which I didn’t know how to take.'’
MSNBC