Fan's guide to the week ahead: February 8-14
Elena Dementieva
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Azarenka and Clijsters felled in Indian Wells
Fourteenth seed Kim Clijsters and world No.6 Victoria Azarenka became the latest upsets at the BNP Paribas Open after both lost in round three
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Open GDF Suez
When? February 8-14
Where? Paris, France
Event type? WTA premier
Surface? Hard, Indoors
Prizemoney? $700,000
2009 champ? Amelie Mauresmo
Draw size? S-32
Web www.opengdfsuez.com
Lowdown: 2009 champ Elena Dementieva is the only top ten player featuring in Paris after Serena Williams pulled out of the tournament on Saturday to rest the leg injury that troubled her throughout her run to a 12th Grand Slam victory in Melbourne.
World No.7 Dementieva lost to the (now retired) home favourite Amelie Mauresmo in last year’s final, and will be wary of French pair Aravane Rezai and Virgine Razzano, ranked No.21 and No.24 respectively and placed in the Russian’s side of the draw.
Along with second seed Flavia Pennetta, Dementieva has been granted a first round bye in Paris and the 28-year-old will look to better her runner-up performance at the 2009 event, hoping to reclaim ground on the No.5 ranking she lost on the back of her second round exit at the Australian Open.
Other notable names competing in Paris include Belgian Yanina Wickmayer – who achieved a fourth round berth in Melbourne after beating fellow Paris entrant Pennetta in the second round – Russian Elena Vesnina, Francesca Shiavone, and Shahar Peer.
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
When? February 8-14
Where? Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Event type? ATP World Tour 500
Surface? Indoor hard
Prizemoney? $1,150,000
2009 champ? Andy Murray
Draw size? S-32 D-16
Web www.abnamrowtt.nl
Lowdown: With only one defeat to his name in 2010 – and there’s no shame in losing to a determined Roger Federer hellbent on a sixteenth Grand Slam – Nikolay Davydenko could be the man to watch in Rotterdam, even with the presence of world No.2 Novak Djokovic.
In addition to the tour’s new ‘Mr Personality’, the Serb joins a strong line-up of of players who have done well in the Netherlands in the past, with Robin Soderling, Gael Monfils, Tommy Robredo, Mikhail Youzhny, Ivan Ljubicic and Viktor Troicki heading up the men’s field.
27-year-old Youzhny won the title in 2007 after defeating Ljubicic in the final, while Soderling finished a runner-up to Michael Llodra at the 2008 tournament.
Last year’s champion Andy Murray will miss the chance to defend his title, meaning that Djokovic has the chance to extend his grip on the No.2 ranking in the Scot’s absence.
SAP Open
When? February 8-14
Where? San Jose, USA
Event type? ATP World Tour 500
Surface? Indoor Hard Court
Prizemoney? $531,000
Draw size? S-32, D-16
Web www.sapopentennis.com/
Lowdown: Andy Roddick returns to San Jose for a ninth time, targeting a fourth title having won there in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Radek Stepanek could block his patch, since the Croat – after losing to Roddick in the 2008 final – returned to lift the singles and doubles titles last year.
World No.11 Fernando Verdasco makes his debut at the SAP Open this week, and will hope to accumulate enough points to force a return to the world’s top 10. The Spaniard will be joined by Thomas Berdych and Jeremy Chardy as seeded players making their debut at the 2010 event.
Tommy Haas has certainly been there before, and the 31-year-old returns to San Jose seeded fourth, and looking to better his lone semi-final effort in 2005. Fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber – who put up such a fight in against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open – will join him, along with seventh seed and 2009 quarter-finalist Sam Querrey.
Brasil Open
When? February 8-14
Where? Costa do Sauipe, Brazil
Event type? ATP World Tour 250
Surface? Clay
Prizemoney? $442,500
Draw size? S-32, D-16
Defending Champ Tommy Robredo
Web www.brasilopen.com
Lowdown: After winning the second ATP title of his career in Chile last week, Thomaz Bellucci returns to the red stuff in his home country, aiming to achieve the first back-to-back title win of his career. The world No.28 reached the final of the tournament last year, but faces stiff competition this time round, with former world No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero and fellow Spaniard Alberto Montanes – defeated by Roger Federer in round three of the Australian Open – seeded ahead of the Sao Paulo resident in the draw.
Though Ferrero made the final in Costa do Sauipe in 2007, he has yet to win a match this season following first round exits in Auckland and at the Australian Open. Also in the draw is Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who fared marginally better in Australia, having reached the final of the Sydney International before losing in the first round in Melbourne to Mikhail Youzhny.
