EveryJoe » German Open

Novak Wins Rome; Dinara Wins Berlin

Erica — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:39:17 +0000

Well, the Rome Masters finally saw a complete match played after several of the tour’s top players withdrew because of injuries. Novak Djokovic came from a set down (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) to beat Stanislas Wawrinka in the Rome Masters final.

The victory was Djoko’s 10th career title It also puts him 310 points behind second-ranked Rafael Nadal. The top two have been set in stone for so long; are we about to see some shake ‘n bake at the top?

(Image: Newscom)
Novak Djokovic hoists his trophy after winning the Rome Masters.

Dinara Safina capped a dream run at the German Open with a title-clinching victory over No. 9 Elena Dementieva. Safina also came from a set down (3-6, 6-2, 6-2) to get the big W. En route to the title, the 17th-ranked Safina also toppled No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 8 Serena Williams.

Not too shabby, is it? Maybe soon they’ll stop referring to her as “the sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin.”

(Image: Newscom)
Dinara Safina celebrates her victory at the German Open.

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Novak Wins Rome; Dinara Wins Berlin

Tourney Topplers: Big Serve Serena and King Roger Felled

Erica — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:56 +0000

Apparently Rafa was only the first in a string of toppled giants. Roger Federer lost a tightly-contested two-set match to Radek Stepanek in the Rome Masters quarterfinals 7-6(4), 7-6(7). I don’t know which type of loss is harder: the one where you get completely blown off the court or the one where you’re so incredibly close but can’t finish off the few vital points that would have swung the match in your favor. Either way a loss is still a loss and an exit from a tournament and that’s what Federer did in Rome.

Who’s going to win Rome now? Hercules was downed in the second round and now the King has bowed out after a tough battle. Andy Roddick is still in the mix and is a set up on Tommy Robredo. Behind Rafa and Roger losing, the fact that Roddick is still hanging around is the biggest surprise of this tourney.

But wait – there’s more! Serena Williams couldn’t hang on to her winning streak and Dinara Safina ousted Big Serve Serena in three sets. Safina dropped the first but dominated the second and managed to close out a tight third set to put her in the German Open semifinals. Safina…Safina…that name sounds pretty familiar. I feel like I just talked about her…oh yeah! She just beat the world No. 1!

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Tourney Topplers: Big Serve Serena and King Roger Felled

German Open: Henin Toppled by Safina

Erica — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:58:06 +0000

Her hope of using the German Open to get ready for the French didn’t materialize for Justine Henin after Dinara Safina used three sets to send Henin packing in the third round.

Henin had been to the last six German Open finals and won three of them. Two of those victories preluded her first two French Open titles. Her failure to make a deep run at this tournament may have a bigger effect than we all thought.

No surprise, Serena Williams breezed past Agnieszka Radwanska for her 17th-straight victory. She’s like a freakin’ train with no brakes and no engineer.

(Image: Newscom)
Dinara Safina celebrates her victory over top-ranked Justine Henin at the German Open.

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German Open: Henin Toppled by Safina