Tennis tsaka tsismis

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Robin Soderling ended Roger Federer's streak of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinal appearances with a four-set win Tuesday.

Mark the time: On Tuesday, at 7:41 p.m. Paris time, the face became clear at last. It held no shock and no joy. Robin Soderling advanced to the net on Court Philippe Chatrier with fist held high, loping forward to shake hands with the now-beaten Federer -- defending champion at the 2010 French Open, greatest player ever, the man who before this day had beaten him 12 times straight. Thousands stood hollering, trying to digest the 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 upset. Soderling didn't seem to hear.

"I play for myself and I play for the win," he would say later. "Not for the crowd."

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Celtics' beware.  Kobe is coming to town and he is going to tear you apart....

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Before they were stars: Kobe Bryant
By Justin Verrier
ESPN.com


By the time Kobe Bryant hit his first game-winning shot in the NBA, the process had almost become routine.

Bryant, who left on-lookers awestruck this season with six last-second daggers, had already acted out the moment time and time again, long before even lofting up an attempt in the pros.

Almost every day, a young Kobe would jog to Wynnewood Park, just blocks away from his Philadelphia home, and shoot seemingly endless amounts of jumpers and layups, envisioning what it would be like for one to lift his team to victory.

"That's where I would dream of hitting game-winning shots and winning NBA championships," Bryant told ESPN in April.

[
AP Photo/Rusty KennedyBeing named an All-American was just one of Kobe Bryant's many honors as a high school senior.

But in high school, such heights were still just fantasies (though it didn't take long for most to take notice of the realities presented).

After spending seven years in Europe watching his father, eight-year NBA veteran Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant, play for several teams, Kobe returned to the States at 14 and enrolled in Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa.

A student of the game who had been receiving pointers from Joe since he was little, Bryant had instant success in the prep game, becoming one of the first freshmen to start for the Aces' varsity squad in decades.

"I had invited him to scrimmage against our varsity," his coach, Gregg Downer, told ESPN's "SportsCentury," "and after five minutes of play I turned to my assistant coaches and said, 'This guy's a pro.'"

Although the team was a pushover in Bryant's first season, it would be a "juggernaut," according to Downer, by the time he left.

Over Bryant's last three seasons, the Aces compiled a 77-13 record and routinely won by large margins. Close games were so uncommon that false rumors began to surface that Bryant, who played all five positions, used to sabotage games just so he could shine in clutch situations.

As a senior, Bryant averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, four steals and 3.8 blocks a game and helped lead Lower Merion to a 31-3 record and the Class AAAA championship, the Aces' first state title in 50 years. He was also named the Naismith and Gatorade high school player of the year and a McDonald's All-American.

By the end of his career, Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania high school history (2,883 points), surpassing prep legends like Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons.

College offers came from all around the country; at times, Kobe would just hand out unopened recruiting letters to schoolmates in the hallways at Lower Merion, according to friends. But Bryant, who was already hearing comparisons to Michael Jordan, had his sights on the NBA.

The interest was mutual.

"Do I think he could make it in the NBA right now?" then-Nets player personnel chief Hal Wissel told The New York Times in 1996. "Yes, I think he has the skills."

In fact, Bryant was already holding his own against the pros.

Six years before defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals to earn his second NBA championship ring, Bryant played pickup games with several Sixers players at St. Joseph's University. He even beat Jerry Stackhouse, the third overall pick out of North Carolina months earlier in the 1995 NBA draft and an eventual All-Rookie selection, in a game of one-on-one.


Courtesy Lower Merion HS/Icon SMIBig things were expected of Kobe, even as a junior.

"The next day, Dean Smith called me from North Carolina to recruit Kobe," Joe Bryant told The Times.

But Smith's pitches would fall on deaf ears. (Besides, Kobe has since admitted he likely would have only attended the school on the other end of Tobacco Road.) And in May of 1996, he made his decision official.

Decked out in a baggy brown suit and sporting black shades on the top of his shaved head, Kobe announced in a packed Lower Merion gymnasium that he would forego college and become just the sixth player to enter the NBA draft without playing a college game.

His decision was instantly met with backlash. Not only was his jump from the preps to the pros unusual for the time -- a year earlier, Kevin Garnett became the first to do so in 20 years -- but Bryant, who took R&B singer Brandy to his senior prom and was signed as an adidas pitchman before the draft, was viewed as brash and arrogant.

Nevertheless, Kobe held firm to his plan and was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets No. 13 overall in 1996 before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I'm going out there to answer a challenge that I put to myself since the ninth grade," Bryant said after being selected. "I had said to myself that if I had the option to skip college and go straight to the NBA, I would. The option came my way, and I took advantage."

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Roger, Rafa and.....Robin?


For years, it's been the Big Two: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But Robin Soderling's upsets of Federer and Nadal in consecutive French Opens may change all that. 

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The King Again
Sure, Rafael Nadal sports a lower-profile appearance on the court, but his game was high-octane en route to the French Open title

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Williams sisters win French doubles title
Associated Press

PARIS -- Venus and Serena Williams won their fourth consecutive major doubles title Friday at the French Open.



"A Williams slam," Serena called it.

The sisters earned their 12th Grand Slam title by beating Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke 6-2, 6-3.

"It's really tough when you play one Williams," Venus said. "When you play two, it's really not an easy win."

The sisters will be ranked No. 1 in doubles for the first time next week in a partnership that began in the 1980s. They laughed as they reminisced about learning to play doubles.

"My dad told Venus to cross more, and so I think she got upset, and she crossed when the person was serving," Serena said.

"I remember that," Venus said. "Our older sister was serving."

"Oh my gosh, that was so funny," Serena said. "Dad told me I had to play the forehand, because I was young and I was smaller, and then he put Venus on the backhand. It has been like that ever since. That was 20 years ago?"

"At least," Venus said.

They're only the third women's doubles pair to win four major titles in a row. Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver did it in 1983-84, and Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva did it in 1992-93.

It's the siblings' second French Open doubles championship, with the other coming in 1999. For several years they played little doubles, but they plan to keep playing together at the major tournaments.

"We just realize what it's like to have that major title next to your name, and it's pretty addictive," Venus said.

"When you're out there and you're playing singles, it's a great feeling obviously," Serena said. "But also to play doubles with someone that's your sister, your flesh and blood, that's even better."

The victory compensated at least somewhat for the sisters' disappointment in singles. No. 1-ranked Serena lost in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 Venus lost in the fourth round.

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Schiavone wins final in straight sets
2010 Ladies French Open

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Nadal avenges loss to Soderling, claims fifth French Open title
   
PARIS (AP) -- Scurrying along the baseline as only he can, sliding through the red clay he rules, Rafael Nadal stretched to somehow dig the ball out of a corner and fling it back over the net -- once, twice, three times -- during a 14-stroke exchange that ended when Robin Soderling sailed a shot long.

The French Open final was all of seven points old, and the message was unmistakable: Nadal's knees are fine now, which means he is an entirely different player from the one Soderling stunned at Roland Garros in 2009. That was the first loss of Nadal's career at this tournament, and it remains the only one.

His body sound, his mind at ease, Nadal played his unique brand of relentless, perpetual-motion tennis to handily beat the No. 5-seeded Soderling of Sweden 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 Sunday. Nadal won his fifth French Open championship, his seventh Grand Slam title overall, and earned a return to No. 1.

"I lost last year because I was not well-prepared, and I had very low morale last year, as well," said Nadal, who will supplant Roger Federer atop the rankings Monday.

"But this time, I'm back," said Nadal, who covered his face with a red towel and sobbed at match's end. "I'm back -- and I win."

Yes, Nadal most definitely is back, and he is as good as -- or perhaps even better than -- ever.

"He has more or less one game," Soderling said, "but he does it so well."

Nadal is 38-1 over his career at Roland Garros and, three days after his 24th birthday, stands just one French Open title shy of Bjorn Borg's record of six. For the second time in three years, Nadal won the tournament without losing a set.

As former No. 1 Andy Roddick posted on Twitter: "rafa nadal best ever on clay.... period."

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2010 Clay Court Champions

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Nadal replaces Federer at No. 1
Updated Jun 8, 2010
PARIS (AP)

French Open champion Rafael Nadal returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings Monday, reclaiming the top spot from Roger Federer 11 months after relinquishing it.

Nadal's fifth title at Roland Garros — a year after he was upset in the fourth round — gave him enough rankings points to move up from No. 2. He was ranked No. 1 for 46 weeks previously, but was overtaken by Federer in July 2009.

"Believe me, I am very happy'' about getting back to the top, Nadal said after beating Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's French Open final. But the 24-year-old Spaniard also made perfectly clear that he was more excited about winning his seventh Grand Slam title than his new ranking.

"When I was crying after the match,'' he said, "the last thing I was thinking (about was) No. 1.''

Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and coach, agreed.

"Being No. 1 is nice after the tournament,'' Toni Nadal said Sunday, "but the most important thing is the trophy.''

By getting bumped down to No. 2, Federer was left one week short of tying Pete Sampras' career record of 286 total weeks at No. 1.

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Federer top seed; No. 1 Nadal second

WIMBLEDON, England -- Roger Federer was the No. 1 seed for Wimbledon ahead of Rafael Nadal in a reverse of their world rankings.

Federer, the defending champion and six-time Wimbledon winner, received the top seed Wednesday even though Nadal recently replaced him at No. 1.

There were no surprises in the women's seedings, with Serena Williams at No. 1 and sister Venus at No. 2.

Nadal moved into the top spot after winning the French Open, while Federer slipped to No. 2 after losing in the quarterfinals in Paris.

Wimbledon uses its discretion to seed players based on their grass-court record.

"While the seeding positions of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are reversed from their current rankings, there is no practical effect since they remain the leading seeds in their respective halves of the draw," Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett said.

The draw will be held Friday, with the two-week Grand Slam tournament starting Monday.

Federer has won a record 16 Grand Slam titles, including this year's Australian Open. However, he has not won a tournament since Australia. On Sunday, Federer experienced only his second loss on grass in more than seven years when he was upset by Lleyton Hewitt in three sets in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

Nadal beat Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, but was injured and unable to defend his title last year. The Spaniard won his fifth French Open this month, but lost to Feliciano Lopez last week in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon grass-court tuneup at Queen's Club.

Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 3 and Andy Murray No. 4, in line with their rankings.

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick was seeded No. 5, two spots above his ranking. French Open finalist Robin Soderling is No. 6.

Hewitt became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Wimbledon seeding committee. The 2002 champion was seeded No. 15 despite a ranking of No. 26. Big-serving Ivo Karlovic is ranked No. 33 but was bumped up to No. 25 in the seedings.

The women's seedings stuck to the rankings, setting up the possibility of a fifth all-Williams Wimbledon final. Serena beat Venus last year for her third Wimbledon title.

The only change in the seedings was caused by the injury withdrawal of No. 5 Elena Dementieva.

Caroline Wozniacki is No. 3, followed by Jelena Jankovic at No. 4 and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone at No. 5.

Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who are returning to Wimbledon after coming out of retirements, are seeded No. 8 and No. 17, respectively.

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2010 Wimbledon Seeds


Seedings for Wimbledon, which runs June 21 through July 4 at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (tour ranking in parentheses):

Men
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland (2)
2. Rafael Nadal, Spain (1)
3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia (3)
4. Andy Murray, Britain (4)
5. Andy Roddick, United States (7)
6. Robin Soderling, Sweden (6)
7. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia (5)
8. Fernando Verdasco, Spain (9)
9. David Ferrer, Spain (11)
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France (10)
11. Marin Cilic, Croatia (12)
12. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic (13)
13. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia (14)
14. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain (17)
15. Lleyton Hewitt, Austria (26)
16. Jurgen Melzer, Austria (16)
17. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia (15)
18. Sam Querrey, United States (21)
19. Nicolas Almagro, Spain (18)
20. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland (23)
21. Gael Monfils, France (20)
22. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic (25)
23. Feliciano Lopez, Spain (30)
24. John Isner, United States (19)
25. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia (33)
26. Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus (27)
27. Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil (24)
28. Gilles Simon, France (32)
29. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia (29)
30. Albert Montanes, Spain (31)
31. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany (35)
32. Tommy Robredo, Spain (36)

Women
1. Serena Williams, United States (1)
2. Venus Williams, United States (2)
3. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark (3)
4. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia (4)
5. Francesca Schiavone, Italy (6)
6. Sam Stosur, Australia (7)
7. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland (
8. Kim Clijsters, Belgium (9)
9. Li Na, China (10)
10. Flavia Pennetta, Italy (11)
11. Marion Bartoli, France (12)
12. Nadia Petrova, Russia (13)
13. Shahar Peer, Israel (14)
14. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus (15)
15. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium (16)
16. Maria Sharapova, Russia (17)
17. Justine Henin, Belgium (18)
18. Aravane Rezai, France (19)
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia (20)
20. Dinara Safina, Russia (21)
21. Vera Zvonareva, Russia (22)
22. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain (23)
23. Zheng Jie, China (24)
24. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia (25)
25. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic (26)
26. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia (27)
27. Maria Kirilenko, Russia (28)
28. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine (29)
29. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia (30)
30. Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan (31)
31. Alexandra Dulgheru, Romania (32)
32. Sara Errani, Italy (33)

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Perfect End

LeBron who? nWhen the Celtics and Lakers meet in Game 7 of the Finals, o one will be thinkin' about free agents

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Sayang!    At wimbledon 2010

Upset Avert

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France crash out

France's 2010 World Cup farcical tournament ended in disgrace as they dropped skipper Patrice Evra, had Yoann Gourcuff sent off and lost 2-1 to South Africa