Kvitova Sabet Gelar Perdana Tahun Ini

Petenis Rep.Ceska Petra Kvitova berhasil keluar sebagai juara Montreal Masters setelah mengalahkan petenis China Li Na 7-5 2-6 6-3 di final. Ini merupakan modal yang baik bagi Kvitova jelang US Open yang akan berlangsung pada akhir bulan ini.

“Sungguh bagus meraih hasil bagus di Montreal sebelum US Open. Akhirnya, saya bisa bermain baik,” kata Kvitova seperti dikutip dari Eurosport, Selasa (14/8/2012).

Ya, Kvitova pantas lega. Inilah turnamen pertama yang berhasil dia menangi di tahun ini. Turnamen berhadiah 385 ribu dollas AS ini juga menjadi turnamen pertama yang berhasil Kvitova menangi di Amerika Utara sepanjang kariernya.

Kemenangan petenis berusia 22 tahun yang menempati peringkat enam dunia di Montreal itu tidak diraih dengan mudah. Pada set kedua, Kvitova sangat keteteran meladeni permainan Li Na yang agresif.

Beruntung, pada set penentuan juara French Open 2011 itu berhasil bangkit dan permainannya menjadi jauh lebih baik. Kvitova pun memberi Li Na kekalahan ketiganya di laga final pada 2012 setelah Sydney dan Roma lalu.

“Saya tahu pada set kedua dia bermain dengan begitu baik. Dia sangat agresif dan saya tidak bergerak dengan baik. Saya tahu saya harus tetap tenang dan sabar,” pungkas Kvitova.

Murray Bidik Emas Olimpiade

Andy Murray mengatakan tidak akan mengecewakan pendukungnya yang akan memadati Inggris. Murray menegaskan siap merebut medali emas di ajang Olimpiade 2012.

Para penggemar olahraga tenis tentu masih ingat, ketika Murray tak bisa menahan tangis ketika dikalahkan Roger Federer pada partai final Wimbledon, yang berlangsung sekitar 12 hari yang lalu.

Murray menegaskan siap membuat fansnya gembira, ketika petenis peringkat empat dunia ini bertarung untuk memperebutkan medali emas di ajang Olimpiade di London 2012 mendatang.

“Saya orangnya memang emosional. Saya mencoba untuk tidak menunjukkan perasaan emosional ini di depan kamera dan jutaan masyarakat,” ungkap petenis kelahiran Skotlandia itu.

“Sangat nyaman pada saat itu, ketika anda tidak dapat mengontrol emosi di depan banyak orang yang melihat anda,” sambung finalis Wimbledon ini.

“Tapi, saya yakin jika saya mampu mendekati peluang mendapatkan medali atau memenangi Olimpiade, maka saya tidak akan terkejut jika rasa emosional itu muncul lagi,” tandasnya.

Petrova: Rusia Tak Mengenal Kegagalan

Nadia Petrova berambisi meraih medali emas Olimpiade 2012. Kendati demikian, Petrova mengaku tidak akan kecewa bila gagal mendapatkannya.

Petrova memang menjadi salah satu petenis andalan Rusia untuk turnamen Olimpiade mendatang. Selain Petrova, Rusia menurunkan skuad terbaik seperti Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva dan Maria Kirilenko.

“Mental Rusia adalah, jika anda bermain di Olimpiade, anda harus mendapatkan medali emas dan kegagalan sama sekali tidak diterima. Orang Rusia memang memiliki tekad yang keras dan kami memiliki ekspetasi yang tinggi. Kami harus mendapatkan banyak gelar juara,” kata Petrova.

Olahraga tenis memang menjadi salah satu andalan Rusia untuk mendulang medali emas. Maka, Petrova menilai negaranya akan sangat kecewa bila atlet tenis mereka gagal mengumandangkan lagu kebangsaan Rusia di Olimpiade.

“Saya yakin sesuatu akan dikatakan pada media, untuk mereka sangat sulit mengerti sangat berat untuk anda bermain dan tidak mendapatkan medali emas, tapi mereka tidak mengerti gambaran seperti itu,” jelas Petrova.

“Saya tidak akan kecewa jika saya pulang tanpa membawa medali, selama saya tampil sebaik mungkin. Buat saya, hidup akan terus berjalan,” tandas petenis yang akan turun di nomor ganda putri ini, sebagaimana dilansir dari paktribune, Jumat (20/7/2012).

Kanepi Juga Absen di London

Satu lagi petenis yang tidak dapat berlaga di Olimpiade 2012. Pemain itu ialah Kaia Kanepi, yang mana posisinya akan diganti oleh Mariana Duque-Marino.

Duque-Marino akan bergabung dengan Mona Barthel, yang juga bermain sebagai pemain pengganti Andrea Petkovic. Petkovic mundur dari Olimpiade karena cedera pergelangan kaki.

Kanepi, merupakan petenis yang mencapai babak perempatfinal French Open di bulan Juni kemarin. Tapi, petenis peringkat 16 dunia ini tidak mampu sembuh dari cedera yang didapatnya sebelum turnamen Wimbledon.

“Sangat menyedihkan saya tidak bisa berpartisipasi di Olimpiade. Saya tidak tahu jika saya akan mendapatkan kesempatan untuk berlaga di pertandingan Olimpiade,” demikian kata Kanepi dipamsir dari situs Itftennis, Jumat (20/7/2012).

Cedera yang dialami Kanepi juga membuka peluang Duque-Marino untuk berlaga di Olimpiade mendatang. Duque-Marino juga berhasil menembus peringkat 64 ITF.

Nadal Absen di London 2012

Impian Rafael Nadal mempertahankan medali emas nomor tenis tunggal putra Olimpiade pupus. Nadal memutuskan absen dari London 2012 gara-gara tidak kunjung fit.

Petenis Spanyol berusia 26 tahun tersebut merupakan peraih medali emas tunggal putra Olimpiade Beijing 2008 lalu. Saat itu Nadal mengalahkan petenis Chile Fernando Gonzalez di final.

Sayang, cedera lutut yang diperolehnya sewaktu kalah secara mengejutkan dari petenis Rep. Ceska Lukas Rosol di babak kedua Wimbledon belum lama ini tak kunjung sembuh.

Pemegang 11 gelar grand slam ini menyebut keputusan pengunduran dirinya ini sebagai salah satu momen tersedih dalam kariernya. Federasi Tenis Spanyol (RFET) mengumumkan Feliciano Lopez akan menggantikan posisi Nadal di nomor tunggal putra.

“Saya tidak dalam kondisi yang siap untuk berkompetisi. Ini merupakan salah satu momen tersedih dalam karier saya,” kata Nadal seperti dikutip dari Reuters, Jumat (20/7/2012).

“Saya harus memikirkan kolega saya, saya tidak bisa egois, dan saya harus memikirkan kelangsungan olah raga Spanyol, terutama tenis Spanyol. Biarlah kolega saya yang punya persiapan lebih baik dan siap berkompetisi yang bermain,” sebut Nadal.

“Saya menunggu hingga saat-saat terakhir dalam persiapan saya, juga dalam latihan, tapi ternyata tetap tidak bisa,” sesal Nadal.

Start Mulus Erakovic

Petenis Selandia Baru keturunan Kroasia, Marina Erakovic, melakoni awal yang bagus di WTA San Diego. Erakovic melenggang mulus ke babak kedua, usai menuntaskan perlawanan Anne Keothavong dengan straight set.

Petenis peringkat 39 WTA itu mengaku kerepotan di set pertama. Bahkan pemain berusia 24 tahun itu sempat tertinggal 2-4. Tapi akhirnya Erakovic sukses menutup set pertama dengan angka 6-4.

Sementara Keothavong yang masih berkutat di peringkat 76 WTA, tak mampu lagi memberi perlawanan di set kedua. Petenis Inggris berdarah Laos itu melakukan berkali-kali blunder yang harus menghabisi kans-nya.

Keothavong melakukan 10 kali double fault yang dimanfaatkan Erakovic dengan sadisnya. Hasil akhir laga berkesudahan 6-0 di set kedua dengan total durasi 1 jam 18 menit.

Erakovic selangkah lebih maju dalam usahanya membidik gelar WTA ketujuh dalam kariernya, sekaligus menatap hadiah utama sebesar USD740 ribu jika mampu membawa pulang titel. Next, di babak kedua Erakovic sudah dinanti penghuni rangking 14 WTA, Dominika Cibulkova di babak kedua.

Serena Williams heads for London 2012 after Stanford win

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams clinched the Stanford Classic final in straight sets ahead of her return to London for the Olympics.

Williams saw off set point in the opener to beat compatriot Coco Vandweghe 7-5 6-3.

"I've never felt this fit, this strong, this happy to play - and I think I can be even better," she said.

Williams's successful defence of the Stanford title was her 43rd career title, the same total as sister Venus.

The siblings have each won more titles than any other active player and are joint 10th on the all-time list alongside Justine Henin and Martina Hingis.

Following her triumph at the All England Club, Serena has now won 28 of her last 29 matches, with her first-round defeat to Virginie Razzano at the French Open her only loss since the start of April.

But the 30-year-old admitted that, despite her winning run, she still has yet to hit top form as she prepares for the start of London 2012's tennis tournament at Wimbledon on 28 July.

"I survived and didn't play my greatest, but mentally I was there and that really helped me a lot," she said.

"But there are a lot of positives and I was fighting and I didn't quit."

Vandeweghe served for the first set at 5-4, but Williams snuffed out her fellow American's only set point with a cross-court winning return.

Williams then converted her sixth break point to pull level at 5-5 before Vanderweghe folded with a double fault in the 12th game.

The second set proved more straightforward for Williams as she broke for 3-1 and kept her serve out of the 20-year-old's reach.

After a couple of days off, Williams will play an exhibition match before heading to London.

She was beaten in the singles quarter-finals by eventual gold medalist Elena Dementieva four years ago in Beijing, but won doubles gold alongside Venus.

"A gold medal will mean a lot to me, but I can't lay all my hopes and dreams on that," she added.

Juara Wimbledon, Federer Ukir Sejarah

Roger Federer mencetak rekor baru sejarah tenis dunia. Keberhasilan menyabet titel Wimbledon, membuatnya tampil sebagai petenis dengan raihan trofi Grand Slam terbanyak dalam sejarah tenis putra, yakni 17 titel juara. Federer tampil cemerlang kala berhadapan dengan petenis tuan rumah Andy Murray di babak final, Senin (9/7/2012) dini hari tadi. Dalam pertandingan yang sempat tertunda hujan, sekira 40 menit, Federer akhirnya keluar sebagai juara. Perjuangan Federer merebut titel juara ketujuhnya sempat terancam gagal, lantara Murray tampil cemerlang dan merebut set pertama. Namun, petenis berjuluk FedEx ini langsung bangkit dan menyeimbangkan kedudukan dengan merebut set kedua, sebelum hujan memaksa pertandingan ditunda dalam kedudukan 1-1 di set ketiga. Setelah hujan reda, dan penutup lapangan dibuka kembali, Federer langsung menunjukkan dominasinya atas Murray. Berbagai pukulan kelas dunia, dilepaskan maestro asal Swiss sehingga membuat Murray jatuh bangun. Akhirnya setelah terus menerus menekan Murray sepanjang empat set, Federer akhirnya sukses meraih kemenangan 3-1 (4-6, 7-5, 6-3 dan 6-4). Gelar ini merupakan yang ketujuh diraih Federer atau yang pertama setelah tiga tahun. Keberhasilan meraih tujuh trofi Wimbledon membuat Federer menyamai torehan rekor petenis legendaris Pete Sampras. Tujuh gelar tersebut diraih Federer pada 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 dan 2012. Secara total, Federer kini sudah mengoleksi 17 titel Grand Slam atau yang terbanyak dalam sejarah tenis dunia. Rinciannya adalah 7 trofi Wimbledon, 5 US Open, 4 Australian Open dan satu gelar French Open. Senyum terkembang pun diumbar Federer usai pertandingan, berbeda dengan Murray yang tak kuasa menahan tangis karena gagal meraih titel yang paling diidamkannya. Bagi Federer, sukses ini makin terasa lengkap, karena pada saat bersamaan, dia kembali berhasil menyandang status petenis nomor satu dunia, menggusur Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer

When Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are interviewed before they play each other, they typically preface their remarks by saying something along the lines of, “We’ve faced each other many times, so...”
You can see why. On Friday they’ll play for the 27th time; all-time rivals John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg squared off on only 14 occasions. This will also mark the fifth time in the last seven Grand Slams that Novak and Roger have met in the semifinals. They know this drill exceptionally well.
Are there any new questions to ask in advance of Djokovic-Federer XXVII? Here are six.
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Who Will the Surface Favor?
This is the first time that Djokovic and Federer will meet on grass. Federer has won here six times, while Djokovic is the defending champion. Today each was asked about facing the other on the surface, and what effect it would have.
Actually, Djokovic, forever in the shadows of Rafa and Roger where the media is concerned, was asked, “What do you admire about the play of Roger Federer on grass?” (Another question from Novak's presser: "How would describe from your perspective what Roger's place in history is?")
“He has great variety in his game,” Djokovic answered about Federer's grass skills. “He uses his serve very well. He opens up the court. He uses that slice really well to get the balls to bounce low. . . He has a really smart game for this surface.”
Federer was first asked about what he “can do on grass which you can’t do on other surfaces”?
“It’s much harder to defend on grass, time and again, than on any other surface,” Federer said. “But it’s hard to set up sometimes. . . . On grass I think it’s worth it to go closer to the lines, use a lot of down the line shots, which aren’t easy to pull off on other surfaces.”
As far as his matchup with Novak, Federer says, “Obviously it helps that he won the last couple [of matches] against me. Again it is our first grass-court match. We don’t know quite what to expect. I feel it’s a bit of an even ground. . . . I feel good about the match.”
In a nutshell, Djokovic believes that Federer’s slice helps him on grass especially, while Federer will likely be taking more risks down the line than he does elsewhere. If either of them throws in any new surface-based wrinkles, it will almost surely be Federer. What he does tactically to try to change their recent results will be interesting. Whatever it is, he’ll need to be sharp with it. Djokovic has been gathering everything in and spitting it back out at Wimbledon so far.
"This year," Novak said today, "I've been playing really well, constantly well, from the start of the tournament." Indeed, he's been calmer at Wimbledon than anywhere else I can remember in 2012.
*****
What If the Match is Played Under the Roof?The London forecast calls, naturally, for rain on Friday (90 percent chance, as of today, Wednesday). Wimbledon will do what it can to keep the match outdoors, but it will be finished either way. On the one hand, Federer is a famously good indoor player; on the other, Djokovic has spent much of his time under the roof over the last week, and he says he likes returning serve in those conditions. He said it took him some time to adjust to the elements in his quarterfinal against Florian Mayer. But Federer's long track record of indoor excellence should give him an advantage if the roof is closed.
*****
Is Federer “Due”?
Q: You feel your game is trending in the right direction?
Federer: Yes, I’ve been playing well for a year now
As Federer says, it obviously helps Djokovic that he’s won six of their last seven matches. The Serb knows that what he’s been doing has been working. But, as the quote above demonstrates, Federer also feels like his form over the past year has been very good, the implication being that it will pay off at a major sooner or later. Is there anything to the idea of a player being “due”?
I would say yes, that the breaks will go Federer's way eventually, and that if he gets to match point this time, he stands a better than 50 percent chance of winning. The problem is, the last time these two played, Federer didn't take a set from Djokovic. "The breaks" never had a chance to be a factor. Federer’s body of work over the past 12 months would mean more against anyone other than Djokovic.
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Does Either Player Have the So-Called Mental Edge?
Let’s start by saying that mental edges dull easily in these types of high-stakes matches. The way the two players feel when they start isn’t going to be the way they feel once one of them wins the first set. Federer said today that they’re on “even ground” to begin.
Whether that's the case or not, Federer needs the opening set more than Djokovic does. Federer was still calm even after losing the first two sets to Benneteau at this tournament. At Roland Garros against Djokovic, though, he had the opposite reaction to the same situation—he played the third as if resigned to defeat. Federer needs some good things to happen early to avoid getting that sinking sensation against Nole again. He allowed him back into the second set in Paris, the same way he did Benneteau here. That can’t happen again.
As for Djokovic, I think he’ll begin with a sense that he should win, but he’ll have to negotiate some moments of tightness and nerves before he can let that confidence work for him fully, before he can swing out, “with no fear,” as Federer says. If Federer can employ a new grass-based tactic successfully early on, the dynamics will change.
*****
Does Their Personal Relationship Come Into Play?
I mention this primarily because Federer was asked today about “some forceful comments” he made about Djokovic in a past Davis Cup tie.
“I was just upset at him calling the trainer out for no obvious reason against my buddy Stan [Wawrinka] in a five-setter," Federer said. "That was it. We had a quick chat about it in Madrid after that, and things are cool since a long time between me and him. I’ve always respected him. Have I gone out for dinner with him? No. But he’s been nice to work with [in ATP meetings] . . . I have no issues with him, and I hope you believe me.”
I think for both of these guys, the motivation is Wimbledon, not anything personal. Federer was asked, “What would it feel like to win here?”
“Obviously it’s a big deal,” he said. “No denying.”
*****
What Will Happen?
The beauty of a tennis match is that, no matter how many times two players have met, no matter how well their know each other’s games, their next match will be different from their last. For all of the predictions we make, and for all of things that we say this player or that player “must” do to win, by the end we’ll probably look back and realize that none of those things happened quite the way we thought they would.
Federer has had back troubles (he said he was fine today), while Djokovic has been in better overall form through the fortnight, and he has owned their head to head for the last year and a half. But I picked Federer to start, and will stick with him here. For whatever it ends up being worth, he’s due.