Russia dominates and wins Fed Cup final against Spain

Russia won its fourth Fed Cup in five years Sunday, defeating Spain when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title.

The victory gave Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the top team event in women’s tennis.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Kuznetsova said. “Even though I wasn’t playing my best game, it’s so important for me to win this point for the team.”

The Russians made it 4-0 when Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova downed Nuria Llagostera Vives and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-1 in doubles.

Kuznetsova used powerful ground strokes to race ahead 4-0 in the first set. Medina Garrigues regrouped to lead 6-5 and served out the set on a clear sunny day at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid’s clay court.

The players traded breaks to reach 3-3 in the second set before Kuznetsova won three straight games to even the match. She then got a late break in the third to secure the victory.

“She’s a player who puts great weight on her deliveries,” Medina Garrigues said. “I gave it my all.”

Kuznetsova was confident her stamina would carry her against an opponent who refused to wilt.

“I gave her a chance to get back,” she said. “I started to play a little bit of baseline tennis against her game. I felt so much more energy. knew my fitness was better.”

On Saturday, Vera Zvonareva beat Medina Garrigues, and Kuznetsova defeated Carla Suarez Navarro.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)

Patty Schnyder takes Bali Open title after defeating Tamira Paszek

Second-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland won her first title in three years, defeating Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-0 last weekend to take the Bali Open.

It was the 12th WTA singles title for the 29-year-old Schnyder, who last won at the Cincinnati Open in July 2005.

The 94th-rank Paszek, 17, reached the final by upsetting top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals, as well as third-seeded Flavia Pennetta and seventh-seeded Sara Errani in earlier rounds.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)

Gilles Simon beats Carlos Moya in BCR Open final

Gilles Simon of France won his second straight BCR Open Romania by beating Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 on the weekend final.

The second-seeded Simon broke the Spaniard at 3-2 in the first set and saved all six break points he conceded in the match to secure his fifth career title.

The final only lasted about 90 minutes, just half the time it took Simon to defeat eighth-seeded Jose Acasuso of Argentina in Saturday’s semifinal.

Simon beat local favorite Victor Hanescu in last year’s final, and has an 11-1 record in Bucharest.

In the men's doubles final, French duo Nicolas Devilder and Paul-Henri Mathieu won an epic battle against top seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6(4), 6-7(9) 22-20 in the final of the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest to clinch their first team title.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)

ATP clears Nikolay Davydenko in betting probe

Russian tennis star Nikolay Davydenko was cleared by the ATP after a yearlong investigation into suspicious betting patterns on a match he lost to a low-ranked opponent.

The governing body of men's tennis said it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Davydenko, opponent Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina or anyone else associated with their match in Sopot, Poland, back in 2007.

"The ATP has now exhausted all avenues of inquiry open to it and the investigation is now concluded," the association said in a statement.

Davydenko, then ranked No. 5, pulled out of the match against the 87th-ranked Vassallo Arguello in the third set, citing a foot injury.

Betfair, an online bookmaker, voided all bets on the match. It received about $7 million in wagers on the match, 10 times the usual amount for a similar-level match. Most of the money was on Arguello, even after he lost the first set.

ATP investigators spoke to Davydenko, his wife and family members and reviewed telephone records. This summer, Davydenko said he may have inadvertently tipped off bettors by talking too loudly about his injury to his wife during the tournament.

Davydenko, now ranked No. 6, has always denied any wrongdoing and expressed confidence he would be cleared.

The ATP said it interviewed "a number of individuals involved in the match" and reviewed betting account details of those who wagered on the match. It also reviewed phone records from Davydenko, Vassallo Arguello and their support personnel.

However, "certain individuals" declined to provide phone records, the ATP said. Some records eventually were turned over but they had been destroyed by telephone companies in line with data protection laws, the ATP said.

Speaking at Wimbledon this year, Davydenko said Russian spectators might have overheard him talking to his wife and entourage in the stands at the Sopot tournament.

"Everything was going on. I spoke in the center court with my wife ... (in) Russian," he said. "Maybe it's possible, if I can say something, 'I don't want to play or I can retire.' ... some people can understand."

That sort of inside information could have sparked the flood of telephone or Internet betting.

A string of players has been punished for betting violations this year. Last month, France's Mathieu Montcourt was banned from the tour for two months and fined $12,000 after being found guilty of betting on matches.

Doubles specialists Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak were suspended in July, and five Italians have also drew similar bans. Other players have said they were approached by people trying to influence a match.

Under new guidelines, players are required to report any suspicious contact from gambling syndicates within 48 hours. Sanctions include life bans for players found guilty of match fixing. Players, their families and entourages also could be banned from betting on matches.

(Via The Associated Press)