Andy Roddick claimed his third ATP title of the season, beating unseeded giant-killer Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-7 (6) 6-3 today in the final of the China Open.
Roddick struggled all the way against Sela, who reached the final by beating top-seeded seed David Ferrer, fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo and Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
It was the first ATP final of Sela's career. Sela is only No. 92 in the ATP rankings and is the first Israeli to reach an ATP final since Harel Levy in 2000.
Announced in the official China Open website, Roddick's agent confirmed that the winner has contributed 25 thousand dollars to China Tennis Association (CTA), the first contribution by a foreign player .
In the men's doubles final, Great Britain’s Ross Hutchins and Australian Stephen Huss (pictured) captured their first team ATP title after defeating No. 3 seeds Ashley Fisher and Bobby Reynolds 7-5, 6-4. “It went fantastically for us, Ross and I played really well,” said the Melbourne resident Huss.
“We’ve played solid all week and haven’t done anything wrong. We really played to the top of our level and that’s been good enough this week to win. It was awesome."
"It’s very satisfying (to win another ATP title), it’s been a long time since I won one at ATP level so that gives me confidence going forward and I hope there’s more round the corner.”
(Images via Yahoo! Sport, atp.com)
Russia's Maria Kirilenko has won the 2008 Hansol Korea Open.
This is Kirilenko third singles title of the year, having also won Tier IV titles during the clay court season in Estoril and Barcelona.
The no.1 seed who was runner-up last year to Venus Williams improved on that result Sunday afternoon against Australia's Samantha Stosur."I think this year, I’m a much better player, and I also had more difficult wins than last year," Kirilenko said during the press conference after her win.
"From the, I don’t know, the first round, I didn’t know the girl with whom I played, but anyway, she played quite good. And then from the second round to the final, I had very good players. And I’m really happy that I beat all of them. I feel that I’m improving, you know."
Kirilenko rallied from a set down to claim the Tier IV title with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.However, Kirilenko who was back on Centre Court for the doubles final with her partner Vera Dushevina lost to defending champions Chuang Chia-Jung and Hsieh Su-Wei. (Image by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)
Mike and Bob Bryan, hold the award they received from the City of Oxnard on
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008, at Plaza Park in Oxnard.
The Bryan Brothers’ All-Star Tennis Smash will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Sherwood Country Club.
The event will feature tennis stars and celebrities, including Andre Agassi, Gavin Rossdale, Lindsay Davenport, James Blake, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Thomas Blake, Justin Gimelstob, Corina Morariu, Jon Lovitz, Amaury Nolasco, Brandi Carlile and Mardy Fish.
The event is Agassi’s first scheduled public playing tennis appearance this year. The All-Star Tennis Smash will benefit local and national charities including City Impact, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping kids in Ventura County.
Agassi, in a large part, is the reason why the Bryans have forged ahead with this effort. "Andre really inspired them, as well as alot of American players, to give back," said Wayne Bryan, the players' father, after a ceremony Friday to honour the foundation.
"We've been trying for two years to get this going, and Sherwood's a great venue to kick it off," said Mike, who recently teamed with Fish on the U.S. doubles team in Spain during the Davis Cup semis.
Hopefully we'll see some of the photos from this event soon.
(Image by Tina Burch/dailynews.com)
Andy Roddick claimed his third ATP title of the season, beating unseeded giant-killer Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-7 (6) 6-3 today in the final of the China Open. 
In the men's doubles final, Great Britain’s Ross Hutchins and Australian Stephen Huss (pictured) captured their first team ATP title after defeating No. 3 seeds Ashley Fisher and Bobby Reynolds 7-5, 6-4. 
