Tennis- Jankovic loses to Kanepi in Dubai

Page last updated at 17:56 GMT, Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Jankovic loses to Kanepi in Dubai:

Jankovic lost in straight sets in Dubai on Wednesday Third seed Jelena Jankovic tumbled out of the Dubai Championships with a 6-2 7-5 defeat by Estonia's Kaia Kanepi. "This was the worst match of my career. It was a horrible day, I am ashamed of this performance," said Jankovic. Ana Ivanovic won 6-2 7-6 (7-5) against Camille Pin and the eighth seed will now play top seed Serena Williams, who beat 13th seed Zheng Jie 6-4 6-2. She remains on course for a semi-final against big sister Venus, who swept to a 6-3 6-2 win over Alize Cornet. The sixth seed will next play fourth seed Elena Dementieva, who beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-3. France's Virginie Razzano beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 1-6 6-2 while Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva both saw their opponents fail to finish their matches. Russia's Vesnina went through when Dominika Cibulkova retired while trailing 4-6 6-1 4-0 while Zvonareva saw Marion Bartoli pull out when trailing 5-2 in the first set. Kanepi completely dominated an off-colour Jankovic, who is a former world number one. After trailing 6-2 4-0 Jankovic managed to pull level at 5-5 in the second set but Kanepi was not to be denied. "I kept framing the ball, kept making unforced errors and could not put two balls together on the court," said Jankovic. I rushed a little bit in the first set and then realised it in the second and started pulling back a little bit on my shots Sixth seed Venus Williams "I didn't move properly, and I didn't see the ball properly. She didn't have to do too much. Basically, I beat myself. I don't know what happened out there." Kanepi, whose previous biggest victory came against sixth-ranked Anna Chakvedatze in last year's French Open, said: "I am really delighted. It was my tactic to mix it up and it worked. "I did get a bit tight and started thinking too much when I was 4-0 up in the second, but such things happen when you have the opportunity to beat such a top player. Thankfully, I managed to pull it back." Venus Williams started in a very aggressive fashion, but then adopted a more conservative approach that saw her cruise to victory against Cornet. "It was interesting. I missed a few shots long and I was a little upset about that, but I managed to rein it in. She is obviously a really good player with a lot of potential," said Williams. "I made more errors than yesterday. I rushed a little bit in the first set and then realised it in the second and started pulling back a little bit on my shots."

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Jamie Murray misses Davis Cup cut

Murray has played in Britain's last four Davis Cup ties Jamie Murray has been left out of Britain's Davis Cup squad to face Ukraine in Glasgow from 6-8 March. GB captain John Lloyd has opted to pick only one doubles specialist and Ross Hutchins has been selected ahead of the out-of-form Murray. Murray, 23, has won only two matches this season. World number four Andy Murray will fill another of the slots in the four-man squad, with a play-off next week deciding the other two members. Explaining his decision, Lloyd said: "Choosing between two quality doubles players was always going to be tough. "I've been studying the players since the last tie in September and feel that Ross has been playing the better tennis over the last four or five months so he gets the nod this time. "Jamie is a very talented doubles player and has always thrived in the Davis Cup environment and I have no doubt that he will feature in the team in the future." Murray made his Davis Cup debut in 2007 when he partnered Greg Rusedski in the win over the Netherlands and has won two of his four doubles matches in the competition. However, since Wimbledon last year, Murray has struggled for form. His partnership with Max Mirnyi came to an end in September and Murray has managed only four wins since then, playing with a variety of partners. Hutchins, meanwhile, has forged a close friendship with Andy Murray, spending the off-season with the world number four in Miami. The 23-year-old, whose regular doubles partner is Australian Stephen Huss, won an ATP title in Beijing in September and then reached consecutive finals. He has made previous two Davis Cup appearances, partnering Jamie Murray in defeats against Austria and Argentina. Lloyd must now decide on the make-up of the rest of his squad after deciding against giving British number two Alex Bogdanovic a chance to turn around his poor form in the competition. Former British number one Greg Rusedski is also out of the picture after he abandoned his plan to come out of retirement. Lloyd will instead hold a six-man play-off at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Josh Goodall, Alex Slabinsky, James Ward, Dan Evans and Colin Fleming have been joined in the best-of-five-set tournament by Chris Eaton after Jamie Baker pulled out with an injury. "With Andy and Ross in the team, it is up to the guys in the play-offs to step up and show that they are ready to play for Great Britain," said Lloyd.

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Federer sidelined by back injury

Federer has not played since his defeat in the Australian Open final World number two Roger Federer has pulled out of the Dubai tournament and Switzerland's Davis Cup tie against the US to recover from a back injury. The 13-time Grand Slam champion has not played since he lost a five-set epic against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. "After injuring my back last autumn, I did not have enough time to strengthen it completely," said the 27-year-old. "I will use the next few weeks to make sure it is fully rehabilitated." Federer had to withdraw from his third-round match at the Paris Masters in October and had treatment on his back during his defeat by Andy Murray at the Masters Cup in November. He was due to play in Dubai next week alongside seven other top-10 players, including Nadal, before linking up with his Swiss team-mates for the Davis Cup first-round tie against the US in Alabama from 6-8 March. Federer has often skipped the first round of the Davis Cup, returning only to help the team avoid relegation from the elite World Group. However, the Swiss had committed to play alongside world number 18 Stanislas Wawrinka this year. "This decision was very difficult for me," Federer said in a statement on his official website. "I won't just be missing one of my favourite tournaments of the tour, but also the chance to go through to the next round with my team-mates." Nadal may also be a doubt for the Dubai tournament, which begins on Monday, after struggling with a knee problem during his defeat by Murray in Sunday's Rotterdam final.