July 2008
HEAD Partners With European Beach Tennis Championships
HEAD Brand Shows Continued Success in 2008
Rogers Cup to Be Played on DecoTurf
2008 U.S Open Sets the Stage for Introductions of Prince Bag Collections
Wilson Named Official Tennis Ball For the 2008 Summer Olympics
DecoTurf Tennis Surface is Once Again Selected for the US Open Series in Cincinnati
Following in the Champion’s footsteps: Babolat introduces new line of Nadal Junior racquets
The Year of TEAM TENNIS.(Brief Article)
Publication: Parks & Recreation
HEAD Pros Enjoy Success at Recent Tournaments
Tennis Channel’s Only At the Open to Showcase US Open Champions Sundays Leading up to 2008 Tournament
Robredo Wins Battle Between Dunlop Tour Team Members
Serena Williams looking to bounce back (AP)
Davenport pulls out of Bank of the West (AP)
2009 Davis Cup, Fed Cup schedule out (AP)
As if four tournaments was not enough last week on tour, the ATP is back with the same number of events this week. The busy Olympic year calender continues to see the summer claycourt swing continue as well the start of the U.S. Open series. As the top players get ready for masters series action next week in Toronto, this week will still provide a lot of top flight tennis.
On the first preview of the week and Kitzbühel, Austria. This tournament usual attracts a lot of tough clay court players but this year because of condensed calender Andres Seppi gets your top seed. The Italian has had a good season reaching the semi-finals of the Hamburg masters to go along with other great results. Seppi does have a good draw although former French Open finalist Guillermo Coria could be waiting in the second round and its a great opportunity for Coria to get his career back on track. Second seed Rainer Schuettler will look to continue the great form that saw the 32 year old reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon last week. Schuettler again has a good draw like Seppi, however neither player is capable of rolling through tournaments, so upsets are immanent.
Perhaps Eduardo Schwank will be a player to watch this week in Austira. The dangerous Argentine is a tricky player with some good fire from the baseline, and he plays very tough on clay courts. Look for Eduardo to have a good showing this week. This tournament is as open as it gets. Therefore a clear winner is difficult to predict. One thing is for sure a great chance for a break through week for a lower ranked player.
The second preview of the week comes from Amersfoot, Holland. Again not a power house field in Holland this year with Marc Gicquel and Jose Acasuso as the top two seeds. WIth the top seed ranked 48 in the world, its hard to have a clear favorite in an event, therefore making Amersfoot, similar to Austria with a wide open field. Good to see Mr. Martin Verkerk back from the dead and ready to play on home turf. The 6′6 Dutchman has been quiet for a long time as he has battled injuries and is trying to relieve the glory days when he was a French Open finalist. Verkerk has the potential to face Acasuso in round two provided he can make it there. If Acasuso can keep his fragile mindset together, I could see him raising the title which would make it the forth of his.
The third preview of the week brings the tour to Umag, Crotia. The beautiful ocean view club is a favorite of defending champion and the tournaments third seed Carlos “Charlie” Moya. Perhaps the last title that good old Carlos will defend, the aging 32 year old Spaniard has had a poor, after an impressive 2007. Winning the title 5 times, Moya clearly loves Umag. He will love it more than ever before if he can win title number 6 and improve on the sub par year that he has had. Carlos looks good to get to the semi-finals where his buddy top seed Fernando Verdasco who has been playing well as of late should be waiting for him. Ivo (I can’t break serve) Karlovic the tournament second seed will look to step up his game in his hometown and give the Croatian crowd a fantastic week. Karlovic will have problems with either Igor Indreev or Guillermo Canas if he intends to reach the semi’s or better. Croatia is not as wide open as the other two clay court tournaments this week, and either Moya or Verdasco should come through.
The final preview of the week comes from yes, Indianapolis, Indiana. The hard court season finally kicks off this week with the beginning of the U.S. Open series. James Blake who is the tournament top seed should have little resistance in holding up the title. He is the only top ten player entered this week, in any tournament for that matter, as he looks to grab his 1st title of 2008. James returns to his favorite hardcourt surface and has only a few guys to really worry about in this tournament. Robby Ginepri could be Blake’s semi-final opponent or defending champ Dmitry Tursunov also the tournament 3rd seed could give James a few problems. Unheralded Frenchmen Gilles Simon is the number 2 seed this year and has a tough quarter with Tommy Haas or John Isner waiting to knock him off. Blake’s tournament to win or lose, and it will be pretty bad if he does not take home this title. The rest of the year will not provide a better opportunity than this week for Blake.








