Masters Cup Lost All Masters
Amelie Mauresmo of France beat her compatriot Mary Pierce in the final of the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles November 13, 2005, having ended the tournaments by 5-7 7-6 6-4 victory. Despite all expectations, the year’s final ATP Masters Cup that was to become a culminating point of the tennis season, turned into a rather second-rate tournament with only Roger Federer left of all top players of the world.
Roland Garros champ and world number two Rafael Nadal announced he pulls out of the season-ending Masters Cup citing an injury to his left foot in Shanghai November 14, 2005. The withdrawal of Nadal was a huge blow for the organizers. Australian Open winner Marat Safin of Russia was the first to pull out of the lucrative event two months ago to take care of the health. Safin was followed by Andy Roddick, who said he was ill, Lleyton Hewitt pulled out, as his wife was about to deliver and insisted on the presence of her husband somewhere nearby.
But all losses notwithstanding, the main intrigue had survived till November 14, i.e. till Nadal’s withdrawal. Nadal said he injured the leg far back in Madrid, during the Masters series. In Shanghai he finally decided he wouldn’t play in the Masters Cup.
Nadal’s announcement was made in time of the match between Andre Agassi of the U.S. and Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko. For Davydenko, even the participation was a real deed – Masters Cup was the 30th tournament played by him this year. The opposition was fierce till the middle of the first set with Davydenko nearly able to catch up with Agassi. Agassi had a break in the sixth game but Davydenko managed to withstand. In the next game, Agassi lost despite initial score of 40 -15. He never managed to recover and lost two sets. Because of the ankle injury, Agassi said later, he had rated 50:50 the chances that he would play in the tournament, but turned unable to do it.
Agassi’s withdrawal left only one Grand Slam winner in the Masters Cup. Now, there is no one to prevent Federer from winning this tournament for the second time running.
Unlike the previous year, there was no Maria Sharapova of Russia in the final of the WTA Tour Championships, which was held in Los Angeles November 13, 2005. In the fourth hour, French Amelie Mauresmo finally beat her compatriot Mary Pierce to gain the biggest victory in her career.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 15, 2005
|
