Newsday (N.Y.): Rain can't dampen Watson's spirit at Open

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SANDWICH, England -- In the worst of the storm, Tom Watson was at his best.

Which is what you would expect of him. Watson has won five British Opens, from rain to shine. He knows how to handle a links golf course when the weather is beating down on him.

His five victories are second to the six of Harry Vardon, and two years ago, a few weeks before his 60th birthday, he almost had another, bogeying the 72nd hole at Turnberry and losing a playoff to Stewart Cink.

For a while in the third round of this 140th Open, on the links of Royal St. George's, Watson was the only golfer on the course under par for the day, 1 under on the front nine.

Eventually, he slipped to a 2-over 72. But he passed many players ahead of him -- moving up from 46th to a tie for 25th place, and at 4-over 214 is tied with Rory McIlroy, the U.S.  Open champion who was this event's betting favorite.

"Conditions were bothersome,'' said Watson, at 61 the oldest golfer among the 71 who made the cut. "You just try to keep your grips dry and your wits about you and go about your business to try and make pars out there.''

Watson has played in worse, although this was bad enough, umbrellas being torn from people's hands and being bent into pretzels by winds gusting to 30 mph.

"Muirfield was worse than this,'' Watson said about the third round of the '02 Open, the day Tiger Woods shot 81. "But the worst I've ever played was at Muirfield in '80, the  first round. [Lee] Trevino and I shot 68 and led the field by eight, or  something like that.''

Conditions improved in the afternoon Saturday, as often is the case at the Open. But there was no whining from Watson. He is old school. Find the ball and hit it. Then find it and hit it again.

"One of the things you learn,'' Watson said, "is there's a saying, 'Swing with ease into the breeze.' A lot of times, you see these young kids out there trying to hit it really hard into the wind. In my case, I'm 61 and can't hit hard.''

Watson said he was helped by his putting, the part of his game which often has frustrated him in recent years. He missed a couple of shorties Saturday, including on the 18th, but wasn't unhappy.

"Without the putter in my hands,'' Watson said, "it could have been four or five shots higher. My putter was spot-on today.''

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Newsday (N.Y.): Clarke leads Johnson in British Open

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SANDWICH, England -- One has a lifetime of near misses, the other only a single heart-breaking year. Darren Clarke and Dustin Johnson are  linked more by what they haven't done than what they have.

Clarke, at 5-under-par 205, has a one-shot lead over Johnson after Saturday's third round of the 140th British Open, a tournament battered by weather and elevated by expectations.

"I've failed 19 times to try and lift the Claret Jug,'' Clarke, 42, said of the trophy presented to the champion, "and Sunday, I have the opportunity.''

So does Johnson, 27, from South Carolina whose  near misses in 2010, unable to hold final-round leads at the U.S. Open and PGA  Championship, made him a sympathetic figure.

American pros are winless in the last five majors, including the U.S. Open last month at Congressional, won by Clarke's Northern Irish countryman, Rory McIlroy.

A year ago, another Northern Irishman, Graeme McDowell, won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. And there have been German and South African winners. Now, suddenly the leader board is full of U.S. challengers besides Johnson.

Ten of the top 16 golfers after 54 holes are Americans, including Rickie Fowler, whose  2-under 68 moved him into a tie for third; Lucas Glover, tumbling  from a tie for first after a 73, is tied for fifth; and Anthony Kim, Davis Love III and -- surprise -- Phil  Mickelson are tied for seventh.

The nasty weather forecast arrived Saturday with a bang, 30-mph winds and in the morning steady rain. But conditions started to abate by the time Clarke and Glover teed off at 3  p.m. "We started off in terrible conditions,'' Clarke said, "but then got lucky.''

Clarke shot 1-under 69 with superb ball-striking and only so-so putting.

Johnson shot 2-under 68. Johnson, who in the first round was 4 over through 13 holes, was at 5 under with two to play Saturday but bogeyed 17.

"The European Tour guys have been playing well," Johnson said, alluding to the fact that Mickelson, at the 2010  Masters, was the last U.S. player to take a major. "But I don't think there's anything wrong with the American guys or American golf. We struggled, but we've got a good shot at getting one Sunday.''

Johnson had great shots last year. He was in front at Pebble Beach in the Open, then triple-bogeyed the second hole and double-bogeyed the third. Two months later, after apparently tying for first in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Johnson was penalized for grounding his club in a bunker and missed the playoff won by German Martin Kaymer.

"The U.S. Open,'' Johnson said about his agony, "was the first time I've gone into a major in the last group.''

Sunday will be the third time in the last six tournaments. Knowing the crowd will be cheering for Clarke, Johnson said: "I'm OK with that. He's on his home turf, so I would expect him to have huge crowd support. But the fans out there have been great for me.''

They were out there for McIlroy, as well, but he  played inconsistently, hit a ball out-of-bounds and shot 4-over 74, tying him  with the venerable Tom Watson, the 61-year-old who shot 72 in the worst of the weather and is tied with McIlroy.

Mickelson has only one top 10 finish, a third in 2004, in 17 previous British Opens, but he seems to have figured out links golf. "We got lucky with the weather,'' Mickelson said, echoing Clarke. "We went from fighting for pars on every hole to thinking birdies on some holes.''

Clarke's wife died of cancer just before the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club near Dublin. He chose to play, won all three of his matches and inspired the Europeans to a rout.

Clarke has reordered his life and is engaged to a former Miss Northern Ireland. Asked what it would mean to win the Open, Clarke replied: "Everything. It's the biggest and best tournament in the world.''


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Newsday (N.Y.): Clarke, Glover lead British Open

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANDWICH, England -- The Open Championship? This one is as open and as wild as any in history. After two rounds, everyone who made the cut in the 140th British Open has a chance to finish first.

There are only seven shots between the co-leaders, Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover, who are at 4-under-par 136 after Friday, and the highest scorers remaining, a large group at 3-over 143 which includes K.J. Choi and Paul Casey.

Six days ago, when he arrived in England after taking last weekend's John Deere Classic, Steve Stricker was asked who might win this Open at Royal St. George's. He cautiously, but it turns out correctly, answered, "I think anybody can."

Well, anybody but the top two players in the World Golf Ranking, respectively Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. Or Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, PGA Tour money leader Nick Watney and Matt Kuchar. All missed the cut.

But Clarke, 42, shot his second straight 68, and Glover, winner of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, who Friday had a 70, certainly can win.

So can Thomas Bjorn, who despite a 2-over 72 after his 65 Thursday is only a shot back at 137. So can Chad Campbell, PGA champ Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez, also at 137.

So can Masters champ Charl Schwartzel at 138, or Phil Mickelson -- yes, that Phil Mickelson, who only once before was a contender in the Open -- at 139. So can last month's U.S. Open winner, Rory McIlroy, who after a 1-under 69 Friday is at 140.

Perhaps so can the 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis, who is at 139 after adding a stumbling 74 to his first-day 65. Maybe so is 61-year-old Tom Watson, who had a hole-in-one on the 178-yard sixth and shot 70 for 142.

"It's the most open I've seen an Open in a long time," McIlroy said. He's only 22, but he's heard from others. "I think it will be exciting to be a part of it and exciting to watch the next two days."

Especially if the forecast is accurate. Friday, the weather along the English Channel was more like the Southern California coast. The temperature was in the 70s, the breeze was light. But it's supposed to turn nasty Saturday, heavy rain, stiff wind.

"I hope it comes in," Mickelson said, "and we get faced with that. I think it's going to be a difficult challenge, but the course is set up in a way it can accommodate some bad weather. And it's fun to be in contention heading into the weekend of the British."

For only the second time in his 18 attempts.

McDowell, winner of last year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and McIlroy, winner of this year's, are proteges of Clarke's. Clarke has a second in the 1998 Open and a third in 2001, but that's as close as he's come to any major.

"It would mean an awful lot," he said of a possible victory.

Glover, the Clemson graduate, grew a full beard over the winter and kept it. "They told me," he said, "no one has won the Open Championship with a beard since the 1890s."

Actually, it was 1882, Bob Ferguson at St. Andrews.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Bjorn, amateur tied for British Open lead

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SANDWICH, England -- They were separated by seven hours and many pages of history, but after a tumultuous first round of the 140th British Open, Thomas Bjorn, age 40, and Tom Lewis, age 20, were together at the top of the scoreboard.

Bjorn, the Dane with all the baggage, finished about noon British Summer Time yesterday, with his superb 5-under par 65 at Royal St. George's. Lewis, the English amateur with all the promise, sank his final putt for the same score around 7:30 p.m.

If a novel were to be created about Day 1 of the oldest tournament in the world, a proper title, with apologies to Charles Dickens, might be "Great Unexpectations."

Bjorn, remembered mostly for taking three shots out of the sand on the 70th hole and taking himself out of the lead the last time the Open was held here in 2003, came into the tournament in a funk. His five European Tour events prior to the Open showed three missed cuts, a withdrawal and an 81 in the final round of the French Open.

Lewis parents were such fans of Tom Watson that they named their son after him.

Lewis, 20, was paired with Watson Thursday along with Henrik Stenson. Lewis won the British boys amateur at St. George's two years ago but never had played in an Open.

Bjorn and Lewis were a shot ahead of Lucas Glover, who won the  2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, the Spaniard Miguel Angel  Jimenez and Webb  Simpson, a one-time Wake Forest star.

Rory McIlroy, in his first  tournament since the 22-year-old Northern Irishman set records winning the U.S. Open last month at Congressional, came in with a 1-over par 71 and is tied for  53rd.

"On a day like this," said McIlroy, who played early  when the wind was gusting, "you could have shot a high number and put yourself  out of the golf tournament."

Very much in the mix is the American Dustin Johnson who was 4-over par through 14 holes. "If you would have bet [against] me being 1-under standing on the 18th tee, I would taken it," he said.

Johnson birdied 14, birdied 15, had a hole-in-one at 16 and birdied 17, going 5-under in four holes. A bogey at 18 gave him an even-par 70.

That was the same score as Phil Mickelson. Louis Oosthuizen, who won the Open last year at St. Andrews, shot 72.

Bjorn only got into the Open on Monday when Vijay Singh withdrew. "There's a lot coming back here after what happened eight years ago," he  admitted. "I just wanted to go out and knuckle down. I've always promised myself  I'll keep going and going."

This time he had a birdie 2 on the 163-yard 16th, three strokes better than the last time he played it, in '03.


Asked what his father, Ole, who died in May, would have thought about the round, Bjorn choked up and wiped tears from his eyes.

Lewis is going to be a pro, like his father, Bryan, who briefly played the European Tour. Tom left school at 16 to hone his game, backed by the R&A, the governing organization of British golf. He is from the same town north of
London, Welwyn Garden City, as Nick Faldo.

"I played well today, got a lot of cheers," said Lewis. "At first it was for Watson, but toward the end I was playing so well they were cheering for me . . .  I was just happy to be here, but to shoot 65 the first round was something I wouldn't have thought."

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RealClearSports: Pro From Denmark Is Bjorn Again

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SANDWICH, England -- He wanted no tears from anyone, though on this day of success, minimal as it might prove to be, Thomas Bjorn understandably shed a few of his own.

There he was, tied for the lead Thursday after one round of the British Open. It was the result of good karma, great golf and a story fit for a Hollywood script.

Except this was played out on the moonscape links of ...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Newsday (N.Y.): Mickelson eager for links at British Open

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANDWICH, England -- It hasn't been his tournament, except once, in 17 years. Phil Mickelson and the British Open have become virtual enemies. Something happens when he comes across the Atlantic, and more significantly comes upon a linksland course.

In 2004, the year he won the Masters, the year he made such a gallant run at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Mickelson led the British Open on the back nine the final day. That was at Royal Troon, on the west coast of Scotland. He missed by a shot of making the playoff in which Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els.

"I love this tournament," was Mickelson's comment. "I just haven't played well in the past." He said that at Troon seven years ago. For all intents he said it again this week, slightly modified.

"I'm not trying to fix any past poor play," was his explanation heading into Thursday's first round of the 2011 Open at Royal St. George's, "I'm trying to come here and play the way links golf should be played . . . I actually really enjoy it."

Even if he doesn't enjoy his record, the lone top-10 finish. The last time the Open was held at Royal St. George's, along the English Channel on the southeast tip of England, in 2003, Mickelson tied for 59th.

At age 41, Mickelson is attempting to persuade himself the Open is new.

"I'm trying to pretend it's my first time here," he said, "and appreciate playing the ball on the ground on days when the wind blows and appreciate being able to play some through the air when the wind is a little bit calmer."

To those in the New York Metropolitan area, where Mickelson has been successful, winning the PGA at Baltusrol in 2005, leading the U.S. Open at Winged Foot for 71 holes in 2006, coming down to the wire at Shinnecock and at Bethpage Black in 2002 and 2009, it may be difficult to imagine he can't play well on any course.

But links golf, on rolling fairways full of bunkers and blind shots, bewilders Mickelson. The skills he exhibits with a wedge or with a putter, are negated. It's difficult to spin a shot on a green as hard as cement when the wind is gusting 30 mph.

"I enjoy being rewarded for a precise shot," said Mickelson, "and having the ball end up close to the hole if you hit it really well. But I'm coming to enjoy the challenge links golf provides."

To that end he played in the Scottish Open last week at Castle Stuart, a new links course near Inverness. He never made it to the leaderboard, but he did make the cut.

Because of quirky bounces of links golf, luck often is involved, but as Jack Nicklaus pointed out, the player with the most good breaks usually is the one who hits the most good shots.

For Mickelson's practice round Tuesday, the wind was howling. Upwind, he couldn't reach the 243-yard, par-3 11th with a full driver, but downwind he could rip a ball 380 yards off the tee on the 426-yard, par-4 17th.

"I don't think the scores will be ridiculously low here," Mickelson said. "I think making No. 4 [at 495 yards] a par 4 [from a 5] immediately knocks four shots off the score relative to par. So we're going to have a tough time breaking par over four rounds."

For someone wanting to think positively, Phil Mickelson seems all too negative.

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SF Examiner: US golfers will have their day again

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

The questions are repetitive. And irritating. What’s wrong with United States golfers, or tennis players? Why are the best in the world from England or Serbia or Northern Ireland?

Maybe a better question is, does it matter? When did the U.S. Open or Wimbledon become like the Giants-Dodgers rivalry or Stanford vs. Cal? Would a U.S. golf fan rather see Rory McIlroy than Boo Weekley? Or Weekley because he’s from America, even if he’s not a major champion?

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Rory Goes After Royal St. George's

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SANDWICH, England — He's the new Tiger Woods. Absolutely. In the media tent, maybe even more than on the golf course. Rory McIlroy, as fans once shouted about Woods, "You da man.''

McIlroy came in for his pre-British Open session Tuesday, and writers and broadcasters barged through the main tent into the smaller interview area, jostling for a seat. As they used to do for Tiger, who, as we know is absent from a second straight major.

Rory Mac, as he's been labeled ...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Newsday (N.Y.): McIlroy ready for British Open challenge

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANDWICH, England — Rory McIlroy said he no longer needs to answer the question, which of course is whether he can win a major, because a month ago he won the U.S. Open with ease and grace and a record score.

Now, there is another question: How does he react to the expectations created by his victory at Congressional? Whatever privacy or anonymity he had -- and after contending in the three previous majors there wasn't much left -- is gone.

"[Winning] has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders," said the 22-year-old McIlroy. "Now I can talk about winning my second one after having won the first. So it's a nice pressure to have lifted off you."

Winning the second one at Royal St. George's where the British Open begins Thursday along the English Channel, is what others also are talking about.

McIlroy, filling the void of Tiger Woods, absent for a second straight major, is the favorite of the legal oddsmakers, at 13-2, and of the crowds, since as a Northern Irishman, he is a Brit.

The wind was up Tuesday at St. George's, a rolling collection of undulating greens, huge bunkers and bizarre tales. In the 1949 Open here, Harry Bradshaw elected to hit a ball out of a broken beer bottle in the second round, botched the shot and two days later lost a playoff to Bobby Locke.

"The thing is with this wind, you're going to have to keep the ball low," said McIlroy. "But sometimes it's hard to run the ball onto these greens, because they can go so many different ways. I think you're going to need very strong ball flight, especially if the wind still picks up the way it is.

"With the rough not being up, I think this golf course is going to be all about the second shot and making sure you get the ball in the right position on the green, because these greens are so slopey, you're going to have 25-, 30-footers all day if you do hit the greens."

McIlroy seems to have hit the jackpot. The last two weeks, the Fleet Street press sent reporters and columnists swarming to his home in the Belfast, Northern Ireland, suburb of Holywood (pronounced the same as the movie city) to discuss his past, present and future

"It's nice to be the center of attention," said McIlroy, who had been in a less flattering way when he blew a final-round lead in the Masters in April.

"But yeah, I mean, I've prepared the exact same way that I've prepared for the last few major championships, and I feel that it works for me, coming to the course a week before, getting in a couple of practice rounds, and then not getting [back] until Tuesday afternoon.

"Well, I used to do it under the radar. I'm not sure I'll be able to do that anymore."

Phil Mickelson, preceding McIlroy into the interviews, was asked if he thought the young champion could "live up to the hype."

"I don't know if I would say that," was Mickelson's response. "I think the thing about Rory is he plays golf with a real flair and real charisma. He plays it with youthful exuberance, and it's fun to watch somebody play golf like that . . . He draws people to him."

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Newsday (N.Y.): Rory's next test comes at Royal St. George's

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SANDWICH, England -- The British Open this week returns to the course where Ian Fleming carried a handicap of 007 -- well, 7 -- where canines and females both were refused access; where France is visible across the Channel; and where Rory McIlroy is going to find out what it's like to be his sport's newest celebrity.

Royal St. George's is where Tiger Woods lost his opening tee shot in the rough in the Open of 2003; where Jack Nicklaus shot an 83 in the second round in the Open of 1981; and where a streaker darted out of the crowd only to be tackled by Peter Jacobsen at the 72nd hole in the Open of 1985.

When the wind blows, and Saturday it was around 20 mph, St. George's might be the hardest course in the Open rota. Unquestionably, it is the most southern, about 75 miles from London.

McIlroy, the reigning U.S. Open champion, will find out how it suits his game this week, and he hasn't played a competitive round since his overwhelming victory at Congressional.

McIlroy showed up at least twice at Wimbledon and jetted to Hamburg for last Saturday's Klitschko-Haye heavyweight championship fight.

"Some people may have wondered why I chose to go straight from one major to another, without anything in between,'' the 22-year-old McIlroy said this week. "The answer is simple. It's because of what happened at Congressional and the way it became such a big deal.

"I wanted to get everything out of the way and sorted, so when I did start playing again, I could just concentrate on golf.''

But Graeme McDowell, McIlroy's more experienced countryman and winner of the 2010 U.S Open at    Pebble Beach, and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington said just receiving congratulations is a huge distraction. Colin Montgomerie, captain of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team which beat the United States, seemed worried about the same thing.

"He's so natural, I don't think there are any fears about his game,''

Montgomerie pointed out, "but it's the locker room. Whether it was the French or the Scottish Open, he could have got that out of his system and out of the way so he can start the Open afresh.

"Now he's got that ahead of him and on the first tee, I think he will be mentally tired -- but who am I to say?''

While McIlroy was climbing the ladder of stardom when he won the U.S. Open, the last British Open at St. George's in 2003 produced one of the biggest "Who's he?'' champions, Ben Curtis of Ohio. He was a rookie then and benefited from back-nine failures by Woods, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III and Thomas Bjorn.

If that sounds like the plot of a James Bond novel, Bond's creator, Fleming, became a St. George's member in the late 1940s. In "Goldfinger,'' where Bond takes on Auric Goldfinger and his evil "caddie,'' Oddjob, Fleming named the course Royal St. Marks, but descriptions of various holes -- especially the fourth, the "Himalayas,'' with a bunker as big as a swimming pool -- are identifiable.

There used to be a sign near the entrance, "No Dogs, No Women,'' but ladies are now permitted.

So are American pros, although the English press has spent the week going after Bubba Watson, following Bubba's oafish remarks about France and the Alstom Open there, referring to the Arc de Triomphe as "The arch I drove around in a circle,'' and other such comments.

A writer for the Daily Telegraph said Watson had the "aesthetic appreciation of Ronald McDonald,'' and joined the gloating on this side of the Atlantic because Americans are winless in the last five majors.

The most recent was the U.S. Open last month at Congressional, where McIlroy of Northern Ireland -- part of Great Britain -- set records and golf on its ear.

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RealClearSports: American Sports Take Beating in Britain

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

HASTINGS, England — What's with the English? Every other person seems to be wearing a New York Yankees hat. But just try to find one word about baseball in the dailies. A word that is not discouraging.

Not too long ago, you could pick up a copy of the Times of London, which for the record printed edition No. 70,305 on Thursday, and in the agate type find the ball scores. Not the "football'' scores, soccer, their game. Baseball, our game.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

SF Examiner: Nick Watney rising up the ranks after AT&T win

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

Nick Watney wouldn’t use the  term “Sweet Torture” to describe his win a few days ago on the PGA Tour, in the AT&T National. But if it’s good enough for the Giants, very much his team, he’ll be accepting.

With a round and a half to go last weekend, Watney was seven shots behind and shot 27 on the back nine Saturday, second lowest ever, and 62 total. He followed that with a 66.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Real Great Ones Make No Excuses

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

LONDON -- Tiger‘s still out, which is understandable. If he's unable to practice or play, there's nothing he can do except wait and heal as any athlete or sportsman. Only when he is well will he return.

There will be no talk of injuries. With Tiger, no matter his other faults, he competes, as we know from winning the 2008 U.S. Open on what in effect was one leg. There were winces. There were no excuses.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

CBSSports.com: 'Joker' comes up aces against Nadal in breakthrough

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By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- He was a mimic and a comic, an athlete with a reputation for capturing the routines and characteristics of others. His nickname, "The Joker," was as much reaction to his personality as his given name with the silent "D."

Novak Djokovic had everything to be a champion but staying power and temperament. He could fist-pump with the best of them ...

Read the full story here.

© 2011 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): Kvitova beats Sharapova for title

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON,  England -- It might have been less an upset than a preview.

Women's tennis is changing, former champions aging, and failing, a new cast arriving, though a group little known outside the sport.

That the young Czech lefthander Petra Kvitova is the 2011 Wimbledon champion -- defeating Maria Sharapova, 6-3,  6-4, Saturday on Centre Court -- was a surprise to some, but not all.

Especially not to another lefty who came from what then was Czechoslovakia, is now a naturalized U.S. citizen and won nine Wimbledon singles.

"A new star,'' Martina Navratilova said of  the 21-year-old Kvitova. "It didn't happen overnight, but she's a champion. It's great.''

Depending on one's viewpoint. Sharapova, 24, who for nearly three years has struggled back from 2008 surgery on her rotator cuff, is the sort of personality tennis needs.

She won Wimbledon in 2004, as a 17-year-old, the U.S. Open in '06 -- remember that commercial built around the song "Maria'' from "West  Side Story"? -- and the Australian Open in 2008. She's engaged to the Nets' Sasha Vujacic and although Russian  by birth, she speaks flawless English.

But she didn't have much chance against the 6-foot Kvitova, who ended the match with a service ace.

"She was hitting really powerful, and hitting winners from all over the court,'' said Sharapova, who is 6-2. "She made a defensive shot into an offensive one.

"She just kind of laid on a lot of those shots. I think she was more aggressive than I was, hit deeper and got the advantage in points.''

Kvitova, who was a semifinalist last year, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams, opened  the match by losing her serve, and seemed affected by the pressure of reaching  her first major singles final.

But she broke back immediately, and took control in the sixth game when Sharapova made four straight double faults.

"It's still unbelievable,'' Kvitova said among giggles when asked to describe her feelings. "I don't know. Maybe I accept it.''

She's the third lefthander to win the women's title here after Navratilova and Ann Jones.

"She served quite hard,'' Sharapova said. "The second serve, also, she was going for it. And, yeah, I could have reacted a little bit better. She placed the ball well.''

Sharapova was caught between dismay and hope.

"Besides the fact that I lost,'' Sharapova said, "I think this is a big step for me, being here in the final. You know I feel like I'm proving this year. That gives me a tremendous amount of confidence for the rest of the year.''

Winning certainly didn't hurt the confidence of Kvitova (pronounced Kuh-VIT-uh-vah), who entered the tournament eighth in the WTA rankings, two places down from Sharapova. Kvitova had won three tournaments this year.

"Hopefully not last Grand Slam,'' Kvitova said. "I try play everything. Yeah, my game was improve.''

Caroline  Wozniacki, ranked No. 1, has been the star of the new generation, which includes Victoria  Azarenka and Agnes Radwanska -- all Europeans -- but Kvitova is the only one  of the group to win a major.

"I think she's a much more powerful hitter [than the others],'' Sharapova  said of Kvitova. "She has bigger strokes, and I would say a better serve.''

Navratilova and fellow Czech Jana Novotna (the 1998  winner), who watched from the Royal Box, talked to Kvitova afterward.

"They were so happy,'' Kvitova said. "I cried after I met them.''

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/kvitova-beats-sharapova-for-title-1.3000678
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): It's Djokovic vs. Nadal for men's title

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON,  England -- Twenty-four hours separate Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic from the  top of the men's tennis rankings. The Wimbledon final Sunday separates them from the trophy of the sport's oldest tournament.

Nadal will be ranked No. 1 until Monday, when Djokovic, who has won 47 of the 48 matches he played this year -- four against Nadal -- moves to the top.
That's almost incidental compared with who takes the 145th All England Lawn Championship.

Nadal has been the winner the last two times he played Wimbledon, 2008 and 2010, missing in 2009 because of knee problems. For Djokovic, it's uncharted territory, the reason Nadal is slightly favored.


"It's quite different playing Nadal in a Grand Slam,'' Djokovic, the 24-year-old Serb said Saturday, "because it's best of five. So physically, we  all know that he's superior, and he's the strongest player around, most prepared.


"I need to be physically ready, which I am. The four times I won against him
this year [in finals of regular tournaments] can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match.''


Nadal, 25, the lefty Spaniard, has 10 major singles titles, including this
year's French  Open, which he took a sixth time. Nadal also will be appearing in a fifth  Wimbledon final, in modern tennis done only by Bjorn Borg, Roger
Federer and John McEnroe.


Djokovic has won two Grand Slam events, the Australian  Open, this year and in 2008. He lost twice in the final of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, in 2010 to Nadal, in 2007 to Federer.


"His mental position over me is probably a little bit better because he won the last four finals against me,'' Nadal said of Djokovic. "I have to play
aggressive. I have to play with intensity, with rhythm. That's what I'm going to try.''


He had both Friday, defeating fourth-ranked Andy Murray in one  semifinal, and "crushing'' -- the word in one tabloid headline -- Britain's hopes of a  first
men's title in 75 years.



In the other semi, Djokovic defeated 12th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,  a
Frenchman with a facial resemblance to Muhammad Ali.

Overall, Nadal is 16-11 against Djokovic, but he has lost their four matches  in
2011, all in finals, at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome.

"I have always believed I can win against the best players in the world in  the
biggest tournaments,'' Djokovic said. "For a couple of years, I was losing most of the matches against Nadal and Federer in the major events. Now I feel that I can win against those guys in big events.''


He will find out Sunday if that feeling becomes  reality.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/it-s-djokovic-vs-nadal-for-men-s-title-1.3000423
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Yahoo! Sports: Czech point: Kvitova looks like new Navratilova

in ,
By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — Czech, mate. The new generation from the land of the Martinas and Janas has arrived. Prodigiously.

Petra Kvitova found splendor on the grass Saturday, a surprise winner of the Wimbledon women's singles title, 6-3, 6-4 over one-time champion Maria Sharapova. Then again, considering Kvitova's strength, length (she's 6 feet tall) and youth (she's 21), maybe it wasn't a surprise.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Yahoo! Sports: Nadal vs. Djokovic — what a final it should be at Wimbledon

in ,
By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — This is what sports is all about, the best against the best. In men's tennis these days it's a final offering the player who is No. 1 in the rankings, Rafael Nadal, against Novak Djokovic, the player who will replace him as No. 1 — if not necessarily replace him as Wimbledon champ.

Nadal has taken over the All England Lawn Tennis tournament, The Championships, from Roger Federer, winning the last two times he entered.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.

RealClearSports: Tsonga Ready for His Biggest Moment

in ,
By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- A door closes, and another opens. Change is the constant in sport, indeed in life. The familiar merges with the unknown, forcing us to consider the future even as we wistfully think about the past.

Tennis has changed. Wimbledon has changed. Roger Federer exits for a second straight year after a quarterfinal, and we wonder once more whether his time has passed.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Yahoo! Sports: Sharapova’s comeback continues—she's in Wimbledon final

in ,
By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — Yes, there were doubts for Maria Sharapova. You undergo an operation on your right shoulder, the one with which you serve a tennis ball, the one with which you made your reputation, and the demons fly, taunting and teasing.

The imperfection. The impatience. The disappointment as defeats mount and skeptics question.

"I set myself certain goals," Sharapova said ...

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.