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Federer Changes Record Books Again With US Open Win

World No. 1 Roger Federer put down a spirited performance by Andre Agassi Sunday in the final of the 2005 US Open, adding a few more pages to his record book with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 win to successfully defend his New York crown.

Agassi took advantage of a flagging Federer backhand to take the second set then the third to a tiebreak, but the Swiss flicked the switch in the breaker, losing one point in the tiebreak, and one game in the final set.

"I had to play my best match of the tournament," Federer said. "It happened I played my best in the finals, as usual. I don't know how I do it, but it definitely feels great every single time."

Agassi, who has said he would like to play on as long as he can with the sciatic nerve problem affecting his back, gave a cryptic thanks and goodbye to the New York fans after the final.

"Thank you New York for the last 20 years, it's been a great ride," Agassi said in the on-court ceremony.

Federer's sixth slam title set a number of records: first man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years; 35 straight hardcourt wins, breaking Pete Sampras' mark of 34; the first man to win his first six Grand Slam finals in the Open Era; and a record 23rd consecutive wins in tournament finals, almost double the previous mark.

"He plays the game in a very special way that I haven't seen before," Agassi said. "I think he's the best I've played against."

Raymond/Stosur Win US Open Women's Doubles

No. 6 seeds Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur won their first Grand Slam title as a team Sunday at the US Open, defeating No. 14 seeds Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

Raymond and Stosur led 6-2, 4-0 before the wheels came off, allowing the Russian/Italian tandem to bring things back on serve at 4-5. Raymond/Stosur then had three match points on Dementieva's serve at 4-5 before watching the match go to an improbably three sets.

"I think everyone that was watching probably knew that I got a bit nervous and tight and started missing some balls," Stosur said. "They got some more balls back, and hit some more winners and stuff like that. I think it was just good that even though we lost the set, I calmed down and kind of pulled myself back together."

Raymond and Stosur, who began their partnership in July this year during the US Open Series events, lost first round in their first two partnerships, but entered the US Open fresh off their first title the week before at New Haven.

"It took us a couple weeks to get on track," Raymond said. "It was just a matter of time of us getting used to each other, getting comfortable, relaxing a little bit. The rest is kind of history, the past three weeks."

Nadal, 7 Slam Finalists at ATP China Open

Rafael Nadal and six other Grand Slam winners or runner-ups feature this week on the hardcourts at the China Open in Beijing, with the new sugardaddy of men's tennis doling out the appearance money in the lead-up to the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Joining the pirate-pantsed Spaniard among the seeds are Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Thomas Johansson, Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Mikhail Youzhny, and Spanish former No. 1s Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya.

Opening-round match-ups of interest are (1) Nadal vs. Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang who is coming off two Challenger runner-up efforts, (6) Ferrero vs. Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, (8) Moya vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, and (4) Thomas Johansson vs. (WC) Jonas Bjorkman in an all-Swedish match-up.

In last year's final Marat Safin, currently out of action with a knee injury, defeated Youzhny in straight sets.

The China Open was added again to the ATP calendar last year after a run from 1993-97.

On court Monday are Wessels vs. Arthurs, (8) Moya vs. Srichaphan, H.-T. Lee vs. (6) Ferrero, Heuberger vs. Koubek, and Burgsmuller vs. Tursunov.

Puerta Heads Dirt Field at ATP Romanian Open

The dirtballers take to the red clay this week at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, where French Open runner-up Mariano Puerta heads a weak field as the only Top 30 player.

Also among the seeds are Italian Filippo Volandri, Romania's own Andrei Pavel and Victor Hanescu, French comers Gael "Force" Monfils and Paul-Henri Mathieu, Argentine Jose Acasuso, and Spain's Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco.

Early-round matches of note are (5) Gael Force against Spanish grinder Al Montanes, (6) Acasuso vs. Juan Ignacio Chela in an all-Argentine, (4) Hanescu vs. Italian comer "You Say" Potito Starace, (3) Pavel vs. Spanish grinder Al Martin, (7) Mathieu vs. Spanish grinder Dave Sanchez, and (8) Hot Sauce vs. the on-again off-again Argentine force Mariano Zabaleta.

In last year's final the unseeded Acasuso housed No. 4 seed Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-0.

Returning champs in the field are Acasuso (2004), Sanchez (2003), and A.Martin (1999).

On Monday's schedule are (7) Mathieu vs. Sanchez, Chela vs. (6) Acasuso in the all-Argentine, Serra vs. (WC) Crivoi, Sanguinetti vs. Sabau, and Mayer vs. O.Hernandez.

Davenport Takes Wildcard at WTA Bali

Whether it was a hefty appearance fee or the realization she's going to need to step it up to finish the year No. 1, Lindsay Davenport has taken a surprise wildcard into this week's Wismilak International in Bali, Indonesia.

The tournament, boasting its reputation as "Southeast Asia's richest women's tennis event," also features seeds Patty Schnyder, Alicia Molik, Francesca Schiavone, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Flavia Pennetta, Na Li, and Indian sensation Sania Mirza.

Davenport, who receives a bye in the first round, could face the No. 8-seeded Mirza with a second-round win.

Last year Svetlana Kuznetsova won Bali fresh off her US Open victory.

On court Monday in Bali are Llagostera Vives vs. Na Li, Jackson vs. Schiavone, A.Bondarenko vs. Cho, Camerin vs. Domchowska, and Fujiwara vs. Grandin.

Russia at France in Fed Cup Final This Weekend

The red clay of Roland Garros will feature the Fed Cup final this weekend when France hosts the defending champion Russians.

France will look to defend their turf with the "Dream Team" of Amelie Mauresmo and US Open runner-up and former French Open champion Mary Pierce.

Russia will be without world No. 1 Maria Sharapova who took a pass, and the injured Svetlana Kuznetsova whose game has plummeted, but will be equally strong with former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina and last year's runner-up Elena Dementieva.

"We have been very consistent at the highest possible level these past few years," Mauresmo said. "We are in the final for the third consecutive year."

NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Short Skirt, Long Jacket -- Muslim clerics are coming out in support of India's Sania Mirza after a small Muslim group in her hometown issued a "fatwa" edict describing her short skirts and sleeveless shirts as not jiving with Islam: "What Sania wears in (the) tennis court is the demand of the game," said Khalid Rashid of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which arbitrates over religion-related issues for more than 160 million Muslims living in this country. "Perhaps, the fatwa was issued to gain cheap publicity," Rashid told The Associated Press...Play "Spot the Error(s)" in this from the Boston Globe: "In the years to come, shorts may grow still longer and more baggy (traditionalists should remember that Rafael Nadal's knickers are now really only a few inches away from returning to the flannel length Henri Lacoste wore), and racket producers will continue to come up with new tricks. Ill-mannered mega-entourage players like No. 2 in the world Hewitt have always been around. But on the other side of the scales, Agassi has a single coach (a childhood friend), and Roger Federer, the most rounded and technically brilliant tennis player one could imagine (as well as an unfaltering gentleman), doesn't have a coach at all."...The WTA Tour announced Sunday that Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters have qualified for the eight-woman WTA Championships field...Post-US Open WTA Rankings changes: Maria Sharapova re-takes No. 1, champ Kim Clijsters from 4 to No. 3, runner-up Mary Pierce from 12 to No. 6, and 2004 US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova from 5 to No. 12...TennisWorld blogger Peter Bodo re-ripping Kim Clijsters (with some bonus ripping for Mary Pierce): "I was a little tough on Kim yesterday, and just want to set the record straight. She's a fine player and a credit to the game in every respect. If tennis were an opera, instead of a soap opera, she would be the cheerful milkmaid, with braids and a perpetually sunny disposition. Unfortunately, that character is not suited to being a leading lady for many of the same reasons that Kim isn't cut out to be a leading lady in tennis. Her game is too workwoman -- like, her personality lacks flair, and she has no talent for -- nor interest in -- drama. In a way, I have the opposite reaction to Mary Pierce -- she's too much the drama queen and that "woe is me" expression is a little too large a part of her persona. The painful aspects of being the progeny of an abusive, manipulative tennis parent (Jim Pierce) are writ all over Pierce, and we should cut her slack on that, I guess. Also, I like her religiosity. But she seems to work a little too hard at projecting a magisterial aura. That whole Princess Leia thing gets a little old."...Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew from Bali this weekend with a shoulder injury...Roger Federer has only lost two sets in six slam finals...How would Roger Federer beat himself? "Serve and volley," said Federer, who notes he was 0-3 career versus Patrick Rafter. "No one serves and volleys anymore." Federer will now complete a media tour before flying back for Davis Cup, then taking a nice-sized under-the-table appearance fee to play Bangkok.