OPEN COURTStephanie Myles has all the latest news from the world of tennis on her blogat opencourtca THESNAP HerbZurkowskyhasthe latest scoops from Alouettes training A- 4 if camp at montrealgazette.comAhesnap THE GAZETTE I MONTREAL I WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009 I SPORTS EDITOR: STU COWAN I 514 9872475 scowanthegazette.canwest.com C2 NHL C3 CFL C4 Baseball C4 Scoreboard C4 Amateur Stats C3 Horse Racing C5 NFL C6 Coif C6 Cycling C7 Obituaries the gazette fi online CD ORIS 1 Wozni ak wets Paris eha Hey Balsillie: three strikes, you're out! mp KUZNETSOVA Defeats world No. 5 in straight sets i mniim ran ij STEPHANIE MYLES THE GAZETTE Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is a top-five player whose confidence had to be sky-high after winning the French Open only 10 days ago. And Blainville's Aleksan-Idra Wozniak routed her 6-0, yesterday in the first round fc)f the Aegon International tennis tournament in East-pourne, England. Wozniak is Ranked a career-high No. 23.
Kuznetsova is ranked No. 5. It was the third victory over a top-10 player in Wozniak's career. The first came last summer in California, when she beat Serena Williams after the American retired with an injury. The second came in April, when Wozniak upset Nadia Petrova of Russia at a clay-court event in Florida.
Wozniak's win wasn't the only big news out of the Canadian contingent on the grass courts yesterday. Earlier in the day, on the same stadium court, Frank Dance-vic of Niagara Falls, Ont, upset top seed Igor Andreev of Russia 7-6 (8), 6-2 in the first round of the men's portion of the event. Hitting partner Rob Steck-ley said Wozniak played perfect tennis, hitting deep, coercing short balls from her higher-ranked opponent and putting them away. Canadian Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau, who was watching, said Wozniak played as though she were on a mission. The 21-year-old finished off the match with two aces.
It took only 51 minutes. "(Kuznetsova) came into IAN KINGTON ACENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES Blainville's Aleksandra Wozniak defeated Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 6-3 in Eastbourne, England, yesterday. RED FISHER on Coyotes still in Phoenix "His Make it Seven campaign can now be called Keep it Six." It's all in the numbers. The Phoenix Coyotes aren't moving to Hamilton. Jim Balsillie's campaign to have the Coyotes relocated to Canada is toast.
His Make it Seven campaign now can be called Keep it Six. So what else did you expect, even though Balsillie's spokesman suggested "we're still here" in reply to the ruling on Monday by U.S. Bankruptcy Court chief judge Red-field TBaum? "We look forward to hearing from the NHL soon on its view of our relocation application and an appropriate relocation fee, so as to allow the court to determine if that fee is reasonable," the Balsillie spokesman added. "We still think there is enough time for the NHL to approve Mr Balsillie's application and move the team to Hamilton by September. Mr.
Balsillie is willing to participate in mediation if the NHL is also willing to do so. Hmph! What part of the NHL's reaction to the bomb Judge Baum tossed doesn't he understand? Is it the one delivered by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, in which he said: "We're pleased the court recognized the validity of league rules and our ability to apply them in a reasonable fashion. We will turn our attention now toward helping to facili-. tate an orderly sales process that will produce a local buyer who is committed to making the Coyotes' franchise viable and successful in the Phoenix-Glendale area. We are confident that we will be able to find such a buyer for the Coyotes and that the claims of legitimate creditors will be addressed." More numbers: Balsillie is now 0-for-3 in his bid to bring a seventh NHL franchise to Canada.
He tried to get Pittsburgh and failed. Tried for Nashville and failed. Three strikes, you're out! The suggestion has been made that Balsillie choreographed his own downfall with the June 29 deadline he announced early in his bid for the Coyotes, contingent on moving the franchise to Hamilton. Judge Baum's 21-page ruling concluded there was no way the case could be resolved by then, but it goes far deeper than that Please see FISHER, Page C2 the tournament with a lot of confidence, winning Roland Garros," Wozniak said via conference call from Eastbourne. "I knew she was playing good tennis, but I was very aggressive today throughout the match, stayed concentrated on my game.
I really played solid and deep, and tried to not give her any rhythm. And she really didn't find any because I put a lot of pressure on her." Wozniak said Kuznetsova hits even harder than Serena Williams a similarly heavy ball with a lot of spin, but with more consistent depth. "I made her move," Wozniak said. "You have no choice on the grass but to be aggressive, because the ball picks up so much speed." It was only the third time on the WTA Tour, in a career that goes back to 2000 and over 500 matches, that Kuznetsova had lost the first set of a match 6-0. Wozniak broke Kuznetsova three times in that first set, which was over in the blink of an eye.
The key, then, was to stay concentrated. Wozniak knew Kuznetsova wouldn't just hand it to her. "That's the player she is, a great champion," Wozniak said. "The girls in the top 10, they want to find solutions when it's not going well. I saw her trying to dig in and find her rhythm.
She was there every point, she was fighting. I had to stay in my bubble, really play well tactically like I had been doing and not let myself get distracted by the score." Please see WOZNIAK, Page C3 SPOTLIGHT STORY Quebec's most famous driver takes on a small-money challenge next month No race too small for Villeneuve DAVESTUBBS His resume includes the 1997 Formula One world championship, 11 Fl victories, 13 poles and 23 podium finishes in nearly 40,000 kilometres raced in 165 grands prix. It includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1995 CART World Series title, a season in which he became the first and youngest Canadian to win the Indianapolis 500. Jacques Villeneuve has conquered the world's most famous circuits. And all of them will be in his rear-view on July 11 when he straps himself into a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series stock car on the 4-10ths-mile Autodrome SL Eustache oval north of Montreal and competes in the Tide 250.
Simply because the challenge is there. 1 "For Jacques, this is not a question of money," track owner and race promoter Alan Labrosse said yesterday "He's a racer at heart. With no big rides immediately available to him, if he wants to have a good time and an opportunity is there, as it is now, that's what he's going to do." Please see VILLENEUVE, Page C3 BMttlMMItl1llirilirirtliMMiMiilmiaMMWIIM DAVE SIDAWAV GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve of Iberville will pull on his gloves for a NASCAR stock car race July 11 in St. Eustache. The world's most desirable sports car.
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