Monday, May 7, 2012

Capitals' Rojer takes ATP doubles crown

   Jean-Julien Rojer of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis won his sixth ATP World Tour doubles title Sunday. But Maria Sanchez of Modesto and former Cal star Pedro Zerbini were denied their first professional singles crowns.  
   Rojer, from Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan were seeded first in the Estoril (Portugal) Open after becoming partners at the beginning of the year. They captured their first title together by beating fourth-seeded Julian Knowle of Austria and David Marrero of Spain 7-5, 7-5.
   "It's a good week for both of us," the 30-year-old Rojer, who won Estoril title last year with former Capital Eric Butorac, said on atpworldtour.com. "Some would say a much-needed title, but hopefully there will be more to come. We look forward to Madrid and Rome. This is a good build-up for those."
   Rojer was named the WTT Rookie of the Year last year for St. Louis. In the 2011 Western Conference finals, he and Liezel Huber won the fifth set to give the Aces a 20-19 victory over Sacramento. St. Louis then lost to Washington in the WTT Finals and folded during the offseason. The Capitals drafted Rojer in the second round in March.
   Sanchez, a 22-year-old wild card, lost to unseeded American Grace Min, last year's U.S. Open junior girls champion, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the final of the $50,000 Audi Melbourne Pro Tennis Classic in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. It was Min's second career pro singles title and came on her 18th birthday.            
   Zerbini, a qualifier, fell to second-seeded John-Patrick Smith of Australia 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the $10,000 Sorensenrealestate.com Tennis Classic in Vero Beach, Fla. It was the second time in three Futures tournaments that Zerbini, a 23-year-old Brazilian, lost in the final as a qualifier.
   Capitals tickets -- The Capitals are selling season tickets for $140 (general admission) to $385 (north or south box). They will open their seven-match home schedule on July 12 at 7:35 p.m. against the Kansas City Explorers at Sunrise Marketplace Stadium.
   Mardy Fish, the top-ranked American at No. 9 in the world, is scheduled to play for Sacramento in the home opener and the following night at home against the Orange County Breakers. 
   To purchase season tickets, call (916) 859-0058. Tickets for individual matches will be available at a later date. For more information, visit www.saccaps.com.
THIS WEEK'S TV SCHEDULE
   Today -- Madrid (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 4 a.m.-noon (live), 3-11 p.m. (repeat).
   Tuesday -- Madrid (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 4 a.m.-noon (live), 3-11 p.m. (repeat).
   Wednesday -- Madrid (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 4 a.m.-noon (live), 3-11 p.m. (repeat).
   Thursday -- Madrid (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 4 a.m.-2 p.m. (live), 3-11 p.m. (repeat).
   Friday -- Madrid (men), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 4-8 a.m. (live), 8-10 a.m. (repeat), 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (live), 6-10 p.m. (repeat). Madrid (women), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 2-6 p.m. (delay), 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday (repeat).
   Saturday -- Madrid (women), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 2-6 a.m. (live), 12:30-4:30 p.m. (repeat), 9:30-11:30 p.m. (repeat). Madrid (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 6-8:30 a.m. (live), 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (live), 4:30-9:30 p.m. (repeat),. 
   Sunday -- Madrid (women), final, Tennis Channel, 6:30-8:30 a.m. (live), noon-2 p.m. (repeat), 4:30-6:30 p.m. (repeat). Madrid (men), final, Tennis Channel, 9:30 a.m.-noon (live), 2-4:30 p.m. (repeat), 6:30-9 p.m. (repeat).
CALENDAR
   Friday -- NCAA Division I Women's Team Championships, first round: Saint Mary's vs. Yale at Stanford, 11 a.m.; Stony Brook at Stanford, 2 p.m.; Purdue vs. Pepperdine at Cal, 10 a.m.; Sacramento State at Cal, 1 p.m.
   Saturday -- NCAA Division I Women's Team Championships, second round: Saint Mary's/Yale vs. Stony Brook/Stanford at Stanford, 3 p.m; Purdue/Pepperdine vs. Sacramento State/Cal at Cal, 3 p.m.
   NCAA Division I Men's Team Championships, first round: Santa Clara vs. Texas at Stanford, 9 a.m.; Sac State at Stanford, noon; Texas Tech vs. Cal Poly at Cal, 9 a.m.; Texas-San Antonio at Cal, noon.
   May 13 -- NCAA Division I Men's Team Championships, second round: Santa Clara/Texas vs. Sac State/Stanford, noon; Texas Tech/Cal Poly vs. Cal/Texas-San Antonio at Cal, 1 p.m.
   May 17-22 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, Round of 16 through finals, Athens, Ga.
   May 23-28 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Individual Championships, Athens, Ga.
   May 27-June 3 -- $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River Racquet Club, 2201 Gold Rush Drive, Gold River.
   MAY 27-JUNE 10 -- FRENCH OPEN.

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