NOTEBOOK U.S. Open
Navratilova loses: Martina Navratilova's run at this U.S. Open ended Thursday night when she lost in mixed doubles semifinals. Whether she'll return to Flushing Meadows or retire, that decision will come later. "This might be my last U.S. Open or it might not," she said. "I'm not definite, one way or another." At 47, Navratilova was hoping to add to her total of 58 Grand Slam championships. But she lost with Lisa Raymond in doubles in the quarterfinals, and was eliminated with Leander Paes 10-3 in a third-set super-tiebreaker by Alicia Molik and Todd Woodbridge. "We outplayed them for the match, and we lose. It's pretty much what happened in our doubles as well. Pretty frustrating for me," she said. Navratilova has won 167 titles in singles and 174 in doubles. Only one of those victories came this year, in a doubles tournament in Vienna. She lost at the Olympics in the quarterfinals. "I'm playing better tennis than I did last year. The game is better, but the results are worse," she said. "Very consistent, but not enough wins certainly," she said. "The expectations really were just to have a good time, do the best I can and stay passionate about the game," she said. "That's why Lee and I have such a good time playing together. We're in it exactly for the same reason: We love playing the game."
Schedule shift: There will be a new look for women's tennis beginning next year with a shortened season, a simplified ranking system and other changes designed to streamline the game. The plan, called "Roadmap 2010" involves shortening the season to 10 months and extending off time for players from five weeks to eight weeks. Beginning next year, the Fed Cup will move from November to September and be played the week after the U.S. Open. The Fed Cup change follows a four-year extension of the agreement between the International Tennis Federation and the WTA. Tournament categories will be condensed from five tiers. The WTA hopes the new tier of mandatory events will lead to greater rivalries. The simplified ranking could eliminate situations such as the current one where Amelie Mauresmo, a quarterfinal loser at the U.S. Open, can be No. 1 after the tournament should Lindsay Davenport lose in either the semifinal or final.
Associated Press