Sam Querry signed with K-Swiss

Querrey is currently the youngest ranked American singles player, and regarded as the leading American following the Andy Roddick, James Blake and Mardy Fish generation.  Querrey now becomes only the second American to wear K-Swiss after Mardy Fish.

“I am excited to sign with K-Swiss, a smaller group, but where I will have a bigger role enhancing their presence in the U.S.” said Sam Querrey.  “I look forward to working with Mardy Fish to grow the K-Swiss brand in the U.S.”

Querrey has had a stellar 2009 which started in Auckland, New Zealand, where he was a finalist at the International Series before heading into the Australian Open. This summer, Querrey advanced to the finals of three consecutive Olympus US Open Series events (Rhode Island, Indianapolis, Los Angeles) and captured his second career title at the LA Tennis Open in July before becoming the winner of the 2009 Olympus US Open Series.  Querrey won his first ATP World Tour Career title in 2008 at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, and was also apart of the 2008 U.S. Davis Cup and Olympic teams.

“We are very pleased to have Sam join the K-Swiss family,” commented John Tobias, BEST Tennis President.  “It’s a company we are very familiar with and have done a couple of other deals with for top players Mardy Fish, Vera Zvonareva and Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko.  We feel this is a perfect fit for Sam, and he is very excited about this new partnership with K-Swiss.”

K-Swiss, which is headquartered in West Lake Village, California, is only five minutes away from where Querrey grew-up and went to high school.  The new K-Swiss deal was negotiated between Querrey’s agent BEST Tennis President, John Tobias, and K-Swiss Director of Sports Marketing, Erik Vervloet.

The admission will also appear in excerpts of the book – entitled “Open” – (ORDER IT NOW RIGHT HERE) that are scheduled to appear in two magazines, Sports Illustrated and People, later this week.

“Those excerpts contain revelations about Andre’s use of crystal meth when he was a tennis player,” said Paul Bogaards, director of media relations at Knopf, a division of Random House.

Agassi used crystal meth

The Australian newspaper in Australia excerpts the book and Agassi’s positive ATP Tour drug test and how he escaped a three-month suspension here – http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,26271190-601,00.html

The information was first made public on Tuesday morning via the Twitter feed of Richard Deitsch, a writer for Sports Illustrated.

“FYI: There’s an off-the-charts book excerpt from Andre Agassi in the forthcoming SI: He admits to taking crystal meth during his career,” said the message, posted at 10:36 a.m. and apparently removed shortly thereafter.

One of the most beloved players in the annals of the U.S. Open, Agassi retired in 2006 after 20 years in professional tennis, having won eight Grand Slam championships, 60 singles titles, and a total of $31 million. His career record was 870-274. The year 1997, however, was a low point in Agassi’s career, when a wrist injury sidelined him for much of the season and his world ranking slipped to 141.

Agassi, 39, often made news for his brash style and high-profile romantic relationships. He is married to tennis great Steffi Graf, and they have two children. He is also an acclaimed philanthropist whose school in Las Vegas for underprivileged kids has become a national model.

In writing the book, Agassi worked closely with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer J.R. Moehringer, author of “The Tender Bar.”

Agassi and Sampras in Macau

The 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win in this southern Chinese gambling enclave was the first time the two had played since Sampras won in the 2002 U.S. Open final for his then-record 14th Grand Slam.

The fast indoor surface at the Venetian Macao arena favored Sampras’ attacking style, but it was Agassi who came out strong in the first set. He showed no signs of the bad back that required four injections during his final tournament, the 2006 U.S. Open.

“Somehow when you see Pete, it all comes back to you pretty quickly,” Agassi said. “I just go, ‘Well, I don’t really have much of a choice here.’ It’s just nice to be so familiar with somebody’s game.”

Sampras, who beat Roger Federer at the same venue in an exhibition two years ago, bounced back in the second set, serving an ace and using a delicate pickup volley to draw even.

He continued to have the advantage in the super tiebreaker, overwhelming Agassi with a powerful serve. Trailing 9-6, Agassi saved two match points — the second with a down-the-line backhand winner — but Sampras served out the match with another ace.

“Andre just hits the ball so cleanly, even after being retired for three years. The pace of his shots was very heavy,” Sampras said, noting Agassi served more aces than he did.

“How many times does that happen?” Agassi joked.

The two Americans captivated fans in the 1990s and early 2000s with their contrasting styles and personalities. Sampras led their head-to-head series 20 to 14, including 4 to 1 in Grand Slam finals.

“Pete’s hands are the same as they’ve always been,” Agassi said. “He has great feel for the ball. He surprised me with the number of pickups he made out there. It was like it just came very naturally.”

Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf

2001 – Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, two the greatest champions tennis has ever produced, are married in a small, private ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two all-time greats date for more than two years since both won the singles titles at the 1999 French Open. “We are so blessed to be married and starting this chapter of our lives,” Agassi and Graf says in a joint statement after the ceremony. “The privacy and intimacy of our ceremony was beautiful and reflective of all we value.” Agassi and Graf are the only two players in the history of the sport to win all four major singles titles – and an Olympic gold medal – in their careers.

1985 – Arthur Ashe resigns as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team after a tenure of five years. Ashe resigns “”in the best interests of me personally and of the team,” according to a statement released by Ashe’s agency, ProServ. The United States wins the Davis Cup during Ashe’s first two years as captain in 1981 and 1982, but the U.S. loses in the first round in 1983 and the second round in 1985. Ashe’s overall record as U.S. Davis Cup captain concludes at 13-3.

1982 – Vitas Gerulaitis defeats Gene Mayer 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Mazda Super Challenge in Melbourne, Australia and then blasts the officiating as the worst he has seen in his career. Says Gerulaitis, “From Egypt to Zambia, it has never been as bad as this. This is the worst place I have ever played.”

1995 – Wayne Ferreira of South Africa ends the three-year reign of Pete Sampras as champion of the Lyon Open in France, defeating Sampras 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-3 in the final. Says Ferreira, “I played one of the best matches I could play. I tired a little at the end but I wasn’t going to get tight.” Ferreira has surprising success with Sampras during his career, winning six of 13 matches against the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

1995 – Filip Dewulf became the first Belgian in two decades to win an ATP Tour singles title, defeating Austria’s Thomas Muster  7-5, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 in the CA Trophy in Vienna, Austria. Dewulf is the first Belgian to win an ATP title since Bernard Mignot wins the title in Dusseldorf  in 1974.

1995 – Mary Joe Fernandez celebrates her 24th birthday by defeating South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer 6-4, 7-5 to win the Brighton in England. The title is the fifth of seven career WTA Tour singles titles for Fernandez.

2006 – Maria Sharapova becomes the first Russian to win the Zurich Open, defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 4-6, 6-3  in the final. Both players takes advantage of the WTA Tour’s controversial experimental on-court coaching rule, allowing on-court coaching between sets. Sharapova speaks on-court to her coach Michael Joyce, while Hantuchova talked with her mother.

2006 – Roger Federer defeats Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 to win the Madrid Masters singles title. The title is his 10^th of the 2006 season, giving Federer the distinction of becoming the first player in the Open era to win 10 or more titles in a season for three consecutive seasons. Federer finishes the season with 12 titles – to go with the 11 titles he wins in both 2004 and 2005.

1995 – Michael Chang defeats Italy’s Renzo Furlan 7-5, 6-3 and delights fans in Beijing by speaking to them in Chinese after winning the Salem Open for a third year in the row.

Sam Stosur

By Leigh Sanders

The following is Leigh Sanders’ weekly look at tennis headlines in “The Commonwealth” or the traditional tennis powerhouses that were former members of the British Empire, most notably Australia, South Africa, India, Canada and, of course, Great Britain.

Revered British tennis centre, the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, has been handed a boost by the confirmation that the WTA Tour’s AEGON Classic will be returning in 2010. It was feared the tournament would be moved as part of the new British Tennis Series.

But the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has agreed a contract for a further year with a view to extending that providing the centre makes substantial improvements to its facilities.

Discussions have now begun between the LTA, the club and Birmingham City Council to see how the site and future events can be improved.

A pre-Wimbledon event has been held here every summer since 1982 and past winners include Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.

Priory Club Chief Executive Robert Bray said: “We have a long tradition of hosting international tennis and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with the LTA.”

* Samantha Stosur of Australia picked up her maiden singles WTA title at the Japan Open on Sunday. She beat Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-1, Schiavone now losing 10 of her last 11 singles finals. Stosur dropped only one set throughout the tournament, in the semifinal to Caroline Wozniacki. She has previously won 22 doubles titles and has stated her intention to break in to the world top 10 singles following her first triumph.

* It was Wozniacki who had been the conqueror of new number two Brit Katie O’Brien in the second round. The Danish world No. 6 needed only 44 minutes to wrack up a 6-0, 6-1 victory over 94^th ranked O’Brien.

* Britain’s Andy Murray dropped to 4th in this week’s ATP Rankings (10/19) following Novak Djokovic’s win in Beijing while Lleyton Hewitt of Australia climbed one place to 22^nd. Fellow Aussie Peter Luczak dropped 19 places to 83^rd and Chris Guccione also dropped 2 places to 109^th.

* In the doubles rankings (10/19) Canada’s Daniel Nestor remains No. 1 despite his early exit from Shanghai (see below). Mahesh Bhupathi of India remains sixth after his semifinals berth at the same tournament. Aussie pair Jordan Kerr and Paul Hanley rose to 29^th and 30^th respectively while Jeff Coetzee of South Africa fell 9 places to 35^th.

* In the WTA Rankings (10/19), Samantha Stosur’s win in Japan sees her climb two places to 13^th in the singles while India’s Sania Mirza climbs to 58^th after her semifinals berth at Osaka. Australia’s Jelena Dokic climbs from 69^th to 62^nd while Britain’s injured No. 1 Anne Keothavong continues to fall during her recovery, now down in 79^th place. Katie O’Brien is now Britain’s number two after jumping above Elena Baltacha after her exploits in Japan.

* In the doubles rankings (10/19) Samantha Stosur dropped to 9th place after her singles exertions this week while India’s Sania Mirza climbed two places to 36^th. Marie-eve Pelletier of Canada is up one to 66^th and Britain’s Sarah Borwell is also up to 79^th. Canada’s Sharon Fichman also climbs one place to 98^th in the world.

* Andy Roddick has become the sixth player to secure his place at the ATP World Tour Finals to be held in London, England next month despite his withdrawal from Shanghai.

* Two Aussie women failed to follow the lead of Stosur this weekend by losing their respective ITF finals. Jelena Dokic went down to the Swede Sofia Arvidsson in the Joue-les-Tours event in France while Alicia Molik fell to Sacha Jones of New Zealand in the Port Pirie Tennis International, Port Pirie, Australia.

* French duo Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga picked up their first doubles title as a partnership in Shanghai this week having seen off the top seeds and world No. 1 and No. 2, Canada’s Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic in the second round and India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, in the semifinals.

* Aussie tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley received a strange tribute this week as the town of Barellan, where she spent most of her childhood, unveiled a giant statue of the wooden Dunlop racquet she used to win 7 Grand Slam singles titles. Seven-thousand people attended the launch that also saw the 58-year-old hosting tennis clinics and a crayfish-gathering activity known as ‘yabbying.’

* Philip Brook has been named as the new Vice Chairman of the All England Tennis Club, Wimbledon, England from December 2009. He has been a member at the club since 1989, serving on many sub-committees during that time. The decision follows the announcement by current Vice Chairman Tim Phillips indicating his intention to step down in December 2009 following ten years in the role.

* Mixed fortunes for Great Britain this week as Alex Bogdanovic won the 42.5k Euros Challenger event in Denmark while Jocelyn Rae prevailed in the £10k event in Mytilini, Greece, beating fellow Brit and doubles partner Jade Windley in the final. Not so much luck in the doubles as Jonathan Marray and his partner were beaten in the doubles final in Denmark while Rae and Windley were edged out of the doubles final in Mytilini. Colin Fleming/Ken Skupski and Jamie Murray/Jamie Delgado, have progressed though to the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger Event in Orleans, France.

* Also at Orleans, Australia’s Carsten Ball fell in the R32 of singles to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

* Australian Peter Luczak has lost in the first round of the If Stockholm Open doubles paired with Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. They lost 7-5, 6-3 to Brazilian Bruno Soares and Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett in 71 minutes. Fellow Aussie Jordan Kerr and American Travis Parrott are through though after victory over Brazilians Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa.

* Canadians on the march this week are Aleksandra Wozniak and Peter Polansky. Wozniak is through to the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow after her first-round opponent, Sara Errani of Italy, retired after just 30 minutes. She’ll play the winner of Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska in the next round. At the Copa Petrobas Challenger in Santiago, Chile, Polansky is through to the second round of both singles and doubles. He beat Diego Alvarez of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 in the singles and with American Alex Bogomolov Jr. overcame Brazilian duo Ricardo Hocevar and Joao Souza in the doubles.

* Brit Dan Smethurst lost in the quarterfinals of the $15k ITF event in Dubrovnik, Croatia to Italy’s Simone Vagnozzi who was ranked 216 places above him in the rankings.

* The Canadian Junior Fed Cup team placed a respectable fifth at the recent Fed Cup finals held in Mexico. After narrowly missing out on the main draw they beat Croatia and China to top the bracket competing for fifth to eighth spot.

* Aussie Marinko Matosevic was beaten in the Round of 32 at the Royal Bank of Scotland Challenger in Tiburon, Calif., by America’s Vincent Spadea 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-0.

Daniela Hantuchova

From the Austrian Postal Service launching a commemorative Roger Federer stamp to the Andre Agassi Foundation raising $8 million during the Grand Slam for Children event in Las Vegas to former top-ranked doubles player Ai Sugiyama retiring from professional tennis to Li Na signing with IMG to tennis icon Jack Kramer being remembered at a memorial service at Starus Stadium at UCLA to John Isner and Melanie Oudin agreeing to team up in January to represent the United States in Hopman Cup, these stories caught the attention of tennis fans and insiders this week.

• According to a report by AFP, the Austrian Postal Service will launch a commemorative stamp honoring Roger Federer and his record 15 Grand Slam singles titles. About 400,000 Federer stamps will be issued.

• The Andre Agassi Foundation’s Grand Slam for Children event raised $8 million over the weekend in Las Vegas. The Engelstad Family Foundation also pledged another $7.5 million to Agassi’s Foundation over a five year period.

• Ai Sugiyama of Japan has retired from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour following a first round defeat to Nadia Petrova at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Sugiyama was honored on court during a special ceremony put on by WTA Tour officials and players to honor her remarkable career, which included speeches by her regular doubles partners Daniela Hantuchova and Katarina Srebotnik. Throughout her career, Sugiyama won six singles titles, 38 doubles titles and earned more than $8 million in tournament prize money.

• Li Na, the highest ranked Chinese player ever on the WTA Tour, has signed a representation deal with IMG. “We are very pleased to have Li Na as an IMG client,” said Max Eisenbud, the Senior Vice President of IMG.

• Tennis legend and the first executive of the ATP Tour Jack Kramer was remembered on Saturday during a memorial service at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the campus on UCLA. Hundreds of people were in attendance during the service, as former WTA Tour star Pam Shriver and Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Dwyre acted as hosts of the ceremony. Barry MacKay, Tracy Austin, Donald Dell, US Open tournament director Jim Curley and former player Charlie Pasarell were among the speakers during the service.

• John Isner and Melanie Oudin will represent the United States at the Hopman Cup from January 2-9, 2010 in Perth, Australia.

• The inaugural Maria Sharapova South American Tour will take place from November 29 to December 4 and will feature the former Grand Slam singles champion and Argentine Gisela Dulko. The tour will feature exhibition matches between the players in San Paulo, Brazil on November 29, Santiago, Chile on December 2 and Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 4. Fashion shows, charity appearances and tennis clinics for the local children will also be a part of the three-city exhibition series.

• The USTA and Levy Restaurants, the official restaurateur of the US Open, combined to donate more than 21,000 pounds of unused food from the US Open to City Harvest. City Harvest, which is based in New York City, is a food rescue organization that feeds people in need of food. “We are very thankful to the USTA and Levy Restaurants and for this generous donation,” said Jilly Stephens, the Executive Director at City Harvest. “Our long-standing partnership with the US Open demonstrates their commitment to helping us feed hungry New Yorkers.”

• AEGON signed a five-year deal until 2013 to become the title sponsor of the prestigious Masters Tennis at Royal Albert Hall in London and will now be called the AEGON Masters Tennis. The tournament has featured former Wimbledon champions such as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. “We are delighted to welcome AEGON as our new title sponsor,” said Peter Worth, the Senior Vice President of IMG.

• Defending US Open champion Kim Clijsters has announced her 2010 tournament schedule. Clijsters will play at Brisbane, Australian Open, Fed Cup, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, French Open, Eastbourne/Rosmalen, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, Montreal, US Open, Beijing and possibly the year-end championships in Doha.

• The 2010 Davis Cup World Group opening round ties have been announced:

  • • Spain vs. Switzerland

    • France vs. Germany

    • Russia vs. India

    • Sweden vs. Argentina

    • Croatia vs. Ecuador

    • Serbia vs. United States

    • Chile vs. Israel

    • Belgium vs. Czech Republic

• Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu has signed a sponsorship deal with Lagardere.

• Romanian Andrei Pavel officially retired from the ATP World Tour following a straight sets loss to Pablo Cuevas in his hometown tournament last week in Bucharest. Pavel, who lives in the United States, will continue to be the captain for the Romanian Davis Cup team and has plans to open a tennis academy in Arizona.

• Argentine tennis player Sergio Roitman has announced that he will retire from the ATP World Tour at the conclusion of the Copa Petrobas Challenger tournament in Buenos Aires. Roitman reached a career high ranking of No. 62 in October 2007 and has won more than $1.2 million in tournament prize money. “It is a strange moment for me, but the time has come for me to leave professional tennis,” said Roitman.

• A lawsuit filed against Frenchman Richard Gasquet has been dismissed in Parisian courts stating no finding whether he took cocaine or if somebody else was responsible.

• A Serbian court has confirmed that Jelena Dokic’s father has been sentenced to 15-months in prison for threatening to kill the Australian Ambassador to Serbia.

• The Tennis Industry Association (TIA) is set to launch the website, www.playtennis.com. The website is designed to allow people to join the sport, learn more about tennis and get on a system to become a frequent player. “PlayTennis.com will be the first step,” said TIA President Jon Muir. “We’ll get key messaging out there through this site. It’s a wonderful opportunity for all stakeholders to get behind.”

• Nine tennis professionals earned the distinction of Master Professional by the USPTA. The nine honorees were honored during the recent USPTA World Conference on Tennis at the Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa in Marco Island, Fla. Only about one percent of the 15,000 USPTA members have achieved the Master Professional merit.

• Cory Ross of Littleton, Colo., won the men’s open division $30,000 USPTA International Championships on Thursday in Marco Island, while Marina McCollom of West Des Moines, Iowa won the women’s open division title.

• Robert Greene Jr., of Rangeley, Maine, who is the Director of Tennis at the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch, N.H., earned the USPTA’s Alex Gordon Award for the Professional of the Year.

She never told us who the father was and I am pretty sure she will never ever tell anyone either. Well I am guessing a lot of cons are lining up for a paternity test.

But I’ll tell you one thing about Myskina’s lovelife and that is that the current person she is dating is definitely not the father!  Her name is Anna Semenovich and she is a  retired ice dancer.

For the record, I may say that they are dating but let’s be clear here:  They look pretty intimate on the pics but if it is actually dating that’s something I cannot verify.

Anyway enjoy the Myskina photos and let me know what you think of it by commenting down below.

Justine Henin

From seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Justine Henin announcing her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour to Zina Garrison settling her racial discrimination lawsuit with the USTA to the Indianapolis Tennis Center being named a USTA Certified Regional Training Center to nearly 47 million viewers tuning into to the television coverage of the six week long Olympus US Open Series to a record 721,059 fans attending the US Open this year, these stories caught the attention of tennis fans and insiders this week.

• Former world No. 1 Justine Henin ended months of rumors when she announced her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Belgian television station RTL. “I’m truly happy and profoundly moved to be able to announce this evening that I am going to return to competition,” said Henin, who is now 27 years old. Henin wants to participate in exhibition events in Charleroi, Belgium and Dubai to prepare her game in time to play in the Australian Open in January. “Justine is one of the great champions in the history of women’s tennis, and we, along with millions of her fans around the globe, are thrilled with her announcement today,” said Stacey Allaster, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

• Le Soir announced that Belgacom, a Belgian telecommunications company, will be Justine Henin’s sponsor during her comeback.

• Former United States Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison settled her racial discrimination lawsuit with the USTA, but terms of the lawsuit were not disclosed.

• The USTA announced that the Indianapolis Tennis Center on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), has been named a USTA Certified Regional Training Center.

• In its sixth year of existence, the Olympus US Open Series had its most successful season. A record of nearly 47 million viewers tuned into the television coverage over the six week season. Attendance was high at all events including 226,000 fans turning out during the two week Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open in Cincinnati and more than 200,000 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, which is an ATP World Tour record for a one week tournament. “The success of the Olympus US Open Series in its sixth year proves that the Series is as popular as ever among players, fans and television viewers,” said Jim Curley, Chief Professional Tournaments Officer of the USTA. “The Series provides a national platform to promote the sport and showcase the USTA’s efforts to grow the game at every level, as we did with the Quick Start play format in a number of series markets.”

• This year’s US Open attendance reached an all-time high with 721,059 fans attending the two week Grand Slam tournament in New York, surpassing last year’s mark of 720,227. The US Open also set a first week record with 423,427 fans attending, including a single day record of 61,554 fans attending during the first Friday of the tournament.

• In the US Open championship match on CBS that saw Juan Martin del Potro beat Roger Federer to capture his first Grand Slam singles title, television ratings increased by 41 percent from last year. The overall viewership throughout the tournament was 55.8 million, a 24 percent increase from the 2008 tournament.

• USOpen.org, the official website of the US Open, had unique hits on the website from more than 200 countries and a total of 392 million page views, which was an increase from the 222 million page views in 2008.

• Roger Federer was fined $1,500 by the US Open for an audible obscenity during the US Open final. USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said a total of $31,500 in fines was collected by the tournament.

• Serena Williams will be featured in a Proctor & Gamble ad campaign for its Tampax brand in October magazines.

• Patron, the national vehicle of Malaysia, has signed on to be the tournament title sponsor for the inaugural Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. The tournament will be held from September 26 to October 4.

• The 2009 Grand Slam for Children hosted by Andre Agassi and presented by Genworth Financial will take place on Saturday, September 26 at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Now in its 14^th year, the Grand Slam for Children has already raised nearly $75 million to support a movement to improve education for children.

• Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reports that Novak Djokovic is in negotiations with K-Swiss for a clothing sponsorship deal. Djokovic’s clothing contract with adidas finishes at the end of this year.

• According to the Melbourne Sun, Paul McNamee, the Chief Executive of the Australian Open from 2000 to 2006, has put his name in as a possible candidate to be the next President of Tennis Australia.

• 2009 US Open junior singles champion Bernard Tomic of Australia has left the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida and will now train in Australia.

• On September 17, the Tennis Channel launched, Court Report, which is a one-minute nightly news update that will be produced four times a night on Thursday through Monday and will appear at the top of the hour from 7pm to 10pm EST. Court Report will be anchored in turns by experienced broadcast journalists, Cari Champion, Arlene Santana and Angela Sun.

• Five-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Hingis was the first celebrity voted off of the BBC’s reality show, Strictly Come Dancing. “It was a great experience, I learned so much,” said Hingis. “I wish it would continue but here we are.”

• According to Latvian media, Ernests Gublis has hired former pro Hernan Gumy as his new coach.

• Former world No. 2 Tommy Haas has signed a sponsorship deal with Lagardere, which is a French conglomerate with holdings in publishing, retail, media and aerospace.

• American teenager Melanie Oudin has signed an endorsement deal with AirTran Airways. “I am thrilled to have AirTran as a partner as I strive to reach my goals as a professional tennis player,” said Oudin.

• Gilbert Ysern, Director of the French Open, has downplayed but did not deny rumors that the French Open might move to Disneyland Paris. “It’s really premature to discuss such a project,” Ysern told L’Equipe. “We can’t deny the possibility exists, but no negotiations have been initiated. We are still working actively on the Georges Hébert stadium project. But given the technical and political problems we face, we have to envisage the worst-case scenario – that is to say, not being able to properly complete the project and being forced to leave Roland Garros.”

• The day after her loss to Kim Clijsters in the US Open final, Caroline Wozniacki went apartment shopping in Manhattan. “On Monday, I went with my parents and a real estate agent to look at some properties in New York where I would really like to have a home in the U.S. to come stay and train at during the year,” Wozniacki said on her blog on her official website.

Justine Henin

From tennis legend Jack Kramer passing away at the age of 88 to a possible Justine Henin press conference this week to announce her comeback to US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro earning a winner’s paycheck of $1.6 million plus an additional $250,000 for finishing third in the Olympus US Open Series to Serena Williams being fined $10,500 for her outburst during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters at the US Open, these stories caught the attention of tennis fans and insiders this week.

• Tennis legend and the first executive director of the ATP Tour, Jack Kramer passed away at the age of 88 on Saturday at his Los Angeles home. Kramer, who won Wimbledon in 1947 and the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, was the top ranked player in the world for most of the late 1940’s. “Jack Kramer was truly one of the greats of the game and was instrumental in the growth and development of the sport in so many ways, both on and off the court,” said ATP Executive Chairman and President Adam Helfant. “He was like a father figure to so many in tennis and his wisdom, enthusiasm and advice will be sadly missed. On behalf of everybody at the ATP, I would like to pass on our sincere condolences to his family.”

• According to Belgian television station RTBF, former world No. 1 Justine Henin has ordered 14 racquets and may hold a press conference as early as this week to announce her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

• By winning the US Open men’s singles title on Monday evening, Juan Martin del Potro earned a winner’s paycheck of $1.6 million plus an additional $250,000 for finishing third in the Olympus US Open Series. Women’s champion Kim Clijsters earned a winner’s paycheck of $1.6 million. Men’s doubles champions Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy and women’s doubles champions Venus and Serena Williams each split a winner’s paycheck of $420,000. Mixed doubles champions Travis Parrott and Carly Gullickson spilt the winner’s paycheck of $150,000.

• Serena Williams was fined the maximum $10,000 by the US Open for unsportsmanlike conduct following her tirade during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters. Williams was also fined $500 for racquet abuse during her loss. The Grand Slam Committee is currently looking into the incident and could force more fines and a suspension.

• Writing on her official website, Serena Williams says, “I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible – I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA, and tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst.” “I’m a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I’m wrong.  I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it’s not the way to act — win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner. I like to lead by example.  We all learn from experiences both good and bad, I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.”

• US Open officials announced that they are ready to start developing plans to build a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium but the final decision on when and if they actually will build a roof is a little bit away. The estimated cost to build a roof would be around $100 million. “We are substantially farther along the road of consideration than we were six months ago,” said Gordon Smith, Executive Director of the USTA. “It will be some time before there’s any decision made on whether or not to go forward with the roof.”

• According to a study by Barclays and Professor Tom Cannon of the University of Liverpool, the British economy has increased by $405 million (UK) because of Andy Murray’s recent rise to No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. With Murray’s popularity rising at a fast pace, people are spending lots of money on everything from equipment to advertising to sponsorship. Cannon also mentioned in his study that the $1 billion (UK) spending gap between tennis and golf will soon close.

• A LeRoy Neiman watercolor painting of Serena and Venus Williams, that was expected to be sold around $60,000, received no bids during a recent US Open auction in New York. The proceeds of some of the other items benefited USTA Serves, which funds community tennis programs and college scholarships.

• Melanie Oudin’s magical run to the quarterfinals at the US Open was a ratings winner for ESPN2. About 2,324,000 viewers tuned in during Oudin’s loss to Caroline Wozniacki. The night before during the Venus Williams vs. Flavia Pennetta match and Rafael Nadal vs. Gael Monfils match, 2,128,000 viewers tuned in to watch.

• BackOffice Associates, LLC, has announced that Melanie Oudin has signed a multi-year promotional partnership. BackOffice Associates, LLC, is the world leader in SAP data quality.

• The organizers of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex are giving fans the opportunity to vote on which trophy they would like to see presented to the tournament champion. Malaysian manufacturer, Royal Selangor, has created three trophies that fans can vote for on the official tournament website. Each person who votes for the trophy will be signed up for a chance to win a trip to Malaysia to see the trophy being made.

• At the recent Legends Ball held at the Cipriani on 42^nd Street in New York City, the following awards were given:

  • • Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon received the Joseph F. Cullman III award.

    • Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe accepted the Eugene L. Scott award for her husband, the late Arthur Ashe.

    • Martina Navratilova earned the Danzig award.

    • Fred Stolle received the Johnston award.

• More than $130,000 was raised during a silent auction at the Legends Ball. $18,000 was raised for a hitting session with Monica Seles, $6,000 for a hitting session with Jim Courier and $15,000 for a men’s and women’s finals travel package to Wimbledon.

• Roger Rasheed, coach of Gael Monfils, and Vlado Platenik, coach of Dominika Cibulkova, are spearheading a new organization called, Tour Level Tennis Coaches Association, to support coaches and trainers by offering them benefits, forms of insurance, financial services, job training and mentoring.

• On September 11, CNN’s Tony Harris and Natalie Morales of The Today Show on NBC hosted a Breaking the Barriers reception to honor the National Junior Tennis League on the 40^th anniversary of its founding by Arthur Ashe.

• Rafael Nadal will not play Davis Cup this weekend for Spain’s semifinal tie against Israel due to an abdominal injury. Juan Carlos Ferrero will take Nadal’s spot on the roster.

• Roger Federer is scheduled to compete for Switzerland this weekend during their World Group Playoff match against Italy.

• Andy Murray announced that he is fit to participate this weekend in Great Britain’s Davis Cup Zonal tie against Poland.

• ATP World Tour CEO Adam Helfant said the tour is looking into an All-Star event for the players that will happen right before the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event. “We’ve talked to our players about it and our players are excited about it and committed to it,” said Helfant.

• According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, former Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis has sold his family house in Australia to pay off an outstanding mortgage. Philippoussis is still being sought out by American tax authorities for $500,000.