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.

STARS

Juan Martin del Potro beat Andy Roddick 3-6 7-5 7-6 (6) to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic title in Washington, DC, USA

Flavia Pennetta

Flavia Pennetta beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-3 to win the LA Women’s Tennis Championships in Los Angeles, California, USA

Feliciano Lopez won the ATP Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain, defeating Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-4

Andreas Seppi beat Potito Starace 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-4 to win the San Marino CEPU Open in San Marino

Marcos Baghdatis beat Xavier Malisse 6-4 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open men’s singles in Vancouver, Canada

Stephanie Dubois beat Sania Mirza 1-6 6-4 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open women’s singles in Vancouver, Canada

SAYING

“We play until the tiebreaker, and then I did the best service of my life.” – Juan Martin del Potro, who hit five of his 19 aces in the tiebreaker to beat Andy Roddick and win his second straight Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“I kind of forced him to play high-risk tennis, especially with the heat. He was taking big cuts, especially for the last 30, 45 minutes we were out there, and he was connecting.” – Andy Roddick, after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the final at Washington, DC.

“Every match I improved. I had a great chance in the second set and I took it, that’s why I won.” – Flavia Pennetta, who won the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“My whole career I’ve been trying to get to this point. It kind of looks like I’ve done it late, but I don’t worry too much about that. I took a little longer to develop.” – Samantha Stosur, after reaching the final of the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“I don’t have fear if I miss that important point. If you don’t take a risk, you don’t gain.” – Fernando Gonzalez, after beating Tommy Haas at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“Did I hear the baby? My grandmother in Russia heard the baby.” – Maria Sharapova, after a baby started crying in the first set of her 6-4 (4) 6-4 6-2 victory over Victoria Azarenka at the LA Women’s Tennis Championships.

“I have to give him a lot of credit. He helped turn my mind around. I’m no longer looking at tennis as a matter of life and death.” – Philip Bester of Canada, speaking about his several sessions with sports psychologist Jim Loehr.

”I realized how much I missed it and how it made me sharper, and, in some ways, more focused. Then I realized I wanted it back.” – Ana Ivanovic, talking about the pressure of being number one in the world.

“Maybe some people think it’s too crazy, but I’m enjoying a lot. For me it’s not only for the ranking or always to win the tournament. It’s just to enjoy life.” – Kimiko Date Krumm, on returning to the WTA Tour after her 12-year retirement.

SECONDING THE CALL

After battling through 14 points in the final-set tiebreaker, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro waited at the net for the replay to tell them if their match was over. Del Potro appeared to win the match with a crosscourt forehand winner, but Roddick challenged the call. “I actually thought it might have been out, and I asked him and he said it might have been out,” Roddick said. “So imagine the disappointment when it wasn’t.” The disappointment was all Roddick’s as del Potro won his second straight Legg Mason Tennis Classic title in Washington, DC, edging Roddick 3-6 7-5 7-6 (6).

STRIKING BACK

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has appealed a ruling that essentially cleared Richard Gasquet, who said he inadvertently took cocaine by kissing a woman in a nightclub. The ITF is appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an independent tribunal decided to exonerate Gasquet for a positive cocaine test. The Frenchman was allowed to resume playing after serving a 2½-month retroactive ban. The ITF is seeking a two-year ban under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code.

SKIPPING SUSPENSION

Tamira Paszek will not be suspended while officials investigate whether medical treatment the Austrian tennis player received for a back injury violated doping regulations. The disciplinary committee of Austria’s anti-doping agency said Paszek can continue to play on the WTA Tour until a verdict is reached in about seven weeks. Last month Paszek had blood taken for homeopathic enrichment, and then re-injected into her lower back. Re-injecting one’s own blood is banned under international anti-doping rules. It was Paszek herself who alerted the doping agency when she learned that her treatment may have been illegal. She hasn’t played a match since retiring in the first round of Wimbledon in June.

SPARKLING MARK

Andy Roddick reached another milestone at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC. When the Wimbledon finalist beat fellow American Sam Querrey in a third-round match, it was his 500^th career match victory, making Roddick only the fourth active player and the 36^th in the Open Era to win 500 matches. Roger Federer – no surprise there – leads the active players with 657 match wins, while Carlos Moya has 573 and Lleyton Hewitt 511.

SODERLING STOPPED

An elbow injury did what an opponent couldn’t at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC. An injury to his right elbow forced Sweden’s Robin Soderling to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro. Soderling reached the French Open final this year, losing to Roger Federer, then won the Swedish Open in Bastad, Sweden, in his last two tournaments.

SQUEEZE PLAY

After years of paying on consecutive weeks, men and women will compete for the Rogers Cup at the same time but in separate Canadian cities. The men and women take turns playing one year in Montreal, then the next in Toronto. This year, the men will play in Stade Uniprix at Jarry Park in Montreal this week; the women will play at Rexall Centre at York University in Toronto next week. But because of increased international pressure for more combined men’s and women’s tournaments, Tennis Canada will squeeze its two marquee events into the same week beginning in 2011. That’s the only way the Rogers Cup can be played three weeks before the US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Despite the two tours playing in separate cities, Tennis Canada will be calling it the world’s first “virtually-combined” tournament, melding the two events into one through the medium of television.

SINGLES WINNER

On her way to the court to play for the title, Stephanie Dubois noticed the photos of the previous winners of the Vancouver Open. “I visualized myself on that wall with the others,” said Dubois, a native of Quebec, Canada. “I worked very hard for this.” The 22-year-old Dubois made sure her picture will be added to the “winners’ wall” when she became the first Canadian to capture the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open women’s singles title by beating India’s Sania Mirza 1-6 6-4 6-4. The winner didn’t hold serve until 3-2 in the second set, then knotted the match at one set apiece when she cashed in on her sixth set point. “I’m very happy to have won,” Dubois said. “I came here with that objective.”

SWEETING FINED

When he suffered a second-round loss at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Ryan Sweeting had a few choice words to say to the chair umpire. The officials weren’t impressed by his choice of words and instead fined Sweeting USD $1,500 for verbal abuse of a chair umpire. The young American made his expensive speech after losing to Canada’s Philip Bester 6-4 6-3.

SIGN UP, PLEASE

Two tennis stars, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, have asked cricketers in India to sign the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code despite apprehension about the “whereabout” clause. “Lots of the tennis players had apprehensions early but we are all doing it,” Bhupathi said. The disputed clause makes it mandatory for athletes to disclose their whereabouts three months in advance. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are two tennis stars who are the most vociferous critics of the clause, but both have signed it. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) supports its players and has asked the International Cricket Council, a WADA signatory, to explore the possibility of having an anti-doping agency of its own. “It would not be fair to all the other sports and sportsmen of the world to make exceptions to WADA’s rules, and I’m sure any doubts that the cricketers have can be sorted out amicably through consensus before they sign on the dotted line,” Sania said.

SWISS DOUBLES

Roger Federer posted the first public photo of his twin daughters on the Internet. The Swiss tennis star wrote below the photo on his Facebook account that the girls and mother are “doing great,” and thanks friends and fans for their wishes. Federer and his wife Mirka are each holding a baby in the picture. Charlene Riva and Myla Rose were born July 23. Federer said the photo was taken by his father.

SPECIAL HONOR

Jane Brown Grimes and John Reese are the 2009 recipients of the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum (ITHFM) Chairman’s Award, which recognizes outstanding service by a board member. Brown Grimes opened the ITHFM’s New York office in 1977 and became the Hall of Fame’s executive director in 1981. In 1986 she became managing director of the Women’s Tennis Council, then returned to the Hall of Fame as its president and CEO in 1991, serving until 2000. A board member since 1983, Reese became executive vice president of the Hall of Fame board and later served in a number of positions, including president and CEO, chairman and CEO, and chairman of the executive committee. In 1998, Reese was inducted into the United States Tennis Association’s Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame.

SPOT CLINCHED

Dinara Safina is the first player to clinch a spot in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, which will be held October 27-November 1 at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar. The world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will compete for the year-ending title and a share of the record Championships prize money of USD $4.45 million. It will be Safina’s second trip to the Championships, having made her debut a year ago. The Russian reached the world number one ranking on April 20. Her 16-match winning streak is the best on the WTA Tour this season. She also has reached the final of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, while gaining a semifinal berth at Wimbledon. “Qualifying for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships is one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year,” Safina said. “I’ve accomplished a lot of milestones this season and am thrilled to be the first to qualify for the Championships.”

STAR JUNIORS

The United States became the first nation to win three straight World Junior Tennis titles when the 14-and-under girls beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final held in Prostejov, Czech Republic. Aneta Dvorakova beat Victoria Duval of Delray Beach, Florida, to begin the title competition. After Sachia Vickery of Miramar, Florida, beat Petra Rohanova 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-2 of knot the tie at one match each, the American doubles team of Duval and Vickery beat Dvorakova and Rohanova 6-2 6-7 (4) 6-1 to clinch the crown. Also on the winning team was Brooke Austin of Indianapolis, Indiana.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Washington: Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 7-6 (3)

Los Angeles: Chuang Chia-Jung and Yan Zi beat Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Segovia: Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Lovro Zovko 6-7 (4) 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

San Marino: Lucas Arnold Ker and Sebastian Prieto beat Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6 (4) 2-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Vancouver (men): Kevin Anderson and Rik De Voest beat Ramon Delgado and Kaes Van’t Hof 6-4 6-4

Vancouver (women): Ahsha Rolle and Riza Zalameda beat Madison Brengle and Lilia Osterloh 6-4 6-3

SITES TO SURF

Montreal: http://www3.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php

Cincinnati: www.cincytennis.com/

Cordenons: www.euro-sporting.it/challenger/

Toronto: www.rogerscup.com/

Algarve: www.atpchampionstour.com/

Newport: www.championsseriestennis.com/newport2009/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$3,000,000 Rogers Cup, Montreal, Canada, hard

$120,000 Internazionali del Friuli Venezia Guilia Tennis Cup Cordenons, Italy, clay

WTA

$2,000,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

SENIORS

Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD, Algarve, Portugal, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$3,000,000 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, hard

WTA

$2,000,000 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada, hard

SENIORS

International Tennis Hall of Fame Champions Cup, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, grass

Born in Moscow but representating Germany, Mischa Zverev advanced to his first career ATP Tour semifinal (6th quarterfinal’s attempt) in dramatic fashion. Zverev was losing to Vicotr Troicki 1:5 in the third set but managed to win 6 consecutive games, attacking at the net almost at every opportunity. The German saved two match points with service winners at 1:5 and was 4 times two points away from defeat at 4:5 on Troicki’s serve.

The other Moscow-born player Marat Safin ousted the defending champion Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 after 2 hours 28 minutes. Davydenko was serving to win the first set at 6:5 and was two points away from taking the set in the tie-break. Decisive break in the third set came in the 5th game when Davydenko lost his serve despite 40-0 up.

STOCKHOLM

Top-seeded David Nalbandian and two-time Stockholm finalist Jarkko Nieminen have each won their  matches against Spanish opponents, dropping just 5 games. Nieminen had very promising start of the year but since Australian Open hasn’t won 3 matches in a tournament.

Mario Ancic withdrew prior to the match against Kei Nishikori due to acute bronchitis. Ancic has been health problems from the beginning of the week.

Robin Soderling served 13 aces in straight sets victory over Rainer Schuettler.

VIENNA

Former Vienna’s champion Feliciano Lopez disappointed local fans beating Jurgen Melzer 4-6 6-3 6-4. Lopez had only two break points in the match and converted both of them.

Philipp Kohlschreiber playing his first tournament since US Open, advanced to the semifinal after easy win over Fernando Verdasco. Kohlschreiber during the week has dropped only 9 games (4 in the 1st round, 5 against Verdadco). Kohlschreiber’s countryman Petzschner reached first ATP semifinal after 6-4 6-2 over Carlos Moya in the late match.

Moscow – Quarterfinals

(7)Marat Safin (RUS) d. (1)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4

Michael Zverev (GER) d. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-4 3-6 7-5 – 2 M.P.

Fabrice Santoro (FRA) d. (4)Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3 2-0 ret.

Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) d. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-4 6-2

Stockholm – Quarterfinals

(1)David Nalbandian (ARG) d. (7)Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-4 6-1

(3)Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Oscar Hernandez 6-1 6-4

(4)Robin Soderling (SWE) d. (5)Rainer Schuettler (GER) 6-2 7-5

(WC)Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. (2)Mario Ancic (CRO) w/o

Vienna – Quarterfinals

(q)Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Carlos Moya (ESP) 6-4 6-2

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. (5)Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 6-3

(8)Gael Monfils (FRA) d. (2)Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 6-3 7-6(2)

Moscow champion from year 2005, Igor Andreev lost his second round match against Jeremy Chardy despite comfortable leading 6-3 5:2 (40-30). 21 year-old Frenchman has reached second quarterfinal this year.
Also tight match won another Frenchman (Moscow champion 2002, last year’s finalist) Paul-Henri Mathieu who needed 2 hours 48 minutes to beat Dudi Sela 6-7(3) 7-5 7-6(0).

The tournament has been dominated by the French and Russian players. Beside mentioned two players from France a place in the last eight booked their compatriot Fabrice Santoro and three players from Russia (Davydenko, Safin and Kunitsyn). Russian number 1 Nikolay Davydenko smashed Guilermo Garcia-Lopez in just 55 minutes and almost secured himself a spot in year-ending Masters Cup.

STOCKHOLM

David Nalbandian finished Pim-Pim’s comeback on ATP circuit with surprisingly easy win 6-3 6-2. The match was equaled till 3:3 in the first set with a little optical advantage of the Swede who had 30-0 on Nalbandian’s serve twice. Since the 7th game of the first set Nalbandian overwhelmed his opponent breaking his huge serve three times.

Two Spaniards, clay-court specialists, Albert Montanes and Oscar Hernandez have reached indoor’s quarterfinal for the first time in career. They both lost easily first set to win without bigger problems two another sets.

One of the promising stars, 18 year-old Kei Nishikori of Japan, was two points away from losing his match against veteran Dominik Hrbaty at 4:5 in the third set. In the previous game the Japanese had triple break point. “I just concentrated on keeping my serve,” Nishikori said. “I’m glad that I did not go down after failing to break his serve from 0-40. The next game was difficult.” Hrbaty, former no. 12 in the world (now rank. 396) hasn’t reached an ATP quarterfinal from one and a half year.

VIENNA

Ernests Gulbis proved once again that has big potential to play on a very high level but has problems with concentration in the most important moments as well. Young Latvian wasted 5 match poins in the tie-break (6:4, 7:6, 9:8, 11:10) of the second set against Fernando Gonzalez. Gulbis has already lost four matches this year being one or two points away from vicotry (against Davydenko, Nalbandian, Acasuso and Gonzalez).
Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from the match against Philipp Kohlschreiber. It wasn’t a surprising decision in view of Del Potro’s previous tough match which was preceded by long flight from Tokyo where Del Potro had played a final last Sunday. Tired Argentinian has officially withdrew due to injury of his right big toe.

Moscow – Second Round

(1)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-1 6-1
(7)Marat Safin (RUS) d. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-4 0-6 6-2
Michael Zverev (GER) d. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-2 2-6 6-1
Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs (8)Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-3 6-4
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) d. (q)Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2 6-4
(4)Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) d. Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-7(3) 7-5 7-6(0)
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) d. Robby Ginepri (USA) 6-4 6-3
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. (2)Igor Andreev (RUS) 3-6 7-5 6-4 – 1 M.P.

Stockholm – Second Round

(1)David Nalbandian (ARG) d. (WC)Joachim Johansson (SWE) 6-3 6-2
(7)Albert Montanes (ESP) d. (q)George Bastl (SUI) 1-6 6-3 6-2
(3)Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Arnaud Clement (FRA) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) d. (6)Jose Acasuso (ARG) 2-6 6-3 6-4
(5)Rainer Schuettler (GER) d. Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 7-6(6) 6-3
(4)Robin Soderling (SWE) d. (LL)Juan Monaco (ARG)  6-3 6-3
(WC)Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) 6-1 1-6 7-5
(2)Mario Ancic (CRO) d. Steve Darcis (BEL) 7-6(4) 6-4

Vienna – Second Round

(q)Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. (q)Jan Hernych (CZE) 6-3 6-4
Carlos Moya (ESP) d. Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 6-2 6-3
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)  7-6(4) 6-3
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. (LL)Santiago Giraldo (COL) 7-6(5) 6-3
(5)Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Guillermo Canas (ARG) 6-1 6-2
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. (3)Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) w/o
(8)Gael Monfils (FRA) d. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 6-4 6-3
(2)Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) d. Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 4-6 7-6(11) 6-1 – 5 M.P.

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Marat Safin has notched 400th win in professional career beating 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 Noam Okun of Israel. Safin places on 8th position among active players  who have won the most matches in ATP Tour. Safin ended the match in bizarre fashion thinking that broke Okun’s serve to lead 6:5 in the third. He had gone to his chair before realised that won the match.

Nikolay Davydenko has extended the number of consecutive wins in Moscow to 11, after a routine win (6-1 7-5) over Florent Serra. Two-time defending champion Davydenko lost only one set in those 11 matches (against Safin two years ago in the final).

The biggest surprise of the first round was made by Uzbek Denis Istomin overcoming 7-6(2) 6-3 Mickael Llodra. It was Istomin’s first ATP win since Australian Open. Apart from Aussie Open, Istomin had won earlier matches only on lower levels and in Davis Cup.

STOCKHOLM

The first round produced mixing emotions for the home crowd. After 17 years on the Tour the last singles match in professional career played Jonas Bjorkman. The Swede who debuted in Stockholm in 1992, lost in straight sets (2-6 4-6) to “lucky loser” Juan Monaco.”I felt I could have played a lot better than I did because I was playing well during practice during the last weeks.” said Bjorkman who will play in doubles till the end of the regular season.

On the other hand fellow Swede – Joachim “Pim-Pim” Johansson dignified with a win his comeback to ATP circuit after 12 months’ break. Johansson beat Nicolas Mahut 7-5 7-6(5) serving 20 aces at 75% of 1st serves in. “I didn’t feel anything on my shoulder” said 26 year-old Pim-Pim who officialy retired from professional sport at the beginning of 2008.

Juan Acasuso has won for the second time in 2008 a match from extremely difficult position. The Argentinian who beat Gulbis in Toronto being 1:5 in the deciding set, this time overcome a qualifier from Germany – Matthias Bachinger 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(4) despite match point down at 2:5 in the third set.

VIENNA

In contrary to Joachim Johansson, Stefan Koubek hadn’t a promising comeback to ATP after 6 months injury-break. The Austrian lost 1-6 2-6 to 10 years younger “lucky loser” Santiago Giraldo. It was Giraldo’s first ATP match at the European indoor. After the match Koubek said he wants to play as many matches as possible to the end of the season and rebuild his form on the practice sessions in off-season in December.
Feliciano Lopez has won first ATP match after losing 6 in a row, beating in two tie-breaks Agustin Calleri.
Stanislas Wawrinka and Gilles Simon, Masters Cup contenders, have cutted down chances to qualify to Shanghai. Both players lost in the first round 6-7(5) in the third set (Wawrinka lost to qualifier Petzschner, Simon to Schwank).

Their stumble creates Shanghai hopes for Fernando Gonzalez. The Chilean, 11th in the ATP Race revenged Simone Bolelli for bitter Wimbledon’s loss beating the Italian 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2. They have met each other 4 times and 9 out of 13 sets have finished in the tie-breaks (Gonzalez leads 3-1 in Head to head; Bolelli leads 5-4 in the tie-breaks).

The revelation of the last couple of months – Juan Martin del Potro was struggling in two tie-break sets with unkown Austrian “wild card” Martin Fisher (No. 219). Del Potro saved set point in the first set tie-break (at 6:7) and was two points away from losing the second tie-break when Fisher was serving at 5:4. It was first indoor match for the Argentinian this year.

Moscow – First round

(1)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) d. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-1 7-5
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d. Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 6-2 6-4
Julien Benneteau (FRA) d. (q)Harel Levy (ISR) 6-4 6-3
(7)Marat Safin (RUS) d. (q)Noam Okun (ISR) 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) d. (3)Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)  7-5 4-6 7-6(1)
Michael Zverev (GER) d. Denis Gremelmayr (GER) 6-3 7-6(7)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. (WC)Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-1 6-3
(8)Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. (WC)Alexandre Koudriavtsev (RUS) 4-6 6-3 7-6(6)
(q)Denis Istomin (UZB) d. (6)Michael Llodra (FRA) 7-6(2) 6-3
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) d. (WC)Yuri Schukin (KAZ) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4
Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-3 3-6 6-2
(4)Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) d. Sergey Stakhovsky (UKR) 6-3 6-2
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) d. (LL)Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-1 4-6 6-1
Robby Ginepri (USA) d. (q)Jiri Vanek (CZE) 6-3 6-4
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Potito Starace (ITA) 3-6 6-1 6-4
(2)Igor Andreev (RUS) d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 2-0 ret.

Stockholm – First round

(1)David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Bobby Reynolds (USA) 6-1 6-1
(WC)Joachim Johansson (SWE) d. Nicolas Mahut (FRA)  7-5 7-6(5)
(q)George Bastl (SUI) d. (q)Frederik Nielsen (DEN)  7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(4)
(7)Albert Montanes (ESP) d. Thomas Johansson (SWE) 6-3 4-6 6-3
(3)Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5
Arnaud Clement (FRA) d. (q)Bjorn Rehnquist (SWE) 6-2 6-1
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) d. Ivo Minar (CZE) 6-4 6-3
(6)Jose Acasuso (ARG) d. (q)Matthias Bachinger (GER) 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(4) – saved 1 M.P.
(5)Rainer Schuettler (GER) d. Chris Guccione (AUS) 6-0 6-3
Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) d. Ivan Navarro-Pastor (ESP) 3-6 7-6(7) 7-5
(LL)Juan Monaco (ARG) d. (WC)Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)  6-2 6-4
(4)Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Benjamin Becker (GER) 7-5 6-3
(WC)Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. (8)Marcel Granollers (ESP) 2-6 6-4 6-2
Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) d. Pablo Andujar (ESP) 6-2 6-1
Steve Darcis (BEL) vs Christophe Rochus (BEL) 2-6 6-3 6-3
(2)Mario Ancic (CRO) d. Olivier Rochus (BEL) 7-6(6) 6-2

Vienna – First Round

(q)Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. (1)Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)  6-7(5) 6-2 7-6(5)
(q)Jan Hernych (CZE) d. Roko Karanusic (CRO) 4-6 6-4 7-6(5)
Carlos Moya (ESP) d. Michael Berrer (GER) 7-6(5) 7-6(6)
Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. (7)Gilles Simon (FRA)  4-6 7-5 7-6(5)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) d. (4)Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 7-6(4)
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 7-6(3) 6-3
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Agustin Calleri (ARG) 7-6(2) 7-6(4)
(LL)Santiago Giraldo (COL) d. (WC)Stefan Koubek (AUT) 6-1 6-2
(5)Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. (q)Victor Crivoi (ROU) 6-4 6-4
Guillermo Canas (ARG) d. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6(2) 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Marc Gicquel (FRA)  6-2 6-2
(3)Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs (WC)Martin Fischer (AUT) 7-6(7) 7-6(5)
(8)Gael Monfils (FRA) vs (WC)Alexander Peya (AUT) 3-6 6-1 6-3
Radek Stepanek (CZE) d. (q)Pavel Snobel (CZE) 6-4 6-2
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) d. Filippo Volandri (ITA) 6-2 6-3
(2)Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2

STARS

Gilles Simon won the BCR Open Romania title by beating Carlos Moya 6-3 6-4 in Bucharest, Romania

Patty Schnyder beat Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-0 to win the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, Indonesia

Nicolas Mahut beat Christophe Rochus 5-7 6-1 7-6 (2) to win the Open d’Orleans in Orleans, France

Lourdes Dominguez-Lino beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-4 in Athens, Greece, to win the Vogue Athens Open 2008

SAYINGS

“I have the belief right now that I can do it as long as I’m healthy, really. That’s the way I feel. I’m going to believe till the end of my tennis days that I probably can win a Grand Slam. And if it’s not the case, or I don’t believe in it anymore, then I’ll probably retire.” – Roger Federer.

“It’s the end of the year, it’s the last Grand Slam. He didn’t have a bad year, but for his standards, not as good as he would have liked. It’s a great thing going into next year. It gives him a lot of hope to get ready for next season, and I think it’s a great feeling for him.” – Jose Higueras, on Roger Federer winning the US Open.

“These days I feel like my opponents have to play really well to beat me. … I felt good on court and I’m happy about the result. It’s nice to defend the title here in Bucharest.” – Gilles Simon.

“I am having my best season ever and qualifying for (Tennis Masters Cup) Shanghai is a great reward. It was one of my goals at the beginning of 2008 and I look forward to competing there for the first time.” – Andy Murray, the first Briton to qualify for the season-ending tournament since Tim Henman in 2004.

“It wasn’t one of my goals at the beginning of the season, but of course it would be very nice if I made it.” – Gilles Simon, on the possibility of him qualifying for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.

“This is kind of a surprise for us,” confessed Nicolas Devilder. “We came here focusing on our singles matches and end up winning the doubles. It feels great to win the title here.” – Nicolas Devilder, after teaming with Paul-Henri Mathieu to win the doubles in Bucharest, Romania.

“It’s not the easiest tie to start off your Davis Cup career with. I would probably prefer a home tie on hard court. To jump in there against Spain in the semifinals, in a way though it’s a nice introduction to the Davis Cup. It will be tough.” – Sam Querrey, who will make his United States Davis Cup debut against Spain on clay.

“I always felt I could be number one if I put in the effort. It’s been great. I enjoyed the journey because it wasn’t overnight, and life’s a journey, not a destination.” – Serena Williams, who won the US Open women’s singles.

“Missing the U.S. Open and the Olympics was really tough for her, but she’s resolved not to try to work through the pain. She’s not coming back until the problem is corrected.” – Agent Max Eisenbud, on Maria Sharapova’s rehabilitation schedule.

“The ATP has now exhausted all avenues of inquiry open to it and the investigation is now concluded.” – The ATP in announcing it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Nikolay Davydenko and has ended its investigation of a match he lost in August 2007.

“The site on which we bet a few euros didn’t have the right to reveal that data because it was prior to the agreement made with the various sporting associations. And the ATP was not allowed to make public other information, like the bets on football and other sports. We’ll go all the way to the highest court.” – Giorgio Galimberti, one of four Italian players given suspensions by the ATP for betting on matches, saying they intend to sue the ATP for violation of privacy.

STREAKING RUSSIANS

With 4-0 clobbering of Spain, Russia won its second straight Fed Cup title and its fourth international women’s team championship in the last five years. Playing on clay in Madrid, Vera Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3 6-4, Svetlana Kuznetsova stopped Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 6-1 before beating Medina Garrigues 5-7 6-3 6-4, and Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina teamed up to down Spain’s Nuria Llagostera Vives and Suarez Navarro 6-2 6-1. Since the best-of-5 tie was already decided, the fourth singles match was not played.

SOME BATTLE

Frenchmen Nicolas Devilder and Paul-Henri Mathieu won three fewer points than their opponents, but outlasted top-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6 (4) 6-7 (9) 22-20 (match tiebreak) to win the BCR Open Romania doubles in Bucharest. It was their first team title. In fact, they had never won a match in their two previous tournaments, and it was the first ATP doubles title for both players. The winners saved six match points before finally winning on their tenth match point. Besides beating the top-seeded Polish team, Devilder and Mathieu also knocked off the third-seeded team as well as the 2005 champions.

SWISS MISS

When Patty Schnyder won the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in her third attempt, she reached several milestones. It was the Swiss left-hander’s 500^th singles victory of her career and her eleventh title, her last one coming in Cincinnati in July 2005. Since that win, Schnyder had lost seven straight finals before defeating 17-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3 6-0 in Bali, Indonesia.

SHANGHAI BOUND

By reaching the US Open final, Andy Murray has qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, which will be held at Shanghai’s Qi Zhong Stadium in November. Murray, who reached his first Grand Slam tournament final before running into Roger Federer, joins the elite eight-man field that already includes Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram became the third team to qualify for the eight-team doubles event in Shanghai.

SOMETHING NEW

The Bali Classic is being transformed next year into a real Tournament of Champions. That will be the new name for the Indonesian event, which will see increased prize money from USD $225,000 to $600,00, plus a possibility of a USD $1 million bonus. Next year’s tournament will be played indoors from November 4-8 at the Bali International Convention Centre with 12 players in four round-robin groups. It will be open only to players who have won at least one of the season-long International Series events, a series of 30 tournaments played in Australia, Asia, north Africa, the Americas and Europe. The top ten WTA Tour players who have won at least one International Series tournaments and are not participating in the year-end championships in Doha, Qatar, will qualify, along with two wild cards. A player who wins three International Series events and the Tournament of Champions will collect an additional USD $1 million bonus.

SINGLES SHIFT

There were some major shifts in the top ten of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles rankings following the US Open, led by Serena Williams taking over the top spot with her winning the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Williams is the fourth player to take over the number one spot since Justine Henin retired in May. Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina took over as the top two Russians, Dementieva moving from number six to number four, while safina moved up two spots to number five after both were semifinalists in New York. US Open finalist Jelena Jankovic is second and her Serbian countrywoman Ana Ivanovic is third.

SINO COOPERATION

Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Peng Shuai of China teamed up to win the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic doubles title in Bali, Indonesia, rallying from the brink of defeat to down Marta Domachowska and Nadia Petrova. The losers held three match points on Petrova’s serve at 5-4 in the second set only to hae Hsieh and Peng come away with a 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3) 10-7 (match tiebreak) victory. The win was the first for the team. “I’m really happy to win with my partner,” Peng said. “We have been good friends for eight years now and she’s always been helping me and giving me advice, so to share this with her, it really doesn’t get any better than this.”

SALUTE

Dennis Van der Meer and the late Howard Head are the first two inductees into the new Tennis Industry Hall of Fame. The announcement was made by the Tennis Industry Association at a special reception honoring the two men and their contributions to the sport of tennis. Van der Meer founded the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), based in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in 1976 to certify tennis teaching professionals. He also has coached world-class players on both the women’s and men’s professional tours. Howard Head first transformed the ski industry in the late 1940s when he designed a new type of ski that combined metal, plastic and plywood that was more durable, lighter and easier to turn. In 1969, he designed a metal racquet. He then joined Prince Manufacturing, where he helped redesign and improve a tennis ball machine, then later designed and patented a racquet with a 20 percent larger head.

SHARAPOVA TO RETURN

Maria Sharapova hopes to begin her comeback the second week in January when she plays an exhibition event in Hong Kong. She hopes to follow that by defending her title at the Australian Open. Sharapova, who missed the Olympics and the US Open because of a shoulder injury, has been in Phoenix, Arizona, for the last month working with fitness trainer Brett Fischer, who is working to strengthen the area around the torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder. No surgery is indicated and Sharapova’s doctors have described the tear as “very moderate.” Sharapova hasn’t played since retiring from a second-round match against Ai Sugiyama at the Canadian Open in early August.

SPANISH CAPTAIN

Miguel Margets, captain of the Spanish Fed Cup team, has been given the 2008 Fed Cup Award of Excellence by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF). Francesco Ricci Bitti, ITF president, and 1984 International Tennis Hall of Famer Manolo Santana presented the award to Margets during the Fed Cup World Group final in Madrid, Spain. Miguel has captained four Spanish teams to Fed Cup championships. The Fed Cup Award of Excellence, which was inaugurated by the ITHF and the ITF in 2001, is presented to a person who represents the ideals and spirit of the Fed Cup competition and must be a member of a past or present Fed Cup team.

SISTERS TO AFRICA

The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are scheduled to visit Nigeria in November in what reportedly will be their first joint visit to Africa. Godwin Kienka, who runs the International Tennis Academy in Lagos, Nigeria, and publishes a tennis magazine – Tennis Africa – said the sisters will be accompanied by their mother Oracene as well as sister and manager Isha Price, trainers and other staffers. Kienka said Venus and Serena would play an exhibition and run a clinic. It will be Venus’ first visit to Africa, whereas Serena has been to Ghana and Senegal.

SAM TO THE RESCUE

Sam Querrey will make his Davis Cup debut when the United States travels to Madrid, Spain, for a semifinal. United States Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said Querrey is replacing James Blake, who McEnroe said, is “physically and mentally exhausted.” Querrey won his first ATP title in March, reached the quarterfinals on clay at Monte Carlo, and reached the fourth round of the US Open earlier this month. Other members of the American squad are Andy Roddick and the doubles team of brothers Mike and Bob Bryan. The world’s number one player, Rafael Nadal, leads the Spanish squad.

SERENA, THE WRITER

Serena Williams is reportedly planning to write her memoir. Publishing industry sources report the nine-time Grand Slam tournament champion could be close to signing a USD $1 million dollar book deal. The news of a pending Williams autobiography was initially reported by Matthew Flamm, a senior reporter at Crain’s New York.com.

SWEPT CLEAN

After a year-long investigation into suspicious betting patterns, Russian star Nikolay Davydenko has been cleared by the ATP. The governing body of men’s tennis said it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Davydenko, his opponent, Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina, or anyone else associated with their match in Sopot, Poland, on August 2, 2007. Then ranked number five in the world, Davydenko, citing a foot injury, retired in the third set of his match against the 87^th-ranked Vassallo.

SUING ATP

Four Italian tennis players banned for betting on matches are planning on suing the ATP Tour for violation of privacy over its handling of their cases. The ATP handed Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali, Federico Luzzi and Giorgio Galimberti bans ranging from six weeks to 200 days between December 2007 and February this year. Galimberti told La Gazzetta dello Sport that a Miami law firm “will defend us for violation of privacy.” He also said the four were planning on suing the betting agency that gave the ATP the information about their wagers. Galimberti said another Italian player, Alessio di Mauro, who was banned for nine months for betting, is not taking part in the legal action.

SOME HISTORY

The Vogue Athens Open ITF women’s tournament was played on hallowed ground. It was the first USD $100,000 ITF women’s circuit event to be held in Greece and included eight players ranked in the WTA Tour’s top 100. Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain won the singles, beating Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-4 at the Athens Lawn Tennis Club next to the famed Temple of Olympian Zeus. The 109-year-old tennis club, the largest and oldest in Greece, also was the site for the tennis event at the first Olympic Games in 1896. Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties also have been played at the club.

SPONSOR

Turismo Madrid has become an international sponsor of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the three-year sponsorship began with the 2008 Fed Cup final between Russia and Spain held at the Club de Campo in Madrid, Spain. Turismo Madrid is the tourism arm of the region of Madrid with the aim to attract international visitors not only to its capital city Madrid, but also to the many cultural, leisure and entertainment activities within the region.

SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Dharmendran Navaratnam, the tournament physician in Bali, Indonesia, has been awarded the Dr. Glick Award by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The award is named for Irving Glick, who was chief medical officer at the US Open for more than 20 years. Dr. Glick founded and chaired the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee of the USTA, served on the Medical Commission for the ITF, was the science coordinator for Tennis Sports Medicine at the Olympics, and was the ITF medical representative to the Seoul and Barcelona Olympics.

SPA AND ACADEMY

Jimmy Connors has made his first trip to India where a tennis academy named for the tennis great is being set up. Club Solaris, which has a chain of fitness centers, is developing the Jimmy Connors Tennis Academy at a 250-300 acre resort spa located between Pune, Mumbai and Goa. The facility will include 100 villas.

SUPER SHOW

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) says the 2008 tournament was the biggest and most successful US Open in its 40-year history as revenue, attendance, website traffic, and concession sales hit all-time highs. More than 720,000 fans attended the 15-day event, topping last year’s record as Arthur Ashe Stadium was sold to a record 99 percent of capacity for the first time, with 23 of 26 sessions sold out. The US Open remains the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world.

SHE’S BACK

Anna Kournikova will compete in mixed doubles exhibition matches at The Stanford Championships, a stop on the Outback Champions Series circuit which will be played October 22-26 in Dallas, Texas. Once ranked in the top ten in the world, Kournikova will play during both the day and night sessions on Saturday, October 25.

SETS AN ASIAN TOUR

The Asian Tennis Federation has unveiled plans for a new tour to boost players from Asia, but is quick to insist it is not in competition with the ATP tour. Anil Khanna, president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), says the sole objective is to provide opportunities for Asian players to earn more money and win wild-cards for ATP events. The Asian Tour will feature 12 tournaments in different cities in Asia and will have minimum prize money of USD $50,000. The tour will begin in New Delhi, India, in December with an Asian Championship and will culminate with an eight-player Masters tournament offering prize money of USD $300,000. Khanna said the winner of the Asian Championship will be given a wild card into the ATP Qatar Open.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bucharest: Nicolas Devilder and Paul-Henri Mathieu beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6 (4) 6-7 (9) 22-20 (match tiebreak)

Orleans: Sergiy Stakhovsky and Lovro Zovko beat Jean-Claude Scherrer and Igor Zelenay 7-6 (7) 6-4

Bali: Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai beat Marta Domachowska and Nadia Petrova 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3) 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Athens: Sorana Cirstea and Galina Voskoboeva beat Kristina Barrois and Julia Schruff 6-2 6-4

SITES TO SURF

Tokyo: www.toray-ppo.co.jp

Guangzhou: www.qztennis.com

Szczecin: www.pekaoopen.pl

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

Beijing: www.chinaopen.com.cn

Bangkok: www.thailandopen.com

Paris: www.tropheejeanluclagardere.com

Luxembourg: www.covadis.be/viviumchallenge

Charlotte: http://championsseriestennis.com/charlotte2008/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$125,000 Pekao Open, Szczecin, Poland

WTA TOUR

$1,340,000 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan, hard

$175,000 TOE Life Ceramics Guangzhou International Women’s Open, Guangzhou, China, hard

$100,000 ITF Tournament, Sofia, Bulgaria, clay

SENIORS

Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere, Black Rock Tournament of Champions, Paris, France, clay

DAVIS CUP

(September 19-21)

World Group Semifinals

Argentina vs. Russia at Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay

Spain vs. United States at Madrid, Spain, clay

World Group Playoffs

Chile vs. Australia at Antofagasta, Chile, clay

Great Britain vs. Austria at Wimbledon, England, grass

Switzerland vs. Belgium at Lausanne, Switzerland, hard

Croatia vs. Brazil at Zadar, Crotia, hard

Israel vs. Peru at Ramat Hasharon, Israel, hard

Netherlands vs. South Korea at Apeldoorn, Netherlands, clay

Romania vs. India at Bucharest, Romania, clay

Slovak Republic vs. Serbia at Bratislava, Slovak Republic, hard

Europe/Africa Zone Group I

Italy vs. Latvia at Montecatini, Italy, clay

Belarus vs. Georgia at Minsk, Belarus, hard

Europe/Africa Zone Group II

Monaco vs. South Africa at Monaco, clay

Ukraine vs. Portugal at Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$576,000 Thailand Open, Bangkok, Thailand, hard

$524,000 China Open, Beijing, China, hard

$120,000 ATP Challenger Trophy, Trnava, Slovakia

WTA TOUR

$600,000 China Open, Beijing, China, hard

$145,000 Hansol Korea Open, Seoul, Korea, hard

SENIORS

The Citadel Group Championships at the Palisades, Outback Champions, Charlotte, North Carolina, hard

Viviam Victory Challenge, Black Rock Tournament of Champions, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, hard

Last week’s display in Marseille was typical of the Scot. He had some gritty, and at times awkward, wins (e.g.., over Stanislas Wawrinka and Nicolas Mahut ) and some dominant displays (Jesse Huta Galung and a recovering Mario Ancic in the final). Of course his triumph was aided by the early exits of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the disappointing Richard Gasquet, and tennis’s new darling Novak Djokovic. However, such luck is commonplace in today’s game, and Murray’s second title of the year indicated a prosperous 2008 was to come.

Fresh off his return to the top ten and surely brimming with confidence, Murray then joined Marcos Baghdatis in exiting the first round of Rotterdam. This time he lost tamely to local wildcard Robin Hasse. Murray insisted fatigue was not a factor: “I wasn’t tired physically or mentally, I felt decent,” but even after beefing up somewhat since his gangly early years, Murray still has a lot of room to improve his physical condition, which would help his stamina.

Instead, Britain’s number one used a rather tired excuse that the court and balls were different and hard to get used to. Frankly, this excuse never really holds much weight. These players are professionals and the time they get to practice on such courts should surely eradicate any issues they have with the different surfaces from week to week.

Perhaps his dismissive view of the loss coupled with his recent title win suggests that priorities lie predominantly with the more glamorous, and rewarding, trio of upcoming tournaments: “This is just one of those matches you can afford in tournaments like this…now I will have some days off before I start preparing for Dubai and the Indian Wells and Miami stretch. It still has been a good start of the year.”

The above comment shows a still-young attitude towards the game that may well change as he matures. Either way, with two tournament wins and a return to the top ten, it has indeed been a fine start to Murray’s third full year on the ATP circuit.