Davis Cup:

Here are the match-ups for the first round of the World Group starting March 5th.

Spain vs. Switzerland – Logrono, Spain;

Juan Carlos Ferrero

No Nadal or Federer in this match-up unfortunately. Spain is the huge favorite as this will be played on clay and can rely on David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo.

France vs. Germany – Toulon, France;

Without veterans Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer, Germany will be in tough on hard courts against a French team that includes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.

Russia vs. India – Moscow, Russia;

Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny should own India in singles competition, but look for the Indian duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati to win the doubles match.

Sweden vs. Argentina – Stockholm, Sweden;

The indoor hard-court conditions should be ideal for Sweden’s Robin Soderling who should win both of his singles matches. This will be a tough match-up for Argentina as David Nalbandian is once again on the injury list.

Croatia vs. Ecuador – Varazdin, Croatia;

Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic are going to make life very difficult for the Lapentti brothers on the hardcourts in Varazdin.

Serbia vs. United States – Belgrade, Serbia;

This should be a very interesting match-up, with Novak Djokovic leading the way for Serbia and the Bryan brothers countering for the United States. In the end it will come down to how Sam Querrey and John Isner can respond as the lead singles players for the U.S. on the red clay in Belgrade. Serbia has the definite edge considering the chosen surface.

Chile vs. Israel – Coquimbo, Chile;

On paper, the Chilean squad led by Fernando Gonzalez should be favored on clay against Israel, but in 2009 the Israeli’s put on quite a show in Davis Cup play and made it all the way to the semi-finals. They cannot be counted out in this tie inCoquimbo. The doubles duo of Andy Ram and Jonathan Elrich are quite the force.

Belgium vs. Czech Republic – Bree, Belgium

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek lead the way for the Czechs against veterans Olivier Rochus and Xavier Malisse. The Belgians will really have to rely on using the energy from the home-court advantage to have a hope against the higher-ranked Czech’s.

Monterrey Open:

A year ago, Marion Bartoli won the innaugaural Monterrey Open against Li Na 6-4, 6-3.

This year, Jelena Jankovic leads the tournament as the top seed and perhaps this event offers her the opportunity to get her game back on track. Struggling mightily for the past year, the Serbian has great talent but a mental game that is as fragile as they come.

Other names to keep an eye on in Monterrey include Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Aleks Wozniak from Canada and Melanie Oudin of the United States. All of these players could benefit from a strong run and without many of the tour’s top players in attendance should be able to get some momentum ahead of Indian Wells.

Jelena Dokic leads the qualifying tournament as the top seed and will be looking to post her first substantial result of 2010. While Dokic had a fantastic start to 2009 by making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, she has failed to repeat that success this year and is 1-3 in tournament play.

With Venus Williams successfully defending her title this past week, the pressure will now be on Novak Djokovic to accomplish the same feat as the men take to the hard-courts in Dubai. Djokovic is seeded second, but is the top ranked player in the draw, as Roger Federer has withdrawn with a lung infection. This year’s edition has a slightly tougher field than a year ago, so Djokovic will have to be on top of his game in order to repeat as champion.

Andy Murray

In the top-half of the draw is Andy Murray who is playing in his first tournament since losing the Australian Open final to Federer almost a month ago. Murray will likely advance to face rising star Marin Cilic in the semi-finals.

The bottom-half is where we can find both Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko who will also be entered in the doubles draw. Djokovic is paired with fellow-Serb Dusan Vemic while Davydenko is teamed with compatriot Igor Kunitsyn. This is a rare treat for fans in Dubai, as these two players do not usually partake in the doubles competition Also in this section of the draw is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who will threaten for the title.

One first round match to note is between eighth seeded Gilles Simon and Marcos “please keep your shirt on” Baghdatis. The winner will likely face Davydenko in the third round.

Absent from Dubai for a second year in a row is American Andy Roddick who withdrew a year ago due to the treatment of Israel’s Shahar Peer. This year scheduling has placed Roddick at back-to-back tournaments in the United States and he likely needs some rest to his shoulder before the Masters Series event in Indian Wells in two weeks time.

Also missing is Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram, who a year ago was allowed into the United Arab Emirates to compete a week after the Peer incident.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championship:

With only a third of the prize money being offered compared to Dubai, the tournament in Delray Beach has a lower-ranked clientele yet there are still many familiar names floating in the draw this year. Good luck picking a winner from this group, as there are many players who are capable and several who have won this very event in years past.

Leading the group of former Delray Beach champions is number one seed, Tommy Haas. The German veteran has not had any note-worthy results thus far in 2010 so expectations are low. Haas won this event in 2006 but is 3-3 on the year and has failed to advance beyond the third round of any tournament he has entered.

Mardy Fish is the defending champion from 2009 and opens against Christophe Rochus. Despite being unseeded, Fish has a nice section of the draw and could get on a good roll.

Other former champions here include Xavier Malisse (‘05, ‘07) who opens against fourth seeded Jeremy Chardy, and Kei Nishikori (‘08) who is making his return to the ATP Tour after season-ending elbow surgery a year ago. Nishikori opens against third seed Benjamin Becker.

Other names to keep an eye on include seventh seed James Blake who starts the tournament against fellow-American Taylor Dent. Finally an early round match where Blake should be considered the favorite, although Dent’s old-school serve and volley style is capable of giving anyone fits. Big-serving Ivo Karlovic is the tournament’s number two seed and should be counted on to win a few rounds as well.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel:

This week’s clay court stop on the tour is in sunny Acapulco, Mexico, where Nicolas Almagro is the two-time defending champion. Almagro will be looking for his third title in Acapulco in a row, while Tomas Muster has the all-time record of four consecutive wins from 1993 to 1996.

While the draw has not yet been released from the tournament, Fernando Verdasco is listed as the top ranked entry, with Fernando Gonzalez and David Ferrer also in the draw.

With six players in the top-fifty of the ATP rankings system, France is certainly well represented in the upper echelon of the men’s game. The tournament in Marseille enjoys a significant French presence that starts with number two seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The defending champion from a year ago has had a solid start to 2010, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open where he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer. France enjoyed a sweep in this tournament a year ago with Arnaud Clement and Michael Llordra taking the doubles title as well.

Top seed Robin Soderling will be trying to prevent a Frenchman from hoisting the trophy and is currently experiencing a deep-run in Rotterdam where he knocked-off Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals. Soderling has a first-round bye in Marseilles, and could encounter Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-finals.

Other locals to keep an eye on include Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon.

Expect a Frenchman to hoist the trophy in a week’s time.

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Memphis, Tennessee

Andy Roddick will make the move from San Jose to Memphis for back-to-back hard court tournaments. With so many top players skipping these smaller events, it is nice to see regular appearances from Andy. The only World Tour 500-level tournament this coming week, there is some serious prize money to be had and I’m surprised we are not seeing more top-ranked players in attendance.

Roddick faces fellow-American James Blake in a tough first round match. Blake has dropped to 52nd in the world and is realizing how tough it is to enter tournaments without a seeding. He faced Del Potro in the second round of the Aussie Open, and Baghdatis in the first round last week in Rotterdam. Things do not get any easier for him here in Memphis.

Roddick leads their career head-to-head meetings 6-3, however Blake has won their last three matches in a row. They have only met once in the last three years, with Blake winning by default at the Queen’s tournament in 2009 when Roddick pulled-out with injury at 4-4 in the first set. With the way he has played thus far this year, Roddick should prevail in straight sets in this one.

Fernando Verdasco

Fernando Verdasco is the number two seed and has a pretty good draw in the bottom half. He;ll have to keep an eye on big-servers John Isner and Ivo Karlovic as well as veteran Tommy Haas. Haas has not looked sharp thus far in 2010, and faces a stiff challenge from veteran Xavier Malisse in the first round. The German might finally be showing his age – although he has won this very tournament three times before, in 1999, 2006 and 2007.

Copa Telmex – Buenos Aires, Argentina

David Ferrer takes the pole position in Buenos Aires but has lacked the consistency so far this year to lead him to the title. Ferrer has lost to lower ranked players such as Stephane Robert, Marcos Baghdatis and Arnaud Clement in his three tournament appearances up to now.

The tournament has quite the interesting mix of players including clay court specialists such as Juan Monaco, Nicolas Almagro, Albert Montanes and even wildcard entry Gaston Gaudio. Having dropped off the radar in recent years, Gaudio’s name still pops up from time to time on the challenger circuit and he is obviously benefiting from the hospitality of his local Argentinian Tennis Federation. He’ll always have his lone Grand Slam title to look back on, from Roland Garros in 2004.

Gaudio isn’t the only former French Open winner present, as Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya are also in the draw. Richard Gasquet is also lurking, which is a surprise since you would think he would be playing in his home country’s tournament in Marseille. Perhaps he is not yet ready to face the French press over his doping suspension from a year ago.

Also showing in the draw as of right now is Argentinian David Nalbandian who has been off the tour since May 2009 due to a serious hip injury. Nalbandian was supposed to return to play a month ago at the Australian Open but had to withdraw after sustaining an abdominal injury in practice. Nalbandian will ease back into competition with a favorable first round opponent in Italian Potito Starace.

* Against Davydenko, Verdasco served 20 double faults. According to THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com) the most double faults ever hit in a me’s match at the Australian Open came when Gerald Patterson hit 29 in 1927. In the Open era Guillermo Coria holds the mark with 23 back in 2006.

* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has finally played the first five-set match of his career and won it against Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(6), 9-7, saving two break points at 6:6 in the fifth set. The 24-year-old Tsonga had played 19 four-set-matches prior to this match, posting a 13-6 record, but he surprisingly never extended to five sets. “The last set, I think he was serving unbelievable,” admitted Almagro. “I couldn’t do anything. He’s playing well. I think he has [a] chance to be on the semifinal or in the final.” Before his match against Tsonga, Almagro won six consecutive five-setters and now has a career five-set record of 6-6.

* No. 14 seed Marin Cilic beating No. 4 seed Juan Martin del Potro 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 after 4 hours 38 minutes gave him the distinction of being the only player outside Top 10 who advanced to the men’s quarterfinals. A similar situation occurred last year, then the only seeded player outside Top 10 in the last 8 was Fernando Verdasco, who was seeded with No. 14 as well. Verdasco’s higher-seeded victim was also the No. 4 seed, Andy Murray, whom he also defeated in five sets.

* Roger Federer has improved his record against former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt to 17-7 with his 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win Monday night, his 15^th consecutive wins against the Aussie future Hall of Famer. The Federer-Hewitt rivalry is the seventh longest head-to-head in the Open era in terms of number of matches. The top 10 are as follows

36 – Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe (21-15)
35 – Lendl vs. Jimmy Connors (22-13)
35 – Boris Becker vs. Stefan Edberg (25-10)
34 – McEnroe vs. Connors (20-14)
34 – Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi (20-14)
27 – Edberg vs. Lendl (14-13)
24 – Federer vs. Hewitt (17-7)
22 – Sampras vs. Todd Martin (18-4)
22 – Agassi vs. Michael Chang (15-7)
21 – Becker vs. Lendl (11-10)
21 – Federer vs. Andy Roddick (19-2)
21 – Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic (14-7)

The Favorites:

Every Grand Slam begins by looking at world number one, Roger Federer, and rightly so. Having “only” won the Aussie Open three times, Federer has not had as much success at the start of the year as you might imagine. He is three years removed from his last victory in Melbourne and with the draw he has in 2010 I wouldn’t expect Federer to be the last man standing. In fact, I think this is the Slam where his record of twenty-two straight Grand Slam semi-finals may finally come to an end. It has to at some point, right?

Who is the most likely man to take Federer out? Igor Andreev is hoping it might be him in the opening round, and Andreev is a tricky player who just might be up for to the task. The pair have only met twice before, but Andreev gave Federer a rough-go at the 2008 U.S. Open where he pushed him to five sets before losing 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Andreev is as inconsistent as they come, but has come up big in the past during high-stakes matches as he displayed in ending Rafael Nadal’s streak on clay back in 2005. This is not a guy that Roger wants to face in his opening match.

Federer may also have to face either Marcos Baghdatis or Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round, and potentially Fernando Verdasco or Nikolay Davydenko (who defeated him in Qatar two weeks ago) in the quarter-finals. Sure, Roger is still favored to make it deep in this tournament – but the potential for upset grows stronger each year.

Also in the top-half of the draw is third-seeded Novak Djokovic who has a nice section at this year’s edition. The first seeded player he may face is little-known Jeremy Chardy of France in round three and the only true opposition I can foresee would be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. Tsonga actually leads their career head-to-head by a 4-2 margin, but Djokovic won their last encounter on hard courts easily in 2009.

Djokovic has not chosen to play any ATP tournaments thus far in 2010 which is puzzling. Instead he showed up at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament where he beat an aging Tommy Haas and then went down to Verdasco 6-1, 6-2 in an apparently meek effort. To make the start of his season even more troubling, Djokovic then played a friendly match against Australian Bernard Tomic and was beaten 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. These are not your typical Djokovic results but makes one question his off-season preparation.

Despite these early upsets and the fact that Djokovic’s frail physique is not meant for the brutal Aussie heat, he does have a good path in front of him to succeed. A couple of easy wins could boost his confidence and make him tap into the success he had here when he won his first and only Slam in 2008.

Fernando Veradsco is a player to watch and just came off a victory at Kooyong over Tsonga in the finals. Verdasco pushed Nadal to his limits at the Aussie Open in 2009 and came ever so close to defeating him before falling in the fifth set. His problem is that he usually does not trouble the top-fve and lost to all his matches at the season-ending championships in London to Federer, Del Potro and Murray in November.

The bottom-half of the draw contains some serious fire power with Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal all lumped together. Picking one of those four players to make it to the finals is easier said than done – although it will without a doubt come from this talented pack of four. I would be shocked if anyone but these four made it to the quarter-finals in the bottom of the draw. I will be glued to my television for the expected Roddick/Del Potro and Murray/Nadal matches.

Roddick already won his first tournament of 2010 by defeating Radek Stepanek in Brisbane. Looks like he is healthy and should breeze through the early round matches.

Del Potro has broken through the Grand Slam barrier with his win over Federer in New York last year. His confidence should be high, but it remains to be seen if he is prepared to challenge at the Slams on a regular basis. Success can affect people in different ways, so Del Potro will want to start the year off strong so that everyone knows he is for real.

Andy Murray is aware that it’s time to show the world he is capable of winning a major. He set high hopes after making the finals at the U.S. Open in 2008, but his results at the Slams in 2009 left a lot to be desired. The talent is there with Murray, but we’ve yet to see the mental consistency on the big stage.

Finally, defending champion Rafael Nadal must also be mentioned – I mean, he did win the thing a year ago! With no titles in the past nine months and injuries that derailed his season in 2009, it is easy to forget about Nadal’s potential impact on the game in Australia. Due to last year’s circumstances, the pressure will not be very high for Nadal in Melbourne and he is a strong possibility to repeat as champion.

Anticipated First-Round Matches:

Mikhail Youzhny vs Richard Gasquet: These two have only met three times before, and you can ignore the results in that series. Youzhny defeated a sixteen year old Gasquet at this tournament in 2003, Gasquet won on hard-courts in 2005, and then Youzhny won a tight five-setter in 2007 on clay. Youzhny is the 20th seed, while Gasquet should be ranked higher if not for his suspension last year. A coin-toss that I’d give the edge to Gasquet based on recent results and a heck of a first round match to watch.

Marin Cilic vs Fabrice Santoro: Just when you thought the magician had retired he is coaxed back onto the court to become the only player to appear in four decades as a professional tennis player. This will also mark Santoro’s 70th career Grand Slam. The 37 year old has been training hard in order to make this a competitive appearance, but don’t expect him to defeat the 14th seeded Cilic. It will be their first career meeting and I’m sure the veteran will have some tricks up his sleeve that the young Croat has likely never seen before.

Radek Stepanek vs Ivo Karlovic: The 13th seeded Stepanek surely hoped for an easier starting match than big-serving Ivo Karlovic. This match will feature two completely-opposite styles of play and probably not too many lengthy rallies.

Darkhorses:

As I mentioned before, beware of Igor Andreev to give Federer a stern test in the first round. Qualifier Xavier Malisse could push through a few rounds and upset Nicolas Almagro in the opener as well.

Overall though, this does not look like a tournament where someone is going to surprise us and come from nowhere to make headlines. It is a strong field with a small cluster of top quality hard-court players. One of the regulars should be hoisting the trophy when the final Sunday comes around.

Federer said recently that he is looking forward to the 2010 season and that he feels he can continue to maintain a near “unbeatable” level of play that he has showcased for much of the last five years.

“Last year, I had a problem at the start of the season with my back,” Federer said. “I lost to (Andy) Murray, (Novak) Djokovic and Rafa, who got the better of me at the start of the season. But I feel fine now because I have been practising enough to feel confident of winning.”

Federer’s win at the 2009 French Open gave him a career Grand Slam, while his epic win last year in the Wimbledon final against Andy Roddick gave him his record-breaking 15th major singles title and helped him take the No. 1 ranking from Nadal. He then reached the US Open final for a sixth straight year, only to lose in five sets to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.

“I got better and better as the season went on,” Federer said. “I was able to bounce back and was on a roll. (Winning in) Paris and Wimbledon showed that I was unbeatable. I can do it again. That’s a good feeling to have, that I can do it again.”

Another calendar year about to come to a close means that we can officially turn the page on another exciting year of professional tennis. Truly 2009 was not just an ordinary year in the history of the sport, but one that had fans and media alike talking tennis at great lengths over the past twelve months.

Tennis grabbed the headlines for a variety of reasons – some good, some bad – and captivated us from Rafael Nadal’s first hard-court Grand Slam victory in January to Nikolay Davydenko’s unlikely season-ending triumph at the Tour finals in November. In between we had a comeback like no other from Kim Clijsters in the summer and a meltdown from Serena Williams that made John McEnroe look like a saint. What about December you ask? Well hey, we have to give these guys a break sometime don’t we?

With all the high’s and low’s from the past year it is difficult to focus on just a few, but some certainly stood out more than others.

Roger Federer’s Achievements:

Up until the last Slam of the year in 2008, our boy Roger was getting a lot of flack from people about his performance on the court. No major titles to his credit, a thrashing by Rafa at Roland Garros and losing to the Spaniard again at Wimbledon did not bode well for his attempt at continued domination and his desire to topple the Grand Slam record held by Pete Sampras. Eventually he did win the U.S. Open to salvage some much needed respect and confidence – but could he maintain it in 2009?

Roger responded with authority by making all four Slam finals, finally breaking through at the French Open to complete his career-slam and re-taking Wimbledon in a match for the ages (yeah I know, we said that in 2008 too!) He broke Pete’s record with his 15th major title and also celebrated the year in his personal life with a wedding and the arrival of twins.

He is arguably now the greatest player of all-time and whether he adds to his Slam-total or not, it will be a good while before we even think about his record being challenged. Despite not being named the AP athlete of the year, this guy is as classy a champion as we’ll ever see. He is without a doubt, the tennis played of the year for 2009.

Serena Williams’ Ups and Downs:

On the women’s side the distinction of player of the year goes to Serena Williams. I’m not sure if the word ‘classy’ can be thrown in along with that, but her record at the majors was untouched. Slam victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, along with the season-ending championship in Qatar,’ all cemented her status as world number one. And let’s not forget her doubles accomplishments with sister Venus, as the duo won three Slams together and finished the year ranked third overall despite only entering six tournaments.

Negating some of the praise for her tennis achievements was the unfortunate meltdown in her semi-final match at the U.S. Open against Kim Clijsters. Her verbal assault towards a line-judge was completely unacceptable and brought all the wrong kind of attention to the sport in a match that should have been purely about two great and talented tennis players. Foot-fault or not, she was deducted a point according to the rules and as it was on match-point it ended up being the end of the contest.

Take away that one incident – if you can – and everyone would have been singing Serena’s praises for such a fantastic year. Personally I think we can shrug off this ugly heat-of-the-moment outburst and look for Serena to let her play speak for itself in 2010.

Comebacks:

Big-name, small-name, older and younger, there were several notable comebacks in 2009. The most impressive no-doubt goes to a certain Belgian player named Kim Clijsters. Clijsters chose a difficult time of the year to return to professional tennis – halfway through the season – and knocked off some tough competition in her first two tournaments back. It was in her third tournament, at the U.S. Open however, that she really showed us what she could do. After more than two years away from the game, Clijsters knocked off both Williams sisters en-route to her second career Grand Slam title. Makes you wonder if a little time away from the game might help some other players seeking to win another major, doesn’t it?

Other returning players worth note include Taylor Dent on the men’s side who overcame a potentially career-ending back injury to jump from 804 to 75 in the ATP rankings. It’s nice to see the affable serve and volleyer back on the court after such a prolonged absence from the game.

Kimiko Date-Krumm showed us that age is but a number when she returned to the court at 38 years old and became the second-oldest player behind Billie Jean King to win a tour event.

Maria Sharapova returned from an injury to her shoulder that kept her away from the game for ten months. While her powerful groundstrokes remain a threat, her serve was a disappointment as she attempted to use an adjusted motion. If she can keep the number of double-faults to a minimum there is no reason why Sharapova cannot return to Grand Slam success. January will mark two years since her last major victory.

A final comeback worth noting is that of Justine Henin. While Henin has yet to play a competitive match, she made her announcement in 2009 and one cannot help but think the success of her fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters was partially responsible. What a great boost to the women’s game that is already thriving with plenty of big-name appeal.

Andre Agassi’s Revelations:

When eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi left the game in 2006, he exited as a soft-spoken, elder-statesman of the tour and a highly respected ambassador of the sport. It was hard to remember him as the long-haired, Big-mac eating, rock-star Agassi of the 80s or the over-weight, sullen, challenger-level Agassi of 1997. Agassi’s autobiography, Open, reminds us of these times and other dark moments in his tennis career that we never even imagined.

Recreational drug-use, lies to Tour officials about dope tests, and a deep rooted hatred for the game were all shocking admissions that Agassi shares with his readers. How did Agassi’s confession sit with his peers and his fans?

Some, like Martina Navratilova, were quick to condemn him, while others like Andy Roddick stood firm behind him. Most voiced their surprise and disappointment and some applauded his candor. While the manner in which Agassi came clean is somewhat less than perfect, his book sheds much insight into the tortured inner-feelings of one of the sport’s more complex characters.

Many lessons can be learned from his writing such as the pressure tennis parents place on their children, the completely ineffective drug-testing policies the tour’s adhere to and the ability to overcome adversity and triumph through hard work and determination.

Israeli Tennis:

It was a year of major tennis accomplishments and disappointments for Israeli tennis players in 2009. The ugly side of sports emerged in February in the United Arab Emirates when politics and racism reared their head in a controversial decision that had everyone talking. Israeli top-forty player Shahar Peer was denied entry into the Emirates despite qualifying for direct entry into the tournament in Dubai. Tournament organizers hid their motives behind so-called fears of security concerns for Peer. In truth, this was just another example of a country that attempts to appear progressive displaying its shallow prejudice.

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour officials mistakenly allowed the tournament to continue despite Peer’s exclusion. Fortunately the situation was corrected in time for the ATP event the following week with Andy Ram playing in the doubles draw. Despite Ram’s entry, American Andy Roddick took a noble stand and refused to play due to the treatment of Peer. A nice gesture of solidarity on his part.

Just when that situation had resolved itself, Israel was once again in the middle of a controversy – this time in Malmo, Sweden, for a Davis Cup tie in early March. Player safety was again cited as the reason why the best-of-five tie would be played with no spectators in attendance. The controversial decision clearly did not help the favored Swedes, as Israel advanced with a surprise 3-2 victory.

Davis Cup would prove to be the saving grace for Israeli tennis in 2009, as the country would defeat a powerful Russian team to get to the semi-finals before bowing out against the eventual champions from Spain. With a roster compiled of unheralded journeymen such as Jonathan Erlich, Harel Levy, Andy Ram and Dudi Sela, Israel made it to their very first Davis Cup semi-final and shocked many along the way. After all of the sensational press they had received earlier in the year, it was a deserving, feel-good story for the Israelis.

Other Notable Events:

- Rafael Nadal’s first-ever loss at Roland Garros versus Robin Soderling. The most shocking loss of 2009 without a doubt and one that would greatly help Federer achieve his missing slam.

- Andy Roddick coming so close to winning his elusive second Grand Slam title. Boy did Andy ever take Roger into extra-innings at Wimbledon in June. He earned some much needed respect after that five set marathon.

- Melanie Oudin’s unexpected run at the U.S. Open where she made it to the quarter-finals. A nice shot-in-the-arm for American tennis that bodes well for the future.

- Drug suspensions and subsequent reversals for Richard Gasquet, Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse. It is time for the ATP and WTA Tour’s to conduct a serious review of how they handle positive drug tests. Gasquet’s excuse that he ingested cocaine from a night-club encounter with someone’s mouth just doesn’t sit right.

- The retirement of former Grand Slam champions Thomas Johansson, Amelie Mauresmo and Marat Safin as well as Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro and Ai Sugiyama

Great Britain’s top star Andy Murray has reiterated his intention to break his Grand Slam duck in 2010. Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said that he feels he improved throughout 2009 and firmly believes next year will be his best yet. “I always said I’d play my best tennis between 23 and 27 and I’m 23 next year,” said Murray. “I had three tough losses in the Grand Slams. Hopefully, I can turn that round next year and draw on the experience.”

*The ATP has announced its top five matches of 2009 and three of the selections were held at Commonwealth-based tournaments. Unsurprisingly, the nail biting Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick takes the No. 1 slot. Rafael Nadal’s semifinal victory over compatriot Fernando Verdasco at the Australian Open ranks third while Nikolay Davydenko’s triumph over Roger Federer in the ATP World Finals semifinal at London, England’s o2 Arena placed fifth. Meanwhile, British No. 1 Andy Murray’s shock defeat to the Croatian Marin Cilic in the US Open fourth round ranked third in the top five upsets of the year but Murray still made the ATP’s list of the year’s top players.

*The news of former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo’s retirement has led to praise for the two-time Grand Slam champion from many quarters. Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak is one who will be sad to see her leave the world’s tennis arenas and with particular reason; it was Aleksandra who defeated Amelie in her last match at this year’s US Open. “She was a lot of fun to watch because not only did she do everything well, but she did it with flair at the same time,” said Wozniak. “It was an honour for me to play her in her last match, especially since we played on Arthur Ashe stadium court at the US Open – it was one of the biggest wins of my career and a very special moment for me.”

*Some of Australia’s biggest tennis names are missing from the first round of playoffs competing for wildcard berths at the 2010 Australian Open. Chris Guccione, Carsten Ball and Sam Groth are all suffering from injuries and will miss the December 14-20 event.

*The Medibank International Sydney championships in Australia have announced their strongest lineup to date with nine of the world’s top ten players in the women’s field taking to the courts. Joining the likes of Serena Williams, Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki will be home favourite Samantha Stosur. The home fans can also cheer on Lleyton Hewitt in the men’s event but he will have to overcome players of the calibre of Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych and Stanislas Wawrinka if he is to emerge victorious.

*Great Britain’s Anne Keothavong saw the third greatest decline in ranking spots on the WTA tour during 2009. She started the year at No. 60, rising to No. 54 by July but a knee injury then finished her season and she ended the year at No. 98. It is, though, her second-best year-end finish in 11 years on the tour. The biggest climber was Germany’s Andrea Petkovic (No. 379 – No. 56, 323 places) and the greatest recession was suffered by Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova (No. 44 – No. 99, 55 places).

*Australian tennis is again celebrating with the news that Russian-born Anastasia Rodionova has been granted citizenship. The current world No. 96 becomes the third-highest ranked Aussie player behind Samantha Stosur and Jelena Dokic. Jarmila Groth was also granted citizenship last month and this continues the strengthening of the sport Down Under.

*Former world No. 1 Alicia Molik of Australia continued her impressive return from retirement by taking another title, this time at the Pro Tour Event in Bendigo, Australia. Her compatriot Matt Ebden took the men’s trophy.

*Former Tennis Canada board of directors chair Harold P. Milavsky was inducted in to the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the Glencoe Club, Calgary, attended by much of the Alberta tennis and business worlds.

*Third seed Heather Watson of Great Britain is through to the second round of the Orange Dunlop Bowl tournament in Florida. The 17-year-old emphatically beat American Krista Hardebeck 6-2, 6-2. Watson is currently ranked No. 4 in the world for juniors and reached the last 16 in her last run out at the Eddie Herr International Junior Championships.

*Aussie serve-and-volley specialist Pat Rafter triumphed over the Swede Stefan Edberg in the final of the ATP Champions Tour Event in London, England last week.

Great Britain’s Andy Murray failed to improve on past ATP World Finals performances after suffering elimination in the group stages at London’s O2 Arena.

The Scot failed to capitalise on an impressive opening victory over the US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro and after defeat to world No. 1 Roger Federer, a victory over the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was not enough and the British public had no home favourite to cheer on in the latter stages.

Murray began his second match against career Grand Slam winner Federer in style. After cruising through the first set he looked destined for another impressive victory. But Federer began showing his class and a third set collapse from Murray handed victory to the Swiss legend.

Victory over Verdasco looked like it had ensured progression but Del Potro obviously hadn’t read the script and his three set victory over Federer saw him progress as over the course of the three matches he had won one more game than the British No. 1. It was the tightest of margins and would have left the Scot heartbroken.

Del Potro then marched on to the finals but his run was abruptly halted by the Russian Nikolay Davydenko who crowned his impressive end to the season with the ATP World Championships title. It is the first time a Russian has lifted the trophy.

The doubles looked equally depressing for Commonwealth players. World No. 1 Daniel Nestor of Canada was also eliminated in the group stages with partner Nenad Zimonjic which saw the pair relinquish the title they won in 2008.

Also facing early elimination was Indian doubles legend Leander Paes as he and the Pole Lukas Dlouhy lost all three round robin matches.

Fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi fared better as he and partner Mark Knowles reached the semifinals before losing out to eventual champions the Bryan brothers – Bob and Mike – who lifted the end of season title for the third time.

*India’s top female tennis player Sania Mirza joined stars from the worlds of sport, the arts and civil society to speak at an anti-terrorism event in New Delhi, India. The event lasted an hour and was organised by the Indian home ministry. Mirza added to the program of music and readings by reciting Rabindranth Tagore’s famous poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear.’ The date of the event, November 29^th, was an emotional one for all involved as it marked the year to the day that the Mumbai terrorist siege ended in 2008.

*Britain’s Andy Murray will end 2009 ranked No. 4 in the world, more than 1,300 points behind world No. 3 Novak Djokovic and over 3,500 points behind world No. 1 Roger Federer. Australia’s Peter Luczak rises one this week (30/11) to 77 while Carsten Ball climbs to 135. Fellow Aussie Chris Guccione is up to 137 and Marinko Matesevic continues to climb the rankings and now lies ranked 170. India’s Somdev Devvarman drops three to 127. Kevin Anderson of South Africa climbs three to 163 and Britain’s Alex Bogdanovic is now up to 165 in the world. Peter Polansky of Canada lies at 188.

*In the doubles (30/11), Canada’s Daniel Nestor is now ranked joint No. 3 in the world with his partner Nenad Zimonjic after Bob and Mike Bryan of the USA claimed a joint top spot after their victory at the ATP World Finals in London, England. South Africa’s Jeff Coetzee failed to reach the showpiece event and as a result drops to 10. India’s Rohan Bopanna has climbed eight to 82 in the world while his compatriot Harsh Mankad climbs one to 104. Britain’s Jamie Murray is one behind in 105. British No. 2 Jamie Delgado drops one to 112. Another Canadian, Adil Shamasdin, leapt 35 places to enter the top 200 in the world at 185.

*Elena Baltacha has become the top ranked British women’s star after her recent performances in the Far East. After her quarter inal appearance in a Japanese tournament last week she now sits at a career high No. 85 in the WTA rankings published this week. “I value the British number one spot so much more this time because we’re all much better than we were,” said Baltacha. “There’s a lot more value in it now.” It makes great reading for Scotland as Baltacha and Andy Murray are British No. 1 in both men’s and women’s tennis. Also in the WTA rankings, Katie O’Brien drops one to 89 while Anne Keothavong is now ranked 99 and faces dropping out of the top 100 players in the world as she continues to recover from injury. Canada’s Stephanie Dubois drops one to 105 while her compatriot Valerie Tetreault also drops one to 136. Australia’s Olivia Rogowska jumps eight to 146 after her recent fine form and her fellow Aussies Monique Adamczak (147) and Sophie Ferguson (149) now sit behind her.

*In the doubles (30/11), Australian Casey Dellacqua, with no ranking last week, finds herself placed 64 with 1244 points from three tournaments. Her previous best was No. 9 in May of this year. Her re-entry means Canada’s Marie-Eve Pelletier drops one to 67, as do Natalie Grandin (South Africa, 78), Sarah Borwell (Great Britain, 85) and Grandin’s compatriot Sharon Fichman (98).

*There were Australian winners in both the male and female events at the Goldfields St Ives International in Kalgoorlie last week. Alicia Molik claimed her second title on her comeback after overcoming Olivia Rogowska in the final. In the men’s final, John Millman overcame another Aussie, Matthew Ebden, 6-2, 7-6(1).

*The final lineup has been announced for the 2010 Brisbane International. The field includes four Grand Slam winners and five former world Number 1s and both fields are listed below. Each player’s nation and rank appear in brackets while Commonwealth players are in bold:

*Jelena Dokic has also announced that she will be joining fellow Australian Alicia Molik at the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International. It will be her second appearance there after competing in 2008. They will be joined by the American teenage giant killer from this year’s US Open; Melanie Oudin. The 18-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, defeated four Russians; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva, former world No.1 Maria Sharapova and No. 13 seed Nadia Petrova, before finally running out of steam against the No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) in the quarterfinals.

*In Australia, the Sweeney Sports Report has found tennis to be the sport of most interest in the country once more this year. The report found that 58% of Australians were interested in the sport which saw it rank first in TV viewing, third in participation (up 1%) and equal fifth in attendance. “Four years ago we embarked on a thorough assessment of how we deliver the sport and then made some major structural changes,” said Tennis Australia Director of Tennis Craig Tiley. “We are now starting to see the results of these changes.

*Official meteorologist to the Australian Open, Bob Leighton, has predicted that the 2010 tournament will witness “an average Melbourne summer,” giving the tournament “perfect weather.” The news will delight players and fans alike who endured four days of high-40s temperatures during the second week of the 2009 event.

*Tennis Canada has announced a change to their Fed Cup Team as of February 2010. Sylvain Bruneu will take over from Rene Simpson-Collins as Team Captain.

*Tennis Canada has also announced the recipients of their 2009 Excellence Awards handed out to the calendar year’s outstanding competitors. Unsurprisingly, Daniel Nestor has picked up the Male Player of the Year award for the seventh time as well as Male Doubles Player of the Year for the eighth year running. Top ranked female star Aleksandra Wozniak netted the Female Player of the Year and Female Singles Player of the Year awards. Frank Dancevic picked up the Male Singles Player of the Year award for the sixth time and Vasek Pospisil won Most Improved Male Player of the Year after a fantastic end to the season. Marie-Eve Pelletier won Female Doubles Player of the Year while Sharon Fichman received Most Improved Female Player.

*Wheelchair tennis has collected a brace of awards at the 2009 WheelPower British Wheelchair Sports Awards at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Aylesbury. The stadium is the home of wheelchair sports and the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. Great Britain won team of the year after their victory at the Invacare World Team Cup in August. Their coach Steph Trill won coach of the year.

Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro will be the first singles match as the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals begins Sunday in London. The groupings for the world’s top eight players are:

Novak Djokovic

GROUP A

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Fernando Verdasco

GROUP B

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Soderling

The top two players in each group advance to the semi-finals, with the final set for November 29. Absent from the field of eight is Andy Roddick, who withdrew from the event due to an injured knee that caused him to retire against Stanislas Wawrinka earlier this month in Shanghai. Sweden’s Robin Soderling benefitted from the Roddick withdrawal and is now in the field.

I expect Federer and Murray to emerge from Group A. They are too good and will play like they belong there. For del Potro, the shine has worn off from his U.S. Open title. Since New York, he lost in the first round at Tokyo to a player ranked 189th. He followed that by retiring in his matches in the second round of Shanghai and in the quarters in Paris, respectively. Verdasco has a tough game, but he’s 1-7 versus Murray and 0-3 versus Federer.

Djokovic and Nadal should get through Group B. Djokovic can beat anyone right now, and while Nadal hasn’t been the dominant Nadal of old, I still think he can best Soderling and Davydenko when it really matters. And this is the seventh event since the U.S. Open for Soderling and Davydenko. Weariness and not-so-fresh legs may be a factor for both.

Djokovic is my pick to win the Tour Finals for the second straight year. He beat Federer earlier this month to win the Davidoff Swiss Indoor title in front of Federer’s crowd. The following week he beat Nadal in the semi-finals of the Paribas Masters in the most dominant performance I’ve seen by a player not named Nadal or Federer. The Serb went on to win the title by beating Gael Monfils and 14,000 Parisians cheering their “Le Monf” in the final.

Djokovic is peaking at the right time. It will be interesting to see if he’ll carry it into Australia.