Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki both made it to the finals of the prestigious Indian Wells tournament. And Jelena Jankovic won the finals in only two sets 6-2, 6-4 and took home her first title since Cincinnati last August.

Jankovic is now expected to rise to the 8th place on the WTA Tour while the diligent Dane will reach a career high of No. 2.

Wozniacki has yet to beat Jelena Jankovic. She failed to do so in the past 3 meetings between the two.

Photos of Jelena Jankovic at Indian Wells:

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THE EDUCATION OF A TENNIS PLAYER ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com) is Laver’s first-hand account of his 1969 Grand Slam season, capped off by his 7-9, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow Australian Tony Roche in the final of the U.S. Open on September 8. Laver also writes about his childhood and early days in tennis, his 1962 Grand Slam and offers tips on how players of all levels can improve their game. He also shares some of the strategies that helped him to unparalleled success on the tennis court.

“I am delighted that THE EDUCATION OF A TENNIS PLAYER is back in circulation and available for a new generation of tennis fans,” said Laver. “Winning the Grand Slam for a second time in 1969 seems just like yesterday and this book brings back a lot of memories of the great matches and exciting times. I hope people enjoy reading my story.”

Collins also signed his signature book, his tennis encyclopedia, THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com). The 784-page tome is the ultimate compilation of historical tennis information, including year-by-year recaps of every tennis season, biographical sketches of every major tennis personality, as well as stats, records, and championship rolls for all the major events. The author’s personal relationships with major tennis stars offer insights into the world of professional tennis found nowhere else.

Here are some photos, courtesy of Anita Klaussen, of Rod and Bud this week in Indian Wells.

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Richey, who 40 years ago was the No. 1-ranked American tennis player and the hero of the 1970 championship-winning U.S. Davis Cup team, was the winner of the first-ever professional Grand Prix points title. In his book, due out in April, he discusses the most difficult opponent of his life, depression. Richey calls depression among adult males as “the silent tragedy in our culture today” and details his life-long battle with the disease that afflicts approximately 121 million people around the world. Co-written with his oldest daughter Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, ACING DEPRESSION ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewC

Jimmy Connors

hapterMedia.com), profiles the life and tennis career of Richey, with his depression being a constant theme.

Writes Connors in the Foreword, “What made Cliff Richey what he was on the tennis court has certainly carried over into this book. His story has taken a subject, depression—which has affected him personally—and put it out there for everyone to see. Depression has been a subject that no one really talks about. Few people even admit to having such a condition. But Cliff is not afraid to be bold and reveal what he has gone through and what it takes to get a handle on this disease…Just as Cliff played tennis, he is studying how depression works; what its weaknesses are; and what strategies you can use against it. His hope is that people who read his story can learn—learn about the disease and learn that people who suffer can have a better quality of life. Things can get better. There is hope.”

Richey was known as the original “Bad Boy” of tennis, before there was John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase. His 26-year career was highlighted by a 1970 season where he led the United States to the Davis Cup title, finished as the first-ever Grand Prix world points champion and won one of the most exciting matches in American tennis history that clinched the year-end No. 1 American ranking. He won both of his singles matches in the 5-0 U.S. victory over West Germany in the 1970 Davis Cup final, while he beat out rivals Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith to win the first-ever Grand Prix world points title the precursor to the modern day ATP rankings. He won his second U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in 1970, while also won titles in his career at the Canadian Open, the South African Open, the U.S. Indoors and the Western Open (modern day Cincinnati Masters 1000 event).

At the 1970 Pacific Coast Championships at the Berkeley Tennis Club in Berkeley, Calif., he earned the No. 1 U.S. ranking when he beat Smith in a fifth-set tie-breaker, where both players had simultaneous match point in a sudden-death nine-point tie-breaker at 4-4. He also reached the semifinals of both the 1970 French and U.S. Opens, losing a famous match to Zeljko Franulovic of Yugoslavia in the French semifinals, despite holding match points and leading by two-sets-to-one and 5-1 in the fourth set.

ACING DEPRESSION is due out in April and is published by New Chapter Press – also the publisher of The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection by Rene Stauffer, The Bud Collins History of Tennis by Bud Collins, The Education of a Tennis Player by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli, The Lennon Prophecy by Joe Niezgoda, Bone Appetit, Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog by Susan Anson, The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle by Stewart Wolpin, People’s Choice Cancun – Travel Survey Guidebook by Eric Rabinowitz and Weekend Warriors: The Men of Professional Lacrosse by Jack McDermott, among others. Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press is an independent publisher of books and part of the Independent Publishers Group. More information can be found at www.NewChapterMedia.com.

Rivalry Up in Flames – By now everyone around the globe must know about the infamous spat that took place between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi at the “Hit for Haiti” charity event. I’ll go on record as saying that both men were wrong for the way that they behaved that night. But I’m also placing the overwhelming amount of blame on Agassi, and he’s the only one of the two for whom I also felt disgust. Agassi’s mouth was going a mile a minute the entire evening and taking subtle jabs at Sampras. Finally Sampras snapped, and his response was to do his impression of Agassi. I had no problem with this. Sampras did this same impression at an exhibition event several years ago with Agassi, and in response, Agassi then did an excellent Sampras impersonation. That was all Agassi needed to do last week. Instead, he hit Pete way below the belt. Even Agassi’s apology was sorely lacking, as he admitted to the joke falling flat but then faulted Sampras for not rolling with it. Why should he, Andre? He was the one being embarrassed in front of a stadium full of people. Sampras already took the high road once when Agassi’s book first came out, and Sampras offered little comment on it. To ask him to do so a second time in that kind of an atmosphere is too much. Worse still, Sampras is unlikely going to be willing to put himself in that kind of a situation again any time soon, so good luck to any exhibition organizer trying to get those two out on the court to hit for charity.

Agassi & Sampras

Void of Punishment – Not to keep harping on Andre Agassi, but I was also disappointed (though not surprised) to see that the ITF has come out with a statement declaring that the statute of limitations has passed, and there can be no retroactive punishment for Agassi’s past use of crystal meth. In many ways, it’s a shame that there’s no real retribution here. I can accept that people make mistakes, but to see Agassi get by with this on top of last Friday at the charity exhibition, this verdict is just one more thing that makes me shake my head and wonder how much more he’s going to be allowed to get by with before someone steps in and does something.

Pakistani Pullout – In a sad story that ran earlier this week, the ITF was forced to announce that the Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and New Zealand, which had been slated to take place in Pakistan, would have to be moved to New Zealand due to the recent bombings in the Pakistani nation. The move is completely understandable but a hard blow to Pakistani tennis. Home ties can so often help spark tennis interest and growth in the host nation, not to mention bring some joy if victorious. A troubled nation like Pakistan could have used this boost.

The Fallout Continues – Things continue to unravel in Great Britain after they suffered one of their most humiliating Davis Cup losses in history. The All-Party Parliamentary Tennis Group, which includes members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords, is staging an inquiry to further study the status of tennis in Great Britain at all levels of the game. Furthermore, John Lloyd is throwing in the towel, while coach Paul Annacone will no longer serve as the Davis Cup team coach. Bless whatever soul is brave enough to take over the helm of this rapidly sinking ship before they face Turkey later this year.

Latest Russian Maladies – In one of the more mind-boggling stories of the week, it was noted that Russian Nikolay Davydenko was forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open due to a broken wrist. The fact that he had to pull out of the tournament with such an injury was not the mind-boggling part…it was the fact that he’d played with the broken wrist, which had been misdiagnosed earlier in the year. The Russian could possibly be out for the entire clay court season. My fingers are crossed that he makes a speedy recovery, especially given how well he’s played the past six months.

It is the fifth time the two will duel over the net and the second this year, Djokovic coming from a set down to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in Dubai.

In fact, Djokovic has won all four encounters between the two and that first set in Dubai is the only one the bald eagle of Croatia has managed to nip off his younger and more flexible opponent.

Novak Djokovic

I watched match-up number three between these two, the first round of the 2009 US Open in New York. Sitting courtside in the blazing mid-afternoon heat I watched a man many were tipping as favorite dismantle his older foe without too much trouble in straight sets.

I had been talking the match up beforehand citing it as one of the potential big upsets of the early tournament matches. How disappointed I was when play came to fruition. Not so much with Djokovic. His tantalizing service game was too much for a man who often uses that weapon himself. But on this occasion Ljubicic’s serve was abandoning him and nearly every drive and volley was dropping an inch too long.

But it was the controversy with which the match finished that struck me most. With Ljubicic serving at 3-4 a ball dropped questionably close to the outside tramline to hand Djokovic a break and the chance to serve for the match at 5-3. Ljubicic challenged and we all sat with baited breath awaiting the all-seeing Hawkeye’s decision.

And waited.

And waited.

Hawkeye was asleep. So the players took up their positions once more to replay the point. “Game Djokovic,” came the booming voice of the umpire over the tannoy. Djokovic wasn’t going to argue and trotted to his seat. But Ljubicic was seething and launched in to an angry protest which lasted a good few minutes.

After the Croat was finally pacified play resumed and Djokovic served out the match.

Interestingly, I noticed that for the rest of the tournament the message “In the event of Hawkeye failing the official’s call will stand” was emblazoned on the big screens during breaks in play. I’m not surprised after that drama.

At 30, time is getting on for Ljubicic and his quest for a Grand Slam is coming to an end. His semi final placing at the 2006 French Open remains his best result and based on his much younger opponents these days I will put my money on it staying that way too.

Djokovic, however, is still desperately trying to add to his 2008 Aussie Open crown. At 22 he is still very young and with time and improvements on minor aspects of his game he will surely do so.

That victory over Ljubicic last autumn was a welcome one for the 6 ft. 2 in. Serb. Having received criticism for his perceived feigning of injury, too many early retirements from matches and a lack of respect shown for opponents through his jibes and impressions on court, he won over a lot of fans with his new more serious on-court demeanour.

“I’m in the transition,” Djokovic had said earlier that year. “It’s not easy because I’m very emotional. Some things really hurt me, and maybe I express myself a little bit too much – people didn’t get used to that. But at the end of the day, you sit and think to yourself, ‘I’ve reacted the way I felt that’s right.’ Maybe it’s wrong, but you learn from your mistakes. That’s why life is testing us all the time.”

It seems the media and crowds may be warming to him again somewhat. And for a player who obviously takes so much to heart that can only help him take his game back to the level which led him to that first Slam two years ago.

If he keeps this run over Ljubicic going then it will be the winner of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Juan Monaco in the quarters before a possible semi final against Rafa Nadal.

It’s tough going in modern tennis and only the headstrong survive. Only Novak knows if he has the mental stability to march onwards and upwards and that semi final could see a battle of two men that some corners of the media are already beginning to slate as finished despite their tender ages.

Last month, teams selected an all-star lineup of marquee players including Martina Hingis (New York Buzz), Andy Roddick (Philadelphia Freedoms), Venus Williams (Washington Kastles), Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), James Blake (Boston Lobsters), Anna Kournikova (St. Louis Aces), Lindsay Davenport (St. Louis Aces), Maria Sharapova (Newport Beach Breakers), John McEnroe (New York Sportimes) and Kim Clijsters (New York Sportimes).

Reynolds, who was ranked as high as No. 63 in singles and No. 46 in doubles in 2009, is making a comeback after returning from a left wrist injury that sidelined him for the final three months of the ATP Tour season.  Reynolds joins a Kastles squad that includes Venus Williams, Serena Williams, former WTT Female MVPs Angela Haynes and Rennae Stubbs, along with 2009 Male MVP Leander Paes.

American Scoville Jenkins joins Martina Hingis on the New York Buzz lineup. Hingis, who will play the entire season for the Albany-based Buzz, is also joined by Sarah Borwell of Great Britain and rising US amateur Alex Domijan who played for the Buzz in 2009.

Jarmila Gadjosova Groth, the 2007 WTT Female Rookie of the Year, returns to Kansas City for her second WTT season.  The Explorers picked up Groth in the first round and added her husband Sam Groth with their fourth round selection.

The Sacramento Capitals picked up the 2009 Female MVP Vania King in a deal that sent their first-round draft pick Carly Gullickson to the Springfield Lasers.  This will be the second WTT season for Gullickson, who won the 2009 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship.

In other first round action, the Boston Lobsters protected fan favorite Jan-Michael Gambill while the New York Sportimes kept their rights to Robert Kendrick.

The World TeamTennis Pro League, which celebrates its 35^th season this July, includes teams in 10 markets throughout the U.S.  Each team will play a total of 14 matches during the three-week regular season, July 5-22.  The top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conferences advance to the WTT Conference Championships on July 23 with the winners playing for the WTT Championship on July 25.  Teams in the Western Conference are the Kansas City Explorers, Newport Beach Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, St. Louis Aces and Springfield Lasers.  Teams in the Eastern Conference are the Boston Lobsters, New York Buzz, New York Sportimes, Philadelphia Freedoms and Washington Kastles.

The WTT Pro League was co-founded by Billie Jean King in the early 1970s.  Each team has a coach, two male and two female players who play singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches.

For details on the complete draft results and the 2010 schedule, visit www.WTT.com.

WTT ROSTER DRAFT – March 16, 2010 – NEW YORK, N.Y.

ROUND 1:

1. # WASHINGTON KASTLES: Bobby Reynolds
2. NEW YORK BUZZ: Scoville Jenkins
3. ST. LOUIS ACES: Andrei Pavel
4. KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Jarmila Groth
5. % SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Carly Gullickson
6. BOSTON LOBSTERS: Jan-Michael Gambill (protection)
7. ^ KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Ricardo Mello
8. NEW YORK SPORTIMES: Robert Kendrick (protection)
9. % SPRINGFIELD LASERS: Vania King (protection)
10. WASHINGTON KASTLES: Leander Paes (protection)

ROUND 2:

1. * PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Ramon Delgado
2. NEW YORK BUZZ: Sarah Borwell
3. ST. LOUIS ACES: Liga Dekmeijere (protection)
4. KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Kveta Peschke (protection)
5. SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Dusan Vemic
6. BOSTON LOBSTERS: Eric Butorac
7. NEWPORT BEACH BREAKERS: Julie Ditty (protection)
8. NEW YORK SPORTIMES: Jesse Witten (protection)
9. SPRINGFIELD LASERS: Martin Damm (protection)
10. WASHINGTON KASTLES: Rennae Stubbs (protection)

ROUND 3:

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Noppawan Lertcheewakarn

NEW YORK BUZZ: Alex Domijan

ST. LOUIS ACES: Tripp Phillips (protection)

^ NEWPORT BEACH BREAKERS: Lester Cook

% SPRINGFIELD LASERS: Rik de Voest

BOSTON LOBSTERS: Coco Vandeweghe

NEWPORT BEACH BREAKERS: David Martin

NEW YORK SPORTIMES: Abigail Spears (protection)

SPRINGFIELD LASERS: Chani Scheepers (protection)

# PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Prakash Amritraj

ROUND 4:

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Courtney Nagle

@ SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Riza Zalameda

ST. LOUIS ACES: PASS

KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Sam Groth

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Brett Joelson

BOSTON LOBSTERS: Raquel Kops-Jones (protection)

NEWPORT BEACH BREAKERS: Marie-Eve Pelletier

NEW YORK SPORTIMES: Ashley Harkleroad (protection)

% SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: PASS

~ WASHINGTON KASTLES: Angela Haynes (protection)

DRAFT NOTES:

ROUND ONE:

# Philadelphia Freedoms traded their first round draft pick to the Washington Kastles for the Kastles’ third round draft pick and financial consideration.

% Sacramento Capitals traded Carly Gullickson and 3rd round draft pick position to the Springfield Lasers for Vania King and the Lasers’ 4th round draft pick position.

^ The Newport Beach Breakers traded their first round draft pick to the Kansas City Explorers for the Explorers’ third round draft pick and financial consideration.

ROUND TWO:

* The Newport Beach Breakers traded the rights for Ramon Delgado to the Philadelphia Freedoms for financial consideration.

ROUND FOUR:

@ The New York Buzz sold their fourth round draft position to the Sacramento Capitals for financial consideration.

~ The Sacramento Capitals have traded the rights for Angela Haynes to the Washington Kastles for financial consideration.

2010 WTT Pro League full rosters (including marquee and roster players)

BOSTON LOBSTERS: James Blake, Eric Butorac, Jan-Michael Gambill, Coco Vandeweghe, Raquel Kops-Jones.  Coach Bud Schultz.

KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Jarmila Groth, Sam Groth, Kveta Peschke, Ricardo Mello.  Coach: Brent Haygarth.

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Prakash Amritraj, Ramon Delgado, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, Courtney Nagle, Andy Roddick.  Coach:  Craig Kardon

NEW YORK BUZZ: Sarah Borwell, Alex Domijan, Martina Hingis, Scoville Jenkins.  Coach Jay Udwadia.

NEW YORK SPORTIMES: Kim Clijsters, Ashley Harkleroad, Robert Kendrick, John McEnroe, Abigail Spears, Jesse Witten.  Coach Chuck Adams.

NEWPORT BEACH BREAKERS: Lester Cook, Julie Ditty¸ David Martin, Marie-Eve Pelletier, Maria Sharapova.  Coach Trevor Kronemann.

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Brett Joelson, Vania King, Dusan Vemic, Riza Zalameda.

ST. LOUIS ACES: Lindsay Davenport, Liga Dekmeijere, Anna Kournikova, Andrei Pavel, Tripp Phillips.  Coach: Rick Leach.

SPRINGFIELD LASERS: Martin Damm, Rik De Voest, Carly Gullickson, Chani Scheepers.  Coach: John-Laffnie de Jager.

WASHINGTON KASTLES: Angela Haynes, Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds, Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams, Venus Williams.  Coach: Murphy Jensen.

She has since unfortunately lost to Aussie, Alicia Molik, winning just two games in the third round, however this represents a significant step in the right direction for the health of women’s tennis in Britain. This was helped by Anne Keothovong’s movement into the top 50 last year (the first woman to do this in a century) before her knee injury hampered her considerable progress.

Elena Baltacha

Baltacha’s two victories in the main draw was the first time in 15 years that a British woman had won back to back victories in a tournament of this caliber. Both Keothovong and Baltacha are beginning to turn into the kind of role models young female juniors in Britain have been yearning for, such as the likes of Laura Robson.

Baltacha said of her victory against Na, “When I broke into the world’s top 100 in September last year, I felt like I really belong, and that was a defining moment. I’m not struggling with anything major, I’m practicing hard, I’m feeling confident and that all helps. When you are playing the better girls more often, you are seeing a more consistent, faster ball and unless you adapt to that, you aren’t going to survive. I have stuck in there, I think playing three matches already in the event helped but I felt from 4-4 in the final set that I was the one in charge of the match. It took about ten seconds for me to realize she had missed that last backhand but of course I’m elated. I’m playing as well as I’ve ever played and I’m really excited about my prospects.”

That feeling of belonging amongst the world’s best will hopefully transpire through into the consciousness of the young girls currently competing in LTA tournaments across the country. If they can start making headway on the WTA Tour, then why can’t we many will be thinking as they struggle to keep a balance between their time on court and their education. Many of our top juniors drop out at a young age, because quite frankly unlike the Premiership Football League, which contains a plethora of British rags to riches stories to choose from, tennis has so few. Is it worth the risk many players and parents ask themselves as they have to make the difficult decision to drop their studies in favor of a tennis career which seems like a one in a million chance of success; there are no scholarships for tennis in universities like in America, thus the decision is a difficult one for many.

The problem in the women’s game is the number of girls actually playing the game in Britain. There are such a small percentage of girls who play the sport mainly from the middle-upper class bracket, however if Baltacha and Keothovong were to climb further up the rankings, would talented girls from poorer backgrounds begin to see tennis as a way out, like the Russians, who have had a number of role models to aspire to over the years? With Laura Robson hot on the heels of Baltacha and Keothovong, I truly hope that with an overhaul of the way money is spent, Britain will finally have something to cheer about in the women’s game.

Melina Harris is a freelance sports writer, book editor, English tutor and PTR qualified tennis coach from London. For more information and contact details please visit and subscribe to her website and blog at http://www.thetenniswriter.wordpress.com and follow her twitter updates via http://www.twitter.com/thetenniswriter.   She is available for freelance writing, editing and one to one private teaching and coaching.

The row between rivals Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras happened during the Friday night fund-raiser in Indian Wells at the BNP Paribas Open where Sampras took exception to Agassi’s suggestion he was a poor tipper.

Each of the players competing wore a microphone so the crowd and television viewers could hear the banter and Agassi repeated the allegation he had made about his fellow American in his autobiography ‘Open’ last year.

“There was definitely an awkward moment, a bit of a heated moment,” Federer said in his press conference following his win Sunday over Romania’s Victor Hanescu. “It’s a bit unfortunate, but that stuff kind of happens. It’s a pity if that’s what grabs the limelight and not the event itself, you know.”

Federer and Sampras overcame Agassi and Rafael Nadal 8-6 in the match to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

The evening was organized by venue owner Larry Ellison, who got the idea from a similar match Federer organized during the Australian Open in January.

The Agassi-Sampras feud has gained significant publicity, being featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program among many others.

Safin said his appearance on the champion’s circuit so soon after leaving the main tour was “almost comical.” Perhaps even more startling is the fact that he lost in the first round of the eight-man Rio event Friday night to Wayne Ferreira.

The loss shows two things – Safin has probably played very little tennis since November when he played his final ATP event at the Paris Indoors and the guys on the Champions Series circuit can really still play. Safin just turned 30 years old while his conqueror, Ferreira, is eight years older, but showed he is still in great shape and playing fine tennis. There is prize money on the line in each match on the Champions Series and Ferreria earned him at least another extra $10,000 for his win. Ferreira went on to finish third in the event and pocketed $25,000.

Fernando Meligeni of Brazil was the surprise tournament winner, boosted by the local fan support. He defeated Mark Philippoussis in the championship match to win his first Champions Series title and $60,000.

Here are some photos of the event provided by tournament organizers.

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Maria Sharapova was made to fight the hard fight having to take the match against Vera Dushevina to three sets at Indian Wells.  She won 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

She must have felt the love from the crowd and especially from boyfriend and LA Lakers star Sasha Vujacic who watched her practice at the impressive BNP Paribas tournament.

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras was fighting an entirely different fight. Well not a real fight but he gave his views on celebrities who jam political views into people’s throats. And he is right. When I watch SNL or listen to U2 then that’s all I do. I don’t need them to form an opinion on politics at all.  Ofcourse he shouldn’t have pumped his fist yelling “Go McCain” whilst saying such things.

Watch the video:

For Maria Sharapova pics, you can just right about here:

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