Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 29)

• Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas and 2008 Roland Garros semifinalist Gael Monfils have received wild card entries into the Doha, Qatar tournament.
  
  
• Britain’s Times Online reports that World No. 4 Andy Murray could be promised $100 million (Euro) by management companies that are vying to sign him.
  
  
• Bob and Mike Bryan have pulled out of the doubles event at the ATP tournament in Chennai, India, which is scheduled to start on January 5th.
  
  
• The ATP event held in Portschach, Austria will be moved to another location next year. Officials will announce the new site sometime in January.
  
  
• Well-respected tennis coach Peter Lundgren, a former coach to Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Marcos Baghdatis, will begin working at a tennis academy in Paris starting in January.
  
  
• 25-year-old Prakash Amritraj, a US citizen based out of California, could be barred from representing India in Davis Cup play due to a newly released government order that says only Indian citizens can play on national teams that represent the country. This would keep Amritraj from playing Davis Cup in 2009, as well future Olympic and Asian Games competitions.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 21)

• Reports from “The Australian” website indicate that former Top 10 player Mark Philippoussis has called a press conference to be held on Monday, December 22nd at Melbourne Park that will possibly be to announce his retirement from professional tennis. A few days ago, the former US Open runner-up pulled out of an upcoming exhibition event in Adelaide, saying he is not in good enough playing shape.
  
  
• John Isner defeated Jesse Levine, 6-3, 7-5, at the USTA play-off tournament in Boca Raton on Saturday to win a wild card into the main draw of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
  
  
• Canada’s Globe and Mail website reported that current World No. 1 doubles player Daniel Nestor and wife Natasha welcomed their first child, a daughter named Tiana.
  
  
• Jamie Murray, brother of World No. 4 Andy Murray, announced that he plans to partner in 2009 with Serbian Dusan Vemic. Although Murray and Vemic will be regular partners throughout the season, Murray has already committed to play the Australian Open doubles tournament with former partner Eric Butorac, a former Division III tennis standout at Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota.
  
  
• Due to recently revised visa regulations because of the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani tennis player Aisam–Ul-Haq Qureshi will not be able to play the Chennai Open in India that starts on January 5th. The new rules require Pakistan nationals to wait one month before being able to go to India, which means his visa will not be granted to him in enough time.
  
  
• 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa has been named the new Davis Cup captain for Spain.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 18)

• Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was honored on Wednesday as the International Tennis Federation’s World Champion for 2008. Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia were named the ITF World Doubles Champions after finishing the 2008 season as the top ranked doubles team.
  
  
• The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in Birmingham, Ala., will host the 2009 first-round Davis Cup tie between the United States and Switzerland on March 6-8. Roger Federer has already announced that he will play in the first-round tie.
  
  
• French star Sebastian Grosjean will be sidelined for four to six months due to shoulder surgery that he have on December 22nd. He hopes to return by the start of Wimbledon.
  
  
• On Friday December 19th at the USTA Training Center in Boca Raton, Donald Young, Wayne Odesnik, Jesse Levine and John Isner will take part in the Australian Open wild card play-off tournament. The winner of the three day tournament will receive a main draw wild card into the Australian Open in Melbourne.
  
  
• Marcos Baghdatis announced that he will take part in the ATP International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach on February 21-March 1. Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish are also scheduled to play in the South Florida tournament.
  
  
• American Mardy Fish recently donated $30,000 to the Pelican Island Elementary School in Florida to help 110 students receive free guitar, dance and drama lessons.
  
  
• On May 17th, Wimbledon will host an exhibition match to test out the new Centre Court retractable roof, so officials can “test the new roof and air conditioning system.” The Daily Mail newspaper reported that former Great Britain tennis star Tim Henman might take part in the match. Pete Sampras has declined the offer to play in this match.
  
  
• Former World No. 1 and two-time grand slam champion, Lleyton Hewitt and wife Bec welcomed their son Cruz into the world on December 11th. Hewitt and his actress wife already have a three-year-old daughter named, Mia.
  
  
• In shocking Davis Cup news, 59-year-old Modesto Vazquez has been named Argentina’s new team captain.
  
  
• Rafael Nadal finished third for the L’Equipe’s annual ‘Champion of Champions’ honor. Roger Federer had won the award the previous three years.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 11)

• Croatian standout Ivan Ljubicic and wife Aida had their first child on Wednesday, naming their new son, Leonardo.
  
  
• Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas announced that he has resumed practicing on-court and hopes to compete in the Australian Open in mid-January. The 30-year-old German, who trains in Florida, has not played a competitive ATP match since losing to Gilles Muller in the second round of the 2008 US Open.
  
  
• Regarding the Gillette Fusion Champions commercial featuring Roger Federer, golfer Tiger Woods and soccer star Thierry Henry, a British advertising industry magazine gave the commercial the honor of “worst ad of the year” in Campaign Magazine’s Top Turkeys of 2008 list.
  
  
• Former French player Nicolas Escude has been named the new captain of the French Fed Cup team.
  
  
• L’Equipe reports that rising French star Gael Monfils has cut ties with controversial acupuncturist Phillippe Manicom. The report said that the falling out between Monfils and Manicom was most likely due to a personality conflict between Monfils’ new coach Roger Rasheed.
  
  
• United States top-ranked doubles duo Bob and Mike Bryan are hosting a party in Las Vegas set for December 14th at Lavo, with doors opening at 11pm. It’s all apart of their Camp Bryan II weekend.
  
  
• Spanish Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco will replace double-booked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the upcoming Kooyong exhibition event. American James Blake also scheduled two events during that week and will be replaced by Carlos Moya, a former Australian Open finalist.
  
  
• Google’s annual Zeitgeist report, which are figures based on the most searched phrases on Google indicate the following:
  1. Rafael Nadal was the most searched athlete in Spain, while Roger Federer was No. 8 in Nadal’s home country.
  2. In Switzerland, Roger Federer was the second most searched person behind USA President-Elect Barack Obama.
  3. Tennis came in as the fourth most searched Olympic sport this year in the United States.
  4. In the Czech Republic, tennis was the seventh most searched sport.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 9)

• Martin Verkerk, the 2003 French Open finalist and a two-time singles winner on the ATP Tour, has announced his retirement from the sport. The 30-year-old Dutchman, who played for 12 years and won roughly $1.5 million, said to the media on Tuesday, “It had been my plan to play more matches. It’s a pity it didn’t work out.”
  
  
• According to a SportsBusiness Journal report by Don Muret, The United States Tennis Association is considering adding a retractable roof to the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. The estimated cost of adding the roof would be around $100 million. Although the USTA has yet to figure out where the $100 million in funding would come from, Danny Zausner, managing director of the USTA, said an option could be to make Arthur Ashe Stadium a multi-purpose sports facility and have a professional sports team play their home games at the venue.
  
  
• James Blake will play along side American Meghann Shaughnessy at the Hopman Cup in January after Serena Williams recently withdrew due to a hamstring problem.
  
  
• Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka have been named the “Team of the Year” in Switzerland after winning the gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
  
  
• According to reports by the Associated Press, Andre Agassi’s former agent has filed a lawsuit against Agassi’s wife, Steffi Graf, saying that he has not yet been paid $50,000 in fees that he was to earn. Agassi commented on the situation saying, “Several weeks ago, my agent, manager and lawyer, Perry Rogers, and I decided to sever our business relationship. At that time, I had every hope that we could do so amicably and in the interest of maintaining our long-term friendship. As a result, I am both saddened and disappointed to learn that Perry has filed a lawsuit, and sadder still that he has sued my wife, Stefanie. I remain hopeful that we will be able to resolve our business issues with minimal damage to our families and mutual friends.”
  
  
• After an up and down year in 2008 for Latvian Ernests Gulbis, his 2009 season has already begun with a hiccup. Gulbis just received notice that he is signed up for two events the same week before the Australian Open, the Auckland tournament and the famous Kooyong exhibition.
  
  
• Australian players Peter Luczak, Robert Smeets, Joe Sirianni and Carsten Ball all received direct entry into the upcoming Australian Open men’s wild card play-off. The winner of the play-off earns a main draw wild card into the Australian Open field of 128.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 5)

• Roger Federer ($35 million) was listed as No. 5 on the recently released Forbes’ Top 30 under 30 list. He also made the annual Switzerland’s richest people list for the very first time. It listed his wealth between $83-$167 million.
  
  
• Tournament organizers of the Brisbane event said that French tennis star Gael Monfils missed the deadline to enter their event and all the wild cards have already been given out.
  
  
• Spanish Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco was photographed walking to a tennis court in Mallorca with girlfriend Ana Ivanovic, a Top-10 ranked player on the WTA Tour.
  
  
• Starting on February 1, 2009, Adidas will be re-launching tennis racquets throughout the tennis community. The Barricade, Response and Feather racquets will share similar characteristics to Adidas’ trademark three-stripe logo. The three-stripes will be located on the side of the frame. The Barricade will cost $185, while the Response can be purchased for $145, while the Feather runs at $165.
  
  
• Current World No. 1 doubles player Nenad Zimonjic and wife Mina became parents of twins on Thursday. The couple named their son, Leon and daughter, Luna.
  
  
• TennisWeek.com reports that Hall of Famer Rod Laver will be honored at the Australia Week 2009 Black Tie Gala presented by Penfolds in Hollywood on Sunday, January 18, 2009, at the Renaissance Hotel.
  
  
• Speaking to reporters ahead of the Royal Albert Hall seniors tournament, legendary player Pete Sampras discussed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, saying:
  Roger Federer – “I think Roger's going to break [my] record over the next couple of years...There's a lot left in him. I think he's gotten to a stage where it's about the majors. We text each other quite a bit. He tells me how he's doing and asks what I'm up to. We had a week together in Asia and we clicked. Our personalities are similar. He's pretty sarcastic and pretty dry.”
  Rafael Nadal – “Rafa's got as good a chance to win double digits as anyone...He could win some more French [Opens], he could win a couple more Wimbledon’s. He could have 10-12 majors when he's done, if not more. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Nadal next year. It takes so much work for him to keep it going, to stay healthy, to stay on top. That's one thing Roger has over him. I think it takes a lot less energy for Roger to stay on top than it does Rafa."
  
  
• Five of the Top 20 players are entered in the ATP Sydney International that will be played in early January. World No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be seeded No. 1. World No. 7 Gilles Simon, No. 11 David Nalbandian, Igor Andreev, Tomas Berdych and Tommy Robredo are other notable ATP players entered in the field.
  
  
• Roger Federer has announced his 2009 tournament schedule. He will start his season off on January 5th in Doha, followed by the Australian Open, Dubai, Davis Cup, Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid, French Open, Halle, Wimbledon, Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open, Tokyo, Shanghai, Basel, Paris Indoors and the London World Tour Finals.
  
  
• Starting on Friday December 12th at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, Andy Roddick will join John Isner and WTA Tour stars Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki in a tennis charity event known as the “Rock-n-Racquets.” The event, which will also be played in the same format in Columbia, South Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee, has Roddick facing Isner in a singles match before teaming up with Williams to face Isner and Wozniacki in a doubles match.

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe” (December 1, 2009)

• Xavier Malisse told the Belgian newspaper La Libre that he has been training very hard in Florida on his tennis game, hoping to achieve better results in the 2009 season. “(This was) a year to forget as soon as possible,” said Malisse, who was also hampered by recurring wrist problems during the season. “My defeat at the Mons (challenger to the No. 551) was the last straw. I decided to start my day at 9 a.m. instead of 11 a.m., work harder physically and pay more attention to what I eat.”
  
  
• Former Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis, says he is trying to make some kind of return to competitive tennis. The 32-year-old, who has not played a match since 2006 due to a knee injury, said he would not be ready for the Australian Open.
  
  
• Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden, who has been off the tour for over two years due to a knee injury, returns to competitive tennis this week in a handful of Swedish club matches. “I started (to come back) and got injured again, I started and got injured again,” he told Svenska Dagbladet. “It has been very hard.” Vinciguerra will decide whether to return to the ATP Tour or call it quits for good after playing the club matches.
  
  
• Top-10 ranked David Nalbandian will no longer be coached by Martin Jaite.
  
  
• After retiring from the ATP Tour in February after the Rotterdam tournament, Raemon Sluiter has decided to resume his career. “I could not resist the itch,” said Sluiter, referring to why he will be returning to the game.
  
  
• Argentina tennis legend Guillermo Vilas has thrown his name into a pool of possible Argentine Davis Cup captains, who could possibly be replacing Alberto Mancini.
  
  
• Organizers of the ATP tournament in Doha, Qatar confirm that Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick are playing in the tournament. The tournament begins on January 5th.
  
  
• Andy Roddick, a former World No. 1 and 2003 US Open Champion, may play in a tennis exhibition in Chile in April 2009, according to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. Roddick could face-off against Chilean No. 1 Fernando Gonzalez, who most recently was coached by Larry Stefanki, Roddick’s new coach.
  
  
• Talking to Times Online about working with Andy Roddick in 2009, Larry Stefanki said: “I'm absolutely overjoyed. I haven't been this excited in a long time, especially knowing he's even more excited about getting started.” The legendary coach, who has coached many former top-ranked players including John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, said that Roddick’s returns would be a main focus during the start of their training sessions. “Andy, especially on second serve returns, needs to get more aggressive. Not necessarily going for everything, but not just sitting back and returning the ball.”

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Nov. 24-29)

Lima, Peru (Clay)
No. 2 Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. No. 5 Sergio Roitman (ARG), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Cancun, Mexico (Clay)
Grega Zemlja (SLO) def. Martin Alund (ARG), 6-2, 6-1

Toyota, Japan (Carpet)
No. 1 Go Soeda (JPN) def. No. 2 Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR), 6-2, 7-6 (7)

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Nov. 17-23)

Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A. (Hard)
No. 2 Bobby Reynolds (USA) def. Luka Gregorc (SLO), 6-4, 6-2

Helsinki, Finland (Hard)
No. 1 (WC) Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) def. Karol Beck (SVK), 6-4, 6-3

Yokohama, Japan (Hard)
No. 2 Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR) def. No. 1 Go Soeda (JPN), 7-5, 6-3

Puebla, Mexico (Hard)
Michael Lammer (SUI) def. Rainer Eitzinger (AUT), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

Key Terms
WC = Wild Card

Spain defeats Argentina to capture Davis Cup title in Mar del Plata

2008 Davis Cup Final
Mar del Plata, Argentina
November 21-23, 2008

On Sunday afternoon in Mar del Plata, Spain defeated host Argentina 3-1 in the Davis Cup World Group final to earn Spain its third career title. Spain’s other titles were in 2000 in Barcelona over Australia and in 2004 in Seville over the United States. Despite not having World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on the squad this week due to an injury, Spain was able to become the first nation to win in Argentina since 1998. Captained by Emilio Sanchez, Spain becomes the seventh country to win the Davis Cup title at least three times.

Final Results
Sunday Singles
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. Jose Acasuso (ARG), 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Saturday Doubles
Lopez/Verdasco (ESP) def. Nalbandian/Calleri (ARG), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3

Friday Singles
David Nalbandian (ARG) def. David Ferrer (ESP), 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-3

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe”

• Host Argentina and visiting Spain are tied at 1-1 after Day One at the Davis Cup Final. David Nalbandian easily defeated David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, while Feliciano Lopez pulled off a thrilling upset against Top 10 player Juan Martin Del Potro, winning 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-3.
  
  
• WTA Tour superstar Ana Ivanovic will be in attendance at the Davis Cup final between Spain and Argentina to support her Spanish boyfriend Fernando Verdasco. Ivanovic recently confirmed to the media that they were dating, saying they became exclusive starting this summer at the US Open in New York.
  
  
• According to his official website, Andy Roddick has hired well-known coach Larry Stefanki to be his new coach. The California-based Stefanki has previously coached World No. 1 players John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He also coached Tim Henman to a career best No. 4 ranking and most recently finished working with Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.
  
  
• When asked what his 2009 tennis goals are, Roger Federer said: “While I would also love to beat Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam record of 14 titles, and also to regain my No. 1 ranking, I place winning another Wimbledon title above all else.” Federer has a grueling schedule leading up to the Australian Open in Melbourne. According to Globesports.com, he will play an exhibition at Abu Dhabi from Jan. 1-3, which includes Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. His second stop will be to play in the ATP Doha tournament in Qatar from Jan. 5-10. His final stop before the first Grand Slam of the year begins, will be to participate in Jan. 14-17 Kooyong exhibition event, which is a traditional Aussie Open round-robin format warm-up event featuring some of the best players in the world.
  
  
• Spanish Tennis Federation team Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper that World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is expected to fully recover in time for the start of the 2009 season.
  
  
• At the “Showdown of Champion” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Roger Federer recently beat American James Blake, 7-6 (10-7), while John McEnroe defeated Bjorn Borg, 7-6 (13-11). After the singles matches, Blake and McEnroe teamed up in doubles to defeat Federer and Borg 7-5.
  
  
• Former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis has left the Moratoglou Academy and has now joined Team Lagardere. At Team Lagardere, he will be coached by Olivier Soules.
  
  
• Tournament organizers at the new ATP event in Brisbane announced that World No. 3 Novak Djokovic will team up with younger brother Marko in the doubles tournament.
  
  
• The Lawn Tennis Association will be selling its 50 percent stake in the grounds of the All England Club in Wimbledon, England in five years under a new agreement between the two organizations. As it has always done, the LTA will continue to receive most of the profits that the Wimbledon Championships generate.
  
  
• Andy Anson, who is the ATP CEO for Europe, is leaving his post to head England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

2008 ATP Tour Year in Review

January

• Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open, marking his first Grand Slam singles title.
  
• In Chennai, India, Rafael Nadal defeats Carlos Moya, 6-7(3), 7-6(8), 7-6(1), in the longest three set match since 1993.
  
• Russian Mikhail Youzhny defeats Rafael Nadal, 6-0, 6-1, to win singles title at Chennai Open in India.

February

• Teenage tennis sensation Kei Nishikori who was ranked No. 244 shocked American James Blake to win Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, becoming the first Japanese man to win an ATP singles title since 1992.
  
• Entering the main draw at the Zagreb Indoors as a lucky loser and ranked No. 209, Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky defeats top-seed Ivan Ljubicic to win claim the title and become the first lucky loser to win an ATP singles title since 1991.
  
• Spaniard Nicolas Almagro wins two singles titles this month, the Brasil Open and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.

March

• Mardy Fish stuns No. 1 Roger Federer, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals at the Masters Series Indian Wells.
• Novak Djokovic defeats Mardy Fish in three sets to win the Masters Series Indian Wells title.
• Andy Roddick wins Dubai Tennis Championships, earning his second title of the year after winning the SAP Open in San Jose in February.
• American Sam Querrey wins Tennis Channel Open, earning his first career singles title.
  
• Russian Nikolay Davydenko upsets Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Sony Ericsson Open title in Miami.
• For the first time since 2000, Roger Federer did not win a tournament in the first three months of the season.

April

• Roger Federer wins his first tournament of the year by defeating Nikolay Davydenko on clay courts at the Estoril Open in Portugal.
• Rafael Nadal wins titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo and at the Open Sabadell Atlantico in Barcelona.
• Spaniard Marcell Granollers upsets James Blake to win the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas.
• Chilean Fernando Gonzalez wins the BMW Open in Munich, marking his 10th career title.

May

• Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, to win fourth straight French Open title. Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1981 to win four straight French Open titles. Nadal also became just the seventh player to win a grand slam singles title without losing a set.
• For Roger Federer, losing the final set 6-0 in the finals at the French Open marks the first time he has lost a set at love in a grand slam match since 1999.
• Rafael Nadal losses to former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round at the Masters Series Rome, marking just his second clay court loss in 109 matches.
• Sweden defeats Russia 2-1 to win World Team Cup, which was held in Germany.

June

• Rafael Nadal defeated five-time defending champion Roger Federer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7, to win his first career Wimbledon title, in what many believe was the greatest tennis match in the history of the sport. It was the first time since 1966 that a Spanish man had won the singles title at Wimbledon.
• In the second round at Wimbledon, Marat Safin easily defeated Novak Djokovic en route to a semifinal performance.
• Serbian Janko Tipsarevic stunned former Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick in four sets in the second round.
• Ivo Karlovic, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko and Roger Federer won smaller tournaments in the month of June.

July

• Veteran French player Fabrice Santoro defeats Prakash Amritraj to win his second straight Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships title in Newport, Rhode Island.
• Gilles Simon wins Indianapolis Tennis Championships by defeating Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the finals.
• Andy Murray wins Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• In his first tournament since winning his heroic Wimbledon title, Rafael Nadal wins Rogers Cup in Toronto.

August

• After 237 consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Roger Federer falls to No. 2 in the rankings, as Rafael Nadal takes over the top spot.
• Rafael Nadal wins Gold Medal at Beijing Olympics, while Chilean Fernando Gonzalez won the Silver Medal and Novak Djokovic took home the Bronze Medal.
• Having already won two singles titles in July in Stuttgart and Kitzbuhel, Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro wins his next two tournaments in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
• Croatian Marin Cilic wins his first career ATP title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Connecticut.

September

• Roger Federer wins the U.S. Open title, marking his 13th career grand slam singles title. Federer now stands one grand slam title shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 14.
• Juan Martin Del Potro’s winning streak of 23-matches comes to an end when Andy Murray beats him in the quarterfinals at the US Open.
• In a rematch of the Australian Open final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gets revenge on Novak Djokovic at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, winning 7-6(4), 6-4, to win his first ATP title.
• Israeli Dudi Sela reaches his first career ATP final, losing to Andy Roddick in the championship match at the China Open in Beijing. Sela became the first Israeli to reach a ATP final since 2001.
• Tomas Berdych won the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, earning his first title since the summer of 2007.

October

• Andy Murray wins the Masters Series Madrid.
• Swedish tennis legend Jonas Bjorkman teams with Kevin Ullyett to capture the Stockholm Open doubles title, marking the last time he will ever play a professional tennis tournament in Sweden due to retirement.
• Roger Federer defeats rival David Nalbandian to win the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his hometown of Basel.
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga completes his memorable BNP Paribas Masters campaign in his home country by defeating David Nalbandian to win his first Masters Series Shield and earn a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

November

• Novak Djokovic wins the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai by defeating Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1, 7-5.
• After a 17 year professional tennis career, Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman officially retires for the ATP Tour. Bjorkman played 1,791 matches in his singles and doubles career, winning 709 in doubles and 414 in singles. Throughout his noteworthy career, Bjorkman earned $14.5 million in tournament prize money.

Djokovic overwhelms Davydenko to win year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai

World No. 3 Novak Djokovic (pictured) completed his outstanding 2008 season by defeating Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1, 7-5, to win the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai on Sunday. The Monte Carlo resident opened the year by winning the Australian Open in Melbourne and now closes the year by winning another significant title. The Serbian tennis sensation has now been ranked No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings since July 9, 2007.

“I would put it in the same league as a Grand Slam because the best eight players in the world are participating here,” said Djokovic. “I feel very happy. End up the season the way I started it, with a win in a big event. So it's a great boost up for upcoming season.”

The 21-year-old Belgrade native got off to a quick start in the championship match, as he broke Davydenko’s serve twice to go ahead 5-0. As Davydenko clearly came out of the starting gates extremely slow and very tense, Djokovic was able to dictate play from the start and smash winners from all parts of the court.

In the second set, Djokovic quickly got ahead 5-3 and even held two match points, but Davydenko rediscovered the tennis form that landed him a spot in the finals. The Russian won seven of the next eight points and eventually broke serve to level the second set at five games a piece. Just as the fans at the sold out Qi Zhong Stadium thought they would be in for a classic battle, Davydenko easily dropped serve, giving Djokovic the chance to win the match on his own serve. At 6-5, Djokovic had little trouble holding serve, as he closed out the match in convincing fashion to win the prestigious title.

“It was special because I've played in the second part of the season in a couple of finals, and I didn't manage to win the title for a long time, since Rome,” said Djokovic. “That's probably the reason why I couldn't close it out in 5-4. I was a bit nervous. It's not easy, you know. There is a lot of pressure involved. I'm happy that I managed to hold my nerves in the end.”

In the one hour and 43 minute match, Djokovic hit four aces, won 74 percent of first serve points and surrendered only seven points on his second serve. Davydenko smashed five aces throughout the match, while winning 65 percent of first serve points, but struggled tremendously on his second serve, winning only 37 percent of those points. Djokovic was able to break serve four times in the two set match, while Davydenko broke only once after having four break point opportunities throughout the match.

To go along with his title this week in Shanghai and in January in Melbourne, Djokovic also won titles this year at Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Rome, bringing his career total to 11. Earning a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics this past summer, Djokovic finishes his memorable season with a 64-17 record. He recorded many wins this season over Top 10 players including, two victories over current World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, as well as wins over Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian. Djokovic earned $625,000 for his victory on Sunday, which brings his 2008 prize money total to over $4 million. He also walked away with a brand new Mercedes-Benz SUV in honor of his victory.

The singles winner at the Masters Series Miami tournament in March and at events in Poertschach and Warsaw, the 27-year-old Russian finishes the year with an outstanding 56-21 record. Despite not reaching a grand slam quarterfinal for the first time since 2004, Davydenko was able to complete his best performance at the year-end championships, outdoing his 2005 semifinal performance, in which he lost to Nalbandian. En route to his singles title in Miami, Davydenko defeated Roddick in the semifinals before easily defeating Nadal in the finals in straight sets. Davydenko pocketed $315,000 for his runner-up performance in China, bringing his total this season to over $2 million.

Doubles Championship Match Results
No. 2 Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. No. 1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, 7-6(3), 6-2
Editor’s Note: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic clinch the year-end No. 1 team ranking, which snaps the Bryans’ three-year grasp on the honor.

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Nov. 10-16)

Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A. (Hard)
No. 7 Kevin Anderson (RSA) def. No. 5 Kevin Kim (USA), 6-3, 6-4

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (Hard)
No. 4 Fabrice Santoro (FRA) def. No. 3 Victor Hanescu (ROU), 6-2, 6-3

Jersey, Great Britain (Hard)
No. 5 Adrian Mannarino (FRA) def. No. 2 Andreas Beck (GER), 7-6(4), 7-6(4)

Medellin, Colombia (Clay)
No. 7 Leonardo Mayer (ARG) def. No. 8 Sergio Roitman (ARG), 6-4, 7-5

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai results; Djokovic to face Davydenko for title

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Saturday Semifinal Results
Singles
No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. No. 8 Gilles Simon, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko (pictured) def. No. 3 Andy Murray, 7-5, 6-2

Doubles
No. 1 Bryan/Bryan def. No. 7 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Nestor/Zimonjiv def. No. 8 Cuevas/Horna, 6-1, 6-3

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai results; Simon captures final semifinal spot

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Saturday Semifinal Matchups
Singles
No. 2 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 8 Gilles Simon
No. 3 Andy Murray (pictured) vs. No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko

Doubles
No. 1 Bryan/Bryan vs. No. 7 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski
No. 2 Nestor/Zimonjiv vs. No. 8 Cuevas/Horna

Friday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 3 Andy Murray def. No. 1 Roger Federer, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
No. 8 Gilles Simon def. No. 9 Radek Stepanek, 6-1, 6-4

Doubles Round Robin
No. 2 Nestor/Zimonjic def. No. 6 Dlouhy/Paes, 6-1, 6-4
No. 7 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. No. 4 Bjorkman/Ullyett, 6-2, 1-6, 10-6

Thursday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. No. 2 Novak Djokovic, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko def. No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-3, 6-2

Doubles Round Robin
No. 5 Coetzee/Moodie def. No. 1 Bryan/Bryan, 6-2, 2-6, 12-10
No. 8 Cuevas/Horna def. No. 3 Bhupathi/Knowles, 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 10-5

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai results; Federer, Murray win; Roddick withdraws

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Wednesday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 1 Roger Federer def. (Alt) Radek Stepanek, 7-6(4), 6-4
No. 3 Andy Murray def. No. 8 Gilles Simon, 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Round Robin
No. 2 Nestor/Zimonjic def. No. 4 Bjorkman/Ullyett, 6-1, 6-4
No. 7 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. No. 6 Dlouhy/Paes, 7-6(2), 6-3

Editor’s Note:
* (Alt) Radek Stepanek replaced No. 5 Andy Roddick, who withdrew from the tournament with an ankle injury

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe”

• Spain will be without World No. 1 Rafael Nadal during the Davis Cup finals when they travel to Mar del Plata, Argentina to face a strong Argentine squad that features David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro. A winner of 82 matches this season, Nadal confirmed he will not be participating in the finals due to knee tendonitis.
  
  
• According to Spain Davis Cup Captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario, World No. 56 Marcel Granollers will play singles in place of the injured Rafael Nadal. David Ferrer will also play singles, while Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez will most likely be the doubles pair in finals.
  
  
• According to Tennis Magazine’s official website, Lleyton Hewitt’s father Glynn told the media that his son plans on playing a heavy tournament schedule in 2009. “He's looking to have a more full season on the tour next year to get his rank higher,” said Glynn Hewitt.
  
  
• When asked if he was disappointed because Rafael Nadal would not be playing at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Roger Federer joked, “We’re not dating.”
  
  
• Tennis legend Boris Becker confirms to the media that his engagement to Sandy Meyer-Woelden is off. She was the daughter of his former tennis manager.

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai results; Djokovic clinches semifinal spot

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Tuesday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-5
No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro def. No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured), 7-6(4), 7-6(5)

Doubles Round Robin
No. 1 Bryan/Bryan def. No. 3 Bhupathi/Knowles, 7-5, 3-6, 10-4
No. 8 Cuevas/Horna def. No. 5 Coetzee/Moodie, 6-2, 6-7(2), 11-9

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai results; Federer losses first round robin match

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Monday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 8 Gilles Simon (pictured) def. No. 1 Roger Federer, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Andy Murray def. No. 5 Andy Roddick, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1

Doubles Round Robin
No. 2 Nestor/Zimonjic def. No. 7 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-4
No. 4 Bjorkman/Ullyett def. No. 6 Dlouhy/Paes, 6-3, 7-5

Sunday Results
Singles Round Robin
No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro, 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko def. No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(0)

Doubles Round Robin
No. 1 Bryan/Bryan def. No. 8 Cuevas/Horna, 6-1, 7-6(4)
No. 3 Bhupathi/Knowles def. No. 5 Coetzee/Moodie, 6-2, 6-3

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Nov. 3-9)

Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. (Hard)
No. 4 Robert Kendrick (USA) def. Somdev Devvarman (IND), 6-3, 7-5

Rimouski, Canada (Carpet)
Ryan Sweeting (USA) def. No. 1 Kristian Pless (DEN), 6-4, 7-6(3)

Bratislava, Slovakia (Hard)
Jan Hernych (CZE) def. Stephane Bohli (SUI), 6-2, 6-4

Eckental, Germany (Carpet)
No. 1 Denis Gremelmayr (GER) def. No. 2 Roko Karanusic (CRO), 6-2, 7-5

Guayaquil, Ecuador (Clay)
Sergio Roitman (ARG) def. No. 8 Brian Dabul (ARG), 7-6(5), 6-4

Astana, Kazakhstan (Hard)
No. 3 Andrey Golubev (KAZ) def. No. 8 Laurent Recouderc (FRA), 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Round Robin Group Pairings

2008 Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Round Robin Groups
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Singles
Red Group
No. 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
No. 3 Andy Murray (Great Britain)
No. 5 Andy Roddick (United States)
No. 8 Gilles Simon (France)

Gold Group
No. 2 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia)
No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)
No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina)

Singles Prize Money
Alternate - $50,000
Participation Fee - $100,000
Round Robin Win – Per Match Won – $100,000
Semifinal Match Winner - $315,000
Final Winner - $625,000
Undefeated Champion - $1,340,000

Doubles
Red Group
No. 1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
No. 3 Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles
No. 5 Jeff Coetzee/Wesley Moodie
No. 8 Pablo Cuevas/Luis Horna

Gold Group
No. 2 Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic
No. 4 Jonas Bjorkman/Kevin Ullyett
No. 6 Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes
No. 7 Mariusz Fyrstenberg/ Marcin Matkowski

Doubles Prize Money
Alternate - $20,000
Participation Fee - $50,000
Round Robin Win – Per Match Won - $15,000
Semifinal Match Winner - $25,000
Final Winner - $100,000
Undefeated Champion - $220,000

Recent Stories of Interest from “Around the Pro Tennis Globe”

• This week in Doha, Qatar at the year-end WTA Sony Ericsson Championships, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was seen sitting in former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic’s players box during her opening round match. This could be the icing on the cake that they are an item after tons of dating rumors about the pair. Earlier in the fall, Verdasco watched Ivanovic's match from her player box at the China Open in Beijing. Later that week he attended her practice and spent the time speaking to her mother.
  
  
• On Tuesday, medical tests confirmed that World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has been diagnosed with tendinitis in his quadriceps tendon. Nadal, who has already withdrawn from the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai that begins on Sunday, will have more tests early next week to assess the injury. He is likely to miss the Davis Cup finals between Spain and Argentina, which will be held from November 21-23.
  
  
• World No. 48 Jose Acasuso has replaced Guillermo Canas on the Argentina Davis Cup team that is looking for it’s first career team title. Juan Martin Del Potro, David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri will be the other members on Team Argentina.
  
  
• USTA CEO of Professional Tennis Arlen Kantarian has resigned. Kantarian, who has run the US Open since 2000, will leave his position at the end of the year. This year the US Open broke tournament records for revenue and attendance.
  
  
• Swedish media reports that Bjorn Borg’s former tennis coach Lennart Bergelin has died at the age of 83.
  
  
• James Blake and brother Thomas will be participating in the Serving Up The Holidays Fundraiser in Harlem at the renovated Harlem Armory on November 25th.

World No. 1 Nadal withdraws from Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai due to knee injury

After injuring his right knee during last week’s quarterfinal match against Nikolay Davydenko at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has officially withdrawn from the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Taking his place will be talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, who won titles this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, while also reaching the finals at the recent Masters Series Madrid.

Through a written statement released on Monday, Nadal said: “I have decided not to compete on the Masters Cup in Shanghai...This is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event and above all, due to the fact of not making possible my will to be with the fans in China and the tournament organizers that always treated me in such special way. “I am deeply saddened and disappointed for my fans around the world that expected to see me in Shanghai fighting in every match. I do expect to be there again in October '09 for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Shanghai.”

The 22-year-old Spaniard played his way to a marvelous season in which he won eight singles titles including winning his fourth straight French Open, his first Wimbledon title, Masters Series titles in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Toronto, an Olympic gold medal in Beijing and titles in Barcelona and at Queen’s Club in London. Nadal surpassed Roger Federer as the No. 1 player in the world in August and is guaranteed to end the year as the top-ranked player after the Swiss legend held the top spot at years-end for the last four years. Nadal finishes the 2008 season with an impressive 82-11 record, while winning $6,773,773 in tournament prize money.

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Entry List

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
Shanghai, China
November 9-16, 2008

Singles Qualifiers
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2. Roger Federer (SUI)
3. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
4. Andy Murray (GBR)
5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
6. Andy Roddick (USA)
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
*Gilles Simon replaces Rafael Nadal (Injury)

Doubles Qualifiers
1. Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA)
2. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
3. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Andy Ram (ISR)
4. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/Mark Knowles (BAH)
5. Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)/Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)
6. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND)
7. Jeff Coetzee (RSA)/Wesley Moodie (RSA)
8. Pablo Cuevas (URU)/Luis Horna (PER)
*Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL) replace Erlich/Ram (Erlich Injury)

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Oct. 27-Nov. 3)

Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. (Hard)
No. 3 Robert Kendrick (USA) def. No. 4 Donald Young (USA), 6-1, 6-1

Busan, Korea (Hard)
No. 2 Ivo Minar (CZE) def. Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA), 6-1, 2-0, ret.

Aachen, Germany (Carpet)
No. 5 Evgeny Korolev (RUS) def. WC Ruben Bemelmans (BEL), 7-6(5), 7-6(3)

Cali, Colombia (Clay)
Daniel Koellerer (AUT) def. Paul Capdeville (CHI), 6-4, 6-3

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

Key Phrases
WC = Wild Card

This Week's Biggest Movers: Tsonga cracks Top 10, Baghdatis plummets

On the rise:

• #91 (+17) Robert Kendrick (USA)
• #73 (+10) Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
• #7 (+7) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
• #94 (+7) Jesse Levine (USA)
• #75 (+6) Potito Starace (ITA)

Moving down:

• #98 (-39) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
• #87 (-17) Tommy Haas (GER)
• #105 (-10) Alberto Martin (ESP)
• #24 (-9) Richard Gasquet (FRA)
• #77 (-9) Guillermo Canas (ARG)

* Each week, this will feature players in or just recently out of the Top 100 whose rankings have undergone the greatest change since the last set of rankings.

** David Ferrer has dropped seven spots to No. 12

Tsonga wins BNP Paribas Masters in Paris; earns final Masters Cup Shanghai spot

Thirteenth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured) captured the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris on Sunday in front of a pleased hometown crowd by defeating eighth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. The win earned Tsonga his first career ATP Masters Series title, but more importantly a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

From the get-go the Paris crowd was visibly behind the Frenchman. Tsonga got out to an extremely quick start in his first career Masters Series final, as he broke the 26-year-old Nalbandian’s serve in the second game of the match. After saving a break point in the seventh game, Tsonga closed out the opening set in 32 minutes. In the second set, Tsonga served out of a 0-40 hole in the eighth game only to be later broken while serving down 4-5, 0-40. Nalbandian was able to even the match at one set apiece when the 23-year-old hit a forehand in the net. In the final set, Tsonga almost made things difficult as he gave Nalbandian three break point chances while in front 5-4. Tsonga quickly regrouped and was able to win the match on his first championship point when the Argentine netted a forehand.

“At the end of the match I felt a lot better. I played exactly like I had to,” said Tsonga. “I didn't do extraordinary things. Like in Australia I played volleys that were coming from nowhere, whereas today I played just right. I believe this is the way you win. It's not when you do lucky shots that you win. It's when you think about your shots.”

Tsonga smashed an incredible 25 aces past Nalbandian, while dropping just 10 points on his first serve throughout the roughly two hour match. Nalbandian, who won the If Stockholm Open a few weeks ago, hit only four aces but was haunted by four double faults. Tsonga was able to break serve on two of four chances, while Nalbandian broke serve only once in nine opportunities.

With his victory, Tsonga will rise to a career best No. 7 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Tsonga joins fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon as the only two French players ranked in the Top 10 in the current rankings. It’s the first time two French players held that honor since October 3, 1988, when Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte were both ranked in the Top 10. Tsonga, who started the year ranked No. 43 before making a fairytale run to the finals of the Australian Open before losing to Novak Djokovic, now owns two career singles titles. Missing three months earlier this year due to knee surgery, Tsonga became the first French player to win a Masters Series shield since Sebastien Grosjean defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov to win the Paris title in 2001.

Nalbandian, who could have won his second straight Paris title and clinched a spot in Shanghai, drops to No. 11 in the rankings and finishes the 2008 season with a 43-16 record. Besides reaching the finals this week, his season highlights included winning the singles title in Buenos Aires, as well as Stockholm. Nalbandian will rest for a couple weeks before being a top dog in his countries Davis Cup finals match against Spain in Mar de Plata in Argentina from November 21-23.

Nalbandian, Tsonga to face off in the finals at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris

Eighth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian (pictured) moved within one match of qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai on Saturday after defeating No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, in two hours and five minutes at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. The defending champion will look to win a second straight title in Paris on Sunday when he faces French star and No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who continued his magical run in France with a, 6-3, 6-4, victory over eleventh-seeded American James Blake.

A Wimbledon finalist in 2002, Nalbandian got off to an extremely quick start against his Russian opponent, winning the first set in a compelling 28 minutes. In the opening set, the World No. 8 was able to break Davydenko’s serve twice, while saving three break points that he faced on his own serve. After Nalbandian quickly broke serve to go up 2-1 in the second set, Davydenko responded and immediately broke back to even the set at 2-2. In the 12th game of the set, Davydenko broke Nalbandian at love to claim the second set 7-5. In the seventh game of the final set, Nalbandian broke serve on his first break point chance and would eventually win his next two service games to win the set 6-4 and earn a spot in the final. The 26-year-old now owns a 6-4 series record against Davydenko, while improving to 43-15 on the season, which includes a 14-2 record on indoor courts.

“It was tough. I mean the first set didn't look like, because I just play great and he made some unforced errors and I take the chances that he gave me,” said Nalbandian. “In the second and third set he start serving better, and very good rallies for both. He hit a lot of lines, and it's okay. I played great.”

En route to earning a spot in his sixth career Masters Series final, Nalbandian defeated three straight Top 10 players, which included No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro, No. 4 Andy Murray and now World No. 6 Davydenko. Nalbandian, who recently won the singles title at the Stockholm Open in Sweden, is looking to become the first back-to-back winner at the Paris event since it started being held at the Bercy venue in 1986. The Argentina Davis Cup star has won nine titles throughout his professional career.

Tsonga showed no signs of fatigue after a thrilling three set win over No. 7 Andy Roddick on Friday, as he vigorously took care of Blake in straight sets. Throughout the 67-minute match, Tsonga smashed 12 aces, won 89 percent of his first service points, dropped only six second serve points and was able to break serve three times. The American who was hoping to win the title in Paris and clinch a spot at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, only won 70 percent of his first serve points and did not have any break point opportunities throughout the match.

“I know it's going to be difficult, because David has a good return,” said Tsonga. “Of course for me it's going to be difficult. But it's a final, and you never know what's happened at this moment. So I will do my best and I will see what's happen.”

The talented Frenchman improves his season record to 32-12, which includes winning the Thailand Open in Bangkok and reaching the finals at the Australian Open. Tsonga is looking to become the first French player to win a Masters Series shield since Sebastien Grosjean defeated Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov to win the Paris event.

On advancing to the final at his countries Masters Series event, Tsonga said, “It's just very special. It's like a dream. All my small career I dream like every day about to play a final in France. So for me it's going to be maybe the best moment of my life. So I will l just do my best for that.”

Currently ranked No. 14 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Tsonga has never played in a Masters Series final and will be facing Nalbandian for the first time in his career. The winner of Sunday’s singles final will earn the final spot in the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Recent reports indicate that even if Nalbandian wins tomorrow and earns the final spot, he might not compete in the year-end championship since he wants to get ready for the following week’s Davis Cup final between his native Argentina and Spain.

French star Tsonga prevails over Roddick in three sets to reach Paris Semifinal

The French faithful got what they wanted on Friday at the BNP Paribas Masters, as thirteenth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured) defeated seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5). In a three set thriller that lasted two hours and 44 minutes, Tsonga delighted the crowd with an impressive performance.

Late in the final set, Roddick challenged an out call on his serve while in front 40-0. The scoreboard showed that he had no challenges remaining, but Roddick, Tsonga and even chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani knew he had used only two of his three challenges in the third set.

“But the guy who sits in a box somewhere and puts the Hawkeye replay on, refused to run it because he insisted I had none left, despite the umpire telling him otherwise,” said a frustrated Roddick after the match.

The situation continued to grow worse as both players, mainly Roddick, were getting frustrated as Lahyani was not able to convince the Hawkeye replay guy to let Roddick use the challenge system. After nearly five minutes of craziness, an ATP Supervisor came onto the court and settled the situation, letting Roddick use his one remaining challenge since all parties agreed he had one challenge remaining. With the Paris fans yelling and screaming, Roddick won the challenge and would win the game.

With every out of this world shot that Tsonga would make, the crowd would go wild, but every time Roddick won a point the crowd of 12,000 didn’t get too lively. As the young Frenchman who reached the Australian Open finals earlier this year caved in on victory, leading 6-5, 30-30 on Roddick’s serve, the American would eventually hold serve and send the final set into a tiebreak.

Quickly grabbing a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak, Tsonga had the hometown crowd extremely energized. Tsonga stopped in the middle of the point at 6-2 to challenge and in-call on the right baseline, but the Hawkeye replay system proved the ball did indeed hit the line, giving Roddick the point. Roddick, who clinched a spot at the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai after beating Gilles Simon in the third round, would win the next two points to fight off his third straight match point. At 6-5, the Frenchman was able to close out the match with an impressive forehand volley winner to reach his first career ATP Masters Series semifinal. As Tsonga showed loads of emotion in admiration of his victory, as if he had just won a grand slam title, the Paris crowd gave him a well-deserved standing ovation for a great deal of time.

During the match, Tsonga hammered 15 aces compared to Roddick’s 14, though Tsonga hit six double faults while the American hit none. Roddick was able to win 77 percent of his first service points, while the Frenchman won just 61 of 91 points on his first serve. Both players broke serve on three occasions, but Roddick will be the disappointed one, as he had 17 opportunities to break serve throughout the match, compared to only five for Tsonga. After beating Roddick for the first time in three career meetings, Tsonga will next tangle with No. 11 seed James Blake for a place in the Paris finals.

Other Quarterfinal Scores from Friday
No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko def. No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6-1, ret. (knee injury)
No. 8 David Nalbandian def. No. 4 Andy Murray, 7-6(3), 6-3
No. 11 James Blake def. No. 2 Roger Federer, W/O (back injury)

Masters Series Paris results from Thursday Oct. 30

BNP Paribas Masters
Paris, France
Singles - Third Round
(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. (16) Gael Monfils (FRA), 6-3, 6-2
(6) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Tomas Berdych (CZE), 6-1, 6-1
(4) Andy Murray (GBR) def. (15) Fernando Verdasco (ESP), 6-3, 7-6(6)
(8) David Nalbandian (ARG) def. (9) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG), 6-4, 6-0
(7) Andy Roddick (USA) def. (10) Gilles Simon (FRA), 6-3, 7-5
(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
(11) James Blake (USA) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), 6-4, 6-4
(2) Roger Federer (SUI) def. Marin Cilic (CRO), 6-3, 6-4

Singles – Quarterfinals (Friday)
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (6) Nikolay Davydenko
(4) Andy Murray vs. (8) David Nalbandian
(7) Andy Roddick vs. (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(2) Roger Federer vs. (11) James Blake

Justin’s Predictions
(1) Rafael Nadal will defeat (6) Nikolay Davydenko in 2 sets
(4) Andy Murray will defeat (8) David Nalbandian in 3 sets
(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will defeat (7) Andy Roddick in 3 sets
(2) Roger Federer will defeat (11) James Blake in 3 sets

No. 1 Nadal, No. 2 Federer, No. 4 Murray win in Paris; Nalbandian also advances

Rafael Nadal (pictured) and Roger Federer kicked off their BNP Paribas Masters campaigns with convincing second round victories on Wednesday in Paris. Top-seeded Nadal cruised to a, 6-2, 6-4, victory over lucky loser Florent Serra, while No. 2 seed Federer defeated Sweden’s Robin Soderling, 6-4, 7-6(7).

In a match that last 74 minutes, both the top ranked Spaniard and the Frenchman served up five aces, but Nadal was more successful overall on the serve, winning 85 percent of his first serve points and dropping only six points on his second serve. The five-time grand slam singles champion broke serve on three of five opportunities, while Serra could not convert on his lone break point chance. The 22-year-old improves to 81-10 on the year, which includes titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and six other singles titles. Currently ranked No. 63 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Serra falls to 20-24 on the season. Next up for the left-handed Spaniard is a third round encounter with No. 16 seed Gael Monfils of France.

In the evening session on Court Central in front a sold out crowd including his agent’s famous tennis wife Mary Jo Fernandez, Federer was able to get past Soderling due to his strong service performance. Federer smashed 10 aces and was able to win 90 percent of his first serve points. The 13-time grand slam champion, who broke serve once during the match, did not face any break points on his serve. Paris is the only Masters Series event that the Swiss star has not yet won. The singles winner last week at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his hometown of Basel, Federer improves to 64-14 on the season. Also a title winner last week but at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France, Soderling falls to 45-21 on the season and currently stands winless in eight matches played against Federer. Next up for Federer is hard hitting Croatian Marin Cilic, who defeated Marcel Granollers, 6-4, 7-6(2).

World No. 4 Andy Murray, who has been on fire lately, was also victorious as he defeated American Sam Querrey, 6-2, 6-4. A winner of the last two Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid, Murray got broken to start the match and fell behind 0-2, but quickly recovered winning six straight games to win the opening set, 6-2. Throughout the 75-minute battle, Murray smashed eight aces, while breaking the 6’6” Californian natives serve five times.

“After the start I thought I played well, neutralized his biggest strength early on in the match and then obviously got ahead early in the second set,” said Murray. “A bit disappointed to lose my serve, but again, the way I responded was very good.”

Other noteworthy winners on Wednesday were defending champion and No. 8 David Nalbandian, No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 10 Gilles Simon and No. 11 James Blake. In two hours and eight minutes, Nalbandian was able to get past German Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6(5), 6-3. Nalbandian hit six aces, which was two less than Kiefer, but was able to muster two service breaks compared to only one by the German. Next up for Nalbandian is a third round meeting with Davis Cup teammate Juan Martin Del Potro, who he defeated last week in Basel.

Davydenko, who has struggled recently but has already clinched a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, got past Croatian qualifier Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6(5), 7-5, in one hour and 44 minutes. The Russian hammered 12 aces, served 87 percent on his first serve and was able to secure the lone service break of the match at 5-5 in the second set. Davydenko, who has less stress on him these days since he was found not guilty on tennis betting, next faces former Paris champion Tomas Berdych. Berdych upset No. 12 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3, 7-5, behind six aces and a perfect three for three on break point opportunities.

Simon, the a singles champion this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, defeated Russian Igor Andreev, 6-3, 7-5, in 95 minutes. At the Masters Series Madrid event two weeks ago in which he finished as runner-up, Simon saved four match points in his opening round match against Andreev. Simon improves to 49-24 on the season and next will do battle against No. 7 Andy Roddick for a place in the quarterfinals.

American James Blake, who has struggled tremendously to find good results since taking time off after the US Open, found his form again as he came from behind to defeat Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli, 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-4, in two hours. Still having an outside shot at qualifying for the year-end championships in Shanghai, Blake next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. This afternoon, Kohlschreiber ended David Ferrer’s Tennis Masters Cup hopes by defeating the Spaniard, 6-3, 6-2.

Tennis Masters Cup hopes still alive for Roddick, Del Potro; Djokovic wins in Paris

Seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick and ninth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro (pictured) both came away victorious in the second round on Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia was also a winner on Day Two in France.

Currently ranked No. 7 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Roddick helped his Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai chances tremendously with a convincing win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4. Both players smashed a significant amount of aces throughout the 66-minute match with Roddick firing 13 and Lopez hitting 12 aces, but it was the veteran American who won 90 percent of his first serve points, while dropping only seven points on his second serve. The former World No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion broke Lopez’s serve twice, while the left-handed Spaniard did not have any break point opportunities throughout the fairly routine match. By reaching the semifinals this week, Roddick can clinch his spot in the year-end championships in Shanghai. Next up for Roddick is a third round match against either Tennis Masters Cup hopeful Gilles Simon or Russian Igor Andreev.

The 6’6” Argentine Del Potro who reached the semifinals last week in Basel played very steady tennis on the way to defeating Croatian Mario Ancic, 6-0, 6-4, in 79 minutes. A winner of four consecutive singles titles this past summer, the 20-year-old hit three aces, won 70 percent of service points and was able to break serve on four of seven chances throughout the match. Despite Ancic dropping only six points on his first serve throughout the match, he was only able to win eight of 29 second serve points. Currently ranked at a career best No. 9, Del Potro improves to 45-12 on the season and can punch a ticket to Shanghai with a run to the finals in Paris. Ancic falls to 32-16 on a year that has had many highs and lows, but included earning a law degree earlier this year from a University in his native Croatia. Del Potro will face either No. 8 seed David Nalbandian or German veteran Nicolas Kiefer for a place in the quarterfinals.

No. 3 seed Djokovic was leading Dmitry Tursunov, 6-2, 4-3, when the Russian retired from the match with a right shoulder injury. Before Tursunov’s injury, Djokovic had hit eight aces, made 81 percent of his first serves and broke the Russian on three occasions. Djokovic, who has already clinched a spot at the Tennis Masters Cup, improves to 60-15 on the season and will next face either No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Radek Stepanek in the third round on Thursday.

Others second round winners included No. 15 seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain and No. 16 seed Gael Monfils of France. Verdasco was able to grind through a tough three set match against fellow countryman Tommy Robredo, winning 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2, in just over two hours. In the third round on Thursday, Verdasco will take on red-hot No. 4 seed Andy Murray or American Sam Querrey for a place in the final eight. With the hometown crowd behind him the entire match, Monfils was able to get past qualifier Juan Monaco, 6-4, 6-4, in 80 minutes. The 2008 Roland Garros semifinalist hammered 12 aces past his Argentine opponent while winning 92 percent of his first serve points. Next up for the entertaining young Frenchman is a third round date with either World No. 1 Rafael Nadal or lucky loser Florent Serra.

Other completed matches on Day Two in Paris
Singles – First Round
Robin Soderling def. (WC) Josselin Ouanna, 6-3, 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1, 6-4
(Q) Ivan Ljubicic def. (Q) Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-4
(LL) Florent Serra def. (LL) Guillermo Canas, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Radek Stepanek def. Marc Gicquel, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Masters Series Paris results from Monday Oct. 27

BNP Paribas Masters
Paris, France
Singles - First Round
Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA), 7-6(5), 6-2
Nicolas Kiefer (GER) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO), 6-4, 7-5
Mario Ancic (CRO) def. Rrainer Schuettler (GER), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Sam Querrey (USA) def. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), 7-5, 6-7(5), 3-2 ret. (back)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. (Q) Robby Ginepri (USA), 6-4, 7-5
(Q) Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Marat Safin (RUS), 6-0, 7-6(4)
(Q) Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN), 7-5, 6-4
Igor Andreev (RUS) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), 7-6(6), 6-3
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB), 6-3, 6-4

Noteworthy Second Round matches on Tuesday
No. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
No. 7 Andy Roddick (USA) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Mario Ancic (CRO)
No. 16 Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. (Q) Juan Monaco (ARG)

This Week's Biggest Movers*

On the rise:

• #83 (+19) Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
• #50 (+16) Victor Hanescu (ROU)
• #44 (+12) Julien Benneteau (FRA)
• #66 (+12) Mischa Zverev (GER)
• #94 (+11) Ivo Minar (CZE)
• #18 (+9) Robin Soderling (SWE)

Moving down:

• #57 (-17) Marc Gicquel (FRA)
• #86 (-17) Dudi Sela (ISR)
• #59 (-16) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
• #71 (-9) Nicolas Devilder (FRA)
• #98 (-9) Gilles Muller (LUX)
• #36 (-7) Jarkko Nieminen

* Each week, this will feature players in or just recently out of the Top 100 whose rankings have undergone the greatest change since the last set of rankings.

BNP Paribas Masters preview

BNP Paribas Masters
Location: Paris, France
Dates: October 26-November 2, 2008
Draw Size: 48
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Prize Money: $2,270,000 (Euros); men’s singles champion: $363,600
2007 Singles Final: David Nalbandian, ARG, def. Rafael Nadal, ESP, 6-4, 6-0
Official Web site: http://www.bnpparibasmasters.org/

Top story lines:
1. Can Andy Murray win his third straight Masters Series shield?
2. Does Roger Federer have what it takes to get back into the winners circle at a Masters Series event?
3. Can defending champion David Nalbandian repeat his incredible 2007 Paris results and win the title this year?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. Tomas Berdych vs. Robby Ginepri (Berdych leads 1-0; winning most recently 6-3, 6-3 at this event in 2006; Berdych won the Masters Series Paris in 2005; Berdych was the champion this year in Tokyo, finalist in Bastad and semifinalist in Bangkok and at the Masters Series Miami; Berdych has defeated Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake this year; Berdych is currently ranked No. 22; Ginepri was a semifinalist in Delray Beach, San Jose and Las Vegas; Ginepri is currently ranked No. 53)
2. Ivo Karlovic vs. Nicolas Kiefer (Kiefer leads 3-1; winning most recently 7-6(5), 7-6(3) on hard courts in Madrid in 2007; Karlovic was the champion in Nottingham and a semifinalist in Rotterdam and at the Masters Series Cincinnati; Karlovic defeated Roger Federer in Cincinnati and Novak Djokovic in Madrid; Karlovic reached a career best ranking of No. 14 in August but is currently ranked No. 20; Kiefer was a finalist at the Masters Series Canada and semifinalist in Halle; Kiefer has twice defeated Nikolay Davydenko and also has wins this season over Gilles Simon and James Blake; Kiefer is currently ranked No. 37)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 16 Gael Monfils, Third Round
· Nadal leads 2-0; winning both times on clay
· Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer on August 18, 2008, which was helped by winning his fourth straight French Open title, as well as winning an epic five set thriller over Roger Federer the finals at Wimbledon
· Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open this year
· Monfils is currently ranked at a career best No. 16

No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Third Round
· Series tied 1-1; Tsonga won most recently on hard courts 7-6(4), 6-4 in the finals of the Thailand Open in Bangkok
· Djokovic has won three titles this year including the Australian Open, while also reaching three finals and five semifinals
· Tsonga was a surprise singles finalist at the Australian Open this year

No. 8 David Nalbandian vs. No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro, Third Round
· Nalbandian leads 2-1; winning most recently 6-4, 6-4 last week in the semifinals at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel
· Nalbandian has won two titles this year at events in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, while finishing as runner-up in Acapulco and Basel
· Del Potro has won four titles this year at events in Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington
· Nalbandian is currently ranked No. 8, while Del Potro is currently ranked at a career best No. 9

Watch out for…
1. No. 4 Andy Murray (Winner at Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid and smaller tournaments in Doha, Marseille and St. Petersburg; Finalist at the US Open; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon; currently ranked at a career best No. 4)
2. No. 10 Gilles Simon (Winner in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis; finalist at the Masters Series Madrid; semifinalist in Rotterdam, Lyon and at the Masters Series Canada; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, James Blake and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; currently ranked at a career best No. 10)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 2 Roger Federer

Federer wins third straight title at Davidoff Swiss Indoors; 57th career title

Swiss No. 1 seed Roger Federer (pictured) won his third straight Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his hometown of Basel after defeating No. 2 seed David Nalbandian, 6-3, 6-4, in 70 minutes. The 13-time grand slam singles champion improves his series record against Nalbandian to 10-8.

From the start, Federer was dominant in all aspects, especially on serve. The 27-year-old, who earned his 57th career ATP singles title with his victory today, hammered eight aces past his Argentine opponent, while losing only seven points on serve throughout the match. The former World No. 1 was able to break Nalbandian’s serve while up 3-2 in the first set and in the third game of the second set. Nalbandian did not have any break point opportunities throughout the match.

“I’m happy the way things are going right now; I played well at the US Open, in Davis Cup and last week in Madrid,” said Federer. “This was another good week for me. It was fantastic to beat one of my biggest rivals in a good match. It was great to win at home. That is what really stands out for me, realizing a childhood dream and winning the title over and over again.”

Playing in Basel for the ninth time in his lavish career, Federer improved his record to 29-6, which includes three titles and runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2001. The Swiss superstar improves to 63-13 on the season, highlighted by winning the US Open and titles in Estoril and Halle. Federer also reached the singles final at the French Open and at Wimbledon, as well as teaming with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to win the doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

The 26-year-old Nalbandian, who won titles earlier this year in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, falls to 1-3 in finals in Basel. He won the title in 2002 by defeating Fernando Gonzalez and was a finalist in 2003 and 2004. Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Nalbandian falls to 39-15 on the season.

“Roger played almost perfect, he played great,” said Nalbandian. “He served very well and although I didn’t play bad he was better than me today. I had a good week though.”

Federer earned a winner’s paycheck of $145,200 (Euros) by winning the title, while Nalbandian collected a finalist check for $78,475 (Euros). Both players are scheduled to play next week in Paris at the BNP Paribas Masters. Federer is seeded No. 2 and is on the lower portion of the draw, while Nalbandian is seeded No. 8 and could meet No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round.