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.”