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

• According to the Tennis.com website, the Djokovic family has completed a deal to purchase the ATP Amersfoort tournament and move it to Belgrade. Tournament Director Hans Felius told the media that the tournament had been struggling seriously to find a sponsor. In the past, Novak Djokovic mentioned he would enjoy seeing an event in Serbia due to the increasing popularity of tennis in his home country.
  
  
• On Sunday, Swedish tennis legend Jonas Bjorkman won his 700th career doubles match, by winning the If Stockholm Open doubles title with partner Kevin Ullyett. Bjorkman will be playing the Masters Madrid and Paris events in hopes of qualifying for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. A winner of 53 career doubles titles and 6 singles titles, Bjorkman will hang up the racquets for good once his season is completed. “This is a perfect ending for me to win the doubles title in Stockholm, in my last match in Sweden, with my family and friends, old coaches, watching me. The only person who was missing today was my son, Max, who is back in Monte Carlo at school.”
  
  
• According to Bob Larson’s Daily Tennis, Roger Federer, who withdrew from last week’s If Stockholm Open, says he is taking the rest of his 2008 season week by week. “I needed some rest, I'll just see where this tournament takes me. I'm playing this week by week.” He is scheduled to play Radek Stepanek tomorrow in the second round at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid.
  
  
• Andy Murray’s brother Jamie, a doubles specialist on the ATP Tour, showed serious signs of a frustrating season, announcing that he might not play the rest of the 2008 season. “I’m ready to stop for the year,” the Scotland native said. “I’ll see how I feel over the next couple of days as to whether I continue.” Murray owns a 28-29 record on the year that includes winning the Delray Beach title with Max Mirnyi. He lost yesterday with his brother in the first round of doubles in Madrid.
  
  
• 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio has delayed his return to competitive ATP tennis after injuring his thigh. He was originally scheduled to play next week’s Buenos Aires challenger, but will have to skip the event. Once ranked as high as No. 5 in the world in 2005, Gaudio last played an ATP level match in January when he lost in the opening round to Santiago Ventura, 6-0, 6-3, in Vina del Mar, Chile.

No. 1 Nadal survives in Madrid; No. 11 Blake, No. 13 Verdasco, Fish eliminated

A full slate of matches were on tap on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid in Spain, as World No. 1 Rafael Nadal (pictured) survived an early round scare, while No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 15 Richard Gasquet also each walked way victorious but in an easier fashion. American James Blake, who hasn’t played since the US Open, was not so lucky in his second round match, losing in a close three set match.

Nadal, who hadn’t played an ATP tournament since losing in the semifinals at the US Open in September, survived 15 aces by opponent Ernests Gulbis of Latvia to win, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. The 22-year-old four-time defending Roland Garros champion was able to break serve twice, while his 20-year-old opponent only broke once, despite having a break chance in the beginning of the third set.

“The entire match was very tough,” said Nadal. “He played very aggressive. You can't get the rhythm during the whole match. His balls were coming very fast; you go behind the line and it's difficult to come back inside. When he's serving, his second serve is very fast too, so it's very difficult.”

Nadal improves to 78-9 on the season with his win today and now owns an 11-4 career record in six Madrid appearances. Gulbis, who now falls to 0-2 against Nadal, also drops to 22-21 on the season. Nadal will next clash with No. 15 Gasquet, who defeated the unseeded Fish, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.

In the two hour and 31 minute match, Fish smashed 23 aces past the Frenchman, but it was Gasquet who was able to win 84 percent of first serve points and break serve three times, while the American didn’t convert on any of his four break point opportunities. Currently ranked No. 25 in the South African Airways ATP Ranking, Fish has seen very limited time on the court since the US Open and his September 28th wedding in Beverly Hills. His only match before arriving in Madrid since the US Open was a David Cup doubles victory in Spain with partner Mike Bryan. Gasquet advances to the third round in Madrid for the first time in three appearances at this event. Gasquet, who previously beat Fish at this year’s Wimbledon in their only other meeting, improves to 31-20 on the season. Gasquet will look to end a five-match losing streak to Nadal, in which four of the five matches went the distance, mostly recently at the Masters Series Canada in Toronto in July.

No. 4 Murray, who got British tennis fans excited about his tennis future after a run to the finals of the US Open, was beating lucky loser Simone Bolelli of Italy, 6-0, 2-1, when the Italian withdrew with a shoulder injury. In a close to perfect first set, the Scotland native dropped only one point on his serve and four points overall in the shortened match. Murray also smashed seven aces before Bolelli’s injury occurred. Withdrawing from his match against Murray was a tough way for Bolelli to finish his campaign in Madrid, after getting a free pass into the main draw after Marat Safin withdrew before the start of the tournament with an injury.

“I've been playing really, really well in practice in the last few weeks, better than I was playing throughout the summer, I was hitting the ball much better,” said Murray. “I had a few nerves and the conditions are tough here. I was really happy with the way I served and moved.”

Croatian rising star Marin Cilic, who won the Pilot Pen Tennis title in late August in New Haven, will meet Murray for a place in the quarterfinals. Cilic defeated No. 13 Fernando Verdasco, 6-2, 6-3, which could ultimately cost the Spaniard a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

No. 11 Blake was shown the exit from the Madrid event by in-form Frenchman Gilles Simon, losing in three sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Both players served over 70 percent on their first serve points, but it was Simon who broke three times, while the Florida based American only broke once on ten chances. This was a very crucial match for both players, as Blake stands at No. 9 in the ATP 2008 Race points for a spot in Shanghai, while Simon entered this week’s standings at No. 12. Blake drops to 43-22 on the year and needs to go deep at the Masters Series Paris in two weeks if he wants any chance to go to Shanghai. Simon, who won titles earlier this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, next plays either No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia or American Robby Ginepri.


Other Winners on Tuesday in Madrid:
First Round
Gael Monfils (FRA) def. Fabio Fognini (ITA), 6-2, 6-4
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Carlos Moya (ESP), 6-2, 6-2
(Q) Robby Ginepri (USA) def. Michael Llodra (FRA), 6-4, 6-4
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. (WC) Albert Montanes (ESP), 7-6(4), 6-3
Robin Soderling (SWE) def. (Q) Florent Serra (FRA), 6-3, 6-4
(Q) Marcel Granollers (ESP) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), 6-4, 6-4
(Q) Victor Hanescu (ROU) def. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Simon saves four match points to advance in Madrid; Berdych, Fish also winners

The Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid got off to a exhilarating start on Monday as Frenchman Gilles Simon (pictured) came back from the brink of defeat to beat Russian Igor Andreev. Newly married American Mardy Fish and in-form Czech star Tomas Berdych were also winners.

The 23-year-old Frenchman, who won titles earlier this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, was able to get past Andreev, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7), after fighting off four match points while serving down 4-5 in the third set. Simon was also losing 3-5 in the third set tiebreak before eventually winning the match. Simon fired nine aces and won 81 percent of first serve points. Andreev hit six aces, while winning just 73 percent of first serve points and a lousy 13 out of 35 second serve points. With the victory today, Simon improves to 41-22 and will meet No. 11 seed James Blake in the second round. Andreev, who is currently ranked No. 20 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, falls to 40-30 on the season.

Fish, who recently got married to certified attorney and television game show model Stacey Gardner in Beverly Hills, showed no signs of rust, as he cruised to a convincing, 6-1, 6-4, victory over Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis. Fish smashed 13 aces and only one double fault in his opening round victory. The 26-year-old American won 24 out of 25 points on his dominating first serve. Fish broke serve on three of four chances, while the Belgian qualifier was unsuccessful on all four of his break point chances. Fish, a quarterfinalist at this year’s US Open, now improves to 31-21 on the season. Currently ranked No. 25 in the world, Fish next meets No. 15 seed Richard Gasquet. Gasquet beat Fish the only time they faced each other, which was a straight win earlier this year at Wimbledon in the first round.

Berdych, the recent AIG Japan Open champion by defeating Juan Martin Del Potro in the finals, cruised to a very routine, 6-1, 6-2, win over German Rainer Schuettler in 53 minutes. Berdych hammered seven aces and lost only eight points on his serve throughout the match. Berdych broke serve on six of eight chances, while Schuettler broke serve on his lone opportunity. Currently ranked No. 35, Schuettler falls to 19-21 on the year, which includes a semifinal performance at Wimbledon. Berdych, who won his only Masters Series title in 2005 in Paris, earns his 33rd victory of the year and next meets No. 7 seed and defending champion David Nalbandian. Nalbandian owns a 3-1 career record against Berdych, winning most recently in the second round in Madrid last year.

Other winners on Monday included lucky loser Simone Bolelli, Tommy Robredo and Marin Cilic. Getting into the main draw after Marat Safin withdrew with an injury, Bolelli made most of his opportunity by routing local hopeful Nicolas Almagro, 7-6(4), 6-1, in a little over an hour. He next meets No. 4 seed Andy Murray for a place in the third round. Robredo of Spain grinded out a win against Andreas Seppi of Italy, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3, in two hours and 19 minutes. The Spaniard next meets No. 8 seed Andy Roddick in the second round. Cilic, the New Haven singles champion in August, stayed strong in a, 6-3, 7-5, route over qualifier Olivier Rochus of Belgium. The Croatian rising star smashed 15 aces, while Rochus hit nine double faults throughout the match. Next up for Cilic in the second round is No. 13 seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

This Week's Biggest Movers*

On the rise:

• #72 (+53) Philipp Petzcher (GER)
• #47 (+24) Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)
• #74 (+24) Mischa Zverev (GER)
• #90 (+14) Nicolas Massu (CHI)
• #66 (+11) Kei Nishikori (JPN)

Moving down:

• #131 (-44) Thomas Johansson (SWE)
• #69 (-12) Tommy Haas (GER)
• #64 (-11) Florent Serra (FRA)
• #78 (-10) Gilles Muller (LUX)
• #104 (-10) Robin Haase (GER)

* 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.

Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid preview

Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid
Location: Madrid, Spain
Dates: October 12-19, 2008
Draw Size: 48
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $2,270,000 (Euro); men’s singles champion: $360,000
2007 Singles Final: David Nalbandian, ARG, def. Roger Federer, SUI, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Official Web site: http://www.mutuamad-mastersmadrid.com/

Top story lines:
1. Can David Nalbandian find his 2007 Masters Madrid magic and win the title again in 2008?
2. Will 2005 Madrid champion Rafael Nadal’s layoff since the US Open effect his results in his home countries tournament?
3. Can former champion Roger Federer get back on track and win a Masters Series shield in Madrid?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. Tomas Berdych vs. Rainer Schuettler (Berdych leads 1-0; winning 7-6(4), 6-1 on clay in Stuttgart in 2005; Berdych was the champion in Tokyo, finalist in Bastad and semifinalist Bangkok and at the Masters Series Miami; Berdych is currently ranked No. 21; Schuettler was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and in Beijing; Schuettler is currently ranked No. 34)
2. Mikhail Youzhny vs. Jarkko Nieminen (Youzhny leads 3-0, with a 1-0 edge in hard court matches; Youzhny was the champion in Chennai and a quarterfinalist in Gstaad, Marseille and at the Australian Open; Youzhny reached a career high No. 8 in January, but is currently ranked No. 22; Nieminen was a finalist in Adelaide and a quarterfinalist in Bastad and at the Australian Open; Nieminen is currently ranked No. 33)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Third Round
· Federer won three titles this year including the US Open and the Estoril and Halle tournament
· Tsonga recently beat Novak Djokovic to win the Thailand Open, while reaching the finals earlier this year at the Australian Open

No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 14 Ivo Karlovic, Third Round
· Djokovic leads 1-0; winning 7-6(3), 6-3 on clay at Masters Series Hamburg earlier this year
· Djokovic has won three titles this year including the Australian Open
· Karlovic won Nottingham earlier this year and is currently ranked at a career best ranking of No. 14

No. 7 David Nalbandian vs. No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro, Third Round
· Nalbandian leads 1-0; winning 6-2, 6-4 last year in Madrid in the third round
· Nalbandian has won two titles this year at events in Buenos Aires and last week in Stockholm
· Del Potro has won four titles this year at events in Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington
· Del Potro is currently ranked at a career best No. 9

Watch out for…
1. No. 4 Andy Murray (Winner at Masters Series Cincinnati and in Doha and Marseille; Finalist at the US Open; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martin Del Potro; currently ranked at a career best No. 4)
2. No. 8 Andy Roddick (Winner in San Jose, Dubai and Beijing; quarterfinalist at US Open; defeated Roger Federer at Masters Series Miami and Novak Djokovic at Dubai tournament; currently ranked No. 8)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 2 Roger Federer

No. 1 Nalbandian tops No. 4 Soderling to win 9th career title at If Stockholm Open

Top-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian (pictured) won his 9th career title on Sunday by defeating Swedish star Robin Soderling, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, in just over 98 minutes at the If Stockholm Open in Sweden. It marks the second title Nalbandian has won this year after winning the Buenos Aires title earlier this year.

Nalbandian came out firing in the opening set, as he got ahead 4-0 and eventually closed out the 25-minute set, 6-2. In the first set, Nalbandian won 17 of 20 service points. Nalbandian was still cruising along in the second set as he went up, 4-2, but quickly got broken at love. No. 4 seed Soderling, who is making his sixth appearance at his home countries tournament, then broke serve twice to close out the set 7-5 in 40 minutes. In the seventh and ninth games of the final set, the veteran Argentine broke Soderling’s serve and cruised to, 6-3, third set win.

Despite Soderling smashing 18 aces compared to Nalbandian’s 13 aces, the Argentine broke serve five times compared to only two times for the Swede.

“I think I played a very solid match today,” said Nalbandian. “I did have some chances to win in the second set but at that moment I didn't play so well. Robin is a tough opponent. All our matches are very tight and this time it wasn't different. He hits the ball very hard all the time so I had to play my best to beat him.”

With the victory, Nalbandian improves his season record to 34-13, including an impressive 14-5 record on hard courts. The title marks Nalbandian’s third career hard court title. The 24-year-old Swede, who has registered victories this year over Andy Roddick, Richard Gasquet, Stanislas Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, falls to 38-19 on the year and 2-6 in ATP finals. Soderling, who is currently ranked No. 35 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, falls to 9-28 all-time against Top 10 players.

“It is hard to play Nalbandian,” said Soderling. “He takes the ball early and this doesn't match up so well with my style of play. He played a good match and I think I played well to. I feel I could have served better at the end of the match.”

Nalbandian earned a winner’s check of $115,500 in European dollars, while Soderling’s paycheck was $62,400. Nalbandian, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the world, now heads off to Madrid where he will try to defend his Masters Madrid title.

Kunitsyn stuns No. 7 Safin to win ATP Kremlin Cup in Moscow

Unseeded Russian Igor Kunitsyn (pictured) defeated No. 7 seed Marat Safin on Sunday, 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-3, in two hours and 49 minutes to win the ATP Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Kunitsyn and Vienna winner Philipp Petzschner, both first time champions this week, became the 9th and 10th players of the year to win their first career ATP crown in 2008.

In a very close first set in which Safin couldn’t break serve on two opportunities in the opening game and Kunitsyn missing out on two chances in the eighth game, Kunitsyn was eventually able to win the set in a tiebreak in 69 minutes. In the middle of the second set, both players were able to break serve once, as Safin eventually pulled out the second set tiebreak on his third set point chance. In the final set, Kunitsyn broke Safin to go up 4-2 and never looked back, winning 6-3 to claim the title.

“Winning the title feels unreal,” said Kunitsyn. “Playing in front of a home crowd in an all-Russian final, against one of my best buddies Marat and one of my favorite players was amazing. It was amazing to be in the final and it really is a dream come true. I wasn't expecting it.”

Safin, a former Australian and US Open champion, was able to smash 21 aces compared to Kunitsyn’s seven aces, while both player’s served alarmingly under 50 percent on their first serve. The champion won 38 points on his first and second service points, while Safin won 39 first serve points and 32 second serve points.

“I think I was serving way better than I did before,” said Kunitsyn. “I came to the final with good wins and was hitting the ball well. I have played every day since Wednesday. My only concern was my physical condition. Fabrice made me run a lot [in the semifinals]. I did well; I fought for every ball and took the opportunities that Marat gave me.”

Kunitsyn improves to 15-13 on the year and becomes the fourth Russian to win an ATP singles title this year. Three-time former Moscow champion Nikolay Davydenko, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny were the other three Russian players to claim titles this year. With his victory on Sunday, Kunitsyn earned a $171,000 paycheck.

The 28-year old Safin drops to 23-22 this season, in a week in which he won his 400th career match by defeating Israeli Noam Okun in three sets. The former World No. 1 fell to 16-11 in 11 career appearances in Moscow. Safin earned $92,400 for his runner-up performance.