Murray defends St. Petersburg Open title; 8th career ATP title for the World No. 4

World No. 4 and top-seeded Scot Andy Murray (pictured) easily defended his St. Petersburg Open title on Sunday by smoothly defeating Kazakhstani qualifier Andrey Golubev, 6-1, 6-1, in 56 minutes. In the shortest singles final on the ATP Tour this season in terms of match time, Murray claimed his fifth title of the season while continuing his red-hot dominating tennis performances.

“I think he started the match a bit nervous and I was playing consistent from the baseline," said Murray. “I was the favorite and he didn't have anything to lose. The match was close in the beginning of both sets but once I was able to take the lead I felt more comfortable.”

Despite not hitting one ace during the match, Murray was able to win 27 of 31 first service points, while only having to hit 10 second serves throughout the match. Murray, who reached the US Open finals in September, broke Golubev five times this afternoon, while the Kazakhstani was unsuccessful breaking serve on his the two break point opportunities.

Murray, who has already clinched a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, improves to 53-14 on the year. His 53 victories this season puts him alongside Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko as the only players to have recorded at least 50 wins this year. Murray, the singles title winner in Doha and Marseille, as well as Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and Madrid, improves to 8-5 in finals during his young career.

The 21-year-old Golubev, who reached the main draw after winning three straight matches in the qualifying tournament, improves to 6-4 on the season. Starting the tournament off ranked No. 150 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Golubev will move up to a career high No. 112 on Monday when the rankings are released.

“I was playing well all week but today I was just off. I think I ran out of fuel,” said Golubev. “I felt very tired. This match was good for me to compare my game to the top players in the world. Murray didn't make any mistakes and was more stable during the entire match, especially on his serve. I'm still more happy than disappointed. Obviously I feel a bit frustrated not to play the way I wanted. But overall I'm very happy with the week.”

For his victory in St. Petersburg, Murray earned a winner’s check worth $171,000 and will immediately travel to Paris to play in this week’s BNP Paribas Masters. Seeded No. 4 and receiving a first round bye in Paris, Murray will face either Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or American Sam Querrey in the second round. With his magical run to the finals, Golubev earned a finalist check worth $92,400, which is the biggest payday in his young career.

No. 7 Soderling captures third career ATP singles title by winning Lyon event

After playing nearly three years without winning a title, Robin Soderling (pictured) ended that drought by winning the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France on Sunday by defeating Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, to capture his third career ATP singles title. Due to his outstanding performance in France, Soderling will jump from No. 27 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings to a career high of around No. 18 or No. 19 when the rankings are released on Monday morning.

The 24-year-old Swede smashed 10 aces compared to the Frenchman’s seven aces, while also winning 53 of 64 first service points throughout the match. The seventh-seeded Swede, who captured his first career title in Lyon in 2004, was able to break serve four times while Benneteau was only successful breaking serve once.

Soderling becomes the first Swedish player to win an ATP singles title since former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson won the St. Petersburg Open on October 30, 2005. Since Johansson claimed the title in Russia, Swedish players have gone 0-7 in singles finals, including Soderling finishing as runner-up in Memphis in 2006, as well reaching the finals in Rotterdam, Memphis and Stockholm this season.

This week Soderling pulled off two impressive Top 10 wins, defeating No. 7 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals in straight sets, then No. 10 Gilles Simon in the semifinals. Soderling improves to 44-20 on the season, including a 22-6 record on indoor courts.

“Lyon is a special place for me since I won my first title here in 2004. I think that I'm more consistent now than back then. I move better and my defense has improved as well,” said Soderling.

The 26-year-old Benneteau drops to 22-20 on the season, but will move up to roughly No. 46 in the rankings from his current No. 56 ranking. Benneteau, who defeating Soderling in the third round at this year’s French Open, was looking to claim his first career ATP singles title.

“If somebody told me at the beginning of the week that I would be losing the final in three sets I would have been more than happy,” said Benneteau. “But I'm still disappointed because it really could have been the perfect day for me today. Winning my first title in Lyon close to my hometown would have been unbelievable.”

Soderling earned a champions check for $115,500 (Euros) for his victory and will next travel to Paris to play in the BNP Paribas Masters where he will play French wild card entrant Josselin Ouanna in the opening round on Tuesday. Benneteau earned a finalist check for $62,400 (Euros) and will not be competing in Paris next week.

Italian tennis player Federico Luzzi dies of Leukemia at 28

Italian tennis pro Federico Luzzi, a former top 100 player, died this morning of leukemia at a Florence, Italy hospital. The 28-year-old was taken to the hospital earlier this week with a high fever and was then diagnosed with an acute case of leukemia. This morning he went into an irreversible coma and passed away shortly after.

“Losing a young man so tragically in the prime of his life, a son to a loving family and a great sportsman is a terrible blow. Federico was hugely respected by his fellow professionals and was one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour. Federico will be much missed by all who knew him and the thoughts and the prayers of everyone at the ATP are with Federico's family on this very sad day for tennis,” said ATP Chairman Etienne de Villiers.

Picking up his first tennis racquet at the age of three, Luzzi would turn pro in 1999 and eventually reach a career high ranking of No. 92 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings in 2002. Throughout his career, Luzzi won many matches over highly distinguished tennis players including 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, former World No. 2 and two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja, former Top 5 player and 2004 French Open finalist Guillermo Coria and 2005 French Open runner-up Mariano Puerto. Luzzi also defeated many current tennis stars during his tennis career including Mario Ancic, Dmitry Tursunov, Dominik Hrbaty, Arnaud Clement and Feliciano Lopez.

During the prime of his career, Luzzi was a major contributor to the Italian Davis Cup team. In 2001, he won a Davis Cup singles match against Finland 14-12 in the fifth set in a match that lasted four hours and 35 minutes, the longest Davis Cup match ever played by an Italian player.

This season, the Arezzo, Italy native competed in six challenger events, reaching the quarterfinals at events in Belgrade, Serbia and Todi, Italy. In his last event he fell to Italian Pietro Fanucci, 0-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, in the opening round at the Napoli, Italy challenger tournament. Throughout his lengthy professional tennis career, Luzzi posted an 18-31 record, while earning $544,562 in tournament prize money.

He is survived by his parents, Maurizio and Paola, and older sister, Francesca.

Saturday Oct. 25 results on the ATP Tour

Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Basel, Switzerland
Saturday - Semifinals
No. 1 Roger Federer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 David Nalbandian def. No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-4, 6-4

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 2 David Nalbandian (Federer leads series 9-8)
Sunday – Doubles Finals
No. 2 Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles vs. Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber

St. Petersburg Open
St. Petersburg, Russia
Saturday - Semifinals
No. 1 Andy Murray def. No. 3 Fernando Verdasco, 6-0, 6-3
(Q) Andrey Golubev def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3, 6-0

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 1 Andy Murray vs. (Q) Andrey Golubev (First meeting)
Sunday – Doubles Final
Rohan Bopanna/Max Mirnyi vs. Travis Parrott/Filip Polasek

Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
Lyon, France
Saturday - Semifinals
Julien Benneteau def. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6(4), 7-5
No. 7 Robin Soderling def. No. 4 Gilles Simon, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 7 Robin Soderling vs. Julien Benneteau (Benneteau leads series 2-1)
Sunday – Doubles Final
No. 2 Michael Llodra/Andy Ram vs. Stephen Huss/Ross Hutchins


Key Terms:
Q = Qualifier

Friday Oct. 24 results on the ATP Tour

*All completed matches on Friday were in the Quarterfinal round

Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Basel, Switzerland
No. 1 Roger Federer def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 David Nalbandian def. (Q) Benjamin Becker, 7-6(4), 6-4
No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro def. No. 6 Igor Andreev, 6-4, 7-5
Feliciano Lopez def. No. 4 James Blake, 6-4, 7-6(7)


Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
Lyon, France
No. 7 Robin Soderling def. No. 1 Andy Roddick, 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6(5), 6-1
No. 4 Gilles Simon def. (WC) Josselin Ouanna, 6-3, 7-5
Julien Benneteau def. Steve Darcis, 6-3, 6-2


St. Petersburg Open
St. Petersburg, Russia
No. 1 Andy Murray def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6(5), 7-5
No. 3 Fernando Verdasco def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-5, 6-2
Victor Hanescu def. (WC) Michail Elgin, 6-1, 6-4
(Q) Andrey Golubev def. (Q) Mischa Zverev, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(4)

Key Terms:
Q = Qualifier
WC = Wild Card

ATP stars Federer, Nalbandian, Del Potro, Blake advance in Switzerland

The four seeded players that were featured in the five scheduled matches on Thursday at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel all advanced to the quarterfinals. Hometown product Roger Federer (pictured), Argentine players David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro and American James Blake were the four seeded players to advance to the quarterfinals.

Struggling through his first round match against American Bobby Reynolds, No. 1 Federer again found himself in trouble many times against Jarkko Nieminen, but was able to advance by winning, 7-6(6), 7-6(1). Nieminen who falls to 0-10 against Federer and has yet to win a set in ten matches against the legendary Swiss player, served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken before losing in a tiebreak. Federer hammered 11 aces past Nieminen, but was broken three times throughout the match including twice in consecutive service games in the opening set.

“It sends shocks through you when you get broken back to back, takes away a little confidence. It's a sign that if you're opponent can break you twice he can break you more often. That's why I knew it was going to be a tough night despite my good record against him. He hit some great passing shots and made me work hard tonight,” said Federer.

With his victory today, Federer improves to 60-13 on the year, which has been highlighted by winning the US Open in September and titles in Estoril and Halle. Federer also finished as runner-up at the French Open, Wimbledon and two Masters Series events. Federer will next clash with Italian Simone Bolelli, a 6-4, 6-2, winner over Marcel Granollers of Spain.

No. 2 Nalbandian survived a scare against Belgian Kristof Vliegen, winning in over two hours, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4). The Argentine, who is now 20-4 in Basel, is chasing his third singles title of the year after already winning in Buenos Aires and Stockholm. The 26-year-old won the Basel title in his debut in 2002 and has also reached the finals twice. Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Nalbandian improves to 37-14 on the season and earns his first career victory against Vliegen, who won their only other previous meeting on clay in Barcelona in 2004. In the quarterfinals, the former Wimbledon runner-up will meet German qualifier Benjamin Becker.

No. 3 seed Del Potro had little trouble getting past Swiss wild card Stephane Bohli, 6-3, 6-3. The talented young Argentine, who is on track to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, smashed six aces past Bohli, while losing only five points on his powerful first serve. In a year in which he has won four singles titles and currently owns a career best No. 9 ranking, Del Potro improves to 43-11 on the season. He next faces Russian No. 6 seed Igor Andreev in the quarterfinals.

No. 4 Blake continued his successful play in Basel as he defeated Spaniard Oscar Hernandez, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, in just over two hours. Blake hammered an outstanding 17 aces and won 80 percent of points on his serve throughout the three set battle. With his second round victory, Blake advances to his 12th quarterfinal of the year and improves his record to 45-22. Currently ranked No. 11, Blake reached the finals earlier this year in Delray Beach and Houston, while also reaching the Bronze Medal match at the Beijing Olympics in August. The American will face Spaniard Feliciano Lopez on Friday for a spot in the semifinals.

No. 1 Roddick, No. 3 Tsonga, No. 4 Simon win in France; No. 2 Gasquet upset

Former champion and top-seed Andy Roddick (pictured) got by his friend and fellow American Robby Ginepri on Thursday at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France to advance to the quarterfinals that will take place on Friday. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and in-form fourth-seed Gilles Simon were also winners on Thursday, while No. 2 Richard Gasquet was upset in his second round match.

Backed behind a dazzling 26 aces, Roddick defeated Ginepri, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), in 98 minutes to reach his 12th quarterfinal of the season. Roddick could not convert on his six break point chances, while Ginepri was unsuccessful on his two break point chances but the more experienced Roddick got the job done when it mattered the most in both tiebreakers. Roddick, who has won three titles this year, improves his record to 47-15 on the year, as he still hopes to lock up one of the final three spots for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Roddick, who improves to 8-1 lifetime against Ginepri, has played in the year-end championship five times in his career minus 2005 when he was injured. Ginepri falls to 25-19 with his loss on Thursday to Roddick. In the quarterfinals, the Austin, Texas resident will face No. 7 seed Robin Soderling, who defeated Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus, 6-1, 6-2, behind 20 aces.

Frenchman Tsonga, who was a surprise Australian Open finalist, grinded past veteran Fabrice Santoro, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, in one hour and 52 minutes to advance to his fifth quarterfinal of the season. Tsonga hammered 16 aces compared to Santoro’s four aces, while also breaking serve on three of four opportunities. Currently ranked No. 14 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Tsonga improves to 27-11 on the season. Next up for the exciting young Frenchman in the quarterfinals is former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who defeated No. 8 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu in 58 minutes by a score of, 6-4, 6-1. The quarterfinal clash between the pair will be their first meeting against each other.

Simon, last week’s finalist at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, struggled for a second straight match in Lyon but was again able to come out victorious as he defeated Italian Andreas Seppi, 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4. The 23-year-old Nice native who has captured three ATP singles titles this year could move up to No. 8 in the ATP 2008 Race standings for the year-end championship if he defeats Josselin Ouanna in the quarterfinals. In his victory over Seppi, Simon served up 13 aces and won 77 percent of his first serve points. Simon was also able to break serve twice.

Another notable second round match saw Belgian Steve Darcis stun No. 2 seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). World No. 58 Darcis ended Gasquet’s hopes of winning a second Lyon title in three years. Darcis improves to 22-21 on the year on the way to his third quarterfinal of the year and will next do battle against Julien Benneteau for a place in the semifinals.