Mondays With Bob Greene: Wickmayer and Malisse to appeal against ban

STARS

Michael Berrer beat Dominik Hrbaty 6-7 (6) 64 7-6 (3) to win the men’s singles at the Ritro Slovak Open in Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Michael Russell won the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana, beating Taylor Dent 7-5 6-4 in Champaign, Illinois, USA

Eduardo Schwank beat Jorge Aguilar 7-5 6-4 to win the Lima Challenger 2009 in Lima, Peru

Takao Suzuki beat Martin Fischer 6-4 7-6 (5) to win the Keio Challenger International Tennis Tournament in Yokohama, Japan

Evgeniya Rodina beat Renata Voracova 6-4 6-2 to win the Ritro Slovak Open women’s singles in Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Rika Fujiwara beat Bojana Jovanovski 5-7 6-4 6-3 to win the NECC-ITF Women’s Tennis Championships in Pune, India

Camila Giorgi beat Aniko Kapros 4-6 6-4 6-0 to win the Tevin Women’s Challenger in Toronto, Canada

SAYING

“This is an amazing trip for me. It only really came to my mind when I was playing in Basel. I thought to myself: ‘I’m playing here at home in Basel, where I grew up, then I’m going to Paris, where I won the French Open for the first time, then I’m going to London, where I won Wimbledon.’ It’s really inspirational to come back to places where you have so many memories – and these three tournaments definitely have that. These are good times.” – Roger Federer.

“For everybody there are tough moments. Unluckily for me, this year mine came.” – Rafael Nadal.

“My lifetime goal is to be number one and that will always be my dream until I make it. But I have Roger and Rafa in front of me and these are two guys who have been so consistent, especially in the Grand Slams. If you have them as your main competitors for that spot, then you’re in trouble. On the positive side, battling against those two gave me a lot of competitive spirit and made me mentally stronger.” – Novak Djokovic.

“The year has been a successful one. For some people Grand Slams are the be-all and end-all. I want to win one, I’m trying my best to win one and I’ll work as hard as I can.” – Andy Murray.

“I have a big nose, that’s the problem. It’s just bleeding, I don’t know why.” – Juan Martin del Potro, after calling for a trainer to treat his bleeding nose in the first set of his opening round-robin match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

“My aim in January is to get some tough match play in the lead-up to the Australian Open, and the Brisbane International is going to be ideal for that.” – Nadia Petrova, announcing she will begin 2010 by playing in Brisbane, Australia.

“There has been a lot of speculation about whether the ATP would reopen the case (against Andre Agassi), but we cannot do that because he’s no longer playing on the tour.” – ATP chairman Adam Helfant.

SUSPENSIONS APPEALED

Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse have both appealed their one-year suspensions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). A US Open semifinalist this year, Wickmayer was suspended for failing three times to notify her country’s doping agency where she could be reached on a daily basis. Malisse, who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2002, was banned for missing a doping test and twice failing to say where he could be reached. The 29-year-old Malisse has said the suspension would probably mean the end of his career. CAS said a decision would be announced within four months.

SAYS CASE CLOSED

Even though he admitted lying about using crystal meth in 1997, the ATP Tour says it will not reopen a doping case against Andre Agassi. ATP chairman Adam Helfant said there is no way to sanction Agassi retroactively since the American has retired from the sport. In his recently released autobiography, Agassi admitted that when he failed a drug test in 1997, it was thrown out after he lied by claiming he “unwittingly” took crystal meth. Helfant said he had a “very frank conversation” with Agassi after the book came out, and that the ATP has responded to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s questions about the case. “But what was said will remain between us and will not be made public,” Helfant said.

STOPPED BY INJURY

Andy Roddick won’t be playing in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. The American withdrew from the elite eight-man event because of a left knee injury suffered at the Shanghai Masters last month. “I am really disappointed,” Roddick said. “I love playing in London and I’ve heard so many good things about the venue. However, I have not fully recovered from my knee injury and I won’t be able to compete.” Roddick has qualified for the year-ending tournament the last seven years. But he missed 2005 with an injury and played only one match last year before he withdrew with an injury. His spot in this year’s tournament was taken by Sweden’s Robin Soderling.

SVETLANA SIGNS UP

The Sydney International is continuing to add to an already strong field for the start to the 2010 season. The latest Top 10 player to sign up for the Australian Open warm-up is French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 24-year-old Russian joins Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Carolina Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka in the battle for the early January title.

SINGLE SEASON RECORD

Daniel Nestor is a doubles specialist these days, and it has paid off handsomely. When he teamed with partner Nenad Zimonjic to win the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, the 37-year-old Nestor became the first Canadian player to surpass the USD $1 million mark in official prize money in a single year. Currently co-ranked with Zimonjic as number one in the world in doubles, Nestor has earned more than USD $8.19 million in his career.

STRONG SPANISH SQUAD

Rafael Nadal will lead Spain when it defends its Davis Cup title against the Czech Republic next month. Nadal last played Davis Cup in this year’s opening round in March when he won his two singles matches against Serbia. The left-hander missed last year’s final victory over Argentina because of an injured knee. Spanish captain Albert Costa also named David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez to the team. Nadal has won all 12 singles matches he has played since losing his Davis Cup debut against the Czechs five years ago. The best –of-five series will be played on indoor clay at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, December 4-6.

SET FOR QUEEN’S CLUB

To prepare for Wimbledon’s grass courts, US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has signed up to play at Queen’s Club. The Argentine has never advanced past the second round in three appearances at Wimbledon. “This is the perfect opportunity for me to improve my game on the surface,” del Potro said of the Queen’s Club event. “Many

players have done well at Queen’s in the past and gone on to win at Wimbledon. I hope that this can happen for me also.” Those who have won both Queen’s Club and Wimbledon are John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal.

SWINGING HIGH

Russians dominated the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in 2009 and not surprisingly ended up dominating the rankings. While players from Russia won just one Grand Slam tournament – Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros – they had 15 players finish in the Top 100 in the year-end rankings. The Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy each had six players, while the United States had five. Russia had four players in the Top 10, one less than they had in the 2008 year-end rankings. The United States holds the record with six players in the year-end Top 10, a mark achieved in 1981, 1982 and 1983. In each of those years the top four players were all from the United States. In 2009, Russian players won 13 tournaments. Players from France and the United States tied for second by winning five tournaments each.

SWINGING AWAY

The numbers of people playing tennis is on the upswing. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said a survey shows 30.1 million people played tennis this year, a 12 percent increase from 2008 and up 25 percent from six years ago. The survey showed participating grew in all age groups under 50 and within all ethnic groups. The biggest increases were among Hispanics, with 32 percent more playing the game, while there was a 19 percent increase in African Americans playing tennis.

SIGNED

Now that he’s no longer playing on the ATP tour, Frederic Niemeyer is the newest member of the development team for Tennis Canada. Niemeyer will coach one of the country’s top young prospects, Milos Raonic. Niemeyer officially retired earlier this month after playing 12 years on the professional circuit. The Canadian was a three-time All-American while at Middle Tennessee State University and holds school records for single-season as well as career singles and doubles wins. He achieved a career-best singles ranking of 134^th in the world in March 2004. A native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Niemeyer twice represented Canada in the Olympic Games. The 18-year-old Raonic currently is ranked 377^th in the world. At the Rogers Cup this past summer, Raonic held match point in his first-round match against Fernando Gonzalez, who was ranked 10^th in the world at the time. Gonzalez finally won in a three-set thriller.

STARTING IN BRISBANE

Nadia Petrova will join four former world number ones at the Brisbane International in January. Justine Henin will be making her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, while US Open champion Kim Clijsters, Serbian Ana Ivanovic and Russian Dinara Safina will be in the field. Also scheduled to play is Jelena Dokic, who was ranked fourth in the world in 2002. Petrova has won 27 WTA titles, nine in singles and 18 in doubles. Her highest singles ranking was number three in May 2006.

The Brisbane International men’s singles field is also a strong one, led by Andy Roddick, Gael Monfils, James Blake and Giles Simon.

SUISSE SPONSOR

Roger Federer is looking closer to home for his latest money-making agreement. The world’s top player signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Swiss bank Credit Suisse. The bank said it will make a “significant annual contribution” to the Roger Federer Foundation, a charity that was founded by the tennis star to help disadvantaged children in Africa. Credit Suisse, which dropped its Formula One sponsorship last year, did not say how much the deal with Federer is worth or how much would go to Federer’s foundation.

SWITCH

John McEnroe did it. So did Pete Sampras. And now add Novak Djokovic to the group of tennis stars who have worn Sergio Tacchini clothing. Djokovic said he has signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Italian company starting next year. The Serb has been wearing Adidas clothing. “My own idols Pete Sampras and John McEnroe have won almost all titles wearing the Sergio Tacchini logo,” Djokovic said. As part of the deal, Sergio Tacchini will produce four Djokovic-inspired clothing lines each year.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bratislava (men): Philipp Marx and Igor Zelenay beat Leos Priedl and David Skoch 6-4 6-4

Toronto: Maureen Drake and Marianne Jodoin beat Sharon Fichman and Mashona Washington 3-2 retired

Yokohama: Yang Tsung-Hua and Yi Chu-Huan beat Alexey Kedryuk and Junn Mitshuashi 6-7 (9) 6-3 12-10 (match tiebreak)

Pune: Nicole Clerico and Anastasiya Vasylyeva beat Nina Bratchikova and Ksenia Palkina 4-6 6-3 13-11 (match tiebreak)

Bratislava (women): Sofia Arvidsson and Michaella Krajicek beat Tatiana Poutchek and Arina Rodionova 6-3 6-4

Champaign: Brian Battistone and Dann Battistone beat Treat Conrad Huey and Harsh Mankad 7-5 7-6 (5)

Lima: Martin Alund and Juan-Martin Aranguren beat Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz and Cristobal Saavedra-Corvalan 6-2 7-6 (4)

SITES TO SURF

London: www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/

Toyota: www.dunlop-tennis.jp/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

ITF: www.itftennis.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$5,000,000 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London, England, hard

WTA

$75,000 Dunlop World Challenge, Toyota, Japan, carpet

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

DAVIS CUP

Championship

Spain vs. Czech Republic at Barcelona, Spain

SENIORS

AEGON Masters Tennis, London, United Kingdom, indoor