BIRMINGHAM TO HOST FED CUP: THIS WEEK IN TENNIS BUSINESS

By Justin Cohen

The USTA announced on Tuesday that the Birmingham –Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in Birmingham, Ala., will host the 2010 Fed Cup semifinal tie between the United States and Russia from April 24-26. “We are very excited to have earned this home tie and are thrilled to choose a community that is rampant in [...]

WHO IS THE GREATEST WOMAN TO NEVER WIN A GRAND SLAM? TRY ELENA DEMENTIEVA

By Charlie Bricker
It’s not the sort of statistical minutia that one aspires to, but, in Paris on Sunday afternoon, Elena Dementieva won her 16th career WTA title and not only edge to within five of Pam Shriver’s 21 but further solidify her dubious credentials as the best woman player never to win a Grand Slam [...]

MONDAYS WITH BOB GREENE: FED CUP WEEKEND

STARS
Marin Cilic beat Michael Berrer 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-3 to win the PBZ Zagreb Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia
Feliciano Lopez won the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, South, Africa, defeating Stephane Robert 7-5 6-1
Thomaz Bellucci beat Juan Monaco 6-2 0-6 6-4 to win the Novistar Open in Santiago, Chile
FED CUP
First Round
World Group
Italy beat Ukraine 4-1
Czech Republic [...]

DELPO EDGES BLAKE IN AUSSIE OPEN THRILLER

Reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro won a barn-burner five-setter with American James Blake, coming back from a service break down in the fifth set to advance into the third round with a 6-4, 6-7, 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 victory in four hours, 18 minutes.
Blake, the recently-turned 30-year-old who has dropped from No. 10 [...]

Mondays With Bob Greene: The score reflects the reality of this match

STARS

Serena Williams beat Venus Williams 6-2 7-6 (4) to win the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar

Ivan Ljubicic won the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon by beating Michael Llodra 7-5 6-3 in Lyon, France

Jurgen Melzer beat Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3 to win the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria

Sergiy Stakhovsky won the St. [...]

This Week in Tennis Business: Mercedes-Benz USA signs $35 million deal with US Open

By: Justin Cohen

The USTA announced on Monday that Mercedes-Benz USA has signed a four-year deal to become the “Official Vehicle of the US Open” starting in 2010. SportsBusinessJournal reports that the deal is worth $35 million. More than 250 players participating in the tournament will receive transportation services from Mercedes-Benz. The partnership includes major media [...]

Mary Joe Fernandez leads Team King to 21-17 win over Team Cash at US Open Champions Invitational

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 10, 2009 — Mary Joe Fernandez is used to juggling a number of tasks at once. Mom. TV announcer. U.S. Fed Cup captain. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in between her television commitments on Thursday, she was able to squeeze in leading Team King to [...]

TEAM LENDL TOPS TEAM KING 24-16 IN FIRST DAY OF US OPEN CHAMPIONS INVITATIONAL

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 9, 2009 – Team Lendl defeated Team King 24-16 in Overtime to win the first match of the US Open Champions Invitational today at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.  The event, which uses the World TeamTennis format for the first time in US Open history, [...]