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sania mirza

Sania Mirza Announces Her Return To Tennis, Will Compete In Australian Open

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Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza has announced her return to the court following a two-year maternity break.

The 33-year-old, who last played at the 2017 China Open, revealed this week that she will mark her return at a Mumbai tournament, after which she should take to the Hobart International in January, and then the Australian Open.

Mirza spoke to reporters at a press conference, where she disclosed that she will be partnering with Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok in the women’s doubles at Hobart, with Rajeev Ram set to be her partner for the Australian Open.

“I am playing in Hobart, then I am playing the Australian Open,” she told the Press Trust of India news agency (per France 24).

“I am planning to play a tournament in Mumbai, which is a $25,000 (ITF women’s event) next month, but I am 50-50 about it, so let’s see how my wrist behaves. We will see, but Hobart and Australian Open (for sure).”

The 33-year-old would add that her body’s gone through a lot of changes since she had her baby but she’s finally back to normal.

“Your routine and sleep pattern changes,” she continued. “I (now) feel fit, my body is where it used to be before I had the baby.”

Mirza is the most decorated women’s tennis player to hail from India and has since become the highest-ranked Indian female player, having peaked at No.27 in the world back in 2007. She’s won six Grand Slams, inclusive of a women’s double Wimbledon title alongside Martina Hingis in 2015 and has six gold medals from playing in the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and Afro-Asian Games (14 total medals).

Her last big win also came alongside partner Hingis when they won the 2016 Australian Open doubles.

The bookmakers hadn’t placed odds on Mirza’s 2020 Australian Open’s chances at the time of writing but there are plenty of other bets waiting to be made ahead of the tournament and AUSSIEFREEBET.COM.AU could furnish you with the scoop on offers from the biggest sportsbooks in Australia.

Serena Williams is the favorite to win the women’s singles and Bet365 has 11/2 odds going on her. Bianca Andreescu, who shocked the world earlier this year when she won the US Open, is 6/1 to capture this Grand Slam with Skybet. Current World No.1 Ashleigh Barty is 7/1 with Ladbrokes after winning the French Open earlier this year while Naomi Osaka is 9/1 with William Hill.

Marathon Bet is offering 10/1 odds on Simona Halep and Karolina Piskova is 14/1 with Betfair. You could get 16/1 odds from Paddy Power, who are offering as much on Aryna Sabalenka, as well as Petra Kvitova. Madison Keys and Angelique Kerber are both 25/1 shots with Unibet.

Mirza, meanwhile, also harbours hopes of getting in shape for the 2020 Olympics. She featured in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, with the latter providing the stage for her best-ever finish, a loss in the bronze-medal match.

“I have been there (Olympics) three times and last time, we were unlucky to not win a medal,” she said. “If I am able to put myself in that position to be able to compete at the Olympics again for the fourth time in my life, I would be really honored and privileged. I have got three slams before Olympics and for me it’s week-to-week and day-to-day.”

 

Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza

 

 

Na Li and Rafael Nadal take home Roland Garros 2011 crowns – Mondays with Bob Greene

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STARS

French Open

Men’s singles: Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 (3) 5-7 6-1

Women’s singles: Li Na beat Francesca Schiavone 6-4 7-6 (0)

Men’s doubles: Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4

Women’s doubles: Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova beat Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-3

Mixed doubles: Casey Dellacqua and Scott Lipsky beat Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic 7-6 (6) 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Boys’ singles: Bjorn Fratangelo beat Dominic Thiem 3-6 6-3 8-6

Girls’ singles: Ons Jabeur beat Monica Puig 7-6 (8) 6-1

Boys’ doubles: Andres Artunedo Martinavarr and Roberto Carballes Baena beat Mitchell Krueger and Shane Vinsant 5-7 7-6 (5) 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Girls’ doubles: Irina Khromacheva and Maryna Zanevska beat Victoria Kan and Demi Schuurs 6-4 7-5

Men’s wheelchair singles: Maikel Scheffers beat Nicolas Peifer 7-6 (3) 6-3

Women’s wheelchair singles: Esther Vergeer beat Marjolein Buis 6-0 6-2

Men’s wheelchair doubles: Shingo Kunieda and Nicolas Peifer beat Robin Ammerlaan and Stefan Olsson 6-2 6-3

Women’s wheelchair doubles: Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven beat Jiske Griffioen and Aniek Van Koot 5-7 6-4 10-5 (match tiebreak)

 

OTHER

 

Yuri Schukin beat Flavio Cipolla 6-4 4-6 6-0 to win the UniCredit Czech Open in Prostejov, Czech Republic

 

SAYING

 

“I’m very happy with what I have, with who I am. I’m not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I’m among the best. That’s true. That’s enough for me.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning his sixth French Open title, tying him with Bjorn Borg.

 

“Today is the dream come true.” – Li Na, after becoming China’s first Grand Slam singles champion.

 

“He plays better against the better ones, and that’s what he showed today. He’s a great champion, on clay, especially.” – Roger Federer, after losing to Rafael Nadal.

 

“She deserved to win. One has to lose, one has to win. She deserves everything.” – Francesca Schiavone, who lost to Li Na in the Roland Garros women’s singles final.

 

“The next two weeks is Wimbledon, so I don’t have time to go back to China right now. I go back after Wimbledon, maybe people forget me already. These are tough times you know.” – Li Na, when asked about the reception she will get when she returns to China.

Na Li

 

“It’s great for the sport overall. She is a great ambassador, great athlete, great personality, a national hero in China already and the western world is beginning to get to know her and enjoying her as she has great talent on the court and is good fun off the court.” – Stacey Allaster, WTA CEO, on Li Na’s victory.

 

“It was best five months of my life, my tennis career.” – Novak Djokovic, after Roger Federer ended his winning streak at 43 matches.

 

“He went for the shots when he needed to. He served really well when he needed to serve well. What happened, happened really. I cannot affect it anymore. In some moments I was lucky, in some moments he was lucky.” – Novak Djokovic, after Roger Federer snapped his 43-match winning streak in the Roland Garros semifinals.

 

“What I would like to say, and I said it to him at the net, is that his record, although it’s not the best because other players have done better – today’s it’s so physical and professional – what he achieved is unbelievable.” – Roger Federer, after beating Novak Djokovic and snapping the Serb’s 43-match winning streak.

 

“Rafa is a better clay court player than me. That’s a fact. It’s always been like that since we both started on the tour. His results would show that. I feel like I’ve closed the gap. I think I’m better on clay, a lot better than I was last year. But I still have a way to go to be as good as him.” – Andy Murray, after losing his semifinal to Rafael Nadal.

 

“The wind blew away some clay as the match went on. Her slice would get lower and lower and it took me a lot of energy to adjust. It did really bother me. In order to dictate the points as I like to, I had to bend a lot and physically I had to make much more effort than usual.” – Marion Bartoli, explaining her women’s semifinal loss to Francesca Schiavone.

 

“It is amazing to win at the French Open. I hope Tunisia is proud of me.” — Ons Jabeur, who became the first Arab girl to win a Grand Slam tournament title when she captured the girl’s singles.

 

“I will definitely take all my family, my coach, and – if Lucie wants – I will take her, too, for a great dinner in one of the famous French restaurants. We will just enjoy ourselves, relax a little bit and have a good time.” – Andrea Hlavackova, after teaming with Lucie Hradecka to win the women’s doubles.

 

“For sure I’ll come to celebrate.” – Lucie Hradecka.

 

“I was told to stay off my feet totally.” – Andy Murray, who overcame a torn tendon in his right ankle to beat Viktor Troicki for a spot in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal.

 

“At the end I was feeling a little bit tired. The rallies were too long.” – Alejandro Falla, a qualifier, after losing to Juan Ignacio Chela 4-6 6-2 1-6 7-6 (5) 6-2 in a fourth-round match.

 

“I’m on grass at Queen’s, which is my favorite surface, I feel fine, and my shoulder has come up fine over the last couple of days in practice. I’ve been battling it for a while and my reasoning (for not playing the French Open) was that I needed to get ready for the grass. Wimbledon is probably one of my best chances of winning another Slam.” – Andy Roddick.

 

SIXTH TITLE

 

With a hard-fought 7-5 7-6 (3) 5-7 6-1 victory, Rafael Nadal continued his domination over the man some consider the greatest player of all time while also equaling Bjorn Borg’s record of six men’s singles titles at Roland Garros. Borg won his six titles in eight years while Nadal has done it in seven. It was Nadal’s 10th Grand Slam tournament title, six fewer than Federer’s men’s record of 16. “Finally I was able to play my best when I needed my best,” Nadal said. “It’s a big personal satisfaction to win this tournament, especially when you start without playing your best.” On the red clay courts at Roland Garros, Nadal is 45-1 for his career. Against Federer, he leads their head-to-head series 17-8, including a 6-2 advantage in Grand Slam tournament finals and a 5-0 edge at the French Open.

 

SINO VISION

 

It was more than just a victory when Li Na captured the women’s singles title at Roland Garros. Much more. Li became the first player from Asia – male or female – to capture a Grand Slam tournament singles crown. And, quietly, while no one seemed to be watching, she became the best player on the women’s tour this year. Li is the only woman to reach the title match at both the Australian Open, where she lost to Kim Clijsters, and the French Open. As far as rankings go, which are based on a 12-month scale, she is number four in the world, tying Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm for the best by an Asian player. Until Roland Garros, Li had never won a clay-court tournament, and had never advanced past the third round in her previous four French Opens. To win the big trophy, Li beat four consecutive top-10 seeded players, including three-time major champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and defending champion Francesca Schiavone in the title match.

 

Neat fact. When 29-year-old Li Na played 30-year-old Francesca Schiavone for the women’s title at Roland Garros, the match featured the oldest finalists since Chris Evert defeated Martina Navratilova 2-6 6-3 6-3 in 1986 – 25 years ago.

 

STOPPED

 

Novak Djokovic was one match away from taking over the number one ranking in the world when his match-winning streak was halted by Roger Federer in the semifinals at Roland Garros. The Serb also could have taken over the top spot if Federer had beaten Rafael Nadal in the title match. As it is, the men’s rankings after Roland Garros look the same as before the year’s second Grand Slam tournament began: Nadal at number one, followed by Djokovic and then Federer. Djokovic had won 41 consecutive matches to begin 2011, including his second Australian Open triumph. Combined with his two Davis Cup victories last December, Djokovic had won 43 consecutive matches since losing to Federer in the semifinals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London last November. “I don’t regret (anything). What happened, happened really,” Djokovic said after his streak was snapped. “There’s not much to be sorry for. It was the best five months of my life, my tennis career. I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it was coming. Unfortunately, it came in a bad moment.”

 

SCANDAL

 

Daniel Koellerer has become the first tennis player to be banned for life for attempting to fix matches. A former Austrian Davis Cup player who once was ranked as high as 55th in the world, Koellerer was found guilty of three violations of the sport’s anti-corruption rules, including “contriving or attempting to contrive the outcome of an event,” by the Tennis Integrity Unit, an anti-corruption group. Koellerer, who was also fined USD $100,000, denied the charges and said he may appeal the ban. Nicknamed “Crazy Dani,” Koellerer has twice been suspended by the ATP for bad behavior on court. In 2006, he was banned for six months. That year, he garnered so much ill feeling on the Challenger circuit in South America that 75 of the 80 players signed a petition asking that Koellerer be kicked off the tour. Last August, he was placed on two years’ probation after his personal website listed odds for matches and had links to sites for placing bets.

 

SPECIAL CHAMPIONS

 

China wasn’t the only nation to come away from this year’s Roland Garros with its first singles champion. Li Na became the first player from Asia – male or female – to win a Grand Slam tournament singles crown. When Ons Jabeur beat Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 7-6 (8) 6-1 in the junior girl’s singles final, she became the first girl from the Arab world and Africa to win a junior Grand Slam tournament title. It’s the first time an Arab has accomplished the feat since Ismail El Shafei of Egypt won the 1964 Wimbledon boys’ singles title. Eight years earlier, Tunisia’s Mustapha Belkhodja won the French Open boys’ crown. Jabeur was a finalist at Roland Garros last year. “Last year’s loss helped,” she said. “I didn’t want to go through that again.” The 16-year-old Jabeur was a member of the International Tennis Federation/Grand Slam African 14 & Under Touring Team in 2008 and is currently receiving financial assistance through travel grants. Puig also has received travel grants.

 

SPOTLIGHTED

 

Guy Forget was presented the Philippe Chatrier Award for 2011 at the International Tennis Federation’s World Champion’s Dinner held annually in Paris. The French Davis Cup captain for the past 12 years, a former Fed Cup captain and before that a Davis Cup winning player, Forget was cited “For having an influence in both ITF team competitions that extends far beyond his own nation, having a love of his country, and for achievements in, and in support of, Davis Cup and Fed Cup.” Forget is only the third man to have played in the Davis Cup and gone on to captain Davis and Fed Cup winning teams. The other two are Yannick Noah of France and Shamil Tarpischev of Russia. Also being honored were the world number one players Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki in singles; Mike and Bob Bryan, receiving the Men’s Doubles Award for the seventh time; Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, Women’s Doubles; Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Gomez sand Russia’s Daria Gavrilova, junior winners; Esther Vergeer, named Women’s Wheelchair Champion for the 11th consecutive year; and Shingo Kunieda, Men’s Wheelchair Champion.

 

STOPS PLAY

 

To avoid further embarrassment, the name of the ball boy who ran onto the court in the middle of a point is classified information. As Viktor Troicki prepared to hit a weak lob from Andy Murray, the youngster ran onto the court, thinking the point was over. While there was no collision with the Serbian player, umpire Pascal Maria had to call for the point to be replayed. Troicki initially seemed annoyed and stared accusingly at the ball boy as the crowd began whistling its displeasure and clearly sympathizing with the clearly upset youngster. Murray won the replayed point and went on to rally from a five-game deficit in the final set to win 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5. “I cannot blame him, but still, I was a little bit disappointed,” Troicki said.

 

SINCE WHEN?

 

When 17-year-old Bjorn Fratangelo of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, beat Dominic Thiem of Austria 3-6 6-3 8-6, he became the first American to win the Roland Garros boys’ singles title since John McEnroe in 1977. Fratangelo and McEnroe are the only two Americans to win the boys’ crown since the Open era began in 1968. Jennifer Capriati was the last American to win the Roland Garros girls’ singles, and that was in 1989. Fratangelo, who was named after tennis legend Bjorn Borg, won the Easter Bowl and USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court Championships last year.

 

STEPPING ASIDE I

 

After having his 43-match winning streak snapped, Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Queen’s Club in London. “I’ve pulled out from Queen’s and I will take a rest before Wimbledon,” he said. The AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club also will be without American Mardy Fish (abdominal injury) and Frenchman Richard Gasquet (leg injury). “I am very disappointed that I will not be playing in the AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club this year,” said Djokovic, who has patellar tendinitis. “It is a great event, I wish the organizers and the fans a fantastic week of tennis and I hope I will be back next year.”

 

STEPPING ASIDE II

 

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the AEGON Classic grass-court tournament in Birmingham, Great Britain. Traditionally, Sharapova used the Birmingham event as her only warm-up tournament before Wimbledon. The 24-year-old Russian, who lost to Li Na in the semifinals at Roland Garros, said she would be unable to play Birmingham because of illness. Also pulling out of the tournament was the other French Open losing semifinalist, Marion Bartoli of France. Bartoli, who played Roland Garros despite being hurt, cited an injury as the reason she will miss Birmingham.

 

SHARED HAPPINESS

 

Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi of Belarus are no strangers to winning double titles in Grand Slam tournaments. It’s just that this time it was their first as a team as they defeated Eduardo Schwank of Argentina and Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4 for the championship. Nestor has now won seven Grand Slam tournament men’s doubles titles, while Mirnyi has five of the big trophies. “We knew on paper we’re capable of playing well together,” Mirnyi said. “Up until you produce a result, you never know.” Cabal and Schwank were playing in their first tournament as a team. Cabal was making his Grand Slam tournament debut and became the first man from Colombia to reach a major final. With a different partner, Schwank reached the semifinals last year at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

 

SHELF-FILLER

 

Andrea Hlavackova can finally take that shelf out from under her bed. She teamed with Lucie Hradecka to win the women’s doubles, the first time since the 1990s that a team from the Czech Republic has been in the Grand Slam tournament winner’s circle. “One year my friends got me a shelf with ‘This is for Grand Slam trophies’ written on it,” Hlavackova said. “I just put it under my bed, like what a silly joke. Today I realized I’ll have something to put on it. It’s great. It’s something I will remember and everybody will remember. I wouldn’t exchange it for anything.” It was the first time the unseeded Czech team had been past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event. The last Czech to win a Grand Slam title of any kind was Jana Novotna, who partnered Switzerland’s Martina Hingis to the doubles title at the 1998 US Open. The last time an all-Czech team won a Grand Slam tournament women’s doubles title came in 1990 when Novotna teamed with Helena Sukova to win Wimbledon.

 

SLIP UP

 

Oops! When Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) made billboard posters to promote the upcoming AEGON International tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, it featured a photo of a sandy beach. It may be pretty, but the beach at Eastbourne is pebbles. “Our tides are very strong and would wash sand right away,” said David Elkin, a Tory member of the city council. “We should make do with what we’ve got instead of airbrushing the stones away.” Kate Alexander, a 24-year-old shop worker, said: “We shouldn’t pretend to be something we’re not. The billboards are completely misleading and unnecessary. Personally I prefer sandy beaches, but it’s silly to pretend we have them in Eastbourne.” A spokesman for the LTA said: “The imagery used in this marketing campaign is intended to be fun, and not an exact representation of the beach at Eastbourne. We wanted to create a buzz around the event and it would appear we have done so.” The tournament is played on grass and is a warm-up event for Wimbledon.

 

SOUND BITES

 

Chris Evert is returning to television where she will work both as a studio analyst as well as calling matches for ESPN at both Wimbledon and the US Open. The 18-time Grand Slam tournament champion retired from tennis in 1989 after winning 157 singles titles, including three at Wimbledon and a record six at the US Open. She also won seven French Open titles and two Australian Open championships. In 1995 she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “I am really excited about working again in tennis as an analyst,” Evert said in a statement. “I’ve been away from TV for 10 years because my priority was raising my three boys, and now that they are older it is the right time to join the exceptional tennis team at ESPN.”

 

STRAIGHT IN

 

James Blake will return to the scene of his first ATP singles title when he joins the field of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, in July. Tournament director Jeff Newman said if Blake’s ranking is not high enough for a direct entry into the event, he will receive a wild card berth. Blake upset top-seeded Andre Agassi in the semifinals in 2002 and went on to win the first of his 10 ATP singles titles. He reached the final again in 2005, losing to Andy Roddick. Others scheduled to be in the strong field include Mardy Fish, Roddick, Sam Querrey, John Isner, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt and rising Canadian star Milos Raonic. Blake was the top-ranked American in 2006 when he reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world. In recent years his career has been slowed by injury.

 

STANDING FOR BOARD

 

Twenty-two people have been nominated for the 13-member International Tennis Federation (ITF) Board of Directors for 2011-2013. The balloting will be held September 23 at the ITF’s annual general meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. On the ballot are Amando Cervone of Argentina, Tarak Cherif of Tunisia, Dong Kil Cho of Korea, Ismail El Shafei of Egypt, Jean Gachassin of France, Lucy Garvin of the United States, Jack Graham of Canada, Naohiro Kawatei of Japan, Anil Khanna of Inida, Chris Kypriotis of Brazil, Suwat Liptapanlop of Thailand, Juan Margets of Spain, Roman Murashkovsky of Russia, Geoff Pollard of Australia, Stuart Smith of Great Britain, Rene Stammbach of Switzerland, Stefan Tzvetkov of Bulgaria, Ayda Uluc of Turkey, Karin van Bijsterveld of the Netherlands, Jon Vegosen of South Africa and Georg von Waldenfels of Germany. El Shafei, Gachassin, Garvin, Graham, Khanna, Kypriotis, Margets, Murashkovsky, Pollard, Smith and von Waldenfels are incumbent board members. The current president, Francesca Ricci Bitti, is the only candidate for his position and was nominated by 11 national associations.

 

SIGNED UP

 

Sam Querrey is returning to the Farmers Classic in July in a bid to win the Los Angeles tournament for the third straight year. Also in the field is 2008 champion Juan Martin del Potro. “To have the champions from our last three years is great for tennis and the Farmers Classic,” said tournament director Bob Kramer. “With Sam’s local ties and vocal fan base here, he always brings a lot of energy to the tournament. Sam and Juan Martin are great champions, and we are eager for them both to return to UCLA.” Last year, Querrey defeated Andy Murray in the final. He is seeking to join Hall of Famers Fred Perry (1932-34) and Don Budge (1935-37) as the only players to three-peat.

 

SET FOR OLYMPICS

 

For the fourth straight Olympics, the ATP will award ranking points for players participating in the London Games. As a result of the agreement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will allow nations to receive up to four entries into the men’s singles and two entries into the men’s doubles, with a maximum number of six men per country on-site. The South African Airways 2012 ATP rankings of June 11, 2012, will be used as the basis for determining the 56 direct entries into the 64-player men’s singles draw, subject to a maximum of four players per country as well as existing eligibility requirements. Six of the remaining eight singles places will be selected by the International Tennis Federation’s Olympic Committee, taking into consideration a player’s singles computer ranking and a geographic distribution of nations entered, as well as two Tripartite Commission Invitations decided by the IOC, National Olympic Committees and the ITF. The tennis competition at the 2012 London Games will be held on the grass courts of Wimbledon.

 

SAD NEWS

 

Pauline Betz Addie, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965, is dead. Addie, who had Parkinson’s disease, was 91 years old. Addie reached the final in six consecutive US National Championships (now the US Open) from 1941 to 1946, winning four times. She won Wimbledon in 1946. Her career was cut short in 1947 when she was declared a professional for merely exploring the possibilities of creating a professional tour. Barred from major competitions, which were amateur only prior to 1968, Addie began touring the country with fellow female pro Gussie Moran and top male stars including Jack Kramer and Bobby Riggs. She won seven women’s professional championships. Addie was the widow of Bob Addie, a sportswriter for the former Washington Times-Herald, which later became The Washington Post.

 

SCHOOL FUND

 

Andre Agassi and a real estate investment firm have teamed up to form an investment fund to finance charter school buildings in a bid to spur the growth of independent public education. The fund, called the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, plans to finance up to USD $750 million worth of new school construction or remodeling of buildings to accommodate schools in low-income, urban communities across the country. Investors in the fund include Intel Capital, Citigroup and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Charters are publicly funded schools, but are operated autonomously from a local school district and can’t access public financing mechanisms, such as bond issues, to construct buildings. Agassi, who operates an award-winning charter school in a poor area of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, has long been a champion of charter school education. The Canyon-Agassi fund will use investors’ money to build schools and lease them to charter organizations, which will later have an option to buy the buildings through low-interest, tax-exempt loans once the school becomes stabilized. The fund aims to finance construction of 75 schools, with the first slated to open in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, this fall.

 

SHARED SUCCESS

 

Prostejov: Sergei Bubka and Adrian Menedez-Maceiras beat David Marrero and Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 7-5 6-2

 

SURFING

Halle: www.gerryweber-open.com/?ref=atp

Copenhagen: http://e-bokssonyericssonopen.dk/

London: www.lta.org.uk/fans-major-events/AEGON-British-Tennis-Series/AEGON-Championships/

Birmingham: www.lta.org.uk/fans-major-events/AEGON-British-Tennis-Series/AEGON-Classic/

Den Bosch: www.unicefopen.nl/

Eastbourne: www.lta.org.uk/fans-major-events/AEGON-British-Tennis-Series/AEGON-International/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com/en/home.aspx

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

(All money in USD)

 

MEN

 

$946,840 Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany, grass

$895,414 AEGON Championships, London, Great Britain, grass

 

WOMEN

 

$220,000 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open, Copenhagen, Denmark, hard

$220,000 AEGON Classic, Birmingham, Great Britain, grass

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

 

$595,000 AEGON International, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass

$577,000 UNICEF Open, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, grass

 

WOMEN

 

$618,000 AEGON International, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass

$220,000 UNICEF Open, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, grass

 

DAVIS CUP

 

Americas Zone, Group III, at Santa Cruz, Bolivia (clay): Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica

 

Asia/Oceania Zone, Group III, at Colombo, Sri Lanka (clay): Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Oman, Sri Lanka, UAE, Vietnam

 

Americas Zone, Group IV, at Santa Cruz, Bolivia (clay): Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, US Virgin Islands

 

Mondays with Bob Greene: Srjdan Djokovic Praises Serbian Starlets

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STARS

Bojana Jovanovski beat Nina Bratchikova 6-4 6-2 to win the $25,000 NECC ITF Women’s tournament in Pune, India

SAYINGS

“I am thrilled that I can return to the game and compete in the sport about which I am truly passionate.” – Wayne Odesnik, after the International Tennis Federation cut his two-year ban for a doping offense in half, allowing Odesnik to begin playing again immediately.

“He’s a good player on enhanced substances. Let’s see if he can be a good player without them.” – Mardy Fish, upset over the ITF cutting Wayne Odesnik’s two-year ban in half.

“These four guys (Viktor Troicki, Jano Tipsarevic, Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic), together with representatives of the women’s game – Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic – have reached these heights owing to the help of their parents and families and with no help from Serbian tennis officials.” – Srdjan Djokovic, Novak’s father, calling for changes in the Serbian Tennis Federation, including a new president.

“This is a special match to me that I’ll remember forever.” – Roger Federer, after beating Rafael Nadal in an exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland, that raised money for the Roger Federer Foundation.

“I am lucky enough to be able to do what I love to do, which is to play tennis, but at the same time, through my foundation, I get the opportunity to help hundreds of kids who are not as lucky.” – Rafael Nadal, after beating Roger Federer in an exhibition in Madrid, Spain, that raised money for the Fundacion Rafael Nadal.

Serbia tennis

SERBIAN DELIGHT

Top-seeded Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia captured her first International Tennis Federation (ITF) title by defeating Nina Bratchikova of Russia 6-4 6-4 in the Indian city of Pune. Jovanovski reached her second straight final, having lost to Sania Mirza in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a week ago. In Pune, Jovanovski was solid from the baseline throughout the NECC women’s ITF tournament, striking the ball with tremendous power and maintaining good depth. One of her toughest matches came early in the week when she stopped Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia 7-6 (3) 6-4, then beat Anna Shkudun of Ukraine 6-2 6-3 in the semifinals.

SWITCH

Pakistan’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Hong Kong has been moved to Hong Kong because of security problems. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to move the competition after a security official visited Pakistan and submitted a negative report on the security arrangements in the country. It will be the fourth straight year that Pakistan has been unable to hold matches at home because of fears for players’ safety.

STRANGE MOVE

Wayne Odesnik has been given the green light to play tennis again, much to the dismay of Mardy Fish. The International Tennis Association (ITF) had banned Odesnik for two years after he pleaded guilty to importing human growth hormones into Australia. But the ITF waived the second year of the ban because Odesnik had cooperated with anti-doping authorities. Fish called the ITF’s decision “a black eye for all of sport, not just tennis. He’s a good player on enhanced substances. Let’s see if he can be a good player without them.” Since the ban began on December 29, 2009, Odesnik can begin competing on December 29, 2010. Odesnik reached a career high of 77th in the world in 2009, the same year he reached his only ATP Tour final at Houston. His best results have been on clay, including a third-round showing at the French Open in 2008. Last January he was arrested when customs officials found eight vials, each containing 6 milligrams of HGH, in his baggage as he arrived in Australia to play the Australian Open warm-up event in Brisbane. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty in March and was fined more than USD $7,280.

SMASHING PERFORMANCE

The GCC Cup Tennis Championships in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, was open to women for the first time. Fatma Al Nabhani of Oman took advantage of the chance and won two titles. Al Nabhani beat the UAE’s Fatima Jannahi 6-2, 6-1, and then teamed with her opponent to win the doubles, crushing a Kuwaiti pair of Sarra Bahbahani and A S Sil Al Kandhari 6-0, 6-1.  “We are happy to have organized this tournament,” said Tennis Emirates technical director Slah Bramly. “Considering that eight women players turned up for first-ever tournament for women was a very positive sign. We hope to make it bigger and better in the coming years and make it a regular event in the calendar.” Kuwait’s Mohamed Al Ghareeb won the men’s singles, besting Omar Bahrouzian of the UAE 7-6, 6-4.

STARTING IT OFF

Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik will be the first to take the court as they lead Australia against third-seeded Belgium in the opening match of the 2011 Hyundai Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. The team event begins on New Year’s Day, with Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans playing for Belgium. Eight teams are divided into two groups, with Australia competing in Group A along with Belgium, Kazakhstan and top-seeded Serbia, who will field Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic. Second-seeded Great Britain, with Andy Murray and Laura Robson, will be in Group B along with fourth-seeded Italy, France and the United States.

SWAP FOR A CAUSE

The world’s top two players – Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – teamed up for two “Match for Africa” exhibition contests to raise money for their charities. Probably as expected, Federer won the match played in Zurich, Switzerland, his home, while Nadal came out on top the next night when the two played in Madrid, Spain. What was unique was the fact that Federer showed up at the Zurich airport to chauffeur Nadal to his hotel and then treated treat the world’s top-ranked player to lunch. He even gave Nadal a 90-minute tour of Zurich. Playing in front of his home fans at the Caja Magica in Madrid, Nadal won a first-set tiebreak en route to a three-set victory.

SETS DATE

Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta are planning to marry in February. Appearing on Karan Johar’s “Koffee With Karan” show together, reportedly answered a question by saying they will wed in February 2011 and that their families are “in the process of fixing the date.” According to an unnamed source, the couple also talked opening about their past marriages. Both have recently been divorced.

STRAIGHT IN

Jelena Dokic and Peter Luczak both lost in the final of the wild-card playoffs, but they will be in the main draws of the Australian Open anyway. Both were awarded wild-card entries into the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. In the playoffs, Dokic lost to Olivia Rogowska in a three-set, rain-interrupted match, while Luczak was beaten by Marinko Matosevic.

SAYONARA

Carlos Moya went out a winner. In an emotional farewell to the men’s tennis tour, the 34-year-old Spaniard beat Guillermo Canas in an exhibition match in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the same venue where he won his first professional title in 1995. The former world number one ended his 15-year career in November, but has vowed to stay in the sport in some capacity. Moya won 20 titles in his career, including the French Open in 1998.

SWEPT INTO OFFICE

Edwin Olivarez has been unanimously elected as president of the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta). Olivarez, whose family has long been associated with tennis, will assume his post starting in January. Also elected were Ajay Pathak as vice president for juniors and grassroots; Randy Villanueva as vice president for elite men/women and Davis Cup administrator officer in charge; Romeo Magat as secretary general, and Edna Olivarez-Nguyen, Edwin’s sister, as treasurer.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Pune: Nina Bratchikova and Alexandra Panova beat Sachie Ishizu and Anna Shkudun 6-3 7-6 (2)

SITES TO SURF

Brisbane: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/

Chennai: www.aircelchennaiopen.org/2011/

Doha: www.qatartennis.org/

Auckland: www.asbclassic.co.nz/

Perth: http://hopmancup.com

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$1,024,000 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Dubai, Qatar, hard

$398,250 Aircel Chennai Open, Chennai, India, hard

$372,500 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard

$100,000 Sao Paulo, Brazil, hard

WOMEN

$220,000 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard

$220,000 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard

MEN AND WOMEN

Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia

Mondays with Bob Greene: Caroline Wozniacki and Rafael Nadal are the ITF World Champions of 2010

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STARS

Sania Mirza beat Bojana Jovanovski 4-6 6-3 6-0 to win the $75,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ryan Harrison beat Jack Sock 7-6 (3) 6-2 6-7 (4) 6-4 to win the men’s USTA Australian Open wild-card playoffs in Norcross, Georgia, USA

Lauren Davis beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-2 6-2 to win the women’s USTA Australian Open wild-card playoffs in Norcross, Georgia, USA

Olivia Rogowska beat Jelena Dokic to win the Australian Open wild-card playoff in Perth, Australia

Shingo Kunieda beat Satoshi Saida 6-3 6-3 to win the men’s singles at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China

Sakhorn Khanthasit beat Dong Fuli 6-4 1-6 7-5 to win the women’s singles at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China

SAYINGS

“After having a not so good start to the year, I am happy to be finishing on a high. This has been a dream end for my season.” – Sania Mirza, after winning the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai.

“She was amazing in the third set. I had no answer to anything that she sent across.” – Bojana Jovanovski, after losing to Sania Mirza in the final of the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“I have also been very touched by all the messages of support I have received over the past few days, and want to thank Laureus Academy chairman Edwin Moses in particular for making a very early morning call from Atlanta … to wish me well. It was great to chat to him, although I did joke that perhaps I have gone above and beyond the call of duty for Laureus on this occasion!” – Martina Navratilova, who was hospitalized after developing a serious illness while attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“When you lose a lot of people make a lot of drama about it. You must understand that there are a lot of talented young players out there.” – Roger Federer, about his play this year.

“We couldn’t take the financial risk, the gap in our budget was simply too large.” Dietloff van Arnim, tournament director of the World Team Cup, explaining why the eight-team event was pulling out of Dusseldorf, Germany, and possibly might not be played again.

“It is an honor to be named ITF World Champion for the second time. After a difficult year in 2009, it was an amazing feeling to regain the number one ranking and finally win the US Open. My goal all the time is to keep improving and be a better player each year than I was the previous year.” – Rafael Nadal.

Sania Mirza

“What an honor it is to be named ITF World Champion. To be listed with all the former ITF World Champions is something I am really proud of. I had a great year in 2010 and I’m training hard to have an even better year in 2011. I’m already looking forward to the ceremony in Paris.” – Caroline Wozniacki.

“This has been another memorable year for tennis, culminating in Serbia’s triumph in the Davis Cup Final. Rafael Nadal has proved himself to be one of the greatest competitors in the sport’s history, while Caroline Wozniacki has shown a strong determination and continuous commitment to the game to earn the women’s number one ranking at such a young age.” – Francesco Ricci Bitti, International Tennis Federation president.

SPOTLIGHT FOR CHAMPIONS

Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki are the ITF World Champions for 2010. Nadal, who won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year, won the International Tennis Federation award for the second time. Wozniacki won six tournaments and took over the women’s number one ranking. In doubles, American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan won the men’s award, while Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy captured the women’s title.

Nadal became only the seventh man in history to win a career Grand Slam after winning the US Open in September. He earlier in the year captured Roland Garros for the fifth time and his second Wimbledon title, regaining the year-end number one ranking from Roger Federer. Since he also has an Olympic gold medal and two Davis Cup titles, the 24-year-old Spaniard has won all of tennis’ major prizes.

Wozniacki is the fourth-youngest woman to earn the year-end number one ranking, behind Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf. The 20-year-old is the first World Champion from Denmark since Kristian Pless was named Boys World Champion in 1999.

Youth Olympic champions Juan Sebastian Gomez of Colombia and Daria Gavrilova of Russia are the 2010 ITF Junior World Champions, while the ITF Wheelchair World Champions are Esther Vergeer of the Netherlands and Japan’s Shingo Kunieda. Vergeer has won the title for 11 consecutive years.

The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner on May 31 in Paris, France, during Roland Garros.

SHAHAR THE TARGET

Protesters are planning to show up at next month’s ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, even though the object of their wrath won’t be there. Organizers say Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer is actually entered in the Brisbane International, which is being played at the same time as the Auckland event. But the protest group believes she will turn up in New Zeeland. Peer has drawn protests in the past because of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.

SUCCESSFUL

Ryan Harrison and Lauren Davis have landed berths in the Australian Open. The two youngsters won the USTA Australian Open wild-cards with victories in Norcross, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. Harrison edged Jack Sock in a battle of 18-year-olds, 7-6 (3) 6-2 6-7 (4) 6-4 to grab the Australian Open wild card for the second straight year. Davis, a 17-year-old from Gates Mills, Ohio, downed 19-year-old Coco Vandeweghe 6-2, 6-2 to earn her wild card berth to the first major of 2011. The victory by Davis ran his winning streak to 27 consecutive matches and 36 of her last 37. She has won two ITF Futures events, the Eddie Herr Junior Championships and the recent Dunlop Junior Orange Bowl.

SHOCKER

Teenager Olivia Rogowska shocked overwhelming favorite Jelena Dokic to win the Australian Open wild-card playoff in Perth, Australia. Dokic, who once was ranked as high as fourth in the world, led 6-1 3-1 before Rogowska rallied to win the rain-interrupted final 1-6 7-6 (3) 6-3. Last year it was Rogowska who was the top seed in the play-offs. In that final, Rogowska led Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 4-0 only to lose the match. “’The exact same situation happened to me last year, but vice versa, so I was really pleased to be able to close out the match and be champion this year,” Rogowska said. Dokic has already received a wild card into the Brisbane International and is likely to be granted a similar invitation to return to Melbourne Park for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

SERBIAN TURMOIL

Novak Djokovic is supporting his father’s initiative to change the Serbian Tennis Federation leadership and oust its president, Slobodan Zivojinovic. “I’m really sorry that the situation is almost out of control, but changes are inevitable,” the third-ranked Djokovic said. “The tennis association needs new people in order to finally build a national tennis center and provide better conditions for young talents to progress.” Djokovic’s father and Zivojinovic clashed immediately after Serbia won its first Davis Cup title by beating France 3-2 in Belgrade, Serbia.

STOPPED

Martina Navratilova was hospitalized in Nairobi, Kenya, after developing a serious illness while attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The tennis great was rushed to the hospital after developing high altitude pulmonary edema. She was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in an attempt to raise money and awareness of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

SWITCHED

The men’s tennis tournament that was held in New Haven, Connecticut, has moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The newly named Winston-Salem Open will be held at Wake Forest University in a new tennis facility that has yet to be constructed. The tournament, scheduled for August 22-27, will have a field of 48 players competing for a total purse of USD $625,000. Local corporate sponsors of the ATP Tour event include BB&T Bank, Hanesbrands and the Flow Cos. The tournament will be the final warm-up event for the US Open.

SPONSOR-LESS

The World Team Cup has pulled out of Dusseldorf, Germany, and might not be played again. The eight-team men’s event was canceled after the ARAG insurance group withdrew its sponsorship and tournament organizers were unable to find another sponsor. The event has been played since 1978. It was held a week before Roland Garros and was considered a major warm-up event for the French Open.

STOLEN MEMENTOS

Police say three scrapbooks and a trophy belonging to retired tennis star Pete Sampras that were stolen from a West Los Angeles, California, storage facility have been recovered. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said a member of the public found the items in Griffith Park and contacted police. Close to 100 trophies and awards were stolen from Sampras’ storage area, including an Olympic ring and his first Australian Open trophy. The tennis great said the memorabilia was not insured because it was impossible to assess its value.

STOPGAP MEASURE?

Ana Ivanovic has a coach – for now, anyway. The Serbian hired Antonio van Grichen of Portugal on a trial basis through at least the Australian hard-court season. She had been working with Heinz Gunthardt, but he did not want to travel fulltime, so they ended their relationship in the fall. Once ranked number one in the world, Ivanovic has worked with Craig Kardon, Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill and Mats Merkel. Working with Gunthardt, Ivanovic ended this year ranked 17th in the world. Van Grichen coached Victoria Azarenka to number six in the world and also worked briefly with Vera Zvonareva, Sorana Cirstea and Alize Cornet.

SLUGFEST, PERHAPS

Tennis Australia says it won’t tolerate any anti-social behavior from players, parents or anyone involved in tennis, and all breaches will be punished harshly. The warning came a brawl erupted at a junior tournament at Melbourne Park, site of the Australian Open, in which a 51-year-old man was arrested for assault and a 48-year-old man was taken to a hospital with facial injuries. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said he was appalled by the fight and he wants to send a very clear message that there are certain standards and that they must be adhered to.

SITES FOR CUP

Defending champion Serbia will host India at Novi Sad, Serbia, in their first-round Davis Cup tie  March 4-6.  France, which lost to Serbia in the 2010 final, will travel to Austria for its first-round battle. Other 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first-round matches will have Sweden vs. Russia in Boras, Sweden; the Czech Republic vs. Kazakhstan in Ostrava, Czech Republic; Argentina vs. Romania in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Chile vs. the United States, in Santiago, Chile; Belgium vs. Spain in Charleroi, Belgium; and Croatia vs. Germany, in Zagreb, Croatia.

SAY IT QUICKLY

The broadcast announcers were probably breathing a sigh of relief when Konstantina Papoikonomou of Greece and Thailand’s Nicha Lertpitaksinchai withdrew from the USD $10,000 JSM Christmas Open, which is being played this week in Gimcheon, Korea. Top-seeded in the indoor hard court tournament is Na Ri Kim of Korea, who is ranked 322nd in the world. Kun-Hee Kim is the second-highest ranked player in the field at number 375. The tournament is scheduled to wind up on December 26.

STAN THE MAN

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka has a wild card entry into the Aircel Chennai Open. Last year, Wawrinka reached the final in Chennai, India, tournament, losing to Croatia’s Marin Cilic. “I am grateful to the organizers at Aircel Chennai Open for providing me the opportunity to compete in this event,” said Wawrinka, who is ranked 21st in the world. Others in the draw include Cilic, Tomas Berdych and Janko Tipsarevic.

STILL WINNING

Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and Sakhorn Khanthasit of Thailand won the singles titles at the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China. Ranked number one in the world, Kunieda beat his compatriot Satoshi Saida to win the men’s wheelchair singles 6-3 6-3 to end the year with just one loss. The two finalists teamed to win the doubles, stopping Korea’s Ha-Gel Lee and Sang-Ho Oh in the title match.

Khanthasit also won gold in both singles and doubles. In the singles final, she bested China’s Dong Fuli 6-4 1-6 7-5, denying Dong the gold medal in what is expected to be the Chinese player’s last major tournament. Khanthasit teamed with Ratana Techamaneewat to capture the doubles gold.

SMILING FLIGHT

The new face of Turkish Airlines Business Class is from Denmark. Caroline Wozniacki will represent Turkish Airlines on commercials and public relations activities for three years. The 20-year-old Wozniacki was recently named world champion by the International Tennis Federation.

STARRING SANIA

India’s top female player captured her first tournament title in 17 months when Sania Mirza defeated Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski 4-6 6-3 6-0 in the final of the USD $75,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge. Once ranked as high as 27th in the world, the 24-year-old Mirza entered the Dubai, United Arab Emirates, tournament at number 164. The victory gives Mirza 110 ranking points, which should help her climb some 25 slots in this week’s rankings.

SWITCH TO YOUTH

Great Britain is turning to its younger players in a bid to reach the Fed Cup World Group II playoffs in April. British Fed Cup captain Nigel Sears said 18-year-old Heather Watson and 16-year-old Laura Robson will team up with Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong when Great Britain takes on Israel in a Europe/Africa Zone Group I battle in late January. Watson is the 2009 US Open junior girls’ champion, while Robson won the junior Wimbledon tournament in 2008.

SUCCEEDS HOWORTH

Peter Bretherton has been elected president of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), where he succeeds Derek Howorth. Bretherton previously was deputy president of the British organization. Cathie Sabin was elected deputy president, the first woman to hold that position.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Dubai: Julia Goerges and Petra Martic beat Sania Mirza and Vladimira Uhlirova 6-4 7-6 (7)

Guangzhou (men): Shingo Kunieda and Satoshi Saida (Japan) beat Ha-Gel Lee and Sang-Ho Oh (Korea) 6-0 6-2

Guangzhou (women): Sakhorn Khanthasit and Ratana Techamaneewat (Thailand) beat Kanako Domori and Yuko Okabe (Japan) 63 6-3

SITES TO SURF

Pune: www.aitatennis.com

ITF: www.itftennis.com

Brisbane: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/

Chennai: www.aircelchennaiopen.org/2011/

Doha: www.qatartennis.org/

Auckland: www.asbclassic.co.nz/

Mondays with Bob Greene: Rafael Nadal is the Best Player in the World Right Now Says Roger Federer

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STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Gael Monfils 6-1 7-5 to win the men’s singles at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan

Adrian Mannarino beat Steve Darcis 7-5 6-2 to win the Ethias Trophy in Mons, Belgium

Petra Cetkovska beat Mathilde Johansson 6-1 6-3 to win the ITF women’s tournament in Jounieh, Lebanon

Ayumi Morita beat Jill Craybas 6-3 7-5 to win the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships women’s singles in Tokyo, Japan

Commonwealth Games

Men’s Singles: Somdev Devvarman beat Greg Jones 6-4 6-2

Women’s Singles: Anastasia Rodionova beat Sania Mirza 6-3 2-6 7-6 (3)

Men’s Doubles: Paul. Hanley and Peter Luczak beat Ross Hutchins and Ken Skupski 6-4 3-6 6-3

Women’s Doubles: Anastasia Rodionova and Sally Peers beat Olivia Rogowska and Jessica Moore 6-2 2-6 6-3

Mixed Doubles: Jocelyn Rae and Colikn Fleming beat Anastasia Rodionova and Paul Hanley 7-6 (7) 6-7 (2) 6-2

SAYINGS

“I won a lot this year, but I have to appreciate how difficult it is and how much hard work you have to do. I improved a lot my serve and it is a big thing on a surface as quick as here in Tokyo.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning in Japan.

“He (Rafael Nadal) is the best player in the world right now. He’s won the last three Grand Slams so he completely deserves to be at world number one. I’m a strong believer that when I’m at my best I can beat anyone, I can even dominate anyone. But there’s many guys around that play really, really well, and Rafa, being the number one guy, is a tough guy to beat.” – Roger Federer, on the state of his game.

“I don’t have the capacity to aim for a place in the top 100, To play to be 200th in the world rankings doesn’t interest me.” – Christophe Rochus, announcing he will retire at the end of this year.

“The numbers have been great for us this year. To win our 10th title on 10/10/10 (October 10, 2010) is pretty crazy, too! I was aware of that before the match. It feels awesome and hopefully we can keep the momentum going through the rest of the year.” – Bob Bryan, after he and brother Mike won the title in Beijing, China.

“2010 has been a dream year, 10 titles so far. I don’t think we’ve ever had 10 at this mark. We’re 10-0 in finals. We’ve never been perfect, so we’re really happy.” – Mike Bryan.

“I’m very proud of becoming number one in the world. It’s always been a dream for me to achieve the number one ranking and today is a great day for me.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after surpassing Serena Williams in the WTA Tour rankings as number one in the world.

“I really enjoy playing with Eric. I know it is not easy to put up with me.” – Jean-Julien Rojer, who teamed with Eric Butorac to win the men’s doubles in Tokyo.

SPLASHING IN THE RAIN

Rain in Beijing has pushed back the two China Open singles finals until Monday. Caroline Wozniacki, who will officially become number one in the world when the weekly rankings are released Monday, will play second-seeded Vera Zvonareva in the women’s final after Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer complete their men’s title match. Djokovic led 3-1 on Sunday when rain washed out play for the remainder of the day.

SPARKLING DANE

Caroline Wozniacki is the 20th player in WTA Tour history to climb to the top of the rankings. By reaching the quarterfinals at the China Open in Beijing, Wozniacki was assured of surpassing Serena Williams as number one when the weekly rankings were released on Monday. The 20-year-old is the first Danish player – man or woman – to earn the world number one ranking and the seventh youngest in WTA Tour history. Williams had held the number one ranking since November 2, 2009, but because of an injured foot has not played since winning Wimbledon in July.

SERENA OUT FOR YEAR

Serena Williams is only the latest player to say their season is over. “After practicing yesterday morning I felt discomfort in my foot and tests by my doctor revealed that I had unfortunately re-strained it as a result of over-training. I am likely out for the year now,” Williams said in a statement on her website. “I was really looking forward to beginning my comeback in Linz, followed by the year-end Championships in Doha. I feel completely heartbroken and devastated, but knowing I will never be given more than I can handle, I plan on coming back stronger and better.” Williams has been sidelined since cutting her foot on a broken glass in July. She later had surgery on her foot and has not seen action since winning Wimbledon. Williams has played only six tournaments this year, but that includes the Australian Open in January.

SAFINA’S SEASON OVER

The back problems have become just too much for Dinara Safina. After suffering a first-round loss to Vera Zvonareva in Beijing, Safina decided to stop playing in 2010. “My back injury is acting up again and I’ve decided not to play any more tournaments the rest of the season,” she said. “It has been the worst year of my career mainly because of my injury that has kept me away from several tournaments and kept me from playing my game of tennis.” Her back forced Safina off the tour for three months after the Australian Open, and she has been struggling since returning to the WTA Tour at the beginning of the clay court season.

SVETLANA STOPPED

Svetlana Kuznetsova will be at home when the WTA Tour makes it stop in Moscow – really at home. Writing on her Twitter account, Kuznetsova said “my health issues won’t allow me to play in my home country tournament in Moscow! I have to end this difficult season now and recover.” The Russian said she became ill and was bedridden just before she began her Far Eastern swing in Tokyo, Japan, and Beijing, China. “I got sick,” she was quoted as saying on the WTA website. “From Sunday to Saturday, one week, I wasn’t home, I didn’t go out, I didn’t do any fitness. I was in bed. I didn’t have time, but that’s how it is.”

Rafael Nadal

SMASH HITS

The big hitters will be on hand for the annual WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO charity night in Washington, DC. The November 15 events will feature Steffi Graf, Anna Kournikova, Andre Agassi, James Blake and Martina Navratilova. And that doesn’t include the two captains – Elton John and Billie Jean King. The two teams will play five sets of World TeamTennis and John will participate in a celebrity doubles match. In its 18th year, WTT Smash Hits has raised more than USD $9.6 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and various local AIDS charities since 1993. The District of Columbia suffers the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the United States and an HIV infection rate 12 times the national average.

SEEING AN OLD FRIEND

Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva complete the field for the season-ending WTA Championships-Doha 2010. For the third year in a row, the tournament will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar. The event will be held October 26-31. Besides Jankovic and Dementieva, others in the elite eight-player singles field are Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone. The world’s top four doubles team will also compete for the coveted WTA Championships title. The teams are composed of Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, and Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova.

STAYING HOME

Venus Williams will not be playing in the WTA Tour Championships this year. In fact, the 30-year-old won’t be playing anywhere the rest of this year because of a lingering left knee injury. “I have been getting treatment and therapy on my knee and have been making progress, but unfortunately must continue to keep weight off my knee for the short term and won’t be ready to return to competition in 2010,” Williams told The Associated Press in a statement. “I am looking forward to returning to full health in time for the start of the 2011 season, and hopefully having the opportunity to play in both the Fed Cup and WTA Championships next year.” Williams last played in the semifinals of the US Open, where she lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. She was recently seen on crutches in Los Angeles.

STANDING UP FOR CHARITY

Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten and American Andre Agassi will battle for charity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 11. The match will celebrate the 10th anniversary victory by Kuerten over Agassi at the Masters Cup in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2000. That win boosted Kuerten into the number one spot in the world rankings. In their head-to-head meetings on the ATP Tour, Agassi holds a 7-4 lead.

SMASHING RETURN

Having fully recovered from her elbow injury, Justine Henin will return to the sport on December 9 when she takes on fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in an exhibition match in Antwerp. The 28-year-old Henin hasn’t played in a tournament since injuring her elbow in a fall at Wimbledon. She says she returned to training two weeks ago. “I’ve played eight times in two weeks without pain,” Henin said. “It’s very positive, the doubts have faded away.” Henin also is scheduled to compete in the Hopman Cup in Australia in January. She had returned to competition this past January after an 18-month retirement.

SANIA TOPPER

Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova proved her top seeding when she won the women’s singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, edging India’s Sania Mirza 6-3 2-6 7-6 (3). Australia also won the bronze medal as Sally Peers beat fellow Australian Olivia Rogowska 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-3.

SERVING

India’s Leander Paes will serve as Goodwill Ambassador and international spokesperson for the Cambodian Tennis Federation’s project, “Killing Fields to Tennis Courts.” The foundation is trying to clear areas planted with landmines by the former Khmer Rouge regime. Once the areas are cleaned of all danger, modified tennis courts will be built and the foundation will begin tennis programs for the disabled with prosthetic limbs along with wheelchair tennis. “What attracted me to this foundation is that I can help bring land mind awareness to the tennis industry,” Paes said. “Though the genocide in Cambodia has been over for many years, the results of millions of landmines planted by the Khmer Rouge continue to be an everyday danger for the Cambodian people. And for those victims of landmines, it is now my mission to share this great sport of tennis with them. Through tennis I can hopefully inspire children and coaches to dare to dream, and that through hard work and persistence you can overcome many of life’s obstacles.”

SAID WHAT?

Ilie Nastase is being investigated by Romanian authorities for making “potentially discriminatory and racist” remarks about the country’s Roma minority. The National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) is looking into comments published in the newspaper ProSport in which Nastase reportedly said if he were Romania’s president he would “send the gypsies (Roma) to Harghita,” referring to an area in central Romania where the majority of people are of Hungarian origin. “That would modify the ethnic composition of the region,” Nastase is quoted as saying. One of the world’s top players in the 1970s, Nastase is not new to controversy. He reportedly badly injured a woman journalist as she used her mobile telephone to take a picture of him in the street.

SHE’S OUT

Agnieszka Radwanska says she is not only through for the year because of a stress fracture in her foot, but she may not be ready for the Australian Open in late January. “I’m done for this year with a very serious injury, a stress fracture,” Radwanska said. “It’s a complicated injury and there’s some chance it won’t be healed in time for Australia. I just realized how serious the injury was just before I came to Asia to play in Tokyo and Beijing.”

SAYONARA

Christophe Rochus is hanging up his racquets. In the next to last tournament of his career, Rochus was given a wild-card entry into the Ethias Trophy in Mons, Belgium, but lost in the opening round to fellow Belgian Steve Darcis 6-4 2-6 7-6 (0). The 5-7 (170m) Rochus, who has not won a match in 2010, going 0-11, said his final tournament will be an ATP Tour event in Valencia, Spain.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH

Next January’s Australian Open will offer a record USD $24 million in prize money, an increase of 3.8 percent over this year’s purse. The year’s first Grand Slam tournament will see Rafael Nadal seek a fourth straight major title. The men’s and women’s winners in Melbourne will each pocket USD $2.1 million. Nadal and Kim Clijsters each earned USD $1.7 million for their US Open victories last month. The tournament organizers also announced a 10-year extension of their TV rights deal with sports network ESPN covering North and South America.

SURPRISE

When the smog had parted and the dust settled, Chuang Chia-Jung and Olga Govortsova were the surprise doubles champions of the China Open. Winning their first title together, Chuang and Govortsova knocked off the top-seeded team of Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the final, 7-6 (2) 1-6 10-7 (match tiebreak). During the week, the winners also upset the number two seeds, Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, and the number four seeds, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova – three of the four teams that have qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, Qatar. Before Beijing, the team of Chuang and Govortsova had never been past the quarterfinals in any tournament. They trailed 6-4 in the match tiebreak before rallying to win six of the next seven points. “Because it’s in China it’s very special to me,” said Chuang, who is from Taiwan. “We played aggressively and that was the key today.”

SET FOR LONDON

Novak Djokovic has grabbed a spot in the season-ending 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which will be held in London November 21-28. Besides reaching the final at the US Open, Djokovic clinched his spot in the elite field by advancing to the final of the China Open in Beijing. The Serb, who won the event in 2008, has reached the quarterfinals or better at each of the year’s four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as capturing his 17th career title in Dubai in February. Djokovic is the third player to qualify for the event, joining Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

STOPPED CONDO BID

The famed 87-year-old horseshoe stadium at New York’s West Side Tennis Club will not be turned into condominiums, at least not right now. In a vote by members, the club decided not to sell the stadium, where the US Open was played from 1923 through 1977, to a real estate developer who planned to tear down the structure and build condos. The club is expected to restart the process and search for another buyer. Estimates are that approximately USD $12 million would be needed to refurbish the stadium, money the club does not have. The Wall Street Journal reported that a club newsletter to members last year said that revenues from dues covered “less than 50 percent of the operating expenses of the club.” The last time a tennis tournament was played in the stadium with fans in the stands was in 1990.

SURGERY

Juan Carlos Ferrero will be out the remainder of this year after undergoing surgery on his left knee and right wrist. Once ranked number one in the world, Ferrero was told he would need around two months to return to playing condition, causing him to miss the Valencia Open, an ATP World Tour event of which he is part owner. Currently ranked 26th in the world, Ferrero compiled a 33-14 record this season, including a period where he won 14 consecutive matches, capturing titles at Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires before losing to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the Acapulco final.

SUITABLE FOR COVER

Dutch wheelchair tennis star Esther Vergeer has posed nude for the front cover of ESPN The Magazine’s second annual Body Issue. Vergeer is a five-time Paralympic gold medalist, 16-time Grand Slam tournament winner and currently on an unprecedented winning streak of 396 consecutive matches. She is pictured naked in her wheelchair holding a tennis racquet across her body. Gary Belsky, editor of ESPN The Magazine, said the issue is meant to be a study and celebration of athletes’ bodies, not simply an excuse to see them naked. Other sports stars featured on the cover include Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks, PGA golf pro Camilo Villegas, Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi and the USA women’s water polo team. Vergeer is the first wheelchair athlete and the first Paralympian to be featured as a cover model.

SCARE IN CHINA

Playing her first match as the world’s top-ranked women’s player, Caroline Wozniacki suffered an injury scare in her quarterfinal victory over Ana Ivanovic in Beijing’s China Open. The 20-year-old Wozniacki tearfully crumpled to the ground clutching her left knee while leading Ivanovic 7-6 (1) 3-1. After taking an injury time out to get her knee strapped, the Dane completed her 7-6 (1) 6-4 victory. “I felt pain when I jumped down on my knee,” Wozniacki said. “Not very nice thoughts went through my mind. It was a bit of a scare. But I have had treatment and it feels better.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Beijing (men): Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-1 7-6 (5)

Beijing (women): Chuang Chia-Jung and Olga Govortsova beat Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (2) 1-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Jounieh: Petra Cetkovska and Renata Voracova beat Eva Birnerova and Andreja Klepac 7-5 6-2

Mons: Filip Polasek and Igor Zelenay beat Ruben Bemelmans and Yannick Mertens 3-6 6-4 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Tokyo (men): Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer beat Andreas Seppi and Dmitry Tursunov 6-3 6-2

Tokyo (women): Jill Craybas and Tamarine Tanasugarn beat Urszula Radwanska and Olga Savchuk 6-3 6-1

SITES TO SURF

Shanghai: www.shanghairolexmasters.com

Tashkent: www.tennis.uz/

Linz: www.generali-ladies.at/

Osaka: www.hp-open.jp/

Torout: www.koddaertladiesopen.be/

Moscow: www.kremlincup.ru/

Stockholm: www.ifstockholmopen.se/

Luxembourg: www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/fr/home.php

Orleans: www.opendorleans.com/v2/

Chengdu: www.chengduchampions.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$3,240,000 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Shanghai, China, hard

$125,000 Tashkent Challenge, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard

WTA

$220,000 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria, hard

$220,000 HP Open, Osaka, Japan, hard

$100,000 Koddaert Ladies Open, Torhout, Belgium, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$1,080,500 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$713,000 If Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, hard

$125,000 Seoul Challenger, Seoul, Korea, hard

$106,500 Open d’Orleans, Orleans, France, hard

$100,000 ATP Challenger Santiago, Santiago, Chile, clay

WTA

$1,000,000 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$220,000 BGL Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, hard

SENIORS

The Chengdu Open, Chengdu, China