Nadal and Federer to play in Qatar

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are set to open up their 2009 season by playing at the Qatar Open. 

Qatar Tennis Federation president Nasser al-Kholiafi also confirmed that Andy Murray and Andy Roddick will also take part in the hard-court tournament which starts on January 5th. The tournament in Doha is one of three to start the 2009 season, along with the Brisbane International in Australia and the Chennai Open in India.

Connors arrested at basketball game

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors has been charged with a misdemeanor for an altercation last week before a basketball game between UC Santa Barbara and top ranked North Carolina.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion was charged on Wednesday in Santa Barbara Superior Court with disrupting campus activities and refusing to leave a university facility.

His business manager, Karen Scott, says a man tried to pick a fight with Connors and his son before the Friday night game and police asked him to leave. Scott also says Connors was arrested after he said he wanted to wait for his son to finish watching the game. She says he was "extremely disappointed and embarrassed" about the incident.

Nalbandian denies arguing during Davis Cup

David Nalbandian of Argentina has been reported arguing with team mate Agustin Calleri after they lost the crucial doubles match at last week's Davis Cup final. Nalbandian also has been rumoured to quitting the Argentina team. However, Nalbandian at a news conference has denied both these claims and stated:

"It bothers me that people have questioned whether I'm continuing with the Davis Cup or not", he said.

"For me, representing my country is really an honour. I'm going to continue - like I've done until this point - defending Argentina's flag the best way possible."

Although, it is true that Nalbandian was so upset by his doubles loss, and that he missed the press conference after the match and was fined US$5000.

It's another Davis Cup victory for Spain!

On the last day of action at the Davis Cup final, Fernando Verdasco had to come through a five set battle over Jose Acasuso to record Spain's third Davis Cup crown. Juan Martin del Potro was supposed to play David Ferrer originally, but Del Potro was replaced because of his injury doubt while the reason for Ferrer being replaced is unknown. Fernando Verdasco was in tears after the win and stated that "This is the most beautiful day of my life". The final score was 63 67(3) 46 62 61. Acasuso was clearly onto winning ways in the second and third sets but lost his power game in the last two sets. This means the fifth rubber with David Nalbandian facing Feliciano Lopez is cancelled. Congratulations Spain!

Spain wins doubles on Saturday

Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco of Spain gave their country an important win today, by defeating David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri of Argentina with a score of 57 75 76(5) 63. This win gives Spain a lead of 2-1. But Argentina still has a chance to win that is if they win both singles matches on Sunday. Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina is scheduled to open Sunday's play against David Ferrer of Spain though the Argentine is in doubt with a thigh injury. His absence could damage Argentina's chances of a first Davis Cup win very seriously. The second singles match on Sunday will have David Nalbandian of Argentina facing Feliciano of Spain. 

Results of win will be posted tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

One year from now...

One year from now, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will take place at the iconic O2 Arena in London. You can now register at their website for a chance to win an all inclusive VIP trip to meet the Final 8, receive event updates and go behind the scenes, also be the first to receive exclusive offers.

Go to http://www.atptennis.com/finals/index.html to take a look.

Argentina and Spain equal after first day of play

David Nalbandian of Argentina gave the host nation a quick lead with a 63 62 63 win over David Ferrer of Spain. But Feliciano Lopez of Spain fired back with a superb 46 76(2) 76(4) 63 win over Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the second singles match. Though del Potro was the clear favourite to win and took the first set, Lopez produced a great performance to recover. Del Potro also had an injury time-out during the fourth set but Lopez already solidified his lead to win in 3 hours and 19 minutes. On Saturday, Lopez and Fernando Verdasco will face Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri in the doubles. 

More tomorrow, stay tuned.

Roddick teams up with Stefanki

Andy Roddick has decided to hire coach Larry Stefanki ahead of the 2009 season. Stefanki has coached the likes of John McEnroe, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Tim Henman and Fernando Gonzalez until recently. He is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world and under his guidance, both Kafelnikov and Marcelo Rios stepped up to the number one ranking. While Roddick had a disappointing end to 2008, by withdrawing from the year-ending Masters Cup because of a ankle injury. Roddick also finished the year ranked 8th and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open. Lets hope Stefanki will lift Roddick's spirit and lead him to success next year. Good luck!

While the season has ended, Federer wins at exhibition

Roger Federer has beaten James Blake in a one set exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The score was 76(10-7). John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg were also part of the action with McEnroe winning the match 76(13-11) to the former Swedish number one. They then teamed up for doubles with Borg and Federer playing against McEnroe and Blake. The Americans fought hard to win it 75.

Federer plans to take the rest of the year off to heal his back injury and be fully ready for next year.

Davis Cup matches set for Friday

David Nalbandian and David Ferrer will play against each other in the first Davis Cup Final match on Saturday. Juan Martin del Potro and Feliciano Lopez will headline the second match of the day, with both matches being played in a best of five format.The doubles match will also take place on Saturday On Sunday the players will switch around with Nalbandian facing Lopez and Del Potro will face Ferrer. But Marcel Granollers, the replacement for Rafael Nadal still has a chance of playing on Sunday because the captain of each team has a right to make changes. With Argentina being a strong favourite, it could be their first Davis Cup crown.

Davis Cup Final 2008 Preview Gallery

The Spanish team stated their views for the press ahead of the final tie.

Juan Martin Del Potro talked to the press with other Argentine team members ahead of the tie.
David Nalbandian is one of the top hopes for Argentina in the final.
David Ferrer will be leading the Spanish team in the final.
The indoor hard-court arena will welcome 11,132 spectators this weekend at Mar del Plata.

It's the end of the season, but 2009 will come really soon

Though the 2008 season ended yesterday and you look back at all the achievements, breakthroughs and challenges the players faced during the season, don't be too sad because the 2009 season will be coming really soon. As a matter of fact on January 5th the first tournaments will kick off.

Don't forget to also stay tuned for the Davis Cup final results posted right here on "ATP Tennis Blog". Spain will be facing Argentina from 21-23 November in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The Spanish team includes David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers. The Argentine team includes Juan Martin Del Potro, David Nalbandian, Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri.          

See you soon!

Djokovic wins Masters Cup in style

Novak Djokovic finished the year with a superb victory over Nikolay Davydenko. Though the Serb had a rough second half of the year, he got his mind together to pull off a smooth 61 75 victory to claim his first Masters Cup. This final victory gives Novak 50 points in the ATP 2008 Race which takes him to just two points away from second-places Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic on the win:

"I would put it in the same league as a Grand Slam because the best eight players in the world are participating here," said Djokovic. "I feel very happy. End up the season the way I started it, with a win in a big event. So it's a great boost up for upcoming season."

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Singles - Final
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [4] N Davydenko (RUS) 61 75

Doubles - Final
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 76(3) 62

Djokovic survives tough test; Davydenko sends Murray packing

Novak Djokovic endured a tough match today by defeating Gilles Simon in a nail-biting three setter. Simon had some neck problems early in the second set and then lost his serve to give Djokovic a confident drive to win the second set. In the third set, Djokovic lost his serve at 5-4 with Simon fighting for every opportunity but Djokovic proved too strong to win the match 46 63 75.

He will now meet Nikolay Davydenko in the final, who chipped away at Andy Murray and eased to a 75 62 win. This will be both Djokovic's and Davydenko's first Masters Cup final, so let the best man win.

Stay tuned for news on the finale!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Singles - Semifinals
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [8] G Simon (FRA) 46 63 75
[4] N Davydenko (RUS) d [3] A Murray (GBR) 75 62

Doubles - Semifinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 64 64
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [8] P Cuevas(URU) / L Horna (PER) 61 63

Murray ends Federer's reign while Simon into semis

A rough year for Roger Federer was ended on a low note when he lost to Andy Murray today. The Scot needed 8 match points, 3 hours and one minute to finish off the four-time champion with a close score of 46 76(3) 75. This has been Federer's first time losing in the round robin round of the tournament. He will finish the year with a win-loss record of 66-15, while Murray has set up a semifinal with Nikolay Davydenko that will be played tomorrow.

Gilles Simon also won his match against Radek Stepanek, the alternate for Andy Roddick, with a relatively easy score of 64 61. The win gets Simon into the semifinals since Roger Federer could not win his match against Murray. He will now face second seeded Novak Djokovic tomorrow for a place in the final.

More coming up soon!

Friday, November 14, 2008
Singles Round Robin
(8)G Simon (FRA) d (9)R Stepanek (CZE) 61 64
(3)A Murray (GBR) d (1)R Federer (SUI) 46 76(3) 75

Doubles Round Robin
(2)Nestor/Zimonjic d (6)Dlouhy/Paes 61 64 
(7)Fyrstenberg/Matkowski d (4)Bjorkman/Ullyett 62 16 10-6

Davydenko skips past Del Potro while Tsonga gets first win

Nikolay Davydenko surprised most today by producing a great performance and beating Juan Martin Del Potro with an easy score of 63 62 in just 87 minutes. This win gives Davydenko the second semifinal spot along with Novak Djokovic for the Gold Group since he has a 2-1 win-loss record in round robin play.

In the other match, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recorded his third straight win against Novak Djokovic and his first at the event with a score of 16 75 61. The match lasted 1 hour and 39 minutes but Tsonga has no chance of getting to the semifinals with this win since his win-loss record is now 1-2.

More coming soon!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Singles - Round Robin
[6] J Tsonga (FRA) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 16 75 61
[4] N Davydenko (RUS) d [7] J Del Potro (ARG) 63 62

Doubles - Round Robin
[5] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 62 26 12-10 - Saved 1 M.P.
[8] P Cuevas (URU) / L Horna (PER) d [3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 67(3) 76(4) 10-5

Federer keeps his semi hopes alive, Murray storms into semis

Roger Federer kept his fire burning with a win over alternate Radek Stepanek. Federer was told after his pre-match warm-up that his opponent would be Stepanek, after Andy Roddick withdrew from the tournament with an ankle injury. The first set saw some breaks of serve, but Federer held his nerve in the tiebreak to win it 7-4. The next set, Roger broke the Stepanek serve to be in the lead 5-3, but then failed to win a point on his own serve in the next game. Federer then broke Stepanek again to take the match 76(4) 64. Federer is now with a win-loss of 1-1 and needs to win his next match against Murray to get to the semis.

Andy Murray on the other hand recorded his third straight win over Gilles Simon with a score of 64 62. The Scot went 4-0 against Simon, but Simon fired back to 3-4 with Murray going back to his power game and winning the first set. The second set was much easier for Murray since Simon kept raising his number of unforced errors and eventually letting Murray record a comfortable win. Murray is now guaranteed a semifinal spot.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Singles - Round Robin
[1] R Federer (SUI) d [Alt] R Stepanek (CZE)* 76(4) 64
[3] A Murray (GBR) d [8] G Simon (FRA) 64 62

* [Alt] R Stepanek (CZE) replaced [5] A Roddick (USA) - (ankle)

Doubles - Round Robin
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [4] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 61 64
[7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d [6] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 76(2) 63

Breaking News: Nadal out of Davis Cup final

Rafael Nadal has given the word that he will not be part of the Spain team for the Davis Cup final against Argentina. Nadal has been struggling with tendonitis in his right knee since pulling out of the Paris Masters semifinals and is blaming the intense ATP calendar for his injury problems. Nadal will be replaced by No. 56 in the world, Marcel Granollers and the rest of the team will include David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco and Santiago Ventura as the first substitute. Argentina's chances of winning have been lifted with the absence of Nadal, and with top players such as Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian on the team as well as Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri. The tie will take place on an indoor hard court in Mar del Plata, Argentina from 21 - 23 November.

Djokovic battles into semis; Del Potro keeps semi hopes alive

Novak Djokovic overcame a mental battle today by beating Nikolay Davydenko. Djokivic had a hard time in the first set but managed to win it76(3), then Davydenko stepped up a level by disarming Djokovic and taking the second set 60. The last set saw Djokovic breaking Davydenko, and taking the last set with a final score of 76(3) 60 75. This win gives Djokovic a ticket to the semifinals of the event.

Juan Martin Del Potro kept his chin up today by beating Paris Masters winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with an extremely close score of 76(4) 76(5). Tis loss for Tsonga will mean he cannot reach the semis even if he wins to Djokovic in his last round-robin match. Del Potro now has a win-loss record of 1-1, so his next match against Davydenko will decide both their fates in Shanghai, since Davydenko has a win-loss record of 1-1 as well. Winner takes all!

More news coming soon.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Singles - Round Robin
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [4] N Davydenko (RUS) 76(3) 06 75
[7] J Del Potro (ARG) d [6] J Tsonga (FRA) 76(4) 76(5)

Doubles - Round Robin
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 75 36 10-4
[8] P Cuevas (URU) / L Horna (PER) d [5] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) 62 67(2) 11-9

Federer gets a surprise from Simon; Murray wins battle of Andy's

Roger Federer got a big wake up call from Gilles Simon today, with the Frenchman winning with a score of 46 64 63. Getting to the victory, Simon had to recover from a set and a break down to defeat the four-time champion. Amazing comeback!

Andy Murray also pleased the crowd with a splendid win over Andy Roddick. The Scot won the first set 64 by breaking Roddick in the fifth game of the set, then lost the second set 61 mainly because of a poor serve. But in the last set, Murray finally got it together and put together a hard fought 64 16 61 win and his first in the season-ending finale.

More news coming up,stay tuned!

Day 2 - Monday, November 10, 2008

Singles - Round Robin
[8] G Simon (FRA) d [1] R Federer (SUI) 46 64 63 
[3] A Murray (GBR) d [5] A Roddick (USA) 64 16 61

Doubles - Round Robin
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 76(4) 57 10-4
[4] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d [6] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 63 75

Djokovic and Davydenko win opening matches

On the first day of action in Shanghai, Novak Djokovic showed his superb form by beating one of the debut qualifiers, Juan Martin Del Potro with a score of 75 63. It was Djokovic's first win at the Masters Cup since he lost all three matches at his debut last year. Djokovic managed to finish the match in 1 hour 57 minutes.

Nikolay Davydenko also won his match but had to battle it out until the very end to beat another debut qualifier, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The score was 67(6) 64 76(0) and took 2 hours 43 minutes.

Tomorrow's action will see Roger Federer play Gilles Simon and Andy Murray play Andy Roddick.

Stay tuned for more on the action in Shanghai!

Day 1 - Sunday, November 9, 2008

Singles - Round Robin
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [7] JM del Potro (ARG) 75 63
[4] N Davydenko (RUS) d [6] JW Tsonga (FRA) 67(6) 64 76(0)

Doubles - Round Robin
[1] Bryan (USA)/ Bryan (USA) d [8] Cuevas (URU)/ Horna (PER) 61 76(4)
[3] Bhupathi (IND)/Knowles (BAH) d [5] Coetzee (RSA)/Moodie (RSA) 62 63

Masters Cup 2008 Official Portrait released

From left to right: Nikolay Davydenko, Gilles Simon, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin Del Potro.

Masters Cup practice gallery

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was keen to test the court at Shanghai, after a fresh victory in Paris.

   Andy Murray was on court, and gave a bit of advice to Roger Federer.

Mirka was on hand to give Federer some advice during his practice session.

Roger Federer took his time testing the court during his practice session with other top players. 

The groups are set!

The elite eight have been placed into their groups today, by a draw ceremony in Shanghai. The Red Group will include Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Gilles Simon. And the Gold Group will include Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro. One of the most talked about matches from these groups is the Federer vs Murray match-up, since Federer has won to Murray at the US Open final but Murray has won to Federer recently at the Madrid Masters semifinals. 

More news coming before the start of competition!

Breaking News: Nadal out of Masters Cup

With at least a week before the Masters Cup, Rafael Nadal has pulled out from the event due to fatigue. And five days after the end of the Masters Cup, Nadal has to play for his home country against Argentina in the Davis Cup final. Nadal has stated numerous times that this year's schedule has been very difficult for top level players to be 100% week in and week out. But Nadal has reached alot of goals that he wanted, such as getting the number one ranking and winning both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Nadal will be replaced by Gilles Simon. Hope to see Nadal in action soon!

Tsonga captures Paris title as well as a spot at the Masters Cup

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga elevated himself to a new level by winning his first Masters title and his second career title in Paris, defeating David Nalbandian with a score of 63 46 64. During the match, Tsonga smacked 25 aces, and hit only 1 double fault. As a bonus, Tsonga has secured the last place at the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, rounding up the elite eight for this year.

Coverage of the Masters Cup will be posted from November 9, so stay tuned to this blog for all the exciting news!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Singles - Final
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d [8] D Nalbandian (ARG) 63 46 64

Doubles - Final
[5] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d [6] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) 62 62

Nalbandian and Tsonga into final

David Nalbandian earned his spot in the final with a 61 57 64 win to No. 6 in the world Nikolay Davydenko. With this this win, not only does Nalbandian get a spot in the final, he also still gets a chance to be in the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also had a win over James Blake, to end his hopes of getting to his second consecutive Masters Cup. The score was 64 63, and he will now face Nalbandian for the title and for the last place in the Masters Cup. The winner takes it all!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Singles - Semifinals
[8] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [6] N Davydenko (RUS) 61 57 64
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d [11] J Blake (USA) 64 63 

Doubles - Semifinals
[6] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) d M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 64 63 
[5] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) vs A Clement (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA)