<![CDATA[Net Notes - A Tennis Now Blog]]> <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Kei Nishikori Reaches New Career High, Petkovic Resurfaces]]> ]]>
With Wimbledon a week away, there were no changes in the men's or women's Top 10s in the latest ATP and WTA rankings.
But there was movement just outside the men's Top 10, where Japan's Kei Nishikori reached a new career high, moving up two spots to No. 11 despite being idle last week.
 
Nishikori moved up as Tommy Haas lost two places by being idle this week after winning Halle a year ago at this time.

Roger Federer, who lost Halle a year ago to Haas, won the title on Sunday, allowing him to build his lead over No. 4 David Ferrer to 520 points, while staying within 780 points of No. 2 Andy Murray.

Federer has a tough row to hoe ahead of him with Wimbledon coming up. As defending champion, he has a full 2,000 points to defend, but he has just one title so far in 2013.

Should Federer not repeat, or go down earlier than even the semifinals or final, there is the distinct possibility that he could fall as low as No. 5 in the world, if Rafael Nadal and Ferrer are able to go deep into the tournament. 

Nadal was upset by Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012 - the last match Nadal would play that year, giving him virtually no points to defend at the All England Club.

Ferrer reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2012, so if he just matches that and Federer doesn't reach the final, he too can move up.
 
Federer has not been ranked as low as No. 5 since June 23, 2003. That date was, not coincidentally, the start of Wimbledon, which Federer won two weeks later for the first of his 17 Grand Slam titles.

The biggest move in the Top 100 came courtesy of another former No. 1 - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt reached the semifinals at Queen's Club by upsetting Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querrey and Juan Martin Del Potro in order before falling to Marin Cilic in a three-set semifinal. 

Hewitt climbed from 82nd to 70th with the push. His win over Del Potro was his first against a Top 10 opponent this year, and first since he defeated Juan Monaco in October 2012.

All was quiet in the women's Top 20 this week. Inside the Top 50, Simona Halep climed from 58th to 45th by winning the title at Nurnberg. It was the first WTA victory of her career.

Former Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic, who has lost a majority of the last two seasons to injury, reappeared in the Top 100 on Monday, rising from No. 103 to No. 75. Petkovic lost to Halep in the Nurnberg final, but has climbed 102 places since making her 2013 debut at Indian Wells in early March.
]]> Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:47:41 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Nadal, Williams Zoom Up All-Time Record Charts]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
If hearing Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams' names praised again and again over the past week is starting to sound like a broken record, well it's probably because the pair keep breaking records.
 
Both players further cemented their legacies in the ATP and WTA record books with their victories at the French Open last Sunday. Here's a look at some of the marks set for the two champions and a number of other players at Roland Garros over the past two weeks.
 
ATP 
● Nadal moved past Bjorn Borg into sole possession of third place in Grand Slams won with 12. Pete Sampras is second with 14.
● Nadal moved into fourth in career Grand Slam finals with his 17th, one ahead of Borg and Jimmy Connors, one behind Sampras for third.
● Nadal appeared in his 20th career semifinal, sixth all time, moving past John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg.
● Nadal and Novak Djokovic each appeared in his 24th career Slam quarterfinal, tying them for eighth all-time.
● Roger Federer made his 40th Slam quarterfinal appearance, and trails Jimmy Connors by just one for the all-time led.
● Nadal now has 164 career Grand Slam wins, good for eighth place. He moved one pat Boris Becker and trails McEnroe by three.
● Djokovic entered the Top 10 in Grand Slam victories with 164. Federer is now at 256, easily the all-time leader.
● Djokovic extended his streak of consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances to 12, second all-time. Federer is first at 23.
● Federer extended his record of consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals to 36. Djokovic is now second with 16.
● This was Federer's 54th straight appearance in a Slam. He is two behind Wayne Ferreira and Stefan Edberg for the most ever. David Ferrer has appeared in 42 straight, good for seventh all-time, Fernando Verdasco 40 straight, ninth most, and Tomas Berdych 10th with 39 straight.
● Nadal tied the record he already shares with himself and Bjorn Borg for his fourth straight French open title.
● With 59 French Open career victories, Nadal surpassed Guillermo Vilas for the most all-time. Federer is tied for second with 58.
● Nadal's 28 straight wins at the French Open is the second-most ever, trailing only the 31 he won in a row from 2005-2009.
● With a 12-5 record in Grand Slam finals, Nadal is third in finals winning percentage at 70.59%. Federer is second at 70.83%.
● Nadal's winning percentage at Roland Garros is now 98.33%, first all-time. Federer is seventh at 80.56% and Djokovic is eighth at 80.00%.
● This is Nadal's ninth straight season winning at least one Slam, tying him with Borg for the longest streak in Open Era history.
● This is Nadal's 57th ATP title in his career, tying him for ninth all-time with Ilie Nastase. He is second among active players behind Federer (76).
● It was Nadal's 80th ATP final, good for 10th place all-time.
● No man has ever won a tournament more than eight times. Nadal now has that record thrice over with eight wins at Roland Garros, Monte Carlo and Barcelona; the only other man to do so was Vilas, who won Buenos Aires eight times.
● This is Nadal's 42nd career title on clay, good for second place all-time, four behind Vilas for first.
● This is Nadal's 55th career title outside. He trails Vilas, Federer and Connors by one for the most ever.
 
WTA
● With 16 singles Slams, Serena Williams is within two of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert for third all-time.
● Williams has reached 23 singles Slam semifinals, passing Evonne Goolagong for fifth place.
● Francesca Schiavone has appeared in 50 straight Grand Slam events, fifth all-time.
● Williams has 46 French open wins, good for seventh all-time. Maria Sharapova has 43, good for eighth.
● Williams surpassed Sharapova in French Open winning percentage at 82.14% (46-10) for seventh place. Sharapova is at 81.13% (43-10) and Svetlana Kuznetsova is ninth at 80.39% (41-10).
● Williams is third in all-time Grand Slam winning percentage at 87.08% (236-35) and No. 1 in finals winning percertage at 80.00% (16-4).
● Williams won her 52nd tour title, putting her one behind Monica Seles for 5th in the Open Era.
● It was Williams' 68th final, tying her for eighth in Open Era history with Martina Hingis.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
]]> Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:05:50 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: June 16-22]]> ]]>

JUNE 16

Germany's Benjamin Becker, ranked No. 85 in the world, turns 32. Becker has been ranked as high s No. 38 and has one ATP title. He is not related to former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker.

JUNE 17

Arthur "Bud" Collins, the foremost tennis journalist in the word, turns 84. Collins is the author of the Bud Collins Tennis Encyclopedia and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994.

Tennis agent pioneer and former Davis Cup captain Donald Dell turns 75. As a player, Dell was a three-time all-American at Yale and reached No. 5 in the world in 1961. He played for the US Davis Cup team in 1961 and 1963, and was the captain of winning teams in 1968 and 1969. He helped establish the ATP in 1972 and represented the likes of Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe in the 1970s.

Thirteen-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes turns 40. Paes, currently ranked No. 13 in the world in doubles, has 13 Slams - seven in men's doubles, six in mixed. Paes completed the men's doubles career Slam in 2012 when he won the Australian Open. He has three titles at the French Open (1999, 2001, 2009), one at Wimbledon (2009) and two at the US Open (2006, 2009). He has won three of the four mixed doubles Slams, lacking only the French Open. He has won Australia twice (2003, 2010), Wimbledon three times (1999, 2003, 2010) and the US Open once (2008).

Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis, currently ranked No. 38 in the world, turns 28. Baghdatis has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world and has four career titles. He reached the Australian Open final in 2006, losing to Roger Federer.

JUNE 20

Ecuador's Pancho Segura, a No. 1 player in the 1940s and 1950s, turns 92. He was the only player to win the US Pro title on three different surfaces, doing so between 1950-1952. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.

Doris Hart, the first woman to complete the career Grand Slam in singles as well as the career "boxed" set, turns 88. In total, she won 35 Grand Slams - six in singles and 29 in doubles. In mixed doubles, she won at least three Slams a year from 1951-1953. The only other two women to complete the boxed set are Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova.

Raul Ramirez, three-time Grand Slam winner and a former Top 5 player in men's singles and doubles, turns 60. Ramirez was ranked No. 4 in the world in singles in 1976 and spent 61 weeks ranked No. 1 in doubles starting the same year. He won 60 doubles titles including three mixed doubles Grand Slams - Wimbledon in 1976 and the French Open in 1975 and 1977.






 
]]> Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:21:49 GMT <![CDATA[Serena Williams Graces Cover of Essence Magazine]]> ]]>
Clad in a chic one-piece blue swimsuit, Serena exudes the same confidence that helped propel her to her 16th Grand Slam singles title while in Paris. The balance of strength and elegance portrayed in the cover photo is a spot-on representation of the Serena Williams that tennis fans know and love.

In her interview with Essence, Serena talks about how comfortable she is in her own skin at this stage in her career: “I feel lighter, I feel healthier, and even though I’m 31—which really isn’t old, but for an athlete, particularly a tennis player, it’s old—I promise you, my body has never felt better. Considering how much I’ve played and how much I’ve done, I feel fine. I’m strong…”


]]> Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:08:10 GMT <![CDATA[Despite Success in Halle, Monfils Out of Wimbledon]]> ]]>
The Frenchman’s absence marks the fourth time in five years he will completely miss the Wimbledon event, where his best result has been reaching the third round.

En route to his quarterfinal appearance at Halle, Monfils defeated qualifier Jan Hernych 6-2, 6-3, setting up a clash with the winner of the match between Tommy Haas and Ernests Gulbis.

Monfils' History at Wimbledon:

2012: Missed because of knee injury.

2011: Lost in the third round to Lukasz Kubot.

2010: Lost in the third round to Lleyton Hewitt.

2009: Withdrew due to injured left wrist.

2008: Withdrew due to right shoulder injury.

2007: Lost in the third round to Nikolay Davydenko.]]> Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:09:35 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: David Ferrer, Victoria Azarenka move up]]> ]]>
In the wonderful, nonsensical world of the professional tennis rankings, losing the French Open final moves you past the guy who won it. 
That was the case Sunday as the post-French Open ATP rankings were released with David Ferrer, thoroughly thrashed by Rafael Nadal earlier that day in the Roland Garros final, jumped over Nadal in the rankings.
This of course, happened because of the "defense of points". Nadal gained none by "simply" repeating as champion, defending his 2,000 points, while Ferrer, a semifinalist in 2012, gained 480 by reaching the final this year, enough to surpass the eight-time French Open champion in the rankings and reclaiming No. 4.
Ferrer is now within striking distance of No. 3 Roger Federer - trailing him by just 420 points. Since Federer won Wimbledon last summer, the odds are decent that Ferrer could move to No. 3 for the first time in his career.
Semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved up to No. 7, bypassing Juan Martin Del Potro, and quarterfinalist Tommy Haas rose three spots to No. 10. Haas, 35, is just 225 points behind No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka. Haas was last ranked in the Top 10 on October 29, 2007.
The biggest move inside the Top 50 came from Serbia's Viktor Troicki, who rose 13 spots to No. 44 after reaching the fourth round with an upset of Marin Cilic.
France's Gael Monfils, fighting his way back from injury and generating plenty of local support after his first-round upset of No. 6 Tomas Berdych, rose 14 spots to No. 67. Monfils has climbed 52 spots since May 13.
 
WTA
In the women's rankings, Victoria Azarenka reclaimed the No. 2 spot from Maria Sharapova after the 2012 champion fell in the final to Serena Williams on Saturday.
Azarenka, who lost to Sharapova in Thursday's semifinals, now leads the Russian by 210 points.
Williams, who now has won three of the last four majors, has opened up a lead just short of 4,000 points on Azarenka.
Also in the Top 10, Maria Kirilenko rose to No. 10 for the first time in her career, following new No. 7 Angelique Kerber, No. 8 Petra Kvitova (down 1 spot) and No.9 Caroline Wozniacki (up one spot).
Italy's Roberta Vinci, 30, rose four spots to No. 11, and Ana Ivanovic jumped two places to No. 12.
Australia's Sam Stosur dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time since August of 2011, sliding five spots to No. 14. 
First-round French Open casualty Venus Williams fell three spots to No. 35. Williams was last ranked in the Top 10 in January of 2011.
The biggest plunge in the top went to Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, who tumbled 20 spots to No. 46.
Kanepi lost in the second round a year after reaching the quarterfinals. 
 
 
 
]]> Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:41:28 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #1 - 1984 Men's Singles]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
Two legacies were altered in the final of the 1984 French Open. One began there, the other was left wanting of its final achievement.
 
John McEnroe entered the tournament as the de facto best player in the world, and had started the season with 36 straight victories.

Czechoslovakia's Ivan Lendl was a rock solid No. 2, but had yet to win a Grand Slam title, having lost in four major finals between 1981 and 1983. He was 26-5 to start the 1984 season, with three of those losses coming at McEnroe's hands.

McEnroe lost a single set in his first four rounds, the same number as third-seeded Jimmy Connors. Neither Lendl nor fourth-seeded Mats Wilander dropped a set in their first four matches.

Eight of the top nine seeds made the quarterfinals, with McEnroe and Connors each sweeping their opponent while Lendl needed four sets to edge out Andres Gomez, and Wilander five sets to defeat defending champion Yannick Noah.

In the semifinals, McEnroe handed Connors his first set loss, then his second and third in a convincing sweep. Lendl wiped out Wilander in similar fashion to set up a clash between the world No. 1 and 2 for the title.

McEnroe had never won the French Open title, piling up five Slams between the US Open and Wimbledon already. The Australian Open was not really on Big Mac's radar at that point in history. He had only first played it in 1983, reaching the semifinals, and would only make the trip down under five times in his 15-year career.

The American seemed on the cusp of adding the French Open title to his legacy as he dropped Lendl into a 6-3, 6-2 hole, but after so many failures, Lendl turned things around.

The Czech won the third set 6-4, then won two nail-biting sets 7-5 and 7-5 to rally for the title - ending McEnroe's win streak at 42, a start of the season mark that stands to this day.

McEnroe called the loss the most disappointing of his career years later in his autobiography. He would lose just two more times in the 1984 campaign, finishing 82-3 and winning both Wimbledon and the US Open.

But he never came close to winning Roland Garros again, and never won another Slam after 1984. 

For Lendl, the massive comeback opened the door to his untapped potential. He would win nine more Slams over the next six seasons, including seven between 1985-1987.
 
 
]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:47:11 GMT <![CDATA[Like Navratilova, Williams getting better with age]]> ]]>
With her 16th career Grand Slam title secured on Saturday, Serena Williams closed within two Slams of Chris Evert and Martin Navratilova for second place in the Open Era, and within six of Open Era career leader Steffi Graf.
Four players whose games and personalities could not have been more different, the quartet have combined to dominate the WTA basically since Evert won her first Slam at age 19 in 1974. 
There have been 153 Grand Slam events from the time Evert won the 1974 French Open until Williams won the same tournament on Saturday. Navratilova, Graf, Evert and Williams have combined to 74 of those - 48.3% of all the majors won.
Of the three women ahead of her, Williams' career has become most like that of Navratilova, who defied logic by becoming better with age. 
Navratilova won five Slams between ages 19 and 25, then added 12 more between ages 26 and 30, the period where most female players start to slow down.
Williams has won eight of her 16 Slams between ages 26 and 31, a really remarkable number when you consider she missed the 2010 US Open and 2011 Australian and French Opens during her long injury layoff.
Graf was the polar opposite, winning 16 of her 22 major titles between 17 and 25, then just six between 26 and 30. In the side-by-side breakdown, Evert's performance is the most phenomenal - the American won either 1 or 2 Slams every year from the time she was 19 until she was 31.
The Navratilova-Williams comparison makes sense particularly given two things both women improved on as their careers advanced - physical fitness and mental toughness.
As she has said in multiple interviews and particularly her ESPN 30 for 30 documentary alongside Evert, Navratilova was overweight and overemotional early in her career, and it cost her plenty as she would break down over close losses.
Once she started getting mentally tougher, including when she came out publically about her homosexuality, she took off, particularly when combined with her rigorous workout program that had her far and away the strongest player in the game.
Williams' mental toughness largely came when she and sister Venus stopped relying so much on father Richard and did a lot more speaking, and presumably thinking, for themselves. And Williams' physical gifts are like virtually no other player ever - her power and strength unmatched.

A look at the year-by-year Slam wins for Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Serena Williams.


Age Graf (22) Navratilova (18) Evert (18) Williams (16)
17 1 DNP 0 1
18 2 DNP 0 0
19 3 0 2 0
20 3 0 2 3
21 0 1 2 2
22 1 1 1 0
23 2 0 1 1
24 4 1 1 0
25 0 2 2 1
26 3 3 1 1
27 2 3 2 2
28 0 2 1 2
29 0 2 1 0
30 1* 2 1 2
31 DNP 0 1* 1*
32 DNP 0 DNP  
33 DNP 1 DNP  
34 DNP 0 DNP  
35 DNP 0 DNP  
36 DNP 0 DNP  
37 DNP 0* DNP  

* = last/most recent year of career]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:19:05 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #2 - 1989 Women's singles final]]> ]]>
The 1989 women's field at the French Open was like stepping through time to see the past, present and future of the WTA. 
Steffi Graf was a few days short of her 20th birthday when the tournament started, and was in perhaps the most dominating stretch of tennis in the Open Era - having won five straight Slams and the Olympic gold medal. She was 41-1 to start the season with seven titles.
The field also included 15-year-old unranked Monica Seles in her Grand Slam debut as well as 17-year-old Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the eighth seed.
Graf was a machine through the first four rounds, never losing more than two games in a set. Seles was the surprise, winning her section thanks in large part to an upset of fourth-seed Zina Garrison-Jackson in the third round.
She wasn't the only surprise to make the quarterfinals, however. American Mary Joe Fernandez, the 15th seed, upended No. 2 seed Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round.
None of the four semifinalists lost a set in the quarters, but Seles opened eyes all over the world when she took Graf to three sets in one semifinal, while Vicario steamrolled Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in the other.
Vicario won a gutty 7-6(6) tie-breaker off Graf in the final, but the German seemed to be locking up her sixth straight Slam when took the second set 6-3 and led the third 5-3. 
But Vicario broke Graf's serve and raced past her, winning the final four games to claim her first Grand Slam and prove that Graf, despite being perhaps the best of all-time, wasn't invincible. 
 
 
]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:20:50 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Setting up the Roland Garros Men's Final]]> ]]>
  • In the 30 years since Yannick Noah won the 1983 French Open, French men who reach at least the quarterfinals are a combined 8-15 including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's losss to David Ferrer on Friday.
  • This season is the first year since 2005 that neither the No. 1 or 2 seed has played in the French Open final.
  • In 59 career matches at the French Open, Rafael Nadal has only been taken to five sets twice. He is 2-0 in those matches.
  • David Ferrer is the first Spaniard besides Rafael Nadal to make the French Open final since Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2003.
  • This is the fourth time in French Open history that two Spaniards have faced off against each other in the final.
  • It took David Ferrer 780 career matches to reach his first Grand Slam final.
  • Rafael Nadal's .983 winning percentage at Roland Garros would be the equivalent of an NBA or NHL team going 80-2 over a season, or a Major League baseball team going 159-3. 
  • Nadal is 19-4 all-time against Ferrer, with eight straight victories. On clay, he is 16-1, the one loss coming in the two men's first-ever match in 2004, when Nadal was 18 years old.
  • Nadal's win on Thursday was the 15th time he has beaten the No. 1 player in the world, and the third time he has beaten Novak Djokovic when Djokovic was No. 1.
 
 
 
 
 
 
]]> Sat, 08 Jun 2013 23:48:09 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: June 9-15]]> ]]>
June 14 - Steffi Graf, former No .1, 22-time Grand Slam winner and the only player to ever win the Golden Slam in a single season, turns 44. Graf's 22 Grand Slam singles titles are the most in the Open Era and second all-time. In 1988, she won all four major titles as well as the Olympic gold medal.
Graf also won the gold medal in women's singles in 1984, the silver in the 1992 Olympics and the bronze for women's doubles in 1988. Her first Grand Slam came at age 17 when she defeated Martina Navratilova to win the French Open in 1987.
Between 1988-1990, she won eight of the 12 total Slams, and won each of them at least four times - with seven wins at Wimbledon, six at Roland Garros, five at the US Open and four at the Australian Open. She won 107 titles overall, third-most in history, and had a career winning percentage of .887 with 902 wins against only 115 losses. When she retired in 1999, Graf was still ranked No. 3 in the world. Two years later, she married Andre Agassi and has had two children with him. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hal of Fame in 2004.
 
June 15 - Two-time Grand Slam finalist Cedric Pioline of France turns 44. Pioline climbed as high as No. 5 in the world and won five singles titles, including Monte Carlo in 2000. He reached the finals of the US Opn in 1993 and Wimbledon in 1997 but lost to American Pete Sampras both times. He is currently the tournament director of the ATP Masters in Paris.
 
]]> Sat, 08 Jun 2013 09:10:45 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Breaking Down the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova French Open Final]]> ]]>
 
A look behind the numbers of Saturday's women's French Open final

 
  • Sara Errani's 6-0, 6-1 loss to Serena Williams was the most lopsided defeat in a women's Roland Garros semifinal since 1984 when Chris Evert put the double bagel on Camille Benjamin, 6-0, 6-0.
  • If Serena Williams wins the title, she will join the extremely rare company of Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Margaret Court as the only female players to win each of the four Grand Slams at least twice.
  • If Serena Williams wins, it will mark 11 years between her first and most recent French Open titles. Only Chris Evert went longer between her first and most recent titles at Roland Garros, winning her first in 1974 and her last in 1986.
  • Maria Sharapova (.825) and Serena Williams (.805) have the two highest winning percentages on clay of active WTA players. The last time two players with career clay court winning percentages above 80% met in the final was in 1999 when Steffi Graf (.901) defeated Martina Hingis (.813).
  • Maria Sharapova has beaten the reigning No. 1 player seven times in her career, but none of those have come in a Grand Slam final and none against Serena Williams
  • This is the third straight year that Maria Sharapova has reached the final of a Grand Slam event.
  • With her six wins to date in the tournament, Sharapova is now 43-9 all-time at Roland Garros - her highest tally of wins and best winning percentage (.827) in any of the four Slams.
  • Serena Williams has either won or reached the final of 10 of the last 16 Grand Slam tournaments she has played in, dating back to the 2008 US Open. 
 
]]> Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:00:01 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #3 - 1987 women's singles]]> ]]>
The world of women's tennis shifted in the spring of 1987 at Roland Garros. 
Between 1982 and 1986, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova won 18 of 19 Grand Slam titles. 
Navratilova was 30 years old and the No. 1 seed entering Roland Garros, defending champion Evert, 32 years old, was No. 3
.
Sandwiched between the two was Steffi Graf, a month short of her 18th birthday, who started the season 32-0 and was nearly untouchable in the early going, losing just five games in the first three rounds. 
Of the top three seeds, only Navratilova lost a set in the first four rounds. All three women breezed through the quarterfinals as well, setting up the rare Navratilova-Evert semifinal. Their previous 10 Grand Slam meetings had been in finals, dating back to the 1981 US Open. 
 
Navratilova thrashed the fading Evert, 6-2, 6-2, while Graf had to hold off a fiesty Gabriela Sabatini in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to reach the final.
Once there, she took the first set from Navratilova, 6-4, lost the second by the same score, then things got interesting.
 
Graf outlasted the legendary Navratilova 8-6 in the third set to win her first career Grand Slam. She would return and defend her championship in 1988 as she won the legendary Golden Slam - all four majors plus a gold medal at the Olympics. It was the first of her 22 Grand Slam titles, second most in history. 
Beaten, but hardly down, Navratilova bounced back to take the titles at Wimbledon and the US Open later in 1987, and added one more Slam at Wimbledon in 1990 at age 33.
 
]]> Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:55:48 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #4 - 1985 women's singles]]> ]]>
Martina Navratilova did not lose a set through the first six rounds of the 1985 French Open.
Neither did Chris Evert.
So of course, in the final, something had to give.
 
In many ways, it is a queer, cruel fate that Evert and Navratilova's careers overlapped so significantly. Had the other not existed, either would have been hailed as the greatest player of all time. 
Evert went 82-8 in 1985, but four of those losses were to Navratilova. Navratilova was 82-4 that same year, and three of her losses were to Evert.
Each woman wound up with 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Evert's domains were Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows. She won seven titles at the French Open and six more at the US Open. She won at least one Slam every year from 1979-1986. 
Navratilova owned Wimbledon - winning it nine times - but only took the French title twice, although she was the defending champion heading into the spring of 1985.
Navratilova was a wrecking ball in the early rounds - with winning scores of 6-1, 6-0; 6-3, 6-0; and 6-0 in her first three matches.
Evert gave up a few more games, but was unscathed after eliminating young Steffi Graf in the fourth round.
It wasn't until the semifinals that an opponent took four games in a set off Navratilova, but she still swept Claudia Kohde-Kilsch 6-4 ,6-4.
Evert seemed to get stronger as the tournament got longer, wiping out Terry Phelps 6-4, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 6-1 in the semis.
Navratilova's first set loss of the tournament came in the final as Evert took a 6-3 advantage, but the ferocious Martina fought back for a 7-6 (4) equalizer.
With the two titans both on the edge of defeat, Evert eked out a a 7-5 third set to claim the title. She would defend her crown in 1986, besting Navratilova 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. 
]]> Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:24:32 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Setting up the Roland Garros Women's Semifinals]]> ]]>
The four semifinalists have combined for 21 Grand Slam victories to date - Serena Williams has 15, Maria Sharapova 4 and Victoria Azarenka 2. This is the most among the four semifinalists since 1999 when Martina Hingis (6), Arantxa-Sanchez Vicario (4), Steffi Graf (21) and Monica Seles (9) had a combined 40 entering the semifinals.
 
Four of the top five seeds have advanced to the semifinals. The last time that happened was in 1992 when #1 Monica Seles, #2 Steffi Graf, #3 Gabriela Sabatini and #4 Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario made up the final four.
 
Maria Sharapova is two wins away from becoming the first woman since Justine Henin (2005-2007) to win back-to-back French Open crowns.
 
No women's final has gone three sets since 2001, when Jennifer Capriati defeated Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.
 
If Sara Errani makes the final, it will be the fourth straight year an Italian woman has done so. Errani also made it in 2012, and Francesca Schiavone won the title in 2010 and was the runner-up in 2011.
 
If Serena Williams reaches the final, she'll be the first American woman to do so since she won the tournament in 2002.
 
Serena Williams is 5-0 lifetime against Sara Errani.
 
Serena Williams is 19-3 (.864) in Grand Slam semifinals in her career.
 
Victoria Azarenka holds a 7-5 record against Maria Sharapova. The two met six times in 2012, with Azarenka winning four of those matches.
 
Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have all been ranked No. 1 in the world in the last calendar year. Sharapova was last ranked first on July 8, 2012; Azarenka on February 17, 2013 and Williams is the current No. 1.
]]> Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:23:55 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #5 - 1989 Men's Singles ]]> ]]>
The 1989 men's French Open top four seeds could give today's Big Four a run for its money. By May of 1989, No. 1 seed Ivan Lendl had seven Grand Slams and had started the year by winning the Australian Open; second-seed Boris Becker had a pair of Slams and would win both Wimbledon and the US Open later that year; No. 3 Stefan Edberg had three Slams under his belt and fourth-seeded Mats Wilander had seven Slams and was the tournament's defending champion.
 
Then there was American Michael Chang, who had turned 17 three months prior to the start of Roland Garros. The teenager had missed the first month of the season and was a ho-hum 12-6 since, ranked 19th in the world and the French Open's No. 15 seed.
 
Chang lost his first set in his opening match, but rebounded from there, winning his next nine sets, including a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 bull rush of fellow 17-year-old American Pete Sampras in the second round. A quality run looked over when Chang encountered Lendl in the fourth round and fell behind 4-6, 4-6, but in one of the most legendary performances of all-time, Chang rallied to win the next three sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 with a variety of unorthodox shots and psychological warfare - firing moon shots, serving underhand and standing near the T-line at center court when Lendl was serving to throw him off. The match took 4 hours and 37 minutes and Chang admitted later that he had suffered from such terrible cramps, he had considered retiring in the fifth set, even when up 2-1. 
 
With Lendl out, the other top three seeds made the quarterfinals, but defending champion Wilander was shocked by unseeded Russian Andrei Chesnokov in straight sets. Meanwhile Becker and Edberg both swept their quarterfinals and clashed in a tremendous semifinal, which Edberg won despite blowing a two-set lead, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-2.
 
Chang faced fierce competition from Chesnokov but prevailed in four, setting up the teenager against Edberg, who had never been past the tournament's quarterfinals before.
 
Chang delivered a 6-1 first-set win, but Edberg won the next two sets. Following his win over Lendl, however, nothing seemed impossible for Chang, and he took the next two sets, 6-4, 6-2, becoming the youngest male player ever to win a Grand Slam title. 
 
It would be the only Slam Chang ever won, although he reached the finals of two others and had 34 singles titles to his credit overall. Edberg had three Slams left in his system, winning Wimbledon in 1990 and the US Open in 1991 and 1992. However, he never made it back to the French Open final, and it remained the missing piece in his quest for a career Grand Slam.
 
 
 
 
 
 
]]> Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:39:34 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Setting up the Roland Garros Men's Semifinals]]> ]]>
A look at some of the statistical peculiarities of the upcoming Roland Garros men's semifinals:

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's win over Roger Federer in the quarterfinals was just the fifth time in the last 10 years that Roger Federer has lost a Grand Slam match in straight sets. Previous to Tuesday, the only players to accomplish this feat against Federer were Novak Djokovic (three times) and Rafael Nadal (once).
 
Tsonga joins the short list of men to have defeated Roger Federer twice in Grand Slam matches - Tsonga won a five-set rally at Wimbledon in 2011. Also in the club? Rafael Nadal (8 wins), Novak Djokovic (5), Tomas Berdych (2), David Nalbandian (2), Alex Corretja (2) and Arnaud Clement (2). Of those - Nalbandian, Corretja and Clement's victories all came before Federer was ranked No. 1 or won his first Grand Slam.
 
Tsonga is one win away from being just the fourth French man to reach the Roland Garros final in the Open Era. Patrick Proisy lost the final in 1972; Yannick Noah won it in 1983 and Henri Leconte lost it in 1988.
 
Should Ferrer and Nadal comprise the final, it will be the first time since 2004 that two players from the same country have played in the Roland Garros final (Argentina's Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria), and the first time two Spaniards have done so since 2002 (Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero).
 
David Ferrer is 0-4 in his career in Grand Slam semifinal matches.
 
The Nadal-Djokovic semifinal breaks a streak of 11 straight matches the pair have played in that have been finals. The last time the pair squared off in a Grand Slam semifinal was Roland Garros in 2008, which Nadal won in straight sets.
 
 
 
]]> Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:23:28 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #6 - 2001 Women's Singles Final]]> ]]>
By the start of the 2001 season, Jennifer Capriati could easily make the claim of being the oldest 24 year old on the planet.
 
It had been 11 years since she turned pro at 13 years, 11 months, 10 years since she joined the Top 10 for the first time and eight years since she took more than a years' break from the sport after feeling burned out. In that same time span, she was charged with shoplifting and possession of marijuana.
 
She was a non-factor on the WTA tour from 1996-1998, before slowly returning to form and finishing No. 23 in the world in 1999 and No. 14 in 2000.
 
Capriati started off 2001 by winning the Australian Open, her first ever Grand Slam, by beating No. 4 Monica Seles, No. 2 Linsday Davenport and No. 1 Martina Hingis in sucession. She was the No. 4 seed entering the French, with a 28-5 record on the year.
 
Meanwhile, Belgium's Kim Clijsters was enjoying her own version of what Capriati had once been. Just 17 at the start of the 2001 Roland Garros tournament, Clijsters had jumped from 409th in the world in 1998 to 47th in 1999 to 18th in 2000. She had started off 2001 with a trip to the Indian Wells final, and was the 12th seed at the French Open.
 
From the outset, the tournament title looked up for grabs. Defending champion Pierce and third-seed Davenport both were missing due to injuries, while No. 2 seeded Venus Williams and No. 5 seed Amelie Mauresmo were both victims of first-round upsets. Capriati did not lose a set in the first four rounds, while Clijstesr had to hang on for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win in the fourth round against Slovakian upstart Henrieta Nagyova, ranked No. 131 in the world before upsetting No. 7 Elena Dementieva in the second round.
 
Both finalists crushed the quarterfinal competition, and Capriati showed she still had No. 1 Hingis' number in the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 conquest. Clijsters had far more trouble with fellow Belgian Justine Henin in the other semi. The player who would become Clijsters' chief rival over time took the first set, but eventually fell 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
 
In the final, Clijsters was merciless in her 6-1 first-set victory, but Capriati regrouped to take the second set 6-4. The American continued to take the advantage in the third set, and had two match points at 7-6 and 10-9, but could not close out either time. After all of her powerful shots, it was a weak return that touched the top of the tape and limped over that broke Clijsters' back, as Capriati became the first woman since Seles in 1992 to win the first two majors of the year.
 
The season would be the most memorable of Capriati's career. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open and took over the No. 1 ranking that October. She repeated as champion at Australia in 2002.
 
Clijsters' career wasn't too shabby, either. Although she never won Roland Garros (she made the final again in 2003), she won four Slams - the US Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010, and the Australian Open in 2011. 
 
]]> Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:51:38 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #7 - 1973 Women's Singles]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
Chris Evert was 18 in May of 1973. but was already ranked No. 2 in the world in women's tennis. Margaret Court was 30, ranked No.1 and had piled up 22 Grand Slam singles titles, including four previous at Roland Garros. 
 
Court lost only one set in her first four matches, while Evert didn't lose any, barely breaking a sweat in losing just two games in her first two matches combined. The Australian native, Court raced into the final, with only a second-set tie-breaker against fellow Aussie and No. 4 seeded Evonne Goolagong to give her any anxiety.
 
Evert destroyed local favorite Francoise Durr, the sixth seed, 6-1, 6-0 in her semifinal.

The age gap between the two remains the greatest for any Grand Slam final - male or female - in Open Era history. To make a finer point of it, Evert wasn't quite six years old when Court won her first Grand Slam title.
 
Every won the first set 7-6, then saw her first blemish of the entire tournament, a 6-7 loss. Court, the surehanded veteran, notched her fifth French Open title and 23rd Slam overall with a 6-4 third set win. Evert would go on to reach the Wimbledon final as well. She returned to the French Open in 1974 as the No. 1 seed and won the tournament, her first Slam, without losing a single set. She would go on to win Roland Garros six more times, the last in 1986 when she was 31, a year older than Court had been in 1974.
]]> Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:47:00 GMT <![CDATA[10 Greatest French Open Finals: #8 2004 Men's Singles]]> ]]> 2004 men's final: Gaston Gaudio def. Guillermo Coria 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6.
 
There have been plenty of memorable French Opens, but it's hard to find one crazier than the 2004 men's final - and all-Argentina affair that saw unseeded Gaston Gaudio defeat Guillermo Coria 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6.
 
Gaudio entered Roland Garros that spring ranked 44th in the world, coming off back to back first-round losses on clay at Hamburg and Rome.
Top seed Roger Federer lost in the third round, marking the last time he has not made the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, a streak that runs to this day. Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was done in the second round, upset by Igor Andreev.
 
Only two of the top 5 seeds - Coria and No. 5 Carlos Moya, made the quarterfinals, and they played each other. Gaudio swept Lleyton Hewitt in his quarterfinal, giving Argetina three players int he final four - No. 8 David Nalbandian was the third. Had Juan Ignacio Chela not lost to Tim Henman in the fourth quarterfinal, it could have been an all-Argetine Final Four.
 
As it was, Gaudio thrashed Nalbandian in three sets, while Coria dropped the first to Britain's Tim Henman before rallying for a four-set win.
Coria seemed on the fast track to his first Slam when he won the first two sets, only losing three games, but Coria's Cinderella story wasn't done yet.
 
He rallied to win the next three sets, becoming the first man to win a Grand Slam after losing the first set 6-0; the first Argentine to win a Slam since Guillermo Vilas in 1979; the fifth-lowest ranked player to win a Grand Slam; and the first man in Open Era history to win a Slam after saving match points in the final set. 
 
He jumped 33 spots to No. 11 with the victory. It was the only title he would win on the year, and he actually had a better 2005 - winning five titles - all on clay. 
 
The following year he made it to the fourth round before losing to 20th-seeded David Ferrer. That season marked the first French Open title for Rafael Nadal, who has tallied seven to date.
 
]]> Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:20:32 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles June 2-8]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis 

June 2 - Former world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko turns 32. Currently ranked No. 46 in the world, Davydenko has 21 career titles and has reached four Grand Slam semifinals in his career - the US Open in 2006 and 2007, and the French Open in 2005 and 2007.

June 3 - Rafael Nadal, 11-time Grand Slam winner and 7-time French Open champion, turns 27. Nadal has won 56 career titles and is a career Golden Slam winner with titles at the Australian Open (2009), Wimbledon (2008, 2010), US Open (2010), and French Open (2005-2008, 2010-2012), along with the Olympic gold medal in 2008.

June 4 - Seven time doubles Grand Slam winner Nenad Zimonjic turns 37. Zimonjic has three men's doubles Slams - the 2008 and 2009 Wimbledon titles and the 2010 French Open crown; along with the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open in 2004 and 2008 and the French Open in 2006 and 2010.

Andrea Jaeger, whose career was cut short by multiple injuries, turns 48. Jager reached No. 2 in the world in 1981 and made it to the finals of the 1982 French Open and 1983 Wimbledon, winning 10 total titles before her shoulder injuries took her career away. She later became a nun for the Episcopal Church.

June 6 - Bjorn Borg, 11-time Grand Slam winner and one of the greatest clay-court players of all time, turns 57. Borg won the French Open six times and Wimbledon five times, also reaching the US Open final four times. After winning 64 titles, he abruptly retired in 1981, thent ried to come back a decade later, but failed to win a single match.

June 7 - Twelve-time doubles Grand Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi turns 39. In men's doubles, Bhupathi has titles at the French Open (1999, 2001), Wimbledon (1999) and the US Open (2002). He has the career Slam in mixed doubles - with two titles at each of the majors.

June 8 - Russia's Nadia Petrova, currently No. 11 in the world, turns 31. Petrova has been ranked as high as No. 3 and has 13 career titles, advancing to the quarterfinals of eight different Grand Slams.

Belgium's Kim Clijsters turns 30. The former world No. 1 has three career Grand Slam singles titles - all at the US Open (2005, 2009, 2010). She won 41 titles overall. In 2009, she became the first mother to win a Slam after giving birth to a child since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
  ]]> Mon, 03 Jun 2013 08:50:50 GMT <![CDATA[Friday French Open Number Sense]]> ]]>
A women's French Open final hasn't gone 3 sets since 2001

Venus Williams has failed to reach the quarterfinals of the last 10 Grand Slams. Her last final eight appearance as at the 2010 US Open when she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters.
 
With his win on Friday, Rafael Nadal is now 54-1 lifetime at the French Open, a winning percentage of 0.982.

Since they first met in the 2005 Roland Garros semifinals, Roger Federer is 0-5 at the French Open against Rafael Nadal and 45-2 against everyone else.

No American man has reached at least the quarterfinals of the French Open since No. 2 Andre Agassi did so in 2003. That was so long ago that only one player - Tommy Robredo - from that final eight is still active on the ATP tour.

Since the last American man made a Roland Garros quarterfinal, players from 17 other countries: Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Spain, Great Britain, Switzerland, Romania, Russia, Croatia, France, Serbia, Chile, Latvia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria and Italy have achieved the final eight.
]]> Fri, 31 May 2013 08:57:44 GMT <![CDATA[Top 10 French Open Finals: #9 - 1974 Men's Singles]]> ]]>By Nick Georgandis

1974 - Bjorn Borg def. Manuel Orantes 2-6, 6-7, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1

Bjorn Borg turned pro in 1973 and took the game like few before or since, finishing the season ranked No. 17 in the world. Manuel Orantes had played amateur tennis since 1964 and went pro along with everyone else in 1968. He already had two titles, both on clay, by the time the 1974 French Open came about.

Whatever learning curve Borg was on in 1973, he had risen to the top of it a year later. By the time Roland Garros opened for business on June 3, 1974, Borg had risen to No. 8 in the world with a 41-10 record and five titles. Inexplicably, he lost his first set at the French Open to France's Jean-Francois Caujolle, ranked No. 17 in the world, but overcame that nervousness. He struggled again in the fourth round and the quarterfinals, pushed to five sets by the US' Erik Van Dillen and Mexico's Raul Ramirez, but came out on top both times.

Orantes was only the 14th seed entering the tournament, and had to hold off a youthful Guillermo Vilas in five sets in the third round, losing the first two before rallying.

In the fourth round, Orantes pulled his shocker, thrashing No. 4 seed Arthur Ashe in striaght sets. Still, neither man was thought of as the favorite in the final eight, not with No. 1 seeded Ilie Nastase still around, but American Harold Solomon shocked Nastase in the quarterfinals. Int he semis, Borg erased Solomon in four while Orantes overcame a partisan crowd and France's Francois Juaffret in three.

In the final, Orantes looked like a lock when he took the first two sets, but something came over Borg down 0-2, and the near-immortal he would come on clay came to life as he destroyed the Spaniard 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 to capture his first Grand Slam crown. Borg went on to win six French Open titles.]]> Thu, 30 May 2013 23:06:40 GMT <![CDATA[Top 10 French Open Finals: #10 - 1991 Men's Singles]]> ]]>
With 10 days left in the French Open (assuming the weather holds), we count down the 10 greatest French Open finals of the Open Era, starting with #10.

1991 - Jim Courier (USA) def. Andre Agassi (USA), 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4

For starters, even the possibility of an all-American French Open final 22 years later seems absolutely preposterous. Such is the state of American tennis (the men, anyways).

It was an American-rich field, with Agassi the No. 4 seed, Pete Sampras No. 6, Courier No. 9, Michael Chang No. 10, John McEnroe No. 15 and Brad Gilbert No. 16.

McEnroe and Gilbert were out in the first round, Sampras the second. Courier was a babe of 20 at tournament's start, beginning the season ranked No. 25 in the world before winning Indian Wells with three victories over Top 10 players (including Agassi) and Miami. Agassi had just turned 21 a month earlier, and was still more than a year away from winning the first of his eight Grand Slam singles titles.

Courier needed five sets to outlast Sweden's Magnus Larsson in the third round, while Agassi only lost two sets in reaching the quarterfinals. Once there, Courier shocked No. 1 Stefan Edberg in four sets and defeated Germany's Michael Stich in four more to reach his first Grand Slam finals. Agassi mopped the floor with Finnish upstart Jakob Hlasek before upending No. 2 Boris Becker to reach the final.

Thus, the two former roommates at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy found themselves squaring off with a Grand Slam title on the line. Agassi had Courier on the ropes twice, taking the first and third sets, but Courier bounced back to win the fourth and fifth for his first career Slam.]]> Thu, 30 May 2013 23:03:26 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Tipsarevic falls out of ATP Top 10]]> ]]>
Janko Tipsarevic dropped two spots to No. 12 in the world in the latest ATP rankings release, following his early-round exit last week that dropped the former No. 8 Serbian to just 11-11 on the year.
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka rejoins the Top 10 ahead of Tipsarevic, who was also passed by new No. 11 Marin Cilic.
Argentina's Juan Monaco, who won the 250-point title at Dusseldorf on Sunday, moved up two spots to No. 17, jumping France's Gilles Simon and Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The biggest mover in the Top 50 was Spain's Albert Montanes, who soared 35 spots to No. 47. The 32-year-old Montanes, formerly a Top 25 player, made the big jump by winning at Nice over Gael Monfils, who himself jumped 28 spots, landing back in the Top 100 at No. 81.
There were no changes in the WTA Top 20 ahead of the opening of Roland Garros.
There were two big moves by familiar faces just outside of it. China's Shuai Peng jumped 11 spots to No. 23 and Estonia's Kaia Kanepi moved up 14 spots from 40th to 26th.
Kanepi defeated Peng in the final at Brussels on Sunday. Peng upended American phenom Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals, while Kanepi upset Dominika Cibulkova in the first round and never looked back.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams slipped out of the Top 30 to No. 32. Williams has played just 14 matches so far this season and the lack of tournaments is sinking her point total.
]]> Mon, 27 May 2013 09:44:08 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: May 26 - June 1]]> ]]>
Light the Candles May 26 - June 1

May 27 - Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon men's champion, turns 48. The native of Melbourne, Australia played 16 years on the ATP tour, winning six titles and reaching No. 4 in the world. In 1983 at age 18, he became the youngest player to compete in a Davis Cup final, winning the rubber match as Australia beat Sweden 3-2. In 1987, he lost the Australian Open final in five sets to Stefan Edberg in the last AO match played on grass. He made up for it and how at Wimbledon, shocking first Mats Wilander in the quarterfinals, then Jimmy Connors in the semis before upsetting No. 1 Ivan Lendl int he final. After winning, he climbed into the player's box to celebrate with his family and coach, something that has become a tradition among winners since. Cash is a TV commentator for tennis for both CNN and the BBC.

May 29 - Three-time men's doubles Grand Slam winner Emilio Sanchez turns 48. A native of Madrid, Sanchez first reached No. 1 in men's doubles in 1989. He won the French Open twice (1988, 1990) and the US Open once (1988), and also won a silver medal in men's doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.He partnered Andres Gomez to win his first Slam and Sergio Casal for the other two. Sanchez is the brother of WTA standout Aranxta Sanchez Vicario.

France's Sebastien Grosjean, ranked as high as No. 4 in the world in 2002, turns 35. Grosjean won four ATP titles in his 15-year career, and reached the semifinals of four Grand Slams.

May 30 - Sweden's Magnus Norman, former World No. 2, turns 36. Norman won 12 titles in his 10-year career, reaching the 2000 French Open final Australian Open semifinal. He fell to Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten in the finals of Roland Garros. He has coached Robin Soderling and his Good to Great Tennis Academy has produced Stanislas Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov.

June 1 - Belgium's Justine Henin, arguably the second-best women's tennis player of the past 15 years, turns 31. Henin won seven Grand Slam titles and 43 overall
in her career that saw her retire twice - first in 2008 while ranked No. 1 in the world, and again in 2011 after a comeback that began in 2010. Henin won the French Open four times (2003, 2005-2007), the US Open twice (2003, 2007), the Australian Once (2004) and just missed the career Grand Slam by losing int he Wimbledon final twice (2001, 2006). When she won the 2003 French Open, she was the first player from Belgium to ever win a Grand Slam. She also won the 2004 Olympic gold medal in women's singles, defeating France's Amelie Mauresmo. In 2006, she reached all four Grand Slam finals, the first woman to do so since Martina Hingis in 1997. Her top rival was fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, who owned a slight 13-12 advantage all-time against her, although Henin won all three Grand Slam finals between the two.]]> Sat, 25 May 2013 15:37:44 GMT <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic plays soccer for charity in Monaco]]> ]]>
On his profile, Novak Djokovic lists his three favorite sports as tennis, football (soccer) and F1 racing.
On Tuesday night in Monaco, the No. 1 player on the ATP tour got to combine all three.
Djokovic took part in the World Stars Football Match - a charity event held at Louis II Stadium that raised money for underprivileged children.
Djokovic was joined by F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in the exhibition.
Djokovic played on the A.S. Star Team for Children, now in its 20th year of collecting funds from Monaco charities.]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 15:45:53 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: France's Benoit Paire joins Top 30]]> ]]>
Rafael Nadal returned to No. 4in the world in the latest ATP rankings this week, but the biggest mover on the boards was France's Benoit Paire, who soared 10 spots to No. 26 in the world following his trip to the semifinals at Rome that saw him defeat three players ranked higher than him including No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro.
The 24-year-old Paire was just 14-14 before the tournament began last week. His ascension gives France five players ranked in the Top 30, the most of any country.
Nadal's title at Rome ends David Ferrer's reign of seven consecutive and 14 of the past 15 weeks as the No. 1 ranked Spaniard.
In another Top 10 move, Janko Tipsarevic moved back to No. 10 in the world, a mere 10 points ahead of Stanislas Wawrinka.
Andy Murray's announcement that he will not compete in the French Open means he will lose 360 points off his ranking after making the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year. This means that if No.3  Roger Federer can reach the tournament final, he would retake the No. 2 position from the Scot.

There was plenty of shuffling in the women's Top 10, with Italy's Sara Errani rising to No. 5 in the world, a new career high. Errani is the first woman to be ranked in the top 5 simultaneously in singles and doubles since Serena Williams accomplished the feat shortly before her season-ending injury in 2010.
Errani jumped Na Li, who fell to No. 6, just in front of Petra Kvitova, the new No. 7, passing Angelique Kerber. Samantha Stosur retook No. 9 from Caroline Wozniacki.
]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 09:06:34 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: May 19-25]]> ]]>
May 19 - Slovakia's Miloslav Mecir, the 1988 Olympic singles gold medalist, is 49. Representing Czechoslovakia at the games in Seoul in 1988, he defeated the American Tim Mayotte for the gold after upsetting No. 1 seeded Stefan Edberg in an epic 3-6, 6-0, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 semifinal. He also won the bronze medal in men's doubles at the same Olympics. Overall in singles play he won 11 tiles and reached No. 4 in the world in 1988, the same year he was ranked No. 4 in doubles. He reached two Grand Slam finals, losing to Ivan Lendl at the 1986 US Open and again at the Australian Open in 1989. His 1986 finals appearance at the US Open was the last time a player made a Grand Slam final using a wooden racket.

May 20 - Doubles specialist Frew McMillan, who won eight Grand Slam titles, turns 71. The South African won 63 men's doubles and five mixed doubles titles, was ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles beginning in August of 1977. In men's doubles he won Wimbledon thrice (1967, 1972, 1978), the French Open in 1972 and the US Open in 1977. In mixed doubles he won Wimbledon twice (1978, 1981) and the French Open in 1966.

Former world doubles No. 1 Tomas Smid of Czechoslovakia turns 57. Smid won 56 career doubles titles including the 1984 US Open and 1986 French Open, along with the Tour Finals in 1987. Both his titles were won alongside Australia's John Fitzgerald.

May 22 - Current world No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic turns 26. The Serbian has won the Australian Open four times (2008, 2011-2013) tying him for the most titles there with Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. In addition, he won both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011. He and Rafael Nadal are the only players to have won at least one Grand Slam title in each of the past three years. As of this past Monday, he has been ranked No. 1 in the world for 81 weeks, the ninth-most in Open Era history. In his first stint as No. 1 in 2011-2012, he spent 53 straight weeks at No. 1, the 11th longest Open Era stretch in that category. In 2011, he did not lose a match until the semifinals of the French Open and finished the season 70-6 with 10 titles.

May 23 - Australia's John Newcombe, former No. 1 in both singles and doubles, and won 26 Grand Slam titles, turns 69. Newcome won seven singles Grand Slam titles, two in mixed doubles and a staggering 17 in men's doubles. In all, he won 68 singles titles and 33 doubles titles. In singles, he won the Australian Open twice (1973, 1975), the US Open twice (1967, 1973) and Wimbledon three times (1967, 1970-1971). He never made it past the quarterfinals of the French Open, missing a chance at the singles career Grand Slam. He acquired it in men's doubles easily, winning the Australian Open five times (1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976); the French Open thrice (1967, 1969, 1973); Wimbledon six times (1965-66, 1968-70, 1974) and the US Open thrice (1967, 1971, 1973). In addition, he won two mixed doubles Grand Slams - the 1964 US Open and the 1965 Australian Open.

May 24 - America's Ken Flach, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion, turns 50. Flach won 34 doubles titles, reached No. 1 in the world and won the 1988 gold medal in men's doubles. He also won the US Open doubles title twice (1985, 1993) and Wimbledon (1987, 1989).]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 23:43:25 GMT <![CDATA[Juan Martin Del Potro Meets Pope]]> ]]>
We're not saying Juan Martin Del Potro just became the favorite tow in both Rome and the French Open, but getting blessed by the new pope isn't too shabby of a good luck charm.

As a gift to His Holiness Pope Francis, Del Potro gave away his racquet which he used to defeat Roger Federer for the 2009 US Open title.

"It was an incredible experience with Pope Francis, something that I'll never forget,” said del Potro. “It was a dream come true for a guy like me. It was an unforgettable moment. I was very nervous before meeting him, to be able to congratulate him and talk with him. He was nice. Everybody knows he is very humble. Today was a day that I'll remember for ever."

Like Del Potro, the Pope is from Argentina.

Del Potro met the Pope at Mass at the Vatican on Thursday. Fellow Argentines Carlos Berlocq and Horacio Zeballos, South Africa's Kevin Anderson, Mexico's Santiago Gonzalez and Croatia's Marin Cilic also attended.

The Pope is a native of Buenos Aires, while Del Potro was born in Tandil, about 250 miles away.

Currently ranked No. 7 in the world, the 24-year-old Del Potro is 17-6 on the year.]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 23:50:43 GMT <![CDATA[50 Somethings: Celebrating Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal]]> ]]>
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams took the Madrid Masters Open singles titles, Williams' 50th WTA crown and Nadal's 55th on the ATP circuit. Only Roger Federer (76) has more titles than either player.

Both Nadal and Williams have had careers beset by injuries, but both have defied them time and again to return to the top of their games and continue to put up eye-popping career and single-season statistics.

With 55 career titles, Nadal ranks 10th in Open Era history in that category. He's within two of Ilie Nastase for ninth place, five of Andre Agassi for eighth, seven of Guillermo Vilas for seventh and nine away from tying Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras for fifth on the all-time charts.

With 50 career titles, Williams is now three back of Monicas Seles for fifth in career titles in the Open Era and five behind Lindsay Davenport for fourth. Fourth will have to be Williams' bar to set for her career - the three women above: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf all have more than 100 titles each.

Here's a look at the milestone titles for Nadal and Williams over the course of their careers.

Rafael Nadal
Title #1 - 8/9/2004 - Sopot - ranked 71st, defeated #118 Jose Acasuso 6-3, 6-4 l
Title #10 - 8/8/2005 - Canada, ranked 2nd, def. #7 Andre Agassi, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Title #20 - 4/23/2007 - Barcelona, ranked 2nd, def. #28 Guillermo Canas, 6-3, 6-4
Title #30 - 7/21/2008 - Canada, ranked 2nd, def. #37 Nicolas Kiefer
Title #40 - 5/24/2010 - French Open, ranked #2, def. #7 Robin Soderling in final, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Title #50 - 5/27/2012 - French Open, ranked #2, def. #1 Novak Djokovic in final 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

Serena Williams
Title #1 - 2/22/1999 - Paris, ranked 24th, def. #18 Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
Title #10 - 8/13/2001 - Rogers Cup, ranked 10th, def. #3 Jennifer Capriati, 6-1, 6-7(9), 6-3
Title #20 - 11/13/2003 - Australian Open, ranked 1st, def. #2 Venus Williams 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4
Title #30 - 3/26/2008 - Miami, ranked #8, def. #3 Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
Title #40 - 4/2/2012 - Charleston, ranked #10, def. #26 Lucie Safaraova, 6-0, 6-1
Title #50 - 5/6/2013 - Madrid, ranked #1, def. #2 Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-4

]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 10:48:24 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Murray Re-takes No. 2; Stan Surges into Top 10]]> ]]>
ATP
Andy Murray's further success on clay and Roger Federer's lack thereof saw the two men flip-flop in the latest ATP rankings on Monday, with Federer now hotly pursued by No. 4 David Ferrer and No. 5 Rafael Nadal.

Murray reached the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters last week while Federer tumbled in the third round, upset by Japan's Kei Nishikori. Federer won Madrid a year ago, and with 7,760 points is now just 840 points ahead of Ferrer and 865 ahead of Nadal.

This is Murrary's fourth stint at No. 2. He has never attained the No. 1 ranking.

Now just 14-5 on the year, Federer could be in real jeopardy of falling back as far as fifth in the rankings, less than a year after taking over No. 1 by winning Wimbledon. He as a further 1,080 points to defend in the month ahead at Rome and Roland Garros before the tour switches to his favored grass surface, on which he is 117-17 (.873) all-time with 12 titles. Federer has been ranked in the Top 4 every week since July 7, 2003, a span of 514 weeks.

Madrid runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka surged up five spots to join the Top 10 for the first time since October of 2008. The 28-year-old Swiss improved to 25-9 on the year.

Departing the Top 10 was Janko Tipsarevic, off to a shaky 11-10 start to 2013. Tipsarevic had been in the Top 10 since November of 2011.

Despite his upset of Federer, Nishikori could only move up one spot in the rankings to No. 15, passing Canada's Milos Raonic.

American John Isner moved up one spot to No. 20, giving the US two players in the Top 20, albeit the other one being No. 19 Sam Querrey.

Outside of the Top 20, the biggest move was easily that of Spain's Pablo Andujar who rocketed up the charts 59 spots from No. 113 to No. 54 following his trip to the Madrid semifinals which included upset wins of No. 11 Marin Cilic, Isner and Nishikori before falling to Nadal.
To put things in perspective, Andujar accumulated 44% of his season wins (4 of 9) and 57% ($204,716 of $356,758) of his 2013 prize money all came in the past week. Andujar moved within one spot of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who fell seven spots after losing in the third round at Madrid.

WTA
In the latest women's rankings, Serena Williams staved off Maria Sharapova's bid to take over No. 1 in the world by beating the Russian in straight sets to win the Madrid Open on Sunday. Williams leads Sharapova by 425 points. Madrid semifinalist Sara Errani jumped up to No. 6 in the world, surpassing Angelique Kerber. Errani is quitely achieving something really rare in the modern tennis world - ranked in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles (she's No. 1 in singles).

Another move in the Top 10 saw Caroline Wozniacki climb to ninth, pushing Samantha Stosur back to 10th. Madrid semifinalist Ana Ivanovic rose three places to No. 13.

It was the first time the former No. 1 has made at least the semifinals of a Masters-level tournament since Indian Wells in 2013.
Still just 25 years old, this is the highest Ivanovic has been ranked since September of 2009.


]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 09:46:31 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles (May 12-17)]]> ]]>
May 15 - Scotland's Andy Murray, the 2012 US Open winner and Olympic gold medalist, is 26. Murray is ranked No. 3 in the world and has been as high as No. 2. After losing his first five Grand Slam finals, he broke the UK's 77-year drought by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final at Flushing Meadows. In 2011, he became just the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slams in the same year.

May 16 - Two-time Grand Slam winner Gabriela Sabatini turns 43. Sabatini won the US Open singles title in 1990 and the Wimbledon doubles crown in 1988. She also won a pair of silver medals - for women's singles and doubles - at the 1988 Olympic Games. Her US Open title came at the expense of Steffi Graf, 6-2, 7-6, her lone win over the all-time great in Grand Slam play in 12 tries. Overall, Sabatini had an 11-29 record against Graf.

May 17 - Australian Tony Roche, who won 16 Grand Slam titles and coached four No. 1 players, turns 68. The native of Wagga Wagga reached No. 2 in the world in 1969 and won the 1966 French Open and reached the finals of three other Grand Slam events. He won 26 singles and 18 doubles titles overall and reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in 1965. He won the career Grand Slam in men's doubles with 13 titles total. He won the Australian Open doubles title five times - 1965, 1967, 1971, 1976 and 1977; the French Open twice (1967, 1969); the US Open once (1967) and Wimbledon five times (1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974). He also won two mixed doubles Grand Slams - the 1966 Australian Open and the 1976 Wimbledon.

May 18 - Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win at Roland Garros, turns 53. Noah was the sixth seed entering the tournament. Noah upset third-seeded Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals, then destroyed countryman Christophe Roger-Vasselin in the semifinals after Vasselin had shocked No. 1 Jimmy Connors in the quarterfinals.In the final, he swept fifth-seeded Mats Wilander to take the title. He reached No. 3 in the world in singles and No. 1 in doubles, winning 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles overall. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

South African men's player Kevin Anderson turns 27. Anderson has won two career titles and been ranked as high as No. 36 in the world. He attended the University of Illinois and was a five-time all-American (thrice in singles, twice in doubles). At 6-feet, 8-inches, he is the third-tallest man to ever play pro tennis, trailing only 6-10 Ivo Karlovic and 6-9 John Isner.]]> Sat, 11 May 2013 15:56:52 GMT <![CDATA[Nishikori Poised to Join Asia's Top Tennis Ranks]]> ]]>
Kei Nishikori's upset win over Roger Federer in the third round at Madrid on Thursday reminded us once again that the Asian world has really just scratched the surface on potential tennis talent.

Nishikori is ranked No. 16 in the world. Indonesia, Hong Kong, both Koreas, China, Tawain and Malaysia combine for exactly one other player in the Top 100 - Tawain's Yen-Husn Lu, currently ranked No. 71.

Despite having a population of 1.34 billion, China's highest-ranked male player is Ze Zhang at No. 154.

Asia is a bit better represented on the WTA tour, with China's Li Na at No. 5, Peng Shuai at No. 35, Su-Wei Hsieh at No. 38, Jand ie Zheng at No. 50. Japan is represented by Ayumi Morita at No. 43, Kimiko Date-Krumm at No. 77 and Misaki Doi at No. 89.

China's Li is the most successful Asian tennis player (born and living there, which eliminates American Michael Chang from this particular discussion) ever - the only Asian to win a Slam (French, 2011), the first to reach the final of a Slam Australian, 2011) and still revelant two years later, ranked No. 5 in the world.

In his native Japan, Nishikori follows in the footsteps of Kimiko Date-Krumm and Shuzo Matsuoka. Date-Krumm was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world before retiring at age 26 in 1996, only to return to the tour in 2008 and become the second-oldest female player to win a WTA tournament when she won the 2009 Hansol Korea Open at age 38 years, 364 days.

Matsuoka was the first Japanese player to ever win a singles event on tour when he took Queen's Club in 1992. In 1995, he made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and took the first set off the immortal Pete Sampras before falling in four.

Still, Nishikori's upset of No. 2 Federer rippled across Asia on Thursday, particuarly given Nishikori's youth (23 years old) and previous pain against players in the Top 10 (he improved to 8-19 against Top 10 players overall).

His last win over a Top 10 player came against No. 6 Tomas Berdych in the Tokyo quarterfinals last year. This is his biggest win since upsetting No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at Basel in 2011. Djokovic came into that match with a staggering 72-3 record.

What Nishikori does with the win over Federer and the rest of the Madrid Open will tell us just how big an accomplishment it was. Now 18-6 on the year, Nishikori will take on wild card Pablo Andujar in the next round, now a win away from a semifinal showdown against either No. 4 David Ferrer or No. 5 Rafael Nadal.
]]> Fri, 10 May 2013 00:55:28 GMT <![CDATA[Golfer Rory McIlroy & Steve Stricker Talk Tennis]]> ]]>
What do a pair of the top golfers in the world talk about when they are paired together for the first round of the most lucrative tournament on the PGA Tour?

Tennis, of course.

Playing in the most-watched trio at Thursday's The PLAYERS Championship in Florida, former No. 1 Rory McIlroy and former No. 2 Steve Stricker shot the breeze by talking about the sport that McIlroy's girlfriend is so famous for.

"We were talking about his girlfriend Caroline (Wozniacki)," Stricker said after firing a 5-under 67 (McIlroy was even better at 6-under on the day). "I was asking him a bunch of questions because my daughter and wife are into tennis. I think we're going to go to the US Open this fall."

A fun topic considering the pair were matched with the hottest golfer on the planet - Australia's Adam Scott - who last was seen winning the Masters Tournament in April.

Stricker's wife, Nicki, is frequently his caddie as well. She is the son of former PGA pro Dennis Tiziani and the brother of another former pro, Mario Tiziani.

Daughter Bobbi, a high school freshman in Waunakee, Wisconsin, is already on the varsity of her squad and said in an interview last fall that she only considers the sport of her dad and grandfather a "hobby".

]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 21:50:26 GMT <![CDATA[Better than Defeating Djokovic? Dimitrov Smooches Sharapova! ]]> ]]>
So apparently the formula goes: Knock off the #1 player in the world, get to smooch with Maria Sharapova in public on the streets of Madrid.
Who else just started filling out their application to join the ATP tour?

A day after 21-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov defeated Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open, he was captured on film snuggling and kissing long-rumored girlfriend Sharapova, the No. 2 player on the WTA tour, while out for a stroll.

The 26-year-old Sharapova was formerly engaged to basketball player Sasha Vujacic, but called it off in the spring of 2012.
Dimitrov is back in action tomorrow to take on 15th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round.

Sharapova, seeded No. 2 in the women's draw, is through to the quarterfinals and will take on Kaia Kanepi next.


 
]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 21:37:25 GMT <![CDATA[Evert Responds to Connors Memoir ]]> ]]>Chris Evert expressed her thoughts on Jimmy Connors revealing very intimate details about their former relationship.]]> It took Jimmy Connors almost 40 years to reveal to the world that he was the father of a baby that Chris Evert decided not to have in 1974, in a time when the two were engaged to be married and on top of the tennis world.
 

But it took Evert just 48 hours to strike back.
 

“In his book, Jimmy Connors has written about a time in our relationship that was very personal and emotionally painful,” Evert said in a statement. “I am extremely disappointed that he used the book to misrepresent a private matter that took place 40 years ago and made it public without my knowledge.”
 

“I hope that everyone can understand that I have no further comment.”
 

Now 60, Connors married former Playboy model Patti McGuire in 1979. His book also details affairs he had that nearly cost him his marriage. The couple now have two children.
 

Evert has been married three times, her first coincidentally also beginning in 1979. She has three children.

]]> Mon, 06 May 2013 10:54:28 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Tommy Haas is Lucky 13]]> ]]>
Like a fine vintage, Germany's Tommy Haas just keeps getting better with age.
By winning the title at Munich on Sunday, Haas became the first man of at least 35 years of age to win an ATP tournament since 2008, and also took another step up in the rankings to No. 13 in the world, passing Milos Raonic, who Haas is 13 years older than.
With 2,375 points, Haas is within 625 points of the Top 10. He was last ranked as high as 13th on December 31, 2007.
Oeiras winner Stanislas Wawrinka also moved up a spot to No. 15, surpassing Kei Nishikori. He thumped David Ferrer in the final, negative Ferrer's chances of putting more distance between himself and No. 5 Rafael Nadal as the French Open looms.
Wawrinka won for the first time since 2011. Three of his four career titles have come on clay. Wawrinka improved to 20-8 on the year.
Another German moving up the charts this week was 25-year-old Daniel Brands, who jumped 11 spots to No. 58 after reaching the Munich semifinals last week to improve to 12-9 on the year. Included in that stretch was a three-set upset of No. 10 Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals.
There were no changes in the WTA Top 10, but just outside of it Maria Kirilenko and Roberta Vinci swapped places, with the Russian moving up to No. 12. Russian currently have four players ranked in the Top 20 - No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 11 Nadia Petrova, Kirilenko and No. 19 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - easily the most of any country.
]]> Mon, 06 May 2013 10:23:21 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - May 5-11]]> ]]>
 
May 6 - Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova turns 24. Cibulkova has two WTA titles to date, winning at Moscow in 2011 and at Carslbad in 2012. She is currently ranked No.15 in the world and has made the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam events, most recently the French Open in 2012.
 
May 7 - America's Ryan Harrison, who has been ranked as high as No. 43 in the world, turns 21. As a junior, reached No. 7 in the world. His best performance was at Newport in 2012 when he reached the semifinals.
 
May 10 - Former world No. 1 Manuel Santana turns 75. Santana achieved the No. 1 mark in 1966, just before the start of the Open Era. Santana won 16 singles titles in his career including  the French Open in 1961 and 1964, Wimbledon in 1966 and the US Open in 1965. He also won a doubles Grand Slam at the French Open in 1963 and won the title in men's singles at the Olympics in 1968 when tennis was an exhibition sport. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.
 
May 11 - American Christina McHale turns 21. The WTA player has been ranked as high as 24th in singles and is currently ranked 55th. She made the third round of three of the four Grand Slams in 2012. She first rose to prominence in 2011 when she defeated then-No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the Western & Southern Open.
 

]]> Sun, 05 May 2013 08:47:52 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Ana Ivanovic on the Rise Again]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

WTA
There were mild changes in the men's and women's Top 20 tennis polls this week.
 
For the women, former No .1 Ana Ivanovic surpassed American Sloane Stephens to take over No. 16 in the world.
 
Ivanovic reached the quarterfinals at Stuttgart last week, falling to tournament champion Maria Sharapova there.
 
Since her run to the Australian Open semifinals in January, Stephens' game has been largely MIA. She has three first-match losses, and her only win over a top 20 player was defeating Venus Williams in a walk over.
 
Outside of the Top 8, the WTA women are a remarkably tight-knit bunch. Just 1,455 points separate No. 9 Samantha Stosur from No. 18 Jelena Jankovic.
 
Italy's Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion and 2011 runner-up, jumped 11 spots to No. 37 this week after winning Marrakech last week for 280 points and $40,000. 
 
ATP
There was also a swap at No. 16 and 17 for the men's tour, as Stanislas Wawrinka moved a spot ahead of Gilles Simon.
 
]]> Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:04:01 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - April 28 - May 4]]> ]]>
 
April 29 - Career Golden Slam singles winner, former No. 1 and International Tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi turns 43. Agassi won the Australian Open four times (1995, 2000-01, 2003), the US Open twice (1994, 1999), Wimbledon in 1992 and the French Open in 1999. He is the last American male to win either the Australian or French Open, and won 60 titles overall, as well as the gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Agassi turned pro at age 16 and won Wimbledon at age 22, defeating former champs Boris Becker and John McEnroe before knocking off Goran Ivanisevic in a five-set final. Agassi also was part of two Davis Cup championship teams for the US and had a fearsome rivalry with fellow American Pete Sampras.
 
The greatest men's doubles team in history, Bob and Mike Bryan, turn 35. The Bryan Brothers have won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles together and co-held the No. 1 ranking in men's doubles for 306 weeks (and counting). They have won 86 doubles titles overall including 13 Grand Slams - six Australian Opens (2006-07, 2009-11, 2013); one French Open (2003); two Wimbledons (2006, 2011) and four US Opens (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012). They also won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. In addition, Bob Bryan has won seven mixed doubles Grand Slams - the French Open in 2008-09, Wimbledon in 2008 and the US Open in 2003-04, 2006 and 2010. Mike Bryan has three mixed doubles Grand Slams - the French Open in 2003, the US Open in 2002 and Wimbledon in 2012.
 
May 1 - Spain's Tommy Robredo, a former Top 5 player, turns 31. Robredo, currently ranked No. 43 in the world, has won 11 titles in his 15-year career. He peaked at No. 5 in the world in August of 2006. He has reached the quarterfinals of five Grand Slams in his career, including the French Open four times. He also has five career doubles titles and has reached the semifinals of the US Open in doubles three times. He has played on three championship Davis Cup teams for France - 2004, 2008 and 2009.
 
Former No. 1 doubles player Robert Seguso turns 50. Seguso won four Grand Slam doubles titles as well as a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He reached No. 1 in the world in September of 1985 shortly after winning the US Open title along with Ken Flach. He teamed with Anders Jarryd to win the 1987 French Open crown, then took Wimbledon alongside Flach. The French Open crown came after he and Jarryd had lost the first two sets by 6-7 scores to France's Guy Forget and Yannick Noah. In 1988, he and Flach repeated as Wimbledon champions.
 
Israel's Shahar Pe'er, a two-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist, turns 26. Peer has won five singles and three doubles titles in her career, which began in 2004. She was ranked as high as No. 11 in singles in January of 2011, but has since dipped in the rankings. She is currently ranked No. 107.
]]> Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:48:19 GMT <![CDATA[Number Sense: Breaking Down Rafael Nadal's Clay Court Mastery]]> ]]>
Here's a interesting stat for you next time you want to blow the minds of your fellow Rafa-holics and Djoko-maniacs.
 
Since the beginning of the 2010 season through yesterday's second-round match at the Barcelona Open, Rafael Nadal has played 97 matches on clay courts, and has won 92 of them.
 
That's a winning percentage of 94.85% by the way.
 
Six of those matches have come against Novak Djokovic, and with the Serbian's victory last Sunday at Monte Carlo, the current No. 1 has split those six matches with the Spaniard.
 
That means that over the last four seasons, Nadal is 3-3 against Djokovic on clay, 89-2 against everyone else.
 
Djokovic's three wins are the most of any player against Nadal on clay; Roger Federer has two - one in 2009, the other in 2007. No other player has beaten Nadal more than once on clay. He's a staggering 249-11 with 38 titles on the surface since his emergence in 2005, when he exploded to a 50-2 record and nine titles on the red stuff.
 
Since then, he's never lost more than two matches in a season on clay, a streak that is now seriously threatened given that he's already lost twice, with the remainder of Barcelona, along with Madrid, Rome and of course, Roland Garros, yet to be played.
 
Nadal's "worst" winning percentage on clay since 2005 came in 2009, when he was just 29-2 (93.56%)and won a meager three titles. This of course, was the season when Robin Soderling upset Nadal in the French Open quarterfinals, paving the way for Roger Federer's victory to complete his career Grand Slam.
 
Twice in that time span, Nadal has gone undefeated on clay - 2006 (26-0, 4 titles) and 2010 (22-0, 4 titles).
 
In the entire stretch, he's lost to players outside the Top 20 just four times - the aforementioned Soderling in 2009, #47 Igor Andreev in 2005, #23 Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2008 (his only loss that year against 24 wins) and #73 Horacio Zeballos earlier this season.
 
]]> Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:02:47 GMT <![CDATA[Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy Launches Tournament Series]]> ]]> ]]> World Gym Setauket in New York to Host Inaugural May, July Events

(HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.) - Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy (Ivan Lendl IJTA) – led by the former No.1 player in the world and coach to U.S. Open Champion Andy Murray – launches a tournament series at World Gym Setauket (New York), featuring 11 outdoor and five indoor clay courts.
 
Located on Long Island, the first event of the “Ivan Lendl IJTA Junior Tour Championships” takes place May 3-5. It is sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) - Eastern Long Island region. Open divisions include Boys 18’s and Girls 16-18’s.
 
The second USTA tournament is scheduled for July 12-14. An expanded field includes Boys and Girls 12-18’s. Ivan Lendl IJTA is joined by Game Set Match Academy as hosts of both events.
 
“Ivan Lendl IJTA opened in August 2011 and strives to provide the finest in tennis training and academics for juniors of all abilities,” says Peter Orrell, President and CEO of Junior Sports Corporation, owner/operator of Ivan Lendl IJTA.  “Our tournament series, the Ivan Lendl Championships, is a great opportunity to identify talented players while providing a competitive atmosphere for passionate players in the Northeast.”
 
The full-time program (grades 5-12) at Ivan Lendl IJTA is based on philosophies Lendl followed to become one of the greatest players in tennis history, highlighted by eight Grand Slams. The Academy focuses daily instruction on classic fundamentals, leading-edge biomechanics, strength training / fitness and mental preparation. 
 
Lendl and his staff subscribe to a hands-on approach with juniors, instilling dedication, focus, hard work, motivation and overall preparation.
 
To register for the Ivan Lendl IJTA Junior Tour Championships: http://bit.ly/ZMGymL
 
For more information on Ivan Lendl IJTA: www.LendlTennis.com/info, 888.936.5327.
 
About Junior Sports Corporation
 
Located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, JSC owns and operates:
 
Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy is the world’s only academy to combine training, competition and academics for serious junior golfers.  Director of Instruction Hank Haney – coach to winners of every major championship on the PGA TOUR – and his elite staff train junior golfers from more than 25 countries across six continents.
 
The International Junior Golf Tour hosts 60 tournaments annually and is the only junior golf tour with events every weekend during the September-to-May school year.
 
Established in May 2011, the Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy produces the finest tennis training and competition for junior students to ultimately reach the college or professional ranks. Ivan Lendl, former World No. 1 player and winner of eight Grand Slam singles titles, serves as Director of Instruction and is dedicated to the development of each junior tennis player.
 
Heritage Academy provides progressive, diverse academic instruction for students from grades five to 12 who pursue extra-curricular passions, such as golf at Hank Haney IJGA and tennis at Ivan Lendl IJTA.
 
Hilton Head Island is easily accessible by most major airlines through Hilton Head Island (HHI), Savannah (SAV), Charleston (CHS) and Columbia (CAE) airports.

]]> Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:09:29 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Roger Federer Re-takes No. 2]]> ]]>
Roger Federer retook the No. 2 ranking in the world by the slimmest of margins on Monday in the latest ATP listings.
 
Andy Murray's early loss at the Monte Carlo Masters dropped the Scot 10 points behind Federer into the No. 3 position in the world.
 
Novak Djokovic increased his lead as No. 1 in the world by defeating eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the tournament's final. Djokovic's 12,900 points are more than 4,200 ahead of No. 2 Federer.
 
Nadal dropped nearly 1,000 points behind No. 4 David Ferrer with the defeat and if he is unable to keep up his annual frantic pace on clay, he is in jeopardy of falling further, now just 1,200 points ahead of No. 6 Tomas Berdych and No. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro.
 
Canada's Milos Raonic climbed two spots to No. 13, tying his career high.
 
The biggest move in the top 25 was by Italy's Fabio Fognini, who rose eight spots to No. 24 after reaching the Monte Carlo semifinals.
 
The biggest tumble of the week befell The Netherlands' Robin Haase who dropped 21 spots to 71st from 50th.
 
Just 7-10 on the year, Haas lost in the first round of Monte Carlo a year after his surprising trip to the quarterfinals there.
 
With most countries involved in Fed Cup playoffs, there were no rankings moves inside the WTA's Top 50 this week.
]]> Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:11:35 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - April 21-27]]> ]]>
 
April 23 - Mixed doubles career Grand Slam winner Daniela Hantuchova turns 30. Hantuchova won the Australian open with Loes Friedl in 2001, the Australian Open in 2002 with Kevin Ullyett, the French Open in 2005 with Fabrice Santoro and the US Open that same year with Mahesh Bhupathi. She is one of only five women to win a career Slam in mixed doubles. She has also reached the finals of three women's doubles Slams, won nine career doubles titles and been ranked as high as No. 5 in doubles. In singles, she has five career WTA titles and has been ranked as high as No. 5, that coming in 2003. She is currently ranked 75th in the world.
 
April 25 - Former top 5 player and Olympic silver medalist Rainer Schuttler turns 37. Schuttler combined with fellow German Nicolas Kiefer to win the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won four singles titles in his career and reached No. 5 in the world in April of 2004. His best Grand Slam performance came in 2003 when he reached the final of the Australian Open, losing to Andre Agassi in straight sets.
 
April 26 - American John Isner, largely known for winning the longest match in tennis history, turns 28. In the first round of Wimbledon in 2010, Isner defeated France's Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68, setting the record for most aces in a match with 113. Isner is currently ranked No. 23 in the world, and has been ranked as high as No. 9. He has six career singles titles and three in doubles. He is also the second-tallest man to ever play tennis, standing 6-feet, 8-inches.
 
April 27 - Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina turns 27. The Russian was the first woman to be ranked No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam title, finishing as the runner-up at the 2009 Australian Open and 2008 and 2009 French Opens. She also won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won 12 singles titles overall. In women's doubles, she won the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. 
 
]]> Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:42:24 GMT <![CDATA[Can Rafael Nadal regain No. 1 in 2013?]]> ]]>
By Nick Georgandis
 
Bizarre as it may sound, the player who poses the biggest threat to Novak Djokovic finishing a third straight season ranked No. 1 in the world is the man who currently has barely half of the Serbian's point total.
 
Yes, current world No. 5 Rafael Nadal is the dark horse in the five-man race to become No. 1, thanks almost entirely to the fact that his season ended last year in the second round at Wimbledon, meaning pretty much anything he does this year at the All England Tennis Club, not to mention anything he does in the last five months of the 2013 season will be defense-free points.
 
As it stands, Djokovic had 12,500 points in his ledger entering Monte Carlo, followed by No. 2 Andy Murray (8,750); No. 3 Roger Federer (8,670), No. 4 David Ferrer (6,970) and No. 5 Nadal (6,385).
 
The top three, Djokvoic, Murray and Federer will all see point drops at the end of July when the 52-week rolling ratings pass the anniversary of last year's London Olympics. Gold medalist Murray will see 750 points shaved off his total, silver medalist Federer 450 and bronze winner Djokovic will lose 270.
 
Despite winning just one major in 2012, Djokovic entered Monte Carlo with a whopping 9,380 points left to defend in 2013, more than double the total the oft-injured Nadal has left to defend, no surprise consider his season ended at Wimbledon a year ago.
 
Djokovic is currently fighting an ankle injury, and while it hasn't kept him from reaching the Monte Carlo quarterfinals, it may well keep him on the sidelines for a tournament or two as he tries to save his best tennis for the Grand Slams. 
 
In the two years prior to last season's injury, Nadal averaged 4,700 points per season from Wimbledon through to the end of the year.
Nadal must defend his clay court titles at Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona and Roland Garros to keep his points this spring. He fell in the second rounds of Halle and Madrid last year. 
 
In the two years previous to his injury, Nadal averaged 4,700 points from Wimbledon through the end of the regular season. If he defends all of his clay court points and hits that 4,700 mark for the remainder of 2013, he would be at 11,085 for the year, a little more than 1,000 points away from Djokovic's current total minus the figure the Serbian will lose post-Olympics.
 
Both Murray and Federer currently lead Nadal by more than 2,000 points for their respective spots at No. 2 and 3, but each has more than 6,000 points to defend the rest of the way, including a Slam each to defend.
 
Despite being ranked ahead of Nadal currently, Ferrer is again rather the forgotten man, largely because he has no Slams to his credit.
 
Ferrer has 5,220 points to defend the rest of the way, less than any of the top five sans Nadal, and if he could just break through to his first Slam final or title, he would also be a serious threat to move into the Top 3.
 

]]> Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:35:50 GMT <![CDATA[Rafael Nadal's Injury Cure? Lots of Poker and Golf]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
Unable to play tennis for seven months before his return this February, Rafael Nadal went the Michael Jordan route to keep himself entertained and competitive - lots of golf and poker.
 
"Those were the only two things in which I could really compete over those months, golf and poker., "Nadal said in an interview ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he cruised into the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marinko Matosevic on Thursday. "I'm a competitive person, I like sports, and through all that time I could not practice movement sports."
 
Without the ability to run or jump during his rehabilitation of his torn knee ligament, Nadal was forbidden from getting on the tennis court or the soccer pitch, his other big passion.
 
Although golf has long been a passion of the 26-year-old Spaniard, poker was a new experience for him.
 
"I learnt to play poker. I did not understand the game, and now I understand it. I see it's fun, competitive. you need to have self-control, to measure times in which you can attack or defend."
 
In November 2012, Nadal won the scratch golf trophy at the Pula Couse in Palma de Mallorca. In his autobiography "Rafa", Nadal wrote that he considered retiring from tennis at age 19 in 2005 after being diagnosed with a congenital foot problem to take up golf instead.
]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:39:31 GMT <![CDATA[Floridian Adam Neff Wins Longines Future Tennis Aces on the Road to the French Open U.S. Qualification]]> ]]>WEEHAWKEN, NJ: April 16, 2013 – Eleven-year-old Adam Neff of Bradenton, Fla., won the fourth annual Longines Future Tennis Aces – On the Road to the French Open U.S. qualifying tournament on Friday, April 12, at the  USTA Boys’ & Girls’ 12s National Spring Championships presented by Longines, hosted by the City of Delray Beach.  Neff defeated top-seeded Brandon Nakashima of San Diego, Ca, 6-1, 6-4 in the championship match and will represent the United States when he competes against finalists from 15 countries around the world at the global event in Paris, France during the first week of the French Open. 
 
The USTA Boys’ & Girls’ 12s National Spring Championships presented by Longines, hosted by the City of Delray Beach served as the U.S. qualifier for Longines Future Tennis Aces with the winner of the Boys 12s singles division earning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris to play against qualifiers from 15 other nations.  In addition to winning an all-expense-paid trip and the opportunity to play tennis in the center of Paris, Adam will compete to receive financing for his tennis equipment until his 16th birthday, courtesy of Longines.
 
Neff, who will turn 12 on May 30, competed against 128 other top-ranked U.S. players in the week-long USTA-sanctioned event.  En route to the title Neff was nearly flawless and never dropped a set to any of his competitors.
 
Full results from the U.S. finals of the 2013 Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament can be found at: http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=121633
 
Last year, Rachel Lim of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., won the Longines Future Tennis Aces all-girls event and the trip to Paris, where she fell to the top-seeded Russian national champion in the first round of play.
 
Longines is the proud Official Partner and Timekeeper of the French Open at Roland-Garros since 2007. Longines Future Tennis Aces – On the Road to the French Open is part of Longines’ global commitment to support and develop tennis’ superstars of tomorrow. All the players who qualify for the tournament will have the opportunity to visit the red-clay courts of Roland Garros and attend a French Open match. 
 
Countries participating in Future Tennis Aces program include Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italia, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the U.S.
 
LONGINES
Longines has been based at Saint-Imier, Switzerland, since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations.
 
Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries.
]]> Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:55:34 GMT <![CDATA[Marathon Man Gage Brymer Wins Boys’ 46th Annual ASICS Easter Bowl]]> ]]>  
“No, I don’t really like them,” was Brymer’s response to a question posed by USTA First Vice President Katrina Adams, who was handling Tennis Channel on-court commentating duties following the unseeded Brymer’s 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, win over Luca Corinteli in the Boy’s 18s ITF singles final on the final day of the 46th annual event that took place for the first time at the Sunrise Country Club.
 
Adams called Brymer the “Marathon Man”, who later added in his post-match media interviews: “I wish I could get it done it two sets every match. It’s been quite a week, quite a grind.”
 
For the third straight year the boys’ 18s ITF singles was won by a UCLA Bruin recruit as Marcos Giron (2011), Mackenzie McDonald (2012) and now Brymer have captured the coveted title. It’s a junior title their coach Billy Martin, who many regard as one of the best junior players of all-time, never won.
 
“I don’t think it’s that I’m getting warmed up because I feel good when I go on the court and I’m hitting good,” Brymer said. “I think the other guy just really comes out pumped up and it takes a little bit of time to get into the match. It’s funny because this is the first tournament where it’s been the case. It’s not that I’m known for losing the first set. It’s just been this week. It’s not too disheartening now when I lose the first set because I know I can come back.
 
“I can’t put my finger on it. I guess it’s a good thing because I’ll never count myself out in the second set.”
 
Corinteli, the No. 3 seeded player from Alexandria, Va., who trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., played a solid first set and used his big serve to take the early lead. “Maybe I thought in my head I really wouldn’t face any adversity and that it’s kind of going to go as smooth as it has the first set and a half,” he said. “But tennis is never like that and this has happened to me before. A couple of times you pass by it and think you’ve overcome it and then it happens again. You never really know what to expect in this sport because I was in cruise control and then a couple different points go his way and it’s a different match.”
 
Brymer also won the ASICS Easter Bowl in 2011 in the boys’ 16s. “I don’t like getting second place,” he said. “I feel like once I get to the final I’m there to win it. A couple of weeks ago at the Claremont ITF I got second and that was my first second in a while. I really can’t remember the last time I got second place. I just hate it. I can’t stand going all that way and losing.”
 
Brymer said he got a little nervous up 5-0 and then 5-1 in the final set. “It’s definitely an incredibly tough place to be up 5-0, 5-1, 5-2. Some people say, you’re up by so much and you’ve got nothing to lose and you’ve got nothing to be worried about, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. It’s much harder to get up 5-0 and close it out then to get up 5-0.
 
Brymer doesn’t have much time to rest before he returns to play for his high school team, University High in Irvine, on Tuesday. Then it’s off to play the 113th Ojai Valley Championships Boys’ CIF Interscholastic division April 25-28. This year, Brymer is trying to be the first player since Bobby Riggs to win three straight high school titles at The Ojai since Bobby Riggs did it from 1934-36 playing for Franklin High School in Los Angeles.
 
Two 14-year-olds battled for the Girls’ 16s singles title as last year’s ASICS Easter Bowl finalist CiCi Bellis, the No. 8-seeded player from Atherton, Calif., defeated No. 7 Caroline Dolehide of Hinsdale, Ill., 6-4, 6-1.

“I thought about it a little bit before the match,” Bellis said of her finals loss last year. “It was pretty disappointing. I didn’t want to think about that before the match.”
 
Dolehide got down two breaks early in the match, but was able to come back and had game point at 4-all before Bellis was able close out the first set, 6-4.
 
“I missed a little bit too much to stay in the match,” Dolehide said. “I didn’t feel tired but I felt like I had to pick it up to stay with her. All her balls were going pretty deep.”
 
Dolehide said she wasn’t nervous playing in the final, just “excited.”
 
Dolehide later teamed with partner Brienne Minor to win the gold ball in doubles to go along with her singles silver as the pair beat Emma Higuchi and Rebecca Weissmann, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
 
In the Boys’ 16s final, top-seeded Sameer Kumar of Carmel, Ind., won his second straight USTA Supernational with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kalman Boyd of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
 
“I just couldn’t hang with him,” Boyd said. “He was so fresh and mentally tough and I just got too tired after every point. I was just dead and trying to recover. I never played on Stadium and I never played in front of a crowd all week. So I think that was a factor. I’m already looking forward to my next tournament.”
 
Kumar said he and his coach actually hit on Stadium court late Saturday night just to get a feel for it. “We wanted to see how the conditions were,” said Kumar, who won the 16s Winternationals to start the year. “Today was tough, but obviously the scoreline doesn’t seem so. I played very well today.”
 
Not even paired together until the day before the tournament, Jordi Arconada and Spencer Papa beat JC Aragone and Mackenzie McDonald, 6-1, 7-5 to win the Boys’ 18s doubles.
 
Weekend ASICS Easter Bowl sightings: USTA First Vice President Katrina Adams, USTA Director of Coaching Jose Higueras and former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kathy May Fritz.
 
The 18s singles draws can be found here: 
 http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=122977
For 16s and 14s go to TennisLink here:
http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=122896
 
To keep up with all the ASICS Easter Bowl news, visit the website at www.easterbowl.com and check out the tournament on Facebook (www.facebook.com/EasterBowl) and Twitter (@easterbowl). For more information on ASICS, check out: www.ASICSAmerica.com and follow on Twitter @ASICSAmerica.
 
Sunday’s Scores
Boys’ 18s Singles (Final)
Gage Brymer, Irvine, CA def. Luca Corinteli (3), Alexandria, VA 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
 
Boys’ 18s Doubles (Final)
Jordi Arconada / Spencer Papa (2) def. JC Aragone / M. Mackenzie. McDonald (4) 6-1, 7-5
 
Boys’ 16s Singles (Final)
Sameer Kumar (1), Carmel, IN def. Kalman Boyd (17), Rancho Santa Fe, CA 6-0, 6-0
 
Boys' 16 Singles (Playoff)
Taylor Fritz (3) Rancho Santa Fe, CA def. Emil Reinberg (17) Atlanta, GA 6-3, 6-4
 
Girls’ 16s Singles (Final)
Catherine Bellis (8), Atherton, CA def. Caroline Dolehide (7), Hinsdale, IL 6-4, 6-1
 
Girls' 16 Singles (Playoff)
Emma Higuchi (4) Los Angeles, CA def. Hanna Chang Fontana, CA 6-4; 6-4
 
Girls' 16 Doubles (Final)
Caroline Dolehide / Brienne Minor (1) def. Emma Higuchi / Rebecca Weissmann (3) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
 
Girls' 16 Doubles (Playoff)
Jessie Aney / Alexis Nelson (6) def. Jada Hart / Stephanie Hazell 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
 
About ASICS America: Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, meaning “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body,” is an old Latin phrase from which ASICS is derived and the fundamental platform on which the brand still stands. The company was founded more than 60 years ago by Kihachiro Onitsuka and is now a leading designer and manufacturer of running shoes, as well as, other athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.asics.com.
 
CONTACT INFO:
Steve Pratt, ASICS Easter Bowl media: sprattt@aol.com, 310.408-4555
 
]]> Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:35:16 GMT <![CDATA[Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps to Partner with Todd Martin Tennis]]> ]]>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps is proud to announce their partnership with Todd Martin Tennis for a camp session July 28 – Aug 1, 2013 at the University of North Florida.  Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps is looking forward to collaborating with Martin’s professional and coaching skills to bring personalized instruction and a great camp experience to Florida players.

Martin, who reached No. 4 in the world in ATP rankings, is a two-time Grand Slam finalist and former collegiate player at Northwestern University. Since his retirement in 2004, Martin has coached top players Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic as well as several top junior players. Martin has also continued his commitment to tennis and service through his work with his foundation for at-risk youth, The Todd Martin Development Fund, which he founded in 1994. 
 
"We are extremely excited to work with Coach Todd Martin.  His experience as a player and as a coach is unparalleled in the camp business.  Not many coaches have the breadth of experience in the game of tennis. His experience teaching players from beginner to World #1 (Novak Djokovic) is a tremendous asset to our camps.”  said Premier Sports Camps president David Schilling.

Premier Sports Camps / Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps, has been offering their comprehensive tennis curriculum to campers since 1992. The Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp experience is characterized by experienced coaching staff and camp directors made up exclusively of collegiate coaches and players, individual attention provided to campers and emphasis on fundamentals and match play for players of all levels.

Coach Martin is also eager to be bringing the Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp experience to youth players this summer.

"I grew up in a college town and experienced the joys and benefits of summer camp as a child. Providing an experience for young athletes to develop their skills, understanding and enjoyment of tennis while on a college campus is a treat for me. I'm looking forward to this camp inspiring new tennis players toward a love for the game and motivating future college tennis players after they experience a Division I program firsthand. Coach Adam Schaechterle and the North Florida tennis program are the perfect partners for TMT," said Martin.

Todd Martin Tennis was founded in 2012 with the goal of developing players locally and globally.  Todd Martin Tennis offers instruction and consulting for players of all levels and seeks to enrich young players’ lives though collaboration and instruction from experienced coaches.

Todd Martin Tennis’ Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp will be co-directed by Adam Schaecterle, Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the University of North Florida. The camp session, which has both overnight and half day options, will provide campers with approximately four hours of tennis daily in addition to Coach Martin’s own core cross training program. Overnight campers will also enjoy evening social activities, creating the perfect balance of training, competition and fun.

For more information about Todd Martin Tennis’ Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp, including pricing options and how to register, visit the Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps website at http://www.wilsontenniscamps.com/.]]> Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:53:46 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Tommy Robredo Rises on First Title in Two Years]]> ]]>
Spain's Tommy Robredo jumped 29 spots in the rankings up to No. 43 in the world thanks to his tournament victory at Casablanca on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Robredo, at one time ranked No. 5 in the world, beat three players ranked higher than him in taking the tournament title, his first since winning Santiago in 2011 and his 11th overall - 10 of which have come on clay. 
The last time Robredo was ranked this high was August of 2011.
Robredo's move into the top 50 was the only big jump in a ho-hum week as things gear up for the larger clay court tournaments.
At the other end of the spectrum, Spain's Pablo Andujar plummeted 39 spots to No. 96 after losing in the first round of Casblanca a year after winning the event.
 
WTA
The Czech Republic's Klara Zakopalova joined the WTA top 20 for the first time on Monday, following her second-round appearance at Katowice and fourth-round appearance at Miami in March.
Kakopalova climbed over Clara Suarez Navarro, who fell four spots this week. 
All other changes in the women's Top 50 were minor.
]]> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:09:50 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: April 14-20]]> ]]>
April 14 - Former world doubles No.1 Jim Grabb turns 49. Grabb was No. 1 in both 1989 and 1993, and won two Grand Slam titles in men's doubles - the 1989 French Open with Patrick McEnroe and the 1993 US Open with Richey Reneberg. He was also on the US Davis Cup in 1993 which lost in the first round to Australia. In all, he won 23 doubles titles with a gaudy 23-3 record in finals.

April 16 - Former world doubles No.1 Patrick Galbraith turns 46. Galbraith was a three-time All-American at UCLA before going pro and was ranked No. 1 in October of 1993. He won two Grand Slam titles, in mixed doubles alongside Elna Reinach at the 1994 US Open and with Lisa Raymond at the 1996 US Open. In 11 years on the tour, he won 36 men's doubles titles, but never a Grand Slam, despite reaching the finals of Wimbledon twice. A true specialist, Galbraith played just three singles matches in his entire pro career.

Belarus' Natasha Zvereva, half of one of the greatest women's doubles tandems of all time, turns 42. Zvereva won 18 Grand Slam women's doubles titles between 1989 and 1997, winning each Slam at least three times and completing her career doubles Slam in 1993 when she won the Australian Open for the first time. In total, she took Australia thrice (1993-94, 1997); the French Open six times (1989, 1992-95, 1997); Wimbledon five times (1991-94, 1997); and the US Open four times (1991-92, 1995-96). She also won two mixed doubles Grand Slams - the Australian Open in 1990 and 1995. She won the first two of those doubles titles with Larisa Savchenko, one with Pam Shriver, one with Martina Hingis and the other 15 with Gigi Fernandez, who Zvereva was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame with in 2010. In singles, she reached No. 5 in the world in 1989 and is a bit of an ignomious footnote. Zvereva reached the finals of the 1989 French Open and was beaten by Steffi Graf 6-0, 6-0 in 32 minutes, the shortest final in Grand Slam history.

Spain's Conchita Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion and three-time Olympic medalist in women's doubles, turns 41. Martinez won 55 singles titles and 41 doubles titles in her 19-year career, defeating Martina Navratilova for her lone Grand Slam crown. She would be ranked as high as No. 2 in the world in October of 1995, and as high as No. 7 in doubles, where she won silver medals at the 1992 and 2004 Olympics, along with a bronze medal in 1996.

April 17 - France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, currently ranked No. 8 on the ATP tour, turns 28. Tsonga has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the world (2012) and has reached three Grand Slam semifinals - the Australian Open in 2010 and Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012. Overall, he has 10 singles titles and four in doubles, winning a silver medal in men's doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.

April 19 - BBC sports luminary and 1976 French Open champion Sue Barker turns 57. Barker was ranked as high as No. 3 in her professional career which spanned 12 years. She won 11 singles titles and 12 doubles titles, the biggest when she defeated Renata Tomanova at Roland Garros while just 20 years old.

Career Grand Slam singles winner and current world No. 2 Maria Sharapova turns 26. Sharapova has won 28 WTA singles titles and has spent 21 weeks in her career atop the WTA rankings. She won her first Slam at Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17, and has since added titles at the US Open (2006), Australian Open (2008) and French Open (2012). She also won the silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012, losing to Serena Williams in the final. Off the court, Sharapova has been one of the most marketable female athletes of her era, endorsing Nike, Canon cameras, Motorola, Tiffany and Land Rover. She has also done photo shoots for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition as well as FHM and Maxim.
]]> Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:50:00 GMT <![CDATA[One Man's Opinion: Novak Djokovic eclipsing Rafael Nadal as second-best active player]]> ]]>
In 2010, when he had won three straight major titles and wrested the No. 1 position in the world away from the immortal Roger Federer for a second time, many began to speculate whether or not Rafael Nadal was in fact eclipsing the Swiss as the greatest active player on the ATP tour.
 
Since that time, Nadal has done more wincing than winning, as injuries continue to dog his game. And in that same time, Serbia's Novak Djokovic has emerged as the game's new face, winning five of the last nine Grand Slam titles, finishing the last two years ranked No. 1 in the world and flirting with history for both consecutive matches won and best single-season record.
 
And so, while updating TennisNow.com's ATP record books after the Sony Ericsson Open, I came to a startling conclusion that I must shout from the rooftops (or at least, the top of this blog) - by the end of 2013, given the way things are going, Djokovic is going to surpass Nadal as the second-best player of this era.
 
Now before you have me committed to the loony bin alongside Redfoo, or give Uncle Toni my home phone number, hear me out.
I'm aware that Nadal leads Djokovic by a convincing 11-6 margin in Grand Slams won, and that the Mallorcan man currently has the greatest winning percentage in ATP matches of all-time (presently an amazing 82.99%). 
 
But it's all because of clay, and while Nadal is the greatest clay-court player ever (sorry, Bjorn Borg, but it's undisputable now), that doesn't translate into being one of the best all-around players.
 
Of Nadal's 600 wins, 266 are on clay against just 20 losses - a winning percentage just over 93%. His hardcourt record is 284-91, a winning percentage of 75.73% - certainly nothing to scoff at, but also not even in the Top 10 all-time (Boris Becker is presently No. 10 at 77.39%).
 
His clay court game is amazing, but clay isn't what the tour is about, except for two months during the spring. Meanwhile, Djokovic has a 79.7% winning percentage overall that is distributed across an 81.4% winning percentage on hardcourts, 76.8% on clay and 77.0% on grass. 
 
While I can't blame Nadal for his ongoing injuries, they continue to detract from his game and this too, tips the scale in Djokovic's favor. If he could remain healthy, Nadal might surpass Federer as the greatest ever, but as the saying goes, "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas."

His recent ankle sprain in the Davis Cup aside, Djokovic hasn't broken down, and it's allowed him to put up some gaudy numbers - 11 consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances (Nadal's high is five); 15 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals (Nadal's best is 11); a 27-match Grand Slam win streak that ties Federer for the most ever.
 
He's also been No. 1 for 76 straight weeks, and is bearing down on Lleyton Hewitt's mark of 80 for ninth place all-time. After the Aussie goes under, Djokovic will start pressuring Andre Agassi (101 straight weeks) and Nadal (102).

Djokovic and Nadal have both achieved three Grand Slams in one year and all four semifinals as well. What Djokovic lacks is a French Open title, something Nadal has a virtual monopoly on, to secure his own career Grand Slam.

If Djokovic triumphs at Paris, he'll secure his career Slam and cement his legacy as an all-time legend. A fitness freak, his body a few weeks short of turning 26 seems in far superior shape to Nadal's battered frame, which will turn 27 in early June. He also has two fewer seasons as a pro than Nadal, who started playing on tour in 2001. If Nadal has to leave the game early due to injury, and with Roger Federer four months from turning 32, Djokovic could be in position to start gobbling up Slams and titles by the ton - he's already compiled 36 titles in 55 finals in his tenure.
 
]]> Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:32:57 GMT <![CDATA[Wozniacki Caddies For Her Man at the Masters]]> ]]>
By Erik Gudris

While in Charleston last week at the Family Circle Cup, Caroline Wozniacki made it clear she does not want to be considered just a "WAG" when it comes to rooting for her boyfriend pro golfer Rory McIlory. But Wozniacki was only too happy continuing her supporting role when she donned a white suit and green hat to caddie for her man during a par-3 contest yesterday at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

The Danish superstar even got a chance to try her hand swinging from the storied tee at the famed golf course. But unfortunately, Wozniacki's shot didn't have enough arc and promptly found the water.

Perhaps one of Caro's famed "moon balls" would have done the trick?
]]> Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:53:28 GMT <![CDATA[Is the Sleeveless Look Dying out in Men’s Tennis?]]> ]]>  
Rafa Nadal used to be an iconic symbol of sleevelessness, but four years ago he decided to cover his bulging biceps.
 
Ever since the Spaniard started covering up, other pros have followed his example. It was refreshing to see Gael Monfils sleeveless in Melbourne this year, but he has since gone the short sleeve route.
 
But one man stands out among the sleeves. American tennis gladiator Mike Russell always sports the no sleeves, and with guns like his, who can blame him?
 
“Yep, I’m the last of the Mohicans,” said Russell when asked about his sleeveless look. “My wife likes it so I’m going to keep wearing it.”
 
Sleeveless men have become a rarity on the tour in comparison with several years ago. The question is why? Why hide your arms? Have players become self-conscious? Is it not trendy anymore? Rest assured, as long as 34-year-old Michael Russell is on the tour we will have one pair of bare biceps out there. 
]]> Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:47:56 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Pavlyuchenkova Rises off Monterrey Triumph]]> ]]>
All was quiet in both the men's and women's top 10s as the latest ATP and WTA rankings were released on Monday.
On the men's circuit, there were only two moves in the Top 20 during the week of Davis Cup action. Milos Raonic, hero of Canada's upset win over Italy in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, moved up one spot to No. 15 in the world.
Raonic, 13-4 with a title under his belt so far in 2013, is two spots shy of his career high of No. 13.
The other slight change in the men's Top 20 saw Juan Monaco surpass Andreas Seppi for No. 18.
The biggest move in the Top 50 was by the Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol, who jumped 17 spots to No. 46 
There were only two changes in the women's Top 20. Carla Suarez Navarro moved up from 20th to 19th, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova jumped from 26th to 20th following her title at Monterrey, defeating No. 6 Angelique Kerber in the final.
It was Pavlyuchenkova's first title of the year and the fourth of her career. It was also her second win this year over Kerber.
 
]]> Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:26:06 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - April 7-13]]> ]]>
 
April 11 - US former top 5 men's player Gene Mayer turns 57. Mayer won two doubles Grand Slams titles - the French Open in 1978 and 1979, the latter coming alongside his brother Sandy. Gene Mayer reached No. 4 in the world in 1980 and won 14 singles and 15 doubles titles on tour in his playing days, which stretched from 1973 to 1986. He had a brief comeback in 2001. He reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the US Open twice in singles. 
 
Former world No. 2 Alex Corretja turns 39. Corretja, a native of Spain, was a French Open finalist in 1998 and 2001 and helped Spain to its first-ever Davis Cup title (2000). He is presently Spain's Davis Cup coach. Corretja reached No. 2 in the world in February of 1999 and won 17 career titles in singles in a career that began in 1991 and ended in 2005. In 2000, he teamed with Albert Costa to win the bronze medal in men's doubles at the Sydney Olympics. He is the one-time coach of current No. 2 Andy Murray.
 
April 12 - Spain's Marcel Granollers, currently ranked No. 4 in men's doubles, turns 27. Granollers has nine career doubles titles, including the 2012 Tour Championships, which he won with current partner Marc Lopez. In singles, he has three titles and has been ranked as high as No. 19, but is currently No. 35.
 
Jelena Dokic, a former Top 5 WTA Player, turns 30. Dokic, who has represented both Yugoslavia and Australia, has won six singles titles and four doubles titles in her career. In 2000, she made it to the Wimbledon semifinals before falling to Lindsay Davenport.
]]> Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:30:31 GMT <![CDATA[President Obama shows off tennis game at White House Easter Egg Roll]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

Proving that he's more than just a basketball junkie, US President Barack Obama took to the White House tennis courts on Easter Sunday, showing off his game.
 
Obama played with Nathaniel Pendleton Jr., the younger brother of Hadiya Pendleton, a teenager murdered at a park in Illinois near Obama's home, in January.

Hadiya Pendleton was a member of a high school and that performed at Obama's January inauguration. The shooting took place a week later, and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the girl's funeral.

The game was part of the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll, an 134-year-old tradition of rolling eggs down the White House lawn, first put in place by Rutherford Hayes in 1878.

Among the attendees were professional athletes Adrian Peterson of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, Indy car racer Danica Patricka and NBA point guard John Wall of the WashingtonWizards.

Teddy Roosevelt initially installed tennis courts at the White House in 1909, which was moved to a new location the following year.

It was moved again in the 1920s and used sporadically, most recently by Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush, who once played doubles there with Pete Sampras as his partner.

Upon taking office in 2008, Obama had basketball lines drawn onto the tennis court and added removable hoops so he could play his favorite sport more often.
 
No word on how many of Obama's shots went wide to the left. 
]]> Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:15:36 GMT <![CDATA[Mardy Fish's Anti-CBS Twitter Rant]]> ]]>
Mardy Fish led an army of bitter Twitterers on Sunday after CBS cut away from the finals of the Miami Sony Ericsson Open match by David Ferrer and Andy Murray.
 
Viewers were told to watch the tie-break conclusion of Murray's win on the Tennis Channel, which obviously not everyone has, so CBS could show the South regional final between Michigan and Florida.

@MardyFish pulled no punches with "Shame on CBS" Tweeted within seconds of CBS' decision. Fish added "Your[sic] telling me they couldn't have shown that?" six minutes later at the conclusion of Murray's win. 

Fish and others were perturbed that CBS showed several minutes of commercials - a contractual obligation - before jumping to the tip-off of the basketball game.

Fish got support from WTA legend Chris Evert, who retweeted his second message, adding "agree ... Really CBS???"

The hashtag #heidi became a popular trend as the fallout continued, referencing an NFL game in 1968 when NBC cut away from the closing moments of a game to show the children's movie "Heidi." at 7 p.m. The Oakland Raiders, down 32-29 when the game was cut away from, rallied to win 43-32, causing the network serious embarrassment.

While I enjoy watching great tennis on TV, Fish and Evert both need to wake up and smell the dollar signs. March Madness is an overwhelmingly popular sport, second in CBS' arsenal only to the NFL, and the Michigan-Florida matchup pits two huge fan bases against one another with a trip to next weekend's Final Four on the line.
 
The move wasn't anti-tennis, it was pro-honoring our contracts and pro-larger target audience. 
 
If tennis was the most popular sport in America, would Fish and Evert have been up in arms that the closing moments of a championship basketball game were cut away from to show the opening set of the Miami quarterfinals? If not, then they only care about their sport, not the actual ethical decision. 
]]> Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:41:36 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Andy Murray's ascension to No. 2 highlights three ATP top 10 moves]]> ]]>
Spearheaded by Andy Murray's ascension to No. 2 in the world, the ATP top 10 rankings saw their most movement in more than a year on Monday.
Murray, winner of the Miami Sony Ericsson Open, bypassed new No. 3 Roger Federer by 80 points. Miami finalist David Ferrer similarly jumped former Rafael Nadal to reclaim No. 4 by a wide margin, close to 700 points.
At the tail end of the Top 10, France's Richard Gasquet, a Miami semifinalist, nudged ahead of Janko Tipsarevic by 230 points.
The 25-year-old Murray is off to a 19-2 start in 2013 with two titles and nearly $2.2 million in earnings. This is his first week at No. 2 since August 31, 2009, the last of three weeks he was ranked at the penultimate spot. 
Federer slips back to No. 3 for the first time since July 2, 2012, just before he won Wimbledon to jump to No. 1. 
Outside the Top 10, the biggest move came courtesy Miami semifinalist Tommy Haas. Haas, who turns 35 this week, rose four spots to No. 14, his highest spot since January of 2008 when he was ranked 11th.
Sliding the other way was Argentina's Juan Monaco, who dropped five spots to No. 19. Oft-injured American Mardy Fish fell even further, down nine spots to No. 42. Fish has played just two matches this year. 
Serbia's Novak Djokovic leads Murray by 3,620 points for the No. 1 spot. It's Djokovic's 22nd straight week at No. 1 and 75th overall. The 75 weeks at No. 1 for Djokovic is the 10th-most weeks at No. 1 in ATP history. With six more weeks at No. 1, Djokovic will pass Lleyton Hewitt for the ninth-most weeks holding the top spot.
 
WTA
There was only one change in the women's Top 10 after Miami - Samantha Stosur moved ahead of Caroline Wozniacki to take over the No. 9 position in the world. Stosur is only 8-7 on the year, but Wozniacki lost points by tumbling in the third round at Miami a year after reaching the semifinals there.
Spots 11-20 wee a huge jumble, however, with only three players keeping the same slots they held a week ago.
Nadia Petrova moved up to No. 11, Maria Kirilenko to No. 12 and Roberta Vinci to No. 13. Former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic lept from 24th to 18th after reaching the Miami semifinals. It was Jankovic's best performance at Miami since she reached the final in 2008 while ranked No. 3 in the world.
With her win over Maria Sharapova in the Miami final, Serena Williams maintained a lead of 1,100 points for the No. 1 spot in the world. Williams has now been ranked No. 1 in the world for 130 weeks in her career. 
]]> Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:59:19 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - March 31 - April 6]]> ]]>
March 31 - Former doubles No. 1 Kelly Jones turns 49. Jones reached two Grand Slam singles finals in doubles - the 1992 Australian Open and 1992 US Open, and became No. 1 in the world on October 12, 1992. He won eight career doubles titles. In singles, he won two titles but never rose higher than No. 86. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 1993. Since retiring, he has coached the likes of Mardy Fish and James Blake, and is currently the head tennis coach of Furman University.
 
April 1 - Former WTA Top 5 player Magdalena Maleeva turns 38. Maleeva, a native of Bulgaria, reached No. 4 in the world in January of 1996, won 10 titles in her career and reached the quarterfinals of the 1992 US Open. She played professionally from 1989 until 2005.
 
April 2 - Current ATP No. 5 David Ferrer turns 31. Ferrer has won 20 career titles and has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world. He has reached the semifinals of five Grand Slam tournaments, but has always been defeated by one of the "Big Four" of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal. Ferrer has a bit of a stigma of being Spain's second-best player and second-best clay court player behind Nadal. Nadal has defeated Ferrer 17 times in 21 matchups in their careers.
 
Australia's Todd Woodbridge, who won 23 Grand Slam titles in doubles, turns 43. Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles including nine Wimbledon crowns. Woodbridge won seven mixed doubles Grand Slams as well. He and Woodforde also combined to win the 1996 Summer Olympics gold medal in men's doubles. In men's doubles, Woodbridge won Wimbledon nine times, the US Open three times, the Australian Open three times and the French Open once.In mixed doubles, he won the US Open thrice, the French Open twice and the other two Slams once each.
 
April 3 - Germany's Tommy Haas, currently ranked No. 18 in the world, turns 35. Haas reached No. 2 in the world in 2002, but injuries and family tragedy cut short a large chunk of his perceived prime. In recent years he has become a force again and has 13 titles to date as well as the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics. He has reached the Australian Open semifinals three times: 1999, 2002 and 2007.
]]> Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:07:22 GMT <![CDATA[Tsonga's Second Career = Dolphin Trainer]]> ]]>


Varvara Lepchenko, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Angelique Kerber, Carla Suarez Navarro, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hrabecka were joined by Feliciano Lopez, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Benoit Paire, Andrea Seppi and Robert Lindstedt.



]]> Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:07:58 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - March 24-30]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

March 26 - Australia's Rennae Stubbs, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion and former women's doubles No. 1, turns 42. Stubbs won 60 WTA titles in women's doubles, including the 2000 Australian Open, the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon in 2001 and 2004. Of those titles, all but 2004 Wimbledon were with American Lisa Raymond, while the last title came with South Africa's Cara Black. She also won the 2000 Australian Open mixed doubles title with fellow Aussie Jared Palmer and the 2001 US Open mixed doubles title with Todd Woodbridge.
 
March 28 - Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka turns 28. Currently ranked No. 17, Wawrinka was briefly in the Top 10 in 2008 and has reached the quarterfinals of two Grand Slam events in his career. In 2008, he and countryman Roger Federer won the gold medal in men's doubles at the Beijing Olympics.
 
March 29 - Former WTA No. 1 Jennifer Capriati turns 37. The youngest player ever ranked int he Top 10, Capriati won three Grand Slam singles titles and two Olympic gold medals. In 2012, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She won the Australian Open in 2001 and 2002 and the French Open in 2001. In 1992, she defeated Steffi Graf for the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics at the tender age of 16. Capriati's off-the-court life has unfortunately brought her as much attention as her great play. In 1993 she was charged with shoplifting a ring and in 1994 arrested for marijuana possession. In 2010, she was hospitalized for an accidental drug overdose, and last week was arrested for allegedly stalking her ex-boyfriend at a fitness club.
 
Argentina's Juan Monaco turns 29. Currently ranked No. 15 in the world, Monaco has been ranked as high as No. 10 (July 2012) and has seven career titles in men's singles. He has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event four times, as well as the semifinals of the 2008 US Open in men's doubles.
 
March 30 - Australia's Samantha Stosur, a former No. 1 in doubles and the 2011 US Open singles champion, turns 29. Stosur has five Grand Slam titles overall, two in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles. She is currently ranked No. 10 in the world, and has been as high as No. 4. She shocked heavy favorite Serena Williams to win the 2011 US Open title. She reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in February of 2006. Overall, she has won three singles titles and 23 doubles titles on the WTA tour. In women's doubles, she won the 2005 US Open crown and the 2006 French Open title with Lisa Raymond. In mixed doubles, she took the 2005 Australian Open title with fellow Ausie Scott Draperand the 2008 Wimbledon crown with Bob Bryan.

]]> Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:20:48 GMT <![CDATA[It's a Girl! Justine Henin announces birth of first child]]> ]]>
A former world No. 1 announced Baby No. 1 on Wednesday.
Justine Henin, seven-time Grand Slam champion, shared with the world the news of the birth of her daughter Lalie via Facebook and Twitter.
Henin and boyfriend Benoit Bertuzzo said, "We were anticipating this so much, and now it has happened, this afternoon a little fairy arrived to illuminate our lives ... She is in top form and we are really delighted! Justine and Benoit."
Bertuzzo, a Belgian director, was first linked romantically to Henin in May of 2011.
Henin spent 117 weeks at No. 1 in the world in her playing days, including 61 straight from March 2007 to May 2008. She shocked the world by retiring while ranked No. 1, then returned to the game in early 2010 before retiring a second time a year later.
Henin had no children in her previous marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne, who she divorced in 2007.
]]> Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:35:32 GMT <![CDATA[Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams top tennis players in Bloomberg's Power 100]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
Tennis stars are some of the post powerful athletes in the world, according to Bloomberg Sports, which released its annual list of the 100 most powerful athletes, both on and off the field, last week.
 
Athletes are ranked based on on-field -which means world rankings - and off-field (endorsement potential ,endorsement earnings and social media presence) attributes.
 
With that formula in place, tennis produced two of the top six and three of the top 12 most powerful athletes in the world.
 
Seventeen-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer ranks fifth overall, a step up from sixth last year and 15th two years ago. 
 
His total power rankings is 73.01. Current No. 1 Novak Djokovic is right at Federer's heels, sixth with a power ranking of 72.93.
 
American Serena Williams, No. 1 on the WTA tour, is 12th at 69.46 and is the top woman in the rankings, way up from 25th a year ago.
 
The world's top-rated athlete is the NBA's LeBron James, with a score of 89.26, followed by golf's Tiger Woods (86.01) and NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning (81.46) and Drew Brees (77.99). Following Federer and Djokovic are the NBA's Kobe Bryant (72.25), Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps (71.09) and NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady (69.98) and Aaron Rodgers (69.74).
 
Maria Sharpaova ranks 20th overall and third among women at 63.53 (Olympic gymnastics phenom Gabby Douglas is 18th). Based largely on his injuries, Rafael Nadal dropped from fifth a year ago to 22nd this year.
 
Making giant leaps the other way are Andy Murray, who surged from 80th to 31st, and Victoria Azarenka, who jumped from 96th to 32nd. Funny what a few Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold medals can do for you.
 
Despite not having won a Grand Slam title since 2008, Venus Williams sits 57th int he Power 100, thanks largely to her off-the-court business presence.
 
Petra Kvitova is 79th and Caroline Wozniacki 80th, a steep drop from 40th last year for the Dane, who largely remains int he public eye due to her romantic relationship with Rory McIlroy, who is 14th in the Power 100.
 
Agnieszka Radwanska is 89th in the rankings,
]]> Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:44:35 GMT <![CDATA[Juan Martin Del Potro thrilled with selection of Argentine Pope]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
Even if Juan Martin Del Potro had defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals at Indian Wells on Sunday, he still wouldn't have had the best week by an Argentine.
 
That honor went to the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis last Tuesday in Vatican City.
A devout Catholic, Del Potro was ecstatic when he heard the news.
 
"I'm very Catholic,so I like this decision," Del Potro said last week in California. "For me and for our country and for Argentinian people, it's so big. I think he deserves to be there, so it's very nice for us."
 
Del Potro is hopeful of meeting the new Pope when he plays in Rome at the Italian Open in May.
]]> Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:59:00 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: IW Champs Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova move up]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

ATP
Rafael Nadal's conquest of Indian Wells vaulted him back to No. 4 in the world on Monday as the latest ATP rankings were released.
 
Nadal displaced fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who had enjoyed six weeks at the fourth position, tying his career-best placement.
 
Nadal will have to keep firing on all cylinders if he hopes to maintain the No. 4 spot. Last year, he reached the semifinals at Miami and won Rome, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and the French Open between March and May. A slip at any of those destinations in 2013 will open the door for Ferrer to move back ahead of him.
 
Despite the sheer size of Indian Wells as a Masters 1000 tournament, Nadal and Ferrer were the only movers in the Top 10. The biggest moves in the Top 20 were both by Americans, as Sam Querrey rose three spots to No. 20 while John Isner plummeted eight to No. 23.
 
Querrey made the fourth round at Indian Wells before losing to No. 1 Novak Djokovic, while Isner was upset in the second round by No. 98 Lleyton Hewitt.
 
Isner is just 6-6 on the season.
 
While Isner struggled, another of the tour's tallest players jumped into the Top 30 with his strong performance. South Africa's Kevin Anderson rose eight spots to No. 29
 
WTA
Indian Wells champion Maria Sharapova reclaimed the No. 2 spot in the world, bouncing Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka down to No. 3 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday.
 
Sharapova closed within 350 points of idle No. 1 Serena Williams. Sharapova is looking to regain the No. 1 spot for s sixth time in her career. She has held it for 21 total weeks, including four straight after winning the French Open last summer.
 
Williams is in her sixth straight week and 129th overall as the No. 1 player in the world.
 
In all, six players made moves inside the Top 10, including runner-up Carolinw Wozniacki, who moved back up to No. 9, and Sara Errani who reclaime dseventh as both Petra Kvitova (8th) and Samantha Stosur (10th) fell a spot.
 
Russian semifinalist Maria Kirilenko jumped two spots to No. 13, and American phenom Sloane Stephens rose one spot to 16th, with Venus Williams up two spots to 18th.
]]> Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:59:39 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - March 17-23]]> ]]>
March 19 - Former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia turns 34. Ljubicic retired in April of 2012 after 14 years on the tour that saw him compile a 429-296 record, win 10 titles and reach the French Open semifinals in 2006, and the Australian Open quarterfinals that same year. As a doubles player, he reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slams, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and also helped Croatia win the 2005 Davis Cup. His best stretch of tennis came in 2006 and 2007. He went 57-24 in 2006 with two titles and eight finals, ending the year ranked No. 9. He bettered that in 2007, winning three titles, going 61-20 and finishing the year ranked No. 5.

March 22 - The Czech Republic's Jiri Novak, who reached the top 10 in both singles and doubles in his 15-year career, turns 38. Novak turned pro in 1993 and won seven career titles, reaching No. 5 in the world in October of 2002, the same year he reached the Australian Open semifinals and the fourth round of the US Open. He won 18 career doubles titles and reached No. 6 in the world in July of 2001.

March 23 - Brooklyn native "Fast Eddie" Dibbs turns 62. Dibbs played 17 years on the pro tour, reaching No. 5 in the world in 1978 and winning 22 titles. He reached the French Open semifinals in 1975 and 1976, and the US Open quarterfinals in 1975, 1976 and 1979.

Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman, a winner of the career Grand Slam in men's doubles, turns 41. A very good singles player, Bjorkman won six titles in his 17-year career and reached No. 4 in the world in 1997, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon (2006) and the US Open (1997). In doubles, he was simply outstanding, winning 54 career titles and compiling a 709-306 record, reaching No. 1 in the world in July of 2001. He won the Australian Open title thrice (1998, 1999, 2001), Wimbledon thrice (2002-2004), the US Open once (2003) and completed the career Slam when he won the French Open in 2005, repeating as champion in 2006. He won Slams with four different partners, Jacco Eltingh, Patrick Rafter, Todd Woodbridge and Max Mirnyi.
]]> Sat, 16 Mar 2013 10:33:52 GMT <![CDATA[Venus and Serena: The Documentary]]> ]]>Get unprecedented access into the lives of the most famous sisters in tennis with this new documentary from Magnolia Pictures. ]]>"Venus and Serena" takes an unfiltered look into the remarkable lives of the greatest sister-act professional tennis has ever seen. In a sport where they were not welcomed, the indomitable Williams sisters faced the opposition with grace and courage not only breaking new ground for female and African American athletes everywhere, but dominating the women's game for over a decade. The film tells the inspiring story of how these two women, against all odds, but the help of visionary parents, made it to the top.

"Venus and Serena" also explores the struggle of these two aging superstars during the 2011 tennis season as they battle life and career-threatening health problems. In "Venus and Serena" we gain unprecedented access into the sisters' lives, both in the spotlight and behind closed doors, and we watch as they draw their greatest strengths from one another to overcome countless adversities.

The film includes interviews with Bill Clinton, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Arnon Milchan, Gay Telese, Anna Wintour among others.

Magnolia Pictures will release "Venus and Serena" on iTunes/On Demand April 4, 2013 and in theaters May 10, 2013.

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venusandsernesafilm]]> Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:45:05 GMT <![CDATA[USANA & WTA Launch ’Champions For Change‘ Campaign]]> ]]>(Partnership targets Hurricane Sandy Relief)
 
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and USANA Health Sciences have today launched a new program named ‘Champions for Change’ and pledged their continued support of the USANA True Health Foundation, a not-for-profit charity whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those suffering or in need.
 
At today's on-court presentation, WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster and Daniela Hantuchova donated $5,000 to the USANA True Health Foundation on behalf of the WTA, at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The WTA aims to provide more than $75,000 to the Foundation throughout the partnership.
 
‘Champions for Change’, a joint initiative from USANA and the WTA, will see the world’s leading female tennis players present donations to the USANA True Health Foundation throughout 2013, culminating in a significant fundraising event for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts at the in August.
 
WTA player Daniela Hantuchova has been chosen as the first recipient of the ‘Champions for Change’ award for her charitable works with Cambodian orphans with HIV. “For me, the health of children around the world has to be our priority. When you see that children are still dying in the 21st century because they have no food or doctors that is really not acceptable. I am inspired to do my part to make a difference.”
 
“The WTA is proud to be pledging our ongoing support to the USANA True Health Foundation and taking part in Champions for Change,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman and CEO. “It is great to see our global stars, such as Daniela becoming involved in USANA’s worldwide efforts, and assisting in such a worthwhile cause.”
 
“We are excited and thankful to be working with such an elite organization that believes in helping others as we do,” said USANA True Health Foundation President, Elaine Pace. “With the support of the WTA, the foundation will be able assist in creating second chances and better living situations to those still in need, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their continued support.”
 
USANA, a global nutritional supplements company, created the USANA True Health Foundation to rapidly and effectively help deserving populations worldwide in times of need, and to help improve both their health and living conditions. This includes, but is not limited to, providing nutrition, clothing, shelter, medical assistance and health education. The foundation was created by Dr. Myron Wentz, USANA’s founder, and USANA CEO Dave Wentz, to help expand and enhance the company’s on-going charitable efforts.
In October 2012, the WTA made a donation of $25,000 to the USANA True Health Foundation during the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul.
 
USANA is one of the WTA’s leading partners and serves as its Official Health Supplement Supplier. Since 2006, the company has provided high-quality nutritional supplements and meal replacement products to over 160 WTA players, including USANA Brand Ambassadors, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Jie, Aleksandra Wozniak and Liezel Huber.
 
About USANA:
Founded in 1992, USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA) is a U.S.-based nutritional company that manufactures high-quality supplements and personal care, energy and weight-management products in its FDA-registered facility in Salt Lake City. USANA's products, tested by NSF International and used by more than 600 professional athletes, are developed by the company's award-winning team of scientists and sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates in 18 international markets. 
 
USANA is the No. 1 Rated Brand in Direct Sales Based on Customer Satisfaction in ConsumerLab.com’s 2013 Survey of Vitamin and Supplement Users. Named one of Outside magazine's "Best Places to Work" for four consecutive years, USANA has received more than 100 state, national and international accolades, including Utah Best of State, Stevie Awards, Australian Business Awards, NutriSearch Editor's Choice and others. Learn more about USANA (USANA.com) and the USANA True Health Foundation (USANAfoundation.org/), stay current with the official USANA blog (www.whatsupUSANA.com), like us on the USANA Facebook page (www.facebook.com/USANAhealthsciences), or follow USANA on Twitter (@USANAinc).
 
About USANA True Health Foundation:
The USANA True Health Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created by Dr. Myron Wentz, USANA’s founder, and USANA CEO Dave Wentz, to help expand and enhance USANA’s on-going charitable efforts. Their mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those suffering or in need. USANA True Health Foundation has an active partnership with organizations like HealthCorps and the Children’s Hunger Fund, who share the same vision of making the world a happier and healthier place. Learn more at our website (www.USANAfoundation.org), follow us on Twitter (@UsanaFoundation), or like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/USANAfoundation).
]]> Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:17:09 GMT <![CDATA[Jennifer Capriati refutes claim of being wanted by police for assaulting ex-boyfriend]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

Jennifer Capriati is back in the news this week; unfortunately not for a good reason.
 
Capriati's lawyer released a statement this week denying allegations that there is a warrant out for her arrest following an alleged altercation with ex-boyfriend Ivan Brannan at a Palm Beach, Florida, fitness club. 

The North Palm Beach Police Department is reportedly seeking an arrest warrant after Brannan claims he was punched in the chest by Capriati, who will turn 37 later this month. The alleged attack occurred at the Oxygen Health and Fitness Gym and ended when a yoga instructor who witnessed the incident called police. 

Prior to being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame last July, Capriati had made waves when she was taken to the hospital in June of 2010 for an apparent drug overdose.

Another ex-boyfriend, Dale Dabone (do not Google his name if you know what's good for you), claimed the accidental overdose occurred because Capriati was depressed about leaving tennis and Dabone, an adult film star's, decision to return to the movie-making business.
]]> Sat, 09 Mar 2013 13:12:38 GMT <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic Shoots Hoops with Los Angeles Lakers]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

As the reigning No. 1 player in the world and a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, Novak Djokovic doesn't get star-struck often these days.
But all of that changed the weekend before Indian Wells began when the Serbian sensation got to attend his first NBA game in person, which included taking part in a pre-game shoot-around with NBA all-stars Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers. 
Just a day after winning the tournament title at Dubai, Djokovic was 8,328 miles away at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to watch the Lakers take on the Atlanta Hawks.
Djokovic made a three-pointer while on the court under Bryant's careful watch. 
"It was great," Djokovic told reporters at Indian Wells on Friday. "They're great athletes and great personalities, all of them. I was really surprised that they liked tennis."
Djokovic revealed that Howard, the Lakers' seven-foot center, revealed that he had played tennis in his youth and won a tournament in eighth grade.
"So maybe with those shoulders, he can have a big serve," Djokovic said with a smile. "Maybe he can break the (fastest-serve) record."
Serbia is one of the most passionate European countries when it comes to basketball, having produced a number of professional players who have starred in the NBA including Vlade Divac, who shined for the Lakers in the early 1990s.
 
 
]]> Sat, 09 Mar 2013 10:42:22 GMT <![CDATA[Best Tennis Items on Ebay]]> ]]>
You never know what you're going to find on Ebay, and if you type "tennis" into the big search bar in the sky, the results - once you get past eight bazillion pages of tennis bracelets, are often a tremendous blend of amazing and comical. 
 
Item: Courtgear.com domain name
Asking Price: $21 million (or best offer)
Link: http://tinyurl.com/av4bddl
 
Who doesn't want their own website? And who doesn't also want $21 million? This item's been on the market for a while. A history of offers on the domain dates back to November of 2011. Four offers have been declined, the other seven expired. 
 
Item: Photo by Annie Lebowitz of Martina Navratilova grabbing a giant piece of industrial equipment, taken in 1994.
Asking Price: $2,500
Link: http://tinyurl.com/a7dd4ea
 
I think Martina is the bomb; I rooted hard for her on her overmatched series of Dancing with the Stars, but this is one funky looking photograph. As splendidly strong as her arms are, she looks like she's about to rip off the giant mechanical wheel and throw it at you.
 
Item: 60' x 120' multi-sport tennis court
Price: $20,000
Link: http://tinyurl.com/bgujthd

Sure, you could make the wife happy and buy a new car like you said, but where's the fun in that? Here's a 7,2000 square foot sport court made from high-impact polypropylene. Have fun putting it together. Oh, and the warranty past 30 days is at the cost of40 cents per square foot ... So that's another $2,880. But hey, free shipping!
 
Item: Antique 1880s A.A.G. Spalding "Windmere" tennis racket
Price: $5,500
Link: http://tinyurl.com/ay7fu9v
 
Don't buy this thing. Why? Because eventually you're going to try and play with it, and then it's going to break and you're going to feel like a moron. The handle is made of cork, and it looks a bit like the thing Bjorn Borg tried to play with during his horrifying early 1990s comeback, that or the kitchen tool they use to get pizza pies out of the big brick ovens. 
 
Item: One of a kind caricature of Bjorn Borg, autographed
Price: $7,500
Link: http://tinyurl.com/baca62k

Kari Bernhardt, the Texan whom Borg enjoyed a long-term relationship, has decided to celebrate that love by making some serious Dough Ray Me. I'm not sure who did this caricature, but Bjorn probably could have gotten a better one at his local carnival for $5 or 10 tickets. Ms. Bernhardt is also generously offering a Swedish flag hat that Borg "loved to wear" for a mere $4,000.
 
Item: Limited Edition Nike Zoom Vapor RF 287 (#107 of 287)
Price: $9,999
Link: http://tinyurl.com/asmavzg
 
When Roger Federer won Wimbledon last summer and took back No. 1 for a record 287th straight week, Nike released this special edition shoes and only sold 287 pairs, each for $287. This seller never removed his pair from the box, and now hopes you will help him make a tidy 34,840% profit on the original investment. A word of caution, opening the box cuts the price in half, based on other Ebay listings. Trying them on drops it another 25%.
 
]]> Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:44:37 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - March 10-16]]> ]]>By Nick Georgandis

March 11 - Althea Louise Brough Clapp, the American woman who won eight Grand Slam singles titles, seven mixed doubles Grand Slams and an astounding 21 Grand Slam women's doubles Grand Slam titles, turns 90.
An inaugural member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967, the native of Oklahoma City. Her 35 total Slams ranks her fifth all-time among women.  
She teamed up with Margaret Osborne duPont to win nine straight doubles titles at the US Open between 1942-1950, the longest run of consecutive titles at any Grand Slam event ever.
Her first Grand Slam title came in mixed doubles at the US Open in 1942 when she was 19. Her last came at the US Open in women's doubles in 1957 when she was 34.
In singles, she won the US Open in 1947, the Australian in 1950, Wimbledon four times (1948-1950, 1955), but could never conquer Roland Garros, losing in the semifinals three times. In doubles, she won the US Open 12 times (1942-1950, 1955-1957), the French Open thrice (1946, 1947, 1949) Wimbledon five times (1946, 1948-1950, 1954) and completed the career Grand Slam in 1950 when she won the Australian Open, her only time to compete in the event.
In mixed doubles, she only competed at the US Open and Wimbledon, winning on her native turf (1942, 1947, 1948) and the All England Club four times (1946-1948, 1950).
 
March 12 - Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, a former No. 1 player in women's doubles, turns 32. Srebotnik has won 31 doubles titles in her career, including the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2011 with Kevta Peschke. She has won five mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, teaming with Piet Norval to win the 1999 French Open; with Bob Bryan to win the US Open in 2003; with Nenad Zimonjic to win the 2006 French Open and 2010 French Open and with Daniel Nestor to take the 2011 Australian Open title. She "retired" from singles competition at the end of the 2010 season to focus on doubles, having won four titles in her career and reached a career high of No. 20 in 2006.
 
March 13 - Former Swedish top 5 player Thomas Enqvist turns 39. Enqvist reached No. 4 in the world in 1999 after reaching the finals of the Australian Open. He was the first Swede in the top 5 since Stefan Edberg, and the last until Robin Soderling achieved the same feat in 2009. He won 19 titles overall and presently is the captain of Sweden's Davis Cup team. 
 
]]> Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:54:40 GMT <![CDATA[Where is Robin Soderling?]]> ]]>By Nick Georgandis

The last time Robin Soderling played a professional tennis match, he butchered world No. 6 David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2 to take the title at Bastad. In the same tournament, Soderling did not drop a single set. It was his fourth title of the year and he improved his record to 38-9. He was also ranked No. 5 in the world at the time.
 
That was July of 2011. Soderling has not returned to the court since, and has scarcely been seen, a bizarre mystery that seems to have slipped the cracks as the game has focused on the ups and downs of the "Big Four" of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and now, Andy Murray.
 
A simple wrist injury took Soderling out of Cincinnati in the summer of 2011, and he was diagnosed with mononucleosis shortly before the start of that year's US Open.
 
Mononucelosis is a disease that attacks the white blood cells of a person's immune system and results in tremendous fatigue. While seldom fatal, it can occasionally lead to chronic fatigue, which is exactly what it sounds like. Soderling announced in late 2011 that he would miss the start of the 2012 season, but there has been little from the giant Swede star since. In July 2012, he dropped out of the ATP rankings completely, having not competed in more than 12 months. Perhaps the only silver lining of 2012 was that Soderling and his wife Jenni became parents to a son.
 
Soderling's last major interview came with ESPN in late November of 2012, in which he believed his return was only a couple of months away.
 
"I feel really good, then I start to practice, and then I think maybe in a couple of months I can come back and I really believe it," Soderling told ESPN. "Then I do a bit too much and wake up one morning not feeling well again."
 
Soderling will turn 29 this August. He was about two weeks short of his 27th birthday the last time he took the court.
]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:10:27 GMT <![CDATA[WTA Launches 40 Love Campaign]]> ]]>  

  • Integrated campaign to feature TV and print advertising along with unique content and interactive fan promotions

  • New WTA 40 LOVE  logo introduced to celebrate 40th anniversary in 2013

  • Former WTA World No. 1's will be honored at once-in-a-lifetime London event

"The WTA has a storied history that is both inspirational and empowering," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman & CEO of the WTA. "Billie Jean King's vision has become a reality, and 40 LOVE is a celebration of the world's No. 1 sport for women."
 
Showcasing the pioneers of the game and the current stars that all contributed to the ongoing success of women's professional tennis, 40 LOVE is an international marketing campaign that utilizes multiple platforms, with a focus on increased fan engagement around the world.  Leveraging the WTA's 54 events in 33 countries and the game's global icons, the WTA will honor historic milestones, headlined by a celebration of women's tennis and the champions of the WTA at an event that will include the gathering of former World No. 1s in London.  Central elements of campaign include global TV and print advertising featuring current stars and legends of the WTA; a digital program of online fan polls, top 40 lists and images, and historic moments of the WTA; a global tour of the famed Billie Jean King trophy to WTA events around the world; a commemorative WTA 40th anniversary book and video; unique content created for the WTA's new TV magazine show and ePlayer; and a series of celebration events and promotions throughout the year at WTA events and around the Grand Slams.
 
The WTA also launched a new, special anniversary 40 LOVE logo to celebrate four spectacular decades of women's tennis. This new mark is an extension of the current WTA logo, a distinctive and modern reminder of the captivating athleticism and excitement that has driven the international popularity and growth of women’s professional tennis and placed it firmly at the nexus of sport and entertainment. The 40 LOVE brand mark will be fully integrated throughout the WTA and women’s tennis, including through on-court net signage, in television graphics, print materials, tournament branding, advertising, promotion, and digital and social media throughout the 40th Anniversary season.
 
To create the 40 LOVE logo, the WTA continued to work with Chermayeff & Geismar, the globally leading logo design firm that created the current WTA logo, launched in 2010.  Chermayeff & Geismar have created many of the world’s most recognizable trademarks including Chase, Mobil, NBC, PBS, Armani Exchange, National Geographic, and Barney’s New York, among others.  The iconic tennis expression “Forty-Love," used as shorthand for the WTA's 40th anniversary, is presented with a heart, the universal symbol of love. The design continues the strong, rounded lettering from the basic WTA identity and ties the color back into the WTA ellipse.
 
The WTA will also unveil a special 40th Anniversary global advertising campaign as part of the 40 LOVE celebrations, building off the success of the Strong Is Beautiful campaign which debuted in 2011.  The 40 LOVE advertising campaign will feature WTA stars of today along with legends of the game, include print and video elements, and will run from the spring until the end of the 2013 season. Globally recognized and leading photographer and videographer Dewey Nicks, who shot the original Strong is Beautiful campaign for the WTA, also shot the new 40 LOVE advertising campaign. 
 
To help launch the campaign, the first-ever live webcast of WTA Live will allow fans to tune in and follow a behind-the-scenes look at the WTA's media All-Access Hour at Indian Wells featuring the Top 8 seeds. WTA Live can be viewed at http://bit.ly/ZYpLPQ.
 
Additionally, the Billie Jean King Cup trophy tour, which is presented to the winner of the WTA Championships, will allow fans to capture an up-close, unique experience with the opportunity to take photos with the trophy just like the champions of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
 
Fans can follow the 40 LOVE campaign throughout the year at wtatennis.com, facebook.com/wta and twitter.com/wta.

]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:13:46 GMT <![CDATA[The Best Part of Del Potro vs Nadal Exhibition]]> ]]>
]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:30:56 GMT <![CDATA[Voting Opens for 2013 Fed Cup Heart Awards]]> ]]> The ITF announced a shortlist of ten players to receive the first four Fed Cup Heart Awards of 2013. Awards will be presented in four categories based on performances in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties, and the three Zone Group I events at the beginning of February.
 
Julia Goerges (GER), Daniela Hantuchova (SVK), Ayumi Morita (JPN) and Roberta Vinci (ITA) have all been shortlisted for the World Group/World Group II award. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) and Heather Watson (GBR) have been shortlisted for Europe/Africa; Sharon Fichman (CAN) and Paula Cristina Goncalves (BRA) for Americas; and Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) and Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) for Asia/Oceania.
 
The players were shortlisted by the Heart Award judging panel, consisting of ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and a mixture of former players and members of the international media. A public vote, running on 4-29 March, is being held on FedCup.com and FedCup.com/es to decide the four winners, who will all receive a cheque to be donated to their chosen charity. The winners will be announced during the week of the Fed Cup World Group semifinals and play-off ties on 20-21 April.
 
ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “The Fed Cup Heart Award is entering its fifth year and continues to recognise the outstanding contributions made by players to their country and the competition. Fed Cup is celebrating its 50th birthday in the ITF centenary year, and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the players during this time who have helped Fed Cup grow to enjoy the success that it does today.”
 
The Fed Cup Heart Award is an ITF initiative that was first presented to USA's Melanie Oudin at the 2009 Fed Cup Final. It aims to recognise players who have represented their country with distinction, shown exceptional courage on court and demonstrated outstanding commitment to their team. A total of five players will be recognised in 2013. To cast your vote, visit the Fed Cup website
 
About Fed Cup by BNP Paribas
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 97 nations entered in 2013. The event is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2013 in the ITF’s centenary year. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Bosco Sport (Official Clothing Sponsor) are international sponsors, and Wilson Sporting Goods (Official Ball) is an international partner. Follow all the action on www.fedcup.com, www.fedcup.com/es, www.twitter.com/fedcup and www.facebook.com/FedCup.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:32:55 GMT <![CDATA[Indian Wells living legend Charles Pasarell joins 2013 HOF class]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

Tennis doesn't get much purer than Charlie Pasarell, who was announced as a member of the 2013 International Tennis Hall of Fame class Monday morning.
Pasarell, the man behind Indian Wells, which kicks off this week, has been an NCAA tennis champion, a vice president of the Americas tournaments for the ATP and was a pretty darn good pro, peaking at No. 11 in the world in 1966 and reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open as a 21-year-old in 1965 and at Wimbledon as a 32-year-old in 1976.
Now 69, the native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, remains the tournament director of the BNP Paribas event at Indian Wells, and under his leadership, the event went from being just another West Coast tournament to what some call "The Fifth Major."
Pasarell is a member of so many Halls of Fame already, he might need to start writing them all down just to remember them - he's also a member of the Intercollegiate Men's Tennis Hall of Fame, the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, which he joined in 2012.
]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:02:26 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: The Return of Ernests Gulbis]]> ]]> Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, recapturing the form that helped him become one of the brighteset stars on the ATP tour a year ago, leapt 42 spots to No. 67 in the latest rankings relased on Monday ahead of Indian Wells.
Still just 24 years old, Gublis peaked at No. 21 in the world in the February of 2011, but has struggled since, dropping as far as No. 159 in the world in the fall of 2012.
But he turned all that around this past weekend at Delray Beach, winning through three rounds of qualifiers, then upsetting No. 23 Sam Querrey in the second round and No. 19 Tommy Haas in the semifinals on his way to a title, 262 points and $78,000. 
It's Gulbis' second time winning Delray Beach and his first title since Los Angele in 2011 (third ATP title overall).
Gulbis was easily the top gainer on the week inside the Top 100. There were only minor moves in the Top 20 - Nicolas Almagro retook No. 11 from Marin Cilic, and Milos Raonic did likewise with No. 17, bypassing Stanislas Wawrinka. 
Tumbling the other way was Spain's Fernando Verdasco, who dropped five spots to No. 29 in the world as he dropped to 2-3 on the young season. 
The 29-year-old Verdasco, who peaked at No. 7 in the world in 2009 and was a constant in the Top 10 until last season, fell int he first round at San Jose to No. 105 Tim Smyczek last week, has not won a title since 2010, and reached just one final in 2012.
 
WTA
There was not a single move in the women's Top 20, but a new face at No. 21, where 24-year-old Carla Suarez Navarro climbed seven spots to to start the week.The diminutive (5-feet, 4-inch) Spaniard reached the Acapulco finals last week, losing the title match to No. 8 Sara Errani to gain 200 points in the rankings.
The biggest move of all in the women's Top 100 came from the Czech Republic's 20-year-old Karolina Pliskova, the surprising winer at Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Previously ranked 127th in the world, Pliskova rose to 84th by taking out the fourth and fifth seeds before knocking off American Bethanie-Mattek-Sands in the title match to earn 280 points and $40,000. Her first career title improved Pliskova to 11-6 on the season.
]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:17:12 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: March 3-9]]> ]]>
March 3 - International Tennis Hall of Famer Mal Anderson turns 78. Anderson played for 26 years - 20 as a professional - and was the top-ranked player in Australia from the middle of the 1950s into the 1970s. As an amateur, he won the US Open in 1957 and reached the finals of the Australian Open in both 1958 as a 23-year-old amateur and in 1972 as a 37-year-old professional. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.
 
March 5 - Former World No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia turns 26. Chakvetadze reached the US Open semifinals in 2007, as well as the quarterfinals of both the Australian and French Opens the same year. She has won eight WTA titles overall and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open in doubles. She has not played since mid-2012.
 
March 6 - Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, turns 24. Radwanska has been ranked as high as No. 2, which she achieved after reaching the 2012 Wimbledon finals. Overall, she has won 12 titles in WTA singles and two in doubles.
 
March 7 - The Czech Republic's Ivan Lendl, one of the most fearsome players of the 1980s and early 1990s, turns 53. Lendl was ranked No. 1 in the world for 270 weeks, an all-time record until it was broken by Pete Sampras. Lendl won eight Grand Slam titles - the Australian Open in 1989 and 1990, the French Open in 1984, 1986 and 1987 and the US Open in 1985-1987. He missed a career Grand Slam by losing the Wimbledon final twice - in 1986 and 1987. Overall, he won 94 ATP titles and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2012, he began coaching Scotland's Andy Murray, and the results were tremendous, as Murray won the gold medal at the Summer Games, then followed it up with a title at the US Open, the first Grand Slam of his career, and the first by a man from the UK since 1936.
 
March 8 - The Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova, 2011 Wimbledon champion, turns 23. Kvitova is currently ranked No. 7 in the world, and has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world. Overall, she has won 10 career titles.

]]> Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:07:17 GMT <![CDATA[Kim Clijsters Pregnant Again]]> ]]>Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters has announced that she is pregnant with her second child.]]>

Hi everyone, we have some exiting news to tell you... Jada is going to be a big sister :-) ! Xxx Kim , Brian and Jada

— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) February 25, 2013

Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters has announced that she is pregnant with her second child.

The Belgian retired from the sport at the US Open last September for the second and what she called the final time. Clijsters had also retired in 2007 and then came backin 2009 after the birth of her daughter Jada.

Clijsters won four singles grand slams during her career - three of which she won as a mother.

Her last season on tour - 2012 - was marred by a number of injuries.

Clijsters took to Twitter to announce the news to her fans and was immediately flooded with a number of congratulatory messages from fellow tennis pros and fans.
]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:04:58 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Walk Through Memphis sends Kei Nishikori Soaring]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis 

ATP
Japan's Kei Nishikori's victory at Memphis on Sunday catapulted him up six spots in the latest ATP rankings, to No. 16 in the world, one spot short of his career-high. The 23-year-old Nishikori defeated Feliciano Lopez in straight sets and never lost a set over the tournament as he improved to 11-2 on the year. It's his first-ever indoor title and second in as many years after winning Tokyo in 2012. Nishikori defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals, but it was enough for Cilic to move up one spot to No. 11 in the world. It's the highest the 24-year-old Cilic has been ranked since May of 2010.  There were no changes in the Top 10, but plenty in the Top 25, where Milos Raonic fell four spots to No. 18 and American Sam Querrey dropped two spots to 23rd.  There was one giant leap and one giant plummet in the Top 50. The leap came from Russia's Denis Istomin, who soared 21 spots to No. 42 following his trip to the Memphis semifinals that included a first-round upset of No. 16 John Isner. Istomin squared his all-time record at 113-113 and is within 10 spots of his career highwater mark of No. 33. Taking a swan dive the other way was Austria's Jurgen Melzer, who dropped 22 spots to No. 49 following his first-round defeat at the hands of Igor Sijsling in Memphis.  Although he earlier reached the finals of Zagreb, Melzer is just 7-7 on the season and has fallen off considerably from the form that landed him in the Top 10 for 13 straight weeks two years ago.  

WTA
There was only one change in the WTA top 10 this week, as Petra Kvitova switched places with Sara Errani, taking over as the new No. 7 in the world. Kvitova took Errani's spot by defeating the Italian in the finals at Dubai with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory. It's the first title of the year for the 22-year-old and the 10th of her career. She improves to 12-5 on the season. In the top 20, the endless shuffle of Dominika Cibulkova and Maria Kirilenko continued, with Cibulkova reclaiming No. 14. Roberta Vinci changed places with Sloane Stephens, with the American teenager dropping back to No. 16. Two former Top 2 players made moves in the Top 25. Venus Williams moved up one spot to No. 20, while former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic  Jankovic won Bogota on clay against an admittedly inferior group of talent - taking out No. 198 Paula Ormaechea in the finals and not facing a player ranked higher than 96th during the week. ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:36:38 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - February 24 - March 2]]> ]]>
A look at tennis players celebrating birthdays between February 24 and March 2 

February 24 - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the youngest man to ever reach No. 1 in the world, turns 32. Hewitt has won two Grand Slam singles titles and one in doubles. In 2000, he and Max Mirnyi won the men's doubles title at the US Open, making Hewitt he youngest man to win a Grand Slam doubles title in the Open Era, at age 19 years, 6 months. In 2001, he defeated Pete Sampras at the US Open, one of six titles he won on the year to earn the No. 1 ranking when he took the Tennis Masters Cup title at year's end. He followed that with the 2002 Wimbledon title, losing only two sets in the entire tournament. Hewitt helped Australia to the 1999 and 2003 Davis Cup titles. He was previously engaged to fellow pro Kim Clijsters, who he dated from 2000-2004, then proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright in 2005. The pair have three children - Mia, Cruz and Ava.  

February 25 - Italy's Flavia Pennetta, former No. 1 doubles player and 2011 Australian Open doubles champion, turns 31. Pennetta is the first Italian woman to ever be ranked No. 1 in doubles, which she achieved in 2011, and the first to ever reach the Top 10 in women's singles, which she accomplished in August of 2009. She has nine career singles titles and helped Italy to to the 2006, 2009 and 2010 Fed Cup title teams. Her best Grand Slam singles performances have been at the US Open, where she reached the quarterfinals in 2008, 2009 and 2011. She has 14 doubles titles and has reached at least the quarterfinals of all four majors, along with winning the WTA Championships in 2010. 

February 26 - China's Li Na, the first Asian player to both reach and win a Grand Slam final, turns 31. Na reached the finals of the 2011 Australian Open, losing to Kim Clijsters, then defeated Maria Sharapova to win the French Open title that same year. She has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world and is currently No. 5, having stayed in the Top 10 since the beginning of 2011. She has seven career singles titles and two in doubles. She is married to on-again, off-again coach Jiang Shan.  Former doubles No. 1 Danie Visser of South Africa turns 42. Visser won three Grand Slam doubles titles in his career - the Australian Open in 1990 and 1993, and the US Open in 1990. He also reached the 1990 Wimbledon final and the French Open quarterfinals on two occasions. He was first ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles in January of 1990. 

February 27 - Ecuador's Andres Gomez, the 1990 French Open champion and two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, turns 53. Gomez won 21 singles and 33 doubles titles in his ATP career which spanned from 1979-1995. He won the 1986 US Open doubles title  With Slobodan Zivojinovic and the 1988 French Open title with Emilio Sanchez. He reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in September of 1986. In singles, he won Roland Garros in 2000 by defeating defending champion Andre Agassi in four sets, peaking in singles at No. 4in the world a week later. 

February 28 - Croatia's Ivo Karlovic, the tallest man to ever play professional tennis (and this blogger's choice to be Gregor Clegane in the tennis version of "Game of Thrones") turns 34. Karlovic stands 6 feet, 10 inches tall and holds the record for fastest serve ever recorded at 156 miles per hour. Karlovic has four career singles titles and has been ranked as high as No. 14 in the world.  

Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, a former world No. 1, turns 28. Jankovic has one Grand Slam to her credit, the 2007 mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. She took over No. 1 in the world in August of 2008, becoming the first woman to do so without reaching the finals of a Grand Slam singles event. After a few weeks at No. 2, she regained the top ranking and held it through the end of 2008. She is currently ranked No. 24 in the world.
]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:28:50 GMT <![CDATA[The Curious Case of Tommy Haas]]> ]]>This German just gets better as he gets older.]]> By Nick Georgandis

In no way should you mistake the title of this blog as an endorsement of the bizarre film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" starring Brad Pitt. That movie is seriously weird, and I would frankly rather watch the two worst players on the ATP tour play a five-set match than ever sit through that abomination again. But "Button"'s plot - that of a man aging in reverse, does call the the life of Tommy Haas to memory, particularly given the German's recent trip to the finals of the San Jose Open. While Haas isn't knocking down Novak Djokovic's door asking for all his trophies, he has defied logic and conventional tennis wisdom by re-entering the Top 20 this week at No. 18, despite being a month short of 35 years of age.

All this from a guy who hadn't played in so long in 2011 that he was unranked for a time, who had dropped to No. 1,086 in February of 2004 and has more than a .600 winning clip on all three major surfaces. When Haas debuted, Bill Clinton hadn't won his second presidential election yet. The Atlanta Summer Olympics were still a few months away, and the only thing people associated 9/11 with was calling for a fire truck or an ambulance. Haas' career has been broken up into huge sections.

The first lasted from 1996-2001, seeing him win the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics and finishing 2001 ranked eighth in the world. But Haas' personal life came to the forefront when his parents were both injured while riding a motorcycle Haas had given his father as a gift. Neither his mother nor father was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, and his father went into a coma while his mother had to learn how to walk all over again. When Haas finally returned to the tour, it was only briefly as he hurt his shoulder and struggled to come back at full strength, finally returning in 2004. 

The German seemed back on his game by 2006, winning three titles and reaching the US Open quarterfinals, and he was back in the Top 10 in 2007.  Injuries caught him again in 2008, but he bounced back in 2009 with his best Grand Slam performance ever, reaching the Wimbledon semifinals before losing to Roger Federer. When injuries struck again in 2010 and 2011, most thought that Haas, now into his early 30s, would simply retire, but the drive remained, at least in part because of the bulk of his prime he missed while dealing with his family's injuries and his own. Instead of settling in to life off the court, Haas found a full year of good health in 2012 and was rewarded with a brief return to the Top 20 and became the only player ever to win the ATP's Comeback Player of the Year award twice. ]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:04:40 GMT <![CDATA[Redfoo's Valentine's Day Gift For Azarenka]]> ]]>

We'd like to make fun of Redfoo for this, but apparently this kinda thing works for Vika:

]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:16:10 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: The Nonsensical No. 1, Serena Williams]]> ]]>Sorry, Vika, you'll have to do better than 14-0...somehow.]]>By Nick Georgandis

WTA
Only in the perfectly nonsensical world of the professional tennis tour's ranking systems does the No. 2 player in the world lose to the No. 1 player in the world, and pass that No. 1 player in the rankings, even though the No. 1 player has not lost a single match this season and has won the two biggest tournaments.

So congratulations, Serena Williams, and tough break, Victoria Azarenka - try harder next time, except that you can't try harder when you're 14-0. But because of Williams' limited playing schedule in early 2012, the American legend reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the world for the first time since September of 2010 on Monday, even after losing to previous No. 1 Azarenka in the finals at Dubai on Saturday.

At 31 years old, Williams becomes the oldest woman to ever hold the No. 1 spot, surpassing Chris Evert in that regard. It also marks her 124th week to hold the position. She's sixth all-time in that category, but well out of the Top 5, which begins with Monica Seles at No. 5 with 178 weeks atop the charts. Williams is one of eight American women to have been ranked No. 1 during the Open Era, the most of any country. American women have held the top spot for 928 weeks in all, easily the most of any nationality. The second-highest total is Germany with 377 weeks, all of that from Steffi Graf.

The move up was less dramatic, but American Sloane Stephens moved up to No. 16 from No. 17, a new career high for the phenom who will turn 20 in a month. Also making a move inside the Top 20 was Ekaterina Makarova, who moved up a spot to 19th after reaching the second round at Doha, tying her career-best rank.

ATP
Despite winning the title at San Jose, Milos Raonic slipped back a spot in the rankings this week, falling to No. 14 behind Gilles Simon.

Other changes in the "teens" of the ATP rankings included the ageless Tommy Haas rising four sports to No. 18 in the world. Haas, who will turn 35 in a month's time, reached the finals at San Jose, upsetting American John Isner in the semifinals, to rejoin the Top 20 for the first time since May of 2010. Among those he surpassed in making the move was American Sam Querrey, who fell a spot to 21st after three straight weeks at No. 20. ]]> Mon, 18 Feb 2013 11:21:38 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles - February 17-23]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis


February 17 - Zimbabwe's Cara Black, a 10-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former doubles No. 1, turns 34. Black completed the career Grand Slam in mixed doubles in 2010 when she won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She had previous won the French Open in 2002, the US Open in 2008 and a second Wimbledon title in 2004. In women's doubles, she has five Grand Slam titles, winning Wimbledon thrice (2004, 2005, 2007), along with the Australian Open (2007) and the US Open (2008). She reached the French Open doubles final in 2005, and reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in October of 2005. She has 55 career doubles titles and one career singles title, with a high rank on the ATP singles chart at No. 31 in March of 1999.

February 18-  Italy's Roberta Vinci, a three time Grand Slam doubles champion, turns 30. Vinci is presently ranked No. 1 in the world in women's doubles and has been since October of 2012. She and partner Sara Errani combined to win the 2013 Australian Open title, as well as the 2012 US Open and 2012 French Open. They also reached the semifinals of the 2012 WTA Championships and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2012. She has 18 career doubles titles and seven career singles titles. She is presently ranked No. 16 in the world in singles, one spot behind her career best. She had the best season of her life as a singles player in 2012, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the US Open.

February 19 - Fern "Peachy" Kellmeyer, senior vice president of the WTA Tour, turns 69. 
Kellmeyer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011 to commemorate a career that has seen her become the first woman to play on a men's Division I tennis team, sue and hep overturn a rule banning women's athletic scholarships for college sports and become the first tour director of the Virginia Slims circuit, eventually helping bring women's tennis to the venue of Madison Square Garden.

Career doubles Grand Slam winner Paul Haarhius turns 47. A native of The Netherlands, Haarhius won 54 career doubles titles and reached No. 1 in the world in January of 1994 after winning the Australian Open. He went on to win the US Open in 1994, the French Open thrice (1995, 1998, 2002) and Wimbledon in 1998. In singles he won one career title, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 1991 and reached No. 18 in the world in November of 1995.

Hana Mandlikova, who won four career singles Grand Slams, turns 46. Mandlikova won the Australian Open in 1980 and 1987, the French Open in 1981 and the US Open in 1985. She was stopped short of a career singles Grand Slam twice by Martina Navratilova, who bested her in the 1981 and 1986 Wimbledon finals. In all, Mandlikova won 27 career singles titles and reached No. 3 in the world. She also won the 1989 US Open doubles title (with Navratilova), one of 19 career doubles titles and was ranked as high as No. 7 in the world in doubles in 1986.

February 22 - Two-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Tom Okker turns 69. Okker won 78 Grand Slam doubles titles, a record that stood until it was broken by Todd Woodbridge in 2005. He won the French Open in 1973 and the US Open in 1976, and reached the finals at the Australian Open in 1971 and Wimbledon in 1969. He first achieved the No. 1 rank in 1969 and had a career doubles record of 550-152. In addition, he won 31 career singles titles and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, reaching the 1968 US Open final and the semifinals of the other three Grand Slam tournaments.

Puerto Rico's Gigi Fernandez, won of the most decorated doubles players in tennis history, turns 49. Fernandez won 17 Grand Slam doubles titles in her career, 14 of them alongside partner Natasha Zvereva. In total she won the French Open seven times (1991-1995, 1997); the US Open four times (1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996); Wimbledon four times (1992-1994, 1997) and the Australian Open twice (1993-1994). She also won the gold medal in women's doubles tennis at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, won 69 career doubles titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world beginning in 1991. As a singles player, she won two career titles and reached No. 17 in the world, making the Wimbledon semifinals in 1994 and the US Open quarterfinals in 1991 and 1994.


American Michael Chang, the youngest male player to ever win a Grand Slam title, turns 41. In 1989 at age 17 years, 110 days, Chang defeated Stefan Edberg in a five-set French Oopen final 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to set the record. He is even more famously known for his victory over Ivan Lendl in the fourth round, falling behind 4-6, 4-6, before winning the next three sets by matching 6-3 scores to win a match that took four hours, 37 minutes. At times, fighting cramps, Chang served under hand against Lendl, and stood in odd places on the court to await Lendl's serves in an attempt to distract him. Chang went on to reach the finals of the US Open and Australian Open in 1996 and reach No. 2 in the world. 

February 23 - The Czech Repubic's Helena Sukova, a 14-time doubles Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, turns 48. Sukova won 69 career doubles titles and reached No. 1 in the world in February of 1990. She won the Australian Open doubles title in 1990 and 1992; the French Open in 1990; the US Open in 1985 and 1993 and completed the career Grand Slam when she won Wimbledon in 1990, the third of her four titles there (also won in 1987, 1989 and 1996). In mixed doubles, she won the French Open in 1991, the US Open in 1993, the Australian Open in 1994 and 1998 and completed that career Grand Slam with the 1994 Wimbledon crown, eventually winning the All England Club title again in 1996 and 1997. ]]> Sat, 16 Feb 2013 12:25:31 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Horacio Zeballos zooms up ATP charts]]> ]]>Zeballos jumps to No. 43, while Caroline Wozniacki rejoins WTA Top 10.]]>
Horacio Zeballos’ shocking win over Rafael Nadal Sunday in the Vina del Mar final paid off big time on Monday, as the Argentine soared 30 spots in the latest ATP rankings to No. 43, two spots from his career-best mark set in 2009.

The 2009 Newcomer of the Year on the ATP tour, Zeballos shocked No. 5 Nadal 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 to improve to 5-1 on the season, taking his first career title in the process.

Zeballos’ big win was the highlight of an otherwise stagnant week in the ATP rankings, as there was only one move in the Top 25, France’s Jeremy Chardy moving one spot up to 25th.

The other big jump came from Jarkko Nieminen, who rose 11 spots to No. 56 after reaching the semifinals at Montpellier. A former Top 15 player, Nieminen had fallen to 70th at the start of 2013.

In the WTA rankings, Caroline Wozniacki rejoined the Top 10, bouncing Marion Bartoli back to 11th.

Also bouncing around for what seems like the umpteenth week in a row are the mid-teens mixture of Anan Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko. Ivanovic climbed up from 14th to 13th, dropping Kiriklenko back to 14th.
 
]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:31:08 GMT <![CDATA[Vergeer Retires Undefeated]]> ]]>Dutch wheelchair tennis phenomenon Esther Vergeer, announced her retirement after an unbroken run of 470 wins spanning more than 10 years.]]>The 31-year-old Dutch star has been the face of wheelchair tennis for more than a decade.

Vergeer started to play wheelchair tennis at the age of 12 after surgery on her spinal cord went wrong. Her dominance of wheelchair tennis started when she became world No. 1 for the first time in 1999. She has been named ITF Wheelchair World Champion for the last 13 years, winning 169 titles and ends her career on a winning streak of 470 matches, with her last defeat coming against Australian Daniela di Toro in Sydney on January 30, 2003.

In the last 10 years Vergeer has won a total of 120 successive tournaments, beating 73 different opponents, winning 95 matches 6-0, 6-0 and dropping just 18 sets of tennis. In that time she faced only one match point – against fellow countrywoman Korie Homan in the women’s gold medal match at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

In Grand Slam play, Vergeer won every singles event she entered, racking up 21 singles titles and 23 doubles titles at the majors. She won eight Paralympic medals during her career, seven of which were gold to cement her place in the history books as a true sporting legend. She was part of the Netherlands’ team that won the World Team Cup on 12 occasions, in 1998, 2000-2009 and 2011.]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:23:14 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: February 10-16]]> ]]>YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! John McEnroe turns 54.]]> By Nick Georgandis
 
February 10 -  Serbia's Viktor Troicki, currently ranked No. 39 in the world, turns 27. Troicki has been ranked as high as No. 12 in his lifetime and has one career title, the 2010 Kremlin Cup.  He won the deciding match in Serbia's 2010 Davis Cup title over France and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2012.
 
Sergei Bubka - Currently ranked No. 192, Ukraine's Sergei Bubka turns 26. Bubka, the son of legendary Russian pole valuter Sergey Bubka, has been ranked as high as No. 142.
 
Feburary 11 - Two-time Grand Slam singles winner Budge Patty turns 89. Patty won the French Open and Wimbledon singles titles in 1950, along with the Wimbledon doubles crown in 1957 and the French Open mixed doubles title in 1946. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1950 and inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977.
 
February 12 - Former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero turns 33. Ferrero won 16 career titles including the 2003 French Open, and reached No. 1 in the world in September 2003. He was also the runner-up at the US Open in 2003.
 
February 14 - Former world No. 3 Manula Maleeva turns 46. Maleeva won the 1984 mixed doubles crown in 1984, and reached the US Open semifinals in singles pay in 1992 and 1993. Overall, she won 19 singles titles and four doubles crowns. The mixed doubles Slam came alongside American Tom Gullikson.
 
February 16 - Seventeen-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe turns 54. The outspoken American won seven singles Grand Slams, nine doubles and one in mixed doubles in his 15-year career, 104 total titles. Known for his on-court tirades and infamous "You cannot be serious?" outburst, McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, and continues to be one of the most popular and well-known faces on the ATP tour as he plays exhibitions against other retired players, appears as an analyst on both NBC and the Tennis Channel and plays WTT tennis regularly.
 
 
]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:44:43 GMT <![CDATA[ITF Revises Fed Cup Dead Rubber Policy]]> ]]>  
The new policy states that if a tie is decided after the third singles rubber (ie one nation has a winning 3-0 lead after the first match on Sunday), the fourth singles rubber will not be played (*) and the dead doubles rubber will be played instead. However if the tie is decided after the fourth singles rubber (ie one nation has a winning 3-1 lead), the dead doubles rubber will still be played. A match tiebreak (first to 10 points) will replace the third set in all dead doubles rubbers.
 
The existing dead rubber policy used in the Fed Cup Final will remain the same. If a tie is decided after the third singles rubber, the fourth singles rubber will not be played, and the dead doubles rubber will be played instead. However if the tie is decided after the fourth singles rubber, the dead doubles rubber will not be played.
 
The revision of the dead rubber policy in Fed Cup follows the successful introduction of a new dead rubber policy for all Davis Cup ties in 2011.
 
ITF Executive Vice President Juan Margets said: “The enhancement of the dead rubber policy came in response to requests from players, captains and National Associations following its successful introduction in Davis Cup. This is part of the ITF’s continued effort to make Fed Cup more player friendly, while maintaining a good spectator experience on the Sunday.”


 
About Fed Cup by BNP Paribas
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 97 nations entered in 2013. The event is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2013 in the ITF’s centenary year. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Bosco Sport (Official Clothing Sponsor) are international sponsors, and Wilson Sporting Goods (Official Ball) is an international partner. Follow all the action on www.fedcup.com, www.fedcup.com/es, www.twitter.com/fedcup and www.facebook.com/FedCup.
 
(*) The fourth singles rubber can still be played if both nations agree.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:21:32 GMT <![CDATA[Agnes Szavay Retires]]> ]]>Hungary's Agnes Szavay has announced her retirement from professional tennis due to ongoing back problems.]]> Szavay commented on her website, "It's a shocking moment, as my life has revolved around tennis for the past 10 years.  It was hard, but I owe a lot to this sport. I learned that I cannot hope for a full recovery from surgery, so I had to realize that, unfortunately, there is no other way. I know this will be a big change in my life, but I have plans and I will get it done."


She had won 5 WTA singles titles and 2 WTA doubles titles during her playing days, and peaked at No. 13 back in 2008.


Szavay has not played since cracking a vertebra a year ago. The Hungarian press is reporting that she may continue to be involved with tennis and may open a tennis school in her native land in Hungary.


Szavay's singles titles included WTA events in Palermo (2007), Beijing (2007), Budapest (2009, 2010) and Prague (2010).

]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:30:24 GMT <![CDATA[Rankings Report: Meet Mona Barthel]]> ]]> By Nick Georgandis

Maria Kirilenko translated her Pattaya City title into a two-step jump in the latest WTA rankings, rising to No. 13 in the world this week. Off to a 9-2 start to the 2013 campaign, Kirilenko jumped over Ana Ivanovic and Dominka Cibulkova in the process.
The Top 10 remained as is two weeks after the conclusion of the Australian Open, but big surge in the Top 50 came from Germany’s Mona Barthel.
Barthel won the title at Paris, upsetting three players in the Top 20, including No. 10 Marion Bartoli and No. 7 Sara Errani, and leapt from 45th to 28th in the process with the 470-point, $117,000 payday.
Despite a first-round loss at the Australian Open, Barthel is 12-3 to start the 2013 campaign. The 22-year-old, who at 6-feet, 1-inch is one of the tallest players on tour, is in the Top 30 for the first time ever after reaching No. 31 last April.
ATP
A pair of young gunners moved up the charts in the latest ATP rankings this week, as Marin Cilic climbed to No. 12 and Milos Raonic to No. 13.
The 24-year-old Cilic, fresh off a 2-0 singles record in Davis Cup action against Italy, is 5-2 to start the season. The 22-year-old Raonic is also 5-2 and won twice in Canada's colossal upset of Spain in the Davis Cup.
The biggest drop in the Top 100 was Slovakia's Lukas Lacko, who plunged from 49th to 74th. Lacko was idle last week after reaching the Zagreb finals at the end of January in 2012. 
]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:32:23 GMT <![CDATA[Light the Candles: February 3-9]]> ]]>Tennis players blowing out the candles this week.]]> By Nick Georgandis

February 3: Vania King, two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, turns 24. King, who is Taiwanese-American, won the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open titles with Yaroslava Shevdova. King has 14 doubles titles overall and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world in doubles, also reaching the 2011 French Open semifinals and the 2012 Australian Open quarterfinals.
 
February 4: The Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova, currently ranked No. 18 in the world, turns 26. Safarova has won four career singles titles on the WTA tour, and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2007. She has won career doubles title and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2013.
 
February 5: Spain's Manuel Orantes, the 1975 US Open champion, turns 64. Orantes was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame after a tennis career that spanned 20 years (1964-1983) and saw the Spaniard win 33 titles and rise to No. 2 in the world in 1973.
 
Eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion Jim Pugh turns 49. Pugh, an American, won three men's doubles titles and five mixed doubles titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1989.
 
His career spanned 12 years and he also reached the finals of two other doubles Grand Slams and won 22 doubles titles.
]]> Sat, 02 Feb 2013 13:24:46 GMT <![CDATA[Ricoh Arena Named Venue for Davis Cup Tie]]> ]]>The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has today announced that the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie between the Aegon GB Davis Cup team and Russia will take place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
 
The Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round tie will take place from Friday 5-Sunday 7 April 2013, with the winners to compete in the 16-nation World Group Play-offs from September 13-15.  Great Britain secured promotion to Group I during their 2011 campaign and have received an opening round bye in this year's competition.
 
Leon Smith, Captain of the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team, said: “We are very excited to be taking Davis Cup to Coventry and taking advantage of strong home support.  It will be tough against Russia, who are arguably the strongest team in our group, but we'll be giving it our best shot.”
 
Gavin Fletcher, LTA Tournament Director added: "Both the city of Coventry and the team at the Ricoh Arena have made us very welcome.  It’ll be great bringing the Davis Cup back to the Midlands, where we’ve  enjoyed tremendous support in the past. I know the team is looking forward to playing in front of a very vocal crowd against Russia."

Jacky Isaac, interim chief executive at the Ricoh Arena, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing world-class tennis to the Midlands by hosting the Davis Cup. We are confident there will be a great crowd at our top-class venue to cheer on Great Britain in their tie against Russia and this is another fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of Coventry on a national and international stage.”
 
Councillor Phil Townshend, Cabinet Member for Sport, commented: “We have a national reputation for delivering successful events and this will be another high profile one which will attract local residents and people from a wider area who love Tennis.  To host sporting events such as this also sits well alongside our stated aim of building on the legacy from being a co-host city for London 2012 as well as encouraging people to take part in sport and physical activity.”
 
Although the full Aegon GB Davis Cup team selections haven’t been announced yet, British No. 1 Andy Murray will not be competing in the upcoming tie against Russia.  Murray said: “It's a shame to miss out on the Davis Cup, as I always enjoy playing.  I speak to Leon and the team on a regular basis and will definitely be available to play the next Davis Cup tie later this year.”
 
Aegon Team GB Captain Smith added: “We totally understand Andy’s position.  He has worked extremely hard on his game elevating it to another level and we have all seen the fruits of that since Wimbledon.  Andy’s success continues to inspire more and more young people to take up the sport and we look forward to welcoming him back into the team in September.”
 
Tickets for the tie go on general sale on Monday, February 4th via https://www.theticketfactory.com/default/online or on 0844 338 8838.  For group bookings please call 0800 358 0058 and for accessible bookings, call 0844 581 0700.  Full price tickets start at £17.
]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:50:56 GMT <![CDATA[Serena Williams Committed to Return to Family Circle Cup]]> ]]>Family Circle Cup 2012 Champion & World No. 2 Commits to Returning to Charleston in 2013.]]>  
“It’s always exciting to have a past champion return to defend her title,” said Eleanor Adams, Tournament Manager. “And when that champion is Serena Williams, one of the most famous athletes in the world – we know our fans will be excited. Serena plays well in Charleston, and we’re looking forward to welcoming her back for a sixth time.”
 
Undeniably talented, Williams, the 18-year tennis veteran, has made her mark on the sport. With 47 WTA single titles, 15 Grand Slam single titles, 13 Grand Slam doubles titles and 724 total career wins, Williams has earned herself more prize money than any other female tennis player in history.
 
Williams has made six previous appearances in Charleston where she boasts a 17-4 record, and returns to this event with an active ten-match win streak in progress, stemming from her 2008 and 2012 Cup wins.
 
“The Family Circle Cup is one of my favorite tournaments to play on the WTA Tour,” said Williams. “I love the great fans, the tournament history and everything Charleston has to offer on and off the court. I’m definitely looking forward to defending my title there this spring.”
 
In 2012, Williams won her first tournament of the year in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup, and then went on to win Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, the Olympics, the US Open and the WTA Championships.

To purchase tickets to the 41st Family Circle Cup, visit the Family Circle Cup's ticketing page.
 
About the Family Circle Cup
The Family Circle Cup is the largest women’s only tennis tournament in the world, and Family Circle is the longest running title sponsor of a sporting event in the United States, as well as in all of professional tennis, world-wide.  With over 21 million readers, Family Circle is one of the most widely read monthly magazines in America and is one of 14 leading subscription magazines owned by Meredith Corporation, which speaks to 80 million women nationwide.  The Family Circle Cup receives four days of live broadcast domestically on ESPN2, and is viewed internationally in over 25 countries, featuring over 200 hours of live and delayed global broadcast time, reaching 8.54 million viewers worldwide.
 
For more information on the Family Circle Cup, call (800) 677-2293, email info@familycirclecup.com, visit www.FamilyCircleCup.com, Facebook (Family Circle Cup) or Twitter (@FamilyCircleCup).]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:34:46 GMT <![CDATA[ Cardio Tennis Helps Drive Tennis Participation In Australia and England]]> ]]>Created in the U.S. in 2005, Cardio Tennis has spread rapidly across the globe. Cardio Tennis now reaches into more than 30 countries.]]>Cardio Tennis is fast becoming a worldwide brand—receiving prominent play by Tennis Australia (TA) during this year’s Australian Open and officially relaunching/rebranding in Great Britain with new initiatives and a new spokesperson.

“Tennis Australia is using Cardio Tennis as one of its main programs to increase tennis participation in that country,” says Jolyn de Boer, the executive director of the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), which created Cardio Tennis and manages the program in the U.S. “In Great Britain, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) recently relaunched Cardio Tennis and committed significant resources to the program.” Through partnerships and other agreements, the U.S. TIA has helped more than 30 countries launch Cardio Tennis programs.

TIA Cardio Tennis Manager Michele Krause worked with both TA and the LTA to train their coaches and set up their Cardio Tennis programs. “Tennis Australia launched Cardio Tennis last year at the Australian Open, and they’ve been seeing tennis participation increase,” she says. “This year, there is even more visibility at the Aussie Open, including signage on Rod Laver Arena itself, and there are demonstrations and Cardio Tennis ‘flash mobs.’ But it’s not just being promoted at the tournament—TA is reaching out across Australia. They’re so excited to be doing Cardio Tennis, bringing in players, and enhancing health and fitness for all Australians.” Information on the events Down Under can be found at http://cardiotennis.com.au/2013/01/09/stay-in-the-zone-this-summer-with-cardio/.

On the other side of the world, England’s governing body of tennis, the LTA, officially relaunched Cardio Tennis throughout the country on Jan. 19 with “three days of madness at London’s largest and busiest inner city shopping centers” along with other malls throughout the country, according to the LTA’s Sam Richardson. The LTA is delivering the Cardio Tennis message, along with the overall message to help more people play tennis, through a national campaign driven by the website allplaytennis.com.

The LTA also has a “new face of Cardio Tennis”—Kirsty Gallacher, who is a well-known TV sports personality in England. “I’ve only just started Cardio Tennis, but I am now completely hooked, as it’s a great way to get fit with family and friends,” says Gallacher, who is a mother of two young children.

“With participants burning around 600 calories an hour, Cardio Tennis is a great way to tap into the half a million adults [in England] wanting to get involved in the sport in a fun, friendly way,” says Sophie Curthoys, National Programmes Manager at the LTA. There currently are more than 600 venues in Great Britain delivering Cardio Tennis.

Cardio Tennis was created in 2005 by the TIA and U.S. Tennis Association and now has more than 1.3 million participants in the U.S. As the program has expanded around the world, it also continues to grow in the U.S., with enhancements that include Cardio Tennis Interactive, a web-based system that helps participants track their fitness and participate in “Get Fit” health challenges; TRX Cardio Tennis, a total body workout that utilizes the TRX training system along with Cardio Tennis; a Cardio Tennis “Authorized Provider” program; new tools and resources for providers; and more. This June, a “Try Cardio Tennis for Free” month-long promotion will be launched across the U.S., encouraging people to try a free session of Cardio Tennis at participating facilities to help drive more business and gain visibility for the benefits of the program.

For more information, including Cardio Tennis training schedules for tennis teaching pros and coaches, visit CardioTennis.com.

About the TIA
The Tennis Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association for tennis, is THE unifying force in the tennis industry whose mission is to promote the growth and economic vitality of tennis by working closely with the U.S. Tennis Association and industry partners to develop and implement initiatives to increase tennis participation and improve the health of industry businesses. Core TIA activities include producing 70+ research reports annually on participation and consumer/trade research, in addition to Grow the Game Initiatives such as PlayTennis.com, 10 and Under Tennis, the GrowingTennis System™, Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Tennis, Careers in Tennis and TennisConnect.com. Visit TennisIndustry.org or call 866-686-3036.
]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:25:46 GMT <![CDATA[UNIQLO Congratulates Novak Djokovic and Shingo Kunieda on AO Titles]]> ]]>UNIQLO congratulates their brand ambassadors Novak Djokovic and Shingo Kunieda, on winning the Men’s Singles Title and the Men’s Wheelchair Singles Title respectively at the 2013 Australian Open. ]]>Commenting on Novak Djokovic and Shingo Kunieda’s victories, Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO of leading global Japanese retailer Fast Retailing, said, “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Shingo Kunieda on winning their respective titles at the 2013 Australian Open Tennis Championships. All of us at Fast Retailing and UNIQLO are proud of our association with these exceptional athletes. Not only do they work hard to continuously improve their form and physical condition while promoting the sport widely, but they also serve as excellent role models for young people all around the world. We wish both of them continued success in 2013.”
 
Novak Djokovic said, “I am still overwhelmed with excitement and joy at winning the 2013 Australian Open. It’s incredible and very thrilling for me to have won it three times in a row. And congratulations to Shingo Kunieda on winning two titles at this tournament. What a nice coincidence for the two of us to win at the same tournament.” He added, ”My UNIQLO match wear no doubt helped me to win my third consecutive Australian Open title. I felt light and comfortable in my movements on the court.”
 
Shingo Kunieda said, “I am very happy to have won both the singles and doubles titles at the Australian Open this year, which is a great way for me to start my 2013 tennis season. I am also pleased that Novak Djokovic has won his singles title, and I would like to congratulate him on his victory. I will work hard and do my best to continue to win my matches with my UNIQLO tennis wear, and to maintain my world number one ranking.”
 
Novak Djokovic has won the Men’s Singles Title at the Australian Open Tennis Championships three times consecutively from 2011. UNIQLO is a sponsor of Novak Djokovic since 2012.
 
Shingo Kunieda has won the Men’s Wheelchair Singles Title at the Australian Open Tennis Championships five times consecutively from 2007 and again in 2013. He has won the Men’s Wheelchair Doubles Title at the Australian Open six times, during the same years as his singles title. UNIQLO is a sponsor of Shingo Kunieda since 2009. ]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:01:34 GMT <![CDATA[Vergeer Celebrates a Decade Unbeaten]]> ]]>Dutch wheelchair tennis star Esther Vergeer is celebrating ten years without losing a match on the international wheelchair tennis circuit.]]>Esther Vergeer has won 470 consecutive matches since she was defeated by Australian Daniele di Toro in Sydney on 30 January 2003.
 
Vergeer is currently taking part in a Johann Cruyff Foundation trip to South Africa to mark the 10th anniversary of the Cruyff Foundation’s involvement in the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund. The week-long trip will include visits to ongoing projects in Elaansdorn and Johannesburg. South Africa was one of the first countries to be supported by the Development Fund.
 
Vergeer started to play wheelchair tennis at the age of 12 after surgery on her spinal cord went wrong. A former national standard wheelchair basketball player, she eventually made the decision to pursue tennis instead, and played her first tournament in 1994. Vergeer became world No. 1 for the first time in 1999 and has gone on to dominate the sport winning 169 titles. She has been named ITF Wheelchair World Champion for the last 13 years.
 
In the last 10 years Vergeer has won a total of 120 successive tournaments, beaten 73 different opponents, won 95 matches 60 60 and dropped only 18 sets of tennis. She has faced only one match point – against fellow Dutchwoman Korie Homan in the women’s gold medal match at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
 
Only one professional athlete in sporting history is known to have a longer winning streak than Vergeer. Pakistan squash player Jahangir Khan won 555 consecutive matches, although he was only undefeated for five-and-a-half years (1981-86).
 
Vergeer said: "I am impressed I got this far. I sometimes still cannot believe that in all these years I did not have a breakdown. I am proud and I am going to celebrate. I am pleased to link it in with visiting South Africa to celebrate the ten years of the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund with the Cruyff Foundation."
 
ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: "Esther Vergeer is a great athlete and an even better ambassador for wheelchair tennis. Her skill and personality have helped to lift the profile of the sport around the world. This remarkable achievement is a testament to all the hard work she has put in throughout her career.”
 
Carole Thate, Director of the Cruyff Foundation, said: “Esther Vergeer is a role model not only as an athlete, but also in setting up her own Foundation so that she can give back to society. In collaboration with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, she has established the project 'From Sport day to Sport club' to help physically disabled children get acquainted with sport through sports days at schools.”
 
The Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund was set up in 2002 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of wheelchair tennis. The Fund aims to establish sustainable wheelchair tennis programmes in developing nations through the provision of tennis equipment and technical expertise and the identification of local partners who will take the programme to self-supporting levels. The Johan Cruyff Foundation began financing the Development Fund in 2003 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:32:40 GMT