Murray pulls out of British Davis Cup tie: report

Murray pulls out of British Davis Cup tie: report

Andy Murray has withdrawn from Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Lithuania in March and will in future discuss his participation with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) before every match, the BBC reported.
“We have a talented young players who need Davis Cup experience to help with their career development,” Murray was quoted as saying on the BBC website on Saturday.
“I’m happy to step aside for this match and will take decisions on future ties with the LTA. It’s important we get back up the groups in the Davis Cup over the next few years.”
The world number four’s decision should give players like Jamie Baker and Dan Evans a chance to prove their mettle on the international stage.
“My focus in 2010 is on performing well in the Masters events and improving my record in the grand slams,” said the 22-year-old.”I’m always available for my country and am happy to help whenever needed.”

Nadal avenges French Open loss to Soderling at Abu Dhabi

Nadal avenges French Open loss to Soderling at Abu Dhabi


Spain’s Rafael Nadal reacts after defeating Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the final of the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, January 2, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Rafael Nadal took vengeance upon his astonishing French Open defeat to Robin Soderling, beating the Swede 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 to win the Capitala World Championship at the six-man invitational event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The win ended a run of two straight defeats against the towering Swede who handed the Spaniard his only loss after four consecutive titles on the clay of Roland Garros last May and then beat him at the year-end event in London just over a month ago.
Roger Federer, a victim of Soderling in the semi-finals on Friday, won the third-place playoff at the exhibition with a defeat of Spaniard David Ferrer 6-1, 7-5.
Nadal thrilled a crowd of 5,000 with Spanish supporters waving flags sprinkled throughout the stands.
“It’s important to start the season like this, the last six months were so-so for me,” said Nadal, who plays form Monday on the ATP at nearby Doha, Qatar. “Today I played a good match.
Nadal lost a break in the second set as Soderling pulled to 3-4before saving three match points in the eighth game.
But two games later, Nadal nailed down the win on his fourth chance as Soderling volleyed weakly into the net.
“I played three good matches. Hopefully I can continue to play as I did at the end of last season,” said the No. 8, who beat Federer for the first time in 13 attempts in the semis.

Clijsters makes winning start to new season

Clijsters makes winning start to new season

Belgium’s Kim Clijsters went off to a winning start to the New Year as she overpowered Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International WTA event on Sunday.
The reigning U.S. Open champion faced three break points in the opening game of the match but fought back to take the lead and overcome her rival in just 53 minutes.
Clijsters, the top-seeded woman at the joint WTA-ATP tournament, will next face the winner of Sunday’s first-round match between Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Australian Alicia Molik.
On Monday, Justine Henin, the former No. 1 who is making a return to official tournament play after 20 months in retirement, takes on second-seeded Nadia Petrova.

Li Na to meet Estonian Kanepi in Auckland classic opening round

Li Na to meet Estonian Kanepi in Auckland classic opening round

World No. 15 Li Na of China faces Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi while top-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta will meet American Jill Craybas in the opening round of the Auckland Classic WTA event which starts on Sunday.
The main draw will also pit New Zealand’s wildcard Maria Erakovic against talented Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.
Italian veteran Francesca Shiavone is drawn to play a qualifier.

Tennis stars in Doha for Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Tennis stars in Doha for Qatar ExxonMobil Open


Rafael Nadal of Spain talks to the press while he arrives at Doha International Airport to participate in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open tournament in Doha, capital of Qatar, Jan. 3, 2010. (Xinhua/Maneesh Bakshi)

Roddick says knee is better but not perfect

Roddick says knee is better but not perfect

Andy Roddick’s left knee isn’t perfect but he’s hoping for a successful start to the 2010 season at the Brisbane International.
Roddick had his first practice session yesterday at Pat Rafter Arena in preparation for next week’s first tuneup tournament ahead of the Australian Open from January 18-31.
The 27-year-old American missed the ATP World Tour Finals at London in November because of the knee ailment. He had one of his best years on tour this season, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and losing to Roger Federer 14-16 in the fifth set of the Wimbledon final.
He is the No. 1 men’s seed at the Brisbane International.
Roddick’s left knee was unstrapped yesterday during a hour-long session with defending champion Radek Stepanek.
“It’s coming around all right,” Roddick said. “It was disappointing to finish the year like I did, especially considering I felt like I was having a really good year until the injury came about.
“That was disappointing but on the flipside I’m probably a little bit more mentally rested than a lot of these guys, maybe a little bit more eager to get out here. I’ve been playing a lot. I’m definitely not coming in under-practiced.”
The 2003 US Open winner said his 2009 record, including a fourth Australian Open semifinal appearance, gave him extra belief he can claim a second career Grand Slam title – possibly in Melbourne in January.
“Obviously I feel like maybe I could have played a final there before,” he said. “It hasn’t quite happened but there’s not a lot of people walking around that can say … that they’ve played in four semifinals.”
Roddick said he still flashes back to the tough Wimbledon loss against Federer.
“It’s like anything that’s hard in anyone’s life,” Roddick said. “You just keep going and do the things you enjoy and slowly, maybe, I’ll only think about it four times today.”

Nadal, Soderling advance to final of WTC

Nadal, Soderling advance to final of WTC

Robin Soderling fought back from a set down to dismiss top-ranked Roger Federer 2-1 and secure a place in the final of the Capitala World Tennis Championships at the Zayed Sports City on Friday.
The Swede will face Rafael Nadal, who advanced after he beat his Spanish Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Soderling and Federer held serve throughout the opening two sets of their match, each winning a tie-breaker, before Soderling broke the Swiss in the third and seventh games of the third set.
Today’s win over Federer was Soderling’s first in 13 games.
“I always said the more times I play him, the closer I’ll get, and here I am today. So far so good, but it’s going to be a long season for sure, hopefully I’ll get to play against Roger a few more times,” said Soderling.
“Now when I go out there I feel more confident having beaten all the top guys. I can now believe that I belong up there.”
After losing his first match of the new season Federer praised Soderling’s performance.
“Magnus (Norman), his coach, has been doing a great job with him and I’m sure we will be playing a number of times in the future. It was hard to play him in the very first match of the year, but I had fun,” Federer said.
The winner of the competition will take home a purse of 250,000 U.S. dollars.

Woods loses AT&T sponsorship

Woods loses AT&T sponsorship

Tiger Woods of the U.S. stretches his neck as he plays on the fifth hole during the final round of the 2009 HSBC Champions golf tournament in Shanghai in this November 8, 2009 file photo. AT&T Inc said on December 31, 2009 that it has terminated its sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods, joining the list of companies that have distanced themselves from the golfer in the wake of a sex scandal.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)
AT&T announced on Thursday the close of sponsorship deal with scandal-tainted golfer Tiger Woods.
“We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future,” the company said in a statement.
Accenture and Gillette have already pulled out of sponsorship deals with Woods after he admitted to “infidelity” to his wife.
Under the sponsorship deal, AT&T logo appeared on the golfer’s bag while the company has said it will continue to host the AT&T National PGA event in July
Woods, one of the world’s most famous athletes, announced earlier this month that he was taking an indefinite break from professional golf to “repair the damage” caused by his marital infidelity.
Once seen as a squeaky clean athletic role model, Woods, 33, has been tainted by allegations of serial infidelities with as many as 10 women around the United States including various waitresses, nightclub hostesses and porn stars.
Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren, 29, have two children, a two-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.
Woods has had a phenomenal career, earning more than 1 billion dollars in his rapid 13-year rise, commanding huge fees for sports endorsements and revolutionizing sports marketing.

Roddick tumbles before win at Australian Open

Roddick tumbles before win at Australian Open

Andy Roddick took a tumble on his way to a first-round win Monday, tripping over the foot of a line judge.

Andy Roddick of the U.S. rubs his eye during his match against Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 18, 2010.  [Photo/Agencies]

Roddick rolled to the ground and angrily reproached the man when he stood.
“Move out of the way when you see a player coming,” Roddick told the official before resuming the match with Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands and winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
The former No. 1-ranked Roddick was instantly concerned that the knee injury which sidelined him at the end of last season might have flared following the collision, but said he was not injured in his fall. He even joked that the line judge must have wanted a TV career as a professional wrestler.
“I ran into one of those immovable objects called a referee. He wasn’t giving up any ground. I didn’t see him. He wasn’t really trying to do much to get out of the way,” Roddick said.
“Normally they see a player running full speed, they decide to at least move or catch the player. You know, I felt like he was trying out for WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) or something, just letting me go.”
The 27-year-old American was taken aback slightly by a left-field question about his dog, not something he’s usually quizzed about at a major.
Roddick, who often Tweets about his dog, answered anyway. For the record, his in-laws _ the parents of Brooklyn Decker _ are taking care of Billie while he is in Australia.
“Sometimes when I leave, the dog wants to stay in Austin, because it just tells us,” he said. At those times, Billie stays with a friend who sends daily e-mail updates on the dog.
A COLD SUMMER’S DAY: Mardy Fish made a last-minute decision to come to Australia this year, hoping the summer weather would make it easier on his left knee, which had been acting up in the cold American winter.
Last week, Fish reached the semifinals of the Sydney International in warm temperatures.
But a rainy Monday with a high of just 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius) drowned his chances at the Australian Open.
“I got here today and my body just completely failed me,” Fish said. “We were rain delayed three times while we were on the court, so to start up and cool down and start up again, I mean, you couldn’t draw a worse day for me and my knee.”
Fish, who is also playing men’s doubles with James Blake, had surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage last September.
He said he hopes to be chosen for the 2010 Davis Cup team but worried that other players were performing better than him, including John Isner and Sam Querrey.
“Obviously I would love to play,” he said. “I’ve always said yes to Davis Cup and always will probably. But there are players that are playing better than me and having better results than me.”
FOUR DECADES OF TENNIS: France’s Fabrice Santoro has become the first player to compete in Grand Slam tournaments across four decades.
Santoro, who is also the oldest player in the men’s tournament, made his Grand Slam debut in 1989 at Roland Garros.
On Monday he played a night match against Marin Cilic of Croatia in the first Grand Slam of the new decade, despite retiring from the ATP World Tour in November. The match was suspended due to rain, with Cilic leading 7-5, 4-2 (30-15).
Santoro also holds the record for the most number of Open era Grand Slam appearances among the men. This is his 70th; Andre Agassi follows him with 61.
This is the 18th time Santoro has competed in the Australian Open, another record.
NO TIME FOR YOGA: Andy Murray _ who once credited Bikram yoga with helping him trim down, tone up and win matches _ said he has not kept up with the practice lately because of its dehydrating effects.
Murray said he only did one Bikram session during the offseason.
“I used to do a little bit more beforehand, but it’s difficult to fit in ’cause you get very dehydrated doing it,” he said. “You can’t really dehydrate yourself that much and then go and play. So you tend to do it at the end of the days.”
Bikram yoga is a series of poses performed in a room heated to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) in order to loosen muscles, gain flexibility and detoxify through sweat.
But Murray said a shortened offseason meant yoga was not one of his priorities.
The fifth-seeded Murray won his first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday, beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
WTT DOWN UNDER: World TeamTennis will make its Australian debut at the Australian Open this year, with a special Australia vs. Internationals match on January 27.
WTT co-founder Billie Jean King says Australians will love the concept.
“This year marks our 35th season and some of my favorite moments in WTT were playing alongside and against some of the Australian greats,” King said in a statement. “To have the opportunity to introduce WTT to an entirely new generation of Australian fans is both an honor and a privilege.”
The WTT match consists of five sets, with one set each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The Australian team is made up of Pat Rafter, Pat Cash, Nicole Bradtke and Alicia Molik, under the guidance of team coach John Fitzgerald.
For the Internationals, Mary Joe Fernandez will coach and play along with Tracy Austin, Goran Ivanisevic and Todd Martin.
“It is good fun, interactive and high quality tennis,” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said. “It is fiercely competitive and the team spirit is strong and adds another dimension to the tennis.”
TOUGH ROAD: Belgian Yanina Wickmayer’s route to the Australian Open main draw was unusually tough. Her progress to the second round was an even bigger challenge.
No. 16-ranked Wickmayer was forced to qualify for the Grand Slam tournament because of the suspension she was under for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency’s “whereabouts rule.” The ban was overturned last month, but not in time for entries for the Australian Open.
On Monday she held off Alexandra Dulgheru 1-6, 7-5, 10-8, officially in 3 hours, 20 minutes but much longer from beginning to end due to several rain interruptions.
“I know I wasn’t playing great,” Wickmayer said. “So the only thing I could get through this match was to fight for every point, just be ready for a long fight.”
Her ranking usually would have earned her the No. 16 seeding at the Australian Open, something that would have made her preparation and her path in the tournament significantly easier. But she acknowledged that her three wins in the qualifying rounds may have been beneficial.
“Mentally it was good playing them,” she said. “I got a little stronger, a little tougher mentally. I think it’s going to serve me well in the future.”

Ousted Safin tired of tour

Ousted Safin tired of tour

Former world No. 1 Marat Safin tumbled out of the Swedish Open in Bastad on Wednesday losing to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 3-6, 6-7 (6) in the first round and said he was looking forward to a life free from racquets and balls.
Safin, who will retire at the end of the year, is scheduled to play another eight tournaments.
“I’m tired of the tour, tired of staying at hotels and tired of traveling…I’ve had enough now,” the Russian said after having lost the second set tie-break 8-6 on the Swedish clay. Asked by the Swedish news agency TT if he would be interested in a coaching career, Safin replied: “I am tired of everything that has to do with racquets and balls. I want to do something completely different.”
Safin now has a 0-3 record against Almagro, all of the defeats having come on clay.
Tommy Robredo, another Spaniard, began his quest for a third Swedish Open title by easily beating Australian Peter Luczak 6-2, 6-3 in a second round match. Robredo, a winner here last year and in 2006, faces Safin’s compatriot Teimuraz Gabashvili in the last eight.
Swede Robin Soderling, the second seed, beat Belgian Kristof Vliegen 6-2, 6-3 in just 55 minutes in another second round encounter.
“I played OK,” Soderling said. “The last game was tough. I was a bit lucky. I didn’t hit that overhead clean. It’s so fun to play here before a sellout crowd and feel the support.”
In Palermo, Italy, top-seeded Flavia Pennetta paid back Italian compatriot Roberta Vinci for a crushing loss in April by winning 7-5, 6-1 to reach the Palermo Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Pennetta won only three games against Vinci at Barcelona three months ago, but this time broke her seven times to even their head-to-heads at 3-3.
Seventh-seeded Aravane Rezai of France also won her second-round match, overcoming Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 in just under three hours.
However, sixth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia fell to Olga Govortsova of Belarus 2-6, 2-6 in 44 minutes, and 2006 runner-up Tathiana Garbin of Italy ended the winning run of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-2, 6-3. Martinez Sanchez won the Swedish Open on Saturday.
Second-seeded Patty Schnyder, making her first appearance at Palermo since she won on debut as the top seed in 1998, defeated Russian teenager Anastasia Pivovarova 6-4, 6-0 to open her account. The Swiss veteran was coming off the final at Budapest.