Mondays With Bob Greene: It’s magic. It’s fabulous.

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Gael Monfils 6-2 5-7 7-6 (3) to win the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, France

Rajeev Ram beat Dustin Brown 7-6 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (2) to win the Lambertz Open by Stawag in Aachen, Germany

Jarkko Nieminen beat Stephane Robert 4-6 6-1 7-5 to win The Caversham International in St. Brelades, Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain

Taylor Dent beat Ilija Bozoljac 6-3 7-6 (6) to win the Knoxville 2009 Challenger in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Nicolas Lapentti beat Santiago Giraldo 6-2 2-6 7-6 (4) to win the V Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Anna Lapushchenkova beat Lyudmyla Kichenok 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-2 to win the Privet Minsk Cup in Minsk, Belarus

Varvara Lepchenko beat Sacha Jones 6-0 6-0 to win the Goldwater Women’s Tennis Classic in Phoenix, Arizona, USA

SAYING

“I don’t know what the future is going to bring. It means that my ranking is going to drop completely. It means I have to start all over again.” – Yanina Wickmayer, who was banned from tennis for one year after failing three times to report her whereabouts for drug testing.

“No one has accused them of doping, yet their careers are shattered.” – Jean-Louis Dupont, the lawyer for Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse who are appealing their one-year suspensions from tennis.

“It’s very unfortunate what’s happened to Yanina and Xavier this week. While they may not have followed correct administration, they did not register a positive doping offense either. To receive a one-year ban because of this seems extremely harsh and is potentially career-ending for both of them.” – US Open champion Kim Clijsters, writing on her web site.

“I am the first who wants a clean sport, more than anyone, believe me, but the way it (controls) are being done is, in my opinion, not right. Sure, I would love to have a few changes. I think that’s too much to have to say every day of your life where you are.” – Rafael Nadal.

“There’s not much to say about today’s performance except it was perfect, you know, exactly the way I wanted it.” – Novak Djokovic, after beating Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 in the Paris Masters semifinals. Djokovic went on to win the tournament.

“It’s magic. It’s fabulous. Everything you can imagine. The memories will stay with me forever. … I didn’t believe it was possible to experience something like this.” – Julien Benneteau, after upsetting Roger Federer at the Paris Masters.

“Sportsmen are great when they are sportsmen. Afterwards, it’s a little bit tough for them. The transition from being a tennis player to do something else is difficult. And if time passes too much, you’re just an ex-tennis player.” – Marat Safin, who ended his playing career at the Paris Masters.

“I am a compassionate person. I was comparing Andre (Agassi) to Roger Clemens only because they both lied about having taken the drugs. I was never suggesting that Andre was taking performance-enhancing drugs, and that he was trying to cheat the game that way. I was upset that he lied about the fact that he took the drugs.” – Martina Navratilova.

“You have to be so conditioned, so practiced, that your thinking is removed and you’re just reacting intuitively, without constantly questioning everything. I’m a thinker by nature, much too complicated. My father tried to forbid thinking, and I tried to analyze my thinking away. Nobody ever said anything about feeling. Stefanie taught me that you have to be patient with yourself, you have to just let go. She taught me not to stand in my own way. I became famous so fast; but, in some ways I grew up so slow.” – Andre Agassi, speaking of his wife Steffi Graf.

“There is a very significant difference between us: Stefanie wanted to play tennis, it was her decision; and I did not, but I had to. For me it was the wrong life; it was not mine.” – Andre Agassi, noting that at one time he hated tennis.

SUSPENSIONS CHALLENGED

Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse are challenging the legality of the one-year suspensions handed them by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The players have taken their concerns to the European Commission in Brussels as well as the European Court of Human Rights in a bid to force WADA to change its rules on when and where athletes can be tested out of competition. Wickmayer was suspended for failing three times to report where she could be found for testing. Malisse missed one test and twice failed to report his whereabouts. “The indispensable fight against doping is not the issue here,” said Jean-Louis Dupont, an attorney who is representing both players. “The problem is the lack of proportionality of certain measures.” The controversial “whereabouts” rule requires elite athletes to give three months’ notice of where and when they can be located for testing. Wickmayer and Malisse have appealed their bans before the Lausanne, Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

SEEKS RULE REVISION

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour wants the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to revise its “whereabouts rule” to give players more flexibility when they are competing. “There’s no doubt that this anti-doping program is rigorous and I think everyone in sport who is part of the WADA code are all united that we want to have a clean sport,” said WTA Tour chairperson Stacy Allaster. “But I think together with the (men’s tour) ATP, we do believe that the procedures for reporting during competition could be modified. I think when the athletes are in competition it’s easy for WADA to see where the athletes are.”

SERVING NOTICE

Novak Djokovic is tightening his grip on the world number three ranking while at the same time serving notice that he is ready to move into the top spot. Djokovic edged Gael Monfils 6-2 5-7 7-6 (3) at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris to earn his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title of 2009. The victory increased the Serbian’s point differential over fourth-ranked Andy Murray as Djokovic is attempting to finish in the top three for the third straight year. The Serb beat second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the semifinals at Paris six days after upsetting top-ranked Roger Federer in the final of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel. “Winning back-to-back titles on this level is a huge achievement for me, and adding to that, beating number one, number two of the world,” said the 22-year-old Djokovic. “So I’m very pleased with my performances in the past four, five weeks.” The Belgrade native is the third player to win at least five tour-level titles this season, joining Murray and Nadal.

SURGERY SET

Vera Zvonareva has had arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue from her right ankle. The surgery was done in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where Zvonareva plans to stay two weeks for rehabilitation. The injury forced the Russian to pull out of the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar, after playing just one match. Zvonareva is expected to be able to return to a tennis court in four to five weeks, her agent, Ben Crandell, said via e-mail.. A semifinalist at the Australian Open in January, Zvonareva won two hard-court tournaments in 2009.

SET FOR LONDON

Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco completed the field for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be played in London. The last player to qualify, Verdasco’s spot in the elite eight-man field was assured when Sweden’s Robin Soderling and France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both lost their quarterfinal matches at the Paris Masters. Also in the field are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick. Making his first appearance at the season finale, Verdasco is the only player in the field who did not qualify for last year’s tournament, which was played in Shanghai, China.

Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski grabbed the final doubles berth at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when they defeated American twins Bob and Mike Bryan at the Paris Masters. It is the third time in four years that the Polish team has qualified for the year-ending tournament. In 2009 Fyrstenberg and Matkowski won their first grass court doubles crown at Eastbourne, England, and their first Asian title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

SIGHT ON THE TOP

Even though he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Rafael Nadal is closing in on Roger Federer in their two-man battle to finish the year ranked number one in the world. Going into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where 1,500 points can be earned by an undefeated champion, Nadal is 945 points behind Federer. The loss to Djokovic denied Nadal the 400^th singles win of his career, and also halted his bid to win an ATP World Tour title since he captured the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in May.

SAFIN SAYONARA

Two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Marat Safin wants to be remembered more for the hard work he has put in during a 12-year career rather than his racquet-throwing rants. Safin’s career ended when he lost a hard-fought second-round match at the Paris Masters to Juan Martin del Potro. “A lot of people really thought that I’m not a really hard worker,” Safin said. “But you can ask all my coaches how I dedicated myself to tennis. They will tell you it’s completely the opposite of what a lot of people think.” Now 29, Safin won the US Open in 2000, beating Pete Sampras in the final, and the Australian Open in 2005, besting Lleyton Hewitt in the title match. The Russian was ranked number one in the world in November 2000 before injuries and other issues interrupted his stay at the top. He also was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2002 and 2004. A three-time winner at the Paris Masters, Safin won 15 singles titles during his career. In an on-court ceremony honoring him, Safin was joined by several current and former players, including Marc Rosset, Younes El Aynaoui and Albert Costa.

SADDLING UP

Australia’s Alicia Molik is anxious to begin her return to the WTA Tour in singles. Once ranked as high as number eight in the world, the 28-year-old Molik retired from tennis last year, then returned to the sport in April, competing in a number of low-key events in Australia. She has been granted a wild card into the main draw of the Moorilla Hobart International in January and hopes to compete in all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2010. “I think it’s an incredible opportunity for me to be given another chance to go to Hobart and play again,” Molik said. “That’s where it all started for me back in 2003 when I won the title, so it’s just fantastic to be going back and I can’t wait to be there.”

STEPPING DOWN

The founder of what is now called the Sony Ericsson Open, Butch Buchholz, is stepping down as chairman following the 2010 tournament. Buchholz began what was then called the Lipton International Players Championships in 1985, making it the fifth two-week event on both the men’s and women’s tours. It was the first tournament besides the major events to offer equal prize money and the first tournament to use the now-popular electronic replay system. At the bequest of the men players, the tournament was scaled back to 10 days, making it still the world’s fifth-largest tennis event. A former top-five player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Buchholz plans to pursue new business opportunities and says he will remain active in tennis.

SHORT CUT TO MELBOURNE?

Donald Young and Alexa Glatch are among those invited by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to compete for a wild-card berth into the Australian Open. Eight men and eight women will compete in the wild card playoffs, an opportunity the USTA secured through a reciprocal agreement with Tennis Australia. The two national tennis federations exchanged wild cards for the 2009 US Open and 2010 Australian Open. Others who will play December 4-7 in Atlanta, Georgia, include Ryan Harrison, Jesse Levine, Wayne Odesnik, Rajeev Ram, Madison Brengle, Christina McHale, Asia Muhammad, Allison Riske and Coco Vandeweghe. McHale and John Isner earned wild card berths into the 2009 Australian Open singles main draws.

SUCCESSFUL PAIR

Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic continued their hot play by capturing the Paris Masters, their ninth ATP doubles title of the season. Ranked number one in the world, Nestor and Zimonjic stopped Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-4. The Paris victory was the fifth ATP World Tour 1000 title in 2009 for Nestor, a native of Canada, and his Serbian partner. They won Wimbledon as well as Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and Cincinnati.

STARRING

Two of the sport’s biggest stars, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova, will compete in an exhibition match in Thailand as part of their warm-up for the Australian Open. The exhibition will mark the 100^th anniversary of the Hua Hin seaside resort. The two players will spend New Year’s Eve in Hua Hin before playing on January 2. The then will join local players Paradorn Srichaphan and Danai Udomchoke for a mixed doubles match. Williams and Sharapova will then move on to Hong Kong for the Tennis Classic team event, an exhibition featuring players representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific, before heading to Australia for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

When Marcos Baghdatis pulled out of an Australian Open warm-up event, the organizers struck gold, getting US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro to fill the void. Of course, del Potro will be facing the game’s top players as the field also includes Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, Robin Soderling and Tommy Haas. And just in case Roger Federer wants to compete, organizers have kept open one last spot in the draw. Baghdatis, an Australian Open finalist in 2006, decided to play in the Sydney International, which is an official ATP event that carries ranking points.

SCHOLAR ATHLETE GRANT

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will award an annual Pancho Gonzalez Scholar Athlete Grant of USD $2,500 each to a male and a female high school student of Hispanic heritage. The grant was created to recognize students who aspire to reach excellence in both competitive tennis and the academic arena, and is part of the USTA’s initiative to grow the game of tennis among Hispanic youth. At the 2009 US Open, the USTA honored Gonzalez’s life and legacy during an on-court ceremony. The two recipients much be currently enrolled in high school or home schooled with a high school equivalent curriculum, ranked in the top 200 in their age categories in their USTA Section or nationally, or have an ITF, ATP or WTA ranking. Plus they must have maintained a minimum grade point average of 3.0 of a possible 4.0.

SPONSOR

The Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, is looking for a new title sponsor. Pilot Pen has sponsored the event for 15 years, but will be ending its partnership with the tournament following the 2010 event. Company officials said the move was cause by the recession. The 2009 Pilot Pen was won by Caroline Wozniacki and Fernando Verdasco.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Paris: Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-4

Aachen: Rohan Bopanna and Aisan-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Igor Zelenay and Philipp Marx 6-4 7-6 (6)

Jersey: Frederik Nielsen and Joseph Sirianni beat Henri Kontinen and Jarkko Nieminen 7-5 3-6 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Guayaquil: Julio Cesar Campozano and Emilio Gomez beat Andreas Haider-Maurer and Lars Poerschke 6-7 (2) 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Knoxville: Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom beat Raven Klassen and Izak Van Der Merwe 7-5 6-4

Minsk: Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiya Kichenok beat Vesna Manasieva and Evgeniya Rodina 6-3 7-6 (7)

Phoenix: Sharon Fichman and Mashona Washington beat Marie-Eva Pelletier and Anna Tatishvili 4-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)

SITES TO SURF

Bratislava: www.stz.sk

Toronto: www.tenniscanada.com

Yokohama: www.keio-challenger.com/