By: Justin Cohen
- According to Jay Greenberg of the New York Post, Andre Agassi will headline an exhibition match to be played at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2011. Agassi will play either Pete Sampras or Andy Roddick, according to the report. Monday at the BNP Paribas Showdown at MSG, Venus Williams defeated Kim Clijsters, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, in the championship match to capture the Billie Jean King Cup. The victory earned Williams a paycheck of $400,000, while Clijsters earned $300,000.
- The International Tennis Federation announced that Hewlett-Packard has signed a four-year deal to become the international sponsor of the Davis Cup competition. The agreement will start this weekend during the opening round of competition featuring 133 nations, while roughly 60 nations will host a tie this year. “It is great news for the ITF and for the sport of tennis that a high profile company like HP has joined our international family of Davis Cup sponsors,” said Francesco Ricci Bitti, the President of the ITF. “The company has a huge global reach and diverse customer base, and we believe HP will be an outstanding partner for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas. Technology is one of the world’s true growth areas, and we look forward to working with HP on the enhancement of our own technology systems.”
- Caroline Wozniacki has signed a multi-year deal with Rolex, which will pay her in the low six figures.
- Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, winners of 11 major doubles titles, and 14-time Grand Slam champs Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, as well as 14-time Grand Slam champion Owen Davidson lead the list of 2010 Hall of Fame inductees. Brad Parks, the founder of wheelchair tennis, and Derek Hardwick, past chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association, will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the July ceremony in Newport, R.I.
- 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium has signed a sponsorship deal with Donnay, the 100-year-old tennis brand. The 20-year-old will use a specially designed black and gold racquet featuring the 100-year logo and Belgian flag to mark the birthplace of the brand. “I am thrilled to join Donnay and follow the great legends to have played with their racquets,” said Wickmayer. “The 100 year racquet Donnay have made for me feels great to play with and I can’t wait to get on court to start winning matches with it.”
- Sam Querrey has committed to play in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, which will be held July 5-11. “Sam reached the finals at our event last year, and we know our fans are eager to see him return this summer,” said Mark Stenning, the CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “We’ve enjoyed watching him consistently advance in his career since making his professional debut at our event in 2006 and we look forward to welcoming Sam back to Newport this summer.”
- International Tennis Federation President Francesco Ricci-Bitti told L’Equipe that because of the lack of commitment by the top players, Davis Cup might play shorten sets with a tiebreak at 4-all.
- Former doubles world No. 1 Gigi Fernandez, a winner of 17 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals, has launched the Baby Goes Pro DVD series created to introduce children between the ages of 24 to 48 months to sports. Baby Goes Pro introduces children to the building blocks of baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and tennis by using a lovable animated character, EMKEI the Monkey. “As a professional athlete and mom, I am well aware of the benefits participating in sports can bring to the life of a child, both mentally and physically,” said Fernandez. “With childhood obesity on the rise in the US, it is our hope that EMKEI’s lessons will inspire children to make sports and movement a priority, even at an early age.” Baby Goes Pro was recently launched at the International Toy Fair in New York City and is available online for $14.95 at http://www.babygoespro.com.
- Despite the recent earthquake in Chile that killed over 700 people, the first round Davis Cup tie between Israel and Chile will be played as scheduled. Israel does have the option to ask for a postponement of the tie. They have been staying in Buenos Aires since last weekend since they were not able to fly into Chile as planned. “The postponement would be because Israel has the right to train at least four days prior to the start of the tie,” said Rodrigo Valdebenito, the Chief of Communications for the Chilean Tennis Federation. “The series could be postponed until Saturday or Sunday. In theory, the Israeli team may ask for that, but we still do not know what they think of this. We won’t know until they get to Chile.”
- According to Mahesh Bhupathi’s twitter account, Russian Nikolay Davydenko has pulled out of the first round Davis Cup tie between Russia and India.
- Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will both play for Belgium in April during their Fed Cup tie against Estonia. A win for Belgium would put them back in World Group I.
- Bob and Mike Bryan captured their 600th career doubles victory last weekend with a three-set win over Taylor Dent and Ryan Harrison in the semifinals at the ATP Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. The Bryan Brothers won the doubles the next day to win their 58th career title together.
- Dinara Safina, who has been injured since pulling out of her match at the Australian Open, has withdrawn from the upcoming BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
- Tommy Haas said on his official website that he had hip surgery last week in Vail, Colo. “The pain was simply too great,” said Haas. A German report says that Haas will miss up to six months.
- Julia Cohen, currently ranked No. 204, will leave the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for at least the spring to play collegiate tennis at Division II California (Pa.). Cohen, a former Top 10 junior in the ITF World Rankings, reached the semifinals of the Division I NCAA Singles Championships last season as a sophomore on the University of Miami Hurricanes team. During her freshman season, Cohen played for the University of Florida Gators and won the Southeastern Conference Rookie of the Year award.