By: Justin Cohen
- Roger Federer will start his clay-court season by playing in Rome, starting April 25, followed by tournaments in Estoril and Madrid. Federer will skip the optional Masters 1000 Monte Carlo event. “Monaco is not a mandatory event anymore, that gives us a bit of an option,” said Federer. “There are a lot of points there to go get, but it’s really early in the season. I want to have some vacation after a long trip here in the States…I want to be refreshed till the very end of Wimbledon.”
- According to a statement from the Australian Customs Service, American Wayne Odesnik was found carrying eight vials of HGH when he arrived in Australia in January to play in the tournament in Brisbane. Odesnik has pleaded guilty in an Australian court and must pay back more than $9,000 (AU) in fines and charges. The International Tennis Federation said it will now begin an anti-doping investigation on Odesnik and the American could face a two-year ban from the ATP World Tour.
- The Sony Ericsson Open announced that the men’s and women’s singles trophy will be named the Butch Buchholz Championship Trophy. Buchholz, a former U.S. Davis Cup player, founded the tournament in 1985 and has turned into an event that many consider the best outside of the four “Grand Slam” tournaments.
- The “Champions for Chile” exhibition match to benefit Hogar de Christo’s Chilean Earthquake Relief will take place at 5pm on Stadium Court at Crandon Park Tennis Center following the women’s singles final and men’s doubles final at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick, Gustavo Kuerten and Jim Courier will headline the event. Ticket prices start at $25 and can be purchased via the tournament website or at the tournament site.
- At the annual WTA Tour awards ceremony in Miami, Serena Williams won the Player of the Year award, while Kim Clijsters won the Comeback Player of the Year award and the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship award for the seventh time. Yanina Wickmayer, who reached the semifinals at the 2009 US Open, won the Most Improved Player of the Year award, while Melanie Oudin won the Newcomer of the Year award. The WTA Tour players voted Indian Wells as their favorite Premier Tournament, while Acapulco was the favorite International Tournament among the players.
- Last Friday at a press conference at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Argentine Guillermo Canas officially retired from the ATP World Tour. The 32-year-old played on tour for 15 years, while reaching a career best ranking of No. 8 in the world. Canas won seven ATP World Tour titles, 252 matches and beat World No. 1 Roger Federer in back-to-back tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami in 2007. “I’m so happy the way I have my career,” said Canas. “I so happy to take that decision. I think for me this was the right moment just to say good bye to like a professional sport and to be focusing in another things.”
- Former Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington, who runs the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation, was recently presented with the 2009 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. “I didn’t expect to receive the award,” said Washington. “It was very humbling and provides recognition to the foundation’s staff and volunteers for all their efforts and financial assistance over the years.”
- Following his early round exit to Mardy Fish at the Sony Ericsson Open, Andy Murray will drop to No. 4 in the rankings on Monday.
- Reality television superstar Kim Kardashian was on site at the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday to film a segment of her show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians.”
- Mardy Fish has committed to play in the ATP World Tour Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, R.I., for the eighth time in his career. Sam Querrey and Taylor Dent have already committed to the tournament, which will be held from July 5-10 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame site.
- Melanie Oudin has become the first to commit to playing for the United States in their semifinal match next month against Russia in Birmingham, Ala.
- The International Tennis Federation conducted meetings over the weekend in Europe and Asia and defended its current Davis and Fed Cup formats. A Melbourne-based sports marketing group suggested the ITF try to style the competition like World Cup soccer. Several top players including Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic suggested they should strongly consider it. The ITF did mention that they are open for suggestions on improving their competition.
- The International Tennis Federation announced that the city of Split will host Croatia’s quarterfinal Davis Cup tie against Serbia. Earlier, Serbian Captain Bogdan Obradovic insisted the tie be played in Zagreb because it’s a less nationalistic city.
- Yanina Wickmayer’s father Marc insisted that his daughter will not play in Belgium’s upcoming tie against Estonia unless she is guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup. Wickmayer is currently the top ranked Belgian player, but Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will also be on the team, making it a strong possibility that the two former top-ranked players will get the start over her.
- Former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic will not participate in Serbia’s World Group Playoff tie against Slovakia because she is still struggling to find consistent results. “I spoke with captain Dejan Vranjes and the President of the (Serbian tennis) Federation Slobodan Zivojinovic and together we decided that under these circumstances it’s not the right time for me to be part of the team,” said Ivanovic on her official website.
- Australian doubles legend Mark Woodforde will coach his country’s Junior Davis Cup team in 2010. “Winning the Davis Cup (in 1999) is one of the highlights of my career and I’m looking forward to working with these boys and helping them to do their very best,” said Woodforde.
- Monica Seles told the Daily Mail that Serena Williams can break Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, even though she is 28 years old and has only won 12 titles. “If Serena can stay fit she’ll beat all the records,” said Seles. “I appreciate she’s got a bit to go yet, but really think she’ll do it because she has the potential to be the greatest player of all time.”
- Junior World No. 8 Silvia Njiric, who already has endorsement deals with Nike and Yonex, will be represented by Lagardere Unlimited.