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STARS

Caroline Wozniacki beat Elena Dementieva 1-6 6-2 6-3 to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan

Mikhail Youzhny beat Andrey Golubev 6-7 (7) 6-3 7-6 (3) to win the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-4 3-6 6-4 to win the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok, Thailand

Alberta Brianti beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-4 to win the ITF Ningho 2010 in Ningho, China

John McEnroe beat Guy Forget 7-5 7-4 to win the Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere in Paris, France
SAYINGS

“I have never beaten a number one player in the world before. I’ve beaten some good Top 10 players, but never a number one. I think it was the best match of my career.” – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, after upsetting top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the PTT Thailand Open.

“I had a lot of break point chances in the second set, too many chances. He played a great match especially in the third set, but I was playing better than him in the beginning. I didn’t play the break points well. With 26 opportunities to break you have to take your chances. It’s a difficult loss to accept.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

“It meant a lot to win. It was exciting, the atmosphere was electric and people were pumped up. Not as pumped up as I was though.” – John McEnroe, after defeating Ivan Lendl in an ATP Champions event in Paris, France.

“You cannot not play and then all of a sudden play great.” – Ivan Lendl, after losing his ATP Champions Tour debut against Mats Wilander in Paris, France.

“It felt really good. He’s beaten me so badly so many times that it’s nice to get some sort of revenge! It’s nice to see him suffer, to see him tire, but unfortunately he was smiling. I wanted to see him crying! But, no, seriously it’s great to have him back.” – Mats Wilander, after winning the ATP Champions Tour debut of Ivan Lendl.

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki holds her w — Caroline Wozniacki wins the Pan Pacific Open

“It was so nerve wracking, especially in the super tie-break, but we tried to stay positive and not think negative. We made it somehow and are very glad about that!” – Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who teamed with Iveta Benesova to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open doubles.

“I should have won the first set. When you lead 6-3 in the tie-break indoors, usually you should take the set. I came back well and I played a really good second set. In the final set it was really close. When you win 7-6 in the third set in the last match, you have to be aq little bit luckier than him.” – Mikhail Youzhny, after capturing the Thailand Open singles.

“Surgery was easy, but the radiation was trickier. It was six weeks of really low energy. Radiation just sucks your energy like a vampire, day by day.” – Martina Navratilova, saying she is now cancer free.

“It was a difficult match, especially at the end. I was choking a bit and luckily my partner helped us out. This is my first doubles title and it feels great.” – Viktor Troicki, who teamed with Christopher Kas to win the Malaysia Open doubles.

“It has been an unbelievable week for me, from the first round to the final. Every match is different. I think I played relaxed, enjoyed my game and everything was perfect.” – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, after winning the Malaysia Open singles title.

“Now that I cannot play tennis, I really want to. I would rather be hitting crosscourt forehands than doing rehab five times a week.” – Robby Ginepri, who will miss the remainder of the year after breaking his elbow in a biking accident.

SPANISH SHOCKER

It was the biggest win of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez’s career. The Spaniard saved 24 of 26 break points to upset top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the PTT Thailand Open, snapping Nadal’s nine-match winning streak, which included capturing the US Open last month. It also boosted Garcia-Lopez to his second ATP World Tour final of the year, and he completed his best week by beating Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the final, his second career ATP World Tour title. Garcia-Lopez was runner-up to Michael Llodra on the grass at Eastbourne, England, in June. The 27-year-old won his first ATP World Tour crown last year on clay in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

SET FOR DOHA

The two biggest names in women’s tennis, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, have qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships to be played October 26-31 in Doha, Qatar. Between them, Williams and Clijsters won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year, Williams triumphing at the Australian Open in January and Wimbledon in July, while Clijsters captured her second straight US Open in September. They join Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva in the elite eight-player singles field. There also will be four doubles teams in the chase for the coveted WTA Championships title and a share of the USD $4.5 million prize money. Already securing a spot in the doubles field are the teams of Gisela Dulko and Flavai Pennetta, as well as Kveta Pschke and Katarina Srebotnik.

STOPPED BY INJURY

Kim Clijsters and Venus William pulled out of this week’s China Open because of injuries. Clijsters had an infection on her right foot, while Venus Williams is hobbled with a knee injury. Clijsters tweeted that she “had a mole removed under my right foot and the wound got infected.” She also posted on Twitter a link to a photo showing a red blotch on the bottom of her foot. The 30-year-old Venus Williams joined her sister Serena on the sideline. “Venus’ reason for withdrawal was a left knee injury,” WTA Tour spokeswoman Gina Clement reported.

SPECIAL CELEBRATION

Kimiko Date Krumm has an extra special celebration on her 40^th birthday. The veteran celebrated her special day by defeating Daniela Hantuchova in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. “Maybe I was lucky because it was my birthday,” Date Krumm said a day after she knocked off defending champion Maria Sharapova. “Considering I had a tough match yesterday, I felt pretty good today.” Date Krumm was leading 2-6 6-0 4-0 when Hantuchova retired with a right shoulder injury. She had won the Tokyo tournament in 1995, then retired the next year. Date Krumm resumed her career nearly 12 years later and earlier this year became the oldest woman to beat a Top 10 player when she defeated Dinara Safina at the French Open. Date Krumm’s remarkable Tokyo run ended when she lost to French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-3. “I said to her at the end it was an honor to play her,” Schiavone said. “I’ve followed her career and she’s not just a great tennis player, she’s a great person.”

SEEING AN OLD FRIEND

Look who’s back in the ATP rankings for the first time in more than 10 years. Former French Open champion Thomas Muster, who was ranked number one in the world at one time, returned to professional tennis in June. In last week’s rankings, the 42-year-old Austrian had seven points, enough for him to be ranked 988^th in the world. Muster has won just one match in five Challenger circuit events this season. He has been offered a wild card by organizers of the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy, which will be played in Vienna, Austria, on October 23-31. If he accepts the invitation, it would be his first ATP Tour match since June 1999.

SET FOR PERTH

Francesca Schiavone, the reigning French Open women’s champion, will join Potito Starace on Italy’s team at the Hopman Cup mixed tennis tournament in Perth, Australia, in January. The Australian team will be comprised of Alicia Molik and former number one-ranked Lleyton Hewitt. The Australians are trying to win the Hopman Cup for the first time since 1999. Other teams already announced for the tournament include the United States (Serena Williams and John Isner), Belgium (Justine Henin and Steve Darcis), Serbia (Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic), France (Kristina Mladenovic and Gael Monfils), and Kazakhstan (Yaroslava Shvedova and Andrey Golubev).

SWEEP

John McEnroe wound up winning the Jean Luc Lagardere Trophy, but he was far more thrilled by his win over longtime opponent Ivan Lendl. McEnroe led 6-4 3-2 when Lendl retired from their ATP Champions Tour match in Paris, France, because of a pulled calf muscle. Lendl hurt himself when stretching for a return in the second set. He tried to play on, but when McEnroe broke Lendl’s serve for 3-2 in the second set, Lendl called it a day. “I have no idea what happened to him,” McEnroe said. “It doesn’t get any easier and we’re all hurting, so either he’ll get used to that or it’ll be difficult for him.” McEnroe had lost the last six times he had played Lendl on the regular ATP Tour. “He surprised me and he was serving pretty big and hitting some big shots,” McEnroe said, “but I should’ve known. I’ve played him often enough to know to expect that, but when you haven’t played a guy in a long time you’re not sure what to expect. But once I got into it, it started to feel like old times.” In the final, McEnroe defeated Guy Forget in two tie-breaks, 7-5 7-4.

SUCCESSFUL YET AGAIN

Martina Navratilova has won yet another fight. This time the tennis legend says, “I am cancer free.” Talking to People magazine, Navratilova said she was “technically” cancer free after she underwent a lumpectomy for her breast cancer in March. “But then I had radiation to make sure that it killed any cancer cells that were still hovering about,” she said. She underwent six weeks of radiation.

SPECIAL COMPANY

So what if Tatiana Poutchek has never been ranked higher in doubles than 25^th in the world. So what if she only has won seven doubles titles in her career. The Belarusian joined some pretty elite company when she teamed with Alexsandra Panova to capture the doubles title in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Poutchek’s fifth title in Tashkent, all coming with different partners. All of the other players who have won as many or more than five doubles titles at one event – Lindsay Davenport, Lisa Raymond, Virginia Ruano Pascual and Rennae Stubbs – have all been ranked number one in the world in doubles at some time during their careers. Ruano Pascual has won six French Open doubles titles in the last decade.

SIDELINED

A freak mountain biking accident has sidelined Robby Ginepri for the rest of the year. The American was riding near his hometown in Kennesaw, Georgia, USA, when a squirrel ran into his path. Ginepri swerved to avoid hitting the squirrel, fell off his bike and broke his left elbow at the ulna bone. He underwent surgery in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and will be in a cast for four to six weeks. He hopes to return in January at a warm-up event for the Australian Open,

SHE’S BACK

Everybody’s making a comeback these days. Or at least it seems that way. The latest to return to the sport is Magdalena Maleeva, who returned to competitive tennis after a five-year absence and won the Bulgarian championship. The youngest sister of the Maleeva dynasty beat Izabel Shinikova 6-4 6-4 in the final in the southern Bulgarian town of Plovdiv. “I had a great desire to compete once again and I’m happy with my participation here,” the 35-year-old told Bulgarian state television. “But I don’t think I achieved something special as some of the top names were missing.” Maleeva became the youngest champion when she won her first Bulgarian title at the age of 13 in 1988. She won 10 WTA Tour titles, reaching a career-high ranking of fourth in the world in 1996 before retiring in 2005. Her sisters Manuela and Katerina were ranked in the top six in the world in the 1980s and 1990s. One other thing the three had in common? They all have a career win over Martina Navratilova.

SAME VEIN

Anna Kournikova’s career was noted for her never winning a singles title. Now, the former top-tenner has appeared on “The Biggest Loser” reality TV show. According to TV Guide, the 29-year-old Russian led the show’s 15 remaining contestants in a tennis workout as they competed to win the cash prize for losing the most weight. Other professional athletes who have appeared on the NBC reality show included Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

SPANISH BLUSH

Women’s tennis will be the agenda when Spain’s tennis federation (RFET) holds its conference in Pamplona. “It must be noted that the National Tennis Congress is focusing exclusively on women’s tennis for the first time,” the RFET said in a statement. The federation has refuted accusations from Spain’s six highest-ranked women, including Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Carla Suarez Navarro, who have threatened to boycott next year’s Fed Cup because they are unhappy with what they see as neglect of the women’s game. At the conference, the RFET said it will address issues including training for the top players and bringing along younger talent. Former Grand Slam champions Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez have thrown their support behind the players and denounced “the general apathy shown by the federation toward women’s tennis in recent years.”

SURFACE

The Davis Cup final between France and Serbia will be played on a hard court. Serbia’s tennis association chose the surface for the December competition. Serbia is in its first final after beating the Czech Republic last month, and that was also played on a hard court. France advanced by crushing Argentina 5-0 in the other semifinal. The final will be held December 3-5 in the Belgrade Arena.

STOP THE PRESSES

Tennis Magazine has dropped four of its nine full-time editorial staffers and reportedly intends to outsource the design and photo work along with some editing. Those dropped from the staff of the American magazine included the online editor, a senior editor, the art director and the photo director. Bob Miller, co-owner, president and CEO of the magazine, said he will hire “three or four” more digitally-minded editors before the Australian Open. Until then, he said, www.Tennis.com will be manned “by committee.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bangkok: Christopher Cas and Viktor Troicki beat Jonathan Erlich and Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-4

Kuala Lumpur: Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5)

Ningho: Chan Chin-Wei and Chin Yi beat Jill Craybas and Olga Savchuk 6-3 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Tokyo: Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova beat Shahar Peer and Peng Shuai 6-4 4-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

SITES TO SURF

Beijing: www.chinaopen.com.cn/

Tokyo: www.rakutenopen.rakuten.co.jp/

Mons: www.ethiastrophy.be

Jounieh: www.atcl.org

Paris: www.tropheejeanluclagardere.com

Shanghai: www.shanghairolexmasters.com