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STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Verdasco 6-0 6-1 to win the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters in Monte Carlo, Monaco

Samantha Stosur beat Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3 to win the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina

Francesca Schiavone beat Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-1 to win the Barcelona Ladies Open in Barcelona, Spain.

Dustin Brown beat Izak van der Merwe 7-6 (2) 6-3 to win the Soweto Open men’s singles in Johannesburg, South Africa

Nina Bratchikova beat Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-5 7-6 (4) to win the women’s singles at the Soweto Open in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Goran Ivanisevic beat Thomas Enqvist 6-4 6-4 to win the Champions Cup in Barcelona, Spain

SAYINGS

“For sure, this year is really special for me. One of the most special because I had a little bit of a hard time for the last year.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.

“If he plays like this, no one can beat him. He beat everyone in six years here and I’m just one of them.” – Fernando Verdasco, after losing the Monte Carlo final to Rafael Nadal.

“This is going to be the one he loses. He has to lose some time and I’m feeling fit and playing well.” – Goran Ivanisevic, promising to be the first player to beat Thomas Enqvist on the ATP Champions Tour. In the final of the Barcelona Champions Cup, Ivanisevic made good on his promise.

“I wasn’t very good today. It was the first time in a few years that the court felt so small. I just could not find the court. When it’s like that, it’s difficult to play.” – Andy Murray, after losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in his opening match at Monte Carlo.

“To be able to play that well in a final is a great feeling. You always hope you’ll do that, but to actually go and perform that way is very, very pleasing.” – Samantha Stosur, after crushing Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3 to win the Family Circle Cup.

“You know, you just gotta try to change something up. Just maybe break a racquet, forget about what was happening for the past half an hour and start all over again.” – Vera Zvonareva, who smashed a racquet in frustration while losing to Samantha Stosur.

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“I played at a very high level and I was having fun playing. Roberta had some problems with her ankle, so it wasn’t easy for her. It just wasn’t her day.” – Francesca Schiavone, after beating Roberta Vinci to win the Barcelona Ladies singles.

SIXTH STRAIGHT

Rafael Nadal feels right at home in Monte Carlo and has the trophies to prove it. The Spaniard won his sixth straight Monte Carlo Masters, becoming the only player to win six consecutive titles at the same tournament since the Open Era began in 1968. And Nadal’s win on the clay courts in Monaco tied him with Britain’s Reggie Doherty, who won the Monte Carlo event six times overall between 1897 and 1904. Nadal’s 6-0 6-1 crushing of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was his first tournament title since the Rome Masters in May 2009. “Last year I didn’t play well but won. This year the level is completely different,” Nadal said. “I have been playing well since the start of the season.” It was Nadal’s 32^nd straight match win at Monte Carlo and his 37^th career title. “I hope one day Rafa gets tired of winning here,” Verdasco said.

SOWETO STUNNER

It wasn’t the usual suspects who found themselves in the final of the Soweto Open. And when the ATP Challenger was over, it was Jamaica’s Dustin Brown who had beaten South Africa’s Izak van der Merwe 7-6 (2) 6-3 at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center. South African newspapers called Brown’s huge serve, booming returns and angled chip shots “Rasta magic.” It was enough to win his third Challenger title as Brown finished with 11 aces to four for Van der Merwe. It was a double defeat for Van der Merwe, who with fellow South African Davis Cup member Raven Klaasen fell in the doubles final to Nicolas Mahut and Lovro Zovko 6-2 6-2.

Another who stumbled twice in Soweto was Thailand veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn. The 32-year-old lost the singles final to Nina Bratchikova 7-5 7-6 (4), then, with teammate Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, fell in the doubles final to Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia and Eirini Georgatou of Greece 6-3 5-7 16-14 (match tiebreak).

SENIOR STOPPER

Goran Ivanisevic knew what he was talking about. “This is going to be the one he loses,” Ivanisevic said of Thomas Enqvist, who had never tasted defeat since joining the ATP Champions Tour. Ivanisevic backed up his words and won his first title since Budapest, Hungary, in 2008. Enqvist had won five consecutive tournaments on the senior circuit. Instead, it was Ivanisevic, who won only one clay court title on the ATP Tour during his professional career, who came away with the top prize. With the win, Ivanisevic moves into first place in the ATP Champion Tour rankings, taking over for John McEnroe. Enqvist advanced to second place in the rankings.

SWINGING FOR US OPEN

The US Open is becoming even more open to tennis players of all ages. At the age of 61, Richie Bustamante is seeking a spot in the US Open draw. Bustamante, from East Norwich, New York, USA, is one of many around the United States who are fighting for a wild-card entry into the US Open qualifying tournament in August. The first of 16 sectional tournaments was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City with 150 men and 44 women entered. The youngest was 14-year-old Angela Assal of the Bronx, New York. The men’s national final will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, in July, with the women competing for their one wild-card berth at Stanford, California.

SERENA IN ROME

Serena Williams will return to action at the Italian Open. The world’s top-ranked woman asked for and received a wild-card entry into the Rome tournament. Williams has not played since winning the Australian Open in January, having been sidelined with a lingering knee injury. She won the Italian Open in 2002 en route to her only title at Roland Garros.

SUFFERING

Tendinitis in his right wrist has caused Juan Martin del Potro to pull out of the Barcelona Open. The injury has sidelined the 21-year-old since he lost to Marin Cilic at the Australian Open in January. Del Potro is the reigning US Open champion, having won his first Grand Slam singles crown last September. In a statement on the Barcelona Open website, del Potro said his wrist is improving but he has been unable to train properly. Also withdrawing from the Barcelona Open with a wrist injury was Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

SENT PACKING

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Andy Murray, the world’s fourth-ranked player, was embarrassed at the Monte Carlo Masters, losing 6-2 6-1 to Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. Even the crowd booed Murray for what seemed to be lackluster play. “I wasn’t very good today,” the Scot admitted. “I tried different things. I tried serve and volleying a couple of times. I tried hitting some high balls. It did not really make a whole lot of difference.”

SITTING IT OUT

Russia will play its Fed Cup semifinal against the United States without Svetlana Kuznetsova. The world’s fifth-ranked player will skip the international team competition and instead play a WTA Tour event in Stuttgart, Germany, the day after the Fed Cup ends. “I will have to miss the semifinal with the United States because my personal schedule is too tight,” Kuznetsova said. “It’s unreal to go to Stuttgart directly from the United States.” The Russian is recovering from a shoulder injury and has not played since losing a fourth-round match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. Three times she received on-court treatment for her shoulder during the match.

Without Kuznetsova, world number three Dinara Safina and Maria Sharapova, the Russian Fed Cup team will be led by Elena Dementieva. Captain Shamil Tarpischchev also has named Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Ekatarina Makarova and Alla Kudryavtseva to the tie, which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama. The Americans will counter with 18-year-old Melanie Oudin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and doubles specialist Liezel Huber. The United States has left a spot vacant, hoping either one of the Williams sisters, Serena or Venus, will be healthy enough to compete.

Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci will be in the lineup as defending champion Italy takes on the Czech Republic in a semifinal match. The Czech team will be composed of Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke. Italy has won the last three Fed Cup encounters between the two nations.

SHUDDERING HALT

Caroline Wozniacki injured her right ankle, forcing a sudden halt to her semifinal match against Vera Zvonareva at the Family Circle Cup. After injuring her ankle in a tumble, the top-seeded Dane fell behind Zvonareva 5-2 before calling it quits. Wozniacki tripped while sliding in to retrieve a drop shot. After being helped from the court, she had her ankle taped and played one more game before pulling out.

SUSPENSION AHEAD?

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is reviewing the rules that prevented it from suspending Wayne Odesnik after the American pleaded guilty to importing banned substances into Australia. Under current rules, the governing body of tennis can only suspend players who are being investigated for a failed drug test. Currently, players cannot be prevented from playing for possessing a banned substance. Stuart Miller, the ITF anti-doping manager, says there’s clearly a need to review those rules.

SERB PAROLED

Damir Dokic is out of jail. The father of Jelena Dokic was paroled by a Serbian court a year after being convicted of threatening to blow up the car of Australian ambassador Claire Birkin because of articles in the Australian press in which the player accused her father of beating her. Dokic was sentenced to 15 months in prison, but the sentence was later reduced to 12 months.

SPLITSVILLE

Novak Djokovic has split with his American coach Todd Martin. The 22-year-old Djokovic started working with Martin last year, but said it has become too complicated working at the same time with two coaches who styles are so different. The Serb is continuing to working with Marian Vajda. “Todd is a fantastic person who has so much experience and he shared everything with me,” Djokovic said. “But it just did not work out in the end and we separated with no hard feelings.”

STAYING POWER

It took an extra day before Joao Souza could win his first tournament title as a pro. The Brazilian captured the rain-delayed Bancolombia Open singles final in Bogota, Colombia, upsetting top-seeded Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4-6 6-4 6-1. Souza, who knocked off second-seeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the semifinals 6-3 6-3, has only played one match outside South America since turning pro, losing his opening match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA, this year. The victory boosted Souza’s ranking to 153^rd in the world, his best yet.

SMITH IN CHARGE

Andy Murray’s former coach Leon Smith is Great Britain’s new Davis Cup captain. The 34-year-old Scot takes over for John Lloyd, who resigned following Britain’s embarrassing loss to Lithuania last month. Smith most recently had been the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) head of men’s player development. The new coach hopes to persuade Murray to return to Davis Cup after he skipped the tie against Lithuania.

SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE

When Mahesh Bhupathi retired because of a left leg injury, it meant Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic had become the first doubles team in eight years to successfully defend their title at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters. The top-ranked pair were leading Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-3 2-0 when Bhupathi couldn’t go on. “Of course with Mahesh getting injured, it’s not the way you want to win, but we played well the whole weekend,” Zimonjic said. “It’s my fourth title here and it’s nice to win at least one tournament more times than Daniel has.” Nestor has now won 67 doubles titles, while Zimonjic has captured 35. Zimonjic also won Monte Carlo in 2004 with Tim Henman and in 2005 with Leander Paes.

SHERR IN NEW ROLE

Lewis H. Sherr has been named Managing Director, Corporate Partnerships, by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He will be responsible for new corporate sales and partnership development for the USTA, the US Open, the Olympus US Open Series, community based programs and all USTA properties. Sherr most recently was senior vice president, Marketing Partnerships, for Madison Square Garden (MSG) and MSG Entertainment.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Barcelona: Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin 6-1 3-6 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Charleston: Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova beat Vania King and Michaella Krajicek 6-3 6-4

Johannesburg (men): Nicolas Mahut and Lovro Zovko beat Raven Klaasen and Izak van der Merwe 6-2 6-2

Johannesburg (women): Vitalia Diatchenko and Eirini Georgatou beat Marina Erakovic and Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3 5-7 16-14 (match tiebreak)

Monte Carlo: David Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-3 2-0 retired

SITES TO SURF

Barcelona: www.barcelonaopenbancosabadell.com/

Athens: www.statusathensopen.gr/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com/

Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com/

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.it/

Stuttgart: www.porsche-tennis.de/

Fez: www.frmtennis.com/

Tunis: www.tct.org.tn/

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: www.opendecagnes.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$2,100,000 Barcelona Open BancSabadell, Barcelona, Spain, clay

$113,000 Status Athens Open, Athens, Greece, hard

DAVIS CUP

Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV at Amman, Jordan, hard (round robin): Bahrain, Brunei, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

FED CUP

World Group Semifinals

Italy vs. Czech Republic at Rome, Italy

United States vs. Russia at Birmingham, Alabama, USA

World Group Playoffs

Belgium vs. Estonia at Hassell, Belgium; Ukraine vs. Australia at Kharkiv, Ukraine; Germany vs. France at Frankfurt, Germany; Serbia vs. Slovak Republic at Belgrade, Serbia

World Group II Playoffs

Poland vs. Spain at Sopot, Poland; Sweden vs. China at Helsingborg, Sweden; Canada vs. Argentina at Montreal, Canada; Slovenia vs. Japan at Maribon, Slovenia

America’s Zone Group II at Guayaquil, Ecuador, clay (round robin, two groups): Bahamas, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago

Europe/Africa Zone Group II at Cairo, Egypt, clay (round round, two groups): Algeria, Egypt, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Turkey

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$3,026,000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$125,000 Tunis Open, Tunis, Tunisia, clay

WTA

$700,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany, clay

$230,000 Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Fes, Morocco, clay

$100,000 Open GDF Suez de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes 2010, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, clay

DAVIS CUP

Asia/Oceania Zone Group III, Tehran, Iran, clay (round robin, two groups): Bangladesh, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Vietnam

FED CUP

Europe/Africa Zone Group II, Yerevan, Armenia, clay (round robin, two groups): Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, South Africa