By: Justin Cohen
- Rafael Nadal has signed a sponsorship deal with Richard Mille watches and will now wear the company’s new 20 gram RM 027 Tourbillion watch, which is worth $525,000. The watch is described as the lightest watch ever produced.
- Through a statement from his attorney, Christopher Lyons, Wayne Odesnik denied taking performance enhancing drugs after being caught carrying eight viles of Human Growth Hormone in Australia earlier this year. “The ITF is presently conducting an investigation of me regarding my possession of HGH while in Australia earlier this year. I have never used nor taken HGH or any other banned substance in my life,” he said. “I am fully cooperating with their investigation and I will have no further comment on the matter until it is concluded.” The International Tennis Federation is currently investigating the situation and says Odesnik is still allowed to compete because of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program.
- The “Champions for Chile” doubles exhibition match raised $125,000 for earthquake disaster relief for the country of Chile. The match featured Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick, Gustavo Kuerten and Jim Courier and was played on Saturday evening at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. By contrast, the “Hit for Haiti” in Indian Wells, Calif., raised $1 million, featuring Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
- Recently retired Sony Ericsson Open Chairman, Butch Buchholz, told the London Times that the Davis and Fed Cup events need to be reformatted. Currently, Buchholz is working with former International Tennis Federation official, Mike Davies, on a proposal that would have the finals be held every other year , in one location, over 10 days, and the event would feature 32 teams. “We are not working against the ITF, we want to work with them,” said Buchholz. “We aren’t going in there saying ‘we have a better idea than yours’ because they won’t buy that but, we believe they must evaluate whether the Davis Cup in its present format is working and whether they are really making the most of their prime asset. We don’t want to run the Davis Cup, it is the ITF’s asset but unless something changes soon, we fear it will simply become a junior Davis Cup…The TV situation isn’t working, it ought to be covered worldwide and it’s not. We had a dinner here a month or so ago with 200 tennis people and not one of them could raise their hand and say who won the Davis Cup last year and who America’s first opponents were. We have to open the Davis Cup up to the world.”
- After easily beating Venus Williams to claim the title at the Sony Ericsson Open, Kim Clijsters moved to No. 10 in the rankings and has become the top-ranked Belgian in front of Yanina Wickmayer and Justine Henin.
- Venus Williams has yet to decide if she will take part in the United States’ semifinal Fed Cup match against Russia in April. Williams has already been asked to participate by Captain Mary Joe Fernandez.
- Russian-born Anastasia Rodionova, who is currently ranked No. 93, will make her Fed Cup World Group debut later this month for Australia, as they take on Ukraine. Rodionova was granted Australian citizenship last December. Samantha Stosur, Alicia Molik and Renee Stubbs will also be a part of the Australian team.
- Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic has agreed to participate in Serbia’s Fed Cup tie against Slovakia in April. “The national team is sacred to me and I’ve played all my matches for Serbia with my heart,” said Jankovic. “We have our chance to get revenge on Slovakia after the defeat three years ago.” Ana Ivanovic has decided not to participate in the tie because she has struggled recently to find consistent results. Serbia’s next highest ranked player after Jankovic and Ivanovic is 18-year-old Bojana Jovanovski, who is ranked No. 130.
- Serena Williams insisted that she cannot announce a return date to the WTA Tour, but hopes to return as soon as possible. Williams has not played since winning the singles and doubles title at the Australian Open in January.
- After receiving a wild card by tournament officials to play his final professional tennis match in his hometown of Casablanca, former Top 15 player Younes El Aynaoui withdrew without reason.
- Sorana Cirstea has hired Antonio van Grichen as her new coach. “I’m really motivated, eager to do a good job with Sorana,” said van Grichen. “Sorana is young, talented, enthusiastic, with a lot of room for improvement.” van Grichen recently worked with Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva.
- Andy Murray has accepted a wild card into the non-mandatory Monte Carlo Masters 1000. Richard Gasquet has also been awarded a wild card into the red-clay court tournament.
- Czech player Radek Stepanek will be sidelined for at least two months because he is suffering from fatigue syndrome and could miss the French Open in late May.
- 1991 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Guillermo Vilas has listed his Sag Harbor, N.Y., home on the market for $995,000.
- The International Tennis Hall of Fame presented the 2009 Samuel Hardy Award to former USTA President Jane Brown Grimes in late March.
