hopman cup

Hopman Cup Mixed Team Event To Return In Curious July Date In Nice, France

December 6, 2022 by Admin

The International Tennis Federation has announced that the Hopman Cup, the ITF’s official mixed team competition, will return for the 2023 tennis season.

The competition will be operated by Hopman Cup event promoter, Tennium, and hosted on clay in Nice, France on 19-23 July 2023. The tournament will be held the same week as the International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies in Newport, Rhode Island and its Hall of Fame Open tournament, as well as other ATP events in Gstaad, Switzerland and Bastad, Sweden and WTA events in Hungary and Palermo, Italy.

Last played in 2019, the Hopman Cup has enjoyed an illustrious history as a unique fixture on the annual tennis calendar.

The event has featured a who’s who of the international game with legends such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Steffi Graff, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis, Boris Becker, Li Na and Andy Murray representing their nation in both singles and mixed doubles.

Founded in 1989, the event spent its first 30 years in Perth, Australia, and was played in the opening week of the tennis season.

The prestigious Nice Lawn Tennis Club will host the international mixed team event from 2023 to 2027, as part of a five-year agreement between the ITF and Tennium, a Barcelona-based company who operate multiple ATP and WTA events.

As in previous editions of the competition, each team will consist of one male and one female player, with ties between nations featuring one men’s singles match, one women’s singles match and a mixed doubles match.

Six teams will compete in the 2023 and 2024 editions, with the competition expanding to eight teams from 2025 onwards. As hosts, France will field a team each year.

The Hopman Cup was named after renowned Australian Davis Cup captain, Harry Hopman. In addition to a hugely successful playing career that saw him reach three Australian Open singles finals and win seven Grand Slam titles across men’s and mixed doubles, Hopman led the Australian team to a record 16 titles between 1939 and 1967. Hopman’s widow, Lucy, was a regular attendee at the Hopman Cup in Perth until her death at the age of 98 in 2018.

David Haggerty, ITF President, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Tennium and that the Hopman Cup will return in 2023. We are already looking forward to visiting the beautiful city of Nice next July.

“The Hopman Cup, as a unique mixed team event, has always enjoyed a special place in the hearts of tennis fans, and I am sure that spectators in Nice will relish the chance to see some of the world’s top men and women players on the same court. I would like to thank our event partners, Tennium, for helping us reintroduce the Hopman Cup to the tennis calendar, and we look forward to working together over the coming months and years.”

Kristoff Puelinckx, Tennium CEO, said: “We would like to thank the International Tennis Federation for entrusting Tennium to bring the Hopman Cup back to the international tennis circuit. We are looking forward to building out this great event, by leveraging our extensive experience with tournaments, players, and fans from around the world. We will work closely with ITF to ensure this event continues to be a milestone on the tennis calendar and we believe that Nice is the perfect stage for it.”

Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and a former professional motorcyclist, said: “This event confirms once again that Nice is a privileged destination for the biggest international sporting events. After the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2020, the Top 14 semi-finals in 2022, the Hopman Cup will precede the Rugby World Cup by a few weeks, and then the arrival of the Tour de France in July 2024. Tennis is a major sport in Nice, a discipline that has a strong history, with a club that is more than a hundred years old, and great players who have marked French tennis.”

Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic (left) won the 2019 Hopman Cup for Switzerland over Alex Zverev and Angie Kerber of Germany (right)

The Hopman Cup Can Survive – An Analysis

January 12, 2019 by Admin

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

There has been much concern about the future of the Hopman Cup competition, the official mixed team competition of the International Tennis Federation, with the threat of the coming 2020 debut of the new ATP Cup men’s team event.

The ATP Cup will be comprised of 24 teams playing matches over 10 days in three Australian cities (Brisbane, Sydney and a third TBD city) that consist of two singles matches and a doubles match. Each team will have between two and five players. The ATP Cup has the potential to deflate the talent pool of men’s players who could play in the Hopman Cup.

The Hopman Cup features eight teams comprising of one woman and one man player from each respective country. Each player competes in one singles match each and then play a mixed doubles match. There are eight teams with two flights of four teams. The winning team from each flight plays in a championship match. In 2019, the teams were as follows: Germany, Australia, Spain, France, Switzerland, USA, Great Britain and Greece.

The thing about the Hopman Cup and its survival is that, even with the increased competition for men’s players competing in the ATP Cup, it only needs eight viable men’s players to continue to be a successful and interesting event. And, at closer look, this should not be a problem.

As you scroll and analyze the top 100 ATP singles rankings, you could determine that the following teams could be the 24 teams that would compete in the ATP Cup, with the top three players from each team representing that team: Serbia, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Japan, USA, Russia, Croatia, Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Bulgaria, South Korea, France, Australia, Hungary, Slovaka, Chile Portugal, Bosnia, Netherlands, Kazakhstan (alternates/back-ups Czech Republic and Romania)

After this potential compilation of competing players from these nations, who is left? For starters, since each ATP Cup team will likely only have a maximum of three singles players, there are several “power nations” with multiple top male players who can still compete at the Hopman Cup.

For example, Spain with nine players in the top 100, starting with Rafael Nadal, Roberto Baustista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, Albert Vinolas and others who could pair with Garbine Muguruza or Carla Suarez Navarro to create an attractive Hopman Cup team. Germany has six men in the top 100 – led by Alexander Zverev, his brother Mischa and Philipp Kohlschreiber – who could pair with Angie Kerber or Julia Georges or Andrea Petkovic in the Hopman Cup. The United States has 10 Americans in the top 10 and players like John Isner, Stevie Johnson, Francis Tiafoe, Sam Querrey, Taylor Fritz or others could pair with Serena Williams or Madison Keys or Sloane Stephens or Coco Vandeweghe.

Host Australia should have no problem fielding a team with six players ranked in the top 100 of the ATP rankings, Matt Ebden, the Australian No. 3 paired with Ash Barty in 2019. France has nine players ranked in the top 100. With many of the players being vocally against the re-formatted team competitions in tennis, the Hopman Cup could be attractive alternative to the ATP Cup for players like Lucas Pouille, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy. Pouille and Alize Cornet played for France in Perth in 2019. Great Britain is one of the world’s leading tennis nations and while they only have two players in the top 100 – Kyle Edmund and Cam Norrie (who played the Hopman Cup in 2019 with No. 99-ranked Katie Boulter) – they have a deep pool of eight players in the top 300.

That’s six pretty viable attractive potential teams – all of which competed in 2019. The seventh team that competed in 2019 was, of course, Switzerland which won the event behind Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic. Who knows how much longer Federer will be competing and it’s not clear if he will compete in the ATP Cup, but it seems unlikely based on him cutting back on the number of events and matches he plays in his late 30s. The same can be said for fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who is also in his 30s and still playing on a ginger knee. At least for the short term, Federer, Wawrinka or even Swiss No. 3 Henri Laaksonsen (ranked No. 166) could compete in Perth alongside Bencic or Stefanie Voegle or former French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky. With only Federer, Wawrinka and Laaksonsen being the only Swiss men ranked in the top 350, it’s unlikely they would compete in the ATP Cup unless all three commit to the event. This makes the less strenuous Hopman Cup appearance more likely.

There are several high profile ATP players who are singular top flag bearers for their nation in international tennis and also would thus not be able to play in the ATP Cup since they do not have at least one viable player to compete with. Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece is the prime example as he is the only player from his nation with an ATP ranking. Tsitsipas and his fellow Greek Maria Sakkari comprised of the eighth and final other team at the Hopman Cup in 2019. Until one or more Greek players emerge, the Hopman Cup would be a great option for Tsitsipas.

It is interesting to note that the singles rankings of the eight men who played Hopman Cup in 2019 were as follows: Roger Federer – No. 3, Alexander Zverev No. 4, Stefanos Tsitsipas – No. 15, Lucas Pouille – No. 30, Frances Tiafoe – No. 39, Matt Ebden – No. 47, Cam Norrie – No. 94 and David Ferrer – No. 124.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa only has one other countryman ranked in singles with Lloyd Harris at No. 119, but the highest ranked South African woman is No. 482 Chanel Simmons, so it is doubtful he would play in Perth. Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria is a top-flight player but you have to go all the way down to No. 328-ranked Dimitrar Kuzmanov to find the No. 2 of three ATP-ranked players from Bulgaria. The top Bulgarian woman player is No. 151 Viktoriya Tomova, followed by No. 215 Elitsa Kostova and No. 231 Sesil Karatantcheva, a former French Open quarterfinalist.

The nation of Georgia only has one ATP-ranked player Nokoloz Basilashvili at No. 26. The top WTA player from Georgia is No. 164 Ekaterine Gorgodze. Hungary’s top man Marton Fuscovics is ranked No. 35 but there is no other player from his country ranked in the top 250. He could be paired with No. 65 Timea Babos or No. 124 Fanny Stollar of the WTA at the Hopman Cup.

Former French Open semifinalist Ernests Gulbis of Latvia only has one other ATP ranked player from his country and he would make an entertaining Hopman Cup pairing with either countrywomen Anastasija Sevastova and Jelena Ostapenko.

Canada has three players in the top 100 – Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil – but also some viable top 200 players Felix Auger-Aliassime, Peter Polansky and Brayden Schnur who could make up an attractive Hopman Cup pairing with Canada’s WTA star Genie Bouchard if they chose to not play ATP Cup or do not qualify for the team.

In a pinch, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark could also be paired with a top 400 ranked Danish ATP counterpart and Elina Svitolina or Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine could play with former top 100 players Alexander Dolgopolov or Ilya Marchenko or, in a curious longshot Sergiy Stakhovskiy. Could Naomi Osaka of Japan pair with one of one of eight Japanese men players ranked in the top 200 of the ATP rankings who are not playing in the ATP Cup? How about one of the four top 100 WTA players from China playing with one of the 12 Chinese ATP-ranked men? Vika Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus could also pair with one of five lesser-known ATP ranked players from Belarus. If Romania cannot field an ATP Cup team, could Marcus Copil pair with Simona Halep in Perth? How about Tomas Berdych or Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic if their rankings do not improve pairing with Petra Kvitova or Karolina Pliskova? Kiki Bertens and Robin Haase of the Netherlands could also be a potential pair.

By now, you get the point. The Hopman Cup recruiters still have a lot of attractive options to pursue, even with the lesser pool of players to choose from. The other factor to consider is that there will also be a 32-draw ATP singles event in either Doha, Qatar or Pune, India held during this week and some men may prefer to play this than the Hopman Cup or the ATP Cup.

Roger Federer Wins 1,000th Career Match and 83rd Title – Mondays with Bob Greene

January 11, 2015 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

David Ferrer beat Tomas Berdych 6-4 7-5 to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Qatar

Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3 to win the women’s singles at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp in Brisbane, Australia

Roger Federer beat Milos Raonic 6-4 6-7 (2) 6-4 to win the men’s singles at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp in Brisbane, Australia

Stan Wawrinka beat Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-4 to win the Aircel Chennai Open in Chennai, India

Simona Halep beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-2 to win the Shenzhen Open in Shenzhen, China

Venus Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki 2-6 6-3 6-3 to win the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand

Poland beat the United States 2-1 to win the Hopman Cup

SAYING

“It’s a special moment, no doubt about it. I’ve played a lot of tennis over the years, so to get to 1000 wins tonight really means a lot to me.” – Roger Federer, whose 1,000^th match victory gave him his 83^rd career title.

“It’s a great feeling to come back to the competition and have the feeling of winning a title. It’s positive for me, a good way to finish the week. I’m practicing very hard and I’ll be practicing tomorrow. I’m very motivated to be back at my best in singles too.” – Rafael Nadal, who teamed with Juan Monaco to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open doubles.

“Wins like this always give a lot of confidence.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, after she beat Serena Williams to lead Poland to the Hopman Cup title.

“Everyone needs a coffee every now and again, right?” – Serena Williams, when she had an espresso during her Hopman Cup competition against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.

“By the time you’re 34 you have a lot of experience and if you can stay in shape, stay fit, can move and hit the ball and don’t have five kids at home then why not? There’s nothing holding me back from being here and doing well. Of course I can’t play forever. Someone else has to take the torch at some point. While I’m here I’m enjoying it.” – Venus Williams, when asked if she was thinking of retiring.

“I am so happy to be here. It’s very exciting to start to play. I am enjoying the moments with the players and the fans. I miss everything. I miss the nerves of playing a match. I miss the feeling when you win a tournament. I miss the fans, the players.” – Juan Martin del Potro, who is returning to the ATP World Tour to defend his title in Sydney, Australia.

SPECIAL WIN

When Roger Federer captured his 83^rd career title, he became only the third player in the Open Era to win 1,000 matches. The 33-year-old Swiss master joins Jimmy Connors (1,253) and Ivan Lendl (1,071) reaching the 1,000-match plateau. Hall of Famers Rod Laver and Roy Emerson joined the on-court ceremony after the final. “Clearly it’s a special day for me, winning a title plus getting to the magic number of 1,000,”’ Federer said after his 6-4 6-7 (2) 6-4 win over Milos Raonic at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. “It feels very different to any other match I’ve ever won. All those (milestone) numbers didn’t mean anything to me, but for some reason 1,000 means a lot because it’s such a huge number. Just alone to count to 1,000 is going to take a while.” Federer had to work hard for the title because Raonic played so well. But the Canadian double-faulted in the 10^th game to give Federer a championship point, and the veteran closed out the victory. “Looking back it’s almost nicer winning this way through a tight match with nerves and humid conditions against a great player in a final,” Federer said. “It means so much more than just running away with it with the score maybe winning 6-4, 6-4, which was looking very likely at one stage. I guess I was much more happy having to go three sets in the end rather than winning in straight.”

SPANISH CHAMPION

David Ferrer defeated Tomas Berdych to win the Qatar Open, his 22^nd career ATP title. “The performance, it was very good,” Ferrer said. “I’m happy because it never is easy to begin the season winning one tournament.” The victory in Doha, Qatar, makes it six consecutive years that the Spaniard has won at least one title. “First of all, David is never tired,” Berdych said after the title match. “Not after the match he played yesterday after 2½ hours. I have seen him playing five hours and then he played the next day.” Ferrer won his semifinal in three tiebreak sets against seventh-seeded Ivo Karlovic. Berdych had sailed through the early rounds of the tournament without dropping his serve in 34 service games. But Ferrer broke him four times. “In important points I got a little bit lucky,” Ferrer said. “I tried to be confident in the bad moments. I played very good in those moments.”

SHOWTIME FOR MARIA

Maria Sharapova is hoping the Brisbane International is an omen of things to come. The Russian outlasted Ana Ivanovic 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3 to capture the hard-court title and head into the Australian Open. In 2008, Sharapova beat Ivanovic to win the year’s first Grand Slam tournament title – her only other victory in Australia. The win also moved Sharapova closer to the number one ranking as she is now just 681 points behind Serena Williams. The Russian has now won at least one WTA title every year since 2003. “She had some great comebacks,” Ivanovic said of Sharapova. “She got back the balls that I thought weren’t coming over the net. That’s why she’s where she is, and that’s why she’s such a great champion.” Sharapova was also impressed with her Serbian opponent. “She was doing a lot of things better in the first set, and she deserved to win the first set, but I hung in there,” Sharapova said. “The third set came down to a few points, really. I’m just happy that I managed to get it in three.”

SENIOR CITIZEN

It was like old times for Venus Williams, who bounced back from a disastrous first set to knock off top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and win the Auckland Classic. It was the 46^th career title for the seven-time Grand Slam tournament champion, who at 34 is 10 years older than Wozniacki. The Dane controlled the beginning of the match, breaking Williams twice to take the first set, then broke her again at the start of the second. That’s when the veteran American turned the match around, spraying powerful winners all over the court. “The first set went fast and then it was like, ‘Time to take it to three,’” Williams said. “I tried to stay level-headed in the second and that worked. It felt good to figure it out and run away with it a little bit.” Williams has never lost to Wozniacki in their six career meetings.

STAN THE MAN

Stan Wawrinka has a reason for enjoying his visits to Chennai, India. The 29-year-old Swiss successfully defended his Aircel Chennai Open title by defeating qualifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-4. It is Wawrinka’s third Chennai title in five years. “It’s an amazing atmosphere,” Wawrinka said. “It’s one of the reasons I come back every year. It was a great final. I’m really happy with my level.” After winning Chennai last year, Wawrinka went on to capture his first Grand Slam tournament title, the Australian Open, and reached as high as third in the world in the Emirates ATP Rankings. “I feel really happy,” Wawrinka said after repeating as champion for the first time in his career. “It’s tough to win tournaments on the ATP Tour. I feel good.”

Bedene, the first qualifier in the 20-year history of the tournament to reach the final, won seven matches during the week. In the main draw the 25-year-old Slovenian beat three Spanish players in succession: second-seeded Feliciano Lopez, fifth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and third-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut. “It’s been a great week,” Bedene said. “I guess the hard work pays off. … I don’t want to stop here. I just want to raise my level to the level of Stan’s game.”

SICK BUT SUCCESSFUL

Simona Halep wasn’t feeling well before the Shenzhen Open final. It was Timea Bacsinszky who was feeling down after the match. “I wasn’t feeling very well before the match – I was a little bit sick – so I told myself I have nothing to lose, just go on court, be relaxed, stay focused and fight for every point,” Halep said. “It worked, and I felt really relaxed today.” So relaxed she clobbered Bacsinszky 6-2 6-1 to capture her ninth WTA title. Halep is only the second winner of the Shenzhen Open. Li Na won the first two editions before retiring last year.

SINGLES SHOCKER

Rafael Nadal’s year hasn’t started out the way he really wanted. Playing in his first ATP World Tour event, Nadal was shocked 1-6 6-3 6-4 by Michael Berrer, a 34-year-old qualifier playing his final season, in the first round of the Qatar Open. Nadal has been sidelined with back and wrist injuries, and his service speed was affected greatly. “Little things didn’t quite work out for me today,” Nadal said. “This is the third comeback of my career after injury, so we will see how it goes in a couple of months. I wanted to start well, but it was not the case today. I also want to play in the Australian Open, which is a tournament I like a lot. I don’t know if that will be the case either, but I am going to work for it. If not. I will be playing at Rio and Buenos Aires.” Berrer had taken only four games in four sets off Nadal in their previous two meetings. “It’s one of the matches which will stay in my memory forever, but let’s be honest, it was the first match for Rafa after injury,” Berrer said. “It’s also my last season and I had nothing to lose, and I’m enjoying it here – so why not?”

Nadal did wind up with a trophy at Doha. He claimed a record fourth Doha doubles crown, teaming with Juan Monaco to win their first team title. Nadal won the doubles in 2009 and 2011 with Marc Lopez and in 2005 with Albert Costa. It was Nadal’s ninth career ATP World Tour doubles title.

SIDELINED

US Open champion Marin Cilic and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have pulled out of from the Australian Open because of injuries. Cilic, a 26-year-old Croatian, has been struggling with a right shoulder problem for more than a month. “I am really disappointed to announce that I had to withdraw from the Australian Open,” Cilic said in a statement. “I was advised by doctors to be careful as much as possible to avoid even more serious problems.”

Tsonga is suffering from an injury to his right arm. “I’m still suffering from a forearm inflammation and that prevents me being at 100 percent of my capacities in a competition,” the 29-year-old said. “I’m going to receive over three weeks all the needed treatments to be able to be back on track in the best conditions.” Tsonga hurt his arm while playing for France in the Davis Cup final. His 2008 Australian Open final appearance is his best career Grand Slam performance.

Great Britain’s Laura Robson also withdrew from the year’s first major. The 20-year-old has been sidelined with a left wrist injury and has not played since January 2014.

SICK BAY

This week’s Heineken Tennis Open in Auckland, New Zealand, has been riddled with withdrawals. David Ferrer, who was to have been the top seed, pulled out because of a back sprain. Earlier, seventh-seeded John Isner, the defending champion, cited tiredness after playing for the United States at the Hopman Cup, and sixth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew for personal reasons.

STOPS SERENA

Agnieszka Radwanska has given notice that she’s a force to be reckoned with this year. She beat Serena Williams twice to lead Poland to its first Hopman Cup title. Ranked fifth in the world, Radwanska stopped Williams 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-1, then returned to partner Jerzy Janowicz to a 7-5 6-3 doubles victory over Williams and John Isner as Poland became the 13^th nation to win the mixed team event. Isner edged Janowicz 7-6 (10) 6-4 in the men’s singles, setting up the decisive mixed doubles. “When I go and play against her, you have nothing really to lose, she is number one in the world and a great champion,” Radwanska said of Williams. “It doesn’t matter what the score is. It’s never over, she’s a great fighter. I’m just very happy that could come back after that second set and play my good game in the third set.” It was the first time in nine career meetings that Radwanska has beaten Serena. And it comes after the Polish star signed Martina Navratilova as a coach. Radwanska was a semifinalist at last year’s Australian Open.

STUMBLING START

It has been a frustrating start of the season for Serena Williams. Twice the top-ranked American lost singles matches – to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska and to Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard. But it was more than just losing. Williams appeared listless in both the singles and the mixed doubles of the final, where she and partner John Isner lost to Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz. During the doubles, where she struggled on her serve, Williams lost her cool after a contentious point that brought the tournament referee onto the court to resolve the disagreement. Minutes later, Williams smashed her racquet in frustration after missing a volley. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I am so tired, it’s so weird,” Williams said early in the tournament. “I can’t get my body to move and I feel like I have no energy. It is a little frustrating because I know I can play 2,000 times better.” She beat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta after failing to win a game in the first set, then lost 6-2 6-1 to Bouchard. Williams followed by edging the Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova in three sets, setting the stage for the loss to Radwanska. “I have been practicing so well, I just have not been able to put it through in my matches,” Williams said. “Hopefully it will be able to come through soon.”

SERVING UP ACES

Ivo Karlovic may have reached only the semifinals at the Qatar Open, but he is rapidly closing in on the top spot in firing aces. The 35-year-old Croat slammed 30 aces and 67 winners while losing 6-7 (2) 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) to David Ferrer. That pushed Karlovic past Andy Roddick for second place on the all-time ace list with 9,092. Earlier in the week, Karlovic had become just the third player to reach the 9,000 aces plateau, joining Roddick and all-time leader Goran Ivanisevic. “Now I’m in the club,” Karlovic said. “It’s definitely one of my goals to be number one in all aces. This year, maybe, I will do it.” Ivanisevic holds the mark with 10,183 aces. Roddick is now in third place with 9,074.

STRAIGHT IN

France’s Lucas Pouille and Oceane Dodin are among six players awarded wild-card entries into the Australian Open main draws. Pouille and Dodin were given wild cards due to a reciprocal agreement between Tennis Australia and the French Tennis Federation. Americans Denis Kudla and Irina Falconi won their respective divisions of the USTA Pro Circuit Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. Zhang Ze and China and Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan are the Asia-Pacific wild card entries.

SPIKE IN PAY

The Australian Open increased its prize money at the last moment because of a weaker Australian currency. Organizers of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament said it wanted to ensure that players are not penalized by Australian dollar’s slide by 4.1 percent in December, reaching its lowest exchange rate against the US dollar in more than five years. In October, the prize money for this year’s tournament was announced at $36.3 million Australian. Last week, organizers increased that to a record $40 million Australian (USD $32.57 million).

SPLITSVILLE

Andy Murray says his split with long-term hitting partner and assistant coach Dani Vallverdu and fitness trainer Jez Green came about because they didn’t agree with his decision to hire Amelie Mauresmo as his head coach. Vallverdu had been with Murray since the two met at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain more than a decade ago. “The most important point in any team is that everyone has the same vision, everyone wants to move forward together,” Murray said. “I feel that’s what I have now. Maybe the last four or five months of last year it wasn’t like that. It’s not as much fun traveling when that’s the case. If everyone isn’t right into it, that isn’t how you want to work.”

STILL HURTING

Juan Martin del Potro admits he still has a sore left wrist as he returns to the ATP World Tour. “It bothers me sometimes when I hit backhands, but I am trying to hit harder because I need to hit harder if I want to play this tournament,” the 2009 US Open champion said before beginning a title defense at this week’s Apia International Sydney. “Sometimes the pain is high, sometimes it is low. It’s much better than (it was) three or four weeks ago and the doctor says that I can’t make it worse by playing at a high level, so I am very positive for that.” Del Potro said he played in pain for 18 months before deciding last February to have surgery on his wrist. The Argentine star contemplated a comeback after the US Open but felt his wrist wasn’t quite ready. He’s confident that now is the right time to return. “I know I need to be calm and to be patient, to stay healthy and play as well as I can,” del Potro said. “It will be a long road to get in good shape and to get to my level.”

STYLIST

Kei Nishikori is featured on this month’s cover of Time Magazine ASIA. The Japanese star is profiled by Hannah Beech, who quotes Andre Agassi as saying, “Kei is one of the few players that I’d pay money to see play.” The 25-year-old tells about his early move to train in Florida.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Auckland: Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voracova 6-2 6-1

Brisbane (men): Jamie Murray and John Peers beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Kei Nishikori 6-3 7-6 (4)

Brisbane (women): Martina Hingis and Sabine Lisicki beat Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 6-2 7-5

Chennai: Yen-Hsun Lu and Jonathan Murray beat Raven Klaasen and Leander Paes 6-3 7-6 (4)

Doha: Rafael Nadal and Juan Monaco beat Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald 6-3 6-4

Shenzhen: Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiia Kichenok beat Liang Chen and Wang Yafan 6-4 7-6 (6)

SURFING

Sydney: www.apiainternational.com.au/

Auckland (men): www.festivaloftennis.co.nz/heinekenopen/

Hobart: www.hobartinternational.com.au/

Melbourne: www.ausopen.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$519,395 Heineken Open, Auckland, New Zealand, hard

$494,310 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia, hard

WOMEN

$665,900 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia, hard

$226,750 Hobart International, Hobart, Australia, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

Australian Open (first week), Melbourne, Australia, hard

USTA raises concerns over possible MLS Stadium in Queens: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

October 10, 2012 by Justin Cohen

By Justin Cohen

Corona Park USTA MLS Stadium Queens — USTA Questions Major League Soccer Plan for Expansion Team in Flushing Meadows

Report: USTA Questions Major League Soccer Plan for Expansion Team in Flushing Meadows

According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, Major League Soccer’s intention to put an expansion team in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, near Citi Field, is being met with opposition from some local Queens residents as well as the United States Tennis Association, whose facility could be impacted by a new soccer stadium. The USTA believes a new stadium in the park, which also would stage concerts, would increase noise and traffic, according to a published report. “It raises a lot of concerns for us,” Gordon Smith, executive director of the USTA, told The New York Times. “We ought to be considered in a very different light, because we raise almost none of those complications.” Some neighborhood groups worry the parkland would not be adequately replaced.

Voters to Decide Future of Crandon Park and Sony Open

According to a press release, Miami-Dade County voters casting ballots this fall will have an opportunity to approve tournament-funded upgrades to the Crandon Park Tennis Center that will enhance the park for year-round public use and safeguard the Sony Open’s future in Miami. Voters will be asked to vote yes on #238, a referendum to authorize improvements to the park’s facilities and an extension of the Tournament’s usage agreement beyond the current nine year term. The park improvements would be entirely paid for by Tournament-generated revenues and cost savings, with NO COST TO TAXPAYERS. If approved, the proposed park improvements would be the first major Tennis Center updates since 1994, when Stadium Court opened. Tournament owner IMG estimates the total enhancements would cost approximately $50 million, without a single penny of public money spent. Efforts to educate the public on the measure and galvanize support are being spearheaded by the Park Partnership campaign, a coalition of business and civic leaders from Miami-Dade County and beyond. Members of the Park Partnership steering committee include Chair Adam Barrett, Honorary Chair and retired tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez, Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard, Key Biscayne Mayor Frank Caplan, Al Dotson, Jr., Maria Alonso, Marcelo Claure, Richard McLeod, Javier Soto, Phillis Oeters, Joy Lundeen, Jennifer Stearns Buttrick, James Champion, William D. Talbert, III, Jeff Bartel, Florencia Tabeni, Frances Sevilla-Sacasa, Mark Trowbridge and Tico Casamayor, among others. Beyond its standing as one of the world’s most prominent tennis tournaments, the Sony Open is a significant economic engine for Miami-Dade County. In fact, the Tournament is among the largest recurring events to take place in Miami, generating an impact of more than $386 million annually. In addition, the Tournament and Miami receive more than 7,000 hours of global television coverage broadcast throughout 180 countries. The need for a County-wide vote stems from an amendment to the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter which requires that two-thirds of Miami-Dade County voters approve extensions or modifications to leases and construction of any permanent structures in Crandon Park. The Sony Open’s proposed park updates include new green spaces, shaded areas, landscaping with plants and trees native to Key Biscayne, and show courts with comfortable seating. The Tournament’s capacity, terms of use and limitations on height of park structures will remain in place. Miami-Dade County will continue to own and operate the Tennis Center, ensuring the improved facilities are open to the public for 49 weeks of the year. The 2012 Sony Open was the most successful Tournament held to date, drawing more than 326,000 attendees, nearly 20 percent of whom currently reside outside the U.S., and resulting in the booking of more than 15,000 hotel room nights. The election will be held on November 6, 2012, with early voting beginning on October 27, 2012. Learn more about the Park Partnership campaign at www.parkpartnership.com.

International Tennis Federation Unconcerned Over WTA Dispute Over 2016 Rio Qualifications

According to an article written by David Gold of Inside The Games, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is unconcerned about the fall out with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) over qualification requirements for the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The ITF announced that players hoping to compete in Rio would have to make themselves available for three Federations Cup ties before the Games, compared to the two required for London. That has been met by opposition from the WTA, with women’s world number two, Maria Sharapova of Russia, publicly voicing her disappointment at the decision. One positive change which has been welcomed is that the qualification window began straight after the end of London 2012. According to Tennis.com, ITF spokesperson Kris Dent said that the opposition of the WTA does not change anything. “We haven’t had contractual agreement with ATP for years (over Davis Cup requirements),” he was reported as saying. “Our priority is going from strength to strength and the Fed Cup has done that. The Fed Cup final in Prague sold out in six hours…let’s face it, there is a requirement for players every week that they play on tour.” ITF spokesperson Barbara Travers insists that, contrary to the claims of some of the top women’s players, there is a dialogue with them, and that the issue is simply a case of a disagreement.

David A. Haggerty Nominated as USTA Chairman of the Board and President

The USTA Nominating Committee has announced the nomination of David A. Haggerty as USTA Chairman of the Board and President to serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2013. Haggerty has served on the USTA Board of Directors for six years and is currently completing a two-year term as First Vice President. He is a member of the Budget, International, Major Construction Oversight and Compensation committees and represents the USTA on the Grand Slam Committee and the ITF Women’s Circuit Committee. He also is a member of the Board of Directors for USTA Serves. Prior to his appointment as president, Haggerty served as the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Executive committees. Since 2007, he has served as a member of the Budget Committee. Haggerty also served for six years on the Board of Directors of the USTA Middle States Section, including two years as Vice President, and he served nationally as Chair of the USTA Section Marketing and Public Relations Committee in 2005-06 and Strategic Planning in 2009-10. Haggerty served a two-year term as President of the Tennis Industry Association from January 2007 to January 2009 and has served on the TIA’s Executive Committee for more than 20 years. Haggerty is the former Chairman of Head USA, a position he held until his retirement in March 2010. He began his career in tennis in 1980, when he was hired by Prince as Product Manager for accessories. In his 14 years at Prince, Haggerty worked his way up to General Manager before taking a position at Dunlop as President of Racquet Sports. He moved to Head in 1998, where he served as General Manager and President of Head/Penn Racquet Sports before becoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Head’s U.S. businesses. He currently serves as an External Director on the board of directors for Kepner-Tregoe, a global management consulting company that focuses on improving the business performance of clients worldwide using proven management methods. He has been nominated as a Board member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame beginning in 2013. Haggerty was the No. 1 singles player and captain for three of his four years at George Washington University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Haggerty has five children and lives in Pennington, N.J. In addition to the Haggerty nomination, other individuals nominated as new Officers and Directors of the USTA Board include Katrina M. Adams, Donald L. Tisdel, Thomas S. Ho, Patrick J. Galbraith, Alexander Boyd Andrews IV, Joan E. Baker, Raymond Benton, Mark D. Ein, Andrew A. Valdez, Jeff Williams, Todd Martin, Chanda Rubin and Brian Vahaly. Current USTA Chairman of the Board and President Jon Vegosen will remain on the USTA Board of Directors and will serve as Immediate Past President during the 2013-14 term.

Malaysian Open Comes of Age in its Fourth and Most Successful Year

According to an official tournament press release, in its fourth year on Malaysian soil, the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2012 enjoyed one of its best ever showcases at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from September 22-30. Attendances had increased greatly from past years, as the final three days saw almost 15,000 people head down for a spectacle of tennis they would not soon forget, while Sunday’s attendance of 5,300 was the best ever seen in KL. The Sunday final saw second seeded Argentine Juan Monaco top Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Part of the heightened appeal came from the most internationally diverse field of players the tournament has ever featured – with participants from over 24 countries across five continents arriving – along with several marquee names gracing the courts, such as David Ferrer, Juan Monaco, Kei Nishikori, Feliciano Lopez and Alexandr Dolgopolov. “It has been the most exciting, most attended and most diverse tournament we have had. Tournament staff personally met tourists from Australia, Spain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Switzerland, Hawaii, China, the Philippines, Egypt, the USA, Singapore, Argentina, Japan, Austria, the UK and Germany, who had come down to watch the Malaysian Open,” said Tournament Director Nick Freyer of IMG, organizers of the event since inception. The tournament was also notable for marking Malaysian history as Si Yew Ming became the first local to win a match in an ATP 250 tournament and the Malaysian wildcard performances indicated significant improvement in local standards. Accordingly, to further boost the appeal of the sport in the young generation, over 2,000 students were introduced to professional tennis via a high impact and highly successful schools visit program. One of the touching stories of the 2012 tournament was two bus-loads of university students who took an overnight road trip from Perlis to visit the event. The tournament was broadcast live and delayed in High Definition to over 350 million people across the world, complete with Malaysian Truly Asia Hawkeye branding, over its final four days. In Malaysia, Astro broadcast over 100 hours of the tournament domestically. “We know because of the length of the final match, it overran on many television stations throughout the world, onto other programming. In the UK, it overran onto live Series A football programming, but ESPN UK choose to continue its live transmission of the Malaysian Open. I think that was a great tribute to the blockbuster quality of the match and the tournament,” said Freyer. The 2013 tournament will be held from September 21-29.

2013 Hyundai Hopman Cup Line-Up Announced

The official line-up for the 2013 Hyundai Hopman Cup has been announced and the 25th edition of the ITF’s mixed team competition will not disappoint. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andrea Petkovic and Fernando Verdasco are just some of the new additions who will join the likes of Novak Djokovic, John Isner, Ana Ivanovic, Bernard Tomic and Venus Williams at the Perth Arena from December 29, 2012-January 5, 2013. The complete teams for the competition are as follows: Tomic and Casey Dellacqua (Australia), Tsonga and Mathilde Johansson (France), Tommy Haas and Petkovic (Germany), Andreas Seppi and Francesca Schiavone (Italy), Djokovic and Ivanovic (Serbia), Kevin Anderson and Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa), Verdasco and Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) and Isner and Williams (United States).

Hewitt, Stosur Commit to 2013 Brisbane International

Former Grand Slam champions Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur have both committed to start their 2013 season at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. It will be the first appearance in Brisbane for Hewitt, a former World No. 1. “I love playing the Australian tournaments and I have heard so many good things about the tournament. I am looking forward to kicking off the New Year there,” said Hewitt. “I am thrilled that Sam and Lleyton have both committed to the Brisbane International for 2013, adding more star power to an already imposing line up,” said Brisbane International Tournament Director, Cameron Pearson.

2012 PowerShares Series Kicks Off This Saturday in Arizona

The 2012 PowerShares Series will kick-off this Saturday, October 13 when tennis legends John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Michael Chang and Todd Martin compete in the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships, Presented by Sanderson Ford and Lincoln in Surprise, Ariz. The PowerShares Series will visit 12 U.S. cities during its seven-week season. Each event on the circuit will feature four champions squaring off in a one-night tournament held in one session for all ticket holders. Fans will see two 1-set semifinal matches followed by the championship match featuring the semifinal winners, in each of the shootout style tournaments that take approximately three hours from start to finish. Other players set to compete in the Series this year include Grand Slam Champions Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Pat Rafter. The players will compete for a prize pool totaling $1 million, to be shared by the top three finishers at the conclusion of the season. Following the Series stop in Arizona, fans will have the opportunity to attend the matches in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Tampa, Atlanta, San Jose, Las Vegas, Denver and Anaheim. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.PowerSharesSeries.com.

USPTA Raises More Than $7,500 at World Conference on Tennis in California

The United States Professional Tennis Association raised more than $7,500 during its silent auction at the USPTA’s Tennis Buying Show at the World Conference on Tennis, which was held from September 16-21 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey, Calif. Auction items included a signed Maria Sharapova racquet, courtesy of HEAD/Penn, two tickets to the 2013 US Open, courtesy of the USTA, Nike shoes for a year, courtesy of Fromuth, and much more. The auction benefits the USPTA foundation, which through grants supports various programs in the community that help to grow tennis and bring the game to those who might not otherwise have the chance to play.

Roger Federer’s “No Pain, No Gain” Motto Leads to Davis Cup, Grand Slam Glory

February 8, 2012 by WTM

Switzerland's Davis Cup team member Federer hits a return to Stanislas Wawrinka during a practice session in Fribourg — Roger Federer preparing for 2012 Davis Cup

Roger Federer said this week that his breakthrough performance against the U.S. Davis Cup team 11 years ago “definitely got me in winning ways.”

The 16-time major tournament champion, now age 30, will look to repeat his 2001 performance against the U.S. Davis Cup where he accounted for all three points for his Swiss team in the 3-2 victory over the United States. Federer, along with Stan Wawrinka, lead Switzerland against the Jim Courier-captained U.S. Davis Cup team in a first-round match in Fribourg, Switzerland.

Federer’s three-point effort against the U.S. in 2001 was a significant launch pad for the Swiss maestro. Rene Stauffer, in his book ROGER FEDERER: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com) discusses how improved fitness accounted for Federer moving to the upper echelons of the game. The exclusive book excerpt – the chapter called “No Pain, No Gain” – is found below.

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No Pain, No Gain

Roger Federer was still the youngest player in the top 100 of the ATP rankings at the end of the 2000 season and was rapidly working his way to the top. However, when it came to winning his first ATP singles title, it seemed as though he was jinxed. No matter how well he played, he just couldn’t break through and win his first title. By contrast, Lleyton Hewitt, who was just five months older than Federer, already won six titles in his career, including four alone in 2000. Hewitt also ranked No. 6 in the world rankings and was firmly established as a consistent top 10 player.

Hewitt’s style was different and simpler. He was fast and was one of the greatest warriors on the court—fighting tooth and nail for every point and wearing his opponents down with his steady baseline play. He intimidated opponents with fist pumps and his signature yell-out of “C’mon!” While Hewitt was winning in a relatively non-dazzling way, the opposite was usually the case for Federer. He charmed the spectators with dynamic displays of the most diverse strokes and with his virtuoso onslaught. He seemed to possess infinite potential—but he nonetheless repeatedly lost to inferior opponents. He seemed like somebody who had the winning lottery ticket but didn’t know what to do with all his money. “He has so much potential that it sometimes confuses even himself,” said John McEnroe, himself, a one-time artist with the tennis ball.

Federer’s time finally seemed to come in October of 2000 in Basel, his hometown. He overcame a match point in defeating Hewitt for the first time in his career in the semifinals, winning by the narrowest of margins—8-6 in the decisive third-set tie-break. “That was one of my most unbelievable matches,” the local matador said exuberantly of one of his early marquee wins. But Federer was not able to carry the momentum through to the title, losing a hard-fought final to No. 6 seed Thomas Enqvist of Sweden. The final-round showing in Basel placed Federer among the top 25 ranked players in the world. But mental and physical exhaustion from the long season set in and Federer won just three matches in his final four tournaments and finished the 2000 season ranked No. 29. For the first time, he failed to achieve his goals for the season—winning his first title and finishing the year in the top 25 of the rankings.

Federer’s 2000 season—his second as a professional—taught him the bitter lesson that spectacular strokes and talent by themselves weren’t enough to win tournaments and get to the top. He had to work on his physical fitness. Although fitness training was something he didn’t particularly like, he hired a fitness coach, Pierre Paganini, an old acquaintance from his time with the Swiss Tennis Federation at Ecublens, to join Lundgren as part of his team. Training with the 43-year-old Paganini 100 days a year proved to be a stroke of luck.

“He is the best fitness trainer you can imagine,” said Lundgren of Paganini. The bald, bespectacled man was a former soccer player as well as a smart, professional and unobtrusive worker—and he quickly deduced what Federer was lacking. “Athletically, he had great shortcomings. There was enormous potential for improvement, especially in legwork and body building,” Paganini recalled. “His problem was that his enormous talent allowed him to cover up his athletic shortcomings.” At the same time, however, he also had to defend his position in the world rankings and he could not afford to just work on basic conditioning. “I had a time table of three years to bring him up to the best physical condition.”

Paganini’s goal, however, was not to transform Federer into a muscle-man. “A tennis player is not a sprinter, a marathon runner or a shot-put thrower,” he said. “But he does have to have something from all of them and he does have to be able to summon all of these qualities when playing.” Because Federer was a creative player who often improvised many different shots during a match, he had to be able to execute many different movements, unlike a player like Hewitt, who tended to play the same style and hit the same type of shots repeatedly. Paganini worked with Federer to achieve a “coordinated creativity,” high precision movements and the ability to muster top athletic performance after four hours of play. “Roger couldn’t be permitted to choose the wrong tactic for physical reasons,” Paganini said.

Every day brought fresh challenges for Paganini to keep the young firebrand’s morale high. “Roger is not a workaholic that you can hit 3,000 backhands to and he hits them and feels good doing it. Training has to be fun for Roger,” said Lundgren.

“He wants to work hard but he needs a lot of variety,” Paganini said. “He has to see that an exercise is useful to him. He is an artist. If you motivate him, then he turns into a training animal.”

In Biel in December of 2000, Federer received a two-week preview of what his new training work would entail. Paganini developed special exercises for him that he termed “integrated fitness training.” Federer, for example, ran on the side of the court until he was exhausted and then immediately ran back onto the court to play tennis. “The natural reflexes and all the bad habits that are the hardest to break kick in when one is in an exhausted state,” Paganini said, explaining his method. “And then the coach goes to work on them.”

While many tennis players only concentrated on building fitness in December, the only tournament-free month of the year, Federer punctually worked on his fitness training the entire year. Paganini was immediately enthused by the professional dedication shown by his protégé. “He was really motivated for such exercises and this surprised me,” he said. “But he is, after all, a natural athlete.” Paganini, who called Federer “naturally coordinated,” said Federer accepted the fact that fitness work and practicing would not always be fun. “He noticed that he was there to acquire something that would later serve him on the tennis court.”

Paganini’s three-year plan proved successful. “Today, Roger can reach a maximum speed of 20 km/h (12 mph), which means that he can keep up with a regional sprinter for the first 30 meters,” he recollected in 2003. Federer could run 3,300 meters in 12 minutes, 9,300 meters in 40 minutes and he could press 150 kg (330 lbs) while doing knee-bends. This was an immense improvement from before.

Federer found it easy to motivate himself for these goal-oriented training sessions because they broke up the routine. “Just a little bit of change does me a lot of good,” he said. “Once I’m out on the court, I don’t have any problem getting motivated. If I want to be No. 1, I have to give my all in training.” Thanks to Paganini, he understood why he was training so hard. He quickly noticed that his improved fitness was helping him to increase his self confidence. “I feel mentally really good because I know that I am physically prepared and that I can compete,” he said after the first extended training session with Paganini.

Lundgren expected a lot from Federer in 2001, his first full season as Federer’s private coach. He was convinced that “if he plays like he did last fall in Sydney, Vienna or in Basel, he’ll be in the top 15.” He even dared to speculate that “he could have his first title very soon.”

At the start of the season, Federer and Martina Hingis won the Hopman Cup in Perth. It was not an especially significant event but it was, after all, the International Tennis Federation’s sanctioned world mixed tennis tournament. He reached the third round of the Australian Open—avenging his Olympic loss to DiPasquale in the first round before losing to eventual finalist Arnaud Clement. February, however, became the best month of his career to date. At the indoor event in Milan, Italy after the Australian Open, Federer defeated Olympic Champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov for the first time in his career in the semifinals to reach his third career ATP singles final. Federer seized the opportunity and, with his parents in the stands cheering him on, he finally won his first ATP singles title, defeating No. 53-ranked Julien Boutter of France 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4.

Lundgren was correct. A milestone was achieved. “The relief is enormous,” Federer said. “I’ve had to wait a long time for this moment. It should get easier from here on out.” But the excursion to Milan didn’t end very happily for Roger’s father. In his excitement, he locked his car keys inside the car and had to smash in the car window to retrieve them. A week later, another career milestone was achieved for the 19-year-old as he returned to Basel for Davis Cup duty against the United States. There was no stopping Federer. He beat Todd Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill in two breath-taking performances in singles, and in between, paired with Lorenzo Manta to defeat the American team of Gambill and Justin Gimelstob in doubles.

With his three match victories in the 3-2 Swiss defeat of the USA, he joined Raul Ramirez, Neale Fraser, Nicola Pietrangeli, Frank Sedgman, Henri Cochet and Laurie Doherty as the seventh and the youngest player to winthree live matches in a Davis Cup tie against the United States. “It’s like a dream,” said Federer, who shed tears of joy after his match-clinching victory over Gambill.

The Americans, by contrast, were stunned. “You’d have to be blind not to see that he’s got a great future in store for him,” said Gambill. U.S. Captain Patrick McEnroe didn’t try to make any excuses although he was missinghis two strongest players, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, in this match. “We knew that Federer would be tough but we didn’t expect this,” he said. “Whenever he got hold of the ball, the point was his.”

February would bring even more success for Federer. The week after his single-handed defeat of the U.S. Davis Cup team, he reached the semifinals in Marseille where his 10-match winning streak was ended by Kafelnikov. The next week, he reached his fourth career singles final, losing to Nicolas Escude of France in a third-set tie-break in the final of Rotterdam. The ATP chose him their “Player of the Month” and effusively praised in their official press communication, “The Federer Express has arrived!” A playful warning was also issued in the press release stating that Federer, “has been blessed with so much talent that it almost seems unfair to his opponents.”

PHILIPPOUSSIS, MELIGENI EACH ADVANCE TO FIRST CHAMPIONS SERIES FINAL

March 14, 2010 by WTM

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 13 – Mark Philippoussis of Australia and Fernando Meligeni of Brazil each advanced into their first career Champions Series tournament final Saturday with semifinal victories at the $150,000 Banco Cruzerio do Sul Rio Champions Cup. Philippoussis defeated former world No. 1 Mats Wilander of Sweden 6-3, 6-4, while Meligeni defeated Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 7-5, 2-6, 10-2 (Champions Tie-Breaker). The Banco Cruzeiro do Sul Rio Champions Cup is the opening event on the 2010 Champions Series tennis circuit, the U.S.-based international tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.

Sundays final, with a $60,000 first prize check on the line as well as 800 Champions Series ranking points, will be a rematch of a round-robin match from last years event in Rio, won by Philippoussis 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker).

I expect a fun match against Meligeni, said Philippoussis. It is going to be a great atmosphere, playing against him here in Brazil. I know what he is going to do. He is going to try to make me run all around the court, to both sides and I know I wont be doing it. I will play my way.

Philippoussis, 33, first joined the Champions Series circuit in 2007 after tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee while attempting to return to the ATP World Tour earlier in the year at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. He was unable to play competitive tennis in 2008, due to continued knee problems, but returned to the Champions Series in 2009, with a third-place finish in Grand Cayman being his best result to date. During his ATP World Tour career, he was a singles finalist at Wimbledon in 2003, losing to Roger Federer, marking Federers first career major tournament victory. He was also a finalist at the U.S. Open in 1998, losing to countryman Patrick Rafter.

This is my first final in the Champions Series and I havent had these many matches in a long time, so the more I play, the better it is for me, but it feels really good to win, said Philippoussis, who has been enjoying time surfing off the beaches of Rio when not competing this week. My body is feeling good and that is what matters for me and that I am having fun on the court.

Meligeni, who will turn 39 on April 12, is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and is a local wild card into the event. He reached the semifinals of the French Open in 1999 and finished in fourth place at the 1996 Olympic Games, falling to Leander Paes in the bronze medal match. He did pick up a medal seven years later, in the final match of his career defeating Marcelo Rios in the gold medal match at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Against Ferreira, Meligeni rode the wave of the highly energetic and partisan home crowd to win the hard-fought nail-bitter on the fast indoor court at the Maracanãzinho Stadium.

When I got here I felt like an outsider, among so many great champions, number ones, top 10s and now I am in the final, said the left-handed Brazilian. In tennis sometimes, when you dont lose in the first round and you dont have a great day, you have the chance to come back the next day and turn things around. That is what I did today. I played good tennis, had fun on the court and I knew that if I could win the first set, I would have a better chance, because Wayne is in better physical condition than I am.

In his quarterfinal match early Friday against Mikael Pernfors, Meligeni said after losing the first set, that quitting competitive tennis entered his mind, before surging back to win the match in a first-to-ten-points Champions Tie-Breaker, played in lieu of a third set.

Said Meligeni after his win Friday over Pernfors, It wasnt a usual performance for me, as I am used to being much more relaxed on court and having more fun with the crowd, but this is very, very competitive and we both wanted to win and I had to find a way to be the winner. You could tell that Pernfors wasnt very happy when he left the court.

Tickets for the event can still be purchased by calling 5521-3005-4023 or on www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com Sundays schedule begins at 11 am with the third-place match between Wilander and Ferreira, followed by the singles final between Philippoussis and Meligeni.

Jim Courier finished the 2009 season as the top-ranked player on the Champions Series, followed by Pete Sampras and Todd Martin. John McEnroe won the inaugural Rio Champions Cup in 2009, defeating Courier 6-2, 6-3 in the final. The full 2010 Champions Series schedule of tournaments will be announced in the near future. The first tournament in the United States the Staples Champions Cup – will be held April 29-May 2 in Boston, Mass., and will feature Bjorn Borg playing in his first tournament in the U.S. in 10 years.

InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Champions Series tennis circuit, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, charity events, corporate outings and tennis fantasy camps such as the annual “Ultimate Fantasy Camp”. Through 2009, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment events have raised over $4 million for charity. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

CHAMPIONS SERIES ON VIDEO

The Champions Series video page features exclusive behind the scenes footage of events and candid player interviews. Videos can be seen at http://www.championsseriestennis.com/video.php

FEDERER’S FIRST ATP TITLE

February 4, 2010 by WTM

Nine years ago, on February 4, 2001, Roger Federer finally broke through and won his first ATP singles title. As documented in the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY, Federer, then relatively uncertain19-year-old struggling to live up to the heavy expectations thrust upon him, defeated Julien Boutter of France 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in Milan, Italy to win his maiden ATP title. “What a relief,” said Federer after the match. “I’m really happy to have won my first title here in Milan. As a kid you always dream of winning your first title.” Federer has gone to win grander heights, netting an additional 61 ATP titles, including 16 major singles titles. Rene Stauffer, the author of the leading Federer biography THE ROGER FEDERER STORY: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($24.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com) documents Federer and his coach at the time Peter Lundgren at this crucial time in Federer’s career in this exclusive book excerpt below.

A week later, another career milestone was achieved for the 19-year-old as he returned to Basel for Davis Cup duty against the United States. There was no stopping Federer. He beat Todd Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill in two breath-taking performances in singles, and in between, paired with Lorenzo Manta to defeat the American team of Gambill and Justin Gimelstob in doubles. With his three match victories in the 3-2 Swiss defeat of the USA, he joined Raul Ramirez, Neale Fraser, Nicola Pietrangeli, Frank Sedgman, Henri Cochet and Laurie Doherty as the seventh and the youngest player to win three live matches in a Davis Cup tie against the United States. “It’s like a dream,” said Federer, who shed tears of joy after his match-clinching victory over Gambill.

The Americans, by contrast, were stunned. “You’d have to be blind not to see that he’s got a great future in store for him,” said Gambill. U.S. Captain Patrick McEnroe didn’t try to make any excuses although he was missing his two strongest players, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, in this match. “We knew that Federer would be tough but we didn’t expect this,” he said. “Whenever he got hold of the ball, the point was his.”