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This Week in Tennis Business: Serena Williams slapped with record fine of $82,500 for US Open tirade

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By Justin Cohen

Serena Williams
Serena WilliamsBy: Justin Cohen

· Serena Williams was slapped with a record fine of $82,500 for her US Open tirade at a line judge from this past September. Williams was also put on two-year probation at the four Grand Slam events and if another “major offense” occurs will face a $175,000 fine and ban for one year at the US Open. “I am thankful that we now have closure on the incident and we can all move forward,” Williams said in a statement released on Monday by her publicist. “I am back in training in preparation for next season and I continue to be grateful for all of the support from my fans and the tennis community.”

· The Austrian Open has been cancelled due to a legal dispute over the tennis stadium in Kitzbuhel. ATP World Tour officials announced that the tournament will now be played in Nice, France, for at least the next five years.

· Board of Directors of The Indianapolis Tennis Championships has agreed to sell their tournament. They are working closely with the ATP World Tour and potential buyers and hope to finalize a deal sometime in December. The event has not had a title sponsor since long-time sponsor RCA ended its sponsorship in 2006. News reports place Atlanta as a leading candidate to take over the event, run by the USTA Southern Section.

· The Tennis Week website has been shut down by its owners, the International Management Group (IMG).

· Russian media reports that the recently retired Marat Safin will run for Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee.

· Roger Federer finished the year ranked No. 1 in the world for the fifth time in his career. “It’s one of the greatest performances I think I’ve achieved, seeing also what happened off the court — getting married, having twin girls. Reaching all four major finals, playing so well at the most important moments: it’s been the key this year, and staying healthy,” said Federer. “Especially after having a rough 2008, coming back this year and being able to dominate and play at the top when the depth in tennis is so, so great at the moment. I think it’s a wonderful achievement. Of course, it’s official. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

· By winning the ATP World Tour Doubles Final, Bob and Mike Bryan finish the year ranked No. 1 in the world.

· Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are nominated for the Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year award.

· Despite rumors of a break-up, Daniel Nestor confirmed to The Globe and Mail that he will continue his doubles partnership next season with Nenad Zimonjic. “It’s all gossip,” said Nestor. “As far as I know we’re playing Doha, Sydney and arranging coaching and all that. We’ve just had a bad run of matches, nothing more than that.”

· French Open doubles finalists Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman have ended their doubles partnership. In 2010, Moodie will partner with Mikhail Youzhny and Norman will join forces with Christopher Kas. “Moodie telephoned me last week to tell me that he would be partnering with Mikhail Youzhny,” Norman wrote on his website. “It was like a bucket of cold water, I wasn’t expecting it at all… But I think Wesley for this year, certainly the best season of my career.”

· According to Nielsen BookScan, Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Open, was the seventh bestselling book last week.

· HEAD announced at the ATP World Tour Finals last week in London that their partnership extension with the ATP World Tour will last through the 2012 season. Under the agreement, HEAD and Penn will continue to be the official tennis racquet, ball and tennis bag of the ATP. “The partnership between the ATP, HEAD and Penn is a natural fit between two recognized leaders in tennis,” said Adam Helfant, the ATP World Tour Executive Chairman and President. “HEAD has been with us for many years and we hope to see the relationship continue to grow for many more.”

· Andy Roddick has indicated that he is planning to play the 2012 London Olympics, which will be held on grass at Wimbledon. Roddick skipped the 2008 Beijing Olympics to prepare for the US Open.

· In the “Battle of the Sexes” match in Austria, Thomas Muster beat Sybille Bammer, 6-2, 6-3.

Federer defeats Nemesis Murray in London

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Roger Federer rallied to beat nemesis Andy Murray 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tuesday at the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena, clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fifth time. Federer, who finished No. 2 behind Rafael Nadal in the 2008 year-end rankings, is the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1989 to finish the year No. 1 after losing it the previous year.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors are the only other players to finish the year as the top-ranked player at least five times since the rankings started in 1973. Sampras, whose record of 14 Grand Slam titles Federer broke this year at Wimbledon, has the most with six.

Federer dominated Murray in the final two sets, finally controlling play from his serve and also getting his forehand on target. Murray, meanwhile, started to struggle to win any points, despite having won six of the nine meetings between the two players entering the match.

But for Federer, finishing the year as the top-ranked player was better than beating Murray.

“Obviously, that was one of my big goals for this season. And it’s one of the greatest performances I think I’ve achieved,” said Federer, who reached all four Grand Slam finals yet again, got married and had twin girls. “Playing so well at the most important moments, it’s been the key this year. And staying healthy.”

Federer, who has two wins from two matches in Group A and is favored to reach the semifinals at the season-ending tournament, still has to play Juan Martin del Potro in the round-robin stage. Del Potro beat Federer in the U.S. Open final.

“It could be a make-or-break match for us to get through,” said Federer, who also lost the first set in his opening match. “If that’s the case, I’ll give it all I have and try to beat him this time.”

Earlier Tuesday, Del Potro held on to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), giving him a good chance to reach the semifinals at the O2 Arena.

Because of Federer’s win, he cannot be overtaken by second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost to Robin Soderling on Monday in his first Group B match.

Federer began the night by breaking Murray’s serve, but it was more because of the Briton’s errors than Federer’s stellar play. The lead didn’t last, however, because Murray broke right back, and then started to play the kind of tennis that earned him six wins over Federer in their previous nine meetings.

Murray then broke again for a 4-2 lead, and saved a pair of break points in the next game before eventually winning the first set.

In the second, Federer won his first three service games at love, and he then broke Murray to take a 4-2 lead.

“If you give someone (the) opportunity to dictate, not only on his own service games, but on yours, it’s very difficult to win,” said Murray, who had eight double-faults in the match. “I served so poorly that anyone would have looked good against me tonight.”

Along with his improving serve, Federer’s forehand was also starting to get back to normal. In the second set alone, Federer managed 10 of his 16 forehand winners—after only two in the first set.

Despite the loss, Murray can still advance to the semifinals.

“I just win against Verdasco. I think that’s pretty much what I have to do,” Murray said. “If I win in straight sets, then I think, well, a great chance that I go through.”

In the early match, Del Potro wasted two match points in the third set and then was broken while serving for the win.

“I served much better than the other match,” said Del Potro, who lost to Murray in his opening Group A match. “I was very focused in the important moments, especially in the tiebreak, and I take my opportunities.”

The fifth-ranked Argentine most likely will have to beat four-time champion Federer on Thursday to reach the semifinals. Verdasco, with two losses, will face Murray in his next match.

Del Potro and Verdasco traded powerful forehands and accurate backhands. But the U.S. Open champion had the advantage through much of the third set and earned his second break of the match in the sixth game—with the help of instant replay.

Verdasco sent a shot toward the baseline, and Del Potro played it cleanly and sent it back over the net. But he also immediately raised his arm to challenge the call, believing it was long. He was right, and the reversal gave him a 4-2 lead.

“It’s not enough to play good tennis to beat these guys,” Verdasco said. “You need to play good tennis and also play very good in the very important moments.”

In Group B, Novak Djokovic and Soderling won their opening matches and will play each other Wednesday. Nadal will face Nikolay Davydenko.